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.
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.
posted by Mindstroller at 10:57 PM
2 Comments:
I just love the politics of the Telvani's. Nice Chapter.
Poor Master Neloth... That's no way for a Telvani master to die.
I thought the Nerevarine whacked him... or was it just me :D
Nicely descriptive!
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