The Request of Razum-dar
Ian S. McClure
The first thing I noticed upon my arrival at Eagle's Strand was chaos. Ruined ships and wounded soldiers abounded in the warm sands of the beach- but of what army, I could not say. My people, the Altmer, bore the same armor as Bosmer and Khajiit soldiers. Had they formed some sort of alliance? My musings were interrupted, however, by a moan nearby. I rushed to the source, where I found a saddening sight- a Bosmeri youth, clad in the same leather armor as the soldiers, kneeling above an older Wood Elf who was clearly dead, crushed by a stray mast. Tears ran unashamedly down her round face.
I placed my pack, which bore my armor, in the sand nearby. “Did you know him?” I asked solemnly. She looked up quickly, her curly red hair sent flying unrestrained.
“Why in Y'ffre's name do you care?” she sobbed.
“Because, there's nothing you can do for him. And dwelling on past tragedies only leads to more tragedy.” I said.
“Damn it.” she swore. “He was my father. He- he was so proud when I joined the Dominion... Khenarthi's Roost was my first assignment.”.
“Dominion?” I thought. “I wonder what that could be.”.
Aloud, I said, still solemn, “I am sorry for your loss, truly. But you can't keep tormenting yourself about it. There is nothing you could have done.”. She sighed shakily, looking back at the face of the older Wood Elf.
“Green take you, you're right.” she whispered, her golden eyes still watery. She stood then- being a Bosmer, she was quite short, so she had to look up to meet my gaze. “Thank you, stranger.” she said, louder now.
“What's your name?” I asked, kindly.
The young woman looked back at her father. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at me. “Not here.” she said. “There's a fort a little up the road- Eagle's Strand. I'd… feel more comfortable talking there.”.
I nodded, hefting my pack once more. “Lead the way, then.”.
The healers at the fort busied themselves with the Bosmer soldier, making sure she was unharmed. She had already handed in her report detailing the death of her parent. I dropped by the infirmary tent just as one healer, a portly Breton man, said: “Alright miss. Physically, you're fine. But as to your mental state-”.
Here he was interrupted by the youth. “I'm fine. I just need something to do. Send me out on patrol, send me to guard the diplomats at Mistral, something. But sitting around will just make things worse.”.
The man shook his head. “Sorry, miss. I can't in good conscience condone you doing any business for your Dominion until we're assured you can handle it. Feel free to explore the island, but that's it.”. With that, he left the tent, and I entered.
She managed a small smile at seeing me. “Sorry about before. I just didn't feel like talking next to- to him, you know?” she explained.
“It's fine.” I responded, sitting down at a convenient stool next to her stretcher. “If you don't feel like talking-”.
Here she interrupted again. “No, no, it's fine. I could use the company.” she said. “Oh, my name's Elereth.”.
“A pleasure, Elereth. I am Ardolan Larethbinder.”.
She looked quizzically at me. “An Altmer with a last name? You a noble?” she asked unabashedly.
I smiled. “Not quite, though I am of noble decent. The Larethbinder family rules over Shimmerene, in the largest of the Summerset Isles. But, I was always more a warrior than a future kinlord.”.
Elereth smiled, wider now. “Nice to hear that. Can't stand stuffy so-called 'highborns'.”. At this, I laughed.
“We have something in common, then.”, I said once my mirth died down. “We Altmer truly have built a reputation for ourselves, hm?”.
We talked for a while longer. I daresay I rather like Elereth- she was quite fun to be with once she forgot her grief, which did admittedly take a while. But it was increasingly clear that she, despite her relative lack of knowledge, was actually quite witty and intelligent. Eventually, however, I remembered why I had come to Khenarthi's Roost in the first place.
I sighed and said: “Well, you'll have to excuse me, Elereth, but I have business to attend do... Would you know where to find a Khajiit called Razum-dar?”.
She nodded. “Yeah, I can find him. Follow me.”.
Razum-dar, it soon transpired, was a quite odd fellow, even for a Khajiit (of course, I mean no offense to them). He was somewhat thin, with brown fur, yet the “hair” atop his head was red. “Hello, hello!” he said merrily upon seeing me. He glanced towards Elereth. “If you don't mind, this one would prefer to speak to his friend in private, hmm?”.
Elereth shrugged. “Alright then. Nice meeting you, Ardolan.” she said, waving as she walked away. Razum-dar looked at her go. “We need your face to become familiar, so your presence won't be questioned. Befriending a soldier is a good start, yes?”.
“Why would I need to blend in? I'm sure plenty of people come to the island.” I said, confused.
He looked at me, still smiling a charming smile. “This one saw you fall from thin air. Pop, drop, splash. Raz would've tried for a backflip, but under the circumstances this one is most impressed.”.
I sighed. There was more here than he was letting on- but he had seen me, apparently, when I escaped Coldharbour. That alone was very important. “Why did you send me to- erm, where did you send me?” I asked.
“Vulkhel Guard, a port city in Auridon.”. I nodded, recognizing the name.
“Anyways, Razum-dar is here on a mission of some… delicacy. This one did not know how you would change that. But he is glad you returned. You may be just what he needs.”.
I nodded. Whatever his motives, I was indebted to this Razum-dar. It was only right that I help him with whatever he was doing.
“But first, a question.” he said, interrupting my train of thought. “Where did you come from?”.
I chuckled, despite my heart suddenly racing. “You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”.
He replied, "Had you landed five paces north, you'd have landed on the rocks. The whole island would've known of your arrival. So, truly, where did you come from?”
I studied him for a long while. Finally, I said: “Coldharbour, Molag Bal's realm of Oblivion. He has my soul and plans to invade Tamriel.”.
Now it was Razum-dar's turn to study me carefully. He said: “A Daedric Prince? Raz has a nose for lies, but you seem clean as an ocean breeze… Hrm. If anyone else asks, where you say you came from?”.
I reflected on the question for a bit, for it was actually a good point. I said: “I'll say I'm a soldier who survived the hurricane.”.
He nodded, satisfied. “Yes, lie with confidence. A straight face, and a gleam in your eye. Well done!”. I blinked. Certainly not the expected response.
I finally chanced to ask him: “Who are you, really?”.
He replied: “Oh, just a friendly Khajiit, privileged to see someone drop from nowhere and land in sea. Shame you cannot do that at will. You could make piles of coin- sell tickets!”.
I laughed at his comment, even as I wondered what his true purpose here was. He clapped and rubbed his hands together. “Now come. Let us try to fit in.”.
The two of us went to Commander Karinith, who seemed to be in charge of the “Dominion” here. Razum introduced me, spinning my tale of being a shipwreck survivor. Karinith then addressed me directly: “Glad you're up and about, recruit. I need someone to investigate the beach called the Shattered Shoals.”.
I opened my mouth, but then closed it. She wasn't done talking- and right now I wasn't the son of an Altmeri noble, I was a common soldier. So instead I listened as she said: “I need you to investigate the Sea Vipers, Maormer pirates that were seen in the area.”.
At this I nodded. The Maormer have always opposed the Altmer- it makes sense that they'd oppose whatever my kind were up to on Khenarthi's Roost. The Maormer, like all elves, once lived in Aldmeris along with our honored ancestors, but were banished to the land of Pyandonea, and they hate us for condemning them thus.
My thoughts were brought back to the present by Karinith: “Of course, you should also assist any shipwreck survivors you find. We must all do our part… Before you go, speak to Ealcil, the mage. He just returned from a nearby temple. That wizard claims to know something about everything, so he may have insight as to how these Sea Vipers operate.”. With that, she dismissed me, and I followed Razum-dar to this Ealcil.
As we arrived, we witnessed a most curious sight- a stone that shot water. Ealcil, an Altmer, stood gazing at it wondrously. He said: “Marvelous, isn't it? We'll have to construct a special room for the Mourning Stone when we bring back to the Mages Guild… I'm sorry, did you need something?”.
I responded: “Commander Karinith sent me to learn about-”.
Here he interrupted me, the second time it happened to me today. “About the Temple? Yes, the Temple of the Mourning Springs is an old Khajiit ruin not far from here. We excavated the Stone from one of its chambers. It's supply of water appears endless.”.
I said, somewhat annoyed: “Actually, I just wanted to know if you know about the Sea Vipers.”.
He looked at me, highly confused. “Pirates? In an abandoned Khajiiti ruin? Preposterous! All we saw were the undead warriors that overran our camp.”.
I was taken aback at his casual comment on being attacked by the unliving. “Why were you attacked by undead?”.
“I have no idea. Actually, I have twelve ideas, but they're far less fascinating than the Mourning Stone. Probably some kind of ancient curse- usually is with this kind of thing. But, I'm sure we both have more important matters to attend to- if you'll excuse me?”. Taken aback by the sudden dismissal, I quickly followed Razum-dar to the edge of camp.
“There, you see? You fit in and no one will stop you from walking away. But, as this one said, there are opportunities for people that fall out of the sky.”.
I nodded, indicating for him to resume talking.
“If you wish, go to the Temple of the Mourning Springs. Determine how to contain the dead there. Then the people of Khenarthi's Roost should see us as allies, not conquerors.”.
“Aha!” I thought. “So he's with these Dominion people.”.
I focused again as Razum-dar said: “Also, Karinith told you about the pirates, no? You could scout the coast, prove yourself to the soldiers. As for this one, well, there is far less glamorous work to be done in Mistral, the northern city of the island. Let us meet up there once you've finished.”.
I shook Razum-dar's hand. “Best of luck to you, then. Safe travels, Razum-dar.”. I said.
Just as Razum-dar left for Mistral, a familiar young Bosmer appeared. Elereth now carried a bow, apparently made of some kind of flexible bone, on her back. “Hello again, Elereth.” I said. “To what do I owe the renewed pleasure?”.
She smiled again- a nice thing to see, considering what she went through. “I want to come with you.”, she said, much to my surprise.
“May I ask why? I'm afraid I'm not terribly entertaining company.” I replied. Elereth chuckled. “Eh, bull's crap. You're great fun! Besides, you're doing exciting and most probably dangerous things, from the sound of it. I could use the excitement. If anyone asks, I'll just say I'm your escort, and to Oblivion with the healers.”.
I smiled at her enthusiasm. Besides, no matter how capable a warrior you are, it's nice to have an archer watching your back. “Alright then.” I said. “Just- try not to shoot me when I'm fighting some bandit.”. We laughed for a bit, and then she went off to prepare.
Well, I believe that's enough for one entry. I'll write again after we reach the Shoals.
-Ardolan Larethbinder
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