My FIRST review! Thank you so much BlackOpal218, I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story so far. I also want to thank Ray1, Gizzygirl12 and Maryloudd for deciding to stick around with a favourite and a follow.
Location: Bravil
27th of Last Seed, 3E
6:00 AM
The small glowing dragon shaped Amulet sat in her white palm as she rested herself on an inn bed in Bravil. The thing was a curious piece of work. Lily had tried earlier on to put the damn thing around her neck as a test and like many legends stated, it wouldn't clasp on her neck. Only a Septim could wear the amulet. She reached over to set it on the dresser and there it mocked her worse than that Dark Elf had. Every time she stared at the thing, it drove her through the horrid last moment of Uriel Septim the seventh over again and she couldn't do anything! She had watched him die! She shared his last words, his last moments and he entrusted something so important to her.. yet, she couldn't do what he had asked. It had been two days since his death and the only thing she had accomplished was traveling from the Imperial city to Bravil. What a great hero I am, she jeered at herself, I'll never understand why he trusted me. She stole a glance toward the little red dragon with its soft glow sitting upon the old wood of the nightstand and it saddened her greatly. Yeah, what a great hero... what am I going to do? Slowly, Lily laid back against the mattress with a hefty sigh for only herself and her eyes slowly closed to attempt relaxation. Strangely enough she remembered her travels to here, along the way she visited many inns, shops and even a few of the Aedra wayshrines in hopes a blessing along the way to get where she was.
Do you have any blank journals? She had remembered asking a shopkeeper in the Imperial City before she had left for a town nearby. Her first day out of the jail had been one of frantic need, of course when a man, a very powerful man, gives a task before dying. It's best to do it so that he may rest in peace, but she hadn't even started. Instead, Lily spent her time as inns talking to many folks who she had drunkly told her tale of the assassination too. After she had gotten over her hangover, people had recommended she keep her thoughts in a journal instead of spewing them. At the time she had found it quite silly, but looking back on their advice, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was time to start writing her story, hopefully then someone could happen to find it along a beaten path long after she was gone. The nord opened her large brown eyes to begin to look for her journal, which had been in her pack, but she still needed to sit up to do get it.
She groaned at the stiffness of her mattress when her back popped and crackled painfully upon her rising to a sitting position,
"damn, my bed in the prison was much softer than this.." her voice muttered softly between tight lips. Next she swiveled her lower self around, feet touching the cold wooden floor and with a slight push, she was standing.
Lily could remember putting the blank book in a bag along with a quill and ink-pot for her journey, but where was her bag? A quick scan on the cabinets, dresser and small nightstand told her it wasn't sitting on a surface. Her eyes stole a glance over to the door to check and ensure it was fully shut, and with a quick jiggle of the handle that ensured her it was also locked. No one could have taken it from the door. She even checked under the bed after that to make sure it wasn't under there, and it wasn't
Could it be in the dresser? she thought after a good long minute passed and it took even longer for her to turn that thought into actions. Gently, her hand grasped the small handles on the dresser to pull it out, her arms making a quick jerk and even with the smallest movement, there was a soft shuffle inside. With a quick peek, her eyes saw soft leather but Lily had to quickly move back because something came out of the dresser, something small and purple.
"What the-!" Lily lunged back until she tripped over her bed, landing on the mattress because she was unsure of what had sprang up from the wooden cabinet. Her heart was in a flurry, pounding so hard in her chest she could feel it and swore someone could have heard it if another soul was up here, but no one was and it had honestly frightened her by suddenly having a visitor.
Softly fluttering its small elegant wings, a tiny purple butterfly began to circle down from its gained height and the innocent creature gently landed onto the knee of Lily's leg. The insect, with its elegant wings softly shimmering in the lantern light, seemed unreal, almost like it was imaginary, but the thing had the nord thinking. Her pack hadn't been placed in the drawer of the dresser, nor had she any butterflies in there either. As gently as she could manage, Lily scooped the little insect into her right hand while she rose again from the inn bed. Her curiosity began to bubble up again as its own being with each step leading to the half opened drawer. The butterfly was certainly a puzzling addition and Lily peered cautiously into the dresser drawer. Of course, there was her pack but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. With her left hand, Lily grasped the pack from the drawer and opened it up to grab her journal. It was then, when her left hand grasped cooled bound leather, a difference was soon noted. The journal felt smooth which was strange to her. When it had been bought the leather was rough. Her hand grasped the book tighter and began to pull it out of the pack with a cautious demeanor.
The book, once brown and tattered, now was a beautiful display of soft black leather embroidered with a silver lining and metal edges that had a moon engraved into their shiny surface. After a moment of quick thought, the journal was set down upon the flat surface of the dresser and its hard cover flipped open. Inside has crisp pages and fresh ink written by an elegant hand.
The door is what you seek
Lily felt herself growing quite puzzled by that one sentence, what did that mean? The door is what you seek? Though she fully intended to find out, a feeling of dread swept over her at the thought of who could've put the book in her bag. She slipped the new book into her pack, making sure to grab the amulet of kings and shoving that in there as well before leaving her small inn bedroom to head out for the wilds of Cyrodiil.
This chapter, I feel, isn't as great as I thought it should've been. I hope to get more feedback and this isn't the final version of this chapter, I'm quite sure that it will change over time so check back on this.- Duchess
