Eastmarch and the Three Elves

((OOC NOTE: Afer, feel free to post when you feel like it, or when it makes sense. DM, NPC, Set a scene, whatever!))



Lucrezia walked to the meeting spot, right in front of the tree near the tavern. The bosmer was a bit early, unusual for her. And she was carrying a bag with her, along with her bow. The bow looked like it had some dust on it, evident that she didn't get it out much. She had her daggers on her hips, like always, and a hood over her bald head. She was wearing plain brown leather armor, not her Fighter's Guild kind. She looked a little jumpy. Or paranoid. Possibly both.

She was actually more nervous and anxious than anything. She had been trying hard to keep this trip a secret. She couldn't risk Fedris or Charlotte finding out. And she was starting to wonder if she had made a mistake in the company she picked. She could have made good with Gerrvir or bribed him to come along. He was at least a pro with a bow and a very good sneak. Even Fedris would have been a decent choice given his Fighter's Guild training. But did she choose them? Nope. She decided to ask Hloriella and Kashya. Both had useful skills on their own, but this mission was more than likely going to end them up in a cave of vampires. Vampires that had managed to murder possibly the best fighter she'd ever known. Hloriella's most combatant skill is throwing shoes at her husband and spouting off insults at everyone. What would she do to a vampire, take off her stylish foot wraps and choke them with it while insulting their pale skin? And while Kashya was a tall and strong looking Altmer, she didn't seem to have much more weapon training than Hlor. Out of the three, Lu seemed to be the most dangerous one. That made her feel both smug and terrified.

After a few more seconds, a very tall Altmer with a long elegant blonde braid and dressed in Mage's Guild robes would greet her. "Are your friends planning on joining you or are you planning to tan that pale head of yours?" He looked annoyed and wouldn't stand too close to the bosmer. He would hold out his hand, as if expecting something.

"You'll get your coin, hold your horses. Gotta make sure they show."

Through the vegetation, a grumpy looking Hloriella would approach. She wore a red scarf wrapping around her head but kept her face exposed for the time. Her armor was an assortment of stitched leathers and skins that had clearly been mended more than a few times. Her hips held two daggers, but her belt had visible vials of some kind. Her stride was cautious, she too held a look of growing anxiousness. Slung over her shoulder was a heavy looking sack, stuffed to the breaking point with contents unknown.

As she walked closer, her anxiousness returned to that of a disapproving scowl. Her eyes flicked to the altmer then back to Lu. "Oh joy, portals. I still do not see why we do not just travel on foot." That uneasy expression returned. "So. No one knows I am here, though I did remember to leave a note. For Gabriel. I'd rather Old One not know of this at all." Adjusting her stance to better hold her pack, she looked around. "The fuck is Kashya?"

Slowly following behind, a tall Altmer with pinned-up hair and a long, grey coat stumbles and trips out of the brush from the same direction Hlor had come from. She fumbles with the old, wooden bow and leather quiver strapped on her back as she tries to stand back up, but seems significantly more interested on her surroundings; she quickly turns her head side to side, capturing whatever she can in her view. She doesn't seem to be paying much attention, however, and looks to be heading straight in Hlor's direction. "Damn, it's not..a jungle."

She didn't seem to be carrying much, aside from the brown, leather satchel thrown across her shoulder, a dagger strapped to her side, and the bow and quiver tossed across her back. In comparison to Hlor, she looked relatively unprepared, and took this into account as she finally looked up to the Dunmer and went wide-eyed. "Are you carrying your home in that?" She quickly looks away again, but still seems to be walking straight for Hlor.

The Altmer mage would look disapprovingly at Hloriella and her obviously home-made armor. He didn't say anything, just rolled his eyes. He still had his hand out for the gold. He was not forgetting.

"Freaking finally." Lu said when she spotted Hlor. She hoped the Mage didn't sass her friend or she'd have to add more gold to his payment. She raised an eyebrow at her pack. "Well I hope you got some good potions in there. I have a few but it's all I could afford. This portal is costing me a fortune." The bosmer didn't mention that she had to agree to do a Merc job in order to get most of her supplies and the gold she was using to pay their way to get there. It was a big job but she had a few ideas who could help her with it.

"Oh good, you're here too. Now we can get going." She said as Kashya walked up...and kept on walking. A collision was pending. She was just going to let Hloriella deal with that. Though she was trying not to laugh. At least the trip would be amusing with these two with her.

"Oh goodie, more of your friends." The mage said sarcastically. If you are you all done socializing, I can take you upstairs and you can be on your way. I have very important work to do."

"F'leh. At least one of us remembered to be prepared. I only packed the essentials...you know, things I couldn't go without. Fuck knows what we will encounter out there!" She stared at Lu blankly for a second when healing potions were mentioned. "Oh uh...yeah...sure. I have those. I think." She did not. Instead, she had two healing palms and a random collection of some of Henricks potions, knowing what only half of them probably did. The majority of her vials were the ever useful poisons.

"Honestly, that is all you are bringing?" She scoffed at Kashya and her bow...not moving out of the way. "I suppose this means you will want me to share my food." She scowled at the mage, that uneasy expression returning. "Fine, let's get this crap over with." If Kashya kept walking expecting Hlor to move out of the way, she'd be sadly mistaken. If she kept on going, she'd bump right into the dunmer, knocking her well off balance and causing a few of her items to fall.

"That's a..lot of essentials." She stares blankly between Lu and the mage, still heading straight for the Dunmer, but abruptly stops right in front of Hlor when she questions Kashya. "What? Hey, I've got all I need in this satchel!" She rather proudly pats the leather bag, and opens it up to dig through the contents. Anyone close enough could tell that the satchel was filled with oranges, vials, and a lone journal with a stick of charcoal protruding through the spine. As she opens it, she quickly pulls an orange out and closes the satchel shut once more.

"Mm, right. So, what're we doing?" She gives a dumb grin and abruptly bites into the orange, still looking between the three mer standing before her. "And, who's your friend?" With her free hand, she straightforwardly points directly to the Altmer mage with an almost accusative expression on her face. Although she'd never really been one for conversation, she seemed more than happy to point or call people out, no matter the situation. "Lu, is this the 'friend' that owes you?" Her glance suddenly turns to Lu and remains there, although she still seems to be pointing at the mage.

Lu just watched the two for a moment and peeked into their bags. Hloriella had a lot of potions that she had seen before. She raised an eyebrow at them, remembering hearing Gabriel Sloane mention that he was still trying to figure out what most of them did. She just hoped they didn't have to use them on their trip.

And Kashya seemed to have a lot of snacks! At least that would be handy on the road. Lu was carrying some silver weapons, thanks to Terath's generous offer a few day before. She had went through the Fighter's Guild's stock and grabbed what they could use, but made sure she left some behind in case other members needed it. She wasn't greedy!

The Mage sighed again, this time waving his hand around.

"Alright, fine! Here's your damn gold. Now get us out of here." Lu would reach into her bag and grab a coinpurse, handing it over to the prissy altmer.

"I thought I was going to have to stun you to get it. Not that I don't love talking to you ladies...and I use that word very loosely...but I'm in a hurry." The Altmer would take the purse and count every coin.

"Oh, uh...no. The guy that owed me is apparently dead. Or pretending to be. So much for loyalty, huh? This guy here I ran into and talked into helping us-"

"Harassed. You harassed me until I agreed." The Altmer corrected her sternly. "Now follow me. I don't ever want to see your faces again after this." He'd give Kashya a scowl and mumble something about listening to a lesser race under his breath.

The Altmer would lead the group upstairs to the Mage's Guild, which was right beside the clinic. There were only a few other mages there. The prissy Altmer would mumbled and move his hands in a very fancy way and, BAM, a portal appeared.

"Oranges?!" Hloriella just stared at Kashya's pack in a bit of stunned silence. Yep, they were all going to die on this trip. The mer hadn't seen any of the more useful items, only the colorful and pungent fruits. When the mage sassed them she would make a face at him the moment he turned his back to them.

Hloriella would follow right behind Lu all the way to the Guild Hall section where she promptly took a step behind Kashya. Pointing to the portal, she looked to the altmer. "That thing is...safe, yeah?" She balked. No way was the dunmer going to go in first, that was evident on the fearful expression on her face. "Well...do not just stand there, someone test it!"

"Yes, oranges! They're great for the weather. They're great for anything!" Her smile is one stemming from a sense of accomplishment, and she once again proudly pats her satchel.

Kashya listened to Lu while she spoke about the deceased friend, and responded with pursed lips and narrow eyes. "What? Well. I guess that's one way to get out of a favor." She spectates the exchange between Lu and the Altmer until he mumbles a remark, to which she merely responds with a scowl. "Meh. He's a damn't right ass."

As they reach the top floor, and the portal, Kashya backpedals a bit as well, probably bumping back into Hlor as she does so. "Safe..? That thing probably isn't safe. I'm not testing it. Uh..Lu!" She points to Lu, and then to the portal. "Test it! Stick your hand in there and see if it doesn't cut it off!"

Lu had been feeling just fine about going through the portal...until the other two started chickening out! Why were they so afraid of it? The bosmer had been through one more than once and everything turned out fine. She thought that Kashya and Hloriella had used one a time or two before but now they were acting like the big blurry, almost spinning-like thing before them was the portal of death. Oh gods...what if they ended up in Oblivion?!

"Oh okay, pick on the smallest one, you big cowards." she gave them both a look. Lu looked from the portal to her friends...then back to the portal...then to the mage. She was quickly loosing her bravery. "Uh, you know, maybe we don't need to find Afer. Surely he knows his way back home. I'm sure the cold is comforting to him..." she was slowly stepping away but the mage was losing his patience.

"It's perfectly safe, I assure you. I conjured it myself. Are you doubting my skill? There will be none of that." The cocky mage was really frustrated with them now. How dare they suggest he did not do this right! The Altmer put his hands on Lu's back and shoved her right towards the portal.

"Hey, wait! Wait! I SAID WAIT! I DON'T WANNA END UP IN A MOUNTAIN!" Lu yelled as she was pushed head first through the portal. Kashya and Hloriella would see her one moment, then gone the next.

On the other side, Lu would loose her balance and roll through the Mage's Guild in Windhelm. The clumsy bosmer was still yelling and rolling. She ended up crashing into another mage that was carrying the most heavy books that had ever landed on her head.

"Ouch...ow! Hey watch where you're-" she gasped as she looked around. She wasn't in a mountain! She did it! Lu jumped up and hugged the struggling and irritated mage, then ran back to the portal. "Hey you guuuuuys! I'm alive! I'm alive!" she'd yell back into the portal, not sure if they could even hear her or not.

Back on the Vulkwasten side, whether Kashya and Hlor were able to hear Lu's joyful yells or not, they were going in next. "The portal closes in one minute. Shall I shove you in one by one, or shall you leave your friend hanging? Tick tock." The prissy mage said to them both.

Hloriella stared in shock as Lu was pushed right on through the portal. She didn't hear any screaming, and for a moment the dunmer just stood there. Then the prissy mage's comment snapped her back to reality. "You fucking touch me and I'll cram all this bitch's oranges right down your throat." A harsh scowl followed up her words as she stepped closer to the vortex of what she hoped was not death.

Hesitantly, she looked back to Kashya. Seeing the much taller altmer behind her pushed her pride and courage up enough for her to step through the portal. The heavy pack on her back threw her off balance while she stepped, her landing on the other end would be better than Lu's but not by much. Kneeling on the ground was the dunmer girl, her eyes still shut. "Okay, that was not so, so bad..." She didn't move out of the way as she opened her eyes, a tiny smirk forming on her lips.

Kashya watched with worry as Lu was pushed into the portal, and shifts her glare over to the mage with a heavy scowl. Upon hearing Hlor's comment, however, she shakes her head and presses her hand on her satchel. "Don't touch my oranges!" She followed Hlor's footsteps as the Dunmer approached the portal, and quietly stood behind her, watching over Hlor's head and staring at the portal with an distrustful expression.

She didn't have much time to react before Hlor had stepped into the portal.

"Uh—OI! Be..careful?!" Kashya grit her teeth and reinforced a glare at the Altmer. "If this shite kills me, I'll haunt your arse and make sure all of your future experiments end in fuckin' disarray." She shakes her head and sprints into the portal, practically swan diving into it before the Altmer could react to Kashya's comment.

On the other side, Kashya barrels out of the portal and goes rolling straight for Hloriella.

The Altmer Mage held his hands up at Hloriella, showing her that he would not push her through the portal. He was thrilled not having to touch the womer's horrid armor anyway. She really should just burn that ugly mess. The mage shivered just thinking about her terrible fashion.

On the other side, Lu was still yelling into the portal, much to the annoyance of the Windhelm Mages. One even shushed her! The bosmer, of course, ignored them. She had to make sure her friends were alright!

When Hloriella came flying through, she nearly took Lu'd head off! Thankfully the bosmer jumped back in time and saw Hlor's more graceful landing. "You're alive! See, that wasn't so bad, was it? I told you this was the more simple way. 'Why can't we just walk there'" she mocked Hlor's voice, "This way didn't take months! Now...where is Kashya?" She looked back to the portal, making sure to step out of the way. She didn't warn Hlor, though.

Back at Vulkwasten, the mage paitently waited for Kashya to go through the portal. Her threat got an annoyed eyeroll from him. "Ah, yes. I'm looking forward to it. Now, off you go." He waved his hand impatiently. When all three were finally through the portal, he knew it was safe to close it. "Next time I'll open it near Red Mountian, give them a real scare. Idiots."

In the Windhelm Mages Guild, Lu was happy to see that Kashya had made it too! And possibly collided with Hloriella. If they did collide, the bosmer would just shake her head. They didn't have time for this! They had a girl to find and answers to dig up! "Okay, Charlotte said the girl was the daughter of a blacksmith here in Windhelm and her name would start with 'K'. How many blacksmiths could there be here? I say we split up and search the city. Meet back in front of this building in an hour. Or should we stick together? I've only been here once and the place looked pretty big."

The dunmer scowled up at Lu upon hearing the mocking tone of her own voice. "Oh, Oh fuck you!" Was all she was able to retort with before she was rolled right into by a Kashya. Tumbling forward and crying out, she then staggered back to her feet. "Oh, this is off to a fucking great start! You better not have broken any of my things!" She huffed, looking at Kashya before inspecting the contents of her pack.

The mer looked around and shivered. "Why the fuck did neither of you two tell me it would be this cold?! Ugh, nevermind. You are right, can not possibly take that long to find a blacksmith." She looked around, scowling but held a bit of hesitation in her gaze. "Maybe we should stick together...I mean no, we should split up. I am not worried about getting lost in some silly nord village. Besides, we are bound to meet at the same blacksmith, yeah?"

She turned to march off eastward. "I will take this direction. I bet you both a tankard of ale I find this 'K' fool first."

Kashya goes rolling straight into Hloriella before rolling to a complete stop. Her belongings trail behind where she had rolled, including her satchel, bow, and quiver. As she rises to her feet, she gives a frustrated groan and moves to go pick up the belongings. "Don't worry. You probably padded enough pillows in that bag to keep anything from breakin', seeing as you brought your house." She pulls her satchel, bow, and quiver over her shoulder and begins to look around.

As Lu and Hlor exchange words about the blacksmith, Kashya raises a finger and scowls. "A..blacksmith. Right. Well. Why split up? All we have to do is find the blacksmith. If this is..actually in Windhelm, then I think I remember my way around here. I came here, once, with a friend of mine, Talia, and we...uh. Passed the blacksmith. I think."

She definitely doesn't look very sure of her claim.

"It can't be that hard to remember. Now, where are we?"

Lu rolled her eyes and dug through her bag for her cloak, which took up most of the room in there. Now her bag only held some potions, bandages, food and a few silver daggers. But they wouldn't need any of that until later. "Alright get up you two. We've got a blacksmith to find."

Lu would lead the way out of the Mages Guild. They would step out of a two story build in the Nordic style and be facing a busy city. Lu would put on her cloak but still be cold. She had gotten used to the warm weather of the Valenwood. "Maybe Kashya's right and we shouldn't wonder off too far from each other. I had forgotten how big and busy this place is...and cold. If you do get lost, though, just run back here and stay until we find you. But for now, stay close."

The bosmer would look around them. If she were a Blacksmith, where would she be? Lu pointed straight ahead. "Let's uh, just go straight."

Up the road from where the three elves were would be one of the blacksmith's workshops. In front of the forge would be a young Nordic girl working on a blade. She places the blade inside of the forge wiping her forehead, rubbing the ash on her gloves over it. She lets out a long exhale removing her gloves and waiting outside of the forgery. She stares out into the sky becoming lost in thoughts.
A much older man calls out from a building right next to the forge "Kjelle! Dont leave the blade too unattended. The last few were ruined. I expect this one to be perfect!"

The young girl answers back to him nodding. Saying nothing. She looks back out towards the sky.


|Mean while at Vulkwasten|

Spoiler

The Altmer mage that sent the three Elves away into Eastmarch leaves finding a nice quiet spot to enjoy his lunch alone. He reaches into his bag pulling out some food neatly wrapped up. "Ahh some peace and..."

Moments later a shadowy figure lunges at the man tackling him to the ground pinning him. He talked in a deep voice almost like he wants to keep his actual voice hidden dressed in full black Ebony armor "Scream and I will kill you." He holds a knife to his neck "Where did you sent those 3 women?"

The Altmer tries to struggle "Thats none of your business. Unhand me you filthy mongrel!"

The man applies more pressure on his neck. "Last warning. Tell me what I want to know."

The Altmer panics "Eastmarch! Eastmarch...."

"Predictable" The man picks him up by his collar "Send me there. Now. But not in Windhelm."

"What makes you think I have enough energy to help you!"

"Because you value your life enough. Now open one."

The Altmer stops speaking and makes a motion opening a portal before the man.

The man grabs the Altmer by his arm and tries to throw him into the portal

The Altmer panics once more "What are you doing! Unhand me!"

"You are trying my patience. You go first..."

The Altmer closes the portal as he tried to trick the man into stepping into a portal over a lava pit. He opens a new one to a random spot in Eastmarch. He gets pushed in by the man who follows shortly afterwards.

He steps through looking around the area from where he wasa standing. Observing the environment. "I know where they will be...." He looks to the Altmer "Get out of here" He walks off vanishing into the forest

The Altmer shouts "I would not be here if not for you! By shalidor's beard I am exhausted. And freezing! How do these barbarians even tolerate this sort of weather?" he shivers looking down at his feet with a sadden look "I just wanted to eat lunch alone."

Hloriellla grits her teeth and shivered. "Fuckng gods IT IS TOO COLD." Throwing her pack onto the ground, she began to dig through it, spouting hateful mumbles as she did so. After a bit of a struggle, she pulls out a furred hat and quickly dons it. "So damn cold...let's find this damn bitch and leave, yeah?"

She doesn't argue with the other mer as she throws the pack over her shoulder again. Shivering, she would probably lag behind the others by a few steps. She wouldn't hear the shouting nord calling to his young smith, but she would see some smoke from the coals. "HEY! Is that smoke? Where there is smoke there is heat. I mean a smith. A possible smith. Yeah."

"Straight. Sounds good enough to me." Kashya nods and follows the Bosmer's lead, all the way up until they approach the local smith. She doesn't react much to Hloriella's complaints regarding the weather, and instead tucks herself up a bit in her own coat before drawing her focus back on the smoke that Hlor had mentioned.

"Oh. Oh! Right. Just..like I had assumed." She shrugs and glances back between Lu and Hlor, only to turn her head back towards the direction of the shouting. Although she had heard it, she definitely didn't hear what was said during the shouting. "More people. There's assurance that this place isn't an abandoned snow field, at the very least." With that, she enthusiastically starts for the blacksmith.

Lu was also shivering. She would pull the cloak around her more securely as they walked forward. The bosmer would glance to each side of them, looking for a Blacksmith sign or any other indication that a Blacksmith was in town. Though it seemed like Hloriella had picked up on something. Lu squinted and looked up. Yup, smoke.

"Yeah, that could be from a lot of things but Blacksmith could be one of them. Let's check it out." She'd nod to both Hlor and Kashya while walking toward the smoke. The closer they got, the more her heart raced. Could they be closer to finding answers?

Lu couldn't hear what was being said over the sounds of the busy city. But she did see the young girl...and a sword being made! "Oh! Oh! I think...I think that could be a Blacksmith. Come on!" Lu would take off jogging down the road and to the station. She was nearly red in the face by the time she got there. She'd run right up to the girl. "I....you...are you...can't...breathe..." Lu was so out of shape. It would take her a moment to catch her breath. Hopefully she didn't scare the poor girl away. "Are you....a blacksmith? Or the daughter of one? Does...does your name start with a K?"

The young girl leaned against a pillar looking up at the sky. It was cloudy and light snow was coming down. She slightly opened her mouth with a smile. Peaceful day. She looked downed the road as something caught her eye. A out out of shape Bosmee running straight towards her. She kept calm looking at the bosmer. As she listened to the out of shape Bosmer she realized that she is trying to say words. She begins to pay attention now.

"If you need weapons or armor, go talk to papa. He is inside the shop."

She does not answer her other questions. She goes back to staring at the cloudy sky.
Up close the girl's face would reveal that she has a bunch of scratches on it that have not fully healed yet.

After Lu ran off, the dunmer was quick to follow. "Hey! You get back here!" She was slowed by her pack. When she managed to catch up, she coughed from the cold. Her red eyes looked the young girl head to toe and sneered. "We are not looking for weapons or armor. Your father owns this Smith? Hmm, maybe he will know where this 'K' bitch is."

She squinted, even in the cold she could see the girl had some problems on her face. Scratches? "Wait hon, do you know any other little snots your age that has a name beginning with 'K'? We are uh, couriers, yeah?" She looked to Kashya. "Like, this bitch is. We were only hired to make sure she did not like, die." Tries to elbow Kashya. "Eh? Is that gift you were hired to send, it was to a 'K' child, yeah?"

The young girl was still daydreaming assuming they would leave after she told them to go speak to her father for weapons and gear. But wait they were still there. And there was a Dunmer now talking. Half her speech was missed but she decides to listen to this angry Dunmer woman. She thinks a bit questioning why all Dunmers looks so angry. Was it because they all wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Maybe its because their home lands is just ash and mushrooms with giant bugs roaming around. She thinks to herself 'I would be angry too'. She decides to actually pay attention this time

"K? I know some people with K's in their name. But they are adults."

She looks to the Altmer, wondering why this Dunmer is calling her a bitch? She did not look like a female dog in her eyes. Maybe if she was furrier she might. But she shrugs it off but her interest was grabbed after gifts were mentioned

"Gifts? My name starts with a 'K'. K for Kjelle. What gifts do I get?"

Kashya followed along with the other two as they confronted the girl, but made little comment throughout the encounter. Aside from the occasional grunt, groan, or glance, she didn't do much in the way of interaction, aside from sharing a squint with Hlor as they stared at the girl's face. How had all those scratches gotten there? Probably nothing too out of the ordinary.

Her absentminded thoughts were briefly interrupted as Hlor called her out.

"Huh..What?" She glances down to the Dunmer and quirks a brow. "Gift?" She doesn't have much time to respond before Kjelle responds with her inquiry. Kashya springs into action, and reaches into her satchel, pulling a small orange out from the bag and attempting to place it in Kjelle's hand. "Treat this with the utmost care. This is not a gift given lightly."

"Kjelle? K...K...That starts with a K!" Lu would practically push Hlor out of the way as Lu walked closer and got a better look at the girl's face. The scratches. "Hi Kjelle...Um, I'm Lucrezia. This is Hloriella and Kashya. We're um...gifts?" She looked confused at Hloriella. The didn't have anything to spare!

But then Kashya seemed to have an idea. She sure hoped it was a brilliant one...she was sadly mistaken. "Right you get a....orange? A freaking orange? An orange! Straight from the Valenwood. If you're brave enough to eat it, you might run into some angry bosmer. Not me, though. I'm not the crazy kind." She clears her throat. "We don't want a sword, we just have some questions. Those scratches on your face...did you get those from just playing around town or were you ever...Oh I don't know, trapped in a cave with things that wanted to eat you until you were saved by a heroic but idiotic Imperial?"

She looked hopeful. Maybe this was the girl. "I uh...have this bracelet. It's yours if you just answer the question." Lu would unclip a bracelet she had been planning to give to her mother. It had pretty painted stones and one emerald.

Kjelle looks at the orange for a moment she thought nothing of it at first. She took it observing it. She rarely gets to eat fruit. Just vegetables and meat. She bit into it eating the skin of the orange as well. It was amazing! She proceeds to devour the orange eating all in one go. She looks at Kashya with a blank face

"More please"

She looks down to the weird bosmer woman. She was talking again. She listens to her. As she does so she gently places her hand on her scratched up face

"Wha..... what? How do you....."

She begins to frown as memories begin to return shaking her head. She walks to her forge in haste.

"Please go away. Please...." She closes her eyes remembering that's rude to say "Why do you need to know? Who are you and why me?"

Hloriella looked like she wanted to slap Kashya at the presentation of the orange. Instead, she just slapped her own forehead right before getting shoved off to the side thanks to Lu. She did cringe at the small girl consuming the orange in all the wrong ways. "Gross...hey don't turn your back on us you little snot, we asked you a question!"

Huffing, she folded her arms and scowled. "This bitch was married to that idiot and we were his friends. So...so just tell us what you know already!" She shivered, teeth still chattering.

The young girl slightly felt bad. Even though Hloriella was asking in a rude way. She motion looked into the fires of the forge

"Im sorry. If I knew he was missing I would have said something sooner." She looks towards the group "I was wandering the lands observing the trees and the birds. Played a bit in the snow distant for any town. Its gets so peaceful sometimes...." She slowly begins to close her eyes and starts daydreaming mid sentence. "Mmmmmm peacefulness"

she shakes her head afterwards snapping back to reality

"Sorry. As I was wandering day soon became night and suddenly I heard noise then I was snatched away by something. All remember was waking up in some cave, I was covered in blood. They were vampires that kidnapped me. They were trying to turn me into a thrall and and...." She tries to keep calm as she spoke working on the blade as she told the story "Its been weeks. They kept me in a cage trying to experiment spells on me. All the other ones died.... I was left then then all I heard was a explosion." She dips the blade in water creating a lot of steam "It was a Imperial man. He was like a shining light. He held a crossbow and ran to my cage freeing me. He kept talking to me but I was so scared but also happy. I just could not listen. We... we ran out. I noticed mine carts and such. I think we were in a old mine shaft. But as we ran out more of the creatures were catching up to us and there were two powerful mage looking ones blocking the exit, I was so afraid then... then he did something. He threw his sword at one of them and told me to run and dont stop. So I ran... But some broke off to chase me. Then he shot some kind of explosive bolt at the ceiling and the entire shaft began to rumble. Next thing I knew the entire path was blocked. I wanted to go back and check on him but it was so much rubble it would have taken days to even make a space to get through." She lets out a long exhale "I hoped for the day I could see him again. But.... nothing."

She looks to Lucrezia "I am so sorry, for your lost. If you need anything I would not hesitate to help. It was my fault he was trapped in there. He saved me and... I would do anything to repay him." she takes her gloves off and wipes her eyes "If you head south from here you will eventually find abandon mining area. It was mined clean so they left it. But there was so much rubble. I assumed the worst and did not check again."

"It's a good presentation of a gift." She shrugs at Lu, but doesn't offer much else in the way of an argument as the Nordic girl devours the thing relatively quickly. When she asks for another orange, Kashya just sort of stands there, looking between her and the other two mer with an impressed countenance. The look didn't remain, however, as she turns back towards the Nordic girl, watching the exchange between Kjelle and Hloriella. "..You're a real charmer, Hlor."

After the Nordic girl offers her explanation regarding who she assumes to be Afer, Kashya flips her satchel closed and gives a hoarse grunt. "Right. Well, then, that's where we're going next." She takes a moment to gather her bearings, but doesn't seem to do so successfully when she turns back towards her and scowls. "South..South." She turns back to look at Hlor and Lu. "You two brought pickaxes, right?"

"Hlor, we weren't mar- ugh, nevermind." She shook her head and just listened to the girl' story. It sounded terrifying! Lu couldn't believe the poor girl had gone through all that and didn't die. She would have died, if it hadn't been for Afer. Now they had the full account of what happened and the location. The bosmer was starting to feel very nervous now. What where they going to find there?

Lu would try to hand the girl the bracelet. "Here, you earned that. And uh, sorry that happened to you. Try to be more careful now. Don't go anywhere alone." Lu made a mental not to have a big crate of oranges delivered to the girl after this trip.

Lu would look blankly at Kashya. "Uh...no. I didn't realize we'd need any. You just...carry a pickax around? Dammit, I know I didn't pack well for this trip." Lu would put her bag down and dig through it. "I have two sets of silver daggers and some silver arrows, courtesy of the Fighter's Guild. Try not to break or lose them. I don't want Terath to think I break stuff I borrow." Hlor, I assume you'd want the daggers, right? Kashya, do you have a preference? Should...should buy some pickaxes?"

The mer blinked. "Why the ever living fuck would I carry a pick axe? I am no miner!" Huffs. "I have a spoon..." Looks the young blacksmith. "Child, we are in need of two pickaxes, have you any?" She scoffed at Lu's offer of the blades. "Nah, I do not need your gross sweaty fighter's guild things. /I/ brought my own. Let me see..." She plops her bag down and starts to dig through it.

"They are here...somewhere. OUCH! Ow, ow, ow...found one! And...and there is the other." She pulls out two iron blades, though both were enchanted with a weak shock spell. "Okay I am ready, you two just need pickaxes, yeah?"

Kjelle stopped what she was doing and looked towards the group of mer, blinking. They looked so unprepared even though she mentioned vampires a few times.

"Father and I keep extra pickaxes around. I can lend them to you." If they accepted her offer she would have ran into the building and picked up 3 pick axes for the group

"Also Father kept cure disease potions just in case. Take it please... its the least I can do. If you find him please tell him I said thank you" She would also run back in the building and return with 3 cure disease potions handing them to Lucrezia and a sword in her hand "Father might not like it but take this as well. The blade is made of iron. Not very strong but It has a strong fire enchant on it. Just in case there are any of those vampires left in there."

she backs up and bows to them "Please stay safe."

"Well, I didn't say I had a pickaxe." She sighs and turns back towards the two mer, shaking her head. "No..no. I've got no preference. I just—damnit." She waves her off with a scowl and turns to watch Kjelle run back and forth with supplies. She doesn't say much in the way of a response, but instead idly observes the girl.

"Pickaxes, potions, swords. That seems like a lot to just..give away, but I suppose that's fine with me. As long as we don't get the brunt of the blame for it." She hadn't quite considered the possibility of fighting a vampire up close, and went wide-eyed as she patted down the sides of her belt and pockets for a weapon. After a moment, she pulls out a small dagger and shrugs before putting it back in its sheathe. It probably wouldn't matter. With her luck, it would make no difference what she was fighting with. Remembering this, she rubs at the bandage still wrapped around her neck from days prior, and gives a heavy sigh. Her voice had been relatively quieter since the ordeal, but she didn't bother to bring it up at a time like this. It's not as though she wanted to.

"Those potions might actually be..helpful. Probably a good idea if we took them."

Lu just watched as the girl kept running back and forth, gathering all kinds of things for them. The kid was much more prepared than they were!

"Are you sure? I have some gold..." she offered the girl. Though Lu couldn't really afford to give more away. She still had to pay for their way back to Vulk. And that wasn't going to be cheap. "Okay so...potions, pick axes, weapons...we owe you a lot, kid. Don't worry. We'll find him. And then we'll send you about ten crates of oranges as a big thank you." She'd smile at the girl. The scratches on her face, though, it made her feel awful...and nervous. Was this a suicide mission? Possibly.

"Alright, let's head out." she said to the two, once they got everything together and picked their weapons. Lu had twin silver daggers on her hips, the bow on her back and the silver arrows. She wished she hadn't wasted the rest of those exploding bolts...or that she had left without the crossbow. Frowning, she remembered the poor fate of the crossbow. Sighing, she would lead the way to the mine the girl spoke of. "Alright, look...we have to get one thing straight. We are leaving no one behind. Got it? We all leave together. Don't split up, don't be a freaking hero. We're searching for answers, that's all. If it gets too dangerous, we march right out of there."

"Okay so." The mer looked over the entrance to the mine. "Who is gonna dig? We should have one lookout and as tall as that one is I don't trust her to bark out a proper threat." Points to Kashya. "So, should we stab first and ask questions later if we do find something? If there are vampires trapped in there, they are going to be stark raving mad."

She grimaced, the idea that Afer could be among them was not something she wanted to address. Instead, she pushed that right down. Nope, not going to think those feels. "But ya, stick together and all that crap. I did bring a lantern...let me find it." Once again she threw her pack to the ground and began to dig through it. Eventually, she returned to the surface world with a glass lantern, half the glass was cracked and smeared with some kind of grease. "Oh fuck I am out of oil. So which one of you two brought wax?"

|The entrance of the mining cave was a door. Once pass the door would be a blockade of rubble. But in the center would be a hole small enough for one person to squeeze through at a time. Pass that would be nothing but darkness and the first room would be a massive open room with a very small stream of water flowing pass the side of it. It was very quiet|

"Well, wait. What exactly are we looking out for? A vampire isn't just gonna return home on their daily store-trip in the middle of the day to catch us digging, will they?" She looked away, and seemed to be genuinely contemplating that idea for a moment, herself. She dismisses the thought and turns back to the others. "Wax? No..no. I don't just keep wax on me. That's just silly. I think. Right? Nobody keeps that on them. Why did you bring a lantern without any wax?"

She pauses one more time and turns back to them. It seems that her mind has hatched an idea.

"Alright. Plan time. If time has taught me anything, it's that vampires hate fire. So, we go in blazing fire nonstop." She waves her hands around as she speaks, obviously excited for the plan forming in her head. "We use Hlor's huge bag as a battering ram to clear the rubble, and then someone just blasts fire magic all the way down! They go running, we find Afer, and make it safely out. Because vampires. Hate. Fire." She grins and looks between the two. "Now! Which one of you if a mage?"

Lu looked like she wanted to slap both of them. "Hlor...I don't just carry around wax! Kashya...what happens if we accidentally blast Afer with fire? He's not a vampire but he would burn, just the same. Plus, none of us are mages. I know a simple flame spell that I made Fedris teach me but it's not big or strong enough to create large blazing balls of death! And we can use the pick axes...wait...oh wait!" It was like a light bulb had turned on inside the bosmer's head.

"Wait! Kashya's right! She has the right thinking, here!" Was Lu serious? Was she really going to go along with Kashya's plan of fiery death? It seemed so!

"Okay well maybe your exact plan, but the fire part works. We can use my plain arrows to dip in the leftover grease from the lap, set that on fire with the spell I know and shot the arrows around the vampires! We can use to fire to get them all bunched up together and guide them to go where we need them to, like away from use or away from Afer. Like how farmers heard their animals!"

"What?! No!" Hloriella barked at the two as she wrapped her arms around her large bag. "You are not using my bag as a weapon! You will break my things!" She looked to Lu and scowled. "Have you gone fucking mad? That is a horrible plan!" Sour, she grumbled and huffed. "Fine."

She placed the greasy, dead lantern on the ground before reaching back into her bag. One by one, she pulled out several thick, glass bottles. "Okay, grab some mystery potions so you have something on hand if things go wrong. I think some of those might be healing potions. I am pretty sure none are toxic. Mostly."

She grins widely and listen's to Lu's plan with interest. She approves of the modified plan, it seems. "I like it, I like it." She gives a nod of consent and pulls her arms over her back to check the supply of arrows in her quiver. It seems that a few had snapped after the run-in she had with Hloriella earlier, but they were intact for the most part.

As the Dunmer begins to pull out the vials, Kashya mildly picks up a few and slides them into her satchel. "Good enough for me." She tosses the two an affirmative nod and looks back towards the entrance of the cave. "If I die and one of you live, make my death sound heroic. Like how Afer saved the Nordic girl. Only with more fire, and explosions, and cave-ins."

"Oh well then let's hear your brilliant plan. Oh wait, you don't have one. So, we're going with Kashyas." The bosmer would take a few of the mystery potions. She even sniffed one of them. I hope these won't kill u, Hlor. Or I'm haunting you. " My then start to go towards the door. She made sure her pack was ssecure and then pushed open the door. Now she saw the part that was caved in. "Well...maybe I can fit through that hole and make sure nothing is on the other side before we dig. Give me a boost."

" Also, to answer your question earlier Hlor....yes, kill anything undead, or what's trying to kill us. Anything that's not Afer or someone innocent. " if they have her a boost, she'd just try to peek her head through the hole.

"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOO?! AFER?! UNDEAD?! DON'T EAT US!"

"I don't see anything. I think we can dig now."

Hloriella would help Kashya lift the bosmer up and even try to give her a good push. She flinched as Lu bellowed into the walkway. "Crap...well so much for any sneaking in. Okay, let us fucking dig then." Without a pickaxe, Hloriella would first start to pick at the smaller rocks, kicking some loose and then moving out of the way. Only when she had exhausted any lazy work she could do would she reach for one of the picks and...sort of hack into the dirt. Her attention was focused on listening, however. "We need to make this large enough for my sack to get through at least...and you too Kashya."

Kashya assists the Dunmer with lifting the Bosmer, but flinches as she yells and gives a light sigh. "Screaming is the best way to announce your presence." After they finish this, Kashya would take one of the pickaxes and begin hacking into the rock, only to slow down and quirk a brow as she watched Hloriella's attempt at work. "Why do we need your huge arsed back to get through? Can't you just fit the things in your bag through one at a time? I can get through that hole, no doubt." She looks back up towards the opening in the debris, and scowls. "Well. Perhaps I could. No promises, but likely. Er. Somewhat?" The Altmer rolls her eyes and continues to hack at the rubble with her pick.

Lu nearly lost her balance when she was put back on the ground. "Well, I wanted to make sure nothing was waiting for us back there...well, now they may have time to hide..." she frowned. Maybe she was wrong. She should had thought about that beforehand. Too late to now!

She got out her pickaxe and started swinging it at the wall of rubble. "We can get threw in no time, don't worry!" Lu would put her whole body into every swing, trying to loosen any rubble as much as she could. She would go again and again until the hole in the wall was large enough for them all, including the much larger mer, Kashya.

"Aha! I think we can get through now."

Hloriella grumbled as she hacked at the rocks. "I am not going to stick my things through the hole! They could get dirty." The dunmer would more watch the two others work than work herself, but eventually, the way seemed clear! She tossed the pick aside, picked her pack back up, and hurried to the hole. Her body slipped through without an issue, but the edge of her pack snagged against a piece of sharp rock.

"Oh fuck! I'm, I think I am stuck! Kashya, give it a push, a light push, I got potions in there!"

As Hloriella and Kashya yell at eachother a strange presence can be felt.

Almost as if the shadows themselves moved something lunges out and grabbing Lucrezia and covers her mouth to stop her from screaming. It slowly drags her onto the far side of the massive first room, moving side to side as if its dodging something on the way back almost as if her was dragging her through a obstacle course. The hand covering him mouth would feel like a metal gauntlet that was incredibly sturdy, but no warmth can be felt from it. It would stop keeping Lucrezia's mouth covered but whispers something to her almost inaudible to the other mer across the room

"You come to a obviously infested cavern and decide to make loud sudden noise?"

The voice was deep but would be familiar to Lucrezia as she has talked to this man before in the past. The mutual friend she has with Charlotte and Fedris.
He would soon uncover her mouth to let her talk

"Scream again and you will not like the consequences, why are you here? Why do you keep prying when I tell multiple times to stop?"

Lu took off her pack and pushed it through the hole first, to prevent herself from getting stuck. It was something that Hloriella probably should have thought about before trying to squeeze through. The bosmer was digging through her bag, waiting for the others. She was distracted but she definitely felt something in the room change. It was a familiar feeling, but she just couldn't put her finger on what that was.

Then she was grabbed! The stranger that had her, caused her to drop her bag right at the wall of rubble. The gauntlet over her mouth kept her from screaming...and biting! Since she couldn't attack them, she tried to just wiggle out of the strangers grip but he had a good hold on her! Whomever this was, was pretty strong. And fast too! Lu didn't know where she was being dragged off to but she could tell that he was purposely moving around in almost a zig-zag fashion. Did this place have traps? She couldn't memorize the way he moved, to avoid the traps later, but now she knew to be more alert.

The moment she was free to speak, she'd curse at him. She knew that voice! She wanted to alert the others but this guy apparently knew more about this cave than they did. What if he set off some kind of trap to hurt them? "Alright...What the hell are you doing here? Trying to stop us? Why? Just let us find out what happened to him. I'm not leaving here without answers so don't even try to talk me out of it. And get your damn hands off me!" she whispered harshly to him and she tried to glance around the room, looking for the traps that she was sure were there.

((wanted to do a quick reply to Afer's post and give you both more to work with in your next replies. Hope you don't mind, Kashya!))

|The room was pitch black and litter with bear traps. A number of the ones in the center were already triggered with the bodies of the victims remaining there. There was also a number of large rocks scattered about, some with bodies underneath. The place reeked of death. On the opposite side of the entrance was a gate that was slightly open. Strange noises of moaning and groaning can be heard through if it was silent|

(Sorry wanted to leave a quick description)

"Oh, dirty, dirty. Such a shameful existence." She rolls her eyes and continues hacking at the rubble until it was open enough to traverse through, and idly tosses the pick to the side. Patiently waiting behind Hloriella, she rolls her eyes as the Dunmer's bag gets stuck on a hunk of rock. "Help? Why? Why are you even trying to bring this thing inside the cave? What are you going to do if a vampire attacks? Just start hurling this thing around in circles and boot any vampire that gets close enough to meet it in physical contact?"

Despite that, she rolls her eyes and begins working the bag off the hunk of rock it was stuck on. In her concentration, however, she wouldn't realize any other person in the room, much less the sudden disappearance of Lu. Instead, she simply continued at her task until the bag was freed from the rock. She gave the bag a light push towards Hlor and nods. "Alright. You're free. Just...don't get stuck on another rock."

"GAH!" She lands on her ass. "Hey I got some very important and useful things in here okay!" She looked around in the darkness, her better sense of smell not a good thing in this case. "Ugh what is...that smell! It is disgusting! Ew, what if there are dead things in here? Oh gross! Dammit I can not see a damn thing! Hmm, maybe one of these potions will help. I mean one has to have a night eye effect..right?" She began digging through her pack yet again, feeling for bottle shaped items. She handed one to Kashya, it could have been anything from a magicka potion to whiskey. Hlor was about to drink one of her own when in the gloom she noticed what looked like another passageway. "Do...you hear that?"

She grabbed at her dagger and dropped the potion. She had no idea Lu was even missing!

The man kept one hand on Lu no matter how much she was fighting back. His voice was low and deep but he sounded a bit annoyed and angry while speaking back to Lucrezia in a low volume

"I'm here to stop you from killing your self. Is this your idea of finding answers? Form a team between a idiot, a loud mouth and a womer who makes bad decisions?" He lets Lucrezia decides which one is which from his insults

"I've told you numerous times to stop. Now you risk death for what? To see that I was right? That there is no body."

|Off to the side of the room a bear trap goes off along with a pained scream. A hissing sound soon followed|

He pauses a moment in silence

"........Your screaming drew whatever remained in this cave. I've killed most, but a few stragglers wonder about. But you know what... fine. I'll grant you this final wish. I'll let you see the answers you came to find. In return... you stop this. You forget. You move on." He sounded a bit more calm afterwards

He would let her go soon afterwards " Stay close. Watch your feet" He holds out a torch that was not lit up "Please ignite this..." He sounded as though he knew Lucrezia knew a fire spell.

Lu didn't struggle too much. They were, after all, surrounded by bear traps and she could only see a few of them, the one's around her. If she tried to run in the dark, she's surely run right into one. That wasn't a risk she could take.

"Hey! I don't-" she paused looking back at him. This man knew so much about her and their friends. Stuff that she was sure he wouldn't have been able to learn from just a few short talks with Fedris. She knew he visited Charlotte as well, but she didn't know much about them. She did not know that Lu knew a flame spell. So how did he? The only explanation that made sense to her was that this man met Afer before he died.

Then something crazier seemed to stir. What if this man had captured Afer? What if he had him right now?! It made sense! He had the daggers she had given to Afer. He brought Fedris Afer's shield. He knew things about them all. And he knew this cave very well. She wanted to confront him right now but he had the upper hand. She had to play it cool until she felt like she had better odds. She had to fake being clueless....which honestly wasn't that hard for her.

"-I am not an idiot, Kashya is only loud because she's so big. Do you expect a giant to have a soft voice? And Hloriella only made one bad decision, so let's give her a break." She watched as she conjured the small flame to light the lantern, seeing if he would comment or correct her.

"Fine, I promise. But you have to get us to the exact spot where you found him and out of here alive. Then, I'll let this die." The scream made her jump a little, paranoid as she was. But it didn't sound like Kashya or Hloriella.

"And can you stop touching me?"

((Just gonna quickly reply so I wont leave out Kashya and Hloriella))

He seemed a bit hesitant but he lets her go eventually. He stood there in silence after Lucrezia finished talking.

He would soon hold the torch up after it gets lit up "Stay put. You'll get your answers now" He took a few steps forward towards a pillar that was some what in front of him. He holds the torch up revealing that there was another unlit torch on the pillar. He lights that one up. and continues walking around the room.

There were multiple pillars in this room and all except one of them had a unlit torch on it. The man goes around lighting all of them slowly. The one missing a torch seem to damaged. This one was on the opposite side of the cave

|As the room lights up much of whats inside is revealed. The room was littered with rocks that seem to have fallen from the ceiling. Some were much larger than others. Under a number of the larger rocks were bodies of vampires that seem to have been crushed by them. Scattered along the room were bear traps with blood fiends caught in them. All were dead except for the recent one that was just captured.|

As the man finishes lighting up the room he walks to the blood fiend that was just captured. Its eyes were red but it was not focusing on anything. It was trying to crawl its way to the the three elves. It was blood starved. Its face was very pale. The bloodfiend's face reveals that it was once a human before its infection, most likely Imperial. Its hair was somewhat short and blonde but on closer inspection one would notice the was a scar on its face that ran diagonally across the center of his face.

The man stood next to the blood friend standing in silence but not attacking it. He pulled out his sword pointing at the blood fiend like he was ready to execute but he looks directly at Lucrezia the entire time.

She had grabbed the potion Hloriella handed to her, and shook it around a bit with a scowl. "This shite's gonna kill me." She was about to uncork the thing when the Dunmer pulled her dagger, to which Kashya had quickly drawn her bow in response. Aside from that, she hadn't made any addtional noise, except to pull an arrow from her quiver and nock it onto the string. As a bear trap goes off in the distance, however, she draws her string back and tries to squint through the darkness. Releasing a frustrated sigh, she slides her bowstring forward again, and pauses for a moment, speaking low. "Wait. Where is Lu?"

Around that moment, Lu had lit the torch, and Kashya once more had her bow upwards, but not drawn. "Gods, damn. You should've told me you had a torch."

She glances a double take near Lu, towards the new individual, and draws her bow again, watching as they begin to move.

The moment the torch was lit, Hloriella focused her attention there. "Shit, you had a-WAIT Who the fuck is that?!" She snapped at the stranger as he kept lighting all the torches. The chamber was more visible now, death was everywhere. Making a disgusted face and curling her nose, she looked at the traps and bodies to Lu, then the stranger.

"Just..who the fuck do you think you are anyway?!" She stormed closer only to stop short as he indicated to the crazed bloodfiend crawling on the ground. "Do not just stand there, KILL IT!" She ran up to try and plunge her dagger into the possible undead imperial's head...

Lu carefully walked to where Hlor and Kashya were, making sure to watch where she stepped. She didn't want to get caught in a bear trap!

She shrugged to her two friends. "It's that guy...the mysterious masked man that told us about Afer's death. He must have followed us or just happened to be here. My guess is the first. I'm going to kill that damn mage." She rubbed her head, feeling stressed. But it only took a moment for her heart to nearly stop beating.

The next thing she knew, the entire room was being lit up and there was a monster in the room with them, only it was trapped. At first, Lu had the same thought as Hlor: to kill it. But something about this seemed strange....at least, stranger than it had already been. Lu took a step closer and saw it....the scar! It looked just like Afer's. The masked man kept looking at her, with his weapon raised. But she didn't say anything. She just froze, staring at the trapped blood fiend. Until Hlor tried to murder it!

"No! Hloriella stop it!" Lu would reach out and try to grab Hlor's wrist. "That might be Afer!"

He stood there with his sword out already considering to execute the blood fiend. But he notice Hloriella already about to murder it. He lowered his sword and straighten his stance. He steps on the back of the blood fiend to keep it from moving too much even though it was already in a bear trap. He watching Hloriella the whole time until--

Suddenly Lucrezia's makes a attempt to stop Hloriellla. He stared the two who will possibly begin to argue. He talked low so they can hear him "Afer... or not. This thing will not be leaving this cave alive. So there will only be one option... Either you do it, or me" He raises his sword again pointing at the bloodfiend

When Lu pulled Hlor back mid attack, she thought she was going to trip forward. "HEY what the fuck do-wa-WA?! Afer?! No, that can not be Afer that is a..." Hloriella squinted into the darkness to get a better look. She also quietly sniffed the air in the least obvious way she could. If that had been Afer, he only now smelled of rot and undeath.

It was the scar that hit her the most, however. It did look like Afer. Foolishly, she dropped her dagger in shock. "No, that can not be Afer...it...oh gods. He would not have wanted this fate...he did not deserve this fate!" She looked to Lu, then the Stranger. "NO! You are not allowed to kill him! If this is truly Afer, Lucrezia needs to be the one to end...this." She visibly looked sick.

Kashya hadn't been interacting much, between the three in front of her. Drawing her bow, it seems like she had very briefly considered taking the shot herself while the others were arguing, but she shook her head and undrew it, quietly watching everyone. "Well. If that's him, there's no helpin' him now." She suddenly draws her bow back and takes a quick look towards Lu.

"If none of you figure out who's gonna do it within the next few seconds, I'm going to do it."

After a long, drawn out sigh, she turns her attention back to the bloodfiend and keeps her bow drawn, awaiting Lu's response. She occasionally raps a finger against the bow, quirking a brow as she does so.

Lu looked to Kashya and then to the fiend that could have possibly been Afer. It had his scar but...something still didn't seem right. But whether it was him or not, no one deserved that fate. Death was a far nicer fate than being trapped in that cave, with no human mind anymore. If not stopped, Lu would walk over to the fiend and get out the silver dagger she had. Holding it up in the air, she hesitated a moment. It really could be Afer. But if it were, he'd want them to do this for him. Trying not to chicken out, she just kept telling herself it was the right thing to do, over and over in her head. Finally, she'd stab the fiend in the head and let go of the dagger as if it were suddenly burning hot.

Then she'd get out her other one and quickly march to the mysterious man, the pointed end of the dagger pointed towards his head. He was fully armored, she knew that. But he was also outnumbered. "Take off your helmet. You've been lying to us since the beginning."

She looked back to Kashya and Hlor. "He knows things about me. Stuff that only Afer knew. He seems to know things about you two as well. He lied when he said he didn't know Afer. He had to have known him! How else would he know that I make bad decisions, that I knew the fire spell that Fedris taught me...he brought me the daggers that I gave Afer. How would he know about those? Fedris didn't even know about them! He...he kept Afer here or talked to him as he was dying."

She looked back to the mysterious man. "Take off the helmet and tell us what really happened! I don't care that you're possibly stronger and faster than me, but you're not leaving here without telling us or getting a few arrows in you as you leave. Kashya's a damn good shot."

He looks down at the fallen bloodfiend its been stabbed. Observing its body as it stops moving. He considered walking away but is stopped as soon as Lucrezia approaches him with her dagger pointing right him. He looked down at her with a cold stare, nothing but blackness through the opening in his helm. He was afraid this would happen eventually if he stood around Lucrezia too long. More demands for answers...

He kept his hands visibly away from his sword on his side, but he takes a step closer to her almost as if he is challenging her words. He kept his voice in a deep tone as he spoke to her "I have been nothing more than just a ally. I've never told any lies. Your friend was dead.... there was no body because it was still moving. I've gave you all that I found that he had. And I've said what I did you keep you from seeing what you just saw.... you ended his life. His blood is on your hands, whether you think you helped him or not. You took the final shot. Now his soul is either in Aetherius or in Molag Bal's realm. He was no worshiper of the God of lies but he was still infected nonetheless." He took another step towards her until he was able to lean towards her in front of her face speaking to her

"I have been more than a ally to you and your friends. I've showed you the answer you kept prying to see. Now your last memories of your friend will be when you killed him." He pulled slightly away from her, standing straight up. Now looking down on her "And now you make threats... understand this, when you trap a beast it will lunge at one of its attackers. Whether or not it knows it will die, it will pick one target. And it will kill it... before the others hunters kill the beast." He twist his head now placing his hand on his sword

He slowly turns his gaze to Kashya "If you are going to fire, I'd advise you do not miss...."

Hloriella stared at the scene for a silent minute. Was that really Afer? Was he dead? If it had been...then Afer had already been long dead. A rush of anger pumped through her as she picked her dagger back up. Sneering with rage, she stared down the heavily armored stranger. "You left him here, fucking left him to this fate! You could have stopped it, ended it, but you did not! He did not deserve this fate! We are all but angry beasts now, and you our fox! KASHYA! Fire at this fucking bastard! We will peel that armor off you like hide from flesh!"

Spitting with misplaced anger, she rushed to try and wedge her dagger into the arm socket of the Stranger, she didn't even hesitate.

Kashya slowly watches the conversation pan out, and ultimately transition into something a bit more heated as Lu makes the inquiry regarding the man's helmet. Although she seems hesitant in regards to the situation, she nevertheless draws her bow back a bit as the two speak. As the man turns his attention towards Kashya, she gives a heavy sigh and shakes her head. "My intent isn't to attack without reason, especially in the midst of an avoidable conflict." She had been telling herself that, anyways. Despite her rather provocative tendencies, her attempts at a more diplomatic approach to things had, at the very least, aided in limiting this. Up until Hloriella's attack, that is.

She goes wide-eyed and draws her bow back once more, aiming with a scowl somewhere between the man and Hloriella. She gives a heavy grimace and turns her glance towards Lucrezia. "Grab her!" As she says this, she transitions her aim towards the man, but doesn't fire.

The man's words cut through her as if he had just stabbed her with her own blade. Did she really just kill Afer? One of her oldest friends and greatest loves? Did she just damn his soul as well? She was going to be sick.

And so she did.

The bosmer dropped her silver dagger and turned away from the man to puke on the ground. She just ended Afer's life, threatened someone that possibly saved hers and then advised her friend to kill someone. What the hell was this trip doing to them? She wiped her mouth and turned around just in time to see Hlor attack! Lu would try to grab her dunmer friend.

"Don't! Kashyas right, he hasnt hurt us. And we cant be sure if he hurt Afer. We came here to find Afer and we did. If he wants to be a mysterious jerk about it then let him. If he did let Afer get cursed then that is on him. Lets just take Afers body back so we can bury him."

He stared at Hloriella as she charged at him. He lifted his right hand nearly ready to grab her by the arm, but lowers it as he sees Lucrezia reach for her and hears Kashya yell for her to stop. He kept looking over at Lucrezia watching her be sick and puking. He tries to extend a hand to her to help her but he stops mid motion and puts his hand back down.

He mumbles low enough for them to hear him "I'm sorry I've caused so much pain. A promise is a promise. You will never see me again."

He looks to all three of them grunting before turning to the gated door that was opposite end of the entrance. A rusty lock hanged from it and it led to deeper in the cave but it was just a pit of darkness he moves the rusty lock and opens the gate but he stops looking back over his shoulders

"It looks bad now... but in time. Everything will be much better. And when that time comes, I hope you will forgive me"

Unless stopped or interrupted he would lock the gate behind him with the rusty lock and walk into the pit of darkness

"You fucking coward! GET BACK HERE! You will pay for what you did, I swear it!" Hloriella snapped and yelled at the Stranger as he turned and escaped through the darkness. Tugging her arm free of Lu, she would run up to it and shake the metal gate, when that failed to yield results, she gave it several good kicks.

Sighing, she turned around to now vent her anger. "Why the fuck did you do that?! You just let him get away! I hope you are both fucking happy, we could have avenged what had happened, we could have!" Her shouts would be loud and echo through the chamber.

She lowers her bow once more as Hloriella is stopped, and simply watches the man start for the exit. Throughout her silence regarding the majority of the incident, the only thing she could successfully retort with towards the man was a halfhearted nod and a grunt. As she sighs, her attention turns back towards Lu and Hloriella with that same, neutral expression.

"Unprovoked violence ain't the answer. At least, that's what I've been telling myself." She rolls her eyes and turns back to Lu. "Avenging is awlright under the right circumstance, but...we don't know the entire story behind this shite. For all we know, that's just Afer in a mask that we're pullin' along on some far-too-long trip. Pfeh. Afer as a vampire, under a mask, hiding shite so he can continue to murder those abominations. For the conditions? I wouldn't pull that off the table, but it's definitely a bit of a tragic novel in the works." She shrugs and takes a hard look around the cave. "Probably shouldn't stay here any longer than we need to, unless you wanted to keep lookin' around."

Lu watched Hloriella have her little fit, kicking the locked door after the mysterious man left. She gave Hlor a shrug.

"Kashya's right, we were letting our emotions take over. I don't know who the hell he is but he hasn't acted violence towards us even once. He just...rubs me the wrong way. He's creepy...how he just shows up like that. Like he's always watching."

Kashya's suggestion made her look back from the door to the fiend they had killed. No, that she had killed. "It's crossed my mind before. When he first came to town. And it sounds like something he might do, but I just don't think he'd leave Kana. I don't think he knew about her before. He never mentioned her to me. Cursed or not, I think he'd at least try to talk to her or say goodbye...unless he thought he was saving her pain." She shook her head, "No, that can't be it. I just can't...No. Cause if it were him and he let us all think he were dead, that's incredibly cruel. And Afer's not cruel."

The bosmer sighed. "What do we do with..." she pointed to the fiend they thought was Afer. "Do we take it back or....I don't feel right just leaving it here. Wait, we still have that little bit of oil. We can burn it...him. We can burn him."

The man hesitates as he over hears their conversation. He continues going further into the bowels of the cave until his foot steps can no longer be heard.

(You can guys can continue, doing whatever you want.)

Hloriella snorted at the two. "You have to be fucking kidding me, that guy, Afer? I think we would know if we were talking to fucking Afer, yeah? No, it is stupid to continue thinking he is alive. He is dead, he died when he turned into one of those undead..." She frowned as she looked at the dead pathetic thing. Her voice cracked as she spoke.

"Just...burn it. All of it. We should leave this place and never come back, there is nothing here for us anymore."

Lu looked through her arrows for just a simple wooden one. No use in wasting a silver one on this. She'd dip the tip of it in the oil and then conjure up a small flame, like before, to light it.

Loading the now flaming arrow on her bow, she aimed for the fallen fiend's chest. She hesitated for only a second and then fired. She wasn't sure if the whole cave would burn. Frankly, at this point, she didn't care. There wasn't anyone else left alive in that cave. Except the mysterious man, who she hoped tripped on his way out and banged his head on his big dumb helm. As they left the cave, she looked back one final time at the burning fiend, "Sorry..."

The Altmer that had helped them before would be waiting for the three at the Mages Guild. He would already have the portal ready and would look very jumpy and aggravated. He would practically push them into the portal and back to Vulkwasten. "Get on with it! Go, go, go!" He'd say grumpily and follow them into the portal. "Never ask me for a favor again! Keep your damn coin too!" He said as Lu tried to pay him the rest. The bosmer would look confused but then shrug. She'd split the coin up into two piles and offer one to Hloriella and the other to Kashya. "Here, to make up for the wasted trip. Sorry it was...what it was. But thanks for having my back. I've got to...figure out how to tell Kana and Fedris about this." She mumbled as she walked off, staring at the floor and looking disappointed. She wasn't sure what they were going to find out there, but it definitely wasn't that.


((If it's alright with you guys, I think I'll say that they went on this trip sometime this weekend and then Monday we can RP in game that this already happened, so then it's all caught up!))