Comments and feedback would be very helpful so I know what people like and what needs to be fixed, I'll post the last 3 parts of episode 1 once every other week, hope you enjoy!

Episode 1 Part 3

Ashure led Uriu to the Wayshrine at the north most section of the city. It had four stone pillars with a little roof and a sort of brazier with blue flames in the center. Uriu stared at it in awe. He'd heard of these but never before has he seen one. Looking back up to Ashure, he saw his hand hovering over it.
"This will take us to the guildhall," Ashure said. "All you have to do is close your eyes and think of a place, if you have to, say it, and then you'll be teleported to where ever that is. But since you've never been there before I'm going to have to take you there myself."
Uriu stared in amazement about all that was happening in the short time since he joined. He just realized something when Ashure was explaining this mode of transportation. "Wait if you had this and knew where the guildhall was then why didn't we just use this first to find an officer?"
Ashure shushed him immediately. It's annoying when people argue with realism and common sense in stories. If you always did the realistic thing and took the easy way then there wouldn't be much of a story now would there?
Frustrated, Uriu asked, "So where are we going?"
Grinning widely Ashure grabbed Uriu's hand and held it over the brazier as he announced, "Fort Dragonclaw!"
Hearing this Uriu's eyes widened. "But wait that's in-"
An astral magic circled them. Constellations appeared as the spell began to teleport them. A glitch appeared, though only for a moment. That moment Ashure's face filled with worry as he looked back to Uriu. His eyes were blank, staring at images playing through his mind.
"Uriu!" Ashure yelled to get his attention. He still didn't respond. Before Ashure could do anything, their entire bodies started to dissolve into light, and they disappeared. To where, not even the Eight knew.
When they reappeared, the two crashed and skidded on an old, gigantic, stone bridge. Yet it was only half of a bridge, the other half was completely destroyed. Ashure gave out numerous amount of moans and curses. Uriu gritted his teeth from the less than perfect landing for his first time fast-traveling. He was still laying on the ground by the time that Ashure was able to sit up and stretch his arms and legs. When he looked up he saw what had haunted him for the past few years. With a look of despair, Uriu fell to his knees and looked aimlessly in front of him past where the bridge had abruptly ended. Without realizing that Uriu was going through a dramatic scene, Ashure started yelling things like 'What the heck were you doing!' and 'You could have gotten us killed ***!'
A few moments after that he saw what Uriu was staring at. It would have been hard to miss. They both gazed at the once great Imperial City, now merely an isolated island in the great lake surrounding it. Its large white walls, preventing them to see what was happening on the inside, and three towers surrounded it with one giant one in its center. Water that appeared almost black spanned the gap between the broken bridge and the city walls. But above the city was a giant demonic ring. Inside the space of the ring was a dark void that lead to the hellish landscape of Oblivion. Connected to it were three enormous chains that dived down into the Imperial City. This was the Daedric contraption known as an Anchor. Seeing this hollow setting of the once great capital of Cyrodiil deprived Uriu's face of happiness.
Ashure sat down next to Uriu and nudged him in the shoulder. Turning around Uriu's eyes were filled with tears. He couldn't help but feel sympathy.
"Stop crying you baby!" Ashure yelled. The sudden outburst caught Uriu off guard. "There's nothing you need to cry about. It's still there isn't it?" They both returned their eyes back to the empty capital. "There are certain times when a man is allowed to cry. 1: if you're cooking with onions. 2: when a cute animal dies. 3: maybe, MAYBE, if a performance is that amazing. And 4: when we lose something precious. That city has yet to be lost to the Daedra. Well, not completely anyway. So until it is, hold your tears only when you need them."
Those words moved Uriu, in a weird way. So he wiped his tears away and stood up. Leading the way, Ashure smiled, and started walking to the other side of the bridge.
"How did you know?" Uriu asked quietly, still walking.
"There's only one type person that looks at that place with true terror," Ashure answered coolly.
When emotions started to return back to normal Uriu realized something important. "Wait where are we?"
Ashure stopped in his tracks. "I have no idea."
Any and all respect Uriu had for him and his speech disappeared immediately. "What do you mean you don't know! You're the one who's been here! You should know where your base is!"
"Well you're the one that messed up the teleport in the first place!" Ashure roared back. "Not to mention it's starting to get dark. Do you have any idea what lives around here at night? People have died from night attacks you idiot!"
"Well it's a good thing that Za'Kiro is here isn't it?"
They looked up the hill and leaning on a large rock was their sneaky feline friend.
"Kiro!" Ashure and Uriu cheered.
I could swear a vein popped on the khajiit's forehead. "Don't tell me that idiot got you on that gag too!" he yelled furiously. "You better thank the Eight that Za'Kiro found you. Ashure has a terrible sense of direction." Uriu laughed as Ashure started waving his fist at him. Za'Kiro couldn't help but smile at the pair. "All you needed to do was climb over this hill and you could easily see Fort Dragonclaw."
The two couldn't believe it. They had to see how close they actually were for themselves. Climbing up the steep hill would have been hard but they did it extremely fast with a burst of adrenaline. It was getting dark so it was hard to see but as they squinted it wasn't incredibly difficult to see the large keep in the distance. Now this wasn't a short walk. Fort Dragonclaw is an enormous base don't get me wrong. But in their eyes it was little more than a speck in the grand view of the snowy landscape. Winding hills, rivers, rock formations, valleys, and the occasional mountain would be along their way during the journey. Poor Ashure's and Uriu's jaws dropped seeing how far away it was. This was all humorous to the laughing Za'Kiro.
"Ok. I can understand any reason you have for killing me now Ashure," Uriu mumbled.
"You better," Ashure replied with a half dead response. "Molag's Ball. Did it really have to be this far away? Well I guess now that I think about it, we were thinking of Fort Dragonclaw as well as the Imperial City. This would probably be a middle point in between them. Uriu, you better thank the Eight we didn't end up in the lake and were devoured by slaughterfish."
To this Uriu turned half hopefully. "Does that mean you forgive me?"
"No, I will kill you as soon as we get there," Ashure answered coldly. Uriu felt depressed again. "Or if we're hungry I'll kill you halfway and eat you. Either way, when I'm done with you you'll be in worse shape than Casper."
"Who's Casper?" Uriu asked fearfully.
"Funny story. I'll tell you about it later." He turned to Za'Kiro. "Oh yeah. What the heck are you doing all the way out here anyway? There's no way you happened upon us by accident this far from the fort."
"Za'Kiro saw our Wayshrine fluctuate at the fort," he replied. "That either means someone pissed in it again, or some idiot thought of several places at the same time. Or in your case, idiots."
Ashure gave him the finger. "Yeah screw you too buddy. And for your information it's this idiot that messed it up," he pointed at Uriu.
"Hey come on I was having my dramatic emotional scene!" Uriu retorted.
"No one cares about your emotional tearjerker scene!" Ashure yelled back. "This isn't that kind of story."
At this point Za'Kiro motioned them to calm down. "Any chance you can kill each other on the way to Fort Dragonclaw? It's really frick'n freezing out here."
"Is that some sort of cat thing?" Ashure asked with a slight smile.
"No you fool! Ok, maybe, but you try spending your entire life in a desert and then come here!" Ashure and Uriu chuckled.
With that Za'Kiro lead as the two argued the whole way back to Fort Dragonclaw. If I really wanted to I'd probably add some teamwork scene during their long journey to the guildhall. You know, all that feel good stuff. But odds are that wouldn't really happen. Even though that part of the Covenant territory borders the Pact's, they wouldn't attack each other because of their mutual agreement to beat the crap out the Dominion first. Then they would kill each other later. But seeing as how at that time the Dominion still controlled a little less than half of Cyrodiil that wouldn't happen for a while. I think. And worst of all, it would take up the rest of the episode, and ain't nobody got time for dat!
The worst part of the journey took about four hours. Without Za'Kiro showing them what paths to take it is very likely that they wouldn't have gotten there until the following night, or even month if Ashure was leading the way. By the time they had arrived to the large stone walls of the fort, Za'Kiro had a migraine worse than Ashure's. During that whole time, the two never stopped arguing. This entire process made Za'Kiro question why he had ever decided to put them together (as well as living). There were several times while walking past a high cliff that he was very tempted to push them off it. No one would ever know. But thankfully he was done and the two finally shut up. As usual, Uriu was awed by every little thing he saw. Namely the fortifications and broken siege vehicles that surrounded the wall of the fort.
One of the guards manning the wall saw them and nudged his buddy to draw his bow and arrow and called, "Halt! Who goes there? State your identities and business for entering Fort Dragonclaw."
"For crying out loud," Za'Kiro moaned. "Jimmy! It's Za'Kiro you fool. Put down the bow before you get yourself hurt."
You couldn't see it under the helmet, but the guard was incredibly embarrassed as he fumbled his arrow back into its quiver. "M-my apologies sir! But you know the rules. I can't let anyone in without proof of identification, especially around these parts."
This is a natural occurrence when traveling with a khajiit who happens to be one of the three allied races of the Dominion (racists). It didn't take long for them to show the guards their Dragon Tears tattoos that every official member had. Ashure's was crimson red on his chest and Za'Kiro's was a lighter shade of red on his neck. The Dragon Tears tattoo basically was a dragon forming a spiral with its wings extended out, and a single small tear next to its eye.
The guards opened the enormous gate door that revealed an empty courtyard. After they entered, the doors were immediately closed behind them. Looking up, Uriu starred in marvel at the large fortress. Stone steps lead to a door as large as the one they just went through. Above their heads was a railless balcony that some people were sitting on with their feet dangling. Next to them were placed siege weapons to prevent attackers from getting inside the main keep. Uriu turned around to see an endless amount of guards on top of the wall, patrolling. In his head he was wondering how they ended up getting this fortress as their guildhall.
Before even opening the door you could hear the sound of music playing and people laughing. After going through a hallway it opened up to a large space that was filled with a bar, several long tables that people were dancing on top of, and a platform where a group of bards played all the guild's favorite songs! If these were the same people that were in the Daggerfall Inn then he could understand why the innkeeper hated them so much. They were actually fun. The entire guild had to be there for it to be this crowded.
The three started walking forward into the guild hall. But Ashure turned back and yelled so Uriu could hear him, "Za'Kiro and I have to talk. If you could do me a favor and stick around here for a while that would be great."
"What the heck am I supposed to do here?" Uriu asked loudly. "I don't know anyone."
Ashure patted him on he back. "Talk to people, socialize, get to know them. These people here are going to be your guildmates for the rest of your time here. The sooner you make some friends the better."
Ashure pushed him into the sea of the crowd. It didn't take long for Uriu to get mixed in with everyone. Several times people would push him aside and spin him so he didn't know where Ashure had left him. He got so dizzy that he ended up collapsing on the bench of one of the tables without realizing all the people that were already there. Still seeing the world in blurs and swirls, he didn't notice the people whose conversation he interrupted and were now giving him weird looks. All except for the man next to him. He laughed and patted Uriu on the shoulder.
"Quite a crazy party for a bunch of scholars wouldn't you say?" the man next to him yelled cheerfully. "Say I've never seen you around here before. You new?"
Eventually the world became flat and straight again. Still loud, but at least it looks right. He looked around to see what had happened to realize everyone at that table was looking at him. A feeling of embarrassment slowly creeped over him and showed through his face. The man next to him continued to laugh.
"I'll take that as a yes. Well, welcome to the Dragon Tears. Don't let anyone here scare you. Accept Rok'Nar. Then you know you're sober. Let me introduce everyone. We love it when a new guy shows up!"
The man's name was Vayne. He's a blonde, upbeat guy that's famed for his blacksmithing skills. Whenever anyone wants armor or weapons, they run to him only realizing afterwards that they can't pay for it. In general he likes to talk tough as an officer and rally his fellow guildmates behind his shield and imaginary banner. But since he's shorter than average as well as lighter, and likes to prove his strength to others, he's often sent flying by his much bigger opponents.
Across from him was a woman clad in armor with a large axe strapped to her back. Her name was Rose or as some called her, the 'Whistling Rose'. Compared to what you might imagine a person named Rose would appear and act like, she could quite possibly be the polar opposite. She always seemed to have a mug in her hand and is known as the guild's heaviest drinker. One of the physically strongest women in guild she is known to be quick to a fight and pummel her opponents (often while drunk... and with the mug). So in other words great for parties!
Next to Rose was another woman named Arbora. In a light green linen, blue eyes, blonde hair, and with a gentle smile, she is one of the kindest people in the guild (and unfortunately the scariest when angered). Her healing skills are legendary. It was said that while channeling healing spells on her target, she heals wounds before they are even inflicted! Later someone told Uriu that she was one of the head officers of the guild, same as Za'Kiro. He was quite taken by surprise.
Sitting next to Uriu was an imperial with short blonde hair. This man was Praethor. A templar that wasn't exactly the perfect picture of a holy man. He takes any job that has to do with witches. Don't ask, he just really likes yelling, "Burn the WITCHES!" I think it's something to do with his favorite traveling troupe known as the 'Monty Python'. All we know for sure is that he makes great barbecue.
Across from him was a khajiit by the name of Sygiil. She is a pupil of Za'Kiro's and has roughly the same backstory as every other khajiit in the Covenant. That being exiled, arrested, sent away from home, and for one reason or another decided to stay. Not very original so there isn't much need to go into detail. Following Za'Kiro's bad habit as a thief, she will often be accused of stealing from other members of the guild, even before they find out something was stolen, and they'll often be right.
Sitting next to her was a nord called Ahmik. Like Rose he was bulky, wore heavy plated armor, and wielded an axe (so in general the male version of Rose... ish). His hair was tied back in dreads and had a goatee. Ahmik is a more jolly type of person. Unfortunately he is terribly too trusting of people, one thing lead to another, someone died, and he ended up in the Covenant (and ended up in the company of the Dragon Tears... big mistake). He likes to help anyone in need with literally ANY need. Even though he's so outgoing, for some reason he's shy among big groups. Imagine how he felt at that party and at that table. Lets just say you could here his armor rattle.
The last person I will mention (since there's way too many people to talk about) is a man named Bezelar. Sorry if it looks weird describing him because he is the strangest looking bald breton in the world. All of his squinted and impish features seem to be pulled towards the center of his face. Like Arbora, Bezelar is one of the official healers in the guild but instead wears armor rather than robes. You will often find him staring into space daydreaming, and he will often be staring directly at you while doing it. Besides his profession as a healer, people fill in orders to him for potions that may, or may not, accidentally turn you into a frog for several days (I don't want to talk about it).
Uriu was quite taken by his now instant and questionable friends. They laughed at stories they told during their time in the guild. Several times Vayne, Rose, Bezelar and Praethor would stand on the benches to sing to one of the songs they really liked. "Tis Dragonsbane we be! And to the glory of battle we see! To all you Dominion pretty boys, and nerdy candy asses! We will always light you with a box of magic matches!" They were a lively bunch. Every now and then they'd try to teach Uriu one of the songs that was being played. He respectfully declined.
After another song, Vayne sat back down laughing and panting at the same time. He turned to face Uriu. "So what's it like having Ashure as your team leader?" Vayne asked. "I hope he hasn't been treating you coldly has he?"
It took a moment to think about. The first thing that came to Uriu's mind was all the times Ashure said he was going to kill him on the way there. But he didn't want to completely tarnish his name. There were more times he actually had fun with Ashure that day. So he gave a more vague answer.
"Ashure can be tough sometimes," he answered as everyone's eyes were on him. "And we may have our arguments. But in general he's a really cool guy."
They all seemed to smile at that. Then they started laughing. None of this made sense to Uriu. Had he said something wrong?
Vayne chuckled at Uriu's response. "Sorry about that. The only reason I asked that is because it's the 31st." Uriu gave a confused look. Was it the anniversary of someone's death? Did he have a periodic illness? Could today be the day that he officially joined the guild? (Wait why would that be depressing?) Before Uriu could ask, Vayne continued on. "You mean you don't know? Ashure's always depressed on the 30th and 31st of each month."
"Why's that?" Uriu asked in earnest.
They all started to laugh. Vayne especially. "It's nothing really. He just sees those days and they make him feel like he's getting old."
"And he's not even 30 yet," commented Rose.
Praethor sighed. "Seriously, he thinks 30's old? Then what does that make us?"
"I think he said it was something about the wrinkly skin," Ahmik added. "Or maybe it was that he'd get fat and lethargic. Or he'd have to go to the bathroom every half an hour."
"Basically, don't let anything he does today discourage you from who he is," Vayne interrupted. "Because I'm fairly confident that by tomorrow you're going to see a completely different person."
That thought scared him in a way. What could the real Ashure be like? Would he like that Ashure more than the current one? You'd hope so. Different possible personalities started bouncing around his head. Some more realistic than others, a LOT more realistic than others. Some sounded fun and outgoing. Yet some scared the living crap out of him. Uriu's face was like when you're really pumped up for the season premiere when the last one had a crappy dramatic ending. But the question still stood. Who was Ashure Glory?

Ashure sat down as he reached the main hall where the officers usually were, discussing about jobs, events, and what to do with certain aspects of the guild. It was a large open space, with a long dining table in the center and torches around the hall. At the very end of the table sat Ras and Rok'Nar, talking about whether or not to take part in the war effort. Za'Kiro told Ashure to wait at the opposite end as he headed to his associates. All Za'Kiro knew was that he had something important to tell the Council. Currently there was only four present. Three were in the room, one was downstairs, and the remaining three were out on missions.
Ras and Rok'Nar already seemed tired from a long discussion. Za'Kiro addressed them informally since he himself was a Councilor. Sitting down, Za'Kiro gestured Ashure to come forward. Getting back out of his chair he slowly walked to their side of the table. Ras' feet were laying on the table as he laid back and Rok'Nar's arms were crossed as Za'Kiro sat patiently.
"It would seem we were given an extremely important mission this time," Ashure stated. "There's no way me and Uriu can do this alone. And since you'd want to be apart of this anyway I'd like to ask if-"
"Wait wait wait," Ras interrupted. He leaned forward. "Who's Uriu?"
The fact he interrupted for such an unimportant detail made Ashure slightly annoyed. "He's a new recruit. Just joined this morning."
"Ohhhh," Ras replied. "Ohhhhh! The one that Za'Kiro was telling me about. The one that didn't hesitate to the whole 'stare death in the face' thing. Dang, I was hoping that would actually scare some people. Oh well. Please carry on."
"Well," Ashure continued, "BEFORE I was interrupted, I was going to request that the members of the Council help us with our current mission."
This is one of the rules of common courtesy in the guild. As a rule, you are not supposed to interrupt on another member's mission. But if the person asks you for help you may intervene as well as get a smaller portion of the reward which the person asking for help may choose how much. The rule was made in order to reduce chaos of guild missions. It would be a hassle to deal with a mission that three different groups all wanted to take and get the reward for.
"According to what we were able to find, the Red Rook bandits are planning an assassination of the King of Daggerfall."
Their eyes widened. Hearing this, Ras sat up a little straighter to listen. "Go on."
"We found out their hideout is located at Ilessan Tower but need some assistance raiding it. Now I don't know how much you guys want of the cut, but I'll be willing to-"
Rok'Nar held his hand up. "We do not want any of the money Ashure," he said.
Ras stood up quickly. "Hey hold on just a second. Sorry for my friend here. We would like-" He was stopped short as Rok'Nar hit him on the top of his head.
"Have you no shame? We would be honored to save the King's life. Money or none. That's the way it's supposed to be. The same should go for you, Rastafariel."
His head was still bent down without a response. After a moment he rubbed his head where Rok'Nar hit him.
"Oww," Ras groaned. "Sorry about that. Old habits die hard. But Rok's right. We'd be glad to help. Money or... None. Besides it makes sense in a way. Think of it as a gift for your first mission as a team leader. We should wait until the morning, and then head out. I'll have Rok'Nar, Arbora, Za'Kiro, and myself travel alongside with you."
At the sound of this Ashure was amazed. "Four Councilors to help on our mission? You could clear them out by yourselves if you wanted to."
Za'Kiro laughed. "According to the rules we can't do that. But we wouldn't mind backing you up. We protect our guildmates no matter what. That's what makes us Councilors. Do not fret my friend. Za'Kiro always watches out for his allies."
Ras grinned. "Then it's settled. All six of us will raid the tower at dawn. You know. Because dawn sounds a lot cooler than saying 6 am. And there's nothing you can do to change our minds Ashure. So deal with it."
He couldn't help but smile. Even when they were annoying, they were still good to be around. That was the great thing about the Dragon Tears. Everyone had everyone's back.
"Thanks," Ashure said with a smirk.

The next morning everyone in the mess hall was sleeping, drooling, moaning, and had a terrible hangover. Uriu was snoring as he laid over the table on his bench. He felt a nudge on his shoulder as his eyes started to crack open, and then close abruptly. Now there was a jab on his shoulder. He tried shooing it away. Oh no. There was something cupped around his ears. Please be merciful.
"Rise and shine!"
The loud voice echoed through his entire body. Uriu's eyes were wide open. All that was going through his mind was Who is about to die? When he looked up it happened to be none other than Ashure himself. He was smiling like crazy for no reason and seemed to be bouncing off the walls.
"Good morning Uriu my friend what a nice today is huh I don't understand why everyone's sleeping why are people sleeping I slept a little but I was psyched about this our mission what about you are you ready for today come on let's go I haven't done any exciting missions a while how about you huh you ready you excited huh?"
Besides another butchering of the English language, this was the reactivation of the real Ashure Glory. Forget everything I've told you about him before. Because that was a one time joke that will never be used again after reading the comments section. The real Ashure was an energetic (though not usually this energetic), out there, spontaneous, at times confusing, and laughing idiot that could care less about what anyone thinks (or at least so he says). He hates killing when it isn't necessary. In general, Ashure fights for his ideals so at the end of the day everyone's laughing. After all the preparation Uriu had for whatever Ashure's real personality was, he was not prepared for this. Eventually Ashure left him alone and started running around bothering other hungover people.
There was the sound of laughter behind him. Turning around Uriu saw a fully equipped Ras, Rok'Nar, Za'Kiro, and Arbora. Ras wore his dark blue robe and hood, linen wrapped around his hands, and cloth boots with a sword strapped to his side. Rok'Nar's entire orcish battle armor was on and instead of his war axe he had a smaller mace on his side and shield over his back. Za'Kiro's black leather grabs were strapped and tight over his fur, his mask over his mouth, and a pair of deadly daggers by his sides. Arbora's mage robes were turquoise and had her hood down. An ivory bow was strapped to her back.
Za'Kiro chuckled at the confused look on Uriu's face. "Oh don't worry. This will only last about half an hour. He's still in his 'hyperactive phase'. Are you ready for the mission?"
Uriu was still a bit confused since he literally woke up 13 seconds ago. To this Ras came out and said, "We're heading for the tower today. The Red Rooks shouldn't be that difficult of an opponent compared to a few others we've bested. With all our luck we should be able to kill them all and leave by nightfall. We'll probably have to set up camp before returning to Daggerfall. Now, rookie, any other questions?"
For some reason Uriu was giving Ras a strange look. During the entire time Ras was giving his explanation, he seemed to occasionally wink at Uriu. At first Uriu was sure that either it was just him, or maybe dust got in Ras' eye or something. But by the tenth wink he was confident that it wasn't just him.
Since guys jump to conclusions, Uriu looked towards Za'Kiro and asked "Is he trying to make a move on me?"
Now if everyone was drinking something at that time, they would have spit it out like in every cartoon. No one had a clue what was going on. Or at least not until Rok'Nar glanced over to see Ras' eyes simultaneously winking. He laughed.
"Hey Ras, your eyes are acting up again."
He held his hand out over his eye to see if he was right. "Aw crap. Not again. I swear this is the fifth time this week."
Let me explain. Our dear friend Ras has a winking problem (and so does the rest of our society). He was so into spontaneously winking one time at a guild party where there was a bunch of beautiful women and hints of sarcasm (and other things) that he couldn't stop. Now our poor friend not only has a ridiculously long name, but now he also can't stop winking (trust me it doesn't end there).
Now feeling enlightened about the incredibly weird guildmaster, the group was ready to leave. Also Ashure final calmed down and seemed to be extremely tired. Rok'Nar had to carry him on his back so they could leave the keep. Understanding where they had to go, Uriu tried using the Wayshrine again, removing all other thoughts from his mind. Remembering the tip Ashure gave him, Uriu shouted, "Daggerfall!" Again the astral magic enveloped him as well as the others. And again their bodies dematerialized and disappeared from the fort.
When they came back, Uriu took several deep breaths. He thought he couldn't breathe during the fast travel. Luckily this time everyone materialized standing. Uriu's gaze turned to the horizon where the sun was still barely visible. Does no time pass in between the fast travel? he thought. Shrugging he turned back to his group.
They were all stretching as if for a marathon. Ashure finally came back to normal and leaned against Uriu. "So how was your first night at the guildhall?" he asked.
"It was interesting," Uriu replied. "I had a good time meeting a few people and learning about the guild."
Ashure laughed. "It's definitely an interesting guild for scholars huh? You should have seen it when I first joined back when old man D'Narius was still in charge. Man were those some good times."
"D'Narius?" Uriu asked confused.
"I'll tell you about it later." Ashure walked forward to face the rest of the group. "Alright gang listen up! Technically this is still my mission, and because of that, I'm still in charge. I don't want any complainers, whiners, criers-"
"That was you last time."
"Whimpers, farters-"
"What does that have to do with-"
"And most importantly, no complainers."
"You already said that"
Ashure shooshed them. Everyone was starting to look at him in annoyance. "He's getting way too into this."
Turning around Ashure pointed to the distance. "Alright lets head out!"
He looked as if he was marching in the direction he pointed. Finally Ras called out, "Hey fearless leader! Ilessan Tower is that way," he pointed behind him.
In one fluid motion he turned around and continued walking as he said, "I knew that."
A giant face palm echoed through the group. They started following Ashure who was now heading in the right direction. Morale seemed at an all time low at the start of the day.
"Za'Kiro is still debating whether he's still in his 'reactivation phase'," Za'Kiro commented.
"I'm still debating about whether or not we'll all make it back alive," Rok'Nar replied back staring at Ashure.
Their walk took a few hours. The entire time Ashure and the others tried holding conversations, but eventually the subject died and someone had to think of something else to talk about. Ras and Rok'Nar would explain to Uriu the different rules and aspects of the guild in which he would have to partake. Whenever he had the chance, Ashure would add in a sarcastic joke that only him and Za'Kiro would laugh to, there by pissing off Ras who was in deep conversation. So a lot of it was quick jabs at each other that neither Uriu or Arbora took apart of. During most of the journey Uriu wondered if this was what it would always be like. But then again he realized this wasn't quite so bad.
Finally by the time that the sun was at it's highest, the group finally made it to the Ilessan Tower. The tower, in best description, looked like a total piece of crap to have as a hideout. Rubble was everywhere, there wasn't even a door or guards, and half of the actual tower was missing. Crouching behind a boulder so as to avoid any possible lookouts, they crowded to form a plan.
"I say we rush them!" Rok'Nar let out. "Let their heads roll as we urinate all ov-"
Ras hit him over the head. Which actually hurt because he was wearing a fairly strong helmet. "That's a terrible idea," he whispered, shaking his now red hand back and forth. "We need a plan. There's gotta be over 50 or so guys in there."
Everyone looked over the boulder at the hollow tower. If there were any people there, they couldn't see them. They all crouched back down into their circle.
"Maybe you were punked Ashure," Za'Kiro whispered. Ashure dropped his head down.
Arbora shook her head. "No, this is a known hideout of the Red Rook Bandits. There's probably a cellar that leads to their actual hideout. We won't know until we look."
Resurrected, Ashure nodded his head continuously assuming Arbora must be right (because if she wasn't that would mean Ashure was hoodwinked). Ras still pondered what they should do as he stroked his nonexistent beard. Uriu stayed silent in fear of screwing up. Since this was his first time he didn't believe he had any good advice to give. He looked around as the others were thinking of what to do as well. When he looked to Ashure he saw him with his eyes closed and wasn't moving. Finally he stood up and everyone looked to him wondering what he was about to do.
Unsheathing his sword he braced it in a stance and roared, "Screw it, lets run wild!"
Ras, Arbora, and Za'Kiro had another major facepalm as Rok'Nar was smiling wildly in agreement. Yet Uriu didn't know what to think. Was this an act of bravery or perhaps an act of sheer stupidity? He couldn't say. He only knew the guy for less than two days. From what he had seen he knew that Ashure had combat experience. So all he could do was stare at him hopefully.
As the others decided Aw screw it, the group headed for the tower. All their weapons were unsheathed and Uriu pulled out his bow. They didn't run towards the tower like idiots don't worry. They took to different sides of the doorway and slowly looked around. Guess what? Yep it was empty. But when they look at the ground near the stairwell they found a cellar door. Turns out Arbora was right and Ashure wasn't a complete idiot.
Climbing down a slightly creaky wooden ladder, they found themselves in what looked similar as to perhaps a dungeon. There were long hallways surrounded by stone with single torches to illuminate the entirety of the hideout. Luckily for them, the bandits don't keep guards near the entrance of their base to look out for, hm, I don't know, attackers? Na. Who needs those? Only a major hole in their defenses. But they did hear voices from further down the hallway. Ashure smiled at the others as they knew what to do.
Sneaking up on a group of four bandits, they easily overtook them but not before they could call for their friends for help. The group ran as fast as they could to the main opening where they should find whoever was in charge of this place. Bandits would come from their rear and Uriu would call them, firing a flurry of arrows at them.
Rok'Nar challenged whole groups of them with his shield. Whenever one came near him he would bash them in the face and then nail them down with his mace. After beating down five of them, a female bandit came and started releasing a bunch of slashes with her daggers. All he did was block them. There were no signs of him trying to fight her.
Uriu looked over to him and yelled, "What are you doing?"
"That's Rok'Nar's problem," Ras answered. "He can't fight women."
A look of fear came into Uriu's eyes.
Hearing this the bandit woman smirked and taunted, "What's wrong Orc? You aren't a coward are you? Awwww. Is someone too afraid to hit a girl?"
Rok'Nar's look became stone cold. When Uriu last looked, his eye's had become blood red and rage consumed him. He took to the offensive, wailing down a great many swings of his mace. Even when all color left he still went berserk. When he stopped he looked to the other bandits who were now cowering at the sight of him. Without a moments hesitation he attacked them too.
"Crap," Arbora murmured as she gave random bursts of healing spells to her companions. "Rok's lost it again." She continued to send out waves of healing while the others fought and fired a few arrows when no one required her to save them.
Another small group of bandits surrounded Ras while he just stood their with his arms crossed, looking invincible. That was what he intended anyway. But the bandits kept giving him weird looks.
"Why's that guy wearing a dress?" one asked.
"I don't know. But I think this creep's hitting on me," said another.
With a vein on his forehead popped and a sudden burst of random winks, he gave them a murderous winking glare. Cracking his knuckles, he muttered, "Alright, who wants to die first?"
All Uriu could hear was the cry of a few bandits and the sound of lightning echoing through the hallways. With a final burst of effort, Ashure was the first to charge his way into the main opening, slicing through those that got in his way. Little tents were set up as a bunch of bandits suddenly had all their attention on him. "Crap." They charged him. But instead of fretting, Ashure simply waited until they came closer, and the released a burst of holy fire around him that sent the bandits flying.
Further ahead, Za'Kiro slipped his way past the fighting that took place with the others. When he came closer to a group of them that were sitting around a fire he smoothly sliced then with his daggers in a single fluent motion. Ras praised him for his slick kill. But then had an angry look on his face.
"Za'Kiro what are you doing?!"
He looked back at Ras with two cooked fish stuffed in his mouth that he'd taken from the cooking pot above the fire. Giving Ras an innocent kitty look he continued to gobble down the fish. Ras sighed before electrocuting more victims.
One of the bandits looked at the group with worry. He was much bigger than the rest and seemed to be wearing a different uniform. The man called all the remaining bandits to attack. With their backs against each other, the group started fighting all that came at them. There was no break in their formation. Uriu was forced to pull out his sword in order to fend off his assailants. Finally all the bandits had fallen and their bodies surrounded them. Now only the lead bandit was left.
He stretched his neck. "Alright. I guess that means I must join the fray."
Ashure grinned. "Alright guys. Thanks for your help. But I think Uriu and I can handle this one. You guys keep the stragglers off us ok."
The rest of them smiled. "Yeah sure whatever."
Seeing his challenge was met, the lead bandit unsheathed his daggers. Taking this as a sign to step up his game, Ashure took out a jar from his pack. He poured what seemed to be oil over his blade and then held it up, ready to fight.
Looking to Uriu, he smiled and said, "You ready for the main event? You should feel lucky. You get to see my technique."
Holy Fire started to appear in his hands. The flames quickly touched the oil and lit the entire sword on fire. Uriu could only stare in awe at Ashure's unique ability. Thinking it a smart idea to stay out of his way, Uriu pulled out his bow. For some reason the lead bandit smiled at them. And the clash began.
A fury of attacks were let out between Ashure and the bandit. The bandit did his best to avoid the flames as he was aware of what templars could do with them. As soon as Ashure backed away, Uriu sent an arrow flying straight into the man's chest. He let out a fierce cry but Ashure didn't give him time to feel pain. Another burst attacks came and the bandit did his best to keep up with his wound. Seeing another opportunity, Uriu fired another arrow. Luckily the bandit was able to dodge in time. But this left him unbalanced. With the perfect time to strike, Ashure swung one fierce strike across the bandit's chest. The blow left him in shock from the burning pain, and he fell to the ground.
They took deep breathes. Ashure stood up and stared at the lead bandit. Any blood that had tainted his blade was immediately burned away by the holy fire. The flames on his sword diminished and he sheathed it. Uriu and the rest of the group looked at him to hear the words that they were all wanted him to say.
Returning his gaze to the group, Ashure smiled and stated, "It's all over."

Episode 1 part 4

The bodies were all lying beaten and bruised. Blood covered the floor as the torches flickered around the large room. Ashure walked away from the lead bandit without so much as saying a word. Uriu couldn’t tell if he was being cold, ruthless, or sad. He looked back down at the bandit he helped kill. His eyes widened when he saw his chest rise slightly, and then go back down.
He looked back towards Ashure and yelled, “Hey Ash, this guy’s still alive! Shouldn’t we-”
Uriu was stopped abruptly when Za’Kiro placed his hand on his shoulder. The look in his eyes were serious. He gestured to all the other bodies around him. It didn’t look like anything at first. But when he looked closer he could see they were all still breathing, they were merely unconscious. His gaze returned to the solemn Ashure walking towards the exit. When he turned to look at the others they were all smiling at Uriu now that he understood. Well, all except Rok’Nar. He was too busy pissing on all the bandits to take part in this emotional scene.
When they got out of the tower, Uriu was surprised to see that the sun was going down. Just how long had they been down there? Then again they had to wait for Za’Kiro to finish looting all the bodies for what little gold they had on them which added a good chunk of time.
“We should set up a camp for tonight,” Ras advised. “We can deliver the news and claim the reward tomorrow. For now we need to get a fire going, something to eat, and find a safe place to rest.”
Without complaint, everyone did their assigned job. Uriu and Arbora started setting down all the equipment under a large oak tree. Meanwhile Ashure and Rok’Nar started collecting firewood. Ras asked Za’Kiro to help him find herbs, animals, anything that could be eaten. As everyone returned to the campsite, Arbora organized all their materials and such so she could start cooking them a meal. Using an assortment of herbs, spices, and the unlucky rabbit, she decided a good stew was in order.
Rok’Nar left in a fit of rage saying that men need to eat real meat in order to remain strong. He came back 20 minutes later with an entire deer being dragged behind him. Since Arbora was evidently mad that he didn’t want her stew, she told him to make it himself. Gladly he turned two entire legs over the fire, and devoured them as soon as they were done before anyone else had the chance to ask for one.
The moon started to rise as night had fallen upon them. With their bellies full, and the firelight resonating around them, it was only natural that they would want to tell stories. It started when Uriu asked Rok’Nar why he couldn’t fight women.
He gazed at the fire with a cold stare. “From an early childhood I was always a fighter.”
Very quickly Ras hit him upside the head. “Not the long version idiot!” he roared into Rok’Nar’s ear. “We don’t have enough time for that.” He looked up smiling to Uriu. “In short, Rok was beaten the crap out of as a little kid then proceeded to let his mentor die, therefor getting him exiled from the clan.”
Ashure and Za’Kiro gave Rok'Nar dirty looks at the same time.
“You ***,” Ashure growled.
“You don’t deserve to live,” Za’Kiro added.
Rok’Nar buried his face into his hands as his armor shook. “I didn’t mean to,” he quivered. “It was an accident I swear! I wasn’t in my right mind I promise!”
Suddenly their scowls turned into smiles. At the same time they patted him on the back and said, “We kid, we kid.”
In a burst of rage, Rok’Nar came out of his hands and yelled at them, “You ***! Don’t you have any sense of pity? Shame? Sympathy?”
They both made faces at him. “Nope.”
He started waving his fists at them as they continued making faces at him. In fact I’m sure he would have killed them had it not been for what happened next. Arbora gave them all a smile. Tilting her head slightly she said cheerfully, “Boys.” They all stopped what they were doing. “Why don’t you sit down and stop your fighting? Somebody might get hurt.”
Although everything she said was sweet, kind, and gentle, there was something dark coming from her and what she said. I can’t put my finger on it. They started shaking as the muttered, “Y-y-y-yes mam.”
Ras laughed and looked back at Uriu. “So yeah that’s why he hates it when people call him weak. As well as why he can’t fight women.”
Uriu still looked confused. Ashure elbowed him whispering, “His mentor was a girl.”
“Oooooooh. Ok.”
Now Ashure started to chuckle. “If you think that’s good you should hear Ras’ story. Believe it or not, our Guild Master was once upon a time a pirate.”
Uriu’s face stared at awe towards Ras. “Are you serious?” he asked.
With only an embarrassed smile back, Ras pulled out his cutlass from his side. The fire mirrored off it’s polished edges. “This is all I have left of that old life. If it wasn’t for old man D’Narius I probably would still be sailing the seas.”
“If it wasn’t for D’Narius you would have robbed the entire guild blind,” Za’Kiro added. "Or at least have died in the process." Again Uriu stared amazed. Actually it was more appalled than amazed.
Ras smiled awkwardly back. “I said I was sorry about that didn’t I? You see Uriu, the entire reason I first joined the Dragon Tears was to steal all the old weapons, books, and artifacts hidden in the archives. But then D’Narius, the old Guild Master, suggested teaching me magic. At the time I thought that would really help when I-say-rob a ship, or are being chased by guards. So I became his pupil. After awhile I actually started liking the guy, along with everyone else in the guild. I did everything I could to prolong the heist. But eventually my fellow pirates said enough was enough, and raided the Archives without my permission. Even my first mate betrayed me. At the heart of the Archives stood D’Narius himself. He knew the whole time what was going on, even when he started training me. He fought them, protecting all the knowledge the guild had worked so hard to attain. Most of them were getting scared off. But then my first mate, Roco, threw a dagger at him, piercing him in the chest. I went berserk. Seeing that, I unleashed everything the old man taught me at Roco. When I was done, nothing remained of him.”
They all looked down, obviously in acknowledgment of the terrible memory. A single tear went down Ras’ face. He looked back up smiling. “It didn’t kill him but that left him in critical condition. There was no way he could ever fight much less use magic again.” He clenched his fist. “It wasn’t much later that Ashure joined the guild. D’Narius himself brought him in. You should have seen him back then. Such a scared look on his face. D’Narius died about two year ago. Everyone was surprised when he left me in charge. But no one complained. I did just what D’Narius did back when he was the guildmaster. I took care of everyone like they were my own. That was his dying wish. And to this day I have upheld it.”
There was a long pause where Ras caught his breath. Rok’Nar rose his hand up. “Hey why did you get to go in depth with your backstory and I didn’t?” he asked.
All at once everyone said, “Because he’s the guildmaster. Shut up.”
He looked at them all curious. “Did you coordinate that while I was gone?”
They started to laugh. Uriu turned to Arbora. “What about you? What’s your story?”
“Not telling,” she replied smiling, tilting her head slightly. Everyone leaned in curious now.
“Come on Arbora,” they’d say. “Tell us Arbora, tell us.”
Her head tilted slightly more. “I said I’m not telling.”
Again they whole group started to shiver. “Y-y-y-yes mam.”
The attention shifted to Uriu when Za’Kiro asked, “Alright Uriu, your turn. We all know about each other but none of us know anything about you. Tell us your story friend.”
He smiled and responded, “Well I really just joined the guild for a job. I’ve been traveling for a while looking for work and happened to hear about you guys so here I am.” Everyone (except Arbora) stared at him in disappointment.
“So you’re telling me that’s it? No tragic backstory?”
“You weren’t exiled from your homeland and friends, swearing to find and see them again?”
“You didn’t lose your memory and are trying to find out who you were?”
“You aren’t scouring the world for power in order to punish those who tortured you?”
“You aren’t searching for the one you love who was kidnapped by a ruthless king?
“You didn’t swear to seek revenge against the man that killed your family.”
"Nope," Uriu replied.
“I ran away from my family,” Ashure commented out of the blue.
There was no expression in his eyes, and now the other’s as well (thanks buzz kill). Obviously Uriu could see that this was a sensitive topic among them. For Ashure especially. Heck they made fun of Rok’Nar letting his mentor die and getting exiled, what could possibly be worse than that to make them so quiet? (Hey don’t look at me, I’m not telling)
It didn’t take long for them to put out the fire and fall asleep. By the time Uriu woke up everyone was already packed up and ready to go back to Daggerfall. They threatened to leave him there so he had to run around to get all of his stuff ready. It didn’t feel like it took long by the time they arrived. The sun was barely on high as they entered the keep.
Ashure checked in with the officer he last talked to to tell him that the mission was over. The officer thanked him repeatedly for his efforts and said the king should be there any moment to pay them. Hearing this the group knew they could relax for a bit now that they were out of danger. Uriu took the nearest bench and slouched as low as physically possible.
Since he had spare time, Ashure decided to check on the three stooges still in the dungeons. It was as dark and dismal as ever. Very few torches were lit and most all the cells were empty. That is, all except one. When Ashure walked in front of the bandits’ cell, almost on cue they begged for mercy and not to be killed, burned, hit, cut, smashed, and or pummeled.
Ashure gave them a victorious smirk. “I’d like to thank you for your help. You might want to find a new occupation if you ever get out of here because that gang of yours is history.”
Their eyes widened. “You mean to tell us you killed all of the Red Rook Bandits all by yourself? That’s impossible!”
“Good point. That’s why I had a little bit of help. But none the less, your plans for assassinating the king are gone now. Do you have any last wishes? I’ll enjoy locking that door over there behind me and never seeing any of your sorry faces ever again.”
One of the bandits in the corner of the cell started shaking and tearing up. “Is there any chance at a reduced sentence?”
The other bandits looked over to him and yelled, “MiIlan don't!”
“What could you possibly that you think you can walk out of here on?” Ashure asked curiously. “If you know anything important to us I’ll see what I can do to reduce your time in here. And if you all help I can get all of you out of here in maybe a few years if you're lucky.”
The middle bandit bit his lip. Finally he answered, “You haven’t stopped anything.” Ashure looked confused. “The assassination team left before we ever told you about them. And now your group has gone and made a mockery of the Red Rooks. They’re not going to wait any longer to kill your king. My guess is that they’re going to strike as soon as the king presents himself inside the keep. And there's no stopping them from killing everyone else along with him.”
A look of shock took over Ashure. Urgently he looked to the other two and asked, “Is what he says true?!” They both nodded still looking at the ground. With no time to lose he sprinted out of the dungeon. He had to get to the king before the bandits did.

Uriu sat still tired. Suddenly excitement rang throughout the keep. A man in wealthy looking clothes and long hair walked in with a look of pride. This must have been the king he’d heard about. He didn’t look so much as happy, sad, or afraid about the events that transpired. If anything he looked annoyed. Rich guys like that pissed Uriu off as it probably did the others.
The officer hurried over towards the monarch. “My king! How was your trip? I hope we didn’t inconvenience you.”
He gave a snort and without looking directly at the man said, “This was all a waste of time if you ask me.” A burst of shock and anger came from the group. You got to be kidding me! “I doubt there was even a threat from these so called bandits. Do you have any idea how cowardly I must have looked running with my tail between my legs? A dragon never leaves his lair. My good name will be tarnished now.”
When I’m done with you the only thing that will be tarnished is your…
“I am very sorry my lord,” the officer apologized. “These bandits were a very serious threat. All of this was for your safety. But luckily the threat has disappeared thanks to these fine people here.” He gestured to the group.
The king looked at them unsatisfied. “I thought you said you sent the strongest members of the strongest guild there was. These people don’t look impressive at all.” As he turned his back to them, Rok’Nar was fully prepared to kill him if it wasn’t for the others holding him back. “Heck one of them is a crossdresser. Freak.” Ras was fully prepared to kill him if it wasn’t for the others holding him back. “And don’t get me started on the cat.” Za’Kiro was fully prepared to kill him if it wasn’t for Arbora now holding all of them back.
During the commotion Uriu could swear he heard footsteps. But when he looked over no one was there. All of a sudden a chill ran down his spine.
“Death to the king,” a voice, silent but strong, echoed through the chamber.
Two of the guards nearest to the door choked before collapsing with a pair of black clad assassins behind them. Then more appeared as though from the shadows. There must have been a dozen of them now inside the keep.
“Molag’s Ball,” the king muttered. He ran up the stairs in fear of the assassins. None of them made a move on him though.
“Protect the king!” the officer boomed to the few remaining guards.
The group unsheathed their weapons and prepared to fight. One of the assassins somehow sneaked around the fighting and went after King Casimir. Just before he got to the stairs, Uriu tried aiming his bow at him. As he did, another assassin appeared behind Uriu, daggers raised over his head, and went in for the kill.
With quick reaction, Arbora channeled all of her healing on Uriu. Unable to block Uriu took the entire brunt of the blow. Uriu felt immense pain in his back as the blades cut, yet at the same time felt inexplicably rejuvenated. Instead of slicing through his skin, the daggers seemed to simply pass through his body like a ghost, leaving no trace whatsoever except for the tear in his clothes.
In quick succession, Uriu fired an arrow at the assassin who collapsed immediately. He looked over to see how everyone else was faring. Ras got up skirted by an assassin before electrocuting him, Rok’Nar was roaring his head off as he waved his mace around with no particular target, and Za’Kiro was being seduced by a fish an assassin was waving in his face. It could definitely be worse. He looked for Ashure but couldn’t find him.
“Uriu chase after the king!” Arbora exclaimed as she fired a flaming arrow before healing one of the guards. “We can handle things here.”
He nodded and ran towards the stairs. An unsuspecting assassin was standing guard half way up the stairs and could do little when Uriu fired several arrows. His death was quick an unheard.
When he finally made his way to the top floor, he stayed back for a second to assess the situation. The king was cornered by a single assassin, probably their leader. The assassin had two daggers and could kill him the king at any time. Luckily he was at a distance away from the assassin so Uriu could quickly pick him off without getting within range of the blades. If he lost that advantage however he wouldn’t stand a chance against the assassin’s superior melee combat.
Seeing an opportunity arise, Uriu came out of his hiding space and fired an arrow at the chief assassin. Hearing the arrow whizz through the air, the assassin turned around in time to deflect it. In desperation Uriu fired several more shots. Many missed and he deflected the others. This wasn’t good. Uriu was losing ground fast. It was apparent that his long range techniques were useless against the master assassin. Uriu tried moving around the wide open room in an effort to catch him off guard. It didn’t work. In fact it only made his shots even less effective.
After walking a full 180 degrees around the room, the assassin rushed him, and kicked Uriu hard in the chest. He fell to the ground gasping for air. The assassin didn’t take him seriously at all. He was toying with Uriu at this rate. Growing evermore bored, the assassin raised his dagger high in the air.
Just before the assassin could finish Uriu off, a light illuminated from behind him. The assassin was sent flying over Uriu with smoke coming off his back. Looking at the direction the light came from he wasn’t surprised to see a certain person in particular. Ashure stood walking from the stairs, a ball of fire in his hand, and sword ablaze. He looked especially ticked off the closer he got to the assassin.
His eyes were stone cold when he looked down at Uriu and asked, “You ok?” Uriu simply laid there in silence, half scared and the other half still in shock from his near death experience. Again Ashure asked, “Are you hurt?” He shook his head no.
Relieved, he returned his attention to the assassin. “You must be the most unlucky man in the world. It was a brilliant plan too. Disguised as a guard, you could have easily gotten close enough to use the dark nature magic to kill the king.” He looked back at the fretting king before continuing. “Unfortunately for you, WE were sent after you. Now the bulk of your organization is either crippled or dead, and your plan to assassinate the king foiled. All in a good days work if you don’t mind my saying.”
Still in pain, the assassin sat up very confused by Ashure’s cool response. Not a hint of anger was in his voice.
“I was about to kill him,” the assassin stated. “Yet you don’t seem bothered by this at all”
“Well,” Ashure started patting Uriu, “he’s not dead so you’re lucky there. I have no reason to hate you. Despite your intentions I have no personal grudge against you and therefore no reason to kill you. Alls well that ends well.”
“Is it really that simple?” the assassin asked. “You don’t care what I’ve done, what I’ve tried to do? And you don’t have any questions for me? Why I did this? Who sent me to do this? Does none of this cross your mind?”
Ashure looked up and thought for a moment. Then he answered, “All that matters is that my job is done, and my friends are alive and kicking. As for the other stuff, that’s someone else’s problem. Heck we went overboard with our current mission. Got four of our strongest dragged into this. The guards will keep at least one person alive to beat the information out of. Some other adventurer can deal with your employer. He isn’t my problem.” Slowly Ashure kneeled down to face the assassin eye to eye. “Now listen very carefully because this last part’s important. I’m willing to overlook you and let you walk. Scratch that, let you run. Run to tell any and everyone of your organization and others like you to keep out of our way. That if any of you meet a member of the Dragon Tears and so much as touch a hair on their head, we will end you.”
He let that settle in. The eyes of the assassin shook in fear. Not only was it Ashure’s voice, or his stare, or his weapon, or his demeanor. But his entire being oozed malice that was barely contained. Ashure turned his back and went to help Uriu up. Instead of heading Ashure’s warning, the assassin saw this as a chance to strike.
The assassin creeped up with his blades in hand, and charged. Uriu was able to see what was happening but didn’t need to say anything. Within a split second Ashure turned towards him. Adrenaline and panic were the only things driving the assassin forward during that moment. In another blink, Ashure’s sword was raised and swung with one effortless strike.
Time continued to move slowly in Uriu’s eye’s. The blade seemed to hit nothing but empty space around the charging assassin. Suddenly and violently, a plume of flames enveloped the assassin. He crumpled to his knees and burned in the bright holy flame. For one that hates to kill, Ashure didn’t even flinch at the excruciating death. His eye’s only held pity, but not sadness or anger.
“Your choice was made,” Ashure muttered.
As the last embers went out, only char remained. Seeing the danger had passed the king came out of his corner and examined the remains of his would-be killer. He couldn’t help but plug his nose. Apparently burning flesh isn’t that appealing (strange I know).
The officer ran up with his armor clanking at every step. “Sire!” he exclaimed. “It appears all of the bandits have been taken care of. Thanks to these fine men here.” He gestured to Ashure and Uriu.
The king examined them. “That flaming sword thing seems highly unnecessary and overrated. Do you really need to make such a display when killing someone?”
Ashure was fully prepared to kill him with that flaming sword had it not been for Uriu holding him back.
“And you,” the king said examining Uriu. “You… Are quite boring really. There’s nothing extraordinary about you and nothing weird about you. I’m at a loss for word. You're just sort of, meh."
Uriu didn’t know if that was either a complement or an offence.
Ashure stood a little anxious. “What about the others?” he asked urgently.
The officer simply smiled and replied, “Why don’t you see for yourselves?”
Ashure and Uriu looked over the railing to see the open throne room where all the fighting had occurred. It was very impressive. Around Rok’Nar was a bunch of brutally beaten corpses with yellow stains on them. Ras was surrounded by numerous piles of ash and looked rather pleased with himself. Za’Kiro was nibbling on a fish while sitting on a pile of bodies with deep gashes, cuts, and even a few claw marks. While Ashure leaned there smiling, Uriu was rather awed, amazed, and slightly terrified.
“Molag’s Ball,” Uriu muttered. “They went overkill on this one.”
“We will discuss a reward and all the other details downstairs with the rest of your group,” the king said obnoxiously and walked down the stairs.
Starting to follow them, Uriu stopped when he noticed Ashure still standing their with a wide grin on his face.
“Look at that Uriu,” Ashure stated. Gesturing towards their companions still standing around the numerous dead bandits (while comparing who had the most kills). “Those are the strongest members of our guild. Not only are they alone impressive, but imagine there still being three others like them! Officially in the guild they are called Advisors as they look after everyone else in the guild. But we personally know them as the 7 Dragons. That means a lot to me Uriu.” His eyes started to gleam in the firelight. “That’s my dream as should be that of everyone. To fight alongside them equally, as men and women of dragons!”
Uriu stared at Ashure still trying to get an understanding of him. He couldn’t help but smile at the hopeful and driven look of his team leader. He understood Ashure’s feelings. The wish to become stronger. There isn’t a single person that can say they’ve never had that feeling.
Stretching his arms and legs, Ashure started heading down the stairs. As he and Uriu returned to the rest of the group the king started to make his offer.
“As much as I hate to admit it, you were all of much help today. As such I’m willing to increase the original reward was 500 gold yes? Well now I’m increasing it to 5000 gold.”
Everyone stared in amazement. 5000 gold! To the silence the king assumed that this was their way of making a counteroffer.
“All right all right. 10,000 gold!”
10,000 gold!? Everyone started dreaming about all the different things they’d buy with their share of the money. Again no one made a response.
“You sure drive a hard bargain. Let’s make it a nice 50,000 gold!”
How rich was this guy?
Rok’Nar almost screwed it all up by starting to say, “I’m sorry sire we cannot take that. This was doing the honorable-”
In unison, Ras, Ashure, and Za’Kiro tackled Rok’Nar to the ground before he could say anything else. “Shut up you idiot!”
“You’re right you can’t take that,” the king started. Everyone almost died in an instant. “After all you did save my life. And heck, I’M A FRICK’N KING! 100,000 gold!”
It a was dream no one wanted to wake up from. They could go on a shopping spree with all that butter. Ashure would buy a new sword and a bunch of books, Ras would buy the softest robe in the world, Uriu would buy some better gear and arrows, Arbora would buyout a hot springs, Rok'Nar would buy the biggest weapon in existence, and of course Za'Kiro would buy a life supply of fish.
Rok’Nar started to reject it but then Arbora went, “Rok’Nar.” Her head tilted at a full 90 degrees with a sinister smile. “Why don’t you stay silent for awhile hm?”
He sat in a corner rocking back and forth for five minutes. Meanwhile Ashure shook hands with the king gratefully and thanked him repeatedly before he could take his offer back. With several large bags full of gold they left the keep in a mad hurry.
At a safe distance, they started to divide up the gold.
“Ok. so there’s six of us and with 100,000 gold that makes a good 16,666 gold each!” Ras cheered. The other Advisors cheered along with him as they began to take their supposed share of the gold.
“Ahahah,” Ashure began waving his finger back and forth. “If I remember correctly, back at the guildhall you all said we can keep the ENTIRE share or the reward. So that means Uriu and I get 50,000 gold and you guys get 0!”
It was like death itself joined the party. The Advisors spirits dropped to depression rapidly as they all admitted he was right. Ironic how things turn out isn’t it?
Ever so enthusiastic Ashure added, “You know what, you guys did more that your fare share of work today. (you think) I’ll give you each 1000 gold to spend as you please. That’s at least 1% of our total earnings!”
It was salt in an open wound. Everyone was prepared to kill him that moment. And no one was holding them back. But unfortunately they all had one thing in common. Morals. (also they couldn’t get away with murder at this time of day)
“Za'Kiro really doesn't want to tell them now,” Za’Kiro muttered. That picked up their ears.
“Tell us what?” Uriu asked in earnest.
“We as the Advisors of the Dragon Tears,” Ras started with a dead enthusiastic tone.
“Would like to congratulate you two for making it up the ranks!” finished Rok'Nar (since he was the only one not affected by the disappearance in their riches). “Uriu you are now an official member of the Dragon Tears and Ashure you have successfully made it to the rank of Tear!”
“Yaaaaaaay,” the other three gave out a weak cheer.
Uriu felt flustered. He had already been accepted as a member of the guild! Things were getting all confused in his head. When he looked to Ashure he was surprised to see nothing at first. But then steadily a smile started to grow. Then with tears of joy he leaped into the air and yelled, “Alright!” Uriu grinned. Today was a good day in the life of the Dragon Tears.

It was dark in the Captain’s chambers. She had been there all day and night reading through the city records. Nothing popped up on this ‘Ashure Glory’ she had met. This was a huge thorn on her side. How could she not have known or heard of someone who had been in her city for however long? If he got in without her knowing then who else could have infiltrated the city?
To her relief the officer she had sent came back through her door. It was about time for some good news.
“Well tell me what you found,” she said urgently.
The guard hesitated. “Well that’s the thing mam. We found nothing.”
She was appalled by the news. “Say that again?”
“We looked through every single record in the entire COVENANT mam,” he continued. “From now to 50 years ago. Every birth record, every city entry, every arrest, and every party photo. There’s nothing. The man’s a ghost. There isn’t a mention of an ‘Ashure Glory’ of any kind. According to our reports he simply appeared in the guild a little less than 3 years ago. Other than that and his current involvement with the Dragon Tears that’s all we know. What does this mean Captain?”
The Captain sat in her chair to think about all of this. It didn’t sit right with her. Not at all.
“This either means he doesn’t exist,” she began. “Or someone tried pretty damn hard to erase this guy’s past.”

Episode 1 END