Chapter 13. A change of plans.

Helseth was particularly pleased with himself. He’d been getting reports for the past several days keeping him up to date on how things were progressing. His new allies the Camonna Tong had supplied him with one of their own, an Argonian no less, who would play the part of the witness to Varvur’s betrayal. Hlaalu, Dres and Indoril leaders were preparing their people for a conflict; rumors had been started already about the Redoran and things were ready to come to a head. Helseth was now just waiting for the right time.

Varvur had to be captured first, and that would set all of the events in motion, but unfortunately Varvur had so far proved impossible to apprehend. Oh, he’d been seen, but not anywhere Helseth could get his hands on him without causing an uproar. No, he knew the timing for this would have to be perfect, but he was not in any rush. He had all the time in the world to prepare. Nothing could go wrong.

Helseth looked up from reading the most recent report with annoyance; someone outside the door to his study was causing a lot of noise. Shouts were passing back and forth now. What could be the matter? Helseth got up and walked to the door. As he was nearing it, it flung inwards and standing inside the door was Councillor Rethan.

“My king, may I have an audience?”

The captain interrupted apologetically, “I’m sorry, my king. I explained you did not want to be disturbed but we could not convince her to turn back.”

Helseth looked at his guard captain and finally shrugged, “It’s fine, show her in. I’m sure Raynasa has something very important to tell me, or she wouldn’t have bothered me.”

It was clear from his voice that if was not something important, Raynasa would regret it.

Raynasa had never been in danger of winning a beauty pageant, but today she looked simply haggard. “Councillor Rethan, perhaps you’d care to explain the reason for barging in here like this?”

“My king, I did not receive a reply to my letter. What are your orders?”

“What are you talking about, Raynasa?”

“I’m talking about Suran, my king; what would you have us do about it?”

Helseth sighed, “Raynasa, I have no idea what you’re talking about, what about Suran? Have the dancers gone on strike again? Has the Skooma run out? No more moon sugar perhaps? What’s wrong Raynasa?”
“But my king, I don’t understand, I sent word yesterday, how could you not know yet? King Helseth, Suran has fallen. The Telvanni are on the move.”

Helseth was speechless for a moment, this was not what Helseth had wanted to hear, and not what he’d expected to hear, either.

“Tell me all about it, Raynasa. Tell me what happened and make sure you leave nothing out.”

“My king, they came to Suran in the dead of night, Divayth Fyr leading a host of Telvanni Wizards and Vampires, they came straight from the road leading to Molag Mar, they hit Suran and were well inside before anyone knew what was happening. Our men did not stand a chance, my king, most were killed or captured, only a few got away to warn us.”

“How can this be? Do you expect me to believe the Telvanni can conquer one of our richest cities without anyone seeing them coming, without anyone so much as hearing them massing? Explain this Raynasa.” Helseth saw Raynasa’s face become white with fear, well as white as any Dunmer can get anyway.

“My king, we’ve been hearing some rumors these last few days, of Vampires fighting amongst one another, but nothing else. We assumed it was simply another Vampire war; we’ve seen those in the past.”

“Well you assumed wrong didn’t you?” Raynasa moved back at the ferocity of Helseth’s voice.

“Yes my king, we did.”

“Go on councillor, what happened next?”

“Well, our informants have told us on the third night after the funeral of lord Nerevar, the Telvanni split into three forces and attacked Dagon Fel, Suran and Ghostgate. In Suran our men fought as best they could, but they were outnumbered and unprepared. In Dagon Fel no one put up much if any resistance, and those believed to be agents of the other great houses were simply made to leave. In Ghostgate it was even easier for them; my informants tell me they simply marched up to the door, showed the leading priest some parchment and were given the keys to the city.”

“You mean to say the Buoyant Armigers did not lift a finger to oppose the Telvanni?” Helseth exclaimed.

“Correct my king; they did nothing.”

A thousand things went through Helseth’s mind, foremost among them wondering how this could have happened, how could it be that he had not seen this coming, why had the gutless Hlaalu in charge of Suran allowed themselves to be surprised, but much more importantly, why had the temple offered not even the slightest resistance, and what role did Supreme Magister Moven have in all this? He was well paid; he had no reason to double cross Helseth.

“You there, guard, send word by magical means to Port Telvannis immediately, tell Supreme Magister Moven I wish to see him here, in person, today. Tell him I don’t care how he does it, how much magic it will take but I want him here today! And after you’ve done that, tell Gavas I wish to see him. I’m getting to the bottom of this today.”

“Go Raynasa, go back to Vivec, to Yngling manor and wait there until I send word.”

“Yes my king” And Raynasa bowed and left. Helseth threw his ink bottle against the door as soon as she’d closed it.

“Incompetent fool, I can rely on no one.”

It did not take Gavas long to arrive at the door to king Helseth’s study. He knocked, and Helseth bid him to enter.

“Gavas, there you are,” Helseth started in his most charming voice, “perhaps you can clear up a little mystery for me. I was just informed by Raynasa Rethan that your fellow priests simply gave Ghostgate over to the Telvanni, without any fight whatsoever.”

Helseth became angrier as he went along, “So tell me how it can be, that a well fortified stronghold like Ghostgate, packed with Buoyant Armigers, just surrenders like that with no resistance? How does that happen Gavas? Tell me!”

Gavas tried his best to keep a dignified look, but Helseth saw he was scared. “My king, we are by vow forbidden from interfering in an internal struggle of the great houses.”

“Nonsense! Such vows did not stop you from naming lord Nerevar an impostor and putting a reward on his death.”

“You are right, my king, and after it was revealed to us that he was the real lord Nerevar, and then came into power, he made all the temple priests swear a new oath; he made us swear we would never again involve ourselves with an internal matter and would only defend Morrowind against external threats.”

“Azura be damned, so you’re saying even if I made you head of the temple today, you still could not oppose the Telvanni?”

“Yes my king, it is so.”

“Damn him, damn him straight to Oblivion. I knew I should have taken out lord Nerevar much sooner.”
Helseth saw the look of fear in Gavas’s eyes when he said that. “Oh don’t worry Gavas, I don’t think you’ll betray me, not with all the filthy black secrets I know about you. Leave me; I must consider what you’ve told me carefully.”

Great update! For some reason, I love seeing Helseth's plans go awry. It is very pleasurable. I'm loving this clash of houses so far.

You're doing a solid job at linking Morrowind and Oblivion-related events and timeline than my attempts... solid.

Also, LOL Helseth. For someone who should be 2 steps ahead of his foes and having a myriad of contingency plans at his disposal he isn't looking very sturdy right now. Cracks are beginning to show.

Oh, btw, Telvanni are still a bunch of ******* ******** *****'* thugs in my eyes. For further information on the subject see 1st part of my signature.

Hehe, well don't count him out yet, though the Telvanni are advancing, Helseth still has the support of the other four great houses, so in terms of manpower and force, he's still way ahead of the Telvanni and allies

...but... purely as a speculation... Telvanni have enough aces up their sleeves to keep all other Houses at bay, right? Right!

hehe, rooting a bit for the Telvanni after all are we now Mil?


I can't promise tomorrow brings the answer to everything, but I can promise it will be a very fun day in the story, two very fun updates!

Hours later Helseth was sitting on his throne. Dinner had been bland today, and he’d had the cook whipped for serving it. He knew it was only because of his unsettled thoughts that he didn’t like his food, but it felt good to see the cook whimper in pain. A smile crossed his face just thinking about the expression of the hapless servant. But now he must focus on other things; a herald had just announced the Telvanni delegate had arrived and would enter at any moment. Helseth heard someone at the entrance; he looked there just as the door opened and in walked…. Divayth Fyr. Helseth was shocked; he had expected Supreme Magister Moven, but here, right before his very eyes, was Divayth Fyr himself, ancient, powerful, dressed in his usual Daedric armor.

All around the room Helseth saw the guards clap their hands to their blades, ready to strike, the tension almost visible.

“Good day, my liege.”

Helseth shuddered; that old commanding voice- he had never liked it. It always made him feel inadequate.

“And how fare you on this beautiful day, my liege? I pray my visit isn’t too much of a surprise.” Helseth saw the smile on Divayth’s face when he said that.

“Why are you here, Master Fyr? I summoned Supreme Magister Moven, not you.”

“Ah, well you see my liege, he couldn’t make it, and we of house Telvanni would not want to insult our rightful liege of course, so we sent me instead.” Just that word “liege” made Helseth feel uncomfortable. It sounded far too much like “leach” for his liking.

“But where is the Supreme Magister, and why isn’t he here?”

“Now that, my liege, is a good question. And very simple really. I fear the good Supreme Magister has ah, how to say this delicately—misplaced himself.” Divayth gave that insolent smile of his when he said it, “I’m sure if you insist I could scrape together enough of him to give you an idea of what happened, but I’m sure you get the picture as it is.”

“You killed the head of your house? Do you know the penalty for that, Master Fyr?”

“Yes, I do actually, my liege. None. Not even the late lord Nerevar was able to influence house Telvanni enough to make us change our ways of granting power to those who take it. So I can kill whomever I like within our house; I can kill the entire house if I want to, and no law in this province can hold it against me.”
Helseth had to admit he was correct. As much as lord Nerevar had been against senseless killing, oddly the subject of this practice within the Telvanni had never been brought up. Helseth didn’t have much time to think about that though,

“Why have you attacked us, Master Fyr? We did nothing to provoke this attack; Suran never opposed the Telvanni.”

A hard booming laugh emanated from Divayth Fyr at that, “I’m sorry for laughing, my liege, but ‘never did anything against us’? Well, I won’t even go into the countless wars that have been fought between your house and mine, the countless assassinations you paid for and the spies you planted within our house, but other than that, it is true you’ve done nothing against the Telvanni.”

“But let’s cut to the chase, shall we, my liege? You’re not the only one with spies, you know. We know about your plans against the Redoran, we’ve known for a long time now, and personally, we could not care less what happens to Athyn Sarethi and his gang, but we will not allow you to attack us with the combined forces of three great houses. Instead, we claim all lands we now hold, everything on Vvardenfall east of the Suran – Ghostgate – Foyada Bani-Dad line. We claim it as compensation for the betrayal you were going to bestow upon us. We also urge you to abandon your ideas of a unified Morrowind under your reign. I promise you, Helseth, it will not come to pass.”

Helseth was livid, “How dare you, Telvanni, come into my throne room and tell me you’re taking part of my land? Moven was a fool, and I’m glad to be rid of him, but you forget I still have three other houses supporting me, and I can easily offer proof to the Redoran that in fact you were responsible for the murder of lord Nerevar and two Hlaalu councillors. Ha, I’ve always heard how smart lord Fyr was supposed to be, but it seems you’re not that smart after all, are you?”

Helseth smirked and looked around the room to see most of his guards holding their breaths, deathly afraid of Divayth Fyr’s reaction. But Helseth wanted to show them he at least had the guts to stand up to a Telvanni, no matter how old and powerful a wizard the Mer might be.

He had expected Divayth to become angry, maybe shout out or even curse him, but he had not expected the sly little smile that was on his face.

“Four great houses, Helseth, four unified great houses going against us, are you sure of that?”

That had Helseth confused; what did he mean, was there another house about to turn against him, and if so, which house? The confusion and concern must have shown on his face for Divayth laughed again,

“Yes, think about it Helseth. Who is next to betray you? Well, I would love to be able to stay here all day long, and see you struggle with that thought and second guess everyone near you, but I cannot. People to see, places to conquer, I’m sure you know how it is, Helseth. Good-bye, my liege, and best of luck.” And with a smile, he raised his arms and vanished from sight.

Helseth knew he had to move fast. He summoned the heads of the four other houses; to three he simply told them to come tomorrow, to Athyn Sarethi he sent word that he had uncovered a witness who could identify the killers of lord Nerevar. He was sure that could get Athyn to come to Mournhold.

And the last thing he did that day was pay a visit to the Argonian member of the Camonna Tong, and tell him that the plan had been changed. He should not say Varvur Sarethi had been behind the attack, but rather that he’d seen a servant of Baladas Demnevanni put something in the drink of lord Nerevar the day he was murdered.

He went to bed that night, smiling and thinking to himself that things might just work out even better this way, but all the while he could not forget what Divayth had said about places to conquer. Had it been idle chatter, or based on something more? He fell asleep very late that night.

This is storming along, the oblivion part came right out of the blue, and the offer from the brotherhood, well it figures. I'm loving this. Awesome stuff.

Chapter 14. Honor and the price of it.

Gulvan Drules was staring out over the walls of Necrom. An old Dunmer, even by the standards of his people, he had once been very tall and powerfully built, but in the last few years he’d begun walking a bit bent. His hair, which had once been black as the night, was now streaked with grey and his eyes, once the brightest red, were now dulled and cloudy. He who had once ruled the mighty house Indoril, now ruled no more than a city and the small surrounding area.

He thought back to how this had all come to be. Not 10 years hence, he’d been the Gahprovihn, the faction leader, of house Indoril, but things had changed since he first came into power. Most of his old allies had been long dead, their sons or sometimes even grandsons now ruling in their stead, and those young ones were so different than the old.

Far too many Indoril had found Hlaalu friends, far too many rumors of bribery swirled about the once honourable house. Bribed officials in house Indoril, it was unheard of and he would not tolerate it. Of course he had found some evidence, not much, but some, but before he could offer it to the council, he was summoned himself before that Indoril body. He remembered entering the room and seeing the two Alt Gahshaldmas and five Gahshaldmas sitting there, waiting for him. Some looked downcast, as if not wanting to be there, but others were almost beaming. He stood proudly before the council, and was told he had become too old to be the Gahprovihn. Too old, the thought of it still made his gall rise. It was certainly the very first time a Gahprovihn had ever been deemed too old.

Oh, they were nice about it; they bestowed upon him the rank of Alt Gahshaldmas, high army leader; only three of those were ever active at the same time, and they made him overlord of Necrom and the surrounding area, but he and everyone else knew it was but an excuse to get rid of him. Surely he could have gone against the will of the council, rebelled against it, but Gulvan was not the type to do so. His honor would not permit it.

Those years he’d been at Necrom now had seemed almost like centuries rather than years. He found himself aging more quickly then before, and he was unsure if it was due to the strange nature of the city or to being betrayed by his own house.

Oh he hadn’t wasted all of his time there, no most definitely not. He spent the first year doing his best to get all the people he trusted stationed either inside Necrom, or in the surrounding area. It made his sleep far easier. And of course when he’d been at Necrom for a while, there was the uproar; lord Nerevar coming back to life, back from the dead or reincarnated. Those first few months no one knew for certain. Gulvan had done his best to stay informed; he was greatly interested in the journeys of this man who would be a living god, and was tremendously impressed by him when he was able to defeat Dagoth Ur.

Then when he also performed a personal service to Gulvan, he pledged his life to lord Nerevar; he couldn’t care if it was really the reincarnated Nerevar or not; he had proven himself by doing what he did in the best interest of Morrowind and that was more than enough for Gulvan. And in return, Gulvan had been blessed enough to be called a friend by lord Nerevar.

But sadly, that too had come to an end. A week ago lord Nerevar had been buried. Ten days, ten days ago he’d still been alive; it seemed like so much longer. And now with lord Nerevar gone, so had hope for Morrowind’s future. A future without corruption, where honor once again counted for something. Or so Gulvan was convinced anyway.

King Helseth certainly would not bring them order and peace; if anything, he would make it harder on Morrowind then Dagoth Ur ever had. At least against him Morrowind had stood united; with Helseth there it was a sure mix for a civil war. Gulvan had known it all along, but still felt his heart drop when the order had come to organise for battle. It was a direct order from the new Gahprovihn, but he had still been disappointed. Perhaps deep down he had hoped that Azura would take him before it all came to pass. Sadly, he was denied even that simple blessing.

War. Helseth and the Gahprovihn would have him mass all of his men, and march north on Velothi’s Haven and Firewatch, undoubtedly killing thousands of his men, but that was certainly no inconvenience to Helseth, who thought honor was simply a word someone had invented to get paid more.

He was roused from his thoughts by someone clearing his throat. He sighed, looked around and saw Endris Dilmyn, one of the brightest and most promising of Gulvan’s retainers. He had come to Necrom with him, and Gulvan had done what he could to promote him to Gahshaldmas the first chance he got. He was his right hand, his rock through troubled times, but now he himself looked a bit troubled.

“Yes Endris, what is it?”

“Could I ask what you were looking at my lord?”

“Ah nothing Endris, just trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of some spotted owls. But I’m sure that’s not why you’re here right?”

“My lord, there are two guests here to see you.”

“Really? Guests at Necrom, no that’s not an everyday picture. Who are they, Endris?”

“Master Divayth Fyr of house Telvanni, and a robed man who would not identify himself, but whom Master Fyr has told me is the Archmagister of house Telvanni.”

Well, that certainly explained the look of apprehension on Endris’ face. It’s not every day one gets to greet probably the oldest inhabitant of Morrowind, and likely the most powerful one as well.

“Where are they now Endris?”

“Pardon me, my lord, but I thought it a safe precaution to ask them to wait at the gate, and the guards there have arrows pointing at them.”

That made Gulvan chuckle. “Really, Endris, arrows will accomplish nothing against Master Fyr, and those gates could not keep someone a tenth as strong as he out; no they only wait there because they want to. Please Endris, show them inside and ask them to join me in my study. I shall go there and prepare drinks.”

Endris’ face had flushed; he knew a rebuke when he heard it. “Of course my lord, I will bring them to you immediately.”

No. Just making a guess where events are headed.

I love the way you describe old Gulvan's melancholy when it comes to the day of his glory as head of House Indoril. I'm sure that Fyr could sway the whole city of Necrom on his (and House Telvanni's of course) side if he were to promise Gulvan that, once Helseth is deposed, he can have the rule of his old House back. Seeing as there is little love between the king and Gulvan, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to turn down such an offer. Of course, that's just my take on the situation. I expect you to surprise me and confirm my expectations of your talent. You still confuse "then" with "than" however. It has appeared in this update as well. A minor oversight I suppose.

In other news, VICTORY!!!

Today I've finally acquired A Clash of Kings and A Feast for Crows! Now I can finally get on with reading Martin's masterpiece. I've already reached page 62 as of posting this and I can firmly say that this book lives up to all expectations. Happy day!

hm, tough call but I don't think he would accept that even if Fyr were to offer it. You see honor means everything to him, and wouldn't agreeing to such an arrangement make him no better then others of his house influenced by the Hlaalu? Well at least in the eyes of honor, and in his own eyes that is



Cool! I hope you have the time to read them very soon and in full, definitely worth it and I'm sure you'll love both

You're certainly weaving a lot of plot threads here, it's going to be a big release of tension as a reader when they're all pulled together. And... I still can't see where this is going

Pest. I shall have to keep checking every day to see what tidbits of info you've given.

Life's hard isn't it?

Hehe, I guess that means I've done my job well neh? I mean keeping readers on the proverbial edge of their seat is kinda what a writer is supposed to do right?

Having just read through the most recent updates...

I've got to say, not only is that a hell of a twist, but as I think Trey was saying, it makes perfect sense. Great stuff.

Gulvan looked at the two men as they entered his study. Divayth Fyr had not changed a bit. Of course last time he saw him was but a week ago at the funeral, but even before that he hadn’t changed a bit since Gulvan was young. He’d first seen him when he was but a boy, just studying to be a warrior. His father had taken him along one time when he went to visit Divayth Fyr, and the old Wizard looked not a day older than on that day many centuries ago.

“Welcome Master Fyr, and welcome Archmagister.” He inclined his head towards the robed figure, who nodded in return. “May I get you something to drink?” He passed out two cups and indicated to the two visitors to take a seat. “Now then, what brings Master Fyr and the Archmagister to the city of the dead? Visiting an old relative perhaps?”

Gulvan had always had the habit of jesting when he was nervous. And he had to admit, the company of these two made him more nervous then he cared to consider.

“May we speak in private Gulvan?”

“Of course Master Fyr.” Gulvan indicated to Endris that he should leave.

“Thank you, Gulvan. I understand you’ve received orders to organize your forces and move on Velothi’s Haven, and then on to Firewatch. Am I correct?”

Well, there certainly seemed no sense in denying it, so Gulvan was equally direct: “Yes, you are correct, though I wonder if you’d care to explain how you came to know this.”

Divayth smiled, “That does not matter right now. Gulvan, you may have considered this already, but you’re being misled by king Helseth. We are not the ones who killed lord Nerevar, I assure you that.”

“Well master Fyr, you certainly don’t beat around the bush. I will admit I had my doubts, but of course without proof….” He held out his hands.

“Yes, well proof we do have. But first I’d like to tell you what Helseth is planning, then you can judge for yourself.”
“Helseth meant to have an Argonian member of the Camonna Tong testify against Varvur Sarethi, claiming he was the one who poisoned lord Nerevar, and then to combine the other four great houses to wage war on the Redoran and eventually eradicate them. Then he planned to move against the Telvanni, saying we were in league with the Redoran and wiping us out. As scattered as we were, they likely would have succeeded. And then, after a thorough cleansing of the three remaining houses, Helseth would be able to rule unopposed as a virtual dictator over all those who remained. Of course with our attack he was forced to change course so now he sends you to Velothi’s Haven and Firewatch, gaining two things. First, he hopes we will focus on this part of the land while he can roam free on Vvardenfall, and second, he will rid himself of you and yours.”

Gulvan considered that for a moment; it certainly seemed plausible and something Helseth could have come up with.

“Well, assuming for a moment that is true, I would still have no choice. My Gahprovihn has ordered me onwards and I cannot disobey.“

Divayth frowned, “Your Gahprovihn is a scoundrel, Gulvan. Surely you’ve come to the same conclusion by now.”

“Perhaps so, but there is no proof. If I cannot prove he is corrupt, I cannot disobey him.”

“Well, that offers a dilemma now, doesn’t it? What if we were to provide a witness, a witness that could testify to him being corrupt and someone you know would not lie?”

“I’d say you will have a hard time finding such a person Master Fyr. There are very few people who I would believe on nothing but their word.”

The robed man slowly stood, turned towards Gulvan and lowered his hood. Gulvan stared at him, not believing his eyes. “Lord Geles, but you’re…”

A deep and powerful voice answered, “I am the Archmagister of house Telvanni. And I promise you, the Telvanni were not responsible for the death of lord Nerevar.”

Gulvan thought about that; this changed everything. “So lord Nerevar really is dead then?”

“Yes he is.”

“And what about the rest of Master Fyr’s words? Is the Gahprovihn corrupt?”

“Yes, your Gahprovihn is corrupt, as are the other two Alt Gahshaldmas, most of house Hlaalu, some of house Dres and even some of house Redoran. And the Telvanni were also not responsible for the deaths of Dram Bero and Crassius Curio. Helseth was behind those murders as well.”

Gulvan had suspected this all along, but to hear this person say it, his word was proof enough.

“Well gentlemen, I fear that places me in a precarious position; I find myself between two superpowers, Helseth’s army to the south and you to the north. I cannot continue serving house Indoril, yet I have no intention of joining house Telvanni. I’m between a proverbial rock and a hard place, or in this case, between a mushroom and Mournhold.”

Again the robed man spoke, “A wise man once said, ‘When faced with two options, choose the third.’ ten years ago, when the council voted you out of office, it was already ruled by the corrupt. So Gulvan, I say you were never voted out of office. You are still the rightful Gahprovihn, and you are house Indoril. Knowing you, the people here and around Necrom are all loyal to you, and above all honourable. Put the question to them if you would, and ask them who they want as their Gahprovihn- that rat who was given the position by the king’s cronies, or you. I think you already know the answer.”

“Gulvan, house Telvanni supports you, and eventually others will, too. We will win this war, make no mistake about it, and I would not ask this of you if I did not think you were up to it. But rise once more Gulvan, become Gahprovihn once more, show Morrowind and all of Tamriel once more why you were the youngest Gahprovihn in history. And together, together we will usher in a new age. Are you with me?”
Gulvan did not have to think. As the Archmagister had been speaking, he’d felt power returning to his bones and muscles, where before he had bent over, he was standing upright again. The Archmagister was right; this might be the last chance he had to show the world what he could do, and his best chance to leave the world a far better place than when he had come into it.

“I’ll do it Archmagister. I don’t know if I’m making the right choice, but for better or worse, I’m yours.”

The formerly hooded Archmagister smiled. “Thank you Gulvan. Now, call in your Alt Gahshaldmas, for we have much to discuss, much to plan, and little time.”

Despite what you said, pretty much what I predicted happened. Fyr and the robed figure offered Gulvan the position of leader of House Indoril and he accepted without thinking. Pretty much as I said, Necrom is now an ally of House Telvanni and Indoril will likely be split in two as a faction supports Gulvan and the other faction supports the corrupt leader of the House. Still, you have such an epic way of writing all this, I can't help but love it.

This hooded figure fascinates me. I have an idea of who he might be but only a very vauge one. He was a good touch in persuading Gulvan to effectivly start a civil war within his own house while believing he does the right thing (perhaps he does).

"between a mushroom and Mournhold" I loved that line.

This is developing nicely though I wander if all will continue to go so well for the Telvanni, they're becoming rather powerful. You have quite a cast of characters too. I'm surprised at how fast Helseth is unravelling though.

Chapter 15. The enemy of my enemy….

Baladas had been a guest of Athyn Sarethi for two days now. Well, technically he’d been a guest at Athyn’s house, though he would be surprised if Athyn even knew yet he was staying there. Word had arrived from Divayth Fyr sending Baladas with the enchanted steel plaque west to Ald’Ruhn to speak to Athyn Sarethi about Redoran involvement in the war. Because that was definitely what it was, a war.

Over the last few days, many things had happened. House Hlaalu and House Dres had declared themselves to be in support of king Helseth; House Indoril had also officially declared for the king, though what was not official was that nearly a third of the nobles of that house had taken all of their men and retainers and travelled to Necrom, where they joined the outcast Indoril who were supporting the Telvanni. The Fighters Guild had also chosen to support the king, but with the Camonna Tong being the true force behind that guild, it was only to be expected, and the Mages Guild had done the same. While they had no love for any of the Great Houses, their greatest wrath had always been aimed at the Telvanni, and what better way then this to join in destroying their competition once and for all.

After the guilds had declared for the king, Baladas had taken the forces stationed at Tel Uvirith and marched on Wolverine Hall. No great battle was fought that day though, for when they arrived there, most of the guild members had gone already, leaving only Skink, the local leader of the Mages Guild. The Argonian mage presented the formal declarations of war from both guilds to Baladas, though he obviously took no joy in doing so. Skink, Baladas reflected, had always been a bit of a Telvanni at heart. Perhaps having lived so long in Wolverine Hall, some Telvanni virtues had rubbed off on him. Baladas politely bid him farewell and said he hoped he would never find himself facing Skink in battle.

The Temple and Buoyant Armigers had remained true to their word. Though Helseth had tried everything in his power, they simply would not do anything but declare to all sides that they would remain neutral. The same went for the Imperial Legion and Cult. They had both recalled all of their members back to Ebonheart, had fortified it and declared it would remain off limits to both sides until such time as one side either surrendered or was destroyed.

The Thieves Guild had not been heard from, but rumors indicated a battle had been fought in Balmora and Vivec between the Thieves and their enemies. If the rumors were correct, the Thieves Guild was badly beaten, with many of its high ranking members killed or imprisoned and so would not be able to side either way in this war. No one had heard anything from the Morag Tong. Anyone who went there found the headquarters at Vivec boarded shut, and no word reached any side other than “no”. Mephala only knew what they were going to do.

House Redoran had reluctantly sided with the king as well. While he was their rightful king, there was no love lost between the two. Baladas knew that, if given a good excuse, Redoran would gladly pull out of the war and declare neutrality.

Only one battle had been fought so far; under the ruse of delivering a declaration of war, a Hlaalu noble and quite a few “bodyguards” as he called then, were admitted into Suran, and after delivering their declaration, had proceeded to violate the ancient treaty of a messenger by attacking the occupying Telvanni. They were well on their way to recapturing the city until Divayth Fyr showed up and single-handedly beat back the attackers. Hlaalu forces were forced to leave and were now laying siege to the city, quite a ways back though, as they wanted no more of Divayth’s magic. Baladas grinned; the siege of Suran had to be the least effective siege in all of Tamriel’s history, with the besiegers not being able to encircle the city entirely, only being able to lay siege to one side, and afraid to even show their faces to actually watch the city for fear of drawing the attention of Divayth.

No, right now the war wasn’t going very well for king Helseth, though who knew what would happen in a few weeks when he got more organized. There was no denying the fact that the Telvanni and their allies were badly outnumbered, and only the element of surprise had aided them so far and that was no longer relevant. So Baladas found himself in Sarethi manor, awaiting the arrival of Athyn Sarethi and hoping to be able to deliver a very serious blow to the forces of king Helseth without losing a single man.

Baladas looked up at the door as a servant entered the room, “Magister Baladas, again I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, but Archmaster Sarethi is approaching the manor, and he’s asked for you to wait for him in his study. Please follow me.” Baladas was brought to the study, and sure enough, in less then half an hour Athyn entered. Tall and powerfully built, he was easily half a head taller than Baladas himself. He sat down behind his desk and gestured for Baladas to seat himself as well. After he ordered his servant to bring them some drinks, he got right to the point.

“So Baladas, is there any reason why I should not have you arrested straight away? We are after all at war with one another.” Baladas smiled at that; it was one thing he’d always liked about the Redoran Archmaster, he never waisted any words getting to the point.

“Lord Sarethi, I come as messenger. I have something very important to show you if you could spare a moment of your time. I assure you it will be worth it.”

“Telvanni trickery, no doubt, or even a bribe? If it is either of the two, I suggest you leave now.”

“No lord Sarethi, I bring you only truth.” Baladas stood up and took the steel plaque out of his bag, placed it on the table and pressed the correct symbols to unlock the memory stored inside.

It brought up the scene of a lavishly decorated mansion. Both the men looking at it were familiar with the mansion. It was the home of the late councillor Curio. The picture showed him and Master Bero arriving together late at night, presumably after the funeral of lord Nerevar. Both entered, and after some words of goodbye, Dram Bero closed the door behind him and left, probably heading to his own mansion. Curio gave a long sigh, sat down and pored himself a cup of wine. He took a long drink, and then spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He set down the cup, looked at what he’d seen and spoke,

“Drusus, still here? I would have thought you’d be back at the palace by now, giving my response to the king.”

An Imperial came out of the shadows to stand before Crassius. “Ah, but I have. I’ve actually just come back from speaking to king Helseth about your, ah unfortunate misconception.”

“Don’t try and be coy with me, puppet, there is no misconception here. Helseth wants me to hand over control of House Hlaalu so he can use it for his own benefit, and I will not do that. Vedam Dren left me in charge here, and I mean to stay in charge until his return.”

“Yes, well about that, king Helseth is a reasonable man; he asked me to offer his terms once more. Think about this Crassius, a home in the countryside, enough gold and servants to play with to last you the rest of your lifetime; it seems like a good deal, especially considering the alternative.”

Crassius snorted at that, “And what would that be?” The reply was a statement of the simplest kind and said a great deal about the nature of this man, this Drusus.

“Death.”

Crassius looked at him slyly, “Well, if the king wants me dead, he’ll just have to send someone to do it. You’ve been here for a time now, shared my meat and mead, so we are both protected from each other by ancient rights. When you get back to Helseth, tell him I don’t intend to change my mind, nor will I forget what I know about the previous king and his sudden demise.”

Drusus sighed, “I was afraid you were going to say that, old man.”

From his belt he drew what appeared to be a small piece of rope, or wire. Before Crassius could call out, he wrapped it around his throat and pulled it tight.

The image faded away, and Sarethi sat for a few moments in thought, then looked at Baladas and asked, “Can you give me your word that this is real?”

“I give you my word; I also give you the word of Eno Hlaalu, who gave this to us.”
Athyn Sarethi nodded. Baladas imagined this was simply confirming what Athyn had already thought, so he had no problem believing it.

“Tell your Archmagister he will get what he wants. Redoran will have no more to do with this war. But if you cross our borders even an inch, you will all wish you had never heard the name Redoran. All of our lands are henceforth off limits to all but Redoran.”

“Thank you, that’s all we’re asking of you Archmaster.” With that, Baladas stood, “And now I’ll do us both a favour, and leave. A good day to you Archmaster.” And Baladas stood and turned to leave but before he could Sarethi spoke again;” “Ah, one more thing before you go Baladas, I just got back from Omayni, and the strangest things have been happening there lately. First I get a message from my son saying there are spies at Omayni, actually leading the city. Then when I get there, I find a distressed garrison who have “lost” their commander and his wife. I don’t suppose you would know anything about that would you Baladas.”

Baladas saw Athyn look at him with suspicion in his eyes, though he truly had no idea. “No Archmaster Sarethi, sorry but I can’t help you there.”

“I didn’t think so” Came the reply, and with a wave of his hand, Athyn indicated Baladas was excused.

He was escorted by a servant back to the entrance, and there cast his spell and transported back to Sadrith Mora. It was a day well spent. Even the time spent waiting at Ald’Ruhn had been worth it, to have Redoran sit out the war. In half an hour’s time, he had taken away one of the biggest threats to the Telvanni, had made sure their entire northern border, everything above Ghostgate, was secure, with no need to station more then a token guard there. Of course Baladas had no illusions; the combined forces of Hlaalu, Dres, Indoril and the guilds still outnumbered House Telvanni, but at least the numbers were less disparate then at the start of the conflict.

So. All the sides are now set, lined up like pieces on a chessboard. Helseth on the attack, Telvanni an agressive defence. But still... I sense all is not yet in motion. The disappearance of the Morag Tong for one is giving me pause to reflect. Helseth with surely have mobilised the Dark Brotherhood, are they waiting for their appearance? And what of the commander of Omayni, who had appeared to have wealth beyond his station.

No, clearly you have a few surprises still left in store for us. I look forward to discovering what they might be

Hit & Run tactic has done well for Fyr so far, but the aggressive political lobying [like we're seeing now] has to follow up. Even if Indoril decide to wage war on each other, mages are still heavily outnumbered.

The fact that 2 out of 3 independent guilds in Morrowind decided to immediately side with Hlaalu against Telvanni [in spite of that house's current leadership] also makes things much more difficult. The only bright side for Telvanni is that remaining Imperial forces will, just like Armigers, remain neutral. Morag Tong, on the other hand, can be viewed as pure oportunists and I am eagerly awaiting their involvement in the story.

When Baladas arrived at Sadrith Mora, one of his spellwrights was standing at the entrance to Tel Naga, waiting for him.

“Excuse me Magister Demnevanni, but there’s a message I’ve been given to deliver to you.”

Baladas took the paper, and looked it over. There was no enchantment there; nothing would burst into flames should he open it and there was no seal. He unfolded it and read what it said.

I await your pleasure at Muriel’s

Baladas was curious what the person who wrote it wanted. Dirty Muriel’s was known to be a place where thieves and sometimes even assassins would congregate.

“Come with me,” he told the spellwright and started for Muriel’s. It wasn’t far, just on the edge of town and it took them only minutes to get there. At the door, he asked the spellwright to wait for him outside, and entered the tavern. Around the corner, an Imperial was standing guard. As Baladas entered he drew his blade, but seeing who entered, he lowered it again.

“He’s waiting upstairs. Follow me.” And the Imperial walked up the stairs. To the right there were three rooms, and standing in front of the middle room was a large Altmer woman. She must be the famed Big Helende. It wasn’t common for an Altmer to choose the profession of a thief, but if the stories held any truth to them, she was more then good at her chosen profession. When she saw him walk up the stairs, she opened the door behind her and allowed Baladas inside.

The room was empty save for a cabinet and a bed, and on the bed a Redguard was lying. The parts Baladas could see were badly burned. He had many scars on his face and one of his eyes was gone. He looked up as Baladas entered and the remaining eye fixed the Telvanni with and unblinking stare.

“Thank you for seeing me, Magister, and I must apologize for my appearance. I’ve found when Camonna Tong operatives question someone, they do not care for the damage they do. My name is Jim Stacey, Gentleman Jim; though I realise I don’t look much like a gentleman right now.”

Baladas had heard of Jim Stacey of course; his name was often associated with the Bal Molagmer, not to mention some very spectacular thefts. Word had it, he was the first to succeed in stealing an Elder Scroll from the Imperial Palace in Cyrodiil.

“Before you go on Stacey, after we’re done here I’ll send one of my healers to you. I’m not so good at it myself, but I employ some very good healers. They will do what they can for you.”

Jim Stacey looked grateful for that, then nodded his head and continued, “They attacked just after dark, in Balmora., Our tavern was surrounded by warriors and assassins alike, they barricaded all the doors and windows, and then set fire to it. Everyone inside was burned alive. Those who succeeded in breaking through a window were slaughtered in the street. Of course the Hlaalu magistrates took no notice of what happened. Only one of our men was able to escape unobserved, or so he thought. He came to me in Vivec, and brought word of what had happened, but he hadn’t noticed being followed and before we knew what hit us, 15 Camonna thugs had stormed and broken into our secret hideout in Vivec. They killed the people with me, and tried to get information out of me, but when their guard was down I was able to take out an amulet that transported me here.”

Baladas assumed that was why no official word had reached anyone from the guild.

“So you see, Magister, we’re in a difficult spot right now; more then a third of our numbers are dead, with others in hiding with no place to go. And most of all, we have no way to pay back the men who did this.”

Baladas got the hint. You scratch our back and we scratch yours.

“Well, Jim, it seems we have this big old tower here, just outside of town, and it’s just sitting there doing nothing. I’m sure no one would notice, or even want to notice, if somehow it was used by some refugees.”
Jim Stacey looked up and smiled at Baladas,
Be assured Magister, if any of our rats just happen to overhear anything, or should you need something stolen, we will be at your disposal.”

Poor Gentleman Jim! I always liked him as well... Anyway, now the Thieves Guild are in the mix, and the Telvanni needed someone to act as their eyes and ears, especially against an opponent as devious and used to subterfuge as Helseth. All these plot strands....

Looking forwards to the next update

So the table is set and the pieces are moving. It seems that, according to my predictions, the Mages Guild and the Fighters Guild both joined with Helseth. He now has at least one thousand eager swords and more than a hundred budding mages ready to do his bidding. House Telvanni however has the Vampires, half of House Indoril and the remnants of the Thieves Guild.

Outnumbered to be sure but not outmatched is what I'd say. I think the two sides are rather evenly matched.

Chapter 16. Dreams and nightmares.

Helseth was standing at the waterfront in Balmora. It was dark all around him, the dead of night. He was wearing a long black robe, and a black hood covered his face. Surrounding him were several Royal guards, disguised though, and several leading members of the Camonna Tong. He’d been invited by them to join in this joyous moment. In front of him he saw the outlines of a building, that he had gone past the during previous trips to the city, but never inside. He had no business going into a club run by the thieves guild.

The entire town was silent, but Helseth knew it was but a front. Silently, many men were advancing on the club. One of the leaders of the Tong had given Helseth a night eye amulet so he could watch the show. He saw men carrying wooden boards and hammers advance on the clubhouse. An unseen and unheard sign moved them into swift action. They hurried to board shut all of the windows and doors. With so many men working together, it was done before anyone could stop them.

The same men now picked up torches, and lit them using spells. Then, at the sign of one of the leaders, they threw the burning torches into the small openings they had left in the windows and door. The torches had likely been magically enhanced, for in no time at all, the building was ablaze. From the inside Helseth heard coughing, and some screaming. A smile crossed his lips, and the screaming increased as the fire moved through the building. Then he saw movement near a corner of the building, and started to shout, but one of the Tong stopped him. It was a nasty looking Dunmer with a large scar covering one side of his face, and he had not shaved in many weeks.

“Leave it, king Helseth. Leave the critter, we will follow it and it will lead us right to those we seek.”

Helseth understood- trap a big fish by letting a small one think he’s escaped.

No one in Balmora had been attracted by the screams and noise; everyone knew better then to come running to the aid of foreigners. The best way to lead a long life in Balmora was to mind your own business. The screams were starting to waver now; someone had shoved a young child through an opening in the window, thinking to save it, but one of the Tong picked it up by its leg and threw it back inside. The child did not come back out. Helseth knew the exciting part was over. He turned to the Tong leader to thank him, but a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He turned toward the movement and backed up. Before him stood a person dressed in a black robe just like the one Helseth was wearing, but this figure was ten feet high and towered over Helseth. Helseth looked to the people around him and pointed at the figure, but no one seemed to notice him.

“Helseth,” the figure boomed, ”Helseth, you will pay for this travesty; you will not go unpunished.”

Helseth saw him raise his arms, and felt power being drawn to them as lightning cracked in the air and converged on the outstretched hands of the figure. He saw the boll of lightning fly towards him with speed unimaginable and knew he could not possibly avoid it.

Helseth let out a scream and sat up. His sheets, his underwear, everything was streaming with sweat. He looked around, half expecting the robed figure to appear next to his bed, but fortunately he was nowhere to be found. Helseth sighed in relief. He could not remember the last time he’d been that scared. And it had all started so nicely. He moved out of bed, put on his bed robe and his shoes and moved to the door. He opened it and saw a figure in a black robe turn towards him. The figure reached out, and Helseth felt a tug and immense pain and saw the robed figure holding a bloody Dunmer’s heart in his hand. Helseth looked down to his chest and saw a gaping hole where his heart used to be. He screamed.

Drenched in sweat, Helseth sat up. He looked around his room; two servants were standing near the edge of the bed, looking at him with wild large eyes. Helseth assumed he must have been screaming again. Ever since he’d gone to Balmora, his nights had been restless. Each night he dreamed the same dream- it always started out with his memories of that night in Balmora, but then the robed figure appeared. After that first night he’d ordered his guards to turn Mournhold inside out to find this robed man, but apart from the dead clothier found in his shop, nothing out of the ordinary had been discovered.

Helseth allowed his servants to help him dress, and glared at them, challenging them to say but a single wrong word about his screams, but unfortunately none of them said anything to give Helseth an excuse to punish them.

When Helseth arrived at his study a bit later that morning, he found a number of reports waiting for him. Apparently they and a message from Athyn Sarethi had been delivered some time during the night. The first message was bad news, but not something Helseth was surprised to hear. That brainless Yngling had come up with a brilliant plan, or so he thought. He wished to send a small army of Hlaalu under cover of truce into Suran, drop the flag of truce and retake the city. Helseth had told him not to go through with it, but he would not listen. Now yet another part of the Hlaalu army had been massacred senselessly.

“Oh,” Yngling noted proudly, “but not all is lost, for we have Suran under siege.”

Helseth snorted; that would be the first time a city would succumb to the pressure of a siege that was only executed on one side, with two other sides wide open. No, the battle for Suran was not one they would easily win, and Helseth knew that. On the other hand, if it kept Yngling occupied, he wouldn’t be able to create any more disasters.

Next came a message from one of Helseth’s spies. He read it carefully, smiled and cast it aside. Now all that was left was the message of Athyn Sarethi. It was sealed in wax and with the seal of Redoran. Helseth turned it over, looked at it with rapt attention. Somehow he felt this would not contain good news. He removed the seal, opened the letter and read:

King Helseth,

House Redoran hereby officially withdraws its support to the combined war effort aimed against house Telvanni.

Evidence has been presented to us, showing and proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that house Telvanni was not responsible for the death of Councillor Curio, but that in fact one of your guards, on your very order was the murderer. We also have more than sufficient reason to believe you are in some way connected to the disappearance of Councillor Dram Bero.

In light of this evidence, we can no longer take seriously your claims that house Telvanni was behind the murder of lord Nerevar. And therefore, we see no alternative but to withdraw our support.

Starting today until the end of the war, all Redoran territory will be sealed off and neither side may enter, or travel through our lands. Any incursions will be dealt with severely and with deadly force.

Letters stating our conclusions and conditions have been sent to the heads of the great houses.

Sincerely,

Athyn Sarethi
Archmaster of house Redoran

Ha!! I sort of suspect his reaction might be a picture

Aah, you're bringing this to life nicely Al. Nice work mate, I am really enjoying this.

Yes its always nice to find more of this ready to read. Its well paced and the pieces are dropping in well. Great stuff.

Recap & breakdown:

1. Telvanni forces include all of Telvanni, Ashlander clans Ahemussa, Zainab and Urshilaku [possibly, although Urshilaku hate everyone?], Annundae vampire clan [presumably boosted by unknown number of 'converts'], about 35% of the house Indoril and remnants of Thieves guild, now operating from new headquarters in Sadriht Mora.

2. Helseth's forces include his loyalist troops, House Hlaalu [for now, but events surrounding Dram Bero might make a rift within it], Camonna Tong, 65% of house Indoril, House Dres and both Mages and Fighters Guild, formidable allies. Dark Brotherhood is not to be forgotten - they are a force, striking from shadows when you least expect them to.

3. Neutral side includes Temple, Armigers, House Redoran, whatever is left of Imperial forces [Ebonheart] and perhaps Morag Tong... perhaps, because I am almost certain they will side with someone, although it might not necessarily be Telvanni.

Are forces involved in conflict ballanced now? If the poor leadership [Ygling] of house Hlaalu remains incompetent, if Fyr and Baladas continue their relentles political campaign during armed conflict and if Morag Tong decides to side themselves with Telvanni, the scales will be tipped in their favor. As for covert operations... Thieves guild, no matter how decimated it is now, can provide excellent support; however, they're easily countered by Cammona, as it was seen earlier - there are competent spies and agents on both sides, capable of striking heavy blows to both sides in conflict.

The war, in the end, will be determined by morale, as always. Whoever has better fighting spirit will prevail, but since both sides aren't 'righteous', by my definition of that word, the next deciding factor is competence. So far, better leadership [in this story] is one that Telvanni have.

Breathtaking it is! Just read the installments made during this week and enjoyed them immensly. I'm not trying to speculate or assume things, others do that so well already, I'll just continue to enjoy this remarkble story.

I've caught up once again and I must say things are proving to be highly interesting. The way you are weaving all these plots is certainly fascinating especially when it is portrayed in a way that is not difficult to follow and it does not loose focus. Great work!

I can smell a whiff of Joffrey in Helseth. They are both somewhat cruel but Helseth appears to be more calculating, not just mindlessly cruel like Joffrey. Anyway, I liked Sarethi's message to Helseth and I also like the fact that Helseth's conscience is being plagued by the events he witnessed in Balmora. Either that, or the Telvanni Archmagister is playing with his dreams.

Helseth ripped the letter in two, then ripped it again, and threw it onto his desk. How did they find out? This was maddening; someone was going around messing up all the work Helseth had gone through such lengths to prepare. It was as if he was facing someone who knew what he would do even before he did. It just wasn’t fair. He was the king; people should worship him, help him, obey him, not oppose him.

He sat down in his chair and put his head in his hands, wondering what else could go wrong that day.

He dispatched messages to the heads of Indoril and Dres asking them to come to the palace. Helseth wanted to make sure he could at least still count on them to support him. He also met with a fortunate break. During the course of the day, as he was waiting for the leaders to arrive, two other guests arrived- Sjoring, the Master of the fighters guild and Trebonius Artorius, Arch-mage of the mages guild. Both were there to assure Helseth they were still in full support of him.

The fighters guild had come as no surprise, given that the Camonna Tong owned most of their leaders, but to see the mages guild here, that was a fortunate event. Helseth had no love for Trebonius, a decaying old man who probably hadn’t had a clear day in years. None dared say it to his face though, for the man still wielded undeniable power. Trebonius was no fan of Dunmer, and he resented his superiors in Cyrodiil for ever sending him to Morrowind in the first place, but as much as he disliked the Dunmer in general, and their king specifically, it was nothing compared to the hatred and animosity he had for the Telvanni. And as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

A herald came in carrying a message from one of Helseth’s spies. He took it and read it, and found his rage rising again, and was just about to curse, when another knock on the door came. The Indoril and Dres leaders had arrived and entered Helseth’s study.

The viceroy started by saying how awful he felt about the Redoran betrayal, and that he would take great pleasure in killing Athyn Sarethi personally after they were through with the Telvanni. And he assured Helseth that house Dres was still firmly behind him. Helseth thought, “You’d better be, after all the money I spent on you,” but of course he only said he was very glad to hear that. Then the Gahprovihn of house Indoril started speaking.

“My king, those Redoran swine will pay for betraying you; house Indoril will stand at the front of the attack on the Telvanni, and we will again prove to be the most loyal of your supporters when we go up against the Redoran. Even as we speak, our men are assaulting Velothi’s Haven to conquer it in your name.”

Helseth interrupted him at that point.

“No, actually your men haven’t even started their march on Velothi’s haven, nor will they.”

The Gahprovihn looked at him with confusion.

“You see, your men from Necrom are no longer even your men. I received a message from one of my spies just before you arrived. Gulvan is sitting at Necrom still, not lifting a single finger to obey your commands, and my spy has even heard him being called Gahprovihn.”

The leader of the Indoril showed fear and stuttered, “But that cannot be! The council removed him from office; he has not been Gahprovihn in 10 years.”

“Well, perhaps you should tell him that.” Helseth’s smile was not friendly at all, unless one considered the smile of a slaughterfish moving in for the kill nice.

“So, what did you say we should do to a traitor’s house? ‘Trample their bones into dust’ wasn’t it? Should I have my friend of the Dres here turn his eye upon the Indoril lands before the Telvanni?”

The Gahprovihn shuddered at the thought; he did not want to face the armies of the Dres, that was for sure.

“My king, please allow us to redeem ourselves. We will march on Necrom and destroy the traitor and all his followers. Please allow us to prove ourselves to you.”

Helseth smiled again; that was all he’d wanted.

“Yes, I will allow you to do so. In fact, we’re all moving on Necrom. This morning another spy brought me word of the Telvanni plans. Necrom is the key to everything. If we take Necrom, the Telvanni will have lost the war. Gentlemen, assemble your armies with all haste, and bring them to the lands to the north of Mournhold. There we will assemble our army and march on Necrom.”

Both the leaders signalled their agreement, bowed and left as fast as their legs could carry them to prepare for battle. After they were gone Helseth found himself wondering how things would go. He’d lost house Redoran, but gained the fighters guild and mages guild. Between the Mages guild mages and the Dres and Indoril wizards, they might just stand a chance against the Telvanni.

He’d lost part of the Indoril, but there were many mercenaries he could hire to replace them. And he should not forget that even though the Telvanni border along the Redoran lands no longer had to be manned, they still had a far larger border to defend than Helseth, and no way of knowing from whence the attack would come. Yes, Helseth considered, I still outnumber them, I know more than them and I will be victorious.

Chapter 17. The die is cast.

The past few weeks had seen little action, but much tension. The Redoran turning neutral meant almost a quarter of the Telvanni border had been secured with no man lost. Baladas was pleased with that, but knew the war wasn’t nearly over. While Helseth’s army had become smaller, it still outnumbered the Telvanni and their allies 3:1 or even more, not very good odds. Luckily, thanks to the help of Jim Stacey and Eno Hlaalu, the Telvanni leaders were very well informed. Any movement made by Helseth’s army was almost instantly reported to the Telvanni leaders, and so they knew Helseth was massing his army to the northwest of Mournhold. Every day, more men were arriving, heavily armed infantry from House Indoril, lightly armored but very fast and agile spearmen, and mounted giant wasps from house Dres, steel and iron clad infantry from house Hlaalu, cavalry mercenaries from the neighbouring provinces and members of the Fighters and Mages guilds. A mass of men whose numbers were swelling each day.

Divayth had asked Baladas to come to Necrom for a special council of war. They would determine their next course from there. Baladas found himself standing in front of the city, though Necropolis might have been a better description for it. The place was surrounded by very high and very thick walls, but as Baladas entered, what got to him most was the silence. Right behind the gates there was a lot of noise and movement as in any city, but toward the center of Necrom there was almost an absolute silence. This section contained the entrances to the underground tombs, and everyone respected that by keeping silent when they were there.

Unlike some cities, there was no luxurious and lavish looking palace or council hall in Necrom; instead there was a large citadel on the sea side of the city. The citadel was ringed with yet another tall wall and beyond it Baladas could hear the noise of movement. Many Indoril who had chosen the side of the Telvanni had come to Necrom and its villages just beyond, and many of them had looked for and found protection behind Necrom’s high walls. A Dunmer approached Baladas and bid him to follow to the study in the citadel.

Drulvan’s study was very plain- little more then a desk with some chairs in front of it and a conference table. On the table was a large map of Morrowind, and several people surrounded it. At the head of the table he saw the now well-known figure of the man in the black hooded robe; at his right sat Divayth Fyr and at his left the newly chosen Gahprovihn of House Indoril, well, the part that had chosen to side with the Telvanni anyway. Also seated at the table were Dhaunayne Aundae and Endris Dilmyn, the Alt Gahshaldmas of the Indoril.

Baladas was seated opposite the robed Archmagister, and Divayth called the council to order.

“Welcome Baladas., I trust the preparations are in place?”

“Yes Divayth, I’ve made sure a quarter of our Telvanni Wizards are stationed between Ghostgate and Suran, all along the mountains, together with the Vampires. And another quarter are divided over the area between Suran and Tel Branora. And I’ve ordered the remainder and the Ashlanders to come here. What I don’t understand, however, is why. Why here?”

Divayth smiled, “Then I shall explain, Baladas. Look at the map. Thanks to our Redoran friends, we can be sure none shall attack us north of Ghostgate. Now there are only a few possible options for Helseth to take.”

“He can try going at Ghostgate, but that would mean travelling the Foyada Mamaea, which is folly. Crossing into the Molag Amur region that way is folly as well, for it will leave Ghostgate and Suran free to attack his flanks, not to mention having to face Tel Uvirith and all the places where one can ambush someone in there. Moving on any other place on Vvardenfall, like Bal Fell or Tel Branora would require a massive fleet, which he neither has in that area, nor can he move one there. Magic would work, but the Dres and Mages Guild members simply couldn’t manage it even if they wanted to.”

“That leaves the mainland, and especially Necrom as a very likely target. And just to make sure Helseth does not become too creative, I’ve let some word slip of our plans for the Ghostfence. He’ll have no choice but to march on Necrom. And this is where we will crush him.”

“But Magister Divayth, how can we? After leaving our Vampires and most of the Telvanni at Vvardenfall we’ll be outnumbered many times, and the walls of Necrom won’t keep out the flying Dres. While we have divided our forces to cover a large area, Helseth can concentrate on crushing us here, and then defeat the other garrisons at his leisure.

“I realise that it appears that way, Baladas, but put your faith into the Telvanni and our new Archmagister, and I promise you everything will work out for the best.”

Baladas sighed; apparently there was no reasoning with Fyr or any of the others present. Either everyone knew something Baladas didn’t, or they were all willingly heading to their doom.

“Magister Fyr, what would you have me do now?”

Fyr pointed at a location on the map. “Dervon’s Watch, a small city north of Mournhold. That’s where Helseth’s army will likely cross the river. They can’t afford to leave any strong places at their backs if they wish to march on Necrom, so we predict they will start off by securing Dervon’s Watch. I want you to go there, and manage our retreat. Do your best to hold the city for a day at least, more if you can, but unnecessary deaths are to be avoided. Retreat to Salen Vulgate, between there and Dervon’s Watch we’ve constructed a number of defensive positions. Every position will buy us time, hours sometimes, days at other times. After Salen Vulgate falls, retreat back here. Buy us as much time as you can, with as few casualties as possible.”

“As you wish. I will go to Dervon’s Watch with all haste.”

“Good,” said Magister Fyr. “And when you’re once again back here, we will have one final council of war before the battle starts. Good luck to you, Baladas.”

So things have finally started moving. Helseth's army is advancing on Necrom while the Telvanni continue their policy of aggressive defence. It seems Fyr is using hit and run tactics to slow the loyalist forces down while he bides his time in Necrom doing god knows what. I think you shall leave us all surprised when Fyr reveals his ace (which he surely has, otherwise he wouldn't be acting so smug).

The ensuing week was an exhausting one for Baladas. It was clear to him that stalling was the only thing he could do. Most of the land around Dervon’s Watch was flat- grassland, some farms and the like, sometimes a few hills, but never anything higher. It wasn’t easy to create ambushes in there. Divayth had ordered a number of trenches built straight across the road at several mile intervals. And he’d ordered a number of other surprises as well.

The first few times Helseth’s army came across a trench, they simply stormed it with their mercenary infantry, and sent cavalry to flank it, and after some heavy fighting, Baladas would retreat to the next trench. That continued until the third line of defence. As before, Helseth sent part of his cavalry to flank the line, but Divayth had prepared a number of traps. On the sides of the line, pits had been dug with spikes and snakes in them, and then covered with grass, wood and leaves so no one saw them. The cavalry stormed to the side of the line, and crashed down into the pits. Many of them died. And the infantry already at the trenches were unable to retreat because behind them, separating them from the main forces, a wall of fire suddenly rose up. None of those infantry men made it back alive.

When Baladas’ forces reached Salen Vulgate, he sent word to Necrom that he’d only be able to stall for another day. He’d already won almost a week, so his mission was more than a success. The entire town of Salen Vulgate had been prepared to be a trap. Pits of spikes and snakes were dug all around town, houses were trapped to fall down as soon as someone entered the door, and magical blasts were set to go off as soon as someone entered certain areas. Baladas hoped to kill as many of Helseth’s troops there as in the entire week before. But even then, it would not be enough. Several thousand would be dead, but many thousands more would survive to advance on Necrom. Still, Baladas had his troops provide a brisk defence before retreating from the town near dusk. He wanted Helseth’s army bloodied and weary, so that they would decide to enter Salen Vulgate rather than pursue.

Most of Baladas’ men were halfway to Necrom when he saw a large explosion on the horizon. That was the final surprise of Salen Vulgate; near the end of the city, a magical blast hammered the lead elements of Helseth’s force and also set off other magical traps throughout the city. When he saw it, Baladas knew he’d done everything he could, so he cast a levitation spell and flew onwards, over the heads of his men to Necrom.

Arriving in Necrom, he found Drulvan Vules and the robed Archmagister in conference in Drulvan’s study. “For better or worse, I’ve given us the week you sought. Now I hope you’re ready with some surprises, because otherwise we’re all doomed.”

Drulvan looked at him with a smile and said, “The Archmagister was just telling me that you haven’t been told everything that has been going on. Perhaps you should take the time now to ask those questions you want to ask, before the enemy gets here.”

Baladas thought about that, about how since the start of all of this there had been so many questions and so few answers. Of course, asking too many questions in house Telvanni had, in the past, been a sure way to die young. Even so, Baladas felt he’d had enough- better to die with answers, then live not knowing what was going on.

“I just don’t understand any of this, Drulvan. Why are there so many Indoril willing to join the Telvanni in what appears to be suicide? Why is no one worried about the coming battle? We can’t possibly win against such an army, so why are people choosing to let fully half of the Telvanni and all of the Vampires remain on Vvardenfall when we can use them here? And who is that man, if he even is a man? He’s supposed to be my Archmagister, but I’ve never even seen his face.”

“Many questions, Baladas. I can’t answer all of them, but I can answer some of them. Why did part of the Indoril join with Telvanni? Simple. Helseth would have blamed the death of Crassius Curio on the Telvanni, when we know it was he who was responsible instead. Helseth would also want to have us believe the Telvanni were behind the murder of lord Nerevar. As to that, let’s just say we’ve seen some very convincing evidence to the contrary. And Helseth has said the Telvanni are without honor, which simply isn’t so. You might not know this, but when he was younger, my son was found to be a magic user. Instead of entering house Indoril where the skill might be neglected, he instead choose to join house Telvanni. He entered service with Mistress Therana in Tel Branora, who sent him to Bal Fell to loot it. Things didn’t go exactly as planned as the Mages guild also went there. Just as my son was about to die, lord Nerevar appeared at Bal Fell as a favour to Divayth Fyr, and he sent the Mages guild fleeing. He saved my son’s life and won my service for the rest of my life. Divayth Fyr then went to Tel Branora, killed mistress Therana, and installed Felen Maryon as the new master. My son has been able to prosper. He is now a spellwright for your house and has said often that Master Maryon is one of the most honourable men around.”

“Another example- you’ve seen my Alt Gahshaldmas last time you were here, right? Endris Dilmyn. His brother is a commoner living in Khuul and was influenced by Dagoth Ur; in fact, he became a sleeper. Lord Nerevar killed Dagoth Ur influencing him, and freed him. When he heard it, Endris promised his life to lord Nerevar. Many of the Indoril here either have a similar experience, or believe those who’ve said the Telvanni had nothing to do with the death of lord Nerevar. As to how we know the Telvanni are innocent… well, we’ll come to that later. As to why we’re not as worried as you about the coming battle, let’s just say Helseth’s allies are not all as loyal as they would have him believe. In powerful circles, isn’t everything about connections? Let’s say we know some people, who know some people, who decide where the allegiance lies with some of Helseth’s people. I can’t really elaborate yet, but let’s just say there is truth to some rumors about a certain house’s allegiance.”

“And as to your other question,” Baladas turned to the robed Archmagister. It was a deep voice emanating from underneath the robe, A voice filled with undeniable power and charisma, making it very hard for people to listen and not agree with anything being said. And yet somehow he had a feeling he’d heard the voice before somewhere.

“As to how these men know lord Nerevar was not killed by house Telvanni, the answer is simple. I told them it is not true.”

The robed figure slowly lowered his hood and looked at Baladas. Baladas looked at him, seeing without a doubt the last face he would have expected to see.

“Come,” the Archmagister spoke again, “We have much to discuss, Baladas.”


Baladas left Drulvan’s study that night with a smile on his face and a renewed confidence.

Two updates tonight you might ask yourself?

Yes, two updates. Thing is, I was looking over things again last night, and the next chapter is the final chapter of Varvur, and the final chapter before the real final chapter of the story.

Now that last chapter has some 14 pages to it, as opposed to the regular 4-5 pages of normal chapters, so the day after tomorrow I can start posting the first parts of that final chapter.

This is just to make things more logical, as it appears to be anyway

Ack! The cliffhangers of all cliffhangers! I wanna know who that bloke is!? Damn you! Haha.

Hopefully answers will be found soon. I can't wait to see the conclusion to this.

This is starting to get frustrating. Who in god's name is that robed guy? You tempt us with a juicy steak but in the end you throw us just a bone. Why can't these guys (Baladas, Drulvan et al) just say 'Ah, X, I would never have thought it to be you under those robes!'. I wonder why?

It's a mark of good story-telling however. You've now got me firmly on the edge of my seat, awaiting to see the resolution of these events.

Chapter 18. Staring into the Halls of Sithis

It wasn’t a very pleasant trip for Varvur. Lucien said very little, and what he did say seemed to be for the sole reason of mocking the young Dunmer. Lucien rode on a steed as black as the night, with eyes as red as Varvur’s. Just looking at the animal would tell you there was something unnatural about it; it was definitely not of this world. The road they were travelling was bland, a standard highway like so many in this province. They were moving south, though Lucien had refused to tell him where they were heading. They had set out at first light, and it was after noon when on the horizon, Varvur saw the tall walls of a city.

“Bravil,” Lucien explained, “the city of Regulus Terentius, who recently boasted to the other nobles of Cyrodiil, of how little crime there was in his city when compared to others. The snob actually thinks it’s because of him that so many thieves are afraid to settle there. If he only knew the real reason.”

Another laugh followed. Much could be said about Lucien, Varvur thought, but none could call him grumpy.
The horse Varvur had ridden was housed in a stable near the gate to Bravil, but he noticed that Lucien did not stable his steed there but rather simply let him loose. Varvur assumed the steed would come back to Lucien whenever he needed it. Upon entering the gate, they turned left and walked a small ways along the outer wall until they reached a very humble looking home, one that looked exactly like all the others. Lucien knocked, in what Varvur thought might have been in a certain way, and the door opened. Inside Varvur saw a Bosmer, who looked so much like Belwen one might have thought he’d come back from the dead. The Bosmer saw him looking and observed,

“Heh, don’t wo’y I ain’t no ghost now, and Belwen ain’t su’vived that swo’d of you’s.”

Belwen was me brother, though Sithis known he was good fe’ nothin.”

This Bosmer was speaking with a terrible accent, Varvur wondered how he could ever go unnoticed.

“The name’s Ungolim, an don’t ye be thinkin of callen me Ungo o’ some so’t. Now then, me lady says you got a question fo’ me? Go ahead, speak boy.”

“Was the Dark Brotherhood behind the attack on lord Nerevar?”

“Yes, if ye’e speakin on the two bungled killin’ attempts.”

Varvur considered that answer. Ungolim must have been trying to evade the question.

“No, I mean are you the ones who poisoned the comberry juice of lord Nerevar and killed him?”

“Eh, sma’t lad. No we didn’t kill ‘im, no’ do we know who did. We t’ied to kill ’im twice, and twice failed, then he kill’d so nea’ly all ou’ men in Mo’’owind, no ‘tis neve’ wise to go afte’ someone th’ice.”

Varvur felt his hope slip away. Why would the Brotherhood lie about such a thing? They would more likely boast at having been able to offer such a splendid soul to Sithis; no it had to be the truth, but then did that mean he had come to Cyrodiil all for nothing, done what he did to Fafnir all for nothing, still with no answer to this mystery? Varvur felt like despairing, but wanted to assure himself he’d gotten all he could from Ungolim before he left again.

“Well, if the Brotherhood is not responsible, then surely you must know who was.”

He saw Ungolim looking at him slyly when he responded. “Aye, sma’t lad. We might know, yes we might. But I can’t tell ye.”

Varvur reached for his blade, determined to draw it and force these two to answer him, but before he could draw, there was a knock on the door. Lucien opened the door and three hooded, robed figures walked in. They all looked at Varvur, and one of them said,

“What is the meaning of this? Who is this, Ungolim, and what is he doing here tonight?”

“Nothin ye need conce’n ye’self with Arquen, o’de’s of the mothe’. You see young master Sarethi,” and all of a sudden every trace of the accent had left Ungolim, “I know not why, but our mother herself has ordered me to take you to her. So in a few hours time, we will go to her.”

Varvur felt foolish; he should have known no one who talked as oddly and recognisably as Ungolim would have been able to reach such an exalted post within an organization like the Dark Brotherhood.

“Will she tell me who killed lord Nerevar?” he asked Ungolim.

“Aye lad, she might, she just might do so.”

Waiting for several hours, in a house together with 5 master assassins, proved to be quite an experience. Just watching their eyes might have been enough to pass the time. He saw Ungolim sit still the entire time; he appeared to be in some sort of trance, his eyes closed and his legs crossed. Lucien had taken a book and sat himself right in front of the door, where he appeared to be reading quietly, but every now and then would look up at either Varvur or at the woman Ungolim had called Arquen. The other two people there, an Altmer and a Khajiit, were quietly speaking to each other in a corner of the room. Varvur noticed them glancing his way from time to time, but not often.

The church clock had just tolled midnight, when Ungolim opened his eyes. “It’s time,” he said. Everyone stood up, and followed Ungolim out the door. Varvur walked right behind Lucien, followed by the three others. They walked back the way they had come into the town, but turned left towards the church. Next to it Varvur saw a statue of what appeared to be an old woman. At the bottom of the statue was a plaque with the name on it, “Lucky Old Lady.” He wondered if this lady would give him luck in finding answers. Ungolim moved to stand in front of the statue, and started chanting in a strange voice. Slowly the statue started to change, the face that had first looked kind, slowly moved to an evil grin, the eyes that had been benevolent were now almost radiating cruelty. And as the statue had completed the change, it moved back a small bit, uncovering an entrance. Ungolim ordered everyone to remain there, saying the mother would only allow himself and Varvur inside, and anyone else trying to enter would die.

Wha??!! No, bu... You can't do.... AAARGH!!

You are EVIL Alex. You can't just stop it there! Get back on that computer and update this right now, or I'll....sulk and... sulk some more.

These cliffhangers are killing me, and you're enjoying them far too much.

I'm going to call you Evil Al from now on

Ungolim moved down the stairs, and Varvur had no choice but to follow him. They entered what appeared to be a crypt. Spider webs and dust were plentiful. There was also a smell to the place, a smell one can only find inside a tomb, the smell of death, of rotting flesh, and more, it smelled of foul magic. At the far side of the crypt there was a tomb with the likeness of a woman carved on it, and scattered about the crypt were skeletons, some of adults, but also of children. And standing in front of the tomb, a ghost-like figure of a woman. Ungolim got on his knees and was about to say something when an otherworldly voice came from the ghost, “Leave us!” It was almost amusing to see how quickly Ungolim lunged out of the crypt again. If someone like that was so scared of this ghost, Varvur knew he had to be on his toes.

“So young one, finally you stand in front of me, after having killed a faithful servant, and a traitor. Yes, I call Fafnir a traitor; anyone who will betray the Brotherhood to an outsider is a traitor. And did you see them standing outside, my faithful black hand? Ha! They wouldn’t recognise a traitor if he jumped up and slit their throats. But you do, don’t you? Yes, you see what others don’t. Yet with all your wit, you’ve failed to see the solution to your mystery. And it has been there all along, right in front of you; you have all the clues, yet you do not see it. And why should I help you then?”

Varvur didn’t know what she was speaking of. Was she simply toying with him? Trying to make him feel bad? Or did she want to trick him into agreeing to something. He wasn’t sure, but he had to know.

“I am sorry lady, but I don’t know what you mean. I don’t know who killed lord Nerevar, please tell me.”

“So you really want to know? Fine then- you killed him Varvur.” And when she saw Varvur look shocked added, “Yes, you heard me. You killed him, and I killed him, and your father killed him, and Helseth killed him, and Vivec and Almalexia killed him, and Dagoth Ur killed him., Everyone killed him, and no one killed him. You really want to find the answers, you really want to hear more clues when everything is right there, fine then, to find the one you are looking for, hear my words and mark them well, for I shall not repeat them.”

Those who live die, and those who are dead return to life.

The man you are looking for went from the house of the old god, to the house of nature.

And the key to everything lies with those who never drown, in a place built by people far from home, in a land that did not want them.

“Now leave, before I change my mind and claim your soul for my lord Sithis.” And with that, the ghost of the Night Mother vanished. Varvur went over the words again, wanting to make sure he had committed them to memory and then walked out of the crypt. As soon as he emerged, the statue of the old lady started moving back again, covering the entrance to the crypt, and Varvur saw only Lucien remained standing near it. As the statue closed, Lucien came up to him and said,

“Well, I hope my lady has given you what you came for. Now, I’ve arranged passage for you back to Morrowind, and my lady bid me to tell you she knows of your other quest as well, but also knows there is no rush there. Apparently even gods will await the pleasure of a hero.”

He smiled at that, likely thinking he’d made quite a jest even though Varvur had little idea what he spoke of. He assumed others might get it.

Lucien had arranged for Varvur to be allowed to join a caravan, but this time he did not have to worry about guarding it against trouble, for he was an honoured traveller now, himself protected by guards. All the while back to Morrowind Varvur thought over this latest riddle. He didn’t understand the first parts, but did believe he knew what the last few lines meant. ‘Those who never drown;’ only Argonians never drown. And a place built by people far away from home, in a land that did not want them. Well, Ebonheart had been built by Imperials far from their home. So had Wolverine Hall and it was even further away. This could imply either settlement, he thought, but there were very few Argonians in Wolverine Hall, and an entire Argonian mission in Ebonheart.

The first town he came to in Morrowind was Kragenmoor, which was also the end of the Caravan; from then on he’d have to find other methods of transportation. When he arrived at Kragenmoor, however, the first thing he noticed was the amount of people there, many more then he had seen when he first left for Cyrodiil and that had not been that long ago. He also noticed more then half the people were either soldiers, or training to be soldiers. And the largest surprise came when he saw his father’s cousin standing at the center of town surrounded by a number of bodyguards.

He waved at him, and moved through the throng of people to stand before his relative,

“Hello uncle, what’s going on here?”

“Haven’t you heard yet? There’s a war between the Telvanni and their evil brood on one side, and Hlaalu and Dres on the other side. House Indoril is split right down the middle, with one faction siding with Dres and Hlaalu and one with Telvanni. Your father has declared Redoran neutral, but has ordered us to fortify all our towns. This close to Indoril territory, who knows what mistakes could be made, and what things could spill over. Go see your father if you can; he should be in Blacklight, when you can, visit him and he will explain everything. So sorry Varvur, but I need to continue here.”

“Of course uncle, thank you for the information, but first I must go to Ebonheart.”
With that Varvur took his leave from Balen. Varvur sought out a captain in Kragenmoor, and asked for a horse to carry him swiftly to Veranis Hall where he could catch a boat to Ebonheart.

He arrived in Ebonheart early in the morning, and went straight to the Argonian mission. Inside he demanded to see Im-Kilaya, the head of the mission. When the Argonian arrived, Varvur decided to waste no time. He was tired of searching, and it was time to get answers. So the moment he saw Im-Kilaya, he drew the Ebony Longsword, and pointed it at him,

“Argonian, you have 5 seconds to tell me what happened the night lord Nerevar was killed, or I swear to Azura, I will end your life.”

Surprisingly, rather then deny anything, Im-Kilaya burst into tears.

Honestly Serah, I did not know this would happen, I knew nothing of the poisoning, I only did what he asked because he was my brother, I could never imagine he would do this.”

Something wasn’t right here, Varvur knew, something was very odd.

“What do you mean your brother, what did he make you do? The truth now.”

“Of course, Serah. The day before the meeting, my brother came to me. He told me his master and master Baladas was planning a surprise for lord Nerevar, but that they needed someone to distract the room for just a moment, someone no one would hurt even though it was such an important meeting. He said the only man whom they would not hurt was the poor Jester. So he asked to stand with the Jester just outside the chambers, and make sure he entered at the right time.”

“Who is your brother, then?” Varvur asked.

“Serah, my brother is Vistha-Kai, warden of master Fyr.”

Baladas. Of course, that was the answer. Now the verses made sense. He who had once lived in a Velothi dome- ‘house of the old gods’, and now in a Telvanni mushroom tower- ‘house of nature. And that first line- ‘he who had died,’ perhaps that referred to Divayth Fyr, had he died? Who knows, no one had been around for centuries who knew him when he was younger, so who could say what had happened to him in his life.

Of course who could do a better job at covering their steps then two Wizard lords of the Telvanni. Then that must also be the cause for the civil war; Hlaalu and Dres must have found out Telvanni killed lord Nerevar, and it wouldn’t surprise Varvur if it turned out the Telvanni were also the ones who killed master Curio, perhaps even in league with Dram Bero.

Now, another choice presented itself to Varvur- where would he go first? Would it be Sadrith Mora, where half the Telvanni army was likely massing, or Tel Fyr, to battle what could be the most powerful Wizard lord in all of Nirn. In the end, considering the role Fyr’s warden had played, the choice was easily made.

Oooh! Jumping to conclusions young Varvur....

Something tells me that Fyr and Baladas might just be able to set him straight on that. Although, and why I'm surprised by this I no longer know, this update raises more questions than it answers...

No way has Fyr set him up to die...so that means one of two things.

Either someone - and there's only one person it could be - is trying to get Fyr and Baladas to take the fall. Which doesn't quite add up, as Helseth wasn't expecting problems back then from the Telvanni.

Or...

My original theory might still have some merit After all:

"Those who live die, and those who are dead return to life.
The man you are looking for went from the house of the old god, to the house of nature."

Dead return to life? Well, that would work. The tricky one is the House Of Nature. However...surely it depends what you mean by nature. A certain house I can think of uses mushrooms to create their buildings....

Or is there a third choice I'm not thinking of... Like.....vampires. What's their connection. Technically, are they dead? Or at least the undead? So if someone became a vampire, could they pass as dead? Hmmm, my head's starting to hurt

Again.

Hmm I think my idea of who the archmagister is might be correct... I suppose I'll see but he certainly fits everything. Though so does another.

But this really twists things, Baladas doesn't know who did it (well didn't anyway), so maybe Fyr did but it seems somehow unlikly. Hmm, I really am confused.

I think I am beginning to draw my own conclusions.

Perhaps the Nerevarine's "death" was all just a ploy to get the corrupted ones to expose themselves as the vie for power they could now claim? Fyr's calm nature throughout this whole ordeal could certainly give proof to that.

Well my trusted readers, very soon you'll have all the answers. Can't promise it will be tomorrow though


Ah, and to start tomorrow off nicely, I'll be posting the first update (the first of 3) just after midnight.


Alex

Chapter 19. Endgame.

It was before dawn and Helseth looked at the walls of Necrom. They were high, mighty and very impressive. But fortunately, thanks to the Dres army and their flying wasps, they would not stop Helseth’s army from taking the city.

All around him his army was starting to stir, men putting on their armor, sharpening their weapons, polishing their shields. Everyone knew a great victory awaited them and they wanted to look as good as they could.

Last night Helseth had received his final reports before the battle, and spoken to the faction leaders. Everyone knew what to do that day, so if all went well, and Helseth had no reason to think otherwise, he would have to do little more than watch as his victory unfolded.

He’d been surprised by the reports; fully half of house Telvanni was not here ; they were guarding other parts of the front. They were facing most of the Ashlanders though, but Helseth was not at all worried by them. Baladas Demnevanni, apparently now a Magister of house Telvanni, had come to them last night and told them they need not even bother storming the walls. Instead the Telvanni and their allies would come out of Necrom and face Helseth’s army in the field.

Helseth accepted of course, though he knew it to be madness on the part of house Telvanni. They were outnumbered nearly three to one. Almost all the forces of house Dres had shown up, which now made up of more than a third of Helseth’s army. His mercenaries, the Hlaalu and Camonna Tong men and the two guilds contributed another third, and finally the Indoril constituted nearly a third.

Helseth had thought of this day for weeks now, and he’d told his commanders last night what they would do today. They would attack during the daytime, to make sure the Vampire allies of the Telvanni were useless. Helseth wanted his Indoril in the center. They would not break and could support the flanks if need be. The Dres would serve as the reserves, ready to shore up places where they were needed. They were especially suited for that because of their light armor and fast wasps. The left flank would be held by the Hlaalu and Camonna Tong men, and the right by the fighters guild, with the cavalry mercenaries at the far right ready to storm. The mages would be at the rear, using their magic to offset the Telvanni wherever they might come.

He felt it in his very being; today would be the day to defeat these rebels. He wanted to prove to everyone once and for all, that they’d best obey him or they would surely die.

...it'll all fail miserably, won't it?

Varvur had been able to dodge every patrol he came across. And he came across quite a few. Until Suran things had been easy, but he arrived in Suran to find it occupied by Telvanni. He had gone back to his mercenary guise, and was able to exit the town with no trouble from guards. Beyond it, he did his best to stay hidden. It was slow going, and there were a number of times when people had come close to noticing him, but after two days, he finally found himself looking at the entrance to Tel Fyr. Compared to some other Tels, Tel Fyr was very modest and small even. Divayth preferred not to keep too many servants around, so he did not need to accommodate them.

Varvur slowly opened the door, and snuck inside. He’d never been there before, but had frequently heard the stories of his cousin who was once kept prisoner here for a time. To the left was the way to the corprosarium, and to the right the passage to the tower of Tel Fyr, home to the Wizard lord himself. Varvur pondered his choice; he could go to the left and kill the warden first, but if he did that and then got killed by Divayth, it would have been a death without meaning. Or if he went right, to face the Wizard, he could get killed without ever having avenged lord Nerevar.

He choose to go right anyway, remembering again the tale of Balen about the snake’s head. He slowly and carefully made his way up the slope until he reached a door. Opening it slowly, he gazed ahead, looking for any magical traps. Satisfied there were none, he slowly closed the door behind him. He knew the Wizard would be one floor up, but climbing there was simply not an option. Acting on a hunch, he went into the room left of the entrance, where he saw a number of potions. He was lucky yet again; one of the potions allowed the drinker to fly, only for a short while- but still, it would do the trick nicely he thought. He drank it, and immediately felt weightless.

He’d used such a potion once before, and had found it funny to fly inside his father’s house that time. This time though, he did not find it funny at all. He tried his best to remain quiet as he slowly drifted up through the shaft to the upper floor. Poking his head just above the edge, he saw a figure standing with his back to where Varvur was. Usually Divayth wore Daedric armour, but for some reason, today he appeared only to be wearing a dark robe. He had the hood of the robe over his head and was bending a bit over a table, intensely staring at something.

Varvur drifted further upwards, and into an adjoining room. He knew he would have to wait for the potion to wear off; one thing he hadn’t trained for was fighting while he was floating about. Luckily he didn’t have to wait long. He felt himself slowly drifting down until his feet were once again firmly on the floor. He silently took off his Akavir katana and placed it on the floor, he wanted to avenge lord Nerevar with the lords own blade.

Being careful not to make a sound, Varvur snuck out of the room and looked at the figure, which he saw was still bending over the table. He felt very lucky at that moment. He snuck to the entrance of the room where the man was standing, but just before he entered, he must have stepped on something as there was a small creak.

A small creak eh? Folllowed by a huge fireball and a Dremora Lord charging at him? Or followed by Fyr turning round, smiling and saying, "Ah Varvur, I've been expecting you."

I'll have to wait to find out - though I have a pretty good idea about this one. Your portrayal of Fyr is of a much nicer wizard than I ever took him to be

Man, I really hate waiting....

I don't think its Fyr... But I do think we're about to find out who the archmagister is. As for the coming battle someone will turn on helseth, most likly the indoril though either dres or hlaalu might. Certainly most of you're characters are more likeable than I took them to be, but then I think they're meant to be so thats fine.

I'm surprised how easily Varvur managed to sneak in though.