The Hero in Disguise, Chapter 1 Options

[Taillus]

CHAPTER ONE - A Consuming Darkness.

I wish I could say that my story was that of a true hero. I wish I could say that in this land, a man that was a hero would get recognition for his selfless acts and would be immortalized. This is not the case. I have the unfortunate curse of not being myself in the most literal sense. My true name is Xander Moorcroft. I WAS an elite Battlemage in the Imperial Blue Lions of Ebonheart.

I was the only man able to bring down the maniacal, cold-hearted killer known only as Taillus. My congratulations and praise were non existent, instead I was thrown headlong into the Imperial Prison in Cyrodiil. In reality I blame no one. The events unfolding were not under control by anyone and I would never expect anyone to fully understand.

I am a prisoner in Taillus’ body. In defeating him, I had to switch our bodies to lock him in Oblivion. Now I am to be punished for all of his violent crimes. I must agree, they procecuted me quickly and efficiently so I do still have faith in our justice system but I would have liked to at the very least find out about my men that as far as I know are still fighting in northern Morrowind…


Today my morning began not unlike any other. I was kicked awake by a mouthy guard that drops a small loaf of crusty bread and a small pitcher of water in my cell and kicks again just for fun before leaving. It is like a violent alarm clock. I can also look forward to my daily harassment by the arrogant Dunmer across the hall. This is the life of a savior at its very finest.

After exchanging verbal blows with my “friend” across the hall, we were both surprised to hear the wooden door above us fly open as a handful of armored guards quickly try and smuggle a figure into the holding cells with us. I knew the elderly man as the one and only Uriel Septim himself.

Why he was down here is far beyond me and what is more mind boggling is that they opened my cell and quickly aided him inside. I know that that my idea of a safe haven for the Emperor would NOT by any means be safe in a cell with a COLD BLOODED KILLER. Give me a break. The Blades must be full of new recruits for god’s sake.

Then it hit me, well if “it” was the flat of a short sword. I grimaced as I felt cold steel rap against my fingers that were holding on to the bar door of my cell. I was instantly ordered to have a seat and was aided in doing so by the armored boot of a female guard. I fell into the corner of my cell as a nice Redguard man held me in place with his forearm. They opened up a passage in my cell that would have been great to know of before hand and was knelt before the Emperor.

“Let this man go. He does not deserve being manhandled.” The Emperor says softly as he motions for his guards to lift me to my feet. If you think I was blown away then you would be severely understating my feelings.

“I have seen you in my dreams young man. I know that you are not who people say you are and you are being tried as a murderer. I have seen in the stars that this is not what you will be remembered for…. But you must excuse me, my time here is limited.” The Emperor explains as a cell wall beside us rumbles below the floor.

“This man comes with us. He is most deserving of a second chance as any man I assure you.” The Emperor explains to his Blades as they walk down the stone passage that had just recently been revealed.

This post has been edited by Taillus: Apr 19 2006, 07:57 PM

[jack cloudy]

Yay, it's Xander. A great start and the emperor sure seems to know a lot. (Or he is really lucky when he's guessing)

[minque]

Ahh very good......I´m almost afraid of reading all those Oblivion-stories, before I have played the game...and I haven´t! just yet

But you once again proves what a great writer you are!

[DarkHunter]

Lol, it seems poor Xander is taking Tallius into Oblivion

[Taillus]

Expect an update tomorrow, I just left my work at home so I can't post it tonight while im at work. I knew I should have emailed it to myself... oh well. Live and learn I guess

[Taillus]

Here's the update as promised. I am also going to use my Finale of Taillus page to go over a few things. I plan on posting screenshots of both men just so it adds to the big picture. Another thing is the pronounciation of the name "Taillus" and how it was meant to be read cause I have some friends and readers of the series asking me...... Anywho, here's the update!

In following the Emperor and his most elite Bodyguards I learned a great number of things. I learned that all of the Emperor’s living heirs had been murdered and now the life of the Emperor himself is at risk.

I knew that with there being no living Ruler, All hell would almost literally break loose. I had to try and aid the Blades to make sure Uriel Septim makes it through this sewer alive. Even though my body was weak with malnourishment I would have to try my hardest to fight with everything I had.

The first attack was horrible. It was so unexpected and we lost a guard. There was so little we could do. The female Blades guard fell to the attack and was dropped lifeless to the stone floor. I managed to take a very nasty blow to the wrist but my prison bracer on my arm saved me. It was either that or the Emperor so I knew my choice before it happened.

I grabbed the blade of the fallen woman who had served Septim well. I knew that we would have to be on our toes or the assassins would win. After being separated, I managed to catch up with the group just in time to defend the Emperor from a fierce attack once again. The assassins were persistent as well as deadly but they failed to get even close to Uriel Septim.

This continued for about an hours time but in the end I must admit, we failed miserably. I watched as the Emperor fell to a robed killer just after he had trusted me enough to give me the sacred Amulet of Kings. I thought he wanted me to take the throne but instead I was to take it to Weynon Priory. I listened hard to the instructions and just as I had put the amulet beneath my tattered clothes, the assassin materialized out of nowhere and skewered Uriel upon his blade.

I watched it all happen and I felt so helpless as the speed of the attack left us all helpless. My feeling of sadness and mourning was quickly replaced however. Replaced by a burst of rage that caused me to lash out and pin the death dealer to the wall behind him with my bare hand on his masked face.

I could tell by this point that I had inherited part of the strength from Taillus from our body switch and for the first time ever, it was being put to good use. Even without the souls I could feel that Taillus was a powerful man. As I palmed the assassin's masked face, I could hear his muffled cries as I squeezed tighter.

With one swift unarmored punch, the assassin's head met the wall with a force that cracked the rock brickwork behind him. The Agent let out a pain filled yelp before I quickly planted my blade into his robe covered chest. The rest of the Emperor’s bodyguards ran in just in time to see the blood spill from the killer.

“No NO NO!! This cannot be! We’ve failed to keep the Emperor alive!” The Redguard howls as he falls to his knees beside the fallen Emperor.

“The Amulet! Where in the stars is it? I cannot find it on his body!?” He screams again before seeing me pull it from beneath my tattered clothes.

“I don’t know why he trusted you so greatly but he was always a good judge of character. Perhaps he can see something in you that we cannot. Regardless, did he give you any instructions?” The Redguard asks as he slowly gets to his feet.

I told him that I was directed to go to Weynon Priory where I could find a man who could direct me better. I was delighted to hear that my criminal record would be erased so it wouldn’t interfere with my travels. Lady luck is finally smiling down on me for a change instead of walking all over me for doing something good.

I made my way out of the sewer network with a small pocket of change as well as some quite crude effects. Weapons and such that I could sell at the very least to make my journey to Weynon Priory an easier one because I needed all the help I could get. I could also visit a smith that might be able to knock these shackles off to make me look a tad less like a hardened criminal.

The one thing that I could not wait for is to get myself a bed for the night in the Imperial Market District and a well earned meal. Today was a pretty good day in the making as long as I didn’t think about the very recent murder of the Emperor of course…..

[jack cloudy]

Ah, an update. Well, I am glad to see that there is at least some advantage to being stuck in someone elses body. (Ok, and the fact that your own body is in an unpleasant place is also a good reason to switch.)

[minque]

Ah well..here we go again....a well-written story, ehhh containing some spoilers perhaps? At least for me who haven´t played Oblivion yet..

Anywho...great work!

[Taillus]

I tried to keep it as spoiler free as possible but to those who have yet to play there may be some things that are not quite yet common knowledge. I tried to keep things under the category of "Things I knew even before playing the game." We all know the setup for Oblivion and I kept things really vague. I didn't use actual quotes and the only name I used was the Emperor's himself. Maybe I should abandon this story till everyone here has had a chance to load up the game.... Sorry all.

[minque]

NO! Don´t stop writing! By all means, it´s far too good, and never mind any possible spoilers.....jeez it really doesn´t matter!

continue! it´s an order.....j/k

[Agent Griff]

Nice story thus far Taillus although, if I can be frank, it was a little shallow. You can spill the spoilers since this is a story about Oblivion ain't it? Anyway, keep up the great work and tell us about Taillus' pronunciation. At first, I thought it was Tallius, not Taillus. A take on the pronunciation, is it pronounced Tail-us?

[Tellie]

Wohoo....finally we get another Oblivion story...and I can say now, that this one is going to be one of the best...your story is faaar to good for not being counted as one of the best here on the forum.

Thanks for giving us another story...and I do so love the updates...keep it up...

[Taillus]

Well well well Griff. I was wondering when someone was going to ask how to pronounce Taillus. It is a tad odd and I really have no idea where it comes from but basically the name kind of came to me in a dream.

Taillus - Think "Tie" for the first half like tie a shoe. And "Us" as in the both of us.
Simple I know, and there is no reason for the silent L's but it adds bulk to a normally insignificant name. So pronounce it Tieus if you wouldn't mind.

[Agent Griff]

Well, at first I pronounced it Tallius as in Tal (a tall without the second "L") and a ius (as in the "ous" in tedious) but Taillus with that latino "ll" thing is cool too. Never thought of it like that to be honest. I still think Tallius is cooler though

[minque]

Well well well Griff. I was wondering when someone was going to ask how to pronounce Taillus. It is a tad odd and I really have no idea where it comes from but basically the name kind of came to me in a dream.

Taillus - Think "Tie" for the first half like tie a shoe. And "Us" as in the both of us.
Simple I know, and there is no reason for the silent L's but it adds bulk to a normally insignificant name. So pronounce it Tieus if you wouldn't mind.

Ahhh then I have pronounced it quite right! I think it has some french touch in it....the L:s that are not pronounced and all that..

Anyway it´s a really nice name and I like it!

[Taillus]

Update time! I know this story is a tad different from the Taillus story but I am focusing on storytelling as well as a first person perspective. I hope it is still a good story and I guarantee it will have some really interesting loops and twists. Here it goes.......

I knew that once my head hit a real-life pillow I would sleep for an eternity and I couldn’t imagine how spectacular a simple meal of crab meat, cheese and a handful of grapes would taste. I would have paid ANY price for those things. I would have dropped every modest gold piece that I had but luckily I didn’t have to.

The Imperial City is a marvelous place. I couldn’t even take in how vast and equally beautiful it was. The gardens, the buildings, the Arcane University all of it was awe inspiring and it took my breath away completely. I could bet that the local guards thought I was a bit of a maniac but they mostly smiled and welcomed me to the city.

I decided to turn in early so I could set out early the next morning. I knew that I would not like to wake after sleeping in a nice warm bed so just to be safe, I paid for two nights stay at the local “Merchant’s Inn” and laid myself to rest.

When I awoke, a full day later I made my way out to the ever nurturing sunlight to bask in the glory of my new found freedom. I was certain that I had died in reality and that this was my rendition of heaven. A bustling city, warm crisp air and sunlight beating down one me so hard that I though it was compensating for my severe lack of light that had cursed me for so long.

I didn’t care about suiting up for strife, or getting ready for a long battle, for the first time in I have no idea how long, I decided to buy some clothes, and by comparison to what I had been dressed in not too long ago, I had the comfiest shoes, the best feeling shirt and the most amazing pair of pants money could buy….again, comparatively of course.

I also picked up a small job for some extra cash. I was able to do a favor for a local vendor. It seemed that a certain merchant wasn’t playing by the rules and I had to figure out how he was selling items for such a small price. I am not going to get into details on what happened but I will say that it ended abruptly and to my surprise being locked in a small tomb across town with a very mean looking man and his well armored colleague.

After that ordeal, after I managed to get back out. I realized two interesting facts. I was able to retain some of my magic skills even after the body switch as well as the friendly tidbit of information of me inheriting some of this brute Taillus’ unbelievable strength. I was able to fight my way out of the small family tomb with my bare hands.

A small flare of fiery magicka and a few well directed punches later and I stood before two dead wrong doers and more loot then I could carry. Being overly patriotic got me no where in the past so it was at the time that I was scooping up armor and loot from these baddies that I promised myself something.

I would aid the empire in delivering the amulet of kings to wherever its destination may be and I will do everything in my power to find a new Emperor. I am even fully willing to put my life on the line once again but I will also look out for myself in the process and make sure I live a full life.

I was blinded by my “duties” as a Blue Lion Elite and it made me naïve. This time I have a second chance and we’re playing by my rules this time.

I managed to fend off encumberance as I grabbed my heaping arm load of new stuff that I would sell to the highest bidder. I also grabbed a shovel that would prove to the vendors who was behind the low prices. (If I tell more, I spoil a quest so lets leave it at that…)

It took a few days of bartering and putting some honest charm into the mix but as I walked out of the Imperial City, I was well equipped with a shiny long-sword and directions to Weynon Priory…

The road was long and winding. It was a very exhilarating experience as well. I encountered some of the local wildlife, which might I add moves much faster then the common mudcrab or scrib that would normally be found in Morrowind. I also learned that wolves love to go for the throat. The Xander’s unarmored throat to be exact.

I thought that the worst that I would encounter would be a bandit or two that I could easily overwhelm with some magicka but it turns out that no, the wolves were the biggest problem. Luckily I would later learn at the first “off the beaten path” inn would buy wolf pelts for a not-too-shabby six gold making walks a money making venture.

Cyrodiil was the land of opportunities if there ever was one. No more unforgiving ash storms, no more cliffracers and no more silt striders. Truly this is heaven and I am still not convinced that I am among the living. Things seem to be going too smoothly for this to all be real.

[minque]

Ahhh wonderful.....as always you gave us quite a bit of excellent reading here

Thank you Taillus!

[Kiln]

Hey Taillus, just caught up with you again mate. I didn't know that this was the story about Xander so I hadn't read it up until now. I was looking for a title that involved the name Xander.

Anyways now that I know I'll try my best to keep up with it so please continue when you can.

[Agent Griff]

I never really liked the fact that money in Cyrodiil is now called gold pieces instead of septims or drakes. The gold pieces thing gives it a generic feel like any other of those perfectly identical medieval hack'n'slashes out there. But anyway, the update was nice and thanks for not spoiling that quest. Honestly, I felt safe and quite interested to find out what that quest is. I think I've taken it before, does it involve an alchemy merchant?

[Taillus]

Hey Griff, the Quest I am talking about happens when you visit the used good store in the Imperial Market District. I forget the name of the store itself but it was a very fun quest and it really pulled me in hook line and sinker. I loved it! Anyway, update time!!!!


I set out from the very conveniently placed Inn after spending some cash on food that would keep me going for a few days in case the streak of luck ended for me and I was unable to shack up in another Inn. I was beginning to miss the Silt Striders of Vvardenfel as my feet would wind up very sore from walking everywhere.

Eventually, from what my map could tell me as well as my very primitive knowledge of Cyrodiil I was coming up on the small settlement that from what I could tell was a religious place. It was quaint and quiet. Waynon Priory was only made up of only a few small and modest buildings but overall a very peaceful place and a good hiding spot for anyone of importance that didn’t exactly want to be found.

Jauffre was the man’s name from what I remember Emperor Uriel Septim telling me and from what I could tell, he was a man that was held in very high regard as far as the late Emperor was concerned. I knew this, I knew that he would not have told me to come here unless it was the absolute best course of action but deep down, I didn’t want the Amulet of Kings to leave my sight.

After asking a portly older balding man, I was up a set of stairs and could see the man I was looking for. He himself was an older man too, but one that looked strong. If not physically, then at least as far as will was concerned. He was a man that seemed to naturally get respect from his peers and I can admit I felt a tad inclined to bow before speaking.

I told him the news of the assassination as well as informing him of why I was the man to visit him. He nodded politely but I could tell that knowing that I was fresh from prison made him uneasy. I knew that he wanted nothing more then to get the amulet from my possession but in a protective way. I really didn’t feel well about giving it up and having it leave my sight however.

So despite my gut feeling, I agreed that this Jauffre would be better suited to have the amulet for now and I was about to bid him farewell when he grabbed my shoulder lightly as I turned to leave.

He decided that I was trustworthy enough to inform me that the Emperor still had a living heir and that he was living his life oblivious as a priest in Kvatch. He was given to Jauffre as an infant and was given another life for protection. I knew that I was going to have to travel to where he resided and tell him the news.

Part of me felt like nothing more then a lackey for the Empire once again, but another part of me was excited to help crown a new Emperor. Maybe I could finally clear myself of this tag associated with this body and correct my badly damaged life.

I decided that going up the hill to Chorrol would be a good idea. My gut told me that where there was an heir, there were assasins and those guys do not play nicely. I was going to have to get some sturdy equipment to get the heir, Martin Septim to safety and I will be damned if I let the same thing happen to him as what happened to his father.

Chorrol was a nice place. Very beautiful in its own way and from what I could remember, the tree on their armor was in respect to the giant Oak where everyone would go to talk about the day’s events. I smiled and waved at the doorman as the great wooden gate opens wide allowing me access to the town.

One of the first things I saw after only being in the town for mere minutes is the ever glorious Fighter’s guild. I was a member when I was younger in Morrowind before I took a position in the Blue Lions. I still remembered the rules of conduct and I could get in no problem. I loved the idea because it meant a free bed in most cities as well as my choice in whatever they had in their armory.

They might make me go through with a few contracts here and there but it would be money in my pocket. This again was too good to be true. Why was fortune smiling upon me so greatly? It seemed to be going all too well. After resting my feet from the long walk to Weynon Priory and rummaging through the armory I was all set for another hike.

I had almost a full set of iron armor and while it wasn’t pretty, it was better then fighting a clan of those assassins with nothing but the clothes on my back. Along with an iron short-sword and a modest shield I was ready to go find the heir to the throne….