Cordus looked over just in time to see Juhanor cut off the Ice Troll's hand and shoved the hand into his pack. Dude, he thought, that's gona be messy! Then Juhanor and Trannigan, wo had tossed the Troll's pelt over is shoulders, packed up and headed out. "Dudes, I cannot WAIT to get back to a nice, warm fire!" he said as he tossed the bag of loot over his shoulder and picked up the box with his left hand. He quickly checked that he had all of his gear, then broke into a jog to catch up to Trannigan and Juhanor.

When he did, he said, "Too bad we didn't find any food on this thing. Do you guys think the other guys did any better?"

Nathaniel Leinheart - Forest

Once the three of them had reached a clearing, Hjolifur began piling up things around him, and formed them in a sort of wall around him. He asked Sora and Nathaniel to do the same, before adding, "None of us have ranged weapons. Therefore we need to get really close. These blinds will, while barely hindering our sight, hide us from the animals that walk this trail. Personally I see Mammoth, Deer, Raccoon, and some obscured tracks going through this clearing, and if we are lucky something big enough to eat will saunter by here. If I don't signal you to creep up to it or charge it by doing so myself, only attack it if you can reach us."

Nathaniel followed Sora some distance from Hjolifur where the Dunmer began gathering branches and rocks which she added to a snow-pile. After watching the process for a minute Sora motioned over to Nathaniel to giver her a hand.

"I figure that if we make sure the front of this is covered entirely in snow, the animals will have a harder time seeing us against the snow. That is, we may simply blend in to the ground.", Sora explained.

Nodding in acknowledgment Nathaniel began assisting by helping enlarge the snow mound Sora had been building. After the snow was well above Sora and Nathaniel he began gathering brush to add to the "Tiger Blind", once he was finished he crouched beneath it waiting for Hjolifur's signal.

Time passed slowly but this didn't bother Nathaniel as he had company plus he utilized this time to go over various alchemical mixtures in his head from his tome.

"Psssst." Hjolifur called out. "If a Buck comes through, don't kill it. Men are much less common then girls." Hjolifur then whispered something that Nathaniel couldn't make out. Carefully peering out from his position Nathaniel could just make out a group of brown shapes heading into the clearing.

Whispering back to the Nord. "Hey, Hjolifur let me know when to make a move as I can use magic to enhance my speed to take down a couple of those creatures. Be sure not to alert me to soon as the magic is only good in short bursts and it will leave me fatigued for a time."

Then turning back to Sora. "There's a herd of something making it's way over here. Whatever Hjolifur did really worked out, huh?"

"Too bad we didn't find any food on this thing. Do you guys think the other guys did any better?"

"I sure hope they do..." replied Trannigan, burying his hands into the warm pelt around his shoulders. He gripped on the fur to shield his fingers from the cold wind, as he was only wearing fingerless gauntlets and not full gloves. "Ofcourse if they dont either, then I suppose everyone will just have to take that rich looking guy up on his meal offer, I think he said his name was Orlando?"

As soon as the Tiger Blind was up to a suitable height, Sora and Nathaniel sat back and waited for their dinner to wander into the clearing. Sora wasn't used to this sort of hunting, so she quickly became bored. Nathaniel, however, seemed to be quite content to sit there reading his little book. Sora sat with her nose poked over the edge of the Tiger Blind the whole time, her nose getting gradually colder from the harsh winds, as she waited for something to chase.

After about half an hour of sitting in the snow, Sora heard Hjolifur try to catch their attention. She and Nathaniel turned thier attention to the Nord, who was whispering to them, "If a Buck comes through, don't kill it. Men are much less common then girls." He then proceeded to bellow into the air, and the sound of snow crunching under strong hooves could be heard. Sora peered over the tiger blind again, and a herd of hulking deer were strolling into the clearing. The biggest one, the male, Sora presumed, had great towering antlers protruding from his head. Nathaniel whispered something back to Hjolifur, which Sora did not catch, before turning to her.

"There's a herd of something making it's way over here. Whatever Hjolifur did really worked out, huh?"

A smile crept onto Sora's face. "It's some sort of massive deer. I've never seen them before," she said excitedly, "They're certainly built for these conditions though. You ready to stretch your legs, Nathaniel?" Sora unsheathed her longsword silently, waiting eagerly for Hjolifur's signal. Finally, she thought, I was beginning to get hungry.

The main Buck of the Caribou herd entered the clearing and Hjolifur new that it was just about time to act. He couldn't speak without scaring the animals off so he used his the reflection of the last bits of light off his sword and into Nathaniel's eyes. He then turned his head towards the deer in a signal

Hopefully the catch my drift. Hjolifur thought. I also don't want them to get to near the buck, since I'm sure it will try and defend itself and I will be responsable if he is harmed.

Hjolifur got back into his sprung up position and waited just a second or so before springing in the air at the forest grazers.

Juhanor - Halfway to Campsite

"Of course if they dont either, then I suppose everyone will just have to take that rich looking guy up on his meal offer, I think he said his name was Orlando?"

"Yeah, we might have to," Juhanor said, "it would be a good chance to get to know him and some of the others." Juhanor ducked under a snow laden branch. "Speaking of which, Juhanor still hasn't introduced himself to the ones who had his back. So, this one's name is Juhanor; spent most of his kittenhood wandering with his tribe in Elsweyr, almost enslaved as a child," Juhanor said as he removed his silver battle gauntlets, "got these scars as a result," at which point Juhanor showed the two the scars encircling his wrists, "grew up, learned to fight with blades, fists, and bow; wandered for years, ended up here."

"That is basically it," Juhanor said as he replaced his caestus. "There is the campfire up ahead; lets hurry up and get something to eat."

"That's pretty heavy, man." Cordus said, in response to Juhanor telling him and Trannigan about his time almost becoming a slave, showing them his scars. 'I'm not too sure about this Orlando guy, though. He'll probably be the first one killed in Saarthal." Cordus sped up his walking, seeing the campfire glowing not too far away. He was shivering, and really wanted to get warm. Trannigan got the fur, of course. I just get Troll guts all over my arm. he thought, wishing he hadn't been so quick to gut the Troll.

He turned around, walking backwards in order to continue conversing with Trannigan and Juhanor. "So," he said as they got closer to the fire, "What do you guys want to do about this gold? How are we gonna divide it?" Cordus stopped abrubtly as he felt the heat of the fire get closer. Don't want to catch my pants on fire, he thought with a small laugh. Not again.

"Yeah, we might have to," Juhanor said, "it would be a good chance to get to know him and some of the others."

"That it would." Trannigan kept the pace up behind Juhanor, taking long strides every time that he took a step in order to make it back to the campsite quicker. He couldn't wait to change out of his troll splattered shirt into something that was less offensive to his nose. He was used to the smell of blood and guts, but there was something about the smell of trolls that made his stomach turn.

"Speaking of which, Juhanor still hasn't introduced himself to the ones who had his back. So, this one's name is Juhanor; spent most of his kittenhood wandering with his tribe in Elsweyr, almost enslaved as a child," Juhanor said as he removed his silver battle gauntlets, "got these scars as a result," at which point Juhanor showed the two the scars encircling his wrists, "grew up, learned to fight with blades, fists, and bow; wandered for years, ended up here."

"That is basically it," Juhanor said as he replaced his caestus.

Ah... I thought the name sounded familiar before when I first heard you say it. I seem to recall stories told my other abolishinists of a Juhanor that is very skilled at freeing slaves. It is nice to meet the khajiit behind the name. I too free slaves whenever I come across them... mostly when I lived in Cyrodiil, haven't came across as many here." Trannigan thought in his head for a while how much he hated slavers then continued to speak. "I am no saint myself, I steal things for myself or for someone who contracts me to, I have even taken a few lives in my time, but there are 2 things that I would never do and that is condemn someone to a life of slavery or sell drugs to others." Trannigan wasn't even sure if he was speaking loud enough now for either of them to hear him, but at that point he was mostly thinking out loud.

"There is the campfire up ahead; lets hurry up and get something to eat."

"Finally!" Trannigan said happily and bolted for the fire, he stood as close to it as he could without letting himself get too hot and brushed all the cold off himself. Then he searched around for 4 logs long enough to hang a few feet above the flames. Once he found them he places the trolls fur over the logs to dry out the inside layer of it while he changed out of his bloody clothes.

Octavius, Caravan Camp, Orlando's Tent

Octavius complied to Orlando's words and he began taking large spoonfuls of the delicious soup in front of him. Eating the warm, hearty soup in the cozy tent almost made him laugh out loud at the people who had opted to go out and hunt for food. He was wary of drinking too much wine, because he didn't think a hangover would help with traveling tomorrow plus he didn't want to become to loose-lipped when answering any questions the man might ask. Orlando was an aristocrat who held property in the Imperial City and he did not want any information of his whereabouts possibly reaching his family.

He sipped his wine and ate his soup in silence for a moment, as he ripped off chunks of bread to dip into the soup. After a few pieces of bread he finally spoke, nodding as he said, "I've only been to Anvil twice but the trips were defiantly worth it in my opinion. Just couldn't find much work out there so I had to keep my stays short." he paused as he took another chunk of soup-dipped bread.

"So what family are you a part of, if you don't mind me asking?"

He hoped he wasn't being too personal but he wanted to know if this man had any connections with the Claudii family in the City. If he did, Octavius would have to watch his words around Orlando from now on.

Juhanor - Back at the Campsite

OOC: Didn't see your post, Trannigan.

As the group approached the campfire, Trannigan mentioned how much he detested slavery, and how he had heard of Juhanor freeing slaves across the lands. Good to know somebody else understands.

Meanwhile, Cordus had reached the campfire, and said "What do you guys want to do about this gold? How are we gonna divide it?"

As Trannigan started to hang up the troll skin, Juhanor lay down next to the campfire, and stared up at the dual moons as they drifted through the sky.

"You two did the most, so you should take equal shares.. Juhanor will take whatever is left over. How about shares of 45-45-5?"

OOC: Thats ok I tend to miss people's posts too. EDIT: damn speaking of which I didnt even see broken scales turn til just now. :facepalm: lmao

"What do you guys want to do about this gold? How are we gonna divide it?" Cordus asked when they all got back to the campfire.

"You two did the most, so you should take equal shares.. Juhanor will take whatever is left over. How about shares of 45-45-5?" Replied Juhanor, laying down next to the warm flames and staring up at the clear night sky.

"Eh I dont need that much, I already have 100 pieces with me at the moment." Trannigan replied honestly, not wanting to skimp his new friends out on their share of the findings. shares of 25 will be enough for me and you 2 can split the other shares however you like... do ya think we should share any with the others, or just keep the money between us?" he asked then, with a small grin. They did find it after killing the large troll by themselves after all.

"Heck no, dude. They didn't find the gold, we did." Cordus said to Trannigan sitting down on his pack as he did so. Cordus unstrapped his weapons and laid them next to his pack, then picked up his lute and began absent-mindedly strumming it. "And, you guys need to stop being so noble!" he said, in response to both Juhanor and Trannigan's suggestions of spliting the gold with themselves getting smaller shares. "We killed that thing together. None of us would have been able to kill that thing if the other two weren't there." Cordus leaned closer to the fire. "So, we should all split it evenly. How about we all just get, like, 200 gold pieces and one gem, then we save the rest to spend on supplies in Winterhold. That cool with you guys?"

Juhanor - Campsite

OOC: Damnit, I need to start posting faster! Missed Broken-Scale's by 5 minutes....

"Do ya think we should share any with the others, or just keep the money between us?" Trannigan asked Juhanor and Cordus, with a smirk on his face.

"How about we all just get, like, 200 gold pieces and one gem, then we save the rest to spend on supplies in Winterhold. That cool with you guys?"

"Sounds fine to me," Juhanor said listening to Cordus strum a tune on his lute. Always peaceful after a battle...

Standing up, Juhanor looked over to where the man named Marcus had directed them earlier, "Juhanor is going to go see if that Orlando fellow has anything left to eat; plus, it wouldn't hurt to introduce myself to him, as well. You guys should come along, too." With that, Juhanor started to saunter over to the tent.

OOC: Sorry Hircine21, but I'm going to be away for the next day or so, so I thought I'd get a post in now so I don't hold anyone up.

IC: As soon as Hjolifur burst from his Tiger Blind, Sora bolted for the creatures at full speed. She settled her gaze on an older female on the outskirts of the group. Perfect, she thought. The sound of her swift approach startled the animals, and they began to turn away before she could reach them. However their hulking bodies didn't allow for quick movement, and Sora reached her target within seconds.

Sora had intended to kill the creature by thrusting her longsword between it's eyes, but she was now facing the backside of the deer as it fleed. Sora swiped at the creature's back legs, and it let out an anguished cry as blood spilled out of the wounds and onto the snow. Seemingly in desperation, the creature turned to face Sora, a wild look dancing in its eyes. Before Sora could strike, the deer charged at her. The animal's antlers struck Sora in the stomach with massive force, and Sora flew backwards onto the hard snow. Pain shook through her body, and she knew it would leave a bruise, despite her armor. The creature backed up, preparing to strike again as Sora stood up quickly. She held her longsword in front of her, and ran at the animal. They met, and Sora drove her weapon directly between the creature's eyes, wincing as she felt the crunching of its skull through the sword. Blood spurted from the wound, some splattering Sora's face, and the deer fell limply to the ground.

Sora withdrew her sword from the animal's head, and bile rose in her throat as she noticed the bits of brain that clung to the weapon. She took a few steps away from the deer and coughed up her breakfast, suspecting that the blow to her stomach had been the main cause of her vomiting. When she finished, she scooped up a bit of snow to attempt to cease the burning in her throat, as she walked back to the dead animal lying in its own blood. Wiping the same blood from her face, she surveyed the area for Nathaniel and Hjolifur, keen to see how they had got on.

"Ah screw it." Said Trannigan to Cordus after Juhanor walked over to the table where the others that did not hunt were eating. "Just doll it out evenly into three piles. I think I am gonna go introduce myself aswell, see how well I can get to know them, and try to figure out why the one who is already wealthy would need to go on a journy such as this." then he jokingly added "And I hope that we dont come back to find that your own pockets are extra fat while our shares have magickally seemed to vanish."

With that, Trannigan laughed at his own unserious joke then walked up to the table where Octavios and the others were sitting. "Hail. The name is Trannigan Drattmer." He sat down in one of the empty seats, but did not take a plate since he already had his meal for the night, he looked over at Orlando and said "I hope that your servant gave ya the message that I already had my meal tonight,"

Juhanor and Trannigan both got up to go meet this Orlando, Trannigan leaving Cordus with the comment, "And I hope that we dont come back to find that your own pockets are extra fat while our shares have magickally seemed to vanish." Cordus frowned. I don't want to do this! I'll probably mess up. he thought. He called out to Trannigan, "Hey, wait up!!" He quickly hid the bag of gold within his own bags to keep the rest of the party from finding it, then picked up his lute and ran to catch up to Trannigan.

"Hey. I didn't want to split up the gold alone, so I just hid it under my bags for now. Plus, I'm starved. This Orlando guy better have some decent food." Cordus said with a grin, flicking his hair away as he walked to the lavish tents that Orlando had set up. "Well, he certianly likes to travel in style, doesn't he?"

Hjolifur landed with both feet on the ground and cleanly chopped into a large Caribou's neck. He didn't want to overdue the impact on the herd, and didn't want to have to carry oo much food back, so he finished his quarry off with a stab into the chest, trying to make sure it died peacefully, and chased at another, slightly smaller, Caribou.

Hjolifur just managed to thrust his blade into the right hind leg of the animal mid-stride. Oh, Kyne, why must this one be in such pain. Hjolifur thought. It tried to run but fell to the ground and looked at him with it's eyes. In desperation, the animal kicked at him and thrashed her antlers, but only succeeded in disturbing the snow.

As quickly as he could, Hjolifur ended the beast's pain with a well places thrust into it's heart. He looked around and saw that Sora was successful in providing food, and Hjolifur, in his quick overview of the scene, couldn't make out Nathaniel. Regardless, Hjolifur dragged the 170 pound Caribou over to the bigger one and began skinning it with a long incision from mouth to tail (making sure to include the killing blow to it's chest as part of the cut), carefully not cutting too deeply into any of the meat and not puncturing any organs (especially on the lower half of the creature)

He cut around the hooves of the beast and then simply pulled the hide off the dead animal, making small incisions where it still stuck to the animal's blubber. Hides of most furred animals are quite useful, even if it was almost worthless with the hole it it's leg. Hjolifur repeated the process on the other deer and finally began working on the meat of the caribou.

It was simple to cut the meat off the animals. Hjolifur never liked the taste of organs and whatnot, and left them for scavengers, but off the two caribou he gathered he had a combined 150 or so pounds of bleeding meat. This was left in the snow to cool and not bleed on what was left of Hjolifur's clothes. He then wrapped the meat in the hides, slung it over his shoulder, and waited for the other hunters to get ready.

OOC: i almost went into the details of how you get the meat off a dead caribou (it's probably similar to a deer) but then realized that if there were any vegetarians here it'd probably make them puke. Sorry if what's left of it was still a bad mental image.

Orlando, Caravan camp, Orlando's tent

"So what family are you a part of, if you don't mind me asking?"

Orlando shook his head at the question, chewing down stew at the same time. "I don't belong to a family. I'm not a noble by birth, you see. I just... grew into it. They found that hard to accept for a while but the wealthier I became, the less they could ignore me!" Orlando smiled again and pushed back his hair. He heard footsteps outside. "Ah, it seems one of the hunting parties has returned. Perhaps we should go outside to see if they have been successful. Before he could stand, however, a tanned Imperial strode into the the tent.

"Hail. The name is Trannigan Drattmer." He sat down in one of the empty seats. "I hope that your servant gave ya the message that I already had my meal tonight."

Orlando jumped slightly as the Imperial walked in and his hand moved slightly towards his walking stick. He had been surprised, not used to someone coming in without being introduced by one of his servants. He quickly regained his composure.

"Welcome Trannigan. Would care for some wine instead?" He said offering a cup. At that moment, Marcus entered.

"My Lord," He said catching Orlando's eye and looking at Trannigan. "I'm ... I ... "

"Relax, Marcus. It's fine."

"My Lord, there are more guests outside. The Kahjiit and the bard."

"Well, don't leave them standing out in the cold. Send them in. And fetch more chairs. And wine. Also ask them if they will be eating with us tonight? We have enough food?"

"Yes, my Lord." Marcus bowed and left the tent. Juhanor and Cordus stood outside. "Please," Marcus said, lifting the tent flap. "My master welcomes you. Will be you dining with us this evening?"

Trannigan noticed Orlando jump slightly as he entered Orlando's tent and he made a face to himself. Why are nobles always so damned jumpy? he thought to himself.

"Welcome Trannigan. Would care for some wine instead?" Orlando asked as Marcus walked in to inform his master that the other people were outside.

"Dont mind if i do." Trannigan said, taking the cup from Orlando and giving him a nod. "Never been one to turn down a drink." He chuckled and took a drink from his cup. Trannigan usually did not drink wine and preferred brandy or ale, but seeing as the only other option was melted snow he was happy to atleast have this option.

"So Orlando, what brings ya way out here on a quest like this?" Trannigan asked with interest.

"So Orlando, what brings ya way out here on a quest like this?" Trannigan asked with interest.

"You know, Octavius here asked me the very same question. I suppose it's natural. I mean, I don't look like the adventuring type. I know that. I'm not the adventuring type if I'm being perfectly honest but... well I had to get away from the constant bickering and politicking of the aristocratic social scene. You know, I feel far more relaxed here, out in the wilderness, talking to you fine, noble adventures than I do when I'm entertaining guests in Anvil. Even with your political allies, you must constantly be careful about what you say. It's far too tiresome really. This life just seems, well, simpler I suppose."

"You know, Octavius here asked me the very same question. I suppose it's natural. I mean, I don't look like the adventuring type. I know that. I'm not the adventuring type if I'm being perfectly honest but... well I had to get away from the constant bickering and politicking of the aristocratic social scene. You know, I feel far more relaxed here, out in the wilderness, talking to you fine, noble adventures than I do when I'm entertaining guests in Anvil. Even with your political allies, you must constantly be careful about what you say. It's far too tiresome really. This life just seems, well, simpler I suppose."

Trannigan gave a laugh and nodded his head. "I know what ya mean about the bickering. coming from Cyrodiil myself I have heard my fare share of the politics and petty squabbles from the upper class. My father was in the Bravil section of the fighters guild and there was more than a few instances of infighting and bickering.But it is nice to hear that you atleast have your head on straight about life. Men are not made by what they own, but the actions that they do." Trannigan finished off his glass of wine then stood up. "I thank ya for the hospitality. If you'd excuse me I think I am going to go for a short walk." With that, he left Octavious' tent and went to go put his armored gloves back into his pack, then went off for a short stroll.

Juhanor - Campsite

As Juhanor approached the tent, Orlando's servant, Marcus, invited him inside. "Thank you very much, Marcus," Juhanor politely stated, as he entered the tent.

As he entered, Trannigan had just finished a glass of wine, and was leaving for a walk outside. Taking his seat, Juhanor glanced over at Octavius, who had seemed to be in the middle of a discussion with Orlando before either he or Trannigan had entered.

"Hope I am not interrupting anything," Juhanor said, "but this one was wondering if the offer of food was still available... the deer Juhanor smelled ran off before we could kill them; then an Ice Troll tried to make us its supper."

"Besides," Juhanor mentioned, "I think it will be important to get to know all of the members of our group; this one will feel more comfortable if a bit of teamwork can be done."

"Besides," Juhanor mentioned, "I think it will be important to get to know all of the members of our group; this one will feel more comfortable if a bit of teamwork can be done."

"My thoughts precisely," Orlando replied. "And of course my offer to dine with us still applies. We'll have probably finished by the time my servant brings your food in but I suppose proper etiquette need not apply too strictly out here. I do fear we haven't been formally introduced, I am Orlando Wrex. Who do I have the pleasure of sharing company with tonight?"

Trannigan and Juhanor both went in before Cordus, and Trannigan walked out as Cordus walked in. Why is he leaving all ready? Cordus thought, confused. We just got here.

Cordus thought nothing of it, however, and continued into the tent, just catching the tailend of a conversation Juhanor and the Orlando guy were having, hearing, "I am Orlando Wrex. Who do I have the pleasure of sharing company with tonight?" Cordus coughed smiled and bowed slightly to Orlando, saying, "I am Cordus Leon, bard and adventurer extraordinaire. Pleasure to make your acquantence."

Cordus took a step foward, asking, "Do you mind if I take you up on your offer of food? I'm starved, man. Oh, and I normally smell waaay better than I do now, dude. Trolls these days, you know?"

Under the moonlight, Sora could see Hjolifur skinning and cutting up his catch, but Nathaniel appeared to be out of her sight. She decided to deal with the animal laying at her feet the way Hjolifur had dealt with his. Sora cleaned her blade with snow, sheathed it, and pulled out her dagger. She cut away at the animal quickly, as the cold was beginning to crawl its way back into her bones. She copied Hjolifur, and wrapped the meat up in the the hide, leaving the remains buried in the snow.

With her dagger cleaned and sheathed, Sora decided to return to camp. She wandered towards Hjolifur, before calling out to him, "Look, I think I'll go back. I'm getting too cold out here doing nothing. See you guys there." Without bothering to wait for a response, she began to head back to the camp.

Sora remembered the way back, and hurried through the darkening forest in anticipation of warming her wintry hands over the campfire. She was satisfied with how the hunting had gone, even though she had sit in the snow for a ridiculous amount of time. In fact, Sora wouldn't have minded if they didn't catch anything, as she had food of her own; she had just wanted to add a touch of excitement to her otherwise dreary day of sitting in a rattling box.

Within 20 minutes, Sora arrived back at the camp, where she heard the murmur of voices coming from the rich man's tent, and saw a few people gathered around the fire. An unpleasant smell hung faintly in the air, and there was no sign of any meat from the other hunting party. She dumped the meat near the fire, inviting those around it to help themselves, and slipped behind a rock to change into a pair of blacksmith's pants, and a shirt and jacket over her thin undershirts. Pulling her chanmail boots back on, she wandered back over to the fire and sat down near the Argonian who appeared to be radiating heat. Leaning back against a rock, she closed her eyes, and waited for the others to get back.