He returned the handshake, steel gauntlet smacking against leather and firmly shaking up and down. "Dylinnil Galil. I take whatever work i can find, usually dealing with the removal of undesirables and aquiring of desirables. As for stories? As many as any other mercenary might have, nut they're best not told here: I try to not get too excited by my job. No, the only stories i can share, if any, are not as spectacular as anything i've really done. Such is my life."
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill"Of course. But as savage a place as Skyrim may be at times, i hardly ever find myself in a predicament where being charitable is best for all. Most of my work is taken through Jorrvaskr, not by a distraught farmer.", he replied, finally giving in. No better time, Dylinnil thought, purchasing another mead.
"Should i ever find myself in that predicament, i would do it if only to be honorable. But if my past dealings and travels have been any indication, those times are at most very few and far between. Is the case different in... where, exactly, did you travel from?"
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill"Oh, I've been traveling between the various city-states of Cyrodiil my whole life before I decided to come north. Things are a bit... interesting, down there - everyone wants someone else dead.... Say, as a "Companion", are you are a permanent resident of this fine city, or do you perhaps travel frequently?"
"Well, yeah..." Jeane said, fumbling around in the dark as to what to say next. Honestly, she'd never considered that before. But Phinis told her it was okay as long as it was only bad guys and bandits, and giant-killing was too hard...
"But isn't it better for everyone like this? Now he can't ruin Oblivion for everyone else! Besides, now he gets to be useful, even after he crossed over. I bet for someone like him that's a huge relief!"
I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serial"I have lodging in Jorrvaskr, as does every one of my Shield-Brothers, but the roadside inn is just as much my home as a bed below the mead hall, if not more. Why?", he replied.
Dylinnil could somewhat clearly see where this was going, and he could feel his ego rising a bit. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to buy that mead.
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill"Well, if you happen to be heading the same direction as me in a few weeks time, it would be good to have a traveling companion. Oh, look at me here, I've been talking your ear off, and you said you had to see your blacksmith. Is his shop nearby, you wouldn't mind if I tagged along to go look at his wares, would you?"
edited 7th Jan '12 12:23:01 PM by nman
"Don't know. It's never been done before." She thought about this for a second, placing a finger on her chin. Of course it had never been done before, no research on the makeup of Soul Gems had ever been done, period. It's why she'd started this experiment in the first place. So little was actually known about Soul Gems, so any information at all was helpful. She thought about that, too. Any information at all...
"It would make for a good experiment, though. I guess we could try it."
edited 7th Jan '12 3:51:24 PM by KSPAM
I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serialZaitoma knew the second he stepped into Whiterun he had made the right choice.
For one thing, the air was so much nicer than Solitude's. For the most part, Zaitoma had barely been able to breathe during the time he spent there, thanks to the town's altitude. There was also a feel of socialization around this quaint little town, and not just because there was a larger amount of people. Solitude was just so...informal. Zaitoma shook his head as he remembered the city.
The air of hostility could also be sensed as well. As the young warrior strolled across the small bridge connecting the gate to the city, he could clearly see some people deliberately knocking people aside with their shoulders, glaring at them maliciously as they did so. This wasn't new in the slightest for Zaitoma, but it was kind of jarring to see it in a town like this.
Zaitoma knocked on his helmet a couple times, causing his ears to ring and his mind to focus on the task at hand once again.
The Companions.
He nodded to himself, and began to walk down the street again, looking around for the fabled mead hall, Jorrvaskr, which had been repurposed as the Companions' headquarters. It didn't take long to get eye contact on it, obviously, for the building was visible from nearly every part of town that had a slight increase in altitude.
Suddenly, a thought occured.
Zaitoma slowly turned around, looking back at the small building that he had just passed. A Redguard was steadily working on a sword out front. He shook his head. It didn't seem like a good smithy, from the look of it. He turned back towards Jorrvaskr again, and began to stroll for it, ignoring the incessant cries of a raving Talos priest as he passed through the square.
The door to the mead hall opened without much trouble, only a slight tensing of the muscles being needed. Zaitoma glanced idly at two people furiously brawling with each other — a Dark Elf and another Imperial from the look of it. He shook his head. Why couldn't they understand that swords were just better?
At this thought, Zaitoma's hand rested on the pommel of his sword. His thoughts now turned to his abilities. Was he good enough for these people?
Why, of course he was.
A massive, infuriatingly cocky grin spread on the young man's face as he thought this. His normal walk turned into a saunter, and he strode down the stairs leading to what he knew were the barracks with a spring to his step. He opened the door, and stepped inside the living quarters.
~*~
The smell hit him immediately, and he knew it was coming from where the recruits slept. His blocky nose wrinkled at it — sweat and various other smells. He shook his head, rattling the helmet enough to make his ears ring again. How was he going to join the Companions if he couldn't even stand the smell of his fellow warriors?
He looked around the barracks, until his ears picked up on the sounds of an intelligent conversation rather than the normal willie-waving competitions. He nodded. Must be the leader, or whatever they have, he thought, and he walked towards the sound. It didn't take long, obviously.
Zaitoma peeked his head into the room the conversation was taking place in, opening his helmet so the occupants could see his face. "Excuse me, sirrah. I was just wondering where a man itching for a fight could get some work around here," he said bluntly, throwing all pretenses of kindness out the window as he stepped into the room, his armor-clad arms folded.
Be kind."He doesn't run a shop actually; he mans the Skyforge in Jorrvaskr, smithing for the Companions.", he replied, shrugging. "I probably won't be speaking with him much today anyway."
The two men turned to him attentively, one older with white hair compared to the younger one with dark hair.
"If you're looking for work, talk to the inn-keeper at the Bannered Mare. We do not help freelancers.", the dark haired one replied.
"Quiet, Vilkas", the white haired one replied, somewhat angrily, barely turning his head to Vilkas. He then adressed the Imperial. "You seem fairly armored. Why walk into the heart of Jorrvaskr looking for work when there are equal and easier ways of finding ways to make coin?"
To be clear, Kodlak's asking, "You look like you have some experience. Why not just find an innkeeper for work?"
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill"I have come here specifically to seek work from the Companions. I grow bored with the tried process of fetching the heads of some lowly thieves that are stupid enough to camp right outside of town," Zaitoma said, stretching as he did so. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his heels as he spoke as well. His hand once again came to rest on his sword. "I have heard many stories regarding the adventures of you folk. I have come to gain some of my own fame."
Be kind."Eheheh, yeah. I jump at the chance to poke a Thalmor guy, figuratively and literally. There was this one time I encountered a group of them escorting a prisoner down a road on the side of a mountain. You know, arresting an innocent guy that just happens to worship Talos because he's a Nord from Skyrim," She rolled her eyes, "Anyways, I decided to stop and harass them a little bit, y'know, poke fun, make them look like general idiots. At one point, they started getting really mad. One of them looked like he was about two seconds from roasting me with a fire spell."
She started grinning as she continued the story, now accompanying it with small gestures in a rather animated fashion to help get the point across in a more amusing way.
"Anyways, they started running me the whole 'interfering with official business' crap, you know the drill, and the guy's face went completely white. I looked behind me to see what he was so scared of, and as it turns out there were two large sabre cats running towards us! I somehow managed to duck out of the way, and the Thalmor guy got hit by the thing head-on and dropped his shield and sword. While I normally like hunting sabre cats, I was just having too much fun watching them scramble to organize themselves again. . . And their prisoner was probably one of the craziest guys I've ever seen, and I mean that in a good way. While the chaos was going on, he actually propped up the sword the Thalmor dropped and used it to cut off his binds, but that's not even the good part yet. After the Thalmor managed to slay the savage sabre cats, they'd noticed that their prisoner had managed to cut off his binds and was ready to escape!"
"Now, I almost didn't believe what happened next. Both sides were sort of in a panic, the Thalmor more outraged at his audacity more than anything; I'd rather not repeat some of the words coming out of their mouths. Anyways, this Nord guy makes a mad dash for that dropped shield of all things, holds it to his behind, dashes for, jumps and starts sliding down the side of the mountain using the shield as a sort of makeshift sled! And mind you, this was a pretty rough mountain- steep, lots of trees, high-up, you name it! And the ride was probably equally rough, judging from the guy's shouting as he was going down. We were watching him go down, and at one point the shield got caught on something and he started rolling down instead. Eventually, all fell silent, and it seemed like that crazy Nord hadn't survived. Now, against all logic, he survived, as it wasn't long until I could spot him sprinting off like a rabbit pursued by a fox at the foot of the mountain and off into the wilds!"
She took a swig from her mead before finishing up, "Those Thalmor just kind of had this look on their faces that could be summed up as, 'What in Oblivion just happened?', and at that point it seemed like they just decided to give up. They started heading back the way they came, and I think I overheard one of them making a comment about needing a lot of wine before the whole incident would seem normal. It was great."
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS.""I would have let him go, too. Talos or not, I think somebody's sending them a message, there." Ayden managed to force out after a few minutes of laughing.
"Wow... there is no way that anyone believed that. They went back there and... well, they either got reamed for incompetence, or they blamed you for it. Probably the latter, sadly."
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve."I guess if you stretch it, you could say it was my fault, seeing as I held them back to torment them a bit, but I haven't exactly heard of someone owning two conveniently-placed trained pet sabre cats," she shrugged.
“DAMMIT WHEN I HEAR 'SPACE CQC' ALL I CAN THINK OF IS BIG BOSS WITH A FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD, STRANGLING AN ASTRONAUT OUTSIDE THE ISS.""Then can I have thirteen hundred septims?" Jeane asked sweetly. "That's about as much as I paid for that gem. I'd really appreciate it if I could at least get my money back. Phinis won't be happy if he finds out I just lost a couple hundred septim of my research grant."
As inane as this request sounded, Jeane fully expected to be reimbursed. It was her property, after all. Even if she'd stolen the soul, she'd legally purchased the gem. Smashing it would simply be a gross waste of someone else's money, tantamount to stealing a hunter's catch and tossing it into a ravine.
I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serial"As do many here.", Kodlak replied, smiling a bit.
"You're going to...", Vilkas started, not even bothering to finish, instead standing up. "...Right. Am I to test him, Harbinger?"
Kodlak did not respond for several moments, his eyes closed in thought. "...No. Show him out to the training grounds, and send Aela to fetch Dylinnil to test him."
"As you wish. But why him? Why Aela, for that matter?", Vilkas asked in response.
"He takes his assignments from her. Acts like he fancies her. She'll probably have a hunch of where he'll be."
"I'll repeat myself, then: Why him?"
"A hunch."
Vilkas nodded, standing and adressing Zaitoma. "Follow me, new blood.", he ordered, not bothering to wait for him before walking out, speaking to a red haired Nord woman quickly on the way, hardly missing a beat.
The training grounds was for the most part an open space behind Jorrvaskr, overlooked by a porch with tables and chairs.
"Just a moment, new blood. We're waiting for one of my Shield-Brothers to arrive.", Vilkas explained, sitting down at a table.
Sorry to cut you off, N-Man, but i need to move Dylinnil somewhere else now.
The conversation was cut short with a call of "Galil!" from the front door to the Bannered Mare. Dylinnil knew the voice too well, only bothering to turn his head a bit, mead in hand. "Yes?"
"We've got a new blood in Jorrvaskr. The Harbinger has requested you test him."
Dylinnil sighed, turning to adress Bohl. "It looks like we'll have to speak again at a later time; my obligations have sought to make my time short. Safe travels, friend", he said, curtly leaving the inn.
A few minutes after, Vilkas and the new blood were greeted with the sight of a Bosmer approaching them. His eyes were hard fixed on Zaitoma, looking over every piece of armor he wore and every weapon he carried, mead in hand.
"Your name, traveller?", Dylinnil asked, taking a drink of his mead as he approached the table Vilkas sat at, setting it down along with his bow and stock of arrows.
edited 9th Jan '12 10:47:20 AM by InfiniteParagon
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill"No you can't as there is nobody that will pay you that. Did you really pay that much gold for a little stone just so that you could rob someone of their deserved place in the beyond? And here I thought that the merchants were cruel to me..." said Aina as she tried to lower herself into a more comfortable position.
"Well they're not exactly easy to get!" Jeane pouted. Deep down though, she was rather unsettled. Oh dear, Phinis when he got mad...
"Listen, please. I'm not saying pay me all at once. Just somehow get the gold back to me before Phinis realizes a couple grand of his money just went missing."
I've got new mythological machinery, and very handsome supernatural scenery. Goodfae: a mafia web serialZaitoma had obviously followed Vilkas, not saying a word the entire time, sitting down at the table when prompted. For the most part, he had been zoning, bored of the conversation that Kodlak and Vilkas had been having. He wanted a challenge. Something to get his blood pumping. He shook himself out of this bloodlust reverie as the Bosmer spoke, asking for his name.
"Zaitoma," the warrior replied, making no move to shake the man's hand or any other form of courtesy. The second the words left his mouth, his eyes glazed over again, staring at seemingly nothing. He did keep up a good pretense of paying attention, though — slight shifting of movement, moving his head slightly to the person speaking, stuff of that nature.
Be kind."Wrong. It's 'Welp', 'New Blood' if you're lucky. Now, get up.", Dylinnil ordered, his tone far louder and more authoritative than his last sentence. "Actions speak louder than words, Welp, and your sitting down makes me question the Harbingers judgement, letting you get this far. Out on the field."
edited 9th Jan '12 3:07:48 PM by InfiniteParagon
"You lost, Dio. You lost for one simple reason - you were using charcoal." - Hank Hill

"Well, there was this time where a smart mouth Thalmor showed up and demanded the release of his 'retainers,' just in time for a remarkable elf woman to show up and aid me in telling him where to shove his high-and-mighty act... that was fun," he chuckled.
"But honestly, nothing very interesting. Just making my way from town to town, staying as long as I'm welcome, sliping out of the inn at night when my coin, and thus, the welcome, dries up. I mean, I was ambushed by Storm Cloaks at some point, but that was pretty much a standard 'walk through the woods, duck an arrow, fight the enemy, and take their stuff' sort of thing."
edited 6th Jan '12 4:32:22 PM by Dragon573
It's kind of funny. Sufficiently advanced stupidity is like sufficiently advanced science; eventually, you find something you can't solve.