15: No answers, only more questions.

I hopped out of bed the next morning feeling extremely refreshed. I wandered up to breakfast, but was not particularly hungry. I grabbed an apple and bit into it, but that was the extent of my breakfast. I continued to eat the apple as I went to check on the Dark One, eager to find out what had happened to him. He was reading from a large tome, with Deetsan still asleep in the chair next to his bed. As I came closer, he looked at me with only one eye. I jumped at this, for his other eye was still reading from the tome.

“Good morning, Will. I trust you slept well.”

“Oh, extremely well… umm.” His right eye was still fixed on me, with his left glancing back and forth at the pages.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Does this bother you?” He pointed at his left eye, which continued to read.

“Yes, a little bit.” He blinked, and suddenly both eyes were trained on me. The dark irises were a little unnerving, like looking into a night sky without stars.

“This is a very good book, but it won’t go anywhere. So, I assume you have come with questions?”

The truth was that I had questions, but they refused to form into words I could use. They all fused together into one unspeakable word, something like ‘whaoaeyudoihere.’ Obviously I couldn’t say such nonsense, so I struggled with my words until I had unraveled my thoughts a little. He simply smiled as I mouthed words at him, and I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

“I think I know what you are trying to ask me.” I hoped he did, because I certainly didn’t. “You want to know what happened to me. Why did I walk into this guild hall and collapse? Well, I cannot explain it well, but I will let you know that you have been where I was.”

“Oblivion?”

“Correct. But not anything like what you have been through, far worse. We have a similar affliction, you and I. I can explain more, but not now. Time must pass, and walls must crumble. Meet me in Kvatch in two days time, and come prepared.” He smiled, and his eyes returned (both of them) to the tome. He spoke some mystic words, and suddenly he was gone!

I patted at the bed to make sure he wasn’t simply invisible, but he was truly gone. I punched the bed in frustration. Who was he?! Why did he have to be so enigmatic?! Deetsan snored, and I returned to my bed downstairs. I pulled out the map I had bought the other day, and found the city of Kvatch on it. It was easily a day and half’s walk, so I started putting my things together. I had to find the Dark One, I had to know who he was, and know what he knew.

As I readied my pack for the journey, I found the Amulet of Kings, and remembered that I had to travel to Chorrol to find Jauffre. I checked the map once again, and decided it wasn’t too far out of the way, but I would be cutting it close. It looked like it would add about a half day to my travel, bringing it up to two days to get to Kvatch. That was a pessimistic look at how long it would take me, but it turned out to be fairly close to the actual time it took.

I hefted my pack onto my shoulders, and fastened my axe to my waist. Leaving without telling anyone would probably cause some worry, so I told Deetsan that I would be back in a little under a week, and that I was going to find the Dark One. She glanced at the empty bed, but then told me that there would always be a bed open for me here.

I went to the local tavern to stock up on provisions, and set off through the huge gates of Cheydinhal. I would not see them for quite some time.