Oasis 2, Free from Destiny. Options

[jack cloudy]

Here is the link to: Jack Cloudy's Other Stories


Ok, I've got to be crazy. Starting a third one before finishing the last two? Yeah, definitely crazy. More crazy than Tarhiel, Curio and M'Aiq combined. Ah well, I guess I can't be stopped. (Note to self: Make an Agent update tonight.)





Oasis 2: Free from Destiny.

The task I’d been sent to do had been finished. No, I hadn’t just been sent to do this, I’d been made for it in a quite literal way. Yes, that task was the only reason for my existence. Now that I’d completed it, what was left?

Anyone in my position would probably try to retire and live the remainder of his or her life at peace, preferably with the comfort of nearby friends. I had friends and I could retire easily enough. During the course of my life, I’d amassed a large amount of wealth, including a house big enough to accommodate a whole village. In fact, my house was a village. Then why did I leave? Why was I walking here at this moment, so far away from civilization?

The truth was, I couldn’t. I hadn’t realized at the time, but the reason why I fought was because my friends needed me as much as I needed them. I’d fought to protect them, to keep them near. Yet what should have been my moment of everlasting glory was my moment of defeat. I could no longer see those I considered friends. It would undo everything I’d done.

The sun began to sunk beneath the horizon and I sat down next to the nearest shrub. A small wisp of fire, and I had created a small circle of light to keep me company. The fire was bad company if it was the soul that required comfort instead of the body. Nothing opposed my train of thought. I relived the last moment, the moment it all became clear.

I stood on the slopes of a mountain. Beneath me, several tents had been placed in the ashcovered ground. People milled about like ants. Banners flapped in the gentle breeze. A smile crept across my face. These were the people of Vvardenfell, my people. Most were unknown faces to me but that didn’t matter. In the end, they were all a part of the island. And I would be their hero. Society had been at the brink of collapse but now, everything would be fine. The Houses had united, the Ashlanders received the respect they deserved. The time of politics and struggles for power had ended. There was nothing left to fight over. And I would be right in the middle of it all, basking in glory, everyone would call me their greatest hero. Like a child’s dream come true.

The smile vanished. It would not be fine. There was still something for them to fight over. Ironic as it might seem, that something was me. To win the favour of the land’s champion, the Houses would return to their internal strife, bloodier than before. Those around me would be the victim of it all, as they would be pulled into this conflict. Politics was a plague, hard to control. There was only one thing I could do to prevent this from happening. I would have to leave, vanish into myth.

And leave I did. I never even took the chance to properly say goodbye. I couldn’t say goodbye. If I tried, I would end up staying and make my nightmare into reality. It was a bit of an anti-climax. Whenever I thought about what would come after defeating my enemy, the only things I saw were scenes of fame, glory and perhaps even a bit of worship. I couldn’t let any of that happen though. It would be as destructive as having let him have his way.

Perhaps this is how the guy who killed Jagar Tharn felt after he’d claimed victory in the Imperial palace. He too left right after his greatest moment. To this very day, no one knows his name, or his race, or even his gender. I say guy, but it could have been a woman for all I know. I’ve heard a few stories, but they’re quite conflicting. Some talk about a Redguard pirate, some about an Imperial Battlemage much like Tharn himself, yet others about a scarred Orc or your stereotypical knight in shining armour. Then there are those who take it into the extremes, saying that this nameless champion was none other than Tiber Septim himself or Akatosh or a spirit of death or even a Goblin, though I seriously consider that last one a joke. Well I knew one thing for certain, Akatosh was not involved there. Because Akatosh, that’s me.

Whatever is the case, the champion vanished and I was about to follow his or her example. Where would I go? If I had taken the time to think, I would have concluded that leaving Tamriel entirely would have been best. The legendary continent of Akavir would be a great place for a fallen hero to hide. But I decided otherwise. Instead of going east to Akavir, I would go west, to the place where I was born, all the way on the other side of Tamriel. Despite my achievements, which happened to include the killing of a supposedly immortal being, my fame was still only local.

Hammerfell would be the perfect place to make a living. There, no one would care about Luper Alkad, Nerevarine, the godslayer. There I would be just another Redguard, albeit one who was in possession of several unique artefacts. Yes, Hammerfell would be perfect. But how to get there? Vvardenfell had been saved of the Blight, a horrible disease that turned everything it touched into a raving monster. There was the Corprus which was even worse but likewise, its threat had ended. Despite that, the island was still strictly quarantined. No one could enter or leave, at least not through legal channels.

I knew that there were plenty of smugglers and pirates. I could try to make contact with them, see if they were willing to transport me. While the idea appealed to me at first, I soon changed my mind. So far, the smugglers I met here were a lot more aggressive than the bunch that had raised me. I was unlikely to get a single word out of my mouth before I was parrying daggers, clubs and whatever they were using to kill people. No smugglers wouldn’t help.

I went through a few more ideas. I was too well-known among the mages and the independent ones were usually Necromancers who would rather have me as their next test subject than give me a quick teleport to the mainland. Buying, building or stealing a ship wouldn’t work. For one thing, ships weren’t for sale here and I would be hunted by the coast guard. Waterwalking might work, but I had no real idea of just how far it was to the mainland. It would be rather embarrassing to run out of Magicka and get devoured by Slaughterfish and Dreugh. In the end, I knew of only one organization that could give me a quick and secret way to the mainland. The Blades, the spy service of the Emperor himself.

I waited till dawn before continuing my trip across the island. I took my time because this would likely be the last time I would see Vvardenfell, the island that had become my home. There was a silent beauty in the Ashlands, now that the dreaded storms which plagued this region had fled. The transition from dry ash to a swamp teeming with life was quite sudden, only a single mountainous ridge between them. Like everything I saw, it brought back memories. Memories of fighting against slavery, getting my leg cracked by a Mudcrab. It had been less than two years, yet it felt like eternity separated Luper Alkad, the badmouthed prisoner who was all bark and no bite, from Luper Alkad, the badmouthed hero who is even more bite than he is bark.

I walked up to the nearest Mudcrab and placed a single hand underneath its shell. With a simple flip of the wrist, I threw it upside down and sent it sliding down a hill. It was a feat of incredible strength I wouldn’t even dare dream about in those early days. I’d definitely changed, beyond recognition. The everburning flame of the Lighthouse told me I was nearing my destination. Seyda Neen, where my journey began and where now a new journey would begin.

[jack cloudy]

Well, Chrysamere is one hell of a sword. Without it, Luper is quite a bit more mortal I'd say. Especially because Chrysamere is......special to him. Now enjoy the update.




Pleasant scents reached my nose the moment I felt the soft carpet under my feet. Ro-El was quite the cook, I’d already learned that the day before. But beyond being just a cook, he was also a keen observer.
,,So they didn’t want to give you your sword back and you couldn’t make them. Why?” He asked merely and put a large pot of soup on the diner table. We sat down and started our meal while I began my explanation.
,,Delitian claimed it was stolen. I don’t know if that’s true and I doubt it. For all that I know, it’s still lying in that storage room. But with ten swords against me, ten elite swords, I wasn’t going to take my chances. Anyway, the Dark Brotherhood is involved.” I spoke.

,,The Dark Brotherhood? Well they do want you dead, but why?” Ro-El wondered out loud. I shrugged. The soup was great by the way.
,,I don’t know. But after we entered the palace, I bet that Delitian ran straight for the local hide-out and told them I’m here. I got an encounter with three near the toilet. I managed to kill two but the third escaped. That’s all I know really.”

The Nord didn’t say anything till after he’d finished his meal.
,,Ok, now this is obvious. Delitian is not the main crook. Maybe he is an informer of the Dark Brotherhood, or he is a spokesman for the real crook, or a spokesman for the spokesman for the….you get the idea.” He muttered, finally breaking the silence.
,,Yeah, I get the idea. But why? I’m the Nerevarine. That didn’t seem to catch on to them though. You would think that anyone worth his salt would at least stop relying on poison. This mystery is making my head spin. I don’t like mystery. I like it when I know who the bad guy is, why he is the bad guy and what kind of bad guy he is. Everything to make him easier to blow up or cut in two.” I complained. This raised a short laugh.
,,Ok, Lup. You’re not much of an investigator, but I am.” Ro-El admitted. It looked like he was about to say anything else but he was interrupted by a knock on the door. We both looked at the door, at each other. I nodded.

I slipped my hand under my shirt for the Amulet of Shadows. Soon, I was nothing but an incredibly vague outline. Still, I hitched for the shadows behind the couch as Ro-El opened the door.
,,Alms for the poor?” A voice squeeked.
,,yes, but you’re not poor. You’re wearing a diamond ring, an Ebony amulet is tucked under your vest and I can see one centimetre of a silver dagger. Goodnight.” Ro-El’s voice answered. I rolled my eyes. Bosmer. The door was closed, softly.
,,Anyway, the Dark Brotherhood never operates without a cause. Either you killed one of their kind before, which is incredibly unlikely since Vvardenfell is both Morag Tong territory and quarantined. That, or someone hired them which is a lot more likely. Again, it couldn’t have been any of the people on Vvardenfell. They would have used the Morag Tong. So to find our suspect, we need to look around the nearest hideout, which we now know lies in Mournhold. To get information, we’d best establish contact with someone who is not in league with any of the major powers here and has enough power of his own to get what he wants. Now who could that be?” He continued as if nothing had happened. I frowned.

Not because of what he’d said, but because of another knock on the door.
,,Another beggar?” I wondered but my thoughts were soon proven wrong.
,,Open up, Mournhold guard!” A voice shouted. Even while I was still wondering on what to do, Ro-El had already devised a full plan.
,,Get your dishes and hide them in the kitchen. Put them in the cupboard. Then head for your room and pick up your stuff. Leave by intervention. I’ll open the door and try to buy you time.” He whispered.

I did as he told. The guards had just entered the living room by the time I cast my Almsivi intervention.

I found myself standing before Mournhold’s temple. Like with everything in this city, it was big, rivalling the palace of Vivec even. At the moment, the standard Ordinators standing guard at the front gate did not see me as a threat but who knew how long that would last. So I walked away towards the nearest alley and as soon as I was out of their sight, I relaxed. Well, relax was a strong word. More like stopped being ready to bash people upside the head. I couldn’t really relax with all this going on. I had no idea why the guards came to our residence. Were they just pulling a regular patrol all over the city, was their visit nothing to worry about? Or did Delitian add Ro-El’s description to mine, turned him into an accomplice? The latter was infinitely worse than the former and therefore, the most likely option. Dammit, getting him in trouble because of my own aggression. I couldn’t accept that, ever.

I left the alley the way I came only this time, running. The Ordinators took this as their cue.
,,You there, stop!” One shouted. I cursed my neglect and used the Amulet of Shadows again to escape. At least, that’s what I’d hoped. A fireball streaked in and hit me square on the back, despite me being practically invisible and having done some dodging, which should have made them lose my position. I stumbled and slowed down. Fortunately, I’d slipped on my cuirass before I whisked myself away. The fire was little more than a pleasantly warm feeling. Still, these guys were not standard Ordinators, they had already proven that by using that spell. Man, this was the kind of day Chrysamere would really come in handy.

They had caught up by now, I had to act to stay ahead of their religious zeal.
,,Don’t attempt to escape lest you incur Lady Almalexia’s wrath.” The one who had shouted before warned me. I rose an eyebrow, feeling the Chameleon spell ebbing away.
,,Almalexia? Say, wasn’t that Nerevar’s chick? Ya know, the rotten evil witch that killed him and then hooked up with the two-coloured freak?” I wondered. The Ordinators stiffened and I realized I’d said that out loud. Great, just another element of perfection for this absolutely perfect night.

,,You heretic….you foul N’Wah!” The Ordinator who had been silent up till now finally opened his mouth. I rose my hands up in the air, the universal sign of surrender.
,,Look, I didn’t mean it like that. It was just gossip I’d heard. And there are a lot of people called Almalexia, Vivec and Nerevar…….But only one collection has that background story!” I swung my hands back down and flung out a wave of Telekinesis that lifted them off their feet and into the air. Something reflected the moonlight as they somersaulted backwards. Something shiny, hanging from their belts.

I leaped after them and grabbed hold of one Ordinator’s belt. I pulled and spun around, delivering a kick to his chest that sent him even further up into the air. The belt snapped, his pants flew away on the wind and I collected the object that fell down. It was a scabbard.
,,It was nice meeting you, but I’m on a tight schedule. Oh, and I’ll borrow this for a while.” I said and ran off again with a big grin. During my run, I pulled the weapon out of the scabbard I caught. It was a curved blade, thicker and wider than a saber or a katana, very ornate, made out of Ebony and gold and best of all, it was sharper than a razor’s edge. It wasn’t enchanted, but it was still Ebony which managed to compensate for that particular flaw a bit.

I kept running while I fixed the scabbard to my own belt. It wasn’t as good as Chrysamere but now that I had a sword, I didn’t feel so damn naked anymore. I just hoped Ro-El was ok. With that little scuffle, I had wasted precious time. I might be too late to stop his arrest or worse, murder. I forced my legs to run faster.