18+ Dusk

[Kivuli_The_Khajit]

(Is dis open? Can't tell, want in if it is.)

 

[Simus]

Both girls were happy to stop for the night. Alice was hungry, Cilla was tired and they were both ready to sit down for a while. Everyone began to set up camp and both girls helped gather some wood for a fire. After Julius dropped off his wood and helped set up the fire Alice lit it with a quick flames spell and soon they had a growing flame. The larger of the party members were able to find or make some logs and stumps for everyone to sit down on and Cilla was happy to get off her feet, immediately reaching into her pack for an apple and started munching on it hungrily. Alice was munching on a piece of deer jerky when Aliah came over to them.

"How are you two holding up?" She asked with motherly concern. "I know you were looking forwards to having a second day in Riften. Maybe we can rest up when we reach the village Salthar mentioned. Do you need anything? " She turned her attention to Cilla, who looked up to her. "Cilla, are you warm enough?"

They both knew Aliah was fussing over them but that was okay. She was their caretaker while on this trip and the role had worked fine so far. Cilla spoke up first. "Yes ma'am, I'm warm enough." She was still bundled up in the same clothes she wore in Whiterun with the exception of some tall fur boots Alice had brought with her. Her long pink coat and fuzzy purple mittens, hood and scarf had kept her warm all day and her white long underwear, blue wool pants and short sleeved green tunic had kept her comfortable. As she had said earlier that day, it was easier to keep up without two feet of snow on the ground. Here in the rift, all a little girl had to worry about were the leaves and mud. "Today was a nice day and it's not so cold here with these pretty trees. It's getting dark fast though and I'm hungry. And kinda tired. And my feet are sore."

"I'm doing fine Aliah." Alice said with a content smile. As the day had gotten colder she had swapped out her brown leather jacket for her long black leather coat, gloves and a gray hood her head was wrapped in. "The nice thing about constant Legion patrols is they're good exercise. Even when I get to ride Bill on scouting missions, which is never often enough. He's a good horse."

Before Aliah could respond an argument broke out between Julius and Salthar. The first accused the second of hiding things from the group while the second threw his leadership at the group as a challenge. Clearly they were both stressed about their mission and while that was understandable it wasn't good to go at each other for it. Donath tried to smooth things out and Elizabeth took a surprisingly firm stance as a peacekeeper but the air of mistrust was still there. That worried Alice: mistrust and suspicion have destroyed at least as many armies as enemy soldiers and they could doom a group like theirs out in the wilds. It took a strong leader to keep people together during difficult times and she wished her father was here. But Salthar was all they had and the best thing for Alice and Cilla was to stay out of it. So they sat and watched as everyone started to disperse. Shork was back after an absence Alice had only now acknowledged and he was troubled by something but she didn't really care at the moment. Julius had walked over and sat in between her and Cilla, nodding to Aliah as he did so. In response, Alice put her arms around Julius, her right around his shoulders and her left hand softly rubbing his chest to make him comfortable.

"You know that wasn't very smart." She said softly with her chin on his left shoulder, her mouth close enough to where he could feel her breath in his ear. "Salthar doesn't like to be crossed, or threatened, and if he were in a worse mood you could have really gotten hurt. Is everything okay? We're all stressed about this mission but is there something you're not telling me?"

 

[WindWalker]

He hadn't been sitting long before Alice wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his chest. It helped take the edge off. She put her chin on his shoulder, mouth near his ear. "You know that wasn't very smart." She told him, and reminded him that Salthar was dangerous and didn't like being crossed. He sighed, "I know, I know. It's just-" he glanced at the others, hoping Salthar was out of earshot. "I heard the stories about what Salthar and his vampires did during the civil war. And ever since we met up in whiterun, I've had the feeling he's got another motive. Like taking down the brotherhood is a secondary objective." He glanced at the others again. " I trust the others. They've fought by our sides against the Blight last year, and there's a good chance I wouldn't be here without them...but I'd be a lot happier if we had a troop of leggionnaires with us."

He frowned when she asked if was hiding something from her. "Alice, you know I wouldn't. I think it's just stress from the mission." He shrugged. "This isn't like anything we've done before. If we fail, the civil war could start up all over again." He stared into her eyes " I don't want to see that again." He smirked. "I guess if we fail, we won't be around to see anything.

 

[Madrar]

The 'argument' didn't last long. After he'd made his point, Donath, and, surprisingly, Elizabeth, approached and stopped the debate before it could degenerate into something worse. Salthar wasn't surprised by Torin taking the side of Julius. The ranger had, after all, tried to shoot him the first time they'd met. The Imperial went over to Alice and Cilla, but Salthar was already turning away from the young soldier.

It was inevitable that some of the group, at least, would become suspicious of his motives. Though he'd fought alongside them when the fellowship had first encountered the Blight, they still harboured doubt. Fully understandable, of course. After all, Salthar was a vampire, and unlike Averaine, who maintained his knightly code, he was known for his actions during the last war.

In truth, the others' opinions didn't concern him. So long as they managed to destroy the Brotherhood, there'd be no problem. As Donath and Torin returned to the warmth of the fire, Salthar turned to the Imperial healer. "I assume you didn't come to my defence out of some sense of loyalty. What's on your mind?" As he spoke, he noticed the Orcish mercenary returning from beyond the camp. He avoided conversation with everyone, and sat by the fire. Making a note to find out what he'd been up to, he turned his attention back to Elzabeth.

 

[willowwisp]

To her relief, the argument ended once she stepped in. The others went back to the fire, or in Julius case, settled down near Alice and Cilla. Salthar turned towards her, cocking an eyebrow. "I assume you didn't come to my defence out of some sense of loyalty. What's on your mind?" She fought back the urge to scowl at the vampire. He was a good teacher, possibly the best, when it came to magic, but his attitude had never been the most charitable.

"I thought, with our fight with the Brotherhood getting closer and closer, it might be time for me to learn a little more. But...before we start, I have a question." She paused, wondering how to phrase her question. "I was wondering...is there a way to bring back the dead? Not necromancy- I mean...the actual spirit of a person."

 

[Madrar]

For the first time in the young Imperials tutelage, Salthar hesitated. The answer itself, was not particularly difficult to give. But he found himself wondering whether he should. The type of magic she was talking about was much more dangerous to the caster, than most destruction, and even conjuration spells, and not just because of the tremendous drain of the casters energy. However, he had promised to be her mentor in the arcane arts.

"It...is possible." He admitted. "Though extremely dangerous, and you shouldn't attempt such a feat lightly, if at all. To be honest, I'd prefer you ask me something-anything else." The healers' expression was resolute. Clearly, she wouldn't be deterred. Sighing, he motioned for her to take a seat on one of the logs near the fire. "You already know the basics involved. Clerics, and healers perform similar spells. Resurrection of the freshly dead, is possible. Though very few healers are willing to risk such a task. Bringing someone back from the brink of death drains an enormous amount of energy. It's more likely than not that the caster will find themselves nearly dead."

"But on to the point. Bringing a spirit back from the afterlife is, like I said, a tiring and dangerous venture. The spirits of the dead do not belong in this world. Malevolent creatures, like wraiths' and banshees, are easy enough to summon, due to the circumstances of their deaths. The spirit of, say a merchant, who died of old age, in his home, is more difficult as they will have no desire or reason to remain on the mortal plane." The preliminary explanation complete, he went on to the summoning itself. "In order to bring a spirit back to the mortal realm, one must know the name of the person they wish to summon. The spell itself involves tearing the spirit out of the afterlife, and forcing it to be present here. If the caster survives the loss of so much energy, they'll be faced with a spectral version of those they wished to summon. The spirit will behave much like they did in life but...there will be a certain wistfulness about them. A longing for the peace that the afterlife gives them. In time, they become nothing more than miserable shades of their former selves."

"Have you performed such a spell?" Elizabeth asked, her tone curious. "Yes."Salthar replied, his tone somber, "Once, a long time ago."With that, he looked away into the flickering flames of the campfire. "I think that's enough for one day. Get some rest."

 

[Simus]

As Julius talked Alice released him and sat back so she could properly look at him. All of his concerns were genuine and understandable and she appreciated his honesty. He was right: None of them would be around to see anything if they failed. She took his large warm hands into her smaller gloved ones and looked him in the eye as she talked. "Well Jules you're probably right. We probably won't be alive to see anything if we fain and the Brotherhood wins. And that's exactly why we need to trust Salthar to get us through this. I know you don't like him and you're right to be suspicious of him. Suspicion is healthy. But let's think about this situation from his perspective. He's an altmer vampire that not many people like, leading a dangerous coven that no one wants to succeed. A lot of the stories about them are true because they spread the rumors themselves and Salthar has no illusions of what he can gain from this. He wants power. He's always wanted power and he wants the power of fear. The best way to do this is for him to rule all or part of Skyrim from the shadows as a sort of kingpin. The leader of an organization no so different from the Thieve's Guild or the Dark Brotherhood. He's already succeeded to a degree and this...Blight...gives him opportunities to succeed further. If the Brotherhood is defeated and he can take credit for it that will only add to his prestige and he will gain something he's never had before: popularity. Now how does he get this popularity? Well, the easiest way to do that is to lead an undertaking to stop the Brotherhood himself and build a team of people he doesn't fully trust but trusts enough to assure their loyalty. That's us. The advantage of using us over, say, his own people or a troop of legionnaries is that he looks like a diplomat to Skyrim and shows that he can lead a group from all kinds of backgrounds. That only adds to his popularity. And now that we're stuck out here with each other he needs our help to win this. That means it's in his best interest to lead us but also to tell us only what we need to know so we need him. Now, that helps us because we all need each other to get through this and we can be aware enough to try and work out what exactly his next moves are. We should be concerned about what happens to us when he wins and we'll have time to prepare for that, but in the meantime Jules, we're all in this together. So there's no reason to be mistrustful of, or even worry about Salthar, right now. In fact, that would be counterproductive. Keep an eye on Salthar, but help him however you can. Do you understand all of that?"

As the two were talking, Cilla got up to give them some space and to walk around some. The fire was roaring now and the sky was very dark but she wanted to go explore the campsite. Her father had taught her to always be observant and unlike Alice she wasn't content to sit around talking. Plus she was hungry and wanted to know where dinner was but didn't want to whine about it. As she got up however she heard Salthar and Elizabeth talking about something very interesting. They were discussing resurrecting the dead. Cilla had never thought such a thing was possible but it sounds like it just might be. There was someone she knew of that she and Alice missed very much who she wanted to see right now. Someone she was sure could help. She walked over to Salthar just as he was finished, saying something along the lines of using such a spell before.

"Mr. Salthar?" She asked. "If I help you and Elizabeth with this spell, does that mean...does that mean I could see my mama again?"

 

[Blackwhite1223]

The argument ended as quickly as it had started.The others not draw into it had already set up a fire, and though the vampires did not need to eat, the others did. Stringing his bow, he turned to Lythare. "I'm going hunting for tonight's meal. Would you like to join me?" Though he usually preferred to hunt alone, he found that he enjoyed the Bosmer rangers company. He slung his bow over his shoulder and started making his way into the woods. It was starting to get dark, but there were still some rays of sun stabbing through the trees of the Rift. Remembering that caution was a virtue, especially considering the fellowships recent run ins with the Brotherhood. He strapped his sword on while he walked a short distance away, senses alert.

 

[Stormmaiden]

The group continued through the forests of Riften for sometime. The forests were quiet, and there was no sign of the Brotherhood. Shortly after they'd left Riften behind, she sent Aethos soaring above the forest. Though he was loyal, the bird still needed his freedom. Elizabeth approached her while the falcon was gone. "Where's Aethos? I haven't seen him since we left this morning."

"He's up in the clouds, somewhere. I don't control where he flies. Even if some humans believe it is such." She nodded towards Shadari, who was ahead of the group. She'd overheard the fight between the Khajiit woman and the young healer. "You should not let her get to you. She can be difficult, at times." The wood elf said, remembering hunting the Brotherhood with the Khajiit assassin before they'd met up with the others.

The rest of the day went by without much happening. Soon, the sun was setting in the west, and the others were setting up camp. Torin prepared to hunt for their supper, and asked if she wished to accompany him. "Very well." She strung her own bow and followed in the rangers' tracks.

 

[Blackwhite1223]

Torin appreciated the Bosmer woman, his fellow ranger, agreeing to accompany him. Not that he was worried for his own safety, of course. He'd long since learned to make his way through the forests of Skyrim, but he enjoyed the elf's company. Besides that, the fellowship was getting closer and closer to Windhelm. Her keen ears would be invaluable, should brotherhood scouts be about. "Thank you, for accompanying me. It's not often I have the chance to travel with such a capable companions." Before she responded, he held up a hand for silence. He'd spotted the object of his search, a young deer, obviously preparing to bed down for the night. Its head popped up just as the rangers arrow struck home. His task complete, Torin went to the beast and retreived his arrow, before hefting the dead deer over his shoulders. "What do you think of our path so far? You and Shadari were this far north before, weren't you?"

 

[TheShadedOne]

Shadari kept well ahead of the rest of the group for the remainder of the day. Averaine was the one to call a stop, and the assassin returned to see Torin and Lythare heading into the forest. The others were either talking or setting up a fire. As far as she knew, no one had decided on who'd be taking the first watch. Spotting a tree with a forked trunk, low enough to the ground to be easy to reach, but high enough to allow a sentry to see out into the surrounding forest. She clambered into the fork, setting her back against the large, round trunk setting one leg against the other, large branch, and letting her other leg and tail dangle down. She swung her leg back and forth, looking down to the camp. "I'll take the first watch." She doubted the Brotherhood would show up- after all, their scouts had never reported back. Even if they were expecting the group, they wouldn't know where to look.

 

[Madrar]

Salthar eyed the young Psyrakon incredulously. Her request was understandable, but the Altmer sorcerer was still surprised she'd bother asking such a thing of him. Perhaps she was desperate to see her mother again. Or perhaps she was just foolish. He didn't pretend to understand the mind of a child, after all. "Absolutely not." Salthar said flatly, before looking to Elizabeth. "And neither will you. I won't have the pair of you risking your lives for a glimpse of someone long since dead and gone." Realizing the girl probably wouldn't take his refusal lightly, he offered "your mother is at peace. Do you really want to disturb her rest for your own satisfaction?"

Though he phrased his refusal as though he cared about Cilla's safety, there was another reason. Simus Psyrakon still didn't trust him, and the old general still had more influence with Skyrims' military forces than Salthar liked. Old friends he could call upon, that would probably be more than happy to help him avenge his daughter. Whether or not his two daughters understood that was irrelevant. Deciding the matter settled, he looked around the camp. The fire was roaring, though neither Torin nor Lythare had returned from their hunting trip. Shadari had decided to take the first watch. And the mercenary, Shork, was being strangely quiet. True, he hadn't been the most talkative since Salthar had paid for his release, but now he seemed more brooding than simply quiet. The khajiit assassin worried him as well. To a degree, anyways. Her thirst for vengeance might blind her to otherwise obvious dangers, and ruin whatever assault the group planned on the leader of the Brotherhood. He decided to keep a close eye on her, as often as he could spare it, anyways.

 

[Stormmaiden]

"What do you think of our path so far? You and Shadari were this far north before, weren't you?" The question was directed at her by Torin after he returned, carrying the downed deer over his shoulders. She nodded "when Shadari was trying to find Blackthorn." She remembered the time well. Days of camping, hidden out in the snows, while Shadari ranged far and wide, until she'd fooled a brotherhood patrol into capturing her, and Lythare had turned the tides with the assassin.

"I don't know that our path is the most discrete, but it is certainly going to have us reaching Windhelm soon." She considered, "I suppose that's good. The sooner we defeat the brotherhood, the sooner we can prepare for the Blight." She followed the ranger back to the camp, eager to get her rest. They were about to enter dangerous territory.

 

[Drahkma]

Averaine stepped away from the fire, crossing his arms as he waited for Torin and Lythare to return. The knight, obviously, had no need for the food, but he knew the others needed to get their rest before heading out in the morning. Shadari, apparently still not recovered from her outburst earlier, had announced she would take the first watch, and climbed a tree on the perimeter of the camp. Donath, after helping break up the argument between Salthar and Julius, was a short distance away, keeping to himself.

Guessing what was on Shadaris' mind, the dark mage she'd pursued for years now, he knew better than to attempt a conversation with her. He, along with several others, had attempted to persuade her against taking the mage on her own. But the stubborn assassin had been less than amendable. And now that they were so close to Windhelm, where the mage was, apparently, hiding. Or, perhaps waiting, was a better word. Averaine was no hunter of men. But he understood fear, and he didn't believe a hunted man would stay in one place for so long. Not unless he was confident he was safe where he was.

Deciding to keep Donath company, as the atmosphere in the camp was rather lacking in camaraderie at the moment. He sorely wished Julius hadn't confronted Salthar. Distrust could destroy them as easily as if the Brotherhood had sent the entirety of their army against them. Striding over to where Donath sat, he drew his sword, and planted the tip in the leaf covered ground. He crouched down beside the Nord, and removed a whetstone from his belt, and began to sharpen the blade. "Our journey is nearing its' end, it seems. Have you any insight that would help us slip into Windhelm unseen?"

 

[Simus]

Salthar's tone and directness startled Cilla. He talked to her as if she was asking the most foolish request in the world and she could see his fangs glimmer as he spoke. A cold reminder of what he'd done the day before that settled into her stomach like a lead weight. But after better explaining why it wasn't a good idea to see her mother again and how it was really quite selfish she understood a little better. The lead weight in her stomach eased some but this also meant she really would never see her mama again.

"I...I guess not." Cilla said, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and shame, looking down at Salthar's feet. "I just...I never really thought of it that way but I guess you're right. Mama never liked to be woken up from a nap and if being dead's like having a nap when you're really, really tired..." She didn't finish her sentence. She was too sad now to think about this anymore. She simply nodded up at him.

Soon enough she had something else to distract her. Torin and Lythare returned with a large doe and started working on getting it ready for dinner. Alice, wanting to stretch her legs, decided to go over and help. She took her coat, hood and gloves off and handed them to Julius and made sure the white apron over her blue dress was secure. She'd need it when working with raw meat. As the two rangers cut out the best parts of the venison Alice cut out the animal's stomach, drained it and used it as a cooking bag to cut the meat in. She filled it with some water to help it cook faster and threw in a few vegetables and spices she had gotten from the market in Riften this morning: A couple of carrots, some turnips, half a cabbage and some pepper. Everything was mounted on an iron cooking stand and after about an hour everything was boiled enough to eat. After slicing up a loaf of bread and laying it out on a clean dearskin next to the fire dinner was ready. Cilla, being the smallest and youngest, was fed first, Alice ladeling in a generous amount of roast in a bowel for her then going back for some extra meat. Torin and Lythare were next having done all the heavy lifting for their dinner tonight and then Alice herself. There was still plenty of food left so she left the ladel and a few bowels out for everyone else to come get it as they saw fit.

As Cilla ate she noticed Lythare was sitting next to her and that made her think of her earlier conversation with Salthar. "Lythare?" She asked. She didn't add the "miss" in front of her name because Lythare had asked her not to. She had explained to her once that that was more of a human custom and it wasn't necessary to address her as such, and that it made her a little uncomfortable. "We're eating a mama deer aren't we? What's gonna happen to her babies?"

 

[Baneloth]

Donath had been keeping to himself since the argument between Julius and Salthar. His help hadn't been requested with the fire, so he'd found a comfortable enough spot, and settled down, and propped his axe against the trunk of a tree he was using as a backrest. Averaine, who, up until a couple seconds ago, had, like Donath, been minding his own business. The knight then wandered over and crouched beside him. The stout warrior offered him a friendly nod as Averaine began sharpening his blade. "Can I help ye with something, lad?"

"Our journey is nearing its' end, it seems. Have you any insight that would help us slip into Windhelm unseen?" Donath barked a short laugh, and shook his head. It was a reasonable question, but given his background with Ulfric, it was unlikely he knew anything the others didn't. "Nah. Ulfric wasn't exactly, ah...forthcomin' about Windhelms defence. Not to me, anyways. Even if he did, pretty sure those Brotherhood lads' have made some changes since I left." He gave the breton an apologetic look. "Sorry, lad. Looks like we're on our own." As he spoke, Lythare and Torin returned, the nord ranger with a doe slung over his shoulders. Eagerly, Donath rose to get his meal for the night.

 

[T. Rakinson]

As his companions gathered ingredients for a meal, Shork kept his distance. Though he had been the one subjected to a forced questioning back in the forest, the Nightwalker had actually answered one of the Orc's own questions, or at least developed his knowledge of his employer.
"Vivarian's conquests have proved most beneficial to us in the past"
The group's endeavor into the Brotherhood's land was seemingly not the Mer's first crusade of this nature. Now more than ever before the mercenary wanted to know why they were all here, and what Salthar's agenda was, given the Orc's life rested in the ingenuity and execution of his employer's plan.

Looking up, he realized that more information on the Nightwalker could be more accessible than was typically fortunate for him. As he remembered learning from Donath many nights ago, this was not the first time most of the group had assembled, and the events of their last unification had apparently developed a communal bond between the companions. If he was going to talk someone into producing information about Salthar, he'd have to be uncharacteristically subtle in his approach. As for who seemed the safest individual to approach; well, the evening so far had already made that quite apparent.

For the first proper time since his return to the campfire, the Orc looked up and in a casual manner surveyed the fellowship, his view ultimately fixing on Julius. The young Imperial had made his quiet distrust of Salthar all the more pronounced in their earlier argument, and had now returned to his original place at the campsite, sat with the Psyrakon sisters and engaging in quiet discussion. Noticing the intimate behavior the legionnaire and Alice had with each other, Shork opted to keep an eye on her as well, and when she stood up and began to work on preparing a meal for the fellowship he decided to use her as a way of moving over to Julius without looking suspicious in view of Salthar.

When the young woman had finished Shork gave the meal a look of interest, only partially interested in actually wanting to eat. He made his way over to the fire whilst Alice was still handing out the first servings of the meal, and when the ladle became free scooped his own share of the roast, too hurried to focus on gathering a more convincing, meat-filled dinner. He openly sampled it, gave a visual display of his satisfaction and then turned to follow Alice.

He trailed her back to her seating area, and spoke up with an open voice. "Thank you for this fulfilling meal. Hopefully we will be able to dine in the conquered halls of the Brotherhood's capitol soon". He then looked at the closely proximate legionnaire, aiming to invite him into the discussion. "You should try some, solider. The unseen foe is more easily fought on a full stomach." added the Orc in friendly but undisclosed manner, wanting to make a good first impression. From there he backed up slightly and sat down on the earthy floor, indicating his desire for further discussion.

 

[WindWalker]

Julius leaned back, as Alice went off to help prepare food. setting his shield beside him. As little as he trusted Salthar, Alice made a good point. Besides there wasn't much he could do about it. Salthar wasn't making any obvious attempts to get them killed. Surprisingly, the orc mercenary came over an sat with them, making a comment about the meal, ad stood near enough that made it clear he wanted to start a conversation. Shork nodded at the steaming bowl in his hand. "You should try some, solider. The unseen foe is more easily fought on a full stomach."

He nodded, remembering that Salthat was the one who'd brought the orc along. But he didn't seem too loyal to the vampire, and besides, being hostile wouldn't get him anything. "True. Here, have a seat by us." He invited. " We haven't had much chance to talk since we set out. What are your plans once we beat the brotherhood?

 

[Stormmaiden]

Lythare found a clear spot to enjoy her, meal, and settled down, cross legged. Aethos fluttered down from the sky, and fixed her with one golden eye. When no food was handed over, the irked bird moved closer, clacking his beak impatiently. Smiling, she surrendered several chunks of meat to her friend. As she returned to eating her own food, Cilla took a seat beside her. "We're eating a mama deer aren't we? What's gonna happen to her babies?"

The girls question caught her slightly off guard. And not only because she hadn't really spoken to her since they'd departed Whiterun. Staring into the distance for a moment, she pondered how to respond. "Yes, Cilla. I have no answers that end in happiness. Her offspring will have to survive the best they can. The Rift has its' fair amount of predators. Wolves, Sabrecats, and of course, other hunters.Such is the way of the world."

 

[Blackwhite1223]

Torin quickly prepared and cooked the doe he'd shot. Before long, the meal was ready, and he handed it out to his companions. After the meal, the ranger left the fire to burn on its own. Leaning on a tree slightly out of the light provided by the flames. He stared out into the forest of the Rift, wondering if the brotherhood had any other scouts wandering the woods.

They had been in the Rift before Torin and his companions had arrived. Clearly they wanted Riften, or its surrounding villages for their own. The group he, Averaine and Donath had encountered in the ratway seemed to confirm that theory. The ranger was troubled by the brotherhoods' activities outside of the Rift. The sooner the fellowship reached Windhelm and put an end to them, the better. "We should all get our rest. The trip to Windhelm will not be easy."