It just depends on how the story progresses. I am not lying to you when i say I do not know what's going to happen. I write as I tihnk. There is no pre-planning...

I don't use much preplanning myself. Alf turning to the side of good would be interesting, but I think I'd rather not see it happen. While he's a jolly fella, sometimes the whole change of heart thing just doesn't cut it. Not after all the deaths he's caused and schemed for.

Moving to the story at hand. Martin coming to the rescue was great and a sign that all of Mankar's 'they've abandoned you' talk was a trick. It was about time he got his groove on. Sitting outside all the time and waiting for Rayden to do his stuff must have gotten him bored by now. I also like how Rayden constantly gets defensive when his skills are being questioned. I must say, the opposition does have a point. For all his claims of being an untouchable expert, he hasn't really proven it yet. The way it looks now, Rayden is a bad infiltrator but a great escapist.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN


“Janus, I want to ask you a question, but you have to be totally honest with me.”

It had been a mere five hours since we left Kvatch; and with it we also left hundreds of dead bodies as well, including Dion and presumably Danus. Now we’re traveling along the Great Forest, on a path of dirt that wasn’t exactly easy to follow. Mountains were to our left, Chorrol only thirty or so miles to the northwest. We didn’t plan on stopping for anything except for rest every now and then. We could wait until we arrive at Bruma for actual sleep and food.

“Sure, Rayden, go ahead and I’ll do my best to answer your question.”

I was still bent on wondering how we still stood a chance against the Mythic Dawn onslaught. We were now outnumbered and out-skilled as well. I just didn’t see a way of victory.

“Do you think the Empire still has a chance of taking back Cyrodiil from Mankar?”

He sort of chuckled a bit at the question, and then sighed heavily. “Rayden, I’m afraid I cannot give you a straight answer. But instead may I give my opinion on how things might unfold?”

I nodded, “Sure, go ahead.”

“This may sound strange, but I think perhaps the Imperial dominance is coming to an end in Cyrodiil. Look at us…only one city remains, granted that city will stand a long time before it is conquered, but sooner or later Bruma will meet the same fate as the others. Mankar’s army is simply too powerful and too numerous to defeat.”

“So do you think what the three of us are doing now is useless; all for nothing?” I asked.

“I really don’t know what think anymore, Rayden. Unfortunately it appears that no matter what we do, Mankar will eventually find us and take the amulet. He has his army of cultists, the Blackwood Company, the army of Kvatch and possibly any Anvil soldiers that might surrender and join their side. The odds are greatly stacked against us. Our Emperor is dead and only three rulers of Cyrodiil remain, that is until Countess Umbranox is killed by Mankar’s men. To be honest with you, as you have asked of me, I don’t see a realistic way of defeating the Mythic Dawn.”

“Then why all of this struggling? Why risk our lives to keep the amulet from Mankar if he is to take it away from us anyway? If what you say is true, Janus, I really can’t see a reason for taking all of these chances.”

“That is for you to decide individually. I am doing this because I am not a coward. I will fight to the end no matter what. It may be a hopeless battle, but why simply give in and surrender? If we are to die why not go down fighting?”

“I understand what you are saying, and I agree with it, but sometimes I just can’t help but feel stupid fighting for a lost cause, if that is what his is I mean.”

“I never said it was a lost cause; only that in my opinion victory cannot happen. But, Rayden let me tell you that I have seen strange things in my long, long life. Who is to say that the Council will not intervene?”

“About them…..where are they in all of this chaos?” Martin asked.

“I’m afraid I cannot answer that question either. I’ve been totally confined to my city and my city alone. Since the death of Uriel Septim and the invasion of the Mythic Dawn I have lost contact with the outside world. I am sure the Council is doing something, but what that actually is I do not know. Perhaps Countess Carvain will have an answer for us.”

“You’d think soldiers of the Legion from the other provinces would have came back to help defend Cyrodiil,” Martin commented.

“Well, there’s no telling if the Mythic Dawn has attacked the Legion abroad as well. If Mankar is smart, and he obviously is, he would have taken care of the situation. There are hundreds of thousands more Legion soldiers around Tamriel, but unfortunately they have not come to our aid as of yet. And King Hlaalu Helseth of Morrowind doesn’t strike be trustworthy at all. His mother, Barenziah, means well, but I am afraid her son is nothing like her. I wouldn’t be surprised if he too has sided with Mankar, if of course the invasion has reached the other provinces,” Hassildor said.

“Doesn’t Helseth command his own army?” Martin asked Hassildor.

“Yes, and a very skillful one as well I might add. He has many soldiers and would definitely be a useful force for Mankar’s army.”

“Come on, Janus. Do you really think King Helseth would side with the enemy?” Martin replied.

“Yes, I definitely do. Especially after witnessing Ormellius Goldwine and Hieronymus Lex do the same. These are tricky times, Martin. People don’t want to die, and sometimes they’ll resort to the lowest of things in order to survive.”

“I guess so, but I hope that doesn’t happen. We’re outnumbered enough as it is.”

“Yes, but after the deaths of Dagoth Ur, Almalexia, Sotha Sil; and the disappearances of the Nerevarine and Vivec in Morrowind, Helseth is doing all he can to gain as much power as possible. I don’t like it, and given the fact that the Empire is leaderless, this is an excellent and perfect opportunity for Helseth to make a move. I just hope his mother will tell him right if the worst ever begins to happen.”

We trudged on towards Bruma into the dark night and soon the weather changed for the worst. No longer were we able to walk in the cool weather with the nice light breeze that the Colovian Highlands offered. Now we had to endure the frosty coldness and snowy atmosphere of the northern part of the Great Forest. I was only wearing what little clothing I had before. I didn’t have a robe or a coat of any kind. It was absolutely freezing and it was now starting to snow! But I didn’t complain; after all, we’d be in Bruma in no more than five hours or so.

But along the journey something quite odd appeared out of nowhere. We were traveling along the road, snow was falling down heavily, and out from the forest came at least ten soldiers in leather and fur armor. The large group were carrying all types of melee weapons, were made up of various races, and were blocking our way. We stopped dead in our tracks, and then noticed to our left and right there were four more respectively. And to our rear were another five or so. Things weren’t looking good for us and at that moment I thought the end had finally come.

“Hold it right there!” yelled an angry looking Redguard, who had a giant scar across his right cheek bone and above his right eye. As he came closer I could see him blink, and the two scars were connected by another one over his right eye lid.

“Hold on, we don’t want any trouble; we’re just passing through. You can take my gold, I don’t have any use of it anymore,” Hassildor pleaded with the man. Apparently Janus thought they were bandits, but I didn’t think so. There were just too many of them to be simple bandits.

“We don’t want your money, old man, we want to make sure you’re not the bad guys,” the Redguard said while rubbing his hairy chin and checking Janus, Martin and I out. “You’re not wearing the usual red garb, but of course that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not one of them. My men and I have learned that the hard way...”

“I swear to you, we’re not the Mythic Dawn, we are only trying to…”

Hassildor was interrupted by a young Imperial standing to our right.

“Say, Alusan, ain’t he the Count of Skingrad?”

The Redguard, who I took was named Alusan, looked Janus in the eyes for several seconds and then formed a large grin. He appeared to recognize the Count as well.

“By Talos, you are the Count! What are you doing out here in the cold weather? Shouldn’t you be all bundled up in your warm and cozy chambers?” Alusan laughed.

“Yes, I am Janus Hassildor, former Count of Skingrad. My city was overrun by the foul Mythic Dawn. These two I have with me are escorting me to Bruma so that I may be with the last living ruler of Cyrodiil other than my self.”

“Overrun…just like all the others. But you say the Countess of Bruma and your self are the only ones left. How can that be when Countess Umbranox of Anvil and Count Goldwine of Kvatch still live?”

“Anvil is being attacked as we speak, by Goldwine’s own forces. Unfortunately he has betrayed the Empire and has sided with Mankar, just as the Legion officer Hieronymus Lex has done.”

“Yes, I remember Lex’s betrayal. I was at the Imperial City when it happened. Those men in red robes, they came in and destroyed the Legion troops like it was nothing. I barely escaped with my life.”

“Then you are a certainly one of the few lucky ones to have done so. Who are you?” Hassildor asked looking around.

“We are all refugees from several cities; the Imperial City, Chorrol and even Cheydinhal to be exact. We’ve been camping in the Great Forest caves ever since the invasion, picking off as many Mythic Dawn patrols as we can with our might and strong will to rid the land from their evil ways. I used to have more than fifty men, but now as you can see our numbers have dwindled down to a mere twenty hands, hands that are untrained in combat I might add.”

“Well, you are a remarkable bunch then. What is your name?”

“Alusan, son of Gancolm the Great. Have you ever heard of him?”

Hassildor raised an eyebrow.

“No? I thought so; my father was an excellent fighter in his time and won many fistfights. But unfortunately his drinking habits ultimately got the best of him and he died at the early age of thirty five when he mistakenly picked the wrong fight while intoxicated. But I am not like my father, a drinker I mean…” he said laughing once more.

This Alusan seemed rather friendly, and that scared the daylights out of me. The last time I met someone this friendly I was led to Mankar and almost killed for the umpteenth time. And then Hassildor actually asked him to come along with us.

“Well, I think it would be the best decision for all of us if you followed me and my two friends to Bruma. That is where the final stages of the defense of Cyrodiil will be. It’s the last city left and we’ll need plenty of men to fight.”

Alusan appeared to like the idea because he was now grinning larger than before and was again stroking his chin. “I like that proposal. It is getting cold out here and my men could definitely use a nice warm bowl of soup or something.”

Before anything else could happen I aggressively tugged at Janus’s robe sleeve.

“What are you doing, Janus? We don’t know these people; for all we know they could be just like Alfhedil!”

“Who is this Alfhedil you speak of?” Alusan asked me curiously.

“He was a friend of ours, or at least we thought so. He betrayed us and actually led Rayden to Mankar, where he just narrowly escaped death,” Martin answered for me.

Then the Redguard looked at me and said, “If that is true…Rayden…then you are a capable little elf.”

“I don’t make friends very easily and especially now because of Alfhedil’s betrayal. I will never let that happen again.”

“Well you don’t have to worry about that. One I’m not trying to be your friend; and two; I am as loyal as they come. I know it’s hard to believe me but you’ll just have to take my word for it.”

The last sentence I had heard before. I once told Martin the same thing, several times actually. He had believed me and so far things have worked out. Perhaps I should be a little more open as Martin was with me, but I can’t get careless. One more wrong step and it will surely be the death of me.

I simply shrugged at the comments, “Very well, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

“Oh I’m sure you will,” he said with a grin.

“Are we done with the arguing, Rayden? I’d like to get to Bruma soon. And this cold weather isn’t good for the Count. He isn’t young and able like you and I,” Martin said, but not with disrespect concerning his last two comments.

“Oh, if you only knew,” Janus said chuckling.

No conflicts, for a change. But still, it was nice. The fact that there is some resistance beyond Rayden and co is good news. Of course, everything else is pretty much bad news so it all balances out. It's also nice to see that Rayden has grown more distrustfull of people who claim to be his friends.

Thank Cloudy! I'm glad you approve...

CHAPTER SIXTEEN


The rest of the way to Bruma was spent talking with our new friends. Most of them didn’t have much to say simply because they were worn out from all the fighting. But Alusan was quite the talker, as was the Imperial who first recognized Janus. It also appeared that the two loved to argue with one another as well.

“If you ask me, I’m surprised we haven’t received any help from the other provinces. Where are they at in our time of desperate need,” said the Imperial man who recognized Janus.

“Come on, Malpen, you of all people should know the answer to that. You’re the one always complaining about how the other provinces don’t show the Empire any respect.”

“That’s right, Alusan, especially you Redguards from Hammerfell!” Malpen said with a chuckle.

“Hammerfell isn’t anything like Cyrodiil. I’ve explained that to you several times, but of course you haven’t listened to me. Our province is not one kingdom united under one Emperor. There are numerous Kings and Queens, all vying for power. The province itself is split up into different regions and areas. And the eastern part is still trying to re-conquer lands taken by Skyrim. They have their own war too you know…..the War of Bend’r-Mahk.”

“Yes, yes, you’ve told me that hundreds of times. I know, I know.”

“Then stop complaining that my province isn’t aiding us at this time. We do not have a grand army like the Empire has.”

“Neither does the Empire anymore,” Malpen replied back, and he had an excellent point.




We finally arrived in Bruma some two hours later and I could almost feel the heat coming from the many torches that were just visible through the heavy downfall of snow. They were the torches of nearly one hundred soldiers guarding the walls of Bruma, which had drastically changed since the last I visited the small city. Hassildor was right when he said Bruma’s defenses were top notch. Somehow in a short amount of time they had successfully built a seemingly fifty yard stone wall around the entire city. At the top of the walls were many archers ready to shoot on sight at any enemy, and there were also towers at four corners, allowing scouts to see out into the land, even though it was difficult because of the snow. The shape of the defensive wall resembled a rectangle, but not totally straight.

“Finally we are here!” claimed Janus.

All of us walked up to a large iron gate that had built into the wall, and a Bruma guard dressed in their traditional yellow uniform asked us who we were and what we wanted. I thought it was a rather stupid question because the Count of Skingrad was with us. I guess he couldn’t make out Janus’s face, but once we got closer the guard immediately knew who he was.

“Count Hassildor! I am so sorry! I did not know it was you! Hurry, open the gate! The Count of Skingrad has arrived!”

The soldiers around began coming over to shake hands with Janus and the gate slowly ascended upward, revealing the other side of the wall.

“This way, my lord, I will show you to Captain Burd,” said the guard while leading us into the area between the defensive wall and the actual city.

The space in between was rather large itself, at least one-hundred yards. Most of the area was used for the pitched tents that were likely set up for the soldiers whenever they got too cold. But there were also defensive machines and other things. There were several catapults, many barrels of spears, shields, swords and arrows, as well as some kind of mechanism that was holding what looked like a thousand or so long steel arrows.

“Excuse me, guard, but what is that for?” Hassildor said pointing the weird looking machine. Apparently it caught his attention too.

“That, my lord, is one of our most prized possessions. We call it the ‘Uriel Urinater’ in honor of our fallen Emperor,” he said with one of the biggest laughs I had seen in a long time.

“And why is it called that?” Hassildor asked.

“Because when you pull down that lever on the side, the machine shoots the arrows high into the air, and then they fall down on however we please. It’s very handy and also extremely effective. We’ve already tested it out on some dummies. The machine is incredibly accurate.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit rude calling it that? I’d say it’s a bit disrespectful to the Emperor,” Alusan commented.

“I wouldn’t say so, friend. Anything that helps the men’s spirits can’t hurt can it?”
“I suppose so, but I still don’t think it is right. Your captain has allowed this name?”

“Well, it’s actually an “unofficial” name. We don’t really talk about it around the captain for the reasons you have mentioned.”

“But I thought you said there was no harm in it,” Alusan slyly said.

“Yes, but ever since the Countess’s downfall Captain Burd has been very stressed out. He’s become a lot more stern than he used to. Sort of an ‘all work and no play’ kind of guy. Obviously you want your soldiers to be disciplined and all that, but he’s been taking that too far lately.”

“What do you mean? Is something wrong with Narina?” Hassildor was extremely worried that something terrible had happened to the Countess. Fortunately it appeared that she was not dead or anything, but something bad had indeed happened.

“Soon after the Mythic Dawn began sacking the cities Countess Carvain went into a depression. At first it wasn’t so bad and she was able to continue with daily activities, but after all the city-sackings she fled into her chambers and hasn’t been seen outside of it since. That was five days ago and since then Captain Burd has taken the role of ‘temporary Count’.”

“Poor child, she must feel awful. Narina is a fine ruler and I can give her the benefit of the doubt because of her relative’s death, but what she is doing now is unacceptable. She wasn’t named Countess for nothing. Her strong will, powerful diplomatic abilities, and leadership have gotten her to the throne. I’ll get her out of this current state.”

“Good luck with that, my lord.”

We then entered through the city gates and stepped inside the city. Everything was absolutely normal. People were walking the streets, Chapel services were just getting underway, for it was now about ten in the morning, and things were going quite smoothly. If it wasn’t for the fact of all the defensive walls and all of the soldiers lining up outside, I would guess and say that the people knew nothing of the crisis at hand.

The guard took us down a snowy path to the right and towards the castle. It wasn’t anything fancy, and actually it appeared to be smaller than any of the others I have seen. I could be wrong about that however, because it’s been a very long since I’ve last had any sleep.

Inside the castle were several quite a few soldiers standing and walking around the throne. And sitting in that throne was a Nord with black hair, and a little gray on the sides. He was wearing the standard Bruma guard uniform, but without the helmet.

“Janus! How are you, old friend? When did you get here?”

The Nord, who I took to be Captain Burd, stood from his seat and walked over to greet us. He shook Hassildor’s hand and then they both hugged. Apparently they were close friends or something.

“Not very well given the circumstances, you fool! It is awfully nice to see you again, but obviously I am here because of the Mythic Dawn crisis. I see you have taking over command, and your guard here has told me of Narina’s condition. Has it worsened?”

“I am afraid there isn’t anything we can do. After all this Mythic Dawn mess she’s been locked in her room, and only I have been in there. I’ve tried talking sense the woman but she’s lost all of her spirit; she fears Bruma will be next in the Mythic Dawn’s target list. I’m even starting to hear her talk to herself at night. I can hear her plainly through the wooden door. She says things like ‘It will all end soon, darling, just you wait a little longer’ and ‘No, darling, you mustn’t give up now. Just a little longer and they will end your suffering’. It’s really starting to worry me, Janus. I fear she may be contemplating suicide. She just started talking to herself two days ago but it’s really creepy. I wish there was something I could do but nothing ever seems to help. She hasn’t even let me inside her chambers at all yesterday morning and I have not spoken to her since.”

“Let me try and talk some sense into her. We can’t have the Countess of Bruma acting like this, even if the situation is this bad. That doesn’t mean she can seclude herself from the outside world. She’s the Countess for Talos’ sake!”

“You can try, Janus, but I don’t think it’s going to work. She probably won’t even listen to you, given the fact that you angered her quite a bit the last time you visited town.”

“Yes, that’s precisely the reason I haven’t been back since. It’s not my fault; she should not have had her spies looking in on things that don’t concern her. That’s one thing that angers me; when someone puts their nose where it doesn’t belong, but that’s a whole other story. Listen to me ramble on this. Come, Burd, lead me to the Countess!”

Burd guided us up a flight of stairs and into hallway where we came to the entrance to the Countess’s chambers. Of course the door was locked and Burd called to Narina Carvain.

“My lady, Count Hassildor is here to speak with you. May he come inside for a moment?”

There was no response from within and Burd once again asked, “Your highness, the Count of Skingrad has come to talk with you. May I let him in?”

Again there was no answer and Burd knocked on the door loudly. He then tried to open the door but of course it was still locked. He was beginning to panic.

“What if something’s wrong with her, Janus? We have to get the door open!”

“Calm down, Burd, her depression has probably elevated to new heights. It’s quite possible that she has fully separated herself from the world.”

But Burd wasn’t listening. He had already dug his hands in his pocket, obviously looking for something. Then he pulled out a large ring of keys and began fumbling through them. He found one in particular and stuck it into the keyhole of the Countess’s door. The lock made a click noise that I was most familiar with, and the door swung open. Inside the Countess was sitting at her desk with her back turned to us, slumped to the side a bit. I feared the worst.

“My lady!”

Burd ran over to the Countess’s chair and swung it around. A dagger was stuck in the chest of Narina Carvain. She truly had committed suicide.

“No!” Burd yelled while checking Narina’s pulse. It was no use of course and soon everything settled into Burd’s head.

“I should have forced myself into the room yesterday. I knew something wasn’t right. It’s my entire fault...I….I should have done more to prevent this!”

Martin and I watched from the doorway as Burd actually began to sob loudly. He was now on his knees and was grasping Narina’s hands. It was kind of pathetic really. I know he feels bad about the Countess, but to see him in his current state was a bit nerve racking; almost as if he was close to becoming just as Narina had become. But Hassildor wasn’t going to have any of that.

“Get up from the floor, Burd! Have some control over yourself!”

Burd slowly got up from the ground and let go of Narina’s hands. I looked at her eyes, which were still open. There was no shock whatsoever; the wound was definitely self-inflicted, that much was for sure. But what was the reason for the drastic decision? Obviously she was stressed at by everything, but could have really been to the point to where she wanted to kill herself. It just didn’t make any sense to me.

“I’m not going to let you turn into what Narina has become; and do you know what that is? Dead, that’s what she has become! Look at her, Burd, do you want to end up like that?”

Burd shook said slowly. He was still crying, but not as loudly as before thankfully.

“I didn’t think so. Now get and alert the guards of what has happened. We’ll have a funeral for her tomorrow evening. This is all so sudden…I just don’t know what to think. This isn’t good, that’s for sure.”

Burd left the room and only the three of us remained.

“What now?” Martin asked Hassildor.

“I don’t know; I never would have thought anything like this could have ever happened. This…..this is a bad time. Bruma is now leaderless and Mankar’s army is certainly marching this way as we speak. We have to make preparations for whatever is to come. We will indeed give Narina Carvain a burial out of respect for her and her people, but as soon as that is over our focus will be the defense of Bruma. The fate of Cyrodiil rests in our hands. You two do know that don’t you?”

Martin and I nodded.

“Good, I’m glad someone is acting normal around here. I just can’t believe it…Narina committing suicide…Burd crying like a child. I know these times are difficult for him but he needs to show some backbone. He is in command of the city now, and the people need a strong willed leader that can give them victory. Burd certainly has the attributes to fill that position, but I might have to work with him. He was very close to Narina.”

“Why don’t you lead the people?” I asked.

“Because they know Burd personally; they don’t know me other than I am the Count. It wouldn’t be a smooth move for me to take control of everything. I will certainly stand back and help Burd. That is why I came here, to help. And as for that amulet there,” he said pointing to Martin’s pocket, “Let’s me have the amulet. It will be safe with me.”

Any other request and I would have been fine, but he just asked to have the Amulet of Kings. Nobody besides Martin and I have held it. Now he was requesting something that I wasn’t sure I was going to let Martin answer.

“Why do you want the amulet? Why can’t Martin have it?” I asked, a little too defensively.

“Because it will remain safe with me. I take it you and Martin are going to help the others fight, am I correct?”

“I will, but I don’t think Martin should. Even if he doesn’t want to be Emperor he is the last Septim. I don’t think it would be smart to send the last heir to battle, do you?”

Hassildor could see right through me. He knew that suddenly I did not trust him. I can’t explain it but ever since Alf’s betrayal I vowed never to let anyone else do the same. I realize Hassildor has been on our side even before that, but he wanting the amulet seemed a little suspicious to me.

“Give me the amulet, Martin,” Hassildor commanded at Martin, but keeping his angry eyes on me.

Martin did not move or say anything.

“I said give me the amulet, Martin. I will not ask you again. I am only doing this for the good of Cyrodiil, I swear it! From what you have told us, Rayden, Mankar thinks Martin has the amulet. It only makes sense to let me have it.”

Martin looked at, then back at Hassildor, then to me once, and then back once again to Hassildor. He was having an incredibly hard time deciding and after several seconds he reluctantly handed over the amulet to Hassildor.

“’I’ll let you cool down for a few minutes, Rayden, but once you’ve cleared your head I want to see you and Martin outside in the courtyard. I will call for Burd and the four of us shall discuss what to do from here,” Hassildor said as he walked out the door, leaving me and Martin by ourselves.




“I’m sorry Rayden, but he has a point you know…”

I was so furious with Martin. It was almost as if he betrayed me with his actions. I couldn’t even begin to describe how angry I was.

“How long have we known Janus, Martin? Two days, maybe? How can you hand him the Amulet of Kings and not think you’re doing something wrong?”

“How long have you known me, Rayden?” Martin pleaded. “You’ve barely known me for long and already you’ve put all your trust in me. Things like this happen, Rayden. I know you’re still sour from what Alfhedil did, but that’s different. It’s hard to trust someone once you’ve been betrayed, but that’s life! Sometimes you’ve got to let things go and move on!”

“I can’t, Martin. How am I supposed to do that with everything that’s happened? It was hard enough making friends with you and trusting you! I’ve been on my own for as long as I can remember. I am a loner, I don’t make friends or trusts, it’s just the way I am!”

“Well get over yourself! I’m tired of taking your side every time something doesn’t go your way! By Talos, I can’t even begin to describe how selfish you are sometimes. Don’t you think Hassildor wants what’s best for Cyrodiil? You can’t see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice? He is on our side, Rayden; OUR side! The sooner you learn that the better…..”

Martin stormed past me and left the room. I was now the only person in the room other than Narina’s body. I felt totally awful at the moment, like I was the lowest person in all of Tamriel. Martin was right; I was too caught up in my image and reputation to fully see what’s going on. He’s right, Hassildor is not the enemy; he is probably our greatest ally. It’s high time I start listening to everyone else and stop acting like such a brat. Granted I am still not going to trust every person I come across, but…it is time for me to change. I am no loner a petty thief so I’d better stop acting like one. If I don’t I am afraid nobody will trust me, and then I’ll taste some of my own medicine. That’s something I definitely don’t want.

“Excuse me, sir, but we need to move the Countess’s body,” A guard told me, who was accompanied by five others.

“Of course, let me get out of your way.”

The guards entered the room with a long wooden plank. I suspected that they would place the body on the wood and then they would likely take her to the Chapel undercroft where she would be dressed for the burial, not there I go again assuming things.

I left the soldiers to their work and exited the room. I had some apologies to announce…

Looks like the troubling times are causing many changes in your characters. Makes sense. Hopefully from now on these changes end up being good ones else they'll end up like the Countess there. Right now you paint a very grim picture for the last defense of Cyrodil.

This update was great. Character development all over.

Oh, and I love the urinator.

OH! That was great.
So sad about the countess though, she was one of my favorites. I always liked Bruma. It has alot to offer. Oh well, what can you do!

Anyway, all these soldiers and defenses makes me happy! I always loved a good battle and hopefully we might get one!
Another grand chapter indeed!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN


When I had left Narina’s room earlier I did not look the soldiers in the eye; I was simply too embarrassed to make eye-contact. I had been humiliated by Martin, but for good reason. I am not complaining about being reprimanded. I only blame my self for my ignorant ways, and sooner or later I’m going to have to snap out of this imaginary world I live in; one where I think everyone is the enemy and only I am right. Paranoia is an excellent word that describes my situation. I think everyone is out to get me, because I am thief I suppose.

Martin was surely angrier with me right now than he has ever been, and there was no doubt in my mind he was apologizing to Janus for my childish ways, and he too probably isn’t my number one fan at the moment. I would have to make amends and hope to Talos they take my offer seriously. I know I have already apologized to Martin for something in the past, and I just hoped I wasn’t about to lose Martin’s respect because of my actions.

It’s just that everything is starting to affect me mentally. Granted I am in no way losing my mind, but the stress is mounting faster than I ever though it would. The fate of the entire province, maybe even the entire world, rests on my shoulders and my shoulders alone. I say mine alone simple because in my mind there are two scenarios that can happen. Either One, I somehow am able to slay Mankar and end the Mythic Dawn threat; or two, Mankar will at last eliminate me and end all hope for Cyrodiil. I may sound cocky, I realize that, but I swear to you in the chapel pew I am now sitting in it is only confidence. I’ve always been that way. No matter what anyone else says, I firmly believe it’s going to come down to just the two of us: Mankar and I alone.

Now, as I sit here in the pew like I have told you, I am concentrating hard on deciding what to say to Martin and Hassildor. I have once again insulted really the only friend I have ever had, and I have essentially called Janus a traitor. Those two things are going to be very hard to forgive, but if we are going to even have a remote chance of effectively defending the city, we all need to be on the same terms.

I’ll make my apologies and admit I was being a bit hasty with all of my accusations, but after that our entire focus should be the Mythic Dawn. I know Janus and Burd are thinking this as well. In fact, they probably don’t even care how I feel either way. And Martin, well, I’m not sure what he’s going to do during the battle. I myself will probably go and look for Mankar personally, but I guess that depends on what Burd and Janus want of me. Obviously they are the two leaders now, and I’ll admit it will take a while getting used to being bossed around. I may not like it at first…okay, I will hate it at first…but it’s only for the best.

I had been thinking so deeply that I did not even hear the former Count of Skingrad slip into the chapel. Nor did I sense his presence behind me either. My face was in my hands and I was feeling quite bad about everything I had done when I heard the familiar raspy voice, “Rayden, we need to talk.”

I turned around Janus was standing behind me with his arms behind his back, seemingly in deep thought as well. I started to speak and apologize for my mistakes, but he held up a hand, silencing me.

“I am not here for an apology, I am here to discuss a plan Burd and I have conjured up. Listen to me and please do not interrupt. I will not lie to you and say nothing is wrong. I am not happy with the way you acted in Narina’s chambers. You assaulted me and claimed me a liar and a traitor, two things I am most definitely not. While I am extremely displeased with your hot-headed attitude, I will also not lie and say you are unimportant. That is far from the truth.”

Janus had now walked around and was sitting right beside me. I had expected to see anger in his face, and though he made it clear he was unhappy with me, he wasn’t scolding me like had originally anticipated.

“Whether you know so or not, you are our only hope against Mankar. We can likely defend this city for a while, but the Mythic Dawn’s numbers will not dwindle. They’ll keep coming and coming until there is nobody to defend us anymore. That is where you come in.”

I was definitely interested in what he had to say. Like I had thought myself it was I who would have the final shot of swaying the war to our side.

“Mankar’s troops will be here soon. I believe we can defend our selves for some time given the city’s strong defenses, and the fact that Mankar’s troops are not accustomed to Bruma’s cold whether, whereas Burd’s troops obviously are. We can possibly hold out for a few days, maybe a little more, but sooner or later they will split through our defenses and enter the city, and when that happens, all hope will be lost. We can retreat to the mountains but we wouldn’t last long. Burd has something in mind, and I agree with him totally. But I’ll let him explain more.”

I did not say a word. I simply sat in my seat looking Janus in the eye. I could tell he was hiding his true feelings. He really wanted to lash out and yell at me for acting the way I did back in Narina’s chambers, it was clear on his face that he was doing his best to keep the anger bottled up inside.

“Janus, let me speak as well. You might not want to hear it, but I am going to apologize whether you like it or not, I…”

“See, there you go again, Rayden. Whether I like it or not? I know you don’t mean as bad as you sound, but you come off as rude all the time. It’s very agitating and one should not talk to anyone the way you do sometimes, especially towards those higher than you. Whether you are actually rude or not remains to be seen, but that doesn’t matter right now. Quite frankly I could care less whether you sorrowful or not, because right now my focus is the Mythic Dawn and the defense of Bruma, nothing else. Let’s go outside and speak with Burd.”

I was hit hard by his words, for the first time I was becoming emotionally attached. Never before in my life have I once cared what people think about me, but that was a different and terrible time of my life. I know that now, ever since my life was turned upside down when I found that amulet. Living like a thief is no lifestyle to be proud of. I’ve been trying to persuade myself all my life that it is, but the sad truth is that it is most definitely not.

Janus and I stood up from the pew and exited the quiet chapel. Outside Burd was rounding up the troops near the side exit of the city, close to a small inn. Snow was pouring down from the sky faster than I could count and the cold wasn’t getting any warmer if you know what I mean. The two of us walked over to Burd, who turned to us and said, “There you are, Rayden. I take it Janus has told you your mission.”

“No, sir, he wanted you to explain the details.”

“Very well, follow me into the castle so that I may talk to the two of you in the warmth of the fireplace. This cold is starting to affect even me!”

So we left the soldiers to follow another officer’s commands, while the three of us entered the castle. There weren’t as many guards milling about as there was before when I first met Captain Burd, only two in fact I noticed, after taking a closer look. They were both Imperials and were standing next the throne, staring straight ahead. As we walked towards the throne I couldn’t help but think something seemed weird about the two soldiers. I don’t know, but they just look out of place for some reason.

Burd sat down in the throne chair and nodded at the two soldiers. They nodded back and that’s when I noticed the two were sweating profusely, and one of the soldiers’ hands was shaking as well. Something was up, but I didn’t want to make a scene. Then again…..

I put my hand on my blade holder, but not making it look obvious. It’s a good thing I did, because as soon as Burd began to speak on the soldiers unsheathed their blade and raised it high into the air. But I was too quick and ready; I lunged forward and shoved my rusty dagger up the man’s throat. He fell to the ground clutching his bloody neck, desperately gasping for breath. Then I turned around to face the other soldier, who I assumed was going to attack as well. But he wasn’t attacking; he had already dropped his blade to the floor and was raising his hands in the air as if to show a sign of surrender.

“Please…d-d-don’t kill me…PLEASE!”

Burd had previously called for help beforehand, apparently while I was shoving my dagger into the other soldier’s throat, for the castle door busted open and in came a large group of yellow uniforms. Burd ordered for them to take the other would-be-assassin into the custody, and they did just that. Afterwards Burd was too much in shock to say anything, other than throw the traitor into the dungeon. The man was taken away and things had all of a sudden got even more confusing.

“Can someone tell me what just happened here?” Burd asked while two soldiers were examining the body of the dead attacker.

“It seems Mankar has men inside the city,” Janus bluntly replied.

“No, there’s no way. I don’t believe that for a second. It’s just impossible to think a Bruman would ever even ponder the idea of betraying their people,” Burd defiantly insisted.

“I’m not so sure about that, Captain. I’ve talked to Mankar personally before. He told me that he had inside people for every city that he’s captured. It only makes sense for him to have the same connections for this city as well. I know it’s hard to believe that your own men would betray you, but these are trying times. Occasionally people find themselves in a situation that they’d do anything to get out of. Mankar has already proven his fear could be used as a deadly tool; perhaps even more deadly than a blade,” I commented, though Burd was still determined to prove his men’s loyalty.

“No, no, no. That cannot be. I just…there’s no…I mean, how could something like this happen. I just don’t understand how something like this could penetrate the ranks of my own soldiers.”

“We need to interrogate that soldier, Burd, before someone ‘does away’ with him, if you know what I mean.”

Burd was confused by Janus’s words, but I knew very well what the old man was getting at.

“What he’s saying Burd, is that whoever contracted those men onto Mankar’s side will likely murder them now that the one man has been caught and is now in prison.”

“So, Rayden, you think there’s someone else in the city who’s working directly with Mankar?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Mankar is an extremely intelligent being. This sounds just like him to have someone on the inside. It all makes sense if you think about it.”

Burd thought about what Janus and I had said and then order one of his soldiers, “Round up the civilians and bring them here. I shall have one of my officers speak with them and ask them question pertaining what has just happened. I will take these two with me into the dungeon to interrogate the prisoner.”

The soldier took off into the snowy coldness, and then Burd stood up from his throne.

“Follow me please.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN


Janus and I followed Burd through a wooden door that led to a rather smelly hallway. At the end of the corridor was yet another door, this particular one leading to a small room with a desk, and I realized we were at the jailor’s office. There was a door that had been left wide open in the back left corner, and as soon as I noticed it an Imperial man walked out carrying a torch.

“Servious, how many times have I told you not to leave the door open?” Burd asked the man sternly.

The guard sat down in his chair behind the desk and said, “But sir, I was only helping the soldiers put away the traitor, or at least that’s what they called him anyways. What happened, Captain?”

“Never mind that now. Do not leave the door unattended to no matter what the circumstances are. Especially during these times I might add. Do you understand what I am saying? Am I being clear enough for you?”

I was very surprised at the way Burd was speaking to the guard. He was rude, and I know the guard probably deserved being reprimanded and all that, but Burd could probably have done it in a more respectable way. But of course it’s really none of my business what he does.

“Yes, sir, please forgive me,” the soldier replied.

“Also, do not let anyone into the dungeon while we are in there.” Burd said while pointing to Janus and me, as well as himself.

So then Burd motioned for us to follow him into the prison area, which we did. Burd closed the door behind us once we were in and then we walked down the aisle. There were not any prisoners except for the traitor. I was sure Burd was definitely proud of the low amount of inmates. As we neared the last cell on the left two Bruma soldiers were standing outside speaking with the prisoner.

“You may now leave,” Burd told the soldiers. They simply nodded, shook their heads in disgust at the traitor, and then left the area, closing the door behind them.

“Why?”

This is the only thing Burd asked the traitor, though he didn’t get anything out of it. The prisoner said not a word, but was weeping in the corner of the jail. It was very pathetic and I could tell Burd was already starting to get impatient. Janus and I simply stood out of the way while Burd spoke with the prisoner.

“Stop crying, Maloney. Why did you and Serantivous attack me?”

“I…I did not attack you, Captain. I could not bring myself to do so…unlike Serantivous. As you can see…he paid the ultimate price for his treachery.”

“You have not answered my question, Maloney. Who swayed you to Mankar’s side? I know that is who you’re working for, now tell me who’s poisoned your minds!”

Maloney was still crying, and now was huddled up into a ball in the corner of the cell. “I…I cannot say, Captain. They will have me killed if I say anything.”

“They? Who is they? Are they in the city right now? Do not be afraid, Maloney. I swear to you now that we will keep you safe. I promise you that.”

“No,” Maloney gasped loudly. “You do not know what is going on in your own city. There are many involved in this, Captain. I am afraid you will not succeed. Please forgive me, sir.”

Maloney then reached for a wooden knife with an iron tip that lay on a stool inside the cell. Burd knew what was about to happen and he immediately reached for his set of keys. He was fumbling with the key and attempting to unlock the cell, but it was too late. Maloney had had already jabbed the knife into his heart, and blood was spouting from his chest fast. But he was not dead just yet. Burd finally unlocked the cell and the three of us ran inside. Burd knelt down and grabbed Maloney by the shirt and said, “WHO IS IT? WHO HAS INFILTRATED OUR CITY?”

But Maloney only smiled for several seconds, and then died in Burd’s hands.

“NO!” Burd yelled out in frustration. He let go of Maloney’s shirt and stood up with his hands in his black and gray hair. “This is bad. I’ve got even more traitors walking around as we speak! What should we do?” He asked Janus.

“This is very bad indeed, Burd. There is virtually nothing you can do. I am sure there are more traitorous soldiers other than Maloney, but it will be almost impossible to figure out who they are. It seems we don’t even know who’s on our side anymore,” Janus said, and then sighed heavily. “I think you should tell Rayden what the plans are before anything else happens.”

Burd nodded and then started to speak. “Rayden, you are to travel to Anvil and find Ormellius Goldwine. He alone will no where Mankar is located and you will find the Altmer and kill him. Yes, I know plan sounds a little vague, but that’s basically it. Find Mankar and end this threat. I do not know you that well, but Janus brings high praise for you. He suggests that you are the only one who can defeat Mankar, for whatever reasons I have not yet seen, but I’m willing to trust the words of my old friend.”

High praise? I certainly didn’t expect something like that come from Janus. Even though he’s angry with the way I carry myself, it was sure good to know that he still believes in my ability.

“But, there’s a catch. Janus also tells me you don’t make friends easily and you trust hardly anyone. I realize you would probably like to conduct this mission alone, but I will not allow that. It is too dangerous for you to go all by yourself, and that is why I am sending the last living Blade to accompany you.”

“Blade, you mean the warriors that protect the Emperor?”

“Yes, that is exactly who I am talking about. Over the past weeks all of the Blades officers have been hunted down and assassinated. And I’m not talking about just in Cyrodiil. According to my source Blade agents from around Tamriel have been eliminated.”

“And who is that source of yours?”

“The last Blade herself, Jena. She resides now in Cloud Ruler Temple, still mourning the losses of her brothers and sisters. Jena is trying to uphold the temple by herself, but I spoke with her earlier today about what I am telling you. She has agreed to help you, if only avenge the death of her friends.”

I didn’t like this a bit. Burd was forcing me to take someone with me; some that I didn’t even know! Granted this Jena is an agent of the Blades. So I guess it couldn’t be too bad. And besides, I was trying to get away from the whole ‘everyone is against me’ attitude anyway.

“Alright, when shall I meet this Jena?”

“Right now, Rayden. Let us go speak with her so that the two of you may leave quickly. I am afraid Bruma is running out of time.”




The three of us walked out of the prisons, and then Burd ordered two soldiers talking to the jailor to take care of Maloney’s body clean up the blood as well. The soldiers reluctantly walked into the prison area while Janus and I followed Burd out into the cold once more.

Outside a Bruman officer had rounded up the citizens just as Burd had wished. He and other soldiers were asking them many questions, and some civilians were getting worried, some were getting angry.

“Molvar, after you are done speaking with the civilians, I want all soldiers to report to the castle.”

“All of them, Captain?”

“Yes, all of them. There is a rat in our ranks and I will find him no matter how long it takes. Make sure nobody enters or leaves the city.”

“Yes, sir,” the soldier said a bit questionably, and then walked away.

“The temple is outside of the city, on top of a large hill. We’ll take horses up there because I don’t feel like walking in the snow as of right now,” Burd said to Janus and I.

We left the city through the side entrance, and outside the horses were stabled in a large barn. A heavyset Nord was sitting in an old rickety chair, seemingly talking to his self. We walked up to the Nord and Burd asked to borrow some horses.

“Excuse me, but may we borrow three of your horses?”

The Nord looked up at Burd with his majestic blue eyes and responded, “Well of course, Captain! Me and Bruno here aren’t using em’ at the moment anyway.”

“May I ask who Bruno is?”

“My dog, of course! I found him running wild in the forest a few days ago. Cute, aint he?”

At first I didn’t see anything, but then a white ball of fur appeared out of nowhere. His fur was so white he blended in with the snow perfectly. The dog came over to get some attention, and Burd petted the dog for several seconds before the three of us walked over to get our horses. I mounted on mine, a black horse, while the other two did the same. Then we left the area and followed Burd. He took us across the snowy plains, towards a large mountain with a winding road going up. It took us nearly thirty minutes to get to the top of the mountain and the entire way we saw nothing but trees. Then, at last, we came upon an unusual looking structure. The walls went up extremely high into the air and there was only once entrance, a very large and high door that was open for just anyone to walk into.

“Here we are. As you can see the entrance is open. Yes, I realize that is dangerous, but since it is now only Jena that remains, she cannot scout atop the towers all day. Come; let’s meet your partner, Rayden.”

We walked up a long flight of stairs, and then we were face to face with the entry of the temple. There were entrances to the left and right, as while as in the middle. Burd explained that the left door led to the barracks, the right led to where the agents would eat, and the middle led to the lobby area. Burd then suggested that we check the lobby area, since it was almost nine o’clock in the evening, and that Jena always read by the fireplace at night.

So we opened the middle door and stepped inside the old structure. Inside, just as Burd had foretold. When she heard us close the door she turned away from the fireplace and said, “Well hello, Captain. How are you?”

“Not good, I’m afraid. Yourself?”

“I’ve gotten rid of most of the junk that’s been lying around. It shouldn’t be more than a day before everything is cleaned up. But I guess that’ll have to wait, given the mission I am about to embark on,” she said while winking.

“Yes, well, here is your partner, Rayden. He’s very skilled with stealth and security I hear. Count Janus Hassildor has very high praise for him I might add.”

Jena closed her book on a stool and got up to shake my hand. Her skin was very gentle, obviously because she was a girl. I also noticed that she was very pretty, for an Imperial at least. Her eyes were bright blue, almost mysterious in a way.

“Hello, Rayden. I’m glad to finally meet my partner. I promise you we will take down Mankar and he will pay for all of the grief he’s caused everyone. What is your reason for fighting against Mankar?”

“I, um, don’t want to see the province run by a tyrant such as him.”

My answer was rather dull and boring, but it was the truth. None of my friends have been killed or anything, only because I don’t have any friends. I was almost certain Jena would scoff at my comments, seeing as she was part of such a prestegious group like the Blades, but I was wrong and she accepted what I had to say.

“I agree. We can’t have something like that happening. So, has Captain Burd explained everything to you?”

I nodded.

“Good, then we can leave now?”

She was very anxious to get going, and I was impressed by her eagerness. No doubt she wanted to get her revenge.

“Yes, Jena, that would be wise; the quicker the better. What do you think, Janus?”

“I believe you are right, Burd. We are wasting time standing here,” he said smiling. “One thing though, Rayden, Once you do learn Mankar’s location I do not want you to return here. Simply find and eliminate him. Understand?”

I nodded again. “Very good, then off you two should go.”

“What about Martin? I need to speak to him for a minute.”

“No, Rayden, there is not enough time for that. You can speak to him when you return,” Janus said.

“Please, it’s very important. I need to…I…”

“You want to apologize to him, Rayden? Forget about it, I’m sure he’s okay. It’s time to leave; the Mythic Dawn is marching towards our city as we speak.”

I was about to argue further when the door opened and in came Martin.

“You were looking for me, Rayden?” He said, with a frown on his face. He walked over to me and got just inches away from my face. Anger was clear on his expression and right then I thought I had lost his friendship. But then he smiled and hugged me.

“I’m so sorry, Martin. I…I haven’t been thinking lately. I swear to you I will never have an attitude again.”

“Yeah, and I can fly,” he laughed. “Don’t worry about, Rayden. I know deep down inside you mean well. I saw you three riding up here, and I knew what was happening. You, see, Janus told me of the plan earlier. I just wanted to say goodbye and be careful. And don’t go and get captured this time!” He laughed again.

I laughed with him and shook his hand, not knowing if it was for the last time.

Looks like it now becomes a race against the clock. It's going to take quite a bit of time to get all the way down to Anvil. Let's hope that Bruma still stands by the time they get the information they need, let alone act upon it.

That was a good addition indeed!
Wasn't Jena the one who usually dies in the beginning?

I hope we still get to see the Uriel Urinator in action!
Lol!

Oh, assassination. Well, that is something Rayden might be able to do. I mean, I'm sure Mankar would love the chance to have another gloating session. (I hope Rayden is special. If Mankar has a gloating session with everyone who doesn't join him outright, he would die of old age by the time he conquered a single signpost.)

Just one thing, which moron of a Bruman got the bright idea of putting a dagger in a cell? Nevermind it being made of mostly wood. People could have gotten hurt, you know! Oh wait....people did get hurt. Ok, one guy about to be transferred from prison duty to latrine-sweeping.....with a toothbrush.

CHAPTER NINETEEN


Martin let go of my hand and patted me on the shoulder. It was good to know that the two of us where at peace with one another. I had feared for the worst; that Martin had lost all respect for me, and that I had lost his friendship. I never really thought about that kind of stuff before, but now I realize Mankar was wrong when he spoke to me in Kvatch. People do care about me. Martin…Janus…they all care about me enough to claim that I am the only one who can take the evil Altmer down for good. I’m glad have realized all of this before it was too late.

“Ride swiftly, my friend, Bruma can only stand for a short amount of time before the walls fall down in front of us. I know you’ll do us proud,” Martin said. Then he looked over at Janus, who himself looked to becoming impatient of all the final goodbyes.

“Yes, Rayden, do be careful on this mission, as it is obviously very important. It is time for the talking to end and time for you to leave, but let me leave you with this one last message. I barely know anything about you since we’ve essentially just met, but during this short duration you have impressed me greatly. Sure, you have hot-head sometimes, but doesn’t everyone?” Hassildor smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. “I do not want you to leave here thinking that I loath you, because that would be far from the truth. You are a very special person, Rayden. The balance of power in Cyrodiil rests in yours and Jena’s hands. That alone speaks volumes for how much trust and praise we all have for you. I also realize that you are certainly confident in your abilities, and while that is a good thing do not let it cloud your mind. No one is invincible, Rayden, no one.”

And with that Jena said her goodbyes to Burd, who it seemed was a close friend of hers. Then Jena suggested that I use the Blades armor.

“Rayden, I would be honored if you were to bear the armor of a Blade. You may not be one yourself, but your actions have certainly qualified you for the use of this ancient piece.”

I was glad to hear those sincere words, but the fact of the matter is that I have never worn armor before during my hits as a thief. Armor is too heavy and noisy, causing me great difficulty in performing my duties. I wasn’t about to change my ways, especially when I would be sneaking around in the shadows in Anvil.

“Thank you for the kind gesture, Jena, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline the offer. Armor is too heavy and makes too much noise. We’ll be infiltrating a city full of people who want us dead. I need to be as sneaky as I can, and quite frankly armor would do nothing but hamper our mission.”

“Yes, you are right, Rayden. I should have thought about that as well, but, I think you should at least wear something a little warmer. We’ll be traveling through the Jerall Mountains on our way to Anvil you know.”

That sounded like a good idea and Jena said she would show me to a room where clothing was stored. Martin, Burd and Janus shook my hand and said their last goodbyes, and then left to return to Bruma. After all, they had their own problems to attend to.

“Come, Rayden, I’ll show you to the room, and then I’ll wait outside while you choose what you wish to wear during our trip.”

Jena seemed like a very nice person, and I was glad for that. I would have hated to have to travel with an arrogant fool. That would have been a dreadful experience indeed. But then again, that’s probably how I acted towards Martin and Janus, at least before I changed my ways that is. No more of that, I am a new person.

She took me through a door that was located near the exit to the outside. Then we walked down a hallway, and finally into a room filled with many wooden boxes, cabinets and drawers.

“This is where everyone had kept all of our clothes over the years. Some are older than others, but I’ll just let you decide on what you want yourself,” she said cheerfully.

Jena stepped back outside into the hallway and closed the door, leaving me by myself with literally hundreds of pieces of clothing. There are many types lying around everywhere: shirts, shorts, pants, hoods, robes, capes, boots, shoes, sandals…..everything you could think of. Although I was finding it a bit weird that they would keep shorts and sandals, given the fact that it was always bitter cold in this area.

I looked through the room for about ten minutes until I had chosen my attire for the trip. I wasn’t a picky person when it came to getting dressed. To tell you truth I’ve never cared how I look as long as I’m comfortable. What I ended up dressing into was a simple dark green shirt, long wool pants, and a dark green robe to go over everything. Then I put on a pair of cowhide boots and a dark green hood. The clothing was a little big, because I am a Bosmer, but all in all it fit pretty well. And most importantly I was warm.

Once I was done fitting into my new clothing I stepped outside to show Jena my attire. She sort of giggled at my appearance. Apparently my clothing was a bit bigger than I thought. But hey, at least I matched color wise.

“That will do, Rayden. Let’s go, I have a couple of horses stabled outside the temple. We can take those. It will take a while to arrive in Anvil, so time is definitely of the essence,” she said as we began to walk towards the exit.

“Do you know how long it will take exactly?” I asked.

“Hmm…I don’t really know; it all depends on how many stops we have to take. Right now it is about ten o’clock at night, so if we ride all the way until morning, then perhaps stop and rest for a bit before continuing again, we should perhaps arrive in Anvil sometime around midnight, maybe a little later. But that’s only if we make one stop to rest of course.”

I agreed that we should not stop for much, because we needed to get back to Bruma as quick as possible. Outside the horses were getting anxious to get going, so Jena and I saddled up and left the temple, but she closed the doors of course. It took us a while to get down the mountain, but once we did get all the way down we immediately picked up the pace. I followed Jena as she led me onto a trail that took us deep into the snowy cold mountains. We rode along the trail and suffered no setback such as wolves or anything like that, but there were several scary moments.

During the first part of the trip we had to ride over an old bridge, and my horse slipped halfway across. I almost fell off and down into the frozen pond that was hundreds of feet below us, but thankfully I had kept my balance and safely made it across without being unscathed.

But other than that things went fairly smooth. It was almost five o’clock in the morning, and we arrived at a small cave when Jena suggested we stop and rest for a couple of hours to get our strength back for the rest of the journey. I certainly wasn’t one to complain about getting out of the snowy cold, so we took our horses inside the cave, which fortunately wasn’t inhabited by any unwanted creatures. The place was almost perfect in terms of size, and I had plenty of room to stretch my tired legs.

“So, what exactly got you into this mess?” She asked me while chewing on some berries we found just outside of the cave. They were frozen when we found them, but soon the ice melted, and I must say, they were quite the treat. Thankfully Jena happened to be an expert alchemist so I knew I wasn’t eating anything poisonous.

I told Jena of my story, even all the way back when I was a thief in Kvatch. I felt a need to explain this to her so that she knew exactly where I came from, figuratively I mean. We would be with each other for the next three or four days, so I firmly believed a need to tell her everything. I even told of how I once before acted as a child, and now I am a totally new person. Of course, I might sound a bit hasty with that since it hasn’t even been a day since I last got an attitude with Janus, but I wanted her to know that I am a respectful person.

After my story, Jena began hers:

“Before the Emperor himself was assassinated, we were attacked back at Cloud Ruler Temple. Those of us who were not in the Imperial City had been sleeping that night, except for me. I couldn’t sleep knowing that the life of our Emperor was hanging by a thread, a thin one mind you. I heard noises coming from inside the temple, and when I walked inside I witnessed the murder of my brothers and sisters. Apparently the Mythic Dawn snuck inside and struck while my friends were asleep. Everything happened so fast it was all over in a matter of minutes. There was nothing I could for them, so I came back outside and hid in the stables, behind a bale of hay. I do not feel cowardly for my actions; I felt the need to uphold the Blades organization. When the cultists left I heard one of them say something about there being no more agents to disturb their mission. After that I sent letters out to the agents around Tamriel, and I have yet to receive any replies. At first I was optimistic, but now I know the truth; I am the only one left. And just to think, if I had been sleeping I would have suffered the same fate. It just chills me to the bone when I think about it, which is often I might add.”

And I thought my story was sorrowful. This woman had lost all of her friends to the Dawn threat. And what a terrible thing it must have been for her to hide while her friends died, so helpless from saving them. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how bad of a situation that must have been. She was definitely a strong person.

“I commend you for what you did. Not many people would have been able to live on and continue the work you have done. It makes me happy to be partners with someone such as yourself.”

I was trying to sound as courteous as possible, but I wanted it to come from the heart, because it was. I was determined to prove to everyone that I am indeed a good person, even if Jena was likely unaware of the turmoil that Janus and I once shared.

“Thanks, Rayden. I am totally focused on avenging my brothers’ and sisters’ death. Mankar will pay for what he has done.”

“Well, now that I think about it, I’m not actually sure what your role is,” I said laughing a bit. “What will you do while I infiltrate the city?”

“I will simply wait for you while you do your thing. To be honest with you, I am here to get my revenge. Once you figure out Mankar’s location, I will help you defeat him. That is my job. That, and Burd thought someone should come along with you anyway, in case you got into trouble or something. I promise I won’t be a bother to you.”

“No, not at all, Jena. I wouldn’t be surprised if I did get into trouble,” I said, again laughing.

“What do you mean by that?” she said a little cautiously.

“Well, let’s just say luck hasn’t been on my side lately. But that’s not to say I’m not capable for the job, I mean…there’s nothing to worry about, I swear…”

My palms were sweaty and face was drenched as well. I just then realized how stupid I was sounding to Jena. There I was, claiming basically of being an unlucky person, and if that were truthfully the case, how I am supposed to be the savior of Cyrodiil? Thankfully she was unfazed by my foolish comments.

“No worries, Rayden. We all have those kinds of days sometimes. It happens.”

After a while the horses started getting agitated again, so we rode off onto the snow once more, but at least it was starting to get light because morning was creeping up on us. We rode for a very long time, and finally after what seemed like days we at last made it out of the mountains.

“Whew. That took longer than I expected. It’s already noon!” Jena commented. “By this rate we might not even get to Anvil today. We’ll have to pick up the pace even more. We’re only about fifty miles or so, so I’d like to get there sometime tonight if that’s at all possible.”

We continued to ride for the rest of the day without stopping, and when nighttime came, we still rode. I was vastly impressed by Jena’s strong will and drive to succeed. Certainly there were those who could learn a thing or two from her. And I’m talking mainly about traitors such as Lex, and even Alfhedil despite the fact that he was never really on my side to begin with.

Throughout the day we traveled through many different types of environments. We passed through the last outskirts of the Jerall Mountains, where it was of course cold and snowy. Then we rode through the pleasant atmosphere of the Colovian Highlands, my personal favorite. Someday I wish to settle down and “retire” in Chorrol. And finally, as the day grew late, we neared Anvil and the air got cooler, since we were also getting close to the Abecian Sea as well.

After riding for a little bit more we could see the torches of Castle Anvil light up the night. By the brightness of the large torches I could tell we were no more than ten minutes away from our first destination.

“Alright, Rayden, we’re almost there. You ready?” She said as he neared closer and closer to the newest conquered city.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me, Jena. I’m always ready.”

As soon as I said those nine words objects began flying down from out of the sky. Most of whatever it was missed me, but one, which I learned the hard way was an arrow, struck me just above my right armpit, almost onto my chest and just below my shoulder. I yelled out in pain and fell off my horse. Then she galloped out of sight simply out of fear. I heard Jena yell for me to stay down as she jumped off of her horse and unsheathed her Blade katana and shield. I saw her carrying them before we left Cloud Ruler Temple. They definitely looked different.

I couldn’t see what was happening because it was so dark and there was no source of light, but I could hear the grunts and groans, the clanging of metal. And from time to time a spell would light up the area just a bit. And when that did happen, I realized Jena was fighting against three cultists.

Fearing for her life I struggled up from the ground and ran over to help. Upon reaching one of the cultists I stupidly tried to unsheathe my sword with my right hand, but the pain was the arrow wouldn’t let me do so. And when I screamed out in pain once more the cultist saw me and blasted me into the air, where I landed hard against a tree. If you remember earlier I had sustained a back injury when Alfhedil had betrayed me. When I hit the tree my back popped just as it did back then, and now I had two injuries.

Not able to get up this time, I watched powerlessly as Jena fought on alone. She took out two of them quickly, and then it was just she and the lone cultist left, but then I noticed he was no cultist…it was Lex himself!

Upon learning his identity Jena went into a fit of intense rage, possibly because she perhaps felt betrayed by him more than I because she was a Blade, a protector of the Emperor. And Lex was once an officer of the Legion, the Emperor’s army. Knowing that I knew she was feeling more betrayed than I.

She charged at him with all her speed and might but, being the skillful soldier he was, Lex defended himself successfully and threw Jena to the ground. Then he actually laughed, and that ended up being the ultimate mistake. Jena got up from the ground, sliced three times into the air with no prevails, and then at least connected her blade with Lex’s neck. His head flew from his body and landed some ten feet away. His lifeless body fell to the ground, along with his steel claymore. The battle was over.

Jena limped over to me and touched the arrow slightly, still causing great pain.

“Sorry, Rayden, but I’ll have to pull it out,” she said gently.

I was about to respond but then we heard a voice in the distance, “The light came from over there! Hurry!”

It's good to see Lex finally dead!
That traitor......

I have to say this story is very exciting. Especially because it's based off the main quest which was something I hated. All of those oblivion gates and the dumb Caves!!!

But this has no oblivion gates thank god!

Lol, that's funny because I thought about implenting some gates, but I'm glad I didn't.

Looks like problems still await our companions. Hopefully they manage to hide or something. But yea, I second the small victory against Lex.

CHAPTER TWENTY


The heavy sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the city, and judging by the repetition, there were a lot of them. At that moment I truthfully had once again believed the end had finally come. I’ve thought this many times before it seems, but this particular event was different in some way. But, again I was wrong, and luckily for me Jena did not panic a bit. She grabbed my shirt collar and hauled me over to the side of the road, behind a large bush.

The two of us waited behind the bush silently as the footsteps in the distance became louder and louder, until at last they had arrived at the scene. Jena dangerously poked her head around the corner to see how many of them there actually were. She whispered to me that there were five Kvatch soldiers, all looking at the dead corpses on the ground. We listened as the solders whispered and talked softly to one another. Then I heard on them say, “Let’s report this to Goldwine right away; he’ll want to put the city on full alert It seems Mankar’s ambush didn’t work out as well as he thought it would. Also, go ahead and inform the sailors in the dock to get Goldwine’s ship ready. He’ll want to leave as soon as possible.”

Then they left us, running full speed back towards the city. Once they were out of range Jena asked, “How’s your shoulder?”

I tried moving it but even the slightest movement resulted in a severely sharp pain. I knew what had to be done, but I wouldn’t say I was looking forward to it. Jena would have to pry the arrow from my flesh, and unfortunately I didn’t have anything to numb the pain even the least.

“Spread your arm flat on the ground and stand still. Try to keep your arms loose as well. I know it will hurt but it will only be worse if you tighten your muscles. Just trust me on this one.”

Before letting her force the arrow from my arm, I had her tear a piece of my clothing off with her blade. She knew what I was getting at and she quickly handed me the torn cloth. I bit down on the fabric as hard as I could. This way when I yelled from the pain, which I was sure to do, the sound would hopefully be a little quieter. I didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention.

She put her right hand on my shoulder and then grabbed the arrow with her left. She tugged on the arrow slightly as if to get a feel for what direction she should yank. Then, in one quick movement, she pulled the arrow from the wound. Blood splattered the air and my face, and the whole time I was screaming in agony. Thankfully the cloth idea worked and my bawling wasn’t too loud, or at least not loud enough for anyone to hear in the distance.

“Sorry, Rayden, but I had to do it. How’s it feel now?”

Not to be smart or anything, but how did she think I felt? Obviously I wasn’t feeling too great; I just had an arrow plucked from my skin! But I knew she meant well. And I guess it did feel a little better, but I still had an awful lot of trouble moving my shoulder.

“Better, I guess, but not much. I still can’t really move it,” I said as I wiped my face with the piece of cloth.

“Well, we better get going. Here, let me wrap that cloth around your arm to control the bleeding. You’re looking like a waterfall right now!”

Even during a situation such as this, she still found a way to smile. I liked Jena a lot. I can’t explain why…she was just…I don’t know…real; almost as if she wasn’t afraid of anything. I liked that as well.

After the “bandage” was fully wrapped and ready to go, we started walking towards the city, and Jena was already altering the mission.

“Rayden, you heard the soldier. They’re preparing a ship so that Goldwine can leave. I say we wait there for him to arrive. Then we can strike with surprise. What do you think?”

“I’ve got a better idea. How about we go to the docks, try and capture a sailor, and force them to tell us where Goldwine is going? Who knows, maybe he’s retreating to Mankar’s whereabouts. That would definitely make things easier for us.”

Jena approved of my idea, and off we went towards the docks. My back was hurting, my shoulder was hurting, and my middle knuckle on my right hand was still hurting from several days ago, and I realized Martin never tended to the wound like he said he would. I guess we both forgot about it. It was getting better, though. It was no longer swollen, just a little enlarged. Also, Jena seemed to notice my injuries as well.

“You’re quite the injured little elf, aren’t you?”

“Well, let’s just say I’ve seen my fair share of the action. I’m just hoping nothing else goes wrong with my body. One more injury to my right arm and it might as well fall off!”

We walked through the night, though it was almost morning because the sun was rising higher and higher into the sky. Sooner or later we would have to find our hiding spot or else take the risk of being spotted in broad daylight. Thankfully it only took us about ten minutes to reach the docks. There were only three ships in all; two little ones and one large ship. Jena I both agreed that the larger one had to be Goldwine’s ship, so we walked strolled around the area until we found a lone guard patrolling the docks. Besides the guard, there were around twenty or so others, and most of them we were standing beside the city gate, no doubt waiting to escort their Count to the ship. Jena crept up on the lone guard, covered his mouth with her hand, kicked his knee in, and pulled him behind the wall of the building I was waiting at. The Imperial soldier was screaming in pain but most of the sound was drowned out thanks to Jena. Then she whispered loudly for him to hear, “Where is Goldwine?”

The man shook his head and attempted to swing at Jena head. She then rolled him on his stomach and brought his hand together so he couldn’t move. Next she took the guard by the hair, after taking off his helmet, and smashed his face to the stone floor. Blood began to pour from his nose.

“I’ll ask you one more time, scum, where is Goldwine?”

Finally the soldier begged for Jena to loosen the pressure to his back with her left knee. She let up, but only a little. Then the man gasped in between heavy breathing, “He’s inside the city right now. But I reckon he’ll be boarding his ship any time soon.”

“And what makes you say that?” Jena asked.

“An officer just came and told me to watch the area closely. It seems intruders have made their way onto our territory.”

“Hmm, I wonder who they could be,” she said sarcastically. “I don’t suppose you know where Goldwine is heading, do you?” She said, digging deeper into his back with her knee.

“I can’t say…I’ll be killed!”

“Either way you’re going to die. Tell me what I want and I’ll let you go. You can run away and never return to your duties, I don’t care as long as I get my information. If not, I’ll slit your throat with my knife. Tell me what I want to know and I will let you live. You have my word.”

“Fine, fine, wait, I’ll tell you! He…he’s headed straight for an island a couple miles west of here. I don’t think it’s charted on the maps so I believe it has no name.”

“What is on this island?”

“Mankar is there.”

“Excellent. One last thing before I let you leave. Where are Goldwine’s chambers located in the ship?”

“Enter the cabin and make an immediate left. Go down the hall and his room is the last one on the right.”

“Should I expect trouble?”

“No, not, right now anyways, not until he arrives at the ship himself.”

“Excellent. Is there anything else I should know about this island you speak of?”

“No, not to my knowledge. I’m sure there are probably bodyguards, but not an army. His cultists have occupied the other cities in defense incase they are invaded by another force or something.”

“Why? Does Mankar think that the remaining Empire personnel have joined forces with another province?”

“I…I don’t know. He attacked the Imperial forts in Morrowind and Vvardenfell. It’s chaos over there now. His forces are trying to subdue the Dunmer to his side. I think it will work too, given the fact that the Dunmer worship Daedra. That’s all I know, I swear!”

Jena gave me a surprised look, and then she continued her interrogation.

“Thank, you have been most helpful.”

Then she took out her knife and violently slashed the guard’s throat, quickly ending his life. I was stunned by her actions. Not that I was not used to seeing people die by now, but that fact that she promised the man his life in return for answers surprised. It was probably unethical, but hey, he would have likely run to give us away anyhow.

“What? It would have been too dangerous to keep him alive. He would have ratted us out in a heartbeat. Sometimes you have to resort to dirty tactics if you want to get things done.”

“I didn’t say anything, did I? I agree with you totally,” I said grinning.

“Well that’s good. How about we board the before the sun comes up and gives away our position?”

The two of us then left the body to rot and headed straight for the ship. We waited until nobody was looking, and then we climbed onto the ship and entered through the cabin entrance, just like the once-living guard had told us to do.

Once inside we took a left and crept quietly down the hallway. To the right was the room the guard had spoken about, but of course it was locked. I asked Jena if she wanted me to break the lock with one of my picks, but she told me not to. She didn’t want the Count to come here only to find out that his room had been broken into. She was right; it made a lot of sense. But then she looked at a door in the middle of the hallway, in between the two side walls. She rattled the doorknob and found that this particular door was not locked. Inside there were towels, blankets, pillows, and other items used for a bedroom.

“I think we should hide in here. It’s not too small and this way we can stow ourselves away for the duration of the trip,” she said.

“What if one of the soldiers comes in and finds us inside?”

“Hmm, I didn’t think of that. Do you have a plan of your own?”

I looked in the larger than normal closet and noticed there was an area behind a huge stack of pillows. I figured the two of us could hide in there and stay unnoticed. Also, I being a short Bosmer and her being a female would help as well. I suggested this to Jena and she approved.

So Jena and I entered the room and closed the door. It was obviously dark inside, but a couple of rather large holes in the door brought us a little light, and allowed us to peer through the door so that we would be able to watch over the hallway at all times.

Soon, not even fifteen minutes later, the door at the other end of the hallway opened and in came Goldwine, accompanied by…..Adamus? Wait, I thought Mankar said he ran away from Kvatch and had run towards Bruma. Come to think of it, I never did see Adamus in Bruma.

“Did Adamus ever come to Bruma?” I whispered to Jena.

“No, but it seems yet another friend has betrayed the Empire,” she replied angrily.

I almost felt bad for Adamus. If Jena’s anger towards him was even remotely close to how it was with Lex, Adamus had better watch out.

Well, that's a new trick. Instead of trying to infiltrate themself, they're going to let the baddies carry them right in. Neat.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


“Another traitor…I can’t wait to sink my blade into his treacherous skin.”

Jena was extremely angry. She was actually getting a little too loud and I had to clam her down before she gave away our hiding spot. She immediately calmed down and we watched as Adamus and Goldwine walked down the hallway towards us. They stopped at Goldwine’s door and then he unlocked it with a silver key. There were also two guards with them as well. Adamus and Goldwine then entered the room and shut then door, leaving the other two guards outside.

“What now?” I whispered to Jena.

“Just wait and see what happens I guess. Actually, I don’t think we should even try to do anything. Why not wait it out? Goldwine will eventually lead us to Mankar anyway. Isn’t that what we want after all?”

I suppose she was right, but it just felt so weird hiding in a closet. I mean, I’m of course used to sneaking around and hiding, but this is totally different.

“Yeah, I guess. How long do you think it will take to get to this island?”

“Not too long if it really is only a couple of miles from the coast; probably no more than thirty minutes or so I’d say. But it’s weird, I don’t recall there being an island. If it’s that close to land, wouldn’t have we noticed the island?”

I simply shrugged. I’ve never even been this far up in the northwest.

“Beats me. I’ve never been to this part of the province before.”

That ended the conversation, and we sat in silence as the ship finally set sail for the island. The ride was fairly smooth; although I shouldn’t have been surprised since the ship was no doubt in top-notch condition. This was Count Ormellius Goldwine after all. Things were going as planned until after ten minutes after we left Anvil. Jena I saw a stubby heavy-set Imperial with a mass of facial hair. He looked rather angry as if someone had stolen his lunch. He was mumbling something under his breath as he knocked on Goldwine’s door. He waited, rather impatiently I might add, for about fifteen seconds until at last the door was opened by Adamus.

“You needed something, sir?” The Imperial said, trying his best to mask his bad mood.

“Yes, the Count does not like the feel of his pillows and he wishes for you to fetch his some more. Oh, and while your at it fix me a bowl of stew afterwards,” Adamus said rather demandingly.

The Imperial merely nodded and then Adamus shut the door in his face. The short man grumbled a bit and walked over to our hiding spot. Jena and I dove behind the pillows and only hoped he would take the first one he saw instead of digging around. I was now very afraid and even almost regretted this hiding spot, but it was too late for second guess now.

He opened the door and poked his head inside, searching for the perfect pillow for his master. He was so close I could smell his breath because he was breathing so heavily, and let me tell you it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Also it appeared that the man enjoyed talking to himself. He was having a whole conversation!

“Stupid Goldwine and his new lackey, Adamus. They think they’re so tough. HA! They don’t even know lucky they are to be alive as it is. Surely the sneaky Rayden will slay them soon enough, just like they did Lex. Oh how happy I will be when that times comes, HA! Goldwine is so lucky that I’m on his side. If I was ever given the chance I’d hightail it out of here faster than you can say ‘Ormellius Goldwine’s a jerk!’”

It was so funny hearing the man talk to himself. Jena and I were on the verge of bursting out with laughter, but thankfully we were able to keep in quiet for the time being. The man finally grabbed a couple of pillows and left the closet and again knocked on Goldwine’s door. Adamus answered the knocking, took the pillows, and then reminded the man about his stew. He nodded at Adamus and left, likely for the kitchen.

As he trudged down the hallway in a slower-than-normal manner, Jena whispered something to me that immediately caught my attention.

“I’ve got an idea, Rayden. You heard that man when he was in here. He’s obviously not a fan of Goldwine and Adamus. I think we should that to our advantage.”

“How so?”

“Well, he is obviously not on good terms with Goldwine. Maybe there’s a story behind all of that.”

“So would do you want to do, bring him in here and interrogate him?”

“Yes. When he brings back Adamus’s meal you will wait until he starts down the hall, and then sneak up from behind. Here, use this to silence any screams he might have.”

She handed me a long piece of cloth, and I knew what to do with it. I would obviously have to wrap the cloth around the short Imperial’s mouth. So, not ten minutes later, the man returned with a bowl of stew. He knocked on the door for the third time, and once again, just as the other two times, Adamus answered the call. He took the bowl, raised a hand signaling for the short man to wait, and sniffed the bowl. Then he sneered at the short Imperial and aggressively handed him back the bowl. Stew splashed up into the short man’s face and Adamus growled, “It’s too cold. Warm it up.” Then he abruptly slammed the door in his face again.

The short man started to shake with anger and turned to walk back to warm the stew. Then I quietly opened the door and silently, but quickly, tiptoed over to the man and wrapped my towel around his head and gripped in tightly. He dropped the bowl of stew and it almost crashed to the ground, but thankfully I caught it with my right hand while still holding onto the towel with my other. I set the bowl peacefully to the ground, but unfortunately stew had spilled onto the red carpet that made up the floor of the ship. Goldwine wouldn’t like that at all.

The man swung his arms wildly, but with no prevails. Before the door of Goldwine’s room could be opened, I dragged the short man into the closet and then closed the door. Jena then slammed him to the floor, still keeping the cloth on his mouth. She ordered for him to stop his screaming and twitching, and when he did not she kicked him hard in the side and smash the side of his hide into the wall. A small gash appeared on the left side of his head and blood began to trickle down from the wound. Finally he obeyed her orders and was at last silent. So Jena lifted the cloth from his mouth and said softly, “Shut your mouth or I’ll cut your throat…”

I knew very well she was lying about that of course, but obviously I kept my mouth shut about that. It appeared her words were rather effective on the fat man.

“Yes, just don’t kill me…please!”

“You’re going to answer some questions for me and my partner.”

He nodded.

“First off, what is your name?”

“M...my…my name is Velvus Crassi, servant of Count Goldwine,” he said nervously. His hands were shaking violently, almost as if he were having a seizure or something.

“But you do not like your position, do you Velvus?”

“I…serve the Count with all my heart. It…it is an honor to serve him.”

“You lie, Velvus. We heard you complaining earlier when you came in this very room to get Goldwine his pillows. You didn’t seem to like him then. Have you changed your mind so quickly?”

He didn’t answer.

“There is no reason to be afraid. We the good guys, I promise. My name is Jena, A Blade agent. And this here is my friend, Rayden.”

When he heard my name his shaking stopped and he looked directly into my eyes. Suddenly his expression utter fear changed to one of absolute joy.

“Rayden? The savior of Cyrodiil? Oh my, my master has spoken of you many times! He loathes you more than anyone in the world! You’ve come to save me have you? Praise Talos, my prayers have finally been answered!”

He was almost at the point of yelling so Jena brought him back into reality and shoved his head into the wall once again. I didn’t really see the point in this but it proved effective.

“Shut up, you fool! Do you want Goldwine and Adamus coming in here and finding the three of us?”

“No, I’m quite sorry, miss, please forgive me. I am just so happy you two are here. I was once a citizen of Kvatch. You see, Count Goldwine betrayed everyone. Nobody, except for the soldiers I think, knew Goldwine was working with Mankar. When the Mythic Dawn came many tried to stand up against them. It was ill-performed effort though…many people died…including my wife and two children. They…were trying to fend off the cultists…and well, you can guess what happened.”

“And where were you during all of this?” Jena asked.

“I…was hiding in my room,” he replied shamefully.

“You were hiding while your family fought?” Jena asked angrily.

“Yes, I could not muster up the strength to help. I feel awful.”

“Oh, I’m sure you do,” Jena said while kicking him in the stomach. “Awful enough to become the slave of Goldwine, eh? You worthless pig!” She proceeded to bash his head into the wall again, and this time I stopped her afterwards.

“Jena, control yourself. Anymore of this and he’ll die before we have a chance to get anything out of him.”

The fury was still there, but thankfully she ceased the punishments.

“You’re going to help us out, Velvus.”

He was now crying and clutching his stomach with one hand and his wounded forehead with the other.

“You’re going to knock on the door and inform Goldwine that he is wanted by a sailor on the deck. You understand? If you slip up and give away our position I swear you will die, even if I have to die as well just to kill you. Now go!”

She stood the man up and shoved him outside the closet. I absolutely could not believe what was going on. What did she think she was doing?

“What are you doing, Jena?”

“We’re going to kill Goldwine and Adamus before we land at the island.”

“But why? Why take such a risk?”

“Because I said so,” she said bluntly.

I was going to argue even further but Velvus had knocked on the door and Adamus had answered. I could see that Adamus had poked his head out. He was about to ask for his soup, but then he saw the wounds of Velvus.

“Where is my…what the? What happened to you?”

Velvus started to cry once more, looked over at our closet and yelled, “Intruders! There, in the closet!”

Then he took of running down the hallway. Before I could do anything Jena had bolted from our hiding spot and took of after Velvus. She ran right past Adamus, who was clearly confused by the event. Then he looked at me and immediately knew what was going on. He unsheathed his steel claymore and slowly walked towards me.

Now this is rather funny, really. Rayden has been getting his act together and is now holding back all of his impulsive actions and aggression. Only what do we get? He teams up with a Blade who is just as impulsive as he used to be. Oh, and now he's got a guy with a Claymore coming for him.

Good thing he's on a ship and belowdecks. There isn't much room to swing that kind of monster. On the other side, there isn't much room to dodge either.

Go rayden, throw bowl of stew in his face. FOR JUSTICE!

Velvus' cowardice should've given Jena reason enough to simply kill him instead of trying to get him to do something for her. Heck, she killed that sailor for a less dangerous situation. By the time the sailor found someone to rat on Jena and Rayden could've found a place to hid. To rely on a coward when you're stuck in a compromising situation is not a smart plan. Obviously Jena's rage at finding Adamus betraying Cyrodil led to some rash decisions.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO


While watching Adamus in his Imperial Legion officer armor, I stood sheepishly in the dark entrance of the closet. I was frozen in time, unable to think, let alone move. All I had on me was my rusty knife that I have kept all this time, and quite frankly I wasn’t exactly in the best shape to be fighting. My arm was about to fall off at any given moment, and my back made me feel as if I were an old man. But he kept coming, he wasn’t about to let his guard down just because I was injured. He knew what a major threat I was to Mankar’s plans.

His long claymore glistened in the light of the torches. The blade was extremely sharp and looked as if it had not killed in quite some time. I figured Adamus was foaming at the mouth for this opportunity. And just when I thought Jena was going to simply leave me there to die in the hallway, I saw that she had let Velvus go, for now at least. She charged toward Adamus with her blade held in front of her. Adamus turned around to face his challenger, and the battle commenced.

Adamus swung his sword mightily at Jena and she just barely dodged the attack. His blade hit the side of the wall, causing a huge tear in the wood surface. Jena then slashed at him with her own blade, but Adamus caught her wrist before she could deliver the blow. Using his strength he greatly outmatched Jena and slung her into the wall. She hit her head violently but she fought on anyway. Adamus again swung with his claymore again missed by mere inches.

It was weird seeing him handle a heavy weapon in such close quarters. The hallway was barely wide enough for Jena and I to walk through. But then again this didn’t seem to bother Adamus a bit. Of course he was after all an expert fighter, given the fact that he was an officer in the Imperial Legion. Now he is a traitor just like Lex once was. And look where that treachery got him…..

After dodging the attack Jena swung quickly with her blade and this time connected slightly with Adamus’s right shoulder. She caused a small tear on his arm but he merely shrugged it off and backhanded Jena with his free hand. She fell back, hit her head hard on the wall, and then fell to the ground after dropping her blade. It appeared as if Adamus was about to win the battle, but before he could make another move I jumped entered the fight. I knew I really couldn’t do that much, since I was injured and everything, but I was willing to do whatever it took to help Jena. I wasn’t about to let her die.

I leapt at Adamus from behind and tackled him from behind, leading the way with my healthy shoulder. He landed on the floor and I landed on top of him. Swiftly I took out my dagger and was about to jab it into the back of Adamus’s head, but he was too quick for me. He rolled to the side and threw me into the other wall. I was extremely light compared to him so it didn’t take much for the muscular Imperial to overtake me.

Adamus then raised his sword high into the air and was about to bring it down on me, but while losing his focus on Jena this also led him to lose the battle as well. Since he was not paying any attention to Jena, she was able to get up from the ground, pick up her sword, and shove it through Adamus’s back. The tip of the blade come through the front and blood began to spout from the wound. I had rolled to the side and thankfully avoided the mess.

Adamus fell to one knee and just knelt there for a second. Then Jena pulled the blade from his body and brutally slit his throat. Adamus’s body crashed to the ground and that was the end of him. His blade lay still on the floor beside him and a large pool of blood was already forming around his motionless corpse.

I looked at Jena and the fury was still in her eyes. It was almost scary in a way….she almost looked insane. I didn’t really know what to think of that, but now wasn’t the time to be thinking.

“Are you okay?”

I asked her this only because her body was trembling, and also because there was a small stream of blood was gushing from her nose.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” she said while wiping away some of the blood with her sleeve. “My nose doesn’t feel too good though, and my head is pounding. But don’t worry, I’ll live.”

“You’d better. I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for you,” I said, attempting to brighten the atmosphere up a bit.

“Thanks, Rayden, but I have to say the same for you. If would not have foiled his attack I would be dead as of now. But enough talking, I’m sure Velvus has alerted the guards.”

Jena helped me up from the ground and then handed me a clean and new silver short sword.

“You should have told me all you have is that awful knife!”

We were about to walk away from the area, but then Jena asked, “Rayden, how do you feel? I mean, do you think you could handle yourself if I left you here to take care of Goldwine?”

“Well, I guess so. Goldwine isn’t very young and I doubt he could take me even if I’m injured.”

“Are you sure? I can go and take on the other guards, there really shouldn’t be that many of them. The outside of this ship is misleading to how large this vessel actually is. I can deal with them myself and I don’t think you’re healthy enough for battle against someone who is actually trained in combat. But I also don’t want to leave you here if you don’t think you’re up for the challenge.”

“I’ll be fine. Just kill some guards for me…”

She smiled and then took off down the hallway. I watched as she rounded the corner with her blade in hand, and then I turned my attention to Goldwine’s door.

I hadn’t heard a peep from inside since the battle with Adamus had started. No doubt he was hiding in there hoping Adamus had taken care of Jena and I. But of course that wasn’t the case, and soon he would meet the same fate as Adamus.

I walked up to the door and jingled the knob even though I knew out of common sense that it was locked. So I took out a pick and fumbled around until I heard the familiar click that I had come accustomed to some years ago. When I opened the door I saw something that totally took me by surprise. Goldwine lay on the ground in a dark pool of blood with a knife to his side. I walked up to his body to examine him a little closer. It appeared to me that he had slit his own throat, rather than let me get to him. Odd really, but I guess he didn’t want to take a chance of letting information slip from his mouth.

I walked out of the room and made it down the hallway. To my right was the door to the outside, and to my left were two doors. I poked my head into one of them and realized it was a storage place, and also what looked like a barrack. Then I entered the other room to find a small kitchen. A pot of warm stew was still brewing on a nearby table. So I closed the door and stepped outside. Jena had already dispatched the remaining guards, which looked to be only three. She was now holding Velvus by the collar and was screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Why did you betray my trust? Did you really think you could get away? We’re in the middle of the sea, you fool! There’s nowhere to run!”

“No, you are the fool,” Velvus said while laughing insanely.

“Master Mankar knew Rayden would be coming to assassinate Count Goldwine. That is why we set you up!”

He began to laugh loudly and Jena kicked him in the groin.

“What do you mean we were set up?”

“Mankar knew Rayden would sooner or later come after Count Goldwine, just as I have already said if you were paying any attention.”

Then I butted in. “But…if that’s the case and we were set up, why in the world would Goldwine kill himself?”

Jena and I were both facing Velvus and our backs were to the cabin door. Then I heard a familiar voice behind me.

“Goldwine didn’t kill himself…I did.”

I turned around and there, standing right in front of me, was Mankar himself.

Wow, so many twists and turns! So exciting! I'm enjoying your style of writing; lots of action, lots of intrigue, lots of character development... Just solid storytelling.

I totally second Mallie! Such a lot of action and intrigue! Good work!

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE


Mankar stood with his hands behind his back, giving me that same agitating smile he has always worn upon his elfish face. He started to walk towards me so I took out short sword and pointed the tip directly at his heart.

“Rayden, I am not here to fight, or at least right now. Before anything else happens don’t you wish for me to explain all of this?” he asked while looking and pointing to the ship.

Jena looked at him with a suspicious stare. She was also still grasping the collar of Velvus, who was laughing up a storm during all of this.

“I’ll take the silence as a yes. You see, Rayden, although you’re quite the skillful little wood elf, you are also very predictable. I knew how easy it would be to lead you into a trap, so I have done just that. The war is coming to and end and I knew soon you would hunt me down in an attempt to assassinate me and sway to the battle to your liking. That is why I set this entire event up, just for you. Granted I didn’t know you would be bringing along this here Blade with you, but more the merrier I always say. Now I will be able to kill two birds with one stone.”

“What about the island, where is it?”

Jena pointing out to the sea, and there was no land in view except for the shores of Anvil.

“You imprudent girl, there is no island! It was all a set up. I know I sound repetitive but if you would silence yourself instead of talking I wouldn’t have to repeat myself, now would I? Now, Rayden, and you, little girl, it is time to end your lives right now. We are in the middle of the sea. I am afraid there is no escape this time…”

Jena turned to Velvus, slashed his neck, and he tumbled overboard and into the water. Then she faced Mankar and charged towards him. I tried to stop her but she had already past me. Mankar simply smiled and threw a shock spell. The spell hit Jena in the chest and she flew back a couple feet. Her body rolled awkwardly on the deck of the ship and I heard a bone crack, but I’m not sure which one it was. Jena screamed out in agony as she squirmed around trying to subdue the pain.

Then Mankar looked at me and said, “It seems you’re injured, my little wood elf. That’s too bad. I was hoping for a better fight.”

Next he shot another spell, this one towards my head. I ducked just in time and spell flew off into the distance. Before I could do anything else another spell came my way, and again I dodged it, this time by rolling to my left. I landed on my right shoulder as I rolled, and it hurt dearly. But I couldn’t stay down for long because the spells kept coming and coming non stop. Finally my luck ran out and one of them hit me square in the chest. I flew to my right and smacked into the side of the ledge, hitting my shoulder once again. I turned around to see what was going on and Jena was charging at Mankar again, and it appeared that she was favoring her left knee a bit.

Mankar saw her coming and unsheathed a long Elven Claymore, and a fight commenced between the two. Jena swung at Mankar’s head but he simply laughed again and blocked it. She swung again but her injury disabled her from being affective at all. I got up to help out but it was too late. After taking another swipe, Jena missed entirely, and Mankar too advantage of the miss. He took his blade and shoved it as hard as he could into Jena’s armor. The blade appeared from Jena’s back and I watched in horror as her body shook and then we limp. Then Mankar pulled his sword from her body and she fell to the ground, lifeless.

I couldn’t believe it…she was dead. I hadn’t even known for a mere day and already she was gone. I never got to know her that well, but despite that I was almost on the verge of tears. I can’t explain it, I just…I don’t know, felt like Jena was really one of the good guys. I never thought she was going to die, not for a second. But there she was, lying in a pool of pool of blood.

And there Mankar was, standing over Jena’s body. And again, for the umpteenth time, he had that malevolent grin upon him. I wanted to strike that smile off of his face with my blade, but I’ll admit, for the first time I was actually scared. My arm was hurting like hell. And, just as Mankar had already mentioned, there was no place to run. I had no other choice but to face me adversary, one on one. It was obviously the honorable way. But what was to become of me now? Could I really take down Mankar, the evil sorcerer, with all of my injuries? Even if I was healthy I don’t think my chances would have been high.

“By look on your face I can see that you already doubt yourself, Rayden.”

He was trying to play a mind game with me; trying to get me down on myself. It was true that he was more skillful than I, but only because of his magical powers. But of course I being injured greatly disabled me from performing at my fullest, as I have already mentioned. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight, though. Not after what he did to Jena.

“Look at your arm, Rayden. You are in no condition to fight, but oh well. I have heard about your superb fighting skills, and I was hoping for a grand finale of a fight between you and I. But it doesn’t matter. Either way you were going to die. I suppose this will only make things quicker. Then I can move on to more important things.”

Then surprisingly he shot a spell at me. I wasn’t paying any attention and it took me by surprise. The spell did not hit my body, but it did hit my blade. The sword flew from my hand and landed somewhere in the sea. I immediately looked for Jena’s blade but Mankar was already holding it.

“Looking for this, Rayden?” He took the blade and flung it overboard into the water.

Then I looked at the three guards and their swords had already been thrown into the water as well. It looked as if all was lost.

“Face it, Rayden, it’s over for you. Why not simply give up?”

He charged at me and swung his claymore. I dove to my right and rolled over, hurting my shoulder in the process. But I blocked out the pain as much as I could. He swung again but this time I ducked under the blade and tackled Mankar to the ground. Even though he was a lot taller than me I was still able to bring him down. I was on top of him and I punched him twice in the nose. Blood splashed into my eyes but I kept on swinging. Then he shot a spell at me and I flew straight up into the air. Mankar rolled to his left just as I hit the ground.

He grabbed his sword, which was lying to his right and as he was getting up from the wooden floor I saw something glimmer to my right: a steel dagger! I took the knife and turned to Mankar. He was running at me full speed with his claymore held high. As fast as I could I reared back and threw the dagger at him. The small blade hit him square in the chest. And when that blade made contact the evil smile was finally wiped away from his face, and in its place was that of shock and dismay.

His body began to fall forwards and as it did it ran into me. I flew back and hit my head hard on the wall of the ship ledge. When I fell to the ground I saw Mankar lying on the ground. His face was blank and his eyes were wide open. But he was dead…he was finally dead. Then, I looked up into the sky and I swear I could see Jena hovering in the air. But I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it, because slowly my eyes began to become blurry, and then finally everything went dark.

Wow, what a thrilling climax. The good ole throwing dagger trick always pays out too. Now the problem exists is how Rayden is going to get back to Bruma. For all we know, the Mythic Dawn might still attack without the leadership of Mankar.

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!!
What a beautiful kill!

HA, TAKE THAT YOU EVIL MAN!!!
It's good to finally see him dead! But what will happen next!!!
Oh, the suspense is killing me.

I'm starting to accept this as the official what happened in the game other than the real main quest! lol

lol, cool. The next chapter will be the last. It'll be a doozie, though. I tihnk it will be somewhere along the lines of 14 pages.

Rayden comes through. And with the single weapon that had been considered worthless and absolutely harmless. MUHAHAHAHA!

I will miss Jena though. For all her fanatiscism, she was a good character.

Here is the final chapter. It's been a long ride and I am proud to say that I was able to finish this. It's 138 pages on MS Word, by the far the longest I've ever written. And this chapter is my longest of the story, being 12 pages long. I you like it, and thank you for following my story.


CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR


When I woke up it was nighttime and the stars were shining bright, high in the sky. It was truly a beautiful sight, and for a moment everything was peaceful. But then I looked around and I was abruptly sucked back into reality. Mankar was still dead, along with Jena and everyone else. I was the only survivor, but as far as I was concerned I could be dead too. After all, I was miles away from sure and I had not a clue how to steer the ship. And because it was night I couldn’t really see that far out into the sea, but I knew I was too far to swim, and even then I wouldn’t have lasted long anyhow. I never was a good swimmer.

I laid there on the cold wood floor for several minutes while I let everything sink in. I had stopped Mankar from whatever he was planning and hopefully the war would turn to the Empire’s liking. But then I realized that there was likely one other person that still threatened society: Alfhedil.

Through of the turmoil on this ship I had forgotten about the traitor. I could hear his fake Nordic accent now: Hey, Woody! How ‘ya doing lad?

It was all a trick and I never once saw it coming. Now, miles away from civilization, Alfhedil was probably leading the remaining Kvatch soldiers and cultists through the Bruman defenses. Soon the walls would topple and it would all be over. Then everyone will have died, because surely Alfhedil wouldn’t be foolish enough to let anyone live. Hassildor would die, Burd would die, and even Martin would perish as well. It seemed even in my victory I was still a loser. I wanted so much to go back and help defend the city, but there was not a thing I could do. Not as long as I remained in the middle of the sea.

After I was done letting everything settle in I sluggishly rose from the ground and took one last final look at the bodies. I went over to Jena and noticed her eyes were still open, and they still had the some look of shock as well. She deserved much more than she received. Unlike Mankar and his minions she did not deserve an early death. It was so saddening to see her go, but death is something no mortal can escape. I realize that eventually everyone dies, but it was still a hard thing to swallow. I closed her eyes with my hand, and then I glanced at Mankar. His body was still and lifeless as his claymore, thankfully I should add. His reign of terror was finally over.

And now I was stuck on the ship, with nowhere to go. Or at least that is what I thought until something so awe-inspiring happened I swear I almost soiled myself.

In the sky, the stars were moving around quite fast. Then, after circling around one another, they smacked into one another and a huge ball of dust exploded. The explosion lit up the sky immensely. When the cloud of dust settled a spirit floated before me, not fifty feet above the ship. The figure was extremely large and was dressed lavishly in expensive clothing and it resembled someone of royalty. It was a male, an Imperial in fact. Its hair was white and long, and his skin was wrinkly and old. At first I couldn’t put his face to a name, though he was very familiar. Then he started to speak, and his voice boomed and echoed throughout the area. And for some reason I knew exactly who he was. It was Uriel Septim!

He smiled down upon me from the sky while crossing his arms. He seemed really happy, but I really couldn’t say anything. In fact, I wasn’t even positive that I wasn’t really dreaming. I mean, come one, how could this be real?

“Rayden, I cannot begin to describe how proud I am of you.”

His grin was very wide and I wanted so much to say something back, but it was almost as if a spell had been put on me. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t speak.

“I do not have much time, but there is something you should know. You have done a great deed for Cyrodiil. But alas, your mission is not yet complete I’m afraid. While the threat of Mankar has finally ended, there still lays yet another danger lurking in the background.”

I thought I knew what he was going to say. I thought he was going to point out that Alfhedil is still alive and leading the charge against the Bruma, but I was very surprised to learn that my theory was totally wrong, or at least according to Uriel.

“Alfhedil lies dead at the Gates of Bruma. The city has successfully defended itself for now, and the Mythic Dawn has retreated back to the Imperial City, leaderless to say the least. I hope this will cause a major ripple in their plans, but I am afraid there is someone else who threatens the Empire, and he is one of us.”

I wondered who he was talking about, and apparently he could read my mind.

“This one I speak of you will have to find yourself. Look deep, Rayden, and you will find the answer to the questions you seek. The Mythic Dawn is nonexistent now. They may perhaps attack further but they are no longer a threat to the province. Helseth’s army has eliminated the Mythic Dawn presence in Morrowind, so all is safe over there as well. I thank you again for your valiant actions, but please do not rest until the new threat is discovered and eliminated. But, do not think rashly on this. This time violence is not the only answer. Root out this potential traitor. Only then will the Empire be able to move on. Good bye Rayden. I know I can count on you.”

And just as quick as he appeared, Uriel Septim vanished. The stars were back into their normal position, and I stood there beside Mankar’s corpse, still stunned by what just happened. Then out of nowhere everything went black once again.




++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++




Again I awoke from my apparent slumber, and staring at me was Janus and Burd. I thought I was still at the seas of Anvil, but looking around I saw nothing but white, and then I realized I was quite cold. I was in Bruma!

“He’s waking up, give him some room!”

My eyes were finally focusing and I could see Burd motioning for a large group of Bruman soldiers to move away. Janus was helping him do the same, and then Martin came into the picture. He smiled at me and patted me on the shoulder. I was lying in the snow and I was hoping they would lift me up from the cold wetness.

“Just stay still, Rayden. We’ll have you in the warm castle in no time,” he said with the same smile.

And before I knew it I had been lifted up from the ground by a couple of strong soldiers. They hoisted me onto a wooden plank and then I was carried to the castle. There I was eventually laid down on Burd’s bed, in his chambers, which was the former Countess’s room.

“How are you feeling, Rayden?” Janus asked me with great concern. “Where is Jena?”

I could barely breathe the words, but I just managed to say, “Mankar…I killed him. He…killed Jena.”

Janus and Burd started to talk softly with one another and then I asked Martin, “I don’t know how to explain this, but…I spoke with Uriel Septim.”

He simply looked at me like I was crazy, as did Janus and Burd.

“What do you mean you spoke with Uriel? He’s dead!” Janus did not believe me one bit, and I didn’t know how I was going to prove myself.

“I can’t explain it to you, Janus, but you just have to believe me. He was in the form of a spirit or something.”

Martin shot Janus a worried look and then said, “Don’t worry, Janus, he’s just delirious. I’m sure he had some kind of dream.”

“No! It wasn’t a dream, I swear! I’ll tell you what he told me!”

“Rayden, calm down, you shouldn’t be yelling just yet. You are very injured…”

I paid no attention to Martin’s pleas and instead went on with what happened at that ship.

“He told me you all defended yourself against the Mythic Dawn and that Alfhedil is dead, leaving them leaderless. They retreated to the Imperial City, didn’t they?”

Janus was astounded by what I knew. “How…could you…?”

“He also told me the Mythic Dawn presence has been wiped out by Helseth’s forces in Morrowind. All is safe, concerning the Mythic Dawn at least. But there is a traitor in our ranks. Uriel told me this.”

“Rayden, please…”

“No, Janus, you know it’s true. Even before I left there were problems. Did you all ever find out who swayed those two guards to the other side?”

“We…couldn’t find anything. I simply left it at that. It is no longer an issue. But about Jena, you say Mankar killed her?”

I went on to explain everything. I told them about Velvus, the setup…absolutely everything. When I was finished with my story Janus was still uncertain.

“If all of this is true, how do you explain ending up all the way here in Bruma?”

As much as I wanted to, I could not describe how I went from being in the middle of the sea to here in the coldness of Bruma. Now I have never been a religious type of person, but I don’t know how else I could have gotten here if it wasn’t for Uriel. I know it was only a spirit, and I suppose there was always the possibility it really was a dream, but then how could one explain how I arrived here; and also how I know everything? Even if it was a dream, what I have said is true. I knew all about the death of Alfhedil and the Mythic Dawn’s retreat. There was no denying the truth, and that is exactly what I have said. Now how else would I have known that specific information?

“You’re asking the wrong person, Janus. I have told what happened, and if you do not believe me there is nothing I can do about that. What I know is that there is a traitor amongst us and they must be stopped.”

“No, Rayden, you are once again being paranoid. There is nothing wrong. Now is the time to rejoice for our victories. The Empire lives on!” Burd yelled.

Burd was happy…hell…why wouldn’t he? His leadership had obviously boosted his ego and confidence to new heights, but I just wish he would listen to me.

“I think you two should get some rest. I shall take Rayden to Cloud Ruler Temple. There is something I wish to show him before he goes to sleep,” Martin said.

Janus nodded, and then motioned for Burd to follow him out of the room. Martina and trailed behind, and then we said our goodbyes as Burd and Janus went to their rooms.

“Come, Rayden.”

This was the only thing Martin said, and he said this not with a smile, but not with a frown either. He was emotionless and it appeared something was wrong.

“Is something the matter?”

“Yes, but we must not talk about it here. It is too dangerous I’m afraid.”

Martin led me out of the city and we rode on horseback to the Temple. There, the place was of course barren. No more agents were alive. I wondered what would happen to the place, but that really wasn’t important now. Jauffre had something of great significance to tell me. I could tell it by the look in his eyes.

“I found something, three days ago, shortly after you left.”

“You mean I was gone that long?” I interrupted.

“Yes, but please listen, Rayden. We can talk about that later, but or now just sit tight. This is very important.”

We walked through the entrance and Burd led me to a desk beside the fireplace. On the desk was a wrinkled piece of paper with lettering on it. It was difficult to read, and almost appeared as if someone had written it quickly without looking over it once finished. There were several misspelled words and the grammar wasn’t exactly first-class.

Martin picked up the parchment, looked over it quickly, and then handed it to me.

“Read it, but you won’t like what it says.”

I took the paper and held in front of my face and began to read:




The time has come for me to end my eternal suffering, in hopes that the gods themselves may forgive my sins. What a terrible thing I have done; to betray the Empire was not my intentions, but unfortunately that is what has happened. I only wanted the assassin, Rayden, dead. I never once wished for things to pan out how they have. And although they aren’t directly my fault, I cannot help but to feel that I have played a role in the destruction of Cyrodiil.

When I made that secret pact with Mankar, he assured me that he would not enter the Bruman area; that he would leave my city be. He even told me that Kvatch wouldn’t be touched as well, but obviously that promise has been broken, and now I know the truth. Mankar was only using me. With Rayden out of the picture Mankar will no doubt complete his mission, even if that means betraying my trust as well. I never should have listened to him to begin with, but what was I to do? I was desperate and only wanted safety for my people. Now it appears that all of that will be lost. The Mythic Dawn army is marching towards my city as I write this letter, and I fear I have not the manpower to stop them. Captain Burd is the lone soul who knows of my evil deed. He too believed in Mankar and thought that killing Rayden was the only way to bring Bruma peace, but we were both wrong and ignorant. Our desperation clouded our minds and brought false envisions. Burd whispered to me from the outside last night about how we should call the assassination off, but no…that cannot happen. I am about to pay for my actions, and so shall Burd. I told the two guards that were to do the killing to forget about Rayden and instead murder Burd. I feel bad about that decision, but I feel it is necessary. Burd cannot be forgiven for what was going to take place, and same pertains to me as well. Burd and I will be dead soon, and hopefully all can be forgiven. I regret what I have done, but now I must leave this world, in hope for a better a place. May Talos forgive me…

Narina Carvain




Now it was clear why Narina had killed herself. She, along with many others, had unfortunately fallen into Mankar’s grasps. The only good thing about this scenario is that in the end she admitted her wrong doing. If it were up to me I would gladly accept for apology, but on the other hand, that is not up for me to decide.

“Well, that certainly took me by surprise. So there is yet another traitor amongst us?” I asked disappointedly.

“No, I do not think so. When you stopped the two guards from murdering Burd, I believe he realized things had turned on him. He also knew the reasoning behind Narina’s as well, but he was simply too afraid to say anything. He likely figured that since the two guards and Narina were dead, nothing would ever come up. This also leads me to believe that he didn’t know of this letter. Had he, he would not have let it lying around.”

“Where did you find it, Martin?”

“It was hidden underneath Narina’s bed. I brought it here for safekeeping because I didn’t really know what to do. But now I’ve figured that out. I’ve been living here ever since you left for Anvil, and don’t ask me why, but I looked under the bed to see if it was a mess underneath. I was planning on tidying up the place and keeping things clean for Jena, and then I found that letter.”

“What do you suggest we do then?”

“We’ll have to confront Burd; there’s no doubt about that. But we’ll have to treat this issue with extreme delicacy. Burd will immediately go on the offensive once we bring these accusations up, but once he sees the letter he’ll have nowhere to hide. I expect him to be remorseful, but there’s no way of telling for sure. He might attack us when he sees the letter, who knows. We need to be prepared. I also think bringing along Janus and few guards wouldn’t hurt either.”

“But what if the guards are on Burd’s side?”

“Hmm, I don’t think that is the case, but I guess brining guards isn’t necessary. Hurry, time is of the essence. We need to resolve this matter before anything else happens.”

We left the temple and rode back to Bruma. It was getting very cloudy and any minute I could that in any minute snow was going to start pouring from the sky like rain. I wasn’t very excited about that, for I was cold enough as it is.

Upon our arrival at the city we entered the castle immediately and head straight for Janus’s room. Since Martin and I had somewhat earned ourselves a high rank, none of the soldiers questioned us. When we reached outside of Janus’s door Martin knocked twice. Within a few seconds Janus opened the door, with a look of surprise and agitation.

“You do realize its midnight, don’t you?”

“I am sorry, but there is something you must see, my lord,” Martin replied back with sincerity.”

Janus reluctantly took the parchment, wiped his eyes with his sleeves, took out a pair of reading glasses, and began to look over the letter. It took him no longer than two minutes to read it. I think he reread it several times just to make sure he was reading it correctly. He had just been woken up from sleep after all.

“This is terrible. Where is Burd?”

“I don’t know, sir.”

“It’s actually almost unbelievable. I’ve known both Burd and Narina for quite some time. It never would have donned on me that they would do something like this. But then again, I do not believe they meant anything bad towards the Empire. They were only trying to salvage their lives and their city, although they could have done it in a more honorable way. I hate to say it, but Burd will have to be hanged for this.”

“What? Is that really necessary? Obviously he’s changed his ways, or else he would have already killed Rayden!”

Martin was vivid with determination to change Janus’s mind. To be honest, I didn’t really know what to think.

“Martin, listen to me. We’ve just stopped the Mythic Dawn threat, and now we have someone else who poses us potential threat as well. I don’t see why you would to keep him around. The Empire has almost been obliterated from existence. Martin, we have to start from scratch now. Burd, while likely has regretted his bad judgment, cannot be allowed to live. It is simply too dangerous.”

“But he wanted to kill Rayden for Mankar! Mankar is dead! What reasons would he want to kill Rayden now?”

Janus looked at Martin, and thankfully I think he was beginning to come around and understand Martin’s view.

“Well, I must admit, I’ve never thought of that. Then what do you suppose we do if not hang him?”

“Let him apologize for his mistake and move on. From what little experience I have had with him, Burd is a good man and could make for an excellent leader for this land. Talos knows we’ll need as much help as we can if we want to restore the province back to its former glory.”

“Fine, fine, you are right, Martin. I apologize for my rushed judgment over Burd. I just don’t want anything to happen to you two. If it weren’t for you all I’d be dead as of now. Lead the way to Burd’s room.”

Martin patted Janus on the shoulder, and then the three of us walked down the hallway to Burd’s bedroom. Martin knocked on the door but received no response. He shot Janus and me a worried look and then knocked even louder. The door flew open and Burd came sprinting out with his silver claymore in hand.

“Where are they? Have they breached the walls? Call the guards! Quick, we have to defend the city!”

Apparently Burd thought we were being attacked. Martin was quick to subdue his anxiety.

“Calm down, Burd, nobody’s attacking us.”

“Oh…sorry,” he said embarrassingly as he put his sword away. He was dressed in a plain brown shirt and long brown pants. It was first time I had seen him without his armor. He was well built. “It must’ve been a dream. But it was so real. I dreamt that Mankar had risen from death and had led an army of Mythic Dawn cultists into the city.”

“Well thankfully that is not true. Mankar is dead, according to our little hero here,” Hassildor said a little questionably. He still didn’t believe me yet. “We need to talk to you, Burd. It is very important.”

“Can’t it wait till tomorrow morning, sir? It’s very late and I need some sleep.”

“No, Burd. Believe me; this problem needs to be dealt with swiftly. Until then we cannot move forward as a country.”

“What is wrong, Janus?”

Janus looked around at all the soldiers that were poking their heads around corner, looking at us wondering what was going on.

“Let’s step inside your room and talk. We don’t need to air our dirty laundry with everyone.”

So we stepped inside Burd’s room and he closed the door.

“What’s going on?”

Suddenly Burd could sense something was seriously the matter, and it had to do with him. I could tell he knew this because his eyes were darting from Janus to Martin and then to me. His face was sweating and his hands were shaking. It was all about to be laid out in front of him. Hopefully he would not try and deny it. That would only make things more difficult than they already are.

“Martin found this letter lying under Narina’s bed.”

That is all Janus said, and if you ask me, that’s all he had to say. He simply handed the letter to Burd and he read it there right in front of us. Towards the end his hands were shaking a lot. He knew his secret was no longer that anymore. Burd looked into my eyes and started to cry. But not like before, when Narina was found dead. These tears were silent, and not loud. And I could tell they were true as well. He was sorry for what he had done.

“Rayden…I…I don’t know what to say. I just, I didn’t want to say anything to any of you. I made a mistake by listening to Mankar. When Narina died I thought perhaps everything would be okay and just maybe the guards wouldn’t go through with what we told them to do. And it really confused me why they would attack me in the throne room. But, reading this letter, I now know that Narina had them go after me. But it deludes me as to how they told the guards to make and attempt on my life, but also that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I should have come to you earlier. I just…felt so ashamed of myself, for even thinking such a thing. I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am, Rayden.”

As soon as he was done speaking, all eyes were on me. Everyone wanted to know how I felt about the situation, something I hadn’t really spoken about that much up until now.

“Burd, I forgive you. I can see in your eyes that you truly are sorry for what you almost did. I also realize that you were only trying to help your city and your people. I am actually impressed by that, although you could have done that differently. But, it’s all in the past and the time is now to move.”

I think Janus was a little questionably with my immediate forgiveness, but Martina, and of course Burd, were very pleased.

“Thank you, Rayden.”

Burd shook my hand and then Martin patted me on the shoulder. The three of us left the room, leaving Burd all alone to finally get some sleep. I thought we were going to get some sleep as well, but then Janus said, “Well, I’m not a bit sleepy. And, Rayden, I’m actually a bit curious about your story about seeing Uriel. Care to tell it to me over a few drinks? You can come to Martin. Since you’re a priest perhaps you can shed some light on Rayden’s interesting accusation.”

When I thought about it, I really wasn’t tired either. And Martin appeared to have the same feelings as I, so we went downstairs and into the dining room, where Janus called for an Imperial female servant to bring bottles of Tamika Vintage. The lady brought the bottles and we drank as I went into detail about everything that had happened back on the ship.

“Well, Rayden, I have to say, there are some flaws in your story,” Janus said just after taking a long sip from his bottle of wine. “Since you hit your head on the ship, don’t you think you could have been seeing things?”

“You’ve got a point, Janus, but I…I don’t know, it was just so real to me. It didn’t seem like a dream or anything like that.”

“And even if it was a dream, how can you explain what Rayden told you? How else was he to know of happened back here?” Martin said before taking a small drink from his wine bottle. Martin had barely touched his wine, a signal that perhaps he was not much of a drinker.

“That’s true, Martin. So, we all agree that is was most likely a dream, but obviously a unique one. But I’m still not convinced; I mean…can spirits really enter your own dreams?”

“I’m not exactly sure on that one, Janus, but I believe it can be done. I don’t really see any other explanation. It’s either that or Rayden can tell the future,” Martin laughed.


I still didn’t really think it was a dream, but that’s all over now. Janus was set on believing it was, and there was no swaying him. Besides, I really didn’t care that much anyway.

“And how did he make it all the way back?”

“That I cannot explain unfortunately. It just happened. I don’t think we will ever know the truth.”

Janus thankfully left it at that.

“Okay, now that we have that pretty much settled, what is to become of the Empire?” Janus said before taking a huge gulp of his drink. Unlike Martin he appeared to be a heavy drinker. Me, I was a little bit in between. I could take or leave the stuff, it mattered not to me.

“I don’t know what is to become of us, actually. I expect the Council will send a wave of representatives out to help restore order,” Martin commented

“Yes, that will come soon,” Janus said rolling his eyes. “And for some reason I have a bad feeling they’re going to want to change everything.”

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, the leading member of the Council, an Altmer battlemage named Ocato, has been rumored in being interested in the job for some time; though that information isn’t well known. I have my ways of obtaining that kind of talk.”

“You think he’ll take control of Cyrodiil and name himself Emperor?” Martin asked.

“Yes, that is what I think will happen. Eventually I believe the entire Council will rule over Cyrodiil specifically. They are power hungry and it is the perfect time to make a move. It’s unfortunate really, because in my eyes Ocato is more focused on the interests of the other provinces. I am not sure he would make an effective ruler. Plus, the ruling of an Altmer would spark riots all over the country side. But, who knows what will happen. But, I think we all should recognize that change is coming to Cyrodiil.”

We finished our drinks while telling stories of the past, not worrying about the future, at least for tonight. My stories of course were a little more interesting than the others, and Martin and Janus were bewildered by my adventures. Soon it was nearing five o’clock in the morning and we all agreed at least a little sleep was the best option. But, before I left for my room, Janus called to me while Martin left for Cloud Ruler Temple.

“Rayden, I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done. I…cannot even being to tell you important you have been to the province Cyrodiil.”

“Yeah, well, it just sort of happened I guess. But I can’t take all the credit. It was a joint effort, you know.”

“Yes,” he said while putting a hand on my shoulder, “but if it wasn’t for you Mankar would still be alive and right down our throats. You’re a very good person, Rayden. Don’t every let anyone tell you any different. You’re name will go down in history.”

It was kind of ironic, if you think about it. Mankar once told me the same thing if I was to do the opposite of what I have done.

“The Savior of Cyrodiil; that is what they will call you. Sounds alright, eh?”

But that was a long time ago. I took the right path and have carved my own way into the history books. Nobody can take that away from me.

“Yeah…..that doesn’t sound too bad I guess.”


THE END

APPLAUD!!! is indeed given!

This was a genius ending to one of the best stories I have ever read!
Everything tied together at the end and it just made for the perfect ending! Thank you so much for writing it!

Thank you, Steve! I had so much fun writing this and I am just so proud of myself that I was able to write a story of this length and not quit in the middle. Thank you for your continued interest, Steve. Hopefully you will enjoy my next story as well!

Well, there was the little deus ex machina with the warp to Bruma, but I honestly admit I can't think of a way to get Rayden back on dry land myself. So that is forgiven.

That said, the rest of the ending was one piece of greatness after another. I really liked seeing how much Rayden has changed.

Thank you Jack Cloudy. I'm glad you stuck around for the ride.

It's too bad though that we never get to see first hand the battle...
And that machine they had. Uriel something.

But yea, definetally a nice story!
Especially since Martin is alive!!!
YES!!!

Ah, yes, the Uriel Urinator.....

Very solid finish to a very solid story. Everything was taken care of and the loose ends were all taken care of. Glad to see you were motivated to finish this story, it would've been disappointing for it to simply cut out right in the middle of it.

Thanks, metal. It's good to get it finished. now on to The Last Heir...

i just read the hole story and i have to say...........it was a FANTASTIC read. i mean you made the charactors sound so real and i dont care about the typos this is the best story on chorrol.com and i dont care if anyone thinks different.


cliff-blade104


p.s.-u should do a sequel

Thank you. I don't know about the best, because there's always BSD, Minque, Treydog, just to name a few. But thanks all the same.

i no this was posted long ago but i just joined and read through it all and its awesome!!