Printable Version of Topic

Printable Version of Topic

Click here to view this topic in its original format

The Elder Scrolls Forums _ Elder Scrolls Lore _ RP: High Rock Hijinks

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 01:55 PM

Hello, and welcome to our Elder Scrolls Role Playing threads, where we adventure and socialize in the vibrant land of Tamriel.

Before we begin, we'd like to clarify a few things:

This is an 'open roleplay' and everyone is encouraged to join in at any time!

'Open' roleplay does not mean 'unorganized' or 'limitless', however. The events in this story are usually planned, and if something BIG happens, you can be certain that it is the result of much discussion between players, usually in the mIRC chat (#Loranna_RP). This is not just a bunch of disorganized individuals doing what they think would be fun for their character at the time.

So, while everyone is welcome to join in, they are NOT welcome to jump in and do big, world-changing things without DISCUSSING IT FIRST. Let me be very clear about what cannot be done without permission:

1:
Any action that effects another person's character, for ill or good. Although most people realize they can't harm another person's character without permission, many don't realize that you can't HELP another character without permission, either. Many characters have flaws for a reason. Don't go healing, saving, or otherwise fixing another character without DISCUSSING IT FIRST with the player involved.

2:
Any event that would drastically change things that have been done to the world, whether the change is physical (rebuilding destroyed locations), political (converting a population to a new cause), military (killing off all the badguys) or anything else. Almost every situation, good or bad, that exists in the RP was done for some reason. Don't go changing or fixing things without DISCUSSING IT FIRST with the group.

Everyone who is involved in the RP is welcome in the mIRC chat channel #Loranna_RP. If you have a plot idea then you are encouraged to go there and discuss it. If you cannot get on the channel for some reason, or if the player whos character you would affect with your plan is not there, then PM them using this board's PM function. That's what it's there for.

For information on reaching #Loranna_RP via Mirc or Chatspike, look http://www.ravensky.org/irc/.

Not following the above advice will only result in one thing: your post is likely to be completely ignored by everyone as if it did not happen. This is obvously not good for anyone, so please, discuss major events before doing them.

Remember: Secret plans and surprises are seldom fun for anyone else. Before they're revealed they're boring, because nobody knows about them, and afterwards they're just annoying, because nobody knew about them.

Thank you, and have fun!

===

Info for Loranna:

Race: Nord
Sex: Female

===

Summary for Loranna:

Loranna is in Solunastra, having recently been visted by the spirit of her departed husband Jazbet; her encounter with Jazbet was joyous and warm, but later at dinner news from Skien and further ghostly manifestations caused Loranna to lose some of her cheer.

She currently waits for a chance to speak with Tris privately, and finishes the wonderful meal Igba served.

Posted by: Sir Radont May 7 2005, 01:58 PM

OOC: Radont, Imperial male and Knight Bachelor, has just been visited by a spirit of his brother. He was troubled by it and reitred to his room in Solunastra. His eyes are closed but sleep does not come to him.

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 02:00 PM

Setting info from the last thread:

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 6 2005, 04:04 AM)

ooc:

You are all invited to Solunastra, the Void Ranger Guildhouse in Daggerfall City!

Solunastra is chartered as a "brotherly association of adventurers," which means basically that they have pension plans, charitable associations, and floats in parades. The public face of the Guild is of a group of semi-retired adventurers who pooled their earnings to buy a large house and sponsor a school for orphans.

Although most of the current residents of the Guildhouse are Void Rangers, they keep this a secret, and in the past there have been associate members who were not Void Rangers.

The house is large, with 5 wings, three floors, and a cellar, grotto, and dungeon under the house. It's on Royal Row in Daggerfall, just down the road from Castle Daggerfall, and it sits on a square with a large fountain and a statue of Tiber Septim out front. Out back is an herb garden and a statue of Kynareth, patron goddess of the city of Daggerfall. Tris habitually spits when he walks past the statue of Kynareth, to show that he's still a loyal citizen of Wayrest.

Daggerfall is a big city, with dozens of shops, taverns, banks, guilds, and a Mages's Guild with a guild guide. It's advised to rent a horse if you want to get anywhere in the city. There's a carriage house near the Guildhouse which will rent horses. Follow the Royal Road downtown to the dock district and you can hire a boat to take you anywhere in the Iliac Bay area.

The two closest taverns to the Guildhouse are: The Rat's Satchel, a merry place frequented by athletes, actors, poets, and idle noblemen, notable for the lack of women servers and patrons; and The Emperor's Jewel's, an upscale establishment frequented by retired military officers, mostly those who fought for Daggerfall's army in the recent wars.

The first floor of the Guildhouse is mostly public rooms, including a grand dining hall, an informal dining area connected to the kitchen, and the music room, a cosy wooden panelled room where people gather to play musical intruments (such as the organ) and do other handwork. Upstairs is a ballroom, and private quarters: this is where the party will be staying. The rooms are small, but private, although there is also a barracks area left over from the days when the Guild was much more populous. The third floor has Allerleirauh's quarters. The third floor staircase is legendarily treacherous. Don't go up there. The armory and training area are underground, next to the cellars.

The primary residents of Solunastra are as follows:

Allerleirauh, a tall, slender woman with short silver hair who calls herself a Nord. She is the founder of Solunastra, and her title here is General Light.

The other two resident guild masters are Arynel and Solin.

Ciel Dolbinen is Solunastra's seneshal, which means he's in charge of keeping the place running.

Dragon, an older male Nord, is the sword trainer of Solunastra, among other things. He can often be found polishing swords and armor, or practicing in the training area. He loves to spar with new people.

Mirror, aka Tris Gaerington, a handsome young male Breton.

Doll, a young girl with Akaviri facial features. She's a mage.

Skein, an older Imperial woman with long black hair and deep black eyes, is the Guild's seer.

Mirea, redheaded Bosmer girl, is Allerleirauh's spy.

Tamne, an Azurite child, is Allerleirauh and Arynel's adopted daughter.

Sen-Yedda, the infant princess of the Dunmer people, spends most of her time in Allerleirauh's company, when she's not with her nurse, Redguard woman Jalian Hawkford.

Igba gra-Busnak is the Guild's cook. Don't go in the kitchen without her permission.

Timmon, a young Breton boy, is Igba's servant.

There are also 3 servingmaids, all young, all from poor families originally, although they are well-dressed in Solunstra's blue and silver livery.

At the present time, everyone is at dinner, except for Allerleirauh and Sen-Yedda, who are in the garden with Aricyn.

Tris just learned that the recent problems with ghosts may be his fault; he's keeping his mouth tightly shut on that subject. He also learned that the Nord woman he saw fall to her death during the assault on Red Mountain was Magnilde, Aricyn's lover.

Posted by: Nalion May 7 2005, 02:02 PM

OOC Summary
Nalion, male Breton mage, currently resides in Solunastra in Daggerfall, High Rock. After a most enjoyable meal, certain disturbing events have been discussed, the subsequent visitations by ghosts, most of all the apparitions haunting Aricyn, are worrying him.

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 03:55 PM

Solunastra, After Dinner

The party had broken up into smaller groups after their meal, to talk among one another or to be alone with their thoughts.

Loranna finds her way to Tris, and gives him a small smile. "Okay to talk?" she asks, her tone discrete, her expression friendly, yet concerned.

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 03:57 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 08:55 AM)

"Go ahead," Tris said, with a wry smile. "I probably deserve it."

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 04:00 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 09:57 AM)

"Go ahead," Tris said, with a wry smile. "I probably deserve it."

Loranna's expression is a bit more serious than she intends. "Maybe," she says, " ... but I figured you could use a friendly ear to talk to about this, and by luck I happen to only be a little judgemental ... something about my own experience being very, very ..."

She pauses, looking for the right word. Not quite finding it, she gestures, her hands seeking to emulate a cascade of water washing something away, and she smiles a little.

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 04:04 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 09:00 AM)

"I feel terrible about Aricyn's ladyfriend. I have dreams about that moment sometimes, you know? Never realized I should have recognized her. I guess people all look alike when they scream."

He laughed. "Okay. Here's the deal: I wouldn't have done anything differently. I don't care how many ghosts come back from the dead, or how much disaster rains on everybody's head. It was worth it. I'd do it again."

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 04:11 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 10:04 AM)

"If it had been Jazbet or Slyvos, and I knew what you knew," Loranna says, "do you think I would have held back myself, Tris?"

She sighs. "We have free will; we do what we feel is right - sometimes without thinking too much at the moment," she says, shrugging. "I don't know; maybe if I live for a hundred more years I'll see things differently but right now I know why you did what you did - and I suspected you'd feel as you feel."

" ... But that aside, there's still the question: what can we do about this?" she asks. "Magnilde deserves peace, as does Aricyn, and anyone else who may be visited soon ..."

Loranna pauses a moment, taking a breath. " ... Some issues, even resolved, will stay with you a while, maybe a long while; that may bother more than a few people - and I'm not even thinking of the physical pain and suffering that may come, if a few more vengeful ghosts happen to show up."

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 04:19 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 09:11 AM)

"You think I don't know that?" Tris said. "Damn I'm sick of good people being tortured. Aricyn - he gave everything he had for us, you know? I don't even like him, he's not my friend. But he didn't hold back. And instead of sweet reward, he gets..."

He punctuated his sentence by slamming his fist into the stone wall. The walls of Solunastra were solid stone, even the interior walls, and the wall didn't give. Tris's face paled, and he closed his eyes a moment, before blue healing light seeped over his hand.

"Sorry," he said after a moment. "I'm not trying to run away from the consequences of my actions. It's just that no one's suggested anything we can do."

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 04:27 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 10:19 AM)

Loranna puts a gentle hand on Tris's shoulder. "I'm not trying to push you dear ..." she says quietly. "And I know, no one's suggested anything; recall I asked at dinner and my question got left unacknowledged."

"I wish I knew what we could do ... but I don't," she continues. "So maybe we should seek out those who might have an idea. Maybe Skein knows something. Maybe the priesthood of Arkay knows something. Maybe you have the power to do something about this, having been the one who opened the gates to being with, I don't know - maybe Allie might know some void lore to shed light on that. Maybe the Dunmer's legends hold keys to this dillemia; they're closer to their dead than many of us ever are, after all."

She offers a tentative smile. "If anyone can put things in motion to fix this, it's us, isn't it?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 04:36 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 09:27 AM)

"Is this one of those 'Everything is going to be okay,' lectures?" Tris asked. "Or is this a lecture to motivate me into action? Either way, it's a waste of breath. I have faith that everything will turn out all right in the end, and I couldn't possibly be more motivated. I'm just angry, that's all."

He smiled the wry smile again. "Sorry. I'm not very sweet tempered."

Doll joined them. Loranna could see from her expression that she had been eavesdropping and waiting for an opening.

"You were never really sweet, Tris," she said. "You're just handsome, so everyone wants to think well of you."

"Oh, thank you," Tris said, laughing.

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 04:40 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 10:36 AM)

Loranna frowns a bit. "This, actually, was an improvised 'let Tris say what he probably wants to,' speech," she mutters. "I'm guessing it didn't quite work."

Then her lips curl into a grin at Doll's comment. "Yeah; he's definitely handsome," she says, chuckling a bit. "He's handsome enough that his anger looks like a rose, the adorable, unable-to-be-unkind dear."

"Hi again Doll; good to see you," Loranna adds.

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 04:44 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 09:40 AM)

"It is good to see you," Doll said, bowing. "You look happier than you did the last time we met. I think you've gained weight."

Apparently this was a compliment.

"I have letters from Freetown," Doll said. "Captain Cyndarius writes me diligently. He only ever reports good news, so his letters are very pleasant. And I have a boyfriend I think. How have you been?"

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 04:49 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 10:44 AM)

"Gaining weight?" Loranna says, looking down at herself. "I haven't been eating that many sweetrolls ..."

She pokes herself a bit. " ... I do believe you're right," she says, chuckling. "Captain Cyndarius ... I should write him soon; I miss him."

"I've been doing well; traveling High Rock, playing the part of the wandering adventuresome noblewoman more or less, trying to get my living boyfriend to be a bit more outgoing and getting visited by my dead husband - who also thinks my boyfriend needs to be more active, especially when it comes to swimming. Congratulations on the admirer Doll; who's the lucky gentleman?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 04:53 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 09:49 AM)

"You do not want to know," Doll said seriously. "But I'll tell you anyway, so you can laugh. Herwyn Brand, the spymaster of Queen Elysana, took me on the queen's barge for an evening of dancing and fine dining and hired an orchestra to play. I told him not to call for me again, unless he learns to be less arrogant."

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 04:57 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 10:53 AM)

Loranna's eyes widen, and she turns to Tris. "How the ... just what did you ..."

She cracks up. "Doll, you are amazing; was he really that arrogant? I've only seen him when he was trying to arrest Tris and his men were busily not quite managing to succesfully ambush us."

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 04:59 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 09:57 AM)

"He is the worst kind of arrogant; he thinks he is quite democratic," Doll said. "He sneers at Tris's father because he is wealthy but was not born a nobleman. He asked if I came from the enclave of Akaviri military families in Cyrodiil. I told him when he learns where I truly came from, he can speak to me again."

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 05:05 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 10:59 AM)

"Oh," Loranna says, frowning. "He's like that; have you all started planning next year's Jester Day prank to pull on him? If we're all still alive and not fighting to save the world I'll chip in."

She tactfully does not mention that she herself might sneer at Tris's father - for trying to kill his own son; perhaps the two of them might reach an accord someday.

And perhaps it would have been as easy for she, Slyvos, and Jazbet to work things out as her smiling, laughing, too-lovely-for-words departed husband had made it seem too; she loved them both terribly but it would have been a uphill struggle all the way, at best ... no, no, that issue is settled; Jazbet saw that it could have been and it would have been worth it ...

"Silly kitties ... what am I going to do with you ..." Loranna mutters absently.

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 05:12 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 10:05 AM)

"Only one kitty I hope, Loranna," Tris said, smiling. "Although they seem to prefer sleeping in basketsful, I'm not sure a female cat is anything you need to emulate.

"Anyway I like Herwyn. He doesn't have a vicious bone in his whole body, he's flawlessly courageous, and if he sneers at my old dad, well, that just shows he has good taste. My father is the sort of person who cares a great deal about appearances. His family has to be perfect - his son couldn't be the sort of scamp who makes out with strange young men on streetcorners and gets arrested for breaking into young girls' houses to steal their underpants and hang them from the banner poles of Castle Wayrest. But it's perfectly fine if he gives mother a black eye, or tries to have me murdered. No thank you, I'll take Herwyn's brand of arrogance over his any day."

Doll put her small, delicately snubbed nose in the air and made no comment.

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 05:16 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:12 AM)

"Tris hun I am thinking of having children with Slyvos - someday," Loranna says, giving him a raised eyebrow.

" ... And no offense meant to your views or Doll's either, but I have to ask - can a man like Herwyn survive as Spymaster for Elysana? Not that I have anything in particular against her, mind you; just ... well, you know, the whole business from right outside Dawnstar to right before we got to Daruhn, give or take a little."

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 05:28 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 10:16 AM)

"I think Elysana's a little insane," Tris said. "Who can blame her? Look at the family she grew up in."

"She's not insane," Doll said. "She just has bad habits which she had to learn to survive. Mistrust everyone. Do everything herself. If someone shows any sign of independent thought, kill that person. It kept her alive, and it let her defeat Helseth, who isn't stupid even if he did cut his own ears off. Herwyn loves Elysana. As a woman, not just as a queen. It's going to get him killed."

"I can understand how he feels," Tris said. "Seriously. You wouldn't know, not having grown up in Wayrest. One of my formative images of women was of Princess Elysana on her wedding day, during the procession to the Temple. I've seen paintings of that day since then and I know she looked rather stiff and formal, not like herself at all. But I was a little boy and all I could think was how pretty she was; that image is still part of the definition of pretty for me, when I talk about a pretty woman."

"Your foibles are interesting but not to the point," Doll said. "Herwyn loves Elysana because he feels she is real. He is one of us. He touches others and they are phantoms to him. It's CHIM he craves, not beauty or even the lure of sovereignity."

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 05:35 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:28 AM)

"I didn't grow up in Wayrest but I could see her beauty still, even with Azura blinding me," Loranna says. "When you describe it that way Doll, she almost sounds tragic; royalty aside that's no way to live."

" ... Thus speaketh the lovely Nord woman who's a vassal of House Dres and Lady of the only non-slave run city in their lands ..." she adds, muttering.

" ... So what, if anything, do we tell Herwyn? If he craves CHIM, then ... well ..." She raises her hands in a helpless shrug. "He's one of us, shouldn't we try to encourage him to ..."

" ... give Elysana a reason to hunt him down for the rest of his life," she finishes, frowning with a sour expression. "To qoute a famous writer, crap."

Posted by: Issa_Yojimbo May 7 2005, 05:38 PM

Issa Yojimbo had been blade training in Taneth with some of the finest Redguard masters.

He was now not only a treasure hunter with a sense of adventure, but a skilled swordsman with a sense of purpose.

He knew it was time to return.

One question stood in his mind. "Where?" It had been a long time since he last saw the others, and was ignorant of anything that had happened. He looked down at Prophet's Edge. The failure. The bad expiriment. It couldn't change prophecy, but it did have a habit of sending Issa to a random location, often where he was most needed.

Issa channeled his magicka to the strange sword. Suddenly a dimple appeared on the fabric of space-time. (If someone from present-day Earth could physically see this 'dimple', they would say it looks like Rodney Dangerfield. But this doesn't matter.)

Suddenly, where there once was Issa, suddenly lacked said Issa.

Where he would end up was up to chance and fate.

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 05:38 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 10:35 AM)

"I'm working on Herwyn," Tris said. "I have a Plan. Don't ask me what it is, I don't know myself. But I bring him roses every morning, just for fun."

"You're an idiot," Doll said to Tris. If she was joking, it wasn't obvious.

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 05:41 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:38 AM)

"Has that stopped any of us from pursuing our Plans?" Loranna asks, raising her eyebrow. "Okay; one last question. Who do we talk to first about the returning dead? If Magnilde's predictions were correct then it's gonna get worse before it gets better on its own - I'd just as soon hurry up the getting better part."

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 05:46 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 10:41 AM)

"Priest of Arkay sounds like a good idea, after all, this is his Sphere," Tris said. "Might as well talk to the same priest who helped us lay Dom, I'll run down there after I've had some sleep. Any ghosts that want to disrupt things before I've had a nap can just wait."

"I have books," Doll said. "I will read what I can. And Skein will tell us something, when she learns more."

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 05:50 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:46 AM)

Loranna nods. "Sleep is probably a good thing; it's been a bit of a trying evening for us all," she says. "Slyvos might know something helpful about this too; I'll see if I can't pick his brain tonight. I need to talk to him about what Jazbet told us anyway."

"Shall we reconvene in the morning, dears?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 05:59 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 7 2005, 10:50 AM)

"Goodnight," Doll said, standing on tiptoe to kiss Loranna on the cheek.

Tris did the same, smiling. He didn't have to stand on tiptoe; but Loranna the Nord was taller than he.

"Goodnight, Lor. Thank you for putting up with my mood."

He headed back to his room. Ciel would be there eventually. Funny. He wanted so badly to talk to him... at the same time he dreaded having to talk to him.

Posted by: Loranna May 7 2005, 06:00 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:59 AM)

Loranna smiles and kisses both Doll and Tris in kind. "Goodnight dears," she says, adding to Tris "And that was the whole point of me talking with you, hun."

Once they had left, Loranna heads to find Slyvos and head to their room; she and he had a lot of talking to do tonight.

Posted by: Solin May 7 2005, 06:14 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 10:59 AM)

He headed back to his room. Ciel would be there eventually. Funny. He wanted so badly to talk to him... at the same time he dreaded having to talk to him.

Ciel had been silent throughout the dinner. The talk of the dead was weighing heavily on his thoughts. When he had finished his meal, he excused himself in a polite manner and left the main hall.

He thought he had wanted to be alone yet, he wasn't quite suprised when he found his feet had led him to Tris's door, even thought Ciel was in there about as much as he was in a room of his own. Raising his hand, the former knight raps on the wood.

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 06:25 PM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 7 2005, 11:14 AM)

Tris opened the door silently.

"Yeah, we should talk," he said. Then just for a moment indulged himself in leaning his forehead against Ciel's. The two men were almost exactly the same height; if anything Tris was a little taller. But Ciel always gave the impression of being a tall man, for a Breton, and Tris a short one.

Posted by: Solin May 7 2005, 06:32 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:25 AM)

"Yes," the answer came, it was just above a whisper. "We probably should."

He didn't add anything to that, though. Ciel was silent, he didn't know what to say. His head felt all jumbled about and he couldn't get his thoughts straight.

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 06:35 PM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 7 2005, 11:32 AM)

Tris shut the door behind him.

"I'll tell you what I told Loranna. I'd do it again, I don't care what the consequences are. It's the only thing that makes sense to me. So don't... I don't know, whatever sort of feeling guilty you're working yourself up to. Just don't."

Posted by: Solin May 7 2005, 06:39 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:35 AM)

Ciel found a spot to sit down and then did.

"Alright," he said looking up. "If it makes sense, then it makes sense. What do we do now?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 06:48 PM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 7 2005, 11:39 AM)

Ciel found a spot to sit down and then did.

"Alright," he said looking up. "If it makes sense, then it makes sense. What do we do now?"

"Talk to a priest of Arkay. This is Arkay's sphere, the barrier between life and death. Talk to Skein. Talk to necromancers. We figure out what needs done and then I guess we do it."

Tris noticed that he had added a qualifier to his statement. Because if what needed done involved Ciel's life... he wasn't going to do it. He figured Ciel would argue with him about that, if the time came. So he hoped it wouldn't.

Posted by: Solin May 7 2005, 06:51 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:48 AM)

"I suppose I should start with Skein," Ciel said seeting his lips together in a firm line. "She's here in the hall. No necromancers though, if I can help it.

"Where's the nearest temple devoted to Arkay?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh May 7 2005, 06:53 PM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 7 2005, 11:51 AM)

"I'm running back to Anticlere, to talk to the priest who helped us with Dom. Less explaining that way. Skein will talk when she talks, she watches spiders and spiders are apparently quite reliable but they sure are slow builders. Right now... I'm tired and I'm confused and I just want to get my head straight."

Tris smiled at Ciel, very slightly.

Posted by: Solin May 7 2005, 07:00 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 7 2005, 11:53 AM)

"I know the feeling," Ciel said moving to Tris's side. "We'll get this straightened out when morning comes."

Posted by: Lord Sephirus May 7 2005, 07:11 PM

Finding everyone occupied, Cyrcius wandered about until dinner. While at dinner, he ate slowly, then almost jumped out of his chair when the ghost appeared. When it did not take any harmful action, he relaxed. After dinner he went to a room the servant showed him to. He realized how long it had been since he slept and fell into bed.

He suddenly was in a black space, surrounding all sides, going on for what looked like infinity. Suddenly, he saw her. A very tall Bosmer, with long blonde hair. "Nightstar?!" he gasped.
"Cyr" she cried, reaching out for him. He stood up and reached out, but as his hand almost touched hers, flame surrounded her. It swirled around her and dragged her away into the darkness.
"NO!!!!" Cyrcius cried, letting out a roar the reverbrated through the hallways.

Posted by: S'reddit May 7 2005, 07:24 PM

Nowhere

Somewhere

The little girl in the metal box did not stop screaming, even as her throat turned raw from the effort. Outside, beyond the darkness, she could still hear high wind whistling over desolation, ceaseless, eternal.

Then a new sound. Metal being rent. She felt the floor move beneath her, and when she reached up her arms, there was nothing above. She was still in the darkness, but the box had expanded in all directions.

Fumbling, she got to her feet on shaky legs. It was too dark even to see her body, but she began walking, hands in front of her, trying to find a wall.

‘Be still, little girl,’ said a voice in the darkness. It was a woman’s voice, old and dust-choked, echoing in the vast empty space.

‘Where am I?’ the little girl whispered.

‘You are in my home,’ said the voice, which seemed to be getting closer, though there were no footsteps.

‘I don’t know how I got here, I don’t remember anything.’

‘You have had a long and horrible life, little girl,’ said the voice. ‘It was over, and now it has begun again.’

‘Why? Who are you?’

Light rose from the floor, a dull gray light, scarcely a glow. At first, the girl saw a ragged robe, and then the pale, dusty flesh of her hostess. She was an old woman, thin to emaciation, her face like a flesh-covered skull with a tail of gray hair on top, her face drawn and serious.

‘My name is Vaernima,’ the daedra prince said.

Posted by: S'reddit May 7 2005, 07:27 PM

Nowhere

Somewhere

‘And … who am I?’ the little girl asked.

‘That remains to be seen,’ Vaernima said, a slow smile pulling across her cadaverous face. ‘I’ll tell you who you were. You were a little girl long, long ago, a mortal child in the mortal world, who should have lived out your life as is naturally for your kind. You were a Dunmer, born in the last year of the first era, as time is recognized in your land.

‘But then, you were attacked and, by the weird workings of fate, simultaneously lost your mortality and your place in the physical world. You became a Void Vampire, haunting the world between the worlds, touching the land of your birth only to feed. Your hunger was ravenous, and over the millenia, you slew millions.’

‘You longed for release from the Void and from your hunger, and you found it. You ceased to be.’

‘You were called Bosriel,’ Vaernima said.

The little girl stared at the old woman for a long moment in silence. Finally she said, ‘And now? What am I now’

‘Look at yourself.’

Bosriel looked down, and began to scream again.

Posted by: Sir Radont May 7 2005, 07:36 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 7 2005, 01:11 PM)

At the sound of the cry Radont's eyes snapped open. He lept out of the bed and threw on his pants and grabbed his sheathed blade. Shirtless, he ran down the hall towards where the cry had come from. He knocked on the door where the sound had eminated,

"Sir? Is everything ok?" The Imperial Knight asked.

Posted by: Lord Sephirus May 7 2005, 07:41 PM

Cyrcius gasped for breath as he sat up in bed. "Thank you sir" he said to the man who just entered, "I was just having a bad dream. I don't recognize you though. Are you a member of the guild?"

Posted by: Sir Radont May 7 2005, 07:48 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 7 2005, 01:41 PM)

Cyrcius gasped for breath as he sat up in bed. "Thank you sir" he said to the man who just entered, "I was just having a bad dream. I don't recognize you though. Are you a member of the guild?"

"No, I am not. I am Radont, Knight Bachelor in the Imperial Legion, I travel with Loranna's group."

Posted by: Lord Sephirus May 7 2005, 08:01 PM

"An Imperial Knight? I served for several years with the legion as a scout. What brings you to join our merry band of world-savers?"

Posted by: Sir Radont May 7 2005, 08:03 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 7 2005, 02:01 PM)

"An Imperial Knight? I served for several years with the legion as a scout. What brings you to join our merry band of world-savers?"

"Thier quest at the time I met them seemed noble," The Imperial shrugged. "I'm just following them until I get more orders from Cyrodiil."

Posted by: Lord Sephirus May 7 2005, 08:04 PM

"Well, my welcomes to the group then. Now I don't think I can get back to sleep again, so I think I'll head down to the sparring room and do some bow practice. Care to join me?"

Posted by: Sir Radont May 7 2005, 08:13 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 7 2005, 02:04 PM)

"Well, my welcomes to the group then. Now I don't think I can get back to sleep again, so I think I'll head down to the sparring room and do some bow practice. Care to join me?"

"Perhaps another time, I feel I will already be sore from my sparring with Dragon earlier. I have some thinking to do for now. Have a pleasant night and may no more apparitions appear to anyone."

Posted by: Lord Sephirus May 7 2005, 09:54 PM

Cyrcius bid Radont a good-night and began pacing. He had heard the others talking about ghosts, and seen one manifest at dinner. Now he had experienced a possible visitation himself. In the morning he would have to mention it to Loranna and the rest of his friends.

Posted by: Arrogant_Hero Yesterday, 12:57 AM

Late evening, In the shade of a giant oak in Daggerfall, sits the husky Ogrim Little John, scratching his bulky belly. Above him, in the tree, is the mahogany skinned, Bosmer, Wind, laid back on a branch of the mighty oak, as if he was laying in a bed, one of his legs playfully, dangles off the branch and swings like a slow pendulum.

Little John begins a long series of grunts directed towards Wind.

“I know,” Wind replies. “the dead coming back for anyone is bad, especially us.”

Wind begins to shift uncomfortably on the tree branch, before he sits up and looks down at Little John, who returns his worried stare.

“All the things we did in the old days... if the dead really are coming back...”

“..rao-rek err.” Little John finishes.

“Exactly.” Wind utters, before laying back down on the branch, putting his hands behind his head, and looking into the darkening sky. “This problem needs to be solved as soon as possible, and we need to help in anyway we can. I really don’t want to see any of the ghosts from our past.”

After Wind’s words, an arduous silence passes between the two, as they sit in the eerily calm Daggerfall evening. Suddenly Wind, and Little John get a chill that raises the hair on the back of their necks, even though the evening was as windless as an empty abyss.

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 08:22 AM

Solunastra - That Night

" ... Imperial Skulls?" Loranna asks Slyvos, her face contorting into a frown.

Slyvos nods, his expression somewhat chagrined. "Yes; Imperial Skulls and blood from the living," he says, his tone betraying his fatigue. "And others to help, too - I'm not able to control such energies alone anymore. Not that I regret that, but that is how it is."

Loranna's expression conveys her thoughts clearly to the tired Khajiit; the others were probably not going to like this. He sighs, feeling a bit more alone, but most people had reason to dislike necromancy after all ...

" ... I can't be totally certain," he says to Loranna, sitting down in a chair and resting his chin in his cupped hands, "but if there's any way to tell what exactly is causing the boundries between the living and the dead to weaken, and to figure out how to fix it, this ritual is it. ... Or at least, it's the best that my knowledge can provide. But it will demand certain things; I thought though that no one would condone a ritual sacrifice so I've altered the ritual as much as I dare."

Loranna smiles a bit, and a tiny chuckle escapes her lips.

Slyvos shrugs. " ... They could probably be any man or mer skulls; I just ... used to have the best luck with Imperial skulls," he mutters, blushing. His old habits left a bitter taste in his mouth now ...

"We'll tell Allie about this in the morning, love," Loranna says, coming over to give Slyvos an embrace and to kiss him fondly on the cheek, and the Khajiit wizard feels all his effort and labor of the night become worth it in an instant. " .. .But love, you're pracitcally shaking; lie down, get some rest. I'll see Allie come the morning."

Slyvos nods, letting Loranna help him to the bed; he lies down and closes his eyes, muttering "Thank you dear; rest is very good right ..."

He was asleep before Loranna had even finished protesting that he should take his shoes off at least; smiling sadly, she makes Slyvos comfortable and lies down next to him, to catch a few hours sleep herself. It had been excruciating to watch him trying to work out something to help, his expression one of distaste all the while, and not being able to do more than encourage and gently push him on ...

Sleep came to Loranna eventually as well, her dreams filled with both happy moments and cold sensations in her stomach. But no Azura, at least, tonight.

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 08:42 AM

Tris tapped on Loranna's door far too early in the morning.

Breakfast at Solunastra was an informal meal, since many people had work to do in the morning. Bread with honey, wine, cheese and fruit; cold meat for Mirea.

"I ran to Anticlere," Tris reported. "The priest there said he's been expecting me. He says this is spreading outward, like a ripple. From us, apparently. He doesn't know more than that; he said he'd pray about it."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 08:49 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 02:42 AM)

Loranna greets Tris with a muttered "Who said the sun could come up now?" and a frown, but she joins her friends for breakfast; a little fatigue restoring spell helped her wake up, as did the food.

" ... I spoke with Slyvos," she says, sipping her wine. "He ... spent the majority of the night trying to figure a way to help."

She looks to the others, not elaborating for the moment; breakfast was still being eaten.

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 08:51 AM

The faint scent of fresh bread, fruit and cheese tickled Nalion nose. His stomach began to growl, despite the dinner the day before.

The mage had risen early after a troubled sleep full of strange dreams. He sat at a small desk and had just finished writing a few lines on a piece of parchment. After reading over the words, Nalion carefully folded the paper and tucked it into his robe. He blinked into the sunlight falling through the window into his chamber.

The Breton rose and stretched. He looked tired somehow, small wrinkles showed below his eyes.
"I hope this day will have better omens than the last." he muttered, then walked down into the hall and joined Loranna and Tris for breakfast, greeting them with a nod.

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 08:56 AM

Ciel had finished breakfast early and was not present with the others. His head was still somewhat jumbled but, he knew who to talk to start getting things set straight once more.

The early morning air was pleasant as Sir Dolbinen stepped into Solunastra's garden. She was there.

"Madame Skein?" He inquired. "Do you have a moment?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 09:09 AM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 01:56 AM)

Skein turned towards Ciel. She was a quiet person, even in a household of notably quiet people. She beckoned to him to step closer, then to look up.

The spider was as large as the breadth of his hand, black, yellow, and white, harmless for all its size was alarming. It hung above them from the eaves of the house, in the exact center of a web as wide as both arms outstretched. The web was lit by the low, pinkish golden rays of dawn; a million drops of dew clung to it, so that it shone there perfect as a miracle, more beautiful than a noblewoman's necklace.

"She's been working all night," Skein said, very softly. Her face was so close to the web that it stirred with her breath. "Now, tilt your head. Like so."

Tilting his head, he could see that it was not one web, but two. Juxtaposed, one within the other, like twins born conjoined, on slightly different planes. The second web belonged to another spider, of the same size, which hung behind the first spider, concealed by it until you moved your head.

"This isn't a problem now," Skein said. "But look."

She tossed something, underhanded, at the web. A fat black moth struck the web, struggled, then gave up, resigned to death. Already the spiders were rushing towards it. They encountered each other for the first time. Ciel felt Skein, next to him, catch her breath in anticipation.

The spiders raised their front legs in the air and waved them at each other threateningly. For a moment it seemed there would be a fight. Then both retreated, each believing the other to be too dangerous to fight.

The moth hung in the web, uneaten.

"Interesting," Skein murmured. "This won't last. Soon one will be hungry enough to risk it."

She turned to Ciel. "You see. Do you understand?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 09:11 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 01:49 AM)

"I have nothing against Slyvos," Allerleirauh said. She held the baby in her lap; she herself had been up for hours, and eaten already. "But I think it would be best if he learned new skills for a new life, instead of relying upon the ones that led him into his greatest error."

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 01:51 AM)

The faint scent of fresh bread, fruit and cheese tickled Nalion nose. His stomach began to growl, despite the dinner the day before.

The mage had risen early after a troubled sleep full of strange dreams. He sat at a small desk and had just finished writing a few lines on a piece of parchment. After reading over the words, Nalion carefully folded the paper and tucked it into his robe. He blinked into the sunlight falling through the window into his chamber.
The Breton rose and stretched. He looked tired somehow, small wrinkles showed below his eyes.
"I hope this day will have better omens than the last." he muttered, then walked down into the hall and joined Loranna and Tris for breakfast, greeting them with a nod.

"Good morning, Nalion," Allerleirauh said.

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 09:17 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 02:09 AM)

The moth hung in the web, uneaten.

"Interesting," Skein murmured. "This won't last. Soon one will be hungry enough to risk it."

She turned to Ciel. "You see. Do you understand?"

"I am not completely sure," Ciel said quietly, still observing the two webs and their arachnid architects. "Conflict is coming, though. What does that mean for us?"

The former knight sighed and waited to see if the spiders would do more.

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 09:20 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 03:11 AM)

Loranna's mouth tightens, a fact she tries to disguise by sipping her wine.

"Yes, I know that," she says quietly. "And he knows that too, Allie."

She closes her eyes, and adds " ... He's trying; he's trying hard to be helpful." She looks like she had more on her mind, but she takes a bite of cheese instead, giving Sen-Yedda a little smile.

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 09:21 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 09:11 AM)

"Good morning, Allerleirauh. And to you as well, Sen-Yedda." Nalion answered, the sight of both Sen-Yedda and Allerleirauh bringing a smile up on his tired face for a brief time.

After thinking about Allerleirauh's words, the mage frowned a bit though, remembering the last occaison where Slyvos had used his powers, at the haunted farmhouse not so long ago.
"I think we should be very careful. And I admit, I am uncomfortable when it comes to applied necromancy... very uncomfortable. Is there a plan you two have in mind?" he asked Loranna.
The piece of bread with honey rested on his plate, untouched.

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 09:22 AM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 02:17 AM)

"Spiders are patient creatures," Skein said. "So must I be. I am an interpreter only; I do not invent. The web is the Mundus; as you see, there are two variations, almost within the same space. This happens all the time; there are many worlds, each of us in our own separate sphere. It is only when our spheres intersect that we take notice. How can this be fixed? I could speculate, but that is not my business. I prefer to wait and see."

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 09:31 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 02:22 AM)

Ciel took a second looks at the webs.

"By the time that comes to pass," Ciel began. "What will have happened? When these spheres touch again, how will they change? These spiders, will one strike the other down or will it let the other alone with it's meal?"

He took a step back from the webs.

"Is there anyway to know?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 09:36 AM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 02:31 AM)

"There is no way to know before it happens," Skein said. "You may have heard me called a seer, or prophetess. That is a misnomer. I see threads, how they lie, and how they draw together. I can predict because of what I know; the future is never certain until we make it for ourselves. You can see that the situation is intolerable; you have just stated two ways it can be resolved. Which one will occur? Which one do you want to occur? Would you prefer a world in which you had died within the vaults of Gemin, Sir Ciel?"

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 09:42 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 02:36 AM)

Ciel balked at the question for a moment, somewhat taken aback.

"No," came the answer after a moment of shock. "I would not. That would be an insult to every step I have made from Skyrim until this very moment. I want to be a living person."

After the knight had finished, his gaze returned to the spiders.

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 09:49 AM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 02:42 AM)

"It is possible," Skein said, "To become too big for this world altogether. That's the great danger, in associating with Void Rangers. Your reality may cease to be compatible with the will of your fellow travelers, even with the will of the Gods. Arkay has no power over you. What does that mean? What must result from that? If you were alone in the universe... nothing. But while the rest of us are here, and have need of Arkay..."

She smiled. Smiling, strangely, made her look much older, as the creases around her mouth and eyes deepened. It was very hard to read her age in any case. She might have been thirty; she might have been nearly as old as Ciel.

"I talk too much. I am glad you are alive. And very few things gladden me; you are entitled to feel honored. We choose to walk with you, all of us. So don't be frightened to speak your mind. I think you should go in now; my mystic seer's knowledge of sundials tells me Tris is wondering whether you plan to eat breakfast."

She gestured towards the sundial in the center of the garden, where the shadow stood sharp at 7 o'clock.

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 09:55 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 02:49 AM)

Ciel laughed lighty and returned Skein's smile briefly. He gave her a bow.

"Thank you, Skein," he said. "You've given me much to think on. Now I better go tend to Tris. Have a lovely day, Lady."

The former knight laughed again, then turned about and departed back into the guild hall.

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 10:00 AM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 02:21 AM)

Tris gave Loranna a quiet look, which meant that he thought her plan would best be discussed later.

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 10:02 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 04:00 AM)

Tris gave Loranna a quiet look, which meant that he thought her plan would best be discussed later.

Loranna apparently had already come to much the same conclusion; she simply says to Nalion "Skien and Doll may still have something to offer on the matter."

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 10:05 AM

"A fine morning to you all," Ciel greeted as he entered the hall where the morning meal was being eaten. He seemed, for the moment, to be in good mood.

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 10:07 AM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 03:05 AM)

"A fine morning to you all," Ciel greeted as he entered the hall where the morning meal was being eaten. He seemed, for the moment, to be in good mood.

"Did Skein have news?" Tris asked, looking up. He seemed surprised to see Ciel so cheerful.

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 10:11 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 10:02 AM)

Loranna apparently had already come to much the same conclusion; she simply says to Nalion "Skien and Doll may still have something to offer on the matter."

Nalion raised an eyebrow. "I'd rather see that necromancy itself is being left out entirely, my friend."

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 10:05 AM)

"A fine morning to you all," Ciel greeted as he entered the hall where the morning meal was being eaten. He seemed, for the moment, to be in good mood.

"Pleasant morning to you, Ciel. You look happy, are there any news?"

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 10:15 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 03:07 AM)

"Did Skein have news?" Tris asked, looking up. He seemed surprised to see Ciel so cheerful.

"She showed me her spiders and their webs," he said. "Two, nearly the same, hanging next to one another. Each was the Mundus."

Ciel held his hands close together to demonstrate what he meant.

"There was some insight to be gleaned," he continued but grew more serious. “There seems to be nothing entirely consequential happening at the moment. The future is uncertain, though, except for one thing. Both will come into conflict when they touch.”

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 10:19 AM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 03:15 AM)

"Interesting," Allerleirauh said.

When breakfast broke up, Tris drew Loranna aside, catching Ciel by the arm.

"I'd like to see what Slyvos can find out," he said seriously. "Even if it's not quite clean business. It seems to me that if you're lucky enough to have someone who knows the dark side but isn't allied with it, you should make use of him. No one has to die, right?"

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 10:22 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 03:19 AM)

"Wait, what?" Ciel said shocked and then shook his head. "No, I don't want to be part of any of it."

He seemed resolute.

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 10:25 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 04:19 AM)

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 04:22 AM)

"Wait, what?" Ciel said shocked and then shook his head. "No, I don't want to be part of any of it."

He seemed resolute.

"He'd rather not do the ritual himself, dears," Loranna says. "He's only turned back to the necromantic arts for this because it's all he knows that could possibly help - and we didn't know if anyone else would turn up anything."

She looks to Ciel. " ... Did Skein have any ideas on how to remedy the situation?" she asks, her expression grim. "Doll didn't seem to have found anything yet."

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 10:26 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 03:25 AM)

Loranna frowns. "He altered the ritual so that it wouldn't need that - but the magic's not one a mortal body can easily endure," she says. "He'll need help - some blood sacrifice, but not anyone's life."

" ... And it sounded like it's still going to hurt; I'm gonna mix up a potion to fortify his endurance just to be on the safe side," she adds.
"He'd rather not do the ritual himself, dears," Loranna says. "He's only turned back to the necromantic arts for this because it's all he knows that could possibly help - and we didn't know if anyone else would turn up anything."

She looks to Ciel. " ... Did Skein have any ideas on how to remedy the situation?" she asks, her expression grim. "And has anyone heard from Doll yet?"

Ciel simply shook his head.

Posted by: Shardie Yesterday, 10:29 AM

The night before

Maranda made her way out of the guild house and crossed the square. The ghost was long gone, but Maranda did not want to spent too much time outside, especally after that incident earlier in the day. She reached her former house, and knocked on the door... The elderly Redguard answered again
"Good Evening, Ms Maranda..."
"Thats MISS!" maranda interrupted
"I apologize, but your sister is waiting in the dining room" the elderly Redguard replied
"Ah, so you wised up to who I was, did you?" she said, stepping in, and following him to the dining room, where she took a seat, awaiting her sister... wondering why she was not already there...

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 10:30 AM

Nalion followed Tris and the others despite his objections. Upon Loranna's proposal, he frowned and shook his head.

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 10:15 AM)

Nalion furrowed his brow, thinking, then looked at Ciel.
"Could it be that those layers of possibility you spoke of are closer than normal, so close that it is actually possible to interfere? It seems to me that they usually are a certain distance away, so that they cannot touch. Something must have caused them to converge. If we can revert the cause, could that mean that both possibilities reach their normal 'distance' again?"

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 10:32 AM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 03:30 AM)

Nalion followed Tris and the others despite his objections. Upon Loranna's proposal, he frowned and shook his head.

Nalion furrowed his brow, thinking, then looked at Ciel.
"Could it be that those layers of possibility you spoke of are closer than normal, so close that it is actually possible to interfere? It seems to me that they usually are a certain distance away, so that they cannot touch. Something must have caused them to converge. If we can revert the cause, could that mean that both possibilities reachtheir normal 'distance' again?"

Tris was looking at Ciel, with his brows drawn together in thought.

"I think we know what the cause is," he said. "I suppose it's time for me to confess. But it isn't just my secret."

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 10:35 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 03:32 AM)

Tris was looking at Ciel, with his brows drawn together in thought.

"I think we know what the cause is," he said. "I suppose it's time for me to confess. But it isn't just my secret."

Ciel sighed and loked for a chair.

"Yes," he said. "I believe that the air needs to be clear if this is to be resolved."

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 10:41 AM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 03:35 AM)

Ciel sighed and loked for a chair.

"Yes," he said. "I believe that the air needs to be clear if this is to be resolved."

"Right," Tris said. "Loranna knows this already. Nalion, you know I have... certain unusual abilities. The truth is, I'm a Void Ranger. You've heard of them in your studies, some call them Void Ghost Eaters, trickster cults. Worshippers of Jyggalag, although frankly I know as much about Jyggalag as you do. If he's a trickster god, I guess we could worship him and not even know it. You remember when I blew in your ear, in prison? I walked through the walls to get to you. That's one of the easier things to do. Others are harder. Like bringing people back from the dead."

He looked at Ciel, and fell silent for a moment. When he continued, it was in a quieter voice. "Which is what I did, in the Vaults of Gemin. When Ciel died. That's the 'recent events' Jazbet was talking about."

Posted by: Shardie Yesterday, 10:43 AM

Maranda sat paietetly looking at the walls of the grand dining room... when Aritha, not too pleased with herself, came into the room
"What do you want" Aritha said bitterly"
"I... I just came to say hello..." Maranda replied
"And I thought I was rid of you too... what makes you think you can come back after all this time... you are the reason Father is dead!" Aritha said, angrilly
"But... I did not know..." Maranda said weakly
"I bet you are just here for the money! I will never give you your inheridence!" She yelled once more
Maranda calmed down... "I have no need for the inheridence, you can have it" she said furmly, "I just wanted to come around and say hi, but since you are of that way, I bid you farewell" she said, "I will show myself out" she stormed out of the house, leaving Aritha in shock... what had she done? she thought to herself... her own sister, Aritha burst into tears, as Lord Landon walked in from the bedroom, "My dear, is it not time to go to sleep? Why are you in tears?"

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 10:50 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 10:41 AM)

Nalions eyes grew wider. His feet began to feel wobbly. Thoughts raced through his mind, memories of events that seemed strange to him, but that he had discarded. Arynels sudden appearances, the speed with which news among the party, even over great distances, spread, Skein appearing seemingly out of nowhere in Ebonheart on the day before Hogithum, Tris whispering in his ear in Llainfair...

The mage took a step backwards and looked for a chair lest he would fall over.
"So that's..." more, he couldn't say. He just looked at Tris, Ciel and Loranna in turn, a strange mixture of both shock and curiosity in his face.

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 10:52 AM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 04:50 AM)

Nalions eyes grew wider. His feet began to feel wobbly. Thoughts raced through his mind, memories of events that seemed strange to him, but that he had discarded. Arynels sudden appearances, the speed with which news among the party, even over great distances spread, Skein appearing semingly out of nowhere in Ebonheart on the day before Hogithum, Tris whispering in his ear in Llainfair...

The mage took a step backwards and looked for a chair lest he would fall over.
"So that's..." more, he couldn't say. He just looked at Tris, Ciel and Loranna in turn, a strange mixture of both shock and curiosity in his face.

Loranna holds out a hand to Nalion, smiling sadly. "That's how they do it, yes," she says, her tone as reassuring as she could manage.

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 10:54 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 03:52 AM)

Loranna holds out a hand to Nalion, smiling sadly. "That's how they do it, yes," she says, her tone as reassuring as she could manage.

"I would advise keeping that knowledge closed in your mind, Nalion," Ciel remarked. "Be careful with it, lest you stir trouble you wish you wouldn't have otherwise stirred."

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 10:59 AM

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 03:54 AM)

"I would advise keeping that knowledge closed in your mind, Nalion," Ciel remarked. "Be careful with it, lest you stir trouble you wish you wouldn't have otherwise stirred."

"This is Nalion, you don't need to threaten him!" Tris said. "Nalion, it's okay. Truly. You know me. The world... really is as big as the books say it is, that's all. Bigger than most of us see on a daily basis."

He thought of mentioning Leseth, but there was time for that later. He trusted Nalion's judgement.

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 11:06 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 10:52 AM)

Loranna holds out a hand to Nalion, smiling sadly. "That's how they do it, yes," she says, her tone as reassuring as she could manage.

Nalion took Loranna's hand and steadied himself.

QUOTE(Solin @ May 8 2005, 10:54 AM)

"I would advise keeping that knowledge closed in your mind, Nalion," Ciel remarked. "Be careful with it, lest you stir trouble you wish you wouldn't have otherwise stirred."

The Breton mage took a deep breath to recompose himself.
"...there are many things I understand better now, or at least, can 'explain' to myself." Nalion nodded gravely at Ciel, yet with a sign of astonishment on his face. "If you would not trust me in the first instance, you would not have told me. I cannot betray this trust. It would destroy everything I hold dear."

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 10:59 AM)

Nalion nodded quietly to Tris. "It's more than I suspected. Hints, faint notions, but... yes, I'd never have guessed. I will have to think about this. No secret of this size is without its dangers."
He looked at Tris and Ciel, then at Loranna.
"Thank you for your trust, all of you. And for your friendship."

Posted by: Solin Yesterday, 11:08 AM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 04:06 AM)

Nalion nodded gravely at Ciel, yet with a sign of astonishment on his face. "If you would not trust me in the first instance, you would not have told me. I cannot betray this trust. It would destroy everything I hold dear."

Ciel nodded.

"I mean to warn you, that is all," Ciel said. "You have more than proved yourself worthy to bear such trust."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 11:09 AM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 05:06 AM)

Nalion took Loranna's hand and steadied himself.

The Breton mage took a deep breath to recompose himself.
"...there are many things I understand better now, or at least, can 'explain' to myself." Nalion nodded gravely at Ciel, yet with a sign of astonishment on his face. "If you would not trust me in the first instance, you would not have told me. I cannot betray this trust. It would destroy everything I hold dear."
Nalion nodded quietly to Tris. "It's more than I suspected. Hints, faint notions, but... yes, I'd never have guessed. I will have to think about this. No secret of this size is without its dangers."
He looked at Tris and Ciel, then at Loranna.
"Thank you for your trust, all of you. And for your friendship."

Loranna smiles. "You're welcome dear," she says, thinking about Slyvos for a moment; her smile becomes slightly strained. "And thank you again, for everything you've done for us."

" ... But anyway, the problem is of a different nature than most people suspect," she continues. "It was started in Gemin, when Ciel was brought back to life."

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 11:09 AM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 04:06 AM)

"That wasn't even what I was needing to confess," Tris said. "That's just the preliminary for understanding the actual confession. There are reasons not to tamper with things, reasons that aren't always obvious until you notice discrepancies later. Some tampering is safe, some isn't. I suppose bringing people back from the dead isn't perfectly safe. It seemed so... but the barriers between life and death are weakened. Maybe there are two worlds now, running parallel to each other, the world Ciel creates by being alive and the world created by Ciel being dead. You see?"

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 11:18 AM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 11:09 AM)

"Yes, I do see, Tris." the mage nodded gravely. "Eventually, these worlds may collide. With unpredictable consequences. The ghosts we saw are not the cause, they are side effects."
The mage cupped his chin into his palm.
"We need to find a solution where we can 'push' away the other reality, yet preserve ours, with a safe and sound Ciel with us."
He touched Tris' shoulder. "I feel with you, Tris. And I understand the reasons why you acted as you did. Think of what might have happened if Ciel had not been present at Hogithum."

"Don't let us seek someone to blame, but seek a solution!"

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 11:21 AM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 05:18 AM)

"Solutions would be good," Loranna says, "and quickly too, so long as they're not half-measures."

" ... But right now most of our avenues of inquiry have come up empty," she mutters.

Posted by: Sir Radont Yesterday, 11:26 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 05:21 AM)

"Solutions would be good," Loranna says, "and quickly too, so long as they're not half-measures."

" ... But right now most of our avenues of inquiry have come up empty," she mutters.

Radont walks sleepily down the stairs, finds a seat, and sits heavily into it. His sleep depraved eyes move from person to person not focusing on anyone in perticular.

"Morning..." His voice is harsh from a lack of sleep.

"There's a guy just arrived last night, I think he may have seen a spirit too, he said it was a bad dream, maybe it was, but with the way things have been happening lately I think he saw a dearly departed."

"Everyone sleep well?"

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 11:29 AM

QUOTE(Sir Radont @ May 8 2005, 05:26 AM)

Radont walks sleepily down the stairs finds a seat and sits heavily into it. His sleep depraved eyes move from person to person not focusing on anyone in perticular.

"Morning..." His voice is harsh from a lack of sleep.

"There's a guy just arrived last night, I think he may have seen a spirit too, he said it was a bad dream, maybe it was, but with the way things have been happening lately I think he saw a dearly departed."

"Everyone sleep well?"

Loranna gives Radont a small smile. "I slept well enough for a restore fatigue spell and some breakfast to cover the rest," she says. "Morning dear; have you eaten yet? And what's this about another spirit seen?"

Posted by: Sir Radont Yesterday, 11:33 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 05:29 AM)

Radont shook his head, "No, I've not eaten yet, not really hungry. As for the spirit, it was the chap just down the hall from me. I didn't catch his name now that I think about it, he said he was in the legion once though. Anyway, I'm laying in bed and I hear this scream so I jump up like any knight would do and run down to see if anything is wrong. He just said he was having a bad dream, he was pretty shaken up."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 11:42 AM

QUOTE(Sir Radont @ May 8 2005, 05:33 AM)

Loranna's lips curl into a frown, and she looks to her friends.

" ... The quicker the better," she says quietly.

Posted by: Sir Radont Yesterday, 11:47 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 05:42 AM)

Loranna's lips curl into a frown, and she looks to her friends.

" ... The quicker the better," she says quietly.

"I'm guessing by everyone's somber dispositions that we have not found an answer to this ghost problem."

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 11:49 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 11:42 AM)

Loranna's lips curl into a frown, and she looks to her friends.

" ... The quicker the better," she says quietly.

Nalion rejoins the companions at the breakfast table and sits down where he left his plate.
"Yes, I've been given much to think about..." Remembering the events around Hogithum and the task of finding out how to control the Eidolon, he chuckled. "I seem to have to cope with this all the time."
Nalion took up the piece of honeyed bread and finally bit hungily into it, munched and washed it down with a swallow of wine. The mages expression turned serious one again.
"We've been in other desperate situations. There is a way and we will find it."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 11:50 AM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 05:49 AM)

"I know," Loranna says, taking a small piece of bread herself.

" .. .Just we do have a backup idea if noone thinks of anything else ..." she mutters.

Posted by: Sir Radont Yesterday, 11:56 AM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 05:50 AM)

"I know," Loranna says, taking a small piece of bread herself.

" .. .Just we do have a backup idea if noone thinks of anything else ..." she mutters.

"At least we have something. Any plan is better than letting ghosts roam freely through our world." Radont said, not knowing what the plan was. The fact that it might require necromancy, an art he despised, never crossed the Imperials mind.

Posted by: w0nders Yesterday, 11:57 AM

Around now, Illidan descended the stairs, wearing only his loosely buttoned extravagent pants and wiping his eyes. He bumped into the table on several occasions before actually sitting down, rubbing the light, grey stubble on his face. He stared droopily at the scene in front of him.

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 11:58 AM

QUOTE(Sir Radont @ May 8 2005, 05:56 AM)

Loranna stays quiet, biting into her bread.

... Give it a little more time and if no one else has thought of something then I'll ask Slyvos if he and I alone are enough for this, she decides.

Posted by: Sir Radont Yesterday, 12:08 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 05:58 AM)

Loranna stays quiet, biting into her bread.

... Give it a little more time and if no one else has thought of something then I'll ask Slyvos if he and I alone are enough for this, she decides.

Radont let out a sigh and picked up a piece of bread to turn over in his hands. "It was strange seeing Curoth again, even if he was in spirit form. I'm not sure I can let go of the vengance, when you've held onto somehting so tightly for so long you can't just let it go no matter who tells you too."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 12:10 PM

QUOTE(Sir Radont @ May 8 2005, 06:08 AM)

Radont let out a sigh and picked up a piece of bread turn over in his hands. "It was strange seeing Curoth again, even if he was in spirit form. I'm not sure I can let go of the vengance, when you've held onto somehting so tightly for so long you can't just let it go no matter who tells you too."

"It's hard to let go of something you've held onto for so long even when you know it's bad for you," Loranna agrees. "I've first-hand experience with that, as my skin shows."

" ... Thing is though, it really is as simple and as difficult as just telling yourself 'I'm Going To Let It Go', and then doing it; it's like jumping off a pier, but once you do it ... you'll wonder why you waited for so long."

Posted by: Sir Radont Yesterday, 12:15 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 06:10 AM)

"I will say that someday, for now I am afraid of what I will be when my vengance is gone. I know I'll still have adventures, especially in your company, but what will drive me? What will fill that void? Can pursuit of justice, lifting up the righteous while tearing down evil, will that fill it?"

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 12:17 PM

QUOTE(Sir Radont @ May 8 2005, 06:15 AM)

"When I did it, I had a promise I made to undo all the harm I did," Loranna says. " ... But that promise itself ended up being less important than just the simple desire to make something of myself, to learn how to help my friends, to be someone who could live on her own, not relying on the crutches of the past."

She smiles. "You'll find something to fill the void Radont; you're a hero, and heros are the ones who find a way, somehow."

Posted by: Sir Radont Yesterday, 12:22 PM

QUOTE(Loranna @ May 8 2005, 06:17 AM)

"I think a visit to Cyrodiil would be good for me, visiting the graves of my family would give me a new purpose. I've not been to thier resting place for many years. I was always afraid to visit because I didn't want to have closure, I think it's time I did that if we are ever near there. Then I can let go of the past and look forward."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 12:27 PM

QUOTE(Sir Radont @ May 8 2005, 06:22 AM)

"Closure is a good thing, aye," Loranna agrees, a smile playing on her lips. "Just time your seeking of closure so that you don't accidentally walk into a situation over your head; I'd avoid graves for a little while, till things quiet down."

She winks at Radont. "But once they do settle down - that's an excellent idea, dear."

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 12:30 PM

QUOTE(Sir Radont @ May 8 2005, 12:22 PM)

Nalion quietly listened to Radont and Loranna speaking.
"I know how you are feeling, Radont. I've learned recently that it is better to clear up matters of the past as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will linger on your heart and on those of others and will get worse."
Nalion smiled encouragingly, then nodded in agreement to Loranna's comment.
"Yes, you are right. As long as the boundaries are weak, it is better not to deliberately touch them, lest they may break down completely."

Posted by: Sir Radont Yesterday, 12:32 PM

QUOTE(Nalion @ May 8 2005, 06:30 AM)

The knight smiled, "I feel better already now that I have made the decision, that's often the hardest part."

Posted by: sjvan0 Yesterday, 02:50 PM

Daggerfall, outside Solunastra

Frostien Marcelle, male Breton Battlemage and Conjuror of the Mage's Guild, stood outside Solunastra. After reporting to the Mages Guild in Menevia city and telling them of the vampires formerly infesting Balmora, he had followed the party via helpful locals and guild guides. He raised his hand to the door and knocked on the thick wood. After a few seconds a servant opened the door.

"What is your business?" Asked the short breton woman.

"Good day to you. My name is Frostien Marcelle, and I'm here to see Nalion Leoraine, Tris Gaerington, Dante, and some other people, please." he replied.

"This way."

The breton woman brought him to a room filled with food and people. Most he knew, but some he didn't.

"Hello, smells like I'm just in time for breakfast."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 03:18 PM

After finishing her roll, Loranna greeted Frostien, and the breakfast table filled the Breton battlemage in on the current situation. Loranna kept even more quiet about the idea Slyvos had, and instead gently asked if anyone else had any thoughts.

No one seemed to have any. Loranna felt her heart sink a little.

She left the breakfast table shortly after Frostien showed up, to stretch her legs, and to head back to her room. As she walked to her room, she thought over the situation one more time in her head:

The Priests of Arkay, as near as Tris could tell, did not know what to do, other than to pray.

Doll's researches had turned up little to nothing.

Skien's soothsaying gave a picture of the problem, which with Tris's confession explained how things came to be and something of what the problem looked like - but nothing on how to actually resolve it.

Loranna herself was mostly bereft of ideas; at best she had vague thoughts on the subject, but nothing definitive, nothing focused. Neither, apparently, did anyone else.

And Slyvos had a plan that would, hopefully, provide a more difinitive answer for what had to be done. Which involved necromancy. Toned-down necromancy, from the way he had worked over that ritual to alter it, make it less reprehensible, but necromancy just the same.

Loranna made her decision; she didn't see the point in waiting when there was something they could try. Allie would disapporve, and there was no chance they were going to do this ritual in Solunastra ... and, seemingly, next to no chance to get help from others.

She'd have to see if the two of them would be enough.

Loranna enters her room and looks on Slyvos for a brief moment, smiling; he had worked so hard, obviously trying to help with what he had to offer. Allie was right and he should turn his attentions to some other magic vocation from now on, but the dear had only returned to necromancy twice now - and both times only because the problem involved the spirits of the dead ...

"Slyvos love, are you waking?" Loranna asks.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 03:27 PM

Slyvos mewled a bit, falling face first to the floor as he woke up.

'ugh... remind me not to sleep do close to the edge of the bed...'

He pushed himself up, and shook his head a bit, trying to clear it of the morning sickness.

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 03:31 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 09:27 AM)

Loranna is by Slyvos's side in an instant, helping him up and casting a spell to help clear his head - and fix the bump on his forehead.

"Careful hun," Loranna admonishes, guiding Slyvos to sit with her on the bed. She gives him a moment to clear his head, then gets down to business.

"Love, I don't think we can count on anyone to help us with the ritual - and while Skien's helped identify the shape of the problem, she has nothing to say on how to resolve it," she says sadly. "And Doll and the priests of Arkay had even less than that ..."

Her lips set in a grim line. "Can you do the ritual with just my help alone - and are you sure you can find some answer for how to fix this through it?" she asks, her eyes gradually lowering to look at her feet as she speaks.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 03:33 PM

Slyvos sighed, still a bit out of it, but his head clear enough to think clearly.

' like I've said, nothing is for certain... but we've tried pretty much everything else, and it's all I can do to help... trust me, if I knew some other way, I'd go with that, but unfortunately I don't...'

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 03:35 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 09:33 AM)

"Then we do this by ourselves," Loranna says. "I've some potions to fortify endurance back at home; those might help with withstanding the power of the ritual some. We can use the mine the vampires just recently vacated."

"How long will you need to get things set up?" she asks, raising her hands already in preperation to cast Recall.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 03:39 PM

Slyvos thought for a second, then sighed again.

'to properly do this? probably the rest of the day... not counting time needed to get the items required.... which I took the liberty of getting already just in case.'

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 03:43 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 09:39 AM)

Loranna raises her eyebrows. "I'm impressed there; I was only out for all of fifteen minutes last night," she says, poking Slyvos lightly in the ribs and kissing him fondly.

"All right, let's do this," Loranna says, and moments later she is back in her room in Ald Raathim, going through her chest of potions to look for the fortify endurance draughts.

It was going to be a long day; she makes her way out with a small bundle of things, ready to lead Slyvos to the mine.

Posted by: Lord Sephirus Yesterday, 04:08 PM

Cyrcius, realizing it was morning, came up from the sparring room, where he had been practicing every since his dream. He called out to Tris, walking up to him. "Tris, you know how we have had ghosts of friends or family visiting us right? Well, I think I just joined the ranks of the visited last night. Since from what I have heard, we have an epidemic of ghosts, I thought I should mention it to you."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 04:14 PM

Slyvos shook his head, really not liking this, but willing to go through with it. He gathered up the things he needed for the ritual, hiding them in a large bag. As Loranna finished leading him to the mine, he searched around for a good place to set up. He came to one of the larger areas of the mine, and looked around.

'yup, this should do nicely..'

He set down the sack of items, and pulled them out, moving around to set the things in their proper spots...

~several hours later~

At last, he was on the final part of setting the ritual up, and was now painting a strange symbol on the floor, which he would have to stand in during the ritual as it unleashed it's dark energies. The symbol, looked as obscure as anything most people would ever see. Around the room, were placed black candles, protruding from the skulls of the dead imperials, and burned with small blood-red flames. The reason it took so long was because he had to align them just perfectly, for the slightest mess up would have very unsavory effects on both himself and Loranna.

'Alright, anything you want to do before we start? cause once we do, nothing can interrupt it... safely.'

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 04:22 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 10:14 AM)

Ald Raathim, Abandoned Mine - Some Time After Breakfast

(OOC: Loranna and Slyvos will be incommunicado for most of the day; no barging in announced )

Loranna had taken the time to cast her strongest lock spell on the door leading into the mine, wishing she knew more about warding magics; she makes a mental note to learn wards as well as cooking sometime soon.

The preperations Slyvos made send chills down Loranna's spine; granted, she had seen worse things than this by now, but still ... seeing Slyvos set up those candles in skulls, and seeing him now, the candles throwing odd shadows over his handsome features, his face showing signs of dismay even as he asks if she's ready ...

This is wrong, she thinks suddenly, this is ugly, unlovely ... dirty ...

" ... I've got the potions for us ready," she says, handing Slyvos a potion of fortify endurance and drinking one herself. " ... Uh, you mentioned blood would be involved ... should I give you a restore health potion too? And how does the blood work in to this?"

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 04:28 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 8 2005, 04:08 PM)

Solunastra, the morning
"Tris is not here, currently, Cyrcius." Nalion said softly as he saw Cyrcius entering. "I'm sorry to hear that you, too, have been visited by spirits."
The Breton mage motioned Cyrcius to join him at the breakfast table.
"Can you tell me more about your encounter? It's nature? Who was it, what did he say?"

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 04:29 PM

He somberly looked at Loranna, the strain on his conscience at doing this obviously weighing down on him.

'blood of a sentient creature must be poured over the candle flames as I chant the ritual words, which will then reverberate magical energies to the ritual caster... mainly myself. the blood's energies will help keep the power of the ritual from tearing me apart. As the ritual completes, the dark energies will by then have consumed the entire area within the ritual circle, and the caster... will be shown a glance of the darkest reaches of the afterlife... I should be able to handle it without losing my mind, considering I once existed in perpetual death...'

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 04:35 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 10:29 AM)

Ald Raathim, Abandoned Mine

Loranna does not move for several long moments.

" ... This was the altered version," she says quietly. "The original version was much worse, wasn't it ... no, don't say it; goddess ..."

This ritual was seeming less and less of a good idea with each passing second.

" ... What should I do, after the blood is poured? If you cry out in pain, can I heal you? Should I expect to see visions too?"

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 04:39 PM

He shook his head, sadly.

'for the first thing, no... you cannot cast any spells during the ritual itself, not just because it would destabilize it more, but that the spell would be wasted anyways. You should be more worried if I DON'T cry out in pain... that means it either didn't work, or... I'm dead.'

He said that last part, softly.
'You can, however, fortify my endurance and health beforehand, so that I have a better chance of surviving. As for you seeing visions... you may see things you'd rather keep buried away in your mind.'

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 04:42 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 10:39 AM)

Loranna feels her eyes growing moist; she casts spells to fortify Slyvos, then pulls him into a kiss ...

" ... Love, if you don't want to do this, then don't," she says suddenly, holding him in a tight hug. "Maybe there is another way ..."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 04:49 PM

He let the tears flow this time; he really really didn't want to do it...

'this is the only way I know... and I may not want to do it... but I must. *sob* okay... let's get started. go over to the first candle, and wait for me to start, then you have 3 minutes to pour at least one drop of blood on each of the 20 candles in a counterclock-wise order, starting with the one directly behind you. After you do that, just prepare your mind for whatever may come... I'll do the rest.'

He stepped into the circle, and started chanting something in a language no living creature could learn... course, slyvos was not one of the living at some point...

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 04:56 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 10:49 AM)

He's chosen to do this Lor; support him ... Loranna tells herself. No one else has come up with anything solid ...

She pulls out a knife, and walked over to the first candle.

By the Nine, please let this work, please let him be okay ... Was it right to invoke the Nine for a ceremony like this? Wouldn't Arkay especially disapprove?

Her own healing potions made cutting herself difficult; Loranna mutters a couple unladylike words and digs the knife into her flesh, then lets the blood drip off of the knife to whet the candles.

Slyvos, I love you ... oh goddess I shouldn't have let you do this, shouldn't have tried to laud how hard you worked to make this even halfway doable ... I'll never forgive myself if this goes wrong ...

Three minutes seemed like a lot of time to drip on just twenty candles, but they were spaced apart, and she had to be careful not to disturb the arcane markings nor the skulls - especially not the skulls, something in the back of her head whispered frantically; the seconds tick away too quickly in her mind.

Jazbet, I love you ... you may want to avert your eyes for this one love, I'm sorry.

The last candle was prepared; Loranna girds herself, and waits ...

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 05:05 PM

As Loranna finished pouring her blood onto the flames, black, necromantic energies flowed from them into Slyvos, shielding his body enough so that, while it would still cause extreme pain, it would not kill him physically. That part was taken care of.. now his and Loranna's sanity were on the line.

He continued chanting, as his magic flowed into the ritual symbol, the power from it making the markings glow malevolently. Slowly, the began to consume the area within the circle, and the khajiit's first cry of sheer agony could be heard, as the candles continued channelling their protective, vile energies into him to prevent him from being torn apart.

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 05:13 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 11:05 AM)

It took more strength than Loranna thought she had to keep from rushing to Slyvos's side, or casting a spell to protect him; her potions were in him and her spells still active, that had to be enough - he had said to interfere was certain doom.

Slyvos's cries of agony tear through her ears like a savage beast - and then, her mind begins to imagine what visions he must be having, and the bond she felt with him from when they bared their souls to one another felt for a moment like it was almost alive enough to let them share thoughts ...

... and that's when she began screaming, covering her eyes.

Posted by: Lord Sephirus Yesterday, 05:24 PM

"Nalion, last night I had what may have been a dream. It was my sister, Nightstar, and, it seemed I was relieving her death, and that she wanted to speak to me. She died under, bad circumstances, and she was really my only family. I thought I should mention this considering all the recent ghostly visitations."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 05:24 PM

Slyvos could not hear the screams above the howling of his mind being ravaged by the energies of the ritual, but somehow he kept his sanity... barely. He continued chanting, his voice raspy and tortured as he continues the ritual. In this one moment, his dark-side that had been held up in him since he and Loranna reigned it in came to assault his mind in full force. This only added to the agony, seeing visions of all the things he cared about being destroyed... over and over again in different ways.

This continued, for what seemed like forever, but was really only a few minutes... it was not over yet.

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 05:34 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 8 2005, 05:24 PM)

Solunastra, the morning:
Nalion listened to Cyrcius, knowing these feelings all too well himself.
"I am sorry to hear that. I can understand your feelings very well myself." The mage nodded gravely.
"Yes, many of us had encountered ghosts of our past, some of these encounters were of a peaceful nature, some were.. unpleasant and disturbing. The borders separating our reality from another are weakening." the mage explained, trying not to mention what Tris and Ciel had told him so recently.
"These two realities seem to be so close to each other that interference between them is possible. One of these interferences, you have seen with your own eyes."
The mage looked Cyrcius in the eyes.
"If you wish to talk about Nightstar, I'll listen. Sometimes, telling someone will help."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 05:34 PM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 11:24 AM)

Ald Raathim, Abandoned Mine, Pit of Hell

Loranna's screams barely registered in her own ears; Slyvos's cries drowned out her own. Sadly, the images were not drowned out; the things she was seeing, her friends, her loved ones, Sen-Yedda and babies she knew must be her own future children, all with looks of horror, or despair, or agony ...

... then a chill runs through her spine, for she hears Slyvos's voice calling out in a cadence she hadn't heard since Stormhold; a cadence she had grown to loathe.

{Reclaim what you threw away the girl is not worth it; she wants you for her own pleasure nothing more; reclaim the power you had and crush those who dare belittle you scorn you shun you}

"NO YOU DON'T!!!" Loranna screams, unable to hear her own voice. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! HE'S BEYOND YOU, RUDE DARK UGLY LITTLE SELFISH RUNT OF A THOUGHT!!!"

{She mocks you fears you wants you for her plaything to take your strength} the cadence roars. {Give up this borrowed flesh take your true form again STRIKE THEM DOWN!!! EMBRACE THE DARKNESS!!! MAKE THE RETURNING DEAD YOUR SLAVES AND SERVANTS; TAKE YOUR PLACE AS RULER OF THE DREAD LEGIONS!!!}

Loranna screams again. "SLYVOS!!! REJECT THE DARK UGLYNESS OF THAT DISCARDED PAST!!! YOU'RE GREATER THAN THAT, YOU'RE TOO LOVELY A MAN TO FALL FOR THAT!!!"

Posted by: Lord Sephirus Yesterday, 05:40 PM

"My tribe was wiped out by another tribe who thought we broke the Green Pact. I was but a baby when it happened, and Nightstar fled with me. The other tribe swore to wipe us out to the last person, and sent hunters after us. The only safe place was in cities, where the hunters wouldn't follow us. She got a menial job as a worker, trying to support us both. The merchant we worked for was quite attracted to her, and she saw him as a way to survive. She became his leman, and he took us both in. She and him, died in a fire years later, one that I found out was started on purpose. I was away in the Legion at the time, after an argument with my foster father, and I always thought I could have helped if I had been there."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Yesterday, 05:46 PM

Slyvos hears Loranna this time, and that, along with his reborn will to live, was just barely enough to keep the creature at bay in his mind. He continued chanting, until finally the energies all gathered up into him, and burst out all at once, forcing him to collaspe to the ground in pure pain as the visions of what they did this for came...

He saw Atherius, blocked off, showing him that magic had nothing to do with this... he saw a skull, cracked, for necromancy was not the problem... he saw himself, this time as a lich transitioning to a mortal once more... for it was this weakening that allowed him to do so... and then he saw the void itself... nothingness, and knew, that was part of the problem...

Slyvos remained on the floor, quivering in pain and mental anguish...

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 05:58 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 8 2005, 05:40 PM)

Solunastra, the morning:
Nalion shook his head, on his face an expression of sorrow.
"It is hard to loose a loved one, my friend. And terrible if it was by force." Nalion was reminded of his own pains when losing Lirielle, but he felt consolation now that he knew she found her peace.
"If you had been present, you might not have been able to save her. If the arsonists were able to catch your sister and the merchant, they would have been able to cope with you, too. You blame yourself for not being there with her? I blamed myself for not being able to cure my wife. Let me tell you, please don't do as I did. It can consume you and it will not help you in the least. It will make things worse, even if these words might sound hard to you. Look into yourself, you know that at this time, you could not have helped her. Persons have to go their own way at one time, you followed yours. And most important, don't let your thirst for vengeance consume you, Cyrcius."

Posted by: Lord Sephirus Yesterday, 06:01 PM

"I haven't let my thirst for vengeance consume me thankfully. That burned out after I chased him across the continent to Morrowind, and saw him arrested by the Ordinators. It just still bothers me sometimes. Thank you for listening to me though. It means a lot. We all have ghosts, I'm thinking."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 06:11 PM

Ald Raathim, Abandoned Mine ...

... or maybe not ...

It was dark; the candles must have gone out. Loranna's eyes strain to make out something, anything, but nothing greets her sight.

" ... Slyvos?" she calls out, "Slyvos? Love?" Odd; hadn't she been screaming a moment ago? Her throat felt better - not perfect, but better than one would expext after ... how long had she been screaming?

This wouldn't do; she needed to see; Loranna raises her hands but her head pounds and magic just won't flow. Damnit, she hadn't brought any sort of tinderbox or flint with her; what was she going to do, feel around in the dark for ...

A light breeze touches Loranna's cheek; of course, the door. She could open the door and let light in; that was practical thinking, she was proud of herself for thinking of that. Allie might even nod and say not bad, or at least raise an eyebrow ...

She was careful, since it was dark; she didn't stub her toes. She was proud of herself again. It semeed to take forever though to reach the door, but once she did, she pushed it open and ...

===

The day was gorgeous; the sun shone brightly in the sky, the breeze was cool and just right, the colors of the flora were sharp and defined and perfect, and she had to squint and cover her eyes to take even half of it in.

Her eyes began adjusting, and something nagged at Loranna, but she spent a moment just looking around, admiring the day; it was that lovely. It was gorgeous and warm and perfect and it was the sort of day one could just lose yourself in, and she raised her hands up to the sun, smiling ...

"Ewwww ...!" She was coated in grime and dried blood and what might have been bone meal; she grimaced and shrank back. She was an eyesore after all that business in the cave; she was ugly and dirty and had no place being out in the nice gorgeous day ruining the scene like this ...

And then, she heard a voice, a musical voice that she couldn't quite place, but it was the lovliest voice she had ever heard - and it was saying "A beautiful girl shouldn't play in the dirt like that; you should clean off."

Loranna looked around but there wasn't any stream or brook nearby, nor did she have a rag on her; she felt herself beginning to cry, and her silver tears ran down her face, taking bits of grime and dirt with them, and she had a sudden inspiration and tore off the sleeves of her dress and turned them inside out, letting her tears wet them, and soon she was scrubbing herself off and she was feeling better by the moment ...

"What about your lover?" That time it sounded almost like her own voice, but the thought of Slyvos made her heart skip a beat and suddenly she remembered everything she had seen and heard, but it didn't matter because she was turning to venture back into the cave ...

===

This time, there was a small light; it was faint but enough to see by, and she found it was coming from Slyvos; there were faint spots on his furred skin that weren't besmirched and they caught the light from the door. She picked him up gently and took him outside, and with her second torn-off sleeve she began wiping him off, scrubbing the dirt off as much as she could, smiling and crying as she saw more of his lovely skin revealed, and she sung to him softly as she scrubbed.

"Dear, wake up; it's over now," she sang. "Time to wipe the dirt off and leave playing in mudholes to the days we've left behind ..."

===

Ald Raathim

Slyvos and Loranna were outside the mine, the sun just an hour away from setting; she was tending to Slyvos and singing softly, her cheeks stained with a few more silver tearstreaks which were even now fading, but which had been there.

Oddly enough, where they sat, there were flowers ...

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 06:16 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 8 2005, 06:01 PM)

Solunastra, the morning:
The mage nodded.
"Good. This is good to hear." Nalion answered and took up his glass of wine, admired its rich colour. His eyes seemed absent for a moment, seemingly staring into nowhere, but still at something.
Then, he drained the glass.

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 06:25 PM

Meanwhile, Tris was attending to the rest of his usual morning business.

Mirea caught him in the hallway on his way upstairs. She caught him quite literally; her hand shot out, and she grabbed his nose, twisting it so hard that it brought him to his knees. It wasn't just the way she grabbed and pinched and twisted; when Mirea grabbed your nose she stuck her finger right up your left nostril, so you couldn't pull away.

"Ow!" Tris said, his eyes watering, staggering back as she released him. "Damn, girl. My nose is bleeding now."

"That's a warning," she said. "I saw you slinking around behind the General's back, doing the opposite of what she said."

"Mirea..." He found his handkerchief, caught the blood in time to keep it from ruining his clean shirt, cast a small healing spell to slow it. "I'm not going against the General, I wouldn't do that."

"I saw you," Mirea said. "Next time, I'll keep your nose and we can see how handsome you look without it."

She turned and left, her fiery red hair switching as she walked.

Tris sighed, took a deep breath, and rushed the wall.

Moments later, he stepped out from another wall, in Wayrest. In his right hand, he carried a red rose, of the variety Rose of Wayrest. The old lady who raised the roses thought that Tris was giving them to a paramour. Which wasn't far from the truth, in a way, and in another way, couldn't have been less true.

"We need to talk," he said. "Seen any ghosts lately?"

Posted by: Lord Sephirus Yesterday, 06:26 PM

"Nalion, do you know if this Solunustra has a library? It has been a long time since I read a good book, and there is a few things I want to look up."

Posted by: Nalion Yesterday, 06:35 PM

QUOTE(Lord Sephirus @ May 8 2005, 06:26 PM)

"Nalion, do you know if this Solunustra has a library? It has been a long time since I read a good book, and there is a few things I want to look up."

Solunastra, the morning:
Nalion smiled and nodded towards the stairs.
"It's upstairs on the second floor. I'm sure you find it. There is also a study. I think Allerleirauh has a fine selection of books."

Posted by: Rhedd Yesterday, 06:35 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 10:25 AM)

Moments later, he stepped out from another wall, in Wayrest. In his right hand, he carried a red rose, of the variety Rose of Wayrest. The old lady who raised the roses thought that Tris was giving them to a paramour. Which wasn't far from the truth, in a way, and in another way, couldn't have been less true.

"We need to talk," he said. "Seen any ghosts lately?"

Herwyn Brand sat on a stone bench in the little side-garden, writing in a wide leather notebook.

"I can't say that I have, no," he said, not interrupting his writing until he placed the period at the end of the paragraph.

Looking up, he smiled at the man who had just appeared from the ivy covered wall.

Posted by: Shardie Yesterday, 06:39 PM

Lord Landon saddled his horse and readied the message. If he was lucky, she would still be in town, if not... Daggerfall was millions of miles, mostly complete wastelands with the odd dungeon here and there... but this was for his love. He had to get this message to Maranda, a message of forgiveness, a message of peace... Three of his knights appeared behind him, and they were off, scowering the city for the missing girl

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 06:39 PM

QUOTE(Rhedd @ May 8 2005, 11:35 AM)

Tris sat next to him, laying the rose atop the notebook.

"Then you're a member of a minority. The barriers between life and death are thinner than usual, and the ghosts of people with unfinished business have been popping up all over. Appearing, first of all, to people I know. But the effect is spreading. Just thought I'd warn you. It's easier when you know why it's happening."

Posted by: Lord Sephirus Yesterday, 06:42 PM

"Thank you" Cyrcius said as he headed upstairs. He reached the library and entered. He began to browse the shelves, choosing a volume on various forms of unarmed combat. He sat down and began to read, quickly getting caught up in the pages.

Posted by: Rhedd Yesterday, 06:52 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 10:39 AM)

Herwyn picked the rose off of his notebook and sniffed it, closing the book and setting it aside.

"So, why is it happening, then? I didn't know necromancy was one of your hobbies."

Posted by: Loranna Yesterday, 06:58 PM

Ald Raathim

Recalling back to her room with Slyvos, Loranna gently lays her beloved Khajiit on the bed, making him comfortable and tending to him for a few minutes. The dear had been talking in his sleep, muttering semi-feverishly, but something in his face shone to her eyes.

She tended to Slyvos until he slipped into a natural, undisturbed sleep, and then reached for her armor and weapons; it was time to go clean up the mess they had left behind, and Loranna didn't feel like discovering this was the night a lonesome bandit party happened upon that mine for their new hideout without proper tools.

It took her most of the rest of the night, but when she was finished, the mine was as clean as it could ever hope to be; it even seemed slightly more lovely than before, somehow. The skulls were brought to a temple of Arkay where they were said - truthfully - to have been in a necromantic ceremony and could they be buried properly so the souls of the poor wretches could find peace?

Loranna spent the night with Slyvos after that; she would return to Solunastra at first light.

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 07:00 PM

QUOTE(Rhedd @ May 8 2005, 11:52 AM)

Herwyn picked the rose off of his notebook and sniffed it, closing the book and setting it aside.

"So, why is it happening, then? I didn't know necromancy was one of your hobbies."

"That's a long story," Tris said. "Not necromancy. Freedom. I saved someone's life, and these are the consequences. So now we deal with the consequences. To be free is to live in a world where the ground is constantly moving. I guess it's easier for you, in some ways."

He smiled. "But if I followed the rules, I would have lost so many precious things."

Posted by: Issa_Yojimbo Yesterday, 07:11 PM

Solunastra

Suddenly, where there once was no Issa Yojimbo, there was.

He was wearing the usual garb, outfitted with Murasame, Masamune, and Prophet's Edge, but had to large jugs of flin with him.

He saw the others, and was relieved. He was back again.

Posted by: Rhedd Yesterday, 07:11 PM

QUOTE(Allerleirauh @ May 8 2005, 11:00 AM)

"How would you know?" Herwyn said, very seriously. "How would you know..."

"Oh, that reminds me. Please tell Doll, or should I say, New Boat, that I have that information she asked me to gather."

Herwyn reached into his overcoat pocket and withdrew a parcel, letter sized, but very thick and tied with string.

"And this," he said, handing it to Tris.

"I'd write her a note explaining, but I think it would be better if someone explained it in words.

"You see, she seems to send money home to her parents at regular intervals, but they are too proud to accept it. Each time, they send it back to the address from which it was sent. I assume Doll was unaware of this.

"The... gentleman to whom she gives money, with the understanding that it will be sent to her parents, simply keeps it when it is returned, instead of telling her.

"He is, I suppose, honest enough to send it in the first place, every time, and for that I left him unharmed, but I retrieved the money.

"I thought she might like to make other arrangements."

Posted by: Allerleirauh Yesterday, 08:40 PM

Every Void Ranger has a Story to Tell, part Three:
Doll's Story

Mages know the stars, and so do sailors. That was an Akaviri saying, passed down for generations. It meant: we have our own wisdom, as good as the wisdom of those who consider themselves our betters. It meant: common sense is better than speculation. It meant: only what is useful in everyday life is worth learning. There were no men left in Akavir, but they had survived, the boatmen of the Tscaesi, survived cataclysm and genocide and servitude and, most deadly of all, the insidious good-will of their High Rock neighbors.

The little girl listened and committed the words to memory, without effort, as she did everything she encountered. But she did not heed them. Nor did she cease to look at the passengers her father and uncles ferried across the Iliac bay on their boat.

She, buck-toothed and brown, skinny bare legs dangling from beneath her short linen pants, watched the beautiful Breton nobles in their comings and goings. She watched even when her father slapped her forehead, and her mother called her back to the galley to learn all the skills a young girl should be learning, the right gods to offer the right pinch of spices, the right time of the moon to eat the right foods. She listened and learned her own lessons, taken from her own book, which was not like the book of anyone else she knew.

The smallest things can determine the course of a young girl's whole life. One day a vision appeared: a child her own age in a pink silk dress. One sleeve of the Breton child's dress would have made her whole outfit three times over. The Breton child had bouncy golden curls, not straight black hair. And the curls were tied with velvet ribbons of a deeper pink, to match the ribbon trim on her dress. She stared, open-mouthed, until politeness made the vision speak.

"I'm going to a birthday party! Do you like parties? I'm learning magic in school, I enchanted a halter for my friend's pony so it won't bite him anymore. Do you like ponies?"

Too abashed to speak, she listened while the Breton girl spoke of things entirely outside her experience.

The Breton child's mother gave her father an extra coin as she stepped off the boat. "For your son," she said. "Such a polite, quiet child!"

It took her a moment to realize that the woman meant her.

Her father slapped her forehead later for not politely thanking the woman who had mistaken her for a boy. And he kept the extra coin.

To be small, to be powerless, to be ugly, not just in the eyes of others but in your own estimation - can you imagine it? Can you imagine having only one shirt, and that one sewn from scraps of cloth thrown out by other people? Can you imagine one blanket in all weathers, no bed, sleeping next to your youngest uncle, in the belly of the boat with the boards creaking all around you? Imagine one bowl of food, barley and lentils only rarely seasoned with pork, a bit of fried fish; imagine smelling strawberries on the street and thinking, walk by, walk by quickly and hold your breath, lest the street vendor accuse you of stealing a good scent.

The night she saw the girl in pink was the same night her family lost the boat in a fire. Now her father and uncles would have to work on other men's boats. Her mother must become a servant, carrying food to the boatmen. And she, well, no one wanted a girl who couldn't even cook.

The solution seemed obvious to her. It was her own idea. Her father wouldn't meet her eyes when the woman came with the money. The best-dressed woman of their own kindred she had ever seen. Her mother was crying.

"Now you can afford to buy a new boat," she said. And that was her name from then on. New Boat. Which was, the woman said, an auspicious choice; for new boat was a term they used for a girl who had never been with a man.

Another place might have put her to work immediately. But this place had a good reputation, and so her boat did not make its first voyage for many months. She ate better, and grew into her teeth. Her brown limbs, sheltered from the blistering sun, grew fair, and her arms lost their ropy strength, and her legs ceased to be skinny. She learned to care for her hair until it shone like the wings of the ravens in the cages at the birdsellers. She learned to look at other people, and to speak to them. She learned to read.

She had never been happier in her life.

More time passed. "You are the black pearl, the rarest of beauties," the madam said. "All of your customers want to buy you and take you away from us. You could make your fortune."

"No," she said. "None of these men can buy me. The only buyer I will go to is another house."

And so another house purchased her, a richer house, with more influential customers.

Years passed. She was purchased by another house, still wealthier, then another. Now she worked in the capital city, entertaining men and women who brushed shoulders with the Emperor himself. She had money now, money enough to buy out her own contract if she had wanted to. But why should she want to? As a child on her own she would have no power, no matter how much money she had. She could buy books, but only the sort of books that held words. The Mages's Guild would not teach her. They said she was too young. She, who had seen the architectects of nations in their most vulnerable moments. They saw only the surface of her, her delicate features, her fine-drawn limbs, her few years. They did not see her true towering height, her puissance, her power, ripe with the wisdom of ages.

"What is it you want?" an Archmage asked her. "What is it that will please you?"

He was another one who wanted to buy her for himself.

"A birthday party," she said.

He smiled. "Well, when is your birthday?"

"I don't know," she said.

"You must know your own birthday - what gifts do you have from the stars? What sign were you born under?"

"I don't know," she said. The Akaviri called the stars by different names. She didn't know how they compared to the Imperial names. And in any case, her people only celebrated the birthdays of boys. She had never known her birthday.

"Teach me magic," she said instead.

But he only laughed.

Children are quick to learn, especially children who pay attention, who watch what they are not supposed to notice.

I see you. I know you from the inside out. I will look at your soul, in the place where souls are stored. When I use my mouth on you, I am learning evokation. When I sit astride you, conjuration. When you crush me with your weight and your stinking breath, summoning. I am the girl in the pink dress, secure in my power. I, who have never stolen a single coin from any man's purse, will take your magic for my very own.

And so it was.

In the prostitute's private hour, when dusty sunlight slanted through the windows of her chamber, she practiced what she had learned. She knew her birthsign now. She had been born under the sign of the Mage.

So it might have continued forever, she happy at last, collecting spells as a connoisseur might collect bottles of wine or books in fancy bindings, content to have them with no need to use them. But then she met the silver-haired woman, the one with a gift she had not seen before. The woman was difficult to seduce. Perhaps she was too eager, too careless. But she had never been caught before.

Instead of being angry, the woman laughed. And at last she allowed herself to be purchased, and set free.

Posted by: Arrogant_Hero Today, 12:25 AM

Ald Raathim...

I’m awoken from a deep sleep with a soft voice whispering in my ear. It’s too soft to be a man’s voice, but it’s too deep to be a women’s. I groggily open my eyes to see... nothing. Its completely dark, and I know I have my eyes open. I open my eyes wider in some futile attempt to make something out in the darkness.

Nothing.

All this time the voice is still whispering in my ear, then suddenly I see it. Even though it’s a few good feet away, I can see it clearly in the darkness, and I know what it is.

I’ve killed a lot of people in my life, far more then I could count, or remember. But I never forget a face, and this bastard’s face was ringing a bell in my head as loud as a bullhorn. I killed this fah’ger, years ago, I know this fool got a taste of my axe, and he didn’t like the flavor.

The specter doesn’t move, but it seems to flicker, like an old light struggling to stay on, then somehow, in less then a second, he’s in my face. Face to face with me, I can see every detail of the specter. From a distance the bastard looked normal, just a little faded, like a swirling mirage in a sweltering desert, but up close he was far from it. His skin sagged, but was tight at the same time, twisting his face into a permanent eery smile, showing gapped, decayed teeth. Maggots mixed with what looks like, dirt, and blood has crusted over the specter’s nose like a mock mustache. And if that wasn’t bad enough, various bugs and worms fill the empty eye sockets of this thing.

Eye to eye with me, or I should say, eye to eye socket, the bastard doesn’t only look bad, but he smells, oh by the Gods does he reek. This was a smell unimaginable, a smell of death, the smell of something rotten beyond rotting, its enough to make any man vomit. But I’m not a man, I’m an Orc, and Orcs don't vomit, but damn does the bastard reek.

The things jaw unhinges and a lifeless, dull voice creeps out of its mouth, followed by breath bad enough to knockout an Ogrim for years. “Prepare yourself. Our time comes soon.”

“Really, so I guess you’re ready to die... again?” I laxly enquire, leaning closer to the ghost despite the horrid smell. “Why don’t you get out of my face, before I make you the first ghost to be sent back to Oblivion by having its shriveled, rotting, genitals ripped off at the root.”

“Do you remember the day you slew me?” The ghost asks, surprisingly in a soft childlike voice.

“Can’t say I remember much about you, Chief.”

The apparition hunches over, puts his thin, bone like hands on his head, and begins to shake. “Well I do...” Suddenly the ghosts voice seems to come from everywhere at once, in a voice so loud I have to cover my ears. “MY MIND IS IN AN ETERNAL LOOP, I CAN THINK OF NOTHING ELSE!”

Unexpectedly the ghost throws its head back and yells a cry so ghastly I can’t even put it into words.

The yell must have been a signal or something, because someone hit the lights, and the sight is enough to draw the air out of my lungs. I’m surrounded on all sides, by a seemingly endless army of people I’ve killed. Some are headless, some are missing limbs, all look how I left them on Nirn. On all the pain, and horror stricken faces of the dead, I notice one familiar emotion... revenge. They all begin to close in with ungodly speed, as I reach for Luciel... but she isn’t there.

Fah’g!

The world fades back to reality and I’m sitting alone in the forest outside of Ald Raathim, covered in sweat.

A dream? But it felt so real. It couldn’t have been a dream. Recognition washes over me like a tide at high noon.

I’ve had dreams like this before, I’ve felt this feeling before. This dream meant something. This was different from a regular dream that fades when I wake. This dream was singing a bitter, sweet, song to me, striking every nerve in my body, telling me this would come to pass if I didn’t do something soon.

I pull my massive bulk from the ground and begin a slow walk towards Ald Raathim.

Ghosts are coming back, huh? Well I can deal with that. I sent them to Oblivion before and I have no damn problem sending them back. Bastards have gotten on my bad side. If this dream comes true, and ghosts are coming back to get revenge on me one day...

...then that’s going to be a hell of a bad day to be a ghost.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 02:11 AM

Slyvos slept, and not a single dream came to him... it was like his mind was blank almost. Until a single thought entered his mind... pain. He suddenly woke up in a cold sweat, panting.

Posted by: Loranna Today, 02:15 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 08:11 PM)

Slyvos slept, and not a single dream came to him... it was like his mind was blank almost. Until a single thought entered his mind... pain. He suddenly woke up in a cold sweat, panting.

Slyvos feels comfort and warmth, and a familiar pair of arms embracing him; he seems to be lying down, in a quiet, cozy room.

"Love?" Loranna asks, waking from her own doze - her dreams had been so filled with images of what she had seen and imagined in the mine, mixed with the sensations of beauty she had felt for a few moments after, that she had been unable to stay alseep other than very lightly.

"Love, it's okay ..." Loranna says, her tone filled with concern and shame.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 02:19 AM

He sudders, the after effects of the ritual still leaving a bit of a mark on him.

'the... the voices... they spoke to me... that one voice out of them all... and I hate it...'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 02:21 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 08:19 PM)

He sudders, the after effects of the ritual still leaving a bit of a mark on him.

'the... the voices... they spoke to me... that one voice out of them all... and I hate it...'

"I heard," Loranna says, her brow furrowing. "I heard and I castigated it."

"Love, not all ghosts from the past are people," she says, her tone growing more serious, and starting to crack. " ... And I owe you a very big apology for encouraging you to go through with this, put your soul back into such risk ... please forgive me."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 02:24 AM

He closed his eyes, and sighed.

'I don't blame you for this... I chose to do it, even though I didn't want to... I feel... dirty. Defiled, and dead... if I ever suggest doing that again, hit me as hard as you can...'

His voice made it clear, that he wasn't joking in the least...

Posted by: Loranna Today, 02:30 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 08:24 PM)

"You were dirty," Loranna says to Slyvos. "I wiped you off some, much as I could."

Even in the darkness of the room, her tearstreaks shone softly, and her smile could brighten most any room.

Then, her expression returns to seriousness. "Like I said love; not all ghosts are people, and this one, we lay to rest, now. You and me together, never again to wallow in that mud; Allie was right, it is time you sought another way."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 02:33 AM

He nodded, shaking still.

'what you were able to hear... was nothing compared to what that made me see...'

He was visibly crying, but it was obvious he needed to let it out....

'I saw all those people... that I killed myself. All those souls, that I bound in torment... all those I loved... dead or dying, over and over... and then I heard 'it'... the one thing that guided me to do those things... and wanted me to do the last... to throw away all I was...'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 02:42 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 08:33 PM)

Loranna cries too, holding Slyvos in her arms. "It has no more power over you love," she says. "Like Doll said, ghosts have the power we give them, and this ghost, we give no more power to."

She touches his cheek gently. "So alike are we; both of us have blood on our hands brought by a part of us no longer wanted ... you are not that monster anymore and will never be so again, so long as I am here to love you and to cry Stop! if you look back."

" ... But it's your strength that will set the ghost to rest once and for all, Slyvos; I've done what a lover can do for her beloved now ... a guilty lover who let her own feelings blind her to the mud we were both going to step in, but reminded by beauty's grace that we are not bound by the mud, if we choose not to be."

She stops speaking, feeling her throat constrict; she smiles, though her eyes still show shame from not having stopped him beforehand - but despite her shame she meets his eyes, and holds him still, her touch comforting, her tears tracing paths down her cheeks.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 02:46 AM

Slyvos sobbed a bit more, trying to suck up the tears.

'yes.. it no longer has any hold over me... but I am NEVER going to delve like that again... I... I want to make use of my abilities, some other way. Seek a new path... but first, I think I better tell you what I saw eh?'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 02:49 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 08:46 PM)

Loranna smiles, her eyes twinkling; Slyvos had said many things already, fragmented and feverish, and her own experiences in the mines had reminded her of simple truths, but ...

"Say it love; say it and hear it at once," she says, kissing him. "We both shall listen attentively."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 02:55 AM

Slyvos takes a deep breath, and tries to recall the only part of the ritual that didn't show him something that nearly tore him apart... the vision.

'I saw something... from what I saw, magic is not the problem here, and neither is necromancy. It's a soul... a soul that is supposed to be dead... yet still remains here on this world. And it's so familiar... yet distant, like I know it... but know nothing of it.'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 02:57 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 08:55 PM)

Loranna nods. "And to mend the barriers between the living and the dead - what did you see on that?" she asks Slyvos.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 02:59 AM

His eyes went distant, and it was like he was just talking to nothing in particular.

'I saw a book... the names of all that had died... and all that lived. One.. was marked as dead... but still travels with us, still breaths. This was the strongest image... and it gave a name; Ciel...'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 03:04 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 08:59 PM)

"A book recording the living and the departed," Loranna says. "Life and Death. The world thinks Ciel is dead yet he is not ..."

" ... And there is our answer, and our answer, meaning yours," she adds, smiling an odd little smile.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 03:05 AM

He looked very confused, but smiled ackwardly... if half-heartedly.

'what do you mean by that?'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 03:08 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 09:05 PM)

He looked very confused, but smiled ackwardly... if half-heartedly.

'what do you mean by that?'

Loranna frowns and she pokes Slyvos in the ribs lightly. "Poor overworked kitty, I'm being mean and pretending I know how to be poetic," she says, giving Slyvos a hug.

"Arkay; the answer is Arkay," Loranna says. "And we know someone who has wielded the power of Arkay before - as I was reminded back in the cave, when I took Dibella's power back onto myself for a moment, to castigate the dark ugliness that was the ghost of your past."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 03:11 AM

His eyes opened wide as he figured out what she meant now.

'ooohhh... so we need the one who mantled Arkay, am I right?'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 03:15 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 09:11 PM)

His eyes opened wide as he figured out what she meant now.

'ooohhh... so we need the one who mantled Arkay, am I right?'

"We do," Loranna says, smiling. "But remember what else I said; this is our answer and our answer, meaning yours, sweet love."

Then, she frowns a bit. "I'm not being annoying now, am I?" she asks. "It's hard not to try to be poetic right now, but I'm not a Vivec, nor an Arynel."

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 03:18 AM

He held back a small laugh.

'don't worry about it, I've heard worse... from myself. Well, looks like we have what we were looking for... now what? I'm at a loss here..'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 03:24 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 09:18 PM)

He held back a small laugh.

'don't worry about it, I've heard worse... from myself. Well, looks like we have what we were looking for... now what? I'm at a loss here..'

Loranna sighs, and runs her fingers through Slyvos's hair. "First, we freshen up and get some breakfast," she says. "And then we return to Solunastra, where by now they've probably figured out what we did and will be less than happy with us - for good reason, we both know, but we'll return and tell them what we learned and help Arynel however he needs to be helped."

"And then, after that ... I am thinking that a man who has been both living and dead, who has shown he wishes to put his past ghosts to rest but who does have knowledge of the dead which isn't going to just go away, should seek out those who study life and death and the proper ways to approach the rituals for the dead."

She smiles. "Unless you're thinking of totally abandoning any dealings with departed spirits and becoming a full-time enchanter, or maybe take up pearl-diving - it has been suggested you excersice more, darling."

Loranna kisses Slyvos again, laughter in her eyes.

Posted by: Dagoth Lich Today, 03:27 AM

He thought for a second, then smiled.

'we'll see, Lor... we'll see. might as well put these abilites of mine to good use in a better way anyway... though I think I'll take you up on the exercise thing...'

Posted by: Loranna Today, 03:30 AM

QUOTE(Dagoth Lich @ May 8 2005, 09:27 PM)

Loranna laughs aloud, saying "It's a start; now then, let's go clean up and eat, and rejoin our friends. There's work to be done."

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 04:15 AM

A frazzeld Dunmer sat in a dirty cell in the city of Daggerfall, the rather bored gaurds thought he was quite amusing, especially when they prodded him with thier spears...

"if they poke me one more time...what are you going to do....break out...how?...well...this is gonna be good...shut up..."

one of the gaurds comented "hehe, the crazy mer is talking to himself again, heres a servant of the mad god if ive ever seen one"
A scream eminated from the cell startleing the gaurds quite a bit...
"I WOULD NEVER SERVE HIM..." Sekka called the enchantment of one of his rings and unleashed a fireball in the direction of the gaurds, they ducked, opened his cell, and beat him untill he was unconcious.

Posted by: Loranna Today, 04:34 AM

QUOTE(SEKKA @ May 8 2005, 10:15 PM)

Daggerfall

She and Slyvos had just dirtied themselves with necromancy and endured horrible visions; she herself had once again touched the power of Dibella to aid one she loved; they had spoken among themselves, and agreed to put the ghosts of Slyvos's past to rest and seek a new beginning, avoiding the mud.

So, of course, when heading back to Solunastra to relate what they had learned and endure the disapproval of their comrades for their actions, they took a wrong turn somehow and now were lost in Daggerfall, a city Loranna had not visited since ... hmm, yes, her father had come through Daggerfall once when she was little but she'd no memories of it to speak of; back then, cities blurred together in her childish mind.

So, she and Slyvos both muttering darkly, Loranna starts asking for directions. Yes, Solunastra, it's a manor, back down ... yes, yes she knew they were way out of their way ... what, that yell? Never mind it young lady, that's just some criminal getting what he deserves; say, why is your skin ashen like that? Are you a Dibellian trying something new?

Loranna, however, was by this point only half-listening to the man she had asked directions from; she had heard that yell and recognized the voice. Excusing herself, she made her way to the jail, to confirm the evidence of her ears.

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 04:37 AM

*Clank* *CLank* when Sekka awoke he noticed that a guard was trying on his boots...

"hey!...wait those are ours...give them back....your in alot of trouble now....You will feal the wrath of Sekka!!!..."

The gaurds laughed and returned to examining his shiny boots.

Posted by: sjvan0 Today, 04:40 AM

Daggerfall, a few minutes earlier.

Frostien Marcelle stepped out into the warm, morning sun, his leather boots scraping the cobblestone beneath him. He began walking down Royal Way, away from the palace. He continued to wonder aimlessly, going from side street to side street and from alley way to alleyway. He was brought out from his daze by the sound of screams. He listened carefully, and heard the sound of wood beating against tender flesh. He rushed to the source, and beat his fists against the door. By then the screams had died down, and a guard opened the door.

"State your busin- UGH!" the guard cried out as he was flung into the stone wall, knocked unconcious. Frostien wasn't overly familiar with telekinetic spells, but it had done the trick, and he was now insides. Looking around, he finally realised where he was: a prison.

"What in the name of the nine is bloody well going on here?!" Frostien shouted, furious.

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 04:44 AM

Seeing a potential rescuer Sekka cried out "help us they stole our boots...and threw us in here for no reason...becuase we stole the...SHUT UP you stupid nord...no wait i meant were completely innocent...yeah...got the keys buddy?"

The other two gaurds in the room grabbed thier spears and dove at the newcomer...

Posted by: Aki Today, 04:50 AM

Tohe had come into Solunastra earlier, and retired to a room to sleep. Running from that town to the outskirts of Daggerfall had been tiring, and he had then had to wait for the shift to reverse.

Reichi on the otherhand, was still wandering around the building, munching on some bread leftover from breakfast. He wondered why he hadn't seen a ghost yet. Then again, he was lucky he hadn't. Being a former Assassin and current Werewolf, there wouldn't be many friendly ghosts. Oh hell no.

Hehe, note to self: Get soul gems he thought.

Posted by: Loranna Today, 04:51 AM

QUOTE(SEKKA @ May 8 2005, 10:44 PM)

By now there was quite a ruckus; Loranna wonders, once again, how she and her friends get into these situations.

The guard at the door tries to stop Loranna: "Ma'am, this is no place for a lady like yourself," he says, noting Loranna's outfit. "Nothing here to see ..."

"It's all right, I assure you," Loranna says, smiling and lacing her voice with a charm spell. "I'm here to see one of the prisoners; besides, there's nothing for me to worry about with strong men like you around, right?"

She winks, and the guard lets Loranna inside, accompanying her because of the ruckus. "Nine!" he mutters, reaching for his weapon when he sees Frostien and his fellow guards. "Never a quiet day ..."

"GENTLEMEN!!!" Loranna calls out loudly, lacing her voice with a calm and charm effect. "What is going on here?"

Posted by: sjvan0 Today, 04:55 AM

Bloody hell. Frostien thought, as the two guards rushed towards him. And here I am without armour or weapons.

Frostien, standing silently in the narrow passageway, shielded himself just in time. The spears, deflected, slid from his shield and crashed into the walls, one of the points getting wedged in between the bricks. While one struggles with his spear, the other finds a paralyses spell launched at him.

Frostien turns at the sound of Loranna's voice, and lowered his hand, a drain fatigue spell still at the ready.

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 04:55 AM

"...hi loranna...he has my boots..." Sekka pointed to the gaurd laying unconcious by the wall, sure enough he had adamantium boots on, and Sekka's bare feet were visible...not a pretty sight

Posted by: Loranna Today, 05:06 AM

QUOTE(SEKKA @ May 8 2005, 10:55 PM)

"...hi loranna...he has my boots..." Sekka pointed to the gaurd laying unconcious by the wall, sure enough he had adamantium boots on, and Sekka's bare feet were visible...not a pretty sight

The guard with Loranna blinks a bit, trying not to laugh at his companion who bravely stabbed the wall with gusto.

Loranna gives Sekka a quick, reassuring smile, then turns to the guards. "I do know this prisoner, gentlemen," she says. "He is a bit eccentric, yes, but he is harmless unless provoked ..."

She stares at the adamantium boots on the guard's feet, repressing a frown.

"I respectfully suggest that we can work something out - something that doesn't involve swinging clubs and spears at one another or at unarmed men," she says.

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 05:16 AM

The gaurds look at each other, and look at Loranna, and look at Sekka, and look at thier friend on the ground, and look at Frostien, and drop thier spears, and reply..."we will sell him to ya for 100 gold if this looney is so important to ya milady..."

Posted by: Loranna Today, 05:22 AM

QUOTE(SEKKA @ May 8 2005, 11:16 PM)

"I see," Loranna says, raising an eyebrow at the term 'sell'; perhaps the guard thought he was being witty by suggesting a Dunmer be 'sold' as if he were a slave - or perhaps Loranna was simply giving these louts too much credit for brains.

"All right then; one hundred gold and my friend," she says, with slight emphesis on the word friend, "is free, his belongings returned to him and this whole misunderstanding put behind us."

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 05:25 AM

The Gaurd replied
"150 and you get the the sword that doesnt come out of the sheath, and if you want those fancy stolen boots it will be another 200...is it deal milady?"

Posted by: sjvan0 Today, 05:30 AM

QUOTE(SEKKA @ May 9 2005, 01:25 PM)

The Gaurd replied
"150 and you get the the sword that doesnt come out of the sheath, and if you want those fancy stolen boots it will be another 200...is it deal milady?"

"Perhaps you would like to reconsider your proposition, sir?" Frostien said, his politness barely masking his rage. "We could just as easily knock you out or kill you, and take our friend and all your possessions, but this lady has been nice enough to deal with you. If it were up to me, I'd slowly roast you all with a nice fire spell, and then give you to some Bosmer friends of mine."

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 05:32 AM

the gaurd smirked
"yes and we would ring this bell and alert every soldior in the city..." the gaurd pulled a rope out from behind a drape

Posted by: Loranna Today, 05:38 AM

Loranna's response was a bit less feroceous than Frostien's. "If you were that in need of money, good sirs, you need simply have asked; I'm not in the habit of letting people go hungry and barefoot."

She looks to Frostien and says "Peace friend; the guards are just doing their jobs - there's no need for violence here. Save it for the real criminals and the monsters outside the city gates."

The monsters inside the city gates, unfortunately, often have squatting rights, she thinks sourly.

"All right then; a hundred gold for the safe release of my friend; three hundred fifty gold for the return of his possessions, a hundred gold to each of you for your patience and understanding today, and all of us go back to our days to enjoy them in peace. Please bring my friend's gear and release him, gentle sirs, and may the blessings of the Nine be with you and yours."

She pulls out her money pouch and begins counting out eight hundred septims, prefering nice round numbers.

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 05:46 AM

The gaurds stare at Loranna gape mouthed.."uhhh...thanks....uhhh..." one had the bright idea to kick the unconcious gaurd in the head to make sure he stayed that way (less ways to split the profit). The obvious head honcho pulled a key from his pocket and opened the cell, returned the belongings (everyone could breathe a little better after the boots were put on) and sent Sekka on his way, both of them were a little shocked from the experience.

Posted by: Loranna Today, 05:51 AM

QUOTE(SEKKA @ May 8 2005, 11:46 PM)

Loranna takes Sekka out of the jail with all due seemly haste, and a motion of her head to Frostien to invite him to leave the dank, cramped hospitality of Daggerfall's finest guards.

"Sekka dear it's good to see you," Loranna says, hugging the Dunmer briefly. She looks at him with a worried expression. "Where have you been?"

She leads him to her carriage. "Everyone is at Solunastra right now; let's bring you there. We have food and soft beds, and a place where we can rest without being set upon by the world."

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 05:55 AM

Sekka answerd Loranna reluctantly "well....due to these idiots...HEY...soon we can say we have been in a jail cell in every province...not THAT bad...in tamriel, yest it is, we have even been detained in black marsh...there arnt that many jails there....it wasnt really a jail....the only difference was that there were no bars...they threw us in a pit and let the children hurl small rocks at us....we escpaped by tunneling...." Sekka contiuned to ramble as he followed Loranna back to Solunastra.

Posted by: sjvan0 Today, 05:57 AM

Frostien followed Loranna and Sekka out of the stinking dungeon, and spoke to Sekka.

"Frostien Marcelle, Battlemage and conjuror of the mages guild, pleased to make your aquaintance. And you are...?"

Posted by: SEKKA Today, 05:59 AM

"we are...Sekka...Sequa is the proper....no actually its Sekka...Sequa sounds better....you always have to be better dont you...because i am you stupid nordic cerebrum...stop using big words...like i said...shut up both of you..." Sekka shook Frostien's hand

Posted by: Loranna Today, 06:05 AM

QUOTE(SEKKA @ May 8 2005, 11:59 PM)

Loranna pulls out a hankerchief and cleans off the dirt from the cell from Sekka as best she can; Sekka didn't deserve to have mud on him.

"Sekka has been part of our group since almost the very beginning," Loranna explains to Frostien. "He wanders far and wide but somehow he always finds his way back to us; he's a true and brave soul and good company too."

" ... And he has an unfortunate tendency to run afoul of people who make me want to use them for spell practice, or shove my sword up their posterier," she mutters darkly. "I'm not up for making the guards of Daggerfall our enemies but blast it they were galling."

Posted by: sjvan0 Today, 06:05 AM

QUOTE(SEKKA @ May 9 2005, 01:59 PM)

Shaking Sekka's hand, Frostien raises his eybrow.

"You are quite an interesting bunch of fellows, aren't you?" Frostien smiled politely, slowly puling his hand back. He moved closer to Loranna, and whispered.

"Do you have any idea how long he's been like this? Is there any hope for a cure? He seems to have travelled a good distance along the golden road."

Posted by: Loranna Today, 06:13 AM

QUOTE(sjvan0 @ May 9 2005, 12:05 AM)

Loranna smiles a bit. "He's been like this since I met him, though he's come a long way since we met, like all of us have," Loranna says. "The doG may have touched him but his heart is like ours."

" ... Besides, I was much, much worse," she mutters, as the carriage takes the right turns this time, bringing them to Solunastra. "But peace; we're almost back ..."

===

And the adventures continue in High Rock Hijinks the Thirteenth: Sekka Goes to Solunastra.

I am silly ... LOCK ON!!!

Loranna