Part IV: Stradyn
Nalik paced the carpeted chambers of Captain Barus, the Imperial officer in charge of Fort Monmooth. The archeologist's hands were clasped behind his back, head bowed in thought.
"We must re-take Balmora," he said suddenly, looking up, "the dead citizens there deserve proper burials and the survivors deserve to mourn in the comfort of their own homes."
Nalik was trying to sound heroic. But the sad reality was he was no hero, just a common archeologist. As a child he often dreamed of one day being considered a hero, going sword to sword with a Dremora lord, rescuing a helpless victim of evil and being famous everywhere he went. The old Imperial liked to think he still had a potential hero in him. Hadn't Vivec been a common man before becoming a god? He reminded himself encouragingly.
"I agree, Nalik, and I want to take the city back as much as you do, but the fact is we don't have the power, this fort was built to defend the city from a living enemy not a crazed Nord with an undead army, and it certainly wasn't built to attack a fortified target. I've sent word to the other forts on Vvardenfell, that's all I can do unless you're an Emperor-caliber leader." Barus sat heavily into a wooden chair, his imperial issued armor clanking as he wiped his face with his hands in frustration.
Nalik stopped pacing and looked intently at the exhausted Captain, "I am not such a leader, but I know of one who is."
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Arronax slowly returned his sword to its leather sheath without taking his eyes off the Dark Elf and his Breton hostage. Radont did the same as Renwick eased the tension off his bow and returned the arrow to the quiver slung on his back.
"Fine," said Arronax icily, "we'll do things your way-for now."
Dronos grinned hatefully, "Heroes really are the same everywhere, spill some innocent blood and they'll do anything." He released his grip on the hostage; she collapsed to the floor sobbing loudly as other patrons tried to comfort her.
"To Crul then," Dronos said as he extinguished the flame in his hand.
Once outside, the soldiers and the mage quickly made their way to the old boat and climbed in. They set off from the docks making their way willingly to a cursed city.
Dronos sat in the front of the boat facing the back to keep an emotionless eye on the Ghosts. Arronax sat directly in front of him with Radont manning the oars and Renwick sitting in the back hoping for an opportunity to put an arrow through the mage's skull.
The only sounds were the rhythmic splashing of the oars in the water, waves lapping methodically against the wooden hull, and the creaking, groaning and complaining of the boat as it cut its way through the sea. Finally Dronos spoke up.
"Tell me, Arronax, did you know those people in the store, the hostages?"
"No, I didn't know any of them." Where in the name of Vivec is he going with this? He wondered to himself.
"Why, then, were you swayed by their lives? Do you care when you hear about some old farmer dying, or a youth being cut down in his prime? Are you bothered when an assassin terrorizes Cyrodiil or High Rock? When you agreed to take me to Stradyn I released the Breton woman yet she didn't thank you, she didn't turn and slap me, she fell and wept like a child. Why do you care for the weak?"
Arronax needed no time to think about his reply, "Everyone has the right to live a peaceful life, when I joined the Legion I swore to protect the weak, fight for justice, and destroy evil where it stands. If those are the traits of heroes, then I guess that's what I am."
Dronos shook his head in disgust, "You heroes and your vows. All that power governed by meaningless words, you are as weak as the rest of the commoners."
"Living by a code of ethics, following vows you've made, those take more strength than gaining power or prestige." Arronax retorted, "It is you, Dronos, who is the weak one."
Outwardly, the mage remained emotionless, on the inside he was burning with rage. Who does this fool think he is? He has no power and yet he calls ME the weak one. Dronos kept his rage hidden and said simply, "We shall see, Imperial."
The boat continued on in silence, each passenger digesting what was said and trying not to think about where they were going. When finally they reached Crul the sun was beginning to set creating long shadows and an orange glow to the abandoned city.
Crul was surrounded by what once was a short outer wall constructed of varying sizes of rocks, maybe seven feet high. It was crumbling now in many places and looked as if a strong wind might blow the whole thing over.
The group entered the city through the main gate, a large arch expertly crafted with the same design as the wall. The houses, too, were mostly made of stone. Some had wooden shutters still attached to their windows, others were hanging by a single hinge, and still others were lying on the ground, rotting and neglected as if waiting to be picked up, dusted off, and reattached. Most of the houses here half destroyed, the walls were spread on the ground, the furniture inside overturned and splintered. But what was most surprising were the skeletons, the bones of long dead citizens of Crul lay scattered, some were still whole but most were just a collection of limbs. A foot and ankle here, a skull and backbone there. Some ribcages had arms attached; others were smashed into unrecognizable fragments.
"What happened here?" Asked Renwick in awe of the destruction and chaos that had overtaken what surely would have been a beautiful island city.
"Necromancy," Replied Arronax. "A young, arrogant Dark Elf made a claim to be the greatest necromancer in all of Tamriel, and to prove it he would rouse Thanatos and control him. It was madness; Thanatos was a lich, an undead sorcerer with powers beyond anything anyone had ever seen. He terrorized all of Morrowind before finally being defeated and banished to Oblivion, the resting place of his skeleton was in the crypt here in Crul. The youth's friends begged him not to wake Thanatos but their pleas fell on deaf ears, he was the best and he would prove it, or so he thought. He went down to the crypt and Thanatos came out, what you see now is what happened that night. He was eventually defeated again by an undead-hunter and put back into this city."
Renwick was silent for a moment, gazing at the destruction of an entire city because of one foolish boy.
"How do you know so much?" He inquired.
"My ancestors are the ones that caught Thanatos, I have a feeling he is the one guarding Stradyn." Arronax said with indifference.
Renwick nodded, "Seems fit that he would be guarding it then."
"Enough talking, the hour is growing late and I thirst for power." Dronos said impatiently.
Arronax led the quartet through the city and stopped in front of an opening in the ground. Stairs led into darkness and ornately chiseled rocks stood guard around the gaping maw. Arronax hesitated; a palpable feeling of evil exuded from the crypt and wrapped the group in an icy shroud of despair. The Imperial willed his hand to his blade and unsheathed it. Radont did the same as Renwick brought out an arrow and notched it, Dronos had his hands raised ready to cast a spell.
Stepping into the crypt was the easy part; there were no voices to be heard from just inside. The walls were lined with long extinguished torches and spiders made their homes in undisturbed corners. The Ghost's ebony boots clanked loudly as they walked slowly, cautiously over the solid stone floor. Dronos moved silently on common shoes. The first tunnel was short and they quickly found themselves staring at an ordinary looking wooden door. Arronax gently turned the creaking handle and nudged the door open enough to peek inside. Torches were burning in this hall but that wasn't the first thing the soldier noticed. As soon as he cracked the door he heard voices, not the voices of living people-the voices of the dead. They were whispers at first, calling to the Imperial for help. A chill swept over him as if he were standing in the middle of a snowstorm, Arronax... a disembodied voice called.
The rest of the group felt the chill and heard the voice as well; only Arronax's name was replaced with their own. The Imperial nudged the door open more, screams of woman, children, and brave men echoed through the hall, Arronax swung the door open, smashing it into the side of the wall, "Come out, Devil!" he yelled into the torch lit passage. As abruptly as they started the screams stopped, replaced by the lone voice of a woman, sobbing softly at the loss of a child.
"Hello? Who's there?" Asked Renwick.
The sobbing turned to demonic laughter as one by one the torches extinguished themselves blanketing the hall in thick darkness. Arronax swallowed.
"Heroes are not welcome here." Said a booming voice that shook the walls.
Dronos cast night eye on the group as they crept towards a light at the end of the un-lit corridor. When finally they reached the end the group found themselves standing in a large cavernous area. The floor was flat save for a small raised platform in the center of the room. On the platform was a glistening table made of polished ebony, and on the table stood a gem the size of a small boulder. The gem was glowing with a dull blue light that washed the walls and spilled onto the floor. It threw shimmering light onto the ceiling as if it were a star trapped under water. Arronax forgot about the voices and walked in a daze to the table.
"What is this?" he asked as he reached out to touch it. He felt the smooth surface and was going to comment on how cold it was when thousands of memories from lives he never lived flooded his mind. He saw children playing in the streets of Crul, wives cooking in stone houses, husbands working, blacksmiths pounding out armor and weapons, merchants bartering with patrons. He felt the intensity of love, the burn of hate, the heart wrenching pain of losing a loved one, the thrill of victory and the humility of defeat. Every memory ended in a fiery inferno. Radont yanked Arronax away from the rock; the leader of the Ghosts was sweating and breathless.
"That," said Dronos, "is a soul gem containing every soul from the slaughtered city of Crul. Thanatos killed the citizens then kept the souls to further torment them. Not a bad idea if you ask me."
"You are correct, sir." Said a voice from behind them. All four spun on their heels, weapons or hands raised ready to attack.
"Thanatos..." said Dronos quietly to the group. Arronax tightened his grip and prepared for battle. The lich was wrapped in a brown robe that almost covered his bony feet. The skull peering out from under the hood had a red glow where eyes were supposed to be.
"I assume you've come to claim this, Arronax." Thanatos said, holding up a blade that shined with a white light despite the dark blue hue of the room. Arronax straightened, "I have, and if you value your un-life you will hand it over without a fight."
Thanatos tilted his head back and laughed, the walls shook and dust fell to the ground. In the next instant Thantos had thrown three fireballs in the direction of the Ghosts and Dronos. They jumped, dodged, and scrambled to get clear of the fast moving ball of flame. Lightning cracked from the lich's hand, Arronax held up his shield and the lightning bounced back at Thanatos. It was then that Arronax remembered his shield was enchanted. Thantos stepped out of the way of the bolt and unleashed another barrage of fire. Arronax ducked behind his shield again, Renwick and Radont ducked behind him, Dronos jumped behind the marble table.
"Dronos," Arronax said, "we're distracting him, now would be a good time to use your magic."
Spell after destructive spell bounced off the ebony shield. Arronax and his train of companions inched their way to the left of the lich, Dronos crept to the right, out of sight and out of mind of Thanatos.
"You can't hide behind that shield forever Imperial." Thanatos said as more lightning leapt from his skinless hands. "Come, fight me like your ancestors of old."
A fiery blast hit Thanatos from behind causing him to stumble forward and lose focus. It was all the Ghosts needed; they were on the lich in a flash, knocking him onto his back. Stradyn flew from his hands and landed at the feet of Dronos. He snatched it up greedily and laughed wildly. Arronax looked up, distracted by the howling laughter. Thanatos kicked his way out of the grip of the soldiers and stood facing Dronos in a rage. He threw fireball after fireball at the Dark Elf but Dronos had whispered a speed spell and effortlessly dodged the attacks. He lunged at Thanatos with wild eyes and planted the sword into the chest of the undead monster. The lich slumped and fell as Dronos removed Stradyn from his opponent. He turned and faced the trio of soldiers.
"I will enjoy killing you, hero." He said with contempt.
Dronos raised his hand to deliver a lethal dose of lightning when a powerful blow from a mace wielding Thanatos struck the side of his head. He reeled as another strike cracked his ribs and sent Stradyn out of his hands. Arronax saw the blade flipping through the air as if the entire world had slowed to a crawl. It landed at his feet and he picked it up gingerly as if he might break it. Power surged through him, he felt healthy, strong, alive.
Thanatos' mace was raised for another attack but Arronax got there first. As the mace came down Dronos saw the flash of Stradyn knock the blunt weapon away. Another slash removed the head of Thanatos and a powerful telekinetic push sent the rest of the lich crashing into the solid stone wall. There was a sound of cracking bones as the body hit the floor.
Dronos stood dizzily and stumbled over to Arronax.
"Well done, Channeler."
Arronax wanted none of his trickery; he put Stradyn to the Dark Elf's throat.
"Leave this place and your cult behind, become a hero."
"Fool, have you learned nothing?" Dronos said as he created a fireball in his hand. He reached out to burn Arronax but an arrow pierced his heart instead. The Dark Elf blinked twice then fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming beneath him.
Arronax turned and faced Renwick. "Thanks."
Renwick nodded, "What do we do now?"
"Free these souls." Arronax said as he walked up to the soul gem. The imperial swung powerfully with Stradyn and smashed the gem into millions of fragments. There was a great moan as the souls found their final resting place.
"Now we need to report back to Nalik." Arronax said, satisfied with the results.
Radont chimed in, "To Balmora, then?"
Arronax agreed, "To Balmora."
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A steel faced, sharp-eyed Imperial archer stood on top of the battlements at fort Monmooth. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing but his eyes wouldn't lie. The archer sprinted down the stairs three at a time and burst into Captain Barus' room.
"Captain, we have undead incoming!" He said, trying to catch his breath.
"How many?" Demanded the Captain.
"Too many to count, Sir."
"Prepare the troops, we won't be getting any sleep tonight." Captain Barus commanded gravely.
(c)2005 Sir Radont
On to the next part