He awoke sometime at night, as sunlight was no longer streaming from the cell windows, and the candles hanging on the wall were the only things keeping the prison from being completely pitch black.
Alrukir sat up, rubbing his eyes as he slowly drifted awake. As his vision adjusted, he spotted the bright red eyes of a Dunmer watching him from the opposite cell.
"Ah, you're awake, Redguard." Valen Dreth rasped in his usual spiteful tone. "I was worried you'd never wake up." The sarcasm in his voice couldn't be more evident if he tried.
Alrukir pretended to ignore him, as he usually did. The fool was not worth his time anyway and he craved attention. The best thing to do was to deprive him of it. He picked up his flagon and took another swig.
"Heh, actually, dying in your sleep would be quite a kind way to go down here." Dreth continued. "There are far worse ways to die. I know, i've been in here longer than you. Seen all kinds of things down here. Seen a man get beat so hard he choked on his own blood. Happened in that cell right next to yours." He saw the Dark Elf gesture out of the corner of his eye. "I wonder how you'll go? That fat oaf Brutus seems to dislike you quite a lot. Maybe one night like this, he'll come in with a few of his buddies and put you down nice and slowly."
The Redguard couldn't resist responding. "And then that would leave only you in here, Dreth, one wimpy little elf with no one else to distract the guards from him. You'd be the centre of attention after they get rid of me." Dreth's eyes widened and he gave a nervous squeak. Alrukir turned and looked him in the eyes, a mocking, sadistic grin emerging on his face. " And you haven't bitten anyone's ear off, the guards aren't scared of you. They'd eat you alive. Maybe they'd rape you first. It's not just women that get raped, you know." At that, Dreth shrunk back, a terrified look on his face, but after a few seconds it vanished and was replaced with his usual arrogant smirk.
"That won't happen, you Redguard filth, because I'm getting out of here soon, so it will be you left alone with them. It will be you getting raped, not me. You'll see, years from now, you'll hear my name. 'Valen Dreth!' 'Valen!' 'Dreth!'"
Every one of their conversations ended in the elf shouting his name like some lunatic. "Yes, Dreth, as you've said a hundred times before, you're going to be rich and famous when you somehow get out of here, even though you've never told me how you plan on doing that or when."
Dreth's smirk turned to an angry snarl and he was about to make a retort when they both heard the door at the top of the stairs unlock and creak open in its usual extremely loud fashion.
Dreth let out a throaty laugh. "See? They might be coming to take care of you now. Heheheheh."
As the sound of metallic footsteps once again rang across the wing, Alrukir sighed, thinking that Brutus was once again coming to torment him. But then he made out the sound of multiple pairs of feet coming down the stairs, and unfamiliar voices. First, a female voice.
"Baurus! Lock that door behind us!"
Another voice rang out across the wing, this time, a wise-sounding old man's voice. "My sons… they're dead, aren't they?"
"We don't know that, Sire. The messenger only said they were attacked."
"No, they're dead. I know it."
"My job right now is to get you to safety."
Four people emerged from the doorway at the end of the hall. Three of them were clad head to toe in heavily ornamented plate armour. The third was an elderly man, dressed in luxurious-looking robes. A noble of some sort, Alrukir guessed.
"I know this place… the prison?" the old man said.
"Yes, your Majesty." replied the women, presumably the one in charge of the iron-clad soldiers. "Beneath the Legion compound. We're heading for a secret passage known only to the Blades. No one can follow us through there."
They approached Alrukir's cell and a look of concern emerged on the woman's face as she saw the Redguard sitting inside, watching them curiously.
"What's this prisoner doing here?" she asked, frustration evident in the tone of her voice. "This cell is supposed to be off limits!" She turned to the soldiers on either side of her, searching for an explanation. The man on her left, an Imperial, finally spoke.
"Usual mix-up at the watch. I…"
"Never mind. Get this gate open." she looked at Alrukir. "Stand back, prisoner! We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way!"
Seeing as he was completely unarmed and wearing rags, and they were fully clad in armour and had deadly-looking katanas at their sides, the sellsword did as she ordered. He took a few steps back and waited by the wall as the Imperial fumbled for a key and swung the cell door open.
The four stepped into the cell, the Imperial eyeing Alrukir suspiciously, hand wrapped around the hilt of his katana. As the woman checked around the panel on the wall, the old man looked at the sellsword and his blue eyes widened. He was aged and wrinkled, with long, white hair and skin that was very pale for an Imperial. Despite his appearance, there was a certain strength to him.
"You." he said, gazing at the sellsword with a look of both recognition and surprise. "I've seen you." He walked closer, until his face was mere inches from Alrukir's. "You are the one from my dreams. Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength." His voice was soft and barely more than a whisper, but, like his appearance, there was strength and confidence within it.
Alrukir returned the gaze for a few seconds, not quite sure how to respond to that. He eventually worked up a response, in his usual unsavoury tone. "What are you blathering about, old man?"
The Imperial soldier turned towards him, clearly agitated. "Watch you mouth when you've speaking to his Majesty, prisoner!"
Alrukir raised an eyebrow. "'His Majesty?'. Who are you?" he asked the old man.
"I am your Emperor, Uriel Septim. By the grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. You are a citizen of Tamriel, and you too shall serve her in your own way."
"The Emperor?" Alrukir repeated, taken aback. "What are you doing here?"… "your Majesty" he added in a tone that was slightly mocking.
"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next." he replied, in a stern voice. "My Blades are leading me out of the city through a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that escape route leads through your cell."
Alrukir grunted. So that's who these people were. He had heard of the Emperor of Tamriel's secret service, but never actually seen them in person. Then again, if he had, they wouldn't have been a very good secret service.
"So, what's all this about dreams-" he started, but then he noticed the panel in the wall slide away, revealing a secret passage. 'This was in my cell the entire time, and i never knew?' he thought.
"Please, Sire, we must keep moving." said the woman, who evidently had been searching for a switch of some kind while they were talking. The woman, the Emperor and the other Imperial started down the passage. The third blade, a fellow Redguard, closed the cell door behind him and locked it, turning to Alrukir afterwards.
"Looks like this is your lucky day." He said, his strong Cyrodiilic accent implying that despite being a Redguard, he was born and bred in the Imperial province. "Just stay out of our way." He turned and followed the others down the passage.
Alrukir definitely did not expect to be leaving this rathole today. He was finally free, assuming the Blades would tolerate his company. He would have to leave quickly though, before one of the guards discovered he was gone, but he wished he could see the look on Brutus' face when he realised.
He had one more thing to do, however. He walked to the cell door and looked at Dreth, who was standing there, gaping at what had just happened. Alrukir gave him another mocking grin. "Well, Dreth, looks like I'll be leaving you alone after all, and not the way you expected. Tell Brutus I'm sorry I couldn't give him a proper farewell. I'm sure he'd love to vent his grief on you in my place, though."
With that, he left the Dark Elf standing there, gripping his cell bars in disbelief, and started down the passage, hoping to catch up to the Emperor and his bodyguards.