1: Assassins
I shall explain my escape now, although some of it is a blur as i was very excited at the time. Someone did indeed come, and they were not prison guards. They came up to my cell and exchanged some hurried words before telling me to stand away from the door. A large, well muscled Redguard came up to me and pinned me to the wall.
"Stay put prisoner! I wont think twice about killing you." The redguard lessened his grip at this, and I simply nodded. He was incredibly strong, and had nearly lifted me off my feet in one movement. He and two of his compatriots were adorned in very sturdy-looking armor that I recognized as from the Blades. The Blades are a not-so-secret secret service to the Emperor, and they work always beside him. As the other two Blades entered, I recognized the Emperor and bowed my head to him. I didn't know why he was in my cell, but i thought respect was in order. The Emperor did not even notice me for a moment, more concerned with what he had left behind him. Each Blade showed signs of weariness, especially the woman. She was in a terrible state. Her body stood at the ready, but her eyes were dark and empty, almost lifeless. As the Emperor turned his focus on the room, he noticed me and gave a barely audible gasp.
"You! I've Seen you! You are the one from my dreams! Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength!” I nearly missed what he said, for his eyes were haunting. They were like the stars, two glowing pools of mystery. They were also weary beyond comparison, and drooped as he finished his exclamation.
“My Lord, what can I do to serve you?” I am not sure why I said this, because I am not exactly the most loyal of subjects, as can be seen by my presence in the jail. I just could not refuse his gaze, it made me want to drop to my knees and beg forgiveness for my crimes.
“Right now, you can give me access to your cell.” He smiled faintly, but then a worried look marred his face once more.
“My Lord, what is wrong?” I glanced at the female Blade, she was examining the wall next to my bed very intently.
“Assassins attacked my sons, and I am next. My blades are leading me out of the city via a secret escape route.” At this point the Female Blade gave a grunt and pushed in a brick in the wall.
“Found it my Lord! We should really get moving!” She gave a worried glance back towards my cell door, but then refocused on me.
“Wait a moment. Prisoner, what you have done to be in this cell is inconsequential compared to what you will accomplish. You will not be remembered for that crime.” His eyes continued to pierce my skin, and my eyes began to water.
“What should I do, my Lord?” I tried to control my blinking so that I would neither dry out my eyes nor go into a blinking spasm.
“You will find your own path. Take care, there will be blood and death before the end.” I took in his words and shivered despite myself. I had not realized until now his amazing charisma. His deep voice held such knowledge and power that anything he said, I believed. And I must once again mention his eyes.
“My lord…” Began the exhausted Blade.
“Yes, yes Captain. I am finished with the prisoner… for now. Let him follow us however.”
“Yes Lord.” The captain gave me a harsh glance and moved off towards my bed. I half expected her to run into the wall, but where my bed once was, there was now a passageway. I gasped and mentally reprimanded myself for not searching my cell carefully. A secret passageway! I would have to be more diligent in my observations.
As the captain descended down the dark slope, the Emperor turned from me and followed her. The two remaining blades moved after him, making sure there was some distance between me and the Emperor. The procession continued down a staircase and around a corner. All seemed well, until heavily armored men jumped down from a side passageway and assaulted the captain. She made a valiant effort, but she was outnumbered three to one, and fell quickly to the assassins’ blows.
The other two blades rushed forward to protect the emperor. As they moved, so did I. I picked up the fallen captain’s sword and started hacking at any exposed assassin I could find. I am not skilled with the blade, and my attempts to help were futile, almost laughable. I realized my ineptitude, and instead fired a few weak fireballs at the assassins. The battle was quick, and the two other blades were more than a match for the assassins. As they fell, their armor ceased to exist. It was an interesting way for armor to dissipate, because even conjured items do not disappear so violently. This armor dissipated as if it was angry to do so, creating a small cloud of warm magical interference around the dead.
“Captain Renault?” The Emperor asked from a fair distance away.
“She is dead sire.” This came from the quiet Redguard who had been in the back since he had entered my cell. “We must keep moving. Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here, these assassins wont be the first to underestimate the Blades." He turned to me. "Prisoner, stay here. We cant let you follow us.” I looked at the emperor, and he gave me a sly wink. With that they took off through a door, which I heard lock behind them.
I took stock of what was around me. The room was full of loose bricks and broken architecture, but I was still surprised when a couple of rats broke through the wall. They were easy enough to dispatch, even with my case of magical atrophy. As I flung a few flames at them, I remembered another easy spell. It was close range, and still did very little damage, but it was enough to freeze a rat solid. I peeked into the dark hole that they came from, and decided not to proceed until I had collected anything I could find on the assassins. I searched the assassins, finding a single potion of healing and nothing else. Obviously these men could see in the dark without torches, but I could not remember even a simple spell of night eye.
After a quick search of Captain Renault’s corpse and the immediate area around her, I found what I was looking for. A torch that still glowed faintly and a shortsword. Not much, but I was more effective with the smaller weapon then I would ever be with the hefty sword the Blade had used.
Now, here I sit. I am surrounded by corpses and dead rats, and have a limited amount of supplies and spells. The robes of the assassins still have a faint magical glow to them, but there is nothing on them to indicate a magical item. I shall decide what to take with me, and move on to discover whatever secrets the rat hole has. Judging by what I have seen so far, they will be full of surprises.
"Stay put prisoner! I wont think twice about killing you." The redguard lessened his grip at this, and I simply nodded. He was incredibly strong, and had nearly lifted me off my feet in one movement. He and two of his compatriots were adorned in very sturdy-looking armor that I recognized as from the Blades. The Blades are a not-so-secret secret service to the Emperor, and they work always beside him. As the other two Blades entered, I recognized the Emperor and bowed my head to him. I didn't know why he was in my cell, but i thought respect was in order. The Emperor did not even notice me for a moment, more concerned with what he had left behind him. Each Blade showed signs of weariness, especially the woman. She was in a terrible state. Her body stood at the ready, but her eyes were dark and empty, almost lifeless. As the Emperor turned his focus on the room, he noticed me and gave a barely audible gasp.
"You! I've Seen you! You are the one from my dreams! Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength!” I nearly missed what he said, for his eyes were haunting. They were like the stars, two glowing pools of mystery. They were also weary beyond comparison, and drooped as he finished his exclamation.
“My Lord, what can I do to serve you?” I am not sure why I said this, because I am not exactly the most loyal of subjects, as can be seen by my presence in the jail. I just could not refuse his gaze, it made me want to drop to my knees and beg forgiveness for my crimes.
“Right now, you can give me access to your cell.” He smiled faintly, but then a worried look marred his face once more.
“My Lord, what is wrong?” I glanced at the female Blade, she was examining the wall next to my bed very intently.
“Assassins attacked my sons, and I am next. My blades are leading me out of the city via a secret escape route.” At this point the Female Blade gave a grunt and pushed in a brick in the wall.
“Found it my Lord! We should really get moving!” She gave a worried glance back towards my cell door, but then refocused on me.
“Wait a moment. Prisoner, what you have done to be in this cell is inconsequential compared to what you will accomplish. You will not be remembered for that crime.” His eyes continued to pierce my skin, and my eyes began to water.
“What should I do, my Lord?” I tried to control my blinking so that I would neither dry out my eyes nor go into a blinking spasm.
“You will find your own path. Take care, there will be blood and death before the end.” I took in his words and shivered despite myself. I had not realized until now his amazing charisma. His deep voice held such knowledge and power that anything he said, I believed. And I must once again mention his eyes.
“My lord…” Began the exhausted Blade.
“Yes, yes Captain. I am finished with the prisoner… for now. Let him follow us however.”
“Yes Lord.” The captain gave me a harsh glance and moved off towards my bed. I half expected her to run into the wall, but where my bed once was, there was now a passageway. I gasped and mentally reprimanded myself for not searching my cell carefully. A secret passageway! I would have to be more diligent in my observations.
As the captain descended down the dark slope, the Emperor turned from me and followed her. The two remaining blades moved after him, making sure there was some distance between me and the Emperor. The procession continued down a staircase and around a corner. All seemed well, until heavily armored men jumped down from a side passageway and assaulted the captain. She made a valiant effort, but she was outnumbered three to one, and fell quickly to the assassins’ blows.
The other two blades rushed forward to protect the emperor. As they moved, so did I. I picked up the fallen captain’s sword and started hacking at any exposed assassin I could find. I am not skilled with the blade, and my attempts to help were futile, almost laughable. I realized my ineptitude, and instead fired a few weak fireballs at the assassins. The battle was quick, and the two other blades were more than a match for the assassins. As they fell, their armor ceased to exist. It was an interesting way for armor to dissipate, because even conjured items do not disappear so violently. This armor dissipated as if it was angry to do so, creating a small cloud of warm magical interference around the dead.
“Captain Renault?” The Emperor asked from a fair distance away.
“She is dead sire.” This came from the quiet Redguard who had been in the back since he had entered my cell. “We must keep moving. Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here, these assassins wont be the first to underestimate the Blades." He turned to me. "Prisoner, stay here. We cant let you follow us.” I looked at the emperor, and he gave me a sly wink. With that they took off through a door, which I heard lock behind them.
I took stock of what was around me. The room was full of loose bricks and broken architecture, but I was still surprised when a couple of rats broke through the wall. They were easy enough to dispatch, even with my case of magical atrophy. As I flung a few flames at them, I remembered another easy spell. It was close range, and still did very little damage, but it was enough to freeze a rat solid. I peeked into the dark hole that they came from, and decided not to proceed until I had collected anything I could find on the assassins. I searched the assassins, finding a single potion of healing and nothing else. Obviously these men could see in the dark without torches, but I could not remember even a simple spell of night eye.
After a quick search of Captain Renault’s corpse and the immediate area around her, I found what I was looking for. A torch that still glowed faintly and a shortsword. Not much, but I was more effective with the smaller weapon then I would ever be with the hefty sword the Blade had used.
Now, here I sit. I am surrounded by corpses and dead rats, and have a limited amount of supplies and spells. The robes of the assassins still have a faint magical glow to them, but there is nothing on them to indicate a magical item. I shall decide what to take with me, and move on to discover whatever secrets the rat hole has. Judging by what I have seen so far, they will be full of surprises.
posted by Mindstroller at 2:35 PM
3 Comments:
Very nice begining. Keep up the good writing, you show skill :)
Looks very promising to me. I'll keep my eye on you. :)
One thing though. You start off this chapter talking in hindsight, but end it with present tense. Watch out for stuff like that. No biggie, you just started and are learning the ropes.
I don't know if you'll look back and read this Person, but the reason you start in past tense, and finish in present, is that your character is supposed to be writing this - therefore at the time of entry, the last thing they write will be their present intentions. You would only want to keep it all past tense if it was being written in a biography form, rather than as a diary.
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