Yeah, now the Recruitment Arc sorta starts here. You get a glimpse of the first member of my team in this chapter.

Anyways, I need to make a decision. There's gonna be timeskip real soon, and most of Renault's pregnancy is gonna go by. I need to decide the gender of the child. Please vote on my profile.

Currently, my friends have voted amongst themselves and the current score (not shown on my new poll) is:

Girl = 12 (I voted for this one)

Boy = 9

So add your vote and see whether or not my progeny is a boy or girl!

Becoming a Hero

After several hours and the coming of morning, we set out down to Weynon. The trip was short and we found the Priory in shambles. Prior Mable was dead and Brother Pimer was tending to the dunmer groundskeeper. He quickly sent us upstairs to see Jauffre.

The Amulet's gonna be gone… I knew I should have made a fake made and given to Jauffre…

Chapter 10

"I told you I should have kept the Amulet," I ranted at Jauffre. "It would have been safer since the Cult sent idiots after me. But no, you had to be a paranoid old coot and hid the Amulet in a locked chest in your room; real clever, old man." Martin and Renault looked at me like I was insane and Jauffre just nodded his head. I could see that he regretted not letting me keep the Amulet.

"Yes, you're right," he said, shocking Renault. She couldn't believe that the Grandmaster was agreeing with me. "It would have been safer with an unknown traveler than with a so-called secret Blades master. From the reports on your travels and the battle of Kvatch and the closing of the Oblivion Gate, you would have been a more than adequate guardian." He then looked up at me with a dead serious expression and I sat up. Now comes the journey to Cloud Ruler Temple.

"What are to do now, Grandmaster?" Renault asked. Martin nodded at her question. If Weynon was no longer safe, where were we to go? Jauffre had been about to answer when I butted in. I needed to make another jab at the old coot.

"We need to head to a more secure location. There are three places that will be much safer than anywhere else." I got up and placed my own map on the table between myself and Jauffre. Martin and Renault moved closer and could see all the marks I had made. There were a few places that they'd never heard of, or only heard rumors of.

Jauffre looked intrigued at my announcement and gestured for me to continue. I nodded and started to point out three places on the map. "Firstly, there's Cloud Ruler Temple; its north of Bruma on a high peak. It's manned by a small battalion of Blades and can last several months if under siege. There's only one way in or out of the Temple as long as you can't fly."

Jauffre interrupted. "Yes, that was to be my suggestion. Does Your Majesty wish to go there now?" he asked Martin.

"Not yet, I want to hear what other safe houses Arthur has in mind," he replied. "Take no offense Jauffre. It's just that you failed to safeguard the Amulet of Kings while Arthur here has made good on every promise and task thrust upon his shoulders since I came to know him." Jauffre conceded at that and turned back to me.

"Alright, the next place doesn't appear safe at first glance. It's located northeast of the Imperial City. The Ayleid ruin called Vilverin is one of my own safe houses." All three looked intrigued while Jauffre had a modicum of doubt in his expression. "I cleared it out and placed dozen upon dozen of traps within the ruin. I also discovered a few rooms never before opened that were excessively well hidden. The place is nigh impenetrable to all but the most dedicated of fools. You'd need to quite literally send wave after wave of men to get past all the traps and the undead that haunt and linger there. Even if they got through all of that, they'd still need to find the hidden entrance to the chambers we'd stay in. And the way to the living chambers from the entrance is trapped to hell as well."

While Renault and Martin looked impressed, Jauffre was still doubtful about my boasts. "If the ruin is as secure as you say, why do I still get reports of a band of marauders and a necromancer living there?" At this Jauffre looked like he had me. Martin stared at me questioningly while Renault waited for my reply. Looks like she's starting to believe in my awesomeness…

"Because I allow them to; after all, who would suspect an agent of the Empire to hide in a bandit infested ruin that also happens to be haunted by the undead servants of a necromancer?" Jauffre knew I had him thereand Renault even gave me a slight applause.

"And what of the third location Arthur?" Martin asked. I turned back to the map and pointed straight at Skingrad. Jauffre looked at me incredulously while Martin and Renault waited for me to explain.

"Skingrad is the location of another safe house I created. It's located in the rundown tower just outside the castle." The group had varying reactions yet again. Martin was happy enough to wait while Renault was eager to know what was special about the tower. Jauffre was once again skeptical.

"The tower itself is not the actual safe house, but a mere platform for going to my real safe house. You do know how the magical portals in the Arcane University work, correct Jauffre?" He nodded. Many knew about the Teleporting Pad within the Arcane University's main tower. "Well this tower has a teleport as well, just keyed to accept only certain people. The tower is trapped to collapse upon itself and implode when someone not authorized tries to force the portal to open.

"And where does this portal lead Arthur?" Renault asked eagerly. She was grasping my left hand and looking up at me with those dratted brown eyes. They glimmered with the perfect combination of admiration, curiosity, respect, and expectation. I couldn't say no to anything when she looks at me like that. She quite literally sent me into a vampires' nest to prove a point using this expression, but that's a story for another time.

"It leads to a Dwemer outpost hidden deep underground. The compound is pretty extensive, over 30 rooms, each the size of this priory or smaller. It's well lit thanks to Dwemer technology and seems to be powered by a giant waterwheel pushed by an underground river. The same river also provides fresh water and several hidden vents provide air. The outpost is very safe and had a well-stocked armory of Dwemer armor and armaments."

Jauffre had a thoughtful look on his face and asked, "Is there any way inside via a tunnel or something similar?" I nodded and pointed to Skingrad once more.

"There's a tunnel that leads out of the outpost and up under Rosethorn Manor, which is owned by an associate of mine," I said. Renault looked vaguely pissed that I actually owned a manor and had insisted on using run-down shack as a base of operations for months.

"Well Your Majesty," Jauffre asked Martin who was deep in thought. "Where do you believe would be best?" He clearly wanted to go to Cloud Ruler, but knew that an unwilling occupant is just another word for prisoner. Renault was still glaring at me angrily. While Martin and Jauffre conversed on the three possible safe houses, I was subjected to an angry monologue by Renault.

She's pissed…

"A bloody manor! You're such an arse, Arthur Lost-Saint!" she yelled at me in the priory chapel building. The chapel was surprisingly untouched. I was sitting on the front-most pew on the right while Renault paced before me.

"All that talk about being completely unknown was a load of crap, wasn't it Arthur!" she yelled again. I was about to answer when she threw a pitcher from the altar at me. I shut up and let her finish. "We've been trudging through the wilderness, slogged through snow and rain, and slept in the most horrid places when you had a fucking manor in Skingrad we could have stayed in!" Yeah, she's starting to use Earth-curses from hanging around with me…

"All I wanted was a clean, warm bed to sleep in at night, but no," she muttered angrily, jabbing a finger at me. "You said you didn't have any house suitable for us! You said most of your safe houses were glorified hollow trees! You lied to me!" Yeah, she was close to tears now.

"You lied to the mother of your unborn child!" She's sobbing on her knees and the gut wrenching guilt is clawing at my heart. I get down and hug her as she smacks me repeatedly.

"I hate you, you utter bastard!" Smack…she just full on slapped me with a mithril-covered hand. It's gonna bruise and I'm gonna have to wear it for the next couple days as punishment…

She continues to sniffle for a few minutes before falling asleep. Seeing as the sun is setting, I lift her up and carried her back to the Priory.

After setting her in an open bed, I head across the stairs to see what Martin and Jauffre have decided.

"Where's Captain Renault?" Juaffre asked, seeing me and not her. "I heard quite a racket coming from the chapel." Then he started to glare at me. "As well as a woman's sobs. So, are you going to explain what happened?" Martin smirked at me; the bastard knew what was up, he was being an arse.

"Renault was pissed that we could have relaxed at a manor all these months and I made her stay in grimy inns and pubs instead. Then she ended up crying thanks to the hormonal imbalance that comes with all pregnancies…" I muttered, slouched in a chair. Martin was smirking full force now while Jauffre was shocked and utterly confused.

"Did you say 'pregnant'?" he whispered. "I had no idea the captain was with child. If I had known, I would have had her stay here while you retrieved Martin… Why didn't she inform me in her reports?" He muttered more questions under his breath before turning an accusing glare to me. "And another thing; why didn't you inform me? After all, you had to have noticed such activities during your travels together. Tell me, who is the father? I'll need to speak with both him and Cpt. Renault as soon as possible." He had his hands steepled upon the desk and was giving me a stern look.

Martin made a few coughing sounds, repeatedly glancing at me when he caught Jauffre's attention. The old man took a few minutes to figure out what Martin was trying to say, when he suddenly looked as if he was struck by lightning. He whirled to me and jabbed an accusing finger at me. Martin was openly chuckling at my panicked face.

"YOU! You're the father!" Jauffre exclaimed. I heard a thump come from across the room as Martin was trying to hold in his laughter. Jauffre was scandalized.

"Yes, yes I am," I said bluntly. Jauffre dropped back into his chair with a shocked expression on his face. He looked at me curiously.

"How in the name of Akatosh did this come about?" he asked bewilderedly. Martin's eyes were teary from the effort of holding in his laughter. I heard someone walking behind us and saw Renault coming toward us. Apparently she woke up thanks to Jauffre's big mouth…

"Good job Jauffre," I said to him. "You woke up a woman in need of much rest with your hysterics…" Jauffre jumped and was about to offer Renault his apologies, as well as his chair, when she simply curled up on my lap and fell back asleep. He looked at her incredulously before turning his gaze to me. I shrugged and said,

"Hormones make her clingy." I was then treated to a whap to the head by a sleep Renault. Martin rolled his eyes at that and Jauffre actually chuckled at me.

"Ahh, I see," he said quietly. "But I still wish to know how this (he gestured at both Renault and I) came about." I hummed softly and said,

"We had a few too many drinks at the Bloated Float and woke up the next morning naked in bed. You can figure out the rest." Jauffre nodded in understanding.

"So it wasn't a planned event, just a pleasant coincidence." He muttered. He had a thoughtful look on his face, but just shrugged. He coughed a few times, changing the subject and clearing the atmosphere. "On a side note, both His Majesty and I have decided that Cloud Ruler Temple would be best, with the Dwemer outpost being a contingency for the moment. If Cloud Ruler is deemed unsuitable, we'll relocate to the outpost posthaste."

"Ok then, but just so you know, the outpost is still gonna be my first choice."

The next morning, we set out to Cloud Ruler Temple by horse. Martin was seated on a black stallion while the rest of us made do on chestnuts. The paint horse belonging to Prior Mable had been killed in the assault.

We took the long winding road through the woods to avoid detection, easily taking out any bandits with a blast of destruction magick. Martin was humming pleasantly while Jauffre jumped at every sound. His hand was constantly on the Akaviri katana at his hip. Renault was resplendent in her mithril armor and was singing under her breath. She had forgiven me about the manor once I assured her that we'd visit it sometime soon.

I was dressed once more in a new set of assassin robes and had the elven shortsword at my hip and my Drain Fatigue bow on my back. We were making good progress and would make it to Bruma by nightfall if we were lucky.

I had spoken to soon…

We got ambushed by a group of rogue mages just as we entered the snowy terrain of the Jerral Mountains. The mages waited until we came to the middle of their site and came at us instantly. With the exception of Martin's black, all our horses were killed by the Fireballs thrown at us. Jauffre, Renault and I fell to the ground as our horses died. Jauffre yelled at Martin to ride as fast as he could to Cloud Ruler while we held off the mages.

As Martin galloped away, it became apparent that the mages weren't alone. They had us surrounded and out of the bushes stepped three Mythic Dawn agents.

"So, we've managed to capture the Hero of Kvatch and his little whore," the middle one said. The voice indicated that it was a female Altmer. They all had iron longswords at their hips and staves on their backs. I growled at the woman who called Renault a whore. I wanted to just kill her but knew that Renault and Jauffre would get slaughtered. Renault placed a hand on my shoulder and I forced myself to calm down. We needed a plan to get out of here alive.

As the Altmer woman mocked us and praised the 'coming of a new dawn', the agent on her right made a few curious gestures at me. He was gesturing to the woman and mimed a quick slash with his hand by his side. Getting the message, I powered up a widespread Firestorm. Renault signaled Juaffre who nodded. We had a plan and an unlikely ally.

The double agent quickly unsheathed his sword and swiped at the Altmer woman. It left a bloody gash across her back and I let the Firestorm loose as Renault and Jauffre threw themselves to the ground. The mages were thrown back as I fell to my knees in exhaustion. The double agent then turned and stabbed the third agent on the ground and moved to finish off the mages. Jauffre and Renault did the same as I chugged a Restore Magicka potion.

With the ambushers dead, we decided to find out who this savior was.

We were standing by a rocky outcropping when the agent lifted the hood off his head and revealed that 'he' was actually a 'she'. She was a Bosmer woman almost Renault's height. Compared to the various Bosmer women I'd seen before, she was much prettier than most of them. She was had wide green eyes and dark brown hair that was arranged in a messy bun. There was a playful smirk on her face that made Renault take a more possessive stance near me.

"In the name of the Blades, I thank you for your assistance dear lady," Jauffre said, clasping her hand and bowing slightly. I titled my head in thanks and Renault gave a jerky nod at her. Her smirk widened into a smile and her whole body seemed to radiant happiness.

"Glad to help old man," she said in a cheery voice. From the sound of it, she was quite young. The way her eyes moved, it seemed as if she was just out of her teens. "I needed an opportunity to take that woman out and this ambush provided it."

"'Take her out'?" Renault inquired, clinging to my arm tightly. I had to say, the possessiveness is really great at stoking my ego.

"She's my mark, or rather was my mark…" the Bosmer muttered. She turned to me and asked, "If a target is dead, do they still count as a mark or count as a previous mark?" Renault and Jauffre were confused by the question, but figured that I would know the answer due to my status as an assassin.

"Well, a mark counts as a current assignment until four hours after their death," I explain to the three. "It's within that timeframe that healing spells can technically revive you from death, depending on the severity of the wound. After that, rigor mortis is complete and your body truly dies." The Bosmer girl nods and thanks me. Turning quickly, she leaps into the bushes and on to a horse hidden in the shrubbery. Waving goodbye, she took off in the direction of Cheydinhal.

The trio followed her progress then headed up to Bruma to meet up with Martin.

Why did that spell take so much out of me? According to the mages I've met, casting spells doesn't take any effort; just magicka. It's not just the spell. I feel so different, and what scares me the most… I like it a lot…

Sorry about the delay. I've recently hit a obstacle of monumental proportions: a computer virus. I have to be very careful right now as I've gotten rid of it and must use a public computer to upload my stories.

The one who sent me the virus shall be begging for anal sex with Mehrunes Dagon when Inspiration(c) get through with them...