An Ashlanders Tale Chapter 2 Options

[jonajosa]

Next one!

Chapter 2

“And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by from this day until the ending of the world but we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother. Be he ne'er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition, and gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks, that fought with us upon St. Crispin's day!” -King Henry V addressing the troops before the battle of Agincourt on St Crispians Day in 1415


“Get up!” A sharp pain came across my face. “What did I just say? Get up!” Again something hit me across my face.

“He’s not going anywhere by himself. Come on lets drag him to shore.”

I could barely see a thing. My vision was blurry and my face was numb. They grabbed my arms and legs and lifted me up and carried up some steps and through a door. I was suddenly thrown to the ground. I tried to stand up but fell back down to the ground. A quick blast of cold air told me I was outside. There was something strange about the air too. It did not feel the same as the dry warm air of my land. I squinted to try to see where I was but I only saw a dull white blur. Someone grabbed my shoulder and pushed me farther forward.

“Keep moving.”

It seemed like for hours we walked. Strange noises always echoed through area we walked in. As we walked my vision improved but barely. I was able to tell that I was in a forest with snow all over the place. This was definitely not Vardenfell. I tried to recoup my memories of what happened before I woke up in this place. I remembered being in a city watching something burning in the middle of the street. That was all I was able to recall though before the men leading me somewhere told me to stop. I could see several houses and people moving about on a ridge about 100 yards from where I was standing.

I was lead in to the groups of houses and placed on the ground by a well. I looked around me. There were 6 houses all built of wood and stone. There was Armour at the end of town. The other 5 building looked to be either sleeping quarters or storehouses. I looked for the people I thought I saw. They were talking with the men who brought me here to this place. The first thing that went through my mind was here’s my chance to flee. But the curiosity of this strange world kept me glued to the wet ground. The men came back to me.

“How’s our little prisoner doing?” One of them said grinning at me.
I grinned back. “I’m doing fine nord.”

He glared at me and pulled his hand back and was about to strike when the other man silent until now stopped him.

“Do not strike him. He will need to look well when we show the imperials how well we treat our prisoners.” He grinned at me with brown worn teeth.

I glared. What did that mean? What would showing the imperials how well my health was help them? “What do you plan to do with me?” I asked.

“You will see in due time young dunmer, in due time indeed.” He said.
They laughed, picked me up and drug me to a building.

“You will stay in here.” One of them untied my hands. I was shoved inside. They bolted the door behind me. I looked around. No windows, locked door… No way out. I sat down. Time to think.
How can I get out of here and where am I?

[Dantrag]

good start...builds suspense too.


looking forward to the next installment!!

[treydog]

I have always loved that Henry V quote. And it is perfect for your story. I really like what you are doing here- going back to the ancient Dunmer/Dwemer/Nord war and writing about it.

Good suspense, an interesting main character, fascinating plot. Or, as someone once said:

Story. Good. More.

[jonajosa]

Note: A lot of people don’t understand where my story is coming from so im going to tell you. If you read The History of Morrowind and finish the main quest of the game you will hear many times about a war between the Dunmer (Tribunal) and the Dwarven/Nordic alliance. You might know what im talking about if I tell you about things that talk about it in the game.
-Amalexia tells you that the Trueflame was lost in the against the Nordic/Dwarven alliance on Red Mountain. She was married to the first Neravar.
-If you read the book Vivec’s History of Vardenfell in the library in Vivec it will tell you about the war also.
It’s mentioned everywhere.
So that’s where my story is coming from. The story of how an Ashlander rises from being a simple hunter to a Great leader. It shows the happiness of victory and the pain of defeat. How a simple young man is willing to do anything to save his country and get back home. This is his story, An Ashlanders Tale.




The next morning I awoke to the sounds of clangs outside my building. I got up slowly; my back ached from sleeping on the stone floor. I walked to the door wondering if I could open it now. Maybe some drunken guard unlocked it by accident. Fat chance though. I pushed it and to my surprise it moved. I pushed again and I heard the door crack. I stood there wondering what to do next. If I try again the door might break off and if that happens the whole town will know I’m trying to escape.

I sat down. My stomach growled with hunger. I looked around for something to eat. All there was though was a bedroll, a table and a barrel in the corner. I went to the barrel and checked inside of it. Inside the barrel was a good supply of a beer of some sort and berries. I pulled the beer out and sniffed it. I pulled back immediately; the smell of that stuff was so strong I would attract all the guars on the island if I drank it. That’s is if there are any guars on the Neravar forsaken island. I took the berries out and examined them. They seemed harmless. I popped one in my mouth and lay down on my bed.

I had been lying on my bed for about an hour before someone unlocked my door and came in. “You are to come with me.” He said. He walked outside and I had to hurry out to catch up with him. As I exited my building I got for the first time a good picture of the area around me. There were mountains to the north and the sea to the south. The ground was still covered with the white and wet stuff. I looked around for the clanging I heard from outside my building. There at the edge of town was the blacksmith. Smoke was coming out of his chimney. That’s weird I thought, why would a blacksmith be making weapons in place like this. It doesn’t look like anyone passes through here to buy them.

“You will go in there now.” The man leading me said. “Get your stuff and then come with me.” I nodded and walked in. I looked around for what he was talking about. On the table to the right were my sword, Armour and gear. I went to the table and donned my stuff. I felt good to have the weight of my armor on. I guess after wearing armor for a few days strait you get used to it.

I walked outside and found the man who led me here standing outside with three more men. They stared at me and talked quietly among themselves in a language I didn’t know. “Follow us.” One of them said finally. We walked out of the small town and headed towards the mountains.

We had walked for about an hour before we reached a camp of some sort. As we walked through it I watched the men go about their work. They were all nords, about 30 in age and all in good condition. They where sharpening swords and putting on armor. They look like they were about to go to battle. “Get a good look at them boy. You’ll be joining them soon enough.” One of the taller nords said. I stared at the group of nord men preparing. What’s happening here?

We walked to the edge of the camp and towards a giant tent. “Go inside. There is someone who wants to talk to you in there.” One said. I walked in. I was relieved to find it warm inside. Also there was food lying on the table to the right of me. My body naturally started to move towards the food but I caught myself and continued to walk towards the middle of the tent. In the middle of the tent was a man sitting at a table with a map on it. I walked towards him.

“Glad you could make it. Ashibalk.” He said turning to me. He was a Dwarf! He had a great beard and stern face. His face had scars all over it but that was to be expected since dwarfs were famous for their aggressiveness.

“How do you know my name?” I asked him startled

“I know the names of all my enemies generals. Many know of your name anyway. It’s not everyday you hear of a 20 year old ashlander commanding a force of 10,000. My name is Kogrun. I am the commander of the Nordic/Dwarven alliance western armies.” He laughed.

“What do you want with me?”

“I wish for you to help me with a problem here on this Kargnac forsaken island. There’s been a revolt against my forces here and I want you to help me put down it. You will join my small group of men and crush the revolt.”

“And if I don’t.” I said

“You don’t have a choice my friend. You see if you refuse, I will kill you. Besides you’re already packed.” He said pointing at my pack.

I stared at him thinking. He’s right. There’s no other choice except death and I’m not ready to give into that yet. “I agree, but if I succeed you have to let me go.” I said after due consideration.

“I’ll think about it. Now go join the group outside. Don’t think about running away again or I’ll send my special group out to grab you again.”

I stepped outside frowning at the return of the cold air. I walked towards the group of men.
They were all sitting there waiting for me. They all wore black armor also.

“Change into this.” One said throwing a black suit of armor at me. I began stripping my armor of and putting the new set on. It fit perfectly. I looked at my new dagger also. It had a dark green glow to it. “It’s a silencing dagger. It will keep them quiet when you stab them in the back. By the way I’m dultog the leader for this operation.” He said.

“Nice.” I said looking at it.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

“Ready”

“Then lets go”

[minque]

This is good!!! really good! And so exciting to hear what can happen after the Nerevar-thingy.....

Well written and very vivid, you make Ashibalk real....

So finally: Story. Excellent. More. Now!!

[jonajosa]

“Get ready.” Dultog said. We were hidden behind a fallen log a few feet from the outer defenses of the rebel camp. By just glancing at the camp I could tell it was in a terrible condition. Men were stumbling around coughing their lungs out and there were motionless shapes lying on the ground everywhere. It looked as if someone had gotten there before us and slaughtered them all. Even though they all looked dead Dultog still had the entire company ready for action and the battle mages ready to unleash a hellish storm of fire upon anyone who came towards them. Then suddenly Dultog gave the order to attack.

The gray sky suddenly turned black and flashes of lightning sprouted from the gathering clouds. The lightning hit the ground and set tents afire. It was the first time I had ever seen magic like this used before. I was familiar with healing magic and the school of illusion for it was taught to the people of our tribe at a very young age. This was very different indeed. Lances of fire leaped out from the woods from our right and struck the middle of the camp, setting everything within 20 feet of the blasts afire.

I watched in horror as the people ran around on fire screaming and failing their arms. Some were smarter than the others though and quickly rolled in the snow and put the fire out on them. But almost as soon as they got up from putting themselves out our own men overcame them. The battle quickly ended after that.

Dultog got up and walked towards the carnage. I followed, stunned by the harshness and cruelty these nords showed their enemies. They were piling up the dead in the middle of the camp and setting them on fire. I did not get to watch more than that though because Dultog called me towards him.

“Something’s wrong here.” He began when I finally made it to him. “There should have been more than just 20 people here.” That very sentence sent my senses on overdrive. I immediately began scanning the woods for any sign of movement. He seemed to notice my sudden stiffness but chose to ignore it and continued talking. “They must have something planned.” He seemed stare into the distance while he talked. It looked as if he was already devising a plan to counter their already in place ambush.

I left him to his planning and began to walk towards the large blaze at the middle of the camp. As I got closer a sudden flash occurred. Then suddenly I saw myself walking towards a fire in the middle of a valley covered with ash dust. I recognized the scene immediately and tears swelled up in the corners of my eyes. I saw in the fire my brother standing there crying for help. The fire was slowly engulfing him. I tried to run to him but something kept my feet stuck to the ground. The momentum I started tripped me from the sudden stop and I fell face first into the dust. I looked up and saw my brother reaching for me with a blackened arm. I reached for it grasped it. His arm was burning hot but I continued to hold onto it with a death grip. I cried out to him but he mouthed only words. I stared at him and began to tell thim I was sorry when another flash ocuured.

Suddenly just as fast as my illusion started it was gone. I was standing there, holding the arm of a dead rebel in the fire. I dropped it and stumbled backwards into the deep snow. As the wet cold snow hit my hand a pain shot up my arm. Only then did I realize the seriousness of the burn. The gloves I had on were melted onto my hand. I tried to slap the leather off my hand before it burned too deep into it. But I only succeeded in getting the burning substance on the fingers of my other hand. I got up and quickly stuck both hands into the snow under my knees. The pain quickly subsided. I got off my hands and looked at them. Black leather was IN my hands! I tried to move my fingers to remove the leather but I couldn’t. I jumped up and rushed off for a healer.

[minque]

Oh my goood.......how terrible for him...burns are gruesome and so utterly painful.

Fascinating jonajosa.....really fascinating....WoW, great installment ...I was happy seeing your post just now...

But naturally you had to end with a cliffie.......arrghhh

:goodjob: :lickinglips:

[jonajosa]

My heart was pounding so fast I felt as if it would pop out right where I was standing at the moment. I was franticly rushing around the camp looking for a healer or a chest that contained herbs so I could stop the burning and keep the wound from becoming infected. Suddenly I realized that the best way to help myself would be to find Dultog. He of all people should be able to help me in my time of need. I saw him standing under one of the few tents that didn’t catch fire during the attack. He was still pondering what to do next.

“Help!” I cried to him. He turned quickly drawing his weapon as if expecting me to be some half-naked nord running at him. He realized who I was and sheathed it back.

“You should know better than to come running up to a man unexpectedly crying help during a time of war. Now what is it you want for I am busy with my plans.” I growled at me. But his expression turned to worry when I showed him my hands.

“I-I tripped over a hidden body in the snow and fell into the fire.” I knew if I told him what really happened he would surly send me back to Kogrun. That would put an end to my plans to get back home.

“You must have been in the fire long enough for your gloves to melt.” He looked at me in disbelief at my story.

“I would surely not burn leather into my hands for fun would I? Now I need help immediately for my hands!” I cried. Other soldiers were starting to look towards us and laugh. I ignored them.

He looked at me with a surprised expression. “Fine come with me then, we shall go visit the healer.” He walked out of the tents. I tried to hide my hands from the embarrassment of falling into a fire. But the pain kept me from covering them completely from sight.

“There he is.” Dultog said pointing at a man standing over a body. “He should be able to heal your hands. You’ll be needing those soon.” With that he walked off.

I started towards the healer when he suddenly jumped back from the body that was in front of him. I looked down at it and saw it was shaking! The body’s eyes were turning red and his veins were turning black. I stared in shock at what was happening.

“Help him!” I shouted at the healer. He looked at me but didn’t move from the spot he was standing in. Seeing that he was not going to do anything to help this man I jumped forward to try to help.

“Halt.” The healer said. I stopped dead in my tracks. The healer voice was the most terrifying thing I’d ever heard. “Do not touch him.”

“But he needs help.” I replied in an annoyed voice. The healer ignored me and moved his hands up into the air. He began silently chanting something, then suddenly he thrust his hands out towards the man. The body suddenly went stiff. The body’s eyes turned white again and his veins disappeared from view. The healer turned towards me.

“He was beyond our help. The wound in his back had become infected. I had to kill him to end his suffering.” I looked at him in disbelief. I don’t think I want this guy healing me. I started to back away.

“Don’t you want to thank me for healing you?” He said before I could get out of the tent.

“What?” I looked at my hands. They were normal again! I flexed my fingers and twisted my wrists. It felt good to be able to move them again without the pain.

“Thank you sir. But how-“ He raised a hand.

“It’s a healers secret. Now go join you group again.”

“I thank you again for your help.” I said as I backed out of the tent. He nodded and turned around back to the body. As I walked out of the tent I found Dultog waiting for me.

“Hurry, one of our scouts found the remainder of the rebels force. It camped in a valley about three hours from here. Let’s go get them.” He said.

“Here we go again.” I said. “Back to our bloody business.”

[minque]

ah ..another thrilling installment, I sort of "like" your healer, mind you i´m in the healing business myself (my story). You describe the charachters very vivid, get the readers to really feel what they feel..

Excellent work!

S.G.M

[jonajosa]

As we crept through the forest to get to the rebels camp I couldn’t help but keep noticing all the chances I could take to break and run from these people. My mind was constantly flashing the possibilities in front of me if I were to run. But yet here I am still crouched and moving silently through this knee high snow. What am I doing here? I asked my self over and over. If I hadn’t been so childish and listened to my ashkans advice I probably wound be here right now.

I cleared my mind of any guilt I might be feeling... or tried to. There’s nothing you can do to save them now. There gone… forever. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. Why did they have to die just 3 days before Vivec allowed the religion of our tribes to continue? Anger swelled up inside of me once again. When I see Vivec again I will-

“Get Down!” Someone shouted up ahead of the column.

I immediately dove face first into the snow. Never being comfortable in small place I shoved my head up above the snow to see what the commotion was about. Flaming arrows were arching through the sky towards us. I looked around for a better place to take cover. A tree was off to my right. I got up and ran as fast as I could to it. As soon as I got behind the tree the arrows stopped and war cries were shouted up ahead. I looked around the tree. There were nords running at us from up the hill to our right.

“Great.” I said as I pulled out my sword. “Here we go again.” The nord rebels were already fighting with our men. I didn’t see any nords near me so I ran to my left looking for a fight. Over by a group of rocks I saw 5 nord rebels surrounding 2 of our soldiers, I ran to aid them. I plunged my sword in to the back of one of the nords pulled my sword back out and sliced another across his arm. The other two soldiers took this moment to make an attack of their own. They were able to kill 3 nords before they themselves fell to the gound of their own wounds. That left one more to kill.

The nord said something and rushed at me with this huge axe. He swung it back and forth keeping me from making a strike against him. I had to think of a way to kill this man. Then I remembered the dagger Dultog gave me before we left the camp. I quickly pulled out the dagger and threw it at his head. But the nord ducked! I used his movement to my advantage. When he was rising I chopped down on his head. He dropped his axe and screamed. Thinking I had won I paused in my attack. The nord suddenly swept my feet out from under me. I fell losing my sword in the sudden motion. But before I could reach out to it the nord was on top of me raising his fist.

“Die.” He said in a heavily accented voice.

“Not today!” I yelled. I flipped him off of me and jumped to my feet. He was already on his feet and swinging at me when I turned around. Smack! I stumbled backwards at the blow. Again the nord came at me. But I was faster. I moved out of the way of his blow and punched him in the side of the head as he passed. He recovered quickly and struck out again. I blocked his blow and hit him again. This time he fell down. I took that moment to grab my sword. As I turned around I saw him struggling to get back up. He had almost made it to his feet before I ended his life. I looked around me.

Small fights were going on all over the place. I sighed and began to jog towards the nearest one. Just then another wave of rebels came rushing down the hill. “Not again.” I said as I prepared my self for the coming storm.

[minque]

[quote]“Die.” He said in a heavily accented voice.

“Not today!” I yelled[/quote]

An example with a humorous touch from a great new addition to this lovely story.....which I hope will continue for a looooong time

:goodjob:

[jonajosa]

I cut down nords one right after another, but they kept coming. It seemed like every time I killed one 3 more came to take his place. I was so tired, my arms ached my heart pounded against my chest and I was gasping for air. I felt like just throwing down my sword and getting down on my knees to forfeit my life. But the picture of me returning to my homeland and spending time with my friends kept me going. I had something to hang on to, something to get back to. I was not going to give up now!

I did my best to protect my comrades behind me but there’s only so much one man can do. I slashed one as he ran up to me; I stabbed another as he ran past. I was fixing to do deliver a killing blow to another nord when someone crashed into me from behind.

“Wha?” I jumped back up getting ready to kill whoever was behind me. I looked around for whoever bumped into me but I didn’t see anyone. I looked down and saw a nord with an arrow sticking out of him in the snow. I turned my attention to a nord raining blows on one of my fellow soldiers. I ran up behind him and was about to stab him when the man he was fighting stabbed him for me in the gut. After the man composed himself he gestured me to come with him.

I ran with him to a group of 6 soldiers on top of a small hill. They all had wounds and looked like the only thing keeping them from collapsing was their fear that a group of nords might come running up the hill behind us.

“Where’s Dultog?” someone asked.

The man that led me here responded first. "He should be back soon. He went back out to see if there are any more survivors."

“Who’s in charge here for now?” I asked.

They all looked at each other then back at me and shrugged. Great now because I asked that question their going to want me to be in charge untill Dultog gets back... If he ever does. I put that thought out of my mind.

“Well I guess we’ll have to wait for him to get back then.” One said. I nodded and sat down against a rock. The others did the same.


I didn’t take long for Dultog to get back. It was a shame that he came back alone. Would have thought more would have made it. But I guess these so called rebels are not just a bunch of farmers and hunters. Dultog saw me and walked this way. He sat down in front of me and started drawing a picture in the snow.

“This is a map of where we are.” He began. “WE WERE supposed to go here and eliminate any resistance in that area. But as you can see they seemed to anticipate that and set an ambush for us. We need to get back to camp and rethink our situation.”

“I thought these men were rebels and couldn’t fight at all? That was also a lot of men for a rebel force.” I said.

“These men must have had training of some sort. No backwater rebel force could set an ambush like that and carry it out while inflicting heavy causalities on their enemy.” He sighed. “Your right also. That was a lot of men for a rebel force on this small of an island. There should have been at least 60 men in that force. But I could have sworn we just got attacked by about 300 men.”

“Something is seriously wrong here. We need to get back to camp as soon as possible and report what happened. We might be able to prevent this from happening again.” That last sentence really made me think. I was treating my enemy like I wanted to keep them alive. I realized I had paused and nodded just for reassurance. This one could get complicated.

[Alexander]

I haven't posted here a lot, but I'm still reading, very good story. I'm really enjoying myself JonaJosa

[minque]

yaayy...that´s my man...more ashlander-story, what a great stuff to read just after lunch...

No but seriously it´s a magnificent story......S.G.M

[Soulseeker3.0]

wow just read it all, good job, and that sucked with the glove.

[jonajosa]

I will no longer be doing writing in this story. My work here on the forums and at home has become increasingly diffcult to complete. I will mostly write short stories for the library and correcting other ones. Too much to do and not enough time to do it in. My story wasn't really going anywhere anyway.

To the fans thank you all for your support.

Keep writing!

[minque]

That is very sad indeed! I do understand your situation, and I thank you for your story so far.....

[Burnt Sierra]

[quote=jonajosa]I will no longer be doing writing in this story. My work here on the forums and at home has become increasingly diffcult to complete. I will mostly write short stories for the library and correcting other ones. Too much to do and not enough time to do it in. My story wasn't really going anywhere anyway.

To the fans thank you all for your support.

Keep writing![/quote]


By all means, put it on the back burner for a while, but one day, when time is on your side and inspiration has struck, I hope to read another installment of this. Your loyal readers will be waiting with open arms, I can assure you.

[jonajosa]

Do not fret my friends. I shall return. With a new story!

[Burnt Sierra]

[quote=jonajosa]Do not fret my friends. I shall return. With a new story![/quote]


You'd better, or I'll unleash a terror worse than you ever imagined

Now, all I have to do is imagine it......