Chapter 13

Days passed. Weeks passed. Nirano was almost at Bruma, and was noticing that the air was chillier this north of Cyrodiil. He had been riding on the horse that the Imperial Guard so long ago had given him, Sari. He saw the castle looming in front of him and entered the city a couple of minutes later. He dismounted Sari and tied her to a nearby tree, in case he needed to get away quickly.

This was the first time Nirano had seen Bruma. It seemed like a friendly place. There were shacks on the left and expensive houses on the right. A large castle stood somewhere north, on a little slope so that it looked over the entire city. Nirano saw a guard.

"Would you mind telling me where the local Inn is sir?" He asked politely.

"Aye, it is located on your left, Olav's Tap and Tack." The guard said smiling.

Nirano nodded, and headed in the direction the guard had pointed him to. Soon enough he found the local inn, and entered. What he saw then was very sudden. The place was FILLED. Everyone in the city seemed to be in this one place. Although the place was located on the poor side of town, Nirano could see that it was one of the best business locations.

Nirano shoved, and pushed his way through the crowds, some of whom were laughing, and some others fallen asleep on the tables, drunk. He went to the man who obviously was Olav.

"Is this the local Inn, or the local bar?" Nirano asked him.

"It's both!' Olav shouted back, through all the noise.

Nirano decided to not get a room in this Inn. He would never get to sleep with all the noise. He went back outside and took a deep breath as the noise was shut out when the door slammed shut again.

"I suppose I will sleep outside once more." Nirano said. In the morning he would go around town asking people about Termarg. Nirano exited through the Cities gates and found Sari happily eating the healthy grass that grew in the region.

"Come on, we need to find somewhere to sleep." Nirano said, half to himself, half to Sari. He took Sari's reins and directed her to a nice soft spot of grass which looked onto the stars. "Here seems fine…" Said Nirano, unpacking a blanket from the pouch Sari carried. He spread it out on the grass and lay down on it, taking another and covering himself with it.

"Sithis is strong tonight." He whispered.

He then closed his eyes and drifted off to a peaceful sleep, where he saw himself enjoying some ale with people he did not know. He was laughing and having fun with these complete strangers. That was when his dream turned from light, to dark. Another shadowy person entered through the door and drew a sword, glimmering with the light from the candles. He shouted words Nirano did not understand and stabbed Nirano in the heart. It was the Nirano heard a voice overhead. "Wake up…There is trouble."

Nirano jolted upright, pulling his dagger out as he stood and looked around. All seemed the same, but he knew the message was from Sithis, telling him someone meant Nirano harm. It would probably be another Assassin out for him. He continued to look around, pulling his hood over his head as he did so, to conceal himself more in the darkness. He placed his dagger, Halek back in the sheath and took out the new bow that Ocheeva had gifted him with. He notched an arrow and heard a small amount of leaves rustle behind him. He whipped around and saw two pairs of eyes glaring at him. He released the shot and watched in horror as the figure easily dodged it, wielding the same sword he saw in his dream.

"You are about to die Assassin." The Assailant said haughtily.

Nirano did not reply, simply notched another bow and shot it once more at the figure who ducked under it easily. He was approaching quickly…

Nirano continued to shoot arrows, backing up, but letting the figure approach. He had a plan. As the Assailant was about arms length away Nirano laughed.

"Fooled you…" and he rammed the hidden Halek dagger inside the Assailants stomach. A scream so horrible emanated from the figure then. Nirano left the dagger inside the skin to block his ears from the noise. Birds in the distance fluttered off trees and all living creatures shuddered in fear. He could hear people in the city of Bruma stirring, question what the sound was. Sari would have run, but she was loyal to Nirano, and contained her emotions of flight.

Then, as quickly as it had happened the screeching stopped. The figure went down in a billowing cloud of smoke and spoke no more. Nirano picked Halek up and wiped the blood on the Assailants shirt, then returning it to the sheath. He lifted the hood of the Assailant's head and saw it was an Argonian.