Chapter XIII

Lucan and Lannis stood before a gaping gorge, which ran about twelve or more feet into the ground. At the bottom, several corpses were piled on top of one another. The Imperial armor and sailor's clothing still donned on them.

"Our attacker certainly wasn't interested in hiding the bodies that well," Lannis noted, turning to Lucan awaiting his response.

"Clearly not. This Dark Elf mage our witness reported seeing must have some major problem with the Empire. All these bodies, left near enough in plain sight. It's almost like a message to whoever found them," he replied. Lannis shifted uncomfortably,

"These men... they were traitors. They abandoned their posts to kidnap a prisoner due for release... but even then, I can't but feel..." his voice trailed off. Lucan put his hand firmly on Lannis' shoulder,

"These men were indeed traitors. But our buyer must have been in contact with the mutineers beforehand to be able to orchestrate this."

Lucan gestured towards the corpses,

"Their crime is getting greedy. This mage is our real target in all of this." With this Lannis nodded and turned back to the campsite. Lucan remained for a few moments, staring down at the death below him as dawn's light hit his body. He whispered a quick prayer to the divine and left.

In the camp, the other guards and Azuk were dismantling their temporary site and extinguishing the fire. When Lucan returned, his ordered them to assemble. Azuk hung back, still furious at the events of the day before, but relented and joined the others.

"We've found the bodies of the rest of the crew. That is, almost the rest of the crew. A few are missing that were on the duty log for this vessel's mission. Namely the captain and three others," Lucan explained. Azuk grunted in reply,

"Maybe they were taken along with Jiub by this Dunmer mage?"

Lucan nodded,

"Either that or the Captain and a few of his loyal men were victims of the mutiny and their bodies are dumped out at sea. Either way, we must track down the mage. His crimes against the Empire are numerous," Lucan said sternly as Azuk gazed at him with cold eyes, "and it still remains of vital importance that Jiub is rescued safely," Lucan added. Azuk grunted and walked off.

As the men continued packing, Lucan approached Azuk.

"I know you're angry at me Azuk but -" he was cut off,

"You made a man suffer in his dying moments yesterday!" Fumed Azuk in reply, "You could have gotten the same information if we had eased his pain!" Lucan sighed,

"I got information, I had to take drastic action. The mission is clear: rescue Jiub at any cost. I did this for him and for you."

"Well, it's not how he would have wanted you to go about it," Azuk said bitterly.

"In case you haven't noticed Orc, I have never met your friend. I still don't see why he is so important to the Empire and I have no idea how we would want me to act. Whilst I am in charge of this mission, we get things done my way!" Lucan shouted, storming off, leaving Azuk alone, who merely shook his head in disappointment.

"Sir!" Lannis shouted over to Lucan, who walked over to his subordinate, "I've been studying this map, the only two routes into and out of this island are the one we took, or another way leading north into Telvanni territory. This attack was recent and we would have seen something if they left the way we arrived, so they must have gone north," he finished. Lucan nodded grimly,

"Telvanni... their kind certainly breed powerful mages. But as much as the Empire is supposed to control Morrowind, they will not cooperate with us easily. We'll head north and see if we can pick up a trail, prepare to move," Lucan ordered. Lannis nodded and folded up the map.

"Oh and Lannis... good work," Lucan said as he turned his back.

It certainly felt strange having people to command, but Lucan was enjoying being the one giving orders for once. He usually worked alone, or alongside another Blade member or, as had most often been the case, as someone's junior. He wasn't stupid though, he knew that manpower was limited for the Blades on Vvardenfell, and that was more likely the reason why he was leading this mission. He wondered whether his time would be better served aiding in the Blades mysterious main assignment involving the first prisoner in Seyda Neen. Nevertheless, Lucan cleared these scrambled thoughts and focused once again.

The group of six made their way north, across countless more islands. Thankfully, the northern trip was a much shorter route to the mainland and, around four hours after they had set out, they were on much firmer ground. As the group marched onwards, a giant head came into view. It broke the skyline and emerged, towering over the cliffs and the mountains. In one hand the statue held a star. In the other, a moon.

"The Queen of Dawn and Dusk," Azuk piped up, pointing towards the statue as the group turned to listen, "It is said the is the one morally good Daedric Prince."

"How can it be a she if she's a... prince?" Asked one of the guards.

"Her gender is simply an appearance. Daedric princes are more forces of energy and manifestation of power, rather than anything else. 'Daedric Prince' is a title. They represent far more," Azuk explained gently. Lucan dismissed this notion,
"The Daedric are evil. Even this Azura I am sure. No one who is good worships a Daedric Prince."

"It is said the Azura takes a keen interest in the affairs of mortals Lucan, she could be listening to us now. She sets events into motion and guides travellers to an end," Azuk replied calmly.

"Whose end? A morally good end? Or her own ends?" Lucan questioned doubtfully.

"We can never be sure. Jiub spoke of Azura often. I believe he found comfort in her guiding hand."

The group stared up at the monument and they followed the path. Despite his reservations about the morality of this particular Daedric Prince, Lucan was still impressed by the sheer scale of the thing.

Azura's knowing gaze followed the group as they journeyed onwards. The affairs of mortals could indeed be petty and irrelevant. But certain events, however small, could lead to a far greater impact days, weeks - even years later. Her hand guided and occasionally nudged those who needed it in the right direction. Prisoners, heroes and all in-between stood the possibility of unwittingly, or even knowingly receiving her help.