A smile graced Rozalia's face as she heard the laugh of Rawlith - a fairly unique sound to her, for she had not conversed with many Khajiits, let alone ones cheerful enough to be heard laughing. Her eyes opening as she turned to look at Rawlith, she listened to his light conversation.
"Well, that's a relief. I would have hated to find out tomorrow morning I'd been bathing in less friendly waters." She replied with a grin, leaning against the rock and folding her arms on top of the warm slate, looking up at Rawlith. She was tempted to ask if he was going to join her in the water - but she wasn't sure if Khajiits shared the same hatred of water that was common among their less intelligent feline counterparts.
"I was just thinking about you, actually." She added, then paused, blushing slightly. "As in... you know, as a possible companion. You seem nice. I figured once the team breaks up, you and me could do well together." She added hastily, the blush receding somewhat, and being replaced by a slightly more dubious look as she overheard their undead mascot of Valerion, He'd spent the majority of the journey being quiet, along with the rest. There hadn't been much intalking, the largest amount of conversation coming from Delphine barking out orders, and the conversations between Nikolaus and Leonidas. However, Rozalia couldn't help but shudder as Valerion offered magical help... at a price that she was sure would not be worth it. She was glad when he walked away, talking about a supply run.
"Gods, that guy is creepy." She muttered, and her eyes darted back to Rawlith's bright golden ones. "Speaking of magic... I figured maybe you'd know some stuff to pass along." She said, then ducked her head slightly, chuckling nervously. "I'd hate to have to go to... other sources."

---

"So, Niko... what d'you think of this lot?" Leo's quiet voice filtered through Niko's stupor, and he arose from the brink of his slumber, heavy eyes opening to peer at his cousin.
"I don't know," He mumbled through a yawn, stretching his arms out in front. "Most of them seem okay. Plenty of magic users, which is more beneficial than some realize." He added, and Leo rolled his eyes, waving his hand dismissively.
"Nah, not their abilities. I mean character! Personality! Anyone you'd be interested in journeying with once we break apart? I mean, you've racked up 3 votes already, so I bet plenty of people will want to be with our esteemed leader." He said with a mischievous grin, and Niko pushed him playfully in the shoulder, glancing around. They had settled themselves atop one of the natural rocky ledges, just a few meters away from the fire that Dreet-Na had kindly made. Rawlith and Rozalia were nearby at the rock pool, Valerion had gone to the village, and the rest of them were here and there, but most out of earshot.
"I wouldn't say no to anyone who asked - I suppose I wouldn't be happy if Valerion tagged along. Something about the man just doesn't seem right." Niko murmured, wondering in hindsight if 'man' was the correct term to use. "Haserus - despite his less than warm exterior - could be an asset, if he'd agree to work with me; a lowly Nord." He added with a grin, causing Leo to pull a face.
"Eh. I'd want to journey with someone with a sense of humour. I'd ask Roze, but I don't trust thieves. Even cute ones." He muttered, throwing himself onto his back carelessly and staring up at the blanket of the night sky, stars blinking through now and again underneath the cloud cover. "Hopefully some more people will show up." He added, then paused thoughtfully, his eyes following the trail of a torchbug as it floated lazily over his head. "Preferably girls." He added with a grin, earning a swift punch to the stomach from his cousin, tired of his slightly chauvinistic remarks.

---

Faire's evening camp was based just on the Southern edge of some volcanic hot springs.The smell of campfires were alarming as there were other camps in the area but the temptation of volcanic springs therapy was a great motivator for her to set up camp. Her journal entry was brief and she quickly removed her clothing to begin a long session of therapy in the comfortably hot waters.

Writing such depressing words and the comfort of the water suddenly caused a flow of exhaustion to sweep of Faire's person. Thankfully it dulled the onslaught of sadness that welled up inside of her. After this journal entry, Faire agreed with herself that this might have been the lowest point in her long, long life. She was without a purpose outside of locating a very small object in this vast world. What was the point of living if she felt like, and very well could be, the last of her kind? Some type of novelty or trinket for people to stare at? A research vessel for scholars to sedate their curiosity? All of that meaningless to the person of Faire. She had greater ambition and talent to see herself fall to that. Her life meant something greater than that and she often told herself that at her lowest moments.

Faire continued to pep herself up from her slumbering depression well into the sun's departure from the sky and eventually into sleep... Only to to disturbed by the slightest of odd movements some time later.

Faire gently opened her eyes as she listened in quietly. No sudden movements were taken as Faire was essentially invisible this late at night lying in the steam and water. She had fallen asleep with no fire and her gear rolled up in her cloak, far away from any foot traffic. Thankfully she was a light sleeper for such an occasion as this. Faire listened as the mumble of conversation slowly became more audible.

"-ing back, ...beli- ...-ine... collapse a- ... sudden like that! It was absolutely terrifying to see the room next to me buried in rubble!" Faire watched as two tall men came into view, just at the foot of the hill Faire was camping at. The men pressed on up and for a second, Faire considered moving but the two men were too preoccupied with the conversation to notice the naked body of Faire lying just within the small spring they passed. The other man chimed in as they had just passed Faire. "Did it kill anyone?" The man from before answered. "Yea. I think it claimed a poor Dunmer lad who was nestled in that section of the mine pretty good. Some arm-..ed guy go-...t...-ough..."

Their conversation carried on but it was mostly mumbles after that. Those two were heading in the direction of the springs, probably to relieve the stress of almost dying in a mine collapse. As to why they didn't stop, Faire had no idea. Maybe a preferred spring? She didn't care past an absent speculation, though. Instead she worried about getting the Nine Divines out of there! The notion that those two could have witnessed Faire in the nude... But those two probably were not the only ones headed towards the springs or around the springs area after the mine collapse. As soon as the mumbles faded into the hissing of steam, Faire scrambled to clothe herself.

Once she did, Faire progressed in a Westward direction for awhile but she was tired, and psychologically she was distracted. She failed to run the same checks and balances that she usually traveled which were silencing her footsteps and detecting lifeforms with her Illusion and Alteration magic, respectively. She had also forgotten to reapply some type of face paint to hide her true skin color and instead, her faced dripped with sweat clearing portions of the dark chalky streaks of charcoal.

In a momentary daze of being lost in her thoughts, she didn't recognize the flicker of a campfire that just peaked around a rock formation. As she rounded the corner, a whole camp came into view that was only about ten meters away from where she had been standing. It was a mixed bunch of races but Faire didn't notice any details as she quickly skipped back behind the rock formation that had blocked the campsite from her point of view in the first place. She took a deep breath, listening to see if her presence had been noticed or not.

"I'M AN INDESTRUCTIBLE, MASTER OF WARRR!

...

"I have slaughter hundreds, ended the lives of the greatest, ceased the breathing of the most legendary, felled the grandest masters, claimed Championship of the great Cyrodillic Arena, destroyed hordes of Orcish Berserkers, halted the rampage of Breton Battlemages, laid waste to infamous Telvanni Dunmer, and let those ignorant Thalmor meet their makers in Aetherius.." A voice hounded out, a deep, commanding, voice of a gruff anger and the tone of a war-forged nordic male. "You! You think you can kill me!? A mere Elf no less.. You will perish among the many lives of your kin, and you will find nothing except your own fate in this realization. Now come, meet my blade.. BOSMER!" The voice explained with a thundering proclamation as the giant man, adorned in simple steel armor. The design the most common Nordic with the furnishing of more fur to sate those living in the most northern lands of Skyrim. The exact place they sat, perched outside of Dawnstar a few miles, on a small hill near a large manor which was recently built. The Nord drew his large blade, a zwei-hander of steel and nordic design to match while he also plopped his helmet over his head. The horned helmet covered the square jaw of the nord and coated his long blonde hair in a plate of protection. He took a heavy-forward stance while raising his zwei-hander and directing the tip forward towards the Bosmer.

The bosmer stood tall and almost proper in his nature while a Cyrodillic wolf sat calmly by his legs as they sat firm and straight. He gave the nord a look of scoffed nature before he quickly grinned and dropped into a lowered stance in the snow. He dug his fingers into the deep, white, powder and then peeled forward with his elongated body into a sprint. His form a flicker in front of the Nord as he watched the Elf rush, before he could react though the Elf darted to the left on a sharp switched heel and then vanished behind a snow, only to re-appear behind the Nord and deliver a quick stab to the back of the neck just below the helmet. The Legenary Nord's life ended with a single strike, and a swift breath before falling upon his face in the snow in front of the Bosmer. The only thing that could be hard behind the whisper of the wind was the Bosmeri's alluring voice of smooth, low, suave tone.

"I'm an indestructible, force of nature."

---

Rawlith's tail slowed under the the coat and he swiveled on his toes to press his left knee into the rock as his body pivoted almost mechanically to observe the leaving Valerion. Rawlith's eyes shimmered and his low-light vision made everything clear is day, the male striding with confidence off into the distance. He then swiveled back around to Roze's partially submerged figure with his lips closed together and his eyes narrowed a moment before he stood up straight. "Hmm, this one has a few tricks of the trade. Though, this one never stated he had magic back at High Hrothgar." He explained while loosening his bonemold bracers. He slid them off and then slid his coat off his arms to left the fur long-coat and bracers drop gently behind, leaving him in his bonemold-plated leather boots, greaves, and leather chest-piece with a bonemold chest-plate.

He rested back down to sit on his heels once more while nodding softly. "This one will teach you what you want to learn, if I can, on one condition.." He stated giving her a Khajiit's stern look. "You have to let this one relax with you." He added to her while giving the Khajiiti grin. He then gently let his right arm lay hanging down into the water, his hand barely submerged into it, while he rolled his hand and fingers through the water.

JRRG. UQ VY V. P P.

The Vigilants have been on the trail of their mark ever since the group left Ivarstead no more than seven moons ago. The two have been very careful with this one; taking measure to ensure that they were never too close to draw suspicion but never too far in which the trail would of have gone cold. Despite spending the last two days chasing their marks without rest, the Vigilants are far from being winded. While it can be said that it would come naturally for Falrielle, she did look upon Gideon with some level of pride that her training has led him to survive this long; not like she would every admit it to his face in any circumstances or so she though. However no matter how much stamina they had, both Vigilants knew that they needed some rest and the Vigilants has fostered some allies in the nearby town of Darkwater Crossing.

“Darkwater Crossing” whispered Falrielle to herself. It has been over a decade since she has visited that settlement and she wondered what has changed. In fact, Darkwater Crossing was Gideon and his cohort’s first assignment where she was the observer to guide the Initiates in their investigations. A Beast of Hircine was terrorising the small settlement and the local guards were rather apathetic to their plight. Thus they turned towards the Vigils of Stendarr. The Initiates were less efficient than she would of have preferred with taking more than a month and suffering at least one casualty to a bandit but in the end they found their mark feasting upon the corpse of one of the miners who wandered too far. The fight didn’t last too; by dawn Falrielle’s mace was stained with its blood. Gideon and the other Initiates celebrated in the Crossing and Falrielle had to apologise with all their gold by the end of it.

Falrielle’s train of thought was interrupted by a commotion. The two spotted a faint glow of orange in the settlement of Darkwater in the distance and quickened their pace.

The two arrived to a scene of chaos and grief; a cave in. Not only that but at two miners are killed so far and about a dozen or so more miners remain trapped inside as guards and volunteers work together to dig them out. And that’s not even counting the possibility of the mine permanently closing. Falrielle scanned the crowd and spotted Annekke Crag-Jumper; the co-owner of Goldenrock Mine sitting in a corner with her face buried in her hands. Falrielle makes a quick gesture towards the entrance and Gideon simply nods his head and begins helping them move some rocks as Falrielle makes her way towards Annekke.

As the distance drew closer, Falrielle noticed that it really has been awhile since the two have had a conversation. In fact what Men’s perception of time has always been alien to the Mer but that’s not important right now. As a hunter Falrielle was raised to make sure that by reflex, every move she made from breathing to walking, she would made little to no noise so that she would not give her position away when stalking her prey. As she slowly approaches the poor woman Falrielle forcibly plants her foot into the ground, grinding rock and gravel beneath her boots so to not startle her.

“Annekke,” said Falrielle softly as she lowers her body out of respect. “Annekke,” Falrielle continues before the grieving widow finally looks up to take notice. With eyes reddened for crying who knows how long, Falrielle simply drops to a knee and places a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It’s me, Falrielle” she continued. “Ten years ago with the-“

“Werewolf” said Annekke as she held in her tears. “I remember,” she continued giving a smile. “I still can’t thank you enough”

“How is Sylgja?” asked Falrielle as Annekke’s gesture was returned with a faint smile peering through a hood.

“She’s in Shor’s Stone that girl,” Anneke said. “She still writes to us or at least, me now”

“Just you?” Falrielle responded in confusion. “What happened to Verner?” she continued which Annekke just sucks in her chest and gets on her two feet and points at two covered bodies by the campfire. “May I?” asked Falrielle which Annekke quietly nods before taking her leave.

As she closes in on the corpses for a closer inspection, her hair stood on its end. There was just something not right about this but she didn't knew what. Listing the sheets off the first victim, she saw a familiar face. She placed her hand over his head and closed his eyes, chanting a quick prayer for his last rites before she began working on him. After a quick inspection she found bruise marks on his arms and chests which made prognosis simple; the mine simply collapsed on him. Judging by the cuts on his forearm and hands, he was probably trying to hold the beam up so that the other miners could escape. Done with her inspection, Falrielle respectfully covers his body with the sheets before moving on to the next victim.

As soon as she lifts up the cover of the next victim, a foul stench emanated from the corpse that thoroughly offends her nose forcing her to turn away. Steeling her every strength of will, she turned back and saw a male Dunmer and by the looks of it, probably younger than she is. Wanting to finish this as quickly as she can, Falrielle checked for the routine areas and concluded that he simply died of a cave in like the man before. As she closed the sheets she noticed something odd; bruise marks on the Mer’s face and throat like he was strangled. Her train of thought was interrupted with a hearty cheer as the last of the trapped miners are finally free.

“Annekke,” said Falrielle getting to Nord’s attention this time. “Who was that Dunmer?” she continued with her arms folded across the chest. “Anything strange about him?”

“Casien?” replied Annekke as she slowly regains her composure. “He’s a new face around here. Just joined us about a few weeks ago,” she continued. “He claimed that he was a pilgrim to visit the statue of Azura up north and yes I know your beliefs against the Daedra but Casien was the friendly law-abiding sort and a pretty hard worker”

Falrielle simply nodded in acceptance before saying “No one had any problems with him?”

“No,” replied Annekke in shock to such a question. “As I said, he’s a nice boy who didn’t really look for trouble. Couldn’t stop working though,” she continued. “It was actually him that managed to dig out most of the new parts of the mine and that’s where we found him lying dead under a pile of rubble.”

“May I take a look in the mine?” said Falrielle which made Annekke to look away in worry.

“We’ve already had two dead and we don’t need another” replied Annekke as she tried to hold in her tears. “But you already have proved your trustworthiness and your skills to us and all I ask for is that you be careful” she continued as Falrielle silently nodded her head in thanks. “I have to talk to the other miners so take care”

As if on cue with Annekke’s leave, Gideon suddenly emerged from the mine with his face covered in dirt and his robes even more torn than before. “Gideon,” ordered Falrielle only replied with a deep frown from her subordinate who nonetheless comply. “Go check that Dunmer for any traces of magic,” she continued as Gideon simply sighs deeply in exhaustion and continues his way.

________________________________________
The mine was dark and quiet to the point where even the most silent drops of water would ring through its tunnels. Even with her ailment, Falrielle could tell that from the mess; sheer panic of the miners at the threat of a collapse; buckets strewn about, pickaxes simply left about, the ground trampled repeatedly like some wild beast on a stampede, the bits of rock during the rescue operation and so on. As she walked closer to the deeper sections of the mine, her eyes began to fail her as she finds herself tripping over the occasional debris before reaching the point of collapse. Like the Dunmer outside, this place didn’t smell right.

She then placed her lantern on the ground and began searching for any clues other than that foul stench; there was nothing she could really find until she noticed something odd about one column of collapsed beams. Running her fingers on the nearest to get a feel she noticed that this beam had a cleaner cut than that was typical of an encumbrance failure. The cut was fresh as there was little to no dust or rot if it were an old damage. It was too smooth to be from a blow from an axe or a pickaxe for that matter and the clean cut implied that it was accomplished with a single blow from a sharp blade. Ebony or glass perhaps? It couldn’t be as the rare occasions she’s seen blades of those materials at work, there were even cleaner than this. A closer inspection and Falrielle could see some light cuts on the dirt wall behind the beams. A long blade maybe?

Then her nose signalled her of another clue pulling her closer to inspect a piece of worn fabric caught in the splinters of the beam. A quick whiff and she caught the scent. Velvet and by the stale aroma, it was old, very old. Falrielle lowered herself even further to get a better look at the ground, lifting the lantern for better illumination and she simply saw the footprints of the miners in the dirt. She then stuck a knife in the ground as a reference point as she closed her eyes and let her fingers tell the story as she ran them through the dirt; man of heavy build leather boots, man probably scrawny and malnourished barefooted, her own footprints and so on. Moments pass and Falrielle stopped as the story suddenly changed its tune.

This one dirt print just seemed out of place. The depression was deeper than others and the spread wasn’t even enough to be a leather boot unless it was from an extraordinarily heavy man. The distinct depressions in the dirt indicated that this person was wearing a sabaton but what sort of miner would wear a sabaton? Falrielle took a fistful of dirt and slowly scattered to the dirt to filter anything that larger than sand. As her delicate hands are nearly emptied, Falrielle stops and takes a closer look at the stones trapped in her palm. From what her eyes could see, some small pebbles that looked like they were from the cobblestone roads which didn’t belong in the mine and by her nose, the distinct scent of brimstone no doubt from the nearby springs.

She had seen enough.

________________________________________

“It was unlike any sort of magicks we did in the College,” Gideon whispered quietly to Falrielle as she emerged from the mine as to not incite any panic. “I may not be a Conjurer but his eyes are not what would happen if it was Soul Trap” he continued with a tone of bafflement in his voice. “Orders?”

Falrielle stopped for a breather, taking a lean on a nearby beam before taking off hood revealing her snow white hair. Still trying to process what she learned, a quick sip from her waterskin was enough to clear her head. “Report to Keeper Carcette,” she said. “She would want to hear about this”

Dreet-Na looked up from his book, quill still in hand as he started to grow a little tired as the evening wore on. He had written much from his observations about both the quest at hand and his companions, the first ‘chapter’ really starting to take shape. He returned his quill and inkpot back into his bag, taking care to wrap them up carefully as he did so. He gazed around the group once more, watching the others as they did this or that, opinions still formulating in his mind. His gazed moved over to where the Khajiit Rawlith and the Breton Roze were, slightly away from the camp and enjoying one of the numerous hot springs as he imagined they were chatting to each other and growing closer, something he hoped the rest of the group would do. His gaze lingered, though they were both out of sight he did long to go and join them, to swim in the hot waters and relax as he once would have without hesitation. But now he resisted, knowing that if he did he would likely not want to leave again, and would just spend countless days lounging in the warm water. No it made sense for him to leave such luxuries until after this quest of theirs was completed.

He thrust the thoughts from his mind and continued to idly glance around, for the moment done with his scrawlings. Suddenly his glance passed over something, he wasn’t quite sure what but some pale figure had registered in his peripheral vision just beyond where they had made camp before darting away out of sight. Suddenly alert Dreet-Na closed his book before laying it beside his other belongings and standing, his eyes fixated on the spot where he had seen whatever he had seen. There was nothing there now, and he stood simply watching and waiting for a few moments, suddenly doubting if he had seen anything there at all before he took a few steps closer to where he had seen the figure. Though he doubted himself his senses told him that there was indeed someone or something there, and his mouth turned into a small snarl as his baser emotions engaged and he started to be more sure that there was indeed something out there.

Leonidas and Nikolaus were the closest to him, and so Dreet-Na kicked a small stone directly towards the pair to get their attention, his gaze meeting theirs before he gestured with his head towards the small patch of trees and rocks where he had seen the figure – attempting to alert them to the possibility of a visitor of some kind. A few moments later Dreet-Na summoned the magics that slept within him and cast a simple detect life spell, the alteration magic flowing through him as the familiar glow of a life-form became most apparent hidden behind the sizable rock no more than ten meters away – just to the side of where he had seen the figure.

Readying himself Dreet-Na took several steps closer, preparing himself to cast whatever spells might be needed to deal with any situation, his mind flashing to the numerous bandit attacks that he had fended off over the years.

“I see you there!” he suddenly shouted, loud enough so that all of his companions would hear if they were not yet alerted. His gaze remained fixed on the glowing life energy he could see, his hands poised to shoot destruction magic at the slightest of movements, the slightest of provocation.

“Show yourself” Dreet-Na growled, the finality in his voice clear as he barked the command.

Leo sat up immediately, Niko's hand flying to the hilt of his sword as the pair stood up swiftly.
"Relax, would ya?" Leo muttered to Dreet-Na, peering ahead with a slight smile as he stood by the Argonian. "I doubt it's something dangerous." He added confidently as he walked towards whoever or whatever was behind the rock.
"Leo!" Nikolaus hissed, shaking his head. Gods. What would his cousin do without him? This idealistic outlook would get him killed one day. He was always reckless - or just ignorant - when it came to the dangers of the open road. Nikolaus couldn't deny that although an excellent fighter, Leonidas was just too easily distracted. He'd be dead on his own.
However, his cousin continued walking towards the rock, slowing down only slightly, his right hand falling, and just brushing the side of his knife strapped at his hip; not completely clueless then.

---

"Well, I am good at reading people." Rozalia explained, as Rawlith mentioned that his magic use hadn't been voiced as of yet. For some reason, she could just tell that the guy knew his stuff - like an aura around him or something. Tensing only slightly as he stated the 'condition', a short burst of soft laughter escaped her lips as he finished.
"That sounds like a good trade to me." She said with a grin, glancing at his arm in the water, then back up to his content smile. "Thank-you. For the offer. And... maybe you could.. sort of not tell the rest of the group?" She added hopefully, then jumping as the harsh voice of the Argonian split through the quiet of the night, her head whipping round to where it had come from. However, all she could see from where she was was the red glow of the campfire.
"Oh, son of a bitch." Rozalia muttered, hoping to hell that this wasn't a bandit raid. The last thing she needed was to be caught with her pants down - well, entirely off, in her case. "Guess we'll have to relax some other time, Rawlith." She said with a sigh, leaning forward to grab her towel, and lifting herself out of the rock pool; the cold air hit her instantly, steam radiating off her wet skin as it met the hot water droplets still lingering there.

((Ignore))

Ildrun sighed with relief when she saw the flicker of a campfire, she had left Whiterun to join with the Dovahfeyn only to be informed that they had left by the time she had got to Ivarstead. She knew that she would be able to catch up with them, a single person being faster than a group, but traveling alone these days was dangerous and she had no desire to become a target for a dragon or group of bandits. She started forward again but then slowed, her common sense overriding her desire to get warm, she didn't know if this was the Dovahfeyn or a group of ruffians. She decided to wait behind a rock for a little to listen what was going on, though she desperately wanted to warm herself by the fire. So she bundled herself up near one of the pools, which provided some warmth. After a little bit of listening, catching a few phrases of talk here and there, she decided that even if they weren't the Dovahfeyn, at least they probably weren't bandits. She stood up again and walked back towards the camp, and as she came in view she saw the group. An Argonian was standing alert and facing away from her. Ildrun jumped when the Argonian shouted at someone who was behind the rocks and her hand immediately went to her sword, though she did not draw it, and she waited to see what would happen.