The Accounts of Rayden Options

[redsrock]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story takes place just nine days after Uriel Septim's assassination, with a unique twist. I am taking the Main Quest and I am remaking it with my own version. What would have happened if both the main-character and Uriel Septim died in the sewers, along with all of the Blades officers? What would have happened if the Amulet of Kings fell into the hand of an "innocent" but hidden bystander?


The Accounts of Rayden


CHAPTER ONE


I wouldn't even have been able to get into the sewers if it wasn't for that foolish Imperial Guard, who, after a few too many bottles of ale, carelessly dropped his heavy set of iron keys lying so temptingly upon the hard wood floor. I was sitting in the tavern, minding my own business. I had planned on settling in for the night, but when I saw that gleaming shine coming from the keys, I knew my night had only just begun.




My name is Rayden, Bosmer and freelance thief of the Imperial City. I am a mere twenty-seven years of age, yet I am capable of many things even veteran thieves cannot accomplish. What, do you think of me as a boastful young brat? I will not argue with you, I am indeed confident of my abilities, but I guess I'll have to prove that to you. Don't worry, you'll learn soon enough.




When I first saw the keys I assumed someone else would pick them up and hand them back to the officer as a sign of good will, possibly a way to kiss up to the Imperials, just like everyone seemed to be so keen of doing. But alas, my inner prayers were answered and nobody but I witnessed the keys fall to the floor. So I left my seat and walked out the door, slyly scooping down to pick the keys up on my way.

At first I wasn't sure what to do with them. There were so many keys hanging from the iron ring, more than fifteen in fact. There were hundreds of places I thought about going to in order to get my hands on whatever I wanted, but one place stood out more than any other: the sewers under the prison. I had heard many a story about how there was a secret passageway to hidden chambers, were rooms were filled with lost and hidden treasures. From my understanding the sewer was not guarded by one soul, meaning it was probably my safest option, as well as my most prosperous.

I left the tavern and headed straight for the sewers entrance, which was just a bit northeast from the city. There, I fumbled through the keys, and thankfully, just as I had originally hoped, one of them opened the large-barred gate that was standing between me and my soon to be treasures.

I stepped inside the damp sewers and walked around for a few minutes, trying to find my way to the secret chambers. The rats were making things difficult, not to mention the goblins. They were extremely difficult to sneak around. After not finding anything of interest for an hour I was beginning to think that the stories must have been false, but then I faintly heard a metal door opening to the west, and the sound seemed as if it was not too far from where I was standing.

I quietly ran to where I heard the sound, and sure enough a door had been opened, and you won't even begin to believe who I saw. The Emperor himself, Uriel Septim, was being led by a Redguard Blade, and some other person who looked to be an inmate of the prison itself. I made that assumption because he was wearing raggedy clothes, and his wrists had irons on them. But the inmate was too far in the back, making it impossible to see what race he was. Obviously the Emperor was an Imperial, everyone knows that. And the Redguard's race was certainly visible thanks to obvious circumstances. As for the inmate, I never did get a look at his face. What happened next went so fast I'm still a bit dazed...

No more than ten seconds after spotting the three, a rustled noise came from their right side. Suddenly men and women wearing scarlet red robes and hoods appeared almost out of nowhere, and for whatever reason a small battle immediately commenced.

It was all so confusing and wild. I didn't know what to do, so I simple hid around a corner, but carefully peeking my head out so that I could see all the action. The Redguard was taking on two opponents at once, and the inmate had already been slain by one of the red-robed.

Uriel Septim had attempted to run away but one of the robed shot a spell his way, hitting him square in the back. A humongous cloud of magic surfaced through the air, and somehow a necklace flew from the Emperor's body, hitting the wall right next my face. I assumed the necklace was a simple, but expensive, piece of jewelry. But, when I picked the item up, I realized it was none other than the Amulet of Kings, THE Amulet of Kings!

I looked back, expecting to see the robed men running towards me, but instead they were running towards the fallen body of the Emperor. The Redguard had taken down his own opponents, and was then rushing over to the Emperor to protect him from the two remaining opponents.

Without hesitating I picked up the necklace and ran away, but before I did that I took one last glance at the battle. The Redguard was on the ground with an axe sticking from the side of his head, and the Emperor was lying unprotected on the hard stoned floor, with both of his frail hands in the air, shielding himself from the two remaining robed men.

"Tell us where the Amulet is!" Yelled one of the robed men. When the Emperor did not respond to their commands they simply stuck a sword through his chest and into his heart, ending the long lived life of Cyrodiil's leader. I watched in horror as Uriel's hands fell to the ground and slammed against the floor. The robed men began searching the area, and that's when I finally left the place.

Now, nine days later, I stand here in an old worn-out cabin, deep in the woods west of Cheydinhal. I sit here with the Amulet of Kings in hand, and I'm trying to figure out what to do. It only took one day for a total transformation of the Empire to take place. After what took place in the sewers, thousands of red-robed figures showed up in the Imperial City, led by an Altmer who called himself "Mankar Camoran". He claimed to be the leader of the cult he called "The Mythic Dawn".

I was in that same tavern where I found the keys when Mankar and his cultists arrived. The death of the Emperor had not yet been spread, since I was the only witness to the deaths, and I surely was too afraid to tell anyone. I was trying to keep myself out of trouble, but then again that would impossible as long as I had the Amulet of Kings still in my possession.

A fight broke out in the city. The guards and citizens banded together to fight the Mythic Dawn, but it was of no use. Apparently Mankar had several men inside the Imperial City who were working for him. That and the fact that the Imperial Legion was greatly outnumbered benefited to the Mythic Dawn's easy victory. Since then Mankar has taken the throne, and his men are looking for the Amulet, which I of course have in hand.

I had left the city before I was rounded up by Mankar's men, and like I told you before, I am now residing in my hidden cabin. It is not hidden by magical powers, but the trees certainly provide help in hiding from the outside world.

I was looking at the amulet closely, examining every last detail of the famed jewel. It was rather heavy for a piece of jewelry, seemingly a little over 1 pound in weight. The gold chain was supposed to wrap around the wearer's neck, and in the middle of the amulet itself was a gigantic, red, ruby-like gem, which was absolutely stunning. Around that gem were eight smaller jewels, all different colors. The amulet was truly a magnificent item, but unfortunately it had some magical powers conjured in it as well.

I say this because when I tried to put the amulet on my own neck, it simply fell off. It never would stay on and I was getting quite furious about the whole situation. That's when I paid a "visit" to the bookstore in the Imperial City, after-hours if you know what I mean. While there I discovered a book about the Amulet of Kings, and in its contents I learned that only a legitimate heir to the Septim bloodline may wear the amulet.

And now, again I say for the third time, here I am sitting in my cabin trying to figure out what to do with my new found treasure. For a while I had thought about giving the jewel to Mankar, for I had foolishly thought he might have given me a hundred heaps of gold for it. But after thinking a bit more clearly, I came to my senses and realized the elf was way too cunning. He would never have given me anything in return; he would have simply tricked me somehow. I do not know the man personally, but I could just tell what kind of man he was by looking at the way he talked.

Ever since the Mythic Dawn's battle was won in the Imperial City, I've been here in my cabin, for fear of my life. I do not want to give the amulet up anymore, I've made that decision. To be honest with you I don't really care about anyone else, but I do not want to see Cyrodiil run by a bunch of cult members and their fanatic leader. Obviously they want the amulet for something, but I'm just not sure what. Right now I'm trying to think of who might be able to help me. Perhaps there is someone who can help me destroy the gem, or perhaps destroying the item isn't what I should do. Back in the bookstore, I read something about that the Amulet of Kings light the Dragonfires, whatever that meant. I don't know what to make of all this, but surely there is someone in this land that can help me; someone who is wiser that I in that sort of business.

At that moment I remembered hearing about an old Breton who lived in a priory south of Chorrol. I knew not his occupation, but only that he had something to do with the Empire. His identity was supposed to have been kept a secret from all, but thankfully for me I was a nosey little thief. I decided that paying this man a visit would definitely help my cause, but of course I really didn't what my cause was at the moment...

This post has been edited by redsrock: Dec 5 2007, 08:23 PM

[redsrock]

CHAPTER FIVE


I could have sworn I saw a few tears form in his eyes, but he didn’t give me a lot of time to get a closer look, because as soon as he was done speaking he bent down and started to help me pick things up from the floor. He was silent for the first minute or so, and then I decided to the time was right to make my apology. It was rather hard, that much was for sure, but I did it, and it came from the heart. I couldn’t remember apologizing for anything in my life, but of course if I was to do that I’d be doing it everyday, if you know what I mean.

“Hey, umm…Martin, I…I’m sorry for what happened downstairs. I just let things loose when I shouldn’t have.”

“The past is not the present, Rayden. Any thief should no that,” he said while looking up with a friendly smile on his face. “Sometimes people say things they don’t really mean, even if it’s actually true, like in my case. But I’m willing to let bygones be bygones. That is if you are as well.”

I looked straight into his eyes to get his expression. He was really telling the truth, and that’s when I knew I could trust Martin. It’s not as if had not before, but seeing his face and hearing his words I was now one hundred percent he was one of the “good guys”, so-to-speak.

I shook his hand and we went back to work cleaning up the room, but at the same time we started our discussion about what to do with the amulet.

“I was thinking about the amulet on the way here, and I’ll be honest with you Rayden, I really am not sure what we should do with it. Obviously we cannot destroy, that would be utterly foolish.”

I cut him off to ask him a question before he could continue talking. “Jauffre said the same thing. Why is that such a bad idea? If we destroy it, won’t it make Mankar and his cultists leave?”

“As easy as it sounds, no, it wouldn’t work. I believe Mankar has other things in store for Cyrodiil, though I don’t know what. I also think the original plan was to get the amulet, but that’s only the first step. And who knows, maybe they want it just so they can destroy it. If that’s the case then we are doing the right thing already, but that’s the tricky part of all this, we don’t know any specifics. That’s why I have a plan, and you’re the right person for the job.”

“And just what might that be?” I asked.

“It’s no news to anyone that the Imperial City is the Mythic Dawn’s stronghold. Some citizens got out while fighting was still running rampant through the city, but because of the surprise attack, and the Dawn’s swift victory, many people are still being held there against their will, including any surviving soldiers. Of course they could all be dead by now. Mankar might have questioned them, and when he didn’t learn anything it’s definitely possible that he might have done away with them permanently.”

“What are you getting at, Martin?”

“You have to infiltrate the Imperial City and find out what their plans really are. There has to be some kind of documents, or secret letters, something. I know it sounds dangerous, but if there are still survivors in the city they can aid you I’m sure. What do you think?”

What was I to say? I was just asked to infiltrate a city where there were literally hundreds, maybe even near the thousands, of cultists walking around looking for anything suspicious. Now I’m not questioning my abilities by any means, but I’ve never been in a situation like the one Martin wants to put me in. I wasn’t so sure this was a very safe plan, but then again no plan was likely safe.

“I’m not going to lie to you and say I’m happy about this, because I certainly am not. In fact this is very dangerous and it’s likely that I’ll be caught. But, given our circumstances, this plan will also likely get us where we need to be. I’ll do it.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. Now, take these invisibility potions and these chameleon ones as well, and…”

“Umm…Martin…I can’t use those,” I said bluntly.

“Of course you can! Other than any survivors you might happen to run into, these are the only aid you will get during your mission. Why wouldn’t you want to use them?”

“I never said I didn’t want to use them, Martin, it’s just a matter of me not being able to use them. I don’t really have an explanation, but I can’t drink potions. For some reason my body can’t handle whatever is in them. Every time I try and drink one I gag terribly, and one time I almost passed out because I wasn’t able to breath. Plus, even when I could breath the potion still didn’t work.”

Martin gave an extremely puzzled look. “Well, I’ve never heard of that before. How do you go about your “business”?”

“Don’t worry about me, I don’t need any potions. And I don’t say that because I’m cocky, but rather I am confident.”

“You must be pretty talented.”

“I like to think so.”

We spent a little more time cleaning the house until the upstairs was totally spotless, or at least as spotless as we could get it. We placed the bodies in the garden behind the house. If we had any time later on then we’d bury them, but we probably wouldn’t have any free time.

Martin decided that we’d clean the downstairs part of the house later on, and we slept the rest of the evening and on into the night. Sleep was something I hadn’t had for a while, and I also needed to be rested up for my mission.

I woke up the next morning at around noon. Martin had already awoken and had picked some berries from outside. After eating a small portion of the fruit I got dressed and Martin and I set out for the Imperial City. I needed not directions for the place, for I had been their countless times. The city was full of expensive houses with rich owners who never seemed to lock their doors properly.

I could pick the locks they used in my sleep, and I just might be serious about that. They certainly weren’t too concerned about their belongings, and I made sure that they paid for that mistake. But I was smart with my burglaries. I took enough to insure that I was getting profit, but less enough to keep the owners unaware of my actions. They were so wrapped up in their very expensive items that they were to ignorant to notice smaller things. I say smaller things, but yet they still gave me a good amount of money. I couldn’t complain at all.

“Alright, let’s figure out the plans exactly,” said Martin. “Do you know where the Palace is, Rayden?”

“Yes, it’s the big shiny building in the middle of the city,” I said back semi-sarcastically. I didn’t know if Martin minded my sarcasm or not.

“Ha, that’s right! Now, if I was forced to give you an answer as to where any information was being held, I’d bet my life that it’d be in the palace somewhere. Mankar has most likely set up base in there and you need to sneak in somehow and find something useful. Look for notes, documents, and letters, anything that looks interesting. Also, even though it’s very dangerous, it wouldn’t hurt to eavesdrop whenever you can.”

“It’s nothing I haven’t done before. It won’t be a problem.”

“Rayden, these are Mythic Dawn cultists, not snobby ignorant civilians. Make sure you are taking this seriously.”

“I am, don’t worry about that. I know what has to be done.”

“I hope so, because if you are captured…”

“You can stop right there, I’ve NEVER been caught, and I don’t plan on getting caught any time soon.”

We rode the rest of the way and in no time we were just a couple hundred yards west of the Imperial City. I didn’t know of any secret ways inside the city, so I’d somehow have to sneak into the place undetected. When we reached the city gates I realized how difficult of a task it was going to be. A group of three cultists were standing in front of the gates, no doubt guarding the inside from any intruders such as myself.

“I have an idea,” Martin whispered as we both looked at the cultists from a far, behind a bush besides the stables.

All of the horses must have either been killed or taken away, because the place was empty and the windows to the house had been shattered. Most likely they were being used by the cultists themselves.

“And what is it?”

“We need to get one of those guards over here somehow and get them to walk behind this house, where none of the other guards can see him. Then, we he rounds the corner, you can sneak up and kill him. Then take his clothes and put them on as a disguise.”

It sounded like a good plan, but there were definitely some flaws as well. “And what if more than one of them come over here? What if they all come over here?”

“Then we stay in the shadows and think of another plan,” he said simply.

“Don’t you think that’s kind of dangerous?”

“Do you have any other plans in mind? Any way, I thought you told me that you killed two cultists at an inn?”

“I did, but that was probably all luck. I’m sure Mankar wouldn’t let a bunch of imprudent men guard his base.”

“If you ask me I think you need more confident in your abilities other than thieving. Obviously you have skill in combat as well because it was not luck that you were able to kill those two. It was wise and quick thinking. Just believe in yourself, Rayden. These are some scary times, I know, but these things have to be done.”

“I’m not scared!”

“I didn’t say you were. But I would say you’re at least a bit nervous, which is normal.”

I suppose I admit that he was probably right. I was anxious, but like he said, that was normal. But then again, I couldn’t even remember the last time I was anxious about anything, although this definitely was different situation.

“Fine, what now then?”

Martin told me to hide in the shadows under the shielding of a tree on the opposite side of the house. He walked around to where I was, picked up a rock, and threw it at a pale sitting on top a wooden fence inside the stables. The rock hit the metal pale and made a loud noise, alerting the guards. Martin quietly ran to poke his head around the corner, and then came over to tell me that two cultists were coming our way. He ran to where I was, and I readied my bow and arrows.

Soon the red-robed men came around to investigate the noise.

“I don’t see anything, do you?” said one of them to the other.

They continued to walk around and look for anything, but of course they found nothing. Then, as they were walking away with their backs to me, I fired my bow at the one in the back. The arrow hit him square in the back and he fell to the ground. As soon as I had fired the arrow I began running towards the other man. Just as I had imagined, the noise caused by the impact of the arrow made the other man in front turn around. He saw his fallen comrade on the floor, but it was too late to defend him self. I was simply too fast for him and I quickly unsheathed my short blade and lunged at the last robed man. I don’t know how I did this successfully, but I tacked the man to the ground, and as I did I shoved my blade through his stomach. I landed on top of him, and I dug blade deeper into his skin to make sure he was dead. When I realized he was I was totally silent, listening for any running feet. Through all of this I had luckily managed to not alert the other cultist.

Martin gave me the thumbs up and I took off the robe of one of the cultists. And what do you, know it was a Bosmer. This would obviously help a lot. Hopefully the other wouldn’t notice anything strange.

When I was fully dressed I laid gave my bow, arrows, and sword to Martin. I took the small dagger from the dead body and brought it with me as I slowly walked towards the remaining robed cultist.

“Judo, where is Falonius?” A Tall Altmer asked me.

Rather than talk, I instead pointed behind the Altmer. I don’t why I didn’t, because didn’t think he would look, but he did! I couldn’t believe how stupid he was. I was almost so stunned I forgot to take the elf out. When I was done slitting his throat I dragged his body behind a rock. When I got to the gates Martin was waiting for me.

“Be quick, Rayden, you won’t have a lot of time. When they realize what happened they’ll lock the whole place down.”

I nodded and walked to the gates, but before I could enter I heard Martin call my name.

“And be careful….