Tess' POV
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I headed to the upper decks and glanced behind me occasionally. Riden was following me pretty well considering he was hit square in the chest with a steel blade.

When I ran into the decks I saw the Redguard downed with the sails. "Hey! Where's the Breton?" I yelled. Riden took his position near the stern of the ship and fumbled around with the gun. I had my hands full trying to carry four large metal pistols, with nobody to use them.

I sighed and threw one at the Redguard, "Here! Figure out how to use it. I sure as heck don't know."

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

A large thud erupted, followed by the large sail ensnaring the whole of the sailors. Although Cyldreen was out of reach for the sail, so did the First-Mate turned Captain, Shunar.

"What, in the blue Cockroache's teets, is going on?" the frustration and a hint of betrayal was evident on the Dunmer's raspy voice, before his throat was ripped by a slash from the Breton's cutlass.

Then, the spy heard Tess' yell.

He spunned around and saw her cradling some rather familiar mechanisms. The Assassin was also wielding a long stick, with a smirk on his face. Realization punched the Breton hard on the face.

Guns! And flintlocks at that! This trip is getting more and more intruiging!

"Hey, down here! Pass that.. what was that word again, oh yes. Pass that .. p-pistol to me! Quick! Before the idiots escapes the sail!" he couldn't keep the anticipation on his voice, and he didn't care either. This is going to be the Breton's second time using such powerful weapons. Kicking the corpse away, he walked towards the stern to get a better catch.

Tess' POV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Personally, I still despised that Breton and wanted him dead, but apparently, Riden trusts him enough, or is desperate enough to fight alongside him. What the heck.

"Here!" I yelled and tossed one of the pistols at him. About that time, I ran over to Riden's side and saw the Breton and Riden both at the stern.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riden's POV

I fumbled around with the gun and finally got a good grip on it. After checking out if the barrel was properly maintained or not, I saw Tess trying hard to even reloading it. She threw the gun down and pouted like a little kid.

I laughed, "Here Tess, first you grip it like this..." I said, directing her hands to the pistol. Soon enough, she seemed to know how to fire it. At least, somewhat.

"Hey Breton, do you know how to use that thing?" I asked, trying to get at least three people armed with a gun.

Kaye Soscean

Something clattered on the deck near him and skidded along to stop close to his head. Kaye groaned as he twisted his aching neck to look at the strange object. It was like a mixture of wood, metal and ornamental bronze. Two small bags dangled from a loop at the back.

Kaye reached out and picked it up, groaning some more as he did so. The fall had been relatively slow and softened somewhat by landing on the edge of the sail but it had still been painful. With the pistol now in his hands, he discovered that the thinnest end had an opening, showing him that it was hollow. Then, near the other end where the wood curved into a smooth grip there was a moving mechanism mounted, snaking along the handle's side and ending in a small clamp suspended over a second opening.

"What the hell is this thing?" Kaye muttered, ignoring everything else. Most likely people were about to die around him again but he no longer cared to try and stop events from unfolding. Focussing all his attention on the two bags, he unhooked them from the strange item. One had a special snout not unlike a pepperpot he'd once seen in a fancy tavern for upper-class people. THe other contained small balls of a metallic material. Finally, the second bag also contained a small piece of flint.

"so....this is some sort of metal knucklebones for gambling, a pepperpot *sniff*, that does not contain pepper, a really fancy hammer and a bit of flint. And I'm supposed to use this for what?" He muttered. By means of experiment, he sprinkled some of the powder from the 'pepperpot' on the deck. It was black and not something he was familiar with. He dropped one of the small spheres on it. Nothing. Next, stricken by inspiration, he took both the piece of flint and another of the balls.
"If I'm supposed to make sparks with these things, something easier to hold would be nice." He muttered as he struck both against each other. A solitary spark descended from his hands onto the powder, which promptly evaporated in a flash and a loud crack.
"Woah! Nearly lost my fingers there! Well that explains what I can use the powder, the iron and the flint for. But it doesn't tell me how to use the big thing."
Kaye fumbled with the clamp mechanism. It moved rather stiffly under his finger but when he manipulated the other end, the clamp snapped down to the opening fast enough to kill a fly.
"Oh, I see. It's a flint sparkmaking device....for those who don't know how to strike sparks with their hands, I guess....Mount the flint within the clamp, sprinkle some powder in the gap and presto, one smoke and noise device. Looks like it could be mighty fun at parties, but wouldn't those three be more interested in weapons?"

OOC: Obviously, never saw a gun before. Also, I'm basing the description on my recollections of a very old book I read back when I was young. Young as in 'puberty, what's that?' young. Please correct me if I went wrong somewhere.

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

Cyldreen hastily snatched the pistol and caressed it affectionately. He even moaned in delight. Shaking himself from his euphoric trance, he looked at the Assassin and the woman.

He snorted.

"You wouldn't believe how many morons I killed using rifles. And that blunderbuss your wielding, effective at close-up assaults. I even used it on a mill, and it blew the damned roof!" his tone became dreamy and childish, like reminiscing about candies.

". . .Or is that a rifle? My memory is like a mist concerning these things. Anyway, ranting about guns and whatnot is irrelevant. My name is Cyldreen the Pain-Lover and I ask you, will we waste precious bullets on this ruffians or are we going to lock 'em up in the cages?" the animosity in his tone was gone, replaced by genuinity and honesty.

"Your choice, assassin."

Tess' POV

I'm not one to be very angry but Cyldreen is killing me. "You know, you don't have to rub everything in our faces!" I yelled.

Riden poked my side gently to get my attention, "Yes?" I asked, my voice turning back to normal.

He hugged me affectionately and pushed me down to my perch softly, grunting from the pain of the newly treated wound, "Come on Tess, keep your eyes on the sailors."

I grumbled and went next to Riden. He grunted and got up from his own position, "Redguard! You got half of it right, now stuff the metal balls with the black powder into the barrel, then pull the trigger! It'll shoot the balls at lightning fast speeds."

He sighed and got back to the position, "Cyldreen, I've used some of these weapons many times before. Or have you not heard of the "Diplomat killed by Metal Staff of Invisible magics." He said, laughing at the name for the rifle.

I got my tone under control and spoke to Cyldreen, holding back my will to attack him, "Just...lock them up." I said before Riden replied, "Tess, you think they even know what these things are?"

"Line them up and shoot one or two for an example, then spare the ones that are smart enough to surrender. Kill the idiots."

I almost started shaking again to think about killing more people, "Wait, can't we come up with an idea that doesn't involve murdering the remaining sailors?" I quickly said, eying Cyldreen and Riden.

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri


The Breton stopped what he was doing, mainly loading some bullets into his pistol, and turned to look at the Assassin. Killing the diplomat of Arenthia by using a rifle? Normally, Cyldreen would've scoffed if somebody told him he killed an important figure of the Valenwood politics and got away with it, but if an Assassin who has an rare Hidden-Blade, skills more than a match for an experienced spy then the Breton would've told them to 'allow myself to buy you a drink'.

Wait. The one who assassinated that diplomat was captured. If he's refering to the person in 'Diplomat killed by Metal Staff of Invisible magics,' [i]then he's good.

"Line them up and shoot one or two for an example, then spare the ones that are smart enough to surrender. Kill the idiots." the Imperial barked. For a second, Cyldreen contemplated saying some colorful words to him about authority, but nonetheless complied. He didn't refrained from saying smart comments though.

"Oh, yes, of course. Would m'Lord like some of them to bend over and shoot them in their backside?" he kept his voice soft and genuine, while at the same time sarcastic.

Some of the sailors were still trying to wriggle out of the sail, and grinning like an idiot, Cyldreen shot him. He didn't see where it hit the sailor, but judging from the pained gasp, it looked like a liver detoriated. Seconds, later he fell.

"Anybody moves, and they meet the same fate as this fish lover! So, I advice you to calm down and stand still." then, with a satisfied nod to himself, he turned to the Assassin.

"What now? Do you wan-," a thunderous roar erupted and all eyes glanced at Cyldreen's back. Then, some of the sailors yelped in suprise and horror. The breton closed his brown orbs and glanced at the sailors.

Veefnir regarded the spy with a malicious grin, and with another blood-curdling scream, charged.

Riden's POV

I aimed my gun at the charging Orc's head. Moving targets weren't my specialty as these guns are very inaccurate. But before I could even focus the gun's sights on the Orc's head, a searing pain erupted from my chest and I fell. Tess rushed to me and kept asking me, "are you okay?"

I nodded and gestured to Tess' gun, "Kill him...kill the Orc. You can do it Tess, just follow what I taught you."

I smiled at her and groaned in pain. She seemed scared but picked up the metal pistol and aimed down the sights....

Tess' POV

I have to do this...please let me make my mark...

I trembled and my hands started to shake. Instead of aiming down the sights like Riden taught me, I looked at the Orc's bloodthirsty eyes.

My mind started to visualize the town of Aleswell burnt down to the ground. It's been sixteen years since the attack on Aleswell by the Orcs but it still haunts my mind whenever I see an attacking Orc. I switched from my scared demeanor to anger immediately. With a small tug on the trigger, it met its mark on the Orc's leg.

Then when it was down, I picked up a small war hammer and started to bash the downed Orc over and over again, tears dripping down.

Riden noticed me and limped over. He pulled me into a loving embrace while I quietly sobbed. "It's alright," he said smoothly and gestured to the Breton.

"Finish off the idiots here." he commanded roughly.

Nelacar

Nelacar watched from behind a pile of crates as the sail fell, covering the crew in heavy canvas. It caused enough confusion to put the mutineers in control. They had guns now, too. He had seen the devices before, but looked down upon them. They were a coward's tool, an item with the power to kill without thought or skill. Still, they could be devastating.

The altmer looked for an escape, but found none. The ship was too far from shore to swim, and to reach the longboats he would be forced to make himself known.

No other choice, I guess.

He heard the imperial's order and stepped out into the open.

"You'd have them all killed then? To what end?" he leaned on his staff, looking casual, but was really planning his best route to the boats.

There were only four in his way. A middle-aged redguard, a breton with a glimmer of insanity in his eyes, a cruel assassin, and his crying lover. The guns would make it difficult, but if he was fast enough, he might be able to get by.

Kaye Soscean

Kaye frowned.
"So it was a weapon. I thought as much." He growled and tossed the pistol across the deck.

"You'd have them all killed then? To what end?" Kaye looked up at the unfamiliar voice, seeing an Altmer he was sure he'd seen once or twice before, but only in passing.
"Please sir, don't get yourself involved, for your own good. These people don't seem to know the meaning of the word restraint. You'll just end up crippled for life, and that's if you're lucky." He answered and shook his head.
"But the Altmer is right, you know? You won already. Heck, you could have prevented this whole massacre in the first place. If only you had looked for words instead of..." He gestured at the discarded pistol and spat.
"Tools for murder."

OOC: Alright...let's do this
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tess' POV

I hated Riden's malicious nature and completely agreed with the Altmer. Riden on the other hand, scoffed at the Redguard and Altmer, "In times like these, it's best to kill off the fleeing enemy. We got them cornered, they have nowhere to run, and they are about to die..."

I stopped sobbing and glared at him, "Riden! Please...for me?"

He smiled a little and sighed, "You know Tess, that worked when we were like 19 but now...after a sixteen year marriage, it doesn't work anymore."

I pouted and Riden turned to the Breton, "Kill them."

There was no stopping an assassin, whether it was Riden or my own son.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riden's POV

Tess was mad...there was no doubting that. Ever since she and I fought in a small scale war with the Orcs, she hated violence and death. There was no choice though, we need to see this scuffle through, but that Altmer interests me.

"Altmer! You seem more...sensible and intelligent than the rest of the idiots. Why not join us?"

Tess leaned on my good arm and whispered, "Please...just keep them alive."

I gestured to the Altmer, "You can join us and I assure you, no harm will come to you. Or you can stay and get slaughtered like the pigs you are."

Nelacar

"I've no interest in pirating, I'm afraid. I have my own affairs on Vvardenfell."

Both the redguard and the woman seemed to disagree with this Riden fellow. The group didn't seem very organized, as they had succeeded in dropping a sail, killing able hands, and allow the ship to go out of control. He couldn't figure out what they wanted to gain, besides the guns, which seemed to disgust the redguard.

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

Cyldreen ignored the order the Assassin barked, the Redguard's disapproval of guns and instead turned to face the unexpected High Elf. Said High elf wore loose fit clothes and leaned on a staff. His expression was that of pure calmness. Cyldreen narrowed his eyes to slits and carefully observed the Altmer.

Muscular for a wizardly race, a rather cool demeanor and strategizing eyes ... If I didn't know better, I'd say he's one of those trained in the arts of meditating! Interesting ...

He then turned to the Assassin.

"I think this is called hipocrisy, but somehow I agree with the Altmer." he then grinned. "But this ship is ours, now. We do whatever the kinky hells we want! Before I do this, though," he turned to face the Altmer. "Are you a friend?" the Breton picked up his War-Axe and licked the blood off the blade. "Or foe?"

Riden's POV

Of all my years, I've never seen anything like this. I think it's because I spent lots of time doing two man assassinations with Geo...but...what the heck.

"Fine," I growled, "You'll get what you want. But if one of these idiots steps out of line, I'm personally going to kill them."

Tess squealed, "Yay! Thanks Riden," she kissed me for a brief moment before leaving my lips. She blushed and went to my side, "Well...let's get ready to get these people downstairs."

I drew Jian, well what used to be Jian before it was covered with guts and blood, "Altmer, you can stay up here and exchange a few words with us. Me and Tess are going to be up here after this place is cleaned up, so long as you don't try anything cheeky."

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

"Well...let's get ready to get these people downstairs." Tess practically beamed with joy after she shared an intimate moment with the Assassin. It made Cyldreen shake his head in disgust, but he hid it just in time. Smilling in fake agreement, he said;

"Sure, sure. You two do that, while I converse here with the Redguard and the Altmer. Anything you want, just yell in my ear. Gods and Daedra Lords know that I won't heed it." he clicked his tongue and giggled. Still chuckling, he went to the sailors and pulled the heavy cloth off them.

"Follow those two or I'll decapitate you through your eyes! Then, I'll feast on your spleen infront of the next victim! And trust me, that feels HEAVEN!" the sea-farers nodded frantically and ran away with gusto from the insane Breton.
He went to the middle aged Redguard, and keeping his distance, he leaned beside him.

I think I'll keep my eye on this Elf until those two comes back.

Tess' POV

"Alright! Let's go Riden!" I said, grabbing is arm like we were just out of our teen years.

He sighed and pulled out his Katana, Jian, "Alright...you people follow us in one cluster behind us. If any of you try something, you're going overboard."

They followed us obediently as I started fiddling with the gun Riden gave me. He moved silently without a word and then stopped in front of the prison cells, "All of you, get in any cell you please."

They shifted around and finally got in the cells, "Tess, could you be so nice as to help me close all these cell doors?"

I nodded and locked up all the sailors on the west wing. When we both finished, me and Riden got up to the decks. "It's done!" I said proudly.

Kaye Soscean

With the sailors being marched off to the cells, Kaye surveyed the damage that had been caused and sighed. There was nothing that would directly put them at risk of sinking, no severe damage to the hull. The sail and more important, lack of trained crew that was available did pose a risk though. Without anyone who knew how to sail properly on a sea, and without the able hands that were required to support a ship this big, they would drift off-course and probably beach themselves, smash onto rocks or get stuck in a stream that would take them around the seas without seeing land for years. Not that their supplies could possibly last that long.

"Right, I think I'll take care of bussiness till everyone has cooled down then. Let's see, they should have something to...ah, there it is." Kaye walked over to the stern of the ship where there was a very long rope with knots at regular intervals an a weight on one end. The other was tied to the railing. Kaye tossed the weight overboard and counted.
"one...two...three...four...have to account for forward movement as well....five...six..."

OOC: Sorry for the late post, guys.
------

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri


The Breton hummed to himself a gloomy tune, watching the Magnus shower the blue ocean golden rays of sunlight. From afar, he could see the outline of the Red Mountain, and for once pure mists of blue smoke danced with the once-Blighted Mountain.

His eyes took on a glazed look, and he wondered what happened to the Nerevarine. Reports from spies like himself told that the Incarnate went to Imperial City and met with Martin Septim and the Champion. He or she(Cyldreen isn't sure about the Incarnate's gender nor race. The reports were contradicting each other) was granted an audience and the trio talked about the War between Morrowind and Blackmarsh. During his/her stay in Morrowind, the Nerevarine grew to love the Dunmeri lands and he/she demanded that the Emperor send reinforcements.

Cyldreen knew that the arguement that followed was the rebirth of an Age Old Rivalry.

The Champion countered that the Empire can't choose 'favorites', and then told the Nerevarine to 'look around'. Of course, many of the Council agreed with the Champion, saying that the whole Legion is busy trying to maintain order in every province. Uproarity and outbursts from the Morrowind representatives followed, and sheer pandemonium occured when the two Heroes charged at each other. Gronji can bet he felt the impact from his Quarters.

Imperial pigs. One day, that petty Empire will crumble from the inside. Maybe because of me and Orcish spies.

Chuckling to himself, he glanced around and out of the corner of his eyes he saw the Redguard doing something. He continued to observe him and, after rubbing his beardless chin, remembered something.

He cleared his throat and with the voice he used earlier;

"... Good sir, how about we wash our stained consience away with some good'ol beer, or wine for that matter? If memory serves sunbmissively, I believe there's some Orcish Sea-Piss and Blacklight in my bag." he glanced at the Assassin.

"After we plaster ourselves beyond the healing capabillities of hang-over spell, we can talk about how the kinky hells we're going to get outta here! And the Altmer...." he turned to look at the high-elf and instantly scoffed.

From what I see, monks don't drink wine or any alcohol! Gotta drink with one eye on this fellow.[i]

Kaye Soscean

Kaye nodded but didn't look away from his activity.
"Oh yes, I could use a drink...or ten. ANything to get my mind off of, you know. But first...alright it stopped at eight knots. Should be doable." He replied and began to hoist the rope with its weight back onboard.
"But first, I'm going to drop anchor and stop us for a bit. That is unless any of you knows of a way to steer a ship this big without a sail and without the experts those two are locking up right now. Cause I sure as hell don't know how to handle this bathtub. and I'm not suicidal enough to try."

Tess' POV

"Riden, you wanna just sit down and have a drink?" I asked him.

He grinned widely before chuckling, "Since when can you take alcohol without throwing up everything you ate. Not to mention the baby."

I probably blushed hard because from the look Riden was giving me, it meant he was laughing straight at me. I playfully punched him and he gestured for a drink, "Cyldreen, be a good sport and give me some."

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

The Breton's grin grew wide, reaching his ears. Because of the Redguard's comments and the fact that Cylreen's going to get plastered. Smilling like an idiot, he went to his bag and rummaged through, searching for four bottles of separate brands.

"Aha!" Cyldreen exclaimed proudly, holding out two bottles in both of his hands towards the Magnus. He returned and threw two bottles to the couple, and with a nod, he raised his in salute.

"Redguard! I have here Tamika's 406 and ... Holy cow manure! It's an Akatosh' Saliva! One drink from this little baby and you'll feel as if you drank twenty bottles of flin ... Brings a tear to my eye everytime I drink this stuff.." he wiped an imaginary tear from his brown eyes and sat beside the Redguard.

He placed the two bottles infront of him and asked the middle-aged Redguard with narrowed eyes;

"What's it gonna be, sir? The rare juice of a fellow Redguard," Cyldreen laughed at the part when he said juice, but continued. "Or the nectar from the Dragon God himself? Granted, every alcohol is a water from the gods, but you get the meaning."

Riden's POV

I watched Tess as she was about to take a sip. I grabbed the bottle away from her and she pouted, "Hey!"

I playfully pushed her, "Tess, you know you can't drink from the baby."

She pouted some more and shoved the bottle back at me, "Fine! Get drunk, see what I care."

I laughed and started drinking. The boat was blissfully passing through wave after wave. I was quickly entranced by the rhythmic movement of the tides and forgot about the large scale battle only moments before.

Around that time, on the horizon, I could see some glimpse of land, "Hey! Look at that...I see something."

Tess looked at the horizon and saw exactly what I did. It looked like land sure, but was it Morrowind? Tess tapped the Breton, "Is that Morrowind or just some island?"

OOC: Found some maps that will greatly help us! Posted it at the Planning T.

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri


The Breton let Tess snatch his attention from the Redguard and looked at her.

"Hmm.. Seyda Neen, I guess. Or it could be Hla Oad... But judging from the Castle to it's east, I'd say the former." his mind suddenly became focused at what the Redguard is doing.

Hmmm.. Isn't there some kind of smaller boats around here? And the Assassin, I still haven't asked him why on earth are they going to Morrowind ... I know the reason, but just to be sure.

"Mrs. Tess, can I ask you a question?" his voice became soft, and almost seductive. Cyldreen would be impressed if the woman caught his sly tone under the mask of friendliness, but his tongue was well trained. He knew that the chances are slim, but still.

"Your ...lover said that you are here for a 'job'. Pray tell me, mrs. Tess. What job would that be?" and this time, it was his turn to loose some secrets. "I, myself, was hired by the Emperor," he hid the venom when he said the word 'Emperor'. It was like poisonous dung on his mouth, but he hid it well.

"I wonder if you, too, are hired by our esteemed ruler? If, so, then I'm sure we'd be bosom buddies from now on." he flashed her a smile. A smile that let Cyldreen harvest some secrets. A smile that the Breton prayed to work.

Riden's POV

Cyldreen was trying to pry the information out of Tess by sweet talking her. She was a former fighters guild member and obviously didn't see it, but my training as an assassin helped me out there.

"Well Cyldreen...I'm here for a couple reasons..." I stopped her.

"Cyldreen, let me ask you this, why would an ASSASSIN visit a foreign province? But other than that, I'm here to accompany Tess on her supposed last contract."


Tess eyed me curiously and finally sighed, "Yeah...somebody hired the Fighter's Guild to protect this ship from pirates. Fine job I did..." She said, looking at me as if she was about to cry.

Instead, Tess rested her head on my arm and I smiled at her before turning back to the Breton, "Me? I'm contracted to kill Arrille the Merchant."

Tess broke off from me and wrapped her arms around me like a scared child. I continued, "I'm not interested in affairs with the Empire. If Martin wants somebody dead, they're dead, but beyond that, I'm no mercenary. My sweetheart here is though." I said, still embracing Tess.

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

"I don't remember asking you a godsdamn thing!" Cyldreem snapped, agitated that the Assassin interrupted him in mid-seduction. Feighing an apolegetic look, he faked a resenting voice and apologized.

"Alright, I'm sorry. Battle-Stress climbing up in my brain, clawing down the rational part me.. Y'know how it is. I have a question though. Why would an Assassin with such finesse, such skill, like yourself, murder an old Altmer." he glanced at the monk and nodded his head in 'no offense, ok'.

Bringing his mind to subject again, he scoffed. "That old fool can be killed if you pinch his nose! Anyway, you two heard of the Roots of Svel'kreen? Apparently, Martin wants this gem. And the pay? You can't begin to imagine how rich you're gonna be!

The reward is enough to FOR A LIFETIME OF ALCOHOL! Or you can be wise and buy an eight story mansion in Sumurset Isles, if you can believe it!

Heck, if you bring this piece of Gem to Martin, you can get a chance to secure your place in the Elder Council! Or history if you want." he said that all in one breath. Catching wind again, he suddenly thought of something. And it made Cyldreen smile wickedly, but hid it well. In a chillingly calm voice, he cooed.

"You're pregnant, right Tess? And sending your son away to be an Assassin? Why kind of parents does he even have!? Oh, my Lord! Say .... did you know that the reward is 10,000,000 septims? That alone can give you and your whole family the right to buy a city! And if you join me, after disposing of Arrile of course, we can divide it to each other. What say you?"

I got to ask the Redguard if he's in too. Malacath knows that I'll need every able hand to assist me in this ... quest. And if we hit the jackspot? Boom. Instantaneously rich beyond our dreams..

Riden's POV

When Cyldreen was criticizing Tess for her parenting, I felt her go stiff before sobbing loudly with her face buried deep in my robes, "It's alright Tess..." I said, trying to comfort her. When it came to our child, she was very sensitive. I glared at the Breton, "See what you do?!"

She sighed and broke off from me and wiped her tears, "It's alright Riden..." She glared at Cyldreen, "What's your place to TELL US ANYTHING!" She yelled before storming off.

I sighed, "Breton, I take any contract I can get. The Dark Brotherhood is stealing the customers of our little band of rogue assassins so we take whatever we can get. Thankfully, all the political figures choose us since there's no ritual."

I started after Tess and turned, "I'd be happy to assist you. About our child...he's 16. We sent him off to a very close friend of mine to train him. He's a very competent assassin, enough to make a father proud."

Then, I sat down on a bench, "I'll be going to Tess in a minute, but how about you? I know you're no ordinary adventurer. Who exactly are you, some mercenary or a covert soldier?"

Kaye Soscean

Kaye grabbed a bottle without looking what it was and took a huge gulp.
"Ah, I needed that. Now, for the anchor." He muttered to himself. Vvardenfell, or at least he hoped it was Vvardenfell, had just appeared over the horizon. With the risk of breaking the keel on submerged rocks or becoming beached on a sandbank in his head, he preferred not to let the ship approach. Not to mention that if they docked in a port, his life of freedom would be over.
"corpses, locked up angry sailors. Yup, I'll be lucky if I don't get executed. Never mind the fact that I didn't kill a single one of them. Same thing goes for everyone else who is still walking freely, like the Altmer."

With those thoughts in mind, he took another swig of the bottle while the anchor plunged into the water.
"So, sir Altmer. I hate to dictate what to do but I suggest you, or rather, all of us really, get ourselves on of those rowing boats and get to the coast somewhere out of sight. I don't think anyone of us is going to walk freely as soon as the first legionnaire sets foot on this boat. It's a real shame too, because you were completely uninvolved as far as I can tell."

Nelacar

Nelacar gave the others a sidelong glance before lowering his voice to answer the redguard.

"You'd travel with these fools? The one with the wrist blade, Riden; he's violent simply for the sake of violence, and his woman wouldn't be so bad if only she thought for herself. Then there's the breton...there's something not right about him. You're the only one on this boat I've seen with any sense. Why not leave them to fend for themselves?"

Kaye Soscean

Kaye lowered his voice as well.
"If I had any sense, I wouldn't be here. Regardless, I agree with you. The longer we stay near them, the greater our chances of meeting a bad fate sooner or later. However, if I were to attempt to leave right now, they would probably get upset and think I'm going to hand their descriptions over to the legion for wanted posters. I frankly don't believe I stand much of a chance on making it out of their sight. At least not while surrounded by water. I'd rather wait till I'm both on dry land and in a position to slip away without them noticing."

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri


The Breton sat beside the Assassin and took the bottle the Redguard didn't choose. He harrumphed when he saw the label. Shrugging nonchalantly to himself, he opened the wine bottle and took a full swig. He let out a burp of satisfaction.

"If I had any children, I wouldn't let them in the Assassination business, even if it makes me proud. After all, they are children, eager to please their parents.
Eagerness turns into condescending cockiness, and if your child turns into an arrogant man, you can bet yourself that a certain child is gonna be the first one to leave a certain mother and father to Oblivion." he shook his head.

Why is he suddenly giving life advices to the man who he fought earlier?

That's because he's going to be my ally, in this mission.

"But anyway, you're right into thinking that I'm no adventurer.." he cleared his throat. "I was hired by Martin Septim, you see. Although, your wife knows that already. So that makes me a lone mercenary." he stood up, sent a nod to the Imperial and glanced about.

He eyebrows were slightly raised when he saw the Redguard conversing with the Altmer.

It's now or never.

He let them know his presence and acknowledged the two of them with a nod.

Riden's POV

"Well I'll be back out in a bit."

I headed downstairs to see Tess sitting on our bed sobbing, I wrapped my arms around her, "Come on, we're almost to our destination."

She looked at me with teary eyes, "Am I a bad parent?"

"No. If anything, I'm the bad parent." I said, trying to comfort her.

Tess' POV

When Riden wrapped his arms around me, I felt like I could just fall asleep and wake up in Seyda Neen without any mishaps. He got up and grabbed my hand, "Come on, I think we're almost there!"

I followed him silently and when we got out, the Altmer, Reguard, and Cyldreen were conversing. "Hey..." I said weakly, giving them a smile.

Riden went off to the bow of the ship and stared out on the island. I approached the three, "So..." I started, not sure how to progress.

Nelacar

Nelacar was about to answer the redguard, but the others approached. He gave him a nod, instead, showing his agreement.

"This ship is going nowhere with only us as a crew. We need to take the boats to shore."

Taking the initiative, he walked to the longboats. They were suspended in the air with ropes, and a pulley system would take them down to the water's surface. It was designed in such a way that the longboat passengers would have to board first, and someone staying on the ship would lower them. Whoever operated the pulley was going to have to get wet.

[b]Cyldreen Mon'Cheri[/bi]

The Breton smiled when the High Elf went to the longboats. He knew what he was going to say, before he said it.

"This ship is going nowhere with only us as a crew. We need to take the boats to shore." it was more of a command rather than a statement. But, Cyldreen knew that Altmers were usually haughty.

The Breton raised his hand.

"Straight to the point, eh? I don't usually stay with a person who I barely know, no less to trust, in a bost. No offense, but who are you? What's your name and your reason ending up in the land of the Dunmer?" he looked at the Altmer up and down, and failed to notice the pair of wrist manacle that clung on both of his wrists.

"Are you a mage hired by Martin Septim to ..." he thought of this very well. Should he tell the Altmer the Roots of Svel'kreen or lie? The latter seems tempting, but his guts tells him to risk the former. And when his guts tells him something, he trusts it. His training as spy told him that. He made up his mind and cleared his throat.

"Are you, too, hired by Martin Septim to retrieve a certain gem? A certain gem by the name of Roots of Sve'lkreen?"

There. I just hope my guts is right. Last time I trusted it, I ended up being beaten by a mob of Bosmers.

He smirked to himself at the memory, but his eyes never left the High Elf.

Nelacar

Nelacar found it hard to believe that the breton had been hired to find the Roots of Svel'kreen, but then again, the Empire seemed to be on its last legs. Nearly all the provinces considered themselves independent now. Either way, his interest was piqued enough to at least act cordial around the breton.

"My name is Nelacar," he answered, figuring that none of his new acquaintances had spent enough time in Summerset Isle to know who he was.

"And while I'm just as loathe to trust you all as you are me, we need to at least help each other off this ship before we part ways. I'm no spy for the Empire--may it crumble--I was simply traveling to Vvardenfell before you all made it very difficult for me."

It may be worth trying to figure out what he knows of the roots, he thought, But for now, we really need to get off this ship.

Tess' POV

"Uh...what exactly is the Roots of Svel'kreen?"

I didn't know what to say, I was only here to protect the ship and help Riden with his contract. The others were just wrapped up in some weird treasure hunt that neither of us could understand. Wonder what Riden's making of all this.

Riden's POV

I stared out on the island like it was a some sacred land. Then, my thoughts came back to the battle at the Norrian Plains in Skyrim and praying that something like that will never happen at Morrowind. From the news I heard from my contractor, Morrowind was under siege by the Argonians of Black Marsh.

"We're almost here..." I said, looking back at Tess.

Kaye Soscean

"I normally associate roots with plants, not gems. But it doesn't matter. Never heard of the thing and I'm too old to go hunting the first shiny rock I hear about." He grunted, draining the last of his bottle. The alcohol dulled his senses, which suited him just fine. It put his stomach at ease.
"But let's not dally about here. Sir Nelacar is right. We need each other, at least till we reach dry land. So if you people have anything you want to take with you, pick it up now and drop it in the little boat. I'll operate the mechanism. And please for my sake, don't unhook the boat as soon as it hits the water. I would rather use the rope to climb down onboard rather than taking a swim. Especially since I've never tried the latter." The Redguard added. He tried to take another drink, but found out that the bottle was indeed empty. So Kaye shrugged and tossed the empty bottle away.

"Please be quick about it. Sooner or later someone is going to wonder what a sailless ship is doing just outside the coast and come to investigate. I'd rather not be here when that happens. You can talk as much as you like on the small boat or on the coast."

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

The Breton nodded his head in agreement to the Redguard. He then looked at the Imperial and Tess.

"Hey, Assassin. Why don't you walk with me to armory? You can help gather some supplies, and I can tell you all about the Roots." And with that, he started off and looted the Bosmer Captain's brigandine. One thought came over to his mind.

"What the Redguard said was right. We should hurry up. Riden, that's your name right, I'll tell you all about the Roots once we're on the boat. And surrounded by weapons. Come on." he broke up into a jog and went to the armory. He stopped and shot a glance at the others. "And I really think, we're lucky if some Argonian sea-scout don't spot us. Last I heard, those lizards doesn't bring their motherswamp with prisoners." he laughed to himself and continued jogging.

First things first, armor and weapons.

Riden's POV

"Tess, do you mind coming with me?" I asked with a smile.

She returned the smile and nodded, "I'd love to!"

I gestured for the Breton to follow and Tess fell into step with me.

"Cyldreen, what are these roots and why should I care about them? I could care less if the Empire falls, I just want to support my sweetheart and son." I said, while Tess blushed a bit when I called her a sweetheart. She smiled and turned to Cyldreen, "So...why do you care about the roots, seems like they're for noble knights."

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

All the pestering questions about him and the gemroots, the Empire.. It was driving Cyldreen mad! But then again, the Breton knows that himself. When he's in a middle of fight.

"I'm hardly a knight, let alone noble. But then again, I'm a mercenary. Didn't you hear what I said?" he kept his tone calm and cordial, but let loose the sarcasm. "All I can tell you right now about the Roots is actually a gem. Yes, a gem. I don't know why, but the Argonians," he stopped mid-sentence as he stumbled upon the corpse of the smilling captain. He grabbed the spear by the haft and, with one feet on the Wood-Elf's face, pulled.

Bits of skull and gray matter rosed like a sudden fountain, and it stained Cyldreen's face. With a dismayed and frustrated hmph, he wiped it off. He began stripping the dead of it's shirt and brigandine. He nodded in satisfaction.

"As I was saying, the Argonians revere it as something of a gift from the Hist. Enough talk, Raiden or Riden or whatever. Strange name for an Imperial, but that's irrelevant. For now, we got some lenial work to do. It involves small crates being filled with weapons. Or bags being filled. Choose your pick, as I hells ain't going to take the former. Then after we're floating on water, I'll tell you about the gemroot."

Riden's POV

When the Breton was pulling out the spear, I felt Tess cringe and stiffen before recoiling back when the skull fragments were spurted everywhere. I kept my arms around her and followed the Breton down to the armory.

A couple cannonballs, Tess' armor and weapons, and my armor plates were there. I quickly grabbed what I could and handed Tess her stuff. After getting armored, I started to load all the guns we didn't take and some swords/blunt weapons for extra protection.

"We've got it loaded and prepped for the boat."

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

"Good, then. You two go on ahead. I'll have to go raid the cafeteria for supplies. Not to mention extorting the resident healer for medicinal things." and with a nod, he picked up another messenger bag dangling from the wall and further descended.

Wait. I almost forgot the Imperial Seal!

He retraced his way and entered his room. He opened the drawers and searched in every corner. It was gone, no stolen! Somehow calming his panicked mind, he catched his thoughts and drawed every person he knew to connect the dots.

The Redguard? Not likely.. Riden and Tess? No. What about that Legion soldier who suddenly disappeared? From what I gather, those Imperials aren't xenophobic enough to raid somebody's quarters. The Altmer is out of the question ... Then, who?

It dawned on him and he searched the indigo brigandine of it's every pockets. He was so rushed, he stumbled upon an inside pocket. Curiously digging inside, his hands felt not one but two letters. The first one was the Seal, but the other was made of cheap paper with inks splotched on the side.

He opened it and suddenly wished he hadn't. It contained his true identity! He burned it to the last ash and with a snarl ran to the cafeteria. Something about that letter made Cyldreen go cold and angry, but nonetheless placed it aside as he entered said cafeteria.

It was obviously empty, save for the occasional rats and all. He ignored them and broke into the larder, taking every food and beverage he found to his messenger bag. It would last them weeks, he thought.

He then made his way to the healer's room. Unsuprisingly, it was locked. Smirking to himself, he backed away a few feet and charged with his spear aimed at the bolt. It sent shockwaves through Cyldreen's arms, but the job was done. The Orcish tip annihilated the steel lock.

"Who's there?!" an alarmed and paranoid voice suddenly boomed, painfully female. Cyldreen could care less about her gender, and as he kicked the door and entered, uninterested Breton became agitated Breton.

"Another Bosmer?! I don't have predjustices on you wood-suckers, but what the kinky hells?!" for moments, Cyldreen's chest rised up and down, before he calmed himself and his tone became suprisingly calm. "But I digress. Give me your whole batch potions. All. Of. It." the blonde wood-elf nodded with gusto and filled Cyldreen's bag with an assortment of potions.

"Good." he simple said and turned to leave, but not before a sheepish grin came on his mouth. "Oh, and I almost forgot." he swirled suddenly and grabbed the wood-elf by the shirt. Ignoring her pleas, he went to the cages and threw her in.

"Hopefully, when the Legion arrives on the scene, they won't find you a crumpled mess with some sailors grinning stupidly. You should be thankful of that." and with a whack on her head with a nearby pipe, he ran towards the stairs and ascended.

Serene

It had been a long day. She had left Ald'ruhn early in the morning, taking the Strider to first Balmora, where she had visited Nalcarya's store to refill some of her medical supplies, then she continued to Seyda Neen.

Thavere was in a bad shape, the old lighthouse keeper suffered from gout due to the endless climbing of the many stairs in the lighthouse to keep the fire burning. Also she got a severe pneumonia, the damp and cold mists of the Seyda Neen took its tribute out of her.

Serene had done what she could for Thavere at the moment, tucked her in good in warm blankets and gave her some appropriate potions to ease her breathing. What the lighthouse keeper really needed was to quit her onerous job and let someone else take over, but who?

Serene climbed the stairs to the lantern and after attending to it she sat down beside it, looking out over the sea, remembering another night she had spent up here....over 20 years ago, when she had arrived here, not knowing why...She closed her eyes and felt the wind on her face.

What waked her up, she didn't grasp, but something caught her eye...a flickering light far out at the sea.

Must be a boat..but why would there be a boat out there at this time?

Serene shrugged, she had a bad feeling in her back, something was going to happen, and that something was not entirely good, no on the contrary...

I don't like this one bit....

Kaye Soscean

For some reason, as soon as the trio ran off, Kaye felt a cold chill travel down his spine.
"Why oh why do I get the feeling I really don't want to know what they're up to?" He muttered. His eyes drew back to the broadsword the assassin had tossed him during the battle, and the pistol he'd discarded. He frowned but after a moment's hesitation, he walked over to pick them up. After carefully removing the piece of flint and shaking off any last traces of the black powder, he rehooked the small bags and tucked them behind his belt, handling the gun all this time as if he was touching a slimy slug.
"There is always use for flint and this...thing might come in handy for hunting purposes and protecting onself against the wildlife. I've heard there are some nasty beasts here." He thought as he tossed the sword into the boat. The assassin would probably want it back and Kaye was not going to provoke him by leaving it on the ship.

"Alright, I don't have any personal possessions to bring along so all that's left for me to do is to check the mechanism. And hope those two have enough sense to bring along items one would use to survive wherever we're going to land. I've got the feeling their thoughts never wander far from who they can kill and with what. As for the woman..." He sighed, speaking half to himself and half to Nelacar.
"Well, apart from not knowing how much sense she has, it doesn't matter when she doesn't get to give her opinion."

Nelacar

Nelacar shrugged, "If she had an opinion, she would voice it. She chooses to take someone else's, and that seems to be the way of things. In any case, I'm itching to leave and see no reason for this delay. We should have been gone minutes ago."

Nelacar tossed his small bag into the boat and leaned on his staff while he waited for the others, "And don't worry; I'll make certain you don't get left after lowering us."

Yay, a dead RP -_-

Tess' POV

Riden softly grabbed my arm and pulled me into a kiss. I felt my cheeks go hot, "Um...what was that?"

He smiled and pulled me towards the boat, "What? An assassin can't be a good husband?"

I snickered and pushed him into the boat. He grabbed me by the waist and gently lowered me down and handed me a small pistol, "It's for your protection, take it."

The flintlock looked really old with a small carving in the barrel that read, "Please keep this safe"

I smiled and tucked it in safely while Riden started to load the boat with all our gear.

Riden's POV

After a long time in loading the boat, I gestured to the rest of our crew, "It's all prepped for take off. Take whatever you have that isn't here and let's go."

Tess looked uneasy and was starting to shake, "Tess, what is it?"

"I feel uneasy with that Altmer."

I pulled her in close to me. "Don't worry about it, you're just being paranoid."

Tess started to pace around in the small wooden boat and looked agitated, "Come on! Let's get the stuff here already!"

I hearby invoke the Spell of Threadnomancy!

Cyldreen Mon'Cheri

The Breton returned to see the boat all tucked in and prepared. Shrugging, he slinged two of his messenger bags to his shoulder and stroded up to the rest of the group. He noticed, from the corner of his eye, that the Assassin seemed to be uneasy towards the High Elf.

It certainly contradicts how he said that the Altmer was interesting earlier. No matter.

Nervously clearing his throat, to which he doubt was real, he said;

"... Who's gonna pull the lever? I sure ain't gonna do that," and with that, he walked towards the boat and carefully placed his belongings. He wouldn't want the potion vials to be smashed. His spear, pistol and war-axe followed.

"Well? Anyone?"

OOC: Yeah, sorry about that. I got a bit distracted by finding my old cds of wing commander 3.

Kaye Soscean

Kaye raised his hand when the last of their motley crew arrived.
"I already volunteered for the task a while back. Now make yourself comfortable. I'll try to be gentle." He said and chuckled.
"Though I'm also lacking in experience regarding this mechanism so don't be surprised if one side hits the water before the other and all your belongings spill overboard." He added and for a moment, he was almost tempted to do just that on purpose. It would be a nice way to get rid of all the weapons they'd loaded. Almost, the likely response was what made him decide against it.

"By the way, sir assassin. I've put your sword on the boat. It's probably buried under all those bags by now. Just so you know in case you want it back. Not that I see why you would need it, what with having brought along enough weaponry to outfit a small army and all." He grunted while unlocking the pulleys.
"Alright, she's going down now. I'll try to keep her slow and steady but be ready to help out with the balance! Make sure the weight is divided evenly across the boat!"

Tess' POV

I smiled and headed towards the left side and gestured for Riden to go on the other side.

The boat was evenly weighted and a bit load of stuff was sitting smack dab in a middle.

"Let it go!"

Riden leaned on the small bow, "Tess, have you ever thought about what it would feel like to actually get to Morrowind?"

I nodded and hugged the stern end of the boat, "Yeah...but for now...LET THE BOAT SAIL!!!" She commanded and giggled a bit.

Nelacar

Nelacar took a seat in the boat next to the breton, and the redguard lowered them down. It was a bit of a bumpy ride down, but not unreasonable. The boat hit the surface of the water, so he called up to the redguard.

"I'll loose the ropes once you come down! Hurry!"

He was anxious to be far away from the ship, and even more anxious to reach Morrowind.

Kaye Soscean

"Alright, I'm coming!" He shouted back and took one last glance at the deck. The spilled blood and corpses made him want to puke but he forced away the urge. Right now, feeling sick was not a priority.
"Nothing I can use in sight...Ok, let's get away from this floating tomb." He muttered before carefully stepping over the railing and grabbing onto the rope.

The Redguard lowered himself slowly till he stepped onto the wobbling boat. He sat down quickly before he had a chance to loose his balance and took one of the oars.
"So, any preferences for what direction to move in?"