27: Blades

I rose stiffly from the “bed” I had slept in last night. It was no more than a piece of padding on the cold stone floor and a few blankets. I pulled on my robe and my shoes and stood staring blankly at the wall. I realized I had no idea where anything was in this fortress. I looked around the barracks but saw no guards, obviously they were all on duty. I didn’t want to go outside into the freezing mountain air, as my robe would provide only minimal protection from it. Last night was cold enough for me for a while. As I stood there looking confused I heard someone moving around up above me, and noticed a staircase nearby. I decided that would be as good a place as any to look for directions, so I proceeded upstairs.

I nearly ran into Martin as I rounded the corner, as he was coming from the other direction and the hallways were a bit cramped. He apologized and stepped back to let me through, but I just laughed. “You really aren’t used to this whole Emperor thing, are you Martin?” I asked with a smile.

He grinned at me, “Yes, it will take some getting used to. I’m used to being around people of noble heritage, but they were generally rather insulted at the sight of me. I was about to go to breakfast. Care to join?”

“I’d be honored… your majesty.” I bowed slightly, but then snapped back up and let him through. “To be honest, I don’t know where anything is around this place. I was going to ask for some directions before I ran into you.” I followed him through a sliding wooden door and into a great hall. It was mostly empty, and we proceeded right through it and into a much smaller room. It looked like a place to eat, read, whatever. A lounge, if you will. There was some bread, cheese and fruit on a table, and we sat at it and discussed the vagaries of magic. I was concerned about the Oblivion gates and what they might have done to the field of Conjuration magic, as it is mostly based upon Daedra. He suggested that it might make the spells easier to maintain or to cast. I was still worried, and I planned to go into Bruma and visit the Mages’ Guild there to find out more. I was seriously out of contact with my preferred field, and I wanted to get a spell to summon some sort of lesser Daedra. We finished and I left him chatting with a few off-duty Blades.

I stepped out into the cold air. It truly was freezing, and I held a bit of magical flame in my hands to warm them. Occasionally I would lift the flame up and warm my face, but there was little else I could do, short of setting my self on fire. I found Jauffre standing out in full Blades Armor in front of the main building. I approached him and asked him about the future.

“Well, at the moment I am attempting to gain contact with several of my sources. It will take some time before I know anything else. Listen, I would like to thank you for everything you’ve done. I would like to extend to you an invitation to join the Blades.”

I stared in disbelief at him. The Blades?! The Emperor’s secret service? I was in total shock, but I managed to dribble out some words, “Thanks, err… Thank you! I’m truly honored!”
He smiled, “Excellent!” He drew a sword and presented it to me. “Then I hereby declare you a Knight Brother of the Blades.” I took the sword and bowed. My heart was still beating at a quick pace. The Blades are the most selective organization in the Empire! And I had just been entered into them. I thanked Jauffre again and he told me I had some time. He would contact me when I was needed.



I took a short stroll around the perimeter of the fortress. The thought of being a Blade was bouncing around inside my brain like a Cliff Racer on Skooma. When I reached the head of the wall though, the thoughts stopped and stared. It was quite possibly the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. The sun was low in the sky, and the city of Bruma was laid out before me. I sighed, it had been a while since I was in the mountains, and I had almost forgotten their beauty.

I watched the sun rise for a short while, then jogged down the large flight of stairs to where I had left my horse. He was gone, and I jogged back up the stairs to ask what had happened to him. Then I saw a Blade walking my horse out to me. I thanked him and brought the horse down the stairs to more level ground. I mounted and rode down the Mountain to Bruma. I dismounted at the stable there and led my horse into the pen. He started chomping away happily at a bit of grass and I proceeded into town.

My first objective was to find the Mages’ Guild. I asked a nearby Guard and he pointed me in the right direction. I entered the main hall and greeted a tall Altmer there. I identified myself as being from the Cheydinhal Guild Hall and that I was passing through Bruma. He seemed jovial enough, and told me his name was Volanaro. I asked if he knew any spells of summoning, and he did know one. He told me that it was a Summon Scamp spell, and I nearly jumped for joy. I asked him to teach it to me, and fifteen minutes later I was summoning Scamps perfectly. Unfortunately, I could not remember what it was like to summon a Scamp before the Oblivion Crisis began, and so I could tell no difference between then and now. I asked Volanaro if he had noticed any differences in summoning, but he said that he had not summoned anything for quite some time.

I put the question about the Oblivion Crisis and its Affect on Conjuration on a back burner and moved to an alchemy station. Here I spent a good bit of time crafting potions and poisons, and by the time I was done it was late. I ate a quick dinner at the guild hall and then went to bed in one of the rooms. Perhaps tomorrow I can learn some more spells.