Redemption, part 2 Options

[jack cloudy]

Click here for Redemption Part 1


Alright, part 2. Still not much redeeming going on but whatever. Now instead of continuing the story, I figured I'd use this post for all the miscellaneous stuff. Things like a character list and the recap for part 1. So be warned that this post CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!


RECAP FOR PART 1 Again SPOILERS!

One night, the palace is breached by unknown assailants. Following standard protocol for such events, the Emperor is secretly transported to the prison by his Blades. The Imperial Battlemage, Ocato, declines to join him, claiming that the situation is under control and that his services aren't needed.

Despite having reached the prison safely, the Emperor soon finds that he is still in danger. It is then that Uriel receives help from an unexpected ally. Angoril Bobardi reveals that the very cell he has inhabited for decades, contains a secret escape route that was built during the simulacrum at the order of Jagar Tharn. With this passage and the considerable magical prowess of Angoril, the Emperor manages to flee the deadly trap.

Also freed from the prison by Angoril is Maorlatta Orgnum, a young (by elf-standards) and somewhat naive girl who was arrested for the crime of sleeping in the park. Once free, she quickly makes herself scarce and eventually finds herself in the shack of an old fisherman who lives on an island in Lake Rumare. The fisherman seeks the help of the thieves guild to rid her of the manacles and prison outfit that would have every Legionnaire arrest her on sight. Unfortunately, the one assigned to pick the locks on the manacles informs Vicente Valtieri instead, who takes a personal interest in the girl’s talent for camouflage. Maorlatta is saved by the Redguard Sorian, a young and rather strange lad who keeps going on and on about something he calls an Ansei. The two team up to go treasure hunting in a nearby Ayleid ruin.

Meanwhile, Angoril returns to the prison. Pretending to be from the palace, he gets a vital clue from the Argonian private investigator Grey-Tongue. The Argonian sends him to Chorrol to find the source of the assassins distinctive red robes. To get to Chorrol, he summons a shiftgate, circumventing days travelling. From Chorrol the trail leads to Kvatch, a city whose precise location he does not know. Unable to summon another shiftgate with reasonable accuracy, Angoril seeks more mundane passage to Kvatch.

While Angoril is travelling, Maorlatta and Sorian hit the Ayleid ruin. After some trouble with a zombie, they strike gold and find an abandoned office with some intact artefacts. They attempt to sell the artefacts in the Imperial city, where they are intercepted by Grey-Tongue and then Vicente Valtieri. Sorian again makes the vampire flee. The next morning Maorlatta wakes up in the Imperial palace with no recollection on how she got there or what happened during her stay at Grey-Tongue’s house. Jauffre interrogates her in the garden at the top of the tower.







Redemption's persons of questionable importance

Main characters:
Angoril Bobardi: An Altmeri sorcerer who inhabited a cell in the Imperial prison, fully aware of the secret escape route. After leaving the prison, he makes it his task to track down the leaders behind the red-robed assassins.

Maorlatta Orgnum: A Maormer from Pyandonea, sent to Tamriel at the command of king Orgnum. Circumstances land her in the same prison as the Altmer. After escaping, she returns to the pursuit of her own goals, one of which is to become filthy rich.

Side characters:
Grey-Tongue: An Argonian private investigator. He is a friend of Hieronymous Lex and has been hired by the guard-captain in the past. Grey-Tongue is hired now as well by the city-guard to investigate the events at the prison and find Uriel’s corpse.
Guard-Captain Hieronymous Lex: Hieronymous Lex is the man put in charge of investigating the massacre at the Imperial Prison. Upon finding that Uriel Septim was seen entering the prison that night, he hires Grey-Tongue to help him uncover the truth.
Sorian: A Redguard who saves Maorlatta from Vicente Valtieri. A simple wandering swordsman with a slight Ansei-obsession.
Rajn Geydar: A Wood Elf who lives in Kvatch. At one point possessed a piece of the Balac-Thurm.

Others:
Guard-Captain Argelius: A colleague of Hieronymous Lex who describes him as the man to call when you need subtlety.
Bannon: A merchant who travelled with Angoril from Chorrol to Kvatch
Baleni: Daughter of Rajn Geydar
Doruk: The Bouncer who worked at Rajn Geydar's restaurant. Deceased.
Penald Baurus: Blade and bodyguard of Uriel Septim.
Berius: Lord Protector and Head of the palaceguard in the Imperial City.
Valen Dreth: A Dunmeri prisoner. Not the most pleasant sort.
Jennifer Renault: Blade, recently promoted to captain.
Glenroy: Blade and bodyguard of Uriel Septim.

Fenasim: A member of the emperor's Palace guard.
Mankar Camoran: The father of both Raven and Ruma. He is the leader of the Mythic Dawn and its prophet.
Raven Camoran: The ‘Hand’ of the Mythic Dawn, an organization with an unknown purpose. What is certain however, is that the Dawn wants Uriel Septim dead.
Ruma Camoran: The sister of Raven, she serves the Mythic Dawn as Priestess. In the same night that the attempt on the emperor’s life is made, she infiltrates the vaults beneath the Imperial palace to steal two artefacts.
Harrow: A member of the Dawn, Harrow used to be an Armiger stationed in Vvardenfell.

Ludius Bester: Member of Bester and Bester, the Kvatch Hall of Mercantile Interests. He runs the office in lower Kvatch.
Aelwin Merowald: An old fisherman who lost most of his leg to Slaughterfish. Friend of Delmar Tunius.
Rajn Geydar: Owner of the Eight Provinces, a restaurant in Kvatch.
Ra’Jezhr: A Khajiiti lockpicker in the employ of the Thieves Guild, Ra’Jezhr is also coerced into serving the Dark Brotherhood’s interests.
Simanuel Rosendorf IV: The owner of a silk-plantation near Chorrol

Umbacano: An Altmer who lives in the capital city. A well-known collector of Ayleid artefacts.
Uriel Septim VII: The Emperor of Tamriel.
Brother Tanner: A priest who serves in the Kvatch-temple. Looks like a Septim.
Delmar Tunius: An old fisherman who lives on a small island in lake Nibenay.
Vicente Valtieri: A member of the Dark Brotherhood, he takes interest in Maorlatta’s talents at stealth, and desires to make her an assassin, with or without her cooperation.

Latta’s evergrowing list of people only she knows:
Levvelyn of Glashorn: The hero of a popular series who spends most of his books saving the world, slaying vicious monsters, duelling devious Altmeri warlords and chasing the girl.
Irrillys: A fictional princess of Pyandonea, she is Levvelyn’s love interest. Posesses an unfortunate talent for being kidnapped by devious Altmeri warlords.
Mettildi: The Maormer that taught Maorlatta how to fight, though his methods traumatized her to the point where she is mentally incapable of defending herself.
Master Zelthir: Another Maormer put in charge of educating Maorlatta. Master Zelthir is a well-known and highly respected healer.

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Sep 22 2013, 07:36 PM

[jack cloudy]

My idea of how Blades and by extension, their even more dangerous elite, fight is simply to kill as quickly and efficient as possible. Also, I was rereading the first chapter and noticed three things. One, my style back then was different, with a better way of getting the feel for the environment down. Two, the characters were different back then. Things like proto-Maorlatta actually threatening someone with violence like it's no big deal and showing none of her Altmer-issues.

The third is that the Emperor mentions sending a messenger to Ocato. Obviously my idea back then was of Mythic Dawn elite assaulting the palace instead of my current idea involving traitors. Anyway, let's get some commanding done.



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Chapter 8.3


The young Blades, all five of them, arrived at the exact moment of their meeting. Berius watched them spread through the room, efficiently covering every angle simultaneously, leaving no place to hide or sneak up on them. Even the door they’d come through was kept under close watch. It was therefore no great surprise when Berius and the emperor were discovered.
“Keep your hands, Sir! My lord Emperor!” The Redguard man who had first seen them shouted then sprang to attention as he recognized them. Having cleared her side of the sweep, a woman put a hand on his shoulder and whispered urgently.
“Keep your voice down, Baurus. Can you tell us what is going on, Lord Protector?”

Berius motioned for Uriel to remain knelt and stepped out from among the plants. He examined the two Blades in turn, then his gaze drifted to another man who had just declared the bathroom to be safe. He nodded to himself and looked the woman that had questioned him in the eye.
“In a moment, Sister Renault. This morning when we met in the Tiber Septim hotel you seemed rather amused. Please tell me why.” He asked her and almost shook his head at the surprise he read on her face.
“Because Glenroy nearly jumped out the window when he heard the fly buzzing around the ceiling.” Jennifer Renault answered, pointing at the man who’d walked from the bathroom to one of the windows.
“I told you, I served a tour in face-eating Argonia. The flies are worse than the crocodiles there. You High Rock pampered boys and girls could never understand what that place does to a man.” Glenroy called back, rolling his eyes.
“Good answer on both accounts. It will have to do for now.” Berius decided. If they still had the memories of this morning, then they hadn´t been replaced. There was still the chance that they´d been simulacra for years like Wulfharth but he doubted it. If that had been the case, it would have been far easier for them to have the assassination be performed by the new blades rather than the old guard.
“Six against one would have been a foregone conclusion.”

The Redguard who’d first found them caught on the hidden meaning behind his superior’s question when no one else did.
“You don’t trust us, sir.” He muttered then nearly flinched when Berius drilled him with his stare.
“Brother Baurus, right now I’m debating whether I can trust myself. Now, before entering you came across a dead member of the guard, correct?” He told the young man. Prompted, Baurus shot straight up, as if he was singled out by his Legionnaire captain during inspection.
“Yes, Lord Protector. Slain by a blade that penetrated the lungs and heart via the armpit. The melting of the chain suggest that the weapon was enchanted with armor-eater.” He barked, chin raised. The older man nodded to himself and looked at the pommel of his sword. Like Baurus had claimed, the exchangeable pommel was indeed the armor-eater.
“Quite perceptive of you. I want you and Glenroy to drag him in here. Meanwhile…” He ordered and looked at each Blade individually once more. His next decision was a painful one, but it had to be done. The Lord Protector recalled all the reports as he walked to a window, then picked the two Blades who had least impressed him.
“Brother Merric and Sister Eaglewood. You will go to respectively the coordination centers on the tenth and the twentieth floor. Tell the staff present to announce and execute protocol 4G. Follow their orders once you’ve done that.”
“Yes, Lord Protector! At once!” Merric and Eaglewood snapped and jogged out of the room. Berius watched them go with a heavy heart.


“Sir. 4G is not listed among today’s potential protocols.” Renault’s words pleased him. He’d read about that perfectionist streak of hers in most of the reports that had been written during her career. It was good to see that she’d already gone through and memorized the protocols his staff used.
“Captain Renault, let me tell you that the guidebook you were given was scrambled. 4G is possible today. Still, you are correct in the assumption that 4G will not be used.”
He paused to think over what protocol they should use. In the end, he had to assume that the enemy knew all of the manoeuvres he’d drilled over the years as well as who was on station today and where. Which meant all the usual safehouses were compromised. He came to the conclusion they’d have to use a plan which didn’t exist.
“I want you to take Lord Uriel Septim to the Imperial prison isle instead.” He said slowly as he knelt beside the window and pulled out a pair of bricks. Behind them, lay a small dustcovered pouch.
“The prison? But there’s no plan that includes that location. Besides, it seems…illogical.” Renault objected. The sound of footsteps made her turn to the door and raise her sword but she relaxed upon seeing it was merely Baurus and Glenroy, carrying the armoured form of Wulfharth’s partner between them.
“I know. I scratched it from the books when I became head of the guard here. Call it insurance. Most important is the fact that the only records of that plan now reside in my head. The enemy won’t know of or expect it because as you said, that would be madness. And the guards there get rotated frequently. So go to the isle and hide.”


Berius took the pouch from its resting place but made a point of not putting the bricks back.
“Good. And you won’t be using the stairs. I want you to leave through this window, circumventing the palace interior entirely.”
“You want us to jump, sir? But that’s impossible. We’re not birds. We’d die the moment we hit the ground. Or well, I could do it, but I doubt Baurus here could. And what about the Emperor?” Glenroy objected with a handwave towards the old man that still sat among the plants.
“That’s what these are for.” Lord Protector Berius replied and opened the dirty pouch.
“These rings are enchanted with slowfall. With them, dropping down is no problem.” He explained. Glenroy and Baurus nodded, but Renault was not yet convinced.
“Wouldn’t the Ayleid barrier around the fifth floor destroy them?” She wondered out loud.
“Again you impress me with your knowledge, captain. The barrier can be beaten. An assassin of the Dark Brotherhood managed it first. He had two rings of levitation. The barrier drained the first, but the second ring was sealed in a dampened pouch and survived. He simply had to switch rings in midair. Simple yet effective.” Berius elaborated and gave her one of the dusty copper bands.

“Now these are a new thing from Morrowind. Same trick basically, but no need to switch rings in midair. They’re one use only, but that use will get you through the old field and to the ground.” He finished with a shrug. At that moment Uriel grunted as he pushed himself off the floor, cursing his creaking joints and the frailty of his breath.
“Berius, you never told me of this. Are you certain it will work?” He asked his friend and loyal defender, who handed out the rest of the rings.
“The math is sound. And I’ve tested it on bricks, cats and even a mannequin. Just keep your feet down and you’ll be fine, emperor.”

Jennifer Renault fingered the ring in her hand. Though her Breton blood pulsed in reaction to the magic in the copper band, she had never received the kind of education that would let her tell what kind of magic it was. And Berius had implied he couldn’t trust himself. It hadn’t seemed like a joke to her. Renault realized that she needed to see it work rather than be told it would. She pocketed the ring and turned to the others. Then with a deep breath, she took charge for the first time as the captain she’d informally been promoted to.
“Glenroy, you are experienced at Alteration, yes?” She inquired of the Imperial. The man scratched his chin, not sure why she wanted to know.
“In Argonia, you need at least a basic expertise in…” He began but she cut him off with a simple wave of a hand.
“Yes or no would suffice. Can you slow your own fall without these rings?” She asked him next and Glenroy nodded.
“Yes, captain.”
“Good, then you get the honour to test them. You will jump and try the ring. If it doesn’t work beyond the barrier, stabilize your fall yourself. Afterwards…” Captain Renault leaned over and whispered her last order into his ear.
“See you on the ground, captain.”

They watched Glenroy vault over the windowsill and plummet to the plaza below. The air visibly distorted in a series of small sparks as he crashed through the barrier. But the Blade survived the erupting magic and drifted to the white cobblestones light as a feather. He waved up to the window once, then rushed for cover. Up in the Emperor’s suite, captain Renault let out a breath she didn’t knew she’d been holding. Then she straightened herself and led Uriel and her remaining subordinate out of the room.
“Follow me, milord. We’ll use a different window in case this one was being observed. I don’t like the lightshow Glenroy made on his way down.” She said and shivered as the corridor’s wards washed over her. Behind her, Berius gave her a grim warning.
“Don’t forget to remove the barrierbrick first, captain. And remember this above all. We will not meet again. We won’t. If you see me, your orders are to stab me, then stab me again just to make sure I’m really dead. Don’t even think about asking questions first.”

Neither the Blades or the Emperor gave a sign they’d heard him, but he knew they’d take his words to heart. He knelt down beside the dead guard and carefully began to remove his armour.
“Now then. Berius old boy, time to make some chaos. It’s your last day on Tamriel, make it a good one.”

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Feb 24 2013, 03:20 PM