Agent, Ebonheart's finest Options

[jack cloudy]

Yesterday was my birthday so here's my belated gift to all of you. The start of a new fanfic! (Wings of Light will be continued as well.) You may notice a shift of focus compared to my earlier fanfics.




Agent.
Chapter 1: In training.

My knees were shivering. For a good reason, I might say as the Duke towering over me looked very intimidating in his heavy suit of Ebony armour. Just to compare the two of us, the helmet would have been enough to crush me. Also, being dressed in cheap rags has never been a good source of courage. As it was, I had more than enough reasons to be afraid of him.

Who am I? I no longer use the name I was born with. I changed it upon my arrival here on Vvardenfell. Now I finally I have a name I can spell. Anyway, my name is Ro-El Frost. Sounds Khajiit? Maybe, but I am really closer related to the Nords, though without the muscles, the alcohol tolerance, the noise and without the size. Go figure.

The Duke turned to a man wearing some sort of golden armour. Probably the boss of the guard who was blocking the only way out of the room.
,,Is this the kid you were talking about?” The Duke asked with a stern voice. This did not sound well.
,,Yes, that’s the one.” Was the equally stern reply. This was one of those moments that your life would start to fly past your eyes.

How did I get here? Well, I don’t really know to be honest. People claim I must have been on the Skooma to have forgotten how I ever found myself in that mine. I didn’t like it there. The slavers forced me to do hard labour every day. I could feel my life slowly seep away with every single egg I harvested. I had to get out.

My plan took time but it worked in the end, except for one small detail. I harvested some poison one of the Kwama warriors had been spitting at the wall and mixed it with my food for the day. The day after that, I dumped it into the lake that was somehow inside the mine. The food had been swallowed by the Slaughterfish before I’d stepped away. The next part of my plan was the hardest. I’d been warned that the smell of their queen’s blood puts the Kwama into a killing frenzie. This information was meant so that the slaves were careful not to kill themselves, but it could also be used to my advantage.

So as you might guess, tapping blood from the queen is a potentially lethal act. Fortunately, I knew that by tapping just a little through a tiny wound made with my fingernail, the Kwama would not even notice. I carefully kept the blood sealed away inside a bottle till after four days, I’d finally collected enough. That night came the last part of my masterplan.

I managed to convince the slaves to go swimming in the lake, after showing them that the Slaughterfish had died through my act of poisoning. Next, I sprinkled the collected blood on the clothes of the slavers. I managed to get out to the lake before the killing started. I’d never been so glad that Kwama can’t swim. Those things were completely out of control. Which leads me to where I am now.

,,You have caused the death of three Dunmer and would have escaped if my Legionaires weren’t performing a raid at the same time.” The Duke spoke directly to me. Remember the little detail that went wrong? Well two dozen heavily armed soldiers who found a whole angry bunch of Kwama in their face, that’s what went wrong.
,,I thought they would run when the Kwama went mad. I didn’t expect them to die.” Was the weak defense I managed to whisper.

My arm was brusquely grabbed by the guard. The slave bracers I’d been forced to wear clattered on the floor.
,,Ro-El Frost, you have closed down an illegal egg mine and punished those who were responsible. You have further freed their prisoners who are being returned to their families as we speak. All that without harming the Kwama themselves, my men are responsible for that. As such, it is my pleasure as a servant of the great Emperor, Uriel Septim, to grant you your freedom and to take you into my service as an agent in the order of Ebonheart. Serius will escort you to your room.” The Duke now said with a smile and pointed at the guard who had released me from the symbol of slavery.

In a flash of inspiration, I snatched the bracers from the floor before I was dragged out of the room by Serius. We ascended many stairs before he finally threw open a wooden door and pushed me inside. ,,Consider everything in this room to be yours. You’ll be summoned tomorrow at 6 am. Wait inside your room till we come for you.” Serius ordered me before slamming the door shut. Not the nicest guy in the world.

I sat down on the bed and looked around, still unable to believe what had just happened. Instead of being branded as the bad guy and possibly executed, I had been turned into some sort of hero. Not exactly something that happened to me every day.

After I finally admitted to myself that things had turned out alright, I took a look around the room they’d given me. Apart from the bed, there was a closet, a mirror, a desk with several books on it and a sturdy wooden chest. It wasn’t big, but not small either. I opened the closet with the intention of swapping my dirty old rags with something more comfortable. It was cold this time of the year. The closet did not disappoint me. It was filled with all kinds of clothes ranging from simple but sturdy to downright extravagant and fit for a noble. There were shirts, pants, robes, shoes and even a few skirts, though I did not know what I was supposed to do with those. Men don’t wear skirts where I come from. Finally there were a few gloves on a separate rack.

I choose for a simple blue shirt with matching pants and a pair of shoes fit for indoor use. As the last action of the day, I picked up the book lying on top of the pile. ‘History of the Empire, part 1’ it said on the cover. If my idea of an agent was somewhat correct, these books had been placed here for a reason. I had some reading to do.

[jack cloudy]

Shortest update ever! Reason? I need to figure out a good look for the third blade. I already have a name, now I need the visual aspect. Also, I know nothing of Chimer or Dwemer marriage ceremonies, so I'm just making this all up.





They all looked expectantly at the sky. There it was, blocking out the sun. The strange machine descended towards the land with a slow graceful spin. Ropes were thrown down, Dwemer rushed up to secure the Airship to the rings embedded in the rock. Now a trapdoor opened, revealing a ladder.

Dumac climbed down and set foot on the ground.
,,Ah, finally arrived. It may not be as quick, but I’ll take the Cloudcleaver over teleportation any day.” He chuckled as he waved a greeting at the collected Chimer and Dwemer. He moved quickly over the carpet towards the door, eager to get inside before it would start to rain. The metal doors opened without a sound, their hinges being regularly oiled.

,,You’re late, Dumac.” Was the first thing Nerevar said to his friend. The Chimer was dressed in a traditional suit of armour that had been in his family for generations. It was too heavy and uncomfortable to use in real battle but for a ceremony such as today’s, it was perfect. Dumac wore a much more comfortable version of Dwemeric chainmail with Glass decorations. Finally, there was Almalexia who wore an exquisite dress as opposed to a suit of armour. Dumac greeted the woman politely before stepping onto the platform that had been built just for the occasion.

,,Chimer, Dwemer! I thank you for coming to join us on this glorious day! It is with a great sense of pride that I witness how this man and this woman will pledge their oaths! Well, I’ve never been a great lover of pompous ceremonies so let’s make it quick, shall we?” The king of the Dwarves shouted over the crowd, causing a few laughs. Dumac’s distaste for ‘pompous’ ceremonies was nearly legendary.
,,Nerevar Indoril, I grant you the hand of this woman, Almalexia. Almalexia, you have renounced your name and now lay claim on the name of Indoril. I grant your hand to this man, Nerevar Indoril. Do the both of you, swear that you will support each other? In peace and in war, in prosperity and in poverty?”
The Chimer answered as one.
,,Yes.”

Dumac smiled.
,,Good, then let’s get this over with and move on to the good part. It is time for the gifts!” A Dwemer stepped up to the king. In his arms he held a pillow. Three sheathed blades rested on the soft fabric. Dumac pointed at them and frowned a bit.
,,Why three?” He asked curiously.
,,Kagrenac couldn’t stop after two. He felt he needed to use all three elements. The third is for you.” The Dwemer explained. Dumac’s frown vanished.
,,Oh, I like receiving gifts. Give him my thanks.” He told the Dwemer who dropped the pillow with the swords on a pedestal and stepped back into the crowd.

Dumac picked up the first sword. It was a vicious, toothed scimitar. The moment he unsheathed the blade, bright flames erupted. Through the flames, Dumac read the inscription.
,,I present this sword to you, Nerevar Indoril. It’s name is Trueflame. May it always show you the right pad.” He spoke as he resheathed the blade and attached it to Nerevar’s belt. He then picked up the second blade. While Trueflame had been a brutal fang of flaming steel, this sword was sleeker and wrapped in crackling lightning.
,,I present this sword to you, Almalexia Indoril. It is called Hopesfire. May it bring hope to you in dark times.” He spoke with and attached it, with some trouble, to the belt of the woman’s dress.
,,Why is it called Hopesfire when it holds the element of lightning?” The Dwemer muttered to himself as he now reached for the third and final blade.

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Dec 29 2006, 08:14 PM