Normally I would not be updating so quickly, however I have decided that due to my lack of activity in the past few months, I should try to catch up. I don't know when next I'll be on, but I will forge ahead to continue this saga.

Please, enjoy the latest chapter: "Operation Kvatch, Part 1: The Gates of Hell"!

Ezio gazed up at the sky, shock and disbelief filling his mind. Nothing could have prepared him for seeing this-the sky burned red, and the clouds were black. They all seemed to swirl around the city of Kvatch, which was burning. He looked down at Altair, who had stopped momentarily.

"Don't get excited." he muttered. "Keep a cool head, no matter what happens. We need to figure out what is going on before we charge in blades out."

"Right." came Ezio's reply. He took a deep breath, however it had not slowed his heartbeat in the slightest. It pounded in his chest, threatening to burst out with all the stress he was feeling right now. He did his best to keep a calm face, even though he was now before what looked to be the most dangerous thing in Tamriel at the moment.

They progressed towards Kvatch. His eyes now on the ground, he noticed the agriculture was suffering as well. It was as though a gate to Hell had been opened up right in the middle of Kvatch, based upon how the very dirt withered and cracked. The dirt, which could already have seemed lifeless, was dying! Whatever this power was, it brought terror to young Ezio's heart like nothing else. Was this what Master Assassins dealt with on a daily basis?

Kvatch was one of the nine major cities in Tamriel. It rested upon a mountain, but at the base of the mountain looked to be a camp of sorts. People were running from Kvatch, it seemed. Altair rode into the camp, with his shadow close behind him. A man ran up to him, clearly terrified about the situation. "Run! Run away!" he yelled, stopping before Altair's horse. "Kvatch is no place for a priest right now! Save yourselves!"

"What is going on, here?" Altair asked, looking the man in the eye. Ezio scanned the camp, looking for anywhere enemies could possibly arrive from. The only place he noticed possible was the mountain itself, lest some random animal were to attack from behind. Everything seemed to be stemming from Kvatch itself.

"Monsters have invaded! They…they destroyed the whole town!" That looked somewhat evident. Even from the distance along the Gold Road, the flames of Kvatch could be seen. However, he wondered what sort of monsters could have invaded the second largest city in Cyrodiil.

"Do you know if anyone else has gone towards Kvatch?" the man looked confused. He must have recently escaped the destruction, himself. "Nevermind. Thank you, but we've been sent by the Temple of the One to see about Kvatch's distress. Do not worry for us, we're trained."

"But…I…"

"I just need you to give me some information. What is the nature of these 'monsters'? Are you sure they are not mere bandits?"

"Bandits! Bandits, he says! I wish they were bandits!" his exasperated tone cracked. No, bandits couldn't have done this amount of damage…he gazed around at the refugees, survivors. He saw the injured; they were not just bleeding, some looked torn up. No blade Ezio's seen could do something like what he was seeing. No mere bandit raid would light the sky aflame, nor would it cause an entire city to quake in fear.

"Altair, you see what you can learn from this man and the people over there," Ezio said, dismounting his horse. "I will learn what I can from the people who've been injured."

"Now you're understanding reconnaissance." With Altair's approval, Ezio left the man and Altair behind. He was somewhat relieved; he had an expert's approval for his own actions, and he could deal with the reprieve of the Master's constant gaze over his shoulder. There were several tents of people, however he decided to go to the tent that also had a physician dealing with the patient.

"Hello, I am a monk from the Temple of the One. I was sent to see what was wrong." He explained. The physician was torn between answering his questions and throwing him out, however the patient wanted him to remain.

"Please, brother…" His pain was evident. His wounds were akin to those of a barbed blade, but who would use a barbed blade? While tearing damage was always ideal for pain, it wasn't that great for when you got the blade caught in an opponent's carcass. His limbs were limp, and the gash spread across his chest. The physician had been bandaging it and casting healing spells upon it, but it was not an easy wound to heal, it seemed.

"Yes?"

"Don't…go to…Kvatch…" the physician sighed.

"Ma'am, could you tell me so we do not stress the patient?" Ezio asked the physician, who exited the tent for a moment.

"What happened up there was horrific. I'll tell you what happened, but I'll also tell you that you are insane to take up arms against the siege."

"Siege?"

"The sky is burning for a reason. A gate has opened before Kvatch, one to a place many a mortal hopes to never go."

"Where?"

"Oblivion has opened." Ezio's eyes shot open. Back to his viewing the death of Emperor Uriel Septim VII. Close shut the jaws of Oblivion, he said. "A horrific thought, indeed. It was all we could do to evacuate everyone we had. However, there are people still in Kvatch, and the guards can't help them. The gate to Oblivion now blocks any entry into the city."

"Is there any way to shut this gate?"

"Shut it? We have to run away from it!"

"Thank you for your time, ma'am. Tend to your patients; I will do what must be done to save this town." He had to admit, he felt some surge of pride in saying that. Like one of the heroes he'd always read about. Ready to ride forth and slay the dragon for the maiden in trouble. Save for there was no maiden that he knew of. If he didn't take care, Altair might mistake his bravado for recklessness.

He walked over to another tent, this one had two guards and an injured man in the center. "…if we attack now, we're dooming the men already defending against the hellspawn."

"Hellspawn is something I find myself an expert in." Ezio announced, letting his superhero sensation fill him with pride. "I am a monk of the Temple of the One, here to examine the distress that Kvatch has expressed. What is the plan?"

"A priest fancies himself a warrior?" jested one guard.

"Hush now, private." said the man in the middle. "You seem to be somewhat knowledgeable of the situation. There is a gate to Hell sitting on top of the mountain. We've lost more than half of the town to the creatures from that gate, and we're doing all we can to keep them from leaving the summit now."

"I was told that there are survivors in the city. My ally and I are here to save them."

"That's suicide, priest." said the jesting guard. "You can't get past the gate, let alone into the city."

"We've faced more impossible odds before." Ezio replied with feigned certainty. "We have allies in the city, as well. We are intending to rendezvous with them inside."

"All we can hope for at the moment is to set up a good defense around the perimeter, prevent those things from getting out." the injured man said. "Until we can do that, I am afraid I am going to have to hold back all men from a raid on the gate itself."

"Understood." came the reply. He looked at the map sitting before the men. On it was a map of the whole city, with a red circle around the gate.

"This," he said, pointing at the red circle, "is the perimeter of the gate."

"Alright. It looks like you could easily bottleneck them here." he pointed at the route leading down the mountain.

"The biggest problem with that idea is that we would then be fighting an uphill battle." said the man. "They would be able to easily push us down the mountain." Ezio bit his lip as he sat before the map, gazing at it. He hoped his Eye would activate, maybe show him what needed to be done and explain what he needed to do.

"Perhaps we could set up a defense around here…" he muttered, tracing along the perimeter. "We could place troops here, here, and here, to defend from being shoved down the mountain."

"That was what this man suggested a few minutes ago." said the man. "Problem being we do not have enough troops for such a suggestion."

"There is an alternative." said Altair, entering the tent. "I am a priest from the Temple of the One. I've been listening in. Based on information gathered, enemies will only enter from one area. We need to lead a charge to break their current position and drive them back to the gate, where we can then set up sniper posts and kill them as they exit the gate." Altair said, pointing out various locations. "My brother and I shall lead the charge. I took the liberty of counting your troops, and have decided we only need two men to follow us to aid with the charge. There are still five men alive on that summit. We need to extract them for medical attention as well, while we set up a base of operations up there."

"Take these two. They can help more than any of us." said the man.

"But captain!"

"Go, Johnson. Fulfill your duty alongside these priests." The man paused for a minute, staring at his captain for a long period of time.

"…yes sir…" he uttered, finally, as he and his friend turned to leave the tent. Ezio and Altair turned to exit as well. Once they mounted their horses, they left for the mountain. The soldiers met them near the start of the path up the mountain.

"Father, brother." the man known as Johnson said.

"Johnson. Knight." Altair replied. "You heard the plan earlier. We will lead the charge in; you and your partner shall give cover fire."

"Roger that."

"We're running into a war zone, Auditore. Keep your head about you. Don't be reckless like with those bandits-I won't be able to save you this time." he said. "They are nightmarish. Do not be alarmed by them; they will take that chance to kill you."

"Alright." Ezio's heart was, at this point, slamming against the inside of his chest. He inhaled deeply, and exhaled. His blade was at his hip, as well as a dagger. He had no means of ranged attack at this point, so he would need to be prepared to parry a lot of attacks. He remembered back to the images of the people in tents. They used jagged weapons, barbed weapons. If properly played, he could easily cause his enemies to be their own enemies.

Ezio and Altair dismounted their horses some way up the mountain. The young Assassin placed the ledger in the horse's satchel, so as to not lose it. They began their trek up the mountain. It was a daunting thought; a game of endurance, strength, and skill. None of which Ezio was especially well-trained in, all of which had the cost of his life should he not succeed.

After what seemed like an hour, Altair finally made a different motion than his static forward walking. He hid behind a rock, and Ezio followed closely. "Enemies readying to charge down the mountain…" Altair whispered, pointing so Ezio could get a good look. At a glance, he saw what he could literally describe as nightmarish.

His mind leaped back to his memories of Olav's Tap n' Tack. His dream, of these monsters. How they killed him. How Altair saved him. What was going on? How had he dreamt of them before even seeing them? "Steel yourself. This will be a tough battle." Ezio nodded at Altair's remark, which was followed up by Altair shimmying across the rock.

At a glance Ezio saw his plan. He was going to attack from behind the monster, shaped like a man but it must have been at least a foot taller than even an orc. He wore black and red-spiked armor, and stared forward, as though awaiting reinforcements. He looked down the road, trying to see if any reinforcements would arrive. His eyes fell upon Altair, who had his hidden blade drawn and was approaching fast behind the monster. He grabbed its shoulder, and in one motion stabbed it, and lowered it to the ground. He motioned for Ezio to come closer.

It was then Ezio drew his hidden blade, and stabbed down instinctively into the creature's temples. Altair shot him a questioning glance, but saw the creature's attempt to stand fail. "Good catch. These things need more to kill than a simple blade to the heart, it seems." They stood, and began walking towards the summit once more.

"Are you ready for this, Altair?"

"No." At least he was being honest. It was hard to tell, though; based just on the look on his face, it seemed as though he was ready to take on the entire army of hell if need be when they reached the top. Confident that he would even win, too. The sky looked no less menacing than it did before, now the color of deep crimson and swirling with black clouds. Was this what Oblivion did to Tamriel? He could see why the emperor wanted it locked away.

But how was one kid, one young Ezio Auditore, going to stop something like this? He shuddered at the idea of all the responsibility placed upon him by the emperor. And he'd accepted the responsibility. He swore on his name he would do what needed to be done to save the world. He wanted to slap himself for his stupidity.

Sounds of the battle could be heard as they made their final approach. Screams of agony and monstrous roars painted the portrait of fear within Ezio, as blood painted the dead, blackened dirt beneath his feet. There were corpses around the entire field, he observed as Altair had led him to a lookout point.

The two soldiers had soon arrived, after which Altair turned to face the group. "Here's the plan," Altair said, looking around at the band of warriors before him…and Ezio. "You two will remain up here and provide ranged support for us." he pointed at the two guards. "Brother, it is time for your first real test in battle, against unimaginable enemies. Let's hope your special talent comes in handy; if not, you could well be ripped into pieces."

Ezio took a deep breath. "Hey, monk." Johnson's voice surprised the boy, who nearly leaped out of cover by mistake. "We've got your back. Don't be scared." He nodded, and Ezio exhaled. He had to do this.

"Surely we aren't just charging in blindly?" he asked, turning to Altair.

"Of course not. We are not only killing enemies, we are driving them towards the gate. That means we can get definite cover, and keep from being surrounded by enemies. We also have allies out on the field already; once we get to them the battle should be even easier." Good old Altair, explaining a war with hell out into a feasible situation. The Assassins drew their blades. "You'll be fine."

"You're saying that." Ezio remarked, and they both slipped from cover. Altair pulled out a small orb and tossed it out into the mesh of enemies. There was a loud sound, followed by an explosion of flames, and the enemies scattered somewhat. Ezio picked targets and decided to take this battle one enemy at a time.

This enemy was still stunned from the explosion of Altair's. Ezio was still trying to figure out what exactly happened; he didn't remember any explosion magics like that one. Ezio kicked the enemy, sending it from its knees to belly-up on the ground. Not willing to risk anything, he slammed his boot on the enemy's breastplate, and stabbed the enemy's throat with his blade.

It was a near decapitation, as Ezio pulled the blade to the side, rather than pulling upwards to dislodge the sword. Two more enemies had taken notice of the boy, all looking near-identical to the fallen monster behind him. Before any move could be made, an arrow had hit its mark in the monster's head. It toppled as the other began to roar and charge. By the nine, did it charge. Ezio was dumbfounded on how he any mortal could stand the sight of such a creature and remain sane.

As it held its blade in a position to bring it down hard upon the young Assassin, he decided getting hit by a great sword from any species was a bad idea. He lunged forth with his sword into the opening created by the monster, then pulled the blade up as hard as he could. The enemy screamed in pain as his weapon was caught in its incredible armor, and he ended up giving it a piggy-back ride instead of fighting it.

He eventually heaved it over his back, tossing it on the ground a few feet away. He took a breath and backed up a few paces, before he saw an arrow flying at him. He moved to the left, just in time to see it meet its target-a monster that had snuck up behind him. He punched the arrow once it was lodged firmly in the enemy's throat, just to ensure as much damage as possible. The thick gloves from Bruma provided enough padding to protect his fist from the impact.

Another explosion occurred, and Ezio soon realized that while he was struggling with a few enemies, Altair was a harbinger of destruction, slaughtering a path through the enemy hordes. On the ground there were not several dozen corpses laying about, with sword wounds mainly, others it was not even visible how they were killed. What kind of man was capable of this kind of warfare, a kind where you became a one-man army?

He snapped out of thought long enough to realize he had a duty as well, and he ran forth to catch up to Altair. He was wishing at this point that he had some form of ranged weaponry, for his current state was more liable to be killed quickly in the field of battle, without the absolute support of Johnson and the other guard sniping for him.

The real battlefield came into view, at last; Ezio could see many enemies, some looking like commanders, swarming the battlefield, and even more enemies pouring out of what Ezio had thought was possibly the most hellish thing he had ever seen. The gate to Oblivion. The gates of hell. The arch was made of brimstone, with what looked like blood streaming down its craggy, colossal surface. In the arches looked like nothing short of a wall of flame, speaking omens of death and destruction to any who came near.

It was then that Ezio's mind drifted back to his dream once more. This was it! This was the battlefield his dream had depicted, where he was struck down and Altair saved him. He felt his gut, hoping sincerely that this would not be the same event. He saw Altair, almost literally cleaving through enemies with their own weapons, followed closely by two other soldiers.

In the middle of the mob, there were three more soldiers, back to back, shields out. They were trying to survive the waves of hell, while Altair's party was making the waves of hell try to survive. It was like watching a bloody painting get splashed with even more, as the Master Assassin continually proved himself to be even more of a demon than the creatures coming from the Oblivion gate.

Another explosion broke up the mob of enemies. Altair was driving them back, alright. Ezio then took a breath and drew his hidden blade. He would have to be covert about this battle; he was not prepared to fight as Altair, and he was a solitary unit with some support fire. One monster was getting up from the explosion-target number one for the Auditore boy.

Crouched down, he came up to the creature, of which had wide eyes at Ezio. It was quickly dispatched by the boy, who had placed the hidden blade solidly in its cranium. He dropped the corpse, and searched for another target. There was a group of three enemies which had recovered and were preparing to leap back at Altair. Ezio made a motion for archers to be ready, praying to the Nine that they saw it, and snuck up behind the creature in back.

He placed his right hand around the creature's mouth, pulling it back and thrusting his hidden blade into what was assumed to be the creature's heart and pulling backward to not alert the other two. It worked, however the archers had responded to Ezio's signal, and both of his enemies met their untimely end with arrows through their throats.

Ezio took a deep breath, and continued looking for isolated groups of enemies that he and his cell of archers could easily take down. Altair's group was taking on the bulk of the horde, but Ezio wanted to at least know he had some hand in the victory. He was surprised when two soldiers ran up to him.

"You are the monk from the Temple of the One, I take it?" said one, panting. The battle was more than exhausting, to say the least. The young Assassin nodded, knowing it was a lie, but also a ruse for Assassins in specific, so he wasn't the only liar. "We're going to set up barricades. Keep them off our backs!"

Ezio motioned his hand as though he was calling the archers over. Before long they had taken up new positions while he continued searching the field for isolated groups of enemies. He marked enemies for the archers to snipe, while continually looking back to make sure the barricades were being set up alright.

What was once a swarm of enemies was now pools of blood and piles of carcasses. The soldiers made their barricade partly out of rock, partly of wood, and partly of these bodies from the field. It was a disgusting thought, but a disgusting battle all the same. Altair approached the barricade, and though he would not show it, he was incredibly exhausted. Who wouldn't be after defeating an army nearly single-handedly?

"Archers," he said, "focus on the gate. We will return to the base camp and report the events to your commanding officer, and requisition reinforcements. Stay strong, the battle is not yet over."

"…far from it." Muttered Ezio as they began their descent to the refugee's camp. What he had seen was hell. But he had a demon following him closely behind, one that destroyed the bulk of their forces. His dreams were fast becoming reality; was this an effect of the Eye? Or something more sinister?

They approached the tent. Altair's legs were shaky at this point, and his blood-soaked form looked hardly capable of standing anymore. "Are you sure that you can handle this?" Ezio's question came, like an arrow through silence. Altair simply stood there, gazing at the tent. Was it a silent "No", or was it a pause for thought?

Ezio decided to act on instinct, walking into the tent. He saw the captain sitting next to a more decorated-looking officer. "Sir," said the young man, averting his eyes to the man before the map. "The charge was successful. We broke their lines, and now have them trapped at their own gate."

"That's…" The captain sat up, surprised by the news. Did he really send the Assassins up, thinking they would die? "…incredible news! I was actually preparing further backup for you now."

"Backup would still be appreciated. There are seven soldiers up at the gate, all behind a barricade. Alt-" He stopped. No one was on a first-name basis, and given this news about the captain, it was not the best idea, he thought, to start spreading names now. "Although we are tired, my friend and I. We will need at least a day's rest before we begin any assault on the gate."

"That's excellent news, brother." said the decorated officer. "We are not planning any direct assault upon the gate yet. We need to formulate strategies at this point, now that we can contain them. I'm sending requisition orders out for arms. Arrows, swords, bows, shields, armor. We'll need a small army to tackle whatever is in that thing."

"No." Altair walked into the tent, still obviously exhausted. "My ally and I will mount an assault on the gate tomorrow. We might bring reinforcements, but I believe that there are some already there."

"Johnson and his partner made excellent archer units," Ezio suggested, "I would like to take them."

"It's a suicide mission, but you at the Temple of the One have more authority than I do. I would stop you, if I didn't know you two didn't just lead a suicidal assault against countless odds, and won." the captain sighed. "Prepare well. We'll give you everything you need."

"A bow and arrows." Ezio said. "I need ranged weapons as well."

"A tent to sleep in for the night. I'll be ready to fight again in the morning."

"Both can easily be provided. Brother, go speak with the quartermaster I've brought with me. He'll get you what you need."

"Thank you." Ezio bowed, and exited the tent. Altair exited soon after, and they went their separate ways. The quartermaster had a tent of his own, and had already set up a grindstone and an anvil, for repairing armor.

"I am a monk from the Temple of the One," the young Assassin said as he approached the quartermaster. He was shirtless, but had very well-toned muscles. Something that was probably necessary against the heat of the forge all day. "I was sent to talk about getting a bow, quiver, and some arrows."

"What's a monk wanting with weapons like those?"

"I need ranged weapons to protect myself tomorrow when my partner and I storm the hell gate." the quartermaster raised an eyebrow.

"You and your partner…"

"The same two who broke enemy lines and set up an actual perimeter on the summit, yes." the quartermaster sighed.

"Alright, I have a few bows over here. Made of steel, if you can handle it. Steel-tipped arrows, too." Ezio nodded. "Do you even know how to use one of these, monk?"

"I know a little. Never got much practice, but I learned the basics."

"Alright. Make sure you protect yourself. I'd be pretty embarrassed to know you died using my equipment."

"Thank you for the concern." Ezio strapped the bow over his shoulder, putting the quiver on as well. "I will be fine." He exited the quartermaster's tent, looking over to Altair, who had finished setting up a tent. Not being an expert, Ezio payed little attention to the quality and make of the weapon, he just had to trust the quartermaster and hope his few days of hunting with Giovanni and Federico would be enough.

"Tomorrow we journey into hell, Auditore." Altair said, laying down in the tent. "Be ready."

Be ready. Ezio had not been ready for the entire damned adventure. At this point he was just winging the entire thing, hoping Altair could continue saving his life. He lay down, placing all of his weapons beside him. He closed his eyes, and could only dream of the life he led in Skingrad. Of his nice life, his comfortable life. On the more innocent side of life.