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]

First, to the authors of Buffy the Bowgirl, A New Sun Rises, Jerric's Story, and Old Habits Die Hard...I have been reading these amazing works, but I am refraining from posting until I have caught up with the posts. That will be some time from now for 3 of the 4 because I joined so late. But cudos to you all for your great writing!

@ h.e.rider - Welcome and thanks! No need for apologies. The crazed child-killer is indeed going to ease the moral implications for Talendor.

@ grits - Talendor's impulsive interuptions are fun for me because I deal with subordinates at work that act the same way!

@ Acadian - Talendor thanks Buffy for the thumbs up on preemptive strikes. We are also glad that you two have found a place in your heart for him.

@ mALX - As far as we know, Honditar is telling the truth. Yes, Talendor is short, but he feels that the world is big rather than he is small.

@ All - As always, thanks for the compliments and support. And thanks also for giving me a red envelope to open!

On to the next installment...

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Chapter 7 – Return to the Mine

All of the formalities regarding today’s incident were completed. I was not going to be brought up on any charges because it was an obvious case of self-defense. The guard who had come to pass on that information had even thanked me! I was eager to return to the mine. The flame of anger that the child-killer had ignited was becoming a furnace of vengeance that needed to be vented. I waited for a few minutes after the guard had gone, then left the inn. Once again I headed toward the town gates. I tried not to look too anxious or hurried, but the morning was closer to midday now, rather than dawn. I restrained myself to a brisk walk, squelching the urge to jog.

When I finished retracing my steps to the mine entrance, I paused at the door again. I took a deep breath and focused. Slowly this time, I opened the door and crept in, very careful not to alert any denizens of the mine. The arrow that had come inches from ending my stay in this land was still stuck in the door. My pulse was rapid, but my breathing was calm, and my anger had gelled into palpable purpose. I waited a few moments, allowing my eyes to adjust to the darker surroundings. I was in a short tunnel that led to a room with a small fire burning in its center. Creeping as quietly as I could, I surveyed the room. There was a chest set to one side. It was locked, so I fished out a lock pick and went to work on it. I heard the annoying snap of the pick’s tooth breaking, and dug out another. After one more broken pick, it opened on the third try. There were six gold coins lying in the bottom of the chest, as if they had been left behind by accident.

I sure hope this isn’t Honditar’s idea of ‘more to be had’. This won’t even buy a meal…
Stay focused knot-head!

I proceeded to a closed door opposite of where I had entered the room. I drew out my bow and pulled an arrow from my quiver. I nocked the arrow, putting minimal pressure against the bowstring, and then I pushed the door gently and it swung open. As I did, a shape walked into view. I raised my bow, drew the arrow back, aimed and released. With a grunt, the shape was knocked backward and went down, never knowing what hit it. I retreated a few steps, setting another arrow and listening for any noise at all. Satisfied with the silence, I went through the door. I stepped on something that made a metallic *clank*, and saw movement above and ahead of me. I dodged to the side as quickly as I could, but excruciating pain raced through my shoulder. The force of whatever had hit me spun me around violently, and stars flashed as my head met with the hard rock wall. A million stars became darkness…

* * *

I had no idea how much time had passed when I opened my eyes. My ears were still ringing and I could taste coppery liquid in my mouth. I moved my tongue and winced. Apparently I had bitten it rather hard. Memory of where I was suddenly returned and despite the pain, I jumped to my feet. There was no sound other than the ambient noises of the mine. I relaxed my vigilance long enough to utter the odd sounding word that brought on white light and the amazing healing effect. The immediate tangible health relieved my head, shoulder, and tongue.

I looked at a spiked iron ball hanging from a chain, and at the pressure plate that I had stepped on. A painful lesson learned. The tenants weren’t the only things to be wary of in here. I looked at the dead shape, discovering that it was indeed a bandit. Retrieving the arrow would require surgery to remove it undamaged, so I just left him lying there with a feathery flower protruding from his chest. There was another chest in this room. I picked the lock cleanly on the first attempt, gaining 12 more Septims and a lock pick.

There were two passages leading further into the mine. I chose the one on left, but soon heard voices, so I back tracked to the other passage. I followed the serpentine tunnel to another closed door. I could hear voices from the other side and see movement through the slits between the door planks. I leaned toward the door and peered through the crack. There were two bandits in the next room. As I watched, one left the room through another passage. This was my chance. I backed away, setting an arrow. I pulled back the bowstring and shoved the door with my foot. As soon as the door was open far enough, I laid out the killer of children with a shot to its breastbone. Without hesitating, I readied another shot and silently headed down the passage that the other bandit had entered. A silent shot dropped this one as well.

With these tactics, I continued through the bandit lair, sending three more child-killers to the netherworld. I found a couple more chests with cash and some potions. One chest had a peculiar type of large gemstone. It was pale blue with a slight glow at the center. I also encountered two more traps. The first I set off by stepping through a trip wire, but because I was moving so slowly, the oversized flail missed its intended target. The second trap must have been set by a complete knot-head. The trip wire was totally visible under the light of a lantern. I simply stepped over it. This led to a chamber that had a curved stone wall.

Could this be the foundation of Chorrol’s town wall?

The large chamber had the look of a camp. Tents were pitched and a fire was glowing in the center. Movement caught my eye and I shot the bandit before he could realize I was in the room. I missed his vitals and he was only staggered. He yelled and drew his weapon. Another shot finished him off before he could close half the distance. I searched the rest of the room. Someone had been digging at the far end. I could see where they had broken through the rocks into what looked like sewers.

Satisfied that there were no more enemies about, I slung my bow and drew a torch out of my satchel. I lit it with the campfire and saw one last chest between the tents. It yielded a pouch with thirty Septims, another potion, and a jeweled ring. The tents had bedrolls in them. Thinking that a bedroll might be useful someday, I helped myself to one of them. I walked over to the dead bandit and retrieved the two arrows that had been his undoing.

“Take that, you child-killing piece of offal,” I said aloud, and then stared at the dead bandit for a moment.

You are serving justice. Even better, you are serving it anonymously…seeking no glory.

Honditar was right. I did feel like I had served justice where it was needed. And I wanted no glory, but I felt the need to leave some kind of sign that I had gained vengeance for a dead child somewhere. A thought came that made me chuckle, and I removed the bandit’s boots and placed them in my satchel. Any bandits I brought to justice would have to run shoeless through the netherworld if they were bent on chasing children.

May the netherworld be paved with shards of glass.

Leaving the camp chamber, I again noticed the trip wire that was there for all to see. When I passed it, I drew my sword and stretched my sword arm to be as far from the wire as possible, then set off the trap. Several heavy logs tumbled from above, crashing down to where someone would have been standing if they had set it off as intended. No one would need to worry about that now.

With the lit torch, I took a closer look at the surroundings during the walk back to the entrance. I checked for additional valuables in any barrels or crates that were not smashed, but there were none. I also took the boots from all of the dead bandits along the way, sarcastically saying 'dying time is here' more than once as I did. I doused the torch when I reached the entrance and stepped outside. Night had fallen and stars studded the sky in the gaps between the clouds. I was either unconscious for longer than I thought, or stealthily creeping through abandoned mines took a long time. Either way meant that it was time to get back to the inn.

When I entered the common room, I walked to the bar and set my satchel on a stool. I dug around the boots and pulled out thirty Septims.

“This is for the next three nights, Talasma,” I said as I laid them on the bar.

“Thank you,” Talasma said, “So, Talendor, did you find work as a cobbler?” She asked with a grin as she noticed all of the boots in my satchel.

I laughed heartily, then said, “No, but tomorrow I am going to be a shoe salesman,” and burst out with more laughter as I walked up to my room. When I closed the room door behind me, I dumped the contents of the satchel on my bed. Between the cash, and what I could make selling the potions and boots, I did pretty well for myself. I would need to speak to Honditar about telling me where more of these mines were located. I organized all of my loot, stripped and washed at the basin, and went to bed. I was grinning and chuckling up to the moment that sleep took me.

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EDIT - Picked a nit.

This post has been edited by TheOtherRick: Feb 7 2011, 08:09 PM