18+ What Lies Beneath

[White_Memories]

Looking to the hand offered her way, Elanin felt as if she should avoid touching him if at all possible. One learned quickly not to touch a man cloaked and covering his face with a hood. Hoods meant there was something to conceal, much as she wore her hood to at least somewhat hide her eyes. It was more for the comfort of other people as opposed to herself, as many thought she was unable to see.

"Elanin," she greeted, giving his hand a firm shake despite his odd assessment of her and the aura surrounding him. "Pleasure to meet you, Kir."

She was a bit taken aback at the fact that he got her seemingly figured out, earning a singular raised brow and the return of her usual stern expression. Never one for being treated as if she saw little, she decided to take down the hood. Bronze hair shining and golden skin shimmering, milky orbs seemingly staring at nothing. A new voice brought her attention to yet another man, this one holding a staff in both hands and piquing her interest. More mages had been attracted by the prospect of the Deep Dark.

"I'll leave you two to talk," Elanin said, walking off to her own corner of the clearing and seating herself against a tree so she could crack open one of the numerous journals she carried.

 

[Kir the Silent]

"What a fascinating name." Kir knew he must seem strange to people. He wasn't exactly a sociable person after all. Secrets his friends and the night his mistress, he often felt as if he should constantly apologize in conversation with normal people. Daran always said he needed to try and put himself out there more. Put myself out any further and I'll fall off the bloody ledge, he thought to himself. The woman called Elanin lowered her hood and Kir noticed a singular raised brow and then the return of a slightly stern expression. Bronze hair shining and golden skin shimmering, milky orbs seemingly staring at nothing and yet seeming to take in everything around her.

Kir was tempted to lower his hood, but was still a bit self conscious. He had been out here for weeks before the laborers and guards had shown up. He was still slightly roof around the edges, though his armor and clothing was so clean one could hardly tell. His shaggy black hair hung loosely around his face, framing his strange violet eyes. Pale, porcelain skin that didn't appear as if born of illness; pleasant to look at. He also had a small, crescent-shaped scar on his chin he wasn't too fond off. Despite his reservations, he decided it was the polite thing to do. He gingerly lowered his hood as if he would suddenly burst into flame, which he had before but that was because of the damn wizard and it was one of the most painful memories of his life, and looked at the woman with hypnotic violet eyes.

He smiled softly as he noticed several new arrivals to his camp, most likely adventurers. Elanin walked off to her own corner of the clearing and seating herself against a tree so she could crack open one of the numerous journals she carried, but not before saying, "I'll leave you two to talk."

Kir bowed as she left and turned to the new arrivals, waving off the guards and sentries. He spoke softly, but his words somehow carried across the clearing with a slight melodious tone as if he always had a smile on his lips and a laugh at the ready. "Greetings weary travelers. What brings you to this place?"

 

[Tiaz Raydari]

Che’anni who was still looking at the puzzled guard who had just taken the flyer, looking at it for a while and then with recognition the guard nodded his head.

“Well yes if you come looking for this expedition leader then you should. . . Well . . . Follow this road until you get to one of the main tents and then go right into the one on the left. The man you should be looking for is a Bosmer, Kir I believe his name to be. If you are not sure about whom he is just look for the man with the hood up. Good day to you for I must be getting back to patrolling.”
The guard stated to Che’anni after to which the guard started to walk past the camp’s so called gate. Che’anni mumbled out to the guard “Thanks.” Che’anni still looking off by the gate noticed two odd characters, One an Imperial and the other seemed to be a Breton, Che’anni was more on lines of her current goal of finding the expedition leader, ignoring the two bickering men and went in the direction the guard had mentioned to her. Walking along the dirt path looking around and taking in her surroundings Che’anni could not help but notice the time and effort she saw put into this camp, there were small tents used as meeting places, mess halls and storage areas. The workers had seemed to build long wooden houses for barracks and sleeping quarters, the surrounding area had small walls to keep the wandering predators and other things out some points in the walls had small watch towers. This camp looked to be more of a small town rather compared to what was said in the flyer. Che’anni stopped along the next turning of the road, the road that lead up to the tent but instead of having to go inside of the Tent she saw an Altmer sitting by a tree hunched over and was reading to what seemed like a book of sorts, The man she sort out to find was currently discussing matter with another person who seemed like a Breton.

“Two wizards it seems and they are both Breton! An Imperial who seems to be one tough fighter and could be useful on this expedition. An Altmer to which I cannot place but continues to delve into her book and who seemed to be the expedition leader Kir who looked to be a sneaky type of person with a dark past. Then there is me what can I offer to these men and mer, I will see.”
Che’anni thought, watching their actions closely to make sure she was with the right crowd.

“To be damned with this why don’t I just go over there and find out for myself it can’t get worse than this.”
Che’anni decided to walk over to the Bosmer but decided to wait until he was finished with his sentence with the Breton.

“Hi are you Kir the expedition leader for the Deep dark?”
Che’anni interrupted, looking at the Breton and Bosmer with regret with her actions.

 

[White_Memories]

While off on her own Elanin not only read her journals but also observed all those around her. Some recoiled from the sight of her eyes, not that she cared, while others avoided looking or sneered. Even after all that had happened in Skyrim racism was still an issue and being an Altmer earned a fair bit of bad attention.

Her attention returned to the pages, slightly calloused fingers gliding over the aged paper with a special fondness. It was the notes she'd take from various books and sources, even from multiple visits to Septimus at his outpost before he feel prey to Daedra. Many cluttered scrawled notes littered about more elegant text, all things she'd written either in a hurry or when she could pour over the pages of many books at once and take notes.

Elanin carefully turned a handful of pages, going to the small pieces of knowledge she'd gleaned about the Deep Dark. Admittedly, it wasn't much and her mind conjured up beasts and adventure followed by discovery. What would they all find down there? Who could be there?

How many lives would be lost?

 

[Mr.Self Destruct]

"Greetings weary travelers. What brings you to this place?"​

Taric smiled, showing Kir the flier he had been given. ​

"I happened upon this, and thought it a good opportunity to put my knowledge to use. It's been a few years, but I can transcribe and translate Dwemer texts. My name is Taric Hawkford, by the way."​

​

He leaned against his staff, his body sore and tired from the long day of travelling. He glanced behind him, and much to Taric's surprise more were showing up. A crowd was beginning to form, everyone eager to meet the captain of the expedition. ​

He looked over at the Altmer woman who had been conversing with Kir before him. She was now nestled beneath a tree and reading a book, a journal by the looks of it. Her eyes took Taric off a bit, though he didn't have the audacity to outright approach the stranger and begin inquiring about her eyes. Still, he wondered to himself what could have happened to her. ​

 

[White_Memories]

There was a feeling, as if she were being watched, and Elanin managed to barely ignore it in favor of reading and re-reading the small amount of words she had on the Deep Dark. Mostly rumor of beasts that couldn't be defeated and people going missing, never to be seen again, and the sources weren't all that reliable. And no matter how much one read the same information over and over it never changed.

Since there was little to nothing for her to learn from that, Elanin instead decided she would practice. Even if she had been a mage for near a century she still practiced. Summoning the flame to her hand and staring at it while it crackled and wavered. When she'd been younger she had always expected the fire to hurt, and sometimes it did.

Finally, her eyes landed on the male that was watching her and her head tilted before she looked away. There was little to be said. He could come over and introduce himself, or he could find a more suited place to go, it mattered little to her.

 

[Delusional]

"Greetings, travelers! You here for the expedition?"

The Imperial looked up to where the sentry stood, perched atop a shaky, wooden guard tower. The man was a Nord, from what Marcus could see, clad in steel armor. He gripped a yew longbow in his left hand, but appeared to have no intentions of using it.

"Uh, yes!" Marcus shouted up to the sentry, who beamed before yelling down to a guardsman behind the gate to allow them through. Marcus and Eldric soon passed through the gate, and found themselves before a sprawling, lively camp. Campfires and iron braziers painted an orange glow on every visible surface; men and women alike bustled to and from, weaving in and out of the maze of canvas tents.

Marcus turned to the guardsman that let them through, who also seemed very content, judging by the pleasant expression on his face. "Where would we go for this expedition?"

"Oh, you mean Kir? He's just down there, past the large pavilion. He should be talking with a few others already, some wanderers have passed through here earlier searching for him," the Nord said, pointing down a path that carved a swath through the seas of tents and campfires. The Imperial nodded in thanks, and he started off down the path, glancing back once to make sure Eldric was tailing him.

 

[Kir the Silent]

"My name is Taric Hawkford, by the way." Said the old mage that had approached after the woman named Elanin had withdrawn. Kir smiled warmly. The man reminded him of Daran, his foster father, a great deal even though he was not a Redguard.

He bowed slightly, always elegant with his half smile always on his lips. "I am called Kir. Pleased to meet you Taric. I could always use someone with your talents on this trip, in fact I was informed earlier today that the expert we hired, Calcemo or somthing like that, had an accident and broke his leg. So you are doubly welcome. If you want more details on the trip, wait just a few moments."

"I believe more adventures and wanderers are headed towards us. I'd rather not repeat myself a few dozen times," laughed Kir as more people approached.

 

[Mr.Self Destruct]

"I am called Kir. Pleased to meet you Taric. I could always use someone with your talents on this trip, in fact I was informed earlier today that the expert we hired, Calcemo or somthing like that, had an accident and broke his leg. So you are doubly welcome. If you want more details on the trip, wait just a few moments." Immediately, this Kir had struck Taric as a well spoken and confident man. Contrary to Taric's initial impression of the black-garbed, hooded individual. He smiled, nodding and stepping aside as more approached and Kir stood to give his announcements.

Taric glanced over at the tree again, finding that the woman was staring back at him. Her gaze caught him off guard, the milky, blank eyes seemed to be looking right through him. Despite this, he gave a nod. Making note to introduce himself once Kir concluded his announcements.

 

[Valin Oakthorn]

Valin took his place to speak next. The majority of these people came off as rather sociable and friendly. The ranger hoped that his lack of trust in strangers wouldn't cause any problems. So Valin put on the face and used the tone of voice he would when speaking to an alpha that rather irritated him.

"Hello, uh, Kir was it? Valin Oakthorn, Alpha of the tall trees wolf pack, at your service." Valin said knowing full well the name of the man. Questions helped get others talking and him out of the picture.

Valin looked around at the elder and another who appeared to be blind. He reminded himself to speak with he later, for it was not often one would see a blind woman reading.

 

[Kir the Silent]

"A werewolf? How interesting. It seems my expedition is drawing all sorts of people from all walks of life." A small, half-smile was on his face as he continued. "And one who freely lets others know of his lycanthropy? A brave thing to do as many would cut you down or shun you."

"But yes, I am called Kir." He tilted his head to the side as he often did when deep in thought. "Wait just a moment, I believe our last arrivals are approaching and then I will answer any questions you all might have, as well as give you the basic information."

 

[Valin Oakthorn]

Valin nodded and stepped away, he felt no need to socialize further. Kir would be speaking soon, and the ranger didn't wish to miss that. He found a nice log to recline on and did a few weapon checks while he waited ever so patiently. Valin was always good at waiting, though he hated it, he was patient.

 

[Kir the Silent]

"Well I suppose if all of you are here for the journey," said Kir as the other new arrivals approached. "I say welcome. I'm just about to speak to the expedition and we should be under way in a few hours. I hope all of you came prepared. But...Eldric was it? I'm afraid you are much too young to undertake such a journey. This is an extremely dangerous venture."

"But as for the rest of you, welcome aboard. Understand that you could lose your lives on this expedition but you could earn a small fortune. I am Kir for those of you that don't know me. Pleased to meet you. Anyone else want to introduce themselves or ask any questions before I deliver my speech?" Kir said with a sly smile.