A Listener in the Dark (with Poll)

A Listener in the dark; is a Skyrim Fanfic following the Listener of The Dark Brotherhood as he embarks on a new commission received in strange circumstances from the Night Mother. This story leads into two other Fanfic threads i will be creating and writing in tandem with this story they are;

For how Josin and the Companions have become involved as well as the backstory of the thieves guild Link: A theft too far

For how Artur and Kathryn first adventured together, include the Harbinger Dragonborn's back story and reveals of Artur's past Link: Attack attack attack

*This story is Pre-Dawnguard*

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A listener in the dark plus other tales

Table of Contents:

A listener in the dark: PART 1 / A most bloody pilgrimage: PART 1

A listener in the dark: PART 2 / A most bloody pligramage: PART 2 18 +

A listener in the dark: PART 3 / A most bloody pilgramage: PART 3

A listener in the dark: PART 4 / A most bloody pilgramage: PART 4

A listener in the dark: PART 5 / A most bloody pilgramage: PART 5

A listener in the dark: PART 6 / A most bloody pilgramage: PART 6 NEW

A listener in the dark: PART 7

A listener in the dark: PART 8

A listener in the dark: PART 9

A listener in the dark: PART 10

A listener in the dark: PART 11

A listener in the dark: PART 12

A listener in the dark: PART 13

A listener in the dark: PART 14

A listener in the dark: PART 15

A listener in the dark: PART 16
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A Listener in the Dark

PART 1:


In the darkness of a tunnel a figure is moving, slowly taking each step so as not to make a sound. Armoured hands softly caress the edges of the granite tunnel, the slow pace belaying a hunter stalking prey. Yet the figure is alone in the darkness of this tunnel a faint glow all that lets him know what may or may not be in front of him. A steady almost inaudible hiss follows him as he moves deeper into the gloom. He is a black silhouette in his Ebony Mail armour amongst grey green shadows, the tunnel edges covered in lichen and fungi a trickling stream flows beneath him. The tunnel is starting to narrow to a point of light ahead that grew brighter as he approached it.

The hissing stopped; inside his helmet the figure smiled ‘Finally’ he thought ‘I was convinced I was never going to evade them’.

In front of him the light made sure his relief was short lived, marking out an end to his stealthy progress through the gloom. As the tunnel abruptly ended in a shaft that ascended straight to the surface, it must be hundreds of metres of vertical ascent, as the light was but a pinprick at its source on the surface.

Exhausted he collapsed to the ground and leaned against the granite walls, staring up at the light source.

“Well, thanks are given to The Night Mother and our Dread Lord Sithis for providing such an attractive tomb to your humblest of servants but one” The figure exclaimed a rueful smile playing across parched lips. “Alas tomorrow the plan on spending ones commission in the joyful upkeep of the temples and ladies of Dibella means, for now I will not be able to take you up on your kindest of offers. However fret not, for I shall return here when my time comes, look here I am marking the location down on my map for just such an occasion.”

Rising to his feet he braced himself against the sides of the tunnel with his hands stretching inside the armour to abate the tensions and cramps he was feeling throughout his body.

“I’m never climbing up there in this armour, nor have I the intention of doing so, dear Mother alert our Dread Lord I may be sending more guests to him before getting out of this Dwarven hole. Oh and be a sweetie, tell Cicero I want a hot bath and fresh towels for when I return, oh that’s right, you don’t talk to Cicero do you?”

Silence descended as the figure turned from the light and faced back into the gloom. At this he removed his helmet leaning back and let his pale Nordic skin be bathed in the little light that was falling through to him.

Running his hands through his red hair he exclaimed “Nope just me, just my luck, I mean with all respect your guidance always seems straight forward and without any hint of malice or of even impending threat towards my own continuing mortality. Three hours alone evading our dread lords embrace in this hole and already I sound like Cicero damn his aged bones, since you’re at your usual level of communication when not giving orders I shall have a rest here before continuing. Feel free to wake me if I over sleep.”

With that the figure loosened the straps on his armour found a ledge under the dimming light and using his helmet the Masque of Clavicus Vile as a pillow, something that made him smile slightly he drifted off to an uneasy slumber.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Listener you rest when you should be finding the target” Looking up at him from the coffin nursing cradle the corpse of the Night Mother admonishes, “Look towards sweet Cicero he knows his duty”.

Cicero in his jesters garb approaches the night mothers crib, leaning over he places a child’s dummy between the Night Mother’s mummified lips. “Mother needs you to do your work while she rests, these dogs must meet their destiny, now I have them chained up for you but they shall be released and you must hunt them down and put them out of their misery”, Cicero motions over the room across the night mothers nursery towards the two crippled Falmer that have been chained to the wall. Both have been swaddled in golden cloth wearing princess tiaras, they are hunched over and using their teeth and claws they are tearing into a child vampires leg, eating the flesh from it.

All the while the child Babette is stroking their heads “Eat up, the listener is coming and you sweet ladies need your strength before you journey to meet our glorious Dread Lord”.

The Night Mother springs out of her crib “Now listener do your duty, fulfil the contract!”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Waking up with a start the words of the Night mother ringing throughout his head, the Listener rubs his eyes. Light and water streaming from the surface bring him fully round from the fitful sleep in this dank underground tunnel.

“Well that will teach me for asking the Night Mother for a wake-up call” Thought the Nord Listener.

“Time to get a move on and finish the contracts then, thank you sweet Mother” he proclaimed to the tunnel in general.

Affixing the Masque of Clavicus Vile he adjusted the straps of his armour so it was once again tight to his skin, his conditioning allowing the armour to feel like a second skin heavy yet comfortable. He flexed onto his feet stretching and adjusting till he felt limber and ready to move, picking up his Deadric Battle axe from the ground he felt its reassuring weight in his hands. He ensured his Ebony Bow and full quiver were in their correct position for any necessary quick weapon change over.

He started to head down the tunnel his last statement to no one in particular but directed at the gloom in front of him, in a particularly mocking tone “Come out come out wherever you are Falmer princesses numbered two".


Link to PART 2

A poll is available and all comments welcome.

Told you I'd check it out, didn't I?

It sounds interesting so far. To me, it seems the flaw that you were telling me about in your character is his disregard of the Night Mother and Sithis. He's almost sarcastic towards their power and I can see that getting him in trouble with the Brotherhood. This sarcasm towards what others worship as gods could also be a sign of arrogance or overconfidence that cause issues in other areas, as well. I wonder if I've seen this correctly or if I'm completely missing my mark...

You have a few grammar issues, mainly you are just missing a comma here and there but nothing major. I suggest you'd separate the dream by either a break in the page or making all of the dream italicized. It was a bit disconcerting to suddenly change tenses and perspective, I had to reread that part a few times to realize it was a dream.

I would like to see you continue this story and to see it's characters and plot be developed more

I take your point on seperating the dream, i'm still learning how to lead the reader into something with out stating that -Now he's dreaming- though i may have went the other way and been too subtly. A change to italized could be a way to work round it. I'll think on it a bit more, thanks for the input.

I don't want to give away any plot but your not entirely wide...

I think part of what interests me about the black sacrament is how it behaves as a mechanism for the directing of who is assasinated. As well as how that contact touches the person who feels the night mothers voice. Its these forces i want to explore in my fanfic.

Kinda what bananban said about separating the dream somehow. Also think that would be a help to the reader. I'm intrigued with his dream. Falmer wearing tiaras? Gnawing on Babette's leg and she's okay with that, even encouraging them? They need the strength for what? A battle with the Dread Lord? A meeting? Do they even stand a chance of winning if it is a battle? Or are they merely sacrifical lambs?

Oh yeah, do continue, Dale.

I am in agreement with what has been said so far. Good stuff but italics would be help separate things. I use it all the time in my fanfic whenever I do flashbacks. If you want a idea on how to do it read some of my story. It's the Hammerfell Chronicles. You'll get a feel for it at least I hope. Anyway, keep up the good work.

It seems that every story on here includes DB stuff.

Good point, Mahone. Seems the allure of the DB is just too hard to resist. That, or we have a serious epidemic of Satanic, goat-killing, sweet roll-stealing, worshippers amidst these very forums.

Dunno 'bout you, but I'm hoping it's the former.

Actually I prefer not to have anything related to the DB in my stories. Or any guild for that matter. They may play a small role but I prefer to introduce new things into Skyrim if I can. But yes, DB is popular as is the TG.

Yeah. In my case, the dream started with a time-and-place separator, which made it pretty clear that it was a dream (mysterious monoliths don't typically show up in jail cells), but it would be pretty confusing if I didn't put the time separator.

Mine will feature the DB... being destroyed.

Well, just popped in to see what other people write.

It is a good read, descriptive in many ways. I particularly liked how you manage to further explore already existing characters, giving us a new perspective to them. It is almost flawless, without noticeable errors.
Ummm... i my humble opinion, I think you should include the names of your characters in more sentences. Without scrutiny of the speech, it is hard to tell who is talking to whom.

I'm new to fan fiction too, so can you help me review "thorns within the truth?" It's just begun, but I hope you can give me a bit of experience, which you clearly have.

Actually, it seems the guild that gets the least love on these forums is probably the Companions.

True. I may write something about them one day. But with my current story being planned... I doubt I'll have the time. Maybe Start Dale will add something with them.

And they're the sexiest, bar none! C'mon, admit it. Who wouldn't wanna turn into a wolf, and hunt with that pack mentality? Enhanced everything? And of course, the sexual prowess would be off the charts.

I have to say i was thinking about writing something to do with the Companions, then i got interested in how the black sacrament operates so i thought i'd tackle that. Once i'm done with this story i may try and write something fun about the companions. I think they would be the perfect guild for a buddy story. Any way working on chapter two.

I'll check it out, though my experience is what you've read so far. thanks for the words.

Yeah i noticed that, still had to give my tale a go i think i've something new to add to the DB. Next i'll try something else, most likely the companions.

A listener in the dark

PART 2:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two weeks ago the Black Sacrament ritual was performed somewhere in Skyrim and the night mother called for the listener. However he was called before having finished executing the previous commission. In the ten years since the Emperor joined Sithis in the void, the listener has only received the next commission through the Night Mother at the earliest one whole day after the assassination was completed, whether he was the one who had completed the kill or one of his growing group of dark brother or sister acolytes.

This time while out on a contract in Whiterun, he had brought Cicero with him, more for the man’s companionship and to give him a break from his keeper duties than for his skill with a blade.

Still fast enough to scare new recruits, age had started to catch up with Cicero, no longer the deadly nimble dancer and fool. His body now slowed and still like an undisturbed pool, quite unsettling even under stress and duress he would appear motionless. Until he moved a small smile on his thin lips and then he was standing and the other was on the ground, alive or dead depended if you were a commission or not. If you were a student you didn’t end up dead, to tell the truth considering the strength of healing spells required for those foolish enough, to still spar with Cicero, it was a close run thing.

It was only when you watched his body after the strike you saw the slightest shudder in the joints. A weakness in the stride that a year ago wasn’t there, you could see that his body was slowing and to compensate he had speeded his mind up. He almost appeared sane now-a-days until you looked at the eyes, they never stopped.

“So I said to Babette, I may be getting greyer but at least I’m not a shrunken bloodsucker. Can you imagine her face; I swear she almost ate me right there and then, so I did a quick spin and laughed, everyone pities the jester. She scowled as only a three hundred or so year old virgin can and turned away, hence how I am with you now” Cicero smiled at the listener as they leaned on the parapet walls of Whiterun. “The worst of it I almost snapped my ankle off in that pirouette I did for her and she didn’t even applaud. Sithis himself could have heard it click.”

Cicero proceeded to giggle to himself until he turned around a sweet roll in his hand and with a big grin on his face “Bribe for the boss.”

The listener looked at the sweet roll and then looked at his loyal companion “You’re a lucky man; If that ankle had broken we would have had to get Babette to put you down. Bribe or not.” He gratefully picked the sweet roll from Cicero’s hand, as he lifted the sweet roll another budded off of it and dropped to Cicero’s waiting hand.

“Ha ha, that’s the way to do it” chimed Cicero.

“Magic, of course but what, alchemy, illusion, and alteration I mean how, you can’t just double objects so, well how?” The listener, obviously perplexed by his companion looked dumbfounded.

A slow thin smile spread across Cicero’s lips his shifting glance settled into a thousand yard stare at the setting sun he simply stated “Word soup”.

The Listener stared at his friend then settled on a decision that to push further would be to be stonewalled with maddening quips. As the last of the daylight vanished behind the throat of the world, they finished their sweet rolls.

“Shall we” The listener motioned to Cicero, then placed on the Masque of Clavicus Vile.

Cicero with a mockingly stern look on his face placed his jester’s hat on top of his head “Yes Artur, I am ready for this duty to be performed”.

“Funny jester, right the Sacrament states that we are to take out one of the Whiterun guards, he will apparently be wearing a sprig of lavender on his armour as an identifying mark. I hate to jinx this but an arrow at long range should send him to Sithis for good. Cicero I’ll need you to be a look out and spotter warn me of any change in the wind” Artur the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood motioned Cicero to follow him as they crept along the stone battlements of Whiterun.

Whiterun itself was a large city, built atop a large hill it rose from a simple walled merchant area into massive rich district to the famed hall of the Companions, a fighting guild and all Nordic heroes true, or some other brave nonsense. Members of the Dark Brotherhood followed a simpler ethos than the complicated codes of conduct restraining the Companions to acts of noble endeavour.

‘Our way is better’ thought Artur, the person who wants someone dead prays to the Night Mother in a ceremony called the Black Sacrament, she sends the Listener an essence of her spirits soul with a message that cannot be ignored to meet with that person. The Dark Brotherhood then meets with the person wanting someone killed, receives the commission, kills the target and the Listener receives another visitation from the Night Mother when another Black Sacrament has been performed. All in the service of our Dread Lord Sithis, to ensure that more souls are sent to his embrace in the oblivion that awaits after death. ‘Provided we are paid as well’ thought Artur.

At the top of Whiterun sits Dragonsreach, the impressive seat of power of Jarl Balgruuf, ruler of the province and city of Whiterun. From here the new rotation of guards are coming out to complete the night patrol.

As Cicero and Artur waited in the battlements hidden between the shadows of stone masonry, Artur readied his bow drew an arrow and settled into wait for the commissioned target.

“There about thirty four metres away, a guard with a sprig of lavender on his armour” Cicero informed Artur pointing with his dagger “You’re in luck oh Listener there is no wind to slow or turn your arrow, time is a waiting” Cicero smiled as Artur Readied his shot.

“You’ve still got good eyes, jester” muttered Artur drawing his bow, sudden agony gripped his form his head arcing back violently, red bled into his vision and a white rotten form of the Night Mother clambered through it on all fours.

She reached out to him and grabbed his head with her mummified hands “The Black Sacrament has been performed! Now listener to Winterhold you must travel! The Elvin mage in the Inn seeks you! Hurry! Send me my Keeper I need his protection! The Black Sacrament has been performed you must respond, or we will all be with Sithis by the next month!”

The last Artur was aware of was his body keel back off of the Battlement and fall out of the city of Whiterun.

PART 3

Hey Dale, I've really enjoyed your work here so far! As you've pointed out, your dealings with the DB are different from the usual and that's just plain awesome! I like your writing style and aside from what has already been mentioned by others as far as what to tweak here and there, I can only say that I really am interested to see where this goes!

I especially am fond of Cicero's dialogue in the second part. I'm always a very very happy person when people do awesome character dialogue!

Blushes.

Thank you very much Doc, I'm learning as i go here but i'm really enjoying trying to write something for the Dark Brotherhood. Or in fact some fan fiction at all. Its a great release for all the internal monologuing i have done while role playing throughout the game.

I enjoyed your intro beginners guide to writing fan fiction and found it very informative, Thanks!

The reason why people write a lot about the Dark Brotherhood is that they are an interesting guild. With how the Family motif is setup, and their overall religion and business structure. They intrigue me as do many others. If you are think you can do better, please I'd be more than eager to see what you can write up.