The Fall of Lord Kelvyn
By Commentaholic
A/N: A new month calls for a new chapter! It also calls for conflict. It also might call for a change in gears, so I might finish off my other story, A Dark Minion's Diary, fairly soon. Most of you loyal readers know how much I hate shifting in the middle of something, but I have finally convinced myself that it needs to be finished. A reader of that story has finally expressed interest in how the cliffhanger turns out! Surprising, I know! Of course, with the picking up of one story, another must be dropped, so I'll try to avoid a cliffhanger for this story. It'll be hard though, even now I can see the end of this chapter in my mind as a cliffhanger. I'll try not to make it too suspenseful.
Read and review!
Chapter 9: Of Mages and Necromancers
The sun rose lazily over Battlehorn Castle. The steel-clad men-at-arms patrolled slowly along the walls, awaiting the end of their shifts.
In her room, the Altmer druid, Camdafire, slumbered. All of a sudden, she opened her eyes, looking alarmed.
On the walls, Caecilius watched the sun rise over the hills in the distance. It looked like it would be a beautiful day, yet something was making him uneasy. The door to the gatehouse behind him banged open. He whipped around, seeing the castle's resident magician, Camdafire. He relaxed, chiding himself for jumping at shadows.
What was she doing in the gateroom?
Caecilius then remembered that one could reach the west wing of the castle, the living quarters, through a trapdoor in the gatehouse. She must've walked up here. Caecilius was about to ask what her purpose here was.
It was only then that Caecilius noticed the panicked look on the druid's face.
"What's wrong, Camdafire? You look scared," Caecilius asked, reaching out to comfort her. She shrugged off his arm and strode to the edge of the battlements, looking intently across the plain in front of the fortress.
Caecilius stepped up beside her, glancing nervously at her, almost expecting her to jump, and preparing to catch her. That was when he noticed her eyes. Her normally ocean-blue eyes were completely misted over. Caecilius immediately knew that magic was involved, and looked out over the walls once more. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then again, he'd never been particularly sensitive to the magical world.
Camdafire was suddenly engulfed in a green aura, causing Caecilius to leap back in alarm, almost tumbling backwards off the walls, saved by the nearby Man-at-arms. Righting himself, Caecilius looked back towards Camdafire. The druid was slowly raising her arms, pointing her hands towards the distant meadow. Her voice, usually musical and light, whispered out in a deep, echoing voice. Arcane symbols etched themselves in mid-air, swirling around the small figure of the Altmer spellcaster.
Then the glowing symbols swirled to her hands, collected into a yellow mist, and shot out in all directions, sweeping towards the horizon. The guard captain at her side was struck dumb with awe.
The druid suddenly crumpled. Caecilius yanked himself out of his stupor, quickly grabbing her before she toppled off the battlements. He summoned the castle healer, then as he waited for the healer to arrive, he happened to glance up past the gap in the stone walltops. His eyes widened. He called for the nearest man-at-arms. "Go get Lord Kelvyn, NOW!"
"My Lord! We are under siege!" shouted a voice at the door to Lord Kelvyn's bedchambers.
Kelvyn's chair toppled from his rapid departure as he quickly stood from his desk and ran to the door, throwing it open.
"What? Who?" he asked the man-at-arms who stood there breathing heavily after his rapid sprint from his patrol on the battlements.
"Unknown, My Lord, but they must have surrounded the walls under cover of darkness. The reason we haven't seen them before now is due to an illusion spell." the man-at-arms wheezed out.
"What stopped the spell?" Kelvyn inquired, gesturing that they proceed to the walls.
"The druid Camdafire, my lord." the soldier replied, "She dispelled the illusion and then collapsed. She would have toppled off the wall if Caecilius had not caught her."
"And where is she now?" asked Kelvyn, a concern bringing his usually cheerful attitude crashing down.
"She's under the care of the castle healer. Praelios believes that the spell drained her magicka reserves, but she should be battle ready by nightfall." the soldier said as they arrived at the door to the walltop. The soldier opened the door for Lord Kelvyn, who strode to the battlements, looking at the great mass of what appeared to be an army of bandits poised to ravage his land. At the center of the formation nearest to the castle gate, Kelvyn could see a large tent, presumably that of the leader of the horde.
Caecilius stepped up beside Kelvyn, saying, "I have taken the liberty of ordering the garrison to gear up for combat, My Lord."
"Good, good," said Kelvyn, "Apologies, Captain. It seems as though we'll be needing your skills earlier than I expected. Though, it appears that we are at a bit of a disadvantage."
"Indeed, My Lord, but numbers do not win battles," Caecilius said.
"I'm sure they help, though," murmered Kelvyn.
Meanwhile, in the command tent of The Velvet Rogue...
Velvet's ears perked up when she started hearing the rustle of armor and calls to defensive positions. Well, she'd been about to reveal themselves anyway.
"Helen, it would seem as though they've dispelled your barrier of illusion," Velvet said to her vampire friend. Helen smiled, leaning back in the chair she was sitting in on the other side of the map table.
"It would seem as though my spell did the trick though. At least I'll have a challenge when it comes to magic once we breach the walls," said Helen.
"Speaking of breaching the walls," Velvet said, "When does the ballista arrive from Blackwood?"
Rhesus stepped forward, "It has been delayed, of course. Moving a war machine past Imperial Legion patrols isn't easy, even for people with the resources that Black Brugo has. I have, however received a courier saying that it should arrive in 2 days."
"By that time, we'll be inside, if everything goes according to plan with Starlight and Shadow's mission," Velvet said, "but it does help to have a backup plan."
Helen and Rhesus looked towards the two Argonians standing in the corner. Velvet had kept their part in her strategy a secret, but Helen wasn't too worried. Velvet had proven herself years earlier as a clever tactitian and a very capable warrior. If Velvet trusted the two silent Argonians, then Helen trusted them, too.
Rhesus obviously did not share this trust, because he stepped closer to the pair. The Argonians tensed slightly, their only outward acknowledgement of Rhesus's presence.
Rhesus's eyes narrowed, regarding them closely. "And what exactly is their mission? I would prefer to know what sort of people I'm working with. I've had too much experience with shady characters than I would care to recount, and not all of it ended well," Rhesus said, crossing his arms pointedly. Helen realized that Rhesus was the only one in the tent without knowledge of the pair's origins, she silently cursed herself for not informing him.
Velvet stepped between the Redguard and two Argonians, saying, "Rhesus, I know why you're distrustful, but we should not be warring amongst ourselves when another war is just outside. We must be united in our venture. These Argonians have only assisting us in our goal in mind, trust me, I give you my word."
Rhesus's gaze softened slightly, and he said, "If you say so, Velvet. I'll go get the troops ready for the assault."
Rhesus strode out of the tent. Velvet inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Starlight, would you kindly sheath your blade." said Velvet. Helen then heard the muffled rasp of metal.
Velvet said, "Helen, would you ready the hedge wizards for battle, please? We will need all of the weapons in our arsenal at full strength."
Helen inclined her head and left the tent. Helen sent a messenger to round up the magic users. Until they were gathered, she would have a word with Rhesus.
In the Quartermaster's tent, Helen entered to find Rhesus mending what looked to be an aged ebony shield with his back to the door. Helen knew this to be a nervous habit of his, and decided to investigate.
Helen cautiously asked, "Rhesus? Is everything okay?"
Rhesus glanced over his shoulder, and then turned back toward the shield. "Helen, shouldn't you be preparing the magicians for battle like you usually do?" Rhesus said in a voice that made it clear that his mind wasn't really on his task.
Helen approached Rhesus and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Rhesus, I may not know you as well as Velvet does, but I know enough to know that you're hiding something. What do you have against those two Argonians?"
Rhesus looked up from his work, "It's not against those Argonians, it's against the evil they emanate. The last time I met someone with that aura, I ended up in an agreement that made me do things that I deeply regret. What happened then was... Well, let's just say that you wouldn't have recognized me had you seen me back then."
Helen leaned back in the nearby chair, what could have happened to make even Rhesus scared to mention it?
Rhesus finished mending his shield, placed it on a stand in the corner, and turned toward the display that held his suit of armor. Helen froze at the sight of the strange device on it, a red skull sitting atop a bloody scepter, the mark of the necromancers. She hadn't seen that mark in years, not since they'd met Rhesus. Helen turned to Rhesus, about to ask why he would have that mark on his shield after all these years, when a messenger called from outside.
"Mistress LeBlanc! The mages are ready for you."
Helen bid Rhesus farewell, then left, the question still nagging at her mind.
Once Helen left, Rhesus doubled over, clutching his chest. He staggered over to his bed, reaching underneath it, and pulling out a small chest. Opening it with a complex-looking key, Rhesus reached inside and drew out a piece of parchment. Rhesus read from it, felt his magicka level plummet, and a glow engulfed his form.
Outwardly, nothing changed. Inside his abdomen, however, muscles were knitting together, intestines moving back into place, decaying flesh smoothed over and became whole.
The glow subsided and Rhesus collapsed onto his bed, chest heaving.
"That was too close," Rhesus gasped out, his teeth still gritting with the pain of near-death once again, "Saved by the messenger."
Rhesus rose slowly to his feet, wincing. Sometimes he regretted being brought back by that necromancer. The grave injustice done to Rhesus would never be forgiven. Or forgotten.
-To be Continued in Part 2-