Argonian Attraction - Ch. 1
#1 of Argonian Attraction
This is a fan fiction based out of the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. It makes many direct references to the world within the game that a person who has not played it will not understand. If you have not played this game, you probably will not be able to follow this story very well.
This story is the start of a series that will in future chapters contain sexual scenes between two males and possibly some foot fetishism. If you are uncomfortable with this kind of content, you probably should not read this story, although this chapter contains none.
Ch. 1
Vesurus was thrilled beyond measure as he descended the steps to the prison cells of the Moonmoth Legion Fort. His fortune through this past week had been unmatched. No more than a month ago he was accepted into the Imperial Legion, and in the past weekend he managed to get himself a position as a guard at this fort. His superiors were pleasant and considerate, and recognized his ability despite his idle job. Now he was being assigned to stand guard at the prison cells of the fortress - something he considered a great honor. The battlemage Solea Nucussius, who normally watched the cells, had taken leave to visit her family and he had been selected to temporarily fill her position. Who knew what sorts of nasty criminals would turn up to be processed under his watch? It was indeed an exciting prospect.
His mood slowly turned to disappointment over the following days, however. Each day he would make the short trip from his bed to the cells and sit on a bench... and sit... and sit... There had been no prisoners when he started, but he had been confident that somebody would turn up soon; perhaps a bandit, or even a murderer! By the third day, this positive attitude was completely lost. He began to realize that this was not a very desirable position after all. At least when he was on ordinary guard duty he had fresh air and sunlight. This damp, gloomy underground room made him feel so isolated from the ordinary world that he suspected that it was in fact the least desirable job in the entire fort, and he had been given it just because he was the new guy.
Yesterday a strange foreigner had entered the cell room looking for spells to buy. Vesurus had to explain that Solea was out on personal leave and that he had no magical experience himself. After the odd fellow had left, he commented quietly to himself about how little experience he had in general, and how being stuck in this prison room wasn't helping the fact. Until that point he had wondered how the battlemage could stand such a torturous duty day in and day out. It occurred to him then that she must carry a business selling spells from the cell room to keep herself busy when there are no prisoners.
Another day passed. Solea would be out for at least another week. He would go mad with boredom soon if nothing happened. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard the thump and creak of the upper door to the cells being opened. He braced himself for the possibility of finally having a prisoner to work with. The clatter of shackles confirmed his hopes, and he silently rejoiced at the prospect of something to do at last. The door to the cells opened, and in stepped a bound Argonian male wearing a ragged shirt and pants, closely followed by a guard who held onto the chain of the shackles. In his other hand was a sack that evidently belonged to the new prisoner. Vesurus eagerly unlocked the door to one of the five cells and allowed the Argonian to be placed inside before calmly closing and locking it. He turned to the ranking guard who brought him in, nodding and waiting silently for the details from his superior.
The guard, whose name he did not know, held up the sack in his hand and opened it. "This Argonian was caught stealing from a shop in Balmora," he stated as he reached into the small sack and began looking through its contents. "His penalty is a week here in the prison. I believe you have already been briefed on rationing and other duties you have as the prison guard." Vesurus watched as the guard pulled out a vial of Skooma, looked it over briefly, then placed it back in the sack. Knowing exactly what to do, he quickly unlocked the evidence chest and opened it, revealing its empty interior, divided into fifths to keep the items related to the prisoner in each cell separate. He gingerly took the sack from his superior and nodded. "Yes, sir. I am very aware of my responsibilities for this position. You can count on me."
"Good," the ranking guard replied simply, then went on to add, "I haven't done the paperwork for this arrest yet, and I have important business to attend to back in Balmora and need to return immediately. I don't have any more time time to find the captain right now. He's probably up in one of the towers. I'm relying on you to inform him about the matter." Another nod came from Vesurus, and an enthusiastic "Yes sir!" followed. Satisfied, the guard turned and left the room in a hurry, the door closing behind him with a loud thunk.
Vesurus smiled again, finally being relieved of the boredom that had plagued him for the past few days. He looked down at the sack in his hands and decided to take a look himself at its contents before putting it in the chest. Besides the very illegal bottle of Skooma that immediately made him recognize just how much of a criminal this creature was, there was a piece of stale bread, some tattered paper, and an expensive looking bottle of medicine. That must have been what he stole, he figured. Why medicine? Now he was curious of the motive. Detective work wasn't something very common in Morrowind, but he had always had a knack for it. Solving puzzles was something he greatly enjoyed.
He was prepared to go and question the imprisoned Argonian when he heard an odd noise coming from his cell. Was that... Was this creature crying? He didn't even know that this reptile was capable of crying. In fact, he knew very little about Argonians in general. He had been raised in the Eastern part of Vvardenfell in an area of the Grazelands where few Argonians were ever seen. There were a few he had seen in Balmora, but he had never approached the subject. His family, though open minded, had not been able to escape the influence of the popular cultural beliefs in that region, and had a tendency to refer to them as a beast race. He knew they were more than that, that they were intelligent creatures, but he had no idea that such beings were capable of the same emotions as the more common races. Not far east of here, in Suran and the surrounding plantations, Argonians were often enslaved, much like the feline Kahjiit, and treated like animals.
Cautiously, Vesurus approached the cell and peered in through the barred window set into the door. The creature sat hunched in the corner, arms folded across his knees, into which he quietly sobbed. Vesurus was unsure of how to approach the situation. Hesitantly he made a coughing noise to get his attention. The Argonian tensed up and stopped sobbing, but didn't move beyond that. Embarrassment washed over his scaly face upon realizing that he had been seen like this, though it was well hidden by his arms. The human guard continued cautiously. "I... erm... is everything alright?" Was he really asking this prisoner such a sensitive question? Why should he show any compassion for a criminal?
The Argonian, proud and strong-willed as he was, could not help but dwell further on his situation as the question washed over him, breaking down into that same weak sobbing again, unable to keep a masculine composure. Now it was Vesurus's turn to give in to emotions. He could not help but feel concerned and piteous for this creature, who was clearly fighting with himself over the misery of the situation. He decided he would make an effort to comfort him, despite all rationality. "Hey now... don't be like that. You're only in here for a week and then you'll be free to go. Surely it can't be that bad." In response, his prisoner sighed and shook his head, lifting it up a bit, but not looking at him. Vesurus could see the moist trails of tears along his rough snout. This creature was no beast.
"That is not the reason... I could spend a year here and it would not matter to me. It would be worth it if only I could see my father first." Once more the Argonian's head fell into his arms, and more tears flowed down his face, visible now that the guard had seen them from a better angle. "Why do you wish to see your father so badly?" he asked quietly, becoming quite empathetic with the moment, nearly worked to tears himself at the sight of this reptile's deep misery.
The creature looked up at him, now, staring right into his eyes. "My father is very sick. He is dying from a rare Blight disease. He no longer has the strength to travel to a shrine where he could be healed, and we cannot afford to have a shaman visit him. My family has very little currency. We cannot afford to heal my father."
These words struck Vesurus deeply. It was an overwhelming story. Now he knew what the medicine in the Argonian's sack was for. He had stolen a potion to cure his father's blight disease and save his life, and now he would be locked up in this prison while his father slowly died without him, trapped here because he had no money to pay the fine. He felt his eyes watering, and his hands shook. His training and dedication to his job clashed with a powerful desire to help this poor creature. He could not break his code of honor. If anyone found out that he had disobeyed the orders of a superior, he would be expelled from the Imperial Legion and forever lose the position he had worked so hard to obtain.
He thought back to the words of that superior, recalling how he was currently the only one other than himself that knew of the Argonian's situation. Furthermore, that was a Balmora guard. He would not return to the Moonmoth Legion Fort unless he arrested another prisoner, and he knew from his experience here that it was very unlikely to happen any time soon. More so, guards from Balmora never bothered to complete neglected paperwork. Could he really pull this off? Would he try to help this prisoner escape, against everything he stood for? As these thoughts rushed through his head, he realized he was staring blankly at the Argonian. He closed his eyes and nodded, then turned and walked back to his bench. He sat down and stared at the cheap tapestry decorating the wall in front of him, unable to keep his mind off the situation.
Hours passed. Night had long since fallen on the fortress. With his new job, Vesurus was always the last to sleep in the Fort's interior, Guards from outside had shifted for the night, and anyone who might have known anything about this prisoner's existence would be in bed by now. He knew what he had to do. Quietly, he ascended the steps leading from the main interior to the cells and peered into the sleeping chamber. This large room located at the end of the stairway had been designed to house the beds of the guards and others who lived in the fort so that escaping prisoners would have a better chance of being caught if they tried to make it out late at night. It was impossible to leave the cells without passing through this room. The occupants of the room were all sleeping soundly in their beds, and though he made an effort to make a bit of noise in opening the door, nobody had stirred.
Vesurus descended the staircase and entered the cell room again. With a quiet click he unlocked the door to the Argonian's cell. The sleeping reptile stirred at the noise and looked up at the face of the human guard peering through the barred window. "What is your name, Argonian?" Vesurus asked quietly once he had the prisoner's full attention. "I am Jareq," the creature replied quietly. The name came as a bit of a surprise to Vesurus. Though he had not heard many, he had come to believe that all Argonian names were based on a quality of their character, with such silly names as "Hides-His-Nose" and "Only-There-He-Stands".
Focusing on the matter at hand, he nodded silently and spoke. "Alright, Jareq. I'm going to help you save your father. We are leaving here tonight, and at this very moment." With that, the guard opened the unlocked cell door and handed the Argonian his sack. Jareq had an unmistakable look of surprise on his face. He took the offered sack, blinked a bit and shook his head in a gesture that only suggested that he was trying to clear his head from the grogginess of sleep. "Why are you helping me?" he asked, keeping his voice low like the human's. Vesurus smiled slightly. "I can't possibly deny you the desire to see your father, and if I'm going to do that much, I might as well ensure that your efforts to save him will not go in vain. Now come with me."
Vesurus took hold of the reptile's clawed hand, and for a second he almost shuddered at its alien texture. He did not find the creature repulsive in the slightest. In fact, he was rather intrigued by his body, but he could not help the natural reaction to something so foreign and strange. The scaly skin was smooth and cool to the touch, reminding him that this was a cold blooded species. With great caution, he led Jareq out of the room after closing door to his cell, locking it and making sure the interior did not appear recently used. They crept up the stairs with great caution, the Argonian showing his natural skill at sneaking. Vesurus was thankful that he had chosen not to wear most of his armor during his time as the prison guard. Surely his movements would make more noise otherwise.
The two moved with twice the care through the bed chamber. This was the moment of truth. If they could pass through this one area, Vesurus knew they would be home free for a silent and unnoticed escape. His heart pounded in his chest as they very slowly approached the doorway leading out of the room. He led Jareq into the nearest tower through a door just beyond the entrance to the bed chamber, and held back what could have been a noisy sigh of relief when he closed the door behind him. After a waiting briefly for any sound of somebody approaching and hearing none, they ascended the spiraling staircase up to the very top of the tower.
The trap door leading to the exterior level of the tower opened very slowly, Vesurus head appearing through the opening. He climbed out after making sure there was no sign of a guard. They typically did not stand atop the towers, but patrolled below along the walls of the fortress. He held the door with one hand while helping Jareq up with the other, then very carefully lowered it back down into place, not making a sound. He motioned for the Argonian to stay low and did the same, then pulled him over to the edge of the tower facing the exterior. By some stroke of luck, the fortress had been built so that this tower, nearest the prison cells, had been built into the side of a huge, smooth boulder. It was far too steep to climb, but it would be perfect for their escape.
Vesurus turned to his friend. Yes... he was a friend now... there was no questioning the bond that his actions had created between them. "Jareq, we can slide down the side of this boulder here to reach the ground safely. No guards patrol the outer edges of this fort. Stay silent, and we will not be seen." The reptilian male glanced at him for a moment, then nodded, climbing over the edge of the tower and sliding down with ease. Vesurus followed suit, though with less grace, but managed not to make a sound. The Argonian certainly outmatched him in agility and flexibility.
"You are coming with me, then?" the creature asked quietly. Vesurus nodded and replied. "I would like to escort you. There is plenty of night left for the trip if you live close to Balmora, and for the sake of both you and your father, I wish to ensure that you complete the journey safely." The guard was almost surprised at his own words, but of course it was his nature to help others as much as possible once he had made the decision to do so. Jareq looked surprised as well, but nodded. The appreciation was spoken without words.
Swiftly and silently, the two made their way West, making sure to stay South of the path to Balmora.
(TO BE CONTINUED)