Chapter 21- Shadows from the Past
The Bandit leader charged towards Calvus, raising his axe above his head. Tiber reared to avoid the blow, which made Calvus fall off his steed. Lathon was dragged off his horse and restrained by three bandits, forcing him to watch his master die. Calvus was sprawled on the ground, the Sword was out of his grasp.
"Here we go boys, this Crusader isn't crusading anymore!" The Argonian proclaimed as he raised his axe for the killing blow.
Calvus closed his eyes. Instead of feeling his head splitting in two, he heard a noise.
'thunk'
He opened his eyes. The Argonian was still there in the same position, but with an arrow sticking out of his neck. He fell backwards. The other bandits quickly began shouting and looking for the source of the arrow. Two more arrows came flying out of nowhere, and struck the two men restraining Lathon. The Redguard quickly leapt into battle, taking advantage of the confusion. He managed to decapitate one Dunmer bandit and keep the attention of a few others. Another two men were killed by mysterious arrows. Calvus saw his chance and scrambled towards the Sword. He quickly went into battle. His heightened emotions sent magika flowing through his body and the armour, making it glow blue like it had before. To the bandits he must have looked terrifying. His sword cleaved through a Khajiit bandit, who caught fire from the Swords enchantment.
At the loss of the leader and half of their comrades the other bandits started to panic, they fumbled with their weapons and were concentrating more on the Crusaders divine appearance than the battle. Two consecutive arrows struck two of the remaining bandits in the chest. The rest regrouped into a line, directly opposite of Calvus and Lathon.
"Come on then!!" Calvus screamed at them. "What's the matter? Underestimated me have you?"
At that a figure dropped out of the canopy of a tree, landing beside Calvus. Calvus couldn't get a good look through the Helm, but he could see it was a Bosmer, wielding a steel shortsword and a bow strapped to his back, alongside an empty quiver.
With this new ally, Calvus, Lathon and the mysterious Wood Elf charged at the bandits. Calvus smacked at his opponent with the Shield and stuck at his open side with his sword. Lathon ducked a blow and tackled the bandit to the ground, and finished him with a strike to the neck. The Bosmer leapt into the air, his sword was a blur in the air as he struck his opponent with an uppercut. He landed, then ran his wounded opponent through, finishing him for good. The final bandit dropped his mace and bolted. The Wood Elf quickly grabbed an arrow from a fallen bandits corpse and aimed it at the fleeing bandit. Calvus quickly stepped in and put his hand on the Bosmer's shoulder.
"Let him go." he said.
The Bosmer sighed and lowered his bow.
"He will gather others." The wood elf said, still staring at the fleeing bandit.
"And he will tell them that a dozen of them got slaughtered by the Divine Crusader!" Calvus countered.
"I suppose so." the Bosmer replied.
He then turned around and looked at Calvus through the Helm.
"Now I saw your armour glowing blue and your flaming sword, so I guess you're the Divine Crusader?"
"I am." Calvus replied.
"My name is Brellin. I hail from Silvenar, in Valenwood. I am a priest of Akatosh, and as soon as I heard of your fight against Umaril I travelled here, hoping for you to accept me as a Kni-"
"Yes!" Calvus interrupted.
"Excuse me?"
"Yes you bloody well can become a Knight, you have proved yourself a thousand times in that battle we just fought!" Calvus said with admiration.
"Thank you Crusader!" Brellin said beaming.
***
When Calvus drew close to the priory, leading Tiber by the reins, he was surprised to see Sir Thredret come rushing up towards him with a big smile on his face.
"Shouldn't you be in Bruma?" Calvus enquired.
"I was Commander, but I was given orders to return here."
"From who?"
"Why, the Prophet of course!"
Calvus suddenly remembered the robed man who had sent him on this quest to stop Umaril in the first place.
"He told you to come back here?"
"Me and the rest of the Knights Commander! He is here now, giving a sermon in the Chapel! He told me to come and get you when you arrived!"
"Brellin, you're a knight." Calvus said hastily. "Get to the basement, where you will find arms and armour, then report back to the Chapel."
Brellin nodded and ran into the Priory house. Calvus bounded to the chapel, Thredret and Lathon on his heels. Calvus threw open the doors, to see the rest of the Knights sitting on the wooden benches, listening intently to the Prophet, who was standing at the alter of the Chapel, his arms raised as he spoke.
"And so you noble Knights, serving under the new Divine Crusader, must follow his footsteps to Umaril's fortress in the west, and clear the way for him to confront Umaril and defeat him. The Crusader may be mighty, but he is still Mortal nevertheless."
Lathon and Thredret sat down on a wooden bench. Calvus chose to lean against the wall, and folded his arms across his chest. Moments later Brellin rushed in wearing a suit of Knights armour and sat on a bench next to Sir Avita.
"Knights of the Nine, each of you represents one of the Divines, and it is through you the Divines will fight Umaril and crush him!" the Prophet continued. "You will be renowned for your actions for centuries to come! So, servants of the Nine, will you fight? What say you?"
"I will fight!" Sir Areldur said as he stood up and drew his sword.
"As will we!" Sir Geimund said as he and his brother stood and drew their claymores.
The rest of the Knights stood and drew their swords in turn, until all were stood with their weapons high in the air.
"But what of the Crusader? You with the humble heart? Will you fight for the Divines" the Prophet said.
All eyes turned on Calvus. He slowly unfolded his arms and stood up straight, then unsheathed the Sword of the Crusader.
"Yes," he said as he rose the glimmering sword into the air.
The Knights cheered. After it died down, the Prophet beckoned Calvus.
"Knights! Assemble in the courtyard and wait for further instruction!" Calvus ordered.
The Knights filed out of the Chapel brimming with pride and excitement. Calvus walked through them towards the Prophet. When he got there, the Prophet was smiling.
"You have become the first to possess all of the relics of Pelinal Whitestrake, who defeated Umaril and bought peace to Tamriel. But you possess the same objects as Pelinal, the only ones lethal to Umaril, and yet Pelinal could not kill him. How will you ensure that Umaril dies by your hand?"
"Er...I'll hit him harder?" Calvus guessed.
"No. When Pelinal defeated Umaril, he fled to the spirit world, where Pelinal could not follow. At that time, there were only eight divines, these arms and armour were their gifts to defeat Umaril. Yet now there are nine Divines. Talos has yet to give his gift to mortals to help defeat Umaril!"
Calvus smiled.
"And what would that be? The Bow of the Crusader?"
"Don't be foolish!" The Prophet said scornfully. "No. Talos' gift is the ability for you to follow Umaril to the spirit plane when he dies!"
With that the Prophet put his hand on Calvus' shoulder. Calvus felt magika flow into him, and felt the presence of a spell in his head, which felt like it had always been there.
"You must first kill Umaril's living body. While beyond the power of most mortals, this is only the lesser of your two tasks. His Daedric nature allows his spirit to escape into Oblivion after death. This is what Pelinal learned upon defeating Umaril the first time. But you can do what Pelinal could not. The Blessing of Talos will allow you to follow Umaril's spirit when it leaves his body. When Umaril joined with the Daedra, his spirit expanded beyond this realm. His physical form can travel between realms, but his spirit is bound. When his body is destroyed, his spirit travels back to Oblivion and is reformed in the fires of creation. With the armour and arms of the gods and the Blessing of Talos, you will be able to follow him where Pelinal could not and destroy his very spirit. Once his spirit is destroyed, he will be completely obliterated, erased from all realms of existence!
You will find Umaril's fortress, Garlas Malatar, in the west, north of Anvil. He has made the sunken ruin rise from the sea, and has claimed it as his lair. It is there you will defeat him and bring peace to Tamriel! Now I bid you farewell, for I have important business to attend to elsewhere…"
Before Calvus could say a word, the Prophet raised his hand and cast a teleportation spell, engulfing him in a golden light which vanished from the Chapel.
"Well, that's that then." Calvus said.
He went outside, deep in thought. It was there he saw the Knights, his Knights, in a line standing to attention in the afternoon sun. Calvus stood still and looked upon them. Eight Knights, all of which served eight of the Divines. He was the missing link. Their leader.
"Knights of the Nine!" he cried, " You will march to Garlas Malatar in the west! Umaril has claimed this ruin as his lair, and has risen it from the sea! It is there we will defeat him! I will follow you shortly."
The Knights cheered and separated, some ran to the stables, others simply started jogging to the west.
"Wait a minute!" Calvus said.
The Knights halted in their tracks and looked at Calvus.
"Wouldn't it be better of you all travelled together? So all of you arrive at the same time?"
The Knights considered this, and after some confusion managed to fall, rather sheepishly, into a line, those that had horses in the middle.
"That's better!" Calvus said.
The Knights saluted and started their journey westwards. Calvus turned and walked back into the priory. He wanted to pay one final visit to the Knights in the Undercroft, so made his way there. As he opened the door, he felt a difference in the room. It didn't seem as cold as it had done before, and seemed a tiny bit brighter. The ghostly Knights were still standing in a circle, but one had been added to their number. Calvus walked past the spectres curiously, falling under their icy gazes. He approached the new spectre. This man had been tall, kingly, and had sported a beard. He had wrinkles and scars from many battles. This man looked…familiar.
"Hail Crusader!" the ghost greeted him in a deep gruff voice, "I am Sir Berich. Also known as Lord Vlindrel."
Calvus stood back in alarm and put his hand on his sword hilt. Sir Amiel however, stood in front of him.
"Do not fear Crusader!" he cried. "You have redeemed my friends soul, and he is no longer a threat!"
"When you reconsecrated the Sword, you also cleansed my soul. I was allowed to return here with my comrades of old, reuniting the Knights of the Nine in death!" Sir Berich roared passionately. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart Crusader, for releasing me from that eternal torment.
"Er, no problem!" Calvus replied, surprised and relieved.
He turned to the rest of the Knights.
"I have come here to say…I have succeded in reclaiming the Sword of the Crusader, which you must have learned through the redemption of Sir Berich. That means…I now possess all of the Crusaders relics. I must now confront Umaril and defeat him. I may not be coming back. So this may be my final goodbye. I thank you Knights of the Nine, for all of the help you have provided me. And kicking that assassins arse, that was good as well."
He then turned to Sir Amiel and Sir Berich.
"And though you may think it…your order did not fail. It has not failed me yet."
Sir Amiel beamed, Sir Berich smiled curtly. The other Knights cheered Calvus as he walked past them and got to the door of the Crypt.
"CRUSADER WAIT!!" Sir Amiel bellowed.
"What?" Calvus asked surprised.
"There is…danger outside. I can sense it. Someone who wants to hurt you!"
As Calvus ran through the basement he ordered the Smith to hide, and drew his sword as he went up the stairs.
***
Marsus Tullinus watched as the Knights vanished into the distance. He then sprung from his hiding place behind a rock and jogged towards the priory, his two Nord bodyguards in tow.
"Those bastard Bandits did sod all!" he said through gritted teeth. "The Dark Brotherhood can't kill him, a dozen bandits can't kill him. I will have to."
As he reached the priory he stopped and caught his breath.
"You two guard the Chapel and Stables, in case he tries to flee. But don't kill him…that's my job."
The Nords wordlessly followed his orders. Marsus walked calmly up to the priory doors and drew his Elven longsword. His Mithril armour gleamed as he started to say the words of a destruction spell.
***
Calvus reached the ground floor, and saw nothing was amiss. But he felt a presence nearby, outside the door. The double doors blasted open, the tongue of fire that roared through them threw Calvus backwards, landing with a clang of steel on the stairs. The Helm fell of his head and rolled down. Calvus lay there, and watched as the smoke cleared. A figure strode through, pointing his Elven longsword towards Calvus. The man was in his thirties an had long brown hair, much like Calvus himself except older. The man walked up to Calvus and looked at him.
"The Divine Crusader unmasked at last…" he said softly, lowering his sword, "Hello…brother…"