Shadows of Darkest Soul (An Elder Scrolls RP)

[darkedge42392]

Adrynn Indarys, Fort Floodgate, Smithy

 

Adrynn nodded to Velanya's comment. He agreed. Sometimes it was better to not think and just do. He glanced up when Kriak mentioned them parting ways.

 

"I wish you would come with us, Kriak. But I see your reasons for not wanting to. Azura can be fickle about things. Especially people," Adrynn said, rubbing his chin with his long fingered hand. He glanced to Lecuaro and Caius.

 

"Well, I'm outfitted as best as I can be. We'll just need to get some supplies for a week each and then collect the Nerevarine," the Redoran said, crossing his arms again. This trip was going to take a while, that was for sure. They needed to be as prepared as best as they could. He could already feel the excitement in his blood building. It had been years since he could really travel. And this was something they absolutely needed to do. A small smiled played on his lips as he went and he stood next to the door, awaiting everyone else.

 

Garila Indarys, Fort Floodgate, Mess Hall

 

Garila was still shaking with anger. The news about the Nerevarine had struck such a deep chord in her, she didn't know if she'd ever be able to calm down.

 

"That's no excuse for him to attack his own people! He is supposed to be our PROTECTOR. Not our destroyer!" She was blind with fury. She could feel her hands shaking as she tried desperately to control her anger.

 

"Lady Garila!" a sharp Dunmeri voice said a few feet away from her. She turned and snapped at the intruder.

 

"What?!" It took her a moment to see the very aggravated expression on Arvs' face. She blinked a few times before she remembered herself. "Um, sorry Arvs, I couldn't control myself."

 

"Try to refrain from snapping at me again, Lady Garila. You are Adrynn's wife, but I will not be treated like that. Understood?" Arvs had his arms crossed over his chitin armor. She could see the tightness in his jaw from how hard he was restraining himself. She nodded.

 

"Ah, yes. Forgive me Arvs. What is it you have to say?" Garila asked, sitting down next to Serra.

 

"Adrynn is leaving soon. He did not tell me where, but it's on the orders of the Archmaster. He asks that you stay with me and the Redoran warriors here to help with securing the fort against future attacks."

 

"He's WHAT?!" she yelled, jumping to her feet. Not again he's not! she thought, a scowl settling over her features. He had barely said anything during their dinner with the others than had left her behind while he went off to do his secret meeting with the Breton commander.

 

"I'm not staying here, Arvs," she said, storming out of the mess hall and down a hallway, searching for that troublesome husband of hers.

[AurianaValoria1]

Velanya Therys, Faeryn Sethandas, Caius Cosades; Fort Floodgate Armory

 

The Knight Errant was reluctant to part ways with the woodsman...he was a powerful ally to have watching your back. Yet she knew he had good reasons for doing so. She silently followed Adrynn, with Caius and Faeryn on her heels.

[SoulofChrysamere]

Lecuaro Sulnair Marczon - Fort Floodgate Smithy

 

 

After he was done sharpening his katana, Lecuaro tossed the stone back into the bin and sheathed the blade. He checked over his armor, making sure everything felt and pivoted correctly. Before long, he was ready for the trip.

 

"So, how exactly are we going to make it Azura's shrine in this short a time? We'd have to use Almsivi Intervention, the Mages Guild guides, and probably a couple of other tricks." Lecuaro asked, thumbing his katana's pommel.

[darkedge42392]

Adrynn Indarys, Fort Floodgate, Armory

 

Adrynn nodded to Lecuaro. He could feel the path already starting to form in his mind's eye.

 

"Yes. We could Almsivi Intervention to Ald-ruhn, then take the guild guide of the Mage's Guild to Vivec, then maybe hire a boat or Silt Strider to Molag Mar?" he asked, scratching his chin with his hand. There were a lot of little details that needed to be paid close attention to, especially how they would get there.

 

"And who will be paying for our venture?" He glanced at Caius walking beside him.

[AurianaValoria1]

Caius Cosades, Velanya Therys, and Faeryn Sethandas; Fort Floodgate

 

The Spymaster smirked, "Don't look at me, Redoran. We can't write everything off to the Legion or the Blades. Besides...things like that can be traced. We'll need to find a way to pay for travel expenses on our own."

 

Velanya nodded, "I've an idea: the stretch between Vivec and Tel Branora is full of smuggler dens. I know there's one near Vivec's eastern cantons that always fills up with some gang or another."

 

Faeryn exchanged looks with her, "Aye...and there's no possible way we can find the owners of their ill-gotten gains. Perhaps we should take a look and do some good all the way 'round, yes?"

[SoulofChrysamere]

Lecuaro Sulnair Marczon - Fort Floodgate Smithy

 

 

"I suppose the lot of us could scrounge up enough to please the Ald-ruhn Mages Guild guide to warp us to Vivec. And then hit one of the local scum dens to pay for the rest of it." Lecuaro mused. "Although...how are we going to clear out a smuggler den while keeping an eye on the Nerevarine?"

[NinjaGoddessAyra]

Ayra, Old Mournhold, Manor District

 

Ayra stood in the middle of a small circular stone room, lit by iron torches hanging around the walls, awaiting her new contract. She had been summoned by one of the heads of the Brotherhood itself and supposed she'd better not keep them waiting. She didn't know how long she'd been standing there, in the dimly lit room, before the one who summoned her finally entered. From what she could tell, he looked like a rather young Imperial, with a round nose and thin lips, though she couldn't be sure, as he was wearing a black cloak and had his hood up, so the rest of his face was not visible. The faint firelight coming from the torches also didn't help her see any better who the man was, though she didn't much care. She stood rooted to the spot, and kept her deep blue eyes on the man that had just entered the room. She waited for him to speak first.

 

"Ah Ayra, we meet at last..." he said rather plesantly. "Or should I call you, Angel of Death?" He asked, and Ayra could see a rather sly grin spread upon those thin lips of his.

 

Ayra didn't say anything. She noted briefly his Nibanese accent and assumed he was an Imperial but otherwise, she simply kept her eyes glued to this man and waited patiently for him to explain why he was here.

 

"Your reputation precedes you, Angel of Death. I've heard nothing but great things about you and I see that for once, the rumors actually are true for a change. I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen you with my own eyes. A Dunmer with deep blue eyes, instead of the usual crimson, and...." His eyes traveled to her face with the Daedric writing. "Yes... 'death' written on your face. Most unusual..." He began pacing back and forth, apparently thinking hard.

 

Again, Ayra said nothing, but simply waited, her expression unreadable, she merely looked at the man pacing back and forth, waiting for him to get on with it.

 

"Lets get down to business, shall we?" He said finally. "This is a big contract, comes from the Dres High Council itself. Apparently, someone insulted one of their members, and they want compensation for it. This is where you come in." He stopped pacing and turned to look at her once more. "Normally, we wouldn't care who we gave this contract too, as it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary, but the target happens to be the Duke of Deshaan himself." He paused for a moment, apparently letting his words sink in.

 

Ayra stood rooted to the spot, taking it all in. This meant nothing to her; all she knew was that someone needed to die, she didn't care who or why, all she cared about was how.

 

The man continued "this will be a very difficult assignment - impossible for most members, and that is why I called upon you; we'll need our very best to make sure this succeeds. The duke in question has anticipated a retaliation from House Dres, and has moved locations and is now currently residing within the walls of Old Ebonheart fortress. Your job is to remind him that no one can hide from the Night Mother, and dispatch his soul to Sithis himself. We want you to make an example out of him, there is a huge reward for this one, and it's all yours if you can pull it off. Make your way to Old Ebonheart, once there look for the bar called 'The Blazing Cliffracer'. Your contact will meet you there and give you all the details you need to know."

 

Ayra merely nodded, showing her acknowledgement of what she had to do and that she understood fully. She bowed to the man wordlessly and left the room.

 

"Walk always with Sithis, dear sister." He called out after her.

 

Ayra kept silent, and never stopped walking. She heard the whoosh of a magic spell and knew the hooded man had teleported away. She knew what she had to do and set out for Old Ebonheart.

 

Ayra, The Blazing Cliffracer, Old Ebonheart District

 

Ayra sat at a table far removed from the rest of the busy pub. She didn't really care for noise much, and the bar was rather crowded. She looked around, taking in her surroundings while she waited for her contact. The bartender was a Redguard woman who seemed to be rather enjoying herself, talking to the drunken men all sitting at the counter clearly having a good time. Ayra noticed that this was an unusually large bar, now that she really took it all in. Over thirty small wooden tables, each one enough to seat roughly four to five people, lined themselves all around the wooden floor. From where she was, the bartender and her crowd took no notice of her at all, and most of the other tables were full of groups of people, Imperials mostly, but she also saw a table full of Drunken Nords, still wearing their legion armor, clearly just having got off duty, all of whom were evidently having a wonderful time. As she continued to observe, she noticed a group of rowdy looking Imperials playing with a pair of dice, gambling away, unhindered, drinking away a day's worth of hardwork. Ayra didn't care for these kinds of enviroments much, she never understood the common folk, how they could smile or laugh, she was far removed from those emotions, having never felt anything quite close to those feelings in over 50 years.

 

As she sat, she noticed a bald, pale blue-eyed imperial wearing rather expensive looking clothing making his way over to her, weaving in between the tables.

 

"Is this seat taken?" he politely asked.

 

Ayra gave a slight shake of her head, and that was enough for the Imperial, who pulled out the seat and sat next to her.

 

Ayra recognized the man almost immidiately; He looked to be in his mid thirties or early forties, but all it took was one look from his eyes to know that this man had seen a lot of combat and bloodshed, his eyes were that of a very experianced warrior, as evident as the scar running down the right side of his face and neck. Marcus Portius was his name, and she had worked with him plenty of times before, he was an exceptionally good spy, from what she was able to gather anyways. As she looked at him, she noticed he seemed a little on edge, his eyes darting here and there, clearly trying to make sure they weren't overheard. Ayra thought this a bit unnecessary, as they were quite removed, and everyone else was so absorbed in their own drinking that no one looked twice at them. She also noted that this was not usually like him, as everytime she had worked with him in the past, he seemed cool and detached.

 

"This one won't be easy," he said, his forehead clearly wrinkled with worry as he spoke. "You've got all the bigwigs here, from the Imperial Governor to the Lord Marshal himself. Security is really tight, I've been watching for the past week and a half now. The duke in question is staying at the eastern most tower, but it's guarded 24/7, and damn near impossible to get in," He put his head in his hands and began to think deeply. "I don't see how anyone is going to be able to pull this off without alerting the guards. There must be atleast seven or eight of them patrolling at all times," he breathed heavily. "If they sense even the slightest disturbance, they'll alert that entire part of the castle and it'll be utterly impossible to get to him after that," he said.

 

He finally took his head out of his hands and looked over at Ayra, noticing her facial expression did not change, she did not look at him at all throughout the entire conversation, just kept those magnificent blue eyes glued to the wall ahead of her, almost as though she wasn't paying attention. She finally looked at him and spoke for the first time in days, it was little more than a whipser, as though she wasn't used to talking and had long since abandoned speech, "I think I'll be going now," she said, and with that she stood up, and started to walk away.

[darkedge42392]

Adrynn Indarys, Fort Floodgate

 

Adrynn thought for a moment as they walked. "Well, either someone would have to stay back and keep an eye on him, or we would have to drag him along in with us. I prefer someone stay with him. Someone who could restrain him if need be."

 

He thought some more. "But the question is: Which one of us will that be?"

 

Garila Indarys, Fort Floodgate

 

Garila strode through the halls of Fort Floodgate, her eyes a blazing crimson as her fury raged through her blood. The news about the Nerevarine had unsettled her so much she couldn't recognize herself. Not to mention the news that Adrynn was leaving again and wanted her to stay behind. She couldn't believe it. She had just arrived not a few short hours before, and she had barely gotten to see him.

 

Garila finally glanced up when she bumped into a corner after going around it too fast. She looked around closely. Large barred iron doors staggered here and there, all closed, all locked. She shook her head for a moment. How had she ended up in the prison? She could see a guard in the corner, softly dozing as he leaned against the wall, his spear forgotten against his chest.

 

She turned and was about to leave when a soft rustle caught her ears. She turned back and looked down the hallway. The guard was still softly snoozing, oblivious to all. No, the noise had come from one of the cells. She gingerly made her way to the first iron door.

 

"Ah, a visitor. It's been so long since I've had one," a soft, compelling voice said from deep within the cell. Garila felt the hairs on her neck stand up. There was something wrong in that voice. She moved closer and pressed her face between the bars, straining her eyes. There, sitting against the far wall, was a figure encased in once glorious but now shattered golden armor . . .

[NinjaGoddessAyra]

Ayra, The Blazing Cliffracer, Old Ebonheart

 

"Wait a moment!" Marcus called back. "How on Nirn do you plan on getting past all those guards? You're good I'm sure, but you're going to need help."

 

Ayra merely glanced back at him for a second or two, and then continued walking away. She didn't understand why she was supposed to meet with him, why she had to hear about guard duties and schedules. No, the only thing that mattered was that her target needed to die, and now that she knew where he was, she didn't care about planning or anything. She liked working alone, and was never one to 'rendezvous' with other agents and talk useless strategy.

 

She exited The Blazing Cliffracer and proceeded to walk down the cobbled street towards the castle. When she could see the gate in the distance, she decided to jump as high as she could, and landed on a nearby rooftop. From here, she had a better view of the ground below, and proceeded to jump from roof top to roof top, making her way to the castle. It was the middle of the night, and she was really good with stealth, she was confident no one would notice a lone Dunmer jumping from high above.

 

Ayra reached the edge of the castle, and managed to scale the wall and grab onto a nearby ledge, making it to the ledge atop the Castle gate. She looked around, there were archers posted on every tower, but visibility was rather poor tonight, with a fog rolling in. She peered up at the tower where her target was undoubtedly sleeping, and silently made her way over to it, staying in the shadows and easily avoiding the castle archers. At last, she found a doorway at the base of the tower, and slowly opened it. As she expected, it was nothing more than a spiral staircase glowing faintly under the torches hanging over the walls. She made her way up the stair case until she reached the landing. When she got there, she saw two Imperial Elite guards standing on either side of a single door way, and another four more pacing around the violet rug that was placed on the landing floor.

 

Instictively, Ayra made note of her surroundings to see what she could use. There were only a few iron torch brackets around, and that meant poor visibility on their part. That, combined with the violet rug to help mask her already virtually soundless footsteps, she was not at all worried that she could make her way over to the Duke's door and get the job done.

 

But then she thought for a moment; that man, the one who gave her the contract, he had said to "make an example" of this target. She knew right then and there that these guards weren't supposed to live either. "Well," she thought to herself, better get to work.

 

With that she simply stepped out onto the landing, not even trying to mask her presence, her weapon still in it's scabbard around her belt.

 

The guards pacing around stopped immidiately, pulled out their Imperial broad swords, and automatically readied themselves for combat. The others all started to do the same, pulling out their swords one by one, she watched as one of them yelled at her "Who are you!? What are you doing here!?"

 

Ayra said nothing, she merely took a step forward.

 

One of the guards who had been pacing the violet rug only seconds before began to charge, but stopped before he had a chance to go anywhere by what looked like the leader of the patrol, who had put an arm out, giving the signal to stop. He was wearing ebony armor, with the mark of the Imperial Dragon embroidered on his chest. "Stand back," he said to the one who was about to charge. He drew his own sword, both hands firmly grasping it, and stood for a moment beneath the torch light, before shouting "Die!" as he charged at the Dunmer woman with the daedric wakizashi.

 

Ayra never said a word, she never even looked at the man, she just stared at the lone door ahead of her and waited for the man to get close to her. The guard leader slashed downwards at her, Ayra pulled up her daedric wakizashi, still in her scabbard, and blocked the slash with the handle guard of her sword. The man had just enough time for his eyes to widen with surprise at such a remarkable feat, before she viciously took the base of her sheath and stabbed it into his left eye, he screamed with pain before she took the handle of her blade and drew it out of the scabbard, cutting the man in half instantly. Another guard started to draw his weapon but - to late, Ayra thrusted the tip of her wakizashi right through the bottom of the soldier's head before he even had a chance to move, the blade covered in crimson blood protruding from the top of his skull, Ayra pulled her handle back and sliced through the rest of the mans head and started towards the other four guards, all of whom had now formed a small defensive line between her and the door.

 

She never looked at the men, she just kept her eyes on that door the whole time, all the while wearing a glazed expression over her face, not seeming to really be there, as though she wasn't even aware of what she was currently doing.

 

The four guards charged at her all at once. Ayra was ready however, and dodged beneath a broad swing and brought her sword through the throat of the soldier on the furthest right. Without delay, she ripped it out of the mans throats with a horizontal slash that cut the next guards throat with amazingly accurate precision, and then side stepped as one man came running towards her with a charging thrust. She easily avoided him and, taking advantage of his back being turned, thrust the tip of her sword through his back, before quickly turning around to face the other guard, who was already coming down with another vertical strike towards her. Ayra quickly sidestepped that strike, and ignoring the last man's shock and fear, before he could lift his blade back up to block or counter, she quickly stabbed the last man in the throat. She ripped out the sword, and watched as the man's lump form fell to the floor with a soft flump.

 

Ayra slashed her sword into the air once, which seemed inturn to have a lot of blood slide off, and surveyed her surroundings. The once brilliant colored carpet, was now no longer violet, but a black shade of crimson from all the blood. Various parts of the walls were now soaked in blood, and six bodies lay around her, all of which wore a face full of shock, their weapons now strewn all abut. She then quickly walked through the door.

 

She found her target, he was terrified. He was cowering against a wall, trying to get to his feet, staring up at the Dunmer woman with the daedric wakizashi in her right hand. He looked into those deep sapphire blue eyes of unfathomable darkness, and that was the last thing he ever saw.

 

Ayra, City of Kragenmoor, a local Inn

 

Ayra awoke with a start, her eyes wide, her heart beating fast, her breathing rather heavy. She briefly looked around, and saw that she was still in a bed. "A dream of the past," she thought. "I haven't had one of those in so long, not after so many years," she thought to herself. She cupped her palm to her forehead and shut her eyes again, she had tried to recall the dream. "How many years was it since I had assassinated that man? Why am I suddenly having dreams about the past now?" she briefly wondered.

 

She got up, and tried to remember why she was here in the first place. She had been in Cyrodiil, wandering around aimlessly she remembered. She had heard of the troubles now plaguing Morrowind. She was on her way to Molag Mar, where she couldn't quite explain why she had to go there, just that she needed to suddenly be there. She had stopped for a rest at the boarder city of Kragenmoor, just east of the Cyrodiil boarder, on Morrowind's mainland.

 

"Okay," she thought as she got up and began to get dressed, "time to continue moving." And with that, she left the Inn and resumed her long trek to Molag Mar.

[AurianaValoria1]

Velanya Therys, Caius Cosades, and Faeryn Sethandas; Fort Floodgate

 

As they continued on to the prison to pick up said Incarnate, the threesome said simultaneously, "I'll do it."

 

They all paused and looked at each other for a moment.

 

Caius glanced at Adrynn and Lecuaro and chuckled, "Should we draw straws, then?"