Twisted Tales (Skyrim RP; open to those who ask)

[Dark child]

"Hand over that which is-"

"What?"
Tar'ja turned around with a befuddled look.
The heart, which he had shoved into his right pant's pocket, let out a squirt of liquid at the very same moment he asked the question, as if it too was surprised by the voice of the intruder.

He was answered by Rayne's cry of pain, and then some equally loud and almost inhuman shrieks from the intruders that had entered whilst he had been rummaging through the chest. Obviously this was not the time for conversation.

Tar'ja licked his finger, as if testing the nonexistent wind within the crypt for a brief second while removing the axe from his belt, took careful aim while closing one eye and then threw the weapon directly at the Nord who was a considerable distance away.

The axe careened through the air, passing by Rayne with much room to spare, and embedded itself in the forehead of the Nord woman at the center of the group.

Not wasting a moment's time, Tar'ja charged towards the other two as Rayne prepared yet another counter spell. Reaching around to his back pocket, he produced a carrot and with the same accuracy as before threw it at the Breton male who had just began pulling out his two twin daggers. The carrot struck him dead center in the face, but did little to actually phase the yellow eyed man, who recoiled when it hit, but quickly recovered.

"They don't seem to carrot all elf!! I'm running out of options!" Tar'ja yelled over to Rayne, who still seemed to be at least partially recovering from the lightning attack, and none too happy about it either.
​

 

[Mad Dog]

The axe had nearly split the Nord's head in half then.... A carrot? Struck the Breton. The remaining two seemed focused on her for some reason.

The Breton had brandished two daggers and placed one smoothly below her right rib, it stung slightly before a wreath of flames was breathed on her upon the dagger being pulled out.

Two streams of lightning poured out of Rayne's hands at the Breton and the man backed up slowly before falling to his knees and finally erupting into a pile of ash his belongings laying in heaps around the smoldering pile.

Having lost momentary sight of the High elf, Rayne was surprised when she was grasped from behind another dagger forcefully pushed into the front of her left shoulder, and the High Elf latching onto her right shoulder with her teeth.

"Ahhhh!!!!!" Rayne's blood curdling yell was almost loud enough to wake Sithis himself.

Rayne, now bleeding from two open stab wounds and flames still lapping at part of her mid torso, set loose an icy spear from her right hand striking the High Elf directly in her forehead.

Although Rayne could not see it, the High elf appeared completely unfazed by the giant icicle protruding from her head.

The High Elf unlatched itself from Rayne's shoulder and pushed Rayne away with one more dagger stab to the rear of her left shoulder, Rayne falling to the ground a few feet ahead for a moment before standing back up to face her attacker looking quite bloody and battle torn.

 

[Dark child]

The events that unfolded were shocking. Not just the breton crumbling into a pile of ash at Rayne's feet, where she would slump down into him a moment later, but the entire ordeal. Tar'ja couldn't say enough "OHH DEARRS" both inside and out of his mind to keep up with what happened right before his eyes.

As Tar'ja moved over to retrieve his axe from the woman's skull, which still dripped blood unto the cave of the floor, the breton charged towards Rayne before he could dislodge his weapon. The axe was so embedded that he had to place his foot against her chest and kick outwards to yank it free, the body falling back to the floor. The very moment he did so he heard the elf cry out in pain, and he whipped around to see the breton plunge his blade deep into her side. Something that pained Tar'ja greatly to witness. Worse still was the high elf who came up behind poor Rayne and embedded another blade into her shoulder, yanking the dark elf's hair back and plunging her fangs into Tar'ja's only living friend. The dark elf was an incredible fighter, managing to turn the breton into a pile of ash.

He rushed across the cavern towards Rayne and the beast that held her captive, sucking greedily. The mushrooms that covered the floor became squashed underfoot as Tar'ja ran, covering his feet in glowing blue goo and black earth. Rayne lifted her weakened arm, and shot out one final burst of magic at the forehead of the yellow eyed individual that still grasped her tightly. Tar'ja heard the sickening sound of it embed itself within the vampire's skull, but it did not stop her from continuing to drain Rayne, refusing to let go until he himself was almost upon them.

The vampire cast Rayne aside like some piece of rubbish, and even proceeded to stab her once more in the side as she did so. This only filled Tar'ja with a deep-set hatred, and instead of swinging his axe at her as he had intended, he cast it to the side where it landed with a thump! within a pile of mushrooms.

Slamming into Rayne's attacker head on, he first struck her with a punch to the face as he barreled through, knocking them both to the ground. Grabbing her wrist, Tar'ja then smashed her knuckles into the ground as had as he could, causing her to issue not only a loud hiss of pain, but drop the dagger as well.

Before he knew it his hands were around the high elf's neck violently bashing her head against the ground of the cave while crushing her windpipe as he gripped so tightly that his nails dug into her skin.

"No one touches the elf!"

He shouted. Half angry half sobbing. Though the deed was nearly done at that point. Blood covered the ground behind the vampire's head. She did not move. Nor would she ever, ever again. Tar'ja had seen to that.

His bloody hands shook as he removed them from the high elf's bruised neck. Tar'ja slowly shifted himself over to where Rayne's body lay, crawling on his knees.

At first Tar'ja could not tell if she was alive or dead, and his heart sank. As he drew nearer, he could see her chest rising and falling in the softest of breaths. Her clothes partially charred from the fire that had swept across part of her body.

He lifted her gently into his arms.
"Shhh."
Tears welled up in the argonian's eyes. He could not remember the last time he had cried. Tar'ja's scaled hand moved over to cup the wound that bled profusely on her side. The breton's blade having done the most damage.
He felt helpless. His spells were useless. He knew no restoration. The elf would bleed out right there in his arms...

"Tell me how to fix this."
His words were all choked up. Surely she had something in her bag. Or an herb he could find. Anything to make this better. To return her to health...​

 

[Mad Dog]

Tar'ja had sprung so quickly to her aid, the High Elf barely even a lump on the floor any more. Rayne had watched as her blood puddled on the floor, as red as her eyes and just as deep. He lifted her off the ground into his lap,"Tell me how to fix this..." He cried as if losing a loved one. In that moment perhaps she was.

"Blue flower... Of the.. mountain." Her words short and labored,"Chew it... up... nd rub it... in the wound.." each pause followed by heavy, labored breathing.

Rayne's right arm, the only one she could move at the moment, raised from the ground momentarily and a soft white light began swirling around her hand and down her arm, only for a moment as her hand eventually fell back to the ground after only a few seconds of the spell as Rayne began to lose consciousness.

The blood from the Dark elf was everywhere and created quite the puddle the pair were sitting in.

 

[Dark child]

Tar'ja dug through Rayne's rucksack frantically, shoving aside phials, her pestle and mortar, and various ingredients of many plants he did not recognize strewn about within it. The dark elf's body slumped limply against him as he did so, her efforts at using magic had likely only added to her exhaustion, and now she had passed out completely.

Tar'ja remembered her words, and soon found three varieties of dried flowers, all blue in hue.

Oh dear, he thought to himself as he looked at the three pieces of dried flora in his hand. Tempted to select one at random and hope for the best. Already, he could feel Rayne's warm blood begin to soak his clothing, she was fading fast. He also knew that selecting the wrong one would only aid in her demise, likely poisoning her. The flowers were all so hard to tell apart from one another, especially in their dried state.

The argonian thought back to a time which he had come across an alchemist while wandering the wilds some years ago. An old bearded man who had been picking flowers at the time.

======

"You're a little old to be winning any hearts with those are you not?" Asked Tar'ja inquisitively.

"Ah, but they are not for a lover my dear fellow." Said the man as he looked up from his harvesting giving the argonian a good natured smile. "Rather for my arthritis you see. They have wonderful healing properties."

Tar'ja looked at the hillside from which the man was picking them, which was absolutely saturated with an array of colors from flowers of all kinds.

"How do you know which ones to pick? There are so many to choose from. Do you just pick them all and mix them together?"

"Merciful Mara no!" The old man said with a laugh.

"Only the blue ones, with these delicate petals, see?" He held up several to show Tar'ja.

=====

Now, back under the dimly blue light of the mushrooms, Tar'ja held up the flowers, finally able to discern which one resembled that which the old man had held.

Satisfied with his choice, Tar'ja took it, and several others that were like it, and began to chew on them like a cow.

Once they were mashed, he took them and delicately inserted them into rayne's wound, which still seeped blood. They had tasted almost minty, and as he lay them against the wound he felt a chilling sensation overcome his fingers. This chill was good he hoped, and in any case, it had stopped the bleeding. So Tarj'a repeated this process on all three stab wounds.



​

 

[Mad Dog]

The healing properties of the blue mountain flower combined with the minimal amount of healing from her spell helped to seal the wounds in a matter of seconds, parts of the pedals still sticking out of the now closed holes began to dissolve as the flowers continued the process.

While certainly not back to one-hundred percent, Rayne's lost blood began to be replenished, and she regained consciousness moments later, the stab wounds healed without even a scar. She was obviously still a bit out of it from the still lost blood.

"Whew.." she let out a sigh of relief,"That was... Uh... pretty close...." She said.

After a moment she noticed her things had been strewn about, probably from Tar'ja saving her life, she then noticed the Argonian was still clutching her, pretty hard. Not that she disagreed, it was nice to have someone else care so much.

But why? She thought although the Argonian was quickly becoming one of her good friends based on their time spent together and the number of problems they'd solved together, also she was very happy the man had saved her fleeting life just there,"Uh... Thank you." She said honestly, but not making any move to remove herself from his arms.

 

[Dark child]

Tar'ja had seen mysterious forces at work before. As he watched the elf heal right before his eyes, he knew that it must have been one of those circumstances.

Even a master restoration spell would have struggled to bring her back to health so quickly in the state she had been in. No, something was different this time. Something that he knew to be true, but did not dare to admit. Already, Rayne's skin felt slightly colder. She had lost a lot of blood, he pinned the chill that he now felt on that. She was fine. Alive and well. He had saved her, he'd finally saved someone. The hours would pass and he'd come to find that his worries were simply just that, worries, nothing more.

That's what he told himself at least. Yet his instincts betrayed him. He could not take his eyes off where the deep gouge in her neck had been. He could still see the holes that had been there in his mind, so deep, dripping blood and liquid.

"Yes well..not close at all really. I knew you'd pull through."
He said with an unconvincing and rather awkward smile. It had been quite clear just how concerned he had been.

After a brief pause he added. "Are you sure you're alright? You look like you could use a some fresh air." Tar'ja rubbed the back of his neck a little nervously. ~And sun.~ He thought to himself.

"Do you think think we should press forward? I don't think anything friendly will be down there." His gaze shifted to the ominous black hole in the wall. "Then again, they must have been guarding something..."

​

 

[Mad Dog]

"Thanks" she said with a smile.

Rayne standing up,"I feel great actually! Before we go on.. we still have these other two chests." She finished as she was walking over to the one she had been interrupted opening earlier.

She had slipped on something, she was able to catch herself and stay on her feet, looking down it was a large puddle of blood, her blood..

Finally arriving at the chest after looking at her blood for quite a while.. "Let's pop this baby open. You get that one." she said with a smile. It wasn't locked, and Rayne opened it easily.

"Hmph..." Her sounds clearly displaying disappointment at its contents. He dug into the pile inside the chest throwing things to the ground. Several pieces of clothes, a few pieces of jewelry which she set aside, some daggers, and a single iron arrow.

"Less than exciting..." Walking from the chest, pausing to look at her blood again,"Sure is a lot of it.."

Rayne walked over to the hole in the wall, stopping to pick up the dagger that had started her on fire, peering through it,"looks like it goes back quite a ways.." she said as she was fiddling with the dagger. Rayne looked back to see what he was doing with his chest stopping first to look at her blood yet again..

 

[Mad Dog]

"No lollygaggin'" Rayne started,"Let me guess. someone stole your sweetroll?"

 

[Dark child]

The darkest places often held the deepest secrets, and Tar'ja's often delved into such areas without care. After all, what was the worst that could possibly happen? Another curse? Perhaps. But curses were rather like potions...if you tried enough of them one would almost certainly counteract the other...probably.

The argonian took his eyes off the hole in the wall and made his way over to the last of the chests. In honesty, he was not too thrilled to attempt to open it. Then again, he had already found a heart, a heart which still pumped a small squirt of crimson liquid from within his pocket every now and then. His lower body still covered in Ryne's blood, Tar'ja looked like the psychical embodiment of that time of the month. He was tired, irritable, soaked in substances that did not mix well at all, and to top it all off he had just bathed in the spring and his damp clothes were once again covered in body fluids.

Perhaps it was because he had grown weary and let his guard down, or perhaps Barachus had simply grown tired of imagining torture scenarios from within his suite in Tar'ja's mind, but in any case, the daedra was back, and his words once again registered in Tar'ja's consciousness.

Whoa! When did the fighting happen!? Why didn't you invite me? You killed that dark elf didn't you?! I always knew you had it in you. I always knew you were a cruel one at heart. Tar'ja's mind subconsciously drifted to what was in his pocket at the mention of the word "heart" and Barachus let out a gleeful gasp. You cut out her heart too!? Bless your soul! I think this calls for a celebration! We should eat it! ~No. That would be a bad idea.~ Tar'ja thought in response. Oh come on, what's the matter? You've eaten lots of hearts. ~No, you've eaten lots of hearts. I was not around at the time.~ Tar'ja told the daedra in his mind, more than a little annoyed. You, me, us, what's the difference. Think of it as a culinary experience.

Well if it isn't elf blood it smells like it to me and where's the fun in killing something if you don't get to eat all the good bits?
The argonian let out an audible sigh, probably looking a bit strange standing there in front of the chest as if reminiscing about past events.
~We ate an entire mammoth carcass once because of you.~
Well mammoths are made entirely of good bits! I wasn't going to let it go to waste!
~I still have hair stuck in my teeth.~
Extra fiber.
~Shut up. I'm trying to pick this lock to see if I can't find myself another liver. I'll need it with all the drinking I have to do to forget the horrible things you've done to me.~
Elf is excellent with a side of mammoth cheese.
~Will you shut it. I'm not harming the elf and that's final.~
Barachus let out another gasp, but this time it was one of disgust.
As if on cue, Rayne's voice called out to Tar'ja from across the room.
"Sure looks like it goes back a ways..."
She lives!? How could you. This is a disgrace to my honor!
~I swear on the divines one more word and I will force you into a recess so deep and full of lewd thoughts you will beg to forget certain parts of argonian anatomy.~
Alright Alright, I'll be silent as a skeever. I can only sift through the memories of our massacres so many times. We did some excellent work back in High Rock by the way. I think that was the peak of our career. We need to step it up.

The argonian kept his promise. All it took was a few thoughts about a certain maid, and off Barachus went. Disappearing into his psyche once more.

Tar'ja jammed the lock pick into the rusted out lock, breaking both it and the locking mechanism at the same time. Upon opening the lid to the chest, the smell of mildew filled his nostrils and the argonian turned up his nose just slightly. Fungus had eaten away at the wood within the chest, but there, within the very center, were two silver rings.

Rather odd, thought the argonian as he reached into the slimy mess within the chest and pulled the pieces of jewelry out. Not bothering to wipe them off, he slipped the wet rings unto the pointer and middle finger of his right hand, clinking them together as he admired them in the dim light of the mushrooms.

They both looked identical. With Nordic runes carved into the sides all the way around the bands of the rings themselves. Adorning the top of both were perfectly clear green cabochon emeralds.
"Interesting."
Tar'ja mused as he gazed down at them while walking over towards Rayne.

The argonian was the first to step through the crack in the wall and into the darkness.
Immediately he heard his boot splash softly in some liquid that was on the ground. Tar'ja snapped his fingers and once again his flame spell shed light on the surroundings. Bendiing over to see what he had stepped in, Tar'ja dipped his finger into the substance and then licked it.
Oil.

"Hm."
Without giving elf enough time to inquire about what it was, Tar'ja cast a fire bolt directly at the ground some distance ahead. It exploded and cast burning bits of oil in all directions. Thankfully not anywhere near the two of them. The fire then spread across the ground in several channels that branched out from the larger center one that Tar'ja had struck with the spell. The channels of fire traveled outwards left and right towards the walls, and a few seconds later, ignited enormous brazers on both sides of the room. Fire also spread down the main channel towards where Tar'ja had first stepped, but thankfully he had moved of to the side along with Rayne, watching the whole thing unfold. Rather impressed with the ancient Nord's craftsmanship.

Beyond the brazers lay another wide open area. The only object visible within it was a throne in the very center, set high above on a stone platform.

Tar'ja turned towards the elf.
"Do you think anyone is home?"
​

 

[Mad Dog]

"Woah..." The dark elf's voice soft and fading as she was mesmerized by the flowing of fire as if it were in fact water. She already forgotten how strange her exploration partner, her friend, had been acting a moment ago standing over the chest blankly.

"This.. Is amazing..." And it was, the natural beauty of the glowing mushroom room was equalled here in the light of a man made cavern turned throne room,"I've never sat on a throne before!" She said as she almost skipped down the way to the throne, setting off two traps at once, simultaneously causing a set of three axes to swing from the walls after she passed, and a large log to swing from the ceiling, missing her just barely. She stopped after it crashed into the wall.

"Hmm, perhaps we should take this a bit slower..." Somehow she was lucky enough to have not been struck at all.

 

[Mad Dog]

"Oh dear..." Rayne said as the axes continued to swing from wall to wall between Tar'ja and herself,"You might have to be quick..." She said, shortly before noticing a large metal ring connected by a chain to a hole in the wall.

"Hold on." She said as she made her way over to the chain and pulled it down. After some mechanical sounds softly echoed about the room, the axes began to swing slower before altogether coming to a complete stop.

Rayne stood in front of the opening, quite pleased with herself evident by the smile crossing her face,"There we go!"

@Dark child

 

[Mad Dog]

"We've sure been down here a while..." Rayne said as she kicked a rock across the floor.

@Dark child

 

[Dark child]

Spoiler: OOC

"Almost months I'd say."
Replied Tar'ja, who, despite argonian biology, had grown a full fledged beard.

The lizard then picked up a stone and skipped it across the ground of the cavernous underground expanse that the two of them had called home for far too long. It bounced across the cobbles and then disappeared into the all consuming darkness beyond the point of their torchlight.

"You ever get a feeling that you're part of a bigger picture? Sort of..manifest destiny if you will. Say I didn't throw that rock, would it have stayed there, motionless, for ages... Do you think rocks have feelings?" Asked the argonian with notable concern, as if he was afraid the rocks decedents would come back to enact vengeance upon him just as the draugr that inhabited the halls above them had tried.

Tar'ja became consumed by thought, wondering how many events had taken place due to the possibility of rock sentience.
What if the return of Alduin was all part of the rock's plan to finally rid Nirn of bipedal humanoids that had destroyed mountains to build their cities?
What if, by utter chance, a rock-slide killed a poor breton's parents, leading him to become an assassin who would later kill the Emperor and thus plunge Cyrodiil into chaos?

What if Ufric Stormcloak was a rock!!?
Memories of the nord's lackluster personality and vacant stare only seemed to confirm Tar'ja's suspicions.

The argonian suddenly felt very uneasy about the ground he was standing on, and, at one point, considered apologizing for walking on it. Ultimately deciding against the foolish notion, he looked over towards the elf.