Chapter II
A Legacy Regained
Guilbert Jemane closed his eyes and breathed in the air, savouring it. The air of Weatherleah was fresh and sweet, filled with the scents of the forest just as he remembered it, as was the water from the well sweet and fresh also. Of course Guilbert had to remove the debris over the cover, but the spring water still flowed beneath.
Two decades had passed since he stood there, as a child, and he never thought he would again. He had always carried the iron warhammer his father had given him, although he had never used it, due to his rather quiet profession and also due to the fact he avoided trouble at all cost. The warhammer was the only connection to a past he had tried to forget, but something inside had prevented Guilbert from discarding the warhammer. He had lived as a travelling salesman and had seen much of Cyrodil; however he had based himself in the township of Cheydinhal at the opposite end of the continent, as far away from childhood memories as he could, as if that were possible. He had believed himself the last surviving member of the Jemane family, but took some comfort in that fact if it meant a life without hassle. Still Guilbert had never settled, and he regularly laid his head down at the Newlands Lodge Inn where nobody stayed long and almost every day the faces were new.
This uneventful existence began to deteriorate when Guilbert began to trade with merchants from the far away township of Chorrol, which Guilbert had forgotten as the ancestral home of the his family. Some of these merchants began to somehow recognise Guilbert as one of the Jemanes, although as far as Guilbert knew he was the last and nobody in Chorrol had seen a Jemane for three decades. To further complicate the situation, they referred to him as "Reynald", the name of his long lost and presumably dead twin brother. Whilst Guilbert had tried to make sense of this scenario, his mundane life was finally shattered along with the arrival of a messenger from Chorrol who finally unravelled the mystery for Guilbert once and for all.
On that fateful day, a whole two decades earlier, his mortally wounded mother journeyed through the wilderness all the way to Chorrol, and all the distance somehow carrying the infant Reynald. Exactly how she escaped the ogres that were attacking Weatherleah remained a mystery, indeed not short of a miracle, as was her odyssey after being separated from her husband and other son and travelling for just long enough to ensure the safety of Reynald. No doubt spurred on by love for the infant boy in her arms, she made her destination, but once safe inside the city walls of Chorrol, she died of her wounds.
The people of Chorrol raised Reynald as an orphan. Few of them knew of the Jemane family, and even fewer knew any history of note with regards to the Jemanes. Those few in the latter category cared not to speak of it. Reynald was a popular child but by some point in his early teens had become detached and turned to drink, and the people of Chorrol paid for his habit, as they knew not what else to do for him. Reynald made permanent residence at a tavern of ill repute, the Grey Mare, and drunk away the hours, and the days, then the weeks, then the months, then the years. He could be found at all hours in The Grey Mare holding a flagon of mead or ale in hand without fail, muttering nonsensical comments and shouting random abuse at various residents. Still, Jemane was harmless, and was loved by the people many of whom remembered him as an adorable infant, and not the wastrel he had become. The fact that he had not ventured from the tavern in years was the explanation for a number of Chorrol merchants seeing Reynald at the other side of the continent, in the township of Cheydinhal. It had now become evident that they were in fact seeing his identical twin brother, Guilbert.
For the first time in his life, as far as he could remember, Guilbert felt excitement at something, and set out for Chorrol immediately. It was a perilous journey that Guilbert wouldn't take alone, but he had his usual paid consorts to escort him. Upon arriving at the Grey Mare Reynald mistook Guilbert for the barmaid, after which the barmaid decided it was time even Reynald had drunk enough that night. After a few hours, Reynald had sobered up slightly, but still not enough to realise he was talking to his own identical twin. Clearly Reynald didn't look into a mirror often. Believing Guilbert to be a farmer he knew, Reynald spent the latter half of the night attempting to apologise for killing a pig he believed belonged to Guilbert.
Upon Reynald's slow realisation of circumstances, sometime after dawn, he immediately began celebrating his reunion with his brother by downing a few more flagons of ale. Meanwhile the events had ignited long-buried memories in Guilbert and piqued his curiosity, and spurred on by this he had sought to get some outside help in reclaiming Weatherleah. However Guilbert couldn't recall the exact location of the estate. Nevertheless, Sabine Laul of the Fighters Guild had explored the backcountry to some extent and recalled seeing an old abandonded farmhouse and noted the position on Guilbert's map.
An expedition did indeed reveal that the structure still stood, although three ogre groundlings had taken up permanent residence inside. After these had been despatched their corpses were carried and thrown into a ditch some half hour walk south of the farm. Guilbert was glad he hadn't attended this sojourn, as his stomach was not very strong. The interior of the farm was found to be littered with human skeletons, and a charred corpse even still cooked on the heath. These remains had been carefully removed and buried in a communal grave beneath a semi-ruined wayshrine to the Divine Julianos, a short distance to the west.
The wind through the trees overhead reminded Guilbert of the soothing sound of the Abecean Sea. It felt good to be back at Weatherleah, he thought to himself, as he sowed seeds in the allotment. The people of Chorrol rejoiced at the news. Yet something was still amiss. Knowing why his father had built this farm and moved his family out to this remote location in the first instance was disturbing enough, yet Guilbert was determined to make it home once again.
Guilbert had always been told his father had been a peaceful farmer, and nothing more; and that Weatherleah had been passed down through the generations of Jemanes. In the reclamation of Weatherleah, Guilbert learned the unnerving truth was something quite opposite, from a Dark Elf named Fathis Ules who had known his father over two decades previously. Albert Jemane had been a professional thief in the employ of Fathis Ules, and "one of his best", according to Ules. Jemane was entrusted with the theft of a priceless ebony and gold blade from Castle Chorrol, the Honorblade of Chorrol, but Jemane got greedy and disappeared with the Honorblade himself.
In essence, Albert had placed his young family in a dangerous position by moving them out into the wilderness, a wilderness that had been known to be a treacherous place, as he was scared of human recrimination for his past sins. It was just another reason for Guilbert to hate his late father.
Guilbert smelt the air. It was fresh and sweet, with all the scents of the forest. But he couldn't smell that dinner Reynald was supposedly cooking, and so left his duties for a few minutes to check up on it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Reynald was laid out on the stone floor, his ingredients for dinner strewn out over the floor along with the spilt contents of a previously half-full pitcher of ale. Guilbert helped the semi-conscious, mumbling form of his brother onto his bedroll, and took a seat for a moment to contemplate.
The farming duties would have to wait. The interior of Weatherleah was a mess, with various implements lying around and the belongings of the twins were scattered in disorganisation and disarray. Guilbert would have to get tidying up strait away, as there was no chance of Reynald helping him. Guilbert drew some water from the well, brought it back inside, and placed it over the fire. He would need some hot water to scrub down the floors and walls. He made to sure to bolt the solid oak doorway behind him, even though it was a warm day, otherwise Guilbert would of felt insecure with it open. The doorway had to be closed. Perhaps he would look for some paintings to hang from the walls, if memory served there were some paintings somewhere in the farmstead, they just had to found. The place had to look respectable and pleasant. Tomorrow Weatherleah would have visitors. Very important visitors.