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]

A few thanks are in order...

@ Acadian - Great catch on the Talasma dialogue. It's pointing out those little things that are going to help improve my writing. Many thanks!

@ mALX - Thanks and I am glad you're enjoying it. As I was playing the game, Rena and her dogs really did come around the corner, and the idea was born.

@ Grits - Welcome to the story and thank you very much for the compliment.

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Chapter 3.2 – In Chorrol – Meeting Jauffre

The Black Road. Where had I heard that before? Oh yes…Tappius Velvus had said it, when I hired the coach. He said, “The Black road it is then…” So we must have traveled the Black Road to get here, and that must have been Weynon Priory that I saw as the coach began to slow.

I set off towards the town gate. The afternoon sun allowed for perhaps two or three hours of daylight. I hoped it would be a short walk. I did not want to be outside the town walls after dark. During the walk, I noticed that this area appeared to be foothills, building to a mountain range that I could see in the distance to the north. Long grasses and meadow weeds swayed in the breeze. I felt that same quickening of my pulse that I had felt on my arrival. Whether it was the woodlands or nerves, I wasn’t sure.

Before I knew it, Weynon Priory appeared as I rounded a gentle bend in the road. At a fork in the road, a sign proclaimed that Imperial City was to the right and someplace called Bruma was toward the left. The Bruma road pressed on northward through the priory grounds, passing under an enclosed loft on the right side of the house. I walked up to the manor door and knocked. No one answered and I knocked again as I slowly opened the door.

“Hello?” I said as I entered. I had barely closed the door when a man in a long brown robe walked toward me. His hair was cut tonsure style, a bushy ring surrounding a bald pate.

“Yes? May I help you?” he said.

“I am looking for Jauffre.”

“He is upstairs. Go ahead,” the man replied, pointing to the stairs and returning to a candlelit table where he had been reading.

I went up the stairs, nervous as a rabbit in a lion’s den. I had no clue what was going to happen when I spoke to Jauffre. I turned right at the top of the stairs and entered what appeared to be a study or office. A balding man with short grey hair sat behind a desk at the far end of the room. He was clad in the same type of brown robe that the other man wore. I walked toward him. This was not what I had expected to find. Baurus had told me that Jauffre was the “grandmaster” of his order. I thought surely that he would be a muscular, battle-hardened warrior. The man who sat before me looked to be anything but a warrior. He didn’t even look up until I had reached the desk.

“I’m Brother Jauffre. What do you want?” he said in a very direct manner.

“The Emperor sent me to find you,” I replied.

“Emperor Uriel? Do you know something about his death?”

“Yes. I was there when he died.”

I had Jauffre’s full attention now. He swept aside the papers he had been reading. I quickly opened my satchel. Hot danger flashed in Jauffre’s eyes and he tensed visibly, as if preparing to defend himself. I slowed my movements as I reached in and pulled out the Amulet of Kings. His eyes widened, staring at the amulet for a moment, then glaring back at me.

“You’d better explain yourself. Now!” he said. His tone clearly stated that he would brook no delay.

I explained the events that transpired in the underground beneath Imperial City, leaving out only the facts surrounding my illegal parole and memory loss. He sat patiently though the entire narrative, showing no change in emotion, even as I eased the amulet onto his desk. Only when I had mentioned the Emperor’s last words, “…close shut the jaws of Oblivion”, did his expression change at all. Not to one of alarm or surprise, but more like deep seated concern. He sat quiet for a few moments, staring at the amulet. Then he looked at me again and spoke.

“As unlikely as your story sounds, I believe you,” he said, “Only the strange destiny of Uriel Septim could have brought you to me carrying the Amulet of Kings.”

Relief flooded through me as if a dam had burst. Jauffre was staring at the amulet again. He reached out and slid it closer to him.

I did it! I have rid myself of that amulet and lived.

"Close shut the jaws of Oblivion,” he said, repeating the Emperor’s last words as he gazed at the red stone. “The Emperor seemed to perceive some threat from the demonic world of Oblivion.”

He went on for a bit about a prince of destruction and powerful barriers. He seemed to be talking more to himself than to me. I just stared dumbly and kept quiet. Then he looked directly at me. I hoped he was about to tell me I could be on my way.

“When an Emperor is crowned,” he continued, “he uses this Amulet to light the Dragonfires at the Temple of the One. With the Emperor dead and no new heir crowned, the Dragonfires in the Temple will be dark, for the first time in centuries. It may be that the Dragonfires protected us from a threat that only the Emperor was aware of.”

I stood there a moment, lost in everything the man had just said. I knew as much about what he was talking about as I did my own name at that moment. So far, thankfully, he hadn’t asked what that was. I started to ask for his leave, and then I remembered one other thing I was supposed to tell Jauffre. I owed Uriel Septim that much. If it wasn’t for the Emperor, I would still be in that foul cell.

“The Emperor said there is another heir,” I told him.

Jauffre leaned back in his chair and said, "I am one of the few who know of his existence. Uriel told me to deliver the boy somewhere safe when he was still just a baby. He never told me anything else about the baby, but I knew it was his son. From time to time he would ask about the child's progress. Now, it seems that this presumably illegitimate son is the heir to the Septim Throne, if he yet lives."

Then he leaned forward, looking me dead in the eyes, "His name is Martin. He serves Akatosh in the Chapel in the city of Kvatch, south of here. You must go to Kvatch and find him at once.”

Do what?

“If the enemy is aware of his existence, as seems likely, he is in terrible danger. Although my resources here are limited, I will help in any way I can," he said as he stood.

Find Martin?

Jauffre walked out from behind his desk to a chest next to the wall. He pulled a key from his robe and unlocked it, saying, “Here, help yourself to whatever you may need,” and then returned to his chair.

My head was reeling.

Go to Kvatch? The enemy? Terrible danger?

I was speechless.

You’d better do something... Move... Speak… SOMETHING!

I walked over to the chest and opened it, more to stall for time than anything else. There was an array of weapons, armor, and potions in the chest.

THINK! What are you going to do?

A quiver of steel arrows and a steel bow caught my eye. They were obviously of a higher quality than the bow and arrows that I was carrying. Still trying to figure out my next move, I swapped the bow and quiver for my own.

I just traveled in the coach of bouncing bruises to get OUT of danger, not head right back into it! THINK you knot-head!

Looking at the bottles of potion, I remembered how much money I had made selling them in Imperial City. I grabbed every bottle in the chest, not bothering to read the labels. None of the armor looked any better than what I already had. I rummaged through the chest in an attempt to look like I wasn’t finished.

You can’t stand here forever… THINK! Run... Just RUN!

I inhaled deeply as I slowly closed the chest. I stood up straight and adjusted my new quiver and bow. Then without another word, I bolted for the stairs. I took the stairs three at a time until I was down them, and then I was out the door before I heard a word from Jauffre or his assistant. The door slammed loudly behind me. A stable hand stopped when he heard it and I almost knocked him over. I ran as fast as my short legs would carry me, back up the road toward Chorrol. I glanced back only once to check for pursuit and saw none. I didn’t slow down until I reached the south gate. Once inside the walls, I continued my dash straight for the inn. Bursting through the door drew a sudden growl from Talasma. I didn’t hesitate. I sprinted up the stairs to my room, entered, closed the door and locked it. I stood there panting for a minute, listening at the door for sounds of anyone coming up the stairs. I heard nothing. Out of breath, I sat on the bed. I intended to eat from my satchel and not to leave the room for the rest of the night. I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes.

I made the smart decision. Yes. I can’t go looking for heirs. I still don’t even know who I am! I owed the slain Emperor a debt, but a stranger in a strange land could only help a bandit’s coin purse, or an undertaker. Yes. I did make the right decision. I have no intention of dying to help a dead Emperor. Yes. It was the smart thing to do…