A Favor (Lu/Afer/Alts)

Sitting outside Afer and Lu's home in Woodhearth was a brown furred Khajiit in simple traveling clothes that were a bit dirty, as if she'd just been rolling around on the dirt a few times. She looked around as the area got a bit more busy as people were entering and leaving the crowded marketplace nearby. She was starting to draw a little bit of attention to herself as she started struggling with an angry black goat that seemed to have a chain leash! The goat was making a very irritated noise and kept pulling against the leash, even trying to bite at it. The Khajiit was now standing up, pulling the other end of the leash and arguing with the goat.

"No! S'nari promised to keep stubborn goat safe, and keep silly goat safe she will do! Now sit!"

The goat was not having it and pulled again, making more angry noises at his kidnapper.

"Stop misbehaving or S'nari will have to send stubborn goat to bed without his dinner!" The Khajiit pulled again, side stepping over to the front door of the home and then quickly wrapping the chain around it's handle. Now the goat could pull and pull all he wanted with no budging. The Khajiit smiled wide and felt very proud of herself for the quick thinking. "Ah-ha! Stubborn goat will have to just sit there now or fight with the door. S'nari is smarter than one thinks, yes." Looking around, still searching for the home's owner, she started looking for someone that met the description she was given. Then, she just started asking people that walked by if they knew the person she was looking for. "Excuse S'nari, but has the kind and busy sir seen a round-eared bosmer male with a fluffy-bottomed companion?"

She waited as the man looked at her strangely and hurried back to the market place to get away from her. She asked several more people while the goat finally gave up on escaping and laid down in front of the door.

Slowly making his way back to woodhearth, The short yet handsome Imperial walks to town with a massive pack on his back with several pieces of gear hanging out and a tiny trial of food that falls out his pack is left behind. He is followed by his fluffy butt companion who picks up all the food that falls out and keeps it for himself. He slowly approaches his home scratching his chin that seems to have grown a lot of hair since he been away "Been a while, has'nt it Dunther?" He reaches his hand down scratching the back of his dog's ears and neck and quickly stealing the cooked piece of chicken's leg in his mouth and having a bite for himself. This was normal for him to share his food with his best friend.

As he passes through the market he waves to each person who makes eye contact with "Hey! I'm back! your town is now a safe haven now that I'm here. Fear no more of what lurks in the dark, cause now what hides behind a veil of shadow with meet the bright.... errr... brightest part of my blade!" Absolutely no one says anything and only silence with gets interrupted by the merchants continuing about their business. He looks down to Dunther laughing "Saw that, Dunther? Its call being in awe. They simply could not find the words to express their happiness now that they have their guardian back. C'mon, we have things to do!"

He continues to him home ad spots the Khajiit woman in front, he stops near her looking at her with a smile "Here to meet the guardian himself? I suppose I have time for a admirer" he keeps his chin up high with a cocky smile on his face.

The Khajiit was trying to pull a bosmer back from the road when Dunther and Afer came up to the house. She was almost yelling at the poor frightened bosmer. "Sir has fluffy-bottomed companion, yes?" Finally, the bosmer managed to get his arm free and ran off in the other direction, calling the khajiit crazy as he ran.

Sighing and looking frustrated, she turned around back to the goat and then spotted the two. She blinked for moment as Afer spoke to her, not sure exactly what he was talking about. But then she spotted Dunther's fluffy tail. She made a squeaky noise and jumped towards the dog. "Fluffy bottomed companion and round eared bosmer, finally! S'nari has been waiting for hours! She searched high and low for Miss Lu's friends and tried to follow her hand drawn map." She reached into her pocket and handed Afer a map....or what was supposed to be a map. It was a horrible drawing of a house, trees and a dock with ships. It was a wonder how she managed to find the right house. The Khajiit also handed him a letter that read:

Afer,
I need you to follow this Khajiit and Goat Bastard. I'm in a bit of trouble. But it will all be resolved if you can bring me those fancy looking daggers. You know the one's you won on that bet we made? I'll explain when you get here. Oh and maybe bring a few of my lockpicks too. Hide them in your wolf tail or something. I'm in Reapers March so it shouldn't be a long trip.
Lu

"Afer and his companion will rescue Miss Lu, yes?" She nodded to him, expecting him to agree. "He is, as you said, the great Guardian, yes? It is funny, S'nari never knew that Greenshade had a Guardian. Did he have to kill the former Guardian or save the town from trolls and giants?" The hyper Khajiit was almost jumping with excitement. She'd never met a hero before!

Goat Bastard, for once, was thrilled to see Afer and Dunther! He pulled against the chain and made pleading noises at them both. He wanted to be far away from this lady.

Afer looked at the note reading it over "What fancy dagger?" he shrugged looking at Dunther. He looks to the Khajiit woman, closing the letter trying to give her a smile. A big one "Will I? Ha! I dont get a choice in these sorts of matter. The question should be how soon will I go to get Lucrezia!" he places his hands on his hips striking a heroic pose (/idle 5 is back). flicks dust off his shoulder then looks the woman "No I didnt kill the last guardian, but I did manage save woodhearth many, many time. It more of something the people accepted."

Dunther sits in the back watching. He notices Goat bastard chained up. He tilts his head looking at the Goat making a decision to free him or leave him, he hated that obnoxious horned abomination and hates he has to share the same home with it sometimes. Dunther moves to Afer's side trying to pushing him inside their home in attempts to leave the goat outside

As Afer gets pushed he throws his hand to the Khajiit woman "Wait! Dunther, stop. Ma'am! Who are you and how did you find yourself with a letter from Lu? What trouble is she in?"

The Khajiit looked very interested in the way Afer told how he became Guardian of Woodhearth. S'nari's eyes went wide and she even clapped when he was done! The Khajiit was sure she had found the right round eared bosmer this time. He even had a heroic pose! "Afer will tell S'nari of these great battles, yes? Khajiit does love an exciting story!" She had forgotten all about her mission until Afer brought it back up.

Her head tilted to the side in confusion for a moment, then it seemed to come back to her. "Oh! He wishes to know how S'nari knows Miss Lu? Khajiit use to work for her when she lived in Greenhill. Miss Lucrezia gave S'nari a job. She took care of the little bosmer children while Lady Lu worked. But when the bosmer couple split up, S'nari stayed in Greenhill with the bosmer children because they liked S'nari so much. Miss Lu and Khajiit were on their way to the market to get the children a few new toys when bandits ran on us. One of them recognized Lu as the thief that took his daggers and was going to cut off her hands for it!"

The Khajiit grabbed her own tail and started picking at the fur on it, looking at the ground in shame, "S'nari tried to run, she was scared! But they tackled her to the ground and almost broke her tail!" She frowned and showed the end of her tail to Afer, though it looked fine. "Then Miss Lu offered to give the bandit back his daggers. He agreed to let her keep at least one hand if he got them back. So she sent S'nari to come find Afer and Dunther because they would have the daggers she needed. But she didn't tell S'nari that he was a mighty Guardian! He could kill the bandits and let Miss Lu keep her hands!"

Goat Bastard, now getting very frustrated at getting ignored, tried to bite Dunther floofy tail as he went by. "Oh, and S'nari had to bring the goat back before the bandits tried to eat him." S'nari remembered.

He smiled as he gotten her positive attention. He rubs her shoulder with a goofy look "If you ever need to hear a story, I have loads of tales about my ventures around all of Tamriel. Wait..." he pauses looking to her "No wait... Lucrezia? Where is she? where did this happen?" he stopped listening to her briefly as he ran inside the house looking for the daggers she mentioned "I know the daggers she speaks of, It should be in here somewhere."
Bother Afer and Dunther walk into the home looking for the daggers. Afer literally runs to each corner and side of the home looking for Daggers that fit the description. Dunther slowly makes his way under Afer's bed and pulls out a leather covered box. He slowly makes his way to the center of the home placing the box down watching Afer run around the room. This may have lasted for nearly a hour.
He holds the box up "HERE! Now to find Lucrezia!" he charges out the house without any clue which place to go. This is normal for him and this never stopped him before.
Dunther looks to the Khajiit woman with his tongue hanging out. He is also use to Afer charging off without a word. He barks at the Khajiit woman briefly trying to get her to follow her

The Khajiit nodded excitedly, "Yes! Yes, the great Guardian can tell S'nari the tales of all his mighty adventures on the way! She wants to hear how someone do short became a warrior for the whole town! Why yes, yes she does!"

Goat Bastard, left alone outside, glared into the house at the other three while he waited by the door. He never felt more hate towards Afer and Dunther than he did right now. He made a screeching angry noise, tired of being ignored. But when that got no one's attention, he decided to just lay down and watch the maketplace guests pass by while plotting his escape.

The Khajiit stood on a nearby chair, much like a hyper child would. She watched with interest as Afer proceeded to run around the entire house like a mad man. He seemed to be searching for the daggers Lu spoke of. She must have hid them in a good spot because it took nearly an hour for him to find them...though Dunther had found them first long ago, but the poor dog got no credit for that. "The Guardian found them! He found the daggers that shall save Miss Lu's hands! Khajiit and Guardian should take them to her, yes!" Though Afer had already ran out the door before she could finish her sentence. She tilted her head at Dunther and at his urging, she followed him. S'nari ran past the goat, forgetting about him for a moment. But then turned back around and unchained him and shut him inside the house, not knowing that Goat Bastard was not allowed in the house alone, and for good reason! The freed goat started his rampage on the first floor. They would surely come back to a mess later.

The trip to the captured Lu would take a few hours of walking. It would take half that time on horse. On the way, She asked many questions about Afer's adventures and would believe every single word. This was possibly the most gullible Khajiit ever. Finally, they would come up on a large bandit camp. There were tents, firepits, horses and even a few senche for the Khajiits. There were cages for animals they either caught or stole and in one large cage was Lucrezia. The cages were not made of any type of metal. They looked to be poorly made with wood and rope. When Lu saw S'nari, Afer, and Dunther, she perked up and crawled over to the door of the cage. "Hey! Over here!" she yelled after them, waving her hand.

A large orc kicked the door to the cage, "Get back, elf! I won't tell you again!"

"Alright, fine!" Lu moved to the back of the cage. S'nari tried to run over to her but was stopped by a large Khajiit. He looked from the female Khajiit to Afer and Dunther. "Did the Imperial bring back what was stolen?" he asked Afer, looking to the box he was carrying.

But S'nari answered first, "Why yes! Afer the great Guardian of Woodhearth has brought back the shiny daggers the Miss Lu stole! Yes he did!"

"Wait what- hey!" Lu was confused and about to ask what S'nari was talking about but the orc reached into the cage, grabbed her arm and pulled it through the bars of the cage. He had his knife out! "A deal's a deal. One hand kept for the daggers."

Lu started struggling, trying to pull out of his grip. "No! Wait wait wait!"

S'nari ran back to Afer, trying to give him a little push. "Might Guardian is needed now, Sir Afer! He can fight them all off like in the tales he told S'nari on the way, yes?"

The orc, khajiit and rest of the group (mostly bosmer and khajiit) looked at Afer and laughed. "He's a mighty guardian? Of what? A hole in the ground?" The big orc laughed again, clearly not impressed. He still had Lu's arm in a strong grip, not letting go any time soon.

"Hey you watch it! He's fought and killed things bigger and stronger than you! Though, probably not as smelly as you." Lu piped in, still stying to wiggle her arm free.

"Tell you what, if the all great and mighty Guardian can beat me in the pit, then you keep both your hands." Finally the orc let go and stomped over to Afer. The orc was huge and had a bit two-handed axe on his back. He glared down at the Mighty Guardian. "What say you, little man?"

If dogs can laugh, Dunther would be laughing at Goat Bastards misery.

The trip would take several hours since 2 of those hours would be Afer running in circles not sure where to go at first since asking questions is secondary. As he finally slowed down at began heading in the right direction he told overly exaggerated tales of his adventures. Many of them included how he handle armies of undead and fighting liches on his own, many parts would be false of course but it was to help portray himself as some fantasy hero that would only exist in stories you would tell children.

He would stop abruptly as he spots the camp. He hears lu's voice as she called out to him and returns with a even louder yell back. "LUCREZIA!" he would rush to her caged until he is stopped by the orc. He held the box in this hands looking down at it holding the box tightly "I don't usually make 'agreements' with dishonorable men like yourselves, but I am here to reduce the amount of severed body parts." As he gets pushed to the orc he holds the box out to him "Just take the damn daggers and free her" He seemed hesitant and disgusted even agreeing to give someone else stuff away even though he seemed to slipped his mind that these daggers may or may not be stolen anyway.

He hands whoever grabbed the box first. If the box was to be opened and checked they person would find that was only a box full of old cake Afer left under his bed long ago. Dunther was the master of trolling people.

"Wait! I thought that was...." Afer looked shocked and scared that this act would affect Lucrezia's hands. He looks up to the orc "No! Wait! I'll take your challenge! Just you and me!" He would briefly look nervous but soon a cocky grin would stretch over his face "Unless you are scared. I know there are tales of disgusting people like yourselves suddenly meeting the end of justice's fierce blade, and only the dumb and stupid ones are the only ones who is not aware of whats even going on. He holds his his right hand out pointing to each of them while the other lays on his waist "Im here to confirm these tales. I am here to continue the work the gods themselves task me to do" he looks to the orc "To rid these world of disgusting people like you" He now places both hands on his waist "So what says you? Prove to me you are worth my time OR do I need to handle each and everyone of you myself?" Deep down in his heart he prays the second option is not chosen. Afer was talented at many things, but stopping himself from crossing a certain line was not one of them.

The orc opened the box slowly, showing it's contents to his leader: The dark brown Khajiit male with a scar on his nose. Both were surprised when the box only held...cake! The Khajiit just rolled his eyes and then motioned something to a nearby bosmer. He didn't even seem mad about it.

The orc, however, was furious! "CAKE?!" He grabbed a big handful of the old cake, stuffed it into his mouth and then spit it back out, possibly getting a little bit on Afer. "It's...it's not even fresh?! Who do you think you're fooling tiny man?!" The orc was nearly shaking with anger at this joke. He did not find it even a bit funny.

"What? Cake?! Afer! Are you kidding me?! You couldn't take two seconds to check the box before you left?" Lu was shocked...well, honestly not that shocked. This was Afer, after all. The bosmer opened her cage and tried to grab her leg but Lu kept kicking at him.

"Cut off both hands! Her feet too!" The orc was still pissed and wanted them to pay for embarrassing him. He was about to turn to leave until Afer accepted his challenge! Now that he did not expect. And for once, he smiled. The brutal orc loved a fight. He held up his held, causing the bosmer to stop trying to struggle with Lu. He shut and tied her cage, then stood in front of the door, guarding it.

"Wait! Afer! Uh, you don't have to do that! You can just uh, go back and get the daggers! Maybe some other valuable stuff too!" Lu yelled back from the cage. She looked a little worried.

"Nope, he's agreed. It's the pit for him!" The large orc tried to grab Afer's shoulder and lead him to what they called The Pit. It was basically just a huge hole in the ground, lined with pointy sticks and had a rope ladder. The orc didn't bother with the ladder, he just hoped right in. The Pit was a pretty good size. There more than enough room for two men to walk around in and swing around large weapons without even touching the sides. The large orc, who some were calling Grubb was wearing medium leather armor that looked about three sizes too small for him. There was just a chest piece with no shoulders and his big stomach was hanging out of it. Then he had guards cut into shorts and old boots. He wasted no time once Afer got into the Pit. He swung his big axe at the Imperial, aiming for his shoulder! He was big, slow and had sloppy footwork, easy to dodge. But when he swung that axe, he did so with a lot of force behind it. The orc had many weakness. He was slow to dodge an attack and his armor left of lot of skin open for attacks. He would keep trying to swing his axe at the Imperial and even trying to use his whole body to slam Afer into the dirt wall.

Every single one of the bandits lined up around the pit to watch the fight, cheering for Grubb and making bets. Even S'nari was jumping up and down, the only one cheering for the great and mighty Guardian of Woodhearth! Meanwhile, Lu was trying to get a look from her cage but the bosmer guarding it was in her way. After a few minutes, the bosmer guard moved further and further away from the cage and more towards the fight. Lu was unguarded! She waited a few minutes and then moved one of the bars at the very back over to the side. Had she been able to escape this whole time? She squeezed through the tiny space with little noise made and carefully walked, not to the pit or weapons, but to the leader's tent! The sneaky bosmer stayed in the tent for a few minutes while everyone was distracted, looking for something.

Afer was shocked that there was cake in there. He knew he should have double checked but lives were at stake! After seeing his challenging being accepted he walked to the pit trying his best to keep his chin up high. He shoots a cocky grin to Lucrezia waving his hand "Fear not about my safety, for it wont be me suffering from the wound from the end of a blade."

As Afer is taken to the pits he plays with his fingers taking deep breaths trying to relax. He wore gear with light metal plating on his chest but loose leather pants so he has enough protection but at the same time mobility. Afer took the rope ladder down observing the area around him "I'll give you a second chance to surrender, I may even so mercy... maybe." He didnt get time to begin his speech before the orc charged at him. He pulled his sword ad shield out in one fluid motion taking enough time to dodge the incoming damage. "Wait, you plan to fight me in that? So much exposed skin and you are huge! Is it mostly fat? No I doubt that, most of the fat must be in your head" Afer loved to poke at his opponents with insults to get them upset or annoyed. He wants them to be thrown of to give him self more of an advantage. He barely dodge his charge afterwards waving his hand in front of his nose "Whew.... body odor, is that your main weapon? much more effective than your skills with a axe." he fights defensively not trying to throw out much attacks but continue dodging and shielding himself from them while making wisecracks or insults

As Afer dances with the orc in the pit Dunther was off stalking Lucrezia. He was going to attack the guard in front of her cage but he moved. He followed her mostly in silence as he went inside the tent but he stayed some what close behind her. He sits in the entry way of the tent staring at Lucrezia until she spots him or something else happens

"Fat?!" The orc yelled angrily at Afer while trying to swing at him again with his big heavy axe. The orc was not a defensive fighter. But he wasn't a very skill offensive fighter either. It was very obvious that he focused too much on his strength. He used his heavy body weight into every swing, hoping to at least knock his opponent down if he couldn't strike him with his weapon. The orc didn't seem to plan his attacks either. He just swung and swung and slammed! Most of his movement were from aggravation and anger. Afer's words were stinging his pride and he did not like that!

"I get my heads around your neck and you'll be sorry!" He swung his axe again out of rage and missed Afer's head, striking the side of pit instead. The axe got stuck deep into the dirt. Tugging on the end of it, it only seemed to get stuck even deeper. While his hands were busy trying to free his weapon, he lifted his massive foot and tried to kick Afer right in the chest.

Lu was still in the tent, now trying to get inside a locked chest. And failing. She picked up a heavy crossbow and was about to hit the lock with it but dropped it when she saw Dunther. He scared her! "Shh! You're going to get me caught." She tried shh'ing the dog...who was making no noise. "Don't you judge me. I'm just looking for..um...keep watch!" she whispered to Dunther and searched through a heavy sack. She almost jumped with job when she seemed to finally find what she was looking for: a necklace with a five-sided pendant. It had some strange drawings on it. "Got it!" she smiled to Dunther, showing it to him. "Now, to go save Afer." She picked up her own smaller crossbow and started heading towards the crowd, unless Dunther had a plan of his own.

Afer may have gotten a little carried away as he was constantly dodging the orcs attacks while throwing jokes and insults his way. He takes a powerful kick in the chest flying back off his feet. That may have shut him up for now. He stands back up on his feet gripping his weapons tightly going on the offensive side. He goes for weak yet fast swings of his sword pinching around him slowly before attempting a move powerful strike

Dunther sits in the room looking at Lucrezia with his head tilted. Dunther was a intelligent dog who spent way too much time around Afer. Too much. He had a sense of right and wrong and felt Lucrezia was hiding something. He would attempt to leap at Lucrezia and steal the pendant away from her. if successful he would run away fast from Lucrezia and hide the pendant. If not successful he would stay and accept his scolding.

The large orc laughed at the small man as he was knocked down from his powerful kick. In fact, he was laughing so hard that he had momentarily forgotten about his axe that was stuck. His hands were on his knees and his eyes closed for a few moments while Afer jumped back to his feet. It wasn't until someone threw something at the orc's head that he noticed Afer was attacking him! One last pull to the axe and it came flying out of the dirt but he dropped it as he stepped back, trying to dodge the Imperial's attacks. The first light ones missed but the last one caught him on the side, right under his leather armor, cutting a deep gash. One hand covered the gash and he groaned in pain but then got angry, lashing out and trying to grab Afer by the throat with one massive hand. He was unarmed now, his axe lay on the ground. The orc was injured and angry, not having a strategy at all.

Lu was not expect to get robbed by a dog! When Dunther leaped at her, she jumped back in surprise and fell over, nearly knocking over a few things in the tent. It took her a moment to realize what had just happened but once she did, she ran after Dunther and whispered in an angry tone, "Dunther! You get back here right now! That's mine!" Lu looked around for that fluffly tailed theif. Where did he go? "Dunther! I am serious right now, you get back right now, mister!" The bosmer got down on her hands and knees to crawl around, thinking she might be able to find the dog if she got down on his level.

Dunther ran fast and far from Lucrezia. He hid the pendant in a hole he dug and ran back to Lucrezia looking at her with a goofy yet innocent look. He sat down in front of her wagging his tail. He looks in Afer'so direction to show where he is but he just sits and wags his tail.

As Afer continues his fight in the pit he disarms the orc holding his blade out and steps on the axerox trying to stop him from retrieving it. "Surrender now and I may show mercy" He looked rather serious. "Now release Lucrezia with both her hands and feet!" He shouted looking directly at the orc

Just as the orc reached down to retrieve his weapon, the Imperial blocked him, stepping on the battleaxe. Now he was unarmed and Afer was ready to strike at him if he needed to. The orc wasn't really feeling like getting stabbed today. He raised his arms up in surrender. "Fine...fine! She keeps her limbs. But if she steals from us again, I get to keep a hand!" He demanded, not knowing that Lu had already just stolen from them again....and Dunther stole from her. He signaled to someone at the top and they let the rope ladder down. The orc climbed it first and brushed himself off once he reached the top. S'nari offered Afer a hand as he was climbing.

Lu didn't know the fight was almost over. She was too busy trying to find Dunther. "What are you doing?" she whispered to the dog as he came back to her, wagging his tail. He didn't have the pendant! "Where did you hide it? I need that! Dunther, fetch! Fetch the pendant, Dunther! Now!" She pointed behind him, not sure if that's where the dog had hidden it or not.

"She's gone!" The orc yelled out as he noticed the empty cage. Everyone started searching for her right away. S'nari spotted her first. "She's playing hide and seek with Fluffly Butt!"

Lu sighed and slowly got up. "Oh hi! There you all are! I was just looking for you." She was such a terrible liar, but S'nari believed her.

"Bandits are here, Miss Elf! The Might Guardian made the big orc surrender! Miss Elf can keep her hands now!"

Lu forced a smile. "Oh great! That's wonderful. Afer, let's get going before they cut all of our hand's off." She tried to walk over to the Imperial and grab his hand, tugging on him. She wanted to get out of there before they noticed the pendant missing. She'd just have to come back later and search for it.

Afer sheathed his weapons as the orc accepted his surrender. The was something new to him. He nodded to the orc " good fight" Afer always tried to remain a good sport in the end.

As he heard the call about Lu's great escape, he followed S'nari looking for Lucrezia. He spotted both of them after S'nari rushing to them both "You were looking for me? I was in the pit with every single bandit here fighting for your freedom and you just run off? Dammit Lucrezia. I managed to convince them to spare your tiny hands and you pull something like this off? And speaking about your escape what in oblivion are you here for? Why are they speaking about you stealing? I thought you fixed that issue. But clearly you didn't..... Maybe I should remove your hands and keep them tied up." He let's out a disappointed sigh

Dunther snuck off while Afer was talking and return shortly with the pendant in his mouth. He walks to Afer holding his head up trying to hand him the pendant. Afer looked confused at the pendant but assumed it was one of Dunther many treasures he finds in the world. He takes the pendant holding it in one hand but continues to scold Lucrezia. Dunther barks loudly while looking at Lucrezia after handing over the pendant.

The orc just grunted at Afer. Clearly, he was not a good sport. The orc was so busy with the crowd that he didn't even notice Dunther and Afer with the newly stolen pendant. The other bandits were making fun of the orc for losing to a smaller human, making him angry. He then started yelling at his fellow bandits, challenging all of them to fight him in the pit if they wished. Some of them were considering the challenge and yelling back!

Lu took this opportunity to try and get out of there fast. She eyed the pendant but didn't reach for it right away. Instead, she tried to grab Afer's hand and practically drag him away from the building bandit riot. "What? I wasn't running! I was, um, looking for Dunther! Yes! Dunther was in trouble, you see, and I just thought I'd help him out. You never know what those bandits will do! He could have been in trouble! They wanted to eat my goat, you know. Wait, where is Goat Bastard?" She looked around for a moment but then remembered they were supposed to be getting faaaaaar away from the bandits. She pulled at Afer's arm again, nearly running away from the bandit camp until they were finally at a good distance from them to talk without being spied on. "Hey! I didn't steal those daggers recently. That was from a while ago. That orc just has it out for me, that's all." She tried to grab the pendant, even using her body to block Dunther, if she had to. She didn't want him to try to snatch it away again. "I'll take this, thank you. I lost it!" She lied. She was a lying liar that lies.

"Is Miss Lu done with her scam? S'nari needs to get home to the children, yes?" S'nari seemed very impatient. Lu gave her a death glare. "I am done being rescued, S'nari, yes! You can go now." Lu told her. The Khajiit bowed to them both. "S'nari had much fun! Just like old times! She was also happy to meet Fluffly Butt and Mighty Guardian."

"of course Lucrezia..." he shook his head as he gets pulled from the camp. "And how exactly did you find your way out? Don't answer that..." he held the pendant in his hand not giving it much attention "Well I just saved you, again. Can you be a bit more careful getting captured? And your strange goat is somewhere in woodhearth I think" he let out a sigh and continues getting pulled by Lucrezia as she attempts to steal the pendant.

Dunther began acting strange. He really wanted to get that pendant. If only he can speak human words. But his acts spoke a little louder, rarely would Afer see Dunther act this way. He felt something was worth checking out, he gripped the pendant as Lucrezia was taking keeping a firm grip on it "I never seen you with this pendant before. Did you just get this one?" he gave her a little glare, but he is unsure whether or not the pendant is bad.

"How did I find my way out? Well, I managed to push one of the bars out of place until the space was big enough for me to slide through but I couldn't get out of the cage while someone was guarding. I needed to wait until they were distracted. So it's a good thing you came alone and uh, came up with the great idea to fight in that pit! I just didn't know how to get you out of there, though." She was being mostly honest. She shrugged, finally letting go of his arm and stopped tugging at him. He was free to walk or just stand on his own.

"Yeah yeah, I'll try not to piss off any bandit orcs for a while." she noticed Dunther acting weird. He was going to give her away! "It's um...I got that a little bit ago...you were uh, out of town or something." She tried to pull the pendant but Afer had a good grip on it. Dunther was still going nuts! He was barking and jumping around, making Afer suspicious and Lu nervous. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "Okay fine! I took it from their camp, ok? It's not even really a pendant." she tried to push on a stone in the middle and the necklace opened up, with pointed ends coming out of each corner. "It's a key, I think. Those idiots didn't even know what they had and was just going to sell it tomorrow probably. And they stole it first, so it's not exactly stealing! See that symbol there?" She pointed to the shape that the stone were making. "I'm pretty sure I saw that exact symbol somewhere. A uh, cave or something. I think it was when I went treasure hunting with Malyne one time a while back. I just have to remember where exactly I remember it from." She looked up at Afer and frowned. "I'm sorry! I can't help it sometimes! But you know what, this could open something really interesting. Maybe it's to a chest filled with jewels and gold."

She smiled then, looking excited about the idea of finding a lot of shiny things. "And don't look at me like that. Like you're not keeping secrets from me?"

"Hmm Lucrezia, your lies are getting worst ever day. I may not be a liar but I can help with better stories than that."

Afer folded his arms letting out a sigh "Lucrezia stealing from thieves is still stealing. Its like killing a serial killer and claiming its not murder... unless you had good intentions of course, then it is actually considered doing justice work or purifying the evil and corruption in this world. But still..." he holds up the pendant observing it "Its a weird looking key. How do you know its treasure?" He stops a moment to her last comment giving her a look " I dont have secrets Lucrezia... well I do but none of them are wrong in anyway." Afer was clearly lying but he tried his best to hold a seriously look at Lucrezia. He tries to switch up the subject and tosses the pendant at her

Lu scoffed at him. "My lies? Mine?! You've got to be kidding me!" She laughed, shaking her head as she caught the open pendant. She then pointed her finger at him accusingly. "You are one to talk! You are Mr. Secret-Keeper. How about those arena fights? Hmm?" Lu smirked, feeling like she knew some huge secret. "I distinctly remember overhearing you talking to a certain dunmer about what you do while you're away on these special trips. Word to the wise, don't talk about stuff in the tavern that you don't want people to overhear." She made a tsk tsk tsk sound, wagging her index finger at him.

"Seriously Afer, did you think I wouldn't figure it out?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips, the chain of the pendant now hanging down her side from her hand. "I see you whispering to Hlor about fighting and then I see bruises or new scars on you nearly every time you're back from a trip. It makes me nervous, knowing that you're doing something so dangerous but I trust in your fighting skills. Why do you think I sent S'nari to find you? When I'm in trouble or need a good distraction, you're the only man for the job cause I know you won't get yourself killed."

She looked down at the pendant. "Well, it might not be treasure but it's worth finding out, right? Who knows, maybe you'll have fun doing some treasure hunting with me. I mean, if you want to go." Lu shrugged. "So every single person you've killed has been to purify Nirn of evil and corruption?"

he let out a long sigh shaking his head "Well at first it wasnt suppose to be a secret, you already knew my love for combat. But the way Hloriella reacted when I told her made it feel I should not go around saying that stuff. So yeah, I figured you would find out. So fine you figured out that little secret even though it was not really a secret" he smirks and shakes his head "But I suppose I can accept being your reliable distraction for every time you decide to do something foolish... which is very often... very very often. What would have happened if I was not here?

Dunther calmed down wagging his tail as he listened to them talk. Afer stared at the pendant in Lu's hand considering her offer "I'll accompany you IF you agree to stop stealing, which you might lie to me again about but it cant hurt trying some more, right?" He held his hand up to her "ALSO believe it or not, I try to avoid killing. If possible... I just badly bruise them. Not all the time killing is necessary. I been taught this lesson many man time and even experienced an act of mercy before. BUT if needed I will kill if there is no other way. Or if I happen to over do it..." he shrugged "Did you see that orc bandit? He is alive and I could have ended it for him. But I didn't. I showed him the potential of the damage justice can have. So when he sleeps tonight he would remember this day and reconsider his way of life... or completely forget about it in the morning and I have to reteach him this lesson again."

Lu sticks her tongue out at him and then looks back at the pendant. "Fine fine fine, it wasn't a secret then. I forgot that you're not very good at keeping secrets anyway." She rolled her eyes but smirked. She didn't know that he actually was pretty good at keeping secrets sometimes. "Hey, I got out of the cage all by myself, didn't I? I may do some stupid things but I'm not a complete idiot. I've been watching them for days. They're not the most organized group. I just waited for S'nari to get someone back there for me. I was pretty sure that you'd be home by now, but if now then she was to go get Hloriella or Hlor's dad. Either one of them could have created a good enough distraction to help me get out unnoticed and search for this." she tapped on the pendant. "But if no one came, I'm pretty sure I could have escaped while they were sleeping. I just would have come back for the pendant later. So, see? I wasn't in any real danger....mostly."

She sighed as he tried to get her to agree to stop stealing...again. "You know, I could pretend to agree to your terms and possibly stop stealing for a little while. Then, I'll just go back to stealing, lie to you about it, feel bad about lying to you about it, and then have to lie even more to cover up that I'm lying to you about it. It's all so very exhausting. So, I'm not gonna do it. I can promise to not steal while you're around and to not get you involved in it, if you want. But I just can't stop all together. It's what I grew up doing! And the one thing I'm really good it. It's what comes natural to me. I promise to only steal from bandits and rich folk that have way too much than they really need. Most of the time....when I can help it." She gave him a big smile. It was the best deal she could come up with. "Please? Look, I'll even go to one of your arena fights and cheer you on! And I won't give you hell about it either. I mean, you did spare the orc today, who probably wouldn't have done the same for you. So, what do you say? Can you learn to just accept it?"

He smirksaid slightly "what would Hloriella do in this situation?" He forces a frown making a angry look. He talks in a deeper tone "I'm Hloriella and I'm annoyed. Look at me express deep hated for everything that live." He points to Dunther picking him up "I also have weird taste. Let's feast on this dog and with a side of weird insects on the side. " Dunther was scared now barking and wiggling out of Afer's grip. He leaps out his arms and attempts to leap into Lucrezia's.

Afer breaks into a laughter rubbing his jaw " ahh how does she do this all the time? My jaw hurts from all this frowning "he gets interrupted by lu's words. He shook his head " Now. I won't accept it. It's petty and only the low lives would agree to continue to steal. No matter if they steal the most valuable of items they are still petty thieves in the end who have to take from those worked hard for thier belongings. But you are not a petty low life, no matter what you assume. You are better than that, or at least I believe so. So I won't ever accept it. I just won't cut your hands off every time I catch you in the act." He folded his arms looking to her with a serious look

Lu had a hard time not laughing at Afer's impression of Hloriella. Though when he picked up Dunther, she was surprised that the dog didn't try to bite him! "Hlor would probably-- AHH!" Before she could finish her sentence, the large fluffy dog had escaped from Afer's hold and tried to jump into her arms! All Lu saw was this gigantic dog heading her way and she stumbled back, trying to miss him. But she wasn't quick enough! He landed right in her arms, too heavy for her to hold and she fell down. "Dammit Dunther! How much do you weigh?!" She tried to push the heavy dog to the side. "Look, you're freaking him out. He must think you're really Hlor."

She got back to her feet and brushed the dirt off her clothes, then closed the pendant and put it around her neck so she wouldn't lose it. "I think she's frowned so much her jaw hurts to smile now." She tried to pat Dunther's head so he wouldn't think she was mad at him. "Well I use to be a petty low life, I guess. I was homeless and orphaned, you know. But, I guess I see your point. I'll see what I can do, Afer. But I make no promises! Just keep reminding yourself that you promised to let me keep my hands if you ever catch me. Come on, let's get back home and make sure that goat hasn't ran off or destroyed the house."

Dunther was freaking out. Being eaten was one of his few fears. He was forced off Lucrezia but he hid behind her leaning heavily on her legs. She was now forced to be his protection from this new Afer-iella abomination that was formed.

"He weighs a lot for his size doesnt he?" he looks down to the frighten do letting out a chuckle before looking back up to Lucrezia " yeah 'was homeless' but not anymore. But no promises on the hand keeping deal.... I hear these bandits would pay top gold for some severed hands." he tried to hold a serious face as long as possible but fails shortly after letting out a laugh. "Sure lets head back, your goat probably did run off. But does that even matter? He is weird anyway and he might be the one to eat your hands off first before I can get to them." he would lead the two back to their home with his hands folded behind his head and his chin up high as he walked back.

When the three got back home in Woodhearth, they would walk in to see that the angry goat had let out all of his frustration in their home. Lu was not the neat type, but you could tell that someone...or something had deliberately messed up the house. There were broken dishes by the table and some books pulled of the bookshelf with cake frosting in shapes of goat hoof prints on the covers with some pages chewed on, and goat slobber left on them. Some clothes that were laid out had been chewed on and rolled on, leaving goat fur everywhere. Also, one of the pillows were demolished. Traces of goat fur could be found. There was even a large pillow Lu made for Dunther and Lee the Terrified Tiny Guar to lounge on...or was a pillow. It was also destroyed, courtesy of a pissed off goat.

And in front of the fireplace lay the culprit: Goat Bastard. He looked proud of what he had done.

Lu just looked around the house for something, not even commenting on the mess. Had she even noticed it? What a slob! She did see that her pillow was destroyed. She frowned at it and quickly tried to replace it with Afer's nice and neat pillow. "Afer! Your pillow has been eaten. You might have to use that harpy one you got me."

Finally, she found what she was looking for: her old journal. She flipped through it until she found the page she was looking for then hurried downstairs. "Hey! Hey! You'll never guess where that cave is! Guess! Just try to guess!"

She didn't give him time to guess.

"Eastmarch! Isn't that great? You were going to take me there one day anyway, right? To show me where you grew up and stuff. We should go!" She was practically jumping up and down with excitement.

Afer was use to the filth he lived with Lucrezia even though he been traveling a lot lately. Lucky for him he keeps most of his valuables in a locked chest. But he seemed excited about the news he received from Lucrezia raising his hands "Hey! I have a reason to go back again!" he attempted to lift her like a small child and give her a shake while laughing looking up at her. He carried her outside assuming they were leaving now, didnt even give her a chance to pack. "Quick! The mages guild here can give us a long port over if we ask kindly!" He would try to carry her all the way to the mages guild in woodhearth.

Dunther was beyond angry that his new pillow was destroyed. He loved that thing and loved sharing it with his tiny guar friend who passes out whenever something breathed in its direction. He growled loudly at the goat home wrecker, he wanted someone to pay for this destruction and get him a new pillow, or at least a new soft object to lay on. He stands over the goat trying to frighten it and show his superiority but while doing that Afer carried lu out the house so fast he didnt get time to follow them. He turns to the door scratching at it. There are other things Dunther fears other than Hloriella. Being locked in a home without his owner was one of them, and he definitely did not want to be locked in the same building with his least favorite goat. The dog that acted so tough was now whimpering at the door.

"Well you can always find a reason to go back home- Ahh!" she was interrupted at Afer lifted her up. She knew he'd be excited about going back to Eastmarch but she couldn't have guessed he'd be pick-you-up-and-carry-you-all-the-way-there excited! Before she knew it, they were out the door and down the short path to the Mage's Guild. "Hey! Watch out for that branch! And that kid!" She was starting to get used to being carried around but still, she preferred to use her own two feet to get around.

By the time they reached the Mage's Guild, she remembered something. Or someone. "Afer, you're leaving Dunther here?"

If goats could laugh, Goat Bastard would be laughing evilly right now. The big goofy dog finally saw what he had done to one of his most favorite spots of the house. The growl from Dunther did not intimidate the bastard goat. He just licked the cake frosting off his hoofs and relaxed on the floor. Lee the Terrified Guar finally came out of his hiding spot and walked all around Dunther's feet, staying away from the plotting goat.

He carried her all the way to the makes guild before making a short stop "what are you talking about? Dunther is right behind us... " He took a quick look to find out his fluffy companion was not behind him. Afer basically drops Lucrezia and ran all the way back bumping into every person and object a human can bump into onew the way back. A trail of destruction led all the way back to thier home. Afer kicks openot the door breaking the lock "DUNTHER!" The whimpering dog lunge himself at Afer with excitement. He runs out the house at full speed to avoid getting locked out again possibly bringing the terrified guar with him. Afer followed him but forgets to close the door behind him.

Afer and his pet friends come back to Lucrezia "Sorry, something came up. Are we still going? Will you hurry up!" He started to seem a little impatient

"Ouch! Dammit! Afer!" The bosmer hit the ground as her distracted boyfriend ran off to rescue his forgotten buddy. "Well that was nice for about two seconds." She slowly got up and even threw a few rocks at some nearby laughing teens, glaring at them. It was times like this that she was glad Afer was short. At least the fall wasn't a long one. She tried to hurry back but was too late. Afer had broke open the door. She sighed. Between Afer, Dunther, and Goat Bastard, they were having to do a lot of repairs. Often.

Poor Lee was caught under Dunther's paws and couldn't race back to his hiding spot! Lu reached down and scooped him up to save him from being trampled by the wild beast. Or by Dunther.

"Alright! Let's go then. Got the dog and guar. You coming, goat?" She peeked inside at the resting goat who looked at her like she must have been insane. "Fine, stay here and guard the house." She tried to shut the door that now wouldn't lock but she wasn't worried. Anyone that wanted to steal their things would have to get past that rabid goat first. Their stuff was probably safer with thieves than him, on second thought.

She'd try to walk back to the Mages Guild with the impatient Imperial, the scared guar and the fluffy Dunther. They still didn't pack a single bag to take with them.

He continues to pull Lucrezia further into the mages guild "Ok I have to talk to a few people then we can set off! Its not exciting to port but it saves us the months of walking there." He leaves her in the middle of the hall and rushes off to discuss things. Important things. Things adults have to do to get what they want. Things like convincing old weird mages to waste there time to open up portals to far places.

He rushes back to her "Come we can go!.... woah woah woah" he holds his hands up to her "Lucrezia thats all you are coming with? you are not even packed. All I need is the armor on my back and the weapons by my side, but dont you need woman things to survive? tisk tisk, Lu. So Impatient that you forgot all your things. Go pack and I may consider waiting for you. Maybe..."

Lu waited in the boring mages guild while Afer did the boring kind of adult things. The things she always tried to avoid like socializing and asking for favors. Eww.

While he was gone she just held and pet Lee, who was trembling badly. He did not like crowds, strange places, magic, New noises and smells, portals opening and closing, being petted while waiting, waiting, Afer or anything else really.

Finally the Imperial returned....And he was scolding her for being impatient! She glared him and wanted to throw something at his head but all she had was poor Lee. "Lets. Just. Go." She said slowly, trying to keep her cool. " I can pick up...lady things in Eastmarch. Unless...unless you don't have ladies there. Do you?" She wasn't even sure what afer meant by lady things. Probably dresses and frilly bows....stuff had little interest in. But she still liked picking on him.

He shook his head "Fine Lucrezia." he turns to guide her into a room with several mages inside. They agreed to open a portal for the the group. The mages all face eachother extending their hand out channeling power creating a flashing rift before their eyes. Dunther leaps through the portal first with Afer walking behind. "C'mon Lucrezia" he guides her through.

In the Windhelm Mages guild opens a rift with a white fluffy dog leaping through. Some of the mages get slightly scared from the loud noise Dunther makes as he jumps through the other side. Afer walks through with his hands beind his head "Quite the journey, wouldn't you say Lucrezia? Took use maybe a few seconds to travel across Tamriel." he laughs "We are here! There is much you need to see BUT lets deal our business here first..." He looks to Lucrezia who should be walking through the portal.

Lu, holding Lee, watched the Mages do their portal magic stuff. She had traveled by portals before and actually found them to be quite fun. It was the best way to travel, in her opinion. Besides a ship. She loved to sail. She started thinking about how much fun it would be if they just sailed instead. It would take longer but it would be another adventure! "Huh?" She was starting to forget what they were even doing as her mind travelled from the task at hand. "Oh right!" She nearly jumped right into the portal, landing a bit more clumsy than she anticipated on the other side.

"Oh yeah, the trip was really something else. Might need a nap after that." She waved to the mages and tried to walk outside. The weather was so much different from the Valenwood. She felt a lot colder but tried to hide it, terribly. "We don't have to go straight to the mission, you know. Shouldn't we find a room first? Or...or we could get some food. Or sight see? What, did you grow up here? Where exactly are we?" She looked around as she spoke very fast, not recognizing anything.

Afer slowly placed his entire hand over Lu's mouth as she kept talking. "You talk to much." he tugged her arm. " we can go where ever first. Its not like we are in a rush anyway." He walked outside the guild hall taking in a deep breath. Even though Afer was not a nord, he still loved the cold air. It made him feel more alive. He watched people pass by the hall "We are in Windhelm. Capital city of Eastmarch... but I did not grow up here. I actually rarely came here as a kid. My home was away from the busy towns, it was more dangerous but still home." He Looked at her shaking his head "Are you cold? We should go get you a nice warm cloak before we go any further." he tried to wrapped lu with one arm and keep her warm at least with his body heat as he guide her to the market area.

Lu would have kept on talking but suddenly a hand was over her mouth, silencing her. Or at least trying to. She still kept going! Her words being muffled by Afer's hand and she was starting to get annoyed. If the Imperial had not moved his hand when he did, he would have gotten bit!

She shivered, obviously chilly but Lu still tried to act like it wasn't bothering her. "Oh please. The cold doesn't bother me! I grew up in Riften. It was chilly there. More chilly than it gets in Vulkwasten. I don't know how people stand the heat...and all that rain!" She did lean in a bit more. Ah, body heat! "Well, if it will make you feel better, I'll get a cloak." Lu would head straight toward the first sign of clothes at the marked. She would try to get Afer to buy the cloak for her, claiming to have had her coin purse taken from her by the bandits. Once she had the cloak on, Lee tried to climb into the interior pocket to make a bed for himself, out of the cold. "Windhelm, huh. I've been here maybe once or twice. It seems...busy, I guess. Is your little town nearby? I wanna see the house you grew up in! I bet Dunther would too, wouldn't you boy?" She asked the fluffy dog.

((sorry for the delay))
The Imperial definitely did not move his hand at all." OWCH! Lucrezia" he pulled his hand away. He begins to wonder who's bite was worst between lu's or Dunther's. He figured that Lu picked up this behavior from Dunther. He took Lucrezia to the market stalls to get her a cloak and himself one as well. A nice black one. He put his on smiling to himself "I forgot mines at home. Thanks for reminding me, Lucrezia." he says with sarcasm.

He folded his hands behind his head thinking "Its not super far away. And it was not a little house, lu. It was more than just that." The word 'little' offends him. If you wanna go I can maybe take... say please a couple thousand times" He was jesting with her

Dunther didnt look excited at all. He sat there turned away from the group facing the main city. His tail didnt wag as usual nor was he being the goof ball he usually is. He just sat there and stared into the city.

((HOW DARE j/k! It's ok!))

"Well that's what you get when you try to stop me from saying what needs to be said." She looked down at his hand. "I didn't break the skin did I?" She did seem at least a little bit concerned about hurting him and would apologize if she did, though she knew that Afer wouldn't admit it if he was hurt.

"You like nice in the cloak." she tried to straighten it a little for him. "Maybe you should get Dunther one too and then we would all match." Lu crossed her arms and walked beside Afer, but was paying more attention to Dunther, who was acting strange. She was starting to worry about him and didn't pick up on the offended tone in Afer's voice. "What's wrong with your dog? I thought he'd be happy to see new places and new people? Aww maybe he misses Goat Bastard." She joked, knowing those two hated each other. "Afer give him your cloak, maybe he's cold." It would be unclear if she were joking or not.

The pain already went away after Afer pulled his hand away. "The is no way you would have broken the skin that easily, Lu. Gonna need teeth made out of metal to wound me" He laughs before plucking lu's nose. He tried not to do it so hard. He would thnt mess up her hair with his hand.

"Why would Dunther need a cloak? Isn't that point of his fur? If I was a furry person I would never wear much clothes either." He snickers before looking down at the strange acting dog. He walks towards the dog reaching his hand down. He only known Dunther a few months but their bond grew strong in those months. He knew something felt strange, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Dunther?" He continued to reach to pet Dunther's head. Before Afer can touch him, Dunther sprinted off into the heart of the city. "Dunther?Hey! Dunther!!" Afer sprint right behind him making sure he never left his sight shouting his name as he followed Dunther.

Dunther took a sharp turn into a alleyway between two homes in the residential area. One of the homes had its windows and doors boarded up. Afer lost Dunther and kept walking searching each corner. I began to get darker as the search lasted a while. He didn't even bother to see whether Lu was there with him. He caught a glimpse of a white dog in a alleyway he happened to pass. He turned walking in "Dunther?" He paused as he noticed a small shaded figure in front of Dunther. He couldn't see who it was, it was too dark for him to see.

Lu tried to smack his arm away when he started picking at her and trying to mess up her hair. It was messy enough! Her long dark hair had some tangles in it already from being locked in a cage most of the day. She sighed, giving up.

"Ha! You? A fluffy Imperial?" She snickered, unable to hold back the laughter. "If you keep snuggling with Dunther at night, you will end up fluffy like him. He sheds worse than the goat- hey! Where are you going?!" When she finally looked up, Afer and Dunther were running down the street! Lu took off after them, trying to catch up but they were surprisingly quicker than she thought! Her heavy cloak was flying behind her, possibly slapping some people as she went by and causing her to have to yell out apologies as she ran.

She stopped in the middle of the street, looking around for her crazy companions. Finally, she caught a glance of Afer running down an alleyway. She wasted no time in following him. Poor Lee the Guar was bouncing all around in her cloak pocket. This was not a relaxing ride. When Lu caught up with them, she froze behind Afer, staring at the mysterious shadowy figure.

The Imperial looked down the alleyway with at the shaded figure. He was confused but at the same time he was worried. "Dunther?" he took a step closer. "Whats gotten into you?"

The shaded figured looked up and stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight shining down. A face can easily be seen now. Its a face of a young boy, no older than 10 years but this face is covered in cuts and bruises. The boy's face shows that he gets into a lot of fights, but the swollen eye and limp shows that he does win most of these fights. He stepped out with his hand on Dunther head petting him as he looks at Afer and Lucrezia. "Who are you two? Are you the one who brought Dyggur back to his home. I should be thanking you, but I bet you kidnapped him in the first place"

Afer stepped closer more confused than ever "Dyggur? You mean Dunther? He is my friend and he ran off earlier today in the middle of town. Im here to get my friend back."

The small boy shakes his head. "Dunther is a silly name and disrespectful to name him something not his true name. His name is Dyggur and he is my family's dog. Why you think he ran off? He was looking for the family he is loyal to. And Im in need of my loyal dog... got kicked out of the orphanage. And the streets are cold around this time..."

Afer made his way to the small still not understanding this who thing "No... no you must be mistaken of course. Surely if you check again you will see this is not your dog... he is my friend" Afer looked down at Dunther who was sitting by the boy's side. "Surely he is only sitting next to you because you have a piece of steak nearby. Its his favorite. Right Dunther.... right?" Dunther just sat there not making eye contact with anyone "Dunther.....?"

The small boy looks up to Afer and Lu with a sinister smirk on his face

Lu thought the little boy was really creepy. Lee thought so too and kept his head buried in the pocket, shaking like a leaf.

"Dyggur?" She snorted at the silly name. "Dunther, come on. Leave the kid alone." The bosmer didn't think anything of it at first, but then she remembered that Dunther use to bite Afer a lot when they first met. And this fluffy dog didn't seem to be the overly friendly type. "Uh...where did you find Dunther again, Afer? There's no way he could have made it to the Valenwood from here on his own, right?"

The bosmer crossed her arms. "Now cool it, kid. Afer doesn't steal anything. And if you're such a good owner, then why did he leave you in the first place? Why didn't he come looking for you? Obviously you weren't very good to him since he ran away." She tilted her head. Did the kid have a steak on him?

The small boy looked up at lu but continues speaking to Afer "That's your woman? Maybe you should tie her mouth shut if she likes saying lies like that so much. Dyggur didn't run away. He went with pa on a business trip. Dyggur is here but my pa isn't." He glared at Afer with his non-swollen eye. Which means pa left me or he died and you attempted to steal the last valuable thing my family has. Pathetic thief. Lucky for me Dyggur is smarter than you."

Dunther did not budge to Lucrezia's request. And the boy did not have any food in the area... well maybe a piece a bread that was covered in dirt but that's about it.

Afer stood there clenching his fist. " I found him wounded in a cave. There was a dead body of a nord in there. I figured that was his ownerso I sheltered him till he got better, but Dunther there never left so became his family." Afer looks to the boy raising his voice "But I had no idea he had...."

The boy cuts him off "So you kept the stolen dog. Didn't even attempt to find his real family? It's been months since pa was gone. Mama died years ago so it was only me and pa here. He went on trips often but he always came back. But now he dead, they kicked me out my home and I have to live on the cold streets. No family to go to. No friends. The tavern whore owner won't let me stay. And I just got kicked from the orphanage. They said I was more trouble than it was worth." He shrugged " The lady there was a witch anyway. Heard she ate the kids there. But thank you for returning Dyggur to me. You can leave now before I call the guards."

Afer looked up in shock " What!? No nonono Dunther is MY friend and MY friend is coming with me! And I'm not gonna let some kid take him from me!"Afer stood over the kid but the boy stared back fearless. Afer lift both his hands up and grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and picked him up yelling at him with both tears and anger in his eyes. "I did not STEAL him. He is my friend you little shit!"

Dunther growled and leaped up at Afer barking loud which could be heard throughout the entire residential area. Dunther attacked Afer biting at his arms forcing him to drop the kid. Dunther continued to growl keepinget stance as if he is ready to attack again if needed. Afer stood back in shock and speechless trying to figure out if this is real or is this another nightmare.

A guard walks by the alleyway holding his torch out. " What's going on in there? What's with all the noise?"

"Hey!" Lu pointed at the rude kid, "Don't talk about me like I'm not even here!" She crossed her arms against and frowned, pouting.

Lee was still in her pocket, upside down from the running. He struggled to get back up-right and managed to keep shaking in fear at all the loud noises. He was not feeling this vacation at all.

"Look-"

"Hey-"

"Afer-"

"Why don't-"

Lu couldn't finish one single sentence. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, either Afer or the creepy kid would keep the argument going. She couldn't disrupt it! They were talking too fast! She was having a hard time even keeping up with the insults. She did not trust this kid. He was short, rude, smelly and not at all like the nice kids she knew. Was she ever this annoying as a kid?

The bosmer had Afer's back but she was starting to wonder what was going to happen here. Were they going to beat up a kid? Sure he was asking for it but...really? Beat up a kid?!

But before she could wonder anymore about it, Dunther was growling and attacked Afer! Out of instinct, she leaped forward and tried to pull Afer back...possibly just making it worse if the dog had a good grip on the Imperial. "Hey hey hey! Woah! Stop!"

Lee had finally gotten up-right, only to be pushed upside down again by the crazy bosmer's movements. He sighed and gave up. He tried to take a nap.

A guard appearing caused Lu to let go of Afer and stand upright. They were going to jail. "Uh...nothing. We are just...practicing for a play! Yeah! That's right!" She looked to the kid. "Look, call off...Dyggur and we will rent you and him a room at the place we're staying. I'll even throw in a few meals."

Nothing bad thoughts ran through Afer's head. His mind wandered away from reality lost in his own pained thoughts. He looked at where Dunther bit him. He was not wearing metal plated gauntlets this time. Just leather gloves and Dunther bit right through that. He could see the tearing of both the leather and his skin with bits of blood coming out. But the physical wound meant little to him. Was his really gonna lose his friend now out of all places? He stood there assuming the worst but did not move.

The small boy laughed at lu's horrible cover up story. He walked to her with a grin "You and thieving friend have to give me half of all your food and I may consider it. Maybe..." he looked to the guard waving his hands "Im sorry guard for the noise! My friends here saw a rat and started screaming, but I think its gone now. Thanks for your concern!"

The guard sighed "Well keep it down there are more ra..." he face palmed looking at the boy "You again. Always trouble with you." he pointed to Lu and the broken Afer " Stay clear of this trouble maker if I was you. More trouble than he is ever worth. The guard walked away

The small boy kicked pebble in the guards direction as he walked away then rubbed his hands looking at Lucrezia "So we have a deal then. Food for me and Dyggur wont eat your faces for dinner. I expect the finest seared slaughterfish Skyrim has to offer and the best mead too." he walked to Dunther placing his hand on his head "Im safe now, boy. Sit!" Dunther obediently sat down by the boy. The boy pointed to Afer "He is bleeding. Should patch him up before he dies" He shrugged "Show me where you live woman" he demanded from Lu

Lu hated this kid. She was hating him so much. The bosmer thought about just strangling him, And again. And again and again and again again again....

She raised a brow at what the guard had to say and then shook her head at the kid. "Little troublemaker, eh? I dare say no one around here would miss you too much so you should be more careful who you mouth off too. The next person might not be as nice as we are." She frowned at Afer, he looked so lost at the moment. So lost, confused and sad. It was really starting to bother her but she couldn't deal with that right now. She needed to focus on this strange kid and his motives.

"Ugh, fine! I'll get you whatever food you want but..." She perked a brow, "You sure you can handle mead, kid? What are you...five? Pfft. I'm not getting you drunk. You can have one cup of it. Plus, it's the only Riften mead I have with me and you're not getting it all." This bosmer was not giving away her prized mead.

Lu reached out to Afer and poked at his shoulder. She was really not good and comfort. "Hey, we should get back. Get the bossy ass kid fed and figure out how to deal with..." she looked to Dunther...or was is Dyggur now? "all of this." She would try to pull on Afer's arm and lead them all back to the Inn they had walked by so she could rent two rooms, right next to each other, for them.

Afer would allow lu to follow him though he still looked hurt. Talking softly to her "Why is this happening? Is this a prank by you? please tell me it is.... Please just say its a prank.... so I can laugh and forget this, all of this" Afer would skip dinner that night and just go right to bed. Well not sleep but just lay down the whole night.

The small boy who remains unnamed would take almost all the food lu has to offer and probably more. "So, woman. What brings a elf like you here? Could not have come all this way to return Dyggur to me. And for your puny elven mind Im 13 and I can handle mead better than you. I use to steal from pa's stash all the time when you took jobs out of town."

The boy ate like a starving troll leaving a big mess with bits of food flying everywhere. "And whats wrong with your weird friend? Crying and screaming over nothing. Guess he'll sleep it off" The boy kept looking at Dunther rubbing his head "Good to have you back boy, you grew so much bigger than I last saw you. You was the size of a puppy when we last saw eachother. Im sorry pa is no longer here... you did what you could Dyggur, but you are back home with your last living family member." The boy actually looked happy as he let out a smile and a small tear comes from his swollen eye

Lu frowned as they walked back. She felt incredibly sorry for Afer. "I wish it was a prank. Sorry...this is real, Afer."

Lee finally poked his head out from the heavy cloak. He caught the sight of the menacing boy. Another strange bosmer! Retreat! The terrified guar was back to hiding and shaking in the cloak pocket. Lu patted the pocket, trying to relax the guar but all it did was knock him over on his side, causing him to play dead. Just in case.

Once inside their rented room, Lu looked through her bag and found some jerky and half a bottle of mead. She looked at the bottle, confused for a moment. She thought that was supposed to be liquor. She finally shrugged. She must have drank it. She sat down the mead and jerky in front of the boy, along with some spare coin. That's all I have. This trip wasn't planned so I didn't bring a lot. And no, we didn't come here to bring you Dunther. Look, he's not weird! Afer is just stunned. That's all." She gave the boy a mean look and took off her cloak. She sat Lee on the bed with Afer.

"Hey, I have an idea. What if we just offer to give the kid whatever treasure we find on that adventure I told you about. Maybe he'll let Dunther go for that? Or...or maybe he'd agree to travel back to Woodhearth. We could find a little place for him to stay and then you could still see Dunther all the time. This doesn't have to be the end, Afer."

Afer just laid down in silence not really listening to whatever was said to him. THe boy was snooping around trying to listen in on Lu's conversation " Treasure you say? What sort of treasure? And all this just for a dog? Heh I'll bite, gimme the treasure and and the house and I may consider letting your friend see Dyggur more often... maybe." he folds his arms "Where do you even live? Is it far? Doesnt matter I suppose, dont got a home anymore anyway. No family either. Well I got a uncle but he doesnt like me either. Still hasnt forgiven me for selling the family heirloom to a merchant once. I'll tell what, I made a good amount gold that day... the only thing that kept me from starving, but Im running out a gold." he looked to Lucrezia "So deal?"

This kid was really starting to piss her off. While the bosmer was clearly trying to help her sad and moping boyfriend, this strange boy was eavesdropping! And picking on them! The glare she gave this boy was a dangerous one, but thankfully, Lu wasn't about to hurt a kid.

At least not yet.

"What? You can't have our house! Pfft, you wouldn't even make it past Goat Bastard." She stood up from the bed and crossed her arms. She was seriously going to argue with a kid. Yep. "What kind of idiot do you take me for? No, no deal. I wouldn't give anything up just for a chance that you might let him visit. That's stupid. No...no, you want to make a deal then here's one for you. You're not getting my house." She pointed at him. "But, I'm willing to let you keep the treasure we find. If you agree to take the treasure, then you give up whatever claim you have on Dunther. He will be a free dog and welcome to go back to Woodhearth with us. But not just for visitation. To live there. That's the only deal I'm making, a clean trade. Treasure for Dunther. Take it or leave it."

She held out her hand for him to shake.

"Although, I could just wait for you to starve. Then Dunther would probably just return to us anyway. It shouldn't take too long. Skinny little bosmer boy out on the cold snowy streets of Eastmarch. Maybe it would only take just a few days...a few weeks if you're lucky. Buuuut....I'm not very patient so I'm willing to make this deal first. That way you can at least freeze to death with a little coin in your pocket."

he rubbed his obviously human like ears "I must be a special kind of bosmer with tiny ears" He shook his head at her then shrugged "Maybe, we will see. We will see. If there is something valuable in your treasure hunt." he grinned at her "Oh dont give me that look woman, you know you would do the same in my shoes. you dont have the most honest face. Its a game of survival. I may be down but Im not out just yet." he walked away folding his arms behind his head "I only got a few good moves left."

Afer did not get much sleep that not.... or any. He was standing outside whatever room they rented staring into the city. He would be obliviously to everything going on around him.

Lu squinted and looked at the boy. "Oh. Well, you said you were a teenager...pretty short for a human." It wasn't clear if she was really confused or just being a smartass. "Anyway, we'll go over the deal once we find this treasure then. And for your information, I would never trade a friend for coin or treasure. You don't know anything about me, kid. I could be a Guard or Fighter's Guild member for all you know."

She looked towards the where Afer was, still feeling bad for him. And partly guilty. It was her fault they were there in the first place. How was going to make it up to him if Dunther had to stay?

"Look, just get some rest. I'm tired of hearing you talk already." Abruptly, she left the kid there with Dunther and went to her own bed, with or without Afer. Her and Lee needed some beauty rest. This had been a long day for everyone. And Lu would definitely snore.

A few hours later she'd wake up and get her boots on, still half asleep. She had slept in her clothes, even her new cloak! She pulled her hair up and out of her face and searched her bag for some homemade jerky. She hadn't been completely honest with the boy about how much food she had. Then she washed the jerky down with some mead. Apparently, she hadn't been honest about how much mead she had either. "Oy! Get up! Rise and shine! Let's get this over with."

Afer was up before Lucrezia standing in front of the room they rented.

The small boy fussed a little bit to waking up but he did so eventually "No need to be so loud woman!" he covered his noise "You smell like every other person in this town." He also slept in his clothes since he had nothing else to sleep in. "Are you gonna lead the way?" He went to go get some food and water for Dunther "We'll leave after we eat something. If its gonna be a journey we aught to prep our stomachs.... and gear... which reminds me, can I borrow some gear? Cloak, sword, bag and rope would be enough for me. And maybe something to eat while we are out there. Dont just stand there go get the stuff. If Im not prepped then I might die and if that happens no deal." he snapped his fingers at Lucrezia

Dunther barely ate anything as the food was put in front of him. The small boy kneel down to him "Whats wrong? The food ate that bad is it? Or is there something on your mind?" he gave him a few pats "Dont worry, I have a few tricks so everyone walks away happy."

Lu frowned and tried to smell her own arm. Did she really smell? She didn't seem to. She smelled her other arm. Nope, she smelled like dirt and booze, like always. Maybe the kid was just being a jerk. She stuck her tongue out at him when she thought he wasn't looking. "Fine, just hurry up. We have to get there before someone else finds it. I'm taking no chances."

Lu looked at the kid like he had grown a second head. Was he being serious? She grabbed a few more pieces of jerky walked to the door. She offered Afer some before she left to go find the silly kid's list of items he demanded. She had to go to a few shops to find everything. The cloak was the easiest to find. She didn't know his size so she just grabbed the smallest one they had...it might be a bit too small. Then she grabbed some more food, rope and picked out a mini-sword for the kid. She didn't have it sharpened. There was no way she was giving a kid a sharpened sword, even a small one.

She returned with the items, the rope and food in a bag and tossed it on the table in front of the kid. "There. Now get ready. Let's go." She handed him the cloak and sword. Lu then returned to the door, waiting on them. She was feeling very impatient. If the kid took too long, she'd make impatient sighs and keep trying to hurry him along.

Finally, when everyone was ready, she'd get out her very badly drawn out map and lead the group away from town, heading toward the woods and mountains. She was so busy trying to figure out her own horrible map that she'd trip at times and nearly even run into trees. She possibly got them lost more than once. It would feel like they were walking for hours...it was possible that they were. She tried her best to avoid any bears or other violent animals but she wouldn't hesitate to shot one with her crossbow if they got too close. If anyone complained, she'd just try to ignore them and continue forward until they finally reached their destination: A creepy cold cave.

"We're here." She folded up the map and put it in her pocket. "I'll check it out for bears. You stay here." She pointed to the kid. Lu would try to enter the cave alone, unless someone stopped her. There was a bear or two in there.

After putting on his new gear and walking with Lu and Afer on what he considers a boring journey they finally made it to their destination. The kid hanged back with Dunther "Well what are you guys waiting for? Go on in." He would keep a few steps behind them

Afer said his first words of the day after placing his arm in front of lu stopping her from entering first. "Let me..." he took lead of the group taking his first steps in. Afer was no stranger to entering dark smelly caves, he was always prepared for dangerous encounters that lurk around each turn. he kept his hand on the handle of his blade as he guided them in. He lights a torch soon afterwards "Might want to stay closer, kid. Most things in caves always grab the person falling behind."

This was enough to spook the kid and he walked faster very very close behind Lu. He is actually brushing against lu ready to grab her in case something decides to snatch him. "I was not falling behind... I was just looking at something... How deep is this cav--AHHH!" he lets out a high pitch scream, one that is similar to a pterodactyl, as he spots a sleeping bear. "Quick KILL IT!" he pushes Lucrezia towards it.

Lu snorted, not able to hold back her laugh as Afer successfully got the kid spooked. She just let him stay close by her as she kept her crossbow up, aiming for anything that could jump out in front of them. The bosmer paid attention to everything around her, glancing above them, beside them and even looking behind them at times. She had learned that sometimes people sneak up on you in caves and she wasn't going to let that happen again.

It wasn't the sleeping bear that spooked Lu. It was the spooked kid that pushed her toward the bear that did it! Not use to having someone that scares so easy with her, Lu jumped a little at the yell and broke her concentration. She didn't even have time to react properly before being pushed. She was heading straight for that bear and accidently shot off her loaded bolt into the side wall of the cave...there went her best weapon. Lu landed on the bear, possibly waking it now. "Uck! Oh crap!" She slipped as she was getting up and landing on her behind in the snow.

(Sorry for the uber late response again. I was busy saving the world several times.)

Afer put on a half annoyed as he tried to run to lu possibly grabbing her by the arm and putting her behind him as he tries to keep her safe. "Stay behind me and dont panic." he says not even checking if she was panicking or not.

Dunther jumped forward also ready to assist with the situation. The young boy hangs back looking at the two in front of him pulling out his sword but stays away from the action. "Yeah! Make a fine coat out of him!"

Afer draws his sword out and holds his shield in front of him making loud noises to keep the bears attention on him.

The bear did not seem hostile at all. It was actually scared of all this loud noise, it ran off deeper into the cave quickly.

Afer stood there confused but he shrugs looking to Lucrezia, get your stuff, lets keep going.

(( No worries! Don't feel like you have to write a reply right away, I'm patient!))

Lu thankfully was pulled up and away from the waking bear. She stumbled a bit but managed to get to her feet and point the crossbow at the bear. She glared at the boy for a moment, like a child just getting scolded for something she didn't do. "You hush and just stay behind me." She told the boy.

She waited and watched as Afer and Dunther took the lead, heading toward the bear. She was sure that there was going to be a fight and bloodshed. But to her surprise, the bear seemed more spooked than anything. Once Afer started hitting his shield with his sword, the bear took off in the other direction, disappearing deeper into the cave. Lu sighed with relief and put down her crossbow. "Let's hope we don't run into many more of them in here. She turned back to the boy. "And you! Don't even push me like that again! If you get us killed in here, you're going to be stuck in this cave with Gods know what all by yourself. Not even Dunther could fight off multiple bears by himself. And that's probably not the only thing in here. So just stay back."

Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, she picked up her pack and followed Afer deeper into the cave. The further they walked, the darker and colder it got inside. There was no sign of the bear or others that could have been with him in that cave. Finally, they reached a large circular room. On the floor, there were stones carved with the thirteen different constellations. There were hundreds of stones, each one had a different constellation but they didn't seem to be in any sort of order. On the opposite side of the wall was a carving of four constellations: The Warrior, The Mage, The Theif, and The Serpant. There was a slight opening in the middle that looked like the wall could possibly be a door.

"Well I remember this room but the door would never open. But..." She reached for the necklace she was wearing that held the pendant, "but this opening here looks like it holds a key or something." She walked over to the wall closest to her and put the pendant into the opening. It fit! She then tried to turn it and sure enough, the wall across from them opened, revealing an opening. "There! It opened! Let's get-"

But before she could finish, the room seemed to shake. The moment Lu stepped on one of the stones in the walkway, with the sign of The Lady, the stone fell from under her foot, revealing a very long drop under that walkway. Lu's leg nearly fell into the hole!

"Ack! What the hell?!" She then stepped on another stone, with the sign of The Theif. The stone didn't drop. The bosmer tried another, The Apprentice, and that stone dropped through the ground just like the The Lady one did. She looked from the stones and to the wall with the carvings of the four Specific birth signs. It was taking her a long time to figure this out. And to add to her confusion, each time she stepped on a stone that fell through, the opening got bigger and, to her horror and surprise, bats started coming through the openings! Each time a bat came through, she'd nearly lose her balance.

The boy folded his arms trying look as if he didnt care about what Lu's scolding "Pfftt, whatever... I only trying to warn you" he followed behind the two as they go deeper in the cave with Dunther walking by his side. "So whats the plan if that bear gets hungry and wants to get you for dinner? You gonna give it the motherly look and scare it off again? Or you gonna trip and fall hoping that will spook it" he laughs. He looked to Afer every now and then noticing his silence for the entire trip. It was starting to make him concerned. He hopes that what he is doing with using a dog as way to get what he want will not result in him getting killed. He tries multiple times to strike up some small take with the Imperial. All have failed with Afer refusing to respond back.

As they reached the large circular room he looks around in awe "Oh... nice." he looks around for any loot thats not nailed down to anything. "So what now, is the treasure in here?"

Afer stays somewhat close to Lu listening to what she was saying..... well most of what she was saying. Angry or not he cant help but tune out a lot of what she says. Shortly afterwards his Afer senses go off as Lu was possibly in danger of falling. He would reach to grab her arm tightly. "Is this place even safe? I dont think would should keep going" The most Afer has spoken all day. He would try to pull Lucrezia back

The boy would walk to the two as they were in front of the walk way. "Hmm... Its safe." He looks at it observing it " The thing about these old caves that my pa always told me, the answer is always right in your face. Just dont over think it." he points to the wall "Look. its the The Warrior, The Mage, The Theif, and The Serpent. But the Apprentice and Lady broke apart.... meaning!" he takes a giant leap on the nearest Serpent stone. He felt confident that he knew what he was talking about.... but the gods (Beckify) will decide whether he was right or not

Afer was going to stop him but the boy slipped from his grip with ease "WAIT!....." he awaits the results

Before falling to her doom, the Afer senses thankfully saved her. She felt someone grab her and she was about to turn and swing her fist at them but trying to keep her balance and not die seemed to be more important. Once saved from herself and pulled back to solid ground, she tilted her head at the signs the boy was talking about. "Wait...that's the sign for the thief? It doesn't look very...stealthy." She squints, trying to get a better look at it...possibly looking at the wrong one anyway.

"Wait!" She yelled about the same time as Afer did. When she saw the boy jumping stones, she covered her face with her hands and tried not to watch him fall through.

The Gods (Aka: ME MUAHAHAHA) were good to this daring and dog-thieving boy. He seemed to figure out the fairly simple puzzle that Lu still was having a bit of trouble getting. She uncovered her eyes when she didn't hear the boy scream. "Hey! You're not dead! How did you do that?!" The silly bosmer was about to step on the stone in front of her: The Mage, but then stopped. "Oh! So you have to find only the ones on that wall? That's...well, I knew that. I was just testing you." She was such a bad liar. "Come on, Afer. I'm sure it's perfectly safe. As long as you don't step on the wrong one. Or fall. Or...wait how will Dunther get across?"

The boy smiled proud of him self although he considered this a easy challenge. He continued walking the rest of the was with his head up high in confidence. "Sure, a test. A test to see if Im smarter than you? or if you are dumber than me? You coming? And just carry Dyggur here. I dont think he understands this stuff the same as a person does. But Im sure he is still smarter than you" he mocks Lucrezia smirking at her and heads the rest of the way to the door's entrance.

Afer shrugged to Lucrezia still some what shock but he quickly gets over it. "Just follow his lead, I guess" he looks to Dunther "you coming? or you plan on biting again?" He said with a straight face. Dunther slowly walked his way to Afer and allowed him to be carried. The two follow the boy hopefully Lu is with them to the door's entrance.

Lu wanted to shove that kid so bad. Who would know? Would anyone really miss him if he fell into the bottom-less-pit below them? "Just concentrate on the stones, smartass." She followed them the best she could, trying to remember the signs on the wall. "Theif, Serpent, Mage, Warrior. Theif Serpent Mage Warrior...TheifSerpentMageWarrior..."

She only stopped to look at Afer and Dunther with a little frown as he spoke of the bite again. She still couldn't believe Dunther had bit him! No wait...she could believe that, he use to bite him all the time...but still...

Lu nearly slipped and had to just jump for the other side, making it safely across! "Whew! That was a little...fun! Yeah, that was fun." That was most certainly not fun! "Okay, I think it's just right through here." The bosmer was already fed up with this quest. Especially since she already promised to give the goods they find to the bratty kid. So it was all going to be practically for nothing. She kept walking until she heard a noise. Was that a growl? No...that was a snore. Who on Nirn was sleeping in this cave? It was very dark but just ahead, you could make out what looked to be about a dozen sleeping bears, all crowded together on the ground.

The bosmer was about to turn back until something else caught her eye. A chest! Right behind the pack of scary bears was a very old, and nearly buried into the ground, chest. "Look! There it is! I wonder what's in it!" She whispered excitedly to Afer, tugging on his arm. "But...it's guarded by bears. Should we sneak across?"

The bears, though sleeping soundly, were easy to wake. a simple crunch of rocks could make them stir.

The young boy leaped behind Lucrezia again ready to push her if needed. He plans to if the bears wake up. While they are feasting on lu he can make a grand escape. He doesn't do it.... yet.

Afer looks around the room " Sneaking is not really something I'm good at"

The boy whispers "So what's the plan? Do we bait 'em steal the loot and sneak out?" He grips Lucrezia's arm strongly hinting that he will use her as bait.

Afer lifts the boy by his arm and moves him over. "No bait, unless you want to volunteer for the role." He digs in his bag for a moment " So we will need a plan of attack. So I have a plan.... we attack" He hands lu 3 bolts from his bag that were wrapped in leather "I keep these with me just in case. Explosive bolts.... reasons don't ask me why. Just fire when ready" He holds his sword out "Might wanna hide kid, Lucrezia is a bad shot"

((Sorry! Holidays and work have been taking up all my time!))

Lu tried to pull out of the crazy boy's grip and glared at him. "Selfish kid. Yeah, go ahead, be the bait. I'll watch your back." She rolled her eyes.

She carefully took the bolts that Afer handed her. She didn't ask any questions, but her eyes went wide with excitement. She couldn't wait to use these! She went ahead and loaded the bolt up, replacing one of her normal non-exploding boring ones. As she tried to get it loaded right, she turned her head at Afer's words. "Hey! I'm not a bad shot-"


BOOM!


While clearly not paying attention, the silly bosmer accidently pulled the trigger and the explosive bolt fired toward the sleeping pack of bears, hitting the ground right in front of them. Unluckily, she didn't hit a single one! If anything, she pissed them off. The bears woke up and started running towards the group.

"Oh crap! Run kid! Get back!" Lu tried to shove the kid back while she loaded up another one of the explosive bolts and, this time, aimed towards the group of bears. She didn't hesitate to pull the trigger and ended up hitting one right in his chest, making a mess of the poor angry bear. She managed to get a few of them on the side of it too. The ground started shaking as Lu the bears scrambled to attack them and some were just trying to flee. At least three were heading toward Afer, while two were making their way to the boy and Lu.

((Unforgivable. You are banned from my friends list :) ))
The boy looked nervous at first. He didnt want to become food at all. He found a safe dark corner that was bear-free. He hid there.

Afer was not prepared for Lucrezia's bad aiming. He was joking at first but it seems he might be right after all. He prays all her bad shots dont actually hit him. He used his shield to cover his face from the blast and messy parts flying around from the exploding bears. "Ok... ok Lucrezia..." Afer felt the ground shaking a bit "Dont trap us in here" He lowered his shield in time to see some of the bears head towards them. Afer was use to fighting at least one at a time, he could have probably handle two but three was too much for one man at once. The bears run towards Afer Lu and Dunther. Dunther and Afer holding their stance and Afer grabbing Lucrezia tossing her behind him. "Stay behind me!" He fought very defensively trying to block off majority of the bears attacks going for swings after each bear attacks.

But one of the bears loss interest in Afer and his loud companion and Dunther. It felt the need to attack the boy in the corner of the room. Instinctively the boy gets up and run. Shortly afterwards he realizes he cant outrun the bear so he does what he thinks would help him best. He lets out a loud scream, loud enough to shatter the ears of anyone nearby. He does this until his face turns completely red. The loud noise stops the bear in its tracks but not enough to make it lose interest.

Afer calls across to him "COME TO ME!" The boy stood there still in shocked. His eyes go wide in fear but he recalls his fathers guide to not getting mauled by a bear. He shouts quickly "PLAY DEAD AND COVER YOUR NECK! ROLL ONTO YOUR STOMACHS AND STAY!" The boy drops to the ground and does just that. The bear in front of him was placing his paw on the boy trying to turned him over but the boy stayed in his current position. The bear soon stopped bothering the boy and stood there losing interest.

Afer glances over and sees just that. He slammed his shield to the ground and grabbed lucrezia by her shoulder and copied what the boy done. "Do it Lucrezia. We are out muscled in this" Playing dead was not Afer's favorite way of dealing of this but at this point he just wants everyone with him to survive with minor wounds. AT LEAST MINOR WOUNDS.

(( Pfft, like that would stop me :p ))

After finally getting in another explosive bolt, Lu aimed at the bears in the back of the crowd that was running toward them. This time she actually AIMED and shot at the bears in the back, causing the cave walls and floor to shake again. This did not sit well with her and she decided to keep the last explosive bolt for an emergency. After inspecting the walls for a minute, she was sure that one more explosion like that would collapse the entire cave on top of them all.

Then she was suddenly pulled behind Afer. "Sorry! Dammit, I'm sorry! I was yelling at that kid and- WATCH OUT!" The moment Lu turned to check on the boy, she saw a bear running towards him! Then the kid was running! This did not seem like the smart thing to do, since all that did was cause the bear to chase after the poor boy. Lu was sure that she was about to see the poor kid get mauled, so she turned her head to look for a NON-EXPLOSIVE bolt to shoot at the bear. She missed that bear, but she did manage to at least get to one of her daggers and stab one's paw that was trying to claw at Afer's side. Then she heard the most Gods-awful shriek. She was sure that they had somehow happened upon some kind of shrill sounding dying animal. But it was just the kid...either trying to serenade the bear or kill it with that awful sound he was making.

There were still so many of them! Most had ran off, knowing the cave was threating to collapse, but some still stayed to fight. She was about to just grab Afer and run for it, the boy be damned, until she saw something that she couldn't believe. The bear was not attacking the boy! He was just nudging him with his big nose and looked confused, before running off to where the other bears had fled. Lu was just standing there in shock until Afer's yell got her attention again. "Oh! Right!" She dropped her bag and crossbow, and flopped down on the ground. She covered her neck with her hands and tried to lay as flat and still as possible. The bears tilted their heads as the silly humans seemed to just die all at the same time. They sniffed them and poked at them with their massive heads before accepting that they had kicked their asses and protected their bear-clan. Yeah! Wooo!

Lu didn't move from that spot until she was sure that the bears were gone and the coast was clear.

If any of them ran to the chest, they would need to amulet necklace that Lu wore to open it. And inside would be their wonderful prize!


SPOILER ALERT!


A dusty old Akaviri styled sword, exactly 10 gold pieces and a few flawless ruby and diamond stones.

after minutes of being stuck in the same position the bears finally left believing that those humans and Lucrezia have died on spot. They left to go in another section of the cave.

Afer gets up slowly sighing. "I hate that. But for survival gotta do what you think is bad." he helped Lucrezia up then walked over to the boy who remained in his position. Afer grabbed him by his coat and picked him up with one arm. "Come on, the bears left." The boy didnt respond. He was obviously still alive and unharmed but he remained playing dead though he whispered lightly. "Dont.... move. There is a bear still here." He opened his eyes slightly and looked directly at Lucrezia "If you move she might eat you whole." He points at Lucrezia "Shoot her with a bolt before the bear escapes!" he laughs as he feels he has successfully made fun of Lucrezia again. Afer just drops the boy and shakes his head heading towards Lucrezia "Come on. Lets go get this blasted treasure and get out of here already."

The boy followed shortly behind them. "Oh come on that was a good one! The least you can do is smile you know!" He hops on his feet dusting off his heads then pets Dunther "You ok? Of course you are. This was nothing for you I bet. Come lets see what the frowning couple has found." he walked close behind the two waiting for Lucrezia to open the chest.

With Afer's help, Lu slowly got up from the ground and brushed herself off. She was still trembling just a little from the scare. The bosmer had been sure that they were all going to die in that cave. She reached down for her crossbow as Afer went to pick up the boy.

Lu did not find the joke funny at all! She jumped and threw up her crossbow, looking around wildly with it pointed to the walls of the cave. She was frantically searching for the last bear! Lu was about to run to the boy and shake him to get an answer until she saw that he was just being a smartass. Rolling her eyes, she lowered her weapon and picked up a small rock from the ground to toss at him, possibly missing by a lot. She was still a little shaken up. "Very funny kid."

Once she reached the chest and unlocked it, Lu was ready to get her crossbow out again and blow up that cave. "You've got to be kidding me! That's it?! That's all there is? I've been hunting this stupid treasure for..what? A sword, some gold and a few crummy stones!" She was very disappointed. "Well, kid. Here's your prize. We'll jus be taking Dunther back to Valenwood now and you can...well, you might can get a few new clothes, warm food and a room for a while. Have a nice life." She was so done with this mission. This was not how she imagined it to be. Lu stood up and put her hands on her hips.

The boy looked down for a moment and then walked to Lucrezia retrieving his so called prized. "Yeah... yeah. Thank you." He says in a lowered voice. I will try to have a better life, with a old sword and some shiny stones. Hopefully it will be enough to buy a home and stay sheltered for a while. Might be tough, A few stones like these might make me a target for thieves. Well I suppose thats what the sword is for I suppose, to keep me safe that." his whole tone while he was speaking was saddening he looks to Dunther "Well... I deal is a deal. The last thing that can remind of my father is going away now.... Good bye Dyggur, maybe in another life we shall meet again." He kneeled down to pet him. As he does so one of the ruby stones dropped from his grip but he didnt seem to be too concerned. It rolled towards Afer's feet and he places his foot over it. He kneeled down to pick it up looking at it for a moment he let out a sigh looking directly at the boy.

"Hey. Come with us. We dont have much but... better than living a lonely life." he cracked a smile holding out for him to take

The boy stood in silence a moment considering but he doesnt respond immediately. He just takes the stone for Afer's hands and toys with it as he thinks

Lu's jaw dropped. She was shocked by what was happening in front of her. Was Afer really suggesting that this kid live with them? The same kid they both wanted to strangle at one point or another during this day?! No, this had to be some sort of crazy joke that only Afer gets. She blinked and looked from Afer to the kid. Nope, Afer wouldn't be that cruel.

"You...wait..shouldn't we talk about this? I mean..." she sighed. The kid reminded her of herself at that age. And she was in the same situation as him then. She really would have liked for someone to have helped her out like that back then. She sighed again, a little dramatically this time. "Oh fine! Fine, fine, fine! Look kid, you don't have to pretend that you have to think about it. This is the best deal you're gonna get. But first, there are some rules. First rule is don't touch my stuff. Second rule is be nice to Goat Bastard. He might not be nice to you but, he was there first. And Third rule is you don't give us crap for calling him," she pointed to the fluffy dog, "Dunther. It's what we've always called him and I'm not changing it to that nonsense you call him." She put her hands on her hips. "And I guess you can keep the treasure that we found here. A deal is a deal. We have a spare bed that you can sleep on. But when our kids come to visit, you better be nice."