Un-named Story Options

[Stargazey]

Stellius sat at his desk, shuffling papers. It was dark outside, but that didn’t bother him. Night was when he thrived; all the idiots had gone home, leaving only Stellius and his quill pen. His tiny corner office was lit only by a few candles and one large, shining, silver candlestick, a family heirloom. In case of any intruder, Stellius kept a shortsword in his desk and some potions in his cloak. Stellius was writing a declaration for the arrest and public execution of an infamous criminal, Rolten Detar, better known as “Rotten Rolten the Dunmer”. He had been a petty criminal, dabbling in various robberies, smuggling and hate crimes against Imperials, but had recently been rumored to have been involved in a number of brutal murders, all around Vvardenfell.


As Stellius scratched out the last line, he heard a noise. Stellius had worked at night for many years, but for some reason, this noise sent a chill straight up his spine, giving him Goosebumps. If the intruder was in the room, Stellius did not want to alarm him, thus sending him into frenzy. Instead, he sat very calmly and reached into his desk, pulling out the sword. Before Stellius could draw his sword, four crossbow bolts pierced his chest, arm and leg. He fell forward onto his desk, smudging the declaration.

[Stargazey]

[quote=Soulseeker3.0]wow very good and now I will quote a certain person

"please sir, can I have some more?"[/quote]

Why sure you can

The room where Terious had been found was a small room, dimly lit. Even through the sparse light, Leitaus could see the brutality of the murder. Terious had obviously been working, probably writing something. The attacker had come in, taken Terious by surprise, and then slit his throat. After Terious had died, the assailant had obviously wanted to make a point. He had cut out Terious’s eyes and impaled them upon two small daggers, which were stuck in the desk. In blood, the words “ALL SHALL FALL” was smeared on the wall. When Leitaus walked over to Terious’s corpse, he saw that he was missing two limbs. His arms had been cut off, and couldn’t be found in the castle. Leitaus was disgusted. The other two murders had been equally brutal, Leitaus was told. This was the same assailant, Leitaus was sure. Parts of bodies had gone missing from the other scenes, too. Leitaus shook his head and turned to a guard “Clean this room up, and send his corpse to his wife. Send her my regards.” The guard saluted and marched out. Truthfully, Leitaus had been sleeping with Terious’s wife, but that wasn’t important.


When Leitaus returned to the Duke with his report, the Duke was being guarded by ten soldiers, all armed well and wide awake. The Duke was sitting in a chair, reading The Daily Vivec, Vvardenfell’s number one newspaper. “You see this, Leitaus? The press is having a field day with these assassinations.” The Duke threw the paper at Leitaus. The paper was headlined with the words “THIRD IMPERIAL OFFICIAL KILLED, INVESTIGATORS STUMPED “How did they get access to the crime scene?” The Duke shook his head and said “Freedom of the press.” Leitaus swore and said “I have my report, from Terious’s murder.” The Duke looked up and said “Very well, give it to me.” Leitaus nodded and handed it to him. “Very nice, Leitaus. You are dismissed.” “Very well, sir. I will visit Terious’s widow, and ask her if she knows anything.” The Duke nodded absent-mindedly, engrossed in the report.


As Leitaus put on his boots, he asked Dielle if she knew anything about her husband’s murder. Dielle laughed and said “We’re part of the Imperial government, what Dunmer doesn’t want to slit our throats?” Leitaus nodded and put on his armor “It was good to see you again, Dielle, but I might not be able to…..visit, for several weeks.” She nodded and said “Goodbye, Leitaus.” He kissed her and walked out. As Leitaus walked back to Ebonheart, he thought about Dielle. She was a beautiful, intelligent and very high powered woman, but how could he court her? This would raise suspicion that Leitaus had killed Terious, just to marry Dielle. No, he thought, I’ll wait until this investigation is over, and my name is cleared.


When Leitaus arrived in Ebonheart, bad news greeted him. Another Imperial Official had been assassinated, this time a judge. Liosis Titaron had been shot by a crossbow while walking to his Ebonheart office. One bolt pierced the back of his head, killing him before he hit the ground.


Leitaus walked to the Duke’s chamber, where Duke Dren paced back and forth, deep in thought. “Sir” said Leitaus. The Duke looked up and said “Another one, Leitaus. Another one, a judge this time. Do you know what this means? Some one is after the government, a treasurer, a judge, a Governor’s assistant and the ambassador to Vvardenfell. People are worried, Leitaus. They don’t know what to do, once the head is gone, the body will crumble.” Leitaus nodded and said “All high-ranking officials have been secured, right?” Dren nodded and said “All but Ordal Helvi, he’s disappeared.” Leitaus was shocked for a moment and then said “Is anyone looking for him?” Dren nodded and said “I’ve sent someone to look for him, of course.” Leitaus nodded and said “Is there anything that ties these victims together?” The Duke thought for a moment and then said “Well, there is one thing. They were all being floated as possible nominations
For Governor of Ebonheart, but we’ve already selected someone, Rufinius Alleius. Leitaus nodded and said “Where can I find this man?” The Duke thought for a moment and said “He was gone, but should be returning very soon.” Leitaus nodded and set out for the docks.


Rufinius Alleius sat on his boat, The Stargazey and felt it rock back and forth. He had made sure that he had been out of town while the murders had taken place. The Morag Tong had promised secrecy ‘till the death, but the Dark Brotherhood was cheaper, and in Rufinius’s opinion, more efficient. He had dealt with them in the past, and without fail, they had executed the plan perfectly. Rufus felt badly about the death of his colleagues, but they were necessary. This appointment was crucial, and Rufinius was, obviously, the best choice. He couldn’t leave this in the hands of the Duke and his cronies, so he took it in to his own hands. He sat thinking for a few more moments, until a there was a knock on his door. “Who is this?” The voice was that of the captain of his ship, Stilious Feitrion, and he sounded worried. Rufinius got up and walked to the door, where Stilious stood, a look of panic on his face “Guards, looking to investigate the murders, a commander no less.” Rufinius swore and then spoke in a whisper “Hide the moonsugar, and burn the contracts, I will talk to them.” Stilious nodded and disappeared into the hold. Rufus straightened his clothes, and walked above deck.


Leitaus stood on the deck of The Stargazey, tapping his foot. The longer this Rufinius took, the more suspicious Leitaus got. He had sent the captain of the ship to summon his master, but that had been ten minutes ago. He was about order his men to go and investigate, when a finely dressed Imperial appeared on deck. “Commander, how may I help you?” Leitaus did not like this flip attitude and planned to make this clear. “Are you Rufinius Alleius?” The tone of his voice was clear, cool and to the point. “Yes, I am. Is something wrong? Has something happened to my wife?” Leitaus could hear the indifference and smugness in this man’s voice “No. But you are suspect in four murders. All high-ranking Imperial officials.” “Me? I have been out of town for two weeks, away in Cryodiil on vacation.” “Do you have proof of this? Traveling papers, witnesses?” Anticipating this, Rufus had brought the papers above deck “Yes, Commander, right here.” He produced traveling papers for him and his captain and said “My captain will testify as a witness, as I’m sure the dock guard in Topal Bay will.” Leitaus wasn’t satisfied, but according to the law, there wasn’t anything else to do. “Very well. You will be under surveillance and will be escorted to any locations by an armed guard. Also, you are hereby not allowed to leave the island of Vvardenfell.” Rufus had expected this, but the armed guard might be a problem. “Thank you, Commander, but I must profess my innocence. I have never committed a crime in my entire life, let alone kill four of my colleagues in cold blood.” “Your statements will be noted, but this does not exonerate you.” Rufus nodded and returned to his ship, followed by a guard.

As Rufinius and the guard had gotten back aboard the boat, Leitaus’s eyes followed them. Leitaus had warned Sellius that Rufinius and his captain would be tricky, to never let his guard down. Sellius had been trained by Leitaus, a sort of an apprentice. He was an expert in combat and was very intelligent, coming from a scholarly family. The ship was an undoubtedly a find ship, majestic and Imperial in its beauty. Leitaus would’ve liked nothing better than to summon his archer and sink it. That liar, Rufinius, had killed those men, whether he admitted it or not. Leitaus would get him, one way or another. He turned and walked by to the Castle.