Travels in Vvardenfell - Alric Lycester Options

[Chumbaniya]

This is my first go at fan fiction, so bear with me. I intend to continue the story alongside playing the main character on Morrowind (it helps with getting details right), so the amount of writing will be limited by how far my character gets in game. More will come later, obviously, but I thought I'd post this section because it leaves it on a good end-point. Anyway, here it is. Hope it's alright.

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“Oh no, this isn’t right. The dates on here are all wrong. Socucius might be getting old, but he shouldn’t get something like this messed up. I suppose it was just a mistake from one of the messengers…”

I shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Caius seemed to ignore me and started scribbling on a piece of scrap paper. After a minute of furious concentration on his writing, Caius looked up, and was startled when he realised that he still had a guest.

“I’m sorry, but it looks like they’ve sent me the wrong person. We can’t exactly send you back to jail now, so you’re free to go.” He said, turning back to the paper.

That was when my travels in Vvardenfell began. I was out of the door before Caius had time to change his mind. It had turned out even better than I had hoped; being released from prison to work for a mysterious group of agents was promotion enough, but being released from prison to be given complete freedom on a backwater island was even better.

Balmora was the name of the town I had been sent to. Wandering around in the evening light, it seemed quite a pleasant place, and remarkably cosmopolitan for a Dunmer settlement (I had almost expected to find them all living in tents, though my ideas of the island were perhaps a little more out of date than I had thought). In any case, I needed accommodation for the night, and the local temple seemed happy to ‘give shelter to a weary traveller’, as they put it. The next day, I decided, would be the first day of my new life as a… well, frankly, I had no idea what I would actually do, but it was certainly going to be the start of something.

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The dawn of the next day obviously approved of my plans for a new beginning. It was as clear and bright as any I had ever seen, and gave a quite beautiful view of the town as I stood on the temple steps. The pale yellow rays of the early sun bathed the soft stone of Balmora’s houses, and gave an impression of remarkable peacefulness.

And so it was with a light heart that I began to take a good look at the opportunities in the town. A guard, who seemed determined to be unfriendly despite the calm of the morning, directed me to the mages’ guild building, and I left at once, not wanting his sour mood to rub off on me.

On arriving, I was met by a Dunmer woman, who seemed to look at me somewhat disdainfully.

“What business do you have with the mages’ guild, commoner?” She asked.

I then realised that I was still wearing the tattered clothes I had been given on my release from prison. It was not the best of first impressions to make, but I was sure that this woman would recognise a talented mage whether he was wrapped in silk finery or dirty rags. It would just require me to show her some of my skill.

“I’d like to join the mages guild.” I stated cheerfully. The woman looked sceptical.

“We have requirements, you know. Our members must be able to display some skill with magic.”

She looked a little confused when I started to rise upwards. Her eyes were still on my face, so she didn’t see my feet gradually lifting off the floor. Once I had risen around a foot into the air, she looked down at my feet, and saw the tell-tale wisps of magic supporting me as I stood in mid-air.

“Not a particularly complex spell, but I suppose it shows that you have at least some skill,” she conceded “You would be eligible to join the Mages’ Guild. I am Ranis Athrys, the guild leader here in Balmora.”

I considered showing her some more serious magic then, but then I realised that having her underestimate me could be useful later on. As long as the guild knew I had the skill to cast some basic spells, they didn’t need to know any more about me. I reasoned that appearing less powerful than I was would mean they would not keep such a close eye on my actions.

I spent the rest of the day looking around Balmora. I discovered that this was a House Hlaalu controlled town, and while I knew little of the workings of the great houses (having only heard vague stories about them at home), I was sure I had been told in the past the Hlaalu was more tolerant of outlanders than the other houses, which was obviously to my advantage. I decided against getting any jobs from them, though. Getting involved in local politics with very little knowledge of the island and its people seemed to be a bad idea.

There were many shops in Balmora, and after my first encounter with Ranis Athrys, I decided that I could not go on wearing the clothes of a peasant if I wanted to get anywhere. Using money I had found (I will spare the details for the sake of my reputation) since my release from prison, I bought some slightly more expensive attire at a nearby clothier, then found a small armourer’s in the centre of town. The Bosmer there was surprisingly helpful, and showed me some light but hardwearing pieces of armour made from netch leather. If I was going to travel, he told me, I would need some tough clothing, due to the various dangers of weather and wildlife on Vvardenfell. I thanked him, and left feeling much more comfortable, clean, and confident than I had before. I felt that I was beginning to look like the hardy traveller I wanted to become.

I spent the rest of the day wandering down the river that flowed through Balmora (I forget its name now…). I had been informed that the settlement of Hla Oad was downstream, but it turned out to be no more than a scattering of wooden huts, and the only people I could find there were peasants and smugglers. Needless to say, I didn’t consider spending my night there. The trip back up the river was short, and there was still enough light for me to travel easily, so I set off back to Balmora to find somewhere to get a drink, a hot meal, and a bed.

Entering the first suitable establishment I could see when I made it back to Balmora, I found myself in a place called the “Eight Plates”. There were a fair number of patrons there already, so my entry was of little interest, and I made my way straight to the bar for a well-deserved brandy. It was only when I turned away from the bar that I noticed a giant of a Nord standing over me.

[Chumbaniya]

Another update for you . I best tell you though that there's no actual plan for the story as a whole, so it may or may not end up coherent. Anyway, here goes...

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Unfortunately for me, however, this did not alter the fact that I woke with a terrible hangover. Finding Gatrick in a similar state downstairs, and with no reason for us to move on so soon, I suggested that we spend the day in Balmora. Gatrick seemed to be relieved by this, though he didn’t admit it – he was, like many Nords, proud of his ability to take large amounts of drink, and he did his best not show the effects of his own hangover while I recovered from mine.

It was only that afternoon, as we were walking around Balmora, that he told me his real reason for travelling to Vvardenfell. After he had asked me to clarify the story of my release from prison, I realised he had not told me why he was here himself. When I asked, he led me just outside of the town, then sat down on a flat rock and started to explain. As he began to tell his story, his face darkened, and his tone grew grim.

“Seven years ago, Alric, a young man, a Dunmer, came to my family’s village in Skyrim. He was given food and shelter by my people, as the lands where the village lies are cold and barren, and the wilderness can be dangerous for travellers. At the time, I was away on my travels, so I can only tell you what happened as it was told to me.”

As he spoke, I watched his face carefully, but he was staring into the river with a glazed look in his eyes.

“This young man stayed with my people for a few days. He was quiet and solitary, and he never spoke about himself. He simply accepted what my people offered him, and thanked them for their hospitality. One night, though, my brother came back earlier than usual from his hunt, and he heard his wife screaming as he entered his house. He rushed in, drawing his axe ready, and found his wife struggling to escape the clutches of the young Dunmer. He was enraged, and raised his axe to slay him, but the Dunmer had heard him coming, and he turned to face my brother and plunged a dagger into his heart. After that he fled, and he was never seen by any of the villagers again.”

Gatrick was shaking as he came to the end of his story, partly with anger and partly with sadness. I too was moved by the tale – he had never told me of his brother’s murder before – but I was still confused as to how this had brought Gatrick to Vvardenfell.

“I suppose you’re wondering why I am telling you this now” he said, “When I returned to my village, after hearing the news that my brother was dead, I spoke to his wife about my brother’s murderer. I learned little from her, as she was still grieving for my brother, but I was given a name. That name was Nichis Sorendel. I was hungry to seek revenge on him, but I knew that I had little chance of ever finding him. However, the name stuck in my memory, and around a month ago I heard it mentioned again.”

“I was working as a hired guard in Winterhold, and I caught a smuggler trying to load crates of liquors onto his boat. He was clearly afraid for his life, and he was willing to tell me any information so that I would not harm him. I would not have hurt him in any case, but I asked him who he was transporting the liquors to, thinking it could be useful information for my employers. The name he gave me was the same name I had been given by my brother’s wife, seven years ago – Nichis Sorendel."

"At first I was stunned, but I regained my wits and asked him where the goods were to be transported to. He told me they were destined for Morrowind, to the coastal village of Khuul. At this, my hunger for vengeance was renewed, and I let the smuggler go, right then and there, and I gathered together my belongings and set sail for Morrowind as soon as I could. Now I am here, I will find this village, Khuul, and I will finally take the life of Nichis Sorendel and avenge my brother’s death.”