Chapter 18 – The Second Battle of Bruma
Bruma was a scene of absolute chaos. Mannimarco's army of skeletons and necromancers was sandwiched between two groups who were fighting it – the Bruma militia, who had congregated in the north-south-running street that ran alongside the eastern wall, and the town guard, under Captain Burd's command, who were outside the castle, still trying to defend it and the Countess. They were still heavily outnumbered and making little headway – the skeletons were on a powerful offensive, trying to hack their way through the guard with their axes, but the guard and militia were playing defensively, concentrating on blocking attacks until they could strike their own killer blow. Captain Pasqual, grouped with the militia, had summoned a frost atronach which was proving a very capable comrade-in-arms, whilst Pasqual himself fought with an ebony sword, matching his armour, and the occasional magical attack. Despite his wizard-like appearance and Mages' Guild ties, he was, at heart, an Imperial Legion veteran. He had fought in the first Battle of Bruma alongside Martin Septim, outside the Great Gate into which the Champion of Cyrodiil had launched a daring raid. The Champion had removed the keystone of the enemy attack – the Great Sigil Stone at the heart of the Great Gate, which had ended the battle. Pasqual couldn't help but think that all the second Battle of Bruma needed was one event like this – the death of Mannimarco at the hands of Latta.
Pasqual clambered up a pile of crates onto one of the rooftops. Holding onto the wooden beam running along the top of the gable with one hand for support, he cast an enormous fireball with his other hand, taking out several skeletons and two necromancers with the resulting explosion. But one of the other necromancers spotted him and cast a bolt of lightning at him, sending him tumbling back to the street, twitching, landing awkwardly on his back.
"Pasqual's down!" one of the Nord Militia shouted. "Get him back!"
A great hairy-bearded Nord and one of the other Battlemages ran over to Pasqual and lifted his semi-conscious body, complete with the weight of his ebony armour, whilst several archers provided cover. The enemy was going on the offensive – pushing forwards, breaking through the defensive line held by the militia…
"They're heading for the chapel!" Pasqual shouted weakly. "Don't let them desecrate Talos!"
Camri Everlight raced down the trail towards Bruma, his mind in a dizzying spin, following Latta, who was still tracking Mannimarco with life-detection. Suddenly Latta stopped in her tracks.
"Damnit" she said to herself.
"What is it?" Camri asked, catching her up, exhausted.
"He must have fortified his acrobatic skill or something," Latta explained. "He just leapt clean over the city wall!"
"There's another way into the city. Follow me!"
Following the perimeter wall in an anticlockwise direction, the pair eventually reached a cave entrance just outside the city wall. Camri raced into it, Latta close behind him, her magical light guiding their way. A few rats offered resistance but were killed in an instant. Soon, the pair arrived in an abandoned basement, a ladder leading up to a trapdoor.
"What is this place?" Latta asked.
"An old Mythic Dawn hideout" Camri explained. "Discovered during the Oblivion crisis. The third way into Bruma"
Camri produced a key from his belt and unlocked the trapdoor – it had necessitated a daring night-time raid on Cloud Ruler Temple to acquire it – throwing it open and clambering up into the building. A very surprised Nord couple, changing into battle gear, greeted him.
"Don't worry, I'm on your side" Camri said as he helped Latta out of the hatch. Peering out of the window, Camri saw the last thing he expected – empty space. He could see the necromancer army trying to force its way into the castle, and the militia trying to hold off the other branch of the army on the street to the east, but in front of that – nothing. Camri threw open the door and ran out.
"Where's Mannimarco?" Camri asked Latta. Latta shrugged. Camri drew his sword and raced towards the militia, briefly registering Captain Larand Pasqual lying injured on the ground on the backline, and leapt into the fray.
--
The Jerall Mountains, east of Bruma
"I have witnessed a change in you, Falas Assurrani. Once you may have been an assassin, killing to make a living. Perhaps the Morag Tong are deeply stepped in Dark Elven doctrine and nobility, but one cannot kill another man who has not directly harmed him and think himself a good man. But when I saw you save thousands of lives by destroying the Marsh Spirit, I began to doubt my preconception of you"
Assurrani stood in revered silence, listening intently.
"I saw what you did at the Temple of the Throat of the World. You spared the lives of those two necromancers. You may wish to know that this morning they forsook the cult. They regard human life as much more valuable after you granted them theirs. They have both joined the Chapel, promising to use their magical abilities for good.
"And now, I see, for the first time, Falas Assurrani feeling genuine guilt after having killed someone. An accidental murder, but a murder nonetheless. Would this have happened were you not tied up in prophecy? If you were still an agent of the Morag Tong? I think not – your mentality has changed to suit this new life, this life of true responsibility of the fate of Tamriel"
"Who are you?" Assurrani spluttered.
The woman in the white robe smiled. The bright sunlight, piercing through the crisp mountain air made her robe, her delicate features and beautiful golden hair sparkle and shimmer.
"I believe you know my daughter quite well"
Assurrani gasped in shock. "Meridia? What are you…?"
Meridia held up a hand to silence Assurrani. "I have come here because your friends need you, Falas Assurrani. You did not kill Ariel Lasaille"
"What?"
"She is close to death – unconscious and bleeding fatally. But I will undo that – your actions have inspired me to once again take interest in mortal affairs such as this. Camri and Latta are close to the end, close to defeating Mannimarco, but they cannot do it without the help of Ariel and yourself"
"I'd better go back to Echo Cave and find her," Assurrani said.
"No, you must go and help in the fight. Ariel is alright. She has Halisman with her – he is a good man who will protect her fiercely. Go with my blessing – aim true, Falas Assurrani"
Meridia vanished in a flash of dazzling bright light, and Assurrani felt strength, courage, resolve and determination surging through his body. Turning around, he ran as fast as he could towards Bruma.
--
"Don't worry about us, Mr Everlight!" a Nord shouted to Camri. "We can hold them off! Go and help at the castle!"
Camri nodded, leading Latta through a series of tight, steeply-ascending alleys. They could see a white mass in front of them – the skeleton army.
"Godspeed" Camri said to Latta. As mirror images of each other, they burst out of the last alleyway, both cutting down a skeleton almost instantly. Camri fought with both hands on his sword, getting around the issue of blocking attacks by simply not allowing any of his enemies to get a blow in before he slaughtered them. Next to him, Latta was alternating between deadly blows with her glass claymore and powerful magical attacks. They were making quick headway…
A familiar face reared up in front of Latta – a very angry-looking Dark Elven woman. Latta smiled wickedly.
"Oh, I am going to enjoy this," she said as she ran her sword through Relmyna Verenim's heart, making sure she was definitely dead this time.
"It's Mannimarco!" Latta cried suddenly. "He's on the rooftops… He's made it to the chapel!"
"We have to go after him," Camri said, killing another skeleton and retreating into the alleyway again. "The guards can handle the battle – this is our destiny. We have to kill Mannimarco, or Ariel and Areen will have died for nothing"
"Don't' worry, he's mine" Latta said. "Ready to fight to the Chapel?"
"Ready" Camri raced out back into the battlefield and shouted, "Covering fire!"
"I've got you," a familiar voice said coolly from above them as an arrow shot through the air, hitting a skeleton's neck and snapping it clean in two.
"Go!" Latta shouted, ploughing out into the fray, swinging 360 degrees with her sword held out, cutting down several skeletons. Camri danced through the assembled skeleton masses, now beginning to thin out at the base of the castle steps where they were, as the assault on the castle geared up in intensity. Ducking to avoid blows and fighting his way out of any encounter he could not dodge, Camri soon broke free, at almost exactly the same time as Latta did. Only then did he turn around to see Falas Assurrani, knelt down on the rooftops, carrying a magical longbow that looked Elven, or even Ayleid in origin. Something looked different about him, but Camri could not work out what.
"Good to have you back, my friend!" Camri called to him. "Cover us to the chapel!"
Camri and Latta raced towards the chapel, just as a series of cries of pain from the other side of town marked the militia line finally giving way, followed by a huge explosion as Captain Pasqual returned to the front line. This was going to be close…
A separate group of necromancers, along with some skeleton warriors, set off in pursuit of Camri and Latta. Every time one got close, or attempted to cast a spell at the pair, they met an end from Assurrani's incredible marksmanship skills.
Latta and Camri reached the door and tried to force it open, but to no avail – it was barricaded shut.
"The other doors!" Latta shouted. The pair turned around to make a run for one of the chapel's other two doors, when the most amazing thing occurred.
A rock, nearly a yard across, plummeted down from the heavens and smashed into the chapel's sturdy wood and iron door, blasting it clean off his hinges.
"What in the name of the Nine…" Camri began, but he knew in his mind that it could only be one thing. Ariel Lasaille, back from the dead with a vengeance. The pair raced into the chapel and saw Mannimarco. Still in shock at what had just occurred, Mannimarco cast a fireball at the pair, but it went wide, hitting the stone above the doorway that they had just emerged from.
"It's over, Mannimarco!" Latta shouted, striding towards the Altmer.
"Oh, but it is not" Mannimarco said coolly. "As soon as the people of Bruma have been defeated, the rest of my army will be ordered to attack, all across Cyrodiil. All I need to do is buy some time"
Mannimarco glanced out of the window.
"Oh dear, it looks like the castle's defences weren't quite strong enough"
--
"Countess, they're in the courtyard!" Burd cried, racing into the throne room of the castle. Countess Carvain, now kitted out in a suit of mithril armour, seemed unfazed.
"Everlight and Latta are in the Chapel," she said. "We only have to hold them off for a few more minutes. I have full confidence in both those two and your guard"
"I only hope your confidence is well-placed," was Burd's response.
--
"Flank him" Camri whispered as he ran to the left-hand side of the chapel, as Latta ran to the right. Mannimarco could not fight two opponents at once on his own. Racing down the sides of the chapel, constantly ducking or leaping behind pillars to avoid his magical attacks, they made quick progress. Mannimarco's attacks were getting progressively weaker. But then he took a quick gulp from a phial of potion and his strength was back. Holding his hand to the air, he summoned not one but three wraiths!
"Shit!" Camri shouted. "Get back! Get back!"
Camri had nothing to fight the wraiths with, but he noticed one was carrying a Daedric shortsword… it would be a long shot…
Miraculously, an arrow suddenly lanced through the air before Camri could even draw his own bow, hitting the wraith's sword and knocking it from the ethereal creature's hand. Camri lunged to the ground and grabbed the sword as the wraith loomed over him, leaping to his feet just in time to plunge the sword into the wraith's heart. Camri smiled to himself – Assurrani was in the chapel.
"Go for him!" Assurrani shouted. "You're covered!"
With his magic bow, Assurrani took down another of the wraiths, but saw Latta recoiling as a spell cast by a wraith engulfed her. She tried to dispel herself but was silenced by Mannimarco, who was now on top of the altar, hurling spells about the chapel, chiefly trying to take down the troublesome Dunmer marksman…
"His backup's arrived!" Assurrani shouted suddenly, racing through the chapel just as skeletons began to pour through the blasted-open doors.
"Tell me this isn't happening" Camri said to himself as he parried with the third wraith, which was also armed with a sword, before he managed to get a killing blow in. Looking up, he found himself face-to-face with Mannimarco, raising his hands, preparing to cast a spell.
"You should keep better company," Camri said desperately. "I know my friends will be looking out for me!"
On cue, an arrow slammed into Mannimarco's leg, sending him tumbling off the altar, roaring in pain.
"Latta! Go!" Camri shouted. Latta weakly ran over to Mannimarco as Camri turned to face the advancing skeletons, fighting once again alongside Falas Assurrani, now brandishing Camri's newly-acquired Daedric sword whilst Camri reverted to his glass weapon. They were quickly forced back, killing skeletons but swamped by the overwhelming numbers.
"Latta! Whatever you're going to do, do it quickly!"
Latta reached Mannimarco and drew her sword. This was it… Mannimarco began to get to his feet, licks of flame appearing at his fingertips…
No. Not this close to the end!
Latta took a final desperate lunge forwards, and plunged her sword straight into Mannimarco's chest; ripping it out jaggedly then ramming it in again, before delivering a third strike to his jugular.
The life took less than a second to fade from Mannimarco before he fell limply to the ground.
Silence fell across the chapel.
The skeletons had vanished.
"Would you look at that," Assurrani said. "He'd summoned them himself. Every single one of them"
Camri raced over to Latta, his face stretched into a broad grin, and threw his arms around her. "You did it!"
Latta got to her feet and kissed Camri on the cheek. "I would have got nowhere without you, Camri Everlight. Or you, Assurrani"
Assurrani bowed his head. "Well, I wouldn't be here at all if it weren't for your mother…"
Camri and Latta looked at Assurrani for an explanation. "I wish I could have told you this when I first saw you back in the town. Meridia blessed me, persuaded me to return to the battle. And Ariel's alive!"
Camri smiled. "We know. How else were you going to explain that rock falling from the heavens and smashing the chapel door open right when we needed it?"
Assurrani walked over to join the other two. "Hey, the technicalities don't matter. We got the bastard! We did it!"