Corrupted heart, part 2, And I ain't halfway yet, dudes. Options

[jack cloudy]

Alright, I just noticed I breached the 200 post mark at the first thread. So here's the new thread.

No update here yet, though. I'll see if I can edit this post later today.

Edit, forgot the link to the last part. Here it is.

Corrupted Heart, part 1

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Sep 24 2007, 09:30 PM

[jack cloudy]

This story has lost its oomph, if you know what I mean. I think I know what's happening though.

Basically, I've been too ambitious and crammed in too many plotlines. So instead, I'm going to try to clarify and wrap up the least important ones in a hurry. It will also allow me to shave off some of the ten years or so I have to write.

And as a last change, I'm going to add location names whenever I make a switch. It should make things easier to comprehend. So for now, a shorty.


Northern Cyrodiil

The barrier that had trapped the Khajiit vanished. Ra’trith grew a smug grin.
,,So, are you satisfied now, old man?” He snarled. Kendri simply shook his head.
,,You have good execution, but your timing is horrible.” He rated.
,,Something else came up. If it hadn’t, I would have let you continue your practice. But for now, do what you will. I might be gone for less than an hour or a few days.” He added.

Ra’trith jumped out of the half-frozen pool and gathered up his clothing.
,,Something else? Your master perhaps, Tharn?” He asked with genuine interest. The Redguard chuckled and bared his fangs for a moment.
,,Tharn indeed. Except he is not my master, but an ally. Don’t mix up those two terms. They are quite different.” The vampire said.

Cyrodiil, palace.

The Imperial Battlemage looked up as he sensed a disturbance in the ambient Magicka. He sat up in his throne and looked at the various guards and pages that were in the room.
,,I must get some fresh air, continue with your business.” He said before rising and leaving through the door hidden behind the throne. On the other side, he found a tall and horrendously pale Imperial.
,,Aureus.” Jagar Tharn greeted. Aureus made a slight bow and as he did so, the Battlemage felt another disturbance. A shell of silence and darkness had fallen over them.
,,You called?” Aureus replied after he’d ensured no one could eavesdrop.

Jagar Tharn began to move through the corridor. He wanted to be away from the throneroom. For this conversation, an abandoned area of the palace was best, even with the precautions that had already been taken.
,,There have been complications.” He revealed. The Imperial cast a wry grin, revealing a pair of elongated fangs. A vampire.
,,There are always complications in our business.” He chuckled.
,,What kind of complications?” He added, all serious.

Tharn took a left and held open his hand. His staff whizzed through the empty corridor towards him and he caught it.
,,Dagon has apparently learned about the Battlespire.” He said.
,,Battlespire? Someone talked. You know who?” Aureus asked. Jagar’s face was cast in a sickly green hue by the orb that crowned his staff. The sight seemed to add to the power of his words.
,,I don’t, and that is what worries me the most. Dagon has other followers, we already knew that. But the Battlespire is not supposed to be common knowledge. This follower…we must find….and eliminate him.” He whispered.

The vampire nodded.
,,True. I’ll leave that to your Blades. We can always ask for an assault on all known Mehrunes Dagon cultists, perhaps that shall give us a lead. Those types are known for preaching destruction. Their loss won’t be mourned even if we gain nothing from it.” He agreed.
,,But more important right now is the question what we are going to do. Does Dagon plan an invasion?” He continued.
,,He does. He wants me to open a shiftgate in two days.” Tharn said.

The Imperial let out a sharp curse, something which was very unusual for him. Tharn was caught off-guard by it and stumbled over a loose stone on the floor.
,,Two days. He’s not very patient, for a Daedra. Damn. Tharn, we must move soon. Shall we perform an extraction?” Aureus asked once he’d calmed down slightly. The Imperial Battlemage shook his head.
,,No.” He said.
,,I know how you feel, Aureus. I know, for I feel the same. But if we want to keep our cards hidden, we must not force an extraction now. Instead, we must sacrifice the Spire.” He added and his voice croaked.

,,Sacrifice the Spire?” Aureus voice had grown cold. Tharn felt he had to push through now and reveal his reasoning before he would lose a friend and an ally.
,,Yes, we will sacrifice the Spire. We will sacrifice all of my colleagues, those I trained and those who studied with me. But we will not necessarily sacrifice him. Aureus, in two days, a shiftgate will open in the main hall of the Spire. Tonight however, a smaller shiftgate shall open on the path leading to the Battlespire. You will travel that path and play our card.”

They left the dark maze of hidden passages and emerged in the Emperor’s bedroom. The Imperial’s eye was instantly drawn by a wrapped package lying on the bed.
,,The power that emanates from it. Is that?” He began to ask but could not bring himself to finish the sentence.
,,It is. Put it in his room. I trust you in this Aureus. The gate will only be open for an hour. I can’t risk to expose it any longer. Don’t be late.”