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    Rell

    Champion of Malacath!
    Balgur cried out as the mage heard him and tossed a ball of flame at the troll. Luckily, the nords' aim was true, and it struck the hairy, stinking beast square in the chest. It howled with pain and rage, then turned its' angry glare towards the one who'd so badly hurt it. It stomped through the murky water with ease, letting out a howl everytime it was struck by the nords' fire. It rushed the last few feet between the wizard as the nord swung his hands up, something shimmering between the mage and troll. The blow still connected, but instead of tearing through the mans' robes and flesh, the troll merely knocked him to the ground and succumbed to the magical fire covering its' body.

    The sound of fighting nearby drew his attention and he watched as the elf woman cut down another pair of undead with an ease that made it seem like they hadn't just been fighting a whole group of the things. She stalked off after dispatching them, following the path of the fallen troll. She bent down near the creatures' body, and scooped up his spear, somehow not damaged by the flame attack. To his great surprise, she returned and offered the weapon to him, blunt end first. "I apologize for my reaction", she said, "you had no reason to trust me, but I hope we can work together more closely going forwards."

    "Can't argue with that" Balgur admitted, sheathing his gladius and using the spear to haul himself to his feet. Wearily, he made his way back onto the road. The mage, Lorkas, was headed towards the second troll, holding his side. As they approached, the smaller of the two khajiit with them took the beast down. With the threats neutralised, except for a few stragglers, Balgur grabbed the mages' shoulder. "Looks like you took a hit back there." He nodded towards the charred troll corpse behind them. "You gonna be alright?"
     

    TheArgonianDrell

    Well-Known Member
    Sothas looked around, seeing his companions finally cutting down the last of the undead, and the two trolls also downed, one by Lorkas, the other by Zarr. The argonian let out a sigh of relief, lowering his arms and checking to make sure Aylira was unharmed. Aside from a trickle of sweat running down the right side of her face, which she swiped at in irritation, she was untouched. She cleaned her blades, before nodding towards the rest of the group. "Let's join up with them. I'd hate to be left in this place." Sothas nodded, leading the way to join the rest of the group as they surrounded the one armed troll that had only recently joined its' friend in death. It hadn't been burned, but it didn't seem to be regenerating. At least, not in any way that he could see. Not that he had any desire to look closer at the beast.

    "Well done indeed" Sothas congratulated, nodding towards the smaller of the two khajiit. He kicked the dead thing, but got no reaction. He glanced over at Lorkas as the wizard approached with Balgur beside him. "Would you mind burning this one as well?" He asked, "I don't like the idea of being stalked through the swamp by one of these."

    Beside him, Aylira glanced over at the breton who had stuck to the khajiits' side. He seemed a little out of breath, but otherwise unharmed. Except for a thin trickle of blood that was running from his nose. The assassins' eyes narrowed slightly, "are you alright? Your nose is bleeding."
     

    Madrar

    The Shadow in the Dark.
    Merric stepped away from the edge of the swamp and the latest undead he had cut down. The dead had stopped swarming out of the depths of the swamps, with the trolls having followed up the last of the group. He wiped his blade clean before sheathing the weapon and turning to rejoin the others, who had clustered around the last of two trolls. Though there were a few of their group that looked tired or wounded, no one seemed out of commision entirely. Which suited him just fine; the swamps were not the ideal place to tend wounds and besides, there was no guarantee that the dead would not return. "We should keep moving" he said, glancing between Argus and the others. "We're wasting time out here, and I don't fancy wading through this place come nightfall." He looked down the road, the way they'd been traveling in before the ambush. "Morthal can't be that far off now."
     

    Rafen

    Well-Known Member
    Dren stared in shock as a yowling Zarr leapt up onto the back of the troll he'd just maimed. Her daggers blurred, stabbing faster than the troll could regenerate. A few bloody moments later, the beast gasped its' last breath and collapsed onto the road. The breton eyed it cautiously, not entirely convinced the thing really was dead. After several moments had passed and the troll hadn't made any attempt to get back up, Dren sheathed his sword. The rest of the group had joined them now, including the elvish woman who'd insisted on pestering him and Zarr at the tavern. He felt the urgent press of magical energy relent slightly, and breathed a sigh of relief. Revealing himself as someone with magical talents would bring up unwelcome questions.

    He started to relax now that the danger had passed, when the female dunmer looked at him. "are you alright? Your nose is bleeding." She asked, prompting him to wipe his face with the sleeve of his robe. It came away smeared with blood and Dren fought the urge to curse. That had been happening more and more, but especially when he tried suppressing his magics in times of stress. He shot a warning look at Zarr, before he addressed the dark elf. "It's nothing. Must have taken a glancing blow during the fight."
     

    Morbidbread

    Fight for the lost
    Thoras took a cautious step back from the dead troll, but it appeared to be well and truly out of the fight. He offered a nod of appreciation to the smaller khajiit of their group, genuinely impressed. He caught the other khajiits' comment and grinned, feeling more and more like his usual self now that the undead had been dealt with. "Normal is boring" he shot back over his shoulder at her. Soon, most of the group had assembled around the corpse. He was joined by Kaliir, who quietly suggested he keep an eye out. He nodded slightly, picking up on her meaning. Just because they'd defeated the ambush didn't mean there were more undead, or worse, lurking nearby. The fight hadn't been exactly quiet.

    Sothas looked over to Lorkas as he joined them, requesting that the mage burn the body, just in case. "Hang on a moment" Thoras said, shoving the corpse until he'd rolled the thing onto its' side. As luck would have it, the impact with the ground had not shoved his knife all the way into the things' chest. He yanked the blade free and wiped the gore off on its' matted pelt. As he was straightening and returning to his position at the edge of the group, he heard the dunmer woman, Aylira, mention that the quiet bretons' nose was bleeding. The man insisted it was nothing more than a glancing blow, which in itself was enough to rouse Thoras' curiousity. "I should hope not!" He said, turning back to face the breton. "A glancing blow from that-" he kicked the dead troll, "would have torn half your face off."
     

    Thesius

    The Imperial Paladin
    Argus looked around, axe at the ready, but no more of the undead came forth from the swamp. An uneasy silence settled over the road and the nord warlock noticed Lorkas giving him a strange look. Silently cursing himself, he joined the others as they all gathered around the last of the trolls. While they wondered whether or not to burn the body before moving on, he watched the wizard. Would the man out him to the rest of the group? Possibly. Or perhaps he would desire a private confrontation. Argus was not sure how to handle either of those situations. He was already hiding his accent and his heritage as the son of a thane. If it came out that he knew a bit of magic, the others might wonder what else he was hiding.

    Or they might be accepting, so long as he left out the bit about having no idea where his powers came from, who this 'Watcher' was, and why it had chosen him. As if sensing his trepidation, a low, deep chuckle seemed to fill his mind. Fighting to keep his face blank, Argus joined the rest of the group. "We should move on soon, so long as we're all able" he glanced at the wizard and the breton with the bloodied nose as he said that, "I doubt that we'll run anything quite as bad as" he swung his arm out, taking in the carnage the group had brought upon the undead "all of this, but I don't fancy taking my chances. If we keep a good pace, we should reach Morthal before dusk."
     

    Andre Marek

    You can run, but you'll only die tired...
    Lorkas shook his head at Balgur as the two of them approached the, now dead, second troll. "I'll be fine. How about yourself?" He said as he placed a hand over his fractured and bruised ribs and channeling a spell to heal the damage the troll had done in it's final moment. "Lets see to the others first." As they approached, he cast an eye towards Argus with curiosity and wondered for a second time whether he should ask the other Nord about his use of magic or not. He decided against it, for the time being. He wasn't sure of Argus' situation and didn't want to exacerbate the groups relationship. That didn't mean however that he wouldn't keep an eye on him for the time being.

    Joining the group around the dead troll, Sothas immediately asked if he could burn the trolls corpse like he had the first in order to stop it from potentially regenerating again. He nodded,
    "I can. Although I'm sure it's quite dead." With a flick of a hand the corpse was engulfed in fire, only a moment after Thoras had kicked it, and extinguished any doubt of the monsters survival.

    As the flames consumed the creature, both Merric and Argus observed that they should get going, sooner rather than later. Lorkas nodded towards the pair and looked around the group, searching for any obvious injuries he could help with. His gaze settled on the Altmer woman as he remembered that she had also been struck by the troll he had killed, only without the aid of his wards.
    "How is your shoulder?" He indicated Thoras for a moment, "Like he said. Even a glancing blow could be serious."

     

    Rell

    Champion of Malacath!
    Balgur shook his head, swinging his shield over his shoulder and adjusting the strap so that it fit diagonally across his chest. "I'm fine. The benefits of wearing heavy armour and carrying a shield and spear." He fondly wrapped his knuckles against the heavy breastplate. "'Course, being able to blow things apart from forty feet away must be pretty nice too." The old orc admitted begrudgingly. Balgur wasn't overly fond of mages, but there was no denying that Lorkas had saved him from a good maiming, at the very least. He overheard both Argus and one of the other humans he thought was called Merric, suggesting they move on. Looking around, Balgur couldn't help but agree. The dead and their troll tag alongs had been dealt with, but that left more questions than answers.

    He had heard of necromancers and vampires' raising the dead, of course. There were even rumours that the college of Winterhold practiced necromancy in their isolated hold. During his days in the army, his unit had come across some pockets of undead. Never anything the size of the horde they'd just dispatched. As the second troll corpse burned away under Lorkas' supervision, Balgur went to a few of the undead. There was no real uniformity about them. Some were men, some were women. Some looked like they were wearing tattered remnants of Stormcloak uniforms, some adventuring or mercenary gear. It was impossible to tell how old the bodies were, thanks to being soaked in swamp water and the newer injuries his comrades had dealt. "Where did they come from? And if there's something raising the dead in this swamp, why didn't the Stormcloaks ever send troops to clear them out?" He wondered out loud.
     

    Harkatti

    Sorceress Supreme!
    Zarr stood by the slain troll, knees almost knocking together as the realization of how stupidly reckless she'd been hit her like...well, like a furious troll. She barely heard the praise of the others as they approached the dead troll. The big argonian, Sothas, suggested to the nord mage that he burn the body, as he had the first of its' kind. Zarr stepped hastily away as the wizard agreed, burning the body away with his flames. She wrinkled her nose at the stench and circled the body to get to Drens' side. Her friend had sheathed his sword, but he still looked ready for anything. The dark elven woman glanced at him, then pointed out that his nose was bleeding.

    Her eyes flicked up to the mans' nose blood trickled down to his lip as he reached up and wiped the liquid away. He insisted that he had merely taken a glancing blow, but Zarr didn't remember seeing him take any hits. Stepping closer to his right side, she reached out and gripped his wrist, shooting him a questioning look as she did so. 'Are you really alright?' was the unspoken message. The strangely adorned dark elf made a joke about taking a glancing blow from the troll, but no one pressed him further. She resolved to have a private conversation about the blood, once they were safe and sound. "I have a question" she said as the orc soldier went around checking bodies, "do nord swamps usually have so many dead in them?"
     

    Rafen

    Well-Known Member
    "It's nothing." Dren insisted, staring daggers at the dunmer man, irritated at his persistence. He was distracted by someone grabbing his wrist. He glanced down to see Zarr staring up at him, a question in her eyes. He sighed, knowing that he would eventually have to have a discussion with her. He nodded slightly, then gently pulled his arm away before looking back to the dark elf. "It really is nothing," Dren assured him, "but I thank you for your concern." Off to the side, he noticed the orcish soldier examining the bodies of the undead they had slain. After a few moments, the orc wondered why no one had been sent to deal with the roaming undead. Dren approached and nudged a corpse in the tattered remnants of a blue uniform. "Perhaps they did" he suggested, "but they underestimated the extent of the infestation."
     

    Aethalia

    Well-Known Member
    Ysaine hesitated, taken aback by the nords offer. She hadn't had very many positive interactions with nords, since they'd imprisoned her as a Thalmor spy almost a decade ago. Of course, the wizard may have only been offering from a practical stand point. She would be of little use to the group if she couldn't fight properly. She tested the shoulder the troll had struck. It was sore, but nothing was out of place or broken. "If you have the magic to spare, I'd appreciate it." Ysaine admitted, "but it feels like my armour took the worst of the impact." She looked around at the others, as the troll slowly burned to nothingness.Hearing both Merric and Argus suggest moving on. "I'm fit to travel, though I stink of swamp water."
     

    Madrar

    The Shadow in the Dark.
    With little more to do on the battlefield, the group began to move out, careful to keep to the road. The swamps are quiet, but theres' no guarantee they will remain that way. The swamps slowly gave way to firmer ground as they made their way towards the hold capital. The only settlement in the area, as far as Merric knew. The swamps were quiet, though not as unnaturally as they had been before the ambush. Bird song filtered through the trees, as did the noise of larger animals, though from a distance. It is only when the scent of burning bodies reached the group that Merric began to have sense of foreboding.

    Morthal came into view, more village than anything else. However, a wooden palisade had been erected around the houses of the hold capital. Before the walls, were large bonfires, charred bodies being slowly burned away to nothing. It appeared that the dead had not only attacked Merric and his allies, but Morthal as well. They entered the large village under the watchful eyes of a half-dozen guards, four on the ground, two more stationed in watchtowers, longbows not drawn, but at the ready. "It seems," Merric said, keeping his voice casual,"that Morthal has been having some problems of its own." The inhabitants of the village, most looking like fishermen, some hunters, stopped to stare at the strangers entering their midst. It soon became fairly obvious they would not be recieving a warm welcome.
     

    Morbidbread

    Fight for the lost
    Thoras approached the breton and orc as they inspected one of the corpses. "I'd say there's no doubt as to whether something's raising the dead." He kept his tone neutral, but he was torn. On the one hand, he had no desire to linger in the swamp any longer than absolutely necessary. On the other, he wanted to hunt down the necromancer, or necromancers that were responsible for disturbing the peace of the dead. Two of the humans, Merric and Argus, declared their intention to head on to Morthal, and Thoras nodded. They were supposed to be on the trail of missing villagers, after all. If they were still alive, then time was of the essence.

    He fell in line with the rest of the group as they made their way through the swamp. The road twisted and turned, and was submerged in someplaces, but remained serviceable. The dark elf remained vigilant, sweeping the swamp with a keen gaze, but if there was something stalking them through the swamp, it remained hidden. Soon, they came across the pyres. Great piles of bodies that had been set ablaze, either as a warning, or to prevent more dead from rising up and threatening the town Thoras could see beyond. They entered Morthal under the watchful gaze of half a dozen guardsmen. Inside, their welcome was somewhat lacklustre. Taking a place beside the nord mage, he muttered "are all your people so...dour?"
     

    TheArgonianDrell

    Well-Known Member
    Sothas stayed close to the rear of the group, as much to serve as a rearguard as to make sure everyone was sticking together. His ears weren't as good as the khajiit, or elves that accompanied them, but anything that hit him would be having a much worse time than hitting one of the weaker members of the party. Occasionally, he would catch glimpses of Aylira, as she flitted among the twisted grey trees, making sure nothing unpleasant was sneaking up on them. He wasn't pleased with her decision to seperate from the rest of them, but when he'd brought it up, she'd laughed at him and moved off the road.

    Some time later, they reached Morthal. The town itself had what looked like a hastily erected palisade wall around it, and guards were keeping a keen watch on the surroundings. Piles of burned bodies hinted that the group were not alone in being assaulted by the undead. They were let through the gates, but Sothas was very much aware of the scrutiny of the locals. Now that they were relatively safe within the town, he caught up to Argus. "What is our goal here? Every minute we delay, the abducted villagers get further away." Aylira joined them, resting her hands on her hips. "If we're on the right path. It's damn hard to track someone through a swamp."
     

    Rell

    Champion of Malacath!
    Balgur glanced over at the normally withdrawn breton, before slinging his shield over his shoulder. "If that's true, we're in trouble. Far as I know, Morthals' smack in the middle of the swamps." The group started to move on, and despite his worries, they didn't come across any more of the dead. Or living, for that matter. Not until they reached the wooden palisades that made up Morthals' defences. The group made their way inside, and he didn't miss the not-quite hostile glares the townsfolk and guards were throwing their way. He shrugged, not particularly caring. It was only natural they wouldn't trust outsiders, especially if the pyres outside the gates were recent. He overheard the dunmers' question to Lorkas. "Quick, elf. Say something witty. I'm sure they'll warm right up to you."
     

    Thesius

    The Imperial Paladin
    The trip to Morthal was luckily uneventful, with nothing but the sound of their footssteps in the murky water and the screeching of creatures further out in the swamp. Argus stayed at the head of the group, as he'd been before the attack. He noticed the dunmer woman that kept near Sothas was flitting around their group while the big argonian lumbered along behind. The piles of burnt and burning bodies made it painfully clear that the undead the group had stumbled across were not an isolated, unique occurrence. That by itself made Argus uneasy, not to mention the suspicious stares the guards directed their way. Argus resisted the urge to rest a hand on the haft of his axe, noting some of the civilians were stopping to stare as well. He had heard Morthal was isolated, but he hadn't expected this level of suspicion. Perhaps he should have.

    Sothas joined him as the group filed into the capital of the swamp hold. He wanted to know what their goal was, pointing out that the missing townsfolk were probably getting even further away. His dark elf companion added that they didn't even know for certain that the villagers had been brought through Morthal. Argus shot her a look to let her know the comment wasn't appreciated, before saying "it's pointless to chase after them into the night. We'll rest here, ask a few questions, and head out in the morning. Half a day won't make much difference if we lose their trail. In fact, I think it'd do more harm than good." He glanced to the others for support.
     

    TheShadedOne

    The Angry One
    Kaliir did her best to keep her eyes open and ears perked. She didn't step off the road, like the dark elf woman had, but she stayed along its' edge. Despite her precautions, she didn't see anything, and she didn't hear anything. The group continued on, and she began to smell burnt flesh. Like the corpses Lorkas had taken care of, but on a larger scale. The khajiit grimaced at the piles of corpses, wondering how many of those people had been 'lost villagers'. The entered Morthal shortly after, and recieved a rather cold welcome. Kaliir remembered Lorkas saying something about the people of Morthal being mostly fishermen who kept to themselves and distrusted outsiders. So far, it looked like he was right on the money. "Quick, elf. Say something witty. I'm sure they'll warm right up to you." The orc soldier goaded Thoras. "Oh, yes please;" Kaliir added, rolling her eyes, "let's get us run out of town the same hour we get here."
     

    Andre Marek

    You can run, but you'll only die tired...
    Upon arriving at Morthal, Lorkas was surprised to see piles of burning bodies around the outskirts and a makeshift palisade surrounding the village. As their group neared the main entrance, a small gate situated between two tall rocks, he noticed how the guards frowned and kept their hands close to or on their respective weapons. He recalled warning Kaliir about the rather poor hospitality often displayed by the residents of Morthal but this was worse than even he had expected. The cause of it was obvious to him, at least in part.

    As if listening to his thoughts, Thoras asked him, "are all your people so...dour?" The elf was looking around the village as several of the locals stopped what they were doing to watch the group warily. Lorkas glanced around as well, then back to the elf as he heard both Kaliir and the Orc warned the man not to get them kicked out of town.

    Lorkas scoffed,
    "Well the last time I was here I don't remember there being piles of burning townsfolk and hoards of undead roaming the swamps. I don't think they were expecting visitors so I think we should be prepared for some questions." He pointed ahead of them, "The tavern is up ahead there. We might be able to find rooms and food there." He said this just loud enough for most of the group to hear. He also figured that the Tavern should likely be the first place they should inquire about the missing villagers.
     

    Morbidbread

    Fight for the lost
    The orc soldier sarcastically encouraged him to say something 'witty' implying it would loosen the mood somewhat. He glanced at the stone faced villagers, then at the piles of burnt corpses behind them. "Yes," he murmured, "I'm afraid they'd warm up to me a little too quickly, if you take my meaning." Thoras realized that several of his companions were now staring at him. He placed his hand over his heart, "I'm the very definition of innocence" he said solemnly. "Now, the khajiit with the big sword and the attitude problem, I'm not too sure about." The rest of the group made their way inside the palisade wall, putting the unknown of the swamp behind them. Now, it seemed, they had to rely on the goodwiil of the people of Morthal.
     

    Madrar

    The Shadow in the Dark.
    Merric kept a wary eye on the small group of onlookers. Most of those who'd witnessed their initial arrival had already wandered off, except for the guards, of course. The nords weren't being outright hostile, but there was so sign of welcome in their faces. He couldn't really blame them on that count, as the piles of burnt and burning corpses suggested Morthal was not having an easy time of it. Merric couldn't help but wonder how many of the pyres were undead that had roamed from the swamp, or the dead of the village. "Alright! Be about your business!" Someone shouted from beyond the crowd of curious villagers.

    They parted, allowing a dark haired man in scaled armour, flanked by another pair of guardsmen to approach. The man was of average height with a fighters' build. His hair was streaked with grey and bags under his eyes indicated a lack of sleep, abundance of stress, or both. A sword rested on his left hip, an axe on his right. "I'm Alfric, head of the guard, here in Morthal." His eyes, though clearly tired, swept over them with a keen glimmer of intelligence. "You're either very foolish or very brave to pass through the swamps. We've been trying to get a message out to Whiterun or Solitude, but none of our runners ever come back." His eyes flickered between Lorkas and Argus, the two nords of the party. "So what are you doing here?"
     

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