The adventures of Arthago chapter II, The Rebellion Options

[Kiln]

Lots of good content here man, keep it up and have a for your efforts. The characters are believable in their actions and actually seem pretty real in the way that they behave, keep up the good work.

[Agent Griff]

I can't keep Arthago waiting so here's the latest update in my story which I wish one day will get put on the main site as many other stories on this fine forum. But enough wishfull thinking, here's the update!


~~~
We left Verkath and were on our way to Sentinel to report our deeds to the King. Since the journey was boring and uneventful I decided to talk to Marshall Daron a little to quicken the progress of time. I was interested in finding out some details of the battle in Verkath we had with the Crowns.
"So Marshall, how many men did we loose?" I asked, trying to spark a conversation.
"2 fine warriors." Marshall Daron sharply said.
"If they were so skilled why did they die in the first place?" I asked.
"They were surrounded by Crowns. I left them near the palace. When fighting broke out some Crown reinforcements wanted to take the palace back from us, they died while holding off a force of 20 Crowns all by themselves. They shall be commended in the honour hall of our Order." Marshall Daron said, weaving a story among his simple words. He never was a very complex man.
"I understand. Do you think we will get attacked by any bandits this time?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I don't think so, the bandits now know us as elite knights of Sentinel. We're no travelling merchants, they don't have the stones to attack anything more dangerous than that." Marshall Daron said. He was right, we did show the bandits our skill.
"Yes you're right. We don't have anything to fear. Night is falling, where shall we sleep?" I asked. We were far from the cave I had used before. Travelling at the pace of 4 men on foot was slow.
"Hmm, you're right. We will have to find a cavern to sleep in, the open roads are too dangerous even for us. I have heard rumours of creatures of the night, Vampires." Marshall Daron said with a certain ammount of fear in his rough voice.
"Vampires? Aren't they creatures of myth, made to scare children?" I asked. I remember my father used to tell me stories when I went to bed about great vampires who devoured entire villages.
"They exist. I know it, I have fought one in my youth. An old one, a powerful one. He almost slew me, my silver longsword saved me from certain death. Silver, is one of the things that affect vampires. Regular iron or even steel only scratch the surface of their tough hide." Marshall Daron said, showing honesty in his words.
"That's were you got that scar on your cheek from?" I asked.
"No, I have that scar since the war of Betony 20 years ago." Marshall Daron said. The war of Betony was a tragic war fought over a small island. The King of Sentinel, Camaron, died in that war and his queen, Akorithi, took over.
"You fought in the war of Betony?" I asked, pretty amazed of what I heard.
"Yes, and fought well I did against those wicked Bretons. I gained this scar from Lord Bridwell, the man who slew King Camaron." Marshall Daron said.
"Wasn't Lord Bridwell a legendary warrior of Daggerfall? How did you survive?" I inquired.
"I was rather lucky, that man was the best warrior I ever fought. His battle axe fell hard and his plate was thick. I managed to strike him a number of times, but his plate armour deflected most of my blows with ease. He swinged his axe in a wide arc and I tried to dodge the blow, he managed to scratch my left cheek. The blow itself left me unballanced so I tripped and fell. Before Lord Bridwell could finish me a wall of fog enveloped the battlefield and I got the chance to escape. A lucky escape at that. But I was young back then, now I'm old and slow." Marshall Daron said, again weaving a tale among his words.
"You're not old Marshall! You fought like an animal in the palace and slew a few Crowns yourself." I said, trying to bolster his confidence.
"You're not too bad yourself Arthago, you took down 3 Crowns all by yourself back there." Marshall Daron said trying to do the same.

Before we could continue our conversation one of the Knights who was with us spotted a cavern in which we could rest for the night. We made our way towards it and set camp inside. I didn't have any nightmares during the night nor any dreams. I just closed my eyes at night and opened them in the morning. Next morning we continued our journey towards Sentinel. We reached it late at night. I was making my way across to the "Hunding's Rest" inn to get some sleep when a man approached me.
"The King wants to see you." the mysterious man said.
"At this time of night? Can't he wait until morning?" I said in a rude voice.
"Wait for you? He's a king! Move your butt over to the palace!" the man said. It was clear to me, he was some servant. I made my way to the Palace to see what the King wanted. If he had another quest that took me to the other end of the kingdom I swear I would tell him to do it himself. Still I found the King in the hall at the top level of the palace, looking out the window. Marshall Daron was there too. A great, a new mission. I don't know what he saw though, it was night outside.
"I'm here your Majesty." I simply said. I was pretty tired and not up for long conversations.
"Welcome back Arthago! I hear you solved the Crown problem in Verkath. For all your efforts and your actions done in service of the kingdom I proclaim you Knight Brother of the Candle. And as a gift for your loyalty to Sentinel I give you this!" The King gestured towards a suit of steel armour fit for a true knight.
"Thank you your Majesty, I don't know what to say. It has been an honour for me to serve the kingdom and your Highness. You have my blade for as long as you rule, my King." I said in a humble voice.
"And what do you think of the armour my knight?" the King asked. It was great to have the King adress me as 'my knight'. It gave me a feeling of power.
"The armour is wonderful your Majesty, but I don't really have need for it. My armour is lighter anyway and I can't really run in steel armour." I said. Steel really hampered my movements, and if there was something that I liked it was beeing able to dodge my oponents with ease.
"Ah, but it isn't normal steel Arthago. Marshal Daron told me of your preffered fighting style. He told me that you liked to be mobile and more agile than your oponents. So, I give you this! Steel of a special essence, forged especially for you. It's much lighter than average steel but it offers the same overall protection. You can even stand in your hands while wearing this armour, that's the mobility it offers. It's yours Arthago, you have earned it." the King said. So it was special armour eh? Well that changes it all.
"That changes it all my King, I will be proud to wear this armour and do your biding in it." I said.
"I am glad. You may now leave if you are tired Arthago. Come back tomorrow to pick up your new armour. Good night." The King said.
"Farewell my King!" I said.

After that I made my way back to the inn to get a good night's sleep. I was anxious to equip my new armour early next day and get a feel for it.


~~~
That's it for this update folks! I hope you've liked it and thanks for the support shown thus far.

[jack cloudy]

Great update. Some more history on the old knight is always a good thing. Not to mention that a suit of unique armour always get's me interested. (Cause I am a collector! I shoul've made that my class in Morrowind. )

And yes, your story is in my opinion worthy of being on the main site.
Carry on.

[minque]

Good work Griffie! And you really put a lot of effort in it, updating so frequently! Keep it up, I´m reading it but I have no chance replying to each udate..they´re coming up too fast for me but don´t let that stop you, I´ll comment when I can ok?

Have a milanius..cheers!

[Agent Griff]

So, what do I have to do to get it on the Main Page Minque? Good thing you liked it though.

~~~
I got up early next morning, exactly when the sun started rising. I was anxious to try on my new armour which I had worked very hard for. All my previous duties as a knight in service of the Kingdom all built up to this moment, and it felt good to know that I had worked hard for a suit of armour made especially for me. I put on my usual clothes and went downstairs. The innkeeper awaited me there.
"You have a delivery outside Arthago. A big wooden crate, don't know where it's from though." the innkeeper said in a tired voice. It was very early in the morning so I could understand her.
"Thanks for noticing me of the delivery Rithleen, here's a tip!" I said as I threw her a small bag with 20 drakes inside.
"If only I could receive deliveries like that everyday." Rithleen slowly mumbled to herself.

I made my way outside and saw a big box with the word "Arthago" inscribed on its side. I decided to open it to see what was inside. Just what I expected, my suit of steel armour! How thoughtful of King Lhotun to send the armour to my very own doorstep. It was of fine crafting, very light and smooth around the edges. Just the thing for agile movements. I took the crate up to my room where I unpacked the armour. It was truly a marvel. I fitted the breastplate on. It was pure delight, it fitted just like a second layer of skin and I didn't feel at all encumbered by it. I then fitted the gauntlets, they were like fine silk gloves on my hands allowing me to move even my fingers at will. The pauldrons then followed, they were like the sleeves of a shirt and allowed me to move my joints at will. The boots and the greaves were last, they were just like the others. This armour was just what any warrior could want, versatile, strong and not encumbering. Light enough for a skirmisher and strong enough for a knight. Perfect combination. There was no helmet though, so if I got hit in the head I would be out cold, or even worse, dead.

I rested the next few days and did various activities. Tried my hand at cooking something, tried fixing dents in my old armour using a repair hammer, tried standing in my hands while wearing my new armour and went to the local Arena to see what it was about. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a fast learner but that damn cooking almost got my inn room burned down. I should note never to try and cook again.

Repairing my old armour using the repair hammer was pretty easy once you got the hang of it, at first it was hard not to damage the armour even more.

Standing in my hands while wearing my armour was hard at first, I tried to do it whitout any form of balance so I fell down alot. I then tried doing it while balancing myself with the wall of my room, that worked much better. The last pace was actually standing in my hands while wearing the armour whitout any form of balance. After a few tries I got the hang of it and succesfully became a heavily-armoured acrobat.

Going to the Arena was the easiest thing to do, it was near the inn and you had free entrance on Sundas. I went in and found myself a seat, a large circle of sand stretched in front of me much like the Arena in which I fought and defeated Raccan. Two fighters made their way out of the interior of the building. One was armed with a wooden claymore, the other with a wooden sword and a wooden shield. Fighting in the Arena with wooden weapons seemed easy to me, what could happen? The other guy beats you to death with a stick? I should compete one day to see if I had what it took to fight with sticks like small children. The two oponents approached eachother, raising their weapons to prepare for combat. The one with the shield started running towards the one with the claymore and they clashed. Since the one with the claymore didn't have something to protect him like a shied he did a very surprising move. When the one with the shield was very close to him, he lowered his head to the ground and started running forwards. He headbutted the one with the shield in the stomach then quickly raised his head to take the one with the shield on his back. Seconds later the one with shield was standing on the ground with a seriously wounded stomach and a big wooden claymore at his throat. It seems we had a new winner. I did good and learned this tactic, it may help me in the future.

After the fight I was on my way to my inn room when I was again approached by that man who was the King's messenger.
"The King wants you in the throne room,now." the messenger said in a rude voice.
"If only you were as polite as the man you serve." I slowly mumbled to myself.
"Get a move on!" the messenger said as he left towards the Great Marketplace.
After my small chat with the messenger I made my way towards the palace. The guards already knew me so my Order seal was kept at home. I found the King in his throne room, dressed in his comfortable clothes, not the heavy robes he wore on ceremony.
"Greetings Arthago, I hope the rest period was well enjoyed." the King said.
"Aye, it was Sire. What do you wish of me my King?" I asked in a knightly voice.
"I will soon depart for Daggerfall. I have made it a well established thing to have a yearly journey to the kingdom of King Gothryd to visit my older sister, Gothryd's wife, Queen Aubk-i. I wish you to come with me in my visit for protection and company. We leave tomorrow so pack your things." the King said.
"I will do just that Sire, farewell!" I said as I left the throne room after a ceremonial bow to the King.

Great, I was now ready to begin a journey to the kingdom of Daggerfall, great kingdom of the Bretons. I had heard it was a great city, with almost 200 000 inhabitants. Maybe I could even meet the legendary Lord Bridwell, slayer of Kings and scion of armies, who was the best Breton warrrior and general there ever was.


~~~
And with that I end this update. I hope you liked it, stay tuned for more!

This post has been edited by Agent Griff: Apr 2 2006, 09:59 AM

[Tellie]

Yeah...more arthago...*celebrates*...here have a Tellie, a jona, and a milanius.

The update was exellent, and you continue to impress us....

But to get your story to the main page, well thats Alex desicion, but if he wants it on the front page, you just havce to hope you get a PM from him, where he asks if he can put it on the front page.

I'm still hopingmine's gonna come there, but I need to fix most of the grammar issues at first, at least in the first two chapters, but I'm still hoping.

Thanks for the update my friend.

[Agent Griff]

I wish you luck Tellie to get what you want. Although I'm gonna burst your bubble a little here telling you that there are alot of Morrowind stories around. Taillus has brought something fresh to his story so he's getting the privilege of having his fine story on the main site. I hope I'll get that privilege too since I'm doing something rather unique here. Here's the next update anyway!


~~~
I woke up early next day, right after the sun rose. I had an apointment with the King so I had to be punctual. This was the first time I was travelling by boat somewhere and the whole notion of visiting Daggerfall made me very happy. I equiped my new steel armour and hung my scabbard to my belt. I was ready to leave for Daggerfall! I went downstairs and greeted Rithleen, the innkeeper, who was just waking up from a night of alcohol and partying. I ran out then made my way to the city docks.

The docks had alot of colourful characters running around, from drunk sailors to dangerous smugglers, it had it all. They were separated from the city by a big gate and stretched along the great beach of Sentinel filled with its fine golden sands. Buildings were built along the water's edge: inns for weary travellers who didn't have enough money to stay in one of the more expensive inns, brothels where sailors could go to satisfy their human needs, taverns where sailors could also go and get drunk and alot of other establishments like warehouses and the like.

I saw the King and his entourage near a fine galleon called the "Flaming Saber", a good name for a pirate ship if you asked me. Next to the King sat a Redguard man with a large beard, black like ebony, and a sabber at his side. He was probably the captain of the ship because all the other shipmates followed him around. The King was also surrounded by his ussual guards, all knights from the Order, and 2 other men wearing noble clothing, probably advisors or councilors to the King. I approached the King.
"Ah, good to see you Arthago. We were waiting for you." the King said, while covering his eyes because of the morning sun.
"I'm sorry I was late Sire, it won't happen again." I humbly said while looking down. If there was ever a problem I had it was looking people in the eyes, I just couldn't do it for a long time.
"Come aboard lads!" the Redguard man with the black beard shouted.
"By the way, that's captain Thassad. He's the leader of this fine ship, act with respect around him and you shall receive it in kind." the King said.
"I shall do that. Let's get aboard shall we?" I said, making way for the King.

In a few moments we were already off to Daggerfall. A good wind gave the ship great speed. The wind lasted up until noon, it then started to slowly fade away. At that moment captain Thassad started cursing. He was sure a moody guy. He had a motley crew composed of just about every race present in Tamriel: 3 Argonians cooked the food which fed the crew, 3 Redguards handled the mast and the sails, 2 Redguards took care that everyone did their job, 1 Bosmer was the ship's spotter who looked out for land or other ships, 1 Khajiit took care of any pests like rats, 1 Altmer was the healer who handled wounds and such and finally there was a tall Dunmer who acted as a bodyguard for the Captain.

The Crew members had pretty complex relations with eachother. The Redguards ussualy stayed together, entertaining one and other with fun tales or jokes. The Bosmer and the Khajiti were constantly bickering with eachother, the Bosmer was ussualy calling the Khajiit names like "rat muncher" or "fat cat" and the Khajiit was always calling the Bosmer names in kind like "mosquito" or "tiny eyes". The Argonians ussualy stayed bellow decks and cooked food but whenever they came out they refused to serve the Dunmer who always called them by the name "Slave" which the Argonians didn't like. Finally the Altmer and the Dunmer never could stand eachother and were always arguing over heritage, race or religion. The Dunmer was always spewing out words like Almsivi or Vechk. Strange really. The one thing that held them all together was the captain, Thassad, who was an honorable but frightening man.

It was getting late so I decided to head bellow deck to my quarters. I wonder what they look like? I've never sleeped in a moving room before so this should be quite an experience. My quarters were between the Khajiit's quarters and the Bosmer's quarters, oh great. I could hear the Bosmer snore and the Khajiit meow. What more could I ask? When I stepped inside it was rather pleasant. A nice bed in the corner and a small round window which was close to the water. The room also had a small table and a chest for personal belongings. Just the place to leave my armour. I left my sword on the tabble. I then laid down on the bed to try and sleep.

I almost fell asleep when I suddenly heard a noise in the Khajiit's room.
"Ah, there you are little mouse! Hmm, you have little Bosmer eyes. You go in mouth now!" the Khajiit said as he was jumping around his room.
"Shut up, some people are trying to sleep!" I shouted. The noise imediately stopped and I resumed resting.
"You did good Redguard." a voice came from the Bosmer's room.
"Umm, thank you?" I said, not knowing what exactly to say.
"You put that cat in its place, it's always making alot of commotion. I consider you my friend for that Redguard." the Bosmer said in his squeaky voice which didn't let me sleep.
"Okay thanks, now can you let me sleep?" I asked in an angry tone. The Bosmer was really starting to get on my nerves with his voice.
"Alright." the Bosmer said in a sad little voice.
I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep. Suddenly I heard the Bosmer again.
"So, where are you from?" the Bosmer asked.
"Vulnim Gate, now leave me alone okay? We can talk in the morning!" I said in an even angrier voice to put the little Bosmer in his place.
I then went asleep.

I woke up when I heard some commotion around my room. The Khajiit was probably catching rats again. I looked around and was shocked too see something. My scimitar wasn't on the tabble anymore, someone had took it. But who could do that? I slowly woke out of bed and went outside on the hallway. All was quiet so what could have happened? I decided to check out the Bosmer's room. It was empty and the bed sheets were rather tore up. I decided to go top deck to see what was going on. I found the crew all rounded up near the mast of the ship. In front of them were 3 men who were pointing their sabers towards the crew. The King and his councillors were also rounded up near the steering wheel of the ship. One of the 3 men who were obviously pirates saw me.
"How did this dog get up ere'?" the pirate asked.
"A threatening man then came up from behind me. He had an eye patch on his left eye which was probably gauged out.
"And who do we have ere'? A little Redguard from Sentinel is it? Men, do you know who we have ere'?" the man who was probably the captain of the pirates asked.
"Some dog who's waiting to be thrown to the slaughterfish?" a pirate asked.
"No you idiot! We have the King of Sentinel and his men! We can get a gigantic ransom off of em'! Get the King and his men bellow deck and kill the crew!" the pirate captain shouted out.

I was then taken together with King Lhotun and his 2 advisors bellow decks by a pirate. We were locked in my room and the pirate then made his way top deck to exterminate the crew. We were doomed. It was only a while until the pirates would figure out that I was just a knight and not worth anything. When they figured that out they would probably kill me or even worse. The King looked remarkably calm though, as if he knew we were going to escape.
"Why are you so calm Sire?" I asked in a pretty desperate voice.
"Because I know we will escape safely from this." The King calmly said. Yeah right, at least he together with his advisors would escape. Who would pay ransom for me? Before I could think about it I heard a bang on the door. Then another one. Then another one. Finally the door fell down and I saw captain Thassad, saber in hand, with a dead pirate at his feet.
"Good to see you captain. What took you so long?" the King asked as if it was a trivial matter.
"They tried to tie me up Sire. Come upstairs, please!" captain Thassad calmly said.

Upstairs we found all the pirates dead and their captain hung to the sails.
"He should fetch a good price back in Sentinel, he's probably wanted by all the guards on the Coast cities." captain Thassad said as if he was selling a common object and not a man.
"How in Satakal's name did you defeat those pirates so easily captain?" I asked, with a tone of amazement in my voice.
"We are privateers after all lad. We know how to defend ourselves." captain Thassad simply said. Beeing a privateer was another way to say you were a pirate who worked for the highest bidder.
"Why didn't you tell me you hired pirates Sire?" I asked the King in an amazed voice.
"I didn't see it as an important detail." the King simply said to my amazement. So it seemed King Lhotun still had a few tricks in him to avoid his enemies.
We were going to reach Daggerfall soon...


~~~
This is it for this very long update. I hope you'll enjoy it. It has a flair of pirate adventure to it.

This post has been edited by Agent Griff: Apr 2 2006, 08:10 PM

[jack cloudy]

Nice update. I loved your description of the pirate crew. And the part in which Arthago tries to sleep.

[treydog]

Plenty of reading goodness here- you do a fine job of working in Arthago's "skills training" in such a way that it makes sense to the plot. He is an excellent character- complex and compelling.

[Agent Griff]

Here's the latest update in my "epic" story. Well, it's not quite epic now, but later you'll see.


~~~
Shortly after the scuffle with those wretched pirates, the port of Daggerfall was in sight. It was truly a great city, stretching out as long as the eye could see. On a grasy hill, the castle from which old King Gothryd ruled was in sight. His reign was troubled at first by the haunting of Daggerfall. A marauding army of ghouls and wrestless spirits wandered the streets at night. The problem was solved by a mysterious agent who was rumoured to be sent by Uriel Septim the VII himself. Still, the city was now a peaceful and prosperous place, the capital of one of the greatest Breton Kingdoms. From what I read of recent conflicts it seemed Daggerfall never got along pretty well with its neighbor, the merchant Kingdom of Wayrest ruled by Queen Elysana. But all of these conflicts were none of my concerns. My concerns were to watch over the King who had lost almost all of his guards in the pirate attack.

After the ship landed we left Captain Thassad to tend to his men who were quite a wrestless bunch. They would wait for our return to take us back to Sentinel a few days later. We made our way to Castle Daggerfall where King Gothryd and King Lhotun's sister, Queen Aubk-i, waited for us. King Lhotun had 3 other siblings, 2 brothers and 1 sister. The 2 brothers were Prince Greklith and the ill-fated Prince Arthago, with which I shared my name, together with their older sister, Princess Aubk-i. The last one was sent to Daggerfall as spoils of war after the War of Betony where their father, King Camaron died. At first Queen Aubk-i had a precarious relationship with King Gothryd, but after some time they started loving and caring for eachother. The Bretons, wicked snakes they are, never liked our Redguard Queen. Truth be said, the Bretons have never apreciated us Redguards for our skills. Neither have we apreciated them for their feeble magic skills. The feeling is mutual, so to say.

We soon reached Castle Daggerfall under the veil of the noon sun which reflected itself on my armour. The Breton guards all made way to the colourful Redguard envoy. At the top of the stairs leading to the Castle we found King Gothryd with Queen Aubk-i beside him. They were both quite happy to see King Lhotun return to Daggerfall after last year's visit. After formally greeting eachother the rulers entered the great hall of Castle Daggerfall for a feast in our honour. The food was all Breton and I hated it! I tried not to be rude by not eating so I took the food and threw it under the great table to make it seem as if I was eating. The table was full with Breton nobility, up-stuck men who spoke in funny accents and dressed funny. The only Redguards there were King Lhotun, the 2 advisors that King Lhotun had with him, Queen Aubk-i and myself. After the meal, King Gothryd summoned King Lhotun to his chambers. Since the King quite trusted me he took me along.

Gothryd had luxurious chambers compared to what I had seen before, a lavish bookshelf filled to the brim with rare books wrapped in fine leather covers, a double bed made of fine wood and a suit of royal armour bearing the sign of Daggerfall, the Dragon. Gothryd seemed pretty uneasy with me there but King Lhotun soon calmed him.
"Ah, um you didn't tell me you were bringing him along." King Gothryd said, unsure of himself.
"Nothing to worry about my friend. What is it that bothers you?" King Lhotun calmly asked, not being bothered by me one bit.
"Well, I'm, um, unsure of one of my vassal's loyalties." King Gothryd said still stuttering.
"Lord Bridwell I presume?" King Lhotun said in a wise voice. Lord Bridwell, even though he was old, was still a power in the Kingdom of Daggerfall. Alot of men respected him and he had alot of regional Lords and Counts of Daggerfall on his side.
"Yes, Lord Bridwell. Ever since my father died he had one eye on the throne. He even wanted to take over the Kingdom 10 years ago! Can you help me my ally?" King Gothryd asked, gaining confidence and being less bothered by my presence.
"You want to hear the easiest solution to this problem?" King Lhotun said.
"Well, yes. That's why I called you here." King Gothryd said.
"Kill him." King Lhotun simply said in a calm voice as if he wasn't talking about a man's life.
"Kill him? But he is a great military leader and he has alot of soldiers in his lands!" King Gothryd said, protecting his vassal.
"Many soldiers? To kill you perhaps. He is too dangerous to keep around and I'm sure he can be replaced. To show you how easy this is, I'll send my bodyguard to slay him." King Lhotun said, slowing his voice when he reached the final phrase. Wait a minute! His personal bodyguard? But that's me! He wants me to go and kill the best Breton warrior there ever lived?
"Umm, I think you are beeing kind of rash Sire." I said in a scared voice. Facing Lord Bridwell was a scary idea.
"Nonsense! Where's your courage Arthago? He's just an old man, do you think he still has the fighting instinct in him?" King Lhotun said, giving me confidence. He was telling the truth, who knows when Lord Bridwell last fought and enemy?
"Great! I'll arange transport to his estate at once!" King Gothryd said, glad he wasn't risking his men. If Lord Bridwell did defeat me, King Gothryd could say that the Redguards in Sentinel did it. King Lhotun either wanted a war with Daggerfall desperately either he had absolute trust in my skills. I think it was the first.

With that done, I was ready to board a carriage that would take me to Bridwell Hall, a few miles out of Daggerfall. I soon made my way to the East Gate where the carriage awaited me. I soon boarded and was on my way to Lord Bridwell. Great, I was on the way to my certain death. What the hell was I thinking when I accepted that offer? I couldn't back off now, I had to do it. King Gothryd didn't even give me a pretext for why I was there! What should I say if Lord Bridwell asked me why I was there? That the King wanted me to kill him after some small talk? I was certainly doomed...

~~~
This is the end of this more boring chapter when compared to the others. I hope you've enjoyed it thus far.

[jack cloudy]

Ay, I'll never understand people who follow a king. I wonder how Arthago gets himself out of this mess.
Great update.

[Agent Griff]

Here's the latest update! 9/10 dentists recommend it!


~~~
Soon enough, Bridwell's private estate was looming in front of me. Placed on top of a hill with tall spires and towers surrounding it, it looked more like a fortress than an estate. The main building was a tall keep, it was Bridwell Hall aparently. I made my way inside to meet Lord Bridwell himself. The guard at the entrance of the estate did ask me what my bussines with Lord Bridwell was. What better to say than that I bring word from King Gothryd? The guard let me in at once. The inside of the estate was pretty stark, a few tapestries here and there and alot of throphies on the walls. The walls themselves were pretty cracked up for the house of a great noble. Lord Bridwell was in his training chambers, the guard said. Good enough, that rules out one of the reasons this battle would be easy. The man seemed to practice daily with various weapons and armour as far as I had heard.

I found him in the training room wearing steel armour on his lower side and on his right hand, the rest of his body was unarmoured. He had a one bladed steel battle axe at his feet. In his current condition he was perfectly ready for battle. Just my luck. I approached Lord Bridwell.
"What is your bussines at Bridwell hall, Redguard?" Lord Bridwell bluntly asked.
"I bring news from the King." I simply said to Lord Bridwell. If he asked me what news I would have to think instantly of what to say.
"What news Redguard?" Lord Bridwell asked. Just as I had feared. What to say? Um, Daggerfall wasn't in good relations with Wayrest, that was it! Wayrest was invading!
"Um, Wayrest is invading near here!" I sharply said.
"That's not why you're here Redguard. Why are you really here?" Lord Bridwell asked. He wasn't just a great warrior, he was a good judge of character.
"I already told you my Lord. Queen Elysana's forces are invading in the nearby region. Orsinium's forces are helping them!" I said, sprouting up things on the fly. Lord Bridwell however was catching up to me.
"Tell me why you really are here and I will spare my dungeon master the pain to torture the information out of you." Lord Bridwell bluntly said. Now torture wasn't a pleasant notion.
"I confess! I am here to chalenge you to a duel my Lord." I boldly said.
"You? Here to duel me? This shall give me an oportunity to practice some of my skills with the longsword. I am bored of the battleaxe. I want to try something new! This duel shall be to the death aye?" Lord Bridwell said, his eyes sparking with joy.
"Is there a choice?" I asked.
"No. If I win you die." Lord Bridwell bluntly said.
"Then what are we waiting for? Should we commence?" I asked, with a slight tear in my eye. This man was going to snap my head like a twig after he was done with me. I did see one weakness in him, overconfidence. He was bored of taking lives with the battleaxe so he chose something new, with which he didn't actually have combat experience. He also had one more weakness, almost all the upper side of his body was unarmoured. With this knowledge in mind, the duel commenced.

In front of me stood the flamboyant Lord Bridwell, his eyes sparkling with joy at the idea that he was going to claim another life. I stood my ground, scared to move against this awesome foe. He decided to approach me instead. With his sword raised high above his head he approached me with sure steps. The Eagle guard, that tactic was called. I didn't like it, it left too much of the body exposed. He started his assault with an overhead swing of his blade. After a few inches he imediately changed the direction and turned the strike into a diagonal slash which would have sliced my neck. I knew this move and quickly parried across my neck. That move saved my life.
"So you have some skill do you boy?" Lord Bridwell arrogantly asked.
"Either that or you're getting old." I also said in an arrogant voice.
"You shall pay for mocking me. Defend yourself!" Lord Bridwell shouted with anger in his voice. He then came at me with his sword slashing down on me in all directions, diagonally, horrizontally and vertically. I dodged what strikes I could and parried what others I couldn't. After that storm of moves, Lord Bridwell was showing signs of being tired. I started making my moves. I started my counter-attack with a bluff attack to his right hand. He reacted slightly and only moved his sword a little. I decided to go on with the bluff and turn my scimitar the other side. He was waiting for the move and quickly deflected my strike. After that he thrusted his sword in the direction of my chest. I just barely deflected his sword then kicked him back.

"You are really getting on my nerves boy!" Lord Bridwell shouted.
He then came at with a horizontal strike to my left arm. I parried out of reflex but before I could counter-attack he punched in the face with his armoured left fist. The punch left me vulnerable so he continued with an overhead slash to my head. I quickly jumped to the side to avoid his blade then rolled to a safer position where I quickly got up.
"So you think yourself an acrobat do you?" Lord Bridwell asked.
"Maybe you're just getting slower with age." I asked, hitting on what he disliked, his advanced age. That got him angrier.
He once again tried a bluffed vertical strike where he actually swung diagonally but I already knew the move and did what he didn't expect. I raised my scimitar as if I was going to parry his vertical strike then quickly ducked when he started his diagonal swing. I then started to run with my head down and head-butt his stomach as I saw in the Arena back in Sentinel. That left him unbalanced so I took advantage of this to kick him in the face with my armoured boot. As a result of the strike he dropped his sword and fell down. I approached him.

The mighty Lord Bridwell was down at my feet. I felt as if I was king of the world now. The slayer of King Camaron was now at my feet. I had avenged our former King! What brought Lord Bridwell's downfall was the fact that he was stubborn to use a sword instead of his trusty battleaxe. He also got angrier and that didn't let him think properly.
"It seems age has finally caught up with you my Lord." I arrogantly said.
"Just stop mocking me and take my life already. I can't live disgraced like this." Lord Bridwell said with small tears in his eyes.
"This is for King Camaron and all the other murders you commited throughout your long life. Take place among the men you have killed now. Begone!" I shouted as I thrusted my sword through Lord Bridwell's dirty heart. A problem had now dissapeared. Only Lord Vhosek was left to be dealt with...


~~~
And that's it! I hope you liked the battle and I hope it wasn't too one-sided.

[jack cloudy]

Great update. Arthago sure has come a long way.

[Taillus]

Way to go Arthago! Very impressed. What a great battle too. I wonder what would have happened if he went with an axe instead?

[Agent Griff]

Sorry for not updating sooner but a couple of tests and a mad teacher got into the way. Here's the latest part of the story anyway!


~~~
After my incredible luck with Lord Bridwell I took a carriage back to Daggerfall to anounce my succes to the King. King Lhotun was happy to hear that I had managed to defeat Bridwell and a feeling of pride could be seen on his face. He then looked at King Gothryd kind of saying: "yeah, my knight was all over your contender, don't mess with us!".
"That's wonderful news Arthago! As a sign of my happiness I offer you this gift of 25 000 drakes from the royal coffers." King Gothryd said in a jovial voice. 25 000 drakes! That was enough to buy my own house in Sentinel and finally get over that dirty inn room!
"Wonderful news indeed. How did you manage Arthago?" King Lhotun asked, subtly telling me to exagerate with his body language.
"It wasn't really that hard. He came at, in all his arrogance, with all of his best strikes. He never managed to hit me though. He even used his trusty axe but I still managed to easily defeat him. That shows Sentinel's power." I said, being creative with my victory which was in all actuality the hardest battle I had ever fought.
"You see Gothryd? It wasn't that hard. Next time when you have problems that you can't handle don't hesitate to anounce me." King Lhotun said in an ironic voice.
"Yes Lhotun. Um, when will you be leaving?" King Gothryd asked.
"Now that my favour to you is done, I will take my leave of you. Farewell!" King Lhotun simply said while making his way to the door. I quickly followed.

We were soon at the docks, embarking on captain Thassad's ship. The crew bowed to King Lhotun once he was on deck. Since the sun was setting and night was closing in King Lhotun made his way below decks. I decided to stay a little outside and share a drink with the Redguard ship mates. They were a pretty jovial bunch.
"So, how was it with Bridwell?" one of the Redguards bluntly asked me. News seemed to travel fast in Daggerfall.
"Bridwell? How would you know of that?" I asked in a confused voice.
"I'm sleeping with the lady that cleans King Gothryd's chambers. She overheard the disscusion our King was having with old Gothryd. You did him good eh?" The pirate asked in a very vulgar way.
"Well yes, I did him good as you say. The battle was very hard though and I almost died after he punched me in the face with his armoured gauntlet." I said, trying to tell the pirates of my succes with Bridwell.
"Sounds nice. Ain't you going to sleep? It's getting late Arthie." the pirate said, calling me by some strange nickname. He was getting drunk fast.
"Arthie? Where did you learn my name?" I asked once again.
"The Bosmer that's sleeping in the room next to you says you talk in yer sleep." the pirate said in his slurry voice.
"I understand. But can you keep it to Arthago? I like it that way." I simply said.
"Aye Thaggie." the pirate said, his voice smelling of ale.
"What's goin' on here boys? Are you treating our guest with the respect he deserves? He did slay Bridwell afterall." Captain Thassad said, entering the disscusion.
"I see news travells fast in these parts." I said, being bewildered by the knowledge these simple pirates had when it came to affairs of state.
"Well, I'm sleeping with the lady that cleans King Gothryd's chambers and she overheard everything." Captain Thassad said.
"That dirty tramp!" the drunken pirate said with an annoyed voice.
"What did you say you drunken dog?" Captain Thassad said in an angry voice.
"Nothing captain! Nothing at all!" the pirate said after the captain sobered him up with some plain old fear.
I decided to leave the pirates to their arguments and head bellow decks for some well deserved sleep. The Wood Elf and the Khajiit were quiet for once and I was allowed a good night's sleep.

I woke up next morning and went on the decks. I was amazed at what I saw on the horizon in front of the ship. The King followed me.
"What is it? Why are you all looking at the horizon?" the King said while he was washing his face.
"Look for yourself your Highness." Captain Thassad simply said.
"Is that Sentinel?" the King asked in an amazed voice.
"I'm afraid it is Sire." the Captain simply said.
Smoke was rising high in the sky over Sentinel and flames were raging all over the city. Someone had attacked while the King was away from the city but who was the agressor? A good wind quickly took us close to the harbour. Most of the buildings on the side of the water were reduced to piles of burning wood and only one pier still stood over the water. A few soldiers were near the water, catching their breath. We docked the ship near them and showed them that we carried the King's coat of arms. I approached one of the soldiers with the King beside me.
"What happened here soldier?" I asked at the tired soldier.
"Lord Vhosek attacked the city whilst your Majesty was away in Daggerfall." the shaken soldier simply said.
"How did he do that?" the King then asked.
"He came inside the city with a small retinue of men. He was looking for your Highness. He was told that your Highness was away so he started waiting for your Majesty to arrive. Once night came, his men opened the gates to a much larger force waiting outside the city walls. Our tower guards quickly took control of the gate and trapped Vhosek's forces inside the city. They are now holding their ground in the middle of the city, between the great market and the docks." the soldier said, gathering his words.
"Right in my palace." the King added.
"Yes your Majesty. Lord Vhosek conquered the palace and transformed it into a stronghold from where he directs his forces. They are trapped however and curently under siege. Me and my men were just preparing to join a greater force and assault the gate leading out of the harbour inside the city." the soldier said.
"We will join you. Captain Thassad, are you and your men with me?" the King shouted as he was bolstering those poor soldier's morale.
"To the death!" Thassad shouted back to the King as he and his men jumped onto the pier.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get Vhosek off my throne!" the King said as he let the soldier lead the way.
A great battle was about to begin, and I was right in the middle of it...

~~~
That's it for this update. I promise alot of action for the next one. This chapter is close to ending anyway so stay tuned!

This post has been edited by Agent Griff: Apr 9 2006, 05:01 PM

[Tellie]

Ahh....more Arthago....nice. Sorry for no commenting in a while....but I have read it, thats for sure. As normal you managed to write extremely good updates, so please dont stop now.

as for the second chapter, I loved it greatly, so it was a good ending on chapter 2....so please accept a jona award....you have earned it.

[Agent Griff]

Oops! I meant update! This chapter will end after 2 more updates anyway so don't worry. So foolish of me. I'll edit it right away!

[Tellie]

Oh Ok...thats fine.....we want MORE Arthago....so dont worry, we'll manage...

[Agent Griff]

I've just played Oblivion a little and that got me really excited. So excited that I've decided to write this update to my story. Enjoy!


~~~
We soon met a larger host of about 30 men. They hailed the King in a low voice to show their loyalty in him. They were quiet because Vhosek's men were about and they could raise the alarm any moment.
"Alright men, the gate is up ahead at the end of this street. We'll form the shield wall to block their arrows and then we'll take up the ram to open the gates to the city. The King and his men will stand at the middle of the shield wall. Understood?" the soldier captain said after repeating the tactics to his men.
"My men won't need to stand in the shield wall. We'll go our own way through those ruined buildings." Captain Thassad said. His men could handle themselves fine enough if you asked me.
"Good enough. Let's go!" the soldier captain said as he led his men to the gate.
Soon enough they formed a compact wall with their shields which blocked any arrows fired by Vhosek's archers who were standing on the walls. I was huddled with the King right at the middle. The formation was good for blocking separate arrows but when Vhosek's archers fired coordinated volleys a few men died. Captain Thassad's men were handling themselves much better through the burning buildings, arrows barely made it to them. When they got close to the walls, the Wood Elf showed his skill with a bow. He started firing a hail of arrows all by himself. Vhosek's archers found themselves in a weak position so they took cover.
"Ah, good to see you captain!" the King said as the soldiers who were with us took up a battering ram which was at the base of the gate.
"Wait there, we're coming to you!" Captain Thassad said as he led his men out of the ruins.
Since some of the soldiers were wounded from the arrow volleys I decided to help the men pushing the battering ram. With my help the gates were breached soon enough.

In front of us we saw a horrible sight. A host of men bearing the Moon of Lord Vhosek on their chests were charging at us. We had to fight them so the men raised their shields and formed a loose wall to greet the enemy with. I ran behind a soldier with a shield and decided to hold his back.

After a few moments all hell broke loose and men were being slain worser than at Verkath. The soldier whom I was hiding behind soon died, pierced by a spear. A man then came at me with his axe raised high. I quickly stabbed him in the stomach then pushed him into one of his comrades whom I also slashed over the neck leaving him to die. One with a spear then came towards me after slaying a soldier who was on my side. He thrust his spear towards my chest but I deflected his thrust then backed off. He was too far away for any maneuvre. He started approaching me with his spear at the ready but before he could thrust it at me he fell, slain by the Wood Elf's bow. I thanked him then moved my atention towards another man who charged me carrying a steel mace in his hands. His first blow was slow so I ducked to evade it, he then tried an overhead strike that would dispatch me but I rolled to the left. I rolled into the feet of another enemy and knocked him down. I quickly got up then thrusted my sword hard into his neck. The one with the mace was still coming at me and I didn't have anywhere to run. Before he could hit me with his mace someone thrusted a spear through his chest. I looked behind me and I saw King Lhotun.
"I didn't know you had it in you your Majesty." I quickly said while drawing my breath.
"I like to train with weapons in my free time. I can afford the best trainers anyway." the King said, doing the same.
"It seems the battle is over." I slowly said as I saw Vhosek's men either dying on the ground or running for their lives and providing the Wood Elf with target practice.
"Yes. I saw you fight, you fought well. Like a true Redguard! When this is all over, I shall personaly advance you to Commander rank in the Order." the King said as he looked around. Wonderful! Being praised by the King really felt good and made me proud.

After the battle was over the soldiers regrouped. The leader of the soldiers issued a head count of all the men left.
"So how many are there left private?" the leader asked one of the soldiers.
"Only 23 out of the 37 men we had at the start captain." the soldier said to his captain.
"Good enough. I heard about another group of soldiers trapped in the city barracks around here. I'm sure they could use our help. What do you think Sire? Shall we head in the direction of the barracks to gain more men or head directly to the palace?" the captain of the soldiers asked King Lhotun.
"Lord Vhosek isn't going anywhere. I think we can spare some time to go and find reinforcements. Lead the way!" the King simply said.
"As you wish Sire. To the barracks!" the captain shouted as he led our small host of men to the city barracks.

The noon sun shined on the armour of our host as we approached the barracks. The outside was ruined and bodies riddled the streets, Vhosek's men and loyal soldiers alike. I stopped the captain of the soldiers to make a sugestion to him.
"Yes what is it?" the captain asked.
"Wouldn't it be better if only 2 or 3 men went inside the barracks? Who knows what could be in there?" I asked, sugesting a stealthy approach to the situation.
"It sounds like a great idea. Get to it!" the captain said. Wait a moment, did he say that I should do it? Why do people always send me? Isn't there anybody better than me?
"You're sending me?" I asked trying to convince the captain otherwise.
"Yes. Who better? Take whoever you want and get to work soldier." the captain bluntly said as he ordered me around.
"I'm doing this for King Lhotun. If he weren't here I would shove that ordering around bussines right into your face." I boldly said. I was Commander rank in the King's knights wasn't I? I had the right to boss over him not the other way around.
"Watch your tongue boy! Get those damn men and show me how brave you are!" he shouted as we were quickly getting into an argument.
"Just shut up and watch the show." I arrogantly said to the soldier. Now that I thought about it, he didn't actually deserve that behaviour on my side. He was giving everything he had, even his life, for the King. When I returned, if I returned, I should apologize to him.

I quickly took only the Wood Elf to go inside. Since he was the most stealthy guy around I decided to take him. The Khajiit was probably more skilled but I didn't exactly trust beast races, especially the Khajiit. Those felines are the most drugged up creatures I've ever seen. Racism aside, I entered the barracks with my Wood Elf friend....


~~~
That's it for this chapter, Agent Griff signing out!

[Tellie]

hehe....griffe ye slick Romanian...look what you did...i now have to reply again......I did like it though, thanks for updating AGAIN, it was very nice of you.

But well, I guess I shall start on another update as well, since you did this second one....

So good update, exellent chapter, I love this story.