Erna Rahnis



"Me?" Erna asked. "I do tarot, fortune telling, all that rubbish."

He took a pack of cards from his pocket, each one with a tiny, ornate portrait on them, and showed it to Rothan.

"Now how about getting those eggs going?" he asked.

Dralas

He couldn't deny the usefulness of Rianne's natural empathy with animals, and soon the guar was packed up with no problems.

"Well don't think that means I won't pay you back," he answered, "The Ahemussa may be all about sharing, but the Erabenimsun aren't. So I'll pay back the favor once I'm making ten gold a day at Ghostgate."

He sat down again, since the guar was loaded and the caravan hadn't moved an inch yet.

Rianne

"I know" she said calmly, "Let's worry about that when the time comes, ok?"

She sat down beside him, waiting for a signal to get moving. In the meantime she lit a hackle-lo, glanced at Dralas and tossed the pouch containing the precious leaves at him.

"Help yourself if you like, we'll probably not be on our way for some time yet, since most of the caravaners were either having breakfast or just finished it.


OOC: Anyone care to give the sign for moving on? Or are there still conversations to come before we can leave?

Apelles Velvus

Apelles let out an irritated grunt, his thoughts having been so abruptly interrupted.

"An hour," he snarled. In truth, he was not entirely sure - he wasn't in charge of the caravan. Then, without another word, he carried his cup of tea back to the outskirts of the camp to continue the remaining minutes of his watch.

Dranas Heleran

Dranas watched Apelles Velvus stomp away. He had expected to get more of a rise out of the man, but sadly the Cyrodiil appeared preoccupied.

"Huh. Best be back to my outfit, then." Dranas said, to no one in particular.

Dranas packed his gear, making sure nothing was missing. Everything was accounted for. He loaded the panniers up onto the guars, checking carefully for any imbalance in the load. There was none. He hefted his katana, checking for any damage. The blade was pristine. He was ready. He looked about. Much of the camp was still in a state of relative chaos. No matter. He prodded his guars forward, to the edge of camp, toward Red Mountain. He would start the line--and hopefully everyone else would take a hint and fall in.

Eno Arval

"Alright everyone! Start moving! We don't have all day!" An Armiger shouted as he ran past, pressing the travelers to get their preparations done as quickly as possible. Ahead of him, Eno saw that the Guars had already begun moving.
"Oh dear. Now let me take one last quick check. Left side ok, right side ok, nothing poking against your spine, friend? No? Then let us be off." He murmured and gently tugged on the Guar's leash.

Haz

Haz kicked his beast of burden under the tail to get it to start moving.
"Urgh, you stinking pest! Either start acting like a Guar or die already!"

Erna

Erna finished the last of his Kwarma egg quickly as he heard the armigers order the caravan into action.

"Time to get going," he remarked.

He quickly stowed his bags on the guar he had taken and got up to join the gathering crowd of travellers.

Apelles Velvus

A little over half an hour later, the caravan was underway again, headed toward Assarnatamat.

Apelles had loaded his bedroll onto one of the guards' communal pack guars and took up his spot on the perimeter of the caravan. He continued his vigil, but in the back of his mind, his thoughts continued to stir.

Something was obviously bothering Salms Ralas - quite possibly enough to affect his judgment as a leader. He still trusted him, but was beginning to worry about both him and the caravan. It didn't help that he felt uneasy about this mission as well. There were times during the late shift that Apelles had felt chills down his spine - never a good sign, particularly for someone with as good a sense of danger as Apelles. Was something really coming...or was it all in his head?

And then there was the annoying issue of Dranas Heleran. Just looking at his face brought back years of bad memories. It certainly wasn't helping matters to have him around.

Things were getting worse, and he had a sickening feeling that they would deteriorate even further as the caravan moved farther northward.

Haz

"Move, you stinking beast! Move!" If looks could kill, Haz's Guar would have become ground zero of an explosion large enough to wipe out entire Vvardenfell. They had fallen behind slowly but surely and now they were so far back they'd even passed the rear guard of Armigers, who assumed that as long as they could see him, he was still safe.

With a weak snort, the Guar collapsed for the final time. Haz grumbled under his breath and let go of the leash.
"Not again. Get up, now!" He whispered urgently and kicked it in the face. There was no response.
"Hmph, dead? Was about time, but you could have done this at camp, not while we're moving."

About a hundred metres ahead of them, one of the Armigers looked over his shoulder.
"Yeah, he's still with us...No wait, looks like that Guar from the first era died on him. We should send out someone to help." He said and then ran ahead.
"Stay in formation, I'll report to the commander."


OOC: There ya all go.

Dranas Heleran

Dranas was once again enjoying being at the head of the caravan--enjoying the knowledge that everyone else was eating his dust, and not vice versa. He scarcely noticed, at first, when an armiger came jogging up from the rear of the caravan. He became only mildly concerned when the armiger fell into an animated conversation with one of the leaders--was there trouble in the rear? Evidently. Perhaps an ashlander raid, or more trouble from the local wildlife. Secure in the front of the caravan, Dranas was not unduly troubled. Then one of the armigers walked up to him.

"Beg your pardon, sera, but a pilgrim's guar died at the rear of the caravan and we can't abandon the Temple goods it was carrying. Seeing as how you've got two guars to spread a load over, and seeing your skill with leading these beasts, we need you to go back and aid this pilgrim." Dranas started to speak up, to protest, but before he could say anything the armiger continued, "We'll send one of our scouts back with you to help and keep things safe. Also, we'll try to redistribute the goods at camp this evening so your pack stock won't have to carry too much of a burden the rest of the way, and I think we should be able to compensate you for your trouble in some way once we reach the project site. Really, we need you to do this."

Dranas sighed. Need. The only time he liked that word was when it was spoken by a skooma addict. And probably the compensation would be some useless religious text, and maybe a tiny, tiny bit of gold if he was really lucky and didn't complain.

Dranas turned his guars around and started walking rearward, now subject to the questioning eyes of the rest of the caravan.

OOC: My "scout" reference above (by the armiger) is my way of suggesting that Apelles will be the one sent to babysit this re-packing mission, and the "questioning eyes" at the end should open things up for everyone else to ask Dranas where he's going and what he's doing, so anyone else who wants to tag along and get attacked by ashlanders can do so.

Rothan

When one of the armigers from the rear ran past Rothan vaguely wondered what it was. The mer looked frustrated as much as anything else and he would have ignored it except the caravan was so slow and the foyada had little enough to look at and occupy him. A few minuted later he saw heads turn further forward in the caravan. The mer he'd spoken to the previous night, Dranas if he remembered correctly, was leading two guars back down the caravan. He looked non to pleased about it either.

Rothan approached an armiger, "What's happening?" he asked.

The guard glared before recognising the priest, "Nothing sera. The pilgrims guar just died, not that its a surprise."

Rothan nodded, "I suppose I should see what help I can offer him." He didn't mind and as the only priest he really should. It was something to do anyway. He turned back and hurried to catch up with Dranas. He hadn't been completely sure about the mer, but going back to help the pilgrim made Rothan wander if the suspicion he'd felt was unjustified.

"Hello," he said catching up with Dranas.

Dranas Heleran

Dranas cocked his head to the side at the greeting, but did not stop moving. "Oh, you. Rothan, was it? What you brings you back this way? The armigers tell me that I'm best qualified to take on the extra load, so back I go."

Rothan

"Well it's the pilgrim's guar which died so it's my duty really to see that he's ok. It's good of you to look after his stuff though," said Rothan, "I imagine he'd be quite stuck otherwise."

Passers by continued to give them odd looks as they neared the back of the column. A fair way behind that he could see the pilgrim by the lifeless mound which was the dead guar, the ash raised by the caravan was already settling on the bags and its hide. The path behind the was churned by passing feet, the high sides of the foyada loomed above it. I can see why they use such a large guard, he thought.

Haz

Haz let out a sigh and began to undo the Guar's pack. He honestly didn't care for the contents of the bags, but he knew that people would ask questions if he just abandoned the 'vital construction supplies'.
"speaking of which, it seems that I'm about to become the center of attention." The thought unnerved him more than he was willing to admit.

Eno Arval

Eno held up a hand in greeting To Dranas and Rothan as they walked passed. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but then again, neither of the two were whispering so he still heard about the dead Guar.
"Well, now that I know of it, it would be rather rude to ignore this situation. Come on, my friend, let us help those in need. And don't worry, I'll carry any additional luggage myself. You are quite loaded as it is." He said to his Guar and turned around.
"Excuse me, I'll be coming along with you two if you don't mind. With an extra pair of hands, we should be able to resolve this situation in a matter of minutes, right?" He called out to the priest and trader.

Dranas Heleran

"Well, I suppose an extra set of hands wouldn't hurt, though I don't think it'll be any problem. I'm pretty handy at packing guars."

Dranas then urged his guars on a little faster. The pilgrim, ridiculously, was trying to shoulder the heavy load himself.

"That pilgrim might need an extra hand or two just to get those packs off his shoulders, if he's doing what I think he's doing."

Rianne

Rianne walked beside Dralas at the rear end of the caravan. The two ashlanders walked without too much talk, it wasn't necessary, they had this special understanding between them. Morrie carried both their baggage without problem, she was a strong guar indeed.

When she heard a screaming noise from behind and the turned around to see what the commotion was about, the sight stunned her. A Guar had fallen to the ground and its "owner" bent over it and kicked it in its face.

Rianne went hot with anger, she could not stand an animal being mistreated. She forgor about her aim to keep a low profile, this was outrageous!

What the hell is he doing, I'll just kill him!

"take her" she said to Dralas , handing him Morrie's leash, then she leaped towards the fallen Guar

"What are you doing, you filthy scum" she yelled at Haz, pushing him away from the animal, then she kneeled beside the guar, putting her hands on its head

Nothing existed except the guar and herself....she just held its head, mumbling strange words...

Apelles Velvus

Apelles continued to look forward, distracted by his thoughts. Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind him.

"Velvus! Hey, Velvus! Apelles!"

Apelles turned around. One of the Armigers apparently wanted to speak with him.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"One of the travelers' pack guars just died. Salms wants you to go back and babysit while they move the supplies off the carcass. It's about a hundred yards back of the rest of the caravan - you can't miss it."

"I'll be right there."

He jogged briskly to the back of the column. He could see the dead guar, along with a few Dunmer who were gathered around it. As he got closer, he noticed one of them - a tall, slender Dunmer woman - had rather violently shoved one of the of the other travelers, and now had her hands all over the guar. She seemed to be muttering something underneath her breath.

What the hell is she doing? he thought. Is she trying to steal supplies? Strip it for meat? Say a prayer over it?

Well, whatever the situation was, he knew he had to defuse it - physical altercations between caravaners were dangerous and distracting. He covered the distance between himself and the guar, keeping his hand close to his sword (thus ensuring that it was very prominent and noticeable). He slowed his gait to a more moderate, confident stride and approached the belligerents.

As he approached, he noticed a familiar face out of the corner of his eye.

Heleran? What's he doing back here? Ah, well - I'll deal with him in a moment. First, the girl.

Apelles put his hand to his side and grabbed the hilt of his sword. "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the carcass and keep your hands where I can see them."



OOC: To be honest, I'm not sure how the timing should work on this one. I'm thinking Rianne sees Haz kicking the guar, and runs over there (taking a bit of time to do so) - otherwise, it doesn't fit with the fact that the other characters are able to have so many different conversations. As is, I think we can just roll with it - it provides the chance for characters who haven't met before to interact.

OOC: i agree, just run with it

Dralas

After Rianne left all riled up, he noticed a number of other people making their way towards the guar. Morrie gave him no trouble when he followed, probably because they were going back to Rianne.

One of the caravan's escorts ahead of him--one of the few that wasn't an armiger-- put a hand on his weapon as he approached Rianne and warned her to get away from the animal.

"No need for that," he said, gripping the wrist of the man's sword hand, "She means no harm."

Apelles Velvus

"If you'll kindly take your hand off my wrist, you'll see that I don't, either."

Apelles recognized this Dunmer from earlier - he had spotted him back in town. An Ashlander - and judging from his grip, a pretty damned tough one.

He pulled his hand away as the Ashlander loosened his grip. He took a step back and put his hands back at his sides (though not on his weapon).

Apelles took another look at the Dunmer woman. She was still whispering something indecipherable in the general direction of the guar's head. "So...what exactly is she doing, anyway?"



OOC: I'm assuming that, in good faith, Dralas would let go (if only for the sake of not starting any trouble with the rest of the escorts). If you object to this, Dantrag, I'll edit this post appropriately.

Haz

Haz merely shrugged as he was shoved aside. Under any other circumstances, he most likely would have taken offense but now, he frankly didn't care. If anything, he was just glad that with the Guar dead, he was rid of one nuisance.

While the woman busied herself with the corpse, he picked the bags back up from the ground and tried to shoulder them, just when the rest of the group arrived.

Eno Arval

Eno shook his head. First Rianne had suddenly flung herself at the Guar, and now her friend had gotten into a minor argument with one of the guards.
"Please everyone, let's not be hasty." He said as he knelt down beside the Ashlander woman.
"Sir, we offer to split up that luggage of yours amongst ourselves. You can hold onto any personal possessions of course, but the rest is temple property and well, it can't be good for your back to carry all that by yourself." He continued before turning his attentiont towards the Guar. All the while he was wondering just what Rianne was really doing.

"Don't tell me, she's trying to heal it through magic?" He wondered to himself.
"So um, do you think the poor animal can still be saved?" He asked out loud.

OOC: Now I honestly have no idea what Rianne is doing so I'm just guessing. For all I know she could simply be listing a recipe for making pie. (though that would be rather inappropriate right now. I'm guessing she's doing a prayer of some sort.) But just in case she is doing some magical healing, I'd like to ask that it fails. I think it's better that the dead guar stays dead here.

OOC: Don't worry, she can't resurrect anything, of course the guar stays dead!


Rianne

Rianne rose to her feet, not even looking at the man telling her to stay off the guar, she just turned to the crowd and spoke out, loud and clear:

"This Guar was dead even before it hit the ground, there was no need to kick it in its face, it was a cruel and meaningless action."

She then turned to Haz, saying:

"If you hadn't done this I would have offered you to put your things on Morrie, she's the strongest Guar in this caravan, but since you are a cruel and evil man, I say you carry your bags yourself"

She went over to Dralas, giving him a faint smile

"I'm sorry, but I can't stand animals being mistreated" she took his hand and squeezed it shortly

Dranas Heleran

"This caravan is slow enough as is, and while Rianne's concern for the guar is touching, we can't have this pilgrim hauling all this Temple gear on his shoulders. He can carry his bedroll and whatnot, but we'd better load the rest on my guars--they're plenty strong and I can balance the load so they'll hardly notice the extra weight."

Hopefully that would spur everyone back to business. In truth Dranas didn't give a damn about the dead guar--it had been old anyway and was already dead when the pilgrim kicked it out of (understandable, he thought) frustration. He did care about catching back up to the caravan--something about this place, whether the quickening wind or the lack of cover, something was not right.

Rothan

Rothan sneered at the ashlander woman's performance. The heathens certainly had odd ways and stranger ideas. Who cared what happened to the guar? Now had it been fit that would have needlessly slowed them but even if it hadn't been dead it had been well on the way. He left Dranas pondering the bags on his guar and went to the pilgrim.

"Are you alright sera?" he said.

The pilgrim said nothing.

He smiled, of course the vow of silence, "Sera do you write or use signs?" It was a bit weak in his opinion but certain sects, especially at junior levels, allowed writing or certain sign language under vows of silence. He rummaged though his pack and pulled out a slightly crumpled parchment and a bit of charcoal. He made the sign of saint Veloth and offered them to the pilgrim.

OOC: not sure how Haz will react, but missing the sign would make Rothan suspicious

Dralas

Dralas said nothing while Rianne chanted to the guar. Those were the words of a wise woman, he observed. Dralas couldn't believe that he'd been traveling with a wise woman all this time. Was she really a wise woman though, or was she a mabrigash? Either way, he was in trouble; wise women were more revered even than the ashkhan, and Dralas had not been treating her as such this entire journey.

He could see in the other peoples' faces that they thought little of Rianne and her attempt to heal the guar, and wanted nothing more than to teach them all a lesson in respect. Especially the priest. In an ashlander camp, looks like those given to a wise woman could get you killed, and with good reason.

Despite everything around him though, what interested him most was the pilgrim. Something was odd about him, but Dralas couldn't figure out what (besides the obvious fact that he kept his face hidden behind a cowl). The guar was dead, and Rianne had proven there was nothing to be done about it, but it seemed unfitting for a pilgrim to be kicking his pack animal in a fit of rage. Something was amiss.

Dralas noticed the sign of Veloth and bit his tongue; the Temple and most other dunmer had long abandoned the Saint's teachings. This priest knew nothing, just like the silent one.

"Not everyone has the same respect for the land that we do," he said to Rianne, "Cruel and evil might be a bit strong, but ignorant fits."

Haz

When Rianne suddenly snapped at him, Haz was simply too dumbfounded to think of how to react. So in the end, he did nothing other than let the bags sink to the ground.
"If it was already dead before it hit the ground, it couldn't have felt that kick. Then what's so cruel about it?" He thought as he was approached by Rothan.

The priest was clearly trying to strike up a conversation with him, something he did not look forward to. That, and he made some sort of strange gesture. It was too quick for him to follow and even if he had been properly able to observe it, he wouldn't know how to reply.
"What was that? Cultural, religious? Do I mimic it, whatever it was? Or...I guess I'll just bow. That's always a safe move." He wondered and added the action to his thoughts.

Haz accepted the parchment and charcoal.
'I WRITE, NOT GOOD. DON'T KNOW SIGNS' He scribbled down in the same crude writing that marked his book.


Eno Arval

Eno whistled softly, one corner of his mouth rising in mild amusement.
"She's a feisty one. Reminds me of my cousin, only younger. Though I guess she has a point somewhere." He said to himself as he pushed himself back onto his feet with a grunt. His knees made a popping sound and he pulled a face.
"I know that sound. It means I'm getting old. Anyway, sir Heleran. Let me help pack while the others busy themselves with the pilgrim. Although, given how many hands we have, we could also carry the Guar if we felt so inclined." He spoke and bent down again to pick up one of the bags that the pilgrim had dropped.
"Oh, there go my knees again. Good grief."

Dranas Heleran

Dranas pulled a spare canvas pack off of one of his guars. Speaking to Eno Arval, he said, "If that pilgrim is going to carry his personal gear, that only leaves the one pack of Temple goods. We should divvy up whatever's in the Temple pack so I can split the load between my guars. If he needs help carrying his personal stuff I suppose some could go on your guar or..." Dranas paused to think, and then turned toward Rothan, the priest.

"Say, Rothan, can you ask that pilgrim if he can manage his personal gear, or does he need help with that too?"

Rothan

Rothan frowned, he knew opening with the sign of Veloth was a little irregular. He often did though, it could mean as little as good luck; depending on how the recipient reponded. Other signs could suggest rather an interest in the book he carried, one way or the other. But a bow? That was strange.

The pilgrim took the parchment and charcoal and scribbled something down before passing it back. Even wears gloves, Rothan noted. The contents of the paper were even more perplexing, in almost deliberately poor script was written: 'I WRITE, NOT GOOD. DON'T KNOW SIGNS' .

Any pilgrim, let alone one heading in silence to the shrine of pride, could read and so write. Or at least make an attempt at grammar. He gave the pilgrim a quizical look, there was something wrong but he couldn't decide what. Perhaps the mer had been sent to watch him and was trying to keep his distance? He brushed the thought away as paranoia.

"This evening I would lead your prayers if you would like," he offered the veiled pilgrim. As he did so he noticed the ashlander man glaring at him but before he could react Dranas approached him.

"Say, Rothan, can you ask that pilgrim if he can manage his personal gear, or does he need help with that too?" he asked. Rothan nodded and turned back to the pilgrim.

"Well?" he passed back the pad an paper.

Rianne

She noticed Dralas ' look at her and bit her lip. Damn, I forgot, he is one of us, he reognized my chant! But he won't reveal me...I certainly hope!

She gave him a faint sign, hoping he would understand not to say anything.

She felt that the others were annoyed with her, but she didn't care. Seeing an animal being ba treated awoke her basic instincts, she could not help reacting as she did.

Rianne made no attempt to help with the sacks of the pilgrim, she just looked at the others with dark eyes and when Dralas made the remark abut respect for the land , she gave a faint smirk.

So right you are, my friend



Then wiping the dust of her trousers she slowly walked past Dralas, whispering in his ear just as she passed him:
"Don't worry I prefer to not be recognized for what I am, you my friend are blessed, I will confide in you later, just keep up the normal you"

Then she noticed the elder man who's knees were making weird sounds as he bent up or down. Those knees could do with some treatment or the man would get trouble later on.

"Sera, your knees are troubling you, right? Would you mind if I had a look at them? Maybe I can help..to make things better for you"

Dralas

Dralas held Morrie's leash while they waited for the pilgrim to get his things situated. He looked back to see the caravan getting steadily smaller as it grew more distant.

Approaching their escort, he pointed towards the caravan, "I think we're running out of time."

Eno Arval

Eno smiled politely and shook his head.
"No thanks. I may complain a lot, but these legs of mine will be able to carry me for a few more years without any problems. Besides, I believe our friend is right. We'd better think about catching up instead of sitting around here" He said with a quick nod to Dralas.

Haz

Haz thought about the offer of a prayer. He really didn't want to risk any further contact with this priest.
'CAN CARRY PERSONAL ITEMS MYSELF' He wrote down and after a quick thought, he added 'THANKS FOR THE OFFER BUT PREFER TO PRAY ALONE'
"Let him think I'm a loner. That suits me fine."

Rothan

Rothan read the note then called to Dranas, "He says he'll carry his own things. But I agree with Eno, we'd best be moving as soon as you can get those things loaded."

He turned back to the note, the pilgrim would prefer to pray by himself. An offer for personal prayer, even by a junior priest, wasn't considered. It was accepted. Refusing was most irregular. He gave the pilgrim a look, there was something wrong. Something quite wrong but he didn't want to voice his worries in front of the pilgrim. He turned back to Dranas, "Need a hand?"

Dranas Heleran

Dranas answered the priest by motioning to the now open sack of Temple construction supplies. "You can help Eno move half that gear into this empty pack--once that's done I can load it on the guars myself; I'm real good at it and it'll get done right the first time that way."

A pause.

"And then we should be able to catch up to the caravan, and fast. Provided we get no more trouble."

Erna

Erna had noticed the guar fall and the pilgrim, in his frustration, kick out at the animal. As the others had broken off from the group to investigate, so too had Erna, fading into the background like he usually did and escaping notice. He was suspicious of the pilgrim-something about him didn't sit right, and Erna had lived his backstabbing, brutal life long enough to know that when something didn't sit right, it wasn't right.

Now that the fuss over the guar had died down, Erna wanted to get back to the caravan. He hadn't, as he had hoped, had a chance to take a look in that pilgrim's backpack and now it was done he wanted to get back.

He had a gut feeling something else wasn't right, either.

OOC: decided to get things rolling.

Dralas

Just as the dunmer near him mentioned trouble, Dralas' eyes widened in surprise when an arrow whizzed by his ear. He didn't have to look around for long before he found the source. Out from behind a rock structure, a few dunmer were moving in such a way as to cut them off from the caravan. Dralas could tell that they were ashlanders, and assumed them to be rogues, like himself. The difference was that he didn't go around robbing and killing.

"Everyone who can't fight should get behind," he said as he brought out his bow and fired a shot, "They're getting between us and the caravan."

Unfortunately, help from the caravan was unlikely to come; it had already rounded a corner in the foyada, and was out of sight.

OOC: I thought it was established that Apelles would be the first to notice this - as I have previously stated, I've been busy all week with finals. I could not possibly have posted this earlier - I said I would get things started. I'm a bit miffed that you started this without me, actually. How about we pretend this post happened first, and then things will continue where you left off.


Apelles Velvus

Apelles stood watch, looking into the distance, looking for signs of raiders or creatures. Conversations continued around him - he ignored them. Too distracting. The caravan had rounded a bend in the foyada. They were alone. Apelles didn't like this one bit. Something felt wrong...

Suddenly, he noticed it. A rustling in a trama bush near the foot of one of the less steep edges of the foyada. A Dunmer, clad in chitin armor, was taking aim with his bow.

"AMBUSH!" he cried as the arrow whizzed dangerously close to Dralas's head.

To pull off such a shot from such a distance... Apelles thought. Clearly we aren't dealing with amateurs.

A few more Ashlanders emerged armed with swords and clubs, dashing across the foyada and positioning themselves between the dead guar and the caravan.

"Everyone who can't fight should get behind," the Ashlander declared. "They're getting between us and the caravan."

"I'll help them deal with the ones on the ground," Apelles said, turning toward Dralas. "You take out that archer."

He imagined that an Ashlander hunter would be more suited to take out an expert bowman than a Hlaalu scout.

Apelles drew his sword, braced his shield, and prepared himself for battle...

Rothan

An arrow flashed by the ashlander. People started shouting but he ignored them and ducked down to offer less of a target before looking around. There was a small group of ashlanders further up the foyada, between them and the caravan. He cursed, this was going to turn messy. Another arrow arced from the cover of the rocks the ashlanders had hidden in, it thudded to the ground in the midst of the group with a puff of dust. He put his hand to the cudgel at his belt but thought better of it; it would slow him down.

There was little enough cover in the foyada. The best he could do was hunker down behind a small boulder and hope the archer stopped firing.

Erna

Erna ducked as soon as the first arrows sped towards him, rolling as he hit the ground and drawing a knife as soon he could. He drew his amulet from beneath his shirt and kissed it for the blessing of his patron, noting that its razor edge split his lip and sent blood welling from the wound.

"Somebody get that damn archer!" he yelled, as another arrow thudded into the ground, dangerously close.

They were ashlanders. He hated ashlanders.

Eno Arval

Eno looked around in apparent confusion. It took him several precious seconds to realize where their assailants were located, seconds in which he stood still like a statue. Fortunately for him, he didn't get hit even once. Either the arrows missed their intended target, which was no surprise at this distance, or the shots so far had merely been a warning. Dralas ordered everyone without any fighting experience to move back. Eno had a feeling that with anyone, the man specifically meant him.

Despite that, Eno actually stepped forward, after laying his walking stick down on the ground.
"Excuse me! We do not mean to fight! Just tell us what you want so we can resolve this peacefully!" He then shouted, holding both hands open above his head in a sign of his goodwill.
"I mean, it's not as if there is anything valuable in those bags. Just what could have them interested in us?" He muttered under his breath.


Haz

"H..." Haz bit down on his tongue before he could complete his curse. Silent once more, he cursed his own fate.
"First this, and now bandits. Just which deity did I anger?" He thought to himself as he hunched down on the ground, trying to make himself as small a target as possible. An arrow stuck into the ground near him. He picked it up and snapped the shaft in two, hiding the arrowhead and a short piece of the shaft within his fist, his pilgrim's staff held low to the ground with the other. Now if only that damn archer would come closer.


OOC: Yeah, Eno is trying to solve things his way. He'll probably fail to pacify people though. So feel free to pull him back from the danger he's putting himself in. I'm off to bed. Also, I just remembered that both of my characters are armed with wood.

Dranas Heleran

As soon as the arrows began to fly Dranas ducked behind his guars.

"Damned archers! Curse me for leaving that crate of crossbows back in Balmora!"

He did have his throwing stars, but he couldn't possibly hope to hit the attacking ashlanders upon their rocky perch--too far away. No choice but to hunker down and wait until they came down into the foyada. Dranas drew his steel katana and waited.

Erna

Erna saw the dunmer, Ano or Eno or something, try to negotiate witi the ashlanders, to end the blessed shedding of blood before it could begin.

Erna could have his fun taken away from him, not now.

He leapt up, grabbed the surprised elf by his collar and dragged him to the ground with a yell of; "Get down, you bloody fool."

Rianne



She didn't hesitate to duck down behind a rock, as Dralas shouted, an arrow landed almost at her feet, she could see it was an ashlander arrow.

I can't kill my own people, have to find another way

She brought out her own bow and waited, waited for them to show themselves. She knew a sign or two that most probably would stop the rouges but she kept calm, for the time being.

She kept an arrow on the bow, ready to fire, just in case, but she watched Dralas, he would give her a sign, this was his world, he knew about fighting, when to do things.

Nobody really knows how skilled I am with this bow, I'll just do what I'm told, Dralas will understand, and maybe we can keep this not too violent, I hate killing!

Dranas Heleran

Dranas chanced a quick peek over a guar's back, to get some notion of the the enemy's position. A triad of archers were perched in the rocks--he had no hope of doing anything about them until they ran out of arrows. One of them was looking right at him...

Dranas ducked quickly as he could. He heard a thud as an arrow struck something metallic in one of the packs that still sat upon the back of Dranas' guar.

This was intolerable. Dranas could see the ashlander Dralas fire off an arrow at their assailants, but the one called Rianne just sat there at the ready. What the hell was she waiting for?

Dranas snuck another peek above his guar, this time looking up the foyada. A cadre of five attackers were jogging, crouched low, from boulder to boulder. They were getting close. Close enough, at least.

He pulled out one of his throwing stars and fired it fast as he could at the lead attacker, before diving once more to the ground at an arrow's approach.

Dralas

His first shot failed miserably, falling short of his target. It was a hasty shot, fired more out of surprise than anything else. On the second try, though, he took a bit more time with his shot. He beaded in on the archer and almost let an arrow fly. Almost. He knew the archer's face, and was at a loss as to what he should do. On one hand, an encounter with him wouldn't be peaceful anyway, and on the other, Dralas had no desire to kill him. He noticed that he knew the other two archers as well.

But when they ignored the music man's plea for peace, and responded with arrows, Dralas knew he was going to be forced to shoot back, and with three archers, he was shooting to kill. On top of all this, more were coming their way, ready for a melee.

After a few shots, he hit an archer in the arm, but nothing fatal. Hopefully it would at least keep him from aiming properly, if not from pulling back the bowstring altogether. He moved behind the same rock as Rianne.

"This isn't good," he said to her.

In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but think that they were after him specifically; what would they possibly gain from killing and robbing the stragglers of a caravan? There was almost nothing valuable around them.

Apelles Velvus

Apelles crouched low and kept moving for cover. He could sense the battlefield around him - the arrows flying, the Ashlander raiders dashing across the foyada to meet them. Archers - three of them - perched above them on the ridge. Dralas was firing away at them, and Dranas Heleran had hit an Ashlander in the shoulder with a His every movement was focused, his every thought and heartbeat seemed in tune with the combat around him. Above all else, he refrained from panicking. Panicking in battle caused people to make stupid decisions. And Apelles was not stupid.

He watched the Ashlanders continue to make their approach. There was no way this underarmed, undertrained group could stand against both the archers and the the raiders at the same time. Even fighting against one of those two things was a stretch. Then again, if there were a way to stop the archers from firing...

Apelles slid to the ground beside Dranas Heleran as an arrow nicked his back (though he was fortunately protected by his armor).

"Listen - I have a plan," he said, just loudly enough to be heard by the people around him. "As soon as the Ashlanders get a bit closer, I want you to move forward with me to attack them. The archers won't risk shooting their own comrades. It's the only chance we've got."

Dranas Heleran

Dranas thought for a split-second. "Fine." He popped up quickly to fling another throwing star, then ducked back down to ready his sword. "I'm with you."

OOC: Minque, why would Rianne dislike killing if she's an assassin? That makes no sense.

Erna

"What's this abou attacking?" Erma asked, scrambling over to the guard and Ash Boy, knives in both hands. "I'm pretty handy in a fight."

Rothan

Rothan was glad to see someone put Eno out the way. He looked around the group, Looks like I'd pass as a fighter... he thought and jumped out from behind his rock. An arrow tore at his robe missing his flesh by a fraction. He leapt and made a clumsy roll into the cover Apelles and Dranas shared.

"I can handle myself," he said.

The group of ashlanders were close now. They weren't heavily armed, short chitin blades and an axe or two as far as he could see. But they were armed. Idiot, he thought to himself, Hand to hand will be a great idea against them... He had a wry grin and pondered the cudgel, but they were a group, it wasn't fast enough when outnumbered. He calmed himself and waited for the move.

Apelles Velvus

"Well, glad the two of you could join us," Apelles said. "Now, on the count of three, we're going to get up and charge those Ashlanders."

He paused for a beat. "One...two...THREE!"

Erna

Erna scrambled up, knife in one hand, crossbow in the other, alongside the scout and the priest. He raised his weapon and fired off a bolt, but aside from startling one of the ashlanders it did nothing. One of the archers, seeing the threat, loosed an arrow in his direction but it missed, thunking into the ashy soil several metres shy of the target.

Erna slammed into one of the ashlanders, using his weight to bowl the man over, and made a rapid stab with is dagger, trying to end the fight before it could begin. The dunmer dodged out of the way and slammed his elbow into the side of Erna's head, stunning the elf momentarily. He rolled off and scrambled out of the way before the elf could brain him with an axe, getting to his feet and grabbing a second knife from within his pocket, facing his opponent.

This was going to be interesting.

Eno Arval

Eno landed hard and only the relative softness of the ash-covered ground kept him from injuring himself.
"Well, no need to be rude about it, sir." He protested as he got up into a crouching position and dusted himself off. Some of them prepared a charge he noticed and he sighed.
"Why, why can't we just settle things with words these days? This is so frustrating." He said, shaking his head.

Haz

Haz thought about joining the charge but decided against it. There was no need to increase his personal risk here. Besides, his skills meant nothing in open combat. He fought from the shadows, a quick jab to crush a windpipe, a finger dug into an eye. Nothing that would help him in these conditions.