So this would be my new awakening point, I would pay attention. It always happened at a turning point, something momentous was going to happen and I would have some part in it, no matter how large or small. Someone I needed to save or something I needed to do.
I took stock of myself and realized that I was bound and wearing rags... well that wouldn't be a first either. I had just gotten some very nice armor to, pity that, I wondered if there were any Khajiit Caravans, I had credit with them. There was another man in rags across from me a horse thief and the Big Nord said the man with the gag was a Jarl....hmmm maybe I was to save him?
I whispered the words of a spell, just to see what kind of shape my magic was in and soon realized I would be lucky to cast novice level spells. Checking my memory, I still knew all my spells it would just be a matter of having enough power to actually caste them.
The big Nord, Ralof he said his name is... asked me who I am, I looked at him and will a straight face, said "just another blood cursed Breton mage". He looked a bit startled for a moment, but then nodded, he had heard his people say that about mine. I didn't mean it in exactly the way I meant him to take it though. I really was Blood Cursed, my whole family was or what is left of them.
Our curse was two-fold, the first was just bad luck that one member of our family insulted another families favored son, well insulted might be putting it to mildly, humiliated might be a better word. So much so that he could not live with the shame and killed himself. From that day on his family hired assassins to murder any female children in the direct line. I was on the run.
The second part, we are none of us sure where it came from or why, but all of the female children were cursed to "come back to life" and we did, it was not a pretty thing though, not for me anyway. I would come back to life at the same point over and over and over again, until such a time as I did whatever it was that the Divine or Deadric Prince wanted to be done. Sometimes it was saving someone's life because they had a major part in history.... others it was just pointing that person in the right direction and once it was stealing an item that could have been used to de-rail an Empire.
So as the cart came into the town that Ralof named Helgen, I looked around and wondered what it was that I was supposed to do. I noticed a Thalmor speaking to an Imperial of high rank. Ralof was good enough to name them all for me. I really liked this big Nord, chatty as he was.
We got off the cart and headed over to where a chopping block was set up... Now that one would hurt, it was one of the few things that would kill me permanently. The first of the Nords was set to the block and then for some reason, the little witch of an Imperial captain decided I should be next. We all heard a roar in the distance, it was something I had heard before. The man who took my name and said he would send my remains back to Highrock told me to come forward. Wouldn't that be a hoot, the only thing they would be able to send back to my home was the Family Necklace, the rest would turn to ash and blow away as soon as my head parted from my shoulders. I wondered if their was even an instant of pain.
As I laid my head on the blood soaked block and the Headsman swung up his blood soaked axe, there was a disturbance in the air and a huge black Dragon landed on the tower behind him and started spitting fire and what appeared to be a blast of air that knocked me over. I lay there a minute and then, I heard Ralof say to get up... move Breton, we won't be getting another chance.
So I got up and ran to the Tower door, where I could see others in the blue tinted armor waiting. Ralof and another soldier went up the stairs while the Jarl of Windhelm helped another tend to the wounded. I followed Ralof up the stairs, I did not want them asking me to perform magic right now. The unknown soldiers was moving some debris so that we could get all the way up to the top of the tower, evidently it had been partly carved out of the mountainside.
He almost had it cleared when the dragon pushed his big head through the wall, spitting fire at the soldier and instantly killing him. Ralof and I ran back down a flight of stairs until the dragon was gone. Ralof then went back up the stairs and waved me on. He told me I should jump across to the Inn and make a dash from there. It would have been very nice had he cut my bonds loose before I jumped, but he kept insisting I go.
I landed hard on the other side and looked around to see if perhaps someone had left a knife, no such luck though. So I tried my magic and while it covered my hands, the bonds did not burn... enchanted bonds, figures. I swung down to the 1st floor after looking around and not seeing an exit to the town. I knew there had to be one somewhere if I could just make it to one. I stood in the shadows of the doorway and watched the Imperial as he tried to protect an old man and boy when the dragon landed. They all three ran my way as the dragon landed... and snatched up the guard that didn't run fast enough. The Imperial said he was glad to see me still alive and that I should follow him.
I did follow him straight into the courtyard where many imperial battlemages were fighting the dragon, to little avail it seemed. He then headed for the Keep proper and I trailed along behind him, but the dragon hit me with one of those blasts of air again and I fell to the ground. While I was trying to get up I heard Ralof and him speaking, but when I got to my feet and looked around I could not find the big Nord anywhere. I followed the Imperial into the Keep and he asked me if that was really a dragon. I told him it, sure enough, looked like one to me.
After he cut my bonds free, he told me to look around and find some new gear. The only things I could find were some light armor, all the same. Imperials have no sense of style, but I put a set on and stuffed some of the rags into the toes of the smallest pair of boots until my feet didn't slide back and forth anymore. I felt very clumsy in the oversized boots, but it was better than nothing. I grabbed a sword and then grimaced at the quality of it, training blade, no better. Hopefully, my life would not depend on it.
All the way through the dungeon below the keep I followed Hadvar, as that is what he said his name was. Summoning my familiar, the weakest of the spells I knew, but I could do no better right now and still have enough power to use other spells. I would need at least a day or so to recharge.
We finally made it out of the cave system under the keep, that would be very useful knowledge, only to watch the dragon flying away. I followed Hadvar to his Uncles home in Riverwood, the man was very hospitable and said I could take anything I wanted, within reason. I ate dinner with them and then fell into a deep sleep, waking up the next morning.
I went to the general store and sold some of the items I had picked up and then went to Alvor, Hadvar's Uncle, and sold some of the armor and weapons that were leftover. I asked him if he needed any help around the forge, that way I could earn the materials I would need to make myself some armor. Something that suited me and wasn't ten sizes too big, which most of the stuff I had gathered was. Their was nothing I could use in his stock either, he looked at me and shrugged with an apology on his lips and I told him not to worry, I knew how to make my own things.
So I spent that day helping Alvor and getting the pieces together that I would need for my armor, that night he asked if I could get to Whiterun and tell the Jarl about the Dragon. He said it wasn't far and I should have no problems, maybe with the odd wolf, but nothing else. He said I was more than welcome to come back and stay with them till I was fully recuperated. I told him I would go first thing in the morning and try to get back by nightfall, but if not I would be back the next day. I was also hoping the general store in Whiterun would have a lute, I could sing for my supper and not have to do manual labor. My magic would not be up for enchanting for a little while and I needed what I could gather to defend myself if necessary.
So after dinner that night, when the others went off to the Sleeping Gaint Inn, Hadvar opened a book and I started on my armor. The pants went together fairly quickly as I had already used an awl to punch the holes in the leather. Instead of sewing it together like one would cloth, I used softened leather laces to make a latticework of X's, this left a tiny gap in the two outer sides, the inseam, I sewed together like cloth, with a much thinner leather cord. The top was based on a sweater design and used yarn and metal, I had bought the yarn at the general good's store. With the tiniest tickle of magic, I made the metal as flexible as the yarn and then knit me a sweater with the two intertwined. It wasn't perfect and was a bit small, I misjudged how much yarn I would need and it wasn't enough. It would do the job though.
I noticed Hadvar watching as I finished up the sweater and he said he was amazed that such a thing could be done. I told him the spell was a specialty of my family and a secrete that we kept, which was the truth, only I was my family and I was the only one that knew the spell. That was probably why he had never seen a chain-mail sweater before, I did tell him that this one was more yarn than chain-mail and not of the best quality, that would take weeks to do and I didn't have that much time right now.
~~~~~
I heard the door open and shut, felt the draft but heard no thunk of heavy armor boots or the swish of the soft winter ones the Ladies liked to wear in the area. A thief or assassin and as no one had come in earlier to check on the patrons, it was more than likely an assassin. I pulled my blades silently, whispered a spell, and tensed my muscles to spring forward if need be. Out of the darkness same a soft melodic male voice.
"Khajiit would prefer his brother did not slit his throat, as this one only came to give a message from our Lady." Knowing the Khajiit could see me very clearly in the dim light, I put away my daggers, but kept my hand near to the one in my boot.
"And what has the Lady to say, you are not her normal messenger."
" This one understands that the Esteemed brother assassin will understand the message that makes little sense to Khajiit. Lady Astrid says, "The Morag Tong has paid the Brotherhood to finish a contract that is heading to Skyrim. she will be wearing the necklace".
I shifted slightly as the Khajiit finished and I saw his ear's perk when he noticed the change in my demeanor.
"Ah the Esteemed brother does understand the message? This one will admit he is confused by the lack of information, many females wear necklaces". I nodded
"That is true, but this is a special necklace, worn by only one family a family that the Morag Tong has been paid to eliminate, to the last female babe in arms." I heard the Khajiit hiss and saw his ears go back flat against his head.
" Babies? Your people would kill babies, for what reason?. This one can not understand that the Lady Astrid takes some odd contracts, but she has not yet asked this one to kill a child."
It would be impossible to explain the politics of Highrock to a Khajiit.
" It politics Brother, nothing more, nothing less. One family insults another, one family gains prestige the other wants, so they hire an assassin. This family spends a fortune and hire the Morag Tong to kill every female in the other family, lock, stock, and branch.. the contract it reads every female. So as soon as the Molag Tong find out a member has reach majority, they go after them. Only in the first years did they kill children and the retribution was swift for the Molag Tong and the family that hired them, and not just from the family they were assassinating."
"Ahh, this one can see going after an adult, by waiting till they are old enough. You were there when the contract first was taken, yes?"
"Yes, I was. I never killed a child, though I was sent after a family that had two. I didn't know that till after I had killed one of the elders and a little girl came out of her room. My contract said that I was to kill all that resided in the house, but no one had said anything about children." My voice must have given away my feelings as the Khajiit stopped asking questions. Those large green eyes would haunt me with their fear and hatred.
"This one only stopped in on a hunch that the Esteemed Brother would be here. Khajiit was given a fool's contract to go after a student at the college in Winterhold. This one thinks the college is well protected and he might not make it out, so he stopped here first to relay the message. "
I nodded, the Khajiit was right, the entrance to the College was well guarded and he probably would not make it in, let alone out... at least not by the front door.
"Brother, go down to the back of the college and look for an entrance to a troll's lair. Take a grappling hook and rope, at the back of the lair there is a ledge, this leads to some tunnels below the college. They are used from time to time and while there are a few of them, it should not be hard to make your way through. Just take food and some weapons, the troll isn't the only danger."
"This one thanks his Esteemed Brother and if this one makes it through this contract, this one will owe his Esteemed Brother a favor"
I listened to the Khajiit walk towards the door, he really was good at sneak and his grey and black fur only helped in the shadows.
So one of the family had been in hiding all this time. The chances of her coming to this remote Inn were slim, but I would keep an eye out for her... I had taken a contract that was not, as of yet, filled.
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