An Argonian's Account, Haa-Rei's adventures in Cyrodiil Options

[hazmick]

Chapter 1

The room was furnished as most high ranking Imperial offices were – dragons everywhere. Dragon curtains (red), dragon floor mat (red), dragon banners (red). I wouldn't be surprised if the guards outside were wearing socks (red) with little dragons on them.

“So we just need to go over a few things here,” the clerk’s piping voice interrupted my thoughts. He studied the notes in front of him “you were born 3E 408?”

“Yes.” I wasn't half as nervous as I thought I’d be, but my mouth was almost too dry to speak.

“Our first official record of you is not until 19 years later. An Imperial prison transport fished you out of the Inner Sea of Morrowind and took you to the port of Seyda Neen. Yes?”

He didn’t look up from his notes, instead arching an enormous grey eyebrow. There was more hair on those brows than on the rest of his head.

“Yes.” Though my mouth was still dry my hands were now clammy. Please gods don’t make him go in for a handshake when this is done.

“Your occupation is listed here as ‘adventurer’. You also seem to have aided the Twin Lamps organisation, among others.” He licked a bony fingertip and turned the page. “This is around the time that you officially joined the Imperial Legion, rising to the rank of Agent.”

“That’s right.” My face reddened slightly when he looked up at me. Apparently a ‘yes’ would suffice.

He took a sip of his drink, a dark gold substance, and winced slightly as it went down. How anybody can enjoy that sort of thing was beyond me. I much prefer tea.

Looking back to his notes, the clerk continued listing various people I’d met who were considered important enough to have an opinion. Mainly guild leaders and Imperials.

I managed to steal a glance at the page, most of which was concealed with black ink.

“Well this seems to be in order. On account of your previous work for the Empire and the skills you have at your disposal, I have no doubt that you will do some good with us.” He stamped my file for approval with an official looking dragon stamp (red).

I grinned widely (any display of emotion towards humans must be greatly exaggerated) and thanked him as he shook my hand firmly.

“Welcome to the Blades, Agent Haa-Rei.”

This post has been edited by hazmick: Jul 9 2016, 01:03 AM

[hazmick]

Acadian - Haa-Rei much prefers it if his companions keep out the way. The last thing he needs is to think about dodging spells from behind. Glad you like the magic bits, I'm always trying to explain game stuff (like inventories, maps, compasses) to make it seem more realistic. Not sure UESP was around back then to help adventurers out

ghastley - As I said to Acadian, the last thing anyone wants from a companion is to be hit in the back by rogue spells. I'm not even sure Olorin can use many destruction spells now that I think about it Thanks for spotting that pesky error, those nits sure are sneaky


Chapter 6


I’d managed to keep the fire going all night while I was on watch duty, but even still the stone fort was freezing cold by the time morning came and the others woke up.

As Olorin and Jötnar prepared breakfast I was half-led, half-dragged outside by Sjöfn, my body feeling sluggish from the cold. She walked me over to a low wall and sat me down, vanishing back into the fort. She returned a few moments later with a steaming mug of tea which she pressed into my hand.

I attempted to thank her, but I instead made an odd croaking noise. Apparently my tongue had gone numb from the cold too.

“Have a drink and try again,” The Nord let out a burst of musical laughter, almost sounding like the wildlife which had begun to come to life around us. “I know how hard it is for you Argonians to get moving in the morning.”

I took a sip of tea before I tried again, the warm liquid immediately loosening the knot in my tongue;

“Thank you. So…have you travelled with Argonians before?” I’m usually terrible at small talk, especially when my brain is still asleep, but the words practically fell out of my mouth. There’s nothing like a nice cup of tea if you want to make friends.

“Yeah, it was a few years ago now. Back up in Skyrim. She was a mage friend of Olorin’s so she could use destruction magic to warm herself up, but it was still a struggle sometimes.”

“I can imagine. I visited Solstheim a while ago and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.” I could almost feel the intense cold from the snow. Had it not been for some enchanted gear, I’d most likely have frozen to death as soon as I got off the boat.

“Solstheim? That’s nothing on the northern part of Skyrim. Even the sea freezes up there!” She flashed me a smile and turned to look at Lake Rumare. The fort was only a few feet away from the water. Probably why it’s so darn cold in the underground sections.

We sat in silence for a while, the morning sun creeping over the trees to reflect on the lake like a thousand sapphire crystals. I was tempted to go for a swim, but I was quite content where I was.

The heavy door of the fort creaked open as the others joined us. Jötnar was a better cook than he looked, replacing my empty mug with a plate of sausages and fried egg. I wolfed it down and wandered down to the lake to help wash up.

Once everyone was ready we set off again, this time heading south.

It was a beautiful morning, perfect for a walk. I was acting as rear-guard today so I could take it relatively easy. I found myself stopping every so often to gaze at a waterfall or distant ruins, promising myself to come back this way and explore when I had the chance.

After a few hours I saw the others stop up ahead and jogged to catch up.

“There’s an inn just down here, we’ll stop there for a while. We should make it to Bravil just after nightfall.” Olorin gestured in the general direction of the inn and then Bravil. We weren’t in a hurry to get anywhere so a break would be nice.

The inn in question was named the Faregyl Inn. It looked like something from an old story book, with a thatched roof and pale smoke rising from a stout chimney.

The interior was larger than I thought it would be, with a large common room on the lower floor. A square counter surrounded the fireplace and a Khajiit greeted us from there.

“Well met travellers! Welcome to Faregyl. My name is Abhuki.” Her voice had only the slightest hint of an Elsweyr accent. Her smile was similar to Olorin’s – undoubtedly friendly and sincere, as if our mere appearance brought her unbridled joy.

Olorin moved to the bar to order food and drinks while the rest of us sat down. Besides us there were two other people – a human and another Khajiit. That man introduced himself as Alix Lencolia. The other Khajiit was called S’Jirra.

As we ate the other residents joined us, apparently they don’t get many visitors out here. Olorin and Abhuki were having a conversation about alteration magic, apparently something they were both adept in (other than smiling), while Jötnar and Alix were deeply engrossed in a talk about farming.

I was quite content to sit in silence, slowly but surely devouring a piece of roast lamb as I tried to listen to everyone else’s conversations. It didn’t last long, however, as Sjöfn dragged me into her conversation with S’Jirra;

“Well Haa-Rei and I would love to help you out. Wouldn’t we?” We would? The Nord’s red eyebrows were raised in a way that suggested ‘no’ was not a possible answer.

“Help out with what, exactly?” It almost sounded as if I hadn’t been listening to their conversation about potatoes, some of which had apparently been stolen from S’Jirra earlier this morning.

“Can you help me find my lost jumbo potatoes? Please, you must help me find them! My potatoes are like my children!” Her feline eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Ever the hero, I accepted the quest and set off with Sjöfn in pursuit of the potato thief. The other half of our party were still engrossed in their respective conversations.

“According to the map there are no settlements, forts or ruins in the direction of our thief’s last location. So it was likely an animal that S’Jirra saw.” I stowed the map in my pack and glanced around. The forest was bright and warm, no signs of any other people. Why would a human steal potatoes anyway? The woods were bursting with edible plants and animals.

“Thanks for helping out by the way. I can shoot pretty well but my hunting skills aren’t that great. You’re more of the ranger type, right?” My fellow potato detective paused to ready her bow.

“Yeah, I was trained to be a Marsh Ranger back home.” I followed Sjöfn’s lead and readied my bow. You can never be too careful when hunting for potatoes.

“You’re from Black Marsh?”

“Originally, but I-“ Questions would have to wait. I dropped into a crouch and motioned for Sjöfn to do the same.

“What have- Oh” She’d seen it too.

Our potato thief was an ogre.

This post has been edited by hazmick: Jul 9 2016, 01:05 AM