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The fool- the proud, arrogant, noble fool; does he really think that the Dragon God protects him? Does he think that these ephemeral mortal kingdoms can hide him? I have watched him from afar, keeping track of his progress, providing subtle aid- as befits one in my favor- but not enough to rob from him the thrill of the hunt. And yet he does not celebrate the kill, the true object of any hunt! How can this be? He is the best of hunters in this time and place, this Master Shadow and Master Blade- does he not realize that he is the first since his namesake ancestor to hold both those titles? Does he not understand that this makes him THE Hunter? Bah, the black one was the same way- rejoicing in the hunt, never in the kill. But that one hunted alone, something I could respect- his scion hunts with a partner: an Orc, and together they train a third, an Argonian. Does this Khajiit not understand that he is sharing the secrets of the greatest hunters with his inferiors? It is unlikely, as I have seen his mind regarding the Orc...

But he will learn, and learn well. For in the end, all hunters serve Hircine- one way or another, willingly or unwillingly, in sanity or in madness. Come my hounds, there is much work to do. We will prepare a place for the Shadowsword...

The first arrow, with green dyed feathers, sunk deep into the dead tree, its shaft quivering with the shock. Almost instantly, an orange feathered arrow struck the tree within an inch of the first, then was quickly joined by another, this one striking to the right of the green arrow where the first one had gone to the left, a third orange arrow hit two inches below the green one, a fourth hit much farther down the tree, and another green arrow hit the first one, splitting it about two inches down and sticking into it like some ridiculous feather in a hat. A fifth orange arrow went passed the tree as the second green arrow struck home. Fifty yards away, the two archers: a Khajiit and an Argonian paused to admire their efforts, from the other side of a smoldering campfire an Orc looked up from sharpening his axe as well.

"That fifth shot does not count I am afraid," the Khajiit, named Shadow told his Argonian student as he set down his bow. His had been the green arrows, and the point of the exercise was to see how many aimed shots his pupil could make in the time the Master Assassin could make two perfect shots.

"Fair enough," the Argonian Raven-Eye rasped as he hooked his own bow over his quiver. "I had lost my mark anyway."

"Still," Shadow remarked as he rubbed his whiskers in thought. "Four shots is very good indeed- three of those would hit anyone in the chest..."

Grubak gro-Grash snorted, drawing a wrathful glare from the Master Assassin which the Orc ignored. "Bah! All this is a waste of his time. You should be teaching him to stand face to face and kill his opponent properly."

"Not everyone can take a war hammer to the head without a helmet Grubak," Shadow chastised. While the comment was clearly made in jest, an edge of concern leaked into his voice. It was a reference to their recent adventure, where they had to chase a group of bandits into the Black Marsh after they had made off with several items from the Imperial Treasury. The incident that Shadow referred to had taken place during that final confrontation, and had left Grubak with a bandaged head.

"Stop worrying about me," the Orc huffed. "I've been hit harder by Bosmers then by that fool." Grubak started to get to his feet and picked up his axe. "Now, let me teach our young Raven how to fight properly..."

"No!" Shadow said with such force that the Orc sat back down. "I do not want you exerting yourself in this heat." Raven-Eye nodded in shared concern. It was true, Mid-Summer was only four days past and while they were back in the Imperial Province, they were still in the Blackwood- which was just as much of a marsh as the Argonian homeland that it bordered. It was hot and humid, so much so that none of the three Shadowswords was wearing more than a loincloth (except for the silver chain and locket that Shadow never took off, which sparkled in the midday sun, set off even more against the Khajiit's tawny colored fur) while their black leather armor, muddied from the return trek through the road-less Black Marsh, lay out drying next to the pond where they had washed them. Grubak looked down at himself.

"I've nothing more I can take off," the Orc complained, but then suddenly his tone became suddenly mischievous. "Unless, of course, the Master desires it..."

Raven-Eye suddenly found something infinitely fascinating in the woods away from Grubak, which seemed to annoy Shadow even more then the Orc's sudden randy outburst. That the Khajiit and the Orc were partners in more than just their professional lives was no secret, and that their pupil also preferred the company of males as well was the major reason that he was training under them and not other Shadowswords. That he was attempting to ignore this situation annoyed Shadow greatly, he had nothing to hide from either of them. Raven-Eye was being as much of a fool as Grubak. Under the angry glare of his mentor, Raven-Eye began to rub the scars on his left shoulder. With the Argonian properly chastised, Shadow turned his gaze on Grubak.

"I told you, not until Nenya takes a look at your head," he snapped, referring to the Shadowsword's High Elf healer. Shadow wheeled back to Raven-Eye. "And you, stop being a fool. We are not having this discussion again. Now, let's go retrieve those arrows. Grubak, finish pitching the tents, and then lie down. If you are still on your feet when we get back, I am going to break your legs." While many might have laughed at the slender Khajiit making such a threat to the bulky Orc, Grubak knew he was being very serious, and the Orc had no doubt that he would follow through if he deemed it necessary.

"Yes, Master," Grubak and Raven-Eye said contritely together before moving to accomplish the tasks that Shadow had set out for them. The Khajiit Master Shadowsword shook his head, picked up his bow, and followed his Argonian student into the Blackwood.

* **

Shadow jerked awake, the nightmare shattering into vivid fragments, somehow managing to stifle the gasp that threatened to escape him. The assassin put his head in his hands, willing his heart to slow down, streaks of sweat matting his fur, his tail still twitching. Beside him, gratefully, Grubak rolled over in his sleep and let out a sleepy grunt. While Shadow was deadly serious about no strenuous activity until the Orc had his head examined, the Khajiit saw no reason to change their sleeping arrangements while Raven-Eye took his turn on watch. And now he was grateful for his decision, as the last of his fears vanished as he put his hand on Grubak's muscular chest- anything that had to skulk in the darkness to have power would stand no chance against the powerful Orc. As if sensing his partner's need for reassurance, Grubak reached up and gently grasped Shadow's wrist in his sleep.

With his fears quelled, Shadow began to consider what he could remember about his nightmare. It was now just vivid fragments, many centering on the moons- moons turned the color of blood, and wolves, wolves were everywhere. And then there had been the voice, no more than a whisper, but deep and resonant, timeless and cruel, and the message it delivered still rang in his ears.

All hunters serve me, Shadowsword. One way or another... Remember...

"Wolves and hunters?" the Dark Elf mystic asked a week later, his back to Shadow as he continued to rummage through a bookshelf, raising a grey cloud of dust from the rarely used volumes. "Have you had dreams like this before?"

Shadow was in the lair of Ralas Telvanni, a mage and scryer and the Shadowswords' resident expert on dreams and all forms of magical communication. One of his several jobs was to maintain the bond between the magical Black Book of the Shadowswords, of which Shadow was the current bearer, and the ever expanding archive that the Black Book was connected to. Anything that Shadow wrote into the Black Book was transferred to the hidden archive- only Ralas knew its true location, and he would only pass that knowledge on to his successor on his deathbed; and likewise, the Black Book would allow Shadow to see anything that had ever been written in it, from the archive, according to his need. Shadow had looked up the fragments of his dream, and he did not like the few things he had found.

"Never," he responded to the Dark Elf's question.

"Most interesting," the mage replied, or at least Shadow thought he replied- Ralas was studying one of the tomes on the shelf, and as he spoke, tossed it disinterestedly over shoulder. He next words banished the Khajiit's doubts. "So the question is: did you find nothing of value in the Black Book? Or are you just coming to test your theories against an older, wiser, more handsome source?"

That last was delivered in a playful tone, even though Ralas' appetites did not fall in line with Shadow's own, the mage had no problems with it and this was a common game that they played. Outside of the Khajiit's little family (and his elder brother) only Ralas, Nenya, the two Master Trainers, the Grandmaster, and the Emperor himself where aware of the relationship between Grubak and Shadow, and Shadow liked to keep it that way.

"The later," Shadow returned with a smirk. "Except for that last."

"Humph. You are no fun at all, in a committed relationship and all of a sudden you can't give an aging mage his due. Remind me again why I should help you?"

"Well there was that time with the bandits on the Green Road, or the incident where you set fire to half of Bra..."

"Alright!" the Dark Elf shouted, frantically waving his hands to forestall anymore reminisces from the assassin. "Alright, I get the picture, although somehow I can't help but imagine that half the Shadowswords have similar debts to you. I'll look into it."

"Thank you," Shadow said, giving a grateful bow and turning to leave. He was just turning the latch on the door when Ralas' voice stopped him.

"You know Shadow, if anyone was angry enough at me to invade my dreams, I would be worried."

Without turning around, Shadow nodded. "I am worried, and what worried me most is that I cannot think of how I might have angered someone that powerful."

"It's just a simple task, why are so worried about it?" Grubak asked. He was seated on the bed he shared with Shadow, watching as the Khajiit packed his bag for a solo assignment to Bruma. The local count had issued some law or another that hadn't sat well with the local population. While most were content to protest peacefully, there was an undercurrent of hostility. Making matters worse was the Blade headquarters at Cloud Ruler Temple to the west, a Blade trainee had been badly beaten in a protest in town. On his own initiative, the arrogant Blade commander at Cloud Ruler had seized control of the town to "maintain order during the current crisis"- which did not sit well with any of the locals. The Emperor had just found out about the situation, and wanted Shadow to investigate and report back before the official Imperial decision was made.

"Ya had a bad dream- we've all had those."

"I know," Shadow replied as he tested the weight of his pack and then slug it over his shoulder. "But this one was different; you just have to trust me."

"Bah! Anyone who has to go through your dreams to get to you can't be that powerful. Skulking in the dark, staying hidden, not even bothering to give a name- only a coward acts that way. He couldn't take you in a..." The Orc trailed off as he remembered that he was talking to a master assassin. Shadow frowned at him.

"One of these years, the things I have taught you are actually going to stick Grubak."

"I didn't mean anything by it Shadow. You know that sometimes my inner Orc just comes out."

"I know, I know. Look, just keep watch on Raven-Eye for me- just in case something happens."

"Oh, I'll keep as close an eye on him as you want me to, Master."

"Stop that," Shadow said, shaking his head before pulling up his hood. While he himself, as he was over a decade older then the Argonian, had no interest in Raven-Eye that way, his younger partner had, and continued, shown some small interest in pursuing a dalliance with the teen Argonian. Grubak was in his mid twenties, and Shadow was experienced enough, and patient enough, to understand that the Orc was not old enough to be completely committed to a one partner relationship. "Do not pressure him. You know what he's been through; it has to be his choice- he has to start it."

"Alright already," the Orc snorted as he slid his feet of the bed- his booted feet, a perennial annoyance to Shadow. "Everything will be fine- you just mind that those damn Blades don't take your head off when they find out you've made off with their purses." Shadow had deep connections to the Thieves Guild, and often practiced their trade himself.

"I will," he replied as he pulled the Orc in for a quick kiss goodbye.

* **

On the map of the Imperial Province, Cyrodiil resembled a horseshoe: the coastal city of Anvil was at the western end of the arc, and the town of Leyawiin in the Blackwood was at the other, the southeast end. The center of the shoe was dominated by the Imperial City itself, with Bruma to the north. The western arm of the horseshoe was dominated by the Imperial Reserve, an area of mountains to the north and wide open plains to the south until it reached the plateau that the city of Kvatch was located on. There was nothing in this place, except the Imperial Rangers that enforced the ban on the taking of game- which made it the perfect place to hide the headquarters of the elite Imperial assassins, the Shadowswords (who operated under the cover of being Imperial Rangers anyway). On the official maps, the fortress of the Shadowswords was on a mountain just at the tail of the upper arm of the second letter "E" in "Reserve". While it is proper to say that the castle was on the mountain, as it had been when it was a fort to protect the fledgling Septim Empire all those years ago, the Shadowswords had claimed the abandoned fort and improved it- now it was the mountain. An enclosure encircled the base and five rings of fortifications worked their way up the slope; the hill itself had been bored into, creating spaces inside the mountain for smithies, storehouses, and even stables. By some grand magic, the crown of the hill had been loped off, creating the last ring of defense- here were the living spaces of the highest members of the Shadowswords, and at the center stood a grand tower from which on a clear day one could see the entire landscape of western Cyrodiil from the Gold Coast to the White Gold Tower in the Imperial City. The entire scene was watched over by vigilant sentries, drawn from all levels of the Shadowswords ensuring that no enemy could come to Fort Daggertail unseen.

And so it was three nights after his master's departure that Raven-Eye awoke from an uneasy sleep to an eerie silence. As befitted his high status in the Shadowswords, Shadow had a two story house in the top ring of the Fortress. While not connected to the outer wall, it was a very short leap from the roof of the house to the battlements, a positioning that was credited to the current Shadow's legendary ancestor of the same name. Like that Shadow, Raven-Eye's master rarely used this house, preferring the retreat that his ancestor had built in the mountains southeast of Bruma- but he maintained this one as well to serve when he was assisting with training the Dagger-Tails.

Shadow and Grubak shared a room on the top floor, while Raven-Eye (who had been offered his choice of rooms) had taken a ground floor room next to the kitchen for his own. Even in midsummer, the altitude made the house a little cold for the reptilian Argonian, and his bed was on the wall that was adjacent to the kitchen's oven- the wall retained the heat from cooking long into the night, and when Shadow and Grubak realized why their student had taken that room they made sure to throw a few extra pieces of wood on the fire after they were done cooking. The first thing Raven-Eye noticed when he awoke was the cold; the second thing was the silence. Staring at the ceiling, he quickly calculated it to be about midnight- the guard should have been changing, and by tradition the midnight guard change took place on the Imperial City side of the fort- right outside Shadow's house. Something was wrong.

Quickly, Raven-Eye tossed his covers off himself and reached for his armor. His armor was reminiscent of the light leather armor that the Argonian had worn in the Dark Brotherhood, a form fitting one piece that cover him from ankle to neck- jet black with extra armor at the hips and shoulders, and on the shoulders the Imperial dragon with a dagger for a tail- the insignia of the Shadowswords. Raven-Eye's armor had been well used, showing patches throughout, still blood stained in places, with seams that had been fixed in the field several times- it was a one of Shadow's old sets, given to the Argonian when he had first joined the Shadowswords, with the Master himself opening the tail slot wider for Raven-Eye's broader tail; though Raven-Eye had been offered new sets of armor several times, he had refused- his Master had felt this armor was good enough for him, then it was good enough for Raven-Eye. With his armor on, Raven-Eye snatched his bow and quiver, paused for a moment, and then took his shortsword as well. Even armed, the unease refused to fade. Well, nothing that a teenage Argonian might fear could deal with an older Orc, so Raven-Eye headed upstairs to get Grubak.

The Orc took his younger friend's unease to heart, and met Raven-Eye on the roof less than five minutes after the Argonian knocked on his door. He was wearing what Shadow called his "barbarian armor": Shadowsword black leather from the waist down, but bare-chested with his tribe's ritual tattoos on full display, the same leather shoulder piece with the Shadowsword dragon on his right shoulder, his left arm from the shoulder to his hand was covered in black steel that acted as a shield and a club- a large, two headed battleaxe was strapped to his back. Without a word, the pair moved to the wall end of the roof and leapt the two foot gap between. Neither had any trouble making the jump in the dark, as Shadow had trained them to make the leap blindfolded. Only when they were standing on the battlements did Grubak finally speak.

"You're right. It's much too quiet. Where are the guards?"

Before Raven-Eye could respond, voices lifted up from the lower levels. The Shadowswords had few regulations about guard duty, aside from having to actually perform it, as the duty was given to Dagger-Tails who were taught to view it as an honor, especially patrolling the upper levels of the fortress. There was no rule against talking on duty, but woe be unto any guard that a Master Shadowsword could sneak up on. Both Grubak and Raven-Eye were no longer Dagger-Tails, and were exempt from the duty. The pair looked at each other, even more puzzled then before.

"That is from level three," Raven-Eye whispered, confirming what they both guessed. "Something is definitely wrong here..."

Grubak nodded and pointed towards the guard tower twenty yards behind Raven-Eye, as the Argonian turned and began to move that way, he reached back and loosened the straps on his axe. If someone had the audacity to invade their home, and the skill or dumb luck to make it all the way to the top level, they would not survive the night. The Orc took off after Raven-Eye. They quickly reached the tower and quickly realized something was very, very wrong- the door was open, and that was not common practice. Raven-Eye unsheathed his shortsword before entering. The lantern that was always kept burning in the guard rooms had gone out, and if they needed more conformation, the smell of blood was thick in the air- a smell that both Shadowswords were intimately familiar with. The room was pitch black, but Grubak surely made his way to the center of the room and relit the lantern and confirmed their worst fears. Face down against the outer wall lay a young Dagger-Tail in a pool of blood. Raven-Eye knelt down, but quickly recognized that the young Imperial was beyond aid- his throat was torn out. Grubak unhooked his axe and Raven-Eye re-sheathed his sword in favor of his bow, notching an arrow, and then crossed the room to stand back to back with Grubak.

"If I didn't know any better," the Argonian hissed. "I would say that those wounds were caused by a wolf."

"Good," Grubak breathed. "It's been too long since I've been hunting."

He said it to assure the younger Shadowsword, though to some degree he truly was unworried, but Raven-Eye wasn't buying it.

"The walls are thirty feet high! How could a wolf get over them, let alone make it all the way up here?"

Grubak didn't answer. He didn't have to. From the darkness outside the guard room came a low, guttural, animal snarl.

Ralas Telvanni rarely slept in long stretches as he found the cool night air conducive to the types of thinking he routinely engaged in, so most of his sleep was taken from sunup to the last call for breakfast at the mess hall. The mage slept even less when he had a meaty problem to chew on, and Shadow had given him a feast to work on. Of course, the actual question that the Master Assassin (this was the combined title of Master Shadow and Master Bade) had come to him with was almost laughably simple- so much so that Ralas knew that the Khajiit, who was extremely quick-witted, had figured it out for himself long before he had brought the question to the mage. So with who was sending dreams to Shadow already solved, the implied question, that of why, was proving far more interesting. Sleep could wait.

Save for Shadow, Ralas was the only one with access to the Black Book of the Shadowswords, and tonight he was using that privilege for all it was worth. It was proving quite instructive, as Shadow was not the first to encounter such events. But what did it mean? Several possibilities presented themselves, ranging from almost mundane to downright apocalyptic. By midnight, Ralas was no closer to coming up with an answer then he had when the evening began. He tossed this latest volume on his reading table in disgust and stood up from his chair, stretching out his back and arms. Odd, it was almost time for the watch change and yet it was deathly quiet outside his open window. The mage frowned, if some young Dagger-Tail had slacked off then kitchen duties would be a blessing after Ralas got through with him. Then the Dark Elf heard something that disturbed him as much as the silence had- the rough whisper of an Orc's voice.

The Shadowswords were the only Imperial organization that was multiethnic by law, open to all the races: men, mer, and the beast races. And while all the races of men and elves were well represented, the (so called) beast races (Khajiit, Argonians, and Orcs) were unequally represented- there were plenty of Khajiits, many spurred on by the tales of the clan of the famous black-furred Khajiit Shadow (of whom the current Master Assassin was a descendant) - many of whom were considered the greatest Shadowswords of all time, but there were very few Argonians and even fewer Orcs. And among those few, only one of each race would have access to the highest level of the Shadowswords' fortress- and neither of them had to perform guard duty. Ralas moved to the door, thinking to assist Shadow's pupils in their investigation when the first of the howls broke out.

Any doubt was gone, and Ralas knew what he was facing- and the danger that his friend's pupils were in. As fast as the mage could run, he headed for his armory, praying that he would be in time...

The source of snarl entered the door that Raven-Eye was facing, and for a heartbeat the Argonian allowed himself to believe that he was looking at a large wolf. But the illusion was quickly dispelled when the brown furred lupine creature stood up on its hind legs, threw its head back and let out a massive howl that shook the confines of the small room. Even as he grimaced in pain at the ringing in his ears, Raven-Eye heard other howls answering, and screams drifting up from the lower levels. That was all the Argonian needed to hear, he drew and fired, hitting the wolf creature in the chest. Behind him, Grubak charged a second attacker that had come up in response to the first's call. The Orc's axe bit deep in to his foe's chest, but the wolf creature slid off the Orc's weapon and to make matters worse, seemed very little worse for the gaping wound in its chest- as Raven-Eye's opponent was only staggered by Raven-Eye's arrow, and a second, and a third. The Argonian back peddled until he was once again back to back with the Grubak.

"This isn't hurting them Grubak!" he shouted as he loosed another arrow. This one went in the wolf creature's mouth and out the back of its head. Instantly Raven-Eye ducked as Grubak took a full swing of his axe, taking off his opponent's head. Both creatures dropped, very dead.

"Bah! You're just not trying hard enough!" though the Orc was trying to sound confident, there was a nervous undercurrent in his voice. "You just have to kill 'em properly!"

As if summoned by the Orc's words, more of the wolf creatures suddenly appeared- four facing off against Grubak and another facing Raven-Eye. The Argonian shot his in the eye as it gathered for a leap at the Shadowswords.

"We can't stay in here Grubak! They'll box us in," Raven-Eye shouted as his Orc friend punched one of his attackers in the snout and slammed another with the flat of his axe. The third lunged at him, jaws wide but caught only Grubak's armored left arm, its fangs leaving only scratches in the steel before the Orc smashed it against the stone wall. Grubak followed Raven-Eye out the tower door, slamming the door shut behind him. Raven-Eye tossed him the dead guard's sword, which the Orc used to wedge the door. Neither had any illusion that this was anything more than a temporary measure, and the door was already vibrating under the creatures' assaults.

Outside, the noise of battle and chaos filled the air, confirming that most of the Shadowswords had not been caught by surprise. But there was little in the way of comfort, as both of the Shadowswords could see shadowy forms scurrying up the walls. As he could, Raven-Eye took shots at the shadows, hoping to knock at least some of them off the walls. By silent agreement, the pair retreated back to their house, making the leap back to the roof with two more of the wolf creatures nipping at their heels. Grubak turned and smashed one in the face, sending it crashing to the ground leaving blood stains as it bounced between the wall of the house and the outer wall, followed by the other which made the unfortunate choice to catch Raven-Eye's last arrow with its face and followed its ally down the gap between the house and the wall.

But those were not the last of them, and the two Shadowswords quickly found themselves surrounded. Raven-Eye threw his bow at the closest creature in what he knew was a futile gesture, and drew his sword. The Orc and the Argonian now stood back to back, both prepared to take as many of their enemies with them as they can. Both found their thoughts turning to their Khajiit master, and the profound regret that he would have to morn them. For Grubak, who knew the reason that Shadow wore and never took off his locket, the regret was especially profound. If there was a way out, he would find it- he had to, for Shadow. Whatever path the Orc wanted to take, he would never had a chance to take it as the trapdoor to the house suddenly flew open and the wolf creature standing right next was caught in a massive fireball. Suddenly, the Dark Elf mage's head popped through the door.

"Get down!" he shouted. Both dropped without any question, Grubak covering Raven-Eye- and a good thing too, as he felt a massive wave of heat pass over his back. When the Orc looked up, none of the wolf creatures was left, only a stately snow of ashes. Ralas. That was his name, smiled then tossed the claymore and longsword he was carrying to the others. Grubak took the claymore and quizzically looked at the mage.

"Silver," he explained. "You will find them much more effective against werewolves then your normal weapons." Even as he finished speaking, several more werewolves scaled the walls of the house and hopped on to the roof.

Grubak slashed the first one across the shoulder, and was surprised to see it fall back whimpering as the blade easily bit deep. Raven-Eye stabbed another though the chest and Ralas cast twin lightning bolts at two more. The Orc and the Argonian moved to cover the mage, putting themselves between the Elf and their attackers. They took out four more of the creatures, when suddenly a loud howl came from down below. Instantly, the few remaining creatures vanished, leaving the stunned Shadowswords alone in the night. For a long time, they refused to move, none convinced that they were alone. Finally, Grubak turned to Ralas.

"Alright, would someone explain to me just what in the Nine Hells that was?"

Dawn revealed the true scope of the disaster. They found only a few bodies, and many of those were the unfortunate guards like the one that Grubak and Raven-Eye had found. But a large number of Dagger-Tails were missing, as many as three dozen. This doubled the confirmed killed werewolves, some who had changed back to what Ralas for convince called their human form (though almost all of Tamriel's races were represented among the dead), while others did not. Raven-Eye pointed out that those that did not change had the fur of older wolves, leading the mage to speculate that they had been werewolves for a long time.

"Werewolves are the servants of the Daedra Prince Hircine," Ralas told them. "Whether they do so willingly or not- they can spread lycanthropy by biting their victims. Most adventurers that survive such an encounter may not even notice that they are infected, since the only real symptom is a little fatigue. But after three days, the infection takes hold and the victim becomes a werewolf as well."

That wasn't good, as that meant that the lower level Shadowswords were likely taken to refill the ranks of the werewolves besieging the castle- and a siege it was, as scouts sent out in the middle of the day reported sighting a large number of naked persons in the woods that ran away from them on sight. With the Grandmaster in the Imperial City, Ralas assumed command of the castle and began preparing for what nightfall would bring. Nenya and her students began churning out cure disease potions and reseeding the gardens to grow the ingredients to make more. The smiths began churning out silver weapons as fast as they could and repaired all the armors they could. Everyone else got as much sleep as they could.

It was completely and utterly ridiculous, that one of the most powerful organizations in the Imperial bureaucracy was being held in their own headquarters by a bunch of nudists. On the outer walls, Grubak watched shadows moving in the woods two hundred yards from where he stood. The Orc was now wearing his full battle armor, the Shadowsword's traditional black body suit augmented by steel armor over his upper body with the dagger-tailed dragon in the center of the breastplate. He shook his head, while it might seem ridiculous now, if Ralas was correct it would cease to be so when nightfall came. Grubak was worried and higher up Raven-Eye, himself having added a coat of chainmail to his own armor, shared his concerns and they were both thinking about the same person. Where was Shadow?

* * *

The Emperor rubbed his chin, looking very troubled at Shadow's report. They were in the Emperor's personal chambers; on the Emperor's orders Shadow had snuck into the Palace to avoid the attention of the Blades. The Emperor himself was seated in a chair at the night table, dressed only in his night clothes. Shadow, in his full Shadowsword armor, crouched in the doorway fully in the shadows that were his home, only the flickering light of a candle reflecting off his eyes giving the Emperor any indication of where his servant was at all. Shadow had left all his weapons outside the Palace, in the safe keeping of the Thieves' Guild, all of whom understood that there would be hell to pay if their friend returned and anything was missing.

"This is indeed troubling," the Emperor finally said. "What do you think should be done?"

"I would not dare pres..." Shadow whispered.

"I am ordering you to presume," the Emperor interrupted in a firm tone. "My dear Shadow, I do not know how many times we have to play this game- I trust you. If I ask for your opinion, it is because I desire to hear it."

"Order the Blades to leave the town, and the Count to call the City Council and consult them as to this decision," Shadow replied, referring to the decision that had started the whole incident.

The Emperor nodded, both of them knew that this was the easy and self evident- it was what the Shadowsword said next that was the real recommendation.

"Thanius' head has to roll," Shadow said. Thanius was the commander of Cloud Ruler Temple- an ex-Legion commander for whom the training of the new Blades was seen as a form of retirement. But in this case, he had over stepped his bounds and worse still, he had completely overreacted. As far as Shadow's investigation could determine, while there had been a protest that day, the Blade trainee had been too drunk (while on a delivery assignment) to know about it till much later. His beating had come in a bar fight, and had invented the story of getting beaten by protestors to cover the fact that he had been drinking on duty. Thanius, itching for something to do with rumors of unrest on his doorstep, did not conduct a proper investigation and simply stepped in to "restore order" when there was no disorder.

"So it would seem," the Emperor mused. "Perhaps it would be best to send him back to the Legion. A disappointment, he has turned out some excellent Blades- it is a shame that he could not be content with his post."

"Old habits, perhaps," Shadow offered. "Perhaps he was not as ready to retire as he thought."

"Perhaps. Well, nothing else can be done until the morning, so I will not detain you any longer my Shadowsword. I know you will want to get back to your partner and you student."

"Yes, my lord. Thank you," Shadow bowed and then turned and left the Emperor's room. He would gather his equipment and head out for Fort Daggertail at once, without major interruption he could make it by sundown. As the Khajiit left the Imperial City, the sun was just coming up and he was in the shadow of the White Gold Tower for the first mile of his trip. He had no idea what had been happening for the past week at the Shadowsword headquarters, and was only thinking about a long soak in a hot bath and a hot meal.

The shadows were just beginning to lengthen when the Master Assassin arrived at the only hill that had a clear view of Fort Daggertail without being in view of the fort itself. The location of the hill was a secret known only to the Master Assassins- it was at the base of a line of mountains and was about an hour's travel from the main gate. Any time he returned, Shadow stopped at this hill to survey the Shadowsword headquarters.

Everything seemed normal from where the Khajiit stood, the Imperial banner flew from the top spire, small figures patrolled the walls, and there was no sign of trouble anywhere. That was good. Shadow had decided he had had enough chaos for a little while; he would grab Grubak and Raven-Eye and head out for his home southeast of Bruma for a nice quiet week or two. But first, there was the hour walk through the woods to the fort. He took off down the hill, at this rate he would arrive right at nightfall.

Shadow made it just over half way before he got the first sign that something was very wrong. He was at the last clearing before the woods had been cleared around the fort, when he saw crouched in the center of the clearing was a young Imperial. The first thing that the Master Assassin noticed was the young man was completely naked, and the second was that he was a Dagger-Tail. Shadow rolled his eyes, pranks of this nature were not unknown among the lower ranks of the Shadowswords, and so at first the Khajiit was not that alarmed. But as he got closer, his nose started twitching- something was very wrong with the young man's scent.

"Dagger-Tail," Shadow hailed as he entered the clearing. "It is a little late in the day to be running around in the woods without pants."

"Master!" the young man straightened up. "You have to get away! They took me three nights ago, made me one of them, they're here for you! He won't stop the attack until you serve him!

"Please! I can't stop it! I feel it taking over! The sun..."

Shadow wanted to stop the young man and ask him to clarify, but as the youngster rambled on, the Master Assassin began to get what he was getting at, and his hands dropped to his longsword and large dagger, his tail and whiskers began to twitch in time with each other. As the Dagger-Tail rambled on, the sun went down, just as he commented on it. The effect was instantaneous, as the young man doubled over, grasping his torso as if to try and keep something inside.

"Master, run!" the young man screamed, but the last came out as an animal growl as the transformation took over. Even though he had guessed what would happen, even though the Black Book had told him what to expect, Shadow was horrified by the change.

The youngster's body stretched, his feet extending while his upper legs seemed to contract, leaving the ankle joint where his knees had been, giving them the backwards appearance of the back legs of quadrupeds. Matted brown fur suddenly covered his entire body, and his face expanded to take on a lupine countenance, complete with slavering jaws and pointed ears. A short bushy tail completed the unnatural transformation, leaving the Master Assassin looking in to the yellow eyes of a killer. The newly transformed werewolf took two steps towards Shadow, and then he suddenly stopped. His eyes glowed a bright yellow. The werewolf began staring at Shadow as if seeing him for the first time- the Master Assassin recognized the telltale signs of possession.

"So, you've finally bothered to show up Shadowsword," the werewolf intoned in an impossibly deep voice. "I was beginning to fear that my efforts were wasted."

"Hircine," Shadow hissed, baring his teeth, his ears folded flat against his head. The assassin had dropped into a crouch, pulling his blades. "You should not have brought them into whatever business you have with me."

The Daedric Prince laughed. "But then I would not have your full attention Khajiit. I have it now, and I intend to keep it."

"You may have my attention, but you will never get my cooperation- not now."

"You assume much in thinking that I need your willing cooperation," the werewolf growled in the instant before it lunged at the Shadowsword, jaws wide.

Shadow was expecting this, and was pleased to see that Hircine had not given up control of the former Dagger-Tail. The assassin dodged at the very last second, leaving his dagger buried in the werewolf's chest. As Shadow feared, the creature was completely unperturbed by the blade, and wheeled about for another attack. Shadow was in a bind, while he had plenty of silver and enchanted weapons in his possession, the peaceful nature of his last mission meant that the Master Assassin had felt no compulsion to take any of them with him- except one. As he blocked the werewolf's next charge, he tossed his sword to his off hand- while not truly ambidextrous he could fight fairly well with either hand. At his mental command, the brand on his right forearm flared, the dagger-tailed dragon design glowing even through his armor. Instantly the daedric dagger known as the Shadowedge, the weapon that had been bound to the greatest of the Shadowswords- the Emperors' personal assassins, appeared in his hand. Daedric weapons could do as much damage to werewolves as silver weapons, Shadow had read, and the Shadowedge was enchanted on top of that. On the next lunge, Shadow was ready; knocking away the werewolf's outstretched claws, and passing the Shadowedge over its throat. It was as quick and painless a death as Shadow could offer, and the light faded from the creature's eyes almost instantly, then it changed back into the young Dagger-Tail as he fell limply to the ground. Shadow could tell that the young man was dead, and a quick check confirmed it. The Khajiit reached down and closed the young man's eyes, but a new series of howls prevented him from doing his former student any further honors. Knowing that he was pursued, Shadow took off for the one place of safety- Fort Daggertail.

Back on the walls of the fort, the other Shadowswords were engaged in combat of their own. Raven-Eye, now armed with silver arrows, took down two werewolves while Grubak lobed the head off another with his silver claymore. Ralas wasn't casting, as he was taking advantage of the lull that the younger Shadowswords had created to down a potion to restore his magical energy.

"There don't seem to be as many tonight," the mage said, wiping his lips on the sleeve of his robe. Magic restoring potions had an unpleasantly bitter taste to them. Grubak grunted in agreement, and began searching for his next opponent.

Suddenly, the werewolves began giving up their assault on the castle and turned their attention to something beyond the walls. Only a handful seemed to remain, but the remaining Shadowswords could hear the snarls, yips, and other cries of the creatures in combat in the night- and they did not appear to be winning against this new adversary. It only took a few moments for the high ranking Shadowswords to guess who could give a pack of werewolves such trouble.

Grubak wasn't waiting around for orders; the Orc took off running for the main gates two levels below him. But the werewolves hadn't withdrawn entirely, and two lunged for the Orc as he cleared the first gates- but they never got close, as they were thrown back and pinned to the gatehouse walls by silver arrows in their chests. Three yards behind the charging Orc, Raven-Eye pulled another arrow from his quiver at a dead run, never breaking stride as he targeted a third werewolf and fired. Behind the two younger Shadowswords (knowing he could never keep up) came Ralas. But even lagging behind, the mage managed to cast almost constant blasts of lightning to catch the creatures that Raven-Eye missed, and Grubak winced against a sheet of lightning appeared in front of him, obliterating four of the creatures that crouched over fallen Shadowswords. Only one werewolf even got close, leaping up in front of Grubak, only to have its head taken off in one clean swipe as the Orc ran by.

They quickly found themselves at the gate, abandoned by Ralas's orders when the mage realized that the werewolves could bypass it without any trouble. Ordinarily, it would take at least three people to turn the massive iron wheel that raised the gate, but the Orc slammed a shoulder to it and slowly began to turn the wheel on his own while the archer and the mage covered his back.

So intent where they on their tasks, and hopeful to see Shadow again, that none of them noticed that the werewolf lying at Grubak's feet wasn't dead. As the Orc strained with the gates, the werewolf gave him a nip just above his boot. It was just enough to break the Orc's skin, and then the wolf withdrew, against his judgment, against his urges- but those where the Master's desires, and what the Master wanted, the Master got. When he saw the wound later, Grubak thought nothing of it, assuming it was a scrape on a stone. Now the Orc thought only of Shadow, who even now was racing towards the gate. But not alone, as Raven-Eye tried to shout out- but too late, as the pursuing werewolf grabbed his Master.

But Shadow was not taken completely by surprise, and somehow managed to twist around to face his attacker. In one smooth motion, the Khajiit launched a kick at the werewolf's head, causing the creature to drop him. The reason why was evident to Raven-Eye, who stared slack-jawed as the werewolf's head spun completely around with a sickening crack that the young Argonian heard even over the chaos of the ongoing conflict. Seeing the youngster's amazement, Ralas chuckled, Khajiits by their very nature where lean, and somewhat lanky- they were not known for their strength.

"And I suppose you think that just anyone can become a Master Assassin," the mage quipped. At that exact instant, Grubak gave a cry of effort that open the gate just about a quarter of the way- but Shadow was only a few yards away. The Khajiit improvised, sliding under the spikes of the gate, missing them by mere inches. With a last heave, Grubak shoved the wheel, letting the gate slam down just behind Shadow.

Almost instantly, the entire fort went quiet. It seemed to the four Shadowswords that almost of one accord, the remaining werewolves departed. But they were all wise enough to keep their guards up. Shadow got to his feet and dusted himself off, only to be met by Grubak jerking him off his feet and pulling him into a full on the mouth kiss. Instantly, the Orc knew that something was wrong as Shadow was somewhat unresponsive- he wasn't trying to push his partner away, but he was clearly not enjoying himself either. The Khajiit broke the embrace.

"This one is glad to see you as well," he said.

That wasn't good. While Khajiit in Elswyr typically referred to themselves in the third person, Shadow had been born and raised in the Imperial Province where Khajiit used the speech patterns typical of the humans- although they would sometimes use their proper name to make sure that strangers knew who they were talking to (as Khajiits believed the human prejudice that all Khajiit looked alike [to humans]). But Grubak knew from experience that when Shadow referred to himself in the third person (except for dealing with total strangers), or worse used the impersonal "this one" he was embarrassed about something. What in the world could he be embarrassed about?

"It's good to see you," Ralas interjected, seeing the look of concern that crossed the Orc's face. "We've been having quite a time with the servants of Hircine. Although what they are after, I have no idea." That last was a lie, and the instant the Elf said it, he saw Shadow's face fall even further, and the Khajiit folded his ears back.

"This one knows why they have come," Shadow replied as he began to head deeper into the fort. "This one has to leave as soon as possible."

"Where are we going?" Raven-Eye asked as he fell in behind his mentor.

"No. There is no 'we', this one is going alone."

Grubak and Raven-Eye exchanged shocked stares, while Ralas took on an expression of quiet disappointment. He took a few steps forward and put a hand on Shadow's shoulder.

"Shadow, I understand your fears, but I must insist that you not go alone."

The Khajiit gave the mage a glare that showed the Dark Elf that he was not in the mood to deal with this situation, and did not agree with the mage's suggestion. He turned his back on the mage and continued heading up to his house. Ralas continued to follow the Master Assassin and finally caught up to him as the Khajiit put his key into the door of his house.

"Shadow," he said in the traditional language of his native Morrowind- a tongue that he had taught the Khajiit, but the Master had not passed that knowledge onto his students. "We both know that Hircine is coming after you. We both know that whatever his reasons are, he wants you very badly. He came here first. What does that tell you?"

Shadow turned again to face the mage, leaving the key in the lock. Over the mage's shoulder, Shadow could see his students studying the ground or their boots with rapt attention. This was hardly the first time that the Master and the mage had spoken to each other in elvish, and each time they had heard such a discussion, they felt that they were overhearing something not meant for them to hear. Shadow was silent for another long moment, watching his students and considering Ralas' words. His nose twitched in time with his ears.

"If he knows that this one is gone, he will leave the rest of you alone," Shadow finally replied.

"I believe that no more than you do," Ralas returned. "Hircine will continue to go after them as long as he can, especially if he cannot find you. He will go after them to use them against you."

"I know that!" Shadow snapped, baring his teeth in frustration. As soon as the anger came over him, it passed, and when he spoke next, it was in Imperial. "Raven-Eye, head down to see Nenya, get enough cure disease and healing potions for the three of us for two weeks. Grubak, get inside and start getting all the silver and enchanted weapons we have, flame enchantments preferably."

The two younger Shadowswords nodded and took off to fulfill their assignments, Grubak passing between Shadow and Ralas to enter the house. The two remained facing each other until the assassin was sure that they were out of earshot.

"Tell them whatever you want," Shadow said, referring to the rest of the order. "And check the Black Book every day." Several times in the past when the pair had wanted to keep secret correspondence, Shadow would write messages in the Black Book, and Ralas could respond. With Shadow now on the run from a Daedric Prince, this would provide a lifeline for the Master Assassin.

"I will continue to investigate why the Lord of the Hunt needs you," Ralas replied. "He must have some reason beyond simple malice, even if he will not admit it."

Shadow nodded, and then headed into his home. Grubak was already packed, and tossed him the twin blades that he wore on the more difficult assignments. The longswords had been given to him by the Emperor- silver blades, one with a flame enchantment, and the other with lightning. Shadow strapped them on, and was only a few minutes in packing himself. He came down to find Grubak standing outside the door, wearing his battle armor, his pack, and an enchanted battleaxe across his back, a shortsword on his belt. Shadow also had his bow, with a quiver of silver tipped arrows.

"Where is Raven-Eye?" Shadow asked. "He should have been back by now."

The Orc already looked concerned, and not another word passed between them, and they both took off for Nenya's laboratory and lecture hall. They only made it half way to their destination when they located a large pouch containing the potions they had sent the Argonian to retrieve, and more disturbingly the youngster's bloodstained sword and his bow. Raven-Eye would never leave his bow, as Shadow had drilled into him to keep it with him at all times. Once again, neither of them paused, Shadow snatching up the sack of potions as they raced down to the gate. Ralas was waiting for them down at the gate, almost invisible in the early morning darkness. When the mage saw the Master Assassin and his partner coming at a dead run, the mage didn't ask questions and cast a spell that sent the gate wheel into motion.

"They have Raven-Eye!" Shadow shouted as he passed Ralas. Then both Shadowswords were past him and out of the fort and into the tree line. By the time the mage finished lowering the gate, they were long gone, Shadow with his face to the ground, Grubak four paces behind- both at a dead run.

"May the Gods guide and protect you," the normally not very religious Ralas whispered into the night. With that, and the gate secured, the mage headed back into the fort to get life back to normal for the rest of the Shadowswords.

* * *

Shadow found the werewolves' trail with little difficulty, it required little skill to find it as there was no way the werewolves could hide the fact that they were dragging the Argonian and keep ahead of the vengeful Shadowswords. Shadow ran down the trail at full speed, trusting Grubak to warn him of any enemies in the way. A few times, Shadow found the marks of a third and fourth werewolf who stopped and looked back to check on their pursuers' progress. Shadow motioned for Grubak to be aware of these guards, but they did not attempt an ambush- and abruptly, the trail ended. Shadow looked around the clearing, attempting to find out if there was some gap and he was missing the trail resuming as it headed out of the clearing. But the trail did not resume, and Shadow was forced to face the reality that the trail vanished right in the middle of the clearing. And that meant that Raven-Eye's captors had gone beyond his reach, and he found the scorch marks on the ground that confirmed it.

"They have taken him to Hircine's plane of Oblivion," Shadow finally admitted.

"So, what now?" the Orc huffed. "You're going to let a trivial obstacle like that stop us?" On at least two missions that the Orc could recall, his partner had gone into Oblivion with no hesitation, but from the Master's declaration, it sounded like he was in no hurry to do so now.

"No, but I think it would be pointless."

"Pointless? They have Raven-Eye! You'd go charging headfirst after them if..." the Orc trailed off as he realized what it was he was saying.

Shadow wasn't giving up, but if Grubak did make that accusation, would Shadow still look at him the same way? If he accused Shadow of valuing his life over Raven-Eye's just because they were lovers, he knew he would offend Shadow so deeply that the Khajiit might chose to end that relationship. Given that his preferences had gotten him in to trouble several times before joining the Shadowswords, Grubak had no desire to see that happen. His unspoken repentance must have shown on his face, because Shadow spoke with the patience of a teacher who knew that his student was only speaking from lack of experience.

"Patience, Grubak, patience. Think it through. What is the worst thing that can happen?"

The Orc thought about it. "He could kill 'em."

"He could have done that back at the fort and broken our spirit by letting us find his body. Hircine feels he needs Raven-Eye alive to have a hold over us. What else?"

"Turn 'em into a werewolf," Grubak said after another moment of introspection.

"Then we must prepare for that eventuality," Shadow replied, as he began trotting off into the gloom. Grubak followed after another thought struck him.

"But they said that there's no cure for liecan... lycanethroop... werewolves."

Shadow chuckled. "Lover, you of all people should know that there is an exception to every rule. We just have to find it."

* * *

Raven-Eye awoke to a pounding headache. It took a long moment for the events of the previous evening to register in his pounding head. He had been taking the potions back to Master Shadow, and then something had struck him on the back of the head. And now, he seemed to be in the middle of a forest, similar to the ones the stretched over much of the Imperial Province- and yet he knew instinctively that something was wrong. He was still piecing it together when he was suddenly a muscular arm grabbed him by the throat, and hauled him off the ground. The Argonian found himself face to face with a massive man-like creature, but much taller and thicker than any human that Raven-Eye had ever seen, he was covered in a fine fur, even finer then Master Shadow's- and a much darker brown then the Khajiit, it was almost like deer fur. And that was apt, as he was looking into the face of what seemed to be a stag's skull, the whole thing off-white and a massive set of antlers right where they would be on the real thing. But deep in the eye sockets, twin pinpoints of red burned, judging the young Argonian, and finding him lacking. The man/deer thing was dressed only in a loincloth and belt, and carried a wicked looking spear in his other hand. It took a few moments for Raven-Eye to realize that his captor was none other than the Daedric Prince Hircine, Lord of the Hunt, and Master of Werewolves.

"So this is the Khajiit's pet Argonian," the Prince said, his voice deep and barely above a whisper. "I expected that any student of his would be more of a challenge."

Raven-Eye knew that he had been stripped of his weapons (and was just realizing that he had been stripped of his armor too), but he was Shadow's student, and his Master had made sure that he was never unarmed. The brand of the dagger-tailed dragon that marred the scales of his right forearm flared, and the Shadowedge appeared in his hand. Instantly, he drove the dagger deep into the Daedra's arm, and the Prince dropped his prey, more in surprise then pain, Raven-Eye noted bitterly. As quickly as the dagger appeared, it was gone, and the former Shadowscale hit the ground completely exhausted. He tried to crawl away from his powerful adversary, but his strength had gone. He had not yet mastered the will needed to maintain the Shadowedge in the material plane for long, and as the Prince's hand closed around his ankle, he bitterly wished he had his Master's strength- as Shadow could maintain the daedric dagger for hours on end. As he was again parted from the ground, Raven-Eye caught a brief glimpse of the ring of werewolves surrounding him. Hircine was laughing.

"An excellent effort, it seems that I misjudged you," the Prince chuckled, then turned serious again. "But I trust you've learned the limits of just what you can do."

"You'll get nothing from me," Raven-Eye hissed. "Shadow will come for me."

"Of course he will," Hircine replied. "I am counting on it. As for getting nothing from you, I do believe that you will find that I already have everything I need from you."

"I'm not afraid of you," the upside down Argonian hissed.

"Indeed. That is because you have nothing to fear from me. I mean you no harm, and will offer you great gifts, I merely required you Master's attention- and now that you are my guest, I have that in full." The Daedric Prince let go of his spear, and one of the surrounding wolves caught it before it fell. He reached out and gently brushed the Argonian's cheek.

"Oh Shadowscale, do you not remember the way things used to be- when those fools of the Dark Brotherhood showed you the true path? Were things truly so bad then? I watched you, because while they claim to serve the Night Mother, they are really only hunters- and all hunters serve me. You knew the true meaning of what it was to be a hunter, the thrill of the hunt, the joy of the kill. Do you remember? Or has the Khajiit taken that part of you along with your manhood?"

At the insult, Raven-Eye went taught, and did his best to lash out at his captor, but it was to no avail. The Prince just laughed at him again.

"Good, good. I meant no insult to you or your master, but it is good to see that you still have some fight left in you. You will need it if you are to remember what it means to be a hunter."

"I'll never go back to that, never!" Raven-Eye shouted.

"No, you won't" Hircine said calmly, as he tossed his captive to the ground. "The Dark Brotherhood are fools to care where someone takes their pleasure- I have no such scruples. You will join my Hounds, and they will gift you with power beyond your wildest dream."

Raven-Eye pulled himself up into a sitting position, and cast one last defiant glare back at Hircine, who was reclaiming his spear.

"Shadow will come, and you will regret it."

The Daedric Prince did not look back.

"Treat him gently," he said as he passed out of the circle of werewolves. "He will, after all, be one of your brothers."

Before Raven-Eye could do anything else, one of the werewolves came up behind him and clamped its jaws down on his shoulder.

* * *

Shadow was far from the first Shadowsword to cross Hircine, and the Black Book was full of accounts of those conflicts. The most useful, actually the two most useful, came from Shadow's ancestor of the same name- who in reference to his black fur would jokingly refer to himself as "Midnight". Midnight had twice fought the Lord of Werewolves, and on one occasion had to cure the Grandmaster of lycanthropy. The solution to this crisis had been to locate one of the Witches of Glenmoril, who it turned out to have a cure for the disease, and allegedly a cure for vampirism- though the black furred Master Assassin had had no called to investigate that claim. So with this recorded only in the pages of the Black Book, Midnight's descendent had at least a thread to follow. The problem, as it had been for Midnight, was that even in areas were witchcraft wasn't illegal it was frowned on to the extent that practitioners did not advertise. Finding a witch would be difficult, and if Midnight was right, convincing them to help might be just as difficult. Shadow decided to tackle the first problem first, as Grubak was exhausted from three nights of battle, followed by the long chase. They stopped at an inn in Skingrad, and Shadow wrote back to Ralas to see if the mage had any leads on tacking down a witch. Just before dawn, he got an answer.

Witches have recently been driven out of the Brenton homeland by edict of a local king, the Dark Elf wrote. Witchcraft banned in the Imperial Province and Morrowind. However, southeast of Cheydinhal there was a well established coven that has occasionally aided the Imperial cause. They may also know what exactly Hircine's motives are, but expect to pay heavily for any assistance they do offer. If asking around, I believe the witches called themselves the "Sisters of Mephala"- hiding themselves as a daedric cult.

The two Shadowswords were in Cheydinhal by nightfall, and a few night time inquiries and Shadow had the location of the coven's meeting place. According to the town beggars, a constant source of information for any member of the Thieves Guild, the witches met south of town. Grubak slept the night away, and the pair set out at dawn. It took most of the day to reach the witches meeting place, on the shores of an unnamed lake west of the first bend of the Silverfish River, the middle of three rivers that emptied into the east side of the Niben Bay. Grubak apparently hadn't had enough sleep, and continued to trail behind the senior Shadowsword. Shadow, constantly checking their back trail and the path ahead, took note and let the Orc keep his slower pace. The sun was beginning to set when they reached the lake, Grubak was expecting to see a cave, or a structure, or some other sign of civilization- but there was nothing.

"Well, this seems to have been a dead end," the Orc groused as he sat on a large rock on the lakeshore.

"We shall see," Shadow, who had a rather different idea of what they were looking for. He squatted at the water's edge, and set a hand in the water. "The water is still fairly warm, why don't you take a bath while I take a look around."

The Orc said nothing, and began to strip his armor as the Khajiit moved off to look around. While the Master Assassin found nothing beyond a small family of deer, the feeling of being watched followed him where ever he went. One time, he thought he saw something move in the trees out of the corner of his eye, but it was gone when he tried to focus on it. By the time he had circled around the lake, Grubak had finished his swim and already had his pants back on.

"Find anything?" the Orc asked, his tone suggesting that he already knew the answer, and had expected nothing else. What he didn't expect was for Shadow to begin stripping hastily for his own swim.

"Get ready for trouble," Shadow said as he pulled his boots off. "I expect it to be here at nightfall." By this time, the Khajiit was completely nude (save for his omnipresent pendent) and headed into the lake, and while he went for a swim, the Orc began to prepare for a confrontation.

The sun was completely down before Grubak summoned the courage to ask the question. Both he and Shadow were fully armored, he in his steel and leather battle armor, the Master Assassin in his enchanted black leather Shadowsword armor- he had chosen not to add a coat of chainmail as Raven-Eye did when he was expecting trouble. Shadow sat with his back against a tree, right at the edge of the circle of light cast by the roaring fire they had set on the rocky lakeshore, one leg extended out in front of him, the other bent. His hood was up, and his twin longswords were in there sheaths. His bow and quiver lay some yards away, next to his bed roll, but attached by straps to his chest where two silver daggers that Grubak knew were perfectly balanced for throwing. The Master's breathing was even and slow, and only the occasional glint of the fire reflecting off his green eyes gave away the fact that he wasn't asleep. Not that it mattered, Grubak knew, as Shadow had killed many would be ambushers straight out of his usual light slumber. The Orc, however, was not so quick to action, and sat against a rock with his knees bent, and his silver battleaxe at his side, ready to be snatched up at a moment's notice. They were as ready as they could be.

"Don't suppose that you're 'xpecting your witch friends?"

"No. Our other acquaintances-they've been tracking us since we left the city this morning, and I saw one while you were swimming."

Odd. Shadow had used a contraction, something the Khajiit had been taught was a mark of low education. He had not forced such lessons on Grubak or Raven-Eye, although the Argonian tried his best to imitate his master's speaking style. As with reverting to referring to himself in the third person, Shadow only forgot this rule of his education in moment's of great stress. Clued in, Grubak now saw Shadow's tail twitching, rapping the ground with a smooth steady rhythm, and the Orc felt foolish. Shadow's senses where more acute then either of his students, and he would often sit, as he was now, tapping his tail on the ground, his ears twitching under the fabric of his hood and sorting through every sound and smell that passed by him. He could pick out a single person in a crowded tavern, or an escaping bandit almost a mile away in this state Grubak knew from experience- the tail twitching added nothing, but was something he had picked up from his father. In speaking, the Orc was afraid he had broken Shadow's concentration. He hadn't.

"Get ready," Shadow whispered suddenly. "Behind me, half a dozen, coming fast."

Grubak had his back to the lake, and was secure on that front, and was facing the direction that Shadow had indicated. He picked up his axe, but made no other sign- the Master Assassin made no move at all, he just sat, his arm crossed, his head down. If it had not been for Shadow's warning, the only thing that would have tipped the Orc to the attack would have been if he had been lucky enough to be looking into the woods, and see the pinpricks of firelight come charging out on to the lakeshore. They passed around the tree where Shadow sat, three on each side just as he predicted, seeming to take no notice of the Khajiit, focused only on the Orc that rose to meet them- werewolves, again.

The two stragglers paid instantly for their lack of focus, as Shadow somehow cut them down in the same movement that brought him to his feet, the third managed to turn around to catch the Khajiit's left hand blade through the chest. Grubak meanwhile engaged two, keeping one off balance with a kick to the ribs, then driving his axe into the chest of the other. When he swung back to his other opponent, he saw that the werewolf's eyes had turned a glowing yellow.

"What's wrong Orc?" the werewolf growled in a clam, deep, toneless voice. "Has your strength left you?"

"Still have more than enough to take your head!" Grubak shouted. He swung his axe around his waist to build up momentum and brought it around, swinging it straight through the werewolf's neck. That finished, Grubak turned to find Shadow standing over the last of their adversaries. In the first days of their partnership, the fact that Shadow had taken out twice as many enemies has he had would have annoyed the Orc greatly- but not anymore, there was a reason why the Khajiit was the only Master Assassin in several generations. But it seemed that the werewolf wasn't actually dead, but was slowly bleeding out from hundreds of small slashes. Shadow put his boot on the creature's chest, and as he did so, Grubak saw this werewolf's eyes begin to glow just as the last one he had kill had. The werewolf began laughing in the same deep voice.

"Are you running from something, or to something, Khajiit?"

"You're the one who started this game by keeping secrets," Shadow replied as he put the tip of his sword to the creature's throat. "So I will not be telling you that."

"The Argonian is mine you know," the werewolf said with a chuckle. "You are fortunate that I did not send him to you tonight."

"You would lose more than you would gain," Shadow hissed, dropping his sword to bite into his throat, the fur around the point began to smolder- confirming for Grubak that it was the sword with the flame enchantment.

"Indeed, indeed. And so, I will tell you this- this will be our last meeting for some time. Keep yourself well, Khajiit. In a fortnight we will meet again." And with that, the werewolf pushed itself up, impaling itself on Shadow's sword.

Shadow looked up, to see if Grubak had any questions, but his eyes were drawn to something over the Orc's shoulder. It was a large raven, seated on a rock about twenty yards down the lakeside. It appeared to be watching them, and when it realized that the Khajiit had seen it, it took off instantly...

But it was back the next morning, right at dawn while Shadow was on watch and Grubak was asleep. The large bird perched on the stone that Grubak had been sitting with his back to last night. For a long moment, it just sat there cleaning its feathers. Shadow smiled wryly.

"I trust we passed the test to your satisfaction," he said quietly.

"Indeed," the raven replied. "We have not done business with the Shadowswords in some time, and we had to make sure that you still could be trusted."

"And what did you conclude?"

"That remains to be seen. Tell me Master Assassin, why do you need a witch's aid?"

As the raven finished speaking, Grubak began to awaken, and began to stretch. The raven's head swiveled to look at the Orc. Grubak matched the raven's gaze, and then rubbed his eyes, then looked at Shadow.

"You're talkin' to a bird?" the Orc asked incredulously.

"The witches of Glenmoril are well known as shape shifters," Shadow replied in a slow tone that implied that Grubak was being somewhat dense.

"You may call me Melisande," the raven replied. "For the short time that we will be interacting with each other."

"What's that supos'd ta mean?"

"It means that I will assist the Master Assassin," Melisande said. "But you, you I don't trust."

Shadow began to protest, but something in the witch's eyes told him that it was not worth the trouble- as it would not have any effect.

"Wait here Grubak, this should not take very long," then he turned to the raven. "Lead the way."

The witch did so, hopping along from rock to rock until they were out of Grubak's sight. With his partner out of view, the Orc shook his head muttering about discrimination against his race, and set about gathering up the camp.

It was only a few minutes before Melisande stopped before the opening of a large cave. As Shadow caught up, she transformed into a middle aged Imperial. After completing her transformation, she turned to face the Master Assassin.

"Now," she said. "I will ask you again, what brings you to require a witch's aid?"

"I had heard that you might possess a cure for lycanthropy" the Khajiit replied. "I find myself in need of one."

"Indeed," the witch said with a somewhat cynical smirk. "It has been sometime your ancestor came to us with a similar need. But I sense no such need on you."

"Hircine has taken my student," Shadow said. "I must be prepared for the worst."

With that, Melisande led Shadow into the cave to conduct their business. After he returned a few hours later, and immediately the two assassins headed out. Shadow remained rather quiet following his conference with the witches, and Grubak was starting to wonder if the lead had proven to be a dead end. When they stopped for a midday break, Shadow opened the Black Book.

Finally have a reason that Hircine is pursuing you. The two weeks from now was the real clue. I went to the orrery in the Imperial City Mages' Guild. In two weeks, both moons will be full with another alignment. This is called "the Bloodmoon" and seems to have some relationship with Hircine. During the time that the Bloodmoon is risen, Hircine is allowed to walk the mortal plane. He has taken to conducting what he calls "the Hunter's Game"- taking captive the greatest hunters that he can find and forcing them to fight through his Hunting Grounds. It is unknown what would happen if someone wins the Hunter's Game, as there is no record of any mortal succeeding in conquering the Hunting Grounds. Hircine could, in theory, use a victory in this game to remain permanently in this plane of existence- why he has not done so is a matter of some debate. He has clearly chosen you to participate in the Hunter's Game, and it is unlikely that he would wish to turn you into a werewolf as that would ruin the spirit of the game. If he has turned Raven-Eye, he will likely use him to guard the Hunting Grounds. Good luck Shadow, and bring your partners home. Ralas

Shadow closed the book and slid it back into the pouch on his chest. That explained a great many things indeed. Hircine would be ruthless, and would keep an eye on his prey. Two weeks without proper sleep was not something that he was looking forward to. Of course, tonight would bring its own reasons for sleeplessness.

They made camp in the Blackwood east of the Yellow Road. The clearing was just on edge of the woods and was just large enough to set up their large tent and a campfire. That was fine as the fall nights were just beginning to take on the chill of the coming winter. As the sun began to go down, Shadow began to tense up, though he hid it well. He sat with his back to a tree, watching as Grubak threw more wood on the fire. He had just put his last stick in the fire when the sun finally went all the way behind the hills to the west. Instantly, Grubak went down to his knees and grabbed his chest.

"Sumthin's wrong," Grubak said, straightening up looking down at his hands. When he looked up at Shadow and saw the sorrow and regret on the Master Assassin's face- his ears were folded down, his eyes almost closed, a sad frown across his face. "What's happening?"

"I'm sorry Grubak, I really am," Shadow whispered with a wince. "But it has to be this way."

"What way?" Panic was starting to creep into the Orc's voice.

"You weren't honest we me. I told you to take a cure disease potion, but you kept telling me that you never got bitten."

"What? I was never bitten- wasn't I?"

"Apparently three nights ago, I'm sorry Grubak, I really am, but it is better this way. As long as you're with me you will be in danger. He will not do anything else to you after this- he can't."

Grubak fell to one knee, understanding falling on him through the pain- some werewolf bastard had bitten him in the final battle at Fort Daggertail without him knowing it. And now, thanks to his own stubbornness, he was transforming into a werewolf himself. Shadow had warned him, but when he had rebuffed him, the Master Assassin had realized that Hircine would use Grubak against him, holding the threat of turning the Orc into one of his servants over Shadow. But Shadow was clever, and Hircine had not calculated that Shadow would not try as hard as he could to cure the Orc- it was a brilliant plan. But as the Orc looked up, he could see that the decision was eating at the Khajiit, Shadow could barely meet Grubak's eyes.

"Shadddooow, I can't hold it back much longer..." Grubak gasped.

"I will come for you, don't doubt it for a second," Shadow whispered. "I WILL get you out of this."

Grubak didn't doubt it; he knew that Shadow would come for him and Raven-Eye. But now Grubak understood the witches' reluctance to work with them- maybe now Shadow would have better luck with them. The darkness in his chest was spreading, the wildness releasing to turn him into an animal.

"Don't watch this love," Grubak whispered against the darkness. "Don't watch..." Then the darkness claimed him, and he remembered nothing more that night.

Shadow did not obey the Orc's last request, he couldn't- he had caused this situation, and now he had to deal with the consequences. Even though he had seen the process on the Dagger-Tail, and had read the reports in the Black Book, seeing someone he cared about go through it was somehow different. Grubak had the protruding lower teeth of all Orcs, and those became smaller and sharper as the Orc's green skin became brown fur, his round head stretching and taking on a lupine countenance. Shadow instinctively dropped his hands to his swords, even though he knew he could never bring himself to use them. In less than a second, the Orc was gone and a full werewolf stood in front of the assassin, and just as quickly, Hircine possessed Grubak- setting the werewolf's yellow eyes glowing.

"So, you are finally alone Shadowsword- I hope you have learned by now that there is no way that I cannot get to you."

"I know all about this 'Hunter's Game' of yours," Shadow whispered, trying his best to not see Grubak enslaved to the Daedric Prince. "Believe me when I tell you that if you harm either of them, I will ruin your game."

Grubak/Hircine chuckled. "No one has yet, but it would not surprise me if you were the first. But you need not fear, for your students will also participate in the hunt. You will see them again."

With that, Hircine dropped control of Grubak, and the werewolf turned and to run into the woods. It made it two steps before Shadow suddenly tackled him from behind, tripping him up and slamming him to the ground.

"You're not going anywhere until I'm finished with you!" Shadow shouted as he pulled at the werewolf's legs. The werewolf kicked at him twice, and when that failed to dislodge the Khajiit the werewolf wheeled around to sink its jaws into Shadow's shoulder. Shadow was wearing only a linen shirt, and the werewolf's fangs went deep into the assassin's shoulder- instantly causing him to let go. But now the werewolf was not struggling to get away as Hircine reasserted control.

"What have you done?" Hircine shouted. Shadow was now curled into a ball, grasping his shoulder, and now he was chuckling in between pained gasps.

"What's wrong Hircine?" Shadow hissed between clenched teeth. "I thought this was what you wanted. You had that first one try to bite me."

"You fool! That was never my intention- the Hunter's Game is meant to be between the best hunters in the world! Now you have ruined the game!"

"Calm down lord," Shadow chuckled. "There is still almost two weeks until your precious Bloodmoon."

"What are you up to Shadowsword?" the Daedric Prince asked in a suddenly cold tone.

"I guess you will find out in three days," Shadow hissed.

"Indeed," the werewolf said as he got up. "I look forward to it. The Orc seems to think that you will save him and the Argonian. In three days, you will belong to me- and any secret that you hold will be known to me as well."

"We'll see about that," Shadow said, realizing only after he had spoken that he was alone.