Hello

I'm Heather V and this is pretty new for me. I'm an avid user of the Bethsoft forums under a different names and loved all the FanFics that were posted on there. But when I decided to post my own, following some pretty handy advice I was led here, and I'm glad I was!

This first part is somewhat a data dump, but to me it is just the perfect way to introduce my character and show a taste of what she is like. I hope you enjoy it Hehe

INTRODUCTION

My name is Jihl. Some know me as Electra, others know me as the Shadow, but my name is Jihl.

I’m in prison. Cool, huh? NO. It’s not. It’s rancid, putrid, infested and lots of other negative words ending with ‘D’. It’s vile and disgusting, but this is home now.

How did I get here I hear you ask? Maybe you didn’t ask, but I’m going to tell you anyway.

I used to be a member of an elite group of rebel fighters called the Hart Resistance. What did we do? We fought the fights that nobody else would. It’s that simple.

There was this one fight, though, and it was bad. Very bad. People died, and the wrong people lived.

All because of a necromancer named Nerastarel.

She was bad. Well, at first she was bad. She used to just do little things like raise the odd skeleton every now and then, but then her power grew too great. She got a taste for it. Soon enough she wasn’t just ‘Bad’. What she was didn’t even have a name.

It’s funny isn’t it? Someone who you once loved like a sister can change just like that. The feeling you once had can vanish. I have no idea how that can happen. It just does.

So yeah, I’m stuck in this cell in what I can only assume is the Imperial City and it is NOT fun.

I don’t know if I’ll even get out.

Although I do know one thing; should I get out Nerastarel will pay.

That I’m deadly sure of.

WOO HOO! It's about time Nerastarel was tackled in a story! I can't wait to read more, the background you've given us in this is intriguing! Great Write!!!

Cool!!...

I will admit I don't know who Nerastarel is, though judging by mALX's reply, she's in-game...Must have passed her by... ...

Aaaamywho, really looking forward to seeing how this continues...

Nice one!!...

*Applauds heartily*...

PS..Welcome!!...

I'm already loving the narration style of this, and you've dropped plenty of delicious, snaring plot hooks in this first part for me to be intrigued by whatever comes next; Jihl has a history with this Nerastarel, and a closely entwined one at that, eh? Certainly enough to make me want to find out more about this character and the story.

Looking forwards to more!

The way you write it certainly gives it a "real" feel, so-to-speak. I am eager to see where you take this story.

I'm glad you're posting Jihl's story here, Heather V. I enjoyed your intro, and I'm looking forward to more!

Oh wow! Thank you all so much already! So nice of you all to say those nice things! I can't wait for you to read the rest of the story!

McBadgere: Nerastarel isn't an ingame NPC, but there is a house in Skingrad that belongs to him/her (In my story Nerastarel is a girl, although ingame it isn't actually stated)

Thank you all for your kind responses

That house is begging for a story, especially with a named NPC as owner who is not to be found...or is he? (lol). I only searched it once, stealing for the Thieves Guild - and missed the secret treasure chest!

I noticed Falanu goes behind that house after 10 PM nightly and does something odd in the back yard. If you try to see what she is doing, she leaves quickly. Falanu is a necromancer, so that house is really intriguing as a site for a story!

This was so much cooler after remembering that house in Skingrad! I always wondered about that place! Finding out the villain is the sister really got my attention.

Wow! Thank you all so much for your lovely words regarding the introduction!

I must admit the narration style does differ slightly when it comes to the actual story, but hopefully you will still enjoy it

1. In The Cell

We are the Hart resistance; Valiant hearts of steel, grace and honour. We fight to protect those who can't protect themselves. We fight for the freedom of our country. We fight for the pride of our planet.

The motto of the resistance played in my head. If only they could see what I'd become. I had shamed them. I had broken one of the ten tenants: 'Never give in to Selfish Crimes'. Basically, don't commit a crime for a selfish purpose. The tenants really didn't make sense unless you knew what they meant. Luckily I did, although I still broke one too many.

Anyway, I sat in my cell, gazing at the small hole that provided me with the minimal amount of fresh air. The whole place was damp; the enclosed stone walls to the gritty ground.

I sat at the small table in the cell, playing with a clay mug that was once filled with my daily allowance of water. I'd half wished that I hadn't drunk it so fast. It was a bit stupid really.

I leaned back in the wooden chair, putting my head back and observed the ceiling. There were a few cracks. If you squinted in the right way I SWEAR you could see the overall shape of Skyrim formed in the cracks. I smiled to myself. I'd never even been to Skyrim, but maybe one day.

I stood up and stretched, looking at the scar that I bore on my right arm. A token from my last encounter with Nerasteral. The one time she decided to take me on herself and she left a permanent reminder; pretty impressive if I should say so myself.

I smiled to myself, disappointed yet mildly humoured by the memory. It was at that point I remembered my brothers and sisters within the Hart Resistance. They were so strong, so wilful. We were a family and I loved each and every one of them.

Darn it, that battle. Too many good people died. Too many friends.

I felt a tear emerge from my eye and I quickly wiped it away, removing any evidence of it existing.

"Oh pretty Bosmer!"

I looked up and out of my cell door. The speaker was a male Dunmer in the cell opposite mine.

I smiled. "He speaks." The Dunmer hadn't said a single word ever since he was brought to the cell. Over a month and not a single word came from his mouth. I was curious as to the sudden outburst of noise from his mouth. "How are you?"

"Could be better," He hissed. "How are you feeling? Missing hopping about on the golden trees of Valenwood?" His words reeked with an unknown resentment.

"I assure you I haven't been hopping on any 'golden trees'." I glared at him, "And I assure you that racial slander like that doesn't sit well with me. Okay?"

"Feisty," He said, approaching his cell door. He grabbed the bars and continued to stare at me. "Tell me your name."

"Jihl." I said bluntly. I didn't care to know his name. Lucky for me he didn't tell me.

"Jihl?" He said, baffled. "I thought your name was 'Electra'"

I smirked, folding my arms, "And why would you think that?"

"The guards mentioned your name earlier today. They spoke about you whilst delivering my meal."

"Yes, well Electra is another name I go by. That's the name I'm most recognised by."

He smiled slowly at me, a hint of slyness, "I heard you are in here for breaking and entering?"

"You heard correct." I lied bluntly. He was very mistaken, but I'd rather be known as a theif than what I really was.

"A petty thief?" He said, insinuating that I was one.

I didn't reply to his remark, I only smiled at how pathetic his intrusive nature was.

He smiled at me again. A knowing smile, "No, not a thief... you were a member of the Hart Resistance, were you not?"

I remained silent. He obviously took that silence as a 'yes'.

"Electra Hart of the Resistance. Rather valiant of you to take the Master's last name after you took over his position. That must have granted you a lot of respect. It's just a shame that there is no one left to respect you."

I squinted at him. His knowledge of the resistance was slightly worrying, yet incredibly intriguing.

"Do you remember Faendil?" He said, returning the smirk I gave him earlier. "Sweet little Faendil? Sweet, innocent, fifteen year old Faendil?"

My body went numb, but my expression remained unchanged. "How do you know about him?"

"He was my brother, and you had him killed."

My voice went dry and weak, "... I didn't have anybody killed."

The Dunmer laughed, "Not intentionally, no. He told me that 'Electra' had a lead on a rogue member of the Resistance and he was going to fight by her side."

I remained immobile. I wasn't going to let him attack me like this. Usually I would retaliate by a physical threat, but that was impossible under the current conditions. I decided to do the next best thing. I approached my cell door and looked the Dunmer directly in the eye.

"Many good people died that day; not only your brother. I understand you're upset and that is understandable, but what you may feel is nothing compared to the pain and guilt I have to face every single day. So you can throw your words at me and try to make me feel more awful than I already do, but I will promise you this; the more you say, the angrier I will get. Once we are both free from this hovel you WILL feel the full force my anger has to offer, and it will not be pretty. Are we clear?"

He said nothing; all he had in return was a sarcastic smile.

Suddenly both our heads bolted toward the steps that led to our cells, hearing the sound of guards approaching. I watched as I saw them come down the stairs. They looked a lot more important than your average guard. They were heavily armed, too. They had swords that looked a lot more dangerous than the silly twigs the normal guards had. I knew one thing for certain, this horrible feeling at the pit of my stomach; whatever these guys were here for, it was a big deal.

This was a great beginning! The scene with Valen Dreth (I'm assuming) was intriguing! Awesome Write!

You definitely kept a nice degree of tension in the discussion. The Dunmer felt so secure behind his nice, iron bars. Now I'd like to see if you follow the tutorial the same way or if you invent some parts

The traditional meeting of Dreth. Jihl sounds like a leader of a bandit group. Humble beginnings. I wonder if she will be the champion of Cyrodiil or if her story is else where.

I loved the irreverent tone of the opening; even more, the way it gave essential insight without being overwhelming. The scene with Dreth also gives us information about Jihl, while still moving the story forward.

I look forward to more.

Now just what the hell do you think you're doing, young lady? You can't go around giving Valen Dreth depth or humanity! Doing that with a minor, throwaway character alone could lead to all sort of dangerous, terrible things, like well developed protagonists or character arcs, and we don't want that! And what's all this nonsense with challenge our previous conceptions of a character with a convincing reinterpretation of his character, eh?

Stop it, I say! Stop it at once!

Oooh! Thank you all so much for your kind responses! I'm so happy that you all enjoy what you have read so far, you're all so nice! Colonel Mustard your comment made my day Hehe

2. Stay or go?

The Dunmer looked at me, "They're coming for you." He said in a sly, sinister way.

I ignored him, watching as three soldiers approached my cell. Behind them was an elderly man. He was dressed in royal looking clothes, a large pendant rested around his neck.

The one female of the three guards, an imperial, approached my door, looked at me then at her comrades.

"What is this Bosmer doing in this cell?"

"'This Bosmer' has a name." I replied. The soldier glared at me. I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, habit."

"There must have been a mix up at the watch..." said one of the two male soldiers. Also an imperial I assumed.

The female imperial looked at me, "How long have you been here for?"

"About four months. Maybe five."

"In this particular cell?"

"No, I got transferred here about two months ago."

"So you haven’t been here for five months?"

"Well, no-"

"Be quiet, then."

I scoffed in shock and how disrespectful of me she was. At that point I would have loved to connect my fist to her smug, little face.

"Prisoner," Said the final soldier, a male Redguard. "Over to the window. Now."

I looked at him then put my hands on my hips. "You gunna say please or what?"

He glared at me. I glared at him. We glared for a long time.

Eventually, though, I gave in. "Fine." I walked over to the window and waited. The soldiers opened my cell door and entered my cell. The female soldier walked over toward me and looked at the large archway embedded inside the wall. I watched intrigued as she felt her way around the surrounding stone wall.

"Here." She said, pushing a loose stone in the wall. Suddenly the archway wall began to open slowly, revealing a dark, hidden passage of some kind.

"What?" I whispered to myself. Two months in this cell and I had no idea that was there.

The soldiers started to walk through the passageway, the Redguard telling me to wait where I was. The old man started to follow them, but stopped once he saw my face.

"Wait," The old man said, looking at me. "I know you..."

I worried that he recognised my face because of my work with the resistance. If this man was part of the Imperial Army and he knew who I was I was done for.

"I've seen you in my dreams..." The old man continued.

I smiled awkwardly, "You're not hitting on me, are you?"

There was a silence, but the old man laughed. I laughed in return, although I had no idea why.

"I have the feeling you do not know who I am?" He said. Of course I didn't. I shook my head and then he told me. "I am your emperor, Uriel Septim."

The emperor in the flesh? It was awesome at the time. Being part of the resistance meant we had to live in hiding a lot of the time so I'd never had a chance to even see the emperor. Despite the fact that our main mission was to take down the corrupt aspects of the council, the emperor seemed like an exception. He seemed nice; albeit a bit creepy.

"You mentioned a dream?" I reminded him.

"All in good time." He said. He began to walk toward the secret passage way and his guards, now obviously the famous 'Blades', protectors of the emperor, followed him.

I remained stood immobile, not sure what to do now. I thought about maybe leaving it a few hours before using the same door to escape, or just maybe closing the door and carrying out my sentence in peace.

My decision was made for me and the Redguard Blade came back to where I was.

"The emperor insists that you come with us," A beat, followed by a cold stare, "As much as I hate it; that is NOT a request. Come on."

The Redguard doubled back to the others as I stood looking at the passageway. I smiled as maybe freedom was sooner than I thought, and it was even better now that I had the emperor’s permission to leave.

I looked at the Dunmer in the cell opposite. He had a look of utter hatred spread across his face. I smiled slyly, "Sorry Mister, looks like you're going to have to find someone else to torment with your pathetic dribble."

I performed a rude finger gesture at the Dunmer then slowly headed through the passageway, softly jogging to catch up with the others.

I enjoyed this chapter; it gave us a bit more of an insight into just how deep Jihl's dislike of authority figures runs (to an almost suicidal extent, it seems ). Will that run deep enough to compromise the safety of all Nirn? I'll have to wait and see...

*Steeples fingers to wait for the next part*

Welcome to the Arena of fanfic! You’re off to a nice start as we begin to get a feel for who Jihl is, as well as her background and some of the factors that have shaped her perceptions and reactions.

ROFL! Jihl's testiness with the Blades and parting shot at Valen Dreth were great, but even better was how you captured each of the Blades personalities so thoroughly! Like Jihl, I have always wanted to smack Renault, lol. Great Write!

I love that little bit of dialogue between the protagonist and Uriel. It gives him a wise and benevolent feel. He's not snobby or shocked--just answers the question.

I loved that little line

She reminds me of another character here, full of vinegar and ... Ahem. Who is it that I'm thinking of now?

Again thank you all so much for your responses to the last chapter! Each and every one is widely appreciated!

Now for this next chapter I've encorporated an element from another person's story. I've asked this person permission, and He's allowed me to use it. I see it as a tribute to him.

Fans of his story will recognise it immediatly

3. The Emporer and I

I jogged toward the emporer and the Blades, but being very aware of the fact that I should keep my distance once I reached them.

I followed them through what looked like some fort of ruin. Castle ruins? I wasn’t to sure; although the architecture heavily implied it.

I couldn’t help but stare in awe at my surroundings, old and beautiful. The walls were a pale grey, marble in texture.

The air was cold, though, but not only in temperature. It was obvious that something bad had happened here.

The presence of a mournful past lingered in the atmosphere.

It wasn’t long until we reached a large, empty room. The room had a gate at the very end of it. An easy exit? The Blades didn’t seem to think so.

“I don’t like this…” said the Redguard Blade. “It feels like a trap.”

“Don’t worry, Baurus,” said the female Blade. “It would be impossible for the assassins to know we were down here.” She gently smiled at him. “Besides, should there be an attack you, Glenroy and I shall be more than enough to protect the Emperor from harm.”

“Still, Renault, I think we should be cautious. I suggest we scout the area just in case.” Baurus insisted.

Renault let out a brief sigh of annoyance and then looked at me.

“You, keep an eye on the Emperor.” She ordered before she and the others walked around the large room.

Was it irresponsible of Renault to leave me in charge of the Emperor? Maybe. She was obviously so convinced that the place was safe that she felt certain the Emperor needed no heavy guard.

“I have something for you…” The emperor said to me.

I looked at him. ”You do, sire?”

He smiled, “this used to belong to my late wife. It was important to her,” He said, producing a necklace with a red stone from a small pocket in his robe. “It is important that you take it.” He insisted.

I tried to be humble and refuse it, “Oh no sire, I couldn’t possibly.” I followed with a joke, “Red doesn’t really go with my eyes.”

The Emperor laughed. “You young girls today! No, there is no negotiation. You must take it.”

I looked at him for a moment, his gentle smile convincing me to take it.

“Okay, sire.” I said, taking the necklace from his hand. I examined it. It was a thing of beauty. However, a question sprung to mind, “Why are you giving this to me, though? Surely you would want to keep such a treasured item?”

“I feel this necklace would be more useful to you than it could ever be to me.” He told me.

“Useful?” I asked curiously, suddenly very aware this wasn’t a normal necklace.

“Do you see the garnet imbedded within the pendant?” He asked. I nodded and he explained, “That is a guardian stone.”

“A… guardian stone?” I said, suddenly remembering a book I had once read. “Oh yeah, Guardian Stones grant the owner the ability to communicate with their Guardian Spirit through the medium of telepathy, right?”

The emperor nodded, “Impressive.”

I casually shrugged, “had a lot of time on my hands to do some reading, so…”

The emperor laughed again, and I couldn’t help but laugh with him.

I suddenly felt comfortable enough to ask a rather intrusive question, “are you escaping because your sons were murdered? I overheard the Blades mention it earlier…” although my question was personal, I asked it with the uttermost respect. I didn’t want to risk a beheading.

The emperor reminisced for a moment, then spoke, “Yes. My sons were murdered by assassins and I strongly believe I am next.”

“You do?” I asked, surprised. “But you’re Blades will protect you, surely?”

“I’ve seen things in my dreams that are without question prophetic. I only see things that will be and things that have been; never have I dreamed of anything that might be.”

My expression suddenly turned grim. It was heart-breaking to think that the Emperor was so certain of his death. “If you are sure your dreams will come true, why go through all this trouble trying to escape? Why not just let them come to you?”

The Emperor smiled a wickedly teasing smile, “Just because I am to die, doesn’t mean I won’t go out without a fight!”

I smiled and then laughed. The old man had balls, I was sure of that. He was cool; nothing like I had always silently feared.

“Won’t you try it on?” The emperor said, gesturing towards the necklace.

Sheepishly I did so, but I didn’t feel any different; apart from my neck feeling that little bit heavier. He could obviously tell that nothing was happening.

“Once the time is right,” he started, “your Guardian Spirit will come.”

We exchanged a meaningful smile.

It was odd. Not since Master Mason had I felt such fatherly comfort from a man. It was warm and gentle; and not at all creepy as I originally assumed.

“Aren’t you scared?” I asked the emperor. I was kind of scared for him. I think it was evident in my voice.

Before he could answer, though, we heard Renault shout from ahead of us.

“THE ASSASSIN’S HAVE BREACHED! PROTECT THE EMPORER!”

*



This I loved! You have Renault pegged completely here, Love it! I waited for the below, knew it was coming and loved it when it did:



I'm really enjoying this story! If your readership is slow, it may be because a lot of us (myself included) rarely get free time to scan the boards. The way to get your story in front of people is to read theirs. When free time is limited, most people will reciprocate support to their own readers first before branching out to the other stories.

Your version of Renault had me rolling, and I like the borrowed idea of the Guardian Stone! Great Write!

*

I’m enjoying Jihl’s impressions of the Blades and Emperor. I like Baurus’ caution and wonder if it will help him survive? I look forward to meeting her Guardian! I wonder if the red color of the Guardian Stone was coincidentally close to that of the Amulet of Kings? Or perhaps it simply matches Jihl’s birth month. Or perhaps the color is just random.

Oh, a Guardian Stone! This promises some lively internal discussion.

I like Jihl’s irreverent thoughts tempered by respect for Uriel and the good sense not to risk beheading. She has a lot of spirit.

mALX thank you for your advice. To be honest I have been reading stories but I haven't commented as I've been reading them from the beggining an didn't want to leave out of date comments, but I will certainly heed your words. And to all of you I'm so glad you are happy with the Guardian Stone. It was such an intreaguing idea I had to use it!

I'm now going to include 'Previously' segments before the chapters as I'm sure it will help refresh your memories

In chapter 3, Jihl was instructed to guard the Emperor whilst the Blades Renault, Baurus and Glenroy scouted the area. Jihl learns that the Emporer is to die, but not without a fight. He also gives her a guardian stone which grants her the ability to speak with her Guardian Spirit. The chapter ended with Assassin's attacking the scouted area.

4. Assassin's Breach

“Wait here sire,” I instructed as I headed to investigate Renault’s battle cry. The Emperor stopped me.

“You might be very valiant,” He said, “but this is not your fight.”

“Sire, what if this is the fight that kills you?” I asked him, worried yet adamant that I wouldn’t let him fight.

He smiled, “I’ve already explained to you, It is destined that I will die. If it is this fight, or the fight after, eventually my time will come.” He touched my shoulder, “The best we can do is fight.”

I looked into his wise eyes. He was certain that he would fight alongside his Blades. But why? I don’t know. His Blades would easily be able to take down a few assassins, surely.

Maybe, just maybe… he wanted to die. Despite what he’d said earlier maybe he did want to just get it over with. All he said was he didn’t want to go down without a fight; but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to.

I risked a beheading and gently touched the Emperor’s hand that still rested on my shoulder. I smiled at the brave old man, “Let’s go get ‘em.”

The Emperor chuckled.

I remembered something, “WAIT! No. I’m unarmed.”

Without hesitation the Emperor handed me a dagger. I looked at it a moment, then took it. I examined it closely. The base was golden and shimmering with tiny jewels. In small writing I could see ‘Septim’ carved into the blade itself.

A royal dagger? A family heirloom? Or something the Emperor had carved himself? I didn’t know.

However, before I had time to ask the Emperor had exposed himself from our hiding place and joined the fight in the battleground.

I followed him. Within the battleground I could see the Blades, plus a few men dressed in what looked like Daedric armour, but slightly different.

I was sure I’d recognised it as summoned armour, but I wasn’t too sure.

I stood for a moment watching everybody in battle. There appeared to be no major struggle, but there were a lot of Assassins emerging.

Although the Blades could have dealt with the threat themselves, I decided to show my worth by joining the battle.

I charged into battle, running toward an Assassin that didn’t appear to be targeting any specific person. It seemed to just randomly hit and hope.

As I ran toward him, I thrusted my dagger at the Assassins abdomen; but to my non-surprise the dagger would not penetrate his armour.

The assassin looked at me, “You will regret the day you challenged me!” He cried, swinging his mace at me. I ducked and rolled to my right.

I got up and tried to swipe another attack at the assassin, but every blow ricochet off his armour. It was useless.

I decided the best option was to lead the Assassin to one of the Blades.

I put the dagger back in my pants and then ran away as fast as I could; which was all part of the plan of course. The closest Blade to me was Baurus, so I ran toward him. He was only fighting one Assassin, and had the bodies of about three around him; naturally he had no problem with these goons. The fact that all the bodies wore mages robes confirmed that the armour was indeed summoned.

“Sir, I need your help.” I said to him as I ran toward him.

“A little busy!” He replied, clanging blades with an Assassin. Luckily he managed to put off the Assassin he was fighting with his comment long enough for him to stab his sword through the assassins chest, killing him. “What?” He looked at me.

I continued to run to him and once I reached him I ducked. Baurus must have spotted the Assassin behind me instantly as without hesitation he raised his blade and sliced it through the Assassins head like it was better.

The Assassin crumbled to the floor, and I sighed a breath of relief. Surprisingly, Baurus offered me a hand. I smiled, then took it as he lifted me onto my feet.

“Are you okay?” He asked, to which I nodded. He sighed. “What do you think you’re doing involving yourself in this fight?”

I stared him down, “I couldn’t let the Emperor fight and not put myself up to try and protect him. He is a decent man.”

I couldn’t be sure, but I was certain I saw a small smile etch across Baurus’s lips. He then returned to his normal, arrogant and moody expression, “You fought unarmed?”

I shook my head and produced the dagger the Emperor gave me.

“The ceremonial dagger?” He cried, shocked for some reason. He looked at me. “I take it you’re not very handy with a blade?”

I shrugged, “the bows more my forte, but whatchagunnado.”

Baurus looked at me, then smiled. He took the bow and a quiver of arrows from his back and handed them to me.

“Here.” He said.

I was genuinely surprised. Why on Nirn was Baurus giving me a weapon? Surely he would not want to help me out? I was just a lowly prisoner.

I began to see something in Baurus I hadn’t seen before. He obviously has some kind of respect for me now that I’d fought for the Emperor’s life. Either that or he had a crush on me; and I gotta say, Baurus was kind of cute.

I accepted his bow and quiver and placing them on my back.

“Thank you,” I smiled.

Then the Emperor came around the corner. “Baurus, is everything okay?”

“Yes, sire.” Baurus nodded. “Glenroy?”

Glenroy popped around the corner at this point, “I am unharmed.” His face turned grim, “But Renault...”

Baurus walked over to Glenroy, who was looking at the crumpled corpse of the once loyal blade. Of all the Blades, Renault was the last I had expected to receive a killing blow. It was sad. She was such a strong fighter.

She may have not been the nicest woman in the world, but she was dedicated to her job and that garnered a lot of respect.

I looked at the Emperor, "Is the battle over?” I asked.

The Emperor looked solemn, gazing at the lost Renault. “No… I’m afraid it’s only just begun.”

“Come on, sire, we must keep moving. We are almost at the sewers.” Instructed Baurus.

Glenroy and the Emperor headed to a door at the end of the room. Baurus followed them as they all walked through the door

So that was it. I helped out and now I was to be left here alone, with no way out.

I wasn’t surprised; I was the least of their troubles now. The Assassins had made their way in, and who knows how many of them there were.

With that thought in my head I slowly started to explore the room, hoping to find some way out of the room. I started to examine the walls, hoping to find a secret switch like the one Renault had used earlier.

I placed my hands on the walls and slowly brushed across them in the vain hope that my theory would work.

However, I didn’t find a switch, but instead I saw a gap in one of the walls, and behind it seemed to be a cavern.

A way out? I hoped that was the case.

I took a step back to try and find something to break the wall, which did look rather brittle.

However the door the others left through suddenly opened again to reveal Baurus coming back into the room I was in. He looked confused; maybe annoyed.

“What are you doing?” He asked me, “Are you coming with us or not?”

*

The giving of that dagger and description brought goosebumps - totally Awesome touch you added there!



ROFL !!!! LOVED this bit of humor wedged into the tense scene!

LOVE what you've done with Baurus here, he is always one of my fave characters in game!

WOO HOO! Baurus returns for her! I love these little changes you've added to this opening sequence, they make the same scene everyone knows into a whole new story that perks us up to see what you will do next!

A few editing errors, but nothing that killed immersion - LOVED it !!! Awesome Write!

*

Oh I really like that you have decided to include ‘Previously…’ bits before your new updates. It is indeed helpful!

I also join mALX in appreciating how you have captured Baurus as noble, skilled at his craft, likable and even flirt-worthy.

After the fight, I resigned myself that it looked like you had stuck to the game when the Emperor and company moved on, leaving the player to make it on their own (the purpose of the game’s tutorial of course) – and that would have been fine. I will admit to a big grin when Baurus came back to get Jihl though!

This is a very enjoyable story!


Nits:

Most of the time you correctly capitalized ‘Blades’, but a couple times you missed it:
‘He was certain that he would fight alongside his blades.’
‘Within the battleground I could see the blades,’

Here’s an formatting error. It jumps to a new paragraph in mid sentence:
‘I looked into his wise eyes. He was certain that he would fight alongside his blades. But why? I don’t know. His

Blades would easily be able to take down a few assassins, surely.’

Thank you so much guys for your responses! I'm glad you enjoyed the twist regarding baurus's return and thank you both for noticing my editing errors; hopefully I've done a bit better this time! haha.

For those of you who haven't seen, here is a TV screenshot of Jihl

In chapter 4, The emperor and Jihl assisted the Blades fight the assassins. The emperor gave Jihl his family dagger to fight with. Unfortunatly, Renault was lost in the battle and the others continued on without Jihl. At the end of the chapter, Baurus came back to retrieve Jihl so she could join them in their escape.

5. A Walk with Baurus

The Emperor, Baurus, Glenroy and I continued to traverse through the ruins. We hadn't run into any more assassins, but we all knew that wasn't necessarily a good thing. I knew that at the end of our current path there would be something waiting for us; something that would inevitably kill the Emperor.

It tied my stomach in knots thinking that the Emperor was destined to die before the day was out, and that there was nothing any of us could do to stop it. But would he die? Just because he was sure of his visions didn't mean we couldn't prevent them from happening?

It was impossible to predict what would become of the Emperor and all we could do was protect him with our lives.

I still wasn't sure as to why was so adamant to lay my life down for the Emperor. My heart wanted to say it was because he showed me the same respect my Master Mason showed me.

"You okay?" Baurus asked me, noticed a look of deep though upon my face.

I looked at him, smiled and then looked away, laughing with embarrassment, "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry."

We continued to move. I could see from my peripheral vision that Baurus continued to look at me, but I pretended not to notice.

"You're nothing like any prisoner I've ever come into contact with." Baurus told me, somewhat amazed.

I looked at him, my eyebrow raised, "Huh?"

He laughed, "Sorry," He then smiled at me, "Just saying a thought out loud. Doesn't matter."

I couldn’t help but think that Baurus was a little bit sweet on me. I decided to look at him with my eyes wide and my lips slightly pursed in a flirtatious manner. Baurus was cute, and if he had a thing for me I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.

"I'm curious now," I said with a grin. "Tell me what you meant."

We stared at each other a moment. I folded my arms and kept my eyebrow raised; a mischievous smile etched on my face.

"Fine!" Baurus laughed, giving in to my irresistible charm, "I just noticed you have morals. Good morals. You're nothing like a petty criminal."

"...Go on..." I smiled, enjoying the compliments.

"You laid down your life for the Emperor despite the fact that his protection is not your responsibility. You fought the Assassins practically unarmed." He continued, "That takes guts."

I smiled. His words warmed my heart, "Thanks," I said, blushing.

We continued to walk for a moment before Baurus broke the silence again.

"May I ask why you were in prison?" He asked. He then smiled mischievously, "I'm curious..."

"You may ask..." I said, the looked at him with a teasingly, "but that doesn't mean I'll tell you."

We shared a smile, but I could tell that I could trust Baurus with the information.

"You really want to know?" I asked.

He replied with a nod.

"...I used to be a member of the Hart Resistance." I started, "We were somewhat a rebel group; fighting against the corrupt 'powers that be'."

"'Powers that be'?" Baurus asked.

"People who misused any power they had for selfish purposes; like the Elder Council or the Count of a city, for example." I continued, for some reason I wasn't nervous about badmouthing the people I assumed Baurus worked for.

I looked at the Emperor for a moment. I started to feel bad that he'd been getting such a bad reputation within the Resistance due to the way his council had behaved. I knew now that it wasn't his fault; there was no way this sweet and gentle man was capable of the things the Council had done.

"Anyway, there was this one member of the resistance, Nerastarel, who we gave the nickname Nerry, who was a powerful Breton mage. Seriously, she was a master at everything magical. Nobody could touch her." I said, remembering the person I was speaking about. It brought a smile to my face for some reason, remembering who she used to be. "She was a good friend. She, myself, another Bosmer named Faendil and a Redguard named Faythe were tight. We were practically family."

Baurus looked captivated by my story. A look in his eyes suggested genuine interest.

I carried on speaking, "When our master, Mason Hart passed away he gave leadership duties to me in his will. Everyone was so happy for me; apart from Nerry. To cut a long story short she thought I was undeserving of the role of Master and vowed to destroy the Resistance because of it."

"By the nine!" Baurus said, "Then what happened?"

I was hesitant to continue at first, but I did anyway, "A few months later Nerry called me out to fight for leadership in the Heartlands, and I accepted. However, despite the fact I was supposed to go alone the entire Resistance decided to come with me. I thought it would be a bad idea for them to come with me as fifty-on-one wouldn't be fair. But Nerry herself brought a few of her necromancer friends to the fight. The battle was huge, and at the end of it only Nerry and I barely survived." I could feel a tear welling behind my eye, but I tried to ignore it so I could finish my story, “She ran away and I followed her to the Imperial City. A citizen died after getting in the middle of our fight and I got arrested for it."

"And Nerastarel?" Baurus asked. "What happened to her?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. She probably cast an invisibility spell and got away, knowing her." I then looked at Baurus, whose expression looked quite grim. I tried to lighten the mood, "And there's my story!" I said joyfully.

"It's a good thing we came along and got you outta prison then." Baurus smiled.

I smiled back, "Yeah..." I edged a bit closer to him, "My hero..." I said in a joke like manner. He seemed to like it.

"BAURUS!" Glenroy said from ahead of us.

Both Baurus and I shot him a look, seeing a few assassins pouring down from ledges in the walls and started to attack Glenroy and the Emperor. Baurus unsheathed his sword and charged for the assassins. I got into a suitable position and took aim with my bow, notching an arrow. Once I had my target I let go of the string, watching as the arrow shot ahead and pierced the skull of an assassin that attempted to approach the Emperor.

It didn't take long for us to overcome the assassins. Once they were all dead Baurus and Glenroy approached the Emperor.

"Are you okay Sire?" Baurus asked him.

The emperor nodded, "I am unharmed."

"Their numbers seem to be decreasing," Glenroy added, "I think this is a good sign-"

Suddenly I spotted one of the 'dead' assassins quickly get back onto its feet and prepare to attack the Blades.

Just as quickly, however, I took an arrow, notched it, fired and killed said assassin. Baurus spun, looked at the assassin then looked at me.

"You missed one," I smirked flirtatiously. Baurus smiled back, letting out a small chuckle.

Finally caught up, and so far I'm enjoying this quite a bit. We've got ourselves an interesting development with this Guardian Stone, and a nice twist on the main quest's opening with Jihl staying with the Emperor instead of going on the Imperial Champion's Grand Cave Adventure, and the flirting with Baurus was cute. No only that, but we got some of Jihl's backstory! Excellent stuff.

Did find this minor nit:


Seeing as the TES-verse has a polytheistic religious system and an entire pantheon (where the gods will even come round to your house and smash your windows if you have the gall to be an atheist), surely it should be 'my gods'?

The flirting with Baurus was a lot of fun to read, plus we got some background information on the Hart resistance and Nerastarel. Loved Baurus's list of her good points he noticed - Baurus isn't slow at all, lol !! Also loved Jihl's screenshot - now we see where the temper comes in, red hair !! Awesome Write !!!

Thanks for posting that screen of Jihl here. I know not everyone got to see how pretty she is over on the other forum!

This was wonderful how Jihl not only had a nice and flirty scene with Baurus, but managed to very naturally provide us some more details of her past. Well done!

Baurus is right: Jihl has some selfless courage to step in and risk her life for this newly-met Emperor.

I can see that our Bosmer is quite comfortable with a bow.


Nits –all tiny ones:
‘I still wasn't sure as to why was so adamant to lay my life down for the Emperor.’
I’m pretty sure you want the word ‘I’ between ‘why’ and ‘was’.

"You okay?" Baurus asked me, noticed a look of deep though upon my face.’
You misspelled ‘thought’.

"You may ask..." I said, the looked at him with a teasingly, "but that doesn't mean I'll tell you."
You mean ‘then’ instead of ‘the’ of course.

I like how you worked the details of Jihl’s background in with the flirting. You have given your own twist to this part of the game's story, which keeps it fresh.

I enjoyed this part because it was a fun read, but also for what it showed about Jihl’s character. Laying her life down for a cause is nothing new to her, but she also has a real enjoyment of living. I’m certainly rooting for her!

I love that you all love Jihl's flirting with Baurus! And thank you all on your kind words regarding Jihl and her backround story! mALX the screenie is kinda misleading. Jihl actually had light brown hair, but the quality makes it look red and Colonel Mustard and Acadian thank you for the nits!

In chapter 5 Jihl explained to Baurus why She was sent to prison, and also gave him some brief information about the Hart Resistance; namely telling him about Nerastarel and her late friends Faendil and Faythe. The chapter ends with a minor attack from assassins that the group manage to defeat.





"NO! It's been locked!" Glenroy bellowed as we reached the gate we were supposed to use to escape the ruin.

"What does this mean?" I asked him.

"It means we're trapped!" Glenroy replied venomously, as if the question I asked was idiotic.

I noticed Baurus had a troubled expression on his face. "Is everything going to be okay?" I asked him.

"I don't know..." He replied, He glanced over his shoulder, scratching his head in ponder, "Okay, follow me."

Baurus started to walk toward an empty room that we all spotted whilst walking to the gate. Glenroy stayed to try and pry the gate open as the Emperor and I followed Baurus to the empty room. Once we were all inside, Baurus took a look around.

Once he was sure everything was safe he raised a request, "Jihl, could you wait here with the Emperor whilst Glenroy and I look for a way to open that gate?"

I nodded, "Okay..." I said weakly.

I knew deep down that we weren’t just trapped, but this whole set up was obviously a trap. The room with the gate was easily larger than the room Renault died in, and the fact that our only means of escape was impenetrable meant our odds for survival didn't look good; should there be an ambush.

I knew that the end of our journey in the ruins would be bad; but I still wasn't sure how bad it would be.

When Baurus headed back into the gate room I stopped him, "Baurus, wait." He turned to look at me. I took him to one side away from the emperor "I don't like this..."

"I don't either," Baurus said.

"What if I gets bad? What if this is the moment the assassins have been waiting for?" I added. "Those other attacks were bad, yeah, but they were minor. What if they were just wearing us out so the final attack would be an easy victory for them?"

Baurus sighed, "Then we will be ready for them.” He then placed his hand on my shoulder. “But you have to protect the emperor. He trusts you implicitly... and so do I."

I smiled gently and then put my hand on his; quickly removing it, though, once I realised what I was doing. Baurus began to walk away again, saying, "Don't let me down!" as he disappeared into the gate room.

I watched him closely as he walked away.

"He will be fine, Jihl." The Emperor assured me. "He is strong. He has the heart of a lion and the strength of a bull."

I smiled and turned to face him. "I know, but what if something happens? Will I be enough to protect you? I am nothing but a tiny woman."

The Emperor laughed, "You are more than a 'tiny woman' Jihl, you should not degrade your own self worth with such dribble." He smiled warmly, "You are Electra of the Hart Resistance. You alone have fought hundreds of men and lived to tell the tale. You are one of the strongest people on Nirn. Surely you should be aware of this?"

His words made me feel invincible. He had such confidence in me. Did I deserve the praise he had given me? I wasn't sure. Although I was curious about how he knew so many things about my past.

"Do not be afraid Jihl, as I am not." He said to me. Something in is eyes told me that he was certain of something. A knowing look that wouldn't share its secrets. But I knew.

"This is it, isn't it? This is when you die..." I said. I couldn't sugar coat it; I respected him to much for that.

The Emperor nodded. "I am certain, but I am also certain that my death is not the end; it is only the beginning."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"I do not know-"

Just as he said this I heard battle cries from Baurus and Glenroy in the gate room. My bad feeling was right; a horde of assassins were attacking. The moment I noticed this I grabbed the emperor’s arm and took him to a dark corner in an attempt to hide. I peeked around the corner to see if any assassins were about to enter our room, but it seemed none had.

"Take this," The Emperor said, quickly removing the large, diamond shaped amulet from his neck and giving it to me. "Take this to Jauffre in Weynon Priory outside Chorrol. Tell him now is the time to get my other son."

"What?" I asked him, bedazzled by the clump of information the Emperor was giving me.

"Tell Jauffre the jaws of Oblivion are going to open-" The Emperor started, but before he could finish he crumpled to the ground. I looked to see a small dagger had been thrown into his head, blood oozing gently from the wound.

"SIRE!" I screamed, kneeling down to try and help him, but it was obvious it was too late.

I looked to my right to see an assassin appear from a secret door in the wall. I stood up and stared the assassin down. "You son of a mudcrab!" I said threateningly, gritting my teeth.

The assassin slowly started to come close to me. He wouldn’t say anything, and didn't even react when I took my bow and an arrow and aimed it at his head.

"The Emperor was a good man. An honest man." I prepared to fire, "You aren't going to live to regret this!"

As the assassin charged at me I released the arrow, hitting him right between the eyes. He fell to the floor, dead, his armour disappearing to reveal just another petty little man hiding behind summoned metal.

Baurus then entered the room and looked at me. He looked beaten and slightly bloody. I couldn't look him in the eye. I felt too ashamed.

"Jihl?" He said to me.

"I'm so sorry," I pathetically pleaded for forgiveness. "I couldn't protect him..."

Baurus then looked at the emperor and ran toward him, "NO! SIRE!"

I watched with tear filled eyes as Baurus futilely tried to shake life back into the Emperor. Baurus soon stood up.

"I think you need to go..." He said with an unfeeling tone.

"What?" I said, insulted, "That's it?"

"I failed. The Emperor’s dead. There's nothing more to do..." He said. He looked so sad. He felt like a failure; when in fact it should have been me feeling that way. "You need to get out of here, Jihl. It's too dangerous. I don't want any more needless deaths."

I completely ignored his order, "You didn't fail," I said, approaching him.

"Of course I failed," He replied angrily. "First Renault, then Glenroy… and now the Emperor." Baurus said. I was saddened that Glenroy had passed; the battle in the gate room must have been quite heavy.

I gazed into the brave Blade's eyes. They were full of sadness and despair. Everything this man had fought for was gone; and he blamed himself. I had to do something to give him some kind of purpose again and make him feel a bit better.

"Here," I said, producing the amulet the Emperor had just given me.

"What are you doing with that?" Baurus asked me with a slightly accusing tone.

"The Emperor gave it to me just before he died. He asked me to give it to Jauffre and to tell him to get the Emperor's 'other son'. Then something about the jaws to Oblivion opening." I pushed the amulet to Baurus."I think it's a good idea for you to fulfil the Emperor’s last wish."

"Other son? What do you mean?" Baurus asked me, confused.

I gently smiled, "These are all questions you should ask Jauffre. It's your responsibility now, noble Blade."

Baurus looked at me, then at the amulet. He took the amulet and looked at it for a moment. He then smiled at me. "Thank you."

I smiled back, then took a risk and hugged him and was glad when he hugged me back. His body may have been clad with armour; but it still felt warm. It felt safe.

I released my grip and took one last look at the emperor. I then slowly turned to leave; although I had no idea where I was to go.

"What are you going to do now?" Baurus asked me.

I looked at him with a look of determination, "I'm going to find Nerastarel and I'm going to kill her."

***

Before I left, Baurus told me to continue through the passage the assassin came through until I reached the sewers. Once in the sewers I was to continue until I reached a large gate which would lead outside. He told me to go into a chest by the gate left there for emergencies and take whatever I would need.

Once I found the chest I took a utility belt which had a coin purse, a sword holster, a pocket for lock picks and ten individual potion pockets. I also took a shoulder bag, a compass and a map; although it wasn't just any map, it was enchanted. A small red light on the map indicated where I was; which would me handy during my travels if I ever got lost.

Once I got everything ready I walked through the gate and continued until I was outside.

I was finally free. The sights of Cyrodiil laid bare before me. I was out of the sewer and ready to start my life anew. After I found Nerastarel.

"Where do you think she will be?" said an unseen voice.

I knew exactly who was speaking to me; it was my guardian spirit. I read that when a Guardian Spirit spoke to you it sounded like a person was speaking right into your ear, despite nobody actually being there.

"I don't know..." I replied, inviting her to tell me her name.

"Oh, sorry; my name's Heather." She replied.

Hmm, would have thought a Daedric apocalypse would take higher priority than settling a personal grudge...

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in regards to the wider plot of Oblivion. Part of me is now half expecting Jihl to deal with Nerastarel only to find herself neck-deep in daedra with the Emperor's ghost going; "Smooth, Jihl. Real smooth. Y'see, this is what happens when you don't listen to the dying words of someone with dragon blood."

Though I'll admit that the Emperor never really struck me as the sarcastic type.

Your depiction of the trap and death of Uriel was well done, and the way you captured the emotions of Jihl and Baurus over his death. Now we'll see what Jihl and Heather get into in hunting down and killing Nerastarel. I really like that you are breaking away from the Bethesda storyline and creating your own story that weaves through familiar names and places in Cyrodiil !! Awesome Write!

Baurus seems like a great choice for the Amulet delivery. Now Jihl and Heather can get down to the business of their own justice. I expect that Nerastarel will be surprised when she sees Jihl out of prison! I'm looking forward to their adventures together.

I will definetly get into this story! I have yet to read the first chapter, but tonight I will give it all a read!

"You son of a mudcrab!" I said threateningly, gritting my teeth.’
This was perfect!

I really like how Jihl gave the amulet to Baurus, assuming that the Emperor would have given it to him had he been there. It also makes perfect sense that she feels the Emperor’s last request is the responsibility of his Blades. Well done! That said, I do hope she runs into the brave Blade again in her travels. Those travels will no doubt be helped by her handy new enchanted map!

And Heather the guardian spirit introduces herself! Cyrodiil is a big and lonely place and it is wonderful for Jihl to have a constant companion to share it with and perhaps even seek counsel from.


Nit: "What if I gets bad?
I’m sure you want ‘it’ instead of ‘I’ here.

I'm liking this so far, you've given me a good chuckle a few times.
I think your unique take on the tutorial was excellent. Particularly this:



It always befuddled me that I had to go through those caves, I like how you've avoided that.

Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long, but school has kept me pretty busy, but here I am with another update!

As always thank you all for your comments I appreciate each and every one of them

In chapter 6 The emperor prediction of the future came true as he was murdered by an assassin. Before his demise he gave Jihl his amulet with instructions to find a man named Jauffre and warn him about oblivion. Jihl passed this imformation on to Baurus and gave him the amulet so he could fulfil the emporer's dying wish.

Jihl escaped the sewers and found a few handy bits of equipment. She is now en-route to finding and killing Nerasteral





I bathed in the lake near the sewer exit for an hour and scrubbed my clothes clean. They didn't smell amazing, but at least they weren’t grimy anymore.

I checked my utility belt to see what I had been left with. All ten of the potion pockets were filled; all with a minor restore health potion. The coin purse held eighty gold coins and the extra pocket held fifty lock picks. It was lucky I had the lock picks, seeing as I was, as Faythe once called me 'the unlocking master'. A corny nickname, but it was very true. Unfortunately my sword holster was empty, leading me to regret giving the Emperor's dagger back to Baurus. My shoulder bag was also empty (apart from my map and compass). I worried that my shoulder bag would make too much noise should I ever fill it. I relied on stealth, so I knew it would be a problem; but I would cross that bridge once I came to it.

I looked across the lake and saw an Aylied ruin on an island. Chances were that there would be some kind of sword carrying fiend over there; but as I wasn't in desperate need of one it seemed pointless to even consider going over there.

Once I had performed the minor chores I got dressed and prepared for my journey, although I had no idea what the journey was to be. I knew I had to find Nerastarel and make her pay for what she'd done, but I didn't even know where to start.

"I guess her house would be a good start?" I said to Heather.

"Where does she live?" Heather asked me.

"Skingrad; although as far as I know she hasn't been there since she joined the Resistance two years ago..." I replied.

"Hmm..." Heather thought, "Still, a long shot is better than a short shot... or is it a no shot? I don't know."

I laughed, "I know what you mean."

I turned and saw the Imperial City rested proudly atop a large hill; The White gold tower staring at me with enormity. The white walls shining in the sunlight. A beautiful example of architecture. I was to assume this would be my next stop. Seeing as, luckily, I had a few gold coins in my coin purse I was in definite need of some new clothes.

I started to walk up the steep hill toward the city and decided to start a conversation with my new friend.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but how old are you? Or were you, rather?" I asked heather.

"Eighteen." Heather replied with a blissful joy.

Eighteen? Although I myself was only a year older, that was pretty young; but I've known younger to die before their time.

"So how did you pass away?" I asked her with a soft and caring tone. I didn't want to risk upsetting her; especially seeing as she would always be inside my head.

"Well the low down is a rogue mage tried to kill my parents, but I killed him with a powerful fire spell. It caused an explosion; the only drawback was that the only way to cast it was to use all the casters energy. Although I knew this I cast it anyway."

"So..." I said, not quite sure exactly where she was going.

"So... when I cast the spell and killed the bad guy I basically dissolved into nothing. It really wasn't a fun time."

"Wow..." I said, feeling a lot of respect for this girl, "You sacrificed yourself to save your parents?"

"I guess you could say that." Heather replied quite humbly.

It was safe to say that in the mere minutes I had known her, I was proud to have her as a companion; despite how annoying her voice may have been.

***

Once I reached the city I found myself in the Market District. I was rather nervous around the guards, but I don't think they knew who I was; either that or they simply didn't care.

After some extensive shopping, accompanied with some gleeful encouragement by Heather, I bought myself a new outfit.

A blue silk shirt, a pair of wide, black pants and a pair of leather boots. I ducked into one of the archways and put my clothes on, ditching my old prison wear inside a wooden box.

"What now?" Heather asked me, no doubt eager for more shopping.

"Now we head to Nerastarel’s house in Skingrad-" I told her.

I was immediately interrupted, "WHAAAAT?" Heather replied, shocked.

"What?" I echoed her.

"This is the Imperial City Jilly! Don't be boring with your mission stuff, have fun! Let off steam! Paint the town red!" She insisted.

I laughed, "There will be plenty of time to let off steam once I've completed my mission."

"BORING!" She interrupted again, much to my annoyance. "No, we are going to have fun. You can go to Skingrad in the morning."

"Heather-"

"NO! Fun now, Skingrad later. Okay?" She ordered.

I pondered whether or not to do as she said. For all I knew Nerastarel was at her house right now, but she could be gone tomorrow. Surely it was best to go there sooner rather than later?

But again, what if she wasn't there right now, but would be there tomorrow? And if I went there now to see the house empty I would assume she was long gone, unaware she would turn up the next day.

"ARGH!" I let out a frustrated gasp. "Fine. Let's have 'fun'."

"Yay!" Heather Squealed. "I promise you won’t regret this."

***

What was Heather's idea of fun? Clothes shopping? Nope. Book shopping? Nope. Praying? Not even close. No, Heather had dragged me to the Arena adamant that I bet on a match.

You really like this? I thought, remembering from the book I read that Guardian Spirits could hear thoughts.

"Yuh-huh. It's awesomesauce. You'll love it!" Heather insisted.

I don't know. The idea of making money from a death seems kind of sick to me.

"Oh, BOO YOU!"

What?

"Come on!" She begged, "Just one? twenty gold bet, then we will leave." Her tone then turned childlike, "pleeeeeease?"

I thought for a moment, wondering whether or not this was the best way to spend my time. I only had fifty gold left on me and I wasn’t sure I wanted to waste it. But then again, if I won I would get double my money back; and that would no doubt be able to afford me a nice meal...

Okay, I thought as I started to walk towards the Bookkeeper. Heather screamed with delight. I almost went deaf.

"Welcome to the Arena!" Greeted the Bookkeeper, "Are you here to bet on a match?"

I reluctantly nodded.

"Ask him about the fighters!" Heather ordered. I did so.

"For this fight the yellow team is a female Nord with an iron claymore. She is wearing light armour and a steel helmet." The Bookkeeper informed me.

"And the blue team!" Heather urged.

Shh! "And the blue team?" I asked.

"A male Breton. He is also wearing light armour, but he is using a steel long sword. He is also adept in destruction magic; frost, specifically."

"Hmm..." I heard Heather. She didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Okay! Go for yellow team!"

Really? But surely a skilled destruction mage would be able to take down a melee fighter-

"Yes! I'm sure. DO IT!" She said in that cheerful way of hers.

"Okay," I looked at the Bookkeeper, "Twenty gold on the yellow team please."

So it appears that Jihl has herself an impulsive, bloodthirsty lunatic as her Spirit Guide. Fun times for all lie ahead...

Hey! Sorry I haven't been about for a while. Between school and reading your stories I haven't really had free time to post.

Until now!

in chapter 7, Jihl spent some time getting to know her new spirit friend. She also bought herself a new outfit before being urged by Heather to bet on a match in the arena...






"Die you filthy Nord!" The Blue team fighter screamed as he fired another frost spell at the Yellow team fighter. The spell hit Yellow, but she didn't seem to react too much; it was almost as if she was impervious to it.

Yellow then swung her blade, to which Blue deflected with his blade using much effort. His effort was useless, however, as Yellow managed to knock the blade from Blue's hand.

Blue ran away, getting far enough from Yellow to concentrate on casting another Frost spell. This spell seemed to be more powerful than the last judging by the time it took to charge.

Yellow ran toward Blue just as Blue cast his spell. It hit her, but again despite a minor knock-back she seemed unphased. Blue cowered as he knew that any future effort would be met with failure.

Yellow approached Blue and raised her sword, "Who's a filthy Nord, now?"

She swung her mighty blade, connecting with Blue's neck; decapitating him.

The crowd shot up and cheered as Yellow claimed victory in the fight. Heather also screamed with delight over the victory.

The arena master congratulated Yellow then instructed everyone to return to Bookkeeper to claim our money if we bet on yellow.

I had to admit, although it was utterly disgusting; the whole arena thing was rather thrilling.

How did you know yellow would win? I asked Heather as we headed back to the Bookkeeper.

"Easy," She started, "Nords have more resistance to frost than other spells. The Bretons key pro was frost spells, so as I knew that would fail it was obvious the Nord would win."

I smiled to myself, impressed with her hindsight. I, again, thought about what a crucial companion she would be.

I collected my forty gold from the Bookkeeper and then decided to head back to the market district.

***

After a delicious meal of Venison, vegetables and beer at the Merchant's Inn, I decided it would be best to go to sleep, ready for the hike to Skingrad in the morning.

I need to find a beggar and pay them to give me the location of a nice place to sleep outside, I told Heather.

"Why? You can afford a room can't you?" she asked me, slightly confused at my decision to sleep outside.

I explained to her, since I've been in prison for the past five months I’d rather sleep somewhere that's not closed in and lockable. NO bedrooms.

"Really?" Heather replied in a patronising way.

I laughed it off; she didn't understand. How could she?

I continued to wander around the market district, when I saw an old woman begging a guard for coins. I smiled and approached her.

"Excuse me? I have some coin for you," I informed her.

She grinned with ecstasy. "Oh thank you kind lady!"

I took ten gold out of my pocket, but I didn't give it to her straight away, "First, could you direct me to any comfortable places to sleep outside?"

"You choose to sleep outside?" asked the beggar. I nodded. "Well for that amount of money you can have my bedroll for the night! I am not askew to sleeping on the bare ground."

I wasn't in the mood to be humble and reject her offer, so I gave her the coin and she told me where to go. She said her bedroll was behind the shop 'A Fighting Chance', a shop I had passed earlier when heading to the arena.

I thanked the woman and headed to the location of her bedroll.

"I can't believe you're sleeping outside. That's gross." Heather complained.

What do you have to moan about? It's not like you have to sleep outside.

"Still, it's gross. If you catch the flu and die, don't come running to me."

"I think it's safe to say that if i die I won't be running anywhere-"

I was cut off mid sentence by a sight which made my heart stop.

A woman leaving A Fighting Chance. A Redguard woman. Young with black hair and blue eyes. It couldn't be... could it?

"Faythe?" I said, watching her as she walked toward the Arena district, "FAYTHE!" I bellowed, then ran toward her. I grabbed her shoulder, "Faythe..."

The woman turned, slapping my hand off her shoulder and scowling at me.

"Stop shouting at me, Jheeze." She scowled. "What?"

It wasn't Faythe. It was stupid to think that it could have been. Up close it was obvious that this was a different woman.

"Sorry," I apologized, trying to to get overwhelmed with emotion, "I thought you were somebody else."

The woman continued to glare, but she must have seen something in my eyes as she suddenly became caring and sympathetic.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked, putting her hand on my shoulder, "Do you need to talk? How about a glass of wine? We should get drunk!"

I laughed, "No, I'm fine. Sorry."

"Are you sure?" She asked me one last time, I nodded. She smiled. "Okay, well I would introduce myself, but I gotta run, but if i see you around then I’ll say hello. Okay?"

I laughed, "Okay."

The woman went to walk away, but looked at my necklace, "Hey, Is that a garnet in your necklace?"

I nodded, then looked at her wrist, "Is that a collection of sapphires in your bracelet?" I asked her semi-mocking; jokingly, of course.

"It's actually shards of a single sapphire. He wasn't happy about that." She told me.

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I nodded and laughed. She said goodbye and I did the same, then I walked through the small alley next to A Fighting Chance and found the bedroll that belonged to the Beggar.

I rested upon it, Looking up at the sky and smiling at its beauty. It was so amazing to be able to see it again.

"Goodnight, Heather." I said as I slowly drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, probably dangerous; but that didn't alter the fact that I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

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How fun for Jihl to meet Lissa! It sounds like Heather makes her own luck.

In chapter 8, Jihl and Heather guessed correctly at the Arena, and Jihl learned what a valubale comrade Heather might be.

9. Hunt For Nerry

I woke up bright and early the next morning, skipping breakfast entirely as I left the Imperial City. Outside the main gate I took out my map to see how far from Skingrad I was.

"Not too far..." I said to myself, wondering whether it would be quicker to walk on the roads or through the wilderness.

"On the road, Jihl, always on the road. Those bears are sneaky mother--" Heather started.

"Okay!" I interrupted before she could finish. I rolled up my map and put it back in my bag as I walked across the bridge that crossed the lake surrounding the city. It seemed endless.

It only seemed to take me half a day to get to Nerastarel's house in Skingrad and it looked exactly the same as I remembered it. As I suspected it would be, the front door was locked. I didn't panic though as I knew that back door was usually open, which once upon a time I saw as careless.

Alas, the back door was also locked, but seeing as there were zero guards around to observe me, I decided to perform a little breaking-and-entering. The lock was easy to pick. I slowly slid inside the house, keeping my bow in hand just in case. Once inside I slowly closed the door behind me, and then looked at my surroundings.

The house was trashed. Furniture was scattered about the floor, and the fact that the place had gathered mountains of dust and threads of cobwebs suggested it hadn't been cleaned for a while. The house was dark and the air was murky; it reeked of death. No doubt Nerastarel had performed many resurrections here.

It was quiet as I listened for signs of life. There didn't appear to be anything nearby. I slowly traversed toward the main staircase, being very aware of my surroundings just in case Nerastarel had the place rigged with traps. I wouldn't have put it past her.

I reached the staircase then saw something that confirmed my fears of a trap. A living skeleton guarded the staircase. Luckily, or stupidly, it was facing the stairway with its back to me.

I took my bow and notched an arrow, firing it. I watched as the creature collapsed into a pile of bones.

I now knew that this place wasn't as safe as I had first anticipated as I crept over the skeletal remains.

"Skeletons are super creepy--"

Shh, I need to concentrate. I scolded and I climbed the stairs.

Once I reached the top of the staircase I listened for more skeletons, but I heard nothing. I didn't take it for granted, though, so I notched an arrow and swiftly shot around the corner, aiming in preparation, but seeing nothing to fire at. I relaxed the notched arrow and continued forward, seeing another small staircase which led to the master bedroom.

The master bedroom door was locked with another easy lock that I picked. I opened the door a crack to listen for anything hostile. Again, my fears were confirmed. The low moan and squelchy footsteps of a zombie.

"Drat." I cursed silently. Zombies had always been a tough fight; the battle against Nerastarel's army had proved that. Luckily for me Zombies were weak against fire, and I happened to know a fireball spell.

I crept into the master bedroom, looking about. It appeared the only thing in the bedroom was the zombie.

I put my bow back and prepared a fireball to fire at the abomination, but Heather interrupted me.

"Wait! No, your fireball is too weak."

Then what do you suggest I do?

I didn't want to risk having to physically fight this thing, and the space was too small to use my bow. I doubted a sneaky shot at it wouldn't be enough to kill it instantly.

"No, I mean it's too weak at the moment. Concentrate on your fireball and repeat after me."

I did as she told me as she chanted something in a language I could not decipher. Once she finished I threw the fireball at the zombie, killing it as it burned to a crisp in a burst of almighty flames.

"Okay, wow." I said, utterly surprised at the power my simple spell had garnered. It made my head hurt and my nose started to bleed, though. It must have used more than just my Magicka to cast it. I knew I wasn't going to cast it again; but that didn't alter the fact I was utterly impressed with Heather.

However my good mood was quickly put to a halt as I noticed that Nerastarel wasn't in the bedroom. I then searched the bedroom and the rest of the house, but there was nothing. No letters, clues or anything to suggest where she had gone.

"Well that was a waste of time." Heather sulked.

"Maybe..." I replied as I left the house the way I came. I walked to the front of the house, seeing something that raised my eyebrow. A Dunmer woman was stood outside the house's main entrance. She appeared to be waiting for something.

"Maybe she knows something?" Heather suggested, although I did wonder that myself.

I approached the Dunmer woman, "Excuse me!" I bellowed as I jogged toward her. She looked at me.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Actually, maybe." I said, "I don't suppose you know the woman who lives here do you?"

"Me? Why do you ask?" She said nervously.

I knew I had to lie to get any information from her. "It's just she... is my... sister. She's my sister and I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks and I really need to speak with her."

"You do? Oh, well last I heard she was going to an Aylied ruin with her friend Jalbert to conduct a few experiments; but that was over a week ago. She told me she would come and visit me when she was finished, but she hasn't."

Was why she was waiting for Nerastarel any of my business? No. I wasn't in the mood for small talk, "Do you happen to know where I could find this ruin?" I rushed.

She thought for a while, leaving me anxious for an answer. She gave me one. "She told me it was on a small island opposite the prison district of the imperial city. I suspect that seeing as she isn't home, she is still there."

A small island? Could it be the ruin I saw when I left the sewers? It seemed ironic that I was looking at her current location while wondering where she was, but I looked past that. I now knew where she was, and I had to get there as quickly as bosmerly possible.

I wondered if this woman had anymore information on Nerastarel, "She sure gave you a lot of information..." I said, trying to intimidate her into revealing more.

"Well I offer her good money for the carcasses of her failed experiments." She replied proudly.

"Excuse me?"

She realised what she had just said to me, "What? Nothing. I said nothing," She backtracked, "Nothing after what I said about her location. What?"

She then quickly darted off. I had no idea why she had gotten so agitated, but now that I had an almost concrete idea on where to find Nerastarel, the Dunmer's suspicious reaction was less than important to me.