[b]Dealing with the riot situation, with Tsleeixth[@Mortarion] and Sagax[/b]
[hr]

The Gray Quarter was quiet, in contrast to the sounds of the riot still echoing from the Stone Quarter. It seemed to be dieing down, though, which was a relief. Do'Karth and the others must have successfully worked their magic. Sagax supposed that the temporary quelling of the mob would make their job much easier. Good thing, too, because it wasn't easy in the first place. Sagax let his guard friend do the talking; when Sagax tried to inquire about the elder, he was met with silence, but they opened up (if a bit reluctantly) to the guardsman. Much of the questioning was fruitless, as either the citizen being interrogated didn't know about the elder outright, or they couldn't tell them apart from the rest of the Argonians. Needless to say, it was a very frustrating search. 

"Talos damn it all! Fifteen people, and not a damned one knows where to even begin!" The guard said as he kicked an old cracked bowl left orphaned on the stone. "We've searched all around the area surrounding the docks, and haven't seen a single scale of the old lizard! Some of these people are hiding something, I swear, and I'm half a mind to beat out of them whatever it is they're keeping from us!" It was clear that he was losing his patience with the whole situation. 

"They can't have gone far. If we just keep looking, we're bound to find the elder eventually." Sagax heard the guard sigh heavily in response to his placations. Figures, he was never too great at actually appealing to people when they're in such a mood. He was far better at raising their spirits even higher when in an already-good mood.

"True, Sneak, but we don't have all the time in the world here. We've got those bastard demons on the other side of our walls, and something tells me they're not going to wait politely until we quell this riot nonsense."

It was hard to argue against the man. They were all already on borrowed time, and they would need to face the Kamal eventually. They needed this situation dealt with, and fast. He found himself sighing in frustration as he continued to sweep the many streets and alleys of the Gray Quarter.

Tsleeixth frowned a little as he heard someone shouting in the distance. His search for the Argonian elder taking him to the residential area of the Dunmer population of Windhelm. Peeking around the corner he saw one of the city guards [i]"Huh, wondering what he is doing here, shouldn't he be trying to help and quell the riot?"[/i] Thought the spellsword, blinking when he noticed that the sounds coming form the Stone Quarter seemed to have died down [I]"Wonder who it was that quelled the riot, someone perhaps from the company?"[/i] He thought, letting out a heavy sigh "I do hope no one got hurt. Either from the company or from the mob." He mumbled quietly to himself, despite knowing that such wishes were foolish when one took into account the situation in which the city found itself in.
        
Letting out a heavy sigh he stepped from around the corner and cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the lone city guard "Hail, might I ask what brings you to the Gray Quarter?" He asked to the Nord man, raising his good hand in a gesture of peace so that the guardsman wouldn't mistake him as part of the rioting mob. However, once Tsleeixth saw who was accompanying the guardsman, he blinked in confusion at what he saw "Sagax, is that you?" He asked to the Imperial man, his lips curling upwards in the Argonian equivalent of a smile "Must say, it's good to see you again" Said the Argonian spellsword, glad to find the young Imperial -relatively- unharmed amidst the chaos gripping the city.

Hearing the umistakable inflection of an Argonian, the guard spun around and immediately made eye-contact with Tsleeixth. He did not immediately draw his sword, but rested his hand on its hilt cautiously. "Our business here concerns an Argonian elder. Have you seen them? Consider yourself under oath, so you'd better be straight with me, lizard."

Sagax was surprised to see Tsleeixth there. He would have thought that the Argonian would be amongst his kin. Was he looking for the elder too? 

"There's no need for violence, I know this one." He nodded at Tsleeixth. "Likewise, comrade. Like the big man said, we're looking for the Argonian elder. We're hoping we can get them to talk down the rioters." The mob was getting quiter and quiter...or were they spreading out? It was hard to tell, Windhelm was a very echo-prone city. Perhaps they were forming smaller groups after having been dispersed?

Tsleeixth let a sigh at the man's words, specially at being called 'Lizard' "I would appreciate if you treated me with the same courtesy I showed you. My name is Tsleeixth, and as for an answer to your question, I have indeed seen the elder, however I am afraid that will be of little help...for I have only seen him after the second battle against the Kamals, when he first pronounced the words that have driven the rest of my kin into such a state" Said the spellsword, keeping his voice even and calm. It would do him no good to make an enemy of the guard, for -even if the Nord himself didn't knew it- their goals where the same.

His lips curled upwards once more when Sagax vouched for him, although the look of surprise on his face didn't go unnoticed by him [i]"I suppose I shouldn't hold it against him, after all, how many Argonians has he met in his life? He probably thought that I'd be with the rest of them, which isn't an unreasonable thought."[/i] Mused the Argonian, falling silent for a few seconds when Sagax mentioned that their goal was to try and find the Argonian elder so he'd talk down the rioters.

"Then it would seem that our goals are the same, for that is my intent too." Said Tsleeixth, waiting for both of the humans to speak once more [i]"Better to not bother them with my dream, it's probably nothing...just a simple nightmare brought on about by the stress."[/i] He mused, shifting uncomfortably in his spot. 

Releasing his grip on his sword hilt, the guardsman looked Tsleeixth up and down before turning his head and heading further down the street, beckoning the Argonian with his open hand. "Then consider yourself deputized. Come on then, help us find this elder." His voice was terse and sounded like he desperately needed some sleep. Sagax wondered how long he had been awake, and if he had slept at all since the siege started.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your mind, Tsleeixth." Sagax said in a vaguely tongue-in-cheek manner. "Glad to have you along, as well. Something tells me the elder, if we find them, won't be so keen to listen to the words of outsiders." Thinking back to what the old man said before, he lingered on one thing he named: the Hist. 

"Tsleeixth, what is the Hist? I heard about it from one of the citizens here; said he heard the elder screaming his head off about it."

"That was my intention Sir" Said Tsleeixth towards the guard, letting out a heavy sigh. HE probably should have more patience with the man since it seemed obvious that he was extremely tired. He chuckled softly at Sagax's words, but they only made his decision to not reveal his dream to the both of them all the wiser [i]"Yep, it was definitely the right call, they would have thought I lost my mind."[/i] He thought for a second "Hmm, well, I wasn't gonna lose my mind over the words of an old Argonian" He said, chuckling softly but nodded when Sagax said that the elder would be more open to listening to another Argonian "Yes, that is probably right." He said.

He froze a little when Sagax asked him what the Hist was, shifting uncomfortably "Do you know what we call each other Sagax?" Said Tsleeixth quietly as they walked "We Argonians call each other 'people of the root' for we are united by the Hist tree, whom we consider the oldest living species in all of Tamriel." Said the Argonian quietly, tryign to find words with which to explain to the Imperial what the Hist meant to the people of Black Marsh.

"When an Argonian is born, they are fed sap that came from the Hist, and it is said that this is what determines how an Argonian...looks, for lack of a better term." Said the spellsword, struggling to explain it all to the young Imperial "It is said that each Argonian is connected to the Hist, but that the farther than yo uare from Black Marsh, the dimmer the connection becomes." He said "For example, amongst Argonians it is widely believed that, during the Oblivion Crisis, the Hist called to all Argonians to return to Black Marsh so that we might defend it against the forced of Mehrunes Dagon....now, I do knot know if this is true or not, I've lived most of my life in Skyrim, but if it is, it could explain why the other Argonians are acting like this." He said, shifting slightly [i]"Might be why I had that dream. Could the Hist be really calling to me?"[/i] Wondered Tsleeixth, a look of worry crossing his face.

Sagax tried wrapping his head around the concept of the Hist as Tsleeixth explained it. An inner connection all Argonians share, and this Hist tree could even call out for defenders to come to its aid. Imperials didn't have any sort of shared consciousness, as far as Sagax could recall from his classes. It was a difficult concept for Sagax to comprehend. In a way, Argonians were all still individuals, but they still shared the same connection with the Hist. What would that even be like? If one were to strike the Hist tree or its roots, would you feel the pain that was inflicted on it? If the Hist were to die, would Argonians go extinct? Is that why all the ones in the city were so desperately trying to leave? 

"Huh...that's an incredibly interesting concept, Tsleeixth. If only Imperials had such interesting heritage! I could also imagine such a connection would be very useful. No need for messengers or carrier pigeons, if your home is in danger you would just naturally be alerted." If the dragonfires in the Temple of the One had the same ability as the Hist perhaps the sacking of the Imperial City by the Thalmor could have been subverted. 

"Is that why your kin are are trying to break down our gates?" Asked the guardsman suddenly. "They can, what, 'feel' this Hist of yours being threatened?" He had a hint of incredulousness in his voice, clearly having doubts about the whole Hist ordeal.

Tsleeixth chuckled a little at Sagax's words "Do keep in mind that this has, supposedly, only occurred once, during the Oblivion Crisis, so I couldn't say it with certainty if it's true or not" Said the spellsword, suddenly realizing that his life outside of Black Marsh had left him with, relatively, little knowledge of Argonian culture. Oh, his parents had tried to instill on him the Argonian culture, but his time spent in Skyrim definitively had an impact on him, molded him to be very different from the typical Saxhleel.

He let out a sigh at the guard's question, easily able to detect the incredulousness in his voice. It wasn't an easy concept to understand, and in fact he was surprised by how open Sagax had been, as such the guards doubts didn't surprise the Argonian spellsword too much "Perhaps, I am what is called in our native tongue of Jel a Lukiul, an Assimilated" He explained "This is because I've lived most of my life in Skyrim, so the deeper mysteries of the connection between the Hist and my people elude me, the same with my native culture. I could tell you more about Nord customs than Argonian ones" He said, his voice tinged slightly with regret. He had never questioned his life Skyrim, but this conversation was a reminder that, for all intent and purposes, he was a stranger to his own culture, despite the best efforts of both of his parents and his own. 

The weary guardsman let out only a slightly audible "Hmph..." in response to Tsleeixth. He couldn't imagine growing up and living anywhere else than Skyrim. Being a stranger to his own culture was inconceivable to him, and so he naturally questioned the Argonian's life choices. Silently, of course. He wasn't in the mood, nor did he have the energy, to go on a tirade of culture and patriotism.

Fortunately for the party, they no longer had to search for the elder. He came straight to them. Preaching of the Hist, and the duty of Argonians to Black Marsh, the elder made a beeline for Tsleeixth, ignoring the Nord and Imperial entirely.

"You, brother-scale! Why do you dawdle and fraternize with these outsiders!? You must assist our kin in leaving this forsaken city! We must go home! The Hist is in great peril!" The elder spoke dramatically and loudly as he gripped Tsleeixth's shoulders and shook him angrily. "The end times have come, but we may stave it off! Come, brother, we must be off!"

Tsleeixth let out a heavy sigh at the guardsman's response to what he had said. Having lived for as logn as he did in Skyrim, the spellsword knew that the Nord people were fiercely attached to their culture and way of living, the most recent example of such a fact being the Civil-War that had ravaged the country due to the Stormcloak movement, a movement born of the desire to maintain the worship of the Divine Talos when the Thalmor tried to suppress it. As such, Tsleeixth guessed that the guardsman looked down on his life choices and, in some level, Tsleeixth himself did so as well.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how one looked at the situation, Tsleeixth was brought out of his current mood when the Argonian elder appeared and began coming towards them while preaching about the Hist and the duty of the Saxhleel towards their native homeland.

The spellsword was about to dress the elder, but was startled when the older Argonian made a beeline towards him. Wincing in pain as the older Argonian gripped his shoulders and shook him violently, Tsleeixth could do naught but wait for the elder to calm down and stop shaking him violently. Taking a few deep breaths, Tsleeixth tried to calm himself "Calm down Pakseech." Said the younger Argonian, hoping that the title would calm down the older Argonian.

"First of all, we do not have any right to call anyone outsiders, this isn't our homeland either." Said Tsleeixth, causing the older Argonian to frown slightly "Second, do you think this chaos benefits anyone Pakseech?" Asked the spellsword, frowning at the Pakseech "Do you think this rioting will help us return to Argonia any sooner? Furthermore, even if we are allowed to leave, what do you think that will happen? The Kamals outside would cut down anyone that managed to leave the city." He said, placing his good hand on his kin's shoulder "Furthermore, this wouldn't be the first time that the Hist has been in great peril, remember the Oblivion Crisis, and how we Saxhleel endured it." He said, hoping that his words would calm the elder a bit. 

The elder tried time and time again to rebut Tsleeixth's words, but he came up short every time. The threat of the Kamal was undeniable; they would all be decimated, or even completely wiped out, halfway across the bridge. The river would not be their savior, either. The waters were far too frigid to traverse for any length of time, and the snow demons would no doubt send countless glaciers crashing down on them. The words of his brother-scale made his lips curl in a mixture of anger and defeat as it dawned on him that Black Marsh would have to hold its own just a little bit longer. The elder had not even his hate for the outsiders to fall back on, as the guardsman and Sagax were silent and forwent any interjections, and let Tsleeixth do all the talking.

"I...I relent, brother. You speak the truth; I was blinded by my fear. The Hist has survived countless millennia, against all manner of brutality. I pray that our home can defend itself without us for just a while longer..."  Looking toward the Stone Quarter, the elder began to move towards the main square of the city, calling out for every Argonian he saw to meet him there.

Tsleeixth let out a sigh of relief when the Pakseech relented. He gave the older Argonian a gentle squeeze on the shoulder to try and reassure him "It will brother, we people of the root persevered through the Oblivion Crisis, our home will be able to surmount this crisis" He said, his lips curling upwards in the Argonian equivalent of a smile, hoping that the gesture would reassure the elder. He looked as the old Argonian began to make his way towards the Stone Quarter, hoping that the rest of his kin would listen to him.

Back in front of Candlehearth, the elder gathered every Argonian in the city. Guards formed a large perimeter around the crowd, making sure that all other citizens, Nord or otherwise, were shooed away under threat of arrest for disturbing the peace to keep another riot from breaking out. Angry murmurs carried across the crowd like rolling thunder in the distance, but all noise died when the elder raised their arms, signalling his coming words.

"My brothers and sisters, we gather here again not to tear down these gates, nor to scream obscenities at the night sky. I have called all to this place to tell you..." He paused, as if the very thought of waiting any longer to return to Black Marsh physically pained him. "To tell you that our judgements are clouded! Clouded by fear, and anger!  Beyond these gates await assured destruction!" He said, motioning his arm widely towards the main gates of Windhelm. "The Snow Demons will show no quarter to us! Though it brings me, and no doubt all of you, great anguish to admit, but we must be patient! We must beat back these monsters! Only then can we return to Black Marsh, and come to the aid of the Hist!"

The murmuring returned, with audible gasps and questions about the elder's health of mind. He paid no mind to the noise, and instead continued. "Our kin stationed in our homeland need all of us to help defend the Hist. If we force these demons to retreat, we may arrive in full force; a great wave of destruction! We will make it known that any that would bring harm to the Hist are not welcome in our home! But in order to achieve these, we MUST win here, first! I do not ask you to fight for the Nords, I only ask that you do not hinder the efforts of this city's defenders, so that we may sooner return home!" Scanning the once-again silent crowd, the elder lowered his arms to his sides, before sweeping across the mob with one arm. "Now disperse, brothers and sisters! Let hate and fear guide you no longer! Stay your weapons, and your tongues, against the citizens of Windhelm, and we will return home soon, I promise you this!"

As the elder fell silent, the other Argonians swimming about the crowd looked back and forth from one another. One slipped between the guards slowly, silently making his way back to the Gray Quarter. He was follow by another, who bowed to the elder respectfully. Soon, large swathes of the beastfolk exited the area as guards made larger and larger openings in the perimeter. Some of them were still silently fuming, but they respected the words of their Pakseech, though some undoubtedly only temporarily. Once more, the streets of Windhelm fell quiet, leaving only the machinations of the Kamal outside the walls to grace their ears. As the elder made his own exit, he bowed to Tsleeixth, and then disappeared amongst his kin.

Tsleeixth waited with baited breath as the elder began to speak to the assembled Argonian crowd, tensing slightly hwen the mob of Argonians began to murmur amongst themselves and question the elder's health of mind. He waited for what seemed to be an eternity as the Pakseech made his speech, but the Argonian Spellsword felt tension draining from his limbs rapidly as the crowd of beastfolk dispersed.

He blinked in confusion as the Argonian elder bowed to him, but managed to recover quickly enough to return the gesture. Once Tsleeixth was sure that the elder was no longer near them he turned to face both Sagax and the Nord guardsman "Well, it seems that everything turned out relatively alright" He said, letting out a heavy sigh, his tail twitching slightly due to the tense situation.

The guardsman accompanying Sagax and Tsleeixth let out of a deep, tired sigh of relief. Taking off his helmet, the guard could finally have a face put to him. A very scarred face with heavy bags under his eyes, but a face nonetheless. He swept a few strands of his short, raggedy brown hair out of his face and rubbed his eyes roughly. "Finally...this siege just got a lot easier to deal with." Patting Tsleeixth on the shoulder and nodding in approval of their tact, the guard spoke directly to the Argonian. "I know a good job when I see it. Thanks for your help. Probably wouldn't have gotten very far with him without you."

"Yes, thank you very much Tsleeixth. Good work." Sagax said with a smile. It was always nice to see something go right, especially in such a poor situation. "Well...what now?"

Putting their helmet back on, the guard responded shortly. "We prepare for the Kamal. I'm going back to the keep to inform my superiors that the riot situation has been resolved. You two are free to do whatever you like." With his few words spoken, the guardsman made his way to the Palace of the Kings.

"Well, I don't think that could have gone better." Said Sagax confidently. Maybe now that everyone wasn't trying to kill each other, they could all focus on preparing the city's defenses.

Tsleeixth's lips curled upwards in the Argonian equivalent of a smile at the guard's and Sagax's words "It was no trouble at all." Said the Argonian, dressing both of the humans that were with him at the moment. He nodded when the guard said that the now prepared for the Kamal's "Good luck with that, may Talos watch over you." Said Tsleeixth, having heard the phrase many times from other Nords that he had met. He nodded when the guard left, letting out a sigh of relief.

He chuckled at what Sagax said "Well, you read my mind Sagax." Said the spellsword, smiling once more at the Imperial man "Well, do you have any idea of what we should do now?" He asked to Sagax. He had been so focused on finding the elder that he hadn't given it a thought on what he'd do afterwards. 

"I think I'll...huh. I don't really know what to do with myself, actually. Or if I could do anything impactful anyway. Could do what I always seem to end up doing, splitting up and just walking around looking for ways to help out. It's what I was doing before the siege and I got a few things done. Aside from that though...nothing specific has crossed my mind." The plaza in front of Candlehearth was silent and empty; even the guards had left and were off elsewhere in the city. Looking towards the shattered window at the back wall of the inn, he hoped that Roze found her way out all right. She probably did, and Sagax silently told himself to stop worrying so damn much.

Tsleeixth nodded at Sagax's words. Truth be told, there was much to do in preparation for the next attack, quite simply there wasn't enough time to sit down and relax even if it was for a moment. "I suppose you are right Sagax." Said the Argonian with a sigh "It was good seeing you alive my friend, hopefully once this business with the Kamals is over we can sit down at the inn and relax, eh?" Joked  the spellsword, chucklign softly, as he patted the Imperial man on the shoulder "Well, I suppose I should be off, try to help as much as I can, do take care of yourself Sagax." Said Tsleeixth, holding his hand for the Imperial man to shake it. Once Sagax did that, Tsleeixth went away in the direction of the Grey Quarter, disappearing amongst the people that were roaming the streets of Windhelm.