Ice-blood, Aldhelm, Dur-colath and Kane find themselves in a marshy valley high in the mountains. A cold wind sweeps down the valley from the peaks visible in the distance. A group of tents has been set up. A young imperial man with dark curly hair is stamping his feet trying to keep warm.

"Oh good! Something to talk at for once. I'm Matrim Caughthorn pronounced Court-Horn." He gives you a friendly grin. "You'll be wanting to sleep I know but before you do I'll tell you what you are facing here."

His smile fades. "There is a pass from this valley into the next about three hours south of here. We're pretty isolated in these high pastures but need to trade. Needed to trade. That was the route that connected, after a pretty long walk I admit, to the Imperial City. We kept cows mainly. Then they came. They didn't do as much damage as they could have done as we hid in the mountains. Lost a few older folk and a couple of youngsters and several head of cattle but not enough to cripple us. But that wasn't the problem. The pass was guarded by a small imperial garrison in a fort that's not much more than a tower. They took it, slaughtered the garrison, and now slaughter any who try to pass. We will not starve while we have the cows but the cows feed on the grass and they are affecting the weather so it grows colder by the day. There is no way to replenish the stocks of grain and the grass will soon die in the cold. We will starve if nothing is done.

We did try to retake the tower - most of the able men died in the attempt. I was trying to find a pass to the north at the time - I am a scout by training - or I would have died too."

He sighs. "I know little about what controls the tower or how it can manipulate the weather. From a description it is a dremora but one far more powerful than any heard of before. And now, I will take you to where you will rest."

As you move you feel very shaky and uncertain on your feet. Rest is essential.

The tents will accommodate only one person each. As he goes the boy says. "Others will join you here shortly. Do not be too eager to be off. Get to know them and talk to me to learn more of the design of the tower when you are rested. Sleep well."

As soon as the next group arrives Emeralda. Relaith, Erunanion and Gnaag he says the same speech again before conducting them to their tents.

Before you know it. You are all asleep.

THE BURNING TOWER UPDATE 1

The group awakens completely refreshed feeling wonderful. The sensation lasts for a matter of seconds. Physically you are still fine but something is troubling your mind. You cannot tell exactly what it is but something is different. It will not take you long to discover that every enchanted item item, potion or scroll that helped you detect enchantment has been taken and those among you who knew any spell to that effect has suddenly forgotten it. Someone has been into your tent. Who? And is stealing the items the only thing they have done?

The obvious answer as to 'who?' is Matrim Caughthorn but when you go to find himshe has been knocked unconscious. He is alive but weak, a healing potion or spell will revive him and perhaps he can tell you something of what happened.

As well as one of you doing this, everyone must perform such natural bodily functions as all creatures do (off the thread please) and then deal with such nuisances as hunger and thirst.

And so you do - or do you?

Erunanion awoke, and was immediately on guard. The teleport into the valley had been intense - he'd felt like he'd just gone three rounds barefisted with an Ogrim, and the offer of sleep had been most welcome.

But now he was confused. The feeling was strange, unlike anything he had felt before. Something had been in his mind; the odd, distracting sensation of having someone look over his shoulder was constant. He assumed it had been the dremora Caughthorn had spoken of; Erunanion's hand stayed on the hilt of his sword as he checked over his gear, and found it all to be with him.

He stepped out of the tent into the crisp morning air. The wind was already biting cold; Erunanion wrapped his cloak tighter about himself. Seeing the other tents stir, he knew the others of his party, and those of another whom he had yet to meet, were awakening also. He wanted to speak to them urgently, to ask if they felt what he did. He hoped there was a mage among the other group that might explain what had happened. But he left them to get up in their own time, and walked a short way beyond the ring of tent's to perform his morning ablutions.

As he turned round to head back to the tents, a sliver of colour, out of place in the light green grass, caught his eye. As he slowly approached, he saw it was Caughthorn, lying full-length and obviously unconscious on the grass. Erunanion ran over to his side, and shouted for his companions, "Awaken! Caughthorn has been attacked!"

Not bothering to wait for the others to come over, Erunanion searched his mind for a healing spell that might revive Caughthorn from whatever affliction beset him. He was not skilled, but any action is better than none at all.

He lay his hand upon the Imperial's chest, and tried the spell. If it does not work, he is prepared to use some of the healing potion he has in his pack.

Kane awakes due to hearing someone shouting, as soon as he stands he stretches while blinking. This was all too much for him and nothing had begun yet, the fact that he had been able to sleep after years of torment and insomnia, shows the draining power of teleportation then with losing his Daedric armour and weapon for Ebony annoyed him even further. Kane steps out of the tent seeing a strange person already at the scene of the crime, Kane was expecting this person to either loot the body or help Caughthorn but then he remembers his group would be joining with another, what skills they possessed would be needed to found out but at the moment, what happened is more important. Kane looks around, he hadn't seen another soul move yet, maybe the teleporting affected them more somehow. Either way Kane wasn't going to stand around and wait for someone to call the shots, slowly he walks over to the one that found Caughthorn. The face not familiar yet already knowing they must be friendly, maybe from another leader such as Fygge.

"What happened here? Hmmm actually no point asking, I'm going to guess you're another facing Oblivion itself...he looks pretty banged up...my friend has a few health potions with him"

His eyes glance towards Caughthorn seemingly no movement from him, Kane then looks up and around, not looking for anything specific but to see how Caughthorn could have been attacked without an alarm being raised by someone but to find out more, Kane would need to scout the area, even Daedra can leave tracks. If it was them that attacked at all. This continues to run through Kane's mind, someone from the camp could have done it or a Daedra framing someone so the camp would fight against each other. Kane starts to come to conclusions, so many scenarios but not so many facts to go on, he then begins to mutter as a cold breeze freshens him up.

"I hope Fygge is holding onto my daedric armour and weapon tightly, I think I'm going to need them instead of this ebony crap"

Ice awoke with a start. The first thing he realized was that something was...wrong. He could not place exactly what it was, but something felt strange in his head. Hearing a shout outside, he decided that he would worry about the strange feeling later and investigate this first. He grasped his greatsword and ran outside the tent, seeing Erunanion and Kane looking over a body on the ground. Ice approached and realized that it was Caughthorn. He was wounded pretty badly, and Ice wasn't sure if he would survive. "I see you've tried some healing already, I'll give him one of my potions as well," he said, taking one of his healing potions from his cloak. He poured it down Caughthorn's throat and hoped that it would be enough to save him. He stood up, knowing that there was nothing more he could do at the moment. "Until he wakes up, if he wakes up, we should look around this place a bit. We don't really know what to expect here, so every piece of information may be valuable. I'm known as Ice, by the way." He offers his hand to Erunanion before going to wake up the others.

THE BURNING TOWER -Emeralda

[OOC] I am online 7:00AM-4:00PM Eastern standard time[OOC]

"Awaken! Caughthorn has been attacked!" The words broke through Emeralda's deep sleep, and she leaped from her slumber, stumbling from the tent. Feeling rested, but confused, she tried to remember all that had gone on recently. the reuniting with Euranion and Gnaag, the reconciling with Ralaith and the final transport to The Burning Tower flashed through her mind. She ran over to where the others stood over the body. They were trying healing spells and potions on Caughthorn.

" Wait! Has anyone given him water and checked his body for wounds? She ran to her tent, grabbed a flask (she had numerous cooking utensils and alchemy apparatus)and a healing potion. She was so fast as to only have been gone a moment. Returning to the body, she squeezed in between all the larger men and fell to the ground, offering water to the still unconscious Caughthor, hoping his lips would accept it. " Here is a healing potion! We need to look for wounds. I will go find some herbs so that he can eat something besides beef!."

She ran off again, as a strange feeling came over her. She knew something was not right, but could not pinpoint exactly what it was. She still wore her cloak and had slept in it, not being able to get warm. Running would help. She hunted for any berries or edible plants she could find, but remebered that the cows needed the local grasses to feed on, so she would not take any.

As she roamed, the sun started to warm her a bit, and she realized she was still covered with blood, grime and sweat. As she passed a small stream she stopped. Even though she was still chilled, she slowly dropped her cloak to the ground. Looking carefully about, she stepped from the common clothes she wore. Picking up the pants and shirt, she brought them with her into the icy water, gasping form its cold temperature. Still, the sun sparkled like shimmering diamonds on the surface of the water, relaxing her. She quickly rinsed out the clothes and rubbed the dirt from her body. When she emerged, she put the cloak back on. Yes, it was still dirty, but she could not have all of her clothing wet. She wrung out the shirt and pants. Then stepping back into her boots, she ran her fingers through her wet, shining red hair. "That's the best I can do", she thought. When she got back to camp, she would hang the wet clothes out to dry.

Swiftly she ran again, and wished to find come comberry plants. She prayed she would find herbs of some kind to help her group. Would she?

The Burning Tower Update 2

Caughthorn is revived a little by the healing potions but when Emeralda offers him water he pushes it away. "Would you poison me? What have you put in this bottle? Was it you who hit me?"

As he revives more with your assistance you hear that whoever assaulted him had to be a member of your enlarged group.

Emeralda sniffing her water bottle smells something acrid that is not coming from the water itself.

Caughthorn stares at you in turn. "Whoever it was has magic stronger than my sleep spell and that bodes ill for the rest of you. Perhaps something has happened in the transportation. If so you should be able to find out by casting a simple Detect Enchantment spell."

He struggles to his feet. "I need to rest for a moment. Perhaps you should check to see if anyone has run off. I will speak to you again when I have healed a little more."

Gnaag awaken realy fresh. His sleep was deep during which he left the world in the dream about beauty blond Altmer girl with so nice sharp ears... But the morning came. He had never prefered the early waking up. He liked to lie in bed until the sun was high enough. That was also the reason why he hadn't saw any sunrise yet.

As he was thinking about that vital matters he heard some indistinguishable cry. His senses was dull by long sleep. But he knew that whatever it was, he should get up and look for his companions. He opened the tent and crawled out of it. He wasn't able to realize how could his friends sleep in such a small thing. Small also for wood elf.

As he got out of tent he saw two his partners and two new guys talking to woman, who greeted them the previous day. She seemed to be quite uncomfortably. Her pale face was frown. Gnaag's companions looked like they were struck by some bloody news. Gnaag felt a chance. He was a bard he had to do something.

"Hi guys and gals. What a nice day it is. Have you also felt a lack of area during a night. I had to go walking a few times during night. The tents are really..."

He stopped in the middle of a sentence. He realized by their mien, that his jokes weren't convenient there.

"Can I ask you, what it is going on? Do I murdered someone or what?"

THE BURNING TOWER-Emeralda

Emeralda's face turned crimson when she was pushed away by Caughthorn. Oddly, the flask did smell strange. She had not noticed it before. Caughthorn mentioned "strong magic". Who could that be? Their new group members all appeared to be fighters, and she truly did not believe anyone in her original group could be responsible for this.

She tried to account for all members there, but still did not know everyone.

She would watch for anyone who was off by themselves as she wandered away form the camp looking for herbs. On her way she spotted Gnaag and ran over to him. "Gnaag, did you hear what has happened? I don't know any detect enchantment spells, nor do I have any potions. Some of the others did, but they say their minds are clouded in regards to the spell, and the potions have been stolen. I believe someone was in my tent also and tainted my bottles! I am going now to head a little ways east to hunt for herbs AND to see if I spot anyone lurking about on their own!"

She prayed she would find something helpful. She wandered off, heading east.

Gnaag looked very rezentfuly. He was shocked a bit.

"Someone was in your tent!!! It is terrible! What was he doing there? Who was he?"

Gnaag stopped his first thoughts he realized and tried to concentrate upon matter. Something wrong surely happened. People forgotten their spells. He was considerably confused. He didn't understund anything what Emeralda was trying to explain. He knew only that someone was in HER tent during night. His mind was full of suspicions mostly about the new ones in the camp. But he cleared his thoughts and asked:

"So slowly girl. What the hell has happened. And please try to start on the begining. By the way I think I know some detect enchantment spell. Or, I thought I knew. Now I am not sure ...mhm... Detect enchantment... What should it be?"

THE BURNING TOWER - Emeralda

"Gnaag, I don't know for certain that anyone was in my tent. I only know I filled a flask with water and the water was bad. I don't know how any poison could have gotten in or on the bottle. We need to go see if someone has wandered outside of the camp. Caughthorn said to see if someone has left. If I head east, will you go a different direction? Then we can look around. don't go too far, though!"

She cast a chameleon spell on herself and headed off toward the east.

Erunanion was heartened when the Argonian, who introduced himself as Ice, poured some healthing potion down Caughthorn's throat - his own healing spell had had no effect. But when the Imperial pushed away Emerelda's flask, saying something about it being poisonous, he was confused. Despite having only recently met the Bosmer, Erunanion could not believe she would intentionally poison him. He suspected treachery, and his instinct was confirmed by Caughthorn's next words.

After Caughthorn had weakly walked to his tent, Erunanion turned to the two he had not met before. He looked at Ice's out-held hand, and shook it warmly. "Well met, Ice; I am Erunanion." He nodded at Ice's companion who had first hurried over, then looked about the encampment. "Going by Caughthorn's words, we seem to have a powerful mage in our midst. I cannot believe it was any of those who came with me from a tavern in Imperial City would do this - while we have some magical abilities, I can see no reason for my companions to do this. I presume you believe the same of your party?"

Erunanion glanced around the campsite, taking in their surroundings and location. He hoped Ralaith would emerge from his tent soon - not that he distrusted his new companions, but he had learned from bitter experience not to immediately trust new-comers either. As he was about to speak further to Ice, he saw Emerelda and Gnaag speak, then watched Emerelda fade into the background. He knew a Chameleon spell when he saw one, and turned away from the Argonian and his Imperial friend, and shouted for her to stop. "Emerelda wait! We must not separate so quickly, before we know with what we are dealing. We know only that there is a powerful mage hereabouts - we must root out this danger together."

Hoping that she would heed his words, for he could do nothing save follow what tracks she left to stop her, he turned back to Ice. "Did you notice anything peculiar when you arrived here? I must admit, I was so fatigued when we arrived here that I saw nothing but the bedroll."

THE BURNING TOWER-Emeralda

Emeralda stopped when she heard Euranion call to her. She walked over to him.

" I know you are right, Euranion. It is dangerous to separate. I only hoped that if we each looked in a different direction, we might come across anywone who has left the camp. Caughthorn has a suspicion that someone has gone." She sudied his eyes. " You know I would not have tired to poison him, don't you? I fear someone put poison in MY tent and in my flask. We know three of our original group have been accounted for this morning. I do not believe Ralaith is a traitor, but we do need to find him. Ice and Kane have been here. Will you help me look for the others?"

She added, " I did not think we had anyone with strong magical powers in either our original group or among our new comerades. Perhaps SOMEONE has been changed during the transport or someone has been somehow enchanted by other means. What shall we do?"

Gnaag felt a relief on his heart when he found out that the reason for night visit was so trivial. Oh, trivial. Someone tried to poison Emeralda. May the bastard get in his hands. But on other hand what he would do with him?

"OK, If you wish I can go there. I am able to do anything for the informal queen of us. See you soon."

After it he took a western path. Only now he realized, that it can be anything what tried to poison Emeralda. "What to do if he will find it" This question was on his mind when he walked the path.

As Gnaag heard Erunanion's voice calling for Emeralde he stopped and went back to see what he was going to talk about with her. He nodded to everything she said and tried not to go on the way out again. He was scared about what had happened when he found it out.

THE BURNING TOWER-Emeralda

Emeralda's quick mind had not stopped working since she woke up to all that was happening that morninng. As she, Gnaag and Euranion were contemplating what to do, she realized something.

"I believe we will not see Aldhelm this morning! I don't know why, but I am certain he is only out at night. I don't know how I know this, but I do believe it to be true. I don't know if he is a vampire, werewolf or some other "creature" I am not familiar with, but I feel this very strongly. This means he could very well have been up and about all night. I don't like to accuse, but we must check him out"

She assumed the two would be surprised to hear this, but she stood steadfast in her conviction!

Kane grumbles while standing within the background of the commotion, he was a warrior but at his very best he was thinker and listener, he notices everyone was coming to conclusions, wanting to explore yet two of his group were still missing, Aldhelm and Dur-Colath...he would not come to the conclusions that one of them is the culprit yet when he hears that the water in the flask maybe poisoned, kane decides to jump in.

"Excuse me but not to point out the obvious...maybe the water here is tainted...how I know...simple, when a warrior knows he can't beat an enemy with brute strength they resort to intellect and crude tricks...tainting the water is a mere simple method of weakening your enemies so they are easy to kill...it is like leading guars to a slaughter...Emeralda...if you wish to explore then I offer my services to you as a bodyguard...while we are here we may as well get to know one another...although two of mine and Ice's group seem to be missing...Aldhelm and Dur-colath...the one known as Aldhelm seems to hate daytime, don't know why, haven't seemed to figure that one out yet"

Kane ponders their situation, anyone of them could be accused and the only thing changed within transportation was his armour and weapon...the other thing Kane can think of is the power of the daeda within the tower has been underestimated completely. On another subject, Kane seemed intrested within Emeralda, for a Bosmer, she was pretty but Kane had a thing for redheads and most of the time that was a bad thing since most of the redheads he has been enticed by turned out to be working for his enemies or they enemy themselves.

OOC: would write more but on a slight deadline at the mo

THE BURNING TOWER- Emeralda

Emeralda turned her attention toward the Imperial who had just stepped up. His words were kind, and he seemed honest enough. He, too, had sensed the night habits of Aldhelm, and didn't seem to know him as much as Emerelda would have though, theie being in the same group and all.

" Thank you for your offer to guard me, kind sir." She looked deeply into his eyes with her own emerald colored ones. " I am waiting for us all to come to a decision whether or not to venture from this camp. We need to account for those we have not seen yet this morning. I feel one of them does not have our best interests at heart!"

"Hmm, tainted water...yes that is a very good possibility. We may want to boil some before we drink again."

She felt she could trust Kane, but her first loyalties were to her original party.

Gnaag's heart was full of unpleasant emotions when an Imperal spoke to Emeralda. His name was Kane. He was talking about someone in his group. It was very suspicous in Gnaag's eyes that Imperial accused his own companion. Or it was only Gnaag's enviousness. Emeralda seemed quite pleased to be spoken to by that person. And being a bodyguard. It was so transparent. 'Yes,' thought Gnaag, 'Kane is surely a traitor.'

"Very nice. You are chatting here and the felon is probably still in our camp. I think we should do something about it. I really don't want to be next poisoned one. And I will be pleased to join you two. I am not quite sure about your healing skills. So in case of some problems I rather go with you."

"Boiling water won't remove most poisons, especially not if this was the work of Daedra. I believe that there are dark forces at work here, attempting to either kill us or turn us against one another, probably both. We all came here with the intention of fighting these Daedra, that I am sure of. So I would wait for more evidence suggesting that it is not the work of the Daedra before accusing anyone here," Ice said after hearing Emeralda's suspicion of Aldhelm. "Regardless, We need to know exactly what our resources are and the exact layout of the tower if we are going to make a successful attack. If the previous attempt ended in failure, we're going to need a very careful plan to do this. So, Caughthorn, do you have an estimate of how many we should expect to encounter at the tower? And what about our own equipment? Do we have anything that can potentially destroy a large number of them at once? Or at least something to incapacitate them?" While he awaits Caughthorn's answers, he begins looking around the camp for potentially useful supplies and contemplating possible battle strategies.

Gnaag glanced at Ice. Argonian warrior was trying to convince them that their quest was of bigger importance that their present life. It was absolutely beyond all understanding for Gnaag.

"Ice. I think you are called so. Do you think that if we will die of poison here, we will be more helpfull in Tower? Or you are sure that since now there is no bane in any of our water source. Are you about to try it?"

Erunanion, sensing a measure of hostility developing between the assembled members, sought to mediate and supress any aggression that might sour the group. "Ice is right, Gnaag, for now we have no evidence of internal treachery. We are in the midst of the Daedra; everything that happens, good and ill, can be traced to their mischief."

He looked at Emerelda, glad that she had dispelled the chameleonic veil that had obscured her. "Of course we should establish who has come and gone from this place, you are right. I was hesistant to allow you leave on your own for fear of the evil that may still be near. But if Kane is willing to accompany you, my fear for your safety is tempered." He grinned at the Imperial, his impressive weaponry and armour reassuring him.

Erunanion turned back to Ice. "Good questions all, I await Caughthorn's answers with great interest." He reached into a pouch at his belt, and pulled out a scrap of parchment. "Whilst in the tavern I made a second copy of our party form; in order for us to better understand one another I suggest you peruse it. Perhaps you have a similar document? Once we know of our resources and have all the information we can gather we will be better able to plan our campaign."

He held the paper out for Ice to read, and scanned the area again. The disappearance of both Ralaith and this Aldhelm was distinctly troubling to him; he did not believe they went willingly, and looked about the camp for any sign of struggle or spore that might indicate where they went.

THE BURNING TOWER-Emeralda

Emeralda's head was spinning.There were too many things going on at once.

First, suspicions among the entire party toward each other, brought on by Caughthorn himself. He did say they should check to see if anyone had left the camp, BUT was it wise to go looking and be divided again?

Then there were still those who had not shown their faces yet. She stood with Euranion, Gnaag, Ice and Kane. There were still Ralaith, Dur-Colath and Aldhelm to be accounted for. She thought they should all go together and find them to see if any had sneaked off.

She agreed with Gnaag that the camp's internal problems should be faced first before running off to battle. If there were a betrayer in camp, that person could easily lead them all to slaughter. On the other hand, there was an urgency to their quest.

In her young heart she truly felt that the first thing to do would be to find the traitor if there was one. And come to think of it, how certain were they that Caughthorn himself was who he said he was?

They had just gotten a leader in Euranion, but now they were divided again into two groups. The best way to work together would be to have ONE leader, but who? These men were all very strong, and with a lack of trust developing, it would be hard for some of them to follow anyone. There were certainly plenty of competent leaders here!

She would be quiet for the time being and watch and listen.

Gnaag looked disgustedly at Ice but he didn't said anything. There was no reason to get divided now. Erunianon was true, but he would never loose sight of the group of warriors. What if they were agents of Oblivion set to break their group? About his companions he was absolutely sure. The way they met was by no doubts accidental.

There was still the question of Ralaith absention. Maybe the other two warriors caught and killed him. But there was still chance he was in his tent. And what about coordination of two groups. There must to be only one leader. Gnaag actually didn't know who the leader of warrior was, but he fear that Ice was the head of them. Ice didn't seem to be very intelligent to lead such a big group. He had to do something.

"So I am sorry about being rude Ice. I just lost my nerves in these situation." He made a kindest smile he could do to the man. "But now I think that someone should take command of our group. As I don't know anything about you warriors, I vote for Erunanion. What do you think of it?"

Ralaith watched the events with interest from the tree branch he was sitting in. He had awoken with Erunanion's call, but, seeing that healing attempts were already being undertaken, decided to observe instead of participate--besides, he was no healer, and his potions were going to be needed in the battles ahead, he was sure of it. Two things disconcerted him enough to make him on his guard--not quite nervous, but watchful. The first was the feeling he had in his head, of a foreign presence come and gone. The only beings he could think of who had that power were the Daedra--and Fairgoth, since the events in the Tavern. But he had not yet met all of his new companions, so they were suspect. The second was, well...one of his poisons had been taken from his pack. It had not been the strongest of them, but in situations like this, Ralaith knew well that the psychological element and natural suspicion of living through a posion attempt was often much more harmful to group efforts than an a death--he had used the tactic himself in times past. One thing was for sure--someone was trying to sow distrust among the group.

From the look of things, they were succeeding.

Gnaag looked to have a major dislike towards this Kane character already. Perhaps it was the protection offer towards his would-be sweetheart. Emeralda's bottles had been affected, possibly with his poison, so she was mistrustful. The Argonian, Ice, seemed to want to focus all attention on the Daedra, possibly trying to get attention away from the poisoning. While it was possible that he was simply trying to get as quick a start as possible, it was also possible that he was involved--whether actually trying the attempt, or acting as an accomplice. Kane seemed fairly sensible, with good knowledge of military tactics. Erunanion seemed to be doing all that Ralaith had seen him do previously--try to keep the group together. Yes, he would be a functional leader.

Ralaith debated whether to reveal himself or not. Due to his tardiness and generally shady past, he knew that he would be suspected as the assassin, even if they didn't find out about his missing poison. If he came in now, he may be able to stop any further discontent within the group, but there were still the two others--Aldhelm and Dur-Colath--who were left to be observed. Aldhelm definetely sounded suspicious, with his aversion to light, but, using himself as an example, Ralaith knew he could not judge on reputations alone.

Ralaith decided to join the group. Hiding further would serve little purpose--he had a feeling he would have to interact with, not just observe, the newcomers to know them well enough to make a judgement. Also, Gnaag looked nearly ready to try to tackle Kane, as overmatched as he was. Going without a healer would not be a good thing.

Ralaith leapt out of the tree branch, flipping in midair and landing soundlessly in a crouch next to Erunanion. Standing up carefully, he addressed the group, voicing his opinion to Gnaag's query.

"Yes, Erunanion could be a fit leader. However, while assertive action must be taken, I suggest that we wait until we know each other a little more before we choose--a wrong choice will most certainly mean death, and a right choice only slightly less so. Still, we must choose carefully--this dremora, whatever his name is, is bound to put our choice to the test."

Ralaith scanned the looks of the group. Yes, this mission would be quite fitting as a next adventure. Quite fitting indeed.

"I agree with Ralaith. I question whether or not we need a leader at all at the moment. There are only eight of us. That's not many people to manage, and each of us is the best in certain fields. Thus, we cannot legitimately create a single leader for such a diverse group of people. Here we have warriors, mages, bards, and a number of other professions. Can one person truly lead all of us when we are all so different? Additionally, I fear that competing for leadership at this moment would only serve to divide us even more, as it will both take up time we can't spare and I doubt we will all accept one leader. So for the moment, let us simply find out all of our options and learn each others' strengths and weaknesses. I am known as Ice-Blood, Ice for short, and I consider myself a warrior. I know little of the magical arts, but I am well-learned in the areas of close-range combat, speechcraft, and strategy. Gnaag, I apologize if I spoke too harshly earlier. The very atmosphere of this place reeks of danger and chaos, and has put me on edge." He sighs and leans back against a nearby tree. Holding his head with his hand, he mutters, "this is going to be very interesting indeed..."

"I am called Ralaith. I am known by most as a swindler, liar, cheat, murderer, and sometimes thief. I am an assassin by trade. I am good with darts, and I have decent skill with my longknives. However, my real skill comes in the form of observation--I can tell the weaknesses, physical or psychological, of nearly anyone, given some time. I was in that tree observing the group, and have already learned about your characters more than you know."

Yes, their characters, and more. Ice seemed noble, a lizard with a mission, although looked to be ruthless. Probably some sort of vigilante or freedom-fighter--the kind who often gave him trouble when the guards couldn't catch him. Still, they were on the same side. Kane shifted uncomfortably in his ebony armor--perhaps a replacement for his normal apparel, or perhaps a newly aquired set of items he hadn't broken in yet. They were both fairly straightforward; a good characteristic in members of a fighting group. He hoped they truly were as fit as they looked.

"OK, I agree with you both. So if you allow me to do, I will promote myself to the main bard of this group. If there is another bard who is going to argue with me, I am free to talk." smiled Gnaag on them. "I really don't want to become a leader of anyone else."

"But everybody is showing his advantages and I cannot be exception. I am Gnaag, the bard. I am neither good warrior nor mage. I know some spells of Alternation and Illusion school, but it surely isn't something the true leader needs."

"So come on folks. We don't have too much time to waste it by upmanship. We have to find out if there is some good water in camp. I am getting a bit thirsty"

He thought very little about some Daedra, the primary thing he should do was satisfaction of his needs. He looked on Ralaith. 'Why was he hiding in tree. He was observing them? Maybe he was waiting whether they accuse him. There could be also some other reasons. But finally the last persons he can surely rely on are Erunanion and Emeralda.'

Kane smirks that the one known as Gnaag, the hostility ever so apparant reminded Kane of a school boy being jealous that someone else is talking to his crush yet this didn't bother Kane, just merely amused him like always. Kane listens to the group, nodding respectfully to Ralaith as he joins the group, without asking Kane knew this person couldn't be the traitor, if he was he wouldn't be so bold to promote himself as an assassin, however the other group still haven't met Aldhelm, the thought of Aldhelm coming into the group all cheerful trying to explain the full darkbrother hood armour and his dislike to daylight amused Kane even more...slowly he composes himself as the talk of a leader grabs his attention.

"If a leader is needed within battle, then a leader shall rise within battle...not before and not after, everyone assumes Ice is our leader yet I don't think even he has accepted the responsiblity as of yet...as for an introduction...I am Kane Nighy...Ex-mercenary of the Morag Tong, Champion of Great House Redoran and Warrior of the Fighter's guild...I have handled my fair share of daedra and yes...I am not happy with this Ebony rubbish...so it shall take a few hours to get used to it due to the fact for the last several years I have worn nothing but daedric armour...now may I suggest that we do something other than stand here and brood over who the traitor maybe...the traitor won't reveal themselves until we are on the battlefield...the faster we get to the battlefield, the more time I get to ram my sword down their throat...look at it this way...two others are missing, that means their tents need searching if they don't show up, we also need to find a clear and untainted source of water...if not the cows will be infected and the poison will spread throughout, lastly we need to scout this place to give us a good idea of what to do next"

Kane sighs slightly, in the back of his mind he can already imagine someone arguing with him about shouting orders yet if he didn't do it then who will and when...he looks about the camp before cracking his neck.

"Also I suggest we set up night watch, if someone or something can ransack us in an instant like they have then we obviously haven't got good security...I hardly sleep...lastnight was the first ever night I got any sleep and that was only because the teleporting drained me...so when night comes along, I shall take first watch...unless someone else prefers too"

He looks around the small group, wishing that Dur-Colath and Aldhelm would show their faces pretty soon, atleast that would stop the others pointing the finger.

"I would suggest that we take the watches in pairs--one person from each group. My group knows each other fairly well, and I presume your group does too, and this way we may be able to better get to know each other--besides, with a traitor possibly in the camp, two people on the watch would be better than one--if the traitor was on the watch by himself, he may try another assassination attempt, and this time, possibly be successful. I will take the first watch with you, as I don't usually sleep during night anyway--I'm too used to using the darkness for cover."

"I do agree with you, Kane. If your other two members do not show their faces soon, we may have to search their tents--I have a feeling there will be incriminating evidence somewhere to be found." Ralaith was thinking of his missing poison. It was possible it had not ogtten teleported, or that he miscounted one of the times he took inventory and had one less than he thought he did, but it was unlikely--he had not missed counting anything since the last time he was shorted on a bounty, and Fairgoth seemed pretty well on top of teleportation.

"In the meantime, does anyone in your party know a detect enchantment spell? Caughthorn mentioned that it could be used to find the culprit."

Aldhelm woke with a start in the small tent that Caughthorn had led the group to shortly after their arrival. He felt more refreshed than he had in the past several centuries, the enchanted sleep refreshing as no stasis he had been able to manage had. He felt stronger, more agile and more clear-headed than ever before. He quickly grabbed his pack from beside his bedroll and walked towards the center of camp. Though the sun was still causing the tingling, the overcast weather their guide had mentioned earlier was keeping it down to an almost negligible annoyance. When he reached camp, he found the others were gathering around and trying to get to know each other.

At least that is what he had thought at first glance. However, he quickly realized something was wrong, Caughthorn was nowhere to be seen and members of what he assumed to be the "others we would be teamed with" that Fygge had mentioned were glancing at him uncomfortably, almost as if they were afraid of him.

He listened about the argument of who the leader should be and voiced his opinion with Kane, "It is still far too soon to pick a leader from a group who hardly knows anything about those around them." However, Aldhelm is still unsure why there seems to be such tenseness in the group's behavior.

Spotting Ice-Blood, he walks over to him and quietly asks, "Is it just myself, or have I missed something? The other group's stares seem completely unfounded and I would like to know why I am receiving them at all." He then waits for Ice-Blood's answer that Aldhelm hopes will clear up what is going on.

[ooc]Please note the link to the OOC thread in my signature.[/ooc]

Ralaith stood back a little. This was the third member of the other party to show himself--leaving only one. While he still was not sure about all of his prsent companions, the last one to arrive would certainly be suspected. Ralaith knew that now, above all other times so far on this adventure, he must watch, and be aware.

(edited--forgot that I wasn't supposed to know who Aldhelm was)

OOC> Please be aware that while one group may have read the threads of the other group your party you was not present at their induction and therefore the info is not available to your character. So Emeralda I don't see any reason why you could think Aldhelm is a vampire (afaik you shouldn't even know his name yet.) Let us pretend you had a dream in which you thought there was a vampire in the group but didn't name him. The sleep enchantment worked on everyone who did not have the enchantment of Oblivion and that would include vampire and werewolf too unless they were the one (s) affected.

On Topic - When Gnaag looks to fill his water bottle he notices a little liquid already there. It has the same acrid smell that Emeralda had found. It is clearly not that the local water is poisoned but someone put poison in the bottle.

"Well, they're a little wary of you at the moment. They seem to think that because you prefer the night that you're some kind of vampire or werewolf or something. I really don't care either way, as I believe we're all here to stop the Daedra, no matter our pasts. And Kane is right," he says to the other group, "I'm definitely not the leader of our group, not unless they all want me to be. I'm just someone with a big sword and experience, hoping to get this job done." He sighs again and starts pacing. "I just wish Caughthorn would wake up so that we could get some real information on this tower. I'd like to make a move as soon as possible, but going in without a plan would be suicide." Remembering that Caughthorn mentioned a Detect Enchantment spell, he added: "Do any of you know of this detect enchantment spell? I don't know a thing about magic except that it's best to dodge it, so I'm of no use there." He then glances over at Dur-Colath's tent and wonders if he is ok. "It may have been an enchanted sleep," he thought, "but it must have been a powerful spell to have kept him out for this long..."

OOC: heh was waiting for you to do something just incase I needed to edit my next post

Kane smirks, nodding towards his fellow team mate arriving fashionably late, his eyes watching the other group's reactions, he sighs shaking his head for a moment. Kane wasn't liking the feeling in the pit of his stomach, betrayal was something that was punishable by death within his books, he was all about trust and honour-bound, to have a traitor within his own group would place mistrust in anyone he meets, yet Kane decides to with hold the feeling. He notices the agitation within the others but grunts, muttering "Give him some more time". He wasn't bothered if anyone heard his mutter, he was doing it to place encouragement within his friend, like he was using his own willpower to send a message to Dur-colath, wherever he was or whatever he was doing there had to be a reasonable explanation.

Kane glances towards Aldhelm, hearing a few whispers towards Ice yet he decides to not join in, his hearing seemed to be super human when focused upon but he only uses it when needed and it seemed to not work most times yet Kane's eyes still continued to study Emeralda, apart from villagers, Emeralda was the only female Kane had ever set eyes upon, yet Kane felt like someone was keeping a close watch upon him when he speaks to Emeralda or even looks at her, this could be his paranoia setting in but due to recent observations of Gnaag, he seemed a little too protective of Emeralda and the problem was, it was secretive protection.

Annoyed with just standing about and chatting, Kane walks away from the group, taking off his ebony curiass which was beginning to become bothersome, while he does this he listens to Ralaith's words, wondering if any of his party does know a detect enchantment spell, he knew for sure he didn't. After taking off his curiass, he lies it on the ground, using a tree to stretch against, cracking his back and knuckles while scars of all shapes and sizes decorated his arms, chest, stomach and back, Amoung the scars are two tattoos, one on the right side of his chest being a howling wolf accompanied by a tribal sign, the crest of his family...his other tattoo takes up his back and consists of a red dragon fighting a white wolf...Kane glances towards the group as he leans against the tree, slowly folding his arms, his muscles very much clear and visible like his broadness, he notices Gnaag going to fill his bottle yet Kane tilts his head wondering why the same stench fills the air.

After being sidetracked, Kane looks back to Ralaith, keeping Emeralda within his line of sight and allowing Ice to speak before he did.

"As far as I know, none of us know a detect enchantment spell...infact I don't think any of us know any spells...Aldhelm next to Ice has a few scrolls and potions...he is the man to speak too about things like that...as I usually say...want something killing...I am your man...want anything fixing...I am your man...and for ladies only...want satisifaction...I am your man...but when it comes to magic...get someone else"

Kane smirks, emotions were getting high, paranoia was too and soon so would tempers, only way Kane knew to keep them all down was to make jokes and funny comments to ease everyone down yet with everything going on, not even the funniest person would be able to ease the mixture of emotions that lie within this camp.

(soory about the lack of posts, I had a 11 hour work day today, I have a couple of those a week so if I dont post for awhile that is why. I am going to word my post to reflect the updates THEN the player posts. IF Malchik has a problem with this I will gladly edit my post)

Dur-Colath wakes up with a start. 'Lord I feel great! I havent slept like that ofr years, I really need to find out if Caughthorn has that spell in scroll form." Dur-Colath streches as he sit up in the bedroll. It is when he crwals out of the tent and stands up that he notices something is wrong. As he looks around Dur-Colath cant help but notice the fog and rotting plantlife smell, he also feels the soft ground ooze between his toes and the cold breeze raise goosebumps on his bare arms and calves were his glass armor does not cover. He quickly pulls his cloak out of his tent and wraps it around his shoulders. As he fixes the cloak in place he notices the their host is laying on the ground and not moveing. Rushing over he sees that Caughthorn is still alive but hurt and unconsicous. He then goes back to his tent were his pack is at to get one of his healing potions. " what the! they're gone." every one of his potions is missing. getting back out of the tent he looks around for any tracks of the theif who did this. ( OOC: Malchik is there any tracks of the intruder that took the items? if so then Dur-Colath goes after whoever or whatever made them, if not then he goes off to find some ingredients for a healing potion, Dur-Colath is no alcalmist but does know enough to know what is needed to make the potions.)

(if there is tracks) Dur-Colath sees eveidence of someone haveing been in their camp and makeing a visit to each of the tents, Seeing that everyone else is still under the sleep spell he figures there is no way he could wake anyone up. So he heads off down a path that the tracks lead. After awhile he notices that the tracks lead to the guard tower were the main Deadra is soppose to be at. 'No way am I going to go on alone. I am good but not that good.' Dur-Colath then turns around and goes back to the camp, on the way he keeps an eye out for the ingreadiants needed for a healing potion. ' hmmm we are in a marsh that is in a mountain country, Chokeweed,CorkBulb root, I have some crabmeat in my pack so that should help. ahh there is some marshmerrow perfect.' Gathering the items up as he goes, keeping an eye out for the theif , or it's companions, Dur-Colath makes his way back to the camp in time to hear Kane's staement on Ice-Blood being the overall leader of their group. 'Not a bad ideal, but if he doesnt want it I'll see what they think of me being leader.'

(if there are no tracks) Dur-Colath trys in vain to find any hints of someone being in the camp and doing the damage and takeing the items. 'unless we lost everything in transit and Caughthorn is just feeling the effects of it as well, then I am at a loss on how anything could get in here and not leave any kind of trace. Even if the being had wings there would be tracks were it landed and entered the tents and then took off, but there isn't any tracks.' Dur-Colath shakes his head, He knows that Caughthorn needs help and fast. But without any potions the groups options were very limited. And knowing that everyone was still under the effects of the sleep spell he knew that there was no way of wakeing anyone up to help him out now. ' If I'm not back before someone wakes up then I will have alot of explaining to do to some VERY suspisious people. But if I dont get some ingreadiants for Aldhelm to make some new healing potions then Caughthold is good as dead.' Dur-Colath then makes off in a purely random direction to look for what is needed.
After finding the needed items Dur-Colath returns to the camp in time to hear Kane's staetment of Ice-Blood being the overall group leader. 'Not a bad ideal. But if Ice refueses the offer I'll see what the other think of me being the leader, if we really need one that is.'


(whatever the outcome of the tracks, no tracks) Dur-Colath steps into the camp circle and says." If a leader is needed the Ice has my vote."
" I am sorry if my absence has caused some alarm I noticed that all of the potions in my pack were gone and with our host hurt I figured that I was not the only one in this shape. So I went out and retrieved some ingreadients to fastion new potions." Dur-Colath hands the items he has collected to Aldhelm. He then notices that everyone is looking at him with not so kind eyes. "If I wanted to hurt any of you you wouldn't be standing now, all of us were under a sleep spell and only when the spell ended would any of us wake up. So if I wanted to stop this party then I would have killed all of you while you slept. So cast those eyes to the tower were our real enemy stands, not at me."

“That is quite odd, since it is daylight now yet I suffer no such ill effects." “I wonder who in their group deduced such a foolish conclusion." Still pondering the question, Aldhelm continued by answering Ice's next question.

"No, I have nothing to perform a detect enchantment spell myself but I may be able to gather the ingredients to make a potion that will allow me to do just that." “However, I have not any kind of alchemist's lab, not having even to have bothered to bring a simple mortar and pestle, to create such a potion. Perhaps we can ask Caughthorn for one when he awakens and is recovered. I will see if I can gather some ingredients to be prepared when he does awaken"

" Speaking of awakening, I also share your concern for Dur-Colath. Perhaps we should check to see if he is in his tent?"

Aldhelm strides towards his companion's tent to check to see if his Bosmer friend didn't need anything in the way of restore health potions, as Caughthorn had after his apparent attack.

However, as he nears the tent, Dur-Colath bursts out having apparently been looking for traces of the attacker, and apparently thief. Aldhelm greets his friend, “Hail, Dur-Colath, I was just coming to see if you were alright." He gladly takes the jumble of saltrice and marshmerrow that Dur-Colath hands to him; however, for his lack of alchemist's supplies he is unable to use any of the ingredients at the moment.

“I , for one, Dur-Colath, believe your confession." Aldhelm states. "Apparently, you were not the only one who the suspicion was cast upon. I believe, as you do, that instead of wondering who among US is the supposed attacker, we should instead be looking towards our common enemy, the Daedra in the area." He then states loudly to all in the camp, “We were sent here to be companions, not to simply fight amongst ourselves, we were sent to the Oblivion to fight Daedra not people. I believe that if I can gather the ingredients for the Detect Enchantment potions we all need to apparently clear up this mess, we can move onto our real purpose."

Glancing back towards Dur-Colath, “I am surprised you know what goes into a healing potion and I appreciate your gatherings, for they will save me much work later on. Would you like to accompany me so we can find enough ingredients for the eight Detect Enchantment potions we are going to need? I will be glad to teach you what goes into such a potion."

He then packs the ingredients into his satchel and waits to see Dur-Colath's response to his proposal.

[ooc]dunmer_jediknight: unless you intended for all your healing potions to disappear, I believe that all that was taken were anything that would allow us to detect enchantment--so unless all your potions let you detect enchantment, I believe there was no DM decree stating that they should be gone. My poison went missing for pure RP purposes, not because of a DM statement[/ooc]

Watching Aldhelm walk off, he saw someone new burst into the open. Finally, the last member appeared. And yet, watching the last two, they all seemed relatively trustworthy, although Ralaith had not seen enough to be completely sure. Everything else added up--the purposely botched assassination, the missing poison, the group hostility....all that was missing was the culprit. Who was not here who knew about it? There was only one.

"Right now, the issue of leadership is not important--we must find out who is attempting to poison us before our numbers begin to dwindle. There is only one person I know of who is not present and knows about the poisoning." Looking around at the seemingly uncomprehendingly looks on the faces of the others, Ralaith went on. "Caughthorn himself. Think about it--an agent of the Daedra, masquerading as a guide to those come to fight the battle. A perfect chance to sow discontent among the group. By poisoning himself, he can assure that the poison dosage is not enough to kill him, and still make us think that there is a traitor in our midst. He tells us that a detect enchantment spell can reveal the traitor, and yet, conveniently, none of us knows one. While we cannot be sure, I would be careful--being an assassin myself, I know that a common tactic against groups is to attack them one by one, thus lowering morale, heightening paranoia, and increasing suspicion towards those remaining, neatly breaking up the group. It is likely that poison will somehow be given to one of us unsuspectingly, as most people will not expect the same tactic to be used twice, making it that much more likely that it will be. I suggest that you do not drink or eat anything that looks or smells different, or that you do not recognize all of what is in it. This includes potions, until we can get them tested."

Ralaith debated with himself again on whether or not to tell them about his missing poison. It would certainly startle the others, for the potion, while not completely fatal except in large amounts, was one that was extremely painful. Still, the longer he withheld the information, the more suspicion would be cast on him when he revealed it. He decided to wait.

Before he turned away into the wilderness, Ralaith made one last comment. "I suggest that none of us travel alone, just as we should not take watch alone. Now, I am off to hunt some food. Who would go with me?"

Dur-Colath says "I will. If we are to work together this will be a great time of me and you to get use to each others company." Dur-Colath then remembering something turns back to Aldhelm. " yesterday you sent me a message telapathicly, I was wondering how strong a telepath you are, can you link other people to each other? what is your range? The reason why I ask this should be evedent in the combat situation we find ourselves in. And it also might root out our little traitor." Dur-Colath waits for Aldhelm to reply.

Kane grumbles while listening to Ralaith, while the facts built upon Caughthorn, some things just didn't make sense, Kane knew some people would go to any lengths to be victorious but the way Caughthorn looked it was either very good acting or it was very much legit...he thinks for a moment but holds back his tongue on the matter, merely turning it into a declined offer for Ralaith's hunt.

"Nah, I'm good...I'm going to check on our supposed leader then get some training done so I can get used to my armour and weapon...switching from daedric to ebony in a matter of seconds is like swimming through water then seconds later swimming through nothing...if I am to be fully effective within battle, I need to know the weak spots and strong points of this armour...also good to see you up and about Dur"

He nods to the last of his team mates yet doesn't move, he is still gaining his bearings on his surroundings and the four others that have joined, he just really hoped those around him weren't a betrayer for if there were, The thing Kane would do to that person would be so horrific that it wouldn't be able to be described yet what Dur had said was true, if they continued to point the finger at each other, they would more or less make it easier for the enemy to wipe out those they are supposed to be protecting.

Glad to have someone to accompany him, Aldhelm begins to move towards the woods he had seen at the edge of their encampment.

As he moves, he hears Dur-Colath, “Yesterday, you sent me a message telepathically, I was wondering how strong a telepath you are, can you link other people to each other? What is your range? The reason why I ask this should be evident in the combat situation we find ourselves in. And it also might root out our little traitor."

"Though I wish, the traitor could be rooted out as simply as that, I am afraid my telepathy is only good for sending messages without speaking, not for peering into the minds of others. I can use my telepathy strongly for about 50 or 60 meters, but sometimes a little more. Since I have never had others to join together with I am not sure if it would be possible for me to link the four of us to prevent treachery from befalling one of our brothers while we are away. However, if there is a traitor in our midst it would definitely be worth it. Since once the link is established, it should be a burden on everyone involved, and it will not affect anyone too greatly since we shall be sharing the load. I will give it a try after we gather the ingredients"

Walking towards the stream, Aldhelm quickly spots some Hypha Facia growing on a fallen log. Pointing out the mushrooms to Dur-Colath, he states “These conches shall be the first ingredient we need to complete a successful Detect Enchantment potion. The next ingredient we need to gather is marshmerrow. Obviously, you have already gathered some from the large clump by the stream bed. However, normally, this potion would also drain our fatigue. However, this shall soon be remedied with the addition of saltrice, which has restore fatigue properties to negate the effect of the previous ingredients. Ah, there is some over there."

Walking over and picking some of the saltrice, he then packs the ingredients and turns to Dur-Colath. "True, that I wanted to show you how to make the potion. I had another reason for wanting to talk to you. I fear since we were the last to awaken, the blame for what has happened has landed mostly on us. I want you to know I meant what I said in camp about believing your innocence and any announcements I make in camp are not all directed towards you. Hopefully there will be no need for such announcements."

“I am now going to attempt to initiate the link between us." (OOC- DM's choice of success)

"Well if the others dont take my advice to hart there will be no need for blame to be placed on anyone. Because we will all be dead."

Dur-Colath helps in the collecting and listens closely to Aldhelm's lession. When Aldhelm mentions the limits to his telapathy Dur-Colath frowns " Well that is to be expected, it would have been to easy of a salution if it had worked. And nothing so far has been easy."

At the mention of the link Dur-Colath tences up."ok if it will help I'll let you try." Dur-Colath hopes this wount hurt much.

OOC> Caughthorn was attacked physically and the wounds are such he could not have initiated them himself. The telepathic link is permitted to all eight if they wish to join it. And by chance you hear Caughthorn is feeling well enough to talk. With your telepathy link it will need only one there to question him. Others can be present if they wish. Others can presumably use Aldhelm to send telepathic questions back the other way. When one initiates contact with Caughthorn I will give you update 3.

Aldhelm spreads out his telepathy like a web and suddenly feels several, vague undefined presences. Not wishing to alarm any of his companions, he sends a message across the web, The presence you are feeling is I, Aldhelm, and I have spread out my telepathy to allow us to have quick and easy group communications even if we cannot see each other. If you do not wish to join that is fine, as I cannot force participation. After he has sent this message he keeps the web active to allow willing people to join in.

Gnaag saw that everyone had own way of investigation. But he was really annoyed when he saw Kane looking his own body as he took off the curiass. It was waste of time. They hadn't fought yet and that fool was looking on his scars. Gnaag set out for water.

"Aaargh!" shouted Gnaag suddenly when he was trying to pour some water into his bottle. There was some liqiud on the bottom of it. It smelled fulsomely. Fortunately no one was around him so they couldn't found out what was the cry for. He decided to keep it in secret from warriors and Ralaith.

As he was thinking, he tried to reach Emeralda quietly. He knew she was involved in the secrets of alchemy. When he got back he realized that everybody was there. No one missing. The traitor had to be among them. Gnaag wasn't sure what it should be but one of them certainly. Currently a curios was talking something about being sent as a group to fight Daedra. It was very suspicios for Gnaag. Why do all warriors want to leave the camp so early? Are they involved in betrail? They have to be.

"Yes you are right Aldhelm we were sent to fight the Daedra. But you have to know that at least one of us is a traitor. I think that in the camp we are better protected from him than on the move. The next stop we do can be our last with suuch a culprit among us."

After this he saw that companions were about to leave. Some for hunt. Aldhelm and Dur-Colath seemed to do some experiment with telepathy. He found Emeralda and asked her whether she could talk to him. He had something important for her.

Before he left, Ralaith heard stirring from the direction Caughthorn had gone. Now was the time for information, not hunting. He addressed the group that was still present. "It seems our 'friend' has awakened. One or two of us should go and question him, as well as look over his wounds, to be sure whther they were self-inflicted or not. I would like to go, but to observe his behavior, not do the questioning. Someone else should come. Who will it be?"

Then he heard Aldhelm's presence in his mind. Again Ralaith had the feeling that there was an intruder in his head, someone he couldn't get rid of, but he wasn't sure if it was the same presence he felt before or not. Deciding that it would be suspicious if he did not accept the telepathic link, Ralaith consented, but resolved to be on guard. Yes, Aldhelm, this link will be useful, especially in battle. What are the limits of it? What is the range? We must know our capabilities before we can make successful use of our tools. Also, this talent of yours is unexpected, but fortunate. Do you have any other skills such as this that could be useful? Now is the time to reveal any hidden abilities, before we are at each other's throats completely.

[ooc]For ease of reading, please use italics and underline for telepathy, so we know whether you speak or think.[/ooc]

The first response to Aldhelm's telepathy came from one of the members of the other group, Ralaith. The man almost instantly began questioning Aldhelm about his ability and Aldhelm was quick to respond.

I can use my telepathy strongly for about 50 or 60 meters. However, it is only surface telepathy, for communication purposes only and cannot go into the minds of those connected as can some telepathy. My other abilities are no secret; I am an alchemist by trade and use my potions to increase my senses and abilities. By the way, has Caughthorn awakened as of yet? I wish to ask if he has even the most basic tools for creating a potion. I have already gathered the ingredients to make such a potion and now just need the tools to make it.

He seems to be awake, but we have not yet gone in to question him. Ralaith was still a little distrustful of the mage. It was possible that he could do more with the telepathy, and was lying to them about it. He needed more observation. Ralaith resolved to spend more time around him later, but now there was the matter of Caughthorn to attend to. He hoped one of the others would come with him, and speak up soon--the longer they waited, the more danger they were in.

Erunanion listened to the exchange flow back and forth between the party members. He was heartened to hear those from the Drunken Alit would support him if he wished ot become the leader of the group, but in honesty he saw no need for one. In battle they would look after each other implicitly, without direction, and all other decisions should be taken as a group, not simply as the result of one person's mindset. Putting that debate to one side, he turned his mind to the far greater problem of whether or not there is was a traitor among them.

The very idea of treachery within their ranks appalled Erunanion. In all his travels within groups, he had relied on the implicit bond that shared danger created. He'd assumed that facing all the horrors of Oblivion would have supressed any selfish or unproductive instincts among the group; judging by Gnaag and Kane's petty rivallry for Emerelda's affections, he had clearly been wrong. But actually conspiring to kill someone aiding them was wholly different from that inconsequential feud.

He was certain that Ralaith could not have committed the crime - he had a displayed a code of conduct which, while perhaps being only an assassin's code, was still honourable. Similarly, he could not find any reason for Gnaag nor Emerelda plotting this treachery. Of this Ice-Blood he was fairly certain he was trustworthy - he had travelled with many warriors in his time, and the Argonian seemed to be a fine example of that class. Similarly, Kane seemed to be too single-minded to have been so deceptive - had he wished to harm any of the group he would have done so as a fighter, and not bothered with the subtly and dishonour of poison. Dur-Coath and Aldhelm, against whom so much mistrust and been placed, seemed at first glance to be sincere.Aldhelm's offer to create the necessary Detect Enchantment potions was helpful, as it would once and for all clear up this mess and allow them to move on.

As all this moved through his head, he suddenly felt something new within his thoughts. Aldhelm's voice in his head startled him, but he clung to his calm exterior. After listening to the mage's explanation, he spoke outloud, "I accept this offer with hesitation. I have a strong will but I do not enjoy being tested in a manner I am unsuited to. Know you mage that should you play tricks with us I shall visit revenge upon you. But we must get to the bottom of this mystery quickly; I accept." He wished he had not spoken so harshly, for it only fed the flames of suspicion that were already roaring through the party, but he had an aversion to telepathy and all of the Illusory arts that made him nervous. Testing this telepathic link, he thought, I suggest we question Caughthorn now - with this link we will all be able to hear his answers, and they are answers I am anxious for. Unless anyone has any strong objections, I volunteer to question him. With this link any questions that the rest of us have will be shared with the group and I can ask them of him.

"If there is no one else who wants to come, Erunanion and I will be off. The longer we wait, the more opportunities there are for another attempt."

Since, Aldhelm and Dur were not in the circle, he added telepathically, We will ask any questions anyone tells us through this link. While we are questioning, do what you can to gather food and water. Aldhelm, see if you can get enough ingredients together for two potions--one for someone of each of the groups, so we can be sure no treachery is involved.

And with that, Ralaith set off towards Caughthorn, to get the answers he needed. Anyone else who wanted to come was welcome to join Erunanion and himself, but they must catch up soon, for Ralaith was not waiting any longer.

Gnaag was interrupted in his aking to Emeralda by strange voice in his mind. It told it was Aldhelm. But could Gnaag trusted it? He was affraid that the voice could saw his secret. He looked in Aldhelm direction. He didn't look like he knew something.

Nice to hear, that you have such an ability. But can you use it to find out who the traitor is? It can be very helpfull.

When Gnaag heard Ralaith demand he added:

Well. I am not about to enter Caughthorn's tent, but when I will have some questions I would use the link Aldhelm made for us. By the way my first quetion is whether there is some food suply in the camp. I am starving since yesterday.

Then he turned to Emeralda with silent words:

"I have something very important to tell you. Do you know of some quiet place where no suspect can hear us?"