Hero in Disguise, Chapter 6 Options

[Taillus]

Alright folks. This is going to be a pretty crazy Chapter. I hope I can surprise you at least a time or two before it gets done. Enjoy all.

CHAPTER 6

Voices? Am I dead? I can hear commotion around me, seeming frantic and scared. I can also sense some familiarity in the voices, perhaps some people who have also died that I once knew? People began calling my name as the unmistakable sound and feeling of healing spells began washing over me. Someone is trying to bring me back, someone saving me but who? How actually would be a better question. The only thing I can remember is watching Taillus fall after putting the amulet around his neck. Perhaps just a dream? I can’t be certain but one thing I do know for sure is that I must truly be alive because the pain of the grave wounds I must have suffered makes its presence known.

“Xander please wake up. You did it you know, you defeated Taillus and are living to talk about it. Please wake up, give us some sign that you are still with us. Your heart is beating and you are breathing so we know you survived, please wake up.” A familiar voice trembles as the feeling of someone touching my face tingles down my spine. I begin to open my eyes, or eye rather; finding myself resting on a bed in Frostcraig Spire. Around me was Aeriandala who was trying to make me drink a potent healing serum and to my complete and utter surprise, the Blue Lions! They were all here! The young Khajiit courier must have performed exceptionally well because they managed to make their way here in less than a day! That is impossible.

“H..how did you guys get here so fast?” I manage to wheeze, trying to sit up to see them all. It was suggested that I keep laying down considering my plethora of wounds and countless battered bones. I could see out of the corner of my good eye, my trusted friend and fellow member of the Lions smile softly before clearing his throat to speak. Lance, the best fighter that I have ever seen touches my good shoulder, patting it carefully.

“Xander you have been dead to the world for well over a month. We got here as soon as we could, following your message. We met up with one of Aeriandala’s allies who camped out by your side to make sure you were fed and had water until we arrived to help him bring you here. We all took our turns nurturing you back to health but you are still in pretty bad shape fearless leader.” Lance explains with a tone of sadness.

Lance was the definition of a good man. A caring friend who would throw his life on the line to save those he cared about and I have witnessed him doing such a thing countless times. The older Altmer was actually born under a different name but was nicknamed Lance seeing as how he was prodigal in his proficiency with pole weapons. He stood tall, fighting tears in the standard elite Lions armor. Thick silver chainmail under overlapping silver plates complete with a cloth drape colored royal blue and white showing off our faction’s logo.

All of the Lions wore the same armor, updated since I had seen them last making me proud that since we parted ways, we have yet to lose a single member. Our faction was tightly woven with each member caring for the others like siblings. It was the only way to ensure a completely flawless team.

“We will fill you in on everything soon enough but our first concern is to get you feeling better. We have the best healers in Cyrodiil here to help as much as they can and we will do what we can to fix the damages Taillus caused.” States Merin, my second in command. Merin is a fellow Battle mage and has stood beside me since day one. She is a beautiful Breton with fiery red hair that reached her shoulders unless pulled back into a neat and practical ponytail. She has a heart of gold and a fierce battle sense to boot. It was ironic for her to say that the best healers in Cyrodiil were here to help considering that her skills were exponentially better and we all knew it. Nevertheless, I was thankful and surprised at the turnout. I had no idea so many people were concerned about my health.

I could even see Dimir and Cerwin amongst the crowd. They had heard word through the grapevine and made their way to check on my status. I made sure I acknowledged their presence, making them both smile, slightly embarrassed. I was glad they had made the trip to see me because I had been thinking of them since I left Bruma. I was sure they also wanted to see if the rumors were true, to see if I had actually captured Taillus. Heck, I was wondering the same.

The rest of the Blue Lions took turns congratulating me on capturing Taillus who they inform me is in holding in the lowest part of the Spire. The amulet is keeping him at bay as expected in addition to the pillars that Aeriandala had set up around him, keeping his powers further stunted. I was so happy to see my crew, exactly as I remember them. It was refreshing to hear that they had been fighting to have me released from prison since the second I was incarcerated and had been trying to track me down without success for what seemed to them like ages.

Sadly, my pain was becoming far too intense and was forced to take an elixir to dull my pain and put me to sleep for a few more days; but now that I knew the Blue Lions were once again at my side, a certain level of peace washed over me, making me feel warm and comfortable.

I wanted to jump to my feet every morning for days but sadly, I was unable to even move. I wanted to hear the stories of each of my crew members but sadly, I was only awake for a few hours at a time. I felt so helpless but everyone was so very understanding that it would take me quite some time to be in working order again and without even hesitating for a second, they did what they could, sitting by my side and preying that I recover soon.

Finally after rehabilitation, healing programs, powerful magicka sessions and more I was finally able to get up and walk around on my own; well if you consider with the aid of a large staff being “on my own”. It was not until I did however, that I realized the extent of the damage Taillus caused me. I was most certainly blind in one eye, and in looking in the mirror revealed my damaged eye to be completely without color, and scarred from my hair line to the middle of my cheek; a deep, thin scar that will never go away, constantly reminding me of my loss to Taillus.

My right leg was so badly damaged that I would probably always walk with a pain filled limp, making me have to rely on this sturdy staff to help me walk. My left arm was as I feared, completely removed at the shoulder, leaving nothing behind. I was a fraction of the man I used to be. My hair was beginning to silver due to the shock of so many battles and my face was starting to age prematurely. I still looked fairly young, just a bit more…refined so to speak.

As I dressed in a robe provided for me, I decided to make my way to where my crew was gathered, they wanted to take me to see Taillus who had been held prisoner since we all came here. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see him but they claimed that it would do me well, to complete my healing process.

Upon arriving to his holding area I realized that I had done more damage than I had previously anticipated. A deep, thick scar crossed diagonally down his chest where I stabbed him earlier and his body was burned from my magicka. He was completely helpless, sitting in only the black pants he wore when we battled. He was chained to a thick, icy, stone column with the amulet around his neck. His head was down, as if he had been looking at the floor but he had no choice due to the effects of the Prisoner of Greed. Five smaller pillars spanned a tight perimeter around him, each with a colored stone that was emitting a beam of light, holding him in place and draining his attributes. Until we could figure out how to kill him we would have to keep him here.

[Taillus]

I hope you are ready for a huge update folks. This is going to be a doozy but I hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the support.

“You can get the next one Xander.” Telina smirks as she walks forward, leaving me to pick up my dropped jaw and follow behind her. It was all just a façade how Telina looked compared to how fiercely she fought. At first glance, she looked to be a very attractive Dumner woman with a taste for magicka. Her body was slender and petite, curvy and sultry but beneath that robe was a powerful woman with the strength, speed, and agility to outclass most battle hardened warriors. I could tell she had definitely used those blades many, many times before and realized I was in the company of someone who could potentially give Taillus a run for his money. I was actually looking forward to meeting Taillus again!

Telina, after us walking for what seemed like hours, decided that her magicka was probably waning so we would have to find out where Taillus was hiding before we ended up stuck here for an eternity. With that, she leapt into the air, hovering high above my head. I look skyward to see what it is she was doing but I was quickly met with her invading my mind.

“If you are trying to look up my robe, I will kill you faster than that Daedroth back there Xander!” She shouts but obviously in a joking tone. I laugh out loud before asking her if she spotted anything that seemed like a hiding place for a crazed serial murderer. She raised her arms over her head before falling back to the ground, landing causally beside me. Before I was able to ask her what she saw, she grabbed my hand and lifted off the ground once again.

We hurtled through the air faster than anyone in armor should be able to travel and within mere seconds, we stood at the door of a large tower. She cracked her knuckles and looked over her shoulder before motioning me to stand back. She informed me that she was about to knock to see if anyone was home. Watching with an air of curiosity, I witnessed Telina pound on the door so hard it dented deep with the imprints of her fists. With a third and final smash, the door fell inward to the floor allowing us access to the tower.

Continuing to be literally blown away by this woman, she powered forward and fought through the entire tower. I had to run to keep up pace with her as she plowed through Daedroths, Dremora and other twisted creations before we found ourselves at the very last piece of the tower. A large double door would lead us to a large balcony where Taillus waited for our arrival.

I reached out and twisted the handles to the door and we slowly walked in, ready for anything that Taillus had waiting for us. What we saw when we made our way across the large balcony oddly enough was, me. To be a tad clearer, Telina and I stood before a man chained by his arms to the floor. He was wearing what I recognize as Dust Adept Bonemold armor used in the Ashlands of Morrowind. The poor guy was beaten badly and his face was sickly and pale.

I immediately knew this as being Taillus’ former self. The fact that he looked like me proved as such considering our body switch. Telina was obviously confused but after rummaging through the archive of my entire mind, she learned quickly the details of the entire story.

“Wow. So this is? You are actually Taillus? You switched bodies with him so that you could trap him in Oblivion. This all makes sense to me now. The stories that were told back in Vvardenfel were a tad misinformed now then, weren’t they?” Telina asks in a flurry of questions as she answered them on her own with the information she was siphoning out of my mind.

We both agreed that the whole story was convoluted and often times too difficult to explain. We also agreed that we desperately had to free this version of Taillus and eradicate the other one who was oddly nowhere to be found. Just as I cut the poor, tortured version of Taillus free from his restraints, I realized that it was all just a trick.

The weak looking Taillus began chuckling evilly under his breath as I helped him to his feet. Suddenly, with a fierce explosion of violent, red and black magicka, Taillus emerged as his evil self meaning that the good Taillus was still hidden somewhere in his mind.

“Fools!” Taillus shouted. “This isn’t simply a matter of good Taillus and bad Taillus! We are now one and the same! I am no longer under the control of Molag Bal and am under my own will do you not remember? This is the real me, and the only me!” Taillus roars as his magicka swirls around him, partially covering his features.

Telina quickly informed me that this was only partially true, there was another spirit fighting to get out from within him and after we took care of this loud-mouthed version of Taillus, we would continue looking for the true Taillus. I nodded in agreement and looked at our enemy with my blade drawn, shield held tight and fully ready to fight this man yet again.

Telina struck first, having the advantage of a deadly magicka. She drew her wooden staff from its strapped position on her back and aimed it at our enemy striking Taillus square in the face with a fierce frostball. Taillus’ head snaps backward from the force of the blast, and his upper body rocks back at the waist, his arms hanging behind him from the blow but his feet refrain from moving even an inch. Such a blast should have been able to knock Taillus off the side of the balcony but he didn’t even step backward.

Taillus straightens back into a standard standing pose, icicles formed at the sides of his face and his hair frozen solid in place. Taillus simply chuckles before exhaling, releasing a cold haze from his mouth. Telina practically growls in anger as she readies another attack. Taillus watches as she releases a massive fireball from her staff, letting it hurtle at her foe. I watch in amazement as these two demi-gods battle in a deadly Clash of the Titans. Taillus bats the fireball back at Telina with the side of his hand, catching her off guard as it slams into her, exploding with catastrophic force.

Taillus laughs rudely as he watches the smoke roll from the spot on the ground where Telina had stood only seconds before. Taillus turns his gaze to me as his eyes burn with a blood red fire of hatred. Materializing in his hands was what I feared the most. I watch in horror as the mace of Molag Bal popped into existence. In the blink of an eye, the scenery changed and Taillus and I were standing atop a large, rock pillar that jutted out of the raging waters just south of Ebonheart. Taillus was now clad in his once trademark silver and black ebony armor.

Wearing only the left pauldron and gauntlet, plus the greaves and boots of the armor, Taillus stood just as he did before I trapped him in Oblivion. With the mace in one hand and his dreaded ebony broadsword strapped to his back; it was a nightmare relived.

“Worry not young Breton. This will be over very quickly but I wish I could say that it would be painless. You will suffer greatly before you join the countless other souls that fuel my power.” Taillus growls as he steps forward. The very phrase makes my body faint and weak Taillus quickly and unexpectedly launches himself forward, arm arced back ready with the mace to suck the life from my body. Just as he closed in and readied his attack, Telina stepped in between us and swung her staff hard, catching Taillus off guard and also catching him in the face.

The end of the staff splinters to pieces as Taillus staggers backwards in pain. Telina lights him up with a violent lightning attack that throws him on his back, writhing in pain. She then turns to me, grabbing the collar of my armor.

“What have I been telling you since we came here?! You have to get out of this rut you are in! I have been told that you are a powerful battlemage but I have yet to see anything more than a pitiful man who is afraid to lift a finger in fear of getting hurt again. If you don’t fight now, you never will! Get in there and take out Taillus. Make him pay for everything he has done. Get back to being yourself, the hero or else you will suffer a wound far greater than anything you have ever felt before. Fear can cripple a man much more than being devoid an arm. I’m begging you! Fight Taillus!” Telina shouts before pushing me forward.

“You don’t understand! I have fought Taillus over and over and over again and every single time I face off against him, he pummels me. How is this time going to be any different?” I shout as Telina watches Taillus get to his feet.

Telina shakes her head, obviously angry at my response and stands toe to toe with Taillus. I watch as Taillus springs into action, catching her in the face with a well aimed punch. Telina staggers backwards before getting caught by at least ten more fists from Taillus. I watch as blood escapes Telina’s mouth as Taillus buries a dozen more fists into Telina’s ribcage, doubling her over in pain. Finally Taillus makes the mace of Molag Bal appear in his hands once again as I run to Telina’s aid but it was in vain as I watch the mace crash into his back, sending her to the ground.