[color=moccasin]Kiralla – The Scholar[/color]


The painful squeeze of a meaty fist on her shoulder made her hands ball into fists ready to lash out in defense. Fiona came to their rescue noting the terrible idea it would be to let two mages defend themselves in a tavern like this. Things would most certainly be destroyed in the due process of destruction spells being thrown.

Fiona took down Nolan with impressive strength and Kiralla was now inclined to at least consider Gaela’s judgment of Fiona. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates when Fiona bid them to carry on. Kiralla also considered taking back her earlier statement about no one going out of their way to protect her back. Although as far as Kiralla was concerned that revision might only be reserved for the fiery Imperial.

Patting the rest of her journal dry from the spilt ale Gaela tried to continue the conversation saying,  “As I was saying, before we got interrupted. About your soul gem research...”

Kiralla nodded coughing into her fist to help focus her thoughts. Nolan speaking up again after garnering support presumably from his friends and other locals alike. The air tensed immediately when Nolan slurred his words of challenge at Brynn, their reachman scout replied in kind with a rude gesture escalating the fight from fists to weapons when Nolan pulled his knife.

She watched then in a blink shuffled all her papers into her bag scrambling knowing what was to come next. Fists flew and the tavern erupted into energetic brawls, their little group doing their best to defend against the locals or run straight for the exit. Gaela seemed rather blasé when she gathered her things beckoning Kiralla to follow her through to the exit.

Ducking low to avoid an elbow and shuffling away from a body landing where she was sitting moments before crashing into her half empty goblet, “[color=moccasin]Right be-behind you![/color]”

Her green eyes were trained on Gaela’s back while they dodged around the fights. The exit felt so far away between the sea of bodies. The orc’s bloody swords caught her attention and the terrifying sight of a berserker in a rage was enough to give the locals facing him pause.

“Witches!” A voice screeched to her right, Kiralla expertly dodged a man meaning to tackle her when her eyes went back to where she expected Gaela to be, the healer was pushed against a wall near the door by the brawling pair that was Nolan and Fiona.

Meaning to go straight to help her, Kiralla’s ponytail was snatched in an angry fistful then dragged to the ground and across the floor away from her intended escape. Gasps of pain it felt like a hundred bee stings across her scalp and Kiralla was released only when her head was smashed against the floor. She saw stars and crouched over the dirty floor on her hands and knees.

“Witch! You’ll pay for what your orc monster has done to us!” Screeched a voice over the crowd of roars and fights.

Barely able to focus on whom the voice belonged to Kiralla shouted back in defense, “[color=moccasin]N-no! I have nothing to do-![/color]” A resounding kick to her stomach knocked the wind out of her. These animals were attacking and ignoring her words.

“[color=moccasin]P-please![/color]” She begged as they kicked her back. Her arms protected her face as she scrunched into a ball upon the onslaught of attack.

While they pulled back to catch their breaths so to did Kiralla. Her nails scraped into the floorboards, shaking at the blooming bruises along her torso. Inhaling with gasps her broken ribs pinching painfully. Survival instincts pushed her heart rate up and through the pain did the very vivid image of what she needed most form. Words became rapidly clear from her swollen lips, dark pools of oblivion gathered in her right hand spreading slowly outward in a spiral motion. The solid head of ice slowly rising from the summoning portal as it grew in diameter to accommodate the massive size of the Daedra.

The attacks did pause at the appearance of the Front Atronach. Shakily pushing herself up to stand her Atronach casting a shadow over her features. When finally getting to her feet squinting past a black eye she tracked to the men and women that surrounded her in a circle. They all shared a look of terror but she knew animals such as them only understood one thing and that was brute force.

Speaking clearly and concisely Kiralla’s statement as cold as the Atronach, “[color=moccasin]You brought this upon yourselves.[/color]”

Snowflake threw it’s massive arm at the man closest sending him halfway across the tavern then swung around to throw another person. The others ran scared as Snowflake plowed a clear path to the exit for Kiralla knocking locals left and right; every icy step froze the ground it stood on. She limped behind her Atronach holding her side. Eyes trained solely on the exit. Snowflake stood rightly to the side allowing its master to walk through the door first it’s hulking mass choosing the larger and broken window to step through instead.

Kiralla hobbled out of the tavern into the night air breathing in a deep sigh of relief. Pushing herself to hobble further away barely noticing Gaela and Fiona off to the side of the building. Snowflake lumbered behind Kiralla as she collapsed to her knees. Hands shaking as she whispered the words to fast heal. Her right hand glowed with golden heat then pressed them firmly to her broken ribs, feeling the painful pull and magical healing. Her face contorted reminding herself this pain was [i]nothing[/i]. It was several minutes before she let up on the spell to breathe. Finally her thoughts turned away from the fleeting pain and immediately to the murder the berserk orc was committing in the tavern behind her. That would easily warrant their group far too much attention. The guards would surely appear sooner rather than later and the list of witnesses would ruin their low and unknown profile.

It was only a matter of time now. She saw the finely dressed Berich already outside locking eyes with him.

"[color=moccasin]We need to-to leave.[/color]"