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Chapter 14: Spies
If there was one thing that was hard enough for Hagen to do, it was choosing clothes. Fighting bears or lions, he would do it with relative ease, but getting the perfect size of tunic always posed a problem with his large posture. Luckily, their proximity to Skyrim provided him with a shirt fit for a Nordic man such as him. He posed in front of the mirror and found himself satisfied by the look. He was not pretty to look at, but he looked innocent enough, that was what Jauffre wanted.
He went out of Cloud Ruler Temple, pushing a wooden cart that was filled with some cabbages, carrots and potatoes, fresh from Skyrim, for Bruma. That's the alias Jauffre gave him. That path downhill was proved to be a bit difficult for the cart to maneuver. He had to avoid the rocks and sometimes he even lifted the cart when it was stuck in the snow, not to mention it was close to 6 pm, the surrounding area was getting dark, impending his visibility. Finally Hestra Rune Stone was seen down below, the surface was glowing green in the dark, making it a landmark for the Bruma people.
When he passed it, he saw a Redguard woman in a flax tunic hiding behind the pillar and looking at the direction of the Temple. Willing to perform well, he decided to hail her, "Good evening, my lady. Greetings from Skyrim. Could you tell me which way is Bruma?"
The woman looked at him with a bit of caution. She scanned him from head to toe, couldn't be too careful. Seeing him with a cart gave her a notion that he was some sort of a traveling merchant selling produce from a farm. Besides, which spy want to be burdened by such thing?
"Bruma is that way, sir. Just head down the hill and you will see it," she said while pointing to the city.
"Thank you, Ma'am. I'll be going now, take care of yourself. This mountain is perilous, just saying," Hagen gave her his best smile he could.
The woman smiled back at him, "Don't worry, I will be alright. You better hurry, the day's growing dark."
Hagen nodded and continued to the city. But not before taking one last glance at the woman. To his surprise, she conjured a mace that appeared in a yellow light. "Damn you, Stefan, you never told me it's a woman!" he thought.
Hagen left his cart and came to the woman. After he was right behind her, he muffled her mouth and choked her from behind. She struggled to free herself, but Hagen was just too strong. He knew he must end this quickly before the city watch heard this ruckus, so with a force, he broke her neck and she slumped to the ground.
He looked around him and nobody was there. That was good. He looked at the dead Redguard woman in front of him. "See? I told you this mountain is perilous. Because I'm on it." He stopped to think of what to do. If she was one of the spies, she probably had something valuable, a clue perhaps.
So he checked her belongings and found some coins and a key. The problem now was to find out what key was this. He tugged the key, grabbed a dagger from the cart - because well, swords and hammers were considered unsuitable for the mission - and walked to Bruma, leaving the cart behind.
He arrived in Bruma at around 8:00 PM, the shops were closed and the citizens went back to their homes or to Olav's Tap and Tack. It was a clear night, one could see Masser and Secunda in the sky with their bright colors. The cold breeze came down from Jerall Mountains which explained why the majority of Bruma inhabitants were Nords. Hagen entered the city and headed to Olav's inn, it was the usual meeting place for him and Maximus, and that's where they planned to meet this night. Inside, the place was filled with people chatting and drinking. He went to the usual table and spotted Maximus sitting there, drinking his beer.
"How is it going? You found anything?" Maximus asked him when he sat down.
Hagen sighed and replied to him, "I did find the spy. She's a woman. Redguard. She conjured a mace out of thin air, probably a mage. Damn."
"What? What happened?"
"Steffan didn't tell us it's a she! You know I have a soft spot for women," Hagen spat.
Maximus smirked at him, teasing him, "I think Elysium has made you soft, even after we live in Tamriel, you refused to make the killing blow to a female bandit. You always pick on the male, leaving me or Juba to finish the women."
"Except for orcs, they are all ugly, I don't care which one I kill," he huffed, feeling a bit embarrassed for that fact. On Earth, back when he fought as a gladiator, he would gladly kill any opponent, men or women, as long as they were willing to fight. But now love and appreciation of life had entered his heart and changed him forever. Hagen realized that taking someone's life was easy, but he couldn't make a new life, aside from the reproduction. No one could bring the dead back to life, not even necromancers. They would just reanimated the corpse, but not fully resurrected it.
Maximus was happy his friend had a change of heart. It was never easy for warriors like them who had seen too many death to value life greatly. And that was exactly what they were doing, saving countless lives in Tamriel by stopping Mythic Dawn.
"Don't worry, Hagen, you can confront him later after we finish all this. What did you find?" Maximus asked him again.
Hagen reached to his pocket and put the content on the table, "Aside from a few septim, nothing but a simple key. I wonder what this key is for." He handed the key to Maximus so he could take a closer look. It was an ordinary looking key with the symbol of Bruma on the head, but other than that, there was no elaborate carving.
Maximus put the key back and pushed it towards Hagen, "There's one thing for sure, if there's a key, then there's a door, right here in Bruma. It is unlikely to be a door in the castle which is more fancy. The key must open one of the buildings here."
"And it can't be Fighter's Guild. I spend much time there to know everyone in there. If she was one of them, I would have known," Hagen told him.
"Then how do we find which door it will open. Bruma is not a small city, and on top of that, trying to open all the doors will make us look like thieves, those stealing bastards!" Maximus spoke out, telling him what he thought. Thieves were like rodents that gnawed upon the society, they were always taking, never giving back and he heard a rumor about the existence of a guild for thieves, but he didn't believe it. They only cared for themselves, so how could they be organized like Fighter's Guild or Mages Guild, like they say, no honor among thieves, right?
But it seemed the Divines decided to help them once again. Somehow, a man talked to a woman about the disappearance of this Jearl, how she was back in town after going away for a month. So Hagen rose from his chair and came to them.
"Excuse me, I can't help but listen to your conversation. Who is this Jearl you are talking about?" he asked them as if he didn't know what happened to her.
The man, an old Nord, spoke first, his voice was raspy, "She is our neighbor, she doesn't stay for a long time. And she's a quiet person, never mingle with us here, keeps everything to herself."
"I think she's keeping a secret. One time we bumped to each other on the road, but she didn't even say hi or smile to me. How rude!" the woman added.
Hagen folded his arms in front of his chest and tried to look concerned, "You said she's back in town. Can you tell me where she is?"
The old man sighed, "I'm afraid you're too late, lad. I saw her entered her house in the lower level, just across from Ongar's house. Then she went out of the city through the northern gate and hasn't been back ever since. Why do you ask?"
Hagen turned to Maximus while his brain was working hard to find an answer, he didn't want them to think he was going to do some breaking and entering. "I, uh... My friend over there wants to see her. An old friend, you see. They hadn't seen each other for a long time, so when he heard you two talking about her, he's just curious."
"Friend, huh? I can't believe there's someone who wants to befriend a wench like her. I'm sure he's her ex-husband. We women know of these things," the woman said in disgust.
Hagen said nothing but chuckled nervously, then thanked both of them before going back to the table. Maximus wondered what information he had learned so he gave him the question, "Alright, what did they tell you? Anything useful?" Then Hagen started to tell him everything he'd been told. They realized the only way to know what the spy was up to was to go to her house and something there. So they decided to wait until midnight when the citizens turned in for the night and the road wasn't too crowded.
They went out of Olav's and headed straight to Ongar's house at the rear of the Chapel of Talos. In front of it was a normal-sized house which they assumed to be Jearl's house. Maximus tried and put the key in while Hagen watched for the guards. There was a click and the door was opened with a soft creak. They entered the house slowly and started to search everything, everything that may proved the owner's involvement with Mythic Dawn. They opened every desk, drawer, end table, cupboard, and under the bed, but they found nothing and Hagen wondered if old man misled him somehow. He walked back and forth, trying to find a clue when he heard something under his feet. The wooden floor that he stepped felt a bit different than the rest. He knelt and uncovered the rug from the floor, revealing a trapdoor.
"Hey, Maximus, over here. Look." The ex-general came over and saw his discovery.
"Good job, Hagen. Now let's see if this key can open it," he suggested. He inserted the key and turned it clockwise. Again, a click was heard and the trapdoor was opened, showing what looked like to be a basement.
The two readied their dagger, Maximus in the front, Hagen in the back. They descended into the basement and found another bedroom, instead of food cellar like other common houses. Maximus examined the table, there was a book that looked similar to the one in Cloud Ruler Temple. Right next to it, there was a letter folded in two. He took it and read the content.
Jearl
The Master was pleased to hear of your activities outside of Chorrol. The more gates that we open, the nearer we are to the glorious Cleansing.
The Master has chosen you and Saveri for a most crucial mission, a sign of your advancement through the ranks of the Chosen. We have learned that the Septim heir has gone to ground at Cloud Ruler Temple, the lair of the accursed Blades. The Master has made its destruction the top priority of the Order, and Lord Dagon has committed whatever resources are required.
Pending your report on the Septim's activities at Cloud Ruler Temple, and your assessment of Temple defenses and possible routes of escape, we plan to open a Great Gate in the open ground before Bruma as soon as possible.
Remember: the first three Lesser Gates represent only the preliminary stages of Great Gate Deployment. Do not in any way compromise your cover in defense of these gates. New ones can be quickly and easily reopened. And once the Great Gate is opened, the fall of Bruma is assured. Cloud Ruler Temple cannot stand long after that, and the Septim will be caught like a rat in a trap.
We would welcome any further details you can offer concerning the Imperial agent who rescued Martin from Kvatch, but again, we caution you... do not risk a confrontation. This individual is not to be trifled with.
The Dawn is breaking,
Ruma Camoran
Maximus was stunned, knowing that this city, Bruma, was their next target and they were going to make her share the same fate as Kvatch. Another thing was that spy who Hagen killed wasn't alone, exactly like the report. This Saveri was helping her in collecting information regarding Martin in Cloud Ruler Temple and Maximus knew it posed a big problem. Their sanctuary had been discovered. He must get this news to Jauffre immediately. If the last Septim was compromised, any chance to defeat Mythic Dawn and stop the deadric invasion would lost forever.
"Hagen, we must get back now. This city is in great danger, look," Maximus showed him the letter and let him read it carefully.
But while Hagen was busy reading, something moved behind him, a distortion of light. No one realized it until it was materialized right behind him, the Mythic Dawn assassin in full armor. Maximus reacted fast and pushed Hagen aside, stopping the assassin from killing him. Maximus and Hagen drew their dagger and took a fighting stance, while the assassin raised one hand and conjured a dremora with a mace. The fight ensued with Maximus battling the dremora and Hagen trying to take out the assassin. Maximus soon found himself in a tight spot since his dagger couldn't reach the dremora without risking to get hit by the mace. Hagen was no different, his dagger helped him little against ice magic from the assassin. He took cover behind rows of food barrels, while the killer searched for him. He crouched from one barrel to another, trying to evade the assassin. Then he got an idea, he left one of his boot behind a barrel, but he pushed it a bit outward so that the assassin could see it. The Mythic Dawn agent rolled that barrel and was about to strike him when Hagen put his dagger into the assassin's shoulder. The yelling was heard from the assassin, a female one.
"I cannot allow you to succeed with your plan. You will not destroy Bruma!"Hagen stated.
The female assassin pulled out the dagger from her should and threw it on the floor, "You cannot stop Lord Dagon, unbeliever! Oblivion take you!" Now they engaged in a wrestling match, she pushed Hagen to a cupboard where she punched him in the face. But Hagen grabbed a silver urn from the top of the cupboard and hit her with it, stunning her for a second. He hit her with his bare hands, then he lifted and slammed her to the floor. He took the dagger and pushed it to her chest, but she casted the ice spike that grazed his thigh. She approached him with a bound sword in her hand as he tried to stop the bleeding. She prepared to plant the ethereal blade when Maximus hit her in the back with a chair. The assassin fell down on top of Hagen. Maximus immediately dropped the broken chair and rolled her to if his friend was okay.
When he pushed her, it was clear to him that she was dead by having her heart stabbed with the dagger Hagen hold as she fell down. Maximus was just finished the summoned dremora when he heard Hagen screamed in pain, so he decided to help. He saw the cut in Hagen's thigh and he knew it wouldn't healed by itself. Given that he wasn't a proficient healer, he look for a potion of healing in the room and found one in one of the chest upstairs. He couldn't take a risk of going out of the city gate, dragging wounded Hagen back to Cloud Ruler Temple. The city watch would be attracted and they surely would give them trouble.
Hagen drank the potion slowly and felt his body regenerating the cells and closed the wound. "I guess that's the other spy. Can we say this mission accomplished? I kinda miss Cloud Ruler's fireplace," he said as he got up.
Maximus looked at the place, everything was a mess. Tables were split, papers were lying everywhere, there were some broken bottles on the floor and let's not say about the bed. That thing was no longer recognizable. "Yeah, I think we're finished here, let's go." He supported Hagen to the front door, just to see if he could walk. When Maximus was sure he was fine, they headed to the gate and walked out of the city.
Trekking along the snowy path, they wondered if everyone was okay up there and what were they doing while the two were gone. Hagen couldn't wait to tell Juba and Cicero about the mission, and to Jauffre who he imagined would be pleased to know that the threat was now gone. But Maximus was thinking the most important part of this conflict, Martin. If the last Septim didn't succeed in his effort with Mysterium Xarxes, then everything they had done would be for naught and Tamriel would fall into the hands of Mehrunes Dagon. That terrifying idea made him walk faster as he wished to get back to the fortress soon, to meet his family and friends, give Jauffre the report and receive the next mission.
A/N: Finally, we see Hagen got some action in this chapter and Maximus became his sidekick, hahahaha. But don't worry, for the next chapters, they will share the tasks as Martin gives them fetching quests. Please, send me your reviews so I know what you think about this story.
To oochya: So sorry for the errors, English is not my first language. I hope to improve my writing skill with each chapter. Thank you very much.
Until next time, everyone.