The Last Blade
© 2019 KL Forslund
Tirdas, 2nd of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
My sword is the last thing I have to my name, and when I returned home to Kvatch, it was the first thing I needed. I could see the in the distance through breaks in the canopy along the trail. Then the mercenaries tried to stop me. Said they worked for a Bloodfall Queen who sacked the town. I let the last one live so he could take my name back to her. Ravn Kuhl.
Middas, 3rd of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
The town is a mess. Gates broken, towers aflame. Every building town down. How could bandits do this? Ran across Junius the Elder. I recall him just being Junius last time I lived here. Barely a man back then. Tired of father’s anger. He said I was a killer, so I should go be one. So when I told Junius I’d been in the Imperial Legion, that was true, for a time.
Turdas, 4th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
I’ve rescued Lond the blacksmith and the Mattiuses. Woodcutters. Going to need a lot of wood to rebuild this place. Something happened when the bandits messed with the founders statue. It’s not the original founder, Kvatch was destroyed during the Oblivion War. The refugees rebuilt. My family came later from Morrowind. It’s all I’ve known and except for Greidl Horse-Mouth and my old man, they’ve always accepted me. Reckon my blade can help.
Sundas, 7th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
Finished a lot of work off the job board. Then I took on a real problem now that I’ve got the lay of things. Goblins locked up Saashi the Loremaster and some others. Too many problems to solve. We got the smithy and the alchemy shop rebuilt, and a couple houses. The town hall is still being used as a shelter, but if we can get a few more things built, we might make it.
Morndas, 8th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
I’m holed up licking my wounds, A simple job to take on some goblin bandits, went bad. A lucky hit and I nearly bled out. Didn’t help that these goblins seemed better trained. Blocked almost every attack. I’ve gotten soft. Or arrogant.
Tirdas, 9th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
Made it back to Kvatch. They’ve got another house built. Looks like plans for a workshop are next. I still don’t have an answer to beating those goblins. I almost died out there, despite my training. Saashi wants me to go into tunnels beneath the toppled founder statue. Is that really the best use of my time?
Middas, 10th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
I’ve run into more of those skeletons with red shirts on. They don’t die easy. There’s a lot of things I’m avoiding doing, people I’ve avoided seeing. Running a scouting mission for Saashi is a diversion. There was something down there, underneath the founders statue. I found a sealed door. When I got done with that, Saashi’s nagged me. Henrik’s been looking for me.
Loredas, 13rd of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
I finally went to the old arena. Sparred with Henrik, both with words and blades. He taught me how to handle a blade. How to control my tendencies. More of a father to me than my own. And now? He’s the only one who knows where I’ve really been. I told Junius I’d been in the Legion. Fighting for the Empire. Well, the last part’s true. But since the Aldmeri Dominion showed up, I might be the last Blade alive.
Morndas, 15th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
Went back to hunting goblins for Gaius Platorius. They had an Imperial Banner. Looks nice next to the gate. Found it easier this time, thanks to some tips from Henrik. The towns people have almost finished a workshop. Maybe making things will be easier now.
Turdas, 18th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
I’ve got a lead on the Bloodfall Queen. Tracked down some of her men. Didn’t find her, but now I’ve got a new lead to follow up. There haven’t been any more jobs to find missing people. Still haven’t run across my father yet. I think I know why. They haven’t rebuilt any cornerclubs yet.
Sundas, 21st of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
I went out to find the Queen. Fought a lot of those red shirted skeletons and wights. Took a lot out of me. Then I met thing that looks like a crazed dryad. An Outcast. Barely made it out with my life. I need better gear or more practice. Maybe both.
Tirdas, 23rd of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
Licked my wounds. Worked jobs to collect enough to build an enchanter’s shop and another house. Which also cost me money. I’m doing what my training taught. The Town Hero Protocol. Show up, work jobs and help people. Soon the town is bolstered, and your stay at the inn is free. But here, every septim I make is going to rebuilding. Even Lond charges me for repairs. I guess I don’t need the money, but still, feels like I’m paying for everything around here.
Loredas, 27th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
I went back to hunt the Queen and carved an unbloody swath through the undead to her fort. Bunch of jerks taunted me on the way. Got to have an audience with her. Really wanted to kill her for what happened, but then she apologized. By the Nine! Fine. She got to live. Maybe she’ll help fix this mess she made, but I suspect I’ll be doing most the work. And paying for repairs.
Sundas, 28th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
Thalmor. Ran a simple fetch quest, and they were there. Don’t think they know who I am. Maybe I should talk to Henrik again.
Morndas, 29th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
More Thalmor. Time to lay low. Saashi needs some help with that Alyeid stuff below the city. Which has got me thinking about how Kvatch is both on an Alyeid ruin and former site of an Oblivion Gate. I need to look some stuff up.
Tirdas, 30th of Rain's Hand, 4E 175
Saashi sent me to another Alyeid site. Pretty sure I saw a ghost, I almost got close to it, then she caught up to me and when I turned back, it was gone. Looks like a classic tale of good brother vs. bad brother entombing one forever beneath the city until its unwittingly released by an Orc with delusions of grandeur. I hate when that happens.
Middas, 1st of Second Seed, 4E 175
Finished another job for Gaius Platorius. Got another Imperial Banner. The pair looks nice by the city gate. Too bad I’ll have to pay to get the gate fixed since nobody else around here will. I asked Gaius to get me an old Imperial map. I think one of our stories is wrong.
Loredas, 11th of Second Seed, 4E 175
Now the Thalmor are in town. Asking questions. Looking for a Blade. Asked me if I’d help them search. Great. Now they want guided tours of dangerous places to investigate. Maybe they’ll have an accident.
Morndas, 3rd of Mid Year, 4E 175
I hunted down Sashi’s Aleyid expert. Which led to more questions. Now she’s got me asking everybody for places with undead. Turns out the Bloodfall Queens men took an Elder Scroll, which unleashed an evil ghost or something. Now there’s Necromancers and even more undead.
Sundas, 16th of Mid Year, 4E 175
Took a hike out to the Queen’s hideout. Got my butt handed to me by an even tougher undead thing than last time. This is getting old. Need to train and improve my gear again.
Morndas, 8th of Sun's Height, 4E 175
Never eat a pie found in a dungeon. By the Nine, I almost died. Then I found a pie on a bench and ate it, figuring a little food might help. Sure, I felt a little better, then I returned to Kvatch and went to sleep. Woke up with a horrible need to unload cargo so to say. For two weeks. Azura’s Revenge. Next time, I’m sticking to the cheese in a coffin.
Also, turns out that pounding in my head wasn't a headache, they rebuilt three quarters of the city walls. The towers had been smoldering for months. No wonder we can't get more merchants to move in.
To be Continued...
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This fictional account of Ravn Kuhl is based on the game Elder Scrolls : Blades and my play-thru of it in approximate real-time My character is mine, the rest isn’t. Resources and reference to what is Bethesda’s creation can be found at these links:
https://www.klforslund.com/elder-scrolls-date-calculator