Chapter III : Friends for Hire
The morning brought more than Gallan expected. First he awoke to find that Herald had already woken and departed for business. He had left a note on the bedside table. He suddenly heard the sounds of fighting in the room below him. He got out of bed, dressing quickly he ran to the bar and saw what was happening. Velus was standing behind the bar and shaking his head, while three imperial guards were standing by the doorway trying to subdue the two rowdy drunks causing trouble. The two men were shoving and pushing each other with considerable effort. As the two guards took a few steps towards them and attempted to grab the men, the two drunks forgave their differences apparently and started to attack the guards.
"By the nine! Take them down!" The guard by the door said.
As the two guards grabbed the first man, the second noticed Gallan and charged towards him. Gallan managed to avoid the attackers charge and grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him back at the guards. This brought an unwanted reaction that Gallan had not foreseen.
The third guard by the door looked at him and yelled, "Look another one! I got him!"
Gallan thought for a moment and realized he probably couldn't get a word in before the guard jumped on him, and he was right. The guard was upon him before he could finish his entire thought. They grappled for a moment, but then Gallan was able to break the man's grab and feign a punch with the left fist, then a powerful strike with the right.
This caught the man off guard and Gallan's fist connected with the man's left cheek. The guard was taken back by the unexpected power from the man he thought was just a mere drunk. By this time the other guards had taken care of the other two man and approached Gallan with care.
"Don't just stand there, grab him!" The soldier said quickly, clutching his left cheek with care.
The two men were able to grab Gallan and hold on, no matter what he did to escape.
"You!" the injured guard yelled, "What is your name? I'll have your head for this!" He roared; he was furious.
He removed his legion helmet to reveal two things. The first his new bruise that Gallan had caused him; and the second his long hair and familiar face caused Gallan to recognize him as his friend, the man he was looking for, Aaron Aventius.
Gallan stood there in disbelief for a moment, ignoring the yelled and jabs of the two solider pinning him to the wall. By this time Velus was already trying to explain that Gallan was innocent in this mess. Gallan began to laugh, much to the surprise of the soldiers threatening him. Then Aaron turned to Gallan and scowled.
"What the bloody hell are you laughing about?" He raged, obviously Aaron didn't remember him at all.
"When your mother slept we used to steal the pots and wooden spoons to play soldiers... Remember?" Gallan said between laughs, he was hoping that his old friend would remember the fun they had as kids.
Even when he was a child Aaron wanted to grow up as a solider of the Legion, he must remember it.
"Wait... How do you?... Gallan? By the gods its been years!... You hit me!" Aaron sputtered, he was taken aback by the sudden remembrance of his best friend.
"Sir, what should we do with this lout?" On of the soldiers said as he shoved Gallan.
"Let him go... there has been a mistake." Aaron said quickly.
"But sir, he attacked you!" The other solider said.
"That was an order, let him go." Aaron said firmly.
"Yes sir..." The two Legionnaires said in union.
"Now, take these two drunks to the prison. I will stay here and finish up... go." Aaron ordered.
The two guards walked out with the two still drunken men in chains. Aaron sat down at a table while Velus poured a tankard of mead for the three of them. The all sat in silence for a while, drinking the pains from the earlier fight away. Gallan was not laughing anymore and felt the pain in his shoulders from the iron hands of the guards. Velus was the first to speak.
"I do apologize for that Gallan, I didn't mean for you to get caught up in that. Those two beggars wandered in and started causing a commotion. If I knew you were so adept at throwing punches I would have called you down instead of bothering the guards and getting you nearly arrested." He said apologetically, though with a chuckle at the end.
"It is alright my friend, if you hadn't I wouldn't have met my dear friend that I came here looking for. Aaron how are you?" Gallan said as he looked over at his dear friend.
"Well... my bloody face hurts, thanks for that by the way." Aaron said amused, the three's spirits began to lift as their tankards were drained.
Velus got up and began to refill them while Aaron and Gallan talked. Gallan told Aaron how things have been since he left Bruma, and of the marauders that were pillaging and attacking the city. They talked for a good long while, with Velus bringing them drinks every once and a while.
"That certainly is a problem... but why are you here? You are simply abandoning the city? Fleeing? What sort of a nord are you?" Aaron asked jokingly.
"Of course not! I am here to get help, the guard is falling apart. It may be a few years since the Oblivion Crisis, but Bruma still hasn't fully recovered from the great battle. I have already myslef pleged to the cause, but I was coming here to fetch you and anyone else you may be able to bring to help." Gallan said, he was rather annoyed at the insult at his honor. He may not live as his forefathers did, but honor was still important to him.
"Well, I suppose I can come with you back to Bruma... but we need more than just a few legionnaires and one nord to clear out an entire bandit clan..." Aaron said while taking a drink.
"A few legionnaires? You can bring others?" Gallan said amazed, he wasn't expecting much help other than just Aaron.
"Yes of course, I have two great men that I can bring. We have been togther since we began training." Aaron said with a hearty laugh. "What you thought the two of us could simply clear out a cave full of bandits?" he finished with a roar; the mead was beginning to get to him.
"Well... No, I never thought that part through much at all..." Gallan stuttured for a moment then turned to Velus to change the subject.
"Velus, what mead is this, I am rather enjoying it... is that mint I taste?" Gallan managed to say after he downed his second tankard.
"Why yes it is, I thought you two would like it. It is that traditional nord mead from Skyrim there, I just got it in. You like it do you?" He said with a smile.
Gallan doubted if he sold it much to anyone other than the few nords that would show up to the inn.
"Yes, it is rather good..." Gallan said, his voice trailed off and Aaron began another conversation.
"Well enough of this Nord piss, " He said slamming his tankard on the table, "Back to business! Gallan, we need to pack up and head back out to Bruma as soon as possible. Are we going to need any hired men for this?" He asked Gallan in a suddenly confident and more sober tone.
"I was thinking so, yes, but I haven't the gold to get much help you see." Gallan said quickly while finishing his last tankard.
"Ah that's fine, I can liberate some imperial funds." Aaron said with a wink.
"Wait... isn't that stealing from the empire?" Gallan said quietly, though still surprised.
"No no, it is for a noble cause. We need it anyway. I know one man by the docks, he would be all we need. Come, we shall meet him there with my two men." Aaron said while getting up from his seat.
"I can head out after I tell Herald, I think he may still be passed out in the room..." Gallan said as he got up.
Velus chimed in: "I could tell him for you, he probably would insist to come with you or something of the sort."
"Thank you Velus, I really do feel indebted to you." Said Gallan, "First you give us a free round last night, the room for a discount; and yes, you almost got me arrested this morning," He said with a chuckle, "But then you fill me with more great mead. Here." Gallan finished and placed some coins on the table before he left.
Velus did not make any excuses this time, he merely took the coins and placed them behind the bar. The two friends walked out into the streets and headed for the harbour. They talked a bit while they walked slowly towards the great gates. Aaron bid him farewell for a moment, he needed to go get his two friends and gather his things to travel. He told Gallan to meet him by the Bloated Float inn. Gallan agreed and headed off to where he was told the old mercenary was to be found, coincidentally in the Bloated Float. Gallan walked across the gangplank and entered the low floating ship. It was pretty quiet save for the two men at the counter, the high elf he assumed was Heralds friend Ormil, keeper if the inn. The other was a customer asking for a better price for the wine he was buying. Then there was a man sitting on a stool in the corner of the room. He was smoking a pipe and blowing smoke rings out of the open window. Gallan assumed this was the man he was looking for and sat down on the stool opposite to the shadow cloaked man. Gallan sat there for a moment looking at the man, not knowing exactly what to say, when the man stopped smoking and looked towards him.
"You must be the man from Bruma." He simply said.
"Yes, I am Gallan... I am looking for mercenaries to help with the bandit situation." Gallan said to the man, whose face was still covered in the shadows of the ships bulkheads.
"Then you have come to the right man, I am Nirus, Sword for hire." He said extending his had towards Gallan.
Gallan shook hands with the man's iron grip and began to talk with him. He found that Nirus had been working as a mercenary for years, he was thinking of retiring, however he thought saving Bruma would be a great final chapter in his book of adventure. The strong mercenary was older than he appeared, his dark beard flecked with the grey marks of age; but the man could still swing a sword with the best of them, as Gallan had heard of the old warrior's accomplishments from other merchants and travellers. As the two men spoke, Aaron and his two men walked into the bar and found a seat near Gallan and Nirus. After a few minutes of pleasantries Aaron asked how much he would want for his services.
"Ah, not much I think. Perhaps three hundred gold, that would do." He said with a grunt.
"Alright, here is your money." Aaron said while handing him a large bag of coins.
"Why thank you, when do we head out?" Nirus asked while taking his payment.
"Actually, we are looking to Gallan for the answer to that." Aaron said as he turned to his friend. "What are we doing then?" He asked.
"After we gather up my things from the inn, I can inform Herald then be on our way." Gallan said; he did not think of himself being the leader of the quest, but he wasn't against the idea.
"Right, let's go then." Nirus said as he picked up his large war hammer from the edge of the table.
The five men quickly returned to the Merchants inn to find Herald once again chatting with locals and other merchants. Gallan informed him of the situation and that they would be returning to Bruma that night. Herald insisted he came with them, just as Gallan thought he would do.
"I was here at the beginning of this whole adventure, and I intend to see it through. I have finished my business anyway, this could be another great tale to tell the famiy when I get back home to-" He said but Gallan cut him off.
"Very well, but you must pull your own weight. I wouldn't think the others would appreciate a lazy lout coming along with us with such a task at hand." said Gallan, he was hoping the merchant could do more than simply talk.
"Do not worry, I have had my fair share of adventures, and I may have had to get out of one or two close calls..." Herald said with a sly smile, revealing a dagger that Gallan had not seen before.
They packed up their things and headed out; Gallan and Herald giving their farewells to Velus. They left the merchant's Inn with no trouble and neared the city gates to have Aaron's superior officer meet them at the final checkpoint of the city. There was a small discussion as to why Aaron was leaving the city suddenly, and after explaining the situation the guard captain let the group through. Just as they left the city it began to get dark, so the group decided to camp for the night. They neared an old Ayelid ruin that was empty and set up a fire. Herald and the two legionnaires, whose names were Remus and Sader, set up the bedrolls and quickly fell asleep. Aaron, Gallan and Nirus kept first watch until Nirus insisted that the two others get some sleep. Neither Gallan nor Aaron argued to the mercenary and promptly passed out.
A few hours later, everyone was awoken by the sounds of yelling. While they were sleeping, three thieves had clambered into their camp to take any valuables they could find. Fortunately Nirus had the eye's of an eagle and spotted them early. He managed to grab the young man with a knife and disarm him. At the first sound of a struggle, the other two thieves ran off as fast as they could. Gallan and Aaron has told the others to get some rest after they all heard the story from Nirus, who had bound and gagged the young man he caught.
"What should we do with him?" Aaron asked, the young man started to sob and almost drown out his words.
"Well... We could always kill him" Nirus said with a sadistic smile.
Then the man sobbed louder and started to squirm. Gallan took the gag from his mouth and waited for the young man to calm himself. After a moment, he then asked "Why were you trying to steal from us?"
"I am starving, I had no choice! They made me do it! I never wanted this... I... I don't want to die! Please don't kill me! I can help you! I can! Please just don't kill me!..." The young man started to sob again.
"To Oblivion with this!" Nirus said, then he hit the young man with the Pommel of the dagger he had taken from him.
That knocked the young lad out cold. They once again bound the boy tighter and gagged him. They then woke Remus and Herald for their watch. The three men then went to sleep after a long night of more unexpected excitement. This is wrong... I wanted to help Bruma, not kidnap people... Are we no better than petty bandits? Gallan thought as he drifted off to sleep. He was wrong of course, and he did not know at the time how great he was to become.
After a long night everyone had a small breakfast of bacon and bread. After a few moments of deliberation the group decided to try and wake the young thief up to give him some food. They took their gag out and roused the boy from his slumber.
"Ah... wait, what? Who are you? Where is Miles? Why am I tied up?" The boy said, along with a myriad of other questions. Gallan informed him to his situation and asked why he was trying to steal from their camp.
The boy looked at them pathetically and said:
"I never wanted to become a thief, but I had to, I have been alone for so many years. Miles and Hashir took me in and we survived by stealing. We had no other choice... we are little more than beggars..." The boy finished.
Gallan believed him, as did the others. The boy was dressed him little more than rags, with not a coin on his person. The men talked for a moment and then decided to let the boy go. As they untied him, the young man stared in disbelief at why they were not punishing him.
"We are letting you go, if we can trust you, you can come with us and repay your dept by trying to steal from us." Gallan announced their decision to the young man.
"And what if I refuse?" The boy asked cautiously.
"Then we could always beat you within an inch of your life and then leave you here for other bandits or the carrion birds." Nirus said without breaking his blank stare at the boy.
As he heard that the boy started to get upset once again. "I'll come with you! I don't want to be alone again, please don't hit me! I just wanted food, I never meat to-" He was cut off by another blow to the head by Nirus. The men laughed for a moment, then packed up their camp and stamped out their fire. As they were getting ready to leave, Nirus hefted the unconscious boy onto his shoulder and joined the rest of the men walking with their gear. The group walked onward towards Bruma, merely walking to the city in silence.