Chapter 2
The magnificent dinner Seryth had prepared was in all respects of the word, divine. Each cut of beef had been cooked perfectly, and the herbs and spices gave the meat a sort of sweet spice that enhanced its already mouth-watering taste. As Julianus finished the last piece of beef, savouring its taste, Seryth spoke, "Right, shall we be getting on our way?"
"It's a bit late isn't it? The roads will be too dangerous to travel."
"Evidently, you've never travelled with a Master Wizard before. Come on, I've got your equipment packed. Let's get going, we should be at White Gold Tower by sunrise." He pushed back from the table and leapt out of his seat towards the teleport pad.
"Not again." groaned Seryth. He got out of his seat with less than a quarter of Seryth's enthusiasm, finished his glass of wine and reluctantly made his way towards the teleport.
The journey to the Imperial City was surprisingly uneventful. Seryth rode ahead on a wonderful white horse he named Sephi while Julianus tagged behind on another of Seryth's horses, still looking out for any sign of Whisper. Despite her lack of courage, Whisper was a good horse and Julianus would not wish to see her die due to some foolish action.
His thoughts where suddenly interrupted when a trio of goblins jumped out of the undergrowth as they passed Toadstool Hollow. The 'battle' barely lasted any more than five seconds as Seryth casually threw three lighting bolts in their general direction, leaving nothing but a horrible stench of charred remains.
The sun began its slow ascent over the Valus Mountains while two travellers in distinct regalia crossed the bridge over Lake Rumare into the Imperial City. As Seryth and Julianus removed their equipment from their horses a Palace Guard, dressed in ornate armour that shimmered in the morning sun rushed towards them, addressing Seryth immediately while completely ignoring Julianus "Hail, Seryth, Champion of Cyrodiil! Chancellor Ocato has been expecting you for many hours now, sir. He wishes you to know that this is of the upmost importance."
"Yes, yes, I know. Come on Juliannus, let's get going before Ocato starts getting tetchy."
They passed through the Temple District quickly, Seryth donning a black hood lest a citizen recognize his famous face. The last thing they needed right now was a crowd of awestruck citizens crushing him to death.
Fortunately, the plaza was practically empty, and so was Green Emperor Way for that matter. The great gates to the palace where similar to others around the city, although these where adorned with the symbol of Akatosh, the dragon god, and creaked as they opened.
Before Seryth could place a boot in the tower there was a sudden shout as Octavo rushed towards him, his expression one of pure frustration and exasperation. "Seryth, where in Oblivion's name have you been? Eight hours, I've been waiting, EIGHT hours!" His gaze suddenly locked on the young Imperial scout beside him "And you, Julianus, you can consider your contract with me finished!"
Seryth noticed Julianus' expression change. He could tell this was the only job that kept him going, but he made no attempt to blame it upon Seryth despite it having been his fault. Seryth took pity on the boy. He could see the potential in his body and the purity in his soul. He was worth defending, no, befriending.
"His contract is already severed. He's with me. He's my apprentice." Said Seryth, calmly. He was used to dealing with Octavo and although he was good, honest man he had a tendency to become easily enraged. That's what governing a leaderless province did to you.
"He is, is he? Right, well, yes. Of course. Come on, you're needed." He turned his back and walked on into the main Council chambers. Seryth composed himself quickly and followed him in and Julianus whispered a silent "Thank you" as he left.
The council chambers were a hub of activity, guards patrolled the outer rim of the chamber, the Count of Skingrad was having a fiery argument with Arch-Mage Traven and mage's guild adepts converged round the giant, blue crystal that occupied that middle of the room.
"Well. That's new. Been redecorating Octavo?" Seryth comment was swiftly met with a harsh, serious look from Octavo, "This is not the time for jokes, Seryth. This is serious."
"Yes, sorry. I suppose it is." He stepped down the steps towards the middle and interrupted the scholars examining the pulsating stone, "So, what have we got here?"
Tar-Meena turned to see him and greeted him with open arms, "Ah, Seryth. It has been a while has it not?"
Seryth accepted her invitation and gave a friendly squeeze, "It certainly has, though we should have expected that only a situation such as this might have us meet yet again. I expect I'll meet a fair few familiar faces today."
She chuckled in her typical, raspy Argonian voice, "Yes, I suppose we should have."
"So," Seryth indicated the anomaly in the centre of the room, "Any idea what it might be?"
"Ah, yes. From the texts I've looked into it appears to be a shard of meteoric glass, the same crystal used to form Varla stones? It's a mystery how it got here though and none of the mages here can figure out why." She looked back at the Ayleid stone, deep in thought. Seryth could tell she was right, the air that surrounded the stone had the tell-tale metallic taste of metal, and the power emanating off it coursed through his body. But it was different from the stones he'd encountered in Ayleid ruins, not just in size, but in purpose.
