Chapter 487 - Legends (3) : Towards Fate
Let's address some concerns regarding the boring spin-off.
Well, I'm kinda regretting adding the Legends' story and making it fast-paced. I've blasted this one up *Cute Cat Emoji*. Still, ever since I introduced Glemt. Tyr, Laaneth and Isha; I wanted to add this part and you can guess since when. Basically, from the first day Jon arrived at the college and ran into Laaneth.
Anyway, "Legends (4)" is on P4treon and we nipped it in the bud so we can continue 'Jon's Fluffy Adventures' (aka Dragonborn Saga).
~~~~~~~~~~
In an abandoned fort close to the marshlands of the Niben Bay, a group of Boethiah's Cultists took refugees after their ship crashed. After the storm that struck the Topal Sea, the ship was badly damaged and had to go through some repairs but it was impossible due to the cargo they are carrying. If they were to stop in any city dock along the Niben river, things may get ugly with the Dominion Guards despite the connections between the two groups.
Yet once they were on the way to Bravil, the prisoners on the ship revolted and caused fire to catch on the sails and the foredeck. The crew tried to land as fast as they could on one of the banks of the river but the ship's durability expired and it broke apart drifting into the marshes.
The cultist managed to secure their most valuable prisoner, the Sorceress Laaneth, but they were attacked by a group of Spriggans from within the marshes. They managed to keep the spriggans at bay then found refuge in an old abandoned fort on the edges of the marsh but the Bad Luck never left the group alone. This Fort seemed to be taken as a home by a group of Goblins that ferociously attacked the cultists and cornered rendering them to their demise. Meanwhile, the Sorceress Laaneth managed to break free and killed the last of the Cultists imprisoning her yet she was all alone against the unending horde of goblins.
"Azura, Guide me!"
Laaneth was no ordinary sorceress, she conjured the strongest Storm Atronach she could muster as an Expert Mage and dealt massive damage to the Goblins but she was drained so fast.
"Laaneth! It's Tyr!"
But in her darkest of hours, a very familiar voice called for her. In the following second, three figures appeared in the corridor she was fighting for her life in.
"I could use a little help here!" Laaneth called for her timely saviors to rally up and rescue her.
Glemt, Tyr, and Swims-at-Night didn't wait one bit and charged at the goblins waving their blades and casting their spells. Those Daedra-worshiping little creatures were soon overwhelmed by the joint attack yet they were relentless and many. If a Goblin was killed, another two would take its place.
"Thanks for the rescue." Said Laaneth, the Dark Elf sorceress.
"Are all the cultists dead?" Tyr asked.
"I think so. And if we're not careful, we'll be too. The goblins had a powerful chief with them when I first arrived. You'd better finish off as many of them as we can before he comes back."
As the situation didn't seem to be getting better so the team of four decided to utilize their skills to escape but not long after, they ran into a blue-skinned goblin with a powerful staff. This Goblin Chief proved to be a real challenge. Glemt, who was developing his magic talent, faced this Goblin while Tyr kept the other minions at bay. Laaneth worked on a strong spell to finish off the Goblin Chief in one go but she needed time to cast it which was secured by Swims-at-Night who snuck behind the Goblins and killed some of their strongest.
By the time Laaneth was done, a powerful dark spell was released and struck the Goblin Chief taking away its lifeforce in a blast. The spell was known as [Daedric Nova].
"Good work, guys. This is really exhausting." Laaneth said as she leaned on Glemt.
Noticing that she acted casually, she looked at Glemt and smiled apologetically. On the other hand, Glemt acted gentlemanly and gave a hand for Laaneth to rest.
"How are you doing?" Tyr asked her.
"I'm fine. Thank Azura." She said, "The people with you are…?"
"This is Glemt, I hired him to help me after I lost my backup agents. And that is Swims-at-Night, he will help us move in Cyrodiil hidden from the Dominion." Tyr introduced his Companions.
"Yes… hello." Laaneth greeted the two… while looking at Glemt.
"Hello." Glemt replied back with the same hint of interest.
Tyr noticed the airs between the two and wanted to facepalm at the most untimely encounter yet he had to butt in before anything develops.
"Laaneth, I've tracked the cultists for days till we found a place between Black Marsh and Cyrodiil where I found their plans and rescued Glem over here. Over there, we learned of a prophecy called 'The Culling'. I was hoping you can tell us what you know."
***
"Laaneth had learned that the cult was secretly led by Lord Naarifin, the Dominion warlord who had captured the Imperial City. To bring about the prophecy, he intended to sacrifice all of the city's inhabitants. Laaneth suggested they seek out the Imperial Army, then in exile in Skyrim, and warn the emperor of Naarifin's plot." (Kellen)
***
*Miles and Days later - Skyrim, Falkreath*
"No one in this tavern knows where the emperor's forces are camped out." Tyr said.
"Or maybe the locals just aren't fond of the Imperials." Laaneth replied while reading from a book.
"Not sure it is because of the Lizard?" Glemt pointed at Swims-at-Night.
"Do you have something against Lizards?" Swims acted ready for confrontation.
"Tone it down, boys. We are here for information." Laaneth said.
"These Nords won't tell us anything anyway." Swims replied.
Goodness! Be smart, guys. Should I expose a shoulder to one of the hunters to get information on your behalf?" Laaneth teased them.
"Nords are racist, Laaneth. Instead, you will get some angry wives chasing us with torches and pitchforks." Tyr said.
"… okay."
As the group joked around, the Nords started to get annoyed by the noisy strangers and some brutes decided it's about time to greet the outlanders. The four were surrounded by a dozen brutes who hand their fourth to fifth shots of mead and wanted to let the steam off.
"Whoops! Here we go." Glemt said as he cracked his fingers.
"Watch out for the flying bottles." Swims followed him.
"Why are they after us? Are they assassins? Dominion operatives?" Laaneth seemed a bit panicked.
"They're Nords. This is what we do for fun." Tyr joined the other two.
Laaneth had to slip away during the fight until the boys were done being boys and the fight was concluded with everyone getting more bruises and fewer teeth. Also, with a location on the Imperial Army.
The group departed from Falkreath to the Jerall Mountains in the south.
"If the locals weren't lying, the Legion should be nearby." Laaneth said as she checked her map and the Familiars she sent to the sky.
The weather was a bit too hard to deal with thanks to the constant snowstorms on the Jerall mountains but sooner than expected the group ran into Imperial Legionnaires.
"There they are!" Swims pointed.
"Something doesn't feel right." Glemt was cautious seeing the soldiers.
Meanwhile, Tyr advanced forward to greet the soldiers who are supposedly their allies.
"Hail! I am Tyr, knight brother of the Blades."
The coming soldiers halted from afar and became tense, next thing they did was to raise their bows and aim at Tyr and the others.
"They don't look pleased to see us." Swims said as he pulled Tyr away behind the cover of a rock and a rain of arrows followed.
"What in Oblivion are they doing?!" Tyr was taken aback.
"It seems our plan about making good cash from the Imperials is in the winds now." Swims sighed.
"Is it really necessary to talk about money now?" Laaneth scolded Swims.
"What's with it? Your sweetheart is basically here for the money as well." Swims pointed at Glemt.
Laaneth turned to Glemt with questioning eyes but he hurriedly shook his head.
"Hmph! Traitor." Swims was upset seeing how fast Glemt retreated.
"Let's just deal with those Imperials and think later."
Reaching this point in the journey, Glemt was already accounted for as a vital member of the party. He may have started as a prisoner in the south of Cyrodiil after getting rescued by Tyr yet he showed a real promise when it came to swordsmanship. Later on, he practiced the Aura and after meeting Laaneth, he learned Magic from her which made their relationship develop warmly. Now as soon as the fight with the Imperials started, Glemt was leading the counterattack with a blade in a hand and spell in another. He swept through the first round of soldiers like painting on the snow with strokes of their blood.
"Damn! He is natural at killing." Even an experienced rogue-like Swims-at-Night was fascinated by the skills of Glemt.
Once half of the Imperials fell to the group of four, Tyr started taking prisoners.
"Surrender now!" He called.
"No! We're not going back there. The Imperial Legion is doomed!" An Imperial soldier replied.
"… I knew it! You are deserters!"
The Imperial soldiers won't attack people out of the blue like how those people did so from the beginning, Tyr suspected them to be deserters.
"The situation is this bad?" Laaneth exclaimed.
"It seems we will run into more trouble from now on." Glemt said.
"Indeed. Trouble has already found us." Swims agreed while pointing up the mountain path.
Up there, another wave of Imperials came on horsebacks with a strong murderous aura surrounding them.
"Oh no. Look! Legate Cassia's arrived! Run men!" The Prisoner under Tyr and Glemt tried to escape but Laaneth's magic restrained them.
Soon, the other Imperials arrived and surrounded everyone else with their spears and lances.
"Well, look who it is. Thanks for taking out those deserters for me, Tyr. Have you come to serve the Emperor once more?"
Among the ranks of the Imperials, a pretty officer with short hair stepped forwards on a white horse. It was Legate Cassia.
"Cassia. We need to speak with him immediately." Tyr walked to her.
"… How serious?" She asked.
"Very."
***
The Imperial Camp was at the peaks of the Jerall mountains away from all the annoyance of enemy attacks.
During the past year, the Imperials retreated into Skyrim to make a regroup and retake operation that should have lasted less than a year but things escalated rapidly wrong. Whenever the Emperor tried to make a move, all his plans were seen through and he couldn't make any advance.
Eventually, all of Cyrodiil was under Dominion control even the harsh lands of Bruma.
Luckily, the Jerall Mountains area was a perfect fit to fortify the Imperial Legion from the Aldmeri Dominion. No matter how strong the Aldmeri Dominion is, they failed to take one step past the Pale Pass. On the contrary, the Nords of Skyrim has taken over the Pale Pass with most of the Jarls and the Clan heads of Skyrim gathered there.
This secured the back of the Imperials in the mountains by both supplies and men yet the situation has taken too long. The morals were dropping and the soldiers were exhausted from the rocky place.
Despite having the number superiority, the Empire was held at bay by the strong soldiers of the Aldmeri Dominion who were simply lurking around every corner under these mountains.
When Glemt and the party arrived at the Imperial Camp, they met with more of Tyr's relatives. Knight Commander Jonrad Firemane of the Blades and the Sergeant Hilda Firemane of the Volunteer unit were among the most visible Firemanes in the camp.
Those two made periodic hunts against the Aldmeri Dominion soldiers down in the mountain over the past year believing that if they can't take on the Dominion army once and for all, they will dismantle it even if it took them a hundred years.
"Typical Firemanes! Don't try to see the logic in their thinking." Tyr explained to his friends.
"I guess we are pretty much well experienced on the subject now, Tyr." Laaneth said.
"Believe me, between the Firemane kids, I was the quietest one… and the smallest." Tyr said with a disheartened face.
"Oh! Poor you." Cassia said as she walked out of the Emperor's Camp.
"Will he see us?" Tyr asked.
Cassia nodded and looked at the Blade Agents guarding the tent. They cleared the way for the party and the tent's curtain was pulled to allow them in.
"You are in the presence of His Imperial Majesty, Titus Mede II."
***
"The emperor was horrified to hear of Lord Naarifin's plan. But he knew an attack on the Imperial City was doomed to fail. Somehow the Dominion could predict his forces' every move. The hero volunteered to infiltrate the city, and discover the source of this ability." (Kellen)
"Was the city not guarded?" (Nagh)
"Ah! Well, you see, Naarifin had recently reopened the Arena. The hero resolved to pose as a gladiator to gain entry. Once inside, Swims-at-Night would lead them to a secret passageway into the White-Gold Tower." (Kellen)
~~~~~~~~~~
• P4TRE0N
pat×reon.com/eldokhmesy ( remove × )
• PayPal for Gifts
paypal.me/eldokhmesy
• Discord discord.gg/gKcKva7
• Instagram @don_dokhmesy
• Twitter @eldokhmesy22