User blog:HambleBee/Mortal II

When he arrived, he found that the desk was empty, and a sign that the slots were already full. He sighed, and know that he wouldn't see anymore battle, at least likely until tomorrow.

As Emeric tried to leave the arena, he was encountered by a young girl, who seemed to be blind.

"Sir? C-Can you spare a coin..?" The child begged for some septims.

"Who are you?" Emeric asked.

"P-P-P---" The girl stuttered when she was asked of her name. It was as if she didn't want to say her name, out of fear of getting laughed at.

"Be quick, girl. My patience is thinner than you think." The Breton warned.

"P-Pura..." The girl whimpered.

Emeric remained silent for a while. "Pura, huh? Strange name." He shrugged. "...I suppose." He eventually decided to hand over a septim.

"Th-Thank you, s-s-sir." The girl thanked the Breton, before she left the man, running away.

"Leaving children to suffer. What has the world become these days?" Emeric asked himself, before he went to head for the-

"Sir." A courier arrived to deliver a message to him. "Your Overseer, Caius, demands your presence at the Imperial Palace, top urgent priority. You're given the clearance to pass through the palace uninterrupted." He said.

"Very well." Emeric sighed. He immediately walked for the palace to see his Overseer. As he arrived, he was greeted with a worried Imperial.

"Apprentice, I fear I have made a critical mistake. The Emperor himself, Valerius Motierre, demands your presence. I fear he has caught wind of our plans, and wishes to see you." The Overseer warned.

"Am I prepaed for this?" Emeric asked, with obvious worry in his voice.

"It doesn't matter. Prepared or not, you will need to face him now. Be warned, my apprentice: Emperor Valerius is a very powerful and ruthless man. You must take him seriously at all times. And by what I said, I really mean it."

"Yes, Overseer."

"The Emperor is in the Ruby Throne. The guards know that you are expected, and will not interfere with you. Be careful, and good luck."

Emeric bowed a bit, before he decided to head for the chambers of the Emperor himself. There, he met the ruler of all the Empire...

Valerius Motierre. A Breton in his 40s, with fair skin, yellow eyes, and a fine haircut. He was garbed in his signature Emperor's clothing, with a trusty steel sword and two Penitus Oculatus Agents at his side.

"So, you are the apprentice I have heard a lot about." The Emperor said, gesturing for Emeric to remain standing and for his guards to leave. The guards obeyed without question.

"I have heard of your exploits, and your training, even if you do not realize it, breaks the tradition I have built since I took the Ruby Throne. You are misinformed, unknowledgable, and blinded by the dark." The Emperor coldly noted.

"What am I supposed to do then, my lord?" Emeric asked as politely as possible. He didn't let a man in a golded throne intmidate him, nor he ever thought of doing something stupid against such a powerful man without power of his own.

"If you wish to redeem yourself, then you must perform a series of tasks for me, and see if you are truly willing, and able to learn.

First off; What are the two most important tools for a survivalist? And what is the most powerful weapon a person can have? The three tools?" The Emperor asked.

"I am afraid I don't know the answers to that, my lord." Emeric said. As far as he knew, there was more than one answer, but which answer was unknown. He gave his reply with honesty however.

"Then you must first learn these three first hand, if you wish to survive. Die, and you will be forgotten. Fail, and you will perish either way.

Your new task will be to kill your current Overseer: Caius. bring me his ears as proof, and return to me. Dismissed." The Emperor gave the order to the young Breton.

Though shocked and hesitant at first, Emeric shrugged off all emotions, and headed for Overseer Caius's office again.

"Welcome back, apprentice. I trust that the Emperor gave you a nice word? Tell me, what has he told you?" Caius asked.

"He wants you dead." Emeric simply said.

"So I have been outplayed. He has found out about our plans, and now this can come to two things: Either you srike me down, or he forces me to kill you and destroy our own plan. A master stroke." Cauis sighed.

"Surely there's another way to resolve this?" Emeric tried to persuade the Overseer.

"I'm afraid not, apprentice. Rest assured, I will not back down without a fight. Don't worry. I'll try making this as painless as possible." Caius said, before drawing his blade. Before he could even make a move, Emeric grabbed his swordarm, and forced his fist at the lower elbow, and bending his arm at the wrong direction, immediatley ending the fight in a second.

"No..! I mean... wow.... I never... never expected you to be fast enough to... to take... the initiative..!" Caius said in amazement before kneeling.

"Go ahead then. Make it quick." He said between breaths.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, Overseer. I need only your ears." Emeric noted.

"My ears..? I see... So the Emperor wants my ears as proof of my death. But I don't know if this is wise. If he finds out that I'm still alive, he can punish you for treachery,and mercy is for the weak..." Caius warned Emeric.

"...So be it, then. I will respect your decision." Emeric gave his final answer.

"As you were, apprentice. Before the deed is done, I wish you well. Remember that you are the only hope for the Empire, and that I die, knowing that I have succeeded in bolstering your resolve." Caius gave his last words, before he let Emeric perform the deed. The Breton made it quick with a stab in the heart, before he cut off the Overseer's ears, and went back to the Ruby Throne room with the proof in hand.

"I see you have outdone yourself, Breton. You truly are capable." Valerius said.

"Now that you have completed your first task for me as my apprentice, you arw worthy of learning the the three tools that I used to survive. It is not even material. It is three things.

Anonymity and deception. These are the first two tools. The most important tool: Your mind. These three tools are the best weapons you have." He instructed.

"I understand, my lord." Emeric nodded.

"As you were, then." Valerius nodded. "Now then: For your new assignment as my apprentice, you are to head for the town of Bravil, and meet up with the Count of Broma there. Tell him that the time has come. He will understand. Now, begone, and do not return until your task is complete." The Emperor said. The Breton bowed, before he left for the stables outside the city.

....

On the way, he saw a child being harassed by some pirate. He recognized the child as the same beggar that received a septim from him. He grunted, and decided to give the pirate a telekinetic choke, before releasing him in time to avoid killing him.

The girl whimpered and crawled away from the pirate, before looking up and recognizing Emeric. "Y-Y-You... m-m-mister..? I-I, th-th-th-th-thank y-y-y-you." The girl muttered.

"Who are you? Where are your parents?" Emeric asked straight to the point. For a cold-blooded warrior, he wasn't above helping children.

"Th-They're g-g-gone n-now... They... Th-They died d-during a s-storm at the d-d-docks... The d-dreugh k-killed them..." The girl explained.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that." Emeric sighed. He knew that he had to leave soon. "M-Mister..? is it a-alright if I... if I can f-follow you? I-I won't b-be a burden... I promise..!" The girl exclaimed.

For a small girl, she has guts, but quite the whimpering kind. Emeric though. As much as he wanted to just leave the kid and move on, he knew he couldn't. He just couldn't. Plus, if the Imperial Guard questioned her about a near-dead pirate, he could get in trouble.

"...Alright. You can come with me, but I expect you to lift your own weight, understand?" Emeric said.

"I-I w-will..! Th-Thank you..!!" Pura exclaimed. She took on a happy smile, and began to follow Emeric, who just rolled his eyes behind the girl as he walked for the stables.

Using the septims he won at the arena, he hired a carriage for Bruma, and was now off for a mostly-safe travel.

Pura hummed a tune during the trip. Emeric on the other hand, pulled out a book and started to read. He was reading about Alchemy, and thought of utilizing it for his own purposes.

He realized just how smart he may have decided in taking the child, sending her to collect flowers and butterflies, and use her as an errand girl. But there was also the fact that she had to be fed, which was annoying. Very annoying.

Even so, he decided to take good care of the girl. Perhaps she could be useful. If she survives the journey to come, that is.