'Vengeance taken will often tear the heart and torment the conscience.'
Sarin took his armour from Dwail, a heavy suit without a helm. It was made of Ebony, one of the hardest materials mortals where capable of forging. He took up his shield, a steel plated heavy block of metal and grasped the hilt of his blessed sword, looking around at the twenty maids, servants and four guards including Dwail that had been mustered.
"I am going into that gate," Sarin said aloud, addressing the people," each of you has served me well in the last few years and I ask one last thing from you. I have lost all I hold dear this night, except my only surviving son. I am going after them, into whatever nightmarish realm lies through there, those who wish to leave, go now and never return. I will go alone if that is what it takes, grab anything resembling a weapon and if I don't see you on the other side, I will think no less of you,"
He pulled hard on the enchanted blade and the ring echoed through the quiet courtyard, it shone for a moment, a majestic green light emitted from the blade as it's magic sensed evil close by. A roar behind him alerted him to the presence of the beast and he turned to face the portal.
A giagatic monster with the head of a crocodile, standing upright on two legs, came charging towards Sarin. Two more blades were drawn and Dwail, followed ne Ufgar, an aging Nord guard, came to his side and readied themselves for battle. The other two men darted to the side as it approached and Sarin anticipated it's clumsy heavy swing of a clawed fist and ducked low. Slashing at it's stomach, the blade drew blood and the flesh of the beast smouldered as it roared in pain from the magical sword. A second blade struck it's arm, bouncing of hard scales. The creature had stopped it's chrage, still staggering from Sarin's blow. A third armoured figure drove it's kantana into it's side, the blade broke and the creature struck back, slamming a great fist into the man's face. Dwail felt down hard, dazed, but protected by his helm which fell away, dented and no longer of any use.
"Athel Endaras," a voice spoke, arcane words in a soothing tongue.
A bang and crackle rang out and a stream of lightning, blue and surging with magical power, struck the scaled monster on the head, sending it reeling and tumbling down the hill.
Sarin moved to Dwail, but he wasn't wounded. Sarin's shoulder no longer hurt and he looked down to see the wound was gone, a blue glow around it told him someone had used a healing spell upon him.
From the darkness, a grey robed figure appeared, a staff made from wood in his hands. He knelt by Dwail and looked him over, but was satisfied he was unhurt.
"I am Erech," the wizard said," a Mage from Morrowind, I saw the smoke from the road, I thought I could help,"
"Thank you," Sarin said," but I must cut this meeting short, I am heading into that gate,"
"You do not have many soldiers," Erech said looking around at the group, " but I am skilled in the art of healing, perhaps I can assist you in your journey, I have heard disturbing tales of what lies beyond those portals so you may need all the help you can get,"
"We shall gladly accept another towards our number," Sarin muttered," but we must leave now, Jacob, take my son to the monestry, guard him with your life,"
A man in his twenties, one of the farm workers dressed in muddy garb grasped the reigns of the nearest horse and took the boy in his arms as he mounted. The boy was speechless since the rest of the family were dead and he remained silent even as they rode into the night away from the portal, looking back at his father and his impending doom.
Sarin took the reigns of Storm, a fine jet black stallion from the city of Chedinhal which lie some miles to the south near the Cyrodil / Morrowind border. His armour glinted off the red light from the portal as he mounted his steed, those who had chosen to follow him, a mere twenty, mounted their own assortment of brown and various shades of coloured horses. He spurred the horse towards the gate, drawing his magical blade in a flaming green arch. Behind him, the hooves of the others followed close by as they galloped towards it.
……………………………………………………………………………………
Pain surrounded him, a burning red glow scorched his face as they emerged the other side of the gateway into an unknown world. Instantly, he found it hard to breathe as ash blew into his face from a deep pit of lava that lie to his right. He took a quick scanning look of the rocks around them, to their right was a great lake of lava spewing ash and rocks from it's centre. To their front was a plain of molten rock and four giant spires of the blackest metal, reaching towards the heavens and emitting fire from their tops. The road to their left clear, if it could be called a road at all. There were spikes and piles of rocks blocking their path, the horses would not be able to cross it without injury.
Sarin turned at the sound of horses, which spulttered and neighed as they came through. They stopped almost as soon as they got through, unsure what was in store for them behind the wall of rocks ahead that the would need to navigate through.
"Dismount," Sarin ordered and people started send their steeds back through the gate.
Erech the wizard and Dwail came to Sarin's side quickly to look around, as far as they could see there were pits of lava and red streaks of lightning launching from hills and towers.
"There is a great magical force here," Erech said," something…….more than evil,"
"I'm ready when you are, My Lord," Dwail said.
"Everyone," Sarin called," stick close and if you see any-,"
An arrow wizzed past his face and Sarin ducked down, there were two clangs on the back of his heavy armour as arrows struck and bounced off. Nearby, hiding behind the rocks were a group of archers who were quickly abandoning their bows for swords as they leapt over. There were at least twenty of the humanoid creatures, all donning the same black armour he had seen in the house. Their weapons were sycthe like blades, rusty and glowing with swirling red energies and they were probably all enchanted. Some carried other weapons, blunt maces and axes of the same design, dark and bloody weapons that were filled with dark sorceries.
"Brace yourselves!" Sarin said, raising his shield along with Dwail who swung a heavy steel shield from his shoulder and locked it with Sarin's shield.
A bolt of lightning shot past him from behind, striking one of the chargers on the chest. He flew back, smashing onto a sharp rock and crippling the demon. It was not dead, but close enough to it. The air fizzed and Sarin felt the hairs on his neck rise as Erech summoned a ball of swirling energies in his hand. It was a white colour which began to send shiveres down his spine. The demons were almost on them when Erech let loose all his power, a wave of blue freezing wind swept acorss the ground, freezing all in it's path even though there was the lava around them.
Four of the creatures stopped in their path, frozen by the full force of the spell. They rapidly began to melt as they turned to ice in front of Sarin. The other fifteen or so were slowed, but the most had been shielded from it's full effect by the front runners.
"Kill them all!" Sarin said, taking the force of two of the black armoured creatures as they hit his shield hard.
His feet dug in and he rose up the shield, knocking the mace of the first into the air, he thrust his sword into it's stomach hard and it cried out as it fell, moaning in agony as green flames from Sarin's sword set it on fire. The second creature swung it's sword at his face and Sarin ducked, dragged down faster by the weight of his armour. He stabbed up at the demon and it tried to knock his sword aside. Both blades struck and shot off sparks of magical light and the blow was thrown off course, glancing off the black armour instead of causing a fatal wound. It didn't give him a chance to stand, on his knees, Sarin deflected another blow with his shield. Even though he wasn't hurt by the strike, he felt a wave of cold go over him as the demon's sword placed a curse upon him. He swung his katana again, this time at it's leg. It moved back just in time to avoid the slash and caught it's foot on a rock, Sarin pushed himself forward, jamming the demon's blade against the floor with his shield and using all his weight the thrust it through it's heart. It didn't scream as it died and it's eyes remained open.
Sarin turned to see Dwail knock one of them to the ground and stab down into it's face, killing it instantly.
One of the demons rose from the floor where it had been laying wounded. Blue energies surrounded it as it healed itself and rose it's sword to cut down a servant from behind, who was struggling to hold down one of them it had managed to push to the ground.
Sarin swung his sword, but the demon had seen the glint of it as it passed by the lava. It parryed the blade awarkwardly at a angle and staggered as it swung clumsily at Sarin. He jammed his sword with his opponents, smashed it over the head with his shield and slashed upward as it's face fell towards his sword. It's head thudded on the floor and Sarin looked up to observe the rest of the fight. He had killed some of them, but many of their number had also fallen. Dwail still stood, wiping the blood from his sword. Ufgar however was not so lucky. He lay face down with an arrow in the back of the head, a pool of blood around the edges of his skull where he lay. The others were few in number, seven of theirs had survived the fight and now were looking more grim then ever. Erech was leaning against a rock, healing a fallen women who was bleeding heavily from a chest wound. Erech himself had two bloody slashes in his robes, one on his shoulder and another on his side.
"Some of them still live," Erech said, pointing at some humans who were still twitching," I can save some of them, but our numbers are still too few,"
"He's right," Dwail said," we cannot storm any of these towers, if we heal the wounded with his magic, our numbers will still be few and Erech himself will grow weaker each time,"
"No," Sarin said," we go on, these monsters cannot be allowed to hurt anyone else, if we leave things as they are they will pour into the country and attack the nearby towns, this is the only way, who is with me?"
In their faces, Sarin could see the despair. Dwail stepped forward to join Sarin, Erech nodded his head and continued his healing spells. From the survivors, only two others joined them, the rest of the people looked on unsure whether their loyalty to their Lord held in hell itself.
"Very well," Sarin said," I will not judge you if you return, go to the nearest army fort and summon reinforcements, I however, go forward,"
Sarin, followed by Dwail his loyal soldier, Erech the Healer and a man and women who had taken the armour from the slain guards, all marched forward towards a bridge ahead where they could see their enemies massing and regrouping in another regiment of twenty black armoured soldiers.