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]

Here's the latest update. I hope my dear readers (yes, I'm meaning the two of you!) enjoy it.

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The Argonian looked at me intently with his almost alien face. It reminded me of a toad, a dragon and a a lizard, all at the same time. Unlike other members of his race, his face was almost flat, his snout not being as elongated as the snouts of most Argonians I had met. Of course, I wasn't an expert on Argonians but it was plain to see that there were several different breeds of them. Some of them had odd legs, arched like a bird's, while some, like the one who was standing in front of me, had human legs, long and straight. The Argonian showed no emotion as he eyed me from head to toe, much like the goblin chef had done previously.

He was wearing an iron cuirass which appeared worn and weathered. Since he was a member of the Fighters Guild he must have received it when he joined. An old leather belt ran diagonally across his breastplate and it seemed that he had something hung across his back, most probably the scabbard of his sword. And what a sword he had! It was one of the great-swords, a claymore of fine make with a slightly serrated edge. The metal it was made of was of a darker colour than most tones of iron I had seen. Besides the cuirass, he also had some matching pauldrons with all of the associated dents and cuts, most probably from all the use they had seen. Instead of gauntlets he had a pair of leather vambraces which protected the wrist and the lower arm yet left your actual hands uncovered. It helped when you had claws instead of regular fingernails.

Besides those pieces of armour he wore little protective equipment so to speak off. He had no helmet and no armour to protect either his legs or the middle portion of his scaly arms. Instead of the greaves you would come to expect from someone who wants to protect himself with full armour, the Argonian only had some torn-up pants which were dirtied by the foray in the cave and blood stains from goblins he had slain. He left his feet bare since boots would have properly made him uncomfortable, based on the large claws he had at his feet as well.

A large spiky frill decorated the top of his head and his skin, much like his eyes, was red. The skin on his face was bright red, as his eyes, yet the skin on his lower body was of a much darker shade of red, almost crimson. He also had some black scales on his lower arms. His eyes were some of the oddest I had ever seen, based on the fact that they had vertical-slit pupils, much like lizards or cats.

Some time passed before he actually finished inspecting me. I had almost gotten to the point where I was ready to tell him that he should release me already and get over with it. I, thankfully, kept my calm. There was nothing stopping the Argonian from either leaving me there or, gods forbid, eat me himself. So what? A guy can hear stories. It's not like all former Dark Elf slave-traders are liars, right? There were some stories around Sentinel regarding the odd habits Argonians had, among them being the fact that they ate things live, without actually killing them. People included. Or was it Wood Elves that did that? In any case, I was now alone, with an Argonian, in a cave far away from civilization. The situation was actually starting to get scarier than the original deadly situation I was in, with the goblins. After a few more moments, the Argonian looked me in the eye again with his emotionless face.

"Last I heard, this place wasn't good to be sunbathed in." Ah-Malz said. From the way he said it, it have actually been meant as a joke, yet the Argonian's pronunciation wasn't exactly flawless. He reminded me of a snake since he happened to hiss sometimes.

"To sunbathe in, you mean? Well, I didn't actually come here to sunbathe. I came here to take a nap and, let's just say I got carried away. Literally. Carried away and tied to a boulder and, if you hadn't arrived just in the nick of time, I would have probably been eaten as well. So, I guess I owe you thanks, Ah-Malz of the Fighters Guild." I said in a pretty matter-of-factly way. There was a pause afterwards since he seemed to struggle with the meaning of my words.

"This one is not familiar with the language. Came to practice, see you? Both speaking and hunting. In native Stormhold I joined the Fighters Guild. After a few years, I decided to see the world and get paid for it, as Guild members say. My seeing and getting paid has taken me to Hammerfell, as you can hear." Ah-Malz said, once again forcing himself to speak a long, structured sentence. He was still wrong in certain points however.

"As I can see, you mean."

"You can what?"

"Nevermind. Just cut these ropes so I can finally get out of this blasted cave." I said, getting rather tired of the Argonian and his child-like language skills. It was really annoying talking to these illiterate foreigners that came to Hammerfell to learn something. What did they think Hammerfell was? Some kind of boarding school? It was a tough place. Even us Redguards, who were born and bred in Hammerfell, had a hard time getting by. What did these strangers expect to find in our lands?

"You were lucky. Few have ever been captured by the green-skins and lived to tell the tale. In Black Marsh, they're not trouble. In the rest of Tamriel however, they're as thick as Hackwings on the skies of Black Marsh. I make coin hunting goblins. Good business." Ah-Malz said, trying a smile as an afterthought though it had an unnerving effect more than anything since it showed me his unusually sharp teeth.

"I'm sure my friend. The rope?" I asked, trying to tell the Argonian that I wanted him to free me already. Subtlety didn't seem to be this fellow's strong point however.

"It is still there, nothing to worry. So, the goblin captured you? I killed them good eh?" The Argonian said in a nonchalant manner. He was starting to get on my nerves, if slightly. It seemed as if he was only talking to me so he could improve his language skills.

"They somehow captured me after I fell asleep. I woke up with a sharp pain in my head and my hands tied to this rock as you can see. About that, yes you did. You handle your sword well Argonian, you have native skill. And that's saying something, for a Redguard." I said, complimenting the Argonian on his skill in hopes that he would release me quicker.

"I was fisher back in Black Marsh. Skill you admire is skill gained fishing." Ah-Malz said, referring to his skill with the blade.

"What do you mean? How can one gain skill with the blade while fishing?" I said, thinking him to be an idiot. It was only then that I remembered I was talking to an Argonian who had lived most his life in his native Black Marsh.

"In Black Marsh, friend, fish can get bigger than you! Nasty teeth and tough hide. Need good steel to kill properly. Goblin is better. He is smaller and weaker, and cowardly. You saw? Three of them with me, and one runs and leaves brothers to die. Cowardly, is he not?" The Argonian asked, showing a genuine feeling a outrage through his tone of voice, though his face showed no visible emotions.

"I see. You know Ah-Malz, we could speak much more properly if I wasn't tied to this rock. What do you say about cutting me free?"

"I agree, but first, does this belong to you?"

The Argonian then left the chamber I was in, going towards the tunnel where had emerged from. After a few minutes in which he audibly searched around the cave he returned, his own great-sword sheathed, yet holding in his hands my scimitar. He had found it!

"Yes, that is my blade! How did you find it? Last I saw, a goblin was holding it." I said, overflowing with joy. Ah-Malz seemed to be proud that he had made me smile and laugh. Somehow he thought that his language skills were improving.

"Last I saw, I said right no? Last I saw, a goblin was holding it same. But I hit to death with my sword and bring it back to you." Ah-Malz said, trying to obviously imitate me.

"Yes, you did. Ah-Malz, are you from Taneth?" I asked, trying to make Ah-Malz tell me what had actually happened during my escape.

"Yes, Taneth Guild of Fighters. Why?"

"What have you heard lately from the city? Any odd news?" I said in an innocent way like I was simply curious. Even though the Argonian wasn't very knowledgeable when it came to the language used, he was no amateur when it came to reading expressions. He looked at me for a few seconds before replying yet I couldn't tell if he was suspecting something or just thinking about what he would say.

"Nothing much." He said, looking closely at my eyes. He paused then for a few moments. "Except one thing. A secret movement tried to kill the Queen of Taneth. She isn't pleased. She says that her agents managed to discover the conspiracy before it could act and destroy it."

"And were any members captured or killed?" I asked, trying to hide the obvious interest in my face.

"One was captured, a burly Nord if I'm corrected. Another member came of his own willing while the others are escaped. I realize there is thing I did not ask you." Ah-Malz said. His words gave me an odd feeling.

"What?" I asked, trying to appear innocent and uninformed.

"How are you named...friend?" Ah-Malz said ina rather conniving way. The way in which he added the word 'friend' seemed more like an afterthought, something to give me confidence that I was dealing with someone who was my friend. Something to give me the confidence needed to tell him something I would later regret. I got suspicious. After a few tense moments of silence I answered, trying not to give him my real name.

"Vil...gefortz. Vilgefortz, Knight Errant of Riverview. What of it Ah-Malz?" I asked in a nonchalant way. At first I wanted to give him the fake name 'Vilamon'. Only then did I remember that I had revealed both my true identity and my fake name to Jon and Bodean. If one of them betrayed me, or even Belwin or Beomir betrayed me, then Clavilla would have had information about my real name. Ah-Malz did not seem either pleased or suspicious yet with Argonians it was always hard to tell.

"Alright then. Let me free your ropes." Ah-Malz said as he drew a dagger he had as a secondary weapon. He circled the stalagmite then cut my ropes, giving me my freedom back. I wasn't quite prepared to let Ah-Malz out of my sights. I grasped my sword and sheathed it in my scabbard, which the goblins didn't touch. "You should know however that Queen says that the remaining conspiracy men will be hunted like dogs. Whatever that means. We don't really have dogs in Black Marsh."

"Why should it concern me? It's not like I did anything is it? Did you happen to see a sack of armour as well? Nice steel, about my size?" I asked, looking to see where my armour was. Hopefully, the goblins had not tinkered with it.

Ah-Malz took a sack which was slung on his back and threw it to me. I scurried to catch, caring so that my armour wouldn't fall to the wet cave floor. "Found it next to your sword."

"Thanks a lot Ah-Malz, I'll never forget you saved my life. Maybe when I'm in Taneth next time I'll buy you a drink. I sure owe you more than that however, that I know for sure!" I said in a cheerful way, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. If Ah-Malz was suspicious that I might have been involved with the conspiracy, then he was free to attack me. He did say that he wanted to practice his sword-fighting skills besides his language skills right? Well, I was ready to give him a free lesson and a permanent place at the great swordsman academy in the sky, where a lot of other famous people were training, like Lord Bridwell or King Camaron, Lhotun's father who died in battle with Bridwell, or Gaiden Shinji among many others. I heard they were always accepting new members. I however, had no current interest in joining.

Before Ah-Malz could say anything in reply, we both heard the pitter-patter of little feet on the wet cave floor. There were quite a lot of them and most of them were coming this way. It seemed that the goblins had returned with a vengeance. As soon as he heard movement, Ah-Malz drew his claymore and barred his teeth in a savage way. The Argonian was truly frightening when angered. He lowered himself into a fighting stance. I drew my blade as well in a quick fluid motion and entered a passive fighting stance I liked, from which one could flow intuitively into both attack and defense. I looked at Ah-Malz and he looked at me back, throwing me a quick wink followed by his beastly smile. That was quite unexpected. It seemed Ah-Malz was catching the local habits quicker than I imagined. It seemed that, for the moment, we had become unlikely allies.

"You watch my back, I'll take care of them." Ah-Malz said as he went right in front of the passage from which the sounds were coming.

"Sure. If you slaughtered them so badly on your own, imagine what the two of us will do!" I said as I looked around warily at the side passages. Despite not saying it openly, I was ready to aid Ah-Malz in fighting off the brunt of the goblins as well.

"This is time to practice sword, not language." Ah-Malz said, clearly showing his concentration. He did not even look at me when he spoke. "This time they are better prepared. Their armour is weak at throat and beneath arm."

"I'll remember that." I said quietly, more to myself than to Ah-Malz.

We could hear the goblins approaching. Their inhuman squeaks and growls along with some of the goblins' awful snickering echoed through the cave, creating an awfully demoralizing atmosphere. Ah-Malz however looked like he couldn't care less. From the stony look on his face, probably even the Daedra of Oblivion couldn't scare him before a battle. Soon enough, the fiends appeared. They stopped at the mouth of the passage from which they came. They were, as Ah-Malz said, much more better prepared than they were when he first came. Most of them wore some sort of armour now. Some had breastplates over torn mail hauberks while some had armour made of bones or wood-planks. It was quite crude yet effective. Just as Ah-Malz said, they had no armour so to speak of below the arm, at the arm-pits to be exact, and at the neck. Some of them had head protection like leather caps or helmets yet some had none so the head was also a viable target in some cases. The goblins seemed surprised that there were now two of us. They didn't quite seem to expect it. With those being said, there was nothing left to do than engage in combat.

"Pay-back time."
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I hoped you liked this update for all the Argonian-lovers in you.