Thallon's View
"Nothing?" I looked at the Mane.
"That is what I said. There is nothing you can do to gain our aid."
We had traveled a week and half to get here and the king refuses any aid. There has to be a way to gain favor. Then I remembered what the Khajiit were doing in Valenwood.
"What if we found the Helm of the Lion?"
As soon as I said it, there was hissing and growling from everyone in the room but the Mane, he just cocked his head and asked,
"My kin and I wonder how you know of such an artifact. Hmm. If you return here with the Helm of the Lion, then I can send aid, yes."
"Then, we shall return."
We left the castle at Torvar and looked West to Valenwood. We had to return there and recover this artifact, even though we had no idea where to search. I looked at Orgu'sky, he was holding a book,
"Not so fast there Thallon, I still have the journal from those miners in Valenwood. I found it among the skeletons and I didn't read much because we were in a pinch, but I thought I saw something about it in there." He handed it to me.
1st of Evening Star 3E 397
Morndas
Yatilio Xyno
I hate the mine. If it wasn't for my girlfriends stupid father I wouldn't even be in here. He insisted I get a "good job" that had enough stability for a family. He was not a mind of interest per say. He was dumb, to be blunt. All he knows is the mine. So in order to marry my one love, I had to get this job. This job will kill me, mark my words.
15th of Evening Star 3E 397
Morndas
Yatilio Xyno
Two weeks in this hell hole. Her father is the lead miner for my group, great. He has been hounding me, making me do double the work then the other miners have to do. He has developed a nasty cough, and hopefully he won't be able to boss me around much. My tunnel stretches that of double the other miners. Im overworked and underpaid.
21st of Evening Star 3E 397
Sundas
Yatilio Xyno
During my shift today, about an hour or so in, I struck this weird ore. I had no idea, but I thought if I could get enough of it, they would make me lead miner. So I struck away, even unto the night. Turns out, it was a sarcophagus. I dug even further and it opened into a room, like a burial room. There was gold, and jewels, and some really old looking armor. It looked expensive, especially the Helmet! There is no way they won't make me lead miner now!
22nd of Evening Star 3E 397
Morndas
Yatilio Xyno
I don't have much time. The Khajiit are coming. If my wife finds this journal, I hid the treasure where I proposed to you.
That was the last entry, so if can find her journal, I'm sure she wrote down where he proposed, only problem is he doesn't name her or her father in the journal. I handed the journal back to Orgu'sky. He read over it and looked at me,
"This was a major battle in the 5 years war. Thallon, there should be books upon books about what happened! All we have to do is find one that talks about the mine and we can piece it together from there."
The feeling of defeat was quickly replaced by motivation. We got this! He placed the journal back into his bag and we headed into Valenwood. We went back to Athay and went to see if we could find anything, we found nothing so we decided we better approach the King with this. He was not too happy when we told him.
"You expect to give up my heritage so easily? I give an inch you press for a mile!"
"Please, your majesty, it is the only way to save all of Tamriel. What part of there will be no land left worth protecting if we all don't work together do you not understand?"
The king looked taken back and he shifted in his seat, seemed to weigh his options, then spoke.
"Aye, you speak the truth, fellow mer. Listen to me, the Helm resides in this castle. It is my favorite artifact. You will turn it over to those filthy cats, then after you save the entire world or whatever you steal it back for me. That is the only way." The nerve of this guy.
"Deal, bring it out here and when this is all over, it will go to its rightful owner." It was brought out in a lavender pillow. This guy really was head over heels for this. I grabbed it and he seemed to wince. I placed it in my bag, and we thanked them and went on our way. We traveled back to Torval, and presented it to the Mane. He slipped it over his head and sat back on his throne, pleased with himself. I was getting sick of being everyone gopher. Go for this or go for that. The fate of the world hangs in the balance and all these selfish kings want is their power and money. I stormed out and Orgu'sky ran after me,
"Thallon? What's wrong? We did it, we gained his favor. You should be happy?"
"Don't get me wrong Orc, I am happy we are a step closer, but it has been almost 3 weeks. For all we know Summerset is gone and everyone is dead. We are wasting time playing this stupid quest game!"
He was taken back but I think he understood me. He took a deep breath and sat down next to me.
"Thallon, listen man, I know exactly how you're feeling. During the Oblivion Crisis, I had to destroy oblivion gates and gather the aid of the surrounding cities. They made me do these stupid tasks to gain their favor. I hated it, I could have stopped the crisis before it took so many lives, but people are selfish and flawed and it was those very people that I saved. Being the hero doesn't mean you like everyone, it just means you are willing to put yourself and your needs, behind those of everyday people. We do these side quests because they need to trust us, and because we are the heroes we are the ones who put our asses on the line to gain their trusts. It isn't perfect but it's our world."
His speech made a lot of sense and actually calmed me down a bit. On the bright side gaining the favor of the Khajiit went relatively quickly. If the rest take less than a week to complete, we could be done in 3 weeks and maybe be back in Summerset before the Daedra have completely taken over. We headed East to the port. There was only one captain in all of the port that was even ok with taking us across the Topal Bay to the Black Marsh, his name was Do'Talaabi Kisearanji.
"So, you understand that I will take you to the Black Marsh only if I get to see the gold first?"
"Yes, and here it is," I showed him the septims inside of the coinpurse, " do we have an accord?"
"Hmm, yes. I will not take you back, or even step a foot on that pitiful trash pile of land. Once you are there Do'Talaabi goes home, yes?"
"Deal" Orgu'sky said.
We boarded his ship and took our seats along the edge of the boat, there was no cabin on here. Do'Talaabi got on the boat and opened the sails and pulled the anchor up, he then jogged up to the Captain's Wheel and he swerved us to the right, freeing us from the harbor. He set course due East and did not say a word the entire crossing. The sound of the waves rocking the boat reminded me of Netoria and I realized how much I missed her. I am sure if she was here we would be halfway across Hammerfell by now. She had such a fiery spirit and her presence was dominating. In the midst of my thinking I came back to focus and saw Orgu'sky looking at me, confused.
"Family or girl got your mind?"
"Girl." I smiled.
"Ah, young love," he laughed, "What is her name?"
"It's uh..." I panicked, "Um-"
"Netoria, right?"
"What?" I asked feeling my cheeks get hot.
"I saw how you looked at her, I am not stupid Thallon."
"Is it really that obvious?"
"On your part, yeah. Her, on the other hand, she hides it good. Just not good enough for these keen eyes."
"I miss her. I miss my family, I miss all of Summerset, being honest."
"I used to get homesick inside of the Priory of the Nine. Wished that I could show my face and return to my home. I know it hurts now, but use the hurt to fuel your fire to get us home. Both of us." He looked back at the sea.
"Yea, for the both of us."
I looked out as well and I saw the Black Marsh in the distance it was approaching quick and part of me was nervous, the other part of me wanted to get out and explore. Less than 10 mins and then we hit the port. The Khajiit sprung up, threw anchor and looked at us,
"Go, go now. Be quick as the wind." He turned around.
I didn't know what got into him but we got off quickly and before we could even say thanks, he had pulled up anchor and was drifting into the fog. We turned back to the noise and activity of the port. No one even seemed to care we were there, they just went about our business. It was kind of dirt here, trash just floated with the wind, that also carried a foul smell from further inland. We knew that there was a city further in the land. Soulrest it was called, so we went up to a shop vendor to find out exactly where it was at.
"Excuse me sir, do you know where Soulrest is, we need to go there."
"I'm sorry, my condolences. Soulrest is just further East, near, not but a half-days walk through the swamps. Stay clear of the water though, nasty diseases call it home."
"Thank you." I turned around and couldn't help but feel weirded out.
What did he mean, his condolences? We started East and were soon out of the port. The smell just got worse the further we went in. It was strong and turned my stomach. We reached the swamp and I could instantly tell this is where the smell was originating from. We made sure to not touch any of the ater as we twisted and winded our way through the swampland. After a couple grueling hours in the toxic air, we broke through to some fields. I could see some structures up ahead, and we headed towards them, hoping the stench would trail off.
We entered Soulrest and everyone here was just shuffling around, no one talked to each other. I really felt like an outsider here. We looked around town and spotted an Inn, eager to take our boots off we headed into the Inn. As we entered, everyone was grouped around a guard who was about to say something, so we waited for him to talk,
"Do'Talaabi has been spotted earlier today. The criminal was here apparently dropping off some fugitives of Elsweyr. If anyone has any information on the suspects please inform any guard on post about it, thank you."
He closed his scroll and walked out passing us by. A shiver went down my spine, we had to think of an alibi and quick. Always Inns I thought to myself. Orgu'sky went up to the Innkeeper and I froze, I don't know if he heard what I just heard but what is he thinking! I walked up behind him, but before I could stop him he spoke,
"Fugitives, eh? What is the bounty on getting one of their heads?"
"Well it is 500 septims a head, and if it leads to the arrest of Do'Talaabi there is a 1000 septim reward. What brings you in here, outsider?"
"Me," he laughed and looked at me, punching my shoulder, "My friend and I are bounty hunters! We were actually going to ask for some bounties but this one sounds juicy to me! You got a room, we could use for the night?"
"Bounty hunters you say? Hm. Yes, I have a room available for 50 septims."
"50?! What in Oblivion are you saying? Your rooms made out of Ivory and Ebony?"
"If you are bounty hunters, then you have plenty of septims to spare. Your choice Orc."
"50, I better be getting free ale down at the bar." He paid and grumbled as he walked up the stairs, I looked back at the Argonian and he just smiled and nodded his head, it made me uneasy.
We unpacked and took our gear off, relaxing on the beds. It felt good to just lay down and relax, this was a much needed stop. I ate some bread then fell right asleep. I shot up in a cold sweat, I heard Orgu'sky yelling. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my bow and busted into his room. A black figure was attacking him, dodging most of his swings and darting across the room. I swung my bow up and aimed at him, it was hard trying to dictate where he was going to move. Orgu'sky landed a heavy blow to the attackers head, and he slumped down against the nightstand. Orgu'sky ripped his hood off, it was an argonian. What the hell? Unless the innkeeper called in a mercenary to take us out and collect his bounty. Son of a skeever. I put on my armor and stomped down the stairs, the innkeeper did not seem surprised to see us, he just grabbed a bottle of Argonian-Bloodwine and he set it out,
"Free ale, as promised sir." I took a breath.
I don't think it was him, but someone here definitely ordered the attempt. So I confronted him,
"Why were we just attacked by an Argonian in all black?" His face froze.
"A shadowscale, you mean? Well, obviously someone does not want you hunting those fugitives, or one of the bounties you collected on is out for some revenge."
"Tell me everything you know about shadowscales or the next bounty I collect will be on you." His eyes shot wide.
"No, please. I do not know why you were targeted but listen, Shadowscales are sort of the military here. If you were targeted it means you are either wanted dead by our leaders or are needed in an investigation. Tell me, did he have a dagger or a sword?"
"A dagger."
"Then you are not a wanted man, but you are in need of questioning. Now please, if I were you I would turn yourself in for questioning, or the next one will have a sword and will kill you before you even realize you are being attacked."
I looked at Orgu'sky, he shook his head, so I grabbed the wine and we left. We went across the river to the Eastern side of Soulrest. This place was filled with graves. It was as if this whole half of the city was a graveyard. We walked past the graves and through the city. The graveyard extended well beyond the city. I felt pretty creeped out, but we past the last of the lot and rounded the corner, following the road, hoping it lead to another city. I heard a loud thump and I looked back, Orgu'sky was flat on his face with an arrow in his back, then I felt a sting in my back, and the world faded to black.
My mind was really foggy when I woke up, I could hear echoing noise, it sounded like I was in a cave. It was too dark to actually tell, I pulled at my hands, but I was chained up. I called out for Orgu'sky,
"Orgu'sky!"
Nothing. Then there was some whispering but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Then a fuzzy figure of someone walked over to me, they raised their arm and nicked my neck. The fog inside my mind lifted and I realized that I was about to be interrogated.
"Thallon Eljeon, I am a Shadowscale. You resisted attempt for questioning earlier this day and injured my brethren. Not an easy task, a testament to you. I fear, you do not understand why I brought you here. Tell me, did you come from Summerset on a quest to stop the awakening."
I remained silent.
"Ah, silence an assassins best friend. Thallon, I will not harm you, for I am part of the resistance."
"Resistance?" I questioned.
"Yes, we have been infiltrated by the Thalmor and they have whispered poison into the ears of my leaders. Half of the Shadowscale has disbanded, the other half work for them. There is a war against assassins, and I need your help. You help me, I will gather any Shadowscale who will join our cause and we will wipe out the Thalmor for good."
"How can I help." I sighed relief.
"Your presence is still unknown. I need a spy to infiltrate the Thalmor Army here and get me as much intel as you can. No one can pull it off except you."
"Why?"
"I heard you were keen, maybe I heard wrong. You are an Altmer, as are the Thalmor. So you can pass as one of them."
"Where can I get a uniform?" I felt a little stupid for not putting the pieces together.
"We have one for you, we have been waiting for you. Since we heard of your quest for gathering aid."
They heard about me? So this is what Orgu'sky feels like! A swelling sense of confidence came over me,
"Good, now unchain me. We have work to do." He smiled.
He unchained me and helped me up. He led me through the tunnels into a wardrobe room, all of the outfits were different variances in black except one. It was a Thalmor soldiers apparel. He pointed at it and I went and put it on. I felt sick wearing this, but I had to swallow that feeling and pull this off. I walked up to the Shadowscale,
"What do you want lizard?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
"A little more stern and you are Thalmor." He chuckled.
"So what is the plan?"
"There is an encampment a few miles above the sewer. You need to go there with the newest shipment of recruits, play your part and when they are not looking, slip into the Officers tent and mark down on this map, where they are located and find any writing about their plans. Then after you get it, meet us back down in the sewer and we will go over it."
"Got it, easy." I was nervous, but I tried to hide it.
I still did not know where Orgu'sky was. I climbed up the ladder and opened the grate and crawled to the surface. I repositioned my armor and started towards the camp. I saw the recruits on the road and slipped in behind them and got into the group. We walked up the road a ways and I saw the camp, it made me sick to my stomach. A guard was walking by and taking names, I gave him mine but I changed my last name,
"Thallon Jorus."
"Next." The guard said as he walked past me.
That was easy, I thought to myself. We walked up to the Officer's Tent and the Officer gave a speech,
"New friends! My name is General Faelril! I used to be a General in Summerset's Army. Pathetic! I joined the winning team, as have all of you! In the next few weeks, you will tested but you will succeed! I welcome you here as my friends, when you leave, you will be my brothers!"
I wanted to jump up and kill him where he stood, but surrounded by this many, I would surely die. So I followed the head in front of me and ended up in the barracks. They all went to their beds, so did I. They all started talking about how excited they are and how they can't wait to see battle. I just kept to myself and sat on my bed. That is until I heard my name.
"Apparently the only real threat is this elf named Thallon Eljeon. He is going across Tamriel trying to get aid for Summerset. Hey, what do you think about him?"
The question, I realized was directed towards me.
"Him? He is just a kid I was told. A nobody. I heard that he died somewhere in Elsweyr. I am glad too! I didn't want him alive tainting the name Thallon." I laughed.
The others laughed and went back to talking about what they do to me if they found me. Some of the scenarios sent chills down my spine. In the middle of them talking an officer entered the room,
"Thallon Jorus! Come forward!"
My ears felt hot and adrenaline spiked through me. I stood up and went up to him. He motioned for me to follow and he walked me out of the tent. He walked me to the Officer's tent and the General was waiting for us.
"Leave us, Officer." The main left the tent.
"Thallon Jorus?"
"Yes, General?"
"Your name, it belongs to a fugitive. You know that I am sure?"
"Yes General."
"And what do you think of such fugitive?"
"He is a curse upon this land, General."
"Be that as it may, why did you join our cause?"
"As you said, General, we are the winning side."
"Hmm. Where did they recruit you, Thallon?"
I got really nervous, I had no idea where they got recruited.
"Cloudrest, General."
"Really? I thought these men were all recruited from Bravil?"
"Well, yes General. I am from Cloudrest, but I was recruited in Bravil."
"Ah. I understand now. My report said we had 15 new Altmer, yet we had 16. It must be my lucky day, Thallon, I paid for 15 and got 16."
"It appears so General"
"Can you cast a spell for me, Thallon?"
"Of course General, which one?"
Hold on, let me get my book." He left the tent.
I scrambled to look at his map, I took out the parchment I had and laid it over the map, and rubbed a piece of charcoal over it. Then I stuffed it back into my grieves. The general stepped back in.
"Thalon! Meet, Anotia. She is a spy we caught a day or so ago, I need you to read the first spell in this book," he tossed a book on the table, "And use it on her."
I picked up the book and opened it up. The first spell was a paralysis spell that caused intense pain and causes the victim to wish they were dead. I set the book down. He kicked her knees and she fell over.
"Make her pay for her treason Thallon." His eyes were cold.
"She is just a woman General!"
"Thallon, in war you have to make hard choices. She is a spy. Either, you kill her or I kill her and send you to my labor camp."
She was exactly who I am trying to protect, I was not going to be the cause of her death. I would not get away from honor now, or ever. I picked my hands up and cast the spell on the general. He didn't even budge.
"That spell, only causes the target to have night-eye for about a minute or so. The effects are only harmful to an Argonian. So, Thallon, care to tell me your real name?"
"Thallon Eljeon."
"By the gods, do you really expect me to believe that? Do you know how many spies we catch who are 'Thallon Eljeon'? Quite frankly, I am sick of it! Officer! Send this traitor to the labor camp!"
The man grabbed me and started to move me away, out of my peripheral vision I saw the General unsheathe his sword and I tried to break away but another guard came up and restrained me. The sword dove into her chest and slid out, with a release of a crimson waterfall. My heart stung, I could physically feel it stinging with the intense anguish that came over me. I got knocked in the back of the head, I didn't pass out but my vision was blurry and my thinking was foggy. I could slightly make up the outline of objects as they marched me through the camp. After some time my vision started to come back, my sense of time was warped and I did not know if we had been marching for a hour or a couple minutes. Just as I was gaining a bearing of my surroundings, the guard holding me collapsed and brought me down to the ground with a forceful thud. I raised my head, a figure in all black dove over me and I heard someone screaming, then the screaming abruptly stopped. I felt a knife slide between my hands cutting my restraints, it was the Shadowscales, they were breaking me out. I stood up and turned around, there were two dead guards and that shadowy figure cleaning off off his sword.
"Thank you, Shadowscale. I do not know where we are, can you take me back to the sanctuary under the ground?
A hissing and raspy voice came,
"Follow."
He turned around and started to briskly walk away. I leaned forward and picked up my speed to catch up with him.
I opened the grate to the sewer and climbed down. That all happened so fast, I was still shaken up and my vision was still fuzzy but I could make out the tunnels of the sewer. The moss stringing across the walls, coated with little crystals of water droplets. I rounded a corner and the Shadowscale who captured me was sitting by a table drinking some wine.
"You going to tell me your name?" I inquired.
"We do not have names, we are one entity The Shadowscale. If you wish to call me something different, as is customary in other cultures, I used to be known as Itaneek."
"Well, Itaneek, I have a map that has all of their camps and locations on it."
I pulled out the map and handed it to him, his eyes danced across the paper for a silent minute, then he carefully rolled it up and looked back at me.
"Thallon Eljeon, whatever the reason, I am glad the gods have chosen you. You are a great warrior. The Shadowscales will always be near, send word for my aid and I will step from the dark."
"Thank you. Where is Orgu'sky?"
"The Orc"
"Yea, I have not seen him since I got here."
"The Orc is still tied up in the interrogation room, we tried to let him go but he did not believe us about our mission and tried to kill us. You may go see him."
I dipped my head and headed down a hallway and opened a creaky gate. It was very dark and I heard Orgu'sky yell,
"Come at me you wide-eyed freaks!"
I used a light spell and waved it to go to the center of the room. As the light passed over him, I saw he was a little bloodied. I walked up to him and he saw me.
"Thallon! You got free? Oh you probably went all blue-eyed badass on 'em huh!?"
I laughed for a second and cut his hands free.
"No, I helped them. They are on our side, smart one. Now we have the aid of the Shadowscale."
He looked at the ground and half smiled. Then cocked his head and stood up. He shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. We walked out of the room and Itaneek was leaning against a wall spinning a dagger in his hand and eyeing Orgu'sky. I went up and shook his hand, and nodded my head. Without saying another word, we walked past him and headed to the ladder out. I popped my head over and we snuck into some brush. There was no way I was going to leave that Thalmor camp there. It was dusk, the sun was just slightly lighting the sky but it was still dark enough we could sneak in but we had to be quick. A group of four of them walked past us, the patrol. We let them pass us and then we slipped into a tent on the outskirts of the camp. There was a sleeping Thalmor, I crouched over him and pulled an arrow out of my quiver. I jammed it up through his jaw and covered his mouth. I pulled the arrow out and his body eased. Orgu'sky was looking out through the opening and he motioned for me to follow and he dipped out. There was another tent that he ran into and I sprinted into the tent behind him. When I got in, he had already taken out the two sleeping in here. I poked my head out and saw the General's tent. I motioned for Orgu'sky to follow and e ducked and weaved our way into the tent. The first part of the tent was where I was before, and there was still blood from where he killed that lady. I moved the flap out of my way and walked into the second part of the tent. The General was leaning over his table, making some potions. I crouched down and slowly creeped up behind him. I pulled my bow out and shot up. I whipped the bow around and started to pull, choking him. He dove for the ground and started squirming. I dug my knees into his back and pulled with all of my strength and I heard a loud crack mixed with pops and his body slumped, and slightly twitched. I stood up and looked at Orgu'sky and motioed with one finger across my neck, he walked up to the body and took one swing and lopped off his head. I found some parchment and wrote a quick note,
Thallon Eljeon is very much alive
I stabbed into his head and rolled the head out of the tent. I went back to his table and saw the potions he was making, the smell was sweet and intoxicating. There was a recipe underneath a bottle. I moved the bottle aside and picked up the recipe. Hist Sap. Whatever it takes to win, disgusting. I picked up the potion bottles and threw them against the ground shattering them. We walked outside of the tent and the sun was peeking through the trees and illuminated the camp, soldiers were going about their business. I just stood and watched as they walked past the head until one of them saw it and yelled. There was a group of about 20 within a couple minutes, I decided to make a speech,
"Thallon Eljeon is very much alive. Unlike your General."
Their heads shot towards me and they stood there wide eyed and frozen.
"I am Thallon Eljeon, and I want you to go back to your superiors and tell them of what I have done, tell them to be very afraid, because I will not stop until every head is separated from the body. Once you have voiced my message, leave the Thalmor and join the resistance, or see your body separated from your head!"
One of them charged me and I lifted my bow and released the arrow, he dropped and tumbled over himself. I lifted my bow again,
"Get out and never come back!"
The crowd ran away and the camp was deserted. We separated the useful materials versus the garbage and burned the camp. From there, we left towards Cyrodiil.