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 TWENTY


The heavy sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the city, and judging by the repetition, there were a lot of them. At that moment I truthfully had once again believed the end had finally come. I’ve thought this many times before it seems, but this particular event was different in some way. But, again I was wrong, and luckily for me Jena did not panic a bit. She grabbed my shirt collar and hauled me over to the side of the road, behind a large bush.

The two of us waited behind the bush silently as the footsteps in the distance became louder and louder, until at last they had arrived at the scene. Jena dangerously poked her head around the corner to see how many of them there actually were. She whispered to me that there were five Kvatch soldiers, all looking at the dead corpses on the ground. We listened as the solders whispered and talked softly to one another. Then I heard on them say, “Let’s report this to Goldwine right away; he’ll want to put the city on full alert It seems Mankar’s ambush didn’t work out as well as he thought it would. Also, go ahead and inform the sailors in the dock to get Goldwine’s ship ready. He’ll want to leave as soon as possible.”

Then they left us, running full speed back towards the city. Once they were out of range Jena asked, “How’s your shoulder?”

I tried moving it but even the slightest movement resulted in a severely sharp pain. I knew what had to be done, but I wouldn’t say I was looking forward to it. Jena would have to pry the arrow from my flesh, and unfortunately I didn’t have anything to numb the pain even the least.

“Spread your arm flat on the ground and stand still. Try to keep your arms loose as well. I know it will hurt but it will only be worse if you tighten your muscles. Just trust me on this one.”

Before letting her force the arrow from my arm, I had her tear a piece of my clothing off with her blade. She knew what I was getting at and she quickly handed me the torn cloth. I bit down on the fabric as hard as I could. This way when I yelled from the pain, which I was sure to do, the sound would hopefully be a little quieter. I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention.

She put her right hand on my shoulder and then grabbed the arrow with her left. She tugged on the arrow slightly as if to get a feel for what direction she should yank. Then, in one quick movement, she pulled the arrow from the wound. Blood splattered the air and my face, and the whole time I was screaming in agony. Thankfully the cloth idea worked and my bawling wasn’t too loud, or at least not loud enough for anyone to hear in the distance.

“Sorry, Rayden, but I had to do it. How’s it feel now?”

Not to be smart or anything, but how did she think I felt? Obviously I wasn’t feeling too great; I just had an arrow plucked from my skin! But I knew she meant well. And I guess it did feel a little better, but I still had an awful lot of trouble moving my shoulder.

“Better, I guess, but not much. I still can’t really move it,” I said as I wiped my face with the piece of cloth.

“Well, we better get going. Here, let me wrap that cloth around your arm to control the bleeding. You’re looking like a waterfall right now!”

Even during a situation such as this, she still found a way to smile. I liked Jena a lot. I can’t explain why…she was just…I don’t know…real; almost as if she wasn’t afraid of anything. I liked that as well.

After the “bandage” was fully wrapped and ready to go, we started walking towards the city, and Jena was already altering the mission.

“Rayden, you heard the soldier. They’re preparing a ship so that Goldwine can leave. I say we wait there for him to arrive. Then we can strike with surprise. What do you think?”

“I’ve got a better idea. How about we go to the docks, try and capture a sailor, and force them to tell us where Goldwine is going? Who knows, maybe he’s retreating to Mankar’s whereabouts. That would definitely make things easier for us.”

Jena approved of my idea, and off we went towards the docks. My back was hurting, my shoulder was hurting, and my middle knuckle on my right hand was still hurting from several days ago, and I realized Martin never tended to the wound like he said he would. I guess we both forgot about it. It was getting better, though. It was no longer swollen, just a little enlarged. Also, Jena seemed to notice my injuries as well.

“You’re quite the injured little elf, aren’t you?”

“Well, let’s just say I’ve seen my fair share of the action. I’m just hoping nothing else goes wrong with my body. One more injury to my right arm and it might as well fall off!”

We walked through the night, though it was almost morning because the sun was rising higher and higher into the sky. Sooner or later we would have to find our hiding spot or else take the risk of being spotted in broad daylight. Thankfully it only took us about ten minutes to reach the docks. There were only three ships in all; two little ones and one large ship. Jena I both agreed that the larger one had to be Goldwine’s ship, so we walked strolled around the area until we found a lone guard patrolling the docks. Besides the guard, there were around twenty or so others, and most of them we were standing beside the city gate, no doubt waiting to escort their Count to the ship. Jena crept up on the lone guard, covered his mouth with her hand, kicked his knee in, and pulled him behind the wall of the building I was waiting at. The Imperial soldier was screaming in pain but most of the sound was drowned out thanks to Jena. Then she whispered loudly for him to hear, “Where is Goldwine?”

The man shook his head and attempted to swing at Jena head. She then rolled him on his stomach and brought his hand together so he couldn’t move. Next she took the guard by the hair, after taking off his helmet, and smashed his face to the stone floor. Blood began to pour from his nose.

“I’ll ask you one more time, scum, where is Goldwine?”

Finally the soldier begged for Jena to loosen the pressure to his back with her left knee. She let up, but only a little. Then the man gasped in between heavy breathing, “He’s inside the city right now. But I reckon he’ll be boarding his ship any time soon.”

“And what makes you say that?” Jena asked.

“An officer just came and told me to watch the area closely. It seems intruders have made their way onto our territory.”

“Hmm, I wonder who they could be,” she said sarcastically. “I don’t suppose you know where Goldwine is heading, do you?” She said, digging deeper into his back with her knee.

“I can’t say…I’ll be killed!”

“Either way you’re going to die. Tell me what I want and I’ll let you go. You can run away and never return to your duties, I don’t care as long as I get my information. If not, I’ll slit your throat with my knife. Tell me what I want to know and I will let you live. You have my word.”

“Fine, fine, wait, I’ll tell you! He…he’s headed straight for an island a couple miles west of here. I don’t think it’s charted on the maps so I believe it has no name.”

“What is on this island?”

“Mankar is there.”

“Excellent. One last thing before I let you leave. Where are Goldwine’s chambers located in the ship?”

“Enter the cabin and make an immediate left. Go down the hall and his room is the last one on the right.”

“Should I expect trouble?”

“No, not, right now anyways, not until he arrives at the ship himself.”

“Excellent. Is there anything else I should know about this island you speak of?”

“No, not to my knowledge. I’m sure there are probably bodyguards, but not an army. His cultists have occupied the other cities in defense incase they are invaded by another force or something.”

“Why? Does Mankar think that the remaining Empire personnel have joined forces with another province?”

“I…I don’t know. He attacked the Imperial forts in Morrowind and Vvardenfell. It’s chaos over there now. His forces are trying to subdue the Dunmer to his side. I think it will work too, given the fact that the Dunmer worship Daedra. That’s all I know, I swear!”

Jena gave me a surprised look, and then she continued her interrogation.

“Thank, you have been most helpful.”

Then she took out her knife and violently slashed the guard’s throat, quickly ending his life. I was stunned by her actions. Not that I was not used to seeing people die by now, but that fact that she promised the man his life in return for answers surprised. It was probably unethical, but hey, he would have likely run to give us away anyhow.

“What? It would have been too dangerous to keep him alive. He would have ratted us out in a heartbeat. Sometimes you have to resort to dirty tactics if you want to get things done.”

“I didn’t say anything, did I? I agree with you totally,” I said grinning.

“Well that’s good. How about we board the before the sun comes up and gives away our position?”

The two of us then left the body to rot and headed straight for the ship. We waited until nobody was looking, and then we climbed onto the ship and entered through the cabin entrance, just like the once-living guard had told us to do.

Once inside we took a left and crept quietly down the hallway. To the right was the room the guard had spoken about, but of course it was locked. I asked Jena if she wanted me to break the lock with one of my picks, but she told me not to. She didn’t want the Count to come here only to find out that his room had been broken into. She was right; it made a lot of sense. But then she looked at a door in the middle of the hallway, in between the two side walls. She rattled the doorknob and found that this particular door was not locked. Inside there were towels, blankets, pillows, and other items used for a bedroom.

“I think we should hide in here. It’s not too small and this way we can stow ourselves away for the duration of the trip,” she said.

“What if one of the soldiers comes in and finds us inside?”

“Hmm, I didn’t think of that. Do you have a plan of your own?”

I looked in the larger than normal closet and noticed there was an area behind a huge stack of pillows. I figured the two of us could hide in there and stay unnoticed. Also, I being a short Bosmer and her being a female would help as well. I suggested this to Jena and she approved.

So Jena and I entered the room and closed the door. It was obviously dark inside, but a couple of rather large holes in the door brought us a little light, and allowed us to peer through the door so that we would be able to watch over the hallway at all times.

Soon, not even fifteen minutes later, the door at the other end of the hallway opened and in came Goldwine, accompanied by…..Adamus? Wait, I thought Mankar said he ran away from Kvatch and had run towards Bruma. Come to think of it, I never did see Adamus in Bruma.

“Did Adamus ever come to Bruma?” I whispered to Jena.

“No, but it seems yet another friend has betrayed the Empire,” she replied angrily.

I almost felt bad for Adamus. If Jena’s anger towards him was even remotely close to how it was with Lex, Adamus had better watch out.