Tale of a Scaled Knight., An Argonian in High Rock. Options

[jack cloudy]

This probably isn't fair for Tesfiction, but here ya go. A Daggerfall-era story.

Tale of a scaled knight.

Chapter 1: Hunter and prey.

The smell of decomposing plants was enough to give a zombie a headache. Mosquetos buzzed about in thick clouds, landing on every bird, snake or other animal foolish enough to come close. Dead fish floated on the surface of the murky lake. The water bubbled as gas rose up from its depths. A particular mound of mud shuddered slightly, sending the mosquetos into a mad scramble for safety. The mound lay silent then and shortly after, the little insects had forgotten its very existence.

One pair of bloodred eyes gazed up at the castle that sat at the edge of the lake. It was tall, with a round tower at each corner and another at the centre of the keep. Its walls were so overgrown with vines, even the windows had vanished behind thick green tendrils. The pair of eyes had inspected every single stretch of vine over the past three hours. At regular intervals, the eyes had shifted up in search of guards patrolling the walls. But there were no guards, at least none that could be seen. The mound shuddered again, briefly revealing the silhouette of a large creature covered in a thick layer of mud.

Was this castle really the one it had been looking for? The creature’s instinct said it was, but its senses claimed otherwise. There was no sign at all of any inhabitants. No sign at all, except…..all the death it was surrounded by had been fairly recent. That, and the vines growing over the walls were the only plants still left alive in the nearby area. With that knowledge, it remained where it was, till night fell. While there apparently weren’t any guards, it preferred the cover of the night for its plan.

When night fell, the mound rose up and stalked away. The mosquitoes now landed on the crawling creature in search of blood to drink, but the mud proved to be an impassable barrier to their tiny snouts. Often, the creature stopped and scanned the keep before moving on. What was less than a hundred metres, it took nearly an entire hour to cross. Never once did it see a sign of guards.

Now it was up at the base of the vines and stood up completely, balancing on its hind legs. As it rose, it shook off most of the mud, revealing more of its features. It was vaguely humanoid, despite the thick tail and somewhat awkward positioning of its joints. It was covered in simple clothes and with a large curved sword sheathed on its back. This was not just a creature, but a fully sentient being in its own right. It was an Argonian and if one would have had the chance to see the Argonian’s scales beneath the mud, one would realize it was a male Argonian.

He had to get inside the castle, but the front door was overgrown as much as the walls and even if it hadn’t been, he bet it was barred from the inside. No, he would have to scale the walls and find another way inside. Before he proceeded any further though, he reached out behind his back and unsheathed the Dai-Katana he carried with him. He carefully removed the rag he’d wrapped around the hilt and leaned the sword against the vines. He also took off his gloves and threw them on the floor before resheathing the Dai-Katana.

Now, he would have a perfect grip if he was forced to draw the weapon. The Argonian pulled on the vines to test them and began to climb. Unlike his crawl to the keep, he didn’t pause during his climb. If a guard came and looked down, he would see what looked like a pile of mud clinging to the vines. What had been a disguise had now become a dead giveaway. He still hadn’t found any proof of guards, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.

Once at the top, he smoothly vaulted over the edge and drew the Dai-Katana in one swift motion, sending a spray of mud into the air. His eyes drifted from left to right. The courtyard appeared as abandoned as the rest of the castle, except for one thing. The door leading to the central tower was flanked by two burning torches. The Argonian bared his teeth in a feral grin.
“So, you wish to invite me in? Well, I can’t possibly refuse such an invitation.” He hissed into the empty air. He took a second glance at the central tower. Unlike the towers at the corners, there were no vines growing over this one. Also unlike the cornertowers, this one appeared to be constructed to be a comfortable place to live instead of being a near impenetrable barrier. There were a lot of windows, large ones, sealed off with glass. There was a balcony near the top. There were no firingslits, no grooves for boiling oil, no reinforced door. There was nothing in its design to stop an attacking army, or a different kind of intruder.

The Argonian sheathed his sword and leapt down the wall, breaking his fall with a haystack. He then dashed across the open courtyard and begun to climb the walls of the central tower.
“I can’t refuse an invitation, but I won’t walk into your trap.” He thought as he made his way to the balcony. After he’d vaulted over the railing, he drew his Dai-Katana and took a deep breath.
“Alright, I know you’re in this room. You’ve always enjoyed high places.” He whispered before kicking in the door. The Argonian rushed inside, towards the person seated behind the desk.

[jack cloudy]

Well, I would love to post it at Tesfiction except, I've been getting a damn bloody 'server not found' error for weeks now whenever I try to connect to it. I know the problem lies at my side but I'll be damned if I know where. Not that knowing would help me much. I don't have the authority needed to fiddle around with the internet.

Anyway, here's the fight. I'm honestly a bit unsatisfied with it. Any ideas on how to pump it up, make it more exciting?



“Be my guest?! Don’t be so cocky, lizard!” Erick stormed forwards, swinging his axe even before reaching his foe. Root ran backwards and jumped over the pile of his previous victims.
“No armour weighing him down, so I can’t rely on attrition. No allies to impair his movements and that axe is too large to dodge within such tight quarters. I have to lure him outside, then.” The Argonian thought.
“Cocky? It is not cocky, when I already know how easy you are to defeat. After all, I did it once before, didn’t I?” He jabbed as he pulled back.
“Uah! SHUT UP!” Erick screamed furiously.

The Nord was faster than Root and caught up with him before they’d reached the door. Just like the last time they fought, the knight was forced to duck under a horizontal swing.
“Same plan of engagement as last time? I can work with that.” Root thought. The next strike was a diagonal upward cut, exactly the same move Erick had used last time.
“Is this really the only pattern he knows? It is hard to believe he could bully the entire town with such poor skills.” Root frowned.
“I see, he is attempting to fool me.”

Again and again Erick swung his axe, never pausing even a single moment and fluidly shifting from one attack into the next. Again and again, Root dodged the blows despite the cramped arena they were in. The fact that he knew exactly what was going to come next helped. But he realized he couldn’t rely on Erick to keep using the same, useless, pattern.
“If I were him, and I wanted to fool me, how would I do it? I would seize the moment I would feel as if I had the upper hand. Namely, the moment I stepped outside.” He reasoned as he kept backing up towards the exit. A plan began to form in his mind almost naturally.

“Outside, three more steps. Two…one…now!” His right foot crashed down on the hard wood of the fallen door. One short jump backwards and his left foot hit the cobblestones outside.
“Got you!” Finally, Erick switched his pattern and performed a strike he had never used before. Namely, he levelled the axe and thrust it forwards like a spear. But Root had already realized his opponent’s plan and moved with a strike of his own.

He knew that he could not dodge the axe this time, but he also knew that Erick had made a fatal mistake. The Argonian’s tail sweeped forward and hooked under the door. He then flipped the door up with every muscle he could bring to bear. The sheet of wood flew up where it struck the axe. Even before Erick’s weapon had made contact with the door, Root dashed after it. He knew that the axe would cut the door like a razor through a butterfly’s wings. He hoped that the impact would change the axe’s path far enough for him to get passed it in one piece.

One heartbeat later, he knew he had succeeded. Erick was now behind him. With a quick reverse, Root stabbed his sword solidly in the Nord’s back.
“You lose, Erick.” He hissed.
“I lose? You’re bleeding as well, Root.” Erick grunted in response. Root cringed as the wound came to his attention. He was bleeding from a large gash in his side, there where the axe had managed a glancing blow.
“But unlike you, my wound is not lethal. Mine will heal even without care, yours will not. The moment I pull out this blade, you will begin to bleed and die.”

Erick attempted to laugh, but was cut off by the bloody spittle that welled up from his throat.
“Ack. Indeed, I guess I shouldn’t have taken off my armour when you left. So what’s next? If you planned on killing me, you wouldn’t be talking now.” He gasped. He noticed how the hand holding his axe began to tremble. Even with the Dai-Katana closing his wound like a plug, he was weakening rapidly.
“I do not wish to kill you, but I will if you leave me with no choice.” Root said solemnly.

“You don’t wish? Why, you had no problem killing my pawns. I’m the worst of the bunch, I admit so myself. Why?” Erick desired to know. The Argonian was confusing him. The axe now felt as heavy as a wagon. He couldn’t hold on to it any longer. The weapon hit the floor with a loud thud.
“Because their sin was the lightest, and because they stood in my way. You have brought great harm upon this place, Erick Ice-Fist. So great, that I will not allow you to seek refuge in death. You will live, and you will atone.” Root explained. He let go of his sword with one hand and grabbed a burning torch mounted on the wall. He then pulled out his sword and made a quick slash across the Nord’s knees, cutting the tendons. Finally, he pressed the torch against the now open wound.

Erick gasped and grit his teeth but there was nothing he could do to defend himself. He couldn’t stand anymore and even if he could, the axe had become too heavy for him to wield.
“Damn, I should have picked a faster weapon against you.” He managed to say before passing out. Root threw away the torch.
“Indeed, you should. But for one thing, it does appear as if you’ve helped me. Now that I’ve freed the town of your rule, the mages will consider helping me. And they will help, I’m sure.” He whispered to the unconscious Nord before stepping outside.

“Someone, have a healer attend to him. He won’t bother this village anymore. Feel free to make him face trial for all that he has done.” He told the large crowd that had gathered outside. It appeared as if just about everyone had come to watch the fight, with the notable exception of the mages. Root grinned.
“Mages, utterly useless but at least they’re not a bother to anyone.”