The Hero in Disguise, Chapter 2 Options

[Kiln]

I apollogise if I am moving quickly on this story but I feel it is lacking compared to the Taillus story. Maybe because it is that I am not used to a first person standpoint or maybe Taillus is more interesting but things get so much better in this chapter and into chapter 3.

Or maybe you're just a passionate writer and you can't help but write when it comes to mind...that's probably what I'd say. Very nice Taillus, keep it up.

[minque]

Ahh excellent as always, you know how to keep us wanting more....

S.G.M

[jack cloudy]

Don't give up, Xander! Go for their nose! Kick them between the legs! Use fireballs!

Great update, Taillus. But don't let us wait with this cliffhanger, it's eating my nerves.

[Taillus]

Here is the next update. I am really eager to make this story go quickly because I have sooooooooo many surprises for you all. Happy reading everyone and have fun! Oh and BTW this is a really long entry...sorry

There was one thing that could save me but I would have to act quickly. I rolled over as swiftly as I could and cast one of the only spells I knew for sure was still available to me. I watched as a large fire ball that was conjured from my hands scream towards where I thought the Goblin archer was and to my amazing luck, it hit perfectly.

Getting the ranged honoured user out of the way would give me the time I needed to get myself out of this mess. Luckily, the effects of the poisons were very weak and wore off after a few seconds giving me time to shakily get to my feet before the close quartered berserkers got within their range.

I had managed to let go of my shield when I fell, and my head was quaking due to me landing on it but I had to keep it together so these monsters wouldn’t get the opportunity to wear my skull as a helmet!

The first of the warriors jumped at me from a considerable distance, his mace arced behind his shoulder and ready to swing. A flashback to my Blue Lions training almost made my body move on its own as I strafed to the left and pivoted on my heels swinging my blade in three quarters of a full circle.

My tactic managed to slice cleanly through both wrists of the goblin as well as remove his head completely. The move was designed to use both the forward momentum of both my weapon and the airborne moving foe to my advantage… Looks to me like it worked like a charm.

My next two enemies proved to be quite pesky as they completely flanked me and caught me flat footed. One decided to launch a full-frontal attack while the other one made it behind me without my knowing, and he managed to find my shield. I realized that I was way in over my head, I also realized that if I had just stayed with Martin and Jauffre that these goblins would probably not have even known we were ever there.

As it stood, I was having a real hard time getting this duo off of my back in the most literal sense. Just as I would stagger the one behind me, the one in front took pleasure in catching me in the ribcage with his iron axe. With another burst of quick thinking, I could see in my head my trainer that had given me so much to use in battle….

“Alright men, this tactic could very well save your life if you were to ever find yourself flanked and outnumbered. Distance yourself from your opponents as best you can by calling up a weak leveled destruction spell that could be activated twice in succession, one per hand. This won’t drop your foes dead but it will give you breathing room.”

It was far too simple, I was a BattleMage in the Blue Lions of Ebonheart for crying out loud. Why have I lost my touch? If it were three years ago these little buggers would be nothing more then a minor setback. I was going to have to train my skewered skills and get back into shape. I had always thought that leaning how to fight would stay with a man for life but I guess people can get rusty.

With a quick swing of my blade to get a free second before throwing it into the air, I watched as the two goblins stumbled backwards from my two quick flares. It worked like a charm and once I caught my falling sword, I ended them quickly.

A job well done I must say even though it took me some time to get back in my element. Now to head back to Jauffre and Martin so we can rest for a while. I bounded cockily out of the main chamber of the mine and was on my way back to the entrance with my waiting allies when I head the most teeth clenching sound.

A howl that could have made my bones jump out of my skin. It echoed down the tunnel that I was in and from what I could tell, came from the main chamber I had just left moments ago. Turning back to find the source almost made my life end. I didn’t really have time to even realize what it was but just as I turned around, I was beaten silly by the biggest creature I had ever seen.

Truth be told, I actually had no idea of its size. I just added that for dramatic purposes. Plus when you are used to expecting four foot tall goblins, anything bigger was massive. Whatever it turned out to be managed to catch me at the absolute worst time because my shield was on my back and my sword was buckled safely at my side making a swift mitt to my face easily possible.

I fell to the ground before the beast as the sheer force of its punch almost knocked my jaw off. It really took me by surprise and proved to be a painful experience indeed. The last thing I remember was seeing the beast roar in my face before being launched away from me by a seemingly powerful blast of magicka.

In my unconsciousness, I was stuck in a dream. I was seeing myself in my former body at a coronation party. It seemed as though I was selected to replace Duke Vedam Dren as the Duke of Ebonheart. Everyone was so happy and things seemed to be going so well but then I realized that it wasn’t me that I was seeing. It was Taillus still in my body being given the title of Duke.

Try as I might, I wanted to warn everyone that the man becoming Duke was not Xander at all but they called me a killer and wouldn’t listen. That was when I was shaken to consciousness. Martin was over my head shaking me and trying to keep me awake. I began to come to my senses but I really wanted to finish that vision. I hope my dream had no truth in it.

“It seems that Troll got the best of you friend. Me and Jauffre managed to get rid of it though. Next time we should do things as a team, how does that sound?” Martin chuckles as he sits me up.

My head was pounding and my jaw stung really badly but I had to agree, I had no clue what I would come across down there, I shouldn’t have been so headstrong. I put Martin’s life in danger by trying to bite off more then I could chew and I wanted to rap myself across the knuckles for being so weak minded.

“Let us rest here men. We will regain our strength then finish our journey to Cloud Ruler Temple tomorrow. There Martin will be safe and we can work on getting that amulet back.” Jauffre explains as we all unpack our bedrolls and turn in for the night.

[minque]

Never apologize for long entries! We like long ones.....and this one was amazing..oh my.....

Excellent installment!

[DarkHunter]

Good work Taillus this is 4 / 5 cause this ain't done yet! (the story)
so here's your 4

[Taillus]

What? Two updates in one day? This is crazy! Im sorry everyone but boredom and anxiousness got the best of me. I am already to chapter 5 in reality I guess I can afford to slow down a bit..... It's just that once I get writing, I don't stop. Anywho, Update # 2 of the day, enjoy!



As I slept, I must have slipped back into my dream world once again. At this time, Taillus had already used my body to become the Duke of Ebonheart and was continuing to live my life. Every time I tried to warn someone, I would get dismissed. I knew that he would probably wind up slaughtering the lot of them but there was nothing I could do. I really want to decipher this dream.

I spent the remnants of the night thinking to myself. I wanted to know what this dream meant. Was it me still unable to accept the fact that I was locked in another man’s body? Did it mean that Taillus was still alive? I wanted to know why I was dreaming this and I couldn’t shake it from my mind…

The next day was quite uneventful for the most part. One ambush by a pair of bandits but nothing life threatening and the entire trek to Bravil was a peaceful one. Unfortunately that gave me much time to think about my dream. Truth be told it was driving me mad. I had never had dreams worth trying to decipher and I wanted so desperately to know if this was a sign of some sorts and if there was anything I should do.

By the mid afternoon, we had made our way to the great and awe inspiring Cloud Ruler Temple and I must say that this place was as if it were made by gods. A fortress that was as beautiful as it was powerful and it was filled to the brim with the only men and women that were skilled enough to be trusted with the life of an Emperor.

These men and women were the elite-elites. They were the absolute cream of the crop and made my Blue Lions look like goons. As I followed Jauffre and Martin up the great number of stairs leading to the main entrance I was surprised to see the Blades fall into line flanking us on either side and expressing their joys of seeing us…more specifically Martin himself.

The Emperor in progress gave a short and sweet speech about how he was prepared to don anything needed and try as hard as needed to become the new Emperor. He was a tad shaky in his words but I could tell in time he would be as great as any Septim.

Another surprise was that Jauffre informed me of his rank with the Blades by baffling me with saying he was the Grandmaster. He cordially invited me to join as well as gave me full access of the Cloud Ruler Temple. I was free to borrow any of their armor and weapons and he informed me that I could partake in the many training seminars and conditioning programs making me breathe a sigh of relief. I had hoped that I would get a chance to repair some of my fragmented techniques.

The next week for me was used for getting myself back in shape. I ate a lot but I burned so much energy running from the Temple down to Bravil and back as well as a lot of combat training with weighted clothing and armor. By the week’s end I could feel more confident in myself and thought that I was beginning to feel, well…feel like I was myself again, a feeling I must say I haven’t felt for a very long time.

[DarkHunter]

YAY! two in one day, thats excellent!

[jack cloudy]

Is it just me, or is every blade a prisoner fresh out of jail? I mean, every time in TES you run into one (after getting out of jail), they invite you!

That said, nice updates. We can't always be heroes. It's nice to have some backup when needed.