Shadows of Darkest Soul (An Elder Scrolls RP)

[SoulofChrysamere]

Lecuaro Sulnair Marczon - Inside Kogoruhn

 

 

"Cheriana, you've more experience with these structures than I. What's the layout of these things?" Lecuaro whispered to Cheriana at Caius's cue.

 

Cheriana thought for a moment and cleared her throat. "Well, we came in through this tunnel and I'll bet anything that it's spit us out in the basement. I'm surprised we haven't come to some large underground cavern, really. But anyway, the stronghold levels are typically ringed with perimeter access-ways like this with doorways leading inward to the rooms. There's really no common template for their design so we'll just have to pick a direction and go." She said, annoyed that there wasn't much more to tell about the building.

==========================================================================================================================================

Okairabdanat Millahashrapi - Fort Floodgate Storeroom

 

 

Okair had volunteered to stay and tend to the wounded already brought in while the others helped transport the rest inside. She had just finished bandaging up a young, tall, beefy Nordic man's forearm when she heard Faeyrn's voice asking for the critically injured. She immediately motioned him toward a thin, wiry Bosmeri lad with sandy blonde hair. The heavy bandages around his forehead and neck bespoke gross hemorrhage and intense pain.

 

"Be gentle with him, sera. He's really fragile." Okair cautioned as she helped Faeryn hoist the boy up.

==========================================================================================================================================

Serrabinashiah Masseribalit - Fort Floodgate Courtyard

 

 

They had already interred so many in the waiting room, and yet there were still so many more lying on the freshly crimsoned stonework of Fort Floodgate. Some had already died...had their veins and arteries sliced open and bled dry -- had their guts spilled onto the ground, tugging them down with the weight -- had their heads severed or nearly severed from their shoulders...among other grisly ends. Some struggled on though, their penchant for living not yet quelled by the newborn trauma and terror. Serra dutifully resumed selecting the living from the dead alongside her comrades, eager to give those still breathing a chance at salvation.

 

After a few more trips into the storeroom, Serra came back outside and began looking for her next cargo. Soon, she spied a Dunmeri woman slumped on the ground with her back against a broken crate. Her head was hung forward in a position that severely crimped her neck. Serra moved to help her, and as she knelt down beside the girl, her face lit up with both joy and horror at the same time. She recognized the girl as an Urshilakuan, one that had left before her.

 

"Hessanibalina..." Serra whispered to herself as she inspected the woman's long frame.

 

Hessan's figure was indeed a large and powerful one. Her shoulders were wide and meaty just like her fathers. Her torso curved slightly as it swept down into a pair of firm hips, which bore a set of long and muscular legs. She was wearing a specially-crafted suit of chitin that her father had crafted for her. Nobody knew how he did it, but he worked the material so finely that it contoured to every part of her body. It was as if that armor was her actual skin.

 

With a renewed vigor, Serra grunted heavily as she heaved the barely breathing scout onto her shoulders. It was quite an awkward trek back to the storeroom with her old friend's fully dressed, six-foot three-inch body drooping from her own barely five-foot five frame.

Edited May 20, 2012 by SoulofChrysamere

[AurianaValoria1]

Caius Cosades, Kogoruhn, Perimeter Hall - Basement Level

 

The Spymaster gripped his katana firmly, "Let's go right, then."

 

He crept around to the right, hugging the wall as he went, until he came across another door on the opposite side of the hall. It was open, and he held up his hands to stop the group, a finger to his lips to indicate silence.

 

Caius moved towards the opposite wall, sliding inch by inch closer to the opening. He peered around the door-frame very slowly.

 

Turning back to the group, he mouthed silently, "Bunk room. Three asleep."

 

He gave Cheriana the signal to snipe them as they slept.

 

 

Faeryn Sethandas, Fort Floodgate

 

"Easy does it," he said as he slipped an arm under the Bosmer's knees and picked him up carefully.

 

"Steady his head for me as we go," the Ordinator added to the Ashlander, trying to keep his strides from bobbing as he carried the elf down the hall. The pain this time was not in the boy's weight, but his fragile state.

[Zephyr2011]

Kriak, Outside Kogoruhn

 

As Adrynn charged the Nerevarine, Kriak took advantage of the incarnate's lack of focus. He couldn't successfully parry all of Adrynn's blows while defending against Kriak's magics. The assassin lashed out with great swaths of dark energy, hurling and whipping them at the Nerevarine. The Nerevarine swatted them away with his own magical energies while fending off Adrynn's attacks with his other hand. Thus far the Incarnate had not taken a direct hit but he was losing his ability to fight back and he knew it. The Nerevarine began stepping backwards towards the safety of his fortress.

 

Suddenly the Nerevarine let loose his remaining stores of energy in a torrent of magic and power, lightning surged forth and took both Kriak and Adrynn aback while killing almost all of the remaining soldiers. As the impact of the spell reverberated the Nerevarine fled into Kogoruhn's interior with the main entrance crumbling into a mass of rubble behind him. The remaining soldiers gathered their wits and charged Kriak and Adrynn.

[darkedge42392]

Adrynn Indarys, Kogoruhn

 

Cursing as the Nerevarine brought down the entrance, Adrynn dropped the Ward he had used to protect himself. He spun as the first of the few remaining soldiers reached him. One swung a long barbed spear at the Redoran's face. Adrynn sidestepped the attack and hacked the spearhead off of the shaft, then drove his blade through the soldier's chest, flames searing the armor and charring flesh and bone. He ripped his katana from the soldier's chest and slowly made his way back, a blistering ball of flames building in his left hand. The remaining soldiers were cautious, having seen both Adrynn and Kriak battle the Nerevarine. They knew how fearsome the pair were in battle and were actually thinking about what to do other than rushing blindly into battle. This cost them as well. Flames erupted from the Redoran's hand, spewing into the squads of men and roasting some in their armor. The Ashlanders in the ranks who hadn't fled yet withstood Adrynn's flames and pushed forward toward him.

 

"Kriak! We need to find the Nerevarine and stop him!" Adrynn called out, his mind clearer and sharper then earlier. "But we need to get out of this deathtrap first!" He could feel his energies waning, his arms and legs weary from battle. One of the soldiers threw himself forward with a shortsword and dagger. He was able to get a few glancing blows in on Adrynn before the Redoran got his hands on him and roasted him alive. As blood poured down his face from a cut from above his eyebrow, Adrynn felt himself bump into someone. He glanced over his shoulder and found Kriak ripping out a Nord mercenary's throat with sharp precise thrusts of his dagger. As the hunter finished with his opponent, Adrynn quickly wiped the blood out of his eye.

 

"I think it's about time I got some of that power from the soul gem you gave me earlier. I'm almost finished," he said, the flames in his hand disappearing as his magicka ran dry.

[SoulofChrysamere]

Lecuaro Sulnair Marczon - Inside Kogoruhn

 

 

Cheriana produced her bow and tapped Lecuaro on the shoulder. "I'll need your help for this one, sir. There's nothing for me to silently jam my arrows into for quick sniping." She whispered.

 

Lecuaro readied his own bow and drew an arrow as he followed Cheriana slowly to the doorway. Cheriana first moved in front of the doorway with her back to the outer wall and Lecuaro moved in beside her. The three sleepers were grouped closely together, so any "thunk" from an arrow around them would surely jar them awake. The lighting was poor as well, making a clean, accurate shot harder.

 

"I'll take the right one, you take the left?" Lecuaro suggested as he nocked his arrow. "Then we can both go for the middle one." He finished.

 

"Sounds good." Cheriana said as she nocked her arrow. Before the two fired, they each took a second arrow and stood it up against the fronts of their legs. Then, they each zeroed in on their respective targets, but the sound of echoing footsteps around the corner further down the hall made them pause.

 

"Caius! Someone's coming!" Cheriana whispered urgently to Caius.

 

Just then, more footsteps sounded from the other corner back at the other end of the hall. "I've got this one." Mercando said as he turned to go face the patrolman.

 

However, suddenly a great rumbling noise from above reached their ears. Cheriana and Lecuaro instinctively removed themselves from the doorway, where the three sleeping soldiers had been awoken by the noise. The whole team froze as if expecting a second rumble.

 

"What was that?" Cheriana asked after a few seconds.

==========================================================================================================================================

 

Okairabdanat Mihallahashrapi - Fort Floodgate Infirmary

 

 

Quickly yet carefully, the Ordinator and Ashlander delivered the frail young Wood Elf lad to Trilvan Salothril's room. The smell of healing balms hung thickly in the air as the healer worked away at his apparatuses, mixing up the desperately needed medicine. He didn't notice the two Dunmer enter with his next patient.

==========================================================================================================================================

 

Serrabinashiah Masseribalit - Fort Floodgate Waiting Room

 

 

Eventually, Serra was able to haul Hessan's body to the storeroom where she lay her on a couple of vacant crates. Okair was nowhere to be found. Serra assumed that she had helped take another injured to Trilvan and decided to stay for a bit to monitor the others. As she walked throughout the room, she comforted those who were conscious enough to recognize their plight and tried her best to position the unconscious more comfortably. Most of the time though, her steps took her back to Hessan. She was undoubtedly unconscious, but Serra didn't think it prudent to try and wake her. She didn't know the extent of her injuries.

Edited May 20, 2012 by SoulofChrysamere

[Zephyr2011]

Kriak, Outside Kogoruhn

 

As the Nord's corpse fell to the blood-soaked ground Kriak heard Adrynn's request. "Alright." he said grimly. The hunter lacerated two more soldiers that charged him and then set to work. He fell back slightly to reduce the angle that the soldiers had to attack him so that he could focus on the task at hand. Kriak felt through the void of energies in the soulgem that Adrynn held, carefully coaxing them out and funneling them directly to Adrynn. It was faster than Adrynn would use up at the moment but it was slow enough that he would have plenty of reserves after this battle without being torn to pieces from the flow of power.

 

"Don't use it all as you get it. You won't need it and I'd rather not have to do this again today." Kriak said with a faint smile. He slowly felt the burden of controlling the energy lessen as smaller and smaller reserves were left in the gem and Adrynn gradually took over the process. With his ability to focus fully restored Kriak tore through the soldiers with a vengeance. His free hand was bathed in more dark flames as he disemboweled and incinerated foes interchangeably. The hordes began to slacken and hold off as it became more and more apparent that Adrynn was regaining his strength and Kriak wasn't slowing down anytime soon. Soon only a few scores remained out of the teeming masses. The rest had either perished, fled or were hanging back, unwilling to face the horrible onslaught of the two companions.

 

Kriak suddenly thrust his free hand into the ground, bringing up pieces of earth (Nirn? whatever you would use here...) as he did so. Great dark tendrils of energy erupted from beneath a score of soldiers' feet and the dark flames coursed through their bodies, burning them to a crisp. The exercise had been exceedingly expensive for Kriak but it proved worth it as the remaining soldiers all either sprinted away as fast as their legs could carry them or dropped their weapons in fear. Kriak masked his labored breaths as he turned to Adrynn. "Now then. Let's remake a door," He grinned.

[AurianaValoria1]

Caius Cosades, Inside Kogoruhn

 

"Something collapsed!" Caius whispered. He glanced around, and he could hear the sounds of the men getting up in the bunk room.

 

Suddenly, he spotted an Indoril-clad warrior running down the hall, helmetless, and...

 

...by the gods. It was the Nerevarine.

 

"Kill the men! I'll handle this one!" he shouted, blocking the hall so that the Nerevarine could not pass.

 

 

Faeryn Sethandas, Fort Floodgate, Infirmary

 

"We've another one, healer," he grunted, "he's delicate."

 

He slowly approached the table with the Bosmer, carefully laying him down for treatment.

[darkedge42392]

Adrynn Indarys, Kogoruhn Exterior

 

As he felt the rush of renewed energy from the soulgem, Adrynn smiled. His mind clearing fully and allowing him to think ahead now. As he slowly felt Kriak release his hold on the soulgem to the Redoran, Adrynn could feel the energy slow to a trickle. That would suffice; and going from what Kriak had just said, it would suffice for quite a while. Adrynn turned to the soldiers as Kriak began to ravage them, slicing and blasting aside those who stood in his way. He marveled at how easily the hunter killed. It was obvious that Kriak was highly experienced in combat. Even moreso then himself, perhaps. One thing Adrynn knew for certain was that he didn't want to make the hunter his enemy. Then he threw himself into the fray as well, his Daedric Katana bringing gouts of blood that sprayed everywhere. Enemies fell like wheat under the two, soaking the ground and themselves with the thick red mist.

 

Adrynn fell back as Kriak unleashed his spell, destroying or driving away the last of the warriors who had been there when they had arrived. The hunter turned to him, his breath slightly heavier then before. The spell must have taken out quite a bit of energy from him.

 

"Now then. Let's remake a door," Kriak said, grinning slightly. Adrynn nodded and turned toward the pile of rubble that the Nerevarine had left in his wake. He looked to the side of where the door had been. If they could get an opening large enough for them to fit through without bringing down the rest of the building, then they could pursue the Nerevarine and try to end this. Adrynn thought for a moment more, then gathered his magicka to him. A blistering white hot ball of pure magicka built in his hands, glowing brighter than the sun.

 

"Kriak! We're going to have to be quick, because the opening won't last long, so be ready!" Adrynn called out over his shoulder. Then he turned toward the wall and let loose the ball of magicka. It erupted into the wall, blasting aside mortar and stone, vaporizing a large gaping hole into the interior of the stronghold. Then the Redoran leaped through the freshly made door, sensing the shadowy presence of his companion right on his heels. Then the makeshift door fell under the weight of the floors above it, sealing them inside.

[AurianaValoria1]

Caius Cosades, Inside Kogoruhn

 

The Nerevarine seemed to slow a bit when he saw Caius. But a wicked grin flashed across his face, and he began readying a spell. Caius had never seen such an evil look...such an expression of malice on the Incarnate's countenance. Something was terribly wrong.

 

A tremor rocked the fortress again, and the Spymaster was quick to cast an earwig charm as his once-friend was momentarily distracted, rendering him unable to concentrate enough to cast spells. Caius then sheathed his katana and charged, throwing his full weight into the Nerevarine. Even though the Moon-and-Star was a large man, Caius was heavier, and the two went immediately crashing to the floor with the sound of clattering armor and grunts of pain. The Spymaster pinned the Incarnate down, his knees on the crazed man's biceps, his hands around the foe's throat.

 

"What is wrong with you!?" Caius roared, shaking the Nerevarine vigorously, his blue-grey eyes only inches from the Incarnate's, "What's happened to you?"

 

The Moon-and-Star only laughed - a mad, horrifying laugh that tore Caius up inside. But, for an instant, it seemed like the laugh was a mask...something to hide the true self within. The Nerevarine bucked and thrashed fiercely, trying to throw Caius off of him. Alas, he could not move himself, the Spymaster, and the heavy suit of Blades armor. Caius took advantage of this immobility.

 

"What happened?" Caius repeated, an idea suddenly taking hold. Perhaps it was better to catch flies with honey...

 

He leaned closer, letting his face show his emotions, though his grip did not loosen, "What happened to that boy, fresh off of the boat from Seyda Neen? That boy I turned from a ragtag rascal with not a septim to his name into a Bladesman? The young man whom I trained to be the savior of Morrowind? Where is he? Where is he behind that veil of insanity you wear?"

 

Suddenly, something in the Incarnate's eyes changed. There was a hint of fear and sorrow there, swimming to the surface of those ruby eyes. He spoke, his voice rasping as though it were strained, "Hopesfire...in my quarters...round the corner past the bunk room...take it. Keep it from me...I can't....fight the power..."

 

"What power? Please, hold on to me son...tell me what power!"

 

The Nerevarine trembled all over as if fighting some demonic possession, "Mankar...Camoran's...Dawn is breaking! Get the books...get them and burn...agh!"

 

With a strength that took Caius off guard, the Nerevarine pitched him off, staggering the Spymaster into the wall. Caius had no time to react before a mailed fist slammed into his nose. The Spymaster saw only black and red for a second, pain exploding from the center of his face. A left hook from the Nerevarine suddenly came flying towards Caius's jaw, but the Spymaster intercepted it, twisting the Nerevarine's arm behind his back and slamming the Incarnate into the opposite wall face-first.

 

"Oh no you don't, boy!" Caius snarled, "I trained you to fight with your fists, you fool!"

[SoulofChrysamere]

Lecuaro Sulnair Marczon - Inside Kogoruhn

 

 

Caius's scuffle with the Nerevarine went totally unnoticed by Lecuaro, Cheriana, and Mercando as the latter turned back from the hallway corner sprinting as quickly as he could. "There's a whole group of 'em coming!" He shouted.

 

Just then, however, he saw his cohorts in a fight of their own with the three newly-awakened soldiers that had burst out into the hall to discover the source of the rumbling. Mercando turned back to face the approaching squad of Ashlanders. It was time to put his skills in the College of Destruction to work. He prepared balls of ice and electricity in his hands as Lecuaro and Cheriana contended with their assailants.

 

For Lecuaro, it was two against one. The two biggest of the three Dunmer went for him since he appeared the more physically imposing. One of the Ashlanders, armed with a spear, poked and prodded at the veteran legionnaire while his comrade made intermittent slashes and chops with his sword. Eventually though, the spearman and bladesman fell out of sync and the latter made an ill-timed lunge at Lecuaro. Lecuaro deflected the blade against the wall and then grabbed the man's arm with his free hand, pulling him across the hall and slamming him into the other wall. Before he had time to recover, Lecuaro headbutted him and then ran him through with his katana. The swordsman fell to the floor as his friend reentered an aggressive stance, having paused before out of the want to not skewer his ally. The spear however, while certainly a king among weapons in open positions, lost a great deal of its maneuverability in cramped quarters...such as hallways. Lecuaro capitalized on this and at the first overstepped thrust from the spearman, deflected and pinned the spear to the wall. Then, Lecuaro took his free hand and grabbed and yanked on the spear while keeping his katana extended frontward. The Ashlander was forced to relinquish his grip to avoid getting pierced by the ebony katana's razor blade and once the shaft left his hands, Lecuaro quickly thrust the butt of the spear into the Ashlander's armored face, disorienting him just long enough for the Breton to quickly close the distance and send his sword right through the Dark Elf's chitin chestplate. The beaten spearman stood waveringly for a moment before his knees buckled and he crumpled onto the ground, his own body's weight dragging itself off of the katana blade as he fell.

 

Cheriana found herself in a duel with an experienced bladesman. Unlike his two buddies, this third Ashlander sported a steel sword, a traditional longsword. The extra length left Cheriana's two fighting knives in defensive stances. Using her smaller and more nimble frame, the Bladeswoman deftly countered her opponent's swings and thrusts with parries and sidesteps until at last, the Ashlander made a mistake. He lengthened his instep on a lunge a bit too much, and Cheriana quickly smacked the glittering steel blade aside and swept the man's leg out from under him, sending him crashing to the ground with Cheriana's free shortsword just above. As he hit the ground, the Dwarven alloy blade sliced right through his chitin cuirass, loosing a gush of blood from his torso. After feeling his weapon hand relent, Cheriana brought her other blade into the man's throat, ensuring his death.

 

Whilst his partners dispatched their enemies, Mercando had prepared a nasty surprise for the squad of running soldiers about to round the corner. He waited until a healthy percentage of them had showed themselves, and then shot forth a mix of lightning and frost from his fingers. The spells arced throughout and enveloped the startled troop and put them on the ground. The rest who had managed to avoid the blast turned around and fled upon seeing their friends either frozen solid or dying of seizures and hypothermia.

 

Mercando then turned back to check on Lecuaro and Cheriana. He was delighted to find them uninjured and the three Dunmer disposed of, but alarmed that Caius was absent.

 

"Where's Caius?" Mercando asked worriedly.

 

"Probably still down there. Maybe he got into a nasty fight." Lecuaro replied as he motioned down the hall.

 

The trio sped down the hallway in pursuit of their friend, hoping to Azura and the Nine that nothing bad had befallen him.

==========================================================================================================================================

 

Trilvan Salothril - Fort Floodgate Infirmary

 

 

Trilvan was stirred from his alchemy tools by Faeryn's strained voice. He immediately rose and went over to the table where the small boy now lay, barely conscious from the pain and loss of blood. He quickly removed the bandages from the Bosmer's head and neck and grimaced at the wounds underneath.

 

"Damn...these are bad. Faeryn, go grab the bowl of blue powder on my alchemy table and bring it here." Trilvan told Faeryn as he kindled a small blue aura in his fingertips and began inspecting the boy's injuries.

 

Okair, satisfied that she'd only be crowding the workspace by remaining, made her way back to the storeroom.

Edited May 21, 2012 by SoulofChrysamere