Roleplay

@LeopardCay
((Ah, sorry this turned out so long! I got a bit carried away! I promise not all of mine should be this lengthy!))

The man's hot breath turned to steam in the frigid air of Northern Skyrim. His armor clinking slightly as he walked along the path that was barely visible under the snow. The cold wasn't bothering him too much, it was something you got used to in Skyrim but he still would have been much happier in an inn near the fire with a tankard of mead in his hand. But this was a very personal matter so he couldn't skip out of it. It hadn't been very long at all since he had received that letter.

Upon leaving his home in Whiterun as he prepared to go to the Jorrvaskr, Aleron was confronted with a courier who spoke of having a letter to him from his parents. He assumed that it was just his mother checking up on him as she occasionally did. She was always a bit overprotective of him and had a tendency to worry more than she should. But he supposed that just meant that she cared about him a lot. But the Imperial was shocked to read the letter and come to find that his uncle was gravely ill and his mother was asking him to return to Solitude at his uncle's beckoning. This could only have meant that they did not expect the man to live very long. After informing the Harbinger of where he was going and the circumstances, Aleron returned to his childhood home as quickly as he could. Upon arriving, he was met with a rather grim sight. His mother hugged him tightly for a long time almost as soon as he was through the door and held him for a long time. Her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying. His father was doing his best to console her but it didn't seem like anything could help mend the sorrow she was feeling over the reality of losing her brother seemed imminent.

Aleron chose this time to go see his uncle. During his childhood, he had fond memories of the man. His uncle had always been the bookish type and encouraged him to study and learn. It would seem that his efforts had moderate success with the boy but it wasn't enough to turn the lad onto the life of a mage. His uncle had been the one that he had always come to with advice and questions when he was younger and the man was always kind to him. This made it all the more painful for him to open the door and see his uncle in such a state. The man was so pale that Aleron worried that he had already passed away. But the steady siding and falling of the man's chest told him otherwise. As he got closer, he could see that his uncle had lost a lot of weight. He had always been a skinny man but now he just looked entirely too frail, almost as if he would break if you so much as touched him.

His uncle looked over at Aleron and gave a weak smile. "It's good to see you, lad. I swear you get more like a bear every time I see you." The man said with a breathless chuckle. The nephew smiled. "It's good to see you too, uncle, and I will take that as a compliment." The older man chuckled again but ended up in a fit of coughs. Aleron moved closer to him. "Uncle, are you okay?" His uncle waved a hand in dismissal. "No, not at all. I know this isn't something I'm going to recover from but talking about my state isn't why I called you here, lad." The younger man tilted his head to the side a bit. "Then why did you call me here, uncle?" The sickly man reached under his pillow and pulled out what looked to be a notebook, holding it out to his nephew. "I want you to find it in my place." Aleron accepted the book and looked at it curiously. "Find what?" The older man leaned back and closed his eyes. "Jarmir's Blade, lad. Jarmir's Blade."

And that's how he came to be in the frigid northern part of Skyrim near Dawnstar. It wasn't like he could just brush off the last wishes of a dying man. Especially, one related to himself. His uncle's journal had led him to this area and he was definitely off the beaten path now having trudged quite a ways through the snow. What if this was just some delusion his uncle had had in the midst of a fever? What if- The thought was cut short as the smell of a campfire reached his nose. It smelled close too. As he got closer to its source, his heightened sense of hearing began to pick up the slight rustle of clothing as well as faint talking. So, there were people out here! With renewed vigor, Aleron pushed onward and was greeted by the sight of a small outcropping of stonework that seemed to lead into a hallway below. But, as he approached, an arrow was sent flying past his head causing him to roll forward, hunching down and pulling out his shield for cover. Looks like they weren't friendly. Most likely they were bandits and, from the looks of it, there were two that had been left in charge of guarding the door. Well, that just meant he was on the right path, didn't it.

One of the bandits rushed him while the other kept firing arrows, most of which either bounced off his shield or missed him entirely. A grin appeared on the Imperial's face. Boy, did he love a good fight! Rushing forward to meet the advancing bandit, Aleron bashed the man with his shield before pulling him forward, using the bandit as a human shield to block an arrow, before pushing him away and dealing the finishing blow with his war axe. Without missing a beat, the Imperial charged the archer while giving a battle cry, holding his shield in front of him to block the arrows as best as he could. He winced as a close range arrow collided with the armor on his right shoulder. It would probably leave a nasty bruise but he would be better off than this archer. The bandit tried to back up but was cornered by a stone wall which allowed Aleron to end things with one swing of his axe. His blood was pumping and his thirst for a fight hadn't been quenched yet. If there were two guards out here, that must mean that there were more inside, right. The man grinned. "This victory will bring honor to The Companions!" He exclaimed, mostly to himself. Eager to continue fighting, he made his way down the stone steps and through the doors of the crypt.

(OOC: Sorry for late reply. As I predicted, I fell asleep.)

Tick tick tick.... Crash.
Tick tick... Crash.
Tick tick tick tick... Crash.
Tick-
"STOP THAT PRISONER!"
A smirk dressed the woman's lips as she cast a glance to the bandit who guarded her cage. Mer looked at the pile of pebbles she had bounced across the ground to land against the wall into a pile and she noticed that it had grown somewhat since the last time she had been told to stop. The large bulky bandit sat restlessly in his chair by the table, glaring towards the exit where his comrades had just left. She was their only prisoner in their two cell dungeon if you didn't count the skeleton she saw in the other cell upon being thrown into this pit, and she was certain that as soon as the bandits would realise that no one would pay a ransom for her, the ex thief with no strings anywhere, they'd kill her. Maybe feed her to the wildlife or use her as bait for wolves.

She didn't even know exactly how she ended up in here. One moment she was sneaking up on this small tower with bandits in it, the next she was being driven in a cart towards a crypt. Whatever had happened however, had caused a sore and rather large bump on her head.

With a breathy chuckle, she grabbed the next small stone, and with a flick of her wrist, it was sent across the stone floor again.
Tick tick tick... Crash.
Tick tick tick tick tick... Crash.
Tick tick... Crash.
Tick tick... Crash!
The last pebble that landed in the pile knocked it over, making all the small stones fall out onto the floor in a loud rattle. She could hear the bandit audibly growl before seeing how his knuckles grew white around the warhammer in his hand.

Another dry chuckle escaped her lips. She was probably going to die, so why shouldn't she have fun? And since the only fun around was to antagonise this bandit, she'd do just that.

She grabbed the next pebble that was the closest to her and turned her body a little to face the guard. Her right leg was stretched out and flat across the ground while the other was standing up, and in entirety, her position was more comfortable than useful. Even for throwing pebbles.

But she didn't let that stop her, and so with determined eyes and with a flick of her wrist, the pebble flew through the iron bars of her cage and hit the bandit's iron armour dead-on with a loud "Ding"

That was the last straw. With a roar, the bandit shot up out of his seat, sending the chair flying away in the process and he started rushing towards the cage. Mer had no reaction. Only a small smile dressed her lips as she let her hood cover her expression.

The bandit brought his warhammer up and loudly banged against the bars.
"YOU STOP THAT RIGHT AWAY OR I'LL FEED YOU TO THE GIANTS."
It took all her willpower to not laugh.

The bandit turned around to return to his seat, and within a second, Mer had picked up another pebble and again thrown it at the bandit. Once more the familiar "ding" rung out and the bandit lost it.

Her whirled around and and prepared to tear the door open, probably to smash her to pieces with that giant weapon of his, but before he even reached her cell, a yell was heard from outside.
"INTRUDER!"
The now seething bandit turned around at the noise and with a 'when I get back you'll suffer' muttered under his breath, he rushed out.

Mer raised her head to watch the bandit run out to aid his comrades and with a sigh, she looked around herself.

Great... No bandit... No one to antagonise.

@AbyssRanger

@LeopardCay
((No worries! I just woke up now, myself lol))

A great ruckus could be heard as metal stuck metal, the clangs and tings echoed through the ancient halls of the crypt. Aleron wasn't exactly the stealthy type so, once he got inside and charged the first bandit he saw, many more of them began pouring out of everywhere as they came to their ally's aid. But he liked it this way, it was more of a challenge. The grin that had appeared on his face spoke of how much he was enjoying the thrill of battle. It was just too bad that most of these bandits fell too easily. But he supposed that their numbers could make up for their general weakness. Around five bodies lay around him and further back in the crypt while he only had a few dents in his armor, that probably resulted in his skin bruising underneath, and a cut on his cheek from where an arrow had grazed him.

"Come on! Is there any of you that can give me a little challenge?" The Imperial laughed through his panting. Some of the bandits had backed away from him and looked almost like they wanted to run away to live another day. Which wasn't exactly very honorable of them, but it wasn't like he would stop them. Making the bandits flee in terror of him would make such a fine story to tell the others in the mead hall. They would probably all get a good laugh out of it. But that was when a heavily armored man with a great warhammer clutched in his hands and he gave off a different air than the other bandits. Now this will be a battle worth telling! The bandit charged him, swinging his warhammer as he neared the Imperial. Aleron raised his shield just in time to receive the blow. Which, in hindsight, wasn't the best idea he could have come up with. The blow vibrated through his entire arm, leaving it feeling practically numb. Man, was he going to feel that in the morning. But the man didn't look concerned, in face he had a wolfish grin on his face. "You're pretty good. I felt that one right down into my bones." The bandit just simply replied with an "I'm going to kill you!" before trying to swing for Aleron's head. Learning from last time, he moved back out of the range of the swing. His look changed from a grin to more of an annoyed one.

Charging the bandit, Aleron headbutted him right in the face which sent him realing back, howling in pain. "Looks like no one taught you any manners." The Imperial growled. It so annoyed him when people thought fighting was only about killing. No, in his opinion, fighting was the best way to get to know someone and the killing part wasn't necessary. Sure, if someone wanted to kill him, he wasn't about to just sit there and die. No, if he could, he would live to continue feeling the thrill of battle and enjoy the time with The Companions.

The bandit moved to swing at the Imperial but Aleron was faster with his one handed weapon and delivered a killing blow, the Skyforge Steel cutting through the lesser quality metal of the bandit's helm. The man's corpse fell to the ground accompanied by the clang of his warhammer. He could hear the sounds of frantic footfall as the few remaining bandits high tailed it out of there. The man let out a long sigh of relief and put his shield across his back and his war axe in the loop at his hip. Honestly, if the remaining bandits had all charged him at the same time, they might have been able to overpower him. His shield arm felt like jelly and he probably couldn't do much heavy lifting with it for a while. Not to mention all the little injuries had begun to take their toll and he fell sore pretty much all over. "Damn, I sure hope that this is worth it." He muttered to himself, brushing his sweaty hair away from his face and reached back to retie his hair back as it had come loose during the fight.

Well, now it was time to search the place. The bandits probably had some food and drink, not to mention a bed as he should probably rest a bit before continuing. Aleron picked his way through the crypt, checking through the rooms that he guessed had been occupied by the bandits. One room was obviously the leader's room since it actually had a bed and a considerable amount of food and mead. There was also quite a bit of coin and pricey items. He would definitely have to remember this room later, but he wanted to finish having a look around without delving too deep into the crypt. Across from the bandit leader's room was a closed door which, luckily, hadn't been locked. Pushing it open, he found that it was some sort of makeshift jail. His brown eye scanned the cells. The first was just filed with skeletons of what were probably just poor souls that happened to get caught by the bandits. But, much to his surprise, the second cell had someone in it. Well, this person obviously wasn't with the bandits as they were locked up, so he didn't see any harm of letting them go. "Looks like it is your lucky day." The man laughed as he walked over to a table and picked up the key to the cells. Moving then to the cell, he put the key into the lock and turned it, hearing a clink as it unlocked. "You're free to go. I took care of those bandits, well most of them. But things should be safe enough." He opened the cell door and took a couple steps back. This wasn't the first time he had stumbled upon a captive before. Usually, they just thanked him and got out of there and that's kind of what he expected to happen here too. Besides, he was eager to get some food and mead in him them rest.

(OOC: I just got home. @AbyssRanger)

The clang and ringing of metal meeting metal run out all throughout the crypt, bouncing off of walls and floors. Mer sighed in disappointment. She wanted to join in on the fun the others seemed to be having, but she couldn't. All because of bars and a door that broke all her lockpicks. She crossed her arms defiantly and decided to simply wait. This could end in three ways. The bandits win and return to her and then after a day kill her. The bandits could lose and the intruders kill her, or, what she hoped for, the intruders win and let her go.

Then again, why should they let her go?

She coughed a little on the dry air as she finally heard the ringing of metal and yelling stop. Someone had won, but who?

She tensed a little in excitement as she heard a person walking throughout the crypt, their boots clinking against the stone floor. The bandits had obviously lost. Maybe she had a chance of getting out anyways?

It seemed to take ages for the person to finally make it to the dungeon in which she sat, and with curiosity, she watched him out of the corner of her eye. The man was large and wore heavy steel armour. A shield was strapped to his back snugly and a battleaxe hung from his hip. Like instinct, Mer started scanning the man for weaknesses, just in case. The midsection of his arms that weren't covered at all, the weaker midsection of the armour that was mostly fur and leather. His bracers were a steel plate wrapped on with the help of straps and underneath she could only see fur.

She wasn't going to attack him, of course. This was just in case.

When the man mentioned "her lucky day" along with "free to go" she knew he was no real danger. Just a warrior who cleared out a bandit lair. She was glad that the more favourable option had turned into reality and felt her body relax in the realisation that she was free now.

Even after the man had unlocked the door, she still sat still for a little bit and nodded lightly.
"Seems so." She muttered, her voice raspier than usual. She stood up swiftly and brushed the dust of the dungeon off her leather made wear. With confident steps, Mer walked out of the cell and wandered straight to a table by the wall on which her weapons were placed. She made quick work of strapping the gear in place, finding some sort of solace in working with the straps and once more gaining her advantage. She then proceeded to grab the gold the bandits had taken from her. It wasn't much but she could at least eat for a week. Some gems were stuffed down pockets, an amethyst, some jewelry, her journal and then... she was done. Finally she was looking pretty much the same as she had when she walked in here.

She didn't bother to turn around to face the man in the room. Instead she stood up straight and faced the door.

"I thank you for helping me, or rather saving me. I'm sure I'd be in the ground or that other cell by tomorrow. If you ever need help with anything, just ask. I got nothing better to do."

@LeopardCay

The Imperial watched the woman with a bit of curiosity as she walked over to the table and began to grab her weapons and items, that had apparently been seized by the bandits, and swiftly but them in their leather straps and pockets. He was trying to get a feel for her. Well, she certainly didn't seem hostile. Her weapons were going in the sheaths and not in him, that was a good sign. Although, she did sort of give off a 'sneak-thief' vibe with her hood pulled up and just how quietly she moved. As she turned towards the door, Aleron just figured that she would be on her way and that's the last that he would see of her. But when she spoke, he honestly was a bit surprised. She was offering to help him? Could it be out of some sort of obligation since he saved her or was it just some ploy to lead him to some sort of trap? Well, he doubted that she was leading him towards a trap as she sounded pretty sincere to him.

It was now that the man thought of the numbness that was still present in his shield arm. It would go away eventually, but his arm would still not be up to full efficiency for a while. Normally, he would have asked one of his Shield-Brothers or Sisters to aid him but he was a long way away from Whiterun. There would no doubt be a horde of Draugr waiting further into the crypt and having someone there with him would be very helpful in making sure he didn't die with his weakened arm. So, why not take the woman up on her offer?

"Now that you mention it, I do need your help with something." Aleron replied, taking a step towards her. "You see, it wasn't luck that I happened to be here in this crypt. I came here because I need to find something that I am guessing is further in this place." He didn't really want to tell this woman what exactly he was looking for, as she might just try to double cross him and take it for herself. Not only that, even he wasn't exactly sure of what this ancient artifact was, besides a powerful weapon. "A big, ugly brute with a warhammer gave me quite the blow back there. I managed to block it but I'd say my left arm is a bit worse for wear." He chuckled lightly. "So, I'd appreciate some help getting through the crypt. if you're offering." It wouldn't have surprised him if she had just rejected his request and left. Ruins like this were always teeming with Draugr and most people were pretty frightened by them. He would manage somehow, if she did.

Mer's hearing perked upon hearing the that he actually would accept her offer. She didn't expect him to do so, she in fact rather believed that he would've just said he would be fine and carry on, so to say that she was surprised was an understatement. Thus she listened closely and upon hearing about an artifact, she was definitely considering actually following up on her offer. Both out of curiosity, but also since she actually owed him.

When the words "Big ugly brute with a warhammer" flew through the air, Mer snorted. It was too impossible to not find amusement in the fact that mere moments before the fight, she'd been annoying him with all of her might.

"Of course I'll help. I offered, didn't I?" She turned around and walked up to the man, hands behind her back.
"Oh and I'm sorry about the warhammer guy..." She chuckled.

(OOC: Short reply, sorry. @AbyssRanger)

@LeopardCay
((No worries!))

Aleron grinned at the woman as she turned around and walked towards him, telling him that she would help. That certainly was a relief, maybe they could get through the enemies within the crypt more easily this way with them working together. He had no idea what her fighting abilities were like or anything, but pretty much any help would be appreciated. Well, just as long as she wasn't a hindrance then thing should work out well. After all, things should be pretty simple. Fight some Draugr, sneak past some traps, get the sword. Easy...hopefully.

When she mentioned being sorry about the warhammer guy, the man laughed heartily. "No reason for you to be sorry, unless you're the one that raised him without manners. But I suppose he won't be needing manners now." He chucked. Now that he thought about it, having this woman along would be nice for something else, good conversation. Aleron always loved to talk with people and share stories. Having her along would be a lot better than just going around in some boring old burial cite alone. Which reminded him that he still didn't know her name. "Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Aleron Ingram of the honorable Companions Guild. It's nice to meet you." The man said with a friendly smile, holding out his hand.

Well, he should probably let her in on his plans since they would be working together for now. "I was planning on resting here in the bandits' camp for the night, since it is getting pretty close to night outside. You know, get rested up and be ready to head into the crypt's interior in the morning. Plus, it gives my arm a chance to recover a bit." It wouldn't do either of them any good if they were tired and fatigued. He bet that laying on the stone floor hadn't let her rest all that much, so a good night's sleep would do them both some good.

The woman let a small smile slip onto her expression at the man's joke and nodded. She was awfully curious to what would lie further down the age old crypt. Draugrs were probably a certainty, skeletons were a probability. What she wanted to know further was if there could be any spiders or necromancers. Maybe some wildlife like bears or trolls? She really couldn't tell. What she knew for certain however was that there would most certainly be small amounts of gold for the picking within the tunnels, and she was running low.

"I'm Mer." she said plainly, taking his hand in hers and shaking it firmly.

Upon hearing his plan, uncertainty crept into her. She wasn't sure if the bandits were gone for good. They could return in a few hours, expecting it to be empty once more. On the other side of the puzzle, she was pretty sure that Aleron actually wouldn't hurt her. If he would even be considering it, he would probably not have given her a chance go so easily.

"I see your point. However, we can not be certain that the bandits are gone for that long. They could come back tonight expecting to this place to be cleared out and ransacked." She took a step to the side and looked around the room. There were a few pots thrown up on a shelf and torture tools laid on a drawer. All of a sudden she felt very lucky and grateful to have been let out.
"I suggest we sleep in shifts."

@AbyssRanger

@LeopardCay

The man grinned when she introduced herself and shook her hand in return. "It's nice to meet you, Mer." That certainly was an interesting name. He was pretty sure he hadn't heard it before. Looking her over with his brown eye, she appeared to be a Nord from what he could make of her features and she also seemed to be at least close to his age. She also seemed to have a scar that ran from her temple down to her jaw and neck. The man wondered just how she had gotten it. But, then again, that might lead her to ask about the scar on his eye which was a rabbit hole he would rather not go down right now.

When Mer spoke of seeing his point but commented on how the bandits might not stay away and that they should sleep in shifts, he thought for a moment. Well, that did make sense. There wasn't really a way to keep the bandits out and them being caught sleeping would give the bandits a prime opportunity to kill them really quickly. Aleron nodded a bit. "Yeah, that's good thinking. We should sleep in shifts. But that will come in a little while. What do you say we find something to eat around here, huh? That warhammer guy left quite a bit of food and drink in his room. He had the best stuff hoarded up in there and we can use the campfire in the main room to cook it." The man walked past Mer as he walked towards the bandit leader's room, gently putting his hand on her shoulder as he passed almost as if to say 'follow me'.

In one corner of the rather spacious room were barrels full of fresh produce, salted meat in a crate, and a crate of mead and wine. Aeron certainly had had worse things to eat for dinner. Waiting for Mer to come into the room, he looked back at her as she walked through the door. "I was thinking of making a stew. Anything you don't want in it?" There was more than enough here to make a decent stew that would warm them both up, but he wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything his new companion didn't like in it. After all, food was a good way to bond with people but that didn't exactly work if they hated the meal.

(OOC: @AbyssRanger I'm gonna reply tomorrow, need sleep. G'night.)