The Talendor Chronicles, Part One Options

[TheOtherRick]

AUTHORS NOTE AND DISCLAIMER

This is my first attempt at fan fiction. I am not a writer, by profession or hobby. At least it wasn't a hobby until now. We'll see where that goes. So since I am not a writer, grammatical and spelling errors may slip past the spell-check from time to time. Please feel free to point them out so that I may make the proper edits.

I have read very little fan fiction, which is to say that I have not finished reading any story that I started reading...yet. But starting to read a few has put a flow in my creative juices. (Go Buffy!) Any similarity to any other fan fiction posted in this or any other forum is purely coincidental, with one exception. I have posted this story on another site. I am posting it here because I would like feedback, and I am not getting any at the other site. The readers here seem to post more feedback than readers at the other site. I'm not trying to be a glory hound, and I encourage constructive criticism.

The story is a gameplay narrative. It starts in the 3rd person for the prologue only, the rest will be in 1st person. It is not a walk-through of the Main Quest. However, as it is a gameplay narrative, so readers will have to plod through the tutorial section much as I had to plod through while writing it. The tutorial is essential for character development, as you will see. The posts will be relatively short so that the reader will not have to wade through miles of text per post. To keep them short, I am going to borrow Acadian's chapter numbering system (1.1, 1.2, etc.) so I don't end up with three digit chapter numbers.

I hope you will enjoy...The Talendor Chronicles

Post Script - I have already screwed up. Instead of putting "Authors Note and Disclaimer" in the subject line, it should read "Part One". Is there a way to change that?

Post Script #2 - The first four installments after the Prologue are way too long. This was a rookie mistake and has been rectified Beginning with Chapter 3. I apologize for the long posts, but I promise you'll be glad you slogged through them.

This post has been edited by TheOtherRick: Feb 5 2011, 02:00 AM

[TheOtherRick]

Some gratitude first...

@ mALX - Thanks for all of your compliments to date, and for starting to show me the brake pedal. I was so focused on getting it moved over that I hadn't considered that point.

@ Acadian - I haven't read for enough into Buffy's saga to know about the horse yet. If I had, he may have said, "...and she looked like me!" A sincere thanks to you for seeing to it that I found the brake pedal that mALX had pointed out, along with your advice. That was exactly what I wasn't getting at the "other" forum.

@ Jackie - Thanks for the cudos. Have no fear, the brakes are on now. I'm glad you got a kick out of, "Was my name Bosmer?" Truth be told, I chuckled myself when I typed it. I'm finding that's part of what makes this fun. WARNING! My sense of humor can be warped...just sayin'.

@ All - All posts will be under 2000 words and will have a minimum of 48 hours between them. Thanks again gang!

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Having arrived in Chorrol...

Chapter 3.1 – In Chorrol - New Experiences

Judging by the sun, the raucous coach ride from Imperial City had taken a couple of hours or so. Its position in the sky proclaimed early afternoon now. Adjusting my quiver and satchel, I started toward the city gate. The surrounding countryside was that of forested hills with deciduous and evergreen trees alike, the evergreens being in the minority. Songbirds chirped and whistled in the trees. A butterfly fluttered to and fro on the breeze in front of me, which brought a slight grin to my lips. The sun was warm, even if the air was not. Several of the deciduous trees had leaves that were beginning to change color. Something in my heart sang at the sight of woodlands.

I reached the gate to Chorrol. Painted on the gate was a large white tree within a round field of blue. A guard standing post at the gate had the same emblem emblazoned on his chainmail cuirass and his shield. He never took his eyes off of me and nodded in my direction as I passed through the gate. Once inside, I paused and took in the stark difference between this city and the one I had come from. The fine marble and granite masonry and crowded row houses of Imperial City were not present here. Instead, wood framed buildings with fieldstone or stucco masonry gave the town a rustic look. A large statue of a woman cradling a fallen soldier, surrounded by a low masonry wall, was the focal point of the town center. I moved closer to the statue. The artistry was awe inspiring. The patience that must have been required to carve the long thin stone sword, I can’t imagine. The artist's attention to detail was exquisite, although the finer details had weathered away.

Stop gawking at art and find Jauffre…

I moved on, walking toward a building with a sign on it. “The Oak & Crosier” it said. I stepped inside. I had seen cat-like people in Imperial City, but I hadn’t needed to speak directly with any of them. That streak of fortune was about to end because the proprietor of this inn was a female of that feline race. I considered turning around and leaving, and then decided that I might as well get acclimated to speaking with feline humanoids since there seemed to be so many. Still, I approached the bar uneasily.

“Welcome to the Oak and Crosier. This one is Talasma, your hostess. Our rooms and food are at your disposal,” she said with an air of formality.

She was about a head taller than me with a shapely figure. Her eyes were bright green. Her skin, or what I could see of it, was covered with very fine and short fur. Had I touched it, it might have been just slightly fuzzier than a peach. Several large earrings with gold colored baubles hung from both ears. The ears were set high on her head, just like a cat’s ears, poking through long blond hair that fell to her shoulders. Her entire face looked just like a cat’s. Not like a mouser that you might find sitting on top of a cupboard, but more like a lion or some other large cat. From the neck down, she looked basically human, except for the fuzzy skin, the feline look of her hands, and the tail that swished back and forth from time to time behind her blue velvet skirt.

“Hello. How much for a room, assuming you have one available?” I asked.

“I do have one and it is ten Septims for the night.”

“That’ll be fine,” I said and I slid ten gold coins across the bar.

“Very well sir. It is upstairs, the first room on your left,” she said, pointing to the stairs.

“Do you have a menu?”

“We do. Meals are available during business hours. Here you are,” she said, passing me a sheet of folded parchment.

I read the menu. Not as large a selection as The Merchant’s Inn. I selected some ham, cheese, bread, and a bottle of beer, then handed the menu back to Talasma. She took it and walked away, her tail swishing back and forth.

How does she avoid breaking glasses and bottles with that thing?

While I waited, I looked around the common room at the inn. There were wooden tables with benches along the walls in the main area. On the far wall was a large fireplace with a fire banked in it. The heat it produced was enough to be felt where I was sitting, but not overpowering.

Talasma returned with my food and wine. “Enjoy,” she said, and started to turn away.

“Wait…please. Forgive me, and I hope this is not rude, but I’m not from these parts. Could you tell me…um…what…are you?”

Talasma started laughing. I guess it was laughing. A kind of chuckle with purring mixed in.

“No offense was taken, Bosmer. Not many Khajiit in Valenwood, eh? Yes. This one is Khajiit.”

“Kajit,” I said, and she quickly corrected my pronunciation. She repeated it slowly and putting the inflection on the correct syllable.

“Kaah-ZHEET.” she said. I repeated the word again and this time it met with her approval.

“This one would be happy to tell you about our proud heritage, but that would take more time than this one has right now, and perhaps more time than you could spare. If you come back when this one is not so busy, then you can learn about Khajiit,” she told me.

“And the people that look like reptiles…what are they?” I inquired further.

She looked at me with what I can only assume was puzzlement.

“You really have been isolated, have you not, Bosmer?” she stated more than asked, “The reptilian ones are called Argonian. This one will not pretend to be able to tell you much more than that. Is there anything else?”

“No. You’ve been a great help. Thank you. What do I owe you for the food?”

“The first food comes with the room,” she replied and walked away.

I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I started eating, and in no time at all, my plate was clean. I leaned back and stretched on my stool, then stood and finished the last of my beer. I tossed a gratuity on the bar and thanked Talasma again.

“Thank you as well, Bosmer. This one is at your service should you require anything else.” she said. I couldn’t tell if she was smiling, but she sure was polite.

“Actually, there is one other thing. Do you know a man named Jauffre?”

“I cannot say that I do, but I have only been up from Leyawiin a short while now. I am sure if you ask around town, someone will know of this ‘Jauffre’, if he is indeed from these parts.”

“Okay. Thank you yet again,” I said. With that, I went back outside. Across the lane was another business establishment. Perhaps someone there would know where to find Jauffre. As I was crossing the lane, two large animals came running around the corner and plowed headlong into my side, sending me tumbling to the pavers. I jumped up and wheeled instantly on my attackers, drawing my sword.

There are wolves inside the town walls?

“NOOOOO! STOP!” yelled a female voice from behind me, “Bailey! Kezune! Come HERE!” the voice said again.

My attackers tucked their tails between their legs and walked toward me whimpering. I could see now that these were not wolves, but rather large dogs. I turned to see who had yelled. A pleasant looking, if not somewhat harried woman was walking toward me. She wore a blue and green dress. Fair skinned, with her dark hair up in a bun atop her head.

“I am so sorry sir,” she said, and then turned again toward the dogs, “Bailey and Kezune, get over here NOW!” she scolded.

She looked back at me and said, “They really are good dogs. They meant you no harm. Please forgive us,” the last part she said while looking at my drawn sword.

I glanced down at my sword, and then placed it back in its scabbard.

“You really should have those animals on a tether miss. I recently had a run in---”

“Really sir, they meant no harm. It was purely an accident,” she said.

“Well, that doesn’t change the fact that you would be mourning over dead pets had you not stopped me when you did.” I replied, with a little more force than I had intended. My heart was beginning to settle back to a normal beat.

“Well really! I told you it was an accident! Bailey! Kezune! Come. Let us leave this animal hater be!”

With that the woman stomped away up the lane. I just stared after her for a moment. She walked away with her nose in the air while Bailey and Kezune ran circles around her legs. Shaking my head with a sigh, I finished crossing the lane and entered Northern Goods & Trade.

At first I thought I had entered through the wrong door. There was no counter and no proprietor. There were crates and barrels, some paintings leaning against the wall. I heard some shuffling up the stairs to my left. I walked to the base of the stairs and looked up. My breath caught short as I saw a large lizard wearing a burgundy and black dress with gold embroidery.

Well…it is a day of firsts…you’ve talked to a cat, let’s go talk to a lizard…

I walked up the stairs and she started speaking before I reached the top.

“I have only the finest goods to buy and barter at Northern Goods and Trades. I’m Seed-Neeus, the proprietor. How can I help you?” she said in a low pitched, gravelly voice. Her skin was scaly, green on her head and fading into brown on her neck and chest. A tail, thick at its base and tapering to a point, trailed out from behind her dress. Small gold rings pierced her…ears?

“I am looking for a man named Jauffre. Have you heard of him?” I asked.

I could not discern her expression as she paused a moment. There was only the slightest change in the demeanor of her red, slit-pupil eyes.

“An old cleric with that name comes in now and then. Lives southeast of town on the Black Road, at Weynon Priory.” she replied.

“Thank you very much Miss…um…Madam…um…Thanks,” I fumbled.

I headed back down the stairs and out of the store. Talking to reptiles was disquieting and going to take some getting used to. At least now I know where to find Jauffre.