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]

@ All - I noticed a common theme in the comments, and yes indeed, Talendor is getting in touch with his inner Bosmer. As usual, thanks to all for your comments and support.

@ h.e.rider - Sorry about your forest floor being buried in six foot drifts...but the vernal equinox fast approaches. Going to be in the 60's here all week!

@ Acadian - Talendor, not knowing any better, actually thought the poison idea was a good one.

@ mALX - The game mechanics took some real thought as to how to relate them in a believable way. Thanks!

@ grits - Being a cat owner, playing with Talasma has been a blast. It was so easy to picture her looking angry.

Thanks again everyone...

********************

Chapter 10 – Continuing Education

The birds woke me with their morning choir. I laid there and reveled silently in the concert of tweets and chirps from starlings, cardinals, and sparrows, accented with an occasional screech from a jaybird. All fears and worries had left me for the moment. I felt renewed, as if something in the night had whisked all my burdens away. I sat up and looked around. The morning had dawned cloudless. A light mist hugged the ground, heavier in the hollows. And then I saw him. Standing not more than fifteen yards away was a large stag. I slowly reached for my bow and quiver. With my shot readied, I drew back the bowstring…and eased the tension back off without releasing the arrow. As badly as I wanted to take the deer, I couldn’t introduce violence into such a perfect morning. The stag bounded away the moment I stood up. I watched in awe as it vanished from my sight in a series of majestic leaps.

I gathered all of my gear and made my way back to Chorrol. When I reached the inn, I bade good morning to Talasma and went up to my room. It was still early, so I had time to sort through my loot before the shops would open. First I separated the coins. I counted one hundred twenty-two in all. Not bad, I thought with a smile. Then I set Honditar’s mushrooms aside since I wouldn’t be selling those. Two pieces of jewelry, a silver nugget, three bows with rusted iron ears, a short iron sword and iron axe that were equally as rusty. I placed these items in my ‘for sale’ pile. I looked at the pile of lock picks. I had accumulated quite a few, dating back to the beginning of my adventure in the Imperial underground.

I wonder if Seed-Neeus will buy these too…

I set twenty of the picks aside and tossed the rest in the ‘for sale’ pile. That looked like everything. I put all of the saleable items back into the satchel. The coins I placed in my coin purse and the mushrooms into a separate pocket inside the satchel. With all of that completed, I washed and changed, then went downstairs for breakfast. After finishing, I laid eighty Septims on the bar.

“This is for the breakfast and one week’s rent on the room,” I said.

“Well, well, well. It seems that shoe selling is profitable, eh? This one wishes that all of my tenants were as forthcoming with their rent,” she replied with a smile.

“It’s my pleasure, Talasma,” I replied, returning her smile.

I went out and started my rounds to the shops. When all was said and done, the mine expedition had netted me three hundred and twelve Septims, after taking out Honditar’s share. I was positively jovial when I knocked on Honditar’s door.

“Well, good morning Talendor,” he said and showed me in, “Come in, sit, tell me about Pillaged Mine.”

I gave him a narrative of the yesterday’s events while he prepared some tea. He gave me the ‘I told you so’ nods at the appropriate times in the story, and what looked like a glower of disapproval when I told of the goblin that I had dispatched with my sword. He withheld comment until I had finished.

“I want you to leave your sword behind next time,” he said.

“Why?” I asked, “I needed it. That third goblin was on top of me before I could ready a shot.”

“You didn’t need it. You should never need it. You are Bosmer. Have you not felt how natural the bow feels to you?”

He had me there…

He rose, walked over and picked up my bow, then told me to stand. I complied and he handed me the dagger that was sheathed at his belt.

“The bow is your true first and best weapon. It is more than just a launcher of arrows. Come at me with the dagger,” he said. I did so and he deftly parried the thrust.

“It is a shield,” he said, then swung the bow low and cracked me across the shins.

“It is a quarter-staff,” he continued, and then poked me in the gut as I was doubled over from the shin whacking.

“It is even a lance if the target is soft enough. I have known archers that sharpen the ears of their bows for just that purpose. You could have avoided using the sword by blocking, cracking the critter in the skull, and then retreating while you readied your next shot. If you carry a sword, you will come to rely on it, when you need to be relying on your bow.”

He paused, as if to let that sink in, and then continued, “So…no sword next time. Now do you want to learn or argue? You can’t do both.”

Wincing from the knots on my shins and pain in my gut, I assured him that I did not wish to argue.

“Okay. There is not much time until midday, so sit back down and just listen to what I tell you, since you now seem prepared to learn. I am sure you have probably seen most of the races of Cyrodiil in your brief time with us. Let’s talk about that for a while,” he said, and went on to tell me about Nirn, Tamriel, and Cyrodiil. The Altmer gave me brief descriptions of the different races that inhabit Cyrodiil, including abbreviated histories of men, elves (which he called ‘mer’), and the beast-like races. He explained the calendar, familiarizing me with the names of the days and months. Lastly, Honditar spoke of the cities that were the regional seats of government in the nine counties of the province, and a bit about the terrain of the various regions.

When he finished, he sent me back to the inn to get my field gear, asking for his percentage of my take from Pillaged Mine before I left. He also said to purchase provisions on my way back. I took that to mean the next destination was going to be farther away. It was well after midday when I returned, equipped just as I was the day before. He frowned when he saw the sword, but said nothing about it. He had sandwiches of meat and cheese ready on the table.

“Place your weapons by the door. We will go over the map while we eat,” he said.

I did so and sat down, handing the map to Honditar. He opened it and laid it on the table. The food was delicious. I wasn’t sure what kind of meat it was, but the seasoning was to die for. And the cheese…tangy sharp that seemed to melt in your mouth as you ate it. I was wolfing the stuff down when Honditar cleared his throat.

“Perhaps you would prefer to discuss the map after lunch?” he quipped with an arched eyebrow.

“Sorry…” I said, spewing a couple bread crumbs onto the map.

“You would do better to lengthen your attention span,” he sighed and rolled his eyes.

After brushing the bread crumbs away, he took a dipped quill and marked what looked like an upside-down ‘U’ on the map and informed me that this was the next destination. He called it Broken Promises Cave and said it was another bandit den.

“Filthy child-killers…” I blurted out with more force than I had intended and showering him with bread crumbs.

Looks like I’ll be selling some more boots…

Honditar scowled as he brushed himself off and said, “Is there no stopping you from your lapses of attention?”

I just shut up without bothering to apologize again.

“Well if there is…I’d like to show you something else.” He folded the map and grabbed a mortar and pestle from the shelf. “Where are the mushrooms I asked you to harvest?”

I pulled them out, including one that I had found under the Imperial City. It was starting to become a gooey mess. He took them and sorted them by type, the gooey one looking pathetic by itself. I received a quick and brief lesson in rudimentary alchemy. I started to say that I had already used a mortar and pestle, but kept my lips shut by biting them.

“Wisp stalks, nightshade, and stinkhorn,” he was saying as he pointed to the thin stalked white mushrooms, “Use any two for your poison. Cairn bolete and lady’s mantle for healing. In a pinch, you can use venison with cairn bolete. Being hungry is better than being dead. It is a good idea to keep a mortar and pestle with you. Having one with me has saved my life on more than one occasion. That is enough to get you started.”

“Again, I can’t thank you enough. It is nearing sundown, so I better get back to the inn and rest up for tomorrow,” I said, standing up and heading for the door.

“Tomorrow…? No, no, no. You leave this very moment. We already know you can travel by day,” Honditar said. I stared at him for a moment, my jaw hanging open.

Now I know why he asked me to get provisions before returning today… Travel at night? Really?

“Now…?”

“Yes…now. And Talendor,” he said, pointing to the dagger on the table, “take this and leave the sword here.”

Taking the dagger, I did as he said and left the sword leaning against the wall as I exited. The sun was low in the west behind piling thunderheads. Occasional lightning flashes illuminated the clouds, but they were too distant to hear any thunder. I wasn’t crazy about traveling at night, and even less thrilled with the thought of traveling in stormy weather, but I trusted Honditar. I’m sure there was a good reason for this.

I started walking west on the Black Road. Once I reached Pillaged Mine, I turned southwest into the wilderness toward Broken Promises Cave. That exhilaration at being in the woods was coursing through my veins again. Honditar had explained that this was part of my Bosmer heritage. He said that I would always feel better and be at my best while in the forests. The way I felt at that moment, I was in no position to argue. It was truly amazing to me, and I relished every second of it.

I took out my bow once the road was out of sight. I hoped I would see some deer before it became too dark to hunt. Suddenly a wolf sprang from the brush, ahead and to my left. I reached for my sword only to remember too late that it was leaning against Honditar’s wall. That gave the wolf time to launch itself at my throat. I ducked and rolled, getting a scratch across my ear from its hind leg. I was back on my feet with an arrow readied in an instant, searching for the wolf. The failing light and thick brush made it impossible to see the wolf until it launched again. My arrow met its chest in mid flight and I sidestepped as the beast tumbled past, yelping like puppy that had had its nose thumped. Another arrow silenced the wolf.

Warm liquid from my ear had made its way to my neck as I walked over to the dead wolf and retrieved my arrows. A healing potion took care of the bleeding. Thunder pealed, announcing that the storms would soon be upon me. I quickly used Honditar’s dagger to skin the wolf, placing the pelt in my satchel. I scanned the area as the first fat raindrops began to fall in the increasing wind. I found a large boulder that had an overhang. I made for the cover and ducked under it just in time to keep from getting drenched. Satisfied that I would stay moderately dry, I unrolled my bedroll and waited out the storm.