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]

ghastley - all will be revealed, eventually.

Acadian - You know how those gates are - close one and another seems to pop right up again.

Darkness Eternal - I have indeed, and it will serve as source material for future sigil stone shenanigans. I love the overly complex language that it uses - very 'mage-y'




Previously - Haa-Rei emerged from the gate in one, slightly charred, piece. After losing several days to bad weather he has finally arrived in Kvatch, only to see it burning...

Chapter 28


My haste to leap into action proved completely unnecessary. I scrambled up the hill to Kvatch, only to find that the city had been saved mere hours before my arrival. Of course I was glad that the city was no longer being besieged by the demonic forces of Oblivion, but I was also a little bit annoyed that I’d ran all this way for nothing. Any selfish feelings I had were soon dismissed, as I learned more of the situation.

A refugee camp had been established on a large, open space about halfway up the path to the city. Several people were busy with sewing, mixing herbs, cooking, and whatever else they could do to keep busy. Others simply stared off into the distance or wept quietly to themselves. For such a large city, there were very few people here.

I handed all of my food to a Nord woman who was busy chopping vegetables to go into a large cooking pot. After thanking me, she began to explain what had happened.

An Oblivion gate had opened in front of the city several nights previous and Daedra had swarmed through Kvatch, killing and burning everything in sight (apart from the chapel, which was seemingly impervious to direct assault). The guardsmen had the good sense to just rescue whoever they could and leave the city, where they regrouped and set up defensive lines in order to protect the civilians. A passing adventurer, who matched the description of the person I was here to find, ventured into the Oblivion gate and closed it. Once the gate was closed, the adventurer and the guardsmen charged into the city (meeting up with some civilians who had weathered the attack in the chapel) and defeated the remaining Daedra. The adventurer (already being referred to as the ‘Hero of Kvatch’) departed shortly thereafter in the company of a priest. They were last seen heading along the road to Skingrad.

I’d found a large boulder to sit on while I went over all of this information, and let out a long sigh. I hadn’t considered the effects of the Oblivion gate that I’d closed, being so far away from anywhere, but this attack on Kvatch was utterly catastrophic.

I thought of sleepy Chorrol, and of Deeh back in Leyawiin. What would happen if they were attacked? Would the guards be as heroic as those in Kvatch? Would a passing adventurer happen to be nearby to close the gate? Then there was the timing – if the Nord had been correct, the gate had opened on the night of the Emperor’s death. Finally, what was the significance of the priest? Was he the package that Jauffre had sent for? Was any of this linked, or was it all a series of terrible coincidences?

“E-excuse me sir.” A small voice pulled me away from my thoughts. It belonged to a blonde haired woman, a Breton, wearing the torn and charred remains of a green dress. A young girl, who I judged to be her daughter due to the striking resemblance, clung to her hand. They were looking up at me with wide eyes, and I clambered down from my rock before replying.

“Yes?” I asked, slightly confused that she’d called me ‘sir’.

“Would you happen to be an adventurer? I-I saw you give your food to the others so I was hoping you would help me with something too. You’d be p-paid of course…” She was clearly nervous, and spoke so fast that I could barely keep up, but trailed off at the end. She looked exhausted.
“What is it that you need help with, exactly?”

“Well I- that is, my daughter and I, were on our way to Anvil when…this happened…so I was hoping to find someone to travel the last s-stage of the journey with. Hopefully someone that would be able to keep us safe from any D-Daedra that may be roaming around…” Her eyes wandered from my armour to my bow, as if she was making sure that I was properly equipped.

My first thought was to reject the proposal. I was here on Blades business, and my target had a head start of several hours in the direction of Skingrad. On top of that, I had no sword – a sellsword with no sword is quite frankly an embarrassment to the profession. Just as I was about to decline, the child spoke.

“If you help us, I’ll share my sweets with you,” She said, and revealed a crumpled paper bag containing some slightly melted candy. “but not all of them. The rest is for Ali.” She had such a strong voice that I momentarily forgot which of us was the child and which was the brave mercenary.
“Who’s Ali?” I asked after I’d regained my composure.

“Oh, that’s Ailinwe. My wife. She’s waiting for us in Anvil.” The woman explained, patting her child on the head. The youngsters input seemed to calm the woman.

Well that was that then. What sort of Argonian would I be if I stood between a woman and her wife, and more importantly between myself and some sweets. Sword or no sword, I would do it.

“Ok then, I’ll get you to Anvil. We’ll set off whenever you’re ready.”

I’d assumed they would take a while to gather their things, maybe have some food and rest before leaving, but after disappearing into a tent for a few seconds they emerged with a small pack and told me they were ready to go.

And so, I set off toward Anvil while the Hero of Kvatch moved in the opposite direction. Even so, I felt as if I was doing the right thing.

This post has been edited by hazmick: Jul 9 2016, 01:17 AM