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 (stargazey)

The Altmer

He got off the silt strider in Ald-Ruhn and quickly made his way over to the Ald-Skar Inn and got a room. He could not believe his stupidity; he knew the Morag Tong would be after him in a matter of days, so he needed to move quickly. He left his room and went to the nearest clothier and bought the most common clothes he could find. He then went next door and bought some arrows, a short sword, a bow, a helm that covered his face and some repair tongs. As he ran back to the inn he looked everywhere to make sure that nobody was following him. When he arrived back at the inn he dashed into his room, closed the door, and pushed the chest in front of it. He cursed his stupidity and his arrogance. He asked himself why he had done it, but couldn’t find a reason. He needed to stop thinking about the past and start thinking about the future.
He put on the clothes and the helm, shoved the short sword into its sheath and put the bow on his back. He could not stay in any location too long, so he left the inn and debated whether to take the guild guide or the silt strider. There were fewer witnesses if he went by Silt Strider but going by guild guide was quicker. If anything, he needed to move quickly, so he went to the Mage’s Guild and transported to Balmora. He had a friend he could stay with and knew that he could get everything he needed from the South Wall. He went over to Nine-Toes house and knocked on the door. When Nine-Toes answered the first thing he said was, “What has happened, Isendel?”
He walked in to the house, and sat down on the bed and nursed his head in his hands. “What has happened, Isendel?”
“I killed a man”
Nine-Toes was so relieved that he nearly laughed “Is that all, old friend? All you must do is go over to see Phane Rialle at the South Wall and this whole matter will go away.”
“It wasn’t just any man, he was a….Morag Tong assassin”
Nine-Toes was silent for a moment and when he spoke it was in a lowered voice “Was this an accident?”
“No, no it wasn’t, I meant to kill him, he was a disgrace to Mephala and a dishonorable assassin.”
“Even so, good friend, you can not kill members of the brotherhood. You know the penalty is death.”
At this point, Isendel stood up “What should I do? I know the Morag Tong will hunt me and eventually slay me. I can think of no way out, you know they will show me no mercy.” Nine-Toes nodded and paced around his small house, thinking about his friend’s predicament. “The first thing we must do is disguise you. For that we will need to see my friends Meldor, and Bivale Teneran.”
Walking over to Nine-Toes, Isendel said "I put my faith in you, old friend."

They first went over to Meldor the armorer, athe closest armorer and, to Isendel, a most skilled one. Nine-Toes had recommended that they go to Meldor because Nine-Toes had helped him out of a fight with some Cammona Tong thugs. As they made their way over to the armorer, Isendel kept an eye out, always thinking an assassin was going to jump from a rooftop or spring out of an alleyway. Nine-Toes had recommended they travel at night, right before the shop was to close.
As they crossed the Odai River, an arrow flew past Isendel’s head and nearly missed Nine-Toes. Nine-Toes pushed Isendel to the ground, pulled out his sword and began to sprint in the opposite direction. Isendel slowly crawled toward the other side of the river and ran towards the nearest alleyway, where he drew his bow and entered into the fight. The minute he had emerged from the alleyway an arrow hit him in the arm, sending him back in pain. He fled back into the alleyway, leaned against the wall, and laid in wait for any other assailants. He waited for a few moments and then heard a sound that shivered his blood. Nine-Toes had screamed in pain, a thump, and then, a few moments later, a splash. Isendel knew that Nine-Toes had either been hurt or killed, but he also knew that if he remerged he would be killed.
He sprinted towards the other end of the alley and hurtled towards the door of the Dunmer Temple. He felt the arrows and throwing stars fly past him, but he knew he needed to keep running. When he was at the front door of the Temple he knocked as hard as he could with his wounded arm and when the door opened he nearly fell in. The priest that answered the door was one that Isendel had talked to before in Balmora, Telis Salvani. “Isendel, what is the matter? What happened to your arm?”
“……block…..door…..assassins…..after….me”
Telis pulled Isendel into the Temple and laid him down on the bed closest to the door. He put some corkbulb and wickwheat on Isendel’s wound and sat down on the chair next to the bed. “Tell me what has happened.”

The pain in Nine-Toes’ arm, leg, and chest was blinding. He had woken up in the water and quickly brought his head up. His years of training with the blades and his water breathing ability were the only things that had preserved him for those hours he had been underwater. He had swum to the nearest beach and looked at down at his clothes. Through the water he could still see the blood stains from scratches all over his body. He climbed up and walked to Moonmooth Fort where he healed and repaired his weapons. He slept in the wilderness and returned to Balmora early the next day. He knew he couldn’t tell the guards, as Morag Tong assassinations were sanctioned by the Empire. He went back to his house and locked the door. He noticed that some of his things had been moved and he saw muddy footprints all over the floor. The assassins had been here, but he didn’t know if they’d be back.

Isendel had slept fitfully during the night, but Telis had given him a potion; it tasted like guar hide, but it made the throbbing pain in his right arm go away nonetheless. He had taken his armor and weapons and was on his way out, but Telis insisted that he stay and study for a few days. He had said that the Morag Tong would face quite a fight if they tried to storm the Temple. Isendel wasn’t even a member of the Temple and thus was surprised by their generosity to an outlander. They meditated, studied, and trained for most of the day and they agreed that Isendel would set out at midnight with some powerful scrolls, restore health potions and invisibility potions. Isendel was torn about whether or not to stop at Nine-Toes house and after much deliberation decided he owed him an apology but didn’t want to endanger him further. He decided to write a note and leave it under Nine-Toes door.
He set out at midnight as agreed and headed to Vivec, where he could get lost in the great city. He knew getting that close to the Morag Tong headquarters was dangerous, but he could risk it. He took the guild guide to Vivec, and as he walked out the door of the Mages Guild he quaffed an Invisibility potion, disappearing into the crowd.

Eno Hlaalu was pacing throughout his office intently when he was interrupted by Talos Dral running into the room, his dagger drawn and dripping with blood. “He is in Vivec. We ambushed him and his companion on the Odai River in Balmora. We hit Isendel with an arrow and grievously wounded the companion, an Argonian.”
Eno was troubled by this news “You failed to kill him?” Talos nodded, “This is most disappointing, Talos.” walking over to Talos, Eno lowered his voice, “You will find him in Vivec, and kill him and anyone with him. You will also take our two best thralls.”
Talos, taken aback by this, lowered his voice “Yes, Grandmaster.”
As Eno turned away from Talos and went to get something from his desk, Talos wanted nothing more than to plunge his tanto into the back of Hlaalu’s neck, but he controlled the urge. When Eno turned around he had a beautiful, glistening daedric dagger in his hands. “Use this to kill him. It is called the Blade of Vengeance and it is used to make traitors experience immense pain before they die.”
Talos took the blade in his hand and looked at its magnificence, its jagged edges, and its short, sharp blade. This blade was legendary; it had been used in some of the most important executions. Hlaalu Councilor Dram Bero, Baladas Demnevanni, and Telvanni Councilor Therana had all fallen to its might. As Talos held the blade he felt power, power of which he’d never felt the like. “Thank you Grandmaster. His execution will be swift and honorable.” The thralls were waiting in the foyer of the guild, both dressed in chitin armor and wielding silver daggers enchanted with a poison spell. As soon as they were in the basement of the Arena, Talos pulled his dagger out of his sheath and killed both of the thralls in two quick stabs. He brought the bodies into a small room and made it look like a murder suicide. He put the old blade in one of the thralls’ hands and put the Blade of Vengeance into his sheath.
Talos was a tall, thin, dunmer with a scar above his left eye. This scar held bitter memories from his childhood. When Talos was a young man, his father lashed out and hit his mother. Talos picked up his father’s dagger and plunged into his father’s back. When his father spun around, he had a glass in his hand. He swung it at Talos’s head and blinded his son in one eye, leaving him with a scar. His father had been in the Morag Tong and was a greatly honored assassin, but nobody could blame Talos for what he had done.
When Talos emerged from the basement of the Arena, it was a clear and breezy day. He first took a gondola to the Foreign Quarter where he would by some plain clothes and repair his armor and weapons. The merchants he dealt with knew his profession; they did not ask him any questions dealing with him quickly and efficiently. The Morag Tong’s spies had reported seeing Isendel leaving the Mage’s Guild in the Foreign Quarter hours ago and had since been following him. He met up with one of the spies, Vera Lovarious, at the Black Shalk Cornerclub, a convenient location for both of them. Vera was a tall, beautiful, and deadly Imperial. Her favored method of execution was to slowly stalk her mark and then pounce, striking quickly. She was sitting at the farthest table in the back of the bar. wore glass boots and netch leather cuirass, and Talos could see she had a Daedric tanto at her waist.
He walked over to her table, after buying a jug of Sujamma, and sat down and asked her, “What have you heard?”
Her reply was low and cool “I saw him walking towards the Temple Canton, but he could’ve been going to St. Olms or St. Delyn.”
“How was he armed?”
“He was wearing Netch Leather and was carried a silver shortsword”
He thought for a moment, and then asked “Any companions?”
“No, but we believe he is going to meet someone.”
Talos drained the last drops of Sujamma from his jug and then stood up “I’ll see you around, Vera.”
She stayed seated and said “Sooner rather then later.” She smiled and took a swig of her flin. He walked out of the bar and set out for the Temple.

Isendel was very worried. He had asked Telis if he knew anyone that he could stay with in Vivec. He had said “See my friend, Eris Telas. He’s in High Fane in the Temple Canton of Vivec. I will send word of your arrival.” Isendel looked everywhere in High Fane for Eris, but was unable to find him. He had waited outside of High Fane for hours. He had asked the Ordinators if they had seen Eris, but they weren’t very responsive. He had gone into the Library of Vivec and had waited until nightfall. When he emerged from High Fane he saw the many Ordinators huddled around what seemed to be a body. Isendel went over to one of the Ordinators and asked the name of the dead man. “Eris Telas” said an Ordinator. Isendel took a step back, stunned for a moment, his face as white as a sheet. They knew that Eris was linked to Isendel and now Eris was lying in a pool of blood in Vivec. Isendel didn’t know what to do. His first instinct was to run, to run like hell, perhaps return to Summerset Isle. But Isendel knew that he could never escape this. He had to stay here and fight. He walked past the crowd that was steadily growing around Eris’ body and walked to the gondolier and said one word; “Arena.”

Nine-Toes sat on his bed, reading Isendel's note and deep in thought, when there was a knock on the door. Nine-Toes picked up the ebony shortsword that he kept under his pillow and walked to the door. When he opened the door, all he saw was a dwarven crossbow pointed at his face. Before he even had a chance to swing his sword he felt the bolt peirce his temple and then all was black.

Talos had been watching Isendel from atop the St. Olms Canton all night. He enjoyed seeing Isendel squirm as he discovered the priest’s body. Talos had taken a quick trip to Balmora to finish off Nine-Toes, the Argonian with which Isendel had been seen. He had taken the body and stuffed it in a crate in the basement. He then set off for the Temple Canton and killed the priest. He had dragged the body to right in front of High Fane, making it impossible to miss. He felt no remorse for killing these innocents, as they obstructed his termination of Isendel. He saw Isendel take the gondola and knew that his trap had worked. He jumped off his perch and sprinted back to the Arena to intercept Isendel as he got off the boat.

Isendel got off the boat and drew his sword. As he was walking toward the entrance of the Arena waistworks, he felt someone behind him.
He immediately moved out of the line of fire and turned to see someone all too familiar to him standing behind him, Talos, a Morag Tong assassin, for who Isendel felt the utmost loathing for. “So Talos, you’re the best the Morag Tong could do?”
Talos laughed a coarse, throaty laugh “Well, Isendel, it’s been a long time. We’ll see who is the better assassin soon enough.”
During this banter, Isendel readied his specially enchanted throwing stars in his pocket. The moment Talos was done speaking, Isendel threw one right at Talos’ sword hand, simultaneously casting a paralysis spell on Talos. Isendel then pulled his sword out of sheath and pressed it up against Talos’ throat “Well, Talos, It seems I hold your fate in my hands.”
Talos was sweating and the spell was starting to wear off. “Should I kill you? Or should I slash you with my sword and leave you to die?” The spell had worn off, but Talos didn’t dare move. “I will show you the same honor you would show me.” Isendel took the sword away from Talos’ throat and raised it to finish him off. In an instant Talos lay in a crumpled heap at Isendel's feet. Isendel wiped the blood of his sword, took the Dagger of Vengeance out of Talos’ sheath, and proceeded to the Arena waistworks.


Isendel had killed Foryin Feltah, a much respected and revered assassin. He had killed him because Mephala had come to him in a dream and given him the instruction. He had killed Foryin swiftly and honorably, as the Morag Tong code insisted. He had tried to tell Eno Hlaalu that Foryin was executing slavers and becoming a dangerous vigilante, but Eno simply would not listen. Rather than let this disgrace live, Isendel had taken matters into his own hands, stabbing Foryin as he stepped into his house. He had left the body as if a suicide had been committed, but Isendel knew it was in vain. When Isendel slipped into the Morag Tong Headquarters he immediately drank a potion of invisibility and quickly moved to the Grandmaster’s room. When the potion had worn off, Isendel was standing in front of Eno with his dagger drawn.
“So, Isendel. You have evaded the assassins and come to face the master?”
Isendel tightened his grip on the sword and spoke. “You know that what Foryin did was unjust and disgraceful to everything we stand for.”
Eno laughed and said “I support the anti-slavery movement, I wasn’t about to issue a writ for the assassination for someone who was killing those filthy racists.”
Isendal was astonished by this, “You cannot bring your politics into this, Eno. I support the anti-slavery motion also, but Foryin was acting against the law of the Morag Tong. I could not let that stand.”
“And what would you gain by my death? You have already been expelled for the murder of one member, If you murder the Grandmaster you would have a permanent death writ out against you.”
“It’s about Justice, Eno.” At this point Eno had drawn out the Black Hand’s Dagger and was ready to fight. Isendel swung his dagger as hard as he could at Eno’s midsection but it was blocked by Eno’s dagger. They proceeded to fight and parry until Eno had hit Isendel's arm, causing him to drop his dagger.
As Isendel stood there bleeding, Eno prepared to strike, taking his time to perfectly align his thrust. “So, Isendel, it looks as though your quest ends here. You’ve run out options and there is no one to assist you.”
Isendel said not a word as he resigned himself to his fate. He was going to die a traitor’s death and no one would grieve for him. At that moment he felt the dagger pierce his chest and he felt the breath slowly leave his body, as he fell to the ground the whole world went black.

Eno stood over Isendel's body. Even though Isendel had been a traitor, Eno felt no happiness or relief. He picked the body up, put it on the bed, and sat down at the chair at his desk. He felt a kind of loss with the death of Isendel, it had been a game of cat and mouse and now that the mouse was dead, the excitement was gone. The Argonian, Nine-Toes, the two thralls (Eno was unsure of their fate), the priest, and Talos had all died for the sake of Isendel's death. Eno felt sad about this, but he could not bring these people back. He would order Isendel's body thrown into the Sea of Ghosts, with no ceremony.