“Hmm are you sure this will work?” They were standing in what seemed to be part forge and part mage study, at the far end of the room he could see a barricade of some sort but like everything else in the room it was unable to keep his attention for long. Alarne was not quite sure where he was or who the strange man in front of him was talking to, however for some reason none of this mattered as long as he was given something to do he would be happy; the word didn’t seem right yet he wasn’t sure why.
“Yes, yes, of course your right there’s no need to yell; although I would have preferred a more permanent solution.” Just who was this man talking to? And what was he doing? There was a hint of memory as to how he had arrived at this place; what was it called again?
The man leant forward and fastened an amulet around Alarne’s neck, as the links of the chains came together the fog that had been smothering his very thoughts vanished; no that wasn’t correct he could still feel them waiting at the very edge of his mind as though something was holding them back. Looking down he could see the amulet which appeared to be carved in the shape of an eight pointed star, the shape alone reminded him of one of the shrines that where housed in the temple back in Solitude.
He and his sister’s had visited the temple to pray for their father’s safe return and once his mother had gone in search of him their prayers had included her as well. Without even realising it he had started crying, tears not only for his lost parents but also those of a boy who missed what little family he had left. No he had to stop thinking of himself as a boy, he was a man now; yet until he had found his parents he would not be able to call himself that, nor would he be anything but the boy who run away from home until he found them.
“By the look on your face it would seem that you’ve regained your senses, am I right?” All Alarne could manage in response was a quick jerky motion of his head; this seemed to be enough for the imperial as he kept talking “My name is Florentius and with the help of Arkay I have just managed to free you from the clutches of a vampire. He has assured me that as long as you wear his mark around your neck you will be free of the beast’s control.”
“Umm thank you I suppose, but by the beast’s control do you mean the... uh how do I describe it, it was like a fog around my mind, well anyway it’s still there I can still feel it around the edges”
A troubled look stole across the Florentius’s face “Hmm that doesn’t sound right Arkay are you sure that this is working correctly?” As he waited for a reply the imperial’s eyes had glazed over and his face had gone slack “Oh well then, I’ll just tell him then. It seems that while you wear the amulet you will be protected but the moment that it is removed the beast will have full control again; I did ask him for a permanent solution but this was the best he could do for you.”
“Ah right, give him my gratitude. Something’s been troubling me since you put the amulet on, where is my friend his name’s Blaise he is a Breton; we’ve been travelling together and he’s an old friend.”
“Oh him yes he brought you in about a day ago, he seemed very worried; he is actually a very lucky man if that vampire had given you a task to complete he never would have gotten you here. Isran sent him out on an errand in exchange for us helping you; he left just after bringing you here in fact.”
*****
He had been lucky and had encountered no trouble on his way back to Solitude to deliver the letter that warned of Sybille the court wizard’s true nature; it had taken him alone, half the time it had taken both him and Alarne to get to Riften. He had even managed to deliver the messages intended for Jarl Balgruuf and Jarl Maven along the way, but now his greatest challenge stood before him. The hardest part of this task was getting in and out of the capital without either of Alarne’s sisters finding him, or even worse would be Jordis or Katla.
Instead of going into the stables where it was certain he would be spotted, he made his way around to the base of the windmill that was a part of the skyline above. Blaise tied his horse to one of the posts that lined the road up to the south entrance and then slipped in through the small wooden gate; the climb up to street level would give him enough time to think of what to do next.
Looking around from the shadows that hid the metal gate leading onto the street, he could see none of the four that he was most afraid of bumping into “Well it’s now or never.” Trying his best to make as little noise as possible he eased open the gate and as he had guessed the hinges definitely needed a good oiling.
As he emerged from the shadows he felt a light tap on his left shoulder
“By the eight, I didn’t even make it two feet into this damned city”
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I hope I capture Florentius' unique brand of strange
Alarne was not quite sure where he was or who the strange man in front of him was talking to, however for some reason none of this mattered as long as he was given something to do he would be happy; the wo... more