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 Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 2:47 pm
There was a slight breeze that chilled his bones as Athalos wandered down the dirt road, heading to the inn up ahead. He had a feeling he was being watched by...something, but he had no idea what or where it was.
Probably nothing... He thought to himself as he reached the inn door, the sunlight of midday reflecting beautifully off the simple structure.
Pushing open the old wooden door to the inn, he was hit by the merry, yet not exquisite, scent of meat, mead, and travelers. It was one Athalos had learned well in his travels, and one he always nodded approvingly to. His helmet held casually under his arm, he wandered over to a table, only to be intercepted by a female Nord with a curious and somewhat intrusive look about her.
"Are you here about the ad?" She asked in a very demanding tone.
"Excuse me?"
The woman impatiently responded "I put up an ad about some trouble around these parts in the Imperial City, are you here to help me out?"
Finally understanding that this was indeed the innkeeper as he had suspected, Athalos happily replied, "Oh! Yes, yes I am here about the ad. It said you would pay good money to help solve....whatever around here needs to be solved."
"Hmph. As I suspected, you didn't dress like any of my ordinary customers. But I see you ignored the notice I wrote at the bottom mentioning that it would be necessary for a team of people to handle this."
Athalos shrugged, "My apologies, I simply don't have any kind of 'team'. I usually wait for others to arrive, and then simply tag along with them if they allow me to. Anyways, what was this problem of yours?"
Giving another impatient sigh she replied, "I'm not telling you a thing until I have before me a reliable team of adventurers!"
Shrugging his shoulders again, Athalos simply moved to a nearby table and sat, glancing about the inn for any possible adventurers. Two Imperial Riders, seemingly taking an unwarranted break from their patrolling duties, sat a nearby table eating and chatting. The rest seemed to be simple peasants, with the exception of a band of three well armed and well armored mercenaries.
A khajiit, sitting with his back to Athalos, dressed in a full set of glass armor, a glass bow, and a set of glass arrows. The rest of the gang of mercs also wore glass armor and used glass weapons, yet only the khajiit had a helm with his armor. Standing next to the Khajiit was a male Breton armed with a glass longsword. Lastly, there was another male Breton, clearly their leader, armed also with a glass shield and longsword.
But wait, now a fourth mercenary, a female Nord, dressed in full Orcish armor with a glass warhammer slung across her back, it's bright green appearance contrasting the dark armor she wore.
"Don't even bother," the innkeeper told Athalos, "I've tried for days to get those fools to do something but they refuse, saying that they've got 'more important matters to tend to'. Yet the only thing they've done for the past four days is sit around and waste money on food, beds, and drinks."
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Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 3:44 pm
Celestine shivered and tightened the arms around her body that seemed to do little to conserve her body heat. Despite the afternoon sun, there was little warmth to be had from the solar rays and a biting wind was nipping at her bare skin. It was at times like these that Celestine hated the steel armor she wore; cold steel was not a good insulator. Not only that but the dark shadows under her bleary and reddening eyes were evidence to the poor night’s sleep she’d had. She’d chosen to seek protection from the elements off the road, only to find the spot she’d picked was already occupied by a couple of bandits. Sure they ran off once she taught them that the pointy end of her claymore could easily stick holes in rough leather, but then she didn’t want to take the chance on them coming back for revenge while she slept. So she’d carried on walking.
As to her ultimate destination, well she didn’t know but anywhere with a warm fire and a bed would do her fine, anything to escape the arduous moment in her travelling around Tamriel. However it had been a while since she had stumbled upon someone with a dire need of assistance and it was also some time since she had checked up on the guild for some contracts. As the Imperial lady considered what she might do after her rudimentary needs were satisfied, she continued to follow the directions given to her by a handy mounted imperial guard to a nearby Inn. What she hadn’t realised was just how far she had travelled, so when an angry hiss broke the previous silence she was a little surprised.
She blinked at the Argonian which glared back at her, “What are you looking at Imperial wench.” Growing up in the slums and dealing with being tarred as a criminal had desensitised Celestine to all the possible insults that could be slung her way. Instead her face changed to an apologetic one, she realised she had walked right up the steps of the Inn and into the path of the Argonian who was just leaving; she had blocked his path. “Ah, my apologies.” she stepped aside and let and green scaled humanoid past.
Once inside the quaint premises, the warrior gravitated towards the table nearest the fire. She removed her claymore first, setting it down within her reach, though a quick glance of the Inn told her she probably wouldn’t be needing it here. Then the Imperial did something rather odd, she pulled up close to the table, rested her crossed arms on the wood and placed her head face down on her arms. Her hair sprayed out in a protective curtain, hiding her face from the world. Finally she could relax, even if it was just for a moment.
“Excuse me.” Celestine was used to these words being used in a polite context, but this time they were laced in a demand that made Celestine wince; however to everyone in the Inn she appeared unresponsive. ‘What have I done now?’ the thought whined in her head as she wished to be left alone for a few minutes.
“Excuse me!” the voice was louder and definitely more frustrated.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but please leave me alone. Just for a moment. I have travelled far.” Celestine sounded tired and there was a tenor of her own frustration in her voice but she mostly smothered it with her polite choice of words. This seemed to work and she sensed the presence that was standing over her walked away. Ah now if the fire would just warm her skin she might go and inquire about a drink.
Celestine Danver
xox
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 5:49 pm
Eliya ~ Eliya’s breath was stolen away as a particularly frigid gust of wind intercepted her. The biting chill of the air against her skin was unpleasant and it was with relief she finally spotted her destination up ahead. The elven woman had been riding for half the day in the cold and she couldn’t wait to warm up by the fire she knew awaited her. But of course she would have to attend to business first, as that was the reason she found herself in this part of the great forest.
Only the other day, back in the Imperial City she’s seen a poster that promised reward for clearing up trouble in these parts. Well, as Eliya was short on coin, and there weren’t too many jobs to be found, she now found herself approaching the Roxey Inn. A small shiver ran down her body as the wind whipped her black cloak back and forth. Granted she was wearing warm clothes, but it seemed that today was specifically planned by whatever gods to be brutally unpleasant. Arriving at the inn, she stepped off her horse and tethered him before making her way inside.
The warmth was what hit her first, then the smell. Unwashed bodies, meat, dirt, other smells the red headed woman did not wish to identify. She forced her wrinkled nose to behave and made her way to the woman who stood behind the front bar. It took a few moments for the woman to come over to her, and when she did Eliya spoke first.
“I’m here about your posting. You have some trouble that needs taking care of?”
The older woman barely glanced at Eliya. “Ya you aren’t the first to arrive. Have a seat and I’ll be with ya when a few more get here.”
The other woman was obviously busy filling orders and didn’t have time to chat. Eliya disregarded the woman’s brusque speech and turned around so that her back was now to the bar. She surveyed the room for a few moments, attempting to determine who else she might be competing with for her job. She’d seen the notice had called for a group of people and not an individual, but that was hardly going to keep her from a paying job.
Her green eyed gaze passed over the peasants and simple clothed people in the room, landing to rest on a small group of mercenaries. Their impressive armor caused them to stick out like a sore thumb, and there seemed to be little pause to their merry drinking. Hmm… it would make sense that they were there for the work, but their drinking indicated to the contrary.
Deciding they were no immediate threat, Eliya continued to look around, her gaze passing over two Imperial Guards and resting momentarily on a nearby man......now he might be competition. He had his back to Eliya but she could see that he wore dwaven armor complete with a longsword, and he appeared to be alone.
Though she was rather cold, Elyia decided to stay where she was, and took a seat at the bar. She was close to the door and had a good vantage point of the entire room, also she would be the first to see anyone else who entered. Waving to a young barmaid, she ordered hot tea, once again scouting the room for something she may have missed the first time around. Sure enough, this time around she noticed a woman laying face down on the table next to the fireplace. Was she okay? Narrowing her eyes, Elyia saw that the woman was indeed breathing. Passed out or not she didn’t know, and neither did she care. Turning back to the bar, she handed the young barmaid a coin and accepted her hot tea. She allowed herself to close her eyes in delight, its warmth flowing into her chilled body. Work would start soon enough, but for the moment she was going to enjoy her steaming drink…..
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 4:02 am
Celestine shivered as the tavern door was opened again and with the new entree came a gust of chilling wind. Despite the enjoyable warmth of the fire, Celestine was actually beginning to regret choosing this table. There was a rather noisy bunch of, in her opinion, idiots sat at the table next to hers. The blonde warrior could clearly hear the four males whispering about her, well not whispering, just their failing attempt at whispering. The context of their words was neither pleasant or that flattering and Celestine had a better suggestion on where they could each stick theirs... Between the fire and her growing irritation with the inebriated men behind her, her body finally started to regain some feeling. Enough that she now felt the cons of sitting by the fire, were greatly out weighing the benefits. So she swiftly got to her feet, collected her things and moved to the bar, ignoring the rude and surprisingly loud cat call that came from behind her. Though she resisted the urge to turn back and thump the caller in the jaw, the angry expression on her face gave away that the urge had been a compelling one.
Unfortunately the company at the bar turned out to be not much better. No sooner than she had sat down, near an interesting looking red head, the shrill voice from earlier came back with a vengeance. “Excuse me. Why ARE you here?”, the voice turned out to belong to a Nord woman, whom was now standing behind the bar and eyeing Celestine with narrowed eyes. The blonde responded by crossing her arms over her chest and using a annoyed tone of voice.
“Do you talk to ALL your clients like that? I was going to ask if I could get a drink. But if you would rather I took my coin elsewhere, then so be it.”
Unsurprisingly the bartender didn’t appreciate the threat, however her hardened expression relented slightly, “Well then, what can I get for you? And what about my ad?” Celestine pondered over the words that were hastily added to the Nord’s now more hospitable response. Having little taste for fancy drinks, she settled on ordering one of the local choice beers and as she handed over the coin asked in a curious voice, “What ad would that be?” The Nord looked at her as if she’d just revealed she had two heads instead of one and then abruptly turned and went out the back. Celestine shrugged and lent over the bar to retrieve her drink which had yet to be handed to her before the bartender disappeared. No sooner than the first mouthful of the harsh and hearty liquid grazed her throat, did the Nord woman return and thrust an old and battered copy of the Black Horse Courier in the warrior’s face.
“THAT ad!” she declared as if it was entirely ignorant that anyone should know nothing about her advertisement. Celestine kept her poker face and quickly swallowed another sip of her drink, then set it down on the bar to take the paper.
“Huh, I might have remembered seeing it if I had actually bought one in the last two months.” her tone was excellent rendition of the bartender’s, sounding exactly like it should have been common knowledge that Celestine had been on the road for the last few months and that the Imperial newspaper was not high on her list of provisions. The Nord woman simply snorted and stood there while Celestine looked over the words, her face once again becoming irritated as she read the last piece. “Does it look like I keep a team of adventurers in my baggage?” Celestine tossed the paper back on the bar, clearly dismissing it and feeling slightly annoyed that the woman was wasting her time with this cat and mouse chatter for nothing. “Unless you want me to try tackling it alone?” personally Celestine didn’t like the odds of tackling a task which was meant for a group, by herself, so her tone was less than enthused.
“NO! I don’t want you to tackle it on your own. I want people to fix my problem not die and make matters worse! Why don’t you talk to the others who failed to heed my request properly!” As she finished her sentence, her head tilted first in the direction of the red head at the bar and then to a male sat alone in full dwarven armor. Celestine pondered this, her fiery and sometime rash attitude was screaming at her to tell the woman to stick her quest, but then the rational side to her internal monologue was telling her she hadn’t had any income in over three months and her pockets were feeling rather light. Luckily the bartender seemed to have gotten bored, or given up with her and walked away. Celestine took another swig from her drink and turned in her seat so she could face the elf who was sipping sweet tea, “I’m probably going to regret this. Who wants to work for that eh?” she jerked her thumb in the direction of the distracted Nord female, and then brought her hand down level with her palm open, offering it as a handshake. “I’m Celestine Danver, and you might be?”
Celestine Danver
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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 6:38 pm
Eliya ~
Eliya casually twirled the teabag seeping in her cup as she watched events unfold. As she was sitting sideways on her stool and keeping her eye on everyone in the room, it was with mild surprise she watched the woman she had mistakenly thought to be passed out, approach and slide into an open stool two seats down from her.
Anger was evident on her face and the elf didn’t blame her. Eliya highly doubted anyone in the room hadn’t heard the whistle one of the mercenaries had shot at the pretty woman. As the blond woman ordered a drink and exchanged words with the annoyed inn keeper, Eliya made no attempt to hide the fact that she was watching and listening to their tense exchange.
The red haired elf took another sip of her steaming drink, the warm liquid a wonderful relief to her slightly sore throat. All her recent outdoor activities seemed intent on making her pay with her health. Turning her attention to the knapsack at her feet, she retrieved a very small dark blue colored glass bottle. Uncorking it she poured only a couple drops of its healing remedy into her dark tea before closing it and replacing it back in her sack. Eliya picked up the string to her teabag and once again began to stir.
“I’m probably going to regret this. Who wants to work for that eh? I’m Celestine Danver, and you might be?”
Eliya tilted her head and studied the human woman’s face as she offered a slender hand in return. “My name is Eliya.” Eliya noticed that the human had green eyes similar to her own, though the dark circles under the pretty girl’s orbs took a bit away from their beauty. The mage raised an eyebrow as she expanded her view and for the first time noticed the unique steel armor Ms. Danver wore.
“Nice armor…. If I wore any I’d have to ask you where you had it made. Personally I dislike the weight armor offers. I prefer to be light on my feet.” Eliya gestured to her own simple black clothes. “But you….” With appreciation she eyed the claymore Celestine had strapped to her back. “You seem more than capable of taking yourself no question. Since it would seem that you are not here for the job, pray tell what brings you to this boring little inn?” With the last word Eliya purposely kept her gaze on the blond woman, ignoring the glare she knew the innkeeper was likely shooting her way.
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Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 2:11 am
Celestine smiled warmly at the red-haired woman and couldn’t help but notice the chilly temperature of her dainty hand. Obviously this woman had, had more sense than to sit by the table of rowdy mercenaries, even though she was cold too. “Nice to meet you Eliya. That’s an interesting name.” Celestine couldn’t help but lean away slightly as Eliya studied her face. The unfathomable expression she had there made Celestine feel a little uneasy. Though it was probably nothing, it wouldn’t be the first time she escaped the ogling of men just to accidently fall prey to a female who liked, well other females. However, Celestine wasn’t one to get flustered over awkward situations, if it even wasn’t for that reason. ‘You could just have something on your face...’ Great, now she had to resist the urge to start scratching her skin. Returning the appraisal, mostly just to distract herself from itching like a flea bitten mongrel, Celestine realised that the other female had eyes just like hers. ‘Ohhhh that’s why...Why am I so slow when I am tired?’
Thankfully Celestine had her conversational skills to fall back on and she had kept her face straight while making all the wrong assumptions. Or at least she fairly sure that was the case, sometimes she was wrong. Now sure that this woman didn’t have any strange intentions, Celestine took the time to notice that she was in fact a very pretty woman. This caused Celestine to wonder why the four sets of eyes that she could still feel boring in the back, were not whispering or calling out to this woman. Which was easy to answer once she realised this woman was in fact an Altmer and therefore not blessed with the premade assumption that she was an easy lay. ‘Seriously does everyone think Imperial women are whores?’ then again Celestine probably owed most of the credit to her choice in armor, which did get her a lot of attention. Surprisingly , Eliya brought up the subject of her armor then, which caused a smile to form on the Imperial woman’s face as she thought of Jet back home in Bravil.
“Thank you. It was made for me by my best friend back home. He’s quite something with a hammer in hand. Not so good with a sword though...” she laughed as she remembered all the times he’d hid in a corner or climbed up trees to avoid the “monsters” while she defended them both. “I agree, that’s why Jet made this for me. I was too used to wearing leather armor...” she trailed off and blatantly took a swig of her drink to avoid finishing that sentence. She didn’t like people getting the wrong impression, the moment you mention the Thieves guild. It wasn’t funny watching people stuff their hands into their pockets to check their possession were still present and accounted for, even though a practising thief would never reveal that fact. “Yes, well. It seems I owe the credit to my appearance for being hassled the moment I walked through the door. I bet you didn’t have that problem.” Celestine set her drink down again, she was slow to swallow, still pondering how to answer the high elf’s last question.
“Well. I travel around a bit. I don’t know it seemed like a good idea while I was in the Imperial city fighting those creatures from beyond the Oblivion gates.” she thought back to the dragon and how she decided she wanted to do good. She was a little disappointed that the idea had turned out a little less glamorous; in reality, most people’s problems were so.... trivial. She missed the action and the way it felt to really be doing something for the greater good. “As to why I am at this Inn right now. Well that’s an embarrassing story. I stumbled into a bandit camp last night.” she chuckled slightly and reached for the drink again, putting it down she continued. “I chased them off, but I didn’t feel like sticking around for them to come back. So I carried on walking. An Imperial patrol gave me directions to this place. I was hoping for a bed or at least a bit of hospitality. Instead it seems I’ve been wrangled into who knows what.” she sighed as she finished and took another drink, only to seem like she was going to choke on it, since she swallowed it down so quickly “Hey, you don’t happen to know what all of this is about do you?” Though she asked Eliya the question, her face was turned to look at the man still sitting alone. He was the other one the Nord had gestured to, so maybe he knew something, he looked like he should know something. Celestine was a tad jealous of his armor ‘I bet Jet would love to have a go at modifying that...’
“Or what about him?” she nodded at the male Nord.Celestine Danver
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 7:44 pm
The door to the tiny inn opened with a draft, blowing frigid winds all around the tiny hovel of a bar.
From the gust walked in an imposing figure- an Argonian, one of slim build but by just looking at him, one got a sense that he was not one to be trifled with.
He was wearing a simple black robe with a bow strung across his back, and a menacing-looking Daedric blade on his left hip, the predominantly evil-looking blade's appearance heightened by the air of magic shimmering around it.
His soft padded shoes made almost no noise as he walked from the doorway to the bar, sitting down at the corner. With one gloved hand, he touched one of the dangling trinkets hanging from his ear, a small golden earring with a rich blue gemstone set in the center.
"Can I help you?" asked the female bartender.
"Water. Boiling." said the lizard, dropping 3 small gold pieces on the table top. It was more than the water could've possibly cost, but the Argonian didn't take his hands off the coins before the woman reached to take the payment.
"And information, if you have it. You are the person to talk to about the job, correct?" he said, his raspy voice tinged with the pseudo-Arabic vocal patterns many Argonians share.
"Yeah.... you're here for the Job? I guess that makes four of you. A regular split, and a fit team. Mmkay, then." said the bartender, walking over to the fireplace to set a kettle of water to boil.
Turning to the ladies, Malene placed her hands on her hips in a mock 'mightier than thou' pose. "Ladies, I'd like for you to meet... your team." she said, motioning to the Argonian.
"Rest up, eat, drink, and make sure your gear's in order- you're gonna have one heck of a night ahead of you." said the bartender, taking the whistling kettle off the fire and pouring the Lizard-man a cup of steaming water.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:25 pm
Eliya~ Eliya allowed half a smile to reach her face as the blond woman talked fondly of a friend who custom made her armor. The way the other elf’s voice trailed off after mentioning leather armor did not go unnoticed by the redhead. It was interesting, but none of her business so she did not comment. Her chosen silence was mute however because the lovely warrior continued to speak after taking a large drink from her cup.
“Yes, well. It seems I owe the credit to my appearance for being hassled the moment I walked through the door. I bet you didn’t have that problem.”
“Ah no. Lucky for them.” Eliya motioned with her head to the group of mercenaries sitting several feet away. As the other woman continued to speak and mentioned fighting creatures from Oblivion, Eliya’s respect for the other moved upwards quite a few notches. Surely this woman was some type of hero? For a brief moment Eliya’s thoughts recalled where she was during the Oblivion crisis, but quickly she shut them out and buried them deep from where they’d come.
“As to why I am at this Inn right now. Well that’s an embarrassing story. I stumbled into a bandit camp last night. I chased them off, but I didn’t feel like sticking around for them to come back. So I carried on walking. An Imperial patrol gave me directions to this place. I was hoping for a bed or at least a bit of hospitality. Instead it seems I’ve been wrangled into who knows what.”
At the warrior’s words the mage nodded in understanding. “Understandable.” In response the blonde’s next question Eliya shook her head. “I don’t know any more than what that poster right there says,” she said motioning to the flyer the bartender had thrown at Celestine earlier. After taking another long drink of her cooled off tea she spoke again. “All I know is that there’s a paying job and I could use the coin.” She glanced to the other man Celestine pointed to. “No idea about him.”
Eliya had barely finished speaking when the door blew open and an intimidating looking Argonian stepped in. The Daedric sword that hung from his belt gave her cause to raise an eyebrow and it was with discipline that she did not stare openly. Most Argonians she had run into outside of the Magic Circle were poor or servants. A few shopkeepers, a few thieves, but she had never met one that looked…. Well dangerous. She pulled her gaze down to her tea and listened as he spoke with the bartender.
"Ladies, I'd like for you to meet... your team. Rest up, eat, drink, and make sure your gear's in order- you're gonna have one heck of a night ahead of you.."
Lifting her emerald eyes up from her near empty tea she nodded to the lizard in greeting.
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:23 pm
As the high elf woman gestured to the rambunctious mercenaries, Celestine could detect the mild threat in the redhead’s words. She found herself wondering what the woman was truly capable of. At first glance she didn’t appear to be the adventuring sort and she reacted very surprised when Celestine mentioned fighting off creatures from Oblivion. Didn’t a lot of people do that? There were Oblivion gates just about everywhere, so how could this woman not have had the need to defend herself. Unless she was somewhere tucked away from the horrors that rampaged Tamriel, this seemed more likely and Celestine was curious to know. Still Eliya had clearly noticed her earlier attempt to hide information about herself and not inquired. Therefore it was only polite to do the same in this case, even if the unknown would constantly plague the thoughts at the back of Celestine’s mind, while it ran through every possible and ridiculous scenario known to man. She forced her thoughts to refocus back on her original chain of thought, the elf’s capabilities.
“So since it looks like we will be working together. What is it exactly that you do?” almost as soon as she finished the Imperial realised that she probably sounded quite rude and added quickly in a flustered voice “Not that I am saying you don’t do anything. I am sure you are an excellent fighter, it’s just you don’t look like it. Or well I mean appear like one. Damn I should totally shut up.” the female human turned back to her drink briefly, feeling a little red in the face, she should have handled that better. The woes of being so tired and probably a little influenced by drinking on an empty stomach. “Sorry, what I meant to say was, since we will be working together, it would be nice to know what your strengths are. If we can work together it will probably increase our chances of not dying, which apparently the batty old woman would appreciate” she grinned but was slightly disappointed that the batty woman missed the comment due to being distracted by a rough reptilian voice behind her. Clearly Eliya was intrigued by this newcomer but was doing a good job of not looking too interested to the point of looking rude. Obviously turning around would be a blatant act of being nosey so the warrior stayed put. Until the bartender returned and announced the group was completed ‘about time....’
The warrior turned then to get a look at the new addition to the team; unfortunately she did so while drinking down the last of her beverage. As she turned around the first thing her eyes went to was the sword on the Argonian’s belt and then he drink travelled the wrong way causing her to cough through her surprise.
“Are you sure you are a warrior? You don’t seem like one to me.” the bartender folded her arms and looked at Celestine with narrowed and unforgiving eyes.
The warrior recomposed herself and cleared her throat “Well looks can be deceiving. My impression of you is that you’re a miserable old bat, but I wasn’t going to say anything.” Celestine shrugged and the Nord woman clearly fought with her better logic and desire to throw the Imperial woman out. Better logic won and she went off to fetch keys to the rooms upstairs.
“I might be wrong, but I don’t think she likes me very much.” the warrior smiled at the other two members of the “team”. “Nice sword.” she nodded to the Daedric sword on the Argonian’s belt and her tone was both appreciative and informative. She hadn’t seen that type of sword since the Oblivion gates and she was fairly impressed to see one hanging on the male’s hip, which is why she had managed to inhale her drink.
“So what now? Oh and I’m Celestine.” she didn’t stick her hand out this time like she had for Eliya. If she had learnt something about Argonians then it was you always kept your hands to yourself unless they gestured first. Else you end up like One-Fist Nate back in Bravil who went to greet an Argonian who was in a foul mood and the poor sod got his hand bitten off, literally.
Celestine Danver
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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 3:41 pm
The greeting of the two nearby females were met with a deflective glare as the Argonian turned to his drink. Pulling a mortar & pestle out of his kit, he started grinding up a small, purple flower with long petals- Nightshade. When the bloom was a fine, copious powder, he added it to the bubbling water, the nightshade turning the water black and brackish, giving it a smell so foul one would be insane to even consider ingesting it.
The putrid, evil-looking broth was making the tiny Inn smell worse than the Imperial sewers, so holding his breath the Argonian began to choke down the poisonous brew, trying to focus on the mildly florescent flavor of the nightshade petals.
Feeling a soothing warmth spread through his body, Reh'Zheel exhaled sharply, his face contorting into an expression of revolt and disgust, but... that was the price one paid for drinking Nightshade.
"Nice sword." said the Imperial woman, clad in what had to be the most uncomfortable armor ever designed- Steel.
"A trophy from the Dagon incident. I was there when the Dragon rose. I had.... business in the city at the time." said the Lizard-Man.
Reh'Zheel turned back to his drink as the women carried on. However, try as he might the women just wouldn't stop their arguments, be it with one another or with the angry woman who was to be their contractor.
"My impression of you is that you're a miserable old bat, but I wasn't going to say anything." said the armor-clad Imperial woman. The Nord's face was quickly going through every possible spectrum of coloration one could think of, her expression changing rapidly between shock, disbelief, anger, rage, and frustration, in that order.
Seeing that the women were close to the point of starting a civil war, Reh'Zheel decided to intervene before the limbs began flying.
Humans..... it's a wonder how they managed to take over the entire world, yet still stay alive long enough to do so with those idiotic tempers of theirs.
"Malene. Where is the job?" he said, the warmth provided by the Nightshade slowly turning into an icy cold that shook him to his core. The very same merciless chill was now showing in the Argonian's voice and stare, all of it directed at Malene. He had experienced this frigid sensation before, having drank the concoction several times in his service to the Night Mother, employing it even more often as a poison.
The nightshade would attack his central nervous system, inducing mild blindness and delirium, but once these effects wore off, the flower would give him a heightened ability to fight, to sneak, to be.... more effective at his job.
Looking at the two women for a second, the Argonian pulled the collar of his robes down a bit, exposing a tattoo of a helmet being cloven in twain by a sword, his personal Arena symbol, on his left pectoral.
"Reh'Zheel. You know me better by my arena name, Helmsplitter, Champion of the Blue Team." he said, closing his robe back up so that the others would not see the other tattoo on his torso, the Pierced heart with an Nightshade blossom in the right ventricle on his collarbone.
His leering gaze fell on the elf's unique shortsword, and he couldn't help but admire the workmanship. "Steel? Custom Job. Looks old." he said, not a hint of emotion in his voice.
"But it looks like it needs work. Sharpening, oil, a proper sheath. Something like that is a treasure." said the Argonian, his gaze focused on the blade as he lovingly caressed his own blade.
The sword he wielded was really more of a backup weapon than anything he used in his line of work, but it was something rare and valuable. And extremely powerful. The Legion was so paranoid about these blades that they were on the border of banning all Daedric Dremora weaponry, as they had done with the Crescent Blades in the Imperial Battle Spire.
"With any luck, you could make enough to take good care of the blade for at least a year off this quest. I know from experience that Necromancers tend to carry more gold in and around their lairs than they really ever use."
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 12:35 pm
Eliya~ Eliya’s nod to the new comer was met with only a narrowed eyed glare, and she was glad she hadn’t wasted her time actually using her voice to greet him. The Argonian was clearly not here to make friends. But then again neither was she and she was still able to retain some manners about her. Damn lizards. Her racist thoughts were accompanied by a slight roll of her eyes. Such drama. The high elf turned her attention back to the woman on the other side of her and realized she’d never replied to the blond’s last question. Hmm is it even worth replying to? Deciding there was no reason to hide the truth from this beautiful warrior she went ahead and told her. “I’m…. a mage and an assassin.” She took a moment to gauge the other woman’s response before continuing to speak. “I use more of a subtle means of violence then you likely do, but I assure you… it is very effective.” A dark smile shadowed Eliya’s eyes for a brief moment before disappearing as she looked away to the lizard man who sat to her left.
A very toxic yet familiar smell was what caused the elf to turn to the man beside her. She couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose slightly at the realization he was self medicating with the dangerous substance known as nightshade. Temporary partial blindness and delirium would soon find him, but Eliya knew the reason he was ingesting the deadly plant was likely for the after effects which would heighten his senses for the upcoming job. Still, it was not something the redhead would do, but to each his own.
Eliya heard the woman beside her compliment the lizard on his daedric weapon. The Argonian’s response surprised the mage for the second time that day. Why did it seem that everyone in her current company had been face to face with the Dragon? Was she really the only person who had selfishly hid away during the incident? As the lizard introduced himself and showed the women his tattoo, Eliya couldn’t help but be amused that he expected everyone in Cyrodill to recognize his name. Helmsplitter, Champion of the blue team….. Eliya wasn’t one to go to the fighting arena as she had better things to do with her time, but quite obviously this man was a force to be reckoned with, even respected.
Eliya looked down at the short sword that hung on her waist as Reh’Zeel commented on it. The elf could tell from his words that he knew a lot about swords. She had actually been thinking for some time that she should have it fixed up. It wasn’t usually her primary means of killing, rather it was more of a heirloom that brought her good luck. But still…. She glanced again at the daedric sword the Argonian held at his waist. He obviously kept it in mint condition.
"With any luck, you could make enough to take good care of the blade for at least a year off this quest. I know from experience that Necromancers tend to carry more gold in and around their lairs than they really ever use."
The man’s words gave Eliya a bit of a start but quickly she positioned a blank expression across her face. Was that was this job was? Raiding a necromancer lair? The very thought caused unbidden memories to arise. Eliya hadn’t been to a necromancer lair since…. She looked at the others standing there waiting for her to make some sort of reply. She licked her lips and spoke slowly. “So…this job..." Eliya was about to comment on the mention of Necromancers but quickly changed her mind.”It will have a good pay off then. That's a relief. For a while there I was wondering if this little inn would even be worth my time." Eliya looked down at her mug and took a sip of the last bit of liquid that remained.
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 2:02 pm
Celestine’s face displayed interest but she was not surprised that this Argonian had participated in the great battle inside the city walls in the Imperial city. She was however curious as to what his business was that day, but she knew better than to ask. “I also saw the Dragon. Unfortunately for me there wasn’t much to do, down on the waterfront. So I am quite jealous of your trophy.” she smiled though her eyes were a little rueful. Her idea of protecting the poor civilians turned out to be not quite as exciting as she had hoped. Instead the only Daedra which came that way were the weaker and confused ones and none of them had weapons of such quality. The warrior’s face brightened and with a chuckle she added “I hope you smashed the evil sod’s skull before you took his sword.” she finished with a cheeky wink and her exuberant smile remained on her face as she listened to Eliya. “That’s certainly interesting. I never would have guessed, though I suppose that is the idea right.” despite she now knew it was an assassin sitting next to her, Celestine was still smiling. “Well actually I do know something about silence. I was ... What in the name of Oblivion is that smell?” she had been about to reveal her defection from the thieves guild, since the elf had been honest with her. But now she was cupping her hands over her face and watching in disbelief as the Argonian drank down a liquid most foul. “I can’t believe you actually drank that... It can’t have been pleasant. Wait... was that Nightshade?” she remembered the colour of Nightshade from her studies and that it was a poison with some benefits which she had forgotten the details to. She never would have guessed someone would drink poison for beneficial reasons.
Celestine watched the Nord innkeeper’s face contort into an annoyed expression when the Argonian called her over with a commanding and harsh tone. She was beginning to like the Argonian already. Although she was confused by the tattoo he showed them, she didn’t understand it’s significance until he elaborated. “Oh the Arena. I used to go there sometimes when I still lived in the Imperial city but that was years ago.” she couldn’t remember his name from the times she had visited in her youth. “Can’t say I heard of you though, but that’s probably just what I get for living in Bravil. Most people can’t even read, so they think it’s a wasted effort sending copies of the courier to Bravil. I can read of course.” she added the last part quickly before the obnoxious innkeeper could comment on her being an illiterate. Celestine only read the courier if she picked up one on her travels else she borrowed copies from those returning from travelling. The warrior was quiet again, if only to pay attention to the snippet of information Zah’Heel gave away about the quest she had been wrangled into joining. ‘Wait.... Necromancers? As in dead things running around? Oh crap what did I agree to...’ her face was a picture of disgust as she dealt with her revulsion internally. She listened to Eliya’s words and wondered if the elf wasn’t keen on the idea of walking dead either, “Well it better be paying well. Rotting corpses are bad enough when they AREN’T moving.”
Celestine Danver
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Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:03 pm
"I'm.... a mage and an assassin."
These words sent a blade of ice into Reh'Zheel's heart, the chills racing up his spine.
Slamming his cup down on the bar, Reh'Zheel turned to the High Elf woman, his raspy voice resounding with a mixture of fiery anger, icy malice, and a hint of the truth. "If you truly ARE an assassin, and you would be STUPID enough to reveal this openly outside of Morrowind, then either you aren't very good at your job or your entire order is incompetent. Let me guess... Morag Tong? No.... they aren't dumb enough to announce their profession to the general public. Crimson Scar? I thought all of you were slaughtered." said the Argonian, his fist shaking in rage at such a callous, shallow mistake- one made in the presence of the Imperial Watch, no less.
"Woman, you may be a Mage and an assassin, but if you are so careless as to openly announce your profession, whoever runs your order must be itching for your head. You are a liability." he said, shattering the small stone cup in his hands.
Hearing what had just happened, Malene could only look on in disbelief as her face changed to a bright purple color in rage. The entire bar had quieted down to stare at the Argonian, most of the patrons quickly losing interest when they saw nothing to be really concerned about.
Noticing this, Reh'Zheel slammed another 5 gold pieces on the bar before turning to Malene with a snarl. "Key to the room. Now." he said, the tone of his voice insinuating that he wouldn't hesitate to run the Nord through.
In sheer terror, the woman fished a key out her dress, placing the small iron weight in Reh'Zheel's hand. She froze in place, not wanting to disturb the obviously enraged lizard any further.
Turning and heading to the stairs, Reh'Zheel spoke one last bit before heading to bed.
"We begin our quest tomorrow. Wake me at Eight. We leave at Nine." he said, the frightened barkeeper merely nodding he head.
When the Lizard was upstairs and safely in bed, only then did Malene turn to the other two, exhaling a painful breath.
"Well.... I guess you two will be taking orders from him, eh?" she chuckled nervously. "Get some rest, ladies. I'll tell you your mission details tomorrow." said the barkeep, turning to her other patrons.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:39 am
Eliya ~
Eliya couldn’t help but be shocked at the Argonian’s response to her admission of her profession.
"If you truly ARE an assassin, and you would be STUPID enough to reveal this openly outside of Morrowind, then either you aren't very good at your job or your entire order is incompetent. Let me guess... Morag Tong? No.... they aren't dumb enough to announce their profession to the general public. Crimson Scar? I thought all of you were slaughtered. Woman, you may be a Mage and an assassin, but if you are so careless as to openly announce your profession, whoever runs your order must be itching for your head. You are a liability."
Eliya found herself speechless at the sudden rage that enveloped the words Reh’Zheel spewed at her. As her surprise dissipated, anger replaced it. How dare he? Who the hell did this damn lizard think he was to speak to her so? It was her own choice to tell who she chose of her profession and for some reason she’d felt she could trust the blond warrior. It wasn’t as if she had announced her chosen career to the whole bar, no, Reh’Zheel, great daedra slayer, champion of the blue, he had done that for her. Her hushed admission to Celestine had been a relatively private exchange but this dramatic lizard seemed to think it was not only the end of the world, but something that he should berate her for in front of the entire bar! How hypocritical was that? Eliya felt herself shaking with quiet rage that was barely and only contained from years of trained discipline.
Her jade eyes glared daggers into the retreating back of the Argonian who was making his way up the stairs. It was with extreme difficulty that she did not send a ball of fire to accompany him to his room. Even after he was safely in his room Eliya stared up after him, her mind imagining all the things she wished to do to him, say to him. Tasting blood, she realized she had bitten down on her lip so hard that it was bleeding.
"Well.... I guess you two will be taking orders from him, eh. Get some rest, ladies. I'll tell you your mission details tomorrow."
Eliya slowly brought her orbs to rest on the innkeeper. The elf’s face was one of carefully suppressed rage as she reached for her room key. Methodically she pocketed it into one of the many hide aways of her black cape. “We’ll see about that.” The mage’s eyes glittered darkly as she responded to the other woman. Visibly nervous, Malene quickly handed Celestine her own key and hurried away to attend to other patrons.
For the first time since Reh’Zheel’s tirade Eliya cautiously glanced around the inn, especially paying attention to the two Imperial soldiers who sat on the opposite side of the room. No one really seemed to be looking at her so she took that as a good sign. For a few moments she’d thought perhaps the Imperial Watch would come after her and she would be forced to cause them to meet an untimely demise. Being an outlaw however was not something she desired to become, and luckily for them they seemed more interested in drinking their ale then following up a lead on what may or may not have been a true assassin. Satisfied she was in no immediate danger Eliya finally looked over to Celestine who had remained fairly quiet during the whole exchange. "Well I guess it's time to call it a night." As frustrated as she was, Eliya really had no interest in going to bed as of yet. She was sorely temped to order a strong ale.
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Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2010 6:22 am
Celestine too was shocked about the Argonian’s not so subtle outburst, she was even a bit thankful that his putrid drink had interrupted her from announcing aspects about her past that should remain unspoken. She wondered what he would have to say about that, probably not a lot. She was already under the impression that the reason for this lizard’s outburst at publically discussing assassins was likely due to the fact he shared the same or a very similar profession. After all she had never heard of most of the groups he mentioned, though that was undoubtedly a good thing, As he hissed and snarled at the mage assassin or assassin mage, yes her subconscious was trying to decide which title best suited her new companion. Celestine turned from the pair feigning disinterest and ordered another drink, which came to her about the same time the lizard man finished his speech and demanded a room key.
The female elf’s expression suggested that she was best left alone for the time being, so Celestine focused on the now subdued innkeeper. “Looks like you found someone to dislike more than me. I’m jealous.” she chuckled and accepted the third room key from the Nord who surprisingly smiled at her joke and added about taking orders from the lizard man. ‘Oh joyous times... Celestine thought while rolling her eyes and taking a drink. With an obvious strain in her voice the female elf spoke up about that comment and the Imperial warrior was not surprised that she would find it difficult to accept Zeh’Rheel’s authority. As for the Imperial, she wasn’t bothered if he wanted to lead this group, after all he seemed to know the most about what the quest entailed, it would only be logical then to follow his commands. Still if he asked anything inappropriate of her then no doubt the blonde woman would have something to say about it.
Celestine turned so she was once again facing Eliya so to answer her last statement about retiring. “Well. Sleep would be good, but the evening is still young and personally I would rather wait till I am sure scaly is deep asleep.” she smiled at the elf and gentley shook her bottle side to side, gesturing that she had another drink to finish anyway. “Wouldn’t want to step on a creaky floorboard and send him into another rage.” the warrior’s smile turned into a wide grin and even the innkeeper giggled from behind the bar. It was funny that, how people around Celestine went from disliking her to being friendly. “If you are a braver soul than me you can go ahead. After that drink he took I doubt it will take long before he is out cold.”
Celestine Danver
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