A group of five bandits stood at the foot of Whiterun's outer wall, and Emrik was among them.

It was late in the night, and Masser and Secunda sat regally on their thrones in the sky, looking down on the mortal world with eyes of copper and moonstone.

Above them, Dragonsreach graced the Cloud District, with its roof and balcony only just visible to the group of criminals. And of course, the balcony was their target.

Ti'laan led the company, which was made up of a group of bandits he had handpicked for this operation. He'd told them they were going to take Whiterun. Emrik had been sceptical, but he now had a fair idea on how they would achieve it.

The company was made up of two stalkers, a brute, a physician, and Ti'laan himself. Emrik was one of the stalkers, and he was equipped with his quicksilver Nordic blade and a bow that had been 'salvaged' from Bleak Falls Barrow.

The other stalker was Ryann, an Imperial with dirty blond hair and a cruel gaze. Emrik met his eyes and received a scowl, to which he just scowled back. There was bad blood between himself and Ryann - that much was known - but Emrik was yet to find out why.

The brute was a Khajiit who was rippling with muscles. He had dark fur and piercings in places piercings definitely weren't needed. No one knew the cats name, but the clan fittingly called him Lion.

The physician, of course, was Darrius, the Dunmer. He had only made four potions, which he took from his satchel now, giving Emrik the idea that the Dark Elf wouldn't be following them into danger.

Ti'laan had chosen to leave Guraag behind to keep order. Not that anyone would uprise; the men respected and honoured the bandit leader. But they also feared him, and his painful methods of punishment and execution.

Darrius handed the potions to each of the assembled bandits.

"Featherweight potions," the Dunmer explained. "Once you drink it, the effects will only last for eight seconds."

"And what are the effects?" Ryann asked ignorantly.

"These brews will grant us the ability to jump from here," Ti'laan said, pointing to their place on the ground, "to there." He pointed to the Dragonsreach balcony.

The group nodded.

"Once we land on the balcony, we wait for half a minute to ensure the effects have subsided, then we continue," Ti'laan continued.

"Cheers, men," Emrik said, and the group all chinked their potions together before drinking.

Emrik gagged as the liquid flowed down his throat and burnt his insides. The taste started out awful – what Emrik imagined what mammoth dung would taste like – but it sweetened after time, leaving a honey aftertaste.

Ti'laan jumped and soared up into the sky. Ryann followed him eagerly, and then Emrik jumped.

The feeling of weightlessness was indescribable. Emrik was filled with pure, untainted joy as he all but flew through the air, the wind whipping through his dark red hair, the torchbugs passing by in blurs of yellow light.

And then it was over, and Emrik was crouched on the balcony, his mind back in the mission and his bow in hand.

Lion landed softly behind him, and the Nord and the Khajiit went to rendezvous with Ryann and Ti'laan.

"Two guards on the upper balcony, one of the floor," Ti'laan said, pointing. "Emrik, Ryann."

Emrik and Ryann unslung their bows and knocked an arrow to the strings. They both took careful aim on their targets and waited.

One…

Two…

Three!

There was a barely audible hiss as both arrows arced through the sky, cutting the air and finding their new homes in the chests of their targets.

In merely a second, three guards had been reduced to one.

Emrik watched from his cover as Ti'laan snuck up to the remaining guard on the floor, who so far seemed oblivious to the groups presence.

Ti'laan took a deep breath, and then gripped the guards sword and slid it carefully from its sheath, without alerting the guard at all.

Emrik saw this and gasped, completely amazed at the lizards skill.

Ti'laan then drew the sword back, and with a crack and thump the sword found its way through the guards chest. Ti'laan withdrew the sword, and as the guard collapsed he spun and the blade connected with the guards neck, severing his head.

Before the head could hit the ground Ti'laan caught it by the hair and lifted it up, letting some of the blood drip into his open maw. He dropped the head and spat the blood out.

"This one was drunk," the Argonian said simply.

The group followed on until they reached the door that would lead them into Dragonsreach, and inevitably the Jarl.

"Ryann, Lion, I need you two to go off to the right and collect Balgruuf's children. Emrik, you come with me."

Lion slowly opened the door and gestured for the group to entire, and they all did so, crouching low and taking light footsteps.

The room they had entered was a simple one, with a table, a chest and some bookshelves.

On command, Ryann and the Khajiit broke off to the right, into a separate room, and Emrik and Ti'laan snuck down the stairs that led to the Dragonsreach main hall.

Emrik and Ti'laan clung to the shadows, as within the hall were many guards and, to Ti'laan's pleasure, several of Whiterun's highest nobles.

"Stay," Ti'laan whispered. "Have your bow ready."

Emrik drew his bow and knocked an arrow to the bowstring.

Ti'laan stood and strolled into the limelight.

"Hello, citizens of Whiterun," Ti'laan said, taking a goblet of wine from one of the tables and drinking it.

Everyone looked, speechless, at this intruder.

"I am here to announce that, sadly, today is the day you relinquish this precious city," Ti'laan finished the sentence by gazing directly at Balgruuf, sitting on his throne.

In that moment Balgruuf knew who this lizard was. Those burning eyes told him all he needed to know.

"Guards!" The Jarl roared.

In moments a half-dozen guards stood on all angles of the Argonian, who could not look calmer in this situation.

"Are these some of your best men?" Ti'laan asked.

"Of course," Balgruuf said, standing from his throne.

"Are you sure you want to lose them?"

The Jarl didn't get a chance to answer.

With unnatural speed and grace, Ti'laan leapt towards the guard in front of him and threw a punch into his sternum. Ribs cracked and shattered, and the guard collapsed. The next guard was not so lucky. It only took a single uppercut augmented by Ti'laan's vampiric strength to sever the head from the body, and it did so with a blood-curdling tearing sound. Ti'laan caught the head as it came down and spun, throwing it at a third oncoming guard and disorientating him. When the guard regained his bearings the Argonian was there, stabbing two claws through the mans' eyes quickly and leaving him to scream and bleed. The fourth guard stupidly charged Ti'laan, who spun out of the way of the guards assault and gripped him by his uniform. The Argonian hoisted the guard and his feet left the ground. With a single toss the guard was in the massive fire burning at the centre of the Dragonsreach main hall. The remaining two guards hesitated, but then on some unspoken signal charged Ti'laan at the same time. They both raised their swords for a killing blow, but Ti'laan merely stepped away from their path, and both guards quite mistakenly impaled each other. They stood there with looks of confusion on their face, but then the Argonian was there, drawing the swords from both men's bodies and delivering a swipe that left two more guards headless. The carnage and the blood that had unfolded over the last ten seconds were phenomenal.

Ti'laan turned to the Jarl and gave a mocking bow.

"And that, my Jarl, is how you dance with death," the lizard said.

Everyone in the room looked on with pale faces. Some women cried, some men vomited, everyone was afraid.

Jarl Balgruuf the Greater took a threatening step forward when an arrow, come seemingly from nowhere, whizzed by his face. He froze in his tracks.

"I wouldn't," Ti'laan said. "The second one won't miss, I promise you."

Balgruuf regained some composure.

"What is it you want, vampire?" he all but spat the word.

"It's very simple," Ti'laan said. "I want you to evacuate your city of all men, women, children and guards so that my clan can move in. We've been having some cramped home issues lately, and we decided it was time to move in."

"If you think you'll get Whiterun so easily then you are mistaken," the Jarl said defiantly.

"I don't think so," Ti'laan said, wagging a finger. "You see, I want every guard in Dragonsreach gone. Leave these men and women, they are of importance and could be of some use to us. But otherwise, I want your city, I want your castle, I want your throne."

"If you think you'll get any of that then you are mistaken," the Jarl said. "You'll have to kill me to get what you want."

Ti'laan spread his arms. "I don't want anymore bloodshed, your… Jarlness… You have three children, do you not?"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I really don't think you're in a position to make threats right now."

Someone whistled from the upper floor, and everyone's eyes looked to see Lion holding two of the Jarl's children by the scruff of their necks, and Ryann lightly pressing a blade into the neck of Balgruuf's daughter, a maniacal smile painted across his face.

Balgruuf paled and looked frantically to Ti'laan.

"I don't want anymore bloodshed," the lizard repeated.

Balgruuf's shoulders slumped, and his confidence as a ruler and as a father escaped him. He addressed the Dunmer woman by his side.

"Irileth, evacuate the townspeople, including the guards," he said weakly.

The woman gasped. "My Jarl, you can't be-"

"I will not gamble with the lives of my children, Irileth," the Jarl said. "Do it now."

Irileth hesitated, but then bowed lightly. "Yes, my Jarl."

"Wise choice, Balgruuf," Ti'laan said. "Ryann, if you would please stop threatening the Jarl's daughter," he called.

Ryann nodded and sheathed his sword, but still kept a firm hand on the girl.

"Take Lion and escort all of our friends into the dungeons," the Argonian continued. "And please don't harm them. We want to make sure their lives as prisoners aren't completely awful."

Ryann nodded again, and gestured to the Khajiit to follow him.

Ti'laan gestured to Emrik to come out of hiding. The Nord did so.

"Emrik, go back to the camp and tell Guraag to bring the men," Ti'laan smiled wickedly. "We have a new home."


On dawn the following morning, a troop of fifty bandits paraded into Whiterun, roaring and drinking to the victory of their leader.

Ti'laan sat on his throne in Dragonsreach with Guraag at his side.

A courier stood in front of them, shaking with fright. Ti'laan found it amusing even though he wished the spindly man no harm.

"I want you to send a message," the Argonian said. "I want you to get word out to invite all bandit clans to come to Whiterun. Come and drink, and prosper, and do almost anything you desire. Come and be a part of my kingdom."