Rufus watched Medril intently from his chair, feeling a twinge of anger at the sneer the Altmer gave to his new friend. Suppressing anger, he figured Medril had it locked down anyway...
It won't do us any good to fight, Rufus thought.

Suddenly feeling impatient, Rufus stood up and said loud enough for everyone to hear "Alright, where is this guy that told us to come here?"

An added bonus of doing this, he thought, would be that everyone might realise that they'd have to work together


OOC:Sorry it's so short, just need more people keeping this alive

"Yes I am," Medril replied, "I have never used another weapon, the bow is my lover, we are bound together by the mighty will of the great Hircine."

Medril knew that this would be something to give the Altmer to rage about. But since he didn't want to waste any time, he returned to Rufus, just as the Imperial asked for the "guy that told us to come here". Medril seconded this, it seemed time enough, and he believed that their Dunmer leader was already here.

"Yes, where is he, is he here with us?" Medril asked loudly, scanning the room.

After nobody responded, Medril went back to his seat with Rufus, and noticed the bow. He said, "Hey, you are a marksman too, what about an archery competition, when I was hunting I noticed a place nearby that could easily be used to practice." Medril asked, and before Rufus could answer, he added an afterthought, "also, when did you pick up archery, I know Imperials usually are not very dedicated to marksmanship, no offense intended."

It was a risky question, because Rufus could break their newly born friendship by taking offense, and Medril could see no others around the room who he felt like friends. There was Abel though, but, Medril wasn't sure about his brother...

He was returned to reality when Rufus answered his question...

Yaken's anger spiked when he mentioned Hircine. He clenched his fists and realized that he might be trying to test him. He simply grunted and watched as the Wood Elf left to go back to his Imperial friend and knew this was going to be a long journey... Yaken looked over to Cain realized there was at least one bearable person there... Although he looked more dead than alive he was bound to be better company then the rest of them.

He took a seat next to Cain, having been standing this entire time, and looked back over waiting for Cains answer. He didnt know why but Yaken felt a sort of liking towards this man and thought he could get used to his company, if not then this journey would be hell... Just then he heard the Imperial and the Wood Elf yell around the room asking where the man who brought us all together was, and unable to resist from satisfying his curiosity he looked up to see if anyone would respond

OOC: Short, I know

Cain & Abel: Lucky's

“So necromancer, and don't deny it you reek of death, what brings you here?"

That startled Cain for a mere second before his composure came back to him, his unnoticeable smile widen. The man called him a Necromancer(right he was) but seemed to care very little for the fact, as if he was passing polite conversation. Cain was starting to like this fellow.

But before he could answer, he was interrupted by the wood elf. Cain tried to be fair to all, especially since he himself is always judged based on appearance, but there was something about Wood Elfs that just made him want to strangle each and every one of their race.

The Elf proudly announced himself as a Daedric Worshipper

That was the stupidest way to open a conversation if he ever saw one. No one just goes and announces their beliefs right up to a stranger, unless they were devout priests, and no one like those people. The bald Altmer, an apparent Ebonarm follower (explained a lot) was offended. And though they made no move to strike each other, the conversation was tense, so tense you could almost feel it's concrete presence.

Te finally managed to walk away from each other, but it was not in peace. Cain whispered to the Altmer,

“Is it me, or are all Wood Elfs on the brink of insanity?”" Back to topic, I'm a little surprised that you knew I was a Necromancer, was it the smell of death or the bandages?"

He laughed but it was muffled by the bandages,

"Why I'm I in a land that wants me dead? Good question, I guess the poster was well written."

On the other side of the room Abel watched Medril, the Wood Elf, try to make friends with the Altmer who was talking to his brother. The Altmer seemed angry about something and it looked like they would soon start trading blows, he wouldn't blame Medril. Personally Abel never really like Altmer's, sure he had plenty of Altmer friends and got along fairly well with them, they seemed too stuck up for him.

Medril walked away from the Altmer, but Abel could tell things were still tense. Medril ignored him and started talking to Rufus, but Abel listened in, it was always nice to hear new stories. Finally he cut in,

“So how did you learn to play that lute so well? And why do you only carry a bow?”

Irritated at the silence that followed his and Medril's question, he felt relieved to see both of his two new found friends sitting by him.

Medril brought up the subject of an archer competition, apparently noticing his bow, and commented on his race as not often being marksmen, no offense of course.

"None taken," Rufus assured him "And anything to get us out of here and actually doing something sounds good to me. Although I'm not sure of my chances against a wood elf."

IT would be good to get out of this pub for a little, let everyone cool off hopefully, and maybe by the time they got back, the guy who asked them to come here will have arrived.
Gathering his bow in his hand, he checked the string. Nice. He hadn't used it on his journey here, so he was worried about being rusty. Setting aside his poisoned arrows in his sack, he quickly slung his quiver on his back.

Turning towards Abel, he asked "Hey, you wanna come with us?"

Hope that he does, it'll bring us all closer Rufus thought to himself.

Before they left, Rufus scanned the room. There was no one person he particularly didn't like, but that Altmer and Sethor seemed to be in permanent bad spirits.

Sighing inwardly, he could only hope they'd all start to get along

"None taken," Rufus answered "And anything to get us out of here and actually doing something sounds good to me. Although I'm not sure of my chances against a wood elf."

Medril chuckled and was about to answer when Abel asked.

“So how did you learn to play that lute so well? And why do you only carry a bow?”

"For the hunt, my friend, a good hunter gives his prey a way to get the upper hand," Medril answered, but chuckled when he added, "also, I never figured out which end of the sword you hold on to!" He paused, then continued; "Well, I spent some years in Skingrad, 9 years ago, I met a man, who was very kind to me, he was a very capable bard, and he taught me to play."

Medril stood up, hoping that whoever brought them here would not introduce himself while they were gone. Rufus stood up too, but then surprised him by offering for Abel to come with them, and Medril added; "yeah, although, of course you would just be a spectator."

Just before they went to leave, Rufus glanced back at the room, and so did Medril but his eyes were fixed on the Altmer. Perhaps there would be an 'accident?'

No. They are a group, forgive him for the sake of the mission.

But it was difficult, especially while looking at the Ebonarm disciple. He left the room.

Yaken chuckled warmly at Cains joke, he also wasnt surprised when Cain admitted to being a necromancer. Yaken had killed his fair share of necromancers and could spot one out easily. He listen to what Cain said and nodded.

"So are you here with anybody or alone?" As soon as he said that he spotted the Wood Elf staring at him. Yaken knew that look and noticed that he and the Imperial were going somewhere, they said something about an archery competition. Although Yaken hated using a bow, he could very easily pick off a target from 50 yards away. Yaken excused himself and walked over to the exit and left the building.

"Excuse me but I couldnt help but hear you speak of a competition? I was wondering if i could join?" Yaken knew that he couldnt hold his ground against a wood elf when it came to archery but he could still prove his worth and maybe ease over the tension. Or maybe he could dispose of them and blame it on some bandits... No, he was going to need them for this journey. He didnt know what he was going to need them for but he just felt as though he would...

"Wood Elf, allow us to ease this tension with a friendly competition... I would have to borrow someones bow if thats fine with either of you."

Medril was amazed when Yaken asked to join their competition. But he didn't show it. He was glad, in a way, that he might be able to gain an excuse to forgive him. He said, "Okay, that is fine, but Bardsong cannot be used by anyone but her owner, she is enchanted." He indicated his bow, and smiled, his bow was like a sister, a lover, a wife.

They left the building, and Medril led them to the spot he had found earlier, a couple of targets, with the bulls-eye painted on it, and 2 rings around the edges.

"I'll go first, then Rufus, who can lend his bow to Yaken, okay?" Medril asked, as he primed up his shot.

The drew the bow back, and aimed, priming the glinting arrowhead on the bulls-eye, he mentally checked for gravity and wind, and shifted his aim slightly, it all seemed to go slowly to him, but he knew that was just an illusion, and as far as anybody else was concerned, he drew, aimed and fired in a couple of seconds.

He stood back as the arrow thumped into the middle of the bulls-eye, and he smiled, gesturing for Rufus to shoot.

Rufus smiled when the Altmer, Yaken, asked to join the party.
Now we're getting somewhere, he thought happily

Medril led them to the spot of the archery competition. Looking at his bow, Rufus couldn't help but feel a little ashamed at his own little iron bow that he had so much pride for. He was determined to be as good as the Bosmer, Iron or Elven.

He watched Medril line up his shot, and fire all in one smooth motion, and the arrow flew, whistling through the air, thudding perfectly into the straw target.
"Medril, nice shot!" Rufus exclaimed, feeling a pit in his stomach at the wood elf's accuracy

Rufus exchanged a glance with Yaken, and took his place where Medril had been standing.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled back the bowstring with his back muscles, feeling the familiar tension. He closed his eye's momentarily, envisioning the arrow flying towards the target.
A slight breeze ruffled his hair, and he released the arrow.

It flew towards the target, and landed just left of the bulls-eye. He was disappointed in himself, but he didn't show it.

"Eh, you bested me this time Medril," he said, handing the bow to Yaken

"Medril, nice shot!" Rufus exclaimed. Medril shrugged modestly, saying.

"It should be, I have been quite good since I was 5." Rufus did not seem to hear his, as he was focusing on the drawing, aiming and shooting his own bow, the little iron bow sang, and the arrow whistled. He watched as the Imperials arrow landed to the left of the target, and the Imperial said,

"Eh, you bested me this time Medril," the Imperial sighed, and Medril shrugged, he didnt want any tension, so he said,

"Dont worry about it, I doubt there are many people out there that could beat you, that was a very good shot, but I saw what you did wrong," he paused, in case the Imperial took offence, and when he did not seem to, Medril continued, "You are drawing the bow too far back, one of the reasons Bosmer are good at archery is because there arms are the exact right length. If you pull the string back too far, you can get too much power and hit off the target. Why not try again?"

Medril took the Iron bow off Yaken and gave it to Rufus.

Dern, The Lucky Lockup

Dern watched as the trio left the tavern. Great, he thought. Now I'm stuck with the lizard, the pretty boy, the Necromancer, and the 'future king of Morrowind'. This should be fun. Usually, Dern wasn't this discriminating. He really didn't have any room to talk, since he was a Skooma addict convicted of theft at age 8. But, seriously? Is this all Tamriel had to offer? Dern had been expecting more along the lines of recent heroes, people worthy of fighting alongside the Nerevarine, or the Champion of Cyrodiil. But this? Dern was disappointed. No, shocked. Stunned. Speechless. The 3 who had just left actually showed some promise, but these people...

Still, however, he only had so much room to talk. So instead of sitting there judging people, Dern chose to try and make conversation. But with whom? The lizard? No, he seemed to antisocial. The mummy in the corner wouldn't have been much better. What about the other Dunmer in the room? Dern considered it, but then he remembered, Oh, wait, he thinks he's a prince. Nevermind. So that left Dern with one option: the Imperial.

Sighing in helplessness, Dern stood from the wooden chair and walked casually over to the Imperial, holding out his ash-grey hand. "Name's Dern," croaked the Dunmer, the first words he had uttered since he walked in. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm the one who started this party. What's your name?"

Rufus handled the bow, and thought about what Medril had said.
He's trying to help me, finally someone I can actually trust he thought

Following the Bosmer's advice, he drew a slender, Iron-tipped arrow from his quiver. He gazed at his target, focusing his intent on the bulls-eye. He began to pull back, and stopped short of his usual stretch. Sending a quick, silent prayer to Kynareth, he loosed the arrow, and watched as it whistled through the air.

The arrow impacted with a soft thud, and the arrow stood shaking from the impact, buried deep in hay, and surrounded by the color's of the bulls-eye, just to the left of Medril's.

"Well, I'll be damned, it did work. Never doubted you, and now I never will", Rufus said with a smile. "Now Yaken it's your turn. I don't mean to rush you, but we should probably head back soon", he said handing the bow to the hulking high elf.

Yaken watched as Medril fired his first shot and perfectly landed in the center. He himself was impressed with the quickness and accuracy the small elf possessed. He then watched as the Imperial fired his shot and landed just to the left of the bulls-eye. He grinned as he was handed the bow but quickly lost it when Medril wanted to show Rufus what he did wrong. He watched then when the Imperial fired again this time landing his shot directly in the bulls-eye.

The Altmer took the bow and looked down at it. It had been years since he last fired a bow but the feeling of it was all to familiar. He knocked his arrow into the bow and pulled back. The bow was still pointing towards the ground while he ran the motions. He had practiced with bows for hours every week whilst he was in The Citadel. He raised the bow and pointed it slightly above Medril's arrow with an idea forming in his head. If he wanted to impress them he would have to get this just right.

Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes. He pulled the string back more, testing the wood. He could feel the tension built up, but his trained body held the string back with ease. Yaken's eyes snapped open and he released the arrow. He felt his heart drop as his arrow was pushed slightly to the right from an unexpected breeze. But gratefully the force behind the shot was enough to only move it centimeters. The arrow grazed Medril's and sliced it almost in half.

Yaken let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and knew that if the target was any further he would not have made it.

"Ha, well look at that..."

Rufus drew the bow, stopping abruptly just before full-draw, and Medril noticed the Imperials lips move, and he loosed the arrow, which landed just to the left of Medril's.

"Well, I'll be damned, it did work. Never doubted you, and now I never will", Medril was very happy, he made a good friend in the group, and one that trusted him fully, and Medril was not going to let him down on that. Rufus handed the Iron bow to Yaken and said, "Now Yaken it's your turn. I don't mean to rush you, but we should probably head back soon."

Medril watched as Yaken drew the bow, and as he released, the Altmer was obviously not an experienced archer, as Medril could name many things he did wrong. Medrils eyebrows shot up when the arrow landed in the middle, almost splitting his in two. Offended that such an amateur archer, an Ebonarm follower no less! To think that Yaken had nearly bested him in archery, Medril tasted the bitterness of the name in his head, if there was anybody in the company he could not stand, it was Yaken.

"Let's go, our gatherer probably wont be long now!" he said as he strode along the road, not bothering to get his arrow. He apologized to Bardsong that she had almost been bested, and entered the building again, the feeling of rivalry clear on his face. He walked over and sat near a Dunmer, who seemed to be talking to Abel, who seemed like a friendly sort, one he could turn to.

"Abel, what are we talking about?" he asked, he did not know the Dunmer's name, so he simply shifted his gaze to him, to illustrate that the question was directed at both of them.

Rufus watched as Yaken stepped up to the shooting spot. He closed his eyes, and with seemingly endless time of practice, he released the arrow.

"By Kynareth, that was a good shot, Yaken" Rufus exclaimed. The arrow had gone just next to Medril's nearly splitting it into two.

As impressive as a shot it was, it irritated him that Yaken was trying to purposely show them up. He glanced over at Medril, who seemed markedly angry.

Medril announced that they should be heading back by now, and so they trudged back in silence. Rufus couldn't help but worry for Medril, as the wood elf seemed disappointed. He hadn't even gone to fetch his arrow.
"Hey, Medril, Yaken, I"ll catch up, head on without me", Rufus suddenly said. As they continued back to the inn, Rufus turned and headed back towards the site of the Archery competition.

Finding Medril's arrow, he smiled when he noticed that it was still more of a bulls-eye than Yaken's. Pulling it out of the straw, he started on his way back.

Pushing open the door to The Lucky Lockup, he quickly spied Medril talking to Abel and a un-known Dunmer. Striding over, he handed Medril's arrow back to him saying simply
"I thought you'd probably want it back"

Taking a seat, he decided to listen so that he could figure out what was being talked about

Before either the Dunmer, or Abel could respond, Medril heard the door open, it was Yaken, Rufus was not to be seen. Medril stood up and contemplated going to look for Rufus, but decided against it, and sat back down.

Medril sat there, he hated this Altmer, there was something about all Altmers he disliked, their tendency to be a racist, snobbish species was just a deciding factor. He thought back to the Hircine followers whom brought him up, he never knew his parents, he was young when they died, and nobody would tell him why. He was four, and Medrils mother, Carria was at the shrine with his baby brother, and five other from the group, including his father. Medril was out hunting with his uncle, he managed to bag a baby deer, it was his first kill! He was very excited, and he was filled with glee as he returned to the shrine.

When he arrived he saw blood covering the trees, the benches, even the statue of Hircine himself. Lying dead, face down in the grass, was his baby brother, Hirtil, and his parents. He looked towards the forest, and saw the silhouette of eight armed riders. But he lost the sight as soon as he gained it. He never knew who they were, but he did now. It was so clear to him. From the hostility shown from Yaken. It was simple.

They were from the Citadel of Ebonarm. They were the same people as Yaken, Medril was lost in thought when he returned to reality with a jolt when he saw Rufus behind him, holding out his arrow and saying, "I thought you'd probably want it back".

Rufus sat down, and Medril thanked him, but explained that the scratch down its side probably would stop it flying true. He went to retrieve his Lute, as his playing reminded him of the closest person he ever had to a father.

Yaken had opened the door to the Lucky Lock-up and saw Medril stand up quickly. Yaken saw a look in his eyes that threatened death. He slid his hand up his sleeve and grasped the hilt of a blade hidden. He sneered when Medril sat back down. He quickly walked back to where Cain was sitting and sat next to him.

"I apologize for that, i had to prove a point. So what were we talking about?" Yaken hoped he hadnt offended Cain by leaving unexpectedly... He looked over to Medril's table and saw Rufus walk in. Medril was staring into space and seemed to be yanked back into reality when Rufus put the arrow Yaken had split onto the table.

Yaken looked down at his feet. He thought back to his grueling days in the Citadel, fighting everyday, training, learning... He recalled the arena they had in the Citadel, how it would pit friends against friends, brothers against brothers... He remember the first time he killed a man.

His heart pounded against his chest. He looked down at his spear which he grasped as though his life depended on it, and it did. Yaken looked across the field and saw his opponent armed with a short sword and shield. The contender was a young Imperial. This young man was a trained killer. He had been training in the art of war since he was a boy.

Yaken shook the doubt that echoed in his mind and advanced slowly. He kept his spear raised and in a defensive position. Yaken knew what the Imperial would do based on the many fights that Yaken had watched. The Imperial charged with his sword raised above his head and shield held up. The imperial swung his blade downwards but Yaken was quick to block.

He guided the blade downwards with force and brought the back of the spear to the Imperials head. The opponent, stunned, stumbled backwards and caught another blow in his ribs from Yaken's unrelenting attack. The imperial was alert now and raised his shield to stop the spear from stabbing into his throat. He barely raised it in time to deflect it upwards. He still caught the side of the spears blade in his cheek.

Blood poured freely from his wound but the imperial paid no attention, adrenaline caused the pain to be an annoyance more than anything. Yaken quickly pulled the spear back, instantly going back into a defensive stance. The imperial kept a calm composure and lunged forward.

Yaken sidestepped the blade and hooked the hilt with the blade of the spear and flung the sword form the imperials hands. Yaken stepped forward and placed his palm on the imperials chest and pushed. The imperial lost his footing and fell backwards.

Yaken raised the spear above his head and hesitated momentarily when he saw the look of fear on the mans face... The look only enraged Yaken, death in battle was the most honorable death know to disciples of Ebonarm. The rage boiled in his blood, he forced the spear downwards.

The imperial raised his leather shield in a feeble attempt to save himself. The spear punched through the hard leather and plunged underneath the mans ribcage and hit his vital organs. Yaken shook himself from this memory, and put his face in his hands. He raised his head smiling for this was his fondest memory...