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Post by webster52402 on Jul 10, 2008 18:48:28 GMT
The corners of Perur's lips twitched upwards slightly, about as close to a sly smile as you would get out of him. If you were going to be sly and crafty, then it's best to actually hide that you are being, rather than having an expression dictated towards showing others that you're in your devious mode. though this smile wasn't so much as reflecting at his own craftiness, but admiring the craftiness of the one that he was speaking to, as she cloaked her words much the same way that he had.
"A particularly unique quarry, yes." Perur answered truthfully, looking over Semira's shoulder towards the horizon beyond. Well, it wasn't really TOO unique of a quarry. he had slain noblemen that were corrupt before, it wasn't really that much of a change for him. "Though not quite as unique as you'd think." Perur amended bemusedly, before returning his gaze to Semira. "How about you? What is it that you are seeking on this boat?"
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 10, 2008 21:36:33 GMT
Semira saw Perur's crafty smile and returned it with a grave expression- though a skilled viewer such as Perur might notice the mirth she let into her eyes. "Why am I on this boat? Well... you know, adventure, glory... the usual. I'm such an odd creature, I figure it can only be good for me to make a name for myself for my deeds rather than my appearances." she shrugged. It was the truth, but not the whole of it. She didn't want to get into the whole ashamed to be a noble thing with a perfect stranger. It was her business, quite specifically, and not his. If she could hide her heritage form people, she would, if only to preserve her family's honour.
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Post by webster52402 on Jul 10, 2008 22:02:17 GMT
Perur gazed at Semira, his calm mask slipping for a moment. His eyes hardened and became more piercing, looking at Semira the same way that he looked at his targets, assessing with a cold, detached personality rather than allowing anything to obscure or get in the way of his judgment. Though her appearance was noted, the bitter mirth in her eyes that appeared at the mention of her desires to make a name for herself, to become something based on deed rather than appearance, on achievement rather than look, factoring in slightly as he judged her outright, scaling her up to what he imagined her to be.
She was an odd creature, yes, as she had put it, but for completely different reasons. She was blunt and to the point as she had shown earlier, yet she still managed to retain a curious ability to cloak her words as skillfully as any diplomat. Her eyes especially consistently showed a bitter amusement at her situation, or were completely blank, suggesting a mask that she was putting up, that only time and she could possibly let slip, a kind of iron wall between the world and her. She sought to make a name for herself, though, an admittance that showed some insecurity buried behind that mask of cool bemusement and the forced air of indifference.
Though she constantly was shrugging things off as though they didn't affect her, he noted that every time anything relating to her had come up, be it from her name, a simple introduction, or what drove her to go across the seas, she would always react with the same cool nature, though she pursued information of others with a blunt tenacity, doing what her whims commanded her to, yet unwilling to provide information as to why those very whims came up as they did. She was trying to bury her appearance with strength. Insecurity with deeds. Something that she saw as a flaw with a mask of perfection that she holds only through proving herself, making herself out to be of some worth in a society where she's strange. A crusader, of sorts, though she was not going against any true enemy, merely a demon that resided only inside of her.
His cool assessment done, Perur's eyes warmed again, as he pushed himself away from the rail, stretching. "You worry too much about society." Perur said bluntly, his gaze fixated on the railing across the ship's deck from him. "Burying yourself behind great deeds are only for the vain. Proof that you are some worth comes from within you, not in what you do with yourself." That bit of advice given, he turned his head back to the bejeweled Semira, giving her the same small, crafty smile. "Even such a thing as honor is something that comes from within. Morality, honor, nobility, all of it. It's all filtered through one thing: The way you perceive it. In the end, it's not what society labeled you as, it's not what people say about you, it's not what people label your deeds as... It's whether you can live with yourself or not, whether you are satisfied with what you have done."
He turned fully towards Semira once more, returning her bluntness with some of his own. "So. The true question is, why do you need to prove anything to anyone?"
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 10, 2008 23:08:18 GMT
Semira looked at Perur properly now, really looked at him. She felt like she'd never met anyone quite like him before: he'd have made an absolutely excellent noble, the controversy of his lifestyle and profession lending him a much more calculating thought process and unjudgemental outlook.
Indeed, she saw many similarities between him and herself, though undoubtedly their lives and been quite different, they seemed to have rendered similar effects, those living on the outskirts of society gaining a unique and insightful outlook on life.
But he is a killer, he creates controversy, while controversy effects me because of what I am... she thought, but it was a thought that saddened her somewhat.
Curiously, she began to look even further, but before she could render any further conclusions, that part of her mind that shut off such endeavours cut in. Thinking of others only made her think of her own short-comings, and that would lead to depression and inevitably mental suicide. In order to maintain a happy lifestyle, such thoughts needed to be restricted.
The calculating light in her eyes died out, and she shrugged non-commitally. "Society can go and [censored] itself," she replied evenly. "I care about my family. I don't try to live up to their expectations, because they accept me for who I am. I try and live up to mine. For obvious reasons, I cannot function as a normal person," despite her more open manner now, instinct drove her to bypass her heritage, and she was strangely detached from her words- something that was all that preserved her mind. "Thus, I have to function as an extroadinary person. And this is how I choose to do it."
There were too many barriers, too many fail-safes and automatic reactions within Semira for some assassin with observation skills to get her to truly bare her soul beyond the uncaring words that her mind barely even realised were being spoken. But once again, sensing danger, Semira's interest was cut. She shifted uncomfortably, and said, in a more normal voice. "I need a walk. I'll doubtlessly speak to you later: everyone else around here is dull conversation."
She wandered off, walking the perimeter of the ship.
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Post by webster52402 on Jul 10, 2008 23:44:27 GMT
For a moment, Perur evidently touched SOMETHING. For the briefest instant, though it was only a few seconds, Perur had managed to shock her enough, read her enough, that she had allowed her mask to slip, allowing a curious light to arrive in her eyes since Perur had started talking to her. This made him smile inside, as the assassin and the odd Dunmer woman faced each other, both of them having their own shrouds, both of them cutting right through them to see what lay beneath. For a moment, he felt what she would have been like, and indeed will be like, when she is without hindrance, when the calculation that comes from living a life where you are constantly judged and judging, the calculation born of a thousand nights spent in thought, either of self reading, or of the reading of others, came to bear.
Perur could see from the calculation, the reading and inquisitive gaze that Semira had given him, that she would have been a wonderful assassin in her own right. She had a skill with words that belied her bluntness, she knew when to dodge and weave a cloak around her words that would enshroud it from all but the most careful, or the most direct, words, and at the same time knew when it was time to drop that cloak, and begin a blunt, direct approach that was the equivalent of Perur's own style of assassination, a stalking, roundabout approach before a quick, darting, and eviscerating movement, brutal and precise. She was with words, what Perur was with a blade. Fluid. And, much like the sea that they were over, there was much that lay beneath the surface, that Perur had only just begun to scratch upon...
Then, it was gone. The curiosity faded, and she became non-committal again, her mask being pushed right back into place. Still, Perur had managed to sink a hook in, that was a start to unraveling the cloak that enshrouded her. She was put off guard enough to give him an insight into how she was reacting as well, mentioning her family in passing, and her apparent inability to function as a normal person. Perur said nothing, allowing her to fall back beneath her safeties and gather herself. Now that he knew the doorway, all he needed to do was find the proper key rather than forcing it open. So, he simply remained with that sly, crafty smile, until she went off on her walk, pacing off around the perimeter of the ship.
"No..." Perur said to himself, his gaze locked on Semira's back. "You don't see a reason that you can't be ordinary. You see a reason to feel sorry for yourself, and push you into the extraordinary. You see a reason that marks you as faulty, rather than unique. You see a reason that brands you as a freak, a reject..." He continued, whispering beneath his breath as though if he told himself this, then his words would somehow traverse the distance, embed themselves into her head, and show him the key to unlocking this most... rare person. "Normalcy is something that you decide for yourself, much like morality... You may have some traits of extraordinary capability, but you yourself could be normal, if you only allowed yourself to be..."
He laughed to himself, as he found that his mind was being devoted solely to this person that he had happened to stumble across on a boat of all places, on the way to kill someone. Of all things to find... He turned back towards the railing of the ship, looking once more out into the sea. She had succeeded in one thing, though, as Perur was no longer contemplating the sea beneath him, but following Semira around the ship's edge in his mind, pondering on what she could be hiding, what could possibly be affecting her so. "... Interesting..."
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Post by FC4 on Jul 11, 2008 1:19:13 GMT
Murrin watched as his sailors went about their duties, and some of the travelers upon their ship conversed. He watched from the bow as two of them talked. One was the Imperial man. What was his name? Ah, yes... Perur.... That was the only name the man had given, and he seemed to be rather antisocial towards Murry. and terribly sea-sick. This made the captain smile.
And then there was the woman.... Samira... no. Simira. Nah. Semira. Yeah... that's it. He nodded to himself, feeling proud of remembering. She was an odd one, reminded him somewhat of a Dremora from a distance with those horns. But she was far to pretty to be a Dremora, with her jewel-encrusted scaled skin. She was definitely exotic; he'd sailed around Tamriel but never had he stumbled upon something quite like her.
"Catastrophe brings out all types of people." He mused to himself. ---------------------- One of the sailors entered the lower decks, searching for the Altmer bard he had met last night. When he finally found the room, there was an Imperial woman, one of the travelers they were escorting, laying on the floor while the Altmer was on the bed. The sailor grinned, bad teeth revealing themselves, as his eyes looked over the woman's form. Her boisterous bosom rose and fell as she breathed, and he admired her form. It was so rare to see the female form, when one lived the life of the sea.
He was interrupted by the waking groan of the altmer, and the visual memory of the fate of the last crewmember to force themselves upon a woman on this ship. Murry was very strict about that. The sailor looked at the waking altmer, smiling.
"I trust ya 'ad fun with meh pipe, High Elf?" He asked, folding his arms. "Didn't take it all, did ya?" ---------------------- One of the Orc pirates near Jacin grumbled as one of his Nord mates began coiling the leftover rope on the deck.
"We 'aven't seen a ship in three damn days. No' a sail. 'e said we'd 'ave plenty o' work this time."
"Keep yerself quite, dammit. Ya wanna get sunk for mutiny? I'm sure there's a ship somewhere in these seas. Just hold yer tongue."
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RavenVW
Novice
I am an agent of chaos. And you know the good thing about chaos? It's fair.
Posts: 45
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Post by RavenVW on Jul 11, 2008 15:41:34 GMT
OOC: I am waiting for Raven to Op, before I begin the action. OOC: Oh snap, sorry, I have a hard time with keeping up with things, I'll try and do better IC: Valkien stood alone looking out to the sea. It gave him a nice sense of scale here, he was just one small thing here that didn't affect anything. The fish, crabs, plants and other things in the oceans all lived and survived, all went through their life cycles without any outside influence. It was just one of those places which seemed cut off from the rest of real life, and it was relaxing out here. It didn't stop the boredom though, he could hear the conversation of two others not far from him. It was an... interesting conversation, but one that failed to keep him engaged before his mind drifted off to other things. The smell of the ocean, the colour of the sky, the aching in his legs. He needed to stretch a bit, but on a boat there was so little space to really move around. With a small cough, he decided to just have a look around this deck, maybe he might see something interesting out in the sea.
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Post by Tom Bombadil on Jul 14, 2008 17:34:00 GMT
"Wha...?" Aldarilon rolled over, dazed, and blinked up at the sailor, followed by standing up woozily, blood rushing to his head.
"Nah...*ahem*" he coughed, "no...no, we only used about half before we blacked out. At least, until I did. I think she had it last..." he rubbed his head and eyes, the aftereffects of skooma pounding on his head still. He glanced down at the woman passed out on the floor. Why is she down there? I thought she'd left... Shrugging it off, he searched the floor with his eyes until they caught sight of the pipe on its side near the door.
Bending down, he took it in his hand had gave it back to the sailor. "Agh, where'd you get that stuff? Can't get anything like that out west...thanks, anyway."
He put his arms under the Imperial woman and hoisted her up with a grunt, bringing her over to the bed and laying her down in it. "I'd...give her another hour or so. I need to get some air..." Making sure both he and the sailor were out of the room, he closed the door behind him. "Thanks again, mate. Any idea where we are?" He asked as he walked backwards toward the ladder leading up to the deck.
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Post by FC4 on Jul 17, 2008 11:51:35 GMT
"Capytan! Capytan!" Cried out a Bosmeri lookout from the Schooner's crownest. The captain, a burly Nord with enough chest hair to make three wigs, looked up and then followed the pointing finger of the Bosmer. There, in the distance, was a ship! Large and proud, a merchant ship!
"We've gottem boys! Get the oars ready! We gonna bag us some booty!" The Nord cried out. Pirates began to scramble around the ship, picking up long oars and resting them in the appropriate niches at the side of the schooner. ----------------------- "Captain! Captain!" Another Bosmer cried out, but this one was not a pirate. He was a sailor. The Bosmer pointed towards the stern of the ship and Murry followed the finger out to the distance. Frowning, the redguard pulled a golden spyglass from his pocket and extended it, looking out to sea.
"Shit." Murry smashed the spyglass closed, and pocketed it, turning sharply around. "I want everyone at their stations, sails full. If you have a weapon hand, passengers, be prepared to use it!" Murry shouted, waving his hand in the air.
And as if responding to his wave, the world plunged itself into a thick fog. Murry froze in place, slowly lowering his hand and looking around him. Ten feet past the ship's rail was nothing but murky fog.
"What in the name of the Gods...." ------------------ "Wha the [censored]?" Cried out the Nord Captain, looking around the schooner frantically. "They got wizards, don't they?! They gotta!" There was no other explanation for the sudden plunge into misty fog. The Nord growled, pointing in the direction he remembered the ship to be in.
"We goin' after 'em! They won't get away! GO!" ----------------- "On the open sea, o' course. I picked up this lovely stuff when we been docked in Anvil." The sailor replied, but he suddenly frowned and looked up towards the upper decks.
"Crap." If one paid attention they could of heard Murry's voice faintly within these wooden corridors, but the sailors lived with the man and their life depended on being able to hear his commands. Faint as it was, the sailor knew the man's voice and heard the orders clearly.
"We've got pirates."
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 17, 2008 12:01:37 GMT
Semira drew her longsword as soon as the shout went up, the blade ringing from its sheath. The battle-cry of a blade... Semira thought as she whirled to face where the shout had been directed.
But a strange fog had surrounded the ship... magic of some kind? It didn't feel like any magic she had ever heard of... but it felt... bad.... Very bad... She shivered and ran over to Perur.
"Much as I like to put my faith in a load of middle-aged men on a boat, I think I'll fight alongside you. Don't let it go to your head though: I just don't want to die." She flashed him a brief smile as she turned on the spot, looking for an openeing, anything in the fog. There was none.
Instinct drove her to sheath her sword- that she would lose it. Something bad was happening... She did so, though it was an effort to rid herself of the one thing that gave her security. She'd fight fist and claw now, it seemed.
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Post by webster52402 on Jul 17, 2008 13:27:20 GMT
Perur was turning slowly in the fog that had suddenly blanketed the ship, looking around for some break in the misty walls that had suddenly closed in around them, anything that would be a sign. There was nothing, just the misty white fog that lapped all around him, as though the water had indeed decided to try something, and had called its fellows to belch themselves into the sky and obscure Perur's sight for it.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when Semira came through the fog, startling the poor assassin bad enough that he very nearly swung around to attack her, as he had begun to get this curious, claustrophobic pressure on his chest, as though the fog were trying to press all around him, smother him...
He stared at the woman for a moment, sure that she had been a demon coming rushing through the fog to get him for a moment, before he swallowed the lump that had appeared in his throat, nodding. "Alright. Could do with the help anyway." He admitted, before returning his gaze to the surroundings. Born and raised in Morrowind, Perur was very superstitious, and this sudden fog... He didn't like it... "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" He asked Semira, his grip on his dagger hilt tight enough that his knuckles were bone white, as though if he loosened it, then he would find it falling away from him, unable to hold it.
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 17, 2008 13:34:36 GMT
"Nope," she replied evenly. "And I've seen a good bit of magic. If that's really what this is. Magic... it feels different..." She shook her head.
"But whatever's causing it can be killed, presumably. I prefer to think that about things that frighten me, don't you?" Her light manner was a mask, hiding the fear that lay underneath. This was not natural, and it happening right after spotting another ship could not be a good omen. And yet, somehow, she doubted the pirates were the cause.
She did not like this. She did not like this at all. Somehow, she managed to keep her body from shaking, from either fear or the cold, and she raised a questioning eyebrow at Perur, hiding her concern for him. "If something happens and we have to abandon ship," she said, being practical about the odds. "Can you swim?" the man was clearly not at ease around water. She only hoped that it did not extend to swimming, else she'd have an assassin's weight to carry as well.
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Post by webster52402 on Jul 17, 2008 13:58:08 GMT
Perur stopped at her question, an unmistakable shiver racing through his body. Luckily, he had been turning, so his back was to her, but if she had been able to see his face, she would have seen the fear that etched itself onto his face. "Can you swim?" The question had been so innocent, but the memory that it sparked was far from it...
As though mocking him, the memory dredged itself up from the depths of his memory, causing Perur to jump slightly as he heard his father's voice come screaming out from the past. "Can't you swim, boy!?! Well, you better learn fast, kiddo, cause you ain't getting out of that river less you can swim!" Perur shook his head slightly, trying to calm his heart, which was racing against his chest. He felt as though he were short of breath, like was drowning again, he could practically taste the ashy river water as it flowed into his throat, choking him.
"... No." Perur said simply, somehow managing to keep his voice from shaking. He had paused his turning, not wanting to end up turning back to face Semira.
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Post by Vicorva on Jul 17, 2008 15:17:31 GMT
Semira's fear stopped for a brief moment and looked at Perur- who was looking away. A sure sign of fear and embarassment. The look she gave him was understanding, and all she said was, "Then stick extra close to me. I'll magic you with water-breathing and buoyancy to keep you afloat. I may also be able to fortify your ability to swim temporarily." She didn't mention that if something happened to him, she'd find it hard to put right. She wasn't a very talented healer, having always preferred to avoid needing to heal in the first place.
She took a steadying breath, and added, "But I hope it doesn't come to that..."
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Post by Vrek on Jul 17, 2008 16:38:20 GMT
Jacen was up and active within moments of the captain's words. Finally, a tiny bit of excitement. He looked about, following the veteran's examples. Most of them rushed about, sending the schooner speeding towards the merchant ship. The thief looked towards the ship. It was too far to see the name or the flag clearly.
The sudden fog didn't help either. It his own thoughts, Jacen raised an eyebrow. Where'd the fog come from? The ship's captain's, the Imperial or whatever he was, assessment seemed right. Only some sort of magic could conjure up fog this dense on what was a mostly clear day. Jacen didn't like wizards. Caution took a hold, and the Bosmer sunk behind a few crates, watching the thick fog where the boat had been. With his left hand he unhooked a grappling hook from his belt, and with his right he reached over to where he had been napping and grabbed his bow and quiver. While slipping the quiver onto his belt, he could only hope that magician didn't know anything about fireballs.
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