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]

If you'll keep reading em' I'll keep writing em'!


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I woke up to the screams of my comrades. I quickly rushed downstairs to see what was going on and was shocked. A host of Vhosek's men had ambushed the camp while we were sleeping and all hell broke loose. Men were being cut down everywhere and I didn't know what to do. Before I could act an arrow hit me in the leg. I looked around and saw Arathor wit his bow in his hand.
"Why did you hit me?" I yelled with anger.
"Behind you!" Arathor yelled back to me.
I didn't stop to look back and ducked. Soon enough a swing of an axe came over me and I saw a tall man in armour wearing Vhosek's moon on his chest. I hit him over the feet and he tripped. Once he was down I took his axe and hacked his helmet to bloody pieces.
"You coward! Trying to hit me from behind?" I yelled franticly. It strangely felt good to hack his face to pieces with his own axe. I was starting to get the hang of this slaughtering thing.
After butchering that coward I stopped to look around. It was as if time stopped. Almost all the sound I heard dissapeared and I could see everything with scary detail. A man was being decapitated to my left and another's organs were spilled all over the ground. I then realised that I did not desire this type of life. Before I could meditate some more a hand grabbed me by the shoulder.
"Good morning Arthago! Get your armour, we're going to the palace!" King Lhotun said to me as he thrusted his spear into another man's neck with incredible grace.
"We have to fend Vhosek's men off!" I yelled as I gained my witts back.
"Don't worry about that, reinforcements are here!" The King said with his back turned to me while he was running upstairs.
I did the same and followed the King to my room. Inside I found one of Vhosek's soldiers with my armour on. I acted whitout thinking and grabbed King Lhotun's spear out of his hands. I then threw the spear at the soldier, killing him instantly.
"You sure have some skill Arthago." the King said after a moment of silence.
"I'm sorry my King, I don't know what's gotten into me." I said in a humble voice.
"The warrior spirit. It really becomes a habbit after your first battle." the King said as if he already knew these things.

I equipped my armour and took my scimitar. I was now ready for real combat. We headed downstairs to find Captain Thassad at the bottom of the stairs.
"The captain of these men just died your Majesty." Captain Thassad said.
"Then Arthago will now lead them, he's the senior knight." the King calmly said.
"But this is my first battle your Majesty!" I said with a desperate voice, I really wasn't ready to lead these men.
"Nonsense! The basic commands are easy. You just..." the King said as he was intrerupted by Captain Thassad.
"We really don't have time for this Sire. Vhosek knows you're here." Captain Thassad said with fear in his voice.
"These men need you Arthago. Make them proud." the King said as he led me down the stairs.
I made my way to the soldiers while the King was talking with Captain Thassad. On my way to the resting soldiers, Arathor came to me.
"What do you want?" I said in a bored voice.
"I'm sorry for shooting you in the leg but I had to do it. If I wouldn't have that guy would have hacked your head off." the little elf said in a sad and humble voice.
"If you had to do it, it's alright. But next time you want to cover me, don't." I simply said to the Bosmer as I made my way to the men.
"Don't keep a grudge on me." the little elf said as he made his way to his captain. He was really a cry-baby, very sensitive guy.

I was soon in front of the men. They were all resting from the battle, some with horrible wounds from which blood trickled.
"Men. I have heard about your captain. He was a good man, even though we had our arguments. You have to step up and fight now. You can't leave the King in his hour of need! Fight for him! Win for him! Fight for your city! This day will be remembered for years to come. Do you want to be remembered as the men who died while they were running away? Or do you want to be remembered for your glorious victory and great courage? Follow me, and I shall take you there." I said, trying to bost the men's morale. At the end of my speech some of the men's faces enlightened. It was the first time I had said a speech purely from my head and I felt great for encouraging those men. I saw the King coming to me.
"Great speech Arthago. When this is all over, I shall see to it that you are properly rewarded." the King said to me.
"I am honoured to fight for you my King. When are we leaving?" I asked.
"Right now. Announce the men." The King said as he left to announce Captain Thassad.
I made my way back to the men to tell them that we were leaving.
"Men, we're leaving for the palace. Take whatever is of use for you and let's go." I simply said.
One of the men who was lying down came to me. He had a concerned look on his face.
"What about the wounded?" the man asked. I could make out his face, he was the soldier I first met at the docks.
"Leave them here. Hide them in the ruins. If we get out of this alive, then we'll come back for them. If not, I do not know what will happen with them." I said, stuttering when I neared the part about getting out alive.
"We can't do that! They're wounded, if one of Vhosek's patrols finds them then they're dead meat!" the soldier said to me in an agry voice.
"If we want to free the city then they will have to be left behind. That's an order." I said with an iron tone. I had to choose between helping the wounded and freeing the city.
"Why did captain Arneth have to die?" the soldier said in an angry voice.
"If you care so much about your men then we can have a compromise. You can stay here together with 3 other men at most. If you are cowards and don't want to move on I can understand." I said, trying to convince the soldier to come with me to prove his courage.
"You question my courage? Then let's go. I'll fight a dozen of Vhosek's men for my city. Will you?" the soldier asked, acting just as I thought he would. I was always interested in manipulating others so my father educated me in such a way.
"We will see. Follow me there and we will fight together." I said.
"Fine. Wait until I hide the wounded. Then, we can leave whitout question." the soldier said as he left towards the wounded.
In reality I knew a thing or two about commanding men in battle, but only on the theoretical side of things. In terms of actual combat experience I had none. But this situation would soon change....

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And with that I end this update! I hope you liked it!