Splendid. Trapped in a run-down fort, surrounded by Daedra, and my only backup is a murderer who fancies himself a philosopher. Somewhere, the Gods are laughing.
Dying wasn't a prospect Ghariyt liked to think about much. Of course, it was a risk in her chosen line of work; many guards, upon encountering intruders, were trained to stab first and ask questions never. But those kinds of threats she could plan for, mitigate, or outright avoid with care and imagination.
This was not that kind of situation. Two exits, both blocked by hostile creatures, and precious little room to hide from eyes that seemed expert in finding her. Her only hope was holding a sword that probably weighed more than she did and obviously had no compunction about using it. She'd have to admit, though- the Rhajiit's plan was probably the best available under the circumstances. So when those terrible footfalls echoed through the passage they'd just come through, she quieted her mind of unnecessary thoughts and raised her bow.
Daedroth. The creature is a daedroth. They can... what is it they can do? Recover from wounds quickly, and... gah! "Assassin!" she hissed. "The creature can breathe fire! Be on guard!"
"Good of you to tell me that now," she heard him mutter, just before the reptilian monstrostity wedged itself through the narrow doorway. One arrow had come out of its shoulder, leaving a slowly-bleeding wound, but the one in its eye was still present- and the creature seemed intent on revenge. However, the ebony-clad murderer between it and her posed a formidable obstacle, and it was on him that the monster focused first, lashing out with one massive clawed hand that the Rhajiit easily beat aside with the flat of his blade.
As the battle was joined, Ghariyt watched carefully, waiting for the right moment to strike. This killer wasn't like any other assassin she'd come across; neither careful shadow-stalker nor raging beast, he was confident but not brash, cautious but not hesitant. He struck out with his claymore at weak points at the daedroth's body, scoring cuts on its joints and other weak points in its scaly skin. The blows seemed intended more to anger the creature than to harm it, and as the Rhajiit slowly maneuvered away from the hallway, the daedroth kept at him, snarling and swinging the whole while. The few blows that got through the assassin's defense were deflected fairly well by the thick ebony armor- and it seemed that the male had a damned high tolerance for physical pain, to boot.
Then, with a deft series of attacks, he cut at the creature's hamstrings, thrust the pommel of his claymore into its stomach and then brought the haft up to slam into the daedroth's chin. The demon reeled, off-balance, and Ghariyt saw her chance. The fingers that had been holding the bowstring taut the entire time finally let go.
THOKThe ebony shaft struck true, and the daedroth's remaining eye was lost in a splattering of viscous fluids. It roared in agony and clutched at its head; any normal creature would have been struck dead by the first arrow through its eye socket, let alone the second, but somehow this creature was still doing its best to kill them both, flailing out wildly with both hands, despite being blind. The assassin literally shouldered the beast aside, sending it falling against the nearby wall in a heap. Its throat contracted, and a belch of fire left its maw, only to strike the ceiling harmlessly.
By the time the light from the fireball had faded, Ghariyt had already jumped down from the pillar and was running for the hallway, and the assassin was well ahead of her. Motion in the other corridor leading further into the ruined fort caught her attention, and she spared a glance to her right; something tall, humanoid and angry was storming forward, with those same glowing red eyes that she'd seen outside. She skidded to a stop, feeling for and quickly finding her last ebony arrow, notching it in a heartbeat and firing almost from the hip; there wasn't much of a chance of missing at that short range. The heavy projectile caught the interloper full in the chest, and it snarled something in a language that hurt her ears; she didn't stay around to see if the shot proved fatal, instead pushing herself off into a run with all the speed her sore legs could supply her.
Some bizarre corner of her mind catalogued the corpses she passed by. Scamp. Clannfear... maybe a runt? Another scamp. And another... these things are worse than rats! Thankfully, the assassin was doing a handy job of clearing the way, and aside from having to finish off one not-quite-mortally-wounded scamp with her dagger, she made it unmolested to the rear door, which hung off of one hinge. Apparently the assassin hadn't cared for the subtlety of turning the knob and had instead kicked the heavy oak door in... or, more accurately, out.
The storm hadn't let up in the least, but she could see the assassin squaring off against a pair of Clannfear. Oblivion, how did they get this far this fast, anyway? she wondered, even as she nocked one of her steel arrows and let fly. The shaft took the right-hand Clannfear in the neck, staggering it; the assassin almost immediately shoved the other Clannfear onto its back, then gripped the arrow she had just fired, pulled it downward and shoved the tip up into the reptile's skull. Its gurgling cry of agony cut off midway through, and it dropped like a stone.
Before he could turn, the remaining Clannfear was on his back, almost taking him off of his feet. Its claws scrabbled against his armor as it took bites at the back of his neck, trying to get at the flesh between helmet and backplate. She didn't have a shot that didn't risk hitting the assassin, and she certainly wasn't going to kill the male who'd helped her out of this mess- even if he was a Rhajiit. In one smooth motion, she shouldered her bow and slid her dagger from its sheath; quick steps brought her into striking range as the Rhajiit gripped the Clannfear's crest with his left hand and pulled. A tenuous hold on the wet scales, only exposing the back of the daedra's neck for a moment-
-which was all she needed. She sank her blade into the exposed weak spot, neatly severing the spine. Agony unlike anything she'd ever known shot through her body, and she almost lost her grip on the dagger even as the Clannfear slid down the Rhajiit's back and fell to the ground. She fell to one knee, managing to pull her weapon free, and panting harshly as the dulling echoes of pain reverbrated through her.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" A massive hand pulled her to her feet. "Nice blow you landed there," the assassin said nonchalantly, kicking the Clannfear with one booted foot.
"Heard this one closing in, didn't you?" She unsteadily regained her feet, shaking her head and trying to force her vision to clear. The pouring rain had already cleaned the blood from her blade, so she did her best to shake the water off before sheathing it. "Word needs to go out to Anvil," she coughed. "The guards will need to know there's daedra near."
"Right. You go ahead and do that." The Rhajiit sheathed his claymore and looked around for a moment, then started walking at a brisk clip towards the east; Ghariyt spotted a horse milling about behind a wall, which afforded the beast some protection from the rain. After a moment's hesitation, Ghariyt turned and headed the other way, seeking Drad's estate and the road leading away from it towards the south. She paused in a clump of bushes along the way to quickly slip out of her leathers and into a dress, which was almost immediately soaked by the downpour; she hated ruining a good dress this way, but she couldn't let the Anvil guards see her in her "professional attire". With her gear safely stowed away in her small back, she broke into a full-out run for the fourth time tonight, her aching legs giving bitter complaint but performing as asked.
Finally, she reached the Anvil walls, and practically threw herself through the gates, almost crashing into one of the guards- Antonius, she remembered from the time spent ingratiating herself with the city watch. Not a particularly bright Imperial, but honest and quick to laugh at a joke. "Whoa there," he said, caught by surprise. "Lady Ghariyt? This is a surprise! What are you doing out in this weather?"
"I... got a late start... from Skingrad," she panted. The exhaustion wasn't an act in the least. "I was looking for a place to hide from the storm, and... a gate! Some sort of gate, with daedra pouring out of it! I barely got away with my life!" Again, another truth; she didn't have to tell the guard that she'd killed several of them. "It was terrible! Right near someone's estate, as well! Northeast of here- they could be in danger!"
"That sounds like the Drad Estate," Antonius mused. "You're sure, Lady Ghariyt? Daedra? I mean... that's unheard of!"
She repressed a growl of irritation. "I've read many books on them, Antonius! I'm completely certain!"
Antonius respected her for being as literate as she was; apparently, he didn't do much reading besides his usual paperwork. "Alright then," he said, his voice becoming soothing. "I'll send a squad of guards to investigate, and I'll tell them to be careful. You look exhausted, Lady Ghariyt; you should get some rest. Go to the Count's Arms and tell Wilbur that the nightly fee will be covered by the city watch; if you're right, you'll have done Anvil a great service by giving us early warning."
Rather unexpectedly decent of the guard; Gharyit managed a smile and a raise of her ears. "Thank you so much," she said. "Have your people use caution, please! Those beasts are dangerous!"
"I will, don't worry." Antonius ran towards the nearest guard tower; Ghariyt trudged her way towards the Count's Arms. Inside, the Redguard proprietor listened with some skepticism at what she said, but granted her the use of one of the rooms free of charge, provided she kept the floors dry. He even had the nerve to watch her as she went up the stairs- as though she were inclined upon stealing the railings or something.
As she stripped out of her wet clothes, pulled a nightdress on and half-collapsed into the waiting bed, she resolved that she would eventually do just that.
--/--
"Well, aren't you a sight." Vincente smiled at the soaking-wet Rhajiit. "What happened, Brother? Ocheeva insists that you were successful in eluding detection by the marauders, yet you look as though you served as a training dummy for half the Fighters Guild."
"Daedra happened." Tenzyrin began methodically removing his armor, setting it down on the table. Next to him, the vampire frowned. "Daedra?" he repeated. "Where, Brother? By the fort?"
"That's right." His legplates were dented heavily, and one bore a pair of scratches that had gone halfway through the metal. "And inside the fort, now, as well. Most likely the marauders are all dead."
"Hmm." Vincente sat at the table, stroking his chin. "This is distressing news. Especially in light of the news we've received regarding Kvatch."
"Kvatch?" Tenzyrin had been there a couple of times; nothing exceptional as far as cities went, but hardly as bad as Bravil. They had a decent armorer, at least. "What about it?"
"Gone, we've been told. Sacked and burned by daedra. A gate of some sort opened almost on their doorstep." Vincente leaned back in the chair, an unaccustomed look of worry on his drawn face. "I'd been ready to dismiss it as fancy, until hearing what you've said."
"Hmh." By now, Tenzyrin had stripped down to his trousers, his armor carefully laid out on the table. "Kvatch, and not far from Anvil. Odds of there just being two of them are slim, I'd say."
"Agreed, Brother. Perhaps a meeting is in order to assess the threat." Vincente picked up the scratched legplate. "Any creature that could inflict damage like this is dangerous," he continued, tracing the long, jagged marks with his fingertips.
"I had the luck of running into a thief inside the ruins. Apparently she knew something about the daedra. Of course, I had to do the majority of the hard work."
"Indeed," Vincente chuckled. "I will have Ocheeva assemble the Brothers and Sisters of the Sanctuary this afternoon. Telaendril is due back from Leyawiin by that time. There will be much to discuss, Brother, and what you have encountered will be very informative. In the meantime, however, I strongly suggest you get some rest." The vampire smiled. "No offense, Brother, but you look like something Schemer would drag in."
"I'm going to eat that rat one of these days." Tenzyrin managed a weary smirk. He was tired, bone-achingly so; he hadn't stopped for a moment's rest since getting on his horse. He was going to be in no small amount of pain tomorrow, but a couple of potions would remedy that at least long enough for him to participate in the meeting. Besides, he'd been hurt worse than this and still managed to get things done.
His bed creaked slightly under the weight of his body, the one pillow caught his head as it dropped down, and sleep, the younger brother of death, took possession of the Storm Cat.
--
Teinaava set one of his books down on the table, opened to a page with a bookmark nestled beside it. "A daedroth," he said, pointing to the illustration. "The creature you had the most trouble with, and for good reason. It's written that they can magically reinforce the toughness of their skin."
"No kidding. It felt like I was fighting a very angry stone statue. It certainly hit like one." Tenzyrin rubbed the back of his neck. "They also breathe fire, apparently, but only as some sort of secondary ability. It's possible the creature didn't want to do so in close combat."
"The book concurs." Teinaava flipped a few pages forward. "Clannfear. Strong and exceedingly violent. There are stories of seasoned warriors dropping dead just after killing one."
"They have some sort of ability to reflect physical damage inflicted on them. I and the thief both felt it. My tolerance towards pain was better than hers." A few chuckles arose from those seated around the table. "But they are strong for their size, and agile- they seem to use their tails for balance. One of the ones I fought had trouble moving backwards well, though."
"Good to know." Teinaava closed the book. "And the scamps, which several of us have seen summoned on occasion. Aside from a small amount of skill with fire spells, they're not much worthy of note. You had said there was something else, Tenzyrin?"
"I saw the thief take a shot at something out of my view. Whatever it was her arrow hit, it spoke. Not any language I know of." He twitched an ear. "Something ancient, and with some kind of power behind it. It felt like my ears were on fire for a minute or two."
"Hmmm." The Argonian male returned to his seat, and looked over to Ocheeva. "What will we do about this, sister?"
"I will summon Lucien. Perhaps the Night Mother has some instruction for us. In the meantime, you are all ordered to avoid these creatures unless it is necessary for you to destroy them." Ocheeva folded her hands together. "I want no reason given for daedra to come knocking on our door. Not until we understand the scope of this situation better."
"Bah. Ten gets to rumble with some daedra but the rest of us don't?" Gogron looked positively put-out. "I wanted to go toe-to-toe with one of those daedroth!"
"If you didn't end up exchanging beauty tips first," Ocheeva snorted. The Orc scowled as everyone else laughed. "You heard me, Gogron. But if we do find ourselves with the need to fight one of them, your name will be first on my list."
That seemed to mollify the Orc somewhat. Ocheeva nodded, and the members of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary stood. "We're done, then," the female reptile said. "I'll let you all know what Lucien has to say as soon as I speak with him. In the meantime, continue with your regular contracts and tasks. If you see any more daedra of signs of these gates, make careful note of where and report back to me as soon as discretion allows. Am I understood?"
Affirmatives rose up from all around the table as the others stood as well. The matter had been settled.
--/--
"My goodness." Herminia covered her mouth with her had for a moment. "You are ever so fortunate, Ghariyt! Imagine if those beasts had caught you!" She glanced over at Wumeek, who nodded in agreement. "Indeed," he murmured, his slitted eyes narrowed in worry. "We would be saddened if you had come to harm. And with news of what became of Kvatch...!" The Argonian held up the copy of the Black Horse Courier, with the headline "Kvatch Razed In Attack From Oblivion!". "These are dangerous times," he continued. "I worry for my friend Weebam-Na, but do I dare travel to Leyawiin now, knowing there are daedra possibly on the loose in the wilds?"
"Travel anywhere is dangerous," Ghariyt said. "I was fortunate enough to find escort with a guarded caravan, and we saw nothing unusual. But if you do need to travel, Wumeek, speak to the Fighters or Mages Guild! Better to spend money on protection than risk your life!"
Herminia nodded. "Sound advice. I myself have contracted for a sorcerer to escort me to Cheydinhal. Not that I can't hold my own under most circumstances, but against daedra... who wants to take chances?"
Wumeek was about to speak when rapid footsteps came around the nearby corner. Urjabhi, one of the three proprietors of the Black Horse Courier, skidded around the curve and ran towards them, a stack of parchments in one hand. "Kvatch liberated!" he shouted hoarsely, in between pants for breath. "Mysterious hero destroys Oblivion gate!" He practically threw a parchment into Herminia's hands, barely slowing. In another moment he was around the next corner and out of sight. Gharyit and Herminia gathered around for a glimpse at the parchment.
It wasn't up to the Courier's usual standards; an entire line of typefacing was tilted, and there were several misspelled words. But apparently they had decided that news this important had needed to go out as soon as possible. It seemed that some stranger had simply ridden up to the Oblivion gate by the entrance to Kvatch, then had gone inside; not long afterwards, the gate simply blew up, leaving this mysterious savior standing in the rubble. He- reports varied, but it seemed this wandering hero was a male Argonian- then led a compliment of Kvatch's guards inside the city walls and cut a path through the invading daedra. No less than two dozen people trapped inside the chapel had been rescued thanks to whoever this man was- and he was already being referred to as the "Hero of Kvatch".
Ghariyt normally took a dim view towards adventurers and their antics. But after having faced what was honestly just a handful of daedra herself, she had to admit- having the intestinal fortitude to go inside one of those gates made that person a real hero in her book. "By the Nine," Herminia gasped. "Do you know what this means?"
"We can beat them," Wumeek finished for her. "Thank the Gods, we can defeat the daedra! We can close their gates!"
"It won't be easy, though," Ghariyt cautioned. "If you two do see anything on your travels, tell any Imperial Legion guard you can! The more we know about these monsters and where they lurk, the better."
The Imperial and the Argonian were both in complete agreement with that.
--
"Word has come down from the Gray Fox on this Oblivion matter." It was quiet on the Waterfront at midnight, and Armand's voice was similarly hushed. "Firstly, and most obvious, there will be no bloodprice for killing any daedra. Secondly, the beggars will be keeping their ears open for word of any encounters with daedra from the adventuring types, and will pass on what they hear. Thirdly, while of course we don't encourage any of the Guild to go wandering through one of these gates for any reason, we have reached a sort of... agreement with the Imperial Legion. Any information we can give them on locations of gates, possible daedric worshippers or summoners, or anything else useful will be taken, without question as to where or how the information was gathered. In return, the Legion will loosen up some of the patrols in the city proper for the time being. This isn't a license to be careless, though."
Methredhel snorted. "Since when are we the information-gathering arm of the law?" she questioned.
"We're not." The Redguard's voice lowered, ever so slightly, but the Bosmer was suitably chastized. "But our usual 'dance' with the Legion aside... this is a serious matter. The Emperor and all his sons are dead. Gates to Oblivion have been spotted in all four corners of Cyrodiil and beyond. An entire city has been wiped out. I, for one, don't mind giving the Legion a hand against this."
"Neither do I." Ghariyt had pushed her hood back, and her ears were set. "Though I'm not going to sic them on someone who turns out to be innocent. Best to use our heads."
"Good point." Armand nodded. "Not only because the bulldogs in the Legion sometimes go crazy chasing the wrong scent, but it would waste time and effort that would be much better spent on tracking a real threat. Continue on with your jobs as you see fit, but keep your eyes open and be careful. If you've got any questions or think there's anything the Guild as a whole needs to know, talk to me or S'Krivva. Oh, and one other thing." He reached out and patted Ghariyt's shoulder. "The Grey Fox asked me to congratulate you, Ghariyt. He got word of what happened near Bravil. He was impressed with how you got the guards to investigate."
She lowered her ears demurely. "He wouldn't have been so impressed if he'd seen me in that rain," she chuckled. "But thanks."
With that, the impromptu meeting of the Thieves Guild broke up. Methredhel accompanied Ghariyt on the short walk back to her house on the Waterfront. "Looks like the Gray Fox is taking notice of you," the Bosmer woman chuckled.
Ghariyt shrugged, falling back into her Khajiiti patois. "This one is just a simple thief, trying to keep her head connected to her shoulders."
"Oh, I wouldn't be surprised to see you go places in the Guild. Keep it up." And with that, Methredhel turned and walked towards the harbor, quickly vanishing from sight. But I don't really want to go places, Ghariyt thought. I'm just looking to make a living here, not climb the Guild ladder. And yet it seems that all these jobs just find me of their own accord... She sighed. I can't be that good a thief, can I? I'd better check my head for swelling... can't go around letting my ego inflate.