Acheron glanced up into the darkness. The female voice came from within the shadows, of that he was sure. "What is the color of night?" She asked. He from the pillar and said calmly into the dark crypt, "Sanguine, my sister." He bowed and moved forward into the darkness, unable to see the woman hiding inside of it.

Another person had entered the room, obviously a Dark Brotherhood member, due to the question that was being asked. Acheron the Only realized that it was the Bosmer he had seen outside and stepped from the blackness of the shadows. "Sanguine, my brother." He bowed again, regardless of the Bosmer's ranks and said again, "I take it you both are here because of what has recently taken place?" Acheron stepped back into the center of the room, his coat fluttering behind him.

Telindius watched as the Bosmer in the brown cloak walked to the chapel and entered it. He stepped off the rooftop into a nearby alley, landing silently before following the Bosmer. He followed the Bosmer inside the chapel, watched as he entered the undercroft, then followed him to the undercroft doors, opening one slightly to hear inside.

"What is the colour of night?", a voice said from within. Followed by two similar replies. "Sanguine my sister...Sanguine my brother."

Tel raised an eyebrow and wondered at this strange question and the reply from an unseen male and wondered if it was perhaps a password of some type. Curious, Tel peeked around the edge of the door to see the Bosmer and another man stood within, with one man addressing a female that was hidden from view. Tel moved his head back from the door so as to not be detected and continued to listen. Whoever these people were, they were strange indeed, and their behaviour had aroused his curiosity.

Darus leaned against the wall and chewed leisurely. A fellow, although filthy, Breton came up to him and hissed one word, Tong. How dare he accuse me of being a tong? I could say something, but he is obviously a brother as well, if he talks about it like that. Darus thought. Ignoring him Darus took a long draw of water from his flask. Eventually the Breton peeled away from Darus and left. A horseman, probably a high-ranking officer, stated that the count ordered the guards to the barracks and the people to the homes, or jail time. It already is jail for them. Living like rats in a wall. They can only go one way, with the law, with the rest. Unbeknownst to them I, we, go the opposite way. We resist, we fight, we know. We know the truth, and that's guards are no worse than assassins. They just do everything in public. In the midst of his thoughts Darus forgot about the mission at hand. Suddenly his eyes snapped back to the shack and the well. No one had left. Only the crowd was dispersing, people going every which way. A woman in a robe entered the chapel. The word chapel made Darus remember something. Something he couldn't quite place his finger on. Then moments later a Bosmer entered the chapel as well.

Then he remembered, during an emergency where the sanctuary is unavailable meet in the undercroft in the Chapel of Arkay. Darus took one last glance at the smoke filled house, and turned walking towards a building as not to seem suspicious. Darus was observing the few people still on the roads, and saw the Breton. He walked across towards him, whispering coldy "I'm no tong, brother". He quickly turned and headed for the chapel. He pulled the hulking door open, slipping inside.

The priests looked at him suspiciously. What are you going to do? Smite me? Darus asked himself. He brushed past them and turned towards the staircase. He walked down the stairs casually, and slipped silently in through the Undercroft doors.

Parthia stepped out from behind one of the columns resting her bow and quickly recognized her fellow brothers. Though she was usually outside of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary she could remember faces quite well. "I suppose we'll wait here until more arrive. Have any of you found anything?" She pulled the cloak off of her head revealing a beautiful face who's features were accented by the calm indoor tourches of the undercroft. She had only been in the undercroft once when she was told about its purpose to the Dark Brotherhood but beyond that showed little interest. She expressed quite the dual life. One side a book worm student of the arcane, on another side an assassin for hire. Perhaps one balanced the other and she would go crazy if she had only one life. Both exams and executions stressed her much the same way.

Ra nodded, "Yes, I believe there are a few others, though I don't know who." Two large paws grabbed the shepard's pie in front of him and tipped it up and back into his opened mouth. Ra truly did love shepards pies, especially with a little scrib jelly, sadly he didn't have any. As he finished chewing the last of the pie his mind wandered back to the letter he received as well.

If Serosi resisted and only Ra and Oglind were there, then what? When Ra was younger, many years ago, there were few that could have had a chance at standing toe-to-toe with him. Now though, things were different. He had been in the process of wiping some crumbs from his mouth as Oglind began to speak again. Though he stopped when he heard the Dunmer's plan. It was smart, it would be tricky, but they could do it. "Find the Brotherhood, then let them find him so we don't have to..." His paw slowly traced the outside edge of his mouth a few times, a habit he had when thinking.

Slowly he began to smile, "That is a very interesting idea, and one that I like." Ra nodded in approval of the plan, "Now we just need to find the Brotherhood, which won't be too hard. With so many members dead and their sanctuary destroyed, they'll be running around like chickens with their head cut off."

"No, nothing. I found the sanctuary on fire and knew this was to place to arrive when something like this was ever to happen. But we shouldn't be informal an not introduce ourselves. I know that you must be Parthia, as I've seen and heard a bit about you in the Sanctuary. I am Acheron the Only, Silencer of the Brotherhood," Acheron whispered, feeling a presence that didn't belong among them, outstretching his hand to the lovely Bosmer.

Acheron made sure that he kept his body ready in case someone were to scramble their way down here. I'll take their arms and peel them like I would a potato. Their blood will smell as sweet as roses and their screams will be the symphony towards the climix of their death. It will be true ecstasy. Acheron thought, a grim smile being etched across his face.

Velandris sighed with releif and pulled his hood from his head and stood up. "That is a sound plan for the moment." He said lifting his hand infront of his eyes to keep the blinding torchlight from his face. Then removing his ring placing it in a small pocket inside his robes. "I had a chance to sneak in the sanctuary from the well. It was rather strange." He walked forward to see Parthia and bowed to both people. "It looked as if it was attacked then burned. I know it sounds crazy and unbeleivable, but the wierd netting I found on the pillars and walls kind of ruled out a cleansing. Unless theres a new way to cleanse a sanctuary by destroyign one completely." He leand sideways on the wallcrossing his arms. "And yes sorry for the lone introduction. I am Velandris, Murderer. Don't worry my skills out do my rank." He nodded his head slightly in respect to both.

Newlands Lodge

Oglind folded his arms against the bar top infront and leaned against them. "I imagine that if we go to their Sanctuary now and wait around, sooner or later someone will get sloppy and we'll be able to find them. My only concern is what if Serosi is doing much the same? He doesn't seem to be stable. I wouldn't look forward to trying to stop him...we fought once." He sat back up letting out a pained sigh recalling the encounter.

"Dervera!" Oglind called out. "We'll be leaving for now, thank you for your patronage!" He dropped a few coins on the table and stood up. She quickly came out to protest.

"So soon?" She paid no mind to the money on the table.

"Yes, we have alot of work to do." He smiled bowing his head and glancing at Ra for a moment.

"Well you're both welcome any time. Oh wait right here!" Dervera said as she left and returned with two loafs of bread. "I know how hard traveling can be and every little bit helps." One was handed to Ra, the other to Oglind.




---


Chapel of Arkay

Parthia wasn't too sure what to make of her fellow brothers. Acheron seemed to take himself entirely too serious and Velandris was a Bosmer which to her meeting her own kin was always a mixed blessing to put it nicely. She shook Acheron's hand quickly trying to avoid anything further then that. "Parthia yes, just a simple assassin." There wasn't much else that needed to be said for the moment and she prefered to observe more so than anything else at the moment. The stolen robe around her body was somewhat wet but she prefered the protection if offered.

She rested her bow in its hold on her back while keeping mind to her sword and dagger. In such a situation those would be more useful then a bow. It was rather cold down below the chapel more so then outside for some reason. It was all rather creepy for her. She couldn't help but feel stupid with such a critique coming from an assassin such as herself.

Telindius hissed slightly as the assassins introduced themselves to each other. Now he knew why three such people were meeting down here under such strange circumstances. They were dark brotherhood scum. He considered his own safety for a second in case they decided to leave, but he quickly reassured himself that his spell of chameleon would conceal him from all but the closest of scrutiny. Still, he could be killed for hearing this conversation, even if they didn't know he was of the Morag Tong. In the end he decided that extra information couldn't hurt, despite the risks involved. Still, he kept his hands on the hilts of his wakizashi's as he listened to them. The urge to charge into the room and slice them into tiny pieces was strong, but he hadn't survived over a century of being a mercenary and assassin by not having patience.

Fanier exited the Cheydinhal Bridge Inn. He took a deep breath of the cold night air, held it for a second, and exhaled.

He noticed two other figures leaving the Newlands Lodge across the street. "Hey!" he called out, and caught up to them. "Don't you know there's a curfew out tonight? You two need to get back home as soon as possible. I wouldn't want you to get slammed with that three-year prison sentence." Fanier cosely read their expressions to tell if they were Brotherhood, Tong, or just bystanders. Just in case, he subtly reached into his overcoat and prepared to take out his shortsword.

Minegoth slowed the horse to a stop outside of the chapel. He did a quick survey of the area before dismounting and throwing up the hood on his cloak as he crossed the road to the place of worship. He didn't beleive in the Nine, and liked the idea of Sithis, so he scoffed at those Imperial worshippers. He pushed the door open enough for himself to slide through. The chapel was poorly lit with candles, and Minegoth slowly crossed the floor, hopping over the slight raise in the ground. He landed softly, his cloak flapping slightly. He stood up and brushed himself off, checking his appearence in his shortsword before moving on. He pushed the door open slowly, and glided in, making an entrance suitable of a narcasist of his calibur. He calmly sat down in a nearby chair.

Cheydinhal
Newlands Lodge

Figwit sat close to the fire, his thin legs crossed at the ankles, perched on another seat. The "Reman Baroque" architecture was characteristic of Cheydinhal in general. It also reminded him of the more polished fort interiors. Figwit was taken to making stupid observations, sewing together useless ideas into food for thought. The Newlands Lodge itself was a characteristic Dark Elf bar, full of cursing, spitting, fighting Dunmer and Orcs: more-or-less second-class citizens in Cheydinhal. His beaten, custom guitar precariously leaned against the mantle. A nondescript bag was hanging by its strap from Figwit's chair. He quietly chewed on some jerky, intently watching the dancing flames.

Somewhere behind, an interesting conversation was taking place.

"... Serosi," pause.

Figwit pricked up his protruding ears.

The party were gifted with some loaves from the bar owner, Dervera, and then left. Figwit narrowed his eyes. Oglind. With inhuman grace, Figwit rose and bounded across the room with his belongings in hand, dipping and ducking between chairs and tables. He rose and fell with a practiced art, just as a heron might dive through the murky reeds. "Oglind!" Figwit tapped him on the shoulder. The two went way back... To the Vivec Headquarters of the Tong.

Oglind left Ra to deal with Fanier yelling about whatever. His eyes quickly turned to Figwit who came up from behind. He smiled and spoke to the old acquaintance. "Poor unlucky soul, you were drafted too?" He spoke half jokingly. "We're about to go see what is left of it..." He was refering to the destroyed Sanctuary. Going there would draw someone or other to their goals. The Dark Brotherhood would be scattered brained to say the least. For a moment he felt safe in the jaws of a lion because it had a tooth ache.

The weather outside was slightly cool with a nightly breeze pushing by. The clouds were starting to disperse allowing the glint of two half closed lunar eyes to shine down upon the city. It couldn't be later then 2 Oglind thought. Sleep would have to wait.

Name: Tadeesa
Race: Argonian
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown(Tadeesa is very youthful and beautiful)
Birthsign: The Shadow

Physical Description: Tadeesa is a tall and slender Argonian woman. She wears black makeup on her face to conceal herself when roaming the countryside at night.

Short Bio: Tadeesa was born in Argonia to a mother who abandoned her. An assassin disguised as an old widow found her lying in the street and took her into the care of her organization, the Dark Brotherhood. Tadeesa was trained in the arts of stealth and assassination, and was made a Shadowscale, a special assassin under the service of the kingdom of Argonia. Tadeesa was sent off on many dangerous quests, on one of these quests she came across a Shrine of Azura. Azura gave her a quest to kill a young maiden who had slandered another woman to get a bachelors hand in marriage, which Tadeesa carried out efficiently and without remorse. Azura granted Tadeesa's youthful wish, immortality. When Tadeesa came of age, she was accepted as a full Sister in the Dark Brotherhood and was given the gift of family.

Weapons: Tadeesa carries an enchanted dagger called [censored] that demoralizes and fatigues her target so they cannot move because of depression and feebleness. On long trips she carries an enchanted bow called Speak along with a quiver of iron arrows.

Armor/ Clothing: Tadeesa does not wear armor as she likes to move fast and silently. Instead, she wears a black full body jumpsuit that is tight on her body so she makes no noise when she is sneaking around. She also dons a Black Band given to her as a gift by one of her Brothers in the Dark Brotherhood. When she is not pursuing a mark or fleeing from pursuers, she wears black leather pants and a white frilled shirt.

Misc. Items: Tadeesa carries a coin purse containing 150 gold that she uses to buy food, drink, and a bed to sleep in if she finds an inn.

OOC: [censored]? I love it.

Name: Verus Terentius

Race: Imperial

Gender: Male

Age: 32

Birthsign: The Apprentice

Physical description: Verus is a small man, someone no one would notice in a crowd. He's stands at 5'8" and appears rather thin. He has no muscles and overall appears to be very weak physically. He has oily, black, mid-length hair that's slicked back, pale skin, and hazel eyes. He also has an almost constant smirk on his face, giving him an arrogant appearance.

Mental Description: Verus is an actor. Whenever he's confronted with a situation that requires him to speak, he takes on whatever personality seems appropriate. He only shows his true personality among his brothers and sisters. When with them, he still rarely speaks, but when he does, it's with a calm and anolyzing tone that often contrasts with the arrogant smirk he wears. When in battle, his personality also changes, going from a calm and respectful attitude to a superior and mocking one. However, this aspect of his nature rarely shows itself, as he will take every opportunity to avoid combat. He is very manipulative; his acting ability combined with his powers of illusion allows him to easily deceive and fool his enemies into thinking that he is actually an ally and that someone else is the true enemy.

Bio: Verus was born in Anvil to rich parents and led a very comfortable life, always getting whatever he wanted. However, when he left his home, he was always constantly harassed, and he was extremely weak; too weak to do anything about it. So, he decided that since he couldn't fight them physically, he would learn magic. It fascinated him, especially illusion.

After several years of seclusion and study, his parents kicked him out, finally sick of his growing antisocial tendencies. He wandered for a few years more before arriving in Cheydinhall, where he was assaulted by several drunkards. He used his powers, making them attack each other before coming in and killing the rest himself. The next night, he was approached by the Brotherhood, and he joined without hesitation.

He now has something of a reputation among his brothers and sisters for always keeping his hands clean of the assassination by manipulating others into doing it for him, then killing the person he was controlling. Some despise him for this while others admire him, but all he cares about is accomplishing his goal and returning to his studies.

Weapons: An elven dagger and occasionally a daedric sword that he summons and wields together with his dagger. However, he usually sets things up so that he never has to fight at all.

Armor/Clothing: He wears a gray robe, usually with the hood up. It's worn from age and wear and has a great many stains and marks on it, showing that Verus doesn't take care of it. Usually though, he travels under an invisibility spell when people are near, so there's no one to criticize him of this.

Misc. Items: He carries a small brown satchel, suffering from the same wear and tear that his robe has. Inside is two apples and a loaf of bread, as well as a wine bottle that is filled with clean water. It also contains a few different potions and all of his money, which amounts to around two-hundred Septims.

OOC: I'll make my opening post tomorrow.

A figure cloaked in invisibility rapidly made his way through the streets of Cheydinhall. Verus stopped in front of the building that housed the sanctuary he called home. He stood there, in shock, not even bothering to hold his spell together. Soon, there was a scrawny man visible in the street. He was dressed in a set of dirty, gray robes and a brown satchel hung loosely at his side. He stared, wide-eyed at the destruction, unable to believe his eyes.

What happened here? An attack or an accident? No, an accident would be extremely unlikely, so it must have been an attack of some sort. But then who? Who would know that this was actually a sanctuary for the Brotherhood? Though perhaps a better question would be who would dare attack us? Surely-

But his thoughts were cut off as a deep voice boomed out from behind him. "You there, this area's closed off. Get out of here!"

Verus turned to see a burly guard staring at him with an annoyed expression on his face. "I'm terribly sorry sir, but I'm afraid I just arrived in town not long ago to visit some family. I had no idea. Would you happen to know what happened here?" he inquired.

The guard simply stared at him for a moment, looking him over before responding. "No doubt it was just a few fool kids playing with fire. Now leave before I haul you off to jail," the guard said, waving his hand in a dismissive manner before turning and walking off in the opposite direction, no doubt to continue his patrol.

Verus breathed a sigh of relief, then reactivated his invisibility spell before heading in the direction of the Chapel of Arkay. That was their rally point in a time of emergency, and most likely his only hope for an explanation. He quickly reached it and opened the doors. He saw one of the priests look curiously at the door, but seeing nothing, returned to his work. Verus then made his way down the steps and to the undercroft doors.

He opened and closed them quietly, making sure the door was completely shut before dropping his spell and examining the room. He noted several figures in the room and recognized some of them as other members of the Brotherhood; his brothers and sisters. He lowered his hood and bowed his head slightly towards them, but did not give the password or any other form of greeting, as he was not currently in the mood for pleasantries. He then walked over to the nearest wall, leaned against it, and closed his eyes. He could already sense a headache coming as he pondered the situation.

Velandris turned his head as he heard someone enter the udercroft. For a brief second he couldn't see anyone, and then a man appeared from invisibility. Velandris bowed his head slightly as the man did. Clearly he was a brother. "You here for the same reason then? Does the sanctuary still smoke outside or has the flames died out?" He coughed a bit as his lungs still burned from the smoke as he was inside the sanctuary and he cleared his throat and braught himself again looking at the floor.

As he stood listening at the door he heard quiet but hurried footsteps behind him. He quickly flattened himself against the wall as the undercroft door seemed to open and close by itself. Tel opened the door slightly again to catch a glimpse of a man in a grey robe, before pulling his head back out and going back to listening to the dark brothers. There were now too many to fight if he was caught, and the cautious person that he was, Telindius started considering leaving. The dark brothers were not giving away information about Serosi and if he was caught the consequences would be fatal. Tel grinned to himself, made sure the doors to the undercroft were fully closed before gesturing with his hand and locking the doors. It would be an annoyance to the dark brothers inside, nothing more, but it would delay them for a while and remind them that they were not as aware of things as they thought they were.

Telindius hurried up from the undercroft and out of the chapel doors, keeping his chameleon spell up as he did so. Emerging into the street he glanced about in search of other curious characters and upon seeing no one of importance made his way across the street, reached into himself with his mind, using a jump spell, and swiftly jumped onto the top of the nearest building. As he settled himself down on the rooftop he stared at the doors of the chapel. When the dark brothers came out he would see them, and he would follow them to Serosi.

Drynos Dramorae guessed no one would answer him. Either he didn't look trustworthy or no one else knew either. He remembered that the rally point had always been the Chapel of Arkay. He walked leisurely down the streets, enveloped in a layer of darkness. He could hear the last dying conversations emmiting from the multitude of people congragated around the Abandoned House that gave out the last few crackles from the flames that burned on within the houses depth.

Chapel of Arkay

Drynos slammed the door open with a swift push. The priest of Arkay jumped and looked slightly intimadated and bemused all the same at so many nightly visits. He walked on and proceeded down the stone steps into the Chapel Undercroft. He opened the door cautiously. It could be a trap? No it wasnt. He recognized some friendly.. well faces he knew. He nodded to them and took up a posititon against the nearest wall and slumped down and took some swigs from his Finest Surulie Wine.

Verus opened one eye to look at the new arrival, and after watching him for a moment, he closed it again before responding to the Bosmer who had asked him a question. "It was still smoking when I left, though the flames may be dying down by now."

He simply stood there for a few more moments, leaning against the wall and gathering his now scattered thoughts. When he finally opened both of his eyes, he walked over towards where most of the others were standing, the slight traces of his normal smirk returning. "Verus Terentius, at your service. Would any of you happen to know who attacked the Sanctuary? The guards seem to think that it was an accident, or at least that's what they're telling everyone, but I don't believe that," he said in a calm, steady, and almost monotone voice.

He observed the few people standing there, crossing his arms as he did so. He recognized the Bosmer girl immediatly, though he had to struggle to remember her name; he had always been horrible with remembering names. Parthia, yes that's it. The Nord was harder. He had seen him before, but only briefly, and he couldn't recall his name, though just being in his presence made him slightly nervous, something that was reflected on his face as he lost his smirk while looking at him. He quickly refocused his attention on the other Bosmer though, but he didn't think he had ever seen him before. The Dunmer that had come in earlier he had seen several times and recognized his name as Drynos, so he didn't bother to look in his direction.

He wondered briefly what the others thought of him, or even if they recognized his name, but he didn't give it much thought. If they recognized him, then that was fine. If they didn't, well then, he hoped they didn't judge by appearances.

Darus studied the stream of fellow members entering the Undercroft. He recognized several. The Bosmer he had seen before and knew as Parthia. Everyone was so composed, even though their home had just been burned down and destroyed. That was the life of an assassin. They didn't talk to each other. They didn't chat about frivolous things like the law abiding citizens of Cheydinhal, of Cyrodiil. They simply did their jobs. Darus stood silently observing and thinking. Was it one of us? He asked himself. Darus knew if it was one of them, they wouldn't be at the Undercroft. That would be a rookie mistake, staying with your own kind, investigating your own crime. Except you wouldn't be among your own kind anymore. They would accept him, but if they knew that he had committed the heinous act he would be shunned and killed. Unfortunately the Dark Brotherhood didn't know who committed the arson. Darus guessed that they never would. They would just rebuild over time and forget it. But how could you forget the murder of a dozen fellow members and the burning of you sanctuary.

Minegoth observed the members of the Dark Brotherhood assembling in the Undercroft. Some of them he recognized, others he did not. As he sat there, he started to wonder when some form of leadership would arrive. All of these assassins in one place would not lead to anything good. Even among Siblings, there were still some...'squabbles'. He shifted his legs restlessly and surveyed the room again. He had just killed someone a few hours ago, so his bloodlust was sustained for a good while, but he didn't know about others. They may just get restless and go out and kill someone. Then Minegoth would feel left out and have to go kill someone, and the cycle would start until the whole town was gone. Minegoth's thought process would go on like this for a while, as it kept him entertained. He was not fond of waiting, but could be paitent when he had to be.

Velandris shook his head at the still "Accident" Answer. Accidents would never happen! he looked around at everyone else. The silence, even thoguh he loved it, was getting to him. He needed answers.In frustration heuncrossed his arms and slamed his right fist into the wall he leaned against. "Silence isn't going to help us figure out who did this to us!" He yelled unaware that he had said it in a loud manner. He couldn't place any answers, He knew neither of the others could either, But the silence in deed was not helping. Maybe it was the legion? No they bribed everyone and threatenede. They wouldn't dare to attack the sanctuary. He waited for an answer and went back to his position.

Cheydinhal

Chapel of Arkay Undercroft

Parthia wasn't sure of rank, nor how seriously any would take her. The few that knew her ability may listen, the others may just consider her another "pretty girl with daddy issues that ran away from home to become a big bad assassin." Whatever the case this inactivity did not help any of them. Parthia rubbed her arms with her hands trying to shake free of the cold grip around her body before she spoke.

"I havn't been with all of you for very long but from what I learned, a cleansing would not take on this form. They would not damage the Sanctuary in any case. I can not think of anyone else who would do such a thing other then the Morag Tong." Parthia paused allowing her feminine words to echo gently off of the cold undercroft walls.

"Chances are they are still within the city walls. We should partner up and inquire about any new faces in the cheap bars and inns. We know our own trade well enough to figure out how they operate." Parthia went under the assumption it was a team of Morag Tong that did such a thing and didn't even think for one moment it was simply one person. How could it? In any case they would first need to partner up into 2's and if one was left over they would have a squad of 3. Parthia looked upon her fellow comrades expecting them to figure it out for themselves. She didn't even consider herself in the equation.