Chaslin
New Member
"Are you insane?" "No, I'm a pirate"- JD and Janitor, Scrubs
Posts: 41
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Post by Chaslin on Dec 15, 2007 5:06:19 GMT -5
S'Jhavir pulled the moth-bitten and torn brown cloak around him, shivering violently as he examined a building across the street. Cold winds ran freely the streets of Leyawiin, carrying the scent of a coming storm. But S'Jhavir patiently waited, cloaked in the shadows of the night, quietly observing the Blackwood Company's old guildhall. Below the abandoned building, the Dark Brotherhood held one of their sacred Sanctuary's, a refuge from the perils of the world. S'Jhavir had been assigned here, after its recent battles with the Morag Tong, the Brotherhood of Cyrodiil needed new members. Or preferably, veterans with more than a few years of murders under their belt. S'Jhavir soaked in the beauty of the night, leaning into the alleyway to avoid the wind. The eternal blackness of the sky, the growing evil that consumed every thing that came in its way. At night, S'Jhavir felt like he was living with Sithis himself. Gradually unwrapping himself from his cocoon, the Khajiit strode across the darkened street and slipped into the building, narrowly pushing aside a rotten door with rusty hinges.
The place was truly the very representation of spooky abandoned houses in stories. Dusty and broken furniture was scattered throughout the room, but everything that could of even remotely held a chance of value had been taken. S'Jhavir thanked Sithis to be out of the cold, and made his way to the basement door, his feet naturally treading softly, only the faint sound of S'Jhavir's tail trailing along the floor echoed through the empty building. S'Jhavir adjusted the single bottle of Skooma he had brought from Elsweyr, he had to ditch most of his supply in the river when a Imperial patrol caught him. He had only managed to retrieve his pipe, in the opposite pocket, and the single bottle. He had a three packets of moonsugar, however, the entire Khajiit diet consisted of sweet foods and this Imperial fodder they insisted was food was just too dull. S'Jhavir pushed open the basement door silently, waiting a few moments in the doorway until his eyes adjusted to the bright light of the torches. He crept in, closing the basement door behind him, then straightened and examined his new Sanctuary.
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Post by M'aiq the Liar on Dec 15, 2007 22:41:59 GMT -5
The twin Golden Saints were hard at work keeping the seats around the eating table warm. They’d been sitting there for hours and had no plans of moving out of them for quite some time. Both had their drinks in hand. One of them was mumbling incoherent words to himself while the other was facedown on the surface of the table, possibly unconscious.
Aside from them, the basement was empty. There were no members in there at the moment. The Speaker himself was missing, which was odd. His bed was empty, and the untucked chair at his desk was vacant. The silence in the room was tense. The sanctuary wasn’t usually so quiet. M’aiq occasionally sang some song, was yelling at the Golden Saints, or the conversations of the sanctuary’s members echoed quietly against the stone walls. Not on this night however.
The silence was abruptly ended. There was a sudden flash of light accompanied by a huge metallic clang. The head of M’aiq’s mace was between two stranger’s feet. M’aiq was lying on the steps leading out of the basement, a victorious grin on his face.
“Haha! M’aiq got the little eight-legged demon!” M’aiq shouted as he slowly stood up, sliding his mace back onto its place in his belt. He looked up at the Khajiit and said, “Oh, hey there, good Khajiit. What brings you to…” He paused to look down at his well-lit but still gloomy-looking basement before finishing, “…M’aiq’s cuddly abode?”
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Chaslin
New Member
"Are you insane?" "No, I'm a pirate"- JD and Janitor, Scrubs
Posts: 41
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Post by Chaslin on Dec 15, 2007 23:42:52 GMT -5
S'Jhavir was surprised at the complete silence of the Sanctuary. Most of the time they were full to the roof with new Murderers all eagerly discussing their contracts, or making fun of the Dark Guardian. The Speaker should of at least of been yelling at someone. But nothing, a pair of drunken Golden Saints sat at a table and made no move to approach the new comer, and the Sanctuary was deserted. S'Jhavir shook his head pitifully and was about to move when a Khajiit came bursting out of seemingly nowhere, brining a steel mace down upon the head of a spider in between S'Jhavir's legs. S'Jhavir's hands moved out of reflex, brining his fists up in a seemingly defensive position, while his right leg moved back up the stairs, ready to lash out and crush his enemy. After hearing the Khajiit's name though, S'Jhavir lowered his hands and brought his leg back. M’aiq was the Sanctuary's Listener and while many men and mer wouldn't of understood the Khajiits third-person, S'Jhavir did.
"Speaker M'aiq?" S'Jhavir asked with a respectful bow, "I am S'Jhavir, S'Jhavir was sent from Elsweyr to replace those casualties in the recent war. S'Jhavir is the Silencer." That last sentence had a strange accent of rough Nordic for some reason, extremely difficult for a Khajiit, and S'Jhavir had never even been to Skyrim. Strange. More strange than M'aiq intense loathing for spiders.
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Post by M'aiq the Liar on Dec 16, 2007 0:14:37 GMT -5
M’aiq thought for a moment about S’Jhavir’s words. Did M’aiq order a Silencer? He can’t remember any catalogs he went through for a Silencer. One was there though. S’Jhavir seemed to know his stuff as well. He recognized M’aiq’s authority as Speaker and found the sanctuary as well. Such a task was commendable work. However, M’aiq noted his recent string of supposed intruders who turned out to be fellow members and refigured his opinion slightly.
S’Jhavir was a Khajiit though. That alone was fulfilled all necessary qualifications for the job, if had M’aiq really planned any to begin with that is. He was still a bit new with the title of Speaker. He’d been thrown into it rather unexpectedly, so he had yet to familiarize himself with the formalities and regulations. S’Jhavir probably knew more than he. M'aiq guessed he'd be pretty useful. He did note the Khajiit’s odd accent. It seemed to change a bit as he spoke. Maybe he’s an Imperialized Khajiit, thought M’aiq.
“A Silencer, huh?” said M’aiq, looking over S’Jhavir. “Well, M’aiq is glad you came. He didn’t know he was getting one actually. Whoever sent you has M’aiq’s gratitude for sending a fellow Khajiit. It warms his cold soul.” With a gesture towards the basement, he said with a smile, “Make yourself at home here in Leyawiin!”
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Chaslin
New Member
"Are you insane?" "No, I'm a pirate"- JD and Janitor, Scrubs
Posts: 41
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Post by Chaslin on Dec 16, 2007 0:49:07 GMT -5
Cold soul? S'Jhavir thought to himself, rather amused. Frankly he had met kittens more intimidating than M'aiq, but probably because those kittens had been his brothers and had attempted to kill him. M'aiq was obviously not trying to kill him, a Speaker didn't usually just kill a new Silencer who had traveled across a entire province. He doubted M'aiq could kill him anyway, few could kill a Master of Whispering Claw. S'Jhavir gracefully made his way past M'aiq and took to examing the Sanctuary, noting the lack of weapons, the disfigured bones in the corner, and he took special interest in the Golden Saints. "S'Jhavir wonders, are they men, or women?" he asked M'aiq. Not waiting for an answer, he started to examine the M'aiq's desk from across the room. After some fruitless searching around the Sanctuary, he looked up at M'aiq. "Know where S'Jhavir could find some Skooma. Imperial pigs took most of S'Jhavir's."
He settled in the corner of the room. There didn't seem to any bedrolls or beds in the Sanctuary, but the Khajiit was used to sleeping on the ground. Tomorrow, his Shrouded Armour would arrive in the bottom a merchants wagon with another bottle of Skooma. Aside from that, he would have to use the few Septims he had to buy knives, food and a bedroll. He had survived on less. "S'Jhavir would like a briefing on what casualties the war caused us."
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Post by M'aiq the Liar on Dec 16, 2007 10:18:22 GMT -5
“Someday M’aiq himself wonders about those two. He assumes that they’re…male…ish. As far as Skooma is concerned, this is practically a den of it, my friend. M’aiq keeps his in his desk. Feel free to help yourself. A sort of Silencer’s privilege, if you will. There’s food in the pantry, and if you want a room to stay in, M’aiq invites his Silencer to have one upstairs. They’re all pretty bare, but they have walls. And a ceiling. M’aiq thinks that good enough.”
M’aiq pulled both Golden Saints from their chairs, propping one of them up against the wall. M’aiq pulled some Skooma from his robe pocket and retrieved two glasses from the pantry, pouring the sweet liquid into both of them. He sat at the table with both glasses, signaling for S’Jhavir to have one.
Then, S’Jhavir asked about the casualties from the war. To be honest, M’aiq had no clear names or numbers on the Dark Brotherhood’s casualties during that war. He hadn’t been there. M’aiq had never been involved with the silly politics of killing. He thought death shouldn’t have any alignments. His brothers didn’t necessarily think that way all the time. M’aiq was simple, and he reveled in that.
“Briefing? Well, to be brief, some people died,” M’aiq replied with a grin.
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Chaslin
New Member
"Are you insane?" "No, I'm a pirate"- JD and Janitor, Scrubs
Posts: 41
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Post by Chaslin on Dec 16, 2007 21:38:11 GMT -5
Inviting another Khajiit to your Skooma was common courtesy, but claiming he was welcome to your stash of Skooma was very generous indeed. S'Jhavir gave M'aiq a slight bow, more than he had given anyone before, and sat across from M'aiq, taking a glass of Skooma for himself. He prefered smoking the substance, but he had no idea what Skooma smoke could do to drunken Golden Saints. "S'Jhavir shall find a room upstairs then, by tonight. S'Jhavir will also try to spread the rumor of ghosts around the building to keep.." his nose wrinkled in disgust, "curious children out. I trust the Count is...taken care of?" Just like all Sanctuary's in cities, it was essential the local Lord was kept in line to stop any 'misunderstandings.' The Khajiit took a sip of the mind-numbing nectar, the strangey addictive liquid seeming to enchance all his senses. Of course, S'Jhavir wasn't addicted to the drug, made things difficult, but like all Khajiit, he greatly enjoyed it.
S'Jhavir nodded in agreement with M'aiq's answer about the casualties of the war. The past was the past, some people died, and the Brotherhood would recover, like it always did. Simplicity was often more complicated than most could imagine. "How many other Brothers and Sisters are in this Sanctuary?" he asked curiously. He would stand higher than any of them, he had to make sure they understood that. S'Jhavir demanded respect wherever he went.
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Post by M'aiq the Liar on Dec 16, 2007 22:34:23 GMT -5
M'aiq sipped at his Skooma, enjoying its familiar taste. His mind drifted off a bit amidst the potent chemicals now swimming around his body, making him slightly distant. His ears perked up at the word 'ghost'. He looked around cautiously, his narrow feline eyes flicking about from side to side. He hadn’t seen any before. However, he had been killing a lot of spiders lately. He had to be careful.
“Ghosts? There are ghosts in here? You saw one? It wasn't a spider ghost M'aiq hopes! Of all the terrible things in the world, anything but a—oh, wait, rumors, you said. Okay, M'aiq understands.”
The Khajiit cleared his throat, trying to quickly move the focus away from his little outburst. He fiddled with the cup in his hands a bit before taking another sip. S’Jhavir asked him something about the count. M’aiq had to stop and think about that. The count, the count. Now which human is that again? Is he the one with the steel britches or the not steel britches? M’aiq can’t keep all these humans and their britches straight anymore. Damn Skooma.
“Um, M’aiq said some words to the human. The Khajiit used as many human words as he could, so now the count does not bother M’aiq or his brothers. And yes, it would be the best thing in the world to keep children out. They give M’aiq the creeps. Little midgets with high-pitched voices. Especially the human ones. Ugh, just terrible. Like spiders. Or ghost spiders.”
M’aiq shuddered as he drank more Skooma, trying to drink away those unpleasant thoughts. Then, S’Jhavir had another question; this time it was about the other members of Leyawiin. M’aiq didn’t know that either. M’aiq is a horrible Speaker, he thought sadly. Why he got this job is beyond him.
“Well, the Khajiit had small number of them in here. Of course, the ones we had while Speaker Shady was here were killed during the war. M’aiq got a few new ones, but they’ve been scarce. M’aiq does not worry though. It just means he has less work to do.” He chuckled at his joke and smiled.
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Chaslin
New Member
"Are you insane?" "No, I'm a pirate"- JD and Janitor, Scrubs
Posts: 41
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Post by Chaslin on Dec 17, 2007 7:47:17 GMT -5
S'Jhavir mentally noted the time it took for M'aiq to get misty and less observant while drinking Skooma. It was unlikely he'd ever need the knowledge, but knowledge was power, especially amongst murderers. At least he managed to sort out his thoughts eventually, though it seemed S'Jhavir had mis-underestimated his fear of spiders. Or was the Skooma increasing his fear of them? So many questions, and S'Jhavir didn't know the answers or need to. M'aiq had granted him access to the Skooma stash, but S'Jhavir still found it hard to treat him as anything except as a "possible threat," like everyone else he knew. It was still an improvement from S'Jhavir's usual belief that the first time he turned his back, he would be stabbed. Like most Brothers of Darkness, he was paranoid.
"Less work, yes; S'Jhavir agrees with you. Murderers have a habit of...making work for us all...with...not...murdering...people...because they are..." he searched for the right word, "bad."
The effects of Skooma were starting to take hold of him. He suddenly realized his glass was almost empty and how groggy his mind was, his mind always worked slowly after a glass or two of Skooma, which is why he prefered to smoke it. He had often had his victims take an excessive amount of Skooma, then he would kill them in their pathetic and undefended state. How had he been so careless, to allow him to fall into such a situation himself? He had to hope M'aiq was all he appeared to be.
"More questions..." S'Jhavir started, thinking carefully and speaking slowly. "Any contratcs for S'Jhavir? And...any Morag Tong problems here in Leyawiin? S'Jhavir has much experience with dealing with the Dunmer, he can deal with it. Any Murderers that need to brought into line? S'Jhavir can take care of it."
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Post by M'aiq the Liar on Dec 18, 2007 20:05:29 GMT -5
M’aiq nodded at the fellow Khajiit’s words. S’Jhavir seemed he would be a perfectly capable Silencer, M’aiq’s first and hopefully only. He did not want to have part with this one and get a new one. He was already growing fond of S’Jhavir, probably for the main and obvious reason that he was a Khajiit. However, besides that, he liked Skooma, so things would be all the more fun.
Speaking of Skooma, M’aiq had drained his cup. He thought about getting a new one, but his slow thoughts couldn’t quite decide on anything. He stared down at his empty cup and listened to S’Jhavir ask more questions. He sounded a bit slow in the head, but that he was still conscious and coherent was something notable. M’aiq traced the edge of his empty cup with a claw idly as he thought about what to say.
“M’aiq will have contracts for S’Jhavir soon. He needs an initiation task first,” said M’aiq as he stood up and ambled over to his desk, where he shuffled through papers, some with small particles of moon sugar still clinging to them. Finally, he found the one he was looking for. He handed it to S’Jhavir, and it said:
He’s Queer But Not Here Luke Drandus has recently found out that his son has been seeing another man. M’aiq always thought humans to be queer, but well…anyway. His father is ashamed and wants this man lover, a Breton named Beau de Tolette, killed right away. For the bonus, you must push Beau from the balcony of his manor in Skingrad as Luke’s son, Hayden Drandus, stands below it at night. Award: 450 septims. Bonus: ????
“A bit rough, M’aiq thinks, but it’ll earn you some money, the right to call Leyawiin your home, and maybe a little something extra too,” the Khajiit chuckled a bit before continuing. “Get it done when you can. It’s not of great importance to M’aiq.”
He then answered S’Jhavir’s next question, “The Morag Tong, yes, M’aiq did know a Morag Tong member once. She was…er, a different kind of woman. Speaker Shady was fond of her. Sithis doesn’t even know why, but he was. The Khajiit thinks she’s dead now. Most of them are. They’ve been quiet, which is good. It gives old M’aiq more time to nap. He does not worry about them for now. He’ll let his Silencer do that kind of worrying for him.” He chuckled once again.
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Chaslin
New Member
"Are you insane?" "No, I'm a pirate"- JD and Janitor, Scrubs
Posts: 41
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Post by Chaslin on Dec 21, 2007 6:11:43 GMT -5
S'Jhavir raised his glass in agreement, tail lazily dragging across the ground. He covered his hand with his mouth as he yawned loudly, he had been traveling the better part of two days, and read the paper M'aiq handed him.
"S'Jhavir will travel to Skingrad tomorrow morning, or the day after. Yes, Morndas, S'Jhavir will leave on Morndas. His favourite day, Morndas. In the mean time, S'Jhavir will get himself comfortable in the Sanctuary and collect contacts throughout the province. He will try to find out what he can out the Morag Tong as well."
S'Jhavir made to stand up, but collapsed back into the chair fairly quickly. He winced and sighed, bleary mind slowly paralyzing all thoughts. "S'Jhavir believes he'll sleep here for the night."
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Chaslin
New Member
"Are you insane?" "No, I'm a pirate"- JD and Janitor, Scrubs
Posts: 41
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Post by Chaslin on Dec 30, 2007 1:48:22 GMT -5
S'Jhavir walked down the silent stone steps of the Leyawiin Sanctuary, a broad smile on his face that he quickly stifled. He had to maintain his professionalism, but he was proud of his first contract in Leyawiin and hoped to move onto more important contracts that could alter history. Silencers usually carried out those assassinations, which was why S'Jhavir was happy with his rank. He still imagined being a Speaker one day though, but that seemed so distant and foolish. Speakers rarely murdered anymore, they just did all that boring paperwork. Yet it seemed in Leyawiin, S'Jhavir would have the same issue also. He doubted M'aiq could read.
Giving a small wave to the drunken Golden Saints, passed out on the floor, he took a chair and sat it across from M'aiq's desk. He didn't feel like Skooma currently, a strange feeling for any Khajiit, S'Jhavir began to doubt his sanity for a moment before shrugging it off. He had just eaten, that was likely the reason.
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Post by M'aiq the Liar on Dec 30, 2007 2:12:48 GMT -5
M'aiq was busy stacking small pebbles on his desk. They leaned every which way in no noticeable pattern or sensible building fashion. Finally after place one more pebble, he noticed S'Jhavir seated in front of his desk.
M'aiq perked his brows and said, "Oh, my Quieter--uh, Silencer. Yeah, that one. You've returned, which M'aiq hopes means good news. He's got some money and a nifty trinket to give out if his Silencer tells him a good story."
He smiled and leaned back in his chair, looking over at S'Jhavir expectantly.
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Chaslin
New Member
"Are you insane?" "No, I'm a pirate"- JD and Janitor, Scrubs
Posts: 41
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Post by Chaslin on Dec 30, 2007 21:34:04 GMT -5
S'Jhavir moved his arms in a grand fashion, "S'Jhavir does have a tale, and a great tale it is too. Cunning S'Jhavir first was tasked with the duty of killing Beau de Tolette in Skingrad, but to do that, S'Jhavir would have to get past the city walls. Smart S'Jhavir found hand holds in the walls of the city, and in the darkness of Sithis, climbed the wall. S'Jhavir then leaped from building to building, hunting the human. Finally, he found his manor. But the manor was across the street, and S'Jhavir could not push him from this distance. So S'Jhavir threw a rock down the road, and when Beau was distracted, he jumped. Ah, and such a jump it was. S'Jhavir flew like a bird. He nearly missed the balcony, but strong S'Jhavir caught it with his claws and lifted himself into the night. When Beau looked back, his lover was below. After listening for ages, S'Jhavir grew tired of their queer talk, and threw Beau from the balcony. The Breton fell to the ground, screaming as he broke his neck, and at the same time, landing on his lover. Oh, how his lover must of cried when he realized his own was dead upon him. S'Jhavir was pleased, and fled the city. Along the way, he collected some Tamika Wine and some fine Skingrad Skooma." He gestured to his bag, resting in the corner. "S'Jhavir used the five claw discount."
He finished his tale with a flourish of his tail, and waited patiently for M'aiq's reply. To add some drama, he added, "Oh, and there were lots of spiders. Plenty of them. All over the roofs and the walls and the Breton. So big and hairy, you couldn't look anywhere without seeming them."
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Post by M'aiq the Liar on Dec 30, 2007 22:27:43 GMT -5
M'aiq listened to the story intently, sitting on the edge of his chair. He bounced excitedly in his chair at the moments of great description. He was proud of his new Silencer. The Khajiit had done a fine job, or at least, he was good at making it sound like he'd done a fine job.
When he mentioned the spiders, M'aiq jumped out of his chair, knocking it to the floor, and cried, "Spiders! Great spiders!? Oh! What a brave Khajiit risking his life! The fear! By the Nine! Well, M'aiq has the reward and the bonus!"
He went through his desk, pulling out a small bag of coins. Then, he stood, walked over to a chest nearby, and sifted through an assortment of items. He pulled out some random pots, bits of twisted Dwarven metal tangled in yarn, what appeared to be old lettuce, fragments of soul gems, and finally a blade. M'aiq set it on his desk, disrupting his pebble-stacking somewhat.
"450 septims are in this bag, in ten-piece coins. This ebony blade is called the Straightline Dagger. It was the father's personal blade. It is enchanted with frost damage. He said something about calming the flaming something-or-other." With a shrug, he commented, "M'aiq doesn't know; he just thinks it looks pretty. It's yours now. Good job, Silencer."
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