Private We Hear Them Coming [18+]

[MagicBlade]

Berlow saw a man walking away from an elf, although slowly. He wasn't close enough to hear their conversation, so he kept on walking closer. Yet by the time the man had already moved away, and their was no further speech. He moved to the elf, standing rather tall over her. "Hey... I'm Berlow Orsov, some say people are heading to Markarth. You happen to be coming, cause I'd like to hop along too..." He stared into her eyes. He knew she wasn't no simple woman. She wore fine armour and carried weapons not fit for average folk. He waited for her reply, leaning his weight on his right foot, in an odd pose

 

[Hlíf 'Ulfr]

“Wait!” called out Hlíf’Ulfr to Titus as he began to walk away, finally snapping to attention as if waking from the dead.

He had pressed his mind upon hearing word of the Companions and that this man, Titus he called himself was one of them. He could recall perhaps seeing him in Jorrvaskr while spending his days there although he did not frequent the place as much as he had as a youth and so could understand having missed the man. He wondered if Titus could recognize him, having grown for a time alongside Farkas and Vilkas as brothers he often visited seeing them as well as a fair number of the other Companions as his only true family.

“Vilkas… Farkas,” He started his eyes pleading for information on them both or really ether one then looking down into his arms and shifting Ria slightly he said with a softer tone, no longer questioning but telling “Ria.”

He wished he could have formed proper sentences but this was all he could muster at this point. He was damaged and showing it freely now. The news brought happiness to his heart to hear that travel was going well and that the convoys continued, but it brought to his mind more doubt. We should have remained in White run he reflected but as this man had taken it upon himself to do Ria had wished for the same, to search for survivors and in his truest of hearts Hlíf’Ulfr had wished for the same. He remembered leaving the men, he knew the road was dangerous and that death may lie before him but for some reason he disregarded this and in his farewells to his brothers he had been sure he would see them once again. He waited now to hear the news that would break him or heal him and he waited as well for Titus to take in the news of his sister companions death.

 

[Simus]

Titus stopped and turned as the Nord whom had remained quiet until now yelled for him to wait. He then said the names of Titus two closest shield brothers, Vilkas and Farkas. Titus remembered seeing this man from time to time in Jorvaskr but never learned his name. He must have been asking about Vilkas and Farkas but he also looked really upset. So much so that he couldn't speak full sentinces. Did he really miss the twins that much?

He then said Ria's name and shifted a woman in his arms. Titus was secretly smitten with Ria and wondered where she was himself.

"Vilkas and Farkas are fine. They just got back with Skjor from protecting a supply shipment. That was three days ago. I've been looking for Ria myself, something I've got to tell her. I've seen you with her before, do you..."

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. The woman in this man's arms was in a beautiful white dress and Titus didn't recognize her but upon closer inspection Titus saw that this woman who looked a bit like Ria WAS in fact Ria. He had never seen her in a dress before but now he recognized her and he felt as if he were kneed in the stomach by a giant.

"Oh my gods. Is that...? Oh no. No it can't be."

Tears of shock and grief filled Titus' eyes. Normally he would never let anyone besides his family see him cry but he couldn't help himself. It had been over a week since he and Ria saw each other but how could she have just up and died?

"Ria...? RIIIA!"

He ran his fingers through the hair of the dead girl in this man's arms. This really was his shield-sister. She really was dead. Tears ran down Titus' face and he lost all composure.

"Oh my gods...no...Ria...What the fluff!? She was just going down here to find people, just like me! How the fluff did she DIE! WHO THE fluff WOULD KILL HER!?"

He stood and cried for a few moments, making tight fists and trying desperately to be tough. He looked to the Nord.

"Oh gods I'm so sorryyyyyy! Ria...I've got to tell you something. I spent so much time with you because I really like you. I now Kodlack doesn't like us sneaking around but fluff him. I love you Ria and I never even told you. Now you're dead and you'll never know! I should have told yoooooooooou!"

He cried for several more moments, turning away from the group and putting his head in his hands. He turned around again after a couple of minutes.

"H...H...How did she die?"

 

[Hlíf 'Ulfr]

Hlíf’Ulfr could only watch as Titus mourned as he had the three or two days passed. He knew the man’s pain, perhaps not to the same extent as he had seen her as a sister and not as a lover but the loss of family could cut just as deep. He held back tears; he would not cry again he was done crying. He held Ria and listened to the man. He soon gained some kind of composure and turned to Hlíf’Ulfr and asked him the turn of events that had led to Ria’s death.

Can he not see the wounds? Thought Hlíf’Ulfr to himself looking down at his sister then reminding himself that grief can blind. He was tired, so tired. He had not slept for fear the drauger would find them in his sleep and finish both Ria and himself. If he could not save her then he would protect what was left to him physical in this world until she could be laid to rest. He was so close to giving her this right and fulfilling his dues, although perhaps this was where he was meant to do so as to give this man his final goodbyes, perhaps so this man in a way through his family bond his brother could help him to send her off. These thought whirled like fallen leafs blowing in a storm inside his head but he could not get them out. He looked at the man, or more so down at him as he was much shorter it seemed to Hlíf’Ulfr than he and watched him for a moment. He so wished to give him an eloquent answer, a response that would aid him in letting Ria’s memory lay as she soon would, to rest but it seemed in his impaired sate that he could only form the sentences but not coax his tongue to comply. He breathed in and stood silent for a few moments then breathing out more heavily he said his voice again breaking;

“Draugr.”

He could offer no more than that to explain in words but adjusting once more the corpse he attempted to model to him the wounds that had caused her death. He felt so much pain almost tearing him apart, he felt as if he would burst. Here before him stood the life Ria could possibly have had but now she could have none at all, he felt the pain as well of the other man and so grew his own.

“Brother,” he began slowly “I have mourned without sleep… if you wish for more… more answers, wait. I am not fit brother to do her justice by my tongue. I am not fit to find answers for you now.”

Hlíf’Ulfr looked down ashamed of himself for being incapable of giving the answers he deserved, for asking him to wait but it was the way it must be. He had no doubt that with sleep and perhaps nourishment words would spring once more to life to dance for him.

 

[Hlíf 'Ulfr]

....

Hlíf’Ulfr Looked at the new man dumbstruck, he was tired and hungry and worn emotionally down to his core it seemed and the words refused to to click into his mind. He rolled the words over in his head as one might a new word over the tongue. Riverwood he thought Riverwood… images, sounds, and smells began to whip through his memory. He heard the children calling out to each other as their dog barked playfully, the smell of smoke mixing with the fresh morning air perhaps from the blacksmiths, and the house of friends who he had come to know in those small town streets. Names flashed before his eyes. Hlíf’Ulfr shook his head slightly as he began to feel dizzy, there was so much lost he wondered if any of them had made it out alive. He closed his eyes in attempt to center himself and once he had managed to prevent his knees from giving out he turned his attention to forming a response.

“Riverwood,” he muttered shaking his head once more and after a long pause began his question “Is there… was there anyone left?”

He could not believe they were all gone, how had they perished? Did a swarm come in the night? Had it been slow, had they had a chance to escape? He began to think but found himself unknowingly speaking out loud.

“So vulnerable, only a few guards there to protect them… if they were taken by surprise… by The Nine.”

If Hlíf’Ulfr had, had a hand free it would have been covering his face, he knew of the devastation but due to his necessity to stay awake he could not conceal these strong reactions. War against an opponent solider would not have bothered him so as they would have chosen to put their life on the line but these, these were innocent lives being taken not offered up to any cause. His brows came together and he looked off into the distance trying to shake this. He hoped for all that was good that his fellow survivors would live to witness him in his normal state as this was not the impression he would have chosen to have made.

((OOC-Sorry to post twice in succession I won’t do it again I hope it’s okay with everyone: P I suppose I could have tacked it on the end of my other one. I suppose it’s too late for that now. Damn it I’m rambling now. Well… Yup.))

 

[Star Gazer]

“Is there… was there anyone left?” Asked one of the men. There was obvious hurt in his voice. Flie thought back to when word first got around that Skyrim was becoming overrun by their dead ancestors. Flie saw visions in his mind of the women and children attempting to flee, but only in vain. "What guards there were fought valiantly... so did many of the men and some women. These things are monsters. It seemed there are many exits in Riverwood, but they were cut off. It would seem that a large horde surrounded them. Many attempted to flee through the gates, but were cut off by the gnashing dead. Many climbed to rooftops, but were taken out by the undead archers. When they saw this, they fled towards the water... only to be carried away by the strong current of the river."

Flie's eyes filled with the tears of painful memories. "I fought off many... but I ran. Like a coward... I told them all to run to the mountains, but they held no faith in me even after all I had done for that town. I ran by myself, cutting down any of the beasts that were in my way. I fled up the mountain paths to a cave filled with bears. In order to survive, I killed them and ate them raw. I had no materials to start a fire and wasn't going outside for anything."

"I fled east toward Whiterun, but I knew they rely on the empire, and the empire would focus all of their forces on Solitude. I came to Riften because it was very close to the Dawnguard, vampire and undead hunters. I hear you're heading for Markarth?" He asked. He saw that the group had already been acquainted. "My name's Flie, by the way." He announced friendly, hoping to gain their trust.

 

[Hlíf 'Ulfr]

... .

Hlíf’Ulfr’s face appeared as if it was crumpling, sounds of sobs came from the sturdy nord but no tears fell, it was as if he had been bled dry. He thought of those people that had been kind to him and who amongst he had found comfort, he thought then of the children and this brought on an overwhelming pain. It was as if his rib cage was being constricted and his lungs would burst and for a moment he quietly gasped for air. Dorthe and Frodnar had they at least made it out alive? The pain of no grown person could match it appeared to him that of any suffrage of the same kind when it came to a child. He had seen too many children hurt and to many grow up much to fast but this…

“The Children,” He gasped finally regaining enough air “Please tell me…”

He trailed off horrible images flashing through his mind. To many had fallen and to many would fall before this was over he had known but thinking of that town in which he had often traveled a heat, a fire rose within his tired eyes and he turned to face the man.
“You ran to save yourself… this is… understandable,” then escaping from his lips without a single though dedicated to filtering his words he shot at the man “I only hope for your sake their faces and screams do not haunt those that you count amongst your wakeful or slumbering hours.”

His face turned to stone then fell once again to sadness and from this to surprise as he thought back on what he said. An apology was in order. He had been wrong to say that, under the influence of sleep deprivation or not it had need cruel.

“If,” He commenced cautiously and taking his time to sort his words “I did not… not carry my.. my dead sister.. In my arms I would ask you, ask you to strike me down… where I stand… for those hateful words. Forgive me.”

 

[Star Gazer]

Flie had realized he had said too much. These were certainly troubling times. He looked around at the faces of those in the group, and said softly, "Many have died. We may have lost those that we knew or have... loved," in response to the nord's comment about his dead sister. "If you are truly making the journey to Markarth, I would join you, but I suggest that you all give yourselves time to mourn and think this over. You aren't at your best if you've kept things hidden and pent up." It was true. He felt a sudden tiredness come over him from the journey.

"Do any of you have a place where I could rest?" He asked, feeling a headache emerge from lack of sleep. His clothes were tattered, his skin bruised, his head pounded, and his eyes were aching yet still filled with tears. He needed to give this plague some thought.

 

[Nadir-Natesse]

...

Natesse was frozen. So this man, and this boy were both Companions, and had lost one of their own. She heard the young name, Titus, sobbing openly but it sounded so far away, so distant...like a cricket's chirp in the night. She felt her body getting numb as the newcomer recounted teh events that had unfolded in Riverwood; Natesse recalled that dreadful night vividly, as if she herself had been there.

-------

She was there. She had heard the screams in her sleep. They woke her, along with the one that gurgled up from her own throat. At first she thought they were just remnants of a nightmare (one of the many that plagured her dormant mind) but as she sat up in her bed, she realized that wasn't the case. She jumpped out from beneath her sheets, quickly pulled on all her armor and ran out of her brothel to the streets, her crossbow ready. It was deserted, but the screams presisted. She made her way, urgenty but catiously to the gates and found Rythe at his post upon the ramparts, gazing off into the distance. Natesse climbed beside up and before she could speak, she saw it.

Off in the distance, the fires. They blazed high and buried angrily and from where she was standing, a lot of shadows cut across the blazes.

"Rythe...what's going on?"

"Riverwood. It's been swarmed."

He hadn't taken his eyes off the scene, but when she looekd at him, she saw the dried tears on his cheeks. She looked closely at him.

"Rythe. What happened?"

Without looking at her, he directed his gaze down, over the wall. Natesses eyes followed and her hand flew up to her mouth. There, on the ground in a bloody pile was a family of four: a mother, a father, a daughter and what appeared to be a small infant, though it was hard to tell from what was left. Crumpled up closer to the door were the bodies of four drauger, now all dead. She felt the tears form up in her own eyes as what happened dawned on her. She truned to Rythe.

"It...it's not your fault. You did all you could, but we couldn't open the gates like that...we'd have all been killed."

"...I guess that's what it all boils down to, then. Survival of the fittest. Only those who are already safe will stay safe. That's a terrible world to live in, Natesse. A very terrile world."

----

Fifteen minutes later, she was padding silentlt towards Riverwood. Rythe had been right. She knew that there was a very slim chance of anyone making it out of there but she had to try. If she could save just one innocent life, that's all that mattered. Her cowl drawn up, and her muffle spell cast, she made her way through the woods occasioanlyl stopping and listening for approaching draugr; there were none. She supposed any in the area had been attracted to the chaos at the village... As she made her way, the screaming got louder and she came ever closer to passing out. She'd already stopped and purged herself uncontrollably due to nerves. She was getting lighted headed and feeling mroe and more like she was walking towards her own death...

In the dark, she stumbled over something. She kicked away and aimed her crossbow at it, but there was no reason. It was a man, or what was left of him. His face had been eaten off, and now one of his eyes dangled pathetically from it's socket, oozing blood. Natesse retched slightly, but turned away quickyl before she got sick again. Finally, she broke free of the woods and the heat hit her in the face.

The fires had set everything alight: buildings, people and draugr alike. At first she stood stock still, mortified, but kicked into gear. Drawing her dagger, she ran into the carnage like a whirlwind. She grabbed every undead she could and plunged her dagger into it's temple. Those who wore helmets, she opted for their glowing, evil eyes. Panic was everywhere. She could see the men and some women fighting furiously while children huddled up under stairs and walkways. She ran over to the nearest group and dropped down, offering her hand.

"Please! Come with me! I will get you out of here!"

They all looked on in terror as she cried out to them, not moving an inch.

"PLEASE! I want to hel-"

She felt herself being dragged backwards by her feet. She screamed and flipped over only to see a large Nord man raising a great battle axe above his head. He must've mistook her for one of the undead attempting to harm the children. She rolled out of the way and jumped to her feet.

"No! I was trying to help! I'm from Riften! I want to save you all!"

He couldn't hear her over the roar of the fires and screaming. She was ready to cast a shield spell but before he could even raise another strike, an arrow suddenly appeared from the center of his chest, it's ugly charpened head glistening with blood. Natesse frozen her eyes wide with shock. He stood for a moment more, then fell forward in a heap, dead. At the moment, the children, now crying, scrambling out of the hiding place and ran for the woods. A few draugr nearby gave chase, their swords raised, their teeth gnashing.

She was going to chase after them but a sharp plink on her back made her turn. A draugr had fired a second shot at her, and though it had ricocheted harmlessly off her armor, it was a threat she had to deal with. Ligtening spell sparked to life in both her hands and she duel-casted them at the undead monster. It shook uncontrollably and fell to the ground, what was left of it’s brain running out of it’s exploded eye sockets.

Behind it, she saw that the scene before her offered no hope. People who had tried to climb to saftly were being picked off by draugr archers, and those who had tried to swin to safety were bring rushed away by the unforgiving current. Gritting her teeth, Natesse truned and ran, determined to try to find the children who’d ran off. She crashed through the woods and after several moments she did find them, though not as they’d left the village…

The draugr were bent over them, slurping and chewing noisy. Overcoem with greif anf guilt, Natesse flew into a rage, drew her dagger and attacked without conscious thought. The next thing she knew, she was drenched in the disgusting fluids of the undead, crying uncontrollably over the bodies of the children, the sounds of fires and screams from Riverwood filling her head.

Back in the present, recalling the memory had been too much. Natesse left herself getting faint, and before she could utter a single word, fell flat at Rythe’s feet.

 

[Simus]

Titus blocked out the talk of Riverwood as best he could. He had helped with the scouring of the now destroyed town and didn't want to hear any more about it. When the Bosmer-Nord woman fainted however, he snapped out of his crying stupor and rushed to her on instinct. He was fast enough to catch her before she landed on the dumner woman's conjured boots. Titus hadn't seen such boots before and didn't know what they were made of but he assumed you would get a nasty wound if your head landed on them. He kneeled down and cradled the woman, trying to get her conscious again.

"Oh my gods are you okay?!" He exclaimed, genune panic in his eyes. Titus wasn't the best thinker in Tamriel but his heart was usually in the right place and he tried to help anyone in need. Beautiful and exotic women were especially satisfying to help and the current roll in his hay reminded him of this.

"C'mon now, wake up. You're allright. You just fainted is all. You're probably just tired or somehting." He looked up to the dunmer woman whom he had gathered was a friend of this bosmer-nord.

"Would you mind heping me miss?!" He said irritably. "Your friend nearly spit her head on your boots and you're just painting your nails?! Get your head out of the clouds and help her! Just because she's prettier than you doesn't mean you have to be a bitch about it!"

Titus then heard a loud hiss above and behind him and saw a brilliant scarlet light burning in the morning sky. Alice was in some sort of trouble and she was calling for help. She usually handled herself in the wild better than he did so it would have to be really serious for this.

"Oh plops!" He exclaimed he turned to weeping Nord. "Shield-brother! My sister's in serious trouble! That flash in the sky was her calling for help. I've got to get back to her and I'm gonna need your help."

He turned to the two new arrivals, a fellow Imperial (Flie) and a Breton (Berlow)

"You guys! I could really use your help too! If not, I guess you could stay with the elf chicks but you need to make a decision now!"

(A few minutes earlier...)

Alice had procured a wooden bucket from her pack and was gathering water from a nearby stream when a large orc in fur armor approached her. He had a large iron war axe, large enough for two hands if need be.

"Good morning little girl." He said. "What might your business here be?"

"Good morning sir orc." Alice said politely. "Just gathering some water for breakfast."

"Is that so? Well I'll have you know this is my stream see, and you're gonna have to pay a fee to get wate from it. Say uhh...100 gold."

Alice saw the expression on the orc's face and immediately knew it was a shakedown. She had more than enough to pay him off but her father never taught her to encourage bandits by appeasing them. She played the innocent child, testing the orc.

"Oh dear!" She exclaimed, putting her right gloved hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry sir, I didn't know! I'm afraid I don't have that much!"

"Well that's a problem then." The Orc said. "Why don't you go run to your daddy and get the money from him. You can come back for this water when you've got it. How does that sound?"

He leaned into Alice, blowing putrid breath from his mouth into her face. She instinctively wrinkled her nose at it. She was in trouble here. Not because of the brute in her personal space, he would be easy to deal with. There were at least five other bandits in the surrounding trees, lying in wait. She had walked into an ambush and slently cursed herself. She put her hands behind her back, looking scared and worried while descreetly moving a rock into position behind the orc with a telekenesis spell.

"My daddy's not here, and he wouldn't want me to pay a bully anyway."

She flicked her right index finger and the rock hit the orc in the back of the head.

"What the...?" He stammered, unharmed but angerd and confused.

Alice roared as she pushed him back with all her strength, sending a shock spell through both her hands into the orc. He roared with pain and frustration as he found he couldn't move his arms and his head felt like it was bangign against giant dwemer gears. He staggered back and fell on one knee, giving Alice the chance to drop her bucket and run away as fast as she could. She saw five arrows come towards her a few seconds ahead of time in her mind's eye and dodged them through exact, deliberate movement. She sprinted toward the nearest archer and screamed at him while lacing her voice with a fear spell. The nord screamed in pain and terror as the sonic magic hit him. He clutched his ears in a vain attempt to make the wailing in his head stop and was driven to his knees for it. Alice kicked him the jaw full force, knocking him on his back and then stabbing him through the throat with Father's Steel, her shock enchanted imperial sword.

Two more bandits, a Khajiit and a bosmer, abandoned their concealed positons and rushed Alice. She heared them coming and charged up a fury spell in both hands, stabbing her sword into the soft ground to free her right hand. She launched the overcharged spell and the Khajiit's eyes became red as he got hit by it. The two punching daggers he wielded, intended for gutting Alice, were now unleashed on the bosmer, who was cut in his cofusion before drawing an iron dagger and doing battle with his ally in order to survive. Alice let them fight each other while she scanned the treeline. A nord woman was drawing a hunting bow from a high branch. She had just knocked her arrow and was about to draw it back. Alice had no time to dodge it so she drew Mother's Fire, her flame enchanted bow and knocked a steel arrow with breathtaking speed. She held her breath and fired off a shot just as the nord woman fired hers. Alice was fast enough to duck but the Nord was hit square in the chest. Upon impact Alice's arrow exploded in a ball of fire and deadly wood splinters, rupturing the nord's chest and setting her branch on fire.

Alice then saw the orc had regained his footing and looked absolutely furious at her insolance. Alice made ready to dodge his charge and take him down but the fifth bandit, which she had not had time to deal with, poppled out from cover and hit the small of her back with a lightning spell. Alice yelled in pain and staggered for several damning moments. The orc ran into her screaming and she was too slow to completely dodge his ax. A blow that would have taken her head off instead impacted her left side. Her enchanted dress and armor held but two of her ribs cracked with a sickening crunch and a huge bruise started to form. She fell to her knees and the orc picked her up by her dress collar with both hands.

"YOU MESSED UP LITTLE GIRL! TIME TO END THIS LITTLE GAME!"

He threw Alice into a rocky ditch where she suffered more cuts and bruises. She landed on a particularly sharp rock on her back where the lightning bolt struck her. Her armor and dress absorbed most of the damage but the area was red and swollen and she cried in pain when it struck. She then released the distress spell into the sky, just before the orc found her in the ditch and started beating on her indescrimanently. The khajiit, who had killed the bosmer but was severely wounded, found them and did what little evil he could, tearing Alice's armor and dress despite their ebonyflesh enchantments and drawing blood in her now-exposed flesh.

 

[Six Gun Tarot]

Agristyr pointed the group away from Riften, the further they run the better. He walked over to the now still bodies of the draugr, they were stiffer than iron and the ice blue glow to their eyes vanished.

"Just like normal draugr..but something is different."

Agristyr shook his head and grabbed his arrows from draugr. The group said something about heading towards west, that the scourge wasn't there. He put the arrows into his quiver and left Riften again through the crumpled roof tops and over the walls. He heard the screams of death and thud, Agristyr grabbed his bow and snuck from tree to tree till he came to a ditch near the stream leading to Riften. From what he could see there were two of them, a large rather brutish looking orc and a injured khajit approached him. A loud stream of red shot up from where they were standing, obviously they were standing near someone. A young woman was being beaten by the khajit, his claws tearing out flesh.


Agristyr notched an arrow and waited till the khajit raised his head again, as his head came up, Agristyr let the arrow fly. The arrow flew quickly through the air and buried its barbed head into the khajit's skull, dropping him instantly onto the young girl. The orc drew his axe and looked around in angrier, Agristyr drew another arrow and notched it. He let it fly towards the orc, the orc not noticing the shade of blue in the trees was hit in the chest with the arrow. The orc stumbled and fell forward, the arrow had done its job. Agristyr put his bow onto his back and snuck from the shadows of the trees towards the ditch.

"Hey..wake up, now's not the time to die."

Agristyr took a little water from the nearby stream and dumped it on the girl's face.

 

[MagicBlade]

Berlow saw the exchange, and the woman fainting. Instantly, after the man's plead bought him back to reality, he moved over to the pair, with long strides. He knelt down, placing his staff beside him. He checked her pulse, and nodded to the man. "She is alive, and I need to you to calm down." Berlow's tone wasn't rude, yet simply trying to help the man focus. He ran his fingers through his hair, thinking silently. "Hmm... How did she faint?" Berlow asked, reaching for his small satchel on his belt. "Perhaps..." He turned to the man, speaking a low reassuring tone. "You tend to this woman you cried out about, I can help her..." He bent lower to her face, placing his thumb on her closed eyelid. He gently peeled it back, to see her eyes in a normal condition. He checked her pulse again, and it was still at a higher rate than usual, but it was better than nothing. He rummaged through the satchel at his side, finding two small containers. He examined the two liquids. "Ah... this might help, a new potion I created, It's fitting I called it Awakening Tonic, heh" He opened the two containers, and poured the blue liquid, into the red liquid. The colours mixed, making a purple. He then raised the womans head, and, using his thumb, opened her mouth. He raised the liquid to her lips, and gently placed a few drops into her mouth. He tilt her head back, letting the light drips get into her system. He was confident it would work, yet he was still unsure.

 

[Hlíf 'Ulfr]

Hlíf’Ulfr watched as the others ran off. He knew he had been asked to follow but what of his sister in his arms. He waited a moment then shaking his head his brows came together and in a gruff voice he yelled out:

“Kligr”

Hearing his nick name called out the hulking grey draft sprang to life and was at his side with bright eyes awaiting action. Hlíf’Ulfr bent down and placed Ria sitting up against a stone and brushed the hair tenderly away from her face and closed his eyes for no more than a few seconds before turing to the man.

“You,” he started in the same gruff voice “take care of her.” He placed a hand on Ria for a moment then continued on, nodding towards the fainted woman “ and her, I will return with your sister.”

He looked over at the woods that the other two had disappeared into and said in a reassuring voice as he rose “Although I'm sure those other two have got it under control.”

It had taken him a while to wake up but now at least his body was responding. Placing his foot in the syrup he swung himself over the grey beast, his muscles bulging as he heaved himself over. He grabbed the reins and looked down at the men and women around him for a moment giving them a nod then with one small nudge to Osterkligr's side he was off.

When he reached the two it seemed his previous thoughts were correct. He stopped Osterkligr a little ways away from the group, they appeared to be giving the girl a potion. He though for a moment on the course of action he should take then thinking back he reached the conclusion it would be wises to have the whole group together. He would rush the girl back, perhaps she would be better cared for in the city where she could be laid in a bed to rest when she woke. Having made his decision and being edged on my his horse dancing impatiently beneath him he nicked the drafts sides once more with his heel and in a matter of seconds came to stop directly beside the girl and the two others.

“Friends,” he started urgency in his voice “we would do best to get her back to the city, to a bed and behind walls. We are also safer in numbers and we should all, us survivors stay together. I will take her on Kligr, I promised to bring her back to her brother. One of you pass her up to me, shes a delicate little thing, nothing for the likes of one of you two.”

He flashed a wide grin at the last part but beneath his appearance which gave no sign of his true emotions he was anxious and hoping truly for the men to comply. Kligr danced again nervously sensing the discomfort and the desire to move quickly. Hlíf’Ulfr glanced at the girl for a moment, she had light skin and ebony hair, she looked young and perhaps it was this but he felt for some reason protective already over her and hoped with all that was left in his heart that the others would hurry and that she would make it through this trial.

 

[MagicBlade]

Berlow looked up to the mounted man, nodding. "Aye, good Idea, the potion will take a while to react, so if we get her back, we can get her nice and cosy." As he finished, her reached her, and lifted her up, rather like a mother carries her infant. He raised her up to the horse back, laying her down. As he let her go, he gave the horse a few pats. "Fine steed you have, sire" He nodded in satisfaction. He bent down, picked up his staff, and faced the man Again. "Stick in the middle, that way any of those undead pop up, you'll be safe, don't want her getting all infected., or killed. " Berlow was instantly on guard, his eyes where narrowed, and he had already drew his war axe from his back. He gestured for the mounted man to follow, and led the way, his head turning, and watching the bushes around them.

 

[Hlíf 'Ulfr]

Hlíf’Ulfr smiled as the man patted Osterkligr thinking to himself how right this man was and how wrong the stable masters had been. He turned and manipulated the girl so that she sat in front of him, it was the safest place as it was between the horse and him and she would be the last of the three to be hit. He placed one arm around her wait holding her tightly to him and the other grasping the reins.

Squeezing the drafts sides he began to follow the man, he then looped the girl into a strap that had been attached to the saddle it would have seemed odd to look at but there was a perfectly fine explanation for the girl being strapped in.Hlíf’Ulfr had already decided that if they were attacked he would dismount and send Kligr off running, this strap would keep her in the saddle and safe. He would not risk her life or that of his beloved draft and this was the best solution he could think of. He prayed to all nine of the divines that they would not be attacked though and as he felt the warm body of the girl against him as well as her heart beat he said his prayer again as he knew if it came down to it he would value this young Innocent soul over his own and that if he must it would be his life for hers.

 

[Six Gun Tarot]

Agristyr let the man go to it, obviously she was part of a group and that man had came from. He rose from his knees went to the dead khajit, the khajit was infected..with some kind of illness. His fur was mangy and...not natural, his eyes seemed beyond death. Agristyr reached into his satchel and took out a small black book and began scratching down notes with a piece of charcoal. He slid the book back into his satchel and retrieved both arrows from the dead bandits.

Another man approached and began to speak to him, obviously another member of a group. Agristyr began to walk off away from Riften. It was rather quiet, almost too quiet, like the world had come to stand-still. It was uncommon to run into the dead so far away from the cities but they did travel looking for new prey. A small cabin appeared off the road alittle, tuck away into the side of a large rock that protruded out of the ground.

"A good place to rest for the night."

The cabin was small but it was comfortable for one who was use to sleeping on the forest floor. Agristyr closed the door softly and went to the small fireplace, he reached into his satchel and pulled out flint and steel and lit the small amount of logs laying inside. A small fire began and the room lit up, it was obviously abandoned during the retreat toward the west. Agristyr placed down his weapons onto the nearby bed and laid on the floor in front of the fire. His eyes fluttering as sleep took him.

 

[Simus]

Alice resisted with all her stubborn will as the orc and khajiit punched and slashed her body. Her clothing would repair itself of even the worst damage these guys could offer but she wasn't nearly as resiliant. She tried to resist but there was nothing she could do while on her back and covered with bruises. The world around her faded to black as she lost consciousness. An unknown amout of time later she rejoined it in blurry focus as she lapped up drops of water being sprinkled into her mouth.

"Hey..wake up, now's not the time to die."

The blurry figure standing over her said this and even though he was right there he sounded distant. He dashed off as quickly as he arrived and Alice tried to call out but no words left her mouth. Only a dull moan.

Soon after she could make out two large gray horses standing over the ditch she was in. The world was clearer now but not perfect. A large bearded Nord dismounted from one of them. A mage-ish Breton fellow was with him as well and Titus had returned. He must have seen her signal. Her brother held his reputation for being late but he always showed up at some point and he always made up for lost time.

“Friends,” he started urgency in his voice “we would do best to get her back to the city, to a bed and behind walls. We are also safer in numbers and we should all, us survivors stay together. I will take her on Kligr, I promised to bring her back to her brother. One of you pass her up to me, shes a delicate little thing, nothing for the likes of one of you two.”

"Hey! Hey! Wait up you assholes!" Titus yelled after them, sprinting towards them just as Berlow picked up Alice. Her vision blurred as she was lifted out of the ditch and given a foul tasting potion. "Aye, good Idea, the potion will take a while to react, so if we get her back, we can get her nice and cosy." He said as Alice chocked down the rank but relieving elixer. Her left side was in a lot of pain and it felt like she had broken a couple of ribs. Her head was also throbbing with a giant bruise. She had taken a severe blow to it at some point.

Someone had mounted her on a horse and secured her with a strap and a warm grip. She gathered that whoever these people were they had killed the bandits and she was grateful but she was in a highly confused state so it was impossible to process what was happening around her.

"Who aaare yooou?" She mumbled. "Where are you taking me? I..."

The throbbing in her head and stomach was too much. She leaned over the side of the horse and emptied her stomach, leaving a fresh puddle of sick on the grass. Titus ran up to her immediately afterwards, carefully avoiding the new puddle. The copious amount of blood staining her left side was already starting to fleck off and her dress and armor were already repairing themselves but she would need proper treatment and several days' rest at least.

"Alice?" He asked with thinly veiled panic. He grabbed hold of her hand to try and get her to focus. "Alice, can you hear me? It's Titus, it's your brother. The guys who beat you up are dead, we killed them. You're safe. You're gonna be okay Alice."

"Titus...?" She asked before passing out again.

 

[Hlíf 'Ulfr]

The girl began to mumble softly but Hlíf’Ulfr, to surprised that she was now speaking took too long to reply, the girl began to spill the content of her stomach over the side of Kligr and this also stole the words out of his mouth. He could only look at her with sympathy in his eyes and hold onto her tightly to ensure and to reassure him that she would not fall off and follow down to the forest floor. The girl having regained consciousness put a rise to Hlíf’Ulfr’s spirits and as her brother grabbed her hand the signs seemed to reassure him that all would be well. This feeling was further confirmed as her brother spoke reassuringly to her: “You're safe. You're gonna be okay Alice."

“she’ll be fine but we must move,” he began his voice trying to be warm but failing and sounding strained “The sooner we can get her to the city the better off she will be, us too.”

He started Osterkligr at a slightly faster pace but enough so the short man could keep up easily and still hold his sisters hand. They were approaching the Bosmer Nord woman and the Dunmer of undecided gender. They would do best to ender Riften and be behind safe walls. He wondered where the other survivors they were now nearing had made their safe house. At the speed they were going they soon reached the rest of the group Osterkligr, Hlíf’Ulfr, the girl whom the brother had called Alice, and Titus still staying close to his sister coming to a stop around the same place they had started off from.

“Forgive us for running off and leaving you,” Hlíf’Ulfr began apologetically “We only wanted to ensure that no more died today.”

He looked down at Titus; the more he looked at him the more he recognized him and remembered seeing him around with Vilkas and Farkas. The thought of the two brothers caused a pang in his chest and so he left the thoughts alone. He could not think of an occasion though where he had laid his eyes before on his sister or for that matter despite his rather frequent presence in Riften the Bosmer Nordic woman or the Dunmer. They must look a strange group at this point he thought to himself before returning to the matter at hand.

“we ought to get inside the city,” he said his voice displaying the fatigue he felt as he directed his nect comment to the Dunmer “Do you have a safe house where we could all collect and perhaps recoup. As perhaps some of the last to walk these lands as we are, that is alive it would be best if we stuck together. Although… We are an odd sight...”

Hlíf’Ulfr’s voice had solely trialed off and become quieter. He hoped he would not pass out in front of his new found comrades.

((OOC- Sorry to skip all the way back to nat and Rythe I had a reason but for some reason i'm forgeting how to put it into words. can't explain. Silly brain. ))

 

[Nadir-Natesse]

Coughing and gagging, Natesse joined the waking world yet again. She could taste a vile liquid that had been administered while she was passed out and it almost made her sick. She felt herself in a set of strong arms and looked up. It was Rythe, looking down at her with concerned eyes.

"Rythe...by the gods, what happened?"

"You fainted, Tess... Are you alright?"

She sat up and propped her weight up with one arm while rubbing her forehead with the other hand; it was warm and moist with sweat as was the rest of her body cased in the heavy ebony armor. She didn't want to tell Rythe what had prompted her loss of consciousness; he still felt guilty about what had happened...

"I guess the stress got to me... Not to mention that boy talking about how he knew Alice, how she was his sister... Wait, Alice!"

She looked around, but most of the group was now gone.

"Where is everyone?!"

She lept to her feet and almost fell down but Rythe caught her in time.

"They ran off to the woods. That young man, after insinuating that I was a catty woman, and the others went to help his sister. He said she was in trouble."

"Alice is in trouble?! Let me go! I've got to help her!"

She made to pull away but Rythe held on to her firmly, clutching her close to his armor.

"No! Everyone else has gone to help, they will save her, surely. You need to go lay down! You're in no condition to fight and you'll be no good if you end up dead!"

She struggled for a bit more then calmed down, realizing he was right. She stood there with him, waiting. Before long, she saw the group returning. The Nord, the boy, and Alice where the first to come into view.

"By the Gods...ALICE!"

She jerked away from Rythe's hold and ran as fast as she could toward the young girl. She pulled her into a tight hug and cried into her ebony hair.

"Alice, oh Alice! I was so worried! I am so happy you are safe! Thank the Gods you're safe!"

Rythe, who now stood bootess in the grass was approached by the Nord from before, asking about shelter.

"Yes. We have the entire city to ourselves so we've had a lot of time to fortify it. We're right to get inside, it's getting dark very quickly. Please, come."

He turned around and pushed open the gates to Riften with great force. They opened slowly and just enough to that their bodies could fit through. Natesse pulled away from Alice, smiling with tears in her eyes.

"Come inside sweetheart. You're safe now."

 

[Simus]

The large gray horse carried Alice to the spot where Natesse had fainted a few minutes after she had passed out, though to her it could have been hours and she woudn't know the difference. A strong but gentle hand shook her awake. The potion that mage had given her was doing its work and she felt a little stronger.

"Alice? It's Titus. We're just outside Riften. I'm gonna dismount you and have a look at you, then I'm gonna help you inside the city okay?"

Just as he helped her out of the uncomfortable looking saddle the elf woman in the ebony armor, whom had apparently regained consciousness at some point, rushed over to Alice.

"By the Gods...ALICE!"
She took Alice into a bone crushing hug and started sobbing into her hair

"Alice, oh Alice! I was so worried! I am so happy you are safe! Thank the Gods you're safe!"
"Tess...?" Alice asked weakly, "Is that really you?"

Before Natesse could answer, Rythe opened the gates to Riften just enough for them all to scoot in. Titus, who had been supporting Alice all this time put her arm around his shoulder and helped her walk through the gates. She could barely move and every step shot pain through her side. After being safely brought in, Natesse pulled away from Alice with tears in her eyes.

"Come inside sweetheart. You're safe now."
Alice very much wanted to believe that, but she had just enough awareness to know that she was in big trouble. Blood had began to run down the inside of her armor, staining it with crimson streaks for all to see. Her breathing became more and more shallow and her heart was racing. Her mouth was so dry she could barely talk and her head was spinning. Her skin became cold and clammy and she balled her fists up to try and warm her fingers. Her cream skin had taken on an alabaster pallor and as soon as she pushed away from Titus she could no longer stand.

"Tess..." She wheezed "I need help..."

Alice collapsed onto the cobblestone street, both sweating and shivering. Her breath was reduced to quick and shallow wheezes and she struggled to stay awake. If she blacked out again she might never come back. Titus had no idea what was wrong with her or what to do about it and he simply froze. Her left side, the side she was not laying on, oozed with fresh blood, staining her armor and her dress. She looked into Natesse's eyes, desperately pleading for help.

"No...not like this..."