This is some gameplay fiction courtesy of Enderal: Forgotten Stories -- a standalone game modded from The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.
You can find it at the Steam Store HERE for free if you have a legitimate copy of the original Oldrim-Skyrim. It's also so much better than Skyrim and I highly recommend you give it a try!!
✨Before I begin: an in-your-face advertisement!
Read Chapter One here on Hive!
This is the first book of a series that has been in my heart and mind since I was 10-11 years old and I'm so excited to finally be sharing it with everyone in its entirety. Please give Chapter One a read and if you enjoy it please consider laying down a pre-order. Thank you so much! ❤️
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In the last Enderal post Kaelyra awoke from her drunken state upon the gambling tables and searched for Jespar to relay all the information she had uncovered.
On her way, she came across another of those weird explodey red things, dispatched some bandits, killed some crabs to nom on their legs later, and at last found Jespar, hiding beneath a trapdoor of an old abandoned house. Together they fought a fire elemental then discovered a gross ages-old corpse, then drank and drank some more at the tavern before heading out in the dark of night to travel to Ark.
Onward! 😁
With Riverville far behind them, Kaelyra and Jespar travelled the deep, dark forest. Thankfully she still had the torch she'd liberated from the Tavern's wall -- it was so dark!
"Why on earth are we travelling at night?" she muttered. "Can't bloody see anything."
"Less bandits on the roads at night, fair lady."
"Oh."
No wonder she had been coming across so many damned bandits! She filed away that information for later. Not that it really mattered, she'd prefer to sleep at night. How was one supposed to explore and treasure hunt if they couldn't bloody see? The torch was useless.
After they had travelled a while, through the forest and up a winding hill, Jespar sighed and stepped off to the side.
"Ahh," he raised his arms into the air and basked in the tiny snowdrops. "Isn't this sight just wonderful?"
Kaelyra blinked, then violently waved the torch around, sending tiny embers to mingle with the tiny snowdrops. "I can't bloody see anything!" she repeated.
He ignored her and released another happy sigh into the icy winds.
Rolling her eyes, she waited for him to finish his admiration of the shadows. Finally he continued on and she backed away from the cliff's edge to follow, then tripped over something on the ground.
Flailing over backwards, she landed on her butt. Jespar laughed and went to keep on walking, but she hurriedly felt around for what had tripped her.
It was a book. She held the torch over the old yellowing pages and narrowed her eyes.
"I used to be an adventurer, but then I took an arrow to the knee," she read aloud. "What the blazes is that supposed to mean?"
Jespar shrugged.
"Buggers me. Let's continue on, fair lady. The night won't last forever."
"Yeah, well you're the one who stopped and stared into the darkness for half-a-bloody-hour."
He shrugged again and kept walking.
Continuing about the mountain pass, a voice filled with the unmistakable slur of too-much-drink called out, "Hey, you'se two. Yeah, you'se! Come 'ere."
The was a man up ahead, swaying while he sat upon a broken branch.
Kaelyra groaned and approached the man, and he chuckled maniacally.
"Yes, yes! You'se listen! My brother and me are having a... dispute. It's bloody freezing and it's his turn to keep watch. I need more ale! And a fire. Tell 'im to get his fat arse down 'ere."
"What's in it for me?" Kaelyra asked, placing a hand on her hip.
"ALE!" shouted the man.
"Oh, okay then."
With the promise of ale spurring her footsteps, Kaelyra powered further up the path and came across a small encampment.
Another drunk-looking man sat by the fire, several empty bottles discarded at his feet.
"Whaddya want?" he spat.
"Your brother says it's your turn to sit watch."
The man swore beneath his breath and slurred something degrading about the colour of his brother's balls. Kaelyra giggled and returned to the first drunk and gleefully told him what had transpired.
"What!?" he shouted. "Hold my ale!" and ran up towards the encampment.
Both giggling, Jespar and Kaelyra ran up the path and dove into the bushes, watching as the two brothers fought it out.
"Think he'll notice if I drank this?" Kaelyra asked, waving the bottle around.
"Nah," Jespar shrugged. "Ooh, look at that blood spatter! Did you hear that nose crunch?"
"I did, indeed!" Kaelyra chuckled, draining the bottle and placing it neatly next to the bush.
After dealing with the two brothers and watching as they murdered one another, they continued on their path towards Ark.
It was so white. So peaceful. And the sun was rising -- Kaelyra could actually see again and was grateful to finally be capable of admiring the view.
"Uh, fair lady. We should probably hurry. Daylight's upon us."
"I know!" she sighed. "Look, I can actually admire the sights now."
"YEEEEEEARGH!"
A shrill scream echoed across the dawn and a mass of bodies flew at them.
"What the hell?" Kaelyra shrieked, jumping to the side as an arrow whizzed past her ear.
"Bandits!" shouted Jespar. "I told you they come out during the day!"
"It's okay -- I have fire!"
Readying her fiery fingertips, Kaelyra shot a blazing stream into the bandits and burnt them all to a crisp. Jespar slowly turned around, looked at her, and shook his head.
"Seriously?"
"What?"
He wiped at his charred sleeve and turned away.
"Seriously," he muttered again. "Come on. We're nearing Ark."
Sheepishly snuffing out her flaming fingers, she followed at Jespar's back and within the hour a great city grew out of the distant mist.
They had finally made it.
It wasn't long before they stood inside the city gates. It felt like years since she had last been inside a city. After months on that ship, then the days drowning in the ocean, and now the weeks wandering this strange new land's forests... she couldn't even remember the last time she'd stepped foot in a city.
It was amazing!
Wide-eyed and peering all around, she ploughed into a man.
"Hey! Woman! Watch where ya goin'," he yelled. "Don't bloody flutter your eyelashes at me. You bloody... WOMAN."
Smirking, Jespar muttered something about meeting her at the marketplace and quickly vanished. A couple of guards appeared, apparently eager to watch what was about to go down, then the drunk man flailed on wobbly legs and punched her in the face.
"What the hell?"
Raising her fists, she took care of him in three full-fisted swipes and kicked at his fallen body.
One of the guards stepped over.
"Brawl's over. Don't kick 'im while he's down, you savage."
"She's bullyin' me," the fallen man cried.
"I'll just be off, over thattaway," Kaelyra waved her arm around vaguely and went to look for Jespar.
Stumbling around the giant city, uncertain of just where each door led and where she was going, she finally found the marketplace.
"Come get your bread! Your sensuous, erotic bread!" a woman screamed.
"The finest garments in all of Enderal!" another voice rose up.
Yep, she was in the marketplace. Peering through the mass of people, she spied a mop of blonde hair seated by a well in the centre.
"Ah, done brawling then?" Jespar smirked as she approached.
"Could've helped," she muttered.
"Nah, you had it under control," he shrugged. "Come, we have people to meet!"
"Weren't you just going to drop me off at a tavern with wine-money until you returned?"
"Well, I was... but this'll be better. Here. Put on these clothes."
"What -- here?"
He nodded, with a great grinning grin.
With eyes darting left to right, she hid behind the well and hoped no random market-goer would see her, and quickly stripped off her armour... and...
"Seriously, Jespar?"
"Nice hat," he giggled.
Until next time,
Thanks for stopping by! 🙃
and are from the game: Enderal: Forgotten Stories