“I wouldn’t move if I were you.” There was no mistaking the threat in the voice from behind me. “Are you alright Sire?”

  Gore ran down the gleaming edge of the katana and I felt some of it drip down the front of my neck and chest. Both of the Blades who remained standing were coated with blood, but none of which appeared to be their own.

  The Emperor moved into my field of view, moving hesitatingly but surely as he looked at his bodyguards. “I’m fine Glenroy. But… Captain Renault?”

  To my left the second Blade was kneeling down over the prone body of their commander. The look in his eyes said more than words ever could as he unbuckled the sheathed katana from her side. Her head and helmet had been caved in from a blow of considerable force, shattering her skull and ensuring that death had been quick and complete. “She’s… Dead. I’m sorry Sire, but we have to keep moving.”

  Despite his position and noble birth, the death and carnage within the catacombs didn’t seem to bother the old man. As he gave a brief nod in return I realised that he was no stranger to death and violence.

  “What about the prisoner?” the katana didn’t tremble but I felt the tiniest increase in pressure of the edge into my flesh. “I don’t trust him. He could be working with the assassins.”

  “If he was I doubt he would’ve rushed to our aid as he did.” There was a dark chuckle from the Emperor as he looked at me and gestured to the corpse beside me. “I also wouldn’t have provided him with my dagger.”

  Ensuring that I didn’t move anything more than my gaze, I glanced at the corpse and the dagger jutting from its eye. The hilt alone was covered with silver etching and gemstones. It was easily worth several years’ worth of legion salary and I felt strangely uncomfortable using something so expensive to take a life.

  “We should kill him. Just to be certain.”

  “No, he is not one of them. He can help us.”

  The katana hovered at my throat for a moment, remaining against my flesh just long enough to convey displeasure but not long enough to be considered insubordinate. Then, as quickly as it had appeared it had disappeared and I noticeably relaxed.

  “He mightn’t be one of them, but I still wouldn’t put any faith in a deserter.” Snapping the Katana out to his side with an outstretched arm I watched as the gore that coated his blade was flicked across the floor.

  “Deserter he may be.” The tone was cold from the Emperor as he moved between us, watching as I slowly rose to my feet. “He must help us.”

  Turning he gestured to the Blade tucking his commander’s sword into his belt. “Baurus, give this man a sword.”

  Although ordered to, Baurus clearly hesitated at the idea of arming me. Even as mentally juggled with the order he patted his hands amongst the small collection of weapons fastened to his waist before pulling a gladius and its sheath from his belt.

  “Are you sure about this sire?” his tone was wary as he held out the sword for me to reluctantly take from his hands.

  “I am sure.” The Emperor’s expression was grim, but a half-smile ghosted up his face before motioning for the three of us to follow Glenroy’s steps.

  The darkness consumed us and I ran my hands up the scabbarded length of the Gladius that I had been given. Having a Legion blade made me feel a lot more confident despite how I had found myself standing next to the most powerful individual in all of Tamriel.

  “They do not understand why I trust you.” He said simply, shuffling his way through the passageways with dust clinging to the hems of his priceless robes.

  “To be honest Sire,” I replied, doing everything I could not to look in his direction. “I don’t understand either.”

  He sighed, and I could clearly see that every year of his long life had left deep marks upon his body, mind and soul. If half of the stories that I had heard were true, he had experienced far more than any one man should.

  Each step was placed carefully into the floor, the priceless shoes he worn now permanently stained with gore. “How can I explain?” The question was directed at himself as we made our way down a short flight of stairs, but he was looking at me intently. “You know of the Nine? How they guide the fates with an invisible hand?”

  I snorted involuntarily, earning a backwards glance from Glenroy that was filled with obvious loathing and a threat of punishment if I continued to show disrespect.

  “I’m not on good terms with the Gods.” With a shrug I ignored the Blade’s disapproving glance and cast my eyes through the shadows in front of us, closing one eye to preserve what little night vision I had left. “I doubt I would’ve found myself in such a position if it was otherwise.”

  “How many have found themselves considering the same thing I wonder?” Despite the way that neither of his surviving bodyguards trusted me they allowed me to walk by his side, trusting in their skills to be able to cut me down before I could doing anything to their charge. There was a faint grin on his face as I glanced between him and Baurus following closely behind. “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…”

  His voice trailed off as he lifted his head to the ceiling, staring as though he could see the night sky despite the metres of masonry and soil above us. “The signs I read show the end of my path. My death; a necessary end, will come when it will come.”

  “Aren’t you afraid to die?”

  For the first time since the cell our eyes met and I couldn’t help but shiver in a way that had nothing to do with the chill of the catacombs. “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.”

  This time the smile on his face was grimmer, his eyes seemingly shrinking into his head and his shoulders slumping with the full weight of his age. “I go now to my grave. A tongue shriller than all the music calls me. You shall follow me yet for a while, then we must part.”

  I found myself lost for words, moving through the wider expanse alongside the Emperor and between his loyal guards. There was nothing moving within the area other than ourselves, our footfalls lifting tiny swirls of dust with every step. I couldn’t help but think that a combination of old age and grief had addled the Emperor’s wits, but he was so sure, so full of conviction that it was hard not to hold onto every word he said. Believing that I had been spared was one thing, but I wasn’t in the state of mind to believe I was free until I felt the sun on my face and the wind on my skin.

  Continuing in silence we made our way further into the undercity, passing through halls and passages that had long since been without the presence of mortals. From room to passage to rooms we passed through the ancient crumbling depths of the Imperial City and while I was hopelessly lost the two Blades at least knew exactly where they were heading. Unfortunately it seemed so did their enemies as we found ourselves facing an ancient metal portcullis that had been barred and chained with fresh looking steel padlocks linking it all together.

  At the sight of it, Glenroy showed his displeasure in a way we had all considered. As the echo of his boot smashing into the bars and chains died away he swore forcefully under his breath.

  “What about that side passage back there?” Baurus gestured to the darkened hallway a dozen meters further down the passage.

  In the depths there was an echo, a reverberation that plucked at the edges of our senses and almost as a single individual we all turned and shared glances. While faint, the sound of metal on metal and hurried footsteps began growing noticeably by the second.

  “Worth a try!” Glenroy snarled, dropping his torch to the floor and tearing his Katana free. The first sign of nervousness from the Emperor’s bodyguard was the way how he tested the edge of his sword with a gloved thumb.

  With Baurus leading the way, and Glenroy and I following closely behind the Emperor we moved through the doorway. The echoes were growing with every second and my new gladius was in hand without even realising that I had drawn the blade. We barely even made it more than a dozen metres down the passage before we came to a shuddering halt, seeing Baurus’ despondent expression as he shrugged at the tiny space we occupied. It was tiny, barely enough space inside the L shaped room to swing a sword. It was a dead end, both figuratively and literally.

  Cries of impending murder and further bloodletting echoed like the braying of hunting dogs as more assassins followed in our footsteps. The silence that had almost been deafening in our travel was now nothing more than a wish.

  “What’s your call sir?” asked Baurus, gripping his katana tightly and leaning into the passage at the approaching enemies.

  Glenroy paused, looking around the tiny room for a moment before looking directly at me. “Wait here with the Emperor,” he spat, pointing to the floor with his sword and rolling the muscles of his neck under the splint mail gorget. “Guard him with your life.”

  The sudden responsibility hit me like a charging orc and I nodded, struggling to keep the tremor out of my sword arm. For his part, The Emperor moved across to the far end of the room, leaning against the wall and feeling the exertion finally catch up to him as his Bodyguards rushed down the passage.

  Screams wracked the catacombs, broken by the sounds of metal on metal and the softer thunks of blades cutting deeply into flesh. Despite the level of fear that was threatening to consume me, I felt strangely at peace as I remembered of the numerous times I had faced similar situations over the years. Standing in the depths of the Imperial City, dressed in rags and standing between the Emperor and a horde of baying assassins was a far cry from hunting Ashlander insurgents or slaughtering Corpus beasts. The strange familiarity of standing firm and preparing to do my duty was a comfort at least, and compared to the fate that awaited me only hours before I felt glad that if I was to die I would die on my feet with a weapon in hand. Especailly compared to the alternative of hanging with piss streaming down my legs.

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  “My guards are strong and true,” came the voice behind me, and I glanced back to the Emperor who looked exhausted in the flickering torchlight. “but even the might of the Blades cannot stand against the power that rises to destroy us.”

  “None will get past me while I’m breathing Sire.” I replied, feeling the tension building in my shoulders and muscles for the expected killing.

  The Emperor shook his head sadly. “The Prince of Destruction awakes, born anew in blood and fire. These cutthroats are but his mortal pawns.”

  In short steps he moved closer, lifting the giant gemstone amulet from around his neck and holding it out for me. “Take my Amulet. Give it to Jauffre. I have a secret son, and Jauffre alone knows where to find him. Find the last of my blood, and close shut the marble jaws of Oblivion.”

  Questions filled my mind, tumbling over themselves in the effort to make their way to my mouth and be voiced. I stood there in shock, staring at the Amulet as though it was a venomous reptile and not quite being able to bring myself to grab it from his hands. The loud, ear piecing shriek of someone dying horribly from the passage broke my mental stalemate, and to both the Emperor’s and my own surprise one of the armoured forms of the Assassins rounded the corner drenched in gore.

  He had managed to fight his way past the Blades, but looked like he had gone through Oblivion to do so. One arm dangled nerveless by his side, drenched in gore that was entirely his own. A great chunk of armour, robe and flesh had been hewn from his shoulder and revealed the gleaming white of bone amidst the red-black of his conjured armour. His other hand gripped a wickedly curved blade, forged in the rough shape of a katana but not of any design made by mortal hands. It was longer than my solid, dependable gladius with its design seated in the history of the Empire but I felt confident in my chances. Especially when faced with a wounded foe.

  The screaming from the passage was deafening as I threw myself at the wounded assassin, watching as he drew his arm up high over the shoulder and swung with all his might. His blade was nearly a full metre in length and it made a keening sound as it sliced through the air towards me. I didn’t even bother ducking or blocking the blade, watching with grim satisfaction as his lack of skill imbedded the sword tip into the ceiling and jarred his entire arm.

  The sudden fear in the assassin’s eyes was clear even under the mask and hood of his conjured armour. With me rushing him, he tried to drag the sword from where the ancient marble had grasped it but failing to pull it free in time. Stabbing forward with years of practice and training, I rolled my wrist and arm into the motion, the tip of the gladius snaking out and spearing the assassin right in the throat. The razored tip of the blade made a mockery of the assassin’s conjured plate, spearing through the metal and flesh underneath with little resistance. While not an instantly fatal strike, there was little for him to do but release his grip on the sword, grasp at his throat and vainly attempt to stem the flow gushing from between his fingers.

  Behind him the passageway was full of the dead and dying. One of the Blades was fending off several of the assassins with a skill I had never seen, but his comrade was on his back. Sprawled out on the ancient masonry, he was the source of the terrible screaming as he went about dying messily. Several of the assassins surrounded him while the others fought on, swords and daggers rising and falling into the Blade’s broken armour and body. even as they cut the life from him and the grip on his sword wavered, he managed to jam his thumbs into a shrieking assassin’s eyes who had lost his mask in the wild melee. Both his and the assassin were locked together as the others hacked and stabbed in gouts of blood and gore, and I ripped my own sword away as my foe slapped wetly onto his face.

  Before I charge to the surviving Blade’s aid, motion in the corner of my eye stopped me in place. Somehow, in the darkness of the room another of the armoured assassins had appeared, leaping from an alcove behind the Emperor. Black-red and gleaming like the carapace of a beetle, an arm wrapped around the Emperor, pulling him back into the assassin’s embrace.

  Old man stiffened and arched his back away from the assassin and the cold intrusion of the blade in his vitals. Even as I tried desperately to cross the space between us I could see the two of them twitching as the killer stabbed the Emperor repeatedly in the back.

  “Stranger.” The cowled and masked Assassin laughed as his blade tasted the blood of the Septim dynasty. “You chose a bad da-”

  Whatever words he had for me died with him as I lunged, putting the full weight of my body into a blow and almost leaping across the remaining distance between us. Twisting my hips and thrusting my sword forward, I used every ounce of my strength in an arm grown strong and muscular from years of using a longbow. The strike was perfect, moving faster than the assassin could react and punching through the obsidian mask like paper. Coated in the blood of the first assassin, the edge of the gladius came within a finger’s breadth of the Emperor’s right ear, rocking the killer’s head back as though punched. As they both fell backwards the entire length of the sword had sliced through teeth, gums, tongue and throat to erupt from the back of his skull. The force of my charge had been so complete and forceful that his front teeth were shattered on the hilt.

  The assassin fell backward, his dagger falling to the floor wet with the Emperor’s blood. He was dead before he even hit the floor and the hilt of the sword jutted from the man’s mouth like an obscene metal tongue when the armour sloughed away. Unfortunately, the Emperor’s mortality was not far behind. Falling with the dead weight of the Assassin at his back the three of us were left sprawled bloodily across the floor. I had seen enough mortal injuries to know that the knife had punctured a lung and had sliced arteries around his heart. Even if it hadn’t been a mortal wound, his advanced age meant that the shock alone was enough to kill him.

  An apology tried to rise itself to be heard but I couldn’t make my mouth preform the actions, staring into the Emperor’s face as it went white and the eyes started to turn glassy. He knew death’s approach with greater certainty than what I did. Blood leaked from the corners of his mouth as the blood in his lungs made itself felt, but it did little to stop him from raising a hand and slapping it to my chest with the last of the strength that he could muster.

  The life leeched away from his body as he died in my arms. Soon, he too began to cool like the dozen or more corpses scattered between us and my pitiful cell. It all felt like a complete waste and for several seconds I knelt there, feeling the lightness of the wrinkled hand pressed to my chest and the solid lump of jewellery held tightly within.

  The fighting died off in the passage behind me, and I couldn’t bring myself to turn around to face what I expected to be my death. Even the anguished sob and the sudden clatter of dropped metal wasn’t enough for me to turn away from the dead Emperor.

  Bareheaded and drenched in gore, Baurus dropped to his knees beside me. If it wasn’t for the tiny trickles of blood from the corners of his mouth and the glassy eyes that stared into infinity, it would’ve been easy to mistake the aged man for merely sleeping.

  “We’ve failed...” Every word was torn from the depths of his chest and it was all he could do not to collapse with the weight of his despair. “I’ve…. Failed….”

  Neither of us spoke, my hand moving over the Emperor’s blank features as I carefully closed the eyes of the dead man. Despite the grip of death and the slackness of the muscles, I had to lower the Emperor’s hand from where it had been pressed into my sternum.

  The young Blade beside me watched as I went about providing the dead ruler with as much dignity as I could afford. The crushing sensation of failure was hard to stomach for either of us, and Baurus sucked in several gasping lungful’s of air. “The Blades were sworn to protect the Emperor, and now he and all his heirs are dead.”

  For a moment he simply stared at the corpse, the Emperor laying on his back in all of his finery that was now ruined by the expanding pool of blood. The young Blade was quiet, but the sudden tenseness that filled him was obvious to even a blind man as he reached forward and pressed his hand into the Emperor’s chest.

  “The Amulet? Where’s the Amulet of Kings?”

  “I have it.” I said simply, holding it by its gold chain and staring at the massive central jewel as I tried to comprehend all that had happened. “He gave it to me...”

  The silence dragged on as he searched my face for any trace of falsehood. “Strange.” The whisper seemed to echo in the confines of the room as he turned back to the corpse. “He saw something in you. Trusted you.”

  Unsteadily he rose to his feet but he gripped my offered hand as I hauled him up. Groaning as he started feeling his muscles cramp he continued looking me dead in the eye. “They say it’s the Dragon Blood that flows through the veins of every Septim; they see more than lesser men.”

  “Why would he give such a thing to me?” I looked over the amulet, feeling its impressive weight. Between the gold and the series of gems it was almost a kilogram and infinitely priceless.

  With a dark chuckle he wiped his katana clean on the robes of the first assassin I had killed before sheathing it at his side. “The Amulet of Kings is a sacred symbol of the Empire. Most people think of the Red Dragon Crown, but that's just jewellery.” A finger stabbed at the amulet dangling from my grasp. “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.”

  I shrugged. “He said I must take it to Jauffre.”

  “Jauffre?” Puzzlement and suspicion warred for a moment in his eyes. “He said that? Why?”

  “There’s another heir, and apparently Jauffre knows where to find him.”

  “Nothing I’ve ever heard about,” Baurus chewed his lip and wiped his face with the back of his hand. It did nothing more than wipe more blood across his features already heavily streaked in gore. “but Jauffre would be the one to know. He’s the Grandmaster of my Order, although you would not think so to meet him.”

  Moving over to the corpses I quickly patted them down for anything that might have been of use. Despite wearing rags I was not about to strip a corpse, especially how all of the assassins had been wearing the same blood coloured robes like some kind of uniform. It didn’t stop me from pulling rings and other tiny trinkets from their bodies though.

  “Why is that?” I asked, slipping a pair of rings over my fingers due to my lack of pockets.

  The Blade laughed, but there was little humour in it. “He lives quietly as a monk at Weynon Priory, just outside the City of Chorrol.”

  “That’s what? Two or three days from here?”

  Baurus nodded at my question “More like four. Especially on foot.”

  A glance around the room showed little, except for the fact that one of the alcoves that had been nothing but solid stone when we had first entered was now a gaping hole. “I’ll need to get out of here first.”

  “Glad to see that you are at least taking this seriously.” He sighed loudly and ran his blood streaked hands through his hair. The clotting liquid stuck to the closely cropped hair that was now plastered to his skull with more than just sweat. “I know that this is a lot to take in all at once, but trust me when I say I know how it feels. No one will be more surprised than me that I’m sending an escaped prisoner off with the Amulet of Kings!” he paused for a moment, staring around himself with the beginnings of tears in his eyes. He had been one of the few chosen to guard the Emperor, and despite the fact he was the last of the trio that had entered my cell I realised that he was younger than what I was. “but… the Emperor trusted you for a reason, and I trust the Emperor.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better.” I admitted, not taking my gaze of the Amulet as I motioned to him and the carnage around us. “But what about you? What will you do?”

  “I… I’ll stay here to guard the Emperor’s body, and make sure no one follows you.”

  A tiny pouch with a tied string was pulled from his belt and he gave it to me while pointing to the hole. “That has to go somewhere, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it manages to go around that blocked gate. Past that gate is a secret entrance into the sewers.” a scowl tightened his features. “Or it was supposed to be secret…”

  I swore under my breath at the prospect of entering the sewers and felt the weight of the pouch he had given me. It was obviously containing a dozen or more coins. “Sewers… of course.”

  “Not all of our duties are glorious.” He grimaced as I put my boot on the successful Assassin’s shoulder and heaved back on the hilt of the gladius, freeing it from the dead man’s mouth in a wash of blood. “A merry jaunt through a cesspit isn’t going to be the worst you would have faced.”

  Looking at the way he had pointed to the Legion brand on my shoulder I nodded. “Seven years in the 14th.”

  “Good. Good…” The young Blade was obviously feeling better that the Amulet was in the hands of a soldier rather than some damn bard or acrobat. “In that case a few rats and goblins won’t give you any trouble.”

  “Goblins? Suppose it’s better than corpus creatures at least.” I offered my hand to him, seeing how both of us were splattered with blood to the elbow. “I’m Kaius by the way.”

  His hand gripped mine and it felt like I was shaking hands with a dwemer centurion. He might have been young but he was strong. “Baurus.” Nodding to the hole he gave my hand a quick squeeze and let go. “You better get out of here. There’s no telling who will come first; the Blades or more assassins.”

  “I understand, and I don’t feel like being put back in a cell.” Pausing only briefly in the threshold of the passage I looked back at him and gave a grim smile.

  “May Talos guide you.” he said as I ducked through the hole.

  In the darkness and with the Amulet of Kings gripped tightly in the palm of my hand I couldn’t help but shiver. “I’m going to need as much help as I can get.” I said to the encroaching shadows, trying to shake away the building urge to lick the blood from my arms.

  Quickducklings for helping me out and giving me a leg up.