50: Plans

As the victorious group of defenders set about cleaning up the carnage, I was pulled aside by Caius and brought into the fort along with Darkasha and Kael. The grounds inside the walls were packed with refugees from Balmora, and we made our way with difficulty to the central keep.

“We were lucky,” Caius said as we passed through the singed and terrified refugees. “The Daedra attacked from the far side of the city, and we were able to get most of the people to safety before the other gates opened around the city. Still, this is a devastating loss. It will take weeks to clean all this up and we still don’t know if the Daedra will return. Come on in.” We stepped into the keep and were met with a series of curt nods and salutes. Caius led us to a back office of the man who was apparently the commanding officer. We stepped in just as he was stepping out, and I noticed that even the commander snapped a salute to Caius. I was impressed; clearly Caius was a man of great power.

“Now, let us start with introductions. I know all of you, though only from reports.” Caius said as he took a seat behind a great desk that was covered in reports, which he moved aside carefully. “Why don’t we start with you, Kael?”

Kael cleared his throat and said “My name is Kael Bluehair. I have been in the Blades for six years now, and was chosen for my strength in combat and devotion to the Emperor. I had been stationed in Leyawiin for several months before receiving the orders to meet up with you two and teleport to Balmora. That was two days ago, and now that we are all here I am curious what our purpose is. Oh, and that reminds me…” He reached up and tugged at his black hair, which came off in his hands. He dropped the wig and shook out his hair, which was a light blue and hung just past his ears.

“You live up to your namesake!” I said, having never seen such a strange color of hair before. Caius looked at me and gestured that it was my turn to introduce myself. “I am Will Syras, former conjurer and now apprentice mage. My time in prison has weakened my talents, but they are returning to me, slowly. I was placed in prison for accidentally opening an Oblivion gate in the middle of Valenwood. I was released from prison by the Emperor himself as he was trying to escape on the night he was killed. I helped break the siege on Kvatch and have closed several Oblivion gates. I assume I was chosen for this assignment because of my background with Daedra and closing the Gates.” I shrugged and sat down. Darkasha stood as I finished.

“I am Darkasha. I am 75 years old. My life is of little interest, but let it be known that I am a vampire and have been for 50 years. I was approached by the Grandmaster many years ago and asked to serve as a trainer for the Blades. I have done my part, and I assume I was chosen for my significant agility and skill. That is all.” Darkasha sat and was silent.

“I am Caius Cosades. I am the regional commanding officer for all Blades in Morrowind. I have had my hands in a little bit of everything that goes on here, and I don’t intend to stop. Now that that is all over with, let’s get down to business. You have all been assembled here because of a little problem we’re having. You see, the Oblivion Crisis is hitting Vvardenfell and hitting hard. Many northern towns have already fallen, and you all saw what happened here at Balmora. The three great houses are in disarray and the temple is still recovering from the Tribunal’s disappearance. Hlaalu has taken a great hit here today, though luckily many of the councilors were in Vivec City. Telvanni has become even more withdrawn than usual and little communication has come out of the east. Redoran has had it worst of all. The Northwest is in shambles after the attacks, and the only city they really have left is Ald’ruhn. Balmora will take time to clean up, but we didn’t lose that many people. It was strange, like the Daedra just wanted to sack the city but weren’t really interested in the people. I have a theory as to what they wanted, and it brings me to the point of this assignment. You see, the Nerevarine is… missing.”

“Missing?” I said, a bit shocked.

“Yes, he was on his yearly pilgrimage to Red Mountain and just didn’t come back. It’s all very hushed up, as our people can’t really take another morale hit, but we think he has been captured by the Daedra, or worse, killed. I want you three to go to Ghostgate and look for any signs of him. It may be he just had a mental breakdown and is hiding in Red Mountain somewhere, which would be the best case scenario. Still, were preparing for the worst, and he had many artifacts that would be bad if they slipped into the enemy’s hands. So, here is the plan. I have arranged for transportation to Ald’ruhn. From there, you will need to make your way to Ghostgate and begin searching for the Nerevarine.”

“How will we know him when we find him?” asked Kael.

“You’ll know him. Believe me, he’s hard to miss. Which is why this whole disappearance is so damn perplexing. It’s just like Vivec’s disappearance. One day he’s blessing people and reading poetry from atop his temple, the next day he’s flat out disappeared.” Caius sighed, “Just get to Ghostgate, hopefully they’ll have some more information. If you are unable to find the Nerevarine, you are to return here as soon as possible and we’ll go to plan B.” He stood and we followed him out into the main chamber of the keep. He handed some papers to a page and took us out into the grounds of the fortress, and then into one of the watchtowers.

He gave us our pick of some of the weapons and armor stocked in the base of the tower. Kael strapped a massive silver sword to his side and a bow to his back, along with a quiver of arrows and a plain-looking shield. Whoever had made that shield had not been out to win any beauty contest, but it looked like it could take any blow that was put to it. Darkasha sniffed at some of the weapons, but dismissed them, before picking out a handful of lockpicks which he examined very closely and, satisfied, placed them in a small pouch at his side. I looked over the selection of armor fretfully. I was not well acquainted with wearing any kind of armor, but I knew that some would be better than none. Finally, I picked up a glove and pauldron of chitin armor and strapped them to my staff-carrying arm. I would not suffer from any loss of dexterity in that arm, nor would the small amount of weight it added to my pack effect me, and the extra protection might come in handy. I looked a bit silly I’m sure, but if it helped me even a little then it was worth it. When we were ready, we moved up onto the walls themselves, where I was a bit shocked to find a commoner Dunmer standing. Normally the walls were for guards only, but I soon found out why this man was here.

“Hello Balen,” said Caius as we approached the man leaning against the battlements. “ready to go?”

“Of course,” Balen said, and then hopped onto the battlements and jumped off! I ran over to see what had happened, and a massive creature rose from the other side of the wall. A silt strider! Balen sat in the “cockpit” of the creature and laughed, before guiding the creature close enough for Kale, Darkasha and I to climb in. Caius saluted and we set off for Ald’Ruhn.