Agent, Ebonheart's finest Options

[blockhead]

Hurt her, and I shall hunt you forever and make you beg for death.

I love this line. It has the clarity, intensity, and sincerity of something that Rashelle would say.

[The Metal Mallet]

Hmmm I wonder who these newcomers are? Methinks one of em might be Luper but the other... no clue at the moment.

Very interesting change of events with revitalizing the House Dwemer. I'm not sure how the other Houses would actually react to this. For some I almost think they'd be hostile, since the Dwemer were considered enemies. We'll see possibly I guess.

[jack cloudy]

And the absolute final part!



I looked on in silence as the two made their way towards the throne. One I knew only from reports. Divayth Fyr, one of the oldest and arguably the most powerful mage in House Telvanni. Fortunately for us, also one of the most isolationist. Till now, it seemed. The other, was a man I’d known long before. Or rather, a man I’d known when I still carried the name of Dumac.

The two stopped before the Duke, but I knew that their eyes were on me.
,,Duke, allow me to introduce a friend of mine who has spent the last few years in my Corprusarium. Yagrum Bagarn. I must leave now. Farewell.” Divayth spoke with no modesty whatsoever and poofed away. Yagrum exchanged some smalltalk and then had himself escorted to a room, claiming he was still weak from his miraculously cured Corprus.

,,A real Dwemer. Talk about timing. He might cause trouble. Want me to….deal with him?” Fargoth whispered behind my back. He then extended a plate with several glasses into my view. I couldn’t quite imagine Fargoth as a servant, but he probably pulled it off quite well. I took a glass of wine and pretended to thank him for it.
,,No, everything’s under control. Let him do whatever he wants.” I whispered back in reality.

I kept to myself at first. I mingled in enough to play my role, but not so much that I’d risk making a slip. I also danced a few times with Ilmeni, who taught me a few new tricks on the spot. I hadn’t danced since before I died. Though the Floating Butterfly style did bear some resemblance, so it wasn’t that hard to get back into it. I was a bit distracted though, both with Yagrum Bagarn in the back of my head and the prospect of an assassin on my doorstep every morning.

A few hours later, the ball was beginning to calm down, for which I was grateful. I was tired and bored, two things that don’t go well with the act I was playing. I played with the full glass of wine I’d taken from Fargoth hours ago and asked myself if I should drink it or remain sober. From the corner of my eyes, I saw two Bosmer approach, one dressed like a noble and the other in a dress with markings that looked distinctly magelike to me.

,,Good evening, sir. I must say that I am honoured to meet the famous king of the Dwemer. I am Leroth and this here is Galbedir, my wife-to-be.” He spoke courteously. I took a double-take on the woman he was with. It was indeed Galbedir, the Bosmer I’d brought him in touch with. I wondered if spying and being married went together but kept that question to myself.
,,The honour is mine. I wish you a very joyous and long life.” I replied with a polite nod. So now I was acting formal to old friends. That was a bit annoying. But I couldn’t let Galbedir know I was the kid from the Balmora mage guild.

,,You have grown a lot, Ro-El. The beard looks cute.” Galbedir whispered and winked. So she did know. Hell, I bet she’d been drafted into the order just because she was Leroth’s ‘totally hot Bosmer chick’. In that case, no need to play around.
,,It’s a new one to me. Since it’s created through magicka, I don’t know if I need a knife or a spell to shave.” I laughed, but still making sure I kept my voice down.
,,Anyway, this Yagrum Bagarn fellow has been asking for a conversation with Dumac. He’ll meet you on the northern balcony.” Leroth whispered, casting a few quick glances at a Telvanni. He was with a member of the mage guild, so some wariness around Galbedir’s great rivals was not out of place.

I said my farewell to the happy couple and casually slinked to curtains hanging behind the throne. When no one was looking, I grabbed Forgeheart and vanished in the servant’s corridor just behind the throne, giving the signal to the guards who were hidden there. They stepped aside and allowed me to pass. Now safely hidden from prying eyes, I attached the scabbard to my back. Holding Dumac’s sword would make it easier to convince Yagrum of my identity.

Yagrum said nothing at first when I joined him. He simply looked me over with a blank expression, lingering on the hilt of Forgeheart for a while. Time had not been kind to him. While once he was a cranky old man, now he looked like a pile of half-rotten fat slapped on top of a giant spider Centurion.
,,So you’re Dumac. I don’t know if I should believe that. If you are, you’ve changed. If you’re not, you act like a good impostor.” He finally said.
,,Hello, Bagarn.” I replied with the same neutral tone.

Yagrum Bagarn turned away and gazed over the land.
,,It has been so long since I saw the sky. The land has changed. Does anyone remember me?” He spoke to himself, using the Dwemer language.
,,I do.” I replied. His eyes shot to me, the confusion at hearing someone actually speak Dwemer clearly evident.
,,Then what do you remember, lord?” He asked, slipping back into Tamriellic.
,,Not much, a few vague pictures and feelings.” I answered, slipping back to Tamriellic as well.

For a moment, we were both silent again and watched the moons in the nightsky.
,,You know, I made a promise.” I said softly while I leaned on the railing. I saw a cloaked man move through the streets below, heading for the harbour.
,,What kind of promise, lord?” Yagrum asked without looking at me.
,,Remember Forgeheart, Yagrum?” I asked in return.
,,Forgeheart….yes, I do. I remember how Kagrenac slaved on it for days without rest. It was his masterpiece, one of the six great tools of Lorkhan. That’s what he called it and its siblings. Now though, this sounds like nonsense. The heart is no more. I felt its demise. We all did.”

I shook my head.
,,No, not all of us did. I didn’t, and ended up trying to fight Dagoth Ur a day after he’d been killed. After risking my life again and again, it was a bit of an anti-climax to be honest.” I said.
,,Now what was this promise?” Yagrum asked again.
,,I promised that I would right the wrongs that had been committed against Dwemer like Nebrighk. I swore it on Forgeheart.” I told him. I was still following the cloaked man with my eyes, and was now also looking at the shadow that seemed to follow him. We were silent again. I knew I had convinced him that I really was Dumac the moment I spoke Dwemer.

I raised my voice.
,,You there! Behind you!” I shouted and pointed at the shadow. The cloaked man didn’t look at me as I’d expected, but immediately turned on the assassin that had been stalking him. I watched the battle that began to unfold.

,,That is a fine promise, but I fear it has little use. What good would it do those of us who are gone? No one has been called Kagrenac since Red Mountain. Since the day the Dwemer perished.” Yagrum said, apparently unconcerned with the battle raging below.
,,Yeah, no one will really feel better if I avenge the Dwemer.” I muttered.
,,And what is there to avenge? They could have chosen immortality, yet they chose for an eternal sleep. I must go now, lord. I am tired.” Yagrum Bagarn said and began to walk back to the door a few steps away.

,,I never break a promise, neither the one I made to Nebrighk, nor the one I made to you…..Kagrenac.” I spoke solemnly and pulled Forgeheart free from the block of frozen flesh and steel.


The End.

[The Metal Mallet]

So now Ro-El seeks to avenge the Dwemer. Makes me think he's going to run into Luper sometime in Oasis 2.

Excellent conclusion to this story, jack. Now I wonder if you'll focus on the other stuff you're working on or start another one? Haha.

[minque]

Even though I haven´t commented to that incredible extent as Mallie does, I have read your story and I must say what I probably said before ..

- You are a very talented writer and it has been a pleasure to read your work!

[Lord Revan]

What she said, lol .

Edit: hey, I might as well not even try to be as articulate as the vets here.

This post has been edited by Lord Revan: May 26 2007, 09:06 PM

[treydog]

What a thrilling ride- with a glorious ending- a cliff-hanger at the very last..... I tip my doggie-eared hat to you, sir.

[blockhead]

Woah, a surprise twist ending. It took me a few minutes to figure it out. Nice.

One question ...

I raised my voice.
,,You there! Behind you!” I shouted and pointed at the shadow. The cloaked man didn’t look at me as I’d expected, but immediately turned on the assassin that had been stalking him. I watched the battle that began to unfold.

Who were those two?

Or are we not supposed to know?

[The Metal Mallet]

I can give you a hint blockhead.

Read Oasis 2 and you'll find out.

[raggidman]

There is now apparently a theory, accepted as Lore, about the disappearance of the Dwemer. I read it in cursory fashion and it made sense to me.

However, whether or no the content of this tale agrees with it, I know which I prefer. More fool Bethsoft for not hiring you on and making this yet another Morrowind expansion.

ps - wherever you were educated Jack Cloudy you make small mistakes that no Englishman would make. Should Bethsoft wake up to the value of this piece then I'ld be delighted to edit it for you - for a reasonable fee

Alternately if I had a library in Tamriel I would want this on my bookshelf, even if it is 'only' fiction.