Disclaimer: I don't own Elder Scrolls and Gladiator. They belong to their respective owners.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys. I've been busy playing Skyrim and doing all other stuffs. I'll try to write more often if I can. But, here it is. On we go!
Chapter 6: Castle Kvatch
Kvatch was drenched in heavy torrent after the gate was closed. Maximus slowly opened his eyes, tried to feel his surroundings. He wondered if he was still alive or already back in Elysium, or Aetherius for that matter, since he was in Tamriel. He saw some familiar faces, Juba, Savlian, Cicero, Hagen, and the guards were shouting so apparently he was alive. Hagen get him back on his feet to see if he was okay.
"Oh, thank the divines, Maximus, I thought we lost you for good. You were gone for so long." Hagen said with a big smile on his face.
"How long did we go?"
"Almost 6 hours."
"And how long was I out?"
"Not more than 10 minutes, I think."
"Not bad, Maximus. Not bad."
He watched the remains of the gate behind him and it's reduced to mere rubble, the spikey gate was still standing, but the fire was no more. Then Savlian walked to him to congratulate him.
"Maximus, you dog, you did it! You actually close the damn gate! I knew you can do it. How did you do it?" He asked with so much enthusiasm.
Maximus held out his hand and showed him the stone from Oblivion.
"This stone was what hold the gate open, I took it from the tower, then we were sent back here." "Wait a second. We?" Then he remembered, he should get one more companion from the Oblivion, Menien.
"Menien, where is he? Did he make it?" He asked Savlian about him.
A hand touched his shoulder, it was Juba, "Don't worry about him, like he said, anything that do not belong in Oblivion are thrown back here, including him. They took him to the camp below so they can treat his wounds. He's very weak, but he'll recover."
The news comforted his heart greatly. Menien has been caged in there for who knows how long. And torture he received from the daedra would surely weakened his body and spirit.
Savlian came up towards the two, he still remembered how he became the first one to bring Menien to safety after the gate was gone. The guard was always the brightest among his troops, so seeing him alive brought much joy to him.
"Well, I'm glad you rescue my men, but we need to reclaim the city. The gate maybe closed, but the daedra is still out there. The only way we can cast them back to where they belong is by our swords. I've lost a few guards while you were in there, so I could use some help here. What say you?"
Maximus looked at his friend who shared a tiny smile with him soon after.
"We can't abandon your people to death after this far. Of course we'll help!"
"Haha! Good, let's get down to business, shall we?" Savlian smiled. Then he addressed the rest of his men, "Boys, take your position! Draw your weapons, ready your spells if you're a mage! Let's finish those bastards once and for all!"
They walked in front of the barricade. Swords, spears, hammers were drawn. Arrows were pulled and then we've got Cicero who readied his shock and fire spell in his hands. Their muscles tensed, ready to jump into action at any second.
"For Kvatch!" With that shout, Savlian ordered them to stormed the city. Arrows flied and struck theirs targets, scamps. Some of them didn't even get a chance to attack. Maximus swung his sword and decapitate another scamp, Juba did the same with his own. A clannfear met its demise when Hagen crush its skull with a bash of his hammer, then he hit the corpse just to make sure it's dead. Cicero fired lightning bolt to a scamp who became stunted by the shock. Then he quickly took his chance by burning it to death. The battle soon became one sided until there were no more daedra in the city. The guards let out a roar of victory after their triumphant effort as they felt the adrenaline rushing in their vein. They wasted no time to get into the chapel of Akatosh where some of the residents holed up for safety.
Savlian was the first to enter the chapel and everyone inside stood up in shock and relief when they saw him with the defenders. With Maximus walking beside him, he spoke to the crowd," People of Kvatch, the gate to Oblivion is destroyed! No more shall the daedra harm our city for here is the man who bravely went inside the gate and brought it down with his might. All hail the Hero of Kvatch!"
Every one cheered so loud and so long, the chapel wall trembled by their voice. For Maximus and the gladiators, it's been a long time since he received a similar appreciation. He still remembered how the spectators chanted his name over and over in the Colosseum after Commodus chose to spare his life after they beat the Legionnaires of Scipio Africanus. At the time, they were no longer slaves, but gladiators and proud warriors. The people started to come closer to Maximus to give their thanks. He could only reply their hug and handshake while smiling the whole time because the whole situation was overwhelming. After a while, the commotion began to die down and he walked down to Martin who had been standing next to the altar for the whole time.
"It seems you are a hero now, it must have been amazing out there, taking down the gate. I can not thank you enough, you save our lives. You must be sent by the divines." Martin said to Maximus.
"Thank you, now are you agree to come with us. The guards will escort the people to the safety of the encampment down there." Maximus said to him, putting his hands on his waist.
"I have no reason to refuse you after what you did. I am ready when you are." Martin answered.
They headed to the door for a few steps before Savlian came running to them.
"Maximus, I know I have no right to ask you this, but we need your help once again." He pleaded to Maximus.
"What's going on? More daedra attacks? Another gate opens?"
"No, it's not that. We need to take back the castle, there's still a few daedra in there and the count is trapped inside. Maybe you can tell your friend to come with us with you mind."
"No, I don't mind. I always finish my job no matter what. Just wait a moment." Maximus said, backing away from the captain.
He came to Juba who were helping the refugees out of the city. Calling his name, he addressed his friend," Juba, I need you to do me a favor. Captain Savlian needs me to help him take back their castle and save the count. Can you take care of Martin, the priest, to the camp and wait for me?"
Juba chuckled and nodded. "Of course, my friend. Is there anything else?"
"No, nothing more." Maximus then walked towards Martin, "Brother Martin, I need you to trust me. I need to do something else, so I want you to come with my partner right there to the camp. I'll be right back as soon as I can, alright?"
Martin simply groaned and nodded. "Fine, but please be quick about it. The faster I'm out of this city, the better for me. Or I'll have more nightmares than I already have."
After they parted away, Maximus called Hagen and Cicero to come with him. They shortly joined Savlian and his men, what's left of them, in front of the castle gate.
"Are you ready now? I don't want you dead because you can't put your mind where it belongs." Savlian shot at him, being back at his captain routine.
"Sure, what are we waiting for?"
"Well, trying to open the gate apparently is harder than we think. They locked it from the other side. Perhaps you can ask one of my men, Berich Inian. He'll know how to open it from inside."
"Right, Cicero come with me. Hagen stay with the captain and meet us inside the castle."
They ran back to the chapel and when the doors opened, a soldier came to him.
"What happened, Hero? Is everything okay?" He asked, looking worried.
Maximus sighed and told him the situation. "We need to enter the castle, but the gate won't open. Savlian told me you can help us about it."
"He's absolutely right. When they were attacked, the count gave me the key and told me to lock down the whole complex. The only way to open it is from the chapel undercroft. Come with me." He waved his hand and walked towards the underground level.
Maximus followed him downstairs, he knew this count must be very important for the people. Losing such a leader in times like this would be very devastating. They need someone who can help them rebuilt, someone to look up to. The sound of the door being opened interrupted his train of thought. The undercroft was dark as usual, but they were not alone. The group was greeted by a bunch of ghosts, haunting the place to guard it from anyone who dare to disturb their slumber. Cicero opened the attack with his sparking spell and the ghost shrieking in pain. Maximus and Berich quickly joined the fray, luckily they brought a small silver dagger, enough to wound the ghosts.
When they were out of the undercroft, they finally reach the area with the gate lock. Behind the bars were the soldiers of Kvatch, and behind the other bars that were between them and the castle were the host of scamps.
Maximus shouted to the soldiers with sword unsheathed, "We're here! Savlian, we're here!"
The said man heard his call, "Ah, what took you so long?"
"Maybe you can tell your ancestors down there to learn who are the good guys when they see it."
"Never mind, quick, open the gate, let's end those monster behind you."
Maximus nodded to Berich who inserted the key to the gate. It didn't only open the one in front of the soldiers, but also the one with the daedra. The men soon found themselves in a fierce combat to clear their path. After those daedra were dead, the reunited troops, marched to the castle. Savlian pushed the gate only to find the entire room was a mess. Tables and chairs were either broken or burned. The silverwares were all over the place. Here and there, the corpse of the castle residents lied with wound by from the claws or fire.
Savlien ordered his men, "You, you, and you, stand guard right here. Maximus, can you go to the count's quarter in the back? Find him and get him back here. Don't come back without him, alright?"
Maximus nodded between his breath, the battle really tired him after venturing to the Oblivion gate. He turned to his Nord companion, "Hagen, go to the back, find the count, and bring him here. I need to breath for a moment if you don't mind."
"Not at all, friend." Then he said to a guard next to him, "You there, would you come with me to help me retrieve the count? I could use extra set of eyes and hands."
The soldier simply nodded to him. Then they ran down the corridor, slaying more daedra they encountered. Finally they reached the last room, the count's quarter. Hagen was about to call his name when he saw the man lied down in the pool of his own blood. They were too late, the count was dead.
"Is he… is he dead?" asked the soldier.
"Aye, I'm afraid yes."
"But what should we do? We can't go back to the captain with nothing."
"Of course we can't. I'll take his signet ring, your captain will know what that means."
Then Hagen bent down to take the ring from the unfortunate man. He didn't know the man personally, but he grieved that city has to lost its leader, perhaps the entire family died inside this castle. He whispered a prayer for the count, wishing the gods to take his soul to Sovngarde. After that, they walked back to the throne room.
When Savlian saw the two men walked casually, he asked with a bit of frustration, "Where is the count? Didn't I tell you not to come back without him?"
To answer his question, Hagen did nothing but handed him the signet ring that was stained with blood.
Savlien's face turned from anger to desperation, feeling defeated. "No, we're too late. He's dead. It's all over. This is all my fault. If only we…"
Maximus cut him quickly, "Don't blame yourself with his death. There's no way you know if he's still alive. He could be killed when you were trapped outside the city. If you must blame someone, blame the one who opened the gate in the first place."
Savlian look at him for a moment when he took the ring from Hagen's hand, "Yes, I guess you are right." Then he addressed his men, "Everyone out! We're done here. Go back to the camp where our people are. Take a rest, you all deserved it. Thank you for your service."
He turned to Maximus as he took off his cuirass, "Take this with you."
"Wait, why are you giving this to me?"
"This is yours now. I'm tired of fighting. I will still be on guard here, but I can't watch that cuirass for some time. I need a moment alone. I believe we will rebuild this city. She has been attacked and rebuilt for centuries. This will be no different. And don't worry, I'll keep this ring until they elect the new count. Thank you, for everything."
Maximus looked him with a found sense of honor, "You're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to meet someone. Until next time, Savlian. May Talos guide you."
When they reached the camp, he saw Martin sitting in front of one of the tent, healing an elderly woman, with Juba sitting down on the grass.
"Maximus, you're back! Is everything alright?" Juba asked him.
"We managed to secure he castle, but the count didn't make it. Now shall we go to the Weynon Priory?"
"Yes, how about you Brother Martin?"
Martin stood up and saw the soldiers in front of him, he could feel the hope emanating from them when had none for himself.
"You already proved me with your deeds that you were sent by the gods to save us. Because of you, our people have hope once again. Following you to the priory, as you said, is the least I can do to repay you. You keep your promise this far by saving the city, now I can be sure to trust your words. Please, lead on." Martin spoke to all of them, but particularly to Maximus.
Maximus looked to Cicero, "Do we have everything we need for the journey? The priory is quite far from here."
"I believe so, Maximus. I've restocked the potions and some foods. I guess it's only enough for two days max. But again, the people here don't have many things to sell after what happened." Cicero explained the situation with a rucksack in his back.
"That's okay, we can manage with what we have. Maybe you can share the load to all of us here?" Maximus looked to everyone.
Cicero started to move some of his inventory to the others' rucksack and they put some of them in their pouch. After everything was all set, the group of five men began the journey out of Kvatch, back to Weynon Priory.
So that's chapter 6. Sorry, I said this chapter would take place during the journey back to Weynon Priory and to Cloud Ruler Temple. I'll put all that stuff in the next one, I promise you. As usual, send me a lot of reviews!
Until next time,
haljordan123