In service of a fallen god., Yup, I don't know how to quit. Options

[jack cloudy]

You know the drill, I finish one story and begin with the next. Meet my latest character and headremover, Morvayn Dres.


In the service of a fallen god.

Morvayn Dres took two deep, silent breaths. He filled his lungs till they were about to burst. In one smooth motion, he stepped out of the shadows behind the pillar and drew his sword at the same time, already swinging it at his first victim before the Orc could blink. He pressed the point of his saber in the arm beneath the pauldron, just deep enough to draw blood. Smoothly, he pulled his sword back a bit, flicked his wrist to aim the blade and performed a backhanded slash that neatly separated the head from the neck.

The entire time between Morvayn stepping into view and the Orc’s head flying away could be counted in a single heartbeat. The other Orcs in the room hadn’t noticed anything yet. Morvayn calmly walked towards the back of the nearest one. He enjoyed the look of surprise and then horror when the Orc turned around. Behind Morvayn, the corpse of his first victim noisily dropped to the floor.

,,In the name of my lord, I bring justice! You will join your unholy master in Oblivion!” Morvayn shouted and raised his saber. He ducked the Orc’s warhammer and cut through his opponents legs. He raised himself, cut off another head and turned towards his next victim. Magical mist poured out of the two Orcs and entered the man who had slain them.

Morvayn felt the mist filling his veins and with it, the power it gave him. When he was two steps away from the third Orc, he acted. He moved faster than anything the Orcs had seen before. In their eyes, he was death turned into flesh and blood, with a grim face they only knew too well. All three remaining Orcs died before they could raise their weapons.

The power his sword had granted him fled and he turned to watch how the corpses fell to the floor. Morvayn removed his helmet and wiped the sweat from his forehead. His red eyes blazed with a fanatical anger when he turned to the statue that dominated everything else in the room. If it was meant to intimidate, it failed to serve its purpose on the Dunmer.
,,Mehrunes Dagon, this shrine shall no longer worship you. For the glory of my lord, I have brought justice.” He said to the four-armed statue of the Daedra and walked out of the room.

Outside the shrine, his face was covered by his helmet again. He gave a few quick orders to the group that had waited outside for his return. Morvayn had concluded they would only get in the way during the fight and told them to stay at the entrance.
,,You, pick up the heads of the outlanders and put them on stakes in front of the entrance. That should serve as a warning to any cultist who wishes to rebuilt the shrine. The rest of you, destroy the shrine. When we leave, I want that accursed place to be in pieces.”

[jack cloudy]

Gah, I hate real life. Gotta go.



At first glance, the village wasn’t too bad. A few wooden huts and shacks, one larger building in the Imperial style and all that spread around on an open and dry spot in the march, an empty stone platform on one side and what looked like a path leading off towards the trees. Luper walked into one of the small huts and came out with a fishing pole.
,,Alright, I’m off fishing. Make yourself comfortable here.” He told his companions. He then raised his voice and shouted at the top of his lungs.
,,Miss M, I’m back! I brought a cute guy with me, come check him out!”
He winked at Morvayn.
,,As I said, make yourself comfortable.”

The Dunmer and the Nord watched the Redguard go.
,,I don’t know about you sir Dres, but I’m going to take a walk.” Morvayn nodded and Jarik walked away.

,,So you’re the cute guy? Did he forgot about the creep he brought with him last time?”
Morvayn turned around to see who had spoken, keeping his hand near the hilt of his sword. He found himself looking at a young Dunmer wearing an elegant dress. A large amulet in the colour of wet blood hung around her neck. Morvayn bowed.
,,My name is Morvayn Dres, lady. I am here on an important quest for my lord.”

The way the woman looked at him made him feel uneasy.
,,Call me Jana. Well, you are kind of cute. Maybe Luper is finally learning about good taste, though that sounds rather impossible to me. Would you like to stay at my place?”
Morvayn thought about the offer. She seemed decent enough, not like the Redguard.
,,Very well, it would be my pleasure.”
The woman smiled and led him over the path leading into the trees. A short distance beyond the first row of trees, Jana’s home rose up into the sky. Morvayn looked at it while the uneasiness came back.
,,Are you a Telvanni?” He asked warily.

The woman laughed.
,,No, but I do know a few Telvanni. I managed to import one of their homes. It is very easy to redecorate when you want to change things. You just apply some Magicka at the right place and the whole mushroom grows itself.”
The entrance was bathed in the soft glow of two large crystals. Morvayn stopped. He remembered an important design feature of Telvanni towers.
,,I can’t levitate.” He explained.

Jana said nothing and led him to the central shaft where she pointed upwards.
,,Levitating is rather tiresome so I had a revolutionary invention installed. Stairs!” She told him with a big grin that reminded the Dunmer of Luper. He smiled and felt a bit like a fool.
,,I believe that makes things easier.”

They ascended to the top floor where Jana poured Flin in two cups. Sitting on the balcony, they had a spectacular view of the surrounding area. Luper was fishing at a nearby lake filled with surprisingly clear water. Jarik was walking north of town, near an extremely swampy area.
,,So, what is your quest?”
Morvayn looked at his cup.
,,I’m on a quest for Lord Vivec. You are familiar with the Tribunal?” He asked in return.

The woman nodded.
,,I am, though not that much. So you’re an Ordinator? I never managed to guess who or what was behind those masks.”
Morvayn chuckled.
,,Behind the mask, we’re just normal Dunmer blessed by the Tribunal. Anyway, I’m asked to recover a specific artefact from a Daedric shrine in the Black Marsh. A shrine dedicated to all of the Daedra. Speaking of which, do you perhaps know of a guide who can lead me there?”

Jana frowned and shook her head after a few moments.
,,Everyone has heard of the shrine but no one who wants to live goes there. Sorry, but the only person who is stupid enough to go there and expect it to be nothing but a fun adventure would be Luper. Then again, with him the greatest threat becomes not running away into the swamp out of frustration. He can be really annoying sometimes.”
Morvayn sighed. It looked like he was stuck with the Redguard. He looked at the surrounding swamp again.
,,Hey, where did Jarik go?”

Jana looked at the man Luper had brought. He was cute, but a bit too young for her taste.
,,Yeah, but everyone is too young for me.”
,,Who’s Jarik?” She asked, hiding her frustration.
Morvayn pointed at the swampy part to the north.
,,A Nord I’m travelling with. He was over there just a moment ago.” He said and watched the effect of his comment with interest.

,,Really? Why don’t you stay here and rest? I think I’m going for a small stroll through town.” Jana muttered absent-mindedly.
Morvayn stood up, with his hand on his sword again.
,,Alright, what are you hiding? What is over there that it is so important you freak out when a Nord vanishes nearby?” He asked.

Jana could kill herself. Whatever hope for a somewhat long-term relation she might have had, she just blew the opportunity.
,,Not everything here is what it seems.”
Before Morvayn could blink, he was lying on his back with a broken wrist and his sword was in the woman’s hands. She looked like she knew exactly what she was doing.
,,How did you just do that?” He spat, cursing his inability to cast any effective spells for combat. Jana looked down on him with sad eyes.
,,As I said, not everything is what it seems. I’m for example a vampire and quite a bit older than I look. Now be a good boy and stay here while I drag that Nord out of a place he isn’t supposed to be in.”

The vampire began to walk away. Morvayn raised himself with his good hand.
,,What’s so dangerous there? Do you keep an undead army or something?”
Jana turned around.
,,No, but if that Nord is a bit of a treasurehunter, he just entered paradise. The only downside is that the place is the home of a very old man and when he comes back…….Well, you don’t want to steal from someone who can easily blow up Red Mountain when he gets angry.” She said and shrugged. The next moment, the woman was gone.

Morvayn stood still for a moment to consider his options. It was his duty to kill any unholy beings, including vampires. However, she’d spared his life and gave him a chance to tell others of her existence, despite knowing that he was in service of a mighty god. And then there was the hospitality he’d enjoyed, though only for a short time. He shook his head and descended the tower. He’d think over his problem later. Right now, he had to bring a Nord back. He needed an expert at Daedric shrines and he couldn’t afford the possibility of a heavily injured, or vampirized, Jarik.