Disclaimer: I still don't own Gladiators and Elder Scrolls. If I did, I wouldn't write this fic, would I?

A/N: What's up, readers? I am back with chapter 3 of this story. This time, I'll add the thinking sentence, whatever you call it, just to add a more personal feeling. And I've edited the error about the year. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Dungeons

"Text" Normal dialogue
"Text" Thinking

Maximus opened his eyes the next morning. He was groaning from the pain in the back of his head. Trying to remember what happened last night, he saw the state of his well-being. He was sitting in a cart with several men at his right and left. His hands were in chains, he only wore his simple tunic that was beneath the body armor. "Wait, where's my armor? My weapons," he thought to himself. Then he saw the men around him, all of them were in heavy armor, suddenly he regained his memory of how he fought the bandits and how the things were going south when the guards arrived. He wondered what happened to the Dunmers he supposed to protect. They must have been robbed and killed by the last bandit.

Fail. That's what he was thinking about his mission. "Modryn Oreyn must be mad when he hear about this. Damn, I'm gonna lose my membership. That's 5 years I won't get back."

Of course, he was right about that. Modryn Oreyn flipped out when he heard Maximus had a problem with the law. He was his favorite fighter he ever knew and he refused to believe Maximus tried to rob his own clients. But he had no choice other than erasing his name from the guild's wall of fame.

Meanwhile, the cart strode across the the market district of Imperial City. It wasn't his first time there. He visited the city one time to resupply in Fighting Chance and The Best Defence. The city reminded him of Rome with massive stone buildings. But one particular building that caught his attention was the arena. His mind went back to when he fought for his life along with his fellow gladiators. The idea of fighting for amusement of the spectators was the last thing on his favorite list. He once tried to watch one of the fight, but sadly, he lost the ability to enjoy it after experiencing firsthand.

The cart finally stopped at the prison district. After opening the door, Maximus and his captors went into the inside, but before they did, one of the Imperial legion put a sack cloth on his face. "They don't want to see the way, so if I escape, I'll take more time to seek my way out and it will make their job easier." They kept walking downstairs until they reached the cell blocks, and then a guard took off the sack from Maximus' head and threw him inside. It's not a very pleasant place to spend your time. Maximus saw around his cell, there was a window with bars high above, a bed complete with bugs, handcuff with chains hanging from the ceiling, a bucket, a bench, and several bones laying on the ground, maybe they were the remains of a former prisoner. He spent 2 weeks as a prisoner, and he did not enjoy it. Not. One. Bit. They gave him a bucket of water to drink and another bucket to expel his biological waste, so every morning he woke up with his own excrement. They also gave him a stale bread and leftover soup that smelled like someone's socks. In fact he didn't eat for the first 2 days. On top of that, his neighbor was constantly bugging him with petty insults. He was a Dunmer named Valen Dreth. Maximus decided that a scum like him was not worthy of attention. When he first arrived in the cell, Valen was taunting him, "Oh look, an Imperial in the Imperial Prison. I guess they don't play favorites, huh? Your own kinsmen think you're a piece of human trash. How sad. I bet the guards give you "special" treatment before the end. Oh, that's right. You're going to die here, Imperial! You're going to die! Imperial scum like you give the Empire a bad name, you see. You're an embarrassment. Best if you just…disappeared."

He just didn't have time to think about the Dunmer's words because during his time, Maximus was always thinking about his family and friends out there. He wondered how they were, oh, hey must be worry about him. "Have they forgotten me? Ah, it's stupid to think like that." And then, for the first time since he arrived in this world, he remembered his mission, the only reason why he was here, to save the world. It's ironic, when he was free, he completely forgot about the mission, and now, he remembered it when in incarceration. Silently, he ask for forgiveness from the god for failing his mission. How could he save the world if he couldn't save himself? After all, he never look himself as a hero material.

Today, as usual, Valen went on his daily rambling, but Maximus's patience had reached its end. "Listen, pal, you keep doing that and when I get out, even the guards can't protect you from me," Maximus replied the taunting he received.

"Oh, don't you learn anything I say? There is no out of this place, you are going to die! I've been here for a year and I've never had a trial. They won't remember people like us down here."

Then he heard someone coming down towards them, judging from the sound of the clanging metal, he guessed they must be prison guards.

"Hey, you hear that? The guards are coming… for you! Hehehehe," Valen said as he disappeared into the darkness of his cell.

"My sons… they're dead, aren't they?" he heard an old man speaking. "We don't know that, Sire. The messenger only said they were attacked." The second voice is a Breton.

"No, they're dead. I know it," the old man said with regret and sorrow.

Maximus saw them through the iron bars, there are 3 guards with a different suit of armor than a regular Imperial legion armor, and they appeared to be escorting an old man in a regal clothing. The female Breton guard walked to his cell door and when she looked at Maximus, she startled, "What's this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off-limits."

"Usual mixup with the Watch, I…" this time the voice was belong to a male Imperial. He tried to explained, blaming the common guards before she interrupted, "Never mind. Get that gate open. Stand back, prisoner. We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way."

Maximus could do nothing but to comply. He won't stand a chance against the three of them without his armor and weapon. He moved away from the gate towards the wall, just below the window. The female guard that looked like the captain went inside and stated, "Good. Let's go. We're not out of this yet." The group walked inside the cell which allowed the gladiator to see them clearly. The third guard was a Redguard and the old man was an Imperial with grey hair and wrinkles across his face, marking the wisdom that he had. This man reminded Maximus of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor that he served under as a general. He would never forget his kindness over him.

When the old man laid his eyes on the gladiator, he stopped, "Wait, you… I've seen you. Let me see your face." Maximus didn't know who this man was and was confuse when the man touched his face and hair to try to recognize him.

"You are the one from my dreams. Then the stars were right. This is the day. Gods give me strength." Maximus wondered if this man already lost his mind.

Then he asked, "What's going on?"

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along the secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that escape route leads through your cell."

"Why am I in jail?"

"Perhaps the gods have placed you here so that we may meet. As for what you have done, it doesn't matter. That's not what you will be remembered for."

"Yeah, right. Because I didn't do anything other than trying to protect those people."

"Who are you?" He continued to ask the man, trying to understand the situation. Because why did these guards need to protect this man whose sons have just been murdered? Was he someone important.

"I am your emperor, Uriel Septim." Emperor, huh? That explains his robe." "By the grace of the gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. You are a citizen of Tamriel, and you, too, and shall serve her in your own way."

"Wait a minute, maybe this is the chance I got to do my mission, serving Tamriel, he said."

"What should I do?" Maximus asked the emperor.

"You will find your own path. Take care. There will be blood and death before the end."

"Blood and death. I don't like the sound of this." Maximus was thinking the emperor's words when the female Blade rushed the emperor," Please, Sire, we must keep moving." She placed her hand on the wall and pressed a stone, then the wall came down under the ground, revealing a secret passage.

"Better not close this one. There's no way to open it from the other side," she told her fellow Blades. Then the group walked to the dark alley, leaving the gladiator alone in his not-so-close cell. A voice from across the room said," Hey, Imperial. You are so lucky, only 2 weeks here, and now you can get out of here. Please, you must get me out of here. Just walk out and take the keys there, and open my cell." It's Valen, Maximus looked at him and smiled, "No, enjoy your time here. If you're lucky, maybe someone else will have you on their dreams," he finished as he went into the same passage, following the emperor and his personal guards.

"Wait, what do you mean? Hey! Come back! Don't let the poor old Valen rot in here. No hard feeling between us, right? Right?" Valen shouted, while watching his ticket to get out of the prison disappear into darkness.

Maximus slowly walked to follow the group until they reached a rather large area. He saw them looking around, then suddenly another group came and attacked the emperor and his guards. They wore a strange red armor and wielded a weapon that looked like emerge out of thin air. He suspected they were magic users. He just watched the fighting happen before his eyes, until finally the guards managed to finish them all. The attackers' armor quickly disappeared and turned into an unusal red rob. The Imperial guard whose name was Glenroy then said, "The captain's down!"

"What happened?" ask Uriel as he came towards her body. "Renault's dead, sire. I'm sorry," Glenroy explained to him. Uriel knelt before her," Rest in peace, daughter of Cyrodiil. May your soul find peace in Aetherius." After that they started to leave the place through a door.

As they continued walking, Maximus then came out from behind a pillar and tried to examine Renault's body. He decided to take her Akaviri Blade, a sword that only belongs to the Blades. While serving the Fighters Guild, he heard about this Blades, a group that formed with sole purpose to protect the emperor and Tamriel, and that their weapon was special and not sold anywhere in Cyrodiil. The sword was 80 cm long and had a perfect balance. He thought it's a good idea to keep the blade while exploring the region for he didn't know what this place had in store. He tried to open the iron door, the same that the group used a minute ago. But it's locked. When he tried to find another route, he heard a screech behind him. He turned around and saw not one, but three rats charging to him. Killing them wasn't really a problem for a Defender of Fighters Guild. He left the rodent to a hole in the wall.

It's a cavern and it's not empty. Inside, he found 13 rats and a zombie, all met the same fate as the attackers and the three rats. Also, he found an iron bow with 24 iron arrows and some potions. Maximus learned the usefulness of potion during his life in Cyrodiil, because he was never a magic user. The only magic he learned was a minor restoration magic to heal minor injuries. He was going to a door, out from the cavern to an even larger one with goblins. "What a nuisance! Of all the creatures in the world, I have to meet those guys." Goblins were one of the most horrible creature for Maximus, they were just like bandits, attacking innocents and living in the wild like animals.

Anyway, after defeating them, he found another door that led back to Imperial Subterranean. And if it wasn't luck, then he didn't what was that, because he saw the group again, still not out of there. "This place starts to make me nervous. The sooner I get out of here, the better."

He jumped down from the ledge and the thud made everyone turn their head. "Dammit! It's the prisoner again! Kill him, he might be working with assassins," said Glenroy and started to run towards Maximus.

The emperor immediately stopped him, "No, he's not with them. He can help us. He must help us."

Glenroy reluctantly obeyed him and warned the gladiator, "The emperor may trust you, but I don't. Stay out of our way."

Maximus didn't say anything, but a sigh. The emperor then called him, "Come closer. I prefer not to have to shout."

Maximus came to the man and listened him carefully. He never meet the emperor personally before this, he only saw his poorly-drawn face from the septims, the coins that were distributed all across Tamriel. He always thought the emperor was a cruel dictator when he learned about many wars he waged, including the invasion to Akavir, a mysterious continent in the east. But when he saw him directly, he didn't think he was a bad person.

After he was in front of him, the emperor asked him, " What's your name? Clearly we can't call you "prisoner" anymore after all this."

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. But just call me Maximus, My Lord. And as a citizen of Tamriel, I'm at your service," Maximus replied with a small bow.

"Thank you. Listen, they cannot understand why I trust you. They've not seen what I've seen. How can I explain?" Uriel stopped to think for a minute.

"What did you see, sire?" ask Maximus.

"Listen. You know the Nine? How They guide our fates with an invisible hand?"

"Yes, I know them. But let me tell you something, I'm not from this world, Your Majesty. From where I was from, we worship different deities, and they sent me here with a mission. A mission I didn't understand until you came to my cell, sire," Maximus replied to Uriel.

"What did you say? You are from another world? Not from Tamriel, Nirn, or even the Mundus itself? Then maybe the dreams I had about you was from your gods. If that is true, then you are a gods' champion, it's your fate," said the emperor.

Yes, Maximus knew who the Nine were. They were the pantheon worshipped by the Imperials, led by Akatosh, the one who met the Olympian gods. But he liked Talos better than the others. As the god of war and governance, his scope suited him best for a former general. He adored the founder of Septim dynasty so much for how he used this ancient Nordic magic called Thu'um to defeat his enemies, how he rise to power as Tiber Septim, and finally unite the whole Tamriel under one banner. And his apotheosis from a mortal into a divine still astonished him to this point.

Then Uriel Septim explained further, "As for me, I've served the Nine all my days, and I chart my course by the cycles of the heavens. The skies are marked with numberless sparks, each a fire, and every one a sign. I know these stars well, and I wonder... which sign marked your birth?"

Maximus was not sure how to answer this as he was never born into this world, just like his family and friends. "I don't know my birthsign, sire, but perhaps Warrior suits me well."

"The signs I read show the end of my path. My death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."

"Your death? How about me?" asked Maximus.

"Your stars are not mine. Today the Warrior shall prove a stalwart companion when fortune fades."

"Can you see my fate?" the former general asked with curiosity.

"My dreams grant me no opinions of success. Their compass ventures not beyond the doors of death. But in your face, I behold the sun's companion. The dawn of Akatosh's bright glory may banish the coming darkness. With such hope, and with the promise of your aid, my heart must be satisfied."

"Aren't you afraid to die?"

"No trophies of my triumphs precede me. But I have lived well, and my ghost shall rest easy. Men are but flesh and blood. They know their doom, but not the hour. In this I am blessed to see the hour of my death... To face my apportioned fate, then fall."

Maximus was bewildered by this response. This man saw his own death and could keep his composure? Any normal man would do anything to stop his death as best as he could. But perhaps the emperor was not a normal man. According to legend, the Septim emperors were descended from Tiber Septim, a dragonborn, and even further to St. Alessia, a slave queen who rebelled against the Ayleid, another type of Mer, with the help from Akatosh himself, when he gave his own blood and combining it with Alessia's blood, effectively making her the first holder of Dragonborn title.

Maximus tried not think about that and focused to protect the emperor, even though he wasn't a Blade. "So, where exactly are we going?" he asked.

"I go to my grave. A tongue shriller than all the music calls me. You shall follow me yet for a while, then we must part."

Glenroy, who became the acting-captain after Renault's death, asked the emperor to move again. But before that, the Redguard Blade came to Maximus, "Looks like this is your lucky day, prisoner. So you better make yourself useful. Here, take this torch," he said as he handed the torch to Maximus."

Maximus took them and said, "Stop calling me "prisoner". I have a name, you know."

"And what should we call you?"

"My name is Maximus, what's yours?"

"I'm Baurus, now enough chit-chat and let's get the emperor out of here, shall we?"

With that, the group started walking to find a way out. After 15 minutes of walking, they came to what seemed to be a dead end. Glenroy couldn't contain his frustration about this, "Dammit! The gate is barred from the other side. A trap!"

Maximus knew a dead end is always a bad situation, the enemies could easily overwhelmed them if they couldn't go anywhere.

Luckily, Baurus saw a side passage they just passed earlier, and Glenroy thought it was worth a try. Before he could begin to inspect it, he heard someone coming from behind them.

"They're behind us! Wait here, sire," as he told Uriel. Baurus, seeing the battle that was about to happen, came to Maximus who was ready with Renault's katana," Stay with the emperor. Guard him with your life."

"Right, go, finish those bastards," he felt the adrenaline rushing, his muscles tensed, ready to strike anyone that came to attack the nobleman who was the highest ruler of Tamriel. Suddenly, he felt something cold touched his hand, it's the emperor. He shove a red stone inside his palm.

"I can go no further. You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. He must not have the Amulet of Kings! Take the Amulet. Give it to Jauffre. He alone knows where to find my last son. Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion."

"Wait a minute, I don't understand. I…"

"There's no time, you must go. Now!"

"No, sire. I promised to protect you…" Before he could finish his sentence, a wall behind the emperor dissolved into a warrior in the same red armor who attacked them earlier. He lifted his Bound Dagger. Maximus tried to push the emperor away from his striking distance, but he was too fast. The dagger penetrated Uriel's chest, then he fell down to the ground. Dead.

The assassin locked his eyes to Maximus and taunted him, "Stranger, you chose a bad day to take up the cause of the Septims." Maximus screamed at the top of his lungs as he swung his katana to the assassin. The assassin parried the attack and they started to exchange strikes and parries, trying to find opening that could be exploited. This assassins was not an easy opponent, even for Maximus. He managed to wear the general out, probably with the use of magic. Then Maximus was hit by the dagger and thrown down to the ground. When the assassin lifted his dagger to finish him off, Maximus kicked his knee, breaking it. The assassin screamed in pain, then Maximus pushed the katana to his chest, killing the assassin.

He stood up and ran to the emperor to check if he was still alive. When he saw the man was dead, Marcus Aurelis' face came back in his mind, his heart was full of guilt for the day was repeated, the day when he failed to protect the one who was dear to him. Sure, he was with the emperor in just a couple of hours, but the man had become like a father to him, showing mercy and kindness to a stranger like him. Then Baurus came back, tired after fighting the assassins.

"Where's Glenroy?" asked Maximus.

"He didn't make it. Please, say he was still alive," Baurus said after walking the emperor lying on his own blood. Maximus simply shook his head.

"We've failed. I've... failed. The Blades are sworn to protect the Emperor, and now he and all his heirs are dead. Wait, the amulet. Where is the amulet of kings?"

"Baurus, the emperor gave me the amulet. He told me to bring it to someone named Jauffre. Do you know who he is?" Maximus asked the Blade.

"Jauffre, huh? Did he say why?"

"He said Jauffre knows where to find his last son," Maximus explained the plan the emperor had in mind.

"Nothing I ever heard about. But Jauffre would be the one to know. He's the Grandmaster of my Order. He lives as a monk in Weynon Priory, near the city of Chorrol. It's strange. He saw something in you. Trusted you. They say it's the Dragon Blood, that flows through the veins of every septim. They see more than lesser men. The Amulet of Kings is a sacred symbol of the Empire. Most people think of the Red Dragon Crown, but that's just jewelry. The Amulet has power. Only a true heir of the Blood can wear it, they say. He must have given it to you for a reason."

"Yeah, something like that. Did you say Chorrol?" asked Maximus when he heard the name of the city.

"Yes, why? Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just… I was there when the legion caught me before putting me in the prison. I didn't do anything wrong, you see. It's just a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? If the emperor believed you, the I see no reason why I shouldn't. You must go there quickly and deliver the amulet. But first, you must get out of here. Here, take this key. This will open the gates," Baurus told him as he gave him the key.

"What about you?" Maximus asked him.

"I'll be here to guard the emperor's body. I don't want his body being eaten by the rats."

"OK, I'll be going now, see you later, Baurus."

"You too, may Talos guide you."

Maximus liked Baurus a bit. He was definitely more friendly than Glenroy, and he even helped him with the information. He rush towards to side passage and opened the lock with the key. He arrived at the sewer, there's not many problems he encountered here other than some rats, mudcrabs, and goblins. He's crawling in the pipe and then he saw a light in the other side of the pipe. He touched the final door and opened it, and there he was, outside after 2 weeks in prison. It's nighttime and before him, there's a lake, Lake Rumare. He decided to take a bath in the lake since he smelled like a beggar in Bravil.

After a short bath, he took off to Imperial City. He needed rest so bad after the fighting in the dungeon before going to the priory. Entering the Merchant's Inn in the market district, he paid the room and go upstairs and after putting the amulet under the pillow, he laid his head and sinked into slumber.

So, how do you like that? Finally the tutorial quest is over, and the next chapter will focus on the Weynon Priory quest. As usual, give me lots of reviews and feedbacks, maybe some advice about the details in the next chapter.

Haljordan123, signing out!