The Molag Bal Game XVII

[Taters]

"Gods damn it", Tatur muttered as he slowly trudged from the gallows back to his smithy.

[Believe]

Ba'Lee whimpered quietly as Selezen's life left her.

"We were wrong..." He said quietly to himself as he turned and trudged back to his home.

[ZeRoc]

Paras let another of his trademark sighs, "well, dang it. Barbas, let's go home."

[Aarah]

Lara was saddened by the waste of life of an innocent, and a lynching, that was Selezen's death. She had hoped that she had been wrong about Selezen, and was annoyed that many villagers had voted for her out of popularity.

'Well, you can probably rest easy tonight.' she said to the people remaining. 'I have no doubt that the cultists will be back to try to kill me again tonight.'

She headed to the Inn, not wanting to go back to her home, the warmth of the fire inside providing a false sense of safety.

'Do you mind if I stay at the Inn?' she asked Mu.

[Emzi 43]

Threes went home and slept, with his spells ready for any intruders. He'd cast a shock rune in the door frame, so anyone trying to enter would at least wake him up, if not die.

[ArgonianDunmer]

"I find that unlikely," Runs-with-Dunmer snarled at Lara, almost glaring, "While you remain preoccupied feeling sorry for yourself, the ressst of hussss will get on with finding whoever is responsssible for this. The liars and tricksters amongssst us will be exsssposed in due time."

With that, she departed the tavern in as abrupt a fashion as she had entered it, slinking off into the night.

[Musicman247]

"You are as welcome here as anyone," Mu said. He looked up from his work at the Breton woman, still covered in her own blood. His face showed sympathy as he put down the glass he was drying. He picked up a clean rag and dampened it with water, then walked until he was standing in front of Lara.

"I'm sorry I accused you," he said. He took the warm damp cloth and gently wiped away the blood from Lara's right cheek. "Would you like me to draw you a bath and get you some fresh clothes?"

[Aarah]

'No thank you. I'll just freshen up in my room.' Lara did not trust the kindness that Mu was showing, and as usual, preferred to treat everything with suspicion.

'Perhaps just a glass of ale.' she added, before going down the corridor towards her room, holding a flickering lantern.

[Musicman247]

Mu nodded silently and watched Lara walk to her room. He then went about gathering the things she had asked for as well as those she hadn't; a lantern, a pitcher of ale, a bottle of wine, another rag and a bucket of hot water, and finally some fresh clothes.

Mu walked up to Lara's door (awkwardly from carrying all of that), put down the bucket of water and then knocked.

[Aarah]

Lara opened the door a crack and saw the large selection of things that Mu had brought.
She took all the items and placed them within her room. Despite refusing the fresh clothes, she was glad that she had been given them.
'That's great, thank you. Night then.'
Lara shut the door abruptly, not wanting to engage in furthur dialogue.

[Musicman247]

Mu's face shown of confusion at how quickly Lara had shut the door. He knocked again.

[Aarah]

Lara presumed she had forgotten something, so she opened the door once again as she heard the knock.

[Musicman247]

Mu scratched the back of his head briefly as he began speaking. "Lara, I...I don't even know how to start talking about this, so I'll just start." Mu's left foot moved slightly as if he was nervous. "Ever since I came here I've watched you...no, that's not right. Sounds like a stalker. What I mean to say is that when I see you I watch you." Mu sighed, obviously not conveying what he was trying to. Finally he blurted, "You're pretty and I don't want to die without you knowing how I feel about you, and I would very much like to come in and spend some time with you."

Mu gave a nervous, embarrassed smile when he had finished.

[Aarah]

Lara was shocked by Mu's outburst. She had always kept to herself and had no idea that he had been harbouring such feelings.

She was quiet for a minute, trying to think what to say.

'Well, I must say that you have totally surprised me!' she said to him.
'I'm sorry but under the circumstances, it just doesnt seem the right time for spending time together, in my opinion at least.'

Lara was unsure as to whether this was some twisted mind game being played by a possible cultist.

'If we both survive this, then things might be different. ' she said to Mu, who was listening intently.

'But for now I would just like to be alone.' She felt bad that Mu may be genuine, but refused to treat anything that anyone said without a high level of suspicion.

[Taters]

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[Musicman247]

Mu nodded, his goofy grin still in place. "Then I will stand watch at your door," he said. "And we will decide together who to vote for tomorrow, if the cultists strike again." He put his hand out and touched Lara's cheek that he had cleaned with the rag. "I hope beyond hope that they are satisfied with forcing us to kill an innocent, so that this nightmare may be over."

[Aarah]

Lara nodded and smiled as Mu left the room.

Despite her lack of trust in people, she admitted to herself that his words, and the fact that he was keeping watch, had made her feel a sense of happiness, a feeling that she had not felt in a long time.

[AKB]

The rats had enjoyed their feast upon the docks. It was normal for them to get away with a scrap here, a nibble there, but never before had they feasted so well since the fires drove all of the people away. The abandoned warehouses served as a feasting hall to the vermin. As the rats began to tear apart what was not touched by fire, a few had a bold idea: if the people would let us have all of this food, what else might they let us take? And with that thought in mind, they set out to infest the rest of the village.

One of these adventurous rodents came upon a reward it had never imagined it would see, a dead elf! The body was still fresh and warm, even! Its muzzle watering at the thought, it slowly crept up to a digit. After looking around to make sure it was safe, it took a nibble, and was flung against a wall with a scream. Life came back to the elf, at the worst possible moment for the poor critter. As the filth encrusted and forgotten elf arose, the rat scurried off. "Maybe next time" it thought.

Duruza has regained conciousness.

Of all of the things that have happened in Uthenni so far, there had always been a victim, and a perpetrator. There had yet to be just an absence of purpose in any of the events have happened. Yet there was no way to explain the burned mannequin. A field that had been kissed by fire, with a broken ceramic dummy in the middle, did not offer any obvious explanations for what transpired here. Truly the events that had stricken this town had taken a turn for the odd.

???

The inn had been bustling with activity over the past few days, as people went in and out of the town's central hub. One frequent resident was Do'vah, who had recently been overtaken by a wave of sadness, having been involved in the death of an innocent. At least one person seemed to have blamed him for the killing of Selezen. As the sad Khajiit sat at the table, being half-blinded through his tears, he felt a giant force smash into his head. The table gave way to the Do'vah's face, breaking through the material. This sudden volley shocked the feline's senses, causing him to drunkenly bolt up, only to see his assailant smash through the front window, before disappearing. Do'vah tried to pursue, but his limbs felt to heavy. A mixture of a poor diet, a crippling drug addiction, and a serious head injury were too much to cope with. After taking a few steps, the poor cat fell over, and lost the ability to get back up.

Do'vah has been attacked, and will not be able to perform actions for this round.

It is now day.

[Musicman247]

Mu woke up, slumped on the floor, leaning against Lara's room door. His eyes shot open, realizing it was morning and he had fallen asleep at his post.

He jolted up and burst through the door shouting, "Lara!" as his eyes searched for her.

[ZeRoc]

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Truly odd indeed...

Paras woke up early, as farmers do, and ate breakfast with Barbas, not ready to leave quite yet.

[Aarah]

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oooo, very intriguing AKB! Quick, let's get the sweetrolls whilst Dovah's knocked out.

Lara awoke with a jump as Mu burst into the room. She jumped out of bed, thinking the cultists were back.
She was about to attack when she noticed that it was Mu just standing there.

'What the hell are you doing?' she said in panic. 'What's going on?'

[Musicman247]

Mu stood still for a moment just looking at Lara. When the moment finished he physically shook his head and said, "Sorry, I fell asleep and wanted to make sure you were ok. Are you ok?" A look of concern crossed the Innkeeper's face.

[Aarah]

'Yes, im quite alright thanks!' Lara had to laugh at Mu's flustered expression.

She suddenly noticed that it was morning.

'By the Nines! I honestly did not think I'd stiil be here at the Inn this morning. I must say it's nice not waking up beside a bloodied stake!'
She laughed again, then stopped as she realised she had been laughing far too much for her usual self.

'I hope no one else has met a grisly fate today.'

[Musicman247]

Mu's face relaxed and he let a smile appear on his lips. "I'm just glad you're ok," he said. He began walking toward Lara, arms in a position that looked like he was going to hug her. He stopped after a step and a half, looking unsure of whether he should continue.

[Aarah]

'Im curious if anything happened last night. Im going to have a look.' Lara said quickly and walked out of the room.

She was not interested in showing any affection towards Mu, thinking it could still be a cultist ploy to earn her trust.

She walked into the main room of the inn and stopped short as she saw yet another body lying on the ground, amidst broken glass from the front window.