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Olen
post Oct 11 2009, 09:26 PM
Post #1


Mouth
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Joined: 1-November 07
From: most places



Some of you probably remember my last piece, Yesterday's Shadow and that it had a rather unsatisfying ending. I spent the summer rectifying this and now have a sizeable sequel/ completion to it which is itself now finished. It would probably be better to read Yesterday's Shadow before this as it would make more sense, however you should get by without it. If anyone wants I'll put a synopsis here, though Yesterday's Shadow isn't very long so you could just read it here (enough plugs yet?) tongue.gif

Anyway without further ado:



Burning Today


Prologue

Dervas wore boots while he worked. Shoes didn't last long in the decaying mixture of blood, vomit, drink and drugs which floored The Black Guar. The dark man had finally passed out and for the first time Dervas dared look at him. A worn man with a broken soul. Who are you? The Black Guar didn't get passing trade – the mixture of pushers, heavies and racketeers who made up most of his patronage didn't appreciate strangers. In the first hour the man, who now lay face down on the table, had knocked two out cold and broken another's arm. They left him alone after that and he them. Dervas wiped the remains of a line of sugar off the bar and nodded to the bouncer who went to move the man to his room.

Someone knocked at the door. Dervas ignored it. They knocked again, for longer this time. He cursed and went to tell whoever it was where to go. It was late an he didn't need any more trade. He pushed open the door, a curse dancing on his tongue. A sack crashed to the ground, gold clinked within. A Breton in black clothes stood in the doorway.

“What's his tab?” There was no need to ask whose.

“Sixty.”

The Breton showed no surprise, and counted out the gold. “Listen,” his tone offered pain if Dervas didn't, “You keep giving that guy drinks, drugs, whores, whatever he asks for okay? For him happy hour doesn't end, tabs never have to be paid. Push as much as you can into him. Don't worry - I'll be round a couple of nights a week to pay you. That sack,” he kicked disdainfully at the one he'd just dropped, “Contains a thousand drakes, payment enough I'd say. If he asks don't tell him, just give him more drink. Understand?”

Dervas nodded, his mouth was dry.

The man disappeared into the night.

Dervas walked back into the bar. He looked towards the dark man's room. Who are you? he thought again, And what have I gotten into?


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Look behind you and see an ever decreasing number of ghosts. Currently about 15.
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Olen
post Jan 20 2010, 12:22 PM
Post #2


Mouth
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Joined: 1-November 07
From: most places



15. Running

In the end I just headed west for Alt Bosara. I hoped to pick up Renera's trail on the way. There was little enough doubt over where she was heading and if I was to have any hope of catching her before she got there I couldn't afford the time it would take to find and follow her trail. The mages hadn't chased me far, and with two of them injured they wouldn't be moving fast. At least so I hoped. I allowed myself to relax as I walked over moorland and through the clusters of trees which clung like warts on the barren landscape. Where possible I followed rough paths. Sometimes they were no more than animal tracks, others looked like they'd seen the work of men, or more likely mer, in the past, though precious little maintenance in recent times.

I was following one of the latter paths in a small wood when I found rather more evidence of Renera's passing than I'd expected. The pines were dormant for winter but still green and at first his clothes hid him amid the branches, but the dark stains on the ground, and the rank smell of spilled blood and excrement gave him away. He'd been a forester by his garb, and the axe which stood at the base of a tree. Now he was very much a corpse. Had I not already vomited all I had for lack of skooma I would have, instead I looked with a sort of grisly fascination at the work that could only have been Renera's, or whatever she was now. Thick strands of intestine, like blanched snakes, spilled from his gut and were entangled in the branches. He dangled from them, dripping blood and swaying listlessly in the breeze, and obscene decoration. His eyes bulged and his face had a tinge even bluer than dunmer skin usually is. I wasn't sure exactly how he'd died, and I was fairly sure I didn't want to. I looked away from the corpse and to the ground. The trail was a few hours old. I left the body hanging, even had I cared there was neither shovel nor time. The crows would take him soon enough, like the sky burials of the desert people in Hammerfell.

The path got better on the other side of the clearing and bore steadily west. The moonlight was strong and the marks of Renera's passing clear. Freshly crushed plants, scrapes in the moss on stones and even footprints. I amended my guess, these tracks were a whole lot fresher, two hours at most, maybe less. I quickened my pace, almost to a run. I jumped over fallen trees and forced though knotted tangles of briars which clawed at my clothes like twisted hands. I forced on ignoring the frost-blasted remnants of stinging nettles and the slimy puddles which lay stinking in my path. How far was Alt Bosara? How long would it take her to get there? How fast was she moving? Questions danced through my mind but the were all aspects of one: could I catch her before she reached civilisation? And close on its heels, what would happen when she got there? So far she'd only struck tiny backwaters, I only hoped the reason was that she wasn't powerful enough to take large towns.

The trees thinned. I followed the path up the slope and paused at the top. Moonlight shone on the silver land below, and glinted of the not-so-distant sea. My wheeling thoughts broke free from their axles and skipped away, shattered. Below me on the night landscape the dark line of the road cut through field and forest towards the darkly glittering sea. At that juncture of land and water stood the tangled towers and tumescent fungous dwellings of a Telvanni town, like toadstools emerging from rotten wood where it lies in water. I gazed at the road but couldn't make out whether anyone travelled it or not.

Once on the road I ran, tripping roots and clawing bushes were no longer a risk, and neither did I need to conserve my energy or worry about the skooma cramps ruining a muscle. It wasn't far to Alt Bosara, either I would catch her or not. Few people travel the roads of Morrowind by night, and those who do are not inclined to talk. I only passed a couple of travellers and stopped for neither. One was a shadowy figure, alone and clearly male. His armour was black leather, like mine, but unlike mine even the metal fixings were blackened and it had fringes to break his outline. Many knives and daggers bulged under his cloak. The others were four men leading ten guar, they were armed and dressed rather better than normal merchants, and the baskets the guar carried were wrapped away from prying eyes. I had no interest in them.

I rounded a corner to see Alt Bosara before me, two watchtowers flanked the road where it entered the town and in the light of the torches I saw a pair of guards keeping watch. One stamped his feet against the chill. A movement on the road between us caught my eye. I stopped to look. For a moment I saw nothing then I saw a figure silhouetted against the torchlight. Had it not been for the glow of the town it would have been completely invisible. Could it be Renera? I'd thought the same for the other travellers, but that didn't mean this wasn't. I ran on but lost sight of her as I panted.


So it was that I arrived at the entry to Alt Bosara, sucking air and sweating despite the night cold. A guard approached.

"What's your business in Alt Bosara?" he asked.

I panted for a moment while I formulated a suitable answer. "To find," I paused to breathe, "Some shelter and then maybe a boat south."

"You are not Telvanni." it was a statement.

"No."

"There is a charge for outlanders to stay the night here."

"I am meeting a friend here. She probably arrived in the last few hours, quite tall, black hair, green eyes." I was pleased with the ruse.

"Flerith," the guard called to the other, "Have we had any human women through today?"

"Don't think so," the other guard answered.

"There you go."

I nodded, "Very well... You haven't noticed anything strange around town have you? In the last few hours?"

He gave me a quizzical look, "No... Why, you planning something?" He took a step forward.

"No, no. Just well... There might be a rouge mage headed this way."

The guard guffawed, "Of course. That'll be right."

"Keep an eye out," was all I could say. I started into town, she was here, and I would find her.

"Not so fast," the guard put a hand on my shoulder, "We need to put you in the ledger. What's you name?"

I brushed the hand away, "F-" I turned it into a cough. "Sorry, it's Hassius Johanson, messenger by trade." People tend not to get in the way of messengers, you never know who they're delivering to.

"Very good," the guard turned away and black into the shelter in the lee of the fungus.

I hurried into the town, with luck there would be a tavern where I could get a hit of skooma and some answers. Ideally without being arrested in the fights which would no doubt follow when people discovered I had no money.


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Look behind you and see an ever decreasing number of ghosts. Currently about 15.
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Posts in this topic
Olen   Burning Today   Oct 11 2009, 09:26 PM
treydog   Woo-hoo! This starts at a run and doesn't...   Oct 11 2009, 10:19 PM
Olen   Next bit and longer this time. It won't make ...   Oct 18 2009, 04:39 PM
treydog   Saying that I "enjoyed" reading the late...   Oct 20 2009, 05:26 PM
Olen   I admit I did lay it on a bit heavy in the last pa...   Oct 24 2009, 01:35 PM
treydog   Your descriptive power again places the reader rig...   Oct 25 2009, 03:10 PM
Olen   3. Finding the Scent The Watcher's Club scre...   Oct 30 2009, 10:33 AM
canis216   Well done. Real taut storytelling as ever.   Nov 1 2009, 10:34 PM
treydog   Woo-Hoo! Another excellent scene. Please con...   Nov 2 2009, 10:39 PM
Olen   Thanks for the comments. Without further ado: 4....   Nov 6 2009, 01:18 PM
RavenMind   I've just finished reading through this, and y...   Nov 11 2009, 02:38 AM
Olen   5. Last Visit Firemoth was dead by night. I slip...   Nov 11 2009, 04:54 PM
minque   Really interesting, just finished reading this one...   Nov 16 2009, 12:01 AM
Olen   Thanks for the comments. This part was hard to ed...   Nov 17 2009, 10:17 PM
minque   Story.Good.More It's an old nord proverb...   Nov 18 2009, 10:47 PM
Olen   7. Fresh Morning In the bottom of a dry gulch I ...   Nov 22 2009, 02:00 PM
Olen   8. Circles I found the track the farmer had desc...   Nov 27 2009, 05:38 PM
Olen   Appologies for the delay, RL has conspired to make...   Dec 8 2009, 11:50 AM
Olen   Next bit, as ever replies and criticisms are appri...   Dec 14 2009, 04:08 PM
Olen   11. Choice I sat bolt upright. Instantly awake....   Dec 19 2009, 02:44 PM
Syndelius Daerleth   LOVE the prologe very good! i havent read the ...   Dec 20 2009, 02:15 AM
canis216   Again, fabulous storytelling. You really get insid...   Dec 20 2009, 03:35 AM
Olen   Yes... My utter reliance on spellchecking shows it...   Jan 5 2010, 04:40 PM
Captain Hammer   Finally managed to get caught up on this one, Olen...   Jan 6 2010, 05:44 PM
minque   Uhh....jeez I like this one! A bit brutal but ...   Jan 8 2010, 07:14 PM
Olen   Cheers for the comments, it's appriciated. Ye...   Jan 12 2010, 01:07 PM
Olen   This was meant to be part of the previous part so ...   Jan 14 2010, 12:54 PM
Olen   16. The Fire of the Moment On my way to the taver...   Jan 25 2010, 03:53 PM
canis216   Ah, excellent work once again. I look forward to s...   Jan 26 2010, 04:10 AM
Olen   17. False Light Pandemonium ruled. People ran, ...   Jan 30 2010, 08:09 PM
canis216   Wow! Intense!   Jan 30 2010, 09:32 PM
Olen   Cheers for the comments, there's still pleanty...   Feb 4 2010, 03:20 PM
Olen   The story changes direction somewhat now so if you...   Feb 9 2010, 07:43 PM
Olen   20. News in the South Outside the high sun beat ...   Feb 15 2010, 04:56 PM
Olen   21. Glittering Opportunity I rolled off the bed....   Feb 22 2010, 03:41 PM
Olen   22. Reasons and Excuses It was the small hours o...   Feb 28 2010, 11:55 AM
canis216   I really enjoy the grit and intensity of this stor...   Mar 3 2010, 01:35 AM
Olen   Thanks for the comment, this piece wasn't the ...   Mar 7 2010, 10:47 PM
Olen   Sorry for the late reply, the last few days have b...   Mar 15 2010, 10:46 PM
Winter Wolf   Awesome write. How typical that even after all pos...   Mar 16 2010, 06:37 AM
SubRosa   I started reading from the first post, and still h...   Mar 16 2010, 03:37 PM
Acadian   WooHoo! What's not to like? First person...   Mar 16 2010, 09:15 PM
mALX   I have to catch up still, but I got such a kick ou...   Mar 16 2010, 09:53 PM
Destri Melarg   As the others have said, I just started reading th...   Mar 18 2010, 04:55 AM
Olen   Woo lots of comments. Thanks for the kind words, ...   Mar 19 2010, 03:07 PM
Remko   I got to chapter 10 and I love it! The charact...   Mar 19 2010, 05:38 PM
haute ecole rider   Well. I'm all caught up now on this thread (ha...   Mar 19 2010, 07:46 PM
mALX   As for the pubs, I could swear you had been in som...   Mar 20 2010, 06:55 AM
SubRosa   I am still working my way through. I love the real...   Mar 21 2010, 10:55 AM
Olen   Hmm, missed that, but it's sorted now. Along ...   Mar 21 2010, 02:21 PM
Destri Melarg   Just passed chapter 11 now. Firen is an incredibl...   Mar 22 2010, 12:28 AM
SubRosa   I am up to Chapter 21 now. I am not sure if it is ...   Mar 22 2010, 08:23 PM
Olen   I've never read Heart of Darkness so that wasn...   Mar 24 2010, 01:34 AM
haute ecole rider   This is a hard chapter to write, I can see that . ...   Mar 24 2010, 04:35 AM
mALX   What Hauty said, and I'd like to add that your...   Mar 24 2010, 03:33 PM
Destri Melarg   Okay I’m all caught up. Impressions: First, th...   Mar 25 2010, 06:08 AM
Remko   I just finished the last chapter and all I can say...   Mar 25 2010, 04:25 PM
SubRosa   I am finally caught up. Whew! You certainly kn...   Mar 26 2010, 01:33 AM
Remko   True, we still don't really know what he is. I...   Mar 26 2010, 12:06 PM
Olen   Wow so many replies... No update today but I thoug...   Mar 26 2010, 05:06 PM
Winter Wolf   Remko (and SubRosa) - It is mentioned a few times...   Mar 30 2010, 05:33 PM
Destri Melarg   Remko (and SubRosa) - It is mentioned a few times...   Mar 26 2010, 05:47 PM
Olen   27. Bitter Dreams The slaughter finished I plodd...   Mar 29 2010, 02:20 PM
mALX   Really great detail, even right down to following ...   Mar 29 2010, 04:40 PM
haute ecole rider   Excellent overview of what comes after the sack, w...   Mar 29 2010, 04:45 PM
SubRosa   Grey-Tail the other Argonians certainly have passi...   Mar 29 2010, 04:49 PM
Remko   I thought it was a very clever - and logical - cha...   Mar 29 2010, 06:22 PM
Destri Melarg   Firen’s concern over the fate of the slaves and hi...   Mar 31 2010, 01:10 AM
Remko   Okun is a name from "Independance Day", ...   Mar 31 2010, 05:15 PM
Olen   Thanks for all the comments again, they're gre...   Apr 2 2010, 03:47 PM
Remko   aaarrgghhh.... MORE!   Apr 2 2010, 04:17 PM
Destri Melarg   Oh man, this is really starting to get good! ...   Apr 2 2010, 09:34 PM
mALX   Oh man, this is really starting to get good! ...   Apr 2 2010, 11:17 PM
SubRosa   Now we see the fallout of the raid, which Firen ha...   Apr 2 2010, 11:12 PM
haute ecole rider   Agreed that the swim at the end of the chapter was...   Apr 3 2010, 12:07 AM
canis216   Never realized Argonians can be such prudes! ...   Apr 3 2010, 05:01 AM
Winter Wolf   A masterful chapter. Lovely command of dialogue th...   Apr 3 2010, 07:07 AM
Olen   Thanks for the comments, oddly the last chapter wa...   Apr 6 2010, 04:28 PM
mALX   Huge amount of detail in this chapter, written nat...   Apr 6 2010, 07:22 PM
Destri Melarg   I agree, very powerful. I am really growing to ad...   Apr 6 2010, 08:58 PM
SubRosa   This one line stays with me the most, due to it po...   Apr 6 2010, 11:02 PM
Remko   Loved it, the sneaking part was exceptionally well...   Apr 7 2010, 02:40 PM
haute ecole rider   I"m still reading and enjoying this. This la...   Apr 7 2010, 06:22 PM
Olen   Thanks for the comments all, I appriciate them. I...   Apr 11 2010, 06:18 PM
SubRosa   Excellent description of the ford. You vividly cap...   Apr 11 2010, 07:21 PM
haute ecole rider   Awesome! The description of the river, the rem...   Apr 11 2010, 07:26 PM
mALX   The last paragraph is HUGE! Very powerful writ...   Apr 11 2010, 08:12 PM
Olen   Well seeing as the last piece was short as I wante...   Apr 13 2010, 05:49 PM
Destri Melarg   Chapter 30: I stand in full agreement with the oth...   Apr 13 2010, 11:12 PM
SubRosa   An exciting entry, made so by the palpable tension...   Apr 15 2010, 05:47 PM
Remko   Loved chapters 30 and 31 forreasons mentioned abov...   Apr 16 2010, 04:20 PM
mALX   Yes, more more!!! You always seem to...   Apr 16 2010, 07:16 PM
Olen   Thanks for the comments, I've taken a lot more...   Apr 17 2010, 08:34 PM
SubRosa   That was a very exciting battle! You showed th...   Apr 18 2010, 08:35 AM
mALX   mALX's comment does raise a question for me -...   Apr 18 2010, 09:18 AM
Destri Melarg   The battle sequence was excellent. I was hoping t...   Apr 19 2010, 01:16 AM
canis216   Powerful. I'm not sure what else I can say.   Apr 20 2010, 04:01 AM
haute ecole rider   Sorry for not posting sooner. I have read this tw...   Apr 20 2010, 02:45 PM
Olen   Thanks for the comments, so many have inspired me ...   Apr 22 2010, 04:52 PM
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