The adventures of Arthago chapter II, The Rebellion Options

[Agent Griff]

Here's the link to Chapter I of Arthago's tale.
http://www.waiting4oblivion.com/forums/ind...?showtopic=1782

We can get this new chapter over with. I can also tell you that after this chapter, Arthago will move to a new province. I'm not telling though, you have to be on your guard. Well, blabbering over, here's the begining of the newest chapter of Arthago's tale. Enjoy!


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I found myself in an icy Arena, fighting someone I didn't know. He was a tall Imperial, wearing ebony plates under his blue cloak. He wielded a great mace which gave him supernatural power. He lunged at me with a ferocity I had never seen before, forcing me to put all my strength into evading his blows. He had a red in his eyes which froze the blood in my veins. What did he want? Why was I fighting him? I woke up in my inn bed after managing to hit this powerful foe. I was sweating heavily, and my head was banging. It had been a nightmare, a very realistic one. I hoped that this I wouldn't experience this kind of nightmare ever again.

Nightmares and monstrous foes aside, I had a meeting with the king of Sentinel and I didn't want to be late. I took a look at my armour. It had some patches of dirt on it, the weather in Sentinel was very windy at the time so sand storms often engulfed the city. I gave the armour a quick scrub with a cloth then put it on. I wanted to look my best if I was going to meet the King and talk affairs of state with him. I made my way downstairs and after greeting the regulars I was on my way to the palace. I decided to collect Marshall Daron from his house first. When I reached his house, I found him shaved and wearing some expensive clothes. So the Marshall had an official side to him eh?
"Are you ready sir?" I asked.
"Ready as can be, let us be off!" Marshall Daron said. And with that we were on our way to the palace.

We reached the palace soon enough, and entered the throne room. The king wasn't wearing his crown or any fancy clothes. This must have seemed like an unofficial meeting to him. Whatever. I greeted him.
"Greetings sire! We have come to discuss the subject of Lord Kain's murder." I said in an official tone.
"Yes. Lord Kain was, a good man. But sadly, the ambitions of another got into the way and he was murdered in cold blood." the King said in a sad voice.
"Aye. Lord Vhosek." Marshall Daron said.
"Yes. Lord Vhosek's personal ambitions were to rule his own province. He has it now, in the form of Lainlyn. The terms I agreed with him were that, if Lord Kain refused to rule in our name Lord Vhosek could slay him and rule the province himself. It seems Lord Vhosek didn't even propose any terms, he just plain murdered Lord Kain. If I were to send soldiers to arrest him, he could go to the kingdom of Wayrest and start a war with us. I can't have that, the men have just returned to their homes after a war. We must wait and somehow bring Lord Vhosek to justice." The king said.
"I know how." I said.
"And how may that be Arthago?" Marshall Daron asked me.
"I will go to Lord Vhosek's palace in Lainlyn and slay him myself. I can't let Lord Kain's murder go unpunished." I said in a bold tone.
"Bold words for someone so young. How will you get past Vhosek's guards? He has his own knight order to protect him." The king said. He was right, I was geting too bold for my own age and experience.
"Yes, you are right my king. But what shall we do? Lord Vhosek might as well build his power in Lainlyn and start a war with us. We must neutralize him. If he lied to your Majesty and murdered Lord Kain just to gain power then he doesn't feel any fear towards your Highness." I said.
"Aye, true words. I must say that you have a great ammount of political savy my boy." the king said. Wow, beeing aknowledged by the king felt great.
"I have heard that some rebellious groups have been popping up in the north of the kingdom. Maybe Lord Vhosek has already started his movements?" Marshall Daron said.
"Unprobable, but we must check into it. We cannot risk Lord Vhosek making troop movements in our own backyard. You are to look into it Arthago." the king said.
"I would be proud my king. Where must I go?" I asked.
"Go to the town of Verkath, south west of Skaven, and inspect the situation there. Come back and report once you've found any evidence of troop movements alright?" Marshall Daron said.
"Aye, I'll be on it right now. I'm off to pack my things and any suplies I might need on the journey. Farewell my king! I shall return once I find enough evidence of troop movements." I said in an anxious tone. Finally, a new quest, not just any quest, a quest from the King! And with that I was off to the market to buy some food and water.


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And that's the first bit of this chapter. It was kind off short, but the next one will be longer, I promise you. And if some of you missed the last update of the first chapter then you should check it out. Cheers!

This post has been edited by Agent Griff: Mar 26 2006, 10:34 AM

[Agent Griff]

Here's the newest update. I'll have to be quick on this one since there's a big soccer match coming up and I'm going. Well here's the update! Enjoy!

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We started our journey well and progressed quickly. I was the only one who had a horse sadly, so I had to keep up with the foot knights who were getting tired in their heavy armour. I had to give them some time to rest so I talked with Marshall Daron.
"I'm going up ahead to scout the road. Tell the men to rest then follow me." I said as I galloped off on Whisper's back.
"I will don't worry, you be off!" Marshall Daron calmly said.
I galloped ahead a while until my horse started getting tired. We were approaching a pass in the mountains and I could hear the knights behind. Their clanking armour parts gave them away to any would-be ambushers but from what I knew nobody knew we were coming. I entered the pass. A Nord soon appeared. It was Beomir, the highwayman I had met on my first journey to Verkath. He approached me slowly, with his hand on his broadsword.
"Greetings Beomir! How's life treating you?" I calmly asked. It was best to keep your calm in these situations.
"Just fine Redguard. I see you've remembered my name." Beomir said in a sooth voice, while smiling.
"Ah, but didn't you advise me to remember your name?" I asked.
"Yes I did. But let's cut the small talk, you know why I'm here!" Beomir said, loosing his temper.
"Don't get angry Beomir, haven't I already warned you? I am not alone you know." I calmly said. With a bit of luck I could scare him off.
"Well, neither am I Redguard. Sons of Skyrim!" Beomir shouted. I drew my sword from my scabbard.
A dozen bandits came from their hiding places and surrounded me. They all had weapons and they all were pointing their weapons towards me.
"Now let's keep our calm friends! Can't we solve this in a civilized way?" I asked in a loud voice. If I could stall them long enough for the knights to arrive I could rid the countryside of these bandits for good.
"There isn't any civilized way! Harald, get him off his horse!" Beomir shouted to one of his men.
A tall Nord approached me with his club drawn.
"Step back Nord! Don't make me do anything bloody Beomir!" I shouted. The knights were close, I could hear their clanking armour.
"Redguards!!!" one of the bandits shouted. It seemed the knights had finally appeared after their rest.

The bandits started running in every direction, some of them didn't even know where the knights were so they ran right into them and got slaughtered like pigs. Beomir stood his ground and didn't know what to do. His face showed fear and his legs were probably stunned with surprise.
"I'll get you for this Redguard! You wait and see!" Beomir shouted as he ran off into the opposite direction. He knew the local caves so it was easy for him to escape. I then met with Marshall Daron who had bloodied his sword with a few confused bandits.
"I leave you alone for half an hour and you're already getting into trouble! What am I going to do with you?" Marshall Daron said as he started to laugh.
"I warned them but they didn't listen." I said, laughing as well.
We had a great time until we reached Verkath. A guard that was standing watch shouted at us to identify ourselves.
"Arthago of Stros M'kai! I have returned with followers of our cause!" I shouted as Marshall Daron approached me.
"You got these guys good didn't you?" he slowly said to me as he chuckled.
"Well, I had to be creative. Having a sword to your face helps in the process." I said as I started smiling as well.
"You're right, but enough humour, we have work to do!" Marshall Daron said as the smile disappeared from his face. We entered the city.

Night was falling and the city streets were deserted. People were too afraid to come out of their homes. The Crowns had the city all to themselves and they were probably hogging the taverns. I decided to head directly to the source of the problem, the leader of the Crowns. I spoke with Marshall Daron in regards to how many men we should take with us. We decided in the end to go with 10 men to the palace of Verkath and leave the rest in small groups at various points in the city, close to the palace so they could help us if things got ugly. When we reached the palace, I went in together with Marshall Daron and a senior knight of the Order. We didn't want to arouse suspicion among the Crowns present in the palace.

We entered the palace after we left the other 7 knights outside the palace gates, ready to come in and help us if need be. In the Crown's eyes they were fresh recruits but I knew their power and skill. They were veterans of the Lainlyn civil war and they knew how to handle the blade. We were soon in front of the Crown leader, who had surprisingly little bodyguards with him. Only 4 soldiers. He greeted us.
"Welcome back Arthago! Have you found the deserter?" the Crown leader asked.
"Sadly not, he evaded me and got away. But I have brought you new recruits! With a little training they will be Imperial leggionaire quality soldiers." I said, trying to convince him that the elite knights we brought with us were just peasants.
"Good enough, I have heard that the Forebears in Sentinel will make a move against us so we will have to be on our guard. You never know what those Forebear scum might throw at us." The Crown leader said. He was right, we were using dishonorable methods.
"Now's the time lads, slay this traitor!" Marshall Daron shouted. Subtlety wasn't his strong point that was sure.

The palace broke out into chaos. The knights who were outside barged in the palace after slaying the outside guards. The leader of the Crowns was soon left alone, with his weapon far from him. He didn't beg for mercy, instead he stood firm and looked me into the eye.
"Arthago, I trusted you. I thought you cared about Hammerfell's independence! You're just Forebear scum, like the rest of these murderers. Go ahead! Kill me!" The Crown leader shouted.
"Listen, I'm as much a fan of Redguard freedom as any man, but when it comes to fighting with the Empire there's no point! They will crush Hammerfell if they get the chance. A war in the province will give them that chance!" I shouted back.
"The Empire is dying Arthago, can't you see it? The blood wheel has all but turned against the Empire and its rulers. The Empire shall soon pay for its crimes and injustices. The Forebears have blinded you!" the Crown leader shouted. He was starting to make sense. I could see signs of the Empire's end all around me.
"Enough of his lies, let's end his miserable life. Arthago, will you give the command?" Marshall Daron said to me and every knight in the room.
"I'm sorry sir, it was an honour serving the Crown cause." I hesitated giving the order, this man was an honest Redguard, a model for other men to follow.
"If my aprentice hesitates, I will not. Men, slay this traitor!" Marshall Daron swiftly said.

The leader of the Crowns was then slain on the very spot he stood. A true hero's death if you ask me, he died fighting for what he believed in. After we counted our loses, 2 good men, we left 35 of the Knights left in charge of the city. I, together with Marshall Daron and 3 other Knights, left for Sentinel to report what happened to the King. He would be most interested to hear all of this.


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That's it for this longer update, I hope you've enjoyed it!