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Post by Daemon Naoshardalon on Jan 31, 2007 11:29:35 GMT -5
“So this is Bloodthorn Cavern,” Cress muttered as he approached the mouth of the cave. The shadows in the entrance tantalized his mind with the promise of great treasure, mundane and magical, that awaited him in its depths. Quietly, the Khajiit stole forward, trying to stay somewhat stealthy. Though stealth wasn’t exactly his specialty, he preferred to surprise a foe then have to fight multiple enemies at the same time head on.
His bare foot-paws helped his stealth, allowing his feet to feel the ground in a way that boots would never allow. Cress also thanked his night vision (both his natural one and the one from his ring) for without it, he would be lost and stumbling in the dark. Picking his way around some rubble, Cress noticed some light ahead, probably from torches.
He smiled to himself, knowing that torch light meant bandits or marauders. Back in Cyrodiil, such people occasionally had magical weapons, armour or trinkets. That was the main reason he was here in Morrowind, and Vvardenfell. Cress, being the leader of the Random Adventurers Guild, had decided that the members of his guild should head to new parts of the land to find magical items unique to the area. Cress had already found his armour, and though it wasn’t as good as his old armour that he left back home in Anvil, it was more suited to the area he was traveling in.
Slipping closer to the torchlight, Cress noticed two figures standing near the fire. Two Dunmer, or Dark Elves, waited rather patiently, like they were on guard duty. One appeared to be a warrior, the other a mage. Cress smiled to himself, before reaching down a plucking a fist-sized stone from the cavern floor. Throwing the stone with al his might, the Khajiit watched the rock hit a wall farther down the passage, nearer to the entrance of the cave. The crack of the stone was muffled from the distance, but the Dark Elf warrior stood and stalked down the passage, as though he hoped to catch the intruder off-guard.
Cress nearly burst out laughing as the warrior moved right past him, allowing the Khajiit to slip towards the torchlight, and the mage. The mage, though on guard, was ignoring the path the Khajiit took, allowing Cress to easily close the distance between him and the mage. Hiding behind some crates near the mage, the Khajiit shook his head. Though he sensed no enchantments emanating off of her or the warrior, Cress couldn’t just leave them here. They would interfere with his escape. Quietly drawing his spear, Cress prepared himself to take down the mage.
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Post by Daemon Naoshardalon on Jan 31, 2007 17:36:27 GMT -5
Once his spear was fully unfolded, Cress positioned it so it would slide perfectly into the mage’s neck. As he brought Storm Spike back to thrust, the Khajiit heard the sound of metal boots approaching. Quickly pulling his spear back and hiding better behind the crates, Cress cursed silently to himself. He had taken too long to kill the mage, and know the warrior was back. His plan had fallen apart too quickly, and now he needed another.
As the bandits exchanged words, Cress’ mind was racing. He needed another plan, and he needed one fast. As his eyes wandered to the crates between him and the Dark Elf woman, a spark ignited in his mind. Putting his weight against the crates, he pushed with all of his might, knocking the crates down onto the mage. Making sure the woman was well kept under the crates, Cress turned to the warrior, just in time to notice the charge. Bringing up his spear, he used the shaft to block the warrior’s longsword.
This gave the warrior the advantage, for Cress’ only weapon was being used as a shield. As the warrior pulled back to strike, Cress quickly rolled to the side, easily dodging the incoming strike. As the warrior spun around to meet his opponent, Cress greeted him with the sharp point of Storm Spike in the warrior’s left shoulder. As the warrior dropped his longsword from his left hand, Cress struck hard with his clenched fist, sending the Dark Elf sprawling across the cold stone floor.
Smiling to himself, Cress growled as he felt a blast of heat strike him in the back, singeing a few of his hairs. Thanking his armour for its protective quality, the Khajiit spun around to face the mage. The Dark Elf woman had already freed herself from the crates and was on her feet. As Cress prepared to attack her, he groaned in pain as he felt a shield strike him hard in the back of his head. Hearing the shield fall to the stone, his eyes slightly out of focus, Cress spun once again to look at the warrior. The male Dark Elf had thrown his shield, quite well, and hit the Khajiit in the back of the head with it. Wanting to get at least one of the bandits out of the way, Cress pounced on the warrior, plunging his spear deep into the warrior’s neck, ending the poor elf’s life. As he struggled to free his spear, Cress growled as another fireball exploded into his back. Looking around, the Khajiit quickly grabbed the fallen warrior’s sword and threw it with all his might.
The flying blade pierced the stomach of the mage, distracting her long enough to allow him to free his spear from the warrior’s throat. Charging the mage, Cress thrust Storm Spike with all of his might, piercing the woman’s right eye with the tip. On impulse, Cress willed the spear to be electricity-coated. The Khajiit could only watch, disgusted, as lightning coursed into the Dark Elf’s body, directly into her brain and central nervous system. The woman’s body then fell to the ground, twitching as the electricity played havoc with the corpse’s nerves. Once the spasming was done, Cress went to the task of looting the fallen bandits of any valuables.
Taking a handful of coins from the warrior, Cress could only shake his head. He had done all of this, only to get fifteen gold coins. The only thing of value on the woman was a key, which Cress attached to his necklace where he kept the other keys he carried. Looking down at the mage’s black cloak, he smiled.
“It might help me blend in more,” he chuckled, before removing it and draping himself in it. Using the small amount of Restoration magic he knew, he healed some of his wounds, before uselessly looking through the crates.
Taking a seat beside the mage’s corpse, the Khajiit sighed. Stretching, Cress decided to take a quick cat nap before he went any further.
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Post by Daemon Naoshardalon on Feb 2, 2007 19:09:57 GMT -5
Waking with a stretch, Cress rolled to his feet, yawning. His back was rather sore from the hard stone ground, but he was glad he took a nap. Looking down the passage, deeper into the cave, Cress smiled. He could sense some magic, actually rather close to him. About three enchanted items, was the best he could guess. Looking down the hallway, Cress noticed a side passage and figured that the magic items were in there.
Stalking forward silently, Cress reached a wooden door at the end of the side path. Realizing it was locked once he had pulled on the door a few times, Cress reached for one of his lockpicks before he got an idea. Grabbing the key he had picked up off of the mage, he tried to unlock the door with it. As he heard the tumblers turn, the Khajiit knew that it had worked. Cress swung the door open, spear in hand incase something was guarding his treasure.
A blush flooded the Khajiit’s face at the sight of first figure standing there: a female Khajiit, wearing next to nothing, with a bracer on her left arm. Cress was rather startled, and he spun to leave when he noticed two nearly naked Argonian men in the room as well, wearing the same kind of bracer. Cress then realized that the bracers were the source of the magic that he had sensed.
Approaching the girl, Cress asked in his native tongue, “Why are you here and dressed like this?”
The girl, rather surprised, replied, “You’re not one of them?”
“One of them? You mean the bandits?” At the girl’s nod, Cress continued. “No, I am not. I have already slain two of them.”
“So you are here to rescue us?”
“It might be easier if you explained the situation to me first,” Cress sighed.
“We’re slaves, being kept here until someone wishes to buy us. The bracer we wear makes it so we are too weak to escape.”
“A magic item that hinders? Now that is interesting,” Cress smiled, as he leaned down to examine it. Noticing that it was locked, Cress instinctually used the key from the mage to open it. Once the bracer was unlocked, he raised it to his eyes, examining it closely.
“You freed me?”
“Yes, but don’t leave. There are still bandits in the cave, and if they see you free, they might try to kill or recapture you.” Turning, he quickly freed the two Argonians, before explaining the situation to them in their native tongue. Once they understood, Cress quickly put the three bracers into his backpack.
“I bet the others will love to see these. I’ve never heard of such a thing as a hindering item.”
Turning back to the three slaves, he quickly switched to speaking Imperial, hoping they could understand him. “Stay here until I return. If the bandits come, pretend to still be weak prisoners. Do not do anything rash. I will return once I have slain all of the bandits.”
As Cress turned to leave, the Khajiit girl gave him a happy hug. “Good luck,” she whispered.
Nodding, Cress left the small side cave, before turning to head down the main passage.
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Post by Daemon Naoshardalon on Feb 6, 2007 20:54:39 GMT -5
Stalking silently down the passage, Cress could just barely sense the enchantment of an item. It must have been at the edge of his detection range, but he could still sense it. Creeping forward, the Khajiit tried to be as quiet as possible. As he came around a bend, Cress threw himself backwards, taking cover behind the rock wall.
In the chamber in front of him, three Dark Elves waited, talking amongst themselves. One was rather large for his race and hefted a large axe in one hand. Another sat quietly, throwing daggers into the air absently and catching them with much skill. The last sat with a staff in his hand, looking over a rather large and dusty tome.
Cress silently cursed his luck. He knew he would have to end up fighting against all three of them, and probably at the same time. Luckily, he was well rested and his wounds were healed, so he would be able to hold the bandits off for a while, but he probably couldn’t take all three on his own. Hoping for the best, the Khajiit stepped into the chamber, his hand resting on his spear.
The only of the bandits that didn’t notice Cress’ approach was the mage, but the only one who seemed to care was the knife wielder. She stood up and approached Cress cautiously, a knife in each hand. Once she got near him, she looked him up and down, before smiling darkly.
“You here to join the gang?” she asked in Imperial.
Plan already forming in his mind, Cress nodded. “I am,” he replied in the roughest voice he could muster.
The Dark Elf smiled, before turning back towards the rest of the bandits. “Come meet the others.”
Cress nodded silently before following after the woman. As the approached the others, Cress knew that he would have to strike soon and hopefully take one out. But the Khajiit couldn’t decide on which to take out first. He knew he couldn’t kill the girl first, his conscience wouldn’t allow him. And the axe-wielder probably wouldn’t fall with one well placed strike. So that left the mage.
Cress slowly walked towards the mage, his hand wrapped around his spear. The mage looked up from his tome just in time to receive a fully extended dwarven spear in the throat. The mage collapsed backwards, permanently silenced by the ancient spear.
As the other two Dark Elves drew their weapons, Cress pulled his spear out of the mage. Readying himself, the Khajiit smiled.
“Bring it on.”
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Post by Daemon Naoshardalon on Feb 8, 2007 21:31:52 GMT -5
Cress was barely prepared when one of the woman’s daggers flew past his head, barely missing him. He had never seen anyone throw daggers before, let alone did he expect someone to be able to throw them so precisely. This girl was going to grow rather annoying, rather quickly. As he spun to dodge another dagger, he nearly ran into the blade of the large Dark Elf’s axe.
Dropping to the ground, Cress watched the axe blade swing above him. Gulping relief, the Khajiit groaned in pain as a dagger embedded itself into his shoulder. Rolling quickly to his feet, Cress began to strike at the axe-wielder, keeping an eye behind him for the flying daggers.
After a few failed strikes at the axe man, Cress decided to take a new approach. Allowing his enemy to attack, Cress took up a defensive style, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Once he heard the whistling of a dagger flying at his back, Cress spun to the side, allowing the speeding knife to strike his opponent.
As the axe wielder recoiled in pain, Cress began his assault anew, striking furiously at the bandit. In seconds, he already had the man badly wounded, but decided to allow his companion to have the killing blow. As he turned to the girl, he quickly rolled out of the way of another dagger, this one piercing the neck of the axe-wielder. Getting in an offensive fighting stance, Cress smiled.
“Killing your own friend? Now that’s just not nice.”
“Shut up and die!” the woman screamed, throwing two more daggers at the agile and well prepared Khajiit.
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Post by Daemon Naoshardalon on Feb 13, 2007 21:09:37 GMT -5
Cress chuckled as he rolled to the side, before getting to his feet. Looking at the woman, the Khajiit sighed.
“If you just get out of my way, I’ll leave you alone.”
“Get out of your way? You killed one of my friends and basically forced me to kill the other,” shaking her head, the Dark Elf drew her tanto. Looking at Cress, she growled, “And for that, you die!”
Charging forward, the woman closed into melee with Cress, trying to get in too close for the Khajiit to use his spear correctly. Cress quickly spun his spear around, and struck the woman in the face with the blunt end of the shaft. Taking a quick offensive, Cress struck the woman three more times with the blunt end before realizing he still had his spear backwards.
As he spun the spear around, the Dark Elf struck quickly, slashing him across the chest. Growling, Cress struck quickly, piercing the woman straight through the chest with his spear. As the electricity coursed through her body, Cress sighed quietly.
“People like you, you never give up when the chance arises. You would rather die gurgling on the end of a blade then live. Even if you were captured, you could just stab your captor in the back, but you bandits never think about it. In all my days, not one bandit or marauder I’ve fought has given up when I present the opportunity.”
Pulling his spear out, Cress sighed. “Some people just never learn.”
Quickly looking for valuables on the corpses, he was able to pull out a handful of coins and another key. Sighing, Cress shook his head.
“Back home, I’d have a backpack full of magic items or other rare things. Here, I find some coins, a couple of keys and three identical bracers. Today is a great day.”
Sitting down, Cress began to heal the wound in his chest, before chuckling to himself.
“I bet Vadania and Tsenem are having better luck then I am.”
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Post by wowposter on Sept 4, 2008 6:18:05 GMT -5
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