Lost Knife Playground Options

[Grits]

Darnand nodded his agreement. “We shall go forward.” He moved along the raised walkway to the passage beside the waterfall. Spray had made the ground slippery with mold and moss. His night-eye spell showed him a lookout perch above the entrance. Empty of significant life signs. Surely this was once a bandit stronghold of some kind.

Sprung trip wires and a rickety wooden platform trap inside confirmed his suspicions. The Falmer who lived here now had their own security devices. They had not reset the ones they had found. Darnand shaded his eyes against the glare from glowing mushrooms along the walls, no doubt seeded there by the Falmer. The twisted mer had no need of the mushrooms’ light, but Darnand had seen the fungus used for food and in potions.

The path turned back on itself. Darnand could see the upper lookout with the waterfall ahead, but it was the wooden platform and corridor above and behind them that claimed his attention. Webs glistened along the floor and walls. Eggs sacks clustered thigh-high near the doorway, and oblong shapes wrapped in white silken strands hung from the ceiling. Desiccated skeever corpses lent their characteristic mustiness to the air.

Darnand could see one large life sign beyond the web-festooned doorway.

He leaned forward to speak quietly to Aravi. “Spiders. I can see that there is one of significant size, and they are usually attended by their young. It is impossible for me to determine how many. Shall I investigate?”

[Darkness Eternal]

Vera now began to feel the foreboding whispers that she may just lose that eye forever. No one there knew the healing spell that would restore her sight, and even if they did it would result in it being permanently damaged. A flicker of doubt registered on Vera's eyes as she looked at the khajiit woman. The spell she used to heal herself completely was not within her power, for she had used it hours ago while trekking through the wilderness.

How much time is too much time? Her wounds often closed themselves, and any cuts or bruises lingered for a few minutes. Something as dire as the loss of a limb or sliced bone took much more dramatic efforts to heal.

The huntress sighed with frustration and bent low to pickup her helmet, though she didn't put it on. It would only hinder her vision even more and she was in no position to put herself in a more weakened state. She turned to Aravi as she followed Darnand but she kept considerable distance from him. She was losing some blood and if so much as a few drops somehow gets in contact with any of his open cuts, he'll be infected with Sanies Lupinus.

She didn't think a mage like him would go a day without curing any diseases or treating infections. She didn't want to take the chance, though. Some gifts aren't meant for others and as far as she's concerned, she's never passed her condition to anyone yet.

He doesn't want what I've got, Vera told herself.

"We had a deal," she said. "I'm honoring that agreement. I'll fight for you until I get my pay. As long as I am breathing, you hired my whole self for the task. I can still fight . . ."

Ever the headstrong woman, she kept pace with Darnand and walked beside the waterfall. She reached out to the cold water and allowed some to gather in her hand before drinking some of it. The cool liquid felt refreshing.

Darnand walked ahead, inspecting the cavern around him. Eventually he stopped and notified Aravi of spiders somewhere in the cavern. She was aware Aravi hated spiders. She remembers quite well what transpired back in Cyrodiil. She was certain she would sent the Breton or Salyan to investigate.

As of right now she's not as useful as before. Her damaged eye was a great downside. She knew she had to find a way to heal herself that same day otherwise she'll lose one of her most valuable members and she didn't think there would be any fresh corpses to dig into and use their hearts as healing.

With the company of the three, she couldn't possibly raise the option. They'd kill her on sight if she so much as began to carve a dagger through some poor sod's chest.

Damn bats, she murmured inwardly. Flying bastards.

[King Coin]

Darnand went ahead to look while Aravi spoke with Vera. The damage to the woman’s eye was a frightening sight to behold. It was another gruesome reminder of what they risked. A reminder of what they all did. Their enemies, past and present, deserving or not, lost more than an eye.

Vera retrieved her helmet with a sound of frustration on her lips, but didn’t put it back on. Aravi began to think this meant she was turning around.

“We had a deal, I’m honoring that agreement. I’ll fight for you until I get my pay. As long as I am breathing, you hired my whole self for the task. I can still fight . . .”

That’s more like what I expected.

“Spiders. I can see that there is one of significant size, and they are usually attended by their young. It is impossible for me to determine how many. Shall I investigate?”

She froze immediately. It felt like one of the creatures was crawling up her spine. Fetch. She wiggled to be rid of the phantom spider. Why did it have to be spiders? She reached for her bow. The farther away she was, the better.

To Darnand she said, “Yes please. I suppose we wouldn’t be able to go around them?”

[Grits]

“It is likely that they have nested in a closed portion of this cave system, so we could quietly pass them by and search further on for Kayla. However I would prefer not to leave them at our backs. Perhaps a command spell to turn the largest one on the others? They might do much of the work for us.”

Darnand glanced around to see if Salyan would volunteer her lyre. He intended to trap the energy of as many as possible while they were there.

“And of course I shall finish the survivors with fire.”

[Grits]

Darnand worked his way cautiously through the webbing, cutting the thick supportive strands with his belt knife when he needed more room. He had once had the opportunity to observe a nest of the beasts for two days while trapped inside a Dwarven ruin. Now he considered that time well spent, for he readily identified which sections were sticky and which were dry. The spiders were able to fold and angle themselves through the narrowest openings. Though he was smaller, he needed more room to get through.

And I should not like to get stuck during a possible rapid egress.

Something tugged on his foot. Darnand’s heart stopped for a moment before he looked.

His shoe had gathered a mat of trailing silk and debris. Dammit. He managed not to fall into the webs when he yanked himself free.

When Darnand reached the end of the passageway, dim light from some unseen crevice above showed him the large, circular cavern. Life detection magic illuminated the beings scuttling within. He felt a crawling sensation along his neck. Though he had no pathological fear of spiderkind, he had a healthy concern about things that wanted to paralyze and bind him before sucking him dry.

Also, they looked creepy.

Darnand braced his feet and positioned his arms for casting. “Ready,” he whispered.

The frenzy spell impacted the mother spider in a splash of red light. She turned on her spiderlings with a vicious hiss. Darnand moved forward casting soul traps as she tore through the nest. She moved more quickly than he could work, but the constant hum from his bag told of energy filling the magicka gems there.

Most of the smaller spiders backed away in confusion, but a few fought back. The matriarch threw strings of venom from side to side as she thrashed in a frenzy. Black ichor splashed out of her wounds and the pierced bodies of her young. When Darnand stumbled over one, he realized that he had entered the nest.

The light was behind him. He had nearly passed through it.

The spider queen had backed two others into a deep alcove. Darnand watched her forelegs pump up and down as she shattered their exoskeletons and pulped their insides. He took a slow step back.

The big one let out a clicking moan. Her movements stilled, but she lived.

The frenzy spell has lifted. I shall try to make it quick. He drew fire into one hand and cast the soul trap. Then he shot a ball of flame at the grieving spider.

The gem in his bag sounded its note. Darnand turned to make his way back to the others.

A rustling sound filled the chamber, and shadows danced in the dim light from above. Darnand’s skin iced with panic as he looked up.

The mother spider had been as large as a covered wagon, and her young had ranged from sabrecat to wolf in size. Now a dozen of them descended from where they had sought refuge in the webs above.

Darnand let out an involuntary howl and sprayed the webs with fire. Thin shrieks sounded along with hissing pops as the spiders began to burn. Venom shot at him, boiling into jets of steam in the blaze.

The dry sections of webbing ignited. Fire raced up and down the strands. The dried husks of old prey exploded as they caught. The cavern ceiling became an inferno.

Darnand ran.

[King Coin]

What the…?

Minutes ago, Aravi watched Darnand disappear into an obvious spider lair. Now, cherry red light came from the nest. Flames licked the walls, and a very red Breton came running towards her and Vera. Sweat ran down his face, ash and spider webs clung to his robes.

She fought down her panic. Spiders are chasing him. Lots of them. The largest were the size of dogs rather than sabre cats, and most of them were burned to one degree or another.

An arrow appeared in her fingers without her thinking of it. The fletching tickled her whiskers as she sighted beyond Darnand. She hoped he didn’t think she was shooting at him.

Kayla’s potion. She should have drank some, now it was too late. She released her arrow at the spider closest to Darnand. Another arrow embedded itself into the one behind Aravi’s target.

Despite her eye Vera proved to be an effective, if slower, shot.

With Vera still shooting, Aravi put down her bow. A gulp of potion banished her fears. She saw them for what they were, overgrown pests. Dangerous only to the slow and unaware. I am neither.

She unsheathed her swords and placed herself between Darnand and the wave of legs and eyes. They could spit venom, but she ducked her head. The venom splashed onto her helmet. It was still painful and would need washing, but hardly debilitating.

The first one that leapt at her skewered itself on her sword.

This post has been edited by King Coin: Nov 9 2013, 03:51 AM

[Colonel Mustard]

“It is likely that they have nested in a closed portion of this cave system, so we could quietly pass them by and search further on for Kayla. However I would prefer not to leave them at our backs. Perhaps a command spell to turn the largest one on the others? They might do much of the work for us.”

He glanced at Salyan, but she shook her head.

"I need to give this a quick tune," she replied. "Make sure its working at its best."

“And of course I shall finish the survivors with fire.”

"Sounds like fun."

Darnand disappeared into the cave, and as Aravi tended to Vera's injury Salyan looked to her lyre. She plucked the strings a few times experimentally, listening with intense care to the noise the delicately woven Madness Ore made. She made minute adjustments, altering the tone in the way that those who were not musically inclined would probably never hear. Casting spells through an instrument disrupted the tuning of an instrument far faster than simple playing would, and for the most effective casting, she needed it to be perfect.

Immersed in her work, she lost track of time until it was complete, and glanced up to see Darnand had not yet returned.

"Does anyone have any idea when Darnand-"

Whumph!

Pursued by spiders and a veritable inferno, the Breton in question was dashing down the tunnel. There were strands of web stuck to his robes and he looked slightly scorched, but the main issue were the spiders in pursuit.

Aravi and Vera drew and fired, and Salyan scrambled back as huge invertebrates approached, putting the two much better armed and armoured warriors between herself and the hungry predators. She thrummed the strings and channelled arcane energy into her lyre, loosing forth audiomantic energy that would boost the strength, endurance and resolve of her three allies.

[Grits]

Darnand dashed past the archers and slid to a halt on his rear behind Aravi. He scrambled around to see a pursuing spider skewer itself on her blade. Others dropped in their tracks as they scuttled forward, finally overcome by their burns. Perhaps they are trying to reach the water.

Salyan’s lyre sang out. Darnand rose to his feet, feeling invincible. He raised his hands and strode back toward the spiders. Instead of more fire he blew them backward with bolts of lightning.

The angry light began to fade as quickly as it had flared to life. Most of the webs must have burned, he realized. There was little else in that chamber to feed the fire. Its roar became a fitful crackle.

The spider carcasses seemed pitiful in their burned and shriveled state. They look much smaller now. Darnand’s bruises and venom burns began to sting, but he had spent the last of his magicka. His wounds were merely annoyances. They could wait.

His life detection spell had flickered out, but he could not imagine any spiders had survived that inferno.

Darnand hesitated to approach Aravi. In her heightened spider battle state he feared a sword through the gut. Also she might not be happy about the way his plan had worked out.

“Is anyone injured?” he asked from a distance. He winced at the thought of Vera’s mangled eye. “That is to say, does anyone require healing before we move on?”

[Darkness Eternal]

Darnand voted to inspect the area while the three other women remained behind. Whether it was an act of bravery to impress the women or because he wanted to be helpful, she couldn't tell. Maybe he was curious and wanted to see what dark secrets the caverns had besides spiders and . . . those damned bats.

The very thought of them made her eye hurt.

What remained of her eye began to throb some more and she clenched her teeth and seethed, breathing a hiss through her helmet in a vain attempt to endure the pain. The growing discomfort only made her mind whirl and nothing else right now seemed stable.

Behind her helmet Vera was facing the direction Darnand went . . .

Maybe I should stalk- follow him.

She blinked one eye and it turned to Aravi.

How would it feel to chase a cat. . .

She looked at the human woman with her instrument. Funny . . . she doesn't smell like any woman I've met. But how fast is she? How does she taste . . .

She cleared her throat and averted her mind to something else. Anything else. These were dangerous thoughts she couldn't afford to have pumping through her mind right now. If she so much as embraced the whispers of the hunt . . .

Though her helmet shrouded much in darkness there was a bright flash and the sound of hungry flames tearing through the air. She whirled to the direction and heard footsteps rushing toward them. She didn't need to know it was Darnand.

He emerged with webs thick in his clothes and it appeared something beat her to the chase. Arachnids. A bunch of them. Aravi's must be pissing her garments right about now, but ever the tough feline she is, she made short work of them.

Vera felt empowered too. Her shots were more efficient; she took less time to aim and less time to pull another arrow from her quiver. Salyan's music was working wonders. She felled two spiders in a single shot and managed to injure a third before lightning from Darnand's fingertips roasted the rest.

It was quick.

Aravi seemed distraught, or at least seemed thrilled in the heat of combat. The other blond woman stood there with her lyre. Darnand inquired if anyone needed healing. Vera shook her head and headed off deeper into the caverns, leading the way.

I'm keeping my eye.

[King Coin]

Salyan’s quit playing her lyre when the last of the spiders died. Between Vera’s bow and Darnand’s lightning, few of them reached her. Those that did, fared no better than the first.

Venom coated her armor like a thin veneer of oil, burning at her skin where it got through her fur. A drip ran down between her eyes. She caught it with a thumb before it could hit her nose.

Slowly, anxiety replaced her calm demeanor. Kayla’s potion was wearing off.

“Is anyone injured? That is to say, does anyone require healing before we move on?”

“No. let’s move before… let’s just move on.”

Vera took the lead, moving quickly. Aravi tried following, but the spiders! She jumped when one of the dead ones twitched a leg. Her heart hammered as she tiptoed passed the others.

***

Roughly crafted furniture, moldy sacks of food, and old crates were stacked in any place that could hold it. This place would have been well stocked, if the food wasn’t all rotten. She wanted to check the crates, but she didn’t want to delay looking for Kayla either.

The path wound over them going back to a waterfall. A crevice led somewhere deeper. Aravi pointed it out to the others in case they didn’t see it.

They squeezed into the narrow opening that went back a short distance before opening up again.

Aravi didn’t see the whole room. All she saw was Kayla, and the Falmer knife at her throat.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Though blind, the Falmer could still smell, still hear. It heard Kayla light the fire in her palm and pressed its knife against her throat, intending to slice it. Kayla rammed her hand into its mouth until it stopped. Blood steamed from the open maw, and she woulsnt realise untl later it was hers.

The Falmer dropped the knife and gagged, then began flailing. A look of concentration came over Kayla's face before the Falmer let out a pained gurgle. A hiss emanated from the flattened nostrils and Kayla quickly yanked her hand from its mouth, gasping in pain. She cradled her hand, glancing down to see deep, painful gashes in her hand. Several rotted teeth were stuck in the back of her hand. A bottom tooth has sliced the vein in her wrist. The Falmer fell over and writhed and convulsed in pain, the smell of burnt flesh making her gag.

She grabbed the knife and with a grunt, lodged the knife deep into its eye socket. A twitch, and it was dead. It seemed like hours, but the deadly exchange had taken seconds. Kayla cradled her hand and picked out the teeth, trembling in pain. Pained hisses came from her mouth through clenched teeth. She turned and Saw a familiar face, and her coldness, pain and near nudity were forgotten.

"Aravi! Aravi!" She slowly began to stand up, the cold stiffening her limbs still. She meant to give the Khajiit a hug.

[King Coin]

Aravi was momentarily stunned. At first it looked that they had found Kayla alive, only to watch a Falmer slice her throat open.

But the High Elf wasn’t idle. Perhaps a creature with eyes would have reacted faster, perhaps this one was inexperienced, but whatever the reason, Aravi was thankful. Kayla drew fire into her hand and shoved it into the Falmer’s mouth, burning it from the inside. Then she lodged its own knife where its eye would have been.

Aravi rushed to her, the others close on her heels. The Altmer tried to rise, but Aravi gently pushed her down. She’s ice cold…

“Gods, I thought you were dead. Don’t try to get up. Did you break anything when you went over the waterfall?”

To her companions she asked, “Does anyone have a cloak with them? She’s freezing.”

She turned her attention back to Kayla. Her limbs looked intact to Aravi, but there could be damage inside that she couldn’t see. An angry red splotch on the Altmer’s chest showed where the arrow have been. Kayla had managed to remove the arrow partially heal the wound. She's so pale. Her almost nude body was covered in bruises, scrapes, and other minor injuries.

She called healing magic to her hands, bright golden light emanated from her palms. But she didn’t dare heal Kayla right away. Just like with Vera’s eye, there was some damage she couldn’t fix, and she had no way of directing her magic to specific wounds like a more experienced healer.

This post has been edited by King Coin: Nov 16 2013, 07:25 PM

[Colonel Mustard]

Salyan winced in something approaching sympathy as Kayla shoved a handful of flame into the mouth of the falmer pinning her, holding it in place as it struggled before she slammed its knife into its eye. Even though it was an enemy, it still looked like a grievously painful way to go.

Aravi was by Kayla's side in an instant, addressing the arrowhead embedded in the elf's chest, summoning healing energy into her hand but unsure of what to do with it.

"Does anyone have a cloak with them? She’s freezing."

"Here," Salyan said, unpinning her own cloak from where it was held to her shoulder. She wrapped the waterproofed cotton around Kayla, grimacing as she felt the clammy chill around her shoulders. She glanced towards the other two. "Darnand, I don't know good at healing you are but I know you're good enough with fire to put a Sister of Immolation to shame; get some heat going, she needs to warm up, fast."

[Grits]

Darnand thumbed open a vial of magicka potion and downed its contents. The sight of Kayla in the clutches of a Falmer had barely registered before she cooked its head from the inside. He gagged on the stench while Aravi and Salyan went to Kayla’s immediate aid.

“Kayla, will you permit me?” Darnand asked, kneeling beside the shivering Altmer. He proceeded without waiting for permission. First a spell to briefly weaken her to magical effects. Then he fished a small pouch out of his pocket.

“Just a few grains of this will warm you,” he said. “My spell will increase any magical effects on you for a short time. This, er, substance will make the fire feel much warmer. Here,” he extended the bag, “but be careful not to take too much. Oh, and, em, not to pry into your personal life, but…” Darnand fidgeted for a moment. He did not know how to politely inquire whether a freezing and bleeding near-drowning victim with an arrow wound had ever had a skooma problem.

“It’s moon sugar,” he blurted. “It may be addictive, but it works.”

Healing light filled his hand as his magicka slowly returned. While Kayla was weaker to magic he would only need his less potent spells. “I am skilled enough to close those wounds, and I can cleanse the Falmer… ugh from your hand. If you wish. But I recommend the attention of a true healer at the earliest opportunity.”

Darnand’s stomach churned, and his head felt light for a moment. Potion toxicity was a familiar condition, and he was pushing his limits with the amount he had consumed. He braced his fingertips on the floor until his vision cleared again.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Kayla took Salyan's cloak, but pushed away the moon sugar.

"I'm fine. Stop babying me. You forget where I'm from." That was the nicest way she could manage to refuse the moon sugar. "The fire is almost out, but there's one started in that tent over there." She pointed to the hut a few feet from them. "My armor and weapon is in there. I was drying it out when a Falmer came in. It surprised me. That's all."

She put her cold, uninjured hand on Darnand's shoulder. "Don't over-exert yourself, mage. You're no good to us sick."

I should talk.

"The only thing that I really need healed is my hand. Darnand, if you're willing and able, go ahead. I'd much rather not bleed to death." Her split lip pained her as she spoke, and she winced, but said nothing.

This post has been edited by Elisabeth Hollow: Nov 22 2013, 04:54 AM

[Darkness Eternal]

Vera watched from a distance as Kayla took the Falmer's life. The sight only made her cringe. She's had enough of eye punctures today. But that wasn't the only important thing here.

She's not dead, Vera thought the obvious as the two females and the Breton flocked around a wounded Kayla. But not in a good condition. Looks like I'm not the only one that had my ass kicked today.

The huntress saw a bloody wrist, cold skin, the wound from the arrow and other signs that she would've been dead in a few hours if not for her efforts to live or the group's arrival to the scene. Salyan graced Kayla with a warm cloak, Aravi devoted her full attention while Darnand took the time to warm her cold skin and the narcotic of moonsugar. She's in good hands. There was no way she was going to die.

Vera stood by as they helped out Kayla. Her mind began to wander and her eyes did just the same, focusing on the small details of the cavern. She had to look anywhere else but an injured person. Though quite capable of defending herself, prospect of injury and something that seemed fragile at the moment inspired unwanted(or perhaps wanted) thoughts.

She circled around the area they were in, looking at everything and anything particular that caught her eye until she came upon the Falmer Kayla had just slain just a few feet from the group. Waiting for Kayla's allies to help her, Vera gently poked the dead creature with her boot. It didn't twitch.

It was dead as dead can be.

She bent low to inspect the strange creature before her, and tilted the knife still lodged in its eye back and forth until it squeaked. So . . . just how blind would it be if it were still alive? Twice blind?

She looked back, and Kayla was still being tended by the others. They're occupied still . . . and there's no danger around here. She turned back to the dead snow-creature, and with her index finger began making the knife dance while still in the Falmer's eye.

She sighed, shrugged and a cynical smile managed to creep in as she looked at the open-mouthed and very dead Mer. She pushed the knife again back and forth, quicker this time before stopping completely. "I know just how you feel. I've been there."

This post has been edited by Darkness Eternal: Nov 19 2013, 08:32 PM

[King Coin]

Darnand didn’t hesitate healing Kayla. Glad someone else knows more than I do.

“Let’s get her over by the fire, then you can heal her more Darnand. Someone help me lift her, I can’t get her on my own.”

[Colonel Mustard]

"Here," Salyan said, looping her arm around Kayla's shoulder. Her and Aravi lifted, Salyan grunting with effort, and they half-staggered over to the fire, placing her down with care. Salyan took a few moments to place some more logs from the pile of spare lumber on the flame, poking it with the end of a blackened stick so that the flames might burn a little hotter.

[Elisabeth Hollow]

"I'm fine," Kayla insisted, even as she struggled to walk with them. "Really. This isn't the first time I've taken a plunge off a waterfall into cold water. I'm just chilly." She couldn't mask the relieved sigh she let out as the heat of the fire touched her skin. She scooted closer, nearly in the fire before stopping. Her armor was steaming, the water being scorched off by the heat of the flames.

When Darnand came close to heal her more, she put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in close to his ear.

"Thank you. I owe you. If there's something you can't heal right away, let me know. There are some healing potions in the bag I dropped. If anyone grabbed the bag, it will heal me." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled at him, then patted the spot where she kissed.

"You're a good man, Darnand. And I'm very sleepy. Once my armor is dry, hand me a stamina potion from it. It'll keep me going for hours." She drew Dawnbreaker to her side and rubbed the etchings on the hilt, it still sheathed. She smiled at Aravi and Salyan.

"Thank you. Even if this was just on your way down, thank you."

[Grits]

Kayla’s quick kiss felt like ice on Darnand’s cheek, and her hand was even colder. Despite her insistence that she was fine, he was concerned for her safety.

His eyes went to the sword she pulled close in an almost protective gesture. The etchings on the hilt were not familiar, but they had a daedric look. He glanced away. None of my business.

Kayla’s bag must still be where she dropped it.

“I will go back for your potions, Kayla,” he said. “They are too valuable to leave behind, and it will be comforting to know that no dangers have crept up behind us.” Darnand doubted his healing skill. A flesh wound or broken bone was simple to repair, but he lacked the subtlety of a true artist in Restoration. Kayla might be better off healing the nerves and tendons in her hand with a familiar potion.

He jogged back the way they had come, keeping his steps light and searching the shadows for movement in the large waterfall chamber. The pack lay in shadow at the spot where Kayla had been shot. Darnand gave a quick thanks to Zenithar as he retrieved it.

The magical effects from his various spells and potions had unsettled him, but the feeling waned as he returned to the group. Perhaps Kayla would be ready to move on after one of her powerful restorative potions. Regretfully he thought it would take something else entirely to repair Vera’s eye. He knew a healer and a necromancer who could do it, but not without tremendous effort and supplementary magicka. And both of them were in Cyrodiil.

Darnand carefully placed the pack on the ground next to Kayla. “I saw no one,” he said. But the cave system had clearly become a Falmer hive, though its size was not yet apparent. That did not mean that no one else would come.