Character List |
Gared Macer - An Adept pledged to the Mages' Hall, currently on a quest to discover the location of the lost Wellspring. Current ranks and titles held - Adept in the Mages' Hall, former Praefect in the Imperial Legion, Rogue in the Thieves' Guild, Warrior in The Companions
Legate Rikke - General Tullius' Chief Advisor
Legionnaire Alwyn - Friend of Gared Macer, Praefect of the 85th Detachment
Legionnaire Hadvar - Friend of Gared Macer, Legionnaire in the 85th Detachment
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Chapter XI: A Glimmer of Hope
Gared Macer
Fredas | 21st of Last Seed | The Ruins of Mzulft
I felt like a ghoul clawing its way back to life.
I’d only been below the surface for two days, but I was never happier to feel the familiar blast of chilly air in Eastmarch as I exited the ruins of Mzulft. As I gulped down copious amounts of fresh air, I noticed that Aeonbarr was nowhere to be found. I had just enough energy left to whistle for him before sinking to my knees, too tired to even sit down properly.
That cursed mage of the Synod had done something to the machinery inside Mzulft. After he had disappeared, I couldn’t get it to work anymore. All I had to go on was that tiny speck in the forests North of Falkreath, which I had crudely drawn a likeness of the area onto a piece of parchment. All that remained for me was to get there in time, before it somehow decided to move on its own again.
Yet my gut told me this was not it. The Wellspring could not move on its own, and it had demanded the lives of many people to even shift it from the Arcane University in Cyrodiil to…wherever it was now. And yet the mage from the Synod had let slip that it had been flitting around between the Southern parts of Skyrim. I grabbed a fistful of snow and groaned. How long more will this take? How long more must I suff –
Upon hearing the rustling of leaves and the cracking of dead wood, I rose to my feet, sword in hand, and almost immediately I sighed in relief, for it was not some random interloper wandering the area but Aeonbarr plodding slowly through the thick snow.
“I’ve missed you, boy.” I mumbled, stroking his mane and patting him gently. As observant as ever, Aeonbarr knelt before me, perhaps knowing that I was too exhausted to properly mount him. That move elicited a grateful smile from me, and as I clambered on somewhat haphazardly, I whispered, “you’re a treasure, you know that?”
As perceptive and intelligent as he was, I couldn’t just say the name of a location and expect Aeonbarr to get there all by himself. Long stretches of main roads were alright, but add the numerous side paths and winding, narrow roads of Skyrim to the mix and he would be just as confused as any horse without proper direction. As such, I willed myself to stay awake, occasionally tugging on the reins as necessary and sometimes even making a mistake or two, forcing Aeonbarr to double back, costing me valuable time. I don’t know why I didn’t stop to rest, instead pressing on when I was clearly very lethargic.
I grew drowsier as the hours passed, and when we finally reached Dead Man’s Drink, the biggest inn in Falkreath, I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling, for my exertions and the long journey had turned into something of a shambling corpse. I staggered to the counter, barely managing to keep my eyes open.
“Rhuum fer wan.” I drawled, then slapped ten Septims onto the counter, ignoring the curious look the innkeep was giving me.
“Fer mah horsss.” I added ten more Septims, stumbled towards a room and promptly lay down onto the bed.
“Hey, that’s not your room!” A very faint voice tried to worm its way into my mind, but I was already falling asleep…
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Loredas | 22nd of Last Seed | Dead Man's Drink, Falkreath
The snug fur coverings and the warmth of the candles almost lulled me back into a deep slumber, but remembering why I was here, I rose with some urgency. By the Eight, I slept in my armour. I must have been absolutely worn out.
I opened the room door and walked into the main hall, where a decent sized fire was crackling. It was still early in the morning, and no one else was around but the innkeep. I stifled a yawn and stretched, then noticed the innkeep beckoning me over.
“Hey, you speak our tongue?”
I paused before realizing what he was asking. “Yes, I do. Why would you ask me that?”
“I dunno, after yesterday’s display I thought you were some foreigner.”
I paused again, this time for a while longer, before breaking out into merriment. “Apologies, sir, I was not myself. Did I sleep in someone else’s room?”
“Clearly.” The innkeep guffawed, then extended his hand. “And you did, but that’s fine, he took the room next door with a better bed. Hah! How long will you be staying?”
One firm handshake later, I informed the innkeep of my intention to depart as soon as possible. “Anything out of the ordinary happening around here lately?”
The innkeep smiled and clasped his hands together, seeming pleased with himself for some reason, as if he had been rehearsing for that line of inquiry. “In a rush, eh? Well, don’t let me stop you. Just be careful of the forests North of here, ‘specially the areas ‘round Hunter’s Rest. Guardsmen and travellers have been reporting dead Thalmor lying around in those forests, and possible rogue mage sightings.”
Rogue mage sightings? Could this be…? “I’d steer clear of them woods if I were you. Anything and everything related to the Thalmor are cursed.”
“Thanks for the advice.” I slid him a few extra coins for some bread. “Could you mark the location of Hunter’s Rest on my map? I’m not familiar with the area.”
“What?” A startled gasp escaped from the innkeep’s mouth.
“It’s so I know exactly where I shouldn’t be going.”
The innkeep didn’t notice the faint smile playing at my lips. “Ahh, yes, of course, your map, sir?”
I wolfed down the bread, which was pretty average, then exited the inn after taking back my map. A minute later, I returned to give the friendly innkeep some more Septims when I realized that he had bathed Aeonbarr and cleaned the rust off of his horseshoes. With one hand on the reins and a map in the other, I set off to hopefully discover the whereabouts of what I assumed to be a group of loyalist mages from the Mages Guild.
It wasn’t as cold in Falkreath as it was in The Rift or Eastmarch, due to the strong southerly winds blowing Whiterun Hold’s warm breezes down here. The roads here were flatter and more well-trodden, so travelling was a tad bit easier, and Aeonbarr covered more ground than he would have in the snowy peaks of Eastmarch. I was headed straight for Hunter’s Rest, and Aeonbarr got me there in under an hour.
The two hunters still there spoke of bodies of slain Thalmor soldiers, but would not escort me to them no matter how much money I offered. Instead, they gave me some vague directions and sent me on my way, so it took me an additional half hour to find the location of one of those battle sites.
I jumped off Aeonbarr as soon as I spotted the corpses gleaming in the snow. Regardless of my opinion of those Thalmor, their smiths do very good work. Their shiny elven armour, though partially covered in blood and occasionally punctured or blown apart, made them easy to locate.
I knelt and examined the bodies, as I had done so many times before with the enemies my father had dispatched. No weapon wounds. Many scorch marks, perhaps from a bolt of lightning, or more likely a small fireball. Burn marks on the ground, and...dried blood of a dark red color. This couldn’t have been done more than two days ago.
I was initially surprised that the bodies were still here, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. None of the locals have any love for the Thalmor, and probably none of the guardsmen too. Assuming no Thalmor made it out of here alive, Thalmor High Command probably don’t even know of their deaths yet. But I couldn’t count on that. Eventually someone would discovered that patrols or groups of soldiers were missing, and then a more extensive investigation would happen. The dastardly Thalmor were nothing if not meticulous.
I saddled up and spent the next few hours scouring the area, meeting only a few travellers, and even one wandering storyteller who spoke of marvellous paintings he had crafted by hand. Most strikingly, there were no guardsmen patrolling this area. Probably instructed to steer clear of this place. I guess not even the Jarl of Falkreath wants to deal with this.
I happened across a two more battle sites, all with slain Thalmor soldiers, until I finally chanced upon one near a place called ‘Evergreen grove’. It didn’t appear any different from the rest, but uponc loser inspection I realized there was one big difference…the blood on the corpses were of a light red colour…this is fresh blood, probably from an hour ago, or even less.
My heart beat a little faster as I realized the mages I sought might be nearby. I scanned the immediate vicinity, even casting my Detect Life spells, but that excitement quickly wore off when those spells came back with nothing.
I searched a radius of roughly five hundred metres from the battle, pausing every five minutes or so to cast more Detect Life spells, but the result was always the same. Frustrated, and with the Sun about to set, I took a chance and shouted into the sky.
“I WOULD SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE WHO DID THIS!”
A few startled birds scattered into the winds from their nests in nearby trees, but other than that nothing else could be heard.
“PLEASE!” I tried once more. “I HAVE COME VERY FAR, AND I ONLY WISH TO TALK!”
Yet again no reply was forthcoming. I waited for a few minutes, but there was only the sound of Aeonbarr’s soft whinnying.
At this point my frustration boiled over into anger. My father used to say it was a cruel thing, to give a man a glimmer of hope and then take it away almost immediately, and now I knew what he was talking about.
It was a foolish thing to do, perhaps even downright stupid, but I was so busy seeing red I didn’t much care. Desperate and feeling hope slipping away, I unleashed a torrent of flames into the sky, watching all my pent up exasperation and rage be channeled into one of the brightest fires I’d ever created.
A few leaves that had been burnt to a crisp crumbled to the ground. Even Aeonbarr seemed a little terrified.
But I did not care. “I WILL REMAIN HERE UNTIL YOU DECIDE TO SPEAK TO ME!” I yelled at the forest, seething in anger as my voice dissipated into the nothingness.
I set up camp as the darkness encroached upon the last slivers of daylight. I watched and waited as the sky grew darker and darker until the moon remained the only source of light. I watched and waited as the foxes returned to their dens and the elk to their herds. I listened intently for anything out of the ordinary, casting my spells time and time again to determine if anyone was in the area, but they always came back negative.
Grunting in disgust, I finally nodded off into a restless sleep after staying awake well past midnight.
However, as it turns out, I was not permitted to slumber undisturbed. When I next opened my eyes, I was still half-asleep and my head was spinning, yet the image before me was unmistakably hostile.
Author's Note |
The plot thickens! Is Gared going to throw everything away?
Gared's travels this chapter, he made quite a lot of ground!
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