The Story of Trey Chapter 10 Options

[treydog]

Thanks to the efforts of Stargelman and Alexander, Chapters 1-8 are available in the Fan Forge section of the main page. So rather than clutter things with reposting all that, I will start with the current "live" chapter.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke

Chapter 10

Before I relate the next phase of my adventurers in Vvardenfell, I find it necessary to talk for a moment about time. As I have written it, this story seems to be a continuous description of events, one following swiftly on the heels of another. That is not completely accurate, for several reasons. First, there were periods of several weeks that I spent recovering from wounds or from the strain of the many missions I undertook. I have not felt the need to burden the reader with a recounting of all those “slack” periods. Second, certain things occurred during the time of this story that I am not yet ready to reveal. There may come I time when I feel able to relate those other stories, but that time is not now. When I left “home” and made my way to the Imperial City, I was 17. And I celebrated my 18th “birthday” in Vivec. So it may seem strange that such powerful figures as Athyn Sarethi and Sul-Matuul entrusted one so young with the difficult and dangerous tasks that they gave to me. The reason they did so is this- by the time I set my reluctant feet upon the Path of the Nerevarine, when I went into Kogoruhn and came out again, I was 23. Often, in those difficult days, I felt much older, despite the “immunity” to aging that corprus had granted me. Those years had given me a fair number of scars, physical and emotional, and the wisdom that went with them.

While I recovered from my exertions in the ancient House Dagoth stronghold and contemplated my quest to find the Cavern of the Incarnate, I decided that I needed to do two or three other things first. For one, I needed to find out as much as I could about the House Dagoth creatures I had encountered. If I was destined to fight those foul beasts, it would be well to understand the nature of my enemies. The best place to gain such knowledge would be the Ghostgate, where Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers daily fought against the creatures of the Blight. If they would share their wisdom, I might have a better chance of survival. The second task I wished to accomplish was the creation of a better weapon- a sword for preference. In my many battles, I had managed to soul-trap several fairly powerful creatures, and one those soul-gems could be used to enchant a long sword with useful spells. My struggle against Dagoth Uthol was fresh in my mind as I considered this. Because my own skill at enchanting was marginal, I would need to seek the services of a Mages Guild enchanter. The sort of enchantments I had in mind would cost considerably, so I would need to find a way to raise the necessary gold. Such were the mundane thoughts with which I occupied my mind- mostly to avoid thinking too deeply about what would happen when I found the Cavern of the Incarnate.

After frankly moping around Ald’ruhn for two or three days, I decided that it was time to put my plans into effect. My first task would be to have a sword enchanted by Galbedir in Balmora. Here I ran into my first problem- although I had appropriate soul-gems for the sort of enchantments I had in mind, I did not have a good enough sword to take the enchantments. It seemed that an item’s capacity for enchantment was related to the material from which it was made. The best weapons for enchantment were Daedric or ebony, followed by Imperial and Dwemer. Due to its nature, glass was among the worst materials for enchanting- Galbedir tried to explain the reasons, but I fear I quickly got lost in the arcana of her explanation. What it came down to was this- if I wished to have major enchantments placed on a weapon, it would have to be Daedric or ebony. And the best place to find a Daedric weapon was the sort of place I had scrupulously avoided- a Daedric shrine. The items were so rare and so difficult to find that no merchants carried them. Some ebony weapons were rumored to be stored in the Great House vaults in Vivec, but even I didn’t want to think about burglarizing those. And even if I did raid one or a dozen Daedric shrines, there was no guarantee of finding a long blade- it was merely a possibility. Even better, the likelihood of finding such a weapon was directly proportional to the likelihood that said weapon would be guarded or even wielded by some particularly powerful summoned creature. The irony was almost too much for me to bear- in order to create a weapon that would give me a decent chance against the creatures of Dagoth Ur, I would have to face the almost equally nasty summoned creatures of Oblivion. Unfortunately, there was nothing else for it- I simply HAD to have a better sword. And I knew of at least two Daedric shrines that were fairly close to Balmora- Shurinbaal, near Gnaar Mok and Ald Sotha, near Vivec. As I set off for Gnaar Mok, I wondered at the ultimate irony- the cruel twist of fate that had turned me from a thief into a crusader.

This post has been edited by treydog: Oct 22 2009, 05:43 PM

[treydog]

The usual enchantments placed on weapons were those which added to the damage inflicted. Also, a weapon could be magicked to drain some attribute, sometimes transferring the essence to the wielder. Besides the limitations on enchantment imposed by the material being enchanted, there was the additional limitation that I could only use spells that I was able to cast. My choices were fire, frost, or shock- poison I refused to use, even against evil creatures. That was hypocritical, I suppose- after all, dead is dead. Still, it seemed to me that poison was the weapon of the assassin, the murderer, the kind of person who wanted the victim to suffer. If I must be the bringer of death, I would do it in the cleanest, quickest fashion possible. As I pondered the type of destructive magic to use, I considered the creatures that I had faced and the environment in which I had found them. I had never learned any shock damage spells, so that left fire or frost. Red Mountain and the area under Kogoruhn had been filled with lava, smoke, and steam- all aspects of fire. That was an element with which the Sixth House creatures were familiar- it would not frighten them. Therefore, I chose frost damage- my biting cold would counter the fires of Red Mountain. After passing over my grand soul gem and some 7000 drakes, I had a dai-katana which would cause 5-53 points of frost damage upon a successful strike.

I had little experience with two-handed blades, having preferred sword-and-shield previously, so I decided that practice would be in order. With that in mind, I traveled to Ald’ruhn and from there to the vicinity of the Ghostfence, where the cliff-racers seemed to breed, or at least to congregate in large numbers. Despite the great weight of the sword, its balance was superb. Until I got used to it, I almost felt as if I was a beat behind- that the sword already “knew” where it wished to go. I must also admit that it gave me great satisfaction to utterly destroy a dozen or more cliff-racers, each with a single blow. After I had considerably reduced the population of the winged pests, I returned to Ald’ruhn to check the edge of the blade. To my amazement, it showed almost no signs of wear or use. For the first time since I had begun to believe in this insane Nerevarine business, I thought that I might actually manage to survive. The weight of the Daedric sword was still a problem, even after I laid aside my glass shield and all my other blades. I purchased a Greater Feather spell to temporarily help with that issue, and hoped that I might eventually be able to enchant an item to reduce the apparent weight of my gear. Having done all I could to prepare myself for the coming battle in terms of equipment, I turned my attention to gathering information. Caius would have been my first choice for information, but he was gone, so I considered my other mentor- Athyn Sarethi. In truth, I had been avoiding him ever since I had committed myself to following the path of prophecy. I knew that Athyn was a man of faith and that it would distress him greatly to know that I was defying the Temple’s teachings on this matter. Still worse, I feared putting him in the untenable position of having to choose between our friendship and his faith and honor. If he knew what I was doing, he would be obligated to denounce me as a heretic. Still, if I were careful in what I said and what questions I asked, he would not know what I was doing- he might suspect, but suspicion was not certainty. And besides, I couldn’t seek knowledge from the Temple itself; I had no idea how much they knew of my dealings with Mehra Milo and the Dissident Priests. After resting for a few hours, I made my way to Sarethi Manor, where I received some startling news.

In truth, my mind had been so filled with coming quest to find the Cavern of the Incarnate and the need for a quality weapon, that I had forgotten about the progress of my stronghold. So I was somewhat surprised when Athyn Sarethi greeted me with the news that my home was finished and that I had achieved the rank of House Father in Redoran. He congratulated me on my continued service and dedication to the ideals of the House and also cast an appraising look at my armor and weaponry.

“Clearly, you have had many adventures and acquitted yourself well, if your possessions are any indication. I also see a few new scars- I do hope you will exercise caution, as well as courage.”

Without going into too much detail, I described some of the fights I had been involved in, and even mentioned my ordeal in lost Kogoruhn. That name brought a reaction from the normally taciturn Athyn and his face paled slightly.

“Kogoruhn! Had I known you intended to go to that dark place, I would have counseled you against it. There is no dishonor in avoiding such an ill-omened and deadly lair as that. Still, I see that you have returned, perhaps a bit wiser than when you went. I will not ask you what necessity took you to that place- it is enough that you have come back to us. Now, there is a matter I wanted to raise with you, Trey, and I find myself unsure how to begin.”

I responded that I hoped our friendship had reached a point where neither had to feel any awkwardness, regardless of the matter to be discussed, and urged him to speak plainly.

He thanked me for my confidence, cleared his throat and said,

“No one in House Redoran doubts your courage or your honor, least of all me. Your actions have brought great renown to us- you have displayed bravery when necessary, tempered with wisdom wherever possible. I could not be prouder if you were one of my own children. You have achieved high rank, and that too is as it should be. But now I would speak with you as a friend, as one who knows your limits as well as your strengths. Normally, the next step would be to become a Councilor….”

Here he paused and took a considering sip of wine while he looked at me closely.

“I mean no insult when I say that I believe that your talents may not suit you to be a Councilor. Do not misunderstand me! I have no doubt that you would carry out your duties to the best of your abilities. More, I am certain that you would keep the interests of Redoran in mind. However, as you have seen, there are divisions within the House- divisions which must be handled with great care if we are to survive. My instincts tell me that you are not a politician, and that you would not be able to ignore the insults and slights that would most likely come your way if you sat on the Council. You would feel compelled to issue a challenge, and would then find yourself Archmaster of Redoran. I cannot speak more plainly than that.”

Athyn’s words held no insult, for I knew he spoke truly. I would never be a politician or a diplomat- I had been bullied and insulted too often in my youth to accept such treatment now. Already, I had become aware of the flaws of Bolvyn Venim, the current Archmaster. He was a man who believed that power equaled privilege, without accepting that it also entailed responsibility. He had been a good leader, but he lacked flexibility. Besides his tendency toward self-indulgence, he seemed to be of the opinion that whatever was good for him was also good for Redoran. There was little question that we would clash if I was on the Council. And I would not back down if he attempted to bully me. Although I had no desire to become Archmaster of Redoran, I still felt that I must give whatever was necessary to the House, the people, who had taken me in and raised me up. If that meant that I must sacrifice my own desires, I would do so. If necessary, I could learn to be a good Archmaster, particularly under Athyn Sarethi’s tutelage. When I expressed that resolve, Athyn smiled and place both hands on my shoulders,

“I knew my judgment was sound when I sponsored you! You are Redoran- there can be no doubt! But you do not need to take on this burden, along with all the others that you already bear. I have not spoken of this before, because I was not certain. There is another, an outlander as you are, who is better suited to take this responsibility. Do not fear for your House- it will be in capable hands. The time for change is not yet come, but it is near. Now, that is enough of such matters. I believe you said you were in need of some information regarding the Blight and its creatures?”