TALES OF IRONMEET



Part 1: The Road To Imperial City

The famed redguard vampire slayer, Malicis Tothirun more commonly known as Ironmeet ran down a cobblestoned road, stopping every now and then to listen and look back, he could hear the voices of the bandits that attacked him. The brilliant longsword Wyrmclaw in his hand was coated in blood. It was crafted of the finest Ebony and had a few fairly hefty enchantments, the most prominent of witch allowed him to absorb the life force out of a creature and the least of which made it razor sharp and able to cleave through most armour. He also had a suit of Ebony plate also crafted expertly. But this fight was at least twenty on one.

"He went this way," a bandits voice shouted. "Hurry, when we kill him we're gonna be rich. And that's not even counting his money"

Ironmeet searched for a good spot to ambush the bandit party. Hed already killed five of them but there were still many left. He looked all over before finding a good thick tree. And not a moment too soon, for as soon as he hid behind it a group of about twenty came around the corner.

The bandits continued down the road evidently thinking he had gone that way. He unslung his bow and waited until they were all past him. He came out from his cover and fired an arrow at the back of the crew. The arrow flew through the air and tore through the mans shirt, killing him, but not before he let out a scream. The entire party turned at once, but he already had another arrow knocked and was taking aim. He chose the closest target and the arrow took him in the stomach. The man dropped his crude sword and fell to the ground writhing and screaming. Ironmeet dropped the bow and drew the sword his life depended on. The bandit ran at him, very off balanced. He unslung his shield and strapped it to his arm just in time to deflect the poorly swung mace. He cut the mans stomach out and aimed a thrust at the next. This one had chainmail on, but Wyrmclaw cut through it like paper. He felt himself get stronger as the blade fed on the mans energy. Ironmeet whipped around and cut the arm off a man coming up behind him. A sharp pain caught him in the side. He looked down to see a spear in the chink in his armour. Ironmeet pulled himself away from the spear in a spray of blood and pain. Ironmeet stabbed the man who held the spear and felt his wound partially heal with the mans energy. Ironmeet detached himself from the group that was slowly surrounding him decapitating a man who was in the way and ran a short distance before whipping around to face the bandits.

"Come on, we can take him down," yelled the man who appeared to be the leader of the bandits.

Ironmeet quickly took out a scroll and cast a lightning bolt at the man. It blasted the supprised bandit about ten feet before he landed in a smoking heap. "Are you sure about that?" Ironmeet said smugly. The remaining bandits lost they're nerve and ran for it. Ironmeet slowly sat down, glad that that was over. He searched the bodies and found an assortment of coins and a couple healing potions, which he took. He gathered himself up and proceeded on to Imperial City where he had his job waiting. A vampire slayers work is never finished and it seems the Imperial city has a problem in they're sewers. That's what he heard anyway. The bandits had killed his horse with an arrow so he had to wait until Skingrad to buy a new one, Kvatch was still being re-built and had no horses to sell. He was supprised that a group of normal bandits would even think of going after a man known for his skill at killing vampires. But i guess the value of his armour and weapons were too great to pass up.

In a few days he reached the progressive work of Kvatch. It seemed headway had been made in the re-building effort. Kvatch had all the rubble cleared out and materials were being brought in. He could see the castle had already been repaired.

He would be late for his meeting with the man who hired him, but he could wait. Half the joy of his work was seeing new places. Ironmeet slowly calmly walked past the turn off to get to the city, knowing a horse was only a few days away. Provided nothing too brutal set him back of course. He could ill afford another group of bandits to jump him, next time they might get lucky and earn a new suit of ebony, which undoubtedly they would kill eachother for it after they acquired it. He quickly headed for Skingrad where money and vampires waited.

It was an uneventful few days to Skingrad. When he arrived the first thing he did was get a proper room in the West Weald Inn where he tried Skingrad's famed wines. He knew that Janus Hassildor was a vampire of course, but Hassildor has done nothing to warrant his death and was actively searching for a cure. Ironmeet would leave Hassildor alone.

"Hey. Aren't you Ironmeet? The famous vampire slayer?" the innkeeper said excitedly.

"Yup." He confirmed. The Inkeeper continued to stare at him. "Umm....May I have the key to my room."

"Oh, ya here it is," the woman gave a quick jerk when she realised that she was staring. "Here you go." Ironmeet took the brass key from her and headed to his room. The chance to rest in a proper bed was wonderful and ironmeet fell fast asleep within seconds after stripping off his armour.

He was a very light sleeper though, so he quickly woke up when he heard a noise by the window. His hand found its way to his dagger and he opened his eyes a crack. A man stood above him, with a knife poised to strike. Ironmeet brought his dagger up quickly to parry the knife. He kicked the man above him in the groin and the stranger stumbled back a few steps. Ironmeet took the time given to him to leap to his feet. The mans face was in shadow but Ironmeet knew damn well hat his kick had hurt a lot. But not enough to down him like it would have most men. Ironmeets jeweled dagger rushed towards the mans heart, but the intruder quickly sidestepped Ironmeets thrust and swung. Ironmeet barely managed to duck the swing of the dagger. The vicious swing set the man off balance, which gave ironmeet the chance to put a deep cut on his side. The man howled in pain. "Is that all you have?" the man said vehemently. The voice had a slight hissing to it, which likely meant fangs, which would mean a vampire.

"Would you like to see what i can do?" Ironmeet responded with hate deep in his voice as he edged nearer his longsword.

"No, id prefer you die." The vampire lunged forward with his blade angled upward. The blade had a reddish glow to it, meaning it had some enchantments on it. Ironmeet spun to the side but the dagger tore through his skin and struck a rib. Pain temporarily blinded him as he felt the dagger crack a rib. Fire burst from the blade, cauterizing the wound but injuring him further. Ironmeet seen his chance, and took it. Before the vampire could strike again, Ironmeet thrust the dagger up through the vampires chin and into his brain. The vampire spasmed and slumped limply, held up by the dagger.

Ironmeet stumbled out of the room and down the stairs into the deserted bar. He pushed the door open and made his way to the chapel. He entered the chapel where three people were standing around talking. They all turned and seen an injured man collapse into the chapel. He felt himself being energized by a healers spell. His side mended itself and the pain went away. He was covered in a cold sweat as he took his first deep breath.

"Thanks," he said weakly to the one who cast the spell.

"What happened to you?" asked who appeared to be a senior member of the church.

"What in oblivion do you think happened!" Ironmeet responded incredulously. "I got stabbed by a flaming knife."

The primate didn't respond. Just looked at him coldly.

"He looks familiar," the healer scrunched up her face in concentration.

"Its Ironmeet," said another excitedly. The others turned to him. Ironmeet gave a short nod.

Ironmeet felt a cold creeping sensation slowly spreading from where the wound used to be. It was a sensation vampire hunters often feel. He was infected. He had to get to an alter before he turned into a vampire, thankfully he is in a church. Ironmeet got up and thanked them again for the healing, prayed at the alter (purging the disease from him) and left for his room. Getting assaulted by random vampires was something that happened often to vampire slayers, especially the famous ones. When he got back to the inn he searched the vampire, found a couple scrolls with fairly powerful spells on them, a couple healing potions and a ring with a fair sized sapphire in it. After some examination he concluded that it made it possible for the wearer to run faster than normal, which would explain a few of the vampires dodges. A folded note was in one of the backpack pockets. It read:

Ironmeet has interfered too many times and is becoming a very real threat. The trade he busted supplied our organizations funds for all of western Cyrodill. He must be eliminated before he shuts down any more of our operations. The reward shall be 5000 septims to anyone who brings me his head.
Lord Caffindust

Ironmeet thought back to the most likely cause, a group of vampire skooma dealers he killed in anvil must be what the note was referring to. He couldn't think of any other money making "operations" he'd busted in western Cyrodill. It wasn't the assassination attempt that concerned him, it was the fact that a fairly large organization of vampires had came into existence and was capable of coordinating skooma trade operations and assassination attempts. He pushed the thought out of his mind for future contemplation. He had a job to do. The first ting he did in the morning was clean up the mess and buy a horse. He left Skingrad behind him on his way to Imperial city. He arrived at the white walls in a few more days.

Some input would be good......anyone? :unsure:

Do you think I should continue with this story?

I think you should continue the story, and Ironmeet seems like he could become a really cool character!

Chapter 2: Imperial City


Ironmeet strode up to the house of his employer, an Imperial watch captain. Galin Cassildae, had found a lair of vampires under Imperial city in the sewers, but didn't want to send wach officers down so he hire Ironmeet to clean out the sewers.

"I'll pay 500 coin for cleaning out the sewers," Cassildae told Ironmeet on arrival.

"A thousand," Ironmeet told him in the voice that stated clearly that he wouldn't do it for anything less.

"Okay, 750," Cassildae offered.

"A thousand," Ironmeet said firmly.

"Stubborn one aren't you," Cassildae grumbled. "Okay but not one coin more."

"And I'd like money up front," Ironmeet said casually.

"Like hell you will," Cassildae exclaimed. "Whats to stop you from taking the money and taking off?"

"My reputation."

That made Cassildae pause for a moment. "Okay, money in advance," Cassildae grumbled. "You'd better come out of there alive." Ironmeet smirked.

Ironmeet swept out of the house, crimson cloak flowing behind him. He made his way over to the sewer hatch, and went down alone like always. He'd never liked companions, they had a tendency to get in the way. Mabey if one was as skilled in combat as he was it wouldn't be so bad, mabey even enjoyable, but as it was he hunted alone. He reached the bottom rung on the ladder and looked around. There were a few boxes and barrels, most of them had decayed beyond usefulness. He walked briskly through a gate and down the hallway ignoring the foul stench from the putrid water in the canol down the center of the passage. He walked down a dozen passageways and though several doors before finding what he came for. He stealthily crept into the area where they were reported to be and gazed down from the top of the stairs upon no fewer than a dozen vampires. Ironmeet froze.

"This goblin blood tastes like horse piss," one of the vampires complained loudly. "Cant we have some human blood, or better yet that of newborns."

"No," said the one who appeared to be the patriarch. "We don't want our presence known." Despite himself Ironmeet grinned at the irony of that last statement. "We don't want the whole city watch to come down on our heads."

Ironmeet knocked an arrow and took careful aim at the patriarch. The vampire spoke on but Ironmeet was completely focused on the target. He let the arrow fly and it struck the vapire breton right in the back of the neck. All the other vampires quickly snapped theyre gaze towards Ironmeet.

"Get the others," an orc yelled as Ironmeet drew his sword and the vampires rushed forward. The Wyrmclaw was hungry. Ironmeet gave a vicious slash at the one in the front. A simple but effective technique when up against someone running. The imperial leaned back and threw his arms wide to steady himself. Wyrmclaw punched through the chainmail and entered his chest. A bolt of electricity crackled past. Ironmeet looked up to see an altmer in the back casting spells. Ironmeet swore and parried a chop from the next vampire. He could hear footsteps from the hallways to the sides. He made sure to keep at least one opponent between himself and the spellcaster to keep the caster from getting a clear shot. He traded thrusts, slashes and chops with the frond vampire for what seemed like hours but was really less than ten seconds before Ironmeet found an opening and decapitated the vampire. He quickly thrust his sword straight through the next before he could raise his defenses. A slash from a sword glanced off his right pauldron. Ironmeet spun around and let Wyrmclaw do its destructive job on the vampire that hit his pauldron.

"Its eating me," the vampire cried out, terrified. Ironmeet responded by bashing him in the throat with his shield. That move left his left side exposed though and a mace came in and broke two ribs. Ironmeet grimaced and kicked out to his side catching the one who scored the hit in the groin. The mace wielding vampire doubled over in pain but stayed standing. Just then at least six more came into the room. Ironmeet could take just about anyone in a one on one match but he was badly outnumbered before and now the newcomers tipped the scales just a little too far in favor of the vampires. Ironmeet broke off and ran up the stairs dodging a flaming sphere. The vampires tried to follow but he kicked the top one onto the rest creating a rather comical effect. The writhing mass if bodies fell onto one another in a heap. He ducked under another ball of fire and pulled out one of the scrolls he'd found on the vampire in Skingrad. He cast the fireball witch immolated ten of the vampires in a wave of heat. The remaining vampires screamed and ran for it. The altmer cast another lightning bolt, and this time Ironmeet wasn't so lucky it caught him in the chest and sent him flying to land painfully on his broken ribs. Ironmeet screamed and crawled up to his feet. He fell off the stairs and was on the same level as the rest, who were fleeing through the same door. Ironmeet ran after them fumbling with a potion of healing. The liquid healed his lightning bolt burns his ribs and energized him.

"Hes right behind us," yelled a nord. Another poorly aimed flaming ball flew over his head. Ironmeet caught up to the one in the rear and slashed at his exposed back. A thin red line from shoulder to hip appeared on the vampires back and he crumpled in a heap. Ironmeet jumped over the body and continued. He repeated the same steps with three more before they all caught on and turned. The one in the back turned just in time to parry Wyrmclaw and keep himself from having his soul eaten away. Ironmeet kicked him in the stomach and brought the pommel down on his head and looked up to meet a woman who looked just a little unsure but decided to fight, mostly because the ones behind her pushed her forward. She stumbled a bit giving time for Ironmeet to slip his blade between her ribs. Her lung collapsed and she fell onto the floor. "This is just too easy" Ironmeet thought cockily. He spoke too soon, the last warrior had a well aimed lightning bolt fly past his shoulder, which Ironmeet had to dodge, setting the warrior up perfectly. Once again Ironmeet thanked the gods for his set of ebony armour which saved him yet again. The axe only gave him a flesh wound and got stuck un his arm plate instead of cleaving it right off. Ironmeet slashed and the man tried to pull his axe out, but it was stuck in there good. A head rolled to the feet of the mage.

"I always wondered how I would die," the mage said uncaringly. "I think having Ironmeet himself cut me down is a fitting end for anyone."

"No, only vampire scum need die upon Wyrmclaw," Ironmeet glared, venom in his voice. He thrust Wyrmclaw at the altmer, only to meet air. A pain erupted under his right armpit. The agile mage had ducked and planted a dagger in the least armoured part of him. Wyrmclaw fell from his hand, his right arm useless.

"It does not appear that I will be dying tonight," the altmer gloated. "And ill be getting this beautiful set of armour and sword."

"Your wrong," and Ironmeet started laughing. The altmer looked puzzled, then a KWANG sound was all that came from him when Ironmeet's shield crushed his skull. "I'll just strip you of that nice staff of yours and, whats this?" Ironmeet started searching the mage and brought out two bottles of skooma. "This stuff is really bad for you," he said to the body. He went back to the main chamber and came up with an entire case of skooma. Ironmeet's eyes went wide. He lugged the case up to the street where he found Cassildae waiting for him.

"How did it go?" he asked abruptly.

"Im still alive arent I. Now give me a hand with this." Ironmeet pushed the box out of the small hole and climbed out.

"Whoa, that's a lot of skooma."

"Yea, I noticed," Ironmeet said dryly. "And its all yours."

"Here, this ones on me," Cassildae pushed a bottle of ale into Ironmeets hands as he searched for a healing scroll.

"Thanks." Ironmeet pulled the stopper out and took a big long swig of it. "I needed one of those." Ironmeet found the scroll along with a cure disease potion, he didn't think he was infected but it never hurt to make sure. He used both. The fatige hit him, fighting twenty vampires would make anyone tired. "I'll be at the Tiber Septim if you need me. Sleeping for a few years."

Ironmeet paid the 40 gold to stay in the expensive Tiber Septim hotel, but after a contract he always stayed in the nicest place in town. Unless of course he was in Sentinel where his grand house was located. He was awarded the house as payment for the hunt that made him famous. Killing the previous occupant that was preying upon Sentinels lords and turning them into vampires.

Ironmeet stripped off his armour dressed the smaller injuries and slept for thirteen hours, this time with his sword beside him. He had no need of his blade that night. He woke up late in the day and dressed in his usual opulent clothing but kept the same crimson cape. He reflected upon the note he stripped from the dead vampire in Skingrad while he ate. He knew Lord Caffindust very well. Lord Caffindust bears a fiery scar down his chest, courtesy of Ironmeet himself. He came so close to killing him, but the cursed vampire had cast a spell and was gone. Ironmeet hated divine intervention with all his heart. Apparently Caffindust had met up with a "guild" of vampires and risen to the top. He decided he had to finish the job he started all those years ago. Ironmeet made his way to the Waterfront district and one of his most reliable informants. He was a vampire hunter after all and needed to know where the vampires were.

You have an fairly interesting character going here, even though the whole vampire hunter thing really irritates me. I've never liked vampire or werewolf stories in general. It's just that with this type of story, I've found that the main character can get pretty uber and irrealistic, and that irks me, even though it's necessary most of the time.

But ignore my ramblings. This looks good so far, with only a few errors here and there, mistakes that everyone makes. The most common problem I can see is that you forget the apostrophe every now and then.

I find that can be counteracted by emphasising the weaknesses vampires have.

I try to compensate for his uberness by putting him in difficult situations, ill try to put more "difficult situaions" in the third chapter

and i agree that vampire hunter is a very used subject

Noted....and i will try to use those weaknesses in chap 3

Good story, but a few errors





But rather than that, good story. I love vampires, werewolves and hunter stories.

Oh thanks. corrections will be made

this is a very good story, ironmeet is an awsome character and you should keep doing your work on the story becuase its awome!!!

Part 3: Everything has its Price


It was the worst part of town and Ironmeet made sure to guard his money carefully. More than once he had to grab a hand headed for the hefty bag at his waist. He let the petty thieves go because he didn't want to waste any time in getting to the man, even though he had plenty of time.

The few guards were nervous and usually let small crimes go. For interfering in some of the business at the waterfront could get you killed. Ironmeet made his way to the small shack that was home to Suvina Carcadun. Ironmeet knocked on the door and a small pale imperial answered. His face was slightly wrinkled and he was squinting in the sunlight. His face brightened some when he seen Ironmeet. Suvina smiled revealing a pair of pointed fangs.

"Ironmeet how are you? I haven't seen you for almost a year now. Please, come on in." The vampire squeaked in delight. Unlike many vampires Suvina was a kind man and who better than to provide information on vampires, than a vampire. Ironmeet stepped in the small shack and looked around. It hadnt changed much in the past year, it was still small, breezy and messy. The two exchanged pleasantries for a while before Suvina decided to ask what he needed.

"You remember Caffindust?" Ironmeet asked.

"How could I forget," Suvina's eyes narrowed. It was Caffindust that turned him into a vampire.

"I'm taking up the hunt again. And I need to know where to find him. It appears that he has risen to high ranks in some large group of vampires." Ironmeet showed him the note on the body.

"Hmm?." Suvina contemplated for a while. The only ones that I can think of that would be large enough to say west cyrodill would be?." And he listed them off and used a series of deductive reasoning and simple logic to narrow them down to four likely bands.

"What about Knives of Night?" Ironmeet asked when he noticed he'd missed one.

"No, they don't address they're superiors as Lords, they use master frequently enough but no kings or lords." Suvina shook his head. "If I were you I'd ask count Hassildor of Skingrad about the various groups.

"I wonder how well the count will take to having a vampire hunter comes looking for him." Ironmeet said rather sarcastically. "He became paranoid when a group of slayers were looking in bloodcrust cave."

"I have corresponded with the count before and will sent a letter ahead explaining everything," Suvina said offhandedly. "And my pay."

"Ah yes, nothing is free." Ironmeet took out 5 large bottles from his backpack. "Blood from some bandits that attacked me. I would have got more but I don't like carrying more than a few bottles around. Its rather heavy." Suvina didn't like feeding off innocent people so he always held off feeding until the sun started to burn him, which was right before most people could recognize a vampire. So Ironmeet, intending on meeting with Suvina anyway gathered some blood from the bandits he met between Anvil and Skingrad. "That should last you a while."

"Thank you very much," Suvina said ecstatically. "I've been running low." Ironmeet stayed for another couple hours before excusing himself and leaving the little house. He walked quickly back to the inn where he spent another night. In the morning he strapped on his armor, sighed and left the comfortable (if a little overpriced) inn. Ironmeet reflected on how he came to his profession.

The night was dark, it was cloudy and a new moon. It was impossible to see anything. The children were presumed asleep while the advlts down below sat around and laughed. But children were never asleep when they're parents thought they were. Malacis was no more than 10 and the other children were slightly younger but not much. The numerous children belonged to several families who were having a social event down in the hall below. Malacis was born into a fairly wealthy family that often threw parties. Denius his 14-year-old brother (who was supposed to be looking after them) threw the bone to the floor.

"Yes!" he yelled for there was no need to be quiet with the minstrels and general noise down below. He won a token in the game they had going.

"You're undoubtedly the luckiest player I've ever seen," Gerthend said bitterly as he gave up a token.

"No, just very skilled," Denius retorted. The idea of being skilled in a game of Tantickwii was laughable (its like the idea of being skilled in rolling dice). Malacis got up to find a chamber pot and left the room. On his way back he heard screaming from the children's room he ran to the door and peeked in. The sight still haunted him. A tall man tearing them apart and drinking they're blood. Malacis ran downstairs as fast as he could.

"Help," he screamed in terror. A pair of guards and some of the men looked at him.

"What is it?" asked his mother.

"A man, killed Denius," he cried.

He had no idea what it was but after the guards had checked the room, the word vampire stuck in his mind and had driven them on.
Nobody addressed Ironmeet by his birth name Malacis anymore but they all knew why he hunted with such fury and persistency. The only vampire he liked was Suvina. And before he knew him he was observing him and was preparing to attack. But thankfully he noticed the vampires morals and usefulness.

"Back to Skingrad again," Ironmeet said to himself. He left the Imperial city and rode towards his appointment. It didn't take long to arrive, he stabled his horse and made his way to the castle. Set on top of a large hill with two bridges from the city to get there, the castle was in an ideal defensive position. The main hall unlike most castles had no throne, for Hassildor is not a very public person anymore.

An argonian woman came up to him. "Can I help you?"

"Yes I need to see the count."

"The count does not see anyone in person, he likes his privacy. So I speak for the count on all matters," the argonian responded as if she had said this a million times before.

"Please, just tell him that Ironmeet is here for information about?." he trailed off unwilling to continue while in public. The argonian however understood.

"Wait right here, ill talk to the count." And she left up the stairs. Ironmeet waited for what seemed like eternity before she returned. "The count will see you. Please follow me." Ironmeet followed her up the stairs and into a hallway. They took a couple turns while they walked and arrived in a large, grand throne room. This throne room was larger and much more opulent than any other in cyrodill. On the throne sat a man, obviously a vampire and looking suspicious. Ironmeet fell to one knee and formally greeted the count.

"Why do you need me," Hassildor asked cautiously.

"I need information on some of the major vampire groups," Ironmeet said in an even tone.

"Okay, go on," the count motioned for him to continue. Ironmeet discussed the note and the likely organizations. "The Ten Fangs is what you looking for. I know for a fact Caffindust is a member. He's one of the fangs."

"One of the fangs?" Ironmeet asked puzzled.

"Yes, the organization is ruled by a council of five vampires, four lesser fangs and the patriarch. Ten Fangs refers to the 5 pairs of them on the council," Hassildor explained "I can tell you where they're HQ is located if you do something for me.

Ironmeet sighed. "What do you need me to do?"

"The local primate has been taking far too much interest in me lately. I'm afraid he might learn the truth of why I never attend service in the chapel. Kindly remove him for me will you."

Ironmeet was not surprised. He knew it would have something to do with protecting Hassildor's identity. But now he was faced with another problem. Killing a primate is not easy to get away with. Ironmeet slowly left the castle wondering how he would kill the primate.

The plan came to him in minutes. First he stopped at all things alchemical (he knew that he'd seen the name before, somewhere) and picked up a few ingredients. He bought a mortar and pestle with them. He ground the ingredients up added water and made several potions. Two of invisibility, and a couple more to increase agility. He stopped in a back alley to change into a suit of black leather (nightfall was approaching).

He waited behind the chapel for a while and drank a potion of agility. He jumped from the ground and grabbed hold of a ledge. He painstakingly climbed up the wall of the chapel and looked in through a stained glass window. He seen the primate in the chapel hall wandering around the chapel. Ironmeet held on for dear life with his left hand and grabbed hold of a small crossbow he had bought earlier. He made sure there was nobody around, he would hate to throw away his spotless reputation now. Positive that nobody was about he slowly pried a small piece of glass out of the window, careful not to make any sound. He then took aim on the praying figure. Precariously balanced on his ledge, he made sure of his shot, then let fly. He was sure it was going to hit, then it bounced of the floor next to the primate. Ironmeet swore under his breath and reached for a scroll, he hated to use too many of these. They were rather expensive and a bit overkill.

The primate dove behind a bench, thinking more crossbow quarrels were coming his way. Then Ironmeet let loose with a frost storm that landed next to the primate, the primate was in the spell radius but was tougher than Ironmeet expected. The damn guy lived through it. Ironmeet could hear the screams of agony from his perch. He quickly cast the only spell he knew, flare. The small fireball was all it took to finish the screaming man off. Several people burst out of the staircase to the bottom of the chapel. But Ironmeet simply climbed down and took an invisibility potion. He made his way to another back alley with the two potions, dodging the guards hurrying to the chapel. Ironmeet calmly slid out of his outfit revealing the silk clothing below. He slid out from the alley and inconspicuously joined the crowd headed to the chapel.

The next morning he walked to the castle to meet the count again.

"That was fast," Hassildor said pleased. "And none knew it was you either."

"It comes from years of experience," Ironmeet said offhandedly. "Now can you tell me the location of the Ten Fangs headquarters."

"Stros M'Kai," the count said sounding pleased.

really good story so far, very good, i like chapter 3

Three doesnt seem to feel right. But I cant locate the problem

Part 4: Spray of Travel

It always seemed Ironmeet had to go halfway across Tamriel to do what he needed. This time he was lucky, he only needed to get to Anvil then take a ship to Stros M'kai. There was also the other option, go back to the Imperial City then have the arcane university magically take him to the island. Ironmeet hated magical travel just the feeling of not having any control over his actions, that his life was in a random mages hands. Ironmeet chose to walk and take the ship.

He started the walk back to Anvil. This time he had a horse so the ride took a lot less time. Kvatch looked no different than when he passed on his way in and the "official rebuilding" crews hired by the elder council were sitting around talking. He could see the citizens hard at work though.

He passed a familiar sight, a small morbid smile crossed his face. The bandits had not been cleaned up yet. The bones were picked clean by scavengers however so there wasn't much to smell, thank Akatosh for that. Ironmeet remembered hiding from a large band of vampires in a mass grave one time. He nearly puked from the smell off the place; he also had to find the nearest chapel to expel the disease he caught. He walked on until he came to a familiar encampment. This was the spot where the bandits first ambushed him. He could see the few survivors of they're ill fated assault.

Ironmeet drew closer until one turned around from the fire they were sitting around. The bandit screamed and ran. The others upon seeing him followed suit. Ironmeet considered pursuing them. He decided against it, while his armor made him damn near impossible to kill with steel, running was very difficult. Besides he would never catch all of them in a timely manner even without his armor. Instead Ironmeet chuckled and rode on. It was only two short days before Anvil came into view. He rode down to the stables and walked to the nearest man.

"What do you want?" the redguard asked in a business like tone.

"Want to buy a horse?" Ironmeet gestured towards the horse he had been riding. He had to sell it because he couldn't take the thing to Stros M'Kai.

"How much do you want for it?" the man asked.

"About one thousand septims," Iromeet stated, knowing that he would never get that much.

The stable owner snorted. "Five hundred at most."

"Seven fifty," Ironmeet jumped to center immediately.

The redguard paused and considered the offer. He examined the horse for a while. "Okay I'll buy it." He went to small shack for the gold. He handed Ironmeet a bag. Ironmeet looked at it. He knew it was not seven hundred and fifty. Ironmeet just gave the man a long cold stare. The redguard knowing he'd been caught drew another bag from the inside of his cloak.

"Much better," Ironmeet said after examining the second bag. Ironmeet turned and walked into the city without another word.

The simple beauty of Anvil always impressed him. Anvil's style was every bit as nice as the Imperial City and was much cheaper. There wasn't another like it in all Cyrodill. Except maybe Cheydinhall, but Ironmeet never cared for that style of architecture. He made his way to the docks where there were always multiple ships docked and heading to random places around the empire. Ironmeet headed to an inn where the Sailors always liked to stay to get drunk before heading out again. Ironmeet went up to a random Breton (who was obviously a sailor). "Who is your captain?" Ironmeet asked in a more staitforward manner than he intended.

"Why ye' be wanting to know?" the breton responded with narrow eyes, examining the suit of ebony strapped to Ironmeet.

"Because id like to buy passage on a ship."

"Where you be headed then? He asked looking up from his ale.

"Stros M'Kai.

"Sorry," said the sailor. "We're on our way to Morrowind. You might want to ask captain Mercidus of the ship Azuria. Hes on his way to Gilane, most likely to stop at Stros M'Kai on his way through."

"Where can I find Mercidus?" Ironmeet asked.

"Over there," the Breton gestured towards the far end of the bar where a group of Seamen were sitting around a table.

The group of men quickly stopped talking and looked at him when Ironmeet approached them. "What do you want," one of them said in a hostile tone.

"Is your ship going to make a stop at Stros M'Kai?" Ironmeet asked.

"We have no room for passengers," another stated fiercely.

"Which one of you is captain Mercidus?"

"I am," a burly Imperial stood up. "But like Belef already said, we have no room."

Ironmeet drew a medium sized sack of gold from his cloak and dropped it on the table. "Still don't have room?"

Mercidus studied the sack for a couple minutes. "We can make room."

"I thought so," said a satisfied Ironmeet. "When do you set sail?"

"Tomorrow," Mercidus stated before picking up the sack and dropping it into the bag at his waist.

Ironmeet strode out of the inn to find a better place to stay. The area around the docks was definitely the worst part of town, where houses were quite shabby. In short: it's Anvils equivalent of the Waterfront district in Imperial City. When he'd found a decent place to stay he got a room and went to bed, careful to make sure he didn't oversleep.

Next morning he got out of bed, not quite sunrise, giving him enough time to pack up. He didn't put on his ebony since he would be in the baking hot sun all day by the looks of the clear sky. Instead Ironmeet pulled on a light mithril chain shirt over his normal outfit and walked down to the docks. Ironmeet wasted no time in finding Mercidus's ship Azuria. When he approached the crew gave a happy wave, not the cold stare they had given him in the inn.

"Ironmeet, how are you this morning?" Mercidus called out.

The sun had just barely come up and half was still hidden and Ironmeet was exhausted despite the going to bed early. He couldn't fall asleep. Ironmeet wondered how they knew his name if they hadn't recognized him in his trademark armor when he first met them. He decided not to bring up the matter just yet. "Good, what about you?"

"It's a fine morning," the captain said a little quieter as Ironmeet drew closer. Eliminating the need to shout. Behind him the crewmembers were getting ready to set sail.

Ironmeet walked aboard the ship and looked around. It was a fairly large vessel, though Ironmeet could not tell the type. All the sailors sported scimitars and cutlasses, this was a heavily pirated route. "What does this ship usually carry?"

"An assortment of items. Tobacco, food, and other random trade goods. Once we had the East Empire Company load us up with a bunch of Ebony and glass. I don't know why the used us and not one of they're own ships, but they sent an armed escort along with the load." The captain stopped and yelled at a sailor for some minor screw up. "We should be leaving in fifteen minutes. Meanwhile I shall show you to your quarters." The captain led Ironmeet below decks to the crews quarters. It was a simple hammock with a chest at the foot. "You got the top one."

"Thanks," Ironmeet said with a pleasant smile. "Now how do you know my name when you didn't have a clue last night?"

"The innkeeper recognized you somehow," the Mercidus told him offhandedly. "She was fairly shocked with the way we treated you. And to be honest, so where we."

Ironmeet didn't know if he was lying or not, but he knew he wouldn't get anything else out of the captain. There was a long pause.

"I have to go to the helm and pull us out of Anvil," the captain said before walking quickly up the stairs.

Ironmeet lied down on his hammock and gave in to his exhaustion promptly falling asleep. He awoke several hours later. The days turned into a week and the week turned into 2 until?.

"Pirates!" screamed several of the men. Ironmeet ran quickly to the side and gazed upon 3 ships speeding towards them. Ironmeet swore and looked at the others. They were obviously ill trained to combat against pirates. However some were pulling out a large ballista and assembling it in minutes. Ironmeet took this time to armor up.

"Archers form up on the sides," Ironmeet yelled at the disorganized mob. The men with bows went to the sides as Ironmeet searched his backpack for a certain scroll that could even the odds a bit; fire spreads rapidly on ships. He found it, a simple scroll of flash bolt that he could send through the sails of a pirate's ship. But first he wanted to give the archers a chance. The men were in formation and the ballista was assembled. "Attach a wad of cloth to the end of that thing," Ironmeet gestured to the ballista slightly exasperated. The men did as they were told using a shirt.

Mercidus came out of his cabin in full battle array. For him it meant a suit of steel. "I hope you have a plan. Because I don't."

Ironmeet smirked. "Light the cloth!" he yelled to the ballista crews. The massive bolt now had potential. "Aim for the sails." Ironmeet was very nervous, it wasn't his first naval battle. But it was his first 3 on 1 naval battle. "Fire!" The flaming spear crossed the space between the ships and struck the sail. The sail caught immediately, but not before enemy archers got a volley off. Ironmeet heard that terrifying whistle of a dozen arrows. The strong ebony shield deflected most of the arrows, but one got through. The pain in his side staggered him briefly before he got his shield back up 2 more got through, but they just bounced off his armor. Then the pirates noticed the fast growing fire and ran off the other side of the ship.

"Damn your good at this," Mercidus admired. The second ship came into range and let go of the catapult sitting on the back. "Hard port!" yelled Mercidus as the flaming ball arced through the air. It missed them by about ten feet. The last ship came around the flaming ship.

Ironmeet judged the newest arrival as the greatest threat since its 2 ballistae were loaded. He cast his spell and it struck the ship mid-sail. The sail started to burn. And the fast growing fire distracted the ballista crews. "Come around to starboard," Ironmeet yelled at the man at the helm. The ship spun around towards the still healthy ship. "Prepare for boarding action!" yelled Ironmeet. Just then a spear from a ballista on the other pirate ship flew through the air and struck a man brandishing his saber through the stomach. The supprised mans last agonizing moment was etched onto his face as he was thrown to the deck. The board beneath him splintered as the bolt hit it. Ironmeet looked over and seen another bolt headed straight for him. Ironmeet dove to the deck and the bolt shattered the door to the captain's cabin.

"Ironmeet, what the hell do you have planned?" Mercidus asked frantically.

Ironmeet looked at him. "I'm going to become oblivions fury." The two ships drew close together and the archers sent volleys at the other ship. Then Ironmeet ran towards the edge of the ship and jumped off. He flew towards the pirates, his toes touched the edge of the deck. Then he slipped and had to grab on to the railing to keep from falling in the ocean.

"Save him, don't lose that armor!" yelled the closest pirate. Ironmeet was dangling off the edge of the ship trying to pull himself up. Not fast enough. The pirates pulled him on board and threw him to the deck. Ironmeet went to get up but thought better of it when a cutlass placed itself at his throat. He could see the faces of 2 royally pissed off redguards above him. The words "Kill him" snapped him into an adrenaline rush. Time seemed to slow down as he slapped the cutlass away and brought his fist into the others groin. Ironmeet rolled away and drew Wyrmedge. More than a dozen pirates ran at him. Ironmeet cast his most basic of fire spells into the sail above him and dove headlong into the group of stunned pirates. He took the arm off a breton, then the leg of an Imperial before skewering another breton. He could feel his adrenaline rush fading away as he disengaged from the shocked party of pirates. The sail was almost totally immolated and the mast had ignited sending flaming bits of rigging everywhere. The pirates ran for the edge, fire was being spread everywhere and Ironmeet realized he had no way of getting back on the trading ship. He ran for the edge and waved his arms for the ship. Mercidus noticed him and was turning the ship around, but he wouldn't make it in time. A flaming log from the mast fell point first and skewered the ship through. Ironmeet glanced around for something to keep him floating. A barrel was rolling around not too far off. Iron meet desperately ran for the barrel choking on the smoke. He grabbed the sealed barrel and hopped off the side of the flaming ship. The water was very cold and the drop was fairly high, but he held on to the barrel and he floated back up to the surface.

"How's the water?" came the call from the Azuria.

"Just great, why don't you come join me?" Ironmeet pvssyred, floating in the frigid water.

"Nah, I hate having to work in wet clothes. Here." A rope was tossed down. Ironmeet grabbed hold and was pulled up to the surface. Ironmeet hadn't felt this good in months. He had numerous minor injuries, an arrowhead in his side and he was gazing upon the flaming hulks of three enemy ships.

Mercidus walked over. "Sorry, I tried to get you another ship but it didn't quite work as planned," Ironmeet called out with a giant grin on his face.

Mercidus laughed. "That was simply amazing."

Ironmeet took a few healing potions and slept. In a weeks time the island of Stros M'Kai came into view.

MORE this is fantastic stuf i love the ten fangs idea

Glad you like it, Im gonna start working on part 5 tonight

Part 5: Sewer Fangs


Ironmeet disembarked from the Azuria in Stros M'Kai's harbor. He walked off the wooden dock and walked past a couple of old warehouses. According to the map he was given the Ten Fangs HQ was in the sewers, or at least branching off of the sewers. Protected by a secret door and dozens of guards. Ironmeet wanting to remain unknown had stowed his trademark equipment in his magical backpack and put on some middle class clothes (keeping a concealed dagger). Ironmeet observed the map and decided his best way would be to try to go stealthily if possible. But first he would find an inn.

"Twenty gold," the short balding innkeeper told him. Ironmeet dropped the gold on the counter and took the key. "Enjoy your stay."

It was a fairly nice place, lacking the splendor of the Tiber Septim, but much better than many roadside inns. After spending the last few weeks in a hammock on a ship, he welcomed the bed. The next morning he planned his assault on the HQ. He decided that he would need many more healing and cure disease potions. Apparently the council had many strongholds all over tamriel. There was a knock on the door as he got his equipment ready. Ironmeet opened the door to find another redguard.

"Is this Malacis's room?" he asked, using Ironmeet's birth name.

"Nobody uses that name anymore," Ironmeet answered cautiosly.

"I know, but very few other people also know. That way if I had the wrong room I wouldn't be letting anyone know you we're in town."

"Well what do want?" Ironmeet asked in the voice that said he better have a good reason for being there.

"I want to see Lord Caffindust die."

At that point Ironmeet grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and pulled him into the room. Ironmeet pinned the man up against the wall. "Who are you? Who sent you? How many other people know of my hunt?"

My name is Beltin Istel," said the shocked redguard. "I was guided your way by the count of Skingrad and to the best of my knowledge we're the only other people that know why you're here," Beltin said quickly.

"Why did Hassildor send you?" Ironmeet asked viciously. Not releasing his grip on the man.

"I asked Hassildor for help information regarding the death of my sister, and he said it was Ten Fangs. He also said I should find you because you were planning a strike on them."

"Then how did you get here before I did?" Ironmeet asked.

"I went to the arcane university and they teleported me here. I've been waiting two weeks," Beltin explained.

"How did you know when I arrived?"

Beltin looked at Ironmeet and simply said, "Beggars."

Ironmeet could tell Beltin wasn't lying so he released his grip. "Sorry, I hunt alone."

"Please! Let me come along. I have family to avenge," Beltin pleaded.

"All I've ever seen of companions is that you get in the way, and I can't have that," Ironmeet said coldly. "Now go," and Ironmeet thrust him out of the room.

Ironmeet hated when things like that happened. He could tell that Beltin wasn't finished with him. Ironmeet suited up exasperated. He wrapped his crimson cloak around his armor and kept his helmet off so nobody would recognize him. Ironmeet made his way to the sewers, feeling a dozen eyes on the back of his head. But when he turned around he saw nothing. The feeling stayed with him until he reached the sewers.

"Why do vampires always hide in sewers?" he said quietly to himself. Ironmeet lowered himself into the sewers and gazed around. According to the map the entrance to the council was somewhere down the passage to his left. Ironmeet walked down the sewer system, killing the occasional mud crab and checking the map every so often. He stopped at a blank wall with a locked iron box next to it. He pulled out a lockpick and went to work on It. It took a few tries but he got it eventually. Ironmeet opened the lid to find the box was set into the floor and wall with a wheel sticking out of the bottom. Ironmeet listened for a while, hearing nothing so he spun the wheel. A section of wall slid noiselessly open revealing a guard leaning up against his spear.

"Halt, provide name and proof of membership," the guard said mechanically as if he had said this hundreds of times before.

Ironmeet quickly slid Wyrmclaw out of its scabbard and slashed at the guard in the same move. Instead of cutting the man's stomach open, it chopped the wooden haft of his spear in half. The guard obviously surprised let out a small startled cry.

Ironmeet quietly cursed and thrust Wyrmclaw at the man's stomach. The fine blade cut into the guard's side and Ironmeet pulled the sword upwards. The guard barely had time to scream before his soul was trapped in a small gem. Ironmeet listened for footsteps or anything else that would indicate someone heard them. Ironmeet searched the man, finding a small bag of gold and fangs. Vampires, he is in the right place. Ironmeet slowly, cautiously continued down the hallway towards an intersection. Ironmeet looked left and right seeing nobody he took a left. Ironmeet went straight to the door at the end and listened.

"I don't care if I do owe you, that one is mine," said someone with a slightly nasal voice.

"I can make you care," said another dangerously. Then Ironmeet heard a cry. It was the cry of a baby. Ironmeet clenched his fists when he heard the pitiful sound.

"This one is mine, go get your own baby," the first one retorted.

Ironmeet slowly, quietly opened the door. There were 2 vampires in a small room bickering over a baby. Ironmeet edged into the room, praying not to be seen. He snuck as close as he dared then lunged. The first vampire had Wyrmclaw erupt from the front of his chest. The second cried out in astonishment and dropped the baby on the table in front of him.

Ironmeet pulled Wyrmclaw from the first vampire as the second drew his axe. Ironmeet struck with an overhand chop and aimed a kick at his stomach. The vampire easily blocked the chop, but when Ironmeet's foot hit him he doubled over exposing his back. Ironmeet simply swung his sword again and severed the foul creature's spine. Ironmeet then looked around, seeing the baby and several vials of blood on the table. The baby was dead, its neck broken when the vampire dropped it on the table. Ironmeet swung his sword in rage at the dead vampire. Wyrmclaw chopped the vampire in half and chipped the stone floor. He could hear footsteps now. Ironmeet looked to the far side of the room where there was another door where the footsteps were coming from. Ironmeet simply beside the door and waited for it to open.

The door opened and a small bosmer woman stuck her head in through the door. "Call out th-" the woman's words were cut short as Ironmeet sprung out from behind the door and decapitated her. Ironmeet looked up into the faces of about a dozen shocked vampires. Shouting erupted from all corners of the room. The front six vampires drew weapons and charged. Over them Ironmeet could see 2 of them leave the room, undoubtedly to get help.

"Damn!" Ironmeet cursed. So much for stealth. Ironmeet swung Wyrmclaw at the one in the front. The leading vampire easily parried the swing and countered with a shield bash. Ironmeet was stronger so the swinging shield didn't harm him, but he did become off balanced. Ironmeet regained his footing in time to block the longsword speeding towards his head. Ironmeet thrust at the mans chest. Wyrmclaw easily slid between ribs and found its way t the heart. Ironmeet battled with the vampires for a few minutes, it seemed like hours, killing many. Ironmeet then disengaged and ran into the room with the table.

"Kill him!" yelled a voice from inside the throng of vampires pouring in the room. Ironmeet cast a basic fire spell into the middle of the mass of bodies. Then a crossbow bolt flew through the room striking Ironmeet in his side. Ironmeet screamed and resisted the urge to pull the bolt out (if he did he would bleed to death). Instead he gritted his teeth and kicked the table over, onto the lead vampire. The table, not very heavy, but it did knock him over. Easy prey. Ironmeet quickly lopped the head off and ran back to the doorway where the fight continued. His head jarred, spots appeared in his eyes and his head felt like it split open. Ironmeet sank down slowly and passed into unconsciousness.

Ironmeet woke in a small dark room, chained to the wall. It was cold with 2 chairs and a table between them. Ironmeet sat there for what seemed like hours.

"Aha! Your awake."

Ironmeet looked up into the face of a vampire with two white fangs emblazoned on a blood red background above his heart on the black leather shirt he had on. This, was new to Ironmeet, the face was not. Ironmeet glared at Caffindust's small red eyes.

"Why haven't you killed me?" Ironmeet asked the old vampire before he had a chance to continue.

"Because the council has better plans for you," Caffindust said with a smirk on his face. "Don't you feel that creeping cold in your neck."

For the first time Ironmeet noticed the spreading disease of vampirism. For the first time Ironmeet felt hopeless.

"I will be back in 72 hours, to see how well your doing," with that last statement, Caffindust left the room.

Ironmeet sank down as far as his chains would let him, and waited for the Inevitable.

Part 6: Companionship


Ironmeet hung in that damp cold dungeon for a day, two? He couldn't tell how long he hung there. The icy sensation was spreading by the minute and Ironmeet was getting closer and closer to becoming a foul vampire. A small commotion outside drew his attention. It wasn't near his cell, Ironmeet dropped his gaze to the floor again. Then, much closer this time he distinctly heard the sound of metal striking metal. He heard a death cry and footsteps, footsteps that were coming closer to his cell. Ironmeet perked up and stared at the door. He heard a couple yells and the sound of more metal on metal. Ironmeet curiously strained to hear what was happening but couldn't make anything out except the death of one of the combatants. A key slid into the lock with a loud scraping sound and turned with a satisfying click.

"Got yourself in a spot of trouble eh'," Beltin came through the door covered in blood and with a great big grin on his face.

Ironmeet never thought he would see the guy again, much less be so glad to see him. "What the hell took you so long?" Ironmeet smiled weakly.

"Ran into a couple cleanup crews mopping up the mess you made," Beltin threw a bag on the floor and drew Wyrmclaw.

"Where did you get those?" asked Ironmeet.

"They were in a chest outside your cell," Beltin said as he walked to Ironmeet's side. "I have no clue why they didn't take them. Now how did you get caught, when I, who would just get in the way make it this far?"

"Got hit on the head. Hard!" Ironmeet grimaced.

Beltin chuckled a bit. "Lean forward," he warned as he raised Wyrmclaw above his head.

Ironmeet leaned forward and Beltin swung Wyrmclaw at the chains on the wall above him. Wyrmclaw's keen edge severed the rusted iron chains. Ironmeet rubbed his sore wrists and opened his bag. It was all there. He took the time to strap his armor to his body and take a cure disease potion. "Thanks now lets hunt."

"Hunting wont be the issue here," a cold voice came from the door. He could see Caffindust standing with a sword in his hand. "Now fighting, that could be an issue."

Ironmeet grabbed Wyrmclaw and strode towards the figure in the door with his blade held even and level. Ironmeet parried an overhead chop from Caffindust and aimed a kick at Caffindust's groin. Caffindust deftly swung his hips to the side and disengaged his sword. Ironmeet swung at Caffindust's right side and braced himself against his shield.

"You will have to do better than that," Caffindust taunted Ironmeet while blocking Wyrmclaw with his own hellish blade. Caffindust and Ironmeet both thrust they're shields at each other and they met with a loud "Clang!" Ironmeet responded with a powerful chop. Wyrmclaw sunk half a foot into Caffindust's shield but thankfully didn't stick. Ironmeet could see the terrified suprise behind Caffindust's eyes.

The two traded blows for a long time before Ironmeet disarmed Caffindust with an especially hard swing of his shield. Caffindusts sword clattered away and Caffindust hid behind his shield. Ironmeet was about to deliver the final blow when shield and Caffindust both disappeared. Ironmeet hated divine intervention. Ironmeet cursed and swore until he was hoarse.

"Are you done yet?" came the nervous voice of Beltin.

"I think so," Ironmeet responded, breathing heavily. Ironmeet looked at Beltin. Ironmeet would normally either kill or scold the man, depending on the wisdom and intentions of a person following him. But Beltin made it this far, and it was to save him from imminent vampirism. Ironmeet thought long and hard before going and grabbing Caffindust's enchanted sword. "How would you like to be my partner?" Ironmeet asked offering Beltin the powerful longsword.

Beltin looked like a small breeze might knock him over. "I accept," he said in a squeaky voice. Beltin grabbed the hilt and tested the balance with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Well, come on. We have a lot more hunting to do," Ironmeet said looking at the eager redguard. The two moved through the sewers encountering no resistance.

"Where did they all go?" asked Beltin

"Probably all teleported," Ironmeet responded blankly. Ironmeet felt much better when he popped up through into Stros M'Kai's streets. "That was the most fruitless run I've had in a long time."

"It wasn't entirely a waste," said beltin

"How so?"

Beltin held opened up a scroll case and pulled out a map of Tamriel. It had red and green dots all over it. "A map telling us where all they're strongholds are."

Ironmeet studied the map. "So this means we only have to search in every city and under every large rock in Tamriel."

Beltin laughed. "Then lets get started."

Ironmeet sighed and walked towards the harbor. "Where should we start?"

"Let's try Sentinel. Its one of the major cities in Tamriel and besides, I've got family there."

"So do I. Sentinel sounds good to me," Ironmeet grinned. "Lets find a ride out of here."

"We can use the mage tha-."

"No!" Ironmeet said firmly. I hate magical travel.

"It's a lot faster," Beltin pointed out.

"And a lot more dangerous."

"No more dangerous than sailing. Didn't you have to sink 3 ships on your way here?"

Ironmeet sighed. "Okay the deal is I am going by ship. You can use magic but I'm sailing."

"Oh fine. I'll come with you," Beltin said resigned.

Ironmeet gave a small smile and asked the harbormaster if there were any ships bound for Sentinel.

"No. None at all," the slightly chubby man stated while looking at the sheet in his hand.

"Magical travel it is then," Beltin said triumphantly.

Ironmeet gave a small groan and turned to follow Beltin.