Hank

The Elder Scrolls: Chapter's Dues

Character List

Snow Clever-Cat*, played by @Father Hank
Male Khajiit - 32 - The Apprentice - Spellsword

Faerion Charmerius, played by @Stormflyx
Male Altmer - 41 - The Lover - Cook (and Archer)

Marlene Antony, played by @Spoopy Scary
Female Breton - 25 - The Tower - Witchhunter

Lamzarakha gra-Kazorn, played by @LadyTabris
Female Orsimer - 24 - The Warrior - Berserker

Jormun Fireborn, played by @Dervish
Male Nord - 34 - The Warrior - Shocktrooper

_{* Leader of field team Talin.}

The Elder Scrolls: Chapter's Dues

Added Birthsign and Attributes to the CS, I forgot that before.

The Elder Scrolls: Chapter's Dues

THE ELDER SCROLLS

CHAPTER’S DUES

_{This is an invite-only RP. Applications are not welcome.}

To all whom it may concern,

The renowned guild and mercenary organization known as the Chapter is looking to expand its ranks. We are a varied and capable group of warriors, sorcerers and specialists from all races, creeds and walks of life that have come together to provide a common service to all citizens and rulers of Tamriel during these latest years of strife and unrest. Where the traditional institutions and governments that used to be responsible for maintaining peace, security and prosperity have been preoccupied with other matters, the Chapter stands ready.

Because of the demanding nature of our work, we are looking for individuals with a desire to do good (for a reasonable fee) that are in possession of the following skills:

• All able-bodied men and women who are trained or experienced fighters with one or several schools of weapons and armor. Equipment will be provided as needed.
• Skilled and knowledgeable mages, sorcerers, warlocks and witches. Formal training is preferred but not necessary. Necromancers need not apply.
• Healers, be they alchemists, mages skilled in the esteemed school of Restoration or traditional physicians or medics. Experience with combat trauma is definitely preferred.
• Those with specialized utilitarian skills such as rangers, scouts, treasure hunters, sailors, and even corsairs and thieves are all welcome. The Chapter is willing to give convicts wishing to reform a chance.
• Last but not least, cooks, tailors, smiths, couriers, farmers and other craftsmen and -women. The Chapter aims to be a fully self-sufficient organization.

Interested individuals are encouraged to speak with their local Chapter representative or, if they are able, to travel to the Chapter's headquarters in the Great Forest of Cyrodiil, south of Chorrol.

The Chapter protects and the Chapter provides.

---

General Information

• The in-game year is 4E206.
• The Dragonborn has defeated Alduin, Lord Harkon and Miraak and has since retreated to High Hrothgar to become one of the Greybeards.
• The Stormcloaks nearly won the Civil War, which raged on for four years from 201 until 205, but they were narrowly defeated after all. Skyrim remains full of unrest, however.
• The faction quests in Skyrim were completed by separate individuals, but the precise outcomes aren’t relevant to this RP…
• ... except the Dark Brotherhood storyline: the Emperor was indeed assassinated near the end of 4E201 and this has sparked a renewed border conflict with the Aldmeri Dominion after they smelled weakness within the Empire. Cyrodiil was the stage of a power struggle that took place in the shadows and the Empire’s grip over the provinces waned. This has increased the popularity and influence of the Chapter.
• Morrowind, Black Marsh, High Rock, Hammerfell and the Aldmeri Dominion are in the same state they were before the events of Skyrim. We will be visiting places all over Tamriel over the course of the RP and the various regions will be more fleshed out then.

---

The Chapter

What, exactly, is the Chapter? It is many things: a guild, a mercenary company, a self-sufficient organization, a place of training and a repository of knowledge. The Chapter is based out of a large compound nestled within the Great Forest of Cyrodiil, located south of Chorrol, and while it theoretically answers to the authority of the Count and the Empire at large, in practice it operates as an independent entity that serves people all over Tamriel, both citizens and rulers. The Chapter grows its own food, forges its own equipment, trains its own members and hoards its own texts, artifacts and technology. Some Cyrodiilic warlords were leery of the Chapter and branded it a ‘rogue army’ but none had the resources or inclination to march against the Chapter, and its leaders have continuously assured the nations of Tamriel that they are not looking to usurp anyone’s authority… which is true. It is far more lucrative not to.

The Chapter was founded in 4E190 by four wildly different but like-minded individuals: the Imperial swordsman and former Legionnaire Gaius Nero; the Altmer sorcerer and former Thalmor agent Duatheryn; the Argonian ranger and former An-Xileel operative Only-He-Goes-There; and last but not least, the Dunmer magistrate and former House Redoran lord Divuth Garethi. You may have noticed a trend there. All four founders were previously part of either the armies or ruling entities of their erstwhile homelands and all four left their posts to pursue careers as freelance mercenaries. Their work brought them together and during a heated discussion over a few too many mugs of ale at dinner, they realized that they were all equally dissatisfied with the way things were run. Tamriel lacked an efficient, capable, well-equipped and highly organized independent fighting force after the downfall of the Fighters Guild and the sundering of the Mages Guild into the College of Whispers, the Synod and the Arcane University. They resolved to rectify that issue.

In order to function properly, the Chapter is split into four Divisions, each headed by one of the founders.

• The Operations Division is headed by Gaius Nero and is comprised of (almost) all active field agents and officers. They are responsible for carrying out the missions agreed upon within the contracts obtained by the Logistics Division, and essentially generate most of the revenue for the Chapter -- its dues, if you will. Wink. Members of this division are officially referred to as mercenaries. If you ask them, they do all the actual work. Our characters are probably all members of this division since they’re the ones who actually go out into the field and kick some ass, but sometimes members of other divisions are attached to field teams for various reasons.
• The Intelligence Division is headed by Duatheryn and is responsible for gathering and guarding information, knowledge and power. The Chapter stands to benefit from being well-informed about the goings on in the world at large and Duatheryn is always looking to add more tomes of (arcane) knowledge to the Chapter’s sizeable library, or equipment and artifacts to its armory. This division is the most covert of the four and while its existence is known to all, its activities are a well-guarded secret. Members of this division are known as agents and include librarians, spies, informants, sorcerers and more.
• The Technical Division’s name is a bit of a misnomer (but you try coming up with a better one) since it doesn’t exclusively refer to the use of technology. It is headed by Only-He-Goes-There and is is a hodgepodge mixture of scouts, sailors, smiths, alchemists, enchanters and engineers. Where the Operations Division is generally called upon to make something dead, the Intelligence Division is called upon to make something known and the Logistics Division is called upon to get something done, the Technical Division is called upon for… everything else. Members of this division are known as specialists and many of them only work part-time for the Chapter, as their services are not in need all the time. Craftsmen are the exception here. Always need craftsmen!
• The Logistics Division is headed by Divuth Garethi and does exactly what the name implies.They are responsible for feeding, housing and transporting all the other members of the Chapter and maintaining its supply chains. Its ranks are made up out of farmers, cooks, builders, merchants and, yes, logisticians. Additionally, the Logistics Division is also responsible for securing actual work for the Chapter by obtaining contracts, negotiating prices and advertising the Chapter’s services.

---

Character Guidelines

Almost none! For the sake of simplicity I will ask you all not to make vampires or werewolves, but most other character archetypes are fair game. One thing, though: this is meant to be a pretty light-hearted and fun adventure in the world of Tamriel, so there’s no space for genuinely evil or malevolent characters. In the end, people sign up with the Chapter to do good, or at the absolute worst to make some gold.

Equipment is limited to sensible stuff. Our characters are mercenaries; if they were rich enough to afford a suit of ebony armor, they wouldn’t be doing this gig. I trust you all to be reasonable about this.

I’ve come up with a little rule concerning enchanted items: everyone can have one enchanted piece of equipment with an average enchantment on it, like a bit of fire damage or some extra elemental protection. Characters with the Enchanting skill can have more, up to a maximum of four pieces for an Expert enchanter, of which one enchantment can be powerful and the rest just average. Again, be reasonable about it. We’re not here to win, we’re here to have fun!

We use the same skill system as Vengeance of the Deep (with different tier names) because things are just easier that way. The default is one Expert skill, three Adept skills and three Apprentice skills, but you can trade one skill for two skills one level below it (1 Expert = 2 Adept) and vice versa. Novice is just everything else, you don’t have to mention that your character knows how to not kill themselves with a mace.

In order to further specialize weapons, One-Handed and Two-Handed are divided into the three main weapon categories (Sword, Axe and Blunt), Spear is its own thing again (like in Morrowind) and Marksman is divided into Archery and Throwing Weapons. There are three armor skills (Light, Medium(!) and Heavy). On the magic side of things, Mysticism isn’t a thing anymore in Skyrim and I’m keeping it that way, so try to draw from Skyrim’s magic system as much as you can.

Here is the Character Sheet.

Name:
Gender:
Race:
Age:
Birthsign: This is mostly for flavor but you can say that it has some minor affect on your character's strengths and weaknesses if you like.
Appearance: Written description mandatory, images are allowed (but no photographs, that just looks weird).

History: I know many of us are fond of writing really long histories, but you really don’t have to bother in this RP. Five solid paragraphs is enough, as long as their journey through life makes sense.

Personality: Same story. If you can convey what your character is like in one meaty paragraph, I’m fine with that. It’ll come out during the RP anyway.

Equipment:

• Please list weapons separately and describe what they look like and are made of. Armor can be lumped together.
• Also include how much septims they have (maximum of 200) and other misc items like jewelry and sentimental items and whatever.
• ...

Attributes: One Major, one Minor. Pick them from the list of Attributes that the games had before Skyrim. Luck also counts, if you want.

Skills:

Expert:

• ...

Adept:

• ...
• ...
• ...

Apprentice:

• ...
• ...
• ...

Spells: For mages only. Up to a maximum of eight. Expert Restoration equates to Expert level spells from Skyrim for example. This is just an indication of their power; please don’t use the actual spell names while writing, because that looks weird. Destruction’s Incinerate = a torrid flash of extreme heat and fire that burnt my master’s leather strapon to a crisp, etc etc.

Combat Style: Describe in at least a few sentences how your character goes about fighting the baddies. This helps other players figure out what kind of style we don’t already have, because the skill list doesn’t tell the whole story.

Misc: In case I forgot something.

Please post your characters in the Out of Character tab for review first.

Let’s go!

The Elder Scrolls: Chapter's Dues [character-driven, mission-based mercenary RP]

I've thought about this and considering the amount of roleplays and other duties I already have on my plate, I'm proooobably going to turn this idea into a small, invite-only RP to start with, with potential for growth after we've found our footing. Thank you to all who showed interest! I'll reach out to those who I want to invite to begin with.

The Elder Scrolls: Chapter's Dues [character-driven, mission-based mercenary RP]

Any other takers? If this doesn't garner enough traction this week I'll just shelve the idea for some other time.

EDIT: Or change some things around and run it as a very small-scale RP that just uses the Chapter as a vehicle for tiny missions. Options, options!

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 2 (Completed)

WOE

10th of Last Seed, 4E205
Jehanna, High Rock

Narzul did not attend the funeral. Neither did Niernen, who was still exhausted from her ordeals, but that was not the excuse she claimed. Dunmer did not acknowledge the Divines as their own gods and whatever funeral rites were about to be performed had no religious or spiritual significance to them. The two of them hadn’t been close to any of the deceased either. And last but not least… they had other things on their minds.

After her interview with Madara, the reporter that worked for the Tamrielic Gazette, Niernen had picked up a habit of reading the newspaper whenever a new edition came out. Narzul had secured a room for them at the Lucky Bird as soon as they docked on the 9th and practically carried his little sister into it, making sure she was comfortable in bed before acquiescing to her two last wishes for the day: a hot meal and the latest newspaper. He had felt immensely guilty over the way things had gone during the fight with the Sload and its Dreugh minions. He had somehow allowed the raging waves to knock her out of his arms and she nearly drowned because of it -- if it weren’t for the efforts of Sevine, Wylendriel, Maj and Dar’Jzo, she surely would have died. Narzul had been dressed in his heavy armor and the time it would have taken to free himself, what with the salt water tightening the leather straps even more, even if he had cut himself loose, would have been enough for Niernen to submerge beneath the surface forever. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Once again, he had not been able to protect her. So like any good brother did, he had completely taken on her care during her recovery without a single squeak of complaint and now that she was awake and talking again, did whatever she asked without hesitation.

He hadn’t read the newspaper himself when he returned with it. It wasn’t until Niernen had finished her meal and opened the pages to see what had happened in the world while they were traveling that the awful news reached them.

If Narzul closed his eyes, he could still see and hear how Niernen had gasped as if she’d been stabbed in the heart. He had been cleaning his blade and turned to look at her, finding her frozen in place, eyes wide, fingers trembling, mouth agape, staring at the newspaper in horror. He could still feel the immense, all-consuming fear that had bubbled up from his gut into the rest of his body, paralyzing his arms and his shoulders, clawing all the way up to his face. He’d opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He already knew. The risk had been there ever since the start of the invasion.

But to think the Nerevarine actually did it…

The moment had stretched on seemingly forever, motes of dust suspended in the faint light of the fluttering candle on Niernen’s nightstand, until the spell had been broken by a ghastly, shivering sob as Narzul watched his sister collapse into a depth of grief he had never seen before. Something had suddenly reanimated him and he sprung into action, crossing the distance between his chair and the bed in two long strides before snatching the newspaper up to read for himself, eyes feverishly searching for the section Niernen had been reading, until --

”SCANDAL! The Venim family, influential nobles of House Redoran, have been declared traitors. All Venim family members are executed (by the order of Grandmaster Farandras), while their associates and retainers are imprisoned and will be undergoing reeducation.

Exposing and prosecuting the Venim family is the Sarethi family. A long-time rival to the Venims, the Sarethis found evidence of Venim family members funding and enlisting in enemy forces, and several Venim hirelings are --”

The newspaper had uselessly dropped to the floor as Narzul’s fingers lost their strength. That was when he realized he had apparently stopped breathing. A long, shuddering intake of air was swiftly followed by an explosion of emotion, and he had observed himself from a distance as he grabbed his black blade and tore into the furniture and the walls of the room with unprecedented savagery. Niernen’s sobs of bereavement turned into screams of terror as Narzul destroyed everything he could, practically frothing at the mouth, his heart thundering in his ears so loud that it drowned out anything else, crimson eyes bulging in their sockets -- never in his life had he been so consumed by wrath and hatred as he was then. It was like a cannonball had struck the room, so great and terrible was his violence, and crushed, splintered and severed fragments of wood lay scattered across the floor by the time he was done, when there was nothing left to destroy but the bed.

A squeal of fear had escaped Niernen’s throat as Narzul turned to face her, chest heaving, his throat rattling with every vengeful breath -- would he blame her, like he’d done before? Was he going to say that it was her fault that everything had happened? She knew that Narzul had just lost his future, his birthright, everything he had ever trained and worked so hard for, which was perhaps even more dear to him than his family itself. But to her surprise and immense relief, Narzul dropped his wicked war-sword to the ground and collapsed to his knees beside her before enveloping her in the most sincere, gutwrenching embrace she’d ever felt, and together they cried for what felt like hours.

Between choking, tearful wails, Narzul had only been able to say two things. “Papa… mama…”

Niernen’s heart broke.

They had fallen asleep like that, huddled together for comfort, and not been roused from their deep (but restless) slumber until the following morning. After her tears had tried, Niernen was simply empty and she could do nothing but stare at the ceiling of their room. Narzul, on the other hand, was beset upon by the need to do something, and while they waited out the duration of the funeral without leaving their room, Narzul eventually stopped pacing and donned his ramshackle suit of armor.

“We have to kill him,” Narzul said to Niernen. It was the first sentence either of them had spoken since the news.

She slowly turned her head to look at him, her expression as blank as only the traumatized can manage, and blinked. “The Nerevarine?”

Narzul nodded. “Yes.”

More than ten seconds passed before she could muster a reply. “Yes, we do.”

“That’s settled then,” Narzul said with a note of finality and strode out of the room, closing the door behind him with force. It was time to find Gustav.

The Elder Scrolls: Chapter's Dues [character-driven, mission-based mercenary RP]

To all whom it may concern,

The renowned guild and mercenary organization known as the Chapter is looking to expand its ranks. We are a varied and capable group of warriors, sorcerers and specialists from all races, creeds and walks of life that have come together to provide a common service to all citizens and rulers of Tamriel during these latest years of strife and unrest. Where the traditional institutions and governments that used to be responsible for maintaining peace, security and prosperity have been preoccupied with other matters, the Chapter stands ready.

Because of the demanding nature of our work, we are looking for individuals with a desire to do good (for a reasonable fee) that are in possession of the following skills:

• All able-bodied men and women who are trained or experienced fighters with one or several schools of weapons and armor. Equipment will be provided as needed.
• Skilled and knowledgeable mages, sorcerers, warlocks and witches. Formal training is preferred but not necessary. Necromancers need not apply.
• Healers, be they alchemists, mages skilled in the esteemed school of Restoration or traditional physicians or medics. Experience with combat trauma is definitely preferred.
• Those with specialized utilitarian skills such as rangers, scouts, treasure hunters, sailors, and even corsairs and thieves are all welcome. The Chapter is willing to give convicts wishing to reform a chance.
• Last but not least, cooks, tailors, smiths, couriers, farmers and other craftsmen and -women. The Chapter aims to be a fully self-sufficient organization.

Interested individuals are encouraged to speak with their local Chapter representative or, if they are able, to travel to the Chapter's headquarters in the Great Forest of Cyrodiil, south of Chorrol.

The Chapter protects and the Chapter provides.

---

Hello and thank you for reading this far. As I was playing through Skyrim again with a few new mods installed I was struck by the simple beauty of one of them, which added notice boards throughout the game where I could find straightforward quests of do-goodery to perform in exchange for money. It occurred to me that it had been a long time since I had roleplayed an Elder Scrolls story on that scale, the simple jobs that need doing, instead of great events that shape the political nature of their age. Hence this RP.

The idea is to make a character-driven roleplay where the missions that we undertake mostly serve as a backdrop to develop the personal stories, camaraderie between and relationships of the characters themselves. I'm not looking to tell a story but to create a framework in which you, the player, can have a good time.

I am looking for players to perform these missions and quests, of course, but I am also very much looking for co-GMs to help me create, write and oversee them. I will be ultimately responsible for the overall maintenance of the RP, accepting new players, fully fleshing out the Chapter itself, RPing the leaders of the Chapter and describing the overall state of Tamriel during the years in which the RP takes place (somewhere not long after 4E201), and I will also be GMing my own missions, but I'm not looking to get bogged down creating the NPCs and minute details of every mission that the players partake in. I simply don't have the time nor the inclination. So if devising short, simple and sweet missions for some of the characters to complete, anywhere in Tamriel, sounds like fun to you, please let me know! There is no real big, overarching plot to consider, so you'll have almost total creative freedom. Look at it like a mini D&D session.

Please feel free to ask questions or leave suggestions below. Chapter's Dues is a working title by the by, so if you have a better idea, let's hear it!

The Avatar Fandom's Thoughts

Considering it has the original creators (and composer!) of A:TLA behind it, I'm cautiously optimistic.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 2 (Completed)

I don't see "eat her and gain her powers" anywhere.

The Elder Scrolls: Vengeance of the Deep

DEFIANCE

a sizzling and chilling production by @Stormflyx and @Father Hank

Late Evening, 30th of Second Seed, 4E208
The Three Crowns Hotel, Gilane, Hammerfell

If she had felt unnerved in the daylight, she felt even more so now. It was dark, and a cold breeze ran through the narrow streets. It was a wonder she could find her way back to the Three Crowns. But she had already ventured a little through Gilane earlier in the day, to pick up supplies and visit the bath house. She could still feel dampness in her hair, and she was wearing it differently too, high on her head in a two braid twist. A handmaid at the house had threaded through a thin gold coloured rope. The same style of rope which was acting as a waist belt around her dress. Everything else had been too heavy to wear, and the dress was cheap - it pained her to think of it, but she had more important things to do than to go perusing for an entirely new outfit so soon. She was looking forward to the morning coming back around to allow her to fully explore, while rested.

As she made her way through the streets, she finally saw in her vision the recognisable Three Crowns. The lights were still on, it couldn’t have been that late. It just felt like she had spent forever with her father and with Daro’Vasora. She was still angry about it all, a bitter feeling resting in her stomach. She could barely manage a neutral expression, she was showing her feelings on her face entirely. Narrowed eyes and pursed lips, arms folded over her chest - partly to stop from shivering too much in the breeze, and partly as a warning to those who may approach her, she was in a hurry to get to her destination. She eased up a little at the thought of her opulent dwellings. Even if she had to share it with Judena, Rhona, and… Daro’Vasora. It was a beautiful room with privacy. She could shut them out if she really needed to, the same couldn’t be said for the Argonian’s offensive snoring.

She came into the clearing from the market stalls and out into the open, just a short walk more until she could get inside, and to bed. She hoped not to see Daro’Vasora there so soon…

High above her, Gregor had finished his seafood dinner in grim silence after Alim’s departure. It had taken a lot of willpower not to drink the entire bottle of wine. Now he stood at the railing of the balcony, staring out over the city, going over the things he’d said to Alim. He sighed. An apology to Alim would probably be necessary, even though he was still angry with Alim’s insolent prying. It was then that his eyes caught a glint of gold walking through the streets and he looked closer. Could it be? Her hair was styled differently and she was wearing new clothes, but after a few seconds Gregor was sure of it. That was Raelynn. Something inside of him immediately tensed up at the sight, but in a good way. He watched her for a while as she approached the hotel, taking note of the way she’d crossed her arms and, once she was close enough to tell, the sour look on her face. He took a deep breath and when he exhaled, he could hear a low growl in the back of his throat. It had been a long week. He was hungry..

Suddenly, like a predator emerging from the underbrush, Gregor turned on sharply on his heel and marched out of the room, past the still-sleeping Calen, and down the stairs. He was intent on intercepting Raelynn before she got to her room, as he was still hesitant to come knocking when the other women were present.

If she hadn’t been so determined to get to the room, she might have felt the presence of someone watching her, but really everything felt slightly tense here, she was wound up and ready to leave the day behind her. For once, she wasn’t paying attention, and she got quite a ways into the hotel before she noticed him. She had been so distracted that she couldn’t help but yell out at him in fright “Shit!” she gasped, stopping in her tracks before him. “Gregor,” she began, her voice wavering vaguely “you scared me, I didn’t see you…”. She had been wanting to see him again, she really had. Even now she felt a knot in her stomach, a rush of arousal. But she wasn’t sure if she should, or even could. She began walking again, slower now. She knew already that he wasn’t going to let her just walk past him. She gave him a look up and down as she got closer to him, and she realised he was dressed differently. She hadn’t known him all that long, but she knew enough about him to know that his signature look was the black. Now, he was dressed in light garments. It gave her another surprise, enough of one to cause her to stop once more.

“I’m sorry, I… really must get to my room.” It was futile, a lie. Raelynn already knew it. It was now just her saying something that she could use later, in her defense perhaps; I did try to get to my room - but she knew she wouldn’t be back in the shared room this evening. The two of them had unfinished business.

The dim lighting of the hotel’s corridors at night cast long shadows over Gregor’s face, his dark eyes invisible in the gloom, and his expression was unreadable. He allowed her to come to a halt, to speak, but he barely heard what she said. He moved closer, one step at a time, his boots heavy on the polished floors, his posture languid, arms by his side. It was the gait of a man that knew that Raelynn was not going anywhere. And he was right; she did not back away from him. Gregor stepped right up to her until they were only inches apart, his face hovering over hers -- now she could see his eyes, and the cloying desire that burned there. His hands moved over her hips, fingers gently brushing against her skin through the fabric of her dress, until he wrapped his right arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He cupped her chin with his left hand and tilted her head back, forcefully but not brusquely. “Raelynn,” he said quietly, his voice barely more than a whisper, before he leaned in and kissed her.

In the murkiness of the room, Raelynn followed Gregor’s lead. She let him pull her close, her arms dropped to her sides -- bodies suddenly pressed together, lips touching. She moved her tongue over his lips softly, reminding herself of his taste. As she did, she could hear in the back of her mind, the voice of her father ”Acting like a common tart is not looked upon highly.” It replayed a number of times as she reciprocated her lover’s kiss.

When it got too much, when she reached the point of pulling away and taking her father’s advice, or defying them she paused. She moved out of the kiss and looked into Gregor’s eyes - they were so beautiful, so enticing, so bewitching. “Fuck it…” she whispered against his lips, before returning to kissing him, this time she wanted him to feel it, and so she bit down gently on his lower lip. Her hands working their way up from her sides to the back of his neck. “Take me somewhere else. Not here, away from here. Away from… them.” There was demand in her low voice. Being here wasn’t right - not just because they were forbidden from sharing a room, but because of Daro’Vasora. Because of what she had said. She wanted to be alone with him, completely.

“Your wish is my command,” Gregor murmured. He, too, wanted to be far away from judgemental and prying eyes. With his arm still around her waist, Gregor led her back the way she came.

---

She found herself on the floor of their room surrounded by sheets and pillows, staring up at the ceiling, catching her breath. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body and her legs were trembling almost uncontrollably. She rubbed a hand across her brow, before laughing softly and rolling onto her side to look at Gregor, and then she looked back at the bed -- at the wooden slats that had broken, lying in a splintered mess underneath it. She took the sheet from beside her and began to wrap it around herself. Why she felt the need to cover herself after that was unknown. There was just a niceness to it, to wrap up and come back together in an embrace.

She couldn’t speak, she was still busy fighting for breath - partly from exhaustion, and partly from the violence of it. She reached a hand out, stroking her fingers softly across his wrist, to bring him back around from his own state of bliss.

“Huh?” he asked and turned his head aside to look at Raelynn. His breathing came slow and deep, like a crocodile. “Oh, hey,” he mumbled, eyelids fluttering. “You come here often?”

“Not often enough…” her voice came out hoarse, and she moved over in his direction, nestling herself beside him with her head resting on his chest. She took some of her sheet to cover him from the waist down - but the rest she wanted to see - to feel. To feel his skin against hers. “I hope I was worth the wait,” Raelynn said in a breathy voice, her fingertips now caressing his torso, drawing across the outline of his tattoos.

The sensation of her body pulling up close to his was enough to rouse Gregor from the depths of his post-coital oblivion. It had been such an intense release of tension and satisfaction of his carnal desires that he felt empty afterwards, and the total, deafening silence in his mind had been blissful. He propped up a pillow behind his head so that he could look at Raelynn as she lay on his chest. “Mhmm,” he hummed. “A torturous wait, but definitely worth it. The way you looked at me while we were caged up in that ship with no way to do anything about it… awful, you know. Just awful.” He didn’t mean that, of course. The boyish tone to his voice betrayed that he was teasing her. Gregor laughed softly and sighed. “What a day. I had a conversation with a Dwemer. Can you believe that?”

Raelynn moved her head only slightly, to where she could hear his heartbeat. It was only just slowing down. It was powerful though. She smiled as he spoke, his humour showing through as he relaxed and let the blissful feelings take over. “I can believe it. I have stayed away from them, I just….” she stopped, thinking back to what Daro’Vasora had told her. Something about Gregor and the Dwemer. Well, if he was going to bring it up… “They distress me. I was taken aback to even see them here. I can’t imagine what I would even converse with them about.” Feeling at least settled enough to summon up some Magicka, she let the golden light pour in a precise manner from her fingers, and onto the scratches she had left on Gregor’s chest. “I dread to even imagine being alone with them…”

“Oh, I would pay for the privilege,” Gregor replied. His voice was deep and husky after their rough session and Raelynn would be able to feel the reverberations of it echoing in his chest. “I’m not afraid of them. They should be afraid of me.” He let his hand wander over Raelynn’s back, slipping beneath the covers of the sheet as it traveled further down. “It was a short conversation. The situation was so absurd that I couldn’t stand it for much longer. She had the gall to welcome me to ‘Volenfell’. Total disregard for the fact that this country is called Hammerfell and that the Redguards are supposed to rule it. Really, the things I would do to a Dwemer if I had one all to myself…”

It made sense, of course Gregor would be agitated with Dwemer, at the very least. He was allowed to have a vicious anger for them, to yearn to inflict pain. She didn't know what Daro’Vasora had been playing at. Should she press the issue more? She was unsure. She just knew she was enjoying his hands on her body again, even if she was beginning to feel sore now that the high was wearing off. “I think you're justified in feeling that way…” she began, her hands moving from his chest to his cheek and she looked up into his eyes. “Part of me wants to see you hurt them…” Immediately she knew that may be misinterpreted by him, it might elicit the response she wanted however, that there was something more sinister to his hatred.

The look in her eyes, the words she said, her fingers on his cheek -- it was intoxicating. Gregor’s face was as hard as steel as the deepest, darkest side of him rose to the surface, coaxed out by Raelynn’s encouragement. “Oh, I will hurt them,” he said, his voice breathless and cold. “I will hurt them in ways that extend far beyond their mortal lives. I have… powers.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Powers that can send them to a place from where they can never return, a place that will deny them the sweet release of death for all eternity. A place that will make me stronger for every soul I condemn.” The fingers of his wandering hand dug deep into Raelynn’s flesh and his eyes flashed with a ravenous, unnatural hunger. “I want to you to see it.”

His confession. The Khajiit was right to be scared. But Raelynn wasn't. She hung on each word, smiling at him, her own eyes burning with desire for it. The power. The more he said to her, the more he told her, she felt herself being worked into a frenzy. It was wrong, but so right. As Gregor’s hands worked their way across her already tender skin, a whimper of pleasure slipped from her lips and she couldn't stop herself anymore - she slid up on top of him, her face against his neck. “I want to see it too. I want you to show me.” She let her voice be soft, sultry - a coo of encouragement. Her hand moved to his chest to the place that she could feel his heartbeat. It was faster than before. He was excited or angry - or both.

An indescribable, unidentifiable emotion surged through Gregor’s entire body. They had crossed an irrevocable boundary now. She was his, and his alone, bound together by the shared knowledge of his worst secret and her approval of it. The unyielding cruelty on his face made way for something far more tender, drinking in Raelynn’s sapphirine eyes as she straddled him. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again, lost for words.

Besides, they had more furniture to destroy.