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Badger
Stripey Forest Dweller
Joined: 18 Mar 2002
Posts: 924
Location: UK |
One: For the favour of a lady.
As a soldier with the Imperial Legion you learn not to expect much. As a new conscript to the Legion Barracks at Gnisis, made up mostly of Orcish troops, you learn to expect even less. Less civility, less respect…. Less sleep.
So as a newly appointed “Champion” transferred to Fort Buckmoth outside Ald’ruhn, the very last thing I expected from my new commander was beauty. But beauty she had and standing in her office in the depths of the fort, waiting for her to issue my first orders and watching the candlelight flicker in her eyes, I realised that I would do anything for Imsin the Dreamer, anything she asked.
And what she asked me for was a Knight Errant. Not an item that you tend to come across behind every bush. So it was indeed lucky for me that she also told me where I might find one. Specifically one Joncis Dalomax, who it seemed, had managed to get himself taken as prisoner by an unsavoury group of Daedra worshipers in the ruins of Ashurnbibi.
So it was that soon afterward I found myself ankle deep in mud on the shores outside hla Oad looking for any sign that I hadn’t wasted the money I spent on directions as to where the ruins might be.
I was starting to doubt my guide’s words to me, when as the sun began to dip I suddenly saw the crooked angles and strangely alien design that unmistakably belonged to the towers of a Daedric ruin standing stark against the early evening sky.
Ashurnbibi stood on a small island a mere stones throw off the main shoreline and a series of enormous wooden planks had been laid out to bridge the gap between the two, presumably to facilitate the coming and going of the worshipers without attracting the unwelcome attentions of the local Slaughterfish population. Well if it was good enough for them, it would also be good enough for an Imperial Champion on the Emperors business. But only a fool would step into those ruins after dusk and so I decided to camp on the shore and wait for daybreak.
As the sun rose the next day so did I. The planks were slippery and treacherous but my footing was sure and before long I was among the cold upturned stones of the ruins themselves. Moss covered the ruined walls but despite its overall impression of lifelessness I had the feeling that I was not alone in this dark place.
Rounding the corner cautiously, my feeling was borne out as true. There, sitting with his back to me on a lying stone sat a burly Orcish warrior. In silence I watched as a few minutes ticked by to make sure that he was alone, then once certain I began walking quietly toward him.
As I drew closer I could hear he was muttering to himself as Orc’s are wont to do, about the general unfairness of life, of guard duty at night, of not being allowed to have a fire. Quietly drawing my Glass Frostsword I grimly smiled to myself, he had no idea just how unfair life was about to become.
As I stood over the Orc’s body I realised two things. The first was that he had been on the small side for an Orc and was about my size. The second was that he was wearing some very desirable Orcish Armour. Well… it was no use to him anymore right?
As I crept on deeper into the ruins, my new tougher armour feeding my sense of bravery with each step I took I saw stone steps ahead and heard the distinct sound of metal scraping against stone. I knelt and froze, listening for any indication of just who was waiting up ahead. After a while I decided to see if I could move any closer and with sudden inspiration I took to the rocks by the side of the steps, hoping for an overhead view of whoever the sounds belonged to.
Nearing the top I peered over a rise in the stone and there ahead of me stood the doorway to the interior of the ruins. The simple matter of opening the door however was complicated by a large and heavy set Orc sentry positioned directly in front of it. Worse was to come as it became obvious he had seen me.
“Intruder!” He bellowed lumbering forward. “Now you will die!” he continued, waving his sword ineffectually at me from below. “Come down and fight!”
“No thankyou.” I replied congenially, pulling my crossbow from its position across my shoulders. “If it’s all the same to you I think I’d rather stay up here.”
Seemingly blinded to my actions by pure rage at my being there, the guard seemed totally oblivious as I first loaded crossbow and then drew a bead on the gap between his horned helmet and his breastplate, seeking the vulnerable flesh beneath.
“Arghghghghgh!!” he yelled as my first dart found it’s mark in his thick hide, but incredibly he continued to stand there and dance with fury as if daring me to spend all my crossbow ammunition from my safe perch. So of course I obliged.
My supply of darts finished I decided it was time to make things a little more personal and drawing my sword as I slipped down from the ledge I prepared for the onslaught of my oversized and under brained opponent.
“Now you will Suffer!” He hollered as with head lowered he charged at me as a bull might. Stepping aside at the last moment I span with sword raised in time to see chunks of stone fly from the point where his helmet met the masonry of the wall. I brought my blade down across his shoulders and was rewarded by a roar of pain.
The impact had driven the Orc’s helmet tight onto his head and as he struggled to raise it so that he could see, I stepped back and sat on the low wall of the steps.
“You could always pretend you haven’t seen me you know?” I offered, holding my sword against the light to check its edge. “I’ll not tell anyone.” I promised amiably.
“Ruuuuughghghghgh!” he bawled as he finally managed to free himself from the prison of his errant headgear. “Now you die!” and he barrelled forward once more.
“Should I take that as a no then?” I inquired and rolled backward from the ledge, dropping to the grass below as his sword bit into my seat of a moment ago.
As he flew like a maddened animal down the steps I stepped quickly to the corner and kneeling I pointed my blade toward it, holding it steady. I must admit to being unprepared for the weight of my adversary as he rounded the corner and ran full on into my blade impaling himself through the chest. We both looked at the blood stained blade where it disappeared into the front of his armour plating, and then at each other. I shrugged apologetically as he looked at me in surprise before slowly slipping to the ground.
Discarding my Imperial helmet, I pulled on instead his superior Orcish version before turning my attention to the door above.
End of part one. |
Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:54 am |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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Go, Badger... for great justice! 
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Thu Jun 24, 2004 4:57 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Wise legionaire be vehwy careful about dumping proper Imperial uniform, rock-hopper.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:14 am |
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EverythingXen
Arch-villain
Joined: 01 Feb 2002
Posts: 4342
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Bah. Go download the Imperial Signet Ring mod. Makes a signet ring the thing you have to carry around instead of a heavy chain or plate cuirass.
_________________
Estuans interius, Ira vehementi
"The old world dies and with it the old ways. We will rebuild it as it should be, MUST be... Immortal!"
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Worshipper of the Written Word= |
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Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:21 am |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
I remember using a mod that had a shirt as the uniform item. You could wear the shirt under your armor and the world was a happy place.
Poor Badger. All this work for a girlie... Of all the warped reasons to spill kegs of plasma. What ever happened to good old bloodlust? Killing for killing's sake? Slaughter because some peasant was eyeballing you?
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Fri Jun 25, 2004 6:15 am |
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Badger
Stripey Forest Dweller
Joined: 18 Mar 2002
Posts: 924
Location: UK |
Two: Into the Ruin.
On closer inspection the doors air of mystery only deepened, as closely as I examined it I found that I still couldn’t decide from which material it was made. Neither wood nor stone, with a strange dark hue and cold to the touch. Its motif was also strange, seeming as it did as though some fabled artisan had sculpted it in the form of a great web.
Fully expecting the challenge of some arcane lock, it was a great surprise to find that the door surrendered easily at my touch and like a mighty yawn swung open, revealing stairs that descended out of sight into darkness.
After a moments hesitation I started inward, peering downward into the gloom and expecting the ground beneath me to dissolve into nothingness with each step I took. After a little while in this fashion I was rewarded by the distant flicker of firelight from below and rounding a bend in the stairway I was greeted by a cavernous sight.
At the foot of the stairs was set a wide paved plateau and at its center two large campfires had been set. These burned greedily and in the flickering shadow of the light they gave out, I could see a larger chamber below and beyond. Once perhaps a mighty greeting hall of some kind, it was now a picture of decay. Large portions of the wall were covered by the same moss I had seen outside and in places great gouges in the masonry where the surface had simply given way, were testimony to times merciless ravages.
What throngs I wondered had gathered under the shelter of this roof, what acts of depravity had its decaying marble and stone borne witness too.
At first the dancing of the firelight in the chamber confused my eyes, but then I realised that it was in fact flooded. Peering ahead I could see what remained of a corridor on the other side of the hall and it seemed evident that this was my way forward. No well placed wooden planks were thoughtfully provided here, so I guessed it was time for the Imperial Champion to get his feet wet.
As I waded onward I tried to divide my attention between the way ahead and the water around me. No sense in assuming that this pool was uninhabited and my hand rested lightly on the hilt of my sword in determined anticipation of any creature from the depths who might decide to invite me for dinner.
Then as I rounded a slow left hand bend the corridor came to a dead end. On the left hand side was a great stone cage half submerged, but beyond it only a hard stone wall. Ducking my head briefly beneath the water I could see that the way on lie in a gap where the stone bars of the cage had broken. As though some giant had clenched his fist too tightly and given me the chance to slip through between his broken fingers.
Beyond the bars the continuing corridor again opened up into a room and I could vaguely make out steps leading upward and out of the water at its far side. Redoubling my effort I struck out determinedly for the stairs, but even so I barely made it before the screaming for air, making my chest tighter every second, could no longer be ignored.
As I broke the surface it took every ounce of self control I possessed not to devour the treasured air, dragging it into my lungs with great clumsy gasps, announcing my arrival to the whole world. Instead I stayed quietly crouched on the steps by the waters edge, composed myself and listened for evidence of anyone wandering beyond.
Had I had any breath to spare it would have been momentarily taken by the spectacle of the scene before me. The stairs ended in a large set of double doors which lay open and beyond them was a great hallway hewn from the living rock around me.
Pillars rose majestically toward the ceiling high above and myriad stone plinths were set about the place, topped with lavish cloths of red and gold and loaded with gleaming bowls bright with flame.
A small set of central stairs in the hall led to an alter of sorts, although from my kneeling position I could not see what might be displayed there. This was flanked by a huge statue three times the size of a man, depicting a warrior scantily dressed in a loincloth. A demon head belt wrapped tightly about his waist and in his hands the deadly looking curve of a Scimitar.
So this was where you worshiped a Daedra? It was certainly an impressive place and I found it hard to tear my eyes from the alter. Suddenly with a snap of clarity I realised that despite my purpose I was in fact being attracted by the allure and evil majesty of the place and was once again reminded how chaos and evil, like the water around me, could seep in through the smallest imperfection so that a man may lose his very self through any chink that the souls armour may inadvertently provide.
To this very day I don’t know what made me move sideways at that moment. Fate? The gods? Perhaps simply the will of the emperor. Whatever the reason though I barely escaped the howling blade that bit into the very stone where I had been standing a fraction of a second before!
Spinning around I found myself face to face with an Orc warrior who had come from goodness knows where, her blade intent on finding my neck.
“Stand and fight with honour!” She demanded and spun her sword about her head to strike again.
Female she may have been, but in truth she had little in common with any women I had known. In place of beauty, her face bore the scars of a hundred battles hard won. In place of kindness, her eyes shone with a dark cruelty and sadistic lust. This was not the company I sought on a cold winter night and I determined there and then that our acquaintance should be a brief one.
Unfortunately she seemed to have reached the same determination and with a mighty roar she swung her blade again in a deadly downward arc!
Spinning to the left I once again felt the fetid air of deaths dark kiss pass within a fraction of an inch of claiming me and I now found myself with my back to the open doorway leading toward the alter.
As I stepped slowly backward, matching my unwelcome suitors advance pace for pace, the hair on my neck began to rise with crackling electricity and a moment later one of the bowls atop a plinth to my side exploded in a flare of dark power.
I glanced toward the new assault and there at one side of a chamber stood a dark robed mage, his hands still smoking from the power of his botched attack. “Fetcher!” He yelled. “Now you will suffer!” and he made to close the gap between us.
End of Part Two. |
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Fri Jun 25, 2004 10:56 am |
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Badger
Stripey Forest Dweller
Joined: 18 Mar 2002
Posts: 924
Location: UK |
Three: Heart of the Daedra.
Glancing quickly about me I realised that my options were slim. My two assailants were advancing at right angles, both cutting off my escape and effectively forcing me into the channel of burning plinths which led toward the alter.
The mage laughed wildly as another ball of evil fury leapt effortlessly from his hands and tore toward me in a sizzling arc. Glad as I was that he was having such fun, I realised that I had to react quickly to avoid becoming Char Grilled Champion and I rolled across the floor deftly, feeling the intense heat pass just above my head.
My shoulder roll ended with a spring which left me crouched, but on the balls of my feet where sudden movement tore my eyes upward to meet those of the Orc as she pressed home her attack once again. I managed to raise the enchanted glass of my sword to parry the blow, but only just and the raw power of her assault tore the blade from my hand and sent it spinning across the stone floor!
Desperately rolling backward between plinths, I popped up again on the other side of the aisle and very nearly lost an eye to the slashing dagger of the darkly grinning mage. The last second turn of my head not enough though to escape the bite of the blade as it carved a bloody line down my cheek. I momentarily felt sickened and tasted blood. “If the dagger is poisoned,” I thought…. “I’m dead!”
Another peel of laughter from the mage snapped me back to my senses and I stepped backward spinning and barely avoiding his next dagger thrust at my throat, only to be greeted by the whirling steel of my Orc tormentor as it flew in a deadly crescent on its journey to drink my lifes blood!
For the first time the true possibility of defeat stung my soul and I momentarily saw myself a decaying corpse mounted forever as a trophy within the walls of this ghastly place.
Throwing myself downward to my knees the firelight was briefly eclipsed by the passage of the hurtling sword as it cut the air above my head. Then the side of my face and my neck were bathed by a torrent of hot blood! A fraction of a second later with a muffled thud the head of the mage plopped on to the stone floor to my right and rolled wetly between the plinths.
Rolling again and bounding to my feet I almost laughed at the perplexed expression of the Orc as she stared first at her bloodied sword, then at the decapitated body of the mage, which as though finally reaching a decision as to what to do next, slowly crumpled to the floor.
Panting for breath I looked desperately for my frost sword, but it lay beyond the maddened Orc close to the alter itself.
“Now how do you expect to keep any friends?” I asked, “If you can’t play nice!”
With a roar the Orc turned and leaned menacingly toward me and then seemed to calm herself. “No escape now Redguard,”she announced. “No rush either, now I kill you!”
“Well I’m unarmed.” I agreed. “So you’ll probably have little trouble finishing me off. But I think there’s something you should know first.”
The Orc grinned as though relishing any delay which might prolong the moment of my death. “And what might that be Outlander?” She sneered unpleasantly.
Reaching up I pointed over her right shoulder helpfully, “You’re on fire.” I offered.
With a cry of alarm she noticed for the first time the flames licking upward where she had been standing with her back to close to the lighted plinth behind her and with a bellow of pain she hurled herself past me, dropping her sword to the cold stone and with a mighty hiss she plunged headlong into the waters of the flooded chamber beyond. Scooping up the discarded sword I considered following, but as I doubted she’d be back unarmed I decided to let her go and merely stood catching my breath as the sound of the waves lapping against the steps from her hurried entrance to the water, slowly subsided.
Once composed I stood and followed the path between the plinths toward the statue. The path broke like a river into two sections at the steps to the altar and I moved to the left hand side and followed it around, picking up my frost blade as I went. Why? Oh, just a little rule of thumb I follow, when faced with a choice of path always go left where possible, that way you always know your way back home.
I could see now that beyond the plinths many fat topped stones were laden with scrolls and books, doubtless spells and incantations used by the murderous practitioners who lately called this place of shadows their home.
Behind the statue the paths converged again and led to a heavy double door. A brief challenge to the handle confirmed it was locked tight and an inspection of the lock revealed a mechanism to arcane or cunning to yield to my meagre skills. Resolving to revisit the door later, my thoughts turned again to the altar and once more I found myself strangely drawn to the steps at its base.
Slowly ascending toward this unholy of unholies I was struck for the first time by its contents. Adorning the altar top in a half circle were stones of great beauty, Ruby, Ebony and Emerald and placed on a silver plate at their center lay, unless I was mistaken, the heart of a Daedra.
Finally reaching the summit I stood before the gems and watched as the flames from atop the plinths cast dancing firelight into the very souls of the stones, but as luxurious as the sight was, I still found my eyes drawn to the heart and slowly I found my hand reaching toward it.
A mere fingers breadth from the organ I paused, something was wrong! My heart beat faster and my brow was pierced by tiny daggers as sweat began to flow. Acting on instinct I reached into my pack and my fumbling fingers found the “amulet of shadows” which lay in its depths.
Slipping it around my neck I immediately felt a thrill of power as the line of my body faded from sight until I stood spirit like before the altar and again I reached toward the heart.
As I closed my hand around it I felt rather than heard a presence appear behind me and a dank smell filled my nostrils. Slowly turning I saw standing mere feet away at the foot of the steps, the muscled sinewy form of what could only be a Dremora Lord!
“So this was the fate of the unwary adventurer or unschooled thief!” I thought, staring transfixed by the sight of the altars powerful guardian, lord of this place and doubtless subject of the worship of the temples cult.
At first I scarcely dared breathe, let alone move. But it quickly became apparent that the creature before me had no idea of my presence and I remembered the amulet still safe around my neck which in my shock I had forgotten and I thanked my stars. Then slowly, so very slowly, I began to descend the steps and edged around him as his head swayed to and fro and tiny growls of what may have been confusion escaped from his throat.
I stood there for a moment torn by indecision. What of my mission? I felt sure that I could not best this beast in combat and yet assuming I could reach the altar rooms exit without being heard, the creature would be upon me as soon as I broke the surface of the water, of that much I was sure.
There was really only one choice open to me and hoping against hope that the total surprise of my unseen and ignoble attack from behind would give me a momentary advantage, I slowly and silently raised my sword.
As soon as I did so the amulets spell was broken, but this was of little consequence as the creatures attention was fixed upon the altar and its confusing lack of occupants and raising the blade high above my head I brought it crashing down between his shoulders!
It was then that something amazing and totally unexpected happened. I had fully expected the Beast to turn in fury and tear me to pieces where I stood, but instead and without so much as a backward glance, he howled in pain, leapt off the steps to the floor to the left of the statue and ran up the path!
Before I knew what I was doing my adrenalin filled legs had leapt to the pursuit and hot on the creatures heels I swung my sword again, its blade biting deeply into the flesh of his back!
What a spectacle we must have made! A huge mountain of muscle lumbering panic stricken along, fleeing an attack from invisible spirits. Being pursued by a man barely half his size and swinging a sword that on another occasion the beast may well have used as a back scratcher.
At last we came again to the place where the paths converged and caught in a moment of indecision, the creature paused. Too late to stem my forward speed I used instead the momentum I had gathered to lend power to my blade and with a mighty cry I plunged it into the bleeding back of my perplexed foe.
The force of the blow coupled with the great weight of the beast as it fell forward sent it staggering into the heavy door, which with a groan and great splintering crack, gave way and fell crashing to the ground!
For a moment all was lost in a great cloud of dust and my ears sang from the enormous noise of the crashing portal in the confined space. But as things began to settle I became aware of coughing from the unexplored room beyond.
As I peered into the gloom the outline of a coughing figure began to emerge and gradually this resolved itself into the form of a Knight Errant, who could be none other than the very man I had come to rescue, Joncis Dalomax.
For a moment neither of us spoke and then Dalomax took a small white handkerchief from his breast pocket and using it to guard against the dust he lent forward and studied the lifeless form of the Dremora Lord, which even as we watched began to smoke and fade until only a pile of dust remained. Then the old man looked upward toward me with his eyebrows raised……
“You’re out of uniform!” He snapped. “Talk to me when you are properly dressed!”
I told you once, that as a soldier with the Imperial Legion you learn to expect very little. Little civility, little respect and little sleep. But there is one other thing I forgot to mention…….
Little Gratitude!!
END |
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Sat Jun 26, 2004 4:06 pm |
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Cm
Sentinel of Light
Joined: 26 Jan 2003
Posts: 5209
Location: Missouri USA |
That was marvelous Badger. I could scarely tear my eyes from the last part. Very well done, Sir, very well done.  
_________________
=Member of the Nonflamers Guild=
=Member of Worshippers of the Written Word=
A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.
Mark Twain
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Sat Jun 26, 2004 5:54 pm |
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cfmdobbie
High Emperor
Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 1859
Location: London, England |
Another fantastic piece of work! I once again take my hat off to you, sir. 
_________________
Charlie Dobbie
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Moderator of the Morrowind/Oblivion Forums= |
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Sat Jun 26, 2004 6:20 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Ah, but the story's not over yet! We've got Orc Tartar swimming around somewhere, and what of the Lady Fair? Cmon Uncle Badger! Just one more chapter and then you can go home if you must.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Sat Jun 26, 2004 7:17 pm |
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Badger
Stripey Forest Dweller
Joined: 18 Mar 2002
Posts: 924
Location: UK |
Thanks all, glad you liked it.
@dte Sorry sir, this chapter ends here as a gentleman would never kiss and tell 
Badger |
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Sat Jun 26, 2004 9:16 pm |
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Badger
Stripey Forest Dweller
Joined: 18 Mar 2002
Posts: 924
Location: UK |
 Glad you enjoyed it xSam. |
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Thu Jul 01, 2004 9:01 am |
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