Chapter 15. The enemy of my enemy….
Baladas had been a guest of Athyn Sarethi for two days now. Well, technically he’d been a guest at Athyn’s house, though he would be surprised if Athyn even knew yet he was staying there. Word had arrived from Divayth Fyr sending Baladas with the enchanted steel plaque west to Ald’Ruhn to speak to Athyn Sarethi about Redoran involvement in the war. Because that was definitely what it was, a war.
Over the last few days, many things had happened. House Hlaalu and House Dres had declared themselves to be in support of king Helseth; House Indoril had also officially declared for the king, though what was not official was that nearly a third of the nobles of that house had taken all of their men and retainers and travelled to Necrom, where they joined the outcast Indoril who were supporting the Telvanni. The Fighters Guild had also chosen to support the king, but with the Camonna Tong being the true force behind that guild, it was only to be expected, and the Mages Guild had done the same. While they had no love for any of the Great Houses, their greatest wrath had always been aimed at the Telvanni, and what better way then this to join in destroying their competition once and for all.
After the guilds had declared for the king, Baladas had taken the forces stationed at Tel Uvirith and marched on Wolverine Hall. No great battle was fought that day though, for when they arrived there, most of the guild members had gone already, leaving only Skink, the local leader of the Mages Guild. The Argonian mage presented the formal declarations of war from both guilds to Baladas, though he obviously took no joy in doing so. Skink, Baladas reflected, had always been a bit of a Telvanni at heart. Perhaps having lived so long in Wolverine Hall, some Telvanni virtues had rubbed off on him. Baladas politely bid him farewell and said he hoped he would never find himself facing Skink in battle.
The Temple and Buoyant Armigers had remained true to their word. Though Helseth had tried everything in his power, they simply would not do anything but declare to all sides that they would remain neutral. The same went for the Imperial Legion and Cult. They had both recalled all of their members back to Ebonheart, had fortified it and declared it would remain off limits to both sides until such time as one side either surrendered or was destroyed.
The Thieves Guild had not been heard from, but rumors indicated a battle had been fought in Balmora and Vivec between the Thieves and their enemies. If the rumors were correct, the Thieves Guild was badly beaten, with many of its high ranking members killed or imprisoned and so would not be able to side either way in this war. No one had heard anything from the Morag Tong. Anyone who went there found the headquarters at Vivec boarded shut, and no word reached any side other than “no”. Mephala only knew what they were going to do.
House Redoran had reluctantly sided with the king as well. While he was their rightful king, there was no love lost between the two. Baladas knew that, if given a good excuse, Redoran would gladly pull out of the war and declare neutrality.
Only one battle had been fought so far; under the ruse of delivering a declaration of war, a Hlaalu noble and quite a few “bodyguards” as he called then, were admitted into Suran, and after delivering their declaration, had proceeded to violate the ancient treaty of a messenger by attacking the occupying Telvanni. They were well on their way to recapturing the city until Divayth Fyr showed up and single-handedly beat back the attackers. Hlaalu forces were forced to leave and were now laying siege to the city, quite a ways back though, as they wanted no more of Divayth’s magic. Baladas grinned; the siege of Suran had to be the least effective siege in all of Tamriel’s history, with the besiegers not being able to encircle the city entirely, only being able to lay siege to one side, and afraid to even show their faces to actually watch the city for fear of drawing the attention of Divayth.
No, right now the war wasn’t going very well for king Helseth, though who knew what would happen in a few weeks when he got more organized. There was no denying the fact that the Telvanni and their allies were badly outnumbered, and only the element of surprise had aided them so far and that was no longer relevant. So Baladas found himself in Sarethi manor, awaiting the arrival of Athyn Sarethi and hoping to be able to deliver a very serious blow to the forces of king Helseth without losing a single man.
Baladas looked up at the door as a servant entered the room, “Magister Baladas, again I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, but Archmaster Sarethi is approaching the manor, and he’s asked for you to wait for him in his study. Please follow me.” Baladas was brought to the study, and sure enough, in less then half an hour Athyn entered. Tall and powerfully built, he was easily half a head taller than Baladas himself. He sat down behind his desk and gestured for Baladas to seat himself as well. After he ordered his servant to bring them some drinks, he got right to the point.
“So Baladas, is there any reason why I should not have you arrested straight away? We are after all at war with one another.” Baladas smiled at that; it was one thing he’d always liked about the Redoran Archmaster, he never waisted any words getting to the point.
“Lord Sarethi, I come as messenger. I have something very important to show you if you could spare a moment of your time. I assure you it will be worth it.”
“Telvanni trickery, no doubt, or even a bribe? If it is either of the two, I suggest you leave now.”
“No lord Sarethi, I bring you only truth.” Baladas stood up and took the steel plaque out of his bag, placed it on the table and pressed the correct symbols to unlock the memory stored inside.
It brought up the scene of a lavishly decorated mansion. Both the men looking at it were familiar with the mansion. It was the home of the late councillor Curio. The picture showed him and Master Bero arriving together late at night, presumably after the funeral of lord Nerevar. Both entered, and after some words of goodbye, Dram Bero closed the door behind him and left, probably heading to his own mansion. Curio gave a long sigh, sat down and pored himself a cup of wine. He took a long drink, and then spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He set down the cup, looked at what he’d seen and spoke,
“Drusus, still here? I would have thought you’d be back at the palace by now, giving my response to the king.”
An Imperial came out of the shadows to stand before Crassius. “Ah, but I have. I’ve actually just come back from speaking to king Helseth about your, ah unfortunate misconception.”
“Don’t try and be coy with me, puppet, there is no misconception here. Helseth wants me to hand over control of House Hlaalu so he can use it for his own benefit, and I will not do that. Vedam Dren left me in charge here, and I mean to stay in charge until his return.”
“Yes, well about that, king Helseth is a reasonable man; he asked me to offer his terms once more. Think about this Crassius, a home in the countryside, enough gold and servants to play with to last you the rest of your lifetime; it seems like a good deal, especially considering the alternative.”
Crassius snorted at that, “And what would that be?” The reply was a statement of the simplest kind and said a great deal about the nature of this man, this Drusus.
“Death.”
Crassius looked at him slyly, “Well, if the king wants me dead, he’ll just have to send someone to do it. You’ve been here for a time now, shared my meat and mead, so we are both protected from each other by ancient rights. When you get back to Helseth, tell him I don’t intend to change my mind, nor will I forget what I know about the previous king and his sudden demise.”
Drusus sighed, “I was afraid you were going to say that, old man.”
From his belt he drew what appeared to be a small piece of rope, or wire. Before Crassius could call out, he wrapped it around his throat and pulled it tight.
The image faded away, and Sarethi sat for a few moments in thought, then looked at Baladas and asked, “Can you give me your word that this is real?”
“I give you my word; I also give you the word of Eno Hlaalu, who gave this to us.”
Athyn Sarethi nodded. Baladas imagined this was simply confirming what Athyn had already thought, so he had no problem believing it.
“Tell your Archmagister he will get what he wants. Redoran will have no more to do with this war. But if you cross our borders even an inch, you will all wish you had never heard the name Redoran. All of our lands are henceforth off limits to all but Redoran.”
“Thank you, that’s all we’re asking of you Archmaster.” With that, Baladas stood, “And now I’ll do us both a favour, and leave. A good day to you Archmaster.” And Baladas stood and turned to leave but before he could Sarethi spoke again;” “Ah, one more thing before you go Baladas, I just got back from Omayni, and the strangest things have been happening there lately. First I get a message from my son saying there are spies at Omayni, actually leading the city. Then when I get there, I find a distressed garrison who have “lost” their commander and his wife. I don’t suppose you would know anything about that would you Baladas.”
Baladas saw Athyn look at him with suspicion in his eyes, though he truly had no idea. “No Archmaster Sarethi, sorry but I can’t help you there.”
“I didn’t think so” Came the reply, and with a wave of his hand, Athyn indicated Baladas was excused.
He was escorted by a servant back to the entrance, and there cast his spell and transported back to Sadrith Mora. It was a day well spent. Even the time spent waiting at Ald’Ruhn had been worth it, to have Redoran sit out the war. In half an hour’s time, he had taken away one of the biggest threats to the Telvanni, had made sure their entire northern border, everything above Ghostgate, was secure, with no need to station more then a token guard there. Of course Baladas had no illusions; the combined forces of Hlaalu, Dres, Indoril and the guilds still outnumbered House Telvanni, but at least the numbers were less disparate then at the start of the conflict.
When Baladas arrived at Sadrith Mora, one of his spellwrights was standing at the entrance to Tel Naga, waiting for him.
“Excuse me Magister Demnevanni, but there’s a message I’ve been given to deliver to you.”
Baladas took the paper, and looked it over. There was no enchantment there; nothing would burst into flames should he open it and there was no seal. He unfolded it and read what it said.
I await your pleasure at Muriel’s
Baladas was curious what the person who wrote it wanted. Dirty Muriel’s was known to be a place where thieves and sometimes even assassins would congregate.
“Come with me,” he told the spellwright and started for Muriel’s. It wasn’t far, just on the edge of town and it took them only minutes to get there. At the door, he asked the spellwright to wait for him outside, and entered the tavern. Around the corner, an Imperial was standing guard. As Baladas entered he drew his blade, but seeing who entered, he lowered it again.
“He’s waiting upstairs. Follow me.” And the Imperial walked up the stairs. To the right there were three rooms, and standing in front of the middle room was a large Altmer woman. She must be the famed Big Helende. It wasn’t common for an Altmer to choose the profession of a thief, but if the stories held any truth to them, she was more then good at her chosen profession. When she saw him walk up the stairs, she opened the door behind her and allowed Baladas inside.
The room was empty save for a cabinet and a bed, and on the bed a Redguard was lying. The parts Baladas could see were badly burned. He had many scars on his face and one of his eyes was gone. He looked up as Baladas entered and the remaining eye fixed the Telvanni with and unblinking stare.
“Thank you for seeing me, Magister, and I must apologize for my appearance. I’ve found when Camonna Tong operatives question someone, they do not care for the damage they do. My name is Jim Stacey, Gentleman Jim; though I realise I don’t look much like a gentleman right now.”
Baladas had heard of Jim Stacey of course; his name was often associated with the Bal Molagmer, not to mention some very spectacular thefts. Word had it, he was the first to succeed in stealing an Elder Scroll from the Imperial Palace in Cyrodiil.
“Before you go on Stacey, after we’re done here I’ll send one of my healers to you. I’m not so good at it myself, but I employ some very good healers. They will do what they can for you.”
Jim Stacey looked grateful for that, then nodded his head and continued, “They attacked just after dark, in Balmora., Our tavern was surrounded by warriors and assassins alike, they barricaded all the doors and windows, and then set fire to it. Everyone inside was burned alive. Those who succeeded in breaking through a window were slaughtered in the street. Of course the Hlaalu magistrates took no notice of what happened. Only one of our men was able to escape unobserved, or so he thought. He came to me in Vivec, and brought word of what had happened, but he hadn’t noticed being followed and before we knew what hit us, 15 Camonna thugs had stormed and broken into our secret hideout in Vivec. They killed the people with me, and tried to get information out of me, but when their guard was down I was able to take out an amulet that transported me here.”
Baladas assumed that was why no official word had reached anyone from the guild.
“So you see, Magister, we’re in a difficult spot right now; more then a third of our numbers are dead, with others in hiding with no place to go. And most of all, we have no way to pay back the men who did this.”
Baladas got the hint. You scratch our back and we scratch yours.
“Well, Jim, it seems we have this big old tower here, just outside of town, and it’s just sitting there doing nothing. I’m sure no one would notice, or even want to notice, if somehow it was used by some refugees.”
Jim Stacey looked up and smiled at Baladas,
Be assured Magister, if any of our rats just happen to overhear anything, or should you need something stolen, we will be at your disposal.”
On to the next chapter
Baladas had been a guest of Athyn Sarethi for two days now. Well, technically he’d been a guest at Athyn’s house, though he would be surprised if Athyn even knew yet he was staying there. Word had arrived from Divayth Fyr sending Baladas with the enchanted steel plaque west to Ald’Ruhn to speak to Athyn Sarethi about Redoran involvement in the war. Because that was definitely what it was, a war.
Over the last few days, many things had happened. House Hlaalu and House Dres had declared themselves to be in support of king Helseth; House Indoril had also officially declared for the king, though what was not official was that nearly a third of the nobles of that house had taken all of their men and retainers and travelled to Necrom, where they joined the outcast Indoril who were supporting the Telvanni. The Fighters Guild had also chosen to support the king, but with the Camonna Tong being the true force behind that guild, it was only to be expected, and the Mages Guild had done the same. While they had no love for any of the Great Houses, their greatest wrath had always been aimed at the Telvanni, and what better way then this to join in destroying their competition once and for all.
After the guilds had declared for the king, Baladas had taken the forces stationed at Tel Uvirith and marched on Wolverine Hall. No great battle was fought that day though, for when they arrived there, most of the guild members had gone already, leaving only Skink, the local leader of the Mages Guild. The Argonian mage presented the formal declarations of war from both guilds to Baladas, though he obviously took no joy in doing so. Skink, Baladas reflected, had always been a bit of a Telvanni at heart. Perhaps having lived so long in Wolverine Hall, some Telvanni virtues had rubbed off on him. Baladas politely bid him farewell and said he hoped he would never find himself facing Skink in battle.
The Temple and Buoyant Armigers had remained true to their word. Though Helseth had tried everything in his power, they simply would not do anything but declare to all sides that they would remain neutral. The same went for the Imperial Legion and Cult. They had both recalled all of their members back to Ebonheart, had fortified it and declared it would remain off limits to both sides until such time as one side either surrendered or was destroyed.
The Thieves Guild had not been heard from, but rumors indicated a battle had been fought in Balmora and Vivec between the Thieves and their enemies. If the rumors were correct, the Thieves Guild was badly beaten, with many of its high ranking members killed or imprisoned and so would not be able to side either way in this war. No one had heard anything from the Morag Tong. Anyone who went there found the headquarters at Vivec boarded shut, and no word reached any side other than “no”. Mephala only knew what they were going to do.
House Redoran had reluctantly sided with the king as well. While he was their rightful king, there was no love lost between the two. Baladas knew that, if given a good excuse, Redoran would gladly pull out of the war and declare neutrality.
Only one battle had been fought so far; under the ruse of delivering a declaration of war, a Hlaalu noble and quite a few “bodyguards” as he called then, were admitted into Suran, and after delivering their declaration, had proceeded to violate the ancient treaty of a messenger by attacking the occupying Telvanni. They were well on their way to recapturing the city until Divayth Fyr showed up and single-handedly beat back the attackers. Hlaalu forces were forced to leave and were now laying siege to the city, quite a ways back though, as they wanted no more of Divayth’s magic. Baladas grinned; the siege of Suran had to be the least effective siege in all of Tamriel’s history, with the besiegers not being able to encircle the city entirely, only being able to lay siege to one side, and afraid to even show their faces to actually watch the city for fear of drawing the attention of Divayth.
No, right now the war wasn’t going very well for king Helseth, though who knew what would happen in a few weeks when he got more organized. There was no denying the fact that the Telvanni and their allies were badly outnumbered, and only the element of surprise had aided them so far and that was no longer relevant. So Baladas found himself in Sarethi manor, awaiting the arrival of Athyn Sarethi and hoping to be able to deliver a very serious blow to the forces of king Helseth without losing a single man.
Baladas looked up at the door as a servant entered the room, “Magister Baladas, again I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting, but Archmaster Sarethi is approaching the manor, and he’s asked for you to wait for him in his study. Please follow me.” Baladas was brought to the study, and sure enough, in less then half an hour Athyn entered. Tall and powerfully built, he was easily half a head taller than Baladas himself. He sat down behind his desk and gestured for Baladas to seat himself as well. After he ordered his servant to bring them some drinks, he got right to the point.
“So Baladas, is there any reason why I should not have you arrested straight away? We are after all at war with one another.” Baladas smiled at that; it was one thing he’d always liked about the Redoran Archmaster, he never waisted any words getting to the point.
“Lord Sarethi, I come as messenger. I have something very important to show you if you could spare a moment of your time. I assure you it will be worth it.”
“Telvanni trickery, no doubt, or even a bribe? If it is either of the two, I suggest you leave now.”
“No lord Sarethi, I bring you only truth.” Baladas stood up and took the steel plaque out of his bag, placed it on the table and pressed the correct symbols to unlock the memory stored inside.
It brought up the scene of a lavishly decorated mansion. Both the men looking at it were familiar with the mansion. It was the home of the late councillor Curio. The picture showed him and Master Bero arriving together late at night, presumably after the funeral of lord Nerevar. Both entered, and after some words of goodbye, Dram Bero closed the door behind him and left, probably heading to his own mansion. Curio gave a long sigh, sat down and pored himself a cup of wine. He took a long drink, and then spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He set down the cup, looked at what he’d seen and spoke,
“Drusus, still here? I would have thought you’d be back at the palace by now, giving my response to the king.”
An Imperial came out of the shadows to stand before Crassius. “Ah, but I have. I’ve actually just come back from speaking to king Helseth about your, ah unfortunate misconception.”
“Don’t try and be coy with me, puppet, there is no misconception here. Helseth wants me to hand over control of House Hlaalu so he can use it for his own benefit, and I will not do that. Vedam Dren left me in charge here, and I mean to stay in charge until his return.”
“Yes, well about that, king Helseth is a reasonable man; he asked me to offer his terms once more. Think about this Crassius, a home in the countryside, enough gold and servants to play with to last you the rest of your lifetime; it seems like a good deal, especially considering the alternative.”
Crassius snorted at that, “And what would that be?” The reply was a statement of the simplest kind and said a great deal about the nature of this man, this Drusus.
“Death.”
Crassius looked at him slyly, “Well, if the king wants me dead, he’ll just have to send someone to do it. You’ve been here for a time now, shared my meat and mead, so we are both protected from each other by ancient rights. When you get back to Helseth, tell him I don’t intend to change my mind, nor will I forget what I know about the previous king and his sudden demise.”
Drusus sighed, “I was afraid you were going to say that, old man.”
From his belt he drew what appeared to be a small piece of rope, or wire. Before Crassius could call out, he wrapped it around his throat and pulled it tight.
The image faded away, and Sarethi sat for a few moments in thought, then looked at Baladas and asked, “Can you give me your word that this is real?”
“I give you my word; I also give you the word of Eno Hlaalu, who gave this to us.”
Athyn Sarethi nodded. Baladas imagined this was simply confirming what Athyn had already thought, so he had no problem believing it.
“Tell your Archmagister he will get what he wants. Redoran will have no more to do with this war. But if you cross our borders even an inch, you will all wish you had never heard the name Redoran. All of our lands are henceforth off limits to all but Redoran.”
“Thank you, that’s all we’re asking of you Archmaster.” With that, Baladas stood, “And now I’ll do us both a favour, and leave. A good day to you Archmaster.” And Baladas stood and turned to leave but before he could Sarethi spoke again;” “Ah, one more thing before you go Baladas, I just got back from Omayni, and the strangest things have been happening there lately. First I get a message from my son saying there are spies at Omayni, actually leading the city. Then when I get there, I find a distressed garrison who have “lost” their commander and his wife. I don’t suppose you would know anything about that would you Baladas.”
Baladas saw Athyn look at him with suspicion in his eyes, though he truly had no idea. “No Archmaster Sarethi, sorry but I can’t help you there.”
“I didn’t think so” Came the reply, and with a wave of his hand, Athyn indicated Baladas was excused.
He was escorted by a servant back to the entrance, and there cast his spell and transported back to Sadrith Mora. It was a day well spent. Even the time spent waiting at Ald’Ruhn had been worth it, to have Redoran sit out the war. In half an hour’s time, he had taken away one of the biggest threats to the Telvanni, had made sure their entire northern border, everything above Ghostgate, was secure, with no need to station more then a token guard there. Of course Baladas had no illusions; the combined forces of Hlaalu, Dres, Indoril and the guilds still outnumbered House Telvanni, but at least the numbers were less disparate then at the start of the conflict.
When Baladas arrived at Sadrith Mora, one of his spellwrights was standing at the entrance to Tel Naga, waiting for him.
“Excuse me Magister Demnevanni, but there’s a message I’ve been given to deliver to you.”
Baladas took the paper, and looked it over. There was no enchantment there; nothing would burst into flames should he open it and there was no seal. He unfolded it and read what it said.
I await your pleasure at Muriel’s
Baladas was curious what the person who wrote it wanted. Dirty Muriel’s was known to be a place where thieves and sometimes even assassins would congregate.
“Come with me,” he told the spellwright and started for Muriel’s. It wasn’t far, just on the edge of town and it took them only minutes to get there. At the door, he asked the spellwright to wait for him outside, and entered the tavern. Around the corner, an Imperial was standing guard. As Baladas entered he drew his blade, but seeing who entered, he lowered it again.
“He’s waiting upstairs. Follow me.” And the Imperial walked up the stairs. To the right there were three rooms, and standing in front of the middle room was a large Altmer woman. She must be the famed Big Helende. It wasn’t common for an Altmer to choose the profession of a thief, but if the stories held any truth to them, she was more then good at her chosen profession. When she saw him walk up the stairs, she opened the door behind her and allowed Baladas inside.
The room was empty save for a cabinet and a bed, and on the bed a Redguard was lying. The parts Baladas could see were badly burned. He had many scars on his face and one of his eyes was gone. He looked up as Baladas entered and the remaining eye fixed the Telvanni with and unblinking stare.
“Thank you for seeing me, Magister, and I must apologize for my appearance. I’ve found when Camonna Tong operatives question someone, they do not care for the damage they do. My name is Jim Stacey, Gentleman Jim; though I realise I don’t look much like a gentleman right now.”
Baladas had heard of Jim Stacey of course; his name was often associated with the Bal Molagmer, not to mention some very spectacular thefts. Word had it, he was the first to succeed in stealing an Elder Scroll from the Imperial Palace in Cyrodiil.
“Before you go on Stacey, after we’re done here I’ll send one of my healers to you. I’m not so good at it myself, but I employ some very good healers. They will do what they can for you.”
Jim Stacey looked grateful for that, then nodded his head and continued, “They attacked just after dark, in Balmora., Our tavern was surrounded by warriors and assassins alike, they barricaded all the doors and windows, and then set fire to it. Everyone inside was burned alive. Those who succeeded in breaking through a window were slaughtered in the street. Of course the Hlaalu magistrates took no notice of what happened. Only one of our men was able to escape unobserved, or so he thought. He came to me in Vivec, and brought word of what had happened, but he hadn’t noticed being followed and before we knew what hit us, 15 Camonna thugs had stormed and broken into our secret hideout in Vivec. They killed the people with me, and tried to get information out of me, but when their guard was down I was able to take out an amulet that transported me here.”
Baladas assumed that was why no official word had reached anyone from the guild.
“So you see, Magister, we’re in a difficult spot right now; more then a third of our numbers are dead, with others in hiding with no place to go. And most of all, we have no way to pay back the men who did this.”
Baladas got the hint. You scratch our back and we scratch yours.
“Well, Jim, it seems we have this big old tower here, just outside of town, and it’s just sitting there doing nothing. I’m sure no one would notice, or even want to notice, if somehow it was used by some refugees.”
Jim Stacey looked up and smiled at Baladas,
Be assured Magister, if any of our rats just happen to overhear anything, or should you need something stolen, we will be at your disposal.”
On to the next chapter