The Captain couldn't help but feel like a wussy baby lagging behind the Sergeant and Lieutenant . He had no problem with death or killing....its just the psychological stuff that got to him . Dismembered bodies . Dead Children . People hung up by their skin , a pool of scabby blood below them . He had seen it , and he sure as hell didn't want to see it again .

He could sense strong leadership in both Fara and Zared , and he knew that they would make promising Captains to other squads in the future . Fara seemed a stoic and brave leader , and Zared was a intelligent and wise khajiit . Prescott wouldn't of even considered the cave as a hideout point , which just proved that his Lieutenant was a better tactician then him .

Velandris was on point , and in the process of making snide remarks . Prescott saw it as an oppurtunity to start up some small talk within the team so everyone got to know each other better .

"Now now Corporal , that "Kitty Cat" has claws." he chuckled jokingly as the rain continued to pour overhead . The lush sound of jungle critters resonated throughout the hefty foliage in haunting beauty . Like a enticing , natural sonata . Crickets chirped , birds coo'd overhead , and the plantlife rustled in majestic , natural motions .

"It really is quite beautiful when your not fighting in it" he said in awe , looking upwards .

"So , where are we all from then?"

"I guess your right. The claws do tend to cling and sratch you every once and a while." Velandris lowered his bow to the ground and pulled out a vial from his bagt and taking an arrow from his quiver setting it down on a slate of stone. He opened the vial and then took the arrows head and dipped it in the clear liquid in the vial. "Well if your asking from recent location, Im from Cyrodiil. Live in Chorrol. Im originally from Valenwood though. I miss it so much there. The high trees, some what plain terrain on the forest floor. But to tell the truth I miss the birds there." He closed the vial puttign it back into the bag and put the arrow on his leg in its own sheath of sorts. "Maybe Our Feline would love it there. I heard the birds are good eating!" Velandris cracked a small chuckle but stopped.

As Velandris moved, Fara realized she hadn't been very clear with her instructions. That poor schmuck with the transmitter must have shaken me a tad more than I thought.

"To be sure there's no misunderstanding, Valendris. I said you to take the trail as in 'trailing behind', making tail, closing the march.. you get the idea. Not sticking to the trail and having a chat with the captain. You're the best scout amongs us short of me and Zared. That's why I want you in the back, I'd hate having someone playing 'ten little soldiers, nine little soldiers...' with a squad I'm in. And keep your rags, I'm not a lilly girl fainting at the simple idea of mud."

Before resuming her forward motion, she spoke to the captain "There'll be plenty of time to get acquainted once we get to the cave, until that I'd rather walk than chat. We've quite a bit of legwork before we're there, and I'd rather do it on quickmarch pace. One hour fast walk, ten minutes recovery and so on until we're there."

Then she resumed her scouting position, at times checking her ompass to make sure of her heading, as the vegetation and the rain obliterated any landmark.

Zared stood there blankly, the whole situation seemed disorganized. "Sargent, do not give orders to those whom are above your rank. Suggest things yes, but never ever give orders to your Captain or higher rank. Most commanders would smack you upside the head and give you one hell of a demotion so fast your head would spin. So try suggesting things instead of commanding them." he wasn't trying to be a jerk, or an ass however such a misfire on ranks like this would eventually destroy the squad. His tone was calm, but held a firm point to it. Though in the back of his mind the captain should have put Sargent Fara in her place as soon as those orders were given. As he said that and heard Velandris' comment an eyebrow was raised this bugged him alittle "Well, Velandis, one would think that little kitties would enjoy eating birds, but they have tiny bones that tend to get caught in your throat." his tone changed to abit of a joke however it was slightly insulting he shook his head alittle and looked around, the rain was beating heavily down on them. He needed to stay close to the group, rain was both his best friend and worst enemy.

If his fur got to wet and stayed wet for several hours he would be at risk of Pneumonia, chills and colds. If he stayed close to someone he felt abit safer in the rain, even though his cloak kept most of the rain off him, it still got into his curiass through his neck and tail. He waited for the captain to pull his proper weight in rank, if he didnt Zared was going to pull the man aside and chat to him about it. He followed along, near the captain his keen eye-sight scanning the area for anything. Of course, his eyes caught some movement in the shadows, to his left, course he doubted others would have seen it, the rain and lightening would have made up easy shadows. Then again he could have been seeing things.

"I didn't mean to step on any toes - As far as I unterstand, the orders wre to move to the cave on the best time. What I had in mind was relaying the 'how' to the squad."

Seems like overstretching a bit got my head bitten off, but mr snappy comments basically insults a lieutenant and goes away with a pat on the back. Well, if army was about fairness they wouldn't have recruiters hunting in taverns....

As she felt the rain soak her linen tunic despite the cloak keeping most of it, Fara counted herself lucky. Even soaked it wasn't cold. But she wasn't happy about standing there, a feeling apparent on her face.

"I know what you ment, Im just waiting for you. But right now its best to get to know the enviroment if I can really tune in to someone following us or not." He picked up his bow again and stood. "It would be wise to leave now though, I don't fancy walking in the dark and being eaten or worse." He pulled a ring from his bag and slipped it on to his finger. "and no disrespect to you my feline friend. Just soemthing I heard not witnessed. Although it would be funny sight." He looked to the captain. "So whats the call sir move now try and beat the night or stay and leave and walk in the night?" He was hoping the first answer, the thought of large insects or worse chasing them was a bit scary.

"We move now" Prescott declared , walking northward's . He could sense a general unrest within the group , they hadn't properly "settled in"yet as such .

"Keep warm squad , if the bugs , disease , and gas doesn't kill you , chances are the weather will" He said , trying to sound like he has was capable Captain giving good advice to his team . He still felt he needed something to prove to them , and he knew he hadn't gained their full trust .

The sun was beginning to set , visible through the grey sky . The rain seemed to be getting somehwhat lighter , but unearthily and disturbing sounds started eminating from within the jungle depth's .

"Stay calm , it's just the noctunral hunters coming out for food . if we don't bother them....they won't bother us"

Fanier followed along, keeping his shortsword at the ready while he tested the radio channels for any signs of life. About forty minutes went by, and then he heard something, barely coming in through heavy static.

"This is Recon Squad eight..." Fanier couldn't hear much through the static. "Under heavy assault by.... we've lost three of our guys."

Fanier walked up to Prescott. "Sir, I'm picking something up on the radio, listen," he lent the earpiece to the Captain.
"Fall back! Fall back! Mother [censored] lizards!" Nothing else came through.

"Recon Squad eight, this is Recon Squadron sixteen, come in," he called into the microphone. "Recon Squad eight, report!" Fanier removed the earpiece. "Damn it!"

Resuming her position on point Fara listened to the marsh's noise The captain's right, nothing fancy, just normal noise. It's when it goes silent that you really need to worry.

She headed north, weaving a bit to keept to the firmer ground, leaving very little to betray her presence. With his keen hearing and knowing where she should be was Zared was able to point her position. Not especially eager to spent more than walking in the night than she had to, Fara set a brisk pace. About as fast as she could manage while keeping silent.

Whe she heard behind Fanier calling for recon squad eight, she slowed down a bit, wondering what the captain would decide. Nothing if he know his act. The eighth is supposed to be at least two day's walk from our patrol zone. There's nothing we can do if they're in trouble.

Velandris trailed behind the group keeping his bow at the ready with an arrow in place. He stepped lightly keeping a fair distance between him and the squad. The rain was starting to seep threw his chain mail armor and somewhat giving him chills. He pulled out a green cloak from his bag and through it over himpullign the hoos over his head to keep it hanging on him so he wouldn't have to tie it. He breathed shallowly so he could hear better. He looked to the sides then up at the canvas of the trees where the rain poured. Well it's not all bad. Could be worse. He thought to him self. He braught his attention back to the group and the wilderness around him. He lsiten closely to the sounds of the Marsh. He payed no attention to the rain or the lesser creatures, but the sounds of the Bigger hunters worried him. The captain said you don't mess around the ywon't mess with you. I hope he's right! He thought as a cold shiver ran down his spine.

Matt had been left behind the squad making sure the man would be ok for the next 15 minutes. He had picked some normal, everday on toxic ferns, like ones you would find in Cyrodill, and placed them around him in a hope to keep him warmer, before continueing after the squad. For the 30 seconds he was left alone, things felt forbodding and quiet, other then the harsh winds.

He returned to the squad to hear Fara, the radio operater, talking about some squad which was no doubt in serious peril. After fizz recided from the other end, Matt noted the squad was doomed. Coarse he was always open to suggestions. Noting he was not 'assigned' to taking the tail of the snake, he wandered past the regaurd, the new fellow, and walked towards Fara and Prescott.

"Sir, if you dont mind me saying, just because they dont reply doesn't mean there dead. They may just be running like hell. If I were you, every 5 minutes I'd send out a message to them, to meet in some sort of rally point. They are what, lke 2 or 3 days away? If we tell them to meet at some sort of rlly point, then we can always say some place in the mountains, so if Lizards have the radio we'd know by either no reply, or a reply in a strange accent, and if they have it, they'll reply like normal when they have the chance. Then, we can meet with them, if they are actual Union soldiers, and help them out. If im correct, they said they had 3 casualties. So no doubt they do need any help they can get. We can't leave our boys to die, can we?"

He backed off into formation a bit to let the captian think, shifting his cloak a bit to help keep the rain out. He kepy a steady hand on his sword as he watched the woods and marsh beside of him. He didn't quite know where they were actually going. He hadn't looked at the map. Probably a mistake, as now he wouldn't even know where he was. Nevertheless, he continued along his way, hummign a few songs he had heard back at his grandmothers place, for she had a radio in her house, on her farm outside of Skingrad.

Ah, how it brought him back. Going to her house on those warm, biutiful summer days and picking graqes from the vine. She was rather wealthy and owned her own vineyard. When he got older, it wasn't uncommen for him and his grandfather to drink some homegrown wine together. That brought back another thought. He hadn't drank wine in such a long time. How he missed it's sweet tastes. The last time he drank wine was before his mother and father were both out of his life. Before his mom became a Skooma addict and joined the ranks of protesters against the Black Marsh Warm it wasn't uncommen for him to find a bottle or two in the cabinet.

He continued to hum to himself, humming 'For what it must be worth' by Brusald Linfeld, a popular elven singer. Even though he too was a fighter against the war, he could drop a good ditty or two. At times Matthew almost wished he was blessed with the ability of modern day bards, so he too could be out there droppign cheerful dittys or sad sanodas. If only.

If only he had had the money to get into university. Then he wouldn't need to be hear whatsoever. He'd be a doctor, and send money home so his brothers and sisters could also pursue there given careers. At the moment his 2 brothers, Arvey and Martin were both fighting somewhere else. Apparently Martin was actually supposed to be in the same region as Matt was in, but he hasn't heard anything yet. As for Arvey, he was an Airship operater, the pilot for one of those firebombers. His sister, Andrea, was a bright, pretty young woman, tht if the money was available, could pursue a great career. Now she had to wait at home for the family to get money. His grandma had always offered her money, but being the nice type she was, Andrea refused. Matt and his brothers always told her to accept it, and go get the future she no doubt deserves, far more then the rest of them. Unlike most girls in the neighbour hood, she had resisted the threat of prostitution and drugs. She hadn't even ever drank wine before. If anything, Matt wished to be able to give her a future the most. If he could get the money, he'd send her off to college immidiatly.

But of coarse, he had one more serious matter at hand. He had to survive this war first.

"There's nothing we can do" Prescott said sadly . "Fanier...send out a rally point . Give them our co-ordinates for the cave and relay the same message every fifteen minutes . If they are still alive , then they will meet us there"

It was a risky move without doubt , if they were all dead , Republic soldiers could easily salvage the radio and intercept them at the cave . He hoped if this was the case , that there would only be a few troop's after the scuffle with the previous regiment . Plus , it would serve as good combat experience for the men , as the squad hadn't actually fought anything yet .

It was now dark . It had happened quicker then prescott expected . The rain subsided entirely and the moon was eerily almost bright as the sun , casting brilliant patches of dim white light onto the ground , poking through the holes in the jungle canopy .

The deafing din of the rain was now replaced with frightneningly loud chrips and howls . Visibility was near zero , but all troops were standard equipped with lanterns in their field kit . Fanier's radio set gave off a beautiful purple glow . But Prescott didn't want the group lighting up the lanterns just yet . It was still light enough to barely see , and republic patrol's could easily see the line of glowing lamps if they were to come across the group . he didn't want them to give the position away .

"Don't light up your lamps , and Fanier , turn that radio off for now . We don't want any patrol's seeing that telltale purple glow"

OOC: So with our two scouts how are battles if any while we are travelling to the cave going to happen? We going to be told like at some point to have our characters see something or hear something?

IC: Velandris' eyes adjusted to the slim darkness as the enchantment from his ring gave him some visibility. His cloak was now some what damp from the rain that had stopped falling but still kept him a bit warm. He slid his bow on his shoulder and tied his cloak to his neck and removed the hood from his head. He looked around at the marsh seeing its small beauty, setting aside the pools of water, dead like plants. The light that streamed from spots of the canopy of the trees was a real sight to him. It left him in Awe sort to speak. But he was adruptly reminded of the task at hand when he heard a foul howl off in the distance. He looked back ahead seeign he had slowed his pace and the squad was farther away. He grabbed his bow off his shoudla and quickened his pace to catch up with them being as silent as possible.

ooc: Even two scouts cannot percieve something within the dense jungles, marshes, swamps and such in Black Marsh. Ambushes would probably be common place.


Being a khajiit, Zared's eyesight was far more adapted to seeing in night. It was like almost seeing in daylight as the males pupils dilated to take in the light better. "Tactically it would be unwise for us to do that..." he shook his head and shrugged moving ahead alittle. Something seemed to catch his eye moving along the trees, up in the branches. Pointing to his eyes then towards the left, into the jungle, hand signs meaning he sees a potential threat to the left. With that he began to sneak off into the brush, and up a tree climbing it with simplicity. His shroud Armour, dark fur colouring combined with the amours chameleon effect made him pretty well camouflaged, blending into the environment. Zared began to walk along the branches getting low and crouching, jumping to the next tree showing off his peoples impressive acrobatic ability. Silence can be deadly.

As darkness began falling, Fara cursed under her breath. Even if her night vision was quite good, the visibility was now worse than it had been under the rain. Enough to keep from bumping into the trees, but as far as spotting an ambush go, only her ears could give her any range. Crap. But at least the locals are equally impaired. I'll need to fall back toward the squad if I don't want to lose them.

Making sure she was in the khajit's line of sight Fara signaled whith handsigns "Me. No See. Fall Back. Squad. You. See. Take point.".

As she slowed down to let the squad reduce the distance, she noticed the transmitter's glow. That's a really bad design feature that glow. Can those things be covered with a cloth or does it need to be exposed ? I've never operated them but I heard they're temperamental.

Fanier didn't hear anything else coming out of the radio. He relayed the transmission to meet at the rally point a few more times, but when Prescott gave the order to turn it off, he did so.

At this point, Fara had fallen back close to his position. She was the only thing he could see through the darkness and torrential rain, so he just followed her. Fanier removed the raido's headset and hung it from his neck.

Fanier brought his hand to his chest, and to his relief, felt the amulet, still there despite the wind and rain. He took it off and held it in front of his face so he could see it. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe. He transferred it into his pocket for safekeeping.

Matt continued to hum songs as he began to rummage in his medical supplie package. Pulling out scroll after scroll, unrolling them, and pullign them right up to his face to he could read them, he finnaly found the one he was looking for.

"There we are..." He murmered to himself as he cast a weak spell, allowing him to see the world around him in a purple haze. Now instead of stumbling into the other squad members, he jsut simply walked like normal, as for him, it was now day, but in purple.

He walked up to Fanier, who was fiddling with an amulet. As he neared him, he whispered into his ear, "Thats a nice trinket you got there. Where'd you get it from?"

As Fanier was about to put the amulet in his pocket, Matt walked up to him, asking about it. He looked at Matt, then looked at the necklace, and thought for a bit. He fiddled with the amulet a bit more, and then spoke.

"It, um..." Fanier began, but he wasn't ready to accept the truth of where the amulet came from. "It belonged to a friend of mine..." he answered, not knowing whether he could actually speak the horrible reality. "A very good friend," was all else he could say.

OOC : Alright , Im planning something big coming up . What Im going to do is chuck everyone's name into a hat and the one that get's drawn out can expect a PM from me with further details

IC :

Although the Marshland seemed more alive sound-wise at night then it did in day , the group was as silent as a mouse . Prescott was impressed , the grow was beginning to mould together , and were working as a team more then the somehwat disorganised group they were earlier .

Zared cunningly and athletically climbed a tree , making it look easy . Prescott looked down at his hand's in curiousity , wondering what he would be like if he were a khajiit with sharp claws . he smiled faintly of the image of him climbing tree's with expertise crept into his mind , but then quickly brought his conciousness back into the real world .

Fara had stopped to keep the group some distance behind the scouting Lieutenant , a wise move . Prescott moved into crouch and crept up beside her , watching the khajiit intently , his axe drawn should something decide to attack . He looked back at two corporal's discussing an amulet .

They were whispering , but even that could give the position away . Plus , they were distracted , an unwise move in such a tense situation . He had seen it before , it was an easy way for good soldiers to get killed .

he clicked his fingers at the two to get their attention , before raising his finger to his lips and uttering a sharp "Shhhhhh" sound . He pointed at Zared , a reminder to them to keep focused .

A dim rustling could be heard , was just some rotten old branches falling off a tree? Or was it something more sinisiter?

The look on Matt's face was enough to tell that he was sorry. Intenly he drew his sword and gripped it, leaning against a near by tree trunk and waiting for Prescott to give orders.

Was this it? There first taste of combat? There first fight? As thoughts whirled threw Matt's mind, he watched the nearby bushes for anysign of movement. Suddenly, his legs felt weak, and his stomaach bgan to churn as he began to sweat. Was he chicken of something like this? Was he goona have his legs buckle under some rustling of bushes? This didn't happen withthe wounded soldier, which by now should be back at the regions HQ, why was it happening now?

Prescott turned around to see Corporal Mathew leaning against a tree . "[censored]" he swore inside his mind , standing up from his crouching position to try and tell the Corporal to get down .

Unfortunately it was all the enemy needed . Young Matt was caught completely off guard as a volley of flaming arrow's erupted from the shrubbery to the left of the group . A stray arrow struck the tree where Matt was leaning against , shattering in a gruesome display of splinters and embers , striking the side off his face and brutally disfiguring his left eye with a sickening "thwick" noise . Blood poured from his face like a raging torrent .

Prescott stood up as a group of Argonians leapt from the marshland fauna , the moonlit sky reflecting on their slimy scales and giving them an almost ethereal appearance . Their eyes glowed a luminescent orange and they uttered a guttural roar as they eagerly and bloodthirstily tore into the squad's left flank .

"Ambush , hack 'em up!" Prescott roared , swinging his dwarven axe high above his head as a argonian clad in tattoo's charged him . The Argonian was quick , he ducked under and tried to come up with a lifting stab under Prescotts chin , but was cut off by the stoic captains axe firmly embedding itself into his skull .

There was no time for tactics , it would be a brutal and bloodthirsty fight to the death . Only one squad would emerge victorius and Prescott sure as hell hoped it would be his despite the element of surpise the Republic soldiers had over them .

Matthew let out a shrieking cry as he doubled over onto the ground. Wood splinters stuck out of his eyes as blood poured into his hands, warm and thick.

" [censored][censored][censored]!" He screamed in as he roled about on the ground. Blood poured from the left side of his face, tears from the right. He could taste blood in his mouth, and feel the wood splinters in his eyes.

It had all happened so fast. He leaned against the tree, and while pondering the thoughts he pondered, he saw it there. A lone argonian archer, with maybe a score behind him. The archer that had actually hit him was the lead one. He was completly painted black, invisible to the naked eye, or those who had no spell to help them see at night. Matthes legs got stiff, and his mouth, dry. Before he had time to scream, the arrows were already flying.

A new feeling, besides the pain, filled him. Rage, anger for the one who did this. threw tears, and the blood now covering his right eye, he could make out the feet of the argonian in the under brush, racing towards the squad.

[censored]! Agh, [censored]! I'll kill you! Matt thought to himself. Things seemed to be in slow motion for him. Was this what death felt like? So much raced threw his mind in one instance. The fact he could not see out of his left eye, how the tears and blood mixed into a strange taste in his mouth, how he may never see his family again....

If I can't, you can't! he thought to himself as his hand felt the hilt of his sword. Instinctivly, he let out a cry as he thrust the sword in a leftwards-up motion. It met thin armour and flesh as it sliced right threw the Argonians hand and deep into his ribs. The argonian crumpled right beside Matthew, screaming in pain and staring right into Matthews eyes. A thin moment was held between the two. The Argonian knew what was coming, so did Matthew. In another swing, this one down, the Argonians life was ended.

Matt reeled in pain, and could not stand it anymore, he dropped the blade, and continued to roll on the ground in pain.

Fanier heard the deafening scream from Matt, and at that moment he knew his surroundings would quickly become a hell of blood and destruction. As he ran towards Matt, a clumsy argonian jumped in front of him, but was quickly pierced through the gut with Fanier's already drawn blade.

While removing the sword from its belly, another tried to take Fanier by surprise, attempting to sink its teeth into his neck, but quickly met his sword as the cold steel sliced its throat. Fanier ran to Matt's aid, who was rolling on the ground. "Keep your head down!" He yelled at him while forcing Matt's head into a fetal position.

Fanier drew his bow and readied it. No one will get near this man, he thought, prepared to defend Matt to the death.

Having heard the rustling nearby, Fara had laready her bow in hand. Whatever it was, something was moving nearby, and in the Marsh, anything moving should be considered hostile until confirmed safe... But there wasn't enough visibility to tell.

As the argonians launched their attack, Fara cursed under her breath and moved with all the speed and silence she could muster, drawing her bow as she moved. Rotten luck.. from the left, where Zared was... And of course it's the chatting one who got it. At least the bastards have only their scales. They haven't many spears, I'd have prefered those in mixed scuffle like that. But they've no shields either...

As soon as she was on the argonian's flank Fara crouched and quickly aimed, letting loose an arrow into the closer argonian's flank. A such a short range, the arrow struck with enough force to sink deeply into his target. Gut wound. Won't drop him, but he won't dance well and the captain can finish.

Usually bows aren't good in a melee, but with the argonians more or less packed on one side she was able to aim at them directly rather than through friendly ranks. She didn't care for aiming at the vitals, her main concern being to avoid shooting at the squad. Fortunately at this short range dispersion and flght time were minimal, and the arrow struck with enough force to make any shot hurt. And if some f...k lizard rush me, he'll turn his back to the squad.

As Prescott turned to look to see where Fara and Zared were in all this mess , a argonian lept at him from behind , sinking his mighty bone dagger in through the gaps of his pauldron and cuirass , striking the flesh in his shoulder . Prescott could feel the strength draining out of his arm , he needed to act quick and kill his foe .

He was caught in the heat of pain and battle . he let forth a mighty frustrated yell , swinging his axe with one arm at the argonian who had attacked him .

The dwarven weapon met the argonians face , striking him right in the mouth and slicing through like a sickley hot knife through butter . The axe flew into a tree , carrying the argonian with it , embedding itself in the thick , sap-covered wood . This caused the axe to cleave the argonians face completely in two....the body sagging to the ground , the top half of the warriors face still sitting perched on the flat of the axe .

Prescott tried to pull his weapon out but the blood loss from his wound has sapped him of his strength . It was a simple flesh wound that would need stitches later , but it had been deep enough to render the captain useless . He knelt against the tree , covered in his foes blood , clutching his shoulder .

OOC : Signing off for a while , go nut's