Jihl of Hart Options

[Heather V]

Hello

I'm Heather V and this is pretty new for me. I'm an avid user of the Bethsoft forums under a different names and loved all the FanFics that were posted on there. But when I decided to post my own, following some pretty handy advice I was led here, and I'm glad I was!

This first part is somewhat a data dump, but to me it is just the perfect way to introduce my character and show a taste of what she is like. I hope you enjoy it Hehe

INTRODUCTION

My name is Jihl. Some know me as Electra, others know me as the Shadow, but my name is Jihl.

I’m in prison. Cool, huh? NO. It’s not. It’s rancid, putrid, infested and lots of other negative words ending with ‘D’. It’s vile and disgusting, but this is home now.

How did I get here I hear you ask? Maybe you didn’t ask, but I’m going to tell you anyway.

I used to be a member of an elite group of rebel fighters called the Hart Resistance. What did we do? We fought the fights that nobody else would. It’s that simple.

There was this one fight, though, and it was bad. Very bad. People died, and the wrong people lived.

All because of a necromancer named Nerastarel.

She was bad. Well, at first she was bad. She used to just do little things like raise the odd skeleton every now and then, but then her power grew too great. She got a taste for it. Soon enough she wasn’t just ‘Bad’. What she was didn’t even have a name.

It’s funny isn’t it? Someone who you once loved like a sister can change just like that. The feeling you once had can vanish. I have no idea how that can happen. It just does.

So yeah, I’m stuck in this cell in what I can only assume is the Imperial City and it is NOT fun.

I don’t know if I’ll even get out.

Although I do know one thing; should I get out Nerastarel will pay.

That I’m deadly sure of.

This post has been edited by Heather V: Aug 31 2012, 09:14 PM

[Heather V]

In chapter 8, Jihl and Heather guessed correctly at the Arena, and Jihl learned what a valubale comrade Heather might be.

9. Hunt For Nerry

I woke up bright and early the next morning, skipping breakfast entirely as I left the Imperial City. Outside the main gate I took out my map to see how far from Skingrad I was.

"Not too far..." I said to myself, wondering whether it would be quicker to walk on the roads or through the wilderness.

"On the road, Jihl, always on the road. Those bears are sneaky mother--" Heather started.

"Okay!" I interrupted before she could finish. I rolled up my map and put it back in my bag as I walked across the bridge that crossed the lake surrounding the city. It seemed endless.

It only seemed to take me half a day to get to Nerastarel's house in Skingrad and it looked exactly the same as I remembered it. As I suspected it would be, the front door was locked. I didn't panic though as I knew that back door was usually open, which once upon a time I saw as careless.

Alas, the back door was also locked, but seeing as there were zero guards around to observe me, I decided to perform a little breaking-and-entering. The lock was easy to pick. I slowly slid inside the house, keeping my bow in hand just in case. Once inside I slowly closed the door behind me, and then looked at my surroundings.

The house was trashed. Furniture was scattered about the floor, and the fact that the place had gathered mountains of dust and threads of cobwebs suggested it hadn't been cleaned for a while. The house was dark and the air was murky; it reeked of death. No doubt Nerastarel had performed many resurrections here.

It was quiet as I listened for signs of life. There didn't appear to be anything nearby. I slowly traversed toward the main staircase, being very aware of my surroundings just in case Nerastarel had the place rigged with traps. I wouldn't have put it past her.

I reached the staircase then saw something that confirmed my fears of a trap. A living skeleton guarded the staircase. Luckily, or stupidly, it was facing the stairway with its back to me.

I took my bow and notched an arrow, firing it. I watched as the creature collapsed into a pile of bones.

I now knew that this place wasn't as safe as I had first anticipated as I crept over the skeletal remains.

"Skeletons are super creepy--"

Shh, I need to concentrate. I scolded and I climbed the stairs.

Once I reached the top of the staircase I listened for more skeletons, but I heard nothing. I didn't take it for granted, though, so I notched an arrow and swiftly shot around the corner, aiming in preparation, but seeing nothing to fire at. I relaxed the notched arrow and continued forward, seeing another small staircase which led to the master bedroom.

The master bedroom door was locked with another easy lock that I picked. I opened the door a crack to listen for anything hostile. Again, my fears were confirmed. The low moan and squelchy footsteps of a zombie.

"Drat." I cursed silently. Zombies had always been a tough fight; the battle against Nerastarel's army had proved that. Luckily for me Zombies were weak against fire, and I happened to know a fireball spell.

I crept into the master bedroom, looking about. It appeared the only thing in the bedroom was the zombie.

I put my bow back and prepared a fireball to fire at the abomination, but Heather interrupted me.

"Wait! No, your fireball is too weak."

Then what do you suggest I do?

I didn't want to risk having to physically fight this thing, and the space was too small to use my bow. I doubted a sneaky shot at it wouldn't be enough to kill it instantly.

"No, I mean it's too weak at the moment. Concentrate on your fireball and repeat after me."

I did as she told me as she chanted something in a language I could not decipher. Once she finished I threw the fireball at the zombie, killing it as it burned to a crisp in a burst of almighty flames.

"Okay, wow." I said, utterly surprised at the power my simple spell had garnered. It made my head hurt and my nose started to bleed, though. It must have used more than just my Magicka to cast it. I knew I wasn't going to cast it again; but that didn't alter the fact I was utterly impressed with Heather.

However my good mood was quickly put to a halt as I noticed that Nerastarel wasn't in the bedroom. I then searched the bedroom and the rest of the house, but there was nothing. No letters, clues or anything to suggest where she had gone.

"Well that was a waste of time." Heather sulked.

"Maybe..." I replied as I left the house the way I came. I walked to the front of the house, seeing something that raised my eyebrow. A Dunmer woman was stood outside the house's main entrance. She appeared to be waiting for something.

"Maybe she knows something?" Heather suggested, although I did wonder that myself.

I approached the Dunmer woman, "Excuse me!" I bellowed as I jogged toward her. She looked at me.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Actually, maybe." I said, "I don't suppose you know the woman who lives here do you?"

"Me? Why do you ask?" She said nervously.

I knew I had to lie to get any information from her. "It's just she... is my... sister. She's my sister and I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks and I really need to speak with her."

"You do? Oh, well last I heard she was going to an Aylied ruin with her friend Jalbert to conduct a few experiments; but that was over a week ago. She told me she would come and visit me when she was finished, but she hasn't."

Was why she was waiting for Nerastarel any of my business? No. I wasn't in the mood for small talk, "Do you happen to know where I could find this ruin?" I rushed.

She thought for a while, leaving me anxious for an answer. She gave me one. "She told me it was on a small island opposite the prison district of the imperial city. I suspect that seeing as she isn't home, she is still there."

A small island? Could it be the ruin I saw when I left the sewers? It seemed ironic that I was looking at her current location while wondering where she was, but I looked past that. I now knew where she was, and I had to get there as quickly as bosmerly possible.

I wondered if this woman had anymore information on Nerastarel, "She sure gave you a lot of information..." I said, trying to intimidate her into revealing more.

"Well I offer her good money for the carcasses of her failed experiments." She replied proudly.

"Excuse me?"

She realised what she had just said to me, "What? Nothing. I said nothing," She backtracked, "Nothing after what I said about her location. What?"

She then quickly darted off. I had no idea why she had gotten so agitated, but now that I had an almost concrete idea on where to find Nerastarel, the Dunmer's suspicious reaction was less than important to me.