Private To Winterhold

[SolitudeScribe]

The flame outburst and raining glass shards inspired Ljúfa to bolt ahead of Rodmar, Khan and J'marco, staff brandished and aiming at one particular bandit in particular who stood his ground in the back of the group. The Dunmer's palms glowed with frost, hurling the ice spikes at Ljúfa who struggled to maintain a magical ward between her and the mage. It helped shrug off a bulk of the spells but the Battlemage did not anticipate the Dark Elf to summon a frost antronach, its faceless form proceeding to make its way at the black haired woman at an alarming speed.

Her face instantly got greeted by an outstretched, frost covered arm. It kept the battlemage in a daze, giving the Dunmer bandit mage enough time to retreat up one of the fort's exterior rickety steps. Ljúfa hounded after him and the pair disappeared at the very top, leaving the cold minion to trail after her gradually and giving the traveling crew ample time to wrestle with the chilly familiar if they chose to.

But, those down below and within ear shot make out the sound of shattering glass, hissing flames and the a weapon gradually beating away. It was akin to a butcher's cleaver coming down on fresh meat. All accompanied by the nameless Dunmer howling and cursing in pain until silence cloaked him.

A few minutes later, Ljúfa continued to sing the song with a bit more force, shouting:
"But then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red, when he met the shieldmaiden Matilda who said…
Oh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead! Now I think it’s high time that you lie down and bleed!"
She stood on her new perch, looking at the trio with a right hand over a blooded gash on the side of her cheek. The wincing journey back down the poor excuse of steps began, left hand possessively holding her staff for support.

"HEY!" she barked with authority. "Are there anymore?!"

 

[fayne1565]

Khan looked up at Ljúfa and then looked around and saw one bandit running away in fear. Khan looked down at the floor and picked up a war axe one of the bandits had dropped and threw it striking the bandit in the back. "Nice" Khan said to himself "No that's it i think" Khan yelled up to Ljúfa.

 

[Levi Barenjager]

Levi looked around and was about to concur with Khan, but stopped himself as two archers perched on the opposite side of the fort hurriedly drew arrows to take aim at Ljufa. He quickly charged and let loose three white-hot blasts of flame. "It will be enough to slow them down," he thought as he sprinted into the fort to climb up and take their position.

As he passed under the archway he saw two more bandits grabbing weapons and donning the last of their armor near a small fire in the corner. "It seems we've interrupted your plans for lunch!" he yelled, leaving them to be bested by the other travelers as he focused on the more pressing matter of the two archers.

Once on the roof Levi held his shield high and gripped his mace in his left hand as he quickly closed the gap between himself and his foes, rendering their bows useless. He then made short work of them both, sweeping the legs out from one with a swing angled upward, then bringing his mace back down into the neck of the other, breaking his clavicle. A second blow to his chest took the archer's life, and the sound and sight of the man's soul leaving his body to fill one of Levi's gems caused the the other enemy to back away... right off the edge of the roof and onto a pile of rubble below.

Satisfied, though a little disappointed at having only captured one of the men's souls, Levi turned to look back down below at how the other travelers were fairing with the last of the bandits.

 

[fayne1565]

Khan traded blows with one of the bandits who sat at the fire. Khan blocked a attack with the handle of his battle axe. He then pushed the bandit away and slashed to the right but the bandit was able to catch it with his shield. the power of Khan's blow sending him backwards. He then ran up to do a overhead slash with his battle axe but missed a step and was hit in the face with the bandits shield falling backward but still holding his balance.

Khan's vision was a little blurry and he had dropped his weapon and saw the blur of the bandit running toward him Shin dodged the bandit's weak attack. Khan then punched the bandit in the face making him let go of his shield, sending it flying across the ground. The bandit regained his posture from the punch slashing frantically at Khan. Khan kept dodging till he tripped over a piece of rubble and fell landing hard on his back. Khan looked up to the bandit bringing his sword down.

Khan caught the bandits wrist yet again bringing his legs up to kick the bandit in the chest sending him soaring backward on the dirt. Khan got up and dusted himself off. he kicked the bandits weapon away and then brought his knee down on the bandit's chest. Khan reached over and grabbed his battle axe and lifted the bandit up with him. "I got a prisoner" Khan said threatening the bandit with his battle to make sure he wouldn't move.

 

[catweazle]

rodmar was locked in combat with another bandit. this one wore steel plate armour much the same as rodmar's bar his helm, it was the closed face where rodmar wore a open faced item. the bandit lunged at rodmar with an ebony battle axe but his swing was slow and rodmar pulled back out of the way. Again the bandit swung at rodmar and again he pulled out of the way. the axe was heavy and the bandit over reached on his next swing and rodmar seized his chance. he lunged past the badits axe and pulunged his great sword through the eye slit in the bandits helm. the bandit fell to the ground in a lifless lump as Rodmar wrenched his sword free. "any more?" he said

 

[SolitudeScribe]

Unfortunately, Ljúfa did not see the soul capturing festivities. It would have interested her, considering she herself had a few gems along her belt. She did take note of Levi's quick reaction to the archers, which she would have been too slow to take note of. The most she could do was wave her staff at him in acknowledgement.

The battlemage's slow toward the Orc came to an end when she stood next to him, hand still pressed over the fresh vertical wound over her cheek. Ljúfa's palm began to glow with healing energy and even if the magic cleared the blood oozing down, it didn't stop her face from contorting in unspoken pain. She took her time placing the staff on her back, fingers making the intricate knot with the leather strap. It was a ritual she had done far too many times since she didn't need the aid of someone else's eyes to tell her if it was coiled correctly.

"Think that's the last of them," she answered Rodmar. "Where's the Khajiit?" her voice rung higher, addressing no one in particular.

She looked up at eye level toward the dangling bandit, blotches of blood splattered across her iron armor here and there and of course, the blue eyed Nord nothing to clean it off. Same goes with the pulsating cut on her cheek, proudly sporting the scar like war paint.


"This should be interesting..."

 

[Levi Barenjager]

Levi made his way back down the steps to meet the other warriors. He eyed the prisoner Khan held against the wall, stepping past the others to meet him face-to-face. “Tie him up,” he said to no one in particular. He pointed to some ropes in the corner, never breaking eye contact with the bandit, “we should have a look around.”

Levi stepped away from Khan and the bandit, impressed that the Orc hadn’t simply ended the man’s life without consideration. He glanced around the fort wondering what, if anything, should be pilfered. Then Levi recalled the deer out front, and turned to Rodmar: “I trust a Nord such as yourself is familiar with skinning and cleaning a buck. Why don’t you see what you can do with those fresh kills out front. There should be more than enough for our lunch, and what’s left we can pack with us for our evening meal in Shor’s Stone... and while you're at it see if that Cat is still outside.”

Levi stepped out through the northern archway of the fort, opposite the one they had entered, to survey the
surroundings. He exhaled a sigh of relief at the successful battle they had just fought. He breathed in again, enjoying the smell of the rain mingling with the grass that surrounded him. As he started to pull a small pipe from his satchel the sound of hoof-beats in the distance reached his ears. His eyes followed the road North and he caught a glimpse of a small Stormcloak garrison cresting the hill beyond.

 

[sticfigur]

(OOC:sorry internet had troubles) J'marco had just killed a bandit and was about to go for another when something caught his eye off to the right of the battlefield. He noticed a glimmering light in the bushes near the road, Being naturally curious he went to go see what it was. As he approached the bushes the reality of what he was staring at struck him. It was a boy no more than 10 years old hiding in the bushes, as he heard the team looking for him he wondered how they would handle the situation.

 

[catweazle]

"i'll go see what i can do, anyone want this axe?" said rodmar tapping his foot on the ebony battle axe that the bandit had weilded.
"remeber to check there's no hostages inside the fort... and bring any mead you find!"

halfway through butchering the deer he saw the stormcloaks approch down the road. he placed his dagger back in his belt and walked down the road to meet them. as he got closer he made a quick count '15 or 16' he thought. one officer and a mix of bowmen and swords arms. the officer was a stout man about 6 inches short of rodmars hight, his scarred face showed he was no stranger to war.
"well met kinsman, how can i assist you?" said rodmar making sure they saw he was no bandit
"The jarl of windhelm has sent us to clear this fortress" replied the officer in a gruff voice
"then me and my fellows have saved you the work, the fort is clear and the bandits are dead or captured"
"how can i be sure your not one of the bandits?"
"if you thought i was a bandit you would have cut me down by now, we're just passing through give us time to empty the forts mead stores and grab some bread for our trouble and we'll be on our way"
the officer looked him up and down before answering
"i shouldn't realy allow you to take anything, it belongs to the stormcloaks but i'll give you an hour to take what you need and go."

rodmar returned to the fort with word of the exchange

 

[SolitudeScribe]

"I'm going to find...Jay. Jay-something. If you'd excuse me," she grabbed the thick ropes from the corner and pretty much shoved it into Khan's hand before turning a heel to leave.

Ljúfa walked past the strewn bodies and was just about to walk beyond the dark haired Breton until Rodmar returned with the news. The orders relayed by the Stormcloaks clearly smacked annoyance across her face, eyebrows furrowed in disappointment, mouth twitching into a close lipped scowl. Already too tired to deal with higher-than-art-thou rebels, she extended a hand and offered the Nord warrior a firm pat on the shoulder and excused herself once more.

Blood was boiling under the calm demeanor and her ears would be emitting smoke if it were possible. She heard the stories of how some rebels could be but this was just crossing the line. Fists clenching and releasing, Ljúfa treaded across, purposefully avoiding any friendly glances with her azure clad kin down the road.

For the first time in her 40 something years of living, the sight of a Khajiit was a welcoming one, completely distracting the anger she kept a tight lid on. She stood to J'marco's immediate left, eyes narrowed at the child. Ljúfa's cheeks rose, mouth blooming into a friendly smile.

"And who might you be, little one? Did you tell the Khajiit your name?" the Nord asked. She glanced up the J'marco to see if he had anything to add about the situation.

 

[sticfigur]

"His name is Tobias I found him over there hiding, he was taken for ransom by the bandits. What should we do with him?" said J'marco motioning to the young nord boy.

 

[fayne1565]

Khan watched As Ljúfa walked off leaving him with the ropes Khan smiled down at the ropes then up at the prisoner making the bandit shiver. After securing the ropes Khan turned around to see Rodmar speaking with a stormcloak officer. Khan shrugged throwing the bandit over his left shoulder keeping his battle axe in his right.

Khan made his way over to the archway passing under it. "Done" Khan said to Levi showing him the Roped up prisoner.

 

[SolitudeScribe]

"Tobias," the obsidian haired Nord repeated, tasting the name. She rubbed her chin in thought, closing her right eye as if she were trying to narrow the thought down in front of her.

Her voice conjured up once more at the Khajiit. "Did he tell you where he's from? There's a bandit Khan had who can possibly squeeze out information, however I doubt it'd be too reliable. We can leave the cub with the Stormcloaks who have left a...staggering impression thus far."

Ljúfa sighed heavily, giving the boy a quick but tired smile. "If they can't take the boy in, we'll journey with him to the Windhelm stables and arrange a carriage to take him home. If not I have no qualms bringing him to Winterhold and aiding with arrangements there."

A fleeting hawkish search was tossed over her right shoulder, silently praying to the Divines Levi had poor eardrums or at least, wasn't paying attention and orchestrating orders. For whatever reason, Ljúfa had the impression he wouldn't be too keen on the sudden change of events or babysitting the poor boy. Well, maybe Khan didn't mind. Or Rodmar.

"What say you, um..." a bob of her head reassured J'marco she wanted to hear his opinion. And it was a polite way of masking the fact she totally forgot his name.

 

[sticfigur]

"J'marco, and the boy says he is from Dawnstar, I think we should talk to Levi as to what we should do."

 

[Levi Barenjager]

OOC: sorry, power outage

Levi pointed at the prisoner as he spoke to the commanding Stormcloak officer. "One of the bandits; his fate lies with you now." The officer nodded in agreement. "What brings you this way, traveler?"

"We're headed to Anga's Mill, there are several jobs waiting for us," he lied.

"Hmm, you don't look to be farmers."

"Work is scarce and coin is short."

Satisfied with this answer, the officer pulled out a scrap of paper, then motioned at the man on his left who promptly removed a quill and a small vial of ink from his pack. Taking the freshly inked quill, the officer began to write as he spoke to Levi and Rodmar. "You'll be passing by Windhelm. Take this note with you and see to it that Ulfric Stormcloak receives it. He'll want to know that we've taken the fort. I'd prefer not to send any of my men back, in case there are more bandits in the area."

Levi took the note, not bothering to correct the officer. "We took this fort," he thought to himself, and glancing at Rodmar and Khan he could see he wasn't the only one thinking it. The three of them were turning back in toward the fort when Levi caught sight of Ljufa hunched over slightly by some bushes near the road. He tapped Rodmar's shoulder, then pointed to where Ljufa stood. Rodmar motioned to Khan and they all walked over to see what was the matter.

What they found was not what Levi was expecting. J'marco explained to him what he had already assumed: that the child had been captured and was being held for ransom before their arrival. The young boy reminded Levi of himself at that age, a prisoner and without his parents, scared and alone. He looked down at the boy, then at J'marco. "We'll take him as far as Windhelm. We can decide how best to move forward once we arrive there." Levi then turned back into the fort. Seeing the boy and knowing he was now safe warmed his heart, but he had no interest in letting his softer side be revealed to his traveling companions.

 

[catweazle]

rodmar took off his hem in an attempt to appear less intimidating to the boy.
"dont worry lad you'll be safe on the road. if we can clear this place without trouble there's nothing on the road can harm you" said rodmar before walking back to the fort.

 

[sticfigur]

"We better get going if we want to make it to the next stop in time." said J'marco

 

[fayne1565]

Khan looked at the small nord boy who seemed shocked by all that had happened to him. Looking at the boys legs he saw they were shaking. Khan rolled his eyes and put down his axe grabbing the boy and putting him on his shoulders so he was sitting on his shoulders. "You'll be safe here child" Khan said picking up his axe looking at the rest for confirmation. The small boy gripping his arms around Khan's forehead.

 

[SolitudeScribe]

She reached over, giving Tobias a reassuring pat on his foot and chuckled softly. "Aye, you'll be safe with us," the battlemage told the child, readily agreeing with Khan.

Right after, Ljúfa turned around toward the Fort until she reached a stack of crates by the fire. It was all too convenient for the group, for the battlemage opened one of the lids to discover an abundance of salad, potatoes and carrots. The Gods were on their side for sure. She thought she was alone, gathering three crates in her arms until an unfamiliar voice spoke.

"So," a Stormcloak archer stated, voraciously chewing on a rich red apple. He lazily reclined on the ground by the dying fire, claiming his own 'spot' in the keep, no matter what his other comrades were doing, or if such a reception would get a chilly reception from any of the other travelers. Frankly, he didn't care for now. The rebel's helmet laid dormant on a nearby stool. You standard tall, shaggy blonde haired, blue eyed, beard braided Nord. Perfectly doomed to blend in with a crowd . "Why are you traveling with such a group?"

"We are going to Winterhold." The words spun out quickly and straight to the point. It left the poor, young Stormcloak wondering if Ljúfa would go on. Much to his disappointment, silence was the continuation.

He awkwardly cleared his throat, stretching a large hand out to scratch his stomach, which in a few years time, will definitely inflate into a beer belly. "Winterhold? Its not for that damn college, is it?"

His classic reaction only encouraged Ljúfa to give him a terribly wide grin. "Oh no, something different. Gods forbid!" she lowered the crates in order to wiggle her fingers, as if she were going to catch a spell. She received a slight jump from the rebel, who quickly shot her a glare of annoyance. He wanted to say more but was promptly cut off.

"Where is your superior?"
"I think he was talking to the other Nord in your group. Or he could be conversing with the Breton. One of the two."
"It would be nice if we'd be allowed to camp here for the night. The journey was long. We started from Riften and still have a long way to go."


The woman began to shuffle through another crate and pulled out a bundle of bread, just enough for the travelers and the child. Of course, she offered none to the lazy Stormcloak rebel. Not that he'd notice. He was too busy greedily consuming the apple like it were his last night alive. It very well could have been. They were kill on sight for the Imperial Legion.

Steadily, Ljúfa began to distribute the loaves of bread to the others and Tobias, leaving the archer alone by the fire with his helmet and morsel.

 

[fayne1565]

Khan took his piece not hungry enough to eat it and gave it to Tobias not caring about the crumbs that fell on his head. As Tobias crunched on the bread Khan asked "What now?" looking over at Levi.