I continued down the pathway to the stable, making sure that my horse was taken care of. I then headed into the city, stopping first at the Fighters Guild to have my weapons checked for sharpness, then the Mages Guild to have my broadsword recharged. Once that was finished, I headed out the back gate towards the castle. I knew that with an Oblivion Gate nearby, getting help here would not be easy.

I entered the castle, told the guard who I was, and that I needed to speak to the Count immediately. He corrected me, stating that it was "Countess". He pointed me towards the throne room and had a nice man announce me, walking me up to Countess Millona Umbranox.

"I hope you enjoy your visit, Hero of Kvatch." she stated.

"Countess Umbranox," I stated, "If you know who I am, that please know that I have come here on behalf of the Empire to ask that you said aid to the city of Bruma. The last remaining heir to the Imperial Throne is there, and is in danger."

"Do not think of my response as uncaring for such things," she replied, "but I cannot risk weakening Anvil's defenses with an Oblivion Gate just outside the city."

"Yes, I saw it." I replied. "I have closed these Gates in the past. I will do the same here."

"Then go, and may Talos protect you." she replied.

I left the castle and headed towards the docks. I figured I'd go around the city walls to get to the gate.

I had been here before to earn my recommendation from the Mages Guild for entrance into the Arcane University. Not a bad place, actually. Some of the dock guys can be a little on the rough side, but all in all, not a bad place, as places go.

I found the Oblivion Gate a little to the north of the city. Finding it wasn't hard - all I had to do was follow the smoke produced by the fires it was creating.

I approached with caution, hiding on the edge of an outcropping of rock. This Gate had been open for a while, based on the number of monsters wandering around. There were at least eight monsters in all.

I shot off a number of shock spells, taking care of most of them. The two that I missed came running towards me, making them a much better target. A spell of God's Fire took care of those two.

Now that the area was clear, I got closer to the Gate itself. Like the Skingrad Gate, it had opened itself right on someone's shrine, a certain show of disrepect of the gods.

It was the wayshrine of the goddess Mara.

Well, us girls have got to stick together for one another.

It's on!

Sword in hand, I jumped into the Oblivion Gate, ready to deal some punishment.

If the ones opening these Oblivion Gates wanted to find me, all they had to do was follow the trail of dead bodies I was leaving in my wake. With the Cloak of Shadows spell, they never saw me coming.

I wandered around for what seemed like hours, finally finding my way through a tunnel to the upper area dominated by the main tower. That was the one I was looking for.

Once inside I used the Cloak of Shadows spell to sneak up on and kill each of the guard monsters on the first floor.

Each time I did this type of mission, it always seemed like such a long way up to the top of the tower. Hopefully, this would be over soon.

I slashed my way past some of the guard monsters, and just ran past the others, being invisible to them. I was nearly killed by a boobytrap in the hallway on my way up. I reminded myself that while I could not be seen by these creatures, walking over a tripwire could be deadly here. And dead heros save no one.

I managed to slay the four guard creatures here by summoning some creatures of my own. While they were distracted, my work of killing them off became so much easier.

As before, I returned to the same spot as before, on the ruins of the wayshrine. In moments, the sky cleared, as if nothing had ever happened. The only evidence of an Oblivion Gate were the charred remains of the gate structure. I figured that in time, nature would take over, covering it with grass and plants.

I headed back to the boat docks, and eventually to the castle to report my good luck in closing the Gate.

I was shown in directly, and actually rushed to the throne room by one of the guards.

"She can't wait to speak with you." he said. "I can't tell you what an honor it is to have a real hero, right here in Anvil. Go right in."

I thanked the guard and continued into the throne room where Countess Umbranox was waiting for me.

"I've heard that you closed the Oblivion Gate outside of Anvil." she said with a smile. "You sure gave those damned daedra what for! It makes us all feel better to have someone like you around."

"Thank you, Countess." I replied. "You are most kind."

"Kind?" she asked. "No, it is you who have been kind to us. I honor you for your bravery and service to my city. With Anvil safe for the moment, I will send some of my best soldiers to bolster the Bruma Garrison."

"You are most generous, Countess." I replied.

"Will you be staying long in Anvil?" she asked.

"No." I replied sadly. "I have duties that still need to be performed for the heir to the throne."

"Then may Mara go with you." she said. "After all, it was her wayshrine you avenged. And remember that you will always be welcome here."

I took my leave of the castle, and the city of Anvil, headed to the stable and found my horse ready to go.

Now that I had visited every major city in Cyrodiil, and secured aid for Bruma, it was now time to perform my next mission for Martin.