"Thank you for the use of your body?!" Skeetr had heard some unusual introductions in his time - ice breakers as it were - but this one was by far the most bizarre. Somehow the Dark Elf had possessed him - it was Tenaka's will that had directed his body to throw punches at mages and weave powerful magic. He lay down again to digest this information, and Pilar covered him with the blanket once more. "Are you hungry, young man?" she asked gently and Skeetr nodded. "Ah, I forgot...all boys have hollow legs." Smiling, she reached into her pack and rummaged around, eventually producing a large red apple which she handed to the young Khajit. Skeetr munched gratefully as he looked around the room, his brown eyes shining with excitement. The Wood Elf - Mea was engrossed in examining the numerous curios in the room, moving from one to another with an expression of wonder on her pretty face, the other two elven women and Tenaka still had the ugly old mage bailed up, and the nice Nord lady - Pilar - wandered over to the door and braced a bookcase against it to buy some time when Orim the apprentice returned with the expected reinforcements. "A shame he regained consciousness so swiftly," thought Skeetr, "I wanted to tell Pilar how I knocked him out cold...but I'll bet he has a headache and a good-sized bruise to remember me by!" ----- Al'ali was in a rather unenviable position. With two powerful spellcasters - one on either side of him - ready to blast him into Oblivion and beyond, and a wickedly sharp katana at his throat he knew he had no choice but to obey their orders. Swallowing his pride he told them how Thule - the one-eyed man - had delivered the soul gem to him for safekeeping and had never returned to collect it. At this point the two elven women exchanged a knowing glance and he knew then that something terrible had befallen Thule. The murderous look in the Dark Elf's eyes told Al'ali an equally terrible fate was likely to befall him. He swallowed nervously, sweat glistening on his balding pate. ----- > "Does anybody have any further questions?" asked Tenaka, looking around the > room. "If so, please ask. If not, we should hurry. His apprentice has now > been gone a good long time, and the sooner we dispatch with this sorry > piece of garbage, the sooner we can move on." Before anyone could reply an ear-splitting explosion in the corridor shattered the door, heralding the arrival of Orim and his cronies. Had Pilar not thought to brace it with the bookcase everyone in the room would have been injured by myriad jagged splinters. Instantly Pilar, Twilight and Tenaka leapt forward to "greet" their uninvited guests with their weapons drawn, leaving J'layah to guard Al’ali, her sword remaining poised at his throat. Skeetr scuttled under the mage's mahogany desk with his apple still clutched in his hand. Of Mea there was no sign...perhaps she too had dived for cover when the door imploded. ----- Now was the time to act, whilst the party's number was divided. Even though Al'ali was certain the young High Elf would not hesitate to use the katana - biting painfully into the delicate skin of his neck - if he made any sudden moves, he was equally certain he could distract her long enough to weave a simple sleep spell. Then it would be a matter of rendering the others immobile and they should provide him with many an hour of lively entertainment. Perhaps he would torture them at his leisure before finally granting them the blessed release of death, or perhaps he would add them to his collection of statues, or maybe he would hang the Dark Elf's head (and that of the wretched Khajit boy's as well, curse him!) above his door as a trophy - he would keep the heads animated of course, so he could engage in 'stimulating conversation' whenever the mood took him, or perhaps......ah, but he digressed. Al'ali waited but a moment more then made his move. "Excuse me, but I think you had best put that soul gem in a safe place," he told J'layah, feigning concern, "else it may become damaged beyond repair and the soul within will be lost forever. See, it has already cracked from the explosion!" Al'ali had to repeat himself, such was the clangour of ringing metal and dying screams from the doorway...by all accounts the battle was not going well for Orim (who once again lay unconscious on the floor, this time by Twilight’s hand). J'layah's eyes widened in concern as she absorbed mage's words, and as he'd expected her attention was diverted for an instant as she inspected the gem hanging around her neck. A gesture, a single word composed of complex arcane syllables and the young Elf slumped to the floor, asleep. Now to deal with the three - still with their backs to him, blissfully unaware of what had happened - at the doorway. The mage flexed his fingers, mentally preparing himself for the powerful spell that would render Pilar, Twilight and Tenaka helpless. The desire to see their horrified faces as the spell took effect was too compelling to resist, and Al'ali cried out in his most dramatic 'harbinger of doom' voice "Pray to thine gods, for only they can save ye now!" The trio, busy subduing the last of their foes, spun on their heels as the mage raised both arms and opened his mouth to incant the spell. He'd barely formed the first syllable when, seemingly from nowhere, a partially eaten apple flew with incredible accuracy and surprising force into his mouth, effectively preventing speech and ruining the spell (and Al'ali's credibility as a 'serious mage'). Less than a heartbeat later his body stiffened and his eyes widened in shock as he looked down at the five inches of bloodied blade protruding from his chest. As his lifeblood drained he fell to his knees and saw Skeetr - still in his hiding place under the desk - wave cheekily at him. With his last breath he tried to curse the boy, but it wasn't very effective since the apple was still firmly wedged in his mouth. Then, laying in a pool of rich scarlet blood, Al'ali's life force flickered and died. "I guess the gods must have heard my prayers," remarked Mea as she dispelled her improved invisibility and casually removed Sacre Noir from the dead wizard's body with the aid of a booted foot. Cleaning the blood from its blade with Al'ali's richly brocaded robes, she looked at the Twilight, Tenaka and Pilar, at their stunned expressions, shrugged as if to say "who me?" then jerked a thumb in J'layah's direction.. "Perhaps one of you could throw a bucket of water over sleeping beauty there? Now is not a good time for a nap, methinks." She reached down to Skeetr, ruffled the young Khajit's hair before helping him to his feet. "I must say we make a good team. What say I find you another apple?"