The Eldest Councilor, A knight in service of a councilor... Options

[Kiln]

Author's note: Keep in mind that none of the characters in this story are based off of any in oblivion, as I do not have the game and cannot add references to it so just assume that it takes place years after the OB storyline.
Also, this is my first real try at a story from the first person perspective so it may not be so good but hey, I hope you find the time to at least read a little and decide if you like it.
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Prologue

I shall tell you a story that is rarely told, there are few left in this world to recite it. It is a tale of a knight who would stop at nothing to protect his master and friend, throughout time he grew more and more powerful. I will admit that his power was not used only for helping people, they were used for what his master desired and needed. I shall read this story from the journal of Deagan, for he is long gone now and his tale has nearly been forgotten.

Chapter One: In the Beginning...

My name is Deagan, I am but a prisoner now but I was not always locked up like this, believe it or not I once served one of the oldest and most respected councilors in the country...once I was a respected knight serving under what I felt was right...though now I sit here in the darkness, secluded from the other inmates, I can't help but think back to when I first arrived and why I was brought here.

When I first entered the prison, I was on the same floor as the other prisoners but after I escaped my cell and nearly made it out of the complex, the warden added several more guards around me but I was still on the same floor at that time.

The extra guards that were added to the area were always drunk and abusive, they enjoyed hitting me for long periods of time, generally only a few would participate and the beatings would last only a few short minutes but there were always the occasions when they would all enter my cell and hit me at once.

I could have killed them at any time with the amount of experience and training I'd been through but I took the punishment so I could avoid getting into more trouble. Though every man has his limits and eventually I snapped.

One day when the guards entered my cell to begin the usual beating I took the iron mug from the wet stone floor of my room and swung it with my full strength at the nearest guard, causing him to fall to the ground.

As the other guards stood in amazement, I drew the sword from the belt of their downed comrade and jabbed it through the stomach of one of the others. The last guard that hadn't already run unsheathed his sword and I fought him for a few minutes before finally getting through and slicing his neck.

I know it was probably wrong but I felt great, I'd once again gotten the feel of a blade in my hand and felt the blood of the guards who had beaten me regularly for almost four years.

I went for the stairway and fought several more guards in the room with the exit.

Before I left I took a knee near the bodies and searched them quickly for anything that might be of use to me once I had left the prison but there was nothing but a bit of gold and a key.

I went down to the cell room and released the other inmates, no matter what they had done, nobody deserved to be locked up here. The bruised inhabitants of the prison stayed downstairs for now, until I'd checked things outside the prison.

At that point I was starting to feel pretty good, the doorway was right in front of me and I now had a weapon and a bit of gold, I was set to start my new life.

I opened the double doors in front of me and stared blankly into the huge blue sky above me, smelling the fresh air, tasting the winds, absorbing every moment of my newly acquired freedom...but it was a short lived moment of ecstasy.

In all the time I'd been fighting my way out of the prison, one of the guards had already made his way into town and brought back several others. I looked out across the courtyard at the many armored guards in formation in front of me and did a rough estimation of how many were there.

I counted about twenty and readied myself to fight them when I heard the loud thumping noise, as I slowly looked down I noticed the arrow in my chest and quickly broke it off, leaving the tip still inside of my flesh and starting to move closer to the group of men down the stairway.

Another arrow struck my shoulder but I did not let my pain show, instead I continued to make my way closer and closer to the soldiers, knowing that this battle would be my death...unfortunately it wasn't.

A man in a robe emerged and put his hand out as if he wished were motioning for me to stop, from it emerged the spell that ended my escape, it hit me and all my strength faded, I felt as if I hadn't slept in months and I fell to the ground on my knees, barely able to stay awake...which reminds me of why I hate mages since we're on the subject.

The guards surrounded me and forced my head down, the guard drew back his blade and readied to strike me, finishing this once and for all.

Before he could a voice rang out,

"No! Do not kill him, he shall be forced to suffer for what he has done, for the rest of his days he will remember the brave guards he killed today and their deaths will weigh hard on his mind."

In reality I felt no remorse for killing the guards, not even the slightest bit of guilt, my years of killing had taken away the feeling of grief and the feeling of wrongdoing that I had when I first started.

The man leaned down close to me and whispered into my ear softly,

"You will suffer for the crimes you have committed fool, you cannot stop us, we will kill the councilor."

I forced my head to look into his eyes then quickly looked to his feet and spat onto them, showing my hatred for him. If I could have lifted my arms I would have hit him right in the jaw and strangled him but alas, I was powerless.

I stayed awake a bit longer to see one of the guards draw back a wooden club and that was it, I awoke some time later in the darkness, completely alone. I learned later from the warden that they had moved me into the cells in the basement, away from the well behaving prisoners and into the part of the prison with those who would never see day again.

The guards were careful here, never leaving anything in which we could use to escape and never entering our cells under any circumstances. I was in the high-risk section of the prison and nobody wanted to disturb me.

It was a step up from the prison upstairs in some ways, no listening to other inmates complaints and no abusive guards.

Though life in the lower sector got old quickly I'm still here, as I've been unable to escape, its been years since my only escape attempt and I wonder if I would even be in this situation if I had not been in the service of councilor Quin, who would probably be killed by the black diamond assassins, if he had not been already.
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Hope this at least slightly interests some of you.

This post has been edited by Kiln: May 9 2006, 08:14 PM

[treydog]

An exciting start. It is a joy to see you writing again- I certainly hope you will add more to this story.

[Tellie]

Wohoo...the great Kiln is writing again,....thanks alot.

the story...immensly intriguing, and I like the whole consept of it...I really do.

I'm glad that you have started to write again, so you have my ear...let's hear it.

[insert hundreds of Jona's and hundred of Milanius'es ]

[Kiln]

Thanks for your support guys.
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To allow you to understand why I was placed in this prison first you would have to understand why I committed the crime...which you will discover later.

It was many years ago when I met the councilor, right after I left my home to begin exploring the world and making my own way, a young imperial boy of eighteen whos father was a wealthy smith and whos mother was a fine clothier.

Some would think that a man who ended up in the imperial prison for the rest of his life had come from a poor family or a broken home but that is not the case, I wanted a life that was simple and easy to acquire, not having to work for what I had in a hot forge day in and day out like my father had done.

It was good money working in the forge, to be sure, but the work was not for me. I had my own ideas about how to make gold in this world and it involved adventure, theft, or any means necessary, even if I had to take it by force.

So I began to rob people along the road to the imperial city and started hiding out and living in a small shack just off the back road. I'd made several hundred septims in the past few weeks and as word spread the caravans got harder and harder to rob, it seemed that after a while every passing carriage had an escort.

I had to become more professional then, finding other mischievous men to help me out, distracting the people while I grabbed things from the carriages and ambushing them for their purses.

We were in the big time now, or at least I felt like it. To some we were nothing but petty thieves but to us, we were true bandits, living off the land and the people on it.

It was somehow satisfying to know that the money that others had worked so hard to earn had come to me with such little effort, I was really starting to get good at my profession.

Things were going well for us, we were dragging in a steady amount of gold every now and again but just like every other time when things were going my way, things were about to change.

My team heard about a caravan of nobles, councilors and traders to be exact, that would be passing by into the imperial city within the next few days and we began planning. Foolish nobles always carried more in their pockets than they needed, they were a prime target.

We planned constantly and argued for hours, this one was important and one mistake could ruin it all. Nobody wanted to be the one that distracted the guards, so I came up with the idea to draw straws, the shortest straw would be the one that distracted the caravan while the others helped themselves to the loot.

I pulled my straw from the hand of one of my companions and then waited on everyone else. I just happened to get the shortest one in the bunch. I cautiously accepted, knowing it was the only right thing to do...there is honor among thieves.

So for the next day and a half we waited and continued planning carefully adjusting our plan into perfection, the four of us each had our own part to play, mine being the most dangerous.

The night the caravan passed by was very cold, I could see my own breath as I waited just off the edge of the road in the darkness, my companions waited in their positions as well. I could hear the light trotting of horses down the stone road and I could see the gentle flicker of torchlight, now was my time.

I took the red berries from my pockets and smeared them on my shirt and hands, giving the illusion that I was bleeding, patted dirt on my clothes to make it look like I'd been in a struggle and propped my back against a boulder before throwing some random items on the ground around me to look as if I'd been attacked and robbed.

As the caravan approached I counted six guards, I'd been lucky enough to learn to count in school, my parents' money had been useful after all. When the guards saw the scene I had set up for them three of them ran up to me and started to look around, the other three carefully walked around the wagon which had a head peeking through the window, though he did not look afraid, he actually looked calm and friendly...strange considering the situation, most nobles would be trembling with fear.

One of the guards bent down near me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"What happened kid?"

"Bandits ambushed me...they took everything I had." I said acting wounded and depressed about the loss of my items

"Which direction did they go?" The guard asked

"South I think...past the tree line." I said just as I had rehearsed

The guard half dragged me beside the carriage as the other two guards headed south.

"Stay with these guards, they will keep you safe." He said heading in the direction of the other guards

There were three guards left and one large chest on the back of the carriage being closely watched by one of them. I could see my team near the edge of a small hill looking toward me, expecting me to draw the guard further from the back of the carriage.

After a moment of quick thinking I stood and looked into the darkness opposite of of my accomplices pretending to see something, the guard near the rear of the wagon approached me as I hoped he would.

"You see something?" He asked somewhat skittishly

"I think I see another bandit...waiting in the darkness." I said, still holding the false wound in my stomach

The guard moved in front of me and all three around the cart stood in attention, waiting for something to jump from the shadows. I turned and saw my companions going to work on getting the heavy chain out from around the chest on the back of the carriage. It was taking a long time and I could hear the other guards coming back from the woods I'd sent them into.

It looked as if we were in the clear when the guards close to me walked to the others and began talking some twenty feet away from the carriage, paying little attention to the carriage itself. Luckily, the torches in front of it made a perfect shadow for my boys to hide in. After few moments had passed, they had gotten the chain from around the chest, and had begun to pull it off its resting place.

Something happened then that I had not expected, a door opened and then slammed shut as a guard emerged from inside the carriage and stood beside me.
He was a huge nordic man with a rough face and a broad body, he was very intimidating to me and as I started to get more and more nervous I started thinking about my getaway.

As my friends were dragging the huge gold filled chest off the wagon, one of the handles broke off and the chest and the heavy box hit the ground with a loud thud followed by metallic clinking of gold pieces scattering and bouncing across eachother. I quickly looked to see my companions fleeing the scene and I turned to make a run for it as well. My plans were halted as a metal gauntlet grasped my shoulder tightly.

"Where you think you're goin?" The brute of a guard asked

I was terrified as he drug me by the back of the neck to the back of the carriage and motioned for the other guards, who came quickly and surrounded the wagon once again.

"So you were in on this?" The guard asked as he wiped some of the berries off my shirt and tasted them with two leather covered fingers

I opened my mouth but none of the words I stuttered were actual words or even close to anything understandable. The guard tied my hands and left me with the others as he spoke with his master for a short while before returning.

"I figured we should just turn you in to the local watch but councilor Quin says he sees something in you...not sure what it is but he wants you to come with us. You will serve him and in return you will recieve food, shelter, and will be given any luxury or punishment my master sees fit...oh yes and my name is Oryn." He said with a quick half smile

At this point I was disoriented and confused, the pit of my stomach felt as if someone had buried a dagger in it, and my throat felt like I'd tried to swallow an entire watermelon whole.

The guards picked up the gold and moved the chest inside of the carriage. I remained tied for many hours past that time and from the conversations of the guards I picked up that the councilor was on his way to some important meeting, after which we would return to his manor and he would decide what to do with me.

I rather disliked being thought of as property but what could I do? Slavery was illegal but if the guards are the ones doing it then how can it be stopped? Ah well I figured I'd just go along for the ride until I reached the manor, after I escaped from there I'd figure out what to do next.
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Here's a bit more, hope you enjoy it.
Edited some of the wording and added a bit more description to some parts.

This post has been edited by Kiln: Apr 14 2006, 08:49 PM

[Tellie]

hehe....you're wecome Kiln...supporting you is the least i can do...you have been following my Rp...so you deserve it...

As I said earlier, the plotline is exiting, and I and the fact that I was thrilled beacuse you started to write again, was also adding to the effect...as I KNOW you're a good writer, and I think we can expect great thigns from this story....thanks for starting up again...I'll be there to back you up all the way.

Have a Tellie ...and a Tellie writers award.

[Kiln]

The horses pulled the carriage into town slowly, keeping pace with the guards around us.

As we arrived outside the city the guard inside the carriage stepped out and spoke with the men standing beside the huge doors leading past the city's walls.

The councilor's bodyguard flashed some documents and the men let us through without hesitation, I looked around the city once again as we slowly rolled in and thanked the divines that we'd came to the city during the night or else my parents might have found out why I'd been taken prisoner. The last thing I wanted was for them to find out I was a thief.

They might even have gotten me out of trouble and taken me home but that was the last thing I wanted. I would soon be headed to the manor of an incredibly rich old councilor and once I arrived the looting would begin.

For now though, I would have to wait at the cart for the councilor to return from his meeting. As he stepped from the carriage the guards formed at his sides and only one stayed with me at the wagon.

The stone streets of the city were lit by many lanterns hanging from posts, the golden light emerging from them made the roads look truly amazing at night.

I sat with my back against the huge iron wheels on the wagon and looked upward into the sky, the stars glowed brightly, the moon was full, and the clouds moved swiftly through the air. I could hear crickets chirping and the occasional owl screeching as it searched for prey outside the city. Things were more quiet that night than I'd ever heard them before.

Tonight was beautiful and bright enough to see, it would have been perfect for an escape but I couldn't be sure how far I would make it before the guards caught up with me so I decided to stick around until the time was right. My plans to loot the councilor were not yet set in stone, nor were any other thoughts running through my mind.

I had spent a long time waiting in the same place so I stood and started pacing back and forth along the road. The man who guided the horses looked at me briefly but said nothing, he'd been silent for the entire trip and I could tell that he didn't like me much, but it turned out that I didn't get much of a chance to know him.

Just as I was about to speak to him the doors to the council house opened and Quin stepped out smiling along with his guards. He looked satisfied and happy as if he had gotten what he wanted from the meeting, this was also the first time that I'd seen him in the light and could really make out what he looked like.

The councilor looked like the average middle aged imperial, the lines of age were clear upon his face but they were few, he had a short beard and mustache that was mostly black but had lots of gray sprinkled through it much like the hair on his head, and for clothes he wore an exquisite looking blue shirt with matching pants and a black cape that fluttered gently in the wind. He stood tall with his head held high as he strode toward the carriage, though he was old it seemed that he had the vitality of a man half his age.

I heard light footsteps behind me and turned to face the man who was running extremely quickly in our direction. Yards behind him was a group of about four guards.

He wore a yellow suit that looked like very light material designed for running, I would soon discover that it was his job. The councilor's guards must have known the runner since they did nothing to stop him from coming very close to Quin. The man stopped several feet away and breathed heavily before bowing before the councilor to show respect.

"What is it Elden?" The councilor asked

"Assassins along the main road, I brought four guards with me to join you. You must leave now before more of the black diamonds arive." The man said quickly still breathing extremely heavily

"You're sure?" Quin asked

"Yes sir, completely. At least twenty armed assassins wait for you less than three hundred yards out." The man replied

"Thank you Elden, I want you to stay in the city and wait until it is safe before you return to the manor." Quin said

"Yes sir." He replied and then took off for an inn nearby

The councilor turned to the guards who had heard everything,

"We must go." He stated plainly

The guards were just starting to join the rest of the men when the councilor climbed into the carriage, all the guards surrounded it, and got ready to take off.

I climbed on the side and held on as tightly as I could. I still hadn't quite grasped the situation but everyone was in a hurry to leave town before more of the assassins arrived along the road.

The guards were outnumbered, it was ten to twenty, more than double the assassins than guards. Odds were not good that the councilor would survive this ordeal, I had heard of the black diamonds and a target had never evaded the assassins for long.

I showed no fear but secretly I was terrified, I rode the cart along with the other soldiers and it was clear that the others were just as afraid but they tried their best to appear brave and strong.

We left the gates and started along the main road, I wasn't sure why we were leaving the safety of the city but it probably made little difference, he would be just as safe inside as outside but this way he would be closer to home.

The group walked silently along the road, trying to stay alert and be ready for the attack. A group of men in black charged at us down the road yelling and waving their blades. The guards braced themselves and got ready but did not expect the rain of arrows to fly from the darkness, one of the guards fell backwards with an arrow in his eye and several others were wounded. The nord that I'd met earlier was lucky enough to catch the arrows in his shield rather than his body and he continued fighting strong and unharmed.

A guard next to me caught an arrow in the throat, blood sprayed into my face and I wiped it with my sleeve and looked at the fallen guard. He was gone now and had no use for a weapon so I quickly grabbed his sword and pushed my back against the cart, flaming arrows landed all around me and the carriage had been set ablaze, the councilor was still inside.

The guards were falling quickly and the assassins were trying to get through the door on the opposite side of the cart so I pulled the door on my side open and stabbed through the window, catching an assassin in the eye with the sharp steel blade and killing him instantly.

Quin told me to get out quickly and he rushed me out the door, following closely behind me. Once we were outside again I looked about, only four guards remained and very few of the assassins had fallen. Three horses remained alive strapped to the front of the burning cart, the fourth had been hit with an arrow and killed.

Another guard fell, and this continued until only the large nord called Oryn remained guarding the councilor, he grabbed me and motioned for the councilor to follow as he led us to the front of the flaming cart.

He drew back his blade and cut the leather harnesses holding the horses and each of us climbed atop one of them. I rode as fast as I could, looking over my shoulder at the guards that had fallen all around the cart, arrows sticking from their bodies and assassins wearing black clothing crowded around it yelling and thrusting their blades into the air as the remains of the cart burned.

More flaming arrows continued to fall around us for some time until we had gotten out of range, we rode for hours and I was surprised the horses didn't give out by the time Oryn decided that it was safe to stop and rest for a few minutes.

I was still shaking uncontrollably even after riding for hours, I'd never been in a situation so dangerous or terrifying in my whole life but I had this distinct feeling that it would not be the last occurrence of such events.

It had only been a few minutes when Oryn decided that we'd rested long enough.

"We must leave now, we can't risk meeting up with them again. Its not too far from your estate now sir so we'd better get a move on." Oryn stated

The councilor was in no rush, he still seemed just as calm as before this had happened. I wished I'd felt the same but I was a complete coward at that time, though I was eighteen I had lived the sheltered life of a rich child, having everything I wanted given to me, having to earn nothing, and never getting into unnecessary fights.

This was a huge change from what I was used to, with the councilor I'd been forced to fight for my very survival the first night I stayed with him, though somehow this felt right, as if things were meant to end up this way.

The blood on my new blade had made me over confident though at the time it was the last thing on my mind. I still had relatively no combat experience. I was deep in thought about how things would be in the future when Oryn rushed me back to my horse and we got moving again.

I hoped that we would arrive at Quin's estate soon.
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If you've had the patience to stick with my story this far, I commend you my friends.
Hope you like it.

This post has been edited by Kiln: Apr 14 2006, 11:05 PM

[minque]

Oh Mr Oven! It´s a sheer pleasure to see another story of yours! As good as usual, you are a very good writer you know, and here I see a masterpiece coming.

I can assure you I´ll read every part.......it´s so great to see you writing again!

[jack cloudy]

Oh my, this is very exciting. Keep it up.

[Kiln]

The loud sound of the horse's hooves clopping on the ground was beginning to drive me insane, it was nearly morning now, the sun was not visible but light washed over the land around us.

A thin mist blanketed the landscape ahead and I could see a small source of light in the distance that seemed to be a fire. I leaned up from resting on the horse's neck and shifted position in the saddle, so I could see better. The reality that we'd finally reached the councilor's estate began to set in and I started to notice just how sore my legs were and how much they hurt from rubbing the saddle so much while the horse had been running.

I looked above me and could see the armored guards all along the walls of the place, archers lined it because they had heard we were spotted near the road, as I looked at the estate I laughed inside. It looked like a small legion fort but was better defended.

The drawbridge lowered over the moat and the iron gate inside slowly raised, showing the courtyard, we rode inside and the councilor's men grabbed me from my horse, searching me for weapons carefully as I listened to the heavy gates being lowered and the bridge withdrawn.

When the guards were satisfied they looked to the councilor and waited for instructions. What he told them was something I had never expected. Quin turned to me and for the first time I'd seen, he smiled a quick smile that retreated as quickly as it had came and spoke directly to me.

"My friend, you saved my life while we were in the carriage and for that you have my gratitude, I shall ask you now to begin training under Oryn as the second in command of my guards...for this is why I have brought you here." the councilor stated calmly

I wasn't sure how to react and it was clear to me that it was the first time this had been brought up, even to the captain of his men. Though Oryn did not question or even act surprised, my gift at reading people told me that he was not pleased that I would be serving under him and to be honest I wasn't sure why the councilor was giving me the opportunity.

"You will begin your training soon but for now you must rest." Quin said before turning to his guards

"Take him to the guest quarters, it shall do nicely for him."

As one of the guards led me up the stairwell, thoughts of what the "guest quarters" was crossed my mind, perhaps it was some secret code for the dungeon...I had tried to steal from him after all.

With each step the feeling in my stomach grew sharper and sharper, I was eighteen but I felt as if I was much younger, the feeling like when your father gets upset with you when you don't do a task correctly. Its not the punishment that hurts the worst, its the agony of waiting for the time to come when you will recieve it.

We emerged on the final step before the doorway to the dungeon and the guard placed the key into the lock and turned it slowly, the door made a loud click and he pushed it open gently.

"This is your room kid, you'll be staying here until the councilor says otherwise...I don't think its proper that you be placed here, you should be put in the stables...but this is the councilor's word and I shall not question it." He said

I stepped into the room and looked around slowly, amazed at the extravagant design and complex patterns of the items around the room.

Before further examining things I turned to the guard and nodded my head, sort of a silent way of thanking him. He understood and turned away, closing the door behind him.

The room was wonderful, the bed had so many pillows and soft comforters that it looked as if I made a wrong move, I would be lost in it forever. Exquisite cloth works lined the room, all shades of dark green with lighter green designs covering them. Candles were strategically placed around the room for the maximum light but none of them had been lit.

I moved closer to the window in the corner of the room and looked out into the courtyard below my room at the people training below, they wielded varieties of weapons and the instructors drank merrily as they watched their apprentices practice with wooden weapons on eachother.

One man made it through and hit the other hard in the chest, it looked like it hurt alot less than the insults from the annoyed instructor that was now yelling at him and I knew that soon I would be in the same situation but for now, I had to rest.

I sat on the bed for a moment, deciding that I would sit for a moment and then explore the grounds but before I knew what happened I had drifted into a gentle sleep. Dreams of my days as the second in command of the troops here danced through my head, I saw myself standing proud, decked out in armor, and leaning on the handle of my silver sword.

Dreams are better than reality sometimes because when I awoke, it was to Oryn rushing me to get dressed and get ready to begin my training, I could already tell that it would be a long day...
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My thanks to everyone for their comments and I hope you enjoy this next bit.

[Tellie]

Yeah....great update Kiln.

This story is getting better and better for each update,and your exellent writing makes me bereft of words when I'm supposed to reply on it...

But what can I say, this was an exiting one, and I love the idea of you writing a new story...so please continue, and NEVER stop again...

[jack cloudy]

A long day sounds just fine to me. As long as you keep writing. So please bring on the updates.

[treydog]

Lots of new "Kiln-baked" goodness here. You have a real ability to write stories that keep us reading and hoping for more.

[Kiln]

I made my way back down the stairs and to the dining room where Quin was waiting for me. He nodded once and Oryn led me outside, the councilor just wanted to watch how I performed in combat.

I had never fought enough to get any skill at it but Oryn assured me that after a couple of months of training I would learn a few of his fighting tactics and a bit of field strategy for when I had to command a guard unit. He could only teach me the basic elements of battle and how to keep focused during combat, I would have to learn the rest on my own.

Oryn led me down by the fountain and walked over to one of the other trainers.
My nosy side forced me to move closer and listen in on their conversation. The other trainer was a dark elf man with a scar across his eye, bald head, and a deep scratchy voice.

"Master trainer Jiub, would you bring out one of your novice fighters? Perhaps your new boy, Falen?" Oryn asked

The dark elf scratched his head for a moment as if he was thinking and dug through his pocket for a moment.

"Care to make a wager captain? Say...fifty gold pieces?" Jiub asked

Oryn counted out a rather large amount of gold pieces and sat them on the table beside the elf before shaking the man's hand to seal the deal. The trainer called Jiub yelled for his apprentice and he came out quickly, standing in attention in front of his master.

"Go get your training equipment and get ready for a warm up fight before we start this evening." Jiub said

Oryn approached me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"You will fight Falen today in a practice fight, I've got fifty septims on you so don't mess up. The first to strike the flesh of the other five times wins the fight, strikes on the shield do not count towards your victory or defeat so make sure his weapon lands on your shield and your weapon gets past his." he said calmly

"Yes sir...I will do my best." I replied plainly

"Your best is not good enough, act as if his wooden blade were real and don't let it hit you...remember that enough hits, no matter how good they are could cause you to bleed out in real combat so don't let any through." Oryn said in an authorative tone

I knew that if I lost this fight, even though I had not been training like my opponent, Oryn would not be happy so I would do as he said and try my damndest not to lose this fight.

Jiub and Oryn took their seats at a table facing us and began to drink some brandy while Falen came toward me and held out his hand, I extended my arm and shook with him.

"Best of luck to you." He said

"And you as well." I replied

We stepped back roughly twenty feet away from eachother and picked up our wooden blades. Both of us moved toward one another in a ready stance, I glanced at Oryn who was watching with great anticipation from his comfy chair beside councilor Quin.

This competition was real to Falen, the friendly man I had stood before moments ago had been replaced by a solid warrior, ready to do what he must to win this game.

He came in close to me and swung but I stepped out of it just in time, causing it to pass harmlessly past my stomach.

I stepped to the side and swung down at Falen but he moved effortlessly from its path and brought his weapon toward my side. My shield caught it perfectly, causing him to lose balance, and allowing me to strike him once in the chest before he knew what was happening.

He came in quickly before I had a chance to block and slapped me with his shield before hitting me twice with the practice blade. I was mad now and went in too quickly for my own good, swinging wildly and though I hit him twice more, he hit me twice more as well, leaving no more room for error on my part.

I moved slowly closer to him, circling carefully trying to wait him out so he would make the first move. Time seemed to slow down as my heart beat loudly, adrenaline pumped through my vains, I found it strange that this could happen in a practice fight.

I must admit though, it felt almost natural to me holding the weapon in my hands. Though it was not real I thought of it as if it were as sharp as steel as I moved in for the final strike.

I stood proud and confident as I swung toward Falen, sure that it would connect.
He slapped my blade to the side with his and hit me the final time with the practice sword. He smiled and gave a quick bow before returning to his master.

I could tell that Oryn knew that I would fail but he didn't act like he was surprised.

"Well that wasn't bad...but you need to get into shape." Oryn said as he stood from the table

"Thank you sir." I replied

"Now give me fourty laps around the courtyard...then we'll start your training." He said with a fleeting smile

I did not question him, instead I ran laps around the huge courtyard. The cool fountain in the middle seemed like a mile away and its cool waters taunted and called to me to come to them. After I managed all of the laps I took a long drink from the fountain and then returned to Oryn.

For the next month I did the same routine involving exercise, training, and reading to sharpen my mind. Training was rough but it got easier with time, I didn't realize just how much I had learned from Oryn until our first escort mission.

The councilor had left and returned to the imperial city many times without problems with the assassins. In all the time I'd been training no assassination attempts had occurred, a solid month and a half had passed without one and we had guessed that there would be one along the road to the council house because they wanted to get him before the meeting but I felt invincible now that I'd learned to fight...I had no idea what to expect but I felt I was ready for anything.

I got a letter a few days after overhearing the councilor talking about the meeting that said that I needed to be ready as soon as I could for the trip to the council hall. I packed my things and went downstairs to Oryn who had sent a servant to retrieve me.

"Come with me Deagan, I have something for you." He said in a cheery voice

I followed him slowly into the room where the wine was stored. Oryn pulled a stone out of place and the wall slid out of place, revealing a hallway leading down.
He motioned for me to come and I did so eagerly awaiting whatever he was going to show me.

As we continued deeper underground I saw groups of men training in the room ahead, we kept going past them though and I could not resist asking a question.

"Oryn...what is this place?" I said timidly

"This is the elite training area for Quin's personal bodyguards and mercenaries...you should be honored to even be brought down here." He said calmly

"I am sir." I replied

He led me deeper into the place and showed me to my own armor, sword, and bottle of brandy for my efforts and graduation. It was soft steel engraved carefully with swirls and a dragon. I was very pleased with this and also surprised that Oryn had decided to advance me.

"You've graduated from basic training, we'll start the advanced stuff when we get back but for now, put this on and go upstairs...prepare for our trip, we'll be leaving soon." He said

I carefully strapped the armor to myself and moved upstairs to further prepare myself for the journey ahead of me. For now I would focus on eating breakfast with Quin...
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I hope you liked this part even though it is a bit short, I don't know when the next update will come but trust me...it won't be what you're expecting I assure you.

[treydog]

Excellent update. I loved that you brought back Jiub. He is the first friendly (although quite scary) face the player sees in MW- and then, poof. Great fight scene, capturing Deagan's thoughts as well as actions.

[Fuzzy Knight]

Agree with Trey - Good work Kiln!

[Tellie]

Ah...more wonderful updates from our very own Stove Pipe...

Sorry for not commenting on the last ones...i have been a bit busy with the Rp's lately..., but now I thought it was time to get going and replying on one of my favs again...

Great work you ol'smoothy...I always love your updates...keep'em coming.

[jack cloudy]

Oh, he's going to learn the advanced stuff? Now this will be interesting. Keep them coming.

[minque]

This is really a fascinating story.....I enjoy it very much indeed. Great work Mr Oven.....really great..

[Kiln]

Well I wrote a variant of this four or five days ago that took me about an hour and a half but right before I posted it the power kicked off and I lost it...I was very unhappy. Stupid power outages...
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Chapter 2: The Storm

I made my way upstairs and left the secret hall of knights standing proud in my new armor. It was heavy but it was specially made so that it didn't restrict movement of the arms and legs, a thick layer of chain was under the arm and only the top of the gloves were metal, underneath was a thin leather that would allow me to have a tight grip on my blade.

I slowly walked into the dining hall and looked around once again at the splendor of the decorations and the soft lighting of the candles. Strangely I was still amazed of how wonderful the room looked and how good the food tasted even after eating there for over a month.

The maid and her assistant brought out a dish of roast beef that was only rivaled in beauty by the girl that carried it to the table. That was the first time that I'd noticed how pretty she was, I was generally more interested in the food but this woman was too perfect to miss. She had blond hair that ran to her shoulders, green eyes, and the perfect body that would make the councilor himself want her if she wasn't born a servant.

My heart beat sped up and became louder, sweat began to build on my forehead, and I felt as if I were swallowing an apple with every drink from the goblet beside me.

I sat silently staring at her as she served the food to Quin, Oryn, and myself. When she noticed she started to blush and moved on with her business and left the room with a smile, I shook off the dazed feeling and began to eat the food in front of me as my thoughts wandered back to her and when our eyes had met for that brief moment.

Oryn dragged me back to reality with a quick tap on the shoulder to indicate that both of them were ready to go. I left my plate with half a meal remaining on it and went out by the carriage in the courtyard.

Quin and Oryn entered the cart as the gates of the keep opened and the bridge dropped down for us to cross. We rode for several hours and were quite surprised that nothing had happened along the road. I could see the gates of the imperial city now and nothing stood between the carriage and our destination. I looked off to the sides of the road, watching for an ambush but there was nothing suspicious anywhere.

Oryn stepped out with a cautious look on his face and spoke to the guards at the gate. The massive gates opened and we slowly entered, the streets were empty, there was simply nothing there to make us suspicious of an assassination. The carriage pulled up in front of the council hall and stopped abruptly, the guards formed around it and readied for the councilor to disembark.

I saw the councilor inside, he looked as worried as everyone else. Perhaps his informant had been wrong, or he'd been discovered and the assassins' plans had changed. Oryn stepped from the carriage and called all of the guards into attention before Quin climbed out behind him.

"All of you stay here and guard the entrance, nobody enters after us...nobody." he commanded

Quin stepped up beside him and pointed at me briefly.

"Deagan, you come in as well...you are one of my knights after all." he said calmly

"Yes councilor." I said respectfully

I felt like part of the circle now, being allowed inside the council chambers was a great honor. I followed them up the steps and the guards opened the doors for us to enter.

I looked around the crowded room slowly admiring everything as Quin put on his political face, even if you were his most hated rival you would not know it by the way the councilor acted towards you. He shook hands with everyone and smiled as he pretended to remember those who talked with him, he was a true politician at these meetings.

The councilor made his way to his seat at the back edge of the room and sat down, Oryn stood calmly with his arms crossed beside the councilor.

The room was huge with many lanterns lighting it brightly, the tables were around the back edge of the room in a "U" shape so the councilors could sit with their backs to the wall, and the tables were exquisitely decorated sparing nothing to make it look as costly as possible.

People danced to the small group of men playing instruments in the corner of the room as they talked and laughed among themselves creating one loud noise much like a large tavern. This was more of a party than a meeting, a feast paid for by imperial taxes and had I not eaten a huge breakfast hours before I would have feasted with them.

I looked up and noticed the twin balconies on opposite sides of the room, a place that someone could stand and look over the entire hall. I noticed that about six servants passed me at once going up the stairway on the right side and luckily I decided to follow them.

I walked up the stairs with my back to the wall looking around the corner and watching them enter a room marked "Servants Quarters". I slowly crept up and opened the door partially to see the small room filled with crates and bedrolls.

I could see someone pulling a rope up through the window and I watched closely trying to figure out what he was doing. After a moment he reached the end of the rope and reached down, pulling a bow inside with a few arrows in a pouch.

The man in the center rolled out a piece of paper and the others started to gather around it. I looked closer and noticed that it was a map of the council hall dining area. The leader reached out his arm and pointed to the map.

"You take the nord...you two get downstairs and get the councilor...I'll take the new guy..." the leader said as he pointed to the appropriate people

As he pointed I saw it, on his forearm was a small black diamond contained within a serpent's mouth marking himself as the leader of the assassins. The men stood and started to walk towards the door so I turned and ran as quickly as I could to try and warn the councilor.

By the time I'd reached the ground floor the assassin with the bow was in place getting ready to release an arrow. I pushed through the crowd but there were too many nobles in the way and I couldn't make it in time.

The first assassin got beside Jadier and pulled a dagger out of the loaf of bread he was holding, before he could do anything Oryn had stabbed and killed him. The second assassin moved toward Quin, jumping over the table and also being killed by Oryn.

It was too late to warn them, it had begun so I decided to make my way back upstairs and stop the marksman. I ran quickly up the stairs as the common folk ran for the exit I bounced off the wall at the top of the stairs and turned in a dead run toward the archer.

The first arrow was released and it landed in Oryn's chest, I wasn't even close to the assassin yet when he drew the second arrow and released it as well. I looked to Oryn who had been hit in the throat by the second shot, he was now choking and had fallen to his knees.

In a blind rage I drew back my blade and brought it down with all my strength, hitting the archer directly in the spine. He fell to the floor and I stabbed him in the heart before looking back up to the servant's quarters.

The other three assassins emerged from the door ahead of him and two of them circled me, forcing me to back up near the wall. The third assassin smiled at me briefly before pulling the hood over his head and heading downstairs.

He was getting away and there was nothing I could do about it until the assassins in front of me were down, I had to focus on them first.

I sidestepped the blade of one of the angry assassins and let him hit the wall behind me, I turned and quickly cut the drapes he was standing under to cover him up for a moment before turning back to the other assassin that was swinging his sword at me now.

I stepped back just in time to survive but I got a diagonal cut on my left cheek and blood ran freely from the wound. I wiped my face with my left glove and then looked back up to see the two assassins ready again, the second had already forced the drapes off of himself and was beside the other assassin once again.

I thought back to the training that Oryn had given me about strategy, I knew I needed to keep my mind on the fight now or else I wouldn't survive so I looked around quickly doing a scan of the area for anything I could do to even the odds.

One was near a balcony so I faked a swing and kicked him over the edge causing him to fall the long distance onto the stone floor, he hit with a loud thumping sound and blood slowly ran in jagged circle around him.

The other assassin landed a carefully planned stab in the gap between my chestpiece and my greaves. Blood ran down my stomach and the assassin looked at his work with satisfaction.

In anger I swung my blade at him with my full strength but it landed in a wooden portion of the wall, holding it there and forcing me to abandon it. I pushed the assassin to the wall and hit his hand until he dropped his blade, I hit him with my fists as hard as I could several times before his knee met my groin, forcing me to fall to the floor.

I laid there in pain as the assassin drew a dagger from his boot and turned me over onto my back, I pushed against his arm as he tried to bring the short blade into my throat, barely keeping it at bay.

The assassin's dagger slowly came closer and closer to me as my strength failed me. It started to sink into the flesh of my neck and I felt warm blood starting to trickle down the back of my neck.

I heard loud footsteps coming from the wooden stairway and the assassin turned away before I saw a blade come through his chest, blood covered my face as the assassin fell on top of me.

The man who pulled the assassin off of me was Falen, my friend from training. He helped me to my feet quickly.

"We have to get to Quin, there may be more." Falen said quickly

I stood and held my cut neck as I went downstairs to join Oryn as he died. I sat down and pushed my back to the wall beside the nord.

"Continue your training and...protect Quin..." Oryn said, choking on his own blood

He handed me a blood stained letter to his father before he drew his final breath and slowly faded away, he was gone.

Anger filled my veins and pumped through my heart, I would find the assassin and kill him slowly...for Oryn.
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Here's the next part, hope you enjoy it.

This post has been edited by Kiln: May 9 2006, 08:15 PM

[Mazelure]

This is great!!! I regret that I havent been posting anything on your story (how you have mine) but I havent had much free time lately so let me take the chance to congratulate you on your very well written story.

Kudos Kiln... Kudos

P.S. I'll be waiting for upddates