Companions, they're all the same no matter what the race. It's Luna's long flowing tail that gets to Roach, I bet.

No doubt. Girls.

We are almost ready for an update on the story! I have moved my game from Xbox360 to PC, and well, it took a lot of work to get the controller to function. It was all working beautifully for two days, but then Windows did an update and broke everything again. Wasted another day implementing a more stable solution. But now it works! Then spent time and more time with that giant UESP book - heros like Jandaga should stay away from it lest their spirit gets irreversibly corrupted by the evil forces within. And this is nothing compared to the OBSE CSE book - that one comes straight from Sithis!

Anyway, we now have a heavily rewritten Companion Share and Recruit mod that made it possible to get Luna from Skyrim so that Hauk doesn't have to walk. Handy considering how much traveling they are doing. They are about to set off again! Stay tuned.

15 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The mountain road

"That necromancy business really needs addressing" - Lena was saying at breakfast. Olav was serving full Nordic fry-up, and Hauk was not about to pass it up.

"Well, then we should get on with it" - he nodded, not taking his eyes off the sausages sizzling on the grill. "Which one is nearer - the Amulet or the Helm?"

"The Amulet at Fort Ontus" - Lena checked her notes. "That's South West of Chorrol. The Helm is at Fort Teleman, that's all the way East of Leyawiin."

"Wow, that's a lot of travelling" - Hauk whistled.

"Your horse has arrived" - Humilis from the stables entered the tavern. "She got here last night, and is ready for you now."

"Oh, that's great news!" - Hauk beamed at him. "I'll be over shortly."

"Your horse?" - Lena raised an eyebrow. "Arrived? From where? Are there not enough horses in Cyrodiil?"

"Not like that, there aren't" - Hauk grinned. "Luna is a Nord horse, the one that I've been riding in Skyrim. It took a while to get the paperwork done, but now she's here."

"In Bruma. Of course" - Lena nodded. "But you know, Roach is also a Nord horse and I bought her right here at the stables."

"Don't argue."

"I'm not arguing! I'm just pointing out that you are not making any sense!"

"It's like with women: if I wanted a Nord woman, I'd look for one in Skyrim rather than in Bruma."

"I see. Which is why you settled for a half-Breton from the Niben. Makes perfect sense."

They stared at each other, grinning, then burst out laughing. The day was starting well.

...

It was late morning when they eventually set off towards Chorrol. The air was crisp and clear, the snow was glistening in the sun. It was the height of summer... But the Jeralls never shed their white garb.

"Let's take the Northern route" - Lena steered Roach North and around Bruma city wall. "Past Applewatch, then West."

"Do you know where that trail goes?" - Hauk looked uncertain.

"That way!" - Lena beamed. "We'll find out, I'm sure."


The views were breathtaking. The road kept climbing and climbing, and eventually they reached a place of worship dedicated to a mudcrab. The worshippers were talking gibberish with an air of wisdom and self-importance.


"That's Hermaeus Mora" - Hauk laughed at Lena's suggestion to make a sandwich. "Come on - these people are too far gone already."

The path continued West featuring hanging bridges and stone steps, still climbing. And then they stood on what felt like the top of the world.


"It's Skyrim to the right of here and Hammerfell to the left" - Hauk pointed at the mountain tops in the distance. "We are right at the three-way border point where Colovian Highlands become the Jeralls."

They stood there for a while, marvelling at the view. Suddenly they heard heavy breathing from behind. A daedroth came up the road, turning a corner. It roared, casting on its shield.

"What on Nirn?!" - Lena whipped out a clannfear and started casting paralysing fireballs at the daedroth. "Where did it come from?!"

"Mora's idea of entertainment, I bet!" - Hauk swore in a language Lena didn't understand. "You bloody..!" - the last word was swallowed by the roar of Hauk's dremora. The daedroth was indeed soon quite bloody.

"Let's get going before Mora sends more clowns" - Lena commented, pulling out daedroth's teeth. "It's still quite far to Chorrol and the sun will soon set."

From that point on the trail started descending, as the Jeralls morphed into much warmer Colovian Highlands. The snow gave way to grass and shrubs. It looked promising at first - the horses were no longer slipping on icy patches, but the descent became very steep. They found more stone steps and platforms designed to help with the incline, no doubt. This would have been very helpful indeed on the way up, but less so on the way down. The horses were now slipping on the narrow steps and required regular healing - they were no mountain goats! The fact loudly pointed out both by Roach and Luna.

It was late in the evening when they finally reached the Northern Gate of Chorrol. They were tempted to go into the city straight away, but the horses deserved a good rest as well, so they circled around the city wall to the Southern Gate and the stables. It was nearly midnight when Lena and Hauk entered the Motierre house where they would spend the night.

Sooo true. We do all the work. I appreciate it now, but back in those days I was wanting some help at times!

Oh wow, I didn't know you can get an alternate start on PS4! As you've noted, they can change things with NPC placement and situations during early quests. Same thing happens sometimes on PC.

I am up to post 33.

16-18 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Fort Ontus - Fort Teleman

Fort Ontus lay high in the Colovian Highlands and it took the better part of the day for Lena and Hauk to reach it. They could see it from below, but the mountains rose steeply and the trail was hard to find. Eventually they stood by the entrance, taking in the view.

"Well, let's go and see what Caranya has to say for herself" - Lena looked wearily at Hauk. "Do you think they'll attack us on sight?"

"I think not" - Hauk shook his head, but checked his gear nevertheless.

The fort was quiet. Several mages were pacing around somewhat nervously, but they didn't attack.

"You need to speak with Caranya before you do anything!" - they urged Lena further into the fort.

"Well, I thought you were Traven's lapdog, yet here you are!" - Caranya greeted them. "Traven is misusing his power and I have a few choice words for him! Are you here to try and take the Amulet back?"

"Well..." - Lena looked at the zombies on the altars and the Necromancy banners in the hall. "What do you want with it?"

"To keep it away from Traven" - Caranya winked.

"And Mannimarco?"

"And Mannimarco."

"Well then..." - Lena looked at the other mages listening in from the distance. "I'll let you be."

Caranya smiled, the mages sighed with relief.

"I'll be here. This work is quite delicate indeed."

...

"Volanaro was right" - Lena was saying to Hauk on the way out. "Caranya isn't giving away much. But I see no need to kill her just so I could return the Amulet to Traven. Remarkable that he was so intent on having it back and didn't spare a thought for the mages that he was losing from the Guild."

"Well, the Necromancers that go rampant killing people are of course dangerous" - Hauk was watching the mages in the fort. "But these are Guild mages - were Guild mages - and I don't see them as members of that cult. We need to distinguish between them - something that Traven is not willing to do."

It was early evening when they stood outside Fort Ontus again. They were headed to Fort Teleman next, which was at least a two day journey. They would spend the night in Skingrad, then review their plans in the morning.


They got up late because they went to bed late, stopped at Salmo's bakery for breakfast and set off for Bravil cutting through the forest. It took them all day and half of the night, and it was 3am when they eventually fell into bed in Lena's house, exhausted.

18 Sun's Height

The same pattern of getting up late after a long day repeated itself, and it was nearly midday when they finally set off from Bravil following the road South. They crossed the Niben at Fort Redman, then rode steady East past the shrine of Nocturnal. They reached Fort Teleman in early evening.

As they dismounted their tired horses, Hauk got hit by a shock spell and they heard rattling of walking bones. Necromancers.

"I thought Irlav wasn't a necromancer?" - Lena wondered aloud, battling a skeleton. "And this is an actual undead and not a summon."

"Yeah, the summon is over there, occupying your clannfear" - replied Hauk, battling a zombie. "But neither of them know shock spells, so there's a mage somewhere around here as well."

The mage was staying away on the upper level of the fort tower, but eventually also he was defeated.

"Necromancers" - Lena looked at his robes. "Unfriendly ones. I hope Irlav is Ok if this fort is overrun!"

They went in. The fort was indeed overrun with necromancers who were battling some daedra.

"Long term summons" - Hauk pointed out, cutting out a heart from a fallen Xivilai. "These must be Irlav's sentries. Too bad they can't tell friend from foe."

They fought through more necromancers and daedra who were also fighting each other, trying not to get caught in the crossfire. They found a zombie altar in a central hall and Necromancy banners.

"A bit enthusiastic, don't you think? Hanging up your banners before you've defended your enemies" - Lena mused, walking around.

The second section of the fort greeted them with fighting as well, a couple of necromancers made it as far as that and were fighting mages in Guild robes. Lena and Hauk joined in, and soon the necromancers were defeated.

"Irlav is further in" - the mages said. "Thank you for helping us repel this attack."

They found Irlav in the furthest chamber - a cave with a toppled statue of Nocturnal.

"I am sorry we should meet under such circumstances" - Irlav said. "But we are finally getting to some real work here. I imagine Traven sent you to retrieve the Bloodworm Helm?"

"Indeed" - Lena nodded.

"Well, tell him he can't have it" - Irlav looked cross. "As much as I prefer to stay at the Imperial City, I grow tired of all the senseless restrictions that he's been imposing. It's rough out here, but we manage."

"You got overrun by necromancers though" - Lena tried to reason with Irlav, although she felt it was futile.

"Indeed, we need better defences. We shall post more sentries in the first section of the fort. They are hostile to everyone, unfortunately, so it's best you don't come here anymore" - Irlav said with finality indicating that the conversation was now closed.

Lena looked at Hauk who said nothing the whole time. If she wanted the Helm, she would have to kill Irlav and his mages for it.

"Very well, I'll let you be. Goodbye."

She turned around and walked off. Traven would have to come and kill Irlav himself if he really wanted that Helm back.

...

The Blackwood was swallowed by low hanging mist and the clouds were hiding the moons and the stars above.

"This is no weather to wander through the woods" - Lena said running her hand along Roach's back and finding it moist with the mist. "But it is also not the weather to camp outside. I suppose we could spend the night at this fort, now that the necromancers are dead?"

"We could, but I would prefer not to" - Hauk said heavily. "Irlav didn't exactly welcome us here - or anyone else, for that matter. There is an inn nearby - the Drunken Dragon, should be to the West."

"Should be?" - Lena peered into the mist.

"Just follow the compass, it's too easy to get lost here. And keep your eyes peeled."

Lena sighed, preparing to get lost.

"Why is it called 'The Drunken Dragon'?" - she asked suspiciously.

"Because you have to be drunk to find it" - Hauk smirked, handing Lena a bottle of mead. "Here, this will take the chill out."

The night was warm, but the dump soon permeated their clothes and the chill set in. It took several mead bottles before they stumbled upon a mine entrance and a road.

"Oh that's a good sign!" - Hauk smiled approvingly. "The inn was built for the workers. It should be just up the road."

It was. They could not imagine a more welcome sight.

The Mages Guild quest line

I always felt that this quest line was too linear - there were no choices in it at all. So I decided to change it. I tried to modify the quests themselves, with only partial success, so there won't be any "Alternative Mages Guild Quest Line" mod released because I can't figure out how to make it right... and because I don't have to - I can fudge it through the console.

With this said however, I do have an alternative story, and you see it here in this narrative. Lena could have chosen to kill both Caranya and Irlav and thus to follow the original line. But she chose not to.

19 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Imperial City

"If we ride straight to the Arcane University, we should be able to get there before the evening" - Hauk said at breakfast at the Drunken Dragon Inn. "I am eager to get it over with."

"As am I" - agreed Lena.

...

"Well, that was most unpleasant" - Lena wrinkled her nose as if she smelled something bad. She just finished talking to Arch Mage Traven regarding the Necromancer's Amulet and the Bloodworm Helm which she left with the mages who took them.

"Traven was displeased, I take it" - Hauk smirked. "So, what now?"

"He'll have to think on that, apparently" - Lena shrugged. "But he doesn't have a lot of mages left who are willing to do anything for him. I am to see Raminus in a few days."

Lena and Hauk crossed the bridge from the Arcane University and entered the Imperial City.

"Optio" - an out-of-breath guard approached Hauk. "I have a message for you." He handed Hauk a note and left. This was getting repetitive.

"They want you back for a while, don't they?" - Lena guessed as Hauk was reading the note.

"Yes, but it shouldn't take long. I'll leave a message in my house when I'm done - come and find me again." He kissed her goodbye and walked off.

Lena sighed, walking among the trees in the Arboretum. Suddenly she felt tired of all the travelling and running around, may be she should just rest for a few days. She sat down on a bench, lost in thought.

"It's a lovely afternoon, isn't it?" - a voice said in her ear.

"What?" - she jerked. Lucien sat next to her.

"Come with me" - he said, getting up. Lena followed.

Lucien walked to a well in the corner, then disappeared into it. The well led into the sewers, and after a short walk he and Lena stood before a metal door in the wall, like many other metal doors in the sewers of the Imperial City. Lucien unlocked it with his key, motioning Lena to enter, then locking the door behind her.

"We don't want to be disturbed. This is a magical lock - it cannot be picked" - he smiled. "Come."

The corridor before them resembled every other corridor in any Imperial fort. It turned a corner and opened onto living quarters with remarkably nice furnishings. It felt warm and cosy.


"Oh wow!" - Lena gasped. "I did not expect such comfort in the sewers!"

"The sewers have many chambers like this, although most are just dump and dirty ruins housing thieves, goblins or skooma addicts - hence the need for a good lock. Most chambers have chimneys and wells too, all I did here was clean it up." He got food and wine out of the cupboard, motioning Lena towards the table. "It's time for dinner, isn't it?" - he smiled.

"It is" - Lena nodded, pulling him into an embrace. "I am famished." She kissed him.

Lucien snapped his fingers and their clothes fell to their feet.

"Sanguine?" - Lena laughed.

"Dibella" - Lucien ran his hand up and down her spine making her arch and moan. "The cloth was getting in the way."

Indeed. Love making worked so much better without it.

...

Lucien was such a tease. He would not enter Lena at her call, he just kept caressing her, touching, kissing and fondling her until she could take it no more - her heart racing, her mouth dry, her groin hot and humid.

"Now" - he whispered, kissing her on the mouth, sharing his moisture with her. Lena felt him move in, with that first contact already sending sparks into her brain. Every move that followed released another charge, until her whole body was tingling.

Lucien picked up the pace somewhat. The tension that had been building up inside him, the tension that he'd been holding back, was ready to erupt, yet he would only release it a little at a time, sending sparks into his brain each time he touched the wall. There was no need to rush it - the journey was its own reward.

As Lena's breathing started to slow down, Lucien knew she would soon be exhausted - it was time to stop holding back. Picking up the pace with a stronger push every time, he felt Lena tremble under him, wrapping her legs around his waist. She was in ecstasy and with one final push, so was he, squeezing Lena in a tight embrace and lifting her up as his body arched.

They fell back onto the cushions, still holding each other. Lena only unwrapped her legs when her hips started hurting from being locked in the same position for too long. Lucien released his embrace and rolled over onto his back, still looking at Lena and stroking her face. She took his hand, kissing his palm and intertwining her fingers with his, like on their first night, like every night they spent together. Her mind took her back to their first meeting when Lucien came to offer her to join the Brotherhood. He was 42, she wasn't even 18, and no, their union would be impossible, she told herself, not with that age difference, not then and not ever. Besides, they only just met, she didn't know him at all... But the heart wants what the heart wants, he stood right next to her as he spoke, and as she breathed in his scent, she knew that no other man could take that special place in her heart the existence of which she forbade herself to acknowledge.

Lena woke up hungry, her head on Lucien's shoulder. He was already awake too.

"Shall we have dinner then?" - he asked, smiling. "Or do you want a bath first?"

"Umm... both, I think" - Lena got up, grinning.

Chronology

Lucien Lachance was born in Morrowind under the Lover on 11 Sun's Dawn, 3E392 to an Imperial mother and a Dunmer father, a Morag Tong assassin. Lucien took after his mother - he was an Imperial. The relationship between his parents was clandestine, and after some years his mother left for Cyrodiil, taking him with her - Arnesian War started in Morrowind in 3E396.

In 3E413 Lena's mother Lillian Delacour had a son. As she was a Dark Brotherhood assassin, and her son's father was a high placed citizen of the Empire, their relationship was clandestine and they decided to send the boy away to the Northern Realms to be raised as a witcher of the School of the Wolf. He later became known as Geralt of Rivia, or Geralt the White Wolf. He was half-Breton, half-Nord, but his father's blood won over and Geralt was a Nord.

Lucien Lachance joined the Dark Brotherhood in 3E415 at the age of 23.

Lillian Delacour left the Brotherhood in early 3E417 after she executed the issuer of a contract on the man she was with - Geralt's father. She was pregnant with her second child.

Lena Wolf was born in Cyrodiil under the Apprentice on 17 Sun's Height 3E417. She was a Breton like her mother, but her father's Nord blood ran just under the surface.

In 3E421 Lucien was involved in the elimination of the Crimson Scars. Lena's mother died of swamp fever in the same year. Lena was 4 years old. She was adopted by their Argonian neighbour whom she saw as her grandmother.

The Oblivion Crisis broke out in 3E433 when Lena was 16 years old. Her adoptive grandmother died of old age. Lena joined the Mages Guild and went about closing the gates. Lena caught vampirism in 3E434 at 17, and joined the Dark Brotherhood soon after. Lucien was 42 years old when they met.

The Purification of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary allegedly took place in 3E436, except of course it didn't. Lucien was in exile for over a year while Lena was chasing the traitor, also exiled and hunted. It was Lucien who figured it out eventually and started feeding her tips as to where to look. It was safer for both of them not to be in contact, and although Lena guessed where the anonymous tips were coming from, she never met Lucien during that time. He could not be the one to reveal the identity of the traitor - he might not be believed, it had to be Lena. The plot was brought to conclusion in 3E437.

The Oblivion Crisis ended in 3E437, starting a new era with the following year.

The Greymarch in the Shivering Isles was concluded in 4E2.

Lena's vampirism was cured in 4E6.

Lena was spending a lot of time in the Shivering Isles, visiting Lucien's fort from time to time, but never meeting Lucien himself. Dylan took her to the Wellspring for the first time in 4E103.

Hauk Serck-Hanssen was born in Cyrodiil under The Lord on 21 First Seed 4E151 to Nord parents. He and his twin brother Iver both joined the Arcane University and the Imperial Legion. When the Great War broke out in 4E171, they had just completed their Battlemage training. Iver was drafted into regular forces, but Hauk was sent to Skyrim to a special unit - scouts, messengers, liaisons, logistics, that sort of thing. At least, this was the official designation.

Hauk met Lucien on multiple occasions during the War, as their assignments crossed - they were both sent after the same targets, albeit by the opposing sides. Hauk - to gather information, Lucien - to tidy up any loose ends. Hauk reached the rank of Optio and was made the Knight of the Dragon Legion for his service during the Great War.

Hannibal Traven became the Arch Mage of the Mages Guild in 4E191. He banned Necromancy and introduced a "code of conduct" for battlemages - something that Hauk strongly disagreed with. Not wishing to be banned from the Guild, in 4E192 he boarded a ship and left for Antaloor and then Albion. He stayed away for six years, returning to Cyrodiil in 4E198. The Legion made it clear to Hannibal Traven that Hauk's continued membership of the Mages Guild was in the interest of the Empire, and unless the Arch Mage wished to find himself an enemy of the Legion, he would do well to leave Optio Serck-Hanssen well alone. Hauk therefore retained the rank of Evoker, never to be promoted.

Lena returned to Cyrodiil in 4E193, found her house in Bravil repossessed and her citizen rights suspended, so she boarded a ship and sailed to the Northern Realms where she met Geralt in 4E195. She returned to Cyrodiil the following year.

Geralt the White Wolf came to Skyrim in 4E201. He was aged nearly 100 years, considering time dilation in other realms. Lena discovered she was Dragonborn.

Lena and Hauk met in the Imperial City in Frost Fall 4E201. Hauk was 50 years old.

Lucien came to see Lena at the end of Evening Star 4E201 offering her to rejoin the Dark Brotherhood. He was 246 years old. Lena was about 50 - it was hard to tell with the time dilation.

First Seed 4E202 brought the revelation that Lucien had appointed Lena his Silencer back in 3E347, never replacing her all this time. Lucien told Lena he loved her, offering her a bond, if she wanted it. What kind of a bond? He left it open.

In Mid-Year 4E202 Lena accepted a bond with Lucien, a bond that she never thought possible until recently, forbidding herself to even acknowledge that it was what she always longed for.

This Chronology is being updated as events unfold.

20 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Cheydinhal

When Lena woke up in the morning in Lucien's Arboretum bolthole, Lucien was already up and dressed, having breakfast and preparing to leave.


"I have work to do" - he said, preoccupied. "You take your time - just pull the door shut behind you, and it will lock itself. You can always open it from inside - you are not locked in here, but you cat get yourself locked out."

"I'll be fine" - she came up to him at the table, embracing him from behind his chair. "You seem tense."

"Well..." - he sighed. "I have to see a potential client with strange conditions, and then I have a contract to fulfil that might prove a challenge."

"Is that why last night..."

"What?" - he spun around, looking worried. "Too intense?"

Lena pulled up a chair, sitting down next to him, still not letting go of him. She shook her head slowly.

"No" - she smiled. "You sensed me perfectly. But you couldn't relax yourself."

"Yeah, it's true, I suppose" - he smiled back at her. "Not till the very end." He paused, looking in her eyes. "You are getting to know me."

...

Lena didn't stay long after Lucien left. She still felt tired from all the travels of the week before, and she felt like she needed some time to get her head in order. Normally she would go home to Bravil, or may be even cross to the Shivering Isles, but now she wanted to go to Cheydinhal. When Lucien brought some of his gear to the Wolf Sanctuary last time, Lena realised she didn't have the right furniture for two people. Oh, he was not moving in, it was still her house... But things had changed. She no longer needed a second bed upstairs for friends to stay the night, they wouldn't anyway, not now that she was... what? "No longer unattached" - she thought. It took some getting used to.

...

"We can have it all changed for you straight away" - Borba was all smiles, taking Lena's order for a change of furniture. "We have it all in stock, Magra can be there tomorrow morning. It's best if you supervise, just so he doesn't touch anything he shouldn't, in his enthusiasm." She turned to Magra, giving him a hard long look. Magra looked up briefly, muttered something unintelligible and went back to his work of fixing an old chair. Lena watched with amusement.

"Magra been giving you trouble?" - she chuckled.

"Well..." - Borba beamed at her. "May be a little. You've got to nip that sort of thing in the bud. Especially with Orcs - can't keep his hands to himself, to say nothing of the other parts of his body." She looked over at him with a mixture of anger and tenderness. He muttered something again, this time Lena could catch "Orc" and "not our way". Borba seemed to have heard everything clearly though. "Not our way?" - anger won over, she looked at Magra with her eyes narrowing. "If I can do it, so can you. Not here in Cheydinhal - never where you live. Besides, she's an elf! You'll be the laughing stock of everyone we know, carrying on like that with a Dunmer!"

"At least she's not a human!" - Magra retorted with anger of his own. "How many Bretons have you squashed?"

"I can't help it if they are so fragile" - Borba shrugged. "I like Bretons, they've got style." She beamed at Lena again. "Don't worry, they aren't dead. Just ruffled a bit, is all" - she winked.

Lena nodded, with a twinkle in her eye. But she felt it was best to change the topic.

"I need some skooma" - she looked straight at Borba. "Do you know where I can get some?"

"Yes" - Borba nodded, looking at Lena with a neutral expression. "For yourself?"

"No" - Lena smiled, noting to herself that Borba didn't seem to judge. "For someone in the Shivering Isles."

"Caldana" - Borba chuckled. "She's safer there than she was ever this side of the Gates of Madness. Just see our branch in Bravil - tell them I sent you, and they'll let you in."

"So, that's the trick then" - Lena grinned. "They'd never let me in, not in all these years."

"They don't want the same thing to happen to them as what happened to S'krivva" - Borba winked. "Good riddance, by the way. Her sister moved into her house, I hear. And that one is an actual dealer in Elsweyer imports - we will soon be getting some as well."

"So you don't deal with the likes of S'krivva?" - Lena was a bit surprised. Borba's business was stretching the law in places, after all.

"Thieves Guild? No" - Borba shook her head firmly. "The Tong disapproves of that. Camona Tong" - she added with an afterthought. "Not the other one."

"Of course." Lena paused, thinking of something. "Well, if there's anything we can do for you..."

"We'll be in touch in the usual way" - Borba beamed, closing the topic.

They exchanged glances of understanding, and Lena left the shop.

It was a beautiful summer evening, the air was warm and the insects were buzzing about, even after dark. The frogs already started their chorus in the pond, and night blossoms were opening their petals. Lena went up the path to the castle, turning off into the gardens, now fully finished.

"Magra does know his stuff" - she thought, walking along a winding path. Cheydinhal gardens were once again a place to be.



--------------------------

Cheydinhal Gardens on Nexus.

Wow so Lucien eliminated one of Lena's ancestors! She doesn't seem upset about this, though. Maybe she didn't even know him, eh?



Because it's too heavy handed? Because it's unnatural to eradicate an entire guild full of assassins, merchants, and hangers-on, when only one traitor deserves punishment? Because, oh, perhaps our character has finally gained what he or she feels is equal companionship amongst a group of equals?

I like the way you did it, quest-wise. However you did it (my memory isn't so good so I don't remember how). Never made sense to me to kill everyone. If a Mafia boss has an underling who is skimping money, yet the boss doesn't know who is doing this, does this boss then murder his entire clan?

Anyway, the scene with Lucien is touching. The guy makes my skin crawl, but if Miss Wolf enjoys his company to the point she's upset as he fades away, I feel happy for her.

Well, Lucien is an assassin, so what else is he going to do? Lena too is an assassin. She knows how it works. Besides, she didn't know her great-uncle, and from reading his diary back at the Deepscorn Hollow, and mostly from seeing that overly creepy shrine to Sithis, she got a distinct impression that he was raving mad. Good riddance.


I think there may be arguments for and against it, but I disagreed with it exactly because I thought that the "evidence" was too thin for such a desperate measure. I mean, they hadn't even tried to find the traitor! That made no sense to me, and even less so to Lena.


Well... Like you said so yourself in this very message: she found friendship and companionship within the Brotherhood, so no, Lucien doesn't make her skin crawl. She is an assassin too, remember? Besides, after what they've been through, they must be close friends, at the very least.

Exactly.

Up to post 37

21-23 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The Jeralls - Pale Pass

While Magra and his men were moving furniture in and out of the Wolf Sanctuary, Lena was thinking of all the changes that happened in her life over the past few months. The change in her relationships with Lucien and Hauk, her growing contempt for Arch Mage Traven, the temporary return of her vampirism and the continued need for blood, and most of all - the possible revelation of her father's identity: Wolf Asgarsen, Commander of the Second Imperial Legion. It was only a clue, not a proof, she needed to find out more about him, she needed to link him to her mother, to be sure of it, yet all she had now were just a couple of suggestive letters, which may or may not have been forged. Hauk thought she should start looking in the Falkreath archives, and it was a sensible thing to do. But that required a longer stay in Skyrim... but may be... what if... she started from the other end? Assuming he was indeed a real person, and the Imperial Order that she was now looking at, was not a forgery, then where was the Pale Pass Fortress where his men were stationed? Which trail did they call the Pale Pass?


When Magra was finished with the furniture, Lena had a hearty lunch and rode North East of Cheydinhal into the Jerall Mountains. Roach complained of the steep ridges that Lena made her climb, but climb she did, until they stood on the Dive Rock.

"We'll camp here for the night" - Lena patted Roach offering her some carrots and apples.


The next morning they continued climbing North East, all the way to the Skyrim Observatory, and there, standing on the border of Cyrodiil, Skyrim and Morrowind, they turned West, following the Cyrodiil-Skyrim border along the ridges of Jerall mountains. They found several trails that weren't too steep and could be used to cross the border, but none of them had any forts or fortresses near them - just smugglers' shacks, caves or ruins - nothing suitable to house the Legion. They passed the Skyrim Temple overlooking Sedor, and Frostcraig Spire appeared in the distance - they were nearing Bruma.


"The old Pale Pass is by the Dragonclaw Rock" - mused Lena. "The new one is by the Cloud Ruler Temple, but that's a narrow staircase not suitable for troops. There must be a better pass somewhere nearby. Further West perhaps?"

She was about to continue on, when she noticed a roof among the rocks to the South. Not a fortress, but a house. A house, here? She never saw it before... She led Roach down the slope - remarkably easy. Could this be the old Pale Pass?

The house was abandoned. It was more than a house - it had underground guest quarters, stables and a smaller cottage next to it. It looked like a lodge or an inn.


"Well, if this used to be an inn, then this must be the site of the old Pale Pass" - Lena decided. But the sun had already set, and the air was too frigid to venture out. Besides, Roach discovered the stables - and hay - and was not leaving. Lena decided to stay the night - she had enough provisions for several days.


In the morning Lena had to bribe Roach with several carrots into continuing their exploration of the Jerall peaks, which inevitably involved a lot more climbing. Going due North from the lodge, the climb was easy at first, but then the way was blocked by several boulders.

"An avalanche" - Lena thought, looking around. "Perhaps this is what blocked the Pass."

Indeed, if those rocks had not been there, the climb would have continued to be quite easy, crossing the mountain ridge at a fairly low point. Beyond it lay Skyrim, with what looked like an easy descent.

"This area looks to have been carved in the rocks" - Lena mused. "Perhaps the pass is not natural, but man-made. After all, if such an easy crossing existed in Reman's times, the Akaviri would not have been stuck in the ancient Pale Pass with all its dangers."

She led Roach North, descending the mountain ridge. A few larger rocks stuck out of the ground at odd angles blocking their way - results of other avalanches, perhaps. They manoeuvred around them, nearly tripping at times. Lena dismounted and went on foot, with Roach following. Still, there were no structures in sight...

"Are you all right back there?" - Lena turned around, hearing Roach's complaints. She sounded hurt. "Here, let me" - Lena prepared a healing spell. "Oh wait!! What is that?!"

She stood in front of a heavy iron-clad door, she only saw it because she had turned around. Roach's renewed complaints reminded her of the healing. She led the horse to a small platform in front of the door and told her to wait. Would the door even open?

With a lot of effort, the old door nudged open, and Lena slipped inside. It looked like an Imperial fort. All was quiet except for the rattling of walking bones and whizzes of wraiths...

"I don't really want to fight them" - thought Lena, her curiosity preventing her from just turning around and leaving. She cloaked in chameleon, gaining full invisibility with rings, spells and a potion. She went past the skeletons without being noticed. She sneaked past a wraith. The wraith sensed something - it was not being fooled, not completely, but Lena sprinted and the wraith lost track of her. This wasn't going to be that easy.

The corridor opened onto a large chamber with rows of beds - the barracks. This definitely looked like a fort. Lena looked into some of the chests - clothes, Imperial armour, steel weapons. She continued on, sneaking past more skeletons - there were no wraiths there. She came to a mess hall, with several doors leading off it. Kitchen, stores, another hall.

"Commander's chambers and office" - Lena thought, looking around. A heavy oak desk was still presiding the room, another door led to private quarters. Lena's heart leapt: she would learn something here. But first... she hit the floor, paralysed. A wraith drifted through the door from the private quarters, its hand raised with another spell. Frost seized Lena and she passed out.

...

"Dessos - I need to call Dessos" - was the only thing Lena could think about, as she was trying to still her shaking. She was freezing. She was lying on a cold stone floor in an old fort - yes, the Commander's office, she remembered. The wraith must be still nearby. Lena tried to stay as quiet as she could, lifting herself up in preparation to cast the spell. She was stiff and shaky, but her magicka was intact. Not enough for a long term binding, but may be enough for a few minutes... She cast the spell. Dessos appeared, unsheathing his sword and turning towards the private quarters - he sensed the wraith. Lena couldn't join him in the fight, it was all she could do to keep herself from fainting again.

"A pure-blood can leech life energy even from a wraith" - she heard a familiar voice in her head. She ignored it. "My gift comes with many boons" - he cooed.

"And yet Lamae defied you!" - Lena thought back crossly.

"I can do the same with you as I did with Lamae!" - Molag Bal roared in her head.

"No, you can't" - Lena uncorked a bottle of blood. "We have Dragonfires. You have to be summoned, and I am not doing that." She drank and warmth spread through her body. Dessos came through the door, sheathing his sword.

"My time is nearly up" - he said. "That wraith is down, but there are more. You must use long term binding..." - the end of his sentence was lost as he was banished.

He had a point, how could she be so careless. A fortress full of undead, and she went in all alone, unprepared. She blushed at her clumsiness. The blood had restored her somewhat, but she was far from being at full health. She had to eat and rest, but not with all the undead around, yet she had not enough strength for a long term binding spell.

Lena went into the Commander's private quarters and lay on his bed. It smelled slightly musty, but was dry to the touch. She crawled under the covers - the sheets were clean, if old. Lena lit the fire urns, and the air was warming up. Her eyelids felt heavy, she was so tired... She was asleep before she could reconsider.

I really like the look of the Hesu mods. Do you use many of them? They would take a lot of patches for me to use them at the moment.

They are beautiful but also quite extensive, like those Landscape mods - I forget the umbrella name. No, the Skyrim Temple is so far the only one. I'm still experimenting with different things, but those isolated settlements in the mountains work well, unless you also use landscaping mods to improve the mountains... Which I don't. I'm building Skyrim - I've got several mods already, including both Skyrim Improved, Skyrim Alive, and Ghastley's Falkreath. There are a few conflicts, but not many. I shall probably end up merging them all into one and cleaning it up. Need to get rid of the werewolves too - there's an infestation at the moment.

23 Sun's Dawn, 3E417 - Pale Pass Fortress

She felt anticipation. She was focussed and collected, held firmly from all sides, cradled in a perfectly comfortable position. They were moving, smoothly but swiftly. A leap - she felt flying through the air. A soft landing. Another leap. A jump down, with a long fall broken by something soft. More swift and smooth movement. Rising anticipation.

She heard muffled voices ahead - men, laughing and talking, walking away. They continued moving, her heart beating faster.

They stopped, she felt warmth - the heat was coming from one side. A voice - quite close, male, talking quietly. Then gasping in surprise as she felt a jerk. Her heart skipped a beat, then a wave of calm engulfed her. Satisfaction.

She felt strain, movement, muscles tensing. A shuffling noise, then a thump. A deep breath, heartbeat slowing.

They were not moving. She felt warm, the heat was coming from one side again - she was leaning against something warm. It was pleasant, she started to relax, but anticipation wouldn't let her sleep. Time was passing - many heartbeats.

Suddenly there was a clanking noise, quite sharp yet muffled, and hard footsteps - someone was coming towards her, making a clanking noise as he walked. His voice sounded rough and disgruntled.

They moved smoothly and quietly again to intercept the heavy footsteps, the noise still muffled. A jerk, and the muffle fell away, the clanking footsteps now very close. Her heart raced, a hoarse grunt sounded right into her ear. Then a thud, and something heavy brushed against her side.

Muscles tensed, they moved with difficulty and strain, with a shuffling sound. Then a thump and release. A deep breath brought relief and satisfaction.

They moved again, anticipation rising, and something else - excitement and joy. She heard a man's voice, felt someone's touch - soft, caressing. She felt love and a heavy weight on top of her - a man, she could feel his heartbeat, hear his voice. Love engulfed her, love and joy.

...

"I have a rather special contract for you" - a Speaker addressed Lillian Delacour. "You are to eliminate a Legion Commander." He passed her a scroll. "Here are the details."

Lillian unrolled the scroll. Pale Pass Fortress.

"I see" - she said slowly, lifting her eyes to the Speaker. "Tell me, who issued this contract?"

The Speaker met Lillian's gaze, looking into her eyes for a long moment before replying.

"His lieutenants."

"Both of them?"

"Together."

"Very well."

She turned around and left. The Speaker thought he knew what she was about to do. Once performed, the Black Sacrament could not be refused, but conditions were always negotiable. The Speaker took a leap of faith with this contract, but Sithis would be pleased either way - two lives would be taken. Lillian was one of his best assassins, and he was not about to accept a contract on her life.

...

Lillian had no doubt that the Speaker understood her intentions. The scroll he gave her contained the details of the Pale Pass Fortress, the details that she knew already quite well. The men knew her - she was the Commander's woman, although no one knew she was a Dark Brotherhood assassin. No one except those two, it appeared.

"They've got the nerve, I'll give them that" - she thought, choosing her poisons. "But a quick death? I don't think so." She picked two vials of a lingering paralysing poison. "They should enjoy the fruits of their plot."

She strapped herself into her armour, taking particular care to secure and protect her growing belly - she was four months pregnant.

She moved smoothly and swiftly, dropping into the fortress through a hatch just behind the store room. Some soldiers were still in the mess hall, talking and laughing, but they would soon retire to the barracks - it was getting quite late. She peeked out of the store room door and saw them walk away. She silently crossed the mess hall into the kitchen - the first lieutenant was there. He could never resist an extra slice of roast and more mead than his wages would afford.

But he was not drunk, not tonight, he was muttering to himself. He heard her - he turned around, taking in her armour. She never wore it to the fortress before, of course.

"The assassin" - he thought with satisfaction. Lillian removed her hood. "No!" - he realised the foolishness of their plot, but it was too late. Lillian's dagger had nicked his neck, and he fell to the floor with a thud, paralysed.

He was heavy, but she was still strong, she pulled him up and moved his limp body behind some crates. He would take several hours to die - long enough to witness everything else that was to come. She closed the door, sat next to the stove and prepared to wait.

...

The second lieutenant returned from duty late, the soldiers were already asleep in the barracks. There would be some food in the kitchen though, and his mate would likely still be there, getting drunk. He walked heavily, his armour clanking around him. His mate must have heard him - the kitchen door opened...

"What?!" - he startled, seeing a slender figure of an assassin dashing from the kitchen, a dagger in the palm of her hand. He fell with a thud before he could pull out his sword - she shot a paralysing spell at him first, then nicked the skin on his neck.

He was heavy, with all his armour on, but she pulled his body into the kitchen too, setting him behind the crates. It was quite an effort, but also he had to witness her triumph.

Lillian straightened up and left the kitchen, leaving the door open. She opened another door - to the Commander's office, and from there to his quarters.

"Lily?" - he heard her footsteps. "What..?" - he saw her armour.

"Your lieutenants" - she smirked. "They are in the kitchen. They'll be dead by the morning. It seems they've finally had too much mead."

"Those bastards" - he swore. "Come, let me help you out of that armour. The men must not see you like this."

With her armour removed and stashed, Lillian didn't bother with clothes as yet. Wolf kissed her, caressing her belly, pulling her into the bed.

"This child we keep" - he said firmly. Love engulfed them, love and joy.

24 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Pale Pass Fortress

Lena woke up in the middle of the night, she'd had a most unusual dream. She was inside her mother's womb, witnessing the events that took place in that very fortress so many years ago. Was she imagining it? Surely, it was wishful thinking, her mind playing tricks on her, showing her what she wanted to see. She could not have possibly remembered anything that happened before she was even born.

She stretched, nestling in the Commander's bed. Her father's bed... Could it really be true? She would get up and search the room before her imagination got carried away any further. She sat up and suddenly remembered the wraiths. If that dream was true... she knew whose wraiths they were, and why they wanted her dead - a child of their assassin and their Commander whose life they wanted to end. If it was true... She had to know.

"But not without Dessos" - she thought, stopping herself. Gathering all her magicka and will, she summoned Dessos with long term binding.

"Ah, that's better" - the dremora greeted her with a smile.

She fell on the cushions, exhausted by the casting.

"I need to look around, this might be my father's fortress" - she said. "And if what I dreamt is true, the wraiths are of his two lieutenants that my mother killed because they had issued a contract on my father's life. Or they could just be wraiths without a special purpose."

"You need to recover first" - Dessos sat down on a chair across the room. "You are not strong enough yet. Sleep, and I'll guard you - no wraith will enter here."

She thought it was probably wise of him not to wander around the fortress disturbing the undead - all she needed was peace in that one room. She fell asleep.

...

Lena woke up several hours later, refreshed. Dessos was still sitting on the chair across the room, his helmet on the floor next to him. He looked tired.

"Dessos!" - she exclaimed, worried. "What happened?"

"The other wraith" - he said wearily. "I think you might be right - it had a purpose. But it's all quiet now."

"But you?"

"Still here" - he smiled.

They needed food, and Dessos needed healing, so Lena got out of bed and went about it - her pack was by the Commander's desk where she dropped it when she came in last night. Both rooms where quiet now, although there were skeletons in the barracks and elsewhere in the fort. Not with any particular purpose, just remains of the soldiers that perished in the never ending wars.

Lena went about searching the Commander's rooms in the hope to find some documents, something to confirm or dispute her dreams. The desk was filled with scrolls and missives, it took a long time to go through them all. Yes, this was the office of one Wolf Asgarsen, the Commander of the Second Imperial Legion. The dates were right, and all those documents shed some light on his duties over many years.

"Hauk would want to see these" - she thought. None of it was relevant to the present day, but she thought he'd be curious to examine this piece of the Legion history. None of it was personal, either.

She finished with the desk and looked around, searching for a likely place to store personal correspondence. Something hidden, something not looking like a chest, not attracting attention...

"Something like this" - she thought, running her fingers over a tapestry in the bedroom. She felt magic coming from behind it, she pulled the tapestry aside and found a small door in the wall - a safe. The door had no lock to pick - it was enchanted.

"What am I going to do with this?" - she said loudly, disappointed at this new obstacle.

"Lay your hand on it" - Dessos came up behind her. "It could be simple blood magic."

She laid her hand on the door, and nothing happened.

"I am not his daughter" - she said, disappointed.

"Or you are not doing it right" - Dessos tried to encourage her. "Try your actual blood."

She drew blood and smeared a few drops on the door. Nothing. Tears were rising in her - she so wanted her dream to be true, she grew close to Wolf Asgarsen in the last few days, and yet it seemed he wasn't her father, and it was all for naught.

She sat down on a chair, tears now running down her cheeks.

"What..? Don't cry, please" - Dessos was looking at her with worry. "I do not know how to handle this. You mortals are so fragile..." He broke off, confused and uneasy.

"It's Ok, it will pass" - Lena smiled at him. "I'm just frustrated, that's all. I found no proof that I'm Asgarsen's daughter, and I found no proof that I am not, either. Perhaps there is no proof to be found at all."

"Well" - Dessos was more comfortable with direct problems. "You've found this safe, which is locked - it must be important. Focus on it. If it isn't a blood enchantment, then what kind of enchantment would it be? Something that Wolf Asgarsen alone could use?"

Lena stared at Dessos, struck by this thought. She had assumed that the enchantment would allow Asgarsen's descendants to open the door, but what if he didn't think of that? What if it was only meant to keep his men out?

She got up, readying her thu'um. Of so many words in the dragon language that she'd learned, she could only use a few - she was not keen on the idea of consuming dragon souls for the sake of another thu'um. She decided to try Unrelenting Force.

"No" - she caught herself. "I learned it from the Greybeards. They are not Dragonborn. It is a well-known shout. No. But how about--"



"Krii Lun Aus!" - she focussed her shout on the door, taking care not to affect Dessos who stood behind her.

The lock clicked.

"The assassin's thu'um" - Dessos nodded. "Well done."

24 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The letter

Lena opened the door of a safe in the Commander's quarters and retrieved a heavy scroll. Dessos stepped back to give her privacy. She took the scroll to the desk and started reading, unrolling it little by little.



To my children - Wolf and Lena

You must know that you were born of love. Your mother and I were foolish to give away Wolf, and we tried to do better with Lena. I can only hope that Gods will bring you together one day.

I am Wolf Asgarsen, Commander of the Second Imperial Legion. Your mother was Lillian Delacour, a Dark Brotherhood Assassin. She died of swamp fever four years after Lena's birth. It is all true.

Wolf, we gave you away. We told ourselves that a life of a witcher must be better than a life of a Dragonborn, but in truth we were afraid. Afraid to fail you as parents, with our respective occupations, with our clandestine affair. We were still meeting in secret, not daring to show that a Commander might have a woman that wasn't his wife, for we would not marry - Mara meant nothing to us. As a result, we failed you before we even begun.

Lena, by the time you arrived, we were no longer hiding in the shadows. The Commander had a woman that wasn't his wife, and the Nirn did not fall to Oblivion. But your mother could not reveal her occupation, as I am sure you cannot reveal yours. So she quit the Brotherhood - you might find it surprising. She quit in form only, she never quit in truth. Your adoptive grandmother was an Assassin too, a Shadowscale, she grew old by the time you were born - too old for work, but she too never retired. Assassins never quit.

I do not date this letter, but as you surmise, I have watched Lena grow up from a distance. Again, I have failed as a parent.

I leave this letter locked away behind the Assassin's Thu'um so that either of you would only find it if you are both Dragonborn and Assassin, as I am now. Dragonborn I have always been, Assassin I have become. Whether Sovngarde will be open to me or whether Sithis will claim my soul, I do not know.

Trust not what you read, only what you see. Make your own judgements, use your own wisdom, question your leaders. Do not repeat my mistakes.


Lena closed the scroll and put it back into the safe, but the door would not lock.

"I want to make a blood enchantment" - she turned to Dessos. "Do you know how to do it? So that my brother could open it as well?"

"It's simple - give us some blood..." He pressed her bleeding hand to the door and cast a spell - the lock clicked shut. "What will you do now?"

"Go home" - Lena answered without thinking. "It was rather too much to take in." She smiled at him. "I'll ride to Bravil."

Dessos nodded. "Call me if you need me."

"Thanks, Dessos" - she kissed him on a cheek. Did he blush? Who could tell on that dark skin... "I'll sneak past the skeletons, don't worry. Say hello to Sanguine for me."

He smiled and she dispelled him.

...

Lena stood outside the heavy iron-clad door patting Roach and feeding her carrots.

"I am sorry I left you out here for so long, but there is nothing to eat in there" - she said guiltily. "I know it's late" - the moons were already out - "but if we cross the mountains, we'll spend the night in that house on the other side - the one with the stables and hay."

Roach seemed to understand that, and pushed her nose against Lena's hand. Now that the trail was familiar, they crossed the mountains quickly, and soon the roofs of the old inn were in view. They would sleep there, then head South in the morning.

25-26 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Bravil - Skingrad

The road from the old Pale Pass Inn to Bravil was uneventful. In the mountains Lena had to keep to the road, but in the Nibenay Valley she took a shortcut along the Niben. After all, this was the area where she grew up, and although not many of the hamlets and fishing huts survived the Oblivion Crisis, she didn't need them as landmarks to guide her. The nature reclaimed most of the land, and there was now a bluebell meadow where her grandmother's cabin had stood just behind the Inn of Ill Omen. The events of the last few days brought back a lot of memories, and now she took a detour and stood surrounded by the wild flowers, seeing the cabin and her grandmother with her mind's eye.

"When the time is right, go to Skyrim to find your father" - she suddenly remembered her grandmother's words. Wait, did she say "find"? Lena always thought she meant "find out about your father", but what if she had actually meant it literally?

That thought had a lot of implications that Lena wasn't ready to contemplate, so she brushed it aside. She had enough to digest as it was. She mounted Roach and continued on to Bravil.

She arrived in early evening, and as usual it was raining. Lena welcomed the rain, she sat on the deck in front of her house and let the drops wash away her worries. Many people sat out on their decks too, it was a warm and quiet night. People of Bravil were used to the rain.


"Tomorrow I'll get back to work" - Lena thought, sipping the wine. "The Umbranox contract is due. I wonder who is the Grey Fox now?" She mused, wondering how hard it would be to find Nocturnal's Cowl. At any event, Anvil was her destination, and she would set off in the morning.


Lena arrived in Skingrad late in the afternoon. She'd been riding all day and Roach was now tired and required rest before continuing on to Anvil. On a whim, Lena decided to check in at the Summermist Manor - a place to stay for travelling members of the Black Hand. She unlocked the door with her key and entered. Fafnir greeted her.

"Good to see you!" - he said, smiling. "It's been a while. I'll be serving dinner shortly, if you want to join us. He's upstairs, by the way."

"He?" - Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Lucien, of course" - Fafnir smirked. "Rayenna's antics are the talk of the Brotherhood. It's been a while since we had something quite so juicy to discuss - a Speaker and his Silencer being an item, and another Silencer getting all jealous... That's a classic!" He laughed whole-heartedly. "So everyone knows about Lachance and his Wolf now."

"Umm..." - Lena hadn't thought about that side of things, although she should have expected gossip. "It shouldn't be much of a surprise though, at least not for those who've known us for a while already."

"Indeed" - Fafnir nodded. "But not everyone knows your history. Rayenna didn't, for one. So for those who don't know it, it all comes completely out of the blue. Do not worry however - I keep history in the past."

Fafnir was the Keeper of Secrets. He lived in the Summitmist Manor and appeared to be a mere majordomo serving travelling Brothers and Sisters. In truth however he was controlling rumours within the Brotherhood. It was all well and good to gossip about someone's love affairs, as long as it didn't involve classified information such as the circumstances of a treason two hundred years ago. People knew that something had happened, but unless they witnessed it at the time, they were not entitled to any details. Besides internal rumours, Fafnir also controlled communications to the wider world, such as the famous story about the Purification of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary and subsequent collapse of the Dark Brotherhood, all of which became common knowledge, yet none of which was true. It was also Fafnir who supplied Lucien with the documents to serve as bait for Rayenna. The archives were situated in a sealed cavern system below Skingrad, accessible only from the basement of the Summitmist Manor through a hidden teleport. Not many people knew it existed, and no one besides the Keeper of Secrets was able to use it.

Fafnir appeared to be a Nord. Yet he had been with the Dark Brotherhood longer than any other living member, vampires included, and some believed that he had been with Morag Tong even before that. Who was to say?

Fafnir was looking at Lena and smiling. "Go on, dinner won't be ready for another hour."

Lena ran upstairs. Lucien was sitting in an armchair reading, he looked tired. Yet he leapt to his feet hearing Lena come up the stairs.

"How did you know I'd be here?" - he breathed into her ear, holding her close.

"I didn't" - she whispered back. "I was passing Skingrad on my way to Anvil and decided to stay the night. And came here to check for no reason."

"No reason?" - he smiled, releasing his embrace and looking into her eyes.

"Other than wanting to see you." She looked him over. "You are hurt."

"Bloody vampires" - he grimaced. "Yes."

"Mandrake root?"

"Already taken."

"Well then, after dinner we go back to my place and indulge in the Wolf Spa."

"You are full of surprises" - he laughed. "I'd be a fool to argue."

The library was cosy, and Lena browsed through the books and newspapers picking up something to read. Fafnir started dressing the table on the other end of the room.

27 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Porphyric Hemophilia

Lena woke up in the early hours of the morning because Lucien was thrashing in his sleep next to her. She touched his forehead - he was burning with fever.

"Porphyric Hemophilia" - she thought, recalling her own experience. "The mandrake root didn't do enough."

She tried to wake him, but the was gripped by the dream. At least he would remember it when he woke. There was nothing she could do for him until then.

...

"I had a most disturbing dream" - Lucien said at breakfast. He was no longer feverish. "I dreamt that I craved blood."

"You were thrashing too" - Lena gave him a searching look, but his eyes weren't red yet. "When were you infected?"

"Two days" - he said, and she realised that he must have had the same dream also the previous night.

"Mandrake root didn't work" - she stated the obvious. "Why did you not say anything?"

"I hoped a second increased dose would cure it. I don't feel it now."

"You don't feel it during the day!" - Lena exclaimed crossly. "We have no time to lose. Have you been to the chapel?"

Lucien looked at her in disbelief than laughed.

"You are joking, right?" - he smirked. "I've been taking lives for over two hundred years, and you think The Nine would give me a blessing?"

"Have you tried?" - Lena insisted.

"No, but isn't it obvious?"

"We are going to the chapel" - Lena said in a such a tone that even Lucien decided not to argue.

"Fine, you'll see for yourself" - he shrugged.

...

"I am the Priest of Julianos, and you can call me 'Your Grace'" - the priest greeted Lena and Lucien when they entered the chapel in Skingrad. Lucien shot her a look - I told you so. She led him straight to the Altar of The Nine, ignoring the priest.

"Do it" - she ordered Lucien. "Prey and let's see."

He knelt before the altar, saying a short common prayer, touched the altar, and nothing happened. He got up and walked over to Lena, sitting down on the pew next to her.

"What did I tell you?"

She sighed. "All right, try Arkay - he always gives me a blessing. Or try Dibella" - she recalled Lucien casting Dibella's spell.

"Dibella might still remember me" - he grinned. "But Arkay? I never prayed to him before."

"Then do it now." The finality of Lena's tone did not invite discussion.

Lucien got up, walking over to Dibella's altar. He looked over his shoulder - Lena was kneeling before Arkay.

"This is futile" - he thought. He knelt before Dibella's altar and said a common prayer, just as a favour to Lena.

"And so you come to me in your time of need, Lucien" - a voice said in his head. Lucien startled and looked up at the stained glass window.

"Dibella? You remember me?" - he thought in surprise.

"That is an insolent question" - the voice said without anger. "Mortals always assume the Gods to have the same weaknesses. Yes, I remember you. Why do you seek my blessing?"

"I contracted Porphyric Hemophilia and the time is running out. I need a cure" - he gave a direct answer.

"Eat some mandrake root" - the voice said with a mocking undertone.

"It didn't work."

"Then turn into a vampire - it is an advantage to an assassin, is it not?" The voice was calm, no longer mocking.

"It is. Yet I cannot allow it this time."

"This time?" - Dibella seemed to have taken an interest. "Oh yes of course - Purgeblood salts. How many times?"

"A few" - Lucien wondered whether Dibella could read his memories. "But it gets harder every time. I cannot risk it."

"So what changed?"

"Lena - it would be bad for her if I were to turn" - he admitted to himself more than to Dibella.

"You could use the salts again to revert it" - the voice objected.

It was true, and Lucien knew it. He never told Lena about his past infections - if Purgeblood salts were used soon after vampirism set in, and certainly before the first feeding, there were no side effects to the cure. Except the ever growing resistance towards the salts and growing difficulty in curing Porphyric Haemaphilia with conventional means. At some point he might become immune to both.

"It might not work again - I cannot take that risk" - he repeated, but Dibella remained silent. He needed to say more. "Not now that Lena is with child."

"Ah, you sensed it" - Dibella sounded pleased. "I see my teachings were not wasted then. But what if the child isn't yours?"

"It does not matter."

Dibella did not reply. Lucien decided to be patient - perhaps she was testing his resolve. He was looking at the stained glass window above him and wondering how his love for Lena would weigh up against all those lives he took in the name of Sithis. What happened to their souls? Did Sithis truly devour them as some claimed, did they turn into ghosts or did Arkay care for them like for all other dead? He never thought about it, until now.

"You have to ask Arkay about that" - he heard Dibella's voice again. "As for the weighing up of your deeds... It depends whom you ask. There is a reason there are nine of us - we do not all judge mortals in the same way."

The voice fell silent again, and Lucien wondered how much longer he was expected to kneel at the altar before he would know Dibella's judgement.

"Love beauty and honor its mysteries." A wave of healing washed over him. "And watch your step. Remain true to yourself." The interview was over.

...

Lena finished her prayer to Arkay, receiving his blessing. She returned to the pew, noticing that Lucien was still kneeling at Dibella's altar. "At least she responded" - she thought. She didn't hold out much hope for any of the Divines giving a blessing to Lucien, considering that he never visited any of their shrines, and with his occupation... "Only Sithis would give a blessing to him" - she thought, regretting not restoring the shrine of Sithis at the Deepscorn Hollow - for just such an eventuality. But it was too far away anyhow, there was no time. She prayed to Arkay to grant Lucien a blessing, but Arkay refused. "He must offer his own prayer, and then we'll see" - was his answer. She was lost in thought and worry, when she noticed a halo of healing rise around Lucien - Dibella had granted him a blessing. "Dibella?" - she thought. "Well, well..."

"There's something I need to tell you" - Lucien walked over to Lena, taking her hand. "But not here."

Back in the privacy of Lena's house he told her of his past vampirism infections, hastening to add that at the time the Black Hand refused to grant Lena access to her great-uncle's sanctuary at Deepscorn Hollow, even though he tried to insist. "We have vampires in our ranks, and it isn't a problem" - was the consensus. "If she really wants a cure, she can find it herself, there are other ways." Of course, Lena's vampirism was well past the first feeding at that point, so the cure would not have been without side effects anyway.

"I understand now why the mandrake root didn't work" - Lena nodded. "But Dibella granted you a blessing" - she said tentatively, hoping to hear why.

"My mother was devoted to Dibella and she brought me up in that way too" - Lucien smiled. "But I've never offered a prayer since I joined the Brotherhood, I didn't think it would be welcome. It seems I was wrong."

Lena was nibbling at the grapes, waiting for Lucien to continue, but he didn't say any more. Perhaps it was between him and Dibella.

28 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Corvus Umbranox

"I've been waiting for you, Assassin" - Corvus Umbranox turned to face Lena as she walked up the stairs of the abandoned house in Anvil, a wraith following her. "I won't be much of a challenge now, your wraith has been sucking the life out of me every night."

"Yet you kept coming back to this house to rest" - Lena raised an eyebrow.

"Then perhaps you are a better mage than you know - the wraith haunted me in my sleep, regardless of where I was."

Lena smiled, realising that it was indeed the true Wrath of Sithis. If she had been granted the power to summon it... She wasn't sure what to think of that.


"Anyhow, I am glad you are finally here" - Corvus continued. "You destroyed my Guild and the Skyrim Guild, yet hadn't come for me so far... I was to watch it all - I get it" - he smirked. "Was it my wife's idea?" - he glared at her.

"No, the idea was mine" - Lena put a lot of charm into her smile. "But it was to fulfil your wife's wishes."

"Which were..?" - his brows furrowed.

"To make your life a misery for at least half a year before your demise."

"Ah" - he grimaced. "That figures."

"Tell me" - Lena looked at him as if she wished nothing more but to continue their pleasant conversation. "Who is the Grandmaster of your Guild these days?"

"I am, of course" - Corvus smiled.

"Then where is your cowl?"

Corvus frowned. "I am not touching that any more. Not with Nocturnal's curse on it - and no one has been able to lift it."

"So where is it then?"

"Why do you care?" - he looked at Lena with suspicion. "You are not a Nightingale."

"No, I am an Assassin" - Lena agreed. "But shadow hides us both. I would return the cowl to Nocturnal."

"Well, it's in Kvatch, if you must know" - Corvus said defiantly. "It is stashed away in a safe place."

"Where, exactly?" - Lena's patience was running thin, although she tried to hide it.

"Have you been to Kvatch at all?" - Corvus raised an eyebrow.

"Not recently."

"Riiiight" - the light of understanding shone on his face. "Not after... I see" - he nodded. "Well, you will find it cleaned up these days, it smells a lot better too, although some of the folks who lived through that nightmare, still cannot shake it off." He paused, looking Lena over, as if trying to remember something. Lena waited for him to continue. "Your face seems familiar... haven't we met?"

"I doubt it" - Lena shook her head. "I was never a member of the Thieves Guild."

"No, but those stories... About a young Breton girl closing all those gates... Blond, amber-eyed... Went into the gate at Kvatch, didn't you?"

"That was a long time ago" - Lena said dismissively. "In another lifetime."

"It seems not" - Corvus sat down behind his desk, rammaging through some papers. "Champion of Cyrodiil" - he pulled out a scroll, looking at Lena with a mocking smile. "Here is a request for the retrieval of one suit of Dragon Legion Armour made for a short female of a slender build." He looked her over. "Yours, I presume. It is said to be in an unused condition." He was now grinning ear to ear, finding the situation highly amusing.

"And have you managed to retrieve it yet?" - Lena asked indifferently.

"No, we are still searching" - he looked puzzled. "You were supposed to be dead. For some two hundred years, yet here you are."

"And you were supposed to be happily married and preside over Anvil with the Countess at your side, yet here you are, and I have a contract on your life" - she retorted with irritation.

"She is doing very well without me" - he spat angerily. "Have you seen the new harbour? Do you know how much that cost? And where the money came from?"

Lena had indeed seen the new harbour - the construction was going on for some time, but now that it was finished, it made Anvil into a real Ocean Harbour town. She wondered what took them so long, not suprised by the development.

"They've done a good job."


"On my money!" - he glared at her again. "It had been long enough since my disappearance that the Empire had released my private funds to my wife! And what does she do? Go and spend it all on a fancy harbour!"

"Well no, let's be fair now" - Lena smiled slyly. "Some of it was spent on a fee to the Dark Brotherhood." She thrust her dagger into his heart - she'd had enough of that conversation. The Wrath of Sithis vanished with a screech.

"Well, that fulfils the contract" - she thought with satisfaction. Corvus Umbranox was a most irritating man. She pulled his corpse off the chair and sat behind his desk, looking through the papers.


As the Guildmaster, Umbranox only had the most important contracts - "requests", as he called them. She looked at the one for her suit of Dragon Legion armour - the signature meant nothing to her. "Some crazy collector of Oblivion Crisis memorabilia" - she figured, dismissing it. There was a request for a staff hidden in the Arch Mage's quarters, allegedly belonging to another mage; an important ring given as a gift to a lover who had since vanished; a propylon index allegedly stolen from the rightful owner and now residing in the Imperial Archives of Dwemer Cultur and Artefacts; a dagger... no, two daggers: Mehrune's Razor and the Eviscerator. These requests attracted Lena's attention - the Eviscerator was her great-uncle's dagger, she found it in one of his stashes in the Deepscorn Hollow. It was wanted by one... Rayenna, residing in the Anvil Lighthouse. She gave no whereabouts of the dagger, but agreed to pay a hefty sum for its retrieval, including the disclosure of its whereabouts. Lena stashed this scroll in her pack - she had the feeling Rayenna would be back some day. The second dagger - Mehrune's Razor - was wanted by one Silus Vesuius from Dawnstar in Skyrim. There was a note on the parchment in another hand - Sundercliff Watch, East of Lake Canulus. "Well, this sounds like an adventure!" - Lena mused, copying the note into her journal. "We wanted to explore that area anyway."

The other papers were of no interest to her, she put them back into the desk and closed the drawers.

The evening was misty when she came out, you could hardly see the next building in the fog. A passing guard stopped her.

"There's been a report of an assault at the abandoned house - someone heard the screams. You're just coming out of it, and am I going to find a dead body inside?" - he asked rather politely.

"Yes, I am sorry to say that the resident had met with an unfortunate accident" - Lena nodded. "Fell off his chair and had a heart attack."

"I see" - the guard rubbed his chin. "We have orders from the Countess to watch out for him - he was known to have a weak heart. I'll clean up the corpse, but you still have to pay a fine for assault. Or go to jail" - he looked at her with hope.

"I'll pay the fine" - Lena produced her purse to the guard's disappointment.

He took her 40 septims and went busily about his business - to arrange for a clean-up or to find the nearest tavern, whichever came first.


"Fourty septims is all that man's life was worth to the law" - she thought. "At least our fees are much more proportionate."

--------------------------------

Countess Umbranox had comissioned the following improvements to the harbour: Anvil Harbor Expansion and Dockside Coffee House, with her own modifications to the original plans.

Those are two nice additions to the Anvil docks although I'm sure that a little dusting and sprucing up was in order.

29 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Kvatch

"So, the Cowl of Nocturnal is somewhere in Kvatch..." - Lena was musing over her morning coffee at the Dockside Coffee House in Anvil. "Perhaps I should go see, a lot must have changed in two hundred years."

Lena never returned to Kvatch after that disaster during the Oblivion Crisis. Kvatch had burned, it was horrible, and she could do without the flashbacks. Those blood fountains in Dagon's Oblivion Deadlands... She shuddered. She hadn't been a vampire yet, but she had to drink that blood to survive, and in her mind it became a precursor of what was to come - years of drinking blood to survive... Molag Bal could not have come up with a better catch. It was unfair to the city, but Kvatch did not hold any nice connotations for Lena, and so she stayed away. But perhaps it was time to face her nightmares.

She set off in late morning, arriving at the Kvatch intersection in an hour or two. She would normally take the road on the right and continue on to Skingrad. She stopped for a moment, then took a deep breath and steered Roach left.

The climb up the Kvatch hill was quiet. Nature had all but reclaimed the burned terrain, and no evidence of refugee camps remained. Except of course Lena could see it all with her mind's eye. She steeled herself and continued.

The gate to Kvatch was unguarded. The portcullis was up, and when Lena tried the door, it yielded - there was nothing to stop her from entering. Surely, it couldn't be that bad... Corvus Umbranox did say the city was well cleaned up... Why, there were even some horses in the stables by the gate, so surely someone had arrived and was now inside. Not dead, Lena hoped. Come on, push that door...

...

Kvatch was peaceful. The streets had been resurfaced and re-paved, and no evidence of burning remained, save for some dark patches here and there. The castle was completely rebuilt too - it looked totally different.


"We simply built a new castle" - the Count explained. "The old one crumbled, and rather than trying to repair it, we demolished it and started again. We have also done away with the wall separating Kvatch West and East - it's all one city now!"

The Count's enthusiasm and cheer seemed genuine, if a bit rehearsed. The Court Steward rolled his eyes.

"The Count gets tired of people still treating Kvatch as a disaster zone. It isn't!"

No, it was indeed nicely cleaned up. Lena walked around the city - it was barely recognisable. All of the buildings had been rebuilt from scratch, just like the castle. All except the chapel, which for some miracle or perhaps through the protection of Akatosh, had not been destroyed.

In the square by the statue Lena saw a familiar face.

"Sigrid?" - she recalled the only surviving mage from the Guild of old. "How have you been?"

"Oh I'm all right" - she looked at Lena with a vacant expression. "Just out for a stroll. The mages are in the Guild Hall down that way" - she pointed the street leading to the Arena. "It's fine, really, it's just the smell... I wish you couldn't smell the burning bodies, that's all I ask... I mean, look at them - just under the surface. It's a little better inside the house, but here in the square... It's even worse on the East side, so I never go there - the smell just cuts your breath..." She looked around, seemingly forgetting all about Lena, and walked off.

"Poor thing" - Lena shook her head. There was no smell in the air.

Lena walked towards the Arena, tried the door - it was locked. "The Arena is temporarily closed for maintenance" - the notice on the door read. She wondered how long it had been closed - a couple of centuries, perhaps? But no, it looked in use... May be she was being overly pessimistic.

The Mages Guild was just across the street. It was a small building - not like the stately halls in other cities. "There can't be all that many mages here" - Lena thought. She entered.


"Hello, Warlock" - a young red haired Breton greeted Lena. "Welcome to the Kvatch Mages Guild."

"You know me?" - Lena didn't think they'd met before.

"I know of you" - the mage smiled. "You are rather famous for going against the Arch Mage's wishes."

"Oh" - Lena blushed, her cheeks matching the other mage's hair in colour. "I couldn't just kill those people for the sake of Traven's trinkets" - she shrugged. "He can do it himself, if he wants them back."

"I quite agree" - the mage beamed. "We have no problems with necromancy here, thank goodness, even though there is no shortage of bodies in the Chapel Undercroft... and below it. As well as under the streets. They were burnt into the rock, it was not possible to remove them - the Count had to make difficult decisions, he's done his best."

"But some people have not moved on" - Lena observed, thinking of Sigrid.

"Indeed. Which is why we are here. It's just the two of us, and the alchemist in the shop by the chapel. We are new to the town, well, relatively new. We try to help these poor souls, they say our herbals help them sleep. But I've been trying to understand why they can't move on, it's been long enough, surely... Something is keeping them rooted in those events."

"Are there many people like this here?"

"Half a dozen" - the mage sighed. "You'll meet them around town. But there's plenty of fresh folk, too."

They chatted a bit more, then Lena continued her tour of the city. A cluster of wooden shacks stood between stately homes and some smaller middle-class buildings. It was a nice arrangement.

"Oh hello! You finally got here" - someone spoke right next to Lena. She spun around, recognising Batul gra-Sharob.

"Batul!" - she smiled warmly. "You remember me! How have you been? How have you all been here in Kvatch?"

"Oh, we're getting by - trying to make the best of it" - Batul smiled. "I've lost everything, but you know, I've been building it back up, too. We've been waiting for you to return."

"For me? Why?"

"Because you are our hero, and you belong here, Wolf."

"I am no hero!" - Lena protested. "I got lucky! It's Matius and his men who are heroes!"

"Oh, we honour them too, but they are all dead now, of old age. It's been too long for most humans. A few guards from the old days are still around, and they can't shake off the nightmares. We need you to help us, again."

Lena looked into Batul's eyes, serious, sane and pragmatic, as always.

"Ok, what do you want me to do?" - she felt herself being drawn into a task she was not going to enjoy. But how could she refuse?

"I don't know" - Batul answered flatly. "That's just the problem. The mages have been trying to work it out too. Why some of us can't move on. Stay a while, look around, see if you can find some answers. We even have a house here waiting for you - this one" - she pointed at a nice middle-class house down the street. "The Count didn't want to keep it reserved at first, but we the old folk insisted. It's brand new like everything else here" - she hastened to add. "And it's all yours."

"Thank you" - Lena murmured, hoping not to betray their trust. She walked over to the house - there was a sign on the door: "The Wolf Residence".

"We had it magically sealed" - said Batul who followed Lena and now stood behind her. "Only you can enter - it's a blood enchantment, from the blood that you left behind." Lena turned around sharply, a question in her eyes. "Bandages, clothing, bloody handprints" - Batul answered. "There was plenty to choose from in the Chapel Undercroft, and not just yours. I hope we didn't mix it up - try to open the door." Lena touched the door - the lock clicked. "Good" - Batul was satisfied. "It will lock by itself after a while."

"Why do you lock a house that's not lived in?" - Lena asked, feeling surreal.

"Thieves. They've been skulking about. Who knows what they're after - there's nothing to steal here!" - Batul bared her teeth in anger. "It's not like our city had burned down to below its foundations or anything!"

Thieves. "Perhaps they weren't trying to steal anything, but to hide something..." - Lena thought but didn't say it. She thanked Batul and promised to stay a while and see what she could find.

"Good, I'm glad you're back" - Batul smiled, calming down. "See you around." She turned and walked off. Lena entered the house.

It was as Batul had said - brand new, well appointed and nicely furnished, but nothing over the top. "Not a mansion" - Lena thought with satisfaction. There was a desk on the ground floor and a nice cosy lounge with a fireplace, and upstairs was a spacious bedroom, some drawers, some cupboards, a table - the space could be used in many ways. A suit of armour was laid out on a work table - Dragon Legion Armour. Her armour. "How..?" - she wondered, she hadn't seen that suit since... well... since shortly after she got it. She left it in Bruma, in that house that got repossessed while she was away. She had asked the Countess about it, but the Countess was evasive and didn't give an answer. So, that's what happened to it... How strange. May be the Thieves Guild was trying to steal something after all.


It was all too much to take in, and Lena's head was spinning. She went downstairs into the lounge and sat by the fire with a bottle of wine and some food from her pack. A little peace and quiet would do her good. She'd eat and rest, and leave everything else for tomorrow.

---------------------

Kvatch is mostly Kvatch Finished with some graphics from Kvatch Rebuilt.

Indeed! In particular I wanted to connect the harbour with the castle, so I had to build a bridge... I found several mods for Anvil harbour, and for some reason none of them had a bridge there, except a much larger mod New City Anvil (in Russian only), that also modified the city itself and the environments, making it into a real Mediterranean city. But I didn't want to change the city, just the docks... So the Countess rolled up her sleeves and went on marking up all those building proposals with her own ideas.

I greatly enjoyed Lena's return visit to Kvatch. It has indeed cleaned up beautifully and I'm so glad you took the time to give Kvatch the TLC it deserves as a very special place. I was especially pleased to hear Lena declare the truism that Savlian Matius was, and always will be, the Hero of Kvatch.

I am so glad you liked it. I hope you'll like what is still to come - this isn't just a one time visit!

30 Sun's Height, 4E202 - A tour of Kvatch

Lena woke up refreshed in The Wolf Residence in Kvatch. She made herself some coffee and ate the last sweetroll from her pack for breakfast. Today she was going to walk around the city.

The city of Kvatch was wrapped around the Great Chapel of Akatosh, with the Castle taking up the North West corner. The City Gate was at its South most point, and traditionally there had been Kvatch West with the Castle and extensive gardens, and Kvatch East with the Arena and the majority of the populace. The Chapel was facing West with its main doors, and the central square with the statue was just to the North of it, with an alley going towards the gardens and the bridge to the Castle. This square used to be called the Plaza, and was the main feature of Kvatch West. But new Kvatch did not have a walled East side, so the Count was proudly referring to the whole city as Kvatch Plaza. "No one is cut off from either the Chapel or the Castle, no one is excluded. We are one town" - he would say. He did have a point, Lena quite liked the new arrangement. The city felt spacious and open, resembling Chorrol both in type of construction and layout - she wondered whether that was the Count's inspiration.

She went to see the gardens, and found a vineyard instead.


"Blackrock wine is the best in Cyrodiil, even if I do say so myself" - a Redguard working the vineyard told her. "Here - have a bottle. You are Wolf, aren't you?" - he looked her over. "Heard Batul saying yesterday that you've finally arrived. We live next door to you, I'm Chark Blackrock" - he shook her hand. "We are new to the city, my wife Siona and I, well, I say 'new', but it's been a good twenty years that we've come to live here. It's a good place, so why not."

"So you are not suffering from the flashbacks of the Oblivion Crisis?" - asked Lena, trying to approach the topic carefully.

"No, not us" - Blackrock looked sombre. "It's the old folk - the ones that lived through it all. There's a group of ex-refugees on the East side, an ex-priest, Batul and Sigrid, and a few guards. The rest of us are all new."

Lena thanked him and continued her stroll, not going to the East side for the moment.

There was a cluster of shops by the Main Gate - Missy's Dry Goods, The Forge, the Mages Guild alchemy shop, and The One Coin Inn. "I wonder what one coin will get you here" - she mused, but did not enter. She returned to the statue and looked at the buildings facing the Castle. There were just a few of them, with plenty of space left for trees and flowering shrubs. She noticed the Fighters Guild sign, but like the Mages Guild, the building was much smaller than its counterparts in the other cities. "At least they returned" - she thought. The street turned East towards the Arena, with the Mages Guild Hall on the right. She noted a cluster of houses in the South East corner of the city between the Arena and The Wolf Residence - she would talk to those people later. She was standing next to a General Goods store, and remembering that her cupboards needed filling, she went in.

"Welcome to my store, what can I do for you?" - a Dunmer shop keeper greeted her cheerfully, and Lena thought he must have been one of the "new" people. She bought some food and wine and was about to leave, when the shop keeper urged her to see his home wares downstairs. "Straight as you come down the stairs, all along the walls" - he pointed keenly. "I have tapestries and paintings for sale, everything you see there! And all the vases and pottery too!" It seemed he had built himself quite a nice little gallery, and was very proud of it.


"Thank you, I'll have a look" - Lena answered politely, hoping that he wouldn't follow her there, as she had no intention of buying any of it that day. The Dunmer left her alone. She went through the gallery, ready to turn back towards the front door, but there was another exit at the end, so she went through that door instead.

She came out facing a city wall. "Wait, this can't be right" - she looked around. "I should be facing the Arena with another house to the left and the Mages Guild across the road to the right." Instead, there were two gates in a wall just in front of her, with the Chapel of Akatosh to her right. Confused, she turned around and was looking down a densely built up street wrapping around the Chapel with the Undercroft at the end of the street.


This was Kvatch, but not the one she just left. This was Kvatch East of before. "Before the Oblivion Crisis?" - she wondered whether she had been transported back in time. People were walking up and down the street, going into the undercroft, going into their houses and shops and minding their own business. They were friendly enough, and no one seemed to suffer from flashbacks or nightmares.

Following the winding street, Lena turned a corner and came to the Arena.

"There are no matches today, but you can train in the Bloodworks if you want" - the guards told her. "We have matches twice a week now - Middas and Loredas. You can place your bets in advance, too. If you want to compete, see the Bloodworks masters - both teams could use fresh meat" - the guard smirked, looking her over.

"Are the matches to the death?" - Lena asked, rather taken aback by this wealth of information.

"Of course they are to the death!" - the guard looked offended. "What do you think - just because we are in a province and not in the Imperial City, that we would not be taking it seriously?" - he glared at her.

"No, I wasn't suggesting anything like that" - Lena backed off, not wishing to pick a fight. "I'll come back when there's a match."

"Middas and Loredas" - the guard cried after her.

Lena turned her back to the Arena and walked straight into a Mages Guild Hall. This building was as imposing as the halls in the other cities. She entered.

"Well hello, fancy meeting you here, Warlock" - Erana of all people greeted her in the hall. "Welcome to the Kvatch Mages Guild!"

The Guild Hall looked just like the one in Chorrol, except for the people. Erana seemed to have noticed Lena's confusion.

"Yes, this is exactly the same design of a building as in Chorrol" - she explained. "But it's just the building. This Guild Hall is quite different, I assure you."

"But..." - Lena was going to ask about the other Kvatch Mages Guild that she'd visited the day before, but then decided against it. She preferred not to ask favours of Erana. Perhaps the answer would present itself elsewhere in the city, Lena thought, turned around and left.

Walking around the Arena and going North, she came to another stretch of the city wall - not the external city wall, but a smaller one running from the Chapel and featuring two gates - one on the street level and the other on the pavement. "This must be the wall separating Kvatch into East and West" - Lena thought, going through the gate. Indeed, she stood in Kvatch West looking at the Castle across the water and the statue to her left. This was the Plaza, with an alley going along the castle walls towards the gardens - and those were the real gardens with lots of trees in the distance.

Like Kvatch East, Kvatch West was densely built up. There was a large inn facing the Plaza, with an impressive Fighters Guild building and several shops leading towards the City Gate. Taking the alley into the gardens, Lena passed several wooden houses nestled among the trees. The path eventually ended on a clearing with a side view of the Castle - the original Kvatch Castle, definitely not the one she'd visited the day before. This was not the same Kvatch.



-----------------

The other Kvatch is largely Kvatch Roses of Success, completed.

30 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Batul gra-Sharob

Lena got up from a bench in the gardens of Kvatch West, feeling thoroughly confused. There appeared to be two cities of Kvatch - the one where she woke up that morning, and the one that she found herself in upon exiting the General Goods store. No one in this second Kvatch appeared to suffer from nightmares or flashbacks of the Oblivion Crisis, but perhaps they were just all "new" people - people that moved in here after the crisis, people that didn't live through it and therefore had no flashbacks to suffer from. Perhaps she just needed to talk to someone.


Walking along the garden alley towards the central square and being absorbed in these thoughts, Lena didn't notice an Argonian blocking her way.

"Good day to you!" - the Argonian made her jump. "Is anything troubling you? You look confused - perhaps I can help. I am Weedum-Ja" - she said with a smile. "May The Nine guard and protect you."

"Ugh, hello" - Lena returned to reality. "I am a bit confused, yes. Is this Kvatch?"

"Oh dear" - Weedum-Ja looked concerned. "You are confused. Of course this is Kvatch! Where else will you find a garden as lush as this? Or a Castle as elaborate as this? Even if a bit burned... You need the guidance of The Nine to set you straight."

"Mmm, thank you" - Lena managed. Somehow she didn't think that The Nine would help in this instance. "Have you been living here long?"

"Oh, for some three hundred years, I should think" - Weedum-Ja looked into the distance. "Yes, that's about right. And there's no where I'd rather be" - she added cheerfully.

"And the Oblivion Crisis... the memories... they don't bother you at all?" - Lena approached the topic carefully.

"But it was two hundred years ago, my dear! Who would dwell on it for so long? We have all moved on long ago!"

"Oh, of course" - Lena nodded. "It's been a long time."

"If you are still worried though" - Weedum-Ja looked concerned - "you should go to the Chapel and speak with the priest Ilav Dralgoner. He's been here for nearly as long as I have, he'll help you through. He helps people forget."

"Forget what?"

"Anything."

"Ah." Lena paused, unsure whether she should be asking anything else. "Thank you." She decided not, and walked off, returning to the main square.


It was late afternoon, and Lena hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. She saw an inn, and her stomach directed her inside. It was a large place with a spacious dining room downstairs and several rooms upstairs, nicely furnished, no doubt.

"Welcome to the Castle View Inn!" - the innkeep greeted her. "You look like you've skipped lunch. Anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, please" - Lena smiled at the publican's perceptiveness. "A meal would be nice."

She ordered a meal from a long and elaborate menu and settled down at a table by the fire. Whichever Kvatch she was in, they had food, and for the moment that was all that mattered. Besides, no one was talking of the smell of burnt bodies or recurring nightmares, which was a relief.

The waitress brought the food, and Lena was completely absorbed in her mutton with orange chutney, when someone coughed quite noisily and sat at the table with her.


"The cook really knows her stuff here" - the newcomer said. "Better than in that other inn."

"Oh, there's another inn in the city?" - Lena lifted her eyes to her companion. "Batul!" - she exclaimed in surprise. "Good to see you!"

"Hello, Wolf" - Batul smiled. "So, you finally got here. Haven't seen you in two hundred years, but you haven't changed a bit."

"What? We just talked yesterday..." - Lena started, but Batul's expression suddenly changed from friendly to enraged.

"You went there?" - she spat, fortunately not literally. "They need to wake up! I am the real Batul!"

"I am sure you are" - Lena tried to diffuse the situation. "I am so confused. What do you mean - I went there? Where is there? And where is here, for that matter?"

Batul gave Lena a long look, then called the waitress to order some ale. When the ale arrived, she drank nearly the whole bottle in one go, signalling the waitress for more, then turned to Lena again.

"Kvatch has been split - duplicated" - she started to explain. "After that Oblivion Gate disaster, the soil was still smouldering for a year at least, so apart from brief expeditions, we could not enter the city. The camp was growing though, with more refugees coming from other places - Bruma, Leyawiin, Chorrol, Cheydinhal - whether they'd had a great Gate open near their city or just a small one, they all decided to come to Kvatch for some reason." She furrowed her brow and drank some more ale. "As if we were The Coloured Rooms, for Azura's sake" - she shook her head. "So the Kvatch hill was overflowing with people, we had to do something, and we started pitching tents wherever the soil wasn't burning. This continued for several years - as long as the Crisis lasted. By the time Mehrunes Dagon invaded the Imperial City, Kvatch plateau was filled with tents, with everyone moving inside the city walls as if they were doing any good." She paused, sipping more ale. "Well, they were protecting us from the bandits, that's true" - she reflected as if to herself. "But anyhow - then suddenly one day there was a huge flash - some folks say they saw a lightning strike over the Imperial City, but you can't see the Imperial City from here, so they invented it later. A flash - and that's all, no one felt any different after that, or at least not until we noticed... It was the day when Martin broke the Amulet of Kings, as we later learned." She stopped, looking at Lena who forgot all about her mutton. "You better eat up before it all gets cold" - Batul pointed at Lena's plate. "The story won't run away."

Lena closed her mouth and returned her attention to her plate. "It's all right, I can eat and listen" - she smiled, now picking up her knife and fork again.

"Well, that's nearly it, really" - Batul shrugged. "When we went out of the City Gate and tried to come back in, we started bumping into our doubles. Not all of us, mind - just the folk who'd lived through the Crisis here in the city. The others were not affected, but they didn't have our memories. It's something to do with that."

"But it's not just the people who got duplicated, but the land as well" - Lena started to understand it.

"Exactly" - Batul nodded. "So we divided up - made sure that all the doubles were separated, one in each city. No one wanted twins of themselves. And then time went on, new folk moved in, and we figured out that the two sides of the Main Gate from the outside led each to a different Kvatch."

"But I got here through a shop" - Lena recalled her confusing experience.

"The General Goods store?" - Batul looked up. "Yeah, that's an odd one out. There are other connections, mind, and of course that store didn't exist when we got duplicated, but one way or the other that Dunmer managed to link it up like that. You enter the store through either door, but you exit here through his gallery and to the other Kvatch through his front door. Good for business, he says, serving two cities" - she smirked. "Of course we are used to it now, but it must be confusing to newcomers."

"To say the least" - Lena agreed. "And so you have each a different Count and each city was rebuilt on its own?"

"You are catching on fast" - Batul grinned. "You were always a smart one."

Lena finished her meal and ordered a bottle of wine - that conversation needed help. Batul was on her fifth bottle of ale already.

"So what about the flashbacks and the nightmares?" - Lena decided to be blunt, after all she was talking to an Orc. "People here don't seem to suffer from them."

"People there wouldn't be suffering from them either if they weren't so devoted to their Chapel!" - Batul retorted angrily. "It's their priests - keeping all those ghosts around! People need to move on!"

"I met Weedum-Ja earlier" - Lena tried to steer the conversation into calmer waters. "She said your priest here - Ilav - helped people forget things."

"Weedum-Ja is a knucklehead, don't listen to her" - Batul grimaced, but relaxed. "Ilav is a good sort, he tries to help people move on in whatever way he can. He knows some old magic, though, so yeah, may be he does make some folk forget things, if that's what's needed. I haven't forgotten anything" - she gave Lena a sharp look.

They sat drinking for a while. After the nineth bottle of ale, Batul got up, as steady as ever.

"I should be going - have you seen the time? The moons are out. You can get back to the other Kvatch through the Main Gate - it's like I said, exit from here, then take the right door to the other city - Kvatch Plaza they call it" - she smirked. "Their Count spent all the money on his castle - they have half the houses that we have here! 'Open and spacious' my foot! But anyway, they've got a house for you there, I know, nothing wrong with that - well deserved." She turned to leave, then changed her mind. "If you want to find out more, about why their nightmares wouldn't go away, it's got to do with the Chapel. Or just leave them to their lot and stay here with us! Although I know you won't" - she grunted approvingly. "See you around, Wolf."

Ah ha, a magicka shockwave blew across your Cyrodiil when Martin broke the Amulet of Kings creating a duplicate Kvatch. That’s really a nice touch and your Kvatch #2 looks marvelous. I envy your skill.

Breaking the Amulet of Kings was always supposed to be the last resort. Now it's broken, there is an impressive statue in the Imperial City, but the rest of us have to pick up the pieces, Kvatch included. Something has to be done to help the people move on though.

The second Kvatch reconstruction was very ambitious, the Count wanted to rebuild the city pretty much how it was. He left his castle almost untouched, just cleaned up, but didn't even bother to fix gashes in the walls and ditches in the floor inside. "This is only for me, it's better to focus on rebuilding the rest of the city" - he'd say. But the project is very ambitious and Kvatch Roses of Success, as he had dubbed it, is still unfinished.

***Technical info: the mod had been abandoned by the author. It has all the landscaping, the pavements, buildings and the garden in place, but no people or insides of any of the buildings. It was meant to be situated in time shortly after the Oblivion Crisis, so there were still many burned trees in the city, which I replaced by living trees since in my game it is 200 years later. I have "filled" all the houses with inner cells and am still working on the people - not all houses have someone living in them yet. Plenty to do, but what a fertile ground for new adventures!

The Valenwood mod I use has several cities that are just begging for this kind of treatment. I tell myself that if I ever stop playing I'll take the time to learn how to fill in the empty houses. That's a big if.

31 Sun's Height, 4E202 - The ghosts of Kvatch

It was Lena's second morning waking up in the Wolf Residence in Kvatch - Kvatch Plaza, as she now knew. The other Kvatch seemed much larger, but of course it wasn't - it simply had more buildings. And more trees. And more people. Yes, it was much larger, Lena sighed. Yet this Kvatch was the one with the Wolf Residence in it, and perhaps once their nightmare problem would have been resolved, it could be a happy city too. After all, the "new" folk seemed happy enough here, she was  thinking over breakfast outside the One Coin Inn.


"Best get on with it straight away" - she thought and went to the Chapel.

...

"What's it like out there?" - a ghost approached her as soon as she entered. "We thought we were the only ones to survive..."

"Tierra?" - Lena peered into the ghost's features. "What are you talking about?" - she asked automatically. Of course she knew what Tierra was talking about - the Daedric invasion of two hundred years ago. "What are you doing here?" This was a better question.

"Guarding the Count, of course" - answered Tierra as if stating the obvious. "He escaped from the Castle and is standing behind the main altar there" - she waved her hand towards the far end of the chapel. "Together with Brother Martin and other refugees."

Lena looked around. When Batul spoke of ghosts the previous evening, Lena took her words figuratively, but in fact the chapel was filled with actual ghosts. The priest and a few townspeople of flesh and blood were mixing with them, talking, lamenting the smell of burnt bodies and the devastation... Yes, how could one move on this way - wasn't it obvious? The mage at the guild said she couldn't figure out what kept the nightmares alive, well, these eight ghosts should have been her prime suspects! Unless what she had meant was that she could not figure out how to send them on to the next world.


Besides Count Ormellius Goldwine and Brother Martin, the other ghosts were Kvatch guardsmen - Savlian Matius, Berich Inian, Tierra, Ilend Vonius, Jesan Rilian and Merandil. The people who did the fighting. The real heroes of Kvatch. The priest - Ilav Dralgoner - was walking among them. "This is not the same Ilav as the one in the other Kvatch" - Lena guessed.

"Welcome to the Chapel, young lady" - he addressed Lena. "You can always find solace and refuge here."

"Thank you" - she smiled at him, hiding her worry. "But refuge from what? It's peaceful out there."

"Oh, but it isn't peaceful inside us, is it?" - he pierced her with his gaze. "You too have lived through that horror. The Gods have abandoned us."

"Don't the Gods still grant their blessings at the shrines here?"

"They do and they don't" - Ilav looked stern. "The magic of the shrines still works, but the Gods never talk to us any more. They lost all interest in Mundus."

Ilav was seriously disillusioned. Lena was no model citizen, but she knew for a fact that the Gods had not turned their backs on Mundus - it was only three days ago that Arkay responded to her prayer while Dibella granted a blessing to Lucien. And although some might question their actions, the Gods were definitely not gone. Not knowing how to restore the faith of the priest, she decided to talk to the ghosts, starting with Brother Martin.

"Sire" - she approached him with what she thought to be an appropriate address - "I am saddened to see that your soul had not been able to move on to the next world. As well as the souls of the others here. I wish to help if I can. Please tell me what happened here."

"You..." - Brother Martin looked at her searching. "You are the first one to ask me this. Who are you? No, wait... we've met before."

"I am Wolf" - Lena nodded. "I was with Emperor Uriel Septim when he was killed - I was his messanger."

"Yes... You are the reason we are stuck here!" - Brother Martin flew into a rage. "You are the reason Kvatch had burned! Had you not delivered that amulet to Jeoffrey, had you just sold it along with your other stolen loot as the likes of you would have normally done, none of it would have happened! Kvatch would have survived and I would have been spared the humiliation of being known as the bastard son of the late Emperor!"


Whatever Lena had expected, it wasn't this. Now the Oblivion Crisis was her fault? But he called her a thief - and a thief she was not.

"I think we have a misunderstanding" - Lena replied, restraining her anger. "I am no thief. I do not steal. You are confusing me with someone else."

"But you were in prison, in that cell - for stealing!" - Brother Martin sounded triumphant. "Oh yes, I've read your file."

"I stole food which I ate on the spot, no more" - Lena was unphased. "There were no 'stolen goods' in my possession."

"It doesn't matter - it is still all your fault!" - Brother Martin was still angry but he softened a bit. "Well, yours and Mehrunes Dagon's" - he admitted. "But without your intervention he would have just opened many small gates rather than a big one here in Kvatch!"

"And without your intervention, he would have burned the entire Mundus" - Lena reminded him. "Or rather, without Akatosh' intervention."

Brother Martin pinned her with his gaze, his rage flaring again. That man had a temper.

"How dare you!" - he spat. "I did what was necessary! A mere mortal cannot hope to defeat a Daedric Prince!"

"But you were no mere mortal" - Lena return his gaze, getting used to his ghostly appearance. "You were Dragonborn, a Septim, you were to be our Emperor - and not just in title as the current one, you were to re-light the Dragonfires and to protect the Mundus from Daedric incursions. Instead, you committed suicide!"

"As if you can know what you are talking about!" - he snorted. "Dragonborn! That means nothing at all."

"Does it not?" - Lena looked at him, smiling. "I have found it to be a nuisance myself, but I cannot say it means nothing."

"You..?" - that got Brother Martin's attention, putting out his rage. "Ah. It makes sense. May be the Gods had not abandoned us at that point yet, putting you in that cell."

"It could have been anyone in my place" - Lena retorted. "It didn't require a Dragonborn to deliver an amulet. And it wasn't a Daedric Prince who murdered the Emperor."

"No, it was an assassin" - Brother Martin answered slowly. "Like you."

"Not like me" - Lena shook her head. "That was a cultist, I am not."

They stared at each other for a moment, their animosity having attracted everyone's attention, ghosts and people alike. It wasn't every day that someone challenged a Septim.

"Get out of my sight" - Brother Martin hissed, turning his back to Lena.

...

"That went rather well" - Savlian Matius winked at Lena. "Walk with me."

He went down the stairs and into the chapel hall, with Lena following.

"Good to see you, Wolf" - he smiled, sitting down. "Pull up a stool, I'll fill you in."

Lena sighed with relief, sitting down as well.

"I lived long enough to see Kvatch recover and start rebuilding, in both halves" - he said, still smiling. "Yes, I know about the other Kvatch - I was Court Steward for many years after that. I died of old age, you know, then something - or someone - brought me back" - he frowned. "Me and the other guards - we all had died of old age at some point!"

"So the Count and Brother Martin are the only two among you who had died during the Crisis?"

"Correct" - Savlian nodded. "No idea how their ghosts got here, but as you can see, Brother Martin is pretty angry, while the Count is just sad. Martin flies into this rage every time some of the townsfolk mention you."

"They think I'm a hero" - Lena smiled uneasily. "But you and the rest of the guard did far more to save Kvatch than I."

"You played your part" - he patted her arm, his touch remarkably solid for a ghost. "And you're the one still alive, one of the few who know what went down here. People need their heroes, you're the last one left."

He looked at her with a steady gaze, a man used to handle other people, from soldiers to castle servants, salesmen, contractors and visitors alike.

"You will figure it out" - he said reassuringly. "How to send us all on to the next world - and how to free the townsfolk from their nightmares. If there's any fighting to be done, you can count on us - we're ghosts, we cannot be killed as we are already dead!" He laughed heartily. "If we fall in battle, we just reappear in a day or two."

"Any idea where I should start?" - Lena asked hopefully.

"Don't do anything rash" - Savlian repeated his favourite advice. "There are daedra in the chapel undercroft, and there's a gate to an Oblivion maze that they are coming from, but it isn't the real problem."

"What?! How?" - Lena spun on her stool. That certainly sounded like a real problem to her.

"The gate cannot be closed in the same way as the old ones" - Savlian smiled at her reaction. "I think it is a symptom rather than the cause. We had cleared out that maze several times already, and it just fills up with angry daedra again. You need to find out how we - the ghosts - got here, and what is holding us. Martin's ghost is different from the rest." He paused, looking at Lena pensively. "So, you are Dragonborn. Interesting. You might well be the only one here who can release Martin's ghost, you know."

They sat in silence for a while.

"The people in the other Kvatch don't suffer from nightmares" - Lena said suddenly. "Are they really the same people as the ones here?"

"I don't know" - Savlian shook his head. "Another thing for you to investigate. This will take a while, but not to worry - it's been dragging on for two hundred years, another few months will make no difference." He smiled and got up. "Time to return to the chapel before the others begin to suspect mutiny" - he winked. "Talk to the mages at the Guild - they've been looking into this" - he added walking back to the chapel proper. Things seemed to have calmed down, and Lena thanked him, nodded goodbye to everyone and left.

"A few months, he said" - she thought. "It may well take as long as that to figure this one out."

---------------------

The Oblivion gate in the undercroft leads to the Mehrunes Maze. Lena will need to have her wits about her for that one... as well as a good sword.

31 Sun's Height, 4E202 - Yelidiia Blamage

"Call me Yeli, please" - Yelidiia Blamage smiled at Lena, slightly blushing. "That name drives me nuts." Lena walked into the Mages Guild at Kvatch Plaza to talk to the red-haired Breton who had mentioned looking into the townspeople's nightmares. Now Lena wanted to know about the ghosts in the chapel and what Yeli managed to find out.

"All right, Yeli" - Lena smiled back amicably. "I've just been to the chapel. Fill me in."

"Ah." Yeli looked relieved and worried at the same time. "Come with me."

She walked towards the back end of the building, going through a trapdoor into the basement.

"This building is small above ground but it has a huge basement" - she turned to Lena. "Please excuse the mess - we've been dumping stuff here fully intending to sort it out... But you know how it is!" - she added, nearly tripping over a bottle rolling around on the floor.

"It's Ok, I know how it is" - Lena laughed, kicking the bottle out of the way.

At the end of a long and winding corridor with many alcoves, they came to a larger chamber that was well lit and neatly laid out as a study. The back wall had a secret door in it, which stood open. It gave into a darker passage, with necromancy symbols glowing on the walls.

"I thought you said you had no troubles with necromancers here" - Lena looked at Yeli with a question.

"Yes, well..." - Yeli looked uneasy. "I wasn't lying - there is no one here. We found this chamber as you see it now. There's an altar inside but no lich - I've identified the symbols, they are for the transcendence ritual."


"This looks familiar, you know" - Lena remembered Lorgren Benirus in his cellar surrounded by symbols just like these ones. "It takes at least five hundred years for a lich to transcend, so this must be very old, if the lich is already gone. Assuming he transcended?" - she turned to Yeli expecting she'd worked it out.

"The lich has transcended, yes" - Yeli nodded. "Some of the symbols have changed to show it. I have been studying this" - she added, blushing. "I am not a necromancer, but I had to know."

"Oh, don't worry about that" - Lena patted her on the arm reassuringly. "I won't tell Traven" - she winked. "Tell me what you've found."

"Well, the lich transcended and left, I believe he can glide through walls, so he could be anywhere. And he is powerful - not every lich can do that. Yet he cannot raise the dead in the Chapel Undercroft - I suppose you've heard?"

"Daedra, yes" - Lena nodded.

"Right, and he's not raising the bodies burnt into the rock under the streets as there are no skeletons walking around town" - Yeli smiled.

"But the Chapel is filled with ghosts" - Lena pointed out.

"It is" - Yeli agreed. "It could be his work... But the ghosts appeared before we moved in here - which was only ten years ago. Myrdian and I studied together at the University, and when we graduated, we came here. Just walked up the hill out of curiosity - Kvatch does have an air of mystery about it - went through the gate, and found this perfectly lovely town... This building stood empty, just a small Guild Hall with only two beds... Perfect for us, we thought" - she smiled timidly. "Gwendolyn at the Potions shop has been here quite a bit longer, she said there were other mages here before, but they left without as much as a goodbye. So we stayed, and now this is our home."

Lena smiled at the young mage. "Does Gwendolyn know anything about the lich or the ghosts?"

"No, it was before her time too, and she wasn't keen on investigating" - Yeli looked apologetically. "Something about having had too many dealings with ghosts in the past already... But she's friendly and knows alchemy better than most - she studied with Sinderion, I hear."

"What about the other Kvatch and the Mages Guild there - any connection?" It was time to find more of those links, Lena decided.

"There is a link, yes" - Yeli gestured for Lena to follow. "Through there." She walked to one of the alcoves, pointing at a door behind some crates at the end. "It goes to their basement. But we keep it locked, and as you can see, it isn't in use."

"Why not?" - Lena felt there was more to it.

"We don't get on very well..." - Yeli blushed again. "Some of the mages there... Well... They wanted to perform rituals in our cellar - in the lich's chamber - but I disagreed... We argued."

"Was that Earana?" - Lena recalled meeting her at the other Mages Guild the day before.

"You know her?" - Yeli looked relieved. "Yes, it was Earana. We have no quarrel with the others."

"Earana is an Altmer" - Lena mused. "They are very long lived, and she isn't the youngest. Her face looks aged, so she must be really old. May be even older than that lich" - she turned to Yeli. "I am not surprised Earana was interested, but it doesn't prove she had anything to do with it. I shall need to speak with her though."

"Better you than me" - Yeli grinned. "Hope you catch her on a good day."

"I'm not sure there is such a thing with Earana" - Lena grinned back. They liked each other. They walked back to the study chamber, and Yeli got some food and drink out of the cupboard. They both felt the need for sustenance.

"What about Sigrid?" - Lena remembered the only surviving mage from the Guild before the Crisis.

"Poor soul" - Yeli sighed. "Our Sigrid just walks around town aimlessly or sits in the chapel, she says she can smell the burning of bodies... Sometimes she says she's angry that she has to start from scratch, but she isn't doing anything, hasn't been doing anything since... you know" - she shot Lena a glance. "Is it true that you went through it too?" Lena nodded. "I just had to ask for myself... Sorry" - Yeli blushed. "Anyway, the other Sigrid is doing a lot better - she sells potions at the Guild in the mornings, and seems to be busy in the afternoons as well."

"Seems to?" - some hesitation in Yeli's voice caught Lena's attention.

"I don't know... it's just a feeling" - Yeli blushed again. "She... she seems to be absent when she's busy mixing potions at the Guild in the afternoons, if that makes sense. She's there, working, but if you talk to her, it's like she's a shell, like Sigrid is not inside her..."

"And that corresponds to the times when Sigrid here says she's angry" - guessed Lena.

"Roughly, yes" - Yeli looked up. "I never tracked it properly, but you could be right..."

"I think that when those people got duplicated, it only affected their bodies, not their souls. I don't think you can duplicate souls."

"That... would give you nightmares, yes" - Yeli's eyes widened. "But what can we do about it?"

"I don't know" - Lena admitted. "It's just a theory - I could be wrong. I have a feeling there are several things going on here in Kvatch, and they are not necessarily related. Or at least they were not related to begin with, but everything got tangled up by now, no doubt. I am going to talk to Sigrid - both Sigrids - and see if it leads me anywhere. Then there's Batul - both of them - as sane as ever, and Savlian's ghost at the chapel. I shall need to investigate every house and every basement in both Kvatch realms - some might be linked, but perhaps some lead elsewhere. And then there's the Castle - the new Castle here and the old one in the other Kvatch. And the Count - both of them - I spoke to yours here, but the Count in the other Kvatch was not accepting visitors, and no one seemed to have spoken to him for some time. Something isn't right." Lena was making notes in her journal, having covered several pages with her neat writing. "Savlian thought it might take me a few months to get to the bottom of this... I hope it won't be a few years!" - she looked over the pages.

"Sewers" - said Yeli. "You forgot wells and sewers."

"Wells and sewers" - Lena repeated, writing it down too. "And look under every rock, especially if it's been burnt" - she added, smiling. "I have a feeling I'll be making ample use of the Wolf Residence."

1 Last Seed, 4E202 - Treasure hunt

It's been three days since Lena arrived in Kvatch, and got herself embroiled into a huge soul-saving enterprise. It wasn't something that she could complete in a day or in a week, and she didn't want to stay away for too long. Besides, she came to Kvatch with the purpose of searching for Nocturnal's Cowl, and she hadn't even started on that. Perhaps she should take Savlian's advice: avoid doing anything rash, or anything rushed. Talk it over with Hauk first, don't stir too many demons by talking to people like Earana. Keep a cool head. "Easier said than done" - Lena smirked to herself, but decided to focus on the search for the cowl. "Talk to some of the 'new' people, something might come to light" - she decided.

"New" people in Kvatch Plaza were fewer than in Kvatch West, so she started with Plaza. The shopkeepers didn't have anything interesting to say, that is nothing that sounded like a possible lead to Lena, so she went to the Castle, and there in the Keep she met a travelling merchant who wasn't going anywhere. "That's unusual" - Lena thought.


"I have all sorts of marvellous things with me!" - he boasted. Most of those things were writs of some sort, including a deed on a house in Kvatch - a mansion, complete with all furnishings, stables, a farm and servants, all for a mere 20,000 septims.

"Where is this mansion?" - Lena asked, not recalling anything by that description.

"Oh, just as you leave from here, by the statue to the left" - the merchant beamed at her.

"Err... There is no such mansion there" - Lena shook her head.

"Oh..." - the merchant looked unconcerned. "Well, then this deed is out of date." He tore it up. "It is the responsibility of the buyer to verify that the goods correspond to the description before paying the money. After that, it's their problem!" - he beamed at Lena. She decided to be extremely careful with whatever else he had in stock.

"What about these notes over here?" - she fingered through a collection of old parchments fraying at the edges.

"Treasure hunts, they are" - the merchant said proudly. "From all over Cyrodiil or possibly beyond! Will lead you straight to proper treasure, guaranteed!"

"Unless you can't find it, of course" - Lena grinned.

"Well, it is up to the buyer's skill to actually find the locations..."

One of the notes had a small symbol in the corner: a diamond with a circle inside. Thieves Guild.

"I'll take this one, it looks promising" - Lena smiled.

"Of course, of course!" - the merchant nodded vigorously. "Like you say - it must be promising."

Lena gave him a long look, trying to figure out whether he was a member of the Thieves Guild or a victim of their activity. "What can you tell me about it?" - she asked, looking at him with significance.

"It's a... err... all right, all right, I'll tell you!" - he burst. "It's a Thieves Guild note leading to one of their caches, I wasn't supposed to show it to anyone or let alone to sell it, but every single person on my list of people who were allowed to see it, is now dead! Dead! Murdered! By the Dark Brotherhood! What am I to do?!" He looked at Lena with desperation.

"So you're connected to the Thieves Guild, are you?" - she asked in a low voice.

"Sshhh, keep it down!" - he whispered. "I used to buy some of their loot... Just a low level fence, nothing more... But not now! Not with all the murders! It's not worth it, I tell you! Their loot is not worth a septim any more to an honest merchant like myself! Well, mostly honest, that is..."

"And this note" - Lena wasn't giving up. "How did you get it, exactly?"

The merchant turned pale but answered. "I was given it by that Umbranox fellow - they say he was the Grey Fox! But may be he wasn't, I couldn't tell, he was high up in the Guild though, that's for sure. He said to keep it between my things, and never to sell it, but give it to one of the people on my list - here, take it" - he thrust a list at her - "all high-ranking members, mind you, and all dead now!"

"Wait" - Lena looked at him with suspicion, something didn't add up. "If you were only a low level fence, you would not be receiving anything from the likes of Umbranox, and you would not be seeing any lists like this! What are you not telling me?"

The merchant was now so pale, he looked almost blue. "I am a travelling merchant, so I was a courier, too. It paid well. All I would need to do is deliver a letter from one place to another, so yeah, I knew them all." He swallowed hard. "Please don't kill me."

"Why would I?" - Lena raised an eyebrow.

"You were seen in the vicinity of each murder when they were committed. We know our people and can put two and two together. You killed a few beggars too." He looked scared.

"Only because they were annoying me more than usual" - Lena brushed it off. "Nothing to do with them working for the Thieves Guild. And you are not on my list. But why are you selling this note now, to me of all people?"

"You are the only person besides the ones on the list, that I could shift it to, since it was so important" - he said quietly. "I couldn't show it to any other member, I was forbidden to even speak of it to anyone who's not on the list! So when I saw you, I slipped it in between the other papers, hoping you'd pick it up, and you did."

"Why not just burn it?" - Lena wanted all the details.

"I could have done, I suppose" - the merchant looked up, struck by the idea. "It just never occurred to me! I could not just burn my merchandise..." - he blushed, embarrassed.

"It's Ok" - Lena laughed. "I'll even pay you for it. How much?"

"Anything you are willing to give me" - breathed the merchant.

Lena gave him 100 septims, considering it as a sacrifice to Nocturnal.

"Here, buy yourself some calming salts" - she smiled. "You are not on my list." She nodded goodbye and walked off.

The note was a rhyme sending her on a treasure hunt. "Typical" - she thought, remembering a four hour long key-in-chest treasure hunt that she and Hauk undertook at Pale Pass. "And we swore to never again go on one of those hunts!" - she fumed. But this time she needed the prize in the end, she was quite certain it would be the Cowl of Nocturnal.

Several hours later she found it. She solved all the riddles, followed all the clues, and had a collection of rhymed notes to show for it. She folded the cowl carefully and stashed it in her pack - she had no intention of putting it on and getting cursed. She would take it to Nocturnal as soon as possible. The moons were out, the breeze was warm, and Lena sat down outside the One Coin Inn for a well-deserved meal. It has been another long day.

I am up to post 37 of this rich tapestry of story. She receives love for reinstating her rank. Very nice.



Wow!

This comes back to bite her a few times, as you can well imagine. I'm just working on a mod for Vampirism with Relapses. But on the plus side, bottled blood becomes a useful potion in this context, because you never know when you run into something that triggers a relapse... So unless your favourite companion is willing to let you feed on him, you should better carry some of the bottled stuff available for sale at selected stores - I'll let you guess which ones.

Yikes! But it makes sense to have Bottled Blood instead of needing to feed upon somebody, I agree. Feeding is... messy. At least, the way I like to approach it in these games is messy.

"Hauk dear, lie down and let me bite you..." Oops.

2-4 Last Seed, 4E202 - Bravil - The Shrine of Nocturnal

"Best deliver this Cowl to Nocturnal straight away" - Lena thought, waking up at the Wolf Residence in Kvatch. Although Kvatch was in need of her help, she wasn't about to delve into it and neglect everything else - a number of other commitments were still open, as her journal reminded her, and Nocturnal was one of them. So after breakfast Lena stopped by all the people who asked her for help in both cities of Kvatch, assured them that she'd be back, that she was working on it, and wouldn't abandon them, and then she went out the city gates, mounted Roach and was off.

The shrine of Nocturnal lay North of Leyawiin on the Yellow Road, and Lena didn't expect to make it there in one day, but with a bit of persuasion, Roach made it to Bravil by the evening.


It was a warm evening, and having brought Roach to the stables, Lena decided to take a stroll along Bravil waterfront - a recent development that's been going on for some time. The Count wasn't quite such a ne'er-do-well character after all, and the abundance of construction in Cyrodiil after the Oblivion Crisis was infectious. Why, if Kvatch could rebuild as two cities where only one once stood, and if Anvil could make itself into an Ocean Harbour, then Bravil could claim the title of the largest River Harbour in Cyrodiil, what with the Niben Bay surrounding it.


And that included an expansion of city docks finally boosting the local fishing industry - and not just for the Argonians.


Leyawiin may be blocking the way to Topal Sea and controlling the trade routes, but where there's a will, there's a way - and merchants were not willing to offload all their goods in Leyawiin for road transport further North. Eventually, the Count agreed to remove blockages and allow full shipping access to the Niben, while conveniently levying passage fees...

But Lena wasn't interested in politics. She simply enjoyed a stroll on the docks.




Lena reached the shrine of Nocturnal in the afternoon. The worshippers did not try to stop her and did not require an offering - it was a welcome change from other places. She approached the statue and touched the base, calling to Nocturnal in her thoughts - she knew that there was no need to say anything aloud.

"You come to me again, Assassin" - Nocturnal's voice sounded in her head.

"I have recovered something of yours" - Lena replied, putting the cowl onto the pedestal. "I thought you might want it back."

"Ah, you've done well" - Nocturnal said aloud, the cowl disappearing, with the worshippers watching with interest. "What reward do you wish?"

To be asked this was most unusual, and the followers' excited exclamations made it clear just how exceptional the situation was.

"I haven't thought of that" - Lena answered quite truthfully.

"Then why did you bring me the cowl if not for a reward?" - Nocturnal sounded slightly surprised.

"I didn't want the thieves to keep it, I don't like thieves... Even if they count you as their Patron."

"My sphere is the Night and Shadow, and everything that dwells within it. I value not the baubles that the Thieves are after, nor do I care for the lives that you Assassins take in the dark of night. Yet you both dwell in my sphere, and thus I am your Patron. The Nightingales understand it - and have you not spared one just recently?"

"Karliah" - Lena remembered her encounter in Skyrim. "I have no quarrel with her."

"Good." Nocturnal's voice fell silent, and the worshippers exchanged glances of understanding.

"What?" - Lena looked at them with a question.

"Nocturnal will give you a task" - one of them answered. "Wait for it."

But Nocturnal did not speak any more. Lena sat down on a bench with the worshippers and decided to hold a vigil at the shrine until the morning, as a sign of respect for Nocturnal. For in truth, she did not think of a reward for returning the cowl, she simply felt it was wrong that the thieves should keep it... just as she said.


"Approach, Assassin" - Nocturnal spoke just before dawn broke. "I have a task for you."

Lena got up and approached the statue, touching the base. She did not kneel.


"You will rebuild the Nightingale Hall in Cyrodiil at a location of your choosing - the old one crumbled centuries ago. You will be the second Nightingale, and you will recruit a third. You will remind your Brothers Assassins that Sithis is not their only Patron, so that they resume paying their respects to me. Which Nightingale power do you choose - Strife or Subterfuge? For Stealth is already taken."

"I choose Subterfuge" - Lena answered, thinking of Mercer Frey using this power quite effectively.

"So be it." Lena felt a cloud of magic surround her, and a new ability tingle in her fingers.

"But if I may ask, My Lady" - she thought it was probably the right way to address a Daedric Prince who chose to appear female. "Who is the first Nightingale? Is that Karliah?"

"Karliah is my agent in Skyrim, you are to be in Cyrodiil, so no. The first Nightingale here is your Brother Lucien Lachance."

Now Lena suddenly understood the significance of the statue of Nocturnal that she saw in Lucien's "bolthole" in the Imperial City. "Arboretum Underground Apartment" was a more suitable name for that comfortable dwelling - far better furnished and appointed than Fort Farragut, Lucien's official address.

"So... he is the Agent of Stealth" - she said mostly to herself, nodding. Of course... His ability to vanish wasn't common among the Dark Brotherhood - it wasn't the Night Mother's blessing, but Nocturnal's. "Is it to be kept a secret? Even from our Brothers?"

"It is not a secret among my followers, but neither is it something to be advertised" - Nocturnal replied patiently. "All things related to me are to be kept in shadow, like the work of the three 'sirens' at Gweden Farm... Yes, that pleased me, Assassin, I have been watching you grow. Go now, shadow hide you."

Nocturnal fell silent. The worshippers gathered around Lena, one of them was kneeling.

"No, please, don't do that" - she lifted her by the shoulders. "No kneeling, please."

"But you are a Nightingale!" - the worshipper gasped.

"Yes, well, this means you might see me here again, that's all."

The worshippers looked on in awe as Lena mounted Roach and rode off towards Leyawiin - she had promised Modryn Oreyn her help with some slightly off the books matter for the Fighters Guild, and he was waiting for her there.

----------------

The Count of Bravil took the building works seriously, engaging as many as four construction companies with their individual proposals, and making them all work together: Bravil Harbour, Bravil Waterfront, Bravil Internal Docks and Bravil South River Bank. He proved to have remarkable people skills after all... or was that the skooma?

4-5 Last Seed, 4E202 - Modryn Oreyn

"Finally!" - Modryn Oreyn greeted Lena at the Fighters Guild in Leyawiin. He seemed to have left his smile in Chorrol, or perhaps even in Morrowind. "Took you long enough! What sort of time do you call this?!"


It was the middle of the afternoon - Lena didn't go straight to Leyawiin after her vigil at the Shrine of Nocturnal, but instead she took a detour by the Sanctuary at Deepscorn Hollow to eat, sleep and... well... she hoped Fenris would have prepared that... pick up some bottled blood.

He wasn't there, but sure enough, there was a chest by the prison cells with bottled blood. Two types of bottles, labelled "Living Blood" and "Undead blood".

"What on Nirn is this?!" - wondered Lena, lifting a bottle with dark viscous liquid. There was a note underneath.

Mistress,

This is my blood - vampire blood. Drink it to trigger your vampirism to relapse.

Fenris

Yes... She remembered that day in Windhelm when a vampire bit her, transferring some of his blood to her, instantly triggering a relapse, fangs and all. Why would she want to repeat the experience? Well... she was famished when she relapsed. Famished and powerful...

Still, she wasn't ready for this. She took the living blood and left the undead blood in the chest.

...

"We need to go to Arpenia immediately and search for evidence of any battle there" - Modryn said impatiently. "I think we won't find anything."

"Where is this Arpenia?" - asked Lena looking at him with suspicion.

"North from here, not that far."

Lena was going to suggest to leave it until tomorrow morning, but then thought better of it - Modryn's mood would not be improved by waiting. They set off straight away.

...

"Not far" turned out to be three hours at a run. The sun was setting when they reached the ruin, and Modryn was just as grumpy as before, in spite of several fights with bandits along the way. Lena was hoping they would help him blow off some steam, but either the bandits were not challenging enough, or Modryn had even more steam bottled up in him... they didn't help much. As it was, he attacked every rat and mudcrab inside the ruins with exceptional ferocity, and even had a go at the traps, but couldn't break them.

"Stop doing that, Modryn!" - Lena was saying with desperation, casting never ending healing spells at him after yet another encounter with a falling blade. "Those traps cannot be broken - they were made to last!"

"Everything can be broken!" - Modryn replied angrily, examining several damaged spikes on his mace. Quite.

Apart from traps, rats and mudcrabs, Arpenia was empty. There was no evidence of any recent battle there either.


"I knew it!" - Modryn was livid. "The Blackwood Company lied! They never killed Blackheart here or anywhere else - they made a deal with him! We're going after him right now! Follow!"

And he set off to yet another ruin. Lena was trying to say that they'd been up all night crawling through Arpenia, that both of them had many fresh wounds from the traps, and that perhaps it would have been wiser to rest and heal up a bit first... But Modryn was already out of earshot. Reluctantly, she followed.

Atatar wasn't far - just an hour or so at a run. And it wasn't empty.

"Vampires?" - Lena wondered aloud when they got attacked by several people emerging from invisibility.

"Bandits" - grimaced Modryn. "I see Blackheart taught them a few clever spells."

"More than just a few" - Lena thought. They were all cloaked, some with chameleon, they all cast Silence, Paralysis and various curses, and they all swung their weapons with unusual dexterity. "Well fed and well rested" - Lena thought. "Not like us." Indeed, the lack of sleep and proper food was making her sluggish, and some of the wounds made by the traps in Arpenia, had reopened. But Modryn pressed on, ignoring "the needs of the flesh".

Eventually they found Blackheart in the deapth of the ruin - he made quite a throne room for himself. Modryn was driven by rage, and he slew Blackheart without much effort. Without his entourage, Blackheart was but one man, and not exceptionally powerful at that.

"Get that ring off his finger - it's the proof we need!" - Modryn was looking at dead Blackheart with satisfaction. "Well done for putting up with me" - he turned to Lena. "I'm promoting you to Warder. See me in Chorrol for duties." And with that he turned around and marched off.

"Phew." Lena sat on Blackheart's "throne", catching her breath. She was not keen on any more Fighters Guild duties.


Having caught her breath, she left Atatar and found herself quite near The Drunken Dragon Inn. "Thank goodness for that" - she thought with relief. It was early evening, so she stayed there for a much-needed meal and a long rest.

---------------

Lena's health is being affected by several things, mostly not beneficial, although realistic. Namely: Bare Necessities - the need to eat and sleep, configurable, with the ability to sleep rough; Dynamic Skills - unused skills drop over time, health can regenerate outside of combat but wounds can bleed and reopen even after healing; Battle fatigue and injuries - penalties for getting hit, complementary to bleeding wounds; Running Revised, with sprinting, fatigue, configurable; and of course Recessive Vampirism (my own mod). Enemies have grown smarter and more unpredictable, both in level and numbers: NPC and Creature Buffer and Oblivion World Balance. Lena is now level 30, and these mods made her enemies varied and challenging, with powers normally only reserved to the player (unjustly so). Every Dunmer now summons an ancestral guardian, so watch out... because they are not level 1 ghosts - still ghosts, just not level 1. They will tear you apart. Another example: we came across a pair of naked bandits stalking the road to Bravil. Easy, right? Wrong... they knocked us out before we could get off our horse. Pugilists. Nudist pugilist twins. Beware.

7 Last Seed, 4E202 - Nightingales

"Come with me, Nightingale" - Lucien appeared next to Lena as she came out of the Arcane University lobby.

"How did you know I'd be here?" - she gasped at him.

"Arch Mage Traven practically put out a bounty on your head" - he grinned. "He's been searching for you through the Guild channels, and we do have a few Brothers among the mages. So I knew you were on your way here from Leyawiin."

"And you loitered in the garden waiting for me" - Lena grinned at the mental picture of Lucien loitering.

"Cloaked, yes" - he smiled.

"All right, Agent of Stealth, let's go."

Lucien led her to his bolthole in the sewers under Arboretum - "Lucien's Arboretum Underground Apartment", as Lena took to calling it.

"Here - this is for you" - Lucien gave her a package when they were inside. "Now that Nocturnal wants her influence re-established, we should dress the part."

It was only now that Lena realised what was different about Lucien - his robes. Still black, still unassuming and resembling mage robes, but now complemented by dark brown embossed leather rather than plain black, and with deep sanguine trim.

"Throwing knives" - Lena pointed at the top of Lucien's boot. "Finally an alternative to the bow."

"Well, I've had them for a while already" - he smiled. "But you need to learn to use them first. There are throwing stars, too - try A Fighting Chance in the Market District. There's a lot more to Rohssan than meets the eye" - Lucien winked. "There's an additional knife pocket belt to go over the robes as well, but I find it too obvious."

Lena was trying on her new gear.


"And the enchantment? It feels the same."

"It is the same" - Lucien nodded. "The same as the Black Hand robes, and reinforced with the hood."

"So, still no shield enchantment" - Lena mused, slightly disappointed. It was clothes, not armour.

"You should be skilled enough not to get hit, if you are wearing this" - Lucien smiled. "Doesn't always work, of course, but there are other ways to shield yourself."

"Ok, Ok, I'm not complaining" - Lena grinned. "Who should we recruit as the third Nightingale?"

"We?" - Lucien raised an eyebrow. "That's your job - Nocturnal gave this task to you personally. It's your call."

"But I thought because you've been her agent for a while already..." - Lena started.

"No-no, it doesn't work like that" - Lucien shook his head. "This falls outside the Dark Brotherhood hierarchy, so we are equal on this level, as will be the third person. You don't have to recruit from the Brotherhood either."

"So..." - Lena started to understand how this worked. "You never said anything because it wasn't up to you to bring Nocturnal's influence into the Brotherhood - I am to do it, as well as to rebuild the Halls and to recruit the third person. While you..."

"I have my own tasks" - Lucien smiled. "You will learn of them in time, such are Nocturnal's wishes."

...

They sat down for dinner, and Lena told Lucien about her conversation with Corvus Umbranox and a pile of Thieves Guild "requests" that she had found in his desk. They had no interest in any of them, except the one from Rayenna.

"So it wasn't the Thieves Guild who revealed the location of Deepscorn Hollow to Rayenna" - Lucien pointed out. "Hauk thinks it was Mephala, and I tend to agree with him. Which means we should be watchful."

"But she is still a member of the Brotherhood, isn't she?" - Lena looked up. "With one of the Sanctuaries?"

"She is still in Anvil, yes" - Lucien nodded. "Sa'sinar wanted to keep an eye on her, and who could blame him. Although it wasn't his fault, a Silencer's actions always do reflect on the Speaker - after all, she was his choice." He paused. "Anyway, Umbranox' abandoned house is ours - it's one of the terms of the contract. The Countess was only too glad to see it change ownership and to ensure that no Thieves Guild member would set foot into it again. Have you searched it?"

"I've searched Umbranox' room upstairs, but the downstairs area was boarded up, so I didn't look there" - Lena admitted. "Should I have?"

"It has a basement, according to the documents... Could be worth investigating."

Lena nodded, making a note in her journal.

"How have you been feeling lately?" - Lucien asked without changing the tone.

"What?" - Lena was surprised by the question. "How do you mean?"


"Exactly as I said it. Your health - how have you been feeling?"

"Fine" - Lena answered slowly, trying to figure out what Lucien was getting at. "The same as usual. Why do you ask?"

"Your pregnancy" - he took her hand, feeling her pulse, she noticed. "You do realise you are pregnant, don't you?"

"I..." - Lena gasped. No, she didn't realise it, yet. "No... How do you know if even I don't?"

"I noticed a couple of weeks ago, in Skingrad" - he smiled. "Dibella's training had been quite extensive, and I was young back then... I studied eagerly" - he smiled again. "I can sense things like that."

"You? A student of Dibella?" - Lena recalled that Dibella had granted Lucien a blessing just recently - in Skingrad, in fact.

"In my youth, yes, following my mother. I didn't need much convincing either, considering its nature."

"But then something changed... for you are not a Priest of Dibella."

"No, I didn't take any vows" - Lucien agreed. "Other tendencies became evident..." - he was looking into the distance, remembering. "Then I joined the Brotherhood and stopped going to the temple. But I still remember what I've learned." He looked at her with tenderness. "So, it has begun."

"But..." - Lena was still digesting these revelations, both of her pregnancy and of Lucien's ways of Dibella. "But I don't know..." - Lucien seemed certain, yet she didn't feel it yet. "How long have I been pregnant then?"

"Oh I could not tell that" - Lucien laughed. "I'm not a seer. Not that long, I should think, since it doesn't show yet - and you yourself haven't even noticed. But it will put extra strain on your health - which is why I brought it up. You need to be prepared - healing potions, food and blood, have it always with you."

"Blood?"

"In case you run into a wraith or something" - he smiled - "and your vampirism gets triggered again. You have read about that in your great-uncle's diaries, I hope?"

"I..." - Lena swallowed. "I have... But I ignored it at the time. Recessive Vampirism. I assumed it didn't apply to me, since I had taken the witch's cure. But it does, doesn't it? Of course, this is what Vicente meant, this is why I've been needing blood sometimes..."

"You need to avoid going hungry for too long" - Lucien looked serious. "Hungry for blood, I mean, when your vampirism relapses. I know it gives you powers in battle, but it's bad for the child."

Lena was thinking of Molag Bal telling her that her child would be a vampire... if she allowed him to turn her into a pure-blood. But she didn't. Would she still pass her infection to her child? She strained to remember what she had read in her great-uncle's diaries, but there was no mention of children there. She hoped the child would not be tainted.

Lucien watched Lena's sombre face, correctly deducing what she was thinking. He didn't know whether or not the child would carry vampirism, and he was not aware of anyone else possessing such knowledge, so they would have to wait and see. He got up, walked over to Lena and embraced her, crouching next to her chair.

"Don't worry about that" - he said in her ear. "We can deal with it. I love you."

--------------

Nightingale gear is based on DBAssassin.

Up to 40. I agree about the bow with the four enchantments...um... Shadowhunt. How the heck would somebody create such a thing? I think the implication is there were (or are) really powerful magic-users who could do so, and our character can't possibly achieve such a level of wizardry. Not without mods!

She's hunting necromancers! And undead!



Also, repairing dents and dings from armor is not required with robes.

Ha, she pwned Shady Sam. If you have Vile Lair (I think it's Vile Lair) in your game, there's another guy who says "psst" all the time, the one who stays in Weye's inn. I actually added some Conditions to his HELLO in the CS, which will hopefully make him only say this if one of my characters has a significant amount of Infamy.

Off she goes to Cheydinhal. Done reading Page 2 today.

Shady Sam is not dead. She only wanted his hood after all, so she knocked him out. However, it seems he decided to relocate somewhere safer - closer to the Morrowind border, I hear. We'll run into him at some point, I'm sure.

The other "pssst" trader is Rowley Eardwulf in Weye, from the Vile Lair DLC, yes. We run into him later too. See how I didn't say anything!

Ah, I see. Yeah it is Rowley who gets on my nerves with his constant "psst" every time we pass.

Up to post 44.

8-9 Last Seed, 4E202 - Rohssan - Old Crow Inn - Wolf's Borough

"Come with me, Sister" - Rohssan smiled at Lena when Lena enquired about throwing knives at the Fighting Chance. She led her to the basement of the shop that was set up as a training room and an armoury. "You might like this as well" - she handed Lena a shortsword of dull metal without shine. "This does not reflect light quite as much as most metals, and unlike ebony, it is effective on ethereal beings as well as corporeal. Wraiths and ghosts and such" - she clarified. "Of course your Honorblade does the trick as well, but it's quite heavy, whereas this sword..." - she handed it to Lena - "feel for yourself."

"Wow, fast and light like a... steel shortsword?" - Lena made a few thrusts at the dummy.

"Exactly" - Rohssan nodded. "The same make as your Shadowhunt."

Lena smiled recalling Garrus noting in awe that he'd never seen a steel bow take out a massive orc with two shots... Even without the enchantment, Shadowhunt wasn't just any bow.

"So... The Blade of Woe and the Sufferthorn have the same qualities, too" - she smiled at Rohssan. "Your work?"

"Some of it" - Rohssan smiled back. "But I am mostly a supplier. The Sufferthorns come from another smith - Elven metal is not my speciality. I work iron and steel, with ebony core or silver coating, where necessary."

"Worked to a dull finish so as not to reflect the light" - Lena turned the Assassin's shortsword in her hand - "and to be effective on ethereal beings. A coating."

"There's more to being a smith than just repairing your gear" - Rohssan grinned with satisfaction. "Those fine iron and steel swords that I offer to the general public - they have ebony cores with just a thin layer of iron or steel, so you get higher durability with a reduced weight. And they sharpen better, too."

"I still have a few of those" - Lena nodded. She looked through other weapons on display, noting that each had a "durable" version - with an ebony core, she realised.

...

"Traven wants me to 'supervise' a group of battlemages and storm Silorn" - Lena was telling Hauk over lunch at The Feed Bag. "He wants some special black soul gem that's supposed to be there - and he stressed repeatedly that all that mattered was that gem. I smell a rat" - she turned over her steak with suspicion.

"He will sacrifice the battlemages again" - nodded Hauk. "We should meet with Iver, this is exactly the sort of mission he was talking about."

"But you will come too, won't you?" - Lena looked at Hauk with a question.

"Of course I will" - he nodded. "It's bound to be a trap."

...

They found Iver training in the basement at the University - he already knew about the mission.

"I've been expecting you" - he smiled at Lena. "There will be three of us, but the others do not fully understand the danger yet, I'm afraid. But if you too are coming, Hauk, that will help."

Hauk gave him one of his famous looks - naturally, and Iver mirrored it exactly. Twins.

"We'll see you at Silorn then" - Iver concluded.

...

It was late afternoon but Lena and Hauk decided to get going towards Skingrad and Silorn and stay the night at an inn along the way.

"The Imperial City Council finally released the funds to build three new bridges over Lake Rumare" - Hauk was saying as they were walking to the stables to pick up the horses. "And it is amazing how quickly these things can get built once the payment is forthcoming" - he smirked. "Have you seen them? The new bridges?"

"I was surprised by the one at Fort Homestead, yes" - Lena nodded. "Suddenly I didn't have to cast waterwalking on Roach as we could just cross the lake over a bridge! Where are the other two?"

"Fort Urasek and Fort Caracus, more or less" - Hauk pointed East and North. "And a small bridge to connect the City Isle proper with the lighthouse."

"So that you can actually cross from the City Isle to the Waterfront without going through the City and the infamous tunnel!" - Lena said excitedly.

"Infamous?" - Hauk looked surprised. "It's just a tunnel."

"Yeah, well, it's got cells and guards asking questions" - Lena wrinkled her nose.

Hauk smirked but didn't say anything. They picked up their horses and crossed the Talos Bridge towards Weye, turning South aiming to take the Gold Road. They stopped at The Old Crow Inn just at that intersection.

...

"Mmm, you look like someone who doesn't mind getting her hands dirty!" - the innkeep smiled, looking over Lena's attire. "I need someone 'taking care of', if you catch my meaning" - she winked. There was usually only one way the Dunmer wanted things "taken care of".

"Yeah, I read you" - smiled Lena. "Who is it?"

"My ex-lover" - Ladonna looked angry and disgusted. "He left me - for an Orc!!"

Ouch, that must have hurt.

"You must kill him! And her! Kill them both!" - she exclaimed, completely unconcerned by the presence of an Imperial soldier in the inn. "I shall reward you well for your trouble!"

"Ok, I'll look into it" - Lena said making a note in her journal.

"Do more than just look!" - Ladonna urged her. Here was another scornful woman of the dangerous kind.

...

"Hauk, I am pregnant" - Lena dropped the bomb at dinner.

"Whaaa-?" - Hauk looked up from his mutton. "How long?"

"Not long, a couple of months, perhaps?" - Lena looked uncertain. "I can't even feel it yet."

"So... what are you going to do?"

"Err... carry it to term?" - Lena went red.

"That's not what I meant!" - Hauk focussed on Lena rather than on his thoughts. "I am not suggesting termination. I was wondering if you were going to pause adventuring for a while."

"No!" - Lena was indignant. "Whatever made you suggest that?! No!"

"Whoa - don't start breathing fire now!" - Hauk was taken aback by the intensity of Lena's reaction. "I was just... well, never mind" - he was going to say something, but then reconsidered. "Adventuring it is."

They didn't discuss it any further, but Lena noticed Hauk talking to the innkeep who was first shaking her head, but then nodded and brought out several strong healing potions that Hauk stashed in his pack. Lena sighed - was everyone going to treat her as an invalid now? And even worse - was she going to feel like an invalid in a few months' time?


"This is quite a nice area" - Hauk pointed at a high arched wall set across the Gold Road half way to Skingrad. "Wolf's Borough. Have you been here before?"


"I might have, but I don't remember" - Lena was looking around, not recognising any of it. "I don't think I've ever really rode along this stretch of the road - I would always take a shortcut through the wilderness."

"Then let's stop and look around" - Hauk steered his horse to a pasture, he clearly knew where he was going.

"You seem to be very familiar with this place" - Lena looked at him with suspicion.

"You could say that. This is where I grew up - we lived on a farm just behind that building" - he grinned at Lena's surprise.

"What?!" - she laughed. "And you never said anything?"

"It never came up."

Wolf's Borough stretched all the way from the Gold Road to Fort Vlastarus and had several shops, farms and towers. It was something between a farm and a town.

"What happened to the farm where you grew up?" - Lena asked as they walked around.


"After our parents died, we sold it, as neither Iver nor myself saw ourselves as farmers. The new owners have changed a lot of things around, it is barely recognisable. And no, we are not going to say hello." He looked at Lena just as she was about to suggest something with a look of mischief on her face.

"Oh" - she said with disappointment. "Well... But at least we should explore that fort." And she went right in, not giving Hauk an opportunity to protest.

----------------------

Throwing knives Oblivion, Throwing Stars aka Shurikens, Imperial City Bridges, The Xander Waterfront Bridge, The Old Crow Inn, HESU Wolf's Borough.

9-11 Last Seed, 4E202 - Fort Vlastarus - Silorn

"I am not sleeping on a slab!" - Lena was adamant. Fort Vlastarus housed a small group of vampires, and the only sleeping place was a slab. It was past midnight, and Lena had heavy wounds, so Hauk tried to convince her to spend the night at the fort - without much success.

"Your wounds need healing, you have to rest! It's either the slab or the floor - or one of these coffins" - he looked around.

"No, neither" - Lena shook her head again. "I bandaged up the worst of it - we ride to Skingrad."


It was 4 a.m. when they finally entered Lena's house in Skingrad.

"Well, now that we are here, we eat first" - Hauk said firmly. "Then sleep until you are recovered. Silorn can wait."

...

They got up well past midday, had a bite to eat and rode to Silorn nearby. The battlemages were already there.

"We asked for reinforcements, and Traven sent you? You are it?" - Thalfin looked over Lena with scepticism, completely ignoring Hauk - one Serck-Hanssen in the group was apparently already more than enough, thank you very much.

"Well, you'll have to do" - she said, resolved. "And Traven put you in charge as well - so let's hear your strategy" - she added with contempt. Perhaps therein lay the root of the problem.

The door to the ruin was magically sealed from the inside, so they had to wait for some of the necromancers to come out, thus unsealing it. Sure enough, three or four of them soon emerged, and were easily dispatched by the battlemages - Lena didn't even have a chance to unsheath her sword.

"Ok, that's done - now in you go" - Thalfin smiled slyly at Lena. "Go get that gem from some High Elf deep inside the ruin."

"What - are you not coming?" - Lena couldn't quite believe it, and Hauk and Iver exchanged glances.

"No, it's your mission now."

Gods preserve us from scornful women. Lena and Hauk entered Silorn looking for some High Elf with a gem...

...

Silorn was a straightforward Ayleid ruin with necromancers behind every pillar. They were a particularly angry sort, but none could withstand Lena's poisons and Hauk's Xivilae. The battlemages were more troublesome - Necromancer battlemages, that is, in full armour - but also they eventually succumbed. Lena was knocked out a few times and sustained serious injuries, yet they still didn't find any remarkable soul gems, so had to keep going further and further in.

"We could have done with the other battlemages now" - Hauk was saying with irritation battling two necromancers, their summons and a skeleton champion. "If it had been up to Iver, he would have come, I'm sure. But he doesn't like going against his orders."

"As no soldier should" - Lena agreed, battling her own bunch of enemies. "It was Thalfin's call. Ouch!" - a skeleton's battleaxe made contact with Lena's arm. Her strength was failing her, and she took a step back to drink a potion and cast a shielding spell. It only took a moment... but in that moment a wraith summonned by the necromancers hit her with a frost curse and Lena felt her blood freeze. Her vampirism got triggered.


"And now you pay!" - she attacked the wraith and the skeleton with renewed vigor, her strength returning - for now.

Falkar was not far away, they found him a few halls further on.

"Hello, old friend" - Lena said pleasantly, baring her fangs.

"You!" - Falkar's face contorted with rage. "You cheated - you should have never survived that well!"

"And now I'll cheat again" - Lena cast Vampire Seduction on him, momentarily confusing him into liking her too much to attack. Her clannfear rammed him before he could recover.

"You are a better mage than I thought" - Falkar whispered. "But Mannimarco is a better mage still - and a High Elf. You stand no chance against him, Breton - gem or no gem."

Falkar had an enormous gem in his pocket.

"This is what we came for" - Lena showed it to Hauk. "I wonder how a single gem can determine the fate of necromancy."

"I find it hard to believe, too" - nodded Hauk. "Traven is hiding something, we'll have to wait and see, I guess." He turned over the gem in his hand. "Well, let's go speak to the others."


It was 7 a.m. when they came out, and the sun was shining brightly in a clear sky. Lena started to smolder.


"Damned vampirism!" - Hauk noticed her burning skin. "Get back inside! Do you have blood?"

Yes, she had bottled blood, which she now drank, her vampirism receding.

"There will be still some residual sun damage for a while" - she told Hauk. "So don't panic - I'll cast some healing spells. It's good enough - let's go."

Hauk shook his head but followed. Lena was less worried about vampiric effects than he was, it appeared.

"Oh, you've got the gem!" - Thalfin looked at it in admiration. "Well, take it to Traven straight away, or all of this would have been for naught!"

"I think you are exaggerating" - Lena answered calmly. "But yes, we'll take the gem to Traven and see what he is going to do with it."

"See what I mean about varying attitudes" - Iver said to Lena quietly. "Some still think they've got a career with the Mages Guild" - he smirked, jerking his head towards Thalfin.


"Well, we haven't been dismissed from the Guild yet" - Merete joined the conversation. "And who knows how long Traven will remain the Arch Mage. Although frankly, a battlemage who can barely cast a flare, should not have been put in command here" - she jerked her head towards Thalfin as well. "But friends in high places work here too."

"Yes, she does seem very devoted to... you know" - Lena winked. "Was she hoping we'd be killed in there so that she could go in after a while and claim the gem for herself?"

"She said her concern was for us - but we are not so sure" - Merete winked back. "Come and see us at the University some time - we're mostly in the training rooms."

And with that they said their goodbyes, chuckling all the while at the fact that the three Nords among them were each far better mages than the Wood Elf that was supposed to be their leader.

...

"Skingrad and rest or straight on to the Imperial City?" - asked Hauk when he and Lena got to their horses.

"Let's ride while I still can" - Lena got into the saddle. "I want to get it over with."

A fun but challenging romp through Silorn. That Thalfin sounds like a piece of. . . work.

Oh yes. And completely vanilla!

12-13 Last Seed, 4E202 - Arch Mage Traven - Echo Cave

"Ah, you have it. Good." Arch Mage Traven smiled at Lena as she handed over the extra large black soul gem that she got from Falkar. "Do you know what this is for?"


"For something of importance, I presume" - Lena smiled back. "Considering all the fighting we've done to get it."

"Indeed." Traven looked sad. "This gem is meant to house my own soul - or at least this was Mannimarco's plan. But the gem is here now - thank you" - he smiled at Lena. "I now stand a good chance to defeat Mannimarco. I am sorry to cut our meeting short - I should not keep him waiting." And with that he turned around and stepped onto the teleport to his quarters.

"Well..." - Lena said into the emptiness of the Council Chamber. "The Arch Mage is getting ready for battle."

She returned to the lobby where Raminus Polus was pacing nervously.

"What did he say?" - he exclaimed.

"He is going to fight Mannimarco, and that gem is going to help him somehow" - Lena said watching Raminus, but he seemed not to understand it either.

"He's going to fight him with that gem?" - he looked confused.

"I know - I don't get it either."

"He's going to the Echo Cave - that's where Mannimarco is residing, isn't it? You need to follow and see what happens. There isn't much of the Council of Mages left standing, but we need to know what is going on" - Raminus looked serious.

"I agree. Some secrets are not being shared with us" - Lena returned his look. "Even though I am not on the Council of course, but still."

"You may not be on the Council, but you are embroiled in this matter as much as anyone else, if not more" - Raminus objected. "He should have told you, but he didn't - I wonder why. I shall await your return - the future of the Mages Guild may well depend on what transpires."

Lena nodded goodbye and left the lobby, finding Hauk waiting outside.

"You should go on your own" - he said after she told him what she'd learned. "This is espionage rather than fighting, so go quietly. Stay out of line of fire, let them fight it out - this trap is not meant for you, so don't fall into it."

Lena agreed - this was a stealth mission. She would ride to Bruma and then wait at the Echo Cave for Arch Mage Traven to appear - she hoped she would arrive before him.


"I need to see him" - Lena was awakened by elevated voices. She dosed off in the bushes near Echo Cave.

"I am not supposed to let anyone in" - the doorman retorted. "You'd have to kill me to get the key!"

"That won't be a problem!" - exclaimed Hannibal Traven angrily discharging a powerful shock spell. After a short battle, the doorman lay dead, Traven got the key from his pocket and entered the cave. Lena followed.


This was a large cave system with many caverns and passages filled with necromancers and undead. But Arch Mage Traven walked right past them without being challenged.


"Ah, finally - here you are!" - a voice sounded from the depths of the final cave. Mannimarco.

"Indeed, we meet again" - Traven answered almost calmly. "But it is I who has the gem."

"For now" - Mannimarco retorted, casting a strange spell. Lena wasn't sure what it was exactly, but her legs felt weak even at that distance, and she backed off some more, staying out of line of fire.

Hannibal Traven did not seem to be affected by the strange spell which must have been some sort of command spell, Lena figured. He cast a spell of his own, green light of Illusion shooting towards Mannimarco.

"You cannot charm me, Traven!" - laughed Mannimarco. "Or whatever it was! Pah!"

More spells were being exchanged, but after a while both mages realised that they could not charm, command, control or paralyse one another, so they switched to Destruction magic, with Traven lacing it with Soul Trap spells.

"My soul will not be trapped!" - roared Mannimarco, literally shaking off the Soul Trap charm. "You will need to do better than that, but you can't!" - he laughed again, sending bolts of lightning at Traven.

Fire, frost and lightning filled the cave, as both mages went down to business. They must have been both absorbing most of it, for no one could have sustained that much damage. Then the magic changed - they switched to curses and health absorption, and their faces contorted with pain, as well as rage. They could not absorb much of that, it seemed. Still, they were evenly matched.


They were fading fast now, and Traven resumed casting Soul Trap spells which Mannimarco could no longer shake off. Instead, he redoubled his efforts in Destruction aiming to kill Traven first and thus dispel the Soul Trap. This strategy worked, and soon Hannibal Traven succumbed to the shocks and burns and fell to the ground.

"Finally!" - Mannimarco was triumphant. He moved towards the other end of the cave where Traven's body lay, but he was exhausted himself, and his movements appeared jerky, his shoulders slumped.

"Oh no, you don't!" - a female voice cried from the entrance and a shock spell flew towards Mannimarco. "You won't leave this cave!"


Caranya. She ran past Lena shooting spells at Mannimarco, who turned to her in surprise but responded with spells and a dagger of his own. He was far from dead yet. Lena took it as her clue to join the battle - she summoned a clannfear, who hesitated at first but then charged with a little extra encouragement.

"Let's see how you like silver" - Lena thought instinctively, knocking a silver arrow on her Shadowhunt. Caranya was already shooting powerful spells which Mannimarco was mostly absorbing - there was no point in doing the same.

"Ahhh!" - Mannimarco hissed when the arrow hit him. This was a strangely familiar sound, but it was not the time to ponder on that. Lena quickly knocked another arrow and fired, and got hit by a curse - Mannimarco was fast. Caranya used the moment to hit him with a curse of her own, which he absorbed.

"Damn that spell absorption" - thought Lena, summoning another clannfear. "I'll have to go close and personal." She cloaked in invisibility, unsheathed her Honorblade and circled Mannimarco from behind.

He heard her, but she hit him before he could react. He recoiled. She hit him again and again, not allowing him to recover. Caranya's spells started coming through, and clannfear's ramming was unbalancing Mannimarco even further. He levitated a foot above ground, cast a shield, very much like a... "No time to think about that!" - Lena reminded herself, focussing on her swordwork. Another lunge and thrust, and he threw his arms into the air and fell gently to the ground, floating like a feather on its way down.

Mannimarco was no more.

13 Last Seed, 4E202 - Traven and Mannimarco

"And so both Hannibal Traven and Mannimarco are dead" - Caranya said, standing over their bodies. "As dead as they can be, anyway."


Lena looked at Caranya with surprise. "As dead as they can be?"

"Well, neither of them was really alive, didn't you know?" - she smiled at Lena, knowing full well that Lena didn't know it. Lena gave her a look. "Oh Ok, of course you didn't know" - Caranya laughed. "It wasn't something that Hannibal Traven would advertise."

"But now you got my attention" - Lena tried not to sound too impatient. "Do tell."

"It all started a very long time ago, in the Second Era, when Mannimarco was a student with the Psijic Order. He took to Necromancy, you see, and eventually came up with a ritual that allowed him to transcend to lichdom without having to lie on a slab for five hundred years. It still took a long time, but he could remain 'alive' while he was actually transcending. He completed his transcendence some time ago, so he was technically a lich." She paused looking at his body - an elven body, not a skeletal shell of a lich.

"But he doesn't look like a lich - his body has flesh" - Lena objected.

"Indeed - flesh preservation was a part of it, a key part. He wanted to look alive, at least to some degree - he got the idea from vampires. You don't look undead when you are well-fed either" - she smiled at Lena. "Or when your vampirism is in remittance. Molag Bal's gift is a wonder indeed."

"He got his lichdom from Molag Bal?" - Lena's eyes widened.

"Partly" - Caranya nodded. "They had a deal of some sort - you can imagine what Molag Bal would have wanted."

"To take over Mundus" - Lena mused.

"Probably, something like that."

"And Hannibal Traven?" Lena knelt over the Arch Mage's body. He didn't look like a lich either.

"The same, really. He and Mannimarco used to be friends, a long time ago." Caranya paused. "Hannibal Traven is much older than he wanted people to believe - he is as old as Mannimarco. And he too was very interested in Necromancy back in the day, but I suppose you've figured that out."

"Yes" - Lena nodded. "But then he changed his mind."

"When you know a lot about something, you are entitled to a negative opinion" - Caranya looked at Traven's body with respect. "Yes, he changed his mind, but only after he had started his own transcendence ritual, just like Mannimarco. Hannibal Traven believed that he could still live among mortals once it was completed, and by its nature, the ritual could not be stopped."

"This explains his harsh stand on Necromancy" - Lena looked at Caranya with understanding. "And a certain disregard for the lives of mages he was sacrificing - mere mortal mages."

"He might not have meant it that way consciously, but it certainly was the result - many mages dead for the sake of this old rivalry" - Caranya said with regret. "He was too obsessed with his crusade, and it was this obsession that brought Mannimarco out of Coldharbour and into this world at this time."

"So... if they were both liches, will they rise again?" - Lena looked at Caranya with worry.

"You know the answer to that" - Caranya nodded. "Of course they will, for neither of them managed to capture the soul of the other in this gem." She picked up the contested extra large black soul gem from the ground. "I suppose Traven told you what the gem was for?"

"He said the gem was meant for his soul, yes" - Lena was remembering their conversation. "I understand now why a regular black soul gem would not suffice."

"Indeed - and that was your first clue. Why would the soul of a Breton mage - no matter how powerful - not fit into a regular black soul gem? Everyone else's does."

"How long have you known all this?" - Lena looked at Caranya searching. "You were on the Council of the Guild for a long time."

"Yes, I have known it for a long time. I was on the Council with the previous Arch Mage as well, and I respected Hannibal Traven for having his own opinion on a subject that he knew well. But I disagreed with the crusade and the sacrifice of the other mages in this war. Or with the ban on Necromancy - he should not have outlawed a whole school of magic just because he did not like where it could lead. The vast majority of practitioners of Necromancy could never even dream to venture as far as Traven did - they neither have the skill nor the ability. Most people just stop at summoning wraiths and making zombies."

"Well, it's over for now" - said Lena, looking at the bodies of Traven and Mannimarco again. "What should we do with them?"

"Leave them in this cave, it is as good a resting place as any" - Caranya looked around. "I'll seal the exit to this chamber. When they rise, they'll find a way out." She picked up the gem again. "We need to remove this gem from here though. You take it."

"Me? Why?" - Lena took the gem, surprised.

"Take it some place safe - may I suggest the Shivering Isles? Or one of Sanguine's islands? You are at home in both Realms, I understand" - Caranya's eyes twinkled. "But neither Traven nor Mannimarco are welcome there."

"How did you know?" - Lena grinned.

"I've seen you around" - Caranya winked complicitly. "But I've never reached your level of intimacy with either of the Princes."

They moved the bodies of Hannibal Traven and Mannimarco onto the slabs laying them there, but removing all weapons.


Caranya sealed the exit behind them, then moved a rock in front of it too. "We don't want any casual adventurers being tempted to get in" - she winked at Lena.


They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, knowing full well that they'd meet again in the future. Lena stashed the infamous gem in her pack and set off for the Imperial City to inform Raminus Polus of the events in the Echo Cave. "'You don't look undead when your vampirism is in remission'" - Caranya's words echoed in her head. Was she still undead? But no, she was mortal again... And yet... a vampire could be extinguished, ending its immortality. So... what was the difference?

-----------------

I have tried to put these and previous events into the respective quests from the Mages Guild quest line. I cursed a lot. It sort of worked - enough to play it without resorting to console. But I realised that making quests is too difficult for my liking.

EDIT 10 April 2024: by now I've figured out how to do it. Quest making has a steep learning curve!