Tavern Tales: Come on in and Have a Drink! Part VI

[WhoGuru]

Vines nearly covered the walls of the the ancient hall they walked as they rose upward on the stairs. In some places, Red could see the vines were all that was holding the crumbled blocks in place. She trailed a finger along one and realized it was not a vine at all but a root as in fact they were all were. The roots of the massive trees growing around and through the fort.

They glistened with moisture in the light of the torch she carried and almost seemed to be pulsing with life. The thought unnerved her slightly and she stepped away from the walls. She kept a wary eye on them and then forgot them as they emerged into a grand hall. The ceiling was stories above them and broken here and there by perfect circles. Through the openings they glimpsed peaks at the blue sky above.

Vines and roots dangled through them, trailing to the floor to twine together and cover it. They masked what Red saw was some sort of intricate mosaic covering the whole of the floor. There were archways, two heads tall leading from the domed room in many directions and a set of dilapidated stone thrones in the center of the room atop a dais covered in moss, vine and roots.

"I've never seen the like of this place." Red whispered in awe. Grond grunted.

"Nor have I. I wonder what the name of this place was?" He wondered to himself.

Red moved toward the thrones, seeing the winking of some jewel at the head of each. As she stepped a foot up onto the green dais, the root covered floor beneath gave a twitch. She stopped in mid step and swallowed. "Tell me I did not just see that." She said to Grond as she pulled her sword free of the scabbard.

Grond slipped his Hammer over his shoulder and stood still. "Wish you hadn't lass." He looked about at the walls around them, into the archways leading off and saw one not too far away. In the dim light filtering down from the ceiling it looked to be clear of the roots. "To your left Red. See that Arch?"

She turned her head and saw it. "Got it. No roots." She lifted her foot from the dais and it seemed the vines had been waiting patiently. The floor writhed and the vine and root tangles coming from the skylights swung about to her. She felt them twine about her shoulders and waist, some wrapping about her legs and swung her up from the floor. "Don't you move!" She yelled to Grond as he swung past her vision, his worried face looking up at her.

"You expect me to stand her and do nothing?!" He bellowed back, anger masking his face as he hefted the hammer and tried to find the best spot to strike.

"They're not coming for you!" Red yelled back and swung out at another root coming toward. She sliced it neatly and watched it fall still to the floor below where it was wrapped up by the others. "They're only going for movement. They don't see you yet!" Her voice became breathless as the vines about her middle began to squeeze and those wrapped about her legs began to pull, as if trying to yank her limbs from her.

She'd dropped the torch to the dais when the vines had attacked. Looking down she saw the flames still and saw it was now in a clear spot on the stone. The vines and roots it had landed on had pulled away from it. She managed to free one arm enough to reach back to her pack and pull a second torch loose. It was getting hard to breathe and she was sure she was going to be an inch taller if they got out of this.

"Grond!" She called breathlessly and tossed the torch to him. "Light it! Use it to get through them! Get below me!"

In her right hand she still held firmly to her sword and waited, watching Grond strike flint to steel and the flare of light as the torch lit. He lowered it to the floor, Hammer in his other hand and grinned suddenly as the roots and vines shrank back from the flame. "Hang on lass!"

Red kept her eyes to him as he progressed closer and was finally almost beneath her. With the last of her strength she gave a mighty swing up over her head with the sword and sliced through the vines holding her. She fell some twenty feet to crash into the floor, cushioned slightly by the roots and smiled painfully. Small favors, she thought, as they moved beneath and began to twine about her.

Grond reached her then, using the torch close to her body to force the roots back. He tossed his Hammer back over his shoulder and grabbed her left arm, drawing her up from the floor. Red leaned heavily on him, gasping in much needed air and smiled. Her legs were a stinging misery as blood flowed back into them, the roots dropping away with passes of the torch and she found she had trouble walking.

"Well, this is going well." Grond commented with a wry smile and without asking, flipped her up over a shoulder as she protested and swept a clear path to the archway they had singled out. While the vines and roots twisted around them they stayed clear of the flames from the torch, some whipping away when burning bits of pitch dropped on them.

They reached the safety of the hall and inside found it blissfully free of vines or roots. Grond dropped her back to her feet and her legs bent in pain. She propped herself on the wall, rubbing bruised ribs with one hand and feeling back into her legs with the other as she glared at Grond. "I could have walked."

Grond chuckled, watching the mass of vines behind them settle back into motionless waiting before he turned to her. "That wouldn't have been as much fun." She fought between annoyance and humor and finally laughed.

"I'm telling Garulf on you." Red shook her head and he snorted. She peered back into the new hall, straightening slowly with a grimace. "Keep that torch handy yeah?"

[DarkRider]

Quinn sighed as he entered the modest shop called Northern Goods and Trade. He had been combing the city for clues, talked to more people than he cared to in a lifetime, and had exhausted every avenue of commerce in Chorrol including the local thieves guild with the exception of this shabby double story house turned mercantile. The place was nearly empty save for the scattered collection of mismatched goods and a tall, elegantly dressed, green skinned Argonian woman, dusting the shelves and mirrors on the second floor. He approached her and she smile at him with rows of needle sharp teeth in a way that might have looked menacing if not for the kindness in her eyes.

“Welcome to Northern Goods and Trade,” she greeted warmly, “I am called Seed-Neeus and I am the proprietor here. How can I help you today? I have a nice collection of second hand daggers.”

“No thank you,” he declined, “I’m sorry to trouble you, but I was looking for a few items that were stolen from me, I think the thief may have sold them off as his own. In particular, I’m looking for a medallion that looks like this,” he said withdrawing a sketch of his lost medallion from his coat pocket and showing it to her.

Seed-Neeus examined the image carefully for several moments as if giving the question real consideration.

“The man would have been a hair taller than I, strong but thin, with tawny hair and beard, and a scar just here,” he motioned to his temple.

“Wait,” Seed-Neeus said at last, “Yes, I did see him, but not this medallion I’m sorry. He sold me a few other trinkets though, a rusty sword, some silver dinnerware, and some jewelry. In fact,” she paused and took his hand in hers turning it over to admire his ring, “He sold me a ring very much like this one.”

She was telling the truth. His ring had but one match and it too had been stolen in Anvil. Quinn suddenly became aware of his heart pounding in his chest, “How long ago was he here? What happened to the ring he sold you?”

“His name is Turk and I have done business with him before. He comes in to town from time to time with goods to sell, but I never thought these things might be stolen,” her face dropped in embarrassment, “I haven’t seen him around for longer than a fortnight now, but I do know he should return and soon.”

“And the ring?”

“I’m afraid the ring was sold already,” she replied, patting his hand before letting it go, “just four days ago one of the monks from Weynon Priory was here and purchased the ring. Perhaps if you speak to him and explain the circumstance he will part with it. The brothers there are all very kind.”

“Thank you my lady,” he said gratefully, “if you do see this man Turk, I would be in your debt if you did not mention I am looking for him.”

The Argonian nodded knowingly, “Of course I will say nothing. Good fortune on your quest.”

Quinn bowed slightly as he shoved the drawing of the medallion back into his jerkin and headed back out into the city. His search hadn’t been as fruitful as he hoped, he and Elm had tarried too long at the Tavern before coming north and the trail was nearly cold. Still, there was hope he would cross paths with the fiend again if he simply bided his time.

As he walked through the city Quinn kept an eye out for William, but the other man was no where amongst the crowds that he could see. He hoped whatever business the assassin had found to mete to he was having more fun than he was. Beyond the walls of the city the chapel bells chimed signaling mass to the lay brothers there and Quinn headed for the gate. Though it was not the prize he hoped to reclaim, it would be good to have his brother’s ring back in his possession. Upon leaving the city, his attention drifted toward the stable yard where Titan was grazing and Quinn opted to leave the horse behind, wandering through the long grass yards between the city and priory he had often run through chasing fireflies as a boy. He jumped the stone wall of the back paddock with skill and made his way to the priory house. A young monk met him at the door and smiled brightly.

“Good day stranger,” he greeted, “How does Talos guide you this fine afternoon.”

“I’m sorry to disturb your prayers brother; I’m looking for a monk who purchased a ring in recent days at Northern Goods and Trade.”

“Quinlan?” an aged voice called out from the library overhead, “Quinlan Caerew is that you?!” The hard, wrinkled face of an aged, burly, Imperial hybrid man peered over the rail, a musty tome in hand. As his eyes fell on the younger they lit with an uncanny strength for one his age and a broad smile split his lips. Casting the tome aside on a nearby table the studious old monk hurried down to greet him wrapping his arms around Quinn and pulling him into a warm hug.

“As I live and breathe,” the old man’s voice sounded relieved and he held the man who had once been a boy in his charge, “I had heard tell that Stormwake was ravaged, you and yours slain all.”

“It’s good to see you, Thom,” Quinn replied returning the embrace and allowing himself to feel comforted for a moment by his old teacher.

Thomas SwiftWater withdrew, keeping his hands on Quinn’s shoulders as he looked him over, “You’ve grown up well,” he commented, “the spitting image of your father,” he clapped Quinn’s shoulders before turning away, “Come, I have the ring you’re looking for.”

Quinn followed the old knight upstairs to the library, the shelves were laden with heavy tomes and the smell hit him as home and familiar.

“When I saw it in Seed-Neeus’s care I could hardly believe my old eyes,” Thomas explained pulling a small velvet bag from the desk drawer and fussing to open the tie with lightly trembling fingers, “I remember the trip your father had those struck for you boys in the Imperial City, so proud he was…ah there,” he pulled the tie open and tipped the ring out of the bag passing it to Quinn, “Still stained with Bevin’s blood,” he said reverently.

Quinn couldn’t look at the ring, the pain of taking it from Bevin’s butchered remains still fresh in his mind and heart. He slipped it into his pocket, “Seed-Neeus said a man called Turk sold her the ring.”

“Turk eh?” Thomas nodded, “I’ve seen him around the city jail when I take confessions there, a drunkard and a wastrel. How did he come by your brother’s ring?”

Quinn’s jaw clenched and his cheeks flushed, “I was robbed. A highway trap in Anvil harbor when we first got to Cyrodiil. He stole it from me then, along with…with father’s Tarnean medallion.”

Thomas went pale, “Is that what all this is about? The Lost City of Vahl Tarnea? I warned your father that unless they were destroyed it would be his undoing and now…whatever were you doing with that wretched thing in your possession?”

“Don’t worry, I doubt this thief has any idea what he’s stolen,” Quinn reasoned, “The men who attacked Stormwake were looking for the medallions and they found Bevin’s. They’re on their way to the lost city with it to claim the treasure, so I need to get father’s medallion back in time to stop them,” Quinn finished.

“Treasure?” the old man grumbled, “Ignorant fools, there never was any treasure to be found in Vahl Tarnea, at least no treasure to interest pick thieves and looters. Only death and worse for us all if they succeed,” he sighed, “Right then, I’m coming with you. Don’t try to talk me out of it Quinlan, there’s still some strength in this old body yet,” he said firmly.

Quinn smiled and set a hand on his teacher’s shoulder, “I need you to stay here old friend, where you’re safe. I couldn’t bear to bury another father over this foolishness.”

Thomas frowned, but unshed tears collected in his eyes for his fallen friend, “You’re father’s son,” he muttered, “Well, at least let me give you this,” the monk turned to the shelves and rummaged around for a minute or two until he found the parchment he was looking for, “When you do get the medallion, you’ll need this codex to translate the runes and find the city.”

Quinn accepted the scroll and placed it in his satchel for safe keeping, “I should get back to the city if I want to catch up with Turk.”

“Agreed,” Thomas said, “stay close to the Grey Mare, the ale is cheap but so is your thief. Talos will protect you. And Quinn, return to me when all this business is settled; I would like to know you are well.”

“I will,” Quinn promised, leaving the priory and heading back to the city in hopes of meeting his thief face to face before long.

-----------------------------------------------------

William was seated is a dark corner of the Grey Mare nursing his second ale and yet not feeling the alcohol’s effect yet. He sat so still in the back drop the world seemed to move about him as if he was in a separate realm yet sharing this space in time. It was his way to watch people, to understand human behavior was one of the tricks of being a good assassin. It felt strange to be playing this role again, the assassin, a role he had abandoned not long ago for a higher calling. At first he thought he could wear this life again like a comfortable old cloak, and resolve to be a simple man again, but life was not always as simple as it seemed it should be.

His eyes drifted to an unsavory fellow with reddish blond hair and beard seated at the bar. Unlike the others who were lost in their merry making, this man was serving a very different agenda and William watched as the man lifted the purse of the patron beside him, so deftly, the patron never noticed. But William had and his hand twitched. Just as his mind began to form a plan to end this thief’s career, a familiar form entered the pub. It was Quinn at last; perhaps this meant he had concluded his business and the two of them could make their way back to the Tavern. Quinn held his ground near the doorway, coming no further, William saw his eyes locked instantly on the red haired thief and just as quietly as he had entered, Quinn backed out of the Grey Mare unnoticed. His interest piqued, William let his drink rest, and waited for the thief to leave the pub.

---------------------------------------------

Quinn was waiting outside the pub, hidden in the shadows across the cobbled lane. It seemed an eternity before the tawny haired thief finally appeared, pulling his coat taut around him to fend off a cool night wind as he made his way down the lonely street, his head whipped back and forth as he scouted for danger. Quinn trailed behind him at a distance, waiting until the man turned down and alley way and they were well out of the eye of the city guard before confronting him.

“You have something that belongs to me,” Quinn’s voice was the only sound in the night except for a distant wind. The thief turned slowly and looked at him.

“Y-ou-you were dead,” he sputtered.

Quinn stayed partly hidden in shadow, his voice dark, “you have something that belongs to me,” he repeated ominously, relying on the man’s obvious superstitious and paranoid manner to rattle him.

The thief shook his head, “No, I don’t have anything of yours. I sold it all.”

“Where?”

“F-fire and steel, the smithy bought what I had,” the man was lying.

He could see the thief shifting his feet restlessly; he had a weapon, and was waiting for an opportunity to use it. Without his weapon he may be more eager to loose his tongue, so Quinn opted to give him the opportunity.

“If you’re lying, I will return for you,” Quinn promised, and then turned his back on the man to leave. This man was a coward and a thief; he would take this opening to strike, and he was ready to disarm him. Quinn heard the thief take a step on the cobblestone and then there was silence and no blow coming. The young Imperial spun to face him, his staff in hand, but the thief was no longer standing before him, he was crumpled on the ground in a heap, and for the briefest moment he didn’t see William standing over him. As time returned William stood, withdrawing his blade from the thief’s back and kicking the knife still clutched in the devil’s hand aside. Quinn looked from the body to the assassin and back.

“NO! What have you done!?” Quinn roared knocking William back away from his kill and dropping beside the thief who lay motionless on the cobblestone, blood beginning to pool beneath him. He searched the man’s pockets, finding no sign of his medallion.

William was caught off guard and for a moment grasped for a reply, “He was drawing down on you Quinn, believe me I was doing you a favor.”

Quinn pushed him back against the alley wall by his collar with surprising strength, “Don’t you ever kill in my name assassin, not ever…”

The Breton ignored the cues in his practiced bones telling him to assassinate this aggressor, “I am your friend and I was trying to help you. You were in danger,” he said, as much for his own benefit as Quinn’s.

Quinn let him go but stood before him staring at the ground and for the first time since his quest began, Quinn felt truly lost, “You ruined everything. I’ll never find it now.”

“Find what?”

“A medallion,” Quinn replied, “he stole a medallion from me in Anvil, but he didn’t sell it here, I’ve been all over this damn city,” he sighed, leaning against the wall and sliding down to sit on the ground, his wrists resting on his knees as he stared at the dead thief in front of them. William sighed. He had inadvertently made things harder for Quinn, but perhaps hope wasn’t lost entirely. He crouched and leaned against the wall beside the young Imperial.

“Was it silver?”

“No, gold,” Quinn shook his head.

William nudged him, “Come on, there’s a chance we can still find your medallion,” he said leading the way out of the alley before the city guard patrol discovered the thief. Quinn followed, though a bit grudgingly.

“What do you mean?” he asked as he followed.

“Anything gold doesn’t get fenced, it goes back into the guild. No doubt your thief took the medallion to the Imperial City and turned it in to his doyen.”

“We’re going to what…infiltrate the thieves guild?”

William shrugged, “Maybe, but we’ll need a plan and a bit of help first. I happen to know a red haired thief who may be able to lend us a hand.”

[grond]

"Oh my," said Red, as she looked with Grond down the passageway. The torch cast light ahead a short distance, and beyond all was dark, but "what's that?" both Red and Grond said in unison. For beyond, in the pitch blackness they spied small lights, not blue as were the familiar aylied chips which were often festooned along the walls of their underground places - these lights were a multitude of colors, and neither of the friends could tell certainly if the lights were set in walls, or if they hovered or lay on a pedestal, for the place ahead remained black despite the lights.

Red took the torch from Grond. "Let's go."

They went only a few feet when suddenly Red heard from behind her a great low rumbling sound, which ended abruptly.

It seemed that Grond had belched.

She turned to snap at him, but the Nord had stopped a pace or two behind. Both hands covered his mouth. The smile of feigned anger on Red's lips faded as she saw the terror in Grond's blue eyes. Casting her eyes about the corridor, and the hall behind, she saw nothing. "What's the trouble?" she whispered, concerned.

Grond shook his head wildly, then bent in a low bow. Red, her heart flailing, watched the Nord as he drew his boot through the dirt on the floor, and as the Nord drew a word there, she put her hands to her own mouth, suddenly understanding.

The single word was THUM. Red knew what the Nord had misspelled.

Thu'um. The Nord Storm Voice, that which Kynareth had gifted Grond, though he knew not its workings. He had used it twice before, and both times he believed that because he had felt deep anger he had aroused it. Neither of those times had the Nord called upon the Storm Voice. It had simply awakened itself within him.

When it came, however, it could not be refused. It would tear the Nord to pieces, he believed. So it was that when Red drew close to Grond, with worried eyes that looked up to him, and when she took hold of him, the Nord felt unable to contain the Thu'um any longer. He shook himself loose and burst past Red, knocking her to the dusty floor.

There are those Nords in Skyrim, it is said, who have such strong Voices, that they live their lives in solitude, and wear gags over their mouths on those occasions when they must enter society. It is a magnificent and terrible force. Legends tell that entire armies have been reduced to dust when attacked with the Storm Voice. There are places high in the snowy crags of Skyrim where those "blessed" with the thu'um train themselves in its use. Kynareth herself had given Grond a choice to go there, or to return to his loved ones and remain forever ignorant of the power within him. The Nord had chosen to return to the Tavern.

As he raced back to the wide hall, the Nord quietly and momentarily regretted that choice.

Grond came into the immense chamber and withdrew his hands from his mouth. The thu'um burst from him in a torrential wall of sound. Not a thousand Nords, shouting battle cries on a plain, would even come near to the sound released by Grond just then. Back in the corridor, Red tried to muffle her ears with her hands. She could hear Grond's voice within that massive cry, but it felt as if the voice were become a searing poison, or a wind of sharp blades, which aimed to cut her very form to shreds, or burn her to ashes from the inside out.

Grond watched, mildly dazed, as the voice swept from him and out, and into the enormous chamber. Like a shimmer of rage the wall of sound crashed against columns, against the thrones, and as it came, the sound pulverized each into a rocky dust which was swept up and away from him. Those living creepers, or roots, which had caught Red, disintegrated along with the stone. The wave reached the far wall. When it hit, the wall was blown apart as if it were sand. As Red stood, for now the sound was tolerable, and as she drew near Grond, they watched together as the wall collapsed and disintegrated, and bright beams of sunshine entered the chamber, filtered as they were by the wide boughs of the trees outside. The thu'um was spent. The trees beyond merely waved in the last effects of it, yet no thunderstorm had ever tossed those mighty trees as did the final power of Grond's strange Voice.

"Well," said Red, swiveling her jaw so that her ears might pop open again, "I guess you told them."

Then the inevitable happened. They heard a deep resonating rumble - "Not me this time dearie!", joked Grond - which came down to them from high above. Looking upwards, they suddenly spun and ran down the passageway, for the towering ceiling far above dropped, bringing with it those roots or vines which had been twisted round it.

They spent no more time to watch as enormous blocks fell, crashing into the thrones below. They ran to the relative safety of the dark passageway, a bit fearful that the destruction Grond had caused would follow them. But for the moment it seemed hale within the passageway.

"Sorry Dearie," said Grond as they slowed to a walk. "Did'na mean to shove ye back there. Ye alright?"

Red laughed. "Thanks, Nord, but that's what I should be asking you!" She touched his arm. "What's it feel like when it comes?"

Grond looked down at his dear friend. "Uh." He scratched his head. "Like a storm, I think. I wonder what it wanted?"

"What?" replied Red. "Speak up will you? My ears are plugged." At this they both laughed. Grond considered what he had said.

Then he continued. "Well, both times it hit me there was somebody precious in a fix, and I could'na do nothing 'bout it. I was just wondering what it wanted. I wasn't mad or nothing that time."

Red thought for a moment. "Dunno. Maybe it's growing in you? Maybe you need to figure out how to use it."

"I ain't going off to Skyrim!" protested the Nord. "Who'll keep you from bein' et by trees?"

"Well you almost shouted me to death," replied Red smiling. "We'll figure something out. How about a fine gag made from Haven's best silks? Hey that'll keep you and Garulf from yipping and yapping like little boys! I think it's a great idea!"

"Gag this, Dearie," replied the Nord.

Chuckling, they moved further along the black passageway.

[WillieSea]

In the morning Quinn and William retrieved their horses from the stables and once again the two were travelling through the hilly forest on their way back to the Tavern. They remained quiet as they travelled south through the forest undergrowth, each lost in their own thoughts.

Quinn was despondent at loosing the best lead he had found in his search for the family medallion. He glanced over at William as he rode slightly ahead of Quinn as they traded off taking point.

He wondered just who this very young but strangely accomplished assassin was and how he knew so much about the other side of the imperial law. He sighed, there was little to be gained in getting such questions answered. Besides, ever since he had come across the Tavern, strange things seemed to happen.

If Will was right about the thieves guild having the medallion, it would save him the unpleasantness of extracting the truth from the now dead thief. Perhaps employing a thief to catch the thieves was a better way of finding what was lost.

It was then that Quinn noted the hand signal from William that he had misinterpreted last time as a sneak attack by the assassin. It meant that there was immediate danger ahead and to prepare for attack. As Quinn rode around the tree, he too easily noted the bandits laying in wait in the bushes ahead on either side of the trail they followed. He also noted that William had slowed down to allow him to catch up.

They rode side by side as Quinn noted the calm and convincing obliviousness that William seemed to show as they rode forward. It would have made him laugh if the situation was not so serious, at how expertly Will manipulated his body and expression to make his enemies think they had the advantage.

At a flick of Will’s pinky finger, Quinn swung his staff over his head and followed its arc off his horse and cracked a bandit in the head as he was jumping up to attack them. As the bandit crumpled to the ground he expertly spun the center of the staff in his wrists smashing the other two bandits in the chest and neck with deadly force.

Having finally dealt with his enemies he turned to help William with the four bandits that had been on his side, only to see Will jumping back onto the back of his horse. Will nodded at Quinn as he wiped blood from his throwing daggers with what looked to be a scrap of clothing from one of the now deceased would be bandits. Quinn could not help but smile and chuckle lightly as he shook his head at the assassins’ nonchalant behavior. He jumped onto Titan’s back and rode up behind Will once again as they continued their journey southward.

- - -

William was slowly putting the pieces together of who Quinn was and what he was after. It was evident to him that Quinn had lost his family and he was hunting down their killers. It was a familiar quest that he himself had gone on at one time.

Although it seemed to Will that Quinn was more interested in the family heirloom, a medallion, more than he was in revenging his families murder. He would continue to watch and listen, perhaps he would learn more about the mysterious relic and why it was so important to Quinn.

They continued their ride south and as the day neared evening they arrived at the Tavern where Will hoped they would find Red.

[WhoGuru]

Red and Grond followed the hall as it curved along in semi-darkness. Ahead the light brightened and they cautiously stepped out onto what Red saw was a massive stone balcony. The stone wrapped around at waist height and was intricately carved with leaves and branches. She stepped to the edge beside ground and looked out. They were only a couple stories up in the fort at this point but she could see the boles of the ancient trees reaching high overhead, vines cascading down from the height.

"I'd give my eyeteeth to know who built this place." Grond said with a smile and shake of his head. "Magnificent."

"It is at that." Red agreed and wandered to the other end of the balcony. She held out her torch into the new hall and sniffed. "Still no more of the vines." She glanced back to Grond with a lopsided smirk. "Though if I were them I'd be worried about those belches of yours now."

Grond laughed and went over to her, peering in as she did. He could see that at the end it began to curve up out of sight around a corner and stepped in. "Let's see what other surprises this place holds."

-------------------------------

William and Quinn dismounted in the Tavern yard side by side in the noon glare of sun and Quinn followed the Breton into the familiar tap room, once more itching to be on his way. He briefly toyed with the idea of turning back outside and making for the Imperial City without William but dismissed the notion with difficulty. If Red could solve the problem simply he'd be a fool to go searching off on his own.

"Arlow!" William said as he stepped up to the bar. "Where is Red this afternoon?"

Arlow smiled. "Red left with Master Grond early this morning. Drink?" He plopped a couple tankards on the counter and raised a brow.

"Left?" Will frowned. "Did she say how long she'd be gone or where she went?"

"Ah no she didn't." Arlow smiled. "I did see her paying extra intent attention to a couple of travelers in here that were talking about some old ruin they found in the forests south of here." Arlow pointed. "That's one of them over there by the fire. Sounds like just the place that would draw Red's attention don't you think?"

Will laughed lightly. "Yes it does. Thank you Arlow." He turned his raptor gaze to the man seated by the fire and saw Quinn had already made his way to him and was sitting down beside him. Will scowled and followed. When he reached the table, he heard the man relating how he and he his friend had stumbled on a massive and unusual ruin deep in the forests. Quinn, for one usually so quiet, was doing a deft job of extracting every needed detail from the man. He smiled and laughed and sometimes oohed in amazement when it was expected and waved Arlow over to refill the mans drink as they spoke.

In the end, William was certain he could locate the ruin and studied Quinn with renewed respect as he said a goodbye to the man and rose. "Very well done, Quinn." He acknowledged.

"Thanks." Quinn shrugged and headed for the door. "You know these lands better than I. It's not far is it?"

"No, Two hours at most I should think." Will followed him out and gained his saddle as Quinn. "Less in fact if we ride hard. Any objections?"

"None. Our horses are rested." Quinn nodded to him and they both kneed their mounts into motion.

--------------------------

Several hours later, in the lost ruin, Red and Grond thought they must be somewhere near the middle of the keep. They had been turned aside in their explorations more than once by the trunk of one of the ancient trees growing up through the floor and blocking the hall completely. They'd discussed Grond using his Hammer to clear the way but had decided against it. If the trunks were now supporting the structure, it could come down atop them.

"Well this looks different." Grond commented as then entered a wide hall. It was a good thirty feet across. The end of the hall was lost in darkness to their torches. Unlike the other passages they had so far been in, the ceiling in this one was low, only a foot or so above Grond's head.

"Wonder why it's designed like this?" Red said. Her skin was all but itching with anxiety. They had not come across a single trap so far.

Grond lightly punched her shoulder. "Paranoid Red girl?" He laughed.

She chuckled. "Always. Makes my teeth itch when nothing tries to kill us for a while." She grinned at his laugh and started down the low ceilinged hall with him, eyes scouring the floor, walls and ceiling for any sign of traps. She found none.

"Do you suppose..." Grond began and was cut off as the they both heard a low rumble, then the floor beneath their feet began to vibrate, then the walls and the ceiling. A find dust trickled from the ceiling filling the air in the torchlight.

"Back. Run!" Red ordered and turned around, Grond at her heels as they pelted back the way they'd come. A slot in the ceiling and floor appeared ahead of them and a great, wrought iron gate slammed down from the ceiling and into the opening in the floor, blocking their way. "Damn!"

"We'll just lift up." Grond took a firm hold of the bars with Red beside him and they pulled. They struggled, rattling the bars but they would not budge. Red dropped to her knees, holding the torch over the thin gap in the floor and peered in.

"No good. There are clamps down there. They're holding the bars in place." She sat back on her heels and stood. "Okay, let's try the other end of the hall."

Grond kept his hands on the bars and strained against the clamps holding them. "Go on and check. Maybe I can break these clamps." He growled. Red shrugged and patted his back.

She jogged to the far end of the hall, torch held high and groaned when she reached it. A matching gate barred the way here as well. Red kicked it in a fit of temper and knelt to look in the opening seeing the same clamps below. "No good." She called back to Grond and got a grunt in response. She pulled a pick from a pouch at her waist, the longest she had and tried to reach the clamps. They were several inches to deep for her to reach and she cursed softly, putting the pick away and rising.

The hall began rumbling again and she heard Grond call her name. Red turned and started sprinting back to him. Just as he came in sight, she slid to a stop on the smooth stone. The walls to either side of them suddenly dropped away into the floor. Red thrust her torch out to one of the walls and gasped. Vicious sharp spikes had been hidden behind the wall. Looking to the other side she saw the same. As she looked they began to inch forward painfully slow.

Red ran the last few meters to Grond and grabbed his arm. He was staring at the spikes that had begun appearing beyond the edges of the walls. "Get the gate up?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Wont budge." He studied her for a moment and a wry smile split his face. "Happy now?"

"Huh?" Red asked, confused.

He began to chuckle. "Something's trying to kill us." He gestured to the walls and Red began to laugh despite the situation.

"Blissful." She wiped an eye and watched the spikes progression. She pulled her sword free and turned to the gate. "Back up big guy." She grinned at him and took the sword in both hands as he did.

"You really think that will work?" Grond asked.

"Can't hurt." Red swung the sword back and with a yell, swung it forward. It thunked into one of the bars, barely making a nick in the metal and the impact sang back along her arms. "Not. Fair." She growled and sheathed the sword again. She rubbed her arms and looked ruefully at her friend. "I'm open to suggestions. How about that Thu'um of yours again?"

Grond barked a laugh and shook his head. "Sorry, Dearie. I don't really have control over it."

"Lovely." Red went to one wall and studied the spikes. The nearest row were about a foot out now and she saw there was barely an inch of room between them and the gate. Between each spike itself there was less than three or four inches between. "Well, I've never been a pincushion."

Grond drew his Hammer and began whacking at the bars with his great strength. The spikes moved closer and he was forced to stop. The act of swinging the weapon wasn't possible now. There wasn't enough room left. "Grond?"

"I know Lass." He said. The Nord put his Hammer up and went back to trying to lift the bars.

The spikes neared and they were forced to turn sideways between them. Red felt one point shove into her thigh as another just pierced the skin of her left shoulder and she heard Grond grunting in pain beside her. She tried to turn between them and give herself more room but couldn't.

"Next time I ask you to come get into trouble with me." Red said breathlessly, squinting her eyes against the pain. "Thump me and tie me up alright?"

"Deal." Grond said and managed a fatalistic chuckle. "Next time."

[DarkRider]

Time seemed to suspend as the two rogues braced for their end in the trap’s deadly hold. The gears propelling the vicious spikes forward groaned and their impending doom slowed under the wear of age. The two rogues tried desperately to jam the trap from closing but their efforts were to no avail. Grond was grateful the spike that would have pierced him through his belly had been broken off many years before; still it was a tight squeeze and he would be unable to maneuver an inch within moments.

“I think we might actually be in a spot of trouble here darling,” Grond said.

Red shifted her leg up to rest her boot on one of the spikes, “Maybe.”

For the first time in his life Grond found himself cursing his Nordly girth, “Listen girl, I think I need ta come clean with ye about something.”

“Grond no,” Red couldn’t bear to hear her friend’s last confession; refusing to believe this was their end, “we’ll get out of this somehow.”

“I just wanted ye to know, at winter solstice, that pie of yers that went missing,” he sighed, “I’m the one who ate it, and I’m sorry but…it was delicious.”

Red couldn’t help the laugh that burst from her, “Leave it to a Nord to think of food at a time like this.”

A flicker of movement followed by a soft skittering sound caught her attention and through the spikes, on the open side of the hall, a familiar red fox appeared scampering down the few stone stairs where he came to the gate, sniffed at it, and then sat down.

“Crevan,” her heart leapt, “Quinn we're here!” she shouted. Her mind warned her, Quinn was miles away by now, perhaps the fox had only followed them from the Tavern. But her worries were quieted when Quinn and William appeared around the corner and hurried down the stairs to the gate.

“Red!” William called out, his voice cracking ever so slightly in his concern. He immediately drew his blade and tried to wedge it into the gears but the hilt could not pass through the gate.

Quinn was suddenly tugging at his arm, “Can you lift me?”

William stood, turning to face him, “What?”

Quinn withdrew and extended his staff and deftly used it to knock open a thin stone panel overhead that had been almost seamlessly hidden. In shock at seeing his friends in peril William had not seen the panel, but he understood immediately what the plan was. As Quinn collapsed his staff, William braced himself, allowing the young Imperial to use his knee as a step, then his shoulder, pushing Quinn up into the narrow opening. It only took a second for the whole contraption to whine to a stop.

“Good lad Quinn!” Grond shouted up at the ceiling feeling a bit like a pincushion, “now can you get it open?”

“Hang on,” Quinn’s voice replied, sounding far away and below their feet and then, “It’s stuck, you have to push.”

Grond and Red, though wedged tightly were already positioned to push and gave it all they had. William pushed at the gate as its retraction would be part of forcing the trap back. This time, their efforts paid off and with a clatter the trap began retracting on its own. As soon as the gate was down William hurried to see if they needed aid. Save for a few scratches and bruises the two seemed none the worse for wear and his worry left him.

“Never thought I would be so happy to see you two,” Red grinned widely, “though we had it under control, we were just waiting for Grond’s body to do something spectacular,” her kidding duly earned her a confused expression, “I’m sorry William, impeccable timing as always.”

“Anytime,” William answered, “strange place this, I’ve never seen its like,” the assassin noted suspiciously.

Grond snorted, “Nor I, and tis odd we never came across this before as I’ve hunted all over this land.”

“It’s not real is why,” Quinn’s voice answered from below. Grond looked down into the gears of the trap and to his surprise saw Quinn peering up at him.

“Believe me boy it felt real enough,“ he answered, “and what in Stendarr’s name are you doing down there? Plan on joining us?”

A clanking sound responded first as Quinn shifted his weight off the lever, “What I mean is it’s not a real fort, the architecture is too refined for Imperial design, it’s just meant to look Imperial,” he disappeared.

“For what purpose,” Red puzzled aloud.

“Don’t know,” Quinn’s voice sounded further away. A lull of silence fell then, but was soon broken with, “Ah hells.”

“Ye alright?” Grond stiffened ready to blast his hammer through whatever might come next.

“You're not going to believe this,” Quinn growled, “I’m stuck!”

Red laughed but then covered her mouth and tried desperately to contain her amusement.

“Ha ha,” Quinn answered, “the back end of the trap mechanism is blocking the access point I came in through, I can’t get out.”

“Better him then us,” Grond teased to Red quietly.

“How can we help?” William crouched beside the open gearway waiting for Quinn to answer, “What do you see?”

“It looks like this whole thing is a machine,” Quinn appeared below him, “There’s a passage down here, I think it’s a service tunnel. If it is, I can follow you through the ruin and reset any traps that fire.”

Crevan slipped under William’s raised knee and wiggled his way through the tight gear hatch to join his master nearly landing on Quinn’s face in the process. Quinn’s jaw was set; the reality was going forward was his only way out and if he could help them through the ruin safely, it would be the best plan for everyone.

“Okay,” William agreed, “for now there is no other way. Just…be careful, friend.”

“You too, assassin,” Quinn answered before vanishing again.

William stood and turned to face his old friends, “Looks like a new adventure is at hand.”

Grond laughed, “Aye, seems providence has a new game in plan fer us.”

Red put her hands on her hips, “I really do like this place.”

[WillieSea]

Red lead the troupe down a particularly dark passage, the dust wafting up from the floor as she passed. William sneezed loudly causing more dust to fall from the cobwebs that hung from the ceiling. Grond and Red looked at the suddenly blushing Will as his eyes started to cross and he sneezed again into his sleeve in an attempt to muffle the noise.

As they started moving down the dust filled passage once more, Red suddenly put her hand up, “Hold!” Dust was still filtering down from the ceiling, but Red noticed several of the dust trails were coming down in a straight line. Looking more carefully she finally noticed that there were small holes in the ceiling where the dust was emanating from.

The traps in this place were extraordinarily devious and well hidden. She examined the floor and traced circles in the dust around each floor stone that was a trigger. They moved slowly and carefully past the area.

Then the passage suddenly opened up into a small chamber with doors leading off of it in all directions. A few broken wooden benches lay against the walls while an altar of some black rock filled the center of the room.

Grond walked up to the altar as William and Red examined the walls, floors and ceiling of the room to make sure there were no more surprises. The altar reminded Grond of the necromancer alters that were erected in hidden locations around Cyrodiil. As he approached it he could feel the ancient evil emanating from it like a thick mucus. He took a step back from it for a moment, made a quick decision and grabbed his war hammer in both of his strong arms.

Red looked over at Grond as he readied his weapon. She glanced about the room quickly as she pulled her own sword out, ready for a fight. Then she watched in horror as Grond quickly swung his massive hammer in a great arc and sent it crashing down onto the altar.

A resounding and deafening ring filled the room as Grond stood paralyzed, holding his hammer as it rested on the vibrating altar. More dust fell down from the ceiling as the noise echoed through the room and probably the whole fort. Both Will and Red covered their ears with their hands until the noise died down to a tolerable level.

Feeling started to come back into Grond’s still tingling arms and he was finally able to pull his hammer off the altar where it fell to the floor. Red ran up to Grond, “Are you okay you lummox? What were you thinking?”

Grond sat heavily on the floor as he began rubbing at his arms, “Oblivion! That hurt a wee bit.”

William watched as a red light peeked through the top of the altar and illuminated the ceiling. The light seemed to trace a line across the altar top in what started to appear to be a fractured crack which spread quickly over its surface. A fog or steam rose from the cracks and a feeling of dread came over Will. He yelled out, “Let’s get out of here, that thing is cracking open!”

Both Red and Grond looked up and saw the red light and rising fog streamers rising from the fracturing altar as a crackling noise filled the room. They both jumped back and followed Will down the hall they had used to enter the room.

They had not gone very far when a resounding boom and blast knocked the trio to the passage floor. When the dust settled and the ringing in their ears lessened, they got up and brushed at the dust that covered them.

“Well, that was interesting” Will said as he moved towards the room to inspect the damage. When they entered the room they had to step over shards of stone that covered the floor. Where the altar had been there was a blackened pile of rubble that still smoked from the explosion.

Red sighed, “I guess there is nothing left to look at in this room.” She clapped Grond on the back, “Let’s go.”

[WhoGuru]

They got only a few steps into the hall before Red stopped cold, eyes wide in shock. "QUINN!" She yelled and turned, darting back into the wreck of a room. She leaped over fallen chunks of the former altar and to the glowing wreck that was left of it. "Quinn? Quinn!" She yelled, pulling chunks of the black rock up and tossing them aside.

A moment later hands appeared to help her. William and Grond both looked stunned to have forgotten their friend beneath the floor. Red was near tears, hoping that if he'd been caught in the blast they could at least pull him free and hope to save him. "Quinn!" She called again as they dug down into the hole in the floor.

"M'alright." A thin voice came to them. Red pushed Will and Grond's hands away and put her ear to the small hole.

"Quinn?" She called again.

"I'm ok." His voice came more strongly this time. Red heard a couple strong coughs. "Next time a little warning would be nice!"

Red grinned and sat back in abject relief. "No worries Quinn." She called back down and glared up at Grond. He looked chagrined and ducked his head as Will did. "We'll make sure next time. We're heading out the other side of this chamber now."

Red stood and the two men reddened. "Red lass." Grond started and shook his head.

"I can't believe I didn't think of him." William said sadly, angry with himself. "I swear it will not happen again."

Red put a hand on Grond's arm and after a moment, on Will's as well. She wished she could remember this man. "It's alright. We were a bit distracted I suppose." She smiled and stepped past them heading for the hall once more.

Thirty meters or so further on the hall widened and Red slowed, the men at her back. On the walls to either side were a selection of what looked like Ayleid weaponry. "What do you suppose these are doing here?" She asked.

"Decoration perhaps?" Will said. A tapping from beneath their feet sounded.

"Careful!" Quinn's muffled voice came from beneath the floor. "This service tunnel splits left and right ahead. Whatever this is for must be round the other side."

"Thanks Quinn." Red called back to him. "We'll watch our step." As she spoke she heard a gate slam down behind them and another from somewhere ahead. "Oh hell." She groaned.

"What was that?" Quinn called from below.

"Gates just dropped!" Grond yelled back to him, pulling his Hammer free.

"I'll hurry! Be careful!" Quinn returned.

Below the floor, Quinn scurried to the intersection and chose the left. One looked much like the other in the light of the candle he'd found in his pack. Crevin trotted happily beside him as they moved. The tunnel was just high enough for him to move on his feet, crouched over but it was almost more comfortable to crawl.

He reached a turn and saw the tunnel snake away ahead around what must be the wall of the hall above. As he started down it, Crevin suddenly sat back on his haunches sniffing, then gave a small growl and looked up at Quinn. He heard a rumble then from above and knew some trap had sprung. Worry sped him on now toward the far end of the tunnel and he hoped the mechanism that controlled it.

Above in the hall, sections of the wall to either side dropped away into the floor revealing alcoves. Red leaped back from one beside her, drawing her sword in a fluid movement. She heard the ring of steel from Will and Grond as well. In each alcove were the dessicated husks of what looked to have once been Imperial soldiers of some sort. Little remained of their bodies inside the armor and empty sockets stared out at her from beneath the helm.

As Red watched, a green glow appeared in those empty eyes and the dead began to move. The floor beneath her suddenly moved under heels and she teetered for a moment then stepped forward toward the dead soldier and looked back. Sections of the floor all along the hall were randomly sliding open and closed revealing razor sharp spikes beneath them.

"Oh this is insane!" Red said in surprise and only instinct brought her sword up in time to counter a thrust of the Skeleton soldiers sword from in front of her.

[grond]

Quinn crept among horribly sharp blades. They surrounded him like steel stalagmites, taller than he. He listened to sounds which came from all around him as he stalked in the dim light of the candle.

The noises nearest had put him on a quiet alert. These were short dragging sounds, like spikes tapping and cutting against tile; they stopped as soon as Quinn halted to listen. He imagined the source of that noise, and hoped he had been mistaken.

A different noise made him move again: the sound of a winding series of clicks, which ended and was followed immediately by the grinding of a stone tile in the floor above him as it slipped away from its place. Then the clicks continued - a cycle, thought Quinn, and he searched for the winding mechanism which (he imagined) controlled the tile trap. He listened to the noises above as he sought the source of one of the noises below, and ignored the thing or things he dreaded were the authors of the other sound.

He heard sounds of battle above him; Red's grunted laughing exertions, Grond's hammer and the Nord's own wild grunting laughter, scuffling boots, and swung weapons felling undead foes; but no sound could he hear of William's silent attacks.

"Good one, Dearie!!" would come Grond's sudden laughing cry. Or, "Take that!!" would Quinn hear Red shout. But from William came nothing. Quinn imagined that no less destruction than Red or Grond did William deal above. Little joy did William find in the act of battle, Quinn mused - or perhaps it was indeed that the Breton took to this business of killing not with zest, but with a singular detachment. A professional detachment. Perhaps it was a business to William, thought Quinn. And within that silence was a sort of joy. But he quickly left aside the musing, for he had seen movement in the shadows near him, and with disgust he thought that he recognized it. And his earlier dread might prove to be true.

Ignoring the perhaps imagined sight, Quinn stepped through the deadly forest, ducking as one of the foes fell onto blades near him. I'm safe here, he thought, if there's something down here, these blades will defend me. But from a spell? He turned to Crevin. The fox lurked behind Quinn, and shot quick glances behind them, in the direction of the sound Quinn had earlier dreaded. "Watch my back, mate," he said.

Quinn came near to the mechanism. He could see the wide column and the source of the clicking. A network of steel strips sprang from a squat column, connecting there, like thread to a wicked spool, and wound tightly beneath a heavily greased iron stopper. Through a system of gears (sprung somehow by those above) attached to the pillar below the spool, the spinning center caused the stopper to lift, which released one of the steel strips, which then pulled a section of the floor away. When the stopper lifted again, a taut thicker strip of metal pushed the section back to its place, and another was pulled aside. Ingenious, thought Quinn. But how to end the spin cycle?

A quick idea flashed into Quinn's mind of a possible way, but it was interrupted by two things.

First, those above him began to shout to each other.

Then a vicious shriek from behind him curdled his blood.

Above Quinn, the floor trap took many of the ghastly soldiers, for the undead staggered slowly toward Red and the others, ruined feet dragging. But the companions took little notice of their fortune, and they felt not even slightly fortunate. Red had sheathed her sword in favor of the Welkynd Bow. She fired arrow upon arrow into dead chests, or backs; wherever she found a gap in the armor of one of the creeping undead, she fired, but her eyes came down often to the floor at her feet, and many times she leapt off the tile upon which she stood, before it slid out from under her.

Grond and his hammer fared likewise. Wide swings sent his attackers down headless. Often those Grond's hammer smashed fell into one of the open sections as the floor slid away, and there would come a sickening strange garbled cry as the dead soldier was impaled.

But then the Nord suddenly noticed something, and shouted, "OI! The--"

"--alcoves!!" cried William as he flicked knives into empty eye sockets. He noticed too, that which the Nord saw. "Red!! Grond!!" shouted William. "Try for an alcove!! The--"

"--floor isn't moving!!" exclaimed Red, finishing the thought the trio seemed to see as one.

Grond laughed and swept the legs from under a nearby foe. "I seen it too, you guys!" he shouted as he tumbled into an alcove.

Red hurtled towards an undead foe some distance ahead. As she came to its fore it swung a rusty claymore, but Red leaped high, and turned a somersault in the air above it. As the lithe Imperial twisted and came to land behind it, the creature turned. Red felt the floor and lunged backwards into the alcove from which the monster had just come. The dead foe dropped as the floor vanished.

William simply walked to another alcove, on his way shoving with two arms an oncoming dead foe into the newly opened hole, where it was impaled. He stood in his chosen alcove. Smiling, with two fingers he saluted Grond, who smiled in return.

Then, all at once the air was filled with a hideous shriek, which came from below.

As one, the friends above cried, "QUINN!"

[WillieSea]

Quinn turned towards the shrieking sound, trying to maneuver his staff in the cramped space under the floor. The shrieking noise continued, growing in intensity and then quieting in a rhythmic fashion. He could hear his friends above yelling as they fought some unknown creatures in mortal combat.

A movement caught his eye as a metallic spider like creature climbed a post where a gear slowly spun. It then squirted a black liquid on the post where the gear turned and the shrieking noise suddenly quieted down. The animated metal construction did not seem to take any notice of Quinn as he stood there watching it.

The fight above seemed to die down when suddenly the floor under Quinn’s feet started moving almost knocking him to his knees. With the floors movement came an incredibly loud shrieking from behind him. He spun around and saw that he actually stood on one of the giant gears where the noise came from the post it turned on. The noise was so deafening that Quinn had to cover his ears least he go deaf.

Quinn then jumped when the metallic spider skittered past him and moved towards the shrieking gear post and applied more of the black liquid to it where the noise suddenly died down. Unfortunately it was replaced by the screams of his friends above him.

Grond, Red and William jumped when the shrieking began but were stunned when metal bars shot out of the ceiling and crashed into the floor, holding them in the alcoves they had run to in order to escape the floor traps. In a moment, the loud shrieking quieted down but the back wall of the alcove started moving forwards.

Seeing the predicament they were in, Red yelled out again, “Quinn! Quinn? Can you hear me? Whatever is going on down there we are about to be sliced up! Quinn!”

Quinn saw that the giant gear set many other objects in the service tunnel in motion as he heard Red, Grond and Will screaming from above him. He had to act fast; by their screams whatever was happening would not wait for a casual inspection of the mechanism that was causing their distress.

There was no way he could stop the giant gear from turning with his staff as it would have crushed it like a toothpick. Thinking quick, he spun his staff in the cramped space and knocked the metal spider off the post it clung to, sending it spinning into the giant gears teeth where it crunched with a loud pop!

The giant gear stopped abruptly and a loud groaning could be heard coming from the mechanism it had powered. Smoke billowed from the central gear box as Quinn dove out of the small chamber, just as it exploded in a shower of metal shrapnel.

With the pressure released on the alcove’s bars, they shot back up into the ceiling and the back wall fell back to its original position. The floor traps stopped in whatever position they had been in when the trap exploded.

Grond, Red and William jumped out of the alcove and looked around. They heard Quinn chuckling below them at something he found humorous. Grond tapped the floor with his hammer and yelled, “Thank ye Quinn!”

[WillieSea]

Sunlight poured into the room through cracks in the outer wall masonry and dimly illuminated the room. There were at least a dozen skeletons laying on the floor or against the walls. The weapons they had once carried in life still lay near were each one of them had apparently died.

“What do we have here” Red whispered to Grond as they cautiously entered the room. William was bringing up the rear guard position as they made their way into the room. Red stopped and examined a few of the weapons that lay on the floor, “Cheap, crudely made and rusted. Certainly not worth packing them out of here.”

She dropped the weapon back onto the floor and continued through the room. She exclaimed to herself, “You would think a ruined fort like this would have a bit more treasure in it.”

Grond laughed, “Well, ye did get its location from Tavern gossip!”

Red looked mock hurt at Grond for a moment before laughing. They headed out the far archway as William came into the room and quickly glanced around at the various skeletons before rushing to the archway.

Quinn followed his friends’ footsteps which he heard above him. The service room was mostly empty except for many long blue crystals that pointed from the floor towards the room above him. His friends were exiting the room above so not seeing any obvious trap mechanisms in the room; he rushed towards the exit that mimicked the exit above him.

It was then that the crystals started to glow in a brilliant blue light. Quinn yelled out and tapped the ceiling to alert his friends, “Uhm, guys! Something is happening down here.”

William stopped and looked behind him after he heard Quinn sound the alarm. A blue glow surrounded and then infused each of the skeletons in the room. A second later, each of the once dead skeletons jerked into motion, grabbing the closest weapon and getting up onto their boney feet.

Will quickly scanned the room, there were at least twenty or more skeletons rising to their feet much to quickly for normal skeletons. A sudden fear rushed though William as the mass of skeletons turned their gaze on him. William yelled out, “Hey guys, some help in here!”

He pulled out his black sword as the multitude of faintly glowing skeletons surrounded him. The skeletons were eerily silent as they moved to attack en-mass. Grond and Red charged back into the room with their weapons drawn and saw a large group of skeletons with weapons at the ready and moving on their friend.

Will swung his blade and cleanly sliced through the bones of two of the skeletons, their bones clattered to the floor. He then dove to the ground and rolled through the opening he had created in their ranks as their weapons whistled in the air above him.

Grond barreled into the pack, swinging his war hammer in wide arc’s, smashing bone skulls to pieces. Red swung her own blade cutting several of the undead abominations in half, ducking under a two handed blade as it whooshed over her head. A mace found its mark on Grond’s shoulder making him grunt in pain. He whirled his hammer up into the air over his head and brought it down on his attacker, smashing bones to splinters on the ground.

The three heroes took down a majority of the skeletons quickly with minimal damage to themselves when to their horror, the smashed bones of those that had fallen would glow a bright blue and reform into a complete and once more animated skeleton. It would then pick up any nearby weapon and rejoin the fray.

Quinn heard the sounds of battle above and looked around frantically to see if there was some way he could help. But the only thing in the room were the blue glowing crystals. But he also noticed that not all of the crystals were glowing and when he heard bones rattle to the floor above, a glowing crystal would wink out. But in a few moments, another crystal would come to life in a bright blue light followed by the dismay of his friends.

Deciding on a course of action, Quinn took a firm grip on his staff and swung it around in a powerful arc and smashed the metal tip into one of the glowing crystals which shattered from the blow. The energy that the crystal had contained and focused erupted into the room sending bolts of magical energy coursing through the room until its power unexpectedly diminished rapidly as it gathered around William.

William tried to ignore the crackling bolts of energy as it seemed to seek him out and wrap itself around him. He gave little thought to the fact that the magical energy only made him feel stronger. A quick look at Red and Grond showed that they fared worse as the crackling energy singed them.

Quinn sat on the floor against a wall where he had been blasted to from the magical explosion. Streamers of smoke curled up around him and he exhaled a puff of smoke. He wisely decided that smashing an active crystal was not the solution to this problem.

Grond, Red and William danced in combat, smashing skeleton after advancing skeleton to the ground and tried to avoid the brunt of their attacks. Red yelled out as she dove backwards, a spiked mace whistled through the air in front of her face, “This is getting us nowhere!”

Grond smashed the ribcage of a skeleton, sending its skull and arms flying in different directions across the room, “I have to agree with ye, lass!” he grunted as he avoided the blow from another skeleton.

William leapt into the air over the vicious attack from a sword wielding skeleton as he sliced down his own blade onto a different skeleton, cutting it in half, “We can’t keep this up forever!”

[WillieSea]

Quinn pondered for a moment what to do. From his friends cries above him he knew that the skeletons that were attacking them were coming back to life as soon as they were destroyed. As much as it pained him, he had to destroy the crystals before his friends above tired from the battle and started making mistakes.

This time he decided to smash a darkened crystal. He cringed slightly as he smashed his staff into the dark crystal where it shattered, sending pieces of crystal flying across the room. Quinn slowly opened one eye, then the other. There was no explosion this time and the crystal pieces littered the floor.

With a smile on his face, Quinn started smashing the dark crystal with complete abandon until there were only brightly glowing crystals left. When he heard a victory cry from above, he quickly looked around the room for a suddenly dimmed crystal which he would smash with his staff.

Before long there was not one complete crystal and the floor was covered in shards. The ceiling was thumped several times with thanks ringing down once again. Quinn grinned again as he picked up Crevan so he would not cut his paws on the sharp crystals. He crunched across the floor to follow Grond, Red and William as they exited the room.

As Red moved along the short hall to the next room, she began to wonder what kind of structure this was. For the many deadly traps it had, the treasure must be wonderful! Her eyes became glossy thinking about the wealth they would eventually find. The thought of no treasure never even entered her mind…

William distrusted the place. It seemed to him that this place was just a death trap and that sooner or later they would be killed by the devious contraptions it held. Some treasures were not worth risking your life for. But he could not leave his friends; especially Red who he had thought was lost to the realms of the dead already.

Grond looked at Red as she eagerly advanced down the passage, looking for traps. He wondered if it would be better to just grab her over his shoulder and leave this place of death. He quickly squashed that idea, knowing she would return on her own in search of the ruins treasure. It would be better if they were here to help, especially with Quinn down below helping to deactivate the mechanisms. Oh well, all he could do was follow and stay alert and let his hammer do the talking.

[WhoGuru]

Red shook her head, clearing the dreamy vision of piles of glittering gems from her head. Wouldn't do to miss something obvious because of a daydream she chided herself. This place was devious, she thought. Some of the traps they'd found she'd never seen before and that was saying something for her. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, stretching the limits of her skills.

She had spotted several trip wires now and a couple blocks in the floor she knew were pressure plates, gesturing the men behind her around each. They were cleverly hidden and would have been missed if she were not now hyper vigilant for any threat. Red tapped the floor with the point of her sword, checking for Quinn and got a thunk in response from beneath her feet. She smiled. He was doing a good job of keeping them from death's grip and she promised herself to buy him a round when they were back at the Tavern.

Quinn's voice came from below her then, muffled by the stone. "Do you see anything up there?"

"No." Red replied, the others echoing her. "Why?"

"Well there's some sort of mechanism ahead, can't see it clearly yet. Be careful!" Quinn warned.

Red scoured the corridor ahead of them and still saw nothing. She took another step and felt the floor beneath her sink slightly. The whole of the floor, from wall to wall, rather than just a single tile. "Oh hell." She said with feeling and turned to back up, falling away from the reaching hands of Will and Grond as a stone wall slammed down from above. She hit the floor hard on her backside and scrambled to her feet. "That was NOT fair!" She said to no one in particular. "How am I supposed to see that?" She grumbled. "The whole bloody floor."

"Red!" Will's voice came through the wall. "Are you alright?"

"For the moment!" She called back and kicked at it in a fit of temper. A hissing sound started then and she turned back to the hall, her torch's guttering light wavered ahead of her and she could just see a pale, yellow gas beginning to leak from the seams in the walls. "Okay now I'm not so alright!" Red yelled back. "It's gas! Quinn?!" She yelled.

"Almost there!" Came the faint reply from further down the hall, beneath the floor.

----------

Quinn hunched through the short tunnel as fast as he could, his candle's meager light finally illuminating a series of tubes ahead of him. They ran out and up into the ceiling above and were filled with the gas. In some places the glass, brown with age, was cracked and small amounts of the stuff were leaking out into the air. The acrid smell tickled his throat, making him cough. He heard Red above him coughing as well.

----------

Red gagged on the smoke as she listened to Grond and William pounding on the other side of the wall. She covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve and ran down the hall. She knew it was futile but had to check. As her torchlight lit the way ahead of her, she came to a matching wall, blocking her path and kicked that one too. She sheathed her sword and began searching the sides of the hall, trying to breath shallow even as her eyes watered and her throat burned.

She was near the center of the hall, back towards her friends when she heard Quinn call out hoarsely from below and heard the sliding of stone behind her. Red whirled and saw two sections of wall sliding away to reveal two Skeletons waiting within. She drew her sword again, coughing so hard she doubled over and was having trouble seeing through the ever thickening gas as the undead things stepped out into the hall, raising swords of their own and came for her.

[DarkRider]

Red felt her knees weakening and followed her body’s cues, dropping to one knee and raising her blade defensively. The gaseous fumes were somewhat thinner down low. The skeletons stopped their chase and began to wander slowly, they did not appear to see her, but when Quinn called from beyond the wall to her right they became more agitated trying to find him.

“How’s that?” he shouted to Red, hoping he had managed the right sequence of valves to shut off the gas, which was no easy task in the near darkness. No reply came from Red but he could hear the all too familiar sound of skeletal gnashing and clawing. He cursed under his breath, somehow he had engaged the next phase of the trap, and the question remained if Red was even still alive. His candle hissed on the verge of burning out and he sighed, it seemed fate was not on their side at the moment. He fumbled in his satchel for a replacement but found his candles used up and this time he hadn't carried any torches on his person. His hand then brushed over something he didn’t recognize at first, but when he withdrew it from his satchel he knew just what it was even in the low candlelight; the Star of the Aedra, a carved welkynd stone pendant that Elm had given him at the beginning of their journey.

He removed the pendant from the leather pouch it was stored in and the blue crystal shone brightly, sending shadows dancing around the room just as his candle burned out. He slipped the pendant around his neck and turned back to the valves. Blue symbols began to glow on the stone over the valves. It was Ayleid writing that were activated by the light of the welkynd stone. They spelled out the function of the trap and Quinn was able to shut down the gas.

Red heard the hiss of the gas reverse and the air began to return as the gas thinned. Unfortunately, as the gaseous cloud cover faded so did her cloak from the undead. They spotted her right away and squawked as they readied their blades and scampered toward her. Red braced herself, trying to focus her strength, but before they could reach her William and Grond dropped into the pit from above and made quick work of the skeletal fiends scattering their bones to the stone. Red glanced up and saw that the wall holding them at bay had reopened, “And just in time..,” she thought gratefully.

The two men appeared at her sides and each took an arm to help steady her as she stood, “I was just about to make my move,” she said stubbornly, “but I guess I should say thanks,” she grinned.

Grond roared, “Well of course ye had everything under control lass, William and me just got impatient, sorry if we stole yer moment of glory,” he teased her knowingly.

“Sorry about the skeletons,” Quinn’s voice came through the wall, “Red alright?”

“I’m fine,” she answered setting her hands on her hips and feeling the last of the gas leaving her lungs, “Why hasn’t the floor raised?”

Quinn turned finding more Ayleid runes glowing in the welkynd light on the walls behind him, “It’s not meant to bear your weight,” he answered, “once you move on the trap will reset for…the next…” he struggled to read the last rune and translate it to common speak, “Pellan?” he rolled the Ayleid word over, not finding a translation coming to mind, “Anyone know enough Ayleid to translate Pellan?”

Red scrunched her face in thought, “It means “outsider”…why?”

Quinn read the runes again plugging in the new word and found himself enlightened, “Okay, move ahead to the far side of the pit where the skeleton holding gate is, the way through is beyond that, I’ll open the door.”

The three friends hurried to the gate, stooped their heads to enter the holding area, and found a stone door sliding open at the other end. As they moved through the archway, a hand reached through the mechanism and grabbed Red’s arm. She swallowed a surprised squeak and settled instead for cursing and shooting Quinn a narrow look. He grinned at her through the chains.

“Sorry,” he offered, realizing he'd startled her, “Before you go forward there’s a couple things you should know. First, keep an eye out for welkynd stones you can carry with you. The walls of this fortress are covered in hidden glyphs that glow in welkynd light; they might give you more clues to avoid the traps."

"That would be useful," the thief agreed, tired of being one step behind the fortress's design.

Quinn went on, "Second, I think this is a proving ground for Ayleid warriors.”

“Ye mean fer training?” Grond asked, "doesn't feel much like training."

“No no,” Quinn shook his head, “they would have trained somewhere else. Young Ayleids were considered outsiders until they proved themselves worthy to be counted amongst their ancestors as equals. They would train their skills as warriors and then test their mettle here.”

“So, this is good news right?” the Nord wasn’t much for Ayleid history and he was trying to find the relevance.

“No,” Red answered grimly, “It’s bad.”

“Very bad,” William corrected, “the Ayleids came here to prove themselves worthy which would entail the highest stakes if I’m correct.”

“Life or death,” Quinn confirmed, “this place was designed to kill you and only truly great warriors would survive and become members of their tribes. As you get closer to the end, it’s only going to get worse; likely much worse.”

“Can we go backward?” Red asked hopefully.

Quinn considered it a moment then shrugged, “I’m not sure but I don’t think so. Once you move into the next level, the passed level resets. They were designed to keep you moving along a specific path, even if you think you’re choosing your way.”

“Then we’ll keep moving forward until we get te the end,” Grond said, his jaw set sternly, he pointed a large finger at the Imperial, “and ye try te keep the bloody walls up eh?”

Quinn nodded, “Do my best, good luck,” he said before disappearing beyond the narrow gearway where they couldn’t see him anymore.

“Keep the walls up?” Red nudged him.

Grond shrugged, “Aye, well I can’t stand to be forced to the sideline while a dear friend gets smashed, gassed, or anything else fer that matter.”

“It wasn’t Quinn’s fault,” she reminded him, “it was mine,” she started down the new hall, “come on. Let’s see what else I can find for us to get into.”

[WillieSea]

Red lead the way past a couple of dart traps and right up to a steel bound wooden door. William and Grond huddled in behind her as she cautiously inspected the door. William watched in awe and admiration at the skill Red showed as she carefully disabled a small wire whose purpose he had no desire to learn its function.

She opened her lock picking kit and laid it on the floor before the door. Carefully choosing and testing several varieties of picks and probes, there was soon a soft click and she opened the door slowly.

Inside the room it looked like an obstacle course with a door on the far wall of the oblong room. Grond eyed the room suspiciously and grunted, “What be this now?”

There were several different paths into and through the room that went over hurdles, under bars, across rope bridges and swings over pits of sharpened spikes. Each path was separated by a metal mesh so you could only go one way on any chosen path through the room.

Both Red and William looked eagerly at the layout before them since they were both in professions where agility and acrobatics were a top priority. Grond on the other hand did not look quite so happy about the room.

A knocking came from below their feet, “There is not much down here, only what looks to be some moveable platforms and lever action blocks.” There was a short pause, “Perhaps…”

William and Red looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Grond just frowned at the room in general.

William grinned and jumped into a path. A loud clang sounded as iron bars shot up from the floor, locking him in. He looked back at his friends, “Meet you on the other side?” He then cautiously moved forward in his chosen course.

[DarkRider]

Grond snorted, “Well then, no reason to split up, I say we stick together,” he said, stepping onto the block ahead. Before she could start to take a step toward him, iron bars clanged into place behind him, “Ah hell,” Grond growled.

Red burst into a fit of laughter, “Looks like we don’t have any more choice,” she teased, stepping onto her path leader, the iron bars clanging behind her.

“What happened?” Quinn called out, hearing the clanging of iron and the howls of Red’s laughter from above.

“We’re okay,” Red shouted down to him, “We’ve been separated,” she stopped talking suddenly as the room began to tremor. Ahead of them the room was changing, thin walls rose up between them and the path ahead of each began to shift and change in preparation. It took several long minutes for the tremors to stop and when they finally did, Red could no longer hear Will or Grond in their slots, the iron bars behind her had been replaced by stone and the silence was deafening.

“Grond?” she called to her left, “William?” she called to her right when the Nord didn’t answer but the assassin didn’t answer her either. Red sighed, “Quinn?”

“What?” his familiar echoed voice answered her and she grinned.

Red tightened the leather holding her blade, “I’m going forward now.”

“Right,” he answered, but then there was a cracking sound from below followed by a, “Whoa wha hoo hoooooooooooo!"

Red hesitated for a moment, hoping what she thought she'd heard hadn't actually happened, “Quinn?” there was no answer and for the first time since entering the ruin Red felt uncertain if they would escape.

[WillieSea]

William smiled back at Grond and Red as he stood behind the bars of his chosen path. That smile faded however after the two friends also chose a path and then the walls closed in, sealing him on the path of his choice.

He yelled and knocked on the walls but heard no reply. Since he was now isolated he quickly turned to the task before him. The course visibly motivated as he watched as if generating a random set of obstacles.

He started to move forward when he felt heat on his back and heard the familiar crackling of a fire. Looking over his shoulder he watched as a fireball formed in the air at the starting position and grew in size as it slowly moved towards him. Apparently this was a timed course Will thought to himself, the fireball would ensure he did not dawdle.

He focused his attention on the path ahead and the first obstacle, a high wall. He ran at it, leaped and kicked off it with a foot catapulting himself up and over. Not trusting what was on the other side he grabbed at the top of the wall as he sailed over it. Unfortunately the top bricks were not mortared in place so the blocks came free in his grip.

As he flailed at the top of his flight he quickly looked down and saw a pit full of razor sharp rusted spikes. With no time to think, he swiveled his body and kicked at the other side of the wall on his way down. He landed on his feet at the edge of the pit rotating his arms to keep from falling in.

He finally managed to fall forward onto the stone floor off the pit; which sunk slightly from his weight, followed by a soft ‘Click’. Without time to curse, William rolled to the left and clung to the wall as the trap floor shifted and angled down. If he had been standing on that section of floor, he would surely have been dumped into the deadly pit. A few moments later the floor popped back into its original position.

Breathing hard, William thought about taking a breather until he saw the fireball slowly floating over the wall. With certain death behind and unknown danger ahead he jumped to his feet and ran down the short passage were he found spinning blades which swung out of slots in the walls. He carefully watched their pattern and when he felt the heat from the approaching fireball he jumped into the bladed hallway.

Forward, left, forward, forward, right, he timed each move as he counted the seconds off in his head. He ignored the crackling flames just behind him as he moved through the bladed gauntlet.

The next obstacle appeared to be a small hole in the wall which he would have to crawl through very quickly to avoid the fireball. Being an Assassin by trade he literally ran through the cramped tunnel on all fours. Once out the other side, he looked back just as the fireball entered the long tunnel he had just navigated.

A smile flashed across his face for a moment, this lead would give him some extra time should one of the obstacles prove difficult. He jumped to his feet and ran forward down the short hall when the floor suddenly sank under his feet while at the same time the ceiling came down and cracked William in the back of the head solidly.

As he fell to the floor his last thoughts before blacking out were of Red and her amazing trap spotting abilities. He then dreamed of Red coming down the passage to help him, her red hair shining brightly in the torch light.

But as she came closer she was suddenly laying on a stone slab in a castle far away. Will looked down on her lifeless body when her red hair suddenly flamed up into a fireball which advanced on William. He tried to move but was rooted to the spot. He screamed with all his might as the encroaching flaming sphere burned at his body…

[WillieSea]

William awoke with a start with the acrid smell of burning flesh in his nostrils. He pulled his burning legs away from the hot flaming sphere and scuttled down the hall, crab-like. The pain was intense as he limped down the short passage leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

He tried to concentrate on the next obstacle but the intense burning sensation in his charred legs fought for supremacy. There were two silvered rods with a ball on the end of each, one on either side of the passage walls.

He noticed a moment too late in his distracted state the pressure plates between the two rods. As his burnt foot sank with the plate, lightning bolts shot out of the rods, coursing over and through his body since he was between them.

The shocking energy rooted him to the spot with the smell of burning flesh still assaulting his senses. The energy crackled and sparked over him for a moment longer and then stopped.

William still stood there for a moment, not really understanding why he was still standing. The shocking energies should have finished him off, but for some reason he felt better for it. He looked down at his charred and burned legs to find them pink and healthy. He would have thought it all a dream except his pants were still burned away from the encounter with the fireball.

With sudden realization he looked behind him, “The fireball!”

It was still several lengths away, William sighed and tried to calm down and understand what had just happened. He unthinkingly ran across a thin post that spanned a long pit which was full of more of those rusted spikes.

He had to concentrate on the obstacle course, he could think about what happened to him later, if he survived this place.

[Xinimator]

Night was falling; Arisis collapsed onto the tree, breathing heavily as she clutched her left shoulder. She was wounded almost all over the place, blood dripping down her arms, legs, face, and clothing. Her armor was adorned with nicks and scratches, and blood nearly covered her whole body. There was so much pain coming from different areas of her body she didn't know which hurt more. But it wasn't those “tiny†scratches she was worried about; it was the gaping hole in her side where one of the strange figures had found his mark with his dagger.

It wasn't hurting so much anymore after Arisis managed to find some Lady's Mantle leaves and place them over the hole, but there was still the question of it being exposed like that. She had lost her travel bag to those “people†and barely escaped with her bow. She had used all her daggers during that fight and somehow lost her sword in the midst of the confusion. At the sudden thought of them, her eyes snapped open and warily scanned the forest around her: but as far as she could tell, it was clear.

She moaned and slid down onto the ground, her back resting on the base of the tree. Her shoulder bled profusely, blood dripping onto the ground in large quantities and painting the ground a dark red. Her mind was still in a sort of dark fog, which was making it hard for her to think. Never had she'd seen anything like them before. She had heard legends of them, true, but...for them to actually exist? Shivers shot down her spine at the thought of Light Thieves. She wondered how it could have been possible, as the whole order died at the end of the first era.

Her headed pounded as she tried to rearrange her confusing thoughts back in line. The loss of blood , the fog still residing in her mind, and the sounds of the quiet forest were not helping matters at all. She preferred to be at least be closer to the Tavern than where she currently was in this state. With painful, shaking legs, she managed to crawl back up the tree, wincing in pain as she made the climb upwards. Taking a deep breath, she unsteadily walked towards the next tree, using each tree as a sort of resting post.

All her life she had been fighting Necromancers and most of the time she didn't get so much as a scratch on her. But now...she was starting to view things a little differently. She reflected back to when she met the others, Red and Grond and everybody. Her heart sank as she replayed their conversations in her mind, taking small steps towards the next tree in front of her. She never realized how much she missed the company of other people around her. Over the years she felt a small emptiness in her, like a gap in her heart. She assumed it was because she still hadn't found her parents murderer's, but looking back...she vaguely remembered feeling kind of...comfortable, maybe even happy being with them, despite how much she didn't like Grond or Garulf much. She sighed; they were just trying to be nice to her and she basically shoved them back. She felt a small rock in her stomach as she trudged through the ever-growing darkness in the forest.

She tilted her head up by centimeters as she scanned the dark sky out of the corner of her eyes. It was painful to move her head in any direction, which made her suspect a broken neck. She groaned inwardly; she was practically kicking herself in the butt now for flunking out of Restoration class. But alas, even if she did have some knowledge in that subject, it would not have been much use to her. Her magicka reserve was nearly drained and she wanted to reserve as much as possible in case she encountered anything else. She heard about the trolls from listening to the taverners and felt like it would just make her night if she encountered one, especially if she can barely walk and can't even turn her head as it is. At least the moon would be full tonight and she would be able to see in the night.

As she tentatively walked through the forest on her weakened legs, she vaguely wondered if Lady Luck was finally giving her, perhaps, a small sort of break. She encountered nothing else of an aggressive type; no wolves, trolls, or Light Thiefs. She breathed a sigh of small sigh of relief, hoping she didn't just jinx herself with that thought. She gave out a small laugh into the middle of the peaceful silence; her parents always used to call her the superstitious type, believing in midwife tales and jinxes. She smiled, but her face fell just as fast. She wished things didn't had to have happened the way they were. Of all people, why did he attack them...? She shook her head as best as she could; there was no point thinking about it now. And the fog was getting worse by the minute. If she couldn't reach the Tavern by then, she is going to be in one hell of a position.

She could see blinking lights in the distance and with a small rush of relief, she began walking towards it. Despite that other people get in the way of what she is trying to do, she sometimes had to wonder why she was so aggressive to everybody. It was one of those things that always bugged her mind and she hated it. But she supposed that mystery, along with why he attacked her parents, was probably not going to be solved for a long time. She glanced down her bloodied body; She felt so old, it's a miracle she hasn't gone insane yet.

She looked up once more to see the Tavern windows glistening brightly in the moon-lit night. She glanced towards the stables and wondered if Artemis was okay. She had been her only companion for a long while; she had loved her, despite her flaws, like her fear of water. She trudged slowly into the barn and smiled at the black form of the horse, standing proudly in her stall. “Hey, Artemis...†she whispered quietly into the horse's ear, stroking her neck gently. Artemis gave a little neigh and nibbled on her bloodied shoulder, as if in a sign of worried. She gave her another smile, “It's alright...I'm fine.†She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. It was getting painfully hard to keep herself awake. As her breath began to quicken, the fog finally enveloped her mind in a thick, black blanket and she couldn't keep herself conscious anymore. She fell backwards onto the hay-strewn ground, not noticing her body colliding against the dirt as she fell through the darkness...

Edited July 17, 2010 by Xinimator

[Arion]

A

urorae had been waiting for two days for Arisis to return. She was beginning to think that Arisis probably decided to go on her own way. Still, Aurorae would have liked to thank her for being there to nurse her back to health. Maxwell was almost fully recovered and looking forward to coming back to the castle with her. The fever had taken its toll on both Aurorae's body and her supplies of healing potions. She figured it best to head back to the castle so she could replenish her supplies and so she and Max could get their strength back before deciding how to further proceed in her quest to find the cause of the this sickness and the necromancers.

It was getting late and Aurorae thought it best to go let Maxwell know that they would be leaving in the morning to head back to the castle. Aurorae knocked on Maxwell's door and entered when Maxwell bid her to come in.

"Max how are you feeling today", Aurorae asked. "Just fine." he replied, "but I'm really looking forward to visiting your castle." "I'd like to tell you my story when we get there and maybe it will help you in your quest."

Well!" said Aurorae. "I've been waiting for a couple of days for Arisis to return. I'd like to have thanked her for watching over me while I was with the fever. Wilson said she had gone off the gather herbs." Aurorae continued. "I've been concerned with her not returning. She wasn't in the best of spirits the last time I saw her and maybe she decided to go her own way." Aurorae continued, "At any rate I came to see if you are well enough to travel tomorrow. I really need to get back to the castle to replenish my supplies and I'd like to hear your story." Aurorae said.

Max cheered up and said, "I could be ready to travel in a few minutes if necessary." He then continued, "there seems to be too many things going on around here and some of the people that have come in here the past few days give me the spooks."

"It's settled then." said Aurorae. "We leave first thing in the morning. I'm going to settle up with Wilson and let the stable hand know that we'll be leaving at first light." Aurorae went on, "it's a two day ride back to the castle and I'm sure everyone would like to know how I've fared." With that Aurorae bid Max goodnight and headed downstairs to let Wilson know that they would be leaving at first light.

Aurorae stopped at her room to pack up her things that wouldn't be needed for the night and then headed downstairs to see Wilson. She said to Wilson, "Wilson, Max and I will be leaving at first light in the morning and I'd like to settle up my bill with you tonight so that we can get an early start without disturbing anyone in the morning." Wilson looked over her tab and said that her bill was 15 septiums counting her meal from mid-morning. Aurorae reached into the folds of her skirt and withdrew her small coin purse and paid Wilson. She then said to Wilson, "Wilson I can't thank you enough for the kindness you have shown me over the past few days. I wish Grond and the others were here as well so that I could thank them also."

Wilson replied, "I'm a bit worried Miss as Grond, Red and the others left yesterday to go check out some ruins but haven't returned yet. I hope they haven't run into any trouble." He continued. "Seems like there is always something happening around here." Wilson said what a sigh. "Yes it does Wilson." Aurorae replied. "There is no shortage of excitement here it seems. I expect to be returning soon after I get Max to the castle and replenish my supplies so that I can continue my search for the cause of that fever and the necromancers that are responsible." Aurorae said. And with that Aurorae turned and went to retrieve her traveling case to take to the stable.

As Aurorae was walking from the tavern to the stables she looked up at the clear sky and all the stars twinkling and thought, "Yes such a beautiful night. Looks like we'll have good weather for traveling in the morning." Aurorae paused to look at the stars and listen to the sounds of the night creatures when suddenly a large fireball shot across the sky. "By the Gods!" she exclaimed. Aurorae watched with trepidation as it shot across the sky and went below the horizon. It was an omen of bad things to come she thought. "What could this possibly mean now!" she said to herself as she started once again toward the stables.

Aurorae walked into the stables and looked for the stable hand. There didn't seem to be anyone around so she continued on to Eureka's stall. As she was walking pass the other stalls she noticed Arisis' horse Artemis was in its stall. "That's odd." thought Aurorae. If Arisis had gone to gather herbs, she surely must have gone close by if she didn't take her horse. Aurorae just hoped that nothing had happened to Arisis while she was out, with all the goblins and other dangerous things about. Aurorae continued to Eureka's stall and set her traveling case down.

Eureka seemed to be unsettled so Aurorae went over to comfort her. Aurorae put her arms around Eureka's neck and tried to comfort her. Eureka kept bumping her in the shoulder and looking in Artemis' direction and refused to calm down. It was as if Eureka was trying to tell her something. Aurorae looked back towards Artemis' stall and noticed that Artemis was now pacing back and forth in her stall. Aurorae thought back to the giant fireball that had just crossed the sky and thought maybe the horses had been spooked by it when she heard a soft, struggling moan.

Aurorae went to see where the sound came from and as she looked into Artemis' stall noticed a small crumpled up bundle at Artemis' feet. "By the heavens above!" exclaimed Aurorae as she realized it was a human form. Aurorae rushed in the stall and knelt beside the form and with a horrified gasp realized it was Arisis.

Arisis' armor was full of nicks and scratches and soaked in blood. She had numerous cuts and bruises all over her body. But as she was examining her, Aurorae saw the gaping wound in Arisis' side. There was a large amount of blood still streaming from the wound even though it looked as if Arisis had tried to pack it with lady's mantle. Aurorae felt Arisis' neck and there was barely a pulse. Her color was so white that Aurorae knew she was a hair's breath away from death.

Aurorae rushed over to her traveling chest and dug out what few potions she had left and ran back to Arisis' side. She would have to work quickly if she was to save Arisis' life. Aurorae gently lifted Arisis' head and dribbled one of her restorative potions on Arisis' lips. When she was satisfied that Arisis had taken in enough, Aurorae began to work on that gaping wound in her side. Aurorae placed her hands over the wound and cast a sealing spell in an attempt to staunch the flow of blood. While this had some effect, the blood was still coursing out of the wound.

Aurorae quickly made a poultice and applied it to the wound. She was going to have to stop the bleeding soon or Arisis would bleed to death. She placed her hands over the wound and cast a sealing spell. Aurorae did this a number of times, checking the wound after each to see what affect it was having on staunching the flow of blood. The wound was bleeding considerably less now and Aurorae was better able to see the wound.

It was a wicked looking gash, long and with jagged cuts along its edges. The skin around the wound looked as if it had been burned with a hot liquid. Aurorae reached into her bag for a few of her healing herbs and made a salve to put on the blistered flesh. As she did this, she noticed a green, slimy fluid began to ooze from the edges of the wound. Poison! Dismayed, Aurorae thought to herself whoever had done this to Arisis had wanted to make sure she died.

Aurorae reached into her blouse and withdrew the small, braided leather pouch where she kept a tiny vial of poison antidote. She then lifted Arisis' head and carefully placed 3 drops between Arisis' lips. Aurorae prayed that she had gotten to Arisis in time. It was any wonder that Arisis had managed to still be alive given what she had been through.

Within a couple of minutes, Arisis' breathing became less labored and slowly coloring seemed to come back in her face.

Aurorae sensed that she had slowed the bleeding and the spread of the poison enough that she could go get some help. Aurorae leaned close to Arisis' ear and whispered to the unconscious girl that she would be alright and that she was going for help. Aurorae then moved her closer to the side of the stall where there was fresh straw and took off her shawl and covered Arisis to help her stay warm.

Aurorae ran to the tavern as fast as she could, screaming for help as she went. As Aurorae neared the door she almost ran into Wilson. "Wilson come quick. Arisis has been attacked and is in the stable." Aurorae managed to get out between gasps for breath. With that they both turned and ran to the stables.

Once they reached Arisis' side, Wilson looked at Arisis and asked Aurorae; "Miss Aurorae are you sure Miss Arisis is alive?" Aurorae knelt down beside Arisis and put her ear close to Arisis' face to see if she could detect her breathing. "Yes, she's still breathing, albeit very slowly Wilson." Aurorae said. "Please Wilson, help me get her up to one of the rooms at the tavern."

As Aurorae started to reach over to help Wilson, Wilson picked up Arisis in both of his arms. Wilson looked at Aurorae and said; "Don't worry Miss, I can carry her." And with that he was off toward the tavern in a flash. Aurorae struggled to keep up with this gentle giant of a man who was streaking toward the tavern with his feet seemingly not touching the ground.

Once they reached the tavern and Wilson had set Arisis upon one of the beds upstairs, Wilson told Aurorae that he would be back shortly with hot water and clean cloths.

While Wilson was gone there was a soft knock at the door. Aurorae went to the door and it was Max. Max asked what all the commotion was. Aurorae explained to him what had happened and Max said with a dejected look on his face; "I suppose this means that we won't be leaving in the morning then." "No, I suppose not Max. We can't leave Arisis like this." said Aurorae.

"Well what's a few more days. You're right." said Max and then he left the room.

Wilson returned a few moments later with the hot water and cloths and after giving them to Aurorae asked if there was anything else he could do. "No Wilson, not right now. I'll clean up the rest of Arisis' wounds and I'll call you if I need anything. Thank you Wilson." Aurorae said. "Miss Aurorae if you need anything you just call." said Wilson and then he left.

Aurorae tended to Arisis' wounds and then sat wearily in one of the chairs beside the bed. Aurorae had done everything she knew to heal Arisis. As she sat in the chair she bowed her head and prayed to the gods Mara and Stendgarr to show mercy and compassion for Arisis.

Sometime before dawn Aurorae fell asleep.

[Xinimator]

Arisis' eyes snapped open into the middle of darkness, beads of sweat running down her whole body and soaking up into the bedsheets. They were wet with perspiration, but as she was just as wet, she didn't notice. Her eyes blinked quickly in the darkness, trying to make out the shadows of the shapes that adorned the room she was in. She tilted her head slightly and noticed that she could move it in a bigger angle than she was able to previously. At that thought, her brow furrowed and she slowly moved her arm to feel at her side, where one of the Thieves stabbed her with the dagger.

It was gone. Or at least, she felt bandages there. But she couldn't feel any depressions of sorts within the bandaging that would suggest the wound was still there.

Gods...what happened...? she thought as she tilted her head again to look out through the window; stars twinkled against the black canvas of the sky and the thin, crescent slice of the moon showing brightly through the trees. She winced in pain and quickly withdrew her head from that position back onto the pillow.

As she laid on the bed in the darkness, she tried to reflect back to what had happened. It was a blur of confusion and she could only make out a few parts of that day. She could vaguely remember seeing one of the Thieves stab her with the dagger as she was preoccupied trying to block his sword. The dagger has sharp protrusions emitting from the main part of the blade, almost like several large arrowheads stacked on top of each other. The blade was made of silver with a gold handle and a small rune etched into the blade.

She rolled onto the other side, staring off into the distance as she tried to think. The dagger looked vaguely familiar. She had seen it before, but the only question is, where? She moaned quietly; the remnants of the black fog that had invaded were still lingering around, but they were quickly fading away the longer she stayed awake. But as she laid awake, she was also feeling incredibly bored just lying there.

Finally tired of just doing nothing, Arisis tried to pull herself out of bed, wincing slightly in pain as she did so. Whoever helped her did a good job of healing most of her wounds; it wasn't hurting so much as it did last time. The only things that were hurting now were her side where the dagger found its mark and her neck.

But as she crawled out of bed, a soft moan could be heard almost right next to her and she froze, as still as a statue. She wondered how she could not have seen it before; an elfin form, possibly a female, was sleeping in the chair next to her bed. The female rolled her head slightly to the left, but then sat still once more, falling back to sleep.

Arisis had no idea who this person was and she had no intention of finding out, at least right now. With slow movements, she heaved herself off the soft, warm bed and wobbled towards the end of the bed, away from the figure. Her legs were shaking and weak from lack of use and she had to hold onto the bedpost for support.

Then she found out that somebody had taken off her armor. Probably to fix her wounds, she thought and groaned inwardly; so much for finding out where she was. She looked around quickly and opened the wardrobe behind her. She was half-expecting it to be empty, but luckily, somebody has left a pair of robes in there. While they were a male's and twice her size, she happily took the robes and put them on, buttoning up the collar so that it wouldn't slip off her shoulders and leave her in a peculiar position. Satisfied, although wishing she had at least a dagger with her, she crept across the room to the door and opened it quietly, trying not to wake the elf.

As she closed the door and turned around to find herself in the hallway, she relaxed. She was only in the Tavern. Ignoring the voice in her head that told her, “Well, duh Arisis...â€, she walked down the stairs into an empty Common room. Or at least, it would've been empty if the bartender Wilson wasn't behind the bar, tending to the cupboards. He heard a soft thud of feet climbing down the stairs and looked up to see Arisis painfully walking down each step. “Miss Arisis! I wasn't expecting you to be awake until morning.â€

“Hello, Wilson,†she said quietly, collapsing onto one of the stools, rubbing her head to get rid of the rest of the fog, “...how long have I been out?â€

“Two days, and would've been three nights if you slept in, Miss,†he replied with a smile, “Can I get you anything? I wouldn't be surprised if you were hungry after what you have gone through,â€

Arisis considered for a moment, and the low growling of her stomach confirmed her answer, “That would be great, thanks. I'll take anything at this point.â€

Wilson nodded and left to go cook up some Venison for her, leaving her sitting alone at the bar. While she picked at the long sleeves of the brown, worn robe, something suddenly snapped in place and she let out a silent gasp. How could she have forgotten about Aurorae? “Wilson, what happened to Aurorae? Is she alright?†she asked hastily, fearing what the answer may be.

“Oh, she's fine, Miss Arisis.†Wilson smiled, setting down the plate of deer meat in front of her. Arisis let out an audible sigh of relief, “She woke up shortly after you left...speaking of which, what happened? Miss Aurorae found you in the stables unconscious....â€

[Arion]

Aurorae woke up with a start. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but watching and tending over Arisis had drained her reserves. Aurorae looked over to the bed to check on Arisis and saw that she wasn't in the bed. Alarmed, Aurorae quickly got up and looked around. She saw Arisis' armor still laying on the drawers and the wardrobe door was slightly ajar.

Aurorae opened the door to look for Arisis when she heard voices downstairs. Maybe Arisis had awakened and gone downstairs. Aurorae hurried down the hall and stairs and there was Arisis sitting on one of the stools by the bar talking with Wilson.

"Arisis, how are you feeling?" asked Aurorae. "We were really worried about you." Aurorae continued. "It was touch and go there for the first day, but the fever broke late yesterday afternoon."

"I've seen better days." Arisis responded. "Was that you in the room? You were asleep and I was afraid to wake you." Arisis continued.

"Miss Aurorae, can I get you something the eat as well? I have some venison and potatoes left if you'd like." Wilson asked.

"That would be great Wilson, I'm famished." said Aurorae.

While Wilson was getting another plate for Aurorae, Aurorae said to Arisis; "That was a really bad wound you had Arisis. You were a hair's breath from death when I found you." Aurorae continued, "Between the poison and the depth of that wound I wasn't sure you were going to make it."

Just as Arisis was going to respond, Wilson came back in and put Aurorae's plate down in front of her. "Thank you Wilson." Aurorae said.

"Miss Arisis was just about to tell me what had happened to her just before you came down Miss Aurorae." Wilson said."Weren't you Miss Arisis?" he said looking at Arisis.

Wilson and Aurorae looked at Arisis expectantly....

[Vereta]

Maris watched as a thick plume of smoke climbed the sky from the chimney of the stone house. She had finally made it. The house sat at the foot of a rather large tree, the tree bending over it and it's leaves draped over the roof of the house. There was an outhouse a ways from it but otherwise the area had no sign of anybody else inhabiting it.

She walked towards the house carefully while surveying the surrounding area with a scrutinizing stare. In a way she was surprised she found the place. It was extremely difficult to find considering there wasn't any landmarks to speak of to help her find her way there. As she reached the door she let out her breath realizing she had been holding it. She stared at it for a moment before moving to knock on the door but was surprised when it opened itself up. She stared dumbfounded at the man that stood before her. His grizzly beard, his rough and leathery skin, and the leather cowboy hat that sat on his head. He gave her a look of surprise before giving her a large grin.

"Maris!" He said as he gave her a large hug.

"Gus." She said, tiredly pushing him off of her.

He let go without resistance.

"Ya' look like you were chewed up by an ogre an' spit out." He said with an amused chuckle.

"Just let me in." She said exasperatedly as she pushed past him into the house.

Gus looked out into the forest, his expression becoming dark before he closed the door and followed after Maris.

"An' why might you be here." He asked as he sat down at the table across from her.

Maris took an apple from the plate that sat in the middle of the table and chewed it viciously.

"Do you have any food?" She asked.

Gus gave her an exasperated look before getting up. He came back with some bread and salt cured jerky. She finished these off within moments of laying her hands on them.

"So... why might you be here." He asked again.

Maris returned her attention to Gus after finishing off the last of her bread to find him staring at her with an intense look in his eyes.

"I need your help." She said simply.

Gus nodded as if this made sense.

"The sanctuary has been purged by... an old friend of mine. I do not know if he is still alive, but I thought you might know where he resides so that I may learn of his current state. I am still being pursued. They've turned their back on me and I need to ask for his assistance even if he turns me down." She said gravely.

"Why not ask me for help?" Gus asked.

Maris gave a mirthless chuckle.

"I know better then that," She replied. "I'm asking for help now and even now I know I'm treading on thin ice."

Gus gave her another of his grins and said nothing. He made his way to a shabby shelf and shifted a few books aside before coming back and tossing a parchment onto the table next to Maris.

"It's a map," He said before taking a piece of charcoal and circling two areas. "This is where we are an' this is where ya' need to go."

Maris took the map and folded it, placing it in her pocket.

"Thank you." She said.

"You're welcome." Gus replied.

She looked at him for a moment before leaving his house and going on her way. Gus watched her leave from his door way, his expression growing dark once again. He watched her disappear into the forest.

"Watch your back, kid."

Edited July 26, 2010 by Vereta

[DarkRider]

Quinn tried to brace himself against the smooth metal walls of the tunnel as he fell, trying to slow his descent into the unknown. Crevan was practically sitting on his shoulder as he slid along with him, digging his back claws into his doublet while his front paws flailed wildly trying to scurry back up the shaft to no avail. Suddenly, he began to slow and a strange mist glowed around him. Some sort of levitation enchantment to cushion the landing.

The relief brought on by the enchantment came to an abrupt end as the clouds faded before the tunnel ended and Quinn felt gravity’s pull dragged him down the last several feet. He landed on his back with a thump on a pile of old scrolls and manuscripts and Crevan landed on his belly, effectively deflating his lungs. As Crevan scurried off to reclaim his dignity, Quinn sat up gasping for a breath amidst the dusty tomes. The room was midnight black and the air was as thick and musty as an old tomb. He rummaged around in his satchel and withdrew a potion bottle. There were two in there, one was a light potion, and the other a curative for poisons, but in the dark there was no way to know which he had procured. He took a breath and downed the bitter concoction, gagging, and forcing it to go down his gullet. He sat in the dark waiting, the bitter juices still remnant in his mouth and cursing Elm for not managing to add some sort of sweetening agent.

Before he could vex her name under his breath a faint light with a golden green hue began to appear around him. It was nothing at first, a mere wick light, but as seconds then minutes passed it grew until a great circle shone around him banishing the dark so he could see the way. He climbed down off the scrolls and found he was in some sort of channel, as if water should flow through, but if it ever had there was no sign of it. He started to walk down the channel the only way he could; Crevan’s foot falls skittering behind him, echoed slightly on the stone walls sounding all around them. As they walked the channel became narrower until Quinn could touch the walls on either side of him. It ended abruptly with a stone door and it took leverage from his staff to pry the door open.

Beyond the door was a small room, with another stone door alike the first directly across the room. Along the walls were several various gears, levers, and stone tablets with Ayleid writing scrawled across them; just like above in the testing halls. Some of the symbols he could read, but many were worn away from age. It seemed to be a series of master switches; maybe one would give them all a way out of the machine and back to Tamriel. Quinn poured over the writings trying to decipher which to try and finally he settled on a series of switches that appeared to initiate an abort sequence. He took a breath and pulled the levers. Immediately the door beside him slid open, the levers all retracted and vanished and the entire machine around him began to quake.

“Whoops,” he exhaled before darting through the newly opened door. The door passage lead to another channel, but far at the end, he could see the distinct shimmer, of sunlight. Quinn ran toward the light trying to keep his balance and the walls and floors began to shift and collapse. The channel around him was becoming more and more narrow. Crevan was dashing beside him and in the midst of a might fox leap Quinn caught him and shoved the kit into his satchel. He withdrew his staff in case he needed to bar the door, and focused on the waning light ahead.

Quinn burst from the ruin and tumbled onto the tawny grass of the Colovian Highlands; sweet fresh air filled his lungs just as the passage closed behind him. There was no time to rejoice however, his friends were still inside. Turning back to face the ruin, he could see the stone collapsing itself even from the outside as if by magic. There would only be minutes for his friends to find a way out, or they would be crushed and entombed within the Ayleid Machine for all time.

[WhoGuru]

Red heard yells from over the walls, hoping her friends were alright and shook her head at the mystery of the place. Ahead of her, the floor dropped sharply away. Peering over the edge, she saw a viscous, steaming liquid below and knew she didn't want to touch it. platforms rose ahead of her and she smirked. She jumped to the first, balancing easily against the slight movement and hopped across to the next. "Like roof hopping in the Imperial City." She muttered and chuckled.

She reached the other side quickly, and gave a satisfied wave behind her. A rustle brought her eyes back around and she looked up to see many of the vines from the great hall hanging above her. Red frowned. "Bloody hell. Not again." She rummaged in her pack for a torch and then stopped, frowning. A noise seemed to rumble up from the stone beneath her. Moments later it grew into a vibration she could feel through her boots. "This is new." She muttered.

Suddenly, the walls to either side of her groaned loudly and dropped into the floor as if they'd never been. The maze was resetting itself it seemed. "Well done Quinn!" Red yelled and cheered, she stopped in mid breath as Will stumbled into sight some twenty yards away. Her cheer, became a gasp and then a chuckle and then a roaring laugh as she rocked on the rolling floor to keep her balance.

"Red!" Will called and then quirked a brow at her. "What?"

Red was reduced to tears and pointed, shaking her head. "I...I don't want to know."

Will looked down in confusion and his eyes widened. The flames from before had destroyed his pants, leaving him with barely his dignity intact. He groaned and looked back at his laughing friend. "If you're quite finished." He said soberly but smirked in spite of himself.

Just then Grond tumbled into view behind Will and rolled to his feet. "Where'd they go?!" He bellowed, Hammer in hand and a wild, happy look on his face. "I wasn't finished with them!"

Red swallowed the laughter with effort. "Oy!" She exclaimed then as the floor beneath her dipped suddenly. "Quinn?" She yelled. He didn't reply, or she couldn't hear him if he did. Around them the entire seemed to be shaking, dust falling in sheets from the ceiling high above.

"This can't be good." Grond growled.

" I think," Will paused to regain his balance. "I think this structure is... shutting down."

"We need to leave." Red called and gasped as the floor and walls began moving in earnest. She heard the sounds of crashing from deeper in the structure and had the sudden, disturbing image of being a squished memory trapped in the ancient structure for eternity.

She teetered precariously on the floor as it rolled beneath her. Will made an attempt to reach out and was tumbled back against Grond's legs. She heard the men call out and saw the wall behind them fall away, letting daylight stream in.

"Behind you!" Red called, pointing. "Get out now!" The floor began to crumble beneath her feet and throwing caution to the wind, Red leaped into the air, catching the end of a writhing vine above her head and scurried quickly upward into the dust falling from above. The last she saw of Will and Grond was the two men throwing themselves toward the opening in the wall.

Like everything else, the vines too seemed to be shutting down. They were sluggish in their movements, unlike before, and only made half hearted attempts to grab her. She allowed the one she held to wrap around her wrist, giving her a more secure hold. Beneath her she watched the great stones fall away, glad she'd taken her chance when she had.

Red peered through the dust, coughing around it as it made her eyes water. She could almost feel the space becoming smaller by the second and some inner sense told her she had only moments left. Off to her right, another section of wall gave way to misty daylight. Red watched the vines as they swung about her and made her choice.

She waited as a vine swung across toward her and at the last second, cut her hand free of the one she held. She dropped, catching hold of the one she'd chosen and gave a jungle cry her Nord would have been proud of as she swung dangerously toward the opening. She sailed through with a whoop, slicing the vine away as flew through the gap. Her momentum tossed her outside into the clear air. She hit the ground with a thump and a grunt, rolling to a skidding stop.

Red propped her head up in time to see the last of the structure collapse in upon itself and sink into the ground in a cloud of dust. "Wow." She breathed and dropped her head back to the mossy ground in relief.