Marudil: Sitting Bear, Chapter 2: I-Ya-Dv-Ne-Di (Duty)

• Posted by MarkusMasterThief May 27, 2015 - 828 views

  

  The morning sun peeked over the grassy hills. Sunbeams cut through Sitting Bear's window at the Frostfruit Inn and woke him from his restful sleep, as a comfortable feeling came over him; before he'd come to Rorikstead, he was a broken and battered mess, but things were different now. Whatever madness had claimed his memory, and very nearly his own life, was long behind him; he was a farmhand now, raising crops and livestock to contribute to his little community. Life was simple, but good. At the very least he had a defined purpose now.

  "Well you're up early." The barkeep Mralki noted as Bear rose from his rented bed.

  "Old Bosmeri saying: those who wake early, retire early."

  "Aye. That's a mighty responsible attitude you got."

  "I have a job to do for this village. If I slacked even a little, I would be doing your people a great disservice."

  "Speaking of, can I get you anything before you head on out?"

  "A pint of water will do, thank you. The sun is bright this day... I suspect I will need to remain hydrated."

  "Smart thinking. Here." Mralki handed him a pouch of water. "No need to pay for this; long as you're working, water's free."

  "A considerate policy. Thank you."

  Sitting Bear then left the Frostfruit Inn and looked out into the field where he would be working. As it turned out, Ennis had no available work for him today, but Lemkil had made it clear the other day that he needed a second helper at his farmhouse. And so, Sitting Bear set right to work at once, tending the fertile soil as Lemkil and his assistant Erik shortly followed.

  "Got here ahead of time, eh?" Lemkil said, "Good. First day on the job and already you show promise."

  "Thank you sir." Sitting Bear muttered, keeping his focus on the crops.

  "How's it been? You know, since you came here." Erik asked.

  "It's been well." Bear responded, "I feel alive once more... as if I've been lost in a haze for many years and now have finally escaped it."

  "How's your head, by the way? How much do you remember? Anything?"

  "I remember the name of my people. Valenwood knew them as the Silvenar."

  "You mean like the city?"

  "Yes. The city was named by King Eplear in honor of their heritage, or so I have heard."

  "What were the Silvenar like?"

  "Before the first era we were vagabonds. Hunter-gatherers. Our way of life revolved around the woods and the great Spirits that inhabited them... eventually we came to recognize one named Y'ffre as the patron of our kind -- urgh --" Sitting Bear dropped his tool and staggered back as a bitter feeling coursed through his gut. Flashes of anger burst through his head. Where did that come from? Was he angry at the mention of Y'ffre's name? Why?

  "Woah, are you alright?" Erik helped Sitting Bear back to his feet.

  "I don't know... ... hmph. It's nothing." Bear picked up his tool and got himself right back to work.

  "Now that's what I like to see!" Lemkil snorted, "No excuses, no whining, just getting right back to work. Just like you should!"

  "You yell too much." Sitting Bear commented. "It's hurting our ears."

  "Oh is it? Is it?! Well pardon me for not meeting your standards, red-skin, but this is my farmhouse!"

  "And you need our help to grow your food. This field is too large for you to work with on your own. Distracting us with your voice will yield nothing of value, diminishes our will to serve you and your farmhouse, and wastes your peoples' time. Oh, and one more thing..." Sitting Bear set aside his tools and looked Lemkil right in the eyes, glaring. "Calling Bosmer 'red-skins' is rude."

  With that, Sitting Bear returned to his duties while Lemkil did the same, growling quietly to himself and grumbling a wide array of curses under his breath. It'd been a long time since anyone put him in his place for being his outspoken self, but there was something else too... it was that look in Sitting Bear's eyes. That glare he gave... if Lemkil didn't know better, he'd have sworn that those were the eyes of a killer...

  *****

  "Milady... we come with great news! Fantastic news!" The Justiciar and his two warriors burst into Elenwen's chambers, looking absolutely ecstatic as he presented her with the document in his hands.

  "What? What are you rambling about?" Elenwen irritably snatched the document from her lackey and started reading it herself. It was an official statement 'confirming' the passing of their most vicious adversary.

  "The outlaw Marudil, milady! He is dead! Marudil is dead!"

  "Oh... you mean just like the last time, when he was devoured by a sabercat?" She crumpled the document in her hand and ripped it in two.

  "What? But you misunderstand, milady, I shot him from a mountain! We saw him fall to his death!"

  Elenwen glared bitterly at the Justiciar and spoke with an impatient tone. "Did you find his body at the bottom? Did you bring it here to show me?"

  "His...? Um... well... it was swept away! There was a river at the bottom and--"

  Furiously, Elenwen slapped the Justiciar across his face. The force was enough to send him to the ground, as Elenwen loomed over his cowering figure.

  "You idiots! All of you! You think you can slay him as easily as you can best a Nord?! Marudil isn't like the others -- he can't just be killed like a lesser being! Men fall to arrows, mer perish to swords... but he is not like them. He is driven-- determined-- and thanks to your incompetence, he knows he's getting closer!"

  "To what, Lady Elenwen?" The Justiciar staggered back to his feet. "What makes one wood elf so dangerous? Why are you so afraid of him??"

  "That's not for you to know, miscreant..." She turned her back on the three agents. "Go back to the Reach. Search for any signs of him. Do not return until you're able to bring his body to me-- under no circumstances are you allowed to capture him alive! Do you understand?!"

  "Y-yes, milady!"

  "Then go!"

  The Justiciar and his two warriors hurriedly rushed out of the Embassy and Elenwen hit her wall in frustration, before gazing out her window. Memories floated before her eyes; she recounted her skirmish with the Silvenar tribe, and that crucial moment when she stabbed the chief's sibling... she could still recall the shock in his eyes. The grief. The anguish. It was on that day that the wood elf Marudil became the menace that the Thalmor would come to know as their most devoted adversary. Countless soldiers of the Dominion would fall to his rage, many of their plans for Tamriel would be compromised, and their embassies would be found drenched in blood... and it was all because of her. She was the one that Marudil wanted. But she could not let the Dominion know this; no doubt they would execute her if they discovered the part she played in creating this monster, and if she died before her enemy reached her, he would not rest until he'd crushed the Aldmeri Dominion with his bare hands. No, this could only end one of two ways: either the Justiciars would claim him...

  ... or he would claim her.