The Ice Warrior Options

[jack cloudy]

Eh, sorry for the wait.

Ok, lots of stuff happening. Teemee sounds like a nice fella now that I've heard his story. He's not evil, just had a run in with bad luck. I still don't like how Madila is doing things and I still don't quite get it. So the tasks they have to do are to free her, who is infinetely more powerful than the two of them combined? Couldn't she do those tasks herself then, or did Lord Vero go all 'Not a chance, missy. You just be lazy and sit here in the living room.' Granted, if she was allowed to do it herself, she would have been free years ago.

As for the Udyfri....the big U, Erick and Teemee had better stock up on something real good. If a whole legion garrisson can't handle it, then what can?

Well, at least they've met some Nords. Time to ask for information from the experts, I guess.

[minque]

Now of course you think I don't read your story huh? That's so wrong, because I do! I not only read it, I enjoy it and I agree with my old friend BSD, who really is a professional, what he says....

Then again you are a professional as well, right? It shows you know! I don't think I need to go more into that because you already know.

I'm reading and I hope to be more "commenting" but things have been a tad .....dark, lately.

[redsrock]

Hey that's cool, I totally understand.

@Jack: She is not allowed to perform the task herself. I think I said that in one of the chapters, but I can't remember which one...

[The Metal Mallet]

Things are moving along quite nicely. I did find one inconsistency though. In Teemee's story, he tells Erick that he can't even remember his owner's name yet at the same time he was with that owner at a young age and was taught how to read and write. To me, that doesn't really add up (unless the slave hunter used some REALLY potent booze).

I know it is only one small thing in an otherwise, well written update but finding things like that can take the reader out of the story as they sort out the conflicting ideals you're showing them.

As I stated before, the rest of it is well written. I like the fact that we get to learn a bit more about Teemee now through that story.

[redsrock]

Thanks, Metal, though I don't agree with you on the 'forgetting his master's name' thing. I really don't see how that would take the reader out of the story, because it really has nothing to do with the tale in the first place. (other than her teaching Teemee to read and write, which is wonderous in it's own, but still...)

[redsrock]

CHAPTER SIXTEEN


As my eyes opened and began to regain focus, a terrible smell overcame my frozen nostrils. And once I could actually make out everything in front of me, I realized I was sitting in some kind of house in a room with the door shut, with my feet and hands tied binded together by thick ropes. I tried moving my limbs but they ached badly and I surrendered to the fastenings for the time being. What was more important was trying to figure where I even was in the first place. That’s when I heard an awful tone of singing coming from another room.

The voice was seemingly coming from a Nord, and I could easily note the strong accent that came from that particular race. But of course I shouldn’t be surprised, but rather scared for my life. I wondered if I was at the home of the Skaal, and then I turned around looking for Teemee, who was nowhere to be seen. Frantically I tried scooting across the room on my bottom, but I didn’t even get halfway to the door before the bindings disallowed me to move any further. I was now a prisoner once again…

Unexpectedly the door swung open, and in the doorway stood a loft Nord with a black beard that hung way down to the floor, almost dragging across it. His wild black hair was extremely messy and large as well.

“’Ello there, child. So you’ve decided to wake up, have ye? You’ve been sleeping fer a while now…” he said while walking into the room.

The floor boomed whenever he stepped with his gigantic fur boots. When the Nord neared me I noted several scars on his face, and his eyes…his eyes twinkled a bright blue color. They looked so peaceful but I had a bad feeling the Nord was anything but that.

“Wh…Where am I? Who…who are you?” I barely stammered. Right then I realized that my jaw was in excruciating pain as well. It was as if someone had beaten the living daylight out of me.

“Shhh….,” The Nord said while putting a fat finger up to his hairy upper mouth. “Hush, child, calm yer voice.”

The Nord then turned away from me and began to stare outside the window, located in the left corner of the small cramped room. I didn’t know what time it was, only that it was nighttime, for I could see the stars where I sat. I attempted to get up from the hard floor, but as soon as I put pressure on my left leg I immediately fell down. It appeared that I had somehow injured my leg as well, for it hurt badly. I looked down at it and it was dark blue around the knee region.

The Nord turned around to face me, and his head was cocked to the side. “Child, you mustn’t struggle. It will all be over soon.”

His voice was so calm and soothing it was scary. It was almost as if he was under a trance or something. I don’t know, it was hard to explain, but I knew something wasn’t right and I had to get out fast.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU? AND WHERE AM I?” I yelled at the top of my lungs. This caused the Nord to jump backwards in surprising fashion.

“My, my, child. Such angry words….”

Tears were forming in my eyes out of frustration.

“Why, my name is Ranmir. Yer inside my humble home, child. And lucky for you, it just so happens that yer the guest of honor tonight. You and yer lizard friend that is…” He said with a fanatical and creepy smile.

He turned away again and continued to stare outside the window, at who knows what. And again he sipped away at his large mug of drink. As he drank I noticed it looked a little awkward. So then I asked the Nord what he was drinking.

“What kind of wine are you drinking?”

I asked this even though I somehow knee the horrible truth. This drink was anything but wine. The Nord simply laughed at my question, and as he did his large body shook violently, causing some of the drink to slash from the cup and onto my shirt. It was dark red, and sticky. And when I tasted it my assumption was correct…..it was blood.

“OH MY GOD!” I screamed out loud, only making the Nord laugh even harder. “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO ME? WHERE IS TEEMEE?”

I was losing it now, for I knew what was going to happen to me. This Nord was a cannibal, and apparently a hungry one at that. He was going to eat me.

“Patience, child, patience,” he said in that same creepily soothing tone. “The time is not yet right. Soon, I promise you….”

Then he stepped outside the room and closed the door behind him, laughing the entire way. And as he did close the door, I took a peek at where he was going. Outside in the next room was a table with a severed head on it in a thick pool of blood…..that of Teemee. It was only a glance, but that’s all I needed to recognize my scaly friend. And next to the head was an enormous axe, with the head as bloody as the table it was resting on.
Once the Nord closed the door to my ‘holding cell’ I began weeping very loudly. Now Teemee was gone…my only friend left besides Melvin, the person I am now desperately trying to find. And here I am legs and arms binded together, inside a madman’s home who wants to devour me. This obviously wasn’t a predicament I wanted to be involved, not in the least. However, I couldn’t just sit here and let the Nord do his bidding. I had to fight back…..for Teemee and Melvin if nothing else.

So as I struggled to find a way out of my imprisonment I made a guess at how much longer I had until the Nord would come for. It couldn’t be too long, for the Nord knew that I knew of his evil doing. If he was the least bit smart he would realize that I would at least try and find a way of escaping. But he is a Nord, and they aren’t exactly known for their intelligence. Although this particular Nord is different from any other I had even met.

I pulled and tugged at the chains that were fastened to my limbs, but they wouldn’t budge. Now matter how hard I yanked the chains weren’t going anywhere. The Nord obviously put a lot of strength in binding me together, and unfortunately there wasn’t a thing I could do to loosen them. But lucky for me, because the Nord’s probable lack of intelligence, I had yet another plan.

It was highly likely that the Nord would be using a large and heavy weapon to chop me into pieces. Now, I’m not a historian of cannibalism by any means, but I doubt he’s going to eat me whole. It would make more sense to slice me into pieces so I’m easier to eat. And if that is the case, when the Nord swings his heavy weapon he will be doing so slowly because of the weapon’s weight. Therefore, I’ll position one of the chains in place so that the weapon cuts through the chains, helpfully freeing me. However, this is easier said than done.

There is one chain connecting a cuff around each of my ankles. The same goes for my wrists as well. So I will throw the two chains in place and pray for the best outcome. If I’m wrong I am as dead as a doornail. But…if I succeed then at least I am one step closer from getting out of this terrible place.

Regrettably there wasn’t any more time for preplanning, for the door leading to the next room swung open. The Nord stood there, holding a large mug of his “drink” in one hand, and a large battle axe in his other. I noticed how tense his muscles were, and I then knew he was going to act quickly and I had to be ready for the attack. And as soon as I made those thoughts the Nord took one long drip from the mug and then threw it to the ground. Blood was trickling down his hairy chin and onto his ruffled beard. Then he smiled and began walking towards me, clutching his axe tightly with both hands.

“Hold still, child, it will all be over soon…..” He then raised his axe high into the air, and he brought it down with more quickness than I would’ve given him credit for. Still, I was able to position the chains just in time and they were cut cleaning by the sharp head of the axe. I quickly got up from the ground, but then fell right back down from the pain in my knee.

Seeing that he was running out of time to perform the dirty deed, the Nord again swung his axe, and because of my quickness I dodged the attack once more. I then swiftly crawled over to the mug, which I found was made of died up clay, and tossed it at the Nord. The bloody container hit the Nord in the face, causing him to momentarily drop the axe while he tried urgently to wipe the blood from his burning eyes. And I took advantage of this situation.

I got up and forced myself through the door, limping the entire way mind you. I closed the door hoping to buy a little extra time, and then looked around the room for a door leading to the outside. But of course the first thing I noticed was Teemee’s still head, and I shuddered when I spotted it. But I shrugged it off; knowing now wasn’t the time to mourn. That would come later.

Suddenly the door swayed open from behind, hitting me in the back. I flew forward and dove across the table because of the force from the door. I landed on the floor, and next to where I was lying was a butcher’s knife. I noted it’s location in my mind and turned to face the Nord.

“I said stand still, dammit!” The soothing tone of his voice had been replaced by one of sheer madness. This Nord was not only a cannibal, but he was insane as well.

He walked up and hovered over my body, raised his axe, and before he could bring it down, I quickly grabbed the knife beside me. Then I plunged the blade deep into the Nord’s large stomach. He immediately dropped the axe and it landed a few inches from my face. His own face was now full of fear and surprise. He underestimated me, and was now paying the ultimate price for it.

His hulking body fell to the ground besides me, as still and as dead as the bloody knife I now held in my hands. I tossed the blade to the ground and scooted over in front of the table to get some to stretch my aching bones. The Nord must have done a number to me in the snow. I figured he must of beat me up pretty badly for me to feel like this.

And then of course I looked at Teemee’s detached head once more. And also, again, tears began streaming down my face as I thought about how close we were getting. Through all this time I had essentially thought of Teemee as a snot-nosed jerk. But after talking for a while I realized I couldn’t have been further from the truth. He was only misunderstood. But now it didn’t matter, as yet another one of my friends’ lives has been cut severely short.

I was about to head out and search for the settlement of Thirsk, but then I got to thinking. This house, even though it held two corpses, was still a pretty good place to stay when ever I would need to retreat. I wanted to dispose of the Nord’s body, but my bones were too weak to move him. So rather than hurt myself even more I only got rid of Teemee’s head. I couldn’t find his body, and to be honest I didn’t want to think about where it could be. The smell was obviously not very pleasant, but I’d simply have to deal with it.

As I lay in a bed upstairs, where the stench of death was less noticeable, I heard a tiny ‘pang’ and suddenly standing in the room was Madila, with her hands crossed and mean expression about her face.

“So…..sleeping on the job, eh?” She said, and not in a friendly way I should add.

“In case you haven’t noticed Teemee is dead, and I was almost eaten alive by an insane Nord. By bones ache terribly and I think I deserve a little bit of rest,” I said defiantly.

“Oh, don’t worry about Madila and her eternal suffering. Let’s just take a little rest. She’s waited for nearly forty years for this opportunity, she can wait a tad bit longer,” she said sarcastically.

“To be honest I really don’t give a damn about you and your ‘suffering’. If you ask me you’re having too much fun watching me run around, escaping death every five [censored] minutes!”

“I didn’t plan on the Nord, Erick. That was bad luck and thankfully you proved skilled enough to handle the situation.”

“Well, if it wasn’t for this ring I’d be dead now. I suppose I should thank you for that. It has saved my life several times now…” I tried cooling my voice down a bit, for I fear Madila was getting fed up with my tone.

But she simply rolled her eyes and said, “Erick, Erick, Erick... That ring is doing nothing for you. You do realize that, correct?”

I cocked my head to the side and gave her a confusing look. “What do you mean ‘nothing’?”

“It is a normal copper ring, Erick. It has no special abilities whatsoever.”

“Than how do you explain how I killed the Nords at Fort Frostmoth, and how I escaped death in this very house?”

“Don’t you see? The ring has proven you are skilled enough to handle yourself, Erick. It was only a test, to give you confidence. You’ve been doing everything with your ability. That’s why I chose you. Do you think I would have came to you if I had to give you a ring just to get by?”

I couldn’t believe. It’s all been one big joke this entire time. I had thought the ring was brining me powerful abilities, but apparently I’ve been wrong. It…was just so unbelievable. I never would have thought this…ever.

“Are you sure?” I asked, and Madila rolled her eyes yet again. She was also becoming impatient as well.

“I haven’t come here to blow sunshine up your [censored]. I’m here to get you on your feet and back out there. I understand your injuries, so I suppose spending the night here won’t hurt too much. Just don’t get too lazy…..or else I might decide to go ahead and end Melvin’s life. I am not a patient women, Erick…”

And with that she disappeared just as quickly as she had arrived…

This post has been edited by redsrock: Mar 31 2008, 03:21 AM

[Burnt Sierra]

Bloody hell, I didn't see that coming...

Good scene, very unexpected, and the mad Nord was nicely created. Watch out for your tenses though, you keep switching from past to present.

Wonder what will happen next, it's thrown me for a loop this one

Good job mate

[jack cloudy]

NNNNOOOOOO! TTTTTEEEEEEMMMMMEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

...Aw, crap. I'll miss him. He was a jolly good fellow. Rest in peace, pal.

Anyway, Madila shows up again to whine her [censored] off. Geez, girlie. Just give it a break already. I know you're not patient, but you're really lowering your chances if you send a wounded, heartbroken Imperial out to do the tango with some big monster that has a whole lot of Nords peeing their pants.

Gosh, I liked her a lot more when she would just keep her mouth shut.

And finally, we learn that the ring is absolutely normal. (Apart from the enchantment that alters its appearance.) Her argument made sense, actually.

So far, it's been a good read. Though I'll miss Teemee.

[redsrock]

I thought long and hard about Teemee, and ultimately I decided I was done with him. His character ended up getting fleshed out more than I could have ever planned.

[redsrock]

Because the new Competition I will not be working on this for some time. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but all my time and effort will be spent on creating entries for the Competition. This is VERY, VERY important to me, and again, I am sorry. I hope you can understand where I am coming from with this.

[redsrock]

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


"How long until we arrive at the cave, Rolfe?"

The Thirsk Nord, Rolfe, and I had been walking for nearly ten minutes, give or take a little. When we left Thirsk Rolfe had explained to me that the lair was just around the corner, but in my opinion we had been traveling for more than ‘just around the corner’.

"Not too much longer, just a few minutes or so."

His accent was very strong, and his body looked to be the same. After all, according to Andel this particular Nord was their fiercest warrior. That felt good knowing that I was about to go up against one of Solstheim’s fiercest creatures. I didn’t mind having some help along the way.

Just as Rolfe said, it wasn’t too much longer before we made it to the came. All that could be seen inside was darkness, and I could feel my legs start to tremble from the anxiety.

"Hold still, Erick. Showing fear is surrendering to the enemy, suicide even. Ye must show bravery in any given situation. It is the only honorable way."

"Sorry, I….I’m just not used to fighting all the time like you. As you can tell I’m not the warrior type."

"But ye have come this far, eh? I’d say that accounts for sumthin. And don’t worry, lad, I’ll be here fer ‘ya. Just take my lead and we’ll strike down the beast together."

I felt a little more comfortable after hearing those words, especially since Rolfe was a massive body of muscle. Also, his gigantic Nordic axe spoke for itself as well. This Nord was quite confident in his abilities, and thankfully the confidence was rubbing off on me. But there was still….I wasn’t too sure how this was going to turn out.

I watched as the Nord with the thick black mustache took out his axe and slowly began to creep into the cave. His mass of black hair was covered by his Nordic Trail-bone armor, and for a second I just stood there frozen. Then Rolfe turned and around and motioned for me to followed. I gripped my wooden spear tightly, sighed heavily, and followed my helper into the dark cave.

After three minutes of walking in the light of Rolfe’s torch we found nothing, yet I was still more nervous now than I have ever been in my entire life. Fighting Nords was one thing, but this beast…..this was much different. After seeing what it had done to the entire community of Raven Rock I didn’t really want to have anything to do with it. But of course that was impossible if I wanted to save Melvin, and I most certainly did.

"Shhh….Do you hear that?"

Rolfe had raised his hands and we both stood still, listening to who knows what. The Nord apparently heard something, but if he did I had no clue what it was. For several minutes he stood there with his right hand to his right hear, listening for something. After nothing happened Rolfe shrugged his shoulders and we continued on. But as soon as we started walking from out nowhere came a figure from the side of the cave behind some rocks. The creature roared fiercely and charged towards Rolfe.

"It’s the Udyrfrykte! Prepare yourself, Erick!" Rolfe yelled over the monster’s screams.

Luckily the beast was far enough away that we had time to prepare ourselves, and once the Udyrfrykte was in range I was in a defensive position, ready to protect myself. Rolfe on the other hand was on a complete offensive and charged towards the beast, which was a terrible mistake. Rolfe swung his axe with one hand and tried to burn the beast b means of the torch in his other hand. But alas that didn’t do the trick and the Udyrfrykte pushed the torch away and swung at Rolfe face.

With the torch on the ground it was extremely hard to see anything, and soon I saw Rolfe running towards me with his face filled with fear. "Come, we’ll have to fight outside in the light! I’ve wounded the monster, but we he will attack again soon!"

So we left the cave in a hurry and stood outside in the sun, waiting for the monster to return. A slash mark was across Rolfe’s right eye, and blood was seeping from the wound profusely.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"I’ve had worse wounds than this. Just get ready for the attack and don’t worry about me."

As soon as he said that from out of the cave came the Udyrfrykte. At last I was able to get a good look at the creature, and it wasn’t a very pleasant sight. It was basically all black, and had the most fluorescent-green eyes I had ever seen. They almost mesmerized you in a way. The beast stood about three four feet tall on all fours, which meant it was probably about six feet tall on its hind legs. The creature had a massive overbite that featured two long razor-sharp teeth in the front, and two shorter ones on the side. Of course there were plenty more on the inside, but I didn’t want to think about that. And just as Rolfe had said, the beast had been wounded. Blood was pouring from a wound to its left leg, and the beast was limping noticeably.

"Quick, hand me your spear!" Rolfe ordered as the beast started lumbering towards us.

I tried give my spear to Rolfe, but for some reason my body wouldn’t move a bit. When I didn’t give him the spear his eyes flashed with anger and great surprise. Then he yelled almost in an insane way, "Give me the damn spear I said!"

I tried and tried as hard as I could, but it was almost as if I were frozen in time. And as soon as I thought about ‘frozen in time’, I unfortunately thought about Madila. Right then and there I knew she had something to do with this.

Within seconds the Udyrfrykte had lunged at Rolfe, and unlucky for him he didn’t even see it coming. The creature knocked Rolfe to the ground, and the Nord’s axe went flying somewhere to the left. Immediately the beast clamped down on Rolfe’s neck and tore a huge piece of flesh away from the body. Rolfe was dead, and then the beast lunged at me. Suddenly I was able to move once again and quickly, as the beast was in mid-air, I held my spear in front of me.

The point of the spear tore through the Udyrfrykte’s chest, and then ripped through all the way through its body and out the back. I landed on my own back onto the cold snow, and the now-dead beast was on top of me. Blood from its wound was falling onto my, and with the strength I had left I pushed its body over and I just laid there on the ground, astonished by what just happened.

Then that familiar purple haze filled the area, and sure enough Madila was standing before me. And this time she didn’t have that usual irritating grin. In its place was an angry sneer, and she looked like she wanted to kill me on the spot.

"Just who the hell do you think you are, hmm?" She asked me loudly, and it felt as if the ground was trembling from her yelling.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, totally confused by her question.

"This Nord," she said while pointing at Rolfe’s mangled body, "has helped you complete your first task!" She yelled furiously.

"So? You never said I couldn’t have any help!" I scream in return, only to get a small taste of Madila’s powers.

My throat began to tighten up and I noticed I was being lifted from the ground. I looked at Madila and her hand was motioning towards my neck, and I knew it was she who was causing phenomena.

"Let us get something straight, Erick. This is MY game, and you will follow MY rules. NEVER assume ANYTHING! Do you understand me?"

Just barely I was able to nod my throbbing head. I was starting to feel very dizzy and it was extremely difficult to breath because of Madila’s magical grasp.

"Because of your behavior I have taken the lives on everyone there. You can get angry all you want; it really doesn’t matter to me. I just want you to know that unless I specifically say so, you may NOT heed the help of ANYONE. By disobeying the rules of my game you are taking the fun out of everything! Now, travel back to Thirsk and look for the throne of where Chieftain-Andel once resided. There you will find the next letter."

Another circle of dust appeared and she was gone in an instant. I fell from the air, which was only about three feet, and landed, on my bottom. Thankfully the soft snow broke my fall and I wasn’t hurt, at least physically anyway. Psychologically I was being drained to the fullest, no matter how much I wanted to put that aside. I’ve been trying to stay strong this entire time, but it’s getting harder and harder by the day. Sooner or later I’ll crack, I just know it.

The only thing you’ve cracked was the throat of an innocent…..

"Shut up! I don’t want to think about the past, now isn’t the time!"

Why do you keep running away from it?

"I said shut up! Get out of my head!"

I was essentially talking to no one, but then again I guess you could say I was talking with myself, inside my own head. Sounds confusing, eh? Believe me, this isn’t anything compared to what I used to deal with when I first arrived at Fort Frostmoth. It was one of the reasons Melvin became my friend in the first place. But that of course is yet again another story of my troubled past. Perhaps it’s time I let everything out? Maybe then this game of internal struggles may end…..

This post has been edited by redsrock: Apr 12 2008, 02:05 AM

[redsrock]

Here is a skipped chapter. My bad....This all hapened before going to the Udyrfrykte's lair.


CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t sleep a bit that night. For one, I was wide awake, reflecting on all the events that have recently occurred. And two, my friend’s head was resting on the table downstairs, and his body lying who knows where. In fact, I really didn’t want think about the possibilities of where it could be.

And now here I stand, with a spear in one hand and my sack in the other, about to set foot into the heavy downfall of snow. I had not a clue where this Thirsk place was, nor did I have a map of the area. I was essentially running around blind, guessing on where to turn next. Such a thing didn’t make sense to me and I was beginning to feel frustrated. But what was I to do? There weren’t any other options, and it’s not like Madila was going to be of help. She only came when she wanted to, and I had a funny feeling she was now laughing at me somewhere, watching me wander around not knowing what to do.

I was still a bit curious to everything going on. Madila, who seems to be very powerful herself, is sort of ‘slave’ to this Lord Vero. But that would only mean that Lord Vero is extremely powerful, for the simple fact that he is apparently easily able to control the witch.

Plus, all of this was just so weird. I wanted to know what exactly it was Madila was looking for in the cave. Maybe whatever it was has something to do with these ‘tasks’. Though I’m not sure, I could be completely wrong; it’s happened more than once.

So a little after five o’clock the following morning I just got out off bed, realizing I wasn’t going to fall asleep anyway. It was still dark outside, but I knew the sun would begin to appear shortly, so I then began packing items into my sack. Thankfully I now had this house as my ‘base’, so there wasn’t a need to pack a lot of things. I simply packed a loaf of bread, raw carrots, and some raw beef. I figured there was always a chance of me getting lost in a blizzard, and if that was the case I would use the beef and cook it over an open fire. Therefore I brought a cooking pan and wooden spatula as well, which I ‘stole’ from the now-dead Nord cannibal’s kitchen drawers.

After finishing my packing, which only took twenty short minutes, I had everything I wanted, or needed for that matter. This included Teemee’s wooden spear, my Imperial broadsword, full leather armor minus the helm. (I had a simple hat that covered my entire head and ears.) And of course the food I told you about. Other than that I had nothing else. I was actually feeling quite light, for during the trek from Raven I had been hauling about fifty pounds worth of stuff, maybe even a little more than that now that I think about it.

When I stepped outside, the sun was about halfway up into the sky. It was not snowing thankfully and there were hardly any clouds in the sky. It looked as if the day was going to be a good one, hopefully that was going to be a sign of good fortune for me and my mission of finding Thirsk Either that or it was a bit of irony; that no matter how good things may seem, I will never accomplish my task. But I prefer to think on the positive side of things.

I decided to start north, and there was a good reason why. If you think about it, north just seems like the right way to go in every situation. North means going up, which you can compare to being successful. South would be going down, which I would compare to be being unsuccessful. East and west can be compared to staying level; not getting worse, but not getting better either.

I marched for nearly two hours and found nothing, absolutely nothing. I ran across several wolf corpses, gruesomely destroyed, likely by either a snow bear or the Udyrfrykte itself. I never passed any settlements, nor did I see any in the distance; and like I said earlier, it wasn’t as if today was an overcast and cloudy day. Now, it was clear as crystal, perfect even. But alas I was still searching blindly for this Thirsk place.

And then, from atop a large hill, there stood a figure raising something long high in the air. I looked to be a spear or something, but it was very hard to tell. All of a sudden I heard heavy footsteps behind me and before I could react I was hit in the back of the head once again. Needless to say this was becoming something of normalcy for me…


+++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++ +++++


I awoke sometime after that in a dark room, with a tattered rug spread across the floor. The only light came from a dimly lot torch on the wall that looked as if it were to go out any second. I rubbed my eyes with my hands and noticed they were not binded together, nor were by feet or any part of my body for that matter. I had not a clue where I was, and my sack and other items were nowhere to be seen.

And though my left knee was still a bit achy from yesterday, no further pains were noticeable, telling me that if I was indeed a prisoner of someone, at least they weren’t as painfully cruel as the cannibal Nord had been.

Using my good knee I pushed myself from the ground and walked across the room, which was not very large at all, and attempted open the door at the other end. The knob was steady, signaling that I was locked in. I cursed out loud and that’s when I head a voice from outside.

“Andrel, the Imperial is awake!” The voice was rather loud, and it seemed as if it was that of a male Nord. I then heard footsteps, seemingly going down wooden steps. Silence filled the air for several minutes, and then suddenly the door knob jiggled. I stepped away and the door opened, revealing a tall Nord with blue markings all over his face.

“It’s about time you woke up. You’ve been here since the early morning, and it is now seven thirty at night.”

The Nord talking to me was not very large, just extremely tall. He was easily a foot taller than I, and unlike many other Nords I have met, this particular one did not have a ruffled beard. Instead he had a nice, cleanly shaped blonde goatee. I could somehow tell this Nord was not like any other I had ever met. The way he spoke was one thing, in that he actually sounded intelligent.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“My name is Andel Bear-Claw,” Chieftain of this fine place of Thirsk.

Thirsk, eh? Thank Talos…

“Good. I’ve been trying to find this place for the past two days…”

Andel game me a curious look, turned to his accompanied friend, and then looked back to me. “Would you mind telling why, exactly? We found you wandering the tundra, looking as if you had not a clue where you were going.”

This man’s tone had none of the normal Nordic-accent. It was actually quite refreshing come to think of it. After the last Nord I dealt with, I’ve come to have a stereotypical assumption of them. Obviously they are not all cannibals, but still…it wasn’t a very good memory if you know what I mean.

“Well, I didn’t in fact. I’m afraid I…ugh…lost my map earlier.”

I lied to the Nord simply because I didn’t want him to know I come from Raven Rock and Fort Frostmoth. The Nords aren’t too keen about foreign visitors, especially those from the Empire. But there was something different about Andel. Something told me he wasn’t the savage brute most Solstheim Nords were.

Andel then gave me another serious look, and then said to his companion, “Rolfe, go fetch his belongings.”

The Nord, this one very muscular with lots of dark brown hair on both his head and face, immediately left the room in a hurry. Andel stood there with his arms folding, staring me down as if trying to figure me out. He was trying his best to keep a friendly posture, but I could tell he didn’t trust me. He was too smart for that mistake.

When ‘Rolfe’ returned, he brought my spear and sword, plus the sack carrying my other items. He held the items in his arms, and Andel took the blade from him.

“Where did you get this broadsword?” Andel asked me.

“I bought it from a ship in the Mainlands.”

“It’s Imperial-made, the kind forged for Imperial Legion officers. Why do you have this certain kind of blade?”

He was starting to catch on, and I had to think fast.

“I am an adventurer, and I was told Solstheim was a terribly dangerous place. I figured I’d need a weapon of great quality.”

Andel snickered at my last remark and replied, “great quality? Not with this bluntly-edged blade…..”
He handed the sword back to Rolfe and then opened the sack. Then he said, “In the bag is little food, a cooking pan, and a spoon, both wooden I should add. There are no other items present, and there are also no extra clothes. Obviously this place isn’t as warm as your Imperial-owned land, and that makes me wonder why you haven’t brought any extra sets. An adventurer wouldn’t be so naïve, no matter how idiotic they appear to be.”

“Take your armor off.”

“What?” I asked, completely confused.

“Take your clothes off and let me see what you’re wearing underneath.”

He was beginning to take a more serious tone, so I obeyed his orders. It probably wouldn’t be a smart decision to make him angry, not here in his home. After I skimmed down to my clothing underneath my fur armor I knew exactly what Andel was thinking. Somehow he knew I was wearing prisoner-clothes, and he probably recognized this somehow. Likely from a scout or something of that sort…

“Rolfe, leave the room and close the door behind you,” Andel said, without looking back at his comrade. Rolfe nodded his head and left quickly.

And Andel just stood in the middle of the room with his arms behind his back, staring into my eyes. The gig was up, and I knew it. However, I wasn’t about to give in just yet.

“These are prisoner clothes.” It was a statement from Andel, not a question.

“No they’re not; they’re something I bought back in….” He then cut me off.

“No, they are not from Morrowind. If that was the case then it wouldn’t say ‘Fort Frostmoth on the left sleeve.” He pointed to my left sleeve, and of course the stitched logo of the fort was there, along with its actual name. I couldn’t believe I had been so stupid. Now the charade was over for real this time…

“Do you have any other sly remarks, hmm?”

His friendly attitude had been replaced with one of sarcasm and hatred. This Nord obviously didn’t like being lied to.

“Fine, yes, I am from Fort Frostmoth. I was a prisoner there.”

“Then what are you doing all the way out here?”

“Somehow I was able to escape. I got some things together the other night, and then I just took off. Thankfully the guard was asleep at his post, so it wasn’t hard at all.”

Somehow I think Andel was buying my story, but he wasn’t totally sold just yet.

“Very well, but why have you come here? And why have you lied to me up to this point?”

This was tricky one. Fortunately for me I was a terrific liar…

Yeah, I did plenty of that long ago…

And again the past was coming back, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Besides, Andel was waiting for an answer.

“I came here because a friend of mine told me of this place. I figured I could come here and maybe join your clan?”

It was risky, but also worth the chance in my opinion. Besides, I couldn’t think of anything else anyway…

But then I realized that apparently it wasn’t worth the risk. Andel reared back his fist and punched me across the chin. I fell to the ground, feeling rather dizzy. I tried to get up but he pushed me back down, plus I was still woozy from the blow anyway. So I just sat there on the ground. I looked at Andel’s face and he was furious, to say the least.

“Stop with the [censored]ing lies, and tell me the truth…”

His anger was pure, but fortunately it was a ‘calmed anger’, and he wasn’t simply yelling at the top of his lungs. As it is probably easy to guess, it definitely makes for a more civilized conversation.

And so I told him the truth, every last bit of it. Everything, even Madila, Lord Vero, these task, etc…etc… etc…..But of course I didn’t expect him to believe, not in the least. I mean, who would believe something like this? I know I wouldn’t…

And when I was done, some ten minutes or so later, he walked across the room and pulled up a chair. Then he offered me a hand and helped me up from the groun, and then motioned for me to sit. Next he opened the door and told Rolfe to fetch an old towel and a bucket of water for my chin. I felt the skin, and blood was lightly trickling down and there was a small wound from where he hit me.

After Rolfe brought the towel he left again and Andel closed the door. He walked over and handed me the towel and placed the bucket of water on the ground. I dipped the cloth into the water and dabbed at my chin. It stung of course because the wound was still fresh, but it also felt good nonetheless.

“I apologize for the cut, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

I didn’t say anything, nor did I look at him for that matter. I was thinking too much about what was to happen next. It appeared as if the end was near and I was either to be killed or held prisoner forever, likely used as a slave for these Nords. But on the other hand, he did just apologize. Not for the hit, but for the scar. Maybe that meant there was still a glimmer of hope for me?

“I hit you because I wanted the truth, and that is what I got. Maybe you don’t agree with that, but hey, it works.”

Still I looked at the ground while treating my wound. And still Andel continued his little speech.

“And because of what you have told me, I will let you go.”

But of course after hearing that my head immediately lifted up and I stared directly into his eyes, trying to see if he was lying or not. Judging by his expression I’d say he wasn’t; that and that fact that he didn’t seem like a person who’d joke at a time like this.

“I don’t know why, and I don’t know how, but for some odd reason I believe every word of what you’ve told me,” Andel said while moving his right hand through his long blonde hair. “It anyone else it would make absolutely no sense of course, in fact it would all sound ludicrous actually. However, I do know of witches on this island, and therefore I believe you.”

“You know Madila?” I asked.

“I don’t know any of them personally, nor have I had any run-ins with any. I’ve heard the stories, and unlike many of your foreigners we Nords believe in them. Or at least the majority of us do. I know my men do…”

“So…may I leave now? I thank you for your kind actions, but as you can probably tell I need to go.”

“Yes, you may leave. But I want you to forget about the cannibal Nord’s house. Use Thirsk as your ‘safe-haven’. I would be honored to have you hear.”

“Really, why is that?” I asked.

“Simply because I marvel at you. Despite everything that’s happened, and all the dangers that await you, you’re still determined to save your friend. That is something not seen by many in this day and age. The world is a selfish one, ‘everyone-for-themselves’ if you will, especially by your Imperials, no offence to you of course. I can tell you are a very good person.”

“Well, thanks for the offer. The last thing I need is directions to the Udyrfrykte lair…”

“I shall have Rolfe accompany you in this battle. He is my fiercest warrior and he will do you good. I swear to you that his skills in battle are not matched by anyone, not even those of the Skaal.”

This was going great. And Madila had never said anything about not getting help for this task. Thankfully I wasn’t going to have to fight the Udyrfrykte all by my lonesome self.

[redsrock]

Here is the last chapter. It's not what you're expecting, I am sure. In fact, you probably won't even like it, though I don't think anyone's reading it so it doesn't matter I guess.

CHAPTER NINETEEN


You don’t have to do this, Erick…

Yeah, just calm down and rethink this. I don’t mean to offend you, but you’re in the wrong…

I originally thought they were in fact the ones who were wrong. Unfortunately it was me who was blindly mistaken. It’s too bad I didn’t figure that out until it was too late.

Several years ago, in my hometown of Caldera, there lived an absolutely gorgeous Breton by the name of Mabrelle. She was a looker, that much was for sure, and because of my teenage hormones I became vastly attached to her at a younger age. At the time of my infatuation with Mabrelle I was only fifteen years of age. My mother and father had been killed when I was an infant, and since then I had been living at the local orphanage.

By the time I was twenty I of course was on my own, and owned a little house inside Caldera, working in the mines. Mabrelle had married to a rich and pompous man from Ald Ruhn, and the two settled down at a mansion just outside of Caldera. Ever since they got married I had tried desperately to get rid of my obsession with the girl, but nothing worked. I tried dating several other women, but it wouldn’t go away. My only two friends tried to help me by taking me on a trip to see some Morrowind greatest sights, but even that didn’t do the trick.

Finally one Mabrelle’s husband was killed in a freak-accident in the forests, and she was of course a widow. I wanted to console her and try to make her mine, but that would have been the wrong thing to do. I realized she needed some time to herself, and I was willing to let her have that time of peace and reflection.

Then one night I got the craziest idea. I went to the local floral shop and purchased an expensive bouquet of roses. I was going to give Mabrelle the flowers and also give her my condolences. I hoped this would let her know how I feel about her, but not in a way that I was protruding onto her privacy. However, when I reached her mansion I noticed she was sitting on the porch, talking to none other than my best friend, Marty. He had his arm around her, and she was smiling. That was it. That was when I totally lost it.

I immediately went home and grabbed an old dagger I kept under my bed. My other friend, Benivus, asked me what I was doing. I tried to explain to him that Marty was trying to steal Mabrelle from me when he knew how much of a crush I had on her, but he didn’t believe me. I told him to stay out of the way or he too would be killed. As soon as I said that he went to the local authorities. I knew I had to act quickly.

So I marched back to Mabrelle’s mansion, where Marty was still talking with her. I walked up to them, with my dagger-hand behind my back and asked, “What are you doing here, Marty?”

He got up from the porch and tried to subdue my obvious anger. “What’s wrong, Erick?”

“You’re trying to steal the woman I love!” I responded.

Then I did the unthinkable. I took the dagger and shoved it through Marty’s heart. He gasped for air and put his hands on my shoulders. He tried to say something, but I simply dig the blade deeper into his skin. Mabrelle watched in horror as Marty slowly died, and once he did I turned my eyes to her.

She had been standing there, hands over his face, awe-struck. “What in the world is wrong with you?” She asked in confusion. And then something had come over me. My love for Mabrelle was then over, and in its place came a firm feeling of hatred. I then wanted nothing to do with her. In fact…I wanted to kill her.

I then ran at her, almost insanely in a way. Come to think of it, I probably was insane at that point. She ran into her mansion, trying to close the door behind her. But I was too fast and bashed through the door before she had a chance to close it. I took her by the neck and twisted it violently. I heard a loud crack, and before I knew it I had killed two people. One of those was my best friend, and the other was my hidden love.

Shortly after that many guards had arrived at the scene, and the rest is history. I am lucky to have my life the way it is. They should have killed me on the spot. But no….they had to send me here, to this frozen wasteland.

And in comes Melvin. When I first arrived at the island I was a mess. I was talking to myself, I was always anxious and paranoid; everything was terrible. But Melvin took me in for some reason and offered to be my roommate. He taught me it was okay to feel bad for what I did, but it wasn’t healthy to let it kill me so-to-speak. After months and months of work I have transformed back into my regular self.

Although, up until now I have been constantly haunted by my past. I never did get a chance to apologize to Benivus. I never got a chance to apologize to anyone for anything. I am here, and now that I have let loose everything that’s happened, I feel good about myself. I can’t explain it, but my internal struggles are over, I think. I just…feel relieved.

But alas that has not changed the death of many on this island; nor has it changed the annihilation of Fort Frostmoth and Raven Rock. All of that is a reality no matter what, and the only way of giving everyone a proper ‘burial’ is going through with this sick…..’game’.

I looked at Rolfe’s body, and ultimately decided against taking it back to Thirsk. If Madila was telling the truth, and I knew she was, there was no point in it. So I simply trudged back to Thirsk, and thankfully I didn’t get lost along the way. And just as Madila had said, the place was destroyed. Inside bodies were everywhere, but the scene wasn’t bloody at all. They were just…dead. It was as if they had all just suddenly dropped dead. There were no signs of a struggle, no choke marks, no signs of suffocation, no blood. It was so eerie that I tried not to pay attention to them, but of course that was easier said than done, especially whenever I stepped I had to step over a body.

Of course the letter was resting on the wooden throne, just as Madila had said. I snatched it up, went upstairs to get my stuff, and then went back outside. Then I sat on a tree stump and read the letter.

Dear Erick,

Obviously if you are reading this letter that means you’ve passed the first task. But to save the two of us some time I will skip the congratulations part of this letter. Besides you don’t need it anyway.

Your next assignment involves something a bit different from what you’ve just experienced. I would like you to travel to Castle Karstaag. While being cursed from leaving this island, I was also cursed from ever entering the ice castle again. Enter the frozen ruins and search the place up and down until you find someone who will give you quite a surprise. I will not speak anymore of this, for I want you to find the surprise yourself. Good luck, Erick, you will need it.”

I took the letter, crumpled it up into a ball, and threw it onto the ground. Then I took my right foot and buried it even deeper into the snow. Castle Karstaag? What was I going to find there? Wait a minute; isn’t that where Madila was cursed in the first place? Yes, I remember now, that is where she met Lord Vero. But why would I be going there?

So I strapped my pack onto my pack, sheathed my broadsword into its case, and headed out. I held my spear in my right hand, just incase I was attacked by a wolf or something. The journey wouldn’t be too long, according to the map on the back of the note. Judging by the measurements I was only about six or seven hours away from the ice castle.

So I walked the rest of the day until it was dark, which was only about three hours. The sun had been replaced by the moon and I quickly found a small cave to take shelter in for the night. Thankfully I was the only inhabitant of the cave.

Before going to bed I made a small fireplace with some rocks and pieces of wood. I saw a guard do this before at Fort Frostmoth. It took a while but finally I had myself a nice warm fire. Then I took out my cooking pan and cooked some food. I was very hungry, and of that’s because I haven’t eaten since leaving Raven Rock. Nor have I had anything to drink either.

And after I was done eating it only took me a mere ten minutes to fall asleep. And when I woke up the next morning I was met with the vast rays of the sun. Outside there wasn’t a cloud in sight and the weather was great. It was course shivering cold, but that was to be expected. Besides, I was used to that by now.

I traveled a few more hours until I finally arrived at Castle Karstaag. By this time it was roughly noon. I walked up to the massive double doors and realized I wasn’t going to be able to get through. Then I looked at the map and noticed there was a hidden entrance in the back, although I would have to go underwater.

So I trotted around to the back, and looked into water. It was fairly clear, and there was a spot that looked like the seafloor was closer to the surface. This was probably the hidden entrance I was looking for. I took off my back pack and placed it on the ground, along with my spear. The only thing I would be taking with me was my Imperial broadsword. Anything else would make it to hard to swim.

After stretching for a few minutes I dove into the icy water and swam as fast as I could through the water. It was awfully cold and I couldn’t wait to get out. When I reached my destination I realized I was standing in a cave. Obviously I was underneath the castle, and I crept along the dark area while trying to find my way through. I was looking for someone, though I didn’t know who exactly. I guess a person here in the castle isn’t a common sight. That means whoever I see first is likely who I’m looking for.

It only took my about ten minutes to make my way through the caverns, and once I actually entered the castle itself, I noticed the large amount of tables surrounding me. I searched the room for any sings of life, and then went on to the next area. There it seemed that I had found the throne room, and of course the throne was empty.

But then to the left I heard a door open, and in came an old-looking Breton man, using a cane to walk. He had a long silvery beard and was panting heavily. Suddenly a tight knot formed in the pit of my stomach.

Long silver beard? Old Breton? No, it couldn’t be...

I walked over to the man and he held his staff in defense, as if I was going to attack him.

“WHO AE YOU?” I screamed loudly.

“Wh….why should I tell you? Who are you?”

He was trying to sound tough, but I could tell he was scared to death.

“You are Lord Vero, aren’t you?” I asked flatly, and once I did he eyes lit up in amazement.

“Yes. And you are Erick?”

“Yes, I was sent here by a witch to find someone of importance. I take it you know here, since you put the curse on her. Does the name ‘Madila’ ring a bell?”

He was still confused, and seemingly had no clue what I was talking about.

“Yeah, nice try, you damn liar! I know all about you, Erick ‘Ice-Warrior’!”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Madila told me all about the curse you put on her. “Ice-Warrior’, eh? You don’t look so tough to me. Because of your damn curse I’ve lost many friends, and if I don’t help Madila lift her curse I will lose my wife as well. Who knows where she is right now!”

A trick, it was all a trick. I just realized what was happening. She made the lie up to the both of us just to see us walking around. This Lord Vero very well could be a ‘lord’, but he was not a mage.

“Is your name ‘Lord’ Vero?” I asked the man.

“’Lord’? Hell no I aint a lord. I’m a simply adventurer from Cyrodiil. I came here looking for treasure, and Madila found me and took my wife. I have to accomplish three tasks in order to get her back. I was sent her to find someone of importance, and it seems I’ve found that person!” He said angrily, for he still thought I was the enemy.

“You have it all wrong, Vero. I am not Erick ‘Ice-Warrior’, just plain Erick. I am in the same situation as you, only it was my best friend that was stolen from me.”

“What are you trying to say, that Madila lied to me?”

“That’s exactly what I am trying to say. Look at me, do I really look like a mage to you?”

“No, but you could still be tricking me. Why should I believe you?”

And right then I remembered throwing the letters from Madila away once I read them. I hated myself now for doing that. If only I had kept them I would have all the proof I need.

“I don’t know what to do, Vero, but you just have to believe me.”

Suddenly a loud cackle of insane laughter could be heard behind us, and when Vero and I turned around to see who it was, none other than Madila herself was sitting on the throne.

“What the hell?” Vero gasped in confusion.

“You really are the intelligent little Imperial, aren’t you, Erick? I knew sooner or later you’d figure everything out. Unfortunately I was hoping this would go a little farther, and one of you would kill the other. No matter, I have another idea in store for the two of you.”

“You mean, this boy is not the one who placed the curse on you?” Vero asked Madila.

“No, you silly old man. I was never cursed. This has been a whole game! I’ve mentioned that several times before, I was afraid you would catch on.”

“But why have you lied to us?” I asked.

She smiled widely and replied, “Because I needed a little fun. I could leave this place if I wanted to, but I don’t. I figured why not cause a little destruction, you know?”

None of this made any sense. I just, I couldn’t even begin to believe any of this. Then all of a sudden I heard Vero beside me yell, “Wake up, Erick!”

I looked at him crazily and then things started getting fuzzy all of a sudden. The next thing I knew I was lying in my bed at Fort Frostmoth. Melvin was in his bed and was yelling for me to wake up.

“Are you alright, Erick?”

I got up from my bed and ran over to Melvin. I touched his face just to make sure he was real.

“Get the hell off of my face you fruit!” he said playfully.

Then I looked outside and saw several guards walking about, even Captain Falx talking to Antonius.

“Where’s Teemee and J’Dato?” I asked.

“Um….asleep? What’s wrong with you? You’re acting weird.”

A dream, could it all have really been a dream?

“What about Madila? Where is she?”

Then he cleared his throat and said, “She was found dead yesterday in the woods. They won’t tell us how she was killed, so I don’t know what happened. Just go back to sleep Erick….”

I was absolutely speechless. I guess it was all dream. But it felt so real. Then, I remembered the ring in the dream. So, anxiously I put my hand in my pants pocket and felt around. I felt something metal and pulled it out. It was the ring.

“What’s that you got there, Erick?”

I opened my window and threw the ring outside into the snow.

“Nothing, it’s nothing, really.”

THE END

[Burnt Sierra]

People are still reading it, I'm sure. The forums are just really quiet this week. I'm guessing people are working on their entries for the competition, plus school has restarted if I'm not mistaken, so they'll have work to do. Not sure mind you - been a long time since I was at school

Bit of an abrupt ending, which I wasn't expecting. Did you run out of enthusiasm for it? Anyway, the rest of the story was as thouraghly entertaining as usual

Look forward to reading what you give us next!

[The Metal Mallet]

Definitely not what I was expecting for an ending, but I suppose it works. The question now is when did reality end and the dream start, hmm?

[redsrock]

In all honesty, I became tired with the piece. I had made the story too long and I just lost interest. The ending is supposed to be confusing, making the reader think a lot, but unfortuntely for no apparent reason. Sorry, Mallet.