Disclaimer: I don't own Elder Scrolls and Gladiator. They belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 8: Cloud Ruler Temple
Maximus was out from the guild hall of Fighters Guild with several guild member. Earlier that night Jauffre and the group moved out from the priory. He told them that he had a business with the guild. He brought Juba with him and told Jauffre to meet him outside Bruma. The two warriors entered the building to meet Mordryn Oreyn who scolded Maximus with a barrage of questions and rantings about his disappearance, mostly the second one. After he calmed down, Maximus began to ask him a favour after apologizing first. He asked Oreyn to send some members to go to his house in Bravil and pick up his family, then bring them to Bruma where he will meet them himself. Until then, those fighters were in charge to protect his family no matter what. Mordryn let out a laugh when he heard that Maximus was the Hero of Kvatch people kept talking about, but Juba backed Maximus' story with his testimony. Finally after quite some time, he agreed to send some men to look after Maximus' house because his former apprentice worried of his precious little family.
After getting what he wanted, Maximus and Juba were down the road to meet the party. As planned, Jauffre and the party were waiting for them outside Bruma and once they're whole again, the trip to Cloud Ruler Temple was resumed. Along the way, Hagen and Cicero asked Maximus about his plan with Mordryn, which he explained as brief as possible. About 15 minutes after, they arrived in front of the gate. Jauffre came closer to the gate and knock it thrice with a loud bang. A shout was heard from the top of the wall, "The grandmaster at the gates!" Just a minute or so, it was opened from the inside and a Redguard Blade came out to meet them, he was dressed with the complete gear from head to toe.
"Grandmaster Jauffre, welcome back. We didn't know you would give us a visit." The Blade said, his voice is calm, his stature spoke professionalism.
Jauffre only nodded to him, "I'm sorry for coming so sudden, but the situation is dire. Our priory down south was attacked by assassins and we have no choice but to move here."
The Blade was about to response when he look at Martin who stood beside Jauffre. Maximus saw him recognize the priest, perhaps as the Blades, they all knew about this secret, or maybe Martin just looked so similar to his birth father whose face was on every gold coin in Tamriel.
"G-Grandmaster, is this…"
"Yes, Cyrus, this is the heir of Uriel Septim. These men had a success in retrieving him from Kvatch when the city was attacked." Jauffre explained to his subordinate.
"Ah, Your Highness, please forgive me for not recognizing you so soon. Welcome to Cloud Ruler Temple. We haven't had a royal visit for quite some time." The Blade whose name is Cyrus quickly saluted him with a stiff bow.
Martin chuckled a little, clearly felt discomfort, "No, the honor is mine. Thank you."
Cyrus then addressed to Jauffre, "Please come in, Sir. The Blades are waiting."
They soon climbed up the stairs to the yard which is quite high from the ground. Maximus saw a few Blades sparring with each other on what seems to be the training ground. But they soon stopped whatever they were doing when they saw their grandmaster came up. They quickly lined themselves on each side of the dais, with Jauffre took center stage. Martin went to his right, Maximus to his left, and the rest of the group distribute themselves at Jauffre's wings.
When they all were in positions, Jauffre spoke up," Blades, dark times are upon us. As you know, the Emperor was slain on our watch. The Empire is in chaos. But there is yet hope."
He stopped and looked at Martin, "This is Martin Septim, the true heir of Uriel Septim, the rightful owner of the Blue Throne, and the emperor of Tamriel!"
Then all Blades raised their swords to the air and shout as one," Hail the Dragonborn! Hail Martin Septim! Hail!"
Martin felt overwhelm by this greeting, how they accept him as their highest leader. For a simple priest raised by a simple farmer, this was beyond his wildest dreams.
Jauffre turned his head to Martin, "Your Highness, the Blades are at your command. You will be safe here until you can take up your throne. A little words if you please."
A lightning strike his heart when he heard Jauffre. As a priest sometimes he spoke in front of the citizens to give them sermons, but this wasn't mere citizens, they were the Blades, the Emperor personal army, the best in Tamriel. Martin looked at Maximus as if he was asking for help, to which Maximus only life his shoulders.
Feeling he had no choice, Martin swallowed some saliva and steeled himself as he raised his hands, "Jauffre. All of you. I know you all expect me to be Emperor. I'll do my best. But this is all new to me. I'm not used to giving speeches other than for sermons. But I wanted you to know that I appreciate your welcome here. I hope I prove myself in the coming days. That's it. Thank you." He finished his speech lamely.
Jauffre then decided to end the short ceremony, "Well, then. Thank you, Martin. We'd all best get back to our duties, eh, Captain?" The Blades soon dispersed back to what they did before Martin's arrival. Some were sparring, some were tending the horses, and others went to the wall to look out for unwelcomed danger. Jauffre headed inside the hall, while Maximus, Cicero, Juba, and Hagen were still outside with Martin.
Martin was the first to speak, "Not much of a speech, was it? Didn't seem to bother them, though."
Maximus smiled and waved his hand in front of him, "Nah, you did good, Martin. You should see my first battle rally, after it was finished, I put the helmet as fast as I could to hide my face."
Juba, Hagen, and Cicero laughed a little to his words, then Martin continued, "The Blades saluting me and hailing me as Martin Septim. Listen, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I know I would be dead by now if it weren't for you. Thank you. But everyone expects me to suddenly know what to do. How to behave. They want an Emperor to tell them what to do. And I haven't the faintest idea."
"Don't you worry about that, Martin. I'm sure you will get the hang of this sooner enough. When I was on Earth, I had many friends in high places, so I know one or two things about politics. I'll make you ready so they don't play you like you are an amateur." Maximus put his hand on Martin's shoulder to calm him down.
Juba looked at Maximus with his hands on his waist," Well, it must be wait for while until we get the amulet back. Without it, the Elder Council will never accept your claim to the throne."
"Ah, yes, of course, the Amulet of Kings. So we…I can take it to the Temple of the One and light the Dragonfires and stop the Oblivion invasion." Martin continued.
Cicero saw him and nodded, like he was starstruck, "You are a good man, Martin, and I'm sure you will be a great emperor."
Martin tried hard not to rolled his eyes, "The Emperor, that's an idea that will take some getting used to. In any case, we need the amulet first. Maybe Jauffre will know where to start."
Everyone nodded in agreement and entered the door to the hall. Inside, they were welcomed by a massive fireplace. The walls were decorated by many swords, similar that the Blades wielded.
Hagen let out a loud groan when he saw the interior, "Aaahhh, finally, I could have some warmth after travelling in these bleak mountain side." He said and sit down on one of the benches.
Jauffre called Martin to bring him to his quarters and Maximus and the others took a rare chance to have a little rest. During that time, Maximus couldn't take his eyes off the walls within the hall with the swords on them. The he heard someone's voice next to him.
"Amazing, isn't it?" It was a Breton Blade, standing next to him before sitting down beside him.
"Oh, where's my manner? I'm Captain Steffan, I'm in charge of the Temple while Jauffre's gone. Nice to meet you. Your friends told me you dived into Oblivion Gates to close it. Not every day you get a chance to meet the Hero of Kvatch, eh?" He asked Maximus.
Maximus wondered how fast the news spread, everywhere people seemed to know about the doom-driven hero, even high in the fortress that should be top secret.
"Yes, that's me, thanks, Captain Steffan. So, what's with sword, anyway?" He asked the captain while looking up.
"The Blades has existed for centuries and during that time, we have so many brothers and sisters. When a Blade died, his/her sword will be put up there, so they will be remembered for eternity. But after some times, the walls became too full to contain new swords, so instead of making a new one for a fresh recruit, we take one down from the walls and give it to the new Blade, of course the names of the previous owners are engraved in the swords." Steffan explained to Maximus.
"So the number of the swords is always constant?" Maximus asked.
"Exactly," answered Steffan. Then he looked across the room and saw Hagen was talking to two female Blades at the table while eating some meat.
"Well, well, well, looks like you have a cassanova among your ranks. Hehehe. I won't blame him. Jena and Caroline have always been targets of seduction among us here." Steffan said with a huge grin on his face.
"Heh, I know what you mean. When I was among my brethren, the female ones are like flowers in the desert, every men fight their way to get close. How about you?" Maximus asking Steffan who laughed.
"I tried many times, but they seem to like a Nord better than a Breton like me. You know, a Breton isn't known by his brawn, but by his magic skill, something that's lacking here."
Maximus drank his last drop of wine, "Well, you can put your mind in peace when you know I have a mage of my own here."
The night at Cloud Ruler Temple was different with the fact they had a VIP guest in their hall. All the Blades was eating in the dining hall when Martin and Jauffre entered the room. Everyone stopped their eating and stood up at once. Martin raised his hand to allow them to sit back and enjoy their meal. Jauffre had taught him how to communicate with them the afternoon before. An hour later, he finished his dinner and the room was almost empty, except for him, Jauffre, Maximus, Juba, and Hagen who move to his table.
Jauffre opened the conversation, "As you all know, we have to take back the Amulet of Kings before we can begin to proceed with the plan to take Martin to the Elder Council in Imperial City. This morning, one of my men received a letter brought by our owl messenger. It says that our informant is tracking the group that assassinate the Emperor in Imperial City. We should take this as our clue to find the amulet."
Maximus was listening to the plan carefully. Beside a fighter, he was an excellent strategist after many battles he fought on Earth.
"So. you want us to go there and meet this informant, right?" He asked Jauffre.
"Right, but not all of you. It would bring too much attention. Just bring one or two at maximum. This mission must be done in secrecy. Since Martin and the Blades here are out of question, one of you four must do this. Maximus, you are the one who know them most as you told me, so who do you recommend?" Jauffre asked back.
Maximus took a second to think. "If I may what is the name of your informant?"
"His name is Baurus, a Redguard, the youngest Blade we ever had."
Maximus was surprised when he heard the name. It was the same Blade that he met during the escape from the prison.
"Wait a minute. Baurus? I met him when the Emperor escaped through my cell."
"Really, know? Somehow the gods plays a strange fate in our lives. Then you can't go as well. We don't know if the guards are still chasing you on top of the fact that your name and face are in the Black Horse Courier all over Cyrodiil. So we are down to three, which one of you should go?" Jauffre threw the same question.
Hagen shook his head at the question. "You know I'm not good with stealth, Maximus. If you need someone to charge in an open battle, then I'm your man. But for this one, I must pass." He lifted his hand as a sign of resignation.
Juba and Cicero shot a look at each other for it's now between them to go and investigate. Maximus then look at Cicero, "So Cicero, will you go?"
"I think I should go. I think I have a chance to move quietly and I know how to sweet talk if I need to. Our time in the university shapes us to be negotiators among the scholars and lecturers." Cicero said with a certainty.
Well, I think I should go as well. If the things goes south, we must be prepared. No offence, Cicero, I'll let you use your knowledge, but when I'm afraid we can't risk to use magic if we have to do close-range fighting. I'm in." Juba retorted.
Jauffre took a deep breath before closing the meeting. "I guess all is settled. Martin, what do you say about this?"
Martin nodded and shrugged, "I have reason to disagree, Jauffre. I believe this men really know that they do and they don't disappoint so far. So I agree with them."
"Good, then I think we should call it a day and take a rest. I want you two to prepare yourselves because you will be going tomorrow morning. And before I forget, Maximus, you have showed a fine success in saving the Emperor. You helped us this far, even though you don't have to. So now I'm giving you an offer to be one of us, a Blade Brother. What say you?" Jauffre addressed Maximus.
He thought for a minute whether he must take this offer. He was already a member of Fighters Guild which demanded a full commitment. But it's an honor to be offered as a Blade, only the best of the best could have the chance. And as one, he should have a better chance to protect Martin, the future emperor of Tamriel, something he failed to do with Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
After a long thought, he began to speak, "I will gladly to take the honor, Jauffre, if my friends have the same offer. I can't close the Oblivion Gate at Kvatch without their help."
Now it's Jauffre's time to think, perhaps it's good thing to have more recruits at once, especially at the times like this.
"Alright, then. I'm asking you all to be Blades to help us get through this crisis. Do you accept?"
Then Maximus spoke for them all, "We do."
That's a wrap for this chapter. I finally start to do pairing for this fic. And it's not a permanent, I will changer the pairings with specific mission. I also can't stop to think how they can put so many swords up there. So I come up with a possible scenario. Don't forget to throw me your reviews, guys.
Until next time, haljordan123 signing out.