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]

The wind began to pick up, making the grainy ash twist around my head. I prayed to no gods in particular, that there wouldn’t be an ash storm. As a Morrowind native, I’d been out in the Ashlands many times. I’d come to recognize the creatures that made homes in the Ashlands, I could tell when one of them was diseased, and I’d learned to read landmarks. But, one thing that I’d never gotten used to was the ash storms. They were often very violent and extremely unpredictable.

“Where are we going?” Saprius asked, tearing me from my thoughts.
“Azura’s Coast. Known as the Telvanni region.” I answered, still carefully watching the sky.
“House Telvanni?” Saprius asked.
I nodded. “Have you ever seen a Telvanni stronghold?”
Saprius shook his head, looking a bit confused.
“Then you’re in for quite a treat.” I said.

The Telvanni strongholds always struck me as breathtakingly beautiful. They were simply growing, living, breathing towers. The colors were vivid, and the tower itself unique, as no two Telvanni mushroom towers looked alike.

We walked until dark. Just as the sun had disappeared, the horizon was filled with complete blackness. It suddenly struck me that the region we were in was very mountainous. As we neared the mountain, I looked at Saprius.
“Tell me, Saprius, have you ever climbed a mountain?” I said, still keeping a worried vigil on the now dark sky.
“Yeah. The Jerall Mountains.” He answered.
“Have you ever climbed a mountain during an ash storm?” I asked.
“What’s an ash storm?” he asked.
“I have a feeling you’ll find out soon enough.” I said, reaching the rocky base of the mountain that lay in front of us, and starting to climb.

Saprius looked confused, but began to climb as well.

As I climbed the rocks, I thought about where we were going to go. There were many towns located on the scattered islands of Azura’s Coast. Most, if not all of them, were Telvanni. That didn’t bother me very much. The Telvanni had a tendency to isolate themselves from the rest of Morrowind’s society. I doubted that the death of Vivec bothered them very much. From what I gathered, knowledge was the only god a Telvanni worshipped. However, because of their political prowess, Morag Tong presence in Telvanni cities and towns tended to be quite strong. I knew of one Morag Tong guild hall in Sadrith Mora. I intended to stay clear of it.

Saprius and I finally reached a small ledge on the mountain and decided to rest.
“Sarelle, you haven’t slept in awhile. Try to sleep and I’ll keep watch.” He said, breathing heavily.
“You sure you’re up to it?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He said.
I nodded. “Thanks.” I said.
Soon, I drifted off to sleep.

That night, Lucien visited me in my dreams.
“Ah, Sarelle… it’s been awhile.” He said.
“Yes. I haven’t had much time to sleep. The Morag Tong is hot on our heels.” I said.
Lucien frowned. “The Morag Tong is quite an adversary.” His chilling blue eyes bore into mine. “They could be planning an attack right now and you wouldn’t even know it.”

I awoke with a start, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest. My vision was clouded and the wind was howling. An ash storm had started while I was asleep. I pulled my Black Hand robe from behind my priest robe and wrapped it around my face, so that I could breathe easily without inhaling ash. Ash storms very often carried diseases. Saprius was nowhere in sight.
“Saprius!” I yelled, my voice hardly penetrating the ash.

I looked around and began to survey the small ledge I was standing on. I couldn’t see Saprius. I couldn’t hear anything except the wind howling. I started to curse myself for falling asleep.
“I shouldn’t have left him alone! Sithis! What was I thinking?” I said to myself.

Suddenly, I heard a thud from above me. Rocks began to tumble down the mountain, bouncing off the ledge I was standing on and falling down out of sight. Dodging the rocks, I jumped off the ledge, grabbing at footholds on the mountain, scurrying up as fast as I could.

The ash was everywhere, obstructing my vision and stinging my eyes. The wind threatened to make me lose my balance, sending me falling to my death.

After climbing of what seemed like forever, I reached another, bigger ledge. I could hear yelling. I realized that it was Saprius’ voice. I just couldn’t see him.
“Saprius!” I yelled into the storm.
“Sarelle! Is that you? Help!” he yelled back.

Four figures materialized in front of me. One of the figures was wearing a robe. That had to be Saprius. The other three seemed to be wearing tight fitting armor, and were pursuing the one in the robe.

“Damn! They’ve found us again!”