18+ Wrath of the Dragon God

[cazzer14]

"I'll keep them occupied. Keep your distance, and watch my back."

Malik obliged, that's the place he ideally always wants to be. He looked around for a better vantage point, and saw a way to clamber up to the roof of the building in front of him. He hooked his bowstring over his back and proceeded to climb, praying that he didn't get an arrow in his ass as he ascended. As he was halfway up, an arrow stuck in the wooden beam no more than 7 inches from his head, he looked to the source of the arrow, and into the eyes of the sending archer, Malik then proceeded to give him a rude gesture, a flip off to the archer while giving a 'screw you, you missed' mocking look, and then continued to climb, any further arrows now obstructed my an extension on the upper level of the building. On the roof, Malik had a birds nest view of the entire town, which was more than anything he could've asked for, it was a snipers dream.

He pulled out his bow and took aim, scanning the ground for the strange man, it didn't talk him long to pinpoint him, kicking ass down below, but outnumbered two to one in a bare fists matchup, and the Redguard decided to help him out, just because he could. Malik took aim, squinted, and let go once he had acquired the perfect angle. He looked up at his handiwork as the arrow pierced the heart of one of the man's attackers, who had just gotten up from being kicked down, sending him crashing to the ground, dead by the time he hit the floor. Again.

'Your back is watched, my man' Malik mumbled to himself, giving a brief 'your welcome' gesture-come-salute with his fingers that could be seen clearly by the warrior. Now, to deal with those archers. Malik inspected the area where the archers were holed up, on a balcony overlooking the square. He didn't want to try and take them out one by one, that would attract the attention of the rest once he had killed one.

Malik took note of one object on that balcony around 25m away and below him, and came up with a crazy idea. He took out of his satchel a bottle of strong whiskey that he was saving for a hard drink one day, and slightly regretted that his next action would mean a bottle gone without tasting. But then he threw it at the archers, hoping that his arm was good enough for the throw to hit where he wanted it to. And thankfully, it did; the bottle smashed against the middle archer's shoulder, the strongly alcoholic liquid covering all 3. The recipient of the blow was stunned, and looked up at Malik in a confused, 'did you just throw a bottle a me?' way, understandably. Malik already had his bow drawn, and his target picked, and he released.

This was one of the rare shots of Malik's that didn't end in blood, or contact with a living (soon to be dead) thing, but it was all deliberate. Malik's arrow did not hit any of the archers, or their weapons, but the large, unstable lantern hanging over their heads. The arrow knocked it down, and came into contact with the archers, soaked in stinking, alcoholic, but most importantly, flammable liquid. Sure enough, they all caught fire, and the screams could be heard from there to Solstheim as the fire charred their skin to a crisp, and the archers could do nothing but run around, flailing as the fire at at their flesh, and Malik could do nothing but smile at the success of such a spontaneous, mad idea.

He couldn't believe that worked, and he felt pretty damn badass about himself. And as he admired his success, he thought of several cheesy one liners he could say right now.

 

[Vixen Blackbriar]

Lynette climbed out of the water, not bothering to cover herself up much as she dried off. She stepped into the dress, smiling at the man. "Mind zipping me up?" she flirted, turning and pushing her hair off the back of the dress, which he stepped forward and did, if a bit awkwardly. She turned to face him.
It was probably the largest Lynette's breasts had looked, pushed up and directly in the man's face. She looked at him a moment, toweling her hair as she did. "Well. Who's my big, strong, savior then? One with good taste in women's clothing, no less," she teased.

 

[Gentleman Adventurer]

"Well. Who's my big, strong, savior then? One with good taste in women's clothing, no less."

Myddrin gave an awkward smile, trying to focus more on this woman's face than the dress that was just a bit too tight. "Honestly, you're just lucky I had it on board." There was a short pause, during which Myddrin's gaze began to creep downward, towards the woman's breasts... Okay. That was it. He needed a new subject.

"I'm Myddrin, captain of this fine vessel. May I trouble you for your name, milady?"

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

Glidias delivered a few punches to the man whom he had pinned's face. He then quickly and violently snapped his neck. The man whom he'd kicked went down again, an arrow in him, and Glidias turned to see where it had come from. It was a mistake. A mace caught his arm, which he'd barely had time to raise in defense. That would definitely bruise. It was an orc, an angry one that his friends were dead. He recklessly charged Glidias, and Glidias got in close, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the mace with his left, and twisted. The orc let out a grunt and dropped it, but still had enough momentum to bring them both to the ground. The orc came out pinning Glidias to the ground, and delivered two punches before Glidias flipped him up and over his head by the neck of his armoured plate. Glidias got up quickly, and stomped the orcs head.

Glidias looked around for more enemies, but there were none. He heard a few screams coming from a rooftop, and smelled burning flesh. The fight was over. Glidias no longer had his helmet, which he remembered as he looked for it on the ground. He'd lost it when the ship had gone down. Sighing, and then regretting it after a few coughs, he retrieved his swords and limped to the square. He had twisted his ankle when the orc brung him down. Observing the scene before him, the moon was descending, the stars and lanterns still reflected off the water with a ghostly light. He also saw the woman who had saved their lives, talking to another man, wearing a new dress. He considered what he could do now.

He looked longingly at the inn, his stomach growling. The allure of warm food and a bed were tempting, but he had no money to pay them with. Just as he was debating threatening the inhabitants to get what he wanted, his dark skinned companion jumped down from the roof and joined him.

 

[Vixen Blackbriar]

"Lynette, and you can spare the formalities... Myddrin," she paused, remembering his name. "I'm not much of a lady. I would like to know why those people were so hostile, wouldn't you?"
She turned on her heel, moving towards the square, expecting the man to follow. She smiled as she turned, mentally noting the difficulty he'd had to not look at her ample bust. She moved into the square, seeing two other men. "Three men, my kind of party," she thought to herself. She moved over to the larger, scarred, and very odd man who seemed to be watching the inn with a greedy eye.
"Would you mind explaining your friends? I'm not accustomed to such rudeness from small town folk," she added sarcastically. She moved so that she was a good distance from the man, noting that the pair had disposed of a fair share of the group. Considering the amount of skill the fighters had had, it was quite the feat. She moved her eyes over to the thinner, ebony warrior behind the scarred man, noting his handsome, youthful, face. He looked like the fall-in-love type. Her mind tricked through the various fun they could have, hardly paying attention to the scarred man's inevitable response.

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

Glidias brung his gaze back to the docks, and noticed the woman who had caused a distraction... still is causing a distraction, and the man following. He noted the distance she stood away from him, lips almost twitching into a smile at the gesture. He heard her question, and managed to keep eye contact. He crossed his arms, wondering how much he should tell her. As he was debating with himself about how to answer, he also began to mull over how he could best incapacitate them all.

Not because he was going to do it, or wanted to, but it was just his nature. The archer was the biggest threat, and within easy reach. He was confident he would not have time to react. The woman didn't seem to have any more throwing knives on her, and he wondered if the man was daring enough to throw his scimitar. He would use the archer's body as a shield to close in, just in case. They would likely retreat, but the archer looked light. Even with the added dead weight, he could hurl him far enough to trip at least one of them. Probably the woman first. She was most likely faster. The final obstacle would be a simple matter of outrunning or outfighting, and he was confident he could do both. All of these thoughts crossed his mind in a few seconds, as he finally found his answer.

"They called themselves the 'Crusaders of Auri-El'. I don't know exactly why they followed me here," He lied about not knowing, so he told a partial truth, "Likely because I have been decreed an enemy to their religion. I'm not exactly from around here, if it matters." Glidias started unconsciously formulating different ways to kill them while he waited for a response. He couldn't help it. Fighting had been his life for a very long time.

 

[cazzer14]

'And THAT'S why alcohol is bad for you!' No, 'I always heard it's HOT in Morrowind' No, that sucked too. Dammit. Malik abandoned his search for a witty one-liner, didn't really matter anyway, nobody would hear it, or his failure to come up with one. He found the strange man below him and descended down, climbing down the foothold of the building and dropping down halfway, joining him on foot beside him. As they traversed across the square, the damsel (who wasn't quite the average damsel) cut them off, and demanded, in a non-condescending way, who the soldiers were to bring such distress to a small town.

She kept a safe distance, but as she asked, she eyed up Malik suspiciously , curiously and seductively in nature. He had no idea what was going through her mind, but her gleaming, inviting eyes told him that he'd like it; but all that was going through his mind was: 'Tits. Ass. Face. Tits.' in a repeating cycle. She was truly mesmerising, and Malik fell into a mini-trance just looking at her. She was clearly danger incarnate, but he didn't care. Their mutual fantasising was cut off by a reply from the strange man beside him, who, despite fighting and running with him, he still knew nothing about.

"They called themselves the 'Crusaders of Auri-El'. I don't know exactly why they followed me here," Something about his voice seemed off, deliberately vague. He was lying, Malik could tell. "Likely because I have been decreed an enemy to their religion. I'm not exactly from around here, if it matters."

Malik wondered where he could possibly be from. He looked Imperial, but the armour he wore, the way he talked, the lack of smug, regal swagger in the way he stood and walked put him off that. He didn't pass for Breton. Strange. Malik looked over the armour the man wore inconspicuously, the markings he had never seen before. It looked vaguely Ebony, but it was something more. Malik couldn't put a finger on it, so he decided to ask.

"Define 'not from around here'"

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

The dark skinned man was the first to answer, and he was glad for a reason to look away from the temptress. His resolve was beginning to falter, and his left eye had twitched at some point with the effort of holding eye contact. His gaze moved back toward the dark skinned man, Glidias's eyes were piercing, analysing everything he could about the man, weighing the risks of telling him the truth. Then he came to the conclusion that he was in a strange land, with strange people, and he would eventually fall without help. He didn't acknowledge the conclusion, and kept telling himself that he didn't need their help. But he also believed there was no danger, at least for now, in telling them. They were no threat to him. Or so he believes.

"I am from Akavir." Glidias answered simply. The look in his eyes daring them to challenge his word. To call him a liar, as his gaze shifted from one to the other. How many more questions would they ask? And is it safe to discuss it here? "We may need to relocate. There could be more of them, and if I'm going to tell you more, it needs to be away from prying eyes and ears."

 

[Gentleman Adventurer]

Myddrin followed Lynette along the road, eventually reaching the town square. Two men sat there. One, was a Redguard. The other was harder to place. He had the noble features and slightly tan skin of an Imperial, something seemed... different.

Myddrin stood, silently, and watched as the strange man explained his story. "They called themselves the 'Crusaders of Auri-El'. I don't know exactly why they followed me here, likely because I have been decreed an enemy to their religion. I'm not exactly from around here, if it matters." So, this man was in trouble with a group of Divine subjects. Made sense. Myddrin knew how brutal they could get. But that last part, about being "not from around here", that was interesting...

The Redguard spoke before Myddrin could. "Define 'not from around here.'" The man froze, obviously debating wether or not to come clean. Eventually deciding he could trust them, the man answered. "I am from Akavir." Ah. So that was it. Myddrin had heard tales of beings from Akavir, sailors and warriors similar in appearance to the men of Tamriel. This stranger had certainly come a long way.

"We made need to relocate," The man said. "There could be more of them, and if I'm going to tell you more, it needs to be away from prying eyes and ears." For the first time, Myddrin spoke up. "I have a ship, down by the docks. It should be private enough. If these "Crusaders" send more men after you, I can take us somewhere else. What do you say?"

 

[cazzer14]

Malik was stunned by the answer. Akavir, the islands far, so distant to the West of Tamriel. The land of Dragons and moneky men and snake-people... Malik didn't know the details, but he'd heard the stories. No Akaviri had been in Tamriel for thousands of years, not since the 2nd era, and now this unassuming man claimed to have just turned up. Malik decided to call his bluff, ignoring the offer of a place to recluse from the Nord across from him, eyeing up the apparently Akaviri man as he did the same to him, Malik turned and said, referring to the man's origin from the lands west;

"Bulllllplops".

 

[Vixen Blackbriar]

Lynette turned back as the scarred man caught her attention. Akavir. Now that was enticing. Foreign men were quite the delicacy.
"Bulllllpl***."
"I've never seen symbols like those they carried on their armor. Doesn't seem too farfetched to assume a foreign hand at work. I agree with my new friend over here that this may not be the place. Shall we?"
She had already stepped away from the others, heading back to the docks, stopping where she'd tumbled off with the woman. "And I was so fond of that dress," she thought.

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

Glidias's eyes refocused on the pale, blonde man. He mentioned he had a ship. A pirate, Glidias thought to himself. He examined the man, and locking on to his eyes, confirmed the conclusion. He hadn't planned on going to his ship. Glidias would lose all the advantages there. But he sighed inwardly. He decided he would go along with it. It was better than wandering aimlessly, and gave him a sense of purpose. He debated whether he should give his name, but decided names weren't important. That could come later.

"Bullllllplops." The dark skinned ranger said. That got Glidias's attention. He turned a hostile gaze back to the archer, some anger in his eyes for a brief second. But it left as soon as it came. The beautiful woman intervened on his behalf shortly after.

Glidias turned back to the pale and blonde man, and said, "Lead the way." Glidias did not have it in him to ask these people for food, money, or a place to sleep. He did not have it in him to ask them for anything, or thank them for what they had already done. The thought had crossed his mind of course, but it wasn't in his nature. He contented himself to follow the pirate. Glidias's body was tense, and his hands fell back to his sides. He was prepared for the pirate to turn on him. If his examination of the man had been correct, he was prepared to fight them if they turned on him at the ship. But then he reconsidered, if they wanted him dead, they probably would have already tried. Or at least, let the Crusaders kill him and loot his corpse. Still, he stayed ready.

 

[Gentleman Adventurer]

After a brief moment of tension between the Redguard and the Akaviri man, Lynette calmed them down. She began to walk back towards the docks, heading for Myddrin's ship. The man turned to the pirate, looking weary. "Lead the way." Myddrin walked down towards the docks, leading the two other men.

Soon enough, they had reached the ship, and Lynette. The vessel was of average size. Large enough to contain all essential rooms, but small enough to be operated by one man. "Ladies and gentlemen," Said Myddrin, proudly. "I give you my ship, The Desert Scorpion. Sleeping quarters are downstairs, that's where we should go."

He walked down below deck, the two men and Lynette following close behind him. The sleeping quarters were fairly large, and had more than enough beds to accommodate his three guests, if the need arose. "Now then, let's continue this discussion."

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

After being led to the ship, The Desert Scorpion, Glidias relaxed a little. He was confident he could out-maneuver them in the tight confines, or at least most of them. The woman would give him problems if they turned on him here. Sighing inwardly, Glidias finally decided it didn't matter. He was out of options. If they didn't help him, he would eventually die anyways. He couldn't evade these Crusaders forever, especially not in unfamiliar territory. But he couldn't believe that. He had to believe that he needed no one's help. Sighing audibly this time, sounding tired and defeated, more resigned to his fate than excited or grateful, Glidias said, "Ask away. I can't promise I'll answer all of your questions."

 

[cazzer14]

The temptress quelled any rising tension caused by Malik's question, stepping in as the Redguard and the 'Akaviri' stared each other down. They both gestured for the captain to lead the way to his vessel, and as they strolled along the docks, the vixen stopped and thought, staring into the water. Malik thought what she could possibly be thinking, and then he noticed her hair was slightly damp. It seems she had a little rough and tumble in the harbour during the fight.

Soon enough, the trio caught up and were presented with the ship, christened 'The Desert Scorpion'. She was an average maiden, nothing spectacular, but not dull or un-intimating, Malik had seen far, far more impressive warships back at Stros M'Kai, he paused in thought for a moment, reminiscing about his homeland. The Nord pointed out the facilities of the ship, all located underdeck. The captain led them down, and vocally gestured to continue the discussions over the evening's events, and the 'Akaviri' invited any questions. Malik had none for now, he was summing them up in his head, as he folded his arms cynically and gave the man a long, unnerving stare, showing no real emotion, except signs of cynicism and distrust.

 

[Vixen Blackbriar]

"I think we've earned out share of answers," Lynette began. "Firstly, if you insist on 'not knowing' why a group of well-trained individuals on Tamriel would chase an Akaviri, you're either stupid or lying. I'd like to know why they pursued you. Considering the fact that I lost one of my favorite gowns over the encounter, I'll expect you to understand."
She sat back on one of the cots, making the ship her own. "Secondly, I'd like you to know that whatever this thing is, you've got my attention. Something not easily won. My attention comes at a price. Whatever is going on, you seem to be in need of help. True? And thirdly, I'd like to know your names," she turned to the Redguard for the last question, enticing him with her words. The hostility she addressed the Akavir with was lost entirely on the able-bodied Redguard. She had much more sinister, much more fun plans for him.

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

Glidias was almost furious at the insinuation that he was either stupid or a liar. But any feelings of anger died off immediately. Tamriel? He'd never heard of it. How long were him and his brother contained? Tortured? What about his family? His anger gave way to concern, confusion, and helplessness. Helplessness. How quaint. The woman's words rang in his ears, and reminded him once more, just how helpless he was. Glidias began to breathe slowly, trying to get control of himself, and then suddenly turned and punched one of the walls with immense force.

"What... is... the date?" Glidias said, between hostile breaths, and clenched teeth.

 

[cazzer14]

Malik listened on as the seductress gave her questions, essentially the same as his own, although he was still skeptical of the man's real origin, truth or not, Akavir was far, far away, and Malik didn't think that he decided to take a trip out to Tamriel for no reason. As she finished her third question, Malik noticed the woman turn her gaze upon him, her eyes playful and her lips inviting. Visual flirting. He loved it, and returned the favour, biting his lip a little through naughty thoughts implanted (not forcefully or with any objection however) into his mind.

He was going to tell her his name so that she could have a name to scream one night, but the Akaviri cut him off by asking, rather out of desperation and terror, strangely enough, what the date was. Malik replied, his lust interrupted;

"It's the 11th Last Seed, 201 in the Fourth Era" Malik paused as he thought why he would want to know so much all of a sudden ".... why?"

 

[The Honorable Gidian Diva of Sass]

11th of Last Seed... 201 in the fourth era... They'd stolen more years from his life than he'd thought. Is his family still alive? Of course they were. They'd want to keep them alive as leverage to keep him from going back. With a heavy sigh, Glidias put his back against the wall, and slowly slid down to a sitting position.

Any confidence, bravado, or anything else he'd had before were gone. He sighed again, and replied, "There is only so much I can tell you, and it will cause me a great deal of pain. I..." Glidias began, but coughed a few times. "I was apart of a war to oust the dragons from Akavir..." He began to cough, much more violently, but continued. "I became an abomination in the eyes of Akatosh, and once we drove the dragons from their home..." this time he cough and wretched, a few drops of blood hitting the floorboards. Glidias had his hand over his throat, trying to ease the pain he was now feeling. He began to shake, and his eyes watered, but he went on. "Betrayed..." more coughing... "tortured... exiled..." visible pain made him stop, but he continued anyways, "attacked at sea... washed up on shore... lost.. my brother..." he doubled over now, and began coughing uncontrollably. His throat burned like hot coals were going down, and he knew first hand what that felt like. "Akatosh wants his children restored... and me dead..." He now saw spots in his vision. Their venom had worked well, making him pay for revealing much about the going ons of Akavir. Even after all these years later, when the knowledge was, or should have been, old news. His breathing now ragged, Glidias tried to stand, but his whole body now burned fearsly, and he fell back to a sitting position.

Glidias was humiliated. He had not wanted to cause a scene outside, but now here he was. Less witnesses, but his humiliation left a bitter taste in his mouth.

 

[Vixen Blackbriar]

Lynette sighed irritated by the man's answers.
"You sure know how to keep a girl wanting more. I need to go pray. When I'm back, I'd appreciate a drink."
She addressed the last part to Myddrin, winking at him as she walked up the stairs, looking back to make sure no one felt all too inclined to follow. Prayer was a very private thing for her. She moved out onto the deck of the ship, taking in the beauty of the night in Tamriel. for the wasteland the eruption had caused in Morrowind, it hadn't seemed to affect the stars much. If there was one thing Lynette could truly appreciate, it was beauty. She finished up, bidding the night farewell as she took one last look up at the stars. The light of torches in town caught her eye, and she got off board, seeking the source of the sudden commotion. The previously sleeping town was wide awake, torches and pitchforks at the ready as the town center was encircled with farmers and farmers' wives, all conglomerating centrally around a crier, clad in gold and white. She leaned in, listening intently to his words.