71: The Bookstore

I left the next day. There really was no point in tarrying in Leyawiin, after all. I just stopped in at the general store to buy some food and supplies. Gundalas, the pleasant bosmer owner of the store, seemed uneasy about something so I asked him about his troubles. Apparently, news had gotten out about a vampire den in the area, and people were still being attacked on their way into the city.

"I wouldn't be as worried as I am," he said, "but my friend is in the city guard, and he said that there was an attack WITHIN the city yesterday… and the guards still have no idea who is doing it or where they are coming from."

I remembered the checkpoints the guards had established when I first arrived in Leyawiin, evidently no one had stepped up to clear the city of its problem, and I had neither the time nor the inclination to help. "I wish I could help," I said, "but I just can't." Gundalas seemed understanding, but disappointed. I thanked him and departed for the city gates. On the way there, I had an idea. I stopped back in at Kael's house and woke Darkasha from his nap.

"Bah! I was having a terrific dream. What is it?" he hissed.

"If you get a chance, I want you to scout the area for vampires. Leyawiin has been having some trouble with them lately. Let me know if you find them, and how many there are." I said.

"No offense Will," he said, "but no. I have no reason to hunt my own kind."

"I'm not asking you to kill them, and you do have an incentive."

He looked at me quizzically.

"The guards are getting desperate to find these vampires, and they're going to start looking everywhere for them. They might even come looking for you. If we can solve this problem, you won't have to be as cautious as you are now. I'm not asking you to go out of your way, but if you come across them, let me know. Alright?"

"Fine, now go away." He said, rolling over and closing his eyes.

"I'll be in the imperial city for the next few days. Keep me posted." I said, and then departed.

 

When I reached the city, I made my way to the market district. There were a few things Gundalas hadn't been able to provide me with, and I was willing to bet the market district would have the items I was looking for. After buying the alchemical ingredients I needed, as well as a new pair of leather boots, I decided to stop in at the First Edition bookstore and see if I could find anything interesting to read. I spent a few minutes browsing the shelves, and was about to buy an interesting volume on Ayleid history when I noticed a familiar face. He had just entered the bookstore and looked a bit lost. I recognized him after a moment: It was Baurus, one of the emperor's guards on the night of his assassination. When he saw me he looked momentarily surprised, but then thankful. I was about to say something when he cut me short.

"I've been followed. You don't know me. Follow my tail, I might need some help." He said it quickly and quietly, and then immediately began browsing through the shelves of books. I followed suit, although I made sure to be away from Baurus. After a minute or two, an older man entered the bookstore as well and started browsing. He was obviously watching Baurus though, and I kept an eye on him. After a moment Baurus walked towards the back of the store and opened a door under the staircase. He went out of sight and the older man looked around discreetly. I watched him quickly move towards the basement door, and I followed almost immediately. As I stepped into the gloom of the basement, I felt a crackle of magic fill the air, and I saw the old man conjure a full suit of Mythic Dawn armor. He drew his mace and was about to strike Baurus when I electrocuted him with a lightning bolt. He twitched and then his armor dissolved into smoke and he collapsed. Baurus smiled at me.

"Thanks. As you can see, my investigation into the Mythic Dawn has not gone unnoticed. Help me search him, he might have something about me." We flipped the corpse over and patted it down. I found a thick book tucked into his robes.

"Look at this." I said. Holding it up to the light, I could barely make out the title. The gold leaf imprinted on the cover was flaking off, but it clearly said "Mythic Dawn Commentaries 1."

"Great!" Baurus exclaimed. "I've been looking for a copy of that! That's why I was coming to the bookstore in the first place. I'm lucky I found you here too."

At this point, the owner of the bookstore opened the basement door. Baurus stood and said "Official Blades business. Nothing to worry about sir, we'll have it cleaned up within the hour." The owner looked shocked, but nodded and closed the door quietly. Baurus then turned to me. "I'll clean up this mess. Listen, I need you to go talk to that guy. Phintias is his name. See if he knows anything about the other volumes of this book." He thumped the Commentaries. I nodded and walked up the stairs.

Phintias was upstairs wringing his hands and biting his lip. I spoke calmly. "We're sorry about any trouble we've caused you, but we'll see to it that you do not suffer from this." He nodded. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you some questions about this:" I brought the Commentaries into his field of vision.

His eyes locked onto it and he took it from me. He immediately began reciting publishing information and then said "A semi-rare book, and in reasonably good condition, what about it?"

"I need to know about the other volumes."

He nodded, "They're very rare, I have Volume Three here in the store… but I'm afraid it has already been claimed and paid for. The other two I haven't seen in years… but you might check at the arcane university."

"Who was the man who bought Volume three?" I asked.

"I'm afraid I've never met him. He wrote me several days ago and asked if I had a copy. When I told him I did, he immediately sent payment and asked that I reserve it for him. It's not uncommon for book collectors to do so. His name is Gwinas, and he should be here within the next few days to claim the copy. I wish I could help more, but I can't renege on my reservation." Phintias looked absolutely honest.

"I understand," I said. "Would you mind if I met with Gwinas, whenever he arrives?"

"I can try and get him to meet you, if you'd like. Um. Should I mention it's for the blades, sir?"

"No," I said. "Best if we kept that to ourselves."

70: Return to Cyrodiil

Darkasha followed behind me as I walked out of the Council hall. He could tell we were finished in Sadrith Mora, and we made our way back to the Imperial Mages’ guild. The room was as busy as when we had arrived, and I looked around briefly. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but the Nerevarine had said he had arranged for our transport back to Cyrodiil. I began to move towards the guild guide. But then I noticed the man sitting slumped over on a bench in a corner. Or rather, I noticed his hair.

“Kael?” I said.

The blue hair was a give away, but I was still a bit surprised to see Kael here. He looked up, and then gave me a confused smile. I walked over to him and he rose to greet me. I couldn’t help but notice the shabbiness of his clothes and the wince as he reached to shake my hand. He had been through hell since we had seen him last, there was no doubt about that.

“What a surprise.” He said weakly. “I knew I was waiting here for something, but I wasn’t sure what.”

“Well, here we are.” I said, still taken aback from the surprise. “You wouldn’t happen to know how we’re getting back to Cyrodiil would you?”

He smiled, then winced again. “Yeah, I have the transport stone right here. But we can’t go yet. I need to recover.”

“Anything I can do to help?” I asked.

“Yeah, find out where that healer went. Ah, speak of the devil.” A mage in white robes approached carrying a potion. He handed it to Kael and he drank it down. There was a subtle cracking and popping as Kael’s bones were healed. Then he stood without a wince and thanked the healer.

“Right.” He said, pulling a few small, glowing gems from his pocket. “You know the drill.”



When we arrived in the shabby hut in Leyawiin I immediately fell into a chair. The weight of the last few days was finally lifted off of my shoulders. We were back in the relative peace of Cyrodiil, at last. I must have dozed off, because when I woke up Kael was placing a plate of hot food in my hands. I thanked him and gobbled it down gratefully. When I had finished, I waited for Kael to finish his own portion before engaging him in conversation.

“So what now?” I said.

He sighed. “Rest. I need to report back to my commander, but otherwise it’s going to be somewhat quiet around here for a while. Pity, really.”

“Why is it a pity?” I asked.

“What? Oh, a pity you won’t be able to enjoy it.” He shrugged, then handed me a letter he produced out of his pocket.

“Syras,
We appreciate the difference you have made in Vvardenfell. Without your help, the province would almost certainly have fallen to the Daedra. Which is why we’re giving you five days to report back to the Imperial City. A certain matter needs your expertise.
Jauffre.”

I sighed. “Damn it.”

69: The Council

The master wizard was dead. His office was charred and I could feel the residual magic from his fight for survival, but his body was still crumpled in a corner. There was another body in the room, dressed in the same fashion as the other assassin. I wasn’t surprised that there were two assassins. One does not face the most powerful wizard in House Telvanni without backup. After a few minutes, guards came rushing up to the roof, I was there waiting for them. They nearly killed me, but I was quick to explain the situation. They seemed to accept my story, at least enough to stop them from frisking me. After a short sweep of the office, I was taken back down the tower and through the city to the council chambers.

The doors were shut and I could hear arguing in the main council chamber. I stood around for about fifteen minutes listening to the muffled arguments before their business was concluded, and the doors opened. Darkasha began to walk out of the room, but stopped when he saw me. I had time to flash him a nervous smile before being muscled into the council room by the guard accompanying me. The doors were shut again, but this time behind me. The guard wasted no time.

“My apologies High Council, but some rather disturbing news has just surfaced.” said the guard, “Master Neloth has…”

“Been killed?” replied a mage standing on one of the pedestals arranged about the room. “We know. News reached us approximately 20 minutes ago, shortly before that delightful creature came here petitioning for Lord Nerevar.” He flashed his hands across the air and magic swirled around him, each of the half a dozen or so “mouths” were acting similarly, their hands were always moving, casting spells and communicating with the actual councilors who couldn’t be bothered to come to the council building. The mouth represented the councilor almost year-round, and therefore held a lot of power.

“So why do you come here bringing us old news, captain?” asked another mouth across the room.

The guard was taken aback. “Well… This man was found at the scene. I’d like to know how to deal with him.”

“Release him,” stated a mage at the back of the room. His hands were curiously stagnant; his face more distressed than the others. He was Neloth’s mouth. “My master’s death was the result of a Dark Brotherhood assassination. I did warn him about the possibility of such an occurrence, but he was too busy for his own good…” He sighed. “In any case, this poor man you have brought to us has nothing to do with the assassination. In fact, it seems he brought justice to one of the assassins.” He flicked his hand and contemplated, “Yes, quite a ways for a burning corpse to fall, though I understand he was dead before impact.” His hands were still again. “So, if you have no further business, I suggest you leave us alone. Some of us have to reconsider our manner of employment…” The guard sheepishly bowed and backed towards the door.

I stepped up. “Excuse me sir,” I said. “but the Khajiit who was in here before, what did he ask of you?”

Neloth’s mouth was the only one who gave me more than a derisive glance, so he answered. “Some business with Nerevar,” he said. “Something about needing reinforcements or some nonsense. The creature is not welcome in this city, let alone these chambers.”

“So you denied his request?” I asked.

“Denied it?” laughed one of the mouths, “We didn’t even listen to it. We spent ten minutes ridiculing the animal before we grew tired of it.” The other mouths chuckled. Evidently the Telvanni still considered themselves superior to the Khajiit. I sighed.

“Then I would like to place a request of my own.” I said. “Send as many retainers as you can spare to Red Mountain. Nerevar waits at Dagoth Ur with the armies of the Redoran and what’s left of the Hlaalu.”

“Good lord, are you serious?” asked one of the mouths.

“Absolutely. I’m sure you know of the battles they have fought with the Daedra, and they need your help.”

“You do realize that the Daedra are attacking us too, right?”

“Yes, but you certainly don’t need all these people clogging up the streets. Send them to Dagoth Ur. Hell, send the people you want to get rid of. It doesn’t matter to me.”

The mouths stopped to think. After a moment the flurry of activity resumed. They all started calling out names and adding them to a list that appeared in the middle of the room. It grew longer and longer and then began curling in on itself to fit all the names of people the mouths were sending to Dagoth Ur. Neloth’s mouth twiddled his fingers and waited until the others finished. He looked around when the room was quiet.

“I will go myself.” He said. “I will lead this…” he looked at the glowing scroll that occupied a large space in the middle of the room, “…small army to Nerevar. There’s nothing left for me here, and it seems as though these people will need some direction if they hope to get there in one piece.” His fingers began to dance through the air like the rest of the mouths, and he looked at me, “Well, you got what you wanted. I’ve already begun to notify these people, and we will leave in a few days. Go on ahead and tell Nerevar we are coming.”

“Tell him yourself,” I said. “I’ve got better things to do.” I smirked and strode out of the council hall.

68: The Roof

“Mushroom towers anywhere?” I said, unsure what to make of it.

“Yes! I only ever dreamed of this happening! It is truly a wondrous day!” said Telvanna ecstatically.

“But what do you want me to do with it?” I thought, looking to see that no one was around.

“Well we can’t leave it here, the Telvanni wouldn’t know what they’ve got. It more or less looks like any other spore, but there are subtle magical differences. They would just plant it somewhere and not realize its potential.”

“Yes, but I can’t exactly waltz around Sadrith Mora with it in my hands! The Telvanni may not know its potential, but they damn well know when they’re being stolen from!” I was trying to find an inconspicuous place to put the spore, for now. “And I’m quite certain they can detect the magical signature of their own spores.”

“Yes I suppose you’re right,” thought Telvanna, “but you can’t leave it here, any minute they could be around to check on the roots and then they would find it and it would be lost forever.” He thought to himself for a moment. “I could attempt to mask its energy signature. It wouldn’t be that hard, all I’d have to do is rearrange it a bit. But it will take a bit of concentration, especially since I can’t directly influence it from my staff. Go to your meeting with the Telvanni with the spore in your satchel. I will hide it from them as best as I can.” He thought, “But I may be unable to communicate with you while I am concentrating.”

“But I had been counting on your assistance with the Telvanni!” I pulled out a piece of cloth and wrapped it around the spore before burying it in my satchel. There was no response from Telvanna. I was on my own.



I climbed back out of the root system as discretely as I could, and managed to only get a funny look from a khajiit in pauper’s clothes. I flipped him a coin and he paid no further attention to me. I walked around the tower to its entrance. I walked past the guards and across a narrow bridge to the tower door. I looked down to see the root structure splayed out 30 feet below me. I shook my head to clear the sudden wave of vertigo and pushed open the door into the tower.

After making my way through the maze of tunnels I managed to find the central air shaft of the tower. I looked up and could barely see purple crystals glowing at the top of the tower, hundreds of feet above me. I gulped and then cast a levitation spell. It was a slow climb, but eventually I reached the top. I made a point of not looking back down and opened the door at the top of the shaft. It opened onto the roof and I was whipped by a sudden gust of bitter wind. I fought across the rooftop and into a small pod growing separately at the top.

Inside was eerily quiet. A secretary was apparently sleeping at her desk, and I quietly walked up to her and shook her shoulder. “Excuse me, I don’t have an appointment but I need to speak to your master…” She didn’t move, and I shook her cold shoulder limply. I worriedly lifted her head and immediately dropped it. The pool of blood she was laying in made a sticky noise as she fell back into it. The throwing star embedded in her neck was made of ebony. This was an assassination.
I looked all around me and casted a shield spell. I cautiously walked towards the door to the master’s office, spells flickering through my mind in preparation. The door was ajar, and I pushed it open with the staff.

A throwing star thudded into the wall beside me and I ducked instinctively. I cast a bolt of electricity at the dark form in the room and then immediately charged at it. The assassin was caught off guard by the lightning, but he was exceptionally trained and managed to deflect my attacks. I summoned a scamp and then resumed my assault, but the assassin was still able to block me. I stepped back as the scamp launched into the assassin, but it was dispatched quickly. The assassin and I circled each other, neither ready to make a move. I saw him reach for a throwing star and I cast a Light spell I had amplified with the staff. The flash of light blinded the assassin and I moved in to finish him. I blasted him with freezing cold magic and he fell on his back. As I brought the staff down on him, however, he rolled and was on his feet in an instant. He sprinted out of the office and I gave chase.

Were I as crippled as I had been just days ago, I would never have caught him. I ran after him, firing spells and curse words. He opened the door onto the roof and was momentarily sent off balance by the gale. I hit him in the back with a particularly effective spell and he was sent flying. I finally caught up to him just as he was getting to his feet. I fired a spell at the door leading to the tower and it burst into flames.

“There is no escape for you!” I yelled over the wind. The black-clad assassin retreated away from me, towards the edge of the roof. His face was masked, but something about him suggested a smirk. He began to raise his arms in surrender. Then he jumped.

He dove backwards off of the roof. I ran to the edge to watch him plummet. Not content to let the ground finish him for me, I fired one final spell after him. It struck him directly and he caught fire as he fell. The muffled screams could only barely be heard over the wind.

Update

Hey guys,
So i haven't posted in a while. I probably should apologize for that, so here goes: I apologize for not updating. Now that that's out of the way, let me just say that i've hit a snag in my storyline and am having trouble resolving it. Add to that the fact that college doesn't leave me as much time for writing as before, so it's not looking good for Will here. Suffice it to say, i won't be posting within the next two weeks.

I'm not closing shop! Sheesh! I plan on coming back to this soon enough, but it's been difficult to get back into it. So give me a few more weeks to evaluate my story and then we'll go from there. Deal?

67: Sadrith Mora

I awoke early the next morning, despite the long and exhausting night. I had slept deeply and no dreams came, though the memories of the previous night were still clawing their way through my mind. Darkasha’s actions were frightening and unexpected, and I wasn’t sure if I could ever forgive him. Nevertheless, I had a mission to complete, and Darkasha would be a valuable asset. I forced myself to swallow my fear and revulsion as I began my search for him.

It was misty out, but otherwise a beautiful morning. The world obviously didn’t care about the battle that had taken place here, and it was merrily going on its way. It was infinitely refreshing. My heart was lightened by the general happiness of the world around me. Birds were singing and the river splashed and gurgled at the edge of hearing. It was as if it knew that Oblivion had been held back for once, and was rejoicing in its salvation.

I was awakened from my admiration of the world by a quiet thud slightly behind me. I spun to see the dark form of Darkasha standing a few steps away. He was heavily covered and guarded against the sun. I scowled briefly at him.

“I…” He began, but he struggled for words. “I am sorry for what I did last night. It was not like me.”

I raised an eyebrow but remained silent. He continued.

“It was the blood. The smell was all around and it was… intoxicating.” He narrowed his eyes in thought. “Also, I think the Daedric blood may have affected me somehow… made me more aggressive. It is a powerful taste, Daedric Blood.” He frowned, searching for appropriate words to say. He wanted me to understand.

And I did. “It’s alright.” I said, with a sigh. “People do stupid things when they’re drunk. It sounds like it was a similar situation you were in. I forgive you.” I truly felt sorry for him. He had lost control of himself and was clearly very ashamed. He nodded his head in thanks.

“Besides,” I said. “We have more work to do. The Nerevarine wants us to go to Sadrith Mora and recruit some of the Telvanni retainers to help his cause.”
“Heh, we have a snowball’s chance in Oblivion with that one.” Said Darkasha jovially.
“I agree,” I smiled, “but we have to try.”


It wasn’t hard to travel to Sadrith Mora, though we had to wake up the guild guide to teleport us. He had been napping in the transport room, confident that no one was going to want to travel to Gnisis.

“Uh,” He said, dazedly. “No one’s really supposed to leave here until Lord Nerevar gives the okay…”

“Yes I’m aware.” I said. “He gave us orders to travel to Sadrith Mora.”

He looked at me sleepily and then nodded. I hoped he could send us there in one piece, as tired as he looked. I cast a spell of restore fatigue on him and he perked up enough to get us through it.


We arrived safely in the tiny Mage’s Guild in Wolverine hall. It was a single room in which were crowded many scholars casting spells and doing experiments. Darkasha and I left them in peace, and heading straight into the main area of Sadrith Mora.
“Well,” Thought Telvana. “It certainly has grown since I was last here.”

It was a big city. I had heard from the Gnisis Guild Guide that the place had nearly doubled in size since the downfall of Dagoth Ur. There were small houses everywhere and many larger Inns and buildings near the center of Town. It was actually very surreal because all the buildings were carved out of a giant mushroom. The Mage Lord’s mushroom tower dominated the skyline, and it was from this that all the other buildings had originated. So when Telvana said it had grown, I knew he meant it literally.

“We really should get a look at the tower while were here. I’m curious to see how well they’ve maintained it.” I nodded and turned to Darkasha.

“I will try and speak with their Mage Lord. Why don’t you see what you can find out about their council?” He nodded and walked off towards a tavern. I made my way towards the tower, disregarding the streets and just walking straight for it. I walked up an ashen slope to find myself on the top of a hill overlooking the base of the tower. The base was in a deep crater and roots spread out in all directions away from the tower. I cast a spell of slowfall and jumped off the top of the hill into the crater. It was a long fall and I landed softly among the thick roots.

Telvana’s mind was racing; drawing in all that he could about the condition and structure of the tower. Occasionally he would have me touch things or cast unusual spells on them, and then give me little more explanation than an “hmm” or an “interesting.” All the time I worried about being attacked by a guard for spying on their secrets, but the crater was devoid of anyone but me. I mostly zoned out and did what Telvana asked me to do. I knew it was above my head.

Sometime later, after we were about three-fourths done with combing the root structure, Telvana gasped and I stopped. He told me to start digging beneath my feet. I remarked I didn’t have a shovel and he said “Good! You would damage it if you did!” So I began digging with my hands. After a short while I made contact with a buried object that had a similar texture as the roots, but it was small and spherical, rather than long and tubular. I dug out around it and pulled it out of the ground. It detached with a gentle popping sound and I began to examine it.

“Could it be?” Telvana said, excitedly. I rolled the object around in my hands. It was about the size of a small melon and had a tough outer covering. On one side was a small stem surrounded by tiny purple crystals.

“It is! I cannot believe it!” Thought Telvana. “Of course, it will need to be verified, and who knows how well it will survive… but this is big news!”

“What is it?” I said, though I had an idea.

“What?” Thought Telvana, apparently I had broken his train of thought. “Oh! This is a mushroom spore. Of course the Telvanni have hundreds of these in storage, but this one is different I think. Maybe this whole Oblivion Crisis has changed it somehow, or maybe it was an evolutionary inevitability…” He paused to think it over. The staff blazed in hundreds of scintillating colors. “If I am correct, this spore should be able to grow in any climate. Even in Cyrodiil.”

66: Bloody Field

“With all due respect,” I thought through to Nerevar, “How am I supposed to accomplish that? The Telvanni are famously stubborn and egotistical. They’re not going to leave their towers.”

“Traits they no doubt picked up from their illustrious namesake, eh?” the Nerevarine chuckled. “Perhaps I misguided you. All I am going to ask is that they send a few retainers to help with defense. Their Mages will greatly bolster our ranks. Nothing against the Mages’ guild, but the Telvanni have a greater focus on the practical uses of magic rather than the scholarly.”

“No offense taken.” I thought. “So what exactly are you planning?”

“Nothing complicated. Use the guild teleport from here in Gnisis to travel to Sadrith Mora. With any luck, the Telvanni council will be session there. Just get them to send a small force for the purposes of defense. We will not be assaulting Oblivion any time soon.”

“You will wait then?” Telvana thought, the staff glowing deeply in time with his words, “You will await your destruction rather than taking the battle to the enemy?”

“We will wait, yes. But I can only hope we can withstand the siege long enough for Will to finish his duty to the emperor. ‘Close shut the jaws of Oblivion?’ That is what he said isn’t it?” The Nerevarine’s eyes searched my face.

“Yes, he did say that, but… No, never mind. I’m sure you have your ways of knowing that.” I conceded.

“I’m glad you have learned that much at least.” Nerevar smiled triumphantly.

“So how do you propose he does that?” Thought Telvana impatiently.

“That is for him to discover. I do hope he knows what he’s doing, all of our lives are in his hands.” Nerevar’s tone was serious. “I will say that both of you will not find the answer here in Morrowind. In Sadrith Mora you will find a way to return to Cyrodiil. I have arranged that. I will see to the defenses of Red Mountain. Perhaps I will be able to assist you when I am confident in my people’s safety, but I cannot guarantee it.”

“What about Kael and Darkasha?” I thought. “I still have no idea what happened to Kael.”

“You will take the vampire with you when you depart for Sadrith Mora. See to it that he leaves my land. I will not destroy him, but I cannot stand his kind. As for Kael, I have confidence he will find his own way back.”

“I understand.” I said.

“It is good to know you are still… alive, Indel.” Nerevar’s voice echoed, “And you must accept that I am the reincarnation of Nerevar. Please.”

“Hmmph.” The staff buzzed resentfully. “I will entertain the possibility. But I won’t be happy about it.”

“I don’t care whether you’re happy or not. You have to accept it.” Nerevar said and then withdrew his mind from the connection. He handed the staff back to me and I felt Telvana return to my mind.

“N’wah.” Thought Telvana.



I took my leave of Nerevar and pushed through the crowd of commanders. They were still arguing, though they seemed to have lost some steam and had lowered their voices. Darkasha was my next priority, and I was glad to see he was helping clear the battlefield. In fact, he was the only one doing it. I approached to find him immersed in a grisly scene.

On this side of the city, the battle had been even more intense than on the side I had been at. Bodies of Daedra and Bonemold-clad Redorans were tangled together all across the field, and the whole place was beginning to reek even in the cool night air. Darkasha was wading through the place looting the corpses of both Daedra and Dunmer alike.

“Give the dead some respect.” I said, catching Darkasha’s attention. He didn’t even flinch.

“When you are as dead as these ones, you will know how little these fools care for their worldly trinkets.” He said, continuing his search. “Better someone closer to their state take care of these items than they fall into the hands of the living.”

“Leave them be!”

He snarled and turned on me. “Fool!” He pounced.

He knocked me backwards off my feet. “What do you know?” he said, pinning me to the muddy ground. It was not water that made the mud, but the blood of the fallen. I shivered in the cold slop. “Yes.” Darkasha hissed, “Do you feel that? It is the soup of the dead.” He reached out and took a handful of the bloody mud and raised it to his lips. “Mmm, delicious. It is a shame you have not experienced the taste of Daedric blood. Even watered down by the Redorans, it has a distinct flavor. A distinct effect.” I scowled at him. “You know nothing!” He spat in my face. “These dead care not! They’re dead! I will take what I please.

"Have you ever felt it? The embrace of death? No, of course not. Let me try to explain.” He bared his enormous teeth in my face. “It is a most unusual sensation.” He opened his fangs and then closed them, gently, on my neck. A shivering wave of revulsion exploded through my body. He began to laugh. His fangs scratched across the surface of my skin with every cruel laugh.


Finally, he released my neck. “Do you see now? All you thought about was death. So what do you think these corpses are thinking right now?” He stepped away to continue his pillaging.

My hands shot to my throat, feeling every inch of skin intently, searching for the slightest nick or puncture. Nothing. Not a single scratch. I sighed, relieved. I shivered once more and pulled myself into a crouched position. I conjured a handful of flames and warmed my hands and face briefly. Then I reached out and grasped the staff. Telvana rushed back into my mind.

“What happened? What’s going on? Why did he knock me out of your hands?” I opened my recent memory to him. “Oh.” He said.

I stood up and scraped some of the vile mud off of my robe. Another robe ruined. I chuckled grimly at the absurdity of it. I looked over to see Darkasha lift a limp Dremora into the air and then bite hungrily into its neck. It squealed and fell silent. I walked off towards the river to cleanse myself. Sadrith Mora could wait.