Flint Ironwood.

Flint keeled over, holding his knees in an effort to remain balanced. His heart was thumping in his chest and his lungs burned.
,,Note to self, don't overdo it. You're not the youngest."
,,I'm not the kind of Elder you're looking for. Now if you excuse me, I think I'm going to sit on a log and feel sick." He mumbled, ignoring the battle which still raged around them, though the aggression of the wolves had greatly diminished by now.




(Priest, don't worry about a thing. Flint and I were rather amused. We had a good laugh. Yeah, he is a bit short so Dwarf fits in a way. )

Rann

The fighting was done, at least for now, so Rann wiped his blade on the grass before returning to the main gathering of people.

He had been about to say something about not having been introduced to Patholos, but changed his mind when he witnessed the events that were unfolding. Having killed a few Dark Brotherhood members in his life, he knew exactly what the stranger meant by 'Dread Father' and 'Elder'. He no longer wished to be introduced.

Instead, he came to stand beside Altair. "I guess we get to speak now - I have a lot of questions."

Veric

"And I hope I can answer them," Altair answered humbly, resheathing his dawrven blade. "Shall we risk the woods for the sake of privacy? My assisstant is around somewhere," he asked, looking around as if searching for Voltar.

Voltar

Voltar still sat idlelly by a tree. Smoke from the remains of a werewolf drifted lazily into the air. The beast had made the unfortunate mistake in trying to flee in the direction that Voltar stood waiting. Voltar was actually happy to have a bit of a momentary distraction, as he was often quite curious on how effective a certain spell would work on something. Turns out that the one he had chose work quite well, as it basically obilerated the beast from the inside, expelling out.

Looking at the encampment, Voltar managed to make out Veric speaking with the young Dunmer. Veric was scanning the woods, so Voltar could only guess at what was now going to happen. He turned to Karn.

"I suggest you make yourself scarce. I have a feeling Veric will be bringing a guest this way and it would prove detrimental to our plans if this guest were to see you in our company..." he said cooly to the Dunmer.

Karn

He spun on his heel and fixed the Altmer with a glare. Karn actually considered showing himself and revealing the conspiracy, but it was just a fantasy that he doubted would pay off. After a few heartbeats he replied in an even colder tone than Voltar. "Right."

The Dunmer turned and vanished amongst the foliage....

OCC: when is Amrita finally going to come out of her shadow?

Rann

Rann didn't answer, at least not verbally. He merely made a hand gesture that said, "Lead the way."

OOC: are brianna, sadril and rahvin going to do anything?

Patholos

After a few seconds, Patholos wiped his tears away and stared, if you could call it that, at the distance. He turned his gaze towards Flint. He coughed and turned away. He went to sit down on a log and when he got there, he fell over.

"With this new vampire, that means my master is still alive... and that means he'll come after me..., I'm so scared right now..., DID YOU HERE THAT, MASTER?" Patholos yelled, then he whispered, "Did you hear that?'

Patholos continued to mutter to himself, slowly rocking back and forth. "Dread Father, why do I experience these emotions, all those years killing and sacrificing, without doubts. Now I see what people truly are, and I doubt you, Dread Father, I doubt you....

Ian, camp

Now that the werewolves had fled, Ian cleaned his blades on the grass that remained uncharred by fire. His armor now had blood all over it, not to mention the damaged cuased by those giant dogs' claws and fangs. I'll have to get it repaired......

Then he recalled that he still had his glass armor fragments; Ian approached Flint and handed him the pieces. "I have no use for these anymore, but I imagine you could have use for them, Flint." He added, "Yes, I am a vampire; that doesn't change my reasons for fighting alongside you all."

Flint Ironwood.

Flint nodded, still tired from his exertion.
,,Thanks. And don't worry about it. I still trust you." He replied. With a trained eye, he examined the glass.
,,Hmm, it's not enough to make a full suit, but it is enough to reinforce that wacko's clothing at the vital areas. Won't stop him from being injured, but at least we won't have to collect his organs." He muttered to himself.

He then looked up and examined Ian's gear as well.
,,Need that stuff fixed? I'd rather fix the damaged stuff before I start making a whole new outfit."

Veric

"Very well," Altair said as he began walking in a seemingly random direction into the woods. "Have you ever heard of a man named Veric?"

Ian

"Sure if it's not too much trouble," he replied. "My robes will suit me fine while you work on to leather."

Ian set the armor down on a rack beside them. "I'll keep the gauntlets, they're relatively intact."
He added quitely, replacing his guantlets over his hands, "that politcian from Leyawiin and the Imperial City is back; I wouldn't trust him."

Green-Root, still in the damn cavern.

After countless turns, twists and branches, Green-Root and Merethicus finally saw something approaching the light of the outside world.
,,And here we are, at the exit............What?! This is the place we started at!" Green-Root hissed, extremely annoyed.
,,Gah! I've had it with this mess. I'm out!" He crawled up through the hole and vanished into the woods, not bothering to check if Merethicus could climb out of the cavern with that heavy armour of his.

Semir Grey, Flying Dutchman.

Semir looked at all the carpets that covered the ships cabin and belowdeck areas. Each glowed dimly in the moonlight.
,,So, Sparky. Ready when you are." He whispered. Sparky the Breton gave a gleeful smile and pressed a finger into the carpets. The finger glowed with an arcane light that soon travelled out, spreading through the carpets like a stream of water.

The Blue Serpent shuddered. It leaned over to one side heavily, causing some panic for a moment. Semir rushed up on deck and pulled one of the recently installed levers near the wheel. At the starboard side of the ship, a ring enchanted with dispell was moved away from a metal rod enchanted with burden. The starboard side became heavier, and the ship stabilized.
,,So this is how Sparky envisions an airship? Burden spells to steer and a massive dose of levitation to fly. Crude, but effective." Semir thought.

,,Alright men, full sails! We're going to Argonia!"


Flint Ironwood, at the campsite.

,,Yeah, keep the gauntlets. They look fine, for as much as I can see. Sharp blades attached to a gauntlet isn't exactly my type of weapon but hey, it's not as if I know a lot about these things. I'm a smith, not a warrior."
Flint yawned and looked closer at the leather.
,,Hmm, it looks like there are bug shells woven into it. Sorta like chainmail. I need to replace them but whatever critter provided those shells, I doubt it's here. Hmm, I need a substitute." He concluded and looked around.
,,Wood? It might burn, but it's the closest to the original material in strenght and weight."

The Breton retrieved the tools he needed from his belt and got to work.

Flogir

Flogir approached the seated Patholos slowly, a concerned expression on his face. Taking a seat about a full arms length away he placed Patholos' dagger beside him.

Slowly, he edged his arm out and patted his shoulder in an unsure way.

"Umm.... There there, Patholos, you just try to.... err... cheer up... ya....." Flogir managed to say off the top of his head. The man or mer's behaviour was quite unsettling.

"Do you think we can move camp. All I smell is burnt flesh, blood, and an extreme version of bad wet dog smell," Flogir added in disgust.

Rann

He walked with Altair for a few more moments before answering, both because he wanted more distance between them and the rest, and because he was trying to decide whether or not to answer the question honestly.

"Well, he tried to kill my mother quite some time ago, if that counts." Rann answered in a confused tone. "But what the hell does he have to do with anything?"

Veric

"Absolutely nothing. Now what is it you would like to ask me?" Altair replied, obviously wanting to leave behind the topic of Veric. He was simply seeing how Rann would react to his real name.

Patholos, talking to Flogir

"This means much to me, friend," Patholos said, having a hard time with the last word. "It really does. I need to find myself again, and its been years since I've seen any of my Order. The loss is spiritually and emotionally draining, and it feels like when I lost my family,..." Patholos closed his pupilless eyes and put his hands on his head. Then Patholos turned that pale face towards Flogir.

"I'm sure you don't care about what I say, I am physically ruined, and I am a cold shell of a man. But heed this, there is nothing more important in life than friends. Nothing." Patholos paused, then the muscles on the corners of his mouth twitched, and he tried to smile.

"Would you like to see if we can give Flint a hand, friend?..."

Rann

"Well," Rann went on, deciding to think about the relevance of the Veric question later, "We've talked politics, but you've done nothing yet, and failed to mention any plan of action."

Flogir

Flogir sympathized for Patholos. Whomever he dealt with before had made him a wreck. Flogir thought it would probably take a lot of patience and understanding before Patholos felt more comfortable around them.

Flogir stood up. "Sure, let's go see what Flint is up too."


Flogir led the way to Flint, who seemed to be examining some armour. Flogir tsked. "If only I had my supply cart. I'd have all the supplies you need to make those pieces perfect again. I had boldmold fragments and everything..."

Veric

"How many people in Cyrodiil do you think will except a democracy-like government? Not many, I think. The people are looking for a hero, and the champion of Cyrodiil has dissappeared. So since we can't shove our government down their throats, perhaps we should give them a person they feel they can trust to represent it. You follow?" Altair asked as they walked farther amd farther from the camp.

Serene, feeling awkward

She noticed Rann walking away with that man....why did she have that odd feeling about it?

"Rann!!" she called, "Where are you off to?" There was concern in her voice, although she doubted Rann would even notice...

Patholos

Patholos followed Flogir to the place where Flint was working. Patholos noticed the careworn hands of a smith on Flint and wise old eyes. Patholos noted that this man could be a fountain of knowledge and he could help with the information that Patholos had to deliver.

"Flint, I would like you and Flogir to know that I trust you," Patholos' cold blank face did not portray any emotion, but it did not appear false or aggressive. "And I would like to confide in you a secret my Dread Father shared with me..., but the Dread Father is not an attractive ideal, and I do not wish to convert any of your ideas, but I need to talk to someone who has lived longer and seen more than I..."

Flint Ironwood.

Flint looked up from his job.
,,That would be handy. But we can't complain about it now. So the idea is to improvise." He replied to Flogir. He then looked around the campsite for a moment.
,,I was thinking of replacing those bugshells with wood. As for protecting our new friend Patholos, I just got an idea. See if you can convince some of our friends here to remove the flesh from those werewolves. The ribs, shoulderplates and some of the other bones should be useable as armour."

While his mind mulled over the possible forms of armour he could create, Patholos spoke up.
,,Well, I have seen a few things. I don't know much about the Dread Father though. But go ahead. What do you want to talk about?" The Breton answered. He flipped out a knife and carefully removed a cracked bugshell from Ian's armour.
,,Bugs as armour. How peculiar. I should ask him about it someday."

Rann

"And I take it you wnat to be that person." he said flatly, becoming a bit suspicious. Before he voiced his concerns, though, he would let Altair finish his explaining.

Rann had his own ideas of how the government should be organized and run, and he hoped that Altair's ideas would match up somewhat. It didn't look that way right now. Serene called after him then, disturbing his internal thoughts.

She comes into my life twenty years late and treats me like a child.

He ignored her as he waited for Altair's reply.

Flogir

Flogir was just about to question Flint about the fact that the werewolf corpses might revert back into human anytime now that using their bones would probably be pointless when Patholos spoke up.

Flogir listened carefully to him and then to Flint's response. He took a moment to consider.

"The little I know of this "Dread Father" is that the Dark Brotherhood refers to it as one of their patrons. But that's about it. I figure you don't necessarily follow the Dark Brotherhood as I heard you say mention that the Dread Father involves itself in other things as well. But I'm curious, so continue."

Veric

Altair looked to Rann, waiting for him to answer Serene, though when he saw that he wasn't going to he answered, "Me? No. We need a person to really connect with the people of Cyrodiil, find out what it is they need, what they want, and problems they have. Too many politicians fighting for the throne are looking only to gain fame. Now that the Septim bloodline has faded, it seems honor in the Empire has as well.

"No, we need a person who can connect with the populace, and we need a situation to make him well known. I am not much of a people person myself..." Altair purposefully eluded to this 'person' as possibly being Rann and the situation as the Silhouette in an attempt to entice the still young, yet remarkably sharp Dunmer. He purposefully avoided speaking of what exactly the plans of reform were because, quite frankly, Veric was still coming up with a believable answer.

Rann

"Me?" he asked, as if the very idea were ridiculous. "Wouldn't work. Sure, I'm charismatic and all that compassion, but I don't clean up very nicely. Besides that, nobody's going to support a dunmer barely starting his second decade of life. You've got everything necessary for that position; just give me one that keeps me out of the spotlight."

"I was hoping that we could put heads together to plan out the organization of government and plan of action before trying to bring the populace into our folds and uniting against this Silhouette bastarde."

Ian

Sitting beside the campfire, Ian ran a stone over his blades, honing their edges. He paused briefly to take in the fact that Rann and "Altair" had resumed where they left off in Leyawiin. Ian went back to his work, sharpening more .

The Imperial could guess that part of Rann's fiercely independent, and, in his opinion, reckless nature, was due in part to the natural impulsiveness and authority problems many young men had. This Altair appeared to support views and ideals that Rann held to, so naturally the Dunmer got along with him well.

Ian's features darkened, no mean feat when one was under the effects of . But even if that Altmer is nothing more than he appears, he is still a politician. In Ian's experience with politics, few practicioners were straight arrows rather than two-faced minipulators trying to further themselves.
He set down his blades and cast aside the smoothed-out rock. Ian didn't trust the High Elf as far as an ogre could throw him, let alone with any of the group's souls. He continued to brood over his suspicions and the fates of the youngest charges.

Issac

With the fighting over, Issac decided not to approach Satyana for awhile, at least until everyone started moving westward again in the morning. Then Issac noticed Rann and that Altmer counciler making their way to the woods.

An amused smile played across his face as Issac saw no reason what soever not to join them. Besides if Altair is as noble in his intentions as he claims, what ill could possibly come to pass? With that thought in mind Issac caught up with the two, "Hail, you two."

OCC: If this was too intrusive, then just tell me

Veric

"Indeed, though this Silhouette bastarde needs dealing with now, or there will be no Cyrodiil left to run. We are in no rush though, so we can still discuss this," Altair said as he began to walk away from the camp, seeing as Rann was not going to answer Serene.

"Picture this: a council, ensuring that no single man has too much power, however in times that require speedier action than that which a council can provide, times like right now with the Silhouette destroying cities, a leader among them is elected to execute decisions. This presence should be dealt with now, though, so we could use it to give spotlight to me or whomever will bring forth this new idea to give it a better chance of surviving," he finished waiting for a comment from Rann when Isaac appeared.

Veric was unsure of how much of the coversation he had heard, but since he was in character the whole time he had little to worry about, "Hail friend," he replied with a smile that could barely be seen in the darkness, "Rann and I were just discussing politics."

Rann

Rann gave Isaac and odd look that communicated the question 'Why are you here?' it wasn't rude, merely a sincere question, since Isaac had seemed to hold a certain contempt for Altair earlier.

"An elected council would work," he said, continuing as if Isaac never joined the conversation; he could jump in when he felt it was necessary, "But how would it be organized? Obviously each country of Tamriel would have to be represented, but they would most certainly need more than one representative per country, and each country would have to have an equal number of representatives in order to keep everyone happy."

Veric

Seeing that Rann did, Altair followed suit and continued the conversation with Isaac. "Perhaps the number of couniclors should depend on the number of people they are representing?" he offered, acting unaware that this may lead to more councilors per one country than another.

Rann

Rann shook his head. "That would only divide Tamriel. We have the Silhouette to unify Cyrodiil, but nothing like that to unify the rest of the continent. Keeping all the countries together will be tricky, and we have to keep a balance of some sort. Right now, most everyone wants to be independent. Morrowind has wanted it for centuries, and the Great Houses have already taken back a lot of power in the Emperor's absence. We will need to be firm, but fair and equal towards everyone if we want this union to stay together."

Veric

"Equal represntation, then? But won't bigger countries feel cheated having the same authority as minors?" Altair mused, again trying to get Rann as involved as possible.

OOC: sry for length but i gotta run

Rann

"What you are suggesting requires a population count of entire nations. Frankly, with Cyrodiil being the largest nation as far as population and land mass I doubt there will be a problem. If Cyrodiil is content with having the same power as say, Valenwood, then I doubt Skyrim will complain, because then Cyrodiil would have more power than both. As long as councillors with such an attitude were elected in Cyrodiil it would work perfectly."

He actually agreed with representation based on population, but not for a government that was just getting to its feet; it would cause too much confusion. That was something that could be implemented after the government established itself and garnered enough strength to support such an idea.

Patholos

"I do not want to convert anyone against their set beliefs, faith in the Dread Father must be from the entirety of one's soul. You must believe absolutely in the Dread Father."

Patholos paused and let the words he said sink in. Then he said, "The Dread Father is the Essence of All Things, from which All Things came and All Things Will Return." Patholos smiled, and then said, "But I have my doubts...."

Issac

Silently he watched Altair and Rann making points and counter-points on the supposed new government.

Issac thought about what he wanted the reformed government. Finally he reasoned that he would back the new regime that was best for Tamriel, long term and short term.

Serene

She could tell by Rann´s posture what he was thinking and it made sad and above that, angry

Yes you little bastarde, I treat you like a child....."BECAUSE YOU ACT LIKE ONE!!!"

She immediately put her hand over her mouth, the last sentence she called out loud, and that wasn´t her intention at all....she sat down with a deep sigh.


Satyana

She didn´t understand why Serene shouted like that, but she noticed both Rann and Issac walking away talking to that man. She took Soldin´s hand and urged him to follow, she just had to find out what was going on.

"Hey...may I join your conversation?" she aske politely as she approached them

She didn´t look back....

Soldin

Soldin blushed when Satyana grabbed his hand and pulled him through the woods towards the other's conversation. He didn't even have time to protest before Satyana asked to join in. Soldin simply stood, awestruck.

Veric

"If all councilors had good attitudes then I'm sure any government would work properly," Altair replied sarcastically, "But I as well as whomever else would be willing to represent Cyrodiil in this new form of government, the question is how would we enact this government over the one now in place, or lack thereof? That is where a hero comes in. A person people trust," he repeated.

Issac

He turned to Satyana and Soldin nodding in responce to her question. "I don't see why not, we were just talking about government reform and politics." Issac answered respectfully.

In truth, he wasn't certain he wanted her to be nearby at the moment. Only weeks ago Satyana had brought to light Altair's shadier nature, Issac just wanted to avoid any turbulance that might arise.

Satyana

She gave Issac her heartiest smile and while still holding Soldin´s hand she just said:

"Ok, then I´ll listen and learn...to start with" She once more squeezed Soldin´s hand, in reassurance

Rann

"I never disagreed that some sort of strong leader was needed, I just said that person wasn't me. And replacing the old government should be little problem. With Ocato dead, Divines rest his soul, and the city near shambles, our Empire is far from stable, and the now-impoverished people of the city are more than ready for change. Our 'hero'," he emphasized that word to show that he meant Altair, "Should probably begin small; make a few speeches in the streets, stir up something."

Veric

"Ahh this is true, but," Altair swung his arm across the night sky, gesturing to the land around them, "We can't just ignore the situation here and go make a couple of speeches. The Silhouette must," with the word he slammed his fist against his open palm, "Be dealt with as soon as possible."

He turned to the three that had joined in, Isaac, Satyana, and Soldin, and said, "We should join our strengths and destroy this monstrosity."

Soldin

Unsure of how to react to Satyana's squeezing his hand, whether it was to reassure herself or reassure him, he shot her a smile that wanted to say, "Everything will turn out alright."

When word of the Silhouette came up Soldin questioned, "Who is this Silhouette?"

OOC: someone other than veric answer soldin plz.

Issac

"We don't know really. Only that whatever it is commands the army in the East, wants to kill us all by sending some assassin after us, and that same honored user tried to kidnap Satyana." He answered the younger man's question.

"As for what it looks like, or what in Nirm it is, well, that's beyond us at the moment...." Then responding to Altair's offer. "Yes, that would be wise, however," Issac emphasized the next sentence. "However some of us don't have the right skills for fighting a full-scale war."

Part of his saying this was because he wished Satyana to be a safe distance from the heaviest bloodshed. Not the entire war, but just not in the thickest fighting.

Rann

Rann saw Isaac's comment as potential grounds for a quarrel between the two. One he didn't want to hear. So in order t ohopefully avoid it, he kept talking to Altair.

"Well," he said in response to Altair, since Isaac took on Soldin's question, "You can do like many before you and make a name for yourself with force. Kill the Silhouette, scatter his armies and end the threat, and nobody will ignore what you have to say."

Veric

"I certainly don't have the ability to kill such a monster," Altair said. Yeah, Altair probably couldn't but Veric was more than confident of his ability to go toe to toe with the Silhouette. "However us with that group back there," he gestured towards the camp, "Perhaps we can avoid full out war and simply cut off the serpent's head. I'm sure just being part of such a heroic band would grant me enough publicity to give me a shot at a new government."

"I mean, we have the responsibilty to deal with this, don't we?"

Flint Ironwood.

Flint listened with interest. Not because he believed in this Dread Father, but merely because......he was simply curious to what shaped Patholos into the being he was today.
,,I personally don't believe in a single omnipotent being. At least not one with a conscious will or the desire to deal with us mortals. But what about these doubts? Please continue."

While they were speaking, he heard a twig snap. He looked up to see several backs vanish into the woods.
,,Great, it's the damn politician again. Don't give me this nonsense again. Didn't we had that discussion already, right next to the damn death body of Ocato?" He grumbled before raising his voice.
,,Hey, what happened to sticking together?! If that guy has nothing to hide, he can preach his beliefs for all of us to hear, not just some select few. This reeks of manipulation, I tell you!" He shouted.
,,Kids. No common sense these days."

As if nothing had happened, he turned back to Patholos and Flogir even though he made sure he remained aware of the group's position.
,,Anyway, where were we?"

Patholos

As Patholos continued, his mood became darker. "The Dread Father is the essence of all things, as I have said before. He is what made everything and everything will return to him. Here, take one of these..." Patholos handed Flint a leaflette of paper. "These are the Tenants of The Dark Brotherhood. This is what the followers of Sithis believe." Patholos also turned to Flogir and handed him one.

"I don't want to seem like an apostle, yelling convert or die. I want you to read these and then we can talk about it. I will not convert, only console."

"There is one more thing," Patholos added, before he sat down. "The Dark Brotherhood and the Night Mother all answer to the Head of Sithis, the Master of my Order. My Order is far more secretive than you may think."

OOC: Went a little crazy with capitals, oh well. Don't think Patholos is trying to preach, this is a FYI pamphlette.

Rann

"So we take care of the Silhouette first." he said matter-of-factly. "It's not like we all didn't already get an advance for the same exact thing."

"May as well earn our money."

Veric

"How, then?" Altair asked more towards everybody rather than just Rann. "We seem to have a bit of manpower back at the camp, but we need to find out where he is."

Rann

"Good luck with that," he said, heading back towards the main group; apparently their discussion wasn't so private anyway, so he saw no harm in it, and maybe some of the others had some sort of insight into the Silhouette's whereabouts.

they may be against democracy, but they will all jump at the opportunity to take care of the Silhouette.

Rann cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Well, since we are all reunited and even have a few newcomers," (he omitted the fact that Patholos and Telina were not exactly good additions in his opinion) he said, "We should probably get back to our real objective," He jingled his coin purse the same way he had earlier, "We were paid quite a sum to take care of this Silhouette bastarde, and we've kind of lost sight of that."

"So," he said, changing his tone to a business-like one, "Anyone have any kind of clue as to where to find him?"

The Silhouette

The Silhouette approached the assembled army of Tsaeci and they parted to allow him to pass through it. At the end of the snake man tunnel stood the largest of them, obviously the leader. When the Silhouette grew near, he bowed down and said in an odd language, "I am at your command."

"Follow me then," the Silhouette replied, "We march to Hero Hill."

Flogir

Flogir briefly scanned the parchment. After reading a few he emitted a low whistle. "This is some pretty dark stuff here Patholos. I've always been a follower of the Nine Divines myself, especially after the whole Oblivion Crisis. I just simply can't abandon something I've followed for so long, especially one where the gods themselves had divinely appear. I can't really believe in this Sithis until I see him, or it, or whatever."

Shortly following that, Rann, with the politician in tow, came out of the woods. Looked like they wanted to continue the hunt of the Silhouette. Flogir rose from his log.

"Well I'm not one to back down on a promise. I said I'd help with this Silhouette problem and so I shall. You have me and Iceshard."