Old Habits Die Hard Part Three, The old dog practices new habits Options

[haute ecole rider]

Here is the first of a third thread for Old Habits Die Hard. I appreciate all of you staying with Julian and I this far, and hope you stick with us to the end!

For those who want to go back to the beginning, here you go:
Old Habits Die Hard Chapters 1 - 7
Old Habits Die Hard Chapters 8 - 13

[haute ecole rider]

@mALX: There were things I didn’t notice when I played this quest through the first time. There’s no question that Julian is sharper than I am! Your comments about Deep Throat, LL, etc cracked me up! It's obvious you've watched more porn than I have!

@hazmick: We’ll see if she believes the right guy . . .

@trey: I think Seridur is as creepy as Umbacano, and just as arrogant.

@Olen: The drapery are not present in the ‘nilla Oblivion, but I added that in to start Julian’s danger sense tingling. As for getting the dialogue word for word, well - let’s just say that I’m a professional student and a pro at taking notes! I know, that was a redundant statement.

@SubRosa: Well, there has to come a time when Julian says no! I just haven’t figured out when just yet. We’ll see!

@Acadian: Julian doesn’t quite see herself as a vampire hunter. She’ll meet Count Skingrad at some point in the future, notice certain things about him, and shrug her shoulders. But she seems unable to let people who maliciously harm innocent folks get off without handing them some kind of serious hurt. We saw that with gro-Dragol, and we will see it with others as well.

@D.Foxy: Thou dost protest too much!

Julian fights the temptation to get sidetracked again, but is unable to resist investigating the latest plea for help.

****************
Chapter 14.7 Investigating Roland Jenseric

I headed behind Seridur’s house to look at the garden he spoke of. Tall walls of several houses backed onto it, making it more of an overgrown alley than a real garden. I couldn’t see any sign of a murder. Limping through the riot of vegetation, I encountered one of the Watchmen making his rounds.

“Excuse me, sir,” I spoke when he met my gaze in passing. He paused and looked at me up and down.

“What can I do for you, Hero of Kvatch?” he responded, his grey eyes glinting in the bright sunlight. I shook my head at his greeting.

“Please, call me Julian, sir,” I said, putting a slight pleading note in my voice. I was getting pretty tired of this hero stuff. “I’m no hero, just an old, broken-down soldier looking for a new reason to live.”

Beneath his steel helm, the Watchman’s teeth gleamed in a grin. “I hear you, Julian,” he answered, his voice warming. “Please, how may I help you?”

“Do you know anything about a young woman murdered here,” I waved behind me, “in this garden?”

He frowned. “Aye, happened last week,” he said. His eyes flickered. “An Altmer named Seridur claimed he saw a fellow resident - ah - Roland Jenseric, attack the young lady. Killed her.”

“Any wounds on her body?” I asked.

His lips tightened. “I’m not at liberty to say,” he said grimly. That’s answer enough for me. I nodded in understanding.

“Have you seen this Jenseric since then?”

The Watchman shook his head. “No, no one’s seen him. The Watch Captain wants him for questioning.”

“It’s terrible, isn’t it?” I asked him. “Crime seems to be everywhere, in spite of our best efforts to contain it. And I just bought a house myself.”

“Really?” the Watchman asked. “Where?”

“Down in the Waterfront,” I answered. “I didn’t know there was a pirate ship, and pickpockets living there, but it was cheap!”

He smiled crookedly at me. “That’s why it’s cheap,” he answered. “Here in the Temple District you can find some of the more expensive houses.” His eyes roamed over the surrounding buildings before coming back to rest on mine. “Of course, the ones in Talos Plaza are even more so.”

“Oh, I doubt I’d ever live there,” I commented. “Thank you for your help, sir, if I may have your name?”

“Claudio Forenze,” the grey eyes crinkled at me. “And you’re welcome, Julian.” He nodded at me before walking away, continuing his rounds. I walked up to the main avenue running through the District, and turned back to follow along the fronts of the houses there. A Khajiit stepped out of one of the houses as I drew near, and turned to greet me.

“Hello, Julian,” he purred. “I’m J’mhad. I’ve hearrd so much about you frrom Jeelius.”

“Ah,” I responded. “You are a friend of his, then?”

He nodded humbly. “Jeelius is a kind soul,” his voice rumbled softly. “We werre so afrraid for him when he disappearred. How grreat was ourr rrejoicing when he rreturrned!”

I smiled. “I’m glad to have him return safely to you.” I looked up and down the avenue. “I’m looking for Roland Jenseric’s house, do you know where it is?”

“Ah, rright next doorr to mine!” J’mhad indicated the house next door, nearest the Temple. He went to the door and knocked on it before I could stop him. “But he’s not home, it seems,” he said sadly.

“How well do you know him?” I asked J’mhad.

“Not well,” he answered. “J’mhad sees him seldom. He’s a quiet one, Jenserric, but polite enough the few times J’mhad has met him.”

“Caused you no trouble?” I reached to stop J’mhad from trying the door handle. To my relief, it turned out to be locked. I wasn’t sure I was ready to venture into that house just yet.

“Nay, not at all,” J’mhad answered. “J’mhad is sorrry he is not home forr yourr sake,” he turned to me. “J’mhad will watch forr him, tell him you’rre looking forr him, no?”

“No, no,” I hastily spoke, shaking my head. “No, if you see him, I’d rather you told me.”

“Ah, yes,” J’mhad nodded furiously. “J’mhad will do so!”

“Thanks, J’mhad,” I stifled a sigh of relief. “Now I must go home. I’ll see you around, J’mhad.”

“Good day, Julian!” J’mhad waved at me and strode off for the Temple. I limped behind him, more slowly, my thoughts running one over the other.

**********************
Several hours later, I returned to the Temple District. I had spent the afternoon in my humble house studying the alchemy tomes I had collected. Now, in the dark hour between sunset and moonrise, I found myself standing across the street from Roland Jenseric’s home again, studying the building thoughtfully. Though I had put the meeting with Seridur out of my mind earlier, the sense that something was wrong still bothered me.

The sun had set while I was in the Waterfront, and the glow of the rising double moons brightened the eastern sky. Studying the dark windows of Jenseric’s house, I realized they were uncovered. A memory of tapestried embrasures in a soot-filled house surfaced in my mind as I regarded the east facade.

Booted footsteps drew my attention from the house across the avenue. “Good evening, ma’am,” a familiar voice greeted me. I looked down to see the Legion Watchman standing a meter or so away.

“Forenze?” I dug up his name from memory, matched it to his grey eyes. He smiled, apparently pleased that I had remembered him.

“Aye,” he admitted, turning his helmed head to look at the houses across the way. “Still interested in that murder, ma’am?”

“Hmm,” I responded noncommittally. “I’ve been asked to look for this Roland Jenseric. Has anyone seen any sign of him yet?”

“Nay,” Forenze shook his head. “He’s not been back since then.” He turned and looked at me, his eyes turning silver in the moonlight now peeking over the rooftops behind me. “Who asked you to look for him?”

“The Altmer named Seridur,” I answered. “He tells me he saw Jenseric kill the lady.” I caught the thinning of Forenze’s lips beneath his steel helm. “Problem is,” I continued, “Seridur doesn’t sit right with me. I wish I could put my finger on it -”

“Anything to do with him being a snooty Altmer?” Forenze asked neutrally. It was my turn to shake my head.

“I’ve met plenty of Altmer that I wouldn’t call snooty,” I answered. “Proud, maybe, but not necessarily snooty. No, that’s not it.” I shrugged. “It’s more an individual thing, not a racial thing.” I looked up at Jenseric’s house again. “I find it hard to accept Seridur’s claim that Jenseric is a vampire.”

Forenze’s sudden stillness drew my attention back to him. He faced me now, his posture tense, his face unreadable in the shadows of his helmet. The steel breastplate lifted slowly as he inhaled deeply. “I never saw you lingering outside Jenseric’s house,” he said cryptically. “Ma’am.” He turned and walked away, down the street, without another word.

Huh? Does Forenze not believe Jenseric is a vampire? I watched Forenze’s departing back dwindle down the curving avenue, and realized that he was the only Watchman patrolling this part of the District. Ah, time to pick the lock. He’s not going to report me, because he wants me to find the truth as badly as I do.

After I checked for people on the empty avenue in both directions, I moved across the pavement to the door. With a final glance around, I drew out a couple of lockpicks and tickled the lock into submission. Entering the house, I closed the door softly behind me before assessing my surroundings. The ground floor was empty of life. Moonlight, by now peeking over the high city walls, cascaded in through the uncovered windows at the front of the open main floor, casting enough light for my night vision to see by.

I moved to the stairs and ascended them softly, placing each foot carefully on the next stone step before putting my weight down. Upstairs, the bedroom was as well lit by moonlight as the main floor. The house was cool, quiet. The bed had not been slept in, I noticed. I also saw the open drawers tucked between the tall windows. A quick search revealed no clues, only that clothes had been removed.

He left in a hurry. Why? Back on the main floor, I found a book on the table. A folded parchment fluttered to the floor when I picked up the book. After I replaced the volume back on the table, I plucked the parchment off the floor and moved to one of the windows, where the moonlight was strongest. I puzzled out the feminine handwriting:

My dearest Roland,

I cannot wait for you to return from Bravil. My heart swells with joy as I know we will once again soon be together. I yearn for you every night that I look beside me in my bed, and you are not there. How I wish I could have taken the journey with you, but I understand that these are dangerous times, and I would only slow you down. When you return, perhaps we should get away from the chaos of the Imperial City. Let's go back to that cabin in the woods. The one where you said we would always be safe from the world. The one where you took me in your arms and sang songs of moonlight and happiness. The one where you said "I love you."

Hurry, my love,

Relfina

Thoughtfully I returned the parchment to its resting place on top of the book. He’s at his cabin, I bet. Where is it?

A more thorough search of the home, including the basement, revealed little further information. However, in a desk on the main floor, I found a deed to property described as being three kilometers north of the Blue Road, in the forest that blanketed the foothills of the Jeralls.

That overgrown gate on the north side of the road, I mused to myself, dredging up the memory of my ride to Cheydinhal, back when I was on the trail of the Mythic Dawn. I wonder if that leads to Jenseric’s cabin? Making my decision, I put everything back the way I had found it, then headed to the door. I would check that path, once I delivered Sheogorath’s Staff to Martin.

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Sep 1 2010, 02:16 PM