Shatter the Shield (Ended)

Dar'savi watched the man as he walked in as she was having a sweet roll, rare deliciously in her life, before She 'retires' for the evening.
(remember she is posing as a Vigilant of Stendarr))

Alaric chuckled and muttered an "Amen." as he passed the youngling who declined the man's request while he made his way to his room on the first floor. He had seen that beggar before, and knew how he treated others, so posing as a vigilant or not, he was glad the boy didn't give him a single septim.

He opened the door to his room and looked carefully at the inside, memorizing its every feature in case he needed to make an escape or hide. The were shadows everywhere, especially after he blew out the candle; he didn't need its light anyway. Once he was satisfied with his surroundings, he closed the door and cast a shock rune on the door. Dar'savi should know how to detect and disarm it, as he had been trying to teach her how to recognize the different sort of magical traps such as runes and elemental soul gems.

His head hit the pillow and immediately he went to sleep, he needed it, they had a long journey ahead of them and who knew the next time he'd be able to use a bed that wasn't at the college or sanctuary?

Aventus mumbled to himself as he watched the Altmer over his mug. He continued to stare at the wall the elf had disappeared behind for a few seconds before he sluggishly turned his attention to the new voice. The Imperial pretended to be surprised by the younger man's appearance. He raised his mug and waved Ian over. "You old bastard! It's been forever since I seen you last. Get on over here and pull up a chair!"

Ian brushed pass the Altmer and took a few steps inside. He was glad to be out of the cold and into Candlehearth's warmth. Before he could scan the room for his companion, a familiar voice echoed through the room. Bright emerald eyes gleamed in the candlelight as an all-too-happy childish grin was born on Ian's face
He ran over to Master Aventus with open arms as his rucksack and satchel clanked against his hip.

"Master Aventus! It's been too long friend! I've been collecting herbs from all over the forest like you asked. I even managed to make a few potions over at The White Phial. An old man was telling me about an old magical flask! He said it could make an endless supply of whatever potion filled it. The man must have been off his rocker! Must have been hitting the Skooma a little too hard if you ask me!" Ian chuckled with a tight-eyed laugh as he sat beside Aventus with his hands folded on the table. "So this is what it's like to be in a town...wow there's soooo many people and have you seen the palace? It's amazing! Hey what's that drink you got there? I noticed a lot of people have been drinking that. I don't know what it is about you outsiders and your attachments to beverages. What's the big deal about this stuff anyway?"

Ian peeked curiously at the flagon with desire. He had never tasted alcoholic drinks before and his curiousity was getting the best of him.

Dar'savi watched them from her table hoping they wouldn't notice her cover.

"Easy now, boy." He gave a hearty laugh and waved his free hand in what he hoped looked like a drunken attempt to get Ian to calm down. "My poor old mind can't keep up too well when you talk that fast."
He shook his head mirthfully before glancing down at his mug. His eyes narrowed as he pretended to size Ian up. "It's mead, but I don't think Redaria would be too happy with me if I let you try some. Tell you what, you go upstairs and convince her to allow it, and I'll buy you as much as you want. If not, then I guess you'll just have to settle for water or milk."

Seeing the time had past she 'retired' for the night. Walking up to Alaric's room she knocked on the door.

A bittersweet frown stitched into Ian's face. " But Raliff said that real men drink their mead down to the bottom of the flagon and only snowbacks are milk-drinkers. "

He let out a dissapointed groan as he headed up the stairs behind the Khajit.

Aventus chuckled and settled into his seat comfortably. Seeming to remember something, his head shot towards Ian. "Oy, boy, while you're up there, tell her that I saw Aywenil today. She said hello and that she'd drop by if she got the chance."

Naive Ian smiled cheerfully as he leaned back and shouted " 'Kay! Will do! " With great energy, he burst up the stairs and began to eagerly search for Redaira's room. Noticing a khajit knocking one of the doors, he figured the other one far on the other end of the hall was hers.

He inhaled a deep breath of joy as he knocked on the door.

"Master Redaira? Are you in there? It's me! Ian! I've come to deliver those potions you asked for!"

The door opened, cautious eyes peeking out but for a moment. Seeing it was just him, she opened it up all the way to properly greet him.

"You woke me up," she grumbled. She rolled her shoulder, feeling the sore muscles protest at stretching. A sharp pain pierced her side and, she flinched for the slightest of moments. "Done with those potions already? I could use a painkiller."

Oblivion take necromancers; they always had unsavory company. Their minions were easy individually, but with enough ants, even a mammoth could fall. She absently rubbed her tender ribs through the thin civilian clothes she wore. The startling pain of being on the receiving end of a mace was still very lucid in her mind. If Aventus hadn't had that turn undead spell ready, the next hit may have struck true. She might've been dead, but she did not tarry on the thought for too long. She could have said the same about every battle, but in the end, she was still breathing.

She took a quick look down the hallway. Asides from the Khajiit knocking on another room's door, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Some measure of security filled her. Without her sword, she felt helpless like a bird stripped of its wings - left without the means of her existence. Fortunately, her other was made of tougher metal than silver and was intact despite all the skulls it had cracked the other day. She was not totally helpless, and even if she were, Aventus was still in relatively good shape. He could handle himself well with or without his robes.

As for the boy in front of her, she wasn't sure. There was strength, yes, but it was hidden behind something. Innocence, maybe, but she knew all too well that innocence was like a chrysalis. It was a phase designed to end, but when the time came, what would he become? Something greater? Or...? She hated uncertainties.

Akatosh grant her the foresight to spare him from evil, and may Stendarr grant the boy mercy in the face of danger.

Alaric was brought out of his light sleep by a quiet knocking, so it must have been time. He tentatively sniffed the air, catching the unique scent of his sister's nightshade oil for her armor. He fired a small spell at the rune, disarming it, and he opened the heavy wooden door. Feigning sleepiness, he bid her entry and stepped back from the threshold. "Helloooo, Dar'savi, I thought you were going to retire for the evening?"

"Yes brother, but there is something I wish discuss with you" She said walking into the room she waited for him to shut the door "You ready?" She said dropping the act.

"Oh, of course! Anything you need!" he replied, shutting the door behind her and casting new spells on it. All traces of sleep then vanished from his face. Yes, sister... let us perform our duties." he pulled out a map of the city, "She tends the dead this time of night, so she should be down here in the crypt, most likely with her beloved twin." he said, making a face of mock pity and using a mocking tone. "Like I said... this one should be easy as picking flowers for Babette's brews..."

"Yes the darkness of the crypt would be a welcome cloak" She said smiling "and they wouldn't even need to move the bodies."

"Good. Then we have agreed on action, now we must carry it out..." He padded over to the window and opened opened the shutters, looked around, and seeing no one, jumped the five or so feet to the buttress and then to the ground. "'Tis clear!" he whispered horsely "Come down." He looked around again, pleased at the location of his room. There were no more windows through which they could be seen and there were no beggars on this side...

Dar'savi copied Alaric's actions to the bottom. "Come on brother, let's not kept Sifis waiting" She said heading for the hall of the dead,

Alaric sank into a crouch as he entered the Nordic Hall of the Dead, the sound of weeping immediately assailing his ears. He looked behind him and mouthed "This will be easy". He followed the sound of the mourning, and in no time at allhe had reached a large central chamber where Nilsine Shatter-Shield stood, her body leaned over the tomb of her sister and moving up and down with her sobs. His hands glowed red as he prepared the spell that would drain her of her life-force completely. Now he only waited on his sister to ready herself in case the girl was hardier then she looked...

There she stood. A fiery haired phoenix who swung sword with the fury of an erupting volcanoe. Ian admired her grace in battle. Though time-worn, she was a fierce warrior who fell many forsworn with the aid of Aventus. Her prowess in battle was only matched by the fervor in her voice. She was a beacon of light for all Warmaidens brave enough to pick up a sword and unsheath it in raw combat.

Earliar that week, they had been ambushed by necromancers, vile defilers of the unliving, finding whatever butchered body lay in the forest gutted by bandits, and deciding to make a puppet out them. Bending the strings of the deceased at will. Ian despised them. He had zero tolerance towards their disresepect toward the dead. Denying them of any peace as they manipulated their bodies at will really got under his skin. If fortune had not smiled on him the day the Vigilants of Stendarr rescued him. He too would have been made a Briarheart and share their fate. For that, he was now eternally grateful towards his new mentors and delighted that they had been so kind as to take him under theirs wings.

During their travels, they had been his protector, he could only watch in awe from the sidelines as we was not yet ready for battle. This fact saddened Ian, for what he wanted, more than ever, was to be fighting alongside his companions. To one day be able to defend them like they shielded him. However, the day the necromancers attacked was not that day, and it ushered in the shallow discomfort of helplessness in Ian. He desired to be so much more. What he would become, only the unfolding of the blanket of time would be able to tell.


He felt a lump in his throat as he gulped. "S-sorry Master Redaira, it won't happen again! Please forgive me."

He bowed his head and held out the potion, ashamed that he had recklessly woken up his mentor. Ian had a habit of wanting to make good impressions to his mentors and often over-analyzed situations that really didn't matter.

"Oh and Master Aventus is downstairs drinking mead. He said something about your friend Aywenil. He said you two needed to catch up. Who's Aywenil? She seems like a nice person. I'd be glad to meet her! "

Ian's head popped up with a merry smile, unaware of the dangers he would soon encounter.

Aventus muttered to himself again before calmly taking another sip of his water. He spit it back into the mug and slammed it on the table when he noticed the purple haze of his detect undead spell was now whisping around outside of the building. His jaw clenched in anger as he stormed towards the door, tossing enough gold on the table to pay off his drinks. 'You are not getting away from me, bloodsucker.'

He quickly cast a low power spell and stepped out into the growing night to stalk his undead prey. 'Ian, you and Redaria better get your asses moving.'

The small, flickering magelight bounced off of the inn's floor before rising slightly and floating in front of the exit. It was the first of many such small lights leading the way to their caster.

Dar'savi had an knocked arrow on her bow ready to make the shot

Two streams of magic fire flashed in the general directions of Dar‘savi and Alaric. Aventus knew they were going to miss. Fire was too slow to catch anyone if they saw it coming, and he didn’t have the time to pinpoint their positions with detect spells so he could send off the faster and more accurate lighting spells. The best he could hope for was to give them mild burns and throw them into a panic. He ducked behind the nearest wall and waited for the return attacks. “Oh, my apologies, it seems my hands slipped. I’ll make sure next one burns you alive.”

Dar'savi saw that Shatter shield noticed the magic attacks and she quickly shot her in the head with her bow to prevent her from escaping "Where are you? Show yourself!" Dar'savi ordered while taking cover behind another piller.

Her expression was thunderstruck. She grabbed him by the collar. “He said what?”

Thinking fast, she let him go and darted into her room to grab her gauntlets – no time for her boots – and quickly strapped her mace to the belt. She feared that the weapon may not be enough – she feared that if she was slow to make haste, another partner would be dead and gone, mutilated by the monsters who feared the light.

For a brief moment, she hoped he was still inside – waiting on her to get going, but her hopes were dashed when she could not catch sight of the Imperial. How much time had passed? Can't have been more than a minute, but seconds were like gold in an emergency. She could not afford to waste any.

“Ian – see if you can bring me a greatsword – its make is of no concern, just be sure that it’s serviceable,” she ordered, fastening her gloves on as she thundered towards the doorway where she noticed a small, dancing light. The clever Imperial had the decency to show them the way, at least. “I will go after Vigilant Aventus. Once I find him, we will signal via a light spell. Make haste, but take all necessary precautions, do you understand?” She didn’t wait for him to respond, but immediately left him with the words, “Walk always in the light!” as she followed after the trail of magelights.

The Imperial cast a quick detect life spell to pinpoint Dar'savi, only to see the life fade from the other woman present. A raging fire, fueled by anger, burst into existence between his hands as he took a step from cover, a deep scowl on his face. “I’m hurt that you don’t remember me. To think that we had that lovely conversation earlier for nothing. I would take greater insult, but you won‘t be alive long enough for it to matter.”

He shot the inferno at the Khajiit before ducking behind cover once again, hoping that Redaria was somewhere nearby.