Private [=] To Be Equal

[Humbungala]

Morrigan heard giant explosions coming from the outside of the hideout. What in the name of Talos is going on out there? She looked at the argonian woman and she had the same confused look as Morrigan. "I'm going outside to see what is going on. Don't worry, I won't give us away." Morrigan climbed up the stairs and made her way out of the hide-out. The sun forced her to take a moment before she could adjust and see. She creeped her way around the tavernand walked to the source of the noise. A large amount of stormcloaks were armed and ready facing towards the barrow. The two lords were holding down the front doors. Really? Morrigan used her embrace the shadows vampire power to turn herself invisible. She continued closer to the commotion and stood by to watch. She let out a small chuckle All this to kill two vampire lords. Stormcloaks really cannot think.

 

[Dabiene Caristiana]

As he listened to the General give out his plan he shook his head, "Even though you were positioned as General, I doubt even you could control that massive power. That amount of Mana would not only drain you, but it could drain everyone else. In more ways than one. It's too risky." He started to think while holding the door. He saw that Salthar was getting extremely frustrated and was starting to tired. No doubt since there were what, 40-50 right ticked off draugr down there? And possibly more, what with Magic wielding ones along with at least one Draugr Warlord down there. Those guardians of the crept were not to be taken lightly by all means.

"Think boy think!" He scolded himself. Draugr were undead. Undead were potentially weak to light, sound and obviously fire. Sound due to the fact that they had rotting brains it it shredded their insides even more and their body systems couldn't take shrill noises.

Looking around he found a stone table. It wouldn't hold for long but it would last long enough for the General, him, and Salthar to lay the trap to at least take a lot of them out. He also sensed the woman named Morrigan was close by.

"Probably watching with profound amusement." He scowled.

The plan was coming together in his head. Once Severus place the stone table and kept ahold of it, they would place firerune traps on either side of the door. Once set Severus could escape easily without triggering said traps and the General could use the firestorm spell, setting off all the traps while damaging the draugr with the initial spell itself. The area was narrow and in the shape of a cresent, so both the blast from the spell and the fire traps would rebound off the walls and out on both sides of the mouth of the burrow. The only problem was, how was the General going to get out safely without being harmed by his own spells? It was true that once you casted a highly powerful spell (or any spell for that matter) it would not harm the caster. Something about mana signatures or what not.

But if the spells kept rebounding they would most like lose control. The only two options were if Salthar or him swooped down as he casted the spell and sprinted to safety with him, or if he ran like hell back down the hill to his troops.

Draugr were fast, so as they would clammer out of the burrow, they would be stunned like no tomorrow. At least 15 would be injured, if not taken out completely. And 25 at the most.

As the door almost burst open he knew they had to act. As loudly as he could he explained his plan to the both of them, including the rebounding of the spells off the walls, causing even more damage to the undead creatures, and the options the General would have to undergo.

Snarling as he kept hold of the door, the young undead man cried, "Make your choice General, my friend and I wouldn't be going under all this trouble for the likes of you for no reason truely. If you live to tell the tale, I might just tell you MINE." He was refering to his own tale, and the reason as to why he was indeed helping to spare their lives.

He looked over where he could see a warped lining and a faint, very faint purple mist at the center of Morrigan, or where he thought she was, but yhis cry was for everyone to hear, "Get ready."

 

[Madrar]

Salthar snarled as the door was forced open yet more. A sword blade was swung at him, missing by mere centimeters. He listened to Severus's plan and nodded approval. They would have to time their castings just right, or else their spells might only go off individually. "I hope this works" snarled the Altmer vampire, preparing to cast his own spell. Grunting, Severus leapt to the table, wrenching it into position, and nodded at Salthar.

The vampire cast his spell along with the half Nord and the pair fell back, ready to sweep in when the Stormcloak general cast his spell. Although, it might be more worth his while to simply let the man be incinerated by his own spell. 'Now that' he thought 'would be hilarious'

 

[Znowcicle]

Phoenix sighed as Morrigan left the little hide out that she had provided for them. "What's the point in getting to safety finally if we're just going to leave it again?" She mumbled to herself as she examined the surroundings. She had lit the torch before R'alle had grabbed it earlier and as of now it was the only light in the small enclosure. She could see the torches that lined the walls and send a small line of flame towards each to light them bring the dusty, spider web covered room to light. It was stone and homely even though there was a running stream throughout the middle of the floor and plants growing through the small cave. There was one door that was locked, and Phoenix watched as the boy tried to open it only to find that that was futile.

"You must be hungry." She said aloud as she walked over to the wall that had shelves carved into the wall to hold wheat and other non-perishable foods. There were dried meats also on the wall and she offered this to the boy with a little bowl of salt so he could salt the meat to fit his tastes.

"Feel free to eat. I can always go get more if we run out." She said to him as she walked back to the shelves to get herself some salmon steak that had been put there recently. She went and sat down by the edge of the running water, letting the sound sooth her nerves.

"That girl better be back soon. Whatever is going on up there is their problem. Not ours." She took a bite of her steak and chewed it slowly before turning around to the boy who had settled himself against the wall closest to the door.

"Are you scared?" She asked kindly, her face as soft as her face could be as she looked upon the small boy. She even smiled a little in concern.

 

[Simus]

Simus watched as the two vampires set their fire runes on either side of the table, four traps in all. He decided their plan was the best course of action, so he nodded to the young undead Nord and started charging his firestorm. It took over five seconds to fully charge the spell and the drauger would break through in ten, so there was no time to lose. Simus casted his own fire rune under the table in front of the door and began to charge.

Sex seconds later, he was ready. The power of this spell was so massive that it coalesced into two yellow stars in Simu's hands. He had only used this spell once before and had forgotten the power it took to hold it back. His eyes were a bright orange, glowing with power that was quickly becoming unstable. It had to be released.

"GET OUT! NOW!" Simus yelled to the vampires, unable to hold the power back any longer.

He released the spell and his world was reduced to a cacophony of light and heat. The barrow exploded around him and the force of his own spell knocked him through the wall he was bracing against. He flew threw it just as it was shattered, which was fortunate since he would have broken his spine had the wall been solid. He flew several feet out from the barrow and landed on his back in a ditch five feet below. His head missed a sharp rock by mere inches. Any closer and it would have been split open, along with his neck. Momentarily deafened and thouroughly dazed, Simus decided it would be a good idea to lay here for a moment.
...

The heavy gloom that trapped Alice's mind was blasted away as she realized she was in danger. Arillious hadn't answered her question and this worried her greatly, but it would have to wait. He had dragged her outside where a squad of her father's men were, along with some civillian volunteers. He had also brought her pack and her weapos with him and had dropped them by her feet. She recognized the squad Sergeant was Friga, her shield-sister from The Reach days. They all recognized Alice's rank and looked to her for action. She was a Stormcloak Legate after all.

"Listen up!" She called, flustered but ready to command. "Archers and mages, form a firing line. Warriors, guard our flanks and smash into the draugher when the come within range. Friga, take Ralof, Stefan and Erik and cover the left flank. Arillious, take the three patrol guards and cover the right flank."

She pointed the to the three civillian warriors.

"You three, stay behind us and give us time to fall back. We'll reform at the carriage and provide covering fire. Move!"

Alice, Elsie (the group's healer and Dawnguard-trained mage), the wandering mage and the five archers formed their line and prepared arrows, smite spells and fire spells. Elsie encased them in a guardian circle that would last for several minutes and heal them while detering the drauger charge. Alice herself knocked one of her two remaining flameburst arrows. When they made contact, they would explode in a ball of fire, showering everything within twenty feet with fire, heat, wood spinters, jagged steel and a huge shockwave.

Seconds after they were ready, a massive explosion came from inside the barrow. The Stormcloaks were blasted by the light, heat and shockwave from the explosion, causing everyone to stagger. Alice had to duck as a chunk of stone almost hit her head. She stood her ground however, as did all others, and they made ready for the onslaught that was seconds away.

 

[Gunnbjorn]

Arillious watched in awe as he saw Simus attempt to destroy the barrow with one of his spells. He was knocked back a significant amount, but he had no worries of Simus becoming injured.

Alice's militarism side shined at this moment, it seemed she had disregarded the fact that her father, her best friend, could easily had been killed from the spell he had cast. But, she probably has the same mindset as Arillious - He'll survive.

Alice is a nice girl, she can be at times very girly, and very emotional as Arillious witnessed firsthand.

However, Arillious' personal favorite side of Alice is when she is barking orders during battle. He loved her stern, leader side. He didn't mind at all the orders she had given him, he was stationed with three patrol guards and were to defend the right flank. He had immediately gotten into position.

"Hello men, my name is Arillious. Looks like we're going to be best buds for at least the next hour, cover my ass and you can count on it I'll be there to save yours."

The patrol guards gave a quick nod, but didn't seem to loosen up. Completely understandable when your about to fight a bunch of living dead.

It was when he heard the draugr again that he turned around. All of life was immediately tuned out, and a lightning of adrenaline shot right through the young Imperial. He dropped his bag and readied his shield. He unsheathed his sword immediately after, hitting his sword up against his shield to make loud banging noises.

It was when he saw the first draugr when he screamed his loudest scream, as if all of his fallen comrades from the late Civil War were unleashing there final battle cries with him.

He couldn't remember how long it was when the Stormcloaks stormed the gates of Solitude and sieged Castle Dour. That was the last time he had fought.

He began to slowly trot toward the oncoming draugr.

He had missed this feeling of comfort very much.

 

[Dabiene Caristiana]

Severus and Salthar had made a mad dash out of the covering of the burrow, and after a few seconds heard the General uphold his portion of the plan. The draugr had come out, and apparently were met with a nasty case of flaming explosions, extreme gusts (of course buffeted by the flames themselves) that also contained loose items in the area in which some served as deadly projectiles, in the affect of piercing various parts of the undead.

He saw the daughter of the General commanding the living Legion and soon the young man that accompanied her acknowledged said order and gave assurances that he would die fighting by their sides. As long as they stayed true that is.

Turning around as he heard the blast he saw the General himself being blasted by the sheer force of the spells all three had used.

As the dust settled, seconds ticked by. But they seemed so much longer. And then he heard a growl. A growl that only meant that the undead were not pleased in the least. He also heard one of the men behind him had brace himself and heard footsteps coming closer. But that also included the footsteps of the draugr as well.

The General still had to get up.

The undead Nord could make out shadowy figures charging and he tried to figure out what to do. His father always told him to never leave a hunter down or behind. He figured as much that soldiers had counted as well. The man also figured that it was his fault mainly, his and Salthar's. Them being vampires and being ridiculed for it. Though it wasn't actually entirely their fault. Infact, it was no ones! It was common to think and judge in a way. It seemed natural to people. Like breathing. And to not excercise the right to breathe obviously meant you to die. So why should they not be judged?

So he figured, even if was no ones fault for them being judged and having people paranoid of them, it was still their fault. He had the General blow up the blasted burrow, and he aggravated the troops. With a little help from Salthar perhaps. Not that he'd mention this to his friend of course in case of being split in two.

The draugr were close now. He saw a sharp rock right next to the General's head, which indicated he had a close call right there and decided to have a rest for a few seconds. Precious seconds that could mean life and death.

He turned to his newfound friend, "Cover me." He dashed up the hill and heard a battlecry in the ranks as the first draugr charged through the thick dust. Severus raced even faster as the undead Nordic man drew its sword and was about to strike the General. The vampire Lord drew two daggers and blocked the attack while kneeling protectively over the Commander.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. More started to pour out and so Severus shoved the sword back and made a swift kick to the creature's gut. Sheathing the daggers he dragged the man up and shoved him forwards, then grabbing him by the arm and leaping into a mad dash back to the ranks. He barely registered Salthar blasting the creature with a big fireball to buy them a little extra time. Letting him go once at safe ground he turned around and drew the late Harkon's blade. What a fine blade it was.

They didn't charge yet. They gathered at the enterance. Waiting for something. It was a few seconds later when rows of the creatures were assembled, did they do a slow march, unsheathing their weapons and walking forth in a predatory manner. There must have been by the looks of 30 at the very least. The proclaimed monster of the night licked his lips in anticipation, his cold heart seemingly racing, even though it wasn't. Then he heard a scream.

If one looked carefully, he saw one of the Draugr Warlords hidden in the shadows cast by the roof of the dwelling. The creature screamed and yelled again and the undead horde charged.

 

[Gunnbjorn]

Arillious accelerated into a leap as he was getting closer and closer to the horde. He looked back for a quick second, checking to see if anyone else was joining him.

He turned his head back around, with another intense yell, Arillious bashed his shield upwards into a draugr's jaw. It was rotten and weak, and it came off quite easily.

It was stunned, which gave him just enough time to push once more with his shield, this time to the chest, to his side, knocking him down. This allowed him to raise his sword to parry the attack from the draugr that was charging closely behind the first.

The battleaxe was rusted, with a greenish sort of color to it. He was able to examine it a lot better as the draugr lifted it up and swung it horizontally to try cutting the young soldier's head off.

It was an evasive move he was too used to, with a quick duck, he dodged the flying battleaxe, waited for the dead nord to follow the momentum.

While still in the crouched position, he stabbed this one in the leg, it's whole body was facing right. He followed with a vicious left hook to the spine with his shield. The draugr violently jolted back, before falling dead once more.

Habit caused him to raise his shield for protection, that was exactly when 3 arrows hit the shield, knocking him back on his ass.

 

[Simus]

The Drauger Warlord was partially concealed in the ruin that was now the barrow. He stepped one leg onto a jaggad piece of wall, raised his sword and gave a scream only the dead could produce. The horde of zombies charged.

"OPEN FIRE!" Alice yelled just after the charge order. A volly of arrows was loosed into the drauger ranks, breaking and puncturing their frail bodies. Several went down as their legs, arms or heads were knocked off. Alice's own arrow hit the lead drauger square in the chest, causing him to explode in a shower of rot and bone, the explosion from her flameburst arrow shattering the bodies of five additonal drauger and showering another five with wood, metal and gore. These latter five were not destroyed, but were dazed and slowed by the force of the explosion. They would be easy targets.

The archers were supported by the wandering mage, who was dual casting fireballs as often as his magika would allow, and Elsie was channeling a ray of holy light that drilled into the drauger, burning their flesh and granting their tortured souls rest.

Just as the first volley hit, Arillious waded into the fray, shield bashing one drauger into submission and chopping the leg off of the one behind it. Three arrows made contact with his shield and he was knocked down, but the three soldiers who were with him came to his aid. One of them, the only man with a shield, held the drauger back while the other two, both wielding battleaxes, helped Arillious up and got him back into the fight. The first man was furiously bashing with his shield and mace and his three battle brothers soon joined him.

Arillious' close call worried Alice. She wanted to go in and help him and she didn't see her father come out of the barrow after that massive explosion, but she had to stay focused. There wasn't time to worry about either of them and they could both take care of themselves. Besides, she was right where she needed to be. She notched a hollowpoint arrow and made ready to shoot again, saving her last flameburst arrow for the leader, once he showed himself.

Over on the left flank, Friga and her men were holding. All four of them had a throwing ax which they chucked into the drauger just before charging. All of the axes found their mark, cracking, cleaving and smashing into drauger skulls. Friga let out a yell of primal fury and led the charge into the undead. She used her momentum to smash into the lead drauger, bashing it to the ground with her shield and crushing its head under her heavy scaled boot. The next drauger swung a greatsword but Friga was able to narrowly dodge it. She stabbed through the drauger's abdomen with her skyforge steel sword, the master-crafted blade gutting the drauger's rotten stomach like a roast pig and its fire enchantment turning the wound into a gaping, burning hole. She swung with her shield and used its rim to tear the drauger's throat open, spraying ichor and half-decapatating the creature. It fell backward lifelessly but more were comming. Ralof smashed heads with his warhammer, Stefan severed heads with his battleaxe and Erik cleaved bodies in two with his greatstword, but the drauger were many and relentless.

Alice watched all of this with a focused mind and a face of steel. Both of Arillious' axmen had fallen and the drauger were pressing into her fireing line. She ordered another volly to stem the tide, but it wasn't enough. As soon as her arrow stopped whistling and went clean through a drauger skull, Alice orderd the archers and mages to fall back, sending in the three warriors to cover their retreat. Alice made sure all were displaced before falling back herself, taking the oppertunity to shoot another drauger through the head before doing so.

"We hold here!" Alice shouted over the noise around her. They were using the carriage and a small stone wall as cover. It was only a couple of feet high and it was ancient and crumbling, but it was better than open ground.

"Concentrate on the center! Fire for effect!" Alice yelled, readying another arrow as everyone else fired at will. They had to hold out long enough for her father to get out. He had to have survived that blast. He wouldn't die on her. Not now.

(Simus is unconscious right now, so Severus is going to have to drag him out of danger).

 

[Gunnbjorn]

Arillious saw nothing but exploding draugr until he was helped up by the three men, He watched as one did a swift shield bash while the other two tore down enemy draugr with their greatswords.

They were all in a circle, back to back. The four of them.

Draugr surrounded the squad, he watched as one of the men swung his mace, cracking the skull of his target clean of it's head.

When he glanced, he saw the other patrol man thrust his greatsword into two draugr at once.


Arillious blocked an on coming arrow, he watched as one more arrow zoomed right across his face.

He followed the arrow until it met with the neck of the third patrol guard, who was in the middle of blocking a swinging hand-axe.

The arrow was lodged right in the jugular, he was in the middle of bleeding out when the axe cut down his arm, nearly cutting it off.

He was dead when Arillious stabbed the draugr, taking the sword out and finishing with a lethal swing across the lower stomach region.

After finishing off the draugr, Arillious only had a second to mourn the loss of his comrade. He turned around, emitting a ruthless cry in the process, and charged deeper.

ducking, blocking, bashing, stabbing, slicing, thrusting, and roaring, Arillious continued to mow down as much as his body could withstand. His body was as if it were resting next to a fireplace, a comfortable heat was floating around him, the sweat running down his face warmed him from the snowy tundra.

It was when he decided to glance back did he see the other two men lie dead, their weapons not far from their bodies. He looked up, he noticed that the others were falling back. This could get Arillious into a situation, and thus he began a slow pace backward, still facing the enemy, He was warding them off by himself now, but he didn't dare think about turning and falling back. The draugr can't gain too much ground, or it will be all the more harder to push them back. He'll get their eventually.

 

[Humbungala]

The general's spell was quite the sight for Morrigan. She had never seen such a powerful spell as that before. She was slightly knocked back but remained to sit upwards on the rock where she rested. The general had been knocked unconscious, or so it seemed, from his own spell and the draugr began pouring from the barrows like a rushing river from a broken dam. The nord lord had pulled the general away from the horde of draugr while another man, one Morrigan did not know but recognized from the inn, began dropping the draugr like nothing. It was clear that he was a skilled fighter, which was more that could be said for a pair of men who didn't stand a chance.

Morrigan stood up and unsheathed her daggers. She knew the defense could use help, and part of her thirsted for a fight. Taking advantage of her invisibility, she ran towards the side of the barrow to get behind the draugr. She leaped onto her first victim, knocking it down and stabbing it in the neck. She rolled forward and sliced through another draugr's back as she rose up. She killed as many draugr as she could before one of the stormcloak archer's arrows struck her in the thigh. She moaned in pain and knelt down. She saw her hands and knew that she was in trouble. Her invisibility spell was broken. She looked up and a draugr took it's greatsword and swung down at her. She quickly crossed her daggers and raised them above her head to parry the attack. She stood up and threw the draugr's weapon away and slit his neck. Another draugr from her side lunged its sword and she stepped back to dodge it. She kicked the draugr and swung around to parry another draugr's attack. The arrow wound in her leg pained her with every move she made. I have to get out of here. She shoved and stabbed through the draugr who were focused on the stormcloaks. A sharp pain shot through her shoulder and Morrigan fell stumbled to her knees. She let out a small cry and began to run again. She turned back and saw a draugr drawing another arrow towards her. She spun her knife, twisted herself around and threw her daggers at the draugr, piercing through it's frail skull.

Morrigan's vision blurred but she ran towards the place where the archers fell back to. She climbed over a small wall and sat herself by the general's carriage. She placed her hand around the arrow in her thigh, clenched her teeth and pulled it out. The pain was overwhelming and Morrigan couldn't keep in her pain. She broke off the arrow head pointing from her left shoulder and pulled the arrow out from her back. She was going out the fight that easy. "Someone heal me." Morrigan yelled to the stormcloaks. "NOW."

 

[Dabiene Caristiana]

(OOC: gonna speed up like a few seconds in the story to compensate)

Severus was standing over the General while trying to hack and slash oncoming undead. The man had passed out from the blast and now he had to 'babysit' as Salthar and him would have called it. He parried a blow from one of the creatures, slide his sword while shifting his feet, then flung the offending weapon while swing back around to decapitate the foe. He saw some of the troops were felled.

"Damn it all."

They obviously had arrows to dispel the human soldiers. He also then saw as he blocked again from another Draugr that one soldier had shot an arrow through the air...

And hit Morrigan, which made her lose her invisibility. Severus growled under his breath, "Idiots!" He slashed and hacked all the while keeping expert footwork to guard the unconciousman under his charge. He quickly disposed of the two and then whistled for Scorpio. The horse came pounding away at the soft earth towards him, but then steered and mowed down quite a few Draugr.

Morrigan then seemed to be in a tight spot. Along with the Soldier who appeared to be the future mate of the Commanders daughter. However, after a battlecry once again he hacked and slashed like a angry troll. The Nord knew that the man didn't need help at all. But the female vampire did. She had run over to the carriage without his noticing when he was fighting while keeping an eye on the other fighters.

"Someone heal me." The woman yelled, "NOW."

The man growled, he was doing so many things at once. Protecting a General, fighting undead, watching a few more young kids die because of idiocy. He growled again, "Enough of this!" Sheathing his sword he through fireball after fireball and even ice crystals at the undead, shocking them then freezing them, and then setting them alight again. Scorpio came around again while angelically dodging swings and mowed more down. Unfortunately the horse got too cocky like his master at times and took a hit at the last second of the second run down, to the forefront of his legs. He magestic creature went down and Severus swore. Taking out a small knife he throw one smack dab into the Draugr who felled his horse. Smack dab between the eyesockets. Quickly knealing he picked up the General and ran over to Morrigan.

Setting the General down, he couldn't resist a quick jab. "I thought you said you could handle yourself?" He smirked lightly, but it would seem some could even mistake it for a... Smile? Severus wasn't a huge expert at healing, but he was adept nonetheless. He healed her quickly then ran off, but not before turning around and asking Morrigan, "You did... Good... But could you protect that imbecile? His lackies are falling out flat and I have to go to the forefront. No doubt the Overlord will come after the General if he knows he is well.. The General." He quirked an eyebrow and said as an after thought, "Just don't try and get the man killed, I can only imagine what could befall the poor second in command who is his daughter. Tut tut."

He ran off again while drawing his sword. The woman would do fine. He could see outlines of her wielding a knife a minute ago. It was hard to see but she was taking out those Fiends like taking out flies.

Yes, she would be fine. Severus yelled and charged at the horde that was closing ever more on the group of Stormcloaks. He hacked and slashed as he finally came to the conclusion.

The Draugr were indead migrating toward the General, his Daughter, and the Daughters potential mate. That could only mean that to take that thought, and spin it in their favor. With that in mind he did one of the most stupid things he probably had ever done.

He sheathed his sword, and bolted toward the Overlord. He pasted Salthar who was blasting away. He pasted a few bodies of the living, and a lot of the undead. As he ran he unsheathed the long, thin but strong sword and once he got close enough, he attacked the Warlord in command.

Severus "Soren" Alucard kept on fighting for what seemed like forever, dodging and blocking and fire throwing constantly. The Warlord had voices of the Dragons on his side, and apparently was adept in magic. That and wielding a Greatsword. Which didn't do well for the sword he was holding. He was surprised he the sword had held all this time. But then again, this used to be Harkon's sword.

It had to be high and mighty, like it's previous master.

He faltered as he stepped on a rock and suffered a blow to his left side. His hip was still in a dull ache due to the Dragon earlier. The Overlord laughed. "Bolog aaz, mal lir!"

"Never." The Vampire Lord thought. And with that, he charged on and struck at the Overlord meeting Steel with Steel.

 

[Madrar]

Salthar watched the fight with something between boredom and irritation. He cast a few fireballs here and there, to keep up appearances, but he couldn't hide a satisfied smirk whenever one of the Stormcloak soldiers fell. He didn't particularly care what happened to the annoying general or his lackeys, but since Severus was willing to risk his 'life' for the man, Salthar felt he should do something.

He was so absorbed in watching the battle, and casting spells at the Draugr still emerging from the crypt, he didn't notice the axe wielding creature coming at him from his side. The beast let out a maniacal laugh, catching the vampires attention. He cursed and brought one hand low, reaching for his ebony sword, but not before the Draugr warrior swung first. The ancient blade slashed through his tunic, cut flesh and crushed bone. The vampire lord staggered backwards, for a few vulnerable seconds caught off guard, allowing the beast to bring his axe up for another strike.

However, Salthar had suffered much more grievous wounds than this before, and so he surged forward, and lashed out with his left hand, tearing through rotten flesh like parchment, snapping bones like dry twigs. The Draugr stared in what could only be mild interest at the arm that dissapeared into it's body up to the elbow. Then the vampires' hand closed around what it had been seeking. The creatures spine. With a tug, the Altmer ripped snapped the beasts backbone, folding it nearly in half.

Drawing his ebony sword, he laid into the Draugr, catching several by surprise as they headed for a small wall. The ring of ebony upon ancient Nord steel joined the battle, although any blocks or parries the Draugr managed were sheer luck, as the Altmer vampire tore through them, stabbing, slashing, and sometimes blasting a group of the creatures with lightning or flames.

Then the vampire heard a battle cry that didn't come from a half rotted throat. Turning, he realized that a pair of Nords were rushing towards him, one wielding a pitiful iron blade, the other a steel war axe. Apparently, they were taking an opportunity to rid the world of one more Thalmor. Snarling, he dodged the first man, who, carried by the momentum of his weapon, lead him headlong into the sword stab from the Draugr approaching behind the vampire. Salthar snatched the other man by the throat, and realized that the Nord was barely a man, probably between seventeen and eighteen years. The vampire hesitated, staring into the trembling boys' eyes. Then he made up his mind, releasing his opponents throat, " Get out of here" the boy stared at him, incredulous. "Or would you prefer to die now?" The vampire snarled, taking a menacing step forwards. That was all the man needed, as he turned a fled the field, dropping his weapons as he went. Smiling slightly, Salthar turned back to the battle.

 

[R'alle]

R'alle nodded at Runs-With-Phoenix as he walked to the pantry. He took a carrot and went back to sit. He looked at the argonian and looked down. "I am scared....I had a dream yesterday and the dream was about the three vampires in the group. They drained the whole town and left me last. (Shuddered) I'm always last in dreams. They wanted me to be scared. They wanted me to see a woman and her child ripped in half lying on the road."

He spat and took another bite. He sighed and leaned back. He reached into his satchel and pulled out the locket. He caressed it as he closed his eyes. It calmed him and made him feel safe.

 

[Simus]

Alice concentrated her fire on the center of the drauger horde, trying to drive them back. She had taken down ten of the creatures in half as many minutes but they still kept comming. The left flank was holding steady but the right had been worn down to just Arillious. The last Stormcloak, no more than a boy, had just ran off after nearly being killed by that Thalmor. Alice seriously considered putting an arrow through the elf's skull, but decided against it. Her father would want to do it when he woke up.

On that subject, the Nord vampire had just run over with Simus over his shoulders. He placed him down against the carriage Alice was using for cover before tending to a pretty red haired woman with an arrow in her leg. The Nord managed to partially heal the woman's wound but left an ugly welt. He obviously wasn't very experienced with healing magic and Alice knew she could do better. She ordered one of the archers to cover her while she went to help the woman.

"Hold still." Alice said to the woman as she channeled a small but powerful healing spell into her leg. It took several seconds of concentration, but the blood and scarred skin fell off as the arrow wound closed underneath. All that was left was a small scar, barely noticable against the woman's alabaster skin.

"Can you still fight?" Alice asked. "I need you to help hold the line as I tend to the general."

Normally, battle healing was Elsie's job. Indeed, she was good enough at healing wounds to make it as if they were never there. However, she had much more effective magic at stopping the undead than Alice did and was best used in that capacity. Alice was a good healer herself, having learned much from her mother and gotten plently of practice during the war. There would be plenty of work for both by day's end.

 

[Znowcicle]

Phoenix nodded to him as he spoke and then listened to the crunch his carrot made. She ate her meat as she contemplated what to say to the boy. Her small salmon steak was soon gone when an idea struck her. She stood up and started towards the locked door when she noticed the little pendant he was caressing. She stared at it and then at him as she was not expecting him to have something so intricate. She started towards the door again and pulled a key from inside her garb. The key was warm because it rested against her breast at all times. She put it in the lock and turned it listening to the click. She pushed open the door and then lit a torch quickly which lit up the room.

"Would it make you feel any better if you had some protection?" There was a crash above ground and shouts but Phoenix ignored them. They were sounds of battle, and she didn't want to be in a battle right now. Right now she thought that R'alle wouldn't mind sitting around either. Inside the room there was a table that had numerous weapons laid out upon it. On the walls were other useful items that would come in handy later on such as a wine skin with a shoulder strap and vials of various poisons and salves.

 

[Dabiene Caristiana]

The Overlord's Claymore went down with a hiss toward him, and he dove to the side just in time. He had been fighting this rotting corpse for a while now, both unwilling to give up. He heard footsteps behind him along with a growl and without thinking, with his left hand he drew his dagger to block the Overlords attack, while 'tucking' the sword with his right hand under his underarm and stabbed hard. The draugr growled, then the sound of a body hitting the ground could be heard along with its weapon dropped next to it.

Flipping the sword the right way he blocked another attack. "There has to be a weakness..." He thought. The Overlord had the reach, but he lacked speed. He didn't have the muscle... Or brain for that matter, but he had the language of Dragons on his side. Along with powerful destructive spells. But fire was his main weakness. Along with speed. As he continued to block and make swings he found a way.

Well, he hoped he did.

He purposely made a faulty move to make the Overlord become arragant and careless, and of course try to finish him off. When the Draugr fell for the false move he slipped around behind the tall Guardian and with the dagger now in his right hand, he stabbed the fiend deep in the shoulder where the shoulder-blade was right near the joint of the arm. If the dagger held well, he wouldn't be able to swing well.

He casted a quick firerune spell. Stepping back he hacked at the back of the Overlords legs and jumped away as the monster landed onto the trap with a firey blast. Severus landed with a roll and watched as the dust cleared. He rolled his eyes as another of the undead soldiers came up behind him and promptly did away with it. Turning again back to the apparent General of the undead army, he saw him still lying down, trying to get up. Walking over he kicked the Claymore out of his dead hands. Gripping the sword he proceeded to plunge it into the foe before him, right into his chest.

After he disposed of the undead commander and sheath his weapon and dagger did he realize how tired he was. Severus had a huge gash on his left side under his rib with numerous abrasions over his body. His chest looked like a bruised fruit if one took a look under his light gear. The pitch-black long hair he had was matted and undone. He looked around, his hair blowing around and obscuring the view. Many were felled, but now the undead were either dropping on their own or fleeing back into the burrow. He was so tired.. So empty. And he finally felt pain. After a long while he had felt pain.

Salthar had made it, the General was alive along with his daughter and her mate... He didn't get a chance to see what happened to the others as he fell foward and blacked out from exhaustion.

(OOC: I think we can all agree Severus is kidna tired no? He fought a dragon, turned into his "Lord Form", fought for who knows how long, also his hip hasn't completely healed, and of course being subjected to dragon shouts. How fun. All that in less than 48-72 hours. Without any naps really except for passing out after the dragon incident. And he's young, though that doesn't prove much of a point but... I think he's going to be asleep for a while.)

 

[R'alle]

R'alle nodded. His fur felt bare against the winds of Skyrim. He rubbed his elbows trying to warm himself up. Reaching satisfaction he looked at the argonian curiously. "What kind of protection do you have?"

 

[Humbungala]

The general's daughter had healed Morrigan and asked her to hold the line as she tended to her father. "Thank you." The words tasted bitter on her tongue, but they were necessary nonetheless. Before Morrigan could even join back into the fight it was over. Most of the draugr were dead and any that were left used whatever was left of their mind to flee back into their dungeon. Morrigan stood up and let out a long drawn out sigh. Her shoulder was still sore, but her healer did a fine job for the most part. She looked at the nordic vampire lord and exhaustion was written all over his face.

Morrigan walked slowly towards the newly made graveyard. She had never seen so many draugr in one area in her life. Must've been a large dungeon... Morrigan chuckled to herself, amused that the lords just had to choose this barrow to hide in. She spotted her daggers plunged deep into the heads of two draugr. She took the dagggers and sheathed them. Morrigan was now unsure of what to do. Stay here and assist in removing the dead and helping the wounded, or sneak back into the hiding place Sings-In-The-Win had provided for her and the little khajiit. She took her chances and made her way back, hoping no one would notice her leave.

 

[Madrar]

The Draugr began to flee, back into their dark hole, and the Nords, although many of them were wounded, let out a cheer. Salthar didn't join in, for he saw Severus collapse near the entrance of the barrow. Surprisingly, the Altmer vampire was worried for his friend. He'd never really cared what happened to anyone else, except perhaps his wife and brother, the former who was dead, the latter was fighting skirmishes against the Dawnguard.

He made his way across the battlefield, ignoring the pain emanating from his chest. He'd suffered worse, and he would probably receive worse wounds in his lifetime. Sheathing his sword he knelt by Severus' side, and took in the numerous wounds on the younger vampire. "Ah, my friend.." Salthar grimaced, bringing his hands up, before sighing and lowering them again. He needed much more magic to heal the younger vampire. Most of his spells he'd expended fighting the Draugr, and would need to rest before he attempted to heal the undead man.

Trying to be as gentle as possible, he sheathed the man's sword, and scooped him up in his arms. "Don't worry, you'll be better in no time" He assured the unconscious vampire. Carrying the man, he saw the female vampire head off the battlefield, and assuming no one was watching headed after her. He certainly didn't want The Stormcloaks charging in while he attempted to recover and heal his friend. Catching up to the woman, he muttered "Take us to the safe house" the wound in his chest sent a wave of pain through his body but he simply stiffened and clenched his jaw.