The setting was an expansive open throne room with a ceiling like the night sky and a floor of stars. Wayn knew he was dreaming. The Redguard was not known for his powerful imagination, nor his comprehension for things beyond the mundane. He was a member of the fighters guild and a blacksmith. Naturally, anything this beautiful had to be a dream.

A voice boomed out across the throne room, both powerful and feminine. "Emperors and kings strive for control, men and elves seek to shape the future in their image and yet, so fickle is fate that the survival of Tamriel may hinge on the actions of one. The smallest pebble may move the stillest lake and the beauty of a butterfly may steal the attention of a God. So it is in your case noble Redguard, and I say noble with purpose, for it is a matter of your personal honor that fate now hinges upon."

Wayn turned about, searching the room with his eyes. He found a woman with sky blue translucent skin standing upon a dais of moonstone. In one hand she held the bright burning sun and in the other she held the crescent moon. He was unable to speak, but the woman continued.

"I would not presume to tell you what you must or must not do Redguard. However, I wish you to understand the consequences of your actions. You made a vow much like many others you've made before. You saw a Khajiit safely to Seyda Neen and promised not to speak of the event, however there is one who needs to know. If she does not find out, it will set in motion a chain of events leading to utter ruin to all the mortal races of Nirn."

The concave ceiling became animated with millions of stars aligning to show Wayn a vision of destruction. Scenes of battles between daedra, monsters, and various mortal armies were depicted, all of them being overshadowed by a massive manlike figure with a golden mask.

"Now you must weigh the value of your honor Redguard. You can remain true to your word and keep your secret, or you can seek the elven maiden clad in gold and tell her what you did. Do this and I will repay you by helping you avoid the fires of fate."

Wayn jerked awake in his bed hyperventilating. It only took the man a moment of thought before he dressed and left the fighters guild to seek the maiden in gold.

Blue. Argonian male.

It took a lot to make me nervous, but it could be done. Such was the case when Han lu had me use my telekinesis spell to yank our prison guard against the bars of our cell. I watched Han lu lunge, his arm a striking serpent as it darted between the bars and locked around the soldiers neck. Apprehension and excitement battled for dominance in me at the sight of the Imperial squirming against the choke hold and slowly falling still. Han lu lifted the keyring from the soldier's belt and freed himself of his bracer for the first time since being taken prisoner. Then he waited.

I whispered to him with alarm. "What are you waiting for?"

"Trust me," Han lu urged. He waited another two minutes, letting his body store up some magic. If I had sweat glands, I would have been soaked. Finally, Han lu cast some sort of spell on the cell door before turning the key in the lock and swinging it open, all without a hint of a squeak or squeal of metal on metal. He stepped through and took the sword from the dead guard. "Wait here."

I stayed glued to the spot. There was something different in Han lu's eyes since he read the letter. All signs of his pervasive apathy were gone, replaced with… what was it? Indignation? Not quite. How about menace? His intensity set my scales on edge.

In the space of five minutes, Han lu dragged the bodies of two more dead guards into the room, bleeding from slit throats.

'Yes,' I thought to myself. 'Menace is the right word.'

Han lu beckoned me into the damp warehouse, now clear of guards. "This place should have anything we could need. These warehouses have every sort of tradegood confiscated for every sort of reason. Stock up."

We scavenged the various containers. There was truly a trove here. Weapons, armor, clothing, potions, books, scrolls, contraband, and food.

"What do the Imperials plan on doing with these riches?" I asked, marveling.

Han lu laughed humorlessly. "You won't believe me. They used to hold auctions to help bring in funds for the legion, but it was found out that the money was being embezzled in many garrisons across the Empire, so the Emperor put a stop to it, canceling all auctions until he can have auditors sent to oversee each one. On the surface, it seems like a good plan. However, the garrisons have to wait for auditors to travel to each auction and the Imperial tax commision is short staffed right now." He paused in thought. "Or at least it was when I was back in Cyrodiil. Anyway, while the auctions are delayed, many of the perishable food goods and potions spoil and in humid climates like this, if weapons, armor, clothing, books, and scrolls aren't properly stored and maintained, they rust and rot. Honestly, anything we take is just being saved from getting wasted anyway. By the looks of this warehouse, I'm guessing they haven't had an auction since before the quarantine."

I turned back to the crates, any feeling of guilt for taking these things gone with the wind. "What sort of things should we take?"

"That depends on you." Han lu replied, sorting through dry foods for supplies. "If you're smart, you'll take what you can, jump in the ocean, and swim as far as you can from me and any Imperial strongholds as you can."

I looked up in alarm. "I thought I was going with you."

"If you think that's best. Just realize, the Blades will all come after me and I'm headed the same place they are."

I stood up straight to face the Dunmer. "You still owe me for going to look for your friend. Did you forget, or were you trying to get out of it? Where is your honor grayskin?"

Han lu stopped packing, slumping forward with a sigh and meeting my gaze. "The Empire is after my mother. The letter gave me a general idea of where to look for her. Until I can ensure her safety, nothing else matters to me and in reality, I'll probably be killed by the Empire in the next couple weeks. So with that in mind, what is it you think you're going to get from me? Why not just take these riches and run while you have your freedom?"

I sneered, matching Han lu's flushed, purposeful gaze. "I… I left someone... At Dren plantation." Han lu's eyes widened slightly with understanding and I took it as a sign to continue. "You seem crafty and you showed up on my ship with lots of money. I thought, with someone like you helping me, I could find a way to free my Neesha. That's why I was working as a smuggler, to earn money. I thought maybe I could find someone to buy her freedom for me."

Han lu was struck to silence, unsure of how to respond. Eventually he stammered, "Look, you… you have my sympathies…"

I cut him off, slicing my hand through the air like a knife. "Damn your sympathies. I didn't swim halfway to Skyrim because you promised me your sympathies. You said name your price. Now are you going to honor your word or back out like a shameless cur?"

Once again, it took Han lu a moment to respond. "I want to be honorable, I really do, but I cannot leave my mother to face a prison and be held hostage so the Empire can strong arm me into doing what they want. I cannot do that."

I held out my arms in a conciliatory gesture. "Look Dunmer, I understand. We are both looking out for the ones we love. Let me offer an olive branch. I'll go with you and we rescue your mother. We play it smart and lay low. Then you can repay your debt to me."

Han lu took a few steps to close the distance between us, throat tight with emotion. "You'd do that for me?"

I held one hand outstretched to Han lu. "If you will save my Neesha, I'll owe you a debt greater than I could ever repay."

Han lu clasped my rough scaled hand firmly and shook it. "If we survive this, I'll do everything I can to help you. I even have a contact with the Drens who might be able to help us."

I snorted. "Of course you do. I had a feeling you were the sort who knows all the right people."

"Or all the wrong ones." Han lu gave my hand one last firm shake before turning back to the supplies. "We'll have to cross the ashlands. Tel Vos is on the opposite side of the island from us. I wish we could take a ship around, but the Imperial navy will be searching ships once our escape is discovered. We could have used the the Mages guilds teleportation grid, but I was recently expelled by them. Besides, we need to avoid towns as much as possible."

"We'll need water skins," I contributed, grimacing at the anticipation of the hot, dry, dust laden winds. "There are some fresh water sources in the ashlands, like hot springs, but I don't know where they are and some water is poisonous. I wish we still had the Dren's horse from the ship. It would have made the journey much easier."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about Traveler. He was an exceptional horse. You raised him well."

The compliment made me smile. No one had ever complimented me for my work before. Good work was simply expected of a slave. Anything less brought punishment.

We didn't find any water skins in the crates, but the guards had two large ones they kept hanging on the wall for their patrols. By the time we were ready to sneak away from the warehouse, we both wore warm travel clothing with cloaks and scarves for the ash storms. We stole some armor, avoiding the heavy plate and chainmail in preference of low profile scale armor, often used by Imperial archers and scouts. It was comprised of thin metal scales sewn to a flexible leather cuirass in an overlapping pattern. Still, somewhat heavy, but considering we might be headed into a fight, we decided it was worthwhile.

Besides that, we each chose a couple other pieces of armor. Han lu took a dirk, an Imperial shortsword, a sturdy spear, and found a wooden bow that wasn't warped too badly out of shape from the damp climate. I found a pair of hand axes, a thin dagger from one of the guards, and upon Han lu's suggestion, a spear. We each took a water bag, slinging them over our shoulders along with burlap sacks filled with supplies.

I looked to Han lu, ready to depart. The Dunmer surprised me, tipping a crate of linens on the ground. "Set that on fire. It will keep the rest of the garrison busy during our escape." With a pang of worry about what Caius would think of wanton destruction I hesitated and Han lu fixed me with a questioning look. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I hurried to assure him. Wincing, I ushered a small burst of flame from my palm and set the linens ablaze before following Han lu to the front door of the warehouse. While Han lu unbolted the door, I bit my lip in worry. 'I hope I haven't ruined my chances of working with the Empire.' I glanced back at the three dead guards and the steadily climbing flames. 'This was not a part of Caius' deal.'