Ah good, planning is essential. It's a nice update as usual.

Yup.....I agree.....it´s getting very interested now....keep up the good work

I usually try to update daily, but, yesterday I had a rather personal emergency to tend to, so I'm sorry for lack of updates. But, I'm working on one right now.

Oooooo.. they made a little mistake, i'm not going to mention it, just in case it's part of the plot...

Alright, finally here's another update for you guys!
----
As I lay on the small and only bed in my old home, I stared up at the stone ceiling, thinking of our current contract. It had to be near morning, and even though I was tired, I couldn’t sleep. My mind kept wandering to the conversation I’d had with Lucien… the one in which he seemed to think that the contract wasn’t going to go well.

I could hear Saprius’s rhythmic breathing on the other side of the room. There was only one bed in the small quarters, so he had pushed some crates together to make a surface on which he could sleep. I let him borrow a blanket from the bed, and he also got the only pillow. I found it very kind of him to give me the bed.

I sighed as I turned over on my side, now staring at the stone wall. There was a lit candle on the table that cast dim light throughout the room. I watched as its light played shadows on the wall, and felt strangely soothed. After awhile, I was able to relax and I finally drifted off to sleep.

Lucien’s face was a welcome greeting in my dreams.
“Hello, Sarelle.” He smiled. “How is the contract?”
“Nothing but planning so far.” I said.
He nodded. “Patience is the key. Soon, not only will you be the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, but you will be a Godslayer.”
“Do you say that to give me hope, or because it’s the truth?” I asked.
“Think of it what you will. You know that I cannot answer your question.” He replied.
I sighed, as I knew he was right. I knew that I would have to find out myself how everything played out.
He stared intensely through me.
”Why do you worry so, Sarelle?” he asked. “Whatever happens, happens. Worry leads to regret.”
“I worry because I have responsibility. I have a family to go back to after this contract and a brother to look out for during this contract.” I said.
“Whatever you do, Sarelle, you cannot escape your fate. It’s best not to worry along the way.” He said, stroking my face.
I closed my eyes and nodded. I knew that my mind wouldn’t be at peace until I had finished this contract. I hoped that I lived to see the days after it.
“Lucien, do you miss me?” I asked.
“Constantly.” He answered.
I guessed that was a question he could answer truthfully.

“Sarelle…” Saprius’s voice stirred me from my slumber. “Sarelle, are you awake?”
I opened my eyes to realize that I was clutching my amulet.
“Yeah. I’m awake now.” I said, sleepily.
“Oh… I’m sorry I woke you. You’re quite the light sleeper.” Saprius said.
I got out of bed and threw my Black Hand robe on.
“Yes. I am. I’ve never gotten used to it.” I said.
I stretched. “What time is it?” I asked him.
“Sometime in the afternoon.” He answered.
He noticed my amulet. “Wow. That’s an amazing necklace.” He said, stepping closer to examine it.
“Lucien gave it to me.” I said.
Saprius’s green eyes met mine. “He was special to you, wasn’t he?”
I sighed. “Lucien was killed because of my actions. Had I not killed those people, he would still be alive. He was falsely accused by his family of something he didn’t do. When the Black Hand killed him, they had no solid proof that he was the traitor. Because of the pain I feel from his death, I refuse to be like them. I refuse to punish on assumption. That is the main reason that witch is alive and breathing today. Lucien was a good man, a good friend, and he was loyal to his family. I wish he were alive right now.”
Saprius put his hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t blame yourself for his death. Unless you were the one who actually, physically attacked him, then you’re not at fault. All those who helped to kill him are dead today. You have done well to avenge his death. Therefore, there is no point in carrying the burden that you carry. I’m sure that Lucien has forgiven you. It’s about time you forgive yourself.”
“Thank you. That makes me feel better.” I said. “Now, we must get to work.”
Saprius was a man wise beyond his years. I never forgot the advice he gave me that day.

I spent most of the day showing Saprius around the inside of the Temple canton. The halls of Wisdom and Justice were connected to each other. This would make killing the occupants of the halls easier and faster. Though the High Fane wasn’t connected to any of the halls, we discovered a back door, leading straight into the Archcannon’s office. The door was locked though, and the lock was complex. I wasn’t sure that I could pick it. If I could, however, it would serve as a great stealthful entrance into the High Fane.

After our tour was complete, we returned to St. Delyn to discuss plans.
“I think we should definitely split up.” I said. “That will save us a lot of time.”
“Agreed.” Saprius said.
However, we both knew that the only problem was deciding who would go where. If we decided that one of us would take the inside, while the other killed the ordinators outside and stood watch for other ordinators, then the one who had gone inside would probably be overpowered.

We talked about possible plans for hours. Finally, one plan was decided on: We would work together to kill the ordinators outside. I would take the Hall of Wisdom, while Saprius took the Hall of Justice. After we had killed the ordinators and priests, we would go back outside to check for any intruders on the canton, then we would work together with the High Fane. After we had killed everyone within earshot of the Temple of Vivec, we would enter and fight Vivec head on, since there was no possible way to sneak up on him. We had also agreed on a time. We would fulfill the contract the next night.

We both liked the plan, though none of us were looking forward to fighting Vivec without the aid of stealth.

After everything had been agreed on, Saprius decided to get some rest. I however, set out into the night to clear my head.

I walked all the way to the Foreign Quarter. Once there, I made my way up to the waistworks and stopped by at a cornerclub. I sat down at the bar and ordered some mead. Besides knowing how to swing an axe, Nords sure knew how to drink. I was handed a stone cup full of the sweet liquid. I downed it in one gulp and set the cup down on the bar.
“Long day at work?” the Dunmer barkeeper asked.
“Yeah. And I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.” I answered.
He refilled my cup. “Well, I wish you luck.” He said.
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.” I said, after downing my second cup.
I paid for my drink and left, suddenly craving some sleep.

... wow ... thats kind of Ironic isn't it, you're going to go kill a Dumner god, and the Dumner bartender wishes you luck... of course he doesn't know what you're planning to do ... but still.

It was sorta meant to be that way... Oh the irony.

Good Luck Sarelle!
Beware of the armored Ordinators!They're not guarding a god for nothing!
Those punks gave me quite a headache in Morrowind (until i became a high level demi-god )

Anyway,i'm curius how will they kill Vivec even if they manage to kill all the Ordinators!Vivec is no small prey.Actualy i know only one way that would make sence killing Vivec ,but i would love to hear your version.

Cool Fanfic

I'm working on a rather large update at the moment. Plus, my week has been very very very busy for me. So, there might be a small delay on the update. However, be patient, for it will be here!

Ok! Finally! An update! Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Everything has been extremely busy and probably will be for me until I get out of school. But, I will keep updating. I've been working on this big update for a few days now. So, do enjoy!
----
My sleep that night was void of dreams, most likely because it was restless. I awoke to the pounding of a repair hammer.
“Sarelle, you want me to sharpen your weapons?” Saprius asked, taking time from his work to look up at me.
I handed him my elven shortsword, and the Blade of Woe. “Sure. Thanks.”
“You’re very welcome.” He said, beginning to work on them.

Saprius was an expert armorer. He could fix any weapon or piece of armor that was broken. I admired his skill. I was a decent armorer. I couldn’t fix things like Saprius could, and definitely not as fast. While he pounded away with his hammer, I set out to the Mages Guild in the Foreign Quarter to buy some alchemy ingredients. I knew one small healing spell, and I had a feeling that wasn’t going to help much.

I returned to our small quarters, sat down at the table, and began mixing potions.
It was awhile before Saprius spoke.
“Are you sure you’re up to the Hall of Wisdom?” he asked.
I nodded as I poured a finished healing potion into a vial. I’d already made five healing potions and I began to make the sixth. It was looking as though Saprius would get three healing potions and I would get three as well. It wasn’t a lot, but it would have to do. When, I finished the potion, I poured the last of the liquid into a vial and pushed three vials across the table toward Saprius.
“Here. Three potions of restore health. They should prove useful.”
He pocketed the vials. “Thank you, Sarelle. I’m almost finished with your blades.” He said, bringing my elven shortsword up to his eye to closely examine.

I took the bow and quiver off my back. I carefully counted my glass arrows, reaching a total of thirty four. I placed them back into the quiver and strapped it around my shoulder. As I was checking my ebony bow, Saprius handed me my shortsword and my Blade of Woe.
“They’re as sharp and as deadly as I could make them.” He said, smiling.
“Thank you, Saprius. You have a great talent as an armorer.” I said, sheathing both blades at my side.
“I was going to become a blacksmith until I joined the Dark Brotherhood.” He said, picking up his silver claymore, and giving it a small inspection before sheathing it on his back.
“Well, I’m very glad you can put your skills to use in the name of the Night Mother.” I said. “Tell me, why did you start murdering?” I asked, momentarily forgetting my bow to place my potions in the pocket of my robe.
Saprius cleared his throat, as he removed a daedric dagger he’d been hiding in his robe. He unsheathed it and began to examine the oddly colored deadric ebony.
“I killed my father. After his mother died a few years ago, he became a drunk. Then, he started to beat my mother. My mother was a very kind woman… she was sickly and frail though. That wouldn’t have bothered me, had my father treated her better. Although I lived in the Imperial City, and my parents lived in Chorrol, I went there quite often to check on my mother. One day, when I went to visit, I discovered that my father had beat her severely and killed her…”
He paused.
“For no reason at all… in a rage, I killed him with my bare hands. He was no challenge. Soon after, Arquen came to me with an invitation to the Dark Brotherhood. I accepted, seeing as I had no family left…” he made a few practice stabs with the dagger he was holding. “Now, I feel great. Like I’ve found what I was really destined to be. My role in society as a murderer intrigues me as well. There’s never a dull moment.”
He sheathed his dagger and smiled. I had taken up my bow again, making sure that it fit comfortably in my hands and felt balanced.
“The life of a murderer certainly is exciting.” I replied.
Saprius looked at my bow, “Are you a good marksman?” he asked.
I nodded. “The bow was the first weapon I ever learned to use. Though now, I use blades more, yes I am a good marksman.”
“I’m a horrible marksman.” He said, frowning. “I wish I was better at it.” he said, reaching out, taking my bow from me, and tightening the string.
“Here you go. It’s as good as new.” He smiled and handed it back to me.

By this time, it was after dark. I thanked Saprius as I put the bow on my back, then I walked through the cramped room, subconsciously checking my weapons.
“Come Saprius, we have a job to do.” I said, opening the door and stepping out into the night.

Saprius was at my side as we crossed the bridge to the Temple canton.
“Good luck.” I whispered to him as we split our paths to blend with the shadows. He was going to take one side of the outside of the canton. I was to take the other. Sticking to the thick shadows, I made my way to the back of the canton and waited for the patrolling ordinator. Based on Saprius’s investigation, if I waited here, the ordinator would stop in front of the Hall of Wisdom’s back door on patrol.

I didn’t have to wait very long. After a few minutes, the golden colored armor came into view as its wearer emerged from the shadows. The ordinator stopped to stand near the door, just as expected.

Staying in the dark, I moved smoothly and silently toward the stationary ordinator, sneaking up behind him. As I neared him, I unsheathed my blade and moved into a crouched position. When I got within striking distance, I sprang up from my crouch, jabbing the Blade of Woe into the gap in the ordinator’s ornate armor just under his arm. Before the ordinator could cry out, I wrapped my left arm around his neck, squeezing tightly. With my right hand, I withdrew the dagger from his side and dragged it across the ordinator’s throat. Blood sprayed from the wound as the ordinator hit the stone floor of the canton.

Carefully, and quietly, I pulled the body across the stone, letting it rest well within the shadows. Then, I moved toward the front of the canton to kill an ordinator guarding one of the two main entrances to the High Fane. It was Saprius's job to kill the other.

I pressed my back against the outer stone wall of the High Fane as I moved. Finally, the ordinator’s back came into view. In one smooth motion, I reached out and grabbed the ordinator’s shoulder, pulling him back into the shadows with me. I wrapped my arm around his neck, restricting his airway and his ability to scream. Then, I jammed the Blade of Woe into his jugular vein. I propped his body up against the High Fane wall, as it was hidden well in shadow.

I silently examined the rest of the canton. The other two guards were gone. Saprius had done his job. I entered the front door of the Hall of Wisdom.

The ordinator that was patrolling the hallway had his back turned to me. I didn’t waste the opportunity to pull him around a corner and slit his throat. That left one more ordinator in the main hallway. Then, I would have to take care of the library.

I dumped the first body into the underworks, as the trap doors were easily accessible, and then I set out to find the other ordinator. He wasn’t hard to find at all. He was around the corner, guarding some of the priests’ private quarters.

Red eyes fixated on me through the helmet of the armor.
“We’re watching you… scum.” A gruff male Dunmer voice said.
I walked toward him, and his eyes widened at the sight of my blood-covered blade.
“You won’t be watching me much longer.” I said, stabbing him in his eye, then slashing his throat.

I hid his body in the underworks with the other oridnator. Using my lock pick, I picked the locks on the private quarter doors, managing to kill one priest in his sleep. The other rooms were empty.

I checked to make sure I’d cleared out the main hall, and then I entered the Library of Vivec.

Many priests were poring over books in the vast library. I counted the number of priests and the number of ordinators, coming to a total of seven priests and four ordinators.

I walked to the back of the library, pretending to look at the numerous books on a shelf hidden partly in shadow. I knew that every ordinator walked past the shelf I was standing at on their rounds. I would ambush them one by one as they passed. The priests seemed too busy to even realize the lack of ordinators.

When I heard the first set of armored footsteps, I unsheathed my blade and readied myself. The first ordinator didn’t even know what hit him when I pulled him behind the shelf and jammed the Blade of Woe into his spinal column.

I cast a paralyzation spell on the next ordinator, making him helpless to my swift attack.

When the next one walked by, I grabbed him but didn’t have enough time to shut him up. He cried out and attracted the attention of the last ordinator. Luckily, I was hiding partially in the shadows.

Frustrated, I hit the ordinator in the back of the neck. The cracking sound that accompanied my hit was satisfying. As his body crumpled, I grabbed the ebony mace he was carrying.

The last ordinator slowly walked closer, his head cocked in a curious manner. He stopped, and at that moment, I realized that he’d seen the bodies accumulating on the floor. He quickly turned to alert someone, but I was quicker, hurling the mace at the back of his head, crushing his helmet, and sending him reeling forward. In one swift motion, I jumped out of the shadows, unsheathed my elven shortsword, and jammed it into the ordinator’s neck, just to make sure he was dead.

The priests who had been sitting at tables scattered throughout the library were surprised to say the least.

They jumped into action, but I managed to completely decapitate two before they even stood. I quickly located both exits and made sure that I covered them as best I could. There were five priests left to kill and none of them were going to leave this room alive.

Of course, every last priest tried to escape. Their movements were predictable, and they were slow. I pinned one against the stone wall, stabbing him in his gut, then quickly slashing his throat.

Another one tried to run past me, but I stabbed him through his back, he fell to the floor, and I stabbed him through the heart. I kicked his body in front of one of the exits to block the door. Three left.

One priest picked up a chair and threw it at me. I simply threw a fireball at the chair, incinerating it. Then, I cast a lightning spell, hitting him and sending him flying across the room. When he hit the wall, he whiplashed, and I wasn’t sure whether his neck or his skull broke first.

Another priest had run across the room, frantically, he pushed the corpse blocking the door out of the way and grasped the doorknob. I pulled the bow off my back, notched an arrow, and let it fly, hitting him square in the back. He cried out in pain, and fell against the door, sliding to the ground.

The last priest was cowering in a corner, behind a shelf loaded with books. His hands covered his face as he whimpered and prayed. His whole body was shaking violently. His red Dunmer eyes gazed up at me, as I walked over to him.
“Y-you… Who are you?” he asked, his voice cracking. He made no effort to hide his fear.
I remained silent, as I stood over him and replaced the bow and withdrew my Blade of Woe.
“Who are you?!” He screamed. I could tell that he was building up anger to convince himself that he wasn’t scared of me.
Again, I remained silent.
He stared at me, struggling to see through the shadow my hood created, to see my face.
“Are… Are you going to kill me?!” He half screamed, half whispered.
“Yes.” I answered, bringing the Blade of Woe down into his left temple.

The Hall of Wisdom and the Library of Vivec had been taken care of. It was time for me to meet Saprius outside. Together, we would kill everyone in the High Fane.

As I walked noiselessly toward the front of the canton, the smell of blood seemed to get fainter.

I reached the end of the hall and opened the wooden door, stepping out into the night air of the city. I turned sharply to my right, and walked up a small flight of stairs, leading up to the higher part of the canton and the doors to the High Fane. Both ordinators that had once guarded the doors were gone. I smiled, feeling the results of my plans, then, I glanced around looking for Saprius.

I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see Saprius’s smiling face.
“Damn. I was trying to sneak up on you.” He whispered.
“Well, you’re not very good at it.” I replied, smiling.
“Do you want to go in through the main entrance? Or do you want to try that backdoor?” he asked.
“I really want to try the backdoor.” I said.
Saprius nodded and followed me as I led him toward the back of the canton.

I fished my lock pick out of my pocket when we reached the door, and inserted it into the lock, feeling for the tumblers.

Saprius watched out for anyone approaching.

After assessing the lock’s difficulty, I removed the pick and cast an Alteration spell on it. I felt a smile spread across my face as I heard the lock click, signaling the door was open. Saprius smiled as well, and fell in line behind me as I quietly pushed the door open.

We entered a well-lit room. A Dunmer man was sitting at a large desk no more than four feet away from us, his back facing us. He was dressed in a deep purple robe and furiously writing something on a piece of paper. This man had to be the Archcannon.

I signaled to Saprius to stab him in the back. I would get his jugular. Carefully, we crept to our positions, and on my signal, we’d killed him before he even had a chance to open his mouth.

I spied a key on the Archcannon’s body. I picked it up and examined it. The words, “Palace of Vivec” were engraved onto the back.
“Saprius, this is the key to Vivec’s temple. We won’t have to pick the lock after all.” I said, holding up the key for him to see.
He smiled in response, then I put the key in my pocket.
“How do you want to take care of the people out there?” he asked.
“I’ll take the ordinators. There should be at least four in there. You get the priests. They’re unarmored and should be easy enough.” I said.
Saprius nodded.

I grabbed the doorknob and swung the door open. The priests and ordinators that occupied the large room looked at us with wide, shocked eyes. I drew my elven shortsword and wasted no time.

Just as I remembered, there were four ordinators in the room. One of which, was standing right next to me. He reached out to grab me, but I grabbed his arm, bending it backward at the elbow and broke it. The ordinator cried out in obvious pain. I jumped over him, still holding his arm, pulling it over his shoulder. Then, I kicked him right into the spear point of another ordinator. I smiled as I heard the metallic sound of their armor colliding, and the last breath of the ordinator that had practically been gored.

While the ordinator with the spear was busy trying to retrieve his weapon from his comrade’s stomach, another ordinator charged at me, a large war hammer in hand. His movements were predictable. As he swung the heavy weapon at me, I ducked and moved inward, bringing my shortsword up into his jaw. He collapsed, a puddle of blood already forming under his body.

There was one more ordinator left, and he had gotten his spear free.
“You’ll pay for this with your blood!” he screamed, running at me.
I backed up to allow some space between the spear’s range and me. Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed my waist from behind.
“Get her!” a woman’s voice screamed into my ear.

The ordinator quickened his pace, and closed the gap between us. He brought his spear back in a stabbing motion, and at that moment, I managed to free myself from the woman’s grip. I quickly tried to duck, but the spear connected with my right shoulder and knocked me to the stone floor.

I didn’t have time to think about the pain. I rolled out of the way, and stood up, clutching my shoulder. The ordinator was smiling, tracking my movements with his eyes.
“Damn it… Saprius was supposed to take care of those priests…” I thought to myself.

The ordinator was going to attack again soon. I could see the anticipation in his eyes.

He made another stabbing motion at me, but this time, I was ready for it. I sidestepped, and kicked the long steel handle of the spear, throwing the ordinator off balance. It was then, that I spotted the war hammer that belonged to another ordinator lying on the floor close to my feet. I picked it up, and leapt at the ordinator that had stabbed me, dealing him a mighty blow to his stomach with the hammer. He dropped his spear and fell to the floor, clutching his abdomen.

As I walked toward the fallen ordinator, I realized the room was silent. Saprius was standing in the middle of a floor littered with the corpses of priests. Only the noise of the ordinator’s heavy breathing and grunts of pain pierced the silence.

The ordinator was on his side, his face contorted in pain, his grunts growing into pain filled moans. With my foot, I rolled him over, so that he was lying on his back. He looked up at me with miserable eyes. He clenched his jaw and cursed at me.

I brought the war hammer up over my head, and his eyes widened. There was a small burst of pain in my shoulder when I brought the heavy weapon down, crushing his head into nothing but a bloody pulp.

Saprius walked toward me.
“You gonna keep that?” he asked, nodding toward the war hammer.
I dropped it.
“No. I don’t much care for heavy weapons.” I said, drinking a bit of one of my healing potions. The sting in my shoulder began to dissipate.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t keep them under control…” he said, looking at the blood coming from my wound.
“It’s alright now.” I said, smiling. “It just scared the hell out of me.”
Saprius nodded.
I took a moment to catch my breath.
“Come on, Saprius. We have a god to kill.” I said, making sure I still had the Archcannon’s key in my pocket.

Excellent! lol the Archcanon, he was soo much fun to kill... oh sry.

Wow, that went easier than I thought. Maybe I should go for another round against the Ordinators myself.

Nice update again. Now be carefull around Vivec. They don't call him a god for nothing. (Though I never fought him myself, so I don't know just how powerfull he is.)

Finally! It's what you've all been waiting for! The fight with Vehk!
----
Saprius and I exited the High Fane through one of the main doors. Again, we took a look around the canton, making sure it was empty. Once we had confirmed that we were the only ones on the Temple canton, we walked silently up to the Palace of Vivec.

As we climbed the stairs to get to the top where the entrance to the palace was, I looked over at Saprius. He kept his gaze trained at the door leading to Vivec’s temple. I wondered what he was thinking.

A cool breeze blew through my robe, and for some reason I thought back to the night I sat in Anvil, staring out over the Abecean Sea. That was before Lucien had warned me of impending betrayal, when I still thought that Arquen could be trusted. I realized I’d come a long way since then. Now, I couldn’t run from my fate. Either Saprius and I were going to make history, or we weren’t.

When we reached the top of the stone stairs, Saprius and I looked at each briefly before I put the key into the lock and twisted. The door swung open, and with me leading the way, we entered the Palace of Vivec, shutting the door behind us.

The palace was nothing but one large, well-lit room. In the center, the last remaining member of the Tribunal, Vivec was levitating in a sitting position above an altar. I’d never seen Vivec before and the sight of him was very intriguing. On one half of his body, his skin was a deep golden color. The other half was a bland grey color, just like the skin of the Dunmer people.

His golden eyes seemed to bear deep into my soul, as Saprius and I walked slowly toward him.
“I know who you are,” he said in a quiet, calm voice, “and I know what you have come to do.”
He didn’t move from his position, even as Saprius and I came nearer.
Vivec kept his eyes trained on me.
“Tell me, Listener, how will you make amends to those you’ve killed? How will you atone for your sins?” he asked, carefully following my movements.
I unsheathed my elven shortsword.
“I’ve nothing to atone for, especially when I do not see my actions as sinful. I answer to no gods. I make no amends, as I regret nothing. I answer to fate, just as you do.” I replied, slashing the god’s bare chest.

Almost immediately, Vivec snapped into a battle stance. Behind him, I saw Saprius unsheath his large silver claymore. Vivec had no weapons on him, nor did he wear armor, but he was fast and I could sense the magicka flowing throughout his body, influencing all of his movements.

I was barely fast enough to keep up with the god, and knowing that Saprius was slower than I was, I quickly realized that in order for Saprius to get a hit in, I would most likely have to distract Vivec, and try to keep him pinned to one spot for a suitable amount of time.

Quickly, I was pulled from my thoughts when I saw Vivec hurl a large fireball at me. Instinctively, I hit the stone floor, feeling the intense heat as the sphere of burning magicka passed over my body. I jumped up and quickly closed the gap between Vivec and me before he could start to cast another spell.

Rapidly, I stabbed and slashed at the god, but he managed to dodge my attacks. As he did, I watched his movements.

Vivec cast another fiery destructive spell like an explosion. I jumped out of the blast radius and then leapt at the god with all the speed I could muster. I obviously took him by surprise, because he didn’t have the time to dodge. I planted my shortsword into his left shoulder, and kicked off his body, withdrawing the bloody weapon.

He cried out in pain and stumbled a bit, but recovered quickly and charged at me. I didn’t have time to move. Vivec grabbed my throat and we flew across the room. I let out a pained cry as my back hit the stone wall of the temple. His grip around my neck tightened as his golden eyes looked deeply and angrily into mine. He was much stronger than anyone I’d ever fought and I felt as though he was going to crush my windpipe. He pushed my back harder into the wall, then he spoke.
“Listener, do you like to kill innocent people?” he asked.
“N-no one is innocent.” I choked.
His grip tightened and I could feel myself getting light-headed. I clutched my sword tightly and lifted it up, slashing him across his hip.
His eyes burned with extreme anger.
“You know, you will not kill me.” he said, sending a fire spell coursing through my body.
I screamed in pain, feeling as though my blood was boiling.
Suddenly, Saprius ran up behind Vivec, stabbing him with his claymore.

Vivec let go of my neck, and I crashed to the floor, gasping for air.
“Thank Sithis for Saprius…” I thought, clutching the amulet Lucien had given me.

I stumbled up to find Vivec with his back turned to me, dealing a number of nasty looking spells to Saprius. I raised my sword over my head and brought it down, slashing his back. He spun around quickly, kicking me in my side. I heard and felt my ribs give way, then felt the sting of the stone cold stone floor on my shoulder.

I rolled over, finishing up one of my healing potions, feeling the pain in my side fade away. Then, I jumped up and leapt at Vivec again.

Vivec had just knocked Saprius onto the floor when I stabbed him through the back of his shoulder blade. He turned around, and a frost spell practically blinded me. The frost was so cold; it burned, stinging my skin. I stumbled backward, and Vivec, still levitating, came forward. I found my balance, squared my shoulders, and leapt at him, my sword thirsty for his blood. I connected with his neck, just below his jaw. He tried to use the back of his arm to hit me and knock me away, but I was faster than he was, and placing my hand on his shoulder to use for leverage, I nimbly jumped over him. When I landed on the ground, I quickly slashed his back and got out of range of his arms and feet.

As I backed up, I felt sweet satisfaction. Finally, I had a beat on his movements. This would make him much easier to predict.

While Vivec made his way toward me, Saprius charged at him, swinging his mighty claymore, leaving a large gash on the god’s arm. When Vivec turned to face Saprius, I seized my opportunity.

Sheathing my shortsword, I grabbed my bow and began to shoot glass arrows into Vivec’s body. With my bow, and Saprius staying out of the range of Vivec’s physical attacks due to the length of his claymore, we managed to wear the god down a bit.

Suddenly, Vivec stopped moving. His sudden lack of movement and energy was so surprising that Saprius and I momentarily stopped attacking him. Vivec clenched his fists, closed his eyes and began to breathe heavily. The blood flowing from his wounds seemed to increase, and began to drip onto the floor.

Then, before I even knew what was going on, the whole room seemed to go up in flames. I watched as the force of the explosion sent Saprius flying into a wall. I managed to cast a shield spell a split second before it hit me.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I was lifted off my feet. Anticipating the impact with the wall just made the sensation of pain worse when I did hit the stone wall. After that, the slow motion effect stopped and I fell very quickly to the floor, landing flat on my stomach.
“Note to self: Don’t let him do that again.” I thought, as I winced in pain.

Then, the god was standing over me. He looked down as I lay on the floor, brought his foot back and kicked me right in the face. The force from the kick was enough to make me flip, and momentarily blind me. Now I was lying on my back. I tasted blood from a nosebleed, and weakly coughed as it slid slowly down my throat.

I rolled out of the way, dodging another kick and stumbled up, drinking an entire healing potion in hopes of suppressing the pain in my head. I backed up some more, trying to get as much distance as possible between the god and I.
“Oh damn…” I said aloud.
I had spotted Saprius. His body crumpled against a wall, his claymore lying next to him.
He hadn’t moved since that explosion attack.

I didn’t know whether he was alive or dead, and there was no way to tell from the distance I was from him. I had a feeling that Vivec wouldn’t let me go near him as well. I racked my mind for solutions, as I watched Vivec’s movements.

A wave of rage washed over me and I had no idea how long I’d been fighting the god, but I was more than ready to finish the fight. My friend was either dead or dying, and with Vivec alive, there was nothing I could do for him.

I charged at Vivec, unsheathing my sword. When I was within striking range, I slashed him as many times as I could before he slapped me away with a blow from his arm. He ran after me and punched me in the side. Again, I felt my ribs being broken, and the air rushed out of my lungs. He punched me again, and again, and again in the same place. I fell to my knees clutching the left side of my ribcage. I noticed that Vivec had slowed considerably, and I unsheathed the Blade of Woe, stabbing him in his calf muscle, allowing the deadly enchantment to take effect.

He let out a scream of agony and anger, and kicked me hard on my left side. The pain this time brought tears to my eyes, and the force sent me flying across the room. When I landed, I skidded on the stone, and hit the wall.

I looked up to see Saprius’s body. By pure luck, Vivec had kicked me near Saprius.
“Saprius!” I yelled, shaking him.
His breathing was very shallow, and I figured it was going to stop soon.

My ears were ringing, my head hurt, and my ribs were in unbelievable pain. I looked up to see Vivec, breathing heavily, and bleeding profusely. We were both almost finished, and he was slowly making his way toward me.

Though it hurt, I stumbled to my feet and looked down at Saprius. I remembered all that Lucien and the Night Mother had told me about destiny.
“Lucien… Fate moves my body now… Perhaps, we’ll see each other again soon.” I said aloud.

I reached down and picked up Saprius’s claymore, and mustering the last of my strength, I threw the claymore at Vivec, aiming at his heart.

I smiled as the sword hit its mark. The god’s golden, fiery eyes turned wide and dull, and he fell, no longer levitating, to the floor.

The moment he hit the floor, I ran to him.
“And how will you atone for your sins?” I asked the god before I embedded the Blade of Woe into his skull.

I smiled as I withdrew the ebony blade, shining with Vivec’s blood, momentarily entranced by it.

Remembering Saprius, I stood and walked over to him, ignoring my pain. I crouched down beside him and felt his pulse. It was faint at best.
“Damn it, Saprius… don’t die on me now.” I said, removing the last of my healing potions from my pocket.
I put the vial up to his lips and titled it, until I was sure he was drinking.

Slowly, he finished off the potion and I only had to wait a few moments until he opened his eyes.
“Sarelle… what the hell’s going on?” he asked, the color returning to his once pale face.
His eyes widened as he looked over my shoulder.
“Is that my claymore?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I answered, painfully standing.

I clutched my ribs as Saprius stood and walked over to the corpse of Vivec, lying in a puddle of his own blood. He pulled the sword out of Vivec’s heart, and I watched as the puddle of blood grew. He walked back over to me.
“Are you ready to get out of here?” he asked.

The moment he finished his question, the door of the Temple was thrown open.
A silhouette stood in the doorway, and a frantic male voice spoke.
“Lord Vivec! Everyone in the Temple canton is dead! The gondoliers reported hearing some strange noises coming from here and—“
He stopped upon seeing the corpse of his god lying on the floor.
“Guards!!!” he shrieked.

Great fight. Now I hope that the guy realises that he has to run quite a bit further than usual to find the guards. On the other hand, I doubt Sarelle will be capable of a rapid escape, unless Saprius still has a healing potion to share.

Well, you killed Vivic, but how are you going to get past the dozens or Ordinators that will be... well just outside the door. Good work!

I have been reading little snippets of this here and there and I have to say its very well done. I am a little bitter however since I play Dark Elves and reading about how many she seems to slaughter gives me that same feeling I get when my favourite football team dont win the league cup. Other than that I find it very impressive. Ill try and read the whole thing next time Im in college.

Great work here Kayla, you spare little detail in the writing of your story and detail is good. Please continue, the last part seemed somewhat strange with Vivec being killed and such but it was well done regardless so please continue.

Wow.... all I can say is wow... that was simply unbelievable! Spectacular work!!!!

Agree with Taillus and Mr Oven.....brilliant work.......awesome!

Thanks for the encouragement! You guys are awesome!
----
Saprius and I looked at each other. He noticed that I was clutching my wounds, and quickly, he dug into his pocket and thrust a vial into my hand.
“There’s not much left… but, it should help…” he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
I quickly drank what was left of the healing potion and threw the vial down. The pain had subsided a bit.
“We have to move. Now.” I ordered, moving toward the door.
Claymore in hand, Saprius ran ahead of me.
“Right. Stay behind me. You’re still injured.” He said.

We ran through the open temple door to see a line of ordinators making their way up the stairs toward us, armored footsteps clanging as they hit the stone. There were far too many to fight.
“There they are! Kill them!” an ordinator yelled, as the small army quickened is pace. Bloodthirsty, angry battlecries filled the early morning air.

Saprius grabbed my arm, and jumped left, and down into the top level of the fountain that surrounded Vivec’s temple. Our boots splashed in the shallow water as we ran toward the back of the canton. Behind me, I could hear splashing, more yelling, and the sounds of men moving in armor. Arrows flew past my head, colliding with the stone walls of the temple.
“Sithis help us… they have archers…”

I didn’t dare look back as I tried to run faster, my broken ribs protesting as I struggled to take deeper breaths.

Suddenly, we came to a skidding, splashing halt. We’d reached the end of the canton.
“It’s either circle back around the canton or—“
Fwip!
I felt a sharp pain in my back and stumbled forward. As I came to the realization that I’d been hit with an arrow, I looked down at the grey sea. I could hear the ordinators coming closer. More arrows clattered against the stone around us. The yelling was getting louder. Saprius looked up at me.
“Sarelle… what do we do now?” his eyes widened at the sight of the arrow in my back.
“The only thing we can do.” I answered, pushing him into the sea, then jumping in myself.

Casting a water breathing spell, I stopped and looked around in the cloudy water to see where Saprius was. When I located him, I cast a water breathing spell on him and directed him to follow me. The Inner Sea’s water was very cold, and with the last of the strength I had left, I began to swim as fast as I could. I could hear ordinators splashing into the deep sea behind us. Gurgling yells could be heard even underwater. Most of them were weighed down with armor though, and I knew that I could outswim them.

I swam until I thought I could swim no longer. I found a small island in the Ascadian Isles and decided to rest. The moment my feet hit solid ground, I collapsed onto my stomach. I could still feel the arrow in my back, wedged just under my left shoulder blade. The cold seawater had helped to ease the pain. Saprius splashed onto the shore after me.
“Sarelle? Are you alright?” he asked.
“Yeah… I’m just exhausted…” I said weakly.
He knelt down beside me.
“What should we do?” he asked.
My eyes wandered to the sky. The sun was pretty high, and I guessed it was late morning.
“We should be far enough from the city by now…” the more I talked, the weaker I felt. “We need to find some sort of place to hide out until all of this blows over. I could use some rest…” It hurt to breathe, and my ribs were burning.
Saprius nodded. “I think I see a cave. I’ll go clear it out, if need be.” He said, gently.
“Saprius.” I caught him before he stood.
“Yes?” he asked, turning his focused gaze toward me.
“Pull this damn arrow out of my back.” I said.
“Alright… brace yourself.” He said.

I felt a sting as he grabbed the arrow, then intense pain as he pulled the arrow out. The pain didn’t last long, as I soon lost consciousness.

lol, wait until this all blows over... Yeah, right...

Anyway: Good work writing! Keep Going!

I just started reading this now, and I really gotta say, you got a great story here. Looking forward to the update

Hmm, seems that Sarelle is a lot stronger than even Nerevarine.
It's really a wonder how did she survive Vivec's fire! Actualy i knew a better way to kill Vivec, but yours is good too :evil:

Anyway, I really wonder how will they get out of this mess.
I bet that there will be huge bounty on our two heroes now! Not only the Ordinators are against you now, but a whole Dunmer race!

Busy busy week, folks! Sorry for the lack of updates. I've got most of them written down, but not yet typed. Please be patient. They will be here.

Aw, damn. I saw your name as the last to have replied in this thread, and thought, "Good, and update. Nice." Had my hopes up, too.

Worry not. For I have not forsaken you!
----

I regained consciousness, realizing that I was in Lucien’s arms.
“Lucien… I killed Vivec.” I said, smiling.
He returned my smile. “I knew you could. You’ve made me very proud.”

I looked around. I was in a small cave. A fire in the middle of the stone floor warmed me, and cast dim shadows on the rough stone walls around me. My robe had been removed and wrapped around me, serving as a makeshift blanket. Even in the dim light, I could see bloodstains on the black fabric.

I brought a gloved hand to my face and inspected it, almost doubting that I was living.
“I’m just glad to be alive…” I mumbled, looking into Lucien’s pale blue eyes. They glimmered with happiness and for a moment, it was impossible to believe he was dead.
His face grew stern. “You’ve killed your target, but your job isn’t over yet. Remember, you have to get back to Cyrodiil. Don't lose focus.”
I nodded. Overnight, we’d shattered the foundation of an entire religion. I doubted that leaving the continent would be easy.
“Does the Temple know it was us?” I asked Lucien.
He looked as though he were trying to choose his words carefully.
“The Temple knows it was the Dark Brotherhood, based on the descriptions from witnesses. But, they don’t know specific identities. I would suggest you wear something besides your Black Hand robe in public. Also, the Morag Tong knows you have performed a killing in their city. They are not pleased.”
“I killed their Grandmaster. They’re weak now.” I said.
“Don’t be so sure. The children of Mephala are dangerously loyal, and defensive of their territory. Plus, their numbers are uncertain. They don’t much like us anyway. Don’t turn your back on them.”
I nodded. That was probably some very good advice.

As much as I hated to leave Lucien’s embrace, I stood up, wondering how damaged my Dark Brotherhood armor was.
“Where is Saprius?” I asked.
“Outside. He’s standing guard.” Lucien answered.
My ribs and joints ached. The wound on my back hurt dully. I could feel the skin tightening around a large scab every time I moved.
“I must go speak to him.” I said.
Lucien nodded, understandingly, but grabbed my hand before I could turn and walk away.
“I want you to know that you are a good leader. The Night Mother and Dread Father are proud of you. You’ve brought much strength to our family.”
“Thank you, Lucien… for your guidance.” I said.
“It’s the least I can do…” he said, as I turned and walked into the shadows.

I could feel his eyes on me as I walked the small length of the cave, and found a wooden door. I placed my hand on the knob and turned around, to find that Lucien was gone.

When I opened the door, I stepped out into a magnificent sunset. Saprius wasn’t very far from the cave entrance. He was sitting in the grass by a pile of wood, rubbing two twigs together to try and start a fire. I sat down next to him and cast a small fire spell on the pile of wood, setting it ablaze. Saprius looked up at me.
“Heh. You’re finally awake.” He said, throwing the twigs he was working with into the growing fire.
I nodded. “How long have I been out?”
“A couple of days.” He answered.
There was a brief silence as we both looked up to the setting sun, painting the sky with many shades of orange, pink, red, blue, and purple.
“We did it.” I said. “We murdered a god.”
Saprius smiled. “Yeah. We did. It’s strange… it hasn’t really sunken in yet… until you said it.”
I laughed. “You know, we still have to get out of here.”
He nodded. “I hope it’s not going to be too difficult.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.” I said.

Saprius and I sat in complete silence. He was using the fire to cook some crab meat, and I was simply listening to the soothing sounds of the waves lapping against the shore, and enjoying the fresh sea air. After a few minutes, I looked at Saprius.
“How long has it been since you last slept?” I asked.
“Awhile.” He answered, fatigue obvious in his voice.
“Go to the cave and get some rest.” I said. “I’ll stand guard tonight.”
Saprius looked up at me. In the light of the fire, I could see the cautious look in his eyes.
“Are you sure? I mean… do you feel up to it?” he asked.
“I feel fine now. Plus, I want to ensure your wellbeing. We still need to get out of Morrowind.” I said.
Saprius stood.
“Thanks, Sarelle.” He said, the sound of his footsteps, fading away as he walked quickly to the cave.
“Goodnight.” I called after him.

I ate the remaining bit of the crab meat that Saprius had been cooking. Then, I spent the rest of the night, lying in the cool grass, watching the stars and following the two moons’ paths through the night sky.

I thought of the things Lucien had told me. I wondered if the Morag Tong would try anything. It certainly wasn’t a possibility that I was going to rule out. I thought of ways to leave Morrowind. The only place I knew of that offered teleportation was in Ebonheart. That was a little too close to Vivec for comfort.

I decided that when Saprius was rested, we would waterwalk to a nearby city and see if we could buy passage via boat to Morrowind’s mainland.

Nice to see an update, wouldn't have minded it being longer. Looking forward to see how they tackle the problem of returning to Cheydinhal

Trying to get away from the Morag Tong without being attacked? Very unlikely... Especially if the Neravine is (or maybe he isn't, it's kinda random) one of them... I wonder how it feels to kill a god

As if you don't know!

I suppose I do... but not really. Arygon might have killed Vivic but I haven't... hmmmmm...

Alright another update! They'll get longer as soon as I can get through with finals next week!
----
After a few hours, I was disturbed from my thoughts by a thump.

Immediately, I sat up, facing the direction in which the noise had come from: north. My trained eyes scanned the shadows, looking for any signs of movement within the heavy brush, while I instinctively reached for my blade. My hand felt nothing on my hip, where my sheathed blades were supposed to be.
“Damn… I guess my weapons are still in the cave.”
Saprius hadn’t mentioned having any trouble earlier, but then again, I hadn’t asked him.

The wind picked up, and rustled the brush and the leaves of the only tree on the island. Whatever was in the shadows took this opportunity to move, probably thinking that the wind would make enough noise to mask the sound of movement. Whatever it was, it was wrong. I picked up on the movement and followed it, slowly standing.

I saw in the thick darkness, the figure of a person, moving toward the rocks of the cave. When the air became still once more, I leapt at the figure. The metallic glint of steel caught my eye as the shadow unsheathed a blade.

“Who are you?” I asked, dodging an initial horizontal swing from the blade wielder.
A feminine voice cried out in obvious frustration. “I am a daughter of Mephala! I have come to take your life, Listener!
“The Morag Tong has found us already?”
I jumped to the left to avoid a stab.

If the Morag Tong had a new Grandmaster, whoever they were surely didn’t like this woman. She was horribly slow, and obviously had a death wish.

Dodging a vertical swing, I smiled.
“So do you have a new Grandmaster yet? You know, I killed the last one.”
She grunted angrily.
“Eno Hlaalu was a good man!”
“And a coward.” I said.
Practically roaring, she tried to stab me again. I moved out of the way and, taking her by surprise, I grabbed her arm, took her dagger from her, and wrapped my arm around her throat.
She coughed and wheezed, gasping for air, as I restricted her airway. I dragged her over to the fire to get a better look at her.

She was a Bosmer. I should have guessed by her height. Her hair was jet black and her golden colored eyes were full of determination. I put her own dagger to her throat and loosened my grip on her neck.
“How did you get here?” I asked.
She managed to shake her head, grunting and struggling against me.
I stabbed her in the stomach, and she cried out in pain, her muscles loosening.
“How did you get here?” I repeated.
“I…I waterwalked.” She said, her hands moving to her wound.
“Does the Morag Tong have any plans to attack the Dark Brotherhood?” I asked.
She paused.
“Don’t make me ask again.” I said, coolly.
“We were simply hired to avenge Vivec’s death…” She answered, her breathing becoming shallow.
“That doesn’t answer my question.” I said.
“I… know not of a plan…” she said.
This reinforced my idea that the Morag Tong was still quite weakened. But, it was still quite possible that there was a plan she didn’t know about.
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“The Webspinner knows many things… you will find yourself trapped in her web.” She said, laughing.
I pulled the Bosmer close to the fire. She was bleeding profusely, and her face was turning pale. She still laughed with what little strength she could muster.

Kicking her legs out from under her, I held her face close to the flames.
“Mephala is not but a Lady of Oblivion. She will hurt you as much as she helps you.”
This time it was my turn to laugh.
“Don’t you know that spiders are cannibalistic?”

I shoved her face into the hungry fire.

As the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh wafted into my nostrils, I decided not to wake Saprius up. He deserved his rest, and it would take awhile for another Morag Tong agent to travel to us anyway. If one was stupid enough to follow in the Bosmer’s footsteps, so be it. I was ready for them.

hmmm... I suppose thats one way to kill someone Be careful with what you do, evey Dunmer is probably going to try and kill you (if the Dunmer knows who you are at least)

Heh heh, what a way to go. I like it. Looking forward to the next update

Unsurprisingly, the rest of the night was peaceful. Sitting, I rested my back on the rocks near the cave where Saprius slept. The attack from the Bosmer, while futile, had my adrenaline pumping.

Just after sunrise, Saprius walked outside, stretching and yawning. The sight of the Bosmer’s corpse stopped him dead in his tracks.
“Damn! I take it you had some trouble last night?” he exclaimed.
I nodded. “Nothing serious. She was a member of the Morag Tong.”
Saprius was amazed. “They’ve located us?”
“Yes. And we need to get moving as soon as possible.” I said, standing.
“Agreed.” He said, walking back into the cave.

I followed him inside. We gathered our equipment and put out the fire. Throwing my Black Hand robe on over my Dark Brotherhood armor, I looked at Saprius.
“We need to travel north and to the east. Hopefully, we can find a boat that will take us to the mainland.”
I wondered if we were going to run into the Morag Tong again. It was very likely.
“Alright.” He said.
“We should also find some disguises. It wouldn’t be wise to wear our robes or our armor in public, considering that they’ve probably identified the Dark Brotherhood to be behind Vivec’s death.” I said.

We exited the cave and put out the fire outside, throwing the Bosmer’s corpse into the sea. I then, cast a water walking spell on Saprius and myself and we set out, heading northeast.

We traveled in silence. My boots made small splashes as they hit the water. Water walking has always been a strange sensation for me. Feeling practically weightless, I looked down into the clear water underneath my feet to see small fish darting throughout the water.

After about an hour of walking, I saw a large landmass in the distance. Though I was happy to get off that island and temporarily away from the Morag Tong, I wondered what else we were going to face before we made it back to Cheydinhal.

My feet felt strange when they hit solid land. I could tell that Saprius had gotten a little too used to water walking as well. He shook his feet, and jumped up and down a few times to get his landlegs.
“Do you have any idea where we are?” Saprius asked, pacing a bit.
“I have a faint idea.” I said, looking around at the green grass and slight rolling hills. In the distance, the sky was grey. I knew it wasn’t storm clouds. We were close to the Ashlands.
“We should head north.” I said. “Molag Mar should be close to here. Maybe we can find a boat there.”

As we walked through the tall grass, Saprius looked at me.
“Do you think we’re going to run into the Morag Tong again?” He asked, a worried tone in his voice.
“It’s very likely. We should just keep moving. That will make it harder for them to track us.” I answered.

A warm wind blew my long brown hair and the tall grass around us. There was a hint of grainy ash in the wind. As we came to the top of a tall hill, Molag Mar, the one canton city towered over us. Saprius brushed is shoulder length brown hair out of his face.
“What is that?” he asked.
“That’s the city of Molag Mar.” I said. “It’s not much. Just a temple, a few shops, some places to rest. It serves as more of an outpost to adventurers than a city. It is a city of the Tribunal Temple though, and it is guarded by ordinators. It is connected to the sea. So, it’s possible that we’ll find a boat there.” I continued.
“I say we go in there and try to find some disguises first.” Saprius said.
“That’s a good idea. We can probably steal some priest robes from the Temple.” I said.

We approached the canton, entering the small city. Quietly, we made our way to the top of the canton, avoiding the few ordinators that were patrolling the area.

We reached the Molag Mar temple and I pushed the door open. There were numerous Dunmer priests occupying the small temple. Many of them were too busy studying religious texts to look up at us. The few that did rolled their eyes and went back to their studies. I spotted a staircase that led down to the lower level of the temple and quickly walked down it.

Saprius and I found ourselves in a hallway, branching off into many rooms. It was empty save for two priests talking about Vivec’s death.
“You know they say it was the Dark Brotherhood who did it…” one of the Dunmer priests said.
That was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

Before they saw Saprius and me, we ducked into the first room we saw, slowly and carefully closing the door behind us.

A quick search of the closet in the room resulted in two priest robes. One of them was a deep red, the other green.

Shrugging off my bloodstained Black Hand robe, I quickly put on the red robe, covering my Dark Brotherhood armor. Saprius donned the green robe. Looking at the red sleeves of my robe, I felt relieved. Saprius smiled at me.
“Thank Sithis… I feel a lot safer…” he said.
I smiled. “Let’s get out of here and try to find a boat—“

Just as I finished my sentence, the door to the small room opened. Saprius and I turned to face the intruder.

I am proud to announce that this story has made it past 50 pages in Microsoft Word! (54 right now to be exact)
----
A Dunmer male and Altmer female stood in the doorway, wearing netch leather armor, and holding writs of execution.
“Uh-oh…” I thought, staring them down.

The Altmer stepped forward.
“Breton! Imperial! You have been marked for execution by the Morag Tong for the murder of Lord Vivec! We are here to make sure you die!” she yelled, her high pitched voice straining my remaining nerves.
That was definitely the wrong thing to say in the middle of a Temple devoted to the worship of the now dead Tribunal. In the room outside, I could hear gasps, and rapid footsteps. I looked at Saprius.
“We have to get out of here. Now.” I said.

The two assassins brandished silver daggers and leapt toward us. I could feel some of my old wounds tightening and straining as I easily dodged them and made for the door. Saprius, unlike me, wasn’t born under the sign of the The Theif, and therefore wasn’t blessed with extra agility. He found himself cornered by the assassins.
“Sarelle!!” he yelled, pressing his back against the wall.
The Temple priests were beginning to surround the room we were in, yelling death threats, calling the ordinators, some even starting to conjure daedra.
The assassins were closing in quickly on Saprius.
“Damn it!”

I ran back toward the assassins, unsheathing my Blade of Woe and burying it in the Altmer’s spine. She let out a cry of pain and fell to the floor. I grabbed Saprius’ arm and we ran toward the crowd of priests.
“We’re going to have to cut through them…” I realized.

My boots pounding against the stone floor, I threw a powerful flame spell into the crowd. The priests scattered, and shrieks of pain, and the roar of flames filled the air. Still clutching Saprius’ arm, we practically flew up the stairs, back into the main room of the Temple.

I didn’t expect the Morag Tong to locate us again so quickly. They must have had all their forces focused on us. Escaping Vvardenfell was going to be much harder than I had anticipated.

Just as we burst through the front door of the Temple, and out into the open canton, we ran right past a group of ordinators. To my dismay, I looked back to see the Dunmer assassin right on our heels.
”After them! They’re the ones that killed Lord Vivec!” he yelled.

Behind us, I could hear the sounds of clanging metal, and angry yelling. My arms and legs pumped quickly. I could barely feel the stone under my feet as I ran. As we made our way down the canton, I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.

We made it to the final level of the canton. A lot of ordinators were still behind us. Ahead of us lay the vast Ashlands.

As we ran across the ashy earth, grey ash and dust flew up in front of my face. Behind us, the ordinators had stopped pursuing us, probably figuring we would die out here anyway. The only one still on our trail was the Dunmer assassin.

Tired of running, I stopped, turning around and drawing my sword. As he neared me, he brought his dagger back in an attempt at a horizontal slash. I stepped out of the way and tripped him. Saprius immediately pulled his claymore over his shoulder from its sheath, and brought it down on the back of the Dunmer’s neck, decapitating him.

Still standing, and breathing heavily, I slumped down resting my arms on my knees. Saprius looked around. There was nothing but grey ash surrounding us.
“Do you have any idea where we are?” he asked.
I shook my head, watching the blood flow from the Dunmer’s neck, mixing with the ash. How did the Morag Tong find us? When were we going to see them again?
“I would imagine that we’re north of Molag Mar.” I guessed. “We can’t return to Molag Mar. We should try to head east to Azura’s Coast.” I said.
Turning east, Saprius and I began to walk across the grey earth.

Nice

Sounds like they are in for a long trip home.

A VERY long trip home Yeah, those priests are annoying when you do anything in there... so much hand-to-hand *shudder*...

Ahh, Azura's coast and onwards, thats Telvanni town. My favourite. Its going to be great to see how this plays out from here.

Judging from what Ive seen of these two in Morrowind, its not likely to get any easier. Another great update.

Sweet... decapitation... anyways I would really want to see how this plays out in the telvanni cities... and beware Sadrith Mora... for there lies one of the many Morog Tong bases... beware...

The wind began to pick up, making the grainy ash twist around my head. I prayed to no gods in particular, that there wouldn’t be an ash storm. As a Morrowind native, I’d been out in the Ashlands many times. I’d come to recognize the creatures that made homes in the Ashlands, I could tell when one of them was diseased, and I’d learned to read landmarks. But, one thing that I’d never gotten used to was the ash storms. They were often very violent and extremely unpredictable.

“Where are we going?” Saprius asked, tearing me from my thoughts.
“Azura’s Coast. Known as the Telvanni region.” I answered, still carefully watching the sky.
“House Telvanni?” Saprius asked.
I nodded. “Have you ever seen a Telvanni stronghold?”
Saprius shook his head, looking a bit confused.
“Then you’re in for quite a treat.” I said.

The Telvanni strongholds always struck me as breathtakingly beautiful. They were simply growing, living, breathing towers. The colors were vivid, and the tower itself unique, as no two Telvanni mushroom towers looked alike.

We walked until dark. Just as the sun had disappeared, the horizon was filled with complete blackness. It suddenly struck me that the region we were in was very mountainous. As we neared the mountain, I looked at Saprius.
“Tell me, Saprius, have you ever climbed a mountain?” I said, still keeping a worried vigil on the now dark sky.
“Yeah. The Jerall Mountains.” He answered.
“Have you ever climbed a mountain during an ash storm?” I asked.
“What’s an ash storm?” he asked.
“I have a feeling you’ll find out soon enough.” I said, reaching the rocky base of the mountain that lay in front of us, and starting to climb.

Saprius looked confused, but began to climb as well.

As I climbed the rocks, I thought about where we were going to go. There were many towns located on the scattered islands of Azura’s Coast. Most, if not all of them, were Telvanni. That didn’t bother me very much. The Telvanni had a tendency to isolate themselves from the rest of Morrowind’s society. I doubted that the death of Vivec bothered them very much. From what I gathered, knowledge was the only god a Telvanni worshipped. However, because of their political prowess, Morag Tong presence in Telvanni cities and towns tended to be quite strong. I knew of one Morag Tong guild hall in Sadrith Mora. I intended to stay clear of it.

Saprius and I finally reached a small ledge on the mountain and decided to rest.
“Sarelle, you haven’t slept in awhile. Try to sleep and I’ll keep watch.” He said, breathing heavily.
“You sure you’re up to it?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He said.
I nodded. “Thanks.” I said.
Soon, I drifted off to sleep.

That night, Lucien visited me in my dreams.
“Ah, Sarelle… it’s been awhile.” He said.
“Yes. I haven’t had much time to sleep. The Morag Tong is hot on our heels.” I said.
Lucien frowned. “The Morag Tong is quite an adversary.” His chilling blue eyes bore into mine. “They could be planning an attack right now and you wouldn’t even know it.”

I awoke with a start, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest. My vision was clouded and the wind was howling. An ash storm had started while I was asleep. I pulled my Black Hand robe from behind my priest robe and wrapped it around my face, so that I could breathe easily without inhaling ash. Ash storms very often carried diseases. Saprius was nowhere in sight.
“Saprius!” I yelled, my voice hardly penetrating the ash.

I looked around and began to survey the small ledge I was standing on. I couldn’t see Saprius. I couldn’t hear anything except the wind howling. I started to curse myself for falling asleep.
“I shouldn’t have left him alone! Sithis! What was I thinking?” I said to myself.

Suddenly, I heard a thud from above me. Rocks began to tumble down the mountain, bouncing off the ledge I was standing on and falling down out of sight. Dodging the rocks, I jumped off the ledge, grabbing at footholds on the mountain, scurrying up as fast as I could.

The ash was everywhere, obstructing my vision and stinging my eyes. The wind threatened to make me lose my balance, sending me falling to my death.

After climbing of what seemed like forever, I reached another, bigger ledge. I could hear yelling. I realized that it was Saprius’ voice. I just couldn’t see him.
“Saprius!” I yelled into the storm.
“Sarelle! Is that you? Help!” he yelled back.

Four figures materialized in front of me. One of the figures was wearing a robe. That had to be Saprius. The other three seemed to be wearing tight fitting armor, and were pursuing the one in the robe.

“Damn! They’ve found us again!”

Assassins in the middle of an ash storm? I can hardly wait to see how this plays out.

As I expected, another great update.

Robes... What if it's Telvani magi planning on doing expermints on you r body... I have a feeling it would hurt...

I wonder... how in the bloody hell did those damn assasins track you down in the ashlands... climbing a mountain... in a freaking blight storm... those are some damn good assasins... not as good as Sarelle... muahahaha

Very short update, but I plan to make another, longer one a little bit later.
----
I immediately leapt into action, drawing my elven shortsword and running toward my enemies. The ash and wind hid them from sight for the most part, so I listened carefully for their footsteps, relying on my sight only when needed.
“How do they keep finding us?” I asked myself, spotting an assassin, and lunging forward, swinging my sword. I felt great satisfaction when I felt an impact, and heard a pained cry.

Quickly, I reached out with my hand, grabbing the assassin’s throat, and pulling them close so I could see them. Through the blowing ash, I saw the face of a female orc. Her eyes widened momentarily before I snapped her neck. Just as I was letting her body fall onto the rocks, a searing pain tore into the back of my right shoulder. Behind me, I heard a loud hiss.

I quickly spun around to see a hulking Khajiit wielding its own long, and bloodstained claws. He darted away, choosing to stalk me from the safety of the ash storm.

Suddenly, all around me, I heard more movement and more voices.
“Don’t tell me more have shown up…”

One figure moved toward me. I could tell by the way it was moving that the figure was Saprius. To confirm my assumption, his face materialized through the storm. His eyes were deathly serious. I was completely shocked to see that he was bleeding badly from a head wound. However, as he spoke, he showed no signs of weakness.
“Sarelle… they’ve found us again. And more keep showing up. I’ll stay here and keep them busy. You have to make it back to Cyrodiil. You have to tell the Night Mother of our success. The Dark Brotherhood needs you.”
Through the shrieking wind, I could faintly hear the voices of the Morag Tong assassins. They were thirsty for blood, and searching for us.
“I’m not leaving you, Saprius.” I said.
“Go.” He demanded.
“No.” I answered, standing firm.

Catching me completely off guard, Saprius grabbed my throat and as he dragged me across the rocks, he spoke calmly and firmly.
“I am nothing but a Speaker. You are the Listener. You are our leader. If I let you die now, I will spend the rest of my life regretting it. I have lived a good life. The Brotherhood has given me a family. You have given me friendship, and had faith in my abilities. With you alive, we will not fail.”
I kicked my legs, my boots scraping against rough stone.
“S-Saprius…” I managed to choke.
“In your company, under your leadership, under the service of Sithis and the Night Mother, I proudly accept my fate. Goodbye, Sarelle.” He said, throwing me off the edge of the mountain.

Hells yeah... I love loyalty... the only thing I hate more than betrayal is... well betrayal... so once I built my own army and rule the world I'm going to implat little chips inside of everyones head so they will be loyal to me untill the very end... and I mean the very end...

I half fell, half tumbled down the rocks on the way down the mountain. The ash was everywhere, in my eyes, nose, and mouth. I could taste blood, but I didn’t know what was injured. I couldn’t tell which way was up or down, and the wind was screaming at me from all directions, threatening to drive me mad.

When I hit the ground, I landed on my back. It took a moment for me to realize what had happened, but my mind refused to think about Saprius. All I wanted to do was get away from that mountain.

The ash storm was still very intense. I was dizzy, weary, and in pain. Plus, the wind was blowing so hard, I found it impossible to find my feet. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, but I knew that I had to move.

Rolling over onto my stomach, I spat out blood and began to crawl, in what direction, I didn’t know. I didn’t care. My mind was screaming for me to move far away from the mountain.

I crawled until I thought I could crawl no longer. Even then, I continued on. Saprius’ final words invaded my thoughts, and remained in my mind until everything went black.

I awoke to the peaceful sound of the ocean waves. No more shrieking wind. No more ash in the air. My body ached, and upon inspection, I found my Dark Brotherhood armor covered in ash. I took off my gloves and boots, emptying the ash from them. I shook my priest robe and Black Hand robe out, and then shook the ash from my thick hair as best I could.

My vision blurred a bit as I looked up to the sky, and then off into the distance at the land ahead of me. I could see green grass, and some of the sea. I’d crawled all the way to the Grazelands.

I stumbled toward the ocean, still struggling to use my stiff, aching legs. When I finally reached the ocean, I could see a landmass on the other side. I jumped into the small canal and began to swim, thankful that the ash was leaving my hair and skin. The cool water was also rejuvenating.

I reached the other side of the canal and as I climbed a small grassy hill, I began to think about Saprius. Many thoughts and emotions raced through my head. My muscles felt cold, my brain numb. I couldn’t help but feel guilty.
“Why did I have to leave him alone?”

I focused on just trying to get back to Cyrodiil. I wanted to hear the Night Mother’s voice. I wanted to see what all had changed since I’d been gone.
“Too bad Saprius won’t be able to return with me…”

As I came to the top of the hill, I was astounded to see the amazing Shrine of Azura. It was a shrine dedicated to the daedric lady, boasting a statue of her that could be seen for miles.

I smiled. I knew exactly where I was.

Woah, great update

Yay! I mean... poor Saprius... Good work!

Hey, great updates. Its a shame about Saprius, but I never count somebody completely out until I see them dead without a doubt. But right or wrong, we will have to wait and see how things play out. Still hopefully the shrine of Azura will cheer Sarelle up some.