A Time to Kill

Davelis pushed away from the counter and stood on his feet. The breton's dark mop of hair and unshaven stubble was the most prominent feature about him, considering the odd glances he got from all the redguard around him. He paid for his drink and frowned. Time to get to work. Davelis slung the bag near the chair over his shoulder and started making his way out of the Sisters of the Sand tavern. The breton pushed the door open roughly and left the establishment. The wind was picking up in strength in Sentinel. Davelis looked up at the sky while squinting his eyes. Another sand storm, just great. Davelis started walking to the barracks of the city's guards. Sentinel was a very big place and the number of guards were no less. Somehow that made Davelis feel both comfortable and unsafe at the same time. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a brief moment.

The dark figure stood up. Where it had been weaponless a moment ago, it wasn't now. The ethereal glow of the daggers floating in the air next to it was real enough. Davelis and comrades took a few steps back as the figure moved towards them. Now they could see the mask that the person wore. Its macabre smile was permanently etched and it scared Davelis to no limits.

The breton sighed explosively and shook his head. He's gone. I won't see him again. Yet, there was a knot in his stomach that he couldn't untie. He kept walking and approached the barrack doors. The duo of guards outside the doors watched him closely, then let him in. The door swung open to let the breton in and the general hubbub of the off-duty guards could be heard. The men and women laughed, trained and ate. Davelis carefully made his way through the hustle and bustle to approach the guard captain's office. Another guard, a much burly one, stood outside. He looked the tiny breton up and down before letting him in. Davelis raised a brow at the redguard when he was thoroughly checked out and had a sly smile on his face when he faced the captain. The redguard man sat in his chair, absorbed in a book and with his armored feet on the desk. He glanced up to see Davelis in front of him.

"Ah, if it isn't Davelis Chansoric. How may I help you today, my friend?" The man clapped the book shut with a regal smile and stood up, gesturing for Davelis to take a seat. Davelis sported a cocky smile as he sat down.

"Well, I would like to know where we are with the travel permits. You promised us those permits a week ago. Now it has been ten days, Captain Faallti. We need to get back to Wayrest as soon as possible." Davelis threaded his fingers together and spoke with clear authority. He even had a smug expression on his face.

"Ah, the permits, yes. Messy business y'know? The councilors of the city wish you a speedy return to Wayrest, no doubt you have other important things to do other then submit to quarantine and be questioned by us. Fear not, your permits should be ready by this afternoon, lad. You'll be back before you know it." Faallti chuckled and winked at the breton as he stepped around his desk to grab a bottle and two glasses. The contents of the bottle looked dark and honey-like. The redguard grinned and brandished the bottle. "Perhaps a drink?" He poured them both a glass and slid over one to Davelis. He sipped from his own glass and sighed in satisfaction.

Davelis eyed the glass for a long moment before picking it up and drinking from it. He raised a brow at the rich flavor of the drink. "Mm, what is this? Its very good...And I am glad to hear that I'll be getting them today. Thank you very much, Captain Faalltti. Where shall I get them from?" He swirled the drink and took another healthy sip, lazily watching the guard captain from across the desk.

The redguard plopped down in his seat and chuckled. "They'll be hand delivered to me by a messenger from the councilors. As soon as I have it, so shall you. I'd suggest you stay with me until they arrive. I am in no mood to send one of my guards looking for you." He sipped on the drink again, his dark brown eyes watching the breton.

"Hm, alright. But I must go inform my companions of this development. Would you mind coming with me, then? I definitely do not mind being escorted around by a guard captain such as yourself." Davelis finished his drink and stood up, stretching his muscles as he did.

Captain Faalltti stood up as well and downed his drink. He grabbed his greatsword and strapped it to his back and grabbed another sword that held onto in his hand. The redguard then grabbed his guard captain's badge from the desk and set it on his chest plate for all to see. He gestured for Davelis to lead the way. "I don't escort people around this city but the councilors have made an exception for you. Come, let us meet your friends." The redguards armor clinked with each step he took, following Davelis out of the barracks before shouting out some last minute orders to his guards. Laughing to himself, the redguard followed Davelis out and all the way to the shared room Davelis had at the inn with his companions.



The six men in the room were all busy doing something. Reynent was busy sharpening his sword with a whetstone. A blonde breton named Rolalius fixed different arrowheads onto shafts then moved on to tinker with his crossbow. Another breton was nose-deep in a map of a city while another was busy cooking. Henilia stared at the fire while she played with a dagger in her hand. She was the first to look over when there was a knock at the door. Colster and Juilar both got up from their bunks where they were playing cards and approached the door. Juilar stood behind the door while Colster cracked it open.

"Who is it?" He asked in a drawling voice.

Davelis spoke in a bored tone. "Its Davelis and the esteemed Guard Captain Faalltti." Colster looked at Davelis then to Faalltti. He let them in and motioned for Juilar to lower the sword he had pointed at the door. Davelis chuckled and pushed his way past Colster and entered the room, looking around. Henilia snorted and looked back at the fire and the others went back to what they were doing before. Faalltti looked about the room with a raised brow.

"If I didn't know any better, seems to me you're getting ready to go to war." The captain looked at each of the bretons keeping busy. That comment earned him a look from everyone in the room.

Davelis turned to the captain and nodded. "You could say that. You do know what we do for the Covenant." He was giving that cocky smile again.

"Hm, I can hazard a few guesses but I'll keep them to myself. Anyway, your travel permits will be with me shortly and you can all go home. Our sincerest apologies to you all for keeping you all here for this long." He gave a short bow to everyone.

Henilia snorted again. "It was only ten days. What could possibly go wrong in that time?" Her sarcasm was very palpable. Faalltti rolled his eyes and shook his head. With a few steps ringing in cadence with his plate armor, Faalltti stepped outside of the salt-fest going on inside the room.

Davelis shot a glare at Henilia. "Be grateful that he's been working day and night to get us out of this hell hole. He wants us gone as much as we want to leave." Henilia shrugged and turned back to play with her dagger. Davelis looked around at everyone else since they'd stopped doing whatever they were doing. Some of the eyes followed the captain out of the room then returned to Davelis. The breton looked around at everyone. "Get your things ready. We leave at dawn." Everyone nodded in acknowledgement and started packing their belongings for the journey back home the next morning. "And behave yourselves. No fights, no quarrels. I want this trip to be as uneventful as possible." Davelis gave one last warning before stepping out. Henilia glared at the breton as he left.

Davelis sighed as he closed the door behind him. The captain was smoking from his pipe while he waited for the breton to step out. The redguard regarded the breton with a calculating look. "Care to have a few drinks before ya leave and never come back?" Davelis raised a brow at him and laughed. He gestured for the redguard to lead the way.

"Might as well as we're waiting for the permits!" Davelis laughed again as the captain grinned. The two made their way down to the tavern and sat down at a table. Faalltti called a waiter over and ordered the two some drinks. Soon enough both were drinking merrily and sharing stories. Even though the captain was wary of Davelis, the friendship was apparent. A few off-duty guards showed up as well and joined the two at the table. For many guards in Sentinel, Faalltti was a father figure and took care of their needs. Throughout the day, they were there. Drinking and eating through the afternoon, the captain finally received the permits. Laughing heartily at a dirty joke, the captain handed them over to Davelis.

"K-keep those close. We don't have more copies of those permits. Oh, you are a riot Kewaas. Where did you learn these jokes?" Faalltti wiped his eyes and grinned at his subordinate. The redguard laughed along with his fellow guards while Davelis took the permits and carefully put them away in his bag. As he was going through it, the breton's hand touched a wooden object. Frowning, he took it out. It was a small wooden toy soldier. Davelis chuckled to himself and stared it. The man was reminded of his son back home. The captain glanced over to him as his subordinates drank and got up to ridiculous antics.

"That for your boy?" Faalltti asked Davelis. Davelis looked over to the captain and nodded.

"Aye. Bought it a few days ago for him." Davelis smiled warmly as he set the little wooden figure on the table. "He loves it when I get him more toy soldiers, says he needs it to complete his army collection." Davelis laughed and picked up his glass to sip from.

Faalltti gazed at the man. He would never have thought of him as the fatherly type. Davelis caught the gaze and raised a brow. The redguard smiled and shook his head.

"Its good to see you care for something else other than your job. A boy definitely needs his father, and yours needs you by his side, eh?" Faalltti looked over to his subordinates and smiled warmly. "These are my children. Each and everyone recruited by me to get them off the streets."

Davelis watched the captain speak of the guards as his children. His dark eyes swept over the tavern and he pocketed the toy soldier. "You care about your guards very much. It is...refreshing to see that in a guard captain." Faalltti chuckled.

"Are you trying to flatter the pants off me? Bah, thats what every guard captain should do." The captain drank deeply from his cup and put it down. He sighed. "Ah, but now I must get back to duty. Dilly dallied long enough having drinks with you. Oi! Don't cause a ruckus while I'm gone." He addressed his off-duty guards and stood up, gathering his weapons. Once he was ready, he clapped a hand on Davelis's shoulder. "Enjoy the rest of your day. I'll be here tonight if ya still want to drink." The captain's hand lingered on the breton's shoulder for a few moments before he marched out, his plate armor ringing with each step taken. Davelis smiled and nodded to the captain as he left, a bit intrigued as to the contact. The captain had never done that before. Shaking the thought off, Davelis ordered another drink and took out the toy soldier from his pocket to play with.







Davelis sat in his own room at the inn. He needed some time to get away from the general noise of the tavern. He stared at the toy soldier on the desk. My boy. He sighed and pocketed the toy again. He'd been staring at it ever since the captain had left to get back on duty. I will see you soon, little one. With that thought, he stood up and picked up his bag. Making sure that he hadn't left anything else in the room, he stepped out and locked the door.

Suddenly, a small rustle and an even smaller popping sound could be heard in the hallway of rooms. Davelis frowned and looked around for the source of the noise. His eyes fell on the captain. The redguard stood by the window with a blank expression. Davelis relaxed and smiled to the man. "Back for drinks?"

The redguard made no other move, the blankness still apparent on his face. Slowly, he raised an arm and put it over the guard captain's badge glimmering on his chest. Faalltti took it off in a very slow motion. As if he was staring into nothing, the redguard held the badge in his outstretched hands and showed Davelis the badge. The breton was utterly confused by the captain's behavior.

"Captain? Everything alright?" Davelis's heartbeat seemed to quicken a little as the redguard offered no answer at all.

The captain gazed back at Davelis with a dead look in his eye. The world seemed to wobble around him. Light rays from the torches bent around the redguard's presence and slowly, the captain's form wavered as if he were standing outside in the sands of Sentinel in broad daylight. The badge in his hand glowed a faint blue, then green, and returned to its normal state. Except the person carrying it was no longer Captain Faalltti. The redgaurd's image collapsed on itself and in his place stood a tall, towering figure clad in dark armor speckled with blue and purple hues. Davelis's heart jumped into his throat. The tall man's face was hidden by a mask. No, the mask. It grinned at Davelis and took a step forward, unsheathing a hidden dagger from his armor.

The breton did not wait a moment longer and dashed down the corridor to get to the room of his comrades. He cried out to his fellows as he burst into the room. "He's here! Grab you-" His sentence was never completed. Davelis looked about the room in horror. Everyone was dead, each of their throats slit. A few of his comrades had taken up arms but had been too slow to defend themselves from the masked man who had obviously been here before Davelis. Davelis wasted no more time. He began grabbing things of importance such as plans and letters and stuffed them into his bag. He ran out the room and saw the masked figure rounding the corner, just a few feet away from the breton. The man's eyes grew wide with fear and he ran down the stairs as fast as he could. The tavern was unusually busy and when Davelis opened the door to the establishment he understood why. A sandstorm was raging out in the night. The sand attacked his eyes and he quickly wrapped a scarf over his face and head. He took one last look behind him and spotted the masked man advancing towards him. Davelis ran out of the inn and into the storm.

By the Eight, he's here! He followed us here! Gods, was the captain a part of this? Davelis's thoughts raced in his mind as he searched for a way to get out of the sand storm and put as much distance he possibly could between him and the masked man. He already killed my comrades and now he's after me! The breton then remembered that he had the travel permits and he raced towards the docks. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if the masked man was still following. Indeed, he was. The masked man was undeterred by the sand storm and was taking large, loping steps. He easily kept up with Davelis even though he was merely walking.

Terror written over the breton's face, he ran for his life towards the docks. Strangely, none of the guards were out and about on duty. The lamps swung wildly in the wind and sand as he ran down a street. He looked back and sighed. He had lost sight of the masked man which means he'd lost him. He started walking at a brisk pace. Soon, he rounded a corner and could smell the salt of the sea. He took one last look behind him to make sure he wasn't being pursued. Good, I lost him.

The shadows cast by the swinging lamps in the street threw the light here and there. The shadows seemed to curl around like smoke in a particular spot in front of Davelis while he had his back turned. As soon as he sighed and turned around, he noticed the strangeness of the shadows. The curled around a lone figure emerging from the shadows itself. The tall man appeared out of shadow and smoke. He took one step forward with the dagger in his hand. Davelis screamed in surprise and fell back. He scrambled to his feet and took in the other direction. The masked man followed along at a distance, not in a particular hurry nor at a snail's pace.

Shit! Shit shit shit! Davelis ran for his life towards the city gates. The stables were surely to have a horse. Instinct guided him to run for it. The man looked behind him again and saw the tall man jumping down from a nearby building. He broke into a run after his prey. Davelis kept cursing, with one hand in his pocket, and ran out the city gates. The horses were properly sheltered from the storm and made it easier for Davelis to pull a chestnut horse out of its stable. The man got on it and began prodding the animal with his heels to start running. I'll head to Tava's Blessing from here, only safe choice. Davelis didn't bother looking back as he kept prodding the horse to go faster. With the wind whipping around them with force, the sand made it difficult for the animal to press on a straight path, but press on it did. Davelis drew his scarf and hood about his face tightly. All the man could hear was the howl of the wind in the night and the soft thuds of the horse's hooves in the sand.

Shado ran as he kept pressing the man towards his chosen destination. The mer had planned all this out well before and so far everything was going accordingly. He had managed to gain the breton's trust, found his comrades and killed them, stolen important information and now had to tie up one last end before he was done here. Shado had even managed to block off Davelis's route to the docks and forced the man to leave the city in the middle of a sandstorm. The mer had methodically narrowed down Davelis's options of escape and had his bow waiting for him on the top ramparts of the city gates. Shado ran at full speed and jumped up to a wooden post. He kept track of the breton. He was busy stealing a horse and forcing the poor steed to run at its fullest in the storm. Shado's mind had one thought and one thought only. Kill the man on the horse. The mer scaled up a wall near the gates and quickly shadow stepped up onto the ramparts. Sure enough, his long bow and quiver were set up and ready. Shado grabbed them and pulled out a handful of arrows, keeping them at the ready. He took up a spot on the rampart and sighted his target. The breton had managed to get the horse running but hadn't made it very far. Shado's heart rate didn't waver for a second as he calmly knocked an arrow and aimed down the shaft at his prey. Everything seemed to slow down around him as he factored in the wind strength and its direction. Once that was done, Shado aimed against it. The mer shifted his position and took his aim off Davelis, instead pointing at the wind. He then let go of the string and the arrow whistled through the air. It went straight at first but then shifted its direction once it was caught in a gust of wind. The arrow whistled towards its target.

Davelis urged his horse to move faster as the winds got stronger around him. They howled eerily in the night and drowned out the whistle of the arrow. The breton turned in his saddle a little too late as the arrow found its mark and pierced his neck through and through. Caught by surprise, the man clutched at his throat and fell off his horse. The steed neighed in terror and ran off into the night. Shado relaxed as he saw his victim fall onto the ground. With a shift of his foot, he suddenly appeared near the breton. He slung the bow over his shoulder along with the quiver and stooped down. He was still alive but dying quickly as the he choked on his own blood. Davelis stared up at the mer as his throat gurgled with blood overflowing in it. His eyes were wide with terror and confusion. Shado took the man's bag and slung it over his shoulder. He then drew his dagger and looked into the man's eyes as he took his final breaths. Shado aligned the point against the man's heart and plunged it in a quick motion and withdrew it. The light in Davelis's eyes went out, signaling his death. The breton stopped writhing and his body went limp. Shado sighed and took out an immolation scroll. He slapped it onto the body and activated it. The limp body ignited but not before the man's hand fell out of his pocket. Shado tilted his head and pried open the death grip, only to draw his head back. The man had been holding onto the toy soldier. Gritting his teeth, Shado stood up and started walking away from the burning body.

Behind his mask, the mer's eyes flashed silver for a few moments then returned to its blank state. A tear rolled down his cheek while he kept walking. Elros softly cried under his mask with the wind howling around him. Just like the ashes of the body were scattered into the wind, the altmer disappeared into the night.

*claps and sobs*