[i]A good kill.[/i] Sagax opened his eyes and turned toward the source of the voice. He met the swordsman's cold gaze once more. Cold, yet still an ember of approval danced in the sockets of the specter in front of him. What was he talking about, though? A good kill? [i]The twisted elf...a good kill. A clean strike. But most importantly, you learned to be swift, and drown your fear in resolve.[/i] A brief moment of silent passed as Sagax recalled the events of days past. The falmer, that chaurus and Do'Karth...if he had hesitated for just a second... [i]The Khajiit would be dead. But he is not. Because you stepped forward and intervened, where lesser men would have faltered and ran.[/i] "But what about what you said before? To not be fooled by fear, what did you mean by that, exactly?" The specter tilted his head, as if confused by Sagax's question. [i]It was no riddle, I meant exactly what I said. The chaurus posed no danger to you, yet you still feared that it did. It fooled you into doubting your own skill. But you eventually saw through its ruse, and struck.[/i] "Oh..." Sagax felt a little silly. The spirit had spoken plainly, yet he took their words as some sort of puzzle to be solved. Following a shockingly uncharacteristic chortle, the swordsman spoke. [i]I seek not to confuse you, Sagax, but to teach you. Do not read into my words so much. Riddles are of little use to warriors like us.[/i] Warrior? Sagax was no warrior. He was a weak, little man that could do fancy flips and climb walls. He looked to his bandaged wound, and scoffed. Partially at the swordsman, but also partially at himself. What kind of warrior gives away their position like he did? Hell, what kind of thief does? [i]Why must you deride yourself? Mistakes were made, yes, but mistakes are made to be learned from, not sulked about. In times to come, you will have corrected your missteps and be further on your way to becoming the hero you wish to be.[/i] A hero? He never really thought about being a hero. Besides, he wasn't exactly hero material anyway...people like the Dragonborn, the Nerevarine, they all had a blessing of some kind, or special powers. He was just...Sagax. He could move fast and was alright with a blade, but that's about it. [i]That is where so many people are wrong...heroes don't need special abilities, or be in the pocket of some meddlesome deity. A hero many people seem to have forgotten about is the one who liberated Kvatch from the spawn of Oblivion. The Hero of Kvatch; it's even a part of their title![/i] The Hero of Kvatch? Truthfully, Sagax had to try fairly hard to remember who they were. He read of them once, long ago, in a book about the Oblivion Crisis. From what he could recall, they breached the realm of Oblivion and destroyed the link to the Gate blocking access to Kvatch, and then proceeded to lead a counterattack against the occupying Daedra with the city guards. Surely to accomplish such a feat, they needed some kind of advantage, right? A blessing or some kind of powerful artifact... [i]No. All the Hero of Kvatch had was basic combat skill...and unbreakable resolve. That is all a hero truly needs, Sagax, and you would do well to remember that. Do not worry yourself about fate, destiny, or the gods. All you must do is take up your blade, and advance on your foe, whomever or whatever they be.[/i] Could it really be so simple...? To be a hero? You just need a will and a way to do what's right...is that all? Thinking back, he had done things in the past few weeks that could possibly get someone to label him a hero. Throwing himself at the Kamal to weaken them, jumping on top of a chaurus to save Do'Karth...he could be a hero to somebody, somewhere. He did not have the favor of the gods, nor an enchanted blade of whateverthehell-bane. It was just...himself. Suddenly, the spirit spoke again, breaking the contemplative silence permeating the misty dreamscape. [i]It is time for us to part again. Think about what we spoke of, and hopefully you will come to the right conclusion.[/i] As the spirit turned and walked away, Sagax shouted after them. "Wait! What about my next lesson? You never told me!" His voice beginning to fade, the swordsman shouted back. [i]That was your lesson, Sagax! To learn what truly makes a hero! Now go! The first person that should accept you as a hero is yourself, so as practice, learn to embrace your own deeds![/i] <> [i]CRASH[/i] He woke up to the sounds of yelling and the smashing of furniture. By the time he left his room, all Sagax could see was Farid being restrained by some members of the company, face spattered with blood. Ashav was blocking the view into the room behind him as best as he could, and was shooing away nosy onlookers. He swallowed his curiosity and stayed far away from the scene; whatever happened probably wasn't something he wanted to see first thing in the morning. Grabbing his gear and swiping an unattended copy of the new Gazette, Sagax stood outside of the inn and began reading, if only to make it seem like he didn't care about the current situation in the company. Reading through, he didn't find much of interest until... [i]The Nibenese secret society known as the Seventh Estate (rumored to be vampires), is the prime suspect. Individuals associated with the assassins broke out prisoners from Imperial City prison. Known escapees include Caius Speculatus, a former guard captain now likely to be working with the Seventh Estate.[/i] Sagax threw down the paper in...confusion? Joy? Anger? He didn't know what to think. His father was finally free...but as a fugitive! And what was the story behind this "Seventh Estate"? Why would they stage a prison break? Recruits? Impossible! His father would rather die than collaborate with enemies of the empire! A hundred emotions swirling in his head, the Imperial sped off in no direction in particular. He just needed to think. To breathe. To rationalize. <> Soap, wash rags, dried meats, canteen, whetstone, hammer, bedroll, fire starter kit, bandages, splints... [i]Knock knock[/i] "Come in! I'm just checking over some things! Through the door entered an Altmer, both hands holding bottles of red and green liquids. "Darling...are you sure about this? He's a resourceful fellow, I'm sure he'll be fine..." The knightess shook her head. "No, Varulae, I have to go...you know how reckless Sagax can be. I need to be there to help him. Gods know what scoundrels and scum he's partnered himself with, they'd never lend a damned finger..." She knew that look. It was the same look Varulae gave to Sagax when he left. It meant she understood, but she didn't like it. "I thought you'd say that...that's why I prepared these." Setting the four phials into the leather backpack, Varulae placed her hands on Piper's shoulders. "Just be sure that you don't forget to take care of yourself as well, alright? I want to see you two again in one piece when this is over, me and your mother both." "I promise we'll all be together again. I'll make sure of it myself." With one final sigh, the high-elf tightly embraced the hard-headed Imperial woman in front of her, using all of her willpower not to keep holding on. "You'd better go say goodbye to your mother, the caravan will be leaving soon." Nodding her head, Piper clipped her four pouches onto her belt harness and threaded her arms through the pack's straps, and grabbed her helmet and longsword. Varulae stopped her just as she was about to head downstairs. "Piper, you've forgotten your gold, dear!" "I've forgotten no such thing. That's for you and mother." Varulae looked no less than shocked. Piper was leaving behind every piece of coin she raised selling her pieces, along with the inheritance her master gave her with his passing. "Wha-but, Piper, you need SOME money, surely! We can't take all of this!" "I'll have more than enough money; I'm going to sign up with whatever company Sagax is a part of. Varulae, if you or mother show a single symptom of...anything, anything at all, I want you to head for Daggerfall. Use every last coin you need to. Don't let anything slide!" With that, Piper made her way to the main room before Varulae could utter a word; she wasn't going to hear any opposition. Standing next to the front door was Equa, in her favorite blue dress, her red hair tied into a tight bun with streaks of gray showing through. "Mother..." Equa raised her hand and simply smiled. "You don't need to justify anything to me, honey. You do what you believe you have to do. You and your brother have never been away from each other for long, anyway, this was bound to happen eventually." Hugging her daughter and kissing what little cheek was left uncovered by the chainmail coif, Equa hoisted Piper's teardrop shield from its place on the wall and put it in her hand. "Stendarr be with you, sweetheart. We'll be right here, waiting for you both. I love you." Suddenly finding herself short of breath, Piper let out a crackly "I love you too", and shoved on her helmet as she left the house. Now with the caravan, all Piper needed to do was hope Sagax could hold out for however long it took to catch up with his company. Until then...well, perhaps he wouldn't do anything too terribly stupid.