Old Habits Die Hard Part Six, some old habits never die Options

[haute ecole rider]

Hello all, and welcome to the final thread of Old Habits Die Hard. Those of you who are familiar with the Main Quest know that we are fast approaching the end game. Only three more artifacts to obtain, then we can recover the Amulet of Kings and light those Dragonfires and see Martin to the Dragon Throne at last. Right?

For those who are coming late to the party, here are the links to the other five threads:

Chapters 1 − 7: From the Prison to finding the Path of Dawn.
Chapters 8 − 13: From Dagon’s Shrine to Bravil.
Chapters 14 − 18: From Sheogorath’s Shrine to the start of the Grand Tour of Cyrodiil.
Chapters 19 − 22: From Leyawiin to Skingrad.
Chapters 23 − 25: From returning home to Anvil to the final Mages Guild recommendation.

Here in this last thread we will see the Main Quest through to its tragic conclusion. Some questions will be answered, including who is the man Julian loves? Other questions will be raised, including what’s next for Julian? Those of you who have suspected a second story in the making, you are correct.

After a year and a half of writing this story, I am happy to bring this to a close, yet I am sad to bid it adieu. Hopefully I won’t let any and all of you down as we wrap up.

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Jun 26 2011, 01:10 AM

[haute ecole rider]

@Olen: I remember how powerfully this quest affected me when I first played it. Seeing those four spirits depart for Aetherius was bittersweet and nearly made me cry (and I usually don't cry at games). I wanted to convey the emotional impact without being too sappy. And yes, I can only write so much dialogue when it's just Julian and Blanco!

@SubRosa: I'm glad you felt the exhaustion along with Julian by the time she lugged all that gear out of the ruin. And your suspicion that Blanco will be part of a sequel is pretty spot on. That's about all I will say.

@Acadian: I have to admit that I got very teary-eyed writing that passage you quoted. I'm glad you were affected by it too.

@TK: I'm not sure just how much time off or how relaxing it will be for Julian before Martin sends her off again. We'll have to see . . .

@mALX: We won't find out about the bracelet before the end of the Main Quest, and as this story ends with the Main Quest, well –

@Grits: Yes, Julian is really looking forward to being back at Cloud Ruler Temple, where the company is indeed as warm as that big fire. And I think you will soon see that the sky is azure indeed.

@Foxee: Slightly contributed to? Slightly?? Surely thou jest, our vulpine friend! And yes, Julian will continue to grow, now that her physical condition is back to what it once was (as fit as she was in treydoggie's story).

The story so far: Julian has recovered the Armor of Tiber Septim from Sancre Tor, as well as solving the mystery of the four Greatest Blades. Now she returns at the end of her Grand Circuit of Cyrodiil to report to Emperor Martin and Grandmaster Jauffre. And we get to see a little more mystery that is the white stallion named Blanco.

*********************
Chapter 27.1: The End of the Grand Circuit
After resting and repairing armor for much of the day and sleeping through the night, Blanco and I made an early start the next morning. The sun glowed between the grey clouds ahead of us as we walked through another snowfall. This time, the wind blew from the mountain peaks to the north of us, sending cold fingers down my neck. It's colder than it was at Cloud Ruler two months ago. I'm not looking forward to finding out just how cold it is now! I had left the horse-blanket on over the saddle to keep Blanco's haunches warm against the wind, and I had one of my own blankets wrapped around my shoulders and covering my bare hands. It was arranged in such a way that I could shrug it off and draw my katana in a hurry if needed.

Sunrise on the Golden Hill

Valdemar's shield, the four weapons of the Blades, and Tiber Septim's armor were wrapped in the other blanket and arranged over the saddlebags behind me. I had apologized to Blanco for making him into a pack horse, but he had only shaken his head as if to shrug it off. I recalled his interest last night in the gear. He had seemed very interested in the enchanted items, but had lingered the longest over the elaborate cuirass with the blood on it. As far as I could tell, it held no enchantment.

The rest of the High Road was mostly uneventful. We encountered a few wolves, all of whom faded away into the wilderness when Blanco challenged them. We found Applewatch without much trouble, and soon entered the maze of trails northwest of the Bruma walls. A Legion forester watched us from his vantage point on a rock-strewn hillock, but did not approach us, though he waved briefly in greeting.

Suddenly I couldn't take the slow pace anymore. I clucked at Blanco, who leaped gleefully into a canter. We wove our way through the web of faint paths, always working eastward, until Blanco's feet found the clearer road running up to Cloud Ruler Temple. He kept up the pace until we reached the base of the mountain. I slowed him to a walk, and he bounced a couple of times as if protesting the enforced slow gait.

"We always walk the first mile out, and the last mile back," I chided him softly, struggling to keep the laughter out of my voice. I couldn't believe how much I was looking forward to seeing my Blade comrades again. And I couldn't wait to see the look on Martin's face when I unwrapped the cuirass of his legendary ancestor. Briefly I wondered how that plate armor would look on him, then reminded myself he didn't want it to wear, he wanted it for Talos's blood.

Blanco marched determinedly up the steep road. By now the sun was well past its zenith, and the blue sky shone brightly above. White diamonds sparkled everywhere I looked, and no breeze disturbed the snow on the pine boughs.

The Last Long Walk

When we reached the last bend in the road before Cloud Ruler Temple, I craned up at the watchtowers. A silhouetted Blade waved at me from the eastern tower, just as the huge gates began to creak open. Blanco snorted and swiveled his ears as the two Blades turned from the panels to salute me with fists to chests.

"Welcome home, Julian!" Caroline greeted me. "I see you have a fine new horse!"

"We heard what happened to Paint," Roliand spoke from the left as I dismounted. "I hope he recovers."

"He's home at Weynon Priory," I answered. "And in much better shape than he was. Still not back to his old form, but I think he's content and comfortable now."

"And do you return to report success to our Emperor?" Caroline asked as I motioned for Blanco to follow me through the open gateway.

"Yes, I have success to report," I smiled in relief. I waited as they closed the gates behind us, then started up the steps. Blanco followed behind me without hesitation. Roliand eyed the stallion as he fell in at my left shoulder.

"Quite the horse," he remarked. "We had also heard about him, so I've got a stall prepared for him."

I faltered at the thought of Red and Jasmine. "Will Red give us a hard time about Blanco?"

"Jasmine's out of heat for the winter," Roliand shrugged. "And she has a mind of her own. I doubt she'll let the boys quarrel over her."

"If there's a problem, we have an alternative stable ready," Caroline volunteered. "So it shouldn't be difficult to keep them separated if we must."

"Blanco got along fine with Paint," I glanced at her. "But Paint's gelded, and Red isn't. And Blanco has flirted with every single Black Courier mare we've met on the road."

"Of course he did!" Roliand exclaimed. "He wouldn't be worth his balls if he didn't!"

"Typical male," Caroline muttered under her breath. I wasn't certain if she meant Blanco or Roliand, and smiled at the quandary.

We reached the plaza and I looked ahead to see Captain Steffan, Grandmaster Jauffre, and Martin Septim gathered near the top of the stairs. Evidently they had left the warmth of the Hall at the news of our arrival. Blanco and I walked to them.

"Sire," I greeted Martin with my fist at my chest. "I come in success." I faced Jauffre's twinkling gaze. "And to report success to you as well, sir." I turned to Blanco and moved to take the wrapped bundle off the saddlebags. As I stepped back with the gear in my arms, Blanco stretched his neck out toward Martin. He blew vigorously as the Septim uncertainly held his hands out. We all stared in shock as Blanco tossed his head, then dropped to his right knee with arched neck and bowed head in an equine version of the Blades homage before a speechless Martin.

Jauffre tore his gaze from the white stallion and glared at me. "What in Oblivion is this?"

"I - I don't really know," I stammered. "But he was very interested in Tiber Septim's cuirass last night. I wonder if he can detect traces of Talos Stormcrown in Martin."

Martin's hazel eyes moved from Blanco to me in amazement. "Really? Where is he from?"

"High Rock," I answered as Blanco rose from his bow. The stallion stood quietly as Martin walked around him. He barely flinched when the Septim brushed his mane away from his left shoulder to reveal the elaborate symbol branded just in front of his withers.

"This is the symbol of the Reachmen," Martin murmured wonderingly. "Hmm, this raises many questions." Then he shook himself and turned back to me. "But you've been gone a long time, and look at me, keeping you standing out here in the cold!"

"And it certainly is colder than when I left, Sire!" I complained softly. Martin laughed and stepped toward the Hall.

"Then see to your horse, and join us in the Hall when you're finished!"

Captain Steffan took the heavy bundle from my arms. "I'll take these inside for you. Go." He turned and strode away before I could respond.

I obeyed the tacit command and led Blanco to the stable. As Roliand had said, a stall was prepared in the corner nearest the door. Red pealed a challenge as Blanco entered his stall, but the white ignored the chestnut, his eyes instead on lovely Jasmine. The bay exchanged breaths with him, then shook her head and pinned her ears at his throaty whickers. Blanco accepted the clear rejection with good grace and turned instead to the manger, heaped high with fragrant hay. He began working on the green stems as I stripped the saddle and bridle from him. Quickly I brushed him down, then set the tack on the nearby rack.

"I'll clean the tack, Julian," Roliand said from the doorway. "Best not to keep the Emperor waiting too long."

I picked up the saddlebags and my pack. "Thanks a lot, Roliand. I'll see you later."

Belisarius met me just inside the entrance to the Hall. "They're waiting for you by the fire," he took my personal gear. "I'll just stow these in the barracks for now. There's hot klah waiting."

I looked ahead to the wide hearth. Past Martin's study table, the floor immediately in front of the fire had been cleared, and red marks had been painted on the stones. A shiver passed through me as I recognized some of the more familiar arcane symbols. A magic circle. Martin's making progress. The wrapped gear from Sancre Tor lay on one end of the table nearest the hearth, with Martin, Jauffre and Steffan gathered near it. Baurus stood a few steps behind Martin. The captain poured klah into their cups. As I approached, he filled a fourth mug for me.

"We waited for you," Martin greeted me. I noticed that his demeanor was less that of a humble priest and more of an emperor. "You've been gone a long time, and we've been anticipating your return with -" his gaze drifted around the others with a hazel twinkle, "- no small anxiety."

I hesitated, then moved to the table. The others followed me, Martin and Jauffre standing across from me, and Steffan at my right side. I cupped my hands around the mug the captain handed me and inhaled the aromatic steam appreciatively. "It's been a long time, Sire," I replied. "And there is much to tell. But first," I put my cup down, reached for the bundle before me and flung the blanket back.

Both Jauffre and Steffan inhaled sharply as the brilliant blue and gold enamel of the Blades gear glimmered in the daylight from the clerestory windows above. "This is Valdemar's shield," I touched the deep blue, before I lifted it and handed it to Steffan. The look on his face was full of awe as he examined it closely. "The four Blades that never returned had been cursed to spend eternity as undead bones," I continued. "I had to fight each one of the skeletons before I could complete my task in Sancre Tor. When I shattered their bones, their souls were freed." I stopped, feeling the tears rise up again in my throat.

In an attempt to retain control, I turned my face away from the others and searched in the bundle. Rielus's amulet gleamed a deep, warm gold in my palm and gave me a little bit of comfort. I handed it across the table to Jauffre. "This was Rielus's amulet. He was the first one I met." I told Jauffre what Rielus had told me about the Underking. Jauffre listened in silence, his eyes on the amulet in his hands. "I had to tell him that his Emperor had been dead for nearly four hundred years. He said that did not absolve him of his duty. He made me take this, asked me to either wear it or return it to Cloud Ruler." I touched the round shield, still in Steffan's hands. "Valdemar was next. He was deep in the prison quarter. He told me to take the shield."

I turned back to the bundle and located the ancient katana, recognizable as his by the pattern of wear on the grip. "This is his katana. I promised him it will hang in the Hall of the Blades." I handed it hilt first to Steffan. "And I took Rielus's sword too, for the same reason," I handed the other to Jauffre.

I looked up to see several of the other Blades surrounding us. "Fortis," I reached back into the bundle. "This is Casnar's weapon, Mishaxhi's Cleaver." He paled at my words, but his hands cradled the dai-katana reverentially. "Please see that it takes its place among the other blades," I tilted my head toward the katanas suspended from the rafters. I made certain his partner Pelagius received Alain's Northwind. "They deserve to be remembered alongside their brethren," I turned my gaze back to Martin. "If not for them, I could not have progressed past the barriers left by the Underking. I would not have been able to retrieve this." I placed the armor of Tiber Septim, still wrapped in the waterproof groundsheet, before Martin.

A hushed silence fell over the Hall, broken only by the crackling of the fire in the hearth, when Martin reached for the edges of the canvas. Slowly he unwrapped it. A collective sigh swept around the Hall as the brilliant colors of Tiber Septim's cuirass appeared, sparkling like jewels on the table. Martin stared at it for long moments, then his hazel eyes met mine.

"The blood of the Septims may flow in my veins," he spoke in a hushed tone, "but you have the soul of a hero." His gaze encompassed the Blades gear I had brought back to Cloud Ruler. "While I am not a Blade, I truly appreciate what you have done for Tiber's own Blades."

"We may have been separated by four hundred years," I whispered, feeling the tears surge again behind my eyes. "But they were still my brothers. They have made me proud to be counted as a Blade."

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Jul 26 2011, 10:48 PM