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.

[raggidman]

This is just not good enuf Jack Cloudy. Set your pen to paper this instant and post the next installment!