(AN: As far as ideas for this story go, I have planned out this chapter and one of several possible endings. It's only a matter of deciding which one is the right ending and not influenced by my own past. Also I was surprised to see all the people following The Dragonborn and the Lioness, and more surprised that, despite this, all of the newer reviews were trashing me and my writing. Like my music, it deflates my interest in continuing with anything. But yeah, enough "disconcerting" whining on my part: you all just want more mediocre, grammatically poor chapters.)

(If you can guess from the title of this chapter, this is the part of the story where the spider comes along.)

The Emperor's Request

The bag was pulled off of Jonna's head and she found herself inside a small personal carriage, that was parked. There were only a few small lamps upon the walls that gave little light to the tiny carriage compartment. Before her Jonna saw a figure clad in a black cloak, with the glint of gold upon the fringes of the hood and cloak. In the light of the lamps, she could see gold glinting from the shadows of the figure's cloak.

"Who are you?" Jonna asked. "What do you want?"

The figure reached up and pulled back the hood. Jonna had never met the Emperor, the one whom Sigrun's father had called Servius Crixus, but she had seen his face on newly minted coins: the servus. When and why these new coins had been minted she never truly knew, but the face she recognized as that belonging to the man who was now sitting in front of her. He didn't look very old, less than twice her age and no younger than thirty from the looks of it, but there could be no mistaking it.

"I am your Emperor," he said.

"What do you want of me?" Jonna asked.

"Your mother served me in her time," Crixus said. "And your father was loyal to my predecessor. Now I ask that you, Jonna, daughter of Jordis the Shield-maiden, do your duty to your Emperor."

Jonna was taken aback by what she had heard. The thing she met in Whiterun had little right to call himself her father, based not only on what he was now but what he had done, if it could be believed. But the idea that the Emperor would be here, in Skyrim of all places, and speaking to her, was indeed a great surprise. What could she possibly have to give that could satisfy the Emperor?

"And just what duty is that?" she asked, pressing her legs together and shifting them aside, so that her knees were facing away from him.

Crixus chuckled. "I could have any one in all of Tamriel - man or woman, anyone in Tamriel - at a word. If I wanted a fuck, I wouldn't go about it this way."

There was no doubt in her mind that this was the very one that had troubled Eirik in his time. As he had told it, he had quite a mouth on him: it was indeed rather odd that the Emperor of Tamriel - or at least, of High Rock, half of Skyrim, and Cyrodiil - would swear like a sailor.

"No, the duty you owe to the Empire is of much greater importance," Crixus continued. "The Empire is on the verge of collapse and only you can save it."

"Only me? Really?" Jonna asked. "And how can I do all of this? I'm nobody! You're the Emperor: what can I do that you can't?"

"Quite a bit, actually," Crixus stated. "You can act decisively without the burden of the Dominion breathing over your shoulders every fucking minute. You hold the ear of the powerful in Skyrim, who stubbornly refuse to heed the voice of their Emperor." He sighed. "And...you hold the key to my freedom in your hand."

"Right," Jonna said, still unconvinced with the Emperor's rhetoric. "And if I refuse? What then?"

The Emperor chuckled. "What? Did you expect me to threaten you with death and torture?"

"I've heard many things about you," Jonna replied. "All of it bad. Whatever you're planning, I don't want any part of it."

"Very well," the Emperor said, shifting into an unconventional air of agreeable calm. "You're free to go."

"I-what?" Jonna asked, flabbergasted at the Emperor's change in demeanor.

"You're free to leave," said the Emperor.

Jonna reached for the carriage door, opened it, and gasped. The ground outside the carriage was moving and she could hear the sounds of horse-hooves clopping and the wagon wheels rumbling along the bumpy road. She turned back to the Emperor; his peaceful, easy-going demeanor had changed and he was now grinning wickedly at her.

"Where am I?" Jonna asked. "What trickery is this?"

"Imperial battle-mages," quoth the Emperor. "A few well-placed spells muffled all sound and movement of the carriage, creating the illusion that we've been sitting still this whole time."

"But I was promised that I'd be returned to my Companions when my business was done!"

"I made no such promise," the Emperor replied. "Nonetheless, you're free to try and get back to your companions; if you can find them, that is."

"This is kidnapping!" Jonna exclaimed.

"I fucking care!" the Emperor mocked.

Jonna closed the carriage door and made her way back down to her seat, eying the Emperor with greater distrust. However, once the door was closed and the young Nord woman seated, Emperor Crixus suddenly became pleasant again.

"What duty do you ask of me?" Jonna asked.

"That's more like it," said the Emperor.

"Now then, your duty is simple: convince Eirik the Dragonborn to swear his loyalty to me."

"Only that?" Jonna asked.

"Only that," Emperor Crixus repeated. "If you can do this, you will have done the Empire a great and noble deed."

"I don't think I can get Eirik to serve you again," Jonna said.

"You doubt your own ability?" Crixus asked. "Have I made a mistake in choosing you?"

"I know what happened between you and Eirik," Jonna retorted. "I've been told all the tales."

"Oh, you have, now?" Emperor Crixus asked. "And while he was telling you all of these great tales, doubtless full of self-aggrandizing and butchering of the Common Tongue characteristic to your race, did he also tell you that he was responsible for my rise to power?"

"What?"

"It's true," said Crixus. "He was instrumental in dethroning the Elder Council and placing me in a position to become Emperor. And now he's needed again."

"I don't believe you," Jonna stated.

"Ah, the naïveté of Nords," Crixus said with an air of condescension. "When are you people going to get it through your thick skulls that no one gives a fuck about honor or bloodlines anymore?" He sighed and there appeared to be a grim look on his face; Jonna didn't care much how he felt, but she did not ignore his look of defeat.

"And you know who we have to blame for all of this?" she asked. "You Nords. Your fucking Tiber Septim, or Hjalti Early-Beard, or whatever the fuck you want to call him, stabbing people in the back, lording himself over the people of Tamriel. He awoke the hatred of civilized humans like Colovians, Nibenese, Redguards, and Bretons, in the hearts of every mer in Tamriel: that hatred had long and far-reaching consequences, even unto this day with the Great War. Your precious Ulfric only fed the fires of hatred with his little uprising, and now, now the Empire is on the brink of collapse because of it. It's only fitting that the bastard race that started this whole mess be the ones to fix it."

"Why should I serve one who hates me and my kind?" Jonna asked.

"Oh, you fucking child!" Crixus exclaimed. "'Oh, my poor feelings were hurt, so I'm going to let the Empire and millions die because the Emperor didn't kiss my arse!' Boo-fucking-hoo! It's time you and your race grew the fuck up!" Jonna was silent and had no retort for the Emperor.

"Now then," he said, having calmed down. "I trust that you will say yes to my offer."

"It won't be easy to get Eirik to serve you," Jonna said at last. "Especially with your hatred of our people so apparent."

"Your people," Crixus clarified. "I have no part in your people's history."

"That's not what I heard from Eirik," Jonna commented. Suddenly Crixus punched her in the face, laying her back on the wall of the carriage. After recovering from the shock, she tried to return the blow but found a knife at her throat. Crixus held the knife and a keen smile was on his face.

"Lay a hand on your Emperor," Crixus threatened. "And you'll never see your mother, your friends, or your precious Eirik ever again: is that clear?" Jonna slowly backed away, and sat back down in her chair, then reached up to her nose to feel where Crixus had hit her.

"Now then," Crixus groaned. "I can see that you have no loyalty to any but yourself, and that you are as savage as any Nord in this damn country."

"So why bother with me?" Jonna asked.

"You know Eirik," Crixus stated. "You have the confidence of him and his family. Therefore you will be instrumental in bringing him back to my side...and other things as well."

"Huh," Jonna uttered. "I had a feeling there'd be more to what you would be asking of me. Alright, what else do you want?"

"I've never been one for religion or worship," Crixus said. "If Eirik has told you anything, he's told you that. But there are certain...beings of great power, ones whom even I can no longer doubt their existence: the lords of Oblivion." Jonna's skin crawled at the mention of the Daedric Princes. She had heard whispers and rumors about them from Eirik's tales, but never anything substantial. As Eirik had said, the Daedra were not to be trifled with: they offered great power and demanded a greater payment. Worse still, they never collected their debts straight-forwardly and at once, but would come to collect at the worst possible times.

"And what does the Emperor have to do with the Daedra?" Jonna asked.

"Pacts were made," Crixus slowly said, averting his eyes to the floor of the carriage uncomfortably. "For the undoing of my enemies and for my own power. They have not yet come to collect, but I know they will soon. As such, I have several places I wish for you to visit in your travels." Crixus removed from the bosom of his robe a roll made of netch leather. This he handed to Jonna, who unrolled it and held it up to the candlelight in order to get a better look at it. There was nothing else drawn on it but a description of some locations:

Saecellum of Boethiah, east of New Gnisis. At the depths of Haemar's Shame in the northern side of the Jerall Mountains.
In Cyrodii
L, on the far w
Est of the snows of Bruma, north of the mai
N road. In the Keep of
Castle Volkihar on the island in the s
Eas of the north, off the coast of Skyrim. The Ratway beneath Riften: ask Guildmaster Brynjolf, tell him the Nightingale has sent you.

seek out the lords of madness and pleasure: tell them you have been sent to settle the debt of Servius Crixus.

"What is this?" Jonna asked.

"The list of all the Great Ones who I owe something to," Crixus said.

"You want me to settle your debts for you?" Jonna asked. "You want me to bring Eirik back to your service and in addition, clear your debts with eight Daedric Princes? That's all you want me to do?"

"Yes," Crixus returned. "Oh, and don't try to talk about this little addendum to your duties with anyone else: I'm sure you've noticed a few...additional words in the text that were...unusually spelled. I didn't get a Nord to write this for me, trust me: it's an enchantment. The words you've been reading just now have cast a spell on you; you will be unable to speak of the contents of this roll to anyone other than those written on this written therein. Trust me, you wouldn't like what will happen if you try to talk about it to anyone."

"Wha-What?" Jonna asked.

"Your Emperor thanks you for your devoted service to me," Crixus said. With that he banged on the roof of the carriage. Before Jonna could say 'no' or any other word, the door was opened again and strong hands seized her and threw her out of the moving carriage. She hit the cold snow face first and was, for a moment, dazed. She pushed herself up out of the snow and tried to run after the carriage: but there was more magic behind it than she had guessed at first. The wheels left no tracks in the snow-covered road, and it was already far and ahead of her.

Jonna looked down at her right hand and saw the roll, resting in a crumpled ball, in her hand. Angrily she threw it away and looked about her: where she was, she could not guess where, as it was covered in snow. There seemed to be trees around as well, but this was no indication of where she might be. Furthermore, it was dark and the moons were hidden beneath a night-sky full of clouds. She would have a hard time finding where she was or how to get back to the other Companions. Suddenly she paused, for she felt something slip in between her traveling clothes by her breast. She reached into her bosom and her eyes widened in shock when she saw what she held in her hand.

The crumpled roll she had been given by the Emperor.

(AN: The last chapter felt very brief, and this one was even briefer, I believe. As you can see, Emperor Crixus is using battle-mages much more than Eirik uses the Summon Dragon shout. I never like using magic a lot in my stories, since it destroys any conflict. In fact, that gives me an idea for a sub-plot for this very story. But for the sake of Crixus, who had no qualms about using magic to further his ends, I thought it would be worth showing a bit off here. I also used a "not so clever" visual metaphor in order to describe the spell used on the parchment)

(As for the future, I have several stories in mind: obviously this one, which might just be the conclusion of my Elder Scrolls cycle, the Warcraft cycle, my Mental Omega epic, and maybe even something else based on Knights of the Old Republic 2, with something special coming out around Christmastime. I can't give a time-schedule for any of these, especially since work on all of these stories is going VERY slowly, or not at all. If I may throw out a request, I am looking for a beta-reader for my Knights of the Old Republic 2 fic, since I'm planning that on being one of my next big projects.)