Well, this is my Morrowind fanfic, a story of my used-to-be minor now main character, Gaius Maximus. Since I didn't find it interesting to re-write the main quest of Morrowind, I decided to try it how I imagine it going after joining Imperial Legion and not touching the Main Quest for 6 in-game years. Any constructive criticism welcome.

The Saga of Vvardenfell
The Legionnaire, the Legend and the Island.

Grand Chapter 1: Every legend has a beginning...

Chapter 1: New Assignments.
Chapter 2: The Night before journey.
Chapter 3: Urshilaku Camp, part 1.
Chapter 4: Urshilaku Camp, part 2.
Chapter 5: Welcoming committee.

Grand Chapter 2: Closer to the Red Mountain.
Chapter 1: Odd Encounter.
Chapter 2: The Trial worth Our Hero, part 1.
Chapter 3: The Trial worth Our Hero, part 2.
Chapter 4: Veni, Vidi, Vici.
Chapter 5: Fire and Ice.

Grand Chapter 3: In the caverns of Vvardenfell.
Chapter 1: Dungeons, without Dragons.
Chapter 2: Dwemer Forge.
Chapter 3: Arming.

(Also note that I'm not sure if there are any more of the modern words left - do say if you see some. Help with that will be highly appreciated.)

Chapter 1: New assignments.

Gaius Maximus was a simple Imperial Legionnaire. Only possessions of his were the Divine Intervention amulet for quick escape, his Imperial steel armor and his broadsword, enchanted with his very own enchantment, made from a soul of a Dremora lord. The enchantment was pretty simple – it inflicted fire damage, along with a weakness to fire spell, which, combined with the steel itself, was pretty good for taking care of bandits, outlaws and other creatures, those native to the land of Vvardenfel.

Gaius was shipped to Vvardenfel 6 years ago, and the trip was quite interesting. During it, Gaius received a strange dream, about the troubles of Morrowind and Vvardenfel in particular, and how he was to save everything. Gaius never told anyone about it, as he later heard about strange dreams troubling people. He doubted they were different from his one, but he wasn’t able to ask anyone, as these so called ‘Dreamer’ and ‘Sleeper’ people would only ramble nonsense when talked to, if they wouldn’t attack him on sight.

Gaius lived in Gnisis, mainly in the Madach Tradehouse, where General Darius was taking residence. Darius would occasionally seek Gaius out, to give him harder assignments that other legionnaires couldn’t carry out. Like that time when he was assigned to rescue a priest from a Daedric ruin, in which he got that soul of a Dremora lord. Or when he was to investigate the mysterious happenings around a Dunmer stronghold, and ended up in a strange Dwemer ruin, fighting a creature called ‘Ash Vampire’. After a hard battle, Gaius beat the Vampire, and after coming back to Gnisis, he heard rumors about Red Mountain erupting and Blight Storms stopping for several hours.

Even now, Gaius was sitting at a table in the Tradehouse, with a bottle of Cyrodiilic brandy. Being rewarded quite healthy for all the special assignments, one would have retired from the Legion already if he was in Gaius’ place, but Gaius liked the Legion for some reason, and had no interest in retiring. As the assignments were given secretly, he never got a lot of promotions, as he couldn’t be promoted for what wasn’t a ‘Legion matter’ as Darius called it.

He heard news of some ‘Nerevarine’, a person claming to be an ancient hero reborn. Yeah, and I’m a trader. Gaius thought, taking another gulp from the brandy bottle. If he knew Vvardenfel right, the poor man would be executed by the Temple in a few days, if he was lucky, after a week. It was even a constant subject for bets in the Legion – how long would a new ‘Nerevarine’ last? They were just appearing out of nowhere – Ashlander tribes, guilds, Temple itself, Great Houses – or just freelancing adventurers, seeking for fame. Now that the Dagoth Ur problem was getting really nasty, everyone seemed to wait for the ‘Nerevarine’ to come, and rescue everyone.

After living in Vvardenfel for 6 years, Gaius soon noticed that whatever the Temple said, everything was turning wrong, and getting out of hand. The Ghostfence was getting weaker, as Gaius noticed while traveling near it, Corprus beasts – more frequent, and assassinations on important people even more frequent than the beasts. The Tribunal wasn’t that much of a help, and more people turned on worshiping Daedra, as Gaius found out while wandering in the ruins.

Gaius was distracted from his bottle by a man walking up the stairs – it was the same Orc that seemed to spend his whole life in Darius’ office. As he walked up to Gaius, the Imperial sighed. No doubt, this meant work.

“General wants to see you. Now.” The Orc said. Gaius never really liked the Orcish names, so he couldn’t recognize them, but he was pretty sure every one of them included ‘gro’.

“Sure thing, officer gro-Mamblang.” Gaius said, and stood up.

“For the last time, my name isn’t gro-Mamblang! One more time you call me like that, and I’ll… I’ll…” The Orc stammered.

“You’ll stammer when speaking with me?” The Orc swore, and rushed off into Darius’ office, with Gaius close behind.

Soon, Gaius was inside Darius’ office. “What now… sir?” The Legionnaire asked, catching Darius’ glare.

“I have another task for you. This one, though, will be official, though it’s quite dangerous. You’re up to it?” Darius began. As if he needed to ask.

“Of course, sir! Which ruin am I going to now?” Gaius asked.

“No, you’re not heading for a ruin this time. I want you to do a harder task this time. It’ll be a really long task, and I could only entrust you upon it. I know this’ll sound weird, but…” The General said, and silenced.

“What is it?”

“I want you to make a go for the Nerevarine prophecy completion.” Darius said.

Gaius felt something blow up in him. For a moment, he almost thought it was his brain. The Imperial Legion wants him to make a go for the Nerevarine Prophecies? What the?! “Okay, is this a really weird kind of joke?” Gaius finally asked, hanging on his last hope. Unfortunately…

“No, I’m absolutely serious.” Darius replied, and raised an eyebrow.

“But… But why? You want to make a bet for how long will I last?” Gaius asked.

“Not funny, Trooper. The Emperor wants to prove to the people of Morrowind that the Empire – and it’s Legions – can offer protection to the people. With the Temple unable to do anything, it’s a perfect chance to gain the trust of the people. You won’t understand it, its political business.” The General said. “Now, I want you to finish off any business before I give you your first assignment concerning this.” With that, he released Gaius.

Gaius went up shocked. Next thing he wanted to do was head into the Barracks and speak with Irr’cah, an ex-thief.

End of Chapter 1.

An interesting start to your tale. I especially liked the conversation with the Orc and the fact that your character didn't like Orcish names. Keep it up, I like it.

"Don't call me that again or I'll.... I'll!" "You'll stammer when speaking to me?" That was priceless, I'll say that next time someone starts saying that very phrase. Anyway, the Nerevarine Prophesies as a PR stunt by the legion is also fresh compared to the common interpretations, can't wait to see more, Gaius!

I like the blend of military jargon and comedy, and also the naivity of the Nerevarine...when i first played the game i felt like i was having stuff thrown in my lap, kinda like Gaius, he plays it off so well

Yay, replies!


gaius in this fanfic expresses mostly the way I feel about Elder Scrolls - he hates the way Khajiiti talk, he hates Orcish names, he likes the Legion, etc. That and the Orcish names always escape me...


I can't remember where did that come from, actually - I just remember hearing or reading something along those lines. And it just so happened that the opportunity presented itself...


Further into story, you'll see that Gaius hates being a hero, actually (You'll also see a whole lot other stuff, but none that I will spoil now. ). That's the way I felt about that myself - it's just so annoying that you're always 'Leader of All, Hero of Vvardenfel' and not just 'Random unknown farmer'. And since I can't leave unfinished journal entries, I have always to report to Caius Cosades... And then I have to have a reason to be a blade, so I have to do the rest of quests given by Caius... And then I'm half-way through, so I can't stop right there...

Anyway, chapter 2 (Hopefuly as good as chapter 1), featuring our favorite pant-less Dunmer from Gnisis!

Chapter 2: The Night before journey.

Gaius left Darius’ office. Now this is just plain crazy. The legionnaire thought, closing the doors behind him. So I’m supposed to be the ‘Nerevarine’ now? Crazed Dunmer with their silly beliefs…

Gaius walked towards the stairs, and stopped for a moment, as another soldier walked past. This is probably a bad dream… I wonder what’s next – Mad Gods? Daedric Princes? He asked himself, continuing towards the doors leading outside to Gnisis. Heh, that’d be crazy. The soldier immediately laughed at his thoughts.

Opening the doors, Gaius was greeted by a cold gust of wind. “Close the doors!” Someone yelled. “This one doesn’t like cold wind…” A Khajiit voice supported the first one. Sighing, Gaius closed the doors, then strolled towards the Barracks.

It was evening already – the streets (Or the street, Gaius never understood whenever Gnisis had one street or more) were already empty, except for a lone Dunmer merchant packing his goods up at the torchlight and several guards. The strange huts that for some reason reminded crabs to Gaius were already becoming darker, as the sun slipped away, hiding behind the mountains that surrounded Gnisis.

Gaius yawned, looking at the sunset, then down at the river. A Dunmer male was standing in the water. As much as he could see, the Elf was without his pants. Poor fellow… I wonder if Slaughterfish bite hard at night. Gaius thought blankly, and then proceeded inside the Barracks.

The Barracks changed during the 6 years Gaius was in Vvardenfel. The outside still looked the same, but inside was changed corresponding to the Crisis.

Now, the dinning table and chairs were immediately to the right, so that guards could react to an assault even when eating, and don’t waste much time. The wall further into the room was covered with papers and signs that blocked the door that used to be there.

The signs and papers informed guards to be aware of people that wear no shirt, and speak seemingly nonsense, something about ‘Dagoth Ur awakening, Red Mountain rising’, warning that they might be dangerous to the guards or citizens. Others warned about Ald-Ruhn, and recommended not to come close.

Recently, since the Ghostfence was weakening, Blight storms started occurring outside it – for now, not too far from the Red Mountain, but who knows what heck would happen if that would be left as it is for another year or two. In Ald-Ruhn, several people died after being infected, so it was abandoned slowly, and left empty. Not a very wise move, since it was reported later that a large group of Corprus beasts and other strange creatures Dagoth Ur controlled, led by a strange creature that was dubbed Ash Vampire (Though not a Vampire at all, Gaius didn’t had a slightest idea why was it called like that; the soldier himself called them ‘Those white ones with masks’), broke out of the Ghostfence and probably took over the now-empty Ald-Ruhn.

The room to the left was recently made into the Armory, with most of the armor and weapons being held there. The papers and signs were hanging there as well, but not blocking the door – the small room behind them was turned into the food storage.

The basement downstairs was blocked and locked with a magical lock after it was discovered that a secret tunnel was there, leading to a cave that was supposedly sacred for the Dunmer in some way (Every time Gaius thought of worshiping a cave as a sacred place, he started chuckling – the Dunmeri’s beliefs were truly very silly): it was posing a threat for Gnisis – what if those Ashlanders (Gaius liked to call them ‘The people that live in wilderness and throw things at passers-by’ to himself) or Corprus beasts attack through there?

The selection of races inhabiting the barracks was very small: limited to Orcs and Imperials, with one exception – a Khajiit.

That Khajiit was Irr’cah, the ex-thief working for the Legion.

The story how Irr’cah became an ex-thief is very simple – before joining the Legion in providing information, he was in the Thieves Guild, working for in Pelagiad mostly. Once, his partner didn’t agree to share loot and hid it under the wing of the local ranking Thieves guild member – Irr’cah, being the skilled negotiator he is, killed both of them, then reclaimed his loot. For that, of course, he was thrown out, and, angered by that, he began working for the Legion, supplying them with information about Thieves’ Guild operations. Eventually, though, Irr’cah retired into Gnisis, one of he calmest spots in Vvardenfel.

Irr’cah was currently sitting at the dinning room, busy on a card game with an Orc at the time when Gaius approached, so the Khajiit didn’t notice him.

“This one wins… again!” Irr’cah exclaimed, taking all the gold on the small table. Gaius tapped him on the shoulder lightly.

“Irr!” The soldier said.

Irr’cah flinched. “Ack! Good friend Gaius startled this one!” The Khajiit exclaimed, as gold pieces he was holding fell all over. With a swear he started gathering the coins. “This one hates when that happens.”

“Sorry to interrupt your play, but we need to talk.” Gaius said, with a tone in his voice that just said ‘That’s urgent!’

Irr’cah stood up, gold in his hands. “Sure thing, good friend Gaius! Right after I have another pl-“ He was cut off by Gaius sighing, then grabbing his shoulder and dragging him out. “This one will be back! You shouldn’t go away!” With that shout, the pair left the Barracks. The Orc shrugged, then yawned, and took out a bottle of mazte. A nearby Imperial Trooper muttered something along the lines ‘Stupid drunk Orcs…’, then turned around, returning to his normal duties - sitting and grumbling about the poor conditions of life in the Legion.

“You need to stop playing.” Gaius said, already outside. Irr’cah shrugged.

“This one needs a way to spend time, doesn’t he?” The Khajiit replied.

“Well, I’m here not to discuss your gambling problems. Listen…” Gaius said, then, ignoring the mumble ‘This one does not have gambling problems…’, told everything about the strange assignment he was given.

“And so I’m now supposed to become the ‘Nerevarine’. You don’t think that’s mad?” The soldier finished his short story, then sighed. “I swear, I’m still having the feeling that general Darius is laughing at his office now.”

Irr’cah remained silent for a moment, looking at the pant-less Dunmer down in the river that was desperately trying to avoid Slaughterfish.

“This one agrees that this is indeed strange. Good friend Gaius should be careful in this task – this one believes it will not be easy.” The Khajiit finally said.

“You think so?” Gaius asked sarcastically. “Because I thought it’s going to be a walk in the park… Like most of the times when I’m trying to fulfill ancient prophecies while being chased by Ordinators…”

“This one thinks now is no time for jokes, good friend Gaius. You should go get some sleep – this one doesn’t want to see Gaius be sleepy on journey.” Irr’cah replied with a slight frown.

“Unless you have a magical way of looking over me, don’t worry, you won’t see me sleepy, or at all see me.” Gaius replied with a slight smile.

“This one doesn’t have a magical way to look over you, but he still has eyes – I will come with you on your journey, good friend Gaius.” Irr’cah replied. Gaius seemed surprised.

“But why? It’s not that I’ll need help in combat…” The Imperial began, but Irr’cah cut him off:

“Perhaps this one may not help you much in combat, but two heads are better than one. And this one does not forget that good friend Gaius has terrible unlocking skills.” A smile passed through the Khajiit’s face, revealing his fangs. Gaius frowned.

End of Chapter 2.

I LIKE how Khajiit talk, it's funny! What I would do to have a smart kitty help me become a demi-god.

This update was wonderful as well. Don't try to be too sarcastic when talking about the world of the Elder Scrolls though. I like how off all the leggionaires are in your story but, still, try to keep it at least semi-serious.

On the other hand, I really liked the conversation with Irr. I especially liked the "this one doesn't have gambling problems..." bit. Keep it up!

Yeah, I felt like this update was a bit over the top with the sarcasm, but the last chapter stored many information about the current situation in Vvardenfel, and I couldn't pass up the oportunity of displaying Gaius' view on most of them.

As for the 'gambling problems' bit, I figured a Khajiit with sugar problems would be overused as it was in the game so many times, so it came to me that there was no Khajiiti with gambling problems. You'll see later on that Irr got in some rpoblems with the Ashlanders due to that later...

And for now, new update!

Chapter 3: The Urshilaku Camp, part 1.

When Gaius woke up, the inevitable sense of doom filled his whole body, every single bit of him, leaving no other thoughts. For a short moment, he couldn’t recall what’s the reason of this, but soon enough, he recalled everything that happened yesterday – the talk with Captain Darius as well. Today was the day when his life had to change, but how much, Gaius had no idea. What he didn’t know, that up from this day, his life would change completely. Up from this day, he would no longer be recognized as ‘Legionnaire Gaius Maximus’, but as ‘Lord Indoril Nerevar Reborn, Saint Nerevarine, Protector of Morrowind, Gaius Maximus’, but that was far away - at the end of rocky, long, twisting road he had to follow from now on – the road that ended in Red Mountain, or perhaps in his grave, the road whose end is even worse than the beginning.

With a groan, Gaius lifted up from his bed, and then looked around – his sword was placed against the bed the soldier was sleeping on, and his armor was on the stance in the Armory. For now, his heroic deeds would have to wait – Gaius needed to have a breakfast, and then gather his gear up. After that, it’s to Captain Darius, and off into… wherever he would be sent.

For the first time, Gaius actually realized he had no idea where would he be sent – but from captain’s words, probably not a ruin. Perhaps he would be sent into a tomb of some sort, or a cave? Maybe even to Ald-Ruhn, to clean it out, or meet his doom there? Nay, Gaius thought, trying to calm himself down. The captain wouldn’t EVER send me into Ald-Ruhn…At least I hope he wouldn’t. Those Corprus creatures can be rather nasty, I heard.

Standing up, Gaius stumbled into the dinning room after passing several weary guards that were heading into their beds – the night shift, probably. The barracks were mostly quiet, except for an Orc snoring – that was nothing compared to the racket that would be present here in the evening, when the day shift gets back and starts eating. One of the reasons why Gaius always ate in Madach Tradehouse – he hated racket, especially these stupid songs and jokes that weren’t even funny in the first place.

Sitting down, Gaius took a bottle of water – he never drank alcohol in the early morning, no later than after lunch would he start drinking. Judging by the level of activity, Gaius presumed it was somewhere near 6:00 in the morning, maybe a bit earlier. Too early to get drunk, according to Gaius’ standards.

As the soldier reached out for some bread, he barely saw it – his minds were fixed on whatever that was going to happen later in this day. Wherever I’ll be sent, it isn’t going to be a very pleasant task. Gaius said to himself, lifting up to get some meat.

Done preparing his food, Gaius began eating slowly, each piece of food tasted pretty much like chewing wood. Once or twice, the Legionnaire looked at his plate, as if to make sure that he didn’t eat through the table. Not the best breakfast. A thought crossed him, as the water tasted somewhat like Gaius’ personal made food – something like ash and rocks mixed. The soldier shuddered at the thought of his home-made food. The one thing he never learned (And didn't intent to learn) was making food.

Finally ditching the attempts to eat and drink, Gaius stood up and yawned. The distasteful food didn’t remove the weariness, as didn’t the short approximately 4-hour long sleep, half of which was spent jumping up from the bed to make sure no monsters were creeping up to him. This task gets on my nerves. Gaius announced to himself, pushing the doors open, then blinking to adjust his eyes to the mix of darkness and light that was present as the sun rose from behind the mountains.

A gentle breeze of wind passed through Gnisis, as Gaius walked down towards the river. Nothing better than a wash-up in the morning… The soldier thought, rubbing some water into his face, which got him awake more than the nasty breakfast. Getting his hands into water for the second time, Gaius gasped as a Slaughterfish bit him. “Oh, you bugger!” He yelled waving the hand around until the fish let go and fell back into the water.

His mood ruined, Gaius decided it would be best to just head to Darius’ office right now. The Captain was probably well awake by now, so Gaius could receive his assignments, whatever they were. If I survive, then I’ll buy drinks for every soldier in Gnisis. He thought desperately, heading up the hill towards Madach Tradehouse.

Opening the doors, Gaius first heard snoring. Probably one of the visitors got too drunk. The soldier thought with a smile passing over his face, as he descended down the stairs and into Darius’ office.

Knocking, Gaius heard a loud “Who’s there?” from behind the doors. “It’s me, sir, Gaius Maximus!” Gaius answered, some sweat emerging. What am I in this time? That single thought ringed inside his head, replacing the loud scream of terror.

“Come in!” The same voice answered, and Gaius pushed the doors open.

In the office, Captain Darius was present, as well as the Orc. The later one looked sleepy and in a bad mood, but what can you know about these Orcs – perhaps he wasn’t?

Darius, on the other hand, looked weary as well, but was in a better mood, perhaps the reason was a paper on the table that he recently received from Ebonheart, or perhaps it was the fact Gaius made himself present. In any case, a smile passed Darius’ face when Gaius entered, and this was seemingly a good sign.

“Ah, Gaius! Good to see you. I have your assignment ready.” The Captain spoke as his smile disappeared. Bad sign, at least to Gaius.

“Yes, sir. Where would be my heading?” The legionnaire asked, trying to hide the signs of worry in his face or voice, though a shadow that indicated it did pass his eyes, for a minute clouding the brown color they usually are.

“You will be heading to the Urshilaku Ashlander Camp, soldier. Be aware, those Ashlanders aren’t the type that likes us or our affairs. And they’re probably aren’t the kind that’s afraid to put a dagger into your spine.” Darius replied, his eyes as well worried, though Gaius could barely keep himself from dancing. Visiting Ashlanders is the thing he least expected, and even though he didn’t like them, it was far better than visiting Ald-Ruhn or something of the sort.

“Is that it, sir? And what will be the reason of me heading to their camp?” Gaius questioned further, his eyes once again giving out a happy shine for a short amount of time.

“You will need to learn more about the Nerevarine Prophecies, and” Darius was interrupted by Gaius groaning at the mention of Nerevarine. “AND, you’ll probably need to gain their trust by performing a task of some sort. Perhaps fetch something, or complete some manner of rite.” The Captain finished, with a slight frown due to Gaius’ groan.

“I see, sir.” That last sentence was the kind Gaius didn’t like. A rite? What kind of rite? Probably a painful one... The legionnaire pondered, with a small frown passing as the thought crossed him. “Shall I be going now, or later?” The soldier added to remove the strange silence that developed in the small office.

“Better now. The sooner you get there, the better. I’ll need to know more about those prophecies before we can do something more.” Darius replied. “You’re free to go now, soldier.” The Captain added, and Gaius nodded.

“Yes, sir. I’ll see you when I’m back, sir.” With that said, he left the office, heading towards the barracks once again. He would leave now and wake Irr’cah up, make sure the Khajiit still wants to go with him, and then, in any case, leave for the Urshilaku Camp.

End of Chapter 3.

And things are underway! With Gaius' personality, I can all ready predict some interesting interactions between him and the Ashlanders. I look forward to seeing that.

This took some time to get around writting - this chapter was hard to get myself to do, because the first major journey's description wasn't very attractive for me to write. Fortunately, I managed to write it, finally. Here we go - Chapter 4, and the continuation of Urshilaku Camp, part 1. Chapter 1 of my story approaches the end... But, fortunately, comming is Chapter 2, which will include some more action, as well as the introduction of one of the main villians of the story.

Okay, enough preaching! Let's get posting, so I can get to writting the dialogue between Gaius and Ashlanders faster!

Chapter 4: Urshilaku Camp, part 2.

Gaius barged into the barracks eagerly, closing the doors with a loud thunk. Wait. The legionnaire forced himself to stop and think. Where does Irr’cah sleep?

Oh, that was just typical. Once again, Gaius was searching for something like he knew where it was, though didn’t have a slightest clue how to find the thing.

Figures. Now I’ll have to search every bed for him. Gaius shook his head, grumbling something quietly. Only separate words could be heard, and from the constant ‘Shield and sword…’ repeating, one could guess the legionnaire was swearing – this was his favorite word to use, since Gaius didn’t follow a religion, neither did he believe in any of the upheld figures or relied on them for help.

Fortunately, Irr’cah could be found in the seventh bed Gaius searched. The bed was giving out a strong smell of fish, and apparently, Irr was eating it in his bed – this was strongly supported by the several fish bones that were lying around, or even on the bed.

Leaping forwards, Gaius started tugging the Khajiit, who was soon to wake up at the cold steel gauntlets moving him. “No! Don’t hurt this one! This one will pay the rent, soon enough!” The cat-folk exclaimed, still half asleep. That was before he realized that Gaius was the one moving him.

“Oh. Good friend Gaius should learn to wake more pleasantly.” Irr muttered, getting up from his bed with some difficulty. Gaius grinned, and impatiently lifted the Khajiit up from his bed himself.

“What do you expect from me – a song? I’m a legionnaire for a reason.” The Imperial said, as he put Irr down on his feet. The Khajiit grunted, as Gaius’ heavy gauntlets finally were removed from his shoulders. Following the grunt was a shake of his head, which caused the ears to move in a funny manner.

“Being a legionnaire doesn’t mean good friend Gaius has to wake this one up so rudely.” Were the words Irr spoke. Gaius was the one to shake his head now, which caused his stack of brown hair to cloud his field of vision. Once he finally got the hair out of his eyes, the legionnaire literally dragged Irr’cah out of the bedroom without waiting for the Khajiit to finish his usual yawning and stretching, and into the dining room.

“Here. Get some food, and then tell me whenever you’re still coming with me. It appears this won’t be so hard after all – all I need to do is take a walk towards the Ashlander camp, then back here after gathering some info.” The Imperial proclaimed, as Irr’cah managed to sit down, rubbing his shoulder. To Gaius’ great surprise the Khajiit hissed angrily.

“Ashlanders are very bad people! This one doesn’t like them. This one owes them…” He began, but silenced after realizing that too much was said. Gaius smiled, but the smile did not go without derision.

“Owe them what? Four guar hides?” The legionnaire asked, taking a seat next to his Khajiit friend. “Or is there something else the Ashlanders own? Oh, wait – I know! Three Kagouti tusks.”

Irr’cah frowned. “Actually, this one owes them four barrels of Guar meat.” The Khajiit proclaimed, pouring himself a glass of water. Apparently, he wasn’t very hungry, for his plate only included a Kwama egg so far.

“Four barrels?! I hope they aren’t hostile towards you because of them…” Gaius exclaimed, then sighed. This should have been foreseen – when traveling with Irr’cah, the Khajiit will always have a debt to pay everywhere, even in the most remote spots of Vvardenfel.

Irr’cah replied with a shrug. Gaius slapped his own forehead. This is getting complicated…

*

After a quick breakfast, and an uneventful bath, Irr’cah was set and ready to go. About time, as Gaius thought – the time approaching 7 AM. Little did the legionnaire knew, this would be one of the worst days he ever had, and also one of the most eventful days. This was the first day of the Seven, during which, his journey into being accepted as Lord Indoril Nerevar Reborn would take place.

Finally, the quite odd pair left Gnisis. Only one man saw their leaving, and that man was a Dunmer merchant. His jaw slowly left the usual state, as this was an indeed odd pair – an Imperial Legionnaire, clad in steel Legion armor without the helmet, muscular build, is leaving with a relatively small, thin, sharp-looking and fast Khajiit, dressed in a Netch cuirass, black pants and leather gloves. But soon enough, that memory was overwritten by the thoughts of customers and merchandise.

The two travelers were already quite far away from the gates by the time the Dunmer merchant forgot about them. The Imperial and the Khajiit were traveling near the slopes of a mountain, and currently were arguing over which path to choose – Gaius found a gap in the rope barrier, and believed they would save lots of time by taking that passage.

“Good friend Gaius is wrong – this one says that below, there are beasts that would assault us, and a lot of plants that would slow down our progress.” Irr proclaimed, then gestured towards the road they were following for now. “We should take the road – it is much safer, and faster to travel.”

“That road leads either up into the mountains, which we don’t need, or into Ald Velothi, which isn’t our destination. The road-less path, on the other hand, leads us wherever we want – being the Urshilaku Camp.” Gaius argued, gesturing his path – a quite steep slope, which led down into what seemed to be a dried river of sorts.

“But good friend Gaius – Ald Velothi is on the only path leading further into the Ashlands! It will be our course in any way we walk!” Irr pointed out. Gaius shrugged.

“Not if we take a little swim. You’re following?” The Legionnaire said in response, turning towards his ‘passage’. Irr’cah sighed, following Gaius, who was running down the slope with great speed that could result in tripping should he not watch where he is running. True enough, the legionnaire was rolling down the hill soon enough.

“Th-thi-this i-is so-some fu-fun!” He managed to yell, before slamming into the ground. Irr’cah, who tripped as well (due to running after Gaius with not recommended speed when descending down a steep slope), slammed next to the legionnaire.

“Gaius should speak for himself.”

******

A long journey through Gaius’ ‘shortcut’ following, the pair took a little swim, arriving into the Ashlands soon enough. On their way towards there, they didn’t encounter many beasts - only several Kagouti, and two Nix-Hounds, as well as one Cliff Racer. Despite Irr’cah’s prayers, they didn’t meet a single Guar, oddly enough. Wild Guars were supposed to be common around here, though more common in the Ashlands, as Gaius told his Khajiit friend to cheer him up.

Now, the two were making their way through the ashy, uninhabited (if beasts don’t count as population, in which case, the Ashlands were one of the most inhabited places in Vvardenfel, as Gaius soon realized) wastelands that were called ‘Ashlands’. Gaius dubbed them ‘the Cliffracerlands’ after coming across perhaps the tenth of those bird-like creatures.

An hour-long walk, several tenths of Cliffracers, and a pack of Alits later, the pair finally found themselves on the top of a hill, from which – oh, goodness! – the Ashlander Camp could be seen, though it would take some more walking to reach. Their timing was good enough, though the pair would have to speed up – judging by the increased wind, strange smell (that reminded Gaius’ home-made food in a way) and the clouds that were covering the sun, an ash storm was coming from the Red Mountain.

End of Chapter 4.

Oh, and you'll notice that the number of *s vary - this describes the time I skipped. One * means only a little, like, 10 minutes, while six *s would mean an hour.

Chapter 5: Welcoming committee.

Gaius motioned Irr to keep up. It was quite odd, considering that the Khajiit was lighter, and faster. But the real problem was behind his fur – Khajiiti didn’t seem to be designed for warm climates, deserts, and the like, due to the thick, warm fur covering their bodies. Gaius himself wasn’t very much against heat, and suspected that might be due to his father having a part of Redguards. This also could be seen in the way Gaius fought – quite quicker than your average Imperial, and better with the blade.

Irr’cah sighed, muttered something about ‘unfriendly people’ and ‘not the thing This One wants to reach faster’. Following that were several grumbles and grunts, as the Khajiit ran down the slope of the hill. Gaius was ahead of him, just in case the Ashlanders proved to be… unwilling to negotiate. Irr’cah would get his back – that was their plan (to which, quite unsurprisingly, Irr agreed right away).

It didn’t take long to reach the camp itself. Gaius was quite surprised – this was nothing like he imagined. More… organized. At least much more than could be guessed by the tales he heard.

The camp itself was formed up from several scattered yurts, though none sticking out too far, in case of an attack. A Silt Strider shell was placed near the middle, housing several guars. The guars were the reason behind the strange heavy smell that was floated around, and the several dead hanged shalks didn’t help very much.

In the very middle, a huge skin was covering several yurts – probably the chief, and the other important people lived there – something like an advisor, the second in command, the strongest warrior, and a merchant, something of the sort. Only later Gaius found out that the Wise Woman – what you could call an advisor, though also sort of a ‘lore expert’ and ‘shaman’, all in one – lived in the largest yurt aside the yurts under the skin.

The area in front of the ‘important’ yurts had a strange green lighting, probably acquired on purpose. The heavy smell of guars and other beasts wasn’t present, probably removed through the means of hanging herbs and plants that have a strong smell. A fire was burning in the fireplace, used for rites and the sort – separate fires were made for cooking when the need arose.

The arrival of Gaius and Irr’cah didn’t go unnoticed. Soon enough, they had a large Ashlander warrior, spear in one of his hands, clad in Chitin armor (which Gaius considered to be silly and not thick enough), running at them in full speed. Seeing as his spear was quite ready for a blow the Netch cuirass wouldn’t hold (by the screams ‘You fetcher! Treacherous cat-man!’ it could be guessed the Ashlander was aiming for Irr), Gaius’ hand slid down on the handle of his broadsword.

“You’ll pay for the guar meat you owe me! Five years! FIVE YEARS I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR IT!” The Dunmer yelled, leaping forwards with great speed, bringing his spear down on Irr. But Gaius was faster yet, and managed to stick his sword between the weapon and the face of his friend, and, before the Ashlander could react to this fast attack, increased the range between two objects, whose coalition would provide a bad end for Irr’cah.

“Step aside, Imperial outlander!” The warrior howled, grasping the spear with both hands, pressing it down in full strength. Gaius did the same, grabbing the handle with both of his hands, and the position of their weapons didn’t change.

“No I won’t, Dunmer inlander! That spear will touch the face of Irr only over my dead body!” Gaius growled back, trying to bring the weapon up. Little success, though the Ashlander did seem to be confused after being called ‘inlander’. It was amazing how fast Gaius would come up with strange terms.

The two struggled for a while, with no success. Apparently, both had equal strength, and, since Irr was trying to get the Ashlander while being covered up by Gaius’s massive body, it was getting dangerous for the warrior to continue this competition. Apparently, the Dunmer came into realization quite fast:

“I will remove my spear, if you and the lying n'wah, the Khajiit, will remove your own.”

Gaius considered the options for a while – if they would continue fighting, the other Ashlanders would probably come to the warrior’s help. Bad odds for the other side. And if they would manage to fend the Ashlanders off (unlikely) and escape, Gaius would have done nothing to approach the completion of Nerevarine Prophecies. Therefore, the option proposed by the Dunmer seemed to be the best one.

Gesturing Irr to sheathe his weapon, Gaius slowly removed his sword from the spear. The spear was put on the Ashlander’s back, who grunted something along the lines of ‘You’re lucky to have a warrior with you’ before walking away. The other Ashlanders didn’t seem very pleased by this fast fight.

“Come on, it’ll be better if This One and good friend Gaius hurry up. The angry-Ashlanders don’t look amused.” Irr muttered, and Gaius felt an attempt to push him towards the leader yurts. While usually Gaius would proclaim that he’ll ‘be back one day to deal with the opponent’, this time, the process was skipped – it would further anger the Ashlanders. Not a very good thing, given the current situation. Thus, the legionnaire started walking towards the yurts in a fast step. Irr’cah was more than glad to move, and soon darted forwards.

As the pair reached the ‘skinny yurts’ as Gaius dubbed them, the winds started whooshing stronger. The stronger smell sensed before, and the fact that most of the Ashlanders were gone by the time the pair reached the skin suggested that the ash storm was on their back (or tail, in Irr’s case).

End of Chapter 5, as well as Grand Chapter 1.

Coming next: Grand Chapter 2: Closer to the Red Mountain. (Too close, if you care to hear Gaius’ opinion…)

Nice update. Good balance of humour and action. I would point out though that the Khajiit province is basically a giant desert, so the remark about Irr having a hard time in the sun sounds odd (though, logically I think it makes sense). Perhaps in Irr's case, he's a bit different from the normal Khajiit.

Keep it up all the same though. I look forward to seeing how Gaius will attempt to persuade the Ashlanders to believe him.

This is a fun story. I love the tone of the main character and all. Also, it makes more sense to push right for the big stuff. I mean seriously, Caius had been living there for years and still didn't know a bloody thing about the Nerevarine? Geez, now that's a bit pathetic.

Now let's hope the Ashlanders won't be too offended by the lack of 'proper conduct'.

I plan, if I ever get done with Gaius' story (which I plan expanding on to modified takes on Tribunal and Solstheim, a self-made little Saga about something that I find highly interesting (involves taking some religious refferences from ancient times), also a new take on Cyrodiil), I'll perhaps make a story detailing Irr's life before the action of this Saga. He's actually the only person except for Gaius whose life - or at least one part of it - I could record, since the other companion of Gaius that is yet to come is way too unusua-

Whoops.

YOU'VE HEARD NOTHING!


Also the gathering part is boring, and Gaius, given his temper, would have just went to the library and fetched Caius a book about Nerevarine... It would take ages to record every little piece of information that needs to be gathered. Plus, being in jail doesn't fit the things I have in store for our poor little Legionnaire, Gaius, and he's not supposed to ever become a Blade. He's the Legionnaire. Tactics and battles are his thing.

Speaking of which, I was busy with writting the last three chapters of this story. They should be a boom, even though they're just loose sketches yet... Man, I can't wait until the Red Mountain comes. I can already depict everything inside my head, though I (as well as Gaius) will become better at certain things until I reach the ending. Example: writting.

Gack, must stop giving subtle hints and get back to posting chapter...

Chapter 6: Odd encounter.

Seeing no point in waiting, Gaius marched forwards towards the largest yurt. It was probably the one in which the chieftain of the Ashlanders resided. But before he could pull the miserable excuse for an entrance open, Irr’cah’s arm grabbed his.

“This One must warn good friend Gaius!”

“Well, let’s listen to the worst, then. What is it? Is the chieftain is very paranoid, and has traps inside his yurt? Or is it a guard guar that’s inside?” Gaius shrugged, chuckling at his own comment. Irr gave him a puzzled look – it was a mystery to him how one could chuckle at something like that – and began speaking:

“The Ashkhan of Ashlanders is very proud, too proud! Good friend Gaius is used to dealing with good friend Darius, but the Ashkhan is a very different person, yes! One slightest hint of an insult, and This One and good friend Gaius will be in deep trouble.” Irr whispered, watching around with worry. The Khajiit was highly paranoid that the day when the saying ‘even walls have ears’ will come soon.

“So, basically, he’s one of the stuck-up kind of people. I’ve dealt with them before, no worries. Though not on circumstances like this one…” Gaius scratched his chin, remembering the bunch of cultist he saw and killed. All of them, for some reason, believed he was going to die from their hand. “Might as well try my luck, though – never too late to learn.” He added, freeing his hand, then walking inside the Ashkhan’s yurt before Irr’cah could stop him. The Khajiit sighed, burying his face in his fur-covered palms.

Upon entrance, Gaius came face-to-face with a Dunmer. Even though he himself wasn’t the tiny negotiating Imperial kind of person, the Dunmer looked like one of those people grown for fighting, while Gaius was not – his early childhood was spent back in Cyrodiil, Kvatch, with his father, who was a priest of Akatosh. Gaius was to be one as well, though under odd circumstances, he ended up what he was now – a sword-for-hire, an Imperial Legionnaire.

But more on the Dunmer. The Elf was highly muscular, though of shorter height than Gaius, which made him look quite odd. His armor looked like it would be torn apart at any moment from the mass number of muscles the Elf possessed. On his left hand rested a ring with a large blood-red jewel on it, placed on the black armored index finger.

The armor wasn’t usual Ashlander Chitin armor. It was Indoril armor, the one worn by Ordinators of Vivec, and from the heavy gold and Ebony trimming Gaius presumed this was a captain of the Ordinators. The golden helmet was held in one of his hands, and a swiftly curved Ebony scimitar was hanging at his side. The Elf did not possess a shield.

Since his helmet was off, Gaius could get a good look on his face. With the usual red eyes and ash-blue skin, it would’ve been nothing out of the ordinary, if not for the large scar that ranged from left to right, starting at the brow and ending somewhere near the chin. It crossed one of his eyes and passed near the nose – should the hit went straighter, the Dunmer would’ve lost his nose.

Upon almost coming in coalition with Gaius, the Dunmer grunted something taking a step back and unsheathing his scimitar. Gaius did the same, only stepping forward. Their swords, both enchanted – though with completely different enchantments, as Gaius’ blade was red, reminding of fire, while the Dunmer’s – Hunot was his name - was bearing the clear blue color that reminded of ice and snow, and just cold in general – hit each other before their wielders could pose them in a better state for combat.

“Stand back, outlander!” Hunot growled, pressing his icy sword against Gaius’ fiery sword. Gaius pressed on against the opposing blade again, and neither moved. This day seemed to be the ‘pushing around with weapons’ day to Gaius…

The reason of this hostile approach was very simple – Dunmeri hated Imperials, Imperials hated Dunmeri. Even Gaius, who despised all and any religions, disliked the ash-skinned red-eyed grumpy folk that were called Dark Elves by Men, while they called themselves Dunmeri.

Even though the cramped yurt wasn’t a great area for competition, that wouldn’t have stopped the two from engaging, if not for the Ashkhan of Urshilaku Ashlanders. He, hating both Ordinators and Imperials, didn’t want to have them fighting here, and much less did he want the blood of either one on his yurt’s floor. Thus, the chieftain of Ashland-folk raised his arm up, exclaiming:

“I shall not have you fight in my village! While in this settlement, you will enjoy our hospitality, but shall not fight against each other or my people.”

Hospitality. Right. Apparently, he needs more socializing, because he knows nothing of the famous ‘greet people by swearing at them and attempting to kill them, all the while calling them ‘outlanders’’ ritual. Gaius thought with sarcasm, though was wise enough to not say it out loud. He only raised his eyebrow, before slowly sheathing his weapon while Hunot did the same.

Irr’cah made himself present, only to be almost knocked over by Hunot charging out with fury. Grumping about bad manners, the Khajiit managed to maintain his balance as the short though muscular warrior passed by.

“Now, who are you, outlanders? I know the beast-folk, but who are you?” The Ashkhan managed to maintain a tone that was like one would use when talking about accidentally slamming into a stranger the other day. Gaius twitched slightly at being called ‘outlander’ yet again, and made a solemn oath that the next person to call him ‘outlander’ would end up with a sword in his stomach. To be seen, he only once did he fulfill that oath.

End of Chapter 6.

[Note: If one had paid attention to a certain part of this chapter, as well as a certain part of the Morrowind Main Quest, the one that did could've noticed something interesting.]

Good update. Keep it up!

Ah, witty sarcasm. Love it.

And who would that Ordinator be? I'm surprised he was around there cause if I'm right, Ordinators and Ashlanders are having an unofficial war. (Ashlander belief is considered heretic by the temple and we all know how fanatic the temple can be.)

Yes, the Ordinators are in an unofficial war with Ashlanders... But to everything its own time! And the time is not yet for this mystery.

Lucky me, this day wasn't the time for homework as well, so I was able to pull an update. Do note that this may lack the usual amount of humor in Gaius' stories, but this chapter has quite some important Gaius and Nerevarine-esque info.

Chapter 7: The Trial worth Our Hero, part 1.

“Well?” The Ashkhan was getting impatient. Gaius knew this would probably sound crazy to him, so he hesitated, but something had to be done with the current situation. Nothing would be learned while just standing here and enraging the chieftain of Ashlanders. Well, at least it was fun. And Gaius would miss having fun soon, given the events ahead of him…

“Well… I am… Lucillus Jullius, an ex-Legionnaire renegade. I have heard of the Nerevarine Prophecies, and want to know more. Rumors say that you know the most about them, so I thought I’d just come and ask.” Gaius didn’t know why did he lie, but something told him that telling his name right away might bring bad things.

“The Nerevarine Prophecies?”

The Ashkhan frowned heavily. Apparently, he wasn’t going to give any information right away, and Gaius wasn’t even expecting that. Should that have happened, the legionnaire would’ve been stunned. He would probably need to perform something for the Ashlanders, like Darius guessed. Problem was Gaius had no idea what will be asked of him, if something is going to be asked at all.

“Uhm, yes, you’ve got it correctly. The Nerevarine Prophecies…” Gaius sighed, seeing as the Ashkhan frowned even more. Irr tugged him – that most likely meant ‘it’s time to leave… He’s getting grumpy, come on… While it’s not too late…’

But the Ashkhan began speaking, and it was too late for the pair to retreat:

“You are not yet worthy in my eyes to hear anything about the Nerevarine Prophecies. You must speak with our Wise Woman, my advisor. Talk with her, tell her anything that you think indicates that you and gain knowledge of our sacred Prophecies. Then, return to me. I will have a trial for you ready by then, and you will be able to prove yourself.”

With a bow, Gaius and Irr left. The first one was concerned about this objective, as well as the ‘Wise Woman’ of Ashlanders, while the former was instead worrying about what heck has he gotten into. Outside, the Ash storm has already began, so Gaius took out a Steel Helmet that would cover his whole face up from his bag.

The Ashkhan was by far not picking an objective for Gaius, or Lucillus, as he knew him. Instead, he opened a hatch below himself. The passage was completely distinguished, so not even Irr could spot it without looking for something of the like, and that meant something. Below was a very cramped space, in which, a shadowy figure sat.

“Have you heard it all?” The Ashkhan asked.

A moan came from down the space, accompanied by a very odd voice: “Yess… I sshalll delliverr evverythingss to massterr…”

“Well, then get up here. I don’t have whole day, come on.” The Ashkhan grumped, reaching out into the darkness. As he pulled the figure out, Gaius could’ve immediately recognized who it was, was he present.

The strange person had the overall appearance of a Dunmer, though with one slight difference – his eyes were cut out, only a large hole was visible. This indicated a servant of Dagoth Ur, an Ash Zombie, the lowest ranking one of Corprus Monsters.

As the Ash creature was finally pulled out, he muttered a spell and disappeared, having Recalled back to… Where? One of the numerous Sixth House Strongholds? Red Mountain? Perhaps even Ald-Ruhn?

Gaius, meanwhile, having no idea about treachery behind his back, was looking for the Wise Woman’s yurt. He assumed that it was the largest one in the camp (Besides the skin-yurts), which had several odd things scattered around – shells of something that Gaius assumed to be an animal, or a large bug, exclusive to Ashlands, tools, broken jars, and the like. A thick, strong smell of something that Gaius believed to be herbs and plants from the Ashlands was present, distinguishing even the smell of Guars.

Irr didn’t make a comment about the Wise Woman, and thus, Gaius proceeded inside. When he removed the cloth covering up the interior from his way, a bell ringed softly, though the Legionnaire himself couldn’t spot it – either it was magic, or the bell was simply hidden. The bell alerted the Wise Woman of his presence.

Gaius could immediately see why she was called ‘the Wise Woman’. Even though the woman he faced now didn’t bear something that indicated a powerful magician, there was something that indicated that the Wise Woman possessed much… wisdom. Quite self-explanatory, though our legionnaire knew not one instance of titles by which people called themselves be completely wrong.

There was nothing of note to her physical appearance – a quite old Dunmer female, the Wise Woman – who was given the name Nibani Maesa – wore a simple brown robe with a degree of fur on it, as well as various bones and the like. Earrings hung from her ears, with several fringes on them.

As Nibani saw Gaius, she shifted her head to right slowly, apparently thinking. After failing to recognize him, she spoke:

“You I have not seen. Who are you, and why are you here? I can tell you’re a foreigner, and one with those who you call ‘Empire’.”

Gaius sighed. There goes the introduction again. And since he took up lying now, he had to pull it until the end – the Ashkhan would probably counsel with his advisor, and Gaius’ state wouldn’t improve should his stories didn’t match up.

“I am Lucillus Jullius, an ex-Legionnaire. Your Ashkhan has sent me here after I asked him of the Nerevarine Prophecies, of which I have heard a lot.”

Nibani frowned slightly. Many outlanders came to her these days, asking about the Nerevarine Prophecies, though this pair was different from all others. The Khajiit bore a touch of… something, perhaps magic of some sort, while the Legionnaire… He was completely different from any of his kinsmen Nibani has ever seen. He had a touch of noble blood, and a touch from the Gods, though didn’t know about either. Only time would tell was this true, and would he learn about that himself.

“The Nerevarine Prophecies? Yes, we know them well, for we are the ones trusted to guard them, and present to those we think worthy. And why do you seek them? Are you just a questing adventurer, seeker of fame, or are you thinking that somebody has told you so? Have you thought you saw a sign from the Gods?”

“Erm, perhaps, if dreams count. I have received an odd dream during my trip to Vvardenfel.” Gaius replied; he slightly disturbed by the way the Wise Woman spoke. The last time he checked, that kind of trusting in Gods came from monks only, or so he thought…

Nibani was beginning to fell interested by this. “What kind of a dream?”

“Well, it happened several years ago… Though I can recall it clearly even now. At first, I heard a voice speak to me. Then, as the voice told me to not be afraid, I found myself on a slope of a hill… Ash was blowing into my face strongly, and I could barely see anything more. The voice spoke to me more – it explained about the Mad God, Dagoth Ur, and his wicked minions. While it spoke, I felt my legs carry me on the top of the small hill, only to discover a chain of mountains, colliding with an odd wall, made out of rippling energy. On one of the pillars, I could see three odd faces, and the voice told me these were the Tribunal – Living ‘Gods’ worshiped by the Temple. Suddenly, the Ash storm stopped, the sun set in lighting speed, and moon rose up in a similar way. I was waked up to hear that the ship has arrived to its destination.”

When Gaius finished, Nibani remained quiet for a while. This was an interesting bit of information – perhaps it was the sign of the true Nerevarine? Or perhaps this was a vision from Dagoth Ur himself? There was much to think, and the decision couldn’t be made now. She had to pray for enlightening, until Nibani could decide about this outlander.

“I cannot say anything to you now. Go to the Ashkhan, and tell him I need more time for my dreams to show me the truth. Tell him to test you – if your intentions are true and pure, you shall prove yourself worthy, and survive to hear my judgment on your dream. If you do not, we shall know you were not ready for this.”

Upon hearing the decision, Gaius controlled the uprising urge to yell ‘Come ON! What is it with you people?!’, and instead only nodded. “I will go to the Ashkhan and prove myself. Farewell, I hope to see you again soon.”

Nibani only nodded, as the pair left her yurt. Interesting…

Very interesting.

After a short walk to the Ashkhan’s yurt, Gaius was again in front of the chieftain. He told him the words of the Wise Woman, to which the Ashkhan frowned. It seemed to be the custom of these people – whenever they were told something, they would proceed to frown… Quite annoying in the Legionnaire’s opinion... But he had to cut his thoughts short – the Ashkhan began speaking:

“So, she and I share the need to test you. Very well – I have a test ready for you. It will test your strength, mind, and power of your will.”

Mind? Will? I hate it when things go that way…

“I need you to venture to Ald-Ruhn, and bring me three items – meat of a Corprus monster, goblet of the Redoran, and a piece of skin of a man sick with Blight.”

Gaius managed to nod and leave the tent before a loud curse left his mouth, held back since his first moments in this camp.

End of Chapter 7.

Well this is an interesting turn of events. This sounds quite similar to the Kogoruhn mission, only it's in Ald - Ruhn instead. I wonder how our Legionnaire will handle this mission...

Sorry for the lack of updates, my keyboard was messed up. And that was before the comp was completely re-newed, meaning a new (and totally weird and non-understandable) version of Word. It took me some time to get used to it, writing bits of stories (including a guide to Vvardenfell Island, as well as a journal of an Argonian slave) which I may some day finish, though I wrote them for the purpose of getting used to Word so as to be able to write the Saga of Vvardenfell properly.

But anyway, a new chapter is up!

Chapter 8: The Trial worth Our Hero, part 2.

“Let’s go, Irr. There’s nothing more to this camp for now. We’ve got business to do…” Gaius sighed, starting to walk. He would have to save some strength for Ald-Ruhn, though he wanted to reach it faster – the sooner something happened, the better… Waiting was an awful feeling, it burned Gaius from inside, annoying him, and, over time, it would consume him, probably. It was best to face what the city had to offer right away, whatever it was…

Irr had a worried look on his face. He was as happy as Gaius with this task, which equalled to disliking it – both hated this task of sorts, and both shared the same feeling someone was trying to get them killed – of course, they both named it as unintentional, and not true attempts to kill them, only a way of testing them… Oh, how wrong they were.

And thus, with the Ashstorm raging, the two travelers took off. Not a very wise move, butgaius wanted to prove himself, and end this whole ‘stupid ritual blah-blah, prove yourself to the Gods that you think fraud’ thing. It was a lot simpler in the Legion – ‘go kill this-and-that, get back here and get your money’. Not to mention, it didn’t include the preaching part – which would surely follow should the Legionaire survive this, seeing as he was searching for infromation… And information tended to come in the form of preaching. Whoever possessed the information always turned out to be a walking library of sorts, even though it would usually not include other points of interest – coincidentally.

The Ashkhan watched the pair disappear in the clouds of ash. A silent laughter left his lips, a twisted grin forming on his whole face. He believed the pair would never come back from Ald-Ruhn, given what was ruling it now… And if they did, he would finish them personaly. After all, an Ascended Sleeper picked by Dagoth Ur himself should be more than cappable of taking down a Legionaire and a thief…

As he turned around, a silent gurgle left his mouth. He ripped off the amulet on his neck, before his body deformed heavily – his bones twisted, became larger, thicker. The Chitin armor melted into his skin, turning into a robe, as odd tentacles emerged from his face.

Taking a few steps forawrd, the Asscended Sleeper opened the secret hole with one of his tentacles. Using a telekinesis spell, he dragged out a tied, beaten Dunmer that looked surprisingly like the form he possessed with the amulet.this was the true chieftain of urshilaku – though he was replaced by this Sleeper several months ago.

“When I’m done with them, perhaps the orders will come from Red mountain, and allow to kill you. How much of a relief it would be.” The last stage of Corprus spoke in an odd, silent, hoarse vice. The Askhan was gagged, so he gave no reply other than a hateful look towards the Ascended Sleeper.
------

Meanwhile, Gaius and Irr were struggling to reach Ald-Ruhn through the storms. Their efforts were in vain, though – it soon became apparent the pair would have to wait for the ashstorm to finish before carrying on. Climbing over hills was a huge pain, not to mention the cliff racers. All in all, they had to stop, though where?

“I swear… The Red Mountain should be cursed just for the fact that it produced the Ashlands…” Gaius muttered, struggling to get on top of a hill, Irr alongside him.

“This one agrees… The ash-skins should have found out a way of-“ he didn’t finish, though, as the pair reached the top of the hill, and gasped. This, in turn, made Irr’s mouth full of ash.

While the Khajiit was spitting the unpleasant thing out of his mouth, Gaius looked at what was below them – some kind of a dried river. Probably a foyada, as he soon realized – the remains of lava rivers that once flowed from the Red Mountain. The foyadas were used for travelling, and the pair could use them for that as well, not to mention it was a fine hideout from ash.
Thus, it was natural the two hurried down the slope of the hill they just scaled. This will speed up their progress greatly. And, if Gaius’ knowledge of Vvardenfell’s north-west side was correct, there was a pathway to Maar Gan from what appeared to be Bani-dad Foyada. Maar Gan wasn’t inhabbited, seeing as the threat of attack from Ald-Ruhn grew, but it had walls and huts.

****

With their new path, the pair reached a set of Redoran-fashioned stairs soon enough – this indicated they have reached Maar Gan, and could soon enjoy the safety of its walls. There, they could wait for the ashstorm to pass, and perhaps eat – both were exhausted from travelling through such terrain. There was bound to be some food left there.
“Well, it’s about time… I thought we’ve passed it on the way.” Gaius muttered in relief. Irr was already climbing the stairs, and the Legionaire hurried up as well.

And finally, in front of them stood Maar gan – a fortress of the Redoran. It was built in an odd kind of way, reminding gaius of buildings back in Gnisis – a welcome feeling. They seemed to have left a month ago, while truly it was an hour after the afternoon of the same day the left. It was because of the two tiring journeys it seemed so long, Gaius assumed…

After reaching the walled city, Gaius and Irr engaged in a short argument, finally deciding to take refuge in what was supposed to be the local Tribunal Temple – it was the largest building, and the one in the highest spot as well. It was certain that they would find beds and food there, maybe even some weapons and potions as well.

The Temple’s interior was nothing special, actually. Gaius had a good laugh on the Temple beliefs once more after finding a huge rock there, which seemed to be religiously important (‘They worship rocks? How ridiculous is that?!’). Irr made the situation more serious after finding a Dremora downstairs, which they locked up soon after, seeing as there was no time to fight the thing.
On the other hallway leading down, they found several beds. Each rested some, with the other keeping guard, Gaius being the first to guard.

While he was watching, an unusual event occurred.

When his shift was coming to an end, Gaius was pacing back and forth in the room, till worried of his task in Ald-Ruhn. Occasionaly, he would give the staircase a short glance. And, during one such glance, he froze in his tracks – what seemed to be a Dunmer female in a white dress stood there. She was translucent – Gaus could see the wall behind her. Before the Legionaire could do anything, though, the figure nodded to him, before fading away into nothingness, leaving Gaius to stand there and blink, frozen in surprise...

End of Chapter 8.

[Points to anyone who can guess who was the 'Dunmer female in a white dress'...]

Hmmm.... Azura possibly? Anyways, lovely update. I wonder how long it will take Gaius to figure out that the Chieftain isn't who he claims he is. Given that he survives this mission that is.

Gah, mallet got there first. Yup, I'm betting Azura as well.

And I must say that the 'impersonate the Ashkan' thing is one heck of an interesting adition.

Indeed, it was Azura that appeared. (and as for how long will it take for Gaius to realize, it's either until the 'Ashkhan' jumps at him with giant tentacles, or someone says it to him.) Though I'm not here to say just this - I'm here with a new chapter that I titled after a famous line of Gaius (Wait a second...) Jullius Caesar - "Veni, Vidi, Vici." "I came, I saw, I conquered." Though our Gaius didn't find it that easy, and didn't really acomplish the 'I conquered' part.

Chapter 9: Veni, Vidi, Vici.

After an hour of sweet sleep, as well as a short meal, the ash storm began to die down. Gaius decided they would leave under the cover of ash, in the event of someone watching them. Even if no one did, it was apparent that the thick wall of ash would soon settle down, and they would be in Ald-Ruhn quickly. And then it was whatever that laid inside the city against the pair.

With moaning and grumbling, the pair took off into the Ashlands once more. They didn’t want to set out again, even though Gaius was being bugged by waiting and delays – it was much more comfortable to just stay here and wait more in comfort the fortress-city offered. And the fact that a storm was raging didn’t help – now it seemed even worse than before, given the fact that they were already used to no ash flying into their faces.

Fortunately, the storm died down soon enough, leaving them to find out that the sky was getting darker. The sun was heading west already, though they wouldn’t arrive into the previous seat of Redoran during night – with the ash storm down, their pace increased. Though, as Gaius stated, ‘It’s not if it wasn’t good to arrive at night’.

*********

Finally, the two stood behind the Skar. A massive building, the shell of the Emperor Crab itself, it used to be the base of Redoran… Though it was obvious it was no longer used for that purpose. Corprus beasts sluggishly walked around the entrance, waiting for a ‘guest’ that was Gaius. Several dead bodies were lying around; some already clean bones, sinking into ash slowly. Irr didn’t want to think of what happened to them so they’re so clean.

“Alright… So there we are, standing behind Ald-Ruhn, our destination.” Gaius muttered, scratching his chin. Since the Ash Storm died down, he no longer had the need for a full-face helmet – its not that if Corprus monsters had bows or something, and Gaius found it hard to breathe with it.

“This one doesn’t like the way this looks… Doesn’t good-friend Gaius think that the twisted beasts should be more alert?” Irr replied, whispering as well. They had no intent to alert the monsters that seemed to have so kindly not noticed them.

“You’re probably right… It’s too quiet.” Gaius turned his head a bit, facing Irr. It was then when a load roar, accompanied by a couple of groans, shook the air. Both the Legionnaire and the thief swore heavily, turning around.

A group of monsters seemed to have ambushed them. How they managed to get into intelligent actions like that was beyond Gaius… But for now they had more worries.

“You know, now, suddenly, it’s too loud. I really preferred when it was quiet.” A comment was made by the Imperial, before he leaped on the top of the Skar. Irr darted off under an invisibility spell – they already discussed what he would do in case of an ambush.

The front Corprus beasts were foolish enough to stumble down the quite steep hill which stood near the Skar, and on which Gaius stood moments ago. The others leaped on the roof of the Skar as well, alerting the other monsters with loud groans and other noises.

One of the beasts was ahead of the others, probably intending to claim the honor of slaying Gaius himself. Unfortunately, the legionnaire unsheathed his broadsword in a wide motion, leaving a scratch on the beast. The wound itself wasn’t too dangerous, though what came after them was by far much worse – the monster was in flames, caused by the sword’s enchantment. The second enchantment was what kept the flames growing over time, finally reducing the monster into ashes from the intense heat.

By the time the first monster burned down, others reached Gaius. There were quite a lot of them, and their numbers and sheer strength usually made up for the lack of intelligence. Not this time…

Even though Imperials were good with blades, Redguards were better. And a combination of the two was quite devastating – the speed of Redguards along with the strength and tactics of a trained Legionnaire. Thus, beasts fell left and right, some engulfed in flames, others killed by the steel itself, dying before having the chance to burn. The sounds of battle were heard inside the Skar…

“Good, he arrived. It is the time to put him down.”

A ring with a large blood-red diamond slipped off of an Indoril gauntlet, before white flames claimed the person that wore the ring. The armor melted into the skin, connecting to the bones; ash blue skin turned into white, and the face was covered up with a golden mask that came seemingly from nowhere.

The Ash Vampire stood straight. He towered above the Ash Slave in front of him, both in rank and in height.

“Let him come. Let him come NOW!” The Creature roared, slamming its fist into a wooden pole. The thing broke, loosening the bridge it was supposed to hold. Both the bridge and the part of the pole that was chopped off fell down to the bottom of the Skar.

Gaius let go of another swing, though was surprised to hit nothing but air. Corprus beasts slowly retreated from him – either from fear… or from something else. But there was no time to assume and theorize – he had to move fast. There was one place in which he could find all the items - the Skar.

And thus, Gaius hurled himself off of the roof. At a younger age, he received some training in acrobatics and stealth from a travelling acrobat. If he was ever to continue training that, he could become a great acrobat. But fate placed it that Gaius had more strength than stealth now, given the fact that he became a legionnaire. Still, he had knowledge of how to land from heights properly without injuring himself.

Gaius landed near the entrance. He only had to step several times before reaching the oddly shaped entrance to Skar’s interior… But the push he gave the doors revealed a view the legionnaire had not expected. A gasp left his mouth, only to be distinguished by loud roaring laughter.

End of Chapter 9.

[I guess I don't have to tell you who's the Ash Vampire. Seriously.]

I noticed a homage to RVB, that's a piece of humor there. Yeah, the Ash Vampire was that Ordinator they saw in the ashlander village.
I want MORE!!!

Praise the quiet, folks. Praise it at the tip of your lungs.

And I guess my questions regarding the Ordinator have been answered.

There is only one thing I don't get though. The Redguard comment. I thought Gaius was an Imperial, or does this mean he has been trained by a Redguard?

Gaius is an Imperial-Redguard cross from his father's side. Both the natural ways of Redguards with swords, combined with the Legion training he recieved from a Redguard made up for the usual slowness of Imperials (I'd guess they are slower than Redguards, seeing as their stats focus mostly on persuasion and balance). Also you can find a comment earlier in the story that Gaius suspected he had some Redguard bloos, seeing as he didn' quite mind the heat in the Ashlands (I actually wrote 'cold', though never got around fixing that. Should do it right now...)

No new update now, though I'm working on it.

Chapter 10: Fire and Ice.

Upon opening the doors, Gaius was presented with a large room. It was the Skar, alternatively known as the Manor District of Redguard. But once-noble building changed sine its true occupants left and evil took over.

Half of the bridges were knocked down, resting on many bones of Redoran warriors, no doubt. Instead, an odd, swirling resource was used for connecting the doors with the middle. No doubt, the ‘bridges’ were only maintained by magic; only one man did Gaius know who could use such magic. But Dagoth Ur was, supposedly, a great mage, so everything is possible.

Where the magical bridges collided, in the very middle of the hall, rested some sort of an altar, emitting strange blue smokes of some sort. The smokes settled slightly above the floors, shrouding the remains of the bridges and the skeletons of deceased warriors in a mist of some sort. For whatever reason, the smoke didn’t rise up.

The ‘altar’ itself was a structure made out of red material of some sort. It was divided into three levels of sort – on the lowest one rested bowls with highly disgusting meat inside, probably the meat of a Corprus monster; on the second level rested several magical items – enchanted gauntlets and hammer of some sort. And the third level, the top one, was the resting place of a statue of some sort. The statue was what emitted the smokes, though even through the thick layer of mist Gaius could see burning red eyes. The ‘altar’ wasn’t very large, despites having three levels – they were more flat that rising.

Next to the whole structure rested bells, probably used for rituals. A large and seemingly very heavy hammer was lying nearby, most likely used for ringing the bells. Indeed, next to the bells stood a hunchback figure Gaius could recognize as an Ash Slave – he saw several of those unpleasant humanoids back in Kogoruhn.

The whole area was lit with red candles. Due to the mist that was floating around, and the fact that most candles were set up on the floor, the lighting was quite spooky, and reminded of some sort of a burial place. It was no surprise that a shiver went up Gaius’ spine when he pushed the doors open.

To complete the picture our Legionnaire received, only one more detail remains to be added – a large, taller than six feet high figure. A mask covered up its face, as well as most of the hair. The ones that could be seen were a mixture of red and blue, while the whole skin of the creature was white, though not in a clean way. It was a dirty white, bearing a shade of grey. The blood-red nails – or rather claws – were somewhere three times longer than those of a normal Man or Mer. As a completion, this already imposing figure held an Ebony Scimitar that added up to the already spooky lighting with a vibrant blue.

Gaius had a good memory for tools of war, even though otherwise it was nothing above the average. He could remember most, if not all weapons used alongside him, or against him. And the memory of this sword standing in his broadsword’s path was quite fresh, so it was no wonder suspicions arose quickly. It was either that the creature slew the Ordinator he encountered before, or, by means of whatever magic this was, this WAS the Ordinator. Both seemed highly unlikely, since if Ordinators attempted to regain control of Ald-Ruhn, they would’ve set up more than a party of one man.

But the Legionnaire was soon ripped out of his thoughts by the creature.

“So, you have come. Lucillus Jullius is your name, correct? Do not wonder how I know this, for the House of Lord Dagoth knows a great many things… Why are you laughing?”

Indeed, Gaius was the one to laugh now. But even though he was laughing, his minds were far from joyful.

Apparently, his lies to the Ashkhan and the Wise Woman worked in a way that he didn’t expect they would. Seeing as the two were the only ones aware of a person named ‘Lucillus Jullius’ (only Ashlanders could be fooled by a lie like this one, seeing as this wasn’t even a proper Imperial name), and since the Ash Vampire imagined to know who Gaius was, the circle of suspects suffered a great loss, decreasing to as little as two people. So it was obvious that either the Ashkhan or the Wise Woman was working with this ‘House of Dagoth’.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, your Ash-ness, but Lucillus Jullius is not me. I actually doubt a person by that name exists at all. You either have bad sources of information, or someone made a fool out of you.” While thoughts circled around betrayal, treachery and other things like that, Gaius’ mouth worked out a suitable reply. The tone these words were spoken with was quite offensive, and thus it was quite natural that the Ash Vampire became enraged.

“You will not laugh for long! For now you face the glory of Sixth House, one who seeks the title of Nerevarine!” The massive creature roared in rage, taking a step forward. The Ash Slave picked up the massive hammer, slamming it against the bells as if to announce an arena battle arranged by a disliked noble to become more popular in the eyes of his people.

The Ash Vampire wanted to get this over with quickly, apparently. The creature leaped forwards with great strength, landing next to where Gaius was supposed to be. But, to his great surprise, the Imperial was not there.

Instead, Gaius was already running for the center of the Skar. Due to the reflexes gained from Legion training, employed in many years of battling, he was able to time his roll beneath the opponent perfectly, and when the creature landed, he was already behind him.

It didn’t take long for the Ash Vampire to make out what was going on here, and Gaius barely had the time to turn his head at the sounds of another leap before being slammed down. He slid a short distance, while his monstrous opponent roared in supposed victory, hurling itself down on the Legionnaire. Unfortunately for the servant of Dagoth Ur, the new bridge was slippery enough for Gaius to turn face-to-mask with the Ash Vampire.

Only be several inches did the thrust of Gaius miss the Vampire’s golden mask. The creature had to retreat for the moment, in order to avoid the ruining of his mask by a burning sword. But even these several moments were enough for the Legionnaire.

Swinging himself to his feet again, Gaius was the one to attack this time. His sword was swung forward, leaving a slight trail of fire behind it, before meeting the ice-pulsing scimitar of the Ash Vampire. Only at the moment when their swords crossed did Gaius realize that his opponent was truly the same Ordinator – it felt very much alike to the time when the two struggled in the Ashkhan’s yurt.

Both blades were retreated after several moments of trying to push the opponent off of the bridge. Their retreat was highly temporary – the ice-covered blade was the one to stroke this time. But ice can be countered with fire, and thus did Gaius’ sword counter the blow from his opponent. Once again, attempts to push the opponent off of the bridge followed the coalition, though to no avail. But something told Gaius he wouldn’t be able to win this by sheer force – the strength of the Ash Vampire was greater than his…

Gaius’ broadsword was swung again, only to be met by the same Ebony Scimitar. But this time, as the Ash Vampire prepared for a strong coalition once again, the broadsword only barely touched the surface of his blade.

Instead of colliding with the opposing blade, Gaius’ broadsword was directed left, sliding down to the handle, then further. Finally, when the sword was brought so far left that the current wielding hand could no longer comfortable grasp it, the enchanted steel was thrown up slightly, caught by the free hand. All this took only mere seconds, and before the Ash Vampire could realize what happened, the broadsword collided with his sword-wielding arm.

Roaring in pain as fire engulfed him, the Ash Vampire dropped his enchanted scimitar. Before it hit the ground, though, the creature realized what happened to his weapon, and forced itself to attempt to pick the blade up… But Gaius wasn’t sleeping, and just when the Ash Vampire’s hand grasped the handle of the scimitar, another roar left the creature. But this one was a roar of pain.

Blue blood slid down the broadsword that pierced the Ash Vampire’s chest moments ago. Intense fire spread on its body, creating immense pain. Knowing what would happen next, the creature forced its body to turn with great force, breaking the steel that was still in its chest. Now, Gaius only grasped the handle and approximately one third of the blade, though before he could make note of that, white flames engulfed his opponent, extinguishing the true flames that raged on its body.

Then, with a loud clang of metal hitting against whatever the bridge was made of, the Ash Vampire was gone. Only now did Gaius realize two things. He apparently won this fight, if this wasn’t treachery of some sort. That was the first thing. The second thing was that he was standing on a bridge that’s made out of some magical substance, with a bow-worthless piece of steel in his hands, and an angry Ash Slave behind him.

Good point – the Ash Slave was still there. Thus, Gaius turned around, only to see the creature running at him with clenched fists. Apparently, lower ranking members of the Sixth House didn’t have access to such leaping that the Ash Vampire performed.

Instead of fighting the thing head-to-head, Gaius hurled the remains of his sword at it. Due to years of hurling javelins at enemies and training dummies, even something that didn’t have a sharp tip would enter the target’s insides if hurled by the Legionnaire. And, of course, he was quite accurate with throwing things, since Legion didn’t tolerate missed throws.

And when the Ash Slave’s body, now with the remains of a sword in its head, fell off the bridge, Gaius sighed. The battle, though short, was hard, harder than any battle he yet fought. He was worn out, and certainly wouldn’t hold out against the Corprus beasts inside…

Silent footsteps entered the hall. The Legionnaire lifted his head up, only to see the familiar figure of a Khajiit stepping out of the shadows.

“Good-friend Gaius! This one has found a suitable place for fallback as Gaius requested. However, this one also noticed that while Gaius was inside this… place… an ash storm drew near the ash-skin built city! If good-friend Gaius and this one intent to ever return to the Ashlander camp, they should hurry up and take cover inside the cave this one found.” Irr proclaimed performing a wide gesture around the Skar’s interior at the mention of ‘place’.

Gaius sighed. How much events could a single day pack? This was surely not something he was used to – travelling to an Ashlander Camp through one of the worst regions of Vvardenfell, speaking with a quite stuck-up chieftain that later turned out to be a traitor, embarking on another journey through Ashlands during an ash storm, fighting with an Ash Vampire, and then finding out that there is another ash storm coming…

“Alright, Irr. Lead the way; though do pick the most secretive route you can… I’m quite worn out.” Gaius sighed, speaking slowly. Irr smiled, revealing his white fangs yet again, before taking off one of his numerous rings.

“Take this. As long as good-friend Gaius doesn’t unsheathe speak a word, it shall turn Gaius invisible. Gaius only needs to turn the jewel from left to right, and he shall become unseen to the beasts outside. This one has an amulet for himself as well, so our escape shall be swift and unnoticed… Unlike good-friend Gaius’ usual escapes.”

A slight frown appeared on the Legionnaire’s face.

End of Chapter 10, as well as Grand Chapter 2.

Next: Grand Chapter 3: In the caverns of Vvardenfell.

A very good fight scene. You also used wonderfull description to describe the inside of Skar. Now I don't know what the hammer is, but I wouldn't be surprised if those were Rhandagulf's gauntlets.

One thing that made me laugh was the fun you poked at Gaius' fake identity. It really made the Ash vampire look like a total idiot.
,,I know your name, mortal! For I am blessed with great powers you can't even comprehend!"
,,Actually, the name you said just now is so stupid, no one would ever name his child like that. So no, you don't know."
,,.......Crap."

Jack summed it up well. Excellently described fight scene. I could follow each blow easily. Now with the big baddie dealt with, Gaius shouldn't have too much of a problem clearing out the rest of the vermin. One can hope I guess.

It appears that Gaius no longer has a sword?

Interesting story so far. I'm curious to see what happens next.

Yeah, it is quite annoying when the bad guys always know your name and have 'great knowledge blahblahblah', so I though Id poke some fun at it.


Oh, Ald-Ruhn will have to wait until later to be dealt with. (COUGHDuringtheendCOUGH)


Indeed. And it will be some time until he finds one that will stick - many blades will be used throughout this story.


Chapter 11: Dungeons, without Dragons.

The kind-of-fresh air outside was a welcome change from the smell that was reigning within the Skar. Of course, the fact that stench of Corprus beasts was surrounding everything didn’t really help make Ald-Ruhn the number one visited spot in Vvardenfell, though as long as some leap-like-Oblivion shape shifting Ordinators weren’t trying to kill him, Gaius was fine with it. Especially since the monsters didn’t see him. The legionnaire wasn’t feeling very courageous without a weapon, and the spell shrouding him was a relief, mostly because spells tended to go against him, and not WITH him.

Even though shrouded in magical shadows, the minutes spent dodging the Corprus creatures were still tense. Only now did Gaius realize how many servants did Dagoth Ur possess – there were seemingly hundreds of Corprus monsters patrolling in the streets of Ald-Ruhn. Many buildings they passed on the way were completely destroyed by the monsters, others only partially damaged. The Skar seemed to be the only structure that did not receive some kind of ruining.

Finally, after minutes that seemed to be hours, the shadowy outlines of Gaius and Irr made it out of the city. Ash began blowing into their faces once again, drastically decreasing their field of vision. Before that, it was already hard for the legionnaire to spot Irr. If it was not for the fact that invisible people could see other invisible people as purple outlines, he would’ve probably got completely lost. Now, it was a nightmare.

Oh well, A not very comforting thought came up. At least I’ll surely get lost now.

And such, driven by pleasant thoughts, Gaius followed the purple wisp of smoke that at the moment was Irr, supposedly heading towards a good hideout. From there, they could plan their actions further, without the fear of being roared upon by large deformed meat sacks. That alone was a plus, not to mention the fact that they will have a cover from the ash.

It did not take long for Irr to reach the entrance to the cave he found. It was looking like a traditional Dunmer Burial Tomb, with the exception of skulls hung at the archway that covered the doors. Whatever inspired Dunmeri to build a tomb in wilderness was beyond Gaius – how comes they didn’t just place it in a town?

But there was no time to wonder. Even through the whooshing ash, Gaius heard the already familiar screech of a Cliff Racer. Since he had no weapon, the legionnaire found no time to punch the creature to death, and instead just ducked inside the tomb. Irr was already inside, that was obvious for the fact that the doors opened themselves several moments ago.

With a sigh of relief, Gaius closed the massive wooden doors behind himself, then turned around to face already-visible Irr. Wearily pulling the ring off of his finger, Gaius handled it to his Khajiit companion, before proceeding to give this supposed tomb a closer look.

Inside of this tomb was completely different from any Dunmer Burial Tomb Gaius ever saw.

The walls were from the same material from which the other Tombs were constructed, though they were covered with carvings of some sort – Daedric Runes, and pictures. The pictures depicted either a hammer and an anvil, or a head with horns. Whatever that meant was beyond Gaius – only that it probably meant something dangerous. The Daedric Runes he never knew how to read, and wasn’t intending to learn.

Many skulls were placed on both sides of the stairs that went deep down, further than Gaius could see. As far as he noticed, they were widening, as indicated by the increasing amount of space between the lights – there were candles placed inside the skulls. It was evident that whoever built this place wanted no guests, since an entrance like that was sure to scare off even the most curious people.

This looked very suspiciously to Gaius, like it would’ve looked to anyone else. Of course, not many people would’ve suspected this being a dwelling of a white-skinned large Ash Vampire. But in this Legionnaire’s case, everything seemed possible.

As the Imperial was staring down the stairs intensively, oblivious of the rest of the world around him, Irr decided it was the time to snap the legionnaire out of this dreamy state and return him to the real world.

“This one is concerned about those stairs. Perhaps if we were to stay here-“ He began only moments ago, and already did Irr see his words wouldn’t help. Gaius’ eyes lit up with the adventure flame that always was there before something bad occurred to them.

“You must be kidding. There’s probably a nest of those Sixth House creatures down below, and we’re not going to let them get away with that!” With these words, the eager Legionnaire began walking down the stairs in a hurried step. His Khajiit companion sighed, rolled his eyes, and then followed down into the unknown.

*

“Well, undoubtedly, that has to be the longest set of stairs I’ve ever climbed. But now, we can finally see what’s down here.” Gaius exclaimed as the end of these seemingly endless stairs came into view. By now, the staircase was wide enough for four horses to ride at once, and still have enough space to maneuver.

“This one suffers endless joy.” Irr responded grumpily.

“Oh, come on. D-“ Gaius did not finish, stunned by the view they came to see after descending down the stairs.

A large metal door, seemingly Dwemer of construction was standing there in their path. It was, without doubt, the largest door either of the two ever saw – perhaps as tall as seven Altmeri place on one another, and as wide as five Ogrims alongside each other. Crafted from the same yellowish material like all Dwemer doors on Vvardenfell (it was said that there were different variations of Dwemer metals on the Mainland, though Vvardenfell Dwemeri obviously relied on this type), it was locked by a fittingly large lock – perhaps the size of an Ogrim. All out of sudden, it was obvious why such stairs were needed.

Behind the doors, a distant sound of metal hitting against metal was heard… With the occasional noise that seemed to be the roar of flames.

End of Chapter 11.

This was definitely my favorite line: the legionnaire found no time to punch the creature to death. I'm sad that he didn't have the time, however, because it would have been amusing to read about.

I'm definitely looking forward to learning about what lies behind the massive Dwemer door.

Oh goody, the Dwemer! I just can't wait to see what's beyond that door.

I'm intrigued! Continue!

Unfortunately, the doors will have to wait - opening them now or in nearby future would provide a plot distraction too great to overwhelm. Then again, after the Saga of Vvardenfell, I'm devoting a fanfic only to the secrets of the doors (Also the creation of Gaius' full-time weapon. That's right, I'm not giving Gaius Chrysamere, the probably most popular Nerevarine blade.). For now, though, you'll have to be satisfied with what I give you in this chapter.

Chapter 12: Dwemer Forge.

For several minutes the pair stood speechless. The sheer grandness of the door amazed them so much that they couldn’t make a move, even though their curiosity grew – both wanted to find out what such a door is guarding. Surely, there was something important behind them, and both wanted to find out, though for completely different reasons.

Irr was a Khajiit, and an ex-thief, and his instincts, though mostly kept at bay, now took over. If there was something valuable behind these doors, it would be even more valuable in the underworld than in legal world. He had enough connections to sell an artifact with ease, and a large amount of money could ensure a safe travel towards Elsweyr… The province which was the home of his kinsmen, though he never saw it. It was a great dream of his, to feel the warm sands of desert beneath his feet (or, more correctly, paws)…

Gaius, on the other hand, was being a practical soldier. Even though he was expected to become a great hero and the like, he still couldn’t ignore such basic things like arming himself – just like Irr, his kind-of instincts took over. If there was something valuable behind these doors, chances were that that valuable thing was a powerful weapon, which he would require to defeat whatever he had to. A soldier without a weapon felt like a horse in trousers, and that’s the obvious truth.

“So… You think we should try to open them? The doors?” Gaius finally spoke after a long silence. He was still considering his chances of finding a powerful weapon behind the massive gate, so paid only so much attention to what he was speaking, resulting in not really tied sentences.

“This one thinks so… Perhaps there is something that could be of use there… Behind the doors.” Similarly to Gaius, Irr was also speaking quite dreamily. His eyes were glass-like, staring at the doors in a way it seemed that if he would stop, something terrible would happen. He even stopped blinking, deep in his thoughts.

Gaius took a step forward, quite a slow and small one. The acoustics in this hall was better than in any other place, resulting in very loud footsteps. With every step, the already massive door became a bit larger and the noises from behind it – slightly louder. The gap between the tow metal doors increased a bit, as the soldier took another step forwards.

Finally, he approached enough to be able to press himself against the cold metal, and look through the gap. At the moment his cheek collided with the yellowish material, his heartbeat increased… Blood started running through his veins faster. Something behind these doors made him feel full of power, and the only time when he felt like that was when he interacted with a mage of great power…

Through the gap, another large room was visible. It looked like a very advanced smithy, with a large anvil, apparently made out of the same material as the doors, several tables, littered with (Gaius’ heart jumped slightly) various weapons of seemingly Dwemeri production… Many other tools, required for the work of a smith were also placed there, along with buzzing, puffing glass devices of unknown purposes. While Gaius stared at all these wonders, a noise of metal hitting against metal dragged his attention.

In the corner of the room, a person was working. A red piece of odd metal that was being obviously shaped into a sword was placed on top of a significantly smaller anvil than the one in the middle of the room. As far as Gaius could see, both the weapon that was being worked on and the hammer that was used for the work were of Dwemeri production. But the most interesting feature was the person working.

Due to the fact that Gaius was on the other side of the heavy doors, he couldn’t compare his height with that of the person’s on the other side, though he was quite sure, if taking into account the distance and optical tricks, that the smith was slightly taller than him. When the hammer hit against the weapon, creating a cloud of ember for a short amount of time, the legionnaire could see the lush, long beard of the person, as well as deeply black eyes. He knew that Bosmeri had deeply black eyes, and he saw several pairs of such eyes himself, but in comparison to this, they were dull grey. The eyes of the person seemed to be hiding thousands of years of experience, and great knowledge. It was obvious that a Man couldn’t live long enough to gather such knowledge – only an Elf could live long enough… But there were no such elves in existence, who had such eyes and could grow such beards…

Unless…

No, that cannot be it. Impossible. Gaius rejected the theory immediately. For some reason, panic filled him, and he had to force himself off of the surface of the doors. As soon as he was no longer touching the cold metal, his heartbeat returned to normal, and his flow of blood slowed down… He could almost feel the heat going out of his face. It was similar to hanging upside-down for some time, before returning into the normal position, and feeling the blood flow out of your head.

“Is good friend Gaius okay?” The question woke Gaius up completely. He once again had full control over himself, with the doors no longer influencing his state… However they did that. In order to make sure he didn’t belong to the gate in front of him, the legionnaire shook his head.

“Yes, I’m fine… it’s just that we should move on. The-there’s nothing interesting on the other side.”

“Go already? This one wants to see for himself what is behind the doors…” Irr was obviously disappointed by such a solution. He approached the doors himself, though Gaius grabbed his arm with great strength, dragging him back. The Khajiit frowned, jumping back as the legionnaire let go of his arm as suddenly as he grabbed it, as if it burnt him.

“I- Sorry, Irr, but there’s something about the doors… Something I don’t like. They contain…powerful magic. We would be risking our lives if we were to attempt breaking in.” The words were somewhat distant-sounding to Gaius. It was as if someone was speaking through his mouth. Someone who knew things about magic – Gaius did not.

Irr shot another suspicious glance towards Gaius, then shifted it towards the door. For a moment, it seemed as if he would attempt to get to them even after such drastic measure were taken against the action, though just shrugged and turned away from the gate several moments later. Gaius sighed in relief.

“Come on. Help me… There should be another way out of here. I have no intent to go up the stairs and start a brawl against the Cliff Racers.” He gestured towards the walls, looking at Irr with a questioning look. For a short moment, the Khajiit seemed to hesitate.

“Well… Okay, this one agrees. There is no fun, nor point in trying to fend off the Air-Rats with a shortsword…” He finally replied, before walking towards the walls. They were made not out of the Dwemer metal, but of the odd material Dunmeri used for their tombs. With an uneasy look, Gaius approached the walls as well. His actions seemed to create a rift between the pair… And only time would tell what this seemingly small thing will become.

End of Chapter 12.

Trouble is beginning to form between the two, that might prove to detrimental to their mission as it seems that they often must rely on each other to get out of sticky situations. Hopefully they manage to patch things up shortly.

I look forward to seeing them revisit this place in the future. Perhaps a discussion with the Dwemer in there is bound to happen.

While I am disappointed that they didn't go through the doors, some of my curiosity has been satisfied and I'm confident that they will return. I wonder what else there is for them to find in this area?

This is good, the door part has piqued my interest, it wil be interesting to see the Dwemer alive. Interesting take on the whole neverene business to, the imperial guard doing it as a publicity stunt.

My only comment on the writing is that yu might want to consider some more imagery in the description which is already very good.

I'll look forward to the next part.

How that will end is beyond even me - I just wrote the most logical response which I would give if a good friend of mine suddenly dragged me away for apparently no reason. I guess it's one of those times when things develop all by themselves. You might notice that in this chapter, Gaius is no longer 'good friend', only 'friend'.


I should mention as a funfact, it's going to be Gaius' personal quest. I was waiting for the opportunity to write of Gaius questing alone, and it came with the second fanfic about Gaius...


As a matter of fact, English isn't my first language, only second. It's nothing hard to write basic things, though I should say that since my native language has a much wider selection of words of the same, or similar, meaning (whereas English has more than one meaning to most of words, making it quite a difficulcy for me to type so it seems normal) that I can't really use much imagery. Though I'm learning. You might notice that (at least, in my opinion) there is quite a change between how I wrote in the frist chapter, and how the later chapters are done.

And now, a new chapter. Every hero needs a weapon (well, at least every TES Nerevarine that doesn't punch everyone, which is quite rare), and Gaius is getting at least a temporary one.

Chapter 13: Arming.

It wasn’t a pleasant activity for Gaius, to brush his hand against a somewhat slimy, cold earth that surrounded them as walls, in search of door of some sort. The darkness was almost solid; it seemed to bear down on the Legionnaire like a cloth of some sort, making it hard to breathe. Alongside the walls, the darkness seemed almost magical, creating the illusion of someone – or something – breathing down your neck. Gaius wasn’t a coward, for sure, but something caused shivers on his spine there.

Irr, on the other hand, had no better time. For whatever reasons, he did not possess the ability to see in the dark – which is very odd, considering that all Khajiiti have it – and his position was equal to Gaius’, maybe even worse, since his paws were notably larger than Gaius’ feet, so the Khajiit would occasionally yelp after hitting his paw against a sticking out rock.

I’d kill to get out of here… The Legionnaire thought, muttering something along the same lines under his nose. And – a miracle or maybe just a coincidence – his hand touched cold metal at the same moment!

For a short moment, Gaius assumed this could be the same old large door. He brushed that theory away immediately, though – he would’ve known if it was the gates. First, he would’ve made a turn, which he did not. Second, there was no special feeling to touching the doors, only slight vibration. And third, he would be in the light that the doors seemed to emit, but he was still in darkness.

So, he found something new. Perhaps that something would lead them out of this place…

“Irr, come here. I think I found something.” Gaius called out, giving the metal a push. He could hear a slight creak, though nothing more - the thing wasn’t going to give up easily, whatever it was. Nevertheless, the Legionnaire didn’t give up, continuing to push.

“Would friend Gaius mind explaining to this one what he is doing?” Irr distracted the Imperial. Though neither could see each other, the Khajiit would easily know where Gaius was from his heavy breathing. Gaius, on the other hand, would only know where Irr was from his speaking.

“I’m trying to make sure whenever this is a door leading out of this accursed place or just a random section of Dwemer metal on the wall. Mind helping?” The legionnaire gave a short description of current events, stopping the pushing for a moment as he talked, before resuming the work. Irr shrugged.

“This one thinks this is better than doing nothing…”

*

Finally, after ten minutes of pushing, the thing gave in to the combined strength of Gaius and Irr. Now, there was a gap large enough even for the Legionnaire to slip through, and, even better, inside, several Dwemer lamps were located, as far as they could see. The pleasant light shed by the devices cheered them up, and encouraged to continue on. Thus, both slid in.

And froze in their tracks.

They were at an end of a long Dwemer-constructed corridor that branched into many directions. Gaius could see that the nearest branching had a set of Dwemer Runes nearby – probably describing where did the branch lead to. Neither of them knew how to read Dwemeri, so they did not know that the inscription meant ‘Tureynulal’.

On the ceiling, Dwemer lamps were positioned, creating the odd lighting present in all Dwemer ruins. On the ground, an odd shape was present – what appeared to be a golem of some sort, defending against a large snake. Further were pictures of what appeared to be a daemon of some sort, a tower, a dancing woman, a standing woman, a tall man with quite long arms, and a man with a dagger.

But the greatest wonder was the walls, and what rested nearby them. It was a true paradise for an archaeologist or a scholar.

Hanging on the walls were various graphics, depicting such things like large robots of some sort, ships with odd engines, scarabs, spiders, and the like. Others even included such things like doors similar to those that indicate a Dwemer ruin, also some tunnels and underground facilities. Gaius roughly assumed these were Dwemer devices.

And the thing that interested the Legionnaire and the ex-Thief most was the tables that were positioned alongside the walls. On the tables rested weapons, small devices which could be lifted with one hand, and armor, also various small wrenches, nails and the like. The weapons that interested Gaius so much were unlike anything he’d seen.

They seemed deadly, yet somewhat light, constructed from the same material as sort-of common Dwemer weapons, though more… agile. Curved edges, decorations, gems – they seemed to be weapons of kings and emperors, belonging to a treasury, and not a mere Dwemer-built corridor. There were axes, spears, halberds, daggers, shortswords, longswords, claymores, honoured user swords, bows, darts, arrows, throwing stars...

Needless to say, the armor differed as well. Unlike the usual heavy Dwemer armor, this one seemed more... round, sliding. The armor looked like it would be designed for quick movements. Needless to say, they were also decorated heavily, and not even the Emperor Tiber Septim would’ve felt satisfied wearing them.

Gaius’ eyes seemed to be devouring the weapons on the spot – how much they weighted, were they endurable… In contrast, Irr was wondering how much money he could earn by selling as much of this as he could lift. Probably the price would’ve been much higher if it depended on how much Gaius could lift – with such fine weapons before him, the Legionnaire was willing to lift the world to be able to use them.

“Irr…” Gaius finally managed to put his mouth into use, though not yet fully. While he spoke, his eyes didn’t leave the weapons for a single moment – every moment spent without watching the weapons was a huge loss for him now. The Legionnaire didn’t realize how he bore with the broadsword that was shattered recently.

“Friend Gaius..?” Irr managed to respond. His thoughts seemed to be similar to those of Gaius.

“Do- do you think it… You think it would be thieving if we took a weapon for ourselves? Because I figure if someone left these things without care here, then they ought to be no longer needed…” Gaius asked, trying to make an excuse before his own eyes for his greed.

“This one… doesn’t think so. No… Friend Gaius is probably right… Th- they’re probably no longer needed…” Irr replied, speaking in a manner similar to the Legionnaire’s. After these words, the Khajiit took an unsure step forward.

Gaius, satisfied with the excuse he needed only to feel clean, took a much more confident step forward. Irr also seemed to gain confidence in the fact that the weapons weren’t needed – and thus, the two people followed the same lie they made up only to make an excuse in their own eyes, like smart vassals that make up excuses for keeping a thing and not handing it over to their suzerain.

The table nearest to them had a wide assortment of weapons, though the one that interested Gaius the most was a lean, long dai-katana within a sheath decorated with rubies. Unsheathing the weapon revealed a quite light and swift weapon. With several swings into air, the Legionnaire found out that the dai-katana was light enough to be held only in one hand. The Dwemer metal contrasted greatly with the swiftness of the weapon, though Gaius figured that it would trick his opponents – while usually, Dwemer weapons were heavy like stones, this one – either because of the shape, or because of some special way the metal was worked with – was light, seemingly lighter than paper.

With a satisfied grin, Gaius strapped the katana’s sheath to his back, before sheathing the weapon. It slid in without any problems, leaving the Legionnaire satisfied – it wouldn’t get stuck in a critical moment.

Worth mentioning is the fact that the blade was decorated. A large serpent was depicted on the blade, beginning from the very bottom-most point of the hilt, where the tail was located, curling around the blade to the very tip, where the opening mouth was shown. The sheath possessed a snake on it as well, though this one’s head was located nearby the part where the hilt collided with the sheath. The ruby was in the place where the eye of the snake should’ve been.

Due to these decorations, Gaius dubbed the sword ‘Serpent’.

Irr, at the meantime, was interesting himself with a short scimitar. The thing wasn’t as lean as Gaius’ dai-katana, but it was notably shorter, allowing it to move with greater speed. It reminded the legionnaire of the blade of the Ash Vampire-Ordinator he faced not that long ago, though it was shorter. The blade was decorated with curved lines; this, and the shape of the blade made Gaius dub the weapon ‘Wisp’. There was no sheath, only a simple leather strip that was wide enough for the blade to freely enter, though not enough for the hilt to pass through.

The weapon didn’t feel enchanted as well, though it seemed to be fast enough to make up for the lack of magical effects. Just like with Serpent, the Dwemer metal seemed to be unable to store such speed, so it could’ve earned Irr the upper hand.

Without much hesitation, Irr strapped the blade to his simple belt. What took more will to overcome was the urge to pick up every weapon and piece of armor on the table, though the ex-thief overcame that as well.

Gaius fixed his gaze on the corridor in front of us, finally removing them from the magnificent weapons and armor. The corridor – or, rather, the tunnel – was so long he couldn’t see the other end of it. Great. Another enormously long trip underground.

“We should probably get moving, and see where this corridor will lead.” The Legionnaire suggested after starring at the path in front of them for a while. Irr, with some difficulty, nodded, and followed the Imperial’s lead. A short smile passed over the Khajiit’s face, too quick for Gaius, who was looking in front of him, and not behind, to notice. The sight of a heavily armored Legionnaire with a katana strapped to his back was quite odd, considering that katanas and dai-katanas alike were considered fast weapons, used by lighter and more acrobatic people.

End of Chapter 13.

Another interesting update. First, they bypass the large dwemer doors and the (assumed) dwemer armorer behind, then they leave most of the unguarded armor/weapons behind. Their behavior seems fairly odd to me; if the armor was that good, they could have taken at least a little to supplement their own. A new weapon is all well and good, but you can't use it if you are dead.