In the early hours of the morning Qa’Skil was laid sprawled across the bed he had purchased for the night, he shifted around every few minutes and occasionally gave off a growl or mumbled comment as if speaking with some invisible presence. Sleep had thus far evaded him and his heart had been racing the entire time as he rolled back and forth again and again. Eventually his eyelid began to feel heavy and he drifted into a light uneasy sleep which soon filled his mind with unpleasant images and thoughts.
Qa’Skil was wandering through the Tenmar forest, he was young and healthy again, his coat shimmering and golden and both eyes gazed around as he walked between the sugarcane groves dressed in his finery. Suddenly he came across another Khajiit who was hidden amongst the groves, the feline emerging from a thick patch suddenly before standing and blocking his path with a glass dagger clutched in his hand.
Qa’Skil recognised himself, mangy and one-eyed with the all too familiar look of desperation plastered over his face as he brandished the blade forwards and demanded his coin-purse. Young Qa’skil barred his fangs and took a step backwards as he placed a hand protectively over his money before he shouted “It’s me you fool! You can’t seriously be robbing yourself can you?”
Even his voice was strong and firm compared to the quiet and sinister voice that responded, the older Qa’Skil spitting on the ground before he hissed “S'rendarr has cursed this one” and he began to lunge forwards aggressively stabbing and slashing with the glass dagger.
Qa’Skil quickly reached for his own glass dagger, but it was missing from its place in his waist and he could do little but fall backwards under the onslaught as he tried to block the blade with his hands and arms. The blade cut deep into his hands as he grabbed at it, his crimson life-force spilling freely as he began to grapple with the dream version of himself. Managing to grab the blade and hold it for a moment as they both wrestled to the floor the dream Qa’Skil fought viciously and frantically, kicking, elbowing and gouging at him as the blade was knocked free and clattered to the ground beside where they grappled. Now fighting with little more than tooth and claw the dream Qa’Skil managed to gain the upper hand for a moment before he lashed out and raked his claws down his face causing unfathomable pain to shoot through his face as Qa’Skil clutched at his now profusely bleeding eye, realising that he had just blinded himself.
The dream Qa’Skil managed to scramble over to the knife before he twisted and leapt back upon his wounded victim. Struggling desperately to stop him Qa’Skil could do little more than scream and beg for him to stop as the dream Qa’Skil tried to plunge the blade into him once more, barley missing as they once more frantically began to struggle, hands locked as the blade hovered just above Qa’Skil’s chest before slowly beginning to inch its way forwards.
After what felt like an eternity the tip of the blade found its target, sinking into his flesh as a sickening and horrifying feeling gripped at him, pain blossoming throughout his body as his strength faded and the dream Qa’Skil grinned fiendishly as he pushed the dagger in deeper and deeper until it was buried to the hilt. Feeling weaker than a kitten Qa’Skil gazed into his own savage eye as the dream Qa’Skil watched the life drain away from his face.
As his vision faded in the dream Qa’Skil awoke in reality, his heart still pounding and covered in sweat. He was very unsettled and felt at his chest where the dagger had been only moments ago, the feelings had been so real and so unnerving that he couldn’t help but check. Satisfied that it had only been a dream and nothing more he swung his legs over and sat on the edge of the bed before he grabbed the almost empty bottle of wine from his nightstand and drained the remaining liquid with a few rapid gulps.
“Sheggorath’s tits that was unpleasant…” he mumbled to himself as he rubbed his left eye. He also took a moment to feel around the scars of his right eye, his fingers running over the lines that marred his face before he suddenly stood before stalking across the room to where his bag was sat. Grabbing the tatty satchel he moved back towards the bed before he unclasped it and turned it upside down, spilling the contents onto his bed. “Let there be something…” he begged, hoping desperately that there would be some vial he had overlooked or at the very least a flask of some strong liquor that would knock him out for the remainder of the night. The amount of junk he had collected was quite impressive, however he was not in the mood to sift through it at the moment and began to quickly search through the items for what he was looking for.
Qa’Skil froze as he picked up the package of Moon-sugar, simply gazing in disbelief as he held it in his hand. A moment later his face erupted into a huge grin and he began to laugh to himself, still not believing he had forgotten about the substance for so long. Tearing open a small corner of the package he quickly poured a small amount directly into his mouth before he leaded backwards and chewed at it, savouring both the sweet taste and the feeling of relief that began to flood his body. It wasn’t skooma, but it would definitely do for now. After a few minutes he sat forwards again before deciding that it was time for him once more to try his hand at refining the substance himself, and so began to think about what he would need to scavenge together and where he would do it. .After a short amount of time his grin spread even wider as he realised he knew just the place. Carefully sealing the package once more he placed it into his bag before he dumped the rest of his possessions back as well, he then began to quickly dress himself in his overcoat and pull his shoes back on as he scrambled around the room to prepare.
Peering through his doorway into the inn’s main room to ensure it was deserted before he moved out, his footsteps falling silently as he easily glided across the wooden floor without making a noise Qa’Skil paused only once behind the bar to grab yet another bottle of the alto wine, moving the bottle behind it forwards so it’s absence would not be detected before he snuck out into the cold crisp air of the very early morning – intent on turning Roggi’s basement into a make-shift skooma den for the day.
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Well I was thinking that Qa'Skil was going to become quite infatuated with her - become stalker-like and a tad obsessed in his own way, but again it would depend on how everything goes.
Leos, that could indeed become quite the sub-plot. Dreet-Na grappling with the desire for immortality, but not willing to go down a dark path... moral conundrum type of thing.
Leos, that could indeed become quite the sub-plot. Dreet-Na grappling with the desire for immortality, but not willing to go down a dark path... moral conundrum type of thing.
Heh, initially I was planning on having Dreet-Na very upset about the vampire, undead and lycan companions – but I think I’ve decided he’d be more interested than upset. Especially with Valerion and his somewhat ‘immortal’ nature – seeing as the lizard’s last years are upon him and he has thus far failed in his life quest of gathering knowledge and information in a safe place.
I totally didn’t have to google Conniption to see what it meant.
I figure as soon as Dreet-Na finds out about her issues he will go back to his grumpy old self – at the moment he seems to be in quite the good mood, magical tome gifts n all! But I figure he’d have quite the stick up his ass about such prejudices (damn hypocrisy of him… more than enough prejudices himself. )
Likewise I figure if he meets any Mer characters it wouldn’t go well. Also any meeting between him and Qa’Skil would likely not go very well at all, but then again I figure Qa’Skil would likely rub many of the characters the wrong way with his sinister ways.
I figure as soon as Dreet-Na finds out about her issues he will go back to his grumpy old self – at the moment he seems to be in quite the good mood, magical tome gifts n all! But I figure he’d have quite the stick up his ass about such prejudices (damn hypocrisy of him… more than enough prejudices himself. )
Likewise I figure if he meets any Mer characters it wouldn’t go well. Also any meeting between him and Qa’Skil would likely not go very well at all, but then again I figure Qa’Skil would likely rub many of the characters the wrong way with his sinister ways.
The fire continued to crackle in the hearth and snow continued to fall unseen beyond the walls of High Hrothgar as the meeting continued. The female Breton, Rozalia, spoke next as she introduced herself and began to list through her qualities. She confirmed that she was indeed a stealthy character, able to move through the shadows unseen. This doubled with her apparent skills with her blades and bow meant that she would be able to move unseen and strike with surprise, something Dreet-Na was sure the group would end up thankful for if they were hoping to dice with the numerous Dovah and any other foes that they might stumble upon during their journey. She mentioned that she also had a ‘foothold’ in regards to magic, referring to the natural affinity her bloodline afforded her – something Dreet-Na had always been slightly jealous of when it came to the mastery of the arcane. Rozalia finished with a roguish grin as she added that she was able to talk her way out of anything, again something Dreet-Na was sure that they would end up needing before their quest was done, his gaze lingering upon her as he wondered just how convincing she could really be.
It was at that point that he became aware that another individual had arrived, the hushed voices of the greybeards heard as they ushered them into the meeting room. A Redguard woman strode into the room, her movements seemed deliberate yet cautious as she surveyed the group as they had each done. Dreet-Na could not help but notice that she seemed to tense slightly as her gaze passed over Valerion and the snow-haired man, however she gave little indication of whatever she was thinking from her stoic expression. As she removed her snow-caked outer clothing she seemed to find a brief moment of enjoyment from the warmth of the room, though again her expression betrayed little.
“Saasi” she spoke, a single word which lingered in the air – obviously her name and introduction. Dreet-Na wasted little time in scrawling it down beside the names of his other companions. The rest of her introduction was short, almost cryptic and her shifting gaze showed that she may be feeling some element of unease as she stood as the centre of attention amongst the companions. He scrawled down her words beside her name as she slowly took a seat amongst them, clearly done with her introduction and not wanting them to linger further upon her, or at least so he assumed. He frowned slightly as he gazed down at the page, slightly unsettled by the lack of information he had been able to record thus far, however he hoped that such things would come later in their mission.
“Dreet-Na”
Hearing his name, the lizard snapped his attention upwards and away from his scrawlings as Valerion watched him with his hand upon a trio of books that were now on the table before him. Tapping the cover of the topmost book he explained “These are for you. May they serve you well.”.
Dreet-Na’s eyes lit up as he gazed at the tomes, recognising the symbols of the schools of destruction and conjuration he eagerly slid the books towards himself. They were rare and old, that much he could tell, and after a quick examination he identified the spells these tomes would teach. Once Valerion had expressed his pleasure at meeting this newcomer, Dreet-Na nodded his thanks towards him – none of the spells being within his current skillset, and he eagerly awaited reading through and learning their secrets, in particular the summon Clannfear.
Hesitating for a moment Dreet-Na wondered if this gift was out of convenience, or rather that Valerion was concerned regarding his abilities within combat. Dismissing the thought he decided it did not matter, after all he was more than confident with his own mage abilities. The others would soon see the boons of his restoring, fortifying and shield skills, as well as the danger of his absorbing, paralyzing and reflecting skills, amongst many other abilities he had picked up over his many years.
Looking once more around the group he could see that several of them were looking tired, each of them likely somewhat exhausted by not only the ascent but also the late hour at which they were convening. Some of the group had still not introduced themselves, but at this late stage it seemed it may be that they would not do so either out of reluctance to join and commit to the group, or perhaps if not just out of lack of a desire to grace them with their words. He assumed that they would either do so at some stage, tonight or if not in the morning before they set off, or that they would be gone in the morning having decided not to join with Dovahfeyn. Clearing his throat Dreet-Na turned to face Saasi and said “Yes, greetings Saasi. I hope your journey here was not unpleasant. I am Dreet-Na, scholar and mage” he then gestured towards Rozalia before introducing her and adding that she was a rogue and slight jack-of-all-trades it seemed and continuing around the room in a similar fashion, repeating the names of those who had introduced themselves and summarising what they had said about themselves as simply as possible. Finally he gestured towards Valerion and said “He is Valerion…” he hesitated for a moment before continuing “he is… very old and complicated, from what he has told us.” Once he had finished Dreet-Na glanced at the others who remained in the shadows or towards the back of the room, deciding that their introductions would be their own if they so chose.
Torn between what to do for the moment, Dreet-Na reached over to one of the several plates of salted fish and slid it towards himself. He decided that he would eat and study the tomes for now, most likely being able to learn the two destruction spells with relative ease, however the conjuration spell would take him much more time considering his relative lack of experience in that school. Fortunately for him it would still be possible considering he was an expert with mysticism, a school that was now mostly included within conjuration due to their many similarities. When the others decided to go to whatever chambers they were assigned he would have the peace he needed, and could then sleep when he so chose – though he may regret the lack of sleep the following day, he was for now to enthralled with the new tomes he had been given to consider sleeping.
It was at that point that he became aware that another individual had arrived, the hushed voices of the greybeards heard as they ushered them into the meeting room. A Redguard woman strode into the room, her movements seemed deliberate yet cautious as she surveyed the group as they had each done. Dreet-Na could not help but notice that she seemed to tense slightly as her gaze passed over Valerion and the snow-haired man, however she gave little indication of whatever she was thinking from her stoic expression. As she removed her snow-caked outer clothing she seemed to find a brief moment of enjoyment from the warmth of the room, though again her expression betrayed little.
“Saasi” she spoke, a single word which lingered in the air – obviously her name and introduction. Dreet-Na wasted little time in scrawling it down beside the names of his other companions. The rest of her introduction was short, almost cryptic and her shifting gaze showed that she may be feeling some element of unease as she stood as the centre of attention amongst the companions. He scrawled down her words beside her name as she slowly took a seat amongst them, clearly done with her introduction and not wanting them to linger further upon her, or at least so he assumed. He frowned slightly as he gazed down at the page, slightly unsettled by the lack of information he had been able to record thus far, however he hoped that such things would come later in their mission.
“Dreet-Na”
Hearing his name, the lizard snapped his attention upwards and away from his scrawlings as Valerion watched him with his hand upon a trio of books that were now on the table before him. Tapping the cover of the topmost book he explained “These are for you. May they serve you well.”.
Dreet-Na’s eyes lit up as he gazed at the tomes, recognising the symbols of the schools of destruction and conjuration he eagerly slid the books towards himself. They were rare and old, that much he could tell, and after a quick examination he identified the spells these tomes would teach. Once Valerion had expressed his pleasure at meeting this newcomer, Dreet-Na nodded his thanks towards him – none of the spells being within his current skillset, and he eagerly awaited reading through and learning their secrets, in particular the summon Clannfear.
Hesitating for a moment Dreet-Na wondered if this gift was out of convenience, or rather that Valerion was concerned regarding his abilities within combat. Dismissing the thought he decided it did not matter, after all he was more than confident with his own mage abilities. The others would soon see the boons of his restoring, fortifying and shield skills, as well as the danger of his absorbing, paralyzing and reflecting skills, amongst many other abilities he had picked up over his many years.
Looking once more around the group he could see that several of them were looking tired, each of them likely somewhat exhausted by not only the ascent but also the late hour at which they were convening. Some of the group had still not introduced themselves, but at this late stage it seemed it may be that they would not do so either out of reluctance to join and commit to the group, or perhaps if not just out of lack of a desire to grace them with their words. He assumed that they would either do so at some stage, tonight or if not in the morning before they set off, or that they would be gone in the morning having decided not to join with Dovahfeyn. Clearing his throat Dreet-Na turned to face Saasi and said “Yes, greetings Saasi. I hope your journey here was not unpleasant. I am Dreet-Na, scholar and mage” he then gestured towards Rozalia before introducing her and adding that she was a rogue and slight jack-of-all-trades it seemed and continuing around the room in a similar fashion, repeating the names of those who had introduced themselves and summarising what they had said about themselves as simply as possible. Finally he gestured towards Valerion and said “He is Valerion…” he hesitated for a moment before continuing “he is… very old and complicated, from what he has told us.” Once he had finished Dreet-Na glanced at the others who remained in the shadows or towards the back of the room, deciding that their introductions would be their own if they so chose.
Torn between what to do for the moment, Dreet-Na reached over to one of the several plates of salted fish and slid it towards himself. He decided that he would eat and study the tomes for now, most likely being able to learn the two destruction spells with relative ease, however the conjuration spell would take him much more time considering his relative lack of experience in that school. Fortunately for him it would still be possible considering he was an expert with mysticism, a school that was now mostly included within conjuration due to their many similarities. When the others decided to go to whatever chambers they were assigned he would have the peace he needed, and could then sleep when he so chose – though he may regret the lack of sleep the following day, he was for now to enthralled with the new tomes he had been given to consider sleeping.
Ah cool, should I switch Freddie to the new spades then, or? I suppose he is more weapon oriented than just brute strength?
Also out of curiosity what were you intentions/plans for posting and what not? Just always the eager one, I am. May work on a very low card today, henchman kinda stuff, just to give you a pawn to play with :p
Also out of curiosity what were you intentions/plans for posting and what not? Just always the eager one, I am. May work on a very low card today, henchman kinda stuff, just to give you a pawn to play with :p
So thats why they can't wear shoes? I did always wonder if they'd just 'evolved' smaller feet. But back then I had no real idea about the amazing immersive lore awesomness.
You should try Morroblivion - if you have a PC that could run Oblivion. Basically a mod that combines morrowind and oblivion into one game (where you can travel between the two), all made using the oblivion engine.
I first played Morrowind when I was really young and didn't understand much, they basically let you choose your race and stuff and shove you out of the front door with no instruction or aid... and you die after wandering a swamp for a while as soon as you run into something anything.
Oblivion I loved beyond love. I eventually had a character that I played every single quest and sub-quest through, as that one single character. I had the full gamerscore on 360 - 1250 (after Shivering Isles DLC), had all the DLC and played it about 100 times through.
I am ashamed to admit that Skyrim was meh in comparison in my humble opinion. Still amazing and I still played it a crap load, but it didn't grip me as much and I wasn't so keen on the magic or the duel wielding. Played some of the vampire DLC, still havent got the Solsteam one... It saddens me I can't rinse it completely and do everything like I did in Oblivion.
I first played Morrowind when I was really young and didn't understand much, they basically let you choose your race and stuff and shove you out of the front door with no instruction or aid... and you die after wandering a swamp for a while as soon as you run into something anything.
Oblivion I loved beyond love. I eventually had a character that I played every single quest and sub-quest through, as that one single character. I had the full gamerscore on 360 - 1250 (after Shivering Isles DLC), had all the DLC and played it about 100 times through.
I am ashamed to admit that Skyrim was meh in comparison in my humble opinion. Still amazing and I still played it a crap load, but it didn't grip me as much and I wasn't so keen on the magic or the duel wielding. Played some of the vampire DLC, still havent got the Solsteam one... It saddens me I can't rinse it completely and do everything like I did in Oblivion.
ManoftheNorth said
This one would like to introduce himself, He is Rawlith-Dar. This one is a skilled wearer of medium armor, Bonemold to be specific.
Medium armour?? Next you'll be telling us he is wearing pauldrons and bracers! :p
Also tiny Smaug pleases me ^_^
Dreet-Na continued to listen, fortunately the heated situation was seeming to resolve itself as others of the group spoke of cooperation before the nord who had spoken earlier followed the red-eyed one’s lead and introduced his strengths, followed by his imperial companion who introduced himself as Leonidas. Making another note in his book about the pair Dreet-Na turned his attention to the Khajiit as he spoke, making note that he had referred to him as a Saxhleel rather than Argonian. ‘Perhaps this Khajiit is more intellectually inclined than those I have met before’ he thought to himself briefly, somewhat impressed that he had used the Jel word for Argonian.
The Khajiit proceeded to speak further, adding more weight to his point before turning his attention to the map. He spoke of his intention to head to one of the markers that was located somewhere near Whiterun, stating that he had already stumbled upon it. Questions sprung into Dreet-Na’s mind, curious about what he had discovered on his previous visit, but before he could ask the Khajiit began to apologise for his ear-splitting outburst earlier before introducing himself. His name was Rawlith-Dar and he seemed to be primarily a warrior of sorts, though his choice of weapon and armour were exotic – Dreet-Na having not heard of Bonemold being used outside of Morrowind. Distracted for a moment Dreet-Na remembered the Dunmer folk law legend he had once read about the creation of Bonemold armour, it being accredited to a noble lord by the name of Arslic Oan who was granted a castle and land by his king, but after building a stronghold and settling down with his many slaves they fell under attack from a tribe of cannibalistic nords who began attacking Arslic's slaves in the fields. The nords allegedly grew bolder, until they held the very stronghold itself under siege. After several failed attempts at sending his slaves to fetch water from a river, Arslic asked his armorer, Gorkith, to forge an armour sturdier than leather but lighter than metal. Bonemold armor was the apparent answer and although seventeen of his slaves were killed and eaten in the subsequent attempt, one made it back with a jar of water. Dreet-Na suppressed the urge to share the tale, knowing that there were far more important matters at hand than the origins of Rawlith-Dar’s armour of choice.
“This one is Cathay, a sub-species of Khajiit with both a grand strength and grand agility” explained Rawlith-Dar, again peaking Dreet-Na’s curiosity, as he knew that there were allegedly several sub-species of Khajiit, however up until now he had remained intentionally ignorant of any knowledge regarding this – due to his dislike of the race as a whole.
"This one hopes you will accept him as his own tribe had, this journey will certainly require us to all come together." Finished the Khajiit before returning to his place against the back wall.
Dreet-Na considered what he had heard and the manner this Khajiit held himself, again finding himself more curious than he would have thought. He had not found Rawlith-Dar’s speech as frustrating and foolish as he had that of other Khajiits, usually finding great annoyance at their habit of referring to themselves in the third person or as ‘this one’, and so made a mental note to try and keep his prejudice in check for the moment – at least where Rawlith-Dar was concerned.
Taking the brief lull in conversation as his opportunity Dreet-Na cleared his throat again before he spoke “As I have said, I am a scholar first, and so I would suppose that my primary talent is within knowledge. However I am most proficient with the schools of Restoration, Alteration and what was formerly known as Mysticism. I have skills in the other schools but have not focused upon them as thoroughly. I cannot enchant items and I have only little skill in Alchemy.”
He finished as quickly as he had started, turning his gaze to the next of the companions expectantly as he once more lit his pipe, his quill poised ready above the book.
The Khajiit proceeded to speak further, adding more weight to his point before turning his attention to the map. He spoke of his intention to head to one of the markers that was located somewhere near Whiterun, stating that he had already stumbled upon it. Questions sprung into Dreet-Na’s mind, curious about what he had discovered on his previous visit, but before he could ask the Khajiit began to apologise for his ear-splitting outburst earlier before introducing himself. His name was Rawlith-Dar and he seemed to be primarily a warrior of sorts, though his choice of weapon and armour were exotic – Dreet-Na having not heard of Bonemold being used outside of Morrowind. Distracted for a moment Dreet-Na remembered the Dunmer folk law legend he had once read about the creation of Bonemold armour, it being accredited to a noble lord by the name of Arslic Oan who was granted a castle and land by his king, but after building a stronghold and settling down with his many slaves they fell under attack from a tribe of cannibalistic nords who began attacking Arslic's slaves in the fields. The nords allegedly grew bolder, until they held the very stronghold itself under siege. After several failed attempts at sending his slaves to fetch water from a river, Arslic asked his armorer, Gorkith, to forge an armour sturdier than leather but lighter than metal. Bonemold armor was the apparent answer and although seventeen of his slaves were killed and eaten in the subsequent attempt, one made it back with a jar of water. Dreet-Na suppressed the urge to share the tale, knowing that there were far more important matters at hand than the origins of Rawlith-Dar’s armour of choice.
“This one is Cathay, a sub-species of Khajiit with both a grand strength and grand agility” explained Rawlith-Dar, again peaking Dreet-Na’s curiosity, as he knew that there were allegedly several sub-species of Khajiit, however up until now he had remained intentionally ignorant of any knowledge regarding this – due to his dislike of the race as a whole.
"This one hopes you will accept him as his own tribe had, this journey will certainly require us to all come together." Finished the Khajiit before returning to his place against the back wall.
Dreet-Na considered what he had heard and the manner this Khajiit held himself, again finding himself more curious than he would have thought. He had not found Rawlith-Dar’s speech as frustrating and foolish as he had that of other Khajiits, usually finding great annoyance at their habit of referring to themselves in the third person or as ‘this one’, and so made a mental note to try and keep his prejudice in check for the moment – at least where Rawlith-Dar was concerned.
Taking the brief lull in conversation as his opportunity Dreet-Na cleared his throat again before he spoke “As I have said, I am a scholar first, and so I would suppose that my primary talent is within knowledge. However I am most proficient with the schools of Restoration, Alteration and what was formerly known as Mysticism. I have skills in the other schools but have not focused upon them as thoroughly. I cannot enchant items and I have only little skill in Alchemy.”
He finished as quickly as he had started, turning his gaze to the next of the companions expectantly as he once more lit his pipe, his quill poised ready above the book.
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