5
Cloak and Dagger
/
Late Afternoon
Riding with the mercenaries, Henry sat rather quietly. Having agreed to accompany them back to the capitol in exchange for the safe return of his scout. Though he felt uncomfortable not being at the fort to manage its growth, he was confident in Claire's ability to lead and maintain order. That and Lady Maia agreed to offer limited protection and training in his absence in the form of three of her bodyguards.
Though he was initially wary of the reliability of the mercenaries, he was slightly eased when they were welcomed by the people, who explained Maia's reputation as one of the queen's trusted vassals.
To say they were surprised to see him summon Shadowmere was an understatement, it seemed that magic, in general, was a power wielded by few.
"You're awfully quiet, how's the fame?" Maia asked, pulling her horse alongside the knight's own.
"Fame?" Henry asked, a tone of confusion in his voice.
"Course. What? Did you think you could put entire warbands and bandit clans to the sword without turning a few heads? I wasn't lying when I said the queen herself wanted ya." The redhead answered with a playful smirk.
After a rounding another corner, the group of now four entered a large cornfield. Henry, feeling uneasy about the surrounding environment, put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Something wrong?" Maia asked, noticing his raised guard.
"We're not alone…" Henry said quietly, to the confusion of the mercenaries who heard or saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Suddenly, a ruffling of vegetation behind them forced them to turn around. Behind them, a group of five brigands emerged from the cornfield.
"Oi, look what we got here boys! The Queen of Mercs herself!" The leading bandit grinned.
"And it looks like she brought gifts too…" Another bandit commented, leering at the women.
Turning around to attempt to withdraw, they found four more bandits blocked the road ahead. To further their surprise, they found their male companion was missing entirely, leaving his horse behind.
"Where'd he go?" Another mercenary, Clover questioned.
"Wait, Kesh! There's only four of you! You're missing a man!" The lead bandit pointed out to the bafflement of the other bandits.
Before the unorganized highwaymen could mount a search, the vegetation was pushed to the side as another man in fur armor emerged from the field.
"Where were you? I thought we went over this, we'd take em from the north, and they'd take-" One bandit stepped forward to scold the tardy bandit before he was quickly silenced with a sudden stab.
Jaws dropped at the sudden betrayal from the stone-faced bandit who then set his sights at the remaining three who scrambled to respond.
"Let's charge em! We can run em down, forget about him!" Maia ordered her accompanying bodyguards who quickly charged into the fray.
With the addition of the riders to the fight, the three highwaymen stood no chance and were soon cut down in the ensuing melee.
After finishing the three men, Maia turned to find that the knight had returned and had made short work of the northern bandits. One lay decapitated, two lie facedown with throats and stomachs slashed open. The fourth lay on his back, the knight's sword buried in the man's now exposed skull.
The bandit leader sat on his knees with the knight directly behind him, his hands wrapped around his head. The three mercenaries watched as the black knight snapped the man's neck with the loud, audible breaking of bones.
"How'd you do that?" Maia asked the vampire as he looted the former bandit.
"What? It isn't hard to break a neck when you know what to do." He asked as he retrieved his sword, stepping on the corpse before prying the sword from the dead man's skull.
"No, him. How'd you get him to… you know." The redheaded beauty asked gesturing towards his thrall.
"A story for another day, let's be off." He answered, wiping his sword off on the man's clothing before sheathing the blade and walking back to his horse, the bandit following closely behind.
"What about him?" The sellsword leader pointed at the brigand following the knight.
Drawing his dagger, the knight calmly turned around. Placing one hand on his shoulder, he stabbed the man through the side of his neck, killing him instantly.
"What about him?" The knight replied to the shock of the mercenaries with his sheer ruthlessness.
Before they could question him further, however, the knight mounted his dark steed and rode forward to rejoin the party.
/
Hours Later
After traveling for several more hours the sun began to set, causing the group to search for a suitable place to set up camp for the night.
Before long, the party settled inside a cave slightly off the path. While Clover and Lucy worked to establish a fire, Henry and Maia brought the horses down to a nearby river.
"That's a beautiful horse you've got there, whatcha call her?" Maia asked, in appreciation for the dark beast.
"Shadowmere" He answered, carefully observing their surroundings.
"A fine name, how'd you get her?" Maia asked with a chuckle as she refilled her own waterskin.
"I claimed her as a prize when I killed her previous owner…" He answered calmly as he refilled his waterskin.
After rehydrating, the two made their way back to the camp. By now, Maia's bodyguards had finished with the fire and were setting up bedrolls.
After the camp was set, the four sat around the fire. Clover and Lucy prepared food for themselves, Maia set up alarm systems around the cave entrance. Stopping to look up, the redheaded mercenary saw that her guest was busy reading an old book aloud in a strange language she couldn't understand.
For Henry, this world was incredibly strange. To say the least. Looking up from his book of dragon shouts, he looked up to see his traveling partners eating together, their laughs and conversations sounding like that of sisters rather than mercenaries.
Though he didn't know them well, he felt he might be able to trust them. Just listening in to their idle conversations, he could tell the three women were incredibly close and loyal to one another.
In his experience, mercenaries were rarely worth the time or money, while they were skilled and easily accessible, there wasn't a shred of honor or loyalty in them. Many of them were glorified thugs and looters, while some were former soldiers unsatisfied with civilian life. In battle, if one side began to falter, they were the first to flee. Once the battle was won, they were the first to plunder. To see Maia's guards defy this common notion was intriguing, to say the least.
In many ways, it reminded him of the Companions.
He remembered when the civil war ended, his service contract ended shortly afterward. He didn't feel right just turning around and walking back home, he craved the sense of brotherhood he had in his old unit.
It was a hot day when he walked into Jorrvaskr, a fight had broken out between Athis and Njada when he approached the now late-Kodlak Whitemane in his quarters.
/
"I would like to join the Companions sir." A young Breton in chainmail asked, to the mixed response of the two Nords.
"Would you now? Hm, perhaps..." The grey-haired old Nord said, scratching his chin as he looked over the Breton.
"Why do you want to be a Companion? Is it 'glory' you're after? Or perhaps its 'Fame and Fortune'?" Another Nord, a young man with brunette hair asked, skeptical of the Breton.
"I want to be part of a brotherhood, a family…" The young man answered, receiving hard looks from both Nords.
"Vilkas, take him to the yard and see what he can do." Kodlak ordered to which Vilkas immediately stood up and signaled for the Breton to follow him.
"Hey! You ok there stranger?" A feminine voice asked, stirring Henry from his memories.
/
Reopening his eyes, he found he the redheaded mercenary staring at him in confusion.
"Lost in thought…" He muttered to himself.
"You gonna sleep by the fire, or just sit over there in the cold?" Maia asked.
"No thank you." He answered, returning his attention to his book and continuing to read.
Even with him returning to his book, Maia continued to watch the man with peculiar interest. She didn't trust him and had many questions. Who was he? Who does he work for? What is he? Seeing his powers over the bandit, his "stead" and his powers over it… he wasn't an ordinary man.
"You have questions. Ask." He said, noticing her staring.
"Who are you? Really?" Maia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sir Henry." He answered, still reading.
"You're a knight?" She questioned, skeptically.
"Yes, It's a long story." Flipping a page of his book.
"I see… Well, we should get some rest. We still have another few days worth of traveling." Maia said with a soft smile as she slunk into her bedroll and within minutes fell asleep.
Quietly putting his possessions away, he snuck over to the sleeping maiden.
He had to admit, despite finding her constant questioning somewhat annoying, he couldn't help but appreciate her beauty. Despite her masculine traits, her charm and grace couldn't be ignored.
She was by no means a 'conventional' woman, she likely had a martial upbringing, just like him. In a way, it reminded him of another long-forgotten love of his past. Images of a strong, tall, light-skinned Nordic woman in revealing leather and plate armor began to conjure in his mind.
Before he could begin to reminisce on the past, however, he felt his stomach rumble. To his horror, Henry felt his throat dry and constrict. Knowing the feeling all too well, he knew he would have to feed soon.
"Sleep well, my lady…" He whispered into the woman's ears as she stirred in her slumber.
Standing back up, he walked out of the cave, avoiding Maia's tripwire system. Blinking, his eyes quickly adjusted to the dark environment.
Abandoning the party, the vampire vanished into the night.
/
Not long after he left, Maia opened her eyes and scanned the cave for the knight. As she expected, he had vanished. Looking over, she found that he had left his horse behind along with the equipment and supplies she carried.
Walking down to the riverbanks, she found the tracks they had left behind from earlier. Along with a set of fresh ones leading further west. Recognizing the prints left from his distinct boots, the redhead followed them.
/
It didn't take long for her to track the prints back to its source. Rounding a section of trees, the sellsword found the knight with another man held up against a tree.
The man was being suspended off the ground, one hand wrapped tightly around his throat. He was being held for several moments, as he began to turn purple.
"You've been following us for the past three days…Talk…" The knight demanded calmly, dropping the man onto the ground, gasping for air.
"Ha! I just take orders and my payment, I dunno-" Before he could finish, his captor landed a hard right hook on his left jaw.
"Who? Give me a name." Henry demanded, grabbing the man by his hair and forcing him to look at him.
"You hit like a bitch!" The spy insulted, spitting blood onto the face of the knight. Reaching down to his boot, the man reached and drew a small dagger.
Just as he attempted to stab the Breton, the knight caught his wrist and soon twisted the knife inwards. He could only watch in shock as the knife moved closer and closer to his own body.
"Graaaah!" He screeched as the dagger was slowly forced into his own abdomen by the vampire who twisted and wiggled the blade around to the agony of the spy.
Ripping the dagger from the man's body, Henry tossed the small blade aside as the man attempted to weakly crawl away from him.
"That tore through at least two arteries, you're going into shock, soon you're body will fail." The black knight said as the man struggled to crawl, eventually, his body began to slow.
Turning to look back at his attacker, the spy saw the knight standing over him.
"But that's not what's going to kill you." He said to the man as he crouched down. Opening his mouth, two of his teeth became jagged and formed into a pair of menacing fangs.
Maia could only watch in horror as the man was feasted upon with a guttural cry of pain, dropping behind a tree, she could feel her heart race. Looking again, she watched as Henry raised his head, blood dripping from his obscured face.
After he finished his meal, the knight searched through the possessions of his victim. After taking his money, he discovered a small note folded in his pocket. Unfolding the note, he walked off further west.
Taking the opportunity, Maia stood up and quietly snuck back to camp. Though she was surprised and alarmed that someone was having her followed, witnessing the brutal slaying weighed heavily on her mind. In her mind, it validated the rumors and reports on the mysterious stranger. Though somewhat disturbed, Maia couldn't fault him for being whatever that was, after all, she killed for a living.
For the time being, she would keep this under wraps.
/
Days later
After more days of traveling, the group finally reached the capital of Ken. To Henry, the size and grandeur reminded him much of his home of Daggerfall. Approaching the gate, they were greeted by guards who eyed the black knight with suspicion before standing down at the presence of Maia.
Entering the city, Henry was greeted to the smell of freshly baked bread and brewing ale. His eyes narrowed as his ears were bombarded by the whispers and gossip from the people as he passed.
/
Ken, Capital of Eostia, Throneroom
Inside her throne room, Celestine stood at the foot of a table. A large map sat on top, with blue clay figurines standing in for her forces and red ones representing those belonging to her adversary, Olga Discordia. Standing at her side was her close friend, trusted general and bodyguard, Claudia Levantine.
"Tell me, Claudia, what kind of casualties have we sustained?" Celestine asked, taking a deep breath in and out.
"Unfortunately, these four were completely razed. No confirmed survivors I'm afraid my lady. These other two here were devastated, but some survived and fled." Claudia pointed to a series of villages along the northeastern border.
"What the situation here?" The High-Elf queen asked, pointing to the northwestern region of her kingdom.
"As confirmed by the Black Dogs and Lady Maia's forces, it seems that the hordes faced considerable opposition. At least two warbands destroyed, along with numerous reports of dead bandits all over the region." The general answered.
"Do we have any leads as to the identities of these mysterious figures?" The Goddess asked, turning to her bodyguard.
"Aside from rumors, nothing. Lady Maia denies it to be her doing as does Vault. Lady Maia said she would investigate our 'wildcard'. Shall I send a runner for any updates?" Her bodyguard answered before finishing with a question.
"No need… case closed!" Maia announced as she and her party burst into the throne room.
"Maia must you always-" Claudia looked up to scold the mercenary before stopping when seeing her dark companion behind her.
Stepping aside, Celestine turned white as a sheet when seeing the man, earning a head tilt of confusion from him.
Seeing her queen's fear, Claudia stepped in front of the High Elf and confronted the party.
"What's the meaning of this Maia?" She questioned, looking over the man and his apparel with sheer disgust.
"That's enough Claudia, stand down." The Goddess reborn ordered calmly, having composed herself.
Hearing this, the buxom knight stood aside, still glaring daggers at the man as he carefully approached the two.
To the surprise of the party, the man quickly kneeled before the queen and lowering his head as a squire would be knighted.
"Forgive my intrusion, your grace, I was under the impression that you were expecting me." He spoke calmly.
"You… I've seen you before." Celestine spoke up, to the surprise of everyone. "You are the one from my dreams. The black knight of another word. Arise." She commanded.
"Lady Maia told me you had need of my services." Henry spoke, rising to his feet.
"Yes, approximately two weeks ago, this one managed to infiltrate my palace." The Queen answered, signaling to a guard who in turn left the room. Shortly afterward, he reentered the room with a burlap sack in hand.
Upending the bag, a severed head fell from it. Henry scowled in disgust as he recognized the head. A Dremora, as evidenced by the dark black skin and red face tattoos.
"It made an attempt on Lady Celestine's life and managed to kill five soldiers before three of my knights managed to kill it." Claudia spoke up venomously.
"Is this monstrosity of you're world?" Celestine asked, clenching her nose at the stench.
"Not of my world, but of my dimension. We call those 'Dremora', they are amongst the species of Daedra that inhabit the planes of Oblivion. They often serve as foot soldiers for the Daedric Lords." He corrected the queen, to the mixed response of the party present.
"What are these 'Daedra'?" Celestine asked.
"The Daedra are essentially supernatural beings. Most lesser Daedra are vile, wicked creatures, the lords they serve are a different matter, however. Some are surprisingly kind and benevolent, though many are the purest form of evil embodied." He further elaborated.
"What do you mean by 'not your world'? What's Oblivion?" Claudia asked skeptical of the man's story.
"It's a separate realm within my universe, it's an inhospitable land of fire and ash where only these little bastards and their masters reside. I must say, it's truly strange to see one here…" He answered, drifting off towards the end.
"How so?" Maia asked.
"The Daedra are confined to the planes of Oblivion. Unless summoned by a powerful enough sorcerer." He answered again, this time seriously worrying both the queen and her advisor.
"My rival, Lady Olga Discordia of the Dark Elves is a powerful sorceress. Do you think she could've summoned this assassin?" Celestine asked fearfully.
"Impossible, unless she visited my universe, there's no way she'd know the spell to specifically summon a Dremora. It's far more likely a summoner from my world crossed over and has allied themselves with Lady Olga." Henry explained.
"I see… Then I must ask of you to search for the source of these demons and destroy it." She asked firmly.
"As you wish, there are further terms we must discuss, however." He answered.
"By all means, go ahead."
/
Having dismissed the knight, the group quickly moved on the matter of the outworlder.
"My lady, I do not trust that one. How do we know he wasn't the one who sent the assassin?" Claudia stepped forward.
"I understand your concerns friend, but I have a good feeling about him. I feel there is good within him, if not, why accept the burden of refugees? What do you think Maia?" Celestine countered respectfully.
"He's an interesting fella, that's for certain. He abandoned us when we got accosted by bandits, only to reappear out of nowhere and kill half of em. I couldn't get much from him I'm afraid, he didn't seem keen on talking too much. But I can say he's good… very good." Maia commented.
"Maia... Keep a close eye on that one. I feel there is more he isn't telling us." Celestine ordered.
/
Leaving the city alone, Henry rode through the countryside back north. Having accepted the quest from Lady Celestine, the Breton knight made his way quickly back north towards Fort Blackthorne.
Little did he know, he was being watched.
/
From across the world, an elven woman loomed over a crystal ball. A devilish smile spread upon her beautiful face as she watched the knight ride with peaked interest.
"There you are Dragonborn, come to me. When you do… all the pieces will come to play." She spoke in a seductive tone.
Turning, her smile grew even greater when she spotted her captive. Kneeling on the ground, her doppelganger sat restrained with glowing bindings and gagged. The woman appeared just like her, with long raven hair and a pair of pointed elven ears. An extravagant purple corset covered her voluptuous body and tanned skin.
"Fear not my dear… your part will come soon." She laughed as the woman struggled against the magical bonds.
