Haa-Rei the Marsh Ranger Options

[hazmick]

Chapter 1.0

I ran from the Merchants Inn as fast as I could. Holding tight to the precious bounty I had wrapped in cloth, ignoring the angry shouts behind me. I dipped into an empty side street and paused to look around before examining my prize, a large loaf of bread covered in melted cheese. Deeh would not believe that I had stolen some food without his help, I couldn't wait to get back to Leyawiin and tell him.

The bread was warm out of the oven and tasted delicious as I hungrily crammed it into my mouth. Before I could finish, I heard a rattle of armour and a wall of iron in the shape of a legionnaire crashed down the alley towards me. My hand found the hilt of my dagger but I decided against fighting this particular soldier. If only I had a bow.

“Stop right there pondscum!” his voice was like thunder and echoed about the grubby walls surrounding me. The only exit was behind me. I made a run for it but the soldier was too fast and grabbed my arm in a bone breaking grip.

“I assume you don’t have 5 septims?” This time his voice was lower but still sounded loud in the cramped alleyway.

I quickly swallowed the bread in my mouth, “I…no,” my mouth was dry and my voice croaked, if I was a man or mer my face would be bright red with embarrassment and fear.

“Come with me,” The soldier secured the irons tightly on my thin wrists, cutting off the circulation. Minutes later we arrived at the imperial prison, it’s walls were darker than those of the other city districts and corpses in various states of decay hung from atop it’s large spire.

Once inside I was lead down a short tunnel, light seemed to fear this place as it grew darker and darker the deeper we descended. One of the rusty cell doors was open, I assumed this was mine.

Sure enough on reaching the cell, an iron clad hand grabbed me by the neck and pulled me closer to the soldier.

“ I hope you rot, criminal scum,” His voice was a low growl with an edge of disgust which most people had when talking to me and the other beggars. The soldier threw me into the cell, my head colliding with something hard. Everything went dark.

This post has been edited by hazmick: Aug 17 2010, 03:56 PM

[hazmick]

@Haute: I'm glad you like it, good to know you're reading this.

@Acadian: Thanks, I'm sick of annoying male Bosmer so I decided to take a stand. Female Bosmer aren't as weird.

@mALX: Thanks mALX!

@Trey: thankyou very much, I'm glad you are enjoying it.

@Rosa: I'm glad you and the other expert writers picked up on the Argonian-ness that I'm trying to show, the game makes them more human than lizard si I'll do the reverse.

@ALL: There may not be another update for a while, I'm starting college next week so I'm gonna be a tad busy.


Chapter 2.0


“Greetings, are you here to see Jauffre?” The old Breton was dressed in black robes and sat next to the door of the Priory house when I arrived. The inside of the Priory was richly decorated with tapestries and carpets. A fireplace warmed the room and food was spread out on a round wooden table.

“Yes, I…” Should I tell him about the amulet, or the Emperor? He could be a spy. Monks don’t wear black robes, do they?

“Another mysterious stranger,” He winked at me, “If you would take a seat, Jauffre will see you shortly.” He turned and walked up the sturdy wooden stairs. I found a comfortable chair next to the fire and sat down.

My gaze drifted to the walls. Rich tapestries depicted great battles and heroes. Several weapons adorned the hearth. There’s more to these monks than meets the eye.

It was an hour or more before the black-robed monk entered the room, he motioned for me to follow him. I paused at the top of the wooden stairs. The room to my left contained several beds, four desks were arranged against the right wall. Monks dressed in white and brown robes sat around reading or scribbling on parchment. One monk sat by the window, staring out over the farmland towards the great forest.

I turned and hurried after my guide. We walked past the kitchen where the smell of fresh bread and succulent lamb drifted throughout the building. I was escorted past another bedroom full of monks, smaller than the other, on our way down a large hallway. The black robed Breton smiled and opened a large wooden door to our left, he then turned and strolled down the hall.

I entered the room to find another monk, in a brown robe, reading at a large wooden desk. His face was wrinkled and framed by thinning grey hair. I cleared my throat to get his attention. He placed his book on the large shelf to his left and turned to me. The room was like an office with lots of books and pieces of parchment. I found it secretly fascinating-if Amusei knew I liked to read I would never hear the end of it.

“I’m brother Jauffre, what do you want?” he asked sharply.

“The Emperor sent me to find you, he told me to give you this,” I warily took the large red amulet out from my ragged cuirass. The monk’s eyes widened quite dramatically.

“Who are you? What do you know about the Emperor’s death?” He demanded.

“I was there when he…” My heart was in my throat, I struggled to continue. “…I was there when he was murdered, he gave me the amulet and told me to tell you to find his son,” I breathed deeply to calm my self, not the best start.

Jauffre gave me a quizzical look but continued in a calm voice, “I believe you, don’t worry. I will dispatch some Blades at once for Kvatch for that is where the Emperor’s son is living. You have done well for yourself, please take this.” He dropped a large purse into my open hand.

“Blades?” I stuttered, although my eyes were glued to the glorious silk pouch in my hand.

“The Emperor's personal guard and agents of the Empire, I am their Grandmaster. This chapter house is home to the Order of Talos, it is where retired Blades come to live in peace and to worship Talos.” He smiled and adjusted his robe, revealing a gleaming sword-the Emperor’s bodyguards in the prison had the same weapons. “Prior Marborel will see you out, good day.” He smiled again.

I turned around to find the black-robed Breton monk standing in the doorway. Presumably this was Prior Marborel. He led me back through the priory house to the front door where he waved goodbye as I walked back to Chorrol. I tried to register what had just happened in my head. Monks. Books. Blades. Money. Kvatch.

I examined the purse Jauffre had given me. There were nearly one hundred septims! Usually I was lucky to have one or two coins in a week. My stomach growled to tell me that I was hungry and my feet ached to tell me I was rather tired. I decided to go and find Gaeleg at the mages guild, they would have food. Then I needed somewhere to sleep.

The mages guild hall was at the north end of town. Like all the other buildings in Chorrol, it was made from sturdy wood from the local area. A mighty oak tree, the symbol of the town, sat in the centre of the northern courtyard, guild halls and expensive houses surrounded it. People dressed in mages robes and armour milled around chatting to each other. I recognised one of the mages.

Gaeleg was in deep conversation with an Argonian; both were dressed in blue robes. The Bosmer smiled and waved me over. He introduced me to the Argonian whose name was Teekeeus; he was the head of the Chorrol chapter. The important thing was that Teekeeus allowed me to join them for lunch in the guild hall.

After having lunch with Gaeleg and Teekeeus I went to visit the chapel. The healer managed to fix my shoulder but said I would have to rest it for a week or so which was fine by me. My armour was still torn and now close to disintegration, I needed to visit the smithy.

Rasheda gasped when she saw my armour and gave me a lecture on how to keep it in good condition, along with a strange mixture that smelled like honey. It turns out that getting hit by the enemy is something most people avoid.

“This leather is almost completely destroyed,” The Redguard shook her head “I can’t fix it but I can give you a new set.”

I paid her for the new armour, it was supple and light with a strange emblem of a boat stitched onto the front. The leather helmet was swapped for a lightweight leather hood. I also purchased a new steel longsword with the money I got for selling the battered steel shortsword I had been using. The smith also recommended visiting ‘The Archer’s Paradox’ in Bravil; she gave me a note for the owner.

“Give this to Daenlin, he’ll understand.” The Redguard smiled at me as I left her shop. The parchment in my hand had one word written on it. Sap.

I didn’t really understand. Sap from a tree? Maybe it was a Redguard thing, or a Bosmer thing.

It was dark by the time I left the smithy. I decided against joining a guild and rented a room at ‘The Oak and Crosier’.

A friendly looking Khajiit greeted me as I approached the bar. She introduced herself as Talasma and sold me a room for the night. I also ordered the dish of the day as I took a seat by the fire.

“Here you go, sir,” The Khajiit was carrying a large bread roll on a plate. She set it down and removed the top, revealing a thick broth. “Chicken broth in a bread bowl, now what will you have to drink?” She smiled and took out a piece of parchment and a quill.

“"Just water please,"” I wasn't too keen on wine and this place looked too fancy to serve tea.

The Khajiit nodded and withdrew back to the bar; her long blue dress flowed behind her like a spring waterfall. I shook my head at the thought and focused on the flames in the hearth, silently devouring the logs and coal. It wasn’t long before Talasma returned with a jug of water and a tall silver glass. After paying the reasonable sum of eight septims I greedily tucked in to my meal. Sophistication was never one of my strong points but I heard Talasma chuckle from behind the bar, I took that as a sign that she didn’t mind and carried on. The broth was thick and creamy with small chunks of chicken and vegetable. The clear water sated my thirst after the meal.

On my way upstairs I thanked Talasma again for the meal. I noticed a small sign above the hall to the bedroom area, it read ‘To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep’. I believed this to be good advice and continued down a short hallway to room number four. The room itself was small, but comfortably so. A thick red carpet covered the wooden floor, heat rising into the room from the bar area below. I took a long bath before going to bed. It occurred to me that I had only ever slept on a bedroll. The warm, crisp sheets on the bed enveloped my body, it was a strange feeling. As I began to relax my mind whirled at the recent events and I eventually slid into the strange world of my dreams.

This post has been edited by hazmick: Jul 25 2011, 08:07 PM