The duo reaches the underground chambers of the ruin, but what awaits them? more battle or a discovery that will shake them? find out now!

Chapter 28:

The Girl named Alice...

Back in the Dwemer Ruin, catacombs...

Lucien and Ethan stood in front of the apparition, the former feeling unsure about this..."There's...no question who that could be...but why now?" The imperial asked, frowning.

"It's just to intimidate us." Ethan pointed out, "Echo Spirits are types of spirits that can't touch us. Their only goal is to scare invaders."

Lucien nodded, "Or it could want something, spirits are fickle like that, I wonder what it wants...other than to scare us,"

The spectral creature fell down and used the sword it had to support itself and began to howl a strange red howl.

"I don't like this..." Ethan mumbled.

"Me neither..." Lucien said, deeply frowning, "What's it doing?"

Ethan picked a rock and threw it at the spirit, and saw the rock igniting in black and red flames.

"Well, we should be thankful that it won't move from there..." Ethan narrowed his eyes.

Lucien gave the spirit an overall stare, "Is this that "Power of death" I've heard about? If so, that looks as deadly as it is," looking at the melting rock, "How are getting past this?"

"We need to wait for the right moment." Ethan said as he began to study the time of the roar, "Since Echo Spirits reproduce an action of the living being, that means that all we need to do is to wait for the right moment."

And so, they waited, watching the spirit howl in red before he finally vanished from the area, giving Lucien a sigh of relief...

"Finally...I was wondering when it'd let up..." The imperial sighed, "Now we can continue...hopefully, we don't run into that one again..."

Ethan laughed and said, "Do you honestly believe that it's over?" and the spirit appeared again.

"Huh? Oh, you've got to be kidding me... It's back already...?" Lucien gasped, "That wasn't enough to even get past...is there something I give to it?"

"Just follow my lead," Ethan smirked and got as close as he could and waited until the howling stopped before sprinting and then rolling past the apparition.

Lucien took a deep breath, "Right...easier said than done...alright here goes..." getting as close as Ethan did, before waiting for the howl to stop and then going for the sprint, rolling past it as began it's howl again, nearly getting caught by it, "Hah! hah...too close...!"

"Not bad kid." Ethan laughed as he slapped Lucian's back, "Now, let's head forward."

The imperial nodded, "Yeah, now I'm more curious as to what it was guarding, let's go,"

They pressed on through the catacombs, on guard for any more apparitions like the one they just got passed, surprisingly, not finding more or even a live skeleton for that matter, however, that didn't change from the creeping feeling they were both getting as they wandered down the dark corridor...

"What the..." Ethan stopped and saw a strange flower, "What the hell's that?"

Lucien narrowed his eyes and went to the flower, crouching down to it, "No idea...these never grew in ruins like these, almost...ghostly with how it looks...very pretty though,"

"Never saw something like that before." Ethan scratched his head, "Better that we leave it alone. From my experience, if something is pretty, it may be dangerous."

The imperial rose an eyebrow, nodding, "I'm not going to lie, I would be very interested in studying this flower, but I'm not too sure about my poison resistance... maybe the boss can handle this, but I agree with you on leaving it be..." before continuing forward.

They both continued until they found some childish drawings on the wall.

"More of the wall drawing...I didn't think I'd see more down here," Lucien inquired, "From the look of it, the characters are drawn the same...looks like Alice did more of her handy work than we thought..."

"This must be where they used to live." Ethan walked and found skeletons of animals.

Lucien nodded, while studying the wall, "Must've been, with what that other translation had said, apparently This must've been a haven from all that war on the surface...I wondered what it must've looked like back then..."

"Since we're in a cave, it mustn't have changed much," Ethan said as he looked around.

The imperial scanned the wall, finding more images of either the wolf and the child or the dragon, even some with all three in them, showing the good and bad of their lives, but coming upon a particular image startled him, it was the wolf holding something bright in his hands in front of the dragon and child...

"Look at that, the wolf's holding something and it's bright...could that be...?"

"The power of death? That's a strong possibility." Ethan replied before continuing.

As they made their way through, the drawing started getting more and more detailed, finding the familiar heads on some of the figures...

"This is when they met...she seemed awed by them than afraid..." Lucien nodded, "Even got the head structure right...must've never seen their faces..."

"Nah, she was curious." Ethan pointed, "According to what I read, she was more interested in their golems."

"Can't blame her, even the ones we fought were unique, especially that last one..." Lucien chuckled, "To this day, I still don't know how they're made..."

They continued until they found a giant skeleton in black armor, a blade plunged in its left arm.

"Do you think that's..."

Lucien slowly nodded, "There's no one else that could be...that's her father..." frowning, "But why's the blade stuck in his arm...?"

"I wonder..." the old knight put a hand on the pummel of the blade and numerous flashes went to his head, "What was that!" he held his head in pain, "That... that was so charged that I don't know if it's wise to stay here."

Worried, Lucien checked up on him, "Are you okay? what did you see from touching it?"

"Visions of battle, fighting, dying... so much happened to him." Ethan pointed.

"Gods...if it did that to you...I don't even want to touch that, despite how awesome the blade looks..." The imperial said, sweating...

"It's an ability that runs in the family." Ethan stated as he tried to yank the blade out, "From what I learned after leaving the knights, my parents were druids who were more specialized in Spirit Hearing." he huffed before taking a vital filled with clear blue water and pouring some on the blade, "Those kinds of abilities can help to know what really happened through the eyes of the spirit... which is why they were killed." he then yanked the blade out before saying, "What a light blade."

Lucien frowned, "At that size? Hard to believe...it looks like it should weigh more than that..." before he realized what he just said, "And as for your parents, gods... I'm sorry..."

"Heh, you aren't the one who killed them, nor one of those who killed them." Ethan said with a light chuckle, "The reason they died was because they believed that they could help people around Ken, forgetting who rules over it..."

Lucien scowled at the ground, "Yeah...I know...I hope... when this war starts, we can start changing things there...if we can that is, ignorance...takes time to iron out..."

"Ignorance can be both a blessing and a curse." Ethan pointed as he shouldered the blade, "It depends on what we're ignorant of."

"Of course, but from how they look down on other people, to labeling anyone who's not like them a heretic...that bears more of a curse than a blessing," The imperial responded, spotting one more open room, which a strange glowing green light permeating from it, "Looks like that's the last room..." heading into it.

Ethan followed the Imperial and took a good look at the room.

There was a large throne in the middle of the room, with a large gold and emerald crown, which was giving off the light...Lucien frowned and walked over to it, "A crown...? here of all places..." inspecting it.

Ethan walked and began to look around until he found a strange Kris dagger that had a golden handle with strange stones in it, "Pretty... but I don't know if it's my style." he then turned to Lucian, "Kid! Catch this." he then threw to him the dagger.

The imperial caught it and examined the blade, "Very nice...in good condition too, but what does it do?"

"Dunno, but it isn't a normal dagger." Ethan pointed with a chuckle before noticing another weapon; a golden rapier with a crimson gem in the center, oozing with magic.

"Maybe you'd want to check this."

Lucien held the dagger, going over to the sword, "They're nearly identical...interesting...I can feel some kind of holy power from the dagger," picking up the sword, "But the sword feels like magic imbued into it. not sure how to trigger the magic, the enchantment isn't showing on these..."

"Who knows, maybe that one day, you'll meet someone who can show you," Ethan replied.

The imperial nodded, putting the blades on his belt, "I hope so...anyway, I don't think I see another room, but for all intents and purposes..." smiling, "This family seemed to live well, despite the war above...even with the dwemer..."

"Still, I'd say we had quite the experience in this place." Ethan laughed before looking at his blade, "Even got some new weapons."

Lucien nodded with a smile, "I agree there, I don't think I would've made it this far without you, thank you,"

"Bah, I'm just an old sac of bones." Ethan pointed, "I'm not that special."

The imperial sighed, "You're being too hard on yourself, your aid was enough today..." giving him a tap on the shoulder, "Even if you don't forgive yourself, I hope one day you can...everyone deserves a second chance, you more than made up for your former service...If I was a Nord, I would've called you my shield-brother...Comrade works just as fine too..."

Ethan only shook his head.

Lucien said nothing, but nodded, understanding that it takes time to get over it all, "Right...well, shall we be off? I wonder how they'll react to this..."

"I guess a bit of surprise, amazement, and some wonder," Ethan replied with a small laugh.

The imperial chuckled, walking out, "To be honest, I'll be surprised if they're not surprised...considering the fact, no one would've seen this coming..."

His radio then goes off, "Lucien...Lucien, you there?' a voice comes from it.

"Ah, boss! I was wondering when you'd call, good timing too,"

"Where are you...?" Traysek's voice asked.

"Hahaha, so you're not going to believe this..." Both Ethan and Lucien left the room.

Meanwhile back in Ulak...

At a nearby park, The Redguard had a surprised look on his face, "I'm sorry...What? You guys found a Dwemer ruin here? where?"

"At the nearby cave...I was as surprised as you when we discovered it...found plenty of goods inside as well as other interesting things..."

Traysek nodded to himself, "I see, Well that'll be something to check out, assuming you've cleared it already...but for now, head back...we've been invited for dinner by the client..."

"Really now? what's the occasion? the rescue?"

"Indeed, the others are there now, I'm still outside waiting for you to get back..." The Redguard explained, "How long is it going to take to get out?"

"Oh...not too long, especially since we've cleared the way...we should be there in ten minutes, tops..."

The Redguard sighed, "Good, I'll be waiting, let me know if something comes your way..."

"Will do...trust me, you're going to want to see what we picked up in there..."

Traysek once again nodded, before hanging up the radio, looking around, 'Well, Inigo's definitely going to have a field day with this...guess now I just gotta wait...' relaxing his head on the bench he was sitting on.

In her office, Celestine was looking at some suggestions from the nobles when a knock was heard.

"Come in!" she greeted, as the door opened...

"Still working through the headaches?" Swain asked as he walked in.

She nodded slowly, "In a way...too many requests to count, what about you? what brings you here, uncle?"

"I think that showing it is better than words." Swain looked down as a small Dark Elf peeked, hiding behind him.

Celestine looked behind him, and spotted the child, "Oh...and who is this?" she asked, curious.

"You do know that nobles are still taking slaves, yes?" Swain asked.

The goddess went wide-eyed in shock, "No...they were supposed to have sworn that off, according to Claudia... so what is this...?"

"Trust me, slavery and the hunt of some races such as the Salamander and the Batfolks are still in place." Swain said as he walked to take a seat in front of Celestine, "This little girl is a runaway slave."

"My word..." She gasped, hand over mouth, "She looks like she's been through a lot..." giving her a smile, "It's okay little one, you're safe here...no one will hurt you, even if they come looking..."

She stayed silent before using Swain's coat to hide.

This confused Celestine, putting a deep frown on her, "Why can't she speak? has something been done to her?"

"Let's just say that someone must have told her to hold her tongue, and she didn't." Swain sighed, "I believe that you understand, right?"

The Goddess felt her heart sink when he mentioned that, and the scarring on her neck, made it sink even deeper "Oh my...! Yes, I do understand...are there more like her out there...?"

"They are probably worse than her." Swain stated, "And it isn't just Dark Elves that are suffering like this; there are High Elves and some humans who got caught because of their social status.

Celestine said nothing for a minute, thinking about what was said a while back...

"I can't say that I was expecting your answer, though I'd hoped you'd see this deeper than your court is telling you to...but something tells me, that isn't the case here...nor has it ever been, a bit disappointing to be honest..." Traysek's voice rang, causing her to close her eyes.

"If listening was their skill set, we wouldn't have seen slaves last night, just saying..." Inigo's voice rang next.

"Do you truly want the peace you seek? to truly protect your people, then the time for inaction must come to an end..." Satakal's taunt reminded.

The Goddess Reborn sighed deeply, nodding to herself, before turning back to them, "I...I see...I can probably do something about that...if she would allow me to...if not, I understand..." her eyes going dark, "But...after, I... need time to think...I might call... someone..." her voice holding a shaking tone to it, 'should you come out of this haze...I still have the call stone, ring me up anytime, I won't ignore you...'

"You don't need to have blood in your hands." Swain looked at her before adding, "I'm sure that you remember when I promised your parents that I'd protect you. Which also means that I'm ready to get my hands, which are already drowned in blood, at your service. Remember this; You don't need to sully your hands, let me do the execution. While it will need some heads to roll, it will straighten them up. I know... I already did it in the past..."

She simply nodded, "If...you find any more kids like this, please, bring them here, not the church..." turning to the small girl, "As for you, little one, you're more than welcome to stay here...if the guards give you trouble, tell me and I'll take care of it, okay?" giving her a smile.

The small Dark Elf was a bit more at ease but was still glued to Swain.

"It seems that she took a liking to my estate." Swain smiled before patting her head, "Reminds me of the old times."

Celestine gave the child a warm smile, standing and going to her, "It's okay, I can give you back your voice, no one has the right to take that from anyone..." offering her hand.

The little Dark Elf looked at Swain who nodded before she caught Celestine's hand.

"See? I don't bite..." She cooed before she took warmly grasped the hand, taking a knee and closing her eyes, chanting something as holy magic went over the small girl, the scars on her body burning away along with the long cut on her throat...

When it was over, the scars the girl had were no longer there, not even faded...Celestine looked up at her with a genuine grin, "How do you feel now?"

The girl only nodded as Swain said, "It will take her a bit of time before regaining her ability to talk. While I'm still here, I do need your confirmation before beginning my investigation on the nobles."

The Goddess reborn looked at the child before glancing up at him, standing up, "If they are connected to this child or anymore, by all means, you have my permission, just don't execute them...I want them brought in first, so I look them in the eyes...that's all I ask, uncle..."

"My dear..." Swain sighed before adding, "What you're asking... is the simplest thing." he then added, "However, if one of the nobles began to become too violent, my men will have to reduce the number of violence."

She nodded with a determined stare, "Then it's their consequence, not yours or the Red Spears, you will not be scorned for it..."

"Well then, I'd better go prepare my men for their mission." Swain got up, "If you need anything, you know where to find me." he then turned and began to leave while his eyes were bright red."

Celestine waved at him as they left, "I wish you the best of luck..." As he left the room, the door closing behind him...she took a deep breath and glanced at her call stone, wondering what to do...

Ulak Village, Bruk'daz's house...

At the dinner table, the crew, now including Lucien sat and waited for the food to be done, while they waited, the imperial was going over the things they saw in the ruin, surprising them as he went on.

"And there we were... face to face with the whistler, this one could split itself into three parts, hard to take down but we managed it..."

Traysek nodded, "I see...I wish I would've gone with you two, but I had to check on things with the chief and our client, I'm glad you both made it out,"

"You and me both, there were a few close calls, but nothing I couldn't handle," Lucien waved off, trying to play it cool.

Recorder nodded, "Still...I can't believe there's one of those out here, how long were they down there for?"

"More importantly, when did they get here? had to be years before..." Yuriana added in.

Lucien chuckled, "I'm getting to that, and to answer your question, Yuri, they were there when there was a war of the gods, Apparently, it's very vague, but, they came around at that period of time, even got the notes out of that place, which reminds me..." he paused, pulling out a red and gold encrusted book, "I also found one of their blueprint books, tons of tech we can use, but I just need it translated, which I can't do on my own,"

Erik motioned for the book, getting it passed to him, "By the nine, is that armor or a cyborg I'm looking at? these are impressive, do we have the metals to make these?"

"Not exactly...I don't have the translations, so I don't know what's all required, but once I find out, I'll let everyone in on it..." Lucien smiled, receiving the book back.

They saw Dargo entering and immediately began to talk with the other Dark Elf of the house.

Recorder spotted them coming in, waving at them, "Hey guys, you're just in time, dinner is still being made,"

"I was about to ask what you'd want to have for dinner." the chieftain stated, "Well, I do know that Dargo here enjoys acidic fruits, so he'll have to wait until dessert to have his wish confirmed."

Traysek grinned as they seated, "Good to see you again, Lady Rhea, Looks like the big guy beat you to it, didn't want to intrude at first, but he insisted and now I'm starting to see why," he chuckled.

"Well, it did help me at getting most of the dishes done." The Dark Elf stated, "It does help me to relax after my little sister's death."

Traysek nodded, "I can understand that...I think we all need a bit of rest right now..."

The crew concurred with nods, as Recorder looked unsure about something, putting a raised eyebrow on their captain..."Record...? you okay...? you're looking a little pale..."

"Huh? oh sorry, just...in deep thought about something, I wanted to speak on what she said but, I don't know if it's a good time..." Recorder nervously chuckled.

"What do you want to ask about?" Lady Rhea asked with a bit of curiosity.

"It's not really a matter of a "Question" it's more of an identity to her murderer...which I shared with Dargo..." She told her, "Which is why I wanted to wait..."

Traysek frowned until a realization, "Come to think of it, yeah...I had my suspicions too...that guy you mentioned seemed like a guy we know in the holy army..."

The Dark Elf looked at Dargo, who nodded.

"Again, that's up to you, if want to talk about it or not, I totally get not wanting to though," Record assured.

She sat down with a serious expression and said, "I'm all ears."

She looked to the others, getting a nod from the Dragonborn, taking a deep breath...

"To start off with, his name is Reynold Von Musel, We however just took to calling him Rey, but he wasn't too punkish when we met... More like him trying to stop us from strongarming a village, only to find out later, that he was taking care of war orphans there, so we thought, you know, he was a decent guy until I remembered that he WAS the only silver-haired knight we met amongst them..." Recorder finished.

Traysek nodded, "Even hated the corruption of the noble houses, or seemed like it...but since our...desertion, we've lost contact with him, wouldn't be able to find him now if we went looking,"

"Now I have a name on the coward who murdered Cehili..." her voice was dark and full of hate.

The crew glanced among themselves upon hearing it, with sullen and guilty looks...

"That all depends on how long ago this was done, if it's past ten years ago, it might've not been him..." Lucien added.

The Dark Elf simply snapped a glare at him.

Dargo sighed before saying, "Ten years ago I was still here, in my last year of tutoring under the captain of the guards. It was also the year when the Storm of Steel was about to become a Deathbringer."

Inigo thought on that, "I see, so it happened much sooner, yeah, it is not looking good for him..."

The room went quiet at that point, The Redguard facepalming, coming out with a sigh...

"This...is a tough call to make..." he began with, her glare focusing on him, "On one hand, I can't completely turn my nose up to how he did it, none of us can... we've done that ourselves...Taken the preemptive edge in battle...especially on stronger opponents...if we judged him, we'd be no better than the holy alliance at that point..." he sighed, looking up at her "But...at the same time, I understand it feels to lose someone close to you...especially family, or close to it..." glancing at his men, looking back at Rhea and Dargo, "We're not talking you out of this, either of you... If you get yours, you get yours...we'll understand it either way because what he took from you, can't be replaced..."

The Crew nodded in agreement, unable to say anything else...

"I think that the Storm of Steel will return... fully armed." Rhea got up and went to a room.

"Blood for blood..." Dargo added, while looking at his blade, "He will know what true Frostbite is."

Traysek nodded, watching her leave sighing deeply...Lucien on the other hand had a worried look on his face.

"Should we-?" He began with, getting a headshake.

"No, let her go...she's entitled to how she feels because if it had been any of you, I don't think anyone could talk to me either..." The Redguard sighed, shaking his head, "She'll understand or she won't, that's not up to us...even if we do KNOW him..."

Yuriana furrowed her brow, "Even if they might kill him...?"

"Hey...if it's his time, then it's his time, he's an adult now...he can bear his own sins, trust me, we're bearing ours..." Traysek pointed "But that does a bring a good point...they'll deploy anyone in the alliance, down to children...it's one thing to train a child for battle, it's another when you actually deploy them for it...toss in promises of gold and glory, and we're looking at today's problem...not that joining the dogs are any better, it's worse..."

Recorder slowly nodded, "Along with the fact they can't be anything else with the way they got all that going...doesn't mean we should feel bad, but it is something that needs to change, no one that young should experience that horror...especially those damn brothels..." clenching her fist.

"Aye, adding that to the list of sins they've committed," Erik agreed until he realized what she said, "Wait...what brothels...?"

"Oh that's right, we didn't tell you guys..." Record said, scratching her head, "They've got brothels that house these younger boys, some are around Marahka's and D'usha's age sir..."

At that, the men's faces contorted to disgust and cringe, The captain even more so...

"Eww...so you mean to tell us, that there's a brothel that these cougars go to feel up on these kids and it's legal? Gods that's so gross!" Erik gagged.

Lucien nodded, still in disgust, "Gross ain't even the word, Erik, depraved is what it is...if this had been the other way around...ugh... I'm glad we left when we could...no way we could serve for that..."

Traysek sighed, coming out of facepalm, "Of course not, it's a double standard, "It's okay if we do it" is what the mentality of their society is...because you're right, if it was the other way around, that would no doubt be shut down quickly, with the owners executed and castrated...to me if it's disgusting one way, it's disgusting another...but by this being a matriarchal government, that's why it's legal...they already look down on most men, why would treat them any different...? the only thing that makes this heartbreaking is what happens when they grow up...do they just toss them out on the street?"

Yuriana somberly nodded her head, "I'm afraid so...I didn't see anyone past the age, so yeah...and they wonder why so many join the black dogs...this would be why...as someone who used to be in that business, it was sickening..."

"Well, looks like we've got some places hit up, eh my friends?" Inigo smirked, "Oil and torch~ oil and torch~" he sang, getting them all to laugh.

Unfortunately, they all forgot Dargo who, unconsciously, began to emit a cold aura that freezes anything that it touches.

Traysek rubbed his shoulders at the cold, "Where's that coming from...?" spotting the cold aura coming from him, "Oh...Hey D we didn't forget you over there...just...wasn't expecting that...ugh..."

Recorder gave him a worried look, "Are you okay...?" she asked.

The aura stopped as Dargo snapped out, looking around, "You called me?"

They blinked at him, glancing at each other before looking back at him...

"You spaced out so hard, you made the that temperature, yikes man," Erik chuckled.

Traysek had his mouth in a small o, blinking twice, "Maybe we should...postpone the rest of this convo, before we freeze to death, yeah?"

Getting nods from the crew...

"Good idea, The food smells done and I don't want to lose my appetite..." Inigo concurred.

"What are you talking about?" Dargo asked with confusion.

The Redguard sighed, "Well, Record was telling us about the kinds of brothels they own in the alliance, apparently, they're as young as pre-teen kids, so...we were thinking about popping through there at one point, to give a "Hot" personal touch, if you get my meaning,"

"Extra crispy..." Inigo whispered with widened eyes.

Dargo was simply more confused.

Recorder nervously chuckled, "You blacked out, you damn near froze the room, the table's half frostbitten now..." pointing at it.

"Sorry about that..." With embarrassment, Dargo concentrated his powers to absorb the frost in his body.

"It's all good Dargo, we already get why you spaced out... It's fine," Traysek waved off, spotting the orc coming in with a large covered platter.

Inigo took a whiff, "That smells divine..."

When he removed the cover, it revealed a large roasted boar on a bed of lettuce with some roasted vegetables around.

The crew along with Dargo had wide eyes on the roasted boar, the scent blanketing the entire dining room.

-Everyone's expression XD

"By the gods, it's beautiful..." Erik breathed out, a wiping tear away.

Inigo nodded, "You can say that again, it's been too long since I've had roasted boar..."

Yuriana grinned, "Ooooooooo~ loving the choice for dinner, you certainly know your way around there~"

"I'm so glad I went cave delving, I definitely saved a bit more room," Lucien nervously chuckled.

"Lucky wish I could say the same, but still, there's no denying that smell..." Recorder added, nearly drooling.

The Redguard looked in a direction, spotting Keelia bringing two more platters, "And that's not all, look," nodding his head at her, as she sat them on the table, opening the covers...

One of the platters had a bunch of spicy Crab Cakes, while the other had fried calamari and shrimp.

The Red Dragons were left speechless, as Traysek slowly nodded...

"Crab cakes, calamari, and shrimp, you're bringing back some good days at home," He chuckled, getting the rest of the crew to agree.

"The 'Thank you' feast." Dargo pointed, "Which means that they either gave us the payment... or that they're going to give it later."

Traysek waved him down, "That'll come when it comes, right now, I'm interested in only "Rewarding" my stomach...a lot"

"I heard you there, sir..." Lucien concurred.

Dargo looked back before sighing and began eating the food.

The rest soon joined after that, clamoring and getting their plates, enjoying their meal after a long day...some even longer, but the earlier mood had worn off, even Rhea rejoining the table during a regal of their old adventures, it was a good night, and one they would miss on the days to come...

Near Feoh...

Horseback, Reynold made his way back to the city, however on his way there, his coughing had gotten worse since left the Luvilis estate, making it harder and harder for him to breathe...he even had red spots appearing on his face; the same as the victims back at the fort.

'Heh, looks like I didn't resist it after all... It's getting worse...I have to find a doctor soon, but I'm still far from the city...I wish...' shaking it out of his head, 'No...I can't think that way, she made her choice and I gotta follow mine...only a few miles left...' his vision beginning to dim in and out as the horse carried him...

Eventually, it reached the city gates with an unconscious Rey on the back of it, still holding on to the Reins...there were two golden knights on guard duty, watching the horse approach them.

One of the knights grabbed the reins and whispered something that caused the horse to stop.

"Should we bring him to the commander?" one of the knights asked.

"After what he did... I want to see him die like this." the second one replied with spit.

The first one sighed before saying, "If we leave him, we won't be better."

"Fine." the second one groaned.

Niall's office...

Niall was sitting in front of a young woman. Normally, the old man wouldn't have a problem, but...

"A Tarnished... and here I thought that I wouldn't see your kind again." Niall took a deep breath before adding, "Well, this isn't Castle Sol, and we aren't in the Land Between."

"Not every Tarnished is the same, you know?" the woman in front of him pouted, "Besides, I'm only here because I thought that I heard O'Neil."

"That traitor chose to follow General Radahn, so I don't care about him." Niall nearly snapped.

"Anyways, since I don't have a reason to fight you, considering all that you did for the people around here, I thought that I'd join you." the Tarnished in front of him said.

Niall thought for a moment before sighing in defeat, "Considering that you aren't the one who killed me and that we're going to need help to fight the Scarlet Rot, I don't have a choice but to accept."

"Last time we met I did help you, so it's only fair that you repay that." she pointed.

"That was ONE time when I asked your help to fight two Tarnished." Niall stated, "Seriously, I wonder if I won't regret my decision, Sylla."

The Tarnished was about to reply when knocks were heard.

"Sir! We have a problem." one of the knights said, causing Niall to sigh.

To be continued...

So with that chilling Ending, Reynold's rot finally reached him...now whether or not he survives is up to how events play out, but as for the Red Dragons, despite their injuries, they're making the right friends, let's just hope that things keep going in that direction for them...

Also, there will be another chapter right after this one, my co-writer and I covered a couple of chapters, and because my Birthday passed, I owe you two for taking this long, so enjoy, and may the gods watch over your stories :)