16 Frostfall, 4E202 - Carahil - Raevus Palenix

"So it's true!" Carahil was eyeing Lena's pregnant belly which started becoming noticeable. "I didn't think vampires could become pregnant."

"It happens," Lena turned red. "I know your views on vampires and other undead, Carahil. Yet you didn't object working with Hannibal Traven."

"It's not the same!" It was Carahil's turn to go red. "He was a lich... He didn't suck the blood of the living!"

"I don't either!" Lena's voice was raised higher than she would have liked, but Carahil's comments really stung.

"Now, now, ladies," Thaurron walked in from the adjoining room. "There's no need to quarrel. Vampirism is a disease, Carahil, you don't get it by choice..."

"...whereas lichdom..." Lena put in.

"And he renounced that!" Carahil cried, this argument was clearly not over.

"Enough! Both of you!" Felen looked up from his alchemy station. "You are making this potion go sour!"

"What..?" Everyone looked at him in disbelief, but the shouting stopped.

"Good," he smiled and winked. "You should be congratulating Lena on carrying a child, not argue with her," Felen said, looking at Carahil with meaning. "It's a blessing, not a curse."

"She's a human, it comes easy to them," Carahil replied bitterly, shooting Felen a sharp glance. "And they don't value it as we do."

"Carahil..." Felen started, looking at her intently, then changed his mind and walked over to her, taking her hands into his. "Yes, it is harder for elves. But there is no need to despair - we have more years before us, too."

Thaurron nodded, watching them, then tugged on Lena's sleeve, motioning her to follow him into another room.

"Carahil is bitter, forgive her," he said to Lena when they were out of earshot. "She is no longer that young, not even for an elf, and she fears her time is running out. They are both elves, yes, but different elf races don't mix all that well..." He sighed and looked at Lena with a sad smile.

"Oh I had no idea..." Lena said softly. "Restoration magic... I see now."

Thaurron nodded.

"Yes, this is how it started. A long, long time ago." He looked over his shoulder, making sure that Carahil was still out of earshot. "This was even before your time - before you were born. She lived in High Rock, she was involved with an Imperial Agent, she was even with child..."

"But the child didn't survive the Dragon Break," Lena gasped.

"Quite. The Agent vanished too - his body was never found, if indeed he died. Carahil was never quite the same." Thaurron shot another glance over his shoulder. "I've known her for some time - some time even before that."

...

When Lena returned to the Benirus Manor, Lucien was examining the vast wine collection in the cellar.

"This is really quite remarkable," he turned to Lena, showing her a dusty bottle. "What?" The look on her face made him put the bottle down.

"Don't you die on me," she whispered, pulling him into an embrace.

"I wasn't planning to, no."

The child in Lena's belly turned and kicked, and they both felt its movement. It wasn't true that humans valued their children less. Besides, these two both had elven blood in them.

...

Once Lena calmed down, they picked up a few of those old bottles of wine and settled down by the fire to let the stress of the day go up in smoke. Then Lena remembered something that happened in Corinthe.

"Do you know Raevus Palenix?" She asked casually, watching Lucien out of the corner of her eye. He looked up at the mention of the name. "He was with the Mages Guild in Corinthe."

"Was?" Lucien sounded interested.

"Yes, well, there was a bit of a bother with the Guild there, nothing to do with us. But Raevus approached me later asking to come with me. Claimed he's in trouble with the Brotherhood - expelled. And you know what that means. He knew who I was though, and I thought it strange." Lena just realised she should have mentioned it in her proper report earlier. Oh well.

"So why did you not mention it earlier?" Lucien looked at Lena with a twinkle in his eye, not with reproach or annoyance that Lena had expected. Something didn't add up.

"I... well..." Lena's mouth went dry for some reason. "I should have... Speaker."

"Indeed. But let's hear it now - what happened?" Lucien was smiling, as if expecting an amusing tale. Lena noticed that he didn't answer her question - whether he knew Raevus or not.

"He wanted to come with me - wherever I was going. He had the Cruelty's Heart but I couldn't decide whether it was rightfully his. He said he killed someone he shouldn't have, and stole some scrolls, several times, so that the wraith was set onto him, and now his Speaker decided to expel him, which means of course the assassins have been sent out. He was basically asking for protection, I figured and I refused. And then I changed my mind."


"And?" Lucien wasn't betraying any reaction.

"I sent him to Orcrest," Lena looked up.

"Not the safest place for an Imperial!" Lucien smirked. "But a good place to hide, from what you told me."

"There's an old Dark Brotherhood Crypt there underground, with a shrine to Sithis. I sent him there. Promised to come for him later, too..." Lena blushed, not understanding why.

"Sent him to the Dread Father, have you?" Lucien laughed. "Well done."

"So, you know him?" Lena repeated her question.

"Indeed I do," Lucien nodded. "He made some waves with that murder. He killed his Speaker's Silencer and took his summoning scrolls similar to the ones we gave you to summon Rufio's ghost. Each Silencer gets them."

"So of course his Speaker had him expelled," Lena nodded. "But he said he'd done it several times."

"Well, he stole the scrolls several times because he wanted every single copy."

"But why?" Something still didn't add up. "He's a mage - a Conjurer with the Mages Guild, he's quite capable of summoning whatever he wants without any scrolls! What's so special about those? Did he kill that Silencer for them too?" Lena thought she might have guessed the connection.

"Do you remember your Rufio scrolls?" Lucien looked at her with expectation.

"They summoned Rufio's ghost to fight for me..." Lena tried to recall the details - it was two centuries since she used them. "Long term binding..." she nodded. "He'd stay in Mundus until he was defeated or dispelled. So, who is being summoned by the scrolls that Raevus stole?"

"Someone dear to him," Lucien answered somewhat evasively. "Like Matthieu Bellamont, Raevus joined the Brotherhood because someone dear to him was murdered. This was many years after that dreadful business of course, and the Brotherhood was very watchful. But Raevus didn't become a traitor, at least I never believed it. He just wanted to get that one person, and eventually he did. I don't know when he learned about the scrolls, but of course then he had to have them."

"So who placed him in the same Sanctuary with the Brother who killed his beloved? For it was his beloved, wasn't it?" Lena thought there was more to the story.

"It was," Lucien nodded. "It was his Speaker who approached him and took him into his Sanctuary, arguing that he would be able to watch Raevus and make sure he didn't become a traitor. Several of us thought he was playing with fire, but ultimately the Night Mother didn't object, and the matter was settled. Raevus has done very well for himself, he is an Assassin."

"And now?"

"Now he is being hunted, of course," Lucien was looking into the distance and shadows passed over his face. "And we both know how that feels."

"Is there a solution?" Lena asked softly, suspecting that the answer would be "no".

"Yes," said Lucien equally softly. "Kill the Speaker."

"What?! Why?" Lena spun around, looking at him intently. "That's..."

"Treason?" Lucien smirked. "Well, it rather depends who it is, don't you think?"

"Tell me the whole story," Lena's brow furrowed.

"Well, there isn't much more to tell, really," Lucien shrugged his shoulders. "But you might remember the Speaker: Alval Uvani."

"Gosh!" Lena was startled. "I spared him!"

"And rightly so, he is a Speaker. Which doesn't make him a nice person, necessarily," Lucien sighed.

"Alval Uvani lives in Leyawiin," Lena mused. "So Raevus was with the Leyawiin Sanctuary, right?" Lucien nodded.

"Leyawiin-Rimmen Sanctuary," he corrected her. "But close enough."

"The Border Watch?" Lena's eyes went wide. "We have a Sanctuary in the Border Watch?" Her laugh became rather uncontrollable. "The Plague of Burning Dogs!" She couldn't help herself.

"Yes, I've heard of that peculiar phenomenon," Lucien was laughing too. "So it was you, was it? That figures!"

"She-sheogorath," Lena managed to say between fits of laughter. "I only stole some cheese and poisoned some sheep, but the dogs were his!"

Once the laughter subsided, they continued their otherwise very serious conversation.

"Yes, we have a Sanctuary there," confirmed Lucien. "It's the perfect place - everyone avoids the crazy cats! But some of that craziness seems to have rubbed off on the Sanctuary too."

"Well, I can't blame Alval for being grumpy," Lena smiled. "If that's where he has to call home. No wonder he travels from place to place."

"He travels because he's a Speaker," Lucien pointed out. "And grumpy, well, that's just how he is. But he didn't handle that business with Raevus very well, I don't think."

"But is that reason enough to kill him?" Lena was dead serious now. "He is a Speaker."

"It's a choice between him and Raevus," Lucien nodded. "If Alval is killed, Raevus will be exonerated."

"Does Raevus know this?"

"He does, I told him," Lucien smiled. "But he refused to kill a Brother, even to save his own skin. He only made one exception, he said, no more."

"You spoke to him?" Lena gasped.

"This has been going on for a while now," Lucien sat back in his chair. "It's been several years since Raevus killed that Silencer. Alval has a new Silencer now, and although he did send her after Raevus, she wasn't successful."

"But she still lives?" This matter was getting stranger by the minute.

"Indeed. Raevus paralysed her and vanished. She never found him again. Alval changed his mind and sent out a group of assassins after Raevus instead, they are roaming Tamriel as we speak."

"But he's right there with the Corinthe Mages Guild..." Lena said, then remembered how good Raevus was at vanishing into thin air. "A Master of Illusion?"

Lucien bowed his head. "We should help him."

"You mean I should--"

"No, this will be a tragic accident," Lucien smiled thinly. "Alval is partial to apples, both poisoned and regular. It's too easy to make a mistake, especially when drunk..."

"Mead!" Lena exclaimed, remembering something. "Oh, this is evil."

"No, this is practical," Lucien looked serious. "In his own house, in his pantry where he keeps both kinds of apples quite close together. 'This was an accident waiting to happen' is what we are aiming at."

"But the Night Mother will know," Lena objected.

"Of course she will," Lucien nodded, "since it was her idea in the first place." He smiled. "I wouldn't worry."

"So me meeting Raevus..?" Lena gasped.

"Was completely accidental," Lucien interrupted her. "I was supposed to do it myself, I might still do it myself, if you are occupied elsewhere. We'll see, it's not the time yet."

"Then when?" Obviously, there was a lot more that Lucien wasn't telling her.

"Not yet," he smiled. "This will have to do. Raevus will be safe in Orcrest."

This closed the discussion. Lucien opened another bottle of wine, poured a little into a clean goblet, rolled it around, inhaled the aroma. He wouldn't taste it until it would have had time to breathe. It wasn't the time for drinking it yet. Patience was the key.

16 Frostfall, 4E202 - Doubts

"You haven't said anything about Valenwood," Lucien said to Lena as they were sitting by the fire in the Benirus Manor in Anvil after a long day of reports and conversations. Lena had just returned from a month-long trip to Elsweyr and Valenwood, but didn't say anything about Valenwood in her report.

"Well, there wasn't anything to report there," Lena shook her head. "Mostly because we didn't have time to look around. We always knew we couldn't do it all. We also didn't go to Torval or Senchal for the same reason."

"But?" Lucien looked at Lena shrewdly - he could tell there was something.

"But... Well, the cities in South Valenwood were empty!" Lena looked shocked. "In Elden Root we discovered that it were necromancers. Captured a lot of people into black soul gems, then hid the gems in various ruins throughout Tamriel! I don't know what happened in Haven or Southpoint though."

"This is awful, but not that unusual, as far as your adventures go," Lucien kept his gaze on Lena. "So you'll round up some of your friends and go delving into the ruins. You do it all the time. There's something else."

"I guess you are right..." Lena stared into the fire. "There were a few occasions that brought back memories. And also I took Hauk to the Void."

"He mentioned it briefly," Lucien nodded. "You met Dar-Pha."

"You know Dar-Pha?" Was there anything that Lucien didn't know?

"Not personally, no," he laughed. "But Hauk told me about her. He thought he'd lost her forever when he left Antaloor and she wouldn't follow him to Tamriel. Not the kind of woman to follow anyone, she isn't, but the sound of things. But now he found her again... How are you taking it?"

"I..." Lena was taken off-guard with this question. She realised now that seeing Hauk's reaction to Dar-Pha was a shock to her, a shock of which she was ashamed. Hauk wasn't her man, she herself chose Lucien, and yet there she was feeling jealous and betrayed because Hauk loved another woman... She shouldn't have been having those feelings, they had no right to exist, and yet there they were. "I am dealing with it," she answered firmly. "He is my best friend."

They sat in silence for a while, Lucien was watching Lena's face that was awash with emotion - she wasn't trying to hide it. She was confused, her soul was in turmoil, and it wasn't just Hauk that she was thinking about. The same as Hauk had thought that he'd lost Dar-Pha forever, Lena thought of Scorpio - her companion in Gransys, one of the worlds where she had spent many years, having stepped through a portal in Sheogorath's Palace. What would happen if by some miracle she met Scorpio again? What would she feel? Would that shake her commitment to Lucien? Should she even be getting married? There was still time to call it off... And her child... who was the father? A few weeks ago she felt certain it was Hauk, but after their trip to Antaloor, she realised it was only wishful thinking. She could not know it, it wouldn't be certain for years to come, not until the child was sufficiently grown up to show signs of lineage. She had been fooling herself.

She got up and went into the basement of the manor. Lucien didn't stop her and didn't follow.

...

"Is that why you wanted to be a lich?" She was sitting by Lorgren Benirus' altar where his body was resting. "Liches have no emotions, as I understand it. Were you tormented in life? Why did you turn to Necromancy? How did it start?" She smoothed out the cloth on the altar, but Lorgren did not respond. "I am sorry we had to fight you, this is none of our business. We interrupted your ritual... well, your grandson interrupted your ritual... I hope it will be completed some day."

The crypt was quiet, there were no ghosts within, and Lorgren Benirus lay undisturbed on his altar. Lena wasn't getting any answers.

There is no pain stronger than that of the soul. Self-doubt is a plague that destroys all, crumbling everything to dust. Lena curled up in the corner of the crypt and fell asleep, exhausted. She dreamt of the people she loved, past and present, as if saying good-bye to them all, as if preparing to depart. There was no pain in the Void, and Sithis was waiting for her in the distance.

She woke up with a jolt just under her liver. The child in her belly was kicking.

"You don't want me to die, do you," she told it, smiling, stroking her belly. "Well, if you insist... Let's go see what your father is doing." She got up and started walking through the long corridor of the Benirus Manor basement. "Whether he is your real father or not... he will be your father," she concluded, shaking off the last of her doubts. The pain was subsiding.

...

"And now you feed," said Lucien, lying down on the bed with his neck exposed. "Your vampirism has flared." Lena found Lucien waiting for her to emerge from the basement.

"What?! No!" Lena cried in indignation. "I'll go out and find a beggar."

"Come - it isn't the first time," he smiled. "You'll get arrested in your present state."

"What..?" Lena was confused - the candle by the bed highlighted Lucien's throbbing vein with tiny scars of puncture marks around it. "Who did this? When?" Lena sat on the bed and touched the scars. "They feel old."

"They are old," Lucien nodded. "It was you - I let you then just as I do it now. You need blood. Feed, and I'll tell you later."

"But..." Lena gasped. "Oh no!" A fragment of a memory flickered before her eyes.

"Feed," Lucien repeated, taking her hand. "We'll talk later."

She could not hold off for much longer, the scent of living blood was driving her hunger up and up, she was getting dizzy. She remembered Dylan telling her the same thing when she got to Thadon's chalice... She kneeled over Lucien and fed.

...

Lena woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and saw Lucien handing her a cup. There were fresh bite marks on his neck.

"Thank you," Lena followed him with her eyes. "I should carry more blood."

"Nonsense," he brushed it off. "You cannot prepare for everything."

"Tell me about that other time," she said darkly. "I don't remember."

"No, you wouldn't - you were too famished," Lucien nodded. "And wounded too, must have been in a fight. You came to Fort Farragut to rest no doubt, but that time I was there too. I cloaked immediately but of course you could smell me."

"And I attacked?" Lena whispered with horror.

"No, you tried to climb the ladder to leave, but your wounds made you too weak. Then you said I must leave, warning me that you would not be able to control your hunger for much longer..."

"Oh," Lena thought she recalled something like that. Or possibly only imagined recalling it. "So why didn't you leave? My wounds would have healed enough in a few hours and I would have been gone."

"I couldn't... you might not have survived. I lay down on the bed and let you feed instead."

"And you were gone by the time I woke up," she guessed.

"No, but you could not smell me any longer," he smiled.

"Not after I just fed," Lena touched his face. "Repeatedly. How many times?"

"That night? I lost count," Lucien kissed her. "You were very weak."

"Was that the only time?" She looked at him with suspicion.

"No, but it was the first."

Lena fell on the cushions, her face burning red. "I don't remember any of it," tears were running down her face. "Vampires must be killed - I see it now."

"Don't blame yourself," Lucien lay next to her, wiping away her tears. "Do you remember other people you fed on?"

"Mostly, yes," Lena looked at him, surprised at the thought. "So why not you?"

"Because you never regained consciousness. You were wounded and dying. Your feeding was instinctive." He paused, trying to calm her. "And the dressing I put on your wounds made you sleepy."

"Why did you not want me to remember?" She looked at him with worry.

"I didn't want you to stop coming back."

They were looking into each other's eyes, each reading the same. That Lena would have never returned for fear of feeding on Lucien again, and that Lucien needed her to keep coming back, until one day, he hoped, she would stay...

"What about the other times?" Lena wanted to have the full picture now.

"Twice more," Lucien pulled her into an embrace, her head resting on his shoulder. "But not so extensive. You were always wounded though, when you came."

"That's why I came - to recover," nodded Lena. "I was getting into a lot of fights - everyone wanted to have a go at a vampire." She was calming down now. "It eased off after I took the cure."

"And I haven't seen you in a long time then," said Lucien softly. "I almost gave up hope." He was stroking her hair. "Then one day I found some of the apples missing..." He smiled.

"You must never allow that cupboard to run out of frost salts," Lena said suddenly. "Not like that time..."

"Oh," Lucien laughed. "That's how it became self-replenishing," he grinned. "I was surprised - and pleased - to wake up with bandages all over."

"My chameleon isn't as good as yours, but it didn't need to be - you passed out as soon as you got to the bed."

"It happens."

"So then in Riften... I mean, if you remember it from before... Why did you say you were surprised?" Lena raised her head to look at him.

"I was - I've never seen you do it. It's not the same to discover the result afterwards, you know," he smiled. "How many times have you undressed me like that?"

"A few..." Lena blushed. "Well... quite a few... As many as was needed," she added defiantly. "You get into fights a lot."

"I am an assassin," he shrugged, grinning.

The room was quiet. The two people on the bed were thinking of Fort Farragut. They had been meeting in its sanctuary for the past two hundred years, never admitting it to each other, and sometimes not even to themselves. Their private relationship had been shrouded from prying eyes, and neither of them wanted to make any claims or demands on the other. The lack of bonds was perhaps the strongest bond of all.

Good ole Lucien, using Lena's affliction to his advantage. But then, I'm not entirely sure who is using who.

This post has been edited by macole: Apr 5 2022, 03:57 PM

I think they may be worth each other. Neither one is an angel.

17 Frost Fall, 4E202 - Below Anvil

"What are your plans for today?" Lucien asked Lena at breakfast.

"I don't know..." she mused. "Probably get going to Bravil - the wedding isn't that far away, and I've got nothing to wear," she rolled her eyes.

"Mmm, I see. How do you feel about delaying it for a bit and delving into some sewers with me first?" He smiled at her.


"Sewers? With you?" Lena's eyes lit up. "Any time, dearest! What's up?"

"Apparently something fishy is going on in the sewers under Anvil," Lucien poured himself another cup of coffee. "Now, that in itself is not surprising, the thieves and smugglers have been rattling in there for ever and a day. But two assassins from the Sanctuary here disappeared recently, and then were found dead in the sewers. Admittedly, those were not the brightest Brothers, but still. We need to find out what happened."

"And they asked you to investigate it?" Lena shook her head in disbelief. "You, a Speaker?"

"Well, no," admitted Lucien. "I was talking to Sa'Sinar the other day and he mentioned it. He was going to send his new Silencer, but I volunteered. Thought it would be fun," he winked. "Besides, there's a passage into the sewers from our new office here in town - the formerly Abandoned House, and I need to know what's under my feet."

This made a lot of sense to Lena, although she was sure that the trapdoor in Lucien's office was locked. Then she realised something else.

"Aren't you familiar with the sewers already? From when you were growing up here?" She smiled at him.

"Of course I am," he grinned. "But that was a very long time ago, and sewers do change. They've opened up new passages and closed off some of the old ones, so it isn't going to be all as I remember it. And of course new tenants moved in everywhere - sewer real estate is very volatile," he smirked. "Have you heard about that pirate ship stuck inside a cave? There's more than one under Anvil, apparently. And we'll need to check the passages into the Castle too, you never know. It might take a few days."

"A ship..? ships? passages into the Castle?" Lena was looking at Lucien round-eyed. "Yes, I've heard some stories, but never knew they were actually true!" She exclaimed.

"All right then, finish your coffee and let's get going," Lucien laughed. "Oh, and don't wear anything clean - there's no point."

After all the conversations, reports and doubts, trawling through stinking sewers filled with rats, goblins and other vermin was an offer that Lena couldn't pass up. Nothing better to take your mind off things than imminent mortal danger! And for Lucien, not having to be careful to only kill the target and no one else, not needing to cloak in chameleon, not bothering with slipping poisoned apples into people's pockets, but just going out there, swords blazing, cutting down everything in sight, was a welcome change of pace, too. It wasn't quite their honeymoon yet, but it was coming decidedly close to it.

30 Frostfall, 4E202 - Wedding

"Before we go through with it, I have to tell you that I was married before," Lucien looked at Lena intently across the table. They were having dinner in Lena's house in Bravil, their wedding was scheduled for the following day. "The Priest will point it out to you tomorrow, I'm sure they dug it all up. Also, I have a child."

"Interesting," Lena mused, sensing that, as sensational as it sounded, it wasn't all that important. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Lucien looked surprised and amused. "This isn't the reaction I expected! Where's the indignation, the jealousy?"

"Oh, I know you are not a virgin," Lena grinned. "You can't shock me with that. And you must have had a reason to never speak of your wife and child. Do they still live?" In truth, Lena was getting rather jealous and more than a little hurt that Lucien waited that long to tell her this. But she wanted to get him to tell her the whole story, and so she had to control her temper and appear calm, or Lucien wouldn't talk.

"They might do... after a fashion," Lucien said slowly, refilling their goblets. "There is no grave I can visit, although they no longer walk the Nirn. They've been taken."

If Lucien's family had been killed, he showed little sadness about it, and Lena thought it strange. This was Lucien Lachance, the merciless killer. Did he kill them himself? But no, they were not dead. Wait... Lena tried to remain calm and listen.

"Rosa... my wife... she was an assassin too, and as such, she came into contact with various people, most of whom she killed. She was a most striking woman... a Black Widow. She used to play with her victims first..." He smirked. "Well, no matter. I did not resent her the entertainment, as I was having some of my own... The child I spoke of, wasn't hers."

"And you were blessed by Mara like that?" Lena couldn't hide her surprise. She couldn't quite see such a couple getting married at the Temple.

"Oh, we weren't married at the Temple," Lucien shook his head. "But we were married nonetheless. The Priests don't go by the letter of the law, and so they will speak to you about it."

Where was this going? Lena was getting impatient, although she tried to control it.

"Please, Lucien, just tell me what happened," she smiled at him.

"I see you are holding your nerve," he smirked. "Very well. Just note that I was the first to bring up past marriages, you still haven't told me about yours."

"Mine..?" Lena gasped. "But that was... in another world!"

"It counts." Lucien looked straight at her. "I know it because the Priests dug it up. I didn't like to hear it from them, and I am sparing you that experience now."

"All right," Lena's eyes were hard and cold, just like his. "Let's hear it. Thank you."

"This story is short: one of Rosa's targets was a Priest of Boethia. Not a person to cross, and not a person to have fun with. She should have killed him straight away, but no, she engaged in her usual entertainment. Granted, Boethia is not Mephala when it comes to sex, but she's not far off in other respects, and this Priest converted Rosa to Boethia's side before she could fulfil her contract. Which she never did, by the way."

Lucien paused, and Lena was listening silently, sipping her wine. Clearly, he had to go after that contract himself, which is probably how he found out.

"Boethia wanted a sacrifice. Rosa chose my son. They are both in Boethia's realm now." He put down his goblet signalling the end of his story.

"What happened to the mother of the child?" Lena asked in order not to ask the other more burning question - whether Lucien still loved Rosa.

"She went after him. Never to return."

"No, you don't normally return from Boethia's realm," Lena thought of her own experience - the Tournament of Ten Bloods. What other fun was taking place on those planes? More fighting, she figured. "But you would have survived it. Did you try?"

"I did. It wasn't a Tournament for me though. Boethia had me watch Rosa sacrifice my son. Then I had to fight Rosa. I killed her, but later found out that none of it was real. A show for the Prince's entertainment."

"But what was the point?!" Lena exclaimed with disbelief.

"Suffering, of course," Lucien smirked. "You had to do the Tournament, that was the easy bit, I am afraid."

"I got lucky," Lena nodded. "So... what now? Are you supposed to go on living with them trapped in there?"

"I think the intent was to make me suffer, yes. And to make me come back and try to free them again and again. But I solved that little riddle - I never went back." Lucien sat in his chair, looking at Lena with those hard, cold eyes of a seasoned assassin. What's another life, after all?

"Please continue," Lena knew there was more.

"Oh, you don't think that I just put it out of my mind, do you?" He smirked. "Very well, I asked someone else. Vicente went in there, and he got the Tournament, because Boethia had nothing else to hold over him. He saw my son's corpse on display and he killed Rosa - whether he killed her for real, or whether she'd rise again, I do not know. Did you have to fight a dark-haired Imperial who moved like a Redguard? No? Well then, may be she is dead."

"And now you owe Vicente a debt," noted Lena.

"More than one, but so does he," Lucien nodded. "We stopped counting a long time ago."

They sat in silence for a long while, drinking wine and watching each other, without saying anything else. Lena would have to decide for herself what Lucien's feelings towards Rosa might be, and whether that was a problem. Then Lucien broke the silence.

"Tell me about your marriages," he said matter-of-factly.

"I left them," Lena shrugged. "There's nothing else to tell."

"Not good enough."

"Very well, it was in another world - in another time. I got there from the Shivering Isles - Sheogorath has portals, you know. I spent years there... in Albion. But when I got back, it was the evening of the same day, that's in the Shivering Isles. And also here in Mundus, I think. Something like that."

"Yes, time dilation, or whatever you want to call it," nodded Lucien. "That's unimportant, and you know it."

"You want to hear about my husbands, my families..." The memory was bothering Lena. "I was married multiple times there - there was no punishment for that, other than the wrath of your spouses. I didn't care. I didn't care enough for any of them, and that's just the thing. I had others on the side. I could do what I wanted."

"There are plenty of men here too, and Sanguine preaches just that behaviour," Lucien objected. "You are his lover, but besides Hauk and Dylan, you are not having anyone else. What changed?"

"I got bored," Lena smiled. "I think I've seen every shape and every variety of... you know. It gets old after a while."

"You don't say," Lucien laughed, and the tension in the room suddenly dropped. "You are not a virgin either."

"You know about Dylan," Lena stated the obvious and sighed.

"Of course," Lucien smiled. "You told me. Then Sanguine told me. Then Hauk told me. I think we all know each other. I should meet Dylan too."

"And you still asked me to marry you?" Lena raised an eyebrow, smiling. "The Priests will be shaking their heads throughout the ceremony."

"I was a Dibellan, remember?" He smiled.

The next round of drinks went in a much lighter atmosphere. Then Lena realised something.

"Your marriage to Rosa - when was that?" She looked at Lucien intently. "I never noticed anyone at Fort Farragut - or were you just keeping it as your private residence?"

"It is my private residence, has always been," Lucien nodded. "And Rosa never stayed there. I married early, and the marriage did not last long. My mother didn't think it was the right match, but we did not intend to marry at the Temple, so it didn't matter. Oh, they never met - but I guess what I told her of Rosa was enough."

"What was your mother's objection?" Lena was wondering what Lucien's mother would have said about her.

"That she liked hurting people," Lucien smirked. "I replied that it was normal because she was an assassin, and mum said: 'I know what an assassin is. Your father is an assassin. You are an assassin.' So? - I asked, but she didn't explain. She made me promise however to wait for the right woman before marrying again - and that was before any trouble with Rosa even started! I made that promise not realising just how soon I would have to start acting on it..."

The child in Lena's belly turned and kicked, and she jerked involuntarily.

"And you think I am the right one?" Lena sounded dubious, perhaps on purpose. "What would she have said about me?"

"She thought you were a bit young for me, to start with..." Lucien laughed watching Lena's surprised and dismayed reaction. "Of course she still lived then! It was two hundred years ago, after all, that whole Purification affair."

"Purification? But we weren't... You were just my Speaker at the time, nothing else!" Lena exclaimed hotly.

"Except for that one time..." He winked. "But I guess you put it down to an accident, did you?"

"But I was seventeen!"

"And I was forty three, so?"

"I didn't know what I was doing... and yeah, I didn't believe it even happened."

"For two hundred years," Lucien nodded, still smiling. "Oh, it happened. On purpose. From both of us. And then you vanished without a trace, and I didn't even get a chance to tell you that I made you my Silencer. Not until much later. Someone who makes Silencer at seventeen, is no longer a child," he added, looking straight at her.

"I guess I had to grow up," Lena sighed.

...

The ceremony at the Chapel of Mara in Bravil was supposed to be quiet. Of course they needed witnesses, and it wasn't right to keep it from their friends, so Lena asked Hauk, Jowan and Garrus to join them, and Geralt came from Skyrim. They couldn't invite the entire Sanctuary - that would not have been prudent - but Ocheeva and Vicente had to come, and Antoinetta Marie turned up anyway, with Gogron appearing a little later. Kud-Ei, Henantier, Ardaline, Delphine and Ita from the Mages Guild entered en force, followed by Volanaro, Selena, J'skar and even Jeanne - although that wasn't surprising. Dagail and Agata arrived the day before, and Dagail and Ungolim's warm reunion became the talk of the town for weeks to come. Nilawen, Ungarion and Daenlin came in to say hello, not wishing to impose, but Borba quickly set them straight, ushering them in. A pair of Dunmer stayed back in a dark corner, but Lena spotted them and signalled Hauk to bring them in - Falanu and Fenris. Mazoga surprised everyone with her Daedric armour and a Leyawiin shield - she wore her full Knight attire for the occasion. The chapel got full and hot, and once the official part was over, the festivities spilled into the street, and some people said they even spotted a dremora or two passing the ale around... But surely, everyone had had too much to drink at that point to really notice anything.

"Who are they?" A young guard asked his older colleague. "Mages?"

"Of sorts," the older guard smirked. "Lena lives here - you've seen her around. As for Lucien... just hope you never get on his business side."

The young guard didn't really understand, but thought it was wise not to ask. After all, they were getting free ale - and who could argue with that!

A note to Lena's readers

You may have noticed that we no longer follow Lena into every cave she visits. As Lena's pregnancy progresses, she finds herself in need of more rest than before, and her mornings are often marred by the less pleasant signs of carrying a child. She does not want these things recorded. From this point on we shall focus on the more important events in her life, for be assured that you won't miss any of those.

Until her child is born, Lena finds herself unable to go adventuring in her usual fashion, and with Hauk gone to his Legion assignment in Morrowind and Geralt following the werewolves in Skyrim, she just wants to stay around Lucien most of the time. Being a housewife is not exactly her thing, but an assassin with a morning sickness lacks a certain prowess, too. She hopes that life will return to normal once the child is born. We hope so too.

31 Frostfall, 4E202 - Travels

"Go. I don't want to see either of you for at least a month," Ungolim was saying to Lena and Lucien from behind his Listener's desk at the Black Hand Office in Bravil. "Ocheeva is perfectly capable of keeping an eye on your Sanctuary while you are away, Lucien," he added, moving a large pile of scrolls to one side. "No, you can't have those - I'll give them directly to Ocheeva." Lucien looked annoyed, and Ungolim chuckled. "I am relieving you of your duties as a Speaker for a month or two - don't make me suspend you as well! You're supposed to be on honeymoon, for Sithis' sake!"

Lena was watching them with a smirk of her own. She wouldn't have minded returning to normal duties herself, having done a lot of travelling in the past few months, but it was obvious that Ungolim was having none of it. She wondered why.

"Your reunion with Dagail yesterday was very touching," she said with a smile. "I didn't realise you knew each other."

"We do," Ungolim nodded. "We go a way back..." He looked at Lena with a vacant gaze, seeing a mental image instead of her. Perhaps he was looking at a young Dagail. "I knew her father..." He said slowly. "It was a very long time ago. But some things you never forget." Then, as his gaze returned to the present, he suddenly asked: "Why did you not try to kill me during the Purification Crisis? I was on Bellamont's list. You've seen me here in Bravil often enough, did I not succeed in appearing like a silly lovestruck Bosmer?"

"The Blade of Woe and the Shadowhunt in your bedroom told a different story," Lena smiled. "I had orders to investigate every target before proceeding," she shot a glance at Lucien. "So I searched your house."

"I see," Ungolim fixed her with a probing gaze. "You didn't make many mistakes... I always wondered how Lucien managed all those investigations while the entire Black Hand was out to get him. But in fact he didn't. It was you." He smiled approvingly. "Now your appointment makes sense. It isn't often that someone makes Silencer at seventeen."

"Now you see why I insisted," Lucien looked at Ungolim with significance.

"Yes..." Ungolim turned to Lena and almost started saying something, but then changed his mind. "No, I won't tell you that story - even now, it may be too soon. Lucien will tell you some day."

"Tell me what?" Lena's curiosity was aroused.

"She already knows parts of it," Lucien smiled. "That I insisted on making you my Silencer even though you've vanished and we couldn't find you. But I knew - well, hoped - you'd be back, and the Night Mother had to intervene to make Ungolim allow it," he smiled at Ungolim. "You thought I was being sentimental," he smirked. "But that was only a half of it."

"Well, anyhow," Ungolim drew himself up, putting an end to that conversation. "Have you two decided where you going for your honeymoon? No? I thought as much. Here, have a look at these." He pushed a bunch of scrolls towards Lucien. "All holiday destinations. Most are even free of vermin and bandits, if you believe their prospects. Bring your swords along anyway. Pick something and go - pick several, if you wish. Shoo!"

...

"Most of these start in Anvil," Lena was going through the scrolls advertising the holiday destinations. "They should really establish a travel agency there," she laughed.

"Ardah," Lucien was reading from one scroll. "If you are sick of the dirty environs, the lousy weather and the eternal same lookout of Tamriel, give it a try and make holidays on Ardah. The Stroti Agency."

"Finally a place with good weather, by the sound of it!" Lena laughed. "Or how about this: Madgod's Paradise: a perfect retreat for a Madgod with the colour and bliss side of madness. MikkHep Agents in New Sheoth."

"That requires going to the Shivering Isles first," Lucien objected. "And I'm not even a tourist."

"I'm sure I can get in a good word with Sheogorath for you," Lena winked. "Besides, I've got the key."

Lucien picked up another scroll. "The Island of Saldaea," he unrolled the scroll on the table. "Two islands south of Leyawiin that contain a town with two towers, a wreaked ship with an interior, a lighthouse, a cavern system, stables, and an Ayleid ruin with two levels. They have horses and accommodation too, from Unit Alpha. Starts in Chorrol."

"Why in Chorrol if the islands are South of Leyawiin?" Lena looked at her wine with suspicion. "That's like going from Anvil to Rimmen via Windhelm."

"Mages," Lucien smirked. "There's apparently a portal somewhere near Chorrol, that gets you to a Temple of Leya where you find another portal to get you to those islands. Don't ask me! It's a part of the adventure."

"All right, listen to this," Lena was skimming through another offering. "The isle of Centiel is a dangerous, yet beautiful Island which holds a dark secret deep beneath the surface. Can you gather the fabled Jewels of Centiel and open the way to the long forgotten tomb of Lord Ondor? Friendship, betrayal, danger, and untold riches will meet you on your journey. From Armless Wunder Agencies in Anvil."

"That sounds like a theme park!" Lucien pulled the scroll towards him. "Two islands in the Abecean Sea, it says. Bring your swords. Towns, cities, dungeons, monsters - the whole nine yards." His eyes sparkled.

"Well, if you want a working holiday," Lena smirked, "then how about some pirate fun? Nascosto Isles is made up of several large islands, all beautifully landscaped, and full of unique houses, caves, dungeons, and ruins to explore. But recently they've been plagued by pirates which forced them to re-market their islands as an action adventure. Save the island from an impending attack and fight pirates in Pirate Cove. Sounds like fun! JBVW Agencies, a ship is moored on the Eastern shore of the Upper Niben."

"Or we go for something epic," Lucien was reading a long scroll. "The Island of Cybiades needs your help! This is a plea from the Captain of a ship moored in Anvil looking for a hero to lead the fight for the liberation of Cybiades. This isn't a theme park, this is for real." Lucien raised his eyes from the scroll. "Deathless Aphrodite is waiting."

"Is that their ship?" Lena pulled the scroll towards her. "Shall we?"

"Let's," Lucien nodded. "And then Ardah for balance."

The honeymoon of two assassins was befitting their occupation - it was filled with danger and death. "We work in the dark to serve the light," Lena recalled the phrase with which she responded to Altair's greeting, not knowing where it came from. It was instinctive. Was that even possible? Lucien noticed that something was weighing on Lena's mind, but he knew better than to ask. She would speak of it when she was ready. For now it was between her and Altair.

After a month of on the Cybiades they were ready for a break. Ardah proved true to its advertising - clean, peaceful, idyllic. By the end of the second week Lucien even forgot to put his dagger under the pillow for the night. Lena noticed. "No, he didn't forget it," she thought, "he chose to trust this place." Finally they relaxed.

Three days later they were bored, however. Time to go home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

17 Evening Star, 4E202 - Fenris

"Mistress, you are back!" Fenris kneeled before Lena as she entered the Leyawiin Sanctuary. Something seemed to be different this time, Fenris knew Lena didn't want him to kneel, and yet he did it.

"Hello, Fenris," she replied, lifting him up by the shoulders. "How have you been?" This had become their usual greeting by now, but again, something was different this time.

"I am keeping well, Mistress," he smiled at her. "I did not expect to ever see you return, and I am glad you are back."

"Never return?" Lena asked in surprise. "Why not? What happened?"

"Your wedding..." Fenris looked at Lena's visible pregnant belly. "And your new life."

"My new life..? Oh, my child? But why never to return here? Wait, is it what I'm thinking it is?" She thought she guessed it, but wanted to hear it from Fenris first.

"What are you thinking, Mistress?" He looked at her, smiling.

"Fenris, you are not answering my question."

"No. I am your slave, your property. You are free to make me answer. Or try to, anyway. See how long I can keep disobeying." He stood there, smiling at her, then he kneeled again, looking at her from below. "My Mistress."

Lena was perplexed. She no longer had any idea what was going on - she thought it might have had something to do with vampirism, but perhaps not. Fenris was rebelling, yet at the same time imploring her to... what, exactly? Or was that a test? Could a slave be testing his master? Was Fenris still a slave?

Since Lena couldn't decide what to do, she did nothing. That is, she lifted Fenris by the shoulders again and marched off to the dining room to have something to eat. Fenris wasn't leaving her side, but she acted as if nothing was the matter, even though this was not Fenris' normal behaviour. "Something will come up and explain the situation," she thought, watching Fenris out of the corner of her eye.

Lena had been travelling all day and was now tired. She would normally bathe in the Purifying Pool and then go to bed. But Fenris would not enter the pool for fear of losing his vampirism. Normally he wouldn't enter, that is. "I wonder what he'll do now," Lena thought with mischief. She went to the pool, with Fenris following.

She entered the pool cavern, and Fenris cringed, but entered with her. After all, as long as he stayed away from the water, he was safe. She undressed and entered the pool. Fenris picked up her clothes, folded them neatly and sat there, watching her bathe. Finally, she finished bathing and walked up to Fenris, or rather to her clothes - he was sitting right next to them.

"So it's true, then," he said, looking at her intently. "Your child."

"Did you think it was a ruse?" Lena laughed, allowing him to touch her belly. "You can feel the child inside. Why are you surprised?"

"But you are a vampire!" Fenris looked at all of Lena now. "Your skin... your scent. Your eyes aren't red and your fangs have retreated, but that doesn't change anything."

"Yes, well, I was surprised with it as well," Lena admitted, getting dressed. "I never thought it possible."

With that cleared up, she went to bed, expecting Fenris to resume his normal behaviour - to leave her alone. But he stayed by her side. When Lena awoke, Fenris was still sitting by her bed, looking tired.

"Have you slept at all?" She asked him, wondering what was the matter now.

"No, I watched you sleep," he said. "Your sleep was peaceful."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Lena's perplexed state of mind must have been showing, because Fenris smiled.

"I can think of a number of reasons. You take lives. You serve Molag Bal. You stood naked before me even though you said your vows at the Temple. And of course, you are a vampire," he was quite serious now.

"Fenris... oh dear," Lena shook her head, unsure how to untangle this ball of confusion. "I take lives - I am an assassin. If that troubled my sleep, I would not have gotten far. I do not serve Molag Bal - did you think he made me a pure-blood? And that I carry his child?" She looked at Fenris and he nodded. "No. It's the Mazken Wellspring that restored me." Fenris sighed a sigh of relief. "As for my wedding vows... well... that's between Lucien and me. Our bonds are stronger than that - make no mistake." Fenris paled, and Lena decided to leave him with his doubts of a possible punishment from Lucien Lachance. "Is the thrall well?" She asked, suddenly changing the topic.

"Ye-yes," stammered Fenris. "Well fed and all."

"What about the blood chest?"

"Empty," Fenris admitted. "You haven't been here in a while... and blood doesn't keep. Not even mine. But I can refill it easily, fresh." He got up, presumably to go see to it, but Lena pulled him into the bed and pinned him down.

"Later," she said, nicking a vein on his neck with her dagger. "Tonight you are coming with me." She drank his blood. Two vampires went into the night.

21 Evening Star, 4E202 - Domination

"You thought Molag Bal made me a pure-blood," Lena looked at Fenris sideways as they sat by the fire in an Ayleid ruin. "You thought I carried Molag Bal's child. It was a logical assumption. But did you really think Molag Bal would have allowed me to marry after he'd made me his bride?"

"I wondered about that," Fenris admitted. "It bothered me. It would only be possible either if your husband was a pure-blood himself, or if you were going to sacrifice him."

"We are talking about Lucien Lachance!" exclaimed Lena. "Molag Bal would have a problem with Sithis if anyone were to sacrifice Lucien for him," she smirked. "And everyone fears Sithis, Molag Bal included."

"Does Sithis own you too?" Fenris asked matter-of-factly.

"Sithis owns everyone," Lena nodded. "Everyone and no one. Sithis gets every soul anyway. But as the Dark Brotherhood made Sithis their patron, everyone thinks that Sithis protects us. Truth is, he doesn't care. If anyone were to sacrifice any of us in the name of another god, Sithis would not go after that god, but that god would fear it anyway, and cower before Sithis. This is how it works."

Fenris was listening and struggling to believe it. "How do you know?" He asked, uncertain.

"Sithis told me," Lena said simply.

"Sithis..!" Fenris gasped. The way Lena said it, it was clear that she wasn't referring to one of those mystical visions that people were having when they were lying prostrate at the foot of a statue representing a deity they were praying to. No, Lena was referring to an actual conversation.

"Yeah..." Lena smiled at him. "Perhaps I am not as innocent as you thought."

"Innocence is but an illusion," Fenris nodded.

...

They've been out for three days, and Lena's vampirism had reached its full power. Fenris' too, but he was used to it. Lena didn't dare to drink bottled blood thinking that it would send her vampirism in remission completely, only to be triggered again by the next wraith they encountered - switching between states so frequently could be deadly. But her endurance was dropping faster than that of a regular vampire, and in three days she grew as weak as if she hadn't fed for a week.

"You need to feed, Mistress," Fenris was looking at her with worry. "This can't be good for your child - you are so weak. Every wraith will knock you out now." They were still going through ruins filled with undead.

"Well, firstly, there are no mortals to feed on here," Lena objected. "And second, if I were to drink living blood, it would clear my vampirism, and then every wraith would be able to knock me out anyway. Might as well save it."

This was the fourth time they were having this conversation, with Lena refusing to feed and growing weaker and weaker with every hour. They needed to return home, but the labyrinth seemed to go on and on, and they couldn't be sure how much longer they would stay in it.

"I didn't expect this ruin to be a labyrinth," Lena looked at Fenris apologetically. "Or I would not have drunk your blood before we left. Although it would not have taken long for the wraiths and liches in here to trigger my vampirism with their spells anyway," she smirked.

"You must drink my blood again," Fenris said firmly. "It will sustain you. But what other effects it will have, I do not know."

"Vampires can't drink vampire blood!" Lena exclaimed, remembering a vampire recoil after drinking her blood back in Skyrim. "One that drank mine nearly died!"

"Your blood is different," Fenris objected. "You've taken the cure - the Witch's Potion. It's the worst there is. I wouldn't drink your blood, but you can have mine."

Another wraith interrupted their conversation, knocking out Lena with one hit of its frost spell. She came to after some time, finding herself on a bedroll by a fire. Fenris was there too, he dropped to his knees in meditation. "Just like Geralt," Lena thought. She stirred and Fenris opened his eyes.

"Ah, you are finally awake, Mistress," he smiled at her. "I tried to keep you warm," he gestured at the fire. "My body has no warmth now, but I tried to preserve yours." His features were gaunt, he was famished. "You must drink my blood and regain your strength, or you will never get out of here. I am immortal of course, but you are not. You will perish."

"How long was I out?" Lena tried to sit up, but her head was spinning.

"Half a day, I think," Fenris estimated.

Lena looked at two bottles of living blood in her pack. It might be enough to boost her regeneration once her vampirism was cleared, but she would require proper food and a lot of sleep, neither of which she could get until they returned home. It would not restore her endurance, and the first wraith they meet would knock her out again, triggering her vampirism and leaving her in exactly the same predicament.

Fenris sat watching her. His features were gaunt, but for a regular vampire going hungry for three or four days was in no way life threatening. He was a little weaker than when they just started, but he could go on for weeks before any serious exhaustion set in - Lena remembered it from her own experience. He could continue for months without feeding, and not die. She couldn't. She took bottled blood out of her pack and put it in front of Fenris.

"Drink it first."

"Make me." Fenris looked at her with a challenge.

"What?" Lena sat up, steadying herself, and looked straight at Fenris. "What?" She repeated in a firmer tone.

"I won't drink it," Fenris shook his head. "Make me."

"What are you asking me to do?" Lena was confused. Should she have understood it? Perhaps she was still dizzy and misheard Fenris somehow.

He didn't answer, just sat there, looking at Lena with defiance. He, who just offered her his blood. Repeatedly. Insisted that she'd take it. He was now looking at her with defiance. He, her slave.

"Do it, he is waiting!" A voice spoke in Lena's head. "He knows what must be done."

"Molag Bal?" Lena thought she recognised the voice. "You again!"

"Of course, and I never left. I shall yet have you for my own, Dragonborn. I do not fear Sithis."

"It's not Sithis you need to worry about," Lena replied in her thoughts. "Get out!"

"You show promise," Molag Bal smirked. "You need to do the same with your slave as what you are trying to do with me - dominate."

May be this was what Fenris was expecting. He'd been a slave of Rowley Eardwulf for some two hundred years, he could not get used to not being treated as a slave. Was that it? Or was he serving Molag Bal by enticing Lena to dominate him? Serving Molag Bal in exchange for what?

"Did you ask Molag Bal to make you a pure-blood?" Lena spoke sternly and coldly. Fenris shivered.

"No, I did not," he shook his head, but didn't elaborate. Perhaps that wasn't it.

"Continue and you might earn my mace still," she heard the voice of Molag Bal again.

Lena got up and put away the bottle of blood that she had previously set before Fenris. She stretched and walked around, with the feeling returning to her limbs and warmth returning to her body. She uncorked the last bottle of Tamika West Weald and drank it, filling herself with vigour. It would not last, she knew it, but she didn't need it for long. If domination was what Molag Bal wanted, he was going to be disappointed.

Fenris was still kneeling before the fire in meditation position when Lena came up behind him. She was quiet, but of course he heard her, but didn't move, still looking into the fire, his hands on his lap. She knelt behind him and kissed his neck. Fenris jerked, then froze. Lena's breath was warm, much warmer than Fenris' body, and it made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck as Lena kept circling around him, kissing his neck left and right, rubbing her cheek against it, but not touching him otherwise and not looking into his face.

After a while, it wasn't just Fenris' neck that started to glow under his dark Dunmer skin, but also his cheeks felt warmer, Lena noticed. "It's too bad you can't see him blush with this skin colour," she giggled to herself. Yet, he still sat motionless before the fire. "Time for phase two," decided Lena.

Keeping her hands behind her back and still kneeling behind Fenris, she lifted herself up a bit, twisted, and brushed her glowing cheek against his ear. Gently and slowly. Left, right. Again. And again. Kiss his neck. Brush against his ear. Let hot breath run down his cheek. "Oh look, the Dunmer do have tiny hairs on their faces," she noted to herself. "Now I'm getting somewhere!" Fenris' face was glowing.

He spun around and kissed her, locking her in an embrace and pressing her to his chest, which was now heaving with heavy heartbeat. Quite unusual, for an undead. But then, he wasn't a lich, he was a vampire.

"Drink my blood because I want you to," he whispered into her ear, covering her face with kisses. He gently pushed her onto the floor and was now on top of her. The warmth of her body made his body respond... "What are you doing?" He whispered. "Just because I'm your slave, it doesn't mean I'm..." He moaned, rolling over onto his back, as Lena's touch finished his phrase for him.

"I know," Lena kissed him. "I'm glad it worked." She bit his neck without domination.

...

Semen and blood covered the Ayleid floor. The blood was dark, undead. Lena was sitting by the fire eating cheese and grapes that were somehow well preserved in the chill of the ruin. Fenris was trying to clean the floor, then just threw a cloth over it, giving up.

"I haven't experienced this in a very long time," he smiled at Lena, sitting down at her feet. "With Rowley, it was always the opposite," he shuddered. "I bless the stars that made him sell me to you." He looked at Lena fondly. "My Mistress. But why did you do it? You could have just tied me up and drank my blood - I would not have resisted much."

"No," Lena shook her head. "Domination is not my way. Not usually, anyway," she winked at him. "Why did you suddenly start to resist? You've been offering me your blood for days already! Then this defiance. I was confused."

"But you have to dominate me, I am your slave," it was Fenris' turn to be confused. "Not entice and arouse me as you did..." he blushed. Yes, you could see it under the Dunmer skin, even on vampires. "I resisted as long as I could. Pain is far easier to endure than a promise of pleasure." He sat looking into the fire for a while. "If Lucien Lachance decides to kill me now, I won't mind."

"Lucien won't kill you," Lena was finishing the cheese. "Because actually nothing happened."

"What? But I..." Fenris pointed at the puddles on the floor.

"Yeah, on the floor," Lena nodded. "Exactly. I wasn't even naked."

Fenris smirked at that. "It wasn't necessary. I've seen you the other day. I've felt you now. I put it together, and there is the result. Do you mean to say you won't tell your husband about it?" He looked at Lena with hope in his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know. I might do if it comes up," she answered, and Fenris shuddered. "I drank your blood!" She exclaimed. "We are not exactly strangers. It wasn't an anonymous feeding, and you are not a thrall."

...

"How are you feeling?" Fenris was looking at Lena intently, trying to judge what the results of her drinking his blood while relapsed could have been. "You look better - did I provide nourishment?"

"You did," Lena smiled. "Thank you. But also something else... I feel different somehow." Lena got up and walked around, as if testing her body. "It feels... familiar. I suppose we'll find out once I drink living blood again - whether my vampirism is still recessive."

"You will need more blood," Fenris looked at her and grinned. "I never want to leave this labyrinth."

20 Sun's Dusk, 4E202 - Arrival

"Come on, Nord, this ain't Skyrim!" A guard kicked Hauk in the shins trying to wake him up.

"Whaaa--" Hauk groaned, turning sleepily and trying to ignore the guard.

"Up, I said - up! You useless piece of..."

Thud. The guard's head hit an awkwardly placed crate, putting an end to his swearing. Hauk turned over and continued snoring.

"Now you've done it!" A fellow passenger on the prison ship was going through the dead guard's pockets, trying not to disturb the Nord. "Wait until they discover this! I better make sure it's clear I had nothing to do with it!" He snuck up to Hauk and carefully clipped the guard's dagger onto Hauk's belt. "There... should there ever be any doubt... Ouch!"

"You didn't really want to do that, did you?" Hauk pinned the prisoner against the wall, squeezing his throat. "I wonder if anyone would be bothered by an extra corpse?"

The prisoner was making strange gurgling noises.

"What's that?" Hauk looked concerned. "You are not making a lot of sense, pal. You do know why they had me sedated, don't you?"

The prisoner seemed to be nodding and making more desperate gurgling noises.

"But I suppose I could use the dagger," Hauk turned it over in his hand. "Imperial steel ain't bad. All right then..." He released his grip and the prisoner dropped to the ground, still making gurgling noises and now bracing his throat.

Hauk lay down on his cot and resumed snoring.

The guard Captain was passing by, saw the dead guard, noticed the bloodied crate corner, the sleeping Nord and the cowering Dunmer looking terrified and clutching his throat... "I did tell him to go gently," the Captain muttered, prodding the guard with his boot. "What an idiot." Then, turning to the Dunmer he added: "All Imperial property must be accounted for, and everything this guard possesses, is Imperial property. Including his side arm." Then, noticing an incredulous look on the Dunmer's face, he clarified: "His dagger!" The Captain turned away and walked off, smirking to himself at the stifled swearing of the Dunmer.

He walked to the end of the ship and unlocked the last door with his key. The storage room was filled with crates and chests with Imperial seals. He picked one up, hoisting it on his shoulder with a swear - the chest was heavy. Locking the door again, the Guard Captain carried the chest to Hauk's cabin, pushing the dead guard out of the way and glaring at the Dunmer prisoner who was trying to pretend not to exist.

"C'mon, Hauk, we're nearly there," the Captain patted Hauk's shins.

"Hullo, Julius, here's your man's dagger," Hauk passed the dagger to the Captain. "Did you not teach him the code?"

"I did," the Captain nodded. "But he didn't believe me. Idiot. Here are your things. You better get ready, the ship will dock soon."

The Captain left and Hauk opened the chest, shooting a glance at the Dunmer.

"This isn't happening and you never saw the Captain here," he said slowly. "I am a prisoner like any other and they sedated me due to my violent nature. Got it?" His eyes weren't leaving the Dunmer, who was nodding vigorously, still clutching his throat. "All right then..." Hauk started rummaging in the chest, removing bits of steel armour and laying them out on his cot. "Everything seems to be here..." He muttered to himself, starting to strap the armour on. His robes were on the bottom of the chest, he rolled them up in a bundle and tucked it into his belt. An assortment of knives and daggers got distributed into specially made sockets on his otherwise ordinary looking steel cuirass, greaves and boots. There were no gauntlets, shield or helmet - Hauk was a battlemage. He was nearly ready when the Captain brought him his claymore.

"Your blade," he said, passing it to Hauk with a smile. "Ebony core, silver plated - right? We don't see them often. Imperial Battlemages use plainer weapons, not like you Specialists."

"Imperial Battlemages don't normally fight the undead," Hauk pointed out. "Not every smith can forge a blade like this." He strapped it to his back and turned to the Dunmer prisoner. "Remember - violent nature. I slept the whole time. You saw nothing."

The ship jerked as it docked and Hauk turned to leave, accompanied by the Captain. The prisoner craned his neck trying to see and mostly to hear without being seen.

"Good luck to you, Animal," the Captain waved goodbye to Hauk.

"Optio!" The guard on the shore snapped to attention.

"At ease," Hauk grinned, walking towards the offices.

"Optio?" The prisoner sat back on his bench. "Animal?" He was trying to put together what he'd heard. "No, it can't be!" He swallowed hard. "I saw nothing at all."

...

"Your 'Release Order'," the clerk in the first office slid a piece of paper towards Hauk. "Nonsense of course, but formalities must be maintained. Go see Gravius in the next room."

Hauk nodded, taking the paper and moving on. Best get it over with.

"Ah, there you are," Gravius took Hauk's papers. "Let me just file those. Here, your 'allowance' and a package for Caius in Balmora. Formalities. Where would we be without them." He yawned, and Hauk thought that the Captain was just as eager to get it over with as Hauk himself. It was 2:30 in the morning.

"Did you have to stay up waiting for me?" He asked.

"Yeah, they made sure... Three separate messengers brought me that order! Three!" He glared at Hauk, then glared at the guard by the door who cringed. "Anyone could have given this stuff to you, right? So why me?" He glared some more.

"You know my face, Gravius, the others don't. Perhaps they wanted to make sure there was no mistake. I wasn't the only prisoner on that ship, you know," Hauk remarked.

"Yeah, but I trust Julius didn't let anyone else off the ship here?" The Captain looked worried for a moment, undoubtedly not looking forward to handling any more released prisoners at that time of night.

"No, it's just me," Hauk reassured him. "There was a Dunmer sharing a cabin with me though, he might have seen a bit too much. But I think he won't tell, not after he heard what they call me," he smirked. "It's been a while, but Morrowind seems to remember."

"Morrowind remembers," Gravius nodded. "And not just the Animal. Your other 'title' too."

"Pursuing love interests is beneficial in more than one respect," Hauk objected. "It gets you access to families where you wouldn't dream of getting access to otherwise, not as an adventurer and certainly not as an Imperial Legionnaire."

"But even so, the Telvanni? By Talos, Hauk, you may be a mage, but you're no match for one of them!"

"And I wasn't there to fight," Hauk grinned. "Besides, it was the lady's idea. How was I to know she was a virgin?" He laughed as Gravius's jaw dropped and the guard by the door giggled. "She wasn't of the first youth, you know."

"Get out of here, Thief of Virtue," Gravius laughed, waving him away. "Seyda Neen is but a humble settlement, we are not used to the likes of you."

Hauk smirked, muttering: "That I very much doubt," then left the building.

In the courtyard he found a barrel, and hoping to get a torch, went through it. A basket, a ladle and a candle was inside, but no torch. "Yeah, a humble settlement, all right," Hauk smirked. "Oh, but what's this?" An enchanted and engraved ring was on the bottom. "Confiscated from someone for 'safe keeping', no doubt," he decided, pocketing it. Morrowind hadn't changed at all.

...

"Did you find a ring in there?" A Bosmer ambushed Hauk just as he emerged out of the main door of the offices. "An engraved enchanted ring? A family heirloom, you know! The guards confiscated it, I swear!" He was about to burst into tears.

"Here, I found it in the courtyard," Hauk handed him over the ring. "Don't annoy the guards quite so much next time." He brushed off the Bosmer's profuse thanks and looked around. It was nearly dawn. "Hang around here until the first light, then set off to Balmora," he decided.

If we go there. So far none of mine have been to Shivering Isles yet! But that's what it is. I read what SI is like through the words of others over the years. Kinda nice knowing there's this whole other worldspace none of mine have gone to, yet.

Up to Page 5, post 94. She just got back from S.I. Hauk is reading. I can just imagine for these folks of ours who go on large adventures all over their world, that reading a book has a whole different meaning than it does for us earthlings.

Love the end part when she cuddles up next to Hauk. That's really nice.

23 Sun's Dusk, 4E202 - Settling in

"So, how is it that it took you three days to walk from Seyda Neen to Balmora?" Caius Cosades looked stern. "How many ladies did you bed along the way? Could they not wait?" He glared at Hauk.

"None, and that's the truth, Master," Hauk stood at attention. "I did run into some, but it wasn't me who bedded them."

"For once," Caius softened his tone. "Anyway, you're here now. I suppose it's too late to tell you to keep your nose clean as your reputation has preceded you already. Everyone knows you're in town! And the Dunmer have long memories." He opened the package delivered by Hauk, skimmed through the contents of the scrolls contained in it, nodding. "Yeah, no surprises here, I knew that already." He tossed the scrolls into a corner. "Elsweyr. Someone saw you go to that fort near Corinthe - that was my agent, he sent his report. But you kept your nose clean there, I'll give you that."

"Sir." Hauk was still standing to attention.

"At ease," Caius waved at him. "So you know who I am, good. Do you also know why you are here? No? Also good. I hear you requested this transfer. What is your ulterior motive?"

There wasn't much you could hide from the Spy Master, and Hauk wasn't surprised by the question. It didn't take a genius to realise that no man in his right mind would request a transfer from Cyrodiil to Morrowind, not then and not ever. Or at least this was the Spy Master's opinion, even though he himself seemed quite comfortable in Balmora. But perhaps looks were deceiving.

"I need to find two people in Morrowind," Hauk replied. "This has nothing to do with the Legion, but it does touch on our allies," he gave Caius a meaningful look. "Our long standing allies who prefer to remain in the background."

"I see," Caius nodded. "I had word... that matches what you are saying. The Mother does not object. But what do you intend to do with those people when you find them?" Caius' gaze was penetrating.

"Nothing," Hauk shook his head. "The Redguard I only need to locate and put a trace on, nothing else. Preferably so that she doesn't notice, but of course the Webspinner will know. The Dunmer I shall warn about the Redguard and... well... may be add a personal message, I think it is time for him to resurface in his son's life. That is all."

"Good," Caius nodded. "This won't interfere with anything, because I shall have duties for you, make no mistake. But what of your other project?" He smiled slyly. There wasn't anything you could hide from the Spy Master.

"My project?" Hauk raised an eyebrow.

"Solstheim."

"Oh..." Hauk's gaze shifted. "When the Moons turn to blood, I'll have to go there. The Hunt will be on. There's someone I need to follow, watch over. He will be on the other side, but he's a Prime. He must not die."

"Interesting," Caius mused. "The Moons aren't crimson yet, but it isn't that far off. Very interesting..." He got up, walked to a bookshelf, browsed through some books and scrolls, read this and that, all in silence. Then he returned to his seat. "Fort Frostmoth will lose its Captain at just about that time, you will go and assist them," he said, looking straight at Hauk. "I shall tell you when to leave so you won't miss the party."

Hauk raised an eyebrow at this unexpected turn of events, but didn't say anything. There was no point in asking the Spy Master how he knew what was going to happen in the future. The Spy Master knew everything. "Yes, Sir," was all he could say.

"Very well," Caius rose from his seat, and Hauk did the same. "Get settled in here in Balmora, this will be your base of operations. Join the Guilds - the Mages and Fighters Guild at least, I am not fussed about the Thieves Guild, although I don't imagine it would suit you. I don't need to tell you to stay away from Morag Tong for now, do I?" He was watching Hauk's reaction. "Good. The Temple, the Imperial Cult, the Great Houses - do what you like, you're not a Novice. Pay a visit to Fort Moonmoth near here - they could use your skills. Come back in a few days, I'll have a job for you then. Dismissed."

...

"Well, the Spy Master certainly lives up to his reputation," Hauk was musing as he left Caius' apartment. "And yeah, that skooma... that wasn't just skooma," he recalled what the Healer had told him in that fort near Corinthe - that Caius Cosades' "skooma" was something altogether different and was the very thing that allowed this Imperial to remain the Spy Master for the last two and a half centuries, at least. Although going by the smell, skooma was still a part of it. "Whatever works," concluded Hauk, standing in the central square of Balmora and deciding where to go next.

...

"But you are in Morrowind now, so you will have to re-join the Mages Guild afresh, Evoker," a Dunmer of authority told Hauk at the Mages Guild. "Take an oath and all that. You will not use your Cyrodilic rank and will start at the bottom," she glared at him. "We make no exceptions!"

Hauk sighed, but had no choice but to accept.

"Excellent, you are now a member of the Balmora Mages Guild, Associate," the Dunmer savored the sound of that title. "Find someone to give you duties. You must perform duties to advance." She gave him a toothy smile that didn't look friendly and marched off.

...

"You want to join the Fighters Guild? Of course you do!"

That was easy enough. The Fighters Guild accepted anyone, it seemed. Perhaps the rumours of their connection to Camona Tong were true, after all.

...

"Want to join House Hlaalu?" A Dunmer batted her eyelids at Hauk, and he had to steady himself. Those sanguine eyes always got him going. "We accept outlanders. In particular Nords. I personally prefer Nords..."

She took a few steps forward. Hauk took a step back. This was too soon. Too aggressive. Too obvious. Something was wrong.

"Perhaps later," he stammered - the lady did have an effect on him, although he managed to stay in control for now. He turned around and walked off, his face red, sweat running down his neck. Ouch, that was close. He needed a place to stay, preferably with a bath tub.

...

"Where to stay?" A Khajiit passer by flicked her ears in surprise. "Oh, you're new here, aren't you?" She looked him over, up and down. "You'll do, I suppose. We could put you up at the South Wall, for free. You'll just have to work it off." She smiled.

"Doing what?" Hauk went red and broke a sweat. It was a good act, he actually had an idea what his duties would be, and that they wouldn't involve staying in bed, but he wanted the Khajiit to spell it out for him.

"Well, not what you are thinking, although if you really want to, I'm sure we could work something out," she grinned. "No, you'll just need to retrieve a few things now and again." She gave him another toothy grin. "Interested?"

"Umm... Let me come back to you on that," Hauk stammered evasively. He was sure he would cross paths with the Thieves Guild at some point, and although he had no intention of joining, he didn't want to alienate them either. This Khajiit seemed important.

"Find us at the South Wall then," she nodded. "When you run out of money paying for each of the eight plates."

That was a good point. The Eight Plates was a nice inn, but at ten drakes a night, Hauk couldn't really afford it. The Guilds had no accommodations for him either - "All the beds are taken, but you can use them during the day, if you like," he was told. He had no intention of sleeping in the Temple either. He walked around Balmora rather aimlessly looking at the buildings around him, grey and dreary in the incessant rain.

"Hopefully this will look better when the sun comes out," he thought. He was missing Cyrodiil already, and it wasn't just the buildings. "Go away as far as you can and never come back," was the common greeting here, and although Hauk remembered the attitude from his previous visits, it was still jarring, all over again. "It's either that, or they drag you into bed like some some sort of a male prostitute," he muttered to himself. "Or both." Nords had a reputation... Vigour, stamina, it was all true, but was that reason enough to ignore all else? "To some, perhaps," he nodded to his own question. After all, this very attitude served him well in the past. Of course, he was younger then. But even now, at just over fifty, he was obviously still alluring, in spite of his hair turning silver here and there. "And some remember me from before," he grinned at a passing Dunmer woman who suppressed a smile of recognition. She looked exactly the same as twenty years ago, while Hauk... "Well, no point dwelling on it," he cut himself off. Elven longevity was not given to him, but he wasn't an old man yet either, so he brushed off those thoughts and focused on a more pressing business of finding some lodgings. If Balmora was to be his base of operations, as Caius had put it, he had to find a place to stay that didn't cost him ten drakes a night and didn't have "friends" sharing the room with him. In a word, he needed a place of his own.

At the North end of the Eastern terrace he stumbled on what looked like an abandoned market stall trading in everything and anything, especially if it started with "sk", he suspected. Or at least "sk" would be something the owner of the stall would buy on the proceeds of the trade. The house by the stall was locked, requiring a key. There was no one around, although the guards kept a sharp eye on Hauk - even though the stall seemed abandoned, they wouldn't let anyone - and especially not an outlander - touch any of the items on it.

Hauk thought the house looked promising. He scaled the hill between the city wall and the house and climbed onto the roof terrace.


Skooma pipes and other paraphernalia confirmed Hauk's suspicion of the occupants of the house. Still, it all looked a bit weathered and abandoned. A note on the table explained what might have happened - the recipient was to meet someone "in the usual place", to come alone and not to bring any of his addict friends... or else. Hauk feared that "else" was what happened. The key to the house was right there in a little box as well, so Hauk decided to check inside.

It was a typical drug dealer's abode, simply furnished but containing considerable amounts of money and some valuables. There was no sign of drug use inside, the "addict friends" must have kept to the terrace. "Change the locks and ask around about the owner," Hauk thought. "Otherwise I've found my house." He assumed that since the house hadn't been ransacked by the authors of the note, they weren't interested in ransacking it. Still, he decided to stay away from the goods or the money.

Another stroll through town got him beginner's duties with the Guilds, and a reliable-looking Orc agreed to change the locks on his newly acquired house.

"I'm a commoner, I do what needs doing, cooking, cleaning, making, breaking, you name it," he said, grinning. "Changing the locks too, and I don't even keep a copy of the key. He who used to live here, won't be missed."

Thus reassured, Hauk locked the doors, slid a dagger or two inside the pillow case and stretched out on the hammock. It's been a long day.

1 Evening Star, 4E202 - Establishing a cover story

"Establish a cover story, no one should be left wondering what you are doing in Morrowind," Caius Cosades told Hauk during the briefing. "A freelance adventurer cover always works, although since everyone already knows you're with the Legion, you might as well join up officially. Gnisis accepts new recruits, I hear." He smirked at his own joke, looking at Hauk's professional gear. "With that Cyrodilic kit you'll stick out as a sore thumb," he continued. "Yeah, yeah, I know, this armour actually fits... Fine. Keep it. Work on your skills then - presentation is everything."

Hauk was about to object that he was a seasoned battlemage already, but the sore bruises all over his body reminded him to be humble.

"Many creatures here are unfamiliar to me," he replied. "Many weapons wielded by men and mer also. It's been a long time since my last visit, Master."

"Long enough for you to forget that mating kaguti are best left alone!" Caius laughed. "Yeah, I've heard that story. Hard not to. 'Some mad Nord went against a pair of mating kaguti and got thoroughly thrashed!' It's all over town now, if not all over Morrowind."

"But I got both of them in the end," Hauk objected. "Although it wasn't easy."

"To say the least!" Caius laughed again. "Never mind though - Nords are known to rely on their brawn first and their brain second, if at all." Hauk was about to object, but the Spy Master interrupted him. "I don't mean you, even though engaging a pair of mating kaguti was outright stupid, if you ask me. But the brainless Nord stereotype is an excellent cover." Hauk nodded.

"I've got a few other jobs lined up, I'll see that this stereotype is maintained," he grinned. "I don't mind getting knocked out."

"All right, and while you are at it--" Caius handed him a scroll. "Fill that in, will you?" He waited for Hauk to unroll the scroll and stare at the blank surface. "The Cartographers Guild - you know their tricks! Of course there are maps of Morrowind around, but they want an up-to-date one with all the roads on it. In fact, they just want the roads, they'll fill in the surrounding scenery themselves. So, you're a mage - fill that in." Caius looked at Hauk expectantly.

"Is this some sort of a test?" Hauk squinted at him. Morrowind was not like Elsweyr, there was just the one version of it, as far as he knew, and all the various maps actually agreed with each other. So what was this then? Unless... "You want to know where I've been," it dawned on Hauk. "And not just the landmarks as they could be copied."

Caius smiled. "Yes, but there's more to it. Morrowind keeps changing, the eruption of the Red Mountain keeps having an effect. Areas that have been declared 'obliterated' are far from obliterated in fact, and although some caves and barrows got covered in ash, others again emerged. The Blight is back too, and Corprus, and we don't know what that means. Are we to expect another Nerevarine? That seems unlikely, although Vivec is presiding over his City again... Yeah... Don't ask! We too thought that the Temple was well and truly dead. But may be not completely. Talos alone may know what's going on..." Caius stared into the distance, reliving the events of the Third Era and wondering whether they were to come to pass again. At least this time he would know what to expect. "So you, and all the other agents, are under strict orders to make notes of anything and everything, places, roads, conversations - we don't want to miss any warnings this time. Nerevarine or not, but something big is coming."

"What about the Dragonborn?" Hauk thought it might be a complication.

"What about her?" Caius raised an eyebrow.

"Her... You know who it is?" Hauk looked up in surprise, and Caius nodded. Of course he knew it. "So then... Alduin is back in Skyrim, Dagoth Ur is rising in Morrowind, all we need now is to have Mehrunes Dagon join the party in Cyrodiil..."

"With the Greymarsh on in the Shivering Isles and the Great Hunt soon to come to Solstheim, yes," Caius nodded. "Shattering the Amulet of Kings was a bad idea."

...

"Ajira must study local mushrooms for her Journeyman report," a Khajiit at the Balmora Mages Guild looked Hauk over. "Associate will bring her these mushrooms."

Hauk wondered whether gathering those mushrooms wasn't a part of the job. After all, a Journeyman of the Mages Guild should be able to defend herself from some wild life, no?


"And this is why," Hauk thought to himself standing waist deep in a swamp. "Yeah."

After the mushrooms it was the flowers, then put a fake soul gem into the desk of another Journeyman hopeful, then find Ajira's mushroom and flower reports stolen by said other Journeyman hopeful... Delightful. But it did get Hauk promoted from an Associate to Evoker in a little over a day, at which point Ajira told him that she would only have tasks for him once he reached Wizard, and not before.

"Excuse me, but this mage is not even a Journeyman yet! How can she have tasks for a Wizard?" Shaking his head, Hauk went next door to the Fighters Guild to see if they made any more sense. The first job was rats - he expected that. No one wanted to deal with rats, so it was always the newcomers who got those jobs. The next job was to murder two people... "But this isn't Morag Tong, is it?" He almost asked, but the Steward looked very stern. "I am your Steward and I'm giving you a job to do, so go to it!" Yeah, Nord women were not to be trifled with.

Egg poachers murdered, he returned to the Fighters Guild. The next job was to murder four "Telvanni agents" near the Caldera ebony mine. They were all Thieves Guild, but this wasn't a Thieves Guild job, so they had no protection and were fair game. The Steward went on and on about them being with the Thieves Guild... Hauk thought that rather strange. But after another stern look from her, he went to it.

With the four "Telvanni agents" taken care of - "Thieves Guild agents more like," Hauk thought - he decided to spend the night in Caldera and stopped by the Mages Guild. No, they had no beds available either, but one smart looking Dunmer enlisted Hauk's help in retrieving propylon indexes. Hauk had heard of those ancient magical devices, so was glad to help.

"I know of ten such indexes," the mage explained. "I'll tell you where to find the first, and when you've got that and bring it here, I'll tell you where to find the second. And no, not before. The first one is at our pawnbroker's next door. Go get it."

This was too easy. Why didn't this mage go and get it all by himself? It didn't even require standing waist deep in swamp water! But it was late and Hauk left it for tomorrow.

In the morning he found out why the mage didn't do it himself: the price. The pawnbroker had it for sale for 826 septims. Hauk shook his head again and left - the mage would have to find someone else willing to "retrieve" this from the shop. If Hauk was expected to steal it, he was in the wrong guild.

...

"Where is this Khajiit going to?" Hauk noticed a well-dressed Khajiit, possibly a mage, taking the road North West from Caldera. "Oh, probably going shopping at the Hlaalu Commercial Post," he reasoned. But no, the Khajiit turned West - into the swamps. Hauk got naturally curious and decided to follow.

...

"Hello, friend," someone greeted him from the bushes. "Chilly today, isn't it?"

Oh no! Out of the bushes stepped a naked Nord. Well, nearly naked. Young, well-built, somewhat dazed, Hauk figured out what happened.

"A witch, was it?" Hauk squinted at him, before he could even say anything.

"How did you know?" Hlormar blinked at him. "But, err, yes."

"I've been young once," Hauk smirked. "I know how it goes. So, what's the damage?"

"My axe! She's got my axe!" Hlormar was both tearful and angry - the worst combination.

"All right, come along then," Hauk nodded. "Which way?"

"Umm... Err... Ugh... That way... I think?"

Right. The Khajiit was of course long gone into the swamps and Hauk couldn't hope to find him again this time, so he headed North West, as Hlormar indicated. They walked for a while, had some fun with nix-hounds, rats and even cliffracers, but no witches. Except one.

"Oh hello!" A friendly young Redguard stopped them on the road. "Could you escort me to Gnaar Mok, please? I'll reward you! With enchanted boots!"

Hauk looked at Hlormar but he shook his head - the wrong witch.

"And what's in Gnaar Mok?" Hauk gave her a broad smile.

"Well..." She smiled again and licked her lips. "I have an... err... arrangement... with a... client... yeah, that's it!" She concluded radiantly. "And I... ugh... need to deliver some goods... but... ugh... the roads are so dangerous these days!" She turned to Hlormar and smiled at him too, but Hlormar glared angrily and she quickly turned back to Hauk.

"Well, you see, Miss," Hauk put on his most charming smile. "Ordinarily I would be thrilled to escort you to Gnaar Mok or anywhere else, but today... well... my friend and I are rather busy just now and we are going in the opposite direction." Hlormar nodded vigorously. "So I'm so sorry, but could I may be come back later?"

"There is no later!" The Redguard got angry. "It's take it or leave it! And you left it!" She pouted her lips. "Well then, I'm sure I can find a real knight here somewhere to escort me to Gnaar Mok!" She turned around and stomped off.

"I'm not sure real knights go to Gnaar Mok," Hauk smirked to himself.

...

After a few more hours wandering through the hills, he and Hlormar noticed another woman on the road.

"That's it!" Hlormar was pointing at her excitedly. "That's the witch!"

The witch had no intention of returning Hlormar's kit, but was willing to meet them at the Mages Guild in Caldera in three days.

"I'm not waiting three days!" Hauk didn't even try to convince Hlormar to wait as it was clearly pointless. The witch turned violent, proving in fact to be a witch, but Hlormar landed a few punches on her and all was finished before it even began. Hauk's scamp stood there polishing his claws for the want of something to do.

"These clothes cannot be used any more," Hlormar commented on the rags he found in the witch's pack. "Were they that bad to start with?" He shook his head. "Perhaps I should be getting new ones more often." He discarded the clothes and retrieved his axe. "Here is the important bit anyway," he grinned. "Clothes can be replaced, this axe - can't. May the wind be on your back, friend!" He waved goodbye to Hauk and disappeared into the hills.

"Yeah, at your age I didn't need clothes either," he smirked to himself.

...

The sun was setting and Hauk decided to go West to Gnaar Mok and see what the place was like, since both the young Redguard woman and the well-dressed Khajiit were going that way, it appeared. But he ran out of dry road very soon. Here was a road sign pointing left, but there was no road to be seen, all Hauk saw was the swamp.


"It says go West," he shook his head. "Well, all right - I see no road, but how hard can it be?" And remembering the well-dressed Khajiit, he went West towards the setting sun.

Gnaar Mok wasn't very far away, it turned out, and if you looked closely, you could in fact spot some remains of a road on the ground, although grass had covered most of it already. Hauk was glad to find quite a sizable town there, even though it was surrounded by swamps on all sides. The town had a tavern which didn't rent beds, and if you were with House Hlaalu or with the Guild, you might be entitled to services. They didn't even specify which Guild it was... Hauk was with two Guilds, but neither was the right one. He sighed and asked whether someone without an affiliation could possibly find a place to sleep there? "Yeah, sure, some of the huts are not in use," was the reply. "Knock on some doors, look around, if you don't see anyone, you can sleep there." Hauk thought that rather unusual, but apparently people came and went quite a lot in those parts, so it was perfectly normal. "It's not like you are going to find any treasures in those huts!" Several people laughed at that.

Hauk did as was suggested, and sure enough he soon found a hut that was definitely without an occupier. A note left on the bench read:

Schoash, you are an idiot! Leave immediately, never to return. Or it will be your head sticking out of the swamp - without the body! They are not joking. Leave your stuff behind, no one will touch your shack now.

Signed - A friend.

"Well, Schoash, I thank you heartily," Hauk left the note on the bench. "You just provided me with a place to stay."

He took off his armour and stretched, looking around with satisfaction. The hut was plain, but it had everything he needed, and most of all, it had privacy. Hauk took out his journal and started taking notes. "I'm not sure Caius will find anything useful in today's events," he mused, "but at least he'll chuckle at Hlormar."

Page 5 Post 97-- Neat how Lena's in contact with Fenris, who is still living the vampiric life. Why is he calling her mistress?

98 -- I really love that cell phone pic at the start. I used to take a lot of cell pics too. I kind of miss them, because sometimes they have a slightly-blurry quality which PC screenshots can't capture. The lighting is different. I dunno... cell pics can be a different artisitic style, which is just as good as screenshots, imo.

Whoa... "in a few minutes the skin would start to burn..."

99-- Now they're in Bloodcrust Cavern, but not being attacked. Did you align Lena with other factions? Just curious. I know you are good with going back and forth from Xbox to PC to Xbox. I don't think these pics were taken on PC.

Pretty neat how she's taking Fenris into an underground place where he's safer. Rowley seems like a meanie, keeping Fenris as a slave.

Exactly. Rowley sold Fenris to Lena when the Empire started cracking down on slave trade. And although Lena doesn't want Fenris to be a slave, he doesn't know any better... She wants to make him into a free person, but to him, she's his Mistress. Kind of sad, really. This is also why he's kneeling before her all the time.

In the actual Vile Lair DLC Fenris is a nameless "Dark Minion". He lives in the lair and can be sent out to... err... plunder. Makes no sense at all! So I changed that and made him into a follower. And to make him a slave - that comes from Macole's story, actually! I liked it and put it into my story as well. Rowley was a mean fellow anyway.

The Bloodcrust Cavern - that was simple. I put those vampires into the PlayerFaction, since they were special NPCs and not just generic vampires. Turn down their aggression, and there you are!

I see, wow, so Fenris really is supposed to be her property.

Every time I read some I am Lena Wolf btw, it makes me want to play Oblivion!

Yeah, that's why everyone is getting so stern with her about Fenris. Slavery had been long outlawed in Cyrodiil! So what is she doing here owning a slave?!

Rowley didn't tell her he was selling her a slave. He said he'd arrange for a servant to tend to the Deepscorn Hollow. But this "servant" knew otherwise...


Oh thanks! That's nice!

5 Evening Star, 4E202 - Finding your way

"I don't seem to be able to summon the creatures I used to summon in Cyrodiil," Hauk was saying to Estirdalin at the Mages Guild in Balmora. "While at the same time I am able to summon someone's Ancestral Ghost. Very odd."

"Yes, magic doesn't quite work in the same way here," Estirdalin nodded. "Personally I think it's the proximity to the Red Mountain. You need to update your spell knowledge - you know, get the local summons or tweak your existing ones. I can recommend Skeletal Minions and Bonewalkers - they are like Skeletons and Zombies in Cyrodiil, and come in different grades, too." She summoned a Skeletal Minion to demonstrate. It stood there looking around, and Hauk thought that it was in fact exactly the same as the skeletons in Cyrodiil. Or Skyrim. Or Elsweyr. Or even Antaloor. Stripped of their flesh, men and mer were the same everywhere, it seemed. "It is interesting about the Ancestral Ghost though," Estirdalin continued. "Are you sure you have no Dunmer ancestors?" She squinted at Hauk, but it didn't make him look any more Dunmer.

"Pretty sure," Hauk nodded. "I was born in Cyrodiil of course, as were my parents, but they've always kept to the ways of the Nords, and there are Serck-Hanssens in Skyrim."

"Which proves exactly nothing," Estirdalin smiled. "Summon your Ancestral Ghost and we'll see."

Hauk took a deep breath and summoned the Ancestral Ghost. That spell took almost all of his magicka - the Nords didn't have quite as deep magicka reserves as the elves or Bretons, for example. But then again, his willpower made up for that, he always reckoned.

The Ancestral Ghost was hovering before him, it turned around, surveying the room, probed Estirdalin and turned back to Hauk.

"This isn't just someone's Ancestral Ghost, this is your Ancestral Ghost," Estirdalin was watching with fascination. "A very old one, really ancient. You have deep roots in Morrowind, possibly going much deeper than your clan memory. How many generations of Serck-Hanssens do you actually know about?" She squinted at Hauk again and he shrugged.

"Three, four, may be," he mused. "Family lines get blurred after that."

"And therein lies your answer," Estirdalin concluded with satisfaction. "This ghost is much older than three or four generations. This is why it takes so much of your magicka to summon it, especially since you're not a Dunmer. And you were never able to summon it before?" Hauk shook his head. "That must be the Red Mountain," Estirdalin decided.

"But I've been here before," Hauk sounded uncertain. "In Morrowind, I mean. Stayed here quite a long time, some twenty years ago. Was never able to summon this ghost before."

"Yes, that is interesting," Estirdalin agreed. "Something must have changed..." She squinted at Hauk again, seeing someone different with her mind's eye, and walked off, lost in thought.

...

"Go and collect guild dues from Manwe and convince Llarar Bereloth to join us," the head of Balmora's Mages Guild told Hauk casually. "Those are your duties. Manwe defected to the Telvanni and Llarar is a Telvanni himself, so we'll have him in exchange." She smiled at Hauk - this task was simplicity itself.

"And you expect them to just agree?" Hauk thought that highly unlikely.

"If they don't, kill them," Ranis Athrys shrugged her shoulders. "You are a battlemage, aren't you?" She dismissed the topic.

"Yeah..." Hauk thought to himself. "A battlemage, but not quite with Morag Tong." He wasn't sure whether this was any better than assisting the squabble of two Journeyman hopefuls that he had to do before. "Perhaps I should pay a visit to the Telvanni first, see if someone there still remembers me," he grinned at the memory - he was sure they did. Perhaps it was time for him to join the House since the Mages Guild in Morrowind didn't live up to his expectations. But then again, may be his expectations were too Imperial.

...

"Your first round of orders is to get information from two people at the Fighters Guild and at the Mages Guild," Caius told Hauk during their next meeting. "They will undoubtedly want some 'favours' from you first. Do it - you know how it works. I want that information."

That was clear enough. Caius was not taking 'no' for an answer. "He's a tough fighter," was the word from the other Blades agents. "He's fair though and doesn't get under your feet." That was good enough for Hauk, and although he had so far no chance to see for himself just how tough a fighter Caius actually was, he could feel the toughness of his character. "Why do I feel like a novice in Lucien Lachance's Sanctuary?" He smirked to himself. The punishment from the Spy Master would likely be comparable to that from the Master Assassin.

...

Molag Mar greeted him with a sand storm. The sky went dark and red sand was blowing into his face.

"This isn't sand," Hauk realised, chewing on some of it as it got into his mouth. "This is ash. Yuck!" He spit it out. "I forgot about this bit. I should wear a scarf over my mouth." His musings were interrupted by a sharp pain under his knee, where the armoured plates did not reach. "What the..?" He swore, spinning around. It was a rat. A rat! Unbelievable. One swing of Hauk's sword should have dealt with that vermin, but it didn't. "Since when did it take five swings to kill a rat?" Hauk was checking his claymore with surprise. "And why does it feel so much heavier than usual all of a sudden?" Sheathing it behind his back, he realised that he'd broken a sweat too. In fact the sweat was still pouring off him, even though he wasn't moving... Faint blotches appeared on his hand. "Damn it!" He swore again. The Blight was really back in Morrowind, and he just got infected.

...

It was sheer madness to continue wandering through Molag Mar during an ash storm while suffering from Blight Disease, but Hauk wasn't carrying much gear and figured he'd manage. Yes, his armour now seemed to weigh a ton, and his claymore seemed to be far less effective than usual, but his magic still worked as normal, and so he pressed on, unwilling to turn back and seek a cure first. "It can wait," he reasoned. "This is not Porphyric Hemophilia, it won't progress any further." He saw a cave entrance and decided to wait out the ash storm in there.

The cave was lit with red candles and there was a strange gurgling sound emanating from deeper in. Hauk took a few steps and got attacked by some sort of a zombie. It proved no challenge for his Fire Atronach though. Several people attacked him as he progressed, but although their flesh was not decomposing as that of a zombie, their minds seemed to have gone. Their pockets were filled with ash. "Strange," Hauk thought. "What are they doing here?" He noticed that some of them had wrist irons on. "If these are slaves, then where are their masters?"

Deeper in the cave Hauk found a shrine with a strange statuette in the center. Bells were arranged in a row next to it and bundles of decomposing flesh were deposited in an ornate open sarcophagus. Another open sarcophagus had chests and sacks with valuables. Hauk made a wide bow around the rotting flesh and helped himself to the valuables - this was no holy shrine, and whichever deity was being worshiped here, did not need the money. "No real deity needs money anyway," Hauk reasoned. "And this place reeks of Dark Arts." And although he was tired after all the walking and the fighting, he didn't want to stay in that cave any longer.

Back outside the ash storm had subsided and Hauk continued his trek through Molag Mar. All lava-covered roads looked the same though, and soon he was completely lost, not helped by the fact that the map that Caius asked him to fill in, was completely blank. Pulling out a couple of commercial maps, Hauk tried to compare the roads and the landscape around him to that indicated on the maps, and concluded that he was "somewhere on Molag Mar" as everything looked the same. In particular the "road" he was standing on, was not marked on either of his commercial maps. Suddenly understanding why Caius asked him to fill in the roads as he walked them, he vowed to do it next time he found himself at an intersection that he could find on an existing map. For now however he decided to head back to Balmora, approximately South West from where he estimated to be standing.

...

The lava road still looked like a lava road and an hour later there was still no Balmora in sight. "Perhaps I was in a different spot than I thought," Hauk reasoned. The ash storm picked up again, and try as he might, he could not see beyond a few feet around him. He was desperately tired and was ready to take a nap even in another cave lit by red candles.

Suddenly he noticed a cave entrance, and entered immediately.

Yes, this was another cave lit by red candles. Knowing what to expect, Hauk summoned his Fire Atronach and fought several zombie-like creatures and people. The gurgling sound was coming from deeper in, but there was also a branch leading away from it, and that's where Hauk would rest, but first he needed to clear the rest of the cave.

Zap! Hauk went down before he could finish that thought. Fortunately, his Fire Atronach continued fighting.

Rising heavily from this knock-out, Hauk tried to spot the mage. A slender figure seemed to hover further on, surrounded by more red candles. "He isn't hovering," Hauk realised. "There's a raised platform there, and what looks like the shrine. May be he's the priest." The priest had noticed Hauk however, and shot another lighting bolt at him.

"Damn it, this one isn't like the others," Hauk thought, rising heavily from the knock-out again. He was feeling very weak, and the priest's lighting bolts were quite strong, but equally Hauk didn't think he would fare very well outdoors in the ash storm. "This is where honour conflicts with survival," he thought, summoning another Fire Atronach and casting invisibility onto himself. "Let them fight it out."

...

An hour and many knock-outs later, Hauk finally prevailed. Or rather, his Fire Atronach prevailed. Dagoth Fovon's burned up body was rolling in the ash of the cave. Of course Hauk didn't know who the priest was, but he could see it was someone important. He took the priest's ugly amulet that somehow made him feel ugly himself. "Caius would want to see this," he reasoned.

With the cave now quiet, he retreated to a section as far away from the shrine as possible, took off his armour and fell asleep, exhausted.

I like that you, in this newest episode, point out that magic doesn't work the same in different games. Important since your characters do move from game to game.

Buffy, my elf, has noticed the same thing as she moved from Oblivion to Skyrim to ESO - and has had to evolve as needed.