The Fires of Mercy: Lost

• Posted by Radansour January 25, 2013 - 391 views

  I turn my steps towards Windhelm. It is the closest city of note, for all that it is a frozen ruin of joyless, lightless alleys and glowering black stone. Hopefully I will some citizen there that can point me towards a cult, or a daedric infestation; anything I can destroy for the glory of Stendarr.

  On the way there, I find myself face to face with a group of Thalmor soldiers- I discreetly try to pull my cowl down to cover more of my face, and hurry past. I wanted nothing to do with their dreams of Altmer supremacy when I fled Summerset, and I can only hope that none of them recognize me.

  Happily, they pass without incident. I suppose they are preoccupied with the suppression of the cult of Tiber Septim, and have no time to spare for a simple defector.

  There are no other travellers on the road after that, and I reach Windhelm without incident. Now, time (at last!) to find some evil I can vanquish! My hopes are high as I stride through the heavy gates.

  . . . and a few hours later, I'm standing outside again. Without a target. Or a shred of patience left. Or my dignity. Perhaps I should explain:

  First, I heard that the court wizard was titled Wuunferth the Unliving. That sounded very promising, but upon paying him a visit it turned out that instead of a dangerous revenant, he's just a crusty old man. Dramatically ridding the palace of a manipulative undead mage was sadly not going to happen; and annoyed by my attempts at an exorcism and incredulous demands that he "Show his true, rotting visage!" Wuunferth asked me to leave.

  Then the innkeeper, whom I tried to wring information out of, attempted to secure my services as a bounty hunter. Bandits? Why should I, a hunter of monsters and the undead, servant of Stendarr, and until recently also an official member of the Vigil, stoop to slaughtering bandits? I stormed out.

  Seething, I gave up on the idea of finding intelligence here (ha!) and sought out a shop where I could simply purchase some supplies. Outside a pawnshop, a man introduced himself as Brunwulf Free-Winter. And wasn't it a shame, he said, how Ulfric treats the mer, and would I please kill some bandits for him?

  

  Swearing at Brunwulf, I entered the shop. And then, as soon as the pawnbroker had bid me welcome, the man invited me to illegally place a stolen item in the home of a law-abiding citizen.

  What is wrong with these people?

  After a time, I realized that I was simply staring at the idiot. I shut my mouth. I would have liked, very much, to teach him the error of his ways, but sadly that would lead me to having to explain things to the guards, and I couldn't face another conversation with one of these people. 

  And so, here I am, leaving. At least in the wilderness, I had spiders to kill. For the first time, I wish I were still part of the Vigil: no matter our differences, Keeper Carcette had a knack for sniffing out the daedra-worshippers.