OOC: I'm going ahead to morning, but this doesn't have to effect anyone else.

Zaire awoke before first light. She needed very little sleep, although she did enjoy sleeping in on occasion, but she knew the value of time and not wasting the day away- still, it was common practice to wake early at dawn- not before.

The breton awoke and and ran a hand through her hair, smiling as it was almost dry, and very clean. In fact... all of her was clean. And she hated being dirty. She got to her feet and pulled clean clothes from her pack, pulling on her stockings and briast band, followed by her leggings, shirt and bodice, and finishing off with her boots and gloves- careful not to move any of the picks hidden inside. There was a small mirror in the room, and she gazed at herself in it.

She was a very bretony breton. With her pale skin and autumnal hair, she reflected the nedic ancestors of the bretons, but in the feline tilt of her eyes and shape of the face, there was clearly a blend of elvish in there two. Her short stature was purely a familial trait, but it showed the fragility and small build that most breton's shared. Nobody was likely to mistake her for any other race, and this pleased her because, in all honesty; racially, she was a breton. She had no features that could be accredited to anything else.

She looked much better today than she had yesterday; there was a healthy glow to her skin, her hair was hardly kept, but it was clean and brushed, her eyes were bright and she was wearing fresh clothes. Amusingly, being washed up made her appear to be even more harmless- without the harsh, dirty look of sleeping rough, she could be any one, really.

Sadly, she was not everyone; she was Zaire. And that meant that, no matter how harmless she might look, she would inevitably bring trouble down upon herself. After a moment's hesitation, she slipped into her midnight blue coat, wearing it open. Though it was impossible to tell, the long coat was lined with mithril, to turn away stray daggers and arrows. It was her only claim to armour.

Rough as the coat was, Zaire didn't look armoured, rich, or even particularly stylish- she looked maybe like a poor travelling bard or troubador, or a scribe from the Great Library. She smiled at her own reflection. She might not be particularly impressd with her own looks, but she was glad, at least, that she didn't really stand out in a crowd. That was always to her advantage.

The small-statured breton headed downstairs, breezing by on soft steps, picking her way expertly across the landing and down the stairs and avoiding all the creaky boards she had heard on their way up yesterday, although she'd yet to familiarise herself with them.

When she got down to the inn main, she saw that it was completely empty. Nobody else had woken yet. The rogue grabbed two apples, thinking these would have to suffice for her breakfast, and ate them quickly, although she left more around the core than was strictly necessary. Throwing the remains into the bin, she found herself a seat in the corner and stared contemplatively into the distance.

Kiera Knightfall did not trust her, and did not even intend to extend some kind of rudimentary trust to her. He insisted that she took someone else with her, when she would work much better on her own. Worse, he had suggested someone to bring with her. Leaders often made the mistake of saddling her with some assassin type, a man hooded and cloaked, bristling with daggers and poison. Sneaky, sure, but extremely visible in social situations, and too quick to use weapons. If they expected her to work with a killer, they were gravely mistaken- she had no weapons, and she would not work with anyone who used them, either. A fighter or Mage, she could cope with (much as she hated magic use) but stealthy types with weapons made her blood run cold. These were the cold-blooded killers, the up-close men, and the ones who would get her thrown into prison if she worked alongside them.

No. She would not work with whoever Kiera set her with, especially not if they were as she feared. She would do this alone.

She withdrew a piece of parchment from her pack, followed by a quill and ink. She briefly scrawled down a note, and slid it into her pocket. If he tried to force her into risking her life- or the life of the poor souls brainwashed into working for Hudi- than they were all gravely mistaken. She would take her skills, her uses, and her contacts elsewhere- and, if she really felt like this group wasn't a total lost cause, she might even send them some information every now and then, completely independantly.

Zaire wanted, really badly, to work in a real group, to have a leader to talk with, discuss important matters with, and to assist. But she was not brain-dead; she was an agent, a spy, a rogue. She needed to use her head, and to try and control her would only hinder her ability to do what she did. If someone won her loyalty, that was different. She would serve them- of her own free will, and help them as best as she could. If someone just tried to use her skills without the brains to realise her talents lay in her independace and ability to think for herself, then they'd just get her killed.

Zaire was averse to dying for stupid men.

She clenched her fists. If they tried to control her, she would give them her note and she would leave. If not, then maybe there was a chance she would help them.

Because contrary to what Kiera believed, Zaire didn't fight Hudi because she didn't like him controlling her. She fought Hudi because he was controlling everyone else. Her own independance meant little compared to those she chose to protect, and Zaire had ever risked herself standing up against injustice and bullies, from when she was a little girl to when she was a woman grown. Zaire believed in the Gods, believed in what was right.

And if Kiera fights Hudi with the intention of taking his place, he's gravely mistaken if he thinks I'll so much as lift a finger to help him without believing in his cause.

Now, all she could was wait and see what- or who- fell at her feet, before she made her decision.

Kiera hadn't slept long when he was awoken abruptly. He sat up in his bed, rubbed his eyes and looked at the small clock on the wall. I showed early hours. What had woken him? He looked around blankly for a moment, before realising what had happened. His helmet had fallen on the floor from the bedside cabinet. He thought he had heard a bang.

It was earlier than expected, but still, it would do. He had probably gone to bed at around three. With no missions to take on the night before, Kiera had only stayed awake to ensure no one was going to burst in at two- the arresting hour. Then of course, he had his business with Zaire and Larry to take care of. Kiera's burning desire to act seemed to have ebbed away in sleep. He had heard of it before: They tried, they failed, they were never seen again. Such was the way Hudi worked. He would never allow such a break in to be possible, he had stopped them before. What made the Revolutionaries so different?

We're not just some mindless band of rebels looking to make a profit, and we're not a disorganised group of unprofessional bandits who may want to help but can't, we're actual people, with actual skills, who have actually fought that State before, and want to continue to fight them now. It was too perfect an ideology, of course it was. They were good, yes. Were they brilliant? No. Was this the exercise to make them brilliant? Probably ... In all honesty, yes. Smiling to himself, Kiera got up and out of bed, showering then getting dressed, glancing at himself in the mirror as he left the room. All the traces of weeping he had done last night were gone. The water had washed them away.

He headed downstairs, the floor creaking as he did so. Stopping to stretch as he did so, he was just short of the point where he would be able to see the main area of the tavern from the stairs. Where the bar used to be, the tables and chairs situated as they were when it was closed. Kiera never visited this bar when it had been open, but whenever he came down he always pictured a bustling environment, a decent trade with a lively atmosphere. Friendly staff, always helpful, serving the customers with a smile. It was what Kiera had wanted, really. As a child, a late teenager even, of course, he was trained to fight, but he never pictured himself using his skills for anything more than fending off rowdy customers, or separating fights. Of course, things had not worked out that way.

It saddened Kiera to think of his lost dream, so he often didn't think about it. Except for the first time of each day, when he saw the space he would have loved to own himself. His eyes drew level with the wooden supports of the stairs, and Kiera smiled. Then stopped smiling, straight away. Zaire was in the Tavern already. He did not mind, although of course it meant that his morning illusion of a bustling bar was shattered, all that mattered was that Zaire was awake, at this hour. Kiera resumed his smile, although of course she would have noticed it break, and strode over toward her, saying as he did so,

"Good sleep, Zaire? You're an early bird too, then." He smiled, "Excuse the pun. Big day today. After you had gone to bed last night, Larry and I did a little planning." He considered whether or not he should tell her of what had been said, then decided that she would find out eventually anyway, so decided to continue, "Your mission has become a team effort. Not just you and one other, but myself and probably more. We decided that if we could find a secure route into the White Gold Tower, that we can use regularly to go back and forth undetected, would be a massive aid to our faction. You shall still be entering the Tower, and probably with Larry, but for the majority of the assignment, I should imagine you will be on your own. I have set you a different task, Zaire. You shall be my informant, in a different manner. Once inside, you will leave the others to their own devices, and I would like you to find out what has happened to a man named Ferald Jumrer. Our ex-informant. I am praying he is not dead. If he isn't, you must try and break him out." He closed his eyes a moment, sending out a prayer for Ferald.

"His return to the Revolutionaries is adamant, and it is a mission of utmost importance ... And it is yours! Should you wish to take it, of course". Kiera ended by offering Zaire a choice, he knew she was strong willed, and he wanted her to trust him, to believe he had her best interests at heart and that he wouldn't force her to do anything that she was opposed to.

Ra, as ever, had woken early too, though he was still in his room. His small little frame was hunched over an even smaller table that was covered with notes, empty flasks and various little unused herbs. There was quite a large book in the centre that Ra was writing in, his hands looked rather small when compared to the actual size of the thing.

~

Sightus Potion, Test Four.

Improvements made. Test subject (with visual impairment) shows increased visual awareness of everything around him, and even manages to read things at a distance that men with normal eyesight struggle with. Test subject 2 (with normal eyesight) exhibits incredible visual range and perception. Unfortunately shortly after initial consumption side effects linger on until antidote delivered:

Severe headache. Increased sensitivity to bright light. Blackouts. Nausea. Increased sensitivity to noise.

Side effects need to be isolated and taken out, though the actual increase in eyesight is now perfected, the side-effects remain mostly unchanged. Thankfully, the initial problem of temporary deafness has completely gone.

Conclusion: Work In Progress

~

Indeed, it wasn't one of Ra's more exciting potions, only designed to help people with bad eyesight and to give stealth operatives exceptional levels of perception and sight range, but he took incredible enjoyment out of it no less. It helped that he was making quick process having only started the initial potion formula days before; the potion had come on in leaps and bounds since the original blinding and deafening liquid (though he had stored that as a possible poison) and now, it was approaching near usable levels, as long as an antidote was kept near.

He looked up at one of the cabinets in the room, where the green liquid remained in the closed flask labelled Sightus IV. Indeed, once perfected it could be a very useful potion, perfect for scouting operatives.

After he closed the book once more, he stood from the chair he had been seated on and walked over to the cabinet to withdraw a small red vial that was casually placed at the bottom, a sly smile spreading over his face as he did so. His room was on the bottom floor of the building - he had requested it personally so he didn't need to worry too much about the stairs which always made his baggy clothing a nightmare to walk in. This meant that as when he left the room in his dark green, almost scruffy shirt that hung loosely from his shoulders, he immediately saw Kiera and a new arrival who he hadn't even heard of yet.

He placed the sealed vial of liquid in his pocket, and walked over to the pair enthusiastically but still ever so quiet. He arrived just as Kiera finished talking, overhearing something about a mission that didn't affect him in the slightest. There was constant talk of missions and plans around here, he had been on a fair few himself.

There was little point of announcing himself and interrupting their conversation, so he instead remained a casual listener - Kiera wouldn't mind he didn't think, though the new one he had no idea about. His head began to nod up and down just slightly as he patiently waited to speak with Kiera with his hands in his large pockets.

A team effort? Zaire could only blink in surprise at Kiera's words. But it was a good thing. While Zaire preferred to work alone... there was nothing better than a team effort. A wide array of skills. And with the White Gold tower...

Zaire studied Kiera with her dark eyes, her coppery hair seemed dark around her face, her edges soft in the dim light. She tilted her head to one side, and said, with a sorry expression, "Kiera Knightfall... I've judged you wrongly, and I'm sorry for that." She lowered her head. "You know more than I realised, care more than I thought when I first met you... and it's not right, that I should have assumed anything about you." She lifted her gaze. "A team effort sounds like it could really work... the White Gold Tower will require many different talents, by whatever secret means we manage to get in. And... I do prefer to work independantly, but independantly alongside a group... that, I can do." She paused. "I don't desire important missions... only to help in whatever ways my skills and conscience allow. I hate killing... but breaking an innocent man from prison?" Her eyes lit. "It makes me angry just to think of him in that situation. And if he's dead... I'll make sure his work was not in vain. I'll get whatever information you want- or try to."

Her dark eyes were like deep pools as she gazed into Kiera's. "Thank you," she said. "For not forcing this on me. For not demanding my loyalty. You're a good man." She blinked, and looked away, a faint blush mantling her cheeks. If she'd truly wanted to, she could have hidden it. But Zaire like to be honest.

She glanced at the scrawny khajiit- in many ways, he looked like a male khajiit version of her- and murmured, "I think someone's waiting to speak with you. And, uh, I look forward to working with you, Kiera Knightfall." She rose from her seat, and walked to the other side of the room, leaving the seat out for the khajiit. She tossed her note into the bin before she sat down at the other side- nobody would have to read it, now.

She looked up at the ceiling and smiled wanly as she contemplated how one could enter a building that was, supposedly, impenatrable, without magic that would reveal their presence.

Larry had wished Keira goodnight as he walked away, his mind was numbing over the possibility of defeating hudi, and he daydreamed of a moment where he slit the mans throat. He frowned in anger and stood up, he picked up what was his and headed towards the door of keira's office, he wanted to go to keira, ask him to give him full rights to search the Gold Tower for Hudi and kill the man when they broke into it but knew it was fruitless. One step at a time. he thought and twisted the door knob.

He left the tavern and headed into the night, he couldn't sleep, not after knowing that tomorrow he would break into the only place that was relatively unbreakable. It would be tough, and he'd never broken into somewhere with someone else. He was worried that they would fail, Hudi would capture them and kill them before they even got into the Tower.

He started to walk through a forest, it was late and slightly scarey, but he was accostomed to it, and besides, his mind wasn't on the current situation. He was far too distracted to start thinking up ghost stories. After what seemed like hours of walking he made it back to the hideout and headed to his room, the small bed was the only comfort. He layed down upon it and felt various pains in his back as springs stuck out.

ooc: More to come! bit busy atm.

[EDITED]

He woke up lazily and rolled over to one side to peek out the window, the curtain hid much of the suns' light but it still splashed across the room and Larry moaned slightly. He stood up and stretched, his back clicked and his arm ached, but that was usual, Larry was never a morning person. He wiped his eyes and began to massage his head while pouring water into the bath, "Big day ahead." He mumbled as he used his finger to draw patterns in the now rising water. "I wonder if we'll make it." He added gloomly.

He began to think up a rough plan, Sewers would give us access to the entire city.. And i'm more then certain the White Gold Tower is big enough to warrent a small well leading to the sewer system. he mused, Which means, if we can find it, we can climb it and make our way into the Tower, ofcourse, we'd be on the bottom, and that could be a problem.. But we'd atleast be in the Tower. he added, wondering from then how they could get up into the Tower, he'd never been inside it which was going to be a problem. They would need someone familiar with the layout..

His bath was comfy and well needed, he felt right as rain as he stepped out of his room fully dressed and washed, his hair; no matter how clean was still in a mess. He locked the small room and headed towards the Inn, his feet hitting the creaky floorboards that he always made a note of stepping on.

Kiera smiled affectionately as she complimented him. His eyes unblinking, he realised that this woman had thought him heartless when they first met. Maybe he was heartless. He had no qualms sending a fellow Revolutionary to his death if he suspected that they had betrayed Kiera, but he always felt guilty, felt something for innocent that died, or those falsely imprisoned. Realising that he hadn't said anything for a few seconds, he replied.

"It is forgotten, Zaire. And thank you. I only have your best interests at heart. I'm sure you will be a great asset to our group." He then turned to Ra, a small Khajiit he had saved a while back. A master of Alchemy and a wonderful young man, Kiera smiled at him, always happy to see his baggy clothed body come bounding into a room.

"Good morning, Ra. How are you?" He asked, "Anything you needed me for?"

OOC: really sorry for short post, I'm mad busy! Hopefully will be able to get on for something more lengthy later tonight! Sorry again.

"Needed?" Ra replied uselessly, before shaking his head. "No no, not really, just wanted to talk to you." He didn't bother taking the seat that the woman had left for him, instead remaining stood. "I've made a potion that improves eyesight to a near inhuman level," He started suddenly, putting a finger on his chin as if pondering on the formula. "Unfortunately the people that volunteered both experienced some pretty harsh side effects." Normally, he came to ask permission to ask for volunteers to test his latest potion (they were reasonably popular among the more daring) but his subjects hadn't decided to quit just yet.

"Fortunately I don't think I'll need any new ingredients, I know how much of a hassle they can be to acquire, all I need to do is isolate the unwanted effects one by one and figure out what is causing them." It was obvious that he was enjoying talking about his success and his plans, he was blabbering on about them as if Kiera were a fellow alchemist himself. Realising this, he tried to get back to the point of what he was trying to tell Kiera. "I think it would be useful for possible espionage and scouting missions, it makes sight in the dark much easier for non-Khajiit, even better than you would expect I must say. I was wondering if you would be interested in the formula once I have perfected it, or if I will keep it as just a personal experiment."

A small smile followed the last sentence showing how Ra understood how his many different potions and poisons were used around here. Some had been regularly used by some of the men since he had made them with Kiera's authority, while others were merely upon request and made personally by only Ra himself. He enjoyed the process of making and testing more than enough to warrant the time he put into it, and thankfully Kiera seemed happy enough to let him experiment away.

Yes, it was fair to say Ra liked it here.

He glanced quickly back to the new arrival who had taken a seat at the other side of the room. His inquisitive little mind thought of many questions that he would like to ask her, but that would have to wait. There was also the potion he had in his pocket, a mischievous little formula that he had made as a child. It always delivered particularly amusing results, maybe this new woman would be up for it like some of the other people who came here?

Larry entered the tavern, still empty and still closed he headed straight threw to the kitchen, not really noticing that other people were there. He looked around and managed to scrounge up a couple of apples, a pear and a bottle of ale. He smiled smugly at the bottle and placed it into a pocket within his trenchcoat, It's gunnu be a long road to the Imperial City. he thought to himself as he debated with his conscious about taking a few more. Larry won and he quickly placed in 2 more bottles.

He ruffled his hair and took a bite out of the pear as he headed into the main tavern where he noticed Ra, Keira and some woman, I didn't realise we were open. he thought to himself as he began to worry about waking up too late. "What time is it?" He asked the room, there was no real need to say goodmorning, a simple nod meant the same.

OOC: Uglius, the Tavern will never be 'open' mate. It's a closed down bar. A hideout

Kiera pondered Zaire further. The more he thought about her the more she intrigued him. He had asked Ra a question, and should have given him his full attention, but his brain swam with ideas about Zaire. She was fascinating. Seemingly unskilled with a weapon and unable to cast a spell for the life of her, yet she arrives at the Tavern, completely unscathed. A little muddy, yes, but unhurt physically. How had she survived? It was illegal to be homeless under Hudi's rules. If you were found on the streets, unable to produce documentation of a fixed home, you were arrested. Her prowess in deception must have been unprecedented. Only just beginning to fathom how useful she might turn out to be, Kiera returned his focus to Ra.

Fortunately, he caught the last few lines of what Ra was saying, and understood that he was talking about a potion of enlightened sight. He nodded, mulling it over in his mind. Undoubtedly a bright lad, Kiera was sure of his skills with an alchemical kit. He seemed to be adept at producing standard potions and antidotes, poisons or phials of strength, and he often produced solid results. He was usually willing to look past his rational side and give him permission to test his potions on missions and the like. To Kiera's surprise, true to his word, the boy usually came up with the goods, singling out the blotches and clearing the potion of any serious side-effects.

"That sounds like an interesting notion, Ra." Then, all of a sudden, a stroke of inspiration fluttered into Kiera's mind. Ra could prove to be invaluable. An essential part of their break-in. If he, Kiera, could find the Khajiit the right ingredients, Kiera was sure that he could use his talents to create something that would help them in a way that no one else could. Invisibility was his first thought, but no, there were enchantments cast upon the Tower to catch out any idiots foolish enough to attempt something so amateur, something so rudimentary. No, invisibility would not do. However, he wondered if it was possible for the group to be turned into someone else. Into something that was sure to grant them entry to the White Gold Tower. Someone like ...

"RA! I've got it! We need to become Johnson! Hudi's right hand man!" Grinning, Kiera grabbed hold of Ra's shoulders and shook him, whooping like a young boy on his birthday. "Yes, that's it! Is it even possible? Who knows? Ra knows!" Reasoning that it was probable he sounded completely insane, Kiera settled himself and returned his voice to a tone that wasn't so excitable. Despite this, he could barely contain himself as he announced, to anyone who was listening, not just Ra.

"The White Gold Tower is impenetrable. Their fortifications strong, their punishments severe. Yeah yeah, whatever. You know what the risks are. Anyway, who are granted access to such a place? Only those at the top. Hudi and the like. Who are the like? Johnson. Samuel Johnson, Hudi's right hand man! If we could impersonate him and a couple of his guards, we could enter the building and route through any files we wanted!" Still not making much sense, of course, he understood that the others would have questions to ask about the likeness between themselves, Johnson and his men. In armour, they maybe looked sort of like him at best. "It all depends on Ra." He would elucidate his point, make it clear, this was his the epiphany he had been waiting for, "Ra. Is it possible to make a potion that would allow us to turn into a spitting image, voice and all, of someone else?"

He waited with baited breath, his heart hammering under his rib cage with anticipation. It was early, but he was awake.

OOC: Excuse the Harry Potter reference, and the dictionary reference. (For those who didn't know, Samuel Johnson wrote the dictionary in 1755 )

ooc: my bad ;_;

ic:

Larry stepped back slightly, taken aback by Keira's weird idea. Take someone's identity? Is that even possible? he asked, he shook his head, the less he knew about magic the better. He was disapointed that no one answered his question, he generally wanted to know. "Seems like someone else has an idea on how to get us into the tower." He commented as he took the open seat, he looked to Ra with interest, the strange Khajiit, he'd never met a khajiit quite like Ra, most were normally cowards, thugs or drug addicts, but Ra was incredibly bright and made most wizards seem incompetent. If you gave Ra two twigs and a leaf, he'd probably come back with a spell which would rid you of all diseases.

Kiera seemed slightly absent minded at first. Maybe it was the early hours, or the new arrival, frankly, Ra couldn't tell, reading people was not one of his strong points. When Kiera begin his response 'That sounds like an interesting notion' Ra expected the normal response, or at least something normal, what followed was anything but.

He wasn't really used to that sort of tangent coming from Kiera. The man had always seemed so cool-headed and calm, this speech came with a childish excitement that he hadn't seen from the Redguard before. It amused him, but the idea intrigued him. When Kiera asked the final question of 'Ra. Is it possible to make a potion that would allow us to turn into a spitting image, voice and all, of someone else?', he placed his hand to his chin once more and spent several seconds in silent thought.

"It should be possible." Ra said, cocking his head at Kiera and squinting his eyes in deep thought. "I mean, forms of magic can allow creation of beings and alteration of objects, through alchemy the same should be possible. If I could- just wait a second." He hurried out of the room and went straight to his room, picking up his pen and his journal. He hurried straight back into the main room of the tavern and sat at the table near Kiera, then beginning to write and draw erratically in the journal.

"It'll take me a bit of time..." He said, trailing off and writing down several short hand words that made no sense to an outside reader. "...to actually create a final formula to really begin adequate tests, and then to get the ingrediants would be a mission in itself, this sort of potion won't be doable with your simple herbs." Finally, after nearly a minute of intensive short hand note writing, he settled on three formula's that had been circled in the midst of the scribbling. He ripped out a page in the book and begun writing down - in neater handwriting, ingredients.

He looked over the list a final time, before offering it up to Kiera's significantly larger form. The list included some rather hard to acquire (in the current conditions) herbs, as well as some unusually simple ingredients like boar meat. "This one thinks that if we could get a sample of blood, of skin maybe, or something along those lines, we could temporarily change a beings form into that, but we are not entirely sure." He realised in the excitement of brainstorming for such an advance and new potion he had reverted to his native Khajiit grammar, but he didn't care. "The boar meat will provide a sample of what we can do, we need some animals, just some rats even, and this one can give them the potion, see if they show the required effects."

He gave himself a few seconds to calm down before beginning to speak again. "I know some of the ingredients will difficult to get a hold on now." He told Kiera, now going back to his normal speech patterns, "But if we're gonna make this happen at all this is what we need - at the least. I've never quite created something like this." He smiled a small and calm smile, all the excitement slowly leaving his system. "No matter what though, its going to take time, maybe a day or two, maybe several, it depends on how well it works. I'd advise we take on a few smaller jobs while its in preparation in the meantime." Although Ra got quite excited around his alchemy, it was blatantly obvious that he really knew what he was talking about here. His tone reeked of experience in the subject far beyond his years.

Of course, now he could only think of preparing it and seeing what happened when he used it, but that was something that he could look forward to when he got the ingredients.

Kiera's face became calm again as he waited to hear Ra's reaction. Pondering the question, the Khajiit was obviously deep in concentration. A good thing. If he believed it could not be done, he would have told Kiera straight away. He told Kiera some Alchemical lore, then ran off, returning with a notebook and a pen. Scribbling frantically, like a scribe trying to transcript a sped-up version of normal speech, Ra, when he was finished, ripped off a sheet of paper with a number of ingredients on it.

Kiera accepted the paper, his eyes widening as he looked down the list. Some of this was literally impossible. A soul gem? He wasn't sure there were any in existence, especially not in Cyrodill. He realised that there was one item that would be untouchable. He was being a pessimist, if Ra needed a soul gem, or skooma or whatever he needed, Kiera would get it. What he couldn't promise was the skin of Johnson. However, he mustn't let it show.

He beamed at the Khajiit and replied, "This list is doable. Yes, we can continue as normal until they're all gathered." He slipped the note into his pocket and continued, "Which reminds me. There's a woman we need to save tonight." The prospect of a mission always excited him a little, but he did not want to force anyone to come with him, for it was his Mother who was to be arrested, and he would do it alone if necessary.

"She has been scrutinised openly for months now. She designs clothes and sells them, making herself a nice profit. Refusing point blank though, she has never paid her taxes. She is in Bravil. I will be leaving for there in two hours, should anyone care to join me." All of a sudden he felt wistful, his energy suddenly gone. "She is my Sister." He smiled, he had only discovered he had an older sister a few years ago, but he was happy he had, she was some woman.

Zaire wrinkled her nose at the idea of changing forms as Kiera started excitedly. It was a useful notion, certainly, but she knew she wouldn't be relying on that for her own safety.

She noted the same expression on the face of an average looking man- dressed all in black, quite noticably. She might have scrutinised him further when Kiera announced another mission- to save his sister.

Zaire expression clouded as she thought of her own family. If only she had been able to save them... But she didn't want to linger upon that.

She looked at Kiera, and said quietly. "I'll come. If nothing else, you can count on me to keep your sister out of harm's way, and that I won't accidentally impale her on a sword or shoot her in the foot.

The breton rose to her feet, adjusting the strap of her pack (which she always wore) and strode over to the little khajiit. Their eyes were pretty much level- there couldn't have been a whole inch between them. "Hi, I'm Zaire," she introduced herself, raising her hand slightly in a close-quarters wave. "So... you make potions?"

Larry was rather upset that he had been somewhat ignored, he blamed it partially on Keira's rather enthusiastic mood, it seemed he got sidetracked easily. At the mention of Keira's sister, Larry became somewhat angry, he figured Keira would've told them sooner about this rather then giving him a new assignment and then dumping another one ontop of that. "What are we supposed to do about the operation into the White Gold Tower?" he asked, Not to mention it's going to be one hell of a trip if we're meant to get to Bravil for tonight. he scorned, he didn't like having to choose Hudi over Keira's family members. Keira had given Larry so much, but Hudi had taken away far more.

Kiera smiled and nodded his appreciation at Zaire's willingness to accompany him. He wasn't sure why he had left it until now to tell them that he had every intention of saving his sister. A weakness, maybe? Would they feel he cared more about personal issues that stopping Hudi? He didn't really know, but at least by doing it this way there was no possible chance of another engagement tying him up. He had told them he was going, and that was final. Also, he didn't really know why he was leaving it until so late to head for Bravil, but he had a funny feeling that leaving earlier could only cause trouble. It was unnatural for most to be travelling outside of work hours, and it could only bring questions from the Guards.

When Larry spoke, Kiera felt slightly disappointed. He did not show it, but answered only by looking at him with kind eyes and replying, "Larry. If you wish to stay and start work on this list of ingredients, please, by all means do so. I plan to be back here by tomorrow morning. But she is my sister, I have to try, and, in my haste, I seem to have forgotten that this list is going to take some while to attain. One night probably won't make much difference. However, the choice is yours." He liked giving them the option of what they did. He wasn't a dictator or even a leader, really. He was a founder.

He glanced at Zaire who was now in conversation with Ra, then said aloud, "We will leave in two hours." He paused, "No, make it an hour and a half. Just to be sure. I need to go. We will need a few horses, and as always, there's only one way to get hold of them." A smile threatened the corners of his mouth, then he continued, "We do a little borrowing from the guards."

From the first day, Kiera had known that travel would be essential, and walking everywhere would become tediously repetitive. It was a simple enough operation and could be done whether it was day or night. Kiera kept a supply of carrots in the cellar, cool and fresh, he took them down to the stable which were conveniently situated just outside of Kvatch, right near their base. He killed the guard on watch, lured the horses toward him with the carrots the galloped away. Simple. He had done it plenty of times, and considering he had never been caught doing it, he assumed that guard on watch wasn't changed very often, making it extremely unlikely that he kills the man, and the new guard is on his way down to take over.

It was a difficult task, though. Sometimes, they weren't guards. Women or sometimes young lads looking to earn an extra Septim. Sit in the sun and watch a field of horses all day? Yes please. Kiera had always returned horseless in those cases, refusing to kill them, whether they worked for the state or not. He would not kill an innocent civillian just trying to survive Hudi's reign like everybody else. This time though, no matter who the guard, he would have to do the business. The beasts were vital for this mission, Bravil was a long way and this was his sister.

"As always, I will need one person to come with me ... Any takers? Otherwise I will just take Fraera or Darius."

OOC: Kvatch has been re-built.

Zaire turned away from Ra briefly to fix her dark eyes on Kiera, studying his face and putting together what she knew of him. "Borrowing?" she murmured slowly, but from her expression she guessed that it was a little more permanent- for the guards, anyway.

"I'll come," she said. "I have some strategies for horse theft." And none of them involve killing... She touched the whip at her hip, and turned her gaze back to Ra. Whether Kiera decided she would not be enough company was his decision, and if he tried to kill the guards anyway, even after she told him she could take them without murder... well. It would say something about his character, wouldn't it?

Zaire knew that, in many ways, they were in a war. But Zaire didn't believe in war- if she had, she'd have carried a sword, not a whip. So she would fight not just against Hudi's oppression, but against the violence he incited. There would be no deaths on her conscience- whether from inaction to save, or aggression against.

If she had to teach these rebels that there were other options... then so be it.

Larry raised an eyebrow, Ingredients? he asked as he remebered Ra's idea of creating a potion which could transforms ones identity. It would be useful, definetly.. But they wanted to kill Hudi, not pretend to be him. Or atleast, that's what Larry thought. I can use this excuse to head to the Imperial City.. Do some digging. he thought to himself.

"I'm sorry Keira, under normal circumstances I would follow you to save anyone; especially a family member, but while you have given me a home and a life, Hudi took far more from me. I will find your list of ingredients and bring them back as soon as I can." He added, he thought that was fair, he wasn't lying to him, he just wasn't going to tell him he wouldn't be putting all his attention into finding the ingredients, infact, who knows, he might trip and end up in the White Gold Tower.

Once more Kiera was happy with Zaire. She was showing commitment, she was showing that she was there to help. Kiera was sure that, if it was a young boy or a woman or a civilian watching the horse pen, Zaire would be able to help Kiera with his dilemma and get the horses out without having to kill them. If it was a guard though, Kiera saw no reason why the man shouldn't die. He was pledged toward Hudi, and therefore pledged against Kiera. Kiera knew which he would rather be. It must have been funny, working for the State. They promise protection as long as they receive obedience in return, yet there they are, killing their own citizens for their own gain. In order to maintain power. He shook his head, little did they know that all his followers could die at any moment, like an unwitting guard sat on a fence at the edge of a horse field.

"Thank you, Zaire. You are proving to be most valuable to this team." Kiera smiled at her, his warm eyes scanning her. His gaze was broken as Larry spoke. Kiera frowned at him. Why was he so opposed to this mission? Kiera had already told them that he was impartial to who came and who didn't, but he had been sure that it would have been he, Zaire and Larry who travelled to Bravil. Evidently not. Kiera passed Larry the list and said, "Ok then. Look at it carefully and do not let it slip from your person. If the guards found that there would be an uproar. They would search every inch of Cyrodill looking for the people who were conspiring so blatantly against Hudi. You go, Larry. I trust you. See you ... soon." He winked at his friend then turned toward Zaire again.

"Zaire, the horse allotment is not far away, and in the direction of Bravil anyway. It is a short walk. I was considering not leaving until later, but the more I think about it, the more I realise how pushed for time we are. I know a path, from here and straight through the West Weald forest." He took a map out, pointing at things as he said aloud, "There are garrisons of Hudi's legionnaires here, here and here. However, if we go here, then to here, instead of there, " he traced a line on the map, "We can end up at Bravil only having to pass one of those forts, the middle one, which I'm sure we can talk our way out of." He paused, noting that he should add,

"Just so you know, Hudi's legionnaires are not like his guards. They go by the name of 'The Elite'. These are men and women so well-trained in armed and Magikal combat that they can't think of anything else. Their life is fighting. They train everyday, for twelve hours a day, and I'm telling you, if they get violent with us, we're dead. I have only ever killed two, one was taken by surprise, the other ... well, it was a furious battle." He thought back, the scar on his stomach burning as the memory flashed clear in his mind. Still, it had been his opponent who fell by Kiera's sword. "However, we will only come into real contact with one of these garrisons, and unless we're extremely lucky, there won't be more than one or two dotted around the place. They will ask questions, we will tell them truth. We're going to Bravil to visit my sister."

He smiled at her, "Got it? We will be leaving as soon as you are ready."

OOC: really, very sorry to be indecisive but Kvatch has not been re-built. Please excuse me.

She couldn't help but blink nervously as Kiera studied her. The man didn't have the eyes of an agent, but nonetheless they gave her the feeling he was looking through her. She shuddered, not enjoying the sensation.

She smiled disappointedly at Ra, who she'd not yet gotten the chance to have that conversation with, and turned to Kiera again. She shrugged her shoulders, saying, "I'm as ready now as I'll ever be." She tapped her pack. "I try to be ready to scarper at any moment. Such is life in Hudi's Cyrodiil."

She walked to the door and then leant against the wall next to it, waiting. "After you," she said. Her eyes fell on the man, Larry, the one dressed in black. At first glance, he seemed plain and unassuming, in spite of his attire. But at a closer look, there was a hard look to his eyes, and there were faint creases in his clothing that suggested hidden weapons, as did the bracer on his arm. She shuddered; she was in the presence of an assassin.

She could only hope she would not be asked to be the same.

"Sure thing keira, and good luck guys. If you need a place to hide, contact Ra'Ziry, a Khajiit friend of mine who owns a small Tavern, not very friendly to anyone but Khajiits but mention my name and he should open up, or atleast allow you to rent a room." Larry informed, he had quite a few people who he could depend on thanks to his connections from his drug smuggling days.

With that Larry stood up and patted down his coat. He nodded the woman Zaire, "I look forward to working with you, in the meantime, stay safe and look after Keira for me." He added flashing a slight smile, he nodded again to say goodbye and headed out the door with the list stashed neatly into his pocket. He looked towards the sky, it seemed like it would be a nice day, good for travelling; unless he ran into bandits.

To get to the Imperial City quickly, he would need a horse, he had kept the one he had stolen on a previous assignment, he kept it in the kvatch stables, the city wasn't rebuilt yet but they had rebuilt the stables early on so they could store the horses that transported goods to and from the city. He saw his horse grazing in the fenced off area and headed for it, a stable boy came out to greet him, "Mornin' sir, what can I do for ya?" The young man asked, Larry met the man's gaze.

"I'm here for my horse." He replied sternly, he was a fair bit taller than the boy who had probably never had a fight save with his brothers. "Oh sure mister, you go right on in."

With that out the way, Larry put a saddle ontop of his horse and placed some of the beer bottles into the pouches. His climb onto the horse wasn't elegant and he wasn't in particular control of the white and brown steed, Larry could ride a horse, but he wasn't very good at it. He tipped the boy a septim and rode out along the road, passing the inn. He stared at the building, another wave of guilt for joining Keira on his journey to save his sister. I'm sure he'd understand.

Ra was about to answer when Kiera interrupted with his mission. He didn't mind much though, he knew where priorities lied in this place, saving people was up there. But he wanted to help, he wouldn't have the ingredients he needed for a while yet, he needed to do something to keep himself busy in the meantime, otherwise he would get restless.

"Kiera!" He shouted before the man had a chance to leave. "This Khajiit would like to come with you." He told him, slipping back into his more primitive dialect without thought. "I mean- I need something to do until the ingredients come in, I know if I'm just sat around waiting I'll end up blowing something up out of boredom." A cheeky smile spread over his lips, but it would be easy to think of that as the truth.

"Besides." The Khajiit added, "I still haven't had a chance to introduce myself to..." He forgot her name for a brief moment, before remembering that she had told him. "The lovely Zaire." He smiled and approached, bowing courteously. "My name is Ra'Karim, and yes, I do have something of an interest in making potions."

His final smile was somewhat mischievous, and when he raised his head back from his bow it was clearly evident by the gleam in his eye that had somewhat more than just an interest.

Zaire smiled politely and dipped her head when Larry said he'd look forwards to meeting her. He seemed like a very nice man, and she appreciated him acknowledging her. But... well, assassins could be pretty good liars. Afterall, when a guard asks you if you've just killed their mum, it pays if you can say 'yes' without giggling. The morbid humour of the idea might have made her smile were it not for the fact that there was quite possibly a real assassin nearby, thereby making it more surreal than funny.

When Ra addressed her as 'The lovely Zaire', she couldn't escape the unlady-like snort of laughter that escaped her. Seeing the gleam in his eye and the mischievous shape of his smile, she couldn't help but laugh even more. Blushing somewhat, she calmed herself down and stuck out her hand. "No curtsies between friends," she said firmly. She had taken an instant liking to the khajiit. "Also, I like to think that friends wait until their friends are out of the room before they blow stuff up," she added in a low murmur, a twinkle in her dark eyes. When she was like this, full of fun, laughter and smiles, she seemed a good deal less formidable. She seemed young, happy and carefree. All things that she wasn't really, but she would not pass up the opportunity to pretend. Sometimes, you just need to forget...

So far, the group seemed... she couldn't really think of the words. She respected Kiera because he respected his followers, and something about him said she'd like to be friends. She'd liked Ra'Karim immediately because he was fun to be around. And, suspicious as she was about Larry, she believed that he might be a genuinely nice person, whatever else he might be.

Maybe she needed to put her guard down a little more. These people were fighting for a good cause... and she actually liked them.

Kiera bade Larry good travels and watched as he left the inn. He would be gone for a while, probably. Then again, it was impossible to tell with that man, skilled as he was. Kiera smiled as his form exited the building, the door closing softly behind him; never able to drop his spy-demeanour, always assuming that he was under scrutiny and being watched. Taking his eyes away from the door, he caught the back end of an introduction between Zaire and Ra. He laughed out loud, a deep laugh, a real laugh. One he hadn't heard in years. Sometimes, under Hudi, it was possible to forget what fun was. Constantly worrying about arrests and other people's lives, it was hard to know when to stop being serious and lighten up a little. Evidently this was one of those moments, but the penultimate point before a mission wasn't the time to do so. He cleared his throat loudly, exaggerated as though he was about to give a speech, then announced, still smiling a little,

"Ra, you are welcome to join us. However, we're leaving now. Go and get your things and be back here as soon as possible." He nodded then turned to Zaire. "As afore mentioned, we need horses. Then from there it's on to Bravil." He paused, considering his next words carefully. He did not want her to get the wrong impression. "Do you have another way of me getting these horses without having to kill the watchman?"

He was slightly scared about his compassion. He could not let Zaire's inability to kill or condone murder obstruct his tasks. Unfortunately, killing was a vital part of their work. If Hudi did it to them, they had to do it back, and at some point or another, possibly even at one of the guard stations on the road to Bravil, Zaire would witness the death of another man by Kiera's hand, although he hoped it didn't lower her opinion of him too much when she saw it. If she even had a good opinion of him now, he added cynically to himself.

OOC: Sorry for lack of posting today, been dead busy again. Tomorrow will be the same, around this time, then should be able to make a few more there on in!

OOC: Will wait for Raven's post before I make mine. Guys, I can keep up the posting tonight, but I may not have internet tomorrow; moving in to the new house! Should definately have it back by Sat, though.

ooc: Ironically I won't be able to post saturday!

ic: "Thank you Kiera - I'll only take a second." Ra said after being allowed to follow. He took off back towards his own room quickly, taking his large journal with him. Once inside, he placed it back on his table and also got out some new clothes - dark leathers that stuck to him a bit more tightly than his usual baggy attire. After dressing himself he also went over to the potion cabinet, and thought for a moment over what he should bring.

He couldn't take his time like usual, and for that he was slightly disappointed, preparation was usually one of the most interesting times for him. He decided to only take two more potions than he usually took, one being his experimental eyesight potion and the other being the antidote to the side effects. No better time than on a job to truly try it out, maybe it would come in handy. He placed the two flasks on his belt, straightened himself up slightly and then left again, only a few seconds after changing.

He entered the main tavern room now dressed in dark almost tight leathers, with his dagger sheathed unceremoniously on his belt alongside an assortment of different coloured liquids in small flasks. True to his word, Ra had been very quick about it all, yet the change had been dramatic. Only his large smile reaffirmed the fact that it was actually him, and he headed back to where Kiera and Zaire were standing - looking at Zaire and patting his belt.

"I never go out without at least one potion." He told her casually, "Helps to be prepared, I've always said... though sometimes even the best potions won't help you avoid a fight." He patted the dagger with less enthusiasm, "Then we dodge and we run, this one is not very good with the whole fighting thing, we prefer to put the guards to sleep with a quick... sometimes forceful drink." Once again his hand went to the potions, and he grinned. "Well, shall we be off then?"