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Post by Delta1212 on Sept 29, 2006 19:18:47 GMT -5
Artorus finished his watch and headed over to the Bloated Float for a drink. He had had a long day and need some time to relax. There had been not one but two street that he’d had to break up and he received a nasty blow to the head by a club wielding sailor; luckily his helmet was of good quality and it only dazed him. Of course, he got to go have a drink while the guy that hit him was spending a night in prison so he was not as upset as he might have been. Artorus pushed open the door to the floating bar and glanced around the room. Some of the regulars were sitting at one table and a few sailors, none of whom he recognized from the fight, were sitting at another. One of the regulars was trying to explain how the arena fights were faked. Artorus walked over to the bar, pulled up a chair from a nearby table, and sat down.
“Hello Artorus, would you like your usual drink?” inquired Ormil, the owner of the Bloated Float. Artorus nodded, and Ormil rummaged around behind the bar before coming up with a bottle of mead. He popped the cork and poured the golden liquid into a mug. “So,” began Ormil, “what do you think of these disappearances.” Three more people had disappeared since Augusta Calidia and it had been discovered that a beggar called Simplicia the Slow had vanished at least a day or two previous to that.
“To tell the truth, I’m not really sure,” shrugged Artorus apologetically. “The legion’s official stance is that the people have simply decided leave the province because of the trouble a few months ago. I have serious doubts about that though. The disappearances are too sudden and the fighting ended too long ago for it to start now. I think the government is just trying to keep people calm.” Unfortunately, Artorus thought, it is not a very convincing lie and anyone who sees through it is likely to be even more ready to panic than they would be otherwise. Of course, the government had to say something and telling people that citizens are vanishing for no apparent reason is not going to help defuse the situation. Ormil pulled him from his musings by speaking.
“If you find out anything, you will let me know? I am not one to panic, as you well know, but even I am becoming nervous.” Artorus’s answer was delayed as one of the regulars called for a refill of his glass. Ormil brought him his drink quickly and returned to the conversation.
“You know I may not be able to tell you anything, even if anyone bothers to tell me,” Artorus said. “I will let you know if I think you should be worried. Until then relax, it will probably blow over soon.” Although, I personally have my doubts about that, he added silently to himself. “I guess I should be getting back to the barracks now. If I stay out any longer I won’t be able to get up for my shift tomorrow. There have been reports of some trouble north of here and a party of legionnaires is being dispatched in the morning. I’m not one of them but Atticus is. I’ve been given a double shift to cover for him.” Artorus left a few coins on the counter and reluctantly headed for the door. On the way out he nearly ran headlong into a man clad in black who was coming in the door. Artorus mumbled his apologies as he hurried off to get some rest
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Post by Maliku on Sept 29, 2006 20:01:08 GMT -5
Great update again!
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Valgaera
Inactive Member
I am the Light within the Darkness
Je suis le Lumi?re dans l'Obscurit
Posts: 124
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Post by Valgaera on Sept 29, 2006 21:38:06 GMT -5
Hey, whats that? Oh, its a kArMa PoInT!1!1!1
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Post by Delta1212 on Sept 30, 2006 13:22:38 GMT -5
The next day, Artorus rose early to start Atticus’s shift. It was still dark out, which only made getting out of his warm bed all the less appetizing. He managed to drag himself to his feet and strap on his armor. An ice cold glass of ale helped but breakfast had not yet been put out, because he was technically between shifts as someone from another bunkhouse had the first half of the shift. He had do dig through some crates before coming up with a loaf of bread which he tore into ravenously. His hunger sated for the moment, Artorus settled into his morning exercise routine. Having finally woken up fully, Artorus headed out to patrol the docks.
Outside, the silence was deafening. Artorus was used to coming out a few hours later, by which time the city was awake. The moonlight reflected off the water casting eerie patterns of light upon the buildings, making them seem to bend and sway. Shadows cast by his own torch swirled around his feet, taking the appearance of spectral hands grasping at him as if trying to pull him fully into the darkness. Across the water, a wolf howled, followed by two answering calls. Artorus had the strange sensation of eyes staring at him from behind cover of darkness. He glanced around but saw nothing. A dark shape materialized beside him and he drew his sword.
“Cool!” shouted Marcus. “Can I touch it? I’ve always wanted to have a sword like that. It’s silver, right? So you can cut ghosts and things?” Marcus, seemingly unaware of how close he had come to having a limb removed, stood there grinning from ear to ear.
“You should never sneak up on someone like that,” scolded Artorus testily, “especially when that someone is armed. I could have killed you, you know.” Artorus frowned. Marcus was becoming more of a nuisance every day, but Artorus could not think of a way to be rid of him. The boy had technically done nothing wrong, for once, and Artorus could not simply send him off without a reason. “Isn’t it a bit late for you to be wandering the streets?” he inquired. Unfortunately, this line of thought got him nowhere.
“I got nothin’ else to do,” Marcus shrugged. “Besides, why would I want to be at home when I can be having adventures with you? When you were in Morrowind, did you ever see anything exciting, like werewolves or machines built by dwarves or the god, Vivec?”
“How did you know I was in Morrowind?” demanded Artorus. Marcus shrugged and kept staring up at him. Artorus gave in with a sigh. “I once met the head of the Morag Tong. They are the official assassin’s guild in Morrowind, sanctioned by the government,” he explained seeing the confusion in Marcus’s eyes. That confusion slowly turned to awe and admiration. “Great,” muttered Artorus to himself, “now I’ll be stuck with him the whole day.”
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Post by Maliku on Sept 30, 2006 13:25:33 GMT -5
Haha, I'm starting to like this Marcus kid.
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Post by Delta1212 on Sept 30, 2006 13:32:19 GMT -5
^_^
Yeah, I like him, too. He sort of disappears from the story for awhile, but th part I'm writing now officially brings him back. (There you go Dagonda, Valgaera, I threw you a bone just to make the wait even harder. Actually, I might do three a day for the weekend; just to speed things up a bit)
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Post by Delta1212 on Sept 30, 2006 14:44:31 GMT -5
Artorus wished he was less clairvoyant. His shift had almost ended and Marcus had not strayed from his side. The boy had followed him in his pacing patrol and kept an eye out for trouble. He seemed anxious for some excitement. Artorus was just as glad that it had been an uneventful, if somewhat tiring, day. He did not want to deal with any trouble when he had to worry about Marcus being in the way. Unfortunately, the peace that he had been enjoying came to an abrupt end. A high pitch cry pierced the air behind him. Artorus whipped around and was running toward the sound before it had even registered. He was surprised, and not particularly happy, to see that Marcus had reacted almost as quickly as he had. Unlike Artorus, however, Marcus looked positively joyful.
On the other side of a wall the pair came upon a terrible scene. A woman was standing, petrified with terror, and staring at the ground. Artorus followed her gaze and his eyes widened in shock. Atticus was lying on the ground. He was badly bruised and a gash ran from his right shoulder to his left side. His cuirass was gone and helmet had large dent in it. He was sopping wet and appeared to have across the bay before collapsing on the shore. Artorus sent Marcus for helped and immediately rushed to aid his fellow guard.
“He was lucky,” explained a Mage Apprentice softly. “We have the best healers in the empire, but any longer and he would have died.” Atticus had been taken the Arcane University in order to treat his grievous wounds. The mages there were the most skilled available and it was all that had saved Atticus. “Unfortunately,” the mage continued, refusing to look Artorus in the eye, “he seems to have suffered severe mental trauma. We can heal any bodily injuries, but psychological problems cannot simply be magicked away, pardon the expression. He is unresponsive to any form of stimulus. He will need a lot of recovery time, and even then he may never fully heal.”
“Do you have any idea what may have happened?” inquired Artorus. He wondered what could possibly have happened to affect any guard that way, especially one as tough and experienced as Atticus.
“We are, as yet, unsure,” replied the mage. “We suspect it may have been magical but we have been unable to determine what exactly could have caused it.” Seeing the look in Artorus’s eyes, the mage continued hastily, “Coincidentally, there happens to be an expert in the obscure forms of the arcane arts not too far from here. He’s staying at the Roxy Inn north of here. Ask for Nestyr.”
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Post by Maliku on Sept 30, 2006 14:57:39 GMT -5
Hmm, this is interesting.
The guy who kidnaps people, and whatever hurt Atticus.
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Post by Delta1212 on Sept 30, 2006 14:59:03 GMT -5
Yes...and >_>
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Post by Maliku on Sept 30, 2006 15:03:37 GMT -5
The entire story.
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Post by Delta1212 on Sept 30, 2006 15:35:40 GMT -5
What?
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Post by Maliku on Sept 30, 2006 15:37:20 GMT -5
The entire story is interesting.
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Post by Delta1212 on Sept 30, 2006 15:40:07 GMT -5
Oh, I was refering to the and between "the guy who kidnaps people" and "whatever hurt Atticus" implying that there shouldn't be an "and"
Sorry if that didn't come across well.
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Post by Delta1212 on Sept 30, 2006 16:01:34 GMT -5
“Absolutely not!” shouted Brutus. “We already lost a dozen men. I will not have one of my men traipsing around the countryside, especially when we are now even more understaffed than before.” Brutus was the captain of the guard in the Imperial City. He was a bit junior for the position; however, the reassignments had taken most of the Imperial City guard leadership. The other cities, most notably Bruma, had taken much worse in the fighting and needed the most experienced members of the Imperial Legion to oversee the rebuilding of the justice system. “I absolutely for bid you to go looking for this…this…”
“Nestyr, sir,” supplied Artorus. “I would hardly be looking for him. He is staying at the Roxy Inn. It is not more than a few miles from here taking the road. I could be back within two, three days at the most. It would hardly inconvenience you personally, and the other legionnaires I have spoken with have already voiced their willingness to serve extended shifts. Under the circumstances, I think it would be best if-”
“I have already made up my mind,” interrupted Brutus. “I have said that you cannot go and that means you cannot go. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” said Artorus.
“Very well, dismissed,” proclaimed Brutus with a wave of his hand.
Artorus did an about face and marched from the room. Once outside he dropped his air of calm and let his anger pour out. Pedestrians moved to the other side of the street to avoid getting to near as he stormed back to his barracks. All the while he was thinking about how important it would be to find any new threats, especially during this time of vulnerability on the part of the Legion. Suddenly Artorus came to a decision. He could not stand by in good faith and let any threat go unchallenged. He would set out tonight and make his way to the Roxy Inn.
He lay awake in his bunk until ten minutes after a shift change. Hopefully no one would notice he was missing until the guards on duty returned. He pulled a pack he had already loaded with supplies out from under his bed and quietly slipped from the guardhouse. He was lucky that he was at the Waterfront because it was the only place in the city which he could slip out of with passing a guard patrol. As he carefully made his way out of the city, he failed to notice the shadowy figure following silently behind.
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Valgaera
Inactive Member
I am the Light within the Darkness
Je suis le Lumi?re dans l'Obscurit
Posts: 124
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Post by Valgaera on Sept 30, 2006 16:33:18 GMT -5
Neeeeeddd mmoooorrrrrreeeeeee........
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