Marguerite studied the pile of books. The Mysterium Xarxes didn't appear to be amongst them - not that she had expected it to be, of course. The mer wasn't stupid. "I... I don't know very much, if I'm completely honest with you. I worship other deities..."
Sniffing, Aranwen poured out two glasses of Rotmeth. "I see." She handed one glass to Marguerite and daintily sipped at her own. Delicious. "Then we'd better start with this one." She pulled a thin book from the pile, entitled 'A Child's Guide to the Bosmeri Pantheon: Pop-Up Edition'. Aranwen patted the book, fondly - the brightly coloured pictures of burning unbelievers on the front cover never failed to bring a smile to her face. "It seems to be about your level."
Marguerite seethed quietly. The Elf was clearly toying with her. Did that mean she knew that she was one of the Mythic Dawn...? Curses! Harrow had said Aranwen was smart, but... Argh. By Dagon's loincloth!
"Enough of these games, Aranwen," Marguerite snarled. She got to her feet and glared down at the Bosmer. "I know you have the Mysterium Xarxes, and the Master wants it back. Now."
"Xarxes?" Aranwen's smile widened. "Oh, well done! Yes, Xarxes is one of our gods. Now, can you tell me which of the other gods he was a scribe to? Do you need a hint?"
Marguerite drew a dagger from her belt. "Don't play dumb. Where is the book?" she growled, stepping forward menacingly. "I'm warning you - we can do this quickly, or I can make your death nice and slow. It all depends on how compliant you are."
The Bosmer didn't appear to be listening. "Would you mind not rushing about so much? You're going to spill your Rotmeth. It does have an awful tendency to stain, you know. Why, my little girl spat it halfway across the room when she had her first taste, you can still see the marks on the walls if you know where to look --"
"I told you not to play dumb!" Marguerite shrieked, kicking her glass over and spilling it across the carpet. "This is your final chance. If you don't tell me where you've hidden the Xarxes, I'm going to carve you into so many pieces that they'll never find them all. Let's see your precious gods save you from that!"
Aranwen's dark eyes flashed, dangerously. "That was a waste of perfectly good Rotmeth."
Cyrus consulted the directions that Jauffre had given him. "The house should be just around the corner. Gods, all this trouble over one mer!"
"The Hero of Kvatch's mother," Lena chided him, gently. "Come on, at least it's not a difficult job, is it? It isn't as though we're being sent into any Oblivion Gates."
"At least that would be a job fit for a Blade," Cyrus grumbled. "Far more exciting than being a glorified babysitter --"
"Shh!" hissed Lena, holding out her arm to stop her comrade's progress. "Did you hear that? I thought I heard a scream." She peered into the street, listening carefully.
Cyrus' eyes widened. "Look. That's not the house we want, is it?" he asked, pointing at one that had a Dunmer male standing outside of it, as if on guard. "It is, isn't it? Do you think he's...?"
The Dunmer suddenly noticed the two Blades, and banged on the house door. "Marguerite! Blades! Hurry and finish the job!" he cried, before charging at the two warriors. He had no chance against them - Cyrus parried the mer's dagger with his katana as Lena thrust her blade in to finish the Dunmer off, and together they raced towards the house. By the Nine, Cyrus thought, desperately, I hope we're not too late...!
Bursting into the house, the two Blades were met with a most... unusual sight. A blonde woman lay dead on the floor with several arrows protruding from her chest, children's picture-books littered the room, and right there before them was a furious-looking Bosmer woman who glared murderously as she scrubbed red stains from the carpet.
"Didn't your mothers ever teach you to knock?"
Pente's voice broke with restrained emotion. "Oh, Baurus... It's... it's so..." Oh. Her whole body seemed to sing with need as she tried to compose herself. It wouldn't do to lose control now!
"I know," Baurus smiled, proudly. "Even I'm impressed."
The Bosmer licked her lips, her voice breathy and light. "Can I t-touch it?" she asked, the desire evident in her voice.
"Of course. It's all for you."
"O-ohh," Pente murmured, her heart fluttering wildly. "I w-want it now! Please!"
"Get a plate, then," Baurus said, neatly slicing up the cake. It really did look delicious. Hopefully this would convince Pente of the virtues of baking using the correct equipment instead of rusty buckets and open fires.
"Mmmmfph." Pente mumbled, taking a large and very unladylike bite of her slice. "So good."
Jauffre peered around the door, as if afraid of what he was going to see. Sighing in relief that the kitchen no longer looked like it had been attacked by Flour Atronachs, he beckoned to Baurus. "Excuse me. Can I have a word?"
Baurus nodded, heading out of the room. Pente pouted. "But you didn't get to taste the cake!"
"I'll have some when I've spoken to Jauffre," Baurus promised. Pente sulked slightly. Someone else had to taste it while it was still fresh! It'd be a waste, otherwise!
Oh, yes! Martin! Soothed, Pente grabbed an extra couple of slices of cake and scurried into the halls, where Martin was reading quietly. She sat down next to him, pushed a plate in his direction, and smiled winningly. "Cake. Enjoy! I made it myself. Well, Baurus helped."
Martin flashed her a small half-smile, and turned back to his book. "Thankyou."
"Welcome!" Pente polished off her second slice of cake and beamed, satisfied. "It's good, isn't it?"
"Mmm."
She glanced down at Martin's plate, where the cake remained untouched. "Don't you like cake?" she asked, aghast.
"Cake is fine, I'm just a little busy." He smiled weakly at her again, before staring back at the book. It really wasn't making very much sense, yet. Of course, this part could mean--
"Too busy to eat cake?" Was he too busy to breathe, too? "What are you doing?"
"I'm studying the Mysterium Xarxes. I should hopefully be able to find out how to get to Mankar Camoran's Paradise if I can translate it correctly."
"Oh." There was a short pause. "You can't do that and eat cake?"
"I don't think it would be a good idea to get crumbs on an ancient, delicate book," Martin replied, smiling slightly. Of course, throwing it at his head had been perfectly fine...
"It's still warm, though. And cake really is at its best when it's freshly-baked and toasty from the oven, you know." Pente chewed her thumbnail, deep in thought. "I could feed it to you, if you like?"
Martin spluttered, dropping the Xarxes on the table. Quickly picking up his fork, he took a small bite of the cake, smiled, and picked the book back up. Pente beamed. "Good?"
"Yes. I'm, ah, full now, though. I ate a large breakfast. Would you save the rest of my slice for later?"
Pfft - men. No appreciation for the higher things in life. Pente wandered back towards the kitchens, licking her fingers. "I promise nothing."
"It's very cold around here, isn't it? It's a wonder you don't all freeze before managing to fight anyone, honestly. I assume my Penny hates it, she never did like the cold. Why didn't she come to get me, may I ask? Was she too busy with that Redguard? Honestly, that girl has no time for her poor mother, it's criminal..."
Lena and Cyrus exchanged weary glances. After explaining to the Bosmer who they were and why they were coming to fetch her, they had literally had to drag Aranwen from the house. Infuriated, she had babbled something about Y'ffre, smiting and Unthrappa - nothing that made much sense, really. The Blades had only managed to mollify her by telling her someone would be sent back to dispose of the body left in her house. She had asked them if it would be done in accordance with the Green Pact, so they had agreed to that - it probably just meant cleaning up the bloodstains without using leaves, or something. It couldn't be anything too bad, right?
"We're almost there," Lena said, as much to reassure herself as anything else. "When we get to Cloud Ruler, you can warm yourself by the fire."
"I see." Aranwen trudged through the thick snow, feeling somewhat better. "You gather your own firewood, I assume?" Heathens. "This really isn't the kind of environment that any daughter of mine should have to live in! Let alone this future Emperor that you mentioned. What is he like?" she asked, with interest.
"Shh," Cyrus hissed. "You have to be quiet! Don't mention anything about that, you'll see him when we get there. This is sensitive, confidential information and we cannot risk it falling into enemy hands!"
"Enemy hands?" scoffed Aranwen. "Honestly, who could overhear us out here, anyway? Except for those two over there, in the red robes." She pointed towards two figures standing near a Runestone not very far away. "But they don't seem very threatening."
Cyrus and Lena stared at each other. It looked like Aranwen had just found the agents that were spying on Cloud Ruler Temple.
"Pente!"
"I wasn't--! O-oh. Hello." Pente smiled rather guiltily at Baurus as he entered the kitchens. He looked around, suspiciously.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing! Nothing. What did you want?" she asked, subtly brushing cake-crumbs from her hands. It wouldn't do for Baurus to know that she'd eaten almost all the cake by herself, after all. It wasn't exactly the most refined thing to do, even if she had been suffering from cake-withdrawal.
"Jauffre's sending me out to Leyawiin tomorrow to pick up some amulets he ordered. Fire-resistant, in case the Mythic Dawn open up an Oblivion Gate here," the Redguard explained. "Seeing as it's possible that I'll encounter some Daedra on the way, how about showing me some of your moves?"
Pente gulped. Uh-oh. "M-moves? Um. K-killing Daedra doesn't take anything special, you know?" She laughed, nervously. "Stab stab, slice slice. S-same as everything, really. Nice and e-easy. You know, for warriors like us and all. H-haha!"
"I'd still like to spar with you," Baurus grinned, heading towards the courtyard. "Come on, we might both learn something!"
Pente followed, with the air of someone being sent for execution. "O-oh, okay." They stepped outside into the cold air, and she shivered. "Um, it's a bit cold, isn't it? So you can't expect me to fight at my best! And I'm f-full of cake, so that'll make it harder for me to move quickly. And I'm t-tired. And my arm still hurts."
"Okay, okay! We're only training," laughed Baurus. "It's not like I'm trying to kill you. Ready?"
No! "Um, I s-suppose." Pente drew her sword and jumped backwards, squeaking, as Baurus attacked.
And he's NOT trying to kill me?! She thought, desperately, dodging out of reach. She frantically blocked all of the Redguard's bladethrusts with her sword, wincing every time the metals clashed together.
Baurus stepped back for a second, puzzled. Why wasn't she attacking...? Was she afraid of hurting him? "Come on," he urged, "Attack me!"
Complying, Pente clumsily swung her blade towards him, twirling around with the effort. The sword hit Baurus' armour at an odd angle, getting stuck between the plates of his gauntlets, and as Pente wrenched the sword free, the momentum sent him staggering backwards.
"Oh! S-sorry!" she gasped, dropping the sword and flailing her arms apologetically. Unfortunately, she chose to do both things at the same time, sending her sword flying through the air. The sword hilt smacked into Baurus' head, stunning him and resulting in him falling to the floor as Pente squeaked in terror.
A-ahh! Divines help me! I killed Baurus!
Scurrying towards him, Pente leaned over and flapped her arms in distress. "B-Baurus! Wake up! I'm really sorry! I d-didn't mean to...!" Baurus' eyes fluttered open, but he didn't respond. Pente knelt down and whimpered, growing more hysterical. "Stop it, you're scaring me! S-say something!"
Baurus looked up, still slightly stunned. He wasn't sure exactly what had just happened, but... wow. For her to be able to knock him down in just a couple of hits was... well. Nobody had done that before. What was she saying, anyway? She looked so cute when she was worried!
"Say something!"
"Rawr."
Pente sighed with relief. "Thank the Nine." She paused. ...Wait. Rawr? What does he mean by... E-eep!
"Penny! Penny, darling!"
Pente scrambled to her feet with a little yelp of shock. Flanked by two Blades, her mother was rushing towards her, a smear of blood staining the front of her dress. She was beaming enthusiastically, unlike her more sober companions. Pente was filled with a mixture of relief and despair. "M-mother! Are you alright?"
Aranwen crushed Pente against her in a firm hug. "Yes, yes, of course. We ran into a couple of those... Mystic Dusk people in the woods and one bled all over my lovely dress, but I'm sure I can find someone to wash it for me. It's new, you know, I'm really rather vexed..."
"M-Mythic Dawn?" Pente asked, feeling faint.
"Whatever they're called," Aranwen sniffed. "What's your friend doing on the floor, dear? He looks most undignified. Oh, and where is this Emperor fellow? You really should introduce me, darling. Connections are so important. Come on, it's rude to keep your mother waiting."
Before Pente could respond, Jauffre walked out of the temple doors, stopping in his tracks at the scene in front of him. "I... This must be your... Aranwen, is it?" he asked, nodding his head respectfully. "I trust your journey went well?"
"Oh, hello, Emperor!" Aranwen gushed, dropping into a deep curtsey. "I must say, you have your father's good looks. Teehee!"
Jauffre went red and spluttered, and Pente felt herself die a little inside. "N-no, mother. Martin's this way," she mumbled, leading her through the doors. Why? Why must everything in my life be scary, disturbing, or both?
"Martin? On first-name terms, are we? Now that would be a wonderful match for you, Penny. Empress Pente. Imagine!" Aranwen trilled, oblivious to her daughter's discomfort. "Yes, most fitting indeed! So where is he?"
"Here," Pente said, her voice tiny and mortified. Martin fiddled with the sleeve of his robes, thoroughly embarrassed.
"Hello, Miss Aranwen. Pente has told me a lot about you. Welcome." His eyes didn't leave the floor. Martin now completely understood Pente's reaction at the news that her mother would be staying here.
"Oh." Aranwen cocked her head, appraisingly. "Not what I expected, but we can work with you, can't we? Yes..." She stroked her chin, lost in thought. Pente sighed, heavily.
Maybe there's a nice Oblivion Gate around here that I can throw myself into...