A Question of Fate Options

[ThatSkyrimGuy]

Brief Intro By The Author

A Question of Fate would be the title of my piece.

I have been back and forth about trying to start and post a fan fic piece. The idea has always intrigued me, but I never considered myself to be a writer, let alone a good writer. I have read a sampling of some of the works that are posted on this site, and quite frankly, it is intimidating. The material is amazing. I must say say that despite the intimidation, it is also inspiring. So I am willing to throw caution to the wind and go for it. There are a few provisos. I work for a living. Often times, the hours I work are long. There may be periods of dormancy in this thread. I will apologize in advance for that. Life outside the internet does have it's restrictions. Also, I am sure that there is an unspoken etiquette that states, "You read mine and comment, and I shall do the same". This is also where I could run into trouble, for the same reasons that there may be dormant periods in this thread. There are stories on this site that I could never hope to read all the way through, with triple digit page counts, while I try to keep posting my own story and work through everyday life. So, with all that being said, I will wait to start posting chapters until I get a sense of what the audience demands. Please let me know if I should start posting a fan fic piece, based on what you have just read.

Thanks.

EDIT - This was originally posted in "General Discussion"

This post has been edited by ThatSkyrimGuy: May 4 2013, 04:41 AM

[ThatSkyrimGuy]

First things first...

@ Captain Hammer - Thanks for joining in and thanks even more for your very kind words. I hope you will enjoy Val's further exploits.

@ mALX - Also LOVED that he toasted the fallen enemy on the way out, nice touch! (But GAAAAH! He didn't search them! Lol). -- Thanks mALX! The weather was too nasty to search the bodies, plus two had fallen off the bridge. Hopefully, none of them had the claw!

@ Acadian - Welcome back from your sojourn to Montana.

You did a nice job of incorporating the fortuitous sword tossing while using Val’s own incredulity at his success to temper the feat. This was especially effective since it was preceded by his slipping, falling and back-skittling like a mud crab. -- Thank you so much! I have tried hard to show that Val reaching 51 years of age entailed skill in combat, but I don't want him to seem like a super hero, because he SO is not!

@ jack cloudy - One of the things I dislike about Skyrim. I literally got a quest recently where the NPC went "so bring me the staff." Without telling where the staff was, what it looked like etc. I had to go in the journal to find the location. -- Same here! How could Lucan have possibly known that the claw would be in Bleak Falls Barrow when he didn't know what the claw was for? Thanks for the comments.

@ SubRosa - Things were going so well until that icy bridge. Eeep! -- Having spent several years north of the Mason-Dixon Line, I well remember icy conditions on bridges. Thanks for the comments.

******
All of you rock!

******
Previously: Val was on his way up the mountain in worsening weather conditions when he encountered bandits at an outpost near the summit. Having disposed of them, he continued on to Bleak Falls Barrow…

Chapter 13 – Into Bleak Falls Barrow

21st Last Seed, 4E201 - Continued

When I left Riverwood, I had prided myself in being prepared for the journey. I had double checked my equipment and provisions and patted myself on the back for thinking of everything. How quickly things change, for now I cursed myself for not bringing a scarf and gloves. The snow storm was nothing short of a blizzard. The howling wind, blowing snow, and freezing temperatures were wreaking havoc on every square inch of exposed skin. I was actually looking forward to entering the barrow just to get out of this weather.

The structure loomed large ahead of me. Massive stone arches topped with some type of stylized animal head were its main feature, but the blinding snow made seeing details impossible. A wide set of stone stairs led upward to where I presumed the entrance to be. I had reached the base of the steps when something stung the side of my face. I spun to see what had done it, but nothing was there. Looking down, I saw an arrow lying in the snow, and then I saw a second arrow ricochet off the stone wall next to the stairs. Someone was shooting at me! I retreated to the nearest cover, the corner of the same stone wall at the base of the steps.

I nocked an arrow and peered around the corner. Visibility was hindered greatly by the blowing snow, but I could just make out a shadowy figure coming down the stairs. He appeared to have another arrow of his own nocked and ready. I drew back my bowstring, then leaned out, took quick aim, and shot. I immediately understood why my attacker had missed me with his first two attempts. The howling wind played with the arrow like a toy. I could not be sure where it struck, but it certainly was not in my approaching antagonist. I cursed the snowstorm under my breath as I ducked back behind my cover.

Enough of this!

I slung my bow and drew my sword, waiting for the bandit to get closer. When I guessed that he was close enough, I jumped out and charged my enemy while letting out a scream at the top of my lungs. The initial surprise was enough to catch the bandit off guard. He did manage to fend off my first swing with his bow, but that blow had knocked him off balance and finishing him off was quick and easy after that.

“WHAT IN THE GODS NAMES ARE YOU DOING OUT IN THIS WEATHER!” I raged into the dead man’s face, while withdrawing my sword from his rib cage.

Unbridled fury seized me and ran through my veins like molten metal. Reason and caution had fled me in its wake. I charged up the steps and encountered another bandit guard. I could feel the explosive heat building down my arms as I dropped my sword. The guard was amazed to see me, for a moment. I raised my arms and blasted the thief with intense fire that did not stop until I was no longer able to sustain it. His screams had gone silent well before his charred corpse collapsed into the snow with a hiss and a cloud of steam. Still raging with anger, my fury and I continued to charge toward the barrow entrance. Suddenly, I noticed there was less snow and wind. This caught my attention enough to prevent me from rushing headlong through the doors. I had stepped under an overhang that offered a minimal respite from the elements. I took a moment to catch my breath, while cursing myself for losing my temper so completely. At that moment, I realized that I had not retrieved my sword.

For Y’ffre’s sake Val! Where did THAT come from? You swore that would never happen again…

After collecting my sword and returning to the limited shelter of the overhang, I examined the entrance. It was a pair of heavy double doors that appeared ancient in the extreme. Opening them quietly might prove difficult. But I certainly couldn’t stand out here in the freezing cold and wait for someone to come by to grease the hinges. With my sword at the ready, I gently pulled on the large iron ring. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily and quietly the door opened, and I was even more pleased to find no one on the other side guarding it. Pulling the door only enough to allow for my passage, I stepped through cautiously so as not to alert nearby foes. It closed just as easily and silently as it had opened. I stood there for a moment, watching and listening.

I had entered a large chamber. It had the look of being a temple in days past. But now, holes in the roof were letting daylight and snowflakes in. The floor was littered with rubble. An acrid, sickly sweet odor occasionally accosted my nostrils, like meat that had started to turn. At the far end, I could see light and movement. Voices reverberated off the stone walls, but not clear enough for me to make out what was being said. I sheathed my sword and readied my bow. Staying close to the walls and in the shadows of the rubble piles, I crept slowly and silently toward the source of light and sound. There was a dead man and several dead skeevers lying in the middle of the floor, but it wasn’t safe to investigate yet.

That explains the smell…

I stopped when I was close enough to hear what was being said. Two bandits were standing near a fire, a fairly large man and a female mer, but what race I could not tell. She was very concerned about getting her fair share, and he was trying to allay her concerns.

You’re about to have more to worry about, sister…

Indeed she did when she saw her comrade fall with an arrow in the back of his skull. Her worries were short lived though, as was she. I waited a bit to allow for more bandits to appear. When none did, I slung my bow and approached the fire. I stood in its warmth for a few minutes, holding out my hands and thawing the rest of the cold from my bones. While standing there, I contemplated what had occurred outside. A shudder ran through me, as much from shedding the cold as well as trepidation over losing control of myself the way I had. A knot of fear that I had not felt since I was a child gnawed at my belly.

Stop thinking about that! This was a fluke…an anomaly…it won’t happen again…relax…

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The odors that permeated the chamber snapped me right back to reality and the present. Since there was no sign of any immediate danger, and the worst of the chill had left my body, the first thing I did was open my pack and grab my wine bottle. I started chugging and had a third of the bottle gone before I lowered it from my lips. Replacing the cork, I set the bottle next to my pack and decided to investigate the chamber. First, I walked back to the dead man I had seen earlier. Upon closer examination, I wished I hadn’t. What I had thought to be a man was recognizable as humanoid in shape only. The skeevers had been at him…her…it…with a vengeance. As I looked around, I realized that there were many dead skeevers. Over a dozen of the dead rodents were scattered about the chamber, but there were no signs of wounds on the vermin. It was as if they had dropped in their tracks. I looked back again at the miserable excuse for a corpse and noticed a pouch on its belt. When I leaned down to grab it, I caught the unmistakable odor of spider venom. This poor soul had been poisoned, and then the skeevers died from feasting on tainted flesh. The amount of venom must have been extreme for the body to reek of it so heavily. I used my dagger to cut the pouch loose, and then used it again on each of the dead skeevers to harvest their tails.

I returned to the fire, figuring there must be some food and drink around somewhere. While searching for provisions the bandits would no longer require, I saw a chest. A grin came to my lips as I walked toward it. I could already feel the claw in my hands. The chest was locked, but not for long. The lock popped with minimal effort, causing my smile to grow as I opened the chest, and then it fell away from my face when I viewed the contents. There was no claw to be had, but I did gain some coin and a green vial with the simple label of “Boost”.

Looks like I’m going deeper into the barrow…

I shuddered at the thought of what I was sure would be tight, confined spaces. My search for food and drink was fruitless, which meant I would have to dig into my own provisions. I couldn’t believe these bandits didn’t have some ale lying around somewhere. After a snack of bread and cheese, chased with more healthy swigs of wine, I eyed the bedrolls arranged around the fire. It couldn’t be later than early afternoon, but there was no telling when I might get a chance to rest once I entered the tunnels of the barrow. As I had done in Embershard mine, I decided to lie down on top of one of the bedrolls for a short nap. I kept my sword out of its scabbard and within quick reach, just in case. Before I slept, I mused with a furrowed brow about my earlier outburst. It nagged at me like a bothersome insect that wouldn’t go away until I killed it. I decided to do just that, and opened my backpack to get the wine bottle. I finished of the last of it and reclined again. Thoughts of childhood and uncontrolled power swirled through my head as I dozed off…

* * *

Black space stretches for as far as I can see, or not see, in every direction. I am not falling or floating. I am not paralyzed, but I can’t go anywhere, because there is nowhere to go. I am simply existing somewhere in space and time with no indication as to the passing of either. Now I can make out two red points of light that seem to be approaching me. No…not points of light…eyes, with pupils that are elongated to the vertical…serpent’s eyes. I have seen these eyes before, but cannot recall where or when. Fear begins to rise in me as a scaly head comes into focus around the eyes. The sound of massive wings beating the air accompanies a low hissing growl that is coming from its mouth. Then it begins to speak in a strange language that I have never heard before, but I understand it fully…

“Come as I know you must. Come and grovel before me. We shall tear you asunder with the voices of mayhem, my minions and I. The others shall soften you and make you regret your inevitable fate, our fate, the fate of all. Perhaps if you grovel sufficiently, I shall spare your life. But do not hope for such, for your life spared will be a life of supplicating misery, as an example to all human kind. It shall be a life of bowing to my every whim and begging for me to spare you no longer. The days of men and mer have come to an end. Come as I know you must.”

Suddenly, fire, frost, and concussive force alternately burn, freeze, and pound me, over and over again in rapid succession. The agony seems endless with no hope of ever ending…I can do nothing but scream…