It looks better on here than it did on photobucket !!!

Okay, guys. Part 8


PART 8

It was nighttime. I had been traveling for a straight nine hours, and I was far past exaustion. But still I dragged my feet, looking for an inn somewhere.

"Hello, traveler!" A voice called out. I turned around, saw nothing, and continued walking, figuring my mind was playing tricks on me again.

"No, please, Ma'am, help us!" The voice called again.

"Where are you?" I couldn't help them if I didn't know where they were.

"Please, help us!" the voice wailed, and was followed by something that could have been the braying of a dog.

I sighed. "I'm not sure what your problem is, but I'm very sure that it is hard to pronounce."

"We're invisible! Please! We'll pay you well, we'll let you have a room at our inn! Please! You can take my firstborn! Anything!" wailed a different voice.

I figured that I'd better except, so that someone didn't come along who actually wanted some mother's first-born child. And anyway, if they had an inn, than I needed to stay there.

"Fine," I called, "But I'll have to sleep, first!" They clamor of voices rushed toward me, and suddenly I was the first Nord to have experienced invisible people hugging them. I was dragged to a small village that had a sign which read ;

Aleswell Inn

Have a room for free, please!" Someone urged.

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Seth was near Alex when he heard them. People. Disembodied people, by the non-looks of it.

"Come in to our inn!" they rhymed. "Come in to our inn!"

Alex obliged, and practically flew there. Well, Seth was tired himself, and she was only twelve! Seth quickly cast a spell (one of the only spells he knew), and squeezed in behind something that was short enough to be a child. With luck, Alex wouldn't notice him.

...er...huh? Is he...er...uh...mating with sheep like Gaston Surilie? ROFL !!!! SETH!!!! GAAAAH!!!

No, mALX , he's trying to get inside the inn. Not all of us think like that

ROFL !!!! Just wait till Foxy has time to read, ROFL !!!!

You guys crack me up.

PART 9

I yawned. The sun streamed in through a dirty window, creating imaginary dust moats that just about took my breath away.

"Help us!" called a voice coming from the flimsy door. I wondered vaguely if that was all they could say.

"You says! You says you help us in morning!" They must not have had much schooling.

"Coming." I yawned again, and sighed. Straight to the point, these people. I pushed open the door, walked passed the sound of breathing that I heard to my left, and into what could possibly pass for a dining room. There were lots of villagers in the room (the light sparkled in places, so I figured someone was standing there) who all cheered as I entered. Was extensive brain damage one of the side effects of invisibility?

"So, how do I help?" I sighed.

"There is magician. South. Fort Caractacus. Tell him 'move'. Tell him visible!" At least one of them could speak with correct grammar. Not this one, though.

"Sure, sure. I'll be back soon." I sauntered out the door, and I felt it jam. Then it was normal again. Weird.

"Alex!" I knew who it was, without turning around.

"Seth, what the hell are you doing here?" He withered at the sound of my harsh, angry voice.

"I-" he began, shaking flakes of silvery dust that highly resembled dandruff off his shoulders. His shaggy black hair flipped from side to side as he shook his head.

"SETH! You idiot! Just stay here, understand?" I marched forward without checking to see if he was following me. He was, of course, but whatever. His fault if he wanted to get pulverized by an angry mage.

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Seth sighed. Alex was just too stubborn. In need of control. Touchy, too. 'Alex, what happened to your hair?' Bam, you're dead. Still. She was pretty, smart. In fact, Seth liked Alex because of it. Which was why he was following her right now. Oh, sure, she'd be angry and all. But he might come in useful.

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I was still seething as I went over the top of the hill. Idiot, moron, s'wit. Half-wit, too, now that I came to think of it. Which proves that the whole thing was Seth's fault. Because just then, something attacked me. It was invisible. It was big. And judging by the smell, it was also a troll. Now, if I could have seen it, I would have sprinted up it's back and slit it's neck. If I could have heard it, I would have turned in it's direction and hacked away with my sword. But seeing as I could do neither, I just twirled in circles, swinging my sword and hoping it was dumb enough to come closer. And then the smell overpowered me. There were more.

GAAAAH !!! A cliffhanger !!!! You have done a wonderful job with the invisibility at the Inn, walking by and hearing breathing - really great write !!!

PART 10

It was dark. That was the first thing that I noticed when I came to. The second thing that I noticed was that it ws relatively silent, except for the sound of Seth's labored breathing. It also reeked of trolls. We were in a cave, I could tell that much. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, and began counting the drops of water coming from a stalactite nearby. One, two, three, four, five, six... my eyes still weren't used to the dark, and it was the six-hundred and twenty-third drip. Suddenly, the silence was interrupted.

"...They harmed?" The voice was rough, so I figured that they were used to speaking a different language.

"No, sir. Well, the girl has a broken nose... but other than that, they're fine."

"Good. Mankar Camoran wants them unharmed." the voices then faded into the distance, leaving me with a few other snatches of informatation, such as sacrifices, rituals and blade. None of them sounded good.

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Seth was awake. And he knew where they were. They were in Lake Arrius Caverns. In a dank cell that he had been in only once before. It was the west wing, near the Mysterium Xarxes. The lock was probably average, but that wouldn't matter, as a guard would be posted outside the door. And they had no weapons.

'It's my fault,' he thought bitterly. 'If I hadn't come, they couldn't have tracked me, and found Alex. My fault.'

"Alex!" Seth hissed. Alex sat upright, and stared at him.

"You're alive?" she asked in a hushed tone. Seth nodded, and put a finger to his lips. Alex nodded.

"Listen,"he whispered. "My parents were once Mythic Dawn followers. I was raised here. Ran away when I was ten, after seeing a little kid get sacrificed. I've been here before, know this place inside out."

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My eyes narrowed. "Why should I trust you, Dormor?" He looked pained.

"Because. I an get you out of here."

"And you can also get me killed," I pointed out. Why should I believe his story? Absolutely no reason at all. Then again, if I was going to get killed anyway...

"You can turn invisible, right?" Seth nodded. "So you can turn me invisible, too, right?" Another nod. "In that case, you turn us invisible. We scrounge for weapons. We pick the lock, kill the guard, then we're outta here."

"We don't have any lockpicks."

I held up a small, thin bone. "Not a problem."

"We don't have any weapons."

"I can break his neck." Seth nodded, and shut his eyes.

"I love you, Alex," he whispered, and cast a spell. I was invisible. I was also in shock. He loved me? Impossible. Whatever.

I picked up the bone, sneaked toward the door, picked it in less than a second, and jumped onto the guards shoulders. From there, it was a simple matter of twisting my knees to the right, and jumping off the guard before he hit the floor, dead. Not a sound, not an ounce of blood. My master would have been pleased.

I checked his pockets for potions, weapons, or other useful items. I found 3 health potions, two hunting knives, twenty-five gold, and a pear. Then I had an idea.

"Seth, put on his robe. You will be escorting me to a prison cell. And take this knife." Seth pulled the Mythic Dawn robe over his head, strapped the knife to his waist, and grabbed my arm. He lead us down the dark tunnels, until I began hearing conversations.

"Get the prisoners. The time is near!"

"Turn around, Seth!" I hissed.

"No, I have to get the Mysterium Xarxes!" I had no idea what that was, but it sounded very insignificant, and a complete time-waster.

"Come on!" he whispered as he pulled me toward the noise.

WOOOOOT !!!! Huge background you've cooked up for Seth! Exciting storyline !!! AWESOME WRITE !!! You are doing an excellent job with this, and your imagination is Awesome !!!!

where are all my nit-finders?

PART 11

"Seth, no!" I hissed, as he dragged me to an archway where the noise was strongest. This was the problem with weighing sixty-two pounds when someone who weighs at least a hundred and eighty is dragging you somewhere that you don't want to be.

I pounded on his back, trying to make him see sense, but he just ignored me. We were now near an alter where an Argonian was laying. A man in a large red robe was chanting something in a language I didn't recognize.

"Ah-mal et Reeh ep Tem LOOORVG femial tresl Jick," he grunted.

"What is he saying?"

"No idea. But it looks like a ritual of some kind," said Seth.

I nodded. The guy in red raised a dagger, and plunged it into the Argonians' heart. Seth blanched, but I was used to that kind of thing, so I just frowned.

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'That does it,' thought Seth, watching the Argonian who he knew by name get murdered in cold blood. He grabbed Alex's hand and ran toward the altar.

"Murderers!" he screamed. The man in red squinted at Seth and hissed, "Tersus Nex!"

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I knew what would happen before it did. Because by the way that the man's hands glowed, I could tell that he was a skilled mage. And 'Tersus Nex' meant 'Clean Death'.

Hey, this is a really good read! And it's long, too! Wow.

BTW, what are nit-finders?

Welcome, Shadowgale! A nit-finder is someone like an editor, who checks for spelling errors, grammatical errors, and things that are completely impossible due to lack of correct spelling!

Chilling, powerful line!!!! Your story continues to end powerfully and on cliffhangers - Great Write !!!!

PART 12 A

Seth hit the ground with a dull thud.

"You're next!" whispered the man. I narrowed my eyes at the murderer of the boy who had just annonced his unwavering love for me.

"I beg to differ: you are next." Perhaps it was Seth's death, or my anger-management issues, or just pure adrenaline pulsing through my veins, but I next did someothing that I had never been able to do before: I launched myself through twenty uphill meters of air, and onto the man in red's back. And then I broke his neck. 'Ahh, victory is sweet,' was my last sane thought.

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The air seemed thick, pulsating, giving off the appearance that it was alive. It would have been disturbing, had I not been so out of it.

"Kh-eel her!" someone screeched, but they were dead before many of the others could turn around. Something happened then, something rather undescribable; I seemed to glow, and then, little bits of light shot off to the other red-clad followers, who then dropped to the ground, clutching their throats.

I rolled off the altar, dropped to the ground, and ran out, not bothering to loot the bodies of the still twitching followers.

Colours swirled around me, the ground moved, all sounds seemed deep and slow. But I kept running. Running and running, until, somehow, I found my way out. 'Why is this happening?' I wondered. It made no sense. I didn't know him, didn't even like him.

The dark, cold air slapped at my sweat-covered face, but I ran. Ran fast and hard, until I was sure that I could run no more.

"Alex." It sounded like Seth, but he was gone. Dead and gone.

"Alex!" I ignored the sound, knowing there would be nothing.

"Alex, listen to me." The voice was getting on my nerves, so I turned, and there he was. I skidded to a halt. "You're alive?" It was the same question I had asked not hours before, but now it was full of awe.

"I have no idea." This confused me. How could he have no idea about that sort of thing?

"Alex, pay attention."

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Part 12 B, From Seth's point of view.

Alex was staring at me, eyes blank and dead. It frightened me, to see her looking that way. She blinked, and her stance wavered. Then somehow, the toughest person I had ever know fainted. I caught her, marveling at my solid-seeming arms. Her black eyes opened, and she looked at me in wonder.

"Seth." And she passed out again. 'Where are we?' I wondered. It was cold enough to be near Bruma, but I had a feeling we weren't there. Oh, now I remembered. We were just north of Cheydinhal. I began trotting south, hoping I would get there before something attacted me.

GAAAAH!!!! Is he like the other followers of Mankar Camoran...can't die, just keeps respawning? GAAAAH! NOT SETH!!!!

Riveting chapter !!!!!

Ok, so I'm really bored right now, so I'm gonna break the current tradition and post again.
Plus I gotta really awesome Idea.

PART 13

In Seth's view.

"Are you sure I can't pay you later?" I asked, getting annoyed. I mean, seriously. I looked like an Guard, I walked like a Guard, heck, I probably even quacked like a Guard now, too. But the dumb Inn-keeper just wouldn't let me in.

"I'm sorry, sir," he told me in a deep baritone. "We do not accept payments that way." I scowled, and walked out of the second inn that I'd tried. It was getting late, and Alex still hadn't recovered from her faint. I was sure she wasn't sleeping - her breathing remained irregular - but she didn't seem to be awake, either. I was worried enough to resort to a healer, but Cheydinhal didn't seem to have any. For the thousandth time, I wished that Alex was consious. She would know, heck, she would probably even know the healer's first and last name, and the named of their children, cousins, and uncles twice removed.

"Are you looking for something, sir?" asked a little kid. He had dirt smudged all over his dark, round face, and his blue eyes blinked innocently up at me.

"Yeah, kid. Do you know where a healer is. I need to take my -" I tried to think of a likely relationship for me and Alex, because brother and sister wasn't going to fly - "girl-friend to a hospital or something."

"Yessir. There is one down there, just ask for Janice the Clean." I thanked the little kid and tossed him a copper coin, the last one I had. He caught it, surprised, and looked at me with wide eyes as I walked down the road he had directed me towards.

Janice the Clean (what a weird name) was there, and was also covered in beads, shawls, and tiny bits of glass. I figured that she got that name a long time ago, because she certainly wasn't clean now.

"Let me see her," said the woman with a trilling soprano, which reminded me painfully of Alex's voice. I handed Alex over, and Janice the Clean placed her petite form on a small board. Alex's tiny feet barely reached the end of it. The woman placed a hand on Alex's forehead. Janice's eyes snapped open, wide.

"She is not of this world! She belongs with the Gods!" gasped Janice, her eyes bugging out even more.

"She is an elf! But not of the common kinds. This trance she is in, it is a transformation."

Ok, guys. After the next post, I'm moving on to a new thread; this one's getting a little long.

It is technically tomorrow yesterday, so, here's the last one, moving on to a different thread after this.

PART 14
In Seth's view.

Alex sat up and blinked. She looked different, different from when I was last awake. Her skin was a shade paler, her eyes and hair were now highlighted with with the opposite's colours - eyes black with speckled bloodred, hair bloodred with highlighted black. And her teeth looked just a tiny bit sharper. She was now too lethal to be lethal, as opposed to a fraction less lethal.

"Seth. How old are you?" She asked gravely. Her voice was a tiny bit shriller, even more soprano than usual. It sounded lovely.

"Ahh. I am sixteen years, two months, and twenty-four days,"I said. She turned her face away from me, and that was when I noticed: her ears were pointy. Less so than the normal kinds of elf, as Janice the Clean had said, but much more than any normal human. I thought back to the other stuff that she had talked about, and remembered what Janice had called her: a rare kind of elf, called a night-elf. They can converse with the Gods,Janice had said, more than other elves or humans. There have been less than ten since the first Septim Emperor. When they bond with another, it is impossible for that other to die. They can form bonds of responsibility, love, or duty. The bravest of Blades were said to have that kind of commitment.

"So it has been three days since you came back to life," said Alex.

"You keep track of time by my age?" Alex shrugged, her tiny perfect shoulders moving up and down in a rhythmic pattern.

"Why are you so small, anyway?" I asked. I had always wondered this, as she was a Nord, but had never been taller than me (a Breton), or, for that matter, anyone else. She was literally smaller than petite.

"I don't know." And then she gasped. Janice came over from her perch in a corner, and said,"It has started."

A cliffhanger !!!