"Nothing down the hall," an Imperial voice said in the darkness of the ruined fort.
In response to the confirmation of no enemies in the area, a light as intense as if the group was outside in the daylight appeared in the palm of a Dunmer standing next to the speaker. The light spell revealed four figures.
The speaker was an Imperial, wearing leather armor and holding a steel bow with a quiver of silver arrows on his back. This was Isaiah Osis, the charismatic leader of the group. Osis was a skilled ranger, and having been born under the sign of the Shadow, a very stealthy one.
The caster of the spell of light was a Dunmer in a mage's robe holding a staff. Makenna was a mage born under that sign. Makenna was not skilled with any weapons, but his skills in all the colleges of magic more than made up for it.
Standing next to Makenna was his brother, Alderich. Alderich was wearing leather armor, wielding a silver longsword with his leather shield. He also had a steel bow and quiver of steel arrows on his back. Being a swordmage, Alderich was also a powerful wizard, skilled swordsman, and accurate marksman. Being born under the sign of the Atronach furthers his magical prowess, he can not only cast more spells, but absorb his enemies' as well.
The last figure was a Nord named Alfonso Furey. Furey held a large iron battle axe, which he was very adept at using, although he did not even need it to tear a goblin limb from limb. He wore heavy iron armor; looking at him, you would wonder how he was not completely immobilized due to the weight he was carrying. Furey was also semi-skilled in the use of restorative and destructive magics, which he used infrequently due to the mage and swordmage allies.
These are just a few members of the Wild Cards, a band of mercenaries who take any job for the right price.
"What do we know of this place?" Isaiah asked the group.
"Fort Chalman, currently inhabited by beasts," answered Makenna, "has not been occupied by men since-"
"We do not need the history of the place," Alfonso cut him off, "just what we came for and what we need to kill to get it."
"Shadowbanish Wine," interjected Alderich, "we are here for the Shadowbanish Wine at the bottom of the fort. The owner of that inn wants it."
"Well, let us go get those bottles," Isaiah said. "Good to go?" Silence. "Alright, move out. Makenna, give me some eyes."
The bright light in the Dark Elf's hand disappeared and was replaced by a bluegreen aura. Makenna touched Isaiah on the shoulder with his glowing hand and Osis' normal vision was replaced with night eye, allowing him to see perfectly in the otherwise utter darkness of the fort.
Osis then turned completely invisible while Alfonso picked up a nearby torch and lit it. The rest of the group saw dust coming up off the floor from Isaiah's footsteps as he walked down the hallway.
"Do you think he will wait for us this time?" Alderich asked his remaining two companions.
"If he runs into more than he can handle he will," Alfonso replied.
The three then set off down the hallway and followed the only available path. A few feet around the first corner lay a dead timber wolf. An arrow stuck out of the top of its head. Isaiah had apparently planted it while it was sniffing the ground unawares.
A little further the three found a pack of rats, three of them, alive surprisingly.
"Nice of him to leave us something," Alderich commented.
The two Dunmer and the Nord attacked simultaneously. A fireball, arrow, and swing of an axe later, the rats lay dead, burning, pierced, and cleaved in two respectively. They continued on.
As the three approached the last room of the fort, they heard a roar from within. This was shortly followed by Isaiah flying around the corner and slamming into the wall next to his comrades.
He stumbled to his feet and, noticing his friends, said, "Nice of you guys to join me. We have a problem, ogres, three of them."
"Not ogres!" Alderich exclaimed. "I hate that ogres even exist!"
"As do we all," Makenna added. "My spells will not have much effect on their thick skin," he continued.
"Alright," Isaiah started, finally getting his wind back, "Fons, Alderich, you each get one, Makenna, we will team up, we are not built for this solo."
Various agreements were heard.
"But before we go," Isaiah started, "could you help me out Makenna?" he asked revealing a large gash in his side.
He nodded and his hand suddenly glowed white. He touched the wound with his glowing hand and it magically healed itself.
"Well," Fons said, the bloodlust in the Nord's voice clearly noticeable, "if we are done in here, why are we not in there?" pointing his axe towards the door.
Alderich was already heading towards the room's entrance, followed by Makenna, then Fons, and finally Isaiah, still with a slight limp.
Alderich saw his target and charged it, shield up and sword back, ready to swing. Before his blade connected however, the ogre swung, knocking the shield aside and backhanding the elf in the face. Alderich fell to the ground and dropped his longsword. His foe ran over and attempted to stomp Alderich with his heel. Alderich, face bloody, barely had time to roll out of the way. He grabbed his blade and swung at the beast. The shot connected with the ogre's calf, hardly making a scratch.
The ogre raised its fist and made one more attempt to crush his mer opponent. Alderich raised his shield and dampened the blow. Although preventing his skull from being crushed, the impact of the attack forced the shield into Alderich's face. The ogre however, overbalanced and tripped, landing facedown. Alderich pulled a bottle containing a red liquid off of his belt and pulled the cork. He then poured the potion over his head. Not only did it wash the blood off his face, the potion healed all of the cuts and bruises it ran over, leaving him looking as if he had not been fighting at all (except for being sprawled on the floor).
The Dunmer quickly got to his feet and saw the ogre dazed on the stone floor. Alderich stood on the monster's hands and raised his sword above his head. He then made a downward thrust into the back of its neck. The hardened silver made a clinking noise as it struck the stone floor.
While his brother was fighting his opponent, Makenna saw his and a fireball appeared in his hand. The elf threw the flame and struck the ogre in the face, sending sparks into its eyes and blinding it briefly. The beast shook it off and, clearly angry with the mage, charged him awkwardly. The ogre grabbed the elf by the throat and held him against the wall. The monster brought back his right fist, and prepared to make the Dunmer's head part of the fort.
Isaiah saw what was unfolding and, not enthralled by the thought of his mage-friend being turned into gravy, drew back the string of his bow and released an arrow. The bolt hit the ogre in the back of the head, causing it to drop Makenna and grasp at the arrowshaft. The stupid beast then gunned for Isaiah.
Makenna, wanting to repay the favor, launched a quick combo spell. His right hand glowed blue and produced a shard of ice and his left burned red with a fireball. He threw the ice then fire consecutively, both striking the same place on the monster's side. The ice pierced the beast's skin and the fire melted it. The ogre stupidly grabbed at where the shard used to be only to find blood. It then looked around idiotically as if wondering if it dropped it.
This gave Isaiah and Makenna a chance to regroup.
"Want a light?" Makenna asked holding up a small fireball with his finger.
Isaiah nodded drawing back his bow.
Isaiah fired the shot and Makenna let loose the tiny ball of fire. The fireball hit the arrow, lighting it on fire but not changing its heading. The flaming arrow hit the ogre in the stomach, annoying it, no more.
As Osis and Makenna engaged in their little back and forth (not really hurting the ogre but irritating it severely), Furey took on his opponent. The Nord swung his axe and connected with the ogre's forearm. Even the weight of the axe combined with its momentum only made a gash about an inch deep in the beast's foot wide arm.
The ogre, deciding it was his turn, closed its fist and took a shot at Alfonso. The blow landed on the blade of the axe, knocking it out of the Nord's hands and across the room, only leaving a small cut on the beast's knuckles. Now unarmed, Alfonso took a couple shots back. Both of Furey's fists landed on the ogre's jaw in a one-two punch. The ogre, now dazed and confused that a man would fight in hand to hand combat, spat out all but a few of its teeth. The monster stumbled around, clearly having received a concussion from Alfonso's iron-clad fists.
Furey took the opportunity and picked up his axe. This time he swung the axe completely around in a wide arc. It connected with the ogre's neck and, unlike his previous shot, did not stop. The beast's head hit the ground five feet away from its body.
Alderich and Fons met up, their respective enemies dead. The two looked at the remaining ogre and its Imperial and Dunmer opponents then back at each other grinning.
"Think we should help them out?" Alderich asked Alfonso.
"Let us show them how it is done," Fons replied.
Alderich looked around the floor and saw a dagger. He picked it up and showed it to Fons. The Nord nodded.
Alderich aimed and threw the dagger while Furey ran at the ogre. The dagger penetrated the skin over the beast's heart and in a vicious combo, Fons slammed the blunt side of his axe into the blade's hilt, driving it the rest of the way. The final ogre fell over dead.