Chance meeting[]
Graicus supposed he had done it now. He had burned his bridges.
He was slowing his walk when he thought he had stormed off far enough from the inn and he wished he could tumble to his knees and shout at the sky.
tears welled up in his eyes again. He was so angry with himself.
Looking up he could feel the snow fall on his warm cheeks. The night sky was filled with small flakes of snow. dancing around in the night sky and he was the only one standing in the street.
As Graicus moseyed his way out into the starlit Bruma night, depressed and angry, distracted by both emotions, he nearly collided with a very large, armored man who came to a sudden stop in front of him. It was clear his intention was to halt Graicus' forward movement.
"Hey now!" The man alerted Graicus, holding out a warding hand before the Imperial walked face first into the knight's chest. "You nearly tread upon me, friend!" He had a booming voice and seemed to immediately be someone of overwhelming personality. "But nevermind that, I have words for you." He reached up with one gauntleted hand and thumbed the side of his helmet. "You are an Arena fighter of somewhat reknown, are you not?"
Graicus had a thousand and one questions.
Since he had just crossed over the peak of anger and was already sliding down, he was more confused if anything.
"What?" He asked as he looked up to see a man about as broad as he was yet much, much taller.
"Ha!" The knight made a delighted noise when Graicus looked up. "Your face is long, friend, but it is one I recognize! You are Graicus, the fighter." He almost slapped Graicus on the shoulder but seemed to catch himself at the last moment and instead awkwardly lowered his gauntlet to his side. His left hand was burdened by a massive shield, strapped to his forearm.
"I watched several of your bouts, in preparation for tourneys of my own. Exemplary form! Tip top, friend! I prostate myself before you!" He had definitely misspoken and said 'prostate' instead of 'prostrate,' but didn't seem to notice the slip.
Graicus could barely process what was happening.
"Whatever you're selling. I'm not interested." He said as he looked for a way around this knight.
The knight laughed, the noise rattling around inside his helmet before it found an exit.
"Your weapon in the arena should have been your wit!" He paused when Graicus didn't laugh. "For it is sharp. Ha!"
He forced an arm around Graicus' shoulders, the coldness and weight of the armor making it an uncomfortable burden rather than a friendly gesture.
"What do you drink, Graicus?" The knight asked, making the executive decision that they were now on a first name basis. "Ale? Mead? Excellent taverns up and down this street. Finest brews this side of the Niben Bay!" He pronounced 'Niben' wrong (it came out as Knee-bin), and seemed to have his geography wrong as well, given they were north of the Bay and not east or west of it.
Graicus didn't notice the geography error.
"Tch... If you're buying. I'll drink with you all night." He said in a sardonic tone.
He would ditch this fool later. Right now he needed to drink and forget. That usually worked...
"Exemplary!" The knight cheered, guiding Graicus towards the nearest tavern "What finds you on the streets of Bruma, friend?" He asked. The knight bumped the tavern door with a closed fist and it swung open like it had been hit with a boulder. He ushered Graicus inside.
"First let me get that drink." Graicus said, hoping to stall talking with this weirdo.
"Right." The knight said, seeming more than willingly to agree with Graicus. He turned from Graicus, to the front of the tavern. "Barkeep!" He roared. The man behind the counter jumped, nearly spilling the drink he was presently making. He looked up with no small amount of annoyance. The knight held up a pair of fingers "Two ales, please."
The knight headed for the bar and patrons in his path quickly cleared the way. He pulled out two stools, one for Graicus and one for himself.
"Sit!" He encouraged. "Now, tell me your most recent of events, friend."
Graicus would have gotten angry and told the stranger off for poking his nose into his business but since he was now his free ale dispensary he supposed he could talk a bit.
"Just burned a few bridges..." He sighed before taking a big swig from his drink.
"Ah." The knight murmured, becoming subdued. He pulled his helmet off and set it on the table, resting one hand on the helmet's crown. The removal of the helmet revealed a a cube-shaped head and a chiseled nose. His lips, eyes, and ears seemed almost small on his massive block of a head. He had long blond hair, well-combed, kept washed and neat.
"This is not a circumstance in which I am experienced." He admitted. "Normally the challenges I am called to face require a blade, or a firm hand." He stroked his chin with an armored hand. "But no task is too great for the Augur of Justice." He nodded once, decisively.
"Tell me, is there a sufficient amount of wood and stone near these bridges?" The 'Augur of Justice' asked. "How large are they? Are we two alone enough to rebuild them? How easily can these bridges be rebuilt? What kind of damage was done to them?"
He read Graicus' expression and it seemed to slowly understand what he had actually meant. "Ah! Figurative bridges! Social bridges! No matter, my questions stand."
Graicus glared at the man for a hot second before taking his ale and downing it in one go. He wasn't drunk enough for this shit.
"Another one please."
The knight pushed his own untouched ale in Graicus' direction and waved for two more drinks.
"You look like you're made of money." Graicus chuckled dryly. He quickly added he meant it figuratively.
"I am third in line for the lordship of the fiefdom of Alcaire." The knight said in way of explanation. "I live a pious and simple life. The coin I spend on drink will dent no one's coffer, least alone my family's."
"Alcaire... Don't sound like any county I've heard of." Graicus shrugged, happy he could drink again.
"It is a fief in the kingdom of Wayrest." The knight said, confident in this tidbit of geography. "It is not famous, nor consequential, you insult me none by your ignorance of it." He assured Graicus.
Graicus' eyebrow raised.
"You don't look anything like a Breton."
The last one he had seen was almost a head smaller than him.
And naked...
And his lover, though that was probably over now.
"Ha!" The knight clapped his hands together. It sounded like a rock shattering. "You speak true, Graicus, and are not the first to say it so. But I am!" He shrugged. "It cannot be explained. I have eaten a king's fill of meat in my life--it must be so."
Graicus could relate.
There was a time in his life where he could have been described as wiry perhaps. The poor son of a dockworker didn't really have the same diet as a lord.
He gained a bit more mass in the legion but he became the hulking beast he is today during his time in the arena. Force fed meat and magical potions. The process had permanently put him off venison.
"You've given fancy names of places and titles, but you haven't given your name." Graicus pointed out. Strange as it may have sounded but he was starting to sort of enjoy this knight's company, if only for one night.
"I am called Sir Nohaden'Cade-- the Augur of Justice!" He declared, forgetting he'd already let his dramatic title slip early. "But you, friend, will call me Cade. Tis simpler."
"I think I shall." Graicus mockingly tried to be pompously posh, but failed. A poor Anvil district accent would be with you for the rest of your life.
Graicus' mocking, friendly or not, went over Cade's head.
"Exemplary!" Cade said. It was starting to become his catchphrase, although he didn't always use the word correctly. "Say, what has a man such as you wandering these here streets alone? What are burned bridges to a champion of the Arena?"
"I've taken a break from arena fighting." Graicus remained circumspect.
He did not want to reveal to him the quest.
Stuff the quest. We're all going to die anyway!
"Bah!" Cade scoffed. "What is there other than the pursuit of honor and fame? Besides assisting the weak and infirm, of course." He said it like it was self-evident.
Graicus had to ponder that. Those were some good goals to have actually.
The gladiator lost track of the drinks he had drunk.
"There's plenty of other things... But I wouldn't want to be doing them."
"Indeed, very true indeed." Cade agreed. He laughed, abruptly. "You are a wise and knowledgeable man, Gracius!" Cade declared. "This is not something I would have expected."
Graicus barked a laugh at that. Nothing could be further from the truth.
"I am not wise or knowledgeable, Cade. Believe you me."
"You know the value of a free drink and what is best in life." Cade said. "To my mind there is no greater wisdom than that!"
"Well..." Graicus took his tankard in hand.
"... If you put it that way..."
Cade got to drinking himself, glad to have a friend.
Graicus already felt slightly better. All he had to do was not think about Frasella and how he let her down.
At least he had this strange knight to pay for his tab.
"So... Why are you in Bruma?" Graicus asked Cade after another tankard was placed in front of him.
"I have sworn to purge all injustice from Tamriel!' Cade informed him. It wasn't a point of pride, more like a day job he was excited about. "Wherever evil lurks, whatever its form, I shall seek it out and destroy it."
"And found any evil yet?" Graicus asked with a wry smile.
"Ha! There is evil everywhere. These troublesome elves, the surge in attacks by the vampirically inclined." He frowned. "Although, I concede, there are frequent periods of inactivity. You would be surprised how many caves are not inhabited by villains but are simply ordinary caves!"
The vampirically inclined...
Graicus wondered how such a dimwitted man could use such fancy words.
"My last cave delving has been quite an adventure." Graicus told Cade.
"Some Daedric fool. Was fun breaking his nose though." He shrugged.
"Good show!" Cade mimed a punch, imaginng the bout. Despite his large size and seeming mental slowness the reflex was quick. "Do you make a habit of this?" Cade asked. "This is, breaking the noses of the demonic scourge."
"Sort of I guess." Graicus thought. He wasn't sure if vampiric lords counted as Daedra. Priests had never explained the boundaries of such evil properly to him.
"But I doubt I'll be welcome again in the group I did it with." Graicus rose a glass of brandy, figuring they had switched over to that now. As long as it was alcohol he didn't care.
"Burned bridges, remember?"
"Nonsense! A warrior of your caliber? You'd be sorely missed! I am sure your friends will come around, burned bridges or no."
"You don't know what happened, Cade." Graicus said with a raised voice,making clear that he did not like the knight presuming to know his situation.
"So as of now. I'm without an occupation." The Imperial gladiator seems to realise at the same time as he said it out loud. Now what was he going to do? In what little time remained...
"I... Don't know what that means." Graicus said upon hearing the word 'mindate'.
"Err... something less... exemplary." He corrected, unable to parse the correct spelling of 'mundane.' "A normal life. But one unsuitable for men such as us. Ha!"
"Aside from us both looking like oak trees... I don't see much similarities between us. Cade." Graicus sighed after looking displeased with his empty glass. He had started to slur words and his temper would become erratic if he didn't watch himself now.
This knight might've looked tough but Graicus supposed the man had never been in a true battle. Unaware of the bloody cost and dirty tactics utilised in such affairs. Cade had the luxury of five meals a day and a rich-man's training in combat. No doubt being spared from the greatest hurts in sparring by tutors and opponents who didn't want to hurt this precious prince.
"Bah, I was trained from birth to fight! The Order of the Hour accepts nothing short of the best! I am assume this is reflective of your life. One of violence. No-- turmoil. Violence and turmoil."
"Have you ever... fought someone or something your own size?" Graicus asked, ignoring Cade's prying.
"Of course! It is for hence I was named." Cade said. "The region of Shornhelm-- terrorized by a Daedric monstrosity. A titan!" Cade added a dramatic flair of his hand, setting the scene. "Many brave knights fall in their efforts to slay it. All but one-- Nohaden'Cade! Oh, it was an epic battle, one I am sure for which many songs will be written. For my efforts I was bestowed a title--the Augur of Justice--by Wayrest's noble king." Cade smiled fondly on what was undoubtedly his proud memory. "A good day for all, to be sure."
Graicus wasn't impressed. Actually it was more that he didn't particularly care for the man's boasting.
He had always considered himself nothing more than a thug. No more no less. All the fineries he might've enjoyed during his arena circuits were always nothing more but fleeting distractions.
"So you know your way around a battle then. That's good." Graicus nodded as he focussed on his words a bit harder now. The drinks were having their effect
"I would hope so, although I am not one for war. A Sermonizer is trained for different circumstances. Aside from purging evil and heresy, I do participate in tourneys, another important function of a knight's duty" He lifted a hand in Graicus' direction. "I have never had victories or success as glamorous as your's, but I do not do poorly for myself."
"I suppose I wasn't bad for a non-magic using arena gladiator." Graicus agreed, feeling slightly flattered by Cade now. It meant very little coming from a total stranger but still. A compliment was a compliment and he would take all he could get right now, after tonight's severe ego bruising row with Frasella... And that upstart Nordic ponce, Torus.
"Oh, you were one of my favorite fighters. Much better than that scoundrel Marko the Spider." Cade made a face. "Right after I was knighted I spent much time in the Imperial City for further training, and caught many of your fights there. Very stirring." Cade assured him.
"I believe it's called New Imperia now." Graicus corrected, having only recently been back there.
"And I do remember Marko!" Graicus said, his face lighting up now. This was taking him back.
"I detested that leaping thing he did. Too... flippy." Cade struggled to a find an appropriate word. "Nimble." He finally amended. "Stand and fight, I say. If you are afraid of a hit, or are too weak to take then, then you more than deserve it."
"Yeah!" Graicus agreed.
"I think I broke his back." He added when he realised why he hadn't heard from Marko anymore.
"He should have been more cautious of where he landed." Cade shrugged, not too broken up over it.
"I don't think he had much say in the matter if I recall." Graicus chuckled darkly.
He too wasn't too broken up about it. Marko was a dick.
"Biting through your tongue will do that." Cade grimaced.
The gladiator could only smirk.
"You ever fought in an arena?"
"Oh that's not for me." Cade said. "Organized melees or duels are as far as I dare go into competitive fighting."
"Why? Looking at you now, you'd be quite good." Graicus pointed out.
"That's the point." Cade said. He paused, wondering how best to phrase it. "I don't like hurting people." He said, somewhat embarressed. "As said, I am quite good at it. It is really the only thing I am good at, point of fact. But I prefer to do it in the pursuit of good, rather than for my own personal enjoyment. Does this make sense? I enjoy watching fights for the art of it. But the doing is not for me."
Graicus found that awfully naive.
"Sounds like you're thinking that you're better than me."
"Different not better." Cade said quickly, not wanting to offend Graicus. "It is not what I was made for. Take that as you will."
"I suppose... That's true... I wasn't made to wear such fancy armor and do tourneys."
"It's not particularly difficult." Cade said. "Tourney's, that is. Most people find the armor heavy. Although I suppose you wouldn't fall into that category."
"I have never worn full plate armor like yours." Graicus said as he pointed at the man's chest. The gladiator noticed his own face reflecting in the shiny plate.
"When I was in the legion we were issued leather with some studs. We used to make fun of the Imperial guards of the capital in their fancy-pants armor, mostly because they would remain in cryodiil looking smart while we would go to war."
"I believe that there are few things as terrible as inaction. To sit at home while others fight. Bah! Weak!"
"I might be experiencing a couple hours of inaction after all this." Graicus said with a sharp inhale to keep a hiccup from escaping.
The counter stood filled with tankards and glasses that had been emptied faster than the innkeeper could refill or take away.
The gladiator let out an unapologetic burp and sighed.
"I just realised I don't have a bed for the night. The one I had been in earlier's not an option aymore..."
"Ha! I have a similar issue! I was thrown out of my last inn. I've been wandering the streets, searching for another."
Cade stroked his chin, finding it a shame Graicus had ruined things with his friends. He would've liked to meet them and it was starting to seem Cade was going to have to shack up there anyway. He would pass by these mystery individuals and not be any the wiser.
"I might know a place, actually." Graicus said carefully. He wasn't too keen on bringing Cade along, but the man had paid for his drinks. He suppose he had to.
Even if it wasn't technically his call to make.
"By all means, please, I would be indebted to you." Cade said. Unlike Graicus, he had no concept of people owing him anything. Cade was motivated solely by an unquenchable desire to help others.
"Then follow me." Graicus beckoned as he got up from his seat.
-
Graicus had gone to the only place he knew he'd be welcome in Bruma at this hour.
He rapped on the door gently and waited for a response, hoping he hadn't woken her.
The door carefully opened up revealing Mirella, standing there in a night dress and a candle on a stick.
"Graicus? What's wrong?"
She immediately caught on to how he was feeling, she could tell by his red drunk eyes. Graicus usually drank to forget.
"Can I sleep here?" The gladiator sniffed.
"And my friend here too?"
Mirella's eyes widened. She had thought Graicus was one of a kind but seeing Cade made her wonder if every friend of Graicus looked like him.
"Erm... Of course. Come in why won't you?" She didn't want them standing in the cold or for the cold to seep inside the house.
On there way out, Cade counted out a number of Septims and set them on the bar. If Graicus had checked Cade's math, he would've noticed Cade had overpaid, most likely on accident.
________________________________________
Cade shuffled in behind Graicus, awkwardly crouching to get through the doorway. He was wearing his helmet again and in the full suit of armor he stood a little over seven feet.
"Your generousity is bountiful, madam." Cade was saying. "Err... without end, that is. Songs will be sung of the kindness you bear and good fortune you bring."
Graicus cringed.
Mirella merely chuckled heartily, not sure how to take that compliment.
"This is erm... Knight Cade, Mirella. He's a... Well I guess he's a friend of mine." Graicus clarified.
The woman could tell that Graicus didn't particularly care for this man. She was reminded of the times when he would get into trouble during his leave years ago. Pavo, bless that man's heart, had gotten him into trouble with the local guards and they had to avoid the barracks for a few days. Her nose wrinkled when she remembered the smell...
"When I saw it was you, I thought you had found my Helian again." Mirella admitted, making Graicus feel bad he had disappointed her.
"No. I haven't found him yet. But I promise I will keep an eye out for him." The gladiator assured, holding her hands briefly.
"So... Then you came for a roof over your heads, yes? Did you run out of money, Graicus?" Finding that hard to believe, especially with such a finely suited knight companion.
"It's Frasella... We're... well... I ruined it."
Mirella understood. He needn't say more.
"You are free to stay but I'm afraid I only have one bed to spare. The other will have to sleep in the armchair by the fire there."
"I will do so." Cade volunteered, biting the figurative bullet that was the armchair. "It is no trouble for me."
Mirella knew she'd offered it, but she sincerely wondered if either of them would actually fit.
"Can I at least give you a blanket?" She offered the good knight.
"And surely you do not intend to sleep in that armor?"
Graicus meanwhile was of the mind that he probably would, from the brief period he had known him.
Graicus guessed correctly.
"Ha! Not sleep in my armor?" He rapped his knuckles against it. "Tis a second skin. As comfortable as any pillow I could lay my head upon." He glanced around the house. "And, aside, where would I put it?" He pointed out. When Cade removed it it came apart in many large pieces. Without a proper armor rack it took up a lot of space.
"I'm just afraid you might not fit the chair in all that, good sir knight." Mirella pointed out. Fearing for her chair somewhat. It was a good chair, she didn't want it ruined.
Graicus meanwhile figured he could. If just barely.
Only one way to find out.
Cade set his eyes upon the chair. He could've refused, admitted defeat, said that in fact the chair did look too small.
But the Augur of Justice never admitted defeat. Ever.
Cade approached the chair slow, like it was some dangerous beast that might leap up and attack him. Then he turned and slowly set his bulk down.
The chair groaned under the weight.
But it held.
Graicus sort of wished it wouldn't though. Seeing Cade falling on his ass would probably have been very funny. Another time perhaps.
Mirella meanwhile got him a footstool that matched the armchair in burgundy-colored velvet upholstery. It looked comfortable, not that Cade would notice the soft sensation in all that metal.
"Exemplary!" Cade lifted up the mask of his helmet and grinned at Graicus. "Thank you again, Mirella. This is most comfortable. I doubt I could have paid for such refinement."
"You are too kind. Would you still like that blanket?" She said with a friendly smile.
Graicus meanwhile bore an inward grin at the sight of this massive knight being tucked in snuggly by the fire.
"That would be lovely!" Cade said.
Nohaden"Cade was tucked in with a patchy duvet made up of thick wool in all sorts of colors and patterns.
"Comfortable?" Graicus asked with a sardonic undertone.
"Incredibly so." Cade said.
"Alright well. See you in the morning then." Graicus nodded. It was late enough for everyone to be getting to bed.
On the way to his bed, which used to be Helian's Mirella couldn't help but ask more about what had happened. Graicus could only say what he had said before. He saw little point in talking about it now.
The two friends said good night and went to bed.