Enemy on The Horizon
"ZANY! Where in the hell is that blasted lizard?!" I shouted as I stormed the halls of the Dawnstar Sanctuary in search of the Argonian in question. After hearing that he was to accompany me to Winterhold, he asked to be given time to gather his things- I agreed of course; but now I see the fool just wanted time to escape. I walked briskly into the dining hall to find Donovan sitting at the table, and upon seeing my furious visage- he cringed and seemed to almost attempt to hide in his ebony armor. "Have you seen Zany? That fool turned tail and ran." I asked him through gritted teeth, not intending to take my anger out on Donovan… but it happened anyway. Donovan shook his head feverishly and I sighed in near defeat, the half-orc smith seeming to relax as my fury subsided. "If you see him, please hog-tie him and put him on the next carriage to Winterhold will you?" I asked Donovan with a weary laugh, tired of searching for Zany and simply wanting to get on my way.
"Will do, Listener." Donovan laughed loudly as I made my way up the stairs to leave. As soon as I reached the top of the stairs, I nearly fell back down as the Night Mother once again sent her voice into my mind.
"Be careful my child, for Sithis has not been pleased with his children for quite some time… I fear he may take action against you to test if you are worthy and capable of bringing us back to glory." she said, her voice a harsh mind-numbing whisper as always. My head spun as I stood with my hand against the wall, waiting for my vision to straighten. Once I could see clearly, I made my way out of the Sanctuary and onto the shore. Shadowmere was standing by the door, waiting and ready to carry me swiftly to Winterhold. I saddled my dark steed and settled for a run along the shore, knowing of a path back up the icy cliff not far from my destination.
Shadowmere galloped along the shore as I leaned forward in the saddle, loving the feel of the wind on my face as we rushed and jumped over fallen trees and the occasional large stone. I had been riding horses since I was old enough to sit in the saddle on my own; feeling at home on horseback as much as I did with a blade in my hand. As soon as the college came into view, I prepared to slow our pace and veer off to the right onto the path up the icy slope. I brought Shadowmere to a halt behind the last house before the bridge to the college and dismounted, walking into town as if I had come here on foot. Shadowmere tended to cause quite the ruckus when children came up to the Void-horse and found her eyes to be red as blood and her pelt far darker than they originally thought, and the skulls on her bridle didn't diminish her fearsome appearance either. I walked to the commonly empty tavern to rest after the long ride and sat down at one of the corner tables.
"Hey there beautiful." came a voice I thought I had left behind in Markarth… my head dropped as I wanted so badly to just ignore him.
"Minx." I said curtly without looking to him, knowing he would sit down at the table whether I wanted him to or not.
"So, what's the Listener doing in Winterhold?" he asked curiously. I gave a small smile, mildly amused by his blunt curiosity,
"I could ask the same of you Guild Master." I said with a sly smirk as I looked up at Minx… my eyes going wide and my jaw dropping. "Wha? How? So you didn't abandon us in Markarth?!" I said bewildered to find that the voice belonged to young man named Johnny- who Kestrel and I had escaped Cidhna Mine with. He stood with his pale blue eyes full of mischief in light of my surprise, clad in Minx's strange black armor sans the hood… meaning that he was in fact Minx- which would explain why he was here, since I had told the young man named 'Johnny' to meet me here… so Johnny was likely his real name.
"No I did not, I just thought you would like to see the face behind the mask… did I make a good impression?" He asked, a devious smirk on his face as he folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. I scoffed at his flirting, and then began to wonder- did he still have our things? "Before you even ask, I have a courier bringing Kestrel her things from Cidhna- yours are right here." he said with a smile as he picked up a knapsack from the floor next to him and handed it to me. I smiled genuinely at Johnny,
"Thank you, really… I had something very dear to me that I had feared was gone forever." I said gratefully, knowing Steel Heart was within this bag of my things.
"So… about what you said in Markarth- you really think I could be an assassin?" Johnny asked, his tone surprisingly serious, albeit curious.
"Perhaps, though what about the Guild?" I asked him simply, wondering how he could leave his duty as Guild Master behind to become an assassin. Johnny grinned as he answered my question,
"They have Brynjolf, so they should be fine without me." I just shook my head and sighed at how nonchalant he was about his role as Guild Master… hopefully he could be more serious about being an assassin.
We spent the night at the inn, seeing no rush to head out to the new sanctuary immediately- partially because I was still waiting for Donovan to catch that coward of a lizard Zany. Frankly, I was quite disappointed with Zany; he never showed fear in battle- but something about mages apparently unnerved him, though I suspected it had something to do with his scar. I really couldn't fault him for that… I had my own scars and fears that resulted from them. Regardless of this fact, I was pleased to see the carriage driver pull up in front of the tavern in the morning and point his thumb at the carriage.
"I'm supposed to deliver this poor bloke to someone named 'Alyce'?" he asked with a laugh, no doubt Donovan had done as asked- even telling the driver what I looked like to make sure Zany arrived in the right place. I chuckled and thanked the driver as Johnny and I hauled the humorously hog-tied and irate Argonian out of the carriage.
"I'M GONNA KILL THAT DAMNED ORC! TRAITOROUS BASTARD!" Zany fumed as I un-gagged him and began to undo the bindings on his hands.
"You will do no such thing, I told him to send you here… I didn't think he would ACTUALLY hog-tie you though." I said with a chuckle, earning a glare and a grumble from Zany in response. "Now, shall we be on our way? The Winterhold sanctuary awaits." I said with a smile as I began to walk back to where I had left Shadowmere with Zany and Johnny in tow. My steed neighed in greeting at the sight of us; I patted her mane as I looked out across the chasm to an island not far from the pillar of stone the college stood on. On that island atop a high hill, overlooking the sea sat an ancient ruin known as Sky Temple Ruins, where the entrance to the next sanctuary was supposed to be hidden.
Traveling back down the cliff the way I had arrived in Winterhold was an easy task, though we needed to back track along the shore to cross the water over a series of ice flows to reach the island. Best to avoid the risk of a slaughter fish attack in the deep waters, as I have never liked those damned things. The ruin was high on the cliff above, meaning we would need to find a safe way up- and so we traveled along the shore, keeping close to the Cliffside. After a few moments, a path was revealed on the backside of the cliff… with destroyed skeletal guardians littering the path- someone had been here before us. We drew our weapons and ascended to the ruin, following the path cautiously. When the path leveled out at the peak of the cliff, I ordered Zany and Johnny to stay back while I investigated- hoping that whoever had been here before us was long gone. My heart fell when I realized we were not alone on the cliff top ruin, as soldiers had camped near the altar not far from the ruin. Returning to Zany and Johnny, I began to feel like we were being watched… though I felt no ill intent from whatever eyes were on us. I held up a hand for my companions to remain silent while I looked around, searching for signs of our watcher.
"You could sense that I was watching, I am impressed." came the voice of a stranger from behind a large chunk of ice not far from where we stood. The source of the voice stepped out of hiding to reveal a Dunmer man in curious looking black leather armor, his deep blue skin and dull red eyes scrutinizing us like an over expecting teacher. His hair swept back at about neck length with a thick goatee, his appearance over all stating that he looked to be in his early forties. Zany brandished his scimitars while Johnny drew back his ready arrow- aiming it at the man's heart and waiting for a reason to shoot this stranger.
"Who are you?" I asked him warily, cautious despite how something told me he meant us no harm. The Dunmer man chuckled lightly, holding his hands up to show he was not holding a weapon,
"My name is of little importance at the moment- rest assured I will divulge it in time… but for now I believe we must attend to the soldiers camped not far from us. They are called, the Imperium Ultis- an anti-assassin group that recently formed… after the assassination of Emperor Titus Mede." He explained quickly as he came closer and peered around a stone pillar at the soldiers, looking back at me as if he knew I WAS the one who had killed the Emperor. "Do not ask how I know, I will explain that later as well… for now, simply follow my lead." he said with a small smile. Zany and Johnny looked to me for guidance, unsure of this unnamed stranger, I simply shrugged- if this man knew of a way to get these soldiers away from the ruin, I was willing to follow his lead.
The Dunmer stranger, apparently also being an archer, asked that Johnny follow him to a vantage point where they could fire their arrows with little worry of attack from the soldiers. Leaving Zany and myself to attack on foot, warning us that illusion spells would be of little use against these soldiers. My Argonian companion was less than pleased to hear that his best spells would be close to useless, then again- when is Zany pleased… besides when he has a flagon of mead in hand? I chuckled lightly at his aggravation before slowly sneaking around the debris of a few fallen pillars, my target being the closest of the soldiers. I had not even come within striking range when the soldier somehow heard my approach and raised the alarm,
"They're here!" the soldier shouted as he drew his sword, the blade glimmering with magic… as did his companions- even their armor glimmered with magic. I was alarmed to see and entire bevy of twenty or so soldiers armed with enchanted equipment- anti-illusion magic no doubt, their position as an anti-assassin group made painfully clear as they stood to attack. The fact that they seemed to have been expecting us unnerved me even more as I stood from my stealthy crouch to defend myself against a sword that was swung for my neck. My daggers would be little defense against a sword- even less so against the war hammer that was swung at me next. These soldiers were ruthless, as soon as I parried one attack- another was swung at me that required a dodge, only for me to need to dodge the moment my feet touched ground. An arrow sailed through the air and struck home in the neck of one attacker- looking for a moment to the source to see the Dunmer stranger standing on the roof of the ruin nocking another arrow and firing at a soldier who was swinging his sword at Zany from behind. My suspicion against this stranger was lessened as he aided us, giving the soldiers enough of a surprise for me to stab one in the back with Steelheart and gain some sort of an advantage over the soldier's superior numbers.
"FOR THE EMPEROR!" screamed a voice behind me, I turned to defend myself from the oncoming attacker- but he was closer than I expected and I felt the pain of his dagger piercing my skin.
3rd Person P.O.V
Alyce looked down at her stomach where the dagger had pierced her, her eyes wide with disbelief as her own blades fell from her hands to the snow soundlessly. The world rushing around her in silence as her legs gave out under her and she fell to the ground.
"ALYCE!" roared Zany as he rushed to the side of the Listener, cutting down her attacker and dropping his swords not far from where she lay bleeding in the snow. "Don't you dare die you miserable Hagraven! The Brotherhood still needs you. I…" he shouted at her as he held his hands to her wound in an attempt to staunch the bleeding, his voice breaking off as he wondered exactly what he was about to say- but put it out of his mind as he focused on keeping Alyce from bleeding out. Johnny keeping the Imperium Ultis at bay the best he could with arrows dipped in paralytic poison with some success while the Dunmer stranger hopped off the roof of the ruin to aid Zany and the fallen Listener.
"This fight is lost, we must withdraw!" Shouted the unnamed Dunmer, drawing a small vial from a pocket in his armor- throwing it to the ground to shatter into a cloud of smoke; causing an ample diversion and alternative to an invisibility spell. Zany placed Alyce's daggers back in their sheathes before carefully lifting the petite woman and together with Johnny and the mysterious Dunmer, he fled the conflict with the wounded Listener in his arms.
Alyce's P.O.V.
I returned to consciousness and at first I thought I was dead- drifting through the Void- only to realize that there was a bed underneath me and a blanket on top of me. I blinked my eyes open slowly, not needing to worry about the light apparently as the room I was in was fairly dim. I looked up to the wooden ceiling and tried to remember what happened to land me in this unknown place… the fight outside the Winterhold Sanctuary! I sat up quickly- too quickly it seemed, as my head began to spin and I could feel the bandages on my abdomen… as it became obvious that I was now wearing nothing but the bandages over my torso and the pants to my Shrouded Robes. I was about to swing my legs out of bed to investigate who had brought me here and to reprimand them for their actions against my modesty… when Zany strode into the room and I immediately pulled the covers up and around myself.
"So the Hagraven still lives." he said with a scoff, though I could tell by his posture that he was glad to see I was still among the living.
"Zany, who brought us here- and where is my shirt." I asked, the last part sounding off from embarrassment. Zany laughed loudly at how uncomfortable I was before walking to a nearby dresser and pulling out the missing shirt to my Shrouded Robes. He surprisingly turned around without needing to be asked and gave me time to don the shirt over my bandages before turning back around with an irritable huff.
"That Dumner lead us here when the fight proved useless, to some abandoned lighthouse." he explained as I stood to straighten my clothes and investigate our mysterious ally.
Leaving what appeared to have once been a shared bedroom behind, I walked into a kitchen with Zany in tow and the mysterious Dunmer sitting in a chair by the fireplace- the fire shimmering with faint light of residual magic, though it now burned on it's own it had most likely been started with magic.
"Ah, so our lady Listener has awakened." he said as he turned to me, the room dimly lit- save for the light of the fire- making his red eyes appear to glow slightly.
"While I should thank you for your assistance, I should also like to know the name of our ally and what business you had at that ruin." I asked as I folded my arms across my chest, casting the Dumner a suspicious gaze. He chuckled lightly before standing to his full height and bowing to me slightly,
"I am Hadranius Sheath-Hollow, fellow child of Sithis and emissary from one of the remaining Morrowind Sanctuaries. My business at that ruin was to assist in the restoration of the Sanctuary beneath it- in a sense, to assist you in any way within my power." he explained as he stayed bowed, not seeing the small smile creep onto my face.
"Well then, I thank you Brother- without your assistance we would likely be dead now." I said happily and with a slight chuckle of my own, though my cheerful moment was interrupted by a sharp pain in my side- my stab wound agitated by my chuckle. "Damn, did they poison me? I have never known my injuries to smart this much after the fact." I asked as I instinctively brought my hand to my covered wound. Hadranius sighed as he stood straight once again,
"That they did, though the poison has been neutralized- it appears it's affects can still be felt slightly. You should try and rest-" he said simply, though something seemed to have caught his attention as he raised a hand for neither of us to speak. After a moment I could hear the noise as well… the chittering of chaurus. "It appears that this lighthouse is not nearly as abandoned as it first appeared." Hadranius continued with a small sigh, most likely disappointed with himself for bringing us into a seemingly safe place- only for dangerous chaurus to be lurking somewhere within.
"Rest will have to wait, who could sleep with that racket anyhow?" I assured him with a smile, before walking back into the bedroom and finding my knapsack with my weapons inside.
I returned with my daggers sheathed at my sides and a question in mind,
"Where has Johnny wandered off to?" I asked Zany who simply shrugged, though my question was answered moments later when the door opened with a slight flurry of snow and the young man in question strolling in with firewood in hand.
"It's colder than the Listener's heart out there- visibility is next to nothing." he said as he shook snow off his shoulders. My jaw dropped when he called me cold hearted.
"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME COLD-HEARTED! What grounds do you have to even suggest such a thing?!" I fumed, momentarily forgetting about the chaurus chittering that warned of danger. Johnny smirked as he sat down the firewood,
"Only a woman with a heart of ice could resist my charms the way you do." he said as he took a few steps closer and reached out a hand to caress my cheek- which I promptly swatted away.
"Ever think you're not nearly as irresistible as you seem to think you are?" I asked him with a slight edge of venom in my voice. Johnny chuckled lightly as he placed a hand on his hip,
"Not a chance, anyone other than you is putty in my hand if I wanted them to be." he taunted, I simply threw my hands to the side in frustration with his cocky attitude and turned back to Hadranius and Zany.
"Let's just get going and deal with these chaurus shall we? Maybe throw Johnny to them as a distraction." I suggested jokingly, earning an actual laugh from Zany and a chuckle from Hadranius as he shook his head.
"You don't seriously mean that." Johnny purred, his lips at my ear as he snaked his arms around my waist. I gritted my teeth and elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt in pain and release me.
"No, but the idea is sounding better and better by the minute." I stated as I stepped away from Johnny, my statement making Zany laugh even louder.