The War of Necromancy, The Roleplaying Thread Options

[ureniashtram]

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.

This post has been edited by ureniashtram: Feb 6 2011, 04:54 PM

[Dantrag]

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.

[Ahrenil]

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.)

[Lord Revan]

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.

[jack cloudy]

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.

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.

[grif11]

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!

[Dantrag]

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.

[Lord Revan]

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.

This post has been edited by Lord Revan: Feb 9 2011, 07:03 PM

[ureniashtram]

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."

[Ahrenil]

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."

[Lord Revan]

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.

[Dantrag]

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.

[grif11]

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.

This post has been edited by grif11: Feb 13 2011, 12:48 AM

[Tellie]

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"?

[Dantrag]

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.

[Tellie]

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?"

[Lord Revan]

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...

[jack cloudy]

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.

[ureniashtram]

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

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."

[Dantrag]

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?"