Elder Scroll series 1. The Seventh Day

"So," A voice said in complete darkness, "I hear your last writ is coming in today." A cigarette cherry faded into the otherwise black scene.

"Yeah, Blind Thrall Nezchut said that the seventh day is here, one week. I've been waiting too long." Another voice huffed in the darkness. The cherry lit up as someone dragged the cigarette and it grew bright for a second then died back down.

"Why go by what Nezchut says. You can count a week on your own." The first voice mumbled.

"Because, I already told you, you're not allowed to know the date or time when waiting for your last assignment. I've been stuck in this damned loft for a week. I almost went insane yesterday. I've been counting the bricks in the wall." The voice sounded irritated. The cherry lit up again.

"Well, now you can see the outside world. Don't be too surprise though, absolutely NOTHING has changed in the past week." The other voice said as the clicking of a lock faded in.

A door swings open and light fills the scene. A Bosmer in normal clothing and a Dunmer, both male, are in a small room of brick. The Dunmer is shielding his eyes from the sunlight. He is also with one with the rolled cigarette. He is suited up in a black robe, a scar down his brow curving around his left eye.

"Sweet Vivec, the sun's brighter than I remember. You sure it hasn't gotten any closer in the past week?" the Dunmer said, slowly un-shielding his eyes and blinking a few times.

"Pretty damn." The Bosmer replied as they exited the room. "And welcome back to Caldera." He said smiling, his long wild hair looming around his face.

The two walked out of the room into a corridor with four other doors in it, including the one they just exited. One was on the opposite end of the hall. They stopped in the middle of the hallway and the Dunmer looked out of one of the four glass windows.

"Ah, the green grass." He said, his eyes taking in the outside world that had exiled him for a week.

"Yes, the grass _is _still green. When did Nezchut come by any way?" The Bosmer itched his head as he asked.

"Few hours ago. Brought me some bread too."

"I see. Well, who's all held up in the other two chambers?" He asked, exasperating the word 'chambers'.

"Knower Brathal and Master Hein." The Dunmer said as they started back up walking again.

"Brathal? Why is he in incubation?"

"I don't know, I guess he has a somewhat important writ coming up."

"That's Guar shit." The Bosmer said, his eyes narrowing. "He joined two years ago and he's already got an important writ. I've been here almost five years, and I've gotten nothing like that."

"Oh, Aleda, no worries. I've put in more than a few good words for you. You'll have a god assignment soon either way, I'll be Grandmaster soon." The Dunmer said, putting out his now depleted cigarette on the ground by stepping on it.

"True, true. It better be a good one too, I've been waiting to test out the new dagger I got." Aleda said pushing open the door at the end of the corridor.

It led to the front of a store or type of tavern. It was fairly light in the main room and there were a few locals sitting at the few tables set up around the room, eating a quick lunch or drinking some ale with a few friends. The sun was high in the sky and thick clouds were rolling in from the east. There were various daggers and arrows and throwing stars lined around the front counter, a dull fire was charring in a stone fireplace just behind it. A Breton man with a bald head managed the store. As the two approached him, his eyes perked up.

"Ah, Exalted Master Tsar, your week has gone by already?" He asked, pulling out two plates of cooked and buttered crab meat from beneath the shelf he was behind, offering it to the two.

"Bah, Glea, come now, you now you can call me Sliph." The Dunmer, now revealed as Sliph Tsar, smiled as he and Aleda took the two plates and nodded to him. "And thank you very much."

"Indeed." Aleda chimed in as they took a seat at one of the tables.

They sat down and began to both pick at the food.

"So, are you to head directly to Grandmaster today?" Aleda questioned between shovels of crab.

"No, I have five days, in those five days I am to bathe in the waters of Vivec's Palace to cleanse myself and rekindle my soul. Then, _if_ there is time after, I am to visit the cavern of Phellos in the Molag Mar region, and pay a worthy tribute to The Mother." Sliph said gulfing down his food as well. "Living off of bread and water for a week sure dose make crab meat taste like the finest hound meat."

"Hah, I knew you looked skinnier. So, what did you think about the whole time?"

"Life. The one infecting and the one being infected. Giving, getting. Simple things. I just mostly tried to prepare my mind for what may lie ahead." He replied, finishing off his meal. Aleda followed.

The two took the plates and forks back up to the counter and Aleda threw Glea fifteen Drakes.

"Many thanks and good luck to you for your journey ahead." Glea replied with a grin, pocketing the coins.

"You too, and thank you, I'll be sure to have you come to the celebration to cook." Sliph smiled back as they headed out of the door into town.

They popped out at the northern end of town, right next to the Mage's Guild. The building they had just come out of had a wooden sign placed next to the door. It said 'The Den' and was illustrated with a small silver dagger piercing though the 'D'.

"Now then, where to? We can take the Guide Guild to Vivec directly, then get the bathing part done right now." Aleda thought as they loomed slowly towards the building just to their left, which was the Mage's Guild.

"No, no. Not just yet. I remember Thrall Nezchut said that he had a problem getting here on foot from Ald'rhun because of some rouge Redoran thugs just north of here." Sliph said, quickly turning away from the building and heading across the street to the gates that lead northwest from the town.

"Wait!" Aleda said rushing after him. "So what?"

"Well, you know that those Redoran are going to start trouble. You know how they think they should've gotten the mines and not the Empire. They've been iffy about it since."

"Aaaaaand?" Aleda cocked his head and itched it again.

"And…we need something to occupy us for at least a few moments…" Sliph got that certain shimmer in his eyes.

Aleda sighed and then laughed. "You're insane. Let me at least get on some better-"

"Nope, we have to go, now!" Sliph snickered as he took off in a full sprint out of the gate between the two stone towers that lead out of town.


	2. The Redoran Caravan With A Hint Of Lies

Aleda had no choice but to quickly follow and they ran on for about a minute until they hit a little problem. There were a bit more of the rouge Redoran than they expected. A whole caravan; four covered wagons; was posted up blocking the path that split suddenly west and north.

"Eight, nine, ten…eleven. Eleven Redoran warriors. You've got to be kidding." Aleda's head was poked out from behind a rock just off to the left of the path. They were very close to the caravan.

"Wow, Nezchut sure sucks at going into detail about things." Sliph was sitting on the ground with his back on the small boulder. He was rolling up another cigarette.

"Ok, well I believe that we should, you know, just LEAVE. It can wait." Aleda's eyes widened at the last word.

"What can? Now, where did I put that…" Sliph was searching his pockets and his small black slips. "Ah-ha!" he held up a flint rock and struck it against his knuckles, sending a small spark off and landing onto his cigarette while he puffed on it. A small ember rose from the tip and smoke began to pillow.

"Ya know, that's no good for you." Aleda sounded half-heartedly concerned. He was looking though his pockets for something, and found it. A small silver dagger; it glowed with a light green pulse. "And never mind. So, are we doing this or am I going to just sit here and try to work up courage for nothing?" He asked, looking over to Sliph. He was gone. "Oh no." Aleda though.

He poked his head over the rock and sure enough, there he was, crouched down. He threw his hands up and muttered a phrase of Daedric tongue to himself and disappeared. Aleda did the same thing, but he knew the difference. His was only an invisibility spell, and when he made an attack on one of the warriors, the spell would break. But Sliph's, his was a chameleon spell, where he would always blend into his surroundings no matter what he did, causing great confusion to the enemy.

Aleda ran out to where he last saw Sliph and whispered his name. He heard very trace and light footsteps, then they stopped. They were now both no more than ten feet from the caravan.

"Aleda?" Sliph faintly whispered.

"Yeah, I'm here. So, listen, how are we going to do this?"

"I get one side, you get the other. Don't worry; I have you covered from all sides. I have a certain someone in mind to kill first. You just worry about yourself."

"Ok, but don't kill until I do. I have a far more important person in mind to kill. How are you going to get me covered from all sides?" Even though he was invisible, one could still see Aleda's eyebrow rise.

"I got a neat little spell when I was going through the backcountry; I learned how to conjure up a few paralyzing iron throwing stars."

"Well then, good deal. God, has it been that long since we've last seen eachother?" Aleda said, smiling.

"Been a while, yes. Ok, I'll go left, you take the right. Remember, we're Morag Tong, so be _silent_. Blend your footsteps with the wind. Breathe lightly, you know the deal."

"Alright. Now, we go." Aleda whispered once more before heading right.

Aleda was the first to get his target, as one of the rouges dressed in shabby Alt Leather armor got his neck snapped silently and got dragged off behind one of the wagons in the caravan. The spell was broken as soon as he snapped the neck, but he quickly recast it. Sliph was very handy with…well, his hands. Another one along the outskirts out the caravan got his vertebrae crunched and was dragged along right next to his friend. At the center of the caravan, a big bonfire was burning and five of the Redoran were sitting around it, one dressed in a full set of glinting glass armor, a set of nice tin katars were stuck in the ground next to him. A pot of stew was cooking over the fire.

Aleda got the next strike. He dove his dagger into the back of ones' head. His red blood trickled down his back, staining his crude iron armor red. The invisibility spell wore off again, and Aleda was exposed. He knew it was going to happen, though. One stray rouge just happened to be walking by, just having exited one of the four wagons, and spotted Aleda, his fallen comrade right in front of him.

"Boys!" He rang out.

Aleda quickly launched the dagger form his hand and it stuck into the rouge's chest. Before he could even stumble back, another one followed it, right into his stomach. Then, Aleda wrenched his hand back and punched him right in the left temple, sending him teetering on his heels for a few seconds before collapsing down to the dirt path they were on. Before long, company arrived. Only five of them showed up. Sliph took care of the other three. The one with the tin katars was in the back, his weapons not even drawn but to his sides. He was standing, watching. One with Bonemold armor minus the helmet and graves rushed Aleda with a glass shortsword. He easily dodged the attack and pulled another dagger out of seemingly nowhere and went for a gash to his right ribs, but he deflected it and the hilt of his sword caught Aleda in the right eye.

Shaken, but not completely stunned, Aleda covered his eye with his left hand and threw another slice in, nicking the rouge in left shoulder. The other three, not including the tin katar rouge, were closing in on Aleda, all with weapons drawn. One had a steel battleaxe, one had a silver club, and the last one had a ferocious looking enchanted stiletto on him.

The one with the silver club dropped out of nowhere, his head gashed open to the side. This caused the glass shortsword wielding rouge to look back at his backup for just one second. One second long enough for Aleda to stick him numerous times in the side. The last two fell at about the same time, Aleda using his new glass shortsword to cut the wrist of the steel battleaxe holding rouge and Sliph using one of his enchanted conjured throwing stars to smack the last on right in the head, splitting it. The last one just sat, not saying a word. While Sliph was still chameleon, his eyes followed where he went.

"You two boys from the Tong?" He asked, his voice booming. He was a big Dunmer, bulky and he looked battle-hungry.

"Maybe." Aleda said, his eyes shifting around to be sure no one was left but the Dunmer.

"Huh. I suppose that you had a target here then?"

"Yeah, I have a writ for a Mr. Salur Massipal. Seems he was traveling with you and your caravan. Just so happens that the rest of you got caught up in this." Aleda said, waving his writ about in the air.

"I thought we would personally just come here to have some fun." Sliph said from the thin air.

"No, you know that's against our code. I wouldn't have come if I didn't have a reason. Besides, how ignorant can you be, Sliph? You're a few days away from being Grandmaster, why blow it on un-rightfully killing some Redoran punks?" Aleda's tone was serious.

"Uh…well, good question. I guess I wasn't thinking." Sliph sighed.

"Damn idiotic Tong boys. Listen, I'm done chatting. Two things can happen here. One, I can kill both of you, or two, you two can just leave now and we can put this behind us, the soon-to-be-Grandmaster's stupidity left behind." The Dunmer gruffly said as he stuck his chest out. His glass armor reflected brilliantly off of the sun.

"You forgot about option three." Sliph said.

"Yeah? And what would that be?" His voice became cocky.

"You die and we both walk away happy." Aleda plowed in as he threw another dagger at the Dunmer.

He let it hit him. It didn't do anything; he just smiled as it came right for his chest. The dagger snapped in half on impact, the armor un-phased. Sliph got in a few of his conjured throwing stars in his hand and hurled them towards to Dunmer as well, but he simply rolled to the left and lashed out his tin katars, rushing instantly towards Aleda. Aleda's pupils widened as he was the two fang-like blades coming towards his chest, and on instinct he produced a shrill screech from his throat, one which echoed through all three of the men's heads and out into the wilderness. The Dunmer was startled for a second, but quickly got back on his feet. Sliph ran to tackle the Dunmer, still chameleon, and succeeded in getting him to the ground, but just as he did, the spell wore off and he was exposed.

Quickly jumping to his feet, he narrowly dodged a slash to his right arm, and was cut formidably on his left shoulder. Just as it seemed that Sliph was done for, for the Dunmer already had his two blades cocked back, ready for two more; and final; blows to him, a wild Alt come from nowhere and began biting and scratching at the Dunmer.

"Sweet Vivec! Aleda, was that you beast tongue?" Sliph asked half screaming as he quickly conjured up two more throwing stars and readied them in his hands.

"Hah! Yes!" Aleda smirked delighted as he raised the glass shortsword in his hand, rushing towards the Dunmer.

The two walked away, their arms over each other's shoulders, the tin katars hanging from Sliph's back, suspended from his neck by a torn rag.

"It was smart of you to not say anything to me about your writ." Sliph said as they headed back south to Caldera.

"I know. I just figured I'd be really sneaky and make it seem like I wanted to get expelled from the guild." Aleda grunted. He was obviously upset at Sliph.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered, "But I just don't see the trouble in it all. They were obviously going to attack Caldera. We're heroes. I mean, we saved lives."

"Yes, but if it wasn't for me, we would have wrongfully taken eleven of them. You know the code of the guild. Why would you be so irresponsible?" Aleda looked over as Sliph, his eyes narrowed.

"I…well, why didn't you tell me about a writ this big?!?!" He was close to yelling, his voice was trembling.

"Because, I didn't want you to think that I was trying to take advantage of your incubation. I didn't want to make it seem like while you were gone I was trying to get the glory by taking on a dangerous writ. I'm sorry Sliph, but let's just forget about it, ok? I really can't bother to be upset at you OR myself right now." Aleda stated as they neared the north exit towers to town.

"Yes…I'm sorry, my friend." Sliph said as he embraced Aleda, a smile crossing his lips.

"Yes, well, no reason to be sorry anymore. Let's just focus on getting to Vivec so I can turn in this writ and you can bathe in the waters of the palace."

"And that, my friend, sounds like an excellent idea." Sliph said as they entered town, the sun lowering and the sky becoming more dull.


End file.

Elder Scroll series, Adventure, Angst