Every night as dinner would be served, Jauffre had taken the opportunity to brief the assembled Blades in occurrences throughout the empire and the campaign against the cult. Almost a full week after our return to the fortress Jauffre stood, framed by the fireplace and looking over the sea of faces arrayed at the tables in the hall. His expression was grim and he looked every day of his true age.

  “The war has begun.”

  As the silence deepened he motioned with a single sheet of parchment in his hand. “Oblivion gates have opened throughout Tamriel, and while each have been comparatively small compared to what happened to Kvatch there have already been losses.”

  “How bad is it?” one of the Blades asked softy, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Jauffre paused, seemingly to try to not believe the reports that he had been receiving over the previous days. “Villages been razed, hundreds slaughtered and if the reports I have received are accurate then some cities have been destroyed. Ald’Ruhn is apparently nothing more than a smoking ruin.”

  Those of us familiar with the Dunmer city openly gaped at the news. The seat of House Redoran was one of the more defensible cities in Vvardenfell and for it to fall did not bode well for the rest of the Empire.

  “How?” the question echoed through the room, the speaker unseen among the tables. “The Mythic Dawn has been smashed. We control their shrine. How are these portals being created?”

  Martin stood up from his chair and moved towards the centre of the hall, nervous at speaking but confident in his knowledge. “Those who Kaius and Viconia killed in the Lake Arrius Caverns represented only a tiny fraction of the whole. There are possibly dozens of cultists still hidden in every city throughout Tamriel and while the loss of their shrine is crippling it isn’t fatal.”

  Carefully he opened a lid of the crate sitting near his chair and rummaged through its contents for a moment. I could see it was one of the dozens that I had last seen within the cult’s storerooms, and as he turned around he held a pair of the perfectly formed spheres of obsidian in his hands.

  “These are Sigil Stones.” He explained, holding them up for all of us to see. “They are the key and the way that the cult is summoning the portals. They don’t look like much but these represent the ultimate level of knowledge of the arts of Conjuration and Alteration. With these, even the most unskilled of mages can create a portal to Oblivion.”

  “So how do we stop them?” I asked carefully, seeing nods of agreement in the crowd of Blades around us.

  “The most preferred option is to stop them from creating the gates in the first place.” He held up the stone in his right hand, showing it to us all and showing that it was black and perfectly smooth with no discerning features. “The stockpile of these stones that we have acquired from their shrine is a considerable setback to the cult and all that are being found are being brought here for safekeeping.”

  Carefully, he raised his other hand and the stone contained within. It was no simple sphere of polished stone, but seemed to be writhing and pulsating with foul energies. Ethereal flames swirled inside like oil spreading through water, and a symbol had been carved into the surface that hurt the eyes to look at. “However, when the stones activate they are pulled into oblivion, creating a portal with the stone acting as an anchor within that foul realm. This activation, when done correctly and through the correct rituals can be performed anywhere and is perfectly safe other than creating an entrance for Daedra to enter Mundus. But as you all can expect, the Mythic Dawn don’t care about safety so every time a stone has been activated you can guarantee that the one performing the ritual is killed and their soul sent screaming into Oblivion.”

  With a nod of his head Martin motioned to Viconia and myself. “Once a portal is opened the only way that it can be closed is by someone removing the stone from where it anchors and channels the energies. This particular stone is the one that Viconia removed from the portal outside of Kvatch so in essence every portal that opens needs to be closed by someone physically entering Oblivion.”

  The unease that washed through the room was obvious as was the sudden sour stink of fear from some of the more junior Blades. The thought of willingly entering Oblivion through waves of daedra was not one that came easy, not even for the Emperor’s agents.

  “Thankfully to create a Sigil Stone takes a ridiculous amount of time, resources and knowledge.” he continued, straightening as he placed the stones back into the crate. “Not only do you have to prepare a chamber of exacting specifications, but there are only two days of the year during the spring and autumn equinox that the rites can be undertaken. The rites themselves are extensive and time consuming and even the slightest error can render the entire ritual useless, but once created the stones can be stored indefinitely and are difficult to destroy.”

  “The trick and our key strategy to stop more gates from opening,” Jauffre continued, “Is to track down these stones by tracking down the cultists and ensuring that no more can be created. The caverns at lake Arrius had two such chambers prepared and they had over forty crates in the storerooms. Each crate contained at least four stones but there were signs that there were more that had been recently removed. We have to go by the assumption that there could be any number of these things scattered throughout the Empire and the sheer numbers involved means that there are easily dozens of the ritual chambers hidden out there.”

  He gaze was as hard as steel as he looked over all of us sitting around the fireplace. “I have already sent orders to every Blade throughout Tamriel that their priority is to track down the cultists and find these chambers. With their recruitment location compromised they will struggle to gain more members and without the chambers they will be unable to create more stones.”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  “The worst news is still to come.” Martin spoke up again, looking downcast at the news he was about the share. “We are in a race against time before the barriers between us and Oblivion fail and every gate that is opened hastens us to that end. It’s like poking holes into a sheet of mouldering fabric, with each hole the fabric becomes weaker until it simply falls apart.”

  “The biggest issue that we currently face is that while our brothers and sisters can track down and deal with individual cultists on their own, we have to rely on outside assistance to smash any cells that they uncover.” Jauffre motioned to all of us again, pacing up and down in front of the fire as he spoke. “Every city in the Empire appears to have a dozen or more cultists working in a coven and we just don’t have the numbers to defeat them on our own. So far the outer provinces have access to resources or groups capable of offering the manpower needed. Skyrim and Morrowind are going to be the easiest to clear of the cult. Skyrim’s holds and the Companions are willing to lend us aid and with the destruction of Ald’Ruhn not only are the Great Houses offering aid but so is the Tribunal Temple.”

  He sighed heavily, rubbing at his eyes even as he tried not to show any form of weakness. “But here in Cyrodiil we are coming up short. I can’t afford to send any of you away with the threat of one of these daedra worshippers opening a portal outside our walls, and with the stagnation of the Elder Council I have no authority to utilise the Legion or Imperial Watch.”

  “What about Kaius and myself?” Viconia asked simply.

  He nodded. “As capable as you two are, you can’t be in more than one place at a time. We need a group with the numbers to be able to assist our operatives everywhere they are needed and to do so at a moment’s notice.”

  “What about the Fighter’s Guild?” I added, feeling everyone else turn to look at me. For a second I paused at the attention before shrugging. “They sound perfect for your needs. There’s groups of them in every city and if there is one thing that they excel at its pest control.”

  There were a handful of chuckles from the Blades around me at my black humour and Jauffre’s face creased into a slight smile. “We don’t have the coin to put them all on the payroll.”

  “You don’t need to.” Jauffre motioned for me to continue as my anxiousness increased at everyone’s undivided attention. “They trade in coin and reputation. If you can’t provide the coin directly but can assist them improving their reputation to get more contracts instead then I believe they will be willing to help. They have been falling on hard times as of late and now with everything that is going on they are going to be struggling as every sell-sword, caravan guard and retired legionary dusts their gear off and starts advertising their services.”

  “It sounds to me like you have an idea on how to improve their reputation.” His eyes were amused now.

  “I think if they were known to have the Heroes of Kvatch in their ranks that not only would the flow of coin improve but they as an organisation would consider helping killing off a few cultists from time to time. If not gratis, then at least in exchange for favours in the future.”

  “You’d join the Guild?” Belisarius mocked me lightly in good humour. “And waste all your potential with a group of thugs?”

  “Look, I’m no good for all this cloak-and-dagger stuff. I’m able to cut throats and kill unarmed cultists by the dozen but as for tracking them down in the first place?” I waved my hands in front of me hopelessly. “Some days I’d struggle to find my own arse unless I sat on my hands.”

  Viconia’s expression said that she doubted I’d be able to succeed even in that scenario and I made a point of ignoring her. “But killing rats and rescuing Khajiit out of trees? That I can do.”

  “And you Viconia?” Jauffre asked, turning to her.

  “Sounds more exciting than sitting around her waiting for the end of the world.” Her arms crossed in front of her chest as she leaned further back under everyone’s stares.

  “Well it sounds plausible, and if I know Vilena and Modryn then they won’t turn down two new recruits with your fame. I’ll send a message to them tomorrow and let them know to expect you in Chorrol.”

  We continued talking for an hour or more, discussing details of the campaign against the Mythic Dawn. It would easily be a month or more before Martin could make any real headway with the Mysterium Xarxes or to find a way to track down the Cult’s leader. In the meantime, it seemed that Viconia and I were to be the newest recruits in the Fighters Guild, a fact that I knew would please Barz gro-Khash once he heard. It would be couple of days before our equipment would be ready and so we had some time to rest in comfort, to stretch out the last of our injuries and prepare for whatever the Guild would throw our way.

  For a while we listened to the Blades, and to Martin and Jauffre explaining and coming up with further ideas to stop the machinations of Mehrunes Dagon and his followers. The idea of utilising the Imperial Tariff and Customs systems to track the use and trade of materials utilised in the cult’s activities and creation of Sigil Stones was snatched up eagerly by Jauffre. It was doubly effective when Martin stated that the key ingredient for nearly all of the rituals was significant quantities of Void Salts which their comparative rarity would make it easy to track and monitor. The Imperial Tax agents would become unknowing pawns in the battle against the darkness once Jauffre utilised some of his contacts and skill. Soon the word had been sent out to every corner of the Empire that Void Salts were now to be taxed and controlled in a similar manner as ebony and Dwemer artefacts. Reports of smuggling or purchases over a handful of grams would soon be finding its way to Jauffre’s desk where he could direct agents to investigate. It was confronting to know even the tiniest hints of how much power the Emperor’s Soldier-Spies could wield.

  We stayed another two nights at the fortress, ensuring that our armour was repaired or replaced as best as it could be by the smiths. My chainmail hauberk was completely repaired and a new breastplate replaced the other punctured by crossbow bolts. Despite the weight I was no longer willing to rely on speed and agility alone for protection as what I once was. I would now fight with as much metal cladding my skin as I could without reducing my effectiveness with a bow and Viconia was similarly following the same ideas. While remaining as nimble as a dancer or acrobat she had ensured that a new plate cuirass covered her chest and an armoured gorget protected the spot where a bolt had punched deep. She would not fall victim the same way twice.

  Come morning we once more were dressed and our horses saddled, feeling the chilly breeze from the snow clad mountains on our faces as we looked over the assembled Blades. Martin and Jauffre were in the group, thankful for our assistance and confident in our abilities but still uneasy with once again watching us ride off into the distance to an uncertain future. There was no doubt that we were fully capable of completing our mission to gain the assistance of the Fighter’s Guild but after what had happened to us both at the hands of the Mythic Dawn they were worried about what price we would pay. Neither Viconia and I said anything for the first hour as we travelled down the winding path in the direction of Bruma, instead choosing the company of our own thoughts at the task ahead.