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Chapter 8: A Moment's
Reprieve
“There it is!” I shouted cheerfully as Suran came into view. I
had been staying here long enough it was starting to feel like home.
“Looks pretty big, where’s the guild’s building?” Bryenn asked,
looking over the town.
“It’s built into a mountain just outside town.” I said, looking
at the expression on Bryenn’s face. It looked like he hadn’t seen many big
cities so I couldn’t help but ask. “What town are you from anyway?”
“Dagon Fel, up in Sheogorad.” Bryenn said, still staring at the
town. “Ever been there?”
“I’ve wandered around for a long time, but I’ve never been there.
I’ve wanted to go to Sheogorad for a while though, I hear there are all sorts of
ruins scattered around the islands.” I said, thinking about what I had read
about that area.
“The ruins are a bit dangerous, full of monsters and criminals.
One day I plan to go back and deal with them all, I just have to get stronger.”
Bryenn said, a determined look in his eyes.
“Maybe I’ll help you out when you do. There’s bound to be
something I want hidden in those old ruins, something nobody else has been able
to find…” I trailed off, starting to daydream about what was waiting to be
discovered in the depths of some forgotten ruin. I was quickly brought to my
senses when Bryenn spoke.
“What about you? Where are you from?” he asked.
“I’m not from Vvardenfell… I came here a couple years ago from
High Rock. I came here looking for adventure and knowledge, found a lot of both,
along with more near-death experiences than I can count.” I said with a laugh.
The Silt Strider came to a sudden stop and I nearly fell off. My
mind had been so focused on other things I hadn’t noticed we were already next
to the town.
Bryenn and I descended the staircase from the Silt Strider into
Suran. We walked through the town and out the south gate, toward the small base
built into the mountainside. It was a bit pathetic for a guild, only a room with
4 bunk beds so the members could rest, a shop for weapons, armor and a few other
things, and the guildmaster's office.
As we approached the office door we heard voices from behind it.
"Well done for your trial mission, welcome to the guild." I heard
the guildmaster say, before I knocked on the door. "Come in."
I opened the door and it let out a creak. The guildmaster was
sitting on the other side of his desk, a rather thick book was open in front of
him. A tall boy with puffy blonde hair was standing across from him, and glanced
back us as we entered.
"Ah Nem, I trust this mission went better than your previous
one?" The guildmaster asked, smiling. He was certainly in a better mood than the
last time I spoke to him.
"Yes sir, the bandits were dealt with. However, I can't take much
of the credit..." I said, stepping to the side so he could get a clear view of
Bryenn. "This boy was the one that killed a majority of the bandits and chased
off their leader."
"Is that so? I'm Parven, leader of the guild Forlorn. What's your
name then boy?" the guildmaster asked, standing up.
"Bryenn." Bryenn said, giving Parven a slightly irritated look.
"If you're to join the guild, I must apologize... our newest
recruit here has brought me something that must be taken care of right away, so
I don't have time to find you a training mission at the moment. If you could
come back in an hour or two, I'd be happy to have a chat with you then. Nem, why
don't you take these two to the bar, I'm sure you could all use a drink after
such tiring missions."
"Oh... all right." I said, as Parven led us out of his office. I
heard the door's lock click behind us, and the three of us were left standing in
a cramped hallway.
I quickly walked out the front door, feeling a bit
claustrophobic. "Well that was odd, he's not usually in such a hurry." I said,
looking back at Bryenn and the other person as they emerged from the doorway. I
focused on the stranger for a moment, he was wearing a black shirt and pants and
a pair of leather boots. His shirt bulged a bit, like there was armor underneath
it. An odd looking katana was sheathed on his belt, it seemed a bit familiar.
"So you're new here eh? I'm Nem, and this is Bryenn, nice to meet
you." I said, extending my right hand.
"I'm Schimmel Orrison." he said, shaking my hand.
"Well why don't we get to know each other over a few drinks?
Since you're both new here I'll even be nice enough to buy." I said with a
laugh, walking back to town.
We walked back through town and into the bar, a place called 'The
House of Earthly Delights'. I walked in first, having been there a few times
already I didn't even glance in the dancers direction, heading straight for the
counter. When I looked back to ask what they wanted to drink, Bryenn and
Schimmel were only a couple steps from the door. Schimmel was staring at the
dancers, a somewhat shocked look on his face. Bryenn quickly turned and walked
out the door.
I sighed, following Bryenn out the door. "Hey, where are you
going?"
"If your guild gathers in a place like that I don't want any part
of it." he said, turning around to face me.
"I don't care for it either, but it's the only bar in town. I've
just learned to ignore them." I said, wondering what the big deal was. "If there
was another place to get drunk, I'd gladly go there instead."
Bryenn stared at me for a moment, "Fine." was all he said before
turning and walking off.
"There goes a good swordsman... oh well..." I sighed, going back
into the bar. Schimmel was still standing there, staring at the dancers with the
same stupid expression on his face.
"Snap out of it, Orrison!" I shouted, slapping him on the
shoulder.
Schimmel jumped, looking at me. "Oh... what?"
"What's with you two? I think we better make those drinks to go,
so you don't turn into a zombie again." I laughed, walking over to the counter
and ordering a bottle of Greef from the barkeeper. Schimmel looked over the
bottles, unsure of what to pick.
"Maybe... this?" Schimmel mumbled, pointing at one of the
bottles.
"I wouldn't recommend it... that stuff will burn out your brain
cells faster than Skooma." I said, taking a drink. "If you're going to try
something, make it something decent." I bought a bottle of Flin and tossed it to
Schimmel. "There you go, enjoy."
"Thanks, I guess." he said, examining the bottle.
After purchasing our drinks we left the bar and began walking
back to the guild. On the way I asked what sort of training mission the
guildmaster had sent him on. He told me about a crazy Orc he had to kill in the
Telvanni Canton in Vivec. I chuckled nervously, remembering my previous
encounter with that Orc. If Schimmel could handle something that strong, he must
be a good fighter.
The door to the guild creaked open as we approached, and Parven
stepped out. He saw us and grinned. "Perfect timing! I've got a mission for both
of you."
"One mission for two people? What kind of beast are you sending
us after?" I asked, thinking I probably didn't want to know the answer.
"There's no beast, a few undead maybe, but they're not that
strong. I want you two to find an old enchanted staff. It requires two people to
disarm some of the traps and open the doors, that's why I want both of you to
go."
"Sounds easy enough, where is it?" Schimmel asked.
"That's the problem... the tomb is somewhere east of Ald-Ruhn,
nobody knows the exact location. There's obviously no path to it and there's
always the chance it's on the Red Mountain."
"Great, the threat of blight... corpus... and worst of all, a ton
of cliff racers." I sighed, "Are you trying to get us killed?"
"Not at all, I chose you two since you seem to be very able
fighters. Some of the traps require someone smart." Parven said, looking at me.
"Others need someone with exceptional agility and speed." he looked over at
Schimmel. "You two should be fine!" he grinned, turning back to the door and
walking though. "Good luck!" was all we heard before the door shut behind him.
I glanced at Schimmel, he looked a bit nervous. "Don't worry, we
can buy a couple blight cures before we leave." I said, checking to see how many
septims I had left.
"What about corpus?" Schimmel asked.
"There's no cure as far as I know, so don't catch it. Meet me at
the Silt Strider in ten minutes, I'd like to get this over with." I said before
going back to town.
After stopping to buy a cure blight potion for each of us, I met
Schimmel at the Silt Strider and we began our trip to Ald-Ruhn. I just hoped our
mission didn't take a turn for the worse like they usually did.
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