Chapter 5

Sadera, Imperial Palace

Molt was sitting on his throne. The room was almost empty save for a few Senators and soldiers.

"Did we receive any news from Senator Godasen, Marcus? Did he reach Rondel?" the Emperor asked, his head resting against his fist.

The bald man bowed before him. "I'm afraid not your majesty. The last courier we received was from Italica. He had yet to cross the Romaria Mountains. Since then nothing new."

"I see and what of the city of the Formal Clan?"

Marcus shook his head in disappointment. "The City is still thriving thanks to the policies enacted by Count Formal. However since his recent disappearance along with most of their levies, the security deteriorated. To make things worse, the head of the Clan fell to his youngest daughter as the two others had already been married off to other lineages. Her eldest siblings have already started fighting over who shall become her guardian."

Molt repressed a smile, they couldn't have waited even one more day he thought. "What about our vassals?"

"Nothing your highness but the message should have reached the Kingdom of Elbe by now. From then on King Duran would have relayed it to the others."

One officer advanced himself. "Majesty, are you sure this is wise to call on the vassals now? A huge portion of our army is gone, with their combined forces wouldn't they take advantages of it? Their past rebellion is still fresh after all."

"You forget one thing Legatus," the Emperor calmly replied, "the army has disappeared. It may be gone, it may be not. What do you think will happen if a second rebellion start only to Antonius march back victoriously from his campaign? They know it."

The man bowed. "Of course your highness. You are right as always."

It was at this moment the door opened on a young red-haired girl, almost woman, wearing the traditional female-only stola.

Everyone in the room save Molt bowed to her.

"Emperor, you asked for me?" she said as she kneeled in front of the Imperial Throne.

"Raise up Princess Piña Co Lada," he ordered, "I have a task for you and your Knights." He gestured to his bald adviser, "Marcus here just informed me the current situation in Italica is worrying. In Count Formal and his troops absence the city is slowly diving into chaos. I task you with the goal of bringing it back order."

"I will not fail you your majesty!" she replied before exiting the room.

Marcus approached the Emperor. "With all your respect your highness… I only informed you about Italica just now. Did you predict something similar would happen?"

Molt smiled maliciously. "Precisely my dear Marcus. Without the Count to keep an eye on them, I wasn't surprised in the slightest his eldest daughters would make a move to control the city. Furthermore Alnus is relatively close to Italica. If anything were to occur there Piña will report before acting. Something I'm counting on it."

The counselor nodded in understanding.

"Not for me to question the Princess skills… but wouldn't Crown Prince Zorzal have more experience?" the Legatus from earlier asked.

The Emperor shook his head. "He has left for the North-Eastern plains. Apparently there was some agitation there. I'm not sure, some remnants of the Warrior Bunnies or random barbarians tribes. Either way it doesn't matter. While Zorzal is indeed a skilled general he lacks a certain delicacy to handle the matter."

The officer grimaced, the brutality of the Emperor's eldest child was well known, even by Saderan standard. There had been rumors about it, Molt considering one his youngest siblings as his heir instead. Some had said the Prince Diabo El Caesar, being next in line. Others however had surprisingly mentioned Piña instead, despite the obvious nature of her gender.

The Emperor had of course never stated or shown any of such intentions to cast aside his eldest, instead throwing him one of the greatest triumph in the Empire history after his campaign against the Warrior Bunnies tribes. It didn't change the Senate unanimous opinion about him : Zorzal was ill-fit for anything not involving warfare such as the present situation.

Ykalon, Imperial Legion war camp

Livia was making her way through the soldier prisoner camp. She was escorted by two Legionnaires. She presented herself at the officer in charge of it.

"Please state your business my lady."

"Lady Livia, wife of Legatus Antonius. I've been given permission to talk to prisoners individually by the Emperor."

A member of her escort handed him a paper to read. "Everything's in order. Now which prisoner did you want see?"

"The Tribune Regulus. He was in charge of the forces left behind."

The man wondered for a bit. "Regulus… the commander of the full force brought here you say? Very well." He gave orders to one of his subordinates before gesturing for her and her escort to follow.

He led them into a spacious tent with a large table and chairs which he presented to Livia to make her sit. "I've sent for him, he should arrive very soon. In the meantime be my guest my lady. I would gladly propose you refreshments but aside water we currently don't have much I'm afraid."

"Do not worry," she replied, "I'm used to live on military camp. I'll have some water please, sir?"

"Commander Olaf Bjansen my lady," he said while serving her.

Regulus was brought shortly after, encadred by two soldiers. He was made to sit across the table, facing her. Livia took a good at his current state. He wasn't covered in chains and aside being unshaved, he seemed in good health.

"If you would excuse myself," Olaf said as he got up from his seat, "duty calls. Just notify my subordinates when you're finished."

He then left Livia alone with Regulus. Well as much alone two persons watched by soldiers could be. Antonius' wife knew very well everything that would be said here would be reported in some measure. That's what she would do if she was in their place.

"Tribune Regulus, I am glad to see you," she said in an almost motherly voice.

"My lady," he inclined his head in reverence, "I am glad too to see you. I was worried about your fate. Were you well-treated?"

"I was. None of the camp followers were harmed and we are well-fed. The soldiers are very…" she searched the word for a moment, "professionals. What about you?"

"I could say I had better but I also could say I had worse. I kept my men in line from doing stupid things. We had a few strange soldiers visiting us and asking questions but we were not harmed." Much better than what would have happened if the situations were reversed, he thought briefly.

She nodded. An air of worry suddenly passed on her face. "Did you to learn what were the fate of the survivors of the attack force led by my husband?"

"Only glimpses. I was brought to identify some of them but…" He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Some of them were not into stable state of mind. A few had even lost their hair color, I can only guess the violence of the battle was the cause. I had a hard time recognizing them. The Legatus wasn't among them."

"I see," she sighed. "I haven't been allowed to visit that part of the camp, I suppose I know why now."

"Pardon me to ask you this my lady… but I can't help to notice you were given a lot of a freedom for a prisoner," Regulus began

"You want to know why is that?"

"Well…" he awkwardly replied.

"Tell me Tribune, why do you think the Emperor will do now with no news of his forces?" She asked him.

Regulus thought about it. "He would likely send another army."

"Correct. What do you think would happen then?"

"Given this side of the Gate is surrounded by fortifications… the battle would already be lost without any intel about it. Even if by chance they were to breach them, they would take enormous casualties at which point they'd have to fight another battle with a fresh opposing army."

"Indeed" she said, "in this scenario there is almost no probability of the Empire winning and even if that were to happen the cost would be too high to be worth it. A butchery."

"So you're trying to stop the war before it claims more lives then?" He replied. "Others might not see it like that."

She sighed. "I know. I've taken "precautions"."

You mean you've given them informations to pressure our Emperor into surrendering the war with a treaty favoring you, he thought as he nodded.

"After seeing our surviving comrades fate… it's probably the wisest decisions.

Countryside of Falmart

"I see Captain. I don't really envy the situation you were in." Sejanus' voice said telepathically. "I would have done the same where it was me. Letting her to fend for herself after such a traumatic event… though you'll need to find her a caretaker eventually."

"Thank you Commander. We're currently diriging ourselves in the direction of a village she indicated. I will contact you back later to update you on the situation." Caranya replied.

"Very well, dismiss." The link cut off.

One day had passed since the group had departed from the defunct elven village. That was when Tuka, after a short period of mutism, had mentioned a human village her clan traded with. She then had returned to her silence. She was currently sitting in the wagon of supplies next to Caranya, hugging the Altmer's arm to comfort herself. The woman hadn't attempted to make her stop considering the girl's trauma. Jing was riding next to the wagon, Cyrus was at the head of the group while Black-Scales was covering the back.

"Captain, where are we exactly towards our destination?" the Easterner woman asked in Aldmeris.

Caranya grabbed a map she had been given for the mission from inside the cart. She looked it for a moment, trying to locate their current position.

"Mmmh, if the girl is right then Italica is not long after this Coda village. We first appeared here," she said by pointing south-east of the Gate while Jing got closer. "We may reach Italica by night, maybe before if we hurry."

Cyrus had turned back and was making signs to them. "Village in sight!"

"Indeed, almost seems like we are here."

Their arrival was immediately noticed by the inhabitants. A few eyed them with suspicions. Something that they had expected. A group of well armed individuals, even as small as they were, in a defenseless village could be easily equated to dire news.

An old bald man went to meet them. "Greetings travelers! I am the chief of this village. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" His tone was polite and sincere though it didn't hide his uneasiness.

"Greetings to you as well. My companions and I are merely a small mercenaries group on its way to the city of Italica." Caranya answered. "Sadly we are also the bearer of dreadful news," she continued while gesturing to Tuka still clinging to her arm.

Jing took over while approaching the man. "This child is the only survivor of her village. We found her after it got annihilated by a flying fire-breathing reptile." She had said the sentence in almost a whisper to spare both the elven girl and the villagers from hearing it.

The village chief immediately paled. "A f-f-flying fire-breathing reptile? Was it red and as tall as a house?"

Jing merely nodded.

"May the gods protect us all! This was a Flame Dragon! Those poor people, what a horrible fate." He shook his head. "I thank you for informing us, we need to evacuate the village without waiting!"

"Evacuate now?" the young battlemage said incredulously.

"Of course! When a Flame Dragon start tasting human or elven flesh he will go on to raid villages forever."

"If it will indeed continue to raid on forever, where will you go to escape him?" Cyrus asked.

The man stopped, considering his words. "You're right. A Flame Dragon can cover vast distance. But you said you were going to Italica? For some reason, perhaps divine favor, ancient Dragons like this one have an habit to avoid cities. We are not the wealthiest village in Falmart but we are far from being the poorest. If you were to escort us to Italica we could pay you an handsome fine."

"Start the evacuation already, we shall discuss of the rest later." Caranya almost ordered him.

He nodded before running informing his fellow villagers.

"So I take we're going to discuss the price now?" Black-Scales asked.

"A bit of local money might help us on our task," Jing added.

Their captain nodded. "True, it would be welcome. However there is one thing you two might not be aware of."

"They are peasants leaving their home, their fields, their means of living. Taking their money would be leaving them to starve in the city," Cyrus stated.

"Are you not being a bit overly dramatic? Surely they could find some work to do in the city?" the disguised Argonian replied.

Caranya shook her head. "No. He's correct. Peasants need their lands, they are bound to it. Leaving their village will already be dire without them to be there for the next harvest. Finding dubious work in the city won't make up enough to that."

"Besides we already know it's a society with slaves. Who do you think they would use? A bunch of starving villagers they need to pay or free slaves?" The male Nibenese pointed out.

Black-Scales sighed in defeat. "I guess you're right. I'm a city boy after all, I won't presume I know much about the working of farming."

"So we're doing it for free?" Jing asked.

Caranya nodded. "We'll limit ourselves to resupply if we need to. We might also gain some renown from it. In some place it might more expensive than gold."

"Noted," her comrade replied.

"For the moment we do everything we can to speed up the evacuation."

"This isn't right. There shouldn't be any Flame Dragon activity until 50 years." An old man mused.

He looked like the typical sage archetype, beard, staff and robe as his attire. He was sitting on a cart next to a short blue haired girl.

"Yet the description made by those travelers matched one point per point," she replied in a monotonous tone.

"Yes, they certainly didn't invent it. Which means something or someone must have disturbed it. We'll have to go back to Rondel to deal with the situation."

They passed several farms. People were imitating them and packing as much they could take.

They suddenly stopped advancing after finding themselves at the end of a line of unmoving wagons.

"What's happening?" The old man asked.

"Master Cato, Miss Lelei!"

They turned themselves towards the calling to see a man waving at them.

"Sorry for the troubles but an overloaded cart broke ahead and is blocking the road. It's almost madness since everyone heard the news."

As the two men struck conversation, something caught Lelei's eyes. Two black armored figures were making their way towards the accident, gently showing the villagers aside.

"Place! We're here to help with the evacuation! Please regain you calm!"

Lelei assumed they were the mercenaries who had warned the village.

Their armors look very expensive. Probably the children of high nobles or even royalty. The voice sounded feminine… interesting.

"Master I will see it for myself, maybe I can help," she said as she left the cart and made her way towards the accident.

The crashed wagon was totally overturned with one of its occupant, a young girl, and its horse both severely wounded. The village chief was here, apparently discussing of something with one of the mercenary. Said individual had taken off his helmet, revealing him as a jet-black haired woman, confirming Lelei earlier suspicions. Her companion was examining the injured passenger.

The village chief noticed her arrival. "Lelei, what are you doing here? Is Master Cato with you?"

She shook her head. "He is still in the cart. I went to see if I could make myself useful."

She approached the girl to check on her. She was suddenly yanked back by her arm by the mercenary. The horse had gotten up and was now rearing, having gone mad from the pain.

The armored man put Lelei behind him while he gestured with his hand and ordered silently for the animal to calm down. The horse obeyed him.

The village chief ran towards her. "Lelei! Are you hurt?"

"I'm.. fine." She turned towards the armored man who was calming the horse. "I owe you my thanks."

He acknowledged her with a nod. "The fall didn't injure much the animal. I've also checked the girl. Her injuries are fortunately minor."

The blue haired apprentice frowned. That horse… I could have sworn I saw him bleed. Weird

Her thoughts were cut as the female mercenary approached. "She was fortunate indeed as were you young girl. The wagon is however another story." She gestured to the broken wheel. "It need to be repaired at once. As I was explaining you we need every cart we can get. Children and other individual with feeble health are to be prioritized as passengers. Our wagon can receive a moderate-sized group."

"Thank you, I will inform my fellow villagers," The chief answered.

"Cyrus can you do something about the wagon?" She asked her comrade.

"Maybe… I'll try to see what I can do."

"Wait for me!"

Lelei turned to see another mercenary running towards them. This one had a different armor than the others, mostly some sort of black chainmail. Another big difference was his skin, he was probably one of the darkest human Lelei had ever seen. She had only heard of people like him during her studies at Rondel.

"Repairing broken stuff is one of the thing I did a lot back in … my hometown. My father taught me a few things," he said after joining them.

"Good, I'll let you two fix it then. You should come with me Village Chief, our leader may have finished her plan concerning the evacuation," she indicated him.

"Right away my lady."

The plan had been somewhat simple, their wagon had been placed at the center of the formation to keep an eye on both extremities of the trekk. The group they had taken in consisted of a few children and one young woman whose pregnancy was too advanced for her to walk. Lelei had joined them as a healer to keep an eye on the future mother. Cyrus was still placed at the head of the convoy while Black-Scales was behind. Jing was making regularly the liaison between the two and the wagon while also keeping an eye on any possible incident.

Several groups of villagers had been armed with repurposed farm tools and bows. The goal intended was mostly to dissuade any possible bandits to attack them. The village chief had been confident enough in this as most of them were generally cowards. Armed groups accompanied of even only one well equipped mercenary were trouble enough for highwaymen.

No grave incidents had been deplored so far. A few wagons with broken wheels, nothing a bit of reparation and subtle magical help could handle.

Caranya looked behind her. The children were playing together. To her joy, Tuka had joined them, getting out a bit of her mutism. Lelei was sitting next to the resting pregnant woman, watching them.

So far so good, the young Altmer thought. We should reach Italica soon enough.

She suddenly heard a telepathic message. "Captain you might wanna see that." She recognized the voice of Cyrus.

"What is it? Ambush?"

"I do not think so. Look above in the sky," her subordinate said.

For a moment she was scared of the Dragon having somehow caught up to them. She was reassured by only seeing a flight of what looked like crows or ravens. They appeared to be circling something. At first view nothing concerning. Cyrus wouldn't have called for nothing. She concentrated herself, trying to reach out the birds. She felt some sense of... supernatural dread. She understood why she had been contacted.

"You felt it too, right?"

"Yes. Those birds are anything but normal. They have some of supernatural influence on them. I'm not even sure if it's magical or not."

"And more importantly we are approaching from whatever they are circling. So we'll be fixed soon enough. Which is why I request to go scouting and deal with the threat if there is one."

The officer paused a bit before answering. "Granted." She then added "Oh and Cyrus? No playing the hero."

"As you command"

Upon receiving his order, the young Battlemage kicked his horse to gallop at high speed. After separating himself from the vanguard of the convoy, his hands started glowing. One of the birds who was flying away from the rest was hit by a magical bolt. The animal, a raven, began emanating a green halo and landed on the Cyrod shoulder.

Cyrus eyes took briefly the same green shade as he started talking to the bird in an alien tongue. "What is it you and your flight circle?"

The animal, enthralled by the spell, answered him. "The messenger of Death itself. Come to spread its word."

The aura faded and the raven rejoined the others birds, leaving the young man to his thoughts.

Messenger of Death… he instinctively rubbed his hand on his chest. No matter

The more he became closer to his target, the more he started to feel it, the sensation of Death. As a necromancer he was even more sensitive to it. Then his eyes finally landed on its source. It wasn't something he had expected and yet his instinct was almost screaming at him he had found it.

What looked like a mannish teenage girl of no older than fourteen or thirteen years was sitting on the middle of the road, staring at him with an amused smile. She was wearing a black and red outfit that wouldn't have looked out of the place as a priestess garment from some Nibenese cult. The more impressive part was the big Hallberg she had no trouble wielding at one hand despite her size.

This added to the girl unusual red eyes were only confirming Cyrus had reached his goal. He was unsure as how to act and was for the moment only returning her stare, gauging her.

After what seemed an eternity, he jumped from his horse. The girl hadn't made any hostile move and he had reasoned if she hadn't attacked him yet then she was willing to communicate. He grabbed his spear-staff in case things turned sour and approached her.

She finally got up, still looking at him with that almost innocent smile.

"Say, my ravens told me about your convoy. I was wondering where are you from guys and where are you going?"

Cyrus blinked. He had certainly not expected that. Her tone had been genuinely curious and her voice tone not different from what a regular teenager would have. Nothing that matched what he had imagined for a Messenger of Death. Despite her aura he didn't even feel threatened. Not that he was letting his guard down.

He saluted her. "I am Cyrus of Argos, mercenary. My comrades and I are currently escorting the inhabitants of Coda Village to the city of Italica after a Flame Dragon was seen destroying a nearby elven village."

Upon hearing his answer "girl" wondered a bit. "I see… that must have been the Dragon I've heard yesterday. So you're helping them…"

She blinked. "Where are my manners! You may call me Rory Mercury, well actually just Rory. I am the apostle of Emroy, the God of Death."

Apostle… God of Death… I see

"An apostle? I'm afraid I have no idea of what you mean, could you please explain?" He asked her.

"Mmm… true it's not common knowledge. To make it simple we are the enforcers of the Gods' will in the world. As a result we are gifted with special powers such as near invincibility and longevity. For example I am already way past nine centuries old."

The Cyrod stared at her, his expression indecipherable.

Past ninth centuries years old… then why in Oblivion does she look like a teenage girl!

He diverted momentarily his attention to something else. His gaze landed on some elevated mud compacts on the other side of the road. He felt something about it but, probably because of Rory's aura, he wasn't capable of guessing what.

"Those are the tombs of the men I killed."

Rory was now at his side. He was so caught in thoughts he hadn't heard or seen her move.

"They were wicked men you see," she added. "They had preyed upon peasants. They might have been fleeing from the Dragon too. The men and children they killed. The women…" she sighed.

"I see."

There was nothing more to say. Rory was obviously not a threat to the convoy. As such Cyrus made his way back to his mount.

"Wait!"

He turned back only to heard a gush of wind and Rory now facing him with a mischievous smile.

Apostles move faster than regular mortals. Noted

"I'm coming with you!" She said. "You guys need all the help you can get and it is my duty to protect followers of Emroy. Plus I like your… smell."

My smell? Am I reeking of Death too?

The young man considered about bringing back the girl with him. On one hand Rory was friendly enough and her skills would be of a great help to the team, perhaps even increasing their standing with the locals if they thought they had the favor of the Gods. And, as taught at the War College, diplomacy was one of the most powerful weapon in warfare.

On the other hand there was the risk she learned they were outsiders of this world and may consider them enemies. But refusing her help would definitely arose suspicions so he didn't really had a choice.

One must keep his friends close, and his enemies even closer

Yes, she will be a valuable ally. And there are way to get rid of immortals. He watched her as she was petting his horse, even though I would loath to use them on her but duty comes first.

He contacted telepathically Caranya. "Battlemage Cyrus of Argos to report ma'am!"

"Cyrus! Glad to hear you. It has been a while, I was beginning to worry. What did you find?"

His eyes were still locked on the apostle. "What if I told you it's a valuable asset who happen to be the immortal blessed champion of a local God with the appearance of a teenage girl?"

The other side was silent for a bit.

"I'm sorry but by the Divines what?"

"Yes. I think it will be easier when I show you."

"Lady Rory," he addressed her. He wasn't sure about the proper honorifics to talk an apostle but supposed it would do. "I will take you back to the convoy as you wished to meet my leader."

"Lady Rory! Such manners! Very well, I suppose I'll ride with you?"

He nodded. "Of course, do you need help to get on my mount?"

She jumped on the beast and winked. "Thanks but I'm good."

He imitated her, placing himself behind the girl to secure her while holding the reins then launched his mount at full speed.

He quickly joined with the convoy who hadn't been far behind. He passed Jing who had taken his place at the vanguard. If she was surprised by his companion, she did not show it.

Caranya didn't know what to make of this "apostle". Cyrus had summarized her what he had learned and frankly… she was still confused. Particularly the part of her being still a teenager. They had both theorised it was a typical case of eternal youth stasis growth not unlike when a child was infected with vampirism too young. The blue haired girl, Lelei, had more or less confirmed this. For the moment the demigoddess was content enough to play with the children.

"She has a rather joyful personality from someone who is the representant of Death," the Mer noted.

"Maybe it's tied to how they see Death here?" Cyrus proposed.

"Maybe…"

They were suddenly cut by a telepathic transmission.

"Captain, we have a problem!" It was Black-Scales.

"What's happening at the rear?" Caranya asked.

"I give you an indice. He's big, red, scaly and can fly and breathe fire. And at the speed he is flying he may catch up soon."

"Molag's balls!" The Altmer cursed.

She composed herself. "Alright, Black-Scales you are ill-suited to engage such threat, retreat to the vanguard, you'll switch with Cyrus. Jing, you'll join with him. Remember we only need to drive him away. No killing as it would be hard to hide. Understood? We don't want a panic so keep quiet!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"I'll be the bait." Cyrus had said once his comrade had caught up to him. They were currently progressing at fast pace towards the rear. If one of the two was anxious, they didn't show it.

"His name is "Flame Dragon". It stands to reason his element of predilection is fire as is mine. I should be fine."

The other Nibenese nodded. "Sounds logical indeed. Then I guess I'm off to play horse archer, fortuna tely I have some potions of accuracy. But if he doesn't flee after I turn him into a porcupine…"

"We'll ground him."

They had finally reached the end. True as Black-Scales had warned them, a flying red figure was approaching at great speed. They continued their road to meet him.

He is really impressive up close, Jing thought. She caught up sight of Cyrus glowing orange briefly before charging. But we have faced worse.

She grabbed an accuracy potion from her horse pack and downed its content before summoning a bound bow, aiming at the flying beast.

The Dragon had stopped its course upon seeing them before roaring. He reported his attention on the closest horseman, Cyrus, who was circling his shadow, almost taunting him.

He unleashed a powerful jet of of fire. The horseman narrowly avoided it, continuing to circle while the stream followed closely behind him.

Jing took her chance, aiming at the fire-breather. Time slowed (courtesy of the potion she drank), letting picture her exactly where she wanted to strike before firing. The arrow flew faster than what should have been possible with a regular longbow. Or any non-enchanted bow for that matter.

A painful roar was heard as the arrow hit its mark. It had penetrated the Dragon scales without much difficulty though no vital organs had been touched. The beast had however been caught by surprise and had ceased his attack on Cyrus. He didn't have the time to find the culprit another arrow punctured his body, eliciting another roar from the reptile.

Cyrus continued to taunt him, distracting him from Jing. Enraged, the Dragon unleashed once more his fire breath, only this time instead of trying to hit directly the horseman, he aimed strategically on his trajectory.

Cyrus was unable to divert his course and ran straight through the jet of fire. The beast roared, thinking himself victorious this time. Another arrow penetrating his left wing proved him wrong. Scanning the field rapidly, he was able to spot Jing, deducing her to be the archer.

A neigh cut his concentration. He turned the head towards its source. To his utmost surprise, Cyrus and his mount had survived and were now charging him. The horse glamor had faded, revealing underneath a flaming steed and both mount and horseman were now encased in an aura of fire. The battlemage aimed threateningly his spear-staff at the Dragon.

The beast, angered by the tenacity of its preys, unleashed another fire-breath. The young man ran straight through it, not bothering to dodge this time. The flying reptile was now beginning to feel… threatened? His wounds were tiring him and he wanted to end this the fastest he could but had failed once again.

Cyrus's staff glowed. A giant fireball collided directly with the beast's head in a tremendous explosion. As he had theorised, the fire in itself didn't hurt the Dragon. The blast was another story. The beast was rendered temporarily deaf, blind and disoriented. He tried to flee only to dive straight for the ground, knocking himself out.

Jing jumped on the occasion and summoned two dremora lords with a hand gesture. They didn't lose time and attacked right away the downed beast. Their daedric swords made short work of the scales. Finally as they neared near the Dragon's head, he woke up. Understanding he had bitten more than he could chew he took the skies, knocking the daedra by doing so, and fled the scene in the opposite direction of the convoy.

"One good thing done. I'm amazed he can still fly after the beating he took," Jing said while sending back her dremora.

"No vital organs were touched so I think his pride was what we hurt the most," Cyrus added after joining her.

"Probably, you might want to recast your glamor. Then we should be able to finally arrive to the city."

No other incidents perturbed the day. As Caranya had predicted, they reached Italica around sunset. And they immediately realized something was amiss.

The suburb and fields had been damaged and so were the Outer Walls of the city.

"Halt in the name of the Emperor!"

A group of armed men, probably the City Watch had stopped their convoy. They were led by a young blonde man dressed in a fine armor.

To Black-Scales it screamed rich kid.

"Decline your identities and the goal of your visit. The city of Italica has established a curfew in the absence of its legitimate ruler, Count Formal."

Well of course, we're the one holding him.

The Village Chief advanced himself.

"Please excuse ourselves my lord. We are merely refugees from the Coda Village."

The blonde man seemed confused upon hearing that. "Refugees? What happened?"

The Chief pointed to Black-Scales and Jing who had joined him. "These mercenaries you see here warned us of an impending Flame Dragon attack. If it wasn't for them we might have become their next victims. They selflessly helped us evacuate our lands. We merely wish to rest here for a day at least and then we'll go on our way."

"A Flame Dragon?" he almost screamed. His men affiched a fearful look on their face. "Of course you'll be able to rest." He gave orders to open the Gate.

The Chief bowed in thanks.

"You and your fellow villagers can of course enter the city for the night. My guards will indicate you a place to stay though I'm afraid you'll have to sleep on the wagons or even the ground." He then turned towards Jing and Black-Scales. "You however I need to talk to you. How many mercenaries are there?"

"Counting us two only four," Black-Scales.

A disappointed look could be seen on the man's face. "Very well, but I need you to follow me. Consider yourselves engaged for this night at least."

"Engaged? This night?" The Argonian pointed at the damaged buildings. "Does it have to do with this."

"We could say that. Come, the princess is awaiting you."

Somewhere, in the middle of nowhere, a hooded figure was standing. Sejanus had received all the last updates about the Shadow Legion teams all across Falmart. So far everything had been going well and the team of Captain Caranya of Argos had reached its goal.

Then why do I have a bad feeling about this?

A sound of crack behind made him turn around.