Corrupted heart. Options

[jack cloudy]

End of the Cliffhanger and the start of a new one! Yeah, I'm getting good at these things. Feels like a soap series. Every episode ends with a frightened face looking at something unseen. Anway, sorry I'm late tonight. Arena is too damn addictive. Curse Bethesda!






Marsh laid on the floor, his head resting against the cold altar. His imminent death refused to come. Instead, he heard a cold voice filled with evil intent.
,,So this is where you dragged her corpse. An unpleasant fate, to be hidden in the sewers were an amateurish necromancer can call upon your spirit whenever he pleases. Oh, who would ever wish for such a fait? Ah, I forgot. It was the great Ria Silmane herself who made the request. To bad for her, but she’ll have to go back to Tharn. Or rather, her soul will have to go back and her body can rot wherever it pleases.” Whoever had attacked him said and chuckled. The voice sent shivers down the Argonian’s spine. Yet, with his fear came the determination to survive.

He formed his hands into a cup.
,,Ukil, ukil, ukil.” He chanted softly with his eyes closed, bringing his mind into a state of pure focus. The hidden man had stopped chuckling.
,,What is that, little mortal? Are you praying for your life? You should’ve stayed in the swamps were you were born.” He taunted. With his current state of mind, Marsh did not even hear it.
,,Groht Heyat!” A pale blue light shimmered in the Argonian’s hands. He opened his eyes, which had received the same blue colour as the light in his hands. In the light he saw the face of a mundane looking Imperial. However, due to the warped Magicka in the argonian’s hands, his face became distorted, turning into a pure nightmarish visage with a elongated snout that breathed flickering tongues of fire.

,,As I thought. Even the guards have been infiltrated.” Marsh spoke with an oddly echoing voice. He released the spell which pierced through the demon’s chest and then exploded. The light spread throughout the entire system of canals in the sewers, even lighting up the exits like a miniature sun. The Imperial city bathed in light as if it was day, only with the sun shining from under the ground rather than in the sky. The creature staggered forward but was death before it could reach the Argonian. The light faded from Marsh’s eyes and he dropped to his knees. He couldn’t see a thing though he wasn’t sure if it was because he was dying or if it was simply because there was no light.
,,Marsh, you must hurry. More demons are coming to this place. You can’t fight them, not yet. I’ll pay the price for the spell you just cast. You must survive. Farewell, Marsh.”

He could hear his own strained breathing again. He could feel the stone under his body again. His body and spirit were drained and more tired than he’d ever considered possible. He realized that he should’ve died after casting the spell and he did. Yet somehow, he’d returned from the death. But someone else had been left behind. He remembered the voice that spoke to him during his death. This memory itself was nearly enough to make him die again.
,,Lady Silmane. No, Ria. I am sorry. While your spirit is now truly gone, your will is not. Farewell.” He whispered into the air. There was no response, no feeling of an ethereal presence nearby. There couldn’t be one, for Silmane’s spirit had been destroyed by the spell’s demands.

He forced himself to get up even though his legs could barely support the weight. He remembered the warning his friend had given. He had to leave, now. His hand wrapped itself around the key he’d been given.
,,We’ve gone too far to give up now. Tamriel must be saved at all costs.”


Near the top of the Imperial palace, a lone man stood on his balcony and watched the city below.
,,Such a glorious yet ultimately wasted display of Magicka. Whoever cast this must be death by now. Nothing can use such power without succumbing to it. Fools, to think they can overthrow me. All they’ve so far managed to do was disturbing my sleep.” He spoke to himself with a smirk.


Marsh stumbled through the tunnels, willing himself to move on. He knew that if he ran into another of those demons, he would die. And this time, there would be no one willing to sacrifice herself for him. Footsteps met him from behind, and in front of him. He stopped, weighing his options. The maze made it hard to judge a sound’s origin. The footsteps sounded like they were approaching, but they might be moving away. It was a risk, but he had to be sure he wasn’t surrounded.
,,Heyat.”

The light in his hand weakened him even further. It flickered and nearly died a few times. His worst expectations were revealed as another of the demons blocked his path. This one had cast away its illusion of a mortal man and looked completely like the monster it was. Behind it, the grating of the exit gleamed in the moonlight. Just a hundred more steps, and he would’ve made it out of the sewer.

The demon approached him slowly. Its hooves carved into the stone and left fiery footprints behind. Marsh leaned against the wall. He was too tired to fight and even if he did, his only way to win was to kill himself by pouring all of his essence into a single spell like he’d done before. But how would he be able to explain his task to someone else so that the fight could be continued and ultimately won?
,,Good, good. Just stand still and it won’t be long.” The demon gloated, raising a barbed axe above its head. To the Argonian’s surprise, its movements stopped. Instead of striking down and finishing off its helpless victim, its bloodred eyes simply looked over Marsh’s head. If the Argonian didn’t knew better, he would’ve thought to see disbelief etched into its ugly head.

,,You, why don’t you run?!” It roared. Not at Marsh, who was too weak to run but at someone else.
,,You must think you’re brave, to kill a defenceless being. I don’t run away from cowards.” A gravely voice answered. Marsh turned his weary head to see a cloaked man stand behind him. A finely crafted spear was gripped with one hand while the other hung loosely at the man’s side.
,,I am Aran Geydar! I challenge you!” The man shouted and rushed forward. The demon couldn’t believe its eyes. Not only did the mortal refuse to flee, it actually dared to attack!






Note: Here's a pic of the demon I'm talking about. Much of thanks to the UESP.

This is actually one of the more powerful monsters, similar to a Dremora Lord in Morrowind or a high ranking Dremora in Oblivion. (Kylvan, Markynaz or something?)

[canis216]

Wow... maybe I should try to play Arena sometime. I got it to run on my PC once, but I couldn't quite figure out what I was doing at the beginning. Once I have some free time I should try again.

[minque]

Yeah! It´s awesome....I also have Arena but never tried it...Hmmm your story inspires me to do so..

Great work Jackie!

[The Metal Mallet]

Oooo creepy monster. I wonder want to be trapped in a sewer with one of those. Let's hop Aran knows what he's doing.

[Lord Revan]

The highest rank of dremora is a Valkynaz, one of Mehrunes Dagon's councilmen.

[jack cloudy]

I can tell you one thing about Arena, it's damn hard. My level 4 Redguard knight has to rely on the retreat-slash-retreat-slash technique to survive. Goblins are swordfodder now but everything else simply slaughters me. And that in full plate armour and a mithril saber.
Another hard point is navigation. You thought Vivec was a pain in the behind to navigate? Wait till you see any of the cities in Arena. No recognizable features and no civilians to ask for directions after 6:00 pm.




The demon moved sluggish, still not willing to believe what was happening. The spear stabbed like lightning, tearing through the monster’s hand so that it was forced to drop its axe. Fire burst out of the minor wound. Again the spear struck, wedging itself into the knee.
,,What are you waiting for?! Get out of here!” The Dunmer shouted to Marsh as he ducked under a clumsy blow from the confused creature. He retaliated by hitting an armpit.

Marsh took the advice and dropped himself into the water, letting the flow carry him towards the exit. With his last remaining strength, he pulled the grating away and drifted out of the sewer into the lake surrounding the Imperial city.

Aran evaded another blow and fell back. The demon’s surprise had faded. Now it was fully devoted to taking him down. So far, the Dunmer’s spear had struck at vulnerable areas like the joints at least a dozen times. Yet the steel tip only seemed to form a minor nuisance for it. Still, it moved a bit awkward which hinted at some damage to the muscles. Aran exploited another opening and aimed to hit between the ribs. His spear failed to penetrate the thick skin around the chest and made only a barely visible scratch.
,,Not every area appears to be soft.”

He retreated even further. Behind him, he could hear the stones crack under the weight of another demon. On pure instinct, he dove for the floor. A heavy blade sliced through the air, taking the Dunmer’s hood with it.
,,Two against one. Not much sense of honour with these.” He thought and got back onto his feet just in time to pin the first demon’s tail to the wall.
,,Ten seconds, that’s my estimation for my continued survival.”

In his current position, he could not release the first demon for it would promptly bite his head of. Likewise, he had to release it for otherwise the second demon would hack his head of with the cursed axe. He was facing a hard dilemma and needed a way out. Preferably within the next five seconds.

Two seconds before his death and one second before he was going to release the tail, the second demon snorted. Aran looked up, ready to duck away in any direction. If the situation wasn’t so serious, he would’ve laughed at the sight. The demon was clawing frantically at its face, trying to pull a small arrow out of its nose with claws that weren’t designed for it. Aran took his chance and pulled his spear out of the tail. Instantly, the trapped demon spun around on its hooves and opened its mouth to reveal a collection of obscenely sharp teeth. While it had hoped for a head to chew on, it instead received a foot in the throat. It trashed against the wall, wheezing for breath and clutching its throat. By the time either of the two had recovered, their intended snack was already past the grating.

Marsh breathed weakly. His vision was blurred from exhaustion but he believed that it was still night. So he hadn’t been unconscious for that long. He turned his head utterly slow. Sitting next to him were two blurs. Judging by their length, he concluded that the shortest of the two was the Bosmer he’d left behind to guard the exit. The other was likely the Dunmer who’d come to his rescue.
,,To defeat one of those things without dying is quite a feat. Who is this man?” He thought but instead of asking the man’s name he chose to berate the girl.’
,,You were supposed to keep everything out.” He spoke as sharply as he could in his weakened condition.

,,I tried! But this guy came, completely normal looking. Only, he wasn’t normal! I could see!” Rajn squealed and began to sob. The Argonian blinked. He hadn’t been that angry. After all, he knew that if she’d tried to hold back a demon, she would be dead now.
,,Don’t cry, it doesn’t matter. I’m still alive.” He spoke with a friendly tone. He now saw the time right to involve the Dunmer into the conversation.
,,Thanks to you. I don’t know how you did it, but the fact that you stand here means you defeated that wretched thing.”

Aran scowled.
,,Only a fool would continue a battle he can’t win. Most people would say I ran, I call it a considered retreat. There were two of them. Rajn hit one of them in the nose. A stupid target.” He answered.
,,Hey! I was aiming for the eye, I swear! It’s that lousy bow’s fault that the arrow landed a bit lower. Why are you all so mad at me?” The Bosmer complained.
,,I’m not mad at you. It was a stupid target, but it did give me the chance to escape.” He sighed and then spoke the words he had never dreamt he would speak.
,,I owe you my life. By tradition, that means I must defend you till you consider my debt repaid. I was planning to return home to my tribe but I cannot abandon you for that would mean forsaking my honour.”

Rajn looked up at the Dunmer.
,,What? Oh, you don’t have…..” She was interrupted by a scaly hand covering her mouth. Marsh sank back on the ground after his sudden movement, still tired.
,,I appreciate your honesty but it would be wiser for the moment to accept his offer. No doubt you’ll face foes in the nearby future you can’t fight on your own. Any help could be crucial.” He advised, earning him a stern glance from the Dunmer.
,,Your counsel was not requested.” He noted.
,,But he is right. You shouldn’t dismiss me so soon, even though you think we’re even. I can see that something is wrong when demons hide underneath the city, disguised as guards. Please accept my offer. I, Aran Geydar, promise that my hand will forever be at your side to smite those who wish you harm.” He pleaded and lied his face on the cool earth.

He felt a pair of hands touch the back of his head.
,,Oh, just get up and stop kissing the ground. Alright, I’ll accept it but only for as long as is necessary.” Rajn decided. Next to her, the Argonian let out a relieved hiss.
,,So it has been decided. Welcome, sir Geydar. I am Marsh-Speaker though I would prefer it if you simply called me Marsh. Now I’ll explain our next course of action.”

He waited till he had everyone’s attention before he withdrew the key from his pocket. The glint of rubies shone in the moonlight.
,,As soon as I’ve rested, we’ll enter the city.” He explained. Rajn threw her hands up into the air.
,,I don’t believe it! Have you lost your mind?! After all that trouble to get out, you want to get back in?!” She shouted, taken by surprise. Aran crossed his arms in front of his chest and responded much calmer.
,,Be quiet or the wrong ears will hear you. Where exactly in the city, Marsh, do you want to be?” He inquired.

,,The Imperial palace.” Marsh replied with a blank expression.
,,Miss Treesap, if you wish to voice your objections, please make sure not to raise your voice.” He added, half-jokingly. The girl glared at him.
,,Yeah, I freely admit that I think your plan is complete suicide.” She whispered.

The Argonian shrugged.
,,I would think the same thing under normal circumstances. But right now, my duty demands that I go to the palace and make contact with the blind monks. As if breaking into the palace isn’t bad enough, we also have to evade the patrols and find a path to a location I have only been before a single time. That time, I was blindfolded.” He elaborated. His breathing was stronger now and he felt his strength beginning to return.
,,It is not as bad as you might think. Rajn here is a Tower.” Aran interjected. Marsh made a perfect imitation of a frown.
,,And how is that supposed to help us?” He asked.

Rajn muttered something under her breath.
,,Alright, I’ll just come out with it. I’m a tower yes, but not a normal one. I’m the rare version of the tower, the more extreme one. Five words: I CAN SEE THROUGH WALLS. Thanks to that I was always considered a freak back home and treated as trash. On second thought, maybe I don’t want to go home.” She reluctantly admitted.
,,Ah, now I understand. I read a paragraph on this during my studies. Only a dozen words at most. I can see how that might help us. Fine then, we’ll rest here and come up with a detailed plan in the morning.” Marsh nodded to both of his companions and closed his eyes. Soon, he’d drifted off into sleep.

[canis216]

Fantastic!

And yes, Arena is really hard. I got it up and running again today and it took me about 4 attempts to figure things out enough so I could get out of the sewers. I ended up in Windhelm (after rising to level 3 down in the sewers) and it's bloody difficult to get around. Now I just need to make some money to get decent gear...

[The Metal Mallet]

Lovely update Jack! Looks like things are going to get more and more difficult for our heroes. Hopefully they'll formulate an excellent plan. Keep it up!

[Black Hand]

Whoa....so thats what its like to read one of my stories....miss a day, miss five updates! Nice work Jack! SGM, keep it up!!

[jack cloudy]

I love Arena. It has such a creepy atmosphere.
Some good moments was my duel against three mages. First fireball knocked out half of my health, the next two dagger hits got me into critical. I finished them only to find out that there was a third one behind me. Less than 10 hp left in the end. I really felt like I'd claimed a hard victory.

Or the castle outside Vulnim gate in Hammerfell. Inside it is really creepy. Monsters seem to actually respawn constantly. And the sound of doors closing and opening somewhere out of sight. Man, that's scary. I grabbed everything I saw, beated up a rogue and a Spellsword, two goblins and a bunch of rats. After that, I ran because my nerves couldn't handle it. Two thieves had surrounded me just outside. Another battle finished in critical condition. But the rewards was worth it. 700 septims at least! Woot!

Anyway, back to your daily corruption. A really short one. I need to focus on an Agent update really.



The next day came with a dull start, the sun hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds.
,,Ugh, looks like the whole world shares my mood. I just don’t get it.” Rajn complained. Her two companions had their eyes fixed on the gate.
,,Guards? What is there you don’t understand?” Marsh hissed. He was still a bit tired but he refused to rest any longer. With the stakes so high, personal comfort was not among his priorities. Besides, he had been raised in the Black Marsh. Comfort was hard to find there so he was used to a slight muscle cramp.

,,Human. Anyway, I was saying something. Why are we going to walk through the front gate? If it was up to me, I would wait till night and climb over the wall.” She continued after answering the Argonian’s question. Marsh blinked and gave a sheepish grin.
,,Alright, I’ll try to explain it with a simple question. Finding the answer yourself is more rewarding than having someone tell you. So answer me. If you were looking for three wanted people who are about to break into the most heavily secured building of the Empire, when would you expect them to come?” He asked and looked expectantly.
,,Well, during the night of course. It’s dark then, everyone is sleeping and….oh.” Rajn answered without hesitation.
,,I get it now. During the day, no one would expect us to do it.”

Aran held up his hand and made a few quick gestures.
,,We split up here. Remember the plan. Rajn leads and avoids any disguised demons. We follow separately from a distance. We’ll only join up again when we either reach our destination or if one of us meets trouble.” He moved his lips without a sound. They all nodded at each other and soon slipped into the mass of farmers willing to sell their wares on the market.

The guards looked at each of the farmers as they passed through the gate. Especially the one on the left side of the gate seemed rather attentive. With this level of awareness, it all came down to whether or not they’d received a description of the soon-to-be burglars. Rajn took a deep breath before stepping through the gate. When the guard looked at her for an exceptional long time, she felt her cheeks burning and feared that she’d been caught.
,,Hey there, pretty lady. No need to be shy. Why don’t you come over to the barracks later, eh?” The guard said in a tone she certainly did not appreciate even though she was slightly relieved. He hadn’t been staring at her for so long because he recognized her from a certain wanted list. The guard standing on the other side of the gate laughed.
,,Stop hitting on the women!” He shouted at his colleague and winked at Rajn in a way she didn’t appreciate either. The Bosmer glared at both of them and wiped some imaginary dust off her sleeve.
,,Guess the standing outside all day in rusting armour must have caused something else to rust as well.” She said out loud which managed to shut up the two lecherous guards.

She stepped through the gate as fast as she dared.
,,Hey, we only do this because it pays well, really! And it’s not rusted!” The first guard shouted after her. He’d taken the insult rather hard it seemed. Rajn turned around just long enough to stick out her tongue and passed between a group of priests. Once she was out of earshot, she glanced behind her to see if the Dunmer and the Argonian had made it past as well. The tip of a spear rising up over the heads and the end of a tail told her they had. She looked towards each side of the street and made her decision. The encounter with the guards had given her an idea. She joined up with a group of young yet rich-looking people. They should be able to get her and her companions inside the palace without any sneaking through secret passages filled with traps. All they required was a little persuasion. And a good kick between the legs afterwards.




Note: Don't mess with the females.

[The Metal Mallet]

Hehehe... I think I know where this is going

Excellent update.

[Black Hand]

Oh Man jack,..see what you've started!! Even I couldnt resist using the idae in my stories!! Not your fault, its the injuries fault for being so funny!

[Lord Revan]

Tsk, tsk, tsk, what is the word coming to? It seems that ball-kicking is the most popular underhanded trick. What happened to the classic back-stab?

[jack cloudy]

Back-stab? Bah, waste of arrows and they can't learn from their mistake when they're death.

And I'm quite sure I have some surprises in store for all of you. Anyway, gotta run. School's waiting.

[jack cloudy]

Marsh shook his head when he saw the Bosmer girl strike up a conversation with a few young nobles.
,,Silly girl. Do you really believe that is going to work? They’ve been told from birth to watch out for such tricks.” He thought and quickened his pace for a moment. He decided however that while it wouldn’t help their task at all, the only damage in the end would be her pride. Under normal circumstances, the young men might actually do her physical harm but only a drunk fool would mess with a bow-wielding Bosmer. So she was quite safe as long as she didn’t go too far. Reassured, he fell back again.

Aran looked at the scene up ahead and moved as close as he could without drawing attention to himself.
,,She’s acting like a fool. Not all men fall easily to a woman’s charmes. This is even more true when said woman does not know how to use her charms. It looks like fulfilling my debt will be a hard task. She just seems to run headfirst into trouble at the first opportunity.”

Rajn followed the group calmly. For the first two streets, the men did their best to act as if they hadn’t seen her. Only when they were about to pass through a gate did the one in the rear acknowledge her presence.
,,Can I help you?” He asked in a friendly yet slightly impatient tone. Rajn came to a full stop and now found the whole group fixing their stares at her. She blushed under all the attention.
,,Drat! I hadn’t thought of what to say! I need something, quick!” She thought in a slight panic.
,,Umm, where can I find the palace?” She asked and gave the group what she thought was her cutest smile.

The man who’d spoken to her, a Breton somewhere in his early twenties, returned her smile.
,,Oh, that’s simple. The palace is the big tower right in the middle of the city. You can’t miss it. To get inside though, you need an invitation.” He explained. Now that she’d something to work with, Rajn had a much easier time finding her words. She faked an extremely disappointing look, including widened eyes.
,,Aww, but I travelled all the way from Fallinesti to see it. I wanted to see the throne room, the old men in their fancy robes, the library, the Emperor’s bedroom, the kitchen. Now what am I going to do?” She pouted. The whole group turned away in disgust but the Breton didn’t move.

,,Come on, Lucius, don’t waste your time with that low-class elf.” One of them told. Lucius held up a hand.
,,No, it’s alright. You can go on ahead without me. I’ll come over later.” He replied and watched them walk away. Once they were out of earshot, he laughed.
,,Quite the tourist, aren’t we? I would’ve expected the treasury to be in your list though. Aren’t Bosmer known as thieves?” He said in jest.
,,Yup, and we sure are proud of our reputation. Robbing the treasury would be great fun, but how would I ever walk away with all that heavy stuff?” Rajn shot back, laughing as well.

The Breton scratched his chin for a moment, his mind elsewhere.
,,Do you know how to use that bow?” He asked with an absent voice.
,,Hey, I am a Bosmer. Of course I’m good, better than anyone else in the province.” Rajn said, beaming with pride.
,,Bosmer, stupid I asked. Well I would hate to see your journey turn out to be useless. Though I heard that the Emperor is holding an archery competition. If you decide to take part, you will actually get to see the inside of the palace. You and whoever you hire to look after the occasion, that is.” He offered after some more thinking.
,,Great! Where do I sign up?” Rajn shouted, falling completely out of her role for the moment. It didn’t matter, for a display of boundless enthusiasm was just what she needed.
,,In the palace of course, follow me.”

The two continued their walk towards the palace, chattering away. Aran still followed within the crowd. He shook his head a few times.
,,Unbelievable, just unbelievable.”

Lucius waved at the guards who held the doors to the palace.
,,Hi!” He greeted and gestured to the Bosmer that she should be quiet.
The guards nodded.
,,Good morning, young sir Stoneleaf. Who is that behind you?” They greeted in return, going straight to the point.
,,Ah, that’s Rajn Treesap. A friend of the family. She’s quite accomplished as a hunter so I thought that she might enter the archery competition?” While the Breton was talking with the guards, Rajn slipped around whenever they weren’t looking till she could reach one of the guards. When the three were fully focussed on their conversation, she put a hand on the guard’s belt and retrieved a surprisingly small set of keys which she quickly put into her pocket without any rinkling. The doors were opened by the other guard and she was allowed inside.
,,Wow, I actually did it.” She thought to herself, surprised at her own success.

Aran shook his head again as he saw the doors close.
,,Unbelievable, truly unbelievable.” He repeated to himself. She was now out of his reach and the best he could do was pray for her safety. He felt a scaly hand on his shoulder and turned to see who’d touched him.
,,Excuse me, dark-skin. You are blocking the road.” Marsh hissed loudly with a hateful voice.
,,I’m a noble and they’ll let me in. I’ll keep an eye on her. Wait at the nearest tavern.” He whispered, without any trace of the hate he’d just displayed. He then left the Ashlander behind and walked confidently up to the stairs.

,,Ah, Marsh-Speaker. My, what happened to you?” The guards asked him. The Argonian looked at his dirty robe and growled.
,,Bandits. It’s impossible to even travel the roads in safety these days. I’m going to file a formal complaint.” He answered. The guards shrugged and opened the gate.
,,Hey, I can’t find my keys. I must have left them at the barracks. Anyway, try to keep it calm, Marsh. We don’t want a repeat of your last complaint which had us buy a new table. The Emperor was not pleased.” The one who’d been robbed by Rajn warned.

[Lord Revan]

So far so good, wonder how long their luck will last. Seems Aran is high and dry as of the moment; it must suck being in a foreign land without any prestige........ and having your life endebted to a bosmer who jumps head-first into uncertainty.

[The Metal Mallet]

Lovely update! I also hope this plan works without any incidents.

[jack cloudy]

Say, does anyone know what the Imperial palace looks like on the inside? Honestly, I'm improvising here. Ah well, I bet that it has a character like the one in this update. Or it should have.






Once inside, Marsh looked around, looking completely disinterested with those around him. In reality though, he was fully alert to any change in the situation. Once he’d spotted Rajn and the Breton, he followed them, stopping to gaze at the various paintings on the way. The two had apparently picked up their conversation again which annoyed the Argonian ceaselessly.
,,She’s going to mess up all of my plans single-handedly like this.”

,,The palace can be seen as the heart of the Empire in more ways than one. Of course the Emperor is seated here but that’s not all. All provinces have had an influence on the interior of the palace. We’ve got Glass relief’s from Morrowind, Silver statues from High Rock, Lanterns from the Summerset Isles, Carpets from Argonian silk, furniture from Valenwood and I forgot what Skyrim offered.” Lucius pointed all over the place like a tour guide. To complement the scene, Rajn was staring everywhere in wonder like a tourist. That was till she saw the furniture.
,,What?! They cut down trees back home and turned them into tables?!” She blurted out.
,,I know, different cultural values. I still don’t like it.” She added, doing her best to calm down. From the other side of the hall, Marsh sighed and left the hall.

He couldn’t keep an eye out on her any longer. The moment he’d entered the palace, he’d entered the endless game of politics. Any lingering in the hall with his current clothing would raise suspicion. Naturally, the attention would then shift to the other strangers in the hall. It wouldn’t take long for an observant eye to reveal the connection he had with eh Bosmer. He wasn’t without options though. Like everyone else, he secretly paid several of the servants to be his hidden ears and eyes. As such he approached one of the servants on his payroll and requested a glass of whine.
,,Keep an eye on those two, especially the Bosmer with the bow.” He whispered and left, knowing that he would receive a report in less than an hour. Though he also knew that he wasn’t the only one who was watching them and he was being watched himself. That was the life of a politician in Cyrodiil.

,,Well, I can’t honestly say it ever bothered me. Then again, I’m from High Rock and we look different at things there. As you said, cultural values. But then again, there is something called respecting another person’s culture. So since your people view plantlife as sacred, we should’ve taken the wood from somewhere else.” Lucius said by way of an apology. Rajn waved him off.
,,Don’t go kiss the floor because of my feelings. I’m getting used to seeing strange things that would have you hung back home.”

Before either of them could continue their discussion on the furniture, they were addressed by an exquisitively dressed Altmer.
,,Good morning, sir Stoneleaf. Perhaps you might grant me the honour of introducing me to your companion?” He asked with a rather snobbish sounding voice which caused Rajn to immediately dislike him. The fact that he was easily twice as tall as her didn’t quite help break the ice either. Lucius showed none of his feelings.
,,Ah, forgive me. Housemaster Alvuis, I’d like to introduce Rajn Treesap to you. She’s a recent addition to the ones my family are happy to count as friends. Rajn Treesap, it is my pleasure and most distinct honour to introduce to you Housemaster Alvuis. He makes sure that the household of the palace is always conducted orderly.” The Breton said, making a deep bow to his listeners.

Rajn blinked a few times.
,,Ok, so basically you just told our names? What’s up with all the cryptic mumbling?” She asked, which brought out a most displeased expression on Alvuis’ face. This expression became even worse when he looked at the floor.
,,Perhaps lady Treesap would be pleased to alter her attire for her stay in the palace?” He asked, sounding even more snobbish than before. Rajn blinked again. Lucius leaned over to her ear once he saw her confusion.
,,He asks if you want to change your clothes. He doesn’t like the muddy footprints.” He whispered politely.

The Bosmer looked down at hr feet. Indeed, a trail of wet mud clearly showed where she’d set her feet.
,,I can’t believe it. I’ve walked through the whole city and I’m still trailing mud.” She imitated the Altmer’s snobbish tone.
,,I don’t have any other clothes though.” She whispered back to the Breton after her fun with the Housemaster.

Lucius thought about it for a second before snapping his fingers.
,,Ah, that should be no difficulty. Housemaster, please give her a room for the night. I’ll send over one of my servants with a more proper choice of clothing.” He said to Alvuis and turned away.
,,Just follow the Housemaster. I’ll take care of everything else then.” He told Rajn before whispering into her ear again.
,,You might want to take a bad while you have the chance. To be honest, you reek as if you’ve spent times near the sewer exit.” When he tried to walk away, he felt a hand tugging his sleeve.
,,Wait just a minute. I can’t go and accept that. You’ve done too much already.” Rajn complained.
,,Besides, I already pilfered the keys I need and I don’t want to take this too far. If you keep being so nice to me, I’ll actually feel bad about ditching you like a broken lockpick.”

,,No, no. I insist. You should take advantage of the situation whenever you can. Now, I’ll see you later.” Since he had his back turned to her, he did not see the girl’s irritated expression.
,,Damn, he’s simply too cute. This will be harder than I thought.”
Alvuis looked down on the Bosmer. Now that the noble had left, he had no reason to continue his polite manners. She wasn’t a noble and as such held no real rank here.
,,I suppose it is my duty to help those less fortunate than myself.” He said, his disgust now unmasked.

Rajn stabbed a finger at his stomach, the highest she could reach.
,,Now you stop this whole ‘I’m better than you’ nonsense! Less fortunate than myself, phah! At least I’m not the one who always has to talk in sentences that make my tongue twist into a knot. I’d like to see you walk outside with that attitude. Those fancy robes aren’t going to stop the wolves.” The Altmer gave her a scorching stare and then walked out of the hall, his robe swishing in his wake. After a few seconds, Rajn figured she was supposed to follow him and somewhat reluctantly, she did.

The two kept a cool silence during their walk through several halls and up several stairs. Alvuis finally stopped at one of the countless doors that were indistinguishable from their brethren.
,,Consider this chamber to be your home during your sojourn in Cyrodiil. Inside you’ll find all the necessities. I’ll have a servant sent to you.” He spoke and left without giving the required bow. Rajn glared at his back till he was out of her sight.
,,I should’ve tried to hit on him. At least then I wouldn’t feel any regrets about the betrayal later on.” She muttered to herself and opened the door.

[canis216]

Heh, quite the saucy one, that Bosmer...

[The Metal Mallet]

Well it seems that they've gotten inside easily enough. I have a feeling getting out might be a bit more difficult than getting in. I guess we'll find out. Great work as usual Jack.