Shade-Eyes, One elf's descent into Oblivion. Options

[kementari]

Hey, all.

So, long time lurker, first time poster. I've really enjoyed reading all the stories you guys have put up over the years.

I've been working on chronicling a group of vignettes on and off since 2006, and it's still a work-in-progress. Some disclaimers:

First, it's all quite long, so I sincerely apologize if anyone gets TLDR syndrome from reading it. Additionally, I tend to take a little free license with lore where Bethesda has been silent, so please don't crucify me for some of my inventions passed off as "world fact" in the story. Finally, I do draw some of my plots from game elements, but I change them where I think I can do better. Please don't let either of those admissions become the basis for hating me. Writing these stories is cathartic to me, and in some small way, I feel like fanfiction is the highest form of glorification I can give the story guys over at Bethesda.

I'd also really love feedback (CRITICISM! PLEASE!) on characterization, prose, pacing, or anything else, if any of you have the time or willingness to give it. While I of course appreciate even small affirmations, "hm, good work" doesn't really help me grow as a storyteller.

Anyway, here goes. Hope you enjoy it.

This post has been edited by kementari: May 27 2008, 12:31 AM

[kementari]

Pell's Gate; Sun's Dusk 28, 3E414

She was all the way to Pell's Gate before the sun's rays reached her, and her eyes had begun to feel heavy at their first touch. She had long ago exchanged her armor for a heavy robe, and its weight and warmth urged her to find a bed for hire. She pushed open the door of the inn, somewhat tackily named the Sleeping Mare, and the bright-eyed innkeeper perked up as she crossed the threshold.

“Good morning to you, traveler! What can Pell's Gate offer you? Breakfast?”

Lily shook her head. “Just a bed, please.” She laid a stack of coins well in excess of the price of the room on the counter, and began to glaze over as the woman behind the counter, clearly fresh from a full night's sleep, began chattering at her. She didn't have the energy to be annoyed when the woman chose to escort Lily to her room instead of just handing her a key, but in retrospect, Lily would later conclude, she should have caught on to the woman's nervous air.

She shut the door as soon as the woman sounded like she had reached a stopping point in her babble, and let the knapsack drop from her shoulder with a thud. She had her boots off and her robe halfway unbuttoned before she realized she wasn't alone. A man sat in a chair pushed against the far wall, ensconced in the shadows, his face covered with a thick gray leather mask.

“Don't scream,” he said. Lily froze, astonished that even through her fatigue, she had failed to notice him.

“Not that I figured you for the type that would,” he continued, and Lily heard the glimmer of a smile coloring his voice. It was gruff, but not unkind, she thought, perhaps just a voice not accustomed to frequent use. “Sit down,” he said, and gestured to her half-unbuttoned robes. “And please, by all means, take a moment. I would advise against trying to pull that astonishingly beautiful knife on me, though, as I'm quite harmless until threatened.”

Lily studied him for a moment, and then turned away, keeping the corner of her eye fixed on him as she fastened the buttons up to the neck of the garment. She turned around slowly and leaned against the wall opposite him.

“Please, sit down,” he said again. Lily still couldn't detect malice in his voice, but she knew too well that simply because she couldn't hear it did not mean it wasn't there. “I'd prefer to stand,” she returned, and the harsh rasp of her voice belied her fatigue. To her own ears, it sounded more uneven than his.

He inclined his head. “As you say.” He paused, and the smile was back in his voice when he spoke again. “I am glad, at least, that you've decided against attacking me-”

“I haven't decided against it,” Lily corrected, crossing her arms.

“My mistake,” he replied smoothly. “Perhaps you'll first let me say my piece, before deciding whether to do me in. Where is that delightful little dagger of yours, anyway? The one with the gold filigree.”

She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to hide the unease she felt at his familiarity with her favorite little weapon, which at times felt as though it was bonded to her soul. “You seem to know so much about it; who's to say you don't know that as well?”

“You're right,” he said, leaning back in the chair. “It's in the boot you just took off – the left one, if I remember correctly.”

Lily just held his gaze, her face a mask of stone to his leather one. The left boot had been specially made to sheathe that blade, as had the left gauntlet in her knapsack and the leather-padded small of the back in her jumpsuit. He knew something, certainly, but he was overconfident in his knowledge.

“Anyway,” he said, taking her silence for admission, “I'm not here to bandy about threats or knives. I'd like to offer you a business proposition.”

Lily's lip curled. “There are generally less dangerous ways to go about doing such a thing.”

“Than surprising a talented assassin in her bedroom? I'm sure I agree,” he said easily, and a shiver ran down Lily's back. This man knew far too much for her tastes. “But, you see, it's somewhat difficult for me to go about publicly – a concern I know you've shared, so I'm sure that in this regard at least, you'll overlook the unorthodox methods my identity necessitates that I employ.”

Lily chewed on her tongue. “Get to your point, old man,” she said. “I don't care about your identity.”

“And I would not trouble you with it, but for its relevance to my proposition,” he responded smoothly. He leaned forward in his chair. “You may be familiar with the nebulous, possibly-existent organization known as the Thieves' Guild, and its allegedly immortal and greatly exaggerated leader, the Gray Fox.” He touched his fingers to his forehead in an imitation of a nobleman's salute. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

You could join the Thieves with fingers like that... Vasha's left-handed compliment rang in Lily's ears. “I've heard rumors,” Lily replied. “I'm not sure about being pleased or acquainted, though.”

He crossed his arms. “You're a prickly one, aren't you? Well, perhaps all the better. My situation is this: My followers are forbidden from shedding blood, innocent or otherwise, during their assignments. This is a policy I instituted and one I personally police – I abhor wanton bloodshed.”

“What a coincidence,” Lily muttered. “I abhor theft.”

“Not much of a wood-elf, then, are you?” he shot back. Under Lily's acrid glare, he continued. “Of course, as soon as one invents a rule to which one plans to religiously adhere, the universe takes its pains to see to it that that precise rule needs to be broken.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the foot of the bedframe. “I have a job I need done, and a lot of people are going to need to die in the process of the doing. I can't ask my followers to break one of our most important rules, so I've been looking around for an outsider.”

“I see,” Lily said. “Am I the only outsider you've approached?”


“Honestly, so far, yes,” he replied easily. “I've had my best people watching the entire province for months, and you've got quite the reputation with the skulks.” He paused, as though considering his words. “Though I have to say, none of their reports held a flickering candle to personally watching you work.”

Lily barely kept her surprise from showing. “...Anvil. The abandoned house. That was you.”

“The very same,” he agreed. “You have quite the talent, you know. If even a tenth of my people were as good as you, the province would be devoid of riches within a month.”

“I suppose it's a good thing they aren't, then,” she responded. “I'm sorry, Mr. Fox, but you're going to have to find another outsider. I don't work with criminals.” She stepped aside and gestured to the door, intimating that he should leave.

He was still for a moment, and then relaxed back into the chair, shoulders slumping a little. “So that's it, is it? I... well. I suppose I know better than to get into a discussion on the nature of criminality with a member of the Dark Brotherhood.” He stood, but didn't move toward the door. “You haven't heard what I could offer you in return for your services.”

“I don't need to,” she responded. “Nothing you could offer me would interest me.” Even as she said it, though, she felt a twinge of remorse at seeing the obvious disappointment in the stranger's manner.

He remained standing, arms folded over his chest. “Consider it, would you? I strongly believe we could be of great service to each other.”

“I don't think so,” Lily said flatly. Then a thought occurred to her. “But if you would be so kind as to keep your 'people' from constantly following me, from now on, I'd certainly appreciate that. It's impossible to get any work done in the City when I'm tripping over curious beggars every block.” The words were out before she had thought them through, and she wondered why she was being so open with this criminal, this stranger.

He nodded. “I apologize. It wasn't our intent to get in your way.” He took a few steps toward the door, and Lily, a little chagrined, bent down to move her things out of his way, easing his path. He paused while she worked, and in a thoughtful tone of voice asked, “Out of curiosity, who is your mark?”

“None of your people, so far as I know,” Lily responded, heaving the knapsack onto the bed and kicking her boots underneath it. Then, in spite of herself, she found herself continuing. “A wizard in the Arcane University, and he's proving to be quite an annoyance.”

“Why?” the Fox asked, and quickly added, “Not to pry, of course – I just wonder if I might be able to help.”

Lily blinked. “Help? You... You know what we do, right?”

He spread his hands. “Desperate times.”

She studied him for a moment, and then, hesitantly, explained the difficulty of her situation, noting how long she had already spent watching the University and unsuccessfully willing him to emerge. He listened intently, nodding at times and making sympathetic noises at others. As she wound down, he cocked his head to the side and regarded her thoughtfully.

“What?” she snapped, suddenly defensive.

“It sounds like... well. Hm,” he began, and then shook his head, continuing in a tone that indicated he was pleased with himself not a little. “My dear, it sounds like what you need is a large network of unobtrusive spies with nothing better to do than sit around watching the gates of the University.” He held her gaze for a moment, his eyes visible behind the mask at this distance. “What do you say? Consider it a free trial. You'll see just how useful my associates can be, and if you change your mind, you'll have full use of the guild's resources in exchange for helping me with my little problem.”

Lily chewed on her lip. “Nothing's free. What's the catch?”

“No catch,” he said, and laughed, a more inviting sound than Lily would have expected. “And believe me when I say how unusual that is for a man in my line of work to be able to truthfully say.” He chuckled again, ruefully. “I just... really, really want you for this job.”

“I gathered that,” Lily said dryly. “I expect not every inductee to your little ring of pickpockets gets approached this way.” She studied the flame of the candle in the corner, thinking of that night in Anvil. “All right,” she said, grudgingly. “Have them watch for him. But not one of your 'people' sees my face, or attaches me to this guy.”

He chuckled. “You don't want to make this easy on us, do you? Well, I think I can handle that request.” He folded his arms again. “Thank you for reconsidering.” He lifted his left hand. On its middle finger resided a large signet ring in the shape of a sleeping fox. “Be on the lookout for my signal.”

“I'm not reconsidering,” Lily said as he passed her on his way to the door, but her voice sounded a weak protest even to her own ears. “I'm just... seeing what you're made of.”

He half turned to face her again as he opened the door, and in that moment, his eyes were sad. “You will,” he said, and then he was gone.

This post has been edited by kementari: Jun 8 2009, 09:48 AM