The adventures of Arthago chapter III, A Province united Options

[Agent Griff]

So let's kick this chapter off shall we? A small bit of info at what's to come further in the series: At the end of this chapter, Arthago will move to a whole new province and I think many of you already know which province it is. Anyway, let's enjoy Hammerfell while it lasts shall we?

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After the defeat of Lord Vhosek's rebellion, things went back to normal in all of Hammerfell. Some local kings and rulers however, seeing that Lord Vhosek managed to battle the King and even defeat him, albeit for a short time, started a fight against King Lhotun's rule as well. Since I was one of the highest ranking knights in Sentinel, with the exception of Marshal Daron and a few other senior knights of the order, I was often sent to these small kingdoms to stop the rebellions. The first kingdom to revolt, a few years after Vhosek's uprising, was the small kingdom of Santaki which was close to the Dragontail mountains. I was sent there, together with a few other knights below my rank, to stop the rebellion.

We arrived there after a few days ride. The capital of the small kingdom was the town with the same name, Santaki. The kingdom, albeit small, had its own knightly order, the order of the Hawk. That meant that the Kingdom had some importance in the politics of Hammerfell but it also meant that other smaller kingdoms may gather around Santaki and fight against Sentinel. I never really understood why Redguards or men in general fight eachother if there's no other foe to fight against. Maybe to heighten their skills? No, the answer was quite simple really. For Power. Once a man got ahold of better, he never could really let go of it. The more power you have the more power you crave. King Lhotun obviously had too much power for the regional kingdoms to bear, so they rebelled against him. Quite simple if you look at it from a political point of view.

The capital was a rather big town. It was quite smaller than Sentinel though but bigger than any other town I had seen before. The seal of the order that was etched on my cuirass was concealed by a cloak and so were the seals of the knights under my command. I didn't want someone to see that knights from Sentinel had arrived to settle affairs with Santaki. The palace was not a big or tall building, it was merely three storeys high. I could see an open balcony leading to the throne room at the last floor. There were also knights of the Hawk standing guard near the palace. Even though they came from an issolated kingdom such as Santaki those knights looked fierce.

Once we reached the gate of the palace, a knight stopped us to ask us of our business with their king. I didn't exactly think of an excuse on the way so I had to improvise.
"We come from Sentinel to bring word on King Lhotun's movements." I said in an official tone.

"Sentinel eh? Why do you have to bring the news to the King personally? I thought that sir Greklith was in charge of intelligence." the knight said with a suspicious voice. He was also constantly looking at my knights who were behind me.

"Our duties are to transmit this information to his Majesty personally." I said, trying to keep the lie going. He seemed to believe me.

"Very well then. If the King specificaly required that you meet him I won't interfere. Carry on!" the guard said as he opened the gate. How polite of him! I'm sure that he will be pounding his head after I slay his treacherous king.

A few minutes later we were standing in front of the king of Santaki. He was a man close to old age with a small beard and long, flowing, hair. He looked at me and my men with his brown eyes and asked what my business was in Santaki. He seemed confused and I felt sorry to slay him because he looked like an innocent man.

"What is your business in Santaki, travellers?" the king asked.

"We come from Sentinel with news and counsel." I said, with a soft tone that calmed him down a little.

"Counsel? What counsel? I think I can handle my own kingdom, despite my advancing age." the king said with a hostile voice. Alright so he didn't like advice. It wasn't as if he had much choice when it came to the advice I was about to give him.

"King Lhotun of Sentinel advises you to lay down your outrageous claims and slanders against him. He also advises you that uprisings are very dangerous for men of advanced age such as your fine self." I said in a cold voice.

"Men as myself? King Lhotun now mocks me! I will not lay down my just claims! Hammerfell must be free!" the old king shouted.

"The king of Ephesus had the same opinion regarding the King's counsel. He dissapeared shortly after he made his opinions public and his cousin now peacefuly rules the kingdom. I would not want the same happening to yourself." I said, trying to scare the old king.

"I know why you're here. Lhotun sent his assassins after me. He is a coward not to face me in just battle!" the old king shouted.

"Neither I nor his Majesty see a brave, young King fighting against an old man as a just battle. I think you will agree with our opinions." I said with a sarcastic tone. This man was really pushing my indulgence to the very limit.

"Your king is a filthy coward! And so are his men!" the old man shouted.

Before the old king could say another word he fell down on the floor. His throat was pierced by a small dart. Blood started flowing shortly until it reached our feet. Our job was done! Slaying old men with darts really wasn't my style but at least it payed well, well enough to manage the estate that Lord Vhosek left me. Before the guards could react we were already outside the palace and into the crowded streets of the city.

Once we reached the gatehouse, one of the knights under my command entered as the others, myself included, exited the city. Shortly after, the guard inside the gathehouse fell out of a small window. The knight inside had done his job well. He was more lightly armoured than the rest of us and he was adept in sneaking around and stabbing people when they weren't looking. He then fired a flaming arrow into the sky. The army waiting for us outside soon stormed the town with the gates open. The town guards and even the knights of the Hawk surrendered once they saw what was pouring through their open gates. The King would be pleased to hear of my actions, conquering a town without any loses and slaying a king without anyone noticing. Being an assassin though, didn't quite fit me. I lusted for the thrill of battle again. I had not fought anyone since Vhosek's rebellion. I had to return to Sentinel to report my deeds and receive my rewards anyway. I wonder what Marshal Daron has to say? I had not spoken with him since the days of the rebellion and I was anxious to speak with him again.


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That's it for the start of the chapter! I've followed advice and have used spaces between dialogue lines, tell me if you like it how it is now or if you liked it more the way it was before.

[Agent Griff]

Do not worry Mallet, you are forgiven. Oh, one thing I was always willing to ask you, who is Simion Mandrake and what has he got to with Bloodlust? Just curious because I see these names being thrown quite a lot around the forums. Why couldn't people mention Arthago and the Adventures instead?

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Right from the start I could notice that Taneth was a rather odd city. Since my mission was largely concerned with Rihad I had received little intelligence about Taneth. I already knew that its leader was a pro-Imperial woman named Clavilla and that it was a Forebear-aligned city. I was surprised to see how Imperialized Taneth had become. In the crowds mingling through the main street I could see just as much Imperials as I could see Redguards. There was a main street which ran until it reached Clavilla's castle, and that main street also contained Taneth's bazaar. Around the main street sprang small alleys which led off to houses and smaller shops, alleys to small for three man to stand abreast. Next to the buildings were also wooden scaffoldings on which workers laboured to renovate the traditional light-brown sand-swept hues of the buildings to a more conventional colour. The scaffoldings started from the alleys and worked their way up, giving the city a strange appearance.

Since I only wanted to spend the night in Taneth, I made my way to the nearest Redguard I could see to ask about a cheap, low-profile inn where I could stay. Amid the crowd I could see a middle-aged Redguard with a grizzled beard standing about, as if waiting for someone. I approached him.

"Greetings. Excuse me but would you mind if you..." I was interrupted by the man before I could finish my sentence.

"That necklace...hide it!" he whispered as he looked another way. He was obviously pretending not to talk to me, though I couldn't understand why. I then looked down at my necklace. It was an old necklace which I carried around ever since I left Vulnim Gate for the first time. It was a gift I received one day from my mother, which said she had received it from her mother while she was a girl. It had a small ivory medallion which symbolized some old Yoku god.

"My necklace? Why?" I asked, looking in the other way as well, not wanting to attract unwanted attention. That was the last thing I needed.

"The guards...they'll take it from you and toss you in the Royal dungeons just for wearing such 'blasphemy'. Take it off, quick!" the man whispered once more as he kept looking around. I decided to do as he said, not wanting to draw unwanted attention from the guards.

"That's better, a lot better. You will find that it's not good to be caught wearing anything which is traditionally Yoku in Taneth. Or doing anything traditionally Yoku. Or speaking Yoku for the matter." the man said in a nervous way, finally looking at me.

"But why? What's happened? Why are there so many Imperials here?" I asked, rather confused.

"It's the Queen you see. But I can't say any more. Farewell." He said as he quickly left, grabbing my hand and putting a small note in it before leaving.

I quickly took out the note and read it carefully.

Queen Clavilla has banned everything which has something traditionally Yoku related to it, and is trying to destroy our traditional Redguard culture, imposing the Imperials and their Nine Divines over our traditional Yoku gods. If you want to be part of the solution, seek us out at the "Serpent's Coil" inn in the Lower quarters. Ask for Jon.

Signed,
the Fellowship of Taneth

That explained everything. I knew Clavilla was a supporter of Imperial culture and mannerism, but not quite that much. It seemed my intelligence was outdated. It wasn't really any of my concern and my main objective was reaching Rihad, but it wouldn't hurt hurting Sentinel's political adversaries and gaining a few allies in Taneth while I was at it. I quickly folded the note and put it in my pockets, afterwards turning to Beomir and Belwin.

"Alright men, change of plans. We're gonna wreak a little havok while we're staying here. Follow me." I said, as I started walking in a general direction.

What was written in the note also explained all the scaffoldings and the workers working to renovate the traditional Redguard buildings. They were clearly trying to Imperialize the city to Clavilla's standards. It also explained the presence of Imperial legionnaires inside the city, serving as guards along with some Redguard guards. If I would want to learn more however I would have to make my way to the "Serpent's Coil" inn. In order to do that, I would have to ask someone for directions. Seeing a Redguard in front of me who seemed to be knowledgeable of the city, I approached him.

"Excuse me, do you happen to know where I could find the 'Serpent's Coil' inn?" I asked in a rather polite way. The Redguard turned and looked me over, head to toe, probably to see if I was wearing anything which was Yoku in style.

"Take the first alley to the left and keep going until you reach an opening in the alleys. You'll find a few shacks and a somewhat larger stone building there which has a sign with a snake coiling. That's the inn you're looking for. Watch out though, it's in the Lower Quarters and that's a rather...agitated part of town." the Redguard said calmly, slowing down when he finished his sentence. I thanked him and was off.

The journey through the winding alleyway the Redguard sent me through wasn't as easy as I expected. These back-alleys were more dirty and crowded than the ones I experienced in Sentinel. There were also various shady types about, which more than unnerved Belwin. Beomir however seemed to be right at home. I could see however what the Redguard meant by agitated. There were many poor people and street urchins lying about and begging. There were also some groups of poor people which were rather more "practical" about it when it came to getting money from passers-by. They tried to avoid us however seeing as we were three well-armed travellers which stayed together.

Because of the scaffoldings which were strewn all about the city the alleys were rather dark, and it made seeing more in front of you hard, especially when people hung their dirty laundry right on the street. The spaces between the cobblestones which made up the ground we were walking on was also filled with filth and dirty water. It was something you could feel with your boots while walking on it rather than smell it. That was not to say that the smell wasn't very strong though. Along the way I could also see posters hung on the walls with the Empire's banner and the saying "The Imperials are our brothers" written beneath it. There were also some posters which were vandalized or ripped from the wall entirely.

After what seemed like an eternity of trudging about the same identical alleys we finally found the "Serpent's Coil" inn. It was a somewhat large stone building when compared with the wooden shacks all around it. As the Redguard had described it, it was in a clearing between several larger buildings, seemingly at an intersection between alleys. We approached the door.

As we entered we could hear traditional Redguard music being sung from a band of musicians. We were welcomed with the sight of a large, rectangular common room which was dark even though there were candles on all the tables which provided an odd sense of darkness. It provided just enough light so you could see the person standing with you at a table, and just enough darkness so you couldn't properly see the other tables. Between the odd assortment of Redguards of all ages there were also a few large figures standing at a table and drinking ale by the flagon. As we passed by their table we could see they were Orcs. One of them gave Beomir a glare as he passed. As soon as we reached the bar, I started talking with the publican.

"Good evening. I'm looking for Jon." I said, trying to be quiet enough as not to be heard by others yet loud enough to be heard over the music.

"I understand. Follow me." the publican said as he appointed another bartender to take his place.

We followed the publican through a door behind the bar which led to a smaller private room used to store drinks. There were a lot of wine racks in the room and a table in the middle, a table at which there sat several people, including the Redguard I had met in the main street of the city, the one which gave me the note.

"I'll leave you to your business. I'll call if there's any trouble." the publican said as he went back to his duties. I stood for a while while they all looked at me.

"Why don't you take a seat, m'boy?" the eldest of them asked in a rather gruff voice.

"We hope you weren't followed. That's a big problem these days, getting our members arrested because they're caught illegally possessing Yoku things, or because they're fraternizing with 'heretics'." The man who gave me the note said as a follow-up. I took a seat as they said. So did Beomir and Belwin, rather hesitantly. "I'm Jon by the way. The old one's Bodean. There are others but that's all you should know for the moment."

"I understand. So what are you exactly? A revolutionary movement?" I asked rather curiously.

"Of sorts." Bodean answered shortly.

"To give you the longer story, Queen Clavilla wasn't actually a bad sort when she first came to power. The old Emperor down in Cyrodiil deposed the former king of Taneth for reasons we commoners don't know, and instated his Imperial-grown niece on the throne afterwards. Before the Queen came to power, things in Taneth were down-right miserable. You had to pay rent to the King for almost everything you owned, and that rent was multiplied per person, so unless you were rich you couldn't afford more than a shack unless you dodged taxes and rent all-together. After the Queen came to the throne she repealed the rent law for the poor citizens, making it bearable to have more than a shack again." Jon said, speaking about the times before Clavilla's reign.

"Things were good and all during that period. Trade started growing again, more ships started coming to the harbour, more houses being built and more jobs to go around. The legion and the Orcs also came about by then." Bodean said, rather coldly.

"Orcs? We met a group of them right in this inn. They gave us a rather nasty look and didn't seem pleased to see us." Belwin said, interrupting.

"Aye. Orc mercenaries hired by Clavilla as her personal police-force. Since Taneth never really had a standing army after the Camoran Usurper attacked Hammerfell, the Queen decided to do something about it so she hired all these Orcs. A rather boisterous bunch, though they have skill when it comes to battle. They don't seem to get on well with the street gangs formed in the period when the city was poorer and the rent laws were still in effect. When they're not on duty they loiter about in taverns and inns, getting drunk and filling their bellies." Jon said.

"An undisciplined band of drunken louts if you ask me." Bodean said in a mocking way. It was clear he despised the Orcs.

"If the people of Taneth dislike the Legionnaires stationed here, they certainly hate the Orcs under the Queen's service. Anyway, to carry on with the story, things were all fine and good until the Orcs and the Legion came in increasing ammounts. Then the Queen started her cultural 'war' so to say. She started banning anything which was un-Cyrodiilic, stating that the only things which were proper were Imperial. People tolerated it for a while, until she banned all worship of the traditional Yoku gods and branded all of the priests as heretics, throwing them in the dungeons. Now formal worship of Yoku gods is forbidden and the only gods which are not heretical are the Nine Divines." Jon said, being interrupted by Bodean once more.

"During the bad times people found a refuge in worshipping the Yoku gods like Satakal. It was all they had really. Things have been like this ever since we Redguards came to Hammerfell! Now this Queen tries to take it away from us, calling our religion a heresy and our holymen shamans! It cannot be borne!" Bodean said, almost shouting.

"Bodean can be rather extreme at times, but he is right. Things have gone on long enough. It's time the people fought back, and what better voice of the people than us?" Jon asked, rhetorically.

"Will you join us lad? Will you help Taneth and its people regain their former freedom?" Bodean asked. I stood for a while as if pondering the decision. Of course I wanted to destabilize Clavilla's rule and reinforce the point of view that Lhotun is the one who will save Taneth.

"Of course I will. What nobler cause is there than the freedom of the people? When do we start?" I asked, rather boldly. I almost told them that it shouldn't take more than a few days since I had another kingdom to destabilize in Rihad.

Me and my "noble" pursuits...

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Comments are welcome!