to answer a certain review...
to 99luftbalons:- lol...Grun is the only other OC character you like as much as you own? you don't like Arvina then? lol thx...glad to know u like the bad tempered dwarf...
anywayz...chapter 6...enjoy...
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Chapter 6
The sun was setting when Arvina and M'raaj-Dar finally arrived at Weynon Priory.
They left the horses in the stables where the other horses gave Shadowmere a wide berth.
Schemer scampered about happily at their feet.
"Arvina! M'raaj-Dar!" greeted an elderly Dunmer who just came out of the house beside the Priory. "Good to see you again."
"Hello, Eronor," greeted Arvina, giving the Dunmer a hug. "Is Jauffre in?"
Eronor rolled his eyes.
"You know where to find him, don't you?"
They all laughed. It was common knowledge that Jauffre would always be praying in the chapel or reading in the library.
Sure enough, they found their Breton friend reading away.
Jauffre hadn't changed much over the last two years, except perhaps that he had less hair and more wrinkles.
He greeted his friends warmly.
"Arvina, M'raaj-Dar," he said, standing up to embrace the two of them. "Good to see you again. How's business?"
They sat down across the desk, facing Jauffre.
"Most people aren't interested in potions nowadays," grumbled M'raaj-Dar. "Even less since the Emperor was killed."
"A lot of parents stopped sending their children to my classes," said Arvina, sighing. "I don't blame them. There's been a general feeling of unrest since the assassination and it's not really safe right now."
"Yes, it's terrible," agreed Jauffre. "Any idea who could have done it?"
Arvina and M'raaj-Dar shifted uncomfortably.
They knew what Jauffre was hinting at.
Jauffre was the only one who knew about their past.
"It's unlikely that the Brotherhood did it," said Arvina uneasily. "They fell into complete disarray since I killed the Night Mother. A lot of them were already captured and executed by the Legion."
"I know that, Arvina," said Jauffre. "But that still doesn't rule out the Brotherhood. After all, there are a lot of very skilled assassins within their ranks."
"Are you saying we did it?" snarled M'raaj-Dar angrily.
Jauffre raised his hands to calm the Khajiit.
"I never said that and you will never hear me say that," he said. "I trust you both and I know you had nothing to do with it."
An awkward silence fell between them.
"Well then," said Jauffre, clapping his hands together. "How about some tea?"
Arvina and M'raaj-Dar both agreed and they got up to go downstairs.
"I've got something special this time," said Arvina cheerfully, pulling out a flask and pouring its contents into a clay bowl.
Jauffre and M'raaj-Dar visibly winced at the sight of it.
It looked like gruel, only it was an unpleasant orange colour and there were very tiny shreds of a purple leaf in it.
"That…looks wonderful," said Jauffre in a strained voice.
"What is that?" asked M'raaj-Dar.
Arvina smiled.
"Mandrake stew with Nightshade seasoning," she said.
Jauffre and M'raaj-Dar turned to each other.
"I forgot!" cried Jauffre. "It's prayer time!"
He ran out to the chapel.
"I'll…uh…go help him pray," mumbled the Khajiit before swiftly following.
A vein popped in Arvina's head.
"JAUFFRE! DAR! GET BECK HERE NOW!"
The monk and the Khajiit returned and sat meekly at the table.
Arvina served out the gruel to both of them and watched them like a hawk.
Both Jauffre and M'raaj-Dar only looked at their meal.
"It's not going to eat itself, you know," said Arvina in a dangerously sweet voice.
Thankfully, help came in the form of Prior Marborel.
"Jauffre!" he cried, bursting in. "Oh, hello you two. There's an odd creature and a woman here to see you. They say it's urgent."
"Show them in!" cried Jauffre gladly.
Arvina merely scowled.
M'raaj-Dar grinned at her. "We'll eat it later."
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Grun watched as the Prior he had talked to went to look for Jauffre. While waiting, he turned to Adrianna.
"You leavin' or what?" he asked.
Adrianna shrugged.
"My horse is tired," she said. "Maybe I'll just stay here for the night and move on to Chorrol tomorrow."
The Prior came running back out.
"This way," he said.
Grun trudged after him, followed by Adrianna.
When they entered, he saw that a Khajiit, an Imperial woman and a Breton whom he immediately assumed to be Jauffre seated at a dining table.
"Yes, you want to see me?" asked the Breton politely.
"You Jauffre?" asked Grun, looking at the Breton up and down.
"Yes," answered the Breton.
"Good," grunted Grun.
He strode forward, took out the Amulet of Kings and shoved it into a startled Jauffre's hands.
He turned towards the door.
"Wait!"
Grun stopped.
Jauffre was now standing, his face deadly serious.
"This is the Amulet of Kings, it belongs to the Emperor. How did you get it?" he demanded in a commanding voice.
Which was wasted on Grun of course.
"The old sod gave it to me and told me to pass it on to you before he died," he grunted.
Jauffre frowned.
"You were there? Why would the Emperor give you this?"
"The old man was barkin' mad!" growled Grun. "He was spoutin' some garbage about seein' me in his dreams."
"Mind your tongue," growled Jauffre. "Did he say anything else?"
"Told me you knew of his other whelp," grunted the dwarf.
Jauffre's eyes widened.
"Yes, Uriel called me to his chambers that night on showed me the child. He told me to take care of him."
The Khajiit cut in.
"You knew the Emperor, personally?"
"Of course I do," said Jauffre quietly. "I'm the Grandmaster of the Blades."
The room was quiet.
Grun snorted.
"So yer Emperor has a bastard, then," he said.
Jauffre winced.
"I prefer the term, illegitimate child," he said coldly.
"Which is a fancy word that still means 'bastard'," retorted the dwarf. "You can dress up a zombie like a king, but it wouldn't change the fact that it's a zombie. Same thing here."
"Now is not the time for this," snapped Jauffre. "Did Uriel say anything else?"
"Said something about findin' the bastard and close the jaws of Oblivion or somethin' like that," answered the dwarf.
"I see," said Jauffre. "The son is in Kvatch, his name is Martin. He's a priest."
Grun blinked.
"Why are you tellin' me this?"
Jauffre blinked.
"Because you're going to look for him and bring him here."
"Hell no!" snapped the dwarf. "I only agreed to bring you the amulet, that's all."
"Well, the Emperor saw something in you, whatever you are," snapped Jauffre. "I'm sure that you're the right person for this task."
"I didn't bust me arse outta prison just to go around helpin' you sods hold yer Empire together!" yelled Grun. "I'm through with this!"
M'raaj-Dar chuckled.
"What're you laughin' at, Whiskers?" growled the dwarf.
"You're probably just scared to go out and find the boy," said the Khajiit snidely.
"Are you callin' me a chicken?" Grun roared.
"Of course not," snorted M'raaj-Dar. "That's too good for you."
"Why you…"
Arvina kneeled before the irate dwarf.
"Please, could you help us? This land needs you now," she said, blinking at him with her soft brown eyes.
Grun found himself blushing slightly and felt his anger melt in face of those eyes. Looking away, he snarled. "Fine, but I don't know the way."
Jauffre turned to M'raaj-Dar. "You better go with him."
"What?" cried the Khajiit.
"Now, M'raaj-Dar," said Jauffre sternly.
Both of them swearing in their mother tongue, Grun and M'raaj-Dar walked out the door.
Turning to Arvina, Jauffre said: "I'll look after the amulet; you better go with them and keep them from killing each other."
Arvina nodded and followed them out.
Turning, Jauffre saw the woman that came with the dwarf put a spoonful of Arvina's stew in her mouth.
He spent the next few hours treating her in the chapel.
So much for a peaceful life he thought wearily.
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Arvina rode Shadowmere quietly, watching the two in front of her.
Grun did not know how to ride a horse, so he had to share with M'raaj-Dar because Shadowmere was spooked by the mere sight of the dwarf.
Needless to say, both Khajiit and dwarf weren't happy about it.
Listening to the two of them bicker, she shook her head.
So much for a peaceful life she thought wearily.
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yet another victim of Arvina's cooking...sigh...
anyway...hope u liked that...
chapter 7...coming soon...
