-Stop moving, its not like we bonded you because we wanted you to break free anyways! -
I was struggling, sweating, and I also found myself shouting. I took a moment to calm myself though, and access my surroundings. I sat up from the bed I was in, only to find that my hands and feet were tied to the bed and I saw no further use in trying to get rid of them so I stopped trying. Looking up and caught myself staring face to face with two women, one was enormous, much taller than myself, brown hair, matching eyes and a nord like me. Come to think of it, this was the girl that saved me from that thing. Much closer to me was a breton girl, short, red hair, green eyes and a thing in her hands that looked like some sort of Dwemer mechanism with a needle on it.
-You like my invention do you? I made it from a dwemer essence extractor, they often used these to take blood samples from species without having to cut them, I merely adapted this one to take, hold, preserve and inject various liquids. I call it an injector, fitting name don't you think? - said the red haired girl which seemed to have unlimited energy and was bombarding me with questions!
-Enough Zoe, the girl just woke up let her have some space - said the amazon standing in the corner with her sword drawn, I guess they did not think me a harmless prisoner.
-It's ok Sophia, I doubt she is going to harm us, especially after seeing you fight, and since she does not know anything about me she is not going to attempt anything risky, am I right girl? - she said that last sentence with a twisted smile on her face, as if asking for me to do something stupid so she could have an excuse for acting.
-But you must be wondering what happened, well as for proper introductions I’m Zoe, and this is my best friend in the whole entire world Sophia! I just injected you with a solution that would awake you and remove the traces of the paralysis toxins in your system, the boss demanded that you were in pristine conditions when you got to meet him - said the girl as she got up and started mixing something in a bowl.
Sophia then approached me and politely asked me if I was ok to her touching me, as she wanted to take the bindings of and escort me out of the room to meet her boss. I must admit I was not expecting my captors to be this friendly. And as she helped me up from the bed I got a better look of the room. It was a relatively small room, with the bed I was lying in, two chairs, an enchanting bench, and a long table, filled with alchemical ingredients, metal springs, bolts, dwemer mechanisms and an alchemical lab set. As Zoe finished mixing some ingredients into a pot I realized by the smell it was only canis root tea, which she took with her in a silver platter along with four teacups.
-Come on Sophia, lead they way, the boss would not like his tea cold now would he? - said the short girl behind me.
We began moving into a corridor and I noticed the lack of windows, we must be underground, this would make escape extremely difficult. As we walked out into the end of the hallway we approached a door, from the other side of it I could hear laughs and chatter, like old friends catching up. Sophia opened the door and I saw an office, with a long table in the middle with four chairs, three of them were occupied though, with the three imperials that captured me, including the one who paralyzed me, sitting at the end of the table. In the room there were also various bookshelves and chests, with a proper desk at the end of the room, which had a panel behind it, in it was dreadful image, of a skull with darkness looming around it. Bringing my gaze back to the group in front of me I realized they were inviting me to fill the remaining seat across from the man with grey hair, and those terrible black- reddish eyes. Behind me came the short breton woman with tea, she served each one of us, and after that the man thanked her for the tea and told both my escorts to stay outside.
I was alone with these people now, and they were staring at me. One of them was a girl, Imperial, long black hair and ruthless gray eyes, she was wearing a black leather armor with red trim, and had two short elven swords with her, one on her hip, and the other at her back. The other was darker of skin, had a long ponytail of dark brown hair, short beard, and was wearing a strange long robe, with two yokudan scimitars at the side of his waist. And at the opposite end of the table was the man who paralyzed me, now without his hood I could see his face, he had a long dark grayish hair, kept short beard, a long scar running from the top of his right eye to the bottom of his cheek, and those menacing eyes I was beginning to worry about. He was wearing light armor, black like the ravens wing, and concealed behind his back and cloak was his sword, a fine ebony falchion. I wonder how many had fallen to that blade. He sipped his tea and smiled, then he began talking to me.
-So, it was a bold move to use your real name at Helgen, lucky for you the black horse courier had no knowledge of your real name so I guess it wasn't that dangerous for you, butcher of Kvatch... - he said those last words with a smirk, and in panic I tattered the table to find something. My fingers ran their course until they touched a small dinner knife. This will have to do I thought, as I gripped the blade and tossed it straight at the scared man.
The knife went straight for his forehead, my aim was not bad and with speed and surprise I hit my target, or so I thought. The knife passed directly through him as if it was nothing, then he laughed and dissipated like he was made out of smoke! Immediately after that I felt a dagger pointed at my neck.
-Impressive, you have the base instinct and skill of a true assassin, but you lack the experience. Don't worry though, that, I can give you... - said the man's voice as he removed the dagger from my neck and took his seat next to his companions to drink his tea.
-In your actions I see a certain panic, cease it, access you situation calmly, you are outnumbered, unarmed and facing the threat of opponents with unknown abilities that are masters concerning the art of killing, attacking me is not a smart move Ruby - he said my name for the first time and a chill went down my spine as I heard it, what else did he know?
-You know my name stranger, how about you give me yours?- I asked, risking a question.
-Very well, I have many names and titles, captain of the Imperial legion, the Grey Wolf of said Legion, the champion of Kvatch, Shade of the dark brotherhood, but, my real name is Lucius Capran, Colovian, and humble citizen of the great empire of Tamriel, at your service... - he said, as I recognized some of those names and titles from legends and whispers.
-But that means... How old are you? You don't look like you were at the great war, and the champion of Kvatch helped Martin Septim during the oblivion crisis! What are you playing at Shade? - I said, not giving him the satisfaction of recognizing any of his other titles.
-My condition tends to keep me remarkably, fresh. No, I’m not like you, and to divulge my methods would not be a smart thing to do, especially to someone like you - he said, adding a tone of disgust to the last word.
-Fine then, but tell me, how does a captain of the Imperial legion disobeys his superiors, betrays his country, and murders his Emperor?! - I shouted, wanting to mark my presence in the room.
His companions froze, looks like I hit an open wound, Shade lowered his head as if he was in prayer, his lips moved slightly as if he was responding a voice not heard by the other people in the room. I noticed a drop of sweat in the other man's brow, as he reached for his scimitar and rested his hand on its handle. The woman kept her face neutral, but I could sense her weaving magika behind her to prepare a spell. Finally, he brought his head up and smiled a terrible crooked smile at me.
-Would you dare disobey a god? The god that gave you life? Purpose? What if he whispered a name in your ears? Would you dare disobey then? - he asked, while sustaining that horrifying crooked smile.
-But did the Empire not give you these things? Where lies your loyalty? - I asked, avoiding his question.
-Hypocrite, I know enough about you to understand you’re no different, but instead of offering your alliance to a true god, you sell your services to a mere daedra - he said, spiting at this last word and bringing to the table an object wrapped around a cloth, I could sense its energy and began feeling desperate.
-Is that!? Give it back to me thief! - I shouted at him, to no avail.
-First I want to know how a pretty woman like yourself gets accused of rape? And besides, why would I arm you, yet? I saved you from Helgen, so its clear I don't want you dead or else I would have seen to it already. I will tell you what grabbed my attention, your essence, it's different than any man or mer I have ever seen, and I am positive its not because of this - he said as he removed the cloth, revealing my prized mace, a terrifying weapon, decorated with demonic faces and dreadful spikes, that caused a grown man to whimper and cry, pleasant memories, but for now I should focus on getting my weapon back.
-What do you want from me Shade? - I was going to have to start bargaining if I even hoped to get my stuff back.
-Don't worry Ruby, I’m going to give you is your mace, along with your freedom, but first I offer you these words. You have no knowledge of the power you hold, you always felt different, having an essence that no mage could ever recognize. So in your desperation for knowing the truth you made a pact with a daedric prince that offered you this information. Instead he made you become drunk on the power he gave you, you killed, subjugated, tortured and did profanities in his name, and in return he turned you. This made you even more powerful, and in this mad lust for strength you offered your own parents as sacrifice, which he gladly accepted of course. And after beating them into submission he graced you with his weapon, and again, in your mad lust for power you fed the souls of your townsmen to the mace, to end its infernal hunger, making it grow in power. Or so the rumor goes. But I will pass no judgment, I’m not a vigilant of Stendarr, I’m the listener. The only difference between you and me is our methods, and the place we bow our heads in prayer. I offer you the knowledge you were seeking from the beginning, why you are different, how to improve upon that. I will feed your mad lust for power, and the only thing I ask in return is your time, the time for you to listen, and the time for me to train you - he said that and pushed the mace across the table - You are free to go, make your move.
A crooked smile formed in my face as I doubted my fortune, I grabbed the mace and it whispered to me. "Feed me, these servants of sithis will make an excellent meal, you will grow exponentially if these souls are consumed". I took a moment to consider, the mace was right, if I managed to feed of the essences of these people I would grow immensely! But he knew that, I was sure of it, and I also know that he could not arm me if he was not absolutely sure he could kill me, and thinking about that stunt he pulled earlier with the illusion I would not even know if I was fighting the real thing before it was too late, I made my decision and stood up, sheathing my mace comfortably on the side of my hip.
-Check mate Shade, well done, you’ve convinced me, when do we start...
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