The adventures of Arthago chapter III, A Province united Options

[Agent Griff]

So let's kick this chapter off shall we? A small bit of info at what's to come further in the series: At the end of this chapter, Arthago will move to a whole new province and I think many of you already know which province it is. Anyway, let's enjoy Hammerfell while it lasts shall we?

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After the defeat of Lord Vhosek's rebellion, things went back to normal in all of Hammerfell. Some local kings and rulers however, seeing that Lord Vhosek managed to battle the King and even defeat him, albeit for a short time, started a fight against King Lhotun's rule as well. Since I was one of the highest ranking knights in Sentinel, with the exception of Marshal Daron and a few other senior knights of the order, I was often sent to these small kingdoms to stop the rebellions. The first kingdom to revolt, a few years after Vhosek's uprising, was the small kingdom of Santaki which was close to the Dragontail mountains. I was sent there, together with a few other knights below my rank, to stop the rebellion.

We arrived there after a few days ride. The capital of the small kingdom was the town with the same name, Santaki. The kingdom, albeit small, had its own knightly order, the order of the Hawk. That meant that the Kingdom had some importance in the politics of Hammerfell but it also meant that other smaller kingdoms may gather around Santaki and fight against Sentinel. I never really understood why Redguards or men in general fight eachother if there's no other foe to fight against. Maybe to heighten their skills? No, the answer was quite simple really. For Power. Once a man got ahold of better, he never could really let go of it. The more power you have the more power you crave. King Lhotun obviously had too much power for the regional kingdoms to bear, so they rebelled against him. Quite simple if you look at it from a political point of view.

The capital was a rather big town. It was quite smaller than Sentinel though but bigger than any other town I had seen before. The seal of the order that was etched on my cuirass was concealed by a cloak and so were the seals of the knights under my command. I didn't want someone to see that knights from Sentinel had arrived to settle affairs with Santaki. The palace was not a big or tall building, it was merely three storeys high. I could see an open balcony leading to the throne room at the last floor. There were also knights of the Hawk standing guard near the palace. Even though they came from an issolated kingdom such as Santaki those knights looked fierce.

Once we reached the gate of the palace, a knight stopped us to ask us of our business with their king. I didn't exactly think of an excuse on the way so I had to improvise.
"We come from Sentinel to bring word on King Lhotun's movements." I said in an official tone.

"Sentinel eh? Why do you have to bring the news to the King personally? I thought that sir Greklith was in charge of intelligence." the knight said with a suspicious voice. He was also constantly looking at my knights who were behind me.

"Our duties are to transmit this information to his Majesty personally." I said, trying to keep the lie going. He seemed to believe me.

"Very well then. If the King specificaly required that you meet him I won't interfere. Carry on!" the guard said as he opened the gate. How polite of him! I'm sure that he will be pounding his head after I slay his treacherous king.

A few minutes later we were standing in front of the king of Santaki. He was a man close to old age with a small beard and long, flowing, hair. He looked at me and my men with his brown eyes and asked what my business was in Santaki. He seemed confused and I felt sorry to slay him because he looked like an innocent man.

"What is your business in Santaki, travellers?" the king asked.

"We come from Sentinel with news and counsel." I said, with a soft tone that calmed him down a little.

"Counsel? What counsel? I think I can handle my own kingdom, despite my advancing age." the king said with a hostile voice. Alright so he didn't like advice. It wasn't as if he had much choice when it came to the advice I was about to give him.

"King Lhotun of Sentinel advises you to lay down your outrageous claims and slanders against him. He also advises you that uprisings are very dangerous for men of advanced age such as your fine self." I said in a cold voice.

"Men as myself? King Lhotun now mocks me! I will not lay down my just claims! Hammerfell must be free!" the old king shouted.

"The king of Ephesus had the same opinion regarding the King's counsel. He dissapeared shortly after he made his opinions public and his cousin now peacefuly rules the kingdom. I would not want the same happening to yourself." I said, trying to scare the old king.

"I know why you're here. Lhotun sent his assassins after me. He is a coward not to face me in just battle!" the old king shouted.

"Neither I nor his Majesty see a brave, young King fighting against an old man as a just battle. I think you will agree with our opinions." I said with a sarcastic tone. This man was really pushing my indulgence to the very limit.

"Your king is a filthy coward! And so are his men!" the old man shouted.

Before the old king could say another word he fell down on the floor. His throat was pierced by a small dart. Blood started flowing shortly until it reached our feet. Our job was done! Slaying old men with darts really wasn't my style but at least it payed well, well enough to manage the estate that Lord Vhosek left me. Before the guards could react we were already outside the palace and into the crowded streets of the city.

Once we reached the gatehouse, one of the knights under my command entered as the others, myself included, exited the city. Shortly after, the guard inside the gathehouse fell out of a small window. The knight inside had done his job well. He was more lightly armoured than the rest of us and he was adept in sneaking around and stabbing people when they weren't looking. He then fired a flaming arrow into the sky. The army waiting for us outside soon stormed the town with the gates open. The town guards and even the knights of the Hawk surrendered once they saw what was pouring through their open gates. The King would be pleased to hear of my actions, conquering a town without any loses and slaying a king without anyone noticing. Being an assassin though, didn't quite fit me. I lusted for the thrill of battle again. I had not fought anyone since Vhosek's rebellion. I had to return to Sentinel to report my deeds and receive my rewards anyway. I wonder what Marshal Daron has to say? I had not spoken with him since the days of the rebellion and I was anxious to speak with him again.


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That's it for the start of the chapter! I've followed advice and have used spaces between dialogue lines, tell me if you like it how it is now or if you liked it more the way it was before.

[Agent Griff]

The conclusion to this controversial chapter and to cool down the presure, here's what happens:

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Violent images quickly passed throughout my head. A man attacking me with a dagger, then a fall, then cold water, then darkness took hold. I woke up in a bed covered with warm furs. I was in a rectangular room with a high ceiling and a big stained-glass window in front of me. I woke out of the bed and saw my scimitar lying on a small table which was next to the bed. A man entered the room and looked at me.

"Ah, he has woken. He has woken Sire!" the man shouted to someone. King Lhotun soon walked in the room.

"Arthago! I'm glad to see you have recovered so quickly." King Lhotun said in a pleased voice.

"Um, what happened? Where's Atius? How in the name of Sheogorath did I end up here?" I asked, bewildered.

"Ah, so you do not remember? Very well then, I shall inform you with what has happened if you do not remember. After that worm of a man tried to poison your mind one last time I decided to take things into my own hands and deprive you of his evil influence. He pulled out his artifact and pointed it at me. A dopelganger soon appeared but I quickly slew the beast with a quick thrust of my dagger. Afterwards, after he saw that his dopelgangers weren't of any effect, he drew a dagger and held it at your neck then started backing away. I kept approaching him though. At that moment you panicked and somehow broke his arm then you pushed him backwards. As you pushed him with all of your strength you both fell into the water. You started screaming franticly but my men managed to get you out of the water and on land. By the time we got you on land you had swallowed too much water so we had to get you to a healer of some sort. After we took you to a healer you fell asleep because of the effort so we took you here. You're in the palace now." King Lhotun said, trying to soothe me.

"Now I understand why I'm here, but what happened to Atius?" I asked in a curious voice.

"Since you had broken his arm he couldn't swim. My guards tried to rescue him but it was already too late. He sadly drowned and was lost to the sea." King Lhotun said.

I think I understand what the King's notion of drowning is when it's about his enemies. Being held under water until you drowned would be a better way to say it. I started fearing Lhotun. I knew what he was capable of and I knew what he did when someone betrayed him. For the moment I would at least have to keep the appearance of loyalty if I wanted to keep my head.

"Now, to change the subject. My dream of a united Hammerfell is almost complete. The Kingdom of Sentinel has most of the lands of northern Hammerfell under its rule. The only ones who opose our rule are the southern kingdoms of Taneth and Rihad and the North-Eastern city states. For the moment, our atention will be turned towards the southern kingdoms. If we can take them without much hardship then we can shift our vision towards the north-eastern states." King Lhotun said in a scheming tone.

"Perhaps we should be content with what we have Sire. The Empire has not acted until now, perhaps they know yet they are turning a blind eye or perhaps they don't yet they are searching for oportunities of retribution. The old Emperor wants peace in his lands, not hardship. We shouldn't test his patience Sire." I said to Lhotun, trying to calm him down.

"The Emperor is old! He is a weak and senile old man, hell I don't know if he's even sane any more. He isn't in contact with his people. All of the Imperial generals have one eye on independent conquests and one eye on the Dragon Throne. The legions are loyal only to their own general, and the legions that aren't loyal are bought at the highest bidder by various nobles. Hard times are coming Arthago, the Kingdom of Sentinel must be strong. Once one Imperial general proves strong enough he will surely come for Hammerfell. If Hammerfell is divided into petty kingdoms, it will not outlast the onslaught. If Hammerfell can unite around one powerful kingdom, it has a chance of surviving and even taking the attack to Cyrodiil. Will you help me fulfill my dream, Arthago?" King Lhotun asked me with a sincere voice.

I could see now that even though King Lhotun may have appeared as an evil tyrant at times, he had an honourable objective. He loved Hammerfell and he wanted what was best for it, regardless what it took to get there. King Lhotun knew very well what was going to happen in the Imperial Province, all out civil war. Once Cyrodiil was at war, the other provinces would break out into war too, Hammerfell included. If Hammerfell wasn't united from the start, it would break apart into a lot of meager kingdoms which would be easy prey for the surviving Imperial legions. Only a miracle could stop the war that was to come with the death of the Emperor.

"I will, my King." I said, as I bowed down in front of Lhotun.

"Very well. Rise now Arthago. I do not know how much I can trust others yet I trust you the most. You have proven to me your worth thus far, and you have made me very proud. The first step into complete unification has been taken, Sentinel has conquered all nearby kingdoms to form one bigger and much stronger kingdom. Lainlyn, Ephesus, Santaki and Bergama all belong to us. The second step is unification between Reguard culture. The Crowns and the Forebears have been at war for too long, something must be done. The Crowns are too extreme when it comes to keeping their own culture, yet the Forebears love the Empire too much. A middle faction must exist, one to keep Redguard culture and value yet to respect the Empire in the same measure. This faction shall be called...yes, the Lhotunic. And I know just who is going to lead it." King Lhotun said.

"Who?" I asked in a somewhat anxious tone.

"You Arthago. You are just the person. I know that I can trust you more than others and I know that you have natural abilities when it comes to commanding others around you." King Lhotun said.

"It is an honour for me to lead your faction, Sire." I said.

"It is not my faction Arthago, it is our faction. Who knows, perhaps one day you might become the ruler of your own lands, free of me and Sentinel. That day would truly be a great one for both Hammerfell and for me." King Lhotun said.

"You know what the plan to succes is Sire? Make a plan and stick with it. Now that we have a plan, we should see that the phases are done accordingly. First thing we have to do is to officialy establish the Lhotunic. We should approach both Crowns and Forebears alike to see if they would wish to join our faction. After the Lhotunic is a strong faction we see to it that Sentinel has a strong army for times to come. If the odds favour us, we should take the southern cities, for they are the richest in Hammerfell and their people are just merchants, they pay others to fight their battles. We have an advantage over them there. After we take over the southern cities, we see to it that our borders are well defended against any future attack from the Imperials. Then, we wait." I said, weaving a plan.

"Excellent plan Arthago. I agree with your notion. We should put this plan into action right away. We are acting against time, and it is of the essence. The Emperor might die any day now, this day, this month, this year." King Lhotun said.

With this disscusion over, the conquest of Hammerfell was ready to begin. If the Imperials think they could defeat the Redguards as they did in the past, they have another thing coming to them...
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This is the end of this rather short update. Sorry for the length but there was really nothing to talk about anymore. I hope the next update will be longer.