[Nicole Elocin]

Amelie was dismayed to see just how much time had passed when she finally left the lab, coated in alchemical residue. She and Master Beloren had passed hours on their craft, it seemed, and the Breton had completely forgotten that there was another reason she'd wanted to come to the University that day.

The University was now completely dark, with the skies bright with stars and the magical fires casting the grounds in an otherworldly violet light. It was beautiful, and Amelie might have lingered on any other night... but her curiosity was not yet satisfied. So, she dusted herself off and headed for the Mage Quarters.

All the apprentices stayed upstairs, so that was where she headed. She poked her head in.

Every time she came in here, it reminded her of a barracks. At least her dorm room sophomore year had only had three beds... this had enough for every apprentice at the University, all cramped into one room. It was too much for Amelie's anti-social self... which was why she'd opted to stay at Luther Broad's instead.

Well, that, and because the other apprentices had kicked her out for running experiments in odd hours of the night. Apparently, strange smells and constant sizzling and popping didn't make for a good night's sleep.

Despite that, she was on friendly terms with a couple other apprentices, although none of them could say that they knew her particularly well.

She looked for them now. Most of the beds were occupied by sleeping forms. A handful of apprentices were reading by candlelight or--in the case of one of them--a Starlight spell. Two were sitting on adjacent beds, heads lowered as they whispered to one another. Amelie picked out one familar blond head among the readers. Bingo.

Hana was a Breton a little older than Amelie. The two had met during a lecture on Divination vs Determinism, when Hana had spotted Amelie doodling on her lecture notes and promptly suggested a better type of quill. The two had become somewhat close from there, considering they were both introverted and usually busy.

Amelie tip-toed over to Hana now, poking her playfully in the shoulder, and eliciting a small jump. The blond broke into a friendly smile a moment later. "What are you doing here?" she whispered. "I thought they did not permit you up here anymore."

"Only when I'm packing alchemy equipment."

"When is that ever not the case? You carry a mortar and pestle in that bag. I know you do."

"Sssssh!" Amelie muffled a laugh with her palm. Even so, Hana's neighbor was making irritated noises against his pillow, so Amelie motioned for Hana to follow her downstairs. Hana hesitated, then put her book aside, threw on a robe to cover her nightdress, and followed.

Once they were downstairs, Amelie felt free to raise her voice... but only a little. There were master mages in the other room. "I heard some things down in Leyawiin this morning. I want to know what they're saying here."

"About what? You're going to have to be more specific than that, you know." Hana hugged herself as if cold, but smiled gently through it.

Amelie nodded and sat down on the corner of a table. "There's apparently this guild in Kvatch..." Hana made a soft 'ah' noise. "...and apparently the Guild doesn't approve of them?"

Hana looked very amused. "That's been going for a while, Amelie. You must not have been paying very good attention to your surroundings these past weeks."

Amelie grinned. "I was very focused on my studies?"

Hana snickered. "Let us just say that Master Beloren made an apt decision in choosing you as his apprentice."

"So tell me... what do they say?"

"I don't know much about it. As far as I can tell... that is, what I've heard... is that the Council is trying to launch an investigation of this new guild. They fret about dangerous magics and illegal trade. It's my opinion... that this is just a case of mages not wanting to leave a mystery unsolved."

"So you think the Guild's after them because they've got secrets, and the Council wants to know them?"

Hana shrugged. "It is my own opinion, of course. But we, of all people, know how much mages are drawn to puzzles." She smiled conspiringly.

"That we do." Amelie didn't smile. Actually, her mouth quirked down in a frown, and she took out her chapstick and started clicking the cap. She suspected that she DID know the secret... and it wasn't one that the Mages' Guild would be better for knowing. In fact, it could make things much, much worse. She had to get to Kvatch as soon as possible.

"Amelie? Are you all right?" Amelie realized that it had been a couple minutes since she'd spoken. Hana was looking concerned.

"Ah... yeah. I'm fine. I'm probably just tired from working so much. I think tomorrow I'll ask Master Beloren if I can take a brief vacation."

"All right." Hana didn't look convinced. "Did you need anything else?"

Amelie shook her head and smiled. "Nah. That's what I wanted to know. Thanks a lot."

Hana hesitated. Then, mumbling something about Amelie being a 'psychological curiosity,' headed back upstairs.

Amelie, however, turned and headed out into the night. Her mind had started whirling around in anxious circles; there was no chance of her sleeping for at least a couple hours. The Breton decided to take a walk and made her way swiftly toward the Arboretum, clicking her chapstick all the way.

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

Meanwhile...

From the top of the second-highest tower in the city, Zander Gaersley gazed over the Imperial Isle. He leaned forward against the frame, feeling the hum of the Orrery through his palms. The University was quiet below him, but the city across the way most definitely was not. The Imperial City was always alive, somewhere.

The Breton drummed his fingers thoughtfully against the window frame, his dark brown eyes sweeping with intensity over the city lights below, but in truth he saw none of it.

Abruptly, he pushed off from the window and strode across the circular room to his desk. The orange candlelight swept idly over his olive complexion and blue silk nightrobe, glittering off the robe's gold-spun trim and catching in his thick black hair. His face was surprisingly young for one of his position--28 years--but his expression was not; his stern, eternally-serious manner was enough to inspire respect in mer six times his age.

He usually kept himself meticulously neat--with a well-trimmed goatee, only wearing robes with high collars and long-sleeves, black hair oiled back with any long strands tied in a tail. However, he now bore a particularly sleep-ruffled appearance. His hair, washed clean of oil, fell over his cheekbones in strands. Stubble formed along his jaw, ready to be shaved in a matter of hours. And while his night-robe had long sleeves, its collar was low and casual. Despite this, his manner carried on as if her were still the clean-cut Breton who had captured the attention of the Council of Mages only a few years ago.

Zander stood at his desk, fingering the piece of paper on it. It was this piece of paper that had him up now, when the rest of the University slept. On it was written the message sent by the chapter hall in Kvatch. The Breton was pleased to see that the request for investigation had been approved by the count... but he could not dispel a pang of concern, and thus was the source of his restlessness. There was no telling how this might play out, and who might get injured in the process.

However, Zander was, if anything pragmatic. If he had to play the villain for the good of Tamriel, so be it.

"The game begins tomorrow," he said softly into the candlelit room, his thick High Rock accent echoing dully. "Perhaps then, we will see who the players really are."

[le GraiN]

Ji'shandi knew he should wait for Umbaccano to go to sleep before attempting to steal the laptop, but the skooma in his veins threw caution to the wind. In a matter of seconds, the skooma was not the only foreign fluid in his body, as he downed the small active-camo potion, as he thought of it. Attaching the rope to the roof, he dropped down to see what the Altmer was doing to his long-lost laptop, and if he had made any progress.

If it was powered on, he knew it meant the Altmer could recharge it, and he would need Umbaccano's notes on how to recharge it himself... unless the Terra Guild could do the same for him. Surely, 2 years with all sorts of misplaced technology would have some less procrastinating members to learn to recharge their cellphones. He was aware he wasn't the only one with tech, as someone sold a Bosmer a cellphone 2 years ago.

Ji'shandi peered through the window, taking care not to disturb anything ouside to betray his position. The chameleon spell should be strong enough to prevent him from being detected by either a glance out the windo, or up by the guards. He even took care to ensure his rope blended against the building, and out of the line of sight of anywhere on the interior.

[Jennifer Rose]

OOC:Yes, I used that generator -_-.*notes to check meaning of names before using them*

IC:
While Frank explained to Elbereth the extents of her wounds, Ma'Dat had ended up drifting into his own trains out thought. He had never really cared much about the art of restoration to begin with, and in fact the only reason he knew anything about it at all was because it was required by the Temple. In reality he would rather deal with Alteration or Illusion than Restoration.

Part of this boredom was from his life on Earth. While his older step-brother was the medical student of the family Ma'Dat had prefered the social sciences of history and politics, and he had hoped to build a career on it. Sadly, arriving in Tamriel messed that plan up because it was just so different from his home country. Therefore, he had started writing about politics, even getting a few of Earth's philosophers into the mix. Of course now with the Mages Guild breathing down their necks that seemed like a bad idea.

Karst leaving the room, and followed by Jo, was what finally snapped him out of his thought. He listend to Frank talk to Elbereth a little bit more before he decided to leave. Frank had everything in control, and it didn't seem he needed him. Besides, he had to start cleaning out his room. It didn't take that long to reach it since it was just down the hall.

"Well, at least I don't have any great works of art to burn. Plus one to bad art skills." He said with a small laugh. It was true though; he never really was a good artist compared to Frank or Jo. Instead he had turned to writing for his artistic cravings (and the occasional doodles). Instead of scrolls with drawings of demons or such he had scrolls filled with writings on a nice variety of stuff; economics (Ma'Dat still cringed when he thought of the work involved in getting the basics of Adam Smith down on paper), politics (both philosophy and current events), a little bit of 'history'...and that was it. Most of it wasn't published, but a few bits got through (and now served as evidence for the Mages Guild).

With that in mind he headed over to his bookcase and started looking through it for anything he needed to get rid of or hide.

"Okay, I can keep all these books from Tamriel that were already written or I wrote and published. Let's see; I'll keep The Prince, and I think I'll get rid of these unpublished books. Hmm, to bad Karst left. I would have asked her to hold them with Jo's stuff as well. I guess I could just hide them underneath something."

After a short moment of digging around he located a small box and proceeded to stuff the manuscripts into them and locked it.

"Now where to hide it?"

[Minako]

Elbereth laughed ruefully, "Okay, okay I get it: no moving. But wow, poor Argonian, although I'm sure it tasted better than the swamps of the Black Marsh taste, unless you Earthlings have some good tasting urine."

Patrick laughed, amused and intrigued by the Bosmer's odd train of thought. She waved her wand a little, "But don't worry about a thing, "Farlin". If I ever tried to explain what Patrick told me and what he thinks happened to him -- you guys -- I think they would try and have me incarcerated for telling nonsense. I don't know how it's possible, but unless everyone in this Guild is crazy, then I guess you're all from Earth."

Patrick offered a brief wave to the other's as they departed, "Well, I never really liked the Mages Guild anyway. Leastways not in the game; I much preferred the Fighter's Guild, more down to earth." Patrick flashed a lopsided smile, relishing the play on words. "Maybe I'll go see Karst there after this Mages Guild thing has blown over. Which reminds me, Frank, what things should I get rid of? I have quite a bit of writing in my desk, as well as lots of self-written Martial Art manuals that would appear very foreign to anyone not from Earth."

Elbereth chimed in, "Well, if these Mages Guild people come around with their noses where they shouldn't be and find some foreign manuals, maybe just say they're from some far of country?"

Patrick shrugged, "I dunno, they'd probably be able to know that I've never been anywhere but Cyrodiil in my two years here; I'm not a great liar. What do you reckon, Frank? I mean, maybe I should go see Karst now and let Elly get some rest?"

[Christina Trayler]

"Any works you have directly from Earth, give them to Karst or destroy them. Anything you've written based on them we might be able to slip through, but I don't recommend it. If it's published, don't bother getting rid of it as they likely already have a copy." Frank told Pat, a look of seriousness over his face.

"I'm going to try and find a reasonable answer to some of our things we've done. We have to tread carefully, the ice is thin." Frank sighed, putting his elbows on his knees and his hands on his head. "I hate politics. I hate it with a passion. For this very reason. Start packing up your stuff Pat."

And then it hit him, and a smile spread across his face as he snapped his fingers. "Elsweyr. That's it." He grinned wider, rising and waving his index finger at Pat. "You wandered anonymously in the deserts of Elsweyr, hoping to document the hidden fighting styles of the Khajiits and adapt them for human use. I'm sure many of the martial arts you've got recorded could be reasonable edits of Khajiit styles, which almost no one knows and therefore it is more likely to be believed."

He looked between Pat and Elbereth excitedly. "The same for the weapon fighting techniques. Blame the Redguards. Traveling Hammerfall to document the more novice and mid-skill techniques of the ancient Sword-singers, which very few people know either. We'll more likely be passed off as legitimate. Halls of War don't keep records of even their students, so far as I know, and a spectator isn't likely to be recorded or easily remembered either. It's perfect." Frank brought his hand to his mouth, looking at the ground and thinking again.

"Maybe the same train of thought could cover our other works... I'll have to think on this. Elbereth, I may bounce ideas off of you at times, alright? Then you tell me if you would consider the lie as partially believable based on your knowledge of Tamriel." He had begun to actually pace the room now. His mind was on a roll.

[Rude_Bitch_420]

Patrick nodded, unable to not start feeling excited as tension began to build and Frank beginning to pace didn't help either. "Well, I'll destroy anything that can't be explained by my wandering's of Elsweyr and Hammerfell. Mind you, now I have to create a few more years of my life that don't exist...again. I guess it's a good thing I look older than I am."

He flashed a quick smile at Elbereth and Frank before picking up his satchel and shouldering it. "Well, I'm off to burn stuff then. Catch ya later." With that he walked out of the room and down the hall, to his own room and began rifling through his belongings, putting what could be explained and what couldn't into separate piles. It irked him that he would have to burn or get rid of some of his writing that he had done over the years, but thoughts of what the Mages Guild would do to his Guild made him push those thoughts from his head and focus on what was at hand.

Elbereth smiled, "Well, go ahead. I know more than your average Tamrielic mercenary or woodsmen though, so your stories may have to be pretty convincing. Shoot."

[Laura Samson]

ooc: Sorry, Frank. I'm jealous of the Dunmer too.

To his credit, he did help her through a serious rough spot in her life, so.. he's earned it.

ic: Jo'Rokku flitted busily about his room, arranging things and tossing scraps of garbage out his window into the alley below; apple cores, bits of dried up cheese, the leftovers of failed alchemical experimentations, that sort of thing. Luckily, his coat had been stripped of all relations to Earth long ago to avoid suspicions; the tags were all ripped off, the brass snaps printed with the FoxFire insignia had been replaced with brass buttons so he didn't have to hide that from the Mage's Guild. Karst had all of his old clothes (she was wearing his old jeans at this very moment) so he didn't need to hide those either.

What he did need to hide were the various blueprints and schematics for firearms and soulgem-powered grenades that he'd worked on, and the nearly operational one-shot pistol he'd made with help from one of Karst's friends in, ironically, the Mage's Guild. Trisha, said friend, had figured out how to create a gunpowder-like substance with Alchemy and the gun had fired using the concoction, but the powder needed refining to reduce the amount of residue it left in the barrel after firing. Currently, the pistol required extensive cleaning after every firing and the powder occasionally failed to spark, making it a fickle and unreliable piece of technology. He'd given the Argonian tinker permission to tweak his blueprints as she wished and wondered now if she'd taken him up on that offer at all. The gray Khajiit grabbed the crudely crafted firearm, his rolled-up weapons schematics, and stuffed all of them into his backpack for transport to Karst.

Leaving, he went to Ma'Dat's room and knocked on the door, planning to offer to take anything he wanted to keep to Karst. After Ma'Dat, he'd go ask Pat, then Frank.
_______
While walking up to the second floor of the Guild, Karst leaned on Radrin and purred, looking greatly forward to the events to come. When they found an empty room at the end of the hall and entered, Radrin smiled at the small Khajiit's obvious contentment, but questioned her.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we've not seen each other in years.."

Karst scoffed at this as she threw off her coat, sat on the bed and set to undoing her armor. "What do you mean 'Am I sure?' Am I sure I want some affection for once, sure that I want to get laid after forced abstinence for three years, or.. what?" she asked sarcastically, "I don't see your point as those have pretty obvious answers, I'd think."

"Well, I mean that I'm unsure if this isn't just a symptom of loneliness and I don't know if you actually want to have six or if you just want companionship. That, and I was hoping to get to talk to you, but.." he chuckled gruffly, "I know you don't tend to engage in casual conversation during such activity, so that won't happen for a while if we do. Then after we're done, you'll either be exhausted and want to go to sleep or you'll impatiently drum your fingers on my chest and pester me as to when I'll be ready to go again, so again with not getting to catch up with you." Radrin stated very matter-of-factly. Karst sighed, but smiled.

"Well, you've got me there, but I do know what I'm doing, what I want and I know it's not just companionship I'm craving. Besides, what do you care? You're gettin' laid, right?"

Radrin shrugged. "Well, I care because I don't want to inadvertently take advantage of your loneliness to get six out of you."

Karst had tossed her gauntlets and boots on the floor during this and was busy undoing her greaves now. She let out a burst of laughter at his worry. "Take advantage of me? Trust me, you'll be doing me a favor, now quit with the worrying. It's not good for an assassin to get too soft, right?" she teased, then tossed her greaves off and stood up. Jo'Rokku's battered black jeans were secured about her waist by a black leather belt and she slipped the belt off as she got up and walked towards him. Stepping out of the jeans as they fell to the floor, she hugged Radrin, who'd only taken off his robes and gauntlets. He put his arms about her, cautiously resting his hands on her rear end. She giggled at the contact and squeezed him, so he figured he was allowed to do that.

"So.. you're sure?"

"Shut up and take your clothes off, dammit." she replied flatly, without hesitation. The Dunmer smiled and shrugged, then obeyed. "Normally, I'd ask you to wash the smell of ash and that weird leather off yourself first, but.. I think I can live with it for tonight." she added with a seductively playful voice.

"Well, you don't have to twist my arm too much, babe, I mean.. wait.. is that a piercing?" One gray-blue finger pointed at the metal in Karst's navel. The Khajiit fingered the metal ring and nodded, then laid down on the bed in a less-than-modest pose after slipping out of the rest of her garments. "I was wondering why you'd saved that chunk of broken Dremora armor.."

"Well, now you know." Karst laughed. After another minute or so, the small Khajiit got cold and climbed under the blankets to keep warm, giving up trying to look sixy for the assassin for the sake of her own comfort. The Dunmer joined her a bit later, putting his arms around her. "So, when do I get to hear what I've missed of your life?"

"You [censored] me tonight, I'll talk all you want tomorrow. Deal?" Karst offered, grinning at him over her shoulder. Radrin kissed her furry cheek and smiled.

"Deal."

Any of the Terra Guild members that came to drop things off tonight would certainly have an interesting sight waiting for them upon their arrival. After all, it wasn't every day you saw a restless, eccentric Khajiit and a Morag Tong assassin in bed together.

[Nikki Hype]

Ma'Dat was still looking through his book case trying to figure out what to get rid of when he heard someone knocking on his door. Stopping what he was doing, he went and opened it a crack to see who it was. When he saw it was Jo he opened it all the way.

"Oh, hello there Jo. Do you need some help on something? All I'm doing right now is seeing if I need to get rid of anything so I'm not that busy."

((OOC:Eh, I hate short posts, but there isn't much I can do...))

[Rhiannon Jones]

ooc: It's okay. In a situation like this where all we can really do is say one very simple line, you can have Jo'Rokku speak for me so we don't end up with a series of two line posts.

Also, for anyone who, like me, misses Dunken and the other freaks from the Isles in Trapped, I'm gonna be starting work on a fanfiction about his ascent to Madgod now that I have a 360 to replay SI on, so.. I'm gonna be having loads of fun soon.

ic: Jo'Rokku adjusted his backpack on his back in the few seconds that passed as he waited for Ma'Dat to answer. When he did, it seemed he was just as busy with preparations as the rest of them.

"Oh, hello there Jo. Do you need some help on something? All I'm doing right now is seeing if I need to get rid of anything so I'm not that busy."

Jo shrugged a little in his coat and cracked his neck a little. "Naw, I don't need anything. I was gonna take some stuff to Karst and was going to see if anyone else had extra stuff they needed hidden from the magical fuzz." he replied, a smile tugging at the right side of his mouth.

[Emilie M]

OOC: Cool! I think I'm gonna be your no. 1 reader He was a really cool character...does that mean whats-his-face-crazy-duck-man from thread 2 of Trapped In will star as well? you know the one that I made? I can't for the life of me remember his name though :shrug:

IC: With a towering pile of random notes, sketches, books, manuals and random junk piled up in his hand, Patrick stepped out into the hallway, seeing Jo and Ma' Dat talking in the doorway of the latter's room. Groaning as a sheaf of paper slipped off and slowly sailed to the floor, he approached the others.

"Hey guys, it turns I have a lot more than I -- Woah, steady...Then I thought I would about things relating back to Earth -- Dammit!" He swore as his whole pile of random objects cascaded onto the floor, spreading out like water splashing on stone. "Son of a [censored], I just got all this things sorted; could you guys give me a quick hand?"

He knelt down and began to gather up his things, a two year old issue of Playboy finding itself on top. He grinned sheepishly at the others before working on cleaning up. "So, you guys heading over to the Fighters Guild? Mind if I tag along, I wouldn't mind to see how they actually run things..."

[Kristina Campbell]

Elbereth smiled, "Well, go ahead. I know more than your average Tamrielic mercenary or woodsmen though, so your stories may have to be pretty convincing. Shoot."

"Which is spectacular because the Mages will likely be knowledgeable as well." Frank nodded and muttered, pacing the floor. Sometimes he got like this when intensely thinking. Or he would just sit in one place, staring at a point on the floor. Or he'd tap a pen. Depended on his current energy level.

Right now... he was pacing, his hand on his chin in thought and eyes squinted through his glasses. He stopped at the table, looking at the ashes. "Damn... have to clean this up... Well, wait.. no..." He turned to his shelves, taking the mortar and pestle and positioning them near the ashes. "Alchemy. There. Experimenting on the effects of burning on alchemical ingredients." He spoke to himself, though loud enough that Elbereth could hear.

With a single smooth motion he snatch up his bucket hat, turning it and setting it on his head as he turned to face Elbereth. "Made this myself, took me a month or so. Felt the design of fisherman hats was good, but the hat could be made lighter and smaller, as well as more portable, if made from cloth instead of wood. Doesn't float though." He swept it off his head and tossed it towards her, before sweeping the room with his eyes.

Ji'shandi knew he should wait for Umbaccano to go to sleep before attempting to steal the laptop, but the skooma in his veins threw caution to the wind. In a matter of seconds, the skooma was not the only foreign fluid in his body, as he downed the small active-camo potion, as he thought of it. Attaching the rope to the roof, he dropped down to see what the Altmer was doing to his long-lost laptop, and if he had made any progress.

If it was powered on, he knew it meant the Altmer could recharge it, and he would need Umbaccano's notes on how to recharge it himself... unless the Terra Guild could do the same for him. Surely, 2 years with all sorts of misplaced technology would have some less procrastinating members to learn to recharge their cellphones. He was aware he wasn't the only one with tech, as someone sold a Bosmer a cellphone 2 years ago.

Ji'shandi peered through the window, taking care not to disturb anything ouside to betray his position. The chameleon spell should be strong enough to prevent him from being detected by either a glance out the windo, or up by the guards. He even took care to ensure his rope blended against the building, and out of the line of sight of anywhere on the interior.

Umbacano paced around the intricate wooden table, his hands behind his back and shaking his head. He was muttering furiously, before bringing one hand in front of him and shaking it in the air.

"Maybe... I have to use that 'shift' button." He moved over to the laptop, which sat upon the smooth wooden surface. His fingers moved over the keys before a beep sound made him sit back in his chair. "Dammit. Why won't you work?"

The laptop sat there, innocently propped open with the Operating System on, awaiting his entrance of the proper password. Like it had been for the last two years. Umbacano sat forward again, typed something, and then raised on fist in furry as the beep repeated. That hand began to spark with electrical energy, and his face was a snarl of rage. But then he regained control of himself, sat back, and put the same hand to his face.

[Sabrina Schwarz]

OOC: I'm back. Also, I think people should all start including location tags in their posts again... It's getting harder and harder for me, and I suspect for others too, to figure out at a glance where who is- as you can understand, this can be very tiring and confusing.

Location: Kvatch

IC: Alexander sighed as he stood before the gates of Kvatch, then entered slowly. Kvatch was not yet fully rebuilt, but they had made progress. It looked a lot greener, but that could just be Alexander. Suddenly, a flash of recognition in the corner of his eye, but Alexander sighed. It was just a guard- he wasn't familiar. Alexander guessed he was longing too much to meet someone from Earth again. Earth. It was a long time ago he had used that name.

"Earth," he said quietly to himself. "Earth. Home." He knelt down on the half-finished street, gathered some of the ground in his hands, and smelled it. The scent felt comforting.

He felt as if most of his memories were coming back. And he realised once more the distance from everyone and everything he once knew- the same distance he had felt when he first arrived here. But he had learned to live with it. "Living on my own..." sung Alexander, humming along to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_On_My_Own, walking further along the path, annoyed that the robes he had received in the Arcane University didn't have pockets to put his hands in.

[Aaron Clark]

OOC: based on general passage of time since you were gone... How you'd gotten to Kvatch so fast is beyond me...

[Sharra Llenos]

OOC: Would you rather have had me stay away for five hundred threads?

[Blackdrak]

Elbereth took the bucket hat in her hands and ran it around on her index finger, inspecting it. "Not bad, you could become some sort of entrepreneur for Bucket Hats. I've seen people make money for something more stupid, Frank."

She smiled at him and placed the bucket hat next to her as Frank looked around the room. "Well, in the meantime while you're wracking your brain to bounce things off me, what's that Khajiits story? That Karst seems quite the character, but she's Fighters Guild. How do you know her?"

[MatthewJontully]

OOC:Gilboron, I'd rather have a realistic time span for travelling. Basically, you aren't going to get to Kvatch that fast unless you teleport there. You chose to start outside of Kvatch so you'll just have to be patient till a reasonable amount of time has passed that you could get there.

IC:
"Oh, is that all? That's great. I actually have this small box here of manuscripts for books I was writing on that I needed to hide. I was just going to bury it or throw it in the well or something, but that will work too."

He was about to go and retrieve the box when he heard the sound of papers tumbling to the floor. Turning around Ma'Dat noticed Patrick standing in the middle of a mess of papers everwhere. He heard Patrick ask for help, and with a sigh Ma'Dat got down and started collecting papers, trying his best to organize them as well.

"Nah, I wasn't going to the Fighter's Guild. Those people kind of scare me a bit at times. Too rough and tumble for my taste. I prefer the calm and quiet life of a priest who worked at the temple for two years and got fired just like that. Why those backstabbing little....uh, sorry about that. I just got fired today and I guess I'm just a bit angry at it still." Ma'Dat said with a weak laugh as he tried to break the tension of his little outburst.

[Rhiannon Jones]

ooc: I kinda forgot about this for a couple days.

ic: Jo'Rokku nodded with a cattish smile at both men and went to help Pat pick up. He snatched the Playboy issue up in one clawed hand and laughed. "Nothin' like a taste of home, eh, Pat?" he teased, then stuck the magazine in his backpack, assuming it was among the articles that needed to be removed before the Mage's came in. Turning to Ma'Dat, he nodded knowingly at the fellow feline's comment about the Fighter's Guild.

"In all honesty, I just signed up to make Karst happy. She wanted me to know how to defend myself with swords in case my magicka failed me or was ineffective. Girl thought me nearly all I know about swordplay. I'm a mage and an alchemist at heart, though so.." he suddenly stopped talking as he realized the full extent of what Ma'Dat had said. "Wait.. you got fired from the Temple? Aw, man, that svcks, dude! I'm sorry to hear that. I'll ask Karst to go torment some of the higher ranking ones for you if you want." he offered with a smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Jo moved to the floor again after stacking his handful of papers neatly on the nearby desk to help further with cleanup, his coat falling in folds around his legs and hindquarters as he squatted and gathered papers. "Oh, and Pat, you're welcome to come with me to the Guild. I'm sure Karst would be happy to give you a tour. I'd do it myself, but I've honestly only been in the Kvatch chapter a couple times, and just for a few minutes each time." Jo offered, then looked up at the Australian. "Do you want these in any particular order or..?"

[Sarah MacLeod]

Patrick only flashed a lopsided grin as Jo's comment about the Playboy magazine as the feline snatched and put it in his backpack. The Australian shook his head before taking the pile from Jo before uttering a quick thanks and took the pile of papers from Ma'Dat as well.

"Tough break, man. I never liked the Temple personally...Maybe you should freelance? Selling your skills across Cyrodiil would be awesome I think. Get to see the country, meet new people, a bit of adventure."

He stood, the pile of papers arranged nicely once more in his arms. "Okay, cool. Ha, I remember joining the Fighter's Guild when I played as a Mage just to steal their Fine Steel Longsword early on in the game when I was too poor to get anything else. Anyway, let's roll shall we? The sooner we get rid of this stuff the sooner I can put my feet up and relax..."

Patrick adjusted the pile in his arms once more before taking a step away to see if Jo was following...

[Jonathan Montero]

Elbereth took the bucket hat in her hands and ran it around on her index finger, inspecting it. "Not bad, you could become some sort of entrepreneur for Bucket Hats. I've seen people make money for something more stupid, Frank."

She smiled at him and placed the bucket hat next to her as Frank looked around the room. "Well, in the meantime while you're wracking your brain to bounce things off me, what's that Khajiits story? That Karst seems quite the character, but she's Fighters Guild. How do you know her?"

Frank rose one eyebrow, folding his arms. "Now I'm not sure how to take that. Insulting, or complimenting..." He trailed off, before sitting down in his one chair and looking down at his sunglasses hanging on his shirt. He frowned, plucking them out and looking at them. "Damn... not sure how I should explain this, and I wear it in public so people know I have it. I suppose I could say I had it specially made from lightweight chitin while studying alchemical ingredients in Morrowind. Closest thing to plastic I can think of."

He trailed off again, sighing and sliding down in the chair. "Karst was one of the first I met when I arrived in this world. I met Jo, and through him somehow ended up meeting Karst. I had a bit of a fiasco before that involving a cell phone I pawned off to Thoronir as a Dwemeri communicator. Think that played a role in me meeting her.

Regardless, eventually our little threesome of kitties and man headed off towards the Niben Bay, where it was rumored a portal to the Shivering Isles had opened. We never made it there; it closed before we arrived. Eventually we just wandered, doing odd mercenary stuff, before reaching Kvatch. Joined the Terra Guild, karst joined the Fighter's Guild, and we went our separate ways. That was almost two years ago; we only traveled together a few months." Frank sighed, putting his hands together. "Was fun, though."

[TASTY TRACY]

OOC: Gilboron, you are so removed from the current timeline, it is impossible to interact with you. If you had decided to wait for morning, you may have gotten a ride with a khajiit and Breton. Now, I don't even know if there is a chance you could catch us, either leaving too early or too late.

IC: It seemed Umbaccano would never fall asleep... Ji'shandi silently cursed as he felt the effects of the potions start to fade. Looks like he wouldn't get the damn laptop back this trip. He silently climbed up onto the roof again, and back across to the gates and cart. As he traversed the city, he reflected on how to get it next time.

He sort of envisioned the angel/demon thingy on his shoulder, except in his case it was an 18-year-old, round-faced, curly-haired, spectacled human in khakis and a polo shirt, reclining in a Laz-E-Boy watching StarTrek, and on the other shoulder a sarcastic tiger-stripped Ohmes-Raht dressed in an outfit resembling Aladdin's, with a keg of Skooma and two very attractive, naked females on each side. Indeed, instead of Good and Evil talking it out, it was Law and Chaos.

The khajiit began the inevitable argument. "Dude! Why didn't you burst through the window and take it? Now we have to wait for another chance," the Ohmes-raht avatar ranted, releasing his little harem for greater effect. "You know you can outrun the guards!"

"The guards, yes. The law, no. I think we should just let Umbaccano keep it," the nerd replied, continuing the banter.

"No. I do need it back. However, now is not the time. Dar'shanji, that laptop is so valuable I would have every guard in Tamreil trying to stick my head on a pike. Robbery of it has the same fine as killing twenty innocent people, at least. Maybe some other time."

The conversation continued, occassionally drifting to other subjects before snapping back. About halfway through, the nerd dropped out and poofed at the first sign of erotic content in the conversation, leaving it down to two conversationalists. At the end, he managed to reach a compromise. "Okay, I will get Amelie to kvatch, where I will then get the Terra guild to contract the theft of the laptop to a more skilled thief in the guild, with me supply what information I gathered. At least it seems my secrets are safe. I'll figure out price once I get their."

With the happy compromise, Ji'shandi returned to his cart, and happily fell back asleep until morning.

[Alexander Lee]

ooc: It's kinda fun and odd at the same time to both RP myself in typical third-person view and chat with Karst as if I never knew her before. Imagine, though, if I did know all I do about her here. I get the feeling she'd be scared.

ic: Jo gathered up the things that Ma'Dat had brought him to take to Karst, placed them gently in his backpack, and shouldered it. "Okay, right behind you, Pat. Ma'Dat, feel free to put anything else you need hidden on my bed; I'll take it over when I get back and drop it off for ya."

As the two Terrans left and thumped down the stairs, Jo'Rokku looked over at Patrick and wondered what his life had been like before the Break. He knew his own and knew bits of Frank's, but all he knew about Pat was that he was an Australian that he'd RPed with online occasionally. In thinking about this, he briefly wondered if N'Tasha and Ashikme existed in this world, or for that matter any of his creations, but immediately doubted it. As much as he'd love to meet one of them in person, he doubted either were any more real here than they were on Earth.

After walking out into the night, something he could enjoy more thoroughly with his feline sight than he could on Earth, Jo decided to ask. "Hey, Pat. What was your life like before all of this? I mean, if you don't mind telling me that is.."

[Rhysa Hughes]

As the two walked out into the dim light penetrated by the flickering firelight of torches or the eery light given off from Masser and Secunda, Pat turned to Jo as they walked and studied him for a moment as the human-turn-Khajiit asked him about his past.

Patrick shrugged, "Not much too it, I guess. I had a good and pretty normal life back on Earth...even if my brother is queer, my dad cheated on my mum with my stepmum and then got a divorce and married her...Oh, and my dog only has one eye."

He flashed a grin, "Sorry. I'm not one to talk about my past, more so in a situation like this." He added, looking around at the buildings of Kvatch and the still alien landscape. "I was happy enough, always had a nice group of friends. I've had my ups and downs in my life just like everyone else. I was good at school, well when I could be bothered doing my work anyway...I won't bore you with my life story though, Jo."

"But what about you? I mean, you must have find it pretty...uh, wierd to say the least, to wake up in Tamriel covered in fur with a tail between your legs. Hah! That reminds me, I'm not sure I really want to know, but is it true what they say about the size of a feline's, you know, bratwurst?"

[Rachel Cafferty]

Jo'Rokku laughed, still amused with its raspy quality even after two years. "Wow. That's a.. very interesting life you've led. As for my. eh.. bratwurst as you put it, it's about the same size as before, just a tad.. spikier." he explained, then grinned, "Scared the [censored] out of me the first time I went to take a piss here, I'll tell you. That took more getting used to than the rest of the bodily remodeling the Dragon Break did to me put together. But enough about my personal Mautra, eh?"

Jo reached a clawed hand behind his head and itched one of his gray ears vigorously for a moment before saying anything more. "Anyway, you wouldn't bore me. It seems to be an inherited family gene or something; random people tell me their life stories when I barely know their names. I'm usually rather fascinated by the lives of others so I don't mind and it'll be all the more interesting since I at least somewhat know you. Unless it's all about selling peanuts or something, it's sure to be interesting to some extent, right?"

[elliot mudd]

Patrick laughed at Jo's comment, "Well, if only there was a Horse-Man breed of Tamriel, eh?" He smiled and they kept walking. "And, selling peanuts may be the most interesting life one could have. I mean, think of all the angry and hungry elephant skirmishes that you would have to fend off? Anyway, alright...where do I start? Um, first off I was born in the shower which ironically enough I hated until I was about 10. Before then I had bathes only...Anywhoo, pretty simple life growing up as a kid, youngest of four, picked on constantly by my two brothers and sister."

He smiled thinly, "But for all their teasing and poking fun, by the time I was a teenager we were always a strong family unit. I guess it was a bit weird, tiresome and it irked me that every week I would change houses, from my mum's to my dad's for example. First year of high school is when I got my first girlfriend, I was nervous as [censored] about doing anything with her. I mean, I was a little bugger growing up but I had no idea what a girl in Year 7 expected to do, you know? Um...then dated hot twins --not at the same time, in Year 8 and 9, which consequently caused both to hate me and each other, but I got a lot of high fives from my guy friends. Girls come and go, I guess. My love for video games, movie and books was always strong considering I read the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy at the age of 10 or 11 and playing on the oldest Nintendo system I can't remember it's name is one of my earliest memories. My dad always said I was born with a controller in my hand...but maybe that's just because he's unco."

Patrick grinned but he quickly sobered. "I miss them...I havn't seen them for two years, and either have you. Your family I mean. So, your turn. I just bared heart and soul, now you reciprocate." He smiled again, but smaller and less confidently. He realised they had come to the door of the Fighters Guild. He stopped and turned to Jo and waited for an answer.

[Javaun Thompson]

OOC: *rewinds*

Location: The Imperial Prison

IC: Alexander ignored the mage, even though he knew the man was merely trying to help. "You need to calm down. You need to accept it," said the mage with a calm voice. Alexander reacted fiercely. "You know nothing about how it is to lose someone." "I do. I had a wife once. And three children. They were eaten..." "Eaten?!" laughed Alexander, though his laugh was without cheer. "...by trolls... I dare not look upon one now, for fear fills my heart again to lose everything I once loved, but I got over my initial sadness. One cannot live forever drowned in tears."