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]

They'll show up, soon. First though, it is about time that Ro-El goes pay a visit to the evil twin. Preferably on the back of a very stylish horse.

Hmm, with all the Dwemer machines I'm constructing, it seems extremely unlikely that the Chimer could ever win the war. Unless they had some dirty 'Centurion deactivation' tricks. Perhaps spies with authority over the Centurions? Anyway, update.





The next morning, I was quite pleased with myself. When I’d given my orders, I had not truly realized just how big the group of Centurions was. If I felt for some conquest, I could easily take on the neighbouring fort Moonmoth. Fortunately for the Legionnaires, conquest was not part of my plans.

Zarador was running among the group of machines like a child who has been dumped in a huge pile of toys.
,,Look at all these Type 2s! Were they all made this night?” He exclaimed, peering into the ‘eyes’ of one of the Centurions. I wore a rather proud grin while I answered his question.
,,Of course they were. This is Arkngthand after all. Those miserable bandits failed to find the elevator leading to the area where the real stuff is hidden. There are three construction halls, which I’ve labelled A to C. The Type 2s were all built by hall A, so that should give you an idea of just how big even one of the halls is.”

Zarador brushed a speck of dust from a Centurion’s kneecap.
,,Say, where is my Type 2?” He now asked.
,,The one who follows your orders I suppose.” I answered with a shrug. The mage tried it out, but none of the machines listened.
,,Hmm, must have gone down to this construction hall of yours for maintenance.” He muttered slightly discontent, stroking his beard.
,,Maybe. Anyway, the Cloudcleaver is likely in need of some repairs so I’ll send this group out to its current location. While they’re busy, we can go visit Dren and tell him to stay out of my business.”

As one, the Centurions marched out of the door and down the path. Zarador and I ascended one of Arkngthand’s towers and looked out over the West Gash from a balcony. Balmora and the Odai glittered in the distance. The force of Centurions marching north looked like a golden mantle spread over the ash. I had to force back a chuckle as I thought of the panic they would cause to anyone who happened to see them. I could already see that even the Cliffracers, who were normally aggressive to the extreme, kept their distance.

I looked behind me into the tower. Zarador was standing with his back against the wall, inspecting the floating Centurion that had ascended up through the shaft leading down into the Dwemer fort. I walked inside and inspected the Centurion myself. I already knew it from my memories, but seeing a real one was quite different.

The Wing Centurion looked like a male Netch coated in steel armour, though lacking the tentacles. An integrated crossbow was placed at the front, only a tube the bolt would exit from marked its location. Near the end, it featured two rotating pods equipped with a fan which were used for pushing it through the air.
,,And this, is our ride.” I told Zarador. Instantly, the old man’s face went pale.

,,You’re kidding me. You want us to fly on that thing? How are we going to do that?” He stammered, struck with fear.
,,Simple, hop on top and grab the handholds. Have you ever rode a horse?” I laughed. Zarador shook his head.
,,Neither do I. It should be fun.”

After a lot of persuasion, I managed to get Zarador on top of the Wing. I followed suit and took up the front position. There, I pressed a concealed button and watched how two levers and a small panel with buttons appeared. Since flying through the air at high speed could make talking troublesome, the Wing included a manual set of controls. I gripped the two levers and slowly pushed the left one forward. With a slight shudder and a bit hesitantly, the Wing flew out of the tower.

I took the first half of an hour to practise with the machine. Perhaps I should have done it earlier, but my combination of reflexes, quick learning and some memories turned me into a capable pilot soon enough.
,,I can’t wait to see the surprise on Orvas’ face when we swoop in on this thing!” I shouted over the winds as we raced towards the Dunmer’s plantation at speeds no bird could match.
,,If it is so fast, then why don’t we just go to that research facility far up north with it?!” Zarador shouted back. Since he was stuck staring at my back, he could not see the slightly maniacal grin.
,,You want to sit on this thing all day? My behind would be all sore in the end. Not to mention, I want to get to the island in style, riding on Dumac’s luxurious airship! Now be quiet, I think I can see lake Amaya!”