Xinimator

Funny, I don't have that problem. Just a whole bunch of khajiits seeing how far they can stretch their tails.

The spiders, instead of answering Jheuloh's question, began walking on ahead of them deeper into the menacingly dark cave. Nina raised an eyebrow at the spiders' questioning behaviors before giving a small shrug to the two males and walking after them, “Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough, eh? Assuming that lizard-thing doesn't come back...†she muttered, at the same time casting a small glance behind her towards the entrance. “I don't think so....It seemed pretty harmless, at least for the moment,†Jheuloh said quietly with a small shrug. “Yeah, the scaley little thing only gets cranky when it gets hungry, I get it. We just ran into a few, didn't we, brother?†Nina snickered, receiving only a small, silent glare from Alistair, “Of course, they were more furry than scaley...†“You know what? I would rather not be reminded of that, thanks...†Alistair said almost inaudibly, his hand automatically reaching towards his ribs. If anyone had been paying attention, they would have saw him wince a little in pain, but otherwise his face was indistinguishable of any emotion. “Wimp,†she smirked, not faltering when he glared at her menacing-like and laughed softly, “Oh come on! I got cracked on the head with a boulder and I'm still as chippy as ever,†“Yes, because that skull of your has been cracked a million times beforehand. Probably the reason why you're always this insane and not feeling a damn thing...†“And your ribs have been cracked a million times before,†she smirked, “And you're wincing,†“Am not,†Alistair growled at her and quickly withdrew his arm from his ribs. “Hence why he has all those scars on him,†she said to Jheuloh with a small grin, “'Cause he's too stubborn and too proud to go see a healer. You know chicks don't dig scars, right?†she added quickly, glancing at him. “Only because you're not a chick yourself,†Alistair muttered and shook his head at her with a small sigh. Though he tried to hide the hint of a small smile that creased his face. “Aw, you wound me with such cruel words....where's your love for your dear sibling, hm?†she cried dramatically before she chuckled and turned back to the crowd of spiders in front of her, “Speaking of which...can one of you tell us what sort of impending doom we're shoving our poor skinny little asses into? Just outta curiosity, ya know...†“The reason we are asking for your help,†one of the spiders said; which one, they couldn't tell as they were all moving at the same pace and kept shifting around in their small, tight-knit group. “Yeah, I get that part,†she said quickly, rolling her eyes a little impatiently, “Now how about you answer the question as to what it is you want us to do exactly? Come on, I don't feel like being mince meat for that snake-woman's pet, whatever it is....gods, I hope it's not a snake, I can't stand those things....†she muttered and shivered slightly. When none of the spiders answered, she only shrugged and sighed, "Fine, be that way..." Deeper and deeper they followed the spiders into the cave and what little illumination the light from the entrance gave off was quickly dissipating. Much sooner than they had expected, it came a point where the trio could not see where they were going. The fact was very evident when Nina suddenly crashed into Alistair, who had suddenly stopped, “Oi, you big oaf...†Nina's voice grumbled in the dark and he suddenly felt her try to shove him a little to get him to move, “Unless you're paralyzed, maybe we can try to move a little faster?†she said with a small chuckle, “No offense, but....I don't really want to know what happens at sunrise, you get what I'm saying?†“I would.....if I could see where I was going,†Alistair whispered back harshly and placed a hand on her chest to keep her from crashing into him again. Jheuloh glanced at where he thought those two were before he began rummaging through his pack hanging off of his shoulder. His hand groped around the contents of the bag, his fingers brushing over each familiar vial until he found the one he was looking for: a small, slim glass vial filled with darkish blue liquid. Smiling a little, he walked up to the female Agent and tapped her shoulder, “Perhaps I have something that might help,†Nina gave a jump of surprise and spun around quickly to punch the unfortunate thing that had brushed her shoulder, only to stumble a little and cut her assault short, “What the....oh Mankar's two-timing blazing.....don't scare me like that, Jheuloh!†she suddenly yelled at him before laughing, relieved it was only him, “Lots of bad things come out of that, ya know...†“Apparently,†Jheuloh chuckled before handing over the vial to her, “Sorry, I can't help it sometimes. Old habit, you know,†“Yeah yeah,†she snickered and took the vial, giving the contents a small, experimental shake, “Just don't sneak up on Alistair. He'll be more than happen to rearrange part of your face for you. You may not like the results, however,†Nina said with a small smirk towards Alistair. He only shook his head silently and shrugged. “Well, I kinda like the way my face is, so I'll be sure to avoid doing that,†Jheuloh joked and gave Alistair a small pat on his back, “I really don't feel like having my nose 'rearranged' to look like Akatosh or someone. I like the gods, but not that much,†“What's in the vial?†Alistair asked suddenly, rather eager to get away from the subject of him knocking people out on accident all the time. “It's a glow potion,†Jheuloh answered, shrugging a little at the sudden change in topic, “Just give it a little shake and it'll make the room glow enough for us to see. Or at least far enough so that we don't run into each other,†“I'm up for any light at the moment. Hey, you little buggers, come back!†she yelled at the group of spiders as she quickly shook the liquid, “Damn, they're just impatient little things, aren't they?†“Really? Last I remember, you have the patience of a hyperactive Chihuahua. Very short, in other words,†Alistair muttered and snickered quietly. “Okay, lemme get this light all fixed up and then I'll consider hitting you for that snide remark,†Nina chuckled as she held the container in front of her face and frowned a little, “Oi, piece of junk...†she muttered and shook the liquid again. At first, the light emitting from it was very dim and offered no help trying to see through the black caverns. But just as she was about to complain to Jheuloh about his alchemical skills, the whole potion lit up, illuminating the cave in bluish light and they were finally able to see at least several feet in front and behind them and their other companions standing in a small huddle. “You were saying?†Jheuloh said with a small smirk on his face. “Meh....still a piece of junk,†Nina said and rolled her eyes a little with a smile, “A good piece of junk mind you,†“Mhm....sure, Nina....†he laughed before he looked at the surroundings around them, staring at the walls around them. The smoothness of the walls they had encountered earlier were now draped with a variety of cobwebs. Jheuloh's brown eyes wandered the scene until they stopped at something that was sitting in the middle of the room. “Ick, not my preferred decoration,†Nina muttered as she glanced at what Jheuloh was staring at and frowned a little, tilting her head in curiosity as she stared at what looked to be a rock, “Erm.....is it just me or does that rock look a little....furry?†“It does....†Alistair said and cautiously took a step forward, keeping an eye on the floor to make sure he wouldn't step on any of the spiders that were sitting at their feet. He crouched down and examined the “furry rock†with a small frown on his face, “I don't think this is a rock...†he said quietly. Hesitantly, he reached his hand up and placed it on the furry flanks of the large spider that was lying very still and stroked it gently, “It's another spider....a much larger one too. And it doesn't look as if he's feeling very well either....†“Our queen is dying,†one of the blue spiders said, who had climbed up the wall until it was at eye-level with them, “The witch woman's beast had poisoned her as she was trying to protect all of us. It seemed there was no hope for her....†“Last I remember, male spiders don't give birth, Alistair,†she snickered humorously before sitting down next to her brother and taking a look at the queen, “....you said 'it seemed'?†Nina said, frowning and looking at the spider. “You are here now. You had survived and you are the only ones who can help our mother. Please...†the spider pleaded, “Please help us. We would be forever in your debt if you helped us,†“Hm...†Nina pondered a little at the offer and asked, “...Could you tell us if this tunnel leads us out of this place?†She asked. “No,†the spider said simply, “it only leads to a series of tunnels that wrap themselves around the mountain, coming to a full circle back to where you first started. The way out is not through here...†“Then where's the way out?†Nina demanded before either of the two males could so much as take in a small breath. “Only the queen knows,†the spider said quietly and Nina groaned, “We are sorry....we want to help, but we can't do anything without our mother,†“Alright then...†Alistair said, “What do we need to do to help her? And would you perhaps help us with Yilan if we were to help her?†he asked suddenly, a thought springing in his mind, “I think this realm could do with one less scheming witch trying to kill everyone,†“We will! We will! But you have to help her. She needs an antidote and we know what we need. We can't get them by ourselves, however,†“Aw gods.....if it's a bottle of wine, I swear I will start squishing heads here!†Nina said impatiently, growling a little in annoyance. “No bottle of wine. We need two eyes of a Kraylan,†the spider said hesitantly, wondering if Nina would actually go through with her threat. “Oh come on, where are we going to find.....wait, what's a Kraylan?†Nina said suddenly, blinking a little in confusion. “A tentacled monster that lives deep in the woods of the Valley. It feasts upon any living creature that enters its territory, with frightening long and thick arms and teeth that rips to shreds everything in its path,†another spider in the mass of colors replied and soon a chorus of childish-sounding voices began telling them rumors and myths about the creature it seemed they had to slay. Their voices echoed off the stone walls and bounced back against their eardrums rather painfully that all three of them had to shout at them to silence them. “Alright alright.....it seems we won't be getting out of here, not without this queen's help,†Nina muttered, “So which one of you knows where said giant beast lives? And is that lizard tamable?â€

Against the very faint moonlight only the shadow of the creature could be visible as it slowly extended what appears to be its head above the surface of the water. The trio readied themselves against this unknown beast and Nina muttered something under her breath that Alistair wasn't able to hear, though he could probably guess what it was; she never had any real love for snakes. A small, snake-like hiss escaped into the darkness of the night and she flinched visibly, biting her lower lip as she tried to keep her fears silent and to herself. “....Lemme guess....make it up as we go along?†Alistair whispered quietly to his sister, his voice softer and a little more caring than she had heard him do in a long time. “Well, besides the obvious 'flank it' part......er yeah, pretty much,†she whispered back, her panic apparent in her voice as she tried to see through the impenetrable darkness, “Dammit, where's light when you need one...†she muttered and began rummaging through her pack with one hand, trying to keep her eye on the huge creature. To the trio's surprise, the “creature†suddenly began cackling loudly, “Light? Why, I would have thought one such as you would not need such silly nonsense as light....†“Um......†she stammered as she stumbled back a couple of steps, apparently not really sure what to make of a talking water-snake, “w-well.....not for me, you thick-headed....whatever you are,†she snapped back awkwardly, “Er.....what are you exactly? Please don't tell me you're a snake....†At this question, all four boulders around the lake suddenly lit up in a column of flame; almost instantly the whole clearing was lit up in a warm, orangish warm glow of the firelight. That's when they all realized that it wasn't a water-snake or any type of creature at all; it was only an old woman who was leaning heavily on the wooden staff of hers and glaring down upon the three with a sly grin on her face. At this, Nina breathed a loud sigh of relief, though it quickly turned into severe dislike for tricking her like that, even if the old woman didn't mean to. “You look surprised,†she stated the obvious and chuckled darkly and waved her hand around the clearing, “What? You were expecting someone else? Something else, perhaps?†she leaned a little lower towards them and grinned at Nina. “A snake, maybe....†Nina muttered, her weapons still raised in case the witch woman decided to make any strange movements and frowned a little at her, “I don't suppose you could be a stinkin', slithering reptile in disguise, could you?†“Why, little ol' me living in the middle of a forest with no one around for miles?†she laughed and took a couple of steps towards Nina. Before she could back away, the woman rapped her knuckles against the Imperial's forehead, “Hehehe, you have quite an imagination for a Mundus, not like the others who came through here,†“Mundus.....†Jheuloh said quietly, testing the rather familiar word and saying quietly, “.....do you mean Nirn?†“Mundus....Nirn....whatever you call it these days,†she waved her hand airly and turned her eyes towards Jheoloh. It was then he noticed that her eyes were white and clouded over; it was then he realized that she was completely blind. Though she certainly didn't act like it as she looked straight into his eyes. The woman took notice of him staring back and smiled, “'Tis true...but while I may be blind, lass, I can still see you as sharp as a glass spear. But,†she nodded, “you do not worry about my health. Worry about your own,†“Oh, because we're stuck here with an insane woman who's could very well be Sheogorath's mother?†Nina snipped and rolled her eyes, “Ugh, this is a waste of time....let's get out of here. There's gotta be a way of getting over those mountains....†she said quickly, thrusting her daggers back into their sheaths, and cast the woman a look of disdain before walking off towards the thick of the woods, leaving the two males behind. “Oh, there is a way,†the woman nodded, “but you're heading in the wrong direction,†she added with a small smirk and turned to the men, “And are you to follow the ignorant female into your doom? Or are you more intelligent than that, I wonder?†she said in a voice filled with curiosity, tilting her eyes at Alistair. Alistair looked at her carefully into the white eyes of her before saying quietly, “Perhaps if we heard what you had to say.....then again, maybe I should just let my sister have her wish and run you through...†Alistair raised an eyebrow at her, his face betraying no emotion as he warily noticed how she seemed to bore through him with her gaze and wondered what exactly she could see. “Oh, try she might. But she will only fail,†the woman grinned at him before turning her head towards the Imperial. “Oh really?†Nina snapped at her and spun around quickly to face her, “You wanna bet on that, old hag?†“Careful who you call an old hag, Mundus....†she said in a dangerous voice, returning the glare at the Imperial. “I have a name you know,†she smirked gently, pulling one of her daggers out and weighing it in her hand, “Nina,†she said simply. With a battle cry, she launched at the woman at such a speed Jheuloh couldn't help but think the woman could surely be dead..... A split second later, there was a bright flash of light, a scream, and then a large thunk! as Nina flew through the air and crashed into one of the numerous dead trees around them. The old woman cackled loudly, “And you can call me Yılan, dearie. My my, and here I thought there was something different about you three. But I guess I was wrong,†she shrugged as she watched Nina crawl back up to her feet, “So arrogant and so violent....it's a wonder you haven't destroyed yourselves yet,†“Watch who you're calling arrogant, old hag,†she muttered as she rubbed the back of her head where she had been clubbed from the troll from earlier and winced a little in pain. But nevertheless took the blow as a warning and didn't attempt to attack her again, thinking Alistair might freak out a little if she hit her head once more today. Yılan nodded approvingly, “Well, seems you catch on quickly, Nina. I'm impressed, even with that cracked up skull of yours†she said, chuckling quietly. “So....Yılan?†Alistair said, frowning a little at her, “I'd called you 'Snake', but due to the company we're with...." he muttered, glancing a little at his sister. Yılan laughed, “Oh, we have a smart one here. And to think they banished you here because you were barren....well, except for that sister of yours. That one,†she laughed, “now I understand why they wouldn't want her. Wish to paint my forest pink, do you? You even think about trying, little Missy, and I might have a new trophy to add to my collection....†Yılan glared at her threateningly before shaking her head. “Wait, what do you mean 'barren'?†Jheuloh asked suddenly, cutting into what would appear to be the start of a rather deadly argument and looked at the old woman slightly confused, “I heard someone say that as we passed through the portal, but um.....perhaps you could elaborate on what they meant?†It was Yılan's turn to be surprised, “You don't know? But surely you do....†she asked quietly. When she noticed the blank look on all three of their faces, she sighed heavily, “Agh....and they open a portal into your realm....a bunch of boneheaded fools if you ask me. They can't survive one day by themselves without a Master....†“Um, I'm sorry,†Nina said and raised her hands up in confusion, “But....who are these fools you're talking about and what do you mean by Master? Cause for all we know, big boy over here knows how to rile up a nice-sized mob of rioters when he wants to,†she chuckled a little, pointing her thumb at her brother. "Jheuloh....you don't happen to have anything that could silence her for a few minutes, do you?" Alistair said after a pause and glanced at Jheuloh rather pleadingly. Yılan huffed a little and shook her head, “Hmph....they must truly be desperate to open a portal into your realm.....very well then, I shall try to explain this to where your simple minds can comprehend it. You see, our aeons are the spirits of the old Masters that used to control this realm. But since they're dead, they can no longer control the elements around them--†“Magic?†Alistair asked, crossing his arms a little in thought, “Oh, well in that case, why didn't you just open the portal right smack in the middle of the Arcane University?†she snapped accusingly at her, “There's tons of mages there and there's even an Archmage. Last I heard, he was the most powerful mage of them all.....well, at least that's what they think. Me, I don't think so,†she smirked as she pulled out a small amulet from her pocket and dangled it in the air, “You'll be surprised what you can nick off the old man.....†“Okay, when did you get that amulet?†Alistair rounded at her and growled a little, “Nina, what had I said about stealing from the mage when he had been visiting the city....?†“'Not to harm or to taunt or to steal or to in any other way embarrass him,' I know I know....†she laughed and rolled her eyes before pocketing the amulet and held up her hands up in the air innocently, “But it wasn't stealing, I swear. I was um....'protecting' it. You know, it dangling from his pocket, it was bound to attract the wrong sort of people who would definitely steal it...†“People like you?†Jheuloh snickered, finding this particular argument between the two siblings rather amusing. “Me? Nooo,†she said with a small smile, “He left before I could give it back to him....I mean, he was all over the place and I don't exactly have the time or resources to track him every day, you know....†Alistair shook his head and pointed a finger at her, “We are going to talk about this once we get out of here and you are going to return that thing back to the Archmage...it's a miracle you weren't even caught....†“Because I'm good like that,†she smirked widely at him and patted his shoulder softly with a small chuckle, "You can stop envying me so much, my dear older brother," “Ahem....†Yılan coughed and immediately brought everyone's attention back to her, “If we're done trying to rip each other's throats out like canniabals....to answer the young lady's question, I was not the one that opened the portal. The aeons did and if you want to kill them, be my guest,†she said darkly, “Anyways.....the old Master had died suddenly and so the aeons began opening portals up to different realms in hopes of attracting at least a suitable mage who can take up the mantle of the Master. Apparently, everybody else had gotten very smart and you are still very dumb,†“Er....you know we were invaded by Oblivion just a few years ago, right? And the only way we could destroy the gates was to rush in there head-first, sword drawn out, and charge through the daedra until we found the small, little blasted rock that powered the whole thing....†Jheuloh said, shaking his head a little, “So....you think you can understand why we rushed in here like lemmings?†“And lemmings you are....even after the Oblivion Crisis was over, you still thought rushing into this place was such a good idea....and now you're stuck with me and my little pets....†she smirked. “Er.....can I ask a question first before I become this little plaything to your pets?†Nina asked and cocked an eyebrow at her, “You said your gods were looking for something that can do magic....well, I see someone and she's standing right in front of me,†Yılan's face grew dark and she stared at Nina with her fathomless eyes, “Oh....and what makes you so sure that I would be someone the aeons would want...†“Well, since they're so desperate, and you can do magic....Hey, you were standing and walking on water, you set boulders on fire and managed to keep them alight even without wood, and the fact you can see us when you're supposed to be blind....if that's not magic, then call me a donkey with a stick shoved up his....†“What she means to say is why are they opening portals to other realms when they have you?†Alistair said quickly before Nina managed to insult Yılan again. “That......is a secret which I will not give you,†she muttered and turned around, walking towards the pond in the middle of the clearing. “Hey, wait!†Jheuloh demanded and rushed up to the old woman, “You said there was a way out of here....where is it?†“It is in the valley, somewhere...†she muttered absently and began walking away from him, “Another secret that I will not give you,†Jheuloh frowned at her and crossed his arms as he thought about how to get her to spill the secret, “....what if we did something for you in return?†he asked. He didn't think it would get him anywhere, but he wasn't about to give up trying. Yılan paused a little and just stared out into space in thought. It was impossible to distinguish what she was thinking from the blank look on her face and Nina rested her hand on the pommel of her dagger, wondering if she might have to convince the old witch woman a different way.... Yılan finally smirked widely and said, “Very well then, Imperial....I shall indulge the passageway out of the valley, for one small item....†Jheuloh blinked a little and nodded quickly, “Alright then, what is it you want?†The witch woman's smile grew wider, “A bottle of wine,†The trio blinked a little in confusion before they began rummaging randomly through their own stuff, but failing to find such a bottle in their possession. “Um....we have a problem,†Alistair said and looked at Yılan, “Where are we going to find a bottle of wine in the middle of the woods if the city is on the other side of the mountains?†Yılan chuckled, “Oh, you will find out very quickly, young man, very quickly indeed.†“Okay, so all we need to do is find a bottle of wine, give it to you, and then we'll be free to go? That's it? Really? Come on, there's no catch or anything?†Nina said incredulously, “What, no giant ogre or anything to fight? No sacrifices or anything? Damn, this sounds way too easy....†The old woman merely chuckled and wagged her finger at Nina, “Oh, but there is several catches, dearie. But, because I am feeling nice today, I'll give you a free one: you have until sunrise to give it to me. If you are too late, then you will be forever trapped in my valley.†“Ha, I knew there was a catch!†she yelled at her, but faltered a little as she replied the words through her head, “Er, wait.....several catches?†“I will only allow one hint....I suggest you choose wisely what you wish to ask,†she smirked slyly at the trio. Jheuloh answered promptly before Nina had enough time to draw breath, “Which way?†Yılan merely nodded and pointed to the north, “Along there. 'Tis not a long journey if you are quick on your feet,†she smiled at them as she walked back to the middle of the lake, not sinking into the depths of the water just yet, “You have what you need, I hope. I'd suggest you do not dilly-dally too long here....it can be very dangerous at night,†she smirked at them before she slowly slipped under the surface of the water and disappeared. The columns of fire dissipated as well as the witch woman left and the cold and darkness made no hesitation to descend upon the travelers. "Dammit.....why do crazy old bats keep sending us on foolhardy missions....?" Nina couldn't help but mutter.

“Oi.......that was not comfortable....†Nina muttered as she rubbed her forehead gently. As they had stepped through the gate, the trio were overwhelmed by a nauseous feeling that threatened to take them down at any second but it didn't offer the relief of collapse. Though as soon as they tumbled out of the portal into this strange, new realm, the feeling immediately eased up and they were left with minor gut-wrenching sensation, Oi.....I hope we don't have to go through too many of those.... Shaking her head a little, she tilted her head up to survey the landscape where they landed and had to blink her eyes a little, “What the....†she muttered as she rose up to her feet and frowned a little. Everything around her was black. Or at least almost everything. The trees that surrounded all four sides looked like they had been charred to death with no leaves to offer any shade to the harsh sunlight that was peaking through the blackish-grey clouds; even the grass was an oily, dead black. “Guys....?†she said quietly as she looked around for the two other companions that were with her. But the spine-chilling song that a bird from nearby sung out into the bleak landscape was the only thing that kept her company and she sighed heavily, “Just my luck.....†“Agh.....whoever designed that portal should be fired....†she heard a familiar voice call out behind her. She spun around quickly in reaction and pulled out one of her daggers, only to see the large form of her brother rise up from the tide of grass. Sighing with relief, she slid her dagger back into its sheath, “Heh, you had me worried for a sec. I thought I was stuck all alone with a stinkin' bird who needs to learn how to sing,†“I could say the same for you. You're not exactly a nightingale,†Alistair snickered at her before climbing back up to his feet and rejoining her, taking a quick look around the forest, “....where's your new friend Jheuloh?†“Over here....†there was a voice above them and, frowning a little, they both turned their heads up to see a rather peculiar sight of an Imperial hanging awkwardly over the tangle of tree limbs and vines crisscrossing like a spider web. Struggling a little against the tangled mess, he sighed heavily and called out, “Um....perhaps a little help would be appreciated?†Nina laughed gently and grinned widely, “Wow, even I'm not that good when I'm landing blindly....feeling lucky today, Jheuloh?†He shrugged, “Well....it could have been worse,†the Imperial chuckled and shrugged a little, “I could've landed on top of you. That'll be a story worth telling, I'd bet.†“Mhm....and I would make sure those loose lips of yours remain tightened for that reason,†she smirked at him and laughed, “Alright, lemme see what I can do....just so long as the vines don't come to life, I think we'll be good,†she said with a small chuckle before her deft hands grabbed one of her brother's swords. Before Alistair could voice his protesting of using one of his swords as a tree ax, she quickly scaled up one of the dead-looking trees and landed on one of the low-hanging limbs. Her brown eyes searching the strange forest, she jumped nimbly from limb to limb, occasionally grabbing a vine to steady herself and to climb up just a little higher. When she finally reached the stuck mercenary, she tilted her head a little in curiosity at him before grabbing the sword and start hacking away at the limbs, “Heh.....you know, you look cute when you're stuck like that....†she teased a little, flashing him a goofy grin. “Cute? Exactly what's so cute about this?†Jheuloh muttered and tilted his head away a little; having led a somewhat quiet and lonely life, he felt a little awkward as Nina had started talking to him so boldly. And he really couldn't see what was so cute about a man being stuck in a tree while the other two were safely on the ground. “Oh you know....†she shrugged gently with a small chuckle. After hacking away a few more limbs and plants, Jheuloh managed to free the rest of himself and quickly jumped down onto the ground to join Alistair with only a few tiny scratches from the branches above. “Don't mind my sister,†Alistair said amusingly as he saw the look on Jheuloh's face and smiled slightly, “She's just forward like that and likes to tease. A lot,†he added, giving Nina a small glare as she made her way back onto the ground. “Ah.....†Jheuloh blinked softly before laughing, the awkward tension that was built up inside him elevating, “Well, um.....she is a very interesting person, I will give you that....†“Define 'interesting',†Alistair chuckled softly as he placed a friendly hand on Jheuloh's shoulder and patted him gently, “As I said, don't worry about her, she's practically harmless........most of the time,†“What? I haven't heard you complain once,†Nina laughed and handed her brother back his sword, all sticky with sap and with bits and pieces of wood splinters and shreds of vine glued on there. “Not when you're in the same room,†he grumbled as he tried to wipe off the sap off his sword as best as he could before sliding it back into the scabbard. “Mhm....whatever you say, dear brother,†she smiled before scanning the forest critically. By the looks of things, they were as deep in the forest as they can be with vegetation so thick that one would only have to walk five feet in a direction before they became lost, “Wow.....feels like we just dived inside the mind of a depressed Orc,†Nina said quietly as she stared at the bleak, depressing landscape that surrounded them. Behind her, Jheuloh gave a small laugh, “Haha, depressing and ugly? Yep, I think we just found the guy that runs this place,†he gave her a wide grin as she turned her head to look at him in curiosity before giving him a small smirk. “Hey, it's something I'm willing to bet a few drakes on,†she chuckled gently, “Now....let's go see if we can't find some sort of civilization here. There's bound to be someone that can tell us where the heck we are....,†“And lemme guess: if they don't, they'll always spill about who's the wolf controlling the sheep?†Alistair raised an eyebrow at her with a small chuckle. “Unless they're just really dumb sheep,†she snickered, “Well come on then....the locals have gotta be be more entertaining than this. Seriously, does anyone have a paintbrush?†she asked and raised her arms questioningly, “Cause I would love nothing more than to at least throw a couple buckets of paint around this place, probably color it pink or something....†“Oh good gods, are you trying to kill everyone here?†Alistair laughed and shook his head at her, “Pink....only she would come up with that...†he muttered quietly with a small smile. “Hey, if it blinds creatures as a result, I'm game for it. The less things that attack us, the better,†Jheuloh nodded approvingly, “Now....onward!†he cried out all of the sudden and began heading out into a random direction into the thick of the woods with the two siblings following up shortly behind him, remaining cautious as they did not know who or what exactly lurks in these woods....

The rain steadily pounded upon the travelers and the trolls that were surrounding them. Staring back at their foes, Alistair and Nina stood back-to-back, each facing two trolls by themselves who looked unfortunately a little more well-fed than their companion that was bleeding on the ground. “So....you wouldn't happen to have a plan to get us out of this mess, would you?†Alistair couldn't help but ask, frowning as he wondered if he could take two of them on at the same time. “Um......depends,†she muttered as she glanced at the creatures with hostility, “Does 'Making it up as we go along' count as a plan?†“.......Forget I asked,†he closed his eyes and sighed heavily before looking back towards the creatures, “....if you need any help, just yell,†he said quietly to his sister with a tiny smile. “I knew you still loved me,†she smirked gently. Giving him a small nod, she began yelling at the creatures in front of her, “Come on then, you fat pigs! Don't tell me you're scared of a skinny little Imperial girl with toothpicks,†she grinned wickedly at them. One troll, the biggest and most brutish-looking of them all, dared to take a couple of steps towards her. With a low snarl, he raised one of his freakishly huge hands, with the looks that it could crush a skull in one simple squeeze, and thumped it against his chest, as if he was challenging her. And, by the sound of it, there was a couple of insults hurled at her in the process. “Heh....I'm right here, you stinky, oversized gnomes,†she smirked, holding her arms out wide in a teasing manner just to enrage them even further. The troll's patience was exceedingly low and finally had enough of her games; He bellowed out a battle roar and charged straight towards the two people in the center of the road; the others followed him quickly as the thundering sound of the heavy feet pounded against the ground and their claws extended, their teeth bared and dripping with saliva. Nina, far from being scared, merely smiled and ran towards her group of enemies, both daggers in her hands and in her preferred backhand position. Quickly, she darted under the first troll's attempt to grab her and, in return, stabbed one of her daggers deeply into his ribs. She made sure to wedge it in there deeply before ripping it out of him and pushing him away from her. Leaving the first one tumbling behind her, she quickly spun around and drove her other dagger into the second's shoulder, missing his chest but she could still work with this. Kicking the troll on its side to knock it from her, she watched as they crashed into each other and became an entanglement of moss colored fur and claws. Chuckling softly, she watched them push away from one another and, with a low growl, charged after her once more as if nothing had happened, "This is going to be fun," she said quietly. The larger creature swung its arm out towards her to knock her down and instead missed as she rolled under its arm towards the direction of the smaller troll. When she reached the feet of the beast, she launched herself up at it; tackling him, she drove the sharp point of the blade into the soft flesh of the troll's jaw, pushing it in as deep as the blade would allow her to. When she heard the deep footfalls behind her, she spared a glance over her shoulder before ripping the dagger out of its jaw. She leapt out of the way of the charging monster and rolled on the ground to a stop before looking back behind her; it was barely a second later before the two collided once again, “Heh.....you'd think they would learn....†she muttered quietly and chuckled. Alistair, in the meantime, wasn't quite having as much fun as his sister was, or at least he didn't show it. As a small troll made its way towards him, he lunged forward with his sword raised as if he was going to cleave its face. But instead, he feigns the attack and sweeps the sword low to the ground, slicing the beast's legs and crippling him severely. As the troll tumbles behind him with a wail of pain, Alistair turns to the second and advances towards it, sword raised and ready to end the troll's life quickly. Only the creature had other plans; growling loudly, it began releasing an assault of rather well-aimed swipes and punches at him. Alistair, who was unable to find a good enough opening to thrust his sword in, was left dodging left and right to avoid having to come face-to-face with one of those hands again. But after a while, the troll made a mistake and raised both of his fist into the air to try something different; hammering him down into the ground like a nail. Alistair made no hesitation in jumping all over the opportunity; As hard as he could, he rammed his whole body into the troll, attempting to give himself some breathing room. As the creature stumbled a couple of steps backward, he hastily lifted his weapon up and prepared to run the blade through its chest. All of the sudden, a large, detached hand made its way into his line of vision and he barely had enough time to duck before the crippled troll's arm sweeped over his head. But he could only breath a small sigh of relief when another pair of clenched fists came flying down. Swearing loudly, he rolled out of the way as best as he could, though still managing to get his shoulders nicked by the brute force behind the strike. Groaning low in pain, Alistair shot towards the crippled troll and kicked it furiously in the leg as hard as he could. As the troll faltered and went down onto the ground on his knees, the Imperial ran the sword through the troll's back, right over where its heart would be. With a rapidly-decreasing wail, the creature quickly died under his blade and he wrenched it out of the dead body, kicking it away as he looked around for the second enemy. The answer to that question was given quickly enough; a large boulder crashed about a foot away from him and left a sizable crater in its place, causing him to yelp and back away quickly in surprise. Turning his head in the direction the boulder came from, he groaned inwardly at the sight of the troll next to a bunch of large rocks that do quite a bit of damage, "Oh come on.....how in Oblivion is this fair?" The trolls were beginning to put up quite a bit of a fight and it wasn't long before a shred of doubt found its way into both of their minds as they tried to figure out how they can escape from this pack of monsters. One was dead, true, but the other three were still going strong despite their attempts to wound and slow down. As Alistair repeatedly dodged all of the rocks that were flying through the air towards him, Nina was busy dodging and parrying the repeating pummeling of both of the trolls' fists. Each opportunity she got, she managed to injure either one of them just a little bit. Though as much as she was doing it and as strong as they were going, she wondered if it was even doing any good at all. Her legs were beginning to shake a little with fatigue and she was coated up to her elbows in rancid-smelling dark blood, “Dammit! Die already, you worthless things!†she yelled; she wasn't taunting anymore. Now she just wanted them to fall to the ground and stay still for eternity. She wasn't able to carry out her threat as suddenly a world of black enveloped her and she felt herself fall onto the ground, instinctively letting out a small yell in surprise. She wasn't really sure what had happened, it didn't look as if they had managed to bring her down for once, or either that she didn't remember. When Alistair heard his sister scream a little from a distance, he distractedly turned his head towards the crumple form on the ground, along with a sizable rock laying innocently next to her head, though a layer of blood was splattered on the side of it. Fearing the worse, he ignored the troll behind him and began rushing over to Nina as the group of enemies she was fighting before began hovering over her ominously. But he almost faced the same fate as her as a fist-sized rock found it's mark and hit him squarely in the jaw, causing him to stumble and nearly crash into the ground once more. Furious, he rubbed his jaw, which didn't feel like it had shattered but was at the very least bruised quite a bit, “Grr.....is that how you want to play it....?†he muttered and glancing down at the ground, he bent down and picked up a random rock. Tossing it once in the air with an air of curiosity and catching it, he glared at the creature in front of him before throwing the rock as hard as he could at him. The beast, not expecting the puny human in front of him to retaliate in such a fashion, barely ducked under the sailing rock and when it noticed the Imperial had missed, gave a low growl that sounded eerily similar to a chuckle. His laughter, however, was cut short when a blade suddenly shot out of his back, tinted red and dripping with blood. With a small gurgle of surprise, the troll began squirming wildly in pain as the blade that was shoved into his stomach didn't inch, instead further injuring him at his vain attempts to escape. Alistair, who was grunting from so much weight being pushed against him, held his ground and waited impatiently for the troll to die so he could tend to his sister. Nina stirred slightly on the ground before suddenly jolting awake at the sight of the two monsters hovering over her with hunger in their eyes. Swearing loudly, she reached over to grab her dagger that fell out of her hands onto the ground some distance away. But it was too far for her to reach and, improvising as she stared up that the huge teeth that was occupying most of her vision, she grabbed a clump of dirt and threw it into the one that was hovering directly above her in the eyes. As the large troll screamed and clutched at his eyes in pain, the larger one growled threateningly at her and grabbed one of her legs, keeping her trapped in an iron grip as he slowly began dragging her away towards the forest.... Nina yelled obscenities at the beast and lifted herself up a bit, raising her leg up and kicking it as hard as she could in all three of its eyes. The troll, who was not expecting such a reaction, reared backwards with a sharp yelp that was promptly cut short as she managed to grab one of her daggers that were one the ground and leaned up, stabbing the monster rapidly several times so she wouldn't have to worry about if it was dead or not. And now for the last one.... she thought grimly as she wiggled her foot out from the deathgrip and grabbed her second dagger before facing the leader. Not even bothering to say any last words to the troll, she darts quickly towards the troll; with a battle-cry, she jumps up so that she was eye-level with the troll before sweeping both of the daggers in opposite directions at his neck, creating a narrow, blood red X that bled profusely before tackling him to the ground. Panting heavily, she pinned it down to the ground with her daggers at his neck to make sure nothing more came out of the stubborn beast, watching the fire of life go out in its three beady eyes. “Burn in Oblivion,†she muttered before climbing back up to her feet and surveying the scene, “Please tell me there's no more of those damn things running around....†“I think that was the last of them,†he muttered at he looked at the small injury that was on the back of her head, which for some reason she didn't seem to be feeling at the moment, “How are you feeling?†“Chippy. Real chippy,†she said and suddenly gave him a small grin, as if nothing had never happened, “Not a bad way to end the day, eh?†“Hmph....†he merely grunted as he pulled out an old rag and began wiping up the blood, “Says the woman with a cracked skull....glad to see you're alright though,†he gave her a small smile in return. “I could say the same for you, but then I would be lying,†she chuckled as she raised her hand up, gingerly touching the scratches on his face and the small bruise that was forming on his jaw. “I'll be fine, it's just my face,†he pulled her hand away from his face, “Should we go look for the horses?†"Nah. They already found us," she chuckled gently before nodding to two horses cautiously wandering back onto the road towards them. While their ears and their tails were showing signs of being very nervous from being this close to trolls regardless if they were dead, their faces showed signs of being relieved to be back with their riders. "Mia, you're alright!" Nina said happily and rushed up to hugged the mare around her neck gently, "Damn, don't you scare me like that again, do you hear me?" she said sternly to the horse, though the effect was marred when she chuckled and rubbed her muzzle gently. Her mood fell quickly, however, when she glanced at something on the horizon and frowned, “Um.....†she said quietly, looking over his shoulder at something behind him, “I don't think that's normal, is it?†Alistair frowned in confusion at this as he was checking up on Cesare, who for the record looked about as happy as one could be at the moment, and spun around to see what she was staring at. A red tint was rapidly streaking through the clouds and slowly turning the world around them dark red, “What the....a gate?†he muttered in surprise and frowned, “How is that even possible.....? “I dunno,†she replied and patted him on the back, “But whatever the reason, it can't be good. Therefore, we should go take care of it, right?†Her face grew serious as she said it and gave him a brief nod before climbing up onto her horse and promptly riding as fast as they could towards the gate. “Meh.....to be honest, I would rather sleep,†he said stubbornly before he checked the equipment to make sure everything was there, then climbed up on the war horse, "Come on then," he said to Cesare and gave his hind legs a gentle kick. Cesare snorted a little before he began galloping after Mia.

They both tightened their grip on their weapons as something crawled its way through the thick bushes. Its body was grotesque and bulky, blotches of dark green fur coating its body and his three beady eyes searching the road hungrily until it rested upon the two travelers. The horses in unison shrieked in fear and Alistair made to cling onto the saddle at Cesare's second attempt to kick him off. Staring back at the newcomer, he could clearly see that this was not a creature to be around, especially in the middle of nowhere with nobody to help them. In fact, he was a little worried this troll might have friends. While it was only a forest troll, the dumber and slower of its cousins, it still didn't help sate his fears. It was apparent the troll was hungry; its jaw was hanging rather loosely from its hinges and droplets of saliva dripped down onto the ground as it drooled over what seemed to be a feast. With a low hungry growl, it decided it couldn't wait anymore and launched itself at the terrified mare directly in front of him, his large brute-like arms opened wide to strike her down. Nina swore out loud as she saw it charge toward the two of them and, as quickly as she could, clambered on top of her horse. She nimbly launched herself off of the top of her mare just before the creature overtook the two and landed behind him with a thud. Alistair, unable to keep Cesare calm during the whole commotion, instead leapt off of the very frightened stallion and landed on the firm, stable earth. He spared a few moments of the battle to watch Cesare run into the thick of the woods; whether they were safe or not, Alistair was hoping it wasn't the latter. Unfortunately, the mare wasn't so lucky with her escape. The troll promptly crashed into the poor mare just mere moments after Nina had fled the spot with a large thud and terrified whine from Mia, "Oh you stinkin' piece of...." Nina muttered darkly before she yelled, “Hey, you big stinkin' brute! I'm over here!†The troll, seeing the rider absent from the writhing horse that he had pinned to the ground, turned his head towards the source of the noise and, finally noticing her, bared his teeth at the Imperial. He apparently wasn't pleased from how much his meal seemed to be moving. With a small, taunting grin, she raised a hand up and beckoned silently at the creature to give her all he's got. The troll in turn snarled at her fervently and quickly rushed towards the small female in the middle of the clearing, it's arms outstretched and claws extended to grab her... With speed not unlike a Bosmer, she stepped quickly to the right and ducked under one of his large, reaching arms. With a small chuckle, she held up a hand towards her brother to let her handle this; it was a long time since she had come face to face with a challenge, "Aww, is that all you got? I had Slaughterfish do better than you," she said and grinned widely. The troll made several more attempts to rush at her and pin her to the ground, but again and again she merely stepped out of his way, the grin never leaving her face for just a moment. Suddenly, the troll just stopped and merely stared at her apprehensively, pondering whether she was worth this much trouble. They were surprisingly so close together that she could count the individual ribs on the beast's torso, Huh.....that would explain the lack of bandits... Nina thought in curiosity as she stared back at him, smirking slightly, But then again, I really don't want to be someone's lunch, so.... "Heh, what's wrong? Do I not taste very good? That's weird, considering you couldn't even bite me," Nina asked in a mockingly surprised voice before chuckling a little, "Do I stink or something?" "Okay.....I think that's enough, Nina," Alistair said cautiously, eyeing the beast a little. At the word "taste", the troll's eyes widened greedily and his mouth gaped open, the only thoughts on his mind are how delicious she looked. The thoughts of his previously failed attempts slipping out of his mind, he gave a low, lustful growl before he charged once more. This time, Nina didn't bother to move from her spot as she watched the creature rapidly gain ground towards her, her hand on the hilt of her dagger. Before it was able to wrap his enlarged hands around the Imperial, there was a flash of steel on the corner of his eyes and a sharp, burning sensation on the side of his neck, along with the absence of his meal in front of him. With a wide smirk, Nina ripped the dagger out of soft flesh of his neck in a fluid motion, leaving a sizable gash that poured out ample amounts of blood, and kicked him sharply in the back to push it away from her. Alistair couldn't help but be surprised, though, as he saw the troll still standing and turning his head towards Nina, a malevolent glare clearly seen in his three black, beady eyes. Normally, a wound such as that would fell an enemy very quickly. But due to their unnatural constitution, it was merely an unnaturally large thorn that managed to pierce a humanoid's neck. He was stumbling, true, but he did not show any signs of injury except for a loud whine that he had gave out prior to the knife being wrenched out of his neck. Nina muttered something under her breath and prepare herself for whenever he would launch himself at her again. Alistair didn't want to wait for the troll to make a move this time, though, and he thought they should finish this quickly as the rain began steadily pounding the dirt around them. Making sure to stay out of the troll's line of site, he silently moved behind it, pulling one of his swords out as he figured out his plan of attack. He didn't know much about trolls, but he did know one thing: it can be killed. It's just the matter of weakening it enough. It was already starving, so it should be fairly easy. At least that was what he hoped Just as the creature began to make a move towards his sister, he rushed over to its side at once, bringing the edge of the shortsword down onto one of the troll's hands and pinning it to the ground. The troll let out a pained wail as his wrist was suddenly immobilized by this new assailant and made to pull it away from Alistair. But the Imperial was having none of it; keeping his grip on the sword, he used almost all the weight he could spare as he struck out a sharp kick to the side of the troll's knee. While it didn't break the knee like he has hoped, the beast did double-over in pain with a loud whine, giving him a sliver of a chance where he then pulled the sword away from its wrist and brought the sword up into its face in a smooth motion, slicing the edge of the blade at its neck for the finishing blow. The next thing he knew, the rocky ground of the road was suddenly rushing up towards him. He wasn't able to react quickly enough before he blatantly face-planted into the ground. He could barely hear a female voice calling out to him as he stirred softly on the ground. Groaning a little, he lifted his head up and tried to figure out what exactly had just happened. A warm trickle of something thick and of some fluid ran down his cheek and in annoyance, he raised one of his hands up to wipe it away, only to find out it was blood. His face ended up mildly cut and, to his mild surprise, his ribs were throbbing achingly in pain. He heard the troll growl fervently and, realizing the ground might not be the best place to be, he quickly climbed up to his feet and noticing that he didn't quite injure the troll the way he wanted, but he did manage to create a blind spot on his left. A wide laceration went straight from the lower-right side of his jaw up to the left temple, taking out one of his eyes in the process which looked like nothing except clearish-white fluid mingled with the unnaturally dark hue of troll blood. The creature ignored it's fruitless efforts to fell the female agent and instead turned its attention to the male in front of him, roaring loudly in displeasure. But then a different sound came out of the troll, a piercing wail that shattered the air before progressively getting weaker and weaker. Alistair frowned a little until he saw something strange coming out of its ears. Nina slowly pulled both of the daggers out from the dead troll's skull and kicked the bloodied, scrawny body away from her before rushing up to her brother, “Oi, you alright?†“I'm fine, I'm fine,†he said, waving it off as he shrugged his shoulders lightly, wiping the collecting pool of blood from his face with his sleeve, “You?†“I'm alright, I was a little worried about you though,†she said gently, tentatively touching one of the scratches on his face, "The damn thing hit you pretty hard," “It's superficial; it's nothing,†Alistair gave her a small chuckle before eying the troll on the ground, "Though I will agree with you on that part," “Well,†Nina said, glancing at the corpse as well, “I didn't remember hearing stories about how easy trolls can be killed. I kinda expected a better fight than what that thing gave,†“It was starving,†he said simply and prodded the body with his foot, “It probably didn't have enough energy to put out a full fight, you saw how it attacked Mia....†“Oh god....†Nina winced and ran her hand through her hair, “I hope she's alright. That damn thing ran her over like a sapling....†Not seeing her mare anywhere, she sighed heavily in distress. But it wasn't long before curiosity overcame her mind again and she asked, “Hey......don't trolls usually kill each other? You would think that they wouldn't waste such good food like that...and if that's the case, then why haven't they tried to kill each other....they're not like goblins....†“And when did you become an expert on trolls?†Alistair couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his sister, “For all we know, they could be mutated goblins or some mage decided it would be fun to giantize tiny gnomes and then ended up eaten in the process,†“Well, he did deserve it,†Nina said and shrugged a little, “Well, the lucky thing was there was only one. Could've been worse, right?†There was a further rustling of leaves and when Alistair turned around, expecting either one of the horses, he instead was met with another pair of eyes; the same as the enemy that attacked them before, “Aw dammit, Nina....what'd I say about jinxing things like this!?†Alistair yelled and rounded at her, giving her a small glare. “Um.......nothing. You didn't say anything!†Nina said, glaring back before quickly turning around to yet another sound behind her, “Aw damn....†she muttered as she saw two trolls make their way through the trees, much bigger and more healthy-looking than the previous assailant. She was wondering if this might just be pushing it a little and was actually thinking about retreating, until she realized they were surrounded. Alistair glanced at those two before turning back to the first group, both hands wielding his weapon, “If we get out of this, we are going to be having a big talk....â€

“Admit it,†“No,†“You know I'm just going to keep bugging you until you admit it, right?†“And you know that I will pull you off that damn horse, tie you up, and then gag you until we reach an inn, right? And you know, on that thought, I think I should keep you tied up like that until I grow old and die...." "Ha, you wouldn't do that. You love me too much,†“Watch me,†“Fine, I will," Alistair glared before snapping the reins on his horse to get him to move. Cesare whined a little in protest, but he quickly obliged and sped up into a trot until they were in front of the mare. With a small glare, he pulled at the reigns on his horse sharply, causing the two of them to stop right in front of his companion. The female rider growled a little in annoyance at the sudden blockage and pulled at her mare's reigns to stop her before they rammed into each other. But her annoyance soon turned into a wide smirk as she stared back at Alistair, “When will you ever admit that you have a certain love for them?†“I will not because I do not have a 'love' for them,†Alistair growled a little at her, “Now.....how about you be a good little sister and stay silent for the rest of the trip? Hm?†“You know denial's the same thing as admitting it,†Nina snickered at him and gently guided her horse around her brother's so that they could resume traveling. “Grr.....one of these days....†Alistair shook his head, but he didn't say anything else. He really did love his sister. She did so many things for him that it would probably be impossible for him to repay her anytime in the future. But sometimes he can't help but wish that he could slip a necklace enchanted with a silence spell around her neck. “One of these days you'll find out that you're pathetic without me. I know, I know,†Nina chuckled, though not unkindly. But when her brother didn't respond anymore, she shrugged gently and the two of them traveled in silence, the native wildlife and their thoughts being the only things keeping them company, “.....Alistair, you need to lighten up a little....,†she said all of the sudden, “It's been almost a year now and we're as far away from those cities and that prison than we've ever been.....†“And yet the memories of it still stab me in the heart,†he muttered and turned his head away to hide the shame that was in his eyes. It was still hard to believe everything that had happened and that it was his fault....Dear gods, what have I done to deserve this.....? Nina merely looked at him sadly and sighed gently before turning back to the road ahead of them. The sun a few moments ago had been streaming down pleasantly through the treetops of the forest, basking the ground with an almost artwork display of sunlight and shade. But now, almost in synchronization with her brother's mood, dark ominous clouds were now forming on top of their heads and bringing along cold wind and an air of a downpour coming. It took a while for Alistair to notice this. But, when he felt a cold water drop his the back of his neck, he finally snapped out of his reverie and turned his brown eyes to glance up at the sky, "Gah, damn weather...." he muttered and tilted his head down to survey the roads. It wasn't long before the two of them halted when they reached an intersection, with no clue as to which direction to head to. Where there was supposed to be a signpost, there instead was a hole in the ground, the damage to the soil suggesting it had been ripped out. Whether the sign was taken out by someone or the weather ripped it out by itself, it was rather hard to tell. Either way, the feeling in his gut suggested it couldn't bode well for either of them. Alistair merely stared at the hole cautiously for a little while before turning his head towards Nina, “Well......this was all your idea,†he said with a small chuckle, “Pick your poison,†“I dunno.....,†Nina frowned and turned her head up to the clouds, as if expecting the sunshine to pop through the clouds and tell them which way to go, “I know a guy said there was a tavern nearby, but he didn't say which path to take.....†“Well...†Alistair muttered and scratched his chin in thought while looking at the direction the clouds were rolling; they seemed to be coming from the north and it wasn't long before small water drops began hitting his face. When one of them hit him around one of his eyes, he muttered and wiped his face with his sleeve before saying, “.......I'll take my chances west. I don't feel like getting soaking wet right at this moment....no offense of course, my dear water-loving sister,†he snickered quietly, a sly smirk on his face. She raised an eyebrow at him at the remark on her ears, “Oh? Just because I fell into a river when I was five, it gave you permission to go and tease me about it for the rest of my life....funny, Alistair," she said, trying to look threateningly. But her small smirk ruined the effect and she let out a dark chuckle before turning back to the situation at hand, "Eh....Alright, I guess we could try that way,†she shrugged. But something was still nagging her in the back of her mind as she stared at the spot of the former signpost, “.....any idea what happened to it?†she couldn't help but ask, concern in her eyes. He knew she was thinking of the exact thing. When she saw him freeing his shortswords from the scabbards, she blinked at him before promptly freeing both of her daggers from their scabbards, “Damn......they just can't leave us alone, can they?†Nina muttered, sounding a little disappointed. This would be the fifteenth time bandits have tried tried to rob them. Though, she couldn't help but think, they have dealt with much less burglars around the border of Cyrodiil than in the lower half of Valenwood. But far from making them feel more comfortable, it only just made them a little more nervous. “Whatever happened to it, I'm not taking a chance,†he said in a serious tone. He shifted his weight a little on the stallion before urging the him on westward. Though he couldn't help but look over his shoulder back at the empty spot, wondering what may have happened to it. It could have been something innocent. But something in the back of his mind told him this wasn't exactly the case. With a small sigh, he turned his head back to the front and kept a cautious eye on their surroundings. The thing he hated most in the world was being surprised and he was going to make sure it wouldn't happen to them tonight. That's when things started to get a little strange. They had only walked a few feet along the western road when Cesare started whining a little, Mia following him rather shortly, “What in Oblivion....†Nina muttered and placed her hand on her mare's neck to calm her down and whispering a few discrete words in her ear. But it didn't work and, instead, they just stopped right in their tracks and started snorting in fear. These aren't bandits... Alistair thought silently and tightened his grip on the saddle, foiling the stallion's attempt to throw him off his back and bolt for the hills, “Nina, turn around....we're not going this way....†he muttered as quietly as he could to her and tugged at her arm to get her attention. But just as he did so, they both froze as they heard a low rustle of leaves and a deep growl....

Character: Alistair L'landur - - - - - - - Character Age: 25 Character Race: Imperial Character Birthsign: The Warrior Character Class Main: Barbarian Abilities: A silver tongue (mainly just used to charm women) Marital status: Single Children: None Siblings: Sister: Nina - - - - - - - Sex: Male Height: 6†1' Weight: 165 lbs Eye color: Darkish Brown Hair color: Dark Brown Hair style: Head: Very blunt-cut short hair Facial: Small bit of fuzz along his jawline, the beard being thicker around his mouth - - - - - - - Equipment: Armor: All his armor is leather minus one exception: a light-weight chainmail shirt below his shirt for the real protection. Otherwise, he wears a brown vest for decorative purposes, armguards on both arms with its use apparent with the number of scratches and stitches that decorate it, and boots that serve as legguards as well and is the same color as his pants. Clothing: A white cloth tunic, slightly tight black pants. Weapons: Occasionally carries two normal, steel shortswords hidden on his person, otherwise prefers a longsword or a claymore. Horse Name and Desc: Cesare, a black stallion warhorse with the age of an old man, but the strength and mind of a ten-year old. - - - - - - - Life Stories: Birth Location: Southpoint, Valenwood Background: Alistair prefers not to dwell in the past, instead preferring to live in the present and look forward to the future. But he does hint on occasion of coming from a “normal-enough†family. Though he does not say anything, his sister will often drop hints about his past life, only to receive a silent death stare from him and a lack of communication from him for the next couple of days. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Character: Nina L'landur - - - - - - - Character Age: 22 Character Race: Imperial Character Birthsign: The Steed Character Class Main: Agent Abilities: Very acrobatic, can run faster than most people Marital status: Single Children: None Siblings: Brother: Alistair - - - - - - - Sex: Female Height: 5†8' Weight: 136 lbs Eye color: Root-beer brown Hair color: Dark Brown Hair style: Head: Short hair, not arranged in any real fancy way. - - - - - - - Equipment: Armor: Her cuirass is of a thin, dark leather type and is enchanted so she could have the protection she wants without hindering her maneuvering or speed. Otherwise wears steel armguards and legguards. Boots are of the same enchanted leather. Clothing: A dark maroon blouse under the cuirass and darkish-brown leggings Weapons: Will use anything and everything she can find as a weapon. Otherwise carries around a couple of hidden daggers, throwing knifes, poisoned needles with a vial of poison next to them, and a bow if she thinks there might be more trouble than she can handle head-on. Horse Name and Desc: Mia, a grey mare that could pose rather well as a twin of Nina, if she was a human herself and “twin†being based on personality. - - - - - - - Life Stories: Birth Location: Southpoint, Valenwood Background: Unlike her brother she is perfectly content with achieving smaller goals, whether it's nicking a coin off of a person or successfully running from a mob of city guards after trying to break into a museum. Like all thieves, she steals the priceless gems and shiny objects. But unlike thieves, she only does it just so she can prove to everybody that the guards aren't as “high and mighty†as they like them to believe, not for the gold or the fame of having stolen such “hot†merchandise on her hands. But if there is one person who has the ability to keep her from doing something very disastrous, it's her brother. When she's not trying to fight or to flee, she's can be often found drinking to her hearts content and probably chatting someone to death if they are that unlucky.

A birth certificate doesn't tell ya how to change diapers. Congrats Rider and Ladyflcn. She is just absolutely beautiful.

Damn, nice Stargate SG-1 collection. Bah...All I have is season one and season ten. I watch all the other episodes on This (tv channel).

Not my fault. Mom was the one that kept feeding them. I just gave them names because I got tired of calling them "Kitty #1", "Kitty #2", etc.

Ha, we have 20 cats running around and I have names for all of them. *ahem* You want them?