CHAPTER FOUR
“Just how old are you, Rayden?”
We were walking down a paved road, just after exiting the city. The weather was absolutely amazing, with a nice cool breeze coming in from the northeast. If the situation wasn’t as bad as it was, things would be perfect right now. But then again if things weren’t as they were I probably wouldn’t even be up here in the first place.
“Twenty-nine, but that doesn’t mean I’m not worthy. Don’t think I can’t do anything just because I’m still young.”
I didn’t mean to, but I got a little defensive. Even though I am not even thirty years of age, I can still do things most veterans cannot.
“Whoa, calm down, Rayden, I didn’t mean to show any disrespect. So should I be paying close attention to the pockets of my robe, ha ha ha!”
I know he is only joking, but on the other hand perhaps he isn’t. I mean, I’m a total strange to him and I just admitted that I am a thief. To be honest I guess I would have to be surprised if he wasn’t afraid. But I really didn’t feel like talking to him about that. I’d just have to earn my trust.
“You don’t have to worry, Martin, you can trust me. I know that doesn’t mean much coming from a thief, but you’ll just have to take my word for,” and I left it at that.
We began walking towards the east when I spied the city stables lying restfully, with its owner nowhere to be seen. I’m sure you can already guess what I’m thinking, and so did Martin, most likely based on the probing look upon my face.
“Rayden, don’t tell me you want to steal two of those horses,” he said seriously.
Without responding to his comment I quietly snuck over to the house and peeked through the stained window. Just as I had hoped, the owner, who was a tall Dunmer, lay sound asleep in his cot. This was the perfect chance to help lesson the difficulty of our travels.
I turned around and started to walk towards the horses when Martin grabbed me by the shoulders. “Rayden, will you listen to me? Don’t even think about it. I’m not about to help you steal those horses.”
“Well, I don’t recall asking for any help, but thanks for the input,” I said sarcastically.
“Don’t you have any conscious whatsoever? We don’t have to do this, we can easily walk. I don’t mind it a bit!”
“But I do. Just pipe down and let me take care of things, Martin. Believe me, I don’t get caught. Now which horse is supposed to be faster, the white or the black? I always forget…”
“The black,” Martin sighed.
While Martin watched from a distance I slowly crept up to the horses, not wanting to panic them. Horses were delicate creatures and it didn’t take much to rile them up. As I inched closer and closer one of the two black horses started to neigh softly and I thought the owner was going to wake up, but as swiftly as possible and softly grasped the horse’s snout and began to rub it gently in an attempt to calm him down. The trick proved to be a success and soon I was working on the other horse. After a few minutes I brought the two horses on my side and they willingly followed me to where Martin was standing, and all the while I was smiling from ear to ear.
“Okay, I’ll admit, you’re good, Rayden. Let’s just leave before any guards show up.”
That reminded me of how lucky we were in the first place. Adamus and his men had apparently settled in for the night, which if you ask me is extremely foolish. I wondered why he didn’t leave any men to stand guard outside the city walls, but then my question was quickly answered.
“Hey, you two! What do you think you’re doing with those horses?”
A lone guard on foot was running towards us from the city gates. I felt very stupid at that moment. How in the world was I not able to see the man when we came out of city? Oh well, it was time to leave.
“Come on, Martin, hop on!”
I pointed to his horse and he immediately obeyed my request. Then the two of us rode out into the night, leaving the screaming guard to his hopeless pleas. Looking back I could see the lights of the owner’s house come on. Somebody was going to be sincerely pissed.
The two of us arrived at Weynon Priory sometime around noon the following day. Martin spoke not a word the entire time and I assumed he was angry at me. It didn’t really matter, he’d get over it soon enough, or at least I hoped he would.
After we saddled our horses in the nearby stable, which thankfully had not been touched by the Mythic Dawn, we started up the dirt path that led to the house. Even before entering we could smell the foul stench coming from the dead corpses. It was truly disgusting and Martin vomited there on the spot, into a small bush. The stench of the vomit greatly overtook the smell of the bodies, and by no means do I mean in a pleasant way.
“We’ll have to remove these bodies before we do anything,” Martin said.
Now, I took the statement to be a rather obvious, and I am not one to let such apparent comments go unnoticed.
“Oh, you think so? I wonder why?” I said, again sarcastically, which apparently proved to be in bad timing. Martin simply grumbled something and continued on into the house.
In an attempt to try and lighten things up a bit I commented, “So you’re talking to me now, heh?”
“You know Rayden, I realize it’s going to take while in getting used to your…umm…”habits”, but I must say I am appalled by your actions last night.”
He talked as if I actually gave a rat’s behind what he thought. The truth was I stopped worrying about what others thought about me long ago, before I left home even. The fact that he was treating me like a child wasn’t boding well with me either. I’d have to put a stop to that.
“No offence to you or anything Martin, but I don’t particularly care what you think of me. And I’m not a child; I’m a full grown man. I’d appreciate it if you treat me like one.”
“Well, the grown men I know don’t carelessly steal things from other people.”
He was making me madder and madder by the second. Unfortunately that anger swayed me to say something I’d soon regret.
“Are those “grown men” the same men you practiced Daedric magic with? I’m assuming that’s what you were talking about back at Kvatch. Huh, am I right, “Brother” Martin?”
He turned around faster than I would ever have given him credit for, and immediately confronted me, nose to nose. I could easily smell the horrible stench coming from his mouth, leftovers from the vomit. But I wasn’t about to crack anymore jokes. I had seriously angered him.
“I’ll have you know that those men were my friends; friends that were killed because of my carelessness and foolish youth. So the next time you want to make a smart comment, keep it to yourself.”
He turned around and walked up the stairs, leaving me alone downstairs. I suddenly felt very small at that moment. For a long time now I haven’t cared about anyone’s feelings or thoughts, but seeing the look in Martin’s eyes, I have to admit I was a bit taken back by what I did. I actually felt sorry for what I had said, which is something that hasn’t happened to me in a long time. Now I’d have to apologize.
I followed Martin up the stairs and into the room where Jauffre lay on the floor motionless. I allowed Martin to have a bit of time to his self for a few minutes while he stood next to a window right behind the desk; not because he was mourning over the loss of Jauffre, but rather he was still angry from what happened downstairs. I could plainly see that the rage was still present and I didn’t really feel like angering him anymore that I already had.
So rather than interrupt the quietness I instead began to clean the room. This daunting task proved more difficult than I had originally imagined, as there were many pieces of junk lying around. Books, scrolls, weapons, clothes, you name it. Not to mention Jauffre and the Mythic Dawn bodies. The room was an absolute mess, and I then realized it was going to take more than a mere day to tidy everything up.
I had been cleaning for nearly an hour and still Martin stood by the window, staring out into who knows what. Obviously I had touched upon something personal, and now I couldn’t help but wonder what it could be. Well, I know what it is in general, but what I do not know is any of the specifics. He said his friends died because of his foolishness. I wonder what that means.
At last the unhappy Imperial turned around to face me. For a moment there I thought he was going to attack me again with harsh words, but to my surprise he did not. Instead he just started talking. At first I didn’t know what he was talking about, but then I soon caught on.
“It all happened twenty years ago, almost to this day. I was young then, way over my head. We all were...”
He paused for a second, looked out the window once more, then looked back and then continued on.
“There were twelve of us in all, apprentices to the Mages Guild in Kvatch. Our instructor marveled at the attendance, a record according to him. He said we would do the guild proud. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Just two months into our studies a small group of us were starting to get anxious. Through some of the basic training we were given just a small glimpse of Daedric magic. Our instructor said it was an evil force bred for just that, evil. He told us that we were not to get involved with any of that or else we would be banned, and if the severity of our involvement was high enough, we could also see punishment from the Empire itself. Such warnings meant nothing to me and my group, which happened to be five people. We still wanted to know more; to learn what was forbidden; to seek out what was being held from us. Like I said before, we were young and foolish. We didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into.
“One night my friends and I decided to start exploring the forbidden powers. For a while it was only reading, and to be honest with you, that’s all I wanted anyway. I never really had the desire to seek out the powers; I just wanted to read about it. Granted there were definitely times where I was tempted to practice the use of Daedra magic, but I held my tongue, literally in fact.
“But unfortunately one of my friends, Ishmier, went beyond what we originally set out to do. We had all agreed that none of us would ever practice the use of this sinister magic, and all of us also agreed only to read once a week, at a small uninhabited cabin he found in the forest. Everything was going according to plan, until one day I happened to walk past Ishmier’s house in Kvatch. I could hear strange sounds coming from inside, but when I knocked on the door I received no response. I soon became terrified something dreadful was happening to Ishmier, so I found my friends and brought them to the house, so they too could hear the noises. Soon after that we busted the door open and realized the noises were coming from the basement. We scurried down the stairs and found Ishmier reading aloud from a large book; one that was very old and tattered.
“When he saw us standing there he called for us to join him in what he called “destiny”. He claimed to have found the way to eternal life, and eternal greatness. He then began chanting words and I knew we had lost him.
“One of my friends tried to get Ishmier to stop what he was doing, but Ishmier simply grunted a couple of words and blasted my friend with a fiery ball of flame…killed him right in front of me. The other three tried to stop Ishmier as well but they too fell by the powers of Ishmier. Through all this time I simply stood in my place, painfully mesmerized by everything. I really couldn’t believe what was going on around me. Four of my friends were dead and another had gone insane. I truly thought I was dead where I stood, until from upstairs came the running of feet…many feet.
“My instructor appeared, along with several battlemages. Ishmier was no match for them and was quickly silenced forever. I was banished from the guild, just I knew I would, but for some reason the Empire did not take action on me. They must have had pity for me. I suppose I will never know. But what pained me the most was that I began that horrendous nightmare. If it wasn’t for my constant nagging my friends would never have discovered the evil ways of magic. It was I pressed their interests and it was I who led them to an early death. And for that I will forever be shamed and forever I will walk this land…a murderer. You may not see it that way but that is what I am. I killed my friends...”
On to the next chapter
“Just how old are you, Rayden?”
We were walking down a paved road, just after exiting the city. The weather was absolutely amazing, with a nice cool breeze coming in from the northeast. If the situation wasn’t as bad as it was, things would be perfect right now. But then again if things weren’t as they were I probably wouldn’t even be up here in the first place.
“Twenty-nine, but that doesn’t mean I’m not worthy. Don’t think I can’t do anything just because I’m still young.”
I didn’t mean to, but I got a little defensive. Even though I am not even thirty years of age, I can still do things most veterans cannot.
“Whoa, calm down, Rayden, I didn’t mean to show any disrespect. So should I be paying close attention to the pockets of my robe, ha ha ha!”
I know he is only joking, but on the other hand perhaps he isn’t. I mean, I’m a total strange to him and I just admitted that I am a thief. To be honest I guess I would have to be surprised if he wasn’t afraid. But I really didn’t feel like talking to him about that. I’d just have to earn my trust.
“You don’t have to worry, Martin, you can trust me. I know that doesn’t mean much coming from a thief, but you’ll just have to take my word for,” and I left it at that.
We began walking towards the east when I spied the city stables lying restfully, with its owner nowhere to be seen. I’m sure you can already guess what I’m thinking, and so did Martin, most likely based on the probing look upon my face.
“Rayden, don’t tell me you want to steal two of those horses,” he said seriously.
Without responding to his comment I quietly snuck over to the house and peeked through the stained window. Just as I had hoped, the owner, who was a tall Dunmer, lay sound asleep in his cot. This was the perfect chance to help lesson the difficulty of our travels.
I turned around and started to walk towards the horses when Martin grabbed me by the shoulders. “Rayden, will you listen to me? Don’t even think about it. I’m not about to help you steal those horses.”
“Well, I don’t recall asking for any help, but thanks for the input,” I said sarcastically.
“Don’t you have any conscious whatsoever? We don’t have to do this, we can easily walk. I don’t mind it a bit!”
“But I do. Just pipe down and let me take care of things, Martin. Believe me, I don’t get caught. Now which horse is supposed to be faster, the white or the black? I always forget…”
“The black,” Martin sighed.
While Martin watched from a distance I slowly crept up to the horses, not wanting to panic them. Horses were delicate creatures and it didn’t take much to rile them up. As I inched closer and closer one of the two black horses started to neigh softly and I thought the owner was going to wake up, but as swiftly as possible and softly grasped the horse’s snout and began to rub it gently in an attempt to calm him down. The trick proved to be a success and soon I was working on the other horse. After a few minutes I brought the two horses on my side and they willingly followed me to where Martin was standing, and all the while I was smiling from ear to ear.
“Okay, I’ll admit, you’re good, Rayden. Let’s just leave before any guards show up.”
That reminded me of how lucky we were in the first place. Adamus and his men had apparently settled in for the night, which if you ask me is extremely foolish. I wondered why he didn’t leave any men to stand guard outside the city walls, but then my question was quickly answered.
“Hey, you two! What do you think you’re doing with those horses?”
A lone guard on foot was running towards us from the city gates. I felt very stupid at that moment. How in the world was I not able to see the man when we came out of city? Oh well, it was time to leave.
“Come on, Martin, hop on!”
I pointed to his horse and he immediately obeyed my request. Then the two of us rode out into the night, leaving the screaming guard to his hopeless pleas. Looking back I could see the lights of the owner’s house come on. Somebody was going to be sincerely pissed.
The two of us arrived at Weynon Priory sometime around noon the following day. Martin spoke not a word the entire time and I assumed he was angry at me. It didn’t really matter, he’d get over it soon enough, or at least I hoped he would.
After we saddled our horses in the nearby stable, which thankfully had not been touched by the Mythic Dawn, we started up the dirt path that led to the house. Even before entering we could smell the foul stench coming from the dead corpses. It was truly disgusting and Martin vomited there on the spot, into a small bush. The stench of the vomit greatly overtook the smell of the bodies, and by no means do I mean in a pleasant way.
“We’ll have to remove these bodies before we do anything,” Martin said.
Now, I took the statement to be a rather obvious, and I am not one to let such apparent comments go unnoticed.
“Oh, you think so? I wonder why?” I said, again sarcastically, which apparently proved to be in bad timing. Martin simply grumbled something and continued on into the house.
In an attempt to try and lighten things up a bit I commented, “So you’re talking to me now, heh?”
“You know Rayden, I realize it’s going to take while in getting used to your…umm…”habits”, but I must say I am appalled by your actions last night.”
He talked as if I actually gave a rat’s behind what he thought. The truth was I stopped worrying about what others thought about me long ago, before I left home even. The fact that he was treating me like a child wasn’t boding well with me either. I’d have to put a stop to that.
“No offence to you or anything Martin, but I don’t particularly care what you think of me. And I’m not a child; I’m a full grown man. I’d appreciate it if you treat me like one.”
“Well, the grown men I know don’t carelessly steal things from other people.”
He was making me madder and madder by the second. Unfortunately that anger swayed me to say something I’d soon regret.
“Are those “grown men” the same men you practiced Daedric magic with? I’m assuming that’s what you were talking about back at Kvatch. Huh, am I right, “Brother” Martin?”
He turned around faster than I would ever have given him credit for, and immediately confronted me, nose to nose. I could easily smell the horrible stench coming from his mouth, leftovers from the vomit. But I wasn’t about to crack anymore jokes. I had seriously angered him.
“I’ll have you know that those men were my friends; friends that were killed because of my carelessness and foolish youth. So the next time you want to make a smart comment, keep it to yourself.”
He turned around and walked up the stairs, leaving me alone downstairs. I suddenly felt very small at that moment. For a long time now I haven’t cared about anyone’s feelings or thoughts, but seeing the look in Martin’s eyes, I have to admit I was a bit taken back by what I did. I actually felt sorry for what I had said, which is something that hasn’t happened to me in a long time. Now I’d have to apologize.
I followed Martin up the stairs and into the room where Jauffre lay on the floor motionless. I allowed Martin to have a bit of time to his self for a few minutes while he stood next to a window right behind the desk; not because he was mourning over the loss of Jauffre, but rather he was still angry from what happened downstairs. I could plainly see that the rage was still present and I didn’t really feel like angering him anymore that I already had.
So rather than interrupt the quietness I instead began to clean the room. This daunting task proved more difficult than I had originally imagined, as there were many pieces of junk lying around. Books, scrolls, weapons, clothes, you name it. Not to mention Jauffre and the Mythic Dawn bodies. The room was an absolute mess, and I then realized it was going to take more than a mere day to tidy everything up.
I had been cleaning for nearly an hour and still Martin stood by the window, staring out into who knows what. Obviously I had touched upon something personal, and now I couldn’t help but wonder what it could be. Well, I know what it is in general, but what I do not know is any of the specifics. He said his friends died because of his foolishness. I wonder what that means.
At last the unhappy Imperial turned around to face me. For a moment there I thought he was going to attack me again with harsh words, but to my surprise he did not. Instead he just started talking. At first I didn’t know what he was talking about, but then I soon caught on.
“It all happened twenty years ago, almost to this day. I was young then, way over my head. We all were...”
He paused for a second, looked out the window once more, then looked back and then continued on.
“There were twelve of us in all, apprentices to the Mages Guild in Kvatch. Our instructor marveled at the attendance, a record according to him. He said we would do the guild proud. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Just two months into our studies a small group of us were starting to get anxious. Through some of the basic training we were given just a small glimpse of Daedric magic. Our instructor said it was an evil force bred for just that, evil. He told us that we were not to get involved with any of that or else we would be banned, and if the severity of our involvement was high enough, we could also see punishment from the Empire itself. Such warnings meant nothing to me and my group, which happened to be five people. We still wanted to know more; to learn what was forbidden; to seek out what was being held from us. Like I said before, we were young and foolish. We didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into.
“One night my friends and I decided to start exploring the forbidden powers. For a while it was only reading, and to be honest with you, that’s all I wanted anyway. I never really had the desire to seek out the powers; I just wanted to read about it. Granted there were definitely times where I was tempted to practice the use of Daedra magic, but I held my tongue, literally in fact.
“But unfortunately one of my friends, Ishmier, went beyond what we originally set out to do. We had all agreed that none of us would ever practice the use of this sinister magic, and all of us also agreed only to read once a week, at a small uninhabited cabin he found in the forest. Everything was going according to plan, until one day I happened to walk past Ishmier’s house in Kvatch. I could hear strange sounds coming from inside, but when I knocked on the door I received no response. I soon became terrified something dreadful was happening to Ishmier, so I found my friends and brought them to the house, so they too could hear the noises. Soon after that we busted the door open and realized the noises were coming from the basement. We scurried down the stairs and found Ishmier reading aloud from a large book; one that was very old and tattered.
“When he saw us standing there he called for us to join him in what he called “destiny”. He claimed to have found the way to eternal life, and eternal greatness. He then began chanting words and I knew we had lost him.
“One of my friends tried to get Ishmier to stop what he was doing, but Ishmier simply grunted a couple of words and blasted my friend with a fiery ball of flame…killed him right in front of me. The other three tried to stop Ishmier as well but they too fell by the powers of Ishmier. Through all this time I simply stood in my place, painfully mesmerized by everything. I really couldn’t believe what was going on around me. Four of my friends were dead and another had gone insane. I truly thought I was dead where I stood, until from upstairs came the running of feet…many feet.
“My instructor appeared, along with several battlemages. Ishmier was no match for them and was quickly silenced forever. I was banished from the guild, just I knew I would, but for some reason the Empire did not take action on me. They must have had pity for me. I suppose I will never know. But what pained me the most was that I began that horrendous nightmare. If it wasn’t for my constant nagging my friends would never have discovered the evil ways of magic. It was I pressed their interests and it was I who led them to an early death. And for that I will forever be shamed and forever I will walk this land…a murderer. You may not see it that way but that is what I am. I killed my friends...”
On to the next chapter