Redemption., Cause being evil sucks. Options

[jack cloudy]

Ok, another start. I was going to hold off on this one for a few months but the point is, if I don't switch my focus around regularly, I'll go nuts. And letting it rot on my harddisk feels like a waste. I'm also a bit worried for spoilers regarding my other stories but hey, this might actually serve to keep my interest in other stories fresh. A spoiler here leads me to ask myself 'then how did it exactly happen?'.

So umm, yeah. Let's get going.

part 2

Redemption

Chapter 1: End of the wait.

Drip….drip…..drip. Cold water dripped down between the bars and along the rough stone. The crackle of thunder roared through the chamber, the flash of lightning erased the darkness for a brief moment.
,,Bloody bad weather today.” The Dunmer who inhabited the cell mumbled. He glanced at the cell opposite his and sneered. He then walked up to the bars and gripped them with his hands.
,,I said, bad weather today.” He repeated. For a few seconds, he waited. Then he scoffed and walked to the dirty rag that was his bed.
,,Not very talkative today, are we? Well, I envy you. All that water coming in through that peekhole. Fresh water! I haven’t had fresh water in months!” He spun around and faced the bars again.
,,In months, you hear me?! Then why don’t you take advantage of the circumstances and enjoy this luxury your cell provides but mine doesn’t?!”

The man in the other cell lay on his back in a corner of the cell, hands folded under his head, legs slightly spread, feet almost lying in the pool that spread on the floor. The window of his cell lay at the bottom of a slope, which allowed a steady stream of muddy water to enter. To any casual observer, it would seem that he was asleep, comfortable despite the Spartan conditions of his surroundings.
,,Don’t get over-excited. Water isn’t the most important thing in the world.” He replied softly without opening his eyes. The Dunmer grit his teeth.
,,You and your self-righteous proclaimants. Then what is the most important thing in the world, wiseguy? Well, out with it. Show us the great wisdom of the Altmer.” He spat.
,,That is a different thing for each individual. What is the most important thing for you?” The Altmer answered calmly.

The Dunmer kicked one of the walls in his cell.
,,Answering a question with a question of your own? Well then, listen carefully. I don’t know why but I’m just going to tell you! The most important thing for me is a woman! I haven’t had my fun with a woman in five years, I’m telling you. Five years! That’s horrible!” He said.
,,But at least I’ll be out of here soon. And when I do, I’m going to enjoy it all the way. I’ve always been popular with the ladies, unlike you. A different girl each night, and then some. Makes you jealous, doesn’t it?” He gloated. The Altmer shrugged, the only motion he’d made in the last two days.
,,I don’t see any need to be jealous.” He said.

The Dunmer cocked an eyebrow and stalked back to the bars.
,,No need? The Altmer says there is no need to be jealous! Oh, but now I remember. You don’t feel the need to be jealous because your blood is so pure and there is a lass waiting back home who was born just to suit you. Born just to suit you, all thanks to the breeding program you High Elves have. All thanks to your quest for purity.” He snickered and watched his fellow prisoner intently. If he’d been expecting a sign of anger or any other emotion, he would be disappointed.
,,Believe what you will.” Was all the Altmer said.

Thunder roared again. Then, silence, safe for the soft clatter of the rain. The Dunmer had returned to his bed and watched the dark sky outside his window.
,,Believe what you will. He’s got issues. I bet his mother always beat him whenever he had impure thoughts.” He muttered to himself hatefully. He then rose.
,,Believe what you will?” He repeated, louder this time.
,,Well, I know what I believe. I believe I’ll use the cache of money I’ve stored under the loose rock in the wall. I was going to save it for later, but this place and you have gotten on my nerves, so there. I’m going to have some fun in this place, even if it kills me!” He decided and pried loose the brick he’d mentioned.
,,Be carefull what you wish for.” The Altmer warned. The pool had now crept up to his bare toes, but he did not move them. Even though the water was near freezing, he did not seem to be bothered at all by it. Meanwhile, the Dunmer scooped up the coins he’d hidden and counted them. He chose to ignore the other.
,,Fifty-four Septims. That’s enough for the guards to buy themselves a couple of bottles.” He spoke, got up and raked one of the coins across the bars.

,,What are you making all that racket for, prisoner?!” A guard inquired in a gruff tone. He’d come to investigate the cause of the noise. The Dunmer looked the man up from head to toe.
,,Tell me, friend? Have you been doing well at your card-games?” He then chuckled. The Imperial’s brow furrowed.
,,None of your bussines, Dark Elf scum! Now keep it quiet down here!” He spat. He waved his arm across, pointing at the Altmer in the other cell.
,,Take an example from him. He’s been here since before I was born, and not even once did he cause trouble.” He added. The Dunmer smiled, revealing two incomplete rows of yellow-brownish teeth. Perhaps he’d once been popular with the ladies but in his current state, popularity would need some help.
,,Just as I thought. You’ve been losing badly, haven’t you? Well, I just happen to have the solution to that particular little problem of yours.” He whispered and flashed a coin. Instantly, the guard became twice as attentive.

,,How much do you have?” He asked in a coarse whisper of his own.
,,Twenty-seven in total.” The Dunmer lied. He then leaned in as close as he could without hitting the bars with his forehead. Thunder echoed through the prison complex.
,,Twenty-seven perfectly legitimate Septims. Twenty-seven shiny bits of gold and copper. They could be yours, so very easily….for a small favour, of course.” He offered. The guard licked his lips and let his eyes slip to the coins the Dunmer now held up in his hand, yet still out of his reach. He thought of going back to the barracks and taking the keys to the Dunmer’s cell, so he could take the money by force. But if he did that, his commander would have him fired and thrown into a cell instantly on the charge of accepting bribes. He would be better off listening to what the man had to offer.
,,I’m listening.”

The Dunmer leaned in even closer, resting his forehead against the bars.
,,Good, good. You see, I’m feeling rather…lonely. While he doesn’t cause any trouble, our friend over there is a poor conversationalist. A man of few words. So I was thinking, if you could help me out, perhaps provide me with….suitable company? I would be more than willing to help out a friend who is in need of a financial boost. Rub my back, rub yours?” He whispered. The guard looked into the crimson eyes of the prisoner, glanced at the Altmer, the coins and weighed the risk. If the Altmer talked, he would still be in trouble. But the gold-skinned fellow appeared to be sound asleep, impossible as it might sound with the thunder and lightning playing outside. The Imperial grinned, a greedy grin.
,,For a friend, why certainly. It would be a pleasure, no, an honour to help. In fact, I just seem to remember that prisonblock C is undergoing renovations. We need to relocate the current occupants. I was just wondering where to move some of them anyway. I’ll see if I can send over a…better conversationalist.” He said and held out his hand. The Dunmer grinned and handed over some of the coins.
,,Half now, half upon delivery.”

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Mar 6 2012, 08:29 PM

[jack cloudy]

Well technically, he doesn't have contacts in the Blades. The idea was that he knew the contact procedures and the Blades themselves simply believed he had to be the real deal since he got the protocol right. As for why he wants back into the prison block, he has reasons.


Chapter 3.7


Lake Rumare

“Won’t you just look at this. I haven’t caught this many fish in years.” Delmar’s voice was calm and composed, but I could still feel he was absolutely brimming with excitement. There was a grand total of fourteen fish in the bucket, not a bad catch for an hour of two of honest work.
“Maybe I’m a good luck spirit.” I joked.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you were. I swear, I just had to throw out the line and another fish would bite it.” Delmar laughed and took the oars. With a quick sweep, he changed heading and pushed the boat off towards the city at the center of the lake.
“Um, aren’t we going back to the shack and skin those fish?” I asked.

“I’ll get to that later, but first I figured I would take you to a certain person.” The old man replied.
“Certain person?” It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him, but the fact remained that we’d only met this morning. I just wasn’t ready to follow his lead without knowing where he was taking me. So I had to ask.
“Well, I have to admit I don’t know his name. I never even met him.” Delmar added. That didn’t really explain anything.

“So uh….It’s not that I don’t trust you, but why are we going to meet a guy you’ve never met before and whose name you don’t even know?” I muttered slowly and jabbed a finger at the bucket of fish.
“Somehow, I don’t think it’s because he would give you a good deal on raw fish.”

Delmar shook his head.
“You’re a nosy one, I give you that. But, you’re right. He won’t give me a good deal on raw fish. Rather, he isn’t even a trader. Well, not an open trader. He deals in…goods of debatable legitimacy.” He explained. The explanation made me frown.
“We’re going to meet a thief?” I inquired with a hint of disgust. The fisherman seemed surprised.
“You have something against the thieves guild?” He asked. The open disbelief he put in his words was too much for me so I turned to look out over the water.
“I don’t like people who steal. And I definitely don’t like an organization with the sole purpose of taking other people’s possessions. I just don’t.”

I could still see Delmar’s reflection in the water. It was as if I hadn’t averted my gaze at all.
“Hmm, I don’t really think much about the guild myself. But it honestly could be worse. At least the thieves guild doesn’t count any murderers among its members. I’ve heard that any member who crosses that line is given over to the guards.” He mumbled, talking more to himself than to me. I blinked and spun back to face the old man directly.
“You mean there is an actual organization of murderers here?!” I screamed.

The change in his expression was frightening. No, it wasn’t that. It was the fact that he was frightened, and it rubbed off on me.
“Quiet! It’s not something you should bring up. What if they hear?” He whispered urgently and his eyes fled from side to side. I looked from side to side as well, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Why was he so scared all of a sudden? Did he have the superstitious belief that people knew it if you spoke about them? Or did he think that there was a murderer hiding behind every bush, ready to kill anyone who brought up the subject? But whether he was superstitious or not, that didn’t change the apparent fact that there was an organization of murderers.
“Murderers and thieves, banding together. This land is a sinhole.” I thought.

After a couple of minutes, Delmar had managed to relax somewhat.
“Why won’t the guards deal with that?” I asked all of a sudden. I bit my tongue right afterwards. Perhaps it hadn’t been such a good idea to bring that up again, just when the old fella had calmed down a bit.
“Deal with what?” Delmar asked.
“You know, crime. This thieves guild…and the other one.” I shrugged. I had already brought it up, might as well go on with it.

Delmar let the oars rest for a moment and looked over his shoulder at the city-walls that were quite close now.
“Trust me, they tried. They tried, held a raid every day, unannounced. But somehow, the thieves would always know and be gone before the guards arrived, only to return mere moments after they’d returned to the barracks. As for the other…” He got nervous again and licked his lips.
“Look, I’ll tell you this, but after that I really want you to never talk about it again. It’s for your own good. You understand, Maorlatta?”

I nodded. With a sigh of relief, Delmar picked up the oars again.
“The other…guild. There are stories about it. It’s members are like shadows, like ghosts, the worshippers of a terrible god with an unsatiable bloodthirst. They can move unseen and even if caught, they’ll turn to mist and vanish. The only clue to the guilds existence are the victims found the following morning, always drained of blood. But…they say you can summon them with some sort of evil ritual and no matter where you are, one will come.” He whispered, his eyes shifting back and forth.
“And that is that. Now I’ll hear none of it ever again.” He finished in a louder voice. Looking past him, I could see a rickety wooden pier. It looked as if we were there.

His story about the murderers felt like one big superstitious falsehood after another. But one part kept with me.
“Drained of blood. That reminds me.”

We landed at the pier and I jumped out with the rope. I quickly tied it around the pole and then doublechecked the knot to make sure the boat wouldn’t unravel it and drift away.
“You must have done that before.” Delmar noted dryly. I stretched my back and looked up at the walls.
“Well, grandfather wants me to become a perfect member of the family, father thinks it is good if I’m a bit more practical.” I said. I grinned.
“Though he isn’t that practical himself.” I added.

The old man picked up the bucket and stepped out onto the dock as well.
“Well, I can hear you’ve enjoyed your youth.” He spoke.
“It was fun, usually. I didn’t like all of it.” I replied.
“Oh, like what?” Delmar inquired. He moved towards a small door built into the wall and I followed.
“You know, education on subjects I’ll never have to deal with. How to lead the family for example. I’m like sixty-fourth in the line of inheritance.” I said with a casual shrug. I thought nothing of it, but he did.
“Line of inheritance? What are you, a noble?” He asked as if it was a big deal.

I thought for a moment before I came up with a good answer.
“Well, my family is reasonably wealthy and has a bit of social influence in the area. But it’s not as if we rule this continent. Knowing who is in charge if the old man dies is considered to be very important by most of us.” I said half-jokingly.
“But as I said, I’m sixty-fourth in line. My position won’t change when that happens, which probably won’t happen for the next few generations. So it’s nothing I should worry about.”

I cut off my monologue. Delmar had gotten awfully tense.
“Next few generations. That must be nice.” He muttered to himself so softly I almost thought I’d imagined it. It did make me frown.
“That must be nice? What’s so nice about grandfather dying?” I thought angrily for a moment. Then I figured it out.
“Oh, he was reminded of the fact that he’ll die in a few generations as well. I mean, how old is Delmar? Threehundred and a half? Must be. Any younger and he wouldn’t be so wrinkled.” It made me feel bad. Why did I constantly have to make him sad or frightened?

The door led to a dark alley. Wet cobblestones, some brown grub smeared on the walls, a couple of rats dashing away as soon as we got near. It was kind of spooky.
”It didn’t look this dirty on the outside.” I mumbled.
“I know. That’s what most people say the first time they look beyond the plazas, the temple and Nobleman’s street. Cyrodiil is beautiful on the outside but on the inside, it’s just as with people. Nothing’s ever perfect. I try to avoid this place, not enough guards here.” Delmar concurred. That reminded me.

“About that trader we were going to meet. We got a bit sidetracked, so I still don’t know why exactly we’re going to meet him.” I said.
“Since the prison was rather negligent, I figured we had to free you of those manacles and the uniform ourselves. Our trader happens to be experienced in this area.” He finally managed to give me his reasons. I looked down at the manacles around my wrists. They were heavy, bruised my skin and right now, rather wet. I would love to be rid of them. Same thing with the clothes, they itched. Though getting rid of that brought new complications.
“How do I pay? I don’t have any money.”

Delmar fought to hold back a frown. He did not succeed, obviously.
“I’ll probably have to work as an informant for a while.” He said after a moment. I frowned as well.
“Informant? Look, I appreciate the lengths you go to help me, but you shouldn’t consort with criminals any more than the absolute minimum. Besides, we just met this morning. I’m practically a stranger for you.” I pointed out and took hold of one of his sleeves.
“Come on, let’s go back to the boat. I’ll grab a sharp rock and see if I can force the lock or something.”

Delmar stopped and gave me a reassuring smile.
“It’s nice to see that you worry about me, but it is alright. I just want to do this. Besides, informant duty is risk-free and nothing big. I’ll just have to report on rumours and keep an eye on any boats coming past my shack at night. That’s all. And if the lock on those manacles could easily be forced with a rock, it wouldn’t be good enough for the prison. You need an expert to get those open.” He said. I sighed and let go of his sleeve.
“Oh, alright. But don’t go do anything you don’t want to.” I replied.

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Dec 30 2012, 10:36 PM