Hell hath no fury.....

  • The Saga of Scales: Table of Contents

    Previous Entry: Brothers in Iron Bonds

    20th of Second Seed

    The thane woke up this morning. After three days I must confess I had began to lose hope. His breathing had been so shallow when I pulled him from the swamp and dragged him back to the cabin. The thane said little when he arose, though he did thank me for my service. I simply told him I was doing my duty to the jarl and Hjaalmarch protecting him, though in truth part of me wanted to leave him out there to die....he makes me most uncomfortable.... I have never seen a creature consume as much as the argonian does...and raw meat usually though one night I swear I saw him consume an entire barrel of apples....and that was after supper. Regardless, it is still not my place to judge and I will die for him before I forsake my oaths and my family name. Mum always used to say, "Valimar, only daedra and elves lack honor, you are a nord, a son of mighty Talos. Act like it!" I still hear those shrill words in the back of my mind to this day despite mum passing...divines almost twenty years ago now.

     

    At any rate, Master Scales took a few days resting up and recovering from his wounds, which healed at an incredible rate. I don't know much about argonians much if all scalebacks heal as fast it's no wonder they kicked those bloody dark skins out of their homeland. In that time he asked me to recount how I found him and what happened to the khajiit. I told him how I went out into the swamps to look for him when he did not return by early dawn. It didn't take long to find him, face down in the swamp, barely clinging to life. The cat I also found, also alive, though not in much better shape than the thane. The later of which I bound and gagged and dragged back to the cabin. Against my better judgement to aid the flea bitten assassin I wanted answers as to what happened, especially if the thane did not recover. A few healing spells (still remember those lessons mum!)....plus a few well placed kicks, cuts and punches....and another round of healing later he spoke some. In truth he was rather friendly and given a little patience on my end he might have told me all I asked without any coaxing. Still, I don't regret it, never can trust a cat to tell the truth and quite frankly I didn't like his handiwork to the thane. He told me he had been tasked by his master to collect the thane and return him to this master. Seems the thane was a slave not long ago. Makes sense given the massive scars the thane sports, especially those ones of his back that look to have been made by a lash. He did not seem to be worried that the thane would wake given time and rest. He did refuse to give up who or where this master was, he seemed quite fearful on the topic of this mysterious individual. A later inspection of his belongings though revealed a letter that corroborated the khajiit's story about this master sending him to collect Master Scales. Though in it it told this Khajiit, Inigo I guess was his name, to collect his target and return him to the master in Markarth. It was simply signed "N".

     

    The cat asked me what I planned to do with him. He gave me a small indication that he would prefer death above all other options, even freedom. I told him that while I cared nothing for him and was not a murderer or an executioner. I was a housecarl to the hold of Hjallmarch and a trusted soldier of Jarl Idgrond. And while a trusted soldier I remain I can't say I trust the jarl's new allies in the form of the legionnaires stationed in Morthal. I much prefer those Stormcloaks of Ulfric's to the southeast. They must trust me too to allow me to know their location when the legion would gladly pay great sums of coin to know that information. Given their close proximity, and the rarity of trust in Skyrim these days I took the cat there and gave him to them as a prisoner. I told them of his crimes against a thane of Skyrim and they assured me he would be transferred in the next patrol back east. When Master Scales awoke one of his first questions was of the whereabouts of this Inigo to which I relayed the above tale. He beckoned me to return to the Stormcloaks and retrieve our dark-furred guest to which I begrudgingly obliged. Luckily for me, though perhaps not on account of the wasted trip, the cat had already been transferred. The thane was not happy about this when I told him. His scales bristled and the feathers on the top of his head shook as he hissed. Thankfully his annoyance was not directed at me, though it didn't seem to be directed at the cat as I would have expected.

     

    At any rate he did seemed pleased with the letter that I read to him. Lucky for him mum taught me well as a boy to speak and read well. Would expect nothing less from a child of Winterhold. Most there are literate and reasonably well spoken, especially compared to this backwater lesser hold. Perhaps if mum wasn't such good friends with the jarl I might still be there. Most of the guards here in the swamps couldn't tell a vowel from their ass or a consonant from their dick. I pulled a map out and gave it to the master, helping him plot out a course to Markarth from the salt marshes where the cabin is built. Despite his issue with letters and journals he seems to have no issues with maps and from what I have seen of him over the past few weeks he was an excellent sense of direction. The thane packed up everything he needed and left early this morning, heading west towards Solitude where I told him he would find good roads to lead him into the Reach. Though I don't expect him to use them, he seems to be a creature more suited to blazing his own trail. It was for this reason I carefully warned him about the blasted reachmen and their dark magics. He did not seem concerned, and spoke even less than usual. All his attention seemed fixed to that letter. When he packed it into a pouch I noticed that blood had been smeared around the "N" at the bottom. I almost feel sorry for this poor "N" basterd. Not even Skyrim herself holds the destructive powers that I believe the thane capable of. Nothing less than Oblivion itself now treks towards the Reach.

     

    Next Entry: My blood is calm. I prefer it boiling.

Comments

5 Comments   |   Paws and 3 others like this.
  • SpottedFawn
    SpottedFawn   ·  August 20, 2017
    Ah! Inigo! Yay! That was a pleasant surprise, and I'm really really glad he's not dead. He's one of my favorite mods for Skyrim, and he pals around with my Altmer relic hunter, Ossien of Sunhold. Great chapter!
  • SpookyBorn2021
    SpookyBorn2021   ·  August 20, 2017
    "Most of the guards here in the swamps couldn't tell a vowel from their ass or a consonant from their dick"

    God damn Armo, you've got some excellent lines in these chapters but this might take the cake. I thought this was a really inter...  more
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  August 19, 2017
    You know, I don't know if it's just me but the references to 'mum' seem to add a lot of depth to the character and the chapter as a whole. 
    So is that the last of the Khajiit or are they destined to meet?
    • Amornar
      Amornar
      Sotek
      Sotek
      Sotek
      You know, I don't know if it's just me but the references to 'mum' seem to add a lot of depth to the character and the chapter as a whole. 
      So is that the last of the Khajiit or are they destined to meet?
        ·  August 19, 2017
      I agree on the mum! I am trying to give a lot more depth to the NPCs via all the journals...the newest ones I think are the most "human" and real sounding to me so far. A lot of this stems from the fact that Scales himself is very one dimensional and does...  more
  • Paws
    Paws   ·  August 16, 2017
    Only daedra and elves lack honour... Most of the guards here in the swamps couldn't tell a vowel from their ass or a consinant from their dick...  Nothing less than Oblivion itself now treks towards the Reach.: Three of the best among many great sent...  more