Disclaimer
This story is an adventure fantasy story involving two men that is loosely based off the Elder Scrolls video game series, most notably the Elder Scrolls Oblivion. While elements of the story may sound similar to elements of the game play this story only borrows elements from the game and dose not follow the game's storyline.
Chapter 2
A week had come and gone since the Emperor's assassination. After leaving the tunnels Alexander tried to make his way to the monastery mentioned by the Emperor, but the fight with his former second in command Lucas and the assassins had left the former Guard Captain in a sorry state. His body had been badly injured and he had lost so much blood that before the night was through, he lost consciousness. When he woke, sometime later, he found himself in a road side healers clinic. The healer's assistant had found him on the road and together with the healer, had saved him from death. Alexander stood in front of the healer, an old decrepit woman who looked like she was probably a thousand years old. Her wrinkled face and hands slowly examined his wounds, checking for the slightest sign that they had not quite healed. Alexander stood before her completely naked except for a small cloth that had been wrapped around his waist. He averted her gase whenever she stared up at her face and only answered her questions in yes or no.
"Your body has certainly healed," the old woman said. "but your wounds run more than skin deep."
Alexander made no comment.
"This is fine. If you choose not to speak of it, I will not inquire. As someone who has lived for so long, I will say that you wont be fully healed till you solve what hurts inside. This pain will cause you more trouble in your future and may even send you back to my clinic. Perhaps though you may at least thank my apprentice, who carried you back here and tended to you while you laid unconscious."
the old woman glanced to her left at the door on the far side wall. Peering into the room was a young man no older than 19 with bright red hair and freckles that spotted the skin under his eyes. He blushed when Alexander turned his head towards the door.
"Retrieve the patent's armor and undergarments." the old woman said to her apprentice.
As he closed the door, the old woman turned her attention back toward her patent.
"I suspect his selflessness stems from his attraction to men in armor." she chuckled.
The old healer placed her instruments back in their drawer and left the room. Within a few minutes the Apprentice re entered, carrying Alexanders armor and gear. He stood just a couple of inches shorter than Alexander and was more slender than the Captain His clothes consisted of a green belted vest, skin tight linens and a pair of heavy leather boots that looked more suitable for armor than for casual wear.
"We never were properly introduced. I'm Erik, would you care for some help?"
Alexander nodded and removed the cloth from around his waist. After serving the empire for more than a decade, he had come to be unaffected by nudity and felt no embarrassment at being completely nude in front of other men, Erik of course was no exception. Erik's face turned red as he averted his gase to the Captain's naked body. He had helped the healer earlier inspect Alexanders body for injures and had been tasked with examining the Captian's lower half. He had taken note that the patent displayed signs that he had recently been intimate with another man and since then had become almost obsessed with his patent. He had fantasize the Captain coming on to him and fondling his genitals. And now he summoned up the courage to come on to the man he had admired for so long.
As Alexander approached the bed, Erik placed his hand on the Captain's shoulder.
"You know, I do have to run and errand for my master. Perhaps you and I could.... ...well.... ...travel together. I could make sure your completely healed and... ...um... ...maybe keep you warm?"
Alexander smiled and placed his arm around the young man's shoulder. Then he leaned in and suddenly kissed him on the lips.
"Its kind of you to offer, but my lover would object."
Erik's mind crashed down to earth. The sudden objection had been sure a hard lesson into the difference between fantasy and real life.
The healer handed a glass bottle containing a powder and instructed Alexander on when to take it, the importance of taking it and what might happen if he didn't. The gory detail of the last seemed somewhat exaggerated to Alexander but eager to finally be on his way he nodded and agreed to the healers instructions.
"Thank you to both of you for your kindness." said Alexander. "I hope to see you again Erik."
Alexander flashed a smile that seemed to perk up the young apprentice. His master gave an inquisitive look that told Erik, she knew what had happened. Alexander walked down the road sometime later. Surprisingly his mind had been on the young healer. His mind began to ponder on what the young healer had said and tough he admit to finding him attractive, he knew their was no way he could even consider being with another man till Lucas, the traitor had been delt with. Perhaps though, he could come back and take up the young Healer's offer.
Dover Castle had one time been a marvelous site. Grand in size and beautifully adorned, it had once been a royal palace for a country that now belonged to the empire. Now the castle mostly sat in ruins. Below the ancient castle was the city of Chorrol. It was best well known for its elegant gardens and its stone buildings, many of which had been inspired from the neighboring ruins. The city was bustling on what was its regular twice a week market day, a common event during the warm months. The streets were beautifully lined with picturesque homes and shops all lining a bustling square that centered around an ancient oak tree. Beyond the square the streets curved past charming mansions and the duchess's palace before ending at the ruined castle. Alexander wandered through the marketplace before settling down by a stand selling various snacks. The aroma was tempting but his mind remained focus on the mission at hand. He had heard of the monastery near Chorrol but had no clue where it could be found. As Alexander inquired the monastery's location from a busy merchant he just barely noticed his pack, which contained the late Emperor's amulet being swiped by a man with long black hair. His first thought was to shout for the guards but quickly halted himself for fear that those who murdered the Emperor may be with the local guard. He quietly followed the figure down through the back streets of the city and passed its great stone temple till he found his surroundings change. While the buildings here mimicked those he'd seen back at the market they were worn and more cramped. But as he came upon a busy street the thief disappeared into the crowd. Alexander searched every alley and street he came to and even began to ask passerby,s if they had seen the thief but all was no no avail. He was gone.
Garrett loved market days and market places in general. While the shoppers attentions were distracted, he helped himself to their purses and if one did notice their purse was gone he could make use of the crowds to hide in plain sight. Garrett eyed the crowd, looking for an easy mark, when his gase caught sight of a large muscular man with sweeping brown hair but more importantly his pack had been left beside him a merchant's stall. Carefully he came up beside the man. As he waited for his chance he couldn't help but notice how handsome the man was. The strong muscles that were obvious even through his clothes his manly goatee and even his round butt which had begun to give Garrett filthy thoughts. When the man turned his head away Garrett snatched up his pack and quickly moved through the crowd. At first he thought the snatch was successful but as he turned back he noticed the man glowering at him with an angry expression. Garrett quickly turned down a nearby alley and made his way through the main streets, side streets and alleyways. It was odd though that this man hadn't made any attempt to call for the guards. Perhaps he too was a thief he thought. When he made his way to the poorer section of the city he saw that the man wasn't far behind him. Garrett turned the corner on to the main street and pushed himself back against a recessed door and waited for the man to pass by him. Then he turned back down the alley he came from and headed back to the marketplace.
The sun was beginning to set when he made his way to the castle ruins. Despite the complications he had with that man he had been successful at snatching up a few purses. What peeked Garrett's interest right now was not gold but rather the contents of the pack he worked so hard for. He made his way through the derelict corridors and into the castle's great hall. One look at the elaborate, weather worn stonework, its mammoth fireplace and the delicate carved stonework of the tall empty windows hinted at the grandeur the room must have been back in its day. Now though the room was deserted filled only by the debris that remained of what had been the hall's roof and a flock of birds that had commandeered the windows as their perch. Garrett sat down on a broken block of stone and began to rummage through the pack.
"Not much worth value here." he murmured to himself.
Just then he noticed something heavy wrapped in a cloth. He picked out the object and unwrapped the cloth to reveal the most amassing piece of jewelry he'd ever seen.
"Whats this little beauty."
His eyes widened at the site of a circular amulet embedded with a beautiful red jewel. Garrett was thrilled at such a find that he estimated was worth far more than what he had stolen in gold.
"Well if it ain't our old buddy Garrett."
Garrett's mood quickly turned sour at the call from one of two men that followed him into the room. He recognized the voice as belonging to one of two men he hoped he'd never meet again.
"Glover and Denby." Garrett said. "What a surprise to see you two back in Corrol. I could have sworn you both were swinging from the gallows back in Red Rock."
The two men came from out of the shadows and stood before Garrett, grinning an evil smile. Glover and his younger brother Denby, with their 6 ft 3 frames of solid muscles almost dwarfed the 5 ft 9 Garrett. Glover had dark brown hair and his face was covered with scruff. He had a large scar that ran down his right cheek to his jaw and long ago had lost his left hand, which now was replaced with a steel hand. His younger brother was a harry, bare chested man who showed less physical damage to his body than his older brother. He came holding a large war ax with both hands which he let rest on the ground when the two stood their ground.
"Well when we found out you'd up an run off without so much as a goodbye, we were a hurt." said Glover.
"But fortunately you've been kind enough to bring us some gifts."
The brothers stood back eying the amulet.
"Get a load of that ol' bobble hes got." Denby said to his brother.
"You wouldn't want this Denby." said Garrett "It wouldn't do a thing to help that ugly mug you call a face."
"What was that!"
Denby raised his weapon to attack but was halted by his brother.
"Yuh it couldn't fix his ugly mug." replied Glover "But that'll defienetly buy us a lot of mead. Possibly a life time of mead."
Glover pulled a heavy war hammer from behind his back and the brothers approached.
"Now we might consider letten ya walk outta here alive if ya be nice and hand over all da goods ya got. Possibly more than what double crossin, snitchen rat like ya deserves."
"You murdered that merchant Glover."Garrett scowled "We had everything going our way then you had to fuck it up by cracking open the guy's head."
Garrett slowly backed away from the brothers. He could handle the brothers one on one in a physical fight but was no match for both of them together.
"Glover just killed him ta keep him quiet Garrett." said Denby "You know no merchant can't tell no guards what he's seen if he aint alive ta say anything."
Garrett eyed the room for an escape route. The windows were no good, they overlooked a long drop.
"But ya go ahead and spill to da guards. Now that's no good Garrett."
"I told you meat heads that killing him made that crime a top priority." Garrett scowled. "They would have caught all three of us if I didn't spill."
Garrett remembered a balcony that overlooked the great hall. While the balcony had long since collapsed, he knew could run and jump up to the balcony and be gone, but could he make it out of Chorrol before them.
"Besides I knew you'd both double cross me if I didn't first and I know you'd do the same now."
"Yuh that's right." replied Glover "No matter we can take da goods from ya after we kill ya."
Glover made a dash for the thief but Garrett was too swift for Glover's mass of muscles. He dodged Glover's oncoming attack and made his way for the rear of the room but Denby was right on top of him. He knocked Garrett to the floor and swung his ax back to take a chunk out of the thief. Garrett rolled out of the way before Denby could strike him and made his way back onto his feet. He turned to make his way back to the balcony but was struck on the side by Glover's war hammer. The pounding blow was enough to send Garrett sailing into the fireplace. Garrett was stunned for a second then quickly snapped back to normal but before he could move a muscle he found himself cornered by the brothers.
"Looks like this is it for you Garrett." Glover grinned with the same evil expression and turned to his brother.
"Ya wanna kill da rat?"
"Fuck yeah." replied Denby.
Denby raised his ax back over his head but before he could take a swing he was knocked onto the floor.
"Denby! Who the fuck are you!"
Standing before Glover was was the man Garrett had stolen the pack from. He stood with his sword drawn and ready to defend from an oncoming attack.
"You OK?" The man said.
"Yeah" Garrett replied "It would take more than that to do me in."
Garrett noticed the unusual sword the man was holding. The sword curved back and was bladed on only one side. It had a small guard that circled around the hilt and while Garrett was sure he'd never seen a sword like that before, it still seemed oddly familiar.
"YOUR DEAD!!"
Glover swung his war hammer at the man but was too slow for the man. He dodged the hammer and sung his body around sheering his blade through Glover's side. Behind the man, Denby climbed back onto his feet he reached down for his ax but was stopped with a boot to the face by Garrett. The thief ran for his gear and took hold of his bow Denby stood back up, his face filled with rage and came after the thief with his ax but Garrett was one step ahead. He cocked an arrow and fired on Denby sinking an arrow into the younger brother's shoulder and sending him crying in agony to his knees. He gripped his ax tightly but before he could stand up he found the point of an arrow in his face.
"You're not gunna kill me are ya?"
"Well not on purpose." replied the thief.
Garrett kicked Denby's head and before he could come to his senses he bashed his face agents the stone floor. With Denby out of the way, Garrett looked back toward the man and Glover. He was amazed how skilled the man was with a sword. While on his best days, Garrett could take on Glover with only a couple of hits, this man was able to slice into Glover without so much as a scratch on himself. Glover dropped down to his knees and was panting hard his body had been tattered by the man's sword and his eyes were wide with anger and confusion.
"Ju... Just who the Fuck Are You!" Glover yelled .
The man didn't say a word but instead suck his blade up to Glover's face. The man's eyes narrowed while the rest of his face remained emotionless. He raised his blade back but before he could strike his arm was caught by Garrett.
"Don't."
The man was surprised the thief's actions.
"These meat heads aren't worth it."
"Hey who's in their!?"
The thief and the man were startled by the sounds of the city's guards running towards the hall.
"Come on we had better get outta here. These halls are supposed to be off limits." Garrett grabbed his belongings and ran towards the rear of the hall. He jumped up with enough force just to barely grab hold of the door. He lifted himself up and into the door way then reached back down for the man. The thief hoisted the man up and through the doorway and both disappeared into the upper reaches of the castle just as the guards made their way inside the hall.
The man followed Garrett through the halls of the castle and down into a spiral staircase. At it's base was an iron gate that had been put in place to keep curious people outside the castle. Garrett picked the lock on the gate and the two men made their way down back into the city. An hour later Garrett and the man made their way down through the woods the two stopped agents an old stone fence to rest a minute and catch their breath.
"You think were far enough away?" asked the man in panting breaths.
"Y... Yeah." Garrett replied, "Those two are wanted for murder in several places including here. Besides I doubt the guards will spend much time hunting for us when they don't even know what we look like."
Garrett slid down onto the ground to rest but his rest was quickly interrupted by the sight of the curved sword in his face.
"I... I guess you want this back."Garrett nervously chuckled.
"You guessed right thief." The man replied. "Now hand over the amulet too."
Garrett pulled the amulet from his pocket and handed it over to the man.
"Now stand up."
Garrett stood up and the man quickly grabbed hold of his arm, twisting it till he stood as the man wanted him too. Then the man searched through his bag and pulled out a long piece of twine and tied the thief's hands behind his back.
"Something tells me this isn't foreplay." Garrett said
"I'm sorry for this but you know too much." The man said, "As long as you cooperate, I wont harm you but I wont hesitate to kill you either if you try something." the man picked up his pack and Garrets gear then ushered him down the road.
"So whats your name Mr. swordsman?" Garrett questioned.
"Alexander." the man replied
"And where are we headed?"
"You'll see soon enough" the man replied.