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18th of Frostfall, 427 3E
After the events of today, life on Lokken Island is making life on Vvardenfell look somewhat normal. At this point Neldor and I have been caught up in something that is bigger than merely working as forest rangers and protecting the forest. Even setting the now recovered falcon free this morning was anything but normal.
When we released the falcon from her cage, she looked at us for a moment and bobbed her head, first in my direction and then at Neldor. Then, as the noble bird flew away, our hands glowed green as tiny leaves swirled around our fingers. When the glow and the leaves disappeared, I asked warily, "What just happened?"
Neldor grinned and answered, "Y'ffre has placed a blessing on us, though at the moment I'm not sure what the blessing is. I'm sure it will become apparent as we go about our business."
And so that was what we did; went about our business, but today did not consist of us making our patrols around the forest. Instead we met up with Laurenna who had sent a message to the ranger station saying that Ragnar had departed with his hunting party. The time to strike the shaman was now.
Gloria could obviously sense the butterflies in my stomach, for she was a bundle of nerves as well as our group silently rode through the village toward Lokken Castle. Laurenna, mounted on her beautiful white Skyrim gelding, had a determined set to her jaw and a fierce look in her eyes.
We reached the castle and tethered our horses to one of the courtyard hitching posts. Strange; although we were about to face a very dangerous and powerful shaman, it never entered my mind that we would not be leaving the castle alive. Without any of us saying a word, we strode into the castle and followed Laurenna to the living chambers where we found Agnete the maid.
Agnete looked at each of us, then said to Laurenna, "It isn't that I'm not glad to see you but...you shouldn't be here. What are you up to?"
Laurenna answered, "We need the key to the master bedroom."
Agnete frowned, then replied, "That's more than a little favor. Ragnar will be furious if he finds out I have given the key to you."
Laurenna assured her, "He won't."
Following a moment of hesitation, Agnete replied, "All right. I'll do it. Are you planning to use the secret passage?"
With a nod Laurenna answered softly, "That's the plan."
Agnete glanced around warily before whispering, "I haven't been through there myself, but rumors say that not only will the passage take you to the throne room, but also to some of the castle's towers. Be careful. The hidden area is supposed to be haunted by undead."
Laurenna took the key that Agnete offered, then led us across the room toward a door that was at the top of a short staircase. After we had entered the master bedroom , which was quite cozy and rustic, she said, "That secret passage is worth investigating. Did you hear what Agnete said about being able to reach the towers? Maybe we can find a passage that leads to where my mother is being held."
I replied, "We'll make every effort to find her. Now, where is the entrance to this secret passage?"
Laurenna smiled, then gestured toward a cedar chest that was along one of the room's walls. And there on the floor beneath the bottom of the chest, one could see the edges of a trapdoor.
"Clever." I remarked as we slid the chest away from the wall. After lifting the trap-door, we slowly climbed down into the passage and followed the darkened corridor. A couple of times we came to what appeared to be dead ends but what one would at first mistake as a wall was actually a carefully designed secret door.
When we at last found ourselves in the castle's ornate dining room Neldor and I noticed that our hands had once again began to glow and swirling leaves appeared between our fingers. Before we had time to even react, balls of green light flew from our hands and landed on the floor where they took the shape of woodland creatures. The one that came from Neldor's hands was a shaggy brown grizzly bear. Mine took the shape of a reindeer with a full set of wide antlers.
Amazed, Laurenna exclaimed softly, "Nature guardians! I've read about those! I knew you two were rangers but I didn't know you were wardens!"
With a soft, giddy laugh, Neldor replied as he looked at his bear, "Eh, Y'ffre just promoted us. Nature obviously has a score to settle with Kreikan."
That turned out to be very true. Both the bear and the reindeer sniffed the air before letting out angry snorts and charging toward the nearby throne room. So much for a sneak attack.
As our group came bursting in from the dining room, Kreikan looked at us and exclaimed, "You!"
Laurenna replied angrily, "We know what you did to Wulfren!"
Kreikan raised his hands and prepared to cast a spell but was suddenly cornered by the pair of angry nature guardians. He may have been a powerful shaman, but he was no match for a full sized grizzly bear and a reindeer with a sharp set of antlers. All we really had to do was stay nearby and cast healing enchantments if the guardians needed them.
While I strongly disliked Kreikan, I have to admit that what happened to him was difficult to watch. The angry bear mauled him from the front, pushing the shaman backward to be impaled on the long prongs of the reindeer's antlers. No more would Kreikan use dark spells to twist nature into unnatural forms.
The guardians did not calm down until the mangled body of Kreikan lay dead at their feet. Now standing quietly, they appeared to not take any more notice of the dead Nord than they would a rotted log in the forest.
With a grim smile, Laurenna said, "This is the perfect place for Ragnar to find his shaman; lying dead at the foot of his stolen throne." Sheathing her blade, she added, "Now, let's find my mother. We don't want her to be here when Ragnar returns."
For a moment I wondered how we would sneak through the castle with a reindeer and a bear accompanying us but both guardians quietly faded away in a shimmer of green and white sparking light. They apparently knew that we could take care of the rest of our task on our own.
Nothing hindered us as we made our way to the castle's south-east tower and we evaded the few guards that were posted near the stairway. And so without any difficulty, we at last reached the room where Laurenna's mother had been imprisoned. Sigrid stared at her daughter in disbelief for a moment before exclaimed, "Laurenna!"
After the two women had exchanged hugs, Sigrid asked anxiously, "How did you get the key to this room? Oh never mind. Have you thought about how we are going to get out of here? We can't just walk out of the castle, but I know of an exit in the secret passage."
Laurenna replied, "Perfect. That will save us from having to look for it. We need to go. If Kreikan's body has not been discovered yet, it will be soon."
Retracing our steps, the four of us quickly moved back through the secret passageway. When we reached the hidden part of the castle, Sigrid took the lead and we followed her down the dark corridors until we reached a doorway that did in fact lead outside. Going through the doorway we found ourselves not far from the edge of the sea.
Of course there was the matter of getting the horses. Since we didn't want our group to be noticed, I stayed put with Laurenna and Sigrid while Neldor managed to sneak into the courtyard where he untied Garland, Gloria, and Laurenna's white gelding. A short time later our group was riding out of the village with Sigrid sitting on the gelding behind Laurenna.
When we were well away from the castle, Laurenna asked, "Should we go to my cabin?"
Neldor answered, "I think we should all go to the ranger station. There are rooms there where you can both rest. There's also a stall in the stable for your horse."
I agreed, "The station is the best place for us to hunker down and wait for Wulfren. We'll also be better protected if Ragnar or his men show up before Wulfren can take care of him."
With a nod, Laurenna replied, "All right. I trust your judgement."
And so that is where we are now; standing guard at the ranger station. There is only one more thing that needs to be done before the island is free of the usurper, and that step is up to Wulfren. Other than protecting ourselves along with Laurenna and Sigrid, there is nothing more that we can do to set things right for Lokken.
*~*~*
After the events of today, life on Lokken Island is making life on Vvardenfell look somewhat normal. At this point Neldor and I have been caught up in something that is bigger than merely working as forest rangers and protecting the forest. Even setting the now recovered falcon free this morning was anything but normal.
When we released the falcon from her cage, she looked at us for a moment and bobbed her head, first in my direction and then at Neldor. Then, as the noble bird flew away, our hands glowed green as tiny leaves swirled around our fingers. When the glow and the leaves disappeared, I asked warily, "What just happened?"
Neldor grinned and answered, "Y'ffre has placed a blessing on us, though at the moment I'm not sure what the blessing is. I'm sure it will become apparent as we go about our business."
And so that was what we did; went about our business, but today did not consist of us making our patrols around the forest. Instead we met up with Laurenna who had sent a message to the ranger station saying that Ragnar had departed with his hunting party. The time to strike the shaman was now.
Gloria could obviously sense the butterflies in my stomach, for she was a bundle of nerves as well as our group silently rode through the village toward Lokken Castle. Laurenna, mounted on her beautiful white Skyrim gelding, had a determined set to her jaw and a fierce look in her eyes.
We reached the castle and tethered our horses to one of the courtyard hitching posts. Strange; although we were about to face a very dangerous and powerful shaman, it never entered my mind that we would not be leaving the castle alive. Without any of us saying a word, we strode into the castle and followed Laurenna to the living chambers where we found Agnete the maid.
Agnete looked at each of us, then said to Laurenna, "It isn't that I'm not glad to see you but...you shouldn't be here. What are you up to?"
Laurenna answered, "We need the key to the master bedroom."
Agnete frowned, then replied, "That's more than a little favor. Ragnar will be furious if he finds out I have given the key to you."
Laurenna assured her, "He won't."
Following a moment of hesitation, Agnete replied, "All right. I'll do it. Are you planning to use the secret passage?"
With a nod Laurenna answered softly, "That's the plan."
Agnete glanced around warily before whispering, "I haven't been through there myself, but rumors say that not only will the passage take you to the throne room, but also to some of the castle's towers. Be careful. The hidden area is supposed to be haunted by undead."
Laurenna took the key that Agnete offered, then led us across the room toward a door that was at the top of a short staircase. After we had entered the master bedroom , which was quite cozy and rustic, she said, "That secret passage is worth investigating. Did you hear what Agnete said about being able to reach the towers? Maybe we can find a passage that leads to where my mother is being held."
I replied, "We'll make every effort to find her. Now, where is the entrance to this secret passage?"
Laurenna smiled, then gestured toward a cedar chest that was along one of the room's walls. And there on the floor beneath the bottom of the chest, one could see the edges of a trapdoor.
"Clever." I remarked as we slid the chest away from the wall. After lifting the trap-door, we slowly climbed down into the passage and followed the darkened corridor. A couple of times we came to what appeared to be dead ends but what one would at first mistake as a wall was actually a carefully designed secret door.
When we at last found ourselves in the castle's ornate dining room Neldor and I noticed that our hands had once again began to glow and swirling leaves appeared between our fingers. Before we had time to even react, balls of green light flew from our hands and landed on the floor where they took the shape of woodland creatures. The one that came from Neldor's hands was a shaggy brown grizzly bear. Mine took the shape of a reindeer with a full set of wide antlers.
Amazed, Laurenna exclaimed softly, "Nature guardians! I've read about those! I knew you two were rangers but I didn't know you were wardens!"
With a soft, giddy laugh, Neldor replied as he looked at his bear, "Eh, Y'ffre just promoted us. Nature obviously has a score to settle with Kreikan."
That turned out to be very true. Both the bear and the reindeer sniffed the air before letting out angry snorts and charging toward the nearby throne room. So much for a sneak attack.
As our group came bursting in from the dining room, Kreikan looked at us and exclaimed, "You!"
Laurenna replied angrily, "We know what you did to Wulfren!"
Kreikan raised his hands and prepared to cast a spell but was suddenly cornered by the pair of angry nature guardians. He may have been a powerful shaman, but he was no match for a full sized grizzly bear and a reindeer with a sharp set of antlers. All we really had to do was stay nearby and cast healing enchantments if the guardians needed them.
While I strongly disliked Kreikan, I have to admit that what happened to him was difficult to watch. The angry bear mauled him from the front, pushing the shaman backward to be impaled on the long prongs of the reindeer's antlers. No more would Kreikan use dark spells to twist nature into unnatural forms.
The guardians did not calm down until the mangled body of Kreikan lay dead at their feet. Now standing quietly, they appeared to not take any more notice of the dead Nord than they would a rotted log in the forest.
With a grim smile, Laurenna said, "This is the perfect place for Ragnar to find his shaman; lying dead at the foot of his stolen throne." Sheathing her blade, she added, "Now, let's find my mother. We don't want her to be here when Ragnar returns."
For a moment I wondered how we would sneak through the castle with a reindeer and a bear accompanying us but both guardians quietly faded away in a shimmer of green and white sparking light. They apparently knew that we could take care of the rest of our task on our own.
Nothing hindered us as we made our way to the castle's south-east tower and we evaded the few guards that were posted near the stairway. And so without any difficulty, we at last reached the room where Laurenna's mother had been imprisoned. Sigrid stared at her daughter in disbelief for a moment before exclaimed, "Laurenna!"
After the two women had exchanged hugs, Sigrid asked anxiously, "How did you get the key to this room? Oh never mind. Have you thought about how we are going to get out of here? We can't just walk out of the castle, but I know of an exit in the secret passage."
Laurenna replied, "Perfect. That will save us from having to look for it. We need to go. If Kreikan's body has not been discovered yet, it will be soon."
Retracing our steps, the four of us quickly moved back through the secret passageway. When we reached the hidden part of the castle, Sigrid took the lead and we followed her down the dark corridors until we reached a doorway that did in fact lead outside. Going through the doorway we found ourselves not far from the edge of the sea.
Of course there was the matter of getting the horses. Since we didn't want our group to be noticed, I stayed put with Laurenna and Sigrid while Neldor managed to sneak into the courtyard where he untied Garland, Gloria, and Laurenna's white gelding. A short time later our group was riding out of the village with Sigrid sitting on the gelding behind Laurenna.
When we were well away from the castle, Laurenna asked, "Should we go to my cabin?"
Neldor answered, "I think we should all go to the ranger station. There are rooms there where you can both rest. There's also a stall in the stable for your horse."
I agreed, "The station is the best place for us to hunker down and wait for Wulfren. We'll also be better protected if Ragnar or his men show up before Wulfren can take care of him."
With a nod, Laurenna replied, "All right. I trust your judgement."
And so that is where we are now; standing guard at the ranger station. There is only one more thing that needs to be done before the island is free of the usurper, and that step is up to Wulfren. Other than protecting ourselves along with Laurenna and Sigrid, there is nothing more that we can do to set things right for Lokken.
