A/N: Sorry I'm a little late this week. My 10 month old niece came home with a flu bug that she passed on to the rest of us. So I've been down and out the past couple of days. But you guys don't want to hear about my being sick, (neither would I). Enjoy!!

Nema heard the door slam and glanced up from the papers spread across her desk to see an irritated Yvex stalk into the room. She let out a small sigh and dropped her quill into the ink. Meeting his gaze and shifting a pile of records across the table so he could sit, she waited for him to start talking.

"Heidl has the girl and the City is still keeping the news quiet. Rumors are that Septim has sent out soldiers to detain the Nord if they get the chance and so far he has disappeared," Yvex dropped into silence and didn't seem to want to continue.

Pale eyes regarded him with little expression and Nema knew she wasn't going to like what her Dremora had to say next. Her auburn hair was slipping from the loose knot and she got to her feet and poured two cups of coffee before sitting again.

"And? That is not all, Yvex, and you know I-"

"I know," He interrupted quietly and his black eyes locked on hers, "Your decision has been made finally, I think. The Ashkhan of the Erabenimsun has proclaimed the Nord Nerevarine and...Ahaz is dead."

Nema's fingers tightened almost painfully around her mug. She didn't even blink. Instead she gave him a direct stare.

"How?"

"The Urshilaku are completely behind the Nord and they approached each tribe it seems. I don't have to tell you the relationship they have with the Erabenimsun and the wise woman was eager to come along-side the Urshilaku," Yvex could see the pain in Nema's expression and it was only because he had known her for so long, "The warriors rose up against Ulath-Pal and there were only a dozen that stood with him."

"Ulath-Pal is dead as well then?"

Yvex was sipping at his coffee and he nodded when he lowered the mug. If he was surprised at her toneless questions and almost easy manner, he didn't show it. Nema had been rather close-lipped about her past and he never pushed her. It wasn't his business anyway and he knew this was the way she preferred things. But this news had to sting. She and Ahaz had been friends since childhood and they both had been instrumental in Ulath-Pal's rise to power. It was a blow to her tribe when he gained so much influence and one of the achievements in her life she was very proud of.

"Rumor has it that it was Delith who swung the killing blow."

Nema snorted and stared down into her cup. She let a little wave of pain wash over her. Ahaz had been a very dear friend of hers, one of the few that understood her abhorrence for her family's traditional views and the passion she had for a sweeping change in the tribal ways. Ulath-Pal on the other hand was not nearly as close and though Nema would have preferred Ahaz in Ulath-Pal's place, her friend had argued for the other. And as for Delith...

"Well, it appears my dear little brother had finally made himself useful," She said scathingly and heard the pain roughen her voice, "And I suppose my father is stepping down to appoint him? Considering his daughter is banished and his eldest is long gone?"

Yvex shook his head and waited for a moment before he continued, wondering what her reaction was going to be to the next piece of news. It wasn't an encouraging thought.

"Your father stepped down, yes, but he is not appointing Delith. Besides your brother didn't want it. So Gulakhan Han-Ammu is the new Ashkhan."

Nema was shocked into silence for a moment and then she let out a bark of laughter. If there was something more nonsensical to her she had yet to hear it.

"Han-Ammu?" She repeated, still chuckling darkly, "You have to be joking. That spineless mass hasn't even had the nerve to bed a woman and my father made him Ashkhan. Gods, what a riot."

The Dremora didn't bother to hide his surprise at her mild reaction.

"And now?" He questioned and wondered if she would explode later.

"Now, I will go out and practice and we wait for Heidl's word," She got to her feet, pale eyes glittering, "Our job just became much simpler, Yvex."

"You really want to do this?" Katryn asked with some incredulity as they left Tel Vos and followed the track that, at the moment, was heading due west.

Deryl shrugged his broad shoulders and fell in beside her. They had started the day off fairly decently. Katryn wasn't nearly as venomous as usual and since Deryl had a serious request for her, he kept his more impure thoughts to himself. It had been dark still when they left the camp and the Nord was more than a little tired. He had had another nightmare and very little sleep and though he was well aware Katryn had an inkling of what had happened, he was glad she didn't push him.

"Yes, I'm sure I want to," He answered and tugged his heavy cloak closer. There was a damp chill that seemed to permeate everything and though it hadn't started raining yet, the heavy clouds they seemed to be walking towards promised it, "Afterall, I'm the Nerevarine and the mother tongue here is Elvish. I might be nice to know when someone is spreading lies about me."

"As you no doubt believe that is what I'm doing to you?" She replied with a light teasing quality to her voice.

He liked that. This was the old Katryn, the one he first met and he had missed her. Perhaps he was on the right track here. Asking her to help him learn Elvish seemed a necessary request at first and now it was transformed into what he could only call a brilliant idea.

"I figured either that or you and Falura were discussing how attractive I was," He grinned at her automatic eye roll and was pleased to see that her own amusement was growing, "Come on, Kat, I mean it. I want to learn and you are the only one present and qualified to teach me. Besides, we have time."

With a mock long-suffering sigh that made his grin widen and eyes, deep green, start dancing, Katryn complied. They continued their trek and the Elf was surprised at how quickly Deryl was picking up her language. She started with the Elvish alphabet, correcting his pronunciation when needed and then moved to numbers, going up to 20, before trying simple words and phrases. Soon, he was parroting everything back to her with traces of the Nordic accent but not much, which was quite impressive.

"Alright, now teach me something lewd," He said as his sunny disposition at once took over when he realized how good he was at this. They were climbing up a steep hill, following a faint trail which could only have been left by animals; they had long ago lost any human trail. The sounds of the ocean came faintly and it was clear they were getting close, "Something I can say to some pretty little maid when she helps me draw a bath. Or when a priestess-"

Katryn came up short suddenly and he could tell just by her face and the slight movement of her hand that she was casting her detection charm. He dropped his teasing and frowned at her when her eyes locked on his.

"There's someone following us," She told him in an undertone and it was then she could pick up the sounds of horses' hooves and the slight jingling of armor rubbing against armor.

Her eyes flickered around them and she motioned him to follow as they left the track and climbed up through a collection of boulders in the hillside. Katryn waved for him to stay put as she slipped even further up and found a decent vantage point. The sounds were growing louder and she cast the charm again; whoever it was was just yards down the path and she couldn't believe she had missed the racket they were making. She could make out the sounds of Deryl shifting below her and the slight rasp as he loosened his sword and then the horsemen rounded the hillside that was hiding them from view and she almost laughed. Turning and sliding back down beside the Nord, she shook her head.

"It's fine, Deryl," She told him and then stepped out from the boulders and directly into the path of the men coming up the path, "You clearly are not used to scouting Elves, my lord general."

Baurus' black eyes danced joyously and he slid from his horse, tossing the reins to the soldier beside him and closing the distance between them with four long strides. He was grinning as he caught her up in a warm embrace.

"It's about damn time," He greeted, stepping back to get a look at her, "We seemed to be just two steps behind you and I have to say your Ashkhan down there was not very happy when we interrupted his wedding."

Katryn's enjoyment at seeing Baurus was drifting towards worry and she felt Deryl come to stand close behind her. There couldn't be a good reason why the general of the Emperor's guard would seek her out personally.

"I can't imagine he would. He was very eager to marry the girl," She gave a wave with one hand at Deryl, "Baurus, Deryl Lofolk; Deryl, General Baurus Coll."

The men shook hands and Katryn was well aware of the distrust in both of them as they eyed one another. Baurus' was slightly stronger and she instantly wanted to know what was going on.

"It's good to see you're alright," Baurus told her, looking her over again.

"You did not expect to?" She replied lightly and then added, "The Emperor spared you just to make sure I was okay? What is the meaning of this, Baurus?"

The general's black eyes locked on hers and she was relieved he knew her so well. He could see in her steady, warning gaze that she was not willing to discuss Martin's overt protection of her and was striving towards the 'Emperor and aide' relationship while Deryl was present. He eyed the Nord once more and then fixed his attention on Katryn again. There was something more to this and he wasn't willing to push, knowing from experience she wouldn't comply.

"Kat, we need to talk," He answered simply and then glanced back at the 10 men he had with him, "I was told you were headed to the Nerano Ancestral Tomb. Do you mind having some company and letting me explain what's going on?"

Katryn felt her heart sink and knew instinctively she wasn't going to like this. It didn't matter how much Baurus fought to put it in a good light and all she could do now was pray to whomever was listening that it wasn't going to be as bad as he portrayed.

"We'd love it," She replied automatically and then wished she hadn't. Where Martin was concerned, she felt like an open book and that wasn't a good thing around Deryl, "It cannot be far now."

She was right. It wasn't far and Baurus didn't have time to even begin before they rounded this final hill and descended a path that lead directly to the overgrown door situated between two gnarled madrona. Katryn sent an apologetic look at the general as she and Deryl moved forward to clear the door. The Elf dispelled the magic and Deryl picked the lock as the soldiers stood by idly with their mounts.

"Are we going to have a whole troop crashing after us through the tomb?" Deryl questioned in an undertone and sent a dark look back at Baurus.

"Baurus means well," Katryn replied mildly and knew she would have to tread carefully here. The Nord's pain was making him more confrontational than usual and it suddenly felt like they were children again. It was as though Katryn was the brand new toy and Deryl wasn't willing to share, "And wouldn't you prefer having a few more soldiers to help?"

He snorted and then thought about it. His eyes roved over the armored men and he was sizing Baurus up again. The way the general had greeted Katryn made him think there was much more to that relationship than the Elf said and this new jealousy was not something he knew how to deal with. But she was right, they could be useful.

"Maybe two or three," He finally admitted, "The whole troop may not be the best idea."

She couldn't stop the little malicious grin that spread across her face and she made a pretense of removing her pack and looking through it for something immensely important.

"Of course not," She agreed and almost laughed when she caught his suspicious frown, "And this is your trial, Deryl, you can pick which men you want with us."

Deryl did so and, as much as he wanted, couldn't keep Baurus from their party. He didn't like these rather human feelings because it brought to life just how much Katryn was beginning to mean to him. But then the door of the tomb was open and none of that mattered anymore. The tunnel they entered was damp and cold and the air was rank with a mildewy smell. Deryl wordlessly extended a torch to Katryn who lit it with a wave of one hand. Baurus touched his own to Deryl's and the entrance of the cavern was suddenly flooded with light.

"Well," The general said and he was talking mostly to Deryl, "Let's go find this vampire and get back to business."

They headed down the tunnel and the darkness closed in on either side of them. It was just Katryn and Deryl, Baurus and one of the men he had with him. He was a tall, heavily built Imperial with dark black hair and light grey eyes. His calm presence was good and he didn't seem to need to talk just to fill this silence. Baurus, on the other hand, fidgeted and scuffed his boots as he walked beside Katryn and she knew he was dying to talk to her about what was going on, while Deryl had fallen into a glum silence which annoyed the Elf even more. She made sure there was nothing immediately ahead and then glanced sidelong at the general.

"How long have you been searching for us?" She questioned.

Baurus thought for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders a little.

"Almost a week now," He answered and didn't for a moment consider it unsafe to come around the corner in their path and approach a new door. Deryl picked this lock too when they discovered it was locked and Baurus continued a bit more carefully, "Things in the City are... not good. You were right about that outpost and the general there is now under guard in Cyrodiil."

"Not good?" Deryl repeated and was looking hard at Baurus, "What do you-"

"Shh!" Katryn threw one hand up in the air that smacked into Deryl's chest. Baurus and his man had stopped short the moment she did and were looking at her warily, "Quiet."

The Elf signalled for them to stay put and inched forward, out of the torchlight. Her step was so light they couldn't hear how far ahead she moved but there was the sudden sharp twang of her bow and she was returning, her eyes glittering like flames. She motioned for them to follow and as soon as they were close enough, she spoke in a voice that was not much more than a whisper,

"I thought this might happen. My magic is becoming next to useless the further that we go."

"'Next to useless?'" The Imperial was curious and his expression was expectant.

"Yes, this has happened before," She answered calmly, her voice still very quiet, "There is something about these caverns that house vampires, some sort of damper that makes it difficult to cast the smallest spell. It is no trouble, really, we just won't be able to talk freely. I need to be able to hear whatever comes our way."

The men heeded her without question and didn't mind at all that she had stepped forward, taking the lead, despite telling Deryl this was his trial. They came up on the ash slave she had killed when they rounded the next corner and none of them spoke as they continued down the now curving tunnel. Katryn hated not being able to tell what was coming and at the very least wished she could make the men walk more quietly. Every scrape of their boots echoed in the cavern and made it sound like it was coming from both ahead and behind them.

About a half-mile down the tunnel, they encountered more of the ash monsters but between four fully armed warriors, they didn't stand a chance. Baurus' man was fearless and charged in amongst the creatures at Deryl's side without a word of protest while Katryn's deadly skills with her bow and Baurus' experience were proved indispensable. He downed the last one and then grinned at Katryn, looking much like the old Baurus, the man she had fought alongside and grown to love like a brother.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say we were back in Sancre Tor," He said, his voice light and happy, "I keep expecting-"

"Baurus, down!" She cried, throwing herself at him just as a shadow leaped from the dark expanse before them.