Oasis 2, Free from Destiny. Options

[jack cloudy]

Here is the link to: Jack Cloudy's Other Stories


Ok, I've got to be crazy. Starting a third one before finishing the last two? Yeah, definitely crazy. More crazy than Tarhiel, Curio and M'Aiq combined. Ah well, I guess I can't be stopped. (Note to self: Make an Agent update tonight.)





Oasis 2: Free from Destiny.

The task I’d been sent to do had been finished. No, I hadn’t just been sent to do this, I’d been made for it in a quite literal way. Yes, that task was the only reason for my existence. Now that I’d completed it, what was left?

Anyone in my position would probably try to retire and live the remainder of his or her life at peace, preferably with the comfort of nearby friends. I had friends and I could retire easily enough. During the course of my life, I’d amassed a large amount of wealth, including a house big enough to accommodate a whole village. In fact, my house was a village. Then why did I leave? Why was I walking here at this moment, so far away from civilization?

The truth was, I couldn’t. I hadn’t realized at the time, but the reason why I fought was because my friends needed me as much as I needed them. I’d fought to protect them, to keep them near. Yet what should have been my moment of everlasting glory was my moment of defeat. I could no longer see those I considered friends. It would undo everything I’d done.

The sun began to sunk beneath the horizon and I sat down next to the nearest shrub. A small wisp of fire, and I had created a small circle of light to keep me company. The fire was bad company if it was the soul that required comfort instead of the body. Nothing opposed my train of thought. I relived the last moment, the moment it all became clear.

I stood on the slopes of a mountain. Beneath me, several tents had been placed in the ashcovered ground. People milled about like ants. Banners flapped in the gentle breeze. A smile crept across my face. These were the people of Vvardenfell, my people. Most were unknown faces to me but that didn’t matter. In the end, they were all a part of the island. And I would be their hero. Society had been at the brink of collapse but now, everything would be fine. The Houses had united, the Ashlanders received the respect they deserved. The time of politics and struggles for power had ended. There was nothing left to fight over. And I would be right in the middle of it all, basking in glory, everyone would call me their greatest hero. Like a child’s dream come true.

The smile vanished. It would not be fine. There was still something for them to fight over. Ironic as it might seem, that something was me. To win the favour of the land’s champion, the Houses would return to their internal strife, bloodier than before. Those around me would be the victim of it all, as they would be pulled into this conflict. Politics was a plague, hard to control. There was only one thing I could do to prevent this from happening. I would have to leave, vanish into myth.

And leave I did. I never even took the chance to properly say goodbye. I couldn’t say goodbye. If I tried, I would end up staying and make my nightmare into reality. It was a bit of an anti-climax. Whenever I thought about what would come after defeating my enemy, the only things I saw were scenes of fame, glory and perhaps even a bit of worship. I couldn’t let any of that happen though. It would be as destructive as having let him have his way.

Perhaps this is how the guy who killed Jagar Tharn felt after he’d claimed victory in the Imperial palace. He too left right after his greatest moment. To this very day, no one knows his name, or his race, or even his gender. I say guy, but it could have been a woman for all I know. I’ve heard a few stories, but they’re quite conflicting. Some talk about a Redguard pirate, some about an Imperial Battlemage much like Tharn himself, yet others about a scarred Orc or your stereotypical knight in shining armour. Then there are those who take it into the extremes, saying that this nameless champion was none other than Tiber Septim himself or Akatosh or a spirit of death or even a Goblin, though I seriously consider that last one a joke. Well I knew one thing for certain, Akatosh was not involved there. Because Akatosh, that’s me.

Whatever is the case, the champion vanished and I was about to follow his or her example. Where would I go? If I had taken the time to think, I would have concluded that leaving Tamriel entirely would have been best. The legendary continent of Akavir would be a great place for a fallen hero to hide. But I decided otherwise. Instead of going east to Akavir, I would go west, to the place where I was born, all the way on the other side of Tamriel. Despite my achievements, which happened to include the killing of a supposedly immortal being, my fame was still only local.

Hammerfell would be the perfect place to make a living. There, no one would care about Luper Alkad, Nerevarine, the godslayer. There I would be just another Redguard, albeit one who was in possession of several unique artefacts. Yes, Hammerfell would be perfect. But how to get there? Vvardenfell had been saved of the Blight, a horrible disease that turned everything it touched into a raving monster. There was the Corprus which was even worse but likewise, its threat had ended. Despite that, the island was still strictly quarantined. No one could enter or leave, at least not through legal channels.

I knew that there were plenty of smugglers and pirates. I could try to make contact with them, see if they were willing to transport me. While the idea appealed to me at first, I soon changed my mind. So far, the smugglers I met here were a lot more aggressive than the bunch that had raised me. I was unlikely to get a single word out of my mouth before I was parrying daggers, clubs and whatever they were using to kill people. No smugglers wouldn’t help.

I went through a few more ideas. I was too well-known among the mages and the independent ones were usually Necromancers who would rather have me as their next test subject than give me a quick teleport to the mainland. Buying, building or stealing a ship wouldn’t work. For one thing, ships weren’t for sale here and I would be hunted by the coast guard. Waterwalking might work, but I had no real idea of just how far it was to the mainland. It would be rather embarrassing to run out of Magicka and get devoured by Slaughterfish and Dreugh. In the end, I knew of only one organization that could give me a quick and secret way to the mainland. The Blades, the spy service of the Emperor himself.

I waited till dawn before continuing my trip across the island. I took my time because this would likely be the last time I would see Vvardenfell, the island that had become my home. There was a silent beauty in the Ashlands, now that the dreaded storms which plagued this region had fled. The transition from dry ash to a swamp teeming with life was quite sudden, only a single mountainous ridge between them. Like everything I saw, it brought back memories. Memories of fighting against slavery, getting my leg cracked by a Mudcrab. It had been less than two years, yet it felt like eternity separated Luper Alkad, the badmouthed prisoner who was all bark and no bite, from Luper Alkad, the badmouthed hero who is even more bite than he is bark.

I walked up to the nearest Mudcrab and placed a single hand underneath its shell. With a simple flip of the wrist, I threw it upside down and sent it sliding down a hill. It was a feat of incredible strength I wouldn’t even dare dream about in those early days. I’d definitely changed, beyond recognition. The everburning flame of the Lighthouse told me I was nearing my destination. Seyda Neen, where my journey began and where now a new journey would begin.

[jack cloudy]

More tying in with the book.


The Duke and his advisor whispered to each other for quite a while. In the end though, they seemed to reach an agreement.
,,Some of my other operatives will look into the information you have disclosed. Know however, that I do not pay for insults. If you desire to swim in riches, you will learn to treat me with the utmost respect. Fail, and you will learn that your trade has suddenly become less hospitable. In the meantime, I have another task for you. Perhaps this time you will take into account the proper etiquette and actually earn your pay.”

I fought the desire to roll my eyes. So he was going to hold back on his pay. I mentally shrugged. Pay had not been my goal when I begun this. It was unimportant. I could hunt, I could sew, I could take care of myself in the Morrowind wilderness just fine, money or no money. So I simply folded my arms and waited for the noble to continue.
,,There is an agent of mine, who you will assist in any and all endeavours till the time the agent frees you from this service at which point you will return here for further instructions.” My expectations sank considerably. What he’d just told me was that this assignment could potentially go on for years and he would try every chance he got to weasel himself out of my pay. Again, payment wasn’t my goal, but I wasn’t interested in these long missions either. If I were to claim the reputation as a spy worthy enough to work for a goddess, I needed short ones, risky ones if possible.
,,The agent awaits you in the main hall, wearing green. That is all, now go.” I snatched my sword and scabbard out of the guard’s hands before leaving.

There was only one person in green at the main hall, but not quite the type I’d been expecting. For one, she was female. Secondly, she was very very young, even for a Dunmer, err Chimer. And finally, she had none of the shifty eyes that revealed every single spy I knew. Even Caius had them, though he made a good effort of suppressing the motions. I leaned against a pillar and watched her from the corner of my eyes while keeping my pupils straight ahead, pointing at some big tapestry of something. Clenched fists, hanging her shoulders, head kept low. Not the happy type, if you asked me. The lack of age kept nagging me. Either she was very good, or she was a rookie, like me. The rookie theory deserved some more thought, but I soon dismissed it. Rookie meant unreliable, and the Duke would never put two unreliables in one team. If he wanted to get rid of me, he would team me up with someone better at slipping daggers between ribs. That was the only way he could get rid of me. Kill me…or embarrass me in such a way everyone will try to kill me.

She had her back to me and wasn’t looking at anything approaching a reflective surface, so I ditched all precautions and just looked at her directly. I suppose she was attractive, by the standards of her kind. Maybe her trick to get the job done was seduction? Oh boy, I was beginning to see the whole thing now bright and clear. But she wasn’t a spy, I could see that much. And even if she had been, she wasn’t my type. That, and I had better things to do than get close to the ladies. I squared my shoulders and crossed the hall.

,,Ok, you’re not much of a spy, missy.” I said once I got close. She didn’t react in any way I would have been able to predict. She just hung her shoulders even more and kept her back to me.
,,Go away with your weak jokes and leave me to my sorrow.” She sniffed. I rolled my eyes and sighed quite loud.
,,Oh, the drama. It’s a cold world and all that. Now just listen to me for one second. The big honcho here told me I was to go to this room and talk to the one wearing green, an ‘agent’ of his. The way he said it, it felt pretty damn as if I was to become that person’s trusty assistant, sidekick, lackey, pack-Guar and so on. Now you’re the only one wearing green here and you’re definitely not a spy, unless your secret ace up the sleeves are your charms.” I said sharply. This time, she did wheel around to face me.
,,Charms?! What do you know about…” She fell silent and I rolled my eyes again. Stranger in a strange country, people staring, mouths falling open. It was getting old by now.

I noticed that her eyes had the traditional Dunmeri red, but not because it was her natural colour. Rather, she’d been crying, and quite a lot. I forced a grin, though not a reassuring one. Comforting grieving girls was not what I’d be hired for.
,,Enough to know that I don’t have any and am not interested in getting any. I’m a Redguard and yes, my skin is a bit darker than what you’re used to and my ears are a bit less likely to stab someone’s eyes out. Now pick your jaw up off the floor and tell me what’s going on here.” I snapped and did my best to look intimidating. I only had to put my hand on the hilt of my sword, and she was ready to faint. Of course, all the guards in the room got their eyes on me so I moved my hand away just as fast.

The girl looked at me for an uncomfortably long time before she finally said something.
,,So he hired a barbarian to make sure I stayed out of his sight?” She said and then turned for the big door leading outside.
,,Fine, follow me around, hack my head off when I’m not watching. I don’t care.” She added and began to walk. I rolled my eyes again. Great, a suicidal ‘the world sucks and my heart’s broken’ type. What did I get myself into?