Sagax had ignored the duel that day, instead taking the time to walk about Dawnstar to collect his thoughts. Could his father really have betrayed the Empire? Though, perhaps it was understandable. The Empire, or more specifically, the Elder Council, betrayed him years before. Did that shake Caius' faith so much that he would collaborate with would-be assassins of the emperor? To have years of loyal service to the Empire and its people, thrown in your face would no doubt make one bitter and resentful. Sagax's face turned from angry contemplation to horror as he ran through another possibility. What if the rumors were true? That the Estate were vampires, and they turned his father when they came upon his cell? That was a thought that the Imperial wished he never came up with, and even worse, he couldn't tell if either scenario was better than the other. Sagax simply didn't know what to think, and neither did he have the energy or will to interact with anyone that day. So, he resigned himself to staring out towards the sea for most of the day before Dough-Boy found him.

"Speculatus, there you are! Ashav's calling everyone together, announcing our next assignment. We're meeting near the Argonian camp outside the city!" And just like that, off he went, barely giving Sagax time to register him.

"Another assignment? Already?" Sagax sighed. Well, at least it probably wasn't going to be any worse than Windhelm, and maybe this time he wouldn't get an arrow stuck in his arm. Flipping up his hood, Sagax made his way to the meeting area, ignoring everything he passed by along the way; he simply wasn't in the mood to put up with anything.

"Great, more boats..." Thought Sagax aloud as he made his way back to the inn after being given his new assignment. Could things just not go to shit every once in a while? Was that just too much for a man to hope for? Probably. Lately it seemed the gods absolutely delighted in the suffering and hysteria enveloping Skyrim, so any chance for a lucky break seemed very, very slim.

[i]Good gods above, just listen to yourself![/i] Rubbing his eyes, mainly in frustration rather than out of any exhaustion, Sagax silently scolded himself. Why was he letting all of this get to him so much? Not everything was horrible! He still had his friends, he wasn't exactly dying, and as far as he knew, his mother and sister were perfectly safe living with Varulae. The last mission was somewhat successful, with a good portion of the mages making it to Dawnstar. Maybe the trip to Bthamz will go just fine.

With the departure of the [i]Kynes's Tear[/i] and its partner ship set for the morning, Sagax decided that it would be best to hit the pillow early. Besides, the less time he had to rethink his optimism, the better.

[i]The next morning...[/i]

Sagax rose bright and early, the rising sun beating down on his face from the window. Cracking open his door, the inn was fairly empty, save for the one or two fellow early-risers. He heard a thud against the door when he opened it further, and looked down to find a small package with his last name etched on the top with ink. Opening it up, he found his new shirt, and the potions he requisitioned. The shirt was plain white cotton with long sleeves and a short open section that reached from the collar to the chest, though one could lace it up if they so wished. Kind of looked like Leif's, now that Sagax thought about it. He never really thought about how plainly he dressed, despite being a bard and mass suitor. Well, everyone has different tastes, Sagax supposed.

Discarding his old, singed shirt in favor of his fully-intact new one, Sagax packed up his potions and settled back in to his armor. Deciding that maybe he could use the fabric for something later, maybe, he packed in his old shirt as well. He wasn't particularly hungry, so instead of sitting down to eat, Sagax simply bit off a few pieces of his hardtack and went outside. The cold air wasn't unwelcome, in fact he had seemed to have grown to prefer it over the mildly-warm weather of Cyrodiil. It was just something different and new. 

Not long after he left the inn, those assigned to the Bthamz expedition had gathered around the pier, ready to board their respective vessels. He was assigned to the partner ship, the one with the charges stored away inside of it. Over the course of the trip he was heckled for stories, along with Roze, and for the most part played along in her tales. One such tale included him flinging his sword like a throwing-knife straight through the eye slits of a Kamal commander's helm, blinding him before the Imperial landed the final blow by ripping the blade out and driving it back into the beast's skull. Of course he broke the awed silence with loud laughter and a confession of forgery, and went along with what really happened, showing his burn scars as proof.

[i]Two days later, in Bthamz...[/i]

As the elevator came to a halt and the steam cleared, Sagax heard the sound of metal against metal, and metal against stone. Mechanical abominations rolled out of the walls, and small spider-like machines skittered toward the group. Leif was overwhelmed by the spiders, and the new dunmer took a bolt to the leg. Sagax quickly unsheathed his blade and attempted to advance on the wretched machines assaulting Leif, but he was intercepted by an arachnid that had gotten past the shieldbearers of the group. He entered a parrying stance, but instead of some physical that he could deflect, the Imperial was blasted with electrical shocks. The electricity coursed all throughout his body, paralyzing him long enough for the spider to jump on top of him and knock Sagax to the ground, making him hit his head hard against the cold stone floor.

"You blasted metal demon...! BEGONE!" Gripping one of the struts it used for legs, Sagax tossed away the spider drone. His arm was still weak from the arrow he took, so it didn't go far enough for him to get up in time and assume a proper stance. Gripping his sword as tightly as he could, he smacked at the skittering beast as he scrambled to his feet, it continually leaping at him with blind determination. Unfortunately, metal doesn't do well against metal, and at most Sagax could keep the damn thing away, but not actually kill it.

Sagax then took note of something. The red spinning orb on top of his foe's metal shell hummed with a strange energy, and it was where the bolt of electricity that struck him originated. Taking a blind leap of faith, Sagax aimed for the strange contraption. Keeping as steady as he could manage in the hectic situation he was in, Sagax jabbed straight into the small cage that housed the orb, and slammed into it with the tip of his shortsword, knocking it loose. Suddenly, the spider drone stopped completely, being frozen in a readied stance for but a moment before crumpling to the ground, lifeless and harmless as a collector's decoration.

Finally being allowed to stand up fully, Sagax winced and held his hand to the back of his head, which had grown slightly moist. He had foolishly pulled down his cloak hood, which was his only real form of head protection. Amazing. Why are you such a head wound-magnet, Sagax? You're going to end up like Gordo at this rate...if Sevine doesn't get to you first.