//------------------------------// // War: Elsweyr Campaign // Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Following the discussion between rulers, and discovering that Tosh Raka just wanted to do battle with their enemies with no real regard for strategy, Amaryllis focused her efforts on assisting Abiru and his forces, as they were gathering like minded people for the assault on Elsweyr. Of course it wasn't actually an assault, as their plan was to call upon the freed Khajiit who were in Black Marsh and figure some things out before they did anything else, as they had no way of telling what state the province was in, what the Dominion had done, and where their targets were resting. As such their best plan was to attack the bonds between Elsweyr and the organization that was currently taking advantage of them, spreading rumors of their own and doing everything in their power to disrupt the complicated bonds that exist between both parties, though with Ma'jera on their side they knew that the Dominion had lied about bringing the moons back. Of course she knew that such a thing might not be enough to ensure a division between the people of Elsweyr and the forces of the Dominion, so that meant they had to find out where the leader of the Khajiit might be and talk them into turning on those that had deceived them. The first thing was going over the map of Elsweyr and discussing the current situation the province was in, information that came from the few Khajiit that had come with Abiru earlier, though right now they had to wait for the rest to come before he made his move. "It appears that the province has been divided between two kingdoms, Anequina and Pellitine," Abiru said, gesturing to the map that was in front of them right now, where Amaryllis could see that the former was the northern half and was an area full of savannas, badlands, and dry plains, while the latter was the southern end, a fertile land of rain forests and jungles, and thanks to the Khajiit they had a good idea of where each city rested, "while the majority of our focus should be on the northern half, to help protect Cyrodiil, we should sneak some agents into the southern half and begin working to separate the province from the Dominion. If we could find the current Mane, well, we'd be able to save a lot of time and effort, as it would disrupt whatever plans the Altmer have for the province, because I'm positive the Dominion would keep such a figure safe, until they were needed for something special." "Like killing him and blaming it on someone else?" Amaryllis inquired, as that seemed like a worthwhile plan, imprison the spiritual figure of the Khajiit until it was time to kill him in a way that passed the blame onto one of their enemies, such as Za'kera's Empire or one of the other provinces, to install hatred into the Khajiit and turn them on those who might actually be trying to help them. "Indeed, which we must avoid at all costs." Abiru stated, though he was pleased to find that Amaryllis was listening to all he had to say and was thinking about what might happen in a specific situation, making him understand why Za'kera had her close to her at all times, she was far smarter than one gave her credit for and her abilities meant that there was next to nothing she couldn't do, "So for now I want you to join the northern group, learn what you can, capture patrols so we can free them, and do whatever is necessary to turn the Khajiit against the Dominion." Amaryllis knew that Abiru wanted another set of eyes in Elsweyr, so she nodded and spent a while figuring out what sort of attire she needed for her time in the northern half of the province, where she altered the Black Marsh attire a little, to make it more akin to what someone would wear in a desert or savanna. Of course that also meant that she had to take on her Khajiit disguise once more, which she was fine with since it was one of her favorite forms, before speaking to the freed individuals who had joined the King, who made some suggestions so she could alter her attire and fit in with the people of the province they would be heading towards. Given her enhanced powers she knew that such a thing might not be all that necessary, since she could linger in the shadows and not be seen or heard, until she wanted to anyway, but this allowed her to explore the cities they ended up stopping in, without causing a scene with armor that belonged to another province of Tamriel. In the end she looked like someone who belonged in Elsweyr, at least until she talked since it would take some time to get used to the customs of the province they would he heading into, though since they had the group that was sent into Black Marsh that meant they could take over the building they had come from and use it as a base for the rest of this operation. Other than that there wasn't much for her to do, save for resting and waiting for the mission to start, especially since they were waiting for the rest of the liberated Khajiit to arrive before they headed for Elsweyr, so Amaryllis found a room and decided to rest inside it. She wasn't too surprised to find that Za'kera didn't come and talk with her, as she was the one leading an entire Empire and that meant she was stretched between everyone who wanted a piece of her, so she didn't let it bug her at all, instead she focused on her rest. The other thing she recalled was that Kya had decided to stay with her father, as heading into a province for a stealth mission wasn't her thing, even if she had been freed from the madness that had been bothering her for years, so this meant she could be near him and help him in other ways. It also gave the sisters time to speak with each other and try to reconnect, to be sisters again, though that was if Shadow wanted to do that, since she hadn't said anything to Kya since the day they entered Black Marsh, but, once again, that was something they could work out on their own. In the end Amaryllis decided to get some rest and ready herself for the mission she would be joining soon enough, as it wouldn't be good to be exhausted when going into enemy territory, though she was eager to show the Khajiit that they had been lied to and see what sort of reaction they had to that information. When the rest of the freed Khajiit joined them Amaryllis and her group left the Imperial City, where they headed south for a time and made their way towards Elsweyr, though she knew that their target was the city of Riverhold, the gateway to northern Elsweyr, which happened to be the best place for them to start. The reason for that was due to what Amaryllis discovered from talking with Abiru and those who had been freed, the city in question had one of the largest marketplaces in the province, with people flocking to buy and sell goods, from carriages no less. Sadly they would stick out like a sore thumb without one of their own, though the Khajiit knew where to find some, as the silent rebels had bases in all the cities of Elsweyr and, after discovering that they wanted a silent war with the Dominion in this province, they were the best ones to help them out in laying low. Of course the name convinced Amaryllis that they might be dealing with a gang of assassins or thieves, as it was 'Silent Tails', though if such a group was standing against the Dominion's forces, while no news was escaping to the rest of the continent, they might have a chance at overcoming whatever was between them and liberating the province. Before they reached their destination Amaryllis switched into her disguise and made sure everything was in place, which everyone else agreed with after checking out her current alterations, though after that no one said anything as they made their way into Elsweyr. Sure enough she found that Riverhold was more like Falkreath or even Morthal, the seemed to be open to the area that it rested in, making it easier for them to enter the city, though she also discovered that it had some rather impressive structures, some being houses and one being what she suspected was a castle, made of stone and wood. She wasn't sure what the style was, since each race seemed to have their own styles when it came to building things, but the Khajiit were happy to see Riverhold and she mimicked their motions, to not draw attention to herself or her allies, since she found a group of Dominion guards in front of the main gate. Fortunately they looked bored out of their minds and didn't care too much about her group, allowing them to enter Riverhold without wasting too much time, though after that happened one of her new friends lead them down one of the streets, heading to what appeared to be one of the more shadowy sections of the impressive city. Based on what she could tell one of the Khajiit that had been in the group they had liberated was a member of the Silent Tails, in fact the one she was thinking of might have been infiltrating the Dominion to gain all sorts of information to give to her superiors, only to be sent to Black Marsh on a suicide mission, given that none of the Altmer that had been sent to Abiru's domain had returned. Her suspicions were proven to be correct as they reached a house and she made sure that no one was watching, where it was easy for Amaryllis to find that the Silent Tails were in control of this part of the city, given the black clothing the nearby Khajiit were wearing, and tapped on the door in a pattern that only one of the organization would know. Not even a few seconds later the door opened and they were allowed inside, where Amaryllis found that a family, members of the gang no doubt, were the caretakers of the house and, once everyone was inside, they headed into the back and moved one of the bookshelves after using a tiny bit of magic. She guessed that what they had done was use a key or something to open the door, where they headed into the cavern that was behind the house, hidden by all the stone so the Dominion wouldn't see it, making it a perfect base for a group who wanted to see their home freed from the Altmer. At the end of the passage they found a larger section that was where the bulk of the Silent Tails were stationed, where it looked like four to five dozen Khajiit were planning what to do and how to bring down the Dominion, and, unless Amaryllis was mistaken, they also had ideas on where the Mane might be located. One Khajiit stood out from all the others she was seeing, a slim male that could be a thief or even an assassin, who had dirty brown fur all over his body and wore a set of attire that looked more suited for stealth, before Amaryllis found that the tips of his ears and half of his tail were black colored. "Deathtail, I have returned... and we brought new allies to aid us in our mission." their guide said, bowing her head toward the Khajiit that was in front of them, where Amaryllis was sure that it was a nickname and not his true name, meaning he had to be an assassin, something that caused the Khajiit to step forward and study them. "Is that so? And who are you supposed to be?" Deathtail asked, speaking directly to Amaryllis, instead of the ones he knew at a glance, confirming that he had to be the leader of this outfit and that everyone respected him, all while he seemed to be looking for signs of weakness that he could use, in case she was a Dominion spy, brought to him to be slain without the Altmer knowing what happened to her. "I am Daro'vari, a simple traveler moving from city to city," Amaryllis replied, as she and the others agreed that creating a cover for her was the best thing, that way no one would think twice about her presence in Riverhold and the other cities of Elsweyr, before the shadows whipped around her and revealed her true self to them, causing some of them to step back, save for the leader anyway, "but my true identity is Amaryllis, the shadow that watches over the Empress... I am here to break the bonds between Elsweyr and the Dominion." Deathtail tilted his head for a moment before he moved, which was the same time Amaryllis reacted, their blades clashing in the space between them for a few seconds, faster than the others could see, and were sheathed before anyone even knew that they had moved, where she found that the Khajiit was giving her a light smile. "Very well, 'Daro'vari', your expertise would be most welcome," Deathtail said, where he gestured to the others for a few seconds and she found that everything returned to normal, meaning they were in and were counted as allies, before he turned towards the table as she reverted to her new Khajiit disguise, as him using her fake name meant he knew what she meant and was willing to work with her. Amaryllis knew that this was only the start of their work to drive a wedge between the Khajiit and the Dominion, and she was eager to see what happened when they started to tear apart the bonds that forced this province to serve the Altmer once more, regardless of how long it took to bring out the desired outcome.