Chapter 16. Dreams and nightmares.
Helseth was standing at the waterfront in Balmora. It was dark all around him, the dead of night. He was wearing a long black robe, and a black hood covered his face. Surrounding him were several Royal guards, disguised though, and several leading members of the Camonna Tong. He’d been invited by them to join in this joyous moment. In front of him he saw the outlines of a building, that he had gone past the during previous trips to the city, but never inside. He had no business going into a club run by the thieves guild.
The entire town was silent, but Helseth knew it was but a front. Silently, many men were advancing on the club. One of the leaders of the Tong had given Helseth a night eye amulet so he could watch the show. He saw men carrying wooden boards and hammers advance on the clubhouse. An unseen and unheard sign moved them into swift action. They hurried to board shut all of the windows and doors. With so many men working together, it was done before anyone could stop them.
The same men now picked up torches, and lit them using spells. Then, at the sign of one of the leaders, they threw the burning torches into the small openings they had left in the windows and door. The torches had likely been magically enhanced, for in no time at all, the building was ablaze. From the inside Helseth heard coughing, and some screaming. A smile crossed his lips, and the screaming increased as the fire moved through the building. Then he saw movement near a corner of the building, and started to shout, but one of the Tong stopped him. It was a nasty looking Dunmer with a large scar covering one side of his face, and he had not shaved in many weeks.
“Leave it, king Helseth. Leave the critter, we will follow it and it will lead us right to those we seek.”
Helseth understood- trap a big fish by letting a small one think he’s escaped.
No one in Balmora had been attracted by the screams and noise; everyone knew better then to come running to the aid of foreigners. The best way to lead a long life in Balmora was to mind your own business. The screams were starting to waver now; someone had shoved a young child through an opening in the window, thinking to save it, but one of the Tong picked it up by its leg and threw it back inside. The child did not come back out. Helseth knew the exciting part was over. He turned to the Tong leader to thank him, but a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
He turned toward the movement and backed up. Before him stood a person dressed in a black robe just like the one Helseth was wearing, but this figure was ten feet high and towered over Helseth. Helseth looked to the people around him and pointed at the figure, but no one seemed to notice him.
“Helseth,” the figure boomed, ”Helseth, you will pay for this travesty; you will not go unpunished.”
Helseth saw him raise his arms, and felt power being drawn to them as lightning cracked in the air and converged on the outstretched hands of the figure. He saw the boll of lightning fly towards him with speed unimaginable and knew he could not possibly avoid it.
Helseth let out a scream and sat up. His sheets, his underwear, everything was streaming with sweat. He looked around, half expecting the robed figure to appear next to his bed, but fortunately he was nowhere to be found. Helseth sighed in relief. He could not remember the last time he’d been that scared. And it had all started so nicely. He moved out of bed, put on his bed robe and his shoes and moved to the door. He opened it and saw a figure in a black robe turn towards him. The figure reached out, and Helseth felt a tug and immense pain and saw the robed figure holding a bloody Dunmer’s heart in his hand. Helseth looked down to his chest and saw a gaping hole where his heart used to be. He screamed.
Drenched in sweat, Helseth sat up. He looked around his room; two servants were standing near the edge of the bed, looking at him with wild large eyes. Helseth assumed he must have been screaming again. Ever since he’d gone to Balmora, his nights had been restless. Each night he dreamed the same dream- it always started out with his memories of that night in Balmora, but then the robed figure appeared. After that first night he’d ordered his guards to turn Mournhold inside out to find this robed man, but apart from the dead clothier found in his shop, nothing out of the ordinary had been discovered.
Helseth allowed his servants to help him dress, and glared at them, challenging them to say but a single wrong word about his screams, but unfortunately none of them said anything to give Helseth an excuse to punish them.
When Helseth arrived at his study a bit later that morning, he found a number of reports waiting for him. Apparently they and a message from Athyn Sarethi had been delivered some time during the night. The first message was bad news, but not something Helseth was surprised to hear. That brainless Yngling had come up with a brilliant plan, or so he thought. He wished to send a small army of Hlaalu under cover of truce into Suran, drop the flag of truce and retake the city. Helseth had told him not to go through with it, but he would not listen. Now yet another part of the Hlaalu army had been massacred senselessly.
“Oh,” Yngling noted proudly, “but not all is lost, for we have Suran under siege.”
Helseth snorted; that would be the first time a city would succumb to the pressure of a siege that was only executed on one side, with two other sides wide open. No, the battle for Suran was not one they would easily win, and Helseth knew that. On the other hand, if it kept Yngling occupied, he wouldn’t be able to create any more disasters.
Next came a message from one of Helseth’s spies. He read it carefully, smiled and cast it aside. Now all that was left was the message of Athyn Sarethi. It was sealed in wax and with the seal of Redoran. Helseth turned it over, looked at it with rapt attention. Somehow he felt this would not contain good news. He removed the seal, opened the letter and read:
King Helseth,
House Redoran hereby officially withdraws its support to the combined war effort aimed against house Telvanni.
Evidence has been presented to us, showing and proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that house Telvanni was not responsible for the death of Councillor Curio, but that in fact one of your guards, on your very order was the murderer. We also have more than sufficient reason to believe you are in some way connected to the disappearance of Councillor Dram Bero.
In light of this evidence, we can no longer take seriously your claims that house Telvanni was behind the murder of lord Nerevar. And therefore, we see no alternative but to withdraw our support.
Starting today until the end of the war, all Redoran territory will be sealed off and neither side may enter, or travel through our lands. Any incursions will be dealt with severely and with deadly force.
Letters stating our conclusions and conditions have been sent to the heads of the great houses.
Sincerely,
Athyn Sarethi
Archmaster of house Redoran
Helseth ripped the letter in two, then ripped it again, and threw it onto his desk. How did they find out? This was maddening; someone was going around messing up all the work Helseth had gone through such lengths to prepare. It was as if he was facing someone who knew what he would do even before he did. It just wasn’t fair. He was the king; people should worship him, help him, obey him, not oppose him.
He sat down in his chair and put his head in his hands, wondering what else could go wrong that day.
He dispatched messages to the heads of Indoril and Dres asking them to come to the palace. Helseth wanted to make sure he could at least still count on them to support him. He also met with a fortunate break. During the course of the day, as he was waiting for the leaders to arrive, two other guests arrived- Sjoring, the Master of the fighters guild and Trebonius Artorius, Arch-mage of the mages guild. Both were there to assure Helseth they were still in full support of him.
The fighters guild had come as no surprise, given that the Camonna Tong owned most of their leaders, but to see the mages guild here, that was a fortunate event. Helseth had no love for Trebonius, a decaying old man who probably hadn’t had a clear day in years. None dared say it to his face though, for the man still wielded undeniable power. Trebonius was no fan of Dunmer, and he resented his superiors in Cyrodiil for ever sending him to Morrowind in the first place, but as much as he disliked the Dunmer in general, and their king specifically, it was nothing compared to the hatred and animosity he had for the Telvanni. And as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
A herald came in carrying a message from one of Helseth’s spies. He took it and read it, and found his rage rising again, and was just about to curse, when another knock on the door came. The Indoril and Dres leaders had arrived and entered Helseth’s study.
The viceroy started by saying how awful he felt about the Redoran betrayal, and that he would take great pleasure in killing Athyn Sarethi personally after they were through with the Telvanni. And he assured Helseth that house Dres was still firmly behind him. Helseth thought, “You’d better be, after all the money I spent on you,” but of course he only said he was very glad to hear that. Then the Gahprovihn of house Indoril started speaking.
“My king, those Redoran swine will pay for betraying you; house Indoril will stand at the front of the attack on the Telvanni, and we will again prove to be the most loyal of your supporters when we go up against the Redoran. Even as we speak, our men are assaulting Velothi’s Haven to conquer it in your name.”
Helseth interrupted him at that point.
“No, actually your men haven’t even started their march on Velothi’s haven, nor will they.”
The Gahprovihn looked at him with confusion.
“You see, your men from Necrom are no longer even your men. I received a message from one of my spies just before you arrived. Gulvan is sitting at Necrom still, not lifting a single finger to obey your commands, and my spy has even heard him being called Gahprovihn.”
The leader of the Indoril showed fear and stuttered, “But that cannot be! The council removed him from office; he has not been Gahprovihn in 10 years.”
“Well, perhaps you should tell him that.” Helseth’s smile was not friendly at all, unless one considered the smile of a slaughterfish moving in for the kill nice.
“So, what did you say we should do to a traitor’s house? ‘Trample their bones into dust’ wasn’t it? Should I have my friend of the Dres here turn his eye upon the Indoril lands before the Telvanni?”
The Gahprovihn shuddered at the thought; he did not want to face the armies of the Dres, that was for sure.
“My king, please allow us to redeem ourselves. We will march on Necrom and destroy the traitor and all his followers. Please allow us to prove ourselves to you.”
Helseth smiled again; that was all he’d wanted.
“Yes, I will allow you to do so. In fact, we’re all moving on Necrom. This morning another spy brought me word of the Telvanni plans. Necrom is the key to everything. If we take Necrom, the Telvanni will have lost the war. Gentlemen, assemble your armies with all haste, and bring them to the lands to the north of Mournhold. There we will assemble our army and march on Necrom.”
Both the leaders signalled their agreement, bowed and left as fast as their legs could carry them to prepare for battle. After they were gone Helseth found himself wondering how things would go. He’d lost house Redoran, but gained the fighters guild and mages guild. Between the Mages guild mages and the Dres and Indoril wizards, they might just stand a chance against the Telvanni.
He’d lost part of the Indoril, but there were many mercenaries he could hire to replace them. And he should not forget that even though the Telvanni border along the Redoran lands no longer had to be manned, they still had a far larger border to defend than Helseth, and no way of knowing from whence the attack would come. Yes, Helseth considered, I still outnumber them, I know more than them and I will be victorious.
On to the next chapter
Helseth was standing at the waterfront in Balmora. It was dark all around him, the dead of night. He was wearing a long black robe, and a black hood covered his face. Surrounding him were several Royal guards, disguised though, and several leading members of the Camonna Tong. He’d been invited by them to join in this joyous moment. In front of him he saw the outlines of a building, that he had gone past the during previous trips to the city, but never inside. He had no business going into a club run by the thieves guild.
The entire town was silent, but Helseth knew it was but a front. Silently, many men were advancing on the club. One of the leaders of the Tong had given Helseth a night eye amulet so he could watch the show. He saw men carrying wooden boards and hammers advance on the clubhouse. An unseen and unheard sign moved them into swift action. They hurried to board shut all of the windows and doors. With so many men working together, it was done before anyone could stop them.
The same men now picked up torches, and lit them using spells. Then, at the sign of one of the leaders, they threw the burning torches into the small openings they had left in the windows and door. The torches had likely been magically enhanced, for in no time at all, the building was ablaze. From the inside Helseth heard coughing, and some screaming. A smile crossed his lips, and the screaming increased as the fire moved through the building. Then he saw movement near a corner of the building, and started to shout, but one of the Tong stopped him. It was a nasty looking Dunmer with a large scar covering one side of his face, and he had not shaved in many weeks.
“Leave it, king Helseth. Leave the critter, we will follow it and it will lead us right to those we seek.”
Helseth understood- trap a big fish by letting a small one think he’s escaped.
No one in Balmora had been attracted by the screams and noise; everyone knew better then to come running to the aid of foreigners. The best way to lead a long life in Balmora was to mind your own business. The screams were starting to waver now; someone had shoved a young child through an opening in the window, thinking to save it, but one of the Tong picked it up by its leg and threw it back inside. The child did not come back out. Helseth knew the exciting part was over. He turned to the Tong leader to thank him, but a movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention.
He turned toward the movement and backed up. Before him stood a person dressed in a black robe just like the one Helseth was wearing, but this figure was ten feet high and towered over Helseth. Helseth looked to the people around him and pointed at the figure, but no one seemed to notice him.
“Helseth,” the figure boomed, ”Helseth, you will pay for this travesty; you will not go unpunished.”
Helseth saw him raise his arms, and felt power being drawn to them as lightning cracked in the air and converged on the outstretched hands of the figure. He saw the boll of lightning fly towards him with speed unimaginable and knew he could not possibly avoid it.
Helseth let out a scream and sat up. His sheets, his underwear, everything was streaming with sweat. He looked around, half expecting the robed figure to appear next to his bed, but fortunately he was nowhere to be found. Helseth sighed in relief. He could not remember the last time he’d been that scared. And it had all started so nicely. He moved out of bed, put on his bed robe and his shoes and moved to the door. He opened it and saw a figure in a black robe turn towards him. The figure reached out, and Helseth felt a tug and immense pain and saw the robed figure holding a bloody Dunmer’s heart in his hand. Helseth looked down to his chest and saw a gaping hole where his heart used to be. He screamed.
Drenched in sweat, Helseth sat up. He looked around his room; two servants were standing near the edge of the bed, looking at him with wild large eyes. Helseth assumed he must have been screaming again. Ever since he’d gone to Balmora, his nights had been restless. Each night he dreamed the same dream- it always started out with his memories of that night in Balmora, but then the robed figure appeared. After that first night he’d ordered his guards to turn Mournhold inside out to find this robed man, but apart from the dead clothier found in his shop, nothing out of the ordinary had been discovered.
Helseth allowed his servants to help him dress, and glared at them, challenging them to say but a single wrong word about his screams, but unfortunately none of them said anything to give Helseth an excuse to punish them.
When Helseth arrived at his study a bit later that morning, he found a number of reports waiting for him. Apparently they and a message from Athyn Sarethi had been delivered some time during the night. The first message was bad news, but not something Helseth was surprised to hear. That brainless Yngling had come up with a brilliant plan, or so he thought. He wished to send a small army of Hlaalu under cover of truce into Suran, drop the flag of truce and retake the city. Helseth had told him not to go through with it, but he would not listen. Now yet another part of the Hlaalu army had been massacred senselessly.
“Oh,” Yngling noted proudly, “but not all is lost, for we have Suran under siege.”
Helseth snorted; that would be the first time a city would succumb to the pressure of a siege that was only executed on one side, with two other sides wide open. No, the battle for Suran was not one they would easily win, and Helseth knew that. On the other hand, if it kept Yngling occupied, he wouldn’t be able to create any more disasters.
Next came a message from one of Helseth’s spies. He read it carefully, smiled and cast it aside. Now all that was left was the message of Athyn Sarethi. It was sealed in wax and with the seal of Redoran. Helseth turned it over, looked at it with rapt attention. Somehow he felt this would not contain good news. He removed the seal, opened the letter and read:
King Helseth,
House Redoran hereby officially withdraws its support to the combined war effort aimed against house Telvanni.
Evidence has been presented to us, showing and proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that house Telvanni was not responsible for the death of Councillor Curio, but that in fact one of your guards, on your very order was the murderer. We also have more than sufficient reason to believe you are in some way connected to the disappearance of Councillor Dram Bero.
In light of this evidence, we can no longer take seriously your claims that house Telvanni was behind the murder of lord Nerevar. And therefore, we see no alternative but to withdraw our support.
Starting today until the end of the war, all Redoran territory will be sealed off and neither side may enter, or travel through our lands. Any incursions will be dealt with severely and with deadly force.
Letters stating our conclusions and conditions have been sent to the heads of the great houses.
Sincerely,
Athyn Sarethi
Archmaster of house Redoran
Helseth ripped the letter in two, then ripped it again, and threw it onto his desk. How did they find out? This was maddening; someone was going around messing up all the work Helseth had gone through such lengths to prepare. It was as if he was facing someone who knew what he would do even before he did. It just wasn’t fair. He was the king; people should worship him, help him, obey him, not oppose him.
He sat down in his chair and put his head in his hands, wondering what else could go wrong that day.
He dispatched messages to the heads of Indoril and Dres asking them to come to the palace. Helseth wanted to make sure he could at least still count on them to support him. He also met with a fortunate break. During the course of the day, as he was waiting for the leaders to arrive, two other guests arrived- Sjoring, the Master of the fighters guild and Trebonius Artorius, Arch-mage of the mages guild. Both were there to assure Helseth they were still in full support of him.
The fighters guild had come as no surprise, given that the Camonna Tong owned most of their leaders, but to see the mages guild here, that was a fortunate event. Helseth had no love for Trebonius, a decaying old man who probably hadn’t had a clear day in years. None dared say it to his face though, for the man still wielded undeniable power. Trebonius was no fan of Dunmer, and he resented his superiors in Cyrodiil for ever sending him to Morrowind in the first place, but as much as he disliked the Dunmer in general, and their king specifically, it was nothing compared to the hatred and animosity he had for the Telvanni. And as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
A herald came in carrying a message from one of Helseth’s spies. He took it and read it, and found his rage rising again, and was just about to curse, when another knock on the door came. The Indoril and Dres leaders had arrived and entered Helseth’s study.
The viceroy started by saying how awful he felt about the Redoran betrayal, and that he would take great pleasure in killing Athyn Sarethi personally after they were through with the Telvanni. And he assured Helseth that house Dres was still firmly behind him. Helseth thought, “You’d better be, after all the money I spent on you,” but of course he only said he was very glad to hear that. Then the Gahprovihn of house Indoril started speaking.
“My king, those Redoran swine will pay for betraying you; house Indoril will stand at the front of the attack on the Telvanni, and we will again prove to be the most loyal of your supporters when we go up against the Redoran. Even as we speak, our men are assaulting Velothi’s Haven to conquer it in your name.”
Helseth interrupted him at that point.
“No, actually your men haven’t even started their march on Velothi’s haven, nor will they.”
The Gahprovihn looked at him with confusion.
“You see, your men from Necrom are no longer even your men. I received a message from one of my spies just before you arrived. Gulvan is sitting at Necrom still, not lifting a single finger to obey your commands, and my spy has even heard him being called Gahprovihn.”
The leader of the Indoril showed fear and stuttered, “But that cannot be! The council removed him from office; he has not been Gahprovihn in 10 years.”
“Well, perhaps you should tell him that.” Helseth’s smile was not friendly at all, unless one considered the smile of a slaughterfish moving in for the kill nice.
“So, what did you say we should do to a traitor’s house? ‘Trample their bones into dust’ wasn’t it? Should I have my friend of the Dres here turn his eye upon the Indoril lands before the Telvanni?”
The Gahprovihn shuddered at the thought; he did not want to face the armies of the Dres, that was for sure.
“My king, please allow us to redeem ourselves. We will march on Necrom and destroy the traitor and all his followers. Please allow us to prove ourselves to you.”
Helseth smiled again; that was all he’d wanted.
“Yes, I will allow you to do so. In fact, we’re all moving on Necrom. This morning another spy brought me word of the Telvanni plans. Necrom is the key to everything. If we take Necrom, the Telvanni will have lost the war. Gentlemen, assemble your armies with all haste, and bring them to the lands to the north of Mournhold. There we will assemble our army and march on Necrom.”
Both the leaders signalled their agreement, bowed and left as fast as their legs could carry them to prepare for battle. After they were gone Helseth found himself wondering how things would go. He’d lost house Redoran, but gained the fighters guild and mages guild. Between the Mages guild mages and the Dres and Indoril wizards, they might just stand a chance against the Telvanni.
He’d lost part of the Indoril, but there were many mercenaries he could hire to replace them. And he should not forget that even though the Telvanni border along the Redoran lands no longer had to be manned, they still had a far larger border to defend than Helseth, and no way of knowing from whence the attack would come. Yes, Helseth considered, I still outnumber them, I know more than them and I will be victorious.
On to the next chapter