Olwen stood up and moved over to collect the contract and the five pewter permits that would allow legal access into the Imperial City. After having done so, he calmly walked over to where Felicity was sitting and dropped onto the table her pewter amulet. "You'll need this," he politely said before flopping down in the seat across from her. Laying the contract out onto the table and setting the other four permits aside, Olwen began to look at then names of the contract of "Kill-Squad 7", whatever that meant and called the names out. "Come get your permits to enter that wonderful hell on the hill!"

*

Porteus kept up his job diligantly and began creating a new contract. Already three names were on it, an Imperial Legion veteran names Brotch Vunnis, and Nord Hunter calling himself Wolf, and Warrick Blorrin, an Imperial Adventurer.

"Thank you, gentlemen, I'll have the contract completed and signed very soon if no one else shows any interest."

OOC: Things move very quickly at the start, especially in this RP, because it is mission based rather than one constant story with traveling across Cyrodiil or Tamriel. Things need to move more quickly because of the small area this encompasses.

OOC: Oh aye, I know, I'm not saying it's a bad thing and I'm certainly not blaming you. It's just hard with my timezone, I'm usually in bed when you're all posting

IC: "Thank you." Was all Brotch said to the man after he signed his name on the contract, he then went and took his old seat at the bar, where his two glasses still hadn't been cleaned up. The bartender approached.

"So, you're going to the city then?" He asked, taking the glasses away now. Brotch nodded instead of straining his voice with a vocal answer. "I'm guessing you'll be wanting another beer then?" He said with a smile.

"No. Just water." It might have seemed offensive for Brotch to be so blunt, but he'd been here long enough for the bartender to know about his voice, he nodded and begun to make his order. The last thing Brotch wanted to do was to get drunk, he wouldn't off this amount of alcohol, of course, but he didn't want to take any risks now he was going.

Maybe he should be in a group?

No, not yet anyway. If he needed help, or if he was in danger, he could find people then. There were several going into the city, and they all looked capable. No risks while he was alone, that he would need to make sure of.

"Come get your permits to enter that wonderful hell on the hill!" Sir Olwen yelled, and Frederic had no chice but to retrieve his permit.

"Why hello Sir knight!" he exclaimed as he pulled up a chair and sat next to his potential teammate, "It is good to see you in a better mood! Maybe now you will be a match for that monster that assaulted you earlier, now that your not drunk and sulking!"

He hoped his words were not too harsh, but if this man was a knight as he proclaimed then he wasn't acting like it before. He noticed the contract in front of Olwen and snatched it up, wanting to get a good look at it. It called his group "KILL-SQUAD 7", and it listed the names of the others that would be going into the city. He was suprised to see a dunmer on the sheet, but it didn't bother him much. Dunmer only bothered him when they used the condescending tone that they usually use with the non-mer people. He was also suprised to see that he was the only non-combatant of the group, everyone else being warriors, knights, and mercenaries.

"Kill-Squad 7 is a good name for our small group." he said as he placed the contract back in front of Olwen, "We will be doing some investigating as well as killing though."

He looked over the contract one more time and then looked at the young imperial woman who sat opposite the knight. "I take it you are Felicity Fortuna?" he asked as he extended his hand, "My name is Frederic Wolfgang."

Seeing the situation had been dissuaded, Arcturas relaxed his hand, letting it fall to his side, as he sighed quietly. He pushed himself off the wall, brushing his hair from his eyes, as he made his way to the bar, to order another drink. He waited as the bartender finished an order, before serving Arcturas.

"Another brandy please." he asked poiltely, dropping some more gold on the counter, as the man left to pour his drink. He tossed another coin in the pile, a tip for the man who was clearly working hard for the busy crowd tonight.

"One brandy." the man said gruffly, as he placed the glass in front of Arcturas, and he went off to fill another order, before Arcturas could give his thanks. He just shrugged and turned back to watch the crowd again, seeing the line starting to lessen.

He sipped his drink, looking into the brownish liquid thoughtfully, his mind a million miles from the bar, as he began to swish the drink around in his hand. He looked up suddenly, as a voice called out over the many voices, calling for the contract members. Arcturas could only assume he was one of them, so he took another drink, draining the glass half-way, and made his way to a table where the Breton man and Imperial woman who had argued with the Dunmer were sitting.

A new member, another Imperial, made his way to the table also, sitting down, and Arcturas noted with a little disappointment that it was the man who had so rudely pushed him. He sighed again, taking another sip, as he neared the table, seeing the others already in conversation.

He pulled up a spare chair, and sat down at the table, reading his name on the contract to confirm it, as he glanced at what he guessed where the permits to the city. He looked around the table, a smile on his face, as he went to introduce himself, not caring if the other man was still talking or not.

"Err... I'm Arcturas." he said awkwardly, but nicely, his smile still on his face as he met his new companions. They seemed like a capable bunch to him, and he was glad the Breton looked like he was experienced in battle, because Arcturas was a little anxious about going into the city now that it was so close. He took another, rather large sip of brandy as he sat there.

As soon as the contract had been signed and Warrick knew he was now officially a proud outstanding member of "Kill Squad 7" , he let forth a sigh of relief . If something has to be done, do it as fast as possible and get it out of the way was one of the many saying's he lived by , and now , with his goal achieved , he walked over to the bar .

He spotted a few men of whom had signed the contract also relaxing there , and thought that this was a good time to introduce himself and maybe make a better impression then what he did with the argonians by buying the group a drink .

As he approached the table he clapped his hands and rubbed them together swiftly in excitement of drinks abound , and took a seat at the bar with his new comrades . The barmaid approached and asked what he was having . "A BEER!" He beamed eagerly . "Make it a really big one too, I could do with a swift pick me up" .

A great foaming tankard was placed upon the counter , and Warrick sipped a little foam off the top in anticipation of the great drink before turning to his new-found group member's .

Err... I'm Arcturas A man said somewhat sheepishly .

"Pleased to make yer aquaintance lad!" Warrick smiled , extending his great, big hand . "I'm Warrick , but most call me "Pork Chop" 'cos I butcher me way through hordes of nasties seeking fame and fortune!"

He let forth a bellowing laugh , as if he had just made some grand joke .

OOC : it seems lot's more people are joining...would it be wise to have a Kill Squad 7 and a Kill Squad 8 perhaps?

"Actually, I do believe that we may not have the free reign in the Imperial City as we fully expect." Olwen spoke in a bemused voice as he looked at the contract a little more thouroughly. "It says something here about duties....Not quite sure what that is implying, but I have the distinct feeling we just joined an organization of sorts." Olwen could feel resentment towards Porteus building but then he looked on the brighter side, at least in an organization, there would be clear goals and jobs to do. And as the younger son of a noble, his prospects for riches were usually limited to things such as these.

"It seems our dunmer friend was correct, always read a contract before signing on for anything," he laughed after that. If push came to shove, could quite easily just pack up and go back to High Rock if this little organization that he apparently now belonged to decided to pull the proverbial wool over his eyes. Setting the contract down, Olwen then regarded his companions. "Well, I don't suppose any of you has any noble blood?"

Felicity grabbed the pewter amulet Olwen had brought for her, giving him a quick nod of gratitude as she stuffed it into the pocket of her jacket. Frankly, she didn't see the need for all the song and dance the paper pusher, Porteus, was forcing them all through. Not that it mattered, really; once they were in the city, she imagined there would be little he could actually do to enforce the arbitrary rules he'd been stuffing down all their throats. Until then, though, she didn't see any reason not to play along with his little game.

Moments after this thought had crossed her mind, a trio of men all approached the group, introducing themselves in quick succession. She turned to the first of the three, a man who'd introduced himself as Frederic. "Yeah, I'm Felicity," she replied, taking the man's hand. "Good to meet you, Frederic." She grabbed her bottle of brandy, and took another long, hard swig, before turning her attention back to the Imperial. "Don't think I'll be doing much investigating during this little outing of ours, though. If I was remotely interested in that kind of crap, I'd have traded in my sword for a stack of textbooks." She gave a slight grin. "Don't let that stop you from going nuts, though." With that, she gave a casual glance of recognition to the other two men, before focusing on Olwen, who'd asked about any noble blood any of them might have had.

"Not unless my parents left out a fairly important branch of my family tree," she replied with a bit of a shrug. "Not that I mind much, really. From what I've seen, nobles spend a little too much time fawning over etiquette, and too little actually getting [censored] done." She shot the Breton a slight grin, accompanied by another shrug. "No offense."

Arcturas blinked in astonishment as the large man came over to their table talking loudly as he ordered a rather large tankard of beer, a look of anticipation on his face. It took the shocked IMperial to realize the large man was talking to him, as the man extended his hand, a warm smile on his face.

He smiled his boyish smile, as he thought the man was nice enough, if a little loud, but Arcturas didn't judge the man for it. It was who he was after all, and he looked like a capable fighter. He took the man's hand in his own, smaller hand, shaking it politely. "Nice to meet you Warrick." he said, smiling at the man's loud explanation of his nickname, as he sipped his drink again, glancing at the large cup in front of the man with some distaste.

He smiled once more, and turned back to the others, listening as Olwen explained something about the contract, though coming through halfway through the conversation didn't allow Arcturas to understand most of it. He did notice a few pewter amulets lying in a pile together on the table, and followed the woman's lead by taking on of them, and dropping it in one of his small belt pouches, along with the rest of his gold.

He shook his head at Olwen's question, answering it politely so he could have some conversation with the people he was about to adventure with. "Not a drop." he said simply, looking around the table, raising an eyebrow at the woman's answer, starting to think that she was somebody who liked to speak their minds. He grinned however, trying to keep things light, as he downed the rest of his drink, a involuntary shudder from the rather potent drink as it went burned down his throat.

Aric turned his head on his side as a canine would after hearing what the breton noble had said about them all having to undertake duties, making his ice blue eyes narrow in realisation of an error. Unlike the others, Aric headed for the window facing the city, and then reached for his back pocket. Inside was a small envelope with a picture of a girl around 15. The resemblance to the Nord was uncanny and as he looked at this picture his expression changed. I will find you within those ruined walls Sylvia, i am sure of it.

The picture was almost two decades old, and it was the only thing he had left.. the only thing left of his clan that he could cling on to. The Nord clenched his free hand into a fist as he remembered the night everything went wrong. All he knew at the time that the hunters who slayed much of his clan were imperials, and nobles at that. They had thought the Wolf-Blood clan were werewolves, and wished to exterminate them. The result was a given, and they had taken his sister away when they forced the Nomad off of the cliff. Perhaps they wanted to study a subject, or perhaps the men had a sick pleasure. either way when Aric awoke that night, he swore noble blood would be spilt.

Hearing the man ask the others if they had any noble blood, Aric hit the wall with his fist. Hard. All that kept him at the Inn was the man with the papers to sign the permit. No one else on the contract mattered. None of the others were like him. none of them had a purpose to go within the walls other than scavenging for trinkets. And most frustrating of all was that most were Imperials, with Nobles thrown into the mix. Leaving the wall, the Nord returned to the fireplace, and sat on the floor, staring into the flames once more, leaving the new hole in the wall as it was.

Brotch watched as one of the Nords stormed away from the group, and smashed his fist into a wall. Although everyone else seemed too occupied talking in their own little circles to really notice, Brotch was intrigued. It wasn't really like him to seek out new company, but he felt like he should talk to someone else who was going into the city, what harm could it do anyway. He drunk the rest of his water in one, and then subconsciously rubbed the two scars running across his cheeks like he often did. He thanked the waiter then stood up, heading to the fire where the Nord was now sat alone.

"Hey." He said rather quietly and hoarsely, moving into a kneel beside him and enjoying the slight warmth the fire brought. Some people were often taken aback on first appearance because of his scars, he wasn't all that good at reading people, but he guessed that this Nord wouldn't be that way. "You're going into the city too then," He said, still not looking directly at him, instead staring into the flames. "Any idea what we'll find in there?"

OOC: That dang high school cutting into my RP time *grumble grumble*. And now I'm just going to give permits to everyone since I'm think everyone got onto a contract.

IC: Olwen grinned at his new acquaintices reactions to his question about noble blood. He always liked to make sure that anyone he traveled with was on his level or above him so that he might give them the proper respect due to their ranks. But now that he had learned that none of them likely held a drop of noble blood, Olwen was feeling incredibly puffed up and superior. Not a cruel man by nature, Olwen would never order these fellows to due anything, he even didn't expect them to die for him, even though it was their duty.

But what do peasants know of duty?

Olwen often asked himself this question. It was a question that most nobles asked themselves. Peasants were, on the whole, quite foolish and unable to understand the nuances that seperated their low blood from the high blood of nobles. It was a very confusing thing to think about, but relevant to the natural order of life.

*

Porteus finished the latest contract and stood up with the box of pewter amulets that served as the permits to enter the Imperial City. Moving around the common room, he passed out the metal pendants to anyone who had signed for a contract and didn't have one. After he had finished that, he went over to the notice he had posted up and removed it only to replace it with another one stating that....

Duties Now Available! Please See Mr. Porteus Percius to Receive Your Duties.

Adras only glared at the Imperial when he was handed an amulet. After a brief discussion with the clerk, he learned the only lawful way to enter the city was to sign and receive an amulet. He also learned that signers of the contract handled law inside the ruins. He was confident that he could enter the city, but becoming an outlaw was never a good idea. Even then, how would he get the missing House Brother out without a pass in and out? In the end, Adras decided it wouldn't be worth the trouble. He came here for a reason, and he intended to do it. It was his duty.

Leering up at the clerk, who was now replacing the notice on the wall. What would a simple peasant know of duty?

Resigned, he stood from his chair, quickly stepped across the inn, and read the paper. His scowled darkened as he read, a reminder to the damned contract. Without a word, he turned away from the paper, towards clerk Porteus. Chin raised, and eyes looking down his nose at the man, he waited for the Imperial to elaborate.

Aric noticed the man that knelt next to him, but did not turn to face the imperial. Even so, the Nord noticed the scars on the man's cheeks and realised that not all of the contract holders seemed to not have any experience. "I have hunted some of the fiercest creatures in the land.. yet what was created within those walls, not even i can determine how dangerous those creatures can be. I have heard rumors of their appearance, but not experienced their strength or speed in person" Aric said as he held his Wolf clan talisman. "To fight these creatures is not my primary task within those walls, but i believe the proof for killing these things may be worth something for a hunter like myself."

Many of the others seemed to ignore the two men as they sat there, and Aric noticed a new note placed up on the fireplace. "I believe we may very well have our chance to find out for ourselves sooner than we may wish to believe"

Brotch listened as the Nord talked, so, he's a hunter. It didn't surprise him, he looked like the kind, fur, scars, but he didn't recognise the Talisman he was holding. Perhaps it was a hunting clan of some kind? A guild that had formed up recently, he would've asked about it but he had his attention taken away by the note as the Nord pointed it out. He hadn't noticed it before, he squinted to see it a bit better. 'Duties Now Available! Please See Mr. Porteus Percius to Receive Your Duties.' He looked back at the knight who had given him his contract, he couldn't exactly remember if he had told him his name or not, so had to guess that he was Porteus.

"Good." He said quietly, not elaborating in order to keep his voice less strained. He did want to get into the city as soon as possible, at least now it seemed like he definitely could. But still, it was a freezing cold and dark night out there. He didn't entirely fancy going out in this sort of light, it seemed dangerous enough without not being able to see more than a few yards. The city could wait a little longer.

"I don't know about you." He told the Nord, working hard to bring his voice to a near usual talking level. "But I'm going to wait until morning, I want to get a good look at the place when there is visibility, rather than heading in while it's pitch black." He looked at him directly and held out his hand to the Nord. "I'm Brotch, sorry if I sometimes seem... less than talkative, my voice was damaged when I was in the guard several years ago." He had no problem telling people about the incident, he wasn't the sort of person to get traumatised easily anyway, and it often explained a little bit about his unusual scars. "What should I call you by? If you don't mind me asking."

ooc: Oh, damn. The link got cut off somehow from her profile. Trish's armor (which she's wearing at the moment) looks like http://kvatch.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10278/rogueattire.jpg. Just so y'all know.

ic: For the second time, Warrick startled the little Argonian maiden with his loud mannerisms. Trisha jumped awake with a snort and looked around quickly, heart racing wildly. "What was that? Who.. Oh, the beardy guy. Ehhn. He's too loud for my liking.." She whispered to herself and then stretched and yawned.

Looking around her now, the first thing she noticed was an increase in people. The second thing was that there was a group of people who already seemed to have been given a contract and some odd, unassuming amulets. The third thing she saw was that the notice was gone, replaced by one advertising duties, assumedly to those who'd signed up. Trisha panicked. Getting up quickly, she approached Porteus and met his eyes frantically.

"You.. you remembered that I asked for a contract.. didn't you?" She pleaded in Tiim-Kast's heavy reptilian accent. "I.. I'm an alchemist, with extensive knowledge of Dwemer technology. I'm useful, I swear! Please don't leave me behind!" Then, as she realized she'd failed to ever give a name, she spoke once more, a little more calmly. "Oh, and the name's Tiim.. eh.."

Trisha cut herself off. She knew that this could be the only proof she had that she owned what she found and, if it was in a false name, she could be denied those assets. Trisha sighed, looked around quickly, then dropped the accent and the feigned male gruffness, reverting to the androgynous, soft-yet-mildly-raspy voice that was her own. Her volume dropped to that of a whisper and she leaned in to talk straight into his ear. "My.. my name's Trisha. Trisha Cerrius. I just.. Nobody.. Nobody ever accepts me as a woman so.." Trisha shrugged a little and gave a nervous grin, "I.. want the rest of my group to think I'm a male by the name of Tiim-Kast. But for the official records, you know.. put my real name. Please? I.. They.. They can't know. They won't listen to anything I say if they know. Nobody ever does.."

Standing up straight again, she raised her voice to normal volume and re-adopted the verbal guise. Trisha smiled somewhat sheepishly down at the man, hoping, praying that he'd understand. "So.. I-Is that okay?"

Aric nodded and grasped the Imperial's hand. "A wise move. Best not be too eager to leap into the unknown with no knowledge of these beasts." He said as he listened to the man introduce himself and mention his scars. Scars made a man as he was. Gave one the appearance of experience of fighting, and for a Nord that was something worthy of respect. One with no scars whatsoever would make him wonder if someone had even left his mother's womb.

"The name is Wolf, Brotch. That is what i have become known over the years" The Nord said introducing himself. It was best that he still did not mention who he really was, as after all, he did not fully trust anyone here yet. Anyone could be part of the group that wanted him dead.

'That is what I have become known over the years.' Yep, definitely a hunter. Or a mercenary of some kind. Only people like that hid their true names, but Brotch didn't care enough to delve in deeper on the topic. He was tired, and he needed rest for the day ahead. "I hope to see you in the city." He told Wolf, keeping his voice to the volume it was before, much to the dismay of his vocal chords. "God knows it's good to have friends at any time, especially in a place like there." Quickly glancing at the stairs, and then to Porteus, he continued. "I'm going to go see our man in the know about what these duties are, and then I'm heading straight to my room, preparation is in order. Good night."

He smiled, which gave his face an odd look, the scars extending the smile in a peculiar manner. It was why he didn't smile so much any more. Although he knew that he would miss the heat of the flames somewhat, he nonetheless turned towards where Porteus was. "Excuse me." He said, "I was wondering if you could leave me with one of these 'duties' before I head to my room, I'm planning to head out tommorow and wouldn't mind knowing what I'm heading into."

Arcturas found himself fading in and out of focus, his boredom growing as his excitement slowly ebbed away. He wasn't sure how long he was sitting there before the man who had given him his permit hung another notice where the first on had been.

Duties, eh? he thought to himself, a frown creasing his face before it straightened out again back to his neutral look. He started to think the Dunmer had a kernel of truth behind his acid tongue, as this was starting to turn in more of a job then the adventure he had been looking for. They were probably going to have to search for something specific, which would take away from the freedom of it all. He frowned again, as he pushed his empty glass away, as he pushed his chair back, making his way slowly over towards the table for his duties.

The Dunmer was there also, seemingly waiting for the man to tell them of their "duties" and what they might entail. He stood next to the Dunmer, left hand on the hilt of his blade, right hand resting at his side in a relaxed pose, as he looked at the man.

"What might these new 'duties' be, good sir?" he asked with a small smile.

Frederic wasn't all that interested in the mentioning of duties. "If that pompous ass thinks that he can make me do anything, he has another thing coming." he muttered as he finished the glass of free water the kind waitress brought over to him after he left it on the bar. Even if he didn't have the authority to disobey, he had better things to do than worry about some menial task.

"I don't see why he thinks he can make us complete these tasks of his while we are in danger of those monsters!" he exclaimed, "I have a task to complete and these 'duties' will make it harder for all of us."

Unless these "duties" were clearly presented and there was a good reason, then Frederic would not lift a finger for the imperial official.

"Place Hides-His-Heart on the contract as well, soft-skin." Hel'Resquein said behind Trisha. He'd only just walked up, having finished whatever business he was doing at his table and seeing his fellow Argonian approaching for a contract. He'd offered to accompany his fellow, so that he would do.

At least the Argonian should be more bearable than the soft-skins. Such as this one in charge of the contracts; he aggravated the Shaman with his pompous wastefulness. "This one wishes to accompany the Kin of the Root."
----------------
"He wants dishwater and raw meat?" The cook asked, looking at the waitress incredulously. She shook her head furiously, and looked pale. He raised one eyebrow curiously, before tossing a plate on his cutting board. Without even washing the meat first, he cut the hunk into slices and set the bloody mass on the plate. A mug was selected with care, and with a complete lack of care the cook dipped it in the washing basin and filled it. He set it beside the plate and placed his hands on the table.

"Well?" The waitress looked sheepishly at the plate and the cup, not keen on taking it. "Take it... to the customer." The cook told her slowly, as if addressing a mentally slow person, and she slowly approached the plate and cup. Her hands grasped each as she cringed, and once she had them in her grasp she was quick to rush out and find the Argonian's table.

OOC: Hey guys, sorry about just like....leaving the RP. Finals week has really cut into my time on everything. I actually lost ten pounds cause I wasn't eating! So lets try and get this going again. Oh, and everyone is on contracts I believe so it's duty time now.

IC: Porteus looked up as everyone was either grumbling or asking about duties. He did understand the spirit of adventure that these....adventurers felt and knew that all they really wanted to do was get into the city and start exploring or fufilling their own personal tasks, but Imperial Authority would not allow it. If they wanted access to the city they would have to follow all the rules and regulations laid down in the imaginary fine print on their contracts.

"Yes," Porteus began to say with just a slight, almsot unoticable grin on his face, "well you see, Imperial Authority has set down certain restrictions, one of these being the completion of duties if you do not wish to have your permits revoked and your contract void." His grin then vanished, "that place is not safe, and since you all have gained permits at about the same time....I would suggest you get to know your fellow adventurers because I'm placing all of you on similar tasks."

Porteus stopped talking and took a sip of the wine that a waitress wench had brought him not too long ago. The Breton was right, it tasted terrible. Sticking his tongue out and making a face, then coughing, Porteus set the wine down and turned his attention back to the adventurers. "I do have a duty that needs completed, as well. Something particularly odd. Are you all interested?"

*

Olwen didn't get up when Porteus nailed the Duties announcment on the wall. In all honesty, he was interested, but he would just head wherever his new acquaintices headed. Having no real agenda other than to get rich and buy a fief in High Rock, that left a number of options open, and these duties seemed to be the current one to take.

ooc: It lives!

ic: Trisha looked over as Hide-His-Heart said for the second time that night that he wanted to go with her. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside to know someone wanted to be with her, even if it was only because of her race; being wanted for a trivial reason was still better than not being wanted at all. Her gauntlets still on the table as she leaned over, Trish listened to the man speak.

"..I do have a duty that needs completed, as well. Something particularly odd. Are you all interested?" He finished after a few moments, and the little Argonian could barely contain herself. Something odd usually equaled something interesting. And interesting was always good.. right? She nodded.

"Yes. I am very much interested." Said Tiim-Kast, before looking over at 'his' fellow reptile. "And it is good to have another of my kind at my back."

ooc: Kast, not Karst, dammit. Work, brain, work.. :banghead: