You will act now. Do not fail our lord, or you will suffer consequences worse than death. You will be rewarded as never before if you succeed.
"Wait..." Adalla was peering past the bushes now, eyes on the road. They'd managed to bypass the blockade entirely thanks to Mia's idea, but there were still patrols to avoid. They were hidden from view, but wouldn't be that way if they rushed ahead carelessly. Their target was the bridge - and that was close to a barricade on the other end of the road. It was very dangerous to try and cross with so many eyes patrolling the road.
"I still say we kill 'em all," Mia grumbled.
Irileth did what Adalla wanted to do, and lightly smacked the woman upside the head. "No. If we do that, it's just the three of us against who knows how many Thalmor."
"I've faced worse odds alone," Mia muttered.
"Irileth, go!" Adalla was waving the Dunmer ahead first; the coast was clear for now. Irileth slipped past them and rushed, as quickly as she could, for the bridge. Adalla was watching her the whole way, worried that she'd be spotted... but she managed to slip by safely, and was hidden from view when the first pair of Thalmor eyes was turned back toward the road.
"Why'd she get t'go first?" Mia asked quietly.
Adalla looked back at her friend, and smiled. "Because you and I are partners, Mia. If we're going to fall, we fall together; if we succeed, we succeed together. Besides, Irileth needs to be in there to save Runael."
Her partner gave a small grin, and nodded. "Fair enough. So we are goin' in, yes?"
Adalla nodded. "Yes, but we need to be careful, seeing whereas we'll be going together." She returned to her watch of the road.
"Hmm... wonderin' if we can't make a distraction or somethin'..."
"We can't rush this," Adalla warned. "If we do, we run a higher risk of being caught."
"What about Adima?"
The mer shot her a look. "I am not risking our saber kitten just to create a-"
Adima herself seemed to have other things in mind. At the mention of her name, she bolted away from Adalla and Mia, and charged down the road, seemingly chasing something. This, in turn, brought the saber kitten much too close to the Thalmor guards near the eastern blockade.
Both women held their breath as the soldiers spotted the kitten. Adalla glanced to the left, to make sure the guards to their left weren't aware of the kitten's presence, then glanced right again.
Mia was already crossing for the bridge. Adalla wanted to call out to her, but fought the urge with all she was; the guards to the east were still watching the saber kitten run along, anyway, so they were sufficiently... distracted. Adalla followed her partner closely, and only when they reached the bridge - and a small corridor leading to a small chamber beneath the bridge - did they stop moving so quickly.
"Let's not do that again," Adalla panted. "I hope Adima's..."
"Ahh, she'll be fine, I think. Ya worry too much, Adalla."
Both women caught their breath, then exchanged a smile.
"S'like we're raidin' a Nordic tomb," Mia said softly. "Except these 'draugr' be Thalmor. Yer gonna be a great partner for our future adventures."
"Thanks." She glanced toward the entrance, and smiled as the saber kitten rushed into the room and right into her arms. She hugged Adima, and kissed the top of her head. "You're a handful sometimes, but we both love you."
The saber kitten mewed softly.
"...You think they're gonna check?"
"Ahh, probably not." Adalla's hopes didn't match her words, though. "...We should leave through that way, just in case." She gestured to a far exit on the other side of the small chamber.
Elenwen leaned back in her seat while Runael and Ulfric argued about what to do. She wasn't sure she could take much more of it, either. She was feeling better than she had felt in... quite a while. She was wearing the fine clothes Runael had bought for her, and her injuries from Saarie's torture were almost completely healed now.
"Look, Jarl Ulfric," she interjected, trying to interrupt their back and forth dispute. "We still don't know why they're-"
"When will we?!" he shouted, causing a wave of energy to ripple over her and ruffle her hair a bit. "Will they lift the blockade when my people are suffering from a lack of supplies?! You two seem to be the key problem here!"
"Just because we 'seem' to be doesn't mean we are!" Runael snapped. "And don't you yell at her!"
"What are you going to do about it, elf?" he challenged. "What are you going to do, in my palace, surrounded by my guards?!"
"Are you hiding behind your station instead of standing boldly in the face of a foe?" she replied coolly. "Some Nord you are!"
His hands clenched into fists, and he stormed toward the Arch-Mage, who was already preparing herself to launch what looked to be a dangerous fire spell at him.
"Enough!" Elenwen cried out. "Fighting will accomplish nothing here! It will do nothing to break the blockade outside! Jarl Ulfric, you have a duty to your people, and that duty does not include beating on the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold!"
"Who are you to speak of duty, bitch?" he growled angrily, facing Elenwen directly now. "You, who abandoned the Thalmor after practically requesting your precious little Embassy to be attacked? Was that part of your duty as a soldier of the Thalmor?"
The heated exchange was interrupted as the massive doors opened, and a pair of guards stepped inside. "M'lord!" one of them called out, walking briskly toward the Jarl. "A message from the Thalmor." He handed a sealed letter toward Ulfric.
He all but snatched it from the guard's hand, and nodded curtly. "Thank you. Return to your post."
"Yes m'lord." The two guards departed then, without so much as a glance back.
Ulfric wasted no time breaking the seal on the letter, and read it aloud.
'Ulfric Stormcloak,
You are currently harboring two fugitives from Dominion justice, although you may not be aware of that fact. We are willing to overlook the transgression if you hand them over willingly. We have set up a blockade around your city in the meantime to ensure they do not slip away from us.
Failure to comply by day's end will result in your arrest as well for willingly harboring fugitives, and you will be sent to Alinor to answer for your crime.
Vindicator Thellias'
"Thellias," Elenwen spat. The name was one she had come to hate so very much... pulling only a very, very close second to 'Saarie'.
"If he knows we're here, then he knows you know. That letter is the only way he could have learned about it," Runael said quietly. "He's pretending he doesn't know."
"What's it matter?" he asked sharply. "If you two are handed over, my city returns to normal, and the Thalmor break their damned blockade. I lose nothing but a few hours' sleep over the stress of having to deal with the blockade right now."
"You'd lose the support of the College," Runael grumbled.
"To Oblivion with your damned College, elf!" he shouted. "As far as anyone is concerned, it was your little school of mages that sank Winterhold, and there is no evidence suggesting otherwise! Skyrim would be far better off without the College, so your loss is no real problem!"
"I'm sure the Empire would love to set up in Winterhold, then. Right in your city's backyard... that must be a comforting thought, to know that your city could be attacked at any time simply because they're that close."
"Do not even pretend you give a damn," he snarled. "As long as you mages are allowed to do whatever you wish in the College, you don't care who has control of Winterhold. There could be Akaviri soldiers protecting what's left of the city for all you know, and you wouldn't care as long as they gave you their approval to continue blowing things up within the walls of-"
"Shall I get started on your xenophobia, Ulfric?" she retorted. "You know, that thing where you show favoritism to the Nords, and all but condemn the dark elves and the Argonians? Those are some of the 'people' of your city, I may add - or perhaps you forgot they existed in the first place. Without the Nords, you would be nothing, Ulfric. You know that as well as anyone else in this room."
His expression was one of pure fury now.
"I want you... and you... out of my city within the hour," he growled, pointing to Runael and then Elenwen. "If you do not leave, I will send your beheaded corpses to the Thalmor, and then send your heads to them as separate packages. I cannot and will not tolerate your presence in my city any longer, especially not when your presence is causing my people to suffer the consequences of a blockade."
Both mer were ready to retort in their own way, but both held their tongues. Elenwen had to admit, it seemed as if it took every bit of restraint Runael had to keep herself from lashing out, and instead storm out of the palace. She cast a withering glance at Ulfric, who returned the look with a venomous glare, then departed the palace herself.
"I'll murder him," Runael snarled once they were out of earshot of any guards. "I'll slip back into the city and slit his throat so viciously, it will look like a savage animal clawed his throat open and made a meal of his precious little neck."
"Rune, calm down. He can't force us to leave the city. As far as he's concerned, we're already on our way out. We can stay, though, and bide our time, wait for something to happen."
"Elenwen, if we stay here, the blockade will persist; he'll know we're still here!"
The former First Ambassador shook her head. "Knowing the Thalmor, they're not going to lift the blockade just because we turn ourselves in. They won't just ignore the one capital of Skyrim with a temple - a temple, Rune - devoted to Talos. No, this blockade will persist no matter what until the Thalmor have had the chance to enforce their own rule on the city."
The words had an effect on Runael, who seemed to accept them as truth. "It's not like we owe him anything anyway," she murmured.
"Exactly. So come on, let's make this work out as long as possible."
The Arch-Mage sighed heavily, but nodded after a moment. "Alright, fine. Any ideas as to where we can go?"
"No," she admitted sheepishly. "What about you?"
"Hey, I asked you," Runael mused. She thought for a moment. "...The bridge. It's... it's a risk, but what if we dove into the water from the bridge... and swam beyond the blockade, out of sight of the Thalmor, and slipped away to safety from there?"
"We're likely to freeze to death from that!" Elenwen exclaimed, unable to believe Runael even made the suggestion.
"True... sorry, I just... if we stay here, we'll eventually starve..." She thought a few moments longer. "...What if we look around, then, and see what our options are?"
"There is not a lot of call for that," came a familiar voice to both mer. "The Thalmor are not particularly... thorough with their blockade." The speaker stepped into view - a male Khajiit.
"En'zhar," Elenwen said, blinking. "I-I thought-"
"I am not talking to you, Elenwen," he said coldly. "I have no words for one who would betray my trust so easily."
She fell silent at his words, knowing them to be true.
"E. What are you doing-"
"I am here to try and help," he replied, nodding to Runael. "You both want to be free from the Thalmor and Windhelm; I can help with that. You will both have to trust me, however."
"E, I've always trusted you," Runael said with a smile.
"I may not have always trusted you, but you are excellent with your work," Elenwen added. "I will trust you with this."
"Good. Follow me, then; I have established a small base of operations here in the city already: an abandoned home, very near here. It's called the Aretino Residence; from what I understand, the young man that ran from Riften and came here has returned to Riften. He will not mind if we make use of his home in the meantime."
Irileth couldn't believe what she was seeing. Runael and Elenwen were both here, in Windhelm, and following that damnable cat into a home, no less! Surely they wouldn't dare... but they didn't know the truth of the matter yet. They had no reasons to question his intentions.
"Irileth." Adalla's voice was quiet and not very far behind her. "We made it in."
"I see that. We need to hurry if we're going to save Runael; she just went in there."
"The Aretino Residence?" Mia murmured. "Hoo boy, but he knows how t'pick tragic and somewhat ironic 'final resting places'..."
"You know this place, Mia?" Adalla asked.
"I'll explain later. For now, we gotta get in there and stop 'im."
"Then let's go." Irileth led the way in a bit of a hurry, leaving Mia and Adalla to catch up.
"You're in an unusual hurry. Does Runael mean that much to you?" Adalla asked with a chuckle.
"No, but I would rather not break the... promise I made." Irileth cast a glance over her shoulder at the high elf. "Does she, whom you call one of your best friends, truly mean so little to you?"
"I-I didn't say..." Adalla sighed heavily. "I'm just as concerned - if not more so - than you about Runael's well-being, Irileth." Both mer watched as Mia was the first to reach the Aretino Residence, and try the door; upon learning it was locked, Mia glanced over her shoulder, then pulled out a lockpick.
"Keep an eye out for me, aye?" she asked quietly.
"Of course." Adalla turned her attention away from Mia and to the rest of the street.
Irileth, on the other hand, couldn't believe the high elf was so... accepting of something that was technically a crime; the house was locked, and she was breaking and entering. It was, in actuality, abandoned, but the Housecarl in the Dunmer couldn't bear to watch someone break into a house. Once again, she felt like a thief... and it was unsettling to her.
"Got it," Mia said as the lock clicked open. "So what's the plan when we get in there? Cut 'im down afore he can cut her down?"
Runael noticed the home looked... as if it hadn't been lived in for quite some time. Just how long ago had the Aretino boy left? She'd heard the rumors, that he'd been trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood... had he been successful, and that was why he left? She shuddered at the thought; to pay a bunch of cutthroats to kill someone...
"It's... not as inviting as I thought it'd be," Elenwen said, glancing around the abandoned home. "It certainly doesn't appear as if a family was capable of living in here... it's so small."
"And yet, he lived here with his mother." The Khajiit sat down in a chair, and gestured to the rest of the home. "Now then, what will you two do? Will you turn yourselves in, in hopes of lifting the blockade from-"
"They won't break it just because we do as they wish," Elenwen said flatly. "Rune and I both know this."
Runael wasn't so sure, but at the same time, she did feel inclined to agree; the Thalmor had, after all, held Whiterun for so long with Vernanye as the Regent... they'd only given control back to the people after the Embassy had been attacked, and needed as many agents back as possible to protect it.
"So you will stay, and make them suffer all the same."
"I would rather see the blockade broken than lifted. I owe nothing to Thellias, nor the Dominion, any longer." Elenwen crossed her arms with a frown. "Though defeating that many Dominion soldiers is no small feat, especially not with our meager numbers... granted, you're a talented fighter, En'zhar, and Rune's the Arch-Mage of the College for good reason... and I'm no slouch, either... but even so, they have Thellias, no doubt. From what I've seen of him, he's always wearing ebony armor."
"He will not be an easy foe, then. Still, I would imagine he might cook alive in such heavy armor, mm?" He looked at both mer with a grin.
"If we could superheat his armor to that point, yes - but that requires a great deal of concentration and magicka to try and sustain for so long," Runael countered. "He won't simply sit idle while we try and overheat his armor... on top of that, this is Skyrim; he may even find the initial warmth we'd provide to be a boon, and may move with greater ease."
"...What if we tried to freeze his armor instead? Amplify the cold he has to endure in Skyrim already to unbearable - and fatal - degrees?" Elenwen sounded hopeful at the prospect.
"It wouldn't require as much concentration, but if he's padded his armor with fur to help withstand the cold, I don't know if it would work as fast as we'd prefer."
The former First Ambassador sighed. "Stop shooting me down, Rune. We're running out of options."
"I'm not 'shooting you down', I'm trying to make you aware of the risks involved." It was true; both plans required a great deal of concentration, and more than that, they'd need to keep themselves safe from other forms of harm while they were concentrating their chosen spell on him.
"Paralysis?"
"It could work, though there's always the chance he would resist it."
"Destruction runes?"
"If he's as dangerous as I suspect he is, he may be able to avoid the runes effortlessly. Those are no simple matter to cast, either."
Elenwen appeared to be lost in thought now.
"What about poison?" En'zhar offered.
Runael frowned at the mention of such. "It's... underhanded," she began tentatively. "There's no guarantee he'd accept anything we, or the people of Windhelm, would offer him for much that same reason, too; he may suspect attempted foul play. From what I understand, Vindicators are no idiots when it comes to such things."
"...He spends a great deal of time with his helmet off," Elenwen said after a time. "If we could catch him off-guard, when he has his helmet off... but we would need an archer for that, and one with aim and accuracy great enough to pick him off from afar, and without being spotted by the Thalmor. There's no guarantee he'd stand in place once the arrow was loosed, either..."
"In the end, the problem isn't Thellias, but rather the ebony armor he wears. If we could just break that somehow... warhammers have destructive force enough to dent even the toughest armor, but I think we'd need an ebony warhammer to even hope for a chance of denting ebony armor." Runael tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Besides, none of us here have an ebony warhammer, and we aren't particularly skilled with wielding one, either."
"Fighting Thellias seems to be out of the question, then, unless we come up with a miraculous plan," En'zhar said. "Best to just avoid him, mm?"
Runael was lost in thought now, while En'zhar and Elenwen spoke between themselves. Were they really talking so... so casually about killing Thellias...? The mer that could very well be her father? Her mother had never talked much about Runael's father, stating only that he was a 'coward' and 'dishonorable'. That didn't sound like Thellias, and yet, Vernanye was her sister... and had confirmed Thellias was her own father.
Were they half siblings, then? Same mother, different fathers? Or was Thellias her own father as well? Either way, she couldn't bring herself to kill him so... easily. She needed to know the truth before she could commit herself to it either way. If he wasn't her father, she only needed to worry about the scorn of her older sister - and if her last exchange with Vernanye was any indicator, the elder mer wouldn't be so torn up about Thellias being killed. If he was... could Runael live with herself, if she not only advocated his death, but had a hand in its - and thus, his - execution?
The sound of the door opening caught Runael's attention, and caused all three to tense. En'zhar had locked the door when both mer had stepped inside... who was breaking in? The sound of someone running up the stairs had all three readying themselves for a fight.
"Who's-" Elenwen began.
Runael felt her jaw drop as she saw the red hair atop ashen skin come into view, sword in the hand of the one to whom the hair and skin belonged. "Irileth?!" she asked incredulously.
"Look out!" Irileth shouted, rushing toward - no, past Runael. Was she after Elenwen or En'zhar, then? The Arch-Mage turned around to face them both - and was in a state of disbelief.
Irileth's sword was pressed against En'zhar's blade, but not in an offensive manner; the Housecarl of Whiterun was protecting her. En'zhar's expression was one of frustration at being interfered with; had he been planning, then, to-
Her eyes widened as the Augur's warning came back to her.
En'zhar was the 'ally'. Irileth was most likely the 'friend'. She still wasn't sure about the 'loved one' or the 'enemy', though, but there was no denying the facts: En'zhar had tried to kill her while her attention had been directed elsewhere, and Irileth, who had seemed hostile at first, was protecting her, and risking her life for her in the meantime.
"Stand down, ya coward," she heard a semi-familiar voice growl from the top of the stairs. "Tryin' t'kill yer target with their back turned t'ya... and when they consider ya an ally, no less..."
Runael turned her attention to the stairs for a moment, and saw not one, but two faces she was, at the very least, semi-familiar with. Adalla was standing next to... she couldn't remember the human's name, but both of them had their bows drawn, arrows nocked and pointed at the Khajiit.
He pressed his blade against Irileth's, forcing her back a bit - then, to the surprise of everyone, he spun around just enough to slash his two-handed blade parallel to the ground - the tip aimed at Elenwen's side. She was too close to completely avoid being struck, and the attack was so sudden, Runael could tell she'd frozen in place.
The Arch-Mage wasn't sure what happened next. The last thing she remembered was blood spraying across her robes. When her self-awareness returned, she was standing over a quivering En'zhar, with two arrows buried in his chest and Irileth's sword not only driven through his gut, but also pinning him to the floor. Her own hands held a green glow in each; apparently, she'd cast a spell of paralysis upon him the moment after he'd attacked Elenwen.
Elenwen. Runael's gaze flicked swiftly to the mer that meant the most to her, even now. She was laying on her uninjured side, hands clutching the deep wound En'zhar had inflicted upon her; a pool of blood had already formed beneath her, and was growing pretty quickly.
"You... protect her..." En'zhar chuckled weakly; his chuckling turned to coughing; blood was sprayed from his mouth as he did. "None of you... have any loyalty... or true affection for... her, yet you retaliate... at her fall..." He drew a ragged breath, and let it out slowly. "I suppose... I have no room... to talk of 'loyalty'..."
Irileth wrenched her sword in his gut, then drove the tip through his throat to deny him the right to cry out. She leaned in close, and spoke words only Runael could hear.
"Mephala wants her Blade back... and your heart with it."
En'zhar's and Runael's eyes both widened, though for varying reasons. Irileth was here... for the sake of a Daedric Lord? Her eyes bored into Irileth's back, as though silently demanding an explanation... but none came readily.
Everything that had transpired in the abandoned residence was too much for Runael to process all at once. She decided to focus instead on the one thing she could put her mind on: Elenwen's well-being. She took a few unsteady steps toward the fallen former First Ambassador, then slumped to her knees.
"Elenwen..." she said, her voice cracking. The green glow was replaced by a soft, golden light as she prepared to heal Elenwen.
To her own surprise, and the surprise of everyone present - and still alive - she hesitated. What if Elenwen was the 'loved one'? Could she avert the betrayal if she just... let Elenwen die? Would the 'enemy' need to save her? And yet, could she truly just let Elenwen bleed out? The wound was deep, and she wasn't sure she could fully heal her anyway... but was it better to try and possibly fail, or not bother and watch her die?
"Runael...?" Adalla murmured; her tone was one of concern.
"Elenwen..." the Arch-Mage whispered. She pressed her palms on the floor, and lowered herself next to the wounded mer. She locked her gaze with her, and thought for a moment. Her mind was almost made up... could she really go through with her decision, though? Could she...?
"I'm sorry." She moved closer, and kissed Elenwen on the lips gently. It was apparent that the former First Ambassador was confused. When her lips parted from Elenwen's, Runael's eyes allowed the tears to fall. "I can't... I'm so sorry..."
Elenwen's grip on her side tightened, then loosened; it was obvious she was conflicted as to how to interpret Runael's words. Even Runael wasn't sure why she'd apologized. Was it because she didn't believe she could heal Elenwen... or because of the fact that she didn't want to try?
Either way, she had committed herself to letting Elenwen go. She was... going to let her die.
She felt someone brush past her, and was aware of the glare from the woman accompanying Adalla.
"Yer a disgrace," the woman snapped. "Ya ain't even gonna try?" She knelt down next to Elenwen and moved her hands from her side. "It ain't yer place t'decide whether she dies or not. Let natural selection take its course - and do all ya can t'save her in the meantime. Divines, I hate her, and here I am tryin' t'save her." She swung a pack around to her front and rummaged around inside, pulling out bandages, clean cloths and healing potions.
"But-"
"No. No buts." The woman shot Runael a venomous and withering glare that made the Arch-Mage shrink back. "Better t'try and fail than t'just say 'screw it' and condemn 'er."
Runael could feel all eyes on her, and none of them were approving of her decision. If only they could understand the reasoning... but what if the woman was right?
Unable to bear it any longer, she lifted her hands from the floor and channeled the soft glow through them once more. "Wait... let me help however I can..." she murmured.
"Aye."
A.N. - So things are coming together now. Now, we're just missing one person...
For me, the biggest 'block' for this chapter was the interaction between En'zhar, Runael and Irileth. I'd decided that the Aretino Residence, considered to be 'cursed' during the game, would be avoided by the locals, and thus the best place for them to hide. The problem, then, lay in what they would be discussing, and whether or not En'zhar tipped his hand almost immediately. In the end, though, I'm very pleased with how that turned out. Next chapter is almost done; only reason it's not is because of my new job.
Which I have mixed feelings about, I may add. It's a full-time job; I'm getting 40 hours in my first week. I love working with my new coworkers; they're all funny and just relaxing to talk with. What has me conflicted is the customer interactions I've had thus far; they aren't all bad, but two have really stood out. My first day, a guy came through the drive-thru wanting an item we only make in the store, and we'd closed the lobby; he went on to cuss at us, saying it was 'fucking bullshit that I can't have what I want'. Because being an ass about it is going to help the situation, yep. The second experience happened on my second day. I'm still kind of unfamiliar with the food items when they're wrapped, so I'm not all that proficient at checking orders and making sure 'okay, this is the next one in line, for the guy at the window'. I had no idea where the shift lead was, so I couldn't ask, either. It wasn't the guy at the window that was the problem, though - it was the lady behind him. She pulled out of the line, yelled at me through the drive-thru window, calling me 'the worst fucking employee ever' and telling me I should kill myself, then driving off without her food; she also said she'd been waiting for her food for twenty minutes. It hadn't even been ten, so I don't know where she got that idea from. Oh, and did I mention 'second day'? Yeah, not so much 'worst' as 'still learning the ropes'.
Why some people feel they are permitted to be rude and spiteful to fast food employees is beyond me. These two experiences alone have me reconsidering my job - and I will say that if I have a third 'rude experience' tonight, I will be putting in applications elsewhere. I do not handle extreme negativity like that very well when on the job (as in, I tend to retort if the circumstances are right), and I highly suspect I do not make enough to feel it's tolerable. I've never been a fan of fast food jobs in the first place, but this is by far the absolute worst 'starting experience' I've ever had in ANY job. I'm under the impression it will get continue as time goes on, in terms of overall negativity (see first customer for an example; my manager handled that guy once he'd asked for the item, so she was cussed out - but I, on headset as well, heard the entire thing). Of course, being short-staffed both nights (according to management) also does not help.
So yeah. This job actually feels like a 'job', and not a place I actually want to go to whenever I'm scheduled. As of this moment, I am dreading the shift tonight, and am so glad I have tomorrow off. When it comes to new jobs, I never feel like that. That's how badly this one's grating my nerves.
Time to shift topic...
I've written out the first five chapters of 'I Am Dragonborn'. And when I say that, I mean 'all five are finished'. Once Flames is through, I will post each one individually. I won't be posting all five at once, though, because if I post all the chapters at once, I'll feel compelled to post any others that follow. (As of now, though, I'm stuck on how to progress the story in IAD. I have fun ideas for it, but don't know how to advance it at this moment.) Four the other day for Flames was quite a few to post all at once; I'd rather not overdo it.
Think that's all I've got to say for now. Next chapter should be up Monday, the earliest.
-Spiritslayer