Frizan

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

@Dervish

Guess she be searching for the key with Sagax. @Frizan Up for another collab? Anyone else who's interested can jump in too - the more the merrier and all that jazz.

@MiddleEarthRoze

Sure. Gotta Go Fast, after all, and not many in the company are faster than those two!

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - Crimson Skies

@Frizan

Excellent char! I have no worries about it, and unless @Leos Klien does, you're free to pop her in the CS tab. However, I wouldn't have considered 26 to be that young. Is she only called "child" because of her smaller than usual appearance?

@MiddleEarthRoze

Yes, actually. When I was writing it I meant it in sort of a more derogatory sense rather than the captain literally thinking Uzka was a child.

Basically: You must be THIS tall to defend against Daedra!

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - Crimson Skies

Aaaaand Uzka gra-Umog is finished! Only took me...oh, two and a half weeks?

Uzka gra-Umog

Character Name: Uzka gra-Umog

Age: 26

Race: Orismer

Sex: Female

Birthsign: The Warrior

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Specialisation: Combat

Class: Vigilante

Skills:

• Expert Smithing
• Journeyman Block, One-Handed Blunt
• Apprentice Light Armor, Marksmanship, Athletics
• Novice Hand-to-Hand, Acrobatics, One-Handed Blade, Sneak
• Crafting & Miscellaneous: Apprentice Translation of Orcish, Novice Hunting

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Appearance: Relatively short compared to others of her race, Uzka is just barely eye-level with the average Imperial. No one knows why, as both her parents are full-blooded Orismer; she is simply shorter than normal. On top of her curious height, the Orc woman is also rather thin, though by no means a twig. The rest of her, though, clearly marks her as an Orc, as if the tusks weren't already a big enough giveaway. Sharing the rough green skin of her kind, Uzka is laughably easy to pick out of a crowd...well, as long as she isn't in a particularly tall crowd.

Uzka shares her mother's dull blue eyes and coarse black hair, of which she keeps in a short ponytail, and her tusks are only slightly smaller than average, though one still wouldn't want to be jabbed with them, for certain. Her favorite clothes consist of a bright blue cotton shirt under a leather vest, paired with brown wool trousers and buckled shoes when she's out of her armor. Wears black leather gloves and a brown apron when doing smithing work.

Personality: Though hard to make out behind the tusks, Uzka almost always has a smile on her face. She inherited her mother's looks, but her outward personality is all from her father. Easily excitable and with an almost literal bounciness, Uzka is quite childlike in nature, including her naivete. She doesn't quite understand how the world works or that sometimes people don't have the best of intentions. She knows there are "bad" people, sure, but Uzka is quite unskilled when it comes to discerning the motives of others.

Uzka has made it her mission to prove herself the "hero", and to that end has made it a habit to ask peope if they have problems they need solving; after all, that's what heroes do, right? She is technically little more than an exterminator and courier given the usual tasks bestowed upon her, but that is just fine by Uzka. As long as she's helping somebody, even if it's by delivering a strange-smelling parcel she's been explicitly told not to look too closely at and sometimes the guards give her strange looks when she passes with it in hand, the little heroine is convinced that she is doing good work.

Backstory

Backstory: Umog and Shagrol were born in the orc Stronghold of Narzulbur, southeast of Windhelm. They were both raised as any other Stronghold orc, both Shagrol and Umog being taught how to fight, hunt, work a forge, and generally be self-sufficient. As the years went by, the two both grew closer as well as developed an appetite for wandering outside the limited grounds of Narzulbur. They were both young and in their prime, and knew that if they were to ever choose a time to leave, it would be right then and there. On top of that, Umog wasn't particularly interested in being the chieftan's wife, and Shagrol wouldn't have anyone else. So, their decision made, they both packed their meager possessions and bid farewell to the others within Narzulbur. As a gesture of respect and gratitude, Umog and Shagrol took the name of the Stronghold as their surname, becoming Umog gra-Narzulbur and Shagrol gro-Narzulbur. When the gates closed, the two began wandering south, through the tundra of Eastmarch and past the city of thieves, Riften. Eventually, the wanderers found themselves in the heartland of the Empire, Cyrodiil.
Shagrol and Umog spent the next several years serving in the Legion after being smooth-talked by a recruiter in Bravil. They were promised tours in exotic lands all over Tamriel, and for the most part, they did indeed get to see a lot of the Empire. They served in High Rock, Valenwood, and Morrowind throughout their years of service in the Legion, but eventually settled in Cyrodiil when their tours were complete. It wasn't too long after finding a quaint home in Anvil that the old soldiers were graced with a little girl, whom they named Uzka, after one of Shagrol and Umog's more rambunctious squadmates from their Legion days. Loud and fussy even as a wee babe, Uzka was already on her way to being a true Orc.

Though born outside of a Stronghold, Uzka's parents made sure she was taught everything they learned when they were young. The forests around the city made for the perfect training grounds for Uzka's hunting, and years of experience in the Legion left Umog and Shagrol plenty of wisdom to pass down to their daughter. What Uzka spent the most time with, however, was smithing. This was the art that her mother deemed of most importance, and spent countless hours at their shop's forge teaching Uzka absolutely everything she knew. In between all of her education, however, Uzka had one love she indulged in: books. With her allowance Uzka would buy the newest fantasy novels, though she would also sometimes grab biographies(which of course carried some embellishments in how exactly everything happened) that the book store carried. She read of heroes casting down villains, of valiant knights carrying out noble crusades against evils that plagued their fair lands, and yes, in some occurrences, of love between young warriors and their chosen maidens(Umog was strangely capable of recommending such titles...). She was enamored with the tales of chivalry and heroism. Little did Uzka know that she would eventually get to see a hero in action with her own eyes.

Uzka looked around in confusion when the town bell began ringing in the middle of the day. The people on the streets were yelling and running back into their homes, and guard captains shouted orders to their subordinates. The door to the shop flung open, and in came Umog and Shagrol, who hurriedly brought out their old Legion gear and armed themselves. Before she could even ask what was happening, Shagrol told Uzka to stay inside and not move a muscle until the bell stopped ringing, and with that they were gone. Being an ever curious child, Uzka crept outside and went up the stairs to the top of the city wall, crouching behind the archers so she wasn't seen. In the fields below were the Anvil guards, and across the way from them were a large force of bandits in furs, wielding weapons of all kinds. The two forces clashed, and things looked dire; a lot people below dropped to the ground and never got back up. Uzka looked on in horror as a pair of the marauders had her father under a knife by the road. Eyes trained on Shagrol, Uzka barely noticed the armored man that sprung forth from the nearby trees further up the road. He wore steel from head to toe, and used his massive hammer to send one bandit flying, while the other was gripped by the throat and thrown roughly into the stones of the road below. After helping Shagrol to his feet, the armoured behemoth charged into the thick of the fighting, sending the raiders to and fro across the fields of Anvil. Arrows grazed harmlessly across his pauldrons, and those that dared challenge him in melee combat found their blades ineffective against the glimmering steel plates before them. Soon enough, with the help of the stranger and the combat-ready citizens of Anvil, the guards sent the bandits into a retreat. They disappeared into the trees and never again took action against the city.
Back inside the safety of the city walls, the injured were laid out in the streets to recieve treatment. The armoured man once more made an appearance, and this time Uzka could make out their face. She was surprised to learn that the mysterious stranger was an Altmer; everything she had heard about High Elves was about how they were stuck up, self-important, and never helped anyone with anything if they had nothing to gain from the interaction. Yet there he was, walking amongst those that had been wounded in the fighting and administering healing magicks. When approached by Shagrol and Umog, the man turned down their offers for a reward for his assistance in the battle, citing the "guidance of Stendarr" as his motivation. Umog asked for, at the very least, his name, and he responded with a courteous bow: Orintur Graywatch, Paladin of Stendarr. When his work was finished, Orintur bid his farewells and made his way out of the city, Uzka's stare only being ended once her parents found her. Thankfully they didn't know that she had snuck out during the fight, and she wasn't about to tell them, so they simply went back into the shop and continued the day as normal.

Uzka never forgot the day she saw Master Graywatch selflessly charge into battle to challenge the marauders that threatened Anvil, and she most certainly never forgot how he saved her father, only to turn down any form of material thanks afterwards. Between Orintur and her books, Uzka had plenty of inspiration, and dreamed almost daily of performing such heroism herself. That's why, ten years after that day, Uzka announced her decision to leave Anvil and travel Cyrodiil, in hopes of making a name for herself and helping to make easier the lives of the citizens there. Secretly, she also hoped to meet her childhood hero and perhaps study under him. Shagrol and Umog argued for a great while before actually letting Uzka go. Shagrol argued that Uzka wasn't ready to tackle the world in the way she wanted to, but Umog countered that neither were they when they left Narzulbur, and that they wouldn't have stood for the chieftan telling them that they could not leave. Both Shagrol and Umog were nervous about what trouble Uzka might get into, but Umog was confident her daughter could handle anything the world threw at her. Eventually her father relented, deciding that perhaps there was no better way to learn the ways of the world than to simply experience. Little did they know, Uzka had been busy at work on her gear while her parents argued. When Umog told Uzka that she would need armor, the young Orc woman presented her parents with a set of studded leather armor. Worn over the body of the armor was a green cloth tabbard, and painted on it was a gold coat of arms depicting an orcish helm with an axe hanging upside-down below it. Oh and of course, who could forget her cape! Heroes wear capes, after all! Uzka's cape, also a bright green but embroidered with white threading, bore a large sun-like symbol, the sun itself being a bright yellow while the flames a distinctive orange color. As over-the-top as their daughter seemed, Shagrol and Umog couldn't help but find her enthusiasm endearing, and were admittedly sad to see their little hero go. They knew, however, that they couldn't keep Uzka at home forever, so they sent her off with their love and good wishes. To that end, Shagrol gave her the shield he used in his Legion days, and Umog gave her a traditional orcish war-axe and her oak shortbow. Grateful for her parents' gifts, Uzka set out on the road from Anvil, ready to take on the world.

It would be about four years before Uzka would come across Kvatch in smouldering ruins. In that time she honed her skills to be at least above Flailing-Child levels, and was confident that she could beat back whatever had foolishly decided to besiege the fair city and its people. When she got up to the top of the hill, the guard captain stationed at the barricades was bewildered that a child like her was up near the gate, and promptly sent her back down to the camp. Though she protested, her voice fell on deaf ears, and so she skulked back down the hill. Now she hunts in the woods below Kvatch to help bring in food for those in the camp, and helps mend whatever tools might break or otherwise end up in an unusable state.

Spells: N/A

Inventory:

Storage

1 x Medium messenger bag("It's NOT a fanny pack!")

Alchemy Gear

None.

Tools/Arms and Armor/Clothing

1 x Pair of thick black leather gloves/brown apron

1 x Blue cotton shirt w/ leather vest/Brown wool trousers/Buckled shoes

1 x Set of studded leather armor w/ gauntlets, boots, helmet w/ cotton padding inside and shin guards

1 x Green tabard w/ gold coat of arms depicting an orcish helm with an axe hanging upside-down below it

1 x Green cape embroidered with white threading w/ yellow and orange Sun sigil

1 x Orcish waraxe

1 x Round leather-wrapped wooden shield w/ iron rim and middle convex iron protrusion for parrying

1 x Oak short bow w/ quiver capable of holding 25 arrows

20 x Iron arrows

1 x Armorer's hammer

Food and Provisions

1 x Water canteen

3 x Small cuts of boar meat

1 x Loaf of bread

42 x Gold coins

Miscellaneous

1 x Thief of Virtue(book)

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

SHIP PEOPLE!

Similar to the options presented for the Nightgate Inn crew, you have a few options:

-Search Kamal bodies and the ship for the key for the gate key; the more people looking, the more likely it is to be a success. I'm not going to say how many will be required to find the key.

-Attempt to pick the lock with what materials are available. This requires characters with locksmithing and smithing skills.

-Secure the escape. This will involve securing the ladders as well as clearing out any Kamal that are between the crew and freedom. This will involve combat rolls against a Big Bad, aka the Captain Kghergitz, the larger than normal Kamal with full plate armour, a full helm, and he dual-wields maces that might as well be great maces for lesser races. If he hits you, you're gonna hurt so bad.

So VOTE NAO!

@Dervish

Well, since Sagax's lockpicking skills are both pretty amateurish and quite rusty, Roze is a much better candidate for it. Sagax also simply doesn't stand a priestess's chance in Oblivion against a Kamal face to face, off-balance or not.

With this in mind, Sagax is gonna take a page from Connor Kenway's book and run around and loot the fallen Kamal for a chance at finding the key.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

<Snipped quote by MacabreFox>

Yeah, probably. Fits in with their vaguely Eskimo overtones, no?

@Peik

Fruits of Contention is just Gcold's outlet for his hatred of Eskimos and Canadians.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - Crimson Skies

The sights before him assaulted Orintur's eyes like spears, each sending a shock through him and making his stomach turn. Even as a man of the Divines specifically trained to defend against heretics such as the denizens within these Dead Lands, the Elf was as shocked and disgusted as any sane and rational person would be at the displays of chaos and wanton gore before them. The pikes, the mounds of charred bodies...if Orintur were a man of any weaker will and conviction, he would have taken one look at the blood and flame strewn across the realm and ran back, never to return. He was determined, though, to put a stop to this grossly heretical disregard for life and peace, one swing of his trusty hammer at a time. No wretched Daedra, be they prince or churl, would stop him from performing his duties and bringing glory to the Almighty Divines! So Orintur marched on, offering silent prayers to the poor souls in his path that were taken through the gate, and did not live to tell of their sorrows. Something felt...wrong, though. Even as he prayed, he felt as though his words did not reach, that his gods could not hear him. He felt...alone. It was clear then to Orintur that the hellish landscape he was in, the planes of Oblivion, did not respect his gods. Nay, worse than that: His gods were absent entirely.

He would have kept praying, more just to spite whatever daedra may have been listening, but Orintur's train of thought was broken by the sudden rantings of the woman that lead them all through the gate. He did not appreciate her words about the Divines, though the Paladin understood that she was under a great amount of stress, and forgave her blasphemy. Not that it would matter, as the woman died just soon after in a very gruesome manner. Orintur watched, his mind in shock and his heart filling with great fury, as the Dremora flung the woman's body into the flaming ground below, where she slowly faded away to ashes. The demon stared on with obvious glee as Orintur, heaving with rage, gripped his hammer with enough force to break a man's arm. All it took was one taunting beckon from the Churl to send the seething Paladin over the edge.

"I am Orintur Graywatch, AND YOU SHALL FEEL MY WRATH, DEMON!"

Orintur, charging past all other threats, met the Dremora with a heavy swing of his hammer, which the demon blocked with the shaft of his mace. The two whirled around each other, swinging with vigour, engaging in the dance of combat. The clang of steel and daedric metals carried through the hot, eye-stinging air, accented by war cries and pained grunts. Hammer and mace mixed into a blur of white and black, becoming clear only when one combatant stopped the other's weapon with their own, thought it was never for any longer than a split second. The battle seemed to stop for good when the Churl sent Orintur's hammer to the ground, and sent the Elf with it with a bash to the chest. Orintur's head rang fiercely; moments before, the Daedra had been able to get a clean strike at his head. He could feel himself bleeding somewhere on his forehead, but that could only be dealt with once the demon leering at him from above was dispatched.

The Churl, armor bent in several places and lower jaw being bereft of several fangs, cackled at the fallen Paladin. Instead of speaking in his own heretical tongue, they spoke in clear Tamriellic. "Your gods have no power here, worm! Your pathetic earthly metals are nothing compared to the strength my Lord Dagon bestows upon me! Now BEGONE, weakling, your soft flesh will insult my Lord's eyes no longer!"

Orintur, lying on the ground and letting the Dremora fling his taunts, was taking the time to catch his breath and regain his strength. As his foe sent their mace down one last time, Orintur suddenly sat up and gripped their wrist firmly, other hand charging with magical energy. "I will not be the one that falls today, DEMON!"

Shoving his hand into the Churl's chest, Orintur took the chance afforded to him by his Shock spell to grab his hammer as the Dremora shook and spasmed violently. It took a great deal of energy to lift it, but the mighty Paladin sent the head of his hammer into the abdomen of his enemy, crushing their armor and their insides along with it. Spewing blood like a projectile out of their mouth, the Dremora flew backwards, landing on the same molten rock they threw the Imperial woman onto just moments before. He did not fare any better.

Falling to one knee, Orintur breathed heavily, the fight taking almost all of his energy out of him. His head also panged painfully and the Elf was certain he was bruised in nearly a dozen places. He hoped his compatriots could handle themselves, because Orintur wasn't sure if he could fight many more foes in such a state.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

You guys should give Dipshits or whatever his name is the ol'

Ryūjin no ken o kurae!!!!!

...or GTFO. I mean, either would make for a good read, really.

Also happy valentines day, nerds.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

Suicide Mission 2.0 with: @MiddleEarthRoze and myself

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"Yes sir! It will be done, and with the utmost efficiency!" Surprisingly enough, Sagax was as confident as he sounded for once. He and Roze had shown up the Kamals once already, no doubt they could do it again. Well, yeah, sure they had a scar or several and no doubt experienced some mild mental trauma from their near-death experiences, but aside from that everything went swimmingly! Ha, swimmingly...

After Ashav left the duo to do what they do best, the Imperial patted his small friend on the shoulder and gave a genuine smile. "This is gonna go great! These charges actually have decently long fuses, so we're not going to repeat what happened last time. All we have to do is swim over, get below deck, and put the charges in those breaches. Simple!" Another so-called simple plan from the man who had no actual reason to be so chipper. Perhaps Edith was right, and that taking a fall like he did onto the hard stone floor of the Dwemer ruin scrambled Sagax's brain a little.

Roze's look at Sagax was equal parts incredulous and terrified. The sudden appearance of the Kamal ship had shook the young rogue more than she had thought; suddenly she was getting flashbacks of Windhelm; the explosion, the screams, the blood and the fear... even her shoulder began to ache at the mere memory or the horrid experience. Attempting to swallow the nervous lump in her throat, she stared at Sagax, wondering how on earth he was feeling so optimistic about this.

"Right... long charges... good." She mumbled, a shaking hand pushing her hair from a now pale white face. She couldn't exactly run away from this, despite how much she'd like to. She and Sagax had a job to do - and if they failed, it was entirely possible that everyone on the ship would die. Eyes darting to her comrades scrambling about on the ship's deck, they landed on Do'Karth, and then Leif. The thought of Sevine losing her love and her best friend was one that settled any doubts in Roze's mind. Better her to go than anyone else... including Sagax, but then again, she couldn't do this without him. Taking a steadier, deep breath, Roze nodded stiffly and clasped Sagax's forearm.

"There's nobody else I'd rather blow up a ship with." She said, a smile ghosting her face. It was time to go.

Sagax could tell Roze was not exactly at ease with the situation, and her nervousness crept into him. The situation was...well, it was fucked. Incredibly fucked, and their chances of success were actually barely better than their Windhelm run. He remembered the mage, and his smile faltered for a moment.

"No. No turning back." The Imperial thought to himself. "No second thoughts; fear will not fool me." Time to go indeed, and neither the Kamal nor their own fears would stop the two daredevils. Placing both hands on her shoulders, Sagax tried to put some of his own optimism into Roze.

"We're going to win the company this battle, Roze. We're going to march onto that ship and blow those oversized tankards back to Akavir in a million pieces! Oh, and wanna know the best part?" Sagax said as he pulled out two vials from his bag. "I've actually prepared! Well, sort of. I ordered one of these back at Dawnstar, and the other Rhasha gave me. But blind luck can still count as an indirect plan, right?"

"These will help ward off the cold of the waters. We're going to swim so we aren't noticed, and that's how we'll get these charges planted. What do you think?"

Roze thanked the Gods silently at Sagax's forethought - or rather, blind luck, as he had so eloquently put it - but either way, the resist cold potions would do some good. Not just against the freezing waters, but against any ice magicks the Kamal choosed to use... if they were spotted, that was. Taking on of the potions from Sagax, Roze smiled again; this one stronger, and more hopeful. Swimming would be the least conspicuous, and with these potions, chances of living were going right up.

"Indirect or no, this is a fine plan Sagax. I'll go first - at the very least I can breathe under the water, and I'll be able to scout out the inside of the ship first. Sneak is my middle name, after all." Pulling the stopper from the potion bottle with a small "pop", Roze downed the icy liquids and gave Sagax one last smile before heading to the edge of their ship, the charge's fuses trailing along behind her. The battle on the decks was louder now; Roze wondered if they had lost anyone yet.

"Don't throw the charge until I give the all clear!" She shouted back to Sagax over the clatter of the fight, and then dove into the waters below. Even with the potion working it's magic, the water was still bitingly cold. Having cast her spell before diving, Roze was able to comfortably tread the waters below the waterline, out of sight from either ship, and able to find a decently sized breach in the Kamal frigate that they could climb into. Swimming over, her head cautiously bobbed above the waterline, glancing inside the frigate to see what awaited them. As far as she could see, there were no Kamal below deck; all seemed to be fighting up on the main deck, trying to quell fires while simultaneously setting them onboard the Kyne's Tear.

Clambering up the side (Quite a feat, with the slippery metal; thankfully the blasts had provided jagged pieces of the armour to stick out, providing sharp, but solid handholds) and into the belly of the ship, she pressed herself to the wall, eyes darting around. Again, there was no sign of movement - just the muffled sounds of the fight above. Peering out of the hole towards the other ship, she waved Sagax over, hoping he would be quick about throwing the charge (and that he aimed well enough) and getting himself over as well - she did not want to stay on this frigate for very long.

Taking the charges in hand, Sagax took care to be as precise as possible when throwing them to Roze. He remembered all too well what happened last time...those burns still flared up some times. Whirling the special delivery from his side, he hoped Roze would be able to catch it without too much hassle. If she accidentally fell in after them, it'd be game over, as the fuses would be too wet to use. Sagax waited until it was sure that Roze had the charges in hand before diving in himself.

After a very tense moment of seeing the charges drop faster and faster, Sagax was relieved to see Roze snatch them out of the air and finally wave him over. Drinking down his potion and leaving his bag in a relatively safe spot with his cloak aboard the Kyne's Tear after taking out his fire-starting kit and wrapping it up in his makeshift pillow, Sagax jumped into the freezing water below. Making his way over to Roze as quickly-yet-inconspicuously as possible, the soaking wet Imperial climbed up into the bowels of the kamal ship.

"The fighting's all up top...we've got free rein down here! Let's set these charges and get the hell out of here. I'd rather we not overstay our welcome, ya? Kamal hospitality is something I can live without."

"SSSHHHHH!!!" Was the first thing to come out of Roze's mouth, her waving her hand frantically for Sagax to keep his voice down. After waiting a few moments to see if anyone had heard, she breathed a - quiet - sigh of relief. She was fully aware of how paranoid she was being right now; no way anybody would hear them with all the clatter above deck.

"Sorry - let's just get this over with." She agreed with him after a hasty and whispered apology, and the two paused a moment, wondering where to go. "I suppose the center of the ship would inflict the most damage? But then, the further we go in, the more likely we are to be caught..." Her lips clamped shut together for a moment, considering their options. They had to take this ship out, no matter what. Even if they did damage it enough to get away, they could easily repair and attack some small town near the sea... or even the very unprotected Dawnstar.

"Come on then... stick to the shadows, and try to make sure those fuses don't snag on anything. The last thing we need is a broken charge." She murmured to him, wringing her sodden hair over the side of the ship before moving on; she was being very paranoid now, thinking the dripping from her water-logged hair would attract attention. Gods, she would deserve a drink after this.

Carefully placing each charge where Ashav had directed them to, Sagax crept along the walls, making sure not to make too much noise. The thudding of his leather boots were just barely audible through the fighting topside, so thankfully they didn't cause any problems. After the explosives were set, Sagax looked up and down the room. He had the itching worry in the back of his head that maybe they set up the charges wrong, or maybe something was wrong with the charges themselves. The Imperial decided to act on his concerns and double check each explosive, just to be sure nothing was awry. This had to go perfectly, and any hitch in the plan would doom their allies.

Feeling in slightly higher spirits than before (slightly - she was still stuck on a ship full of murderous ice-demons) because there'd been no sign of anyone else below deck, Roze helped Sagax in checking all of the charges; they didn't need one ot go off prematurely like last time. Well, last time had admittedly been a lot different, what with them ice-skating towards their target and throwing with blind luck that the charges would land and not kill any friendlies. This seemed a much more thought-out plan... so why was Sagax looking antsy?

"What's wrong Sagax? Are you ghostly senses tingling?" Her voice was hushed, but one could hear the amusement in it - ever since Sagax telling her about his ghostly protector or whatever it was, Roze liked to make a few jibes about it now and again. Not to insult her friend, of course, but to make sure he knew she was comfortable with it. It wasn't everyday that your comrade told you about seeing dead people. He seemed to ignore her words, head tilted towards the engine - which is when she picked up on what it was. Footsteps; heavy ones, ones that could have only belonged to a Kamal. The smile was wiped from her face, and she crouched as close to the wall as she could, barely breathing. The footsteps were accompanied with a dragging noise, then a thud as something hit the floor. The Kamal began making some strange, guttural noises - it took her a moment to realise that they were probably speaking in their language. It had never even occured to her until now that the beasts could even speak.

"Sagax, let's get out of here." She hissed quietly, although tempted to sneak a peek at what was happening by the engine.

Ignoring Roze's frantic tugging on his arm and her hushed requests to get the hell off of that boat, Sagax crept forward towards the door of the engine room, hugging the wall as tightly as he could. Inside were Kamal and...bodies. So many bodies, all of them...Argonians. "Where did they get all of these poor people?" He whispered near-silently. Further scannings of the room brought his eyes to a familiar face: the Argonian Pakseech! That's right, they were going back to Black Marsh after they had escaped Windhelm! They never made it home...

Sagax watched in a mix of horror and disgust as the Kamal tore some kind of wispy energy from the bodies on the floor, and tossed it into the massive contraption in the middle of the room. Each offering made it hum louder and louder, and shake violently. What they hell were those bastard Snow Demons doing to those poor souls, and what was it they were taking from their bodies? Magicka? Perhaps it was best if Sagax never knew.

Just as Sagax was about to turn away, he saw movement in the pile. The Pakseech was alive! This was their chance, they had to save him! The Kamal would not have his life! Sagax slowly began drawing his sword from its sheath, preparing himself for another charge, until...

While severely annoyed that Sagax had given into his temptation to see what was happening, Roze could hardly complain as she peeked out from the door beside him, also overly curious as to what was going on - when she looked, she wished she hadn't. That engine... she hadn't realised what it was being run on. The Kamal were using souls as energy, pulling them mercilessly from the limp bodies of the Argonians and throwing them into the engine, with as little care as one would throw a log onto the fire.

"Gods... how did they even do that?" She didn't expect her whisper to be answered; it was like the engine was one giant, mechnical soul gem. The amount of work that would have gone into creating one of those... the amount of souls thrown at it... it was utterly monstrous. But they had a chance now to destroy it, and make sure the Kamal responsible on this ship were blown to Oblivion. Backing away slightly from the door, Roze's eyes widened in alarm as she saw Sagax begin to unsheathe his sword; grabbing the hilt, she shoved it forcefully back into it's scabbard, looking at the Imperial incredulously.

"What are you doing?! We have to leave, Sagax!" Glancing at the doorway to make sure the Kamal were still busy, she jerked her head in the opposite direction, towards the hole they had clambered through originally. "We don't have time for this."

"Leave!? What do you mean LEAVE!?" Sagax whispered angrily, the first outburst against Roze that ever occured. "The Pakseech is alive, we can save him! We just need to distract those Kamal..." Looking back inside, there weren't many to be found. Two of them, to be exact. One for each. "Look, we can go in there and lead them on a chase. It'd give the Pakseech time to escape through the breach! Come on, we can do this!"

"Unbelievable. I knew he'd grown in bravado but this is ridiculous." Quelling a scowl appearing on her face, Roze attempted a look of understanding.

"The more time we spend on this ship, the more time it has to destroy ours! I won't be responsible for people dying for the sake of one life - this isn't the time to play the hero, we have to blow this damned ship before it kills any more people." She could barely believe his plan; while certainly an honourable thing to do, it was potentially suicidal. The pair of them would barely be able to kill one Kamal, let alone two of them. "If we die saving him, there's no-one left to blow the charges. Then everyone dies." She silently hoped he'd agree with her and leave; the hope she had felt earlier was quickly dwindling at this new turn of events.

As much as he hated every single word that left that Breton's mouth...Sagax knew she was right. But by the gods he wished she weren't. He looked to the Pakseech, but then thought back to everyone back on the Kyne's Tear...and also to Piper and his dear mother. If he tried luring away the Kamal, they would just corner him. Then he would be the one powering that infernal engine. He promised to come home in one piece...

And so he would. Suddenly letting out a growl of anger, but also of despair, he didn't even bother looking at Roze as he stormed off and grabbed all of the charges. If they couldn't save the Pakseech, at the very least they could vaporize their captors. At least then, his soul would remain his own, and not fuel for the Kamal's unholy machines.

Lighting the fuses after planting each charge in front of the engine, Sagax looked back once more before turning around and heading back to the breach they entered from.

"Come on."

Although perturbed by Sagax's uncharacteristic anger, Roze didn't speak of it - now wasn't the time. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief as Sagax lit the fuses, she didn't have to be told twice to follow him back out. Although the resist-cold potions had worn off somewhat, she'd take the freezing waters over being caught on a Kamal frigate any day. She didn't look back when leaving like Sagax; freedom was too sweet and too near for her to be bothered about much else.

After a dive and brief swim in the swarming waters (It was definitely colder the second time round) Roze and Sagax made it to their own ship's deck, both in one piece and smiling. Well... Roze was smiling at least; the pair found Ashav who seemed hopeful at the expression on her face.

"Charges are planted and fuses lit - I'd recommend getting everyone off the frigate boss, otherwise it won't be much of a victory for us." Teeth chattering from the cold between her words, Roze almost wished to get some warmth from the fires on deck. Unfortunately, she'd probably be shot by the Kamal for her efforts.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

@Frizan, what happened to posting? Have you been naughty lately?

In other news, I've clocked in 1600+ words for Nightgate update. Gonna take a break today and wrap it up tomorrow.

@gcold

Roze and I are working on our Suicide Mission 2.0 collab. Don't worry, we'll be done quite soon. The plan is to make it as short as possible.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - Crimson Skies

The hulking Altmer approached the flaming archway, several different feelings coming to him. He felt curiosity, which was replaced my awe, and that replaced by anger. Then he came to...fear. This brought great shame to the mighty paladin, but he could not help feeling anxious about what was beyond the gate. Such horrors had rarely been recorded, and as such Orintur had little idea of what he was about to face. Towering monstrosities made of rotting flesh and bone? The tortured screams of those taken to that wretched place by sadistic Dremora? Or would there just be an endless, unholy landscape of flame and perdition? Whatever it was that filled the world beyond, Orintur knew it was his duty to face it and, ultimately, destroy it. Or at the very least get rid of the dimensional tear leading to it.

Orintur's slow, cautious steps turned into determined strides and he approached the Oblivion gate. Before entering, he turned to those that had not yet gone through and spoke what he thought were encouraging words. "Come, friends, though beyond this gate may lie unending horrors, we have the strength to end them all! Forward to combat and glory!" Charging through the gate with confidence, or in the eyes of some others, reckless abandon, hammer raised, the paladin steeled himself in preparation for whatever may lie in wait in the wretched, unholy realm of Oblivion.