The Strange Night

Lucrezia walks into the woods to check on and disable her traps meant for the werewolf she was hunting, after talking to a friend, she realized she was not hunting what or who she thought she was and decided to end her search there.

While looking at one of the traps, she sensed someone near and turned around to be face to face with a red haired wood elf. She opened her mouth to speak but the bosmer quickly put her hand on Lucrezia's forehead and suddenly Lucrezia felt dizzy and confused. She fell to the ground, unmoving for several hours.

When Lucrezia finally woke, she was already at her camp, in her bed. Milo was not there and had possibly already left to take care of some things before the Fighting Event later that day. An entire night was missing from Lucrezia's memory. She didn't remember drinking too much that night or any other reason for her black out. The last thing she remembered was being in the woods...and the bosmer. Was it possible that she was only dreaming? Or maybe she passed out because of her recent head injury? Both were entirely possible and would make perfect sense. But right then Lucrezia started to feel like she was no longer alone, even though no one else was physically around her for perhaps a few miles.

She shook off the creepy feeling and got up to get dressed and make her way back to S'ren-ja.

Lucrezia walked down the path from S'ren-Ja towards Rawl'kha. She had been running, trying to clear her head. The past two days had been an emotional roller coaster ride. She was restless and frustrated. She hadn't had a good nights sleep in several days. Milo was still sleeping when she left the Clan Mother's house (their temporary living situation until things settled down in S'ren-Ja), actually nearly everyone was still sleeping when she left. It wasn't even fully daylight yet.

She rested at a nearby boulder and took a drink of water from the bottle that she carried with her. Then her head quickly turned when she heard someone walking off the path. She got down low and quietly followed the noise. She came upon a small river that was almost completely dried up. Someone was kneeling down and drawing something in the sand. There were also some stones placed in the sand as well, it looked like some type of ritual. Lucrezia tried to get closer, but stepped on something that made a loud snapping noise. She froze.

"Who's there?" A woman spoke out and started walking toward her.

Lucrezia sighed and stood up to reveal herself to the woman and nearly gasped when saw who it was. It was the red haired bosmer and sorceress named Lorys.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't have any weapons on her or her Guard uniform with her, so she couldn't attack or arrest her. She just stood there for a moment in complete shock, trying to come up with a plan on the spot.

"Are you alright, miss?" Lorys asked, looking concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine. I was just walking and heard someone out here so I thought I would check it out." she said to her, trying hard to look normal and calm, while inside she felt like an angry caged animal just dying to get out and rip her to shreds.
"A little bosmer like you checking out strange noises by yourself? You're a brave one, aren't you?"
"I'm part of the S'ren-Ja guard so it's part of my job. And you're out here by yourself as well, unarmed. It's not safe here right now. There's talk of assassins running around. You should get to safety." she glanced over Lorys' shoulder to try and get a look at the symbols she was drawing before but Lorys took another step toward her.
"Oh, a guard? Well lucky me then, maybe you won't mind walking me back to S'ren-Ja then? I'll feel a lot safer with you around." she said to her, voice full of sweetness but she had a devilish look in her eyes.
"I'm heading to Rawl'kha actually. But I can watch you walk up the hill to make sure you get there safe. Then you'll be right at the edge of town. You'll be safe." she said to Lorys as she side stepped away from her. Lorys had reached out to touch her but Lucrezia dodged it. She was not going to get possessed by her again.

Lorys stood there for a moment and stared her down. Lucrezia wasn't sure if she was trying to size her up or was plotting something so she just stood still and stared back. For those few short moments, it was incredibly tense. Lucrezia could sense the tension and she was sure Lorys could as well. Now who was going to make the next move?

"I think I can get there on my own. Thank you for offering to look out for me, there will be no need." Lorys finally said after a while. She gave her a smile and turned to walk away.

Lucrezia also turned, to head in the other direction. Her plan was to take another path back to S'ren-Ja as quick as she could. This path would be much longer but hopefully if she ran very fast, she might could beat Lorys there and warn another guard about her.

But before Lucrezia could even finish her thoughts, Lorys spoke up again.

"Say hi to Milo for me."

When she said Milo's name, something in Lucrezia just snapped. She was no longer thinking rationally or planning her next moves. She instantly turned toward Lorys, fists balled up and drawn. But before she could swing even once, Lucrezia was tossed a few feet into the air and landed hard on her back. It knocked the breath out of her and she struggled to her hands and knees, gasping for air. Then she instantly felt intense pain throughout her whole body. She collapsed on the ground and started shaking uncontrollably. She started screaming out, but it was so early in the morning and they were so far from any town that she wasn't sure anyone could even hear her, much less make it to her rescue.

And as suddenly as the pain had started, it then stopped. Her body was still tensed up and painful to touch, so she just laid there and concentrated on breathing. She hardly noticed Lorys now standing over her.

"Now that I've got your full attention, listen carefully. I'm not playing any more games. As much fun as it was making you and your boyfriend do whatever I wanted, I've grown bored with you both. I want my soul gem and I want it by tomorrow. If I do not have my soul gem by then, I will walk into S'ren-Ja and do to everyone in there what I just did to you. Only this time, I will keep it up until they are all dead. It will be a slow and painful death for all of your friends." she stopped for a few moments and gestured her hand toward Lucrezia. As soon as her hand moved, Lucrezia felt like someone had kicked her hard in the stomach. She moved her legs to cover her stomach, as if trying to protect herself but it was no good. Lorys only laughed and did it twice more before finally leaving Lucrezia there on the ground, recovering from the strangest ass kicking she'd ever received. She had been beaten in fights before, but not ever from magic.

After what felt like many hours, Lucrezia was finally able to move enough to sit up. She lifted up her shirt a little to see some large bruises forming on her stomach. "So magic does leave marks." she mumbled to herself. She laid back down on the ground, needing to rest more before attempting to walk back to S'ren-Ja. She was tempted to just sleep there on the ground that night and try to make the walk back in the morning.

Lorys sat on the floor of the room that her friend, Hirana'la let her stay in. It wasn't a big place, the pair were only just consorts and right now no one wanted to hire Lorys, she was labeled dangerous. Her life here in S'ren-Ja was being threatened, by a pair of annoying bosmer. She had a plan to ruin them. It would take some time but the first part of it was already taking place. She stared at the strands of black hair that she was holding in her hands. She had obtained them while she had possessed the female bosmer and she was glad now that she had, for it was exactly what she needed for her spell to work. It wasn't a fancy spell or too dramatic, just a simple emotional heightened spell. It would cause the Bosmer to feel the extremes of whatever emotions she was feeling at that time: extreme anger, sadness, happiness, attraction, annoyance...She hoped it would cause enough trouble to alienate her from her friends. It would at least be a lot of fun to watch. The next part of her plan was to punish a former friend of hers. One that turned his back on her when things got bad. Lorys didn't handle rejection well and she was still plotting something special for him.

Hirana'la came through the door to their shared room with a large sack in her arms that partly obstructed her view. She nearly stepped on Lorys as she shuffled about, turning to close the door behind her with a swing of her hips. By the smile on her face she seemed to be in good spirits, and the sack was stuffed with light, colorful cloth that made its weight hardly noticeable. Once she placed the bag on the twin bed they shared she at last looked down and saw Lorys sitting nearby.

"Friend Lorys! What are you doing there? It is a lovely day, and Hirana has brought a gift for us both. Come! See, with this cloth she will make us matching dresses. Then we will appear to be sisters, no?" She smiled, quite proud of herself for coming up with the idea.

Lorys' train of thought is interrupted but Hirana'la entering the room. She is smiling and giddy, as almost always, and is carrying a large sack. Lorys stands up to help her friend with the sack of fabric. She gives her a small smile.

"I was just thinking over some things. About how to get some more work so I can help you out around here more. I do appreciate you letting me stay here. It's very kind of you." she bowed her head to Hirana and then smiled at her idea. "I think that's a great idea. We will look very pretty in matching dresses." Lorys was really not interested in looking like a pair of overgrown look-alike children but she knew that it would make Hirana happy, and she needed to keep her happy. The gullible Khajiit took her in with no questions and even tried to help her break out of her jail cell before. All Lorys had to do was look sweet and innocent and Hirana would come to her rescue. She was exactly the type of person Lorys needed right now, if she wished for her plans to succeed.

"Have you seen our good friend Ma'Zura lately, Hirana?"

Hirana was already busy looking through her few belongings to find her sewing supplies, eager to get started. She paused and perked up at the question. "Ma'Zura was at the Clan Mother's the last time this one saw him. Is he not still upset with you for being arrested? Hirana would like to see all her friends getting along, especially all Companions."

"He is still upset with me, yes. He believes the lies those other two bosmer have been telling him." lets out a heavy sigh and frowns. "But I want to make it up to him. Where I'm from, to show your friends that they mean a great deal to you, you make them a bracelet of friendship. The ones I use to make were very special, I would braid strands of my hair and my friend's hair together until I was able to make a perfect bracelet out of it. My friends use to love them and I think they look very nice as well. I would like to make one for Ma'Zura. But....I need some of his fur in order to make it. Do you think you could get some for me? You don't have to ask him, that might be awkward. But you could offer to brush him and just bring me back the fur from the brush. It should have enough for me to work with."

Lorys tried not to sound suspicious with her odd request and hoped Hirana would believe her lie. She quickly added as an after thought, "I could make you one too, of course. If it's something that you would like." She gave her a sweet smile.

Hirana'la was indeed the unassuming innocent type, and readily agreed to her request. "Bracelets, how nice! This one will try to find Ma'Zura as soon as she can. Perhaps she may brush Ma'Zura tonight!" She nearly swooned over the thought, then gathered her bearings again. "Hirana will try to speak to him now, if he is still at the Clan Mother's. If you wish, start thinking of how you wish your dress to look." She smiled gleefully and then headed out the door again to find a certain handsome calico.

Lorys smiled, she knew that Hirana would agree to this but she didn't expect it to be so quick. Her story worked on her just like she hoped it would.

"Good! Thank you for helping me with this, Hirana. You are a good friend, to us both."

Hirana left the little room and went straight over to the Clan Mother's house where she had last seen Ma'zura. She hoped he hadn't left with a client yet as it was only the early afternoon.

A final confrontation with Lorys happened. The bosmer sorceress had possessed her friend, Hirana'la, into luring Milo and Lucrezia into a cell at the guard house and locking them up in there. Lorys tortured them both, mentally and physically. She made Lucrezia see images of her making Milo do things he didn't want to. She got inside Lucrezia's head and taunted Milo with the memory of Lucrezia and John being intimate together. Then she forced Milo to assault himself and Lucrezia. Lucrezia lost control and turned into a werewolf. She nearly attacked Milo but she finally regained control again and killed Lorys instead.

Lucrezia and Milo report the incident to Alijham and John. There are talks of an investigation being started since there were no other witnesses. Alijham is searching for Hirana'la, to question her about her involvement in the incident.

((OOC: Since the conclusion of this storyline didn't happen here in the forums, I just wanted to summarize what happened in case anyone was wondering.))