[center][b]Performance Review[/b]
[@Gcold][@Hank][@Scout][@Peik][/center]
[hr]
Gustav was in charge for the night of the 25th. Ashav got mugged in the afternoon of the 25th by a bunch of thugs that really did a number on his face. That night, Ashav and his trusted advisers went about investigating the incident and undoing the damage to his face. Gustav was told take over and finish some paperworks Ashav started. Technically, Gustav could always take over when he wanted, as he supplied the vital funding that went beyond Skald's cheapskate excuses of wages. However, it was Ashav's insistence that made Gustav somewhat sidelined. But now, he's eager to do some hands-on work.

In the far back of Windpeak Inn's second floor was the largest deluxe room. This was where Gustav had set up; a suite of separate living rooms and bedrooms with its own miniature fireplace. The rich Nord was dressed in his fine armor, a set of polished steel plates and neatly waxed fur cloak that looked more ceremonial than practical. Gustav was not someone with a lot of combat experience, but with the invaders inching ever closer and schemes springing up in the homefront, now seems like the perfect time to bust out his favorite "armchair warrior" getup. 

Speaking of armchair, Gustav is currently sitting in one and trying to figure out how to position his steel-covered ass comfortably on it. In front of him is a square table, with three more less luxurious chairs on its other sides. On the table were the files Ashav entrusted him with. There were files regarding Marcel Gawain and Elmera Sarandas, their debut performance and possible continuation of their contracts. There was also a page of messily scribbled notes regarding another Dunmer woman. Niernen was her name, and according to Ashav, she had onced worked with the company in Windhelm, but in the hasty retreat from Kamals, both her and her files were lost. While Gustav waited for Dough-Boy to summon these three individuals, he sipped on a bottle of warm spiced wine and analyzed the reports to the best of his abilities. "Just get them signed and get it over with." Ashav instrued him. Seemed like the war made Ashav desperate for fresh sword fodders.

Gustav's door opened after an excruiciating wait to 9 pm. Dough-Boy came in with the grumpy face he was sent off with. "They are here, sir." He said almost monotonously. "Can I get the sword now?" 

"Thanks, kid." Gustav nodded. He sighed at the request. "Later, we're going to be busy tonight." Dough-Boy was shooed away quickly. The boy was obviously dissapointed. Ashav said to not think too hard into it. "Just an eager kid trying to punch above his weight," or so it supposed to be. For Dough-Boy's errand, Gustav promised him a real steel weapon Ashav long denied him, and that meant he would have to find some excuse to trick the foolish boy when this performance review is over.

"Come in and take a seat." Gustav waved his guests in.

Marcel had felt quite anxious after the disastrous retreat from Nightgate Inn – having fought the foreign invaders for the first time, Marcel had not expected ‘snow demons’ to be such well organized and advanced. Sure, he had experience fighting demons themselves, and snow creatures as well, but the sort that he fought never decided to clad themselves in plate armor and use artillery barrages and mixed unit tactics. A good fighter he may be, but Marcel definitely had no understanding of warfare.
 
But in truth it was not the siege that had made him anxious, but funnily enough, the supposed upcoming performance review. Marcel had been chided for having a different sense of importance back when he had been a child, and it was a habit that he still had. He sat on the bench, in front of this important looking room, and felt a nervous tinge that he had not felt when fighting remnants of the Oblivion Crisis near the Wrothgarian Mountains. Had Master Diarmid been here, he definitely would have slapped Marcel in the back of his head for that.
 
The Nord boy got out quite quickly, almost as fast as he had appeared and entered – from the pouty look on his face, Marcel guessed that his review had not gone very well, and this perceived information rekindled the cold heat of fear in his stomach like pouring water on hot coals. Inside he could see a middle-aged man, dressed quite extravagantly. Where was Ashav? He felt even more nervous.
 
‘’Come in and take a seat,’’ the man said, and Marcel, after some waiting for someone else to walk in, obliged out of a mix of embarrassment and a need to take initiative, getting up from his spot next to the other 'newcomers', and walking into the room in a reserved manner. He pulled one of the chairs back, and lined his eyes with the man’s to ask for permission – and it seemed that the man did not object, Marcel sat down slowly, feeling somewhat small now that he was sitting.

''Where is Mister Ashav, sir?'' He asked meekly, eyes attempting to peek behind his head to see if those who had been sitting with him had any intention of coming in.

"He had to [i]face[/i] a rather [i]nosy[/i] issue," Gustav absentmindedly answered as he took out three wine glasses. It was when he poured his first drink did he realize he had made a pun; Ashav had his nose broken when thugs struck his face.

The brown colour of the inn's wood appeared to almost glow as Elmera awaited to be called in.  Damn it all, had she known about the performance review sooner, she wouldn't have taken so heavily to the sugar beforehand.  No matter, she'd been in worse situations, though this did breed some anxiety.  Thankfully, she'd chosen to inhale the substance rather than smoke it, so it showed less in her eyes and more in her fingers which refused to stop drumming on her thigh and in her eyes, which occasionally darted about the room.  It took almost all of her willpower to slow down the glances such that they would appear more like curious looks around the room.

Eventually, Gustav came from the room and beckoned for them.  She furrowed her brow, remembering him from her first night in the company, when he had politely bit his tongue and allowed the other members to bicker about her allegiances.  Although the Dunmer wished that Ashav would be conducting the interview, she was relieved to know that it wasn't that vile retch who had tried to accuse her of treachery.

Elmera entered the room just after the man named Marcel.  He was an odd one, that was for sure, but seemed to ask the right questions.  What was strange, however, was how right now her moon sugar - for what else could it be? - was causing a symptom she'd never felt before.  There her heart felt constricted, yet free at the same time and it felt as though her joints were alternating between being uncomfortably warm and uncomfortably cold.

"That's a shame - it's good to see you again, Gustav," She remarked, keeping up the pleasantries for one of her new employers.  She looked at any sign of ornamentation on his desk, then to the back of Marcel's neck.  Was there something there?  No, definitely not; her gaze drifted back to Gustav as she realized how she was behaving.

"You as well, Elmera Sarandas." Gustav nodded. "I am sure Ashav will return to us in no time." Elmera's fidgeting was becoming harder and harder to ignore, so Gustav offered her a glass of spiced wine. "You appear agitated; please enjoy this refreshing beverage in the meantime."

The other female Dunmer of the company, Niernen Venim, entered the room behind Elmera with an attitude and expression on her face that couldn't possibly be any more different from her older counterpart's. Her thousand-yard stare was fixed on a point somewhere halfway to infinity and she remained completely motionless after sitting down. It was obvious she had only recently stopped crying. It wasn't until Gustav spoke about what Ashav was up to that Niernen seemed to break from her reverie and she slowly realised that she wasn't sitting across the familiar Redguard leader of the mercenary company.

Now cognizant of her surroundings, Niernen became acutely aware of an unpleasant sensation at the base of her skull -- it felt like a small spider was crawling around in the bone-plate and vertebrae. Shivering, Niernen rubbed at the spot with one of her hands and turned her head from side to side in an attempt to soothe the sensation, assuming it was probably a muscle acting up or something like that. Her eyes fell on the other mercenary in the room, Marcel, a fellow she hadn't met before, and upon doing so she felt shards of ice slowly crystallize in her sinuses. Now thoroughly uncomfortable, Niernen's intuition told her the peculiar-looking Breton was somehow responsible. Her formidable intellect soon caught up to her guts and Niernen remembered reading about the effects those born under the sign of the Atronach could have on powerful sorcerers. She couldn't help but feel an immediate dislike for the man, no doubt exacerbated by her already supremely sour mood.

"Evening," Niernen said to Gustav at last, curtly and without emotion. "What is this about, if I may ask? I was about to go to bed when your messenger summoned me." Dough-Boy had been so embarrassed by the sight of Niernen's half-naked form upon entering the elf's chambers that he had failed to explain the purpose of this meeting. 

Gustav had been staring at Niernen long before Niernen looked back. Niernen's face was tired, and Gustav was none too happy to see it. "I believe you have expressed the interest to rejoin our company." Gustav quickly explained. He pushed the second wine cup to Marcel, w
ho took the cup enthusiastically but refused it politely with a gesture upon sniffing alcohol in it. Before doing the same for Niernen, he tried to gauge if the Dunmer was fit to drink. "Did our less-than-competent messenger disturb you? I will discipline him if necessary." 

Finally, Gustav decided to give Niernen her wine after all. Zoned out as she was, a little alcohol might just keep her head in the game, or that's what Gustav thought. "Ashav said your last name is Venim, correct? Much of the company's documents have been lost since WIndhelm." Taking his time to slowly savor a swig of his drink, Gustav tapped his quill at the topmost sheet of paper. "We have nothing left regarding your work records, but Ashav and many contractors spoke highly of you. Is it true that you and Do'Karth complement each other quite well?"

"Yes," Niernen said immediately before looking away and swallowing hard. She held the cup in her lap and, looking down at it, could see how her knuckles turned white as her fingers clutched the vessel of wine tightly. She did not want to think about Do'Karth right now, but it was pointless to tiptoe around the issue with Gustav. He wasn't inquiring about their personal relation, after all. "He is very good at distracting an enemy and keeping them occupied," Niernen added. "That creates opportunities for me to use Destruction magic to take them down." She thought it wise not to mention how she had almost set Do'Karth on fire twice.

Gustav gave Niernen some time to answer, and when she had done so, he scribbled down notes on the page. "Let's take a step back; you were captured by Morrowind soldiers. We have to know if you are truly committed in the ongoing conflict against Morrowind, and what would you do if you encounter a former ally as opponent?"

This time an answer was not immediately forthcoming from the Dunmer. Niernen considered the question to be audacious at best and insensitive at worst, but the reasonable side of her interjected that it was necessary for Gustav to properly determine her reliability in the company. He was probably not aware of her personal situation in this war. "The Nerevarine is my sworn enemy," Niernen said eventually. "As for the other Dunmer... we already encountered Ashlanders within the Dwemer ruins of Bthamz and they were very surprised to learn of the Nerevarine's treachery. I would like to convince as many of my kin as possible to see the light and defect to our side. That said, if such options are not avalable..." Niernen trailed off, remembering the Armigers that had captured her and sold her to the Kamal without a second thought. "Use of deadly force will not be an issue."

Gustav scratched his neatly trimmed beard in thought. There was a lot of thoughts inside his head, but none felt quite right to be put on paper. Thankfully, another person could provide clarification from a similar position. "You will be fighting Dunmer too, Sarandas; what do you think about Niernen's words?" He pointed his quill at Elmera. 

Elmera stared into the glass of crimson liquid.  Was this man trying to [I]poison[/I] her?  Or, rather, was this somebody else's blood?  Some kind of macabre pact to join the company for life.  The Dunmer sneered for a brief moment, she hated cliché metaphors like that.  There was only one way to find out - she would look paranoid if she didn't at least try to act casual.  The woman finally looked up and nodded to Gustav, "Thank you, for the drink, I mean," She stated, gesturing with the glass before taking a sip.  She blinked behind the rim of the glass - oh...  It was just wine.  Of course it was.

After a momentary pause, Elmera pushed back some of the short hair which had fallen in front of her eyes.  "If you're asking me about Niernen here," She began, glancing to the other Dunmer briefly, "It sounds like she speaks true.  However, if yo-"  The sound of a floorboard creaking caused Elmera to pause as she looked back to the door.  Was somebody watching them?  Listening?  "What was..."  She started to mumble under her breath before realizing - she was doing it again.  Cut it out.

"I'm sorry, what was I saying..?  Right, the Dunmer...  I completely concur; Anybody who chooses the wrong side deserves to be cut down, myself included.  I have little, if anything, left in Morrowind.  I'll gladly lend the company anything I can if it'll help."

Elmera's lack of focus did not went unnoticed by Gustav. He thought it could be the wine that was repulsing everyone, but upon a careful whiff in his cup, he decided that there was nothing wrong with what Dough-Boy brought him. "The spiced wine is not to everyone's liking?" Gustav asked. "Perhaps water would do better?" He went for a pitcher further in the room.

While Gustav left his seat, his papers were briefly left in plain view. Should anyone bothered to look, they would see files on the three company members. Elmera had the most written about her. Her initial impression was noted favorably by Ashav, as a ruthless and determined woman with nothing to hold back, but with something to hide. Her later assessment was not so much positive, because she was critically injured immediately in the engagement. Marcel was described as a polite individual, a skilled combatant and someone willing to follow orders. Ariane wrote remarks about Marcel having disruptive effects on the flow magicka, which meant absolutely nothing to the magically-inept Gustav. Daelin was supposed to be reporting the forest fire mission, but the Bosmer's words were messy and distracted; he only deemed Marcel's performance as "reasonable". Finally, notes on Niernen have been scarce. Ashav only put down jot notes on the voyage, and these being "strongly motivated by anger: mentally and physically unstable".

When Gustav returned with the water pitcher, he chose to shift focus to Marcel. He wasn't impressed at Elmera, and made it clear with a cold glare at her. Upon briefly reviewing Marcel's files, he suddenly realized that the cause of the Dunmer women's distraction could be this alleged "magic disruption". "Marcel Gawain," he spoke and offered water at the same time, "what is your opinion of the forest mission? I understand that there were certain difficulties."

‘’Thank you, sir,’’ Marcel replied to Gustav’s offer as he took the cup of water in his hands, but he did not drink. The Breton spoke to Gustav with a clearer tone now that he had a question at hand – it was obvious he was more comfortable speaking when matters were of a tangible nature, with clear definitions. ‘’The perpetrator’s reasons were somewhat surprising, and indeed we received some harm thanks to unfortunate events, but, truth be told, I would argue that the results were expected. I do not wish to speak ill of any of my compatriots, for we solved the problem together, but it seemed that they were not properly equipped to deal with threats of a magical nature,’’ Marcel said softly. ‘’Then again, the disparity is likely because of our differing occupations.’’

"How intriguing." Gustav began to put some of the Breton's account to paper, and when he had done so, he turned back to the Dunmers. He asked his next question with the expectation of clear answers. "Marcel Gawain here has a rather unique effect on mages; do you ladies feel anything peculiar?" He checked their profiles again just to make sure; Elmera and Niernen were indeed magic users.

"Water... might do better by me, I'm not much of a wine drinker and I'm still er... getting reacquainted to being on land," She lied casually with a straight face.  Upon accepting the new beverage, she took a sip; what an awful time to have tried 'calming her nerves.'

Elmera could hardly be bothered with any concern for Gustav's impression of her.  She'd been hit by a stray bolt, she knew that the injury reflected poorly on her in the first mission.  She also knew that she had still proven helpful in the naval battle, considering her injury was still bothering her at the time.  What was more disconcerting was how Gustav addressed her, or rather their, discomfort.  She furrowed her brow and sucked the inside of her cheek for a moment, "Yeah.  It's... pretty uncomfortable," She remarked, placing a hand over her heart for a brief moment, "I can't really describe it, but it feels like my heart is racing and beating slowly simultaneously.  So yeah, the room feels pretty off."

She paused for a moment, then sighed, "I'm sorry, Gustav, I don't mean to be rude, but... what does that have to do with the review?  Considering the effect he's apparently known to have on people with our particular skillset, wouldn't it be more effective to keep the meeting a little bit shorter?  I can hardly think straight with this uneasiness," She explained, trying to push the blame for her distraction entirely on the discomfort, to keep the moon sugar's symptoms from being so obvious. Marcel's presence, admittedly, was a pretty convenient relief.

Despite Niernen's state of emotional exhaustion she couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of satisfaction at having accurately guessed that Marcel Gawain was the source of her physical discomfort. She was strongly reminded of her time studying with the Redoran war-wizards and a comfortable memory flashed through her mind's eye; a dimly-lit chamber with the characteristic arched walls of Dunmeri architecture, the small smile that played around the lips of one of her mentors and the barely-veiled looks of envy her fellow students cast in her direction.

"I agree with Elmera," Niernen said, now taking her turn to glance at the other Dunmer's direction. "It's a very unpleasant sensation." She paused for a second, realising that she didn't really feel like throwing one of her fellows under the wagon without giving him a fair chance, and added: "But I am sure he will be very useful in combat against other mages." Niernen gave Marcel a small smile in an attempt to hide her instinctive disdain for the Breton.

Seemingly satisfied with Marcel, Gustav turned to his attention to Elmera. He frowned slightly in reaction to Elmera's impatience. It wasn't hard for the Nord to compare Elmera's reaction to Niernen's; the former was antsy while the later is a mixture of frustration and exhaustion. "Very well, Marcel Gawain." He flipped through the stack of papers again. "Now, Sarandas, you appear to be unfocused. Your, well honestly, inadequate performance at Bthamz seem to indicate a trend."

Gustav then shuffled around in his chair; adjusting the uncomfortable armor wedge under his butt, reinking his quill, drinking more wine and let his words sink in with Elmera. "We have concerns, Sarandas; is there anything critical you are hiding? Anything that may diminish your capabilities?" 

Elmera sucked the inside of her cheek, watching Gustav carefully.  "I might be unfocused, yeah, but haven't we covered the cause for that?"  She asked, trying to measure her words now, careful to not snap at him.  "And I'd like to point out that you weren't at Bthamz, Gustav.  All due respect, sir, but I was only struck by an incoming bolt because a heavily armored shield maiden in front of me dodged the attack and my leather wasn't nearly as sturdy as her metal.  I"m not blaming her, I'm pointing out that I would have dragged the group down by continuing in that state."

Don't grind your teeth...  Don't bounce your leg...  Therew as no sound...  Her mind was actively fighting the symptoms of her Moon Sugar.  As she processed his final question, she blinked in realization.  He was implying her addiction, wasn't he?  She wasn't a throat-scratching, fix-hunting rat who lived in squalor to maintain her sanity.  Leaning forward, she held Gustav's gaze firmly.

"If you're referring to what I do in my free, recreational time before being informed of an important business meeting, no. There are no critical secrets which would physically or mentally impede me on the battlefield or under the charge of others.  If you look more closely at the chain of events and speak to Leif about it, you might get a different perspective.  His burns, his injuries, were more manageable thanks to my hanging back to help him.  Not to mention, despite my injury, amidst a sea skirmish, I still manned a ballista."

She gave a sigh and shook her head, "I'm sorry, Gustav, if I had an awful run of luck our first time out, but I think it's a reflection of my character that I'm not only willing, but rather excited, to return to the field." Her fingers drummed softly on the arm of her chair, itching to rise and leave the room.

Gustav couldn't help but crack a tiny smile at Elmera's behavior. His suspicion of the Dunmer woman keeping secret was proved by her defensive speech. Gustav scratched down several of Elmera's heated moments and had to cough to hide his smug grin. "Noted, Sarandas." He reaponded simply, meeting Elmera's gaze as briefly as possible and withdrawing.

"I am merely concerned for your well-being, not trying to pry into your personal life." Gustav claimed with little intonation to back it up. "We as a group want everyone to succeed and excel, and if that means you require certain necessities from us, myself and other officers will do our best to provide you with such." This statement was addressed to all three mercenaries, but Gustav was certain to linger on Elmera longer than he had to. "However, we can only help you if you are honest with your needs." Gustav finished with an overdramatic flourish of quill on his page.

Perhaps she had been rash...  Elmera resigned to her seat, focusing on the perturbing feeling caused by Marcel's presence.  She had to resist it, but the distraction helped her stave off her Moon Sugar's symptoms.  She would have to apologize for the outburst, but to be fair, Gustav had been a little out of line asking her such a question in front of the others - her dirty laundry was none of their business.

"This brings me to you, Niernen." Gustav said. "I understand that you may need personal support in trying times like these, and I am glad to say that Jarl Skald has transfered a chaplain to our company; this individual should be ready to assist you tomorrow." He checked the official letter; Skald must have thrown this priest over to make up for the missing pay.

"Before you re-enter your contract, I must know, for your own safety, Niernen, do you feel ready to re-engage mentally and physically after your ordeal in enemy captivity?" Gustav questioned. Ashav wouldn't care for such details of personnel, but Gustav was insistent on having only the top notch employees.

Niernen's eyebrows raised perceptably upon Gustav's mention of a chaplain. Was he unaware of the Dunmeri religion? A chaplain of the Eight Divines was hardly going to be of any spiritual use to her, but she decided not to say anything and just nodded graciously in a show of gratitude and responded to Gustav's question instead.

"It would be nice to have a proper healer take a look at my broken bones, but other than that, I am ready. In fact, I can't wait to cook those Kamal [i]n'wahs[/i] alive in their armor," the sorceress hissed and clutched the cup of wine so hard her fingers turned white again. Trying to stay in control of her emotions, she finally took her first sip and eyed the cup's contents for a second. "Not bad," she mumbled eventually.

Niernen's determination was unnerving to Gustav. He blinked confusingly at the Dunmer woman, still not sure how to deal with her headstrongness. Niernen was clearly tense, and Gustav leaned back into his chair out of instinct. He flashed a wavering smile as the sorceress started drinking, feeling vindicated in finally having someone appreciate his beloved beverage. "Well then, I am happy to offer you this opportunity for vengeance, Niernen Venim." Gustav slid an empty contract across the table, alone with his quill for signature. "Make them burn." Gustav emitted his best macho growl, which doesn't have the exact output he desired.

"Marcel Gawain, I am hereby approving your promotion to full-time contractor, on Ashav's behalf." He passed another copy of the same contract to the Breton. "By signing this contract, you will accept three months of service." Gustav recited out of Ashav's procedures. "Oh, and you can still resign at this moment," the man added, but the Breton dismissed the possibility as 'most ungentlemanly', as he took the contract with a soft yet firm hand and looked for an inked quill to sign the paper with. 

Passing his quill to Marcel, Gustav noticed Elmera had eased up, which was strange given the supposed root cause of her unease was still present. "Sarandas, your contract will continue uninterrupted, as long as your conducts and contributions continue to be acceptable." Gustav stopped there, but he would certainly keep an eye out for Elmera's suspicious behaviors.

Elmera nodded, "Thank you," She stated professionally, rising from her seat. "If that's all, sir, I'm going to take my leave and get some rest. Can't go into the field tired, can I?" The woman asked rhetorically, placing a hand on her hip, taking a brief moment to study Gustav. He wasn't the easiest man to read, but she'd have to be even more careful than she already was. With that, [url=https://gfycat.com/GrizzledUnawareCrane]she left the room[/url].

Niernen signed the document without another word. Despite the thoughts and worries that assailed her upon signing the contract that would make her an enemy of Morrowind for a long time to come, she felt like she was doing the right thing. She just hoped that Narzul would come to see it that way too. After Elmera had left, Niernen got up from her seat and nodded towards the two remaining gentlemen. "Good evening, seras," she said and followed her fellow she-elf.