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Part SIX: A Little Detour
"I find that it is often when things don't go according to plan that things are most exciting"
After a good night's sleep, I report to Astrid, ready for my next mission. However, she informs me that I will not be taking any contracts for a while. I tried to argue, but she cut me off, telling me that if I can't handle a "simple assassination as the Imperial's then I can't be trusted with any kills." Our argument lasts for several minutes, attracting the attention of the others. Eventually, I convince her to let me take missions, even if only the recruit level ones. She reluctantly agrees and sends me to Nazir, the one and only Redgaurd among our ranks, to get a few easy missions. A little embarrassed, I go to him and relay Astrid's message. "It looks like someone's back at the bottom of the totem pole," he says to me, laughing as he hands me three contracts. Hissing at him, I tuck the contracts into the pockets of my armor and run out of the Sanctuary, ready and eager to prove myself to my Family again.
Firstly, I head to Dawnstar in the north. My mission here is to assassinate the owner of one of the two mines. Her name is Beitild. I spend a day walking around in my studded armor, scoping out the mark and learning her schedule. Twenty-four hours after I arrive in town, I once again adorn my Brotherhood colors and sneak around the edge of town and behind buildings to get a clean but concealed shot at her. I line up my shot and fire. One second, Beitild is shoveling coal into a smelter; the next, she's dead with an arrow sticking out of her neck and I am gone, snuck back into my room in the inn through the window and changed back into my studded armor. I go out to her body and claim my prize. With every contract, I take at least one item from the body of the mark. This item is usually a ring or necklace of some sort, but daggers or other small weapons also suffice. This woman happens to have a silver ring on her finger. When none of the guards are looking, I slip the ring off her finger and into my pocket. One mission down. Two to go.
I blend in like a shadow, don't I? Well.. I would if this red circle wasn't giving away my location.
I leave Dawnstar and head over towards Windhelm next. This target's name is Ennodius Papius, a homeless ex-miller living just to the west of Anga's Mill outside the city. This mark stays in his tent most of the day, which makes getting a clear shot on him difficult. I could try shooting through the hide of the tent, but I don't think these steel arrows are quite strong enough to do that and still have enough momentum to make a death strike. So I wait. Papius leaves the tent a little after sunrise and goes to catch his breakfast in the nearby river. However, the mill just fifty yards past him is active, and the workers could see me should I try to make the shot, so I continue to wait. Eventually, everyone at the mill has gone inside and Papius is eating on a rock next to the stone. Setting the arrow to the string, I take aim and fire. The arrow finds its mark and the wooden plate and salmon he was holding fall to the ground as his body slumps up against the tent. I smirk slightly at my handiwork. Look at it this way: I just saved a man from homelessness. He now has a home for all eternity in the Void.
Death in three.. two.. one...
My third contract is far to the south in Ivarstead. As I travel, I laugh to myself at the irony of the situation. Ivarstead was not only the location of my next mark, but also the starting point of the 7,000 steps up to High Hrothgar. Perhaps I could take the time to climb the mountain and go learn more about this Dragon Born business? I don't think much of it at the time though, and after about a day and a half's journey, I come across Fort Amol. Normally, I don't bother with these old places, but the mages standing on the walls attack me unprovoked. Naturally, I retaliate by filling their worthless bodies with arrows and the occasional gash from my claws. As I'm fighting them, though, I hear an all-too-familiar roar coming from the north. All the combatants in the fort stop to look for the source of the noise, and we see it soaring out of the clouds straight for us. All of us, both mage and cat alike, scatter, trying to take cover from the dragon. I slip into a tower and close the door behind me; barricading it so no mages could follow me. Next, I climb to the top of the stairs onto the roof so that I can try and fell this beast with some arrows. As the rest of the fort comes into view, I see a mage on an adjacent tower being roasted alive by the monster. Wincing from the sight, I begin my assault on the dragon.
Sorry to disappoint you, my friend, but I don't believe that ward will be of much help in this situation...
Fifteen minutes later, the dragon as wiped out all of the mages in the fort's exterior, leaving me left as it's last living play-thing. Knowing my chances of taking out a dragon alone are slim, I hide in the base of a tower, praying to Sithis that this monster will leave me be. I do not wish to die here. My prayers are answered as the wyrm flies away, it's fading roars my signal that it's safe to leave my hiding spot. Peeking outside of the tower, I see that the monster has indeed left. Sighing with relief, I go around to the charred remains of the mages and rid them of their robes, which are surprisingly valuable. I begin piling the bodies together to be burned when I hear a flapping of heavy wings above me. Looking up, my eyes widen in horror as I see that the dragon has returned. Running back for the tower, I pull out my bow and fire a few shots into it as I go, stalling for a second when I realize that the beast had actually brought back a dead fox. I guess a meal of mages and humanoid felines wasn't good enough for it.
I'm heading for the tower when I see a door leading into the fort's interior just off to my left. Running through the door, I brace myself against it in case the dragon tries to break it down to get to me. No unnatural force tries to blow the door off of it's hinges, though, and I relax, turning to look around. Just then, I realize I'm not alone. Several mages had retreated into the tower already and were now all wielding spells and looking like they were ready to burn, shock, and freeze me to the Void. Pulling out my shield, I charge them, taking out one mage with a swipe of a claw and the second mage with another swipe. I turn to take on the last mage, who is shooting streams of fire at me, but am forced to retreat behind the safety of my shield. I slowly creep towards the mage as it continues to blast me. Feeling the burn from his spells, I bash the mage once and then slash it across the chest twice to kill him. Now I'm safe.
Let's play a nice, rousing game of Fire, Shield, Claw. Shield beats fire, fire beats nothing, and claw rips you to pieces.
I loot the fort for anything valuable, finding several large coin purses, a few potions, and a gem or two. After ridding the lifeless mages of their valuable robes, I fall onto a bench and begin to think. I can't stay in this fort forever, and I also need to get to Ivarstead to finish this mission. However, I'm slow to head out into the open again out of fear of the dragon. After much debate with myself, I decide to brave the threat of the beast and drink several potions before grabbing my bow and walking bravely out into the courtyard of the fort, hoping that I'm not condemning myself to the Void as I do so. As predicted, the dragon is not gone. It is simply laying in the middle of the courtyard, enjoying its fox. As quietly as I can, I ready an arrow and let it fly. The dragon lets out a small yelp (or as close to a yelp as a monster that size can muster), and looks over to me. Before it can let loose a stream of fire, I launch another arrow its way and dash back into the safety of the nearby tower. I quickly climb to the top to continue the fight. I volley another arrow into its hide before having to duck back into safety. However, I notice something. The dragon hasn't taken off flying. It's weakened.
Emboldened by this realization, I run to the edge of the tower and jump, falling a good ten yards to land just in between the joints where the beast's wings meet it's back. Tossing my bow, arrows, and shield onto the ground, I begin ripping and tearing at the dragon's scales with my claws. It lets out a pained roar and shoots a jet of fire into the sky. I climb onto it's neck and towards it's head, digging my claws into it to maintain my grip. Once I'm kneeling above it's head, I let out a fierce cry and begin ripping into it. It lets out another roar and falls to the ground, dead. Tired, I fall off the monster and lay on the ground. The familiar sensation of something awakening inside of me as the scales catch fire and the gust of wind blows from it's corpse into me. Once the event is over, I climb to my feet and look around. The fort is all but destroyed. I look at the skeletal corpse and the still neatly piled bodies of the mages. This was one hell of a detour, and I never want to make another like it...
Final body count: A dozen mages, one fox, a dragon, and STILL zero Khajiit...
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