CHAPTER TWENTY
The heavy sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the city, and judging by the repetition, there were a lot of them. At that moment I truthfully had once again believed the end had finally come. I’ve thought this many times before it seems, but this particular event was different in some way. But, again I was wrong, and luckily for me Jena did not panic a bit. She grabbed my shirt collar and hauled me over to the side of the road, behind a large bush.
The two of us waited behind the bush silently as the footsteps in the distance became louder and louder, until at last they had arrived at the scene. Jena dangerously poked her head around the corner to see how many of them there actually were. She whispered to me that there were five Kvatch soldiers, all looking at the dead corpses on the ground. We listened as the solders whispered and talked softly to one another. Then I heard on them say, “Let’s report this to Goldwine right away; he’ll want to put the city on full alert It seems Mankar’s ambush didn’t work out as well as he thought it would. Also, go ahead and inform the sailors in the dock to get Goldwine’s ship ready. He’ll want to leave as soon as possible.”
Then they left us, running full speed back towards the city. Once they were out of range Jena asked, “How’s your shoulder?”
I tried moving it but even the slightest movement resulted in a severely sharp pain. I knew what had to be done, but I wouldn’t say I was looking forward to it. Jena would have to pry the arrow from my flesh, and unfortunately I didn’t have anything to numb the pain even the least.
“Spread your arm flat on the ground and stand still. Try to keep your arms loose as well. I know it will hurt but it will only be worse if you tighten your muscles. Just trust me on this one.”
Before letting her force the arrow from my arm, I had her tear a piece of my clothing off with her blade. She knew what I was getting at and she quickly handed me the torn cloth. I bit down on the fabric as hard as I could. This way when I yelled from the pain, which I was sure to do, the sound would hopefully be a little quieter. I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention.
She put her right hand on my shoulder and then grabbed the arrow with her left. She tugged on the arrow slightly as if to get a feel for what direction she should yank. Then, in one quick movement, she pulled the arrow from the wound. Blood splattered the air and my face, and the whole time I was screaming in agony. Thankfully the cloth idea worked and my bawling wasn’t too loud, or at least not loud enough for anyone to hear in the distance.
“Sorry, Rayden, but I had to do it. How does it feel now?”
Not to be smart or anything, but how did she think I felt? Obviously I wasn’t feeling too great; I just had an arrow plucked from my skin! But I knew she meant well. And I guess it did feel a little better, but I still had an awful lot of trouble moving my shoulder.
“Better, I guess, but not much. I still can’t really move it,” I said as I wiped my face with the piece of cloth.
“Well, we better get going. Here, let me wrap that cloth around your arm to control the bleeding. You’re looking like a waterfall right now!”
Even during a situation such as this, she still found a way to smile. I liked Jena a lot. I can’t explain why…she was just…I don’t know…real; almost as if she wasn’t afraid of anything. I liked that as well.
After the “bandage” was fully wrapped and ready to go, we started walking towards the city, and Jena was already altering the mission.
“Rayden, you heard the soldier. They’re preparing a ship so that Goldwine can leave. I say we wait there for him to arrive. Then we can strike with surprise. What do you think?”
“I’ve got a better idea. How about we go to the docks, try and capture a sailor, and force them to tell us where Goldwine is going? Who knows, maybe he’s retreating to Mankar’s whereabouts. That would definitely make things easier for us.”
Jena approved of my idea, and off we went towards the docks. My back was hurting, my shoulder was hurting, and my middle knuckle on my right hand was still hurting from several days ago, and I realized Martin never tended to the wound like he said he would. I guess we both forgot about it. It was getting better, though. It was no longer swollen, just a little enlarged. Also, Jena seemed to notice my injuries as well.
“You’re quite the injured little elf, aren’t you?”
“Well, let’s just say I’ve seen my fair share of the action. I’m just hoping nothing else goes wrong with my body. One more injury to my right arm and it might as well fall off!”
We walked through the night, though it was almost morning because the sun was rising higher and higher into the sky. Sooner or later we would have to find our hiding spot or else take the risk of being spotted in broad daylight. Thankfully it only took us about ten minutes to reach the docks. There were only three ships in all; two little ones and one large ship. Jena I both agreed that the larger one had to be Goldwine’s ship, so we walked strolled around the area until we found a lone guard patrolling the docks. Besides the guard, there were around twenty or so others, and most of them we were standing beside the city gate, no doubt waiting to escort their Count to the ship. Jena crept up on the lone guard, covered his mouth with her hand, kicked his knee in, and pulled him behind the wall of the building I was waiting at. The Imperial soldier was screaming in pain but most of the sound was drowned out thanks to Jena. Then she whispered loudly for him to hear, “Where is Goldwine?”
The man shook his head and attempted to swing at Jena head. She then rolled him on his stomach and brought his hand together so he couldn’t move. Next she took the guard by the hair, after taking off his helmet, and smashed his face to the stone floor. Blood began to pour from his nose.
“I’ll ask you one more time, scum, where is Goldwine?”
Finally the soldier begged for Jena to loosen the pressure to his back with her left knee. She let up, but only a little. Then the man gasped in between heavy breathing, “He’s inside the city right now. But I reckon he’ll be boarding his ship any time soon.”
“And what makes you say that?” Jena asked.
“An officer just came and told me to watch the area closely. It seems intruders have made their way onto our territory.”
“Hmm, I wonder who they could be,” she said sarcastically. “I don’t suppose you know where Goldwine is heading, do you?” She said, digging deeper into his back with her knee.
“I can’t say…I’ll be killed!”
“Either way you’re going to die. Tell me what I want and I’ll let you go. You can run away and never return to your duties, I don’t care as long as I get my information. If not, I’ll slit your throat with my knife. Tell me what I want to know and I will let you live. You have my word.”
“Fine, fine, wait, I’ll tell you! He…he’s headed straight for an island a couple miles west of here. I don’t think it’s charted on the maps so I believe it has no name.”
“What is on this island?”
“Mankar is there.”
“Excellent. One last thing before I let you leave. Where are Goldwine’s chambers located in the ship?”
“Enter the cabin and make an immediate left. Go down the hall and his room is the last one on the right.”
“Should I expect trouble?”
“No, not, right now anyways, not until he arrives at the ship himself.”
“Excellent. Is there anything else I should know about this island you speak of?”
“No, not to my knowledge. I’m sure there are probably bodyguards, but not an army. His cultists have occupied the other cities in defense incase they are invaded by another force or something.”
“Why? Does Mankar think that the remaining Empire personnel have joined forces with another province?”
“I…I don’t know. He attacked the Imperial forts in Morrowind and Vvardenfell. It’s chaos over there now. His forces are trying to subdue the Dunmer to his side. I think it will work too, given the fact that the Dunmer worship Daedra. That’s all I know, I swear!”
Jena gave me a surprised look, and then she continued her interrogation.
“Thank, you have been most helpful.”
Then she took out her knife and violently slashed the guard’s throat, quickly ending his life. I was stunned by her actions. Not that I was not used to seeing people die by now, but that fact that she promised the man his life in return for answers surprised. It was probably unethical, but hey, he would have likely run to give us away anyhow.
“What? It would have been too dangerous to keep him alive. He would have ratted us out in a heartbeat. Sometimes you have to resort to dirty tactics if you want to get things done.”
“I didn’t say anything, did I? I agree with you totally,” I said grinning.
“Well that’s good. How about we board the before the sun comes up and gives away our position?”
The two of us then left the body to rot and headed straight for the ship. We waited until nobody was looking, and then we climbed onto the ship and entered through the cabin entrance, just like the once-living guard had told us to do.
Once inside we took a left and crept quietly down the hallway. To the right was the room the guard had spoken about, but of course it was locked. I asked Jena if she wanted me to break the lock with one of my picks, but she told me not to. She didn’t want the Count to come here only to find out that his room had been broken into. She was right; it made a lot of sense. But then she looked at a door in the middle of the hallway, in between the two side walls. She rattled the doorknob and found that this particular door was not locked. Inside there were towels, blankets, pillows, and other items used for a bedroom.
“I think we should hide in here. It’s not too small and this way we can stow ourselves away for the duration of the trip,” she said.
“What if one of the soldiers comes in and finds us inside?”
“Hmm, I didn’t think of that. Do you have a plan of your own?”
I looked in the larger than normal closet and noticed there was an area behind a huge stack of pillows. I figured the two of us could hide in there and stay unnoticed. Also, I being a short Bosmer and her being a female would help as well. I suggested this to Jena and she approved.
So Jena and I entered the room and closed the door. It was obviously dark inside, but a couple of rather large holes in the door brought us a little light, and allowed us to peer through the door so that we would be able to watch over the hallway at all times.
Soon, not even fifteen minutes later, the door at the other end of the hallway opened and in came Goldwine, accompanied by…..Adamus? Wait, I thought Mankar said he ran away from Kvatch and had run towards Bruma. Come to think of it, I never did see Adamus in Bruma.
“Did Adamus ever come to Bruma?” I whispered to Jena.
“No, but it seems yet another friend has betrayed the Empire,” she replied angrily.
I almost felt bad for Adamus. If Jena’s anger towards him was even remotely close to how it was with Lex, Adamus had better watch out.
On to the next chapter
The heavy sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the city, and judging by the repetition, there were a lot of them. At that moment I truthfully had once again believed the end had finally come. I’ve thought this many times before it seems, but this particular event was different in some way. But, again I was wrong, and luckily for me Jena did not panic a bit. She grabbed my shirt collar and hauled me over to the side of the road, behind a large bush.
The two of us waited behind the bush silently as the footsteps in the distance became louder and louder, until at last they had arrived at the scene. Jena dangerously poked her head around the corner to see how many of them there actually were. She whispered to me that there were five Kvatch soldiers, all looking at the dead corpses on the ground. We listened as the solders whispered and talked softly to one another. Then I heard on them say, “Let’s report this to Goldwine right away; he’ll want to put the city on full alert It seems Mankar’s ambush didn’t work out as well as he thought it would. Also, go ahead and inform the sailors in the dock to get Goldwine’s ship ready. He’ll want to leave as soon as possible.”
Then they left us, running full speed back towards the city. Once they were out of range Jena asked, “How’s your shoulder?”
I tried moving it but even the slightest movement resulted in a severely sharp pain. I knew what had to be done, but I wouldn’t say I was looking forward to it. Jena would have to pry the arrow from my flesh, and unfortunately I didn’t have anything to numb the pain even the least.
“Spread your arm flat on the ground and stand still. Try to keep your arms loose as well. I know it will hurt but it will only be worse if you tighten your muscles. Just trust me on this one.”
Before letting her force the arrow from my arm, I had her tear a piece of my clothing off with her blade. She knew what I was getting at and she quickly handed me the torn cloth. I bit down on the fabric as hard as I could. This way when I yelled from the pain, which I was sure to do, the sound would hopefully be a little quieter. I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention.
She put her right hand on my shoulder and then grabbed the arrow with her left. She tugged on the arrow slightly as if to get a feel for what direction she should yank. Then, in one quick movement, she pulled the arrow from the wound. Blood splattered the air and my face, and the whole time I was screaming in agony. Thankfully the cloth idea worked and my bawling wasn’t too loud, or at least not loud enough for anyone to hear in the distance.
“Sorry, Rayden, but I had to do it. How does it feel now?”
Not to be smart or anything, but how did she think I felt? Obviously I wasn’t feeling too great; I just had an arrow plucked from my skin! But I knew she meant well. And I guess it did feel a little better, but I still had an awful lot of trouble moving my shoulder.
“Better, I guess, but not much. I still can’t really move it,” I said as I wiped my face with the piece of cloth.
“Well, we better get going. Here, let me wrap that cloth around your arm to control the bleeding. You’re looking like a waterfall right now!”
Even during a situation such as this, she still found a way to smile. I liked Jena a lot. I can’t explain why…she was just…I don’t know…real; almost as if she wasn’t afraid of anything. I liked that as well.
After the “bandage” was fully wrapped and ready to go, we started walking towards the city, and Jena was already altering the mission.
“Rayden, you heard the soldier. They’re preparing a ship so that Goldwine can leave. I say we wait there for him to arrive. Then we can strike with surprise. What do you think?”
“I’ve got a better idea. How about we go to the docks, try and capture a sailor, and force them to tell us where Goldwine is going? Who knows, maybe he’s retreating to Mankar’s whereabouts. That would definitely make things easier for us.”
Jena approved of my idea, and off we went towards the docks. My back was hurting, my shoulder was hurting, and my middle knuckle on my right hand was still hurting from several days ago, and I realized Martin never tended to the wound like he said he would. I guess we both forgot about it. It was getting better, though. It was no longer swollen, just a little enlarged. Also, Jena seemed to notice my injuries as well.
“You’re quite the injured little elf, aren’t you?”
“Well, let’s just say I’ve seen my fair share of the action. I’m just hoping nothing else goes wrong with my body. One more injury to my right arm and it might as well fall off!”
We walked through the night, though it was almost morning because the sun was rising higher and higher into the sky. Sooner or later we would have to find our hiding spot or else take the risk of being spotted in broad daylight. Thankfully it only took us about ten minutes to reach the docks. There were only three ships in all; two little ones and one large ship. Jena I both agreed that the larger one had to be Goldwine’s ship, so we walked strolled around the area until we found a lone guard patrolling the docks. Besides the guard, there were around twenty or so others, and most of them we were standing beside the city gate, no doubt waiting to escort their Count to the ship. Jena crept up on the lone guard, covered his mouth with her hand, kicked his knee in, and pulled him behind the wall of the building I was waiting at. The Imperial soldier was screaming in pain but most of the sound was drowned out thanks to Jena. Then she whispered loudly for him to hear, “Where is Goldwine?”
The man shook his head and attempted to swing at Jena head. She then rolled him on his stomach and brought his hand together so he couldn’t move. Next she took the guard by the hair, after taking off his helmet, and smashed his face to the stone floor. Blood began to pour from his nose.
“I’ll ask you one more time, scum, where is Goldwine?”
Finally the soldier begged for Jena to loosen the pressure to his back with her left knee. She let up, but only a little. Then the man gasped in between heavy breathing, “He’s inside the city right now. But I reckon he’ll be boarding his ship any time soon.”
“And what makes you say that?” Jena asked.
“An officer just came and told me to watch the area closely. It seems intruders have made their way onto our territory.”
“Hmm, I wonder who they could be,” she said sarcastically. “I don’t suppose you know where Goldwine is heading, do you?” She said, digging deeper into his back with her knee.
“I can’t say…I’ll be killed!”
“Either way you’re going to die. Tell me what I want and I’ll let you go. You can run away and never return to your duties, I don’t care as long as I get my information. If not, I’ll slit your throat with my knife. Tell me what I want to know and I will let you live. You have my word.”
“Fine, fine, wait, I’ll tell you! He…he’s headed straight for an island a couple miles west of here. I don’t think it’s charted on the maps so I believe it has no name.”
“What is on this island?”
“Mankar is there.”
“Excellent. One last thing before I let you leave. Where are Goldwine’s chambers located in the ship?”
“Enter the cabin and make an immediate left. Go down the hall and his room is the last one on the right.”
“Should I expect trouble?”
“No, not, right now anyways, not until he arrives at the ship himself.”
“Excellent. Is there anything else I should know about this island you speak of?”
“No, not to my knowledge. I’m sure there are probably bodyguards, but not an army. His cultists have occupied the other cities in defense incase they are invaded by another force or something.”
“Why? Does Mankar think that the remaining Empire personnel have joined forces with another province?”
“I…I don’t know. He attacked the Imperial forts in Morrowind and Vvardenfell. It’s chaos over there now. His forces are trying to subdue the Dunmer to his side. I think it will work too, given the fact that the Dunmer worship Daedra. That’s all I know, I swear!”
Jena gave me a surprised look, and then she continued her interrogation.
“Thank, you have been most helpful.”
Then she took out her knife and violently slashed the guard’s throat, quickly ending his life. I was stunned by her actions. Not that I was not used to seeing people die by now, but that fact that she promised the man his life in return for answers surprised. It was probably unethical, but hey, he would have likely run to give us away anyhow.
“What? It would have been too dangerous to keep him alive. He would have ratted us out in a heartbeat. Sometimes you have to resort to dirty tactics if you want to get things done.”
“I didn’t say anything, did I? I agree with you totally,” I said grinning.
“Well that’s good. How about we board the before the sun comes up and gives away our position?”
The two of us then left the body to rot and headed straight for the ship. We waited until nobody was looking, and then we climbed onto the ship and entered through the cabin entrance, just like the once-living guard had told us to do.
Once inside we took a left and crept quietly down the hallway. To the right was the room the guard had spoken about, but of course it was locked. I asked Jena if she wanted me to break the lock with one of my picks, but she told me not to. She didn’t want the Count to come here only to find out that his room had been broken into. She was right; it made a lot of sense. But then she looked at a door in the middle of the hallway, in between the two side walls. She rattled the doorknob and found that this particular door was not locked. Inside there were towels, blankets, pillows, and other items used for a bedroom.
“I think we should hide in here. It’s not too small and this way we can stow ourselves away for the duration of the trip,” she said.
“What if one of the soldiers comes in and finds us inside?”
“Hmm, I didn’t think of that. Do you have a plan of your own?”
I looked in the larger than normal closet and noticed there was an area behind a huge stack of pillows. I figured the two of us could hide in there and stay unnoticed. Also, I being a short Bosmer and her being a female would help as well. I suggested this to Jena and she approved.
So Jena and I entered the room and closed the door. It was obviously dark inside, but a couple of rather large holes in the door brought us a little light, and allowed us to peer through the door so that we would be able to watch over the hallway at all times.
Soon, not even fifteen minutes later, the door at the other end of the hallway opened and in came Goldwine, accompanied by…..Adamus? Wait, I thought Mankar said he ran away from Kvatch and had run towards Bruma. Come to think of it, I never did see Adamus in Bruma.
“Did Adamus ever come to Bruma?” I whispered to Jena.
“No, but it seems yet another friend has betrayed the Empire,” she replied angrily.
I almost felt bad for Adamus. If Jena’s anger towards him was even remotely close to how it was with Lex, Adamus had better watch out.
On to the next chapter