Truths
Clavicus sniffs contemptuously, "I already know of your Champion, Hircine... The Dimension Hopper."
The hair on the back of Michael's neck rises as goosebumps appear all along his arms and legs at Vile's words. This fucker had just revealed his most important secret to almost every Daedric Prince.
"Dimension Hopper?" Boethiah intones, curious.
Clavicus grins as he sees Michael struggle in his chair, "Did you think I wouldn't keep an eye on you, boy? You are a dear friend of my Champion, how surprised I was to see you leave the world on many occasions. Bypassing both the dragon's barrier and all of Oblivion as you went... You even dragged along some passengers with the most recent one! 'Eredar', you call them?"
Molag Bal nods with a gleam in his eyes, "Those strange things, I will claim them once this is finished." he states, causing Michael to grit his fists in anger.
"You only wish to see what would appear if you impregnated them. Are vampires not enough for you, foul defiler!?" Meridia growls, her form glowing dimly with light as if to emphasize her just indignation.
Molag Bal shows his fangs as he grins at her, "No. It will never be enough, even when I rend your followers to dust it won't be enough! There'll come a time where you kneel before me and service me, Meridia." he promises, his Champion grinning in agreement.
"You-" Meridia starts to respond but is interrupted by Hircine.
"Enough! Let us discuss the rules for this hunt!" he says, but even with the momentary pause, the Daedric Princes are looking around in interest, specifically at Michael...
"Rules?" Malacath rumbles, "Dispense with it and leave it as a death match!"
Hircine shakes his head, "No. This is a hunt and will remain so. The rules are thus, so listen closely Champions! Each of you will hold a shrine belonging to your Lord, destroy this shrine and the artifact the Champion possesses will be stripped from them! To win, you must eliminate all other Champions!"
"And where are these shrines located, Hircine?" Boethiah asks.
The Prince of the Hunt grins, "You will have to hunt for them! Our Champions will not be allowed any outside assistance! Only their personal might will be a factor in this hunt! Any who disobeys will be surrendering the hunt!... The hunt will last until the last man stands, and the Blood Moon will remain until it is finished!"
"And what of the reward should we win, Hircine?" Merhrunes Dagon asks.
"The winner will be granted one request from each loser. The contents of which can be discussed afterwards-"
"No. If I win I'll have you all keep your noses from any place I rule! Including the moons!" Clavicus announces while gesticulating widely.
Azura scowls, "And I'll have you relinquish control of my domains! The moons AND Elseweyr!"
*Ahem!*
Everyone looks over to Sheogorath who'd been remarkably quiet despite the circumstances, "When I win, I'll have each of you rub cheese over every artifact you possess! Let's see how powerful you all are while waving around Cheese Sticks!"
...
The Princes just looks away from the mad god, deciding not to engage with whatever he had planned.
The Daedra continue throwing around demands while the Champions watch, each request getting more and more spiteful. Soon enough things were coming to an end, Hircine giving some more ground rules, including the fact that the Princes can't intervene with their or other Champions.
Just before they all leave however, Boethiah decides to throw something out... "Molag Bal. I believe your shrine is hidden in Markarth... Enjoy!"
"YOU DAMNED-"
*Zwwwiiip!*
Michael's vision goes black as he's teleported back to where he was previously standing, but, in Hircine's place stood a larger than average bear, which immediately drops on all fours and waddles away, slightly disoriented.
Michael runs a hand through his hair and looks up at the sky where the Blood Moon still looms, thoughts all focused on the hunt...
He wasn't allowed any outside assistance, meaning any allies he had, the girls, the Eredar, Arch-Mage, even the folks in Winterhold in general, wouldn't be able to help him. In fact, him trying to garner their assistance would automatically eliminate him from the hunt, and possibly endanger his friend's lives for attempting to 'trick' almost every Daedric Prince.
He was pretty confident about his own victory in an all-out fight, but there were many other factors to keep in mind. The first and most important to him was Charlotte, the rules basically demanded that he kill her, something he didn't think he could do or was even willing to do.
Charlotte probably couldn't surrender either since Clavicus possessed her soul. In fact, her loss would probably end with eternal torture and whatever other punishments the Daedric Prince wanted to inflict. Not to mention Molag Bal's earlier threats to rape and enslave her.
He grits his teeth and lets out a cool breath at the thought, wondering if he should follow Boethiah's bait and assault the Prince of Rape's shrine. He already knew exactly where it as of course, along with Boethiah's shrine, Sheogorath(Most likely the Blue Palace in Solitude), Meridia, Mehrunes Dagon...
He was semi-sure that Azura's shrine was where her statue once stood, which wasn't far from Winterhold, but then again, it could be somewhere else.
There was also the fact that Michael had no idea where Hircine's shrine was, the shrine that he was supposed to protect... The Prince of the Hunt probably thought it unsportsmanlike to sit around idly protecting it, instead of actively hunting as a hunter should...
"Not to mention..." he pulls out the Vessel of the Hunt from his inventory, realising that as soon as he did the stench of blood was already obvious, even without him designating a target... Was this leading him to other Champions? Or perhaps the other shrines?