Scout

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

Elmera sighed... stuck in her bunk, mostly, since they had departed the ruins and boarded the Kyne's Tear. Her thigh now throbbed dully, but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been. Putting too much weight on it, she feared, might cause her knee to buckle under stress, so she had been keeping her walking to a minimum. The bobbing ship was soothing, but the Dunmer woman was growing restless. She focused what she knew of restoration magic into the injured limb, but the bolt had punctured her thigh deeply, and it took more than a moderate understanding of a magic school to heal an injury that deep.

Elmera didn't get up until she heard sounds of crashing and shouting topside. What the hell was going on? She slipped from her bed and stood up, using the bedposts for support. The woman made her way to the top deck once she had belted her sword to her hip. Once she stepped out, her eyes went wide. The crew was scrambling to combat the attack and Elmera felt useless. At this point, she wasn't even sure why she brought her sword with her - she wouldn't be able to effectively use it anyway. Once she finally hobbled to the edge, she heard men barking orders to patch holes caused by ice spikes, boarding lines were being thrown out, and fighters were mobilizing. As the two crews clashed, Elmera sneered and a sharp tingle ran down her arm, crackling as sparks formed around her hand. As her free arm braced on the side of the ship, she tossed an Arc Lightning spell across the rail, affecting a few of the others nearby the one she struck.

Why now? So far, she had proven to be useless to the entire company. She was crippled in the ruins before she even had a chance to fight. And now they were being boarded and she likely only had a couple of spells in her for defense before she was completely exhausted. Her eyes flitted from the forward to aft on the Kyne's Tear, there had to be something she could do to be more useful. One of the ballistae seemed undermanned, she decided. That was a good place, she'd have something to lean on, and she always considered herself a good enough shot that she could help aim at a target the size of ship at point-blank.

She picked up her pace to a nearly-solid walk to join the crew before the crews were at all-out war on the deck. When she made it over, she placed a hand on the shoulder of one of the men on the weapon for stabilization.

"How can I help?"

"Can you help with the loading? The bolts aren't light, but with help, we can get them in here and do some real damage."

"On it," She stated immediately, keeping more weight on her strong leg. They had to be careful too - wasted bolts were not cheap, especially with equipment this sophisticated. At least, Elmera didn't think so; her knowledge didn't reach so well to siege weapons. Oh, how she wanted to be on the other side, weaving through battle and supporting her comrades with magic. But no, she had to save her strength for healing and emergency casting.

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

I'll be getting my post out this weekend!

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

@gcold Got it! Thanks!

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

@gcold Well that's excellent! It doesn't seem I've missed much more than the boarding scene - which, honestly, Elmera was slightly incapacitated for. She could spellcast, but she's still recovering and using a lot of her magic to accelerate the process.

Is there a collaborative post to jump in on now/still? Does anybody want to - like Leif/Elmera, seeing as they had been healing together @MacabreFox?

Or anybody else!

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

I believe I'm ready right receive your package, @gcold

The Elder Scrolls: Fruits of Contention - Chapter 1 (Completed)

Okay guys, I... Am so, so sorry for being as flakey as I am. I've been dealt a few really busying hands at work - between 10-hour mandatory study on top of 50-60 hour work weeks, an exam for promotion recently (for which I TRIED t ostudy extra on top of the training curriculum) and a whole shitstorm of stuff.

This, however, is no excuse for being gone and not explaining myself at least once or twice a week. The possibility of... business trips (deployments, let's be honest) is high and common, but I've been shifted from date to date approximately 4 times in the last 10 weeks, according to my sponsor/mentor and friends in the same workspace. So... I appreciate beyond all else that you guys are so patient and understanding.

I'm trying my best to become a better player, I'm about to graduate from yet another training (not as hard this time, got a 96-97% for the rest of the course). I'm looking forward to delving back into the mind of Elmera and working out her relationship with more others. You're all literally the best. I'll be trying to re-incorporate myself again very soon. :)

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Asta fell in and out of consciousness as the wagon rocked roughly along the road. Once, she woke up sweating coldly, but the dream she'd been having was fleeting and left her memory faster than it had even arrived. It wasn't until their arrival was announced that she actually began to stir once more, rubbing her temples as the feeling of drowsy grogginess enveloped her body. Fatigue wracked her muscles and brain as Myria helped nudge her awake. She looked to the woman speaking and nodded.

"Believe me... if I could summon now, it'd be the farthest thing from my mind. I've been ostracized a good portion of my life for that magic, it's not one that many are particularly keen to follow and it's certainly one they hate to see. What a lot of people don't realize is that void beasts aren't inherently evil... They just aren't meant to survive on this plane without some source of energy - meaning the summoner themselves. But when the summoner isn't a sufficient siphon, it becomes a matter of survival, because these beasts don't realize that dismissal just places them back in their proper plane. They don't always understand planar differences," She explained with a shrug. "But, to simplify, you don't have to worry. It'll probably be a few days before I'm ready to even start thinking about practicing again... That was truly terrifying for a moment..."

Finally, with a moment to herself, Asta could finally look forward. The fields and foliage did a lot to help raiseh er spirits, even if they did little for her physical state. Out here, the air felt fresher and reinvigorating. Given time, she could get used to surroundings like this. The atmosphere was reminiscent of home and Asta already felt more at ease just being around it. Her attention was pulled away by Ethan, though it took her a moment to realize that it was her that he was speaking to.

"Hm..?" She asked groggily, "Perhaps, perhaps not... But I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless. I'd have liked to be a better companion, but I don't think we were going to win that fight without assistance in the first place, to be honest. I'm glad you think so though," She replied, giving Amuné a warmer smile as well.

To be honest, Asta was far too tired to acknowledge the condescending tone with which their new allies had spoken to her. Perhaps in a few days she might realize they were patronizing, but for now it seemed juvenile to worry about it. Besides, they were the party's rescuers after all. The Ydran woman shook her head and ran a hand through her medium-length hair, pushing her hood from her head as they approached the town, making it easier for the air to circulate about her head and the sun to beat down on her pale skin.

"Mutebo is Magi friendly..?" She asked curiously, just now connecting the dots. "That's... uh... cool. Aren't they afraid the Church will find out your arrangement and launch a larger scale invasion? Or even just take you out one at a time? They're not exactly subtle about their recent persecutions from what I've seen... Even if they aren't advertising it quite so obnoxiously either..."

Surviving: The End.

Uhh... just got news of deployment in April. Sorry for not being around to keep this up as well. :( Like you said, schedules are just... never lining up and motivation is hard to find with these shifts and studying for advancement this March.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Before Nymira came over, Asta had managed to pull herself up into a seated position, so she sat with one arm propped on a knee pulled to her chest while the other helped keep her steady as she relaxed her eyes. The soft glow of the Thistrun's eyes burned bright in her memory... The feeling of helplessness it had imposed on her, the drain on her physical and mental energy that it took of its own accord. Such power summoned monsters could wield - it was truly amazing. A voice rang in her ears and she shook her head, a little bit confused as she looked up in confusion.

Finally, the words processed and she seemed to gain her mental bearings. "Uh... Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I'm just not as practiced as I would like to be, I suppose," She confessed with a shrug, "it's difficult to garner any kind of power nowadays, not without getting caught." Her shoulder throbbed again, about as badly as it had been the day before. This certainly wouldn't make recovery any faster, but her focus shifted back to her conversation as soon Nymira continued. "Well, I guess we can agree on something there. I'm about as big a fan of my own magic as your clan is, it seems. It isn't something I've ever proudly desired to wave around or flaunt, regardless of the Church's new ideology..." The woman sighed and shrugged, "My Vazra weren't standing up strongly enough... I needed something stronger - I knew I could handle a Thistrun, even if there was risk. In the end, if it didn't work, I thought that little bastard was going to overpower us anyway. Those other people didn't get here until after I'd called him into our plane, it was an impossible situation," She pointed out in slight defense, though she knew Nymira wasn't making a move to attack her.

The woman gave a half-hearted laugh, "I'm a bigger fan of using my summons for practical means and prefer fighting on my own... but it never hurts to have a back-up plan if you're facing something like a monstrous liquid... You're right though, my power was giving out, I may have overestimated. However, I was also growing weary before summoning it, therefore... I think it's safe to say that I did better than I thought I would. I'm usually more careful than that.

Meanwhile, Myria was patrolling the group silently, weaving between legs, investigating, ensuring that nobody was badly injured - save for Cecil, who was apparently not even a living thing. With a little bit of help, Asta was able to rise to her feet again and start making a tired walk for the group, alongside the Dimuran princess. She saw Cecil on the ground, now with her own eyes, and furrowed her brow.

"He... was a Machina?" She muttered in slight shock, "I mean... it makes sense, now that I think about it, but... Hmph... That's a little weird," The woman observed, tilting her head in curiosity. She didn't know the first thing about machines, only that usually they were heartless and focused on only what they were programmed to be focused on. Cecil had seemed far more... human, if such a word was appropriate.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Monster Manual? Like for D&D? XD I totally forgot about it - it is a Displacer Beast. I have yet to encounter one in a campaign. Not looking forward to it.