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Chorrol.com _ Role-playing _ The War of Necromancy

Posted by: Zalphon Dec 29 2010, 09:40 PM

The War of Necromancy

4E 1: The Champion of Cyrodiil puts an end to the King of Worms and the Order of the Black Worm falls apart following his death.

4E 73: The Mede Empire falls apart, leaving chaos in the power vacuum. Tamriel is quickly conquered by the long, lost son of Martin Septim.

4E 212: A lich known as, “Gulas Myneld” slays Arch Mage Aron Gothren for the murder of Raynil Dralas, a dear friend of Gulas.

4E 215: The successor of Gothren, Colin Draconis bans necromancy within the Mages’ Guild and coerces Emperor Reman Septim to make the practice punishable by death by using threats of war with the Mages’ Guild.

4E 223: Gulas Myneld meets a lich who is more magical than mortal. The lich offers to help Gulas against the Mages’ Guild, he asks for nothing in return. Gulas fears this lich more than any other being on Nirn.

4E 225: The Order of the Black Dragon is formed by the lich.

The undead grunts of the Order of the Black Dragon have no rank or status within the Order, and are merely undying soldiers ready for battle at the command of their superiors.

The Order of the Black Dragon is split into three tiers...

The Caste of the Black Skull is the first tier, and is made up of Necromancer Initiates and Shadow Knight Squires.

The Caste of the Black Rose is the second tier, and is made up of Necromancer Adepts and Shadow Knights. Several Nightblades are also in this tier as spies for the Order of the Black Dragon.

The Caste of the Black Soul is the third tier. Only the most elite ever come to this tier. It is made up of Liches and Shadow Knights who have distinguished themselves in battle by showing extraordinary ability or leadership.

4E 232: The hostilities between the Order of the Black Dragon and the Mages’ Guild are no longer considered skirmishes, but rather war between the factions.

4E 240: Most of Tamriel has been lost to the Order of the Black Dragon.

The Order of the Black Dragon

The Castes

The Caste of the Black Skull

“The aspirants blood will paint the walls of the gauntlet,” an anonymous Shadow Knight.
The members of the Caste of the Black Skull are called ‘aspirants’ by the members of the Caste of the Black Rose. To the Order, they’re little more than grunts.

The aspirants live in barren quarters with five other aspirants. They eat scraps and whatever they can find. Out of ten aspirants, only one survives to the Caste of the Black Rose. Traditionally, to rise above this caste, they must complete the gauntlet, survive a duel against a member of the Caste of the Black Rose, or impress a member of the High Council.

The Gauntlet is a large labyrinth that the liches formed below Mournhold’s sewers. Hundreds of undead soldiers that are little more than animated husks filled with rage defend it. The artifact that they’re sent to retrieve is guarded by a wraith. Few ever attempt this, even fewer survive.

The Caste of the Black Rose

The Caste of the Black Rose is home to Necromancers, Necromancer-Adepts, Nightblades, and Shadow Knights. They live in comfortable quarters. The Necromancer and Necromancer-Adepts are often found supporting the Shadow Knights in battle. The Nightblades are often spies and elite assassins.

It is nearly impossible to join the Caste of the Black Soul. Those that do are revered as living gods by those beneath them. Gulas Myneld personally challenges any who try to become a member of the Caste of the Black Soul to a duel. Any who survive a duel with him are welcome to try several herculean tasks.

The Caste of the Black Soul

The most elite of the Order of the Black Dragon are in this caste. Liches, the most elite Shadow Knights, and a few Nightblades who have assassinated extremely high priority targets join this caste. Those in this caste live in lavish quarters, often holding towers or castles with many undead thralls.

The liches are battle-field commanders as are the Shadow Knights. The Shadow Knights serve as generals, leading thousands of soldiers into battle. The Nightblades often are part of an elite strike team.

Those in this caste are feared and exalted amongst those beneath them. Many aspirants will obey any order they give, either out of fear or loyalty, even if it could mean their own suicide.



The Provinces

High Rock: The necromancers and their shadow knights were pushed back by the Breton Mages of High Rock. However, many Bretons died during the battles that were located in High Rock.

Hammerfell: The Redguards of Hammerfell resiliently held out for months against the armies of the Order of the Black Dragon. Eventually a nightblade assassinated the rebel leader, a Redguard with the name of “Cyrus Shinji.” They crumbled after Cyrus died, because their leadership was gone.

Skyrim: The mountainous terrain of Skyrim protected it from the armies of the dead, however none doubt that nightblades and necromancers are deep within Skyrim’s borders just waiting for the moment to strike.

Morrowind: The mainland was razed by a Telvanni Lich and his army. The Lich devastated the jungle-mainland leaving only death in his wake. The Lich didn’t dare touch Vvardenfell, because his lands, Tel Vos were there.

The Black Marsh: When the Argonian Marsh Warriors resisted the influence of the Order of the Black Dragon, a lich poisoned the land, killing most of the flora and nearly all of the fauna.

Elsweyr: The khajiit left their desert home when the Order of the Black Dragon came, where they went was unknown. All that was known was that they left for the seas, hoping to never return to Tamriel.

Valenwood: The Bosmer defended with ferocity that you would expect of an animal. Some even participated in the Wild Hunt, turning into vicious animals. Valenwood was destroyed, as were the Imga. Great casualties came to the Order of the Black Worm, but with each death led to another soldier.

The Summerset Isles: Contact was lost with them during the War of Necromancy.

Cyrodiil: The Imperial City is the only true safe haven in Cyrodiil. Only the Royal Family, the Mages’ Guild, and the Blades are allowed in the Imperial City. Bravil and Leyawiin are the first cities to fall. Chorrol, Anvil, Skingrad, and Cheydinal are all attacked simultaneously and fall hastily.

Shadow Knights lead patrols across Cyrodiil, hunting for any survivors.

Zalphon
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Name: Nym Dralas
Race: Dark Elf (Dunmer)
Age: 23
Gender: Male
Birthsign: The Lady
Alignment: Lawful Good

Skin Color: Ashen-Gray
Eye Color: Deep Red
Hair Color: Black as night.
Hair Length: To his shoulder blades.
Special Appearance (Tattoo, facial hair, etc): His body is scarred.

Class: Shadow Knight
Class Description: A Shadow Knight is one of the elite trained necromancers who’re skilled in magic, as well as in physical combat.

Skills (Morrowind Skills)
Major Skills (5): Long Blade, Heavy Armor, Conjuration, Destruction, Speechcraft
Minor Skills (5): Restoration, Block, Marksman, Armorer, Hand-to-Hand

Armor: A Suit of Blackened Steel Armor without a helm. As well as a kite shield that is made of the same material.
Weapon(s): A long sword made of blackened steel. The hilt is white, and the pommel has a ruby.
Food/Drink: A wrapped up loaf of bread and a bag of nix-hound jerky.
Alchemical (and Potions): A Mortar and Pestle and several herbs.
Literature: A journal with a quill and vial of black ink.
Personal Items: None.
Gold: None.

Biography: Nym was born to two peasants. Raynil and Drusilla Dralas were his parents. Raynil was a farmer who worked on a farm right outside the gates of Skingrad. Drusilla was the caretaker of Nym and his younger sister, Saraya.

Raynil’s body couldn’t suffer the abuse of the farm any longer when Nym turned twelve. The broken old man died a few weeks later from Blacklung. Drusilla fell into a spiraling depression after the death of her soul mate.

During Nym’s later adolescence, Drusilla took a knife to her own heart so she wouldn’t have to bare the suffering of life anymore. Forced to take actions, Nym joined the Fighters’ Guild so he could support himself and his younger sister.

Nym quickly became revered by his fellow guild members. Saraya eventually left Skingrad for a new home. Saraya didn’t tell her brother where she was headed; she just vanished from his life.
In search of his sister, he left Skingrad. A few miles outside of Skingrad, he was ambushed by several nightblades. They brought him to Mournhold; a city that was once filled with life was now filled with necromancers, skeletal soldiers, and shadow knights.

He joined the Order of the Black Dragon and became a Shadow Knight Squire. His superiors found that he had a natural talent with the blade and an innate aura of fear. Knight-Lord Gray commended him for his extraordinary talents.

He became a full Shadow Knight. He led the Death’s Fist legion in Hammerfell, which wrought havoc across the province. Nym ordered his top nightblade to assassinate the leader, when it happened, the Order of the Black Dragon was in complete control.

For taking over Hammerfell using only his legion, he became a member of the Caste of the Black Soul. He was then charged with taking Cyrodiil by Knight-Lord Gray. When the Death’s Fist legion was destroyed at Skingrad by the Colin Draconis and an army of battle-mages, he was to be executed.

He escaped and headed to Elsweyr to hide. The desert was in control of the Order of the Black Dragon, but he managed to hide in the dunes. For months, every time he went to sleep he had nightmares about his time with the Order of the Black Dragon.

Every time he slept, he remembered seeing the faces of those that met with his blade or were slain by his spells. He felt a sense of deep remorse for his gratuitous violence in the name of the Order of the Black Dragon.

He swore an oath to repent. The Shadow Knight was going to use his power over the dead and his training to battle the Order of the Black Dragon…

Jack Cloudy
----------------

Name: Swift-like-Fish
Race: Argonian
Age: 42
Gender: male
Birthsign: Serpent
Alignment: lawful neutral
Skin Color: rusty brown
Eye Color: red
Hair Color: none.
Hair Length: zero
Special Appearance (Tattoo, facial hair, etc): He's got a double row of short spines running from his snouth and down his spine. Also a few minor scars from when he got bitten by carnivorous fish. Other than that, he looks like any regular Argonian. Scaly, thick muscly tail, blunt claws at the end of each digit, gills etc.

Class: Fisherman
Class Description:
A fisherman is just that, someone who fishes. Whether it is by harpoon, bare hands or using the pole, fishermen are a patient lot and often as adept at swimming as the prey they hunt.

Skills (Morrowind Skills)
Major Skills (5):
spear (Only light ones used for fishing. Don't expect him to hold a macedonian pike for long)
swimming (was this in Morrowind? I remember it being in Daggerfall at least)
short blade (for preparing fish mostly)
hand-to-hand (if you don't have any tools, you can always try grabbing them)
athleticism

Minor Skills (5):
unarmored
sneak (not moving, but he's pretty good at waiting quietly)

Ok...I'm really just trying to come up with something to fill out the list at this point
speechcraft
armorer (not much, but he knows how to fix his own stuff at least)
alteration (for swimming really damn fast)

Armor: none. He wears a simple set of pants, and a belt and harness (as in, set of belts strapped across his torso, not the weapon-stopping kind) to hang stuff from.

Weapon(s): A fishing pole, a small harpoon and a tiny knife for gutting fish
Food/Drink: He found some fruit that didn't look contaminated. No canteen though as his profession brings him close to all the drinkable water he needs...up till now at least
Alchemical (and Potions): none
Literature: none
Personal Items: Only what is already listed.
Gold: none

Biography:

Swift-like-Fish was a normal Argonian fisherman, living at the edge between Cyrodill and the Black Marsh where he spent his days fishing and doing nothing really worth mentioning.

This changed when the Black Marsh became contaminated by some sort of plague and started dying. Being an Argonian and having taken regular trips down south, Swift-like-Fish noticed the change before the disease started claiming lives. Over the past few months he has watched the lands of his people die without knowing what caused it or how to stop it.

Now that the plague is creeping up to his home on the border, he has decided he can't watch it any longer. He planned to trek north, hoping that if he could just get the ear of someone important, preferably a mage, something might be done. He hoped to be back home in a week or so, but right as he was packing his bags, an armed gang appeared at the edge of town. They didn't even make any demands or anything but just started murdering the inhabitants. Panicking, Swift only grabbed the tools of his trade on instinct before escaping into the river.

Grif11
-----------

Name:Falius (pronounced fail-ee-us)
Race:Bosmer
Age:19
Gender:Male
Birthsign:The lady
Alignment:Good, not perfect

Skin colour:Lightly tanned
Eye colour:Sky blue
Hair colour:Dark brown
Hair length:Shoulder length, tied into a ponytail
Special appearence:Left ear has the top cut off and has a tattoo of a bow firing a flaming arrow on his back

Class:Explain about DnD please before I do this

Major skills (will put obivion skills here):Marksman, blade, sneak, athletics & acrobatics
Minor skills:Restoration, Alchemy (poisons), mercantile (selling skins, hides)

Armour: the leather set that was his fathers. it steady's an archers hands
Weapons:An elven bow and his brothers hunting knife
Food/drink:A loaf of bread, apple and his flask of mead
Alchemical: An apprentice mortar & pestle and some drain health poisons
Literature:Mixed war tactics

Personal Items:The armour, flask and knife from his family chest
Gold:Keeps at least 50 gold at all times

Biography: Falius was born and raised in a small village in the heart of valenwood. From as early as 8 years old, Falius showed great skill with his fathers old bow. He could hit the dead centre of a straw target as far as 20 metres away.At the age of 13, Falius's dad took him deer hunting, where he managed to kill and skin 3 large deer.

On their way back from hunting, Falius and his dad were attacked by a lich. The lich killed Falius's dad instantly and lunged at Falius's head with a bloody, rusted knife. Falius rolled out of the way but was too slow and a third of his left ear was cut off. Ignoring the pain, he quickly notched an arrow and shot the lich the the lich through the head, killing it instantly.

Sprinting home, he arrived at a heartbreaking scene. The entire village had been set ablaze. Running over to his house at the back of the village, he found the corpse of his mother, raped and blood-soaked. At first he thought it was bandits, but then renembered the lich. It couldn't have been a coincidence, necromancers had destroyed his life.

He looked through the wrecked house for anything useful and found a chest. inside he found a flask of his mothers homemade mead, his deceased brothers hunting knife and his dads armour.

And so Falius, 6 years later found himself going to cyrodiil.

Rules

• I control important non-player characters.
• Do not kill or steal from other players.
• Do not create your own birth sign or race.
• Please have an original back story.
• Have fun.

Posted by: Zalphon Dec 29 2010, 09:52 PM

Nym looked at the others in the Council Room of the White-Gold Tower. A rusty-brown scaled Argonian and a Bosmer. The Arch Mage was a tall breton man of a young age. He had shoulder-length blonde hair and was pale. "You, Ashenborn," He spit in Nym's face. "You were at High Rock."

"Indeed I was," the Dunmer replied. "I made mistakes, Mage. That's why I'm here."

The blue-robed wizard slammed his fist on the round table. "We need to take back Cyrodiil, it's their base of operations."

Nym sighed, "Anyone have any ideas?"

Posted by: grif11 Dec 29 2010, 11:55 PM

"well first of all, were going to need an army," The Bosmer said while fletching some arrows. "A division of legion guards and a few wayward mercs aint gonna frighten those bone-raisers".

Posted by: jack cloudy Dec 30 2010, 01:38 PM

Swift-Like-Fish could barely keep himself from openly staring at everything around him, whether it was the room, the furniture or the people. He had been thinking about it for the last few hours yet he still didn't know how he got here in the first place. All he remembered was that after the gates turned him away, he swam through a crack in the citywalls just below the waterline. When he tried to get someone to hear his problems though, he was instead dragged to this place.
Just what did people want from him? The young elf just started talking about armies. Did they want him to fight a war?!
"This one hunts fish, not people. What advice is there to give when this one doesn't even know what these 'bone-raisers' are? Would you ask a maker of houses how to farm?" The Argonian objected before giving it some more thought.

"But no, this one does not suggest an army. The great school of fish feels secure in the company of its brethren. It has many eyes to find the careless hunter who stays in the open. But when the light harpoon strikes from cover, it will respond slowly and the fish will get in each other’s path. That is why the hunter acts alone. Many hunters in a great school of their own would merely mean more chances for the school to find the danger and flee. The ones who attacked this one’s village were not an army. They were a small group, a dozen strong at best. How can an army respond to the swift movements of these hunters? By splitting up and searching in many places? An army that splits up is no longer an army and like the hunter who works with the bow on the open field but is unfamiliar with traps in the woods, it would lose all of its effectiveness.” He said slowly, speaking the words as he found them.

“The army, if it can be gotten, let it be gotten. But keep it here, to ensure the safety of at least this place. For the hunt, this one suggests small packs of hunters used to laying traps and the deception of shadows. But where to find them? A mere laborer, craftsman or merchant would take months to learn the basics. Are there any hunters in this city of stone?”



OOC: Third-person speech is though. I keep writing in first-person and then have to correct myself. smile.gif Also, I probably made a mistake by having Swift describe the whole thing as if there are a bunch of guerillas running around and no big armies. The best excuse I can give is that his experience was restricted to a small group. He doesn't know that there are big armies of undead. (Maybe his village was attacked by a pack of black skulls trying to impress their superiors.)

Posted by: grif11 Jan 1 2011, 04:20 AM

"your asking the wrong guy, but im guessing not. that leaves you and me" Falius said,finishing his arrowmaking and collecting the strips of wood off the floor. "From the look of it, the Legion doesn't specialize in sneaking around and mages aren't ones to hide in shadows." He took the hunting knife he had been carving with off the table and started flipping it around with a simple telekinesis spell. The blade was steel with a blue, metalic hilt. "Are you the sneaking kind... Nym was it?

Posted by: Zalphon Jan 3 2011, 04:38 AM

Nym glanced at him, "I'm a Shadow Knight, my word is my oath and I fight with honor. I'm not a cowardly and pathetic assassin, I fight to the death when my enemy knows it."

"Honorable, huh?" Colin snorted. "And the Gray Fox never stole a thing."

"Watch your tongue, or I'll rip it out," the Dunmer growled.

"I have an idea," Nym continued. "Bruma is their least-defended territory, so if we send a small strike team to Bruma, us, they'll be distracted so the Mages' Guild can strike another city. Thoughts?"

Posted by: ureniashtram Jan 4 2011, 08:34 AM

Cyldreen observed the trampled ground beneath him with intense focus. He was heading towards the Imperial City when he stumbled upon the tracks which he was now studying. His instincts told him to check on it, just in case. The woods around him were quiet and even the wind dared not blow a gentle breeze. Magnus' rays filtered through thick legions of leaves, creating a deceptively beautiful sight. The golden masked breton kept cautiousness as he studied the mark left by some thing or someone. After all, there could be a squad of shadow knights patrolling. He relished at the thought.

... and judging by how deep it goes, I'd say barefooted or wearing light boots. That's it then. This was made by either man or mer several hours ago and they either wore boots or none at all. Strange for this to be the only track, though.. Oh well, time for a more thorough search then.

He inhaled deep and closed his eyes. In his mind, he imagined the scenery before him and touching the trampled ground, he cast the spell he was readying. He let out a shaky breath as the feeling of magicka surged through his arms like a serpent and his skin becme pricked at the tingling sensation.

Finally, he opened his eyes to see..

Nothing.

Momentarily baffled, he tried again, this time though with doubled amount of magicka. Still, he saw only bleak and the colorlesss void, rather than the usual pinkish glow of sacred life.

Minutes of thinking theories of why his spell failed coursed through his mind like the River Niben. Then, realization hit him hard across the face.

"Undead."

He reached out for the halberd in his back and scanned his surroundings wiith a leering eye. Silence only replied to his piercing gaze. The breton hmm-ed, before casting a spell that detects signs of life. He smiled sadistically as five pink glows were on top of trees, cunningly hiding them from any unsuspecting eyes.

Must have been following me. Sleeping Beauty is going to shed some blood today, how lucky for me.

Ideas and strategies already formed on his head when he drew a knife and threw it at one of the glowing shapes. He felt a satisfying sound of metal piercing flesh, followed by a hiss and a thud.

Simultenously, the remaining figures dropped down and surrounded the smilling Cyldreen. The breton dispelled the spell and he got a good look at his hunters. They were all clad in black leather that covered all of their bodies and the stench of death and decay hung around them as if incense.
There was no denying it.
They were of the Black Dragon. Cyldreen toook a defensive stance and studied his hunters. By the way they gripped their weapons, they were obviously trained amateurs. Aspirants. Their offensive stance also spoke volumes of their skill. This would a massacre.

A battlecry erupted from behind Cyldreen and the breton immediately swung around with his halberd to face his opponent while simultenously crouching. Blood soilled the ground as both of the nercomancer's legs were cleaved off and he fainted when he witnessed his leg land beside his head.

One of the aspirants charged from the left, his shortsword raised high in the air with bloodlust on his eyes. Cyldreen waited for the moment when he would strike, and when that came, he leapt at his feet and his halberd tore the aspirant into twos. His intestines flew like birds.

The remaining aspirants warily took a step back from the laughing Cyldreen. The aspirants didn't know what to be afraid of more; his skill with a halberd or his spine-chilling mirth. One of the aspirants, probably the leader, made a gesture with his hands and the two began circling the Breton, stopping at his left and right side.

They plan on rushing me, then?

The two charged and one of them, the one on the left, jumped to quickly close the distance between his shortsword and Cyldreen. Sadly, his plan failed as he was impaled between his ribs. But the execution of this particular aspirant wasn't over yet. With immense strength, Cyldreen swirled and threw him of the spear and into the other aspirant charging. They both flew and landed in a crumpled mess.

Cyldreen turned his attention to the leader, and his golden eyes overwhelmed the leader's green ones. The black armored recruit held his sword in front of him in a pathetic excuse for defense. A throaty laugh came out of Cyldreen's mouth.

The aspirant, filled with his desire to surve and flee, panicked and charged Cyldreen with suprising speed. The breton was hardly bewildered, and let the aspirant swing a few wild slashes before knocking him to the floor with the blunt end of his halberd. The aspirant gasped for air and scrambled to reach the handle of his sword but a bone-wrecking kick to the chest prevented him from doing so.

Wide-eyed, he can only stare as the golden-masked monster in front of him raised the halberd. That was the only thing he saw before his life ended by his skull being splited in two. Gray matter and bone fragments flew into the air.

As Cyldreen turned to resume his travel to the Imperial City, he heard a pained grunt and a string of curses. He remembered that one of the aspirants survived.

He went to the aspirant struggling to push his dead ally on top of him and putted him out of his misery by decapitation.

"Another day in the depraved world we live in," he laughed as he resumed his walk to the Imperial City. being hired by the Emperor of Cyrodiil as a mercenary should be interesting, he thought.

Posted by: jack cloudy Jan 4 2011, 09:15 PM

Swift-like-Fish flinched at the Dunmer's outburst.
"As this one said before, fish is what he hunts, not people. That said, this one requires the mages guild to heal the disease that kills the land, before it can spread further. If the mage guild is preoccupied by this matter, they cannot go to attend to this one's problem." He said after the Dunmer had seemingly calmed down a bit.
"So this one shall go to this place called Bruma and offer what help this one can give. But this one must restate that this one hunts for food, not for ideals. So this one will help provide food for the travellers, but likely be of little use in a...confrontation of steel."

Posted by: grif11 Jan 4 2011, 11:03 PM

"well, I guess were gonna make a good team. We got a knight, hunter and fisher." Falius announced, excited to finally see some action. "thing is, I understand your idea of small, stealthy groups Argonian, but 2 fighters arent enough. The black dragon are highly skilled soldiers, and I've never been in a real fight. Killed a lich but thats all."

Posted by: ureniashtram Jan 5 2011, 02:53 AM

"None may enter into the White Gold Tower, only those with authority or authorized from the higher-ups can," the lone Royal Guard mechanically declared as Cyldreen neared the entrance of the great building.

The way he said it told Cyldreen's insticts that this particular guard experienced more than one intrepid adventurer trying to get into the sacred tower.

"I have this paper of the contract," the breton replied while fishing for the envelope that he received months ago. When his hand felt something rough, he pulled it out and seeing that it was the contract, handed it to the passive guard. The Imperial scanned it nummerous times, probably to check if it was a fake, and when he was done he returned it to Cyldreen with a shaky smile.

"Your one of the mercenaries hired by His Majesty? Well then, please enter and try not to be loud. There is a meeting in the council room and all of the mercenaries are expected to be there," he then raised a closed fist over his chest. "Vale."

Cyldreen returned the sentiment with a nod. Before he could open the great oaken doors to the Tower, a thought occured to him. This guard might have some information about the other mercenaries.

He faked a cough to gain the Imperial's attention, and when he did, Cyldreen asked.

"How many mercenaries did His Majesty hired?" The guard suddenly turned his eyes away from Cyldreen's and the breton caught a glimpse of shame and anger on it before it disappeared.

"Three arrived earlier than you, so that makes four."

This is just getting better and better. So the long lost son of Saint Martin is a genius that hires four people to reclaim his shattered Empire. I need him to double my award when this is all said and done.

One of them is a Dunmer named Nym Dralas. Something . . about him feels wrong, though. Everytime I see him, I feel this unusual feeling creep over. Probably just my imagination. The second one is a bosmer named Falius. His shady personality reminds me . . never mind. And the last is an Argonian," he then leaned over as if the thing he would say was a secret. "Between you and me, I don't think that Argonian is a proper sellsword. He doesn't even have proper equipment!"

The breton processed this with a mind that conceived several ideas. But for now, he can put aside them for a time when they were needed. He thanked the guard with another nod and with a deep breath, pushed opened the gates that lead into the very confines of the Royal Palace.

The first he noticed was how dark it was. The torches that lined against the wall did little help to illuminate the hallways. The second thing his eyes laid upon was the gigantic door infront of him, and streaks of light escaped through cracks.

Not wasting another time, he grasped the surface of the gate and just before he can apply force to push it, he heard several voices talking about attacking Bruma so the Mage's Guild can attack another city, but one caught his ear.

"Well, I guess were gonna make a good team. We got a knight, hunter and fisher. Thing is, I understand your idea of small, stealthy groups Argonian, but two fighters aren't enough. The Black Dragon are highly skilled soldiers, and I've never been in a real fight. Killed a lich but that's all." Judging from the voice, Cyldreen suppposed the speaker was an elf.

Time to make my dramatic entrance.

With a grunt, he opened the door and blinding light fillled his vision. His vision was lost to him for several seconds, before it disappeareed and showed large round table with several people sitting. He smiled beneath his mask, which is undoubtly shining, and shot a glance at the occupants of the council room.

One was an Argonian, with his scales being brown rather than the usual red one would come to expect from the Argonians. A harness of somekind was wrapped around his torso and various tools and utensils was hanged. Cyldreen recognize those tools, they were of use for fishermen.

The second one he noticed was a fellow breton. His appearance was normal for anyone who dwells in High Rock; skin pale as the moon, blonde hair that signifies royalty, pronounced cheekbones, pointy nose and piercing blue eyes as sharp as a dagger. His body was covered by the robes of a mage.

The third one was a tanned skin bosmer and a set if leather protected his body. His brown hair was tied into a pony tail and his sky-blue eyes was currently checking arrows.

There was also another one, but it's back was facing Cyldreen so the breton didn't know what race or gender it is. But the heavy plate armor it wore confirmed it a male.

"I agree. Such a small strike force would be futile and ultimately be massacred. And from what I gather, the Legions are too busy guarding the Imperial City to do help. What I propose is this;

We acquire a set of disguises and fake identities to go inside Bruma. Once inside we need to find the high-ranking members and eliminate them. Once the powerful ones are dead, we can then deal with the weaklings. A twisted version of divide et impera. I do not care if you despise sneaking around. You need to take back Cyrodiil, then you use your mind and not always rely on your brawn. Thoughts?"

The blonde mage raised his hand.

"Yes. Who in the blazes are you?"

"Cyldreen Mon'Cheri, at your service."

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EDIT: Why don't you create a Planning Thread, Zalphon?

Posted by: Dantrag Jan 6 2011, 07:20 AM

Aerona walked the lifeless streets of the once proud Imperial City, heading towards its center. Ahead of her walked a man, Imperial or Breton, she could not tell, but he wore heavy chainmail and a golden mask. She made an effort to walk slowly enough so that she would not catch up. It wasn't that she was afraid, simply wary of the stranger.

She watched the man enter the tower after a short conversation with the guard and the presentation of papers. She had papers too, but she doubted they were the same.

"Hello, Inius," she greeted the guard at the door once the strange man went inside.

"Aerona, there is no call for a healer right now. There is important business being discussed inside. You cannot disturb them."

"And yet you know I must," she said flatly, but not unkindly.

Inius sighed, "Still speaking for the refugees, huh? Well the Emperor has called for mercenaries. There aren't enough troops to manage anymore. You know we can't let the refugees in. We are burdened enough as it is."

"Mother Mara abandons no one. Why should we? Besides, there are skilled ones among the refugees. Blacksmiths, hunters, farmers, builders. We need to be working together, not leaving each other to the wolves."

"You have a kind heart lass, but I can't help you this time. This goes above me."

"These papers allow me access to the tower, as you know. Let me pass, please, Inius."

The guard shook his head, "Those papers are no good today. Farewell."

Aerona crossed her arms and assumed a stubborn stance, "I enter this tower nearly every day."

"I know. Just not today."

She narrowed her eyes, "There is nothing I can do to get inside right now?"

"Not without the papers."

"Where do I get these papers?"

The two stared at each other for a few long moments before Inius finally caved, "I knew this would happen as soon as these went through the ranks," he said, producing some parchment from underneath his breastplate.

"Knew what would happen?"

Inius explained, "These came from higher up the chain. Told us to give them to talented warriors or otherwise promising people we may happen across. You're the only one of those I know that doesn't already have an official task here in the city."

"I see. No turning back once I go inside, then?"

Inius shrugged, "All I know is that it's up to you. And if you do go inside, be careful. Those other mercs aren't exactly the saintly type."

She took a deep breath and snatched the papers from his hand, "Let me in, then. I'll speak my peace and if I must go hunt down a lich afterwards, may Mara watch over me."

She entered the tower without waiting for Inius' response. The huge doors that guarded the Council Chambers were swung wide open, and the man she had seen earlier stood between them. She approached in time to hear his name.

"Cyldreen Mon'Cheri, at your service," he announced.

Aerona stepped in a bit sheepishly, "Um, excuse me? Am I in the right place?" All of her confidence seemed to have been left outside.

She held her newly-acquired papers out for some sort of approval. The head of the Mages Guild was here, but the other faces were unfamiliar, scary even, except for the argonian, and maybe the bosmer, but he seemed difficult to read.

Oh, Mara, what have I done?

Posted by: jack cloudy Jan 7 2011, 04:27 PM

Swift-like-Fish turned to the doors when they were opened, quite loudly even to his less than excellent ears. In the opening stood a man with a face of metal, or one who was simply wearing an elaborate mask.
"The latter" The Argonian decided. That still left the matter of what blood the man possessed, or whether he was a man at all. All Swift could conclude was that he most certainly wasn't looking at either Khajiit or Argonian. The shape of the stranger was definitely more human or elfish.

Apparantly unaware of how sudden his entry was, the man immediately got himself involved with the council, listing a plan that was both brutally honest as it was terrifying. Disguises and murder. Truthfully, it was close to what Swift himself had proposed, but to have it put so bluntly was something else.

"Why are..." The Argonian began to ask, but interupted himself when he noticed there wasn't one newcomer, but two. The fisherman leaned back on his stool so he could gaze around the shiny-faced Cyldreen and observe who was with him.


OOC: I'm gonna shut up for now. I don't think Swift would really take the lead in conversing with anyone at this point.

Posted by: grif11 Jan 7 2011, 06:45 PM

"heh heh heh,"Falius chuckled. "looks like our little group of soldiers just grew by two."

maybe this wouldnt be so hopeless. The guy in the mask looked like a strong fighter and the dunmer definately looked like a mage.

"I like the plan, thing is, how are we gonna get the outfits. If we want in, we gotta look like one of the high rankers. Thats a real fight. not to mention were gonna need at least three. also, theres going to be some password to get in."

Posted by: ureniashtram Jan 8 2011, 02:38 AM



Cyldreen turned around and his eyes met those of a Dunmer. A female dunmer. It wasn't her gender that confused the breton though, rather it was her attire and lack of a weapon. She wore a simple robe that signified her as priestess of a church. What religion she placed her faith in, Cyldreen did not know but being in Cyrodiil, the spy supposed the Nine Divines is her patrons.

His eyes narrowed into cat-like slits, serpentine concentration took over his mind and using his past skills as a spy, quickly analyzed the mer in front of him.

If she is a priestess, then she must know some healing magick. The way she holds her posture tells me that some kind of discipline is taught to her. I know not why is she here, but my instincts tell me that she my be of help.

"If you want to help us retake Cyrodiil, then welcome." He then gave her a bow and his attention switched from the Dunmer to the Wood-Elf as the bosmer spoke.

"I like the plan, thing is, how are we gonna get the outfits. If we want in, we gotta look like one of the high rankers. That's a real fight. Not to mention were gonna need at least three. Also, there's going to be some password to get in."

Cyldreen leaned his head backwards and released a laugh that spoke volumes about his insanity.

"That's why you need a spy for that. That's why you need me."

Posted by: Dantrag Jan 8 2011, 09:25 AM

Aerona cleared her throat to get some attention before she fell too far behind, "What do we need to get into, exactly?"

Another thought crossed her mind in that instant, and she didn't wait for an answer, "But no matter where it is, why would you risk dressing as an official? Their faces are known among many. I'm no spy," she gave a polite nod of deference to Cyldreen, "But wouldn't you garner less attention by blending into the ranks?"

She wasn't ready to agree to helping just yet, but somehow it seemed that she was already expected to. They must have been desperate for help, she thought, for they hadn't even determined what, if anything, she had to offer them.

Posted by: grif11 Jan 8 2011, 11:59 AM

Falius was getting impatient. All talk about plans and no action. Besides, He felt claustrophopic. not that the council chamber wasnt big, He just hated being inside places with big walls. He loved wide open planes and forests, not high walled cities.

"Look, Im outta ideas. Im just gonna get a head start and travel to bruma. See you there!"

He got out his seat and ran past the spy and mage.

Posted by: ureniashtram Jan 9 2011, 06:54 PM


Cyldreen was about to answer the dunmer girl before the Bosmer spoke about having not any ideas anymore and scouting the city of Bruma ahead of them.

"Hey! Don't," by now the young elf ran past him. "go ahead of us."

Damn it all to Malacath's realm.

"Well? Since the fool gave in to youth's impatience, I suggest we follow after him. Heaven knows that if ventures out alone in a city full of necromancers, he would certainly be captured or worse." he said. "Kids these days.."

Posted by: jack cloudy Jan 10 2011, 07:50 PM

Swift-like-Fish nodded. Falius running off had caught him by surprise and he had been tempted to run after the young elf. But he was no runner and knew he would not catch up with him. Water was his terrain, not cobbled streets or dirt roads.
"This one agrees. To rush off without a plan is foolish. However, we should not do the same. Let him run for now. Soon enough, his legs will tire. Let us ask for a wagon and a fine horse to pull it. Let us obtain maps, food for the road and any other small items one deems needed. Even with the time spent aquiring all of these, we should still be able to catch up with one lone elf who walks by his feet." He hissed.

"We could leave now and finish creating a plan of action while travelling. If special clothes and stolen identities are needed, this one doubts they shall be found here, in this city that claims not to harbor any of the ones we seek."

Posted by: ureniashtram Jan 11 2011, 04:15 PM



"This one agrees. To rush off without a plan is foolish. However, we should not do the same. Let him run for now. Soon enough, his legs will tire. Let us ask for a wagon and a fine horse to pull it. Let us obtain maps, food for the road and any other small items one deems needed. Even with the time spent aquiring all of these, we should still be able to catch up with one lone elf who walks by his feet.

We could leave now and finish creating a plan of action while travelling. If special clothes and stolen identities are needed, this one doubts they shall be found here, in this city that claims not to harbor any of the ones we seek."

It was the Argonian who spoke this time, his reptillian voice hissing as he said each word. Cyldreen could only reply with an appraising nod.

"Agreed." He then turned around to the remaining people at the Councilroom; which was the Argonian, the lady Dunmer, the Breton and the mysterious one who was clad in plate armor.

"Is it settled, then? We gather the essentials and give pursuit at the young Woodmer?"

Posted by: grif11 Jan 16 2011, 12:18 AM

Falius breathed in the fresh air. Not even an army of necromancers and undead could mask the smell of the forest. Falius climbed the nearest tree and headed North, leaping from tree to tree.

He had been travelling for a while now and had covered a lot of ground, but something had started to make him feel uneasy. He lept down from a tree and drew his bow. Suddenly, an ice cold blast hit him. He went to draw an arrow but found he couldent move."dammit, he thought,"paralysed!"

Posted by: grif11 Jan 16 2011, 12:33 AM

"hmmm, this one will make a good worm thrall."A chilling voice said. Falius would have shiverred if he could."young, fit, and has a strong pulse."
"perfect," Falius thought "A necromaner AND a vampire. They better hope I dont recover soon."
"Throw him in the back with the others, Wart-rag!" The vampire shouted.
"Y-y-yes master." Wart-rag cowered. Next thing he new, someone had picked him up and thrown him into the back of a rotten cart.

OOC: not back yet, stopped by friends for a day

Posted by: Dantrag Jan 16 2011, 06:40 PM

Things were not looking great, Aerona thought. One of them had impatiently ran off, while she and the others still tried to plan a course of action.

"We should make the preparations soon," she said, "You may be surprised at how fast a bosmer moves through the forests."

Posted by: Dantrag Jan 24 2011, 10:27 PM

Colin Draconis sighed; this plan was already falling apart, and yet it was their only hope.

"The lady is right. Time is of the essence. Galius," he said, pointing to a nearby guard, "Prepare horses and give them each three food rations. Whatever we can spare."

The guard left obediently and Draconis turned to face the unlikely companions.

"Infiltrate Bruma. Find out what you can about their defenses, and weaken them where you may. When you discover something to report, you will find a Mage's Guild contact in Cloud Ruler Temple."

Galius returned shortly, "The preparations have been made."

"Go now then, friends, and may the Nine guide you."

Posted by: jack cloudy Jan 25 2011, 04:13 PM

Swift-like-Fish slipped off his stool and bowed to Draconis.
"Then this one shall take leave and go to the city of snow. Nine guide you as well, sir." He said before turning towards the guard who had taken care of the arrangements.
"This one fears his knowledge of the paths in this place are lacking. This one would humbly request to the steel-covered man to guide this one to the place where horses await."

Posted by: Dantrag Jan 27 2011, 06:01 AM

OOC: I liked jack's wagon idea, and threw in an extra horse in case ureniashtram didn't.

The guard led them outside, and Aerona fell in step behind the Argonian. They were brought to the stables, where two horses awaited them. One of them was hitched to a small wagon. It had a seat in the front, wide enough for two, and the back could hold another two lying down, if their rations hadn't been loaded in.

"You'll need to have the horses take turns pulling the wagon, or one won't live long," the guard advised, "All the food we could spare you is in there, along with a few waterskins."

"Thank you, sir," Aerona said as she took her small knapsack off her shoulder and dropped it in the wagon. The guard bid farewell, leaving the three (ooc: is that the right number now?) of them alone. The gravity of the situation struck her very suddenly; she was traveling halfway across a war-torn country with complete strangers, and only the one called Cyldreen seemed to be a warrior. She remembered a dark elf from inside (Nym was it?) and wished he was coming along as well. Even though she had been a bit unnerved by him, another able fighter could do a lot of good.

He must have his own business to attend. she thought, And now we have ours.

"So..." she said before taking a deep breath, "I guess it's time."

Posted by: ureniashtram Jan 27 2011, 08:41 AM


Cyldreen simply remained silent as the rush of things took its momentum.

He followed the guard and the other two where the stables were at and simply nodded a thanks to the guard when they approached the wagon. It was rickety and the horses seemed frail. It was unbecoming of the Empire, but then again the Empire consisted only of the Imperial City nowadays.

His attention drifted to the task that lay ahead of him.

He would've laughed at the absurdity of it all; three strangers who barely know each other are tasked to bring a city down. But this was the chance to strike at the order of the Black Dragon. And he would grasp this chance no matter what, even if the situation was dire.

The voice of the elf shook him to the present.

"Yes. This stark dream that we call reality is slowly turning into a nightmare. Let's go."

OOC: Is this a good time to create a new RP? Jus' askin.

Posted by: jack cloudy Jan 27 2011, 10:06 PM

Swift-like-Fish climbed onto the wagon without a word. He knew it wasn't perhaps the politest thing to do, claiming a place without asking. On the other hand though, he did not know how to ride a horse and would only slow them down if he were to walk. Walking for long periods of time wasn't impossible for him, but something quicker than that, such as a military march or equivalent, was.

Both his companions expressed their sentiments about leaving. The Argonian bowed his head at the departing guard.
"Then we shall depart. This one thanks you for your aid and wishes safety to you and your kin in the coming days." He spoke and shifted in his seat. His tail was bend against the back of the seat in a distinctly uncomfortable way.
"Who wishes to read the map? This one is afraid that this one's knowledge of the northern province is as lacking as this one's skill at reading." He asked and at the same time gently coaxed the horse drawing the wagon to begin walking. Handling a horsedrawn wagon was also a new experience for him, but the horse was timid and he had seen it done often enough to manage.

Posted by: Dantrag Jan 28 2011, 07:12 AM

"I can read it," Aerona volunteered, taking a seat next to the argonian. It was unnecessary at this stage of the journey, but she took a look at it anyway, wondering how long it would be safe to travel along the roads. She didn't voice her concerns just yet; the mood was somber enough as it was.

The wagon moved, and they were headed west, towards the fork in the road that would allow them to turn northwards. It should have been a beautiful day, but somehow the land seemed ominous. She couldn't put a finger on it, but it was as if a sickness had spread through the ground, affecting the grass, the trees, and even the sky. She looked over at Cyldreen, who rode alongside them, and then to the argonian, trying to tell if they had the same feeling or not. It wasn't until they reached the fork that she spoke again.

"Turn to the right here," she said to her scaled driver, "My name is Aerona, by the way, I don't believe we've actually met."

ooc: fort empire actually made perfect sense; you kinda have to leave the city on the western side because of the lake.

Posted by: ureniashtram Jan 28 2011, 11:29 AM

OOC: Fort Empire then. We still have to think about.. Never mind. I'll just PM Ahren.

The argonian said something about a map and the dunmer volunteering to read it for him. With the elf taking a seat behind the reptillian, it made Cyldreen ride the old nag of a Chestnut breed. The beast at first felt uncomfortable, the breton supposed that the horse didn't had a rider since now, but promptly calmed down with a few soothing words and an apple.

As they reached a fork on the road, the dunmer instructed the Argonian to take right and also introduced her name.

Aerona, she said.

He was about to remark a comment about it being a strange name for a dunmer and hopely have a conversation, when the burning smell of warped wood and the unexpected rotten pragrance of blood intruded upon Cyldreen's senses.

He looked at the others. They didn't seem to smell it.

Cyldreen drew Sleeping Beauty and cast the spell of sight-enhancing magick. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, only the ruined walls of a fort long destroyed. That made Cyldreen grip his halberd tighter and keep cautiousness at his side.

He considered scouting ahead, but with a mage and a barely equipped argonian guarding their supplies, whatever made Cyldreen anxious would target those who appear to be armless.

"Be more perceptive of your surroundings, my fellow ... mercenaries. Be more aware of what you hear, what you see and what you smell. For keeping cautiousness on your side will always save your lives."
^^^^


EDIT: I allmost forgot to say that the fort I mentioned here is Nikel. That's where we'll get our disguises.

Posted by: jack cloudy Jan 29 2011, 04:50 PM

Swift-like-Fish lowered his head at the introduction.
"This one is known as Swift-" He began when Cyldreen interupted him, asking of them to be more aware of their surroundings. The Argonian let his eyes wander along the trees on each side of the path, and the ruins up ahead.

"Does the gleaming-faced man see any danger to us?" The fisherman asked anxiously. Nevertheless, he steered the wagon down the fork Aerona had indicated.
"This one admits that the lack of guardsmen on the road is disturbing, but sees no sign of bandit or wild animal." His head swung from side to side once more. Still he saw nor heard anything. No people, or signs of their passing, no birds fluttering among the trees, no mice rustling in the bushes, nothing.
"The animals are silent, a sign that a hunter is near. The metal one is right, danger approaches."


OOC: since we aren near a point of conflict, might as well ramp up the tension a bit further.

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 2 2011, 03:01 AM

Gillyed crouched behind the crumbling remains of a guardhouse wall as he watched his attackers pick through the remains of the caravan he had been travelling with. He had met up with the refugees on his way down from the mountains and had kept them company. He was just sorry he could not have kept them better protected.

When the first hail of arrows had hit the side of the wagon and taken down the horse pulling it he had called for them to take shelter, but they had been too interested in trying to gather their meager belongings, and had been cut down as the small troop of dark clad men had burst from their hiding in the rocks. Now they picked through the remains searching for a corpse they would not find.

In his head Guilid began to chant, a simple mantra to help him focus, as he did so he reached deep within his enchanted warhammer and drew forth the power kept there.
"Come all ye weak, come all ye Brave
Come all ye faithful, came all ye knaves
Cry out for the battle, cry out in your pride
Brave hunters and soldiers, we shall not hide!"
Gillyed cried out the final line of his simple battle song as he burst from his place of hiding. He caught his first would be killer in the face with the side of his shield, the solid metal holding as his supernatural strength dented the skull of the man inside, the Nord could tell as he fell that he would not rise again. He barrelled into the second man and grasped his sword wrist and shield. Focusing his will Gillyed sucked the warmth out of the air and the man, causing frost to form on the dark steel that he wore. As the man began to slow and slump Gillyed focused the gathered heat and bellowed a gout of flame through his oppponent's visor, searing the face behind.

The Nord turned and barely blocked an arrow with his shield, hearing it hiss off and clatter against the ruined stone wall behind him. Gillyed settled down into a low stance and prepared himself for the charge of the surviving 7 men. He may die in battle, but he'd leave a song worthy to be sung.

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 2 2011, 03:51 AM

Swift-something had barely gotten the words out of his mouth before a loud battle cry broke the eerie silence. A magickal glow followed, along with the sound of steel.

Aerona looked to Cyldreen as she jumped from the wagon, "If you can stick by me and keep anyone from getting too close, my spells can do a lot of good."

They could see no details of the fight from where they were, but on the other side of a crumbling stone wall it seemed that all Oblivion had broken loose again. Aerona had little real battle experience, but she knew enough to realize that concentration would be difficult while trying to avoid melee attacks. She just had to trust in Cyldreen's battle instincts, as he would have to trust her spells.

And what of the fisherman? Will he be an aid or a hindrance? her concern was real enough, but there was little time to dwell on it. He would simply have to find his niche.

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 2 2011, 06:28 PM

The Argonian bared his teeth, an unconscious response to the fear he felt. He was no fighter and harbored no illusions of his usefulness in battle. He was no hero of legend, who could instantly master the art of war. No, his place was not on the other side of those walls.

"These are not the steeds of a knight. Meek they are, yet meeting blade or spell would cause panic. This one shall take horses and wagon off the road, hide them within the bushes where they're more safe. As to you, this one can offer only prayers of fortune and safety." He therefore said as he brought the wagon to a halt.

Just to the left side of the road and scarcely five steps further ahead was an opening within the trees which seemed to lead to the kind of small clearing deer would seek when resting from the night away from hunters. All in all, that was five steps closer to the battle then he wished, but reaching the cover would be faster than turning the wagon around.
"Good fortune to you, be safe." He repeated, hoping that his companions would not find their doom within the ruins.


OOC: Well, Swift-like-Fish would probably be either a hinder or dead if he tagged along, so I figured it would be better for him to handle the horses and stay out of the way.

Posted by: Lord Revan Feb 3 2011, 09:29 PM

Nathan
OoC: I'll go into battle in my next post, just want to place him near the action right now.

After hiking many miles, the Redguard set up camp in the shelter of a rocky outcropping. Although Nathan had become accustomed to the cold, it did wonders to feel Cyrodiil's temperate climate. He shed his pack and busied himself collecting some timber for the night.

As Nathan began to circle back, he felt a warm pulse against his chest. The Redguard frowned, knowing the kind of energy his master's gem reacted to. Nathan ran back to camp, depositing the wood, and snatched his potion satchel.

Posted by: grif11 Feb 5 2011, 11:12 AM

"Oh, gods,"Falius groaned.
The paralysis had worn off, but far too late.

He had been blindfolded and thrown into a dark cell. when He could move again, he ripped the blindfold off. So, my new home huh? Falius thought.

ooc: internet still not on, stupid company say it should be on next week

Posted by: Lord Revan Feb 5 2011, 07:13 PM

Nathan

The source of the disturbance turned out to be a derelict fort. Nathan watched a wagon piloted by an Argonian peel off into the forest. He scrutinized the fort's crumbling walls and found a convenient pile of masonry to climb over.

Rather than charge toward the sounds of battle, the redguard withdrew his amulet. The gem shard pulsed and weakly guided him to the necromancer at work.

Posted by: ureniashtram Feb 5 2011, 10:32 PM


Rage boiled on Cyldreen's veins, nihilistic thoughts slow slithered its way on his mind, muscles and sinews bound for bloodshedding flexed and untensed, shallow breathing became rugged echoes whispering for vengeance, his eyes became smouldering orbs of hatred that only justice can douse and if not for the tactical words that Aerona said Cyldreen surely would've charged headlong with reckless abandon, damning the consequences just to sate his lust for the thrill of brushing with death.

He merely growled with impatience.

The breton's skin crawled everytime when battle was joined, today was no exception. His hands shook with barely restrained craving for flesh being torn asunder and even then they persists. The Breton's attention were fully on the battle several leagues ahead of him, not once did it falter on its observation. But his patience were being strained now; everytime metal clashed each other in a tempo of violence, amounts of his self control went with it. Soon, the red mist will ascend and all he would see will only be crimson.

But what is this? Do my eyes deceive me?

On the north horizon were three figures completely cloaked in feldgrau grey and ebony, daunting was their height and in their mail-covered hands they bore terrible swords which was burning in a light of palatinate purple. Beneath their hoods, only Void can be seen and two raging fires. The keen eyes of Cyldreen never failed him, this time it served him well. He detected an outline of something heavy beneath the creatures' loose robes. With his heightened sight, he discovered it was a breastplate forged with fey skill and ut glittered silverite, cold and unforgiving. A temporary terror seized Cyldreen's supposedly brave heart, and for once the fire inside him flickered weakly but returned again.

They were the Shadow Knights, and dread is what they bring for the enemies of the Black Dragon. And currently, they ignored the battle infront of them and their attention was focused on the two mercenaries; Cyldreen and the dunmer. The breton supposed with a sparse bit of arrogance that they recognize them as a threat; how did they sensed their presence instantly on a mile radius was a mystery left to be answered later.

Probably detected us by the School of Mysticism.

He briefly considered riding the horse in combat, but quickly strangled the thought. He had a few illusions of how this beast's bones would fare against undead steel. He dropped down and after being stricken with an idea, discarded his halberd in favor for his yew longbow slunged over his shoulder. The weapon felt odd at his hands for it was a long time since he held a death-dealer from afar. He could worry about his skill later; right now he reached for an arrow tucked away on a quiver by his right hip. He nocked an arrow, aimed at a particular Knight's face and let loose a bird of death. Unfortunately, the wind was hostile and the distance ate away the arrow's momentum; thus it only clinked against its armored chest. By now, the Knights were quickly closing the gap and Cyldreen rained a few more. He got a lucky hit as one arrow pierced an undead arm, sinew torn by the orcish tip.

Not a wail, not a snarl; it did not stop the fell creatures in the slightest. The Breton instantly knew that this was a foe that he dared not to underestimate and grabbed his halberd. Before the melee commenced, Cyldreen thought he would die today. But that dread feeling was crushed as he gave in to his berserking qualities. Within minutes, bloody Oblivion reincarnated in a skirmish between a raging spy against three undead Knights.

Two quickly fell, and Cyldreen did not know if they were simply lesser warriors or were brought sheer luck. But the other that remained; he who was taller than the rest and wielded a sword of immense weight, engaged the Breton in a gruesome display of their individual skill; if there was a crowd, they would've surely jeered at the scene before them. Cyldreen's mind was full of excitement and he feasted upon the adrenaline of this battle; a complete contradiction of what his cautious side warned him about.

A feral swing was parried, an elegant stroke was thrown off it's slithering course, an upward slash was firmly blocked by a horizontal blade. Cyldreen ducked under a lethal swing and routed the knight until he was beside him. Before he could deal the mortal blow, the knight swiftly swirled and using its momentum, it backhanded the breton with a clang of metal against metal.
He briefly saw stars, but it quickly faded as the man-mer regained his senses and dropped into a defensive position. It was a good move on his part for it allowed him to dodge several strokes and chops of the blade, and counterattack with his own volley of thrusts and sweeps. Of which the fell undead blocked expertly. This time, Cyldreen persisted in his attack and almost got the undead off-guard with a wide swing metamorphed into a low sweep, but the Shadow jumped and landed on the haft of Cyldreen's halberd. He immediately let his hold on Sleeping Beauty slip and backed away; if he clutched his favorite weapon before the creature landed it would surely break the halberd. So instead by backing away, he drew his axe and shortsword both and held them pointed at the fell abomination, a wordless taunt.

He was rewarded by a charging knight, sword pulled to ready a lethal thrust the other hand pointed out to him as if to freeze Cyldreen in place. And it came accompanied by a shrieking wind and with an agility that could only be expected from a colovian cobra, the spy ducked and jumped; and in mid-air he sent his shortsword and axe in an 'X' shaped slash. Both of which was stopped by the dread blade of undeath.

Cyldreen landed a few feet away from the monster and their duel began once more as they charged one another.

The two exchanged blows of which it continued for what seemed like an eternity, neither of them gaining the upper hand against the other. But it was the dread creature who finally turned the tide against Cyldreen's favor by feigning to the left. When the Breton took the bait, a ferocious kick landed on the side of his head and he was sent flying several feet away. He managed to land on his feet, albeit a little wobbly and dazed, and swiftly turned around to face the silent brute.

A burning blade aimed to eviscrate his neck greeted him, and he narrowly dodged the blow but even then he felt the sting of the tip on his neck. Much to his advantage, however, the creature staggered forward, balance lost. Cyldreen rushed with a manic gleam in his eyes, his axe and shortsword aiming the creature's neck at both right and left.

Perfect angle and undeniable strength was all it needed for a decapitation, today was not different. The headless body of the knight, which was revealed to be an Altmer, lumped forward and showered Cyldreen with the velveteen liquid. He did not mind the mess he created, his thoughts were on the skirmish several leagues of him. A nord against seven aspirants. That would be easy, if the fur-clad northener knew the weak spots of the aspirants' armor.

Cyldreen absorbed air that his lungs desperately needed and when it was satisfied, he reached for his discarded bow and once again took aim. He did not know if the Nord was an enemy and he needed to be wary of this one, even though fighting against the Black Dragon guaranteed Cyldreen's guts that he was an ally. Never hurts to be sure, he thought with a smile, and let loose an arrow headed for an aspirant's head. It miraclously embedded itself at its target and the aspirant landed with a thud.

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 5 2011, 11:23 PM

Gillyed had been patiently hiding...No he had been patiently preparing behind his shield as the aspirants maintained their onslaught of arrows. They seemed more intent of keeping him in place rather than doing much damage, and the reason became obvious as a Breton joined the frey.

The man's ferocity and skill impressed Gillyed, but there was something off about the man. Something wild and dangerous, like summoning a creature too powerful for your control. It might take joy in your cause or offence at your gall.

Gillyed turned his attention back to his dilemna. There were only a few remaining opponents now, and they were getting frustrated, making mistakes. Some he could probably use to his advantage. All it would take would be the right time to strike.

Suddenly there was a ring of metal behind him and he turned just in time to see a Dremora burst forth from the ruins.
Mages, I always forget the mages Gillyed though to himself as he weakly parried the supernatural strength behind the Dremora's axe. He would have attempted to blast it away with a spell but his magicka was low, he had been hoping to have been bombarded by spells he could have absorbed but he has used his reserves too fast and too soon.

Kicking out with the desperation of a cornered man he slammed a booted foot against the armored knee of his opponent. The Dremora went down with a cry of hatred and Gillyed forced a bolt of lightning through the Deadra's neck, not enough to kill it but the shock going through it would stun it for a second or two. In this time Gillyed made a break for the cover of a nearby wall.

Just as he reached it and was vaulting over a heavy tipped arrow slammed into his shoulder, throwing him the rest of the way over. Luckily his armor has taken most of the penetration power out of it but the pain that rocked his already tired shield arm caused him to cry out. With dwindling mana, and a fight still going on he didn't risk healing it straight away. He just hoped the new combatants would be friendly and useful.

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 6 2011, 09:22 AM

Aerona couldn't be sure if Cyldreen had even heard her earlier statement or not; he had pulled out a bow, fired shots, then rushed into battle in the blink of an eye.

Gods, he's unpredictable.

Cyldreen finished the three enemies in their proximity with little problem and no help at all from her. He'd even begun firing arrows in the direction of the real fight. She couldn't help but notice that he seemed to be in some sort of battle craze.

"Stay with me, Cyldreen, please!" she shouted, "It's more that just you here!"

She wove together two separate shield spells, then, one for Cyldreen, and the other for the strange Nord. It was done as a sort of peace offering, which she hoped would inspire enough trust to at least get through this ordeal alive. The Nord was pinned behind a stone wall by a group of archers, and was being harassed by a dremora. He dealt with the dremora well enough on his own, but Aerona recognized the work of a mage when she saw it.

That mage was her target. But where was he? Definitely not standing in the open as she was.

"Are you with me Cyldreen?" she shouted again, trying to penetrate the mental haze her comrade seemed to be entangled in, "We have to spot their mage!"

Her shouting attracted the attention of the archers, though, and a few began firing shots her way. She ducked one arrow, and another went clean through the loose folds of her sleeve. There was a short moment of panic, where she really thought she had been hit, could almost feel the arrow in her arm and the blood trickling down, but after looking found that she was fine.

Keep it together, you're fine. You're fine. You're fine. Find cover from the arrows, find the mage. Cover, mage. Come on, Aerona!

She ran towards the wall where the Nord was pinned, and dove behind it. She glanced back to make sure Cyldreen was still standing.

"We have to help each other out of this," she blurted out between heavy breaths, "Tell me, did you see the one summoning that dremora?"

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 6 2011, 03:06 PM

For a moment Gillyed had been prepared to take the opening the archers provided when they changed targets to the battle crazed Breton and his companions. But then one of them charged over to his cover and dived behind it, prompting a new hail of arrows to hiss over the top and clatter on the overgrown stones around them. He wasn't too annoyed though, at least this one had the sense to fight in a group, and he was appreciative of the shield spell she must have sent him, it was doing the three fold job of deflecting several arrows, keeping the majority of his blood in his body and restoring part of his magicka.

"The Mage? No idea as of yet" he growled "But if I had to hazard a guess, he'll be behind where their line is strongest, somewhere with a good view for him, but not for us."

The Nord paused for a moment, to reajust his shield on his arm and tighten his grip on his warhammer. "I'm going to assume your not good in a melee, but I have an idea. If we push forwards, the closer to the mage we get the more desperate he'll become. And eventually he'll give himself away. If you can keep me alive as we move forward, then I can stop anyone getting too close to you."

Posted by: ureniashtram Feb 6 2011, 04:52 PM

With a little trace of magicka flowing through his veins, Cyldreen found out earlier in his life that he could 'see' and 'feel' surges of magicka on his surroundings.

The strongest one he is currently 'feeling' was full of malign and dread and the Dunmer, although a mage, was not the one who harbored such feelings. That leaves him to pinpoint that there was another mage nearby.

If that wasn't proof enough; a trace of Oblivion being opened and a Dremora suddenly appearing closed the deal.

"Are you with me Cyldreen?"

The shout of Aerona brutally torn him from his reverie and just as he was about to answer 'yes', the dunmer ran and took cover beside the Nord. They briefly spoke but with Cyldreen's heightened hearing he heard some of the words.

It involved finding the mage and drawing him out. But how could they do when seven archers were near them?

A diversion, of course. And Cyldreen supposed that he could play the role. With renewed vigor, he rained several arrows at the aspirants in rapid succesion. He knew some of the arrows would just land several feet off their intended targets, but that was purposeful. Its intent was to supress them long enough for the nord and dunmer to rid of the troublesome mage.

"Go," he shouted at them. "I'll keep them occupied so you could do what you intend to do!"

He was careful with his words and just as so; if he blurted out their intent the enemy would surely hear and tighten their defences.

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 6 2011, 09:34 PM

Aerona was a priestess, not a battlemage, so her heart was pounding, her breaths were heavy, and her hands were shaky. It took all of her willpower to overcome the mixture of adrenalin and fear coursing through her veins.

She gathered her wits as the Nord described his plan. Cyldreen was thinking cooperatively now too, and volunteered to be their diversion. Aerona was forced to take a deep breath and steady herself. Shaky hands cast shaky spells, and she was determined not to be the weakest link today.

"Let's go," she said to the Nord, as soon as there was a short break in the arrows being shot their way. They ran, and Aerona did her best to keep her companion's shield up. An arrow came in her direction, and she used a quick telekinetic pulse to hurl it away from her. They kept moving. More arrows, but this time they fired at Cyldreen. They were gaining ground, but her magickal shields were not impenetrable, and she was not an endless well of mana.

We only need to get close enough for their bows to be useless.

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 6 2011, 10:22 PM

Gillyed charged infront of the mage, he bellowed as he ran, a barrage of curses and battlecries designed to make himself more intimidating and imposing than the fragile mage who followed him. He kept his metal shield as high as he dared to try and protect himself, and not end up tripping over a stray stone at the same time.

They were drawing closer to the archers now, and some had begun to discard their bows for shortswords and daggers, but none of them seemed too happy about making the change. Something that filled Gillyed with confidence. A group split off from the main body and took position between Gillyed and Aerona, and a cluster of rocks.

"That'll be his spot then, he'll either break for a fresh spot or join the frey." Gillyed growled. With one final bellow he slammed into the cluster of attackers turned defenders. Swords and daggers swung at him, but his thick armor and the added shield provided by Aerona took the edges off, and the strength wasn't enough to daunt the giant Nord.

Grabbing the hand of one knife wielding Aspirant, Gillyed slammed his shield into the man's face, stunning him, before spinning him around to take a sword blow from a second. They weren't used to fighting in a group, and definately not a skilled band of warriors. Gillyed's human shield cried out as the shortsword bit into his shoulder.

The heavy Nord turned his hammer so the armor piercing beak was ready and slammed it into the sword wielder's head with a sickening thud, dropping the man like a stone. A Bosmer with a pair of long knives leapt at Gillyed only to be smashed away by his shield, reinforced with the last of his boosted strength, sending the little mer barrelling down the hill, the body broken like and limp like a ragdoll.

As Gillyed finished his wounded shield with a swift shield bash to the temple, he spun, trying to catch sight of the Mage he had been sure was nearby, it was possible in the battle he had simply not noticed the caster move. Or he could still be waiting.

"Be ready, and stay behind me" Gillyed hissed, motioning to Aerona to drop low. "He'll be preparing something back there..."

(OOC:I've left it here to give Revan a chance to flush the mage out from his hiding spot.)

Posted by: Lord Revan Feb 7 2011, 12:17 AM

Nathan

The sounds of battle intensified as he skulked through the dillapedated fort. Nathan deduced whoever was fighting the Order's minions was faring pretty well; if the latter had the advantage it would be growing quieter. The amulet shard pulsed more frantically.

He paused, straining to hear over the frenzy nearby. There Hushed voices from behind the next wall. Nathan conjured an bound axe to his left hand. The redguard burst through a rotted doorway and spotted a Black Aspirant helping a robed woman pack up. "Fetch, mongrel!" The aspirant turned toward him. Nathan threw the summoned axe as his opponent rose, which buried itself into the Aspirant's breastplate.

The mage bolted with a carpetbag as her companion stumbled back into the wall. Ignoring the injured figure, Nathan gave chase.

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 7 2011, 09:51 AM

OOC: Drat, too much stuff is happening for me to keep track of it all. Good news is, I don't need to, playing the guy who bravely ran away and all. biggrin.gif

The masked man's dismounting was rather more abrupt than his horse would have liked and Swift-like-Fish had to climb off the wagon himself to go and calm Cyldreen's horse.
"Ease your nerves, horse. No harm shall come to you." He hissed to it, before leading both horses off the road by hand. The only good thing to Cyldreen's aggressive response was that no one would have time to miss a fisherman and the wagon till after the fighting was done. The Argonian could only hope that the ones left standing were on his side.

The clearing he'd expected to find was empty and cast ina perpetual shade from the trees and bushes blocking the sun. The only real source of light came from the gap he'd used to enter which suited him just fine. It meant that he would be able to spot anyone coming in before being spotted himself. Before he did anything else, he tied the horses to one of the trees. Getting out of the clearing was only possible by going the same way he'd taken to enter in the first place and it would take considerable time. Too long for an escape. The best purpose the beasts of burden could serve at this point was to draw the eyes of any approaching hunter. Meanwhile, he would hide somewhere else, weapon in hand.
"This one's harpoon is a poor weapon, but it is all this one has." Swift-like-Fish grumbled to himself as he dropped to the ground, covering himself as much as he could with the plants and mud, essentially becoming an indistinct bump in shadows.

Posted by: grif11 Feb 7 2011, 04:32 PM

what Is going on? Falius thought.
Sounds like the battle for Bruma up there. The only reason there could be fighting around here would be some bandits or... a rescue party? Now he felt stupid. Falius was never patient, and he just had to run off into necromancer territory without anyone to protect him. Now, those guys were probably going to get killed by the army of soldiers in the fort.

OOC: Praise the divines, My internet's back on!

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 9 2011, 06:01 PM

Blood was everywhere. It was on her robes, the ground, the ancient stone walls. There was even a splatter on her face, though she didn't dare touch it. The mess her new-found ally created made her want to hurl, but she crouched low as she was told, watching for her target. It wasn't long before the mage was flushed out, and along with her appeared a new redguard ally.

It seems that there is resistance to the Order everywhere...this whole ordeal may be easier than we thought.

She was forced to bring her thoughts back to the present, though, and cast a silence spell over the fleeing mage. She would likely be easy pickings for the redguard, now. Aerona looked away, then; she wasn't sure how much more gore she could see today while still keeping her breakfast down.


Posted by: Lord Revan Feb 9 2011, 06:51 PM

On open ground, Nathan's steps devoured the distance the mage had managed to gain. The redguard honed in on her, ignoring the figures still standing. The amulet throbbed as if it were his heart. Nathan spun his axe's blunt end around, taking the haft with both hands and leapt. The mage woman did not turn and the blow landed on the back of her skull.

She crumpled without a sound. Nathan slid to a stop beside her, gasping from exhileration. The black shard stilled and went dim. The first of many to fall Gathering his wits, he summoned a shield and took his first look at the situation outside the ruins.

Posted by: ureniashtram Feb 11 2011, 05:30 PM


The fight ended when the troublesome witch had her head split open. Cyldreen let a throaty guffaw as he relished at the sight; he was only dismayed that a Redguard did it and not him. Still, the disappointment was there.

There were new allies to be found too. Firstly there was a nord clad in their trademark bearskin hides. Tremendous of height and barrel-chested, he wielded an enormous warhammer that had the trace of magicka in it. Cyldreen supposed it was enchanted and the Northener was probably skilled at it.

The second one was a Redguard who also had a trace if magicka in him; this time stronger. A poncho of Hammerfellian design covered a boiled leather cuirass and he held a summoned shield. Cyldreen observed that he was some sort of war-mage.

He approached the Nord and Aerona.

"Damn short for a battle, eh? 'Least we got their captains," he gestured at the three dead Shadow Knights. "Name's Cyldreen."

He considered what he would say next. Would he blurt out their purposes to this one or should they be wary and find out if this Nord was truly on their side? He chose the former, although he would be careful.

"It seems that," he took a glance at the burned caravan and its dead raiders. "That you and your caravan got hit by the Black Dragon. Would you happen to know if there are any more nearby? We were expecting a supply run and the last reports we had was that our group of caravans are at Fort Empire, due north of here."

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 11 2011, 08:03 PM

Gillyed didn't turn to face the Breton but instead kept his attention on the Dunmer he had been accompanying. However he did not ignore the man out of hand, he was just more focused on making sure the woman was alright. She was certainly not used to this sort of battle, though she had kept her head literally and symbolically which boded well.

"Gillyed, and I was just accompanying these refugees, didn't see any caravans on our way down here. But we didn't stop at any forts, kept moving throughout the nights. It's possible that your caravans had stopped in at a fort and we passed them without noticing."

After convincing himself that the priestess was fine, he turned to face the Breton and tentatively felt the arrow wound in his shoulder. It hurt, but hadn't hit anything important. With a grunt he jerked out the arrow head.

"Good thing it wasn't barbed." he muttered to himself before rolling his shoulders experimentally. The muscle wasn't tightening as much as he had expected which was good, and the wound wasn't worth any of his precious magicka. "Anyone got a needle and thread? I'd prefer to get this sewn up sooner rather than later. Especially if, as I see it, we'll be running into more opponents."

He looked around at the group, two people, possibly three if the Redguard was with them, wasn't much of a force. But it was the beginings of a story, a legend. It could be a glorious victory, or a heroic death, and Gillyed relished the idea. "I'll be joining you on your journey, unless of course you don't think you need a massive magick hurling behemoth."

Posted by: Lord Revan Feb 12 2011, 01:35 AM

Nathan realized the battle was finished. All of the survivors were clearly not allied with the woman he'd struck down. A rather well armed man wearing a golden mask seemed to approve of his kill. The Redguard allowed his shield to fade and knelt beside the mage. He wiped the woman's blood from his axe upon her robes.

His amulet was quiet again; Nathan slipped it back under his clothing before searching the bag the mage had been carrying.

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 12 2011, 07:51 AM

Aerona finally opened her eyes again to see that the fight was over. She allowed herself to relax a bit before rising to her feet. Her Nord helper, who called himself Gillyed, requested a needle and thread, and she began digging into her knapsack.

"Even behemoths aren't immune to arrows," she said, still rummaging through her bag, "Sit and I can patch that up."

She produced a needle and thread finally, along with a small jar of leafy green paste.

The Redguard was still in the distance, searching the dead mage, and Cyldreen was nearby. They both seemed to have come from the battle unharmed. She wasn't so sure about Gillyed's idea of becoming legends, but judging from this fight, it seemed they were all either very talented or very lucky.

"Where is the argonian?" she suddenly asked.

Posted by: grif11 Feb 13 2011, 12:31 AM

Silence. no more sounds of war were above. did they win?I hope the aspirant who stole my bow got what he deserved! Falius thought angrily, before calming down.

Even if they did survive, they dont know im even stuck down here! what if they ride off to bruma, expecting me there and instead a worm thrall me is there!

dont go now guys! Please, Kynareth, help one of your forest children! He prayed, desperately.

Posted by: Tellie Feb 13 2011, 04:58 PM

Aren had been recruited to the same task as the other adventurers and had been following the group, driving his 'confiscated' horse as fast as it could go in order to catch up with them. Normally he wouldn't do this sort of suicidal mission, but the reward he had been promised was worth it.

When he finally reached the group he realized that they had already fought off the attack on the caravan to great success, looking around he could see a Breton and a Nord and a Dunmer, the latter with a needle in hand.

"Greetings, I am Aren and I have been hired to help you on this suicidal quest". Dismounting he offered a gauntleted hand towards the Dunmer who was closest, "May I have your name"?

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 13 2011, 06:33 PM

Aerona had been about to begin sewing Gillyed's shoulder when she froze. There was a rider in the distance, galloping full speed towards them. Friend or foe, she couldn't tell, but the rider looked fearsome.

"This might not be over yet," she said to her companions.

She ran spells through her head as he approached, doing her best to be ready should things go sour. When he finally announced his intentions, she sighed heavily with relief.

A bit more relaxed now, Aerona could tell that this dunmer was old. It wasn't something human eyes could always pick up, but she could see it in her own kind. There was an age of experience in those eyes. He introduced himself as Aren, and extended his hand.

"My name is Aerona," she answered, bowing deeply in deference to his age. She knew little of dunmer culture, having grown up among Imperials, but she knew enough to respect her elders.

Posted by: Tellie Feb 13 2011, 07:54 PM

Aren watched as the young Dunmer bowed to him, while he appreciated the gesture he had long since lost the belief that formalities were anything other than unneccesary.

"A pleasure miss, but there is no need to stand on ceremony, not for my old bones at least", he paused to take a sip of water before returning his attention on Aerona.

"My employer was a bit lacking when it came to our job other than to defeat these accursed vermin, would one of you advise me on our next piece of action?"

Posted by: Lord Revan Feb 13 2011, 09:05 PM

Nathan spread the bag's contents across the ground, ignoring the group behind him. The Redguard scrutinized a small tome written Deadric runes. He read the introduction before tossing it aside, a common conjuration manual. As Nathan inspected the remainder he found a map of the surrounding countryside with scribbled annotations and markings, and a half dozen bottles of restore magicka potions.

No soul gems, He frowned. The conversation behind him continued distantly as he mulled it over. The mage was definitely a necromancer, if only a novice. Nathan glanced around at the bodies, noticing the shadow knights for the first time. Three of them couldn't be assigned to babysit one necromancer in the wilderness. There has the be a master nearby.
The Redguard wandered over to the headless Altmer knight. If there was evidence of a larger group in the area, it would be on one of the higher ranking members. Unless they destroy their orders like good little minions...

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 14 2011, 01:51 AM

Where once was the frightful clamor of battle reigned now only silence. How long the fight had lasted, or how long it had been since it ended, Swift-like-Fish could not tell. Neither had he any idea of who the victor was, or how complete victory had been. He simply did as he had planned and remained in wait. He waited, till the sound of a faroff galloping caught his ears.

The Argonian took even shallower breaths than before. Who was this rider that approached? Was it a new enemy, come to support the ones already at the fort? Was it merely a random traveller, as a surprising coincidence? Or perhaps, it was a guardsman on patrol.
"No guardsman. Haven't seen any in weeks and even if there would be one out here today, he would not travel alone. Not with how the land has been. Not when a mere fisherman is given the task of freeing a city. Granted, the fisherman did not go alone, but a fisherman remains a fisherman. No, guards do not dare venture in these lands today." He thought to himself.

Swift-like-Fish wondered how he should react to this while the galloping hooves drew ever nearer. His own horses were quiet enough, content to merely graze from the grass and bushes around them. The entrance was hard to discover for anyone who did not know what signs to look for. Even if he abandoned the horses and wagon now, odds were quite good they would remain safe till he returned. If he returned.

"Let the rider pass, then follow. This one knows where the fort is and if this one crawls, approach without leaving the dense vegetation should be possible. If the rider stops at the fort, this one will see. If the rider moves on, this one will check on Dunmer's and metalskinned's fate and decide what to do afterward." The Argonian concluded and put his plan into motion. As of this point, the rider had not yet reached the entrance to the clearing, much less the fort. But with the difference between the speed of a galloping horse and a crawling Argonian trying very hard not the be heard, seen or smelled, starting his journey early would not be a problem.

Not long after, he heard the horse pass by and stop at the fort. Now the fisherman's senses were on full alert as he continued his approach. Getting close to where the dense undergrowth met a surviving wall however, he could hear that a conversation had began. He couldn't recognize the distorted voices, but he could make out fragments of conversation. Including an introduction involving a name he did remember. Aerona.
"So she is alive and going by context, neither captured nor harmed. Then the rider is, a friend?" Swift thought, having now reached the wall. If he stood on his toes, he would just be able to grip the wall's ledge. Still somewhat cautious not to make any noise, he did so and lifted himself up to take an hopefully unobserved look at the situation. Aerona was indeed alright, as was Cyldreen. There were also strangers, more than just the rider.
"Well, one or two of these must be the ones who began the battle we responded to in the first place. Still, all seem friendly enough. This one shall introduce himself and learn what to do next." He hissed to himself. Then, with a grunt, he hoisted himself up onto the wall and dropped off on the other side.

"This one is pleased to see his friends well and extends greetings to those not yet known." He said while plucking the mass of errant leaves, twigs, mud and a lonely earthworm that had collected onto him.

Posted by: ureniashtram Feb 14 2011, 09:13 AM

OOC: How can you recognize a Breton hidden by a mask?? ohmy.gif

I don't know if somebody is playing with us or just plain coincedence -neither do I care- but it seems that Lady Fate is smiling on us. Our numbers is growing. . . Hope shines on us and our impossible quest, then.

Cyldreen vanished those thoughts as he narrowed his eyes at the Dunmer. He sensed his arrival and he quickly reached for his halberd, but when he identified himself as an ally Cyldreen went calm. He was decked in a suit of Nordic chainmail and his weapons made the Breton scoff in spite of his awe. A scimitar and longsword made from rare ebony, a spear and a bow. When he said his name was Aren, he immediately recognized him as a famed Bounty Hunter.

His deeds reached even Nova Orsinium itself.

And then there was the Argonian. He emerged from a wall and sent his goodwill to the rest of them. Cyldreen sent a nod to him and turned his attention back to the Dunmer.

"Well, well. If I knew that I was going to meet the famed Aren Syrethi himself; I would've surely laughed at the thought. But now strange things have happened and I suppose that the impossible becomes the posibble. Well met, serjo, it is good to have your sword with us."

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 16 2011, 07:05 PM

There are so many of us now, she thought, All these people united in such a short time.

She tapped her foot a bit impatiently, and her eyes wandered. The redguard had the right idead; wandering from corpse to corpse, looking for clues while the all made small talk. She still did her best not to stare at the bodies too long, but she knew that it was something she might have to get used to.

"You know," she said to nobody in particular, "All of these aspirants could provide our disguises to get into Bruma."

She tried to point but there was a needle and spool of thread in her hand, "Gillyed, would you sit down?"

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 16 2011, 08:15 PM

Gillyed had been busy checking over his equipment, he hadn't heard of this new Dunmer and frankly he wasn't sure if he trusted him. It all seemed far too convenient from his point of view. The man rides up right after the battle, covered in arms and armor, and suddenly everyones chummy. Something just grated with the big Nord but he kept it to himself.

"Alright then, sew away friend" he grunted, sitting down and bracing himself for the needle. "We could use those suits, but something tells me you won't find one in my size, and a mismatched set probably wouldn't get me past the guards."

Gillyed paused for a moment to think. "However, I might have a way to sneak in if there are people on the inside. The walls around the city are tall, but with a bit of magical cover and a rope someone on the inside could help me climb in"

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 16 2011, 08:27 PM

OOC: Dunno, I've got a hard enough time telling the human races apart as it is...I think I tend to refer to Cyldreen by his mask though.

"You know, all of these aspirants could provide our disguises to get into Bruma." The woman spoke true words, even if the idea of taking clothing from hacked up corpses was less than apetizing.
"Indeed they wear the black garb that may be useful. Spare some of your thread. The disguises may require fixing and cleaning." He said. The smell of blood did not disturb him in the slightest, for it was one he was accustomed to. The knowledge that said blood belonged to people like him, did.
"Lots of cleaning." He therefore added after a moment.

He had no real idea what else to say, so he began to randomly sniff around the battlefield instead. His hands picked up random objects and dropped them just as readily, a pebble here, bit of leather there, a small bag of coin which he kept, a half-eaten and now cold bit of meat on a stick, an arrow sticking out of the ground. The Argonian stopped and looked at the arrow he held. It looked familiar, very familiar.
"Excuse this one for asking, but does anyone recognize this arrow? This one is not sure, but it looks like the one our impatient hunter was handling in the council room." He asked, hoping that the answer would be a resounding no. The arrow definitely looked like one of Falius', but the council room had been a dark place and a fisherman was not an expert regarding arrows. If it was one of his, that could only mean bad news.


Posted by: Tellie Feb 16 2011, 08:44 PM

Aren gave a small nod to his fellow Dunmer. "That is probably the best chance we're going to get, but there is still the fact that when we launch our attack we will be compromised...once inside I could provide a distraction, faced worse odds before and I've got the scars to prove it...won't be able to hold 'em off forever though, at least not alone".

With a pensive look on his face he turned towards the Nord. "You look like an able man, if you'd like to I would welcome the help if we decide to create a distraction once we're inside the city".

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 17 2011, 07:12 AM

Aerona spread a bit of her green paste on the wound before she carefully sewed the gash on Gillyed's shoulder. She stopped for a moment. Aren said something about their plan to invade Bruma, but her attention was on the arrow in Swift's hand.

"Not that I particularly paid attention to his arrows, but yes, they could be his. Either Falius escaped them, or..." she glanced around nervously, "...there are more of them."

She refocused on her patient, then, not letting the idea get the best of her, "We should try to find him, though."

Posted by: Lord Revan Feb 18 2011, 03:37 AM

Nathan

The Redguard spat upon the last knight in frustration. It seemed they had been unusually competant, nothing relevant was on their corpses. Nathan paced about, then stopped suddenly. Why is my heart racing? The amulet had begun to pulse again, weakly.

He glanced around, realizing he'd walked partway back towards the ruins. Nathan held the shard out at arms length, studying it's movements as he strode the perimeter. By the time he returned to the gathering, a cold pit had formed in his gut.
For the first time, the Redguard appraised the people nearby. It had been years since he'd been in such diverse company. Perhaps he could throw in with them; with difficulty, he approached the masked man and cleared his throat. "I don't think today's work is over yet." The black soul gem shard swung in a non-existant breeze from his left hand with a flickering violet glow.

Posted by: ureniashtram Feb 19 2011, 11:43 AM


The Argonian said something about Falius' arrow. Cyldreen shot a glance at the fletching and it rang a bell. He hoped that the Bosmer was not dead.

He then noticed the Redguard approaching him, a little reluctance showed in his eyes. He cleared his throat and the breton faced him with a smile, although it was hidden by the mask.

"I don't think today's work is over yet," he said and as if on cue, the amulet he wore glowed and swung in a magical breeze. A non-existent brow raised.

"Yes. It seems sloppy for the wretched Enemy to camp outside a fort and not inhabit the inside." For good measure, he cast a spell that allowed him detect life signs. Magicka enveloped his vision and he gazed at the Fort.

There were many of them and they were scrambling to and fro, tightening their defences. He simply harrumphed.

"I am Cyldreen, and it is good to see a friendly face in these dark times." He then walked towards the others, gesturing the Redguard to follow him.

With a voice that he used to manipulate minor dukes and ladies and backed by his serpentine mind, he said;

"Do not plan for the future when the present is our current problem. Many kings made the same mistake and resulted in their downfall. No doubt you are weary and long for a rest. Regrettably, we must push onward. The Fort houses the bulk of this area's garrison and believe me when I say that they are many."

He let that sink in for a few seconds.

"Brute strength and cunning minds we shall use in this situation. Someone with the patience of hiding must find a way to enter the Fort without gaining unwanted attention. The rest of us must storm the front gate to buy that certain someone some time.

First things first. We must find a backdoor entrance, one that the enemy does not know about."

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 19 2011, 03:36 PM

Cyldreen was either a born leader, or he simply felt that someone had to take charge for the moment and he would be as good a choice as any. Regardless, what the masked man said made at once sense, and at the same time it didn't. That there were more inside the ruins belowground was a reasonable assumption and Swift-like-Fish berated himself for not realizing that himself. After all, with the rainy climate of Cyrodill, few would camp outside if they had a choice in the matter, something that had escaped him before as he personally had no problems with either water from a pool or water from the sky. Further evidence was all around.

The shoddy benches and state of the campfire revealed that there had been plenty of activity for these last few days and that the dead hadn't just stopped here for a short rest. Yet there were no tents or other signs that people had actually slept here. Ergo, there was more of the camp in a place with a ceiling and the interior of the fort was the only nearby location that fit the bill.

As for Cyldreen's suggestion of storming the gate however while someone else found a backdoor, that made less sense. The masked man himself had implied that they would be outnumbered in such a fight and the Argonian saw no reason why they couldn't just make themselves scarce while they had the chance. Except for the possibility of Falius being a captive.

He weighed the arrow in his hand. If the Bosmer hadn't ran off, then the choice would be easy. But even with the current situation, Swift couldn't run away with an easy conscience. Cyldreen seemed confident enough, so perhaps he should just put his trust in the man.

"A backdoor forts always have, a way of getting out unseen. This one is a ruin though, and if the backdoor still exists, it will be guarded. An unknown backdoor is unlikely, except for one that is no door at all." He said slowly, saying the words as he followed his one line of reasoning.
"The ground we stand on is wet, very wet. There is a lake nearby, no? If the interior is belowground, it would be dry, unless the walls have cracked. You say there are men inside, so the fort is not flooded. But forts must withstand a siege for a long time. THey will have a well. To ensure clean and ample water, the well will go deep, with a direct connection, a tunnel to the lake."

"If a tunnel to a well exists, this one can find it. If it exists, this one can enter the fort. However, what should this one do once inside? This one is no hunter of men."

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 19 2011, 06:21 PM

Gillyed was perplexed by what was happening, suddenly they were about to storm a fort, a fort, filled with hostile men and women, most likely well trained and better equipped, while a second man attempted to secretly sneak in, alone, for...no real reason.

"Hold on a minute" Gillyed growled. "What you're suggesting makes very little sense at the moment. Storming a fort is suicide. The front gate is made to be defended, and our small group cannot take on a garrison. We've got skill or arms, but not that much. Stealth will better suit us here."

He stood up, gently rolling his shoulder to test the stitches, before nodding a thank you at the priestess who had helped. "Could I propose a solution? Obviously we've got means of detection. If we've got an objective inside the fort, then we need to focus on that and not take on anything more than we need too. If our Argonian friend here can make his way inside unseen, it'd be better for him to help us in through a side passage, and from there we have to make our way through, with as little commotion as possible. I suggest that the most silent of us takes point, and we neutralise any guards we encounter quietly, or we'll bring the whole place down on us."

Posted by: ureniashtram Feb 19 2011, 09:36 PM

OOC: Bloodlust is difficult to restrain and in Cyldreen's case, its almost impossible! He's getting more of a luggage than help, eh?

He was getting impatient by the passing seconds. If the others were so keen about going by the shadows, fine. They could be that way and miss out on the image of blood splattering the floor, limbs flying with red wings, cries of the damned forever echoing and their eyes showing fear as Cyldreen hacked them to pieces... He relished at the idea and his eyes took a distant gleam.

To just pass that chance, chance to unleash their inner demons and wreak havoc on the battlefield like gods among mortals.. It was pure madness in Cyldreen's mind. On the other hand, his spy instinct berated him and told the breton that the others were right. Two distinct personalities battled for control, for decision. Cold air passed from the West and with it, the bloodthirst was temporarily sated by reason.

"Fine," he growled back at the Nord. "But if we encounter the first guards, they're life is mine for the taking."

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 20 2011, 11:02 PM

Aerona put her sewing tools away and listened. Cyldreen wanted a fight, while the others wanted to avoid it. She agreed with the stealth approach, but was unsure of how easily it could be achieved. Those inside the fort had to be aware of their ragtag band of fighters, and she wasn't very sure of where she would fit into either plan.

"Only a few of us should go inside," she finally said, "The others should find a rendezvous point away from here and wait. That way if one of us dies, or those inside fail, Nine forbid, our mission continues."

"If Swift can find that tunnel, I can go inside with him. I can breathe underwater with spells, and keep us booth unseen. There just isn't much I can do if it comes to blows."

Posted by: Tellie Feb 20 2011, 11:14 PM

Aren nodded to Arona's words. "A sound advice girl, but if you do get discovered both of you are gonna end up dead quick...you need someone with you who can fight and I can certainly do that...quietly too I might add and I have the potions needed for underwater travel".

He leant back against a tree and crossed his arms over his chest. "Your descision of course".

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 20 2011, 11:44 PM

Swift-like-Fish shrugged.
"Those who wish to come, come. This one has no problems with this, as long as the numbers don't grow so large that an unwished for retreat becomes impossible. Three can overcome more obstacles than one. For instance, if the well is covered with a grate, then this one may need help in removing it. Fire to melt the iron, or strong arms to help shift it. In any case, speaking of plans here is perhaps not the best course of action. Now the hostile ones are hiding within their lair, but they may choose to come out and attack at any moment. This one would rather not be here if such an event came to pass." He said, nodding to both Aerona and Aren.

"This one will be down by the water. Prepare swiftly, then come." He added and hurried away to where he felt the ground was most wet, lower and as such, closer to the lake.

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 21 2011, 12:06 AM

Gillyed agreed with the group. "3 sounds like a good number to me, you've got your way in, your defence, and general help. I'm far too big to sneak around, and in a fight those close quarters will not do me well. Not even mentioning it might break these stitches so early."

He paused for a moment and pushed himself to his feet, looking around the area they had stopped. "We need to agree on an area not too far away, easily defendable incase you are chased, but with an escape route if we need one. Also it's just a little bit corpsey here."

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 21 2011, 07:58 AM

QUOTE(Ahrenil @ Feb 20 2011, 06:06 PM) *

Gillyed agreed with the group. "3 sounds like a good number to me, you've got your way in, your defence, and general help. I'm far too big to sneak around, and in a fight those close quarters will not do me well. Not even mentioning it might break these stitches so early."

He paused for a moment and pushed himself to his feet, looking around the area they had stopped. "We need to agree on an area not too far away, easily defendable incase you are chased, but with an escape route if we need one. Also it's just a little bit corpsey here."


Aerona unfolded a piece of parchment pulled from her bag, "Take the road north. There is a loop in the road here," she said, pointing to the place on the map, "There is an old Ayleid well along that loop; we can meet you there. Oh, and if someone could carry my things to the wagon, I would be grateful."

She left the map in Gillyed's hands, and began securing her belongings. It would make no sense to bring any of it. It would ruin her equipment and ingredients, not to mention weigh her down underwater. A glance towards the lake told her that Swift was heading into the water. There were a few more moments before he found the tunnel, if it even existed.

She took a deep breath, "Stay safe, everyone, and wish us luck. Shall we go, Ser Aren?"

Posted by: ureniashtram Feb 21 2011, 09:32 AM


"Somebody said that the corpses of our friends, can be used here right?" Cyldreen mused, to himself rather than others. "If maybe those who sneak in can wear those, the chances of sneaking in may improve by a small percent. The aspirants' uniforms are uniform black; one could easily detect what I'm implying here.

And if one DOES get caught, one will just have some scolding rather than death," he then looked at the others.

"Do you know what I mean?"

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 22 2011, 07:05 PM

At the lake's edge, the Argonian lowered himself gently into the water. For a moment, he wondered if he should wait for the two Dunmer to join him but then decided not to. They had both claimed to have some means of breathing underwater but neither had told him for how long they could do so. Without knowing how long the search for an entrance, if there indeed was one, would take, it would be best to start looking while they prepared. There was no need to tax their reserves.

"The water is quite clear. Good, that makes the search easier." He thought as he dove for the bottom of the lake. Again he went over his own line of reasoning. It seemed sound to him, though he also realized that he was not the most knowledgeable person regarding fortifications.
"Don't ask the siegemaster to fish, don't ask the fisherman to design a fort. Nevertheless, the rules of minimum effort and maximum results still apply. The entrance should be nearest to the fort as possible, to reduce the length of tunnel and such the possible points of collapse. It also should be deep and due to erosion, it will no longer be right at the edge. The entrance should be hidden to avert the eyes of hunters...but."

With a quick sweep of his tail, the Argonian brought himself to a halt. There, were the gentle descent of lakeside ceased, he'd spotted a small inlet in the lake's edge. Now those were nothing unusual for a lake like this, often the result from erosion and plantgrowth. This one however, was just too regular to be natural. The weeds growing from the sand were also clustered thicker here than anywhere else. Swift-like-Fish moved in for a closer look. He pushed the swaying weeds aside and proceeded further into the thick growth till the light of the sun above him made place for the shadow cast by a stone ceiling. He had found the entrance.

Swift-like-Fish returned to where he'd started out and returned to the surface. He would wait with following the tunnel till he'd been joined by Aerona and Aren.

Posted by: Dantrag Feb 22 2011, 09:01 PM

QUOTE(ureniashtram @ Feb 21 2011, 03:32 AM) *

"Somebody said that the corpses of our friends, can be used here right?" Cyldreen mused, to himself rather than others. "If maybe those who sneak in can wear those, the chances of sneaking in may improve by a small percent. The aspirants' uniforms are uniform black; one could easily detect what I'm implying here.

And if one DOES get caught, one will just have some scolding rather than death," he then looked at the others.

"Do you know what I mean?"


"The Temple put me to work studying the Order when I was in Bravil," Aerona said, "As I understand it, aspirants live to die. They are the fodder of the upper ranks. Very few of them move up, and only do so by killing each other. These clothes lying around may get us past a town gate, but I'd venture to say that they'd sooner kill us than scold us. Disguises couldn't hurt, I suppose, but I suspect wet clothing would only weigh us down."

She looked towards the lake, and saw Swift emerging from it. There was a look on his reptilian face that told her that he'd found something.

Looking to Aren, she spoke once more, "We don't have much time. If you think we should wear them, then we will. I leave it up to you."

Posted by: Tellie Feb 23 2011, 08:44 AM

Aren looked down at the black robes of their dead enemies with disgust.

"As much as I'd like to leaver these rags behind we may need 'em, up close we'll be spotted, but from a distance we'll look like the rest of those filthy bastards...and I can get 'em before they get close enough to identify us", he said while calmly stroking his bow.

Grabbing one of the robes he slipped it over his armoured form, but not before he removed his spear and schimitar, "I'd appreciate if someone could keep an eye on these for me, there won't be need for 'em in there".

Looking over at swift who had returned he let out a small grin. "Please tell me you found something".

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 23 2011, 06:55 PM

Swift-like-Fish nodded.
"There was indeed an underwater path, obviously made by hands and not time. This one thinks it was well hidden against the eyes of a soldier, but to those familiar with the land, its disguise was an unnatural one. This one has not yet followed the path, but could see no obstructions from the entrance and is certain it will lead to our destination. Are you ready to follow?"

Posted by: Tellie Feb 26 2011, 08:58 PM

"Lead the way Swift, once inside Aerona could take lead as I suspect that she knows a detect life spell...jus' be sure to tell me where the enemy is".

Opening his bow and making sure the bolts were properly secured he revealed a nasty grin. "I'll make sure we won't see any trouble", loosening an arrow to demonstrate, he nodded in appreciation as it penetrated a small tree only to get stuck in a larger tree behind.

Posted by: Ahrenil Feb 27 2011, 02:16 AM

((Bah, sorry for being so late with this reply, uni works really caught up with me this month and likely will next month, so I may be a bit infrequent.))

Gillyed checked over the map, he'd heard of Ayleid wells, ways to restore the magicka of the user, but had never encountered one up close. He just hoped there was suitable shelter nearby to hide the wagon and their belongings.

"Remember to signal to us that it is indeed you when you return, if you're still wearing the uniforms we might mistake you." Gillyed warned as he began to pick up what he could carry. "We'll hide the wagon just off the road and take up positions around the well itself, if you are chased we'll use it to help escape. But if we can lets avoid more trouble. Good luck, may you speak free always"

Gillyed turned to the rest of the group, being given the map had given him a sense of importance, though he knew it was just because he was closest.

"Lets gather what we can and head out, the guards will be less suspicious when we move away and the rest will have a better chance."

Posted by: ureniashtram Feb 27 2011, 11:08 AM


Undorsil


Who goes by the name of Ar'Kay is a false idol for those who wish for false hope. Surrender yourself in the pleasures of flower-rot and the corpselight, and begin your path to Trandescence.

Burned like the Ur of the Mountain, inside each of us is the potential to be bathed in His glorious Flame. Steal the knowledge of the Fruit and steel yourself, Worm-Friend, for the hour when He descends is nigh
.
Death comes after Life. And Life comes before Death. Between the two Cycles, the undisturbed Pariah is sleeping with the Secrets of Knowledge, and to wake him demands the weak-willed be layed before him in chains and in stones. The blood of a Hypocrite must be spilled on his Altar in the Church of Mourning, and the Black Candles of Lamentations must be lit with the souls of the Everchanging Dregs of Oblivion. Master this and you shall seat in unrivaled Authority beside the Godking of Worms in His Paradise of Naught.

Starlight is the most precious and secretive ways of the Black Arts. Only those who serve Him are given the wisdom to manipulate the Divine Illumination to create the Stones of Sustenance. And so it is written that when the Trap is set into place, the Hunter must become the Hunted and the Living be made into the Restless Sleepers.

Deny the false and dominate the weak, Worm-Brother. For there is nothing in this world which can stop The March. Freedom from the shackles of Life is the song It sings, and Eternal Slavery from the False is It's dread warning.




Curses, evil, sorrow, wrongness... This grimoire said to be written by the High Priest of Maggots himself radiated a negative energy to those who are within a certain radius. Weakened and the heed of sleep they shall experience, and verily so. For this is the Book of Amurel, a grimoire to make one an Etherial One, a being of power overwhelming. Undorsil had been searching for this when Mannimarco joined the King of Worms, and thus the dark satisfaction he felt was beyond normal comprehension.

He had been studying It for days on end, never sleeping and never resting. His undivided attention, a rare occurence verily, was on this Relic the High Priest left for the Faithful.

Yes.. The power that emanates from This is great indeed! Satisfying shall be the reward I will have and all will bow before me! Even that fool, Gulas!

Such thoughts of hatred and usurping gave the Altmer an invigorating energy to continue on and continue his black studies he did. For hours he toiled and wrestled against exhaustion and many times did he alsmot falter, but the iron will of someone killing the land, poisoning it and vending itself to his will, rose victorious.

"The soul of a dreg of Oblivion and the blood of a Hypocrite," he murmured to himself. "A soul of a daedra and a blood of worshipper then."

He Recalled and was at the courtyard of Castle Bruma in seconds. Where he inducted his secret ritual, all did not know save for himself and he preferred to keep it that way. Undorsil walked the ruined streets of Bruma, ignoring the aspirants gaping and glaring at him.
Such insects would have to crushed for their insolence, he thought, later. For now, he had a meeting with the scouts he sent to supervise and observe the last bastion in Cyrodiil.

It didn't take long, for the ruined church of Talos was ripe with incesstant screaming. When he entered, all fell silent when they saw his terrible countenance.

"News," his voice was gravelly and deep like that of a high king, but the hurried whisperings and echoes of voices that followed his voice was something to be awed indeed. For the whispers and echoes was the voices of those Undorsil consumed.

A scout raised his hand, Undorsil gestured him to continue with a curled lip and disgusted eyes.

"A s-scouting party, Casofa's group, was found d-dead, milord. Most of them. No one knows who did it, but they were b-brutally ef-f-ffective. One survived but he died days ago. He s-said that a golden faced mon-monster they were following spotted them and promptly ... slaughtered them."

Undorsil was unconcerned.

"Next," he said.

"Milord, we just got word from the Vampire that he captured a Bosmer. He is waiting for orders on what do with the elf." The second scout/messenger gulped and waited for Undorsil to reply.

"I do not care. And I shall warn you that I wish for sensible reports next time, lest you want your head on top of a pike, your flesh being sport for the dirty slaves. Is that clear?"

All fell silent once again and all nodded their heads, for when anger claims Undosril none can restrain him. Even the land itself. He snarled and awaited the next report.

"Milord Undorsil the Terrible," a scout said and promptly kneeled before him. "We have spotted a squad of ... warriors leaving the Imperial City. One of them matches the desciption of 'golden-faced monstrosity'. The others are a Dunmer and Argonian. They are headed towards Fort Nikel, where the Vampire dwelt.. We eagerly await your wise words, milord."

Undorsil thought about it. It didn't take long for him to decide his mind.

"I do not care."

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 27 2011, 08:39 PM

OOC: I'm just going to assume that you Aren and Aerona follow him underwater. Saves me having to stop and wait for everyone to respond. I hope nobody minds.

Swift-like-Fish nodded.
"Very well. This one will not wear the black garb though. Clothes when wet have always been more of a hinder than this one can handle. This one will just hide behind your backs once inside. Now please follow. This one shall lead you to the fort."

The argonian paddled in place till the two Dunmer had joined him in the water before diving straight towards the entrance, making sure to maintain a pace his allies could follow. Passed the weeds they went and into the tunnel where the Fisherman slowed down further and instead of swimming, pulled himself along through protruding rocks and other handholds in the tunnel's walls. Making a commotion by disturbing the water surface of the well was not something he planned on doing.

"56...57...58...59 lengths. Should be under the ruins now. 64...65...Ah, here it ends." The Argonian finally came to a full stop when he saw the tunnel emerge into a cylindrical structure made of bricks. It looked like they'd reached the well. Cautiously, he poked his head out of the opening and looked up. No one was using the well or looking down at him, which was a good thing. And while there had been a grate in the past, it looked like the precious steel had been taken away when the fort fell into disuse. And finally, the waterlevel was sufficiently high enough that they would be able to grab the ledge instead of having to climb up along the slick and slippery bricks. Getting out of the well would be a relatively simple matter.

Swift-Like-Fish entered the well entirely and turned to look up at his companions. With a nod and a finger pointing upward, he indicated that the way was clear.
"I'll let the Dunmer go first, that would be safer for us all. They're the hunters here, I am merely the guide."

Posted by: ureniashtram Mar 1 2011, 03:33 PM


Undorsil

"Is that all," he asked the scouts. And when they all bowed their heads low, the Altmer took his leave. His priorities were organized, his task clearly laid before him and his destination set into his mind. He muttered an incantation and immediately he was in his chamber.

All was dark and no light shined through the windows.

He preferred the shadows instead of the light. For the Light slowly fades. And with that thought in mind, he continued his unholy studies.

---

Cyldreen

"I'll take watch from that tree over yonder," he pointed at a tree resting beside a group of oaks, which in turn is flanked by bushes and boulders. It was a little left from the main entrance of the fort, on the direction of the Imperial city, and by Cyldreen's reckoning gave a nice view on the fort, the Ayleid well and the lake.

A perfect spot for a scout.

"If anything goes wrong or if you completed your task," he chuckled, "I'll send a signal -don't worry you'll know it when you see it- to the others at the Ayleid Well. That way, we can organize the wagon for a swift escape. Good luck, and may lady Fate smile upon you."

With that, he went ahead to his scouting position.

Posted by: Lord Revan Mar 2 2011, 06:01 AM

Look's like I'm right where I need to be, master. Nathan took solace in capable company for the first time in years. Not having to go underground lifted his spirits as well, although the Redguard knew his foes favored that environment. He slipped his amulet over his head and under his clothes.

As the assembly split up, he turned to the Nord with their map. In his time among them, Nathan had learned to distinguish their spirital leaders and storytellers. "Hail, Shaman. I am Nathan, an orphan of Hammerfell."

Posted by: Dantrag Mar 5 2011, 07:52 AM

Aerona followed Swift and Aren to the shoreline, and despite the advice given to her, she chose not to wear the black garb either. In fact, she thought that her own robes would only slow her down while swimming and subsequently snooping around in the fort.

So she left them, along with her shoes, folded and tucked under some shrubs. Hoping she would have time to return for them, she cast her water-breathing spell and plunged into the water behind the others. It was always strange to feel water filling her lungs, but something about it was exhilarating as well; as if she had overcome nature itself. As they swam, it was hard for her to see, but she could feel the water displaced by Swift's tail, making him easy to follow. They entered a tunnel. It seemed to stretch on forever, but when it finally turned upwards, she knew they had arrived.

The priestess surfaced, being sure to exhale the water from her lungs before canceling her spell; that was a mistake beginning mages often made, and she knew from experience that it would create a coughing fit at best, and death at worst. She looked at the heads of her companions, bobbing above the water.

"Before we climb up there, we could use some camouflage," she whispered to them, only to be unnerved by the slight echo of her voice bouncing up from the water and drifting through the stone corridors of the fortress. She covered her mouth quickly in a silent apology before casting the spells. For her and Swift, she cast invisibility, but for Aren, chameleon. Just in case he needed to really act.

I don't know how long I can sustain it for three, she thought, But the idea is to be quick, right?

Posted by: Tellie Mar 5 2011, 04:42 PM

Aren had as the other two jumped into the water and followed Swift through the tunnel. Expunging the water from his mouth and lungs he heard Aerona's words before a chameleon spell was slapped on him.

"Thanks girl, now follow me and we'll be fine", he whispered before he jumped over the small edge of the well. With a wince he realized that his metal clad feet would render them unable to be stealthy unless he did something.

Motioning for Aerona and Swift to stay silent and put he started to adjust his slightly wet robes as a similarly dressed man walked over to him.

"You, what are you doing down here", Aren's heart pounded as he realized that half the fort would be alerted if the man kept yelling like that.

With a plan half formed in his mind Aren turned towards the necromancer.

"Be quiet, I think I saw something in the well, we may have intruders", he whispered while motioning for the necromancer to come forward. Amazingly enough the man walked over to Aren with a curious look on his face. When he was standing a good three feet from Aren's position Aren gripped his sword and twisted around to give the man's neck and overhead swing chop, and with a spray of blood the man's head came loose and landed with a wet sound in the well behind him.

Looking down into the well at the slightly bloodstained faces of his companions he gave a quick grin while reaching his hand down to aid them. "Sorry 'bout that, hope it didn't hit ya or anything, but I needed a pair of shoes you see and he was the first pair that came strolling towards me".

Posted by: jack cloudy Mar 5 2011, 08:33 PM

Swift-like-Fish was more than a bit frightened when he heard Aren mention intruders in the well.
"Did he betray us?" Flashed through his head and for a second he froze before reaching out for Aerona, about to pull her back underwater into the tunnel. It was an act of impulse and if he'd thought further he would not have done it. After all, he had no idea if she would be of sound enough mind to hold her breath till she'd recasted her spell of breathing despite the surprise.

His hand had reached about halfway when Aren showed where his loyalties lay by brutally beheading the stranger.
"Sorry 'bout that, hope it didn't hit ya or anything, but I needed a pair of shoes you see and he was the first pair that came strolling towards me." He said with a sly grin as he moved to help them out of the well.
"After taking the boots, give the body to this one. This one will hide body and head in the tunnel. But cover the wound first. We don't need to draw the hunting fish or our enemies with red water." The Argonian replied as he scooped up the head. It was rather disconcerting. Eyes still open, face distorted into an expression of terror. He shivered and almost dropped it. Hunting people was very different from hunting fish indeed.

Posted by: Dantrag Mar 6 2011, 09:02 AM

Before she could even figure out what was happening, blood splattered in her face and a head bobbed in the water beside her, eyes rolling with the motion of the water. Aerona wanted to scream and she wanted to retch, but knew that either action could result in their deaths. Aren's casual smile from above the lip of the well was just as disconcerting. Almost scrambling, she lifted herself from the well, wanting nothing more than to distance herself from the head. A long shiver crept up her spine, and she couldn't tell if it was from the wet cold or pure disgust.

She focused on droplets of water seemingly falling from midair as they slid from her invisible fingertips. She made herself breathe steadily, cleared her mind, calmed her nerves. Most importantly, she avoided looking at the corpse. Swift's words reached her ears, but they didn't register. Her focus was inward while she tried to reign in her emotions.

"Let's hurry," she said, her voice quivering even in a whisper, "I don't like this."

Posted by: grif11 Mar 8 2011, 11:16 PM

MARDUS VLAKERIN:

mardus was looking over the items he had taken from the bosmer."Bah! he's a thief, just like the rest of his race! No way a child like him could afford this gear. Suddenly, his guard burst through the door."Sir!" he panted, "all the outer patrolmen have been killed!"
Mardus was in a fit of rage. if he hadnt just fed, he would of drunk the guard dry."Find them! if nobody is found, I will kill everyone in this fort! Do you hear me!"
"y-yes sir!"with that, the guard stumbled away.

Posted by: Ahrenil Mar 9 2011, 11:24 PM

((Phew, thats that essay finally finished. Only 3 more to go))

Gillyed had been quite focused on getting the gear shifted, idle talk wasn't exactly going to help at this point. And besides, he had the map. However packing up what meagre supplies the refuges no longer needed and the dead did not want as well as some of the more valuable and useful gear into the wagon hadn't taken as long as he expected.

"Gillyed" he grunted back at the reguard as he loaded a pile of better condition chainmail onto the wagon, the last of what he considered valuable. "Shaman at heart, not official, though I could be if I settled down." he began to lead the horses away, not even turning to watch the Breton go. The man could do whatever he wanted as long as it didn't put anyone else in danger as far as the Nord cared.

He lead the wagon and the tired horse it was hitched too up the steep road towards the well, it was out of sight of the fort which could play to their advantage, and a handy hollow behind the hill left a good place to hide the wagon while providing good sight of the road leading down to the fort, as well as easy escape if need be.

"Right, we'll watch from this hill here." Gillyed declared, not even knowing if the redguard had followed. "If they come flying out there like a clanfear from oblivion then we'll defend from the well. But while we wait, what brings you to Cyrodil traveler?" The Nord asked, hoping he wasn't talking to himself.

Posted by: Lord Revan Mar 10 2011, 03:18 AM

Nathan silently trailed after the shaman as the latter busied himself in the absence of most of the group. Gillyed's gruffness didn't bother him much, starved for human company as he was. However, he decided not to chance getting in the man's way unless asked. The Nord seemed quite capable, doing the work of several on his own.

As the two of them walked up the hill, Nathan wondered about the state of the infiltration team. Of the three, only the male dark elf appeared to be a seasoned fighter. The Redguard muttered a quick prayer for them, thankful he was not sneaking underground.
Gillyed's offhand question snapped his mind back to his surroundings. For a moment, Nathan was unsure that the Nord was speaking to him. "The undead destroyed or corrupted everything I loved," He said, almost matter-of-factly. Freezing in Skyrim for five years had allowed him to compartmentalize the grief, but the emptiness within him was not so academic. "I aim to use what I've learned since then to return the favor."

Posted by: ureniashtram Mar 10 2011, 04:27 AM


Undorsil

The Altmer watched the bleeding dremora in front of him.

The summoned demon put up a heavy fight when dozens of aspirants closed in to kill it for Undorsil. None remained and two Black Skulls was forced to intervene. They were decapitated and maimed beyond recognition. It is not like Undorsil cared, no far from it. In fact, he approved of the low-ranked maggots' death. Their souls were gladly devoured to further increase the power of trapped energies inside Undorsil. He felt rejuvanated.

"You are a strong one indeed, Kynreeve. Your clan-leader is foolish not to make you a Markyn, but I digress. Willingly lay your arms down and surrender yourself. I shall free you from the bondages of Oblivion."

The dremora looked up and in it's eyes burned a murderous hatred. It replied something in daedric and Undorsil immediately understood.

"Very well," he said. The Altmer layed his hands on its horned head and revealed his nasty fangs in an equally nasty grin. "I thank you for your co-operation, fool."

The sensation of sucking a daedric soul felt immaculately divine and gave the damned elf a sense of omnipotency. He became aware that the darkness inside him now burned with the fires of Oblivion and he felt the urge to summon another one to feel the unholy pleasure of rising in power to rival a Divine.

But pressing matters goaded him more.

He ascended to the battlements and it gave him the pitiful sight of Cyrod's forest and the White Gold Tower. The rage inside was getting harder and harder to put down as he gazed at the view in front of him. It was practically begging to be destroyed.

He raised his hands and muttered a word of magick and the Calcinator of Ishamir appeared before him. While in appearance it might look like what an Apprentice would use, those skilled in the arts of Mystiscism would detect black magick on this tool.

Undorsil handled the Calcinator with telekinesis as he fished for the demonic ingredients it would take to unleash his wrath upon the land. His hand carefully grasped a small pouch. He could not contain a daedric smile as he hefted it.

"In the name of the Worm King do I do this," he intoned as he opened the pouch and spilled whatever inside into the Calcinator. An ethereal flame whoosed up with the rage of the dead. An unnatural energy exploded from the Calcinator and sent a shockwave of fear to those who are near.
The winds that roared against the walls of ruined Bruma suddenly became feral and voices from the Void whispered things from every direction. All hearkened with dread and some felt the arrival of something ... Not of this world nor of the other. But something in between.

A maelstrom of long-silenced voices and power was whirling and at its heart was Undorsil the Master of Disease. Snow became hail as he intoned the incantation of Disease.

He muttered heretical thoughts and voiced black opinions; he screamed wordless challenges at the Divines and echoes from the Nothingness followed whatever he said. And then the Sun was blocked out and darkness reigned. A cloud was penetrated by a palatinate flourescence and it showered Undorsil with the supernatural hue.

"In the name of the Worm King, all shall kneel in humbled submission before Us!"

A finger from the Void; a Pillar of undeath it was and it rose beneath Undorsil and united with the Light from above. All watched in awe and fear as they gazed into the large tower of dark energy, Undorsil's silhouette barely recognized. A terrible tempo of something sinister laughing emerge from nowhere and everywhere.

And it started to rain blood.

The Plague was unleashed and its temporary effects would surely weaken those who resist the Dragon.
--



Cyldreen could only stare at the sight of that terrible .. whatever it was. He could 'see' thousands of faces being whirled cruelly at that .. whirlwind, all screaming in rage and fear. His skin became prickled and the hairs on his neck stood on end. A chill swam on his back and if it weren't for his steady hand clutching something hard to hold on to, he would've surely fell to the ground.

By Malacath! What is this sorcery?!

And then a blood dropped from the darkened heavens. Cyldreen immediately knew that something evil as about to happen. His thoughts gauged true when he felt the sensation of something weakening him. His vision became blurry, his arms felt like they were pasted with cement and the urge to vomit was rising to his throat.

He muttered an incantation of healing. It did little.

He felt the call of everlasting sleep. But he refused. Not yet.

Posted by: Ahrenil Mar 12 2011, 08:41 PM

"Sounds rough, on the brightside at least your not some mass murdering psycopath with no care for morales and an attitude aimed at getting the job done despite who get's hurt" Gillyed replied while checking for bears, out of habit.

"Met one o' them guys a month or two back up near the border. I sent him into the high passes for a week or two to try and teach 'im a lesson. Heard he met a nasty end." The big Nord loosened his fur pauldrons and helm. Cyrodil was far too hot for his liking.

"Glad to have you here lad, though I honestly have little clue as to where here is and why we're all wandering around the same stretch of particularily evil field."

Posted by: Dantrag Mar 14 2011, 05:50 PM

OOC: taking minor liberties just to move a little bit forward. hope nobody minds.

Aerona crept behind Aren, holding on to the hem of his cloak so she didn't lose sight of his camouflaged form, and the faint sound of Swift's footsteps let her know of his presence. She glanced nervously to her sides constantly, and whenever they passed a guard she would freeze and hold her breath. There was no sign of any prison cells so far, but they were constantly descending, Aerona noticed; Aren probably thought it likely that there would be a dungeon further down.

"Find them! If nobody is found I will kill everyone in this fort! Do you hear me?" they heard a harsh voice echo from the corridor in front of them.

Suddenly, moments later, a patrol of ten or fifteen guards came running in formation towards them. Aerona flattened herself against the side of the wall to avoid being trampled while they passed. They patrol went for the main exit, and Aerona thought of a silent prayer for their friends still outside.

Had she known that they were nearing a powerful vampire, though, she might have prayed for herself.


Posted by: jack cloudy Mar 14 2011, 11:55 PM

Swift felt his heart beating in his chest, so loud it felt as if it was about to burst free. He stayed behind the two Dunmer, keeping low enough for his tail to touch the ground whenever they stopped. At times they encountered someone else. At these points, they would wait for a moment to assess the situation. Then they would move behind the stranger's back one by one, scarcely daring to breathe.

"Find them! If nobody is found I will kill everyone in this fort! Do you hear me?" The Argonian flinched at the sudden outburst from someone up ahead. A moment later he heard the thunder of many footsteps approaching rapidly. There was no time to run. The fisherman curled up against the wall and held his breath, hoping that within the darkness he would appear as nothing but an indistinct lump of mud or stone. If they were discovered, all he could do was hope that Aren would prove as efficient against many foes as he had against one.

The group's own zeal, or fearful knowledge of the price for failure, made them rush passed the hidden trio without casting even a single glance. All that was on their mind were the ones they expected to be outside.
"That voice we heard, this one thinks it might be the leader of this place. This one suggests we...hunt now, while the rest of the pack is away. Still, best be wary. If the threat of death is a real one, that one will be strong enough to stand against those beneath him." He whispered shortly after the darkly clad men and women had passed. Their footsteps still echoed throughout the fort, but receded fast.

Posted by: grif11 Mar 17 2011, 11:22 PM

Mardus had started to feel strange, as if a siren from the tales of old was calling to him. perhaps it was just his anger messing with his senses."honestly", he muttered to himself, "if that blasted altmer wants this ground held, why send hopeless drones to defend it."

The call was getting stronger, drawing Mardus outside his lair.He could smell it now. blood, and lots of it. this must of been what the elf had meant when he said he would "bring a cloud of fear and weakness to cyrodiil".

Posted by: Tellie Mar 25 2011, 12:28 AM

Aren led the small group through the fort as quietly as he could, when a voice suddenly screamed for everyone else to 'Find them and kill them'. Smirking slightly as the sound and sight of fifteen men came marching towards them quickly he tightened the grip on his sword 'wouldn't even break a sweat killing them' he thought.

As soon as they had passed he led Swift and Aerona in through the door their enemies had arrived from, luckily only one person was standing guard and though he looked competent if his equipment was anything to go by he had long since grown complacent and it was childsplay for Aren to place an arrow in his throat. Acting quickly he too out the arrow before propping the body up against the wall, making it seem as though the man was leaning against it instead of being terminally dead.

THeir road continued deeper into the depths of the fort until the stood outside the door that led into the cells. "Alright this is where things can get nasty, there are five beings in there, if we're lucky all but one of them might be prisoners, if we assume the worst which is the right thing to assume there will be four guards and one prisoner."

Unscheathing his sword he cancelled the chameleon spell and looked over at his two hard to spot companions. "Once that door will go down I will engage any hostiles within, I want you two to get to the cell where they have our companion, open it and get the hell out of here, I will follow but unless you fancy fighting for your lives you do exactly what I've told you".

Without waiting for a reply he swallowed a potion to greatly enhance his strenght before kicking the door off its hinges. Stepping through the doorway he rammed his sword into the chest of the guard who stood guard by it, a small push dropped the body and he grinned as he watched the terrified faces of the other three guards. "Now which one of you lot thinks you have what it takes to bring me down?" he asked before charging the closest one.

OOC: There now we're getting somewhere.

Posted by: grif11 Mar 26 2011, 12:02 AM

Mardus:

While Mardus was uncorking a bottle of blood to calm himself, a new scent wafted in.
"strong smell of dunmeri blood, is that argonian?" Mardus thought.

Suddenly, a thunderous crash came from outside his room, followed by the sound of bloodshed.
"blast it!"Mardus thought."I have big plans for that thief, no way bandits are going to ruin them!"

Mardus threw on his set of enchanted ebony and drew his daedric longsword, and started walking towards the cells.

Posted by: jack cloudy Mar 27 2011, 09:47 PM

"But what if the cells are locked?" Swift-like-Fish asked but the Dunmer had already beaten down the door and entered the room. So instead the Argonian shook his head and peered around the doorframe to see the battle begin. Aren gave his foes no quarter, nor time to think about anything else but his blade. To his right, the Argonian saw the tell-tale gleam of iron bars, no doubt the cells they had been looking for. He could not see however, if someone was inside or if the door was open.
"Only an entirely incompetent guard would leave an occupied cell unlocked. These are not that stupid. Best find keys first." The fisherman thought and hurriedly glanced at the wall as far away from the cells as possible. If there were any keys in this room, it would be there. Indeed, there was a ring with a single heavy key hanging from a hook just below the torchholder that was the room's sole source of light.

"They're distracted, cells to our right. You go there, this one goes left to take keys. Hurry." He whispered to Aerona and slipped through the door, hoping that Aren would manage to keep being the distraction they needed.

Posted by: grif11 Mar 27 2011, 11:09 PM

Falius:

"Namiras breasts! "Falius cursed.
He had been silently trying to pick the lock of his cell with a small bone when the door to the cells was kicked in. The warrior then attacked the prison guards.

"so is this one man the cause of all the noise outside?" he thought.
"no way could one man kill all those guards on his own,not even the champion of cyrodiil could."

Falius then spotted the vampire entering the room.
"You better hurry up with those grunts!" Falius shouted "Gotta vampire behind you!"

Posted by: Dantrag Mar 31 2011, 04:02 AM

Aerona did as Swift said, and headed in the direction of the cells. She stayed crouched, and walked silently, though she doubted that anyone could hear her footsteps over the sound of shouts and ringing steel. It was simple enough to find the wood elf's cell, as he shouted a warning to Aren. The mention of a vampire made a shiver creep up her spine, but she made herself look anyway.

She saw him enter, adorned with sturdy ebony armor and carrying a sword as black as night. She knew enough about vampires to bring a fire spell to her mind, but her destruction skill was nothing extraordinary.

I can only hope it will be enough if something goes wrong...

"Shh," Aerona whispered to Falius, hoping that he could see her well enough to understand that she was camouflaged, and would like to stay that way, "We're here to get you out, just sit tight and don't draw too much attention to us."

It was too dimly lit in the fort to tell where Swift was. She hoped he would come quickly with the key.

Posted by: jack cloudy Mar 31 2011, 01:38 PM

OOC: Took some liberty with Aren. Got to explain why the fight is taking long enough for the jailbreak after all.

Still sticking to the shadows, Swift-like-Fish made his way to the opposite end of the room. Experience had taught him that when looking for something that moves fast and at waist-height or higher, in this case the sword of a fighting Dunmer, slow or immobile objects tended to be ignored. So he forced himself to be slow and low, grateful for the dim light that only enhanced the effect.

Fortunately for him, the three against one situation had forced the battle into a stalemate. If Aren committed himself to taking down one of his opponents with a decisive blow, he would leave himself open for the other two. If his opponents attacked together, they would only be in each other's way and attacking one at a time would only let them be slaughtered. So trivial blows were exchanged, not to end the fight, but to keep each other at their toes.

He reached the key without incident, slipped it off its hook and crouched down again to avoid being spotted. The Argonian weighed the key in his hands. He had no plans of making his way around the room again just to reach Aerona. It would take too long and any movement he made put him at risk of being discovered. Besides, if he'd planned to open the cells himself, he wouldn't have sent the woman there. No, from the onset his plan had been to toss the key over but even with the sounds of battle, he was wary of the sound the key would make upon striking the floor.

"Gotta vampire behind you!" The voice suddenly rang out above the clamor of steel. Swift looked at the entrance and indeed, the vampire was there. He had no more time to worry about making noise. Aren was in no position to guard his back as well as his front. So the fisherman tossed the key in the direction of the voice, gambling that either Aerona would be there as well, or that it would land close enough for the prisoner to take it and free himself.

"And now, to help my other comrade, this one shall...must hunt the humans." Swift-like-Fish thought and subconsciously bared his teeth. He took the only weapon within reach and leapt towards the back of one of Aren's foes, pressing the burning end of the torch firmly against the man's shirt. The flames greedily began to devour the fabric and their owner screamed as he dropped his sword. His attention had fled from the Dunmer before him and now solely rested on his flesh being burned.
"Death by fire, horrible...but necessary." The Argonian recoiled in horror at his own deed while swinging the torch wildly, hoping to catch anyone else or at least keep their swords away.

Posted by: grif11 Mar 31 2011, 11:13 PM

Falius heard a faint voice over the noise of the dunmer and guards.

"shh," it said, "were here to get you out, just sit tight and dont draw too much attention to us."

Falius nodded in the direction of the voice he renembered.
"hey, I know that voice, you were at the palace!"

before he got a reply, a metallic thunk came from outside the cell, and an argonian Falius recognised appeared, who followed the dunmers lead.

"I came for action, and the bloody fisherman is getting more than me!" Falius thought.

Posted by: Dantrag Apr 10 2011, 05:55 PM

Aerona was not prepared to catch the keys, and they fell to the stone floor with a metallic clank. She searched frantically for a moment, skimming her hands on the surface of the ground to find them in the darkness. She finally felt them, and fumbled with them for a moment before finally finding the one that unlocked Falius' cell.

"Are you hurt?" she asked the wood elf as she opened the cell door.

Just as the words escaped her mouth, she felt a hand grip her shoulder painfully. In her fright, she lost concentration, and both her and Swift were now just as visible as anyone else.

A darkly-clad aspirant nord with crooked teeth grinned at her, "Trying to hide are you, elf?"

Aerona tried to squirm away, but the nord only tightened his grip.

Posted by: grif11 Apr 10 2011, 07:32 PM

"Well, to be honest, I-" Falius started to say, but before he could finish, a guard had found his rescuer.

"Tell me, who used to live in this cell?"Falius asked the Nord.
"Huh! What kind of plan are you thinking?!"He scoffed.
"Well, if he was a pain in the neck to guard" Falius slyly said, picking a bone he had been whittling "He can't be much worse than THIS!"

He leapt at the Guard at the speed of a black horse, and plunged the bone into the Nords beefy throat. As he slowly suffocated and struggled to maintain balance, The Nord had swung his great black hammer into Falius's Chest, Knocking into the far wall.

He landed dazed, with a feeling of great pain in his chest. "Divines, this feels worse than that bottle of daedric whisky I drank."

Falius's vision was blurring, but he was able to make out the dunmer warrior and argonian struggling beneath the assault the vampire was giving them. Taking a secreted vial of poison from a slot in his armour, he laced one of the arrows that lay around him. The poison was concentrated daedric blood, poisonous to the touch, causing instant death.

Picking up a bow that had been abandonned, he aimed as best he could with a destroyed chest, and let loose the arrow.
________________________________________________________________________________

Mardus

"Ha! you underestimated the power of an elder vampire!" Mardus taunted his two opponents "six hundred years of immortality is more than enough time to learn how to kill a couple of adventurers!" The fight had lasted a long time now, and he could see the two mortals were now wearing out, making mistakes that were almost fatal, and striking weakly. It wouldn't be long now.

Suddenly, a strange feeling took over The vampire. He looked down, and saw an arrow protruding from his gut. Mardus chuckled and prepared to start his assault again, but his muscles suddenly clenched, and wouldnt move right. "What trickery is this!" He said, fear apparent in his voice.

Posted by: Dantrag Apr 21 2011, 08:26 PM

Aerona was freed from the nord's deathly grip, thanks to Falius, but she found herself on hands and knees gasping desperately for air. She watched in horror as the nord made one final hammer swing before collapsing in death. It sent Falius flyng over her and into the wall behind them.

She willed herself to get back on her feet, still trying to catch her breath. She made her way towards Falius; even though he was not dead, she could tell by the way he moved that he was severely injured. She watched him let an arrow fly, but didn't bother to look back to see if it hit the target. She was a healer first and foremost, not a fighter.

"Don't move," she instructed. Falius' chest was crushed; she could tell by his labored breaths. It was just difficult to tell how bad it really was. She could barely see in the dark dungeon, and Falius wore thick leather armor that she would need time to remove. The injury was beyond using simple healing spells. She went to work doing what she could to preserve his life until she could operate under better conditions.

She fortified his endurance, so that he could better fight the injury, and used a moderate frost spell on his chest both to numb the pain and to slow any internal bleeding the impact of the hammer may have caused. It was all she could do to help him at the moment, so she turned her attention to the fight. She did not involve herself directly, but gave herself the duty of protecting Falius in his vulnerable state.




Posted by: Tellie Apr 22 2011, 01:57 AM

Aren had been fighting his four opponents for some time, doing a simple slash and block routine, designed to do nothing more than keep the enemy busy from getting his allies. Naturally this also meant that he could not launch any proper strikes for fear of getting struck himself.

The status quo changed swiftly as a vampire came in from behind him, yet to Aren's great fortune he seemed more interested with boasting and posturing than to kill the only real warrior in the room. By now their last ally had been freed only to get struck by a hammer wielding nord. Seeing Aerona do her best to heal him he started to look for a way to end the fight.

The oppertunity arrived in the form of Swift who lit one of his opponents on fire. Before his remaining enemies could gut Swift he went into action. In one seamless motion he deflected an incoming strike and followed up with a quick jab of his gauntleted hand that chrushed the juggular of his enemy. Diving under another strike he came up standing beside Swift and a blindingly fast slash of his sword opened up a pair of bloody grins on the throats of his enemies.

Looking at the vampire who was looking around dazed he activated the enchantment on his sword. Instantly his sword was wreathed in flames and he stepped towards the abomination. "Learn my face beast, it will be the last thing you see before your soul is ripped to shreds in the depths of Oblivion" Aren growled at the vampire before launching his attack.

Instead of doing it with caution, trying to gauge his opponents skill he laid into the vampire with all he had. Using every century of his skill, speed and strenght Aren launched a never ending series of strikes from all angles with such speed that the others were struck with inaction. After a minute he gave a mental yell of triumph as he managed to unarm the vampire and before anyone could take stock of what happened he swung his sword against the neck of the abomination.

The look of panic on the face of the vampire was one of the most satisfying sights Aren had seen for some years and he grinned with triumph as the now headless vampire turned into dust. Turning back to Aerona he snapped out his orders. "Do what you can for him end get out the way you came from, I'll divert the enemy and follow later...if I haven't returned by an hour I'll be dead, so good luck and it has been an honour to meet you", then he tightened the grip on his sword and fled the room to go towards the upper levels of the fort where he would see if he could find the one person who could best him in combat.

Posted by: Dantrag Apr 23 2011, 05:37 AM

Before Aerona could argue, Aren had already fled. She sighed heavily.

And just how am I going to get him down a well and through flooded tunnels?

Aren's strength and fighting skill would have helped carry Falius, not to mention protect them should they encounter trouble on the way out... She made herself stop thinking about what-ifs and focus on the task at hand.

"Hang on, Falius, we're going to try to move you in a minute. Tell me if it starts to hurt too badly, and for the love of the Nine, do not fall asleep."

"Swift, can you help me carry him? We'll have to be very careful with the upper body, so I'll take that. You grab his legs."

OOC: if you need his stuff grabbed, maybe swift could do it?

Posted by: jack cloudy Apr 23 2011, 10:52 AM

Swif-like-Fish was in shock, sitting on the Floor where he had fallen after tripping over his own feet. If anyone had desired to harm him, now would have been the time, time Aren did not allow as he swiftly took advantage of the opening the Argonian had provided. Within moments only the vampire was left and he too fell to the Dunmer’s blade.

Aren vanished right away afterwards, leaving Falius, Aerona and Swift in the room with the dead. With Aerona calling for him, the fisherman slowly returned to his senses.
“Yes.” He only hissed as, still trembling, he knelt down beside the Bosmer to take his legs. The task helped clear his mind of what had happened and he refound his tongue.
“How to get him out, ideas? This one could drag him out through the well and back to the surface in under a minute. But harmed as he is, this one believed his wounds would only become worse.”

OOC: If you want to get Falius’ stuff gathered, its probably best if Falius says so. Swift wouldn’t think about it himself. He'd be more worried about getting Falius out.

Posted by: Dantrag Apr 25 2011, 06:10 AM

"I don't think we have any other choice, Swift," Aerona replied, "There'll be trouble if we try the door, and Aren is our diversion. We have to take the tunnel."

She didn't want to say anything about it, but she was fading. Besides the mental strain of repressing panic and acting on pure adrenalin the past few hours, Aerona was feeling the indescribable drain associated with over-exhausting her magickal abilities. Between the fight outside, and the subsequent rescue mission, she hadn't given much thought to how many spells she'd been casting. If they met trouble, she'd be no help.

I don't want to scare Swift with my problem...we'll just have to be quick and silent.

She carefully lifted Falius with one hand supporting his back, keeping it as straight as possible. They began shuffling back the way they came. Aerona just hoped that they'd survive long enough to reach her supplies. Her potions could do for Falius what her spells could not.

OOC: perhaps aren could find falius' things?

Posted by: grif11 Apr 25 2011, 10:03 AM

After firing the arrow, Falius had blacked out. He was still concious, but everything was a blur. He remembered his chest becoming cold and not as painful, and him being lifter up, but he couldn't see or hear anything.

He tried saying a few words but they only came out as wheezes. Finally, he said something coherent. "A-A chest, vampires room," Falius wheezed out. a fit of coughing overtook him and he began to feel the pull of the black void drawing him in. But he wouldn't go yet.

Posted by: Dantrag Apr 27 2011, 04:51 AM

The young healer wasn't sure how wise it would be to fetch Falius' belongings from the vampire's room, but then again, she wasn't sure of much at all anymore. Perhaps the wood elf owned some enchanted item that would get them out of this mess.

She set the bosmer down as gently as she could.

"I'll fetch his things, Swift. If I'm not back soon..." she decided to let that statement drop. There was no time for a backup plan. Her mind was too tired to think of one anyway. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to cast water-breathing when the time came.

Aerona shuffled away, into the blackness of the old fort. She found the room easily; the coffin on the floor gave it away. It was dark, so it took her a few moments to find what she was looking for. A chest in the corner. It wasn't locked, and the items inside looked as if they belonged to a hunter. There was a bow, a knife, a very basic mortar and pestle, and a few poisons. She took it all and found her companions again.

"I've got it," she said, somewhat disappointed that there was no powerful magickal device. Now they had a person and a bunch of stuff to carry. With a sigh she slung the bow over her shoulder, stuffed the mortar and pestle inside Falius' armor, threw the poisons to the floor (she figured she had enough alchemical supplies at the wagon to replace them), and presented the knife to Swift.

"I think we can go now," she said, struggling to keep her eyes focused as she lifted Falius once more.

Posted by: grif11 Apr 27 2011, 10:32 PM

"Take a sip from the flask, and give it to me." Falius wheezed out."

"You'll need it". The mead Falius had brewed from his Mothers recipie would give an instant energy boost and helped with wounds, meaning it could well save their lives when it came to leaving.

Posted by: jack cloudy Apr 29 2011, 03:22 PM

At Falius' behest, Aerona left to fetch the Bosmer's belongings. It wasn't long till her return but to Swift-like-Fish's feelings it was far too long. He had been tempted to go after her, but he couldn't leave Falius and in his current state, carrying the young man by himself would only serve to worsen his injuries.

Upon her return, Aerona handed over a knife to Swift who tucked it behind one of the loops in his harness after which they picked up Falius once more. By now, it had become obvious that the healer was at her limit. She was barely able to carry Falius and would be no good in a fight, nor would she have the strength to run. Even the swim back through the tunnel could very well be too much for her.
"When at the well, rest in the shadows. This one will bring our friend to the shore, then come back to get you."


Posted by: Dantrag Apr 30 2011, 03:36 AM

Aerona took a sip of Falius' mead and gave it back to him. She and Swift carried the wood elf back through the corridors of the fort. By the time they got to the well, whatever effect the mead had was gone. As much as she didn't like it, she was going to have to take Swift's advice and rest while he took Falius to shore.

She helped Swift lower Falius into the well before seating herself in the darkest corner of the room, leaning heavily against the stone wall. She couldn't help but close her eyes.

"Do what you can to keep his back straight," Aerona instructed weakly, eyes still closed.

"And Swift? Please hurry. I don't like this place."

Posted by: jack cloudy May 1 2011, 07:22 PM

Swift-like-Fish

Swift-like-Fish rechecked his harness which he'd strapped around the Bosmer. It wasn't much as far as improvised braces went, but he hoped it would at least help keep the young man's back straight. Still, he feared that the underwater journey would worsen his wounds or perhaps even prove to be fatal.
"He'll need more medical attention once on the shore. And the only one this one knows who can provide that attention will still be here. Best hurry." He thought as he tightened the last strap.

"And Swift? Please hurry. I don't like this place." Aerona had her eyes closed and looked so tired it was hard to tell who was in worse condition, the Bosmer or the Dunmer. Swift found it almost odd that he was still bursting with energy, but put it down to a mixture of the adrenaline still coursing through his veins and not having done as much as she had.
"This one shall return as swift as possible. Stay safe till then." He said, keeping his voice low out of fear for being heard. He didn't know what happened to the group that had stormed towards the entrance, or what became of Aren. He could only hope that the distraction from their comrades outside would serve its purpose and that the Dunmer could hold the attention of anyone left inside.

"Hold breath deep." He whispered to Falius after a moment and once he had confirmed that the Bosmer had indeed taken the deepest breath he could with his ruined ribs, the Argonian dove. This time around, he could no longer use his arms to propell himself forward, occupied as they were with holding Falius and preventing the wounded man from hitting any of the many protruding rocks of the tunnel. His legs were likewise occupied with preventing the Bosmer's own legs from flailing about, possibly injuring himself even further or just slowing them down. All that the fisherman had to move them through the tunnel was his tail which sweeped back and forth. And his tail was all he needed. Having grown strong from a life spent underwater, it propelled Argonian and Mer forward through the dark tunnel and up to the shore.

Swift's earlier assesment of taking merely a minute to reach the shore turned out to be wrong. It had been nearly two since they dove down through the well till they reached the surface of the lake. Still, he had no time to check on Falius' condition. Every second wasted was one more second that someone might find Aerona and she was the only one who could take care of any complications that had occured after the journey underwater. Even worse so, the sky had darkened and it appeared to be raining. But being as used to water as he was, whether it came from the sky or a pond, the Argonian paid it no heed. The fisherman pulled Falius onto the shore, laid him out flat as possible and checked to make sure the Bosmer was still breathing and his heart still beating. After that, he instantly dove back into the lake and raced down the tunnel once more.
"This one hopes no one will find him lying there. While the cover of the vegetation growing next to the shore is strong and will hide him well, he is helpless."

Reaching the well took scarcely more than a third of the time his trip with Falius had taken. Now unhindered by anything and becoming more aware of every obstruction in the tunnel with each time he passed through, he was as swift as the fish he hunted. At the end of the tunnel, he used his legs to cushion the impact with the well's wall and propelled himself up to the surface.
"Are you well? This one will help you swim and leave the dark place."

Posted by: Dantrag May 3 2011, 06:39 PM

Aerona sat alone for what seemed like an eternity. She fought to stay awake, and fought harder to keep her food down. Something wasn't right. She was tired to be sure, but she hadn't done so much that she should feel this awful.

I must be getting sick. she thought to herself.

She must have dozed off for a moment because the next thing she remembered was Swift asking if she was ready to leave.

"Well as I can be right now," she said, pulling herself to her feet, "Let's go."

Posted by: jack cloudy May 3 2011, 08:24 PM

Swift nodded.
"This one left Falius on the shore. The bushes hide him well from errant eyes..." He hissed, then paused as a thought occurred to him. "But with the unexpected rain, he won't dry and cold may grasp is wounded lungs."

He helped Aerona into the water before proceeding. He had expected the rest to do her well, but she looked just as, if not more, tired as she had been when he left.
"This one will pull you along through the water and make the journey faster. Can you breathe water?"

Posted by: Dantrag May 5 2011, 05:20 AM

I'm not sure. she thought, but kept to herself.

Aerona didn't reply to Swift, she simply cast the spell. It worked, to her surprise, but now she could feel the drain even more.

She lowered herself into the well, and they made their way out of the fort. Her hand gripped Swift's tightly as he propelled them both through the water. Aerona's eyes were closed in the water, and with the tunnel's twists and turns, she quickly became disoriented. The feeling was gone as soon as it came; Swift brought her to the surface more quickly than she had expected.

Her eyes were open now, and she was treading water. Tiny red droplets fell in the lake around her.

"Is that...blood?"

Posted by: Ahrenil May 6 2011, 06:43 PM

Gillyed wasn't liking this, he wasn't liking it at all. The resccue team had been gone for a long while, as had been the psycho with the mask, a combination that did not bode well. To top it all off, it had started raining...Blood. He had been scouring his mind for any reference to this occurence in his tales and songs, but was drawing a blank, he knew no spell or unnatural event that could have caused such a violent twist in the laws of nature, and this meant that something very, very bad must be going down.

Subconsciously he began to grip the haft of his warhammer a little tighter, and checked the straps on his shield. "We can't stay here for long, I don't know if this is just blood or not, but my guess is that it's not going to be a good diea to get smothered in it, we need to get the others and find some shelter." he said to the Redguard, peering towards the lake. "I just hope they're back soon"

Posted by: jack cloudy May 6 2011, 10:06 PM

"Is that...blood?" Exhilerated as he was at having left the fort for the last time and knowing that both Aerona and Falius were safe (for now), Swift-like-Fish did not notice the healer's words at first. After a moment though, when he realized she was gazing at the sky as opposed to the shore where the Bosmer was waiting, he too looked up and began to realize that this was not mere rain.

"Blood?...But that would be impossible. There is no bird large enough to bleed from the clouds like rain." He hissed in disbelief. As it struck the water, the crimson droplets mixed with the lake, whose surface was now a light shade of pink. The Argonian admonished himself for not having noticed. It wasn't like him, to ignore abnormal conditions in the waters around him. Perhaps he really was as tired as Aerona was, but hadn't allowed himself to notice. On top of that fearsome thought, he gagged at the thought of having breathed the foul blood.
"This one breathes water with gills on the outside, but she has actually swallowed the water...this could be bad."

"This is impossible." He repeated while shaking his head.
"But this is no time for speak. Tired as you are, you cannot swim much longer. This one will help you climb ashore now. Also, this one is sorry for leaving Bosmer in this...rain." He continued as he retook Aerona's hand and forcibly dragged her the short distance to the edge of the lake, to the same spot where he'd left Falius.

Posted by: ureniashtram May 7 2011, 11:30 AM


Cyldreen saw the rescue team emerge with the troublesome Bosmer. From here, he could see that Falius is not conscious and his chest had a staggering dent in it, probably caused by a hammer. The dunmer, though not wounded fatally, was nearly the same. She was hanging on the precipice of consciousness.

Aren was not with them and Cyldreen did not know what that meant.

The Breton, through sheer force of will, raised his hands to the air. The unnatural rain that weakened him he blocked out and in his mind, he imagined the symbol of Illusion. When the picture was burned in his mind, he muttered the Word of incantation. The air surrounding him gathered and whirled around his arm and shot off with a great speed towards the sky.

And then it exploded in a shower of green sparks and red smoke.

Let us hope that that Nord and the Redguard sees it.

He carefully climbed down, a feat on on its own as the rain was wrecking havoc on his own, and made a stumbling trek towards the rescue team. When he finally reached them, he rested on his hands on his knees.

"The signal has been sent," his voice slurred the words. "Pray that the others have prepared a swift escape.. Of Aren, what has become of him?"

Posted by: Dantrag May 7 2011, 06:17 PM

Swift helped her to shore, and Aerona quickly checked on Falius before finding her clothes. They were right where she'd left them among the shrubs. She spotted green sparkles and red smoke; the signal, she assumed.

She dressed quickly, and just as she was finished Cyldreen approached.

"Aren was fighting his way out to clear our escape," she said quietly as her eyes drifted back to the Fort, "But I don't think we can do anything about it right now. We need to get Falius to the wagon so I can help him."

The red shower kept on. They hadn't been standing on the shore very long, but already her hair was soaked in blood, and she was feeling worse and worse.

"Cyldreen, could you help Swift carry him? I think being in this blood rain is making me sick."


Posted by: Ahrenil May 7 2011, 10:07 PM

Gillyed caught a glimpse of light through the scarlet mist that was descending, it had the familiar hint of magick, and wasn't killing anything which probably meant it was a signal, or some mage trying to tell the gods to stop. The Nord checked the wagon, everything was set to go, though he was loathe to move to the road just yet, not until he knew what was happening.

He clambered up the steep slope between the wagon's hiding place and the banks of lake and peered down towards the shore, trying to spot the rescue team who would be heading up. The rain was soaking into his furs, weighing him down, and was beginning to block out his vision as it splashed on the ground, mixing with the dirt to make thick and viscious streams flowing down into the lake which began to turn an ominous shade.

"Come on hurry up", he muttered, considering heading down to the shore and looking for the group himself.

Posted by: ureniashtram May 8 2011, 09:15 AM


The Breton nodded and bent to pick up Falius' legs. He turned to Argonian.

"Come on, friend. Let us carry our elfin friend to safety."

Posted by: jack cloudy May 9 2011, 02:25 PM

"Yes, you lead. Did the wagon get moved? If so, this one does not know where to go." Swift hissed as he helped carry Falius, still careful not to put too much strain on the mer's back.
"This one only hopes that the dark hunter still inside is safe. And what about other comrades? This one saw a sizable group of enemies run for the entrance. Did they come out to fight them, or did they stop at the door?"


OOC: I thought part of the plan was a distraction from the ones still outside. Since that didn't happen, having the group meant to engage those outside stop and wait at the door is the best way to resolve the plothole I think.

Posted by: Lord Revan May 10 2011, 01:33 AM

Nathan pulled his poncho's hood over his head, securing the flap over the lower part of his face. It would take more than a shower to seep through his winter gear. Still, the shift in weather was... unsettling. He stood guard by the wagon while Gillyed went to check on the others.

"Why couldn't it be rain?" The Redguard muttered, contemplating his reddening boots. "Blood is so hard to wash out."

Posted by: ureniashtram May 10 2011, 11:32 AM

"Right. Let us be careful then." And with a grunt, Cyldreen began to walk towards the general direction of the wagon. The condition of Falius was something indeed, particulary when seeing it in front of you. The healing skill of Aerona was not the greatest, but it was enough. He just hoped that she had enough energy for herself to keep up.

"I haven't seen anyone outside the Fort, if you don't count the corpses we left. Perhaps they thought twice about rushing headlong outside where their defender's murderers are?"

The Breton was careful in the matter of handling the elf. It will not simply do to have their objective die because of some human error. When the scout inside Cyldreen was sure they have passed a certain line of perspective for the Nord and Redguard, he turned his head.

He detected them and the wagon.

"Hey! We need some help, we got a mer down!"

OOC: Did not notice the group of enemy rushing out of the Fort until I checked posts earlier. Sorry, guys. My fault. I'll just side with what Jack said. Sorry, again.

Posted by: Ahrenil May 10 2011, 08:35 PM

OOC:Yeah, I remember people running to the door but never actually going out, and kinda forgot about them too. Waiting at the door seems like a good idea.

"There they are, damnit looks like they're in a spot of trouble" Gillyed murmured. Against his better judgement he dropped his shield and slung his warhammer through a loop in his belt. "Look after that, and try and get the wagon close to the road." he grunted at the Redguard as he began to walk, though it was more of a slide, down the slope to the others. He saw the Breton was managing the stretcher alright, but the Argonian seemed to be in a bit worse for wear. While not weak he knew the man hadn't gone through the rigorous training others in the group had.

"We're just over the rise, but it's quite slipper now thanks to this...weather" Gillyed grunted, he felt unduly tired, far more so than that earlier battle should have made him.
"If you want I can take the mer from here" he said to the Argonian "But either way one of us should steady him, incase one of the carriers slips in the mud."

Posted by: Dantrag May 14 2011, 07:35 PM

They made it to the Ayleid well and the wagon. Aerona stumbled towards the well, knowing that it would restore her magickal abilities. It did the job; a blue swirl of light surrounded her for a moment, and her next breath felt fuller.

The sickness was still present. She could feel it.

It has to be this rain. Mara, what could make blood fall from the sky?

"Lay him down in the wagon," she said. Even her voice sounded stronger now.

She went to the wagon and began rummaging through her rucksack. She found some ingredients; lavender sprigs and fly amanita caps. She crushed them with her mortar and pestle. It was a pasty mixture, the same that she'd used on Gillyed earlier. This time, though, she needed a potion. She put the paste into a vial of water, and mixed it by shaking it up.

She propped Falius' head up and poured it bit by bit down his throat, making sure each dose was small enough for him to swallow. When the potion was gone, she laid his head back down.

"The potion will take effect in a minute or two," she said, "I'll follow up with some spells as we go. I think it would be wise if we went back to the city now."


Posted by: grif11 May 17 2011, 10:06 PM

"Thanks for this." Falius said as the dunmer healed his wound. "I dont even know your name and you've saved my life."

"About the blood," He added. "I renember an old child's tale my Mother used to tell me:
Undorsil, Curse-bringer of Old,
Who possessed magic that all behold.

He came across a tattered book,
And he decided to take a look,
One curse managed to slip his lips,
And pain filled him of a hundred whips.

When he woke, he felt his lips,
And they had became tattered rips.
Many years past, and more curses spoken,
And Undorsil is now, all but broken."


Falius Paused, as a small fit of coughing took over him, but he quickly dove back, while he could still remember how his Mother would sing the tale:

"Undorsil now brings fear from far,
Causing disasters to make us scar.
Poison rivers and strokes of pain,
And worst of all, the cursed blood rain."


"Might just be a coincidence, but it does sound like it. We should go to the city anyway."

OOC:Dunno what brought this on, I was just in a poetry mood.

Posted by: jack cloudy May 18 2011, 10:05 PM

Swift-like-Fish

When Gillyed had offered to take upon himself the task of carrying the Bosmer, Swift shook his head.
"The young one is hurt bad. Best to only put down and pick up as few times as possible. This one can carry him to the wagon with gleamfaced's help. Still, if you would be willing to support Falius' back, this one would be most grateful." He grunted. The young hunter was quite light, even moreso since the Argonian only had to lift half the mer's weight. The ground was slippery though, which forced them to be even more cautious when moving. The fisherman had infact opted to use his tail as a third leg to help balance and anchor himself as they moved up the slope.

Now he too was beginning to feel the first hints of exhaustion and he inadvertantly lowered the Bosmer by a few centimetres. He hoped it was only because of his actions. Swimming at top speed wasn't much of a problem for him, but doing it while dragging someone else with him, after sneaking and fighting through a fort was something else. He really hoped that was the cause of the weariness he felt. If it was the rain affecting him however, then it would be a bigger reason to fear the strange weather than its colour had been. Argonians like he were known to be almost immune to all known and unknown sicknesses, both mundane and magical. If the rain had gotten to him, then it would have gotten to everyone else four times as badly.

Finally they managed to safely lower Falius onto the wagon and Swift allowed himself a moment's rest. Only a moment however, as he agreed with Aerona's assessment that they should be leaving as soon as possible.
"This one thinks that returning to the great city is best as well. If only the dark one would safely make it out of the fort soon. This one will ready the horses and wagon. If the hunter of men has not yet returned by then..." He paused for a moment, thinking of what he'd just implied.
"We must decide whether to wait longer or leave." He finished.

While his companions busied themselves with their tasks, Swift focussed on the horses. He couldn't be sure, but to him the normally meek animals looked even more passive than usual. Could this also be part of the rain? Surely it was merely an unusual but still natural phenomena? The idea of the land being smothered in crimson poison from the skies was something he refused to believe. Something he refused, up till the moment the strengthened Falius began to mutter a folktale of some sort.
"Does the small hunter know more? Is it just a tale, or is there truth in those words? This Undorsil, is he myth, or real?" Swift asked. He'd switched out the horse in front of the wagon. On the way back, it would be best if the strongest of the two horses pulled the wagon, which meant the one who had only carried Cyldreen on the way to the fort. He didn't dare touch Aren's horse. The beast seemed to be quite different in temperament and talent from the other two.

Posted by: grif11 May 19 2011, 08:42 PM

"To be honest, I'm not sure," he replied to the Argonian. "I used to ask my Mother if he was real, and she said no. Still, would you tell children that a mage would make it rain blood and poison rivers?"

"before I forget, could I get my knife back? my bow as well if you will". Falius looked down at his broken curiuas and sighed."I'm guessing none of you are any good with an anvil?"

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