Chapter 4 – Dead or Alive.

“A twist in the storyline and I assure you it is not in the name of dramatic storytelling. Our two friends had gone their separate ways but not in the way that I would have guessed. But it is true that in Morrowind it is crucial to be able to tell who is legitimately friendly and who would sheath their dagger in your back the second you turn around. Tis the harsh truth of this land. But do not despair; Taillus did not die that day even though some claim that he did. He fell into the darkness that was revealed when the walls crumbled but it was not as drastic a drop as they had both thought.”

“I am very glad that you have decided to listen to me and my story of Taillus. It shows that some people care about the history of our lands and that you are not as willing to accept what is told by the masses. I will continue as long as you continue to listen to the ramblings of this old dunmer man. I promise that this story becomes much more interesting from this point on. And if you will excuse me, I am feeling some dryness of mouth and I am in need of some hot tea…”


Taillus awakens with the familiar feeling of pain that makes his every muscle throb. This was the case more often then not and he would like nothing more then to prevent waking up this way. Truth be told he had no clue as to whether he had died at the hands (or feet rather) of Jiub or not but at least he didn’t get his hands on that treasure.

Seeing that treasure made Taillus sure that he indeed was still among the living. Although the pain in his chest as well as the rest of his body made him wish he was dead. He slowly and very painfully gets to his feet as he looks around.

It seems that he did in fact fall for quite a distance considering that he cannot even see the lighted torch that lit the ledge he was originally on but surprisingly none of his bones were broken. He decided to limp down a small hall and see where it would lead him. Not like he had any choice it was either continue into the unknown or sit by the loot bag and rot.

He decided that, speaking of the loot bag, he should check its contents. Who knows what he might encounter and he had no armor and no weapon. Taillus rummaged through the bag and realized that Jiub was partially truthful. This bag was filled with nothing of use at all. He did manage to find a very weathered short blade and decided that it would have to do as it was better then trying to fist fight one of those flame antronach demons.

Taillus slowly creeps down the hall before him and keeps his back to one of the walls. He slinked along as he sidled the wall still trying not to be caught flat footed. He realized that he had a second chance at life and he was going to suspect everyone of doing something wrong. He promised himself to be much more weary of his surroundings and they people he came across. He would not let any one take him for a ride like what happened with Jiub.

Taillus eventually found himself in the upper level of a very large room. It seems that he had stumbled upon a very well hidden ritual hall that the Daedra worshippers used to contact the Daedric princes of Oblivion. The simple thought of this made Taillus’ skin crawl and sent a violent shiver down his spine. The entire room was made up of the same materials that the outside of the ruin was. A very dark and gloomy looking sort of stone and the architecture was quite similar as well.

He looked around suspiciously and came to realize that there was no one around doing a summoning ritual or anything equally frightening there at the moment so he could eventually drop down from the upper levels of the room and check this place out.

Taillus carefully lowers himself from his hiding place on the top level to the base of the large room and continues his exploration. From what he could tell, it was a shrine devoted to one of the major gods and he decided to gather some literature seeing how the books were the only thing of value. After taking much more then an arm load, Taillus hoists himself back up to the higher level of the room and begins to tap the most powerful resource of all…Knowledge.

Now that was a short wait for me. Hmm, so he lives but without a decent sword. I can see trouble growing on the horizon. At least he can enjoy a good book for a while. keep up the good work.

Quite well done Taillus, I'm glad to see that the character isn't wounded and I really wonder what will happen next.

Hours go by and Taillus flips from one book to another. Cross referencing from article to article as he is brought to light on so many things that have happened in Morrowind. He could not believe how things that were depicted in these books could have happened without him even hearing of it. It seems that there are many things that were either flat out hidden from the general public or just portrayed as one sided.

Each page draws him deeper and deeper into Morrowind history, culture and all things that were known that he honestly did not know. If he was going to make it here, and gain power as he wished, he would have to know everything about everything. And until he could figure out how he was getting out of this place, he would keep reading until he was properly armed.

The only one thing that could stop Taillus from his knowledge session was the fact that his stomach was practically eating itself. He realized at that time that he had to get out. Even if he could scare up something miniscule to eat he would not be able to stay down here forever. He looks around once again to see if there was anything he missed but all he could see was a small stone tablet and some rock pillars. Too bad his second chance at life was going to be spent withering away to nothing.

As he hopped down into the main floor of the summoning room once again, he is met by a large shadow that scaled the wall and straight up to the ceiling. He watched as a second shadow repeated the same process but on the other side of the room. He quickly darted his glance back and forth at the two shadows and draws his short blade looking frantically for what was suddenly in the room with him.

“What in Oblivion is in here with me?” Taillus asks himself as he stays alert, watching the shadows. He almost jumps out of his skin when he finds out what the shadows belonged to. As he follows the movements of the two creatures, he is petrified to see two human like figures leap from their perches high above him. They both land before him as Taillus shakes in fear over what he is seeing.

Growling and standing dangerously close were these two, huge, crocodile headed beasts that could each have half of Taillus for breakfast. They were tall and built, with scaly green human like bodies complimented with sharp claws at the end of each finger and toe. Their long profile heads were tough looking and bony with jet back eyeballs and mouths that were filled to the brim with razor sharp, glistening teeth. He hoped to god that they weren’t running on an empty stomach like he was and he slowly steps backward in fear.

“Daedroths are the minions of Molag Bal so this must be a shrine dedicated to him. Molag Bal is the daedric prince of soul enslavement.” Taillus recited to himself. Sometimes knowledge is a very bad thing. He desperately wished he could go back to being oblivious about the Daedra but it would be too late for that.

Something he found odd, other then the fact that he was standing toe-to-toe with two of these beasts and he was still in one piece was the fact that one of the Daedroths had a very interesting amulet in its razor sharp claws and the other was holding some sort of mace. This was not common considering they tended to chew and scratch.

“Take these effects as gifts. You will be my vessel.” A booming voice invades Taillus’ head as he looks around for the source. The two Daedroths hold the items in extended scaly hands in his general direction.

“I may not have contracted some silly ash disease but I have certainly gone mad.” Taillus says aloud. He looks at the two ferocious demons as they hold the items out for him.

“Do not be afraid. I have chosen you to become my vessel, my ambassador to the living world. These are my minions who I have sent to deliver these items to you. I have taken them from powerful men so that they can aid you in your journey. One is my mace. It will prove valuable in trying times; the other is an amulet of movement. It is loaded with a mark and recall spell. It will take you to its recall destination of Balmora so that you can be on your way.” The voice booms in his head once again.

“I was always told not to take gifts from Daedric strangers.” Taillus says not knowing where to direct his comments. He continues to look around for the source of the voice, refusing to believe that it is only in his head.

Taillus runs through his head all the he had learned about the gods and remembered that Clavicus Vile was the one that loaned gifts and granted wishes then took tem back when they were needed most so that was not the problem, and Sheogorath was the crazy one so what was it that Molag Bal wanted with him.

Extremely interesting developement in the last update, with the help of a god it would seem that Taillus is destined to do great, or not so great things for that matter. Please continue.

“I have taken you in and made you my ambassador for Morrowind. You will harvest souls to power me so that I can weaken the borders that separate our worlds. These gifts will get you started but there are other articles you will need. You have always dreamed of becoming the most powerful man alive and I can give it to you. Better yet, I can make you a powerful Daedric god! An immortal god of war and all you have to do is follow my instructions and you will be remembered forever!”

“I am either dreaming or dead. This cannot be real. I must have hit my head really hard when I fell.” Taillus says as he grabs the two articles from the Daedroths.

“Be that as it may I might as well play along with it. What do I have to lose? I need to get out of here and get something to eat before I waste away.” Taillus says as he shrugs. He turns the mace in his hands wondering why he would use such a cumbersome weapon but you can’t look a gift daedra in the mouth, lest you wind up some dusty heap of bone meal.

Taillus activates the enchantment on the amulet and finds himself at the gates of Balmora. He waits for a few minutes feeling as though all of his insides have yet to settle down from the teleportation. He looks to the right noticing the gigantic flea that was similar to that in Seyda Neen.

The city of Balmora was a sort of half way point between Seyda Neen and Caldera not only literally but in the sense that the houses and various other buildings were all a grayish color and they all looked very similar. Not as nice as Caldera he thought, but more pleasing to the eye then that forsaken swampland of Seyda Neen. Of course anything was better then Ald Ruhn the very thought of that place made him want to crawl into a hole and end his life.

Taillus decided that the first place he would visit would be the armor smith so that he could spend some of his vast riches on some offensive and defensive items. He treads through the streets of town watching the villagers as well as the guards. This new theory of knowing everything that is happening around him definitely makes Taillus begin to feel more secure.

“Do not worry about finding a suitable weapon. My mace will protect you. Why don’t you just go kill the pawnbroker and take all of her wares? It is much better then spending that precious gold.” The familiar voice in his head whispers. Taillus stops in shock thinking that he had left Molag Bal back in that shrine.

“Yes that is exactly what I will do! I will slay a poor merchant in cold blood for a suit of armor!” Taillus growls at the voice of Molag Bal in his head not realizing the villagers near by. They look at him with dropped jaws as they shiver in fear.

“What? I am not going to listen to the voice in my head, what do you think I am, crazy?” Taillus says to the onlookers as he has a two sided conversation with himself.

Taillus realizes that he is drawing too much attention to himself and that he should find somewhere to hide for a while. He walks through town for a while wondering what he could do as his stomach growls within him. He sees a building that had a sign and inviting smells came from within so without reading the sign Taillus opened the door and went in.

Oh boy, Balmora at last. And within the first five minutes Taillus has already made himself a person the guards will be watching. Can't wait till the next update.

Although the place didn’t seem too friendly, and the patrons were about as shifty as he was, the smells increased in thickness as it carried him down the stairs. He ordered a large meal and waited for it to be ready. While waiting, he noticed that this place reminded him of the place where he met with Jiub in Ald Ruhn. It was inhabited by the same caliber of people. The types that could lift your belongings without you ever noticing.

While he ate, he thought hard about his fate. He was forced into this and there was nothing he could do. He was now the ambassador to Morrowind and he was to Harvest souls for a Daedric prince. It wasn’t like he could just escape. Molag Bal was in his mind and followed him everywhere. Maybe this was just an effect of some sort of Ash disease…But who was he kidding? He hadn’t even really come in contact with that blighted cliffracer. He had a full set of armor on him at the time and he barely touched it. Not like he was kissing it or anything.

Regardless of how it came to be and why the Daedric prince had his eyes on him, he really had little recourse and was without any control of his own destiny. He did manage to gain a mace and a really useful amulet out of the deal but by the sounds of it, he would have to kill an unfathomable amount of people.

“That is correct my son. You will kill and harvest their souls to fuel my power. We will become more powerful then you could ever comprehend. I suggest you get started on the road to mortal soul enslavement. You have a very high total to reach so you may as well start here. No one will miss these sewer rats!” The voice interrupts as Taillus thinks.

“Can you please leave me alone for an age or two?!” Taillus shouts aloud again making the patrons of the cornerclub look at him with confused glances.

“Imaginary friend and I are having a fight; We will try and keep it down.” Taillus replies to the mass of stares from the people around him. He quickly finishes his meal and heads out the door to the awaiting evening sky above.

As night envelopes the peaceful town of Balmora, Taillus finds himself at the very top of a local guard tower. He found it quite simple to sneak inside and make his way though the latch, making him wonder about the effectiveness of the Imperial Legion. It seems that they are more concerned about how shiny their armor is then making any sort of difference.

Where he was from, the guards were attentive but they were corrupt. Makes for a different kind of uselessness. He remembers his time in Cyrodil as a younger man. He was an apprentice to a very well known and respected soldier in the Imperial Legion. After his parents died the noble was kind enough to take him in.
It turned out that he was a violent alcoholic and would use young Taillus as a punching bag to release his frustrations. Taillus had always thought that killing a man was legal if done in self defense but as it turns out, the same rules do not apply if the person that winds up dead is of noble status.

Next thing he knew he was shackled and beaten daily by the empire. He sat and reflected on his days in Morrowind, how he thought he was going to strike it rich by raiding temples and now look where it got him. An extra voice crowding his brain and a new job as a soul farmer. Things were looking up all right….

Taillus tosses and turns as usual in his sleep as he dreams the familiar dream of him walking down a curved rock staircase heading towards a podium with a statue of many Dremora all climbing to reach a glowing black gem. Taillus as he had done many times before, walks toward the statue.

He looks in a puddle of water at his reflection but he did not recognize himself. The man he saw was older and clad in a very extravagant hooded robe hiding his almost full suit of silver and black ebony armor. His face looked evil and wicked, his eyes showed no color. Just white.

Taillus continues towards the podium and grins as the dremora come alive before him. He looks up as they all move away from the podium giving Taillus full access to the black soul gem once again. As he stands on the podium, looking into the surface of the gem, the dremora begin to chant making the gem pulsate a dark black miasma that shakes him to his core as he extends a hand to grab it.

Taillus’ fingers caress the surface of the gem, sending a pulse of black energy up his arm. He quickly snatches it causing a bolt of black energy to rain from above him. When he turns around, the Dremora are replaced with Daedroths and they all bow, facing their prince and master, Molag Bal.

Taillus holds the gem in his hand as he looks at the Daedric Prince. His reptile like skin and long dark claws make him similar in appearance to a Daedroth himself but his figure is much more chiseled. His face looks almost dragon-like in appearance and he stands before Taillus and the Daedroth followers laughing a deep, evil laugh.

“The Daedric Soul Gem is yours to take my son. Use it as the tool to harvest the souls of Morrowind. Kill every man, woman and child that you meet. Let nothing stop you. You will become a god! All those that hear your voice will cower in fear. Go forth, my ambassador and earn your spot among the ranks of Oblivion!” Molag Bal booms telepathically into the mind of Taillus.

With that, Taillus wakes up with the moon still in the sky and realizing that he is still atop the guard tower. He opens his hands expecting the soul gem to be in his possession but his hands were empty. He breathes a sigh of relief and goes back to sleep…

And so this ends chapter 4. I would really appreciate some constructive critisism before I continue. I am just curious as to where I stand. Are things getting a little boring? Does it seem as though I am pulling things out of a hat? Just let me know if anyone gets some free time what I should be doing to improve my story. Chapter 5 is just about finished and the final kinks are being worked out. Expect the first part of it up by some point tomorrow. (Mar 8th 06)

It isn't boring to me. I love it. Saw you worked out that dream further. It was a good update. So bring on chapter 5!