The Accounts of Rayden Options

[redsrock]

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


Janus and I followed Burd through a wooden door that led to a rather smelly hallway. At the end of the corridor was yet another door, this particular one leading to a small room with a desk, and I realized we were at the jailor’s office. There was a door that had been left wide open in the back left corner, and as soon as I noticed it an Imperial man walked out carrying a torch.

“Servious, how many times have I told you not to leave the door open?” Burd asked the man sternly.

The guard sat down in his chair behind the desk and said, “But sir, I was only helping the soldiers put away the traitor, or at least that’s what they called him anyways. What happened, Captain?”

“Never mind that now. Do not leave the door unattended to no matter what the circumstances are. Especially during these times I might add. Do you understand what I am saying? Am I being clear enough for you?”

I was very surprised at the way Burd was speaking to the guard. He was rude, and I know the guard probably deserved being reprimanded and all that, but Burd could probably have done it in a more respectable way. But of course it’s really none of my business what he does.

“Yes, sir, please forgive me,” the soldier replied.

“Also, do not let anyone into the dungeon while we are in there.” Burd said while pointing to Janus and me, as well as himself.

So then Burd motioned for us to follow him into the prison area, which we did. Burd closed the door behind us once we were in and then we walked down the aisle. There were not any prisoners except for the traitor. I was sure Burd was definitely proud of the low amount of inmates. As we neared the last cell on the left two Bruma soldiers were standing outside speaking with the prisoner.

“You may now leave,” Burd told the soldiers. They simply nodded, shook their heads in disgust at the traitor, and then left the area, closing the door behind them.

“Why?”

This is the only thing Burd asked the traitor, though he didn’t get anything out of it. The prisoner said not a word, but was weeping in the corner of the jail. It was very pathetic and I could tell Burd was already starting to get impatient. Janus and I simply stood out of the way while Burd spoke with the prisoner.

“Stop crying, Maloney. Why did you and Serantivous attack me?”

“I…I did not attack you, Captain. I could not bring myself to do so…unlike Serantivous. As you can see…he paid the ultimate price for his treachery.”

“You have not answered my question, Maloney. Who swayed you to Mankar’s side? I know that is who you’re working for, now tell me who’s poisoned your minds!”

Maloney was still crying, and now was huddled up into a ball in the corner of the cell. “I…I cannot say, Captain. They will have me killed if I say anything.”

“They? Who is they? Are they in the city right now? Do not be afraid, Maloney. I swear to you now that we will keep you safe. I promise you that.”

“No,” Maloney gasped loudly. “You do not know what is going on in your own city. There are many involved in this, Captain. I am afraid you will not succeed. Please forgive me, sir.”

Maloney then reached for a wooden knife with an iron tip that lay on a stool inside the cell. Burd knew what was about to happen and he immediately reached for his set of keys. He was fumbling with the key and attempting to unlock the cell, but it was too late. Maloney had had already jabbed the knife into his heart, and blood was spouting from his chest fast. But he was not dead just yet. Burd finally unlocked the cell and the three of us ran inside. Burd knelt down and grabbed Maloney by the shirt and said, “WHO IS IT? WHO HAS INFILTRATED OUR CITY?”

But Maloney only smiled for several seconds, and then died in Burd’s hands.

“NO!” Burd yelled out in frustration. He let go of Maloney’s shirt and stood up with his hands in his black and gray hair. “This is bad. I’ve got even more traitors walking around as we speak! What should we do?” He asked Janus.

“This is very bad indeed, Burd. There is virtually nothing you can do. I am sure there are more traitorous soldiers other than Maloney, but it will be almost impossible to figure out who they are. It seems we don’t even know who’s on our side anymore,” Janus said, and then sighed heavily. “I think you should tell Rayden what the plans are before anything else happens.”

Burd nodded and then started to speak. “Rayden, you are to travel to Anvil and find Ormellius Goldwine. He alone will no where Mankar is located and you will find the Altmer and kill him. Yes, I know plan sounds a little vague, but that’s basically it. Find Mankar and end this threat. I do not know you that well, but Janus brings high praise for you. He suggests that you are the only one who can defeat Mankar, for whatever reasons I have not yet seen, but I’m willing to trust the words of my old friend.”

High praise? I certainly didn’t expect something like that come from Janus. Even though he’s angry with the way I carry myself, it was sure good to know that he still believes in my ability.

“But, there’s a catch. Janus also tells me you don’t make friends easily and you trust hardly anyone. I realize you would probably like to conduct this mission alone, but I will not allow that. It is too dangerous for you to go all by yourself, and that is why I am sending the last living Blade to accompany you.”

“Blade, you mean the warriors that protect the Emperor?”

“Yes, that is exactly who I am talking about. Over the past weeks all of the Blades officers have been hunted down and assassinated. And I’m not talking about just in Cyrodiil. According to my source Blade agents from around Tamriel have been eliminated.”

“And who is that source of yours?”

“The last Blade herself, Jena. She resides now in Cloud Ruler Temple, still mourning the losses of her brothers and sisters. Jena is trying to uphold the temple by herself, but I spoke with her earlier today about what I am telling you. She has agreed to help you, if only avenge the death of her friends.”

I didn’t like this a bit. Burd was forcing me to take someone with me; some that I didn’t even know! Granted this Jena is an agent of the Blades. So I guess it couldn’t be too bad. And besides, I was trying to get away from the whole ‘everyone is against me’ attitude anyway.

“Alright, when shall I meet this Jena?”

“Right now, Rayden. Let us go speak with her so that the two of you may leave quickly. I am afraid Bruma is running out of time.”




The three of us walked out of the prisons, and then Burd ordered two soldiers talking to the jailor to take care of Maloney’s body clean up the blood as well. The soldiers reluctantly walked into the prison area while Janus and I followed Burd out into the cold once more.

Outside a Bruman officer had rounded up the citizens just as Burd had wished. He and other soldiers were asking them many questions, and some civilians were getting worried, some were getting angry.

“Molvar, after you are done speaking with the civilians, I want all soldiers to report to the castle.”

“All of them, Captain?”

“Yes, all of them. There is a rat in our ranks and I will find him no matter how long it takes. Make sure nobody enters or leaves the city.”

“Yes, sir,” the soldier said a bit questionably, and then walked away.

“The temple is outside of the city, on top of a large hill. We’ll take horses up there because I don’t feel like walking in the snow as of right now,” Burd said to Janus and I.

We left the city through the side entrance, and outside the horses were stabled in a large barn. A heavyset Nord was sitting in an old rickety chair, seemingly talking to his self. We walked up to the Nord and Burd asked to borrow some horses.

“Excuse me, but may we borrow three of your horses?”

The Nord looked up at Burd with his majestic blue eyes and responded, “Well of course, Captain! Me and Bruno here aren’t using em’ at the moment anyway.”

“May I ask who Bruno is?”

“My dog, of course! I found him running wild in the forest a few days ago. Cute, aint he?”

At first I didn’t see anything, but then a white ball of fur appeared out of nowhere. His fur was so white he blended in with the snow perfectly. The dog came over to get some attention, and Burd petted the dog for several seconds before the three of us walked over to get our horses. I mounted on mine, a black horse, while the other two did the same. Then we left the area and followed Burd. He took us across the snowy plains, towards a large mountain with a winding road going up. It took us nearly thirty minutes to get to the top of the mountain and the entire way we saw nothing but trees. Then, at last, we came upon an unusual looking structure. The walls went up extremely high into the air and there was only once entrance, a very large and high door that was open for just anyone to walk into.

“Here we are. As you can see the entrance is open. Yes, I realize that is dangerous, but since it is now only Jena that remains, she cannot scout atop the towers all day. Come; let’s meet your partner, Rayden.”

We walked up a long flight of stairs, and then we were face to face with the entry of the temple. There were entrances to the left and right, as while as in the middle. Burd explained that the left door led to the barracks, the right led to where the agents would eat, and the middle led to the lobby area. Burd then suggested that we check the lobby area, since it was almost nine o’clock in the evening, and that Jena always read by the fireplace at night.

So we opened the middle door and stepped inside the old structure. Inside, just as Burd had foretold. When she heard us close the door she turned away from the fireplace and said, “Well hello, Captain. How are you?”

“Not good, I’m afraid. Yourself?”

“I’ve gotten rid of most of the junk that’s been lying around. It shouldn’t be more than a day before everything is cleaned up. But I guess that’ll have to wait, given the mission I am about to embark on,” she said while winking.

“Yes, well, here is your partner, Rayden. He’s very skilled with stealth and security I hear. Count Janus Hassildor has very high praise for him I might add.”

Jena closed her book on a stool and got up to shake my hand. Her skin was very gentle, obviously because she was a girl. I also noticed that she was very pretty, for an Imperial at least. Her eyes were bright blue, almost mysterious in a way.

“Hello, Rayden. I’m glad to finally meet my partner. I promise you we will take down Mankar and he will pay for all of the grief he’s caused everyone. What is your reason for fighting against Mankar?”

“I, um, don’t want to see the province run by a tyrant such as him.”

My answer was rather dull and boring, but it was the truth. None of my friends have been killed or anything, only because I don’t have any friends. I was almost certain Jena would scoff at my comments, seeing as she was part of such a prestegious group like the Blades, but I was wrong and she accepted what I had to say.

“I agree. We can’t have something like that happening. So, has Captain Burd explained everything to you?”

I nodded.

“Good, then we can leave now?”

She was very anxious to get going, and I was impressed by her eagerness. No doubt she wanted to get her revenge.

“Yes, Jena, that would be wise; the quicker the better. What do you think, Janus?”

“I believe you are right, Burd. We are wasting time standing here,” he said smiling. “One thing though, Rayden, Once you do learn Mankar’s location I do not want you to return here. Simply find and eliminate him. Understand?”

I nodded again. “Very good, then off you two should go.”

“What about Martin? I need to speak to him for a minute.”

“No, Rayden, there is not enough time for that. You can speak to him when you return,” Janus said.

“Please, it’s very important. I need to…I…”

“You want to apologize to him, Rayden? Forget about it, I’m sure he’s okay. It’s time to leave; the Mythic Dawn is marching towards our city as we speak.”

I was about to argue further when the door opened and in came Martin.

“You were looking for me, Rayden?” He said, with a frown on his face. He walked over to me and got just inches away from my face. Anger was clear on his expression and right then I thought I had lost his friendship. But then he smiled and hugged me.

“I’m so sorry, Martin. I…I haven’t been thinking lately. I swear to you I will never have an attitude again.”

“Yeah, and I can fly,” he laughed. “Don’t worry about, Rayden. I know deep down inside you mean well. I saw you three riding up here, and I knew what was happening. You, see, Janus told me of the plan earlier. I just wanted to say goodbye and be careful. And don’t go and get captured this time!” He laughed again.

I laughed with him and shook his hand, not knowing if it was for the last time.

[The Metal Mallet]

Looks like it now becomes a race against the clock. It's going to take quite a bit of time to get all the way down to Anvil. Let's hope that Bruma still stands by the time they get the information they need, let alone act upon it.

[Steve]

That was a good addition indeed!
Wasn't Jena the one who usually dies in the beginning?

I hope we still get to see the Uriel Urinator in action!
Lol!

[jack cloudy]

Oh, assassination. Well, that is something Rayden might be able to do. I mean, I'm sure Mankar would love the chance to have another gloating session. (I hope Rayden is special. If Mankar has a gloating session with everyone who doesn't join him outright, he would die of old age by the time he conquered a single signpost.)

Just one thing, which moron of a Bruman got the bright idea of putting a dagger in a cell? Nevermind it being made of mostly wood. People could have gotten hurt, you know! Oh wait....people did get hurt. Ok, one guy about to be transferred from prison duty to latrine-sweeping.....with a toothbrush.

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Jan 13 2008, 08:17 PM

[redsrock]

CHAPTER NINETEEN


Martin let go of my hand and patted me on the shoulder. It was good to know that the two of us where at peace with one another. I had feared for the worst; that Martin had lost all respect for me, and that I had lost his friendship. I never really thought about that kind of stuff before, but now I realize Mankar was wrong when he spoke to me in Kvatch. People do care about me. Martin…Janus…they all care about me enough to claim that I am the only one who can take the evil Altmer down for good. I’m glad have realized all of this before it was too late.

“Ride swiftly, my friend, Bruma can only stand for a short amount of time before the walls fall down in front of us. I know you’ll do us proud,” Martin said. Then he looked over at Janus, who himself looked to becoming impatient of all the final goodbyes.

“Yes, Rayden, do be careful on this mission, as it is obviously very important. It is time for the talking to end and time for you to leave, but let me leave you with this one last message. I barely know anything about you since we’ve essentially just met, but during this short duration you have impressed me greatly. Sure, you have hot-head sometimes, but doesn’t everyone?” Hassildor smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. “I do not want you to leave here thinking that I loath you, because that would be far from the truth. You are a very special person, Rayden. The balance of power in Cyrodiil rests in yours and Jena’s hands. That alone speaks volumes for how much trust and praise we all have for you. I also realize that you are certainly confident in your abilities, and while that is a good thing do not let it cloud your mind. No one is invincible, Rayden, no one.”

And with that Jena said her goodbyes to Burd, who it seemed was a close friend of hers. Then Jena suggested that I use the Blades armor.

“Rayden, I would be honored if you were to bear the armor of a Blade. You may not be one yourself, but your actions have certainly qualified you for the use of this ancient piece.”

I was glad to hear those sincere words, but the fact of the matter is that I have never worn armor before during my hits as a thief. Armor is too heavy and noisy, causing me great difficulty in performing my duties. I wasn’t about to change my ways, especially when I would be sneaking around in the shadows in Anvil.

“Thank you for the kind gesture, Jena, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline the offer. Armor is too heavy and makes too much noise. We’ll be infiltrating a city full of people who want us dead. I need to be as sneaky as I can, and quite frankly armor would do nothing but hamper our mission.”

“Yes, you are right, Rayden. I should have thought about that as well, but, I think you should at least wear something a little warmer. We’ll be traveling through the Jerall Mountains on our way to Anvil you know.”

That sounded like a good idea and Jena said she would show me to a room where clothing was stored. Martin, Burd and Janus shook my hand and said their last goodbyes, and then left to return to Bruma. After all, they had their own problems to attend to.

“Come, Rayden, I’ll show you to the room, and then I’ll wait outside while you choose what you wish to wear during our trip.”

Jena seemed like a very nice person, and I was glad for that. I would have hated to have to travel with an arrogant fool. That would have been a dreadful experience indeed. But then again, that’s probably how I acted towards Martin and Janus, at least before I changed my ways that is. No more of that, I am a new person.

She took me through a door that was located near the exit to the outside. Then we walked down a hallway, and finally into a room filled with many wooden boxes, cabinets and drawers.

“This is where everyone had kept all of our clothes over the years. Some are older than others, but I’ll just let you decide on what you want yourself,” she said cheerfully.

Jena stepped back outside into the hallway and closed the door, leaving me by myself with literally hundreds of pieces of clothing. There are many types lying around everywhere: shirts, shorts, pants, hoods, robes, capes, boots, shoes, sandals…..everything you could think of. Although I was finding it a bit weird that they would keep shorts and sandals, given the fact that it was always bitter cold in this area.

I looked through the room for about ten minutes until I had chosen my attire for the trip. I wasn’t a picky person when it came to getting dressed. To tell you truth I’ve never cared how I look as long as I’m comfortable. What I ended up dressing into was a simple dark green shirt, long wool pants, and a dark green robe to go over everything. Then I put on a pair of cowhide boots and a dark green hood. The clothing was a little big, because I am a Bosmer, but all in all it fit pretty well. And most importantly I was warm.

Once I was done fitting into my new clothing I stepped outside to show Jena my attire. She sort of giggled at my appearance. Apparently my clothing was a bit bigger than I thought. But hey, at least I matched color wise.

“That will do, Rayden. Let’s go, I have a couple of horses stabled outside the temple. We can take those. It will take a while to arrive in Anvil, so time is definitely of the essence,” she said as we began to walk towards the exit.

“Do you know how long it will take exactly?” I asked.

“Hmm…I don’t really know; it all depends on how many stops we have to take. Right now it is about ten o’clock at night, so if we ride all the way until morning, then perhaps stop and rest for a bit before continuing again, we should perhaps arrive in Anvil sometime around midnight, maybe a little later. But that’s only if we make one stop to rest of course.”

I agreed that we should not stop for much, because we needed to get back to Bruma as quick as possible. Outside the horses were getting anxious to get going, so Jena and I saddled up and left the temple, but she closed the doors of course. It took us a while to get down the mountain, but once we did get all the way down we immediately picked up the pace. I followed Jena as she led me onto a trail that took us deep into the snowy cold mountains. We rode along the trail and suffered no setback such as wolves or anything like that, but there were several scary moments.

During the first part of the trip we had to ride over an old bridge, and my horse slipped halfway across. I almost fell off and down into the frozen pond that was hundreds of feet below us, but thankfully I had kept my balance and safely made it across without being unscathed.

But other than that things went fairly smooth. It was almost five o’clock in the morning, and we arrived at a small cave when Jena suggested we stop and rest for a couple of hours to get our strength back for the rest of the journey. I certainly wasn’t one to complain about getting out of the snowy cold, so we took our horses inside the cave, which fortunately wasn’t inhabited by any unwanted creatures. The place was almost perfect in terms of size, and I had plenty of room to stretch my tired legs.

“So, what exactly got you into this mess?” She asked me while chewing on some berries we found just outside of the cave. They were frozen when we found them, but soon the ice melted, and I must say, they were quite the treat. Thankfully Jena happened to be an expert alchemist so I knew I wasn’t eating anything poisonous.

I told Jena of my story, even all the way back when I was a thief in Kvatch. I felt a need to explain this to her so that she knew exactly where I came from, figuratively I mean. We would be with each other for the next three or four days, so I firmly believed a need to tell her everything. I even told of how I once before acted as a child, and now I am a totally new person. Of course, I might sound a bit hasty with that since it hasn’t even been a day since I last got an attitude with Janus, but I wanted her to know that I am a respectful person.

After my story, Jena began hers:

“Before the Emperor himself was assassinated, we were attacked back at Cloud Ruler Temple. Those of us who were not in the Imperial City had been sleeping that night, except for me. I couldn’t sleep knowing that the life of our Emperor was hanging by a thread, a thin one mind you. I heard noises coming from inside the temple, and when I walked inside I witnessed the murder of my brothers and sisters. Apparently the Mythic Dawn snuck inside and struck while my friends were asleep. Everything happened so fast it was all over in a matter of minutes. There was nothing I could for them, so I came back outside and hid in the stables, behind a bale of hay. I do not feel cowardly for my actions; I felt the need to uphold the Blades organization. When the cultists left I heard one of them say something about there being no more agents to disturb their mission. After that I sent letters out to the agents around Tamriel, and I have yet to receive any replies. At first I was optimistic, but now I know the truth; I am the only one left. And just to think, if I had been sleeping I would have suffered the same fate. It just chills me to the bone when I think about it, which is often I might add.”

And I thought my story was sorrowful. This woman had lost all of her friends to the Dawn threat. And what a terrible thing it must have been for her to hide while her friends died, so helpless from saving them. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how bad of a situation that must have been. She was definitely a strong person.

“I commend you for what you did. Not many people would have been able to live on and continue the work you have done. It makes me happy to be partners with someone such as yourself.”

I was trying to sound as courteous as possible, but I wanted it to come from the heart, because it was. I was determined to prove to everyone that I am indeed a good person, even if Jena was likely unaware of the turmoil that Janus and I once shared.

“Thanks, Rayden. I am totally focused on avenging my brothers’ and sisters’ death. Mankar will pay for what he has done.”

“Well, now that I think about it, I’m not actually sure what your role is,” I said laughing a bit. “What will you do while I infiltrate the city?”

“I will simply wait for you while you do your thing. To be honest with you, I am here to get my revenge. Once you figure out Mankar’s location, I will help you defeat him. That is my job. That, and Burd thought someone should come along with you anyway, in case you got into trouble or something. I promise I won’t be a bother to you.”

“No, not at all, Jena. I wouldn’t be surprised if I did get into trouble,” I said, again laughing.

“What do you mean by that?” she said a little cautiously.

“Well, let’s just say luck hasn’t been on my side lately. But that’s not to say I’m not capable for the job, I mean…there’s nothing to worry about, I swear…”

My palms were sweaty and face was drenched as well. I just then realized how stupid I was sounding to Jena. There I was, claiming basically of being an unlucky person, and if that were truthfully the case, how I am supposed to be the savior of Cyrodiil? Thankfully she was unfazed by my foolish comments.

“No worries, Rayden. We all have those kinds of days sometimes. It happens.”

After a while the horses started getting agitated again, so we rode off onto the snow once more, but at least it was starting to get light because morning was creeping up on us. We rode for a very long time, and finally after what seemed like days we at last made it out of the mountains.

“Whew. That took longer than I expected. It’s already noon!” Jena commented. “By this rate we might not even get to Anvil today. We’ll have to pick up the pace even more. We’re only about fifty miles or so, so I’d like to get there sometime tonight if that’s at all possible.”

We continued to ride for the rest of the day without stopping, and when nighttime came, we still rode. I was vastly impressed by Jena’s strong will and drive to succeed. Certainly there were those who could learn a thing or two from her. And I’m talking mainly about traitors such as Lex, and even Alfhedil despite the fact that he was never really on my side to begin with.

Throughout the day we traveled through many different types of environments. We passed through the last outskirts of the Jerall Mountains, where it was of course cold and snowy. Then we rode through the pleasant atmosphere of the Colovian Highlands, my personal favorite. Someday I wish to settle down and “retire” in Chorrol. And finally, as the day grew late, we neared Anvil and the air got cooler, since we were also getting close to the Abecian Sea as well.

After riding for a little bit more we could see the torches of Castle Anvil light up the night. By the brightness of the large torches I could tell we were no more than ten minutes away from our first destination.

“Alright, Rayden, we’re almost there. You ready?” She said as he neared closer and closer to the newest conquered city.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me, Jena. I’m always ready.”

As soon as I said those nine words objects began flying down from out of the sky. Most of whatever it was missed me, but one, which I learned the hard way was an arrow, struck me just above my right armpit, almost onto my chest and just below my shoulder. I yelled out in pain and fell off my horse. Then she galloped out of sight simply out of fear. I heard Jena yell for me to stay down as she jumped off of her horse and unsheathed her Blade katana and shield. I saw her carrying them before we left Cloud Ruler Temple. They definitely looked different.

I couldn’t see what was happening because it was so dark and there was no source of light, but I could hear the grunts and groans, the clanging of metal. And from time to time a spell would light up the area just a bit. And when that did happen, I realized Jena was fighting against three cultists.

Fearing for her life I struggled up from the ground and ran over to help. Upon reaching one of the cultists I stupidly tried to unsheathe my sword with my right hand, but the pain was the arrow wouldn’t let me do so. And when I screamed out in pain once more the cultist saw me and blasted me into the air, where I landed hard against a tree. If you remember earlier I had sustained a back injury when Alfhedil had betrayed me. When I hit the tree my back popped just as it did back then, and now I had two injuries.

Not able to get up this time, I watched powerlessly as Jena fought on alone. She took out two of them quickly, and then it was just she and the lone cultist left, but then I noticed he was no cultist…it was Lex himself!

Upon learning his identity Jena went into a fit of intense rage, possibly because she perhaps felt betrayed by him more than I because she was a Blade, a protector of the Emperor. And Lex was once an officer of the Legion, the Emperor’s army. Knowing that I knew she was feeling more betrayed than I.

She charged at him with all her speed and might but, being the skillful soldier he was, Lex defended himself successfully and threw Jena to the ground. Then he actually laughed, and that ended up being the ultimate mistake. Jena got up from the ground, sliced three times into the air with no prevails, and then at least connected her blade with Lex’s neck. His head flew from his body and landed some ten feet away. His lifeless body fell to the ground, along with his steel claymore. The battle was over.

Jena limped over to me and touched the arrow slightly, still causing great pain.

“Sorry, Rayden, but I’ll have to pull it out,” she said gently.

I was about to respond but then we heard a voice in the distance, “The light came from over there! Hurry!”

[Steve]

It's good to see Lex finally dead!
That traitor......

I have to say this story is very exciting. Especially because it's based off the main quest which was something I hated. All of those oblivion gates and the dumb Caves!!!

But this has no oblivion gates thank god!

[redsrock]

It's good to see Lex finally dead!
That traitor......

I have to say this story is very exciting. Especially because it's based off the main quest which was something I hated. All of those oblivion gates and the dumb Caves!!!

But this has no oblivion gates thank god!

Lol, that's funny because I thought about implenting some gates, but I'm glad I didn't.

[The Metal Mallet]

Looks like problems still await our companions. Hopefully they manage to hide or something. But yea, I second the small victory against Lex.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER TWENTY


The heavy sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the city, and judging by the repetition, there were a lot of them. At that moment I truthfully had once again believed the end had finally come. I’ve thought this many times before it seems, but this particular event was different in some way. But, again I was wrong, and luckily for me Jena did not panic a bit. She grabbed my shirt collar and hauled me over to the side of the road, behind a large bush.

The two of us waited behind the bush silently as the footsteps in the distance became louder and louder, until at last they had arrived at the scene. Jena dangerously poked her head around the corner to see how many of them there actually were. She whispered to me that there were five Kvatch soldiers, all looking at the dead corpses on the ground. We listened as the solders whispered and talked softly to one another. Then I heard on them say, “Let’s report this to Goldwine right away; he’ll want to put the city on full alert It seems Mankar’s ambush didn’t work out as well as he thought it would. Also, go ahead and inform the sailors in the dock to get Goldwine’s ship ready. He’ll want to leave as soon as possible.”

Then they left us, running full speed back towards the city. Once they were out of range Jena asked, “How’s your shoulder?”

I tried moving it but even the slightest movement resulted in a severely sharp pain. I knew what had to be done, but I wouldn’t say I was looking forward to it. Jena would have to pry the arrow from my flesh, and unfortunately I didn’t have anything to numb the pain even the least.

“Spread your arm flat on the ground and stand still. Try to keep your arms loose as well. I know it will hurt but it will only be worse if you tighten your muscles. Just trust me on this one.”

Before letting her force the arrow from my arm, I had her tear a piece of my clothing off with her blade. She knew what I was getting at and she quickly handed me the torn cloth. I bit down on the fabric as hard as I could. This way when I yelled from the pain, which I was sure to do, the sound would hopefully be a little quieter. I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention.

She put her right hand on my shoulder and then grabbed the arrow with her left. She tugged on the arrow slightly as if to get a feel for what direction she should yank. Then, in one quick movement, she pulled the arrow from the wound. Blood splattered the air and my face, and the whole time I was screaming in agony. Thankfully the cloth idea worked and my bawling wasn’t too loud, or at least not loud enough for anyone to hear in the distance.

“Sorry, Rayden, but I had to do it. How’s it feel now?”

Not to be smart or anything, but how did she think I felt? Obviously I wasn’t feeling too great; I just had an arrow plucked from my skin! But I knew she meant well. And I guess it did feel a little better, but I still had an awful lot of trouble moving my shoulder.

“Better, I guess, but not much. I still can’t really move it,” I said as I wiped my face with the piece of cloth.

“Well, we better get going. Here, let me wrap that cloth around your arm to control the bleeding. You’re looking like a waterfall right now!”

Even during a situation such as this, she still found a way to smile. I liked Jena a lot. I can’t explain why…she was just…I don’t know…real; almost as if she wasn’t afraid of anything. I liked that as well.

After the “bandage” was fully wrapped and ready to go, we started walking towards the city, and Jena was already altering the mission.

“Rayden, you heard the soldier. They’re preparing a ship so that Goldwine can leave. I say we wait there for him to arrive. Then we can strike with surprise. What do you think?”

“I’ve got a better idea. How about we go to the docks, try and capture a sailor, and force them to tell us where Goldwine is going? Who knows, maybe he’s retreating to Mankar’s whereabouts. That would definitely make things easier for us.”

Jena approved of my idea, and off we went towards the docks. My back was hurting, my shoulder was hurting, and my middle knuckle on my right hand was still hurting from several days ago, and I realized Martin never tended to the wound like he said he would. I guess we both forgot about it. It was getting better, though. It was no longer swollen, just a little enlarged. Also, Jena seemed to notice my injuries as well.

“You’re quite the injured little elf, aren’t you?”

“Well, let’s just say I’ve seen my fair share of the action. I’m just hoping nothing else goes wrong with my body. One more injury to my right arm and it might as well fall off!”

We walked through the night, though it was almost morning because the sun was rising higher and higher into the sky. Sooner or later we would have to find our hiding spot or else take the risk of being spotted in broad daylight. Thankfully it only took us about ten minutes to reach the docks. There were only three ships in all; two little ones and one large ship. Jena I both agreed that the larger one had to be Goldwine’s ship, so we walked strolled around the area until we found a lone guard patrolling the docks. Besides the guard, there were around twenty or so others, and most of them we were standing beside the city gate, no doubt waiting to escort their Count to the ship. Jena crept up on the lone guard, covered his mouth with her hand, kicked his knee in, and pulled him behind the wall of the building I was waiting at. The Imperial soldier was screaming in pain but most of the sound was drowned out thanks to Jena. Then she whispered loudly for him to hear, “Where is Goldwine?”

The man shook his head and attempted to swing at Jena head. She then rolled him on his stomach and brought his hand together so he couldn’t move. Next she took the guard by the hair, after taking off his helmet, and smashed his face to the stone floor. Blood began to pour from his nose.

“I’ll ask you one more time, scum, where is Goldwine?”

Finally the soldier begged for Jena to loosen the pressure to his back with her left knee. She let up, but only a little. Then the man gasped in between heavy breathing, “He’s inside the city right now. But I reckon he’ll be boarding his ship any time soon.”

“And what makes you say that?” Jena asked.

“An officer just came and told me to watch the area closely. It seems intruders have made their way onto our territory.”

“Hmm, I wonder who they could be,” she said sarcastically. “I don’t suppose you know where Goldwine is heading, do you?” She said, digging deeper into his back with her knee.

“I can’t say…I’ll be killed!”

“Either way you’re going to die. Tell me what I want and I’ll let you go. You can run away and never return to your duties, I don’t care as long as I get my information. If not, I’ll slit your throat with my knife. Tell me what I want to know and I will let you live. You have my word.”

“Fine, fine, wait, I’ll tell you! He…he’s headed straight for an island a couple miles west of here. I don’t think it’s charted on the maps so I believe it has no name.”

“What is on this island?”

“Mankar is there.”

“Excellent. One last thing before I let you leave. Where are Goldwine’s chambers located in the ship?”

“Enter the cabin and make an immediate left. Go down the hall and his room is the last one on the right.”

“Should I expect trouble?”

“No, not, right now anyways, not until he arrives at the ship himself.”

“Excellent. Is there anything else I should know about this island you speak of?”

“No, not to my knowledge. I’m sure there are probably bodyguards, but not an army. His cultists have occupied the other cities in defense incase they are invaded by another force or something.”

“Why? Does Mankar think that the remaining Empire personnel have joined forces with another province?”

“I…I don’t know. He attacked the Imperial forts in Morrowind and Vvardenfell. It’s chaos over there now. His forces are trying to subdue the Dunmer to his side. I think it will work too, given the fact that the Dunmer worship Daedra. That’s all I know, I swear!”

Jena gave me a surprised look, and then she continued her interrogation.

“Thank, you have been most helpful.”

Then she took out her knife and violently slashed the guard’s throat, quickly ending his life. I was stunned by her actions. Not that I was not used to seeing people die by now, but that fact that she promised the man his life in return for answers surprised. It was probably unethical, but hey, he would have likely run to give us away anyhow.

“What? It would have been too dangerous to keep him alive. He would have ratted us out in a heartbeat. Sometimes you have to resort to dirty tactics if you want to get things done.”

“I didn’t say anything, did I? I agree with you totally,” I said grinning.

“Well that’s good. How about we board the before the sun comes up and gives away our position?”

The two of us then left the body to rot and headed straight for the ship. We waited until nobody was looking, and then we climbed onto the ship and entered through the cabin entrance, just like the once-living guard had told us to do.

Once inside we took a left and crept quietly down the hallway. To the right was the room the guard had spoken about, but of course it was locked. I asked Jena if she wanted me to break the lock with one of my picks, but she told me not to. She didn’t want the Count to come here only to find out that his room had been broken into. She was right; it made a lot of sense. But then she looked at a door in the middle of the hallway, in between the two side walls. She rattled the doorknob and found that this particular door was not locked. Inside there were towels, blankets, pillows, and other items used for a bedroom.

“I think we should hide in here. It’s not too small and this way we can stow ourselves away for the duration of the trip,” she said.

“What if one of the soldiers comes in and finds us inside?”

“Hmm, I didn’t think of that. Do you have a plan of your own?”

I looked in the larger than normal closet and noticed there was an area behind a huge stack of pillows. I figured the two of us could hide in there and stay unnoticed. Also, I being a short Bosmer and her being a female would help as well. I suggested this to Jena and she approved.

So Jena and I entered the room and closed the door. It was obviously dark inside, but a couple of rather large holes in the door brought us a little light, and allowed us to peer through the door so that we would be able to watch over the hallway at all times.

Soon, not even fifteen minutes later, the door at the other end of the hallway opened and in came Goldwine, accompanied by…..Adamus? Wait, I thought Mankar said he ran away from Kvatch and had run towards Bruma. Come to think of it, I never did see Adamus in Bruma.

“Did Adamus ever come to Bruma?” I whispered to Jena.

“No, but it seems yet another friend has betrayed the Empire,” she replied angrily.

I almost felt bad for Adamus. If Jena’s anger towards him was even remotely close to how it was with Lex, Adamus had better watch out.

[jack cloudy]

Well, that's a new trick. Instead of trying to infiltrate themself, they're going to let the baddies carry them right in. Neat.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


“Another traitor…I can’t wait to sink my blade into his treacherous skin.”

Jena was extremely angry. She was actually getting a little too loud and I had to clam her down before she gave away our hiding spot. She immediately calmed down and we watched as Adamus and Goldwine walked down the hallway towards us. They stopped at Goldwine’s door and then he unlocked it with a silver key. There were also two guards with them as well. Adamus and Goldwine then entered the room and shut then door, leaving the other two guards outside.

“What now?” I whispered to Jena.

“Just wait and see what happens I guess. Actually, I don’t think we should even try to do anything. Why not wait it out? Goldwine will eventually lead us to Mankar anyway. Isn’t that what we want after all?”

I suppose she was right, but it just felt so weird hiding in a closet. I mean, I’m of course used to sneaking around and hiding, but this is totally different.

“Yeah, I guess. How long do you think it will take to get to this island?”

“Not too long if it really is only a couple of miles from the coast; probably no more than thirty minutes or so I’d say. But it’s weird, I don’t recall there being an island. If it’s that close to land, wouldn’t have we noticed the island?”

I simply shrugged. I’ve never even been this far up in the northwest.

“Beats me. I’ve never been to this part of the province before.”

That ended the conversation, and we sat in silence as the ship finally set sail for the island. The ride was fairly smooth; although I shouldn’t have been surprised since the ship was no doubt in top-notch condition. This was Count Ormellius Goldwine after all. Things were going as planned until after ten minutes after we left Anvil. Jena I saw a stubby heavy-set Imperial with a mass of facial hair. He looked rather angry as if someone had stolen his lunch. He was mumbling something under his breath as he knocked on Goldwine’s door. He waited, rather impatiently I might add, for about fifteen seconds until at last the door was opened by Adamus.

“You needed something, sir?” The Imperial said, trying his best to mask his bad mood.

“Yes, the Count does not like the feel of his pillows and he wishes for you to fetch his some more. Oh, and while your at it fix me a bowl of stew afterwards,” Adamus said rather demandingly.

The Imperial merely nodded and then Adamus shut the door in his face. The short man grumbled a bit and walked over to our hiding spot. Jena and I dove behind the pillows and only hoped he would take the first one he saw instead of digging around. I was now very afraid and even almost regretted this hiding spot, but it was too late for second guess now.

He opened the door and poked his head inside, searching for the perfect pillow for his master. He was so close I could smell his breath because he was breathing so heavily, and let me tell you it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Also it appeared that the man enjoyed talking to himself. He was having a whole conversation!

“Stupid Goldwine and his new lackey, Adamus. They think they’re so tough. HA! They don’t even know lucky they are to be alive as it is. Surely the sneaky Rayden will slay them soon enough, just like they did Lex. Oh how happy I will be when that times comes, HA! Goldwine is so lucky that I’m on his side. If I was ever given the chance I’d hightail it out of here faster than you can say ‘Ormellius Goldwine’s a jerk!’”

It was so funny hearing the man talk to himself. Jena and I were on the verge of bursting out with laughter, but thankfully we were able to keep in quiet for the time being. The man finally grabbed a couple of pillows and left the closet and again knocked on Goldwine’s door. Adamus answered the knocking, took the pillows, and then reminded the man about his stew. He nodded at Adamus and left, likely for the kitchen.

As he trudged down the hallway in a slower-than-normal manner, Jena whispered something to me that immediately caught my attention.

“I’ve got an idea, Rayden. You heard that man when he was in here. He’s obviously not a fan of Goldwine and Adamus. I think we should that to our advantage.”

“How so?”

“Well, he is obviously not on good terms with Goldwine. Maybe there’s a story behind all of that.”

“So would do you want to do, bring him in here and interrogate him?”

“Yes. When he brings back Adamus’s meal you will wait until he starts down the hall, and then sneak up from behind. Here, use this to silence any screams he might have.”

She handed me a long piece of cloth, and I knew what to do with it. I would obviously have to wrap the cloth around the short Imperial’s mouth. So, not ten minutes later, the man returned with a bowl of stew. He knocked on the door for the third time, and once again, just as the other two times, Adamus answered the call. He took the bowl, raised a hand signaling for the short man to wait, and sniffed the bowl. Then he sneered at the short Imperial and aggressively handed him back the bowl. Stew splashed up into the short man’s face and Adamus growled, “It’s too cold. Warm it up.” Then he abruptly slammed the door in his face again.

The short man started to shake with anger and turned to walk back to warm the stew. Then I quietly opened the door and silently, but quickly, tiptoed over to the man and wrapped my towel around his head and gripped in tightly. He dropped the bowl of stew and it almost crashed to the ground, but thankfully I caught it with my right hand while still holding onto the towel with my other. I set the bowl peacefully to the ground, but unfortunately stew had spilled onto the red carpet that made up the floor of the ship. Goldwine wouldn’t like that at all.

The man swung his arms wildly, but with no prevails. Before the door of Goldwine’s room could be opened, I dragged the short man into the closet and then closed the door. Jena then slammed him to the floor, still keeping the cloth on his mouth. She ordered for him to stop his screaming and twitching, and when he did not she kicked him hard in the side and smash the side of his hide into the wall. A small gash appeared on the left side of his head and blood began to trickle down from the wound. Finally he obeyed her orders and was at last silent. So Jena lifted the cloth from his mouth and said softly, “Shut your mouth or I’ll cut your throat…”

I knew very well she was lying about that of course, but obviously I kept my mouth shut about that. It appeared her words were rather effective on the fat man.

“Yes, just don’t kill me…please!”

“You’re going to answer some questions for me and my partner.”

He nodded.

“First off, what is your name?”

“M...my…my name is Velvus Crassi, servant of Count Goldwine,” he said nervously. His hands were shaking violently, almost as if he were having a seizure or something.

“But you do not like your position, do you Velvus?”

“I…serve the Count with all my heart. It…it is an honor to serve him.”

“You lie, Velvus. We heard you complaining earlier when you came in this very room to get Goldwine his pillows. You didn’t seem to like him then. Have you changed your mind so quickly?”

He didn’t answer.

“There is no reason to be afraid. We the good guys, I promise. My name is Jena, A Blade agent. And this here is my friend, Rayden.”

When he heard my name his shaking stopped and he looked directly into my eyes. Suddenly his expression utter fear changed to one of absolute joy.

“Rayden? The savior of Cyrodiil? Oh my, my master has spoken of you many times! He loathes you more than anyone in the world! You’ve come to save me have you? Praise Talos, my prayers have finally been answered!”

He was almost at the point of yelling so Jena brought him back into reality and shoved his head into the wall once again. I didn’t really see the point in this but it proved effective.

“Shut up, you fool! Do you want Goldwine and Adamus coming in here and finding the three of us?”

“No, I’m quite sorry, miss, please forgive me. I am just so happy you two are here. I was once a citizen of Kvatch. You see, Count Goldwine betrayed everyone. Nobody, except for the soldiers I think, knew Goldwine was working with Mankar. When the Mythic Dawn came many tried to stand up against them. It was ill-performed effort though…many people died…including my wife and two children. They…were trying to fend off the cultists…and well, you can guess what happened.”

“And where were you during all of this?” Jena asked.

“I…was hiding in my room,” he replied shamefully.

“You were hiding while your family fought?” Jena asked angrily.

“Yes, I could not muster up the strength to help. I feel awful.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” Jena said while kicking him in the stomach. “Awful enough to become the slave of Goldwine, eh? You worthless pig!” She proceeded to bash his head into the wall again, and this time I stopped her afterwards.

“Jena, control yourself. Anymore of this and he’ll die before we have a chance to get anything out of him.”

The fury was still there, but thankfully she ceased the punishments.

“You’re going to help us out, Velvus.”

He was now crying and clutching his stomach with one hand and his wounded forehead with the other.

“You’re going to knock on the door and inform Goldwine that he is wanted by a sailor on the deck. You understand? If you slip up and give away our position I swear you will die, even if I have to die as well just to kill you. Now go!”

She stood the man up and shoved him outside the closet. I absolutely could not believe what was going on. What did she think she was doing?

“What are you doing, Jena?”

“We’re going to kill Goldwine and Adamus before we land at the island.”

“But why? Why take such a risk?”

“Because I said so,” she said bluntly.

I was going to argue even further but Velvus had knocked on the door and Adamus had answered. I could see that Adamus had poked his head out. He was about to ask for his soup, but then he saw the wounds of Velvus.

“Where is my…what the? What happened to you?”

Velvus started to cry once more, looked over at our closet and yelled, “Intruders! There, in the closet!”

Then he took of running down the hallway. Before I could do anything Jena had bolted from our hiding spot and took of after Velvus. She ran right past Adamus, who was clearly confused by the event. Then he looked at me and immediately knew what was going on. He unsheathed his steel claymore and slowly walked towards me.

[jack cloudy]

Now this is rather funny, really. Rayden has been getting his act together and is now holding back all of his impulsive actions and aggression. Only what do we get? He teams up with a Blade who is just as impulsive as he used to be. Oh, and now he's got a guy with a Claymore coming for him.

Good thing he's on a ship and belowdecks. There isn't much room to swing that kind of monster. On the other side, there isn't much room to dodge either.

Go rayden, throw bowl of stew in his face. FOR JUSTICE!

[The Metal Mallet]

Velvus' cowardice should've given Jena reason enough to simply kill him instead of trying to get him to do something for her. Heck, she killed that sailor for a less dangerous situation. By the time the sailor found someone to rat on Jena and Rayden could've found a place to hid. To rely on a coward when you're stuck in a compromising situation is not a smart plan. Obviously Jena's rage at finding Adamus betraying Cyrodil led to some rash decisions.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO


While watching Adamus in his Imperial Legion officer armor, I stood sheepishly in the dark entrance of the closet. I was frozen in time, unable to think, let alone move. All I had on me was my rusty knife that I have kept all this time, and quite frankly I wasn’t exactly in the best shape to be fighting. My arm was about to fall off at any given moment, and my back made me feel as if I were an old man. But he kept coming, he wasn’t about to let his guard down just because I was injured. He knew what a major threat I was to Mankar’s plans.

His long claymore glistened in the light of the torches. The blade was extremely sharp and looked as if it had not killed in quite some time. I figured Adamus was foaming at the mouth for this opportunity. And just when I thought Jena was going to simply leave me there to die in the hallway, I saw that she had let Velvus go, for now at least. She charged toward Adamus with her blade held in front of her. Adamus turned around to face his challenger, and the battle commenced.

Adamus swung his sword mightily at Jena and she just barely dodged the attack. His blade hit the side of the wall, causing a huge tear in the wood surface. Jena then slashed at him with her own blade, but Adamus caught her wrist before she could deliver the blow. Using his strength he greatly outmatched Jena and slung her into the wall. She hit her head violently but she fought on anyway. Adamus again swung with his claymore again missed by mere inches.

It was weird seeing him handle a heavy weapon in such close quarters. The hallway was barely wide enough for Jena and I to walk through. But then again this didn’t seem to bother Adamus a bit. Of course he was after all an expert fighter, given the fact that he was an officer in the Imperial Legion. Now he is a traitor just like Lex once was. And look where that treachery got him…..

After dodging the attack Jena swung quickly with her blade and this time connected slightly with Adamus’s right shoulder. She caused a small tear on his arm but he merely shrugged it off and backhanded Jena with his free hand. She fell back, hit her head hard on the wall, and then fell to the ground after dropping her blade. It appeared as if Adamus was about to win the battle, but before he could make another move I jumped entered the fight. I knew I really couldn’t do that much, since I was injured and everything, but I was willing to do whatever it took to help Jena. I wasn’t about to let her die.

I leapt at Adamus from behind and tackled him from behind, leading the way with my healthy shoulder. He landed on the floor and I landed on top of him. Swiftly I took out my dagger and was about to jab it into the back of Adamus’s head, but he was too quick for me. He rolled to the side and threw me into the other wall. I was extremely light compared to him so it didn’t take much for the muscular Imperial to overtake me.

Adamus then raised his sword high into the air and was about to bring it down on me, but while losing his focus on Jena this also led him to lose the battle as well. Since he was not paying any attention to Jena, she was able to get up from the ground, pick up her sword, and shove it through Adamus’s back. The tip of the blade come through the front and blood began to spout from the wound. I had rolled to the side and thankfully avoided the mess.

Adamus fell to one knee and just knelt there for a second. Then Jena pulled the blade from his body and brutally slit his throat. Adamus’s body crashed to the ground and that was the end of him. His blade lay still on the floor beside him and a large pool of blood was already forming around his motionless corpse.

I looked at Jena and the fury was still in her eyes. It was almost scary in a way….she almost looked insane. I didn’t really know what to think of that, but now wasn’t the time to be thinking.

“Are you okay?”

I asked her this only because her body was trembling, and also because there was a small stream of blood was gushing from her nose.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” she said while wiping away some of the blood with her sleeve. “My nose doesn’t feel too good though, and my head is pounding. But don’t worry, I’ll live.”

“You’d better. I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for you,” I said, attempting to brighten the atmosphere up a bit.

“Thanks, Rayden, but I have to say the same for you. If would not have foiled his attack I would be dead as of now. But enough talking, I’m sure Velvus has alerted the guards.”

Jena helped me up from the ground and then handed me a clean and new silver short sword.

“You should have told me all you have is that awful knife!”

We were about to walk away from the area, but then Jena asked, “Rayden, how do you feel? I mean, do you think you could handle yourself if I left you here to take care of Goldwine?”

“Well, I guess so. Goldwine isn’t very young and I doubt he could take me even if I’m injured.”

“Are you sure? I can go and take on the other guards, there really shouldn’t be that many of them. The outside of this ship is misleading to how large this vessel actually is. I can deal with them myself and I don’t think you’re healthy enough for battle against someone who is actually trained in combat. But I also don’t want to leave you here if you don’t think you’re up for the challenge.”

“I’ll be fine. Just kill some guards for me…”

She smiled and then took off down the hallway. I watched as she rounded the corner with her blade in hand, and then I turned my attention to Goldwine’s door.

I hadn’t heard a peep from inside since the battle with Adamus had started. No doubt he was hiding in there hoping Adamus had taken care of Jena and I. But of course that wasn’t the case, and soon he would meet the same fate as Adamus.

I walked up to the door and jingled the knob even though I knew out of common sense that it was locked. So I took out a pick and fumbled around until I heard the familiar click that I had come accustomed to some years ago. When I opened the door I saw something that totally took me by surprise. Goldwine lay on the ground in a dark pool of blood with a knife to his side. I walked up to his body to examine him a little closer. It appeared to me that he had slit his own throat, rather than let me get to him. Odd really, but I guess he didn’t want to take a chance of letting information slip from his mouth.

I walked out of the room and made it down the hallway. To my right was the door to the outside, and to my left were two doors. I poked my head into one of them and realized it was a storage place, and also what looked like a barrack. Then I entered the other room to find a small kitchen. A pot of warm stew was still brewing on a nearby table. So I closed the door and stepped outside. Jena had already dispatched the remaining guards, which looked to be only three. She was now holding Velvus by the collar and was screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Why did you betray my trust? Did you really think you could get away? We’re in the middle of the sea, you fool! There’s nowhere to run!”

“No, you are the fool,” Velvus said while laughing insanely.

“Master Mankar knew Rayden would be coming to assassinate Count Goldwine. That is why we set you up!”

He began to laugh loudly and Jena kicked him in the groin.

“What do you mean we were set up?”

“Mankar knew Rayden would sooner or later come after Count Goldwine, just as I have already said if you were paying any attention.”

Then I butted in. “But…if that’s the case and we were set up, why in the world would Goldwine kill himself?”

Jena and I were both facing Velvus and our backs were to the cabin door. Then I heard a familiar voice behind me.

“Goldwine didn’t kill himself…I did.”

I turned around and there, standing right in front of me, was Mankar himself.

[The Metal Mallet]

Wow, so many twists and turns! So exciting! I'm enjoying your style of writing; lots of action, lots of intrigue, lots of character development... Just solid storytelling.

[minque]

Wow, so many twists and turns! So exciting! I'm enjoying your style of writing; lots of action, lots of intrigue, lots of character development... Just solid storytelling.

I totally second Mallie! Such a lot of action and intrigue! Good work!

[redsrock]

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE


Mankar stood with his hands behind his back, giving me that same agitating smile he has always worn upon his elfish face. He started to walk towards me so I took out short sword and pointed the tip directly at his heart.

“Rayden, I am not here to fight, or at least right now. Before anything else happens don’t you wish for me to explain all of this?” he asked while looking and pointing to the ship.

Jena looked at him with a suspicious stare. She was also still grasping the collar of Velvus, who was laughing up a storm during all of this.

“I’ll take the silence as a yes. You see, Rayden, although you’re quite the skillful little wood elf, you are also very predictable. I knew how easy it would be to lead you into a trap, so I have done just that. The war is coming to and end and I knew soon you would hunt me down in an attempt to assassinate me and sway to the battle to your liking. That is why I set this entire event up, just for you. Granted I didn’t know you would be bringing along this here Blade with you, but more the merrier I always say. Now I will be able to kill two birds with one stone.”

“What about the island, where is it?”

Jena pointing out to the sea, and there was no land in view except for the shores of Anvil.

“You imprudent girl, there is no island! It was all a set up. I know I sound repetitive but if you would silence yourself instead of talking I wouldn’t have to repeat myself, now would I? Now, Rayden, and you, little girl, it is time to end your lives right now. We are in the middle of the sea. I am afraid there is no escape this time…”

Jena turned to Velvus, slashed his neck, and he tumbled overboard and into the water. Then she faced Mankar and charged towards him. I tried to stop her but she had already past me. Mankar simply smiled and threw a shock spell. The spell hit Jena in the chest and she flew back a couple feet. Her body rolled awkwardly on the deck of the ship and I heard a bone crack, but I’m not sure which one it was. Jena screamed out in agony as she squirmed around trying to subdue the pain.

Then Mankar looked at me and said, “It seems you’re injured, my little wood elf. That’s too bad. I was hoping for a better fight.”

Next he shot another spell, this one towards my head. I ducked just in time and spell flew off into the distance. Before I could do anything else another spell came my way, and again I dodged it, this time by rolling to my left. I landed on my right shoulder as I rolled, and it hurt dearly. But I couldn’t stay down for long because the spells kept coming and coming non stop. Finally my luck ran out and one of them hit me square in the chest. I flew to my right and smacked into the side of the ledge, hitting my shoulder once again. I turned around to see what was going on and Jena was charging at Mankar again, and it appeared that she was favoring her left knee a bit.

Mankar saw her coming and unsheathed a long Elven Claymore, and a fight commenced between the two. Jena swung at Mankar’s head but he simply laughed again and blocked it. She swung again but her injury disabled her from being affective at all. I got up to help out but it was too late. After taking another swipe, Jena missed entirely, and Mankar too advantage of the miss. He took his blade and shoved it as hard as he could into Jena’s armor. The blade appeared from Jena’s back and I watched in horror as her body shook and then we limp. Then Mankar pulled his sword from her body and she fell to the ground, lifeless.

I couldn’t believe it…she was dead. I hadn’t even known for a mere day and already she was gone. I never got to know her that well, but despite that I was almost on the verge of tears. I can’t explain it, I just…I don’t know, felt like Jena was really one of the good guys. I never thought she was going to die, not for a second. But there she was, lying in a pool of pool of blood.

And there Mankar was, standing over Jena’s body. And again, for the umpteenth time, he had that malevolent grin upon him. I wanted to strike that smile off of his face with my blade, but I’ll admit, for the first time I was actually scared. My arm was hurting like hell. And, just as Mankar had already mentioned, there was no place to run. I had no other choice but to face me adversary, one on one. It was obviously the honorable way. But what was to become of me now? Could I really take down Mankar, the evil sorcerer, with all of my injuries? Even if I was healthy I don’t think my chances would have been high.

“By look on your face I can see that you already doubt yourself, Rayden.”

He was trying to play a mind game with me; trying to get me down on myself. It was true that he was more skillful than I, but only because of his magical powers. But of course I being injured greatly disabled me from performing at my fullest, as I have already mentioned. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight, though. Not after what he did to Jena.

“Look at your arm, Rayden. You are in no condition to fight, but oh well. I have heard about your superb fighting skills, and I was hoping for a grand finale of a fight between you and I. But it doesn’t matter. Either way you were going to die. I suppose this will only make things quicker. Then I can move on to more important things.”

Then surprisingly he shot a spell at me. I wasn’t paying any attention and it took me by surprise. The spell did not hit my body, but it did hit my blade. The sword flew from my hand and landed somewhere in the sea. I immediately looked for Jena’s blade but Mankar was already holding it.

“Looking for this, Rayden?” He took the blade and flung it overboard into the water.

Then I looked at the three guards and their swords had already been thrown into the water as well. It looked as if all was lost.

“Face it, Rayden, it’s over for you. Why not simply give up?”

He charged at me and swung his claymore. I dove to my right and rolled over, hurting my shoulder in the process. But I blocked out the pain as much as I could. He swung again but this time I ducked under the blade and tackled Mankar to the ground. Even though he was a lot taller than me I was still able to bring him down. I was on top of him and I punched him twice in the nose. Blood splashed into my eyes but I kept on swinging. Then he shot a spell at me and I flew straight up into the air. Mankar rolled to his left just as I hit the ground.

He grabbed his sword, which was lying to his right and as he was getting up from the wooden floor I saw something glimmer to my right: a steel dagger! I took the knife and turned to Mankar. He was running at me full speed with his claymore held high. As fast as I could I reared back and threw the dagger at him. The small blade hit him square in the chest. And when that blade made contact the evil smile was finally wiped away from his face, and in its place was that of shock and dismay.

His body began to fall forwards and as it did it ran into me. I flew back and hit my head hard on the wall of the ship ledge. When I fell to the ground I saw Mankar lying on the ground. His face was blank and his eyes were wide open. But he was dead…he was finally dead. Then, I looked up into the sky and I swear I could see Jena hovering in the air. But I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, because slowly my eyes began to become blurry, and then finally everything went dark.

[The Metal Mallet]

Wow, what a thrilling climax. The good ole throwing dagger trick always pays out too. Now the problem exists is how Rayden is going to get back to Bruma. For all we know, the Mythic Dawn might still attack without the leadership of Mankar.

[Steve]

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!!
What a beautiful kill!

HA, TAKE THAT YOU EVIL MAN!!!
It's good to finally see him dead! But what will happen next!!!
Oh, the suspense is killing me.

I'm starting to accept this as the official what happened in the game other than the real main quest! lol

[redsrock]

lol, cool. The next chapter will be the last. It'll be a doozie, though. I tihnk it will be somewhere along the lines of 14 pages.