RETURN TO HELGEN
From the Journal of Lutherus Sotasius. Date of Entry: Last Seed, 30th, 4E, 201.
Both Lutherus and Faendal, under the watch of Praefect Ottius took refuge at Whiterun overnight, before departing in the morning for Helgen. Lutherus, having retrieved his journal back from the Imperial Magistrate, penned in his latest entry before turning in. Faendal, still angry at Lutherus, fell asleep immediately, not even acknowledging Lutherus as he said goodnight to his friend. "GET UP! YOU LAZY PUKE!" Shouted Praefect Ottius, as the morning rolled in. 6 hours of rest did not do much to spark Lutherus up from his slumber. Praefect Ottius however, had other ideas. He took a bucket of ice cold water and chucked it over Lutherus, who whilst was now shivering cold, was at least up. "THERE'LL BE MORE IF YOU'RE NOT IN UNIFORM AND ASSEMBLED OUTSIDE THE CITY GATES IN 5 MINUTES! MOVE YOUR ARSE AUXILIARY!" He shouted, as he turned on his heel and headed downstairs. he noticed Faendal's bunk was empty, and his possessions nowhere to be seen.
"Thanks, friend." Sulked Lutherus, as gathered his gear. He was not off to a good start with his Commander, so got dressed in quick order, and raced downstairs and out into the cold morning air. The Sun in the sky still hadn't risen, Lutherus began to wonder what time it actually was.
He left the Gates and could see Faendal, a few other Auxiliaries and the Praefect all marshalled in a double line - the Praefect staring back at them.
"About bloody time!" Sneered the Praefect, as he saw Lutherus coming down to join them.
"Sorry Praefect." Replied Lutherus.
"Shut up! I didn't ask for your apology. Fall in!" Lutherus fell in line, alongside more of the Auxiliaries. The Praefect then addressed them all. "Alright! Good Morning, Auxiliaries!"
"Good Morning, Praefect!" Came the response from them all.
"Did you ladies sleep well?"
"Yes we did! Praefect!"
"Good! Because today you're going to of wanted the rest! Today we are returning to Helgen, and we shall be posted there until further orders from General Tullius! And for what EVER reason, you have been given the privilege of clearing out the settlement, from it's current Bandit inhabitants! Do you find it honourable, Auxiliaries?!"
"Yes we do, Praefect!"
"Pah!" Rattled the Praefect, as he marched to observe his troops. "Look at you all, bloody pansies the lot of ya! It would be a bloody miracle if even one of you has prior combat experience!" The Praefect waited for an answer, but the Auxiliaries just stood still. "WELL?!" He shouted. "Has ANYONE here crossed swords with Bandits before?!" Only two hands raised - Lutherus' and Faendal's. Praefect Ottius threw his sword into the soft ground in disgust, and paced towards Lutherus. "YOU?!" He shouted again. "YOU'RE A VETERAN?! HOW IN THE EIGHT DIVINES DID YOU ACHIEVE THAT MIRACLE?!"
"I wasn't alone, Praefect!" Responded Lutherus.
"REALLY?! WHO WAS STUPID ENOUGH TO TAG ALONG WITH YOU THEN?!"
"FAENDAL! PRAEFECT!"
"IS THAT SO AUXILIARY!" Praefect Ottius responded, as he turned back to face the front of the column. "Get up here! The pair of you!" Within seconds, Lutherus and Faendal presented themselves to the Praefect, at the front of the column. "Since none of these other pansies have a spine between them, I have no choice but to delegate the responsibility of Head Auxiliaries to you two! Do you understand?!"
"Yes, Praefect!" They both responded.
"Good! Faendal, march them out behind me! Lutherus! You have the rear guard! Move out!" The two got to their positions, as Praefect Ottius mounted his horse.
"Alright troops!" Instructed Faendal. "Lets move!" Marching from Whiterun, the Auxiliary Battalion moved through Riverwood, and then onto Helgen. They arrived at the outskirts of the destroyed settlement, and made camp prior to launching their assault. The dark morning gradually lifted away, as the Sun rose over the horizon, and by half past seven, Praefect Ottius and his Auxiliaries arrived at the outskirts of Helgen.
As Head Auxiliaries, Lutherus and Faendal mounted some rocks, overlooking the road toward the main Helgen Gate, as the rest of the Battalion rested in the established encampment behind them. They waited an hour, until a smartly dressed individual arrived behind the Battalion. "Lutherus! Faendal! On me, right this minute!" Ordered Praefect Ottius, as he talked to the smartly dressed individual. His two temporary subordinates soon joined him, and flanked both his sides. "Lutherus, Faendal. This is our Imperial negotiator, he is going to coerce the Bandits into leaving this place. You two are going to escort him to the gate."
"Yes, Praefect!" They both said in response.
"Greetings." Said the Diplomat. "I am Acimalo."
"Greetings, Imperial." Responded Faendal. "We'll get you to the gates, no trouble!"
"Good! Let's get going then." The three men carefully walked up toward the gate leading into Helgen, unaware of what could possibly be waiting on the other side. Faendal, with his sword hand ready to grasp if it needed to, banged three times on the huge gate.
"Who's there?!" Came a voice from the other side. Acimalo, the Diplomat responded.
"I am Acimalo! Representative of the Imperial Legion! Please, open the gate." Moments of silence passed, until the Gate doors creaked open allowing the men through. Acimalo ordered Lutherus and Faendal to stay on guard, as he entered. They watched him walk into the desolate destroyed town, and out of nowhere saw an arrow pierce through Acimalo's torso, sending him to the ground.
"Acimalo!" Called Faendal, and drawing his sword ran into town. In his haste, he didn't notice a Bandit charging him, of which Lutherus was able to see.
"FAENDAL!" He shouted, as he rushed to his friends defence. But instead of hitting Faendal, the Bandit halted, and soon, several of the surrounded the two, raising their weapons to the Auxiliary's throats.
"If you wish not to join your friend there, I suggest you speak immediately. Who, are you?!" Said the ringleader.
"I am Lutherus Sotastius, and that friend of ours was our Diplomat. We are here to negotiate the terms of the surrender of this town."
"HA!" Laughed the Bandit, as did the others. "Imperials have no sense of pride eh?"
"If you do not agree to the terms, an entire Battalion of my comrades is ready to take this city, and slaughter you all. You will stand no chance. I highly recommend you surrender, and leave with your lives." The lead Bandit moved towards Lutherus.
"I don't like that tone." He said, and pushed Lutherus to the ground. The Bandits continued to laugh, some spitting on him and Faendal, who was punched in the chest to bring him to heel. "Put them in shackles, bring them to Valerius." Said the leader, as Lutherus and Faendal were forcefully disarmed and bounded.
"Got quite the habit of getting us in trouble, eh Lutherus?" Remarked Faendal sarcastically. A Bandit delivered another blow to his chest.
"SHUT UP!" He ordered, as he led the two to Helgen Keep, the only sound structure still standing in the remains of Helgen.
The Bandits presented the disarmed pair to Valerius, the heavily armoured Commander of the mercenaries stationed at Helgen. "Valerius. These two were caught entering the settlement. They say they are here on a diplomatic mission."
"Thank you, Bal." Replied Valerius, as he was left alone with the two.
"So, General Tullius wants this settlement back, huh?" He inquired.
"Yes." Replied Faendal.
"The Diplomat your men killed outside was carrying the message of our arranged truce." Added Lutherus. "But, now he is dead and since no one else but the Commander, who is sitting outside the city, with several more of my men in waiting knows what that Diplomat was going to say, I think you may need to come up with a solution, and quick."
Faendal turned to Lutherus. "Shut! Up!" He whispered angrily.
"No, he's right Bosmer. The Imperial Legion would love nothing more but to have me executed, and this hold's garrison to get their city back. But they have no idea I am here so, naturally they sent that Spy, Acimalo into the settlement to try and see who's here. You came with Praefect Ottius' men, didn't you? The Auxiliary Battalion?" Lutherus and Faendal were stunned.
"How do you know that information?" Questioned Lutherus.
"Hehehe...believe me lad, there is probably a lot I know about your Commanding Officer than I would like to tell you." Replied Valerius, as he pulled a note from under his armor. "Take this message to a man in Falkreath. His name is Marcus Jannus. If I know him well, he'll be residing in the local Inn. Do this for me, and Ottius will have his Keep back."
Lutherus cautiously took the note from the mysterious Valerius. "...Thank...you." He said, as he and Faendal were allowed to leave the settlement.
Table of Contents
Comments
Thanks for the positive feedback guys!
I agree with Ajani, keep up the great work Dean.