Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"You would watch your tone with me, mortal." The priest muttered, "I already told you that Vile is clever, it is his way to reveal the negative side of a pact after it has been agreed upon. If that negative side is his involvement, even you could predict that he would not simply talk to you like I am doing. I would have you bask in my presence so that you understand the severity of this situation. Vile will be more subtle."

The priest slowly strode around them, circling them both as Fendros kept turning to face him. Ahnasha's words had echoed off the walls of the now empty temple, but the priest's words did not. "As for when, I can guarantee that it will happen, but not in any specific amount of time." The priest's tone was still slow and hypnotic, "You lycans have been blessed with such wonderful hearing. All manner of whispers may reach you. The wisdom to know how to interpret them is where your lord Hircine fell short in his blessings."

For a few more steps, the priest looked at them as he stopped walking by the statue of Boethiah. His blank look gave an air of expectation. Fendros felt as if he was awfully exposed. This... being seemed to have much knowledge about them, too much. He certainly wasn't going to trust it, at least not immediately. "How will the offer be given?" Fendros asked finally.

"Mmm..." The priest began to walk again, "My sight can see far enough to know that the offer will come from a Breton." The priest began to emit a low chuckle, as if knowing not only how wide sweeping the statement was, but who the immediate suspects would be, "Beyond that, it will be your task to know, mortals."

Fendros clenched his teeth, there was no doubt who they were talking to now, and she wasn't giving them any worthwhile information. Knowing her, she would try to tear apart the ties of the pack just for her own enjoyment. Though if what she mentioned was true about having an interest in disrupting Clavicus Vile, then perhaps her intentions were partly sincere. "You are Mephala, aren't you?" Fendros said, his head angled forward with an angered expression.

The priest stopped circling them while in front of the shrine to Mephala. "Ah, this one can interpret some whispers now." The priest raised his arms higher this time, partly assuming the pose of the statue he stood in front of. Lowering his arms, he stood perfectly still. "We have time for one last question, mortals. Select it wisely, for any further questions will cost you... favours." The priest's eyes lowered to Ahansha's stomach, and not without them noticing. Fendros stepped forward and put his hand over Ahnasha's stomach protectively, keeping his eyes on the priest with a look that told Mephala not to even dare it. Being in the empty temple with this daedra was only becoming more and more unnerving.

---

"Amazing." Ariel said under her breath. Whatever Meesei had managed to do, it managed to peel off some of the enchantment like the skin of an apple. Ariel hadn't seen anything like it before, save for disenchanting items, but that was done in a completely different way.

Some footsteps from further down the cave put the group on edge suddenly. Sabine immediately stood up. The voices that echoed along with the footsteps relaxed them however. Lorag and Janius had returned. They emerged at the entrance of the chamber with some small game over their shoulders. "Hello again! How goes the skeleton taming?" Janius said jovially as he approached them. Going on a hunt had evidently improved his mood. He looked to Lorag, who had the carried the soul gems. They were filled now, and they had caught some non-humanoid meat in the process. "The smaller souls are all in jumpy and shy creatures in these parts, but at least they're abundant. The hardest part was putting the soul trap on them before killing them."

Final Fantasy: Awakened Souls

Sara nodded. The kid was fine after all. Most of the chocobo on the ranch seemed tame enough as far as Sara could see, and the apparent owner of the ranch had a handle on things, so there wouldn't be any trouble. What. A. Surprise. She thought. "Ferry guards protect the ferry, kid. We're just on patrol. Speaking of..." Sara pulled out a large silver pocket watch with her free hand and flipped it open. Time to report in. She turned her head to her partners, "... we're done for today, boys, let's get back to Xenon and tag out the next set of bored fools." Sara held rested her halberd on her shoulder and tugged on her chocobo's reins, turning it around. "Ma'am!" Brandt and Harry replied, falling in behind her. They left the farm boy and his lady-friend to their exchange as they headed down the road at a slow to moderate pace.

There was no need for an inhabited guard post on the island, so the guards normally switched out at the ferry. Despite the open air, Sara was glad that the patrol was almost over without her getting cabin fever. This damn day.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

When asked to look at the skeleton's bindings for herself, Ariel sat down and reached over the magic, trying to feel around and make sense of it. It was complicated. There were many intricacies and details that she couldn't quite understand, but there were some hints of other familiar patterns. Meesei was right, there was so much there that it seemed hard to shift any of it aside without having something else come up to replace it. Florence really was a meticulous witch.

Sabine also silently sat down and joined in. Her face showed very little signs of confusion. Only concentration was evident. She was analyzing every detail.

"Yes, I'm getting its energies, but..." Ariel showed her teeth in a tense look as she paused, "it's confusing. There's much here I don't quite understand. I wonder if..."

Ariel tried charging a small green mote of enchanting magic and releasing it onto one of the purple tendrils. There was a small flow of magicka that reverberated around the immediate area of the skeleton's body, but it the area quickly returned to normal. "It's not an obvious thing to sabotage, is it?" Ariel remarked.

"Try two," Sabine suddenly said quite confidently.

Unsure exactly what Sabine was communicating, Ariel looked up at her. "What do you mean?"

Sabine huffed and shuffled over to Ariel, grabbing hold of her wrists. Carefully, Sabine directed Ariel's hands to hover over two places on the skeleton's torso. "What you did, do it again. Both hands." Sabine commanded.

Ariel glanced at Meesei, unsure, then tried again. Two motes of green energy, meant to etch enchantments, charged in both her hands and were released into the skeleton. Again, it reverberated, but when the reverberations from the two charges met in the centre of the skeleton's ribcage, there was a peak of magicka that disturbed the binding in that area. There was a tear for but a moment, but despite looking like it would fall apart, it repaired itself after a few seconds.

Sabine let go of Ariel's hands, but she was too amazed to move. What exactly did she do?

"Try conjuration," Sabine said, looking at the skeleton.

Ariel shook her head, "I don't think I know how I would do that." She said, sitting back again.

Sabine looked at Meesei expectantly. She would probably know.

---

Fendros grinned widely at the realisation that he was preaching. "I don't think you need to worry about that." Fendros put one hand on Ahnasha's shoulder, "Sorry, I must be channeling my ancestors in this place." He laughed, "They're taking over my mind." The comment on different culture's talents got Fendros thinking. There were plenty that Dunmer were good at, that was for sure, but most of the things they were known for were... not so savoury. "You're right, the new temple seems to have quite the artists. Perhaps we'll get to see what it is the Dunmer have in unique merit before the end of the day."

Despite the place feeling very familiar, Fendros couldn't help but feel out of place in the temple. He'd changed so much that it was almost as if he had forgotten the prayers. The place commanded such a reverent atmosphere that under normal circumstances he would bring an offering or say a prayer, but now there wasn't so much of an obligation. Nodding to each of the good daedra's statues and looking up into the underside of the impressive dome that made that section of the ceiling, Fendros thought that his business in this place was now complete. He was about to leave when a voice emerged from behind one of the statues.

"Hircine's servants..." the voice was light, but felt forced.

Fendros' attention instantly snapped to a point behind Azura's statue. From around the other side of it, a robed and bald Dunmer slowly walked into their view with a blank expression. Fendros said nothing. The old man stopped and faced them, it was as if he was talking to the space in front of them, but he didn't immediately appear to be blind.

"Clavicus Vile is a disgusting creature, but he is crafty." The old man continued, Fendros suddenly realised how quiet the temple had become. There was no one else but the priest, Ahansha and himself. "I sympathise with your plight, so I will offer you a boon of advice: Do not accept his offer of extended life. Such a thing would be far too obvious that if you were to accept, it would be cliche."

"Who are you?" Fendros asked sternly, not knowing how exactly this priest knew so much. By the smell of him, he didn't seem like a lycan at least.

The priest smiled in a way that filled Fendros with dread. "One who appreciates... drama... but would be interested in getting back at Vile for a slight against me," he said slowly, spreading his arms. His voice almost seemed like a hypnotic breathing, a whisper, but was still audible. "Any more questions? Hircine and Vile would be ever so cross if they found out I was talking with you, so we have limited time, but time nonetheless."

Final Fantasy: Awakened Souls

:D

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ariel was glad to hear that her information would be useful, but she still stared at the skeleton thoughtfully. It was as if she knew the answer but couldn't quite point to it.

In response to a quiet shuffling sound, Ariel looked back at Sabine. She had just sealed the last flask and was getting up to join them by the skeleton. Ariel looked at Meesei before she resumed. "Would you mind if I watched? I think I've become curious about this now."

---

Looking up at the face of the statue of Azura, Fendros sighed. It was something he knew, but not something that he often had to try and put into words. He had to take a second or two to really know what to say, but it eventually clicked. "Well..." Fendros looked to the other two statues, "... when most people think of gods, they think of the beings that dictate us. Separate... separate entities that watch over us and encourage us to be what they believe is the way to live. The reclamations, they are different. It's difficult to describe."

Fendros frowned and read the runes on Azura's shrine again. "I think the answer really lies in our history." He said, hovering his hands over the runes as he recounted what he had been taught. "A long time ago, the Dunmer were rooted from the Altmer. It was by the words of a prophet, Veloth, that we traveled to Morrowind and became the Chimer." Fendros turned to Boethiah, "Veloth was a follower of Boethiah, who taught us to revere our ancestors, to detach from the Altmer. Boethiah taught us how to build our buildings, how to fight our enemies, how to be an independent people, among other things. He is known for plots and deceit, but without such things, we would still be at the feet of Summerset Isle." Fendros looked at and raised his hand to point to Mephala, "Mephala also taught us similar things; evasion, assassination. All of these are her spheres, but it is what the Chimer used to survive. We were still a small, wandering group before we settled properly. Without her own teachings, we would be dead. Also without her and Boethiah, we wouldn't have our clans. Our society would be fractured and disorganised. Finally, Azura," Fendros turned back to the closest statue, "Azura taught us wisdom, guided us, helped us to develop ourselves as a separate race altogether as Chimer. All three of these daedra are essentially the root of all that we are as a people. Without them, we would be dead. Without them, we would have nothing."

"In our time, Mephala and Boethiah are essentially treated as evil beings in many parts of the world, and that is because they seek to fulfill their own agendas. But this doesn't change the fact that they were our mentors, and in a way, our ancestors." Fendros looked at Ahnasha upon finishing, "so you see, the worship of the reclamations is less, then, about asking for boons and power, like it is with stereotypical daedra worship. It's more in respect and thanks, as well as to follow their example into the future of our own lives." Fendros breathed a chuckle, "It also explains a few things about Dunmer culture to say such things out loud. Even if how we lived, and really continue to live, makes the Dunmer an unfriendly people, it is how we survived. We owe a lot to the reclamations for that."

Final Fantasy: Awakened Souls

Little_ninja said
No-one is posting in IC T.T
Why does it feel like the RP is dead now after I posted, or atleast the IC side of things.

Because...

BlazeGamma said
Hang on, engine stalled. Get your feet off the clutch.

You actually need to have your feet depressing the clutch in order to restart the car, unless you've decided to be a smartarse and try and start in neutral. That's how manual transmission works ;P

Nah, really we're waiting for CrimsonWarrior55, BlazeGamma or SilverCarrot to post. Unfortunately, SilverCarrot is currently bound by that odd little 3 post buffer rule, BlazeGamma is not able to get at a computer, and CrimsonWarrior55 has a reasonable amount of life going on right now. Feels like a widespread sudden-GM-disappearance syndrome, disappointingly, but it might blow over before everyone leaves. I for one am sticking around.

EDIT: NOW WHO'S THE NINJA! >:D

Final Fantasy: Awakened Souls

Mkay

Final Fantasy: Awakened Souls

It's all good in my eyes for what it's worth.

In the meantime did you want to make a response post, BlazeGamma?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Hahah, g'night then.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Time for work. See you later!