The Magician's Shout
The party of bandits greeted the guard outside Pinewatch with a nod and a bottle of mead, which Tiren assumed they'd picked up during one of their raids. The guard took it with a smile, and then he glanced at Rona for a moment. He apparently made a joke the bandits found funny, as they all erupted with laughter, and then laughed harder as the man smacked her rear.
Tiren could barely hold in his anger, not to mention his disgust. These were terrible people, and Tiren shuddered to think that there were more groups like this one out there.
The raiding party went inside the small cottage, and the Nord standing guard outside the door happily drank his mead. He began to wonder if maybe Strong-Arm would let him have a turn with the girl when he was-
Dead. An arrow had quickly pierced the air and impaled the Nord in the neck.
Tiren was by no means the master marksman Rona claimed to be, but given enough time to aim he could fire an accurate shot, and this one had hit perfectly. Tiren quickly shuffled over and examined the body.
He began shifting through the man's pockets. He found a handful septims, a few lockpicks, and then celebrated in his head as he found the key to the front door. He took this all with him, as well as the arrows in the man's quiver, and walked over to the door.
It wasn't until the key entered the keyhole that Tiren realized what he had done. He'd just killed a man.
A cold sweat came over him. He was a killer. That was a human being that he had just hunted and scavenged like an animal. He felt so disgusted and repulsed by what he'd just done.
But then reality set in. These were terrible people. Who do nothing but terrible things, and will do those terrible things to his friend if he didn't hurry.
Tiren gave a solemn nod. He didn't like it, but he knew what had to be done. And with that he said a prayer to Arkay for the souls of the men he'd kill today.
As Tiren opened the door he drew his sword and readied his magic for combat. The room was empty however, not a soul in sight, and this surprised Tiren. He'd been predicting at least a small group in here. But Tiren then heard voices coming from downstairs, and he prepared himself.
Tiren skulked down the wooden steps into Pinewatch's basement very slowly, trying to examine the situation.
There were two guards, one male Argonian with a bow that Tiren recognized from the raiding party, and to Tiren's surprise, a female. He couldn't tell which race, though he assumed either Imperial or Nord based on her build, and she had a large steel greatsword on her back. The two bandits stood in the middle of the room talking and laughing, enjoying a bottle of mead. Even with them drunk and surprised, Tiren didn't love his chances in direct combat.
Tiren wanted to get them facing the other direction. Noticing a table with a few mugs in the far corner, and a large iron shield sitting on a table close to the stairs, Tiren formulated a quick plan. And he prayed to Akatosh it would work.
He grabbed the mug with telekinesis, and lifted it up just an inch of the table, not enough for them to notice. He then drew his sword, and in an instant, made his assault.
The mug dropped in a loud clang, catching both bandits' attention. And before the Argonian could turn at the sound of the rushing footsteps, an Orcish sword impaled him through one of the openings in his hide armor.
The woman turned to face Tiren and for a moment was too shocked to respond. Before she could draw her weapon though, Tiren reached one hand behind him to grab the iron shield with telekinesis, and slung it forward with full velocity. The bandit's head took the hard metal blow, and she was immediately knocked unconscious.
Pulling his sword out of the dead Argonian, he examined both bodies. The Argonian had little in his pockets, other than a few more septims and lockpicks, but Tiren gladly took these and his arrows.
The half-elf then turned to the woman, who lay there lifelessly.
Logic told him he should kill her. She was a bad person, just as much so as the rest of the bandits. She deserved to die just as fully.
But Tiren just couldn't do it. Especially not like this, He decided that her current state would be enough, and spared her. He searched her as well, and found a small note in her back pocket.
"We've been hitting the Khajit caravans well for a few months now, only a matter of time till someone comes looking. While Rhorlak is in Falkreath "selling crops," you keep up the charade. Any guards come knocking you're a sweet farm girl. Any Khajit or travelers come close and you skin their hides. Understand? Oh, and there's a few more bottles of wine in a bucket behind the shelf. Consider it a bonus. –Rigel Strong-Arm."
Behind the shelf?
Tiren began examining the bookshelf and tried moving it, but to no avail. The damn thing wouldn't budge.
There had to be something more to this though, some secret room or passage. He became frustrated and angry. Every moment lost meant more danger for Rona, and she and those bandits didn't just disappear. Tiren began pressing against the edges of the shelf looking for something, and then notice a small button on the wall. Tiren rea-
"NEXT TIME FINISH THE JOB BITCH!"
Tiren's ears twitched at the loud sound, and without thinking he ducked his head low. A greatsword crashed and stuck itself deep in the wooden shelf. Tiren spun around quickly and tackled the woman to the ground before she could pull her sword out. The wind was knocked out of the female bandit as she hit the floor, and she couldn't defend as Tiren grab his knife and quickly drove it into her throat.
As he watched the life leave her eyes, Tiren quickly decided that he was never making that mistake again.
Tiren walked back over to the wall and pressed the button, and the shelf quickly slid over, revealing a dank cavern behind it. This must be where their true hideout was. Tiren stepped over the dead bandit's bucket of wine, and descended into the cave.
As Tiren made his way through the long dank passage, he entered into a large, open subterranean area. He realized quickly that this must actually be a Nordic ruin.
He crouched down behind a panel of wood for cover, and waited as he heard talking and footsteps from within the large cavern. He looked out behind the panel, quickly examining his surroundings.
The cavern had two levels: a rocky debris covered floor below him, and a series of stone bridges and platforms above that which connected to his position. A long stone bridge connected the large platform in the middle of the ruins to Tiren's position, and it was there that three guards were talking and enjoying their mead. One Khajit and one Redguard stood in the middle of the room making jokes with one another, while another bandit wearing a large iron helmet sat on the edge of one of the stone bridges on the far side of the room.
Tiren casted Oakflesh on himself for extra protection then launched his assault.
Tiren grabbed a rock on the far side of the cavern with telekinesis, and launched it at the back of the head of the guard furthest from him. The bandit's iron helmet echoed a loud clang as he fell over disoriented, and the other two guards immediately sprung to their feet and ran towards the fallen bandit.
Tiren used this distraction to close the gap between them, and slashed his sword across the back of the Redguard's neck before he could turn around. The Khajit was shocked and confused at first, but quickly regained composure. The man-cat brandished his sword and struck at Tiren, who barely managed to block in time.
Tiren immediately realized that he was outmatched in swordsmanship to the Khajit as he attempted to guard himself from a flurry of blows. He got crafty though, and summoned flames to his off-hand. The Khajit grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands and swung down hard, but Tiren managed to parry the blow to the side. Taking the opening, Tiren pressed his hand against the cat's face and fired a quick burst of fire.
The bandit stumbled backwards as his furry face burned, but Tiren didn't hesitate to deliver a swift follow-up strike. His Orcish sword pierced the chest of the Khajit, and the large cat felt death take him. Tiren quickly finished off the remaining guard, and continued through the ruin.
Tiren continued through the cavern stealthily, and managed to take out a few guards with his bow along the way. He moved through the ruin patiently and methodically, trying to avoid open combat when necessary.
Tiren launched an arrow at a grumpy Orc that stood guard outside a metal door, and then quickly descended down and opened the door into the inner sanctum.
The door opened into a room that he assumed the bandit's had been using for a bar. There were walls of crates around the sides of the room, and two bandits (a man and a woman) sat a table in the middle guzzling their drinks.
"The boss has been so angry lately. Did you hear about him killing Roras just for getting close to his stash?" The man questioned.
"Yeah I heard. Hopefully a night with that bitch they brought back will calm him down. I'm tired of him making passes at me too. I swear I'll fry his balls off if he gropes me again." The woman responded.
A shiver ran down Tiren's spine. He couldn't even bare to think about what these brutes would do to her. He needed to act quickly.
He noticed the woman had no weapon, and assumed that based on her comment, she was a mage. This made her dangerous. He decided that striking her first was the best idea, and launched an arrow that struck her right between the eyes.
The second bandit stumbled to his feet, but his drunkenness made him an easy opponent, whom Tiren killed with a second arrow before he got within ten feet of him. He ran over to check the bodies when suddenly his pointed ears twitched and his heart sank.
He heard Rona screaming.
Tiren bolted into a blind sprint. No longer was patience and strategy his priority, and his sense's seemed to take over as he fluidly traversed through the tunnels. He encountered only two guards along the way, which he cut down with swift impunity.
He stopped for a moment as he entered what he assumed was the living quarters. It was a large room filled with beds and tables, and four bandits seemed to be fighting and arguing in the middle of the room. Tiren was puzzled for a moment, but then heard one bandit mention how he wanted "a turn with her next," and Tiren's rage filled him.
Tiren summoned his untested fury spell to his hand and it glowed a bright red. He'd read in his tome that the spell was more effective if you were angry yourself, and Tiren decided this was a perfect opportunity.
He launched a subtle red orb at the back of one of the four bandits, and watched him shout in anger as he drew his dagger and stabbed a tall Nord in the throat. The other two bandits didn't realize yet it was Tiren's doing, they simply thought he was reacting to the heated argument.
This confusion allowed Tiren to catch them off guard. The frenzied bandit got the best of another comrade and slit his throat, only to take a war axe to his head. This left one remaining, who was swiftly put down by one of Tiren's arrows.
But then Rona's screaming got louder, and Tiren took off into a sprint again. She sounded close.
Tiren turned the corner behind a large wooden wall and entered a large bar room filled with tables, chairs, and traps. On the far side of the room was another wooden wall, from behind which Tiren could hear Rona screaming. Bones dangled from the ceiling acting as noise traps, but Tiren easily dodged them. The floor was also covered in tripwires, so Tiren skipped across the tables with his wood elf agility and sprinted towards Rona.
Her turned the corner behind the wooden paneling to see Rona pinned down on a large bed, with a half-armored green Orc on top of her. Tiren launched a small barstool at him with telekinesis.
The impact hit the Orc in the ribs and knocked him off of Rona as he hit the floor hard. Tiren ran over to the bed, grabbed Rona and pulled her away from him.
Rona looked utterly broken. Her armor was tattered, her wrists bruised, and tears still rolled down her eyes. Tiren had to get her out of here.
But then Tiren heard Strong-Arm scream in anger. His cry boomed throughout the ruin, and he picked up himself up and grabbed his battleaxe off his table.
"Get away from here Rona." Tiren whispered. His voice was determined, and left no room for protest.
Rona sprinted down the corridor away from the danger. As she proceeded through the cave though, she reached a dead end. A large metal door stood in her way, but it was locked. Rona cursed.
None of Tiren's tricks worked on Strong-Arm, it was like he felt no pain. The Orc never even flinched at Tiren's fire, and barely staggered at the impact of anything Tiren launched with telekinesis.
Tiren threw a large table with all of his might, but the large Orc smashed it in half easily with a swing of his axe.
Strong-Arm yelled in rage and charged the half-elf. He swung his axe with amazing speed for a weapon that big, and Tiren could barely dodge. At the end of a series of combos, Strong-Arm swung with axe horizontally at the elf. Unable to dodge in time, Tiren dropped his sword and used both hands to dual-cast a ward spell.
Tiren poured all his energy into the magic shield, and it barely absorbed the blow. His ward shattered, and the force made him fly across the bar room and slam against the wall.
Tiren was badly hurt, and barely conscious. But the monstrous Orc didn't falter. He began laughing as he walked over to claim his kill.
Noticing a tripwire next to Strong-Arms feet, Tiren used his remaining magicka on one final trick. He took his knife and launched it across the floor, cutting the wire and triggering the trap.
All of the sudden, darts shot from all directions and stuck themselves into the Strong-Arm's exposed torso. Obviously poisoned, they weakened him greatly, and the Orc even fell to one knee for a moment to gather his strength.
But Tiren laughed at himself. A dart had shot from across the far wall and hit him as well. He swore as the poison stung his shoulder, and then simply shook his head as he realized that his efforts hadn't even been rewarded.
The darts hadn't been enough, just like everything else hadn't been enough. The warrior was simply too strong. As the Orc stood up and approached him again, he closed his eyes. The toxin began to set in.
Tiren only hoped that Rona had gotten away…
Tiren lost consciousness, but Strong-Arm wanted to finish the job. He raised his axe for the final blow, but then lost his footing and staggered backwards. The poison was getting to him.
Strong-Arm felt his Orcish blood drive him forward though, he would complete this kill!
He shuffled forward and raised his axe again.
But then Tiren's knife pierced through the back of his neck.
Except it wasn't Tiren wielding it, it was the weakened, battered Redguard he'd been on top of moments before.
Rigel Strong-Arm was a name he'd stolen of a Nord bandit he'd killed soon after being banished from his clan's stronghold. A new Orc, Balgrub adopted this new identity and quickly became the most feared brigand in Falkreath hold. He struck fear into the hearts of both the traders he robbed and the bandit's he recruited. He'd killed a legion squad single-handedly, hunted a sabre-cat with his bear hands, and crushed a giant with its own club.
And yet the Orc died by the hand of the pathetic girl he planned to bed that night.
Strong-arm fell to the ground and looked up at his assailant, and hoped Malacath would forgive his dishonor as he felt death's embrace.
Rona rushed over to Tiren, and pulled the pack off of his back. She began looking for anything that could help the poison, and panicked as she struggled to find anything. Tiren began to struggle to breath. Finally, she found a potion marked "Cure Poison" in the pack's side pocket, and poured it down the half-elf's throat. Finally, she was relieved to see his breathing relax.
She grabbed the key from Strong-Arm's corpse, and with all her strength, carried Tiren out of Pinewatch.
Author's Notes: Wow that was fun to write. A bit darker than the previous chapters, but not by much.
Like I said in the last chapter, I was taking creative liberties with the character of Rigel Strong-Arm. Originally I was only going to change the sex, but as I wrote it an Orc simply fit the scene better.
Hope you enjoyed it! Follow, Favorite, and Review!