» Fri May 13, 2011 6:43 pm Joza felt the back of the Teinaava's hand tear into the side of his face, sending him toppling over. Gogron lifted him back up, Joza keeping his body limp. He could feel blood running down the side of his face as he sat bound on the floor of the sanctuary. His hood had been thrown off, discarded like a rag. Teniaava hissed into his face "How DARE you defile the name of the Night Mother!"
Joza chuckled, finding solice in his own facade of confidence. Teinaava kicked him dead in the stomach, stooping him forward. Jova felt his rib's bounce around dangerously. He glanced up at the woman who had sold him out, a Breton. Antoinetta Marie was the reason he was in this particular situation. She had happened upon Joza commeting to Schemer "I want to meet this Night Nother. If shes really all these guys' mother, she must really get around. I wonder how Sithis feels about that." And now here he was, all the members of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary gazing down on him with rage in their eyes.
After a month of joining the Dark Brotherhood, Joza had more kills under his belt than most of the other members. However, he was a nonbeliever. Joza didn't believe in the Night Mother, or the Daedra, or the Nine for that matter. He believed in this life. After this, there was a hole in the ground. Now because of his cynical attitude, he was going to be killed by the very people he killed for. Now the vampire, Valtiere approached him and looked into his eyes. Joza started back into the red pits, in an act of defiance. Bad idea. Horrible visions of himself being dismembered and killed in numerous, horrible ways. He felt vomit fill his mouth, but he held it back, and swallowed it, not willing to give Vicente the satisfaction. Ocheeva walked forwards and drew a knife across his chest, cutting through the black leather armor. Joza started to bleed. Ocheeva turned to the other members. "Do to him what you will." She started "He has desecrated this sanctuary with his tongue. Now I will cut it out."
Joza looked up and spit at her. She drew back in disgust. He glanced at the spit, and saw it was blood. '[censored].' He thought. Ocheeva drew the nice to his face. "Open your mouth vermin." Joza knew it was a bad idea, but he spoke. "That's strange, last time I checked, lizards were considered vermin." She bared her teeth and drew the knife across his face. Gogron grabbed Joza's jaw with his giant hand and squeezed, forcing his mouth open. Ocheeva started to go for Joza's tongue before a voice called out.
"Halt, sister." Said Lucien Lachance, a listener of the Black Hand. Ocheeva turned and hissed. The man in the robe advanced toward where they stood in the middle of the Sanctuary, the door a menacing background behind him. He approached Joza and looked down at him. "So you insist on defiling the name of our matron, do you?"
Joza grinned, the bit of blood in his mouth seeping through his teeth. The vampires eyes shined. "I figure since I'm dead anyway, I might as well be an ass about it." With the arrival of the speaker, they all turned their sights to him. Joza lifted his bound hands slightly, and groped for Gogron's right boot. Joza hit his foot and winced, expecting the orc to call out and crush his skull right there. But no, the heavy armor gave almost no feeling. He felt his way up the foot, talking as he went. "Frankly, I don't believe in the Night Mother, or the Nine, or anything." He found what he was looking for. The daedric dagger in Gogron's boot. He feigned a shrug to lift the dagger out of the boot. Joza cut his bounds enough to enable him to break them before cutting through the arm of his armor and slipping it through.
Lachance nodded and adopted a smirk. "Very well. Then we will make you a believer." The others all scrunched their foreheads in confusion and surprise. "We will take you to see the Night Mother."
Joza laughed, but on the inside rejoiced. A journey anywhere would give him a chance to escape. Gogron hefted Joza like a small animal and put him over his shoulder, following as Lachance led the way. They stopped outside the gates. Gogron put Joza down. He looked around, "This is the Night Mother? Oh, lemme guess, shes all around us right, all the darkness in our hearts?" he said with a sarcastic smile.
Gogron stopped and thought. "Nope." He said and smashed his fist into Joza's face. The bound man had no chance to even move. His mind danced in darkness. Joza's only discernable thought was whether or not he was going to die now, rather than later.
When he awoke, he could discern they were in Bravil due to the mishapen buildings. Joza turned and saw the statue of the Lucky Old Lady looming over him, and a new man had joined them, a Bosmer.
"This is the one you spoke of?" said a cold, haunting voice in his mind.Joza struggled to stand. "An uppity assassin with a mouth on him?" The bosmer nodded. "So, do you still not believe in me?"
Joza stood, amazed, but still grabbed the dagger with one hand. "So you say this assassin is no threat?" The Bosmer laughed and said yes. Joza smiled and looked at the statue. "Well then you live, or die, by your assumption." Before any of them could turn, Joza broke the bounds and brought the dagger down into the back of Antoinetta Marie's neck, ripping it out, and bolting.
The shouts of pursuit came behind him, arrows flying past his head as he zig-zagged towards the gates. A guard stood to block his way. Joza flicked his wrist up with his momentum, and the guard dropped grasping at the gaping wound in his neck. He ran out, and dove into the water running past the town. He rode on the wave, eventually losing consciousness. When he awoke, a specter loomed before him. Joza was weak from the abuse he had taken, as well as his escape. "So this is it?" he asked the shadow. The wrath of Sithis made no move. The voice of the Night Mother filled his head. "Do you believe now?" Joza closed his eyes as the wrath of sithis raised the dagger of discipline. "I guess I'd be an idiot not to."
