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The Road to Ruin	By : pirouette Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Oblivion Views: 2485 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I neither own nor am affiliated with Bethesda or TES:Oblivion, and am making no money from this fic.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
The
Road to Ruin, Chapter Nine: The Weight of the World

Baurus had two messages for
me upon his next return. First, Caleigh approved of my taste in wine�Baurus had
managed to convince her to take a glass before bed each night to help her
sleep. The second was another kiss, which lasted far longer than it should
have. When his tongue found mine for the first time, I wondered briefly if we
were going to pull away at all.
His impending departure put
me in foul mood: I was still bitter that he was the one holding her at night,
while I was trapped behind these walls, eating nothing but cured meats and
breads. I sent him off with another kiss�for her�and then went to brood
in my room.
Jauffre let himself in a few
hours later and sat on the bench that faced the bed.
�Martin, I think it's time
you told me what is wrong.�
I didn't know where to
begin. She is gone was too trite and also too obvious. You will not
give me back the Xarxes was not convincingly enough my own thought for me
to feel comfortable voicing it. I keep kissing Baurus would cause myriad
more problems than I was already dealing with. No. I chose the one I knew we
had a common ground on which to discuss�I chose to speak to him as a priest
does a monk.
�I have not yet managed to
overcome my crisis of faith from Kvatch.�
Jauffre sighed and shook his
head. �You still do not see the patterns, do you?�
�What patterns?�
�Martin. Your cult
activities gave you the background we needed to get as far as we have. Without
your time in Sanguine's thrall, you never would have managed to bend the Mysterium
Xarxes to your will. Without that time, you couldn't have attracted Caleigh
to you, either.�
�Caleigh is part of the
pattern?� My heart rate became unsteady�that is how much I wanted to believe
his words.
He nodded. �You are right
when you say that no Blade would have succeeded where she has. I have
considered this at some length, and came to this conclusion even before she
became a Crusader.�
I sighed. �Why has Akatosh
not spoken to me, then?�
He raised an eyebrow�a habit
he had picked up from tending Caleigh after her ill-fated trip through Bruma's
Gate. �Has he not? Or have you stopped listening?�
I shook my head. �I honestly
do not know.�
�You will hear him, when the
time is right. And when you need him the most, he will answer your call. That
is always the way of it with the Nine.� He gave me a small smile and excused
himself from the room. I managed to pass that night with no bad dreams, but the
next morning I was allowed to take the Mysterium Xarxes back in my
hands. My fingers tingled as power flowed from the book into my skin, but I
forced myself to breathe.
I bade it show me the Great
Gate. I tore the secrets of its formation away from the pages before it could
distract me with more images of Caleigh. Only when I realized the enormity of
what I had to do did my sense of purpose waver. The Xarxes chose this
moment to renew its efforts to retake my mind. I struggled as it attempted to
show me her crying in the rain again�blood on her armor�diverted the
image. Ignored the scenes of her and Baurus tangled together
in the woods, his teeth at her throat, her screaming in passion, the smell of
sex thick in the air. Found I trusted them. Stumbled
upon something entirely new.
Dagon
in Tamriel. Part of a plan, a future that no book
would know. That is when I realized Mankar Camoran and the Mysterium
Xarxes were one and the same�and of course, I should have known that
already!�because he had bound himself to the book. He had been watching me,
just as I had been watching him. Which meant he knew Caleigh
would be coming after the Amulet. I closed the book with shaking hands.
What in Akatosh's name had I been doing playing around inside its pages? The
longer the Dragonfires remained quenched, the closer Dagon came to breaking
through to our realm entirely. And once that happened, nothing done by man or
mer could stop him.
I locked the volume in a
chest in the armory, where its whispers were quietest, and vowed not to open it
again until the time came to cast the spell. Our only hope was that Mankar
Camoran had not yet sifted through my confused thoughts of Baurus and Caleigh
to locate the plan that was forming within my mind the moment I saw Dagon
roaming my lands.
Bruma would have to fall.
There was nothing for me to
do but pray. Pray, and begin to defile the center of the Great Hall with the
dark runes required to mark the location of the portal I would be opening to Paradise.
The mood of our dinners was never quite the same after I had completed the
inscription.
It was at this point that
guards began to arrive from the other cities. Cheydinhal, Chorrol, Skingrad,
and even Kvatch�Akatosh bless them! I sent down the rest of the Tamika's to
their camp when I heard that they had rallied to me. I supposed Caleigh and
Baurus to be in Anvil, and hoped that he would visit again when she rode back
toward Bravil. I passed the week in prayer, and rose one morning to find him
eating breakfast in the Great Hall. He looked exhausted.
�By the Nine, Baurus, are
you all right?� I asked, sitting down next to him. He shook his head quietly.
After he ate, we retired to my room to discuss his news. I was saddened, but
not surprised, to hear that Caleigh was not doing well. He told me she was
neither sleeping nor eating, and had also lost weight. When I pointed out that
the same appeared to be true for him, he shrugged it off. Jauffre and I
tried to get him to rest, but he insisted on switching out for a fresh horse
and riding to meet her in Bravil. We traded kisses in the stables again�this
time his teeth lingered at my neck�and he told me Caleigh had insisted he start
calling me Martin when no one else was around to hear.
�But I can't do it, sir.� He
shook his head in bemusement.
I chuckled. �Someday, Baurus. Now go. I want the two of you back here
safely�and soon.�
They completed the circuit
in another three weeks. Baurus returned to me, staying on this time to rest,
but Caleigh remained outside the walls to collect the last of the Relics the
Nine had tasked her to recover. Then, she said, she would defeat their enemy
and turn the gods' full attention back on the Mythic Dawn.
For once, it went according
to plan. But the woman who returned to me at the Temple
was not the one who had left me in tears months ago. The mer who walked calmly
up the steps in a blue velvet gown and let the Blades see to stabling Celeste
was not the woman who had seduced me in the library. She was calmer, more
confident, less carefree. Her hair was brushed, and
her face and hands were clean. When she gave me a restrained hug and I looked
into her vacant eyes, I hated myself. Baurus was watching me intently, eyes
sad�he must have wanted to warn me, but had not known how.
�I've missed you so much,� I
murmured into her ear, and she kissed my cheek politely. I thought Jauffre
would be pleased to find she had finally learned to respect appearances, but he
looked as concerned as the rest of us. I was completely at a loss.
My reservations crumbled
along with her fa�ade when we finally retired from an awkward dinner in the
Great Hall to my room. Baurus was keeping watch at the end of the hall, but
when he heard her burst into tears he let himself through the sliding door of
my room. My arms slid around her and I pulled her to me, and she clutched at my
robe and cried so hard she could hardly speak.
�By Y'ffre, I thought I
wouldn't see you again!� she gasped at last, burying her face against my
shoulder. I stroked her hair and tried to soothe her.
�All those Gates,� she
wailed. �And what I went through to fight Umaril! I can't... I can't....�
�Shhhhh.
You are here now,� I murmured. �It's over.�
She shook her head. �No, it
isn't. We still don't have the Amulet.�
�I know how to get it back.
But we're not going to talk about that right now.�
She nodded like a little
girl, and I wiped the worst of the tears from her face with the sleeve of my
robe. Baurus turned to go, but she called his name, beckoned him over. He
looked to me for consent, and I nodded. It was too late to pretend.
Caleigh pulled us both over
onto the bed, and we held her until her tears stopped. I felt the muscles in my
back un-knot for the first time in weeks, and relaxed into her warmth with a
sigh. I awoke to her lips on my neck later that night, found Baurus gone from
the bed, and let her love me. Afterward, she slept again, and I tried to
shelter her from her nightmares. As she slept in my arms, I lay awake and
dreaded when I would have to tell her that she needed to return to Dagon's
Oblivion for me once more, and soon.
When she woke, she seemed
much more at ease. She spent the morning swordfighting in the courtyard with
Cyrus, who eventually ended the encounter with a look of bemused exhaustion and
a bruised shield arm. I considered asking her after lunch for details of Ocato,
the cities, and her Crusade, but I decided it would be best to allow her to
tell me when she was ready. But if I had asked then, I would have been better
prepared to help her when she needed it most.
�Martin, are you okay?� she
asked me that night, finding me where I brooded on the battlement. I had sent
another letter�my plan was being put into action.
�We'll talk about it
tomorrow.� I looked down toward Bruma, imagining the look on the Countess' face
as she read my request. Thought of all the guardsmen asleep in their tents,
completely unaware that it was unlikely they would survive the week. When I was
surprised by my first sob, she threw her arms around me and pulled us to the cold
stone at our feet, glaring warningly at the shocked Blade keeping watch a few
feet away. His head snapped front, and we were left with a semblance of
privacy.
�Hey,� she whispered in my
ear, and I gripped her tighter as her actions summoned memories of the first
night we met and she had held me as I cried into her arms. I envisioned the
broken dead at Kvatch, thought again of Bruma, and almost vomited.
�What am I going to do without you?� I gasped,
and she squeezed again.
�No,� she said with
conviction, running her hands over my hair and forcing me to look at her. �I
love you. As long as you're alive, I'll be at your side.�
I giggled�a disgusting sound
after tears. �Who would have guessed you'd make such a good Blade?�
She didn't smile. �It's the
only way I can stay with you. Of course I am.�
I couldn't meet her eyes. I
wondered if Jauffre had spoken to her or if she had always known,
and considered asking before I realized that would be an insult to her
intelligence. Of course she had always known. The fact that
she still planned to remain my Blade, no matter what, was infinitely
comforting. I told myself that I would be able to content myself with
that when I had moved into the palace. I told myself that having her and Baurus
as my personal bodyguards would be enough.
I knew that it was a lie.
But there was nothing else to be done. I was rougher than usual with her that
night, and I am sure her groans of encouragement made it impossible for Baurus
to sleep in the adjacent room. I awoke feeling selfish.
The Great Hall was in an
uproar when we went down to breakfast. The Countess had returned my message,
but Jauffre had intercepted it while I was still abed. He saw me as I entered
the room and practically snarled, waving the parchment for emphasis.
�Martin, what in Talos' name
do you think you are doing?�
�Taking
the initiative, Grandmaster.�
He shook his head. �This is
too much. How on earth did you get the Countess to agree to this?�
�She trusts me, and she
trusts Caleigh.�
Caleigh
blinked at me. Realized that another Gate was in her future.
Pulled away. I hadn't wanted her to find out in such a
way. I ignored the pain that welled in my chest and gestured for Baurus to take
her and sit her down somewhere. None of us managed to eat breakfast, but no one
told me no, either.
I
bade Caleigh and Baurus return with me to my room and assist me with my armor.
She helped me with the buckles as Baurus fidgeted with my new sword, checking
its balance and heft. I told them of the plan, more to break the silence than
anything else. When I mentioned the Great Gate, Caleigh flinched.
�I
want the two of you with me at all times,� I concluded.
�Why?�
she asked me sullenly, and I grabbed her chin in my hand to force her to look
me in the eyes.
�Because I refuse to lose either of you today.�
Her
eyes hardened. �You aren't going into the Gate with me. I won't let you.�
�I
know. But until then, the three of us fight together. I am not letting you do
everything for me any longer.�
She
sighed and collapsed against the bed. Baurus moved to try to reassure her, but
Caleigh pulled away.
�Martin,
so many people are going to die.�
�It
won't be like Kvatch,� Baurus said confidently. �We're prepared.�
�Baurus,
you have no idea what we are headed toward.�
�I've
seen Gates, Caleigh,� he retorted.
�Not
like this. None of them have seen Gates like this. And I brought them all here
to die.� Her voice caught, and Baurus looked to me, completely at a loss.
�Stop
that,� I snapped. �You are being selfish.�
She
wilted in upon herself and covered her face with her hands. Baurus and I stood
still for a moment, then risked sitting on either side of her. She sighed as our
arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist.
�You're
right. I'm sorry. I'm just scared.� She looked through me, and I tried not to
flinch when I saw her eyes had taken on that same vacant cast I'd grown to
dread. And then the next moment was over, and she was back. She took me in,
inspecting my armor, and ran a hand over my face. �You're so beautiful.�
Her
lips found mine, and she kissed me so that I could feel the panic lying just
beneath the surface. Baurus did not try to leave us�instead, he wrapped his
arms around us both and rested his face against her back.
We
finished gearing up and moved back into the Great Hall. Jauffre pretended that
he was not angry with me and told me that the Blades were already massing at
Bruma, and that Captain Burd was on his way to discuss logistics. That was not
the best news I had ever heard. I sent Caleigh down to the city to finalize
plans with the Countess and have her meet us at the chapel, and ignored
Jauffre's repeated attempts to talk me out of fighting.
�I
have been hiding behind these walls long enough, Grandmaster. I trust my Blades
will keep me safe.� And then Burd was there, and the chain of command was
worked out after he was done making it quite clear that he did not approve of
our�my�plan. When I expressed my intent of fighting on the front lines, he
groused just as angrily as Jauffre. But I would not be moved. I could not stand
the thought of Caleigh going through it all alone. And she was right�Baurus was
not prepared. I needed to be there for them both.
At
last, they were done talking, and we were moving. The gates of the Temple
were ordered open, and for once I was allowed through them. As they groaned
shut behind me I thought of all the times I'd seen Caleigh leaving, of the look
of relief on her face, and I understood�by Akatosh, it was glorious to be free.
Cyrus gave me a knowing smack on the back before falling into line behind
Captain Steffan and the others. I spent the walk to the Chapel of Talos in
Bruma grinning like a madman, which did little to improve Burd's opinion of me.
When
we arrived at Bruma we found that Caleigh and the Countess were already waiting
for us in the Chapel. Narina Carvein was an attractive Imperial who looked
rather nice in blue, but Caleigh positively shone in her armor. As we entered,
all eyes were on the Hero, and not the noblewoman.
More talking. The Countess put on a good face for the
public, pretending that she didn't want her city to be harmed while we all knew
her guards were positively itching for battle. I've always loved Nords, and it
was clear she shared the sentiment. She ordered Burd and his men to stop
containing the Gates with a voice that was far too merry for one with real
reservations, thanked Caleigh as a Hero, and swished away gracefully, leaving
the rest of us to the blood and the gore. Allowing the Heir to fight for her
city while she remained safely ensconced in its walls.
As
we walked toward the field, the chapel bell began its warning toll, and Caleigh
flinched and grabbed at my arm, looking about like a spooked animal as the
sound reverberated through our chests. Burd chuckled at her, but he had the
same wild look in his eyes as she. Everyone did. And I was still smiling like a
madman. It began to rain as we stepped out of the gates, and I had a brief
vision of the nightmare the Xarxes had shown me, of Caleigh, broken
within an equally broken city, and felt myself
shudder. No. Just more of Camoran's lies.
Then
why did the visions of Gates come true?
I
asked Caleigh a question to distract us both from what were clearly dark
thoughts: �Weren't you questing for a set of holy armor?�
She
nodded and looked at me questioningly.
�Why
are you wearing your old armor, then?�
�I
gave it back to the Order once I was done. Didn't seem right
to keep it. Anyway,� she added, �it was heavy armor, and I could hardly
sneak in it.� She grinned at me, and I gave her forehead a quick kiss. And that
is all I know about her quest for the Nine. Even in that moment, walking down
to the battle, I assumed we had more time.

That's
the way of it with hindsight.

Well,
hopefully having you around will make it easier in the future.

It
does help.

I
don't know how long it took for the battle to begin. It felt like I stood in
that mass of men and women for an eternity, flanked by my two most beloved
Blades. But eventually thunder began to sound, and I watched in horror as the
first Gate materialized. The base sprang from the earth with an organic groan,
displacing stone and earth and sending it flying. And then the flames
coalesced, and heat and smoke assailed our senses as the sky above us warped
and reddened.

One brief moment of silence as we held our breaths. Then, a
clannfear leapt out of the flames, claws spread, and latched onto one of the
men with a muscle-tensing shriek. The man shouted, fumbled his sword, slippery
from the rain�

The
clannfear dropped to his feet, dead, and Caleigh lowered her bow. I looked over
at her, expecting to see the slightly shaken Bosmer who killed bandits by
instinct alone. But she already had her next arrow nocked, aimed at the fiery
nexus before us, and her eyes were narrowed in concentration. I thought back to
her sparring match with Cyrus. Her months away had made her a warrior, and I
had missed the chance to witness the transition. The next arrow hit its mark,
another clannfear crumpled into a pile of teeth and scales, and then chaos
overtook the field.

Baurus
and Caleigh stayed beside me as we fought and stabbed our way through the
daedra that came pouring out of the Gate. The guards held firm for the smaller
ones, but when the first daedroth appeared, all scales and teeth and towering
muscle, I could smell the panic in the air. Caleigh could, as well�she gave an
angry shout and lunged through the crowd, dodging more than one pair of claws,
and vaulted at the great beast with her sword drawn. It fell easily to her
rage, and the men held their ground, confident that these beasts could also be
vanquished. I was so focused on fighting�protecting young Baurus, trying to get
Caleigh back within reach�that I did not even notice the second Gate open until
the men at our left flank began to scream.

Dremora. The soldiers could handle fighting monsters,
but at the sight of something so humanoid they began to falter anew. Spells
began to arc through the clusters of struggling bodies, and the stench of
charred flesh soon hung thick in the air.

�Caleigh!� I roared, and she wove her way back to my side.
Together, the three of us fought to the second Gate. Rallied
the men. I allowed all the spells I'd forced myself to hold back for
years rise unchallenged to my fingertips, and dropped daedra by the dozens. I
was howling, reveling in the memories of the mage I
had once been.

My
blood lust was contagious. Baurus roared in rage and threw himself into the
thick of the next wave of enemies. Caleigh cursed and lunged after him, leaving
me alone with Cyrus, who watched them both in terror. She grabbed Baurus by the
neck guard and hauled him back into the line. He snarled at her, whirling,
sword in hand�

Her
gauntlet contacted his face with an ear-ringing crack. He staggered, and she
hauled him back another step. The guards closed in, blocking the daedra from us
for a moment, and I managed to move close enough to hear her snap at him.

�Don't
be an idiot!�

He
stared at her for a moment, one hand rubbing his cheek, then chose that moment
to drag her to him and kiss her roughly. Her eyes fell
shut, and her arms slid around his neck. I knew that pose well enough to
predict the precise time when her tongue met his. Cyrus' lack of shock at their
display was notable, and the kiss was brief. Unfortunately, Jauffre ended his
own fight in time to see it, and looked to me, horror-struck by my complacency.
But there was no time. I healed Baurus' cheek, checked Caleigh for wounds�for
once, all the blood belonged to her enemies.

The
third gate opened, and more daedra poured out. I shouted instructions for us to
head for the center, where the Great Gate would appear, and Cyrus and Jauffre
moved in to help us clear a path. On the way we passed a fallen Blade, missing
an arm. Ferrum. Caleigh faltered, and I saw her eyes
widen, and the veneer crack. I took her by the shoulders and shoved her
forward, making a point not to look down as we stepped over the upper half of Jena.
I heard a roar to our right and found more daedroths closing in. Cyrus and
Jauffre whirled to dispatch them, and Caleigh nocked another arrow, but she was
not fast enough. Cyrus blocked the beast's claws with his shield, and we heard
a sickening crack as his arm broke from the impact. He grunted in pain, dropped
his guard for a moment�

She
was screaming, sword falling from her hand, eyes wide. Why? I looked down, saw
fresh blood. Cyrus, missing most of his neck and left shoulder, head twisted at
a bizarre angle. Heard a snort above me, and looked up to see teeth closing in.
My hands rose by instinct, and I cast the first spell that came to mind. The
creature exploded with a confused grunt, bathing us all in gore, which the rain
instantly began to wash into my eyes.

The
ground groaned and buckled, signaling the arrival of the Great Gate. I pulled
Caleigh to me as the spikes rose from the ground, tried to calm her as the
flames burst into being, hissing and crackling in the rain. The daedra and
dremora still standing screeched and howled in victory, and I electrocuted a
few of them absently into silence.

�Caleigh,
you have to go now.�

Unblinking
eyes met mine. I shook her by the shoulders.

�Once more! Once more, my darling, and then it will all be
over.�

She
shook her head, sobbed once.

�If
you don't do this, we die.� My voice was stern, and she winced. But her
eyes focused in on mine. Arms closed around my shoulders, and her lips pressed
against mine, and we kissed, ignoring the blood and the rain and the battle. I
wished my hands weren't gloved so that I could run my fingers through her hair,
just in case she�

�Don't
you dare die,� she gasped, and began to run for the Gate. A dremora saw her,
cast a spell, and died by Jauffre's blade as Caleigh dodged the
fireball�barely� and rolled into the darkest portion of the flames. To my
horror, daedra poured in after her. Their flight gave us a chance to regroup,
but my visions of her dying within Oblivion that stripped all the relief from
the moment. Jauffre helped me round up the survivors, and I healed what
injuries I could and tried not to think about how few faces I recognized among them.
We stood and stared and attempted not to dwell upon what would happen if our
Hero failed.
Eventually
a new wave burst forth, and behind it I saw a dark, massive shape in the
flames. The siege engine. I spared a few seconds to
pray, but felt nothing.

The
Nine were not watching. Damn you, Jauffre.

My
comrades fell around me in pieces, shrieking their last breaths in fear and
pain. I saw Steffan go down at the hands of a pack of clannfears. Captain Burd
swept in to help, but did not make it in time, and almost lost an eye in the
ensuing skirmish. But I was able to keep focusing, slashing and electrocuting
every daedra I could reach, keeping Baurus in check, until I saw Jauffre
crumple before me, one of their terrible swords jutting from his back. Then I
began to scream, and magicka filled the air as I cast mindlessly, taking my
revenge on everything I could�

Baurus
grabbed me by the arms. He was sobbing, but he still had enough sense left to
return me to mine. The field was eerily silent, except for the low groan of the
siege engine, approaching steadily. I looked across the battlefield and
realized dully that there were not enough of us left to survive another wave.

But
no wave came. Instead, the fires swirling in the center of the clawed Gate rushed
outward as if pushed by a gust of wind, dissipating with a howl of energy. And
there, crouched in the center of the ruined earth, was my lover, clutching a
Great Sigil Stone and whimpering in pain. I rushed forward, took the Stone. Saw
to her hands.

�Good
girl,� I whispered, removing my gauntlets and running my hands over her hair
and face, checking for other wounds. She was panting from a hard run, but
seemed to have escaped without injury.

�Martin,�
she gasped in relief, then looked over my shoulder.
Saw the tangled bodies and bloodied earth, smelled the gore and the smoke. Her
mouth opened, and she began to scream.

I
had expected grief, due in large part to the Xarxes, but the
vocal cord-tearing noise filling my ears was one of rage. She rose to her feet,
flung down her bow. Surveyed the damage, spied Jauffre's broken body, and fell
back to her knees, still making that terrible sound. Her fingers buried in her
hair and she curled inward upon herself.

�No!�
she wailed at last, arching her back and looking toward the sky. The rain made
clean streaks in the blood caking her face. �No!�
Caleigh
rose, flung her sword away. Dropped her gauntlets onto the
battlefield with a sickening squish. As she tore her cuirass away, she
shrieked again, face still upturned in the rain.

�You
told me that if I helped you my friends would be safe! Does this look safe
to you?�

She
was speaking to The Nine. Baurus and I took a step toward her, but she flinched
away.

�Jauffre! Even Jauffre! Your most devoted
member of the Blades!� Her voice was rapidly growing hoarse. �I went on
your Pilgrimage for him, not you! I fought your enemies for them,
not you!�

She
flung her empty quiver and began to howl. �Is this some sort of punishment?
Was killing me so I could fight your stupid enemy not enough?�

What
was left of the Bruma Guard was staring at her open-mouthed. I stepped forward
to calm her down, and she whirled on me, lip curled in rage, face feral.

�Don't
touch me!�

I
took a step backward in shock, but she continued screaming at the clouds
overhead. �This is your fault! None of this would have happened if it weren't
for you! None of this would have happened to me�� her voice broke, and she
clutched at Baurus, who wrapped her in his arms and looked at me with an
expression of purest guilt. I stood, stunned, and watched her cry.

�I
wasn't fast enough,� she choked. �I should have run faster.�

Baurus
removed a gauntlet and ran his hand over her hair. �No, no. You can't blame
anyone for this.�

She
sobbed quietly for a moment, breath hitching uncontrollably, then
looked over her shoulder at me.

�Yes,
I can.�

I
felt I might die in that brief pause before she continued. �I can blame Mankar
Camoran.�

She
pulled free from Baurus and turned to face me, chest heaving. �Get me to him.�

I
shook my head. �Caleigh, you need rest.�

�No!�
Her breath caught again, and she began to hyperventilate.

�Caleigh,
at least take a moment to breathe, you'll��

�No!
I'm done listening to you! I�� I saw her eyes roll upward, and lunged forward
just in time to catch her as she fainted.

�By Talos,� Baurus said, aghast. �Is she going to be okay,
Martin?�

�She's
in shock. She needs food and a bath and to be away from this battlefield.� I
hefted her into my arms and turned toward Bruma's main gates. The Temple
was too far. Baurus gathered her armor and weaponry and followed after. I
ignored the stares of the stunned guards who may have just witnessed their Hero
go mad.

The
Countess was waiting for us within the walls, but had the sense to drop the
grand speech and usher us into her castle when she saw the Heir enter carrying
the unconscious Hero. I knew it was Baurus who should be holding her, for
appearances' sake, but I no longer cared. I wanted Jauffre here to tell
me�

Baurus
and I were allowed to bathe her, and ourselves, and the Countess sent one of
her gowns to us for Caleigh, far finer than anything she'd worn before. I
carried her from the baths and found the Countess waiting in the hall.

�Are
you returning to the Temple, my
Lord?�

I
nodded.

�Speak
to Burd. He'll give you horses to make your return easier. I've also sent up
supplies so that the survivors might have a chance to unwind.� She looked down
at Caleigh with the haunted eyes of someone who had seen the battle first-hand.
She must have been watching from somewhere. Suddenly, I respected her more.

Her
hand rested briefly on Caleigh's forehead, and she murmured a prayer. �When she
wakes, tell her to find me. I would like to thank her personally for all that
she has done for us.�

The
City of Bruma was eerily silent as
the surviving Blades walked us toward the Gates. Not even the life-loving Nords
could find much to celebrate that night.
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The Road to Ruin