The stories so far, Edited and ready to roll. Options

[Troika]

OK, this thread will contain any and all stories that are posted on the geocities site and labelled as edited. These babies we don't have to worry about until it actually comes time to stick em in the game.

I will sort out this thread... in other words, please do NOT post up stories yourself... it could lead to multiple copies which could prove problematic later.

Also, please keep posts in this thread to a minimum. This is mainly just a place where people have quick and easy (although not necessarily organised) access to the stories already finished with.

[Troika]

Section: Stories

Written by Unknown (WillyBubba)

Tales of a Cursed Town

Bane of Lupus

A small group of Nords once migrated from Skyrim, into the Northeastern area of Cyrodiil. These were warriors, hoping to carve a settlement into the uncertainty of the deep, dark unknown. At the time of their movement the region was even less civilized than it is now, and wolves were once a plague to the area. Not knowing this, the warriors picked a nice clearing near a pond to set up camp. They began construction, hoping to have a nice town set up by the time their wives and children arrived.

They had expected to have problems with wild predators, and they therefore sent the well-armed warriors ahead of the rest, but they could not have predicted the horrors that would arrive only a few months after they had settled down. This is where the sad tale of Itar the Gentle begins.

The sun was still stretching its rays across the early morning sky, but Itar had been up for an hour already. In his makeshift hut he had a simple hammock, which didn’t provide the sleep he was accustomed to getting on a bed, and a small sack to keep his few belongings in. Conditions were rather dismal, but it made no difference to Itar, as he was doing what he loved, and had even picked up a new hobby.

On the expedition’s quest to find a suitable place for a settlement they ran into many problems. Some Daedra and their summoners had attacked them early on. In the battle a few died, including the only mage the Nords had brought along. He had been responsible for providing potions and enchantments when needed, and he was now dead. However, Itar had learned a few things from his grandfather, and he now became the expedition’s mage, as he was the most experienced with alchemy, and enchanting especially.

Now he spent every waking hour wandering in the woods, gathering ingredients for potions, and using his family’s ancestral axe, Wolf’s Bane, to gather the souls of whatever animals he came across. That is what he had planned on doing today. He through a few potions of healing and restore fatigue into his sack, grabbed his axe, and set out.

In a short time he reached a small clearing with a pond in the distance. Before he could move closer, to investigate the pond, he heard snarling in the bushes, and a wolf lunged at him. He had Wolf’s Bane ready and swung it quickly, cleaving the wolf’s front legs from its body. It fell to the ground in a bloody pile, still snarling like a mad animal. Regaining his composure, Itar trapped its soul and continued on to the pond. Upon closer inspection he could see someone near the shore of the pond, and started to approach, Wolf’s Bane at the ready. When he got closer he realized that it was a half-naked and wet elf woman. He cleared his throat.

“What? Oh, dear, that’s a mighty axe you have there, for felling those poor trees I suppose.” Said the startled Bosmer as she quickly pulled on a shirt.

“Oh no. Just to protect me on my adventures. This area is quite dangerous, don’t you have a guide or something? Seems a beautiful lady like yourself could get into a bit of trouble.”

“I don’t need arms to protect myself. The beautiful body that your prying eyes were trying to see is rather capable when it comes to defense.”

“And capable when it comes to other things as well?”

“Watch yourself Nord, or you’ll see just how capable, and not the in a way you’d like.”

Itar chuckled and asked her where she stayed.

“I’ve made my home in these wild lands for many years now. I suggest you move away from them if you value your life.”

“Afraid I can’t do that. You see my expedition has finally found a suitable place to settle down. We’re building a village close to here.”

“It has been a long time since I’ve had the company of others, even if they are Nords. I’d like to stay with you awhile, and the knowledge I have of the wild beasts around here will be more than enough to pay for my board.”

“Very well, if you are ready, I will show you back to my village.”

Upon reaching the village the Bosmer lady seemed fascinated with the wooden structures under construction. The Nord workmen were equally enthralled with her lithe figure. Itar quickly reminded them who had found her however. She was different from the stereotypical, cannibalistic, tree-loving Bosmer he had heard of. She refused to hurt any living plant, but she would eat food he prepared and insisted that his hut be expanded enough to accommodate her. Itar had no wife that would come in a few months, when the village was complete, and felt the Bosmer was his best chance to get one.

By the time the village was complete and the wives and children had arrived, Itar and his Bosmer wife, Eraldil, had had a child. The young boy looked like a Bosmer, but it was obvious to all that his Nordic blood ran strong, and he would be a large, strong lad.

Itar thought it befitting, given the name of his axe, and enchanted Wolf’s Bane with the soul of the wolf he had killed before meeting Eraldil at the pond. Soon after enchanting the axe he had a horrible nightmare.
In this nightmare Itar was wandering in the woods when a wolf lunged at him. He cleaved the wolf in two. Upon looking at the dead body, he was horrified to find that it was actually his own son. Hero took this as a sign that if he continued to use Wolf’s Bane he would kill his own son with it. From then on he stowed it away, waiting for his son to come of age, at which time he would hand the axe down to him.

Many years down the road, Itar had long since forgotten the dream, and all of his other troubles. Today, his son would become a man.

“Lupus, son, I wish to continue with you a tradition that my grandfather started with my father. This is the family axe, Wolf’s Bane. Now, I wish for you to have it.”

“Father, it is such a magnificent weapon!”

“As a man I expect you to find your own wife soon, start a family, and for that you will need your own home. So, go out and fell some trees, gather your friends and start construction.”

“Yes father!”

Ever since he got the weapon Lupus had been having horrible nightmares. A wolf would come and tell him to kill his father. Every time he would deny the wolf, but every time it got harder to do so. Once, he found himself awake in the middle of the night, standing over his father’s bed, Wolf’s Bane in hand. Horrified, he ran back to his home and threw the axe to a corner.

Why was he having such dreams? What was this wolf, and why did it want his father dead? Worse yet, how could Lupus get it to stop, before he carried out the wolf’s evil wishes? In a cold sweat, he finally found a few hours of sleep.

As the weeks passed however, he had more and more nights like this. He also awoke at times to find that he had killed wild animals, and though Wolf’s Bane was always nearby, he hadn’t used it. Instead, his hands were bloody, and the taste of raw meat filled his mouth. Eventually, these things would happen during the day as well. While gathering lumber in the woods he would black out for hours at a time, and wake up over the corpse of an animal. This occurred for a few weeks, before he finally decided to see his father about it. He got ready early one morning, and grabbing Wolf’s Bane, set out for his father, only to black out before he reached the door.

Itar heard screams nearby. Female screams, a Bosmer female to be exact. He rushed to their source, his new axe in hand. He quickly reached the pond that his wife so loved, and found her standing waist deep in water with a hungry wolf, standing on two legs, just feet from her.

“Come here you evil beast, I’ve got the cure for your curse right here!” Yelled Itar, just as he remembered that his new axe wasn’t silver or enchanted.

The werewolf lunged at Itar, throwing the axe from his hands, and sending Itar flying into some nearby bushes. Upon landing, Itar saw that his son’s axe was lying nearby.

“honoured user! What have you done to my son you evil beast? I’ll make you pay!”

The werewolf lunged at Itar, and Itar brought his old axe down, cleaving it clean in two. Itar rushed to his wife, giving her a large kiss and hugging her tight in his arms.

“Dearest love, are you okay? Please tell me that evil beast didn’t hurt you.”

Eraldil only sobbed out a deep cry, pointing hysterically at the werewolf’s body. With great horror Itar saw that his son lay in two bloody piles, where the dead werewolf had been.