Chapter 22: Stirring the Storm part 1
It's been a few hours since i left Ancano's office, during that time I had sent my spies to scour every corner of the city to find Elika.
As for me, I wad heading to the City's Underworld to find a few particular individuals I had met a while back.
I came to a number of Fight Clubs that gained me enough notoriety to be recognised under the alias of "Cold Death".
I earned the moniker thanks to the Spear I use all the time. It had two main features, one was the ice duplication of the Spear itself and the other was the Frost Damage and Paralysis effects.
Those parked together would render all my opponents vulnerable for the killing blow.
I prioritised Speed and Agility in my fighting style since I am lacking in physical strength I make up for it with the Enhancements my Spear has.
In legal Fights such as in the Imperial Arena, Enchantments are banned, but in the Underworld of the City, Illegal Fights are permitted with the full use of Enchantments although a 35% cut of the winnings is always deducted unlike the Arena which takes roughly 8%.
"Sir, you still didn't explain why your heading "there"?" My companion Na'shi asked as she ran besides me, effortlessly keeping up with my speed.
"You know Elika's my friend, but I never told you is that her father is a Moth Priest. Couple years ago she was almost kidnapped by the Thalmor, kike she is now, so that they could blackmail her father into revealing infomation regarding three Elder Scroll Prophecies. One of which is about me."
"Yeah, but wh-" I cut her off as I wasn't finished explaining as I needed to catch my breath for a moment.
"I could find her, but that's not my goal, I want to find the meeting place the Thalmor are preparing. There is a chance that they know Teleportion and if that's the case, finding Elika would be useless as I would only lose her ina n instant. I wnat to know the truth, I want to eavesdrop on the conversation and learn the full Prophecies for myself at the actual meeting."
"Can't the Moth Priest lie? How would they know if he tells the truth?"
"Magic. He won't have a choice and they will place a spell on him, possibly one that validates the Truth of his words. If they could dominate his mind with Illusion they would have done so rather than going the roundabout method like this to force a defenseless blind old man to confess his secrats."
********************
Location: Elika's Manor
...
Silence...
That was all there was as the two parties stared at each other.
One with hate and murderous intent.
The other exuding pride and arrogance.
The tension hing heavy in the air as the former pair of individuals glared at the duo opossing them as a few guards surrounded them all.
"Now now, what good will this all do if we can't convene peacefully?" The Latter parties companion said as a sly smirk grew across their face.
*crack*
The armrest which a female knight had her hand gripped around could not handle the pressure being exuded upon it.
"YOU KIDNAPPED OUR DAUGHTER AND HAVE THE GALL TO COME IN HERE MAKING DEMANDS AND CALLING IT TALKING "PEACEFULLY"!!!"
"Rel..." Rella's husband Kibren spoke trying to get his wife's attention.
"YOU'RE HANGING BY A THREAD ELF BASTARD! I HAVE NO QUALMS WITH TALKING YOU'RE LIFE AS YOU'RE LIFE IS DISPOSABLE!!!"
"Rella!" Kibren's voice came once again though this time loud enough to get her attention.
She gritted her teeth as she held back the urge to cleave the Thalmor's head from his shoulders.
Kibren watched all this before letting out a low sigh.
"You've made our situation quite clear Ambassador Ancano. Though what assurances do we have yo-"
"About that. Naturally, you would want to know that your beloved daughter is fairing well under our care. Which is why you will get the chance to meet her...in person of course at a location of our choosing. I trust you have no objections to these terms, and naturally as we've already discussed what we would like for the 'continued protection' and safety of young lady Elika."
Ancano said, blissfully ignoring the killing intent Rella was unable to restrain, fortunately Kibren calmed her down resulting in the guards around them to lower their weapons.
Ancano and his companion stood up as they prepared to leave.
"Until we meet again Commander, Moth Priest." Was all he said before he strode out of the Manor but not before leaving some guards behind to keep a watch of the perimeter.
The two parents knew that this was to prevent them from getting any word out about the predicament they find themselves in.
"Dear-"
"I know, Rel."
"But why would they take such roundabout methods to keep this all a secrat. While it is obvious that any knowledge pertaining to the Elder Scrolls and their Prophecies will tip the balance of power to one Faction."
"Or else they would have broken the White-Gold Concordant on their own and force the Empire to give up the knowledge I hold, that is if they didn't require the Empire in their future plans."
"Isn't there any hints as to what they would want with the Empire? Something in those Prophecies you know."
"There is one. Of blood an war spilled on a battlefield of snow of both Nords and Imperials. But each Prophecy is linked to one another, the likelihood that all three Prophecies would happen at the same time is ludicrous but also frightening if that were true which I sincerely hope not."
"Well, there isn't much we can do but I won't sit idle as long as they have Elika. I need to try...to think of something..." Rella told her husband, but it was mostly to persuade and calm herself more than anything.
Kibren stood up and walked over to her, blind he may be, he had honed some of his other senses to do this much, as he wrapped her in his embrace.
"We will save her."
The two hugged each other for a while as they calmed down from all that had transpired.
Little did they know that the shock would return in the form of a bird made from solid ice as it flew out from the fireplace and perched itself on a candlestick.
The light from the candlestick was immediately extinguished by the cold aura the bird of Ice radiated.
By then Rella had released herself from the hug with Kibren and already held a sword in her hand as she dashed at the bird thinking it was the work of Thalmor Wizards.
"FRIEND!!! FRIEND!!!!! *CAW!*"
The bird caw'd as it had no choice but to take evasive action to evade Rella's attack, instead only a few of its icy feathers had frozen off from its tail.
"*CAW!* Stupid Hooman, I'm a friend of Elika!"
Rella stopped her follow up attack as she stared at the bird with a mouth wide open completely speechless.
"..."
Not only her but her husband felt the same way and looked at the bird, and he doesn't even have sight anymore!
"..."
"Don't look at me like that! This is a new spell I made! I'm trying to give my Elemental creations like this bird an "Ego" and "Personality" of its own. Although it makes situations awkward since it sometimes thinks the message I am transmitting through it is actually what it thinks itself is saying and not me using it."
"..."
"..."
"Anyway...moving on...I am Elika's friend, no time to explain. I had been searching for Elika ever since she was first abducted and I know where she is being held-"
Rella's eyes went wide with shock and hope at the second sentence and wasted no time making her voice heard.
"Wait! If you know where she is then-" Rella wanted to continue but was cut off.
"No, there are many reasons why I can't save her now and not enough time to explain. Head to the location that they will inform you about. Once that happens, be ready for a battle as I requested some help from my family to save Elika. Be ready to take her to safety once the chaos begins. Agree to any term they say and cooperate with them. They'll all be dead soon enough. I'll see you there, prepare yourselves."
With that said the voice from the bird cut off.
"*CAW* *CAW*"
The bird screeched as it waved its wings around in a panic as its body began to disolve and disintegrate into mist. But not before letting out one last cry.
"*CAW* HOOMAN BETRAYED MEEEE!!! *cCaAAaW*"