A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back to the story! I'm so sorry that I have been absent for so long, but life just has a habit of getting in the way. However, little under a month after my last update, I am back with the newest chapter! Thank you to the multiple people who followed and favourited the story, I really appreciate it and I hope you continue to enjoy.

haljordan123: Glad I didn't make it boring, that's a bonus. As for Achilles...well, you'll have to wait and see... :P

BMS: Cheers, glad you liked it.

Guest: Varsa's backstory is coming, we'll get there sooner rather than later. As for the Daedric Princes, I've decided on a few...

hentaigoblin: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you're enjoying so far. I always thought it was better to do an ensemble than a singular hero, despite the fact that our main protagonist takes all the glory :D.

Once again, thank you everyone who has reviewed so far. It really helps. Please, continue to review.

CHAPTER TWENTY

The Hunt Begins

In the last few days in which he had finally allowed himself to notice, the cold, winter snow had truly begun to fall upon the grounds of Cloud Ruler Temple. The middle of Frostfall being marked by ice flakes falling from the sky to coat the ground. In any other situation, Jauffre would be pleased to see such a thing, for he would normally sit down and watch the small morning snowfall and bask in the beauty of nature. It was one of the reasons that had dragged him back into staying at Cloud Ruler Temple, one of the many reasons that had caused him to leave Weynon Priory behind and return to an active role as the Grandmaster instead of leaving Steffan to contend with the role in his absence, among other things. No, he knew that he needed to come back at this time. Steffan had done an admirable job, far better than Jauffre had ever expected him to do when he decided that it was time for his second-in-command to take full control. However, in this current situation Jauffre knew that it was time for him to step back into the fold and lead once more. He knew that the Blades needed their real leader, their true Grandmaster, during a time where the unthinkable had happened, in the time where there was no Emperor to defend.

There hadn't been a single moment where he did not think of the events of that day, of what had happened at Weynon Priory, however. The day that he personally experienced the true brutality and indiscriminate violence that had characterized the Mythic Dawn thus far. To murder the Emperor of the Septim Empire was one thing, to upset the balance of power and send the entire governmental system into uproar showed that these people were little more than terrorists, but to target an innocent priory outside a main city that was populated by monks who wanted nothing more than to just simply live their lives in devotion to the Divine of their choice simply because they stored a relic that was of us to them was just brutal and unnecessarily disgusting. It characterized them as monsters in Jauffre's eyes, nothing more and nothing less. Inhuman monsters that were capable of taking life without mercy or remorse, no longer deserving to walk amongst the people of Tamriel, lurking like wolves among the sheep whilst they waited for their next chance to cause chaos.

Jauffre, like many of those who had suffered throughout this vile crisis and also felt the brutality of the Mythic Dawn, remembered the faces of those he had lost and the pain that he had been through to get to his current situation. He saw Prior Maborel whenever he closed his eyes, the sight of his rigid corpse lying in a pool of his own blood burned into the insides of his eyelids to be seen without fail every time. Maborel had just been a simple monk, just an elderly man who wanted nothing more than to spend the waning years of his life in service to Talos and the religion that revolved around him. Spending time in prayer and seclusion was enough for him, content to end his days by going to sleep and never waking up again. In fact, Jauffre vividly remembered that Prior Maborel had repeatedly instructed both Jauffre and Piner that he would not get involved in the affairs of the Blades whenever that they would crop up, for that was not what he had arrived at Weynon Priory to do. Little did any of them know that at the very end, it would be the affairs of the Blades that he had tried so desperately to avoid that would ultimately bring about his end.

However, the changing of the months and the beginning of the winter was generally unnoticed by the members of the Blades that lived there. In fact, any mention of the subject fell upon deaf ears, especially when put against the more important agendas hurtling around the Temple at the current time. Everyone apart from Jauffre seemed to have concerned themselves more with their own safety and the defence of both Martin and Cloud Ruler Temple itself, rather than the beauty of nature that surrounded them, the beauty that they would be able to see and appreciate if they just stopped for a mere moment and allowed themselves to take a small breath. Watching everyone running around, Jauffre couldn't help but feel responsible for the amount of action that the Blades were now having to take in order to protect Martin and the rest of the Temple. Ever since the revelation that the Mythic Dawn had been spying upon Cloud Ruler had turned out to be true, everyone seemed to have kickstarted themselves into another gear.

At Steffan's behest and Martin's approval, Jauffre had seen fit to reorganize the duties of the Blades to better suit the current crisis that they had so desperately found themselves in. With an immense threat now looming over both Bruma and Cloud Ruler Temple, Jauffre knew that guard duties had to be doubled and extended longer than what they currently were. In the attempt that the Dawn initiated their first attack on Bruma, Jauffre knew that he had taken the appropriate precautions to make sure that the Blades could head down to Bruma in order to properly defend it, whilst also having enough guards back at the Temple in order to successfully man the defences in the case of a significant Mythic Dawn counterattack. Every Blades Grandmaster of Cyrodiil that had existed since the reorganization of the Akaviri Dragonguard knew the correct way to defend Cloud Ruler Temple from outside threats. The fortress had been designed by the Dragonguard's architects to be quite literally impregnable from the outside, with the walls being smoothed and curved inwards to make sure climbing was a difficult feat to accomplish and the main doors being the only accessible way into the Temple, thus allowing it to be the main choke point for the Blades to defend.

Whilst he knew that the Blades could effectively defend the Temple from the combined forces of the Mythic Dawn or whatever mortal attempts that Mankar Camoran and Mehrunes Dagon would be able to throw at them, Jauffre still felt unsure about the power of the daedric forces that the enemy had at their disposal. From what he had been informed of them by Cassian, Martin and Varsa, respectively, Jauffre knew that he had reason to be afraid of what was to come from them. These were creatures from another realm, from a dimension that had only been accessed by mages who summon said creatures in controlled environments and with specific safeguards. These creatures, these daedra, were ravenous and uncontrollable in nature, released upon Tamriel to do as much damage and cause as much chaos as they could possible do in their lifetimes. If that chaos was released upon Cloud Ruler Temple, Jauffre didn't know whether or not his men had enough numbers or even firepower to hold out and emerge victorious from that battle.

In truth, some of the things that Jauffre had been forewarned about by the three men that had seen the destructive force of the daedra up close and personal sent a cold shiver down Jauffre's spine. Martin had spoken, in depth, about the raw destructive power of the being that he had started to call 'the daedric siege engine'. If what Martin had told him was completely true, and Jauffre knew that Martin had no reason to lie or embellish about what he had seen during the razing of Kvatch, then he did not know whether or not Cloud Ruler Temple would be able to withstand the power that the siege engine would be able to bring down upon them. The machine had crawled upon and crushed the ancient stone walls of Kvatch like they were nothing, reducing the walls that had protected the City of the Wolf for centuries to nothing but rubble in a matter of minutes. If it had enough strength and power to do just that, Jauffre was afraid to see what it could do to a much smaller target like Cloud Ruler. Of course, he and the rest of the Blades would defend the Temple until their very last breaths, but it still made Jauffre feel uneasy about their chances.

Walking up the stairs of the west wing, Jauffre knew what he had to do next. It would be completely and utterly down to him now, for he knew that he would be the one making the major decisions that affected them. Cassian and his companions had left for the Imperial City for the foreseeable future, promising to keep in constant contact whenever possible through letters, whilst Martin was too busy deciphering the Mysterium Xarxes in order to simply continue with his studies on how to truly be the Emperor. It all made Jauffre simply have to step back and sigh heavily. When he looked at Martin, he didn't know whether or not he saw someone that could be Emperor, or if he saw a man who had been ripped from what he had always know and told that he needed to learn how to be someone different. Sure, he was doing the best that he could in the situation, but whether or not Martin the priest could become Martin Septim I, Emperor of the Septim Empire was another thing entirely. There was no more room for carelessness and errors now, not with so much at stake. Martin needed to become the Emperor but needed to do so in a way that would not make him afraid and seem vulnerable to the vultures that existed within the Elder Council.

Jauffre had watched with pride during the days that he served as Captain of Uriel's bodyguard as his Emperor deflected the questions and arguments of said vultures with immense dignity and pride that he would not find elsewhere. He hoped that Martin would be able to do the same thing as his father but did not have the same hopes. Uriel had been born during the long reign of his father, Pelagius IV, and had watched his father bring the entire Empire closer to peace than it ever had been before. Uriel had been tutored by both his father and the advisors who had lived through both the reigns of Pelagius and Uriel's own great-aunt Empress Morihatha to become one of the more successful Emperors that the people of the Septim Empire had ever seen before.

Uriel commanded respect and honour like no one that Jauffre had ever seen before, a fierce diplomat and a man with a true cunning mind hidden behind eyes that told no lies. They had always said that he had been blessed with Morihatha's diligence, the political skill of his father and the great military prowess of his great-grandfather, but none of that seemed to have mattered in the grand scheme of things. Now, with the Empire on the verge of collapse, it would come down to one lowly priest who hadn't know about his heritage until a few months ago, one man who had been trained by his bodyguards and simple books from a library. None of them knew how to properly run an Empire, they were soldiers and agents of the people who truly did have the political clout and ability to decide and take action on the things that had to be done. Uriel decided what needed to be done and Jauffre decided who would swing the sword. That was always the way things had been. Now, it felt like Jauffre had to play both roles and advise his good friend's son on how to take up his predecessor's role, and Jauffre honestly had no clue if he was teaching him well enough.

Nevertheless, those skills and all that training that his father had been blessed with could not beat the cold steel of an assassin's blade, the same blade that had plunged the Empire into chaos and destruction no one had ever seen before. If Martin was the one that could save the Empire from the daedric threat that loomed over it, Jauffre was becoming increasingly worried about how and when exactly that would come about. Martin was far from ready to be Emperor, but none of that seemed to matter to the world that was rapidly decaying into fire and flames all around them. Reports had been coming in repeatedly from Blades agents across the continents, all of them telling the same things about the pure devastation that was going on around them. The daedra had gone as far as to savage and raze the sacred Ashlander meeting ground of Ald'ruhn, despite the fact that even the once-dead Emperor Crab Skar had been reawakened to defend the land on which its very shell had been used to create a city which the Ashlander called sacred. If the very crab that's shell was used to create the sacred ground of Ald'ruhn was able to be handedly defeated by the agents of the Mythic Dawn and the daedric companions, then Jauffre didn't know how to feel.

Nothing but defeats and utter destruction seemed to be coming in from all sides. High Rock and Hammerfell were in uproar trying to deal with both the daedric threat and their own political problems, as well as increasing daedric resistance being noted from the Summerset Isles by the agents stationed there. Coupled with the reports that Skyrim had invaded Morrowind and attacked House Redoran and the entire silence that had suddenly fallen over all of the Blades agents in the Black Marsh outskirts, it all made Jauffre feel quite uneasy about the situation the world found itself in. The entire situation with the Argonians troubled Jauffre the most, however. He had heard numerous rumours and received countless messages about the apparent recalling of Argonians from all across Tamriel, with countless Black Marsh natives returning back towards the inland swamps with great haste. Whatever the Argonians seemed to be up to, it didn't bode well for the rest of Tamriel. Jauffre's mind flickered to all sorts of conclusions, but none of them seemed to sit well with him. He didn't think it would be possible for all Argonians to return home from wherever they lived to the native marshes of which they had been born, unless they were being called to defend that said homeland. Whether the daedra considered the Black Marsh a notable threat or not, it seemed that the people of the Black Marsh had decided that they needed to return to protect their home and their 'hist trees', as Jauffre had been told they were called, more than any other place that they called home.

The whole world was on the brink of crumbling back down into the time before Tiber Septim's conquest, back when he united the nations under his own banner and created the Septim Empire that had ruled over Tamriel since. There had been pockets of resistance ever since Jagar Tharn had taken control of the Empire, but now it seemed that the provinces had started to become petty kingdoms all of their own. Even amidst the growing threat that loomed before them, even as their villages burned and their people were slaughtered by a threat that came from another realm, these kingdoms saw fit to invade their rivals and put them to the sword or simply close off itself into their own province and recall all of their native species in an effort to simply shut out the outside world. For years, Jauffre had served as Uriel's spymaster, ever since he had retired from his Emperor's service as the captain of his personal guard, but in all that time he had not seen such a chaotic situation as the one that they found themselves in now. Tensions had risen to boiling points for many nations, with one spark being needed as to set off the entire powder keg.

Everywhere across Tamriel seemed to be a target for these daedric hordes, which meant absolutely nowhere was safe for nobody. The Blades themselves, the secret protectors of the entire Empire, were undermanned, underarmed and leaderless in the time that they needed them most. A shell of their former selves, broken and soulless. Receiving countless reports about attacks on Blades strongholds and hearing nothing from certain Blades agents over long periods of time further sent Jauffre into a spell of discontent and anxious thought. Here they were, slowly and steadily being taken down by an enemy that knew more about them. Even with their main headquarters in Cyrodiil being taken down and destroyed by Cassian and Thalia, the rats seemed to have scurried off and blended into regular society to further their plans in secret. No, they needed an Emperor to guide them, a brave and stalwart leader that could stand up and tell them what they needed to do and how to act in the crisis that suddenly stood before them.

Reaching the top level of the west wing, Jauffre ran his hands down his wrinkled face and breathed out heavily. He could feel everything that was going on around him finally beginning to take its toll. Years ago, he had served with dignity and pride, with devout loyalty for both the Emperor and the Empire of which he ruled over. Now, he was little more than an old man doing his best to hold together an organization that did not knew where to turn next. They had an Emperor and a quest, sure, but none of them knew how to act. He could feel the entire situation getting the better of him, the wear and tear of the situation slowly beginning to creep up and swallow him whole. He needed a new perspective on the entire crisis, to hear at least some form of success over their enemies. He had sat through and heard about so much defeat and destruction, so much pain and loss that it made it hard to carry on and continue with the hope that they could win and weather the storm.

Despite this, Jauffre knew that he had to continue with what he had been doing and simply keep on moving, for both the sake of the Empire's defenceless citizens and the people that he had learned to call both his friends and his comrades-in-arms over the many decades he had spent on Nirn. It was his job to tutor Martin and teach him all that he needed to know the best he could, even if he wasn't as good at it as he first remembered he was. Besides, he knew that he would sleep when he was either dead or when the war was over, on that moment when the dust settled, and he would be able to sit back and rest once more. He didn't know what would happen when all of this was over, but he did know that the world would forever be changed and shaken by what had happened thus far. Jauffre didn't want to dwell on what had happened but couldn't help his mind continually moving back to the pure amount of chaos that he had seen during this time. It was unrivalled by everything that had come before it, completely paramount over the rest of the tribulations that had happened within Emperor Uriel Septim's reign. He had lived through many events, from the end of Jagar Tharn's ten-year charade as the Emperor to the Warp in the West itself, but Jauffre had never seen things get as bad as what they were now.

Nodding to the Blade that Captain Steffan had stationed outside the west wing's upper bedrooms, specifically a Blade called Cyrus who Jauffre had known for quite a while, Jauffre pulled back the panel that served as the door to the Grandmaster's quarters and headed inside, shutting the panel behind him with a soft, sliding sound. Cyrus had served within the grounds of Cloud Ruler Temple almost as long as Jauffre could remember, having already existed as a staple within the walls back when Jauffre had been stationed there after being restationed from Emperor Uriel's personal guard. It was men like Cyrus that gave Jauffre hope that there was still an order called the Blades. He was of the old guard, just like Jauffre, Steffan and countless others that still existed within the world. Cyrus, like him, had stood and endured the test of time that would weather and weaken so many others like them and now they stood strong to continue serving. They had served Emperor Uriel with honour and distinction during the latter part of his sixty-five-year reign and they would serve his son, Emperor Martin Septim, with the same honour and distinction they had showed his father. It would be tough on them, and it would hurt and tire them far more than previous events ever had, but they would do it because it was their duty as the protectors of the realm.

Sitting down at the small table that now served as his writing desk, albeit much smaller and far less lavish than the one he had owned back at Weynon Priory, Jauffre simply sat and pondered on what he had to do next. He knew that he needed to do something, anything at all in order to get things moving once again. It was one thing that they had sent the Hero of Kvatch and his companions off into the world to find ancient divine artifacts that could somehow help them to open a portal and enter another dimension in order to locate and kill the leader of the Mythic Dawn, but Jauffre needed to find a far more short-term solution to the problems that they were facing. Villages were being pillaged, priories and farmhouses razed with their innocent occupants slaughtered and put to the sword without any mercy or remorse from the demons that were doing it. This was a problem that couldn't be solved by the retrieval of mystical artifacts or the deciphering of a book. It needed men, weapons and far more logical answers in order to be solved.

They needed help, they needed aid from elsewhere. There was nothing else that could be done. Jauffre, for the first time ever, felt trapped within the walls of Cloud Ruler Temple. It no longer felt like it used to do, instead beginning to feel like a position that had to be held instead of just another stronghold that was owned and ran by the Blades. He didn't know where else to turn, but he knew that they had to do something more than just sit around and wait for the enemy to come upon them. Knowing that he couldn't do it alone, Jauffre steeled himself for what was to come, stopping his trembling hands, and snatched forth a piece of rolled-up parchment that had been sitting at the corner of the table, just ready and waiting to be used like Jauffre was about to do. The only problem was that Jauffre didn't know where to turn for that help. The provinces were no shape, both militarily or politically, to form together and combat this threat themselves. No matter how he could turn to, he knew that none of his messages or letter would gain any heed or recognition by the royal dynasties.

No, Jauffre knew that he needed to look further inwards in order to gain support for Cloud Ruler Temple and the rest of the Blades agents in Cyrodiil. The provinces would be of no help, but Jauffre knew that he was the Grandmaster of the Blades, just like The Great Knight before him prior to his untimely death a few years after the Warp in the West. For fourteen years, Jauffre had been at the top of the entire organization and done whatever he could to help Uriel Septim. But now, he knew that he had to recall all those that he could in order to help protect the new Emperor. The only problem he knew of was doing his best to find these agents. All of the men and women that he and Uriel had sent out over the years had managed to burrow themselves deep into their respective provinces. Now, with chaos and pillaging all around them, it made it even harder to contact them.

Sitting back with his head in his hands, Jauffre eventually relented and began to scribble away at the parchment with his ink-tipped quill. He knew who he had to contact, the names of the people he trusted most within the organization upon the tip of his tongue but knew that contacting them would be the hardest part of all. Many of the Blades' best agents had gone underground following notable events, with Caius Cosades being relocated to Kragenmoor, on the Cyrodiil/Morrowind border, following his role in the Nerevarine Prophecies and Lady Brisienna Magnessen going into hiding following the Warp in the West, with her role in the events that unfolded within the Iliac Bay making her into an enemy of King Gothryd of Daggerfall in the process. Nevertheless, Jauffre took a deep breath, relaxed his shoulders the best that he could and proceeded to get comfortable within his chair.

He knew that it was going to be a long night for him, but a worthwhile one at that. For by the time that the sun rose they would know if they were united…or if they were alone.

The night sky looked particularly different at this time of night. Staring up at the night sky above her, Thalia couldn't help but smile at what she was seeing before her. The stars above her twinkled in the blackness of the midnight, diamonds on the blackened canvas that hung above the trees that surrounded her and the campsite that sat beside her. Perched upon a large boulder just within the forest that sat beside the Silver Road, heading south towards their final destination of the Imperial City. She knew that it would not take them long to get there, just probably another half-day or so, but also knew that they needed to get themselves acclimatized to traveling on the road once again. They knew that they were close towards the break off between the Silver and Orange roads, as Cassian had told her, but Thalia knew from the way she had arrived that they needed to continue due south.

Back when she had originally decided that she wished to travel with Cassian, Thalia had thought that she would be getting a chance to see the world that she had missed by growing up an orphan within the clean white walls of the Imperial City. She thought she would see the sights of the world, travel to the cities that she had only heard about in books or from travellers who had been there themselves. She had thought about doing the things that others only dreamed about, such as visiting all of the wayshrines that she had heard dotted the province, or perhaps visit some of the landmarks that the citizens of the other cities would tell her would be of interest to her. What she had found herself embroiled in instead was not what she originally thought she would be doing.

Even though she had simply wanted to spend her time adventuring by visiting cities and embracing the cultures of the other citizens of the province, she had instead found herself hiding in plain sight within the halls of those who had killed the Emperor, doing her best to not arouse suspicion whilst her companion did his best to retrieve the Amulet that she knew fully well was the sacred symbol of the Empire and of the Septims as a whole. Despite wanting to visit the notable landmarks of the world, Thalia had spent most of her time thus far out of the Imperial City stuck behind the walls of the impregnable stronghold that belonged to the Emperor's valiant bodyguards, protecting the one man that she had been led to believe was the only remaining heir to the throne.

It was not the way that she had expected to spend her newfound freedom but knew that she wanted to do it nonetheless. Thalia had never been the greatest believer in fate, nor had she ever placed any considerable faith in the Nine Divines that supposedly watched over everyone that existed within the provinces, but she could not deny that some force had chosen her to take this path. She knew that it was completely and utterly beyond coincidence that the person she had both decided to pickpocket and accompany on his travels was the same man that had walked through the fire and the flames to free Kvatch from the enemy that now plagued the world. Thalia had never been that lucky, having lived in absolute poverty for the entirety of her life. To think that the one person she had chosen to pickpocket would be the one to completely and utterly turn her life on its head.

Nevertheless, she knew that she was in it for the long run. She wasn't going to back out now and simply go and do other things, not when she now knew what was at stake. There were people out there, innocent people who decided that they wanted to live on their own terms and wanted to spend their time outside the walls of a city, being pillaged and slaughtered by demons that never should have been able to enter the world in the first place. Thalia knew that it would only be a matter of time before these demons did the same to the cities, just like they had done when they made their statement at Kvatch. Thus, she knew that it would be up to herself, Cassian and Varsa to make the difference and do whatever they could to find out what they needed to know and get these so-called daedric artifacts. Where they would get them, on the other hand, Thalia didn't know. It was one thing to say that they would go out and find these daedric artifacts, but it was a completely other thing to actually go out and do it to the best of their abilities. As far as Thalia knew, they were now meddling in the affairs of things that regular people never delved into.

Turning around on the boulder she was perched upon, Thalia looked upon the makeshift camp that they had set up in the forest and rubbed her hands against the warm air that had started to drift from the campfire in her direction. Looking upon what everyone seemed to be doing, Thalia couldn't help but chuckle at the rag-tag little group that they had somehow manage to construct amongst themselves. A former Imperial legionnaire turned stalwart knight of the realm, a backwoodsman turned loyal spy of the Empire and a thief wishing for adventure, fame and glory. They were three people who would never normally have ever come together to do anything, but all of them knew that they had to in order to effectively defend against what was coming their way. It was surprising, to Thalia at least, just how well the three of them seemed to get along with one another. She had not witnessed any particular squabbles or disagreements between any of them whilst she had been around, which leant closer, in her mind, to the particular secrets each one of them kept from one another. With considerable distance and a collective goal, perhaps there didn't need to be a personal relationship, just a working one.

Despite the obvious secrets that were being kept by each person in the group, Thalia knew fully well that she would rather not do this with anyone else but these two. They had proven themselves time and time again in the short time that she had known them, made her feel welcome when she was just an outsider and treated her with the utmost respect that she had never been given by those she lived alongside in the Imperial City's waterfront. For the first time in what felt like her entire life, she felt respected by the people that she spent most of her time with. She was no longer looked down upon by those who had managed to gain enough good fortune to be considered as a potential recruit of the Thieves Guild, or by the countless people of higher classes who turned their noses up at her when they walked past her on the streets during their morning walks. Everything about what she now found herself doing was head and shoulders better than what she would originally be doing with her life. She had a purpose now, a goal to complete. That was better than scavenging on the streets in an attempt to survive day after day.

As she drifted off into her thoughts once again, a familiar voice called out to her and seemingly snapped her back into the reality that she had spent the last few minutes roaming further and further away from. "You okay?"

Shaking her head as she seemingly returned to the world around her, Thalia looked up to see Cassian stood before her, standing just in front of the boulder that she was perched on. Although his face was masked mostly by the darkness of the world around them, his voice cut through the silence of the night like a sharp dagger. Ever since she had met Cassian, Thalia was surprised at how commanding and courageous he came across. Even though he had been a commanding officer in the Imperial Legion, he came across to Thalia like he would be able to lead an army against any force that the world could throw at them. It gave her hope that they would be able to do this, for they at least had one person who she believed had the ability to bring people together.

In response, she simply scratched the back of her neck and chuckled, rubbing her eyes with the knuckles of her thumbs. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Moving closer towards the boulder, Cassian folded his arms across his chest and perched himself on the edge of the boulder himself. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing. Just…thinking." Thalia replied, smiling warmly as she shook her head. He seemed particularly interested in her, but she couldn't understand why. She wasn't doing anything interesting whatsoever, just doing her own thing. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I thought that something must have been on your mind, is all." Cassian replied, biting his bottom lip gently with his top front teeth. "You've been staring at that sky for a while."

With a chuckle, Thalia nodded in response and folded one leg over another. It seemed that her daydreaming had been noticed, which leant on the fact that she had obviously been doing it for quite a while. But it didn't matter, they weren't in any rush. The night was long and would be for quite a while, thus they had more than enough time to kill until they got moving once again at sunrise. Besides, they hadn't even eaten yet. Varsa had gone off to hunt for food a couple of hours after they had first set up camp, leaving Cassian to stoke the fire and sit around reading the books he had picked up in the Imperial City the first time around that Thalia had met him, the same ones that he had been sharing with Varsa ever since he had bought them. She wondered what they were about but didn't think or want to breach the subject and ask him.

In fact, she knew she wouldn't enjoy the books because she barely knew how to read herself. Of course, she knew the basics of how to understand the books but didn't have the attention span or didn't ever feel she had the time to simply sit down, fold her legs and flick through the pages of a book. No, Thalia was perfectly happy doing exactly what she found herself doing at the current time, staring up at the stars in the sky and drowning out the rest of the world in order to escape to the vestiges of her own mind. She had done it for years, whenever she felt that things were either getting too stressful or she just had some time to kill, she would simply daydream and let the hours fly by.

"It's just something that I do. It passes the time." Thalia chuckled in response, shrugging her shoulders at the very thought of what she was doing. She didn't really know how to explain what she was doing but did her best nonetheless. "I just sit here and let the world pass by. You learn to do things like that if you want to survive on the Waterfront."

"Thinking about anything in particular?" Cassian asked next, scratching his chin.

Lying down on her back atop the boulder, fully staring at the stars above her through the break in the leaves of the trees, Thalia waited a few moments before she answered, thinking long and hard about what she wanted to say. Did she want to tell him the truth? That she was wondering what exactly they were actually going to do and how far they would have to risk their lives to do it, or would she lie and just think of something on the spot?

"Just wondering about where we go from here." Thalia replied, admitting the truth of what she had stored up inside her head. "It's one thing to say we're going to go off and just find daedric artifacts, but we actually have to find them."

"And find them we will." Cassian replied, a smirk plastered upon his face. "It's only a matter of time before we find what the information we need. This Ontus Vanin will have the knowledge of these artifacts, I know it."

"I admire your optimism." Thalia chuckled, sitting back up and staring out over their camp once more. "One of us needs to have it, at least."

"You can't get anywhere by being a pessimist." Cassian stood up, walking back towards the crackling campfire they had set up. Moving towards the campfire itself, Cassian warmed his hands above the crackling embers and sighed heavily. "Always take the best out of a situation, especially in the dire times we live in nowadays."

Just as Thalia jumped off of the boulder and down to the firm ground underneath, she heard the cracking of what sounded like a fallen branch off to the side of her. Quickly looking off in the direction of the noise, which also gathered the attention of Cassian all the way over near the campfire, they waited a few moments to see what could possibly be coming towards them. Although they did not grab their weapons, Thalia was still unsure about what could be out there in the darkness of the night. They all knew about the dangers of the woods at night, with wolves, bears and countless other feral animals lurking out in the darkness that surrounded them. However, Thalia now also knew about the dangerous creatures that could also be out there, of the daedric creatures that no doubt haunted their surroundings, too. Watching and waiting for a few more moments, Thalia couldn't help but reach for the daggers that she had strapped to her belt. Whatever it was that was out there, it would definitely not take them by surprise.

However, just as the sound of another branch cracked underneath the weight of the being's foot, Thalia stepped forwards to take a closer look. Immediately, she saw a sight that made her chuckle and shake her head at her own stupidity. Strolling through the small break in the trees, Varsa entered into their small campsite from the back and smiled at both of them, two rabbit corpses slung over his shoulder as he made his way towards the fire itself. He had been gone for quite a while, far longer than Cassian and Thalia had expected him to be gone for. However, Thalia narrowed it down to the fact that he had been exploring a larger area than he normally had been when it had just been him and Cassian.

"Why couldn't you just shout?" Cassian asked, shaking his head with a smile.

"Builds tension." Varsa replied, placing the rabbits down beside a small cauldron that they had brought with them on the trek, which they used for cooking stews and other broths that they would eat during their time in the wilderness. However, that duty normally was taken by Varsa due to his expert knowledge on cooking on camping equipment. Both Cassian and Thalia knew that they would have to do it themselves when Varsa decided that he would go on his own to find artifacts, but Cassian knew that he was good enough to take over the duty of cooking. He was in the Imperial Legion, after all, and could take care of himself and others when camping at night. "Better to keep you on your toes all of the time than let something sneak up on you both and take you unawares."

With a shake of his head once more, Cassian seemingly accepted what Varsa had said as he sat down on his own bedroll. Thalia understood what Varsa was talking about, to a certain degree. If they were continually waiting for something to come and sneak up on them, it minimised the chance that they would be taken unawares by a predator. However, it also didn't help the fact that the camp was their place of rest. "Is that all that you found?"

"I set up some traps on the outskirts of the camp." Varsa replied, opening the knapsack near his own bedroll. "Managed to catch those two as I did so."

"Do we have enough?" Cassian asked, looking around the campfire to catch Varsa's gaze.

"I think so." Varsa replied, nodding his head. "We may have to go into our actual supplies for tonight, but we won't starve."

"Good." Cassian nodded back, smiling. "At least we won't starve."

Walking over to join them, Thalia sat down on her own bedroll and folded one leg over the other, warming herself against the fire like the others were doing as well. The cold air of the north had been all over them for days, the snow-covered hills that surrounded Bruma accompanying the icy winds. The sooner that they headed back down towards the mainland and the warmer air and winds that came with it, the sooner that Thalia and the others would be content and comfortable in their situation and living conditions.

"So, anything interesting happen while I was gone?" As he spoke, Varsa reached inside his knapsack and retrieved an apple, before proceeding to bite inside it as he looked upon his two companions. He seemed, at least according to what Thalia could take from his facial features, legitimately interested in what they had to say about what they had been doing.

"Nothing." Thalia replied, shaking her head in response. "We were talking about the plan, to be honest, and how difficult this is going to be."

"Do you think this mage will have the information you need?" Turning to Cassian, Varsa took yet another bite of his apple and looked on, still supposedly interested in what they had to say. It made sense, to a degree. Even though he was going to a completely separate location to retrieve information that could help him in his own efforts to find the daedric artifacts that they were after, it would make sense that he would not want his friends to waste their time on a person that could lead them on a wild goose chase around the province when all hell was breaking loose worldwide.

"I'm sure." Cassian replied, nodding his head. "Jauffre wouldn't have sent us to him if he didn't believe that it was a credible lead."

"Word of mouth can change, depending on who tells the tale." Varsa sighed, chewing on the piece of apple that he had stored behind his right cheek. "Let's hope you're right about him. Talos knows that we're going to need all the help we can get if we want to find anything."

Cassian looked shocked, to say the least. Furrowing his brow, he rose up to his feet and folded his arms. "We can do this. We have to do this. We'll find them."

"Cassian, we're chasing literal fairytales." Varsa replied, shaking his head with a chuckle. "We're looking for literal artifacts that may or may not have been created by the hands of a Daedric Lord, which we will then give to Martin in the hope that he can get some of the Daedric Lord's blood from it. The entire premise is absurd."

Turning his back to the campfire, Cassian clasped his hands behind his back and sighed. "You've chosen now, of all times, to finally think all of this is absurd? We walked through a literal realm of hell to get this far. We've seen things that have been ripped straight from nightmares that our minds wouldn't even be able to think of, but now we're choosing to question whether or not all of this is worth it?"

"I know what we saw at Kvatch." Varsa rose to his feet, pointing a finger directly at the small of Cassian's back. "I still do. I see those horrors, the same ones you're talking about, every time that I close my eyes. That smell, those screams…you don't forget them that easily."

Spinning around on his heel, Cassian looked directly into Varsa's eyes and seemingly gritted his teeth. "Then you know why we need to find these artifacts. We have to do it."

"That doesn't change the fact that we're chasing myths." Varsa growled back, staring directly into Cassian's irises directly right back at him. "You're right, we have to do this. But that doesn't mean that it's going to be that easy. We're not going to turn a corner and find that Sanguine's goddamned Rose is sitting right there for us to grab."

"Then we need to chase up every lead that we can." Cassian's teeth gritted harder, his speech becoming much harder to understand. Thalia immediately noticed that his shoulders had become tense and far more hunched. "Anything that we find, we do our best to follow up. Got it?"

"Loud and clear." Varsa replied, smirking. "Let's just hope we're not trying to draw this daedric blood out like blood from a stone."

Standing up from her own bedroll, Thalia pushed herself between the two of them and did her best to separate them. Tensions were rising higher and higher by every literal second that passed, with the two of them looking to explode into a full-blown argument about the entire situation if she didn't intervene and break up the tenseness of the situation any sooner than she had. "Just calm down and back off, both of you!"

Pushing them apart, Thalia made sure she was between the both of them in order to give each of them the chance to cool down and actually think about what they were about to do before it happened. "We've all seen horrific things, but that's just another reason why we need to work together. The only thing we would be doing by causing friction and infighting is giving more resources and control to the enemy. We need to work together, despite our differences in what we think is right and wrong, because we don't matter. What matters is the defeat of the Mythic Dawn and the daedra, they're the real threat and we know it."

After a few more moments of tension, the two of them begrudgingly dropped whatever qualms they had against one another and retreated to separate sides of the camp. The two of them needed time alone, especially due to how things seemed to have gone from an absolutely nothing comment about what had happened beforehand to a desperate argument about what was quite literally nothing whatsoever. Thalia could see that it was just tensions boiling over into personal feelings, more specifically tensions that the two of them had never been able to let off during their time alone. She had spoken and watched them all separately and she could see that Varsa's feeling of imprisonment in Cloud Ruler Temple and Cassian's failure to capture Mankar Camoran had blown over into a full-scale argument that neither of them really meant to start.

Sitting back down on her bedroll slowly, carefully making sure that the two of them would not go back and kickstart their argument once she was out of range to stop them once again, Thalia ran her hands down her face and sighed heavily. The sooner the morning came around and they could make their way to the Imperial City, the better. However, she knew that she was in now for a more awkward and silent night than she had originally expected to have in store for her. But that was fine to her, nonetheless.

She was used to drowning everything around her out, anyway.

The bridge that led into the Imperial City was far more protected than Varsa had originally remembered it to be. In fact, he remembered vividly that there were only the two guardsmen stationed on either side of the bridge and the one watchman on horseback who patrolled around the small village of Weye that existed just outside the area, but now that had changed. Pinning it down to just another consequence of the Oblivion Crisis that had now spawned from the inner workings of the Mythic Dawn and their plan to dominate the world with the daedra, Varsa spurred his horse forwards in front of Cassian and Thalia's horses and led the way over the bridge, watching carefully as the numerous legionnaires that had now been posted as guardsmen for the bridge watched him carefully. However, all of them soon seemed to look away, some of them within moments, after catching a glimpse of the katana that hung from his belt. It seemed that, no matter where an agent of the Blades went, the symbol that was emblazoned on the sheath of the ancient katana held respect in many members of the Imperial Legion who saw it.

Heading over the bridge and up the small hill that stood proud after it, carefully guiding their horses up the gravel path that had been paved out by the Imperial guardsmen, no doubt in order to safely allow people on horseback to guide their horses up towards the stables like the three were doing. Stabling their horses at the stable outside the city walls, under the care of an Orc who seemingly gave Varsa a dirty look as he made sure his horse was safe and secure inside the pen and made their way to the gates. Without stopping, the three of them made their way through the large gates and through the tunnel that led directly into the Talos Plaza District. Varsa wanted to get start as soon as possible, especially after the fiasco that had happened at the camp earlier on in the day. He knew that he needed time alone, to do his own research and deal with the situation himself, just like he had done when he was a backwoodsman in the Imperial Reserve. No, he had his own personal things that he needed to take care of in the city, especially now that he had time to reflect on his past during his time at Cloud Ruler Temple.

A part of Varsa felt bad that he had lied about his intentions when he was asked to accompany Cassian and Thalia upon their mission. He didn't want the circumstances of their entire mission to built upon lies, but he knew that he needed to do this alone, therefore he knew that he had to ensure that he would undertake his own version of the task alone and on his own terms. He had spent far too much time by himself up in Cloud Ruler Temple, with all of the nights he spent on watch on the walls giving him too much time to think about things that he really didn't want to think about. He needed to get away, specifically so that he could come to the Imperial City and deal with the echoes and ghosts that still wandered his mind, the reflections that still reminded him time after time about the past that he had tried so desperately and so hard to run away from and leave behind. The person that had once existed inside the walls of the Imperial City was gone, replaced by a man that was far more liberal and free than the previous one had been. He had no intention of going back on any of that, not after everything that he had been through and seen in the last few weeks.

Eventually reaching and heading through the doors into the district itself, the three made their way fully into the Talos Plaza itself, nodding to the Imperial watchmen that guarded both sides of the door as they did so. As he walked, Varsa's eyes were immediately drawn to the stone statue of Akatosh that stood proud inside the middle of the plaza, with the spiral staircase he needed to go up to reach the library itself curling all around it. He had seen that statue so many times as a child, and yet he never seemed to get bored of seeing it. It was a comforting sight to him; a reminder of how great things once had been and how much things had changed. To go from the metropolitan life of the Imperial City to camping in the woods of the Imperial Reserve was always something that he never thought he would do, but in the end, it was something that he had enjoyed far more when he actually decided that he would forsake his old life and start completely anew.

Turning around, Varsa made sure to adjust the bow that he had slung across his body, moving it a little from his shoulder to reduce the discomfort that it had begun to weigh down upon him, before clasping his hands together and looking upon both Cassian and Thalia as the two of them looked around the city idly, obviously waiting to begin. "So, this is it."

"It is." Cassian replied, scratching at the back of his neck. The two of them hadn't really spoken ever since they had their argument in the late hours of the day before, instead deciding to just continue with their journey and go their separate ways upon reaching their destination. Varsa could see that he had caused the disagreement between the both of them, with his frustrations at being cooped up in Cloud Ruler Temple and his need to go alone to sort out the personal problems he had thus far hidden and kept to himself boiling over into something that he didn't mean to start. "You going to be okay on your own?"

"I'm sure." Varsa replied, nodding his head in response. He did his best to not meet Cassian's eyes, the same he noticed for Cassian when he spoke back to him. The two of them still didn't seem to be on the same page, regardless of whatever words that Thalia had said to them to try and break their little spat up. "If the Imperial Library doesn't have any information whatsoever on what we need, then nowhere will."

Folding her arms, Thalia smiled warmly and bowed her head. "Good luck."

"You, too." Regarding them both, Varsa bowed his head back. "I'll see you both back at Cloud Ruler Temple. Hopefully, we'll all find what we're looking for."

"We will." Cassian replied, clapping Varsa on the shoulder with a smirk. "We're all going to come through this, in the end. It's just a matter of time."

"Let's hope that time's shorter rather than longer, then. Now go, let's not waste any more time than we already have." Varsa replied, nodding his head before turning his back and heading up the steps directly behind him. He didn't have the stomach to look Cassian in the eyes and apologize for what he had done, their argument was still far too raw in the minds of both of them to even consider talking about it. No, their mutual respect was enough for now and it would continue to carry their relationship until they were ready to talk about it, Varsa knew that was true for the both of them.

Not looking back to see if they had started to move towards their own goal, Varsa just shrugged off whatever lingering feelings he had towards the pair of them and swiftly made his way up the steps. He had to focus on finding the book, that was the main goal and the most important thing now. If he couldn't find the book, then he knew he would have to find an alternative solution. However, he knew that he couldn't go back and help them. He needed to be alone, he had no intention of going back on that mindset. If they knew what he was about to do, then the persona that he had managed to create for himself ever since he had met the pair of them would come crumbling down and would reveal who he truly was. Despite all that they had been through together, Varsa just wasn't ready to open up about who he truly was to them, not yet at least. It would take time and closure, but that was why he needed to be alone. He knew he would find closure here.

With a short intake of breath, Varsa scratched the stubble that had begun to grow on his chin and removed a few streaks of unruly blonde hair that had managed to fall down from his long mullet and down in front of his eyes. Walking towards the library door, Varsa steadied himself and pushed the door ajar, entering inside within moments.

Now was the time. He needed to do this. For himself, and for the world.

BREAK

Cassian hadn't expected to return to the Imperial City as soon as he had. When he and Thalia had left to investigate the Mythic Dawn's shrine at Lake Arrius, Cassian had instead expected that it would simply be it. They would defeat the Mythic Dawn, retrieve the Amulet of Kings from Mankar Camoran, return back to Cloud Ruler Temple and plan their next moves from there. However, it seemed that fate had other plans for him and the rest of his allies in that regard. Although he had done his best to get over what happened inside the Shrine of Dagon, Cassian still couldn't rid himself of the feeling that he had failed in his duty. It all plagued him like a lingering disease, like a large weight that was continually pressing down on his shoulders with no way to remove or even relieve it by any means.

But he knew that, despite all of the blame that he focused upon himself for the so-called failure he accomplished by letting Mankar Camoran escape into his 'Paradise', he had forced them to take this alternative solution. He didn't like it one bit, the very thought that they had to go and find some of the most elusive and quite-literally legendary artifacts that have ever been rumoured to exist within the fabrics of the world, ones that the very existence of were deniable and mythical in origin. However, this also seemed to be an opinion that he shared with both Thalia and Varsa. Despite their pessimism, he knew he had to be the optimist. He had to be the one that would keep spirits high and make sure everyone knew that they could do what they needed to do. He couldn't be pessimistic like them, for he knew that spirits and productivity would go down if he did.

Heading up the steps of the Arcane University, Cassian knew he had to continue this train of thought. He needed to ask the right questions, to find out where this Ontus Vanin character that Jauffre had recommended that they went to see and whether or not he could be of any use to them whatsoever. If he led them in the correct direction to the daedric shrines where they could obtain these artifacts, then Cassian knew that they would be one step closer to turning the tables on the Mythic Dawn and whatever else they were planning. Surely, even in Cassian's mind, he knew that Bruma wasn't their main target. He knew the inner workings of this group, he had seen their leader preach up close and personal and had a feeling that they were not ones for singular targets. He had already killed two of Camoran's top lieutenants but had a feeling that they had just been replaced by others that were just as willing to the work that Camoran needed them to do.

However, Cassian couldn't help but feel like perhaps they were making the wrong decision. Surely, they should be using the artifacts that they were obtaining from these daedric shrines to fight against the Mythic Dawn than simply sacrificing them for the blood that they were composed of. These were potential weapons and armour that were unparalleled in strength, sting and legend. Literal works and creations that had been woven into myths and legends that people passed down from father to child. If they could harness these artifacts and use them to gain an edge of their enemies, then Cassian would be all for it. They needed some kind of edge, absolutely any kind if they were to have some form of surprise against whatever agents the Mythic Dawn had at their disposal. Despite this, he knew it was a discussion for another time. Before they could even talk about the entire train of thought that Cassian had begun to have about the situation, he knew that they actually had to find these artifacts that may or may not actually exist and be able to obtain before they talked about deciding to use them or destroy them. Besides, none of them even knew where to start looking, nevermind knowing whether to use them or not.

Heading through the doors, Cassian immediately took in the sights of the lobby once again and sighed. Many of the people who had once been walking around the lobby during his first visit had disappeared, no doubt because of other commitments to the University and own personal duties that stopped them from being around. The only person that was, in fact, sitting in the lobby just like he had been before, and was the actual only person in the lobby besides Cassian and Thalia, was Raminus Polus. Cassian wondered whether or not he was the greeter for the Arcane University, like some form of receptionist of a kind that welcomed new members of the Mages Guild and answered questions from the public when needed, or whether or not he just enjoyed sitting in the lobby and was unknowingly the most accessible member of the Guild that wasn't in a guild hall in another city.

"Ah, Cassian." Raminus smiled, looking up from the tome-like book he had been reading as he heard the front door to the lobby open and close. Rising from the bench that he had been sat upon whilst closing the book that he had been reading, placing it down on the bench as carefully as he could. Cassian noted that whatever the man had been reading seemed important but had more important things to do than pry about it. Besides, Raminus was a helpful acquaintance, not a friend. Walking up to be directly in front of Cassian, he extended his hand for a handshake with a short and welcoming smile. "How are you?"

"Good. Thank you, Raminus." Cassian smiled back, accepting his handshake. Stepping to one side, Cassian extended his arm out to wave at Thalia, who stepped forward and bowed her head as a greeting. "This is my comrade, Thalia. We're of need of you again, I'm afraid."

"A pleasure, my dear." Raminus bowed his head back, before clasping his hands behind his back and giving Cassian a questioning look, turning back to finally answer the statement that Cassian had said earlier. It seemed that, at least to Cassian, Raminus had gone back on his original intention to protect the Arcane University from outsiders to now welcoming Cassian in with open arms. Whether or not it was because of the revelation of the crisis and the need for the Blades to deal with it that had forced Raminus to accept Cassian's need of aid whenever necessary. "Of course. Are you here to see Tar-Meena?"

"No, no. That won't be necessary." Cassian replied, shaking his head. Although the Mystic Archives, which he was now sure he had complete access to as a member of the Blades, could possibly hold the information that they needed in order to find these daedric shrines, Cassian knew that finding this Ontus Vanin character was far more important to them. After all, Jauffre had directed them to him as a primary lead. "We're looking for one of your researchers. Ontus Vanin. Is he around at all?"

Lowering his head just a little into his chest, Raminus bit his lip gently and shook his head in response to what Cassian had just asked. "Ontus Vanin retired as an active member of the Guild a few months ago, so I am afraid I cannot help you in that regard."

Nodding his head, Cassian relented on his next question and simply stepped back, scratching his chin. This was completely unexpected, unbelievably so. It seemed that Jauffre information had been completely out of date, which was unsurprising given the immediate crisis that consumed them. However, this now proved to be more of a problem than it was mostly worth, in Cassian's mind. Vanin could be anywhere, given his newly-discovered retirement. He could have gone to ground in any city in any province, giving them absolutely no leads other than information from Raminus. They needed something else, something different that they could use to locate these shrines.

"Very well." Cassian replied, pressing his thumb into the bottom of his chin. He did his best to rack his brain for absolutely anything that they could do or go to find more information on these daedric shrines. "Could we use-"

"Where does he live?" Thalia interjected, folding her arms as she walked further into the lobby, completely unexpected. Her words took both Cassian and Raminus as a surprise, not expecting her to take the conversation by the horns in the way that she had. "If he was a researcher for the guild, then surely he should have a place to stay nearby that isn't on your University grounds."

"He lives in the Talos Plaza district, near the door to the tunnel." Raminus replied, nodding his head. He seemed taken aback by how direct Thalia's question was but did his best to answer it to the best of his ability nonetheless. "However, I'm unsure as to whether or not you will be able to find him if he isn't at home. I've heard he spends quite a lot of time outdoors, 'enjoying life' as he puts it."

"Thank you." Thalia replied, unfolding her arms and clapping Cassian on the shoulder. He was absolutely bewildered at what had just happened, his facial expressions telling the whole story of how he felt about the last few moments. He had been so content to leave the issue that they had been faced with as it was and attempt to find a different lead, so eager to continue on and do other things that he had left a giant dangling thread there for someone else to pull on and use to unravel further information. "We'll try there, then."

"Of course. I'm glad to have been some kind of help." Raminus replied, bowing his head in respect as he returned to the book that he had left upon the bench where he had once been sat. Placing the book on his lap with the same care that he used when he placed the book down on the bench earlier on, he folded his arms and smiled warmly as he watched the two Blades open the lobby door and prepare to head back outside. "I hope that Ontus has the answers you need to your questions. Farewell, I'm sure this won't be the last time we meet."

Once they were outside, Cassian shook his head and tried his best to figure out what the hell had just happened in there. He hadn't expected Thalia to want to ask the questions that needed to be asked, instead preferring to just let Cassian do the talking whilst she stood back and took in the things that dotted the room she was in. If that had happened, then perhaps their entire investigation would have taken a turn onto a longer and arduous path of not finding relevant information. However, Cassian couldn't help but feel that he was too careless for his own good back there, that he had let himself down by not asking the prudent questions that needed to be asked. He was the lead investigator, the one who was supposed to ask the right questions.

With a second shake of his head, before proceeding to run his hands down his face, Cassian turned to Thalia and smiled. He hoped that he could just move past what he had done, but knew that this entire mistake wouldn't go away so easily, especially with someone with the sick sense of humour like Thalia had. He could feel her anxiety brewing about the entire thing, just waiting for her chance to make a comment. "So, back to the Talos Plaza?"

"You were going to let that go, weren't you?" Thalia asked, chuckling to herself with folded arms. She didn't seem displeased, but more shocked and quite amused at what she had just seen. The mistake that he had made seemed particularly shocking to her, more shocking than anything that she had seen from him since they had decided to start traveling together. Cassian, in response, just shook his head and started to walk. He knew it was going to happen, he had been waiting for it ever since they had walked through the lobby door to the outside grounds. Alas, he knew that he should have known and just not said a word.

With a short smirk, she started to walk after him, doing her best to keep up with the longer and quicker strides that Cassian had begun to take, no doubt in order to try and gain considerable distance before the jokes began. However, all this did was encourage Thalia to make more jokes in an attempt to gain a laugh at how fast he would go, probably not stopping until he was sprinting in order to avoid said jokes about the situation. It seemed she had found his weak spot, the one chink in the armour of strength and solidarity that he had surrounded his entire mind, body and soul with. "Maybe I should start talking in future?"

"Be quiet."

"After all," Unrelenting, her smirk widened as she continued, intent on driving home the mistake that he had made, the blatant blunder that was up in the air. "You don't seem to have a way with words like most people in your situation do."

"You're unbelievable." Rolling his eyes, Cassian turned his head away and made his way through the district doors to the outside bridge, one step away from breaking out into a full jog in order to escape the awkward moment.

"Yep." Thalia replied, chuckling as she slowly jogged after him. She wasn't going to let this one go, not for a very long time. No, she would hold this to him for quite a long time, for there weren't many times that Cassian would have to be saved in a conversation from making a wrong choice that could seriously hurt their efforts. "That's why I'm here."

Content with ignoring her until she would drop the issue, Cassian simply continued walking as fast as he could without looking too strange. Despite his wish to get as far away from her and her jokes as quickly as possible, he knew he would draw some unnecessary attention if he sprinted through the entirety of the Imperial City in an attempt to deflect some harmless jokes, despite how harmful they were to him. He hadn't forgotten about the chaotic situation they had found themselves in at Skingrad, always leaving himself open and wary for Mythic Dawn agents to jump out at him at any moment. No doubt after their attack on Lake Arrius, these assassin sleeper agents would be all over in an attempt by the organization to remove one of the most troublesome thorns in their side.

Turning his mind to the task at hand after a few more moments of dodging jests and jokes from his wilful companion, Cassian though about what needed to happen next. He knew that they had to move quicker, as they would need to reach the Talos Plaza before nightfall, before Ontus Vanin locked up for the night and went to sleep. Cassian knew that he would rather not sit the night out in a hotel of some kind, waiting for Vanin to welcome visitors to his home in. Nevertheless, they knew that they were on the right track.

It must have been at least mid-afternoon by the time that Cassian and Thalia returned to the Akatosh statue which they had been standing under which they motioned farewell to Varsa. Staring up at the supposed representation of the Dragon God of Time, Cassian couldn't help but think about his blonde-haired friend, despite how much he didn't want to. He had already gone over the entire situation in his head too many times to try and think of another way that it could have gone. It was over, the entire conversation was over, as far as Cassian could tell. He was simply content to let Varsa go about whatever business and personal problems he needed to deal with and let him return to doing what actually needed to be done when he was ready, for Cassian knew that they would be able to handle things without him for a time. Everyone needed time to themselves, after all, especially ones who had found themselves trapped being something they didn't think they were ever going to be after being free as a bird for such a long time beforehand.

Nevertheless, Cassian could tell that there was something wrong with Varsa. Ever since he had returned from the Imperial City and dealt with the spies in Bruma, he could tell that there was something different, something else ticking inside his companion's head. Whether or not it had been an event that happened up at the Temple or perhaps too much time by himself during long nights where he had been able to think, he seemed to have folded in on himself and let himself be consumed by whatever he was storing up inside his brain. He had always known that Varsa was one for keeping secrets, ever since they had met. However, Cassian was never one to pry them out of him, despite how much he had seen otherwise. The intelligence that Varsa had, his ability and wish to read more books and his knowledge of being able to wear armour like it was nothing pointed to the idea that he had been trained, perhaps not brilliantly but he had been trained nonetheless.

Whatever it was Varsa was hiding from them all, whatever deep secret he had that he was refusing to give up, Cassian could tell that it was something big that involved his past. He was more than just a simple backwoodsman who had been living out in the open until they had stumbled upon one another, Cassian had seen that from the moment the pair of them had entered the Oblivion gate at Kvatch. No, there was a story that needed to be told there, a past that Varsa had obviously done his best to hide away under lock and key. Now, it seemed that lock had come undone and his past had filled him up, leaving him anxious and irritable to all around him. He knew that Varsa would open up to him eventually but knew personally that people needed time to think and work things out for themselves. He had spent a considerable amount of more time on the planet than the young, blonde-haired rogue, and thus knew that he would be able to work things out for himself in the end. He just needed to go the way that his heart would lead him, and it would all work out in the end.

Cassian knew that he could spend so much time thinking about Varsa and how he could help him but knew that he would only take Varsa's own problems and the problems that they shared on his shoulders as well. While he would have loved to have done that at any other time, he knew he couldn't. With everything at stake, Cassian had to remain completely and utterly steadfast, strong and stalwart in his duties and his beliefs one hundred percent of the time in the current crisis, unable to be brought down by personal troubles and relationships that could unintentionally weigh him down. Now, more than ever, he needed to be the one that people could call the Hero of Kvatch. He needed to be that icon, that symbol, the light in the darkness that was slowly consuming all of Tamriel. The people needed someone to save them, someone that they could rally behind and look up to. At first, he knew he didn't want to be that person, especially after all that had happened to him. He didn't feel worthy to be that man, unworthy of being a hero when he was little more than a failure. Now, he knew fully well that he could be that person and would do it to the best of his ability.

Snapping himself back out of his thoughts and back into the current task at-hand, Cassian folded his arms and looked around the plaza itself. Raminus had mentioned that Vanin's house was by the door that led out of the city and onto the Imperial Isle which they had come from, but that didn't help them whatsoever given the idea that the Talos Plaza was one of the main residential districts in the entire city, with the mostly influential and wealthy coming to live here whilst the top of the food chain owned houses in the Aristocratic District to the north-west. However, it told them quite a bit about the person that they were coming to find, namely the stature he now holds upon his retirement and what type of person he is. Surely, Cassian thought, that they would be dealing with someone who was quite well-versed in all the things that he had researched given the amount of money that he seemed to have made from doing said research work for the Mages Guild. It made him wonder, in fact, how long Ontus Vanin had actually been working for the Mages Guild as a researcher and how much knowledge he would indeed have about the subject they needed him for.

"So, where to now?" Cassian asked, scratching his chin as he looked around. All around the statue in the middle of the plaza were four doors that led to four buildings, which would probably be recognized by many as the four most expensive houses in the district. One such building had a large, wooden sign outside on a metal rod that had been implanted into the mortar of the stone, swaying back and forth in the light, afternoon wind that breezed through the city as they made their way through it. The other three seemed too high class for the man they were looking for, with one of them having guards stationed outside for some reason, possibly to protect the contents of what was inside that building. None of these were what they were looking for, Cassian could see that in a heartbeat after looking at them for even the shortest amount of time.

Watching Thalia as she did the exact same thing that he had done moments prior, Cassian waited until she too made her own observations about the location of Vanin's house and decided what the next course of action was in order to locate it themselves. When they were on the same page and had noticed the same things, that would be when they could discuss everything that they were thinking. Eventually, Thalia's eyes met the wall which connected to the city's entrance door itself, waiting a moment to fully think about what she was going to say. Eventually turning around to face Cassian himself, Thalia smirked a little at what she was thinking and beckoned to where she had just been looking, as if eager to put forwards what she had been thinking about this entire situation. "What about over there? After all, he did say that he lived near the western wall. Perhaps he literally does."

With a smirk of his own, Cassian shook his head in amusement and made his way towards the western wall, looking down the length of the houses that sat there, built into the wall as Cassian had suspected them to be. More specifically, the two houses that were there. As they came closer, Cassian noticed a notice that had been pinned onto the middle of the first door, with a large chain spread across the width of the door itself. Whatever had happened here, it seemed like the house itself had been sealed off by the Imperial Watch for some form or another, perhaps due to its status as a crime scene. Curious, Cassian folded his arms and proceeded to read what it said, not noticing Thalia walk up behind him.

"What does it say?" Thalia asked, folding her arms and turning her back to the door. It looked as if she was keeping watch or something, or perhaps keeping watch for the appearance of someone. On the glance over his shoulder to her that Cassian took for a mere second, in response to her question, he gathered that she was keeping a lookout for any potential Imperial watch patrols that could come and investigate what they were doing at this particular house. They did need to keep a low profile, after all, and thus suspecting the notice of a crime scene could look potentially suspicious to some.

"This property has been seized by the Imperial Legion, and its owner imprisoned." Cassian read aloud, doing his best to keep his voice down so that only he and Thalia could hear what they were saying. If anyone was in earshot, despite their being a notice on the door, Cassian wanted to make sure that they couldn't hear his voice. He wanted to be one-hundred percent sure that no Mythic Dawn agents could get their hands on him or Thalia, whether that be through their recognition of them through any means. "Rituals to the Night Mother, or any other attempt to contact the Dark Brotherhood, will not be tolerated."

"The Dark Brotherhood?" Thalia rose an eyebrow, turning her head to look at Cassian. Her face was filled with both dread and shock, as if she hadn't been expecting the utterance of that organization's name when they had first started to read it. Cassian, in his own mind, was also shocked to see that someone would blatantly contact the Dark Brotherhood through any means in an environment such as their house. It had been illegal to perform the 'Black Sacrement', as it had been called by the Imperial Legion and those who knew all about the Dark Brotherhood's rituals, ever since Adamus Phillida had taken control of the leadership of the Imperial Legion as their commander.

Although he had never seen them in the flesh, Cassian knew all about the Dark Brotherhood. Their name was always mentioned in lowered tones and hushed whispers, the very utterance of their existence unnerving to some people in the world. From what Cassian had learned about them during his time in the world, the Dark Brotherhood were a guild of professional assassins with considerable power and influence throughout the entirety of Tamriel itself. They had always been shrouded in shadow and mystery, serving as the bogeymen of known civilisation for quite some time. Parents told children of the Dark Brotherhood to keep them in-line, of the dark organization that murdered people you wished if you knew how to contact them and had enough coin. Their existence had been tolerated by the Legion for many years, but their influence had seriously diminished ever since the crackdown on their activities in the mainland province had begun by Phillida.

"It seems so." Cassian replied, scratching at his chin. If this was Vanin's house, then it would make no sense. What would a retired Mages Guild researcher need with the services of the Dark Brotherhood? What need would he have of a secretive assassin's guild that could kill whomever he wished? He was an old man, by all accounts, who simply wished to live his remaining years in peace and quiet. He didn't fit the bill, as far Cassian knew, for those who wished to contact the Brotherhood. "Could this be the house?"

"No, it can't be." Thalia shook her head, seemingly agreeing with his own thoughts on the matter. There had to be some mistake that they had made, perhaps they had simply chosen the wrong house. Cassian hoped that it was so. He didn't hate to come this far and be let down at the final stretch. "There's another house further down the street. Let's go."

Nodding as quickly as he could, Cassian backed away from the door and swiftly made his way down the street, reaching the door a few moments later. Making sure that, once again, nobody was watching them, he knocked upon the door and waited a few moments. They no longer had any more time to waste, not after all the ups and downs they had found themselves being gifted with ever since they had left Cloud Ruler Temple. Both of them had become tired of this chase but had the feeling that they were at the end of it.

"Who is it?" A voice called out from behind the door, accompanying the footsteps that both Cassian and Thalia heard after a few moments that also came from behind the door. At least he was in, Cassian thought. That was far more than they had ever come in the last few hours, but Cassian still felt they were some way away from reaching the answers that they needed. After all, there was no way that this man would believe them as agents of the Blades or what they needed questions from, so they had to be careful when dealing with this man for the next few minutes. After all, they didn't even know if he was Ontus Vanin.

"Are you Ontus Vanin? The researcher?" Cassian replied, leaning on the stone beside the door. He had no more patience to draw this conversation out, preferring to instead cut straight to the chase and get the answers that they needed in order to be on their way. The night was becoming increasingly darker as the time got later and later. Both of them knew that they would be staying in the Imperial City for the night, but it now all depended on how much more of the night they would take up with this quest of theirs. "We'd like to ask you a few questions on your research, if you would allow us."

"Are you with the Watch?" The man's voice called back after a few more moments of seemingly deep thought about the entire situation, seemingly a lot more cautious and alert than it originally had been when he had first spoken. Cassian understood his caution, especially in the times that they now found themselves in. In a world where people would murder the entire royal dynasty and butcher a priory filled with innocent monks in an attempt to find what they were looking for; the man had a right to remain cautious and much more apprehensive than he normally would.

"No, sir. We're here in the name of your Emperor." Cassian replied, much more sternly and authoritatively than he had spoken in a while. He needed to get straight to the point now, especially in the time of need that they were in. Both of them had a much-shortened patience than normal, especially when they were being kept on the doorstep of their only aid when assassins could possibly lurk around every corner, hunting for them in the name of their 'Master', Mankar Camoran. "We need your help."

After a few more moments, Cassian heard the sound of a lock being opened. Immediately after this, the door opened slightly ajar and a face popped inside the gap that had been made, the face of an elderly Imperial with short, white hair. Looking both Cassian and Thalia up and down multiple times, he seemed to be looking for any recollection that they were indeed the Blades that they claimed to be and weren't here to hurt him like he ultimately did suspect that they were going to. Noticing this, Cassian unclipped his katana from his belt and held it up to his face, showing the symbol of the Blades that was carved into the scabbard and the hilt of the katana itself. If this didn't convince him of what was going on and that Cassian was speaking the truth, then he knew that nothing will.

Taking a few moments to take it all in, the man ultimately relented and opened the door wide. With a sigh, he lowered his shoulders as a sign of relief and bowed his head in respect, before inviting them inside with a wave of his hand.

"I'm sorry about that. We have to be careful nowadays." The man replied, smiling as he looked directly to Cassian. The man was elderly, dressed in an elegant white robe with black, slipper-like shoes. It was evident that they had interrupted the man just before he was winding down for the night, but Cassian and Thalia both knew that this would be far more important than letting the man go to bed on time. "I am indeed Ontus Vanin, although I'm unsure how I can help. I'm retired, have been for quite a while."

"Cassian Silvanus. This is my comrade, Thalia." Cassian replied, bowing his head in respect in the same way that Ontus had done to them. At last, they had found him after all the work that they had done. "We need to talk to you about your research on daedric shrines."

"Daedric shrines?" Ontus scratched his chin, seemingly deep in thought about what Cassian had just said regarding his work on the subject. "What do you need to know?"

"Everything that you can tell us." Thalia replied, folding her arms. "We need access to daedric artifacts and you're our only lead as to where we can find them."

Turning his head to look at her, Cassian furrowed his brow. Although they needed him on their side, Cassian knew that they couldn't involve him fully in the investigation and the quest for the artifacts. The more he knew about it all, the more that he would find himself endangered by the powers at work and the more that he could be used to gain information on what they were doing. Throwing her hands up apologetically, Thalia rolled her eyes before she returned them to Vanin, who still seemed deep in thought.

"Come with me," Ontus replied, starting to walk further into his house as he beckoned for them to follow him. "I'll help the best I can."

Doing as he asked and following him further into his house, Cassian couldn't believe what he was looking at. A large, ornamental rug took up most of the floor, with various cupboards and shelves dotted all over the large main room. All of those said shelves were stacked to the brim with countless books of all colours and covers, no doubt pertaining to the various different research projects that Vanin had been involved in over the years that he had been associated with the Mages Guild. It seemed as though Cassian had been correct in his assessment that Vanin had made himself quite wealthy over the countless years that he had spent with the Mages Guild, doing whatever they needed him to do during his time there.

"Please excuse the mess. The only thing that I do now is sleep late and read trashy books. I spent forty years at the Arcane University. Good years, but I don't miss it. I'm perfectly content to not keep up with Mages Guild affairs any more. " Vanin joked as he made his way fully into his house, rubbing his hands together as he wished away the cold that he had felt whilst standing at the door, breathing out heavily with a shudder. Watching as he grabbed a tankard from an empty space on one of his shelves, grabbing a large, brown leather-backed book from another shelf as he walked past. Placing both down upon the large dinner table that he had no doubt been sat at, he invited them both to sit down with him.

Acknowledging what he wished for them to do and proceeding to sit down, Cassian watched as Vanin slid the brown book over towards him and sat back, both hands curled around the brown tan tankard that he had been drinking from, no doubt filled with wine or some other alcoholic beverage of his choice. Turning the book over onto its front cover, he read the words 'The Book of Daedra' and nodded his head.

"That book contains all the information you need on the specific Daedric Princes." Ontus explained, pointing his left index finger directly at the book itself. Cassian was surprised that Vanin would be so willingly to give away this book so easily as he had but took it nonetheless. Besides, he knew that they would need all available resources and help that they could get in the coming weeks that they would spend on the road. "All sixteen of them. Their names, their spheres and the artifacts of which they possess. I believe it should be helpful on helping you to decide whatever shrines you wish to go after."

Giving them a few moments to look over the book that he had just gifted to them both, Ontus took another sip from his drink and cleared his throat before continuing. "As far as we know, Daedra are beings that hail from Oblivion, a parallel realm to our own. The name 'Daedra' itself comes from the Elven language, meaning 'not our ancestors'. So, the Daedric Princes whose shrines you are looking for are the most powerful of the Daedra and commonly worshipped as Gods because of their power, with each Daedric Prince having a specific sphere of which they represent. For example, Vaermina's sphere is dreams and nightmares and thus has full control over both of those things."

Nodding his head, Cassian sat and listened carefully as to all that Ontus had to say about the entire nature of the Daedric Princes. Folding his arms, he sat back and took it all in, doing his best to make mental notes that would help him to better understand and retain all of the information that he was being given. However, thanks to the books he knew that he would be able to understand most of it and look up subjects that he didn't fully grasp.

"Due to the fact that people worship them as Gods, each shrine has a devoted shrine that is tended to by devoted worshippers. All of the shrines that I've seen are quite elaborate, with large statues built to these Daedra's honour. However, this is discouraged by most religions that are more common, such as those that believe in the Nine, and many shrines are often desecrated and destroyed during witch-hunts, among other expeditions like those." Ontus continued, occasionally taking sips from his tankard during the times in which he stopped to take a breath during his explanations.

"And the artifacts?" Thalia interjected, folding her arms. "What are those?"

"The artifacts that you are looking for are items that have been created by Daedric Princes, who have poured pieces of their power into the artifacts. They gift them to mortals like you and I in order to spread their influence through legend and fame. All artifacts come in different forms, from powerful weapons to even mundane items like rings." Ontus replied, nodding his head in response to Thalia's question. "But because these Daedric Princes pour pieces of themselves into the artifacts, they are reported to have minds of their own. Therefore, it is said that these artifacts stay with their owner until a time that their quest is complete, at which point they will disappear and resurface once again in several years' time in a random place in Tamriel, such is the infinite mystery of these artifacts."

"How do we gain these artifacts?" Cassian asked this time, folding his arms as he sat back in a slouched position in his chair, doing his best to get as comfortable as he could.

"Most artifacts come as rewards from Daedric Princes who are summoned at their shrines." Ontus replied, doing his best to give a straightforward answer to the question. "It's a popular notion that the Princes will give a person who summons them a quest in return for rich rewards, such as the artifacts that you wish for. So, perhaps you will have to do a certain favour for these Princes in order to gain their trust and the use of their artifact."

"Do you know where these shrines are?" Cassian added, getting down to what they truly needed to know. Pulling out his map, he placed it flat upon the table. "Can you mark them down? The sooner we can get to them, the better."

"I know of a couple that I have been past, although I have never actually been in them." Ontus nodded, leaning over the map with his finger, pointing to all of the places that he remembered shrines being as Cassian noted them down with his quill. "There is a shrine to Hircine, the Huntsman, south of town, northeast to Bravil, between the Upper Niben and the Green Road. The Mephala shrine is northeast of the junction of the Red Ring Road and the Silver Road. I think there is a shrine to Boethiah high in the Valus Mountains, southeast of Cheydinhal, but I cannot say I have ever been there. That's all I know."

"Is there nothing else?" Thalia pressed, rising from his chair. "Anything at all?"

Thinking for a few more moments, a lightbulb seemingly clicked inside Ontus' head as he pointed to the very edge of the map, at the far east near Morrowind. "There is something. I've heard rumours from my old contacts that a Telvanni wizard has unearthed an entrance to an ancient Ayleid City near Lake Canulus, which apparently holds Mehrunes Dagon's Razor, an extremely powerful artifact."

The mere mention of Mehrunes Dagon caused Cassian and Thalia's eyes to meet. If they were to uncover the very artifact that contained a piece of their own enemy's power, then perhaps it could be the most important artifact in the long run. However, they both knew that they needed to check out the other shrines before anything else. With all of this newly-found information, they knew all that they needed to know. Multiple routes were available to them, with multiple shrines that they had been told about now just out there waiting to be found. With a smile, Cassian rose from his seat and bowed his head in respect to Ontus. He knew fully well that without him, they would have been lost for what to do. Forrtunately, their entire situation had now been resolved and their way forward was clear.

"Thank you, my friend." Cassian smiled, grabbing both his map and the book from the table, before storing them inside his pack. "You have been an immense help."

"My pleasure." Ontus replied, bowing his head back. "I'm glad to aid the Empire."

Mutually exchanging farewells between themselves, Ontus escorted the pair back to the front door and showed them out, smiling and waving farewell as he closed the door behind them. Standing together in the middle of the street, finally now knowing where they had to go next, all the two of them could do was smile. They had done it, after all of the troubles that they had been through with both Varsa and the let down at the University. Nonetheless, they knew that they could go to any of the places where Ontus and Cassian had marked upon the map, but knew that it would be a conversation for tomorrow.

With a smile, the two of them decided upon their next task: Find a place to sleep.

Ooooh, here we go! Once again, please review.