Private What Lurks in the Dark

[Aethalia]

Aliah did not sleep well. The dreams, sinister, dark visions, came to her, and she thrashed in her sleep, as if wrestling with some invisible foe. When she awoke, she was more than a little surprised to see that she'd flung her blankets every which way. Mostly, vampires were completely still when they slept, but whatever the dreams symbolized, they were affecting her. Moving to the door of her room, she opened it and stared out, realizing that she hadn't even dressed yet.

As embarrassed as she could be, she stumbled back into her room and dressed hastily. Then she headed out, buckling her swords, and noticing that Salthar was still in the same seat he'd been in last night. Before greeting him, she glanced out the window, noting that a fine drizzle of rain was falling. Not ideal for travelling, but better than a blizzard or a storm. Approaching her fellow vampire, she inquired "Have you not slept all night?"

 

[Madrar]

Salthar noticed that some time before the others woke, misty rain began to fall from the clouds that had been looming since the morning of the last day. The Altmer vampire wasn't displeased with the rain. His hooded robes would protect him from getting wet, and even if he did, the vampire wouldn't feel the cold water. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the leather clad woman, Aliah, approaching his table. Stopping beside him, she asked; "Have you not slept all night?" Salthar made a face. Truthfully, he hadn't slept, although he had meditated on the strange nature of the markings in the cave. It seemed of late, that those markings had all but consumed his thoughts. Regarding his companion, he shook his head "I suppose it would have been wise of me to do so, but I find sleep...elusive.Perhaps it is just the intrigue of setting out on a quest such as this. It has been many years since I was part of such a party" he responded. He noticed that she too seemed less than overly refreshed..but knew better than to bother her about it.

 

[willowwisp]

Elizabeth slept surprisingly well, compared to the luxurious beds she was used to at home in Cyrodiil. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up, and dressed in her dark blue pants, a brown shirt, and her tan colored robes. Dressed, she made her way into the common room, and ordered breakfast. Bread covered in honey and butter, along with a cup of milk, and some fruits. She noticed that their leader, the red headed Altmer woman, was talking to the mysterious sorcerer, who was sitting at his table a little distance away from her. She noticed that the sun still hadn't made an appearance, as all she could see out the windows was grey.

 

[TheShadedOne]

Shadari left her room, a little sore, but no worse for wear. She noticed that the Thalmor vampire was in the same table he'd been last night. Less people were here now, or at least, less of the ordinary crowd. Probably, they'd been scared off by the return of the companions. The Khajiit assassin walked over to the bar, and ordered breakfast, determined to be ready for the trip to Whiterun. After she'd finished, she approached the Altmer redhead, and introduced herself. "Sorry, for not introducing myself earlier, but I'm not exactly a...people person.Shadari, at your service...for now"

 

[WindWalker]

Julius woke early enough to see the scary/friendly Altmer woman enter the common room, and he noticed that the hooded and robed Thalmor had been there even before him. He was a little nervous with both elves so nearby, but then he noticed that Khajiit woman and the Imperial healer. Walking over to his fellow imperial, he said "Hey, did you sleep well?"

 

[willowwisp]

Elizabeth glanced as the younger Imperial walked over to him. "I slept well enough, Julius, thank you for asking" she smiled briefly at him, before turning back to her breakfast. If today was going to be anything like yesterday, she'd need all her strength. After all, the walk from Falkreath to Whiterun wasn't exactly a short one, and she had a feeling the others were more suited to this type of travel than she was.

 

[Drahkma]

Averain woke, and noticed that most of the others had awoken before him. Strapping on his red steel plate armour, the half-Breton left his room, and approached the other two vampires. He'd prepared extensively for the trip, and was more than ready to head out. In fact, he longed for it. The knight had no problem with cities, but after a little while, he felt he needed to move on. Whether it was from his old military days, or just something he'd established in his travels, he wasn't sure.

 

[Baneloth]

Donath led the all but dead criminal back to the inn, gave him enough gold for a room, and stomped off to his own room. After removing his armor, he heaped the furs over his muscled form and went to sleep, determined to get as much rest as he could before dawn. He woke hours later, descended the stairs, and had breakfast, noticing that almost half of their party was already awake. "Gettin' slow and old, I guess" he muttered under his breath.

 

[Aethalia]

Aliah was intrigued to learn that her fellow Altmer, Salthar, had been on a trip like this before. That was certainly something she hadn't counted on, and her estimation of his value in this...journey, went up a few more notches. Curious, she asked, "You have? Where was it your party was going, if I may ask?" In her peripheral vision, she noticed the bald Nord, Donath, the two young Imperials, the half Breton knight, Averain, and the Khajiit woman,who was approaching her.

"Sorry, for not introducing myself earlier, but I'm not exactly a...people person.Shadari, at your service...for now" Aliah smiled at the woman. She liked this Khajiit, with her will to do what needed to be done, and her interesting tactics in battle, she was definitely an excellent addition to the group. "I am Aliah Stormwind, and I can understand your sentiment. There are few people in Skyrim I would exchange words with either" she replied truthfully. With all the pro-Stormcloak Nords running amok, trying to restore order after Ulfrics' death, it was hard for her to get a word in edgewise, before the soldiers declared her a Thalmor spy, and tried to throw her in jail.

 

[Madrar]

Salthar listened to the womans question, and was brought back to nearly half a century ago. He remembered well the journey to the ebony castle, and the carnage that had ensued within. Once they'd arrived at the heart of the castle, they'd turned on each other, viciously, some desiring power, others controlled by the sinister creature that ruled the place, and others that wished to destroy it completely. Most of those that had gone on the journey with him were dead. Several by Salthar's own hand. Those few that had survived, had fled Skyrim, never to be seen again.

Frowning slightly at the vivid memory, he answered "Yes...on a quest to destroy a great evil it- did not end well" he said, trying to shrug off the memory. Distraction came in the form of the Khajiit woman,Shadari, who'd already introduced herself to Salthar, and was now doing the same to Aliah. He nodded in agreement with Aliahs' statement. 'Either it's all Talos worshiping fools, or Imperials trying to regain a foothold in Skyrim' he thought, with no small amount of irritation.

 

[Aethalia]

Aliah was surprised to hear that the Thalmor vampire had willingly joined with another group of non-Thalmor,non-vampire, adventurers. She was less surprised to hear that the mission hadn't ended well. He didn't seem to be the type to play well with others very well. Hopefully, she was able to prevent a similar fate with her own group.'Strange... I'm thinking of them as my group now.Well...why not? They signed up for the same bounty as me, saw the same horror...' realizing that she was still facing Salthar, she inclined her head slightly.

"Well, hopefully, Salthar, our fate will be different. I certainly doubt Whiterun has fallen to any kind of evil" at least, that was what she hoped. If the same strange disappearances were occurring in Whiterun hold, they might have a serious problem. Hopefully, it was restricted to Falkreath hold. Disappearing innocents were not her favourite thing to deal with. When she'd been with the Thalmor, her job had been to make people disappear. Not in these numbers though...and not with nearly as horrendous consequences. True, they'd killed prisoners, but never children. Aliah glanced around hoping to move out soon, but it seemed a couple more members of their group had yet to awake.

 

[Blackwhite1223]

Tanis woke refreshed, and, hopefully, ready to face the relatively long walk to the city of Whiterun. He dressed in his ranger outfit again, the brown and green of his tunic and breeches, with the darker green cloak over everything. He buckled his sword belt and quiver, placing his unstrung bow in the the slots along side the quiver made specifically for that purpose. Dressed, the man decided to go out, meet his companions, and prepare for the road. Entering the main room of the inn, he nodded to those that saw him, and took a seat at the bar, ordering some bread, honey, and a half dozen apples. The apples were for the road, as there was no way he could eat them all in one sitting. Not unless he was a horse,anyways. He noted that almost everyone from the previous night was up, and looked fairly ready to hit the road at the slightest notice.That was good, and something Tanis had mastered several years ago. In the wilds of Skyrim, one had to be ready to move at the slightest sign of danger.Hesitation could cost your life.

 

[Kir the Silent]

Despair, hopelessness, and most importantly death was looming over this place. A strange elf made his way from the cave filled with corpses and blood, taking special note of the other sets of footprints. Men and women, less than a dozen, of different races and skills. By the depressions of the footprints some wore light armor and others wore heavy. So not likely a organized team. A group of adventurers and bounty hunters most likely on the same mission he was on.

The sun soon began to rise, but the man hadn't slept. He had given all of the corpses a proper burial before beginning his descent back to civilization. He hadn't found anything of any use, besides what he had already known. He entered Falkreath, walking towards the inn.

As he opened the door he noticed a group starting to form. Imperial, kahjiit, breton, altmer. Males and females of varying ages. All seemed to have woken up in the last hour or so, looking as if they were to depart soon. He was primarily watching the two altmer, they seemed the de facto leaders of this group. Several of them were eyeing the strange elf standing in the doorway. He made notes about them mentally, taking note of their equipment, appearance, and even their body language before moving forward while still maintaining his distance. The elf's face was expressionless and his voice a bit monotone as he spoke, "I'm looking for the party that was investigating a cave recently. I believe that is all of you and if so, would have words with the ones who are in charge. It is important."

 

[Madrar]

Salthar glanced up as a stranger entered the inn, bringing with him the scent of pine trees, and rain, and...death. Not the scent of the undead, the Bosmer was hardly a shuffling zombie or skeleton. He didn't have the look of a vampire around him, nor a lich. The man inquired about the group that had investigated a cave recently, which immediately put Salthar on his guard. Either he was the one responsible for those deaths, and he was upset that the party Salthar was in had discovered them, or he was there for some...other reason. Perhaps to join them? Whatever the case, the vampire decided to keep a close eye on the wood elf. He glanced over at Aliah wondering if she wanted to respond to the man. With his free hand, the one not resting on the table, he gripped the hilt of his sword. Just in case.

 

[TheShadedOne]

Shadari moved away from the table holding the two vampires. The hooded one, Salthar, seemed dangerously edgy in particular. She appraised the wood elf man that had just entered the tavern. He had a pair of blades, but that meant nothing. Having an opponent with two weapons meant there was just more ways to confuse him.The symbol on his forehead was a little interesting, probably some elf thing. 'Well, if he gets in with us, then all we need is a redgaurd, a dark elf, and an argonian. '

 

[Aethalia]

Aliah looked away from her Thalmor clad companion, towards the door, and the figure that had just spoken. She noticed Salthar tense, and Shadari back away from the table. Both understandable actions to take when facing a stranger, that appeared to be well armed and experienced.The leather clad vampiress performed neither action, besides to meet the strangers eye.

She couldn't help but notice that both his voice and face were expressionless. He seemed either to be incapable of putting emotion into his voice, or perhaps he was simply very weary. Either way, she responded to him in a polite, though measured, tone. "I am Aliah Stormwind, and the...leader of this group.If you have something to say, please, do so"

 

[Kir the Silent]

"You have recently started investigating the disappearances." It was a statement, not a question. As he spoke with little emotion or expression, his eyes were studying the three before him. Two altmer, one male and one female. Strange auras, perhaps vampires. Unconfirmed. One kahjiit, female. His eyes flashed a bit with recognition, but quickly faded. It wasn't her. He turned back to the one called Aliah. "I started investigating a week ago for a noble family from Whiterun. My inquiries led me here. I would like any information you have acquired, that I have not. I would be willing to pay you for your time."

"Time is of the essence. Their child has been missing for a week. Given the time frame and the bodies of other children I have found, the child has little time or it is already too late." He knew he hadn't given his name and that a few of the group members were on edge. He still seemed emotionless, eyes cold observing every single aspect of them and the inn.

 

[Aethalia]

Aliah was a little taken aback by the mans' straightforwardness. He told his story about how'd he'd been investigating for a noble family in Whiterun, and how his investigations had lead him to Falkreath. It seemed a little strange to the woman, and his blank face and dull tone unnerved her, she didn't send him away. Instead, she brushed a lock of her hair away from her face and replied " Well, since you seem to know almost everything about the small amount of investigating we've done so far, I can't see how we could help you." She glanced once at her companions, before continuing. "We were about to head out for Whiterun this very morning. You're welcome to join us in your search for answers"

 

[WindWalker]

Julius grinned at the robed Imperial, but this stopped when he noticed the man come in and walk towards the two elves. The man spoke, but his words were dull and he didn't have any emotion in his face either. 'great. Another guy come to scare the daylights out of me' he thought glumly. He'd have a hard time fighting any bad guys if the people on his own side were either looking like they wanted to eat him or chop him into little pieces!

 

[Baneloth]

Donath stared at the silver haired elf that had entered the tavern. The armed and armoured Nord wasn't worried that the man was planning any trouble, but he did find the toneless voice of the elf strange. "Rather strange folk abroad these days, eh, lad?" He said, turning to the young Imperial and winking. He wasn't trying to be offensive, he was just voicing his thoughts. 'The lad looks worried' then, most young soldiers always had a slightly petrified look about them. Clearly, he was trying to impress the lass sitting beside him, and Donath didn't want to embarrass the lad.