Empire Rising
The Beginning
Life isn't fair. Life isn't always easy. Rarely does anyone get everything they want, let alone need. There are exceptions to that last one though, seen enough nobles in my time that have an endless list of wants while others were content with what they have. Even seen some nobles who got rid of possessions one way or another- given to relatives in hard times, given to people seeking to appease them, given as payment for services. Twice he'd been hired to steal things from my own contractor to get items out of their lives such as cursed items, gaudy trinkets from family they want nothing to do with, all under they guise of testing their own security as the second one did. All he had to do at the end was write up a report detailing holes in guard patterns, unplanned holes in walls, secret passages and such all to prevent future thievery while doing some at the same time. It was a good thing the noble didn't have him searched before he left and didn't know about the small stash I had tossed out a window. After retrieving it in addition to the item he was contracted to steal and the pay for the job he made more than a few septims.
Right now, the mantra of 'Life isn't fair' was running rampant through his head while he was trying to unbar a heavy wooden door. Trying was the key word. He had the strength, if barely, to lift the heavy wooden and iron reinforced door bar was too short to lift it over the arms. Damn thing was obviously meant to be done by two people, at the height the thing was mounted it was probably meant for Nords, maybe Orsimer, even Altmer but definitely not Bosmer!
Thankfully this job wasn't one that required subtlety, at least not anymore. Attacking a massive bandit group will really negate stealth at some point and that ended some time ago. One of the men of the Imperial Legion fired an arrow far to early and alerted the patrolling guards causing the whole fort to buzz like a beehive. The good part was that he was already inside and took out five men and hid the bodies. Bad part was that now there was an estimated fifty men and women actively searching the fort and ready to kill. Eliminating some guards and opening some doors so the Legion could start their attack from inside and outside the fortification, a simple pincer attack to leave them little choice but to die or surrender. But of course, that idiot ruined the plan and the soldiers now had to fight their way through the main gate. On his way he had been able to find and collect a number of valuables and hide them away for later collection. What they Legion doesn't know won't hurt them and they don't mind much when stealing from bandits anyway.
He was interrupted from his evaluation of some enchanted jewelry by loud sounds coming down the corridor. He was used to things happening to him at the weirdest times and now weird timing just got thrown out the nearest window and replaced with worst time. What looked like either the bandit chief or one of their top men, judging by the armor and weapon. He's a huge Orc in full heavy Orsimer style armor and hefting one of the largest battle axes that was still capable of being swung. The hunk of refined and sharped metal probably weighed as much as the Bosmer thief, with weapons and armor. He obviously saw the mer, the nearby lit torch didn't help, and he grinned at the fact that the intruder was cornered in a dead-end hallway with the door he couldn't open as his only escape aside from trying to get past him. The odds didn't seem to be in the thieves' favor as he was far smaller and lightly armored than the Orc.
Three strides away and the Orc readied a sideways swing that would have no doubt could and would cleave the smaller mer in half with little effort. At that moment he lifted his left hand and released a lightning bolt that hit the warrior in the chest. The hulking bastard was as sturdy as he looked and only paused as his muscles seized up briefly before moving to start the swing only to find elf gone. A simple trick really, distract with the lightning and cast invisibility illusion spell right after. Silent steps took the Woodland mer right next to the green mer before he could get his bearings, only to watch the Orc pause and look around in confusion, even looking behind himself for his target.
The smaller mer has enough experience to not to do the expected with a wary opponent so staying next to him was unexpected for most. Without a sound he drew a dagger from his waist and plunged it into the gap in the armor behind the knee. He roared in pain that changed to anger as he saw the illusion break from the interaction. An armored backhand at the head missed as the Bosmer spun behind him and sank the dagger in a gap at his right hip, likely hitting a kidney. The pommel of his weapon came straight down at the smaller fighter but he kept his momentum going. Doing so was a good thing as he could feel the wind as it went by and struck the stone floor that cracked from the force, a testament to the power of the weapon and its wielder.
His skill almost surprised the Bosmer as much as his endurance did as he plowed through his injuries and used the slight recoil of striking the ground to heft the massive blade overhead faster than anyone thought would be possible and brought it down. It may have been luck or he finally felt the effects of his injuries as he stumbled forwards and cleaved the door bar clean in half. The massive warrior fell to his knees as his legs couldn't hold his weight and the blood loss was getting to him. Looking at the Orsimer, the Bosmer could clearly see his eyes, full of defiance, pride, and acceptance. He knew he wasn't going to live through the night, if he didn't do it the Legion outside would. Either of those would be preferable to simply bleeding out. He nodded in understanding, the desire for an honorable death in battle at the hands of another warrior. Drawing his unusual polearm from his back, he gave it a small spin to loosen his wrist before stabbing it through the collar of Orcs steel armor, plunging it through his ribcage piercing lung and heart before smoothly withdrawing it. As the Orc fell to the side, he had a smile on his face and was offered a quick prayer for Malacath to welcome the warrior into the Ashpit.
"Malacath, this warrior died in combat with honor. Watch over his soul." The Bosmer says quietly yet the Orc heard and his grin widened before death finally claimed him. The surviving fighter quickly moved his body to the side and dragged his axe over and laid its head on his chest before knocking the remains of the wooden bar from the door off and opening the door.
Thankfully the Captain was a tactical man and had made sure his troops were ready not far away and despite the current battle already taking place held to the original plan. At the signal, the Captain ordered his men and they stormed in, bypassing the Orc and moving on to attack the back ranks of the forts' defenders. The Captain himself held back with the infiltrator and saw the body near the door before looking at him, taking in the lack of wounds in comparison to his most recent opponent. He nodded his head in thanks for the work and moved to follow his men when the Bosmer grabbed his arm.
"Best to give this warrior a proper funeral, whatever he did in life I don't care to know but he did die a warriors death. What you do with the rest is up to you." He tells him. The Bosmer was not the most authoritative man most of the time, preferring to let his skills do the talking but this time he had both. The captain vowed he would and was released to follow his men.
Left alone, the mer began searching everywhere for more valuables and items of note- wherever the soldiers weren't around that is. So far, he'd found an estimated fifty thousand septims worth of goods along with another fifteen thousand in coin. Many of the trinkets were enchanted such as the ring of night-eye and another with a powerful chameleon effect. An Akaviri katana was deemed worthy of going to his personal collection, a couple of enchanted staves would fetch a fine price as would the high-end jewelry.
It didn't take long for the battle to end with the bandits either captured or put to the sword. During that time, he took his bag of loot outside and hid it in a large gap in some tree roots he'd noticed on his way in to scout out the fortifications. With the battle concluded he made his way into the courtyard where he watched as the soldiers processed their prisoners from a position next to a centurion who was guarding the gate for those attempting an escape while watching for the wagons to take the bandits to the nearest prison, in this case it's the Imperial City itself.
With the Empire stretched thin attempting to defend its borders, somewhat easier now that the territory was much smaller than not too long ago, these bandits had managed to get away with their deeds so long as eyes were focused outward. Nearly an hour later nearly all of the bandits had been identified and documented, including the dead, they were loaded into the wagons while the dead were piled in another. The Bosmer took note that the captain he had let in was escorting the Orcs body personally, still with his massive weapon, to a nearly empty wagon that had some bodies of Imperial soldiers. He was surprised at the level the man was willing to go to honor his word, which left me little doubt of his loyalty to the Empire as a whole.
The Centurion next to me dropped a sack of gold in my hand, "Thank you for your assistance to the Empire. Perhaps we'll be able to work together again someday." He offered a brief salute to me that was returned in kind, though somewhat cheekily.
"Maybe we will. Call on me if you need my services again." He tells him before taking his leave. It wasn't hard to notice some of the soldiers' expressions, some held respect of my skills and service, others held contempt that he was merely a mercenary and they had required outside help. The latter was a blow to their egos that they didn't appreciate.
Thief, assassin, mage, warrior, mercenary, helper of the poor, assistant of the Nine Divines, and dealer with Daedric Lords. An odd mix to be sure but as a Mer, a Bosmer to be exact, he had the potential lifespan to do what he wanted. And what he wanted is not power for the sake of power or use it to rule over others, but to test hid power against others in various challenges to gain new skills, refine, learn their limits, adapt, and continually test their applications. He considered himself morally ambiguous just like his skills, he would generally help those who ask but how he would help them could vary requiring theft or killing or merely offering a trade or sweet talking. Some may spread rumors about him but those who know of him will still come because he gets things done. Any questionable things he may do in towns and cities are left as that, questionable but not provable. He had yet to be caught doing anything illegal by any guards and never been to prison outside of two jobs where he had to silence some prisoners. That's not to say that a few valuables went missing from the one contractors' residence and sold and sent the coin plus the pay to the dead man's family, with a note containing the information for why their loved one was killed. Personally, he made sure that a copy of that information went to certain people to twist his contractors arm a bit to prevent a repeat. Or for blackmail later on.
For now, he watched as the bodies of the dead bandits were burned. Didn't stay too long as some of the soldiers were giving him odd looks so he walked away to where the large part of my stash was dropped. He didn't bother searching the fort for more with the soldiers he knew were doing continuous sweeps inside, not worth the effort and he had plenty now. Best not to confused for one of the bandits.
Kvatch was the closest town where he could sell his goods. The once great city was still being rebuilt but could only be best described as a large town, the Oblivion Crisis had destroyed most of the city leaving for most of the buildings nothing but burning wreckage. Even the chapel had to completely dismantled aside from the undercroft and a small temple was built in its place. Then the Great War swept through and many of the repairs were destroyed by both sides as the walls that defended the city and its location made it a key position to hold. Claim over the city changed often which left the tall walls little more than mounds of rubble around badly damaged buildings by the end of the war. Apparently both the Aldmeri Dominion and the Imperial Legion had no problem with destroying entire buildings if they thought it would serve their cause and kill more of the opposing side.
But since the war had ended and Kvatch now sat in a border region between the Dominion and Empire with little in the way of declaring allegiance to either side, instead the growing city has grown as a neutral place, largely outside the control of either. This made it ideal for further negotiations between the two factions. However nearly all of the current residents knew but rarely ever spoke about it that the town truly owes its life to the Thieves Guild, the guild brought gold flowing into the town from all over Tamriel which provided plenty of incentives for business to thrive at the hilltop town, both legal or otherwise. The Guild held no political ties and so was often providing its services to both the Dominion and Imperial behind the scenes which only added to its coffers. But as the coffers grew so did the city and the guild had set up several legitimate businesses in town using the gold it had available. Doing so only made the town grow even more and the war-torn land around the city was cleared of wreckage, three vineyards and a few small farms were now started up around the base of the hill with even a small market district opening near the main road where many of the vendors held a selection of their goods and guaranteed more in the city proper.
It took some time to get to town from Fort Wariel but going into Kvatch wasn't his goal. On the south eastern side of the rocky hill was a hidden door nestled under the roots of a tree. Ensuring that there was no one around he slipped into the door and walked through the cave-like entrance into an old and abandoned Dark Brotherhood sanctuary, been so since the Second Era if he remembered correctly. The sounds of running water echoed through the chambers with the sounds of dozens of voices, many of the old chambers had been repurposed as storerooms or bunkrooms. Walking by the rabble he had his own destination in mind and so the Bosmer descended the various sets of stairs to lower levels, some are stone from the original structure, others are wooden platforms that were made far more recently. Some of the levels held shops selling off the goods the guild brought in, nearly all of it was stolen from somewhere although there was a few smiths that made original works down below.
In short this was a city under a city, full of people who tend to play loose with the laws of the lands around us. More than a few shops made and sold food to the people here, one actually sends meals for free to the beggars in the city above once a week. This city rarely slept, especially considering that underground it's difficult to judge time by the sun. Guards patrolled the numerous levels, hired and trained by the guild itself to stop fights, prevent thefts, and catch murderers. Just because they are built around illegal activity doesn't mean they are lawless themselves, after all a well-run business requires rules and so all of that activity must be handled outside away from others.
The guards even had their own quarters built around a large central pillar of sorts which provided them an excellent vantage point along with a good location to respond to nearly any problems. His goal was actually under the guard tower, where the true Thieves Guild members met and did business, everything above was tied to the Guild but few of them were true members. Things were kept rather loose to allow more business while still considering them members, basically they were all considered Footpads. Passing the guards at the door with a quietly muttered password the Mer descended once more the next level was far more quiet.
A small underground river ran along one side of the natural cave that this part was built into. In the middle was a small bar and cooking area with a few tables and chairs scattered around meanwhile most of the space of the cavern was occupied by a large series of cages. Not cages in the normal sense but each contained numerous safes and lockboxes and each cage moving from left to right grew smaller but also more secure ending in a massive vault. Said vault was dug into the bedrock and lined with granite while being made of ebony. Rumor had it that the vault had layers of orichalcum, dwarven metal, and malachite. The door was easy enough to see with the five separate locks though few have ever seen it opened. Getting to the door still required getting through the five cages each had their own locked door between them along with the tellers within who were armed and had to be interacted with through slots under the eyes of a pair of guards stationed at either end of the cages. Items of increasing value were stored in the cages ending in the vault.
The Bosmer walks over to the first cage and began unloading his stash from the latest job for the Breton woman to record and sort. Selling most of the large items, staves, weapons, scrolls, maps, and jewelry that added up to several thousand septims, not including the few hundred he was paid and roughly three thousand that had been found on the job. Depositing the gold into his account along with the Akaviri katana into his own private vault within their system brought the business to a close.
His business there done, he needed to relax and got a cup of tea from the barman. Turning around an old friend of his was sitting at a table, somehow, he had missed her there, maybe was tired after this long day. Motioning to the seat across from her he took the invite and sat down. "So what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Denko?" She asks in her usual soft voice, actually kind of fitting for a thief of her calliber.
"Just finished a job and had a few things to sell off Karliah. I'll probably take a small break and see if the Brotherhood has any jobs for me." The Bosmer now known as Denko explains before sipping at his tea, tastes great no doubt thanks to quality ingredients and the fresh clean water. He'd tried getting them to make his personal blend of tea but one demonstration and tasting and it was dropped like a hot knife. So, he had to make his own whenever he had the time and materials at whatever place he happened to be at the time and needed to make more.
"I saw the haul you had from here, not bad. Plus, a new addition for your collection. Do I get to know what you did for those?" The Dunmer woman asks, her violet eyes that were so different from her brethren that they made her unique among her race. Not counting her skills as a thief which were so good that she could obtain the amount of gold he did with such ease that she was a legend among the Guild. Supposedly pulling in as much gold in a week as ten others did in a month combined. Though since the Dovahkin had vanished in Skyrim, Karliah had assumed the Guild Master title of the Skyrim branch and continuing the Dragonborn's success in bringing back the Guilds influence. Now he assumed that she was down here to help make sure things were running smoothly, the various Masters from the guild branches occasionally came here to report their own progress in their regions and establish new contacts for moving goods as needed.
"Maybe later I'll give you the details. Short version is that the Legion hired me to assist them and I found a few goodies along the way." She laughed at the story and the thought that the Legion had been hiring a thief to help them. For one it showed how desperate they were to not lose their numbers and utilized mercenaries. Secondly was that he ended it with a wide yawn which showed just how tired he was. Thinking back, he realized that hasn't slept since about sunrise yesterday, not the longest stretch without sleep he had ever gone but being tired on the job tends to get people killed, especially doing the things he does.
"Get some sleep and tell me later, I'll be here all week. Maybe I'll visit the Imperial City before going back to Riften." Karliah laughs while waving me off. Even tired he noticed her hiding a yawn behind her hand proving that they are infectious.
"Fine, enjoy yourself while you're here. The city above us is pretty good if you want a good time." With that, Denko grabs bag from the floor next to him and slings it over his shoulders after a quick check that nothing was missing that shouldn't be, it was a den of thieves after all. Making his way back up the steps to the busy markets of the Guild he found his way further upstairs and further away down a worn but recently expanded tunnel that he knew would lead him to the inside of Kvatch itself, just an alley away from the newly rebuilt arena. Once outside in the fading sunlight a quick stretch and glance at the suns position for the time he headed down the road to the inn he knew would be there, he'd stayed there nearly every time he came to town. The owner of the place knew him well enough and a quick exchange of coins for key and he found himself in a room for the night.
Must've been more tired than I thought when I woke up a little after sunset, I barely remember taking off my boots before everything went dark. Looking down I can see that was as far as I had gotten before passing out. A quick check of the door and my marker revealed it hadn't been opened yet and none of my stuff looked disturbed. Call me paranoid but I've lived long enough to know when to be cautious to the extreme and when not to be, this was a mild protection- little more than a simple trick to know if someone opened the door- hardly a protective measure. I've had my share of assassination attempts on myself, mostly by idiots with an axe to grind for one reason or another and most I really don't care and rarely kill them- tend to toss them to the nearest guards and let them deal with them.
A quick meal certainly helped me truly wake up before I step outside into the light of Kvatch proper and a light breeze carried the scents of the town by my nose, some pleasant, some not so. My light clothes let the breeze through and being a warm summer day that was rather welcome. A slow walk through town was relaxing and allowed me to stretch my muscles after my long sleep and I enjoyed looking around at the new things that have popped up since I was here last. A few more homes were the most obvious new buildings as well as something claiming to be a public bath. I knew that there were a number of farms around the city occupying the rolling plains and a large outcropping partway down the cities hill served as the major food market for the region.
Many of the restorations were rapidly made due to fact that the previous buildings had been destroyed, some of the roads within the city were changed since the Great War, and so space was available to the first to grab it. It was actually a high-ranking member of the Thieves Guild who held some power in the Imperial City was appointed as the Baron of Kvatch. Utilizing his connections and the Guild with personnel and resources available he was able to organize the rebuilding efforts to maximize the space within and outside its walls. Conveniently the Guild was able locate the old Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary beneath and build a series of tunnels to certain locations alongside the sewers.
The nightlife of Kvatch was substantially less than during the day, leaving the streets easy to walk down without the need to dodge around others. The greatest innovation here was the street sweepers, most of them were doing time and under the watchful eyes of the guards. The sweepers came out at night and were roped together so entire streets could be swept at a time. It was a good way to reduce their sentences and keep the city clean. Still there were a few entertainers that used the night to make their magical lightshows more appealing, the only brothel allowed in the city was always open, two taverns, three inns, and a very nice diner that was affordable to the general public yet high quality enough to attract nobles.
Turning a corner near the eastern city wall I find a Dunmer woman in the robes indicating she was of a follower of Azura standing in the middle of the road. A brief glance showed she was armed with little more than a simple iron dagger but looks could be deceiving, especially given that many powerful mages rarely carry more than a dagger and lightly armored at best. There were a few exceptions of course. Pausing in my walk as she locked her eyes on me and took three steps my way before pausing herself and seemed to look me over. I was ready to ignore the woman and carry on when she had a small spasm and rose off the ground surrounded by a yellow glow, her arms spread to the sides as if holding something. A bright, translucent sun and crescent moon appeared in her hands as the brightness of the glow around her increased yet never outshone the celestial figures in her hands.
I immediately knew what was happening even though I've never seen this happen before but I have read about it. This woman was acting as a medium for Azura to talk to me. "Mortal! You have been a champion for me in the past and I have need of you again! Go to Mongrel's Tooth Cave to the north and meet with our followers!" Azura commanded through the Dunmer. From experience that was the voice that the Daedric Prince preferred, attitude and all. While said gently there was no question that this was not a request.
Azura cared for her followers and often did what she could for them, through a tough love approach. It was her intervention that allowed thousands of Dunmer to escape Vvardenfell before Red Mountain erupted and destroyed nearly all settlements around the volcano along with killing almost every living thing in the vicinity.
Bowing my head in acceptance I still couldn't help a bit of snark in my response. "This should be interesting."
"Now go and listen." Azura says before fading from the woman. The influence of the Prince completely left her once her feet touched the ground and she collapsed to the road. A quick check showed that the was merely unconscious due to physical and magicka exhaustion. A guard I recognized walked around a corner just then and rushed at me with a hand on his sword.
"What happened here?"
"She just collapsed here, I was just checking if she was alright. See for yourself." I explain. He scrutinized me with his eyes before motioning for me to stand against the wall. So I did, facing the wall with my hands above my head but within his line of sight and glow of his lantern. Checking the woman over he couldn't help but agree with my assessment.
"Very well, you'll be free to go. I'll take her to the barracks and let our healers help her. Poor girl looks like she hasn't had a decent meal in days." He says as he gently picks her up though forgetting to have a way to carry his lantern. I picked it up and escorted him to the city guard barracks where I left them at the door with the lantern.
Left to wander the streets again on my own and my thoughts went to what Azura had said. She apparently had yet another job for me. I'd done jobs at the request of all of the Daedric Princes at one point or another, the same could be said of the Aedra- all Nine of them. Needless to say, the wants and whims of such a varied bunch covered a wide spectrum. Could be why I'm morally ambiguous or I already was and the tasks brought the subject of morality to the forefront of my mind, at least on occasion.
I guess I would start on this in the morning, I'd need to consult my map and gather my supplies anyway. Plus, I couldn't help but draw attention to what Azura had said "our followers". Apparently, she wasn't alone but I had no idea what that could mean. More than likely another Daedric Prince was involved, though them working together for anything was extremely rare. They were actually more often fighting each other.
Mentally listing the Daedric Princes that might work with Azura, Meridia was the first to come to mind. She was generally considered to be a "good" Daedra and was a Magna-Ge. If so then the task could involve fighting necromancers, tasks for Meridia almost always did. Been there, done that.
Sheogorath was a possibility as well, likely for his own amusement and a common goal with the addition of a high chance to piss off another Prince. Hermoras Mora had greater odds than anyone else and I'd nearly wager my life savings against that possibility. I'd think it would be a pretty sure bet that it wouldn't involve any of the Aedra as they rarely made or could make any overt interactions on Nirn since they used so much of their own power in the creation of Nirn itself. Pretty much all they could do was offer temporary blessings to those who prayed at their shrines. One was actually better off finding any of their artifacts that were scattered across Tamriel.
"This should be interesting." I summed up the situation to myself as I head back to the inn to prepare.
Updated 9-13-20- Most of the first-person text has been removed and replaced. As this chapter is mainly for establishing things a bit there wasn't too much to alter beyond the view-points and spelling that was overlooked. Most of the Authors Notes below can be ignored if you so choose but also fills in more about the direction of this story.
Author Notes: Yes, this story has started out with a first-person style, just like I did with my other current story Team DAIT, even utilizing essentially the same main character. Not the most imagination put forward but having an established character makes things simpler. And if you read one of my fics with Denko in it then you can translate him over from one to another and make the slight adjustment as for where he is for that particular story. Still simple for me while leaving plenty to play with.
Don't worry, while the first person, main character thing is a standard for the Elder Scrolls franchise it will not be for this story. It will come up often enough to be expected if my notes so far are anything to go by, likely ending for the most part after the next chapter.
Do not worry about the category that this is placed in, for those who have made it this far or even found this story you'll likely be a fan of the Elder Scrolls. RWBY will make their appearance soon enough but keep in mind that this will be entirely within the realm(s) of the Elder Scrolls and will try to stick with the lore as closely as possible and will not be any kind of retelling of any of the released games so far. The various heroes will be mentioned but they will have had choices as I have done when playing Oblivion and Skyrim. Any of the other game heroes will require reviewer input, corrections, and research on my part.
On that note please feel free to review this as I'd like to have additional input and constructive criticism from multiple points of view. This goes for both the world of Elder Scrolls and the characters of RWBY.
Thank you for reading.