Chapter 2. Losing a friend.
Baladas Demnevanni knew he’d remember that moment for the rest of his life. The day had started normally enough, if you could call any council meeting with former enemies normal. Slavery was gone, abolished. Well there was no surprise there; Divayth Fyr had told him after the last council meeting that this would come. And even before that, since first meeting lord Nerevar, Baladas knew it was only a matter of time before he made this ruling. Baladas himself had not kept slaves for many centuries. He assumed none who had even spoken to Divayth Fyr, really spoken to him, would have wanted to keep slaves afterwards. So, slavery had been abolished, and then all of a sudden with a big bang the door had swung inwards.
He assumed, just as most people would, that after so many peaceful council meetings, the peace would be disturbed by an attack. But the tension left quickly dissipated. It had only been the silly Jester with bad timing. Everything settled down again, but then just as lord Nerevar was starting on his next item, corruption, he fell quiet and a look of both shock and surprise crossed his face. Baladas knew something was wrong; the moment he saw that look he knew something had happened. And then, when lord Nerevar had looked down to his cup, Baladas knew. He didn’t want to know, he didn’t want to even consider it, but he knew all the same. Lord Nerevar had been poisoned and would not live another hour.
As lord Nerevar was falling to the floor, Baladas saw the lord’s bodyguard rush forward to try and catch him. He was rising at the same moment, chanting incantations of healing and rushed forward, pushed Ilmeni out of the way and knelt above lord Nerevar. He cast his spell, and then another, and then yet another, but lord Nerevar did not so much as stir. Baladas stood up, looking down at lord Nerevar, still clutched by his bodyguard.
He hadn’t felt this powerless since being trained by Divayth Fyr, many centuries before, but right now he did feel helpless and powerless. If only he’d been more attentive; any retainer could have seen through this diversion, but he a true Telvanni master had fallen for it; hook, line and sinker. How he would be able to return to Divayth and explain how he’d allowed such a good friend to die, while he was in the same room, he did not know.
He also didn’t know how long he’d stood there; he saw the bodyguard finally letting go of the body of his lord, and that the priests were already casting spells to preserve the body. He noticed the glazed over look in the guard’s eyes, and he also saw Ilmeni look at him. With a determined stride the guard walked out of the chambers, apparently heading towards his own room. Ilmeni was fast trailing behind him, calling his name, but the guard didn’t seem to hear her.
Baladas was torn; he was pretty sure what the guard was going to do, and on one hand he did not mind at all, good riddance to a bad bodyguard. On the other hand however, it was the son of the Redoran Grandmaster and if he could do the Redoran a favour, who knew what it would be good for in the coming, sure to be trying, months.
His instinct was correct; as he walked into the room of the guard, he saw him with a blade in his hand, obviously intent on cutting himself. Ilmeni was trying desperately to use all of her weight to hold back the one hand holding the dagger. Baladas quickly stepped forward and held on to the arm as well. At the same time he muttered an easy spell, and the guard relaxed his body all at once. A simple sleep spell was often enough to take out even an experienced warrior, especially when the warrior was unprepared.
Taking the blade away from him, he helped Ilmeni put him to bed. Ilmeni thanked him, of course, though she also managed to stay as far away from him as she could without appearing impolite. It wasn’t something Baladas was surprised at. There were but a few people in Morrowind who felt confident enough to be in the same room with someone the likes of him, or Divayth Fyr, or some others he could name. Oh well, if that was the price of power, Baladas was more then willing to pay it.
Leaving the late lord Nerevar’s bodyguard in his bed, with Ilmeni watching over him, and after promising he would send Ilmeni’s servants to her if he should happen to see one, Baladas returned to the council chambers. They had removed the body of lord Nerevar; it was probably already lying on the Imperial Cult altar downstairs. At the long table two priests were trying to bewitch the cup Nerevar had been drinking from. Likely they were trying to determine what poison had been in the juice and track down the perpetrator that way. At the other side of the room, the Captain of the guards here in Ebonheart and the Dres representative, a Vizier by the looks of it, were questioning the guards. Baladas knew that would prove fruitless. He’d been at the back, looking at all the guards and most of the servants, they’d all been looking at the door and had all seen the same thing. They had also turned back around at the same time. No, nothing would come from that.
Baladas also knew he would have to bring word of this to Divayth Fyr as soon as possible, but leaving now would appear suspicious to say the least. It was a well-known fact that Telvanni didn’t shy away from using poisons to get ahead in their house. Instead, he turned to the two priests examining the cup and offered them his assistance. Again, that apprehensive look shot his way; under different circumstances it might have brought him joy, but not now. The priests agreed, and Baladas waited until the priests had tried what they could, and then cast his own spells.
He spent the better part of the afternoon casting spells on that dreaded cup; in the end he was nearly ready to throw the entire thing out the window. For some reason, none of his spells, and none of the priests’ spells, gave them any information. No poison presented itself, no anomaly was detected; for all they could tell it was pure and 100% Comberry juice. The only thing Baladas could think of to explain this was that somehow the poison must have been added before the Juice was made, perhaps as early as when the ingredients were growing on the land, maybe in the water used to water them. That would certainly make it appear as if no alien substance was present, if nothing was added but the juice itself, his best spells would be useless.
He was taken out of his ponderings by the Captain of the guards who came up to him and asked him the same questions he’d been asking people all afternoon.
“Do you remember what you saw? Explain exactly what you saw. Was there anything out of the ordinary, anything unusual?”
And by the looks of the Captain, Baladas was right in assuming he was adding nothing new, and that everyone before him had said the same thing, because the Captain finished questioning him after only a few minutes. He was told the funeral would be held, as custom dictated, in four days time. He was also asked to bring the news to Great House Telvanni; all of the representatives were expected to inform their Houses of the events that had transpired there today.
That was what Baladas had feared most. Divayth always seemed like an even- tempered man, and most of the time he was, but sometimes he could react to something with a fury that would send a Daedra prince running. He remembered the story told by Felen Maryon, another old apprentice of Divayth’s, how Divayth had come to Tel Branora after he heard how Therana had insulted lord Nerevar when he asked to be named Hortator. It wasn’t pretty, and afterwards there was very little left of Therana to bury.
What would Baladas do if that fury should be turned on him? What could he do against the powerful master Fyr? Nothing most likely. Should Fyr become upset and take it out on him, there was nothing Baladas could do but die. And perhaps that was more than he deserved, he who had let something happen to lord Nerevar.
“Well, better get it over with,” he muttered to himself and chanted the words that would bring him to Tel Fyr.
He did not arrive inside Tel Fyr; Divayth had warded the tower so strongly that only those who possessed items Divayth Fyr himself had enchanted with Recall could teleport inside. Baladas looked at the door to the Tel. Opening it, he walked into the Tel, greeted Beyte Fyr, who was cooking downstairs and then turned to the right. Walking up, entered the Hall of Fyr, flew up to the first floor and went into the left room.
He stopped for a moment; ahead of him at the table he saw Divayth, but it would seem he was not alone. Three people were sitting at the table. On the left side he saw Divayth Fyr in his Daedric armor and radiating power, truly an impressive sight. But on the right side sat a figure no less impressive, Dhaunayne Aundae, Ancient of the Vampire clan Aundae, one of few people who might actually be older then Divayth Fyr. But what really got his attention was the figure sitting in the center. He was wearing a black robe, black gloves and his entire head was covered by a black hood. Baladas believed from the shape of his body that it was likely a man, very tall and powerfully built. But what most excited his interest was the power he felt. If Divayth looked powerful, this figure was absolutely radiating with it. Every pore of the man seemed to be oozing with pure power, and Baladas knew that anyone attuned to the aura of magic could likely become intoxicated with it just from standing next to that hooded figure.
It took all of his power, but Baladas was able to avert his eyes and look at Divayth.
“Master Fyr, I have failed. I was right there, in the same room, but I did not see it, and was not able to protect him.”
“And now lord Nerevar has died.” It was not a question, but rather a statement by Master Fyr.
“Yes.”
“Do not blame yourself, Baladas. Some things are simply meant to happen; none can stand in the way of destiny. But please, tell us everything that happened, both before and after the death.”
Baladas told them everything, from the Jester drawing attention away, to the look in the eyes of lord Nerevar, and everything afterwards. When he had finished, the three people at the table were silent. Baladas could see them considering all his words carefully. Not waiting for a response, he boldly asked,
“If you have no more questions, I’d like to get word out to other Masters and the Supreme Magister, and then go look for this Jester. I plan to ask him some very pointed questions about his involvement in this.”
Divayth looked at him and said, “No Baladas, that will not be necessary. From what you told me, the Jester is truly feebleminded and would not be able to aid you no matter how hard you tried. No, but I do have a different assignment for you.”
Without thinking, Baladas interrupted him, “But Master Fyr, we can’t just sit by and let the killer get away. We must act now before his trail runs cold.”
Divayth replied in that gentle commanding voice of his, “No Baladas, you are right, someone has to investigate this event, and someone has to get to the bottom of you, but it is not you. You were wise to save the bodyguard of lord Nerevar, and I’m sure he will prove very useful in tracking down whomever is responsible for this. You however, are needed elsewhere.”
“Likely even now, the other Great Houses will be looking to take advantage of this. There was a reason lord Nerevar was killed, and the people trying to hide something by ending his life will likely present themselves in the coming days. I fear Morrowind is in for some trying times, and I for one will not sit by and be washed away by the tides of change, nor will House Telvanni if I have a say in it, and in fact, I do.”
“I want you to travel to Tel Uvirith, Tel Aruhn and then Sadrith Mora. From Sadrith Mora send messages to Tel Branora, Tel Vos, Firewatch, Velothi’s haven and even Port Telvannis. Invoke a Great Telvanni meeting. Be sure to tell them in the message that I would be most displeased should any Master or even the Supreme Magister fail to show up. The time will be two days from now, so two days before the funeral of lord Nerevar, I expect everyone to meet in the Council house in Sadrith Mora. No one else may be present; the entire house must be cleared save for the Masters and the Supreme Magister. Do you understand?”
“Yes lord Fyr, I understand, and will leave at once.”
Baladas’s troubled look did not go unnoticed by Divayth, who added “Don’t worry Baladas, I know lord Nerevar was your friend. He was mine too. Whoever did this will pay for it, trust me, but for now we cannot have Masters wandering Morrowind and Azura knows what other places looking for an assassin, not with what will likely be troubled times ahead.”
The words made Baladas feel at least a bit better, so he took his leave from the three people, and set out for Tel Uvirith.
Divayth watched Baladas leave. He felt sorry for him, but he knew it could not be helped, not for now anyway, not if they wanted to pull this off. Baladas had to act the part, else things might come crumbling down before they had started. He turned back to his two companions at the table and nodded at the hooded figure.
“So it went exactly as planned.” Again more a statement then question.
“Yes,” came the reply, “everyone played their part very well. And of course let’s thank Dhaunayne, without whom we could not have accomplished it at all.”
Dhaunayne inclined her head in thanks and spoke, “Now we start the second phase of the plan. I shall return to Ashmelech and will be in Sadrith Mora in two days. Have you been able to find the one, Divayth?”
“Yes.” Divayth replied, “I’ve expected him for a long time, and my suspicions have been confirmed.”
On to the next chapter
Baladas Demnevanni knew he’d remember that moment for the rest of his life. The day had started normally enough, if you could call any council meeting with former enemies normal. Slavery was gone, abolished. Well there was no surprise there; Divayth Fyr had told him after the last council meeting that this would come. And even before that, since first meeting lord Nerevar, Baladas knew it was only a matter of time before he made this ruling. Baladas himself had not kept slaves for many centuries. He assumed none who had even spoken to Divayth Fyr, really spoken to him, would have wanted to keep slaves afterwards. So, slavery had been abolished, and then all of a sudden with a big bang the door had swung inwards.
He assumed, just as most people would, that after so many peaceful council meetings, the peace would be disturbed by an attack. But the tension left quickly dissipated. It had only been the silly Jester with bad timing. Everything settled down again, but then just as lord Nerevar was starting on his next item, corruption, he fell quiet and a look of both shock and surprise crossed his face. Baladas knew something was wrong; the moment he saw that look he knew something had happened. And then, when lord Nerevar had looked down to his cup, Baladas knew. He didn’t want to know, he didn’t want to even consider it, but he knew all the same. Lord Nerevar had been poisoned and would not live another hour.
As lord Nerevar was falling to the floor, Baladas saw the lord’s bodyguard rush forward to try and catch him. He was rising at the same moment, chanting incantations of healing and rushed forward, pushed Ilmeni out of the way and knelt above lord Nerevar. He cast his spell, and then another, and then yet another, but lord Nerevar did not so much as stir. Baladas stood up, looking down at lord Nerevar, still clutched by his bodyguard.
He hadn’t felt this powerless since being trained by Divayth Fyr, many centuries before, but right now he did feel helpless and powerless. If only he’d been more attentive; any retainer could have seen through this diversion, but he a true Telvanni master had fallen for it; hook, line and sinker. How he would be able to return to Divayth and explain how he’d allowed such a good friend to die, while he was in the same room, he did not know.
He also didn’t know how long he’d stood there; he saw the bodyguard finally letting go of the body of his lord, and that the priests were already casting spells to preserve the body. He noticed the glazed over look in the guard’s eyes, and he also saw Ilmeni look at him. With a determined stride the guard walked out of the chambers, apparently heading towards his own room. Ilmeni was fast trailing behind him, calling his name, but the guard didn’t seem to hear her.
Baladas was torn; he was pretty sure what the guard was going to do, and on one hand he did not mind at all, good riddance to a bad bodyguard. On the other hand however, it was the son of the Redoran Grandmaster and if he could do the Redoran a favour, who knew what it would be good for in the coming, sure to be trying, months.
His instinct was correct; as he walked into the room of the guard, he saw him with a blade in his hand, obviously intent on cutting himself. Ilmeni was trying desperately to use all of her weight to hold back the one hand holding the dagger. Baladas quickly stepped forward and held on to the arm as well. At the same time he muttered an easy spell, and the guard relaxed his body all at once. A simple sleep spell was often enough to take out even an experienced warrior, especially when the warrior was unprepared.
Taking the blade away from him, he helped Ilmeni put him to bed. Ilmeni thanked him, of course, though she also managed to stay as far away from him as she could without appearing impolite. It wasn’t something Baladas was surprised at. There were but a few people in Morrowind who felt confident enough to be in the same room with someone the likes of him, or Divayth Fyr, or some others he could name. Oh well, if that was the price of power, Baladas was more then willing to pay it.
Leaving the late lord Nerevar’s bodyguard in his bed, with Ilmeni watching over him, and after promising he would send Ilmeni’s servants to her if he should happen to see one, Baladas returned to the council chambers. They had removed the body of lord Nerevar; it was probably already lying on the Imperial Cult altar downstairs. At the long table two priests were trying to bewitch the cup Nerevar had been drinking from. Likely they were trying to determine what poison had been in the juice and track down the perpetrator that way. At the other side of the room, the Captain of the guards here in Ebonheart and the Dres representative, a Vizier by the looks of it, were questioning the guards. Baladas knew that would prove fruitless. He’d been at the back, looking at all the guards and most of the servants, they’d all been looking at the door and had all seen the same thing. They had also turned back around at the same time. No, nothing would come from that.
Baladas also knew he would have to bring word of this to Divayth Fyr as soon as possible, but leaving now would appear suspicious to say the least. It was a well-known fact that Telvanni didn’t shy away from using poisons to get ahead in their house. Instead, he turned to the two priests examining the cup and offered them his assistance. Again, that apprehensive look shot his way; under different circumstances it might have brought him joy, but not now. The priests agreed, and Baladas waited until the priests had tried what they could, and then cast his own spells.
He spent the better part of the afternoon casting spells on that dreaded cup; in the end he was nearly ready to throw the entire thing out the window. For some reason, none of his spells, and none of the priests’ spells, gave them any information. No poison presented itself, no anomaly was detected; for all they could tell it was pure and 100% Comberry juice. The only thing Baladas could think of to explain this was that somehow the poison must have been added before the Juice was made, perhaps as early as when the ingredients were growing on the land, maybe in the water used to water them. That would certainly make it appear as if no alien substance was present, if nothing was added but the juice itself, his best spells would be useless.
He was taken out of his ponderings by the Captain of the guards who came up to him and asked him the same questions he’d been asking people all afternoon.
“Do you remember what you saw? Explain exactly what you saw. Was there anything out of the ordinary, anything unusual?”
And by the looks of the Captain, Baladas was right in assuming he was adding nothing new, and that everyone before him had said the same thing, because the Captain finished questioning him after only a few minutes. He was told the funeral would be held, as custom dictated, in four days time. He was also asked to bring the news to Great House Telvanni; all of the representatives were expected to inform their Houses of the events that had transpired there today.
That was what Baladas had feared most. Divayth always seemed like an even- tempered man, and most of the time he was, but sometimes he could react to something with a fury that would send a Daedra prince running. He remembered the story told by Felen Maryon, another old apprentice of Divayth’s, how Divayth had come to Tel Branora after he heard how Therana had insulted lord Nerevar when he asked to be named Hortator. It wasn’t pretty, and afterwards there was very little left of Therana to bury.
What would Baladas do if that fury should be turned on him? What could he do against the powerful master Fyr? Nothing most likely. Should Fyr become upset and take it out on him, there was nothing Baladas could do but die. And perhaps that was more than he deserved, he who had let something happen to lord Nerevar.
“Well, better get it over with,” he muttered to himself and chanted the words that would bring him to Tel Fyr.
He did not arrive inside Tel Fyr; Divayth had warded the tower so strongly that only those who possessed items Divayth Fyr himself had enchanted with Recall could teleport inside. Baladas looked at the door to the Tel. Opening it, he walked into the Tel, greeted Beyte Fyr, who was cooking downstairs and then turned to the right. Walking up, entered the Hall of Fyr, flew up to the first floor and went into the left room.
He stopped for a moment; ahead of him at the table he saw Divayth, but it would seem he was not alone. Three people were sitting at the table. On the left side he saw Divayth Fyr in his Daedric armor and radiating power, truly an impressive sight. But on the right side sat a figure no less impressive, Dhaunayne Aundae, Ancient of the Vampire clan Aundae, one of few people who might actually be older then Divayth Fyr. But what really got his attention was the figure sitting in the center. He was wearing a black robe, black gloves and his entire head was covered by a black hood. Baladas believed from the shape of his body that it was likely a man, very tall and powerfully built. But what most excited his interest was the power he felt. If Divayth looked powerful, this figure was absolutely radiating with it. Every pore of the man seemed to be oozing with pure power, and Baladas knew that anyone attuned to the aura of magic could likely become intoxicated with it just from standing next to that hooded figure.
It took all of his power, but Baladas was able to avert his eyes and look at Divayth.
“Master Fyr, I have failed. I was right there, in the same room, but I did not see it, and was not able to protect him.”
“And now lord Nerevar has died.” It was not a question, but rather a statement by Master Fyr.
“Yes.”
“Do not blame yourself, Baladas. Some things are simply meant to happen; none can stand in the way of destiny. But please, tell us everything that happened, both before and after the death.”
Baladas told them everything, from the Jester drawing attention away, to the look in the eyes of lord Nerevar, and everything afterwards. When he had finished, the three people at the table were silent. Baladas could see them considering all his words carefully. Not waiting for a response, he boldly asked,
“If you have no more questions, I’d like to get word out to other Masters and the Supreme Magister, and then go look for this Jester. I plan to ask him some very pointed questions about his involvement in this.”
Divayth looked at him and said, “No Baladas, that will not be necessary. From what you told me, the Jester is truly feebleminded and would not be able to aid you no matter how hard you tried. No, but I do have a different assignment for you.”
Without thinking, Baladas interrupted him, “But Master Fyr, we can’t just sit by and let the killer get away. We must act now before his trail runs cold.”
Divayth replied in that gentle commanding voice of his, “No Baladas, you are right, someone has to investigate this event, and someone has to get to the bottom of you, but it is not you. You were wise to save the bodyguard of lord Nerevar, and I’m sure he will prove very useful in tracking down whomever is responsible for this. You however, are needed elsewhere.”
“Likely even now, the other Great Houses will be looking to take advantage of this. There was a reason lord Nerevar was killed, and the people trying to hide something by ending his life will likely present themselves in the coming days. I fear Morrowind is in for some trying times, and I for one will not sit by and be washed away by the tides of change, nor will House Telvanni if I have a say in it, and in fact, I do.”
“I want you to travel to Tel Uvirith, Tel Aruhn and then Sadrith Mora. From Sadrith Mora send messages to Tel Branora, Tel Vos, Firewatch, Velothi’s haven and even Port Telvannis. Invoke a Great Telvanni meeting. Be sure to tell them in the message that I would be most displeased should any Master or even the Supreme Magister fail to show up. The time will be two days from now, so two days before the funeral of lord Nerevar, I expect everyone to meet in the Council house in Sadrith Mora. No one else may be present; the entire house must be cleared save for the Masters and the Supreme Magister. Do you understand?”
“Yes lord Fyr, I understand, and will leave at once.”
Baladas’s troubled look did not go unnoticed by Divayth, who added “Don’t worry Baladas, I know lord Nerevar was your friend. He was mine too. Whoever did this will pay for it, trust me, but for now we cannot have Masters wandering Morrowind and Azura knows what other places looking for an assassin, not with what will likely be troubled times ahead.”
The words made Baladas feel at least a bit better, so he took his leave from the three people, and set out for Tel Uvirith.
Divayth watched Baladas leave. He felt sorry for him, but he knew it could not be helped, not for now anyway, not if they wanted to pull this off. Baladas had to act the part, else things might come crumbling down before they had started. He turned back to his two companions at the table and nodded at the hooded figure.
“So it went exactly as planned.” Again more a statement then question.
“Yes,” came the reply, “everyone played their part very well. And of course let’s thank Dhaunayne, without whom we could not have accomplished it at all.”
Dhaunayne inclined her head in thanks and spoke, “Now we start the second phase of the plan. I shall return to Ashmelech and will be in Sadrith Mora in two days. Have you been able to find the one, Divayth?”
“Yes.” Divayth replied, “I’ve expected him for a long time, and my suspicions have been confirmed.”
On to the next chapter