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"Is the cathedral reopened yet?" |
Again he shook his head. "No, and it won’t be for some time. By the order of the Countess it is to be closed until further notice." |
"Any explanation as to why?" |
"Nothing official. "Carefully lowering his voice he glanced to the door at our backs, before continuing in hushed tones. "Unofficially, my "friend’ has told me that what happened in there hasn’t changed since the day it happened. The bodies haven’t been moved or taken for burial due to the current state of everything ... |
Turning I gave Viconia a pointed glance until she looked at me. Shrugging, she tucked some of her white hair back behind the circlet she wore around her forehead. "My money would definitely be on Daedric or some other form of what you would consider to be darker magicka. Someone was making a point and going to a lot o... |
"That’s also the consensus. There’s writing marking the central altar that has been written in the blood but so far no one has been able to translate it." |
"Drow?" I asked Viconia, and she shook her head. |
"Lloth doesn’t do subtle when it comes to dealing with cults and upstart gods. Even her followers wouldn’t have bothered within leaving a statement as such. A few impalements and a public immolation have been far more suitable and they wouldn’t have been so concerned with escaping without being seen." |
"Speaking of people’s expertise." Suddenly interjecting, the letter opener was dropped on the surface of the desk with a clatter. Quickly but carefully, Azzan began rifling through drawers with wooden scrapes echoing through the room. "I have something I want your opinion on Kaius." |
"Anything interesting?" I said, amused as he exclaimed as he found what he was looking for and lifted it from its storage. |
"You will probably think so." He replied, placing the rolled up bundle of cloth on the desk and carefully unwrapping its contents. "Tell me what you think." |
Leaning forward, I looked over the tiny collection of what first appeared to be sticks, until I realised what I was looking at was in fact a small collection of shattered arrows. Broken in several places, and made up of a handful of separate shafts, they appeared unusual and felt strange as I picked them up. |
"Is this... Bone?" Viconia exclaimed as she too plucked one from where it lay. The eagle’s feather had been affixed to the end with what looked like some type of silk and it had been snapped two thirds of the way down its length. Like hers, mine was from a light brown substance that was definitely not wood. |
"Yeah." I held up mine and studied it carefully. The shaft was from a single carved length of bone, whittled from a thigh bone or something similar. Instead of what I considered to be the normal pointed tip, the broadhead was wickedly sharp, carved into a sharp, flat V shape with a pair of razored tips that had been b... |
"These are Bosmeri." My words were met with a bobbing of Azzan’s head as I looked over the small collection. "Traditional make too. That’s unusual. I thought that most Bosmer use modern arrows." |
"They are definitely Bosmer, and yes, usually they do use less primitive arrows. The Fletchers here in Anvil make a huge amount throughout the year and constantly export them to Valenwood. There’s some serious coin in that trade." |
"Where did you get these?" |
"Three days north there is a small settlement. The locals abandoned it as soon as they heard about the siege. A group of necromancers had taken up shop there, until someone using these arrows decided to kill them very quickly and very precisely." |
"What were necromancers doing around these parts?" |
"Well ever since the ban, those wanting to mess around with the dead have had to go into hiding. Anvil and Kvatch counties are the best places of late to hide out; plenty of dead, lots of elbow room and the guard are too busy running around after bandits and daedra worshippers to bother them." For a moment he looked l... |
The letter opener stabbed in my direction and at the arrow in my hands. "That one you’re holding was pulled out of the mortar of the inn. Whoever had loosed it, had enough strength to draw a bow powerful enough to punch through someone’s skull and over thirty centimetres of rock and cement." |
My whistle momentarily hid the surprise and further stab of unease in my guts. "Unless they fired it from point-blank range they would need a bow with over a hundred and forty pounds of draw strength." |
"Huurwen said the same thing." He agreed. "She was the one who came across the village. It took her a few hours to thoroughly check the place out. Whoever had been responsible had been in and out and killed the whole lot of them in a very short space of time. Those arrows are the only signs of who was responsible and ... |
"Plenty of cut throats then?" Smiling, I looked up at his serious face and my humour vanished. |
"Not a single one." Shaking his head, the words dragged themselves from between his lips. "These were no amateurs. Cutting throats is messy and you can easily make a mess of it. Those few who were knifed were stabbed. Very precisely too. In the armpit, between the ribs or right under the ear." |
The tap-tap-tap of a finger against the little hollow where his jawbone met his neck and ear left me nervously rubbing at mine. It in particular, was the spot that foresters were taught in the Legion to kill unsuspecting foes. A hand over the mouth, gripping tightly to cut off any scream, a blade would be jammed in de... |
"Knowing that most "mancers in Cyrodiil were once members of the Arcane University, I asked Carradil to have a look into it. This particular group had called themselves the Putrid Hand and had a particular interest in artefacts. Daedric, Ayleid and the like. Apparently the Mage leading them; Lien Valeth, had been boot... |
"What happened to him?" |
"Stabbed in the brain while taking a shit." |
With unease crawling and worming its way up my spine, I remembered the tales I had heard during my time within the Legion. Foresters had their own campfire stories and the more popular and well known were always about hunters and individuals with similar skills to our own. There were those who were known of by every f... |
"Rangers..." I breathed. |
"Yeah. There’s some of them in the area, and they are keeping out of sight." |
Snorting again, I handed back the arrow and folded my arms. "That goes without saying. There is a running joke in the Legion; If a Ranger kills someone in a forest, does it make a sound?" |
Glancing between the two of them, Azzan shrugged his shoulders and Viconia simply stared at me. |
"No. It makes a corpse." |
Azzan sighed loudly and Viconia gave me a glare usually reserved for when I overcooked a meal or did something she found stupid. |
"F’sarn helothannin’in xuil biu mal’ai..." She muttered darkly under her breath, sarcasm dripping from every word as she handed back her own arrow. "Who are Rangers? And are they that stealthy?" |
"They are the epitome of stealth." Azzan replied before I could and gave me a wink as he did so. "They are the eyes and ears of Valenwood; the scouts, skirmishers and assassins. As the stories go they are also the guardians of the forests and of the Silvenar." |
"They sound like the Blades." |
Cutting Azzan off in mid breath, I returned the favour and Viconia rolled her eyes at us. "In a way. The Blades learned from, or at least they use the Rangers as an example to strive towards. They can travel unseen throughout the Empire but usually they never leave Valenwood except during times of war." |
"Well Kaius... This can be classified as a time of war in a lot of ways." |
"But not the kind of war that would result in Rangers travelling into Cyrodiil. At least not without a host of Warsmers at their backs." |
"Rhano had one speak to him last week." |
Involuntarily, my jaw dropped and I stared at him. "No way." |
"You know Rhano. He’s many things, but he’s never been able to tell a decent story in his life." |
I couldn’t help but agree. Rhano was a solid, dependable warrior but he wasn’t the most imaginative of individuals. "What exactly did he say happened?" |
Pressing the tip of the letter opener into the desk, Azzan idly spun it by flicking the blade with his finger. "He was out scouting for bandit camps when all of a sudden this Wood Elf appeared out of nowhere. He says that one second he was by himself in one of the forests to the North of the Brina Cross Inn, and the n... |
"Did they talk to each other?" |
"Not much. Rhano said that the Bosmer had simply told him not to go in the forests between Fort Wariel and Sutch as his safety wasn’t guaranteed." |
"That sounds like a threat." Sighing to herself, Viconia stretched out and rolled her neck in an attempt to ease some of the tenseness from riding Ultrin. |
"Rhano didn’t think so. He said that it was more like a friendly heads-up rather than an implied threat. The settlement full of dead "mancers is roughly in that area, and he seems to think that the Rangers are searching for something around there. Whatever their intent is, he didn’t get anything else out of the Elf. H... |
Chewing on the inside of my cheek I thought over the implications. "Did he investigate any further?" |
"Nope. and so far he hasn’t had any intention of going back out there. That’s another reason why I need someone else experienced and willing to hunt bandits. His nerve is a bit shot after having that damn elf get the jump on him like that." |
I blew out a deep, long breath and looked over at Viconia. It wasn’t visible to Azzan, but both of us were suddenly very uncertain about separating for any period of time. Going by the look in her eyes Viconia especially was feeling distinctly uneasy. |
"What sort of timeframe are you looking at needing us here?" I asked, feeling her gaze burning into mine. |
He shrugged again. "A week or two. Maybe more. Once we get a handle on the bandits and take out the more organised groups the guards and the guild will be able to manage the rest. Otherwise after what you both have been through, Anvil should be a bit of rest." |
"How soon do you need us to start?" Soft but with a strange steel-like hardness creeping into her words, Viconia’s gaze moved from me to Azzan. |
"How soon can you be ready?" |
It was my turn to shrug, and Viconia looked between us for a moment. Almost imperceptibly she took control over feelings and apprehension, crushing them deep inside before nodding. "Tomorrow." |
"Well, looks like I’ve got few rough nights ahead of me." Creasing my face, my smile hid my own apprehension as Azzan positively beamed. |
"Excellent. I knew I could count on the both of you." He rubbed his hands together and carefully rolled up the broken remains of the arrows into the sheet of cloth. "I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning and give you directions on where our camp is and where to report to Huurwen. Otherwise use this time to get ourselves s... |
Nodding in both of our directions his grin grew even larger. "Try not to get yourselves in too much trouble while you’re here. There’s enough craziness in the area without you going looking for more of it." |
It takes a certain amount of skill, not to mention will and discipline to be able to hunt or scout. Not many within the Empire would be capable enough or be able to survive on their own within the wilds of Tamriel. Certain races were more inclined or naturally gifted; the Bosmer, Khajiit and Argonians in their respecti... |
Even then, with years of training it took a specific skillset that was more than just physical to do what those living on the fringes of society accomplished on a daily basis. To be able to move unseen and unheard, to track by the merest traces of prints, disturbed foliage and limited spoor, and above all have the men... |
Foresters within the Legion were the eyes and ears of the Cohorts, and were responsible for a significant amount of the legionary’s diet. Usually hunting in tiny groups of two or three at a time for mutual protection, the foresters would roam around the main camps, hunting and bringing back whatever game they could ma... |
There were a few however that took these skills further, and showed enough ability to not only perform their duties well, but were capable of doing so alone. To be able to wander the wilds with no one but themselves to rely upon and going on patrols days or weeks at a time was a skill that was only found in one in eve... |
My skills had allowed me to rise to the rank of Archer-Prefect. This placed me in the position of being one of twenty within my local casta, and one of the few dozen within the 14th with the authority and skill to hunt and scout on my own, I was bar far one of the best. It did however provide me with a greater ability... |
Foresters intrusted to solo missions were usually granted a higher level of initiative within the Legion’s rank structure and I looked forward to being entrusted with such responsibility during my service. The sense of freedom, the fact that I was simply given an order to accomplish a task with the choice of how to do... |
Ensuring that I was well prepared, dressed in my armour, wrapped in my minotaur leather cloak and carrying everything needed for a month of living rough I left Anvil and Viconia behind. Every pouch I had was filled with various items, my tiny travelling pack containing little more than dried rations and my compound bo... |
I was hollow, empty inside without Viconia by my side. The months that we had been together had left us unconsciously relying on each other more than what we had realised. Until the first night where I found myself sitting before my tiny campfire, I don’t think I fully realised how I too relied on her for support just... |
Separating from Viconia was strangely easier, and yet harder than I was expecting. The pangs of loneliness ate away at me in the deepening shadows of the evenings and mornings when I made camp and maintained my equipment, but I was also highly focussed on my task and my surroundings. Only a fool or the inexperienced l... |
While my younger years, and my teenage life within eastern Hammerfell had forged my skill in hunting, it had been tempered and honed in the Legion. Morrowind, especially Vvardenfell was not a place for the unwary or inexperienced. Between the fauna that inhabited he fungal forests and the mountain ranges and the occas... |
Cyrodiil in comparison was almost laughably safe, but only in the briefest of comparisons. It was a dangerous to assume safety anywhere in the Empire, as the line between civilisation and wilderness was extremely thin. In Anvil county, mountain lions roamed the land, forest trolls could be occasional encountered along... |
The largest difference within Cyrodiil compared to Morrowind was the locals. For the most part they were not threatening in the slightest, whereas in Morrowind whether they be the local Dunmer disliking the presence of the Legion, or some of the outright hostile Ashlanders the only real safety was within a Legion Fort... |
Before I had reported to Huurwen I had made the decision that I would only hunt at night. Normally, and to most individuals the night was impossible to track or hunt except for the nights where the moons were full. To me however I had every intention of using my vampiric side to its advantage, not only to learn more a... |
I had found Huurwen in the Guild’s camp, looking extremely tired and haggard from a fortnight’s scouting. As a result, she was extremely glad for the reprieve that I represented. Between herself and Rhano, they represented the only two within the guild who had any real skill or experience in tracking. A such they had ... |
They had been effective though. Two dozen fighters leading three or four dozen fresh recruits would patrol the roads, while the handful of skilled hunters would go out to all the likely hiding spots. Known Ayleid ruins, ancient abandoned Legion forts, caves and mines, and abandoned farms and villages were all checked ... |
After such a solid effort in eradicating the bandit problem of the county, those that were left were the hard-core elite. In the full tradition of Gaiden Shinji Himself; the best techniques were being passed on by the survivors. Huurwen believed that there were only one or two groups left, but these were the most hard... |
Within the first week I had managed to track down one of the raider bands, deciding not to lead the fighters to their camp where they resided. I fell upon them in the night, using my vampiric abilities to the fullest and slaking my growing thirst. My role for the Guild was a perfect opportunity to test myself and abov... |
To hunt prey, whether it be animal or human, or to scout out areas required more than just the ability to move quietly or live off the lands. It required a certain strength of will, the keenness of more than just sight and being able to remain vigilant at all times. There was also two ways of moving through the wilder... |
Within the shadowed depths of scrubland, a rocky gorge cut through the undulating landscape. A tiny stream had been making it way for untold centuries through the rolling hills and over the years of its existence it had sliced deep into earth and stone. It was a quiet, unassuming place that most would have walked past... |
The campsite was proof of this. Hidden in the depths of the gorge, it nestled into the cliffs under whatever overhangs were present and ensured they couldn’t be seen by someone on the hills. The density of the trees in the area guaranteed that unless you knew exactly where you were going, you could walk past one or bo... |
Masser lit the darkness with its baleful eye, staring down across the landscape as I slid through the shadows. The nights were growing colder even this far south, and while nearly every centimetre of skin was hidden from sight I could feel the chill across my eyes and forehead. Wrapped in my cloak, face hidden behind ... |
Still... It had taken me the better part of four days to follow them further into the depths of Anvil County. Their path had wound through the forests and over the rolling grasslands and several times I had lost their tracks as they clambered over rocks and followed creeks and streams. Even without my cursed nature I ... |
Sliding through the undergrowth, hunched over and stepping very carefully, I looked about the maze of brambles and shrubs that were between me and the entrance to their camp. The cliffs were sheer and jagged, rising from the stream to the top of the slopes fifteen metres up and where the hills had once joined was a fo... |
Thick and still faintly smelling of minotaur, my mask was briefly pulled down and I sniffed the air. My face was taut in the darkness with the vampire rising to the surface and lending me its enhanced senses. Normally such a location in a hollow in the land between enormous slabs of earth would entrap the usual smells... |
The smells from this particular site were familiar; rendered animal fat that had been used to grease leather and chainmail, bodies that had gone weeks or months without the touch of soap and the faintest hint of a latrine somewhere within the gorge. It had been smells that had led me after my quarry for most of the da... |
Coppery and mouth-wateringly, I could taste blood on the wind. It had been a smell that I had also followed in the first day of pursuit after they had killed a handful of the trade caravan they had raided. As the days progressed and they washed the gore off their arms and chests or it otherwise dried or flaked away th... |
The vampire within my soul; the beast was troubled though. While tantalising and leaving me licking my lips in anticipation it was not a smell that was entirely welcome in the night. Especially as I didn’t know of the cause of it. As my beastial instincts rose to the surface of my mind I could feel my anxiety growing ... |
Frogs croaked their chorus from the gurgling stream dribbling through their rocks, and crickets called from various places around me. Far off, the sound of wings reached my ears despite how to the uncorrupted and mortal the noise was impossible to discern. The owner of the deathly silent wings hooted to its mate furth... |
Gliding through the relatively narrow space where the stream emerged from the gorge I would have normally returned to the shadows but my own instincts knew that there was no threat in the form of a watchful guard. The scent of fresh blood grew stronger as I moved into the gorge itself, along with the other scents of i... |
Within metres of the entrance, I found the first of the marauders, lying face down in the dirt. The coppery smell was overwhelming as I hunched down over the body, seeing the way that blood was leaking out of the armour around the throat. Fifty metres up the gorge the hint of a fire crackled softly on the edges of my ... |
I rolled the body over, seeing the way that death had come for the bandit in the single stab wound under the ear and that the blood had barely had enough time to dry. The most concerning thing about the whole situation was the way how the vampire within me was not interested in the blood. It was more interested in the... |
His jaw was clenched, bruising around his throat where someone had choked off his mouth and windpipe before stabbing him in the head. Even though he had been the sentry placed to watch the entrance to the gorge, someone had managed to make their way past him, come up from behind and kill him without being seen or hear... |
With the tips of my fingers I felt into the corpse's throat, feeling how the cool air had already taken most of the heat away from the dead man’s flesh. It was yet to steal all traces of warmth from the core of the body which meant that he had died only in the past hours and that whoever was responsible was in the are... |
Clenching my knuckles in my gloves until I could hear the leather creaking, I rose up from the corpse, rubbing at my jaw through the mask. The entire gorge would have been deathly quiet if not for the sounds of the creek and the various animals and insects that lived in it. In fact, the only sounds that announced a hu... |
The entire camp was dead. Fourteen Redguard marauders, all highly skilled and experienced had been left as dead meat on the ground. Some would have been veterans of the numerous conflicts and skirmishes between the Crowned and the Forebears, one or two may have been Legion Deserters like myself. It had done them littl... |
Tiny and ramshackle but built with comfort in mind, the campsite was well-worn and had been put to good use during their time in Cyrodiil. In an overhang of the cliff face, canvasses had been erected to further build a space protected from the elements. Rough bedrolls had been set up, along with a couple of crudely bu... |
There was no sign that they had let themselves grow too unwary in their comfort. A couple of barricades had been set up in places to allow them to fend off attacks, but these had proven to be useless in the face of their sentries being stabbed to death. As I stepped into the feeble firelight I could see that whoever h... |
Besides the two sentries guarding both ends of the tiny stream and the entrances to their camp, the others had been killed from afar. Waiting until they were perfectly ready, the stealthy killers had taken their time, infiltrating the camp before falling upon the unsuspecting bandits. |
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