Our setting now turns to sunset on that same day, where two emerald robed and hooded figures are in the middle of the wilderness, on Summerset Isle, just outside of Lillandril. One of them was hunched over, gathering rare herbs, the other holding a nocked bow and arrow, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
"We need to leave very soon, Ashtar, I'm getting bad feelings about this." Said the standing figure with the bow. Looking up, her Wood Elven face was illuminated by the setting sun. She saw a couple of crows pass over, cawing. She turned back to the first figure, Ashtar.
"The crows deliver news. Dark ones are on the way, close. We must move now." She raised her bow at the cluster of trees to the southwest of their position. Where they were standing was a small copse, which all the surrounding land was higher than it.
"Ok, let's go." Ashtar rasped from behind the hood, putting the last of the ingredients into a small bag. No sooner had he rose than 5 red robed figured, wearing chain mail over their robes, appeared all around them, on the ledges surrounding the copse. All of them had their longswords lowered towards them. Ashtar and the second figure stood back to back. Ashtar drew his sword, as he did so, also lowered his hood for better visibility. Ashtar was of the Dragonred tribe, a tribe of red scaled lizard-men. Argonians are reptile-like humanoids, able to breath underwater and resist many poisons as a result of them hailing from their vile marsh homelands.
"Too late to do that, Argonian." Hissed one of the assassins from behind his red hood.
"Belwen, follow my lead." Ashtar rasped to Belwen, who nodded slightly.
"I think not, Mythic Dawn members, because you can see us now," Ashtar growled to the assassins, "But now you CAN'T!" Ended this with a loud crash of breaking glass, as a vapor rose very quickly around them, blinding the assassins to their presence. Belwen simultaneously teleported them 50 feet forward, outside of their ring, while said assassins were still trying to figure out what happened. They couldn't detect that they had transported, so they still assumed that they were in the vapor cloud.
They both ran as fast as they could towards the White Stallion Inn, the only one in Lillandril, though quite a toll was taken on their robes, as many thorn bushes populated the area.
"That turned rather dangerous." Belwen panted, just outside of the Stallion's door. Both of them sat down in the bench, smiling at their escape. "But I bet that they had no idea where we went."
"Although it won't take them long to figure that out, we got what we went there for," Ashtar declared, holding up some various rare herbs, "I'm sure these will prove useful ingredients for our shop." He was referring to their shop, The Alchemist's Stop, which sold some very useful and rare ingredients, potions, and supplies on alchemy. Lately though, they were thinking of selling the shop, and go adventuring. It would work well, Belwen being, in majority, a healer, and Ashtar being a skilled alchemist and blades man, it was a fitting match. Belwen spotted three people walking down the road, asking questions to people around. One of them was dressed in fine steel armor, one other was a Khajiit in leather armor, with a rather mean looking bow, and the last was a mage, shrouded in a purple robe and hat. Ashtar soon spotted them too. Both of them wordlessly got up, not liking the look of these travelers, and went into the Inn, with hoods lowered.
The inside of the White Stallion was ablaze with activity. Lillandril was a heavily traveled port, allowing for all kind of species and cultures to mix and mingle. The Inn was larger than you would think from the outside. The oaken walls were lit with many candles and lanterns hanging high. Over a score of tables and chairs lined the floor, with a good amount of space in between, it was more like a parlor than an Inn. Both of them took seats at the far edge of the semi-circular bar, allowing them to keep an eye on the door.
"Two waters, please." Ashtar called, setting down a couple gold coins. He took a look around.
It was pretty full tonight, apparently a new ship had arrived, not a pleasant one at that, from the look of these Nords. Thing about Nords, that you can tell them apart from the other humans, is they are considerably taller. Another thing that makes them unique is their heavy resistance to cold, even magical frost. This group consisted of pirates, by the looks of them. Normally Nords are peaceful sailors, but there are always a select few who turn nasty. He received a nudge from Belwen, who nodded at the door. In came the three they spotted earlier. They lowered their heads to avoid being spotted easily. Ashtar quickly replaced their waters with two other glasses, and they drained them. The travelers drew near. Ashtar had his hand on the hilt of one of his twin blades. Just as Avery began to pass them, Ashtar lunged out. A loud thud took place. The entire Inn went silent and turned towards the scene. Ashtar had risen from his chair and swung one of his twin blades directly at Avery. Belwen was nowhere to be seen. Poison dripped down from where the blade had hit the wooden pillar, where Avery's head had been. Ashtar narrowed his eyes in anger at his miss.
"You missed." Avery sneered, and grabbed for his sword. But no later had he moved than a bright flash filled the Inn, blinding everyone. When Avery, Leon and Khazura regained their sight, they saw a red tail vanishing up the flight of stairs directly ahead. Up the stairs, they noticed one of the doors was open, charging in the room, they saw nothing. Avery had his longsword at the ready, Khazura had her bow in hand, and Leon's hands were glowing with a blue power, snowflakes could be seen emanating from time to time. Turning around, Avery noticed something at the same time Khazura and Leon noticed something stir behind Leon. Ashtar stood to the back and in between Leon and Khazura, both twin swords drawn and at the throats of Leon and Khazura. Behind Avery, Belwen had her bow and arrow pointed directly at the back of Avery's head. Khazura had her bow and arrow ready as well, pointed at Belwen, such was Leon's target of magic as well. Avery also had his weapon poised to strike, the point of his blade was near Ashtar's throat.
"Make a move, a single move, and your allies die." Ashtar hissed, riddling his words with poison, meaning every syllable.
"The same goes for your elven friend behind me, lizard." Avery retorted. Everyone knew that the outcome depended on who would make a move first. The fatal poison from Ashtar's twin blades was creeping slowly towards the tips.
drip
There was increased commotion downstairs, most likely because of the attempted murder.
drip
Khazura's eyes darted from the blade right beneath her chin to Belwen, who returned the glance.
drip
Floorboards creaking on the steps just outside. Is there someone coming?
drip
A breeze flows into the room, yet the door hasn't moved from its cracked position.
drip
Soft sounds are heard about them. They all glance at each other. No one moved.
drip
Was it a ghost? It might be just their imaginations, but they all heard it. Or maybe it could be-
drip
"ASSASSINS!" Yelled Ashtar, and everyone jumped into action. 5 figures in red robes took the corners of the room, one guarding the door. Ashtar turned his right blade in front of Leon upwards, deflecting an arrow into the roof. Drawing the other out from Khazura's neck, he impaled the shooter of the arrow. Avery charged forward as soon as Ashtar had moved, also impaling an attacker, this one by the door. Belwen adjusted her aim to the right of Khazura, putting an arrow in the forehead of the other corner assassin. One of the assassins made a run for Leon, but Khazura's arrow found its target, and the assassin fell before his blade could touch Leon, who had blasted the last assassin into frozen shards. Everyone lowered their weapons, and shouldered their bows. Ashtar stepped forward and clasped Avery's hand, while the others looted the assassins bodies.
"You got my message, I'm glad." He smiled. Avery, likewise, returned the smile.
"Yes, it all worked out well. We both avoided rather bloody deaths at the hands of these assassins."
"They followed us from the copse that we were harvesting for plants, but we're not sure why."
"We've run into them when we were about to depart from Anvil."
"Strange, perhaps they knew we would meet…Hmm…No matter, thank you for your assistance, I will take leave now to notify the guards." But as he left, his half-torn robe got caught on the door handle, and to Khazura, something became visible. She saw some runes in her own native language inscribed on Ashtar's back. What she saw was gone the next moment, as he pulled the robe back over his back and exited the room. Avery saw it too, and motioned for her to be silent until they were alone. He turned to Belwen as Leon and Khazura were leaving the room to scout for more assassins.
"So, you're Ashtar's assistant?" He asked.
"Yes."
"I'm wondering, although this will seem sudden, we are going on an adventure to a new land, and of course, we will need all the help we can get. I'm surprised by the skill of both your teamwork and powers. It's certainly not easy for one to make a working invisibility potion, and a mind-link potion."
"So you knew what those were." She didn't seem surprised. Avery nodded.
"Well, the thing is, I would say yes, but Ashtar might not. You see, he uh, doesn't like Khajiit." She said nervously, looking at the floor.
"I saw Elsweyrian runes on his back when he left. I'm positive Khazura did as well."
"You see, the thing is, he despises them because when he was young, a band of rouge Khajiit destroyed his hometown. Few lived. Those runes on the back are a warning to all Khajiit who come across him…I shouldn't have told you that." She added, beginning to walk away, but Avery stood in the doorway.
"Yet, the same thing also happened to Khazura, she has Argonian runes on her arm as well, that more or less give the same warning. I'm sure we could convince them to not hate each other." He searched her eyes for cooperation, and found it.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll go find Ash and try to convince him." She ran out the room. Khazura walked towards Avery.
"No, I'm not going to have him with us." Making it apparent to Avery that she heard every word, Avery put a hand to his forehead. This wasn't working well already.
"Look, he's not like those other Argonians that destroyed your village. He could actually HELP us." He reasoned, she only returned a nasty look. Elsewhere…
"No, Belwen, I won't listen. I'm not boarding a ship with a Khajiit." Ashtar argued, slamming some cupboards in his store.
"But Ashtar, it's our only chance. You were talking just days ago how nice it would be to go out and explore the land. This is our best chance, it's an entire continent." Belwen pleaded, "We can easily just pack up and get ready to sail tomorrow morning, and they're leaving at dawn. This is our best chance, man." Looking outside, Ashtar saw that it was already dusk. Not much time left. He sighed.
"You're right, petty hatreds need to be put to rest. This IS our best chance, indeed. Get ready to go, I'll pack up my things." He turned and grinned, as much as grinning is possible for an Argonian.
Later that night, Avery was showing them the fourth room in the ship.
"I'm quit happy you decided to join us, and luckily this room is bigger than the others. We were using this room for storage before, but we took all of our stuff out and put an extra bed in. There's room for you both." He announced as they surveyed the room. Ashtar was looking out the view ports.
"This will be fine, thanks." Belwen smiled, and bade him good night. Shutting the door, she turned to Ashtar.
"So, we're on our way to a new land. Scary and interesting at the same time, isn't it?"
Ashtar turned from the windows.
"Interesting? Oh yes, very, but scary? No, I don't think so." He said, opening his chest, and surveying his battle armors and gears. Another chest nearby was also open, revealing incredible amounts of potions and ingredients. "Hmm, I think I forgot my blacksmith tools. I did want to complete my glass armor set. Oh well, at least I have my armor repairing tools." He began to mend his linen robe, damaged earlier that day from the thorn bushes. He noticed Belwen still staring at him.
"What?"
"Are you sure you're ok with Khazura?" She asked cautiously. He exhaled deeply to show his displeasure at the subject.
"It's not the point if I'm ok with her or not." He stated simply, returning to sewing his robes.
"Yes it is, Ashtar, what if she gets in trouble, will you refuse to help her out of hate for what those rogues did to your…" She began, but Ashtar suddenly rose with fury, interrupting her.
"You accuse me of betraying, who is now my companion, out of sheer bitterness?" He asked quietly, meeting her eyes.
"No, no, that's not what I meant at all, I was only-"
"You were only trying to what; try to make me forget how…"Ashtar stopped, seeing her crestfallen face, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have responded like that. I don't know Belwen; I really don't know how things will go." He ended with a weak smile to try to cheer her up. He locked his chests, and went to bed. Belwen and Avery didn't sleep well that night, wondering how things would go, considering that there were two individuals, whose opposite races had inflicted great amounts of hate upon them.
It was early the next morning. The sun hadn't risen yet, but Avery was awake anyway. He went into the kitchen and started nibbling on an apple, not entirely focused on eating. Thinking about the new land they were supposed to sail to today, he barely noticed what was moving outside the window. Soon afterwards, he saw something arc out of the water and land back in with a splash, directly outside the kitchen window. Not realizing he still had an apple in hand, he ran topside, and peered over the edge of the boat. Lo and behold! It was Ashtar, out for a (very) early morning swim. Ashtar had just begun climbing back up the chip via a rope ladder he had let down previously. He hopped over the railing and turned to see Avery with a surprised look on his face.
"Ah! You're out early today, Avery." Ashtar said, drying himself off, and fitting a new robe on.
"Early enough for a snack, at least that's how I thought it'd turn out!" They both laughed.
"So, we're casting off today, are we, Captain?" Ashtar inquired. Avery nodded.
"However, Ash, I'd like you to read something on this map. It's in Argonian I think, and I can't figure out what it means." He handed Ashtar the map, and pointed to a series of long and elegant symbols directly below a mountain to the northwest of the map.
"Hmm," Ashtar puzzled at it. "It is indeed in Argoniaa, and it says this; 'Cave of the Argonian King'. This refers to the ancient king of Argonia, Xi-Gaunt…But he's a myth, no proof is said to exist of him being real. Legends say that he had rallied the Argonians against their Dark Elf oppressors, and then to freedom. He is said then to have sailed off to the east, looking for a new land, off the Argonian coastline, and was never seen again. I personally think it was all rubbish…But this…This last word below it reads as a pilgrim's bane…" He trailed off, staring at the map. He handed it back to Avery, who returned his look of puzzlement. What could this new finding mean? Could it mean that people already found such a land, but never came back to tell about it?
During this time, the sun was beginning to rise. It was still barely below the horizon when they heard the chime from the dining room bell, indicating it was time to eat. They had a busy day ahead. The table was quite happy a cheerful, everyone was joking and laughing, making the day seem less daunting than it would prove. The only exception of this was Khazura, who was completely silent, and didn't take her eyes off her plate. Avery watched her across the table, his mood quickly fell. She still wasn't happy with Ashtar being on board. Ashtar seemed to catch this as well. They all finished. Avery and Ashtar gathered the dishes and took them to the kitchen, telling the others to get ready to cast off. Khazura was still sitting at the table, this time gazing outside the window. As Leon and Belwen went topside, Ashtar and Avery began cleaning the dishes.
"You know, you're better at getting ready to sail than cleaning dishes." Ashtar said.
"That doesn't mean I can't help out with the every day chores." Avery replied, not meeting his gaze.
"No point in beating around the bush, what's the matter?"
"I wanted to know the same answer." Avery replied, meeting his eyes, to which Ashtar turned to the sink again.
"I feel like I've done something wrong. Khazura won't look at me or reply to me at all. I sometimes wonder if she even sees me there." Ashtar said, his tone hinting at annoyance. Possibly with himself.
"You've done nothing wrong."
"I refuse to believe that." He said angrily, and stormed out of the kitchen. Avery sighed, and finished the dishes. He went topside himself, and found everyone getting ready to cast off. He took the steering wheel. Looking up, he saw Khazura and Belwen on the riggings, ready to drop the sails at his word. Ashtar and Leon were likewise near the back, ready to haul the anchor up. He gave both groups the thumbs up, meaning it was time. The anchor hauled, the sails dropped, it was time to head out. The wind quickly propelled their boat out of the Summerset Isle bay, and out into the open seas. The exuberance of a promising adventure was, however, thought Avery, overshadowed by some of his crewmate's dislike for one another. Neither he nor Belwen liked it one bit, and Leon was, as always, oblivious to it all. Later on that day, a few hours later, he switched with Leon, who took the helm, while he went below deck to rest, and mainly, to see what the others were up to. Glancing into the rooms, he saw that Ashtar was reading a book in his quarters. He was the only one on that deck it seemed. He approached the staircase, and noticed that Belwen had set up a sort of armory repair center on the empty deck below the crew quarters. Following the sounds of hammer hitting iron, he found Belwen and Khazura making iron arrows. Belwen motioned for him to come near.
"We've set up an armor repair center down here, since it's not being used for anything else." She announced, quite happy with her find. She then noticed Avery's shield. "Hmm, the steel looks cracked through the center there, can I see it?"
"Sure." He handed it to her, and she bolded some iron into a fitting for the crack, then she used some fire magic to melt it in place, securing it.
"There you go!" She said, handing the repaired shield back to him.
"Thanks. So you can repair all kinds of armor here, huh?"
"Yes she can, she fixed my leather armor as well." Khazura said, the cuts and tears gained from the wilderness attack from a couple weeks ago in her armor was now gone.
"I'm impressed! We have quite the team on board. A healer who can also repair armor, an incredible alchemist, a sharpshooter who rarely ever misses," Khazura smiled at the compliment, "A powerful mage, and me." Ending it with a grin, pointing to himself. They laughed.
"Yes, we know how great you are!" Belwen chuckled.
As Avery went back up the stairs, there was a fierce rumble, shaking the air both outside the ship and within. Looking through the window on the stairs, he turned back towards the other two, but before he could say anything, Leon and Ashtar came running down the steps, stopping short of the step where Avery was.
"A storm is gathering outside, Avery, to the West. We might want to stay up tonight so that the ship doesn't tip over in the winds that are picking up!" Leon was of course referring to their nightly shift. Normally they rotated, one person managing the boat, while the rest slept. Ashtar was irritated by this.
"You're saying that I can't pilot a ship in stormy weather without aid?" He growled to Leon, "I am, after all, Argonian. I don't have a problem with the water and wind, at all." He crossed his arms, and turned to Avery.
"You know, Ashtar, you can't handle gusting winds that could snap the sails off." Avery said, indicating a fact, to which Ashtar relented.
"Fine. What do you think we should do?"
"I'll stay on deck with you to help in case anything goes awry."
Ashtar agreed to this. It was already past dusk by the time everyone was ready. The storm was nearly over the ship. The others reluctantly went to bed.
Avery was leaning on the guardrail near the steering wheel, watching the lightning flash periodically from the storm descending upon them.
"Do you get these kind of storms in the Black Marsh?" Avery asked, referring to Ashtar's homeland, the southeastern-most part of the known lands.
"I wouldn't know, I wasn't there for long. But when I was, I remember big storms. Like this, from what I can tell, yes. As long as you kept out of shallow and rocky waters, you were usually fine." He replied, watching the waters ahead, as if they would suddenly kick up, "But, what if I told you these waters weren't as deep as the sea should be?" At this, Avery narrowed his eyes, turning towards Ashtar.
"You mean we're nearing land?"
"Possibly, although there is none in sight, it's probably a shoal or a high reef. Most likely, however, an island that was recently swallowed up by the sea. Although," He met Avery's look of concern with a look of confidence, "It's not shallow enough to run this boat aground. We'll be fine."
Avery sighed. Ashtar rolled his eyes.
"You are always so skeptical. You don't trust in anything. Why is this?" He asked, although he already knew the answer.
"What is there to trust in? Nothing is definite. I don't want to put my trust in something and have it broken by an event that could happen."
"Yet you trust no one for the same reason?"
"It's not who I trust, it's what."
"I don't believe that. People are as prone to go awry as objects and events are."
"Believe what you will, I cannot convince you otherwise."
Silence fell, the rumbling of the nearing thunderstorm approaching. The wall of tension between Avery and Ashtar, spawned since they met, only increased with those words of distrust.
"That thunder storm doesn't look normal." Announced a voice behind them.
"More than two are needed to keep a boat from running aground." Said another.
"We're here to help." Voiced a third.
Avery looked over his shoulder. There were Khazura, Leon and Belwen, coming up the steps to where Avery and Ashtar were. Ashtar didn't make any sign that he noticed they were there.
"You sure you don't want to go rest while me and Aver-" Ashtar began, not taking his eyes off the seas, when Leon interrupted him
"Can it, Ash, you know as well as I that the storm doesn't look normal."
"What do you suggest is causing it then, Leon? Who could have magical energies that immense?"
At this neither had an answer, until:
"A ship, off to the starboard!" Khazura announced, her keen Khajiit eyes focusing on an object far away, which was at the edge of the approaching storm. Everyone's eyes turned towards it and to the sky as well. It was true enough; the storm was following that ship. Worse yet, the ship were slowly heading their direction.
"Get your equipment." Avery spoke. Everyone, including him seemed to be still in a trance at the approaching raid ship.
"NOW!" He yelled, everyone jumped, and ran below deck, including him.
After fitting on all their equipment, readying their weapons, bows and arrows, once more were they in wait of the approaching ship. It was barely half a mile away.
"Khazura, how many?" Leon asked, referring to the number of pirates on the ship. Khazura's keen eyes rivaled that of many elven scouts.
"Two score. Maybe more." She stated, in a flat tone. Leon clenched his magical staff. It was obvious that everyone was tense, a battle eminent.
As the ship drew near, it was apparent how they were generating the storm. A platform was where the crow's nest should have been. Four red robed casters chanting and waving their arms, channeling the energies for a magical storm and fog, which was gathering around the ship. Khazura's count was correct, it was apparent that there were over a score of battle-ready, red armored warriors on the raiding ship.
"Mythic Dawn?" Avery asked.
"They couldn't be out THIS far…" Leon replied, gazing over.
"With a map they could." Piped in Belwen. They all knew they must have a map as well, but not a complete one, otherwise they wouldn't be searching for land up to this point.
The ship had pulled directly alongside them. The five warriors tensed as the captain approached the side of his railing to gloat. His armor was like the others', red cloth pants and shirt, covered with iron armor. A sword hung, shealthed, at his right side, while the rest had one at their left.
"Let's not beat around the bush. You're here to take the map." Avery yelled with a tone of defiance across the length of water seperating the two stationary ships.
"Quite correct," Grinned the Mythic Dawn captain. "And in fact, I may just take your lives as well for such a defiant remark!" He snapped his fingers, and over came ten men from the other ship, while the others readied bows to snipe. Leon circumvented this by casting a shield between the ships, preventing a shower of arrows, but too late to stop the jumpers. Avery drew his longsword, readied his shield and charged into a group of them. Leon began casting ice spells, the ground on the ship all around him started to turn blue, and frost arched outward from his fingertips, hitting several of the pirates, causing more frost to grow on their armors, slowing their movement down. Ashtar drew his poisoned blades, and engaged two in combat, both of their swords against his twin blades. Belwen drew her sword, with Khazura covering her. Belwen's sword slashed into a pirate, killing him. Another came up from behind, sword raised. He was quickly smitten by an arrow from Khazura's bow. Ashtar already downed his opponents, and attacked the group that was holding Avery down, 5 more fell from Leon's storm gust attack. The last three fell beneath Ashtar and Avery's combined swordsmanship. They barely had time to regroup when the next wave came. As they flew through the air, over the shield Leon had put up previously, Belwen had drawn her bow, and both her and Khazura were sniping them in the air. Three fell before they hit the ground. Ashtar too, took a preemptive, throwing his twin blades in and arc, impaling two. The battle shifted as they approached the travlers. Leon had shifted into full attack form, and summoning all his power, began wiping out the score of pirates around him with devastating magic attacks, smashing some with the power of ice, burning others with fire. Avery Smote other with his blade, severly outmatched. Khazura's bow was smashed, forcing her to rely on her twin short swords. Ash's eye caught Belwen's, knowing that they would serve better on opposite sides. Calling what little magic they had forth, they exchanged via teleportation. Ashtar and Khazura stood back to back fighting off the hordes of foes, while Belwen, casted holy magic to ward off others and heal Avery's wounds. Leon was attracting the most attention, his fire and ice magic causing brilliant flares in the night battle, illuminating both ships.
"Kill them already!" The Mythic Dawn captain screamed from the other ship. Getting tired of his follower's imcompetence, he readied to jump over himself. He stopped shot however, from a fireball arching over his head, and smashing the platform above in firey rage. The force of it rocked the boat, and as the clouds began to disappear, he knew the casters were dead.
Ashtar and Khazura had lodged their blades is now fallen pirates, and began fending the remainder surrounding them with their fists. Both Argonians and Khajiit are known to be exceptionally good hand-to-hand fighters by nature, as was proved by this. They quickly disarmed and struck down any who ventured in close enough for a swipe with their sword. Avery and Belwen finished dealing with their group of pirates, and Leon was quelling the raging magical inferno that he manifested, when they all noticed the captain leap onto the boat, in between of Belwen, Avery and Leon. Avery held out a hand ot the other two, clearly insinuating that an honorable one on one duel was taking place, and that no one will interferre until either he or the captain is dead.