Skyrim/Aveloth - [ Private - SlayerofLight & ScarsLove ]

[ScarsLove]

The evening had creeped up on them eventually, leaving the company of the knights gathering in the hall of a grand looking inn. Tali had spent the majority of the day in solitude, cleaning herself up to look presentable, gaining a new pair of armor, a quiver of arrows along with an oak bow and finally joining the knights for a hot meal in the early eve of night fall.

As she was about to eat, she took notice of the mugs that gradually rose around the table in unison. Tali took this as a toast to their fallen comrades, so she raised hers out of respect.

''To the honour of all men that died on the battlefield today. May they rest in piece and wait for us in the Hall of Glory.''

"And May the Great Dread Wolf guard their path and guide them to the light." Added Tali, some responded while other cheered, downing their drinks.

From the corner of the room, Xandra scowled furiously but at none more-so than Eon who took his leave after the unified cheer. Probably to mourn in privacy. "Bastard..."

[SlayerOfLight]

As Eon drank from his cup of wine, much to his discomfort he noticed none other than Xandra scowling furiously at him from the corner of the room.

''Oh great, looks like that crazy child is here as well. Just what I needed.'' he thought.

Meanwhile, the town guards were approached by what seemed to be group of dark Knights on black steeds. They were engulfed with a menacing presence and a bone-chilling coldness, allthough no wind could be felt. Knowing something wasn't right, the guards immediately came out and drew their swords.

''Stay where you are! Who are you, and what business do you have here?!'' asked the captain of the Town Guard.

''Osendalf...'' said an eerie voice from behind a dark steel helmet.

[ScarsLove]

Just staring at that stone-faced asshole made her hackles raise, that is, if she were in her feral form. But for now she was stuck tainting what precious self-preservation and pride she had left wearing this false disguise, mingling with human trash. So she could only offer him a snide remark and a malicious glare while she passed by, going to leave the inn, "Don't you have something better to be doing with those eyes instead of sneering in my general direction? Shouldn't they be shedding tears for those dogs you call knights. Or would that be to much for a man of no emotions?"

She took her leave, slamming the inn door behind her. Xandra felt the slap of the cool night air against her human skin, instantly she felt the need to change from human to wolf. 'Not here..' She reminded herself, going to sneak into an alley.

But the instant she met the shadows, there was a flurry of guards down the road.

''Stay where you are! Who are you, and what business do you have here?!' That was the voice of the guard captain, speaking to an ominous man clad in dark armor riding a stallion straight from the pits of oblivion.

"What the hell?"

[SlayerOfLight]

Eon just pretended he didn't hear anything and didn't really give a care. For he would not give Xandra the kind of reaction she hoped he would give.

''Thank you Supreme Being, for answering my prayer.'' he sarcastically said to himself after watching Xandra leave.

The town guards were overwhelmed and killed viciously by the dark Knights after the captain refused to let them pass. The dark Knights now entered the town through the gate while riding their black red-eyed steeds, heading towards Xandra's direction.

[ScarsLove]

Xandra stayed hidden in the shadows, reluctant to move. Her empathetic side scorned her severely for not turning back and warning the others of the impending danger. But another thought bullied the other one to the back of her mind, leveling out her consciousness and kindly reminding her that these were humans, not wolves.

'Maybe they'll kill that asshole along with them.' Smirked the girl, imaging a blade piercing his stupid gut as the frightening men slowly approached the inn.

Meanwhile, Tali and the knights were having a decent time for all things considered except for their leader Eon who sat forlornly away from the group. Having missed the skirmish between him and Xandra, Tali called for a fresh mug of ale and went over to him, gently clapping Eon him on the back, "Find relief in the thought that the ones who did this to your men will pay. You have their steel and my claws, for the time being, to slay any foes."

"And here, a fresh mug to drown your sorrows."

[SlayerOfLight]

''Oh I will make certain of that.'' replied Eon.

''No matter what it takes, I WILL make sure the one responsible will pay by any means. And if that idiotic loremaster gets in my way, I'll kill him too.''

All of a sudden without warning, the Shadow Knights bursted into the Inn with drawn swords. Eon and his men got up and drew their swords as well.

''What the hell?! How did they get here, and why didn't the Town Guard or anyone else warn us?'' wondered Eon.

The innkeeper walked up to the Shadow Knights and attempted to shoo them out, but one of the Shadow Knights responded by amputating the innkeeper's head.

[ScarsLove]

Tali dropped the mug of ale in shock as what she could only assume were Shadow Knights burst in unexpectedly. She grabbed an arrow from her quiver of bows and drew it back sharply, aiming at the face of the hulking knights.

''What the hell?! How did they get here, and why didn't the Town Guard or anyone else warn us?'

The inn was overpowered by the scents of booze and sweat but the faintest hint of blood hit her nose.

She bit her lip, shouting over at Eon, "Their presence smells like death and gore. Those very swords slaughtered what little protection this place had. I can smell it on them. Fresh human blood."

Suddenly the inn keeper, a fat slovenly man with a bushy gray beard had picked up a broom and began swatting it at the knights. It might've been a hilarious scenario if not for their response which happened to be sudden decapitation. With that, Tali shot the arrow at one of the Shadow knights, piercing his flesh and sinking into the pit of his skull.

The Shadow knight didn't flinch, nor did it respond to the arrow. For it immediately drew a blood soaked sword and breathed out slowly, "Osendalf.."

[SlayerOfLight]

Eon and his men clashed swords with the Shadow Knights. But they were very strong, and even one Shadow Knight was more than a match for a single Daryonese Knight.

''These bastards are tough, but they're not gonna take down a head-knight so easily.'' said Eon as he overpowered a few Shadow Knights with ease and killed them.

However, the Shadow Knights that were seemingly slain by Eon's magic steel now stood up unharmed, ready for yet another round.

''Damn, this is insane!'' he said loudly.

The presence of the Shadow Knights was menacing, and seemed to slowly drain the life-force out of Eon and his men.

[ScarsLove]

As the skirmish between the Daryonese and Shadow Knights was pushed outside from the inn, Tali fell into the fray and shot a couple of arrows at her foes, knocking them back but doing little more than scuffing their armor. It was at this point she fell back momentarily to transform into a werewolf form.

She charged back in, pulling a Shadow Knight off his steed and to the ground. Her fangs sunk into his right shoulder, dislocating his arm and ripping it off the bone. Stray lumps of rotting flesh joined the pooling blood on the ground. Hastily Tali let go, kicking back the Shadow knight repulsed by the taste of decay in her mouth.

'They're the walking dead.'

Eon was opposite of her, handling a few knights of his own, his steel plunging into their corpses with ease. She picked up the arm off the ground, clenching it in her own and made it to his side just in time to shove a Shadow knight away before it could land a blow to an unsuspecting Eon. She knew very well he couldn't understand her wolfish-tongue in this form. So she hoped he'd catch the drift as she showed him the arm and the visible deteriorating flesh.

On the side, Xandra was engaging a shadow knight of her own, in human form. She was no match for it by herself so she retreated towards the Daryonese knights, hoping they could slay it before it got much closer. But in spite of the retreat, two more cornered her defenseless. Backed into a corner, the girl shifted from human to wolf and unleashed her fury, for she wouldn't go down without a fight.

[SlayerOfLight]

''Thanks for that.'' Eon said, catching the drift.

With a well-placed strike to the head, Eon delivered a blow hard enough to knock the dark steel helmet off. The face he gazed into was the most inhuman thing he had seen so far; a skeleton-like face with strays of rotten flesh, and a pair of glowing dots in the empty eye sockets that seemed to be of dark magic in origin.

''Well, damn... This is bad.''

Overwhelmed by the dreadful presence of the Shadow Knights, Eon's men felt weaker and one by one they fell, leaving only Bemithar still standing. But eventually, he as well got fatally struck by one of the Shadow Knights. He dropped to the floor, coughing up blood in the process.

''Bemithar!'' Eon said in a wory, as he fought his way to his fallen comrade, knocking many Shadow Knights aside as he did. He kneeled down next to his childhood friend.

''I'm sorry, Eon. We tried so hard, but against this kind of magic we are helpless like children.''

''No my friend, I should be the one to say sorry for having you and my other men sacrificing yourselves for my sake.'' said Eon.

''It is not your fault, we were merely doing our duty. Please, run away and be safe so that our deaths may not be in vain.'' said Bemithar, as he died from his injury.

With an uncontrollable fit of anger, and having given up his last ounce of sanity, Eon got up and attacked the Shadow Knights in a blind rage, taking many of them down until he came face to face with a certain wolf.