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

[Tellie]

This was again a good update, filled with the exiting Mr.Oven baked stuff that I enjoy so much...thank you

So please dont let it be so long to the next time you update...will you, exellent

[jack cloudy]

No, he's dead! Make those assassins suffer. Great update as usual.

[minque]

Mr Oven.....what can I say that´s not been said already? Ahh I´ll present you with the biggest Serene-award....

[DarkHunter]

Go Kiln! Seriously if I had the time I'd make an emoticon just to show how happy I am after reading this... for now this will do

[Kiln]

Thank you all for your comments, they mean alot.
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I searched the room with my eyes for anything that might point me in the direction of the assassin but there was nothing, no sign of where he might have gone. Quin took a knee beside Oryn and spoke his final words to the corpse of his guard and companion.

"Farewell my friend." He said slowly

A bald man wearing a long brown robe walked up to me and stood silently for a moment before putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Find the assassins my child...and punish them for their ungodly ways." The man said softly

"When they attacked the councilor...they killed my son." he added

"I will avenge his death father...though I have lost their trail." I said quietly

"Start your search in the wine cellar, the old crate in the far eastern corner." He bowed slowly before me and then turned to walk away

I watched him wipe the tears from his eyes and leave the building before I turned to the councilor, the rest of the guards were with him now so I figured he'd be safe with them.

"Councilor, let me end this...let me seek out their leader and kill him." I said

"I wish you luck, for I know that this is something that you must do and that even if I tried, I could not stop you." He replied with a look of approval

"Thank you councilor." I said as I turned quickly to the wine cellar

I made my way to the heavy wooden door leading into the cellar and entered cautiously, unsure of what to expect. The room was rather dark and only a few torches lit the huge space before me, shelves of wine lined the edge of the room, and a large stash of crates stood off towards the eastern corner, just as the priest had told me.

I carefully made my way toward the crates, keeping my eye out for a trap or an ambush. When I felt that it was safe I approached the crates, they looked quite normal but on the top of one was a large black diamond, seemingly burned into the lid.

The crate was sealed so I wedged my dagger in the crack below the lid and gave it a swift pull upward. The crate popped open and I grabbed the top, lifting it off, there was a handle on the bottom of it to pull it back on and inside the crate was a ladder leading deep into the floor.

Great, another passage...

I could see light down below so I slowly climbed down the ladder, securing the lid of the crate above me as I ventured into the lair. The ladder dropped down into a hallway that had been there since the council hall had been built, likely a place for the councilors to take shelter in case of an attack, but had been long forgotten by everyone excluding the black diamonds.

Once I reached the bottom I was enamored by the dull blue glow of the lights around me, seemingly enchanted as there was no visible flame. I shook off the wonder of the lights and contnued deeper inside, eventually emerging from the hallway into a dining area that held four long tables filled with assassins eating their dinner.

The leader of the assassins emerged from his room and held out his arms, calling for silence. Adrenaline pumped through me, I wanted so badly to kill him I could have charged into the middle of the room if I hadn't already weighed the situation in my mind.

"We have failed to achieve our goal once again! We must not let this councilor escape us again, in all the years our order has survived none have made us look so foolish as this one man." He yelled and slammed his fist on the table angrily

The assassins stopped speaking among themselves and gave the leader their full attention, seemingly afraid.

"We make no more mistakes, the next time we attack this councilor, those who fail will answer to me...I grow tired of the incopetence you men have shown of late and things will change if you fail me again..." He said darkly before turning and going back down the hall toward his personal quarters

I stuck to the darkness around the edges of the room, if I was sighted there would be no chance for me to escape...it would be over. I crouched down and slowly made my way down the hall behind the leader, my heart pounded loudly within my chest, begging me to kill him.

It was not time yet though, as I made my way down the hall a corridor formed off to my left. I could hear moaning and cries from down the hall and I made my way there to see what the source of them could be.

I was shocked and sickened by what I saw before me, cells containing battered people on both sides of the hallway and at the end was a table with a man strapped down to it.

A larger man tortured him with a sharp blade as I moved closer. The large man smiled as the other screamed and passed out from the pain. I emerged from the dark hallway into the room beside the large hooded brute and drew my blade quickly.

He was startled and began backing off toward the wall in fear. I stepped forward and stabbed my blade effortlessly into the man's dark heart, ending his reign of terror before taking the keys from his belt as he fell to the floor.

As I turned I saw the man on the table more clearly, I froze in horror as I saw his face, it was my father. He laid there bloody, beaten, and unconscious but thankfully he was still alive. I unlocked the braces holding him to the table and slowly lifted him off and onto my shoulder.

I walked back down the hall a ways and sat him down with his back to the wall near the cells and left him there for the moment.

"Let us out! Come on, free us!" mixed voices whispered from inside the cells

"Stay calm and quiet...I will return." I said to the people inside

"I hope..." One of the voices replied

I hope so too...

I continued down the hall and slowly opened the doorway to the leader's room, quickly stepping inside, the man sat in front of a mirror practicing a speech. When he saw me he picked up an object off the dresser beside him and threw it at me.

A sharp pain emerged from my shoulder and I stared at the dagger for a moment before pulling it out, blood ran down my chest and soaked the left side of my shirt.

Enraged, I walked toward him quickly, thrusting my blade at his throat. It missed and broke the mirror beside him. He countered quickly and kicked me causing me to fall back into a display case full of plates and bowls, breaking them. Glass continued to fall from the shelf as I pushed off of it and charged at the assassin, hardly managing to stab him in the arm.

He pushed me off and hit me in the face with a steel platter from the table beside him. I fell to a knee and held my head, as he came in with a dagger I stood, moved to the side, and brought my blade down on his neck in one movement before he knew what had happened.

I looked to the headless corpse and spit on it, grabbing the head and carrying it to the empty dining hall, apparently the assassins had already went to their bunks for the night so I left the head on the table for them to find later.

A short walk back to the cells and I had freed the prisoners. I picked up my father as the others left and carried him toward the entrance, we were nearly out when a few of the assassins came in to check out the noise and found us. I handed my father to one of the prisoners quickly.

"Make sure he gets out...I'll hold them." I said

He quickly nodded and took my father from me, I pulled my blade and stood alone to face the wave of assassins, to save the lives of the men and women still climbing the ladder to freedom.

Two of the men came at me and I locked blades with one, wrestling him for position, in desparation I kneed him in the stomach and pushed him down on top of the other assassin as he came up the stairs. I quickly glanced behind me at the people still climbing the ladder.

Come on, hurry up...

As another came at me I stabbed him in the stomach and he was lost under the feet of several more assassins who had rushed to aid their comrades. A dagger hit the wall beside me so I pulled it out and threw it back, killing another one but he was quickly replaced by the next one in line.

There were too many so I retreated to the wooden ladder, climbing up it as swords clipped the steps below my feet. I climbed out the crate and kicked the assassin climbing up behind me in the face before putting the lid onto the crate.

I turned and rushed to one of the wine shelves, pushing it with all my might causing it to fall atop the wine crate, sealing the assassins within their lair and tomb.

As I emerged from the council hall Quin waited for me at the table across from the door, surrounded by guards. The prisoners fled the building and some of them collected some of the food from the floor, having not eaten in some time.
I laid my father onto the table and looked to Quin for a short while before I continued on.

"It is done my lord...I would like to request your permission to take my father home." I said softly

He looked at me and nodded briefly before taking a drink from the goblet beside him.

"Yes Deagan, take all the time you need and meet me here when you are ready to leave." He replied

My father groaned as I picked him up and carried him outside into the rain, toward my former home. I knocked on the door until it began to slowly open, revealing my mother standing within.

She gasped and motioned for me to come inside, asking too many questions for me to respond in a short period of time, mostly pertaining to where I'd been and what I'd been doing. I explained it all to her, the assassins, my knighthood, and the fact that I'd been doing bandit work since I'd left the house.

My mother stared at me in amazement as she tended to my father's wounds, I explained that I had to leave because the councilor was waiting and my mother agreed. I kissed my mother and departed before my father woke but at least I knew he was safe.

"Tell my father that I love him...I will return when I can." I said

I slowly walked through the rain toward the council hall, when I arrived I told Quin that I was ready to leave and with that we were off, headed for his estate.

I loaded Oryn's body onto the back of the carriage and wrapped him in a thick blanket to keep the rain out. We'd lost one man and saved over half a dozen but that didn't soothe my mind in the least, thoughts of what I could have done to save Oryn played through my mind as I walked mindlessly beside the other guards.

Though I felt like I'd done good I also felt like I could have done more, I could have done anything besides what I did and saved Oryn...his death lay heavy on my mind now as I continued the muddy walk back to Quin's estate. Rain landed on my face as I took off my helmet and looked into the sky off in the distance, bolts of light flashed and thunder rolled as we continued along our path.
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Here's the next part, hope you like it.

This post has been edited by Kiln: May 9 2006, 08:39 PM

[DarkHunter]

Excellent! I'll wait to see the end! Wait I missed something, where is the counciler going?

[Kiln]

They're heading back to Quin's place for now but don't worry, things won't get too repetetive with the returning and leaving the estate...trust me...

[jack cloudy]

Nice, very nice. Well, that's all I can say. I just keep thinking, did that guy want our hero to die? He just happened to know the hideout of the bad guys after all.

[Kiln]

Just wait, all will be revealed with time...

[minque]

Just wait, all will be revealed with time...

Hmm I´m sure it will.....but the question is....when? I follow this great story with pleasure and every time I come here I´m checking for updates


Excellent writing Mr Oven!

[Kiln]

One small step for man...wait wrong speech...just read it and tell me what you think.
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As we came within view of the manor I wiped the mist from my eyes and took a second glance at the drawbridge guard station. I waved for the carriage to stop and instructed the other guards to stay with Quin, something wasn't right. As I moved toward the place I could see that the drawbridge had been let down because the mechanism had been damaged by some sort of projectile, possibly a small trebuchet of some sort.

I approached the old wooden guard station slowly, taking in all the information I could about my surroundings. Arrows protruded from all over the ground and the window of the place. The bodies of several guards lay there, riddled with arrows, some with their blades partially drawn and one body seemed to be crawling away when he'd died.

I drew my blade slowly and moved closer, entering the shed and slowly leaning out the door. I could see the courtyard from here, there were a few more dead guards on the ground...mixed with a few fallen civilians around the fountain. I looked up and saw several of the councilor's men along the wall fighting armored men, definitely not assassins. Quin's men fell quickly before them but they continued to fight valiantly in spite of the chaos around them.

A firey explosion broke a hole in the outer wall, bricks flew into the moat. Quin's battlemage stood in the gap in the wall with a smile, two flaming men ran screaming and jumped into the moat.

One of the trainers made it...I gotta get to him.

I stepped forward a bit, trying to work up the courage to go inside. The battlemage stabbed another that ran into the room with him and kicked the lifeless corpse off into the moat. It looked like the battlemage was winning until an arrow struck him in the chest, he stumbled backwards and fell into the moat to be devoured by slaughterfish like the others, as he fell he threw another fireball into the room.

The events around me caused me to freeze up, the sound of footsteps startled me and I stepped backwards, falling over the body of one of my deceased comrades. I readied my blade in case I had to fight but I didn't stand. The person continued running in my direction before turning and coming into the shed with me. I was startled and at the same time relieved when I saw who it was. It was the master who had helped in my training, Jiub. Overjoyed, I couldn't contain myself.

"Jiub! What has happened here?" I asked in an excited tone

He held his hand over my mouth and placed a single finger in front of his lips, meaning for me to be silent. I nearly held my breath as I heard another set of footsteps coming in our direction. Jiub picked up a bow and pulled a few arrows out of the wall that had passed through the window.

Someone was coming fast, I could hear him panting. They grew closer and closer...I began to sweat, my heart beat quickly in anticipation. A loud whistling noise broke the quite patter of the rain and then a dull thud, then another. The man that was running began to groan and I peeked outside, a man dressed in common clothes fell to his knees with two arrows freshly stuck into the flesh of his back. Another man dressed in heavy armor came up behind him and stabbed a sword through his back without thought or mercy, killing him instantly. He stood silently over the body with a smile, seemingly happy with his work.

Jiub's eyes were filled with hatred, I watched as he drew back the arrow and let it fly smoothly landing in the neck of the brute before us. The dark elf man peeked around the corner briefly and then turned back to me.

"There is no time to explain what has happened, we must leave....right now." he told me

We started off toward the wagon when I heard someone scream within the estate, a girl was standing outside the front door leading into the courtyard and a man was trying to pull her back inside by the arm, the door was nearly closed and it separated the man from her. It was the servant girl that I'd met before and against my better judgment I decided to go back for her.

I turned from Jiub and started walking quickly in her direction without waiting for him to notice. He turned and looked at me in disbelief before waving for me to follow him.

"You'll never make it...there's an entire garrison inside that building." Jiub yelled

"If there's a chance to save someone...I have to try." I said

I ran as fast as I could through the courtyard and kicked the door, knocking the man down. The girl was startled and I grabbed her, half dragging her behind me as I ran back toward the gate.

Arrows fell behind me and bounced off the stone floor of the courtyard as I ran with my head down. Damaging the metal gate behind me was a hard task considering all the people that were still inside but I was forced to make a choice...my life or theirs.

In selfishness I chose my own and broke the lock holding the gate up, it fell and cut off the flow of angry men behind me...but it also cut off the escape for anyone else who might have made it out.

There was no time to regret my actions, I ran as quickly as I could ignoring the screams and the yelling behind me as the last of Quin's men were mopped up by the well trained fighters that had besieged the courtyard.

I rushed back to the tree line and met with the others.

"We must leave this place, the gates will not hold them long." I said between breaths

"What has happened?" Quin stuck his head out and asked seemingly terrified

"I don't know for sure but we must leave now...Jiub can explain later. It seems that your manor has been attacked." I said

The entire incident had occurred within minutes but it seemed like hours. I mounted a horse from the stable and started to ride away from the manor, leading the group out of danger for the moment. We found a small cavern entrance and I entered first to check it out.
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There's the latest, it's kinda short but I hope you liked it.

This post has been edited by Kiln: May 30 2006, 06:40 PM

[Mazelure]

Holy crap... that was freaking awesome... the men dying... the battlemage going out with a bang... the freaking manor under siege... what in the bloody hell will you think up next?... it does not matter... because I know it is goin to be great!!!

This post has been edited by Mazelure: May 24 2006, 12:09 AM

[Kiln]

Thanks for the feedback Maze, here's the next part for those of you still reading.
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Chapter 3: Retribution

I thoroughly searched the cavern, it seemed that the cave had been used by others as a shelter some time ago. Old rotten chairs, a few dusty bedrolls, a body, and ashes mixed with partially burnt logs were all that remained of the previous occupants. I checked the entire cavern carefully for anything dangerous before returning above ground and waving the others inside, I noticed right off that the carriage guards were gone now.

Falen, Quin, Jiub, the servant girl, and I were the only ones that remained. Quin had dismissed the others while I was inside exploring the cave and they were walking away now. Strange how the men that have worked with you for so long will leave you the first chance they get.

As everyone went inside of the cave I loaded the supplies off the carriage and Falen carried them in. This was our base now, no luxurious manors anymore...just this dank old cave filled with rats in the middle of nowhere. I was now the commander of nothing and the special armor I'd been given before had become a bittersweet reward...its disadvantages outweighed its advantages and I couldn't bear to keep it much longer.

Though it protected me very well it was hot, loud, and hard to maneuver inside of the steel shell. The protection it offered was pointless now, I hardly cared about it anymore so I discarded the armor in a pit of water off the backside of the cave only a few hours after we'd arrived. As it disappeared slowly into the darkness at the bottom of the pool, the noble soldier I'd become within the last few months faded away with it. Back to my roots, I would stick to what I was good at from here on out.

A single body occupied the cave besides us, one that had been dead for some time now. The body was past the point of decay, there was simply a skeleton before me. He wore a tattered old black cloak and thin leather gloves. I took the cloak and gloves from the corpse and put them on, their former owner wouldn't be using them. A single arrow was stuck between his ribs, he'd likely crawled back into this cavern after a fight to die long ago...or he'd been betrayed by his partners, there was evidence that several people had lived here.

I had a bad habit of over analyzing things that meant nothing, like what might have happened to this man. I shook the curiousity from my mind and washed my face with water from a puddle nearby.

I stood and walked up to the entrance where the others sat depressed and quiet. I pulled the hood over my head and walked into the light of the freshly lit fire.

"We need to get rid of the carriage...I need a volunteer to help me." I said to everyone

Falen silently volunteered by standing and we took the carriage out to dispose of it, anyone that might be searching for us would surely investigate if they saw it. We rode to the edge of a ravine and untied the horses before pushing the carriage into the pit. We released the horses after taking off their saddles and harnesses.

We began the long walk back to our new home. We slowly pulled back the cape that covered the entrance and walked inside. Later on Jiub explained what had happened. A neighboring leader called Damiscus had accused Quin of worshiping the daedra, a sin punishable by death in the council.

It appeared as if this lord had been searching for a way to ruin Quin for some time and he'd finally found it. The council ignored him so the lord went to the legion but they turned him away as well, it seemed that no one had believed what he accused Quin of.

The imperial legion refused to oppose Quin and did not believe the accusations but the lord became desperate, so he bought a warrant for the councilor's arrest and execution from a greedy politician named Timara, who's heart was as dark as the new moon. Rumors were about that she'd had her own husband killed for rights to his estate.

With legal rights given by Timara, Damiscus put together his men and sent them to take Quin from his home.

When the men arrived Jiub told them that the councilor was not in and the men demanded to search the grounds. Jiub refused their demands and closed the gates, calling the estate's personal garrison into action. The invaders besieged the castle and called all those within traitors to the empire...once they finally manage to get inside they killed everyone they could.

As Jiub told more of the story it was clear that Quin was becoming increasingly angry, that was the first time I'd ever seen him get mad. His mad look was replaced by one of deep thought, he sat silently after Juib finished for some time before voicing his thoughts. He came up with a plan to kill the opposing lord and all those involved in the conspiracy...including Tamira.

I reluctantly volunteered to do the deed, though I had little experience I figured I could do it as well as the next guy.

"I'll do it sir. I'll take care of them for you..." I said confidently

"Deagan I cannot ask you to do this for me...we will find another man..." Quin stated

"I would like to be the one to do it sir." I said

"Its too dangerous, I cannot risk your life." He said

"I can handle it...let me do this." I pleaded

He rubbed his chin slowly before answering.

"I believe that you can do it...but I do not wish to put you in harm's way." He said calmly

"Then I will put myself at risk." I stated as I turned and walked toward the entrance

"I wish you luck my friend...I know that I cannot stop you...I knew when I first saw you how stubborn you were...thats why Oryn and I chose you." He said

"Oryn had part in choosing me?" I asked, astonished

"Very much so, though he did not show it...he had a large part in my decision." He said

"I am glad that you chose me...I will not dissapoint you." I said

I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head once again and walked slowly outside into the rain. I walked for hours, past the ruins of Quin's palace toward the home of Damiscus.

I sat on the hill and stared at the smoking remains of Quin's estate, the place I'd called home for the last few months was gone and all that I had trained for had been for nothing. My position was forfeit now and my trainer was dead.

Everything was falling into place now, Damiscus had sent the Black Diamonds after Quin all those times and after their failure he got desperate, turning to Tamira. His plans had worked quite well besides one rather large error...there was still breath within Quin's lungs.

I stood from my place under the trees and continued on in the rain. I stepped lightly as I approached the outer fence of the manor. It was dark now, only the gentle light of the moon would guide me.

I climbed onto some square cut bushes and pulled myself up to the top of the fence before throwing my weight over and landing on my feet. I looked around carefully at the patrols, they were armed with torches and dogs. I could see only one way inside, a trellis leading up to a second story window. I moved closer and climbed slowly up, the rain made it a difficult task but I managed to reach the window. The wind blew the curtains viciously inside the room where I entered.

A man inside the room sat terrified in the corner, I stared at him cautiously walking between him and the door.

"Do not move..." I said, trying to instill fear into him

He instantly jumped and crawled over the bed, running for the door. There was no other way to keep him quiet, allowing him to survive would surely result in the guards being alerted.

I stepped a few feet and pulled the dagger from my belt, stabbing it into his kidney. He let out a short cry of pain before I covered his mouth. I stabbed him again and let him down slowly onto the floor after he stopped struggling. That was the first time I'd killed an innocent...it would not be the last. I locked the door behind me in case any servants came by.

I peeked around the next corner and saw two people talking, I moved closer in the dark hallway to hear their conversation. I could see the guard but the man he was speaking with stood around the corner, out of sight.

"Yes my lord...Quin's manor has been taken care of." the voice said

"How did Quin die?" He asked

"Quin was nowhere to be found...however, a scout did find his carriage in a ravine along the road to his manor." the man replied

"I told you to make sure he was dead." The voice said in an angry tone

"Yes sir...I will return and search for his body." The man replied

As the minion turned away I saw the lord step forward and stab a dagger into his shoulder. The man struggled and the lord leaned up next to his ear...I felt as if I recognized the lord...like I'd seen him before.

"No you will not...I grow tired of your constant excuses and failure." He said with another stab in the man's shoulder

As blood sprayed on the stone wall beside him and the wounded man screamed as he fell to his knees I realized where I'd seen the lord before. Back at the council hall...the priest that had sent me into the wine cellar in search of the assassins.

He'd sent me there expecting me to die...my trust in people had betrayed me once again.

As I plotted the lord's death a servant came upstairs at the sound of the screams and the lord smiled at her.

"Clean this up and meet me in my quarters afterwards." He said darkly

Hatred built inside me as I creeped through the manor's deserted hallways and waited for the servant to finish cleaning up the blood in the hallway. Guards came and drug the body out and Damiscus returned to his room upstairs. I waited for things to calm down a bit before I would proceed to the end of the hall and climb the stairs.

I would kill the lord as mercilessly as he'd killed his guard just moments before. I slowly drew my dagger as I approached the stairway behind the servant woman, not to kill her but to use her in order to get into the lord's room. I would go in right behind her and confront the lord.
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Alright there it is, hope this interests someone.

This post has been edited by Kiln: May 31 2006, 06:09 PM

[mplantinga]

Interesting developments. It is sad to see Quin reduced to living in a dank cave. I am concerned for Deagan; I hope he hasn't bit off more than he can chew.

[DarkHunter]

poor Quin... Keep up the writing!

[Mazelure]

Wow... thats all I can freaking say man... wow and bravo... it cant wait to see the next update... but I do want to say... that was a damn shame... he did not have to throw the armor away... it could come in handy later on the future... but I guess Deagan knows best...

[treydog]

Profound apologies for missing the last several updates- the loss was mine.... However, that has now been remedied by some diligent and pleasant reading.

The descriptions of the assassins' lair were magnificent- along with a grand fight (or two).

I hope that Quin does not have so many enemies that Deagan cannot handle them- that is becoming a real possibility. On the other hand-

"Me against the world? I like the odds." Perhaps that should be Deagan's motto.

[Kiln]

Thanks for the comments guys, though I wish that everyone who reads would comment I'm glad to have all of your thoughts on the story. Anyways I'll get started on the next part soon, until then.

[Mazelure]

No problem man... it is pleassure to read/comment your stories... as long as you keep the updates coming that is...

[minque]

Good and interesting as usual! Keep writing..its a pleasure to read your work!