Chapter 19:The Bandit King

"I don't believe it!"

Jauffre slammed his fist on the round table in the library, causing Nightshade to flinch as she stood there. Ice, Baurus, and Martin were also in the room, sitting down.

Nightshade thought Jauffre would be happy to hear that the Oblivion gate was closed and would greet them with open arms. But, to her dismay, it wasn't so.

"How could you let that guard take the stone? It's your job to do it, not his!"

"How was I supposed to know he'd get second degree burns?" she murmured.

"Don't let it happen again!" he fumed for a few more seconds before sitting on a different table, facing them. Baurus cleared his throat. "Those Daedra will be back, and next time it will be worse. Bruma doesn't have enough men to protect the city."

Jauffre nodded. "We'll need help from the other cities. I've thought this through. I sent Achilles over to Chorrol a few hours ago. I heard Black Night took care of the gate there with the help of the Mages Guild. A similar accident happened over there, but I think they'll agree to help us."

"That's good."

"Now, you two and Crow and Elyon need to go to the other cities for some allies and bide us some time. Maybe with you running all over Cyrodiil the Mythic Dawn will get confused." Jauffre got up. "I suggest you take the road to Chorrol and go west to Skingrad first." He left without another word.

"Jeese, what's his problem?" Ice frowned and looked at the cluttered table where Martin had been studying Mysterium Xarxes. "So a guard got a little burned."

"That wasn't a little," Baurus shook his head. "You should've seen his hands. If it wasn't for Elyon and her healing spells I don't think his hands would've made it."

He rolled his eyes, but said no more. Martin frowned. "Skingrad? I hear the count is rarely seen at all there."

"We were just there, right? It didn't seem like a bad place," Nightshade decided not to mention the attempt on her life and the very odd party; she'd never go to a party ever again.

"That's true," he looked down at Mysterium Xarxes. "My suggestion is that you go to the Imperial City and ask Chancellor Ocato for help first. Good luck."

"Why do we always have to come back here?" Nightshade sighed as she looked down the mountain to see the white tower not so far away. "How long now?"

"An hour or so. But I don't think we should go in there right now," Crow sat down on a log. "I say we camp out. Who agrees with me?"

"I do," Ice sat next to him and looked at Elyon and Nightshade. Elyon nodded. "I'm okay with it."

"I suppose so," the Dunmer girl took a piece of bread from Crow. "But do we have to sleep out in the wilderness?"

The sun cast one last shadow on a tree before disappearing over the mountains and letting the moon shine its eerie glow. Crow looked at this scene for a moment before answering, "No, no, I guess not."

Elyon looked bewildered. "Where would we sleep?"

There was silence for a moment as Crow cast a pink spell on himself. Crickets started to chirp in the long blades of grass. He gazed a little, and then he looked at them. "I hear voices in the distance, maybe a village or settlement. I'll go check it out."

"I'll go too," Elyon turned to the young ones. "We'll see if we can get a room or two."

"Bye," Ice was busy eating his bread.

Nightshade waved. "Good luck."

"They've been gone for an awful long time," Nightshade looked into the trees. She and Ice had retreated to a clearing near the road when someone hostile-looking passed by. They now sat facing each other on the grass and had been doing that for about fifteen minutes.

Ice was trying to create a fire with some twigs and stones without magic and was failing miserably. He scowled, half in frustration, half in agreement. "You'd think they'd be back by now."

Nightshade shivered. "Do you need help?"

"No!"

"Jeeze, I'm just trying to help."

"Well, I don't need it."

"Yeah, you're doing so well by yourself."

"Shut up!"

Even if Ice had meant it as a weak comeback, Nightshade followed the order for a sound of heavy footsteps and a torch light appeared. The two sprang up and got ready to fight; Nightshade took out her Goldbrand and Ice unsheathed his knives.

"H-hello?" The voice belonged to a scared Imperial man with a backpack. He pushed his way into the clearing, careless with his torch as it dangerously waved near the trees. He suddenly looked even more frightened when he saw them. "Oh, please, take my goods but don't hurt me! All my money is already gone! Have mercy!"

"Calm down, we're not going to hurt you," Ice and Nightshade simultaneously withdrew their weapons. "You scared us."

"You-you're not bandits?"

Nightshade looked puzzled. "No. What are bandits?"

"Bandits are bad people that steal money and kill people on the roads," Ice looked at himself. "Do we look like bandits?"

"No, I'm sorry," the man sat down and reached for something that wasn't there on his thigh. "Ugg, they took my flask of Tamika's wine too."

"They attacked you?" Nightshade looked concerned.

"Yep. They took all my money and my wife with them. They knocked me out and left me on the road. We were on our way to Bruma to sell some goods. I guess they didn't need them."

"Your wife, too? That's terrible!"

"You two look like adventurers. Please, if you save my wife you can have all the gold they took!"

"Where did they take her?"

"To the east. I know for a fact where some of them are. They should be south on the road."

"Wait up, we're helping him? What about Elyon and Crow and the Imperial City and my sleep?" Ice whined to her as though the man had no ears.

Nightshade shook her head. "I know this is just a hunch, but I have a feeling Crow didn't hear a village when he was listening to voices. I wouldn't be surprised if the bandits found them. And anyway, he needs our help."

"Thank you, thank you!" the man practically cried with joy. "Please hurry, though. I don't want anything horrible happening to my wife."

"I can't believe I let you drag me into these things," Ice muttered as they walked back to the path. Nightshade merely grinned slightly. "It's more fun than waiting for Crow and Elyon, isn't it? And you get a good adventure in."

"Whoo-hoo," he said sarcastically.

They passed the road on to the other side where Crow had heard the voices earlier. Shrubs and trees kept hitting them in their faces. After a few minutes of travel they could hear voices. Quietly, they crouched down and hid in the bushes.

"We're gonna be stinkin' rich," a skinny Redguard man chuckled. "Once that Ocato guy gets captured, we can retire stinkin' rich."

"Here, here!" a drunk bosmer woman lifted her tankard into the air as Nightshade peered through the leaves to see the bandits. Three bandits were sitting in front of a cave entrance in a circle. The bosmer was sitting right next to the Redguard while a Nord sat on the floor trying to light a fire with twigs much like Ice was, and he was having about as much success.

"This Bandit King must have a lot of inside people to know that Ocato is travelling to Bruma to make sure everything is alright." The Redguard talked to the Nord on the floor, who threw the twigs angrily to the ground. He nodded in agreement. "He's very smart. I mean, we must be rich already with all the people we've robbed and kidnapped."

"To the Bandit King!" the bosmer shouted, and they all said, "To the Bandit King!"

"Bandit King?" Ice whispered. "Since when have bandits ever been in order?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the looks of this." Nightshade retreated a little. "How are we supposed to get in?"

"Well, we have several options. We can try to sneak in, perhaps invisible, we can outright attack them, we can sneak attack them, or we can find a way to poison them. I vote sneak in."

"Yeah, I vote that too."

"Okay, I've been practicing on my invisibility spells and I think I've got the 'Make a Friend Invisible' down." He cracked his fingers. "If you turn purple it's not entirely my fault." Before Nightshade could protest, he recited an incantation and blasted some invisible force at her. She recoiled and then looked at her hands, praying they weren't purple. Instead, she didn't see them at all.

"See? It's okay," Ice muttered a similar chant and escaped Nightshade's view. "Now, hold my hand so we don't get separated. It should last for a while."

It felt odd to hold Ice's soft hand as they snuck by the bandits unnoticed. They were now talking about werewolves and if they were real or not and didn't even hear the squeak of the shabby door blocking the entrance.

Inside the cave was nothing to marvel at. The typical stalagmites and stalactites were scattered around the limestone ceiling and floor. They snuck past everyone who seemed to be celebrating in their own ways and not keeping an eye, or an ear, out for any intruders.

Ice and Nightshade went around in circles and kept switching the leadership and quietly whispering angry quarrels until they came into a big room. The room looked like it had been in a ruin once, for it had glowing marble stairs that dipped into the water below and back up onto an island with a marble canopy. Underneath it was a throne of sorts with a High Elf sitting and thinking on it. Near him were three bodies, two of which were lying on the floor and one that was sobbing uncontrollably in a corner.

"What do we do?" Ice murmured, but Nightshade interrupted. "I just realized where I had heard the name Ocato from."

"Where?"

"Martin mentioned it. He said he was a Chancellor."

"Well, that sounds important, so we better stop them in that too." He paused. "I can't believe I just said that."

"Oooo, Ice is turning into a good person," Nightshade taunted him. He ignored her. "First we need to get Crow and Elyon."

"I thought you weren't so sure they were here."

"They're right there," he pointed to the two bodies on the floor.

He was right. Elyon lied next to Crow in an odd manner. Both their hands were tied behind their backs and Crow had no weapon.

Nightshade suddenly gasped as Ice grabbed her by the mouth and pulled her into the shadows. "What was—?"

"Shhhh."

Behind her a dunmer woman would've ran into her if Ice hadn't have pulled her. They watched as she walked down into the water and then back up to the throne. The altmer looked up at her. "Any news?"

"No sign of Ocato yet, King. However, there were two kids seen crossing the road near here. They disappeared into the forest."

"Hmm, let's hope they turn up soon. They might have some good loot. What did they look like?"

"Dunmer boy and girl, around their teenage years. The boy wore a black robe and the girl had leather armor. The scout said she looked funny because she had black skin and red hair. He couldn't see their faces or weapons very well."

"Have someone go looking for them," the High Elf went back to meditating as the dunmer left. Nightshade and Ice watched him for a few seconds.

"We should go down there and free them," Nightshade began to go down the steps, but Ice said, "Wait. If we mess with anything the spell will start to degrade faster. And don't hurt anyone, or the spell will stop."

She nodded, and then realized he couldn't see her. "Okay."

Silently they walked down the stairs, careful not to splash too much in the water. The altmer didn't notice them even when Nightshade stepped loudly on the top step. He just continued to stare out into space, thinking.

Ice took out his knives and handed one to Nightshade. As quietly as they could, they maneuvered Crow and Elyon and tried to cut the ropes on their wrists.

The Imperial woman in the corner could hear them. Ice patted her shoulder, which only made her jerk backwards.

When Nightshade freed Crow, she turned to see the altmer asleep on the throne. "Psst, Ice, look."

"Hello?" Ice whispered loudly, but he didn't stir. "What luck."

"Yeah," Nightshade began to slap Crow. "Wake up, please wake up." She looked at her hand and gasped, for she could see it. "Ice, the spell—"

Ice was also visible next to Elyon. "Quick, wake them up!"

Before Nightshade could move a blast of lightning hit Ice on his side. He tumbled over and almost fell into the water. The High Elf was now awake, or was never asleep, and was standing up. "Well, well, you two must be the two dunmer she saw." Nightshade put her hand on the hilt of the Goldbrand, but he shot a spell of white and green. She was frozen in place.

"See, no one can sneak up on the Bandit King!" he laughed cruelly. "Your friends, I take it. And I also gather you're the Hero of Kvatch; you fit the description well." Ice groaned on the floor. "Oh, shut up," the King shot a spell of pink, and Ice's lips were sealed. "See, there are people willing to pay a lot of money for you, Hero."

"What about Ocato?" Nightshade sneered.

"Ocato? You must've overheard. Yes, the council will be very generous to us, and then we'll be rich." He chuckled a little. "And you won't stop me because he's being kidnapped as we speak."

The woman was slowly going towards Ice, who was now sitting up and trying to stop his wound from bleeding. She fingered his knife, the poisoned one he was using to free Elyon.

"So this is about only money?" Nightshade could see out of the corner of her eye what the woman was trying to do. The Bandit King couldn't.

"Yes, it is, little girl."

"And why wouldn't the guards stop you?"

"Because I have many bandits that are just as strong and stupid."

"Why would they help you?"

"They think I'm giving each of them a cut of the ransom money, but I'm escaping to Valenwood and taking it all with me!" He laughed again. "I'll be the emperor of all Tamriel with all that money!"

"Why would you want to be emperor?" The King was no longer facing them as the woman slowly got up and edged away.

"Why? I will have ultimate power! I will rule with an army! I will take over the whole world!"

The woman suddenly ran at him with such speed that he didn't have enough time to think. The blade of Ice's dagger slid across his neck, and the Bandit King fell, blood dripping down his fancy shirt. Nightshade looked very surprised as the spell wore off and she could feel her feet again. "I've met an emperor, and you couldn't be him ever." With shocked eyes he fell forward and lied on the floor.

"Wow, thanks," she looked at the woman. "You're pretty good at fighting. Why didn't you take him out sooner?"

"I didn't have a weapon, and I was silenced," she brushed her brown hair out of her eyes. "I'm Juliet. Thanks for coming when you did."

"No time for thanks," Ice was trying to get his blood circulating into his lips. "We have to wake these sleeping giants over here, get their weapons, get out of here, and stop them from kidnapping Ocato before we can convince him to send an army to Bruma."

"Leave that to me. I have an idea." Juliet rubbed her hands together and got a spark going. She muttered a soft spell and shocked Crow and Elyon awake. "There."

"Where are we?" Elyon looked around, rubbing her shoulder where it had been shocked. "I remember not seeing a village at all. What are you two doing here?"

"No time to explain," Nightshade helped them up. "We need to get out of here and stop the bandits from kidnapping Ocato before they discover their king is dead. And here, Crow, take my Goldbrand and use it until we can find your weapons."

"Thanks." He took it from her, rubbing his head. "Let's go."

"Wait, we need a plan," Ice looked slightly nervous. "We passed loads of bandits over there."

"So? We can take them. We took out all those Dremora in that gate." Crow seemed energetic as he swung the Goldbrand around. He then muttered some words and a skeleton appeared beside him.

"Alright, but no splitting up," Elyon ran out of the room, followed by everyone else. They slashed and bashed their way through, or everyone except weaponless Nightshade. She stayed behind and out of the way of everybody.

They got out with Crow's claymore and crossbow and ran like Mehrunes Dagon himself was running after them. They leaped over shrubs and dodged trees, and soon they had reached the road.

"Which way?" Juliet looked around and then saw her husband walking towards them from the north. "Juliet!" he shouted, and they hugged.

"Good, that's over with, and I just remembered we found no gold," Ice slapped his forehead.

"No time!" Nightshade grabbed him and they went running southward down a slope after Crow and Elyon. Crow tossed her sword to her and took out his own claymore.

After about a minute of running a High Elf and a small entourage of two on horses came into view. "Chancellor Ocato!" Nightshade shouted. "Watch out!"

Too late. Five bandits pounced out on them, knocking them down off their horses. They wrestled around, fighting, and by the time the four went down there the bandits had killed everyone and only one bandit remained with Ocato. Seeing them, he whirled around, grabbing the Chancellor by the neck and pointing a blade at his throat. "One step closer and he's dead!"

They stopped in their tracks.

"Good. Now, Chancellor, the Bandit King would like to see you."

"There's no point," Ice sneered. "He's dead."

"Hmph, then I'll kidnap you myself—"

Ocato suddenly twirled around, hitting him in his jaw, and muttered something. The bandit was paralyzed, and then he was killed with a swift frost spell.

"Wow," Nightshade was impressed.

"Thank you for your concern, travelers," he dusted himself off, "but I had the situation under control."

"We're here to talk to you about Bruma, sir," Elyon addressed him. "We need some defenses in case Mehrunes Dagon tries to attack us."

"Oh, you all must be working for the Blades. How is the future emperor, by the way?"

"He's fine, but the city isn't."

He snorted. "Well, I have a shortage of guards in the Imperial City and can't afford to send any there. What if He tries to attack us? No, I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Not even one?" Ice pleaded.

"No. Now good day," he mounted his horse and rode up the hill.

"I wonder where he's going," Elyon watched him disappear in the starry night.

Ice sighed. "Worst adventure ever."

A Word from Haunt: Sorry it took so long. Summer school took up more time than I thought and some complications, like writer's block, occurred. But it's up now, so I hope you enjoyed it, if possible.