OOC: Sorry I haven't posted in a while, been bed-ridden sick as a dog. But I'm feeling a bit better (praise pain-killers!).


Big-Tree heard all sorts of commotion coming from further up the island. Alyssa completely broke heard death-grip of a hug and ran towards... a dremora?! The creature had come from the doorway, and it seemed as if everyone was poised to fight the demon. Big-Tree had fought during the Crisis, he knew full-well the ruthlessness of Dagon's soldiers. This was not one of them. Sure, he looked like one, but had he been a true dremora, he would be spilling blood already. Especially that of the guard who threatened him.

Big-Tree walked to the stone where his weapons laid, he armed himself, but did not draw his blade or bow. He casually walked over to the thing, mesmerized by the beauty in his flesh. Alyssa slapped him!!! She slapped a servant of the Madgod, and told him he was to be her pet... Slappy! By Sheoth I love this woman! Big-Tree swooned in his mind. But he feared for her, but also thought again of the chaos that formed a bond between all things.

Big-Tree was right about the chaos.

The dremora picked her up and swung her around like a father would with his child. He was laughing as he did, and then Big-Tree heard the creature speak, able to hear him clearly.

"Oh, look at you! You're spectacular, aren't you, Alyssa? These armed men cower before me, and you just walk up and smack me like you owned me. Beautiful!" He made a comment that Alyssa had been the only one to tell him their name, so he would exchange the favor.

The creature whispered into her ear, and Big-Tree heard naught a word of what he said. Big-Tree's nerves were tingling, he knew what he had to do next. Smiling a big sharp-toothed grin, he walked close to the dremora. He then began speaking in the language of The Mad... Glossolalia.

"Greetings, mad-one, I am Big-Tree. A humble pilgrim of the Madgod. It is quite an honor to meet a true son of the Prince of Madness." Big-Tree made a bow. To all others who did not have the gift of "mad-tongue", it would sound like gibberish. But to those with the gift, it was like two Imperials breaking the ice.

After having nearly ruined everything the last time she’d spoken, Felicity elected to remain silent for the remainder of their voyage, focusing her attention on the steadily growing landmass off the prow of the ship. Maybe, if we get wherever the hell it is we’re going, I can start to relax... she thought hopefully. What good was freedom if every moment of it was spent looking over her shoulder, just as terrified of the Dunmer as when she’d been a slave?

So caught up was she in these thoughts that she didn’t notice their proximity to the island until they made landfall. Karst’s brother, Zant, quickly set about helping both her and Jason out of the ship, and she nodded appreciatively at the Khajiit’s efforts. Bizarre looking plants and fungi, the likes of which would have looked more natural in Vvardenfell than in this Imperial province, littered the tiny landmass. The girl looked curiously up at the other woman as she followed up the slight incline, wondering just where the hell it was she was leading them.

Then she saw the rest of Karst’s party.

Felicity gawked at the Humans and Beastfolk arrayed about the island, many of them brandishing weapons and facing some kind of...what the hell is that thing? The creature appeared, if only for a moment, to be a Dunmer, but before she could even react Felicity knew this wasn’t the case: the creature’s skin was jet black, for one, darker than any Knife-Ear’s could have been, and the stark red lines and symbols marking its flesh... More than that, though, was the look of mirth on the creature’s face as it frolicked with a young Human girl...with a coffin attached to her back?

Caught between confusion and outright disbelief, Felicity pulled back the hood of her cloak, exposing her bruised features to the sunlight for what felt like the first time in weeks. She wasn’t losing her mind, was she? This island, the creature, the Argonian speaking some kind of gibberish...everything suddenly seemed so surreal, and she was genuinely unsure of whether or not she could believe anything she saw.

Looking back at Karst with her face uncovered, Felicity felt like she was looking at the Khajiit for the first time. Her dark, forest green eyes fixed on the feline, hungry for answers. “Karst, that thing, it...what the hell is going on?”

Jason Durant - The Drunken Priest
Island-in-the-Bay; 18th Rain's Hand

Jason sat back in the boat, bringing his glowing hand to his own sour stomach, and let the two Khajiit row. He eyed the pair apologetically, 'If there were another paddle, I'd row.' The other girl, Felicity, had retreated into her cloak again, and neither of the cats seemed particularly conversational, so Jason simply watched the movement of the bay in silence, enjoying the salty breeze against his face. 'Almost reminds me of Wayrest,' he thought absently, following a white cloud across the sky.

Soon, an island appeared in the distance, and in no time the mismatched group made landfall. 'If it could be called land,' Jason thought, staring wide eyed at the alien flora, wondering again what he had gotten himself into. He really hadn't learned much of the white Khajiit's quest, though questing was a common enough occupation these days, and as he accepted Zan'Tarre's large white paw he mused that he would learn soon enough.

"So, this is it, eh, sis?" the larger Khajiit asked as Jason streched his aching knees, "The island of your dreams?"

"Yep. Sure is," the other cat, Karst, nodded. "Reckon they're all waiting up there for me. Wonder if it'll actually open though."

'Bloody Akatosh are they talking about?' Jason thought, cursing himself again for his recklessness. 'And they say age brings wisdom.' The priest smiled to himself as the Khajiit continued talking.

"What, you don't know?" The larger Khajiit asked, "Thought you said it'd open when you had people."

"It said it would, didn't say it wasn't lying. Could just be some.. cosmic joke on me for all I know."

'Not very comforting, whatever it is.' Jason glanced to the woman, Felicity, with her head down. 'She'll have to cheer up eventually. At least, if I have any say in it she will,' the preacher chuckled to himself, changing his gaze to the Khajiit before he said something to the cloaked girl he would regret.

The smaller Khajiit clapped her brother playfully on his massive arm, her elven face smiling. "Guess I'll just have to go find out!" With that, the Khajiit started off up the path, dodging past the twisted plants as if she had grown up with them. Felicity was not far behind the Khajiit, leaving Jason with the massive cat whose name he still could not pronounce.

Jason sighed, wishing once again that he still had his walking stick as he started off after Karst. He stopped as he realized the larger Khajiit made no move to follow them. 'Go off on a mysterious island with only two girls for protection, I think not.'

"Well, are you coming or not?" Jason laughed, masking his own nervousness. Pretty as those girls were, he would rather stick with the Khajiit that looked like he uprooted trees for fun. "I've still not the faintest where we're off to, now that I think of it. Excited as your sis' seems, I hope she doesn't mean to explore this place with just a bone-thin girl and an old priest, does she?"


OOC: I shall join you all shortly, please excuse Jason's rather unhelpful curiousity. I'd rather he know at least a little of what lies ahead, lest he faint when he sees a Dremora in front of a strange door surrounded by crazy adventurers.

- Xelinar, Gate Island -

Xelinar was certainly enjoying the attention from these outsiders, strange as they were. By far, this was the largest single group to enter since his father had been allowing people into the Realm once more, and he was loving them. However, prepared as he thought he was, one of them managed to throw him something he was entirely unprepared for: an Argonian approached him and, as though he were speaking normally, began rattling off utter nonsense. The half-mer wasn't even rightfully sure what language it was, if any. He blinked, astonished and confused.

"Uhm, what now?"

Xelinar assumed he was supposed to know what this man was saying, but the fact of the matter was he hadn't the faintest idea. Dunken had never taught him any language of the sort, for sure, but it nevertheless sounded familiar to his ears. While trying to think where he might have heard it before, he checked on Karst through her mind, and his eyes widened. He looked to his left and saw her speaking to a ragged looking woman by the edge of the island. He patted the Argonian on the chest, then strode toward the Khajiit, telling him, "I'll get you sorted out later, big guy,"

~-----~

Karst stared, the sea breeze blowing her hair sideways and her fur in all kinds of directions as she beheld the bewildering sight. Felicity came up beside her, hood lowered and spoke softly. Or relatively so over the wind.

“Karst, that thing, it...what the hell is going on?” the girl asked fearfully, and Karst honestly didn't have an answer. Nonetheless, she turned to give some kind of comforting answer, but the words stopped in her throat when she saw the condition the girl was in. She'd known something was wrong by her tone and behavior earlier, but.. She'd never imagined it was this bad. Reaching up slowly, Karst placed her hands on Felicity's cheeks, her clawed fingers wrapping gently around her chin and tilting the woman's head up.

"What the hell happened to you, dear?" the Khajiit asked in a tone of deep concern, with a hint of anger, though not at her, in her words. She began to heal her facial bruising with what little restorative magick she knew. While she worked, her tail stilled as it had before when she'd sensed wrong done to this woman, and her ears tilted back to almost be flat against her hair. Her eyes expressed deep disturbance at the sight of the bruises and cuts and scars on the frailly thin girl. In a moment, though, her eyes narrowed inward and a mild glare.

"Why in the sixteen hells did you hide it from me? I can help, girl! It's not because I'm a Khajiit, is it?" Karst seemed a mixture of cross and sympathetic as she moved her delicate looking fingers from face to shoulder and gripped firmly, but gently. Someone came up to her and tapped her shoulder. She glanced over at an elven figure for a split second, then back at Felicity.

"I'm busy, just give me a second," she said calmly. The elf spoke.

"I can see that, but I've been waiting for you for quite some time," the smooth voice of the elf hit her ears, and the cat rolled her eyes.

"Look, I don't care how long you've been here, I'm talking to someone," Karst snapped.

"If you'd just give me a moment, I'm sure you'd reconsider. You see, I'm--"

"I don't care if you're Sheogorath's granddad, I'm busy, you inconsiderate ass!" she cut him off irritably.

"Well, funny you should mention that.. I'm actually his son," the elf said, and laughed. Karst growled.

"Hilarious. Now, with all due respect, piss off," the Khajiit barked. The elf sighed behind her and she heard footsteps as it left, the genuine Son of Sheogorath taking a seat on a nearby mushroom to wait for the cat to realize he hadn't been kidding. Unaware she'd just sassed an immortal half-breed, she gave Felicity a small smile.

"Just tell me the truth, okay? C'mon, we can go back down by the boat and I'll kick Jason and Zant up here so we can have some privacy, okay? If you're going to be with me, I wanna know who I'm traveling with. Ghosts and all. I'll understand, trust me."

Seeing the guards lower their weapons after letting her know their true feelings about her getting stabbed in the back, the woman held a hand up to her chest. "You know I think you may have hurt my feelings with those cruel words.." she said turning briefly to see what was going on behind her after hearing a squeal. The Breton was slightly taken aback by the little necromancer hugging the half-breed with no fear whatsoever whether or not the creature was dangerous. "You need to be more like that girl, such enthusiasm!" Demona was curious about the Alyssa girl, noting that she wouldn't be out of place with the chaos that was about to follow.

By the Nine Demona! Every time I let you come out, you draw more attention than an Oblivion gate...

Well I just couldn't let those buffoons hurt such a wonderful creation!

That’s it I am going to take control before you tell everyone what we are... The woman held her head again as the mental battle finished leaving the healer in control again, the silvery-blue returning to her eyes, replacing the emerald green.

As Mia took control a few things had changed and it seemed the Mer-Daedra had somehow moved from the little necromancer, and walked down the path where the Breton could just make out a figure with crimson hair and white fur just below the rise on her right side. There she is! Mia was relieved to see Karst finally with her own eyes this time, However she was yelling at someone she couldn't exactly see. When Mia approached she saw that the one the Khajitt was shouting at was the strange looking Dremora.

Patting his shoulder briefly she smiled at the creature as she walked towards her old friend. "Get used to it, when there’s someone that needs her help, she won't care if you are the emperor or peasant. She just won’t listen" she said, her voice now returning to her own sweet sounding voice rather than Demona's sultry one. Seeing who else was there she waved to Zant and the man he was with before looking at the girl Karst was with. "She hasn't changed one bit... Even after all the years that have gone by...” Mia trailed her words off and stopped as thought about the last time they had all been together... She was glad that her friend still helped out those who needed it; Mia just wished she could say the same about herself.

Yeah, yeah, we get it," the thing remarked uninterestedly, "You don't like me, I'm a demon, blah blah, you want me to believe you'll kill me if I do something incredibly mean. Which I won't," the creature turned and narrowed his eyes at the man, his first serious moment that these people had seen, "And neither will you, because you haven't got the balls and we both know it, so hush up."

Richard did hush up now, but didn't put away his bow. He just watched with hawk eyes as the scenes before him unfolded, prepared at any moment for the creature to kill the girl calling him 'Slappy'. Even when the creature approached the red-haired and white furred Khajiit who must've been Karst and was denied, Richard still didn't let down his guard. But now was for a very different reason. The fact this thing was Daedric was no longer keeping him on edge. It was the fact this thing was acting like no Daedra he had ever heard of that set his teeth. This was a new, unpredictable Daedra, who so far failed to act like the typical demon and therefore Richard had no idea what to expect. And that unnerved him thoroughly. So he remained on his rocky rise, overseeing everything, with arrow on bowstring just in case.

Alex, however, sheathed his sword, deciding his dagger was close enough at hand if things turned typical. This creature was nothing like the normal Daedra he knew about, and while that set him cautiously on edge, it also sparked a twinge of curiosity. If he was half-elf half-Dremora, why wasn't he still arrogant? After all, both races were renowned for their snobbish arrogance, though Dark Elves were topped by High Elves hands-down. And everyone else seemed capable of conversing with this beast, even though some of them undoubtedly must have served time during the Oblivion Crisis. He may know about the Captain, too.

It was with hesitance that Alex walked over to the witch-girl -who's eyes had returned to a silvery blue color and lost that sultriness to her voice, strangely- and the Thing. He in all probability looked like a child approaching a dead, stuffed bear for the first time, imagination running wild and raising a cautious fear within the child that Arkay may bless the immobile beast with life once more, at any moment, to maul at him. Nonetheless, just like the child who finally reaches the stuffed beast to feel the soft ruggedness of the fur, Alexander reached the two and stood beside them, gaining soft, uncertain speech.

"Do you... actually know what happened to the Guard Captain? In there?" Alex asked hesitantly, looking at the ground and not the creature.

A familiar ache returned to Felicity’s face as Karst ran her hands along it, slowly casting some form of restorative magic on her bruises. The young Imperial made a motion of pulling away, a faint hiss of discomfort escaping her lips, but quickly gave up the effort as the other woman continued to heal her wounds. It didn’t take long, however, before Karst’s eyes narrowed, the irritation clearly discernable in those pools of emerald green.

"Why in the sixteen hells did you hide it from me? I can help, girl! It's not because I'm a Khajiit, is it?” Karst demanded, her voice both stern and yet oddly sympathetic at the same time.

Maybe Felicity should have felt ashamed, even guilty: after all, she’d lied to Karst, even though from the moment they’d met, the Khajiit had been nothing but nice to her. So then why was it that her fingernails were biting into her palms, so hot and sharp that they felt like they could draw blood? Why was Felicity suddenly angry, feeling resentment of all things towards the woman who was trying to help her?

Because she’s judging me! Felicity thought bitterly. She has a brother, a family! People fawn over you and call you Champion! A sudden blaze of malice lit up behind Felicity’s dark green eyes. I’ve got nothing! How the hell could you understand what I’m going through!?

Before Felicity had the chance to do something she would have regretted, however, the bizarre looking creature approached, and began addressing Karst. Felicity’s gaze fell to the ground as she only half took in what the creature and Karst were saying to each other. I’ve got nothing... she repeated to herself silently, arms still trembling from her almost-outburst. And once Karst figures out what I am, where I came from...I’ll have even less. The Imperial grit her teeth as her vision turned blurry, her eyes burning. When she looked back up, the Khajiit was smiling gently at her.

"Just tell me the truth, okay? C'mon, we can go back down by the boat and I'll kick Jason and Zant up here so we can have some privacy, okay? If you're going to be with me, I wanna know who I'm traveling with. Ghosts and all. I'll understand, trust me,” the Khajiit promised.

Felicity stared back mutedly for a moment, before nodding weakly in compliance. What else could she do? She made her way back down the ramp towards the boat, where Jason and Zant still stood, talking to one another.

“Um, guys?” Felicity began, and even she could hear that her failed, silent outburst towards Karst had left her voice even more pathetically timid sounding than before. “Would...it be okay if Karst and I talked for a minute? Alone?”

Jodhan looked between those present as a little witch with the massive box revealed herself to be a necromancer! His ears flattened back as he looked to her with a malific glare. He hated necromancers with a passion and spoke up as she introduced herself as a 'renowned mage' "Woman, a Necromancer is hardly a mage of any renown. Your kind are nothing more than stains on the boots of any who utilize magic in some way and should be purged from existence." true he came from a House that had necromancers in it, but he never associated with them. Often he'd rather tell the Ordinators where to find them and watch the burning from afar. "And as far as I know Necromancy is Illegal in Cyrodiil." he stated bluntly. He then noticed karst had appeared and seemed to be talking with a young, slightly ragged looking female. His ears went back and he sighed, waiting for every single little issue that popped up was getting rather frustrating. Even he didnt have the patience to wait. "So, karst we going in or not?"

OOC: I have to post tonight, as I cannot tomorrow or Thursday, so I hope you don't mind my assumption that Zant will reply to Jason eventually, and perhaps go with him towards the door as well. Thanks Aula.

Jason Durant - The Drunken Priest
Island-in-the-Bay; 18th Rain's Hand

Before Jason could respond to the large cat, the two women appeared out of the dense, strange foilage. 'Back so soon?' Jason thought, raising one bushy gray eyebrow at the pair. At once the priest felt something had changed. Perhaps it was the somber cast of their faces, perhaps the hunch in the cloaked woman's shoulders, or the pity in Karst's emerald eyes.

Yet even more, Jason knew something was amiss by the fact that Felicity's voluminous hood had been thrown back, revealing an emaciated yet still fair face. Her hazel hair had been gathered in the back, leaving two curving bangs framing either side of her pale features. Yet beyond it all, hanging like a halo around the woman's head, was the faint glow of magic. 'Fairly recent, by the looks of it. But what spell?'

“Um, guys?” The cloaked woman began miserably, “Would...it be okay if Karst and I talked for a minute? Alone?”

'Said like it's the last thing she wants to do,' Jason thought, his brows drawing together in concern. He had only just met the women, but already he counted them under the protective crook of his flock. The habit of empathy is a hard one to break; years spent preaching to beggars and thieves made even young men humble. 'And already I was no young man then,' Jason thought, eyes lost for a moment in memory.

Jason returned his gaze to the cloaked woman, his concerned frown flickering into a carefree, ignorant smile. "Certainly, my girl, certainly. We'll leave you two alone," he chuckled, with a quick glance to the large Khajiit standing beside him, "Don't keep away too long, though."

The priest began walking up the slight ramp, wrinkled hands tracing the strange leaves that lined the path, trusting the other cat to follow him. "Oh, and Felicity," he added, his green eyes twinkling over his shoulder, "It's cruel to hide such a lovely face from the world. Brightens an old man's day to see you out from under that hood."

OOC: So, if you don't mind Aula, if you could throw in Zant's earlier reply in your next post, I would very much appreciate it.

[ooc] Sorry, forgot Jason when I was finishing up the post the other day. Rectifying that now.. And sorry for the post gaps. Am sick. Bear with me.[/ooc]

- Zan'Tarre, Gate Island -

"Well, are you coming or not?" Jason asked, laughing, "I've still not the faintest where we're off to, now that I think of it. Excited as your sis' seems, I hope she doesn't mean to explore this place with just a bone-thin girl and an old priest, does she?"

The Khajiit laughed in return, a gruff sound, but a kind one. "No, Father, there's more of them. Headstrong as she is, Karst's good at getting people to like her," Zant explained with a small smile, "Besides, you haven't seen what she can do just by herself. She's unruly and and stubborn, but she's an excellent warrior."

The Suthay had to admit to himself, though, that he hadn't seen his sibling in combat in years, so he wasn't sure how valid his claim remained. However, the way she moved in battle gear and conducted herself with others said that not much had changed about her in the years between. He only wished he could be joining her to see to it that she was fine through her journey.

'She's not a kid anymore, though,' Zant had to remind himself, however reluctantly, 'Karst's a grown woman. She can look after herself.'

The cat gave Jason a slight nod and a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Rest assured, whatever may come, she'll look after you. She always looks after her own, no matter what,"

With that, he began up the bath towards his sister.. just as she seemed to have decided she forgot something in the boat and came back down with Felicity. The girl finally had her hood down and Zant was taken aback for a moment at how thin she was in the face. He wondered briefly if she was sick, and if so, why she hadn't seen a healer. The girl approached him and Jason and made a feeble request, almost sounding embarrassed to ask it of them.

“Um, guys?” Felicity began, sounding even more pitiful than before, “Would...it be okay if Karst and I talked for a minute? Alone?”

Zant smiled kindly at her.

"Of course not, ma'am. Father Jason and I were just heading up, weren't we?" he said, looking Jason in the eye out of the corner of his own and making a motion with them indicating they should go. His sister pounded him on the chestplate gently and met his eyes.

"Thanks," she said, almost somberly. He began up towards the slope, glancing back as Karst jumped into the boat and he laughed quietly at that playful air she always had about her motions. Turning back, he stopped dead as an.. elf thing was smiling at him.

"Glad you could join us, Zan'Tarre," he stated as though he was being greeted for an interview of some sort. He blinked, confused, as the creature patted the rock next to itself. "C'mon then, sit!"

- Karst, Mad Isle -

"So, Karst, we going in or not?" one of the other Khajiit asked testily. Without thinking, she snarled at him, baring some teeth.

"I'm not ordering you to stay, am I? Go in if you want. I doubt he'll stop you," Karst snipped, nodding back at Xelinar, who rolled his eyes, "Otherwise, show a little respect, will ya? I'm trying to talk to someone here."

Heading down, her ears back now, Karst followed Felicity to the docking spot, meeting her brother as he agreed to leave them in peace. She gave him an appreciative thump on the chest and a 'Thanks', then vaulted into the boat to grab the tie rope and pull it a bit more ashore. If Felicity was watching her, she'd certainly notice, if she hadn't before, that Karst was stronger than she physically looked. The small Khajiit managed to, with little obvious strain, drag the boat another six feet up the wet sand with the rope in a few seconds. Sitting on the edge, her boots in the sand, she tossed her pack in the boat behind her and patted the edge next to her.

"C'mon, I won't bite," Karst joked with a light smile, then patted the back behind her, "I'll even share my lunch if it'll help."

She looked down, realizing she was probably being too lighthearted for the situation. She was only trying to put the girl at ease, but maybe she was overdoing it. Karst heaved a sigh and let her voice go serious and gentle again. "I'm your friend, Felicity. I know I might not seem like it now, but I've been through some bad [censored] in my life, too. I'll understand," she assured the frail human, "I promise."

- Xelinar, Comfy rock on Mad Isle -

"Fascinating.." Xelinar muttered, watching the Khajiit fussing over the human girl. She was so engrossed that she'd entirely overlooked the fact he even existed for the time being.

'She's had so much done to her by humans like that girl, and yet, she sympathizes with this one,' the Daedra thought, and smiled a smidge, 'Seems that's what binds mortals together; shared death and suffering. Tragic, really.'

Someone put a hand on his shoulder, and he felt almost as though he'd been shocked. His body stiffened briefly and he looked up in surprise to see the woman who'd jumped in front of two angry men for him. "Get used to it, when there’s someone that needs her help, she won't care if you are the emperor or peasant. She just won’t listen," the mysterious woman said. He thought he detected a hint of admiration. "She hasn't changed one bit... Even after all the years that have gone by...”

Xelinar nodded, looking back to Karst as she went down the path she came from to talk to the girl who'd captured her so thoroughly.

"Mortals are so interesting, aren't they?" he asked suggestively, giving her a suspect look from the corner of his eye. He could tell she wasn't normal; Daedric energy poured off her. No mortal ever did that, even if they'd lived in a Daedric realm for their whole lives. What exactly she (or it) was, he couldn't quite tell, though, and that only served to make him all the more curious.

Before he got an answer, another man came up, cautiously, and stood by him.

"Do you... actually know what happened to the Guard Captain? In there?" the more timid of the two uniforms inquired. He seemed genuinely concerned about his.. friends? Comrades at least, which was honorable. Xelinar shook his head gently.

"Nope. Met them once, never saw them again," he stated plainly, almost uninterestedly, "Wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Probably eaten by scalons or something, if they went off on their own."

Felicity nodded in silent thanks at the two men as they left, allowing Karst and herself to speak privately. She even managed a weak smile at Jason’s kind words; even she had to admit, it felt good to have that damn hood off, and feel the sun on her face. Of course, depending on how Karst was going to react to what she was about to say, a few moments of sunlight may not have been worth blowing her cover.

“C’mon, I won’t bite,” Karst said, sitting on the edge of the boat. Felicity sat down next to the Khajiit, eyes on her boots as they traced clumsy lines through the sand. She was about to speak, when Karst piped in with something...surprising.

“I’ll even share my lunch if it’ll help.”

Felicity’s gaze jolted upwards, eyes wide with disbelief. Giving away your food to another, that was something you did for your kin, not somebody you’d just met. She knew that things were different here, in this new, wide open world...but they couldn’t be that different, could they? Felicity didn’t see any signs that Karst had been anything less than earnest, however, and after only a second’s hesitation, snatched up the feline’s pack, throwing open one of the compartments.

Felicity didn’t give her brain the chance to think about how, for the past few weeks, she’d barely eaten, only just foraging what she needed for survival. She didn’t even think about how it might be considered rude, rummaging through another’s pack like a crazed animal. Her mind had ceded to her hunger, and in mere seconds she was ravenously tearing entire mouthfuls of bread off of loaves, unwrapping morsels of meat and forcing herself to remember to chew. In that pack was as much food as she was used to getting in a month, and it was all just sitting there, waiting to be eaten.

It wasn’t until a few moments later, after Felicity had already wolfed down an entire loaf of bread and was beginning on a piece of red meat she couldn’t identify, that Karst spoke again. “I’m your friend, Felicity. I know I might not seem like it now, but I’ve been through some bad [censored] in my life, too. I’ll understand, I promise.”

Felicity looked up, and slowed the pace of her frenzied eating to the point where she could actually carry out a conversation. Lying to Karst again could only end badly: this time, she was going to have to tell the Khajiit the truth. All of it.

“Karst...” she began timidly, “I’m sorry, that I didn’t tell you the truth before. I just thought that, if you knew the truth...” She sighed. “Who’d want the headache of an escaped slave following them around?”

The Imperial gradually managed to muster her strength. “There was an uprising at the ebony mine about two months ago. Most of the slaves managed to get away, but...” She drew her chipped glass dagger, and examined it thoughtfully. “I managed to kill the head knife-ear, and now they’re out for blood. The Cammona Tong doesn’t like the idea of a slave getting away with killing one of their own, I guess. I’ve been on the run ever since, and it’s taken me this long to get here.”

At that moment, Felicity’s eyes were no longer those of the escaped slave, on the run and scared to death of her pursuers: they had once again become those of the woman who had fought, and killed, for her freedom, determined and resolute. “I thought that, maybe, joining with your group would be a good way to get away from the Dunmer chasing me.” She laughed, sharp with sarcasm.

“I guess we both see how well that plan worked out, don’t we?”

Clengo continued to watch the day-dra cautiously from behind the others, his small stature aiding his ability to remain unnoticed in all the commotion. As it turned out, the Day-dra wasn't bad at all. Or, at least, had succeeding in fooling everyone that it's intentions were good and sincere. Several of the others approached the day-dra to introduce themselves. The dark god worshiper approached and introduced herself as Aylssa Stormfield, and Big-Tree also approached, but spoke in absolute gibberish that no one, including the day-dra, seemed to understand. Big-Tree had seemed nice, but Clengo wondered if he wasn't a little bit mad.

The day-dra greeted them all in turn, but soon spotted something past the others, towards the shoreline. Excusing himself and moving away from the crowd---some of whom who followed---the day-dra walked towards where they had left the boat. Clengo turned, watching them all leave, and it was then that he had spotted Chief, along with a few other individuals, coming ashore. Glad that Chief Karst had finally arrived, he grinned, sticking the pipe back in his mouth and relighting it. He turned to Big-Tree:

"Now what was that all about? And who was that?" Clengo said, puffing on his pipe and gesturing at the stranger's retreating back. His black eyes then turned to Alyssa Stormfield. "And what is a neck-oh-man-zir?" he asked.

Jason Durant - The Drunken Priest
Island-in-the-Bay; 18th Rain's Hand

Jason finally crested the top of the ramp, the large Khajiit walking beside him. He had been too preoccupied by his thoughts for much conversation. 'She'll look out for me, eh? Good to hear she's trustworthy, at the very least. Hopefully she'll treat that girl with Mara's own kindness; she deserves no less.'

But once he had made it over the hill, past the twisting trees and perverse plants, Jason had no mind for reflection either. He stopped, his wrinkled face slacking in shock, and marvelled, not at the number, but at the variety of people present. Men and women, humans and mer, Khajiit and Argonian, all gathered for what was apparently Karst's quest. At least a dozen stood around a plain, unassuming metal door, standing freely against the foreign foilage. The door held an aura of red magic, but Jason couldn't quite place the type. 'Feels almost like conjuration...'

Nearly everyone in the clearing seemed to be focused on a robed elf, sitting calmly on a rock. 'Doesn't look much like an elf though. But then, what else could he- no, not he, it- be?' Jason thought, noting the thing's skin, black as pitch beneath its robes and scored with what looked like scarlet runes. They reminded Jason of the Runestones he had seen throughout Cyrodiil, but what they were doing on the Dunmer's skin he had no idea.

"Glad you could join us, Zan'Tarre," the elf-thing said cheerily, its eyes seeming to laugh at the world itself. The Dunmer patted the rock he was sitting on, his voice carrying a childish glee. "C'mon then, sit!"

Jason gasped. He hadn't seen it 'till now, focused as he was on the thing's features, but once he did he could not miss it. The elf-thing was surrounded by the red aura. The same aura as the door. 'The gate,' an old corner of his mind tugged, an image of the great black gates of Oblivion surfacing, unbidden, to his mind's eye. 'Then the elf must be... By Arkay, it can't be true!'

The dark demon shook his head gently in reply to Alex.

"Nope. Met them once, never saw them again," he stated plainly, almost uninterestedly, "Wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Probably eaten by scalons or something, if they went off on their own."

"They were four well-trained men, who had survived even the Oblivion Crisis. I doubt they would have die-"

"Richard." Alex gave a low, almost growling response that cut off the irate ramblings of the archer, the farmer's eyes moving towards his comrade without moving his head. He brought his eyes back to the creature. "They were four men who likely ventured into an unknown realm. It is possible they were overcome. Or lost." Fear was a dwindling controller of Alex's actions now. Now he was curious as to why the Daedra was being nice, what happened to the guards, how he might use this situation to get out of this humdrum job without shame (just as how he had done with the Legion), how likely his chances were with this group, and what the heck a scalon was.

"What is a scalon, exactly?" Alex inquired as the Daedra invited a large white Khajiit to sit on the rock with him. Alex sat down on a rock nearby, setting the bottom of his shield on the ground so the barrier covered most of his seated form.

Mia froze as the Half-breed spoke in a suggestive manner, eyeing her the way a lawman looks at a criminal. she blinked a bit as she tried to think of a way to redirect what was being said, but the guardsman had already done that for her. Mia sighed as she tried to recompose herself.

He can't possibly know that I’m not like everyone else here... Mia thought before Demona cut in.

With the amount of times we have changed in front of all these mortals, I’m surprised he hasn't figured out what we are. Daedra know others like themselves, no matter what origin or type... Daedric energy like ours can't be easily contained after all...

Oh great... so if anyone else knew how to tell if something is a daedra is disguised, then it would be useless to hide? Maybe you could have said this to me alot sooner... Even though there was a good chance the oddity next to her knew that she wasn't human, she wasn't going to let everyone else know by reacting more to his question.

"Yes... we mortals are a piece of work... such full of emotion. I can see why Daedra find us so fascinating... I must be just as fascinating for you to be taking such an interest in me also" She said after the guardsman and the Mer-Daedra had spoken to each other but the guard wanted to learn more about what happened to their captain. Taking this as an opportunity to move away before the creature had more time to read her, She looked at the two and then at the other one sitting on the rock and shrugged.

"As the three of you seem to be getting on more swimmingly than the last time you spoke, I am going to let you all talk." She said and smiled, winking at the guard who had asked the last question. "Play nice okay?" She added for good measure before taking her leave. Seeing that Karst was still busy with the fragile looking robed girl, and everyone else either getting bored for waiting even longer to begin their journey or talking amongst themselves, Mia again found herself having second thoughts about entering such a realm full of daedric energy once more.

At the rate this was going, she was certain that many would have the same second thoughts about wanting to go into the unknown.. But for whatever reason that had brought them altogether, they needed to be reassured that their time was not being wasted.

"Okay guys, Karst just needs to work out some slight problem but we will be getting all of this moving very soon.. I am sure you are all very anxious to be leaving on what has been set out before us, and i am certain that it will all be worth the wait" Mia said trying her best to let people know that they haven't been forgotten. It was not just for them however, as she was getting just as anxious to leave, not wanting to be a sitting duck waiting to be taken out, if someone had picked up the trail again.

Let us hope that they did not follow us... she thought glancing over her shoulder seeing Zant from the corner of her eye. He may be Karst's brother but he was still a blade... And after everything that had happened since the end of the crisis, she couldn't trust even some of her closest comrades from her past.

We will be fine... stop being so paranoid all of the time... You can be such a downer sometimes girl Mia sighed at this thought from Demona.

Well maybe things will change once we get moving... For once we won't be hunted, that will at least be a change of pace.

OOC: This is just to let everybody know that Aulakauss hasn't died or anything, although unfortunately his computer has. It might be out of commission for a bit, so he wanted me to let everybody know what was going on.

ooc: Alright, so what will be happening here?