I awoke with a start, my eyes flashing from place to place as I tried to discern my situation. I bumped the table I sat at with my knee, nearly knocking the pitcher on it over and catching it only out of reflex. Memory returned: the Imperial Prison. I'd fallen asleep at the table, bored beyond endurance. The darkness had only been a nightmare. Not real.
I took in a breath and willed my body to relax, forcing my hands to stop itching to grasp the bow that was no longer there, confiscated by the Watch as it was. Voices, tense and quiet, drifted to me out of the darkness of the hallway. I frowned at the sound as I returned the pitcher to its place on the table, then lifted a hand and rubbed at my bleary eyes before rising to stumble to my cell door. I gripped the cold, iron bars with both hands and pressed my face pressed against them, but I could see nothing in the hallway. Across from me the Dunmer slept quietly in his cell. I wondered what time it was.
"Baurus! Lock that door behind us!" An authoritative, female voice commanded. My eyes strained in the gloom, trying to pick out the figures giving sound to the footsteps echoing along the passage.
"Yes, sir," a meeker, male voice replied.
"My sons… They're dead, aren't they?" A deep voice, full of despair, anguish. Majestic. I was moved by this voice, moved to pity. The sound of footsteps grew louder, as did the voices.
"We don't know that, Sire." My attention focused. Sire? What man of rank would be in the prison this late at night? "The messenger only said they were attacked."
"No, they're dead." The majestic voice again. "I know it."
"Sire…" The woman's voice. A pause. "My job right now is to get you to safety."
The speakers came into view, heading my way. There were four of them: two of the three men and the woman were heavily armed and armoured, and the last was an elderly man dressed in opulent robes. I released the bars and retreated to the back of my cell — I had no desire to attract the attention of those with weapons when I was without — but it was to little avail. They came to a stop before my cell, the woman's face tightening into a frown.
"What's this prisoner doing here?" she asked, turning angrily to one of her comrades — an Imperial. "This cell is supposed to be off-limits."
The Imperial shook his head and raised his hands as if to ward her anger off.
"Usual mix up with the Watch. I—"
"Never mind. Get that gate open." She turned her eyes on me, and in their depths I saw only hardened resolve, no pity. I would receive no leniency from her. "Stay back prisoner," she warned. "We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way." I nodded my understanding and raised my hands to show my compliance, my mind whizzing as I tried to decipher what was going on. The group entered the cell, Imperial first, the woman following after and then the man in the opulent robes. The remaining guardsman — a Redguard — closed the gate behind them, peering down the hallway one last time before he gave it a final shut.
"No sign of pursuit," he said.
"Good," the woman replied. "Let's go. We're not out of this yet."
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I realized I was being watched by someone other than the Imperial who'd taken to guard me, and I turned my gaze to meet the eyes of the aged, robed man they escorted.
"You," he said softly. "I've seen you." Agitation gnawed at my stomach. I didn't like the situation. It was strange, unpredictable, and if this extravagant man knew of me then things were almost certainly going to become unpleasantly dangerous: most of the nobles who knew me were "business" acquaintances, and, as a Thieves Guild affiliate, it was safe to say that my unwilling patrons might be a little too violently happy to see me for my taste. That, and being singled out in a group of edgy, armed soldiers did little for my comfort, especially when it was obvious that their charge was in danger and that the danger was following him.
The man continued to frown at me.
"Let me see your face," he said, imperious and commanding. I tensed, fighting the reflex to flee, but he stepped closer before I could make a decision on what to do. His gaze caught mine, his blue, blue gaze, and I found myself unable to look away. He stared at me a moment more, and then a myriad of emotions passed over his face: surprise, anger, sorrow, relief, resignation, and, finally, resolve. "You are the one from my dreams," he said, as if to himself, although he continued to stare at me with his uncanny blue gaze. "Then the stars were right, and this is the day." He closed his eyes and sighed. "Gods give me strength."
I was utterly bewildered. What in Oblivion is he talking about?
"What's going on?" I asked, my eyes narrowing in distrust as I tried to make sense of the situation.
"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next," the man replied, looking at me again. "My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that route leads through your cell." He said this as if it should make everything clear, but it was still murky as the gutters of Bravil to me. I glanced over at the wall to my right where the female guard stood anxiously. Something about the Blades tugged at my mind, but I couldn't pin it down, so I instead returned my attention to the man. I didn't recognize his face, and that worried me. I must have burgled every house worth burgling in the Imperial City — I was one of the best in the Thieves Guild in part because I thoroughly knew my targets, their habits, their faces — and, judging by the man's robes, he owned a house that was worth burgling seven times over. I didn't like having no name for him.
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice low and cautious. The man seemed surprised by my question, but he composed himself quickly.
"I am your emperor, Uriel Septim," he replied.
I felt the blood drain from my face. This can't be happening. My mind ran through several possibilities, but could find no plausible reason as to why he would say such a thing if it weren't true, unless he were mad. Why would his guards go through all this trouble, though, if that were simply the case? This was the Imperial Prison. People didn't just walk in and stage phoney escape attempts. Nor did I think the palpable tension in the air was of false manufacture. I would have to take his word as it was.
"Please, sire," the female guard pleaded. "We must keep moving." Uriel nodded his understanding.
"We will speak later," he said to me, and then moved to her side. She stepped forward and must have touched some hidden device on the wall, for a large section of it suddenly sprang to life and swung back to reveal a dark passageway. I tried not to stare stupidly. I had checked that wall thoroughly for weaknesses and such anomalies not hours ago, and found nothing.
"Better not close this one," the woman said. "There's no way to open it from the other side." The emperor nodded again and stepped through after her as she disappeared into the gloom. The Imperial watching me took a moment to light a torch before slipping in behind them, followed by the Redguard, who paused to give me one last look.
"Looks like this is your lucky day," he said grimly. "Just stay out of our way." He turned and stepped forward and was quickly swallowed by the darkness left by the receding torch. I stood in silence, still bewildered by the sudden, strange turn of events, and then spun around and stuck my tongue out at the prone form of the Dunmer in the opposite cell. Grabbing a splinter of bone from the pile beneath the manacles, I stole into the darkness of the passageway, green eyes flashing. Maybe my sign, the Thief, still looked down favourably after all.
The tunnel beyond the opening in the wall was short and led to an underground passage built of white stone and arched columns. It reminded me of the Ayleid ruin I'd traversed beneath the Imperial Palace nearly fifteen years ago when I had stolen the Elder Scroll from the Imperial library, and I wondered on how much of the city was built on such similar ruins. I had little time to think on it, however, as the echoing footsteps of the group only a little ways ahead warned me not to linger. I didn't relish the idea of following them, what with the danger and the lean tempers of the emperor's guards, but the passageway gave me little choice in the matter. I hovered just beyond the light of their torch, hoping that, if the emperor's passing invitation held and I did as the Redguard bade and remained inconspicuous, I would be tolerated.
After several minutes of tense, muted travel, the passage ballooned out into a wider chamber with closed gate at the far end. Above us, at maybe my height and a half, a ledge wide enough to support a person ran along the walls of the room, and, in the walls themselves, there were large, dark openings, easily of the size to hide a man or woman. I entered after everyone cautiously, the hair on the back of my neck prickling as I stared up at the openings. I thought I saw movement — minute, barely perceptible — and I reached for my bow, catching myself as I remembered it had been confiscated by the Watch along with all my other possessions. I glanced at the others to see if they had noted it — they had not. The woman was fumbling with the key to the gate, and the others must have been more night blinded by the torch than I — and then back at the opening, startled to see the dark figure of an armoured humanoid perched on the ledge, gazing down at them as it readied a mace in its right hand.
"To the left!" I shouted. The figure snapped its head in my direction, revealing a snarling, metal mask on its face, just as three other figures appeared out of the openings beside it. They dropped down from the ledge, each dressed in daedric looking armour and scarlet robes, and rushed at the emperor's group.
"Close up left!" the woman roared as she drew her sword. "Protect the emperor!" Emperor Uriel drew his own sword and stepped back as the two men placed themselves between the three of the attackers and him, and then the two sides met in a clash of steel, battle cries and grunts resounding throughout the chamber. The fourth attacker made for me, his mace raised high as he readied a strike. I gripped my shard of bone tighter and readied myself, throwing myself to the side when he brought the weapon down to bash in my head. I rolled and came to my feet, facing him. He turned around and struck at me again, and I stepped back to avoid the blow, feeling the breeze it created as it just missed my chin. I stepped back again as the mace came around for the backswing, and then ducked under his next strike, taking the opportunity to drive my bone shard into the unprotected side of his knee. It wasn't enough to do worthwhile damage, but it hurt him enough to slow his next attack. I rolled past him and came up behind him, preparing to strike at what I hoped would be the unprotected back of his neck, and saw beyond him the Redguard about to be flanked by an attacker sneaking up from behind. I threw the bone shard as hard as I could, catching the encroaching man in the head and halting him for just a moment.
"Redguard, behind you!" I shouted, and then my own opponent had recovered himself and struck out at me. It clipped my shoulder as tried to avoid it, and I cried out angrily. He swung again, and I ducked underneath his attack and threw my shoulder against him, staggering him. I grabbed his mace arm while he was off balance and brought my foot behind his and pulled it out from underneath him, causing him to fall to the ground. He didn't let go of the mace, though, and, with a feat of strength, wrenched his arm from my hands and struck wildly at me, missing. I retreated a step back, taking the moment he used to begin struggling to his feet to reach down into myself and gather my magic, feeling it flow down from my core to pool with a burning sensation in my fingertips. I threw my hands forward as he gained his feet, unleashing a fireball into his chest. He staggered back, and I conjured another one, throwing it at him with fierce rigour. He staggered again, dropping his mace, and then he stiffened as a bright, steel blade broke through his armour and burst from his chest. He hung there a moment, suspended, eyes staring down disbelieving, before the blade withdrew and he collapsed to the ground. The Redguard was behind him, his face grim, and he silently met my eyes and held them before sheathing his sword and turning to face the Imperial, who was kneeling at the side of the woman's prone form, his hand against her throat. All the other attackers were dead.
"Captain Renault?" the emperor asked, his voice somehow hopeful yet despairing. The Imperial hung his head.
"She's dead, Sire," he said. The Redguard began scanning the ground, and then stepped past the woman's body and bent down to pick up the key she had dropped when the battle began.
"I'm sorry, Sire," he said. "But we have to keep moving." He turned to put the key into the door, and the Imperial stood and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"What about her?" he said in a low tone, nodding his head at me.
"What about her?" the Redguard replied.
"For all we know she could be working with the assassins," the Imperial pointed out. "You saw her. She has magic just like them. And isn't it convenient she was in that cell just as we needed it?" His eyes turned to me, cold, suspicious, and I felt myself tense, readying for a confrontation. "And even if she isn't, she's a criminal. We can't trust her." The Redguard turned his eyes to me, uncertain. The Imperial took a step towards me and began to draw his sword.
"Enough, Glenroy." The emperor's voice reverberated through the room, deep and commanding. Glenroy looked over at Uriel, surprise etched on his face, as did I and Baurus. "She is not one of them. She can help us," he continued, his voice and expression calming. He turned his gaze to me, and it was both commanding and pleading. "She must help us."
I wanted to refuse. I wanted to look away and say that I was only there to make my escape, but something in his gaze forced me to swallow the words. His belief, his need, made his request undeniable. It touched some part of me that wanted to be... more. Not a murderer. Not a thief. And there was... truth, in some way I couldn't understand. You are the one from my dreams. What did he mean?
"I can't guarantee that I can get us out of this alive," I said, slowly. Stupid, stupid! Just save yourself! another part of me cried. "But what I can do, I will."
"This is a mistake, Sire," Glenroy argued. Uriel looked back at him, his face suddenly stern.
"It is my decision," he said with finality. Glenroy looked like he'd swallowed a lemon, but he bit back the retort he looked like he longed to give and nodded.
"As you wish, Sire," he said. The crisis dealt with, the Redguard faced the door again and turned the key, pushing the door open and allowing Glenroy to pass through first, blade half drawn, followed by the emperor. I went to the woman's side and began to disentangle the shortbow and quiver I'd seen on her back earlier. The Redguard noticed this and stared at me, frowning.
"We don't like those who steal from the dead," he said.
"I can use magic, but I'm not a mage," I said, still continuing to work. "I'll be a lot more use to you properly equipped." I glanced up at him. "I'm sorry, but she's dead. And now since I'm taking her place as one of the emperor's guards I don't think she'll mind all that much." I strapped the quiver over my shoulder and tested the bow's string, then set it aside and began to work the dagger off her belt. The Redguard remained silent as I worked.
"Her sword, too," he said after a moment, surprising me. I looked up. "We use the swords of the fallen to honour our dead. We shouldn't leave it for more of those bastards to get a hold of."
I nodded and set to removing the long, curved blade from the hip of the dead woman. When it was done, I lifted it to him.
"It seems important to you," I said. "You keep it. I'm not much good with a sword anyway." Despite my having been with the Fighters Guild of Cyrodiil for seven years already, my swordsmanship truly was pathetically poor. All my life I'd relied on my skills with a bow, falling back on daggers and hand-to-hand combat when it was absolutely necessary — it was only in the past few months that I'd even begun to study swordsmanship, and only at the insistence of my good friend and guild master, Modryn Oreyn.
The Redguard nodded and took the sword, thrusting it through his belt above his own blade. He looked at me with an expression I couldn't decipher as I rose, and then we turned to leave. Glenroy and Uriel were waiting for us just a little ways beyond the gate, Glenroy still scowling at me suspiciously, and the emperor watching with the deep, deep sorrow of his ordeal carved about his eyes and in the lines about his mouth. It made me feel for him. Rejoined, we set out as a group.
Our passage was swift and quiet. Our way took us through passages so small we could only walk single file and through others that were large, with the ceiling high above our heads and so open we couldn't feel anything but exposed. The air here was still and stale. Our feet stirred up clouds of dust that had lain undisturbed for who-knew-how-long and mingled with the acrid smoke of the torch to burn our eyes and thicken our tongues with thirst. No one spoke. Even the soft clink of rubbing buckles or armour plates moving against each other felt loud, and I found myself wincing at the slight sound and scanning the dark around us constantly for any sign of attack. Once or twice I thought I saw eyes flash in the dark, or movement follow us, but whether or not it was merely some creature slinking along in the night or something else, I couldn't discern. It didn't attack us, either way, but it made my skin crawled with the thought of it and I clenched my bow more tightly.
We had been travelling for some time when we entered a large room: open, exposed, but — perhaps because I was blinded by the torch — without any of visible the ledges or openings that had been in the room where we were first attacked. We stepped inside cautiously, and Uriel lost his balance on a loose stone underfoot. Glenroy caught his arm and steadied him, and I noticed then that the emperor was breathing heavily and had the sheen of sweat on his brow. It struck me then that Uriel was an old, old man. We had been travelling quickly, but not so quickly that a healthy man in his prime could not keep pace. The sheen on his brow betrayed him. His years were probably fewer than a century's, yet he was on the verge of death, even if he survived the assassins striving to kill him and this dark, arduous journey. The thought sobered me. He was so terribly young. I wanted to make him live, to take his frail, human life and make it more. I wanted him to survive.
"Please, a moment," he said, still breathing heavily. "I need a moment to catch my breath."
Glenroy and the Redguard looked at each other, but there was no denying Uriel needed rest.
"I'll start a perimeter," the Redguard said, drawing his sword and disappearing into the night. Glenroy helped Uriel sit down on a large chunk of debris that had fallen from one of the walls and then made to stand guard over him, but the emperor waved him away.
"Go with Baurus, Glenroy," he said. "The prisoner here will watch over me." Glenroy shot me a distrusting look, but did as the emperor bade, albeit grudgingly. "Come closer," Uriel said, motioning me nearer. "I prefer not to have to shout." I obeyed, unsure of what he wanted of me. "He cannot understand why I trust you," he said when I stood near, gazing out into the darkness at Glenroy's dim form. "But he has not seen what I've seen." I waited for him to continue, but the emperor said nothing more.
"And... what is it that you have seen, Sire?" I asked, my voice pitched low so as not to carry in the quiet of the chamber. Uriel hesitated, searching for the words.
"Do you know the Nine? How They guide our fates with an invisible hand?" I frowned a little, but nodded nonetheless. Although I didn't think he would count Sithis as a god – not that I followed Sithis any more – the Lord of Night was the "deity" to whom I had ever been the closest. Yet despite what that said about my relationship with the Nine, I knew of them, and their tales. "I've served the Nine all my days, and I chart my course by the cycles of the heavens," Uriel continued. "The skies are marked with numberless sparks, each a fire, and every one a sign. I know these stars well, and the signs I read in them show the end of my path. My death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."
His words gave me pause. It is something to hear another speak of the death they have seen for themselves. You are the one from my dreams. I felt cold settle in my stomach.
"Will I die down here as well? Will we all die down here?" I asked quietly.
"By which sign were you born?" he questioned by way of reply.
I paused.
"The Thief."
The emperor nodded, as if something he already knew had been confirmed.
"Your stars are not mine," he said. "Today the Thief shall guide your steps on the road to destiny. My dreams grant me no opinions of success – their compass ventures not beyond the doors of death – but in your face I behold the sun's companion. The dawn of Akatosh's bright glory may yet banish the coming darkness. With such hope, and with the promises of your aid, my heart must be satisfied."
Is that supposed to make sense?
"I said I would help, Sire, but I don't understand what you mean."
"I go to my grave," Uriel said in a voice that chilled my blood. "A tongue shriller than all the music calls me. You shall follow me yet for a while, and then we must part. That is all I know, and I cannot speak it more plainly."
"But what is all this about Akatosh's glory and the coming darkness? What does that mean? What do you want me to do?"
Uriel turned his eyes on me, a slight, sardonic smile on his lips.
"Find him… and close shut the jaws of Oblivion."
I stared at him, confused, and then there was a cry from Glenroy.
"Assassins!"
I drew an arrow and readied it within a matter of a second, and Uriel rose and drew his sword as the sound of battle reached us from our right. An assassin came within the light of the torch left on the ground by our feet, and I raised my bow and took aim, firing the arrow at the little eye slit in the attacker's mask. My aim was off, however, with the bow unfamiliar to me, and the arrow bounced off the mask. The assassin reeled, and I readied another arrow. When he face me again, I was ready. My aim didn't miss the second time. As he collapsed with an arrow in his eye, another assassin appeared behind him, and I fired again. The assassin jerked his hand and threw up a magical barrier, and the arrow slowed and bent from its course when it was about to strike. The assassin made directly for Uriel. I drew another arrow and aimed it at the assassin's leg, loosing it after a brief half-moment. It struck and the assassin staggered, dropping his mace as he clutched at the wounded part. I readied another arrow and struck him in the chest, then again and again for good measure as he toppled over. Baurus came bursting out of the darkness after him, sword raised to strike, but he stopped when he realized there was no one near the emperor to attack. Glenroy appeared the moment after, also looking surprised.
"I told you I was no mage," I said, a half-smile on my lips as I saw Baurus' eyes settle on the man with an arrow in his eye.
"I see that now," he replied. Glenroy simply stared at me suspiciously for a moment before turning to Baurus.
"We've been lucky, but if we keep moving those assassins are going to get the drop on us," he said. "We should find a defensible spot and protect the Emperor until help arrives."
"Help? What makes you think help will get here before more of those bastards?" Baurus replied, his face contorted in a scowl.
"If we can find a good position, we won't need help to arrive before them. This… elf seems to have a good handle on the bow. Between the three of us we could keep them off for some time."
"We don't know how many there are. If we settle on one position, they could swarm us," Baurus argued.
"There's also the difficulty of me having limited arrows," I said. "I don't know how long they'll last if we're constantly holding off enemies. I'm not prepared for a siege."
"Does anybody even know we're down here?" Baurus added. Glenroy gave a sigh.
"Sire," he said with resignation in his voice, turning to Uriel. "Are you ready to move on now?"
The emperor moved his gaze from me — I hadn't noticed he'd been watching — and nodded.
"Yes. Let us continue on."
And so we went. There were assassins waiting for us in the next two chambers, but we defeated them without too much trouble. Still, my anxiety rose with each attack. Our position was known; it was only a matter of time until we were overwhelmed, even if we kept moving or stayed in one spot. From the looks on their faces, Baurus and Glenroy knew it too.
After passing through a winding tunnel only big enough for us to walk single file, we came out into a small chamber that ended in a rusted gate, similar to the one where we were attacked by the first assassins.
"This is it. We're almost through the sewers," Glenroy said, stepping towards the door. "Just through this gate, and––" Although he pushed, the gate remained immobile. Baurus whirled around and drew his sword, readying for an attack. "Dammit," Glenroy cursed under his breath. "The gate is barred from the other side. A trap!"
"What about that side passage we passed in the tunnel?" Baurus offered.
"Worth a try," Glenroy admitted. "Let's go!" As we turned I met Uriel's eyes, and I didn't like what I saw there. His face was calm, compliant. He needn't to be so… accepting. Your life is worth fighting for, I wanted to say, but he was the emperor. It wasn't my place to say anything.
Cautiously we made our way back to the side passage, Baurus now in the lead. After a few steps it opened up into a regular sized passage large enough for us to walk side by side. The light from the torch Baurus held flickered eerily on the walls, and I kept starting at the shadows. After a few feet the passage opened up into a small chamber, then shrank into another passageway before opening up again into a midsized chamber. As we entered, I felt my stomach sink and bile rose to the back of my throat.
"It's a dead end," Baurus said. We all stared at the blank wall before us, at the ledges about my height and a half above us, with openings in the walls above us large enough to admit a person. It was just like the room where Renault had died. Baurus turned back to Glenroy. "What's your call, sir?"
"I don't know," the other replied wearily. "I don't see any good options here. We could try—"
"They're behind us!" Baurus cried, cutting him off. I whirled around, readying an arrow as the three men drew their swords. An assassin appeared in the doorway, and Glenroy charged him and forced him back with a roar, disappearing into the gloom.
"Wait here with the Emperor," Baurus told me. "Guard him with your life." Then he drew himself up and dashed after Glenroy, sword flashing in the torchlight.
I watched him go, my bow ready to fire the instant an assassin showed his face through in the chamber's entrance.
"Sarasamacial, I can go no further."
I glanced back at Uriel, taken aback and confused by his use of my name.
"How do you know my––?"
"You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants," he said, cutting me off as he stepped closer. "He must not have the Amulet of Kings!" His eyes gazed bright into mine with fierce determination, even as he lifted his aged hands to undo the clasp of the heavy, red-gemmed amulet about his neck. "Take the Amulet," he said, taking my hand from the bowstring and pressing the amulet into it. My arrow fell to the floor. "Give it to Jauffre," Uriel continued. I tried to slip the amulet about my neck for safekeeping but it came loose — even though I was sure I hadn't undone the clasp — so I tucked it into the waistband of my prisoner's garb instead. "He alone knows where to find my last son. Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion."
"You said that before. But what do you––?" I never had a chance to finish my question. One moment we were alone, the next an assassin was behind him, blade poised to strike. "Look out!" I cried, trying to push him out of the way, but it was too late. Uriel had but a moment to contemplate defending himself, but a moment where he began to glance back at my warning, and then his arm was wrenched back and a bright blade nestled against his throat. The assassin's snarling mask hovered over his shoulder, taunting me. I froze, my mind racing to find some way to free Uriel.
"Stranger," the assassin said, his blade pressing hard enough against the emperor's throat to produce a trickle of blood. "You chose a bad day to take up with the cause of the Septims."
"No! Stop!" I said, and then he drew his blade across the emperor's throat. I drew an arrow, a snarl of fury on my lips as the assassin pushed Uriel's body away and charged me. I dodged his first swing and stepped back, trying to gain myself enough room to shoot, but the assassin saw what I was doing and pressed the attack. Gritting my teeth, I dodged back again, dropping my bow as he swung for my hands, unable to strike back. The assassin laughed, confident in his victory. He began manoeuvring me towards the wall of the chamber, and though I saw, I couldn't do anything about it. I was running out of time.
With a desperation I had never known, I began to form a spell in my mind, pleading with whatever god that I could do both that and evade his strikes at the same time. Power sizzled under my fingertips. I threw up my hand and let a fireball fly right into the assassin's face as he was about to strike. I hadn't even had time to conjure up the full force of the petty spell, but it was enough to surprise him. He staggered back, and with a quick motion I drew my dagger and lunged for him. He managed to bat aside my arm, but with a flick of my wrist I tossed the dagger under our arms and caught it with my left hand. Before he could react, I drove the dagger deep into his throat. I pulled it out and stepped back, and he staggered, a great, red gout of blood gushing from his ruined neck and spraying me. He raised his hands to his throat, and then slowly collapsed to one knee before completely crumbling to the ground. I stood over him for a moment, breathing heavily, before turning, picking up my bow, and going to Uriel's side. He was dead. I hadn't expected different, but some part of me had hoped.
Baurus barrelled into the room, winded and covered in blood. His eyes settled on me, bloodstained and kneeling over the emperor's still body, and lit with fury.
"You!" he growled, and gripped his sword harder.
"No! Look!" I shouted, pointing at the assassin's dead form a few feet away. He glanced over at the man, and then looked back at me, hard, trying to judge the situation. "I didn't kill the emperor," I told him. "The assassin dropped down from one of those openings. He got to him before I could do anything, and he almost got me."
Baurus stared at me a moment longer, and then went to the assassin's body.
"Look at his sword," I said. "It will have blood on it, but I was never cut. Check me if you want. I didn't kill the emperor."
Baurus looked at the sword as I had suggested, and then came and stood over me, surveying my appearance, his sword still held in his hand. After a moment, his face collapsed into a look of grief, and he turned to the emperor's body and fell to his knees beside it.
"Talos save us," he murmured in a broken voice. "We failed. I failed." I gazed down at Uriel, who, despite the bloody gash in his neck, looked calm and peaceful. Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion. So still, so quiet. I had seen death before many times, but somehow Uriel's lifeless body still filled me with a sense of regret and loss. I looked over at Baurus. His brown eyes moved to meet mine briefly, defeated. "The Blades are sword to protect the Emperor, and now he and all his heirs are dead," he said. His gaze dropped to Uriel's ruined throat, bare in the fluttering light of the fallen torch. He stiffened. "The Amulet," he said, anxious. "Where is the Amulet of Kings?" He began to search frantically. I put a hand on his arm.
"He gave it to me," I said, pulling it from my waist. "It's here." Baurus' eyes rose from the emperor, coming to rest on the Amulet of Kings in my hand. I watched his expression, expecting him to demand I give it to him, but he only stared at it, his expression slowly fading from anxiety to contemplation.
"Strange," he said. "He saw something in you. Trusted you." I glanced down at the body near my feet. You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. Baurus turned back to the body, reached up, and closed the emperor's eyes. Then he stood. "The Amulet has power," he said. "Only a true heir of the Blood can wear it, they say. He must have given it to you for a reason. Did he say why?"
I rose and met his gaze.
"He said to take it to Jauffre," I said. Baurus looked surprised.
"Jauffre? He said that? Why?"
I shrugged, looking down at the emperor again.
"There is another heir."
He frowned.
"Nothing I ever heard about," he said, rubbing a hand over his face. "But Jauffre would be the one to know. He's the Grandmaster of my Order, although you may not think to meet him. He lives quietly as a monk at Weynon Priory, near the city of Chorrol."
I frowned and lifted my gaze to his.
"Are you suggesting I take the Amulet to Jauffre?" I asked. Baurus shrugged.
"The emperor trusted you. Don't know why I shouldn't."
"You don't even know me," I said. "I could be some petty criminal who'd happily sell the Amulet as junk!"
"Will you?"
I blinked at him, taken aback.
"Well, no, but–!" He stared at me calmly while protestations lingered unspoken on my tongue. I looked away and sighed, relenting. "Weynon Priory, you said?"
"You know the way?"
"Once I get out of here, yes."
"Then take this." I looked back at the Blade and took the key he offered. "Find your way to the sewers," he said. "That's where we were heading. It's a secret way out of the Imperial City. Or it was supposed to be secret, anyway. That key will let you through the last door."
I nodded.
"Understood," I said. I paused. "I... assume you won't be accompanying me?"
Baurus shook his head.
"No. I'll stay here to guard the Emperor's body until help arrives, and make sure no one follows you. It's... the least I can do to honour his memory."
We both glanced over at the still emperor.
"This isn't the end," I said. "We'll make whoever did this pay." Baurus didn't reply. "Good luck to you then," I added. I made to go.
"Wait," he said. I stopped and faced him. "I don't even know your name."
I studied him for a moment.
"Sarasamacial," I told him. " Of the Fighters Guild. And you're Baurus, yes?"
He nodded.
"Yeah. That's me. Talos guide you. You might need it."
"And you."
I turned my back to him and stepped away, heading the way we had come. By the time I had found my way to and through the sewers and pushed back the grating of the final door, it was full light outside. I shielded my eyes from the sun; after the dark of the ruins and sewers, it was hard to look without squinting. It almost made it seem like what had happened in the prison was a dream, a dark dream. You are the one from my dreams. I shook my head to dispel the memory. My stomach rumbled unhappily, reminding me that, emperor's command or no, I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon.
"Alright," I said, drawing my dagger. "Let's see if we can't find something to eat."
From the water's edge not far away, a mud crab snapped its claws at me. The Thief really was still with me. I smiled.
Breakfast.