I was already awake and dressed when I hear Zyllebal stir awake. I look over at her, and she looks back at me with the blankets wrapped around her. She smiles at me slightly, but a few moments later, that smile turns into a frown. "You're leaving already?"
I nod glumly. "I'm sorry, Zyllebal." I say quietly and blush a little. Zyllebal gets up and I look away as she gets dressed as well. Once Zyllebal is done, she walks over and hugs me. She wraps her arms around me, and I hold her tightly.
Zyllebal loosens her grip on me and looks up at me with sad eyes. "Please be careful, Mercer." She says, and I hold her tightly against me again. She hugs me back and we stand there for a free moments embracing each other.
"I'll be careful, I promise. You have my word that I'll come back. I wouldn't leave you." I say the last part quietly, and Zyllebal squeezes me a little tighter.
She looks up at me with sad eyes again. "I love you, Mercer." She says, and it warms my heart. I hold her one more time.
"I love you too, Zyllebal." I let go of her, and she hugs me for a moment longer before letting go as well. We stand there facing each other. "I'll be safe, I promise." She nods and I could tell she wasn't completely convinced.
I turn away from her, and begin putting my armor on. I would need it if I was going to fight a whole gang of assassins. Zyllebal leaves the room, and I quickly finish my preparations. When I was about to leave the room, the assassin Manzinee walks in.
"One last thing, Sir Mercer." He says. It was strange that he called me sir but it also showed that he respected me. I stand tall and face him. "When you find the sanctuary, you will be questioned "What does death do when the rain dances?" Answer with the phrase "Death reins, my brother." And you will be given access to the sanctuary." I nod. I had figured there was some sort of security to her into the sanctuary but I didn't think that much of it.
"Thank you, Manzinee." I say, and he turns to leave. "Hold on. I might need your help to find the sanctuary. Take me there then you can return here. I'll go into the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary alone."
Manzinee looks at me surprised. "You want to fight them all alone?" He asks, and I nod in reply. "You must be insane. I'm one man and I defeated you. I'm sorry, but I don't think anything you could do could stop them. They're stronger then you."
"And yet I still survived your attack. I had a perfectly easy chance to kill you, but I didn't." I reply. "I can defeat these assassins."
Manzinee just shrugs. "It's your own grave you're digging, Sir Mercer. You have the chance to back down from this suicide mission, but it's your choice to make."
"My choice has been made." I growl. "Horses are prepared, take me to the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary. Once I find the entrance, you can return here, or to your own way." Manzinee just nods. We both walk out of the room and towards the stables.
Erzebet as standing by our horses. "I've had enough people telling me not to go, mother. Save your breath." I say, and push past her. "You and Zyllebal have the war to worry about while I'm away. I'll hear your observations and theories when I return." I strap supplies to the horse's saddle and climb onto its back. "I'll be careful, you have my word." I say.
I ride to the gate, and it opens when I approach it. Manzinee's horse on my heels. "Hyah!" I and ride off towards Anvil, Manzinee close behind.
After a while of riding, we approach Anvil and I slow to a stop. "Lead the way, Manzinee." I say, and Manzinee nods. He leads his horse in front of mine, then rides off. I follow close behind. We come to a place where the mountains hide a crack between them. I dismount my horse and look at Manzinee. "You're free to leave now." I say quietly and he nods.
I hold my shield and sword at the ready as Manzinee rides away. I approach the crack between the mountains and see the Black Door. I approach it cautiously.
"What does death do when rain dances?" It says in a deathly voice. It gave me the creeps and I shiver slightly.
"Death reins." I reply. I tried to sound confident but it ended up sounding weaker then I thought it would.
"Welcome home." It says, and opens. I take a deep breath and walk into the sanctuary. It was beautifully dangerous looking. Dark and Mysterious looking.
"Ah, you're here." Someone says and I see someone dressed in the traditional Dark Brotherhood leathers. It was all just a trap. Damn. I adjust my grip on my sword and shield.
"You damned assassins. I'll kill every one of you." I say with a growl. That's when more assassins walk out of the shadows. There was probably about eight or nine of them. I take a deep breath. "I am Mercer, Son of Vortiger and you will die by my hand!"
"You can try, but there's nine of us against one of you. Manzinee should be here any second now too." Their leader was a woman. She had a hood on so I couldn't see her face. The other assassins all looked different. There was also a Khajiit and Argonian amongst them. "It has come to my attention that you just didn't want to die that day Manzinee stabbed you. That day, your soul was promised to Sithis and your soul is what the Dread Father shall receive today."
I laughed. This was honestly hilarious. "My soul to Sithis? Your deity has no claim over my soul. He'll probably have to fight for it with Sheogorath." I laugh again, and the assassins look confused. "Let me put it simply. I didn't die that day Manzinee stabbed me in the throat. If you try to kill me again, I'll slaughter everyone here." The assassins look at each other then laugh.
At that moment, I feel a pain in my back. I look down to see the tip of a dagger in my chest. I feel blood in my mouth. It tasted coppery and gross. I spit it out. I smirk as blood runs from my mouth. My attacker pulls the dagger out of my back and blood drips from the wound. I turn around to face him. It was Manzinee.
I cough up blood and laugh again. I grab Manzinee by the throat. "I should have killed you the second you stepped foot in the Black Prior fortress." I growl, my voice hoarse. I push him up against the wall and he tries to stab me again. I grab the sword by the tip, and it cuts through my gantlets.
Blood seeps through my gantlets and drips onto the floor. I pull the dagger from his hand and press the tip to his chest. I feel it cut through his clothing. A light drizzle of blood comes out of the small wound the dagger has begun making. I smile, blood still dripping from my face.
I could feel the blood from my chest dripping from my body. I ignored the pain. In fact, the pain just made me angrier. I push the dagger a little harder into Manzinee's chest and he gasps as it cuts through his skin.
Blood starts dripping from his lips as I drive the dagger deeper into his chest. I push it all the way to the hilt, then I pull the sword out of Manzinee's chest and let go of him. He falls to his knees. Blood drips from his chest and lips. I smile insanely at him as he falls on his stomach and lays there still. I turn to face the crowd of assassins. Their faces were plastered in surprise.
Bloodied and angry, I face them. "Who's next?" I say, but my wounds catch up to me, and I fall to the ground as well. Before I could think any more, everything goes black.
