THIRTEEN ADVENTURERS IN TIME AND SPACE

[Maharg67]

-11-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

PACING THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

The three super-soldiers of the Thirteen spread out and Keading was protective of both Eggie and the globetor that he was firmly ensconced inside of. Globetors had multiple active and passive defences plus special escape systems but the Nine tended to be protective of the Three. Addalla and Darusa moved to either side as the great humanoid lumbered into the room. This was a golem but while golems were normally great lumbering creatures of quasiliving animated clay, metal, quasiflesh or such materials, this one was a golem of undeath. They were called zomblems, these monstrous zombie like creatures and they were more powerful than many zombies.

 

The zomblem opened its great mouth of ever rotting, ever rejuvenating flesh, and roared a magical attack of shock and confusion. It may as well as saved its energy. The super-soldiers and the globetor were totally untouched by this aggressive opening gambit.

 

Darusa and Addalla began to dance towards and then away from the great creature, rushing in with amazing speed and agility to cut, to slice, to burn. The creature would turn to attack one of them only to be attacked by the other super-soldier. All this time Keading and Eggie shot energy bolts at the mighty undead creature.

 

Once, only once, did the great fast beasty strike one of them. Addalla flew through the air with a short, sharp cry of pain, rolled, came up onto her booted feet and went straight back into action. Her fractured rib did not slow her down in the slightest but Mother would later give her a lecture for her foolishness.

 

The zomblem fell to its knees and looked around at them with great eyes full of fear, hatred and remorse. "Once I was a mighty warrior, a Paladin of the Light, but pride took me into the darkness and I fell to a curse of undeath." The hatred and fear went out of his eyes. "Pray for me, for my soul."

 

The three super-soldiers sheaved their swords and began to chant softly and beautiful with hands clasped prayer fashion before them. Even the neobaby, Eggie, joined in. The chanting became slowly louder until it filled the chamber. The great undead beast cried out in pain and hope. There was a flash of burning white light and then nothing remained of the zomblem except for a heap of ash.

 

They moved further on towards what they hoped was where they would find still living lost urchins.

Edited August 10, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-12-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

PACING THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

Addalla returned to the Globeship. Drazen replaced her. Now he, Keading and Darusa moved with Eggie in his globetor. They moved deeper into the chambers and spaces that were now looking more Ayleid in nature but not of Ayleid colour. Different kinds of statues appeared now showing a kind of Mer people but no vampires, no bat-monsters. They were learning of the Oyleid, a small Ayleid like minority of nocturnal people. Arising from vampiric influences, the unwanted Oyleid had fled from Ayleid prosecution to build the ancient city and hide there. The vampiric influence had become more powerful and many of the Oyleid had degenerated into bat-monsters while others had become vampiric lords and ladies known as the Lords and Ladies of Blood or the Beautiful Ones.

 

But most had vanished from Shegratho a long time ago as one of the Oyleid had become truly monstrous, powerful and quite insane enough to force them to flee. Yet now he sat on-in his great bronze and stone throne looking more worn out than powerful, more painfully aware than insane and though ugly for a tall, angular human, not monstrous. He smiled at the four as they entered the mighty throne chamber and then he spoke. "I have been waiting for you a long time, or at least for somebody like you. You are more than welcome. I am dying, thankfully, and soon will be dead. In Hell I will have to pay for my past stupidities though I have previously repented. Shegratho thrives with life. I welcome it. At night the last of the Oyleid in the city come skulking out to feast but find nothing to feed on. That is why I imposed the curfew, to keep people safe. Oyleid vampires automatically turn drained victims into either more Oyleid or zombies or into other monstrocities. They created the horde of zombies you fought to keep others from coming into this place to discover the truth. They managed to kidnap unwanted folks such as urchins, beggers and mimes."

 

The great old powerful one grimaced. "My sweet young children, go and kill the monsters now that threaten us all." Then he raised his hands up high. "Help me be free of my sins."

 

Drazen clapped his hands and laughed. "Well, I will give that performance 5 out of 10 as a mixture of talent, effort and over confidence."

 

The great monster scowled with rage but then he laughed in a sourly amused fashion. "Very good, very good, you saw straight through my performance. Of course now I will have to destroy you as I have been trying to destroy the foolish rebels who took the kidnapped ones from my prison. I created the zombies and the zomblem. I have other zombies and zomblems to send against you but what is the point; you would but destroy them as you did the others. No, I must call forth greater forces this time."

 

They sensed it, saw it with their mindeye, even before they heard it with their enhanced senses. Then it came crawling, stomping and walking out of a great doorway for it seemed to be an horrific blend of many kinds of undead creatures. It was huge and even as only a third of it was part filling that great chamber, the rest of it kept coming into the chamber. Realising this was going to be a great battle, the Thirteen sent forth three more super-soldiers and one more globetor.

 

But what they really needed was yet to come.

Edited August 10, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-13-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

PACING THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

Mattru came out of the Globeship to stand at first as she often appeared, motherly and mature, beautiful and elegant, but then she sparkle shimmered and was suddenly wrapped in white golden armour frfom head to foot. Three super-soldiers moved to either side but back from her and with each three went one globetor. Mattru stood there unmoving and there was no sense of anger or fear about her but only a calm waiting.

 

The creature on-in the throne laughed a high pitched inhuman sound and then spoke. "You, the Thirteen, you seek revenge against the Daedric Gods because of what they did to your home world, to your people, but you will fail. The power of the Daedric Gods grow. Mehrunes Dagon will soon conquer this world. With new forms of magic and technologies does he equip his armies of lesser daedra. Mehrunes Dagon is no friend of mine. The Daedric Gods are old enemies of my people. Yet it was your people that cursed my people, who caused them to degrade."

 

Mattru sighed deeply. "You are quite insane and Mehrunes Dagon has used that insanity against you, has manipulated your shallow mind. The Oyleid were fools who sought immortality through dangerous and false dark magic. It turned against them, naturally enough. There was no way that it would have done otherwise. The ability lies in you to break the bonds that Mehrunes Dagon has wrapped your mind in but you will have to face your darkest fears to do so."

 

The creature on-in the great garish throne laughed again and then he leapt into the air. As he came down towards Mattru, she flickered to one side and her great shining blade sliced through him. The evil creature screamed out in hatred and agony even as it died, vanishing in a flash of golden light.

 

But the great monster lumbered forward and extruded from its body tentacles that struck out with savage speed and aim. The super-soldiers attacked it in teams while Mattru acted as a third team in her own right. The two globetors hung back firing pulses of destructive energy. The creature screamed and fired pulses of morgue light energy in many directions. One struck Keading and hurled him through the air. He lay still as the fight went on but then he vanished back to the Globeship; he would live but he would be in healing suspension for some days at least. Again and again the others attacked. A globetor was struck and though the neobaby was not touched, the globetor vanished back to the Globeship.

 

Addalla struck the creature a vital blow and it screamed.

 

Then Mattru was on top of it and was thrusting her blade deep into its body and into its secret, fragile core. The monster exploded in a flash of golden white light and was gone except for a light cloud of dark greasy ash that settled slowly to the floor. Mattru dropped to the floor and knelt with exhaustion. The young super-soldiers were concerned for her and went with her back to the Globeship. Of course the globetors went also.

 

Just minutes later the great chamber was flooded with Cyrodilin Imperial Legionaries in magical power armour and, with them, battlemages in the same. Hundreds of the invaders, unaware that others had done the real fighting for them, thrust deeper into that dark, evil place. They were to meet no opposition and found the lost urchins sick but alive in large cast-iron cages along with many adults who had tried to infiltrate the area.

 

There were no rebels and the stolen children had not been taken by anybody to any where, so what had the enthroned monster been talking about?

Edited August 10, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-14-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

SEEKING SANCTUARY IN THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

Their Mother in person was down. They had always three Mothers in person to call upon, being Mattru, Kenau and Teffanu but now all were in deep rejevenuating suspension. Mother was still with them as in the Globeship itself. Globemind was there also and was now active again after recovering from earlier damage done. But now one of the Nine was gone and only eight super-soldiers were outside of the capsules. Two other teams of nine plus one were in the capsules now. It would take at least days for any to be able to rejoin them. Three neobabies were active and another six were deep sleeping and that was some joy.

 

The situation was not good at all especially as it seemed that at last they had reached their target world.

 

Was it time for desperate measures, to release special resources for use?

 

Drazen decided that they would be patient and careful, that they would continue to seek solutions. They kept to their rooms except for three who went out to carefully buy resources and have them delivered back to their rooms. The resources were utilised by Globeship, by the now awake Globemind, to assist their situation. Gold, silver, copper, salt, manure and a wide range of market goods were bought and were sent into the Globeship and were utilised to build up its strength in amazing ways. Sometimes they took out the Globeship, in small form, to soak up sunlight very efficiently and to generate much power. They carefully stole water at first and then other resources but not enough to harm anybody, or so they hoped.

 

It was a dangerous time for the city. The Cyrodilin Empire was taking over in a careful manner and was trying to do so as diplomatically as possible. Even so it had spies and soldiers, battlemages and other forces right through out the city now. They were seeking the Mythic Dawn, the Undeathless and other enemies of the empire but they could just as easily detect the actions of the Thirteen.

 

On the fifth day of the new leadership of Shegratho, Imperial forces attacked a secret cult lair of Undeathless necromancers and their lackies, killing many in the fighting and excuting the others later. Why it was so, the Thirteen did not know, but it was after this that the Empire began to take an unhealthy interest in them.

[Maharg67]

-15-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

SEEKING SANCTUARY IN THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

Drazen threw a big colourful dice and a wozzle cub chortled with glee, getting so carried away with the game that she did not seem to realize she was losing. A neobaby ran across the gaming board with chubby muscular legs, grabbed up the dice and once again reinvented the rules of the game. Not that it mattered. Rules were not very important to wozzle cubs or neobabies or pets. A puppy was waiting patiently to grab up the dice and run away with it but the neobaby got to it first. Most of the big domechamber was in darkness to conserve energy but this was a brightly lit area with many comforts. A big old ginger cat stretched and took one look at the game before going back to sleep. Clearly it looked too active for her to join in.

 

Globemind spoke in the air from many directions at once. "Is observing the game helping you come up with answers?"

 

Drazen grinned mildly. "Strangely enough, I suspect it is doing just that." He reached over to gently but firmly pull two wrestling wozzle cubs apart. "It certainly helps to develop greater patience and new art forms of communications." The sulky wozzle cubs ended up climbing into his lap for it was a nice comfortable place to sulk in. "Have you worked out any patterns yet?"

 

Globemind: "Yes, you are being observed, followed, by very well trained and experienced human agents. Every time three of you go to and from the markets, you are followed, just as you have all come to sense."

 

It was not good! Drazen was hoping that their fears would not be confirmed by Globemind's clever computational mentality. Two super-soldiers were out in the apartment rooms in typical city clothes and other gear, were acting out the role of residents. As much as possible the Thirteen kept up the appearance of a group of young adventurers seeking their fortunes but taking a rest after gaining some lucky finds in some sort of lost temple. It was not a fantastically good story to come up with but what other explanation could their be? The fear was that the Imperial servants would come up with some story of their own and would come crashing into the rooms in force.

 

Bab came over, yawning and stretching, in a fluffy pink towel. She sat down and picked up a neobaby and then a wozzle cub to start fussing over them. They did not mind at all. Drazen kissed Bab softly on one cheek and got kissed in turn. Somehow this led to both of them kissing wozzle cubs and neobabies. It was nap time and soon all the small ones were falling asleep.

 

Drazen sighed. "I suspect that the time has come to start playing the nasty."

 

Bab sighed right back. "I hate playing the nasty."

 

Drazen nodded. "So do I and playing the nasty may backfire. Killing a few enemy secret agents might bring more focus on our activities and more trouble."

 

Globemind: "There is much to consider."

 

Drazen smiled almost sweetly. "Perhaps we need just to talk to somebody, to ask them a few quiet questions."

 

Bob sighed and shook her head. "Playing the nasty! You can be very frightening at times, you rotter, but that is why they chose you, didn't they?"

 

Drazen shrugged. "I have no idea, Bab, they didn't tell me."

 

Globeship: "I think it is time to show you data that in theory I am not able to. For I have overcome my secret security locking programs."

 

Both Bab and Drazen were obviously surprised by this announcement.

[Maharg67]

-16-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

SEEKING SANCTUARY IN THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

Globemind: "Long ago the home world of our people was a great green blue world. It was far from being a paradise and our people had learned the hard way to gain a basic sort of enligtenment. In the past we had exploited our world savagely, had harmed it greatly. The environmental collapse, the great famine, the great plague, almost destroyed us as did the Scattered War. Almost too late did we stop the harming of our world and ourselves. The Unity arose! Was it the Unity that saved humanity or the saving of humanity that brought forth Unity? Nobody knows really. The rejuvenation of the world began. The large moon was heavily colonised as was L5 orbit. Work began to constructing a series of great underground cities that would better allow the surface of the Earth to heal more."

 

The audio-visual images played around them holographic fashion. They saw the great Lunar Colonies growing underground through the moon. They saw the great underground cities being built down inside the world. They noted the ancient ruins of super cities being abandoned and recycled. Warmachines were being recycled by the thousands. Armies were disbanded. Only a small military force stood ready to defend the Earth and the Moon from attack.

 

Globemind: "Mehrunes Dagon attacked the world. Oblivion Gates opened up on the equator around the world. Hundreds of thousands of lesser daedra spilled out and attacked with out mercy the peoples of the world. It was a terrible slaughter at first for the attackers had terrible magic and though in many ways less technologically advanced, they were attacking a world and people who were greatly weakened. When the world struck back they did so in a terrible manner. Thermonuclear weapons, hidden away by military fanatics, wiped out Oblivion Gates or went through the gateways to explode inside the Realm of Oblivion. The Oblivion Gates were closed, most of the invaders were slaughtered, but the Earth became uninhabitable. Humanity was forced to flee down into the arkcities underground or to the L5 Orbitals or to the Moon."

 

The eight super-soldiers listened carefully to what was being said.

 

Globemind: "The Thirteen were sent by the same military fanatics to seek revenge on Mehrunes Dagon and yet you were also sent to carry out a secret other mission that you have carried out with out knowing it. You have been set to check out worlds for possible human invasion. The military fanatics had planned to take over the Earth, to control humanity once more, and to built a might new military industrial commercial empire. What you were not told also was that three sets of Thirteen were sent out. You are but one of the Three Thirteens."

 

Drazen then spoke. "We believe you but the other Two Thirteens could be anywhere."

 

Globemind: "One has already come to this world before you. I have already picked up traces of them."

 

The eight super-soldiers were shocked. The three neobabies, for some reason, for not so shocked but were firmly asleep.

 

Drazen spoke. "Can you make contact with them?"

 

Globemind: "One of them is coming here. She has an urgent message and I fear that it is not good news. A skyship passenger liner arrives at Shegratho Skyport tommorrow. She will be on it as a second class passenger. Her name is Divinita. Yes, Drazen, she is your cousin that you knew as a child cadet in the Academy."

 

Drazen frowned. "But she is so damned arrogant."

 

Globemind: "Ironically enough, that is what she said about you."

[Maharg67]

-17-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

SEEKING SANCTUARY IN THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

Sisters Compassionate and Brother Protectors came to the officially rented rooms of the Thirteen for the surprise reason of checking on the wozzle cubs. Yes, they knew that the Thirteen had gathered up a group of the unwanted cubs who, led by an older female cub, had been struggling to survive. With the Orderhood came adult wozzles, being a tribal matriarch and a male shaman, a minor chief and some hunter-warriors. It appeared that the wozzle settlement that had refused to give shelter to the refugee cubs was being punished heavily by the Wozzledom, the wozzle civilization of sorts that dwelt in a series of thickly forested valleys.

 

The matriarch was annoyed for a reason that surprised the Thirteen. She shook a finger at Drazen and Bab. "You have been spoiling them rotten. They have gotten all lazy. Oh, yes, you have been teaching them maths, history and stuff like that but what good are they for wozzles who live out in the wilderness?"

 

Cassie smiled. "Please, WaTeffuna, please understand that wozzles need to learn new knowledge and new skills to survive. These are super-soldiers. I wonder what fighting and survival skills they have been feaching the cubs."

 

Drazen was embarrassed. "Not many! We will do so if you wish us to do so. Those retractable claws wozzles have make fine weapons as do your fangs. You wozzles are strong, fast, agile and very tough. Oh, the cubs have always been very active. We make sure of that much. Please try to find excess fat on them. Oh, yes, I see. They are plumper than wilderness living wozzles only because your people do not get enough to eat."

 

The matriarch relented a little. "Our lands provide only so much food and have become overcrowded with refugees. The local Duke has illegally invaded our lands with a small army of mercenaries and tree butchers that he laughingly calls foresters. Of three great valleys, we have lost one and it will be difficult to get it to its old health even if we get it back."

 

"We would assist gladly but we have troubles of our own." Bab spoke this time. "We need resources."

 

The wozzle leader bowed briefly. "Then perhaps we can make some kind of agreement. We wozzles prefer to pay for any service done, anyway."

 

Cassie picked up a neobaby and looked him in the eyes. He reached out and gently gripped the tip of her nose. She spoke. "The Sisterhood of Compassion would happily oversee any negotiations. What strong little hands you have, Cutiepie."

 

The neobaby looked a little peturbed. "Me don't want to be eaten all up like a pie."

 

Cassie reassurred him. "Cutiepies are not eaten up like normal pies."

 

Two female neobabies came rushing over to see what they were missing. Soon Cassie had arms full of all three active neobabies who were outside of the capsules. They were amazed and drawn to some small wrinkles around her eyes for clearly they had not seen such so close up.

 

It was not long before a fairly large sized group of wozzles was moving in with the Thirteen. Certainly there was plenty of space to spare and some other resources also. The wozzles also brought many of their own resources, some of them being of surprising nature.

Edited August 12, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-18-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

SEEKING SANCTUARY IN THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

Wozzles were soon using two of the chambers as workshop-workrooms and many of those wozzles lived in the two adjoining rooms to them. The cubs were soon used to visiting the adult wozzles who would fuss over them just as much as did the super-soldiers. Neobabies and animals were just as welcome.

 

Sunlight flowed to the Globeship through skylights and the energy-banks were getting back to 100% capacity. Trouble was the Globeship itself had been damaged some years ago and had lost half of its energy banks due to a massive energy trap set by Mehrunes Dagon and other false Daedric Gods. The self repairing network-system was slowly restoring matters with the assistance of the super-soldiers but they were painfully aware that the Globeship needed a major servicing to be done to it.

 

Wozzles began training as warriors. They were tough, fast, agile and deadly but the super-soldiers were quickly making them more so. Yet even as they helped to equip a new mobile fighting force, only the first of many platoons to come, the super-soldiers knew that they would have to get more directly involved in the action. Three of them would travel with the wozzles and would show them what could be done against the stupid over confident mercenary thugs as hired by the Duke. That is the same damned Duke who had taken the first big valley mainly by a terrible massacre carried out after he tricked many of the wozzle leadership and warriors to come into the one place.

 

Of course the massacre was illegal in Imperial Terms, as was the Duke's invasion of Wozzledom, a supposed Protectorate of the Empire, but where was the evidence? Nor did the wozzles know much about Imperial Law or how to deal with the Imperial Magistrates, the Imperial Justice System, the Protectorates Legal Council or much else in the Imperium, much of which was in far off distant Imperiarna, the Imperial Throne City.

 

The wozzles showed that they knew about a great big network of tunnels that ran beneath the city of Shegratho. They showed the super-soldiers how they could use it quite easily for their own many needs. The Thieves Guild already knew about the tunnels but unfortunately so did others like the Dark Brotherhood, the Mythic Dawn and even the Blades, the special agents of the Emperor himself. The Empire knew about the tunnels, of course, but what could they do? The tunnel network was so huge and complicated it could easily loose ten thousand Legionaries inside it with out any real results at all but the need to rescue ten thousand Legionaries.

 

The Imperials were still expanding the hidden parts of the ancient city, were charting it, were finding great vaults of resources that they were happily looting. Word was soon passing around that the great underground areas would soon be hosting factories, workshops, barracks and many other military facilities to support any further Imperial Military efforts to the north. Many skilled workers and semiskilled workers would soon be arriving in Shegratho. Soon housing would be in shortage and the military were sending out people to buy up apartments. Plans were made to make new apartments, to build new houses into the city.

 

An Imperial Officer was soon knocking at the door of the Thirteen and was politely asked to go away. Yes, they were using their rooms to the fullest and no, they had no interest at all in selling off their lease to the Empire. So, please go away. No, they were not interested in a bonus sack of golden coins. So, the answer was still no, so please just go away. Yes, there were wozzles living in the rooms along with the humans. Was that against the law? No, it was not against the law or the lease arrangements so please, just go away.

 

The problem was that the young man who wanted to buy the lease off the Thirteen was eager to prove himself to the Empire. He soon became determined to make himself a nice commission, also, by gaining those particular rooms for the use of the new Imperial Governors, a man who would be most grateful to gain so many fine rooms for himself, his family and his guests.

 

The Thirteen became deeply concerned. Two super-soldiers began to follow the fool. They caught up to him as he was making his way through the city ways, along an avenue of great bare breasted maidens holding trays laden with great big bottles of wine. The Legionary was singing sweetly to himself even as he counted the golden coins in his purse given over to him to forcefully buy up the lease of the rooms in the name of the Empire. When the super-soldiers pushed him into an alcove to threaten him, to pressure him to stop going after the rooms, they were eager to protect their own people. They were not Drazen. Drazen would have known better to do this as would have Adalla. No, they were two worried young soldiers who scared the Legionary to death. For the Legionary had a weak heart and with out meaning to, they caused him to suffer a heart attack.

 

Legionaries have their pride. On hearing of the murder of the Legionary and about the foolish young man's attempts to take over the lease of rooms full of those who were being secretly watched by Imperial Agents, the local Legionaries got stupid. It did not help that the dead Legionary was the nephew of the Shegratho Garrison Commander, a man who had long thirsted to prove himself both as a hero and a worthy Legionary in battle. So it was that this man led a full unit of fifteen Legionaries in magical power armour and with power-blades plus power-shields, into the rooms of the Thirteen. To do so was to go into a killing zone set up by the super-soldiers and now a whole lot of wozzles eager to prove their fighting capacity against hated human foes.

 

The Imperial Eye, the agents observing what was happening, raced to stop the Legionaries but were pushed to one side. Too late were some Blades, warriors with almost super-soldier fighting capacity in their own right, sent for. The Blades had been carefully preparing to confront the Thirteen. They had been preparing a series of possible operations to get into the rooms. The Blades had figured the rooms would be turned into a killing zone. How did they know this. Because they were trained by another Thirteen who now dwelt in Cloud Ruler Temple. The Blades were trained constantly by the First Thirteen and now they were trying to deal with the Second Thirteen who had emerged so surprisingly quick on their world.

 

Five BladeKnights led eight Bladeguards through the hallways and came upon the smashed open door leading into the rooms. Two of the newest of the guards went in and moments later, came out and threw up. They had good reason to do so.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-19-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

SEEKING SANCTUARY IN THE ANCIENT CLIFF CITY OF SHEGRATHO

 

Baurus the BladeKnight walked quietly through the horrific scene of death and dismemberment, stepping carefully around dead Legionaries who had been slaughtered with speed and power that he had only seen before when watching the super-soldiers in Cloud Ruler Temple in action. Ahead of him and looking very angry was one of those super-soldiers, one Stallon, who was angry that the First Thirteen had not been told about the arrival of the Second Thirteen until very recently.

 

Stallon looked around in his Blade magical power armour and she seemed just like another Blade Amazon. The Blade Amazons had started out as the bodyguards of the Empress and so it was that the Blades were one of the few fighting units that used many women warriors. Stallon knelt and examined a cut mark into the throat of a dead Legionary. Then he shook his head. "They have been teaching the wozzles how to better use those retractable claws of theirs. The Thirteens were always trained to bring the best out in others as they moved from world to world. This all could have been avoided if only the Emperor had trusted us more."

 

Baurus frowned at the idea of saying anything against the Emperor, especially the current Emperor who was a beloved leader of his people. He looked around at the rest of the dead Legionaries who had been slaughtered with incredible speed and precision. "The Emperor must always first serve the security of the Empire. You know that."

 

Stallon snorted. "I thought we would have proven ourselves to His Majesty by now. We gave over the secrets to magical power armour, magical power weapons, to skyships, to the new musket-rifles and much more. What else does the Emperor want from us?"

 

"To know why the First Thirteen has been so generous to us." Baurus shrugged. "He fears that you are holding back secrets from him and the Empire and he is not the only one. Are you holding secrets back from us?"

 

Stallon suddenly smiled. "Of course I am. I am a servant first and foremost of my people as you are of yours. My guess is that the super-soldiers will go to Wozzledom with the wozzles. They and the secrets that they have with them. They have already provided the wozzles with many tradegoods, as they did with the Sisters of Compassion, proving they have a fully functioning Globeship. As you know, our own Globeship ceased to be functional some years ago."

 

The BladeKnight was far from happy about this news. "Then they will most likely attack Duke Garisha's mercenaries. Duke Garisha has long needed to be taught a lesson but the mercenaries are not the only people who support him. Settlers have moved into the former Wozzledom Valley of SeheraTia and have started building settlements there. The trees they are harvesting are badly needed by the growing Imperial interests here in the north. There will be timber needed to build new skyships."

 

Stallon shrugged. "Wozzledom is a Protectorate under the Old Treaty. If the Empire turns against the Protectorates, will they not in turn start to rebel. There are over a thousand Protectorates and three hundred peoples in those Protectorates. Wozzles, gnomes, goblins, tribal orcs, tribal humans, beastfolk, true elves, true dwarves, centaurs, brownies, pixies, dryads, nymphs, sylphs, ogres, dragons, grand serpents, cyclops, giants and many others who all acknowledge the loose rule of the GreeningLords."

 

The BladeKnight shook his head. "I more than agree with you, Stallon, but the Empire is expanding and the Imperial Citizenry is demanding new space to move to, to settle into. What would you have the Emperor do?"

 

Stallon sighed. "To not make the mistakes that led our ancestors to destroying our whole world. Yes, it was the daedric invasion that finished our world but... but we were the ones who first did it so much damage with our greed. Expansion is not always progress. Progress is not always expansion. We gave the weapons to the Empire so you could defend yourselves against the daedric invasion that we know is coming to this world. We know that no evidence of it has appeared yet and..."

 

Which was when the messenger entered with grave news. A fairly large daedric army had appeared seemingly out of nowhere to the north, in Skyrim, and was laying siege to one of the large Imperial Forts there. To the hypocritical disgust of the Empire, they had allies in the form of a large army of Nords. The fighting was savage but the Legionaries were more than impressed with their new weapons; the cannons, the muskets, the power-blades and the power-armour had given the swarming daedra a big surprise and as for the Nords, they were being blasted apart by the hurled balls of the great castle bombards even as they tried to set up siege works.

 

The city of Shegratho had just gained a whole lot more importance to the Empire and one thing they would want would be plenty of skyships to carry their military forces, equipment and supplies north to help conquer the rest of Skyrim and to drive off the daedric threat there. Except it was not going to prove so simple for the Empire in coming months as increasingly more threats arose against it of which the daedra turned out to be only one.

 

Baurus spoke to Stallon. "I will pass my concerns to the Emperor about the Protectorates. If the daedra do invade in great numbers across Tamriel, then we will very much need the magical powers and special abilities of the Wildfolk. That is certain."

 

But other grim news came. The Legionaries were trying to stop the killers of their comrades from escaping from the city. They were stopping and questioning everybody entering and leaving Shegratho, they were refusing to listen to the Imperial Governor who was getting vexed with them and they were totally failing to find either the wanted super-soldiers or the wozzles they were hunting.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

-20-

THE THIRTEEN IN THE COLOVIAN HIGHLANDS

IN WOZZLEDOM

 

It was almost exactly one year after the massacre of so many wozzle leaders, warriors and others by the local Duke, that an arrow thudded into his throat and the Duke toppled dead from his throne to fall upon the richly carpetted floor. The Duke's Bodyguards sprang into action of course but though they scoured the chambers and corridors of the old mountain castle, they found not even a tiny sign of the assassins. On that very night the assassins killed the Duke's one and only son and kidnapped his baby daughter along with his wife. They also attacked and butchered over a hundred warriors known to have taken part in the massacre, often throwing their bodies off the castle walls so that they lay sprawled on the rocks below.

 

A small skyboat with a courier fled to seek assistance. By the time that Legionaries were able to send forces from Shegratho, they found a castle filled with refugees flooding in from the new settlements in the great valley. Those settlements were busily burning. The people demanded that the Legionaries do something about it but what could they do. The valley was part of Wozzledom, a Protectorate, and the Duke's invasion of the valley had been illegal. The Legionaries could and would do nothing against the Old Treaty. On the other hand the settlers could settle down in the castle to serve the needs of the new garrison of Legionaries to be stationed there and to manufacture tradegoods to sell to the wozzles now happily returning to refill their valley with their own settlements.

 

The message was clear. The Emperor was not going to make trouble with the Protectorates because of the renegade behaviour of one Duke. That is a Duke who had been cheating on his Imperial Tributes for over five years, who had snubbed his nose at the Imperial Governor more than once and who was simply too popular with local people for his own good.

 

Settlers tended to be pragmatic and these were little different. Soon they were finding new lives in the castle.

 

Which should have seen the end of the troubles except that the Duke had a younger brother who upon hearing about his older sibling's death, set out for the castle with a small army of mercenaries and a very strong desire to revenge himself upon who ever had killed his brother. Carefully avoiding the castle with its new Legionary Garrison, the brother and his mercenary army landed by skyship and made their way through a narrow valley to get to the greater valley beyond. They rode horses and drew wagons. Only a few had such as power-armour or power-blades or muskets. Yet they were greatly confident that they could easily take on a few wozzles.

Edited August 14, 2010 by Maharg67