The Ghostfence rp: Playground 2 Options

[minque]

Rianne

She walked beside Dralas, noticing his thoughtfulness. She had understood he knew the fallen ashlanders but not to what extent, and reading his facial expression she got a feeling he knew them better than she really wanted to know. Rianne continued her playing, while she looked at the others in the small group.

She noticed resentment from the cloaked figure she noticed before, he probably thought it was unappropriate to play music when there had been killings, killings of her own people, but how could he know that the tune she played was of honor to the dead!

She shrugged and continued walking...

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval

Eno had never dared dream that he would ever be glad to see the jagged dark edges of a Daedric shrine. Yet, when his eyes caught the first malevolent peak piercing the sky, he muttered a few words of relief.
"Finally, we're there." He whispered.
"Now all I want is to turn right around and take the first caravan home. No more adventurous journeys through the ashlands!"

As they approached, a few members of the temple approached them, flanked by a pair of Armigers.
"Halt! Who are you and why did you come?!" One of the Armigers shouted. Then, he lifted his helmet to get a better look.
"By the...Hey, are you part of that caravan that came through here not too long ago? It's captain claimed that a small group went back to take over a dead Guar's load, only to never return. Reckoned they'd been slain by wild beasts, or worse. Well, are you that group? If so, praise be ALMSIVI. If not, I have to ask you once more. Who are you and why did you come?"

"Wild beasts? There were Dark Elves, but no one slayed us." Haz muttered in return, so softly that only those closest to him could hear.

"Please...somebody else talk to them. I just don't want to remember that." Eno gagged.

[bbqplatypus]

Apelles Velvus

Apelles spoke up. "Yes, we are that group. A rogue group of Ashlanders attacked us. Miraculously, we all survived the attack. I doubt we'll be seeing more of them, but I won't rule out the possibility that there are still a few following us.

"Wait, did you say 'passed through?' I was under the impression that the caravan would be resting here for the evening."

[jack cloudy]

OOC: Good point there. I'll try to work it out.

Random Armiger

The Armiger nodded.
"That is good to hear. You should visit the camp and make your presence known. They'll have to scratch you off the list of losses. Our administrative section, as well as the blacksmith and alchemists are located inside the shrine itself. You need to ascend the stairs of that building over there to find the door. The healer has placed a tent at the bottom of those stairs. We would go with you, but our task lies in patrolling the perimeter." He answered. The man put his helmet back on, while muttering a few curses regarding the uncomfortable object under his breath and then pointed towards the center of camp.

"Well, when I said pass through, I meant that they passed us, the guards. My apologies if I was unclear. I believe that they haven't gone any further yet. Check out the other side of the ruins. I think they set up camp there. Now if you excuse us, we should be going. If there are Ashlanders out there, we'll have to deal with them. Scare them off. Oh, and one more thing. Welcome to the half-way camp, travelers."

OOC: I hope this works. Any objections with the layout of the camp? I figured that for the most part, the camp would be inside the shrine itself because of the shelter it provides, with only the caravan and guards staying outside. I put the healer on the outside because it is hard to go up stairs with a broken leg.

[canis216]

OOC: I have no objections to the layout. Seems reasonable enough.

Dranas Heleran

Before setting off to the other side of the ruin to set up camp Dranas decided to drop his armor off inside the shrine for repair. He was a fair hand at repairing most weapons and armor, but working the netch leather of Morrowind was different enough from his training as a youth to make him prefer a professional's work.

[Dantrag]

Dralas

They arrived at the shrine, only to find that they hadn't really been expected. In fact, they'd already been listed as casualties. Something about that didn't sit well with Dralas, and the armiger's remarks concerning ashlanders did little to help. As usual, though, Dralas kept his mouth shut. In his experience, listeners fared better than talkers.

He lit a hackle-lo, and after a few puffs, handed it to Rianne.

The layout of the camp was simple enough, but no part of it really appealed to him. Services inside, their lost caravan outside on the other end of the ruin.

"Where to?" he asked her. More than anything else, he was trying to speak with her privately, and gave a hand signal that said as much without alerting their non-ashlander companions. The wise woman topic needed to be addressed.

When he'd first met Rianne, she had looked like any other civilized dunmer woman. Then he learned that she was in fact Ahemmusa. Now she was a wise woman? Why was she here? Hopefully she'd be able to answer all those questions as promised. Hopefully she was no mabrigash.

[minque]

Rianne

Rianne accepted the hackle-lo from Dralas with a faint smile. She understood he wished to speak with her in private and also figured that he had some questions..questions about her acting so far.

Quite understandable, he is one of us, he knows the secret signs and I have revealed nothing...but maybe I should, he seems to be reliable...besides, I have gotten fond of him, he is a good man, I can feel it

"Here, follow me to the eastern side, I know this shrine and there is a cave there which nobody use" she said.

Morrie was left outside the cave and Rianne took a blanket from her backpack and sat down.

"Dralas Lasamsi, because I trust and like you I will tell you a few things about myself, which I sincerely hope will stay between us, at least for the time being"

"I was brought up by the Ahemmusa Wise Woman, Sinnamu Mirpal, and yes Dralas, I know the rituals and things that Wise Women do. It is a fact that I am supposed to be the next Wise Woman of the Ahemmusa, but the time has not come yet, I have not finished my education completely. I still have to learn about life and my people, the Ashlanders"

Rianne silenced, and asked Dralas for another hackle-lo. After lighting it she continued

"I joined this caravan for a number of reasons, but first of all to learn...then of course since I also am adopted inte the Sarethi Family of Great House Redoran and my step-brother, Salyn Sarethi at the moment is doing his duty as an Armiger at Ghostgate, I think it would be a good idea to visit him and offer any kind of help or so...which leads me to my other deep secret..."

Again she was silent..pondering if she really should tell him...

"Ok...this is classified information...I am a member of the Morag Tong! Yes my dear friend I...Rianne am an assassin, and a damn good one if I may say so!"

"So do not fear me, I have nothing but good intentions fo being here, and I hereby offer my services to you, I am a healer, almost a Wise Woman and a pretty good assassin..although I do hate senseless killing, but I am sure you understand"

Rianne stood upp and started walking back and forth, this was the longest speech she had made for quite some time and she was worried that Dralas maybe could misunderstand..maybe, but somehow she figured he would understand and let her in on his mission, she had a pretty good guess of what he was up to and if she was righyt, they would be a good team...




OOC I am on holiday, and will be leaving for Germany tomorrow for a camping trip, so I do not know when or even if I will be able to get online the next three weeks, but I will certainly try! If not, will you please control Rianne for me Danny!

[jack cloudy]

Haz

With the group splitting up, Haz decided he would find a lonely spot among the ruins himself. As soon as he'd settled down in the shadows cast by a Daedric arch, he rolled up his sleeve to inspect the wound on his arm. The bleeding had stopped by now and it looked reasonably clean.
"Besides, there is no water for cleaning here so I wouldn't have been able to deal with dirt if needed. All I have on me is for drinking and this place is so dry, I'm thirsty all the time." The Argonian thought to himself.

"I'll join back up with the caravan by night. And hopefully no one will ask inconvenient questions. At least I'm rid of the Guar."

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran

It hadn't been difficult to find the armorer. A smoking forge will do that. The proprietor was a well-muscled middle-aged dunmer named Gavis. Could he repair netch leather? He could.

"Great. My pauldron here is in a bad way. You think can manage a fix before the caravan's off in the morning?"

The armorer's face assumed a thoughtful appearance. It was the look that Dranas understood to mean, "Yeah sure, I can do it. So long as you pay me double." After a moment of this 'thought' the armorer, Gavis, grabbed a quill and a sheet of parchment and made a few scratches--really hamming it up, Dranas thought. Finally the armorer spoke.

"I reckon I can finish by morning if I work through the night, but overtime like that is going to cost extra, you understand. Say, 50 drakes?"

Of course, all that acting had given Dranas plenty of time to formulate his own bargaining strategy.

"15 drakes, or I'll just fix it myself, Gavis."

The armorer flashed a dubious look. "I know it seems pricey, but for a delicate job like this..."

Dranas cut him off with a raised palm. He held up the pauldron. "Look, I know netch is a pain to fix, but I'm no fool. I can fix this up pretty good in something like three hours, so I know damn well that an experienced fellow like yourself can do it in half the time, and that time damn well ain't worth 50 drakes."

For a moment the two mer were quiet, even as others passed to and fro.

Gavis' face had gone blank. "25 drakes, all up front."

So had Dranas'. "20 drakes. Half now and half when you're finished."

"Deal."

This post has been edited by canis216: Aug 24 2009, 04:51 AM

[Colonel Mustard]

Erna

Now they had arrived back at the ruins, Erna decided his presence wasn't needed. Instead, he took his guar and decided to go exploring.

He remembered the guard's words of advice how the semi-permanent offices and services the camp had were located up some stairs in the ruins, but he knew places like these. They were a maze of tight, winding corridors, strangely out of kilter with the laws of nature. He wouldn't be surprised to find a whole new network of tunnels beneath the surface.

He skirted around the stairs that led up to the offices, looking for another entrance and trying not to attract attention. Eventually, he found an entrance, a wooden door, half rotten with age and partially sunken into the ground. He doubted anybody knew about it, not even the cultists that had once inhabited it. It was not doubt dangerous, possibly with some ancient, and extremely hungry, daedra lurking within.

This would be fun.

Erna glanced around to see nobody was following him, tied his guar to a nearby pillar and kicked at the door. It thudded, but didn't move, so Erna tried twice more before it splintered of its hinges. The soft ash that had covered up the door began to slide slowly in, and Erna crawled through the small gap on his belly, before tumbling through into a corridor. It was dark, except for the light shining through the gap in the wall of dirt and ash that had built up around the door. It would probably take some determined digging to clear his way out of here.

No matter. The digging could wait.

Clicking his fingers to summon a small, sputtering flame in the palm of his hand, Erna raised it above his head and in the dim light, stepped into the dank darkness of the shrine's ancient corridors.

He already felt at home.

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval

The group began to split up as soon as the Armigers had left. Eno bid farewell as well and, after tying his Guar to a convenient post, he headed up the stairs. He was certain that there had to be some sort of administrative office in the camp, and he was going to find it.

Inside the shrine, he struggled to make out anything. While there were a few candeliers burning with fire, the walls, the ceiling and even the floor seemed to suck up all the light. It was quite unnerving and Eno half-expected some horrible monstrosity to jump out of the darkness.
"Come on, old man. Get a grip of yourself. This place has been in use by the Temple for months now. The only danger there is is tripping on those bloody impossible to see stairs. Now get a move on." He admonished himself and walked deeper into the shrine.

[Colonel Mustard]

Erna

The corridors wound around and around in the darkness, seemingly endless and at impossible angles, physics discarded as they wound round each other like the intestines of some colossal beast born within the deepest pits of Oblivion.

As far as Erna could tell, he had only been within the depths of this shrine for a few minutes, yet already it felt as if he had been wandering for hours. He wasn't afraid. He knew that, once recognised, anything within here would grant him passage, should anything remain in these depths. And if it didn't, then he would be killed. No great loss-he'd still win in the long run.

He rounded a corner and then, without warning, found himself within a large hall. Torches in brackets were bolted the eight pillars that supported the cavernous room, their flames a sputtering, dirty crimson. It was what was at the far end that caught Erna's attention.

Behind a great bowl, filled with flame, stood a colossal statue of Mehrunes Dagon. His great axe was in one hand, his spike and barbed blade in the other, gemstone eyes glaring down at the doorway where Erna stood.

The dark elf smiled as he saw it.

"I'm back, master," he said quietly. "And my mission goes well."

This post has been edited by Colonel Mustard: Aug 28 2009, 01:54 PM

[Dantrag]

Rianne

Rianne accepted the hackle-lo from Dralas with a faint smile. She understood he wished to speak with her in private and also figured that he had some questions..questions about her acting so far.

Quite understandable, he is one of us, he knows the secret signs and I have revealed nothing...but maybe I should, he seems to be reliable...besides, I have gotten fond of him, he is a good man, I can feel it

"Here, follow me to the eastern side, I know this shrine and there is a cave there which nobody use" she said.

Morrie was left outside the cave and Rianne took a blanket from her backpack and sat down.

"Dralas Lasamsi, because I trust and like you I will tell you a few things about myself, which I sincerely hope will stay between us, at least for the time being"

"I was brought up by the Ahemmusa Wise Woman, Sinnamu Mirpal, and yes Dralas, I know the rituals and things that Wise Women do. It is a fact that I am supposed to be the next Wise Woman of the Ahemmusa, but the time has not come yet, I have not finished my education completely. I still have to learn about life and my people, the Ashlanders"

Rianne silenced, and asked Dralas for another hackle-lo. After lighting it she continued

"I joined this caravan for a number of reasons, but first of all to learn...then of course since I also am adopted inte the Sarethi Family of Great House Redoran and my step-brother, Salyn Sarethi at the moment is doing his duty as an Armiger at Ghostgate, I think it would be a good idea to visit him and offer any kind of help or so...which leads me to my other deep secret..."

Again she was silent..pondering if she really should tell him...

"Ok...this is classified information...I am a member of the Morag Tong! Yes my dear friend I...Rianne am an assassin, and a damn good one if I may say so!"

"So do not fear me, I have nothing but good intentions fo being here, and I hereby offer my services to you, I am a healer, almost a Wise Woman and a pretty good assassin..although I do hate senseless killing, but I am sure you understand"

Rianne stood upp and started walking back and forth, this was the longest speech she had made for quite some time and she was worried that Dralas maybe could misunderstand..maybe, but somehow she figured he would understand and let her in on his mission, she had a pretty good guess of what he was up to and if she was righyt, they would be a good team...

Dralas

This was a lot of new information to take in. How could a single person have so many allegiances? What if they conflicted one day? Dralas held no love for assassins or the Great Houses, but he knew that everyone had their secrets. Himself included. His opinion of Rianne hadn't changed, only now he knew that Rianne had connections in the 'civilized' world. What were the chances of him meeting such a person at random in a tavern? Dralas didn't think that their meeting was chance.

Everything happens for a reason. he thought, remembering what his mother used to say.

He didn't ask Rianne any more about her past; if she wanted to say more, she would.

"Well," he finally said, "While we're on the subject of secrets, I guess I have my own. I'm no Erabenimsun. Or, at least not anymore. A few months ago I was banished from the tribe for killing my clansmen. They were going to give my ancestors to the Tribunal Temple, and I tried to stop them. I failed, and was shunned. I tracked the bones as far as this caravan we follow, but I can't find them."

[minque]

Dralas

This was a lot of new information to take in. How could a single person have so many allegiances? What if they conflicted one day? Dralas held no love for assassins or the Great Houses, but he knew that everyone had their secrets. Himself included. His opinion of Rianne hadn't changed, only now he knew that Rianne had connections in the 'civilized' world. What were the chances of him meeting such a person at random in a tavern? Dralas didn't think that their meeting was chance.

Everything happens for a reason. he thought, remembering what his mother used to say.

He didn't ask Rianne any more about her past; if she wanted to say more, she would.

"Well," he finally said, "While we're on the subject of secrets, I guess I have my own. I'm no Erabenimsun. Or, at least not anymore. A few months ago I was banished from the tribe for killing my clansmen. They were going to give my ancestors to the Tribunal Temple, and I tried to stop them. I failed, and was shunned. I tracked the bones as far as this caravan we follow, but I can't find them."

Rianne

She heard him out, and nodded slowly. I figured it was something like that and I have a feeling he still is a bit suspicious...of me!

"I see!" she said "And I will help you find the bones, trust me Dralas...hmm Do you believe in destiny? Do you think we were meant to meet, that our fates are somewhat connected? You see I was sent out to join this caravan by my Wise Woman, could there be a chance that she knew you'd be here?"

Rianne lit another hackle-lo and stared out in the darkness

"Whatever happens, Dralas, remember I'm on your side and I won't hesitate to do what needs to be done to keep us safe...but also remember, I do not take lives just like that...!"

[Olen]

Rothan

As they approched the tangled domes and arches of the ruin Rothan shuddered and rubbed at the mass of scars on his right arm. He'd met the clanfear which did it in the last ruin he'd been into. This one is secure though. There's Armigers everywhere, he told himself. Even so he doubted he'd get much sleep.

Reluctantly he ascended the steps and went inside. The architecture was a strange as it was outside, there was something disorientating about the curve of the walls. Rothan did his best to ignore it and went in looking for the temple representative. Instead he found Eno looking rather tense.

"Hello," he said gently.

[Dantrag]

Dralas

"There's always a chance that a Wise Woman knows something no one else does," he answered. He didn't say it out loud, but he did feel the tug of destiny around Rianne.

At this point, they seemed pretty far from any enemies. The Shishara brothers wouldn't dare attack a whole caravan, and they'd made no real enemies among their fellow travelers. If all went well, it should be smooth sailing from this point forward.

So why did he feel so on edge? He could sense the same feeling in Rianne. The calm before the storm maybe?

"So you're an assassin that hesitates to kill," he said, "What does it take for someone to deserve death?"

It seemed like a strange question, but it was very important. Dralas figured that if he and Rianne were going to be a team, they'd have to be an effective one. He couldn't be guessing about when she'd sit out of a fight and when she'd fight a fight.

[bbqplatypus]

Apelles dropped his slightly damaged cuirass off at the armorer's and headed toward the administrative area to report.

As he approached, he could hear Salms Ralas having a spirited argument with the administrators. It seemed to be quite important. He stood and waited as they continued talking.

"I'm sorry, Salms," he heard one of them say, "but we simply can't spare anyone from this garrison. Grand Marshal Omayn just took some of our best last week to go guard the construction workers. Attacks at the site are increasing every day. Frankly, we're barely scraping by as it is."

"But...surely you can see that the caravan has the greater need! I know for a fact that this camp has not suffered any significant attacks in months. I just lost seven caravaners and an experienced scout. You know damn well that my outfit is thin on experience." Ralas put his hand on the other mer's wrist. "Sadas...I know Command has been bleeding you dry, and you're running short as well. But I'm willing to make an exchange a few rookies to help you keep this place in order for just a couple of mer with experience."

"I'm sorry, Salms, but my hands are tied. I need to keep these men on standby - Omayn wants me to be ready to ship them off at a moment's notice. I'm not authorized to make any changes in personnel. Besides, Daedra have a tendency to pop up around these places at inconvenient times. You know that as well as I do. Believe me, I'd help you if I could."

One of the other Armigers noticed Apelles standing in front of them. "Is there something you need, outlander?" the visibly irritated Dunmer asked.

Apelles cleared his throat and saluted. "Sirs, Apelles Velvus here reporting to Salms Ralas."

Ralas's eyes widened in shock. He turned to the Armigers gathered around the table, still looking as white as Apelles had ever seen a Dunmer look. "Excuse me, gentlemen...I'll have to leave you for a moment."

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval

Eno stiffened and almost let out a yelp at the sudden greeting from behind. He turned around and vaguely saw Rothan's face in the poorly lit hallway.
"Oh, greetings to you sir. It sure is a good thing to have arrived at a place that is actually safe, isn't it? Although I would have preferred an architecture that's...less discomforting to the eyes." He said in response and tried to smile.

"Forgive me for asking, but do you happen to have any experience with places like these by chance? I'm certainly not hoping that these stairs end at the start of some hideous maze. I'm just looking for an administrator, not a chance to get lost forever."

[Olen]

Rothan

Rothan gave a dry smile. "I've been in daedric ruins twice before, once to preform a rite with ordanators looking after us, the other... well it was less safe," he held up his arm, "Met the wrong end of a clanfear. It was only luck and an intervention scroll that got me out of there. I'm sure this one will be safe though, how well hidden can the leaders be? I think we should be fine just walking this way." He started down the corridor.


OOC: were you intending to get lost? feel free to lose Rothan along with Eno or have them show up at the admin.

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran

After he haggled away with the armorer, Dranas Heleran was left with nothing much to do. After quickly setting up his camp and picketing his pack guars he decided to idle away the evening with a casual walk through the encampment. And if he happened to "discover" some new merchandise in the process, well, all the better. And so Dranas wandered through the gathering darkness...