Chapter 1 Legacy of the Champion
"Coming through!" Finn quickly moved out of the way to let the waitress pass.
The Flowing Bowl was crammed with drunk sailors . He felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Hauls-Ropes-Faster and Thurindil is at it again!" Said Algernon with a big, malicious grin over his face.
"Again? Seriously, when are those two sea dogs gonna cut it of? They're not exactly young lads anymore."
"Oh come on! It's hilarious!" Algernon climbed up on a table and called for everybody's attention. "Guys. Guys. Hey listen up you rotten scum!" Everybody glared at Algernon. "Hauls-Ropes-Faster and Thurindil is fighting outside!" A boisterous laugh spread across the inn.
"You might think that that old Argonian should have succeeded to bash some sense in to that nutjob by now!" bawled an old Nord sailor.
"Ha! That drunkard wouldn't be able to crack a Bosmers scull even if his fists were made with iron," said Anguilon. The Nord looked vexed.
"Let me squeeze that scull of yours and see if it holds. But since your a Bosmer, it probably won't be any brain in it!" The loud laugh that followed was cut short by Anguilons fist. The huge Nord went down on the floor like a sack of potatoes.
"Nice hit grandpa!" cried Algernon in excitement. He had always been fond of fighting, especially when he himself or his family was involved. Finn, who was a bit more wary than Algernon, had noticed the sailors were staring intensely at each other and that there was a tense feeling in the air.
He tapped on Algernons shoulder. "I think we should leave now."
"What are you talking about?" Then he laughed, "Looked to deep in the cup, eh?"
Before Finn had time to answer a pitcher flew over his head and crashed into the wall, splattering wine at everybody. Before he knew it all hell broke loose. Cups and chairs flew across the room, sailors threw themselves over each other, pounding one another as hard as they could. Algernon and his grandfather needed no persuasion to join them. Finn, on the other hand, swiftly made his way to the door. Before closing the door behind him he caught a glimpse of Anguilon clinging to the back of Krognak gro-Brok. The little Bosmer were actually handling the giant old Orc pretty well.
He took a deep breath of the fresh, salty sea breeze and looked out over the harbor. If it hadn't been for the Argonian and Bosmer fighting out on the pier, it would have been an amazing sight. The moonlight seeped through the dark clouds and spread a soft light over the Abecean sea. He felt a presence behind him and turned around believing it was Algernon. He was met by a unfamiliar person wearing a black robe and hood. Finn couldn't see his face in the dark.
"Excuse me, but you don't happen to know were Windstone manor is?" he said with a smooth voice. The man was holding the reins of a beautiful chestnut horse.
"Yes, it's inside the city walls, close to the church. You can't miss it, it's really worn down."
"But I was informed of the caretakers death only a few days ago, he can't have been dead more than two weeks. I think his name was Newheim"
"You mean Newheim the Drinker?" Finn snickered. "He wasn't caretaker of anything, other than his own jag."
"My father left him a considerable sum of money to take care of the manor." His father? Finn thought. He was starting to feel sorry for the man, who had obviously been fooled. "Newheim were drowning in debt. Every single coin he had he spent on booze or lost on bets. That old fart didn't even intend to look after that house." The man fiddled anxiously with the reins. Finn smiled in an attempt to calm him. "I'll show you the place, all right? If it's to bad you can always hire John the Builder and his men."
The man nodded. "Thank you. I assure you it is indeed very much appreciated." Finn smirked.
"There is no need for such fancy words."
"I'm just grateful," he said calmly while patting his horse. "Nika?" he said and turned around. Another man cloaked in black robes appeared from the shadows behind The Flowing Bowl.
"Yes?" He too had a very smooth voice, but he sounded older than the first man.
"Take Castanea to the stable." After retrieving a torch from the saddlebag he gave Nika the reins. Finn was starting to understand that this man was by no means ordinary. They both watched Nika until he rounded the corner of the wall and disappeared out of sight.
"Shall we go?" the man asked and lit the torch simply by touching it. Apparently he was a mage.
"Yeah, just follow me through the gate. I'll get you there in no time," said Finn and started walking towards the big gate. Anvil was just a small town but it was surrounded by towering walls on all sides, just like all the other big towns in Cyrodiil. Lately the gates into the city had been reinforced and were always guarded by at least two men. Finn had no idea why they were taking such measures, but it worried both him and the other citizens of Anvil. A guard, who recognized Finn, opened a small door in the gate.
"You should probably send some guards to The Flowing Bowl." The guard mumbled something that sounded like a curse when he closed the door behind them.
They walked through the town in silence. Finn was starting to feel uneasy, partially because the outlooks on the walls seemed so interested in something outside the city, but mostly because the man hadn't told Finn his name, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even cash a glimpse of the mans face, it was constantly covered in shadow, probably as a result of some kind of spell.
Windstone manor had been bought years ago, after the Oblivion crisis, by Selestin Windstone, the Champion of Cyrodiil. The Champion had courageously slayed hoards of undead dwelling inside the manor and rid it of its curse. When Finn was a little child his mother read him countless tales of the Champions great deeds. The man walking behind him might actually be the grandchild of that man. Finns couldn't help but smile when he realized the fact that this man would owe him a favor later.
"This is it," Finn said and pointed at the old, rugged house. Some of the windows were broken and tiles from the roof were spread out in the garden, which were overgrown with weed. The man sighed.
"Is there anything left inside?" he asked.
"I don't know. I have never been inside. Kids play there a lot though, so if there was anything valuable inside, it's long gone."
"That's to bad," the man said. He walked in through the door and looked around. "I'm going to take a look around, just in case."
"Want some help?" Finn should have kept his mouth closed, but he really wanted to see if there was anything exiting inside the manor.
"Don't you ave anything better to do?"
"Uh.." Finn didn't really know what to answer. Of course the man didn't want Finn to hang around and bother him, possibly stealing priceless artifacts. "Sorry I.."
"I didn't mean to insult you. What I meant was; I don't want you to waste your time looking through some old shack, if you don't want to."
"As I said, I'm a docker and it's midnight, so I'm not exactly busy," said Finn and smiled.
"Well then, could you possibly help me find the door to the cellar?"
"Sure!" Finn went inside and looked around. The man lit up the old lanterns spread across the house with a small movement of his hand, then he threw the torch into the fireplace. There were loads of rubbish on the floor. If it was a trapdoor they were looking for, they were screwed. Finn started searching the foyer and sitting area but couldn't find any hatch. He used both his feet and hands to scoop things out of the way, so that he could see the floor, but found nothing. Suddenly he heard a loud crack. It sounded like old wood being splintered. He hurried in to the dining room were the man stood, in front of a broken wooden door.
"Stand behind me," he said. Finn did as he was told. The man then threw some kind of spell at the door. The last piece of the door shattered with another loud crack.
Finn was astonishment. "That's impressive," he said.
The man stepped through the doorway and went down the stairs.
"You don't happen to carry another torch?" As soon as he had finished the sentence the old torches that were fastened on the walls in the basement lit up. Finn followed him in silence. The first room that they entered was empty, except for some craters and barrels stacked up in a corner. They went down another stair and entered another room. He was dumbfounded of what he saw. The hole basement was packed full with sets of expensive armor and weapons, probably heavily enchanted.
"Sir, do you need some help?" A figure suddenly appeared from a dark corner.
"Holy shit! Don't scare me like that!" Finn stared at Nika, and Nika stared back.
"Get the carriages. I'm want to take this back to Skingrad." Nika bowed towards the man and disappeared back into the shadows without a single noise.
"Is he always like that?"
The man chuckled. "Don't let him startle you. He has been rigorously trained in the arts of stealth, and is probably the best marksman in Cyrodiil, but unless you attack me, he is meek as a lamb."
"Yeah, sure," said Finn in disbelief. "But if I attacked you now he wouldn't see it." Finn really regretted saying that. He didn't want to be blown into pieces like that door. Luckily the man just laughed.
"He, nor I, think you are strong enough to do any real harm." Finn smiled nervously.
"You're probably right about that." Suddenly Finn felt insulted. The tough work at the dock had actually made him pretty strong. If the man didn't use any spells, Finn would surely win, or at least cause some injuries. "Well.. As long as you don't use any spells," he added.
"Want to try?" Finn looked surprised. "I won't use any spells. Try to hit me. But if you don't succeed you have to carry all this stuff up the stairs." Finn looked around. It would take days for him to carry it up alone, but, feeling pretty confident he asked:
"What do I get if I win?"
"Anything you want," the man answered immediately.
Finn looked around again. His eyes were caught by a familiar piece of armor, visible through a crack in a cupboard.
"Is that the Dragon Armor?" He couldn't take his eyes of it.
The man opened the cupboard and lifted out a dusty, but still beautiful, helmet. "Indeed it is."
"Then that's what I want if I defeat you." He wondered if he might have asked for to much. But the man had said "anything", so he had himself to blame.
"Sure. Now come on, big guy. Show me what you got," he said and laughed. Finn hesitated at first, but then he clenched his fists.
"I don't have all day," the man said with another laugh. Finn took a swing at his head but missed. He had ducked in the last moment and grabbed Finns arm. With a strength that was surprising for such a slender figure he pulled Finns arms forward. Finn lost his balance and was immediately pulled down on the floor. Before he could get up again the man sat down on Finns back, grabbed his head and turned it until Finn couldn't possibly move without risking to break his own neck.
"I give up! Let go of my head!" The man let go but stayed put on Finns back.
"That was easier than I thought," he said and chuckled.
"How the hell did you do that?"
"Nika taught me some tricks, looks like they work." Tricks, my ass! Finn thought. That was more than just a few tricks. His speed and strength wasn't human. He had to be a Kahjiit. But since the Champion was a Breton it didn't make sense. On the other hand crossbreeds was nothing new.
"Want to get up?" the man asked. He sounded very amused.
"Yes, please." The man got of Finns back so that he could get up.
Finn looked around on all the stuff. "Do you really want me to carry all this inside?"
"Did you really intend to make me give up the Dragon Armor?" He had a point. A promise is a promise.
"Can I start tomorrow?" he said with a glimpse of hope in his eyes.
"Unfortunately I can't stay that long. You'll have to do it tonight."
"I can't possibly carry all this outside by myself in one night." Finn pointed at a pile of heavy armor that looked like it had been fitted for a giant. "I'll have to drag that up piece by piece."
"I never said that you had to do it alone," he said and laughed. Suddenly they heard a monstrous roar from the top of the room above.
"Here they come. The guys that are going to help you out." Finn saw not one, but ten ogres walking down the stair. He had never seen an ogre I real life, but he had heard that the could rip a man apart with their bare hands.
"Are you insane? There going to kill us," he whispered. The man just chuckled.
"They wouldn't hurt a fly," he said. Without saying anything he waved to the ogres and pointed at the stuff on the floor. They immediately picked up the things that he pointed on and carried them up the stairs. Finn stayed well out of reach for their huge arms.
"You see? With a bit of training the make fine servants. They're smarter and stronger than dogs, and they also have a stronger team spirit, so if you manage to become their leader they'll gladly jump of a cliff if you order them to."
"So you like ogres more than dogs?" Finn said cynically.
"No, actually I prefer horses," the man answered, totally oblivious to the sarcasm. The basement was almost empty now, except for a handful of swords and bows still hanging on the walls.
"That was quick. I didn't get to carry a single arrow outside."
"No need," the man said. "I didn't really intend to force you to do anything." Now Finn felt guilty. If he had won, he most definitely would have taken the Dragon Armor, without any sign of remorse. But,he felt that he had to add, I didn't stand a chance in the first place.
"Take this." The man threw a ring to him.
"What is it?" Finn asked. The ring was made in silver and had small engravings on one side. They looked like the symbols he had seen in a book that described Oblivion. When he looked closer he could see that there was some kind of stone intermixed with the metal.
"Keep it. I think it may come in handy for you."
"Ah.." Finn answered, fascinated by the ring. When he looked up the basement was completely empty. I didn't get to thank him, he thought. When he stepped outside the manor there were no sign of neither the man or the ogres.
"By the gods. Did you see that?" A beggar looked at him with an utterly confused expression. "I think I saw ogres, carrying the imperial dragon armor."
"You shouldn't drink skooma. It's bad for your head." Finn said and started to walk towards his house. In his right hand he clutched the ring tightly. It was the only thing he had that proved that he hadn't been dreaming. Suddenly he was struck by a thought. How the hell did they get the ogres inside the city? When he went to check on the guards that watched the front gate he discovered that they were soundly asleep on the ground. Oh..