the-manta

When you try to Shout people out of doorways.

Lots of birthdays today! Happy birthday guys and gals

Felix hummed a brisk tune as he rummage in his satchel, beginning to wish he had bothered to colour-code his potion bottles like everyone else seemed to. He and Carter between them had just enough anti-toxin for a dose each. "Don't drink it until you feel a tickle in the back of your throat," he instructed, handing everyone a mouthful. "How do you work that out?" Carter asked, Felix answered with a shrug and "well I'm not dead yet," The puzzle, like everything Dwemer, was fiendishly tricky, and Raurke's motions became more and more frantic as a faint green haze began to fill the room. The adventurers huddled around the scout, their eyes flicking from one wall to the other as they offered their advice. "No, no, not that one!" someone shouted "Top left!" shouted someone else Raurke finally yelled them to silence. "Someone try and get the door open, someone try and shut off the gas, and everyone shut up!" He sighed with relief as his companions jumped to action. William set to work on the door, feeling around for a lock or handle and, finding none, exploring the hinges and the gap between the doors. Felix and Carter, with cloths over their mouths, found their way to the gas emitters, leaving Duncan and Raurke alone at the wall of levers. Felix began by attempting to weld the gas pipe closed with fire, then freezing the inside of the pipe, then blocking the gas with a ward, none of them worked. There was a resounding clang from Carter's end of the room. The redguard had a few small objects scattered around him, but was holding a sizeable lump of Dwemer scrap over a slightly more sizeable dent in the pipe. He shrugged to Felix as he put his face-cloth away, and the mage followed his lead by delivering a stout kick to the pipe. After a few more, the flow of gas at his end also spluttered to a stop. The mage turned triumphantly, hands on hips, to find the rest of the group already gathered around the exit as the last of lights came on, and the ancient doors swung open. He tutted in mock frustration as he jogged over to join them.

Congrats winners (that's uncommonly beer-like mead)

The five adventurers broke camp early, keen to catch up with their quarry. "What do you think we're looking for?" Felix asked of the group. "Nothing heavy; they certainly weren't weighed down," offered Raurke "Some kind of magical item most likely," William suggested, "something the Legion wouldn't report missing". Felix thought he noticed a hint of resentment in the man's voice. "I wonder-" he cut off abruptly as he almost ran into Flint's rear. "Now that is odd..." came Carter's soft voice. The redguard slid nimbly from his mount and walked over to join Raurke, who was crouching in the road. Felix followed suit, intrigued. Sprawled on the road at Raurke and Carter's feet was the diminutive form of a wood elf. He was dressed simply in furs and a dark cloak, and nothing seemed strange to Felix beside his being dead. "There's not a mark on him," Duncan pointed out. Felix jumped as William's voice spoke from behind him. "There's something in his hand," it said. Sure enough, a tiny corner of folded parchment protruded from the Bosmer's clenched fist. Gently parting the fingers, Raurke extracted it intact. The other adventurers moved around to peer over his shoulder as he unfolded it. The parchment was blank but for a strange symbol in blotchy ink. The scout peered at it for a short time before passing it to Carter, who passed it to Felix. "You're a mage, what do you make of it?" he asked Felix didn't know what to say, whichever way he turned it, the overlapping circles and intersecting lines seemed to make no sense. "It's not in any language I've ever seen," he started, "it doesn't really look like a letter or a word at all. Not a magical rune either as far as I know. Maybe some kind of code symbol? I've heard the Thieves' Guild uses something like that..." William shook his head slowly, "Not Thieves' Guild," he said. Duncan held out his hand and, taking the parchment, held it up to the morning sun. "Invisible ink?" Carter suggested, following his train of thought. The Imperial turned to answer, but someone beat him to it. "You're not far off, actually. Now how about you hand it over, and I kill you quickly," The group turned as one to face the speaker. A Nord in similar dress to the dead man stood in the centre of the road, feet planted as firmly on the ground as if he had grown there. William scanned the surroundings for the man's accomplices and, finding none, felt incredulous, even a little insulted, that this man was so sure of himself. For a moment, the Nord simply stood there, surveying them silently with cold grey eyes, then reached slowly into a pouch at his belt. The adventurers readied their weapons as one, but faster than lightning, the Nord's gloved hand reappeared, bringing with it a handful of fine silver sand. With a smirk he tossed it at the adventurers, and for a split second Felix noticed the way it sparkled as it caught the light. A feeling in the back of his mind gave him the feeling of danger. He threw his hands in front of him and called for flames. He felt the heat rush from his hands, and faint disturbance of his companions getting clear. Releasing he flames, he turned to locate his companions and their foe, finding a fine layer of what looked like molten metal on his gloves and the front of his robes. The Nord had vanished from his spot in the road, and instead was swapping swordblows with Raurke in the quickest fight Felix had ever seen. Just to the mage's left, Duncan was coming up from a dive, and Carter was on his way into the melee, hidden blades. He could not see William, but an arrow whistled past his ear, embedding itself deep into their attacker's bicep. The man staggered and Raurke brought up his sword for a killing blow. But somehow, the injured man was already gone. He whirled backwards and flung his sword at the scout, drawing a long knife in time for Carter's collision. The Redguard ducked under the blade and cut upwards, just brushing the man's cheek with a blade. The nord swung a leg round and swiped Carter from his feet. The assassin made a neat roll and parried the man's knife with his wristguard. Felix tossed a lightning bolt, drawing the man's attention as the sparks flashed over his skin. William took the opportunity, and another arrow pierced the man's chest. Still he was unshaken, and Felix could have sworn he saw him smirk . He drove an elbow backwards into Carter's face as the Redguard shot up from the ground. Duncan chose his moment, and he and Raurke attacked in tandem as the man made towards Felix and William.

Stuffing his flute roughly into his satchel, Felix joined the general rush to the doors, flames springing to life in his hands. As the nord's battle cry reverberated through the Tavern, Raurke flung open the door, inviting a gust of wind that set hair and clothing billowing. The swirling snow obscured Felix's vision, but Raurke and William, the first to the door, bounded forward into the snow. The bestial roar of a troll pierced the storm as two substantial forms burst into view. One was a matted lump of fur, the other was the embodiment of a Nord warrior, driving his hammer home into the troll's skull. The beast staggered as it's viscous blood splattered the snow, and Grond yelled something like "that's right yeh beast!". He raised his hammer for a killing blow, but was hurled to the floor by a second troll. Felix couldn't make out which half of the resultant brawl was Nord, and which troll, but an arrow flew from the keen-eyed William's bow flew into the melee, striking the troll squarely between the shoulderblades and setting a smouldering fire in its fur. Meanwhile the first troll had recovered, it's ruined face slowly regenerating, but Nina was peppering it with arrows from the roof. "Only one way to kill a troll" William called over the gathering storm, following the statement up with a fireball. Felix nodded grimly, launching his own at the first troll. Acting in unison, Duncan and Carter had launched themselves onto the smouldering troll, and Felix heard "that was mine!" as they forced it away from a battered, but unharmed Grond. A yell from the roof caught Felix's attention. Nina was gesticulating wildly towards the stables. Raurke, far quicker on the uptake, took the advice immediately, springing forward as a third troll emerged from behind the building. William followed him with eyes, flinging a fireball at the troll. "Have you got that one?" he called back to Felix, The Breton replied in the affirmative as the first of the hapless trolls howled it's fury at the magical flames.