The Story of the Listener, My first fanfic. Options

[Kayla]

Ok. This is my first fanfic. I'm a tad nervous about it, but I'd like to see what everyone thinks.
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I sat quietly on a bench beside the pawnshop on the docks of Anvil, staring out over the dark Abecean Sea. Through the clouds in the sky, I could see that the sun was setting. A chilly wind blew my black robes and hood as though they were weightless, but the persistent breeze was unsuccessful in penetrating the black light armor I wore underneath my robes. I listened to the fragmented conversations of the dock workers, and watched as people hastily walked by, fearing that it would soon begin to storm.

Before I knew it, the sun had set completely. The Nord who owned the shop I was sitting in front of walked outside. He locked up his shop and began to make his way down the stone street toward the resident area of Anvil. He hadn’t even noticed that I’d been sitting just feet away from him. I heard the Nord loudly greet someone before he walked completely out of earshot. Soon after, an Orc walked by. I studied the Orc carefully as he passed. He walked with a slight limp and had a large scar on his left arm, and just as I expected, he opened the door to the dockside warehouse and went inside.

It was completely dark now. Neither sun nor moon shone through the twisting clouds in the sky. The wind picked up, carrying moisture in it.

I stood and made my way to the back door of the warehouse. I picked the lock and the door swung open. Quickly I slipped into the thick darkness inside. The warehouse was fairly big but, a few candles on a large table in the middle of the room revealed the Orc’s position. He was busily unpacking things from crates and setting them on shelves. He was completely unaware of my presence, and I preferred it that way. I slipped through the shadows toward him. In the darkness I felt strong, invincible, and incapable of fear. I observed his movements, the way his body flowed with each contraction and relaxation of each muscle. I watched every joint in his body, paying close attention to his spinal cord. The Orc was old, and moved as though he’d been doing hard labor his entire life. Almost every movement looked as though it pained him.

As soon as I was sure of his reactions, I silently unsheathed my ebony blade, a gift from a dear friend, and I closed in on the Orc. He was still unaware of my being there, even though I was soon right behind him, almost breathing down his neck. In one quick motion, I lunged out of the shadows, grabbed the Orc with my right arm, wrapping it around the front of his neck and shoulders, then I brought my left hand up and stabbed him right in the jugular vein. The poor old Orc didn’t even have a chance to yell. I let go of the body letting it fall limply onto the wooden floor of the warehouse. I waited for his gurgled breathing to stop, then I snuffed the candles out and exited the warehouse the same way I’d come in.

(Expect updates!)

[Kayla]

Ok! Finally! An update! Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Everything has been extremely busy and probably will be for me until I get out of school. But, I will keep updating. I've been working on this big update for a few days now. So, do enjoy!
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My sleep that night was void of dreams, most likely because it was restless. I awoke to the pounding of a repair hammer.
“Sarelle, you want me to sharpen your weapons?” Saprius asked, taking time from his work to look up at me.
I handed him my elven shortsword, and the Blade of Woe. “Sure. Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome.” He said, beginning to work on them.

Saprius was an expert armorer. He could fix any weapon or piece of armor that was broken. I admired his skill. I was a decent armorer. I couldn’t fix things like Saprius could, and definitely not as fast. While he pounded away with his hammer, I set out to the Mages Guild in the Foreign Quarter to buy some alchemy ingredients. I knew one small healing spell, and I had a feeling that wasn’t going to help much.

I returned to our small quarters, sat down at the table, and began mixing potions.
It was awhile before Saprius spoke.
“Are you sure you’re up to the Hall of Wisdom?” he asked.
I nodded as I poured a finished healing potion into a vial. I’d already made five healing potions and I began to make the sixth. It was looking as though Saprius would get three healing potions and I would get three as well. It wasn’t a lot, but it would have to do. When, I finished the potion, I poured the last of the liquid into a vial and pushed three vials across the table toward Saprius.
“Here. Three potions of restore health. They should prove useful.”
He pocketed the vials. “Thank you, Sarelle. I’m almost finished with your blades.” He said, bringing my elven shortsword up to his eye to closely examine.

I took the bow and quiver off my back. I carefully counted my glass arrows, reaching a total of thirty four. I placed them back into the quiver and strapped it around my shoulder. As I was checking my ebony bow, Saprius handed me my shortsword and my Blade of Woe.
“They’re as sharp and as deadly as I could make them.” He said, smiling.
“Thank you, Saprius. You have a great talent as an armorer.” I said, sheathing both blades at my side.
“I was going to become a blacksmith until I joined the Dark Brotherhood.” He said, picking up his silver claymore, and giving it a small inspection before sheathing it on his back.
“Well, I’m very glad you can put your skills to use in the name of the Night Mother.” I said. “Tell me, why did you start murdering?” I asked, momentarily forgetting my bow to place my potions in the pocket of my robe.
Saprius cleared his throat, as he removed a daedric dagger he’d been hiding in his robe. He unsheathed it and began to examine the oddly colored deadric ebony.
“I killed my father. After his mother died a few years ago, he became a drunk. Then, he started to beat my mother. My mother was a very kind woman… she was sickly and frail though. That wouldn’t have bothered me, had my father treated her better. Although I lived in the Imperial City, and my parents lived in Chorrol, I went there quite often to check on my mother. One day, when I went to visit, I discovered that my father had beat her severely and killed her…”
He paused.
“For no reason at all… in a rage, I killed him with my bare hands. He was no challenge. Soon after, Arquen came to me with an invitation to the Dark Brotherhood. I accepted, seeing as I had no family left…” he made a few practice stabs with the dagger he was holding. “Now, I feel great. Like I’ve found what I was really destined to be. My role in society as a murderer intrigues me as well. There’s never a dull moment.”
He sheathed his dagger and smiled. I had taken up my bow again, making sure that it fit comfortably in my hands and felt balanced.
“The life of a murderer certainly is exciting.” I replied.
Saprius looked at my bow, “Are you a good marksman?” he asked.
I nodded. “The bow was the first weapon I ever learned to use. Though now, I use blades more, yes I am a good marksman.”
“I’m a horrible marksman.” He said, frowning. “I wish I was better at it.” he said, reaching out, taking my bow from me, and tightening the string.
“Here you go. It’s as good as new.” He smiled and handed it back to me.

By this time, it was after dark. I thanked Saprius as I put the bow on my back, then I walked through the cramped room, subconsciously checking my weapons.
“Come Saprius, we have a job to do.” I said, opening the door and stepping out into the night.

Saprius was at my side as we crossed the bridge to the Temple canton.
“Good luck.” I whispered to him as we split our paths to blend with the shadows. He was going to take one side of the outside of the canton. I was to take the other. Sticking to the thick shadows, I made my way to the back of the canton and waited for the patrolling ordinator. Based on Saprius’s investigation, if I waited here, the ordinator would stop in front of the Hall of Wisdom’s back door on patrol.

I didn’t have to wait very long. After a few minutes, the golden colored armor came into view as its wearer emerged from the shadows. The ordinator stopped to stand near the door, just as expected.

Staying in the dark, I moved smoothly and silently toward the stationary ordinator, sneaking up behind him. As I neared him, I unsheathed my blade and moved into a crouched position. When I got within striking distance, I sprang up from my crouch, jabbing the Blade of Woe into the gap in the ordinator’s ornate armor just under his arm. Before the ordinator could cry out, I wrapped my left arm around his neck, squeezing tightly. With my right hand, I withdrew the dagger from his side and dragged it across the ordinator’s throat. Blood sprayed from the wound as the ordinator hit the stone floor of the canton.

Carefully, and quietly, I pulled the body across the stone, letting it rest well within the shadows. Then, I moved toward the front of the canton to kill an ordinator guarding one of the two main entrances to the High Fane. It was Saprius's job to kill the other.

I pressed my back against the outer stone wall of the High Fane as I moved. Finally, the ordinator’s back came into view. In one smooth motion, I reached out and grabbed the ordinator’s shoulder, pulling him back into the shadows with me. I wrapped my arm around his neck, restricting his airway and his ability to scream. Then, I jammed the Blade of Woe into his jugular vein. I propped his body up against the High Fane wall, as it was hidden well in shadow.

I silently examined the rest of the canton. The other two guards were gone. Saprius had done his job. I entered the front door of the Hall of Wisdom.

The ordinator that was patrolling the hallway had his back turned to me. I didn’t waste the opportunity to pull him around a corner and slit his throat. That left one more ordinator in the main hallway. Then, I would have to take care of the library.

I dumped the first body into the underworks, as the trap doors were easily accessible, and then I set out to find the other ordinator. He wasn’t hard to find at all. He was around the corner, guarding some of the priests’ private quarters.

Red eyes fixated on me through the helmet of the armor.
“We’re watching you… scum.” A gruff male Dunmer voice said.
I walked toward him, and his eyes widened at the sight of my blood-covered blade.
“You won’t be watching me much longer.” I said, stabbing him in his eye, then slashing his throat.

I hid his body in the underworks with the other oridnator. Using my lock pick, I picked the locks on the private quarter doors, managing to kill one priest in his sleep. The other rooms were empty.

I checked to make sure I’d cleared out the main hall, and then I entered the Library of Vivec.

Many priests were poring over books in the vast library. I counted the number of priests and the number of ordinators, coming to a total of seven priests and four ordinators.

I walked to the back of the library, pretending to look at the numerous books on a shelf hidden partly in shadow. I knew that every ordinator walked past the shelf I was standing at on their rounds. I would ambush them one by one as they passed. The priests seemed too busy to even realize the lack of ordinators.

When I heard the first set of armored footsteps, I unsheathed my blade and readied myself. The first ordinator didn’t even know what hit him when I pulled him behind the shelf and jammed the Blade of Woe into his spinal column.

I cast a paralyzation spell on the next ordinator, making him helpless to my swift attack.

When the next one walked by, I grabbed him but didn’t have enough time to shut him up. He cried out and attracted the attention of the last ordinator. Luckily, I was hiding partially in the shadows.

Frustrated, I hit the ordinator in the back of the neck. The cracking sound that accompanied my hit was satisfying. As his body crumpled, I grabbed the ebony mace he was carrying.

The last ordinator slowly walked closer, his head cocked in a curious manner. He stopped, and at that moment, I realized that he’d seen the bodies accumulating on the floor. He quickly turned to alert someone, but I was quicker, hurling the mace at the back of his head, crushing his helmet, and sending him reeling forward. In one swift motion, I jumped out of the shadows, unsheathed my elven shortsword, and jammed it into the ordinator’s neck, just to make sure he was dead.

The priests who had been sitting at tables scattered throughout the library were surprised to say the least.

They jumped into action, but I managed to completely decapitate two before they even stood. I quickly located both exits and made sure that I covered them as best I could. There were five priests left to kill and none of them were going to leave this room alive.

Of course, every last priest tried to escape. Their movements were predictable, and they were slow. I pinned one against the stone wall, stabbing him in his gut, then quickly slashing his throat.

Another one tried to run past me, but I stabbed him through his back, he fell to the floor, and I stabbed him through the heart. I kicked his body in front of one of the exits to block the door. Three left.

One priest picked up a chair and threw it at me. I simply threw a fireball at the chair, incinerating it. Then, I cast a lightning spell, hitting him and sending him flying across the room. When he hit the wall, he whiplashed, and I wasn’t sure whether his neck or his skull broke first.

Another priest had run across the room, frantically, he pushed the corpse blocking the door out of the way and grasped the doorknob. I pulled the bow off my back, notched an arrow, and let it fly, hitting him square in the back. He cried out in pain, and fell against the door, sliding to the ground.

The last priest was cowering in a corner, behind a shelf loaded with books. His hands covered his face as he whimpered and prayed. His whole body was shaking violently. His red Dunmer eyes gazed up at me, as I walked over to him.
“Y-you… Who are you?” he asked, his voice cracking. He made no effort to hide his fear.
I remained silent, as I stood over him and replaced the bow and withdrew my Blade of Woe.
“Who are you?!” He screamed. I could tell that he was building up anger to convince himself that he wasn’t scared of me.
Again, I remained silent.
He stared at me, struggling to see through the shadow my hood created, to see my face.
“Are… Are you going to kill me?!” He half screamed, half whispered.
“Yes.” I answered, bringing the Blade of Woe down into his left temple.

The Hall of Wisdom and the Library of Vivec had been taken care of. It was time for me to meet Saprius outside. Together, we would kill everyone in the High Fane.