I used to be an rper like you then I took an overused joke to the knee. [Kirk + Torry]

[Lord Arthur Kirkland]

Cold, Arthur braced himself against the cool wind pouring out from the crevasse. What a novel way to enter a Dwemer ruin, Arthur noted, clinging tightly to the cliff wall. He had no intention of falling off the precarious bridge, which began at the top of the cliff and led to a precarious precipice with a icy cave entrance. Apparently these cold caves held a secret entrance to these long abandoned and sealed off ruins of the ancient Dwemer. Since they were all gone, Arthur reasoned, they wouldn't mind him stepping in to peek around. The rumors of the hideous Falmer hiding down in the earth were simply meant to drive people away from the precious Dwemer ruins. Nevertheless, Arthur readied his bow.

Arthur was a young Breton of about 23 years. Like most Bretons, he was lean and not particularly beefy. But that was not to say the young man was not tough nor muscular. No, Arthur was quick on his feet and strong enough. He was a capable mage, and an expert archer. Understandably, he preferred to sneak and keep to the shadows rather than confront enemies head on. His honor did not allow him to thieve (though his hunger sometimes won over). His elven ancestry showed through in his abnormally large and fuzzy eyebrows, as well as his ears that were slightly more elven in appearance than other humans. Arthur's straw-colored blonde hair was kept short so as to keep out of his way when he travelled or moved about. It was also quite easy to wash when things simply got too dirty.

Arthur was used to the quietness of the cave, and thankful to not be able to hear the cry of snow wolves, or the snarling of frost trolls. Perhaps the Dwemer machines had kept the beasts out. Either way, it meant that Arthur needed to be quiet. He was in no mood for a fight. Looking ahead, Arthur noticed a flickering light. A torch or lantern, perhaps? Gingerly he made his way towards it, only to find an abandoned camp. Someone had slept here recently. Glancing around, he noticed that parts of the cave had collapsed. Another adventurer had evidently gotten trapped down here. Well, that was what Arthur hoped (though he would have preferred the adventurer to have run off after the collapses).

Either way, Arthur was not on a rescue mission. He was here to explore these specific ruins. The fate of this adventurer was of no concern to him. He took the open path, hoping that this part of the caves would still lead him in to the abandoned dwemer city. Sure enough, the icy caved turned into ice covered ruins. Arthur could hear the hisses of steam running through the golden pipes that ran through the walls in an unbelievable labyrinth, powering things that had stayed running long after their creators had vanished. The stones were cut, and intricately decorated and carved. Arthur gently traced his fingers over some of the lines. Even he could appreciate the craftsmanship of the long-gone dwemer.

He took his time, going through each room carefully, gathering up what interested him, though taking care not to overfill his pack. He wanted to get back, and the more valuable stuff lay ahead (even if it was really only one item that Arthur was looking for- a little extra gold on the side wouldn't hurt).

[Predatory Alfred]

Alfred tried to avoid going into any cave that he didn't have to. Period. Now this wasn't because of something silly, such as being afraid of poorly lit, confined spaces, nor was it because of the threat of something collapsing, leaving him stranded underground until his untimely demise. It wasn't even related to the threats that may lurk inside, the golden haired boy having had some many blows to his body already in his short life that it perhaps didn't really phase him anymore (youth did make one feel rather invincible).

Creatures weren't a problem. He was perfect for such challenges. Tall and muscular in stature and build, thick, fair skin, and sturdy bones. He was built for the harshest of weather, the coldest of nights and the toughest of brutes. It was in his blood as a Nord!

He could handle it all! Or, at least, that's what he told himself.

Sure, he wasn't the best with a bow, nor was he particularly practiced at sneaking, but give him an axe, or war hammer or some sort of sword and he could go right to town on whatever came his way. Full frontal attacks were more effective in the long run anyway if you asked him. Who had that kind of time to sneak up on one's enemies? Cowards.

So with such events ruled out, that really left it to things not really bound to... the physical, per se. Now don't get him wrong! Alfred was completely fine with magic and all the lore that went with it, but that was it. Everything else kinda gave him the heebie-jeebies. How did that stuff work anyway!? The young man was completely baffled with the arts themselves and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. He had stumbled over so many sacred grounds and angry mages and other things to even give it a second thought. So, as to not provoke the fates, Alfred just tried to avoid caves, as experience had told him the creepiest of things happen in there.

Unfortunately, duty did call.

It was inevitable. A lot of valuable items were found long since abandoned in caves or even pests that needed to be taken care of. They usually all horded there. So Alfred's self made rule was broken because he was part of a higher force to be reckoned with! Alfred was a Companion, which meant he'd help anyone or anything. Well, anyone or anything for a price, he supposed, but Alfred was in it more for the adventure! The money was a bonus to all of the traveling and carnage and helping people. Which meant that going into unmapped caves was a regular occurrence for Alfred.

And that was how Alfred ended up where he was currently. Or, well, that was part of how managed to get himself into his current predicament. One does not simply collapse an entire passage way by just walking into a cave. Except, he sorta did. But that was no matter!

He had spent most of a morning camped outside of its entrance giving himself a pep talk of sort. The cave apparently, supposedly, not necessarily, but quite possibly was to likely to lead to an old Dwemer ruin, which was exactly what he was looking for.

Dwemer machines are pretty neat. Nothing to worry about.

That was true in its own. He didn't mind Dwemer ruins when he did come across them, and that's perhaps why he had picked this task when that old lady came to the Companions asking to find some sort of amulet. Dwemer ruins were full of magnificent technological feats that Alfred had hardly seen anywhere else. They interested him like no other. Could steam really run such things? And the golden pipe running throughout were something fantastic in its own. So many questions plagued him about a race long since gone which drove him sprinting down into the heart of the cave.

A bad call.

In his haste, the excited young man forgot all prior knowledge and managed to set off a rather obvious looking trap causing the entrance of the cave to collapse, not only sealing himself away from his only known exit, but also managing to get injured.

Alfred wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, whether it was five minutes or five hours was completely unbeknownst to him. What he did know what that his head hurt more than anything . It took him a minute to stumble to his feet before he shakily took few steps forward. What he didn't count on was triggering yet another trap, a grate this time, sending him crashing down several stories.

If his body and head didn't hurt before, it did then. But not to worry! Alfred was tough! Alfred was sturdy! Alfred.... Alfred groaned as he rolled onto his side and curled up a bit. He was just resting. If only for a moment if nothing else. Blue eyes fluttered shut as the edges of his vision started to blur together. Just a... just a five minute rest. He'd be good in no time...

Damn, he really hated caves.

[Lord Arthur Kirkland]

Arthur did feel sorry for the poor sod trapped in these ruins. Perhaps if the unlucky adventurer was lucky, Arthur would stumble across him on his way back from fetching the amulet and Arthur might feel gracious enough to assist the adventurer. It wasn't as if Arthur was leaving an innocent person to die, he was being cautious. This person could be some unsavory bandit, rather than some hapless and decent adventurer. Either way, the plan was to fetch the amulet BEFORE attempting to locate the poor wretch. That sounded simple enough, right?

Of course, that was all fine and dandy until Arthur forgot to notice the hole in the ground ahead of him. He had been so focused on worrying about who else that might be down there that he had simply missed that little detail. Plus, it was rather dark in these underground cities. Luckily (or perhaps not) Arthur managed to catch the ledge with his hand. Pulling himself up was not likely, and the corridor below wasn't too far below. It was probably a short cut down to the amulet anyways. Arthur let go.

The landing was not ideal, but Arthur was simply glad he was in once piece. His injuries were fairly easily remedied by a simple healing spell. He dusted his mage robes off and glanced around. This place was even darker than before, he supposed it was all right if he was sneaking around. However, he couldn't help but wish for a map of the damned place. The amulet couldn't be TOO hard to find and with Arthur's luck, the other adventurer was sure to pop up and make a mess of things as well. The things Arthur did to earn a decent amount of coin without having to pluck it from people's pockets! He should be a gentleman and a mage, not crawling around in dungeons! What he wouldn't give to find a nice job with lots and lots of books. Yet, neither did he want to be stuck in Winterhold again, that was for sure.

Judging from what he heard about the amulet, he'd have to make it down to the bottom of this place, and there'd be a lift. The amulet would either be at the bottom or somewhere along the way. Arthur was certain he'd fetch a good price for what he could drag out of this place, provided a Dwemer machine didn't bash his head in first. Perhaps the idea of using the other adventurer as... ahem fodder was not the worst idea to Arthur. Things would surely work out somehow, Arthur reasoned.

[Predatory Alfred]

Alfred didn't always wake up in poorly lit ruins with a pounding headache that almost matched the battered feeling of his body, but when he did, it usually involved spiced mead. Sadly, however, this wasn't the case. Alfred would have loved to have been awoken by the horrible, yet pleasant, aching buzz of the remnants of a spiced mead induced hangover. Instead he woke up to the pounding ache that could only come from boulders collapsing on one's head and then falling down a small distance into a pit of despair.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't a pit of despair. Alfred sat up, groaning, his body protesting the movement, muscles simply screaming at him to lie back down. It could have been worse, he thought while looking around the dimly lit ruin, it really could have been a pit of despair and he could be dead on a pile of sharp objects, or down multitudes of stories underground... or even just in a pit of water with creepy beasts who would have devoured him in an instant.

With that thought in mind, Alfred searched through his pack for one of those foul tasting healing remedies he carried just in case and downed it in an instant. Nope, the taste hadn't gotten any better, he gasped and tried to keep the liquid down. Ah well, can't win them all. Feeling perhaps a bit better, he stood up, a hero and adventurer couldn't merely be stopped by small injuries!

Conveniently it seemed as though he had landed simply further down into the ruin, his surroundings looking hardly any different from any other Dwemer structure he ever been too. At least he was on the right track? From experience Alfred knew that usually the most valuable things were found in the deep confines of the ruin. Which wasn't too much of a problem, he supposed.

Keeping his weapon at the ready, glad the large warhammer he had brought with him hadn't bludgeoned him during his fall, Alfred moved forward. While he was all right with these sorts of ruins, and even the pretty awesome technology that was often found in them, Dwemer machines were a pain. They seemed to appear randomly and were vicious, agile and destructive little things. After checking a few chests as well as a few suspicious rotting corpses, Alfred found this out once more, first hand. He hardly saw the flash and glint of gold out of the corner of his eye, but he heard the agile little thing right before it nearly got him. He usually tried not to smash the machines to bits, he like salvaging the parts and taking them home, but the thing surprised him! With a powerful swing, Alfred brought down his weapon, the crash sounding through the quite room.

Poor little guy... Alfred knelt down watching the twitching remnants of the creepy, legged, spider-like machine before poking around, finding a few coins it was carrying but mostly collecting a few mismatched gears he thought would be useful. The flaxen haired companion really wasn't out for much loot, and while it was awesome to find valuable things to trade, he really was just looking for things to pique his own curiosities. One day he hoped to put one of these little guys together from scratch! Or something like them.

But there were worse things to lurk in the shadow than simply spider-like robots. Alfred continued further on, running into an occasional falmer, these big, creepy, feral elf-like things, and even more dwemer technologies. He grinned, adrenaline running through his veins as he sent yet another smashing against the wall. This wasn't that bad after all. He'd surely find that amulet in no time flat.

But something kept itching at the back of his mind. The sunny blonde swore he heard footsteps or even the faint whisper of words every now and then. Alfred wrote it off as just his imagination. There hadn't been any sign of bandits at all around here, and yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't truly alone.

He stumbled along, looting and rummaging through anything he thought might contain what he was searching for, but no luck. Had someone else found his amulet? It'd be surprising, but not unlikely. He was just here on the words of locals and a few rumors. Perhaps he'd be empty handed in this mission. What a despairing thought that was. Alfred always sought to please those who signed his contracts. It was his duty after all!

Despite this, however, a flash of hope ran through him as he came around a bend. What a wonderful sight. A lever stuck out in the middle of a round room. An elevator! But not only that, but there was a chest just a little bit further from it. This was it! Alfred could just feel it in his bone. This was where he'd find the amulet. He'd be out of here in no time as the elevator probably lead up and out into the wilderness once more.

Beaming at the possibility that this could be not only his prize but his exit, Alfred stepped forward.

[Lord Arthur Kirkland]

Arthur was surprised at how easy it was to sneak around in this place. It was almost as if someone had cleared out the clockwork monsters (as well as the valuable items, to Arthur's dismay). While Arthur was above knocking the other person out and emptying their pockets, he would be damned if he let the other man get the amulet. So then, he had to speed up his pace, while remaining covert. It would be bloody difficult, but Arthur needed the amulet. He wasn't going to let some oafish adventurer who got theirself stuck down here take what was Arthur's.

So then, Arthur needed to get the upper hand on this amateur adventurer. If only there was a shortcut, then he'd be able to skip across to the main room and set up some sort of trap for the other man. If that failed, threatening to skewer the man with an arrow or slit his throat with a dagger would work, despite being quite distasteful. Arthur was supposed to be a proper gentleman, however survival was more important than the little honor he had. Though, Arthur reminded himself that he was better than those blasted bandits, and he certainly didn't go mucking about and murdering everyone like the Dark Brotherhood. What precisely did Arthur do? Arthur survived, and that was simply the term for it. It was what he had done since he was young, and it was what he planned to do for the rest of his life (though he wouldn't mind surviving in style and maybe even becoming a Thane or at least someone with a decent amount of money).

Either way, Arthur was too late to get enough time to find a vantage point or even set up a trap. The man was already stepping out and towards the chest, which presumably held the amulet (and other valuable items). The Breton had to move quickly in order to protect his interests. Aiming to miss, he fired a warning arrow near the other man, a Nord by the look of him. Arthur remained in the shadows, not particularly willing to give up his location. "Not one step closer to that chest, sir. I suggest you hold your arms above your head and take a step in the opposite direction. The items in that chest are mine, and you'd best stake your claim on other treasures," Arthur spoke, "Of course, if you'd rather not follow my instructions, I can assure you that the next arrow will pierce your skin and if that doesn't do the job, I have other ways of dispatching or incapacitating you, depending on how troublesome you choose to be. I'd choose wisely, if I were you."

Of course, Arthur couldn't rid himself of this nagging feeling that something was wrong. He had failed to notice something, and perhaps the other adventurer hadn't noticed either... But what? A loud sort-of-mechanical rumble answered Arthur's question. A violent blast of steam directed towards the two men answered as to what exactly it was that they were forgetting- A Dwarven Centurion to be precise.

The metal monstrosity was perhaps as much as twice as tall as Arthur. It was formed completely out of metal, and Arthur had no idea how it moved, though perhaps the steam it often shot out in lethal bursts had something to do with it. Centurions were large, lumbering things, and while slow, they made up for it with their ranged steam attacks and powerful hits. One hit would mean disaster for Arthur, and it probably wouldn't be particularly good for the other adventurer either. Arthur hit the metal creature with an icy spell before trying to retreat back to heal himself (and perhaps the other adventurer, provided he cooperated).

"Blast it. We'll have to worry about the amulet later. I will assist you if you promise to behave," Arthur shouted at the other adventurer, trying to use spells as well as arrows to keep the powerful guardian back. After all, he wasn't against working with the other adventurer, especially if it meant survival.

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