Early morning had broken and Apoltis awoke with Scar-Tail sitting by his side. Apoltis rubbed one of his eyes with sleepiness asking, "Have you been there all night?"

Rubbing his hands together, Scar-Tail hissed reluctantly, "No. I just came in about an hour ago. Bad dreams."

"What kind?" Apoltis voice filled with curiosity.

Scar-Tail was a bit distraught by Apoltis not showing apprehension in asking, "Nothing you should know about." He got up from the chair quickly and said, "We should get going if we are going to make it to Skingrad by dusk."

Jumping off the bed with excitement, Apoltis put back on his cloak with the stone still in his pocket. "I have never been to Skingrad before!"

Opening the door for the boy, Scar-Tail said to Apoltis as he bounded out of his room excited, "Don't get too excited. You may not like what you see."

"Why is that?" the imperial boy asked heading out of the front door. He had seen, while passing by the front the desk, that the nice female khajiit was still alive. She didn't have the same friendly attitude that she had had yesterday but she still had a faint smile pass over her face as she saw the small boy.

Both Scar-Tail and Apoltis exited the inn as Scar said, "It's not the friendliest city in Cyrodiil." Making another comment about the vampire infested city of Skingrad.

Outside, Ra'tarnik came from out of one of the cabins. He was accompanied by a young, female khajiit. It was the girl he had carried wood for yesterday. He had given her a kiss before leaving and greeted Apoltis with a pat on the back. Apoltis about fell over with the impact of his friend's hand. He still had a wide smile cross his face as Ra'tarnik realized how hard he had hit Apoltis's back. He tried to reserve his strength but even with a light pat, he was still too strong for the kid.

Apoltis looked at the female khajiit as she went back inside the cabin with a bit of trouble walking. He could not understand why. He asked Ra'tarnik, "Who was that?"

"Oh, just a friend - a very good friend."

Apoltis might have not understood the underlying meaning but Scar-Tail sure did.

"Why was she walking funny? Was she hurt yesterday?" Apoltis asked.

Ra'tarnik had a big, wide, vain smile cross his face saying, "Oh-no. She just likes to ride."

"Horses?" The naiveté in Apoltis's voice ever-present.

Ra'tatrnik's smile getting bigger even though he thought to himself that was impossible. "I will tell you when you are older."

Not being able to take it anymore, Scar-Tail finally chimed in, "Let's hope you can ride a horse just as hard."

"What?" Ra'tarnik asked, not understanding why they had to ride horses.

Scar-Tail was already at the coral which was in shambles from the attack yesterday. He looked around for his black mare and couldn't find her. He then took a couple of step and yelled out, "Sanguine?"

Suddenly, from out of the forest beyond, came the big, black mare. It raced right for her master stopping on a dime right in front of Scar-Tail. He gently brushed her nose and hefted Apoltis onto her back. He got himself onto his horse holding her reigns with confidence. He looked at Ra'tarnik who was looking around town, "Seems as though you are without a horse. Guess you will have to try and keep up on foot." He cracked the reins and the black mare took of like a shot.

Ra'tarnik had a half-cocked smile glide across his face. "We shall see about that."

Scar-Tail was already out of Border Watch and racing down the Green Road northwards. Apoltis was slightly worried about Ra'tarnik. "He can keep up, can't he?"

"Of course." Scar-Tail said slyly.

Galloping at a faster pace than most horses in the providence, the black mare took them all the way back to the Inn Of Ill Omen. Scar-Tail stopped the horse outside of the Inn looking around. He didn't spot any sentries watching out for them. That was until a seemingly weak daedra popped around the corner. Scar-Tail took off like a black lighting bolt and never looked back.

The two came across Bravil and they were soon stopped by the imperial guards just a little ways from the gate. Scar-Tail had not expected this. He figured he could just easily slip by but something was going on. Something that seemed to have Bravil in an uproar.

The black horse was a bit eager to get going again but Scar-Tail calmed her down. He looked down at the imperial guard walking his way with two more heading his way on horseback. Both of them heavily armed clanking about with their steel-heavy armor. The first on horseback had a set of silver arrows that was more than enough to handle anything the woods could throw at him with an impressive bow to match. The second had a standard silver sword that most guards had. The one closest to Scar-Tail on foot had one too.

The one on foot walked around to the side of the horse saying in his commanding and regal voice, "What is your business in these parts, argonian?"

Scar-Tail hissed very silently as he saw out of the corner of his eyes the two guards on horseback getting their weapons ready. He said with that predominant hiss of his, "Passing through. We are off to Skingrad."

"We?" The imperial said looking at the imperial kid on the back of the horse. Scar-Tail watched with cautious eyes as the guard stepped closer to Apoltis.

The guard asked Apoltis, "What are you doing with the argonian, child?"

Apoltis bit his bottom lip saying half-heartedly, "Going to Skingrad, sir."

The guard circled around to the other side of the horse with the two other guards coming up just about five feet from the black mare. She huffed in disapproval of the other two horses getting that close to her. The guards' eyes hiding secret intentions. Scar-Tail was wondering if it was his black armor that gave him away.

Looking across the bridge, near the front entrance of Bravil, Scar-Tail saw three dead bodies on the cobblestone road. He saw a dead wood-elf male, a dead, young imperial girl, and a dead breton woman along with a well-pillaged trade wagon. In that small amount of time, Scar-Tail already had the events reoccurring in his head nearly just as it had happened. Scar-Tail finally asked after awhile, "Seems you have quite the problem here."

The guard finally broke his gaze from the skilled, lizard man and breathed out a subtle, dark-toned, "Yeah."

"What do you think happened?" Scar-Tail almost knowing exactly what happened.

The guard tilted his helmet a bit saying, "Goblins. Attacked the trade caravan last night. Nothing to worry about, citizen. We have it under control."

Scar-Tail looked at the guards in front of him as they made a narrow path for him to go through. Slowly he started to trot his horse away from Bravil saying as he left, "I hope you get them."

The guard on foot gave them a stiffened wave goodbye as Scar-Tail increased the trot of his horse till he was at a full riding gallop.

Apoltis held on a bit as he asked, "You don't think it was goblins, do you?"

Scar-Tail dared not to take his eyes off the road. "Not unless it was one berserker and did not have blood thirst. Which is about as likely as a mud-crab killing me in daedric armor."

"What do you mean?"

"No way on Nirn was it goblins. Whatever did that, was not a raging beast. It was a skilled animal. It was a person. A very short person."

"What, like a male bosmer?"

"Maybe. I doubt it though. Bosmers are woodland fare-folk. They are a very peaceful people. This thing, whatever it was, would have had to been born to kill."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the cuts and stabs on the bodies were skilled. Not taught skilled either. Experience skilled. It has killed before and found out what works. It really likes it as well."

"You can tell all that from just those three dead people?"

"I can tell a lot more than that. The male bosmer was first. The killer came up behind him and slit his throat. Jagged, hastily, but effectively. The next was the imperial girl. Now - a goblin berserker would have jumped on her after killing the wood-elf, and probably would have cut her face into several different pieces with an ax or a sword. Probably would have bashed her skull in with a mace. This killer went after her ankles though. It hamstrung her quickly and then stabbed her right in the throat. Crude, violent, but effective. More effective and a bit more clean than a goblin berserker. The killer had no training but had experience in murder. Next was the breton woman. She did not go down quietly either. I saw the quiver of arrows on her back and her bow covered in blood. She fought back. Which is what puzzles me the most about it."

"I though you knew what had happened?"

"I do. That's what worries me."

"I don't understand."

"There is not a healing potion or spell, at least that I know of, that can heal you from eight arrows to the body and face. Not only that, being a breton she was probably very well versed in magic. I saw that blue cloak on her. She had training in ice magika. It makes no sense! Even an ogre would have thought twice about messing with her. You see those nimble fingers of hers?" Scar-Tail asked, slightly forgetting who he was talking to. "She could have shot a target the size of an apple from two hundred paces with twenty arrows before the apple became nothing more than bits. She was a very skilled archer and probably magika user. Yet there she laid. With her stomach slashed open and her bow arm cut to ribbons. How did the killer get that close to her? I saw the eight arrows lying by that tree with blood."

"Maybe it is the guy who's after me?"

"Not likely! Not unless he found a quickly fierce daedra goblin or something."

"Maybe he did."

"Apoltis - it was not him! He would not want to draw attention to himself unless he knew he had that stone of yours in sight. Besides, not in front of a major city like Bravil. He would wait to ambush us were there are no guards. I am sure the empire is not even aware of his presence."

"But the nord at The Inn Of Ill Omen?"

"Even if he did tell a guard what he saw, not one of them would have believed him. He is a nord who owns a small, very oddly named inn out in the middle of nowhere which still probably has only a few regular patrons. Nobody would believe him or them."

"Scar, I am really worried about Ra'tarnik."

Scar-Tail halted his horse a bit and looked around. He took a breath of aggravation saying, "Alright! We will wait for him." Dismounting his horse and helping Apoltis down, the two of them walked over to a random tree about ten feet from the road. Scar-Tail was on his guard as the noises of the woods sounded off. He knew most of them but he was still on his guard. He wouldn't be if a serial killer was not on the loose. His eyes gliding around the forest hearing a few noises he did not recognize.

Apoltis was sitting next to a tree, looking at his stone as he asked, "Uncle Scar?"

Scar-Tail thought he would never get use to that. It still gave him a warm feeling in his heart every time he heard it. He turned his attention almost completely to Apoltis. He still had one good ear on the noises of the woods trying desperately to catch a few things. "Yes boy?"

"What's Black Marsh like?"

A little thrown off by the question, Scar-Tail answered truthfully and honestly, "Marshy."

Apoltis just looked up from the stone having a sideways glance. "You know what I mean."

"What do you want to know about it. It is a very inhospitable place. You would not be able to make it there."

"Oh." He said, sounding hurt.

Again, Scar-Tail was thrown off as more of his attention was taken off the woods and its natural choir. "What's the matter?"

"I just thought after all of this was over with, you could take me there someday."

"No Apoltis. I cannot."

"Why?" He asked with a whine.

"I can never go back."

"You do miss your family, right?"

"I had a family, yes. And yes Apoltis, I do miss them. But when I made my decision they turned on me faster than a pack of rabid wolves!"

"What decision?"

Scar-Tail looked at the grass and slipped down the tree next to Apoltis sitting down next to the small boy, "Remember when you asked me my story back at Fort Nomore?"

"Yeah?"

"Well that's it. I will tell you my decision. It involved killing a person and I refused."

"Was it one of your family?"

"No. I probably would have had an easier time killing one of them than my target."

"This person must have meant an awful, awful lot to you."

"Never met them before. It just did not make sense to me anymore. I looked at her face and…" Scar-Tail started contemplating if he should tell Apoltis any further. That knightly ideal of his might slip away Scar-Tail not wanting to lose that. Not because of who the target was but what he had done before that.

Apoltis wanted to ask more but he could tell his scaly compatriot was hurting inside. They sat at the tree for about a minute with their backs to the trunk. They were quiet, sharing in the beauty and tranquility of the forest before the wind began to pick up.

It blew hard through the woods causing Apoltis to stand up asking, "Where is he?" Referring to Ra'tarnik.

Standing up, looking casually at the sun Scar-Tail said, "I do not know but we will never make it to Skingrad before nightfall now."

The wind ever increased and soon Scar-Tail's black mare was rearing and making a loud commotion of whinnies. She was sounding the alarm.

Scar-Tail had to actually struggle to walk against the wind grabbing the reins of his horse. He tried to calm her down but it was no use. She suddenly took off nearly taking Scar-Tail with her. Scar-Tail couldn't help but blurt out, "What in all of Oblivion?! She has never been spooked by weather!"

Apoltis looked around and asked, "Never?"

"No. Which means -" Scar-Tail said, tearing his swords from their sheathes, "It's not the weather!"

They both looked north which was the opposite direction Scar-Tail's horse had taken off in. The wind was blowing south from the north and Apoltis struggled against the strong wind to get closer to Scar-Tail. The trees all made that familiar sound of loud rustling as they were in the gale of air. It was so strong that even the most sturdy of the trees bent to the will of the wind. Apoltis grabbed a hold of Scar-Tail's armor holding on for dear life. Scar-Tail actually wrapped one of his armed arms around Apoltis's back trying to keep him safe.

From behind a tree, just twenty feet north of the two, an imperial man stepped out from behind the trunk having the strong wind blowing from his hands. At least five Dremora accompanied him. Loyal, human-looking, deadra servants to the daedra lord of chaos himself, Mehrunes Dagon.

Barely being able to see the man, Scar-Tail just held Apoltis tighter. The man walked towards the two with a slight smile as the wind escaping from his hands began to slowly die down. The trees returning to normal.

The man lowered his hands and even in the fading light of the sun, Scar-Tail could see the slight glow to the man's flesh. He wore a dark blue robe with a black-haired goatee on his face. His eyes looking dead center at Apoltis.

Squeaking out a small whimper, Apoltis told Scar-Tail, "It's him!"

Scar-Tail sort of already figured that.

The man slowly walked towards the two folding his arms behind him, stopping just ten feet from the two. His small squad of Dremora seemingly ready to mutilate the first thing that even looked at them crossways.

The man then spoke, "Ah good. You found my property." The man slipped his hand into his robe and Scar-Tail got ready with his swords. The man produced a coin purse. He threw it on the ground next to Scar-Tail's feet. "For your trouble, argonian. 2,000 gold. More than enough to keep you satiated for a while."

Shifting his head down to look at the small sack of coin, Scar-Tail hissed at it, "The boy or the stone?"

The warlock just shook his head, "Told him did you boy? Well no bother."

Another coin purse was produced from the man's robe. He threw it at the ground like before. It landed right next to the other sack not as big.

"Another thousand for you argonian. Now if you will please, hand over the boy."

Slyly, Scar-Tail shifted his head. "Why not just the stone?"

"No!" Apoltis belted out.

The man pointed at the boy and said, "See, that's why. Why not alleviate yourself of such a headache."

Scar-Tail took another short glance at the money saying to the man, "I think you can make a better deal than that!" He had no intentions of selling the boy. Not for any amount of money.

The man just made a slight, sarcastic chuckle. Looking at one of his Dremora, "He thinks I'm negotiating with him. It is to laugh."

Scar-Tail held onto the boy tighter, "If you are not negotiating then what are you doing?"

The man looked back at the argonian assassin knowing full well that's what he was. "You misunderstand. Take the gold and never look back."

"I do not think I will." Scar-Tail's voice was cold and determined. He kicked the two coin purses away from him while he still had a lock on Apoltis. Apoltis though had an even more death lock on him.

Again, another slight chuckle from the man. "Still, he believes I am negotiating."

"If you are not dealing, then what are you doing?"

The man's eyes began to swirl with magika. The color of his eyes becoming whirlpools of power. "I am giving you an ultimatum."

Looking a bit confused and loosing a bit of his grip on Apoltis, Scar-Tail asked, truly wondering, "And what is that?"

A maniacal laugh came from the man as it took him about a minute to come down from his evil euphoria saying, "Oh you sad, simple-minded lizard. Dremora - educate him."

A loud echo of daedra metal was heard as the five produced weapons of every shape and size all made out of daedric metal. Scar-Tail was more than nervous. Two had swords and shields. Another aimed an arrow right for Scar-Tail's scaly hide. One had a giant ax meaning to use it. The final seemed to be swinging something. Something that Scar-Tail thought no daedra in Oblivion wielded. It was a bola. Four balls with black, metal talons around each ball.

They began to approach and Scar-Tail stepped in front of the boy. He knew he was outnumbered. He could go invisible but that wouldn't help Apoltis. He eased down and said to Apoltis the only thing he could think to help the child, "Run!"

Apoltis took a couple quick glances at the approaching force and back at Scar-Tail. "No."

"Run!"

He thought about running but he wouldn't leave Scar. He stepped in front of Scar-Tail and held out his arms.

The man just crossed his arms in front of him and said, "Oh that's cute." He bent towards the Dremora saying, "Make sure he doesn't go anywhere in case he is thinking about leaving."

The Dremora with the bow aimed his arrow right at Apoltis quickly and let the arrow fly. The arrow flew through the air drilling itself deep into Apoltis's left leg.

The child let out a yelp and went down to the ground with the arrow sticking right out of his left leg. He grabbed it as it was just below the knee. Not enough to cause any real damage. Just enough to debilitate him.

Scar-Tail bent down holding onto the boy with concern etched on his face. He looked back at the approaching force with both swords and stepped over the child with anger in his eyes. He hissed out louder and meaner than ever. Reaching back with his sword ready to cut down one of the daedra he spun the other ready for war. Unfortunately, he did not get a chance to take his revenge as the bola Dremora threw its weapon right at Scar-Tail. It wrapped around the argonian's arm throwing him to the ground by the sheer force, sticking him to the ground by the talons.

He tried to pull himself free as blood began to seep out of his wound. The closest Dremora jumped almost right on top of him raising its sword right over his head. Scar-Tail looked over at Apoltis with despair in his eyes seeing the warlock getting closer to the child with that arrow still jutting from his knee. Scar-Tail tried to free himself but all he did was rip more of his scales off. More blood came seeping from his wound. The Dremora on top with its daedric sword raised high above his head with the point staring down at the argonian seemingly hungry for his life.

Roaring out, Scar-Tail finally pulled his arm from the ground in one final surge of adrenaline smashing the wrapped weapon right into the helmet of the Dremora. The evil servant of the robed man went down hard but the chain and balls were still wrapped around Scar-Tail's arm. It had daedra blood on it and it mingled with Scar-Tail's own on the weapon making it a blood-soaked instrument of death.

Trying to get up, Scar-Tail was a bit dazed from the loss of blood. He stood on shaky legs as his vision was blurry and his arm felt like it was going to fall off. He took his other arm, still with a sword in hand, and raised it above his head. He swung at the air as another Dremora was coming after him. This one with a shield and sword. It was pounding the shield as it approached the wounded warrior.

Apoltis crawled backwards as he tried to escape from the warlock. The man just twitched his fingers and the boy stopped. Not by choice either. The man then demanded, "Give me the stone!"

Apoltis just weakly said, "No!"

"I grow weary of this! If I cannot persuade you to part with the stone, then I will force you to give it to me. Oh you will wish for death long before it comes, child. Even when you are good and ready to give me the stone, I think I will disembowel you a few more times while you are still alive. Just to get my point across."

Sad eyes glared at Apoltis as Scar-Tail watched on in horror as the warlock had the kid right where he wanted him. His eyes becoming more filled with sadness by the moment as the approaching Dremora pounded its shield harder. It raised its sword to cut the argonian's head right off. Scar-Tail swung his silver sword again with that torturous weapon still wrapped around his other arm. Blood running off the chain like rain off of a leaf. A pool was accumulating on the ground of both Scar-Tail's blood and the down Dremora.

Scar-Tail then heard the galloping horses of Death's carriage coming to get him. He heard it getting louder as he turned away from Apoltis to see his impending doom.

What he saw though was nothing short of a stupendous sight. It was Ra'tarnik standing on a painted horse with a glass battle-ax in both hands. He was standing straight up on the saddle, coming right at the robed man's army. The horse was galloping at a steady pace and Ra'tarnik leapt from the horse and buried the ax deep in the Dremora's chest. The two warriors went down and the Dremora roared out with a vicious howl as it died quickly from one shot from Ra'tarnik's new weapon, Gluttony.

Ripping the weapon from the Dreamora's chest, the khajiit berserker stood tall with the battle-ax in both hands and daedra blood covering his face. He roared out against the remaining daedra, challenging them.

Both Apoltis and the warlock looked at Ra'tarnik. Sneering at the vicious cat, the man pointed right at Ra'tarnik, speaking to his Dremora, "Get him!"

The remaining three went after Ra'tarnik. The bola one was weaponless so he waited for the other two to pass him by before trying to pry the weapon from Scar-Tail's arm. The other two went at Ra'tarnik with bow and ax in hand. The ax wielder used its dead compatriot's body as a launching pad. It jumped from the corpse and went at Ra'tarnik with its ax wound back and a death inducing roar that even made the wounded Scar-Tail take pause.

He had his own problems though as the weaponless Dremora was right on him trying to get its own weapon back. It grabbed and tugged at the weapon wrapped around Scar-Tail's arm. Scar-Tail slashed at the daedra trying to get the persistent evil creature off of him. His sword chinking off the daedra's armor as they both rolled around trying to get an advantage over the other.

Ra'tarnik went in for a slash as the daedra with its own ax blocked the attack. Two arrows buzzed by Ra'tarnik as the expertly trained khajiit twisted around his enemy going in for a slash at the bowman. He drove the ax blade deep into the throat of the daedra and nearly cut its head right off. Black blood bubbled from the severed neck with the Dremora falling to the ground nearly decapitated.

Spinning out of the way of the daedric ax slamming into the road, Ra'tarnik came around with another attack of his own but the Dremora with the ax quickly pulled it's blade from the ground blocking the attack. The two struggled against each other with both ax handles grinding on each other. The Dremora being just a bit stronger making Ra'tarnk bend backwards.

Meanwhile, Apoltis was suspended in the air as the man tried to reach for the stone but a blast of energy came from the stone. The man winced and held his hand in pain. He curled back like a wounded snake saying, "I knew that. It has to be given to me. I guess it wouldn't have been near as fun if I had just taken it from you."

Hovering in midair, Apoltis was still having tears run down his face. He barely whispered out, "I want to go home!"

Scar-Tail heard Apoltis cry. He suddenly slammed his wounded arm along with the wrapped chain into the back of the Dremora's head jamming his silver sword right into the throat of the monster. He nearly cut his own arm off in the maneuver but the blade of his sword went through the chain of the weapon wrapped around his scaly arm. Tearing the sword upwards nearly cutting the daedra's head in two, the bola came with the sword ripping it from Scar-Tail's hide. Both the bloody instrument and the daedra fell into the dirt with Scar-Tail barely able to see straight.

He could barely stand as his entire forearm was ripped apart. Blood emptied from the wound like water. The wrapped chain of the bola had stopped some of it but now the would was free-flowing.

The two axes slammed against each other four times before Ra'tarnik and the surviving daedra came to another stand still with both axes struggling against the other. The two staring at each other as the two struggled to plant the blade in the other. The two axes crisscrossed in a deadly duel.

Ra'tarnik pushed off and came at the Dremora with Gluttony back behind his head. The Dremora ducked the weapon and came at Ra'tarnik's back. The khajiit was too quick spinning on his one foot, lowering his torso, bringing his ax nearly to the ground. He caught the ankle of the armored beast and it went down like a rock. Ra'tarnik came back up with amazing agility still having his body spinning as he took both arms back behind his head feeling the ax's head with his tail and then slammed the ax right into the chest of the down Dremora. Armor, flesh, and bone all split wide open as for a split second, Ra'tarnik could see all the working organs of the Dremora. Then they were covered in black blood and the monster's head bobbed with blood pouring from it helmet. The beast was dead.

Standing victorious, Ra'tarnik went over to Scar-Tail and helped the wounded warrior to his feet. They needed some healing and fast but the strong argonian wasn't going anywhere. Not without Apoltis first.

The two began to walk towards the warlock with Scar-Tail nearly dropping his second silver sword when he picked it up. Fumbling with his two main weapons, he cried out, "Hey! You want that stone you're going to have to…"

"Silence!" The warlock threw out his hand sending the two warriors back to the ground with Scar-Tail and Ra'tarnik both wounded from the fall.

The warlock began to have this dim light develop in his finger tips. Lightning traveling from one tip to another. Only in his left hand though and he raised it in front of Apoltis saying, "Now, let me see. Stripping flesh from muscle and bone is not the easiest thing to do. It requires a certain touch. Too much magika and you'll blow away the muscles and bone, not enough, and you will just end up singeing the flesh or making very nasty cuts. You want it to be just right. Just enough to," With the slight lightning in his hand, he put his thumb on his index finger as if he was flipping a page in a book and yanked down nothing but air. In actuality, a large hunk of flesh came right off of Apoltis's leg. The child screamed out in agony as the warlock continued, "Make it like wet cloth coming off of a newly forged sword."

The piece of skin hung there as Apoltis screamed as he looked down at it. He tried to reach down to put it back on somehow as blood began to pour from the wound. He could not reach down though as he was still locked in a the magical grip of the warlock.

Scar-Tail struggled to sit up as he heard Apoltis screaming. Ra'tarnik was still down taking an awful hit. Even in his imperial armor he was still hurt. Looking at the suspended kid, Scar-Tail got to his feet slowly with his silver short-sword still in hand. His other one was back in its sheath and Scar-Tail would have gone for it too if his arm was not such a mangled mess.

He began to approach the two. Loosing a lot of blood he was nowhere near his best. In fact, he felt as though a strong breeze would knock him over. He struggled to run at the warlock but he was so clumsy and so badly wounded that the warlock easily spotted him. Again, he threw out his hand and Scar-Tail went flying back. He hit Ra'tarnik who was just starting to get up.

Undeterred, Scar-Tail began to rise again fighting a battle to his feet. Ra'tarnik was quick up to his feet this time as both warriors stood ready for another attempt on the warlock.

The warlock looked over at the two as he was about to rip another piece of flesh from Apoltis's leg. He breathed out in annoyance saying coldly, "Gentlemen, do you not think this has gone on enough?"

The two warriors - tired, beaten, and exhausted - still approached him with the intent of fully slaughtering the warlock. He just smiled a bit and gave a clap with his hands. "I admire your vigor, I really do! This charade has gone on too long. Please, what is this child to you? Both of you? Do you find it so necessary to go on against a being you know you cannot beat?"

Ra'tarnik spit on the ground and said, "Witch, we have face down daedra lords before! You are barely a challenge."

The wizard turned towards the two. "Witch? Witch! You foolish cat! I am a wizard, a warlock, I am a grand high mage!" He raised his hand as a strong gust of wind began to push against the two. They struggled against the wind but to no avail. "The masters of the arcane college bend to my will! I am a master of every school of magic. I am a god amongst men! A god amongst daedra! Every creature, every soul, every merfolk, every Divine cower in fear of me! When I get my hands on this stone, nothing can stop me. Nothing! I, master mage Gorghast!"

The wind blew the two down the road way past the point were they had fallen last time. They blew like leaves in a strong gale tumbling away from Apoltis. They could not help it as they were driven back yards away.

Gorghast lowered his hand and the wind stopped. He looked back at Apoltis as the stripped flesh began to look like it was starting to get infected. "I can ease that suffering of yours, Apoltis. Just give me the stone."

Apoltis just breathed heavily saying, "Why? Why did you hurt them! They cannot even harm you! They pose no threat!" His tears choking almost every word.

Gorghast looked at the child with a sadistic smile, "You actually care for those two, eh? Well, I promise you I will not hurt them anymore. Now give me the goddamn stone!"

In Apoltis's pocket, the stone began to react. Little did Gorghast know that Apoltis was being pushed to an emotional limit. He had had enough of seeing his friends get hurt. His mind was yelling out no more. No more!

Throwing out his hands, Apoltis yelled out, "No more!"

The stone reacted pushing the warlock away. Gorghast was a bit surprised by this. He shook his head looking right at Apoltis. He snarled at the boy saying, "So, somebody like you, the stone gives limitless power to!"

Apoltis dropped from the sky falling on his bottom. He got up swiftly though and stomped his small foot on the roadway. He yelled out, "Enough!"

The roadway cracked with bright blue light blasting out of the crack. Gorghast evaded the light knowing it would burn him. He smiled manically, "If that stone can give you that kind of power, just imagine what it can do for me. It puts you on my level of magika. No telling what level it would put me on. Akatosh himself would be slaughtered under my boot heels! I must have it!"

"Never!" The stone giving the boy power again. A hard force hit Gorghast blowing him away like he had down with Apoltis's friends from before.

Standing up from the knock down of the force, Gorghast said to Apoltis a bit wounded from the throw, "I do not know why your mother could not activate it or why it has not worked for you until now. It powers your soul making it a thousand times more than what it is. I have not seen many on my level in so long." A powerful orb of destruction formed in his hand. Lightning bursting out of it. He then closed that hand with the lightning orb. The orb itself disappearing. "No. Not today. I must regroup. If the stone makes you as powerful as I am then I should plan for you better. I will bring more Dremora next time and next time, you will not catch me off guard!"

Suddenly, Gorghast disappeared into smoke sinking down into the ground or so it seemed. The smoke went with him and the stone in the boy's pocket was not glowing anymore.

Apoltis was left stunned at what he had just done. He looked at his hands wondering what had become of him. He took the stone from his pocket and asked of it, "Why? Why didn't you work for my mother? Why couldn't you save me from Sheogorath? Why?" He wanted to toss it. He wanted to break it. Anything except what he found himself doing. Putting it back into his pocket.

Scar-Tail and Ra'tarnik had seen it all. They came to the boy's side as Apoltis was crying to himself. Scar-Tail hugged the boy with his good arm and whispered, "Thank Sithis you are still alive!"

Apoltis's sobbing began to turn into an almost bellowing of tears. "Oh my god uncle, your arm!"

Scar-Tail kept Apoltis in his clutches. "It's just a scratch."

Ra'tarnik, with his face covered in Dremora blood, was breathing heavily and about to go to his knees.

Going down to his knees, Scar-Tail and Apoltis hugged each other for at least two minutes before Ra'tarnik interrupted by saying, "We have to get you two some kind of medicine!"

Letting go of Apoltis, Scar-Tail looked at the both of them, worried more about Apoltis than himself, "By the gods boy! Your legs!"

Looking down at his two legs, Apoltis saw the arrow and the hanging strip of flesh, "It hurts, uncle."

Picking the boy up with his good arm he whistled and here came the black mare from out of the woods. Scar-Tail had a hard time getting on his horse but he managed with the boy in front. He had some herbal cloths in a satchel and brought them out. They would not heal a wounds of such magnitude or even cure most of the pain but they might keep them from getting infected and would alleviate some of the pain. He wrapped them carefully on the boy's legs trying hard not too cause him too much distress. Ra'tarnik helped him with the bandages saying, "What about you?"

Scar-Tail looked at his arm in painful agony. He took the last wrap and dressed his arm as much as he could not covering it all the way.

Angrily, Ra'tranik growled out, "That's not going to be enough!"

"It will see me through to Skingrad so I can get help for the boy." The shadowscale said, caring almost nothing for his own injuries.

The sun was just beginning to set herself down for the night. The world had taken on an amber color of the setting sun and blended in nicely with what little scales Scar-Tail had left on his one arm as he bandaged it up.

Before heading off for Skingrad again, Ra'tarnik held up two coin purses and said, "I think these belong to you." The khajiit warrior put them in Scar-Tail's scaly hand.

With a half-grin, Ra'tarnik began to head for his horse when Scar-Tail said, "Ra'tarnik."

Surprised, he turned around with wide eyes seeing Scar-Tail throw the smaller gold purse. He grabbed it looking at it shocked.

"For services rendered khajiit."

"What services?"

"You saved my scaly tail back there. You deserve it."

Ra'tarnik made a slight growl, "You know, a simple thank you would have sufficed."

"Sufficed - yes. Gratified - not hardly." He then took off on his black mare with Ra'tarnik bouncing the coin purse in his paw.

He went to his painted horse and got on. He put away the purse and grabbed the reigns of the horse with a growl of discomfort from his own injuries. He could feel his bones ache and his muscles throb with severe bruising. Bending down on his horse he said to himself, "I think I might actually start liking you argonian. Ugh, if that is not a displeasing thought!" He snapped the reigns of the horse and the horse reared back taking off at a long but slow gallop.

Even though the spirit of the horse was willing it was very weak. Old age had made it strong mentally but had turned its body into mush. Still, it galloped along a lot faster than Ra'tarnik could. All the way to Skingrad.