Prologue
Sadryn Veleth was jostled awake by the cart, as it struggled to find a solid road under a thick blanket of ash. He glanced at the other soldiers in the cart. Like himself, they were all clad in bonemold armor. They were headed to Gnisis, a city that had been wiped out when The Red Mountain finally spoke. The soldiers were of House Redoran, the great house that took its superiority over the other Great Houses when the false tribunal was cast down. House Redoran was leading the relief effort, and was sending its soldiers to assist those afflicted by the eruption of The Red Mountain.
"Hey Driver, how much longer until Gnisis?" asked Captain Ralvas, breaking the silence.
"You're lookin' at it Captain." The driver pointed ahead.
The soldiers could only stare. Gnisis had once been a simple town, a nice stop to visit when wandering the north coast of Vvardenfell. Buildings and towers that once stood tall were now piles of rubble. Charred bodies of Dunmer littered every corner. Ahead there was a camp for the few that survived the fires. The men hopped off their cart, and removed their helmets. Sadryn was approached by a healer.
"Is this all they could send us?"
Veleth nodded grimly. "House Redoran is sending out its soldiers to other cities as well, Gnisis isn't the only town affected."
"Gnisis? Don't you get it? Gnisis is no more you fool! This isn't a town anymore, this is a ruin! How in Azura's name are you lot going to protect us from the wilds, and the reavers?!"
"Sir, you need to calm down. Cities all over the province are suffering as well. Depending on the status of other cities, we may receive a few more soldiers. As of right now this is all we have for Gnisis."
Captain Ralvas called over his men to the makeshift tent that was set up in the center of camp. He issued parties of three to search for any more survivors in the town, and to start setting up more tents for the survivors.
The Captain pointed at Sadryn. "Veleth, take Alds out by the river. Search for any survivors there."
"Yes sir."
Sadryn Veleth and Alds left the tent and headed out to the river. Alds was new, and never seemed to talk much. Veleth welcomed the silence, as they hiked through the ash. They finally arrived at the river and split up to comb each end. Veleth walked up the north end until he noticed a figure in the water. He reached down into the river and pulled out a woman who looked half dead.
"Alds! I found someone. Let's get her back to camp!"
There was no reply.
"Alds, get over here! This woman needs a healer now!"
This time an arrow flew past the side of Sadryn's arm, just barely missing him. He set down the woman behind a boulder, and reached the shield on his back. He unsheathed his sword, and proceeded south to find his assailant, and hopefully Alds. It was after ten minutes of walking through the ash, did Sadryn find Alds' lifeless body. His calf had been pierced by a poisoned arrow, and impaled by a makeshift spear. It was in that moment that Sadryn veleth heard hissing behind him. He turned around to face an argonian, with a spear in hand and a bow slung over his shoulder.
"Lizard, you just murdered a House Redoran soldier. I hope you've prayed to whatever it is you worship, because I'm about to send you to it in pieces!"
The Argonian hissed again waving his spear at Sadryn. "Typical Dunmer ignorance. We have lived under the filth of your boot, and will no longer serve as your slaves."
The time for talking was over. The Argonian thrust his spear at Sadryn. Sadryn deflected the spear's tip with his shield, guiding it once more towards Alds' corpse. The Argonian was pulling his spear from Alds when Sadryn raised his sword and cut off the lizard's head. This Argonian was clearly a slave, as it had no true combat prowess. It seemed that the lizard only managed to kill Alds with the element of surprise. Sadryn returned to the woman he had left behind the boulder, and returned her back to base camp. He gave her to the healers, and returned back to Captain Ralvas.
"Sir, Alds is dead. An Argonian slave managed to get the drop on him."
"Damn it! We can't afford to lose men out here Sadryn! Our numbers are already low as it is. I'll write the necessary note to Alds' family. What of the slave?"
"He faced a summary execution by my blade."
"Good. So on top of wild animals, reavers, we now have to worry about renegade slaves? By Azura, where does it end? Anyhow, Veleth you're dismissed."
Veleth left the Captain's tent, and joined his fellow soldiers by the fire. They had managed to bring a few bottles of Ashfire Mead with them, and handed him a tankard. Sadryn drank deeply, and observed the setting sun.
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