The Story of Trey- Chapter 13 Options

[treydog]

Chapter 13

As I made the slow trek to the Urshilaku camp, I thought about trust. Nothing in my youth had made me believe in the honor or the honesty of others. Mostly, they seemed to be interested in what they could get from you. And, with that philosophy, I had become a thief. But then, I was accepted by House Redoran and made a member of a family. Even though they expected me to perform services for them, they repaid me with loyalty and honor. And then, despite all my worries about their reactions to my role as the Nerevarine, they had continued to support me. The fact was, they trusted me- knew that I shared their code of honor. So much so that they had even sided with me against their Archmaster. And that meant that I should have trusted them to be honorable and fair, as well. Though I didn’t realize it, my musings on trust would be tested much sooner than I had anticipated.

The camp was as I had remembered it- a small cluster of tents in the Ashlands, huddled on the coast of the Sea of Ghosts. These were the people to whom I owed the most, the people whose lives had been made harsh and savage by the constant scheming of the Empire, Dagoth Ur, the Temple, even the Great Houses. If I were to see the path of prophecy to its bitter end, it would be for the Ashlanders that I did so. After greeting the Urshilaku working among the tents, I approached Nibani Maesa’s tent and asked permission to enter. The wise woman smiled to see me, overcoming her usual reserve just a bit. When she asked me, “What news, outlander,” I showed her the tokens of the Great Houses that proved that I had fulfilled the Fourth Prophecy. Then I told her of the attempt by the Temple to lure me to Vivec City, where they no doubt planned to imprison or do away with me. A strange look passed over her face at that, and then she said,

“I have thought long upon the Sixth Trial, Trey. I was blind, but Azura's star has guided me through my dreams. Vivec's high priest, Saryoni, has asked to see you when you are Hortator and Nerevarine. Go to him, and demand to speak with the false god Vivec. Vivec has tried to keep Kagrenac's Tools secret, but you will need these tools when you stand before Dagoth Ur. Get Kagrenac's Tools from Vivec. They are the keys to the riddle of the Sixth and Seventh Trials.”

Completely stunned, I could only stare at her in amazement. How could Nibani, of all people, send me to the very stronghold of our enemies? When I caught my breath, I asked her what Kagrenac’s Tools had to do with anything. She quoted a verse from the Lost Prophecy that I had brought from the Dissident Priests,

“ ‘Star-blessed hand wields thrice-cursed blade.' Gilvas Barelo has told you of Kagrenac's Tools, the enchanted devices the Tribunal use to steal power from Lorkhan's heart. One of these tools is the blade Keening. Your star-blessed hand must wield Keening. If Vivec has this blade, it is your fate to take this blade from him.”

So quickly was my new understanding of trust to be tested- one of my closest advisers counseled me to rely on the honor of one of my greatest opponents. Though my mind rebelled, my heart knew that she was right. If all Azura had wanted was my death, she would have no need to go to so much trouble. Nibani was my guide, appointed to help me find my destiny. I had no choice but to follow her guidance.
Knowing that the ultimate struggle against Dagoth Ur was growing near, I decided to scout the approaches to Red Mountain before I went to Vivec. And, in truth, I was delaying the meeting with Saryoni, for I feared imprisonment and torture above all things. Although I knew that I must go to Vivec, must suffer whatever consequences were to come, still I put it off, with the excuse that I needed to know more about Red Mountain. What I discovered was the presence of evil, but I don’t think it stemmed from Dagoth Ur, at least, not directly. Near the foyada Bani-Dad, I came upon a Velothi dome, which seemed a good place to shelter from the ash-storm which had plagued me almost from the moment I left the Urshilaku. The runes on the entrance marked the ancient dwelling as “Shishi,” a peculiar name that I wish I had never heard. As I emerged into the entry, I nearly stripped over the body of a Dunmer sprawled across the floor. A quick examination revealed her to be a Telvanni servitor, and that she had been cut down by swords. Worse yet, she was unarmed, and the wounds showed that she had been running away from her killer. As I ventured deeper into the dwelling, I found more Telvanni cut down in their tracks. Then in the lower part of the dome, I found the greatest horror of all.

A person dressed in the bonemold armor of House Redoran, my House, stood with bared sword, surveying the carnage and searching the room. When I asked what passed, she turned with a snarl and attacked me. I blocked as best I could, while shouting,

“Cease this madness, Redoran! Do you not recognize one of your own House Fathers?”

My identification of myself as a ranking member of the House only seemed to redouble her fury, and it became clear that I was going to have to do more than block. Since her actions had shown her to be an outlaw, her execution was no more than simple justice. Even so, it went hard for me to be the purveyor of that justice. I heard a voice calling from above, asking,

“Anise? What are you playing at down there? Did you find another Telvanni?”

So there were others involved in this murderous rampage- perhaps they would be more reasonable about explaining their actions. When I reached the top of the stairs, that proved to be a vain hope, as two more Redoran guards set upon me. An icy rage overwhelmed me and I showed those rogues no more pity than they had shown the unarmed Telvanni retainers they had butchered. On the body of the leader, I found a partial explanation, a report that had been written in great haste. The document read,

CODE

As instructed, a party of five entered the Velothi tower of Shishi. Five Telvanni sorcerers fell and the tower is now ours, but we have suffered heavy losses. We will hold Shishi as long as we can and await your orders.



Brerama Selas

So, in addition to the crimes of murder and attacking a senior member of his House, this Selas added the venal sin of lying. Only three Redorans had been present, all hale and hearty. And the “five Telvanni sorcerers”? No more than simple unarmed servants, slaughtered when they were trying to escape. Unfortunately, the report was not addressed to anyone, but I vowed that I would find out who had ordered this atrocity. Whether the Telvanni had a legitimate claim to Shishi, I neither knew nor cared. Whatever the case, there was no excuse for this mindless brutality.

Sometimes, trust has to be paid for in blood. Although it horrified me that someone in my House could do such a thing, I was satisfied that I had been the instrument of justice. For good or ill, House Redoran would take care of its own.

[treydog]

Sleep did not seem likely to come that night, so I spent the time making restorative potions and checking my equipment. I also mixed one other special concoction, after which I was able to get some rest. In the morning, I had the guild guide send me to Caldera, where I asked Folms Mirel to set the master propylon index for Falasmaryon, the stronghold closest to Kogoruhn. If I had to go there, I was going to do so as quickly as possible. The forsaken House Dagoth stronghold was as I remembered, two-thirds buried in drifted ash, with an aura of decay and malevolence that was palpable. Before entering the Hall of Phisto, I checked my gear and made sure my sword was loose in the scabbard. Then I took out the special mixture I had created the night before and painted my face, as I had done before entering Ilunibi. Then I had made three stripes- for past, present, and future. On this day, I made only one, a vertical stripe in the center of my forehead. One stripe, because there was only one path- forward, to victory or death. With a deep breath, I shed my fear and left it outside the door as I plunged once more into the darkness of Kogoruhn.

Although a few Sixth House creatures still made Kogoruhn their home, it seemed that my previous harrowing had been effective. I reached the Nabith Waterway and the passage to Charma’s Breath with little difficulty. That foul lair was also largely empty- if Dagoth Uthol was coming back, he had not yet done so. The exit leading to the slopes of Red Mountain was as I remembered it, opening quite close to the citadel called Vemynal, where Sunder was supposed to be kept. The Dwemer ruin was clearly quite extensive, even with all of the drifted ash and the passage of years masking large sections. It was also infested with powerful Sixth House creatures- I encountered an Ascended Sleeper as well as an Ash Ghoul within the first couple of rooms. Relying on stealth and my enchanted ebony sword, I was able to add the amulets of Dagoth Nilor and Dagoth Garel to my collection. As I slipped deeper into Vemynal, I left lying Dwemer weapons and artifacts that would have thrilled me not so long ago. The only artifact I wanted was the hammer Sunder. Still, I did take possession of a pair of beautifully made alchemist’s tools, a calcinator and alembic that were obviously of grandmaster quality. It seemed to me that, if I should survive this, it would be nice to have the proper equipment to pursue a worthwhile hobby. It’s a good idea to have a fallback career in case the hero business doesn’t work out. Silent as a shadow, I slew everything in my path, still not finding the hammer. At last, I reached a door with runes that identified it as the entry to the “Hall of Torque.” The name seemed strange to me, and I wondered what a “torque” was. Perhaps some type of poultry the Dwemer had raised for food, I supposed. Whatever its original purpose, it was now the home of more Sixth House creatures, and I thinned the ranks of Dagoth Ur’s minions still further.

Confident in their strength and their proximity to the source of their power, they had no idea that a wolf had slipped in amongst the sheep. They were prepared for an attack by all the forces of the Temple and the Great Houses, marching up from the Ghostgate in rank and file. Their only warning that I was there was when a sword, blacker than the shadows from whence it came, harvested their lives. In this, I was without pity or remorse. While I suffered for every human life I had taken, these creatures had long since given up their humanity, and I felt no more regret than I would for killing venomous spiders. An odd encounter occurred in the perimeter corridor around the central room- I saw a large skeletal warrior, bearing a silver axe and a tower shield that gleamed with magicka. Sensing my presence in that arcane way the undead use to detect the living, the warrior raised its axe and screamed a challenge. The struggle that followed lasted far longer than I had wanted; I also cringed at the noise as weapons rang upon shields. If the resident ash vampire of Vemynal had been unaware of my presence before now, surely this was as good as sending up a flare. Fighting animated skeletons with a sword is always difficult, as they are largely unaffected by the thrusting attacks that succeed against fleshly opponents. Instead, I had to rely on looping overhand blows and wide swings from the side, which exposed me to return blows from the axe. Fortunately, my armor and speed proved decisive, and a well-aimed swing separated the skull of my enemy from his neck vertebrae. After making sure the previously animated assemblage of bones was truly finished, I examined the remains. The axe was inscribed as belonging to one “Beldoh the Undying,” apparently a name based on misplaced optimism.

Having removed all of the obstacles, I was able to find the steps leading down to a Dwemer door formed in two pieces. Hoping to see what was on the other side without exposing myself to an attack, I stepped behind the left side and opened the right. The room that was revealed was a large Sixth House shrine, with banners, candles, and cloying incense- none of which concealed the awful stench of decaying flesh. More important, I saw the peculiar figure of an ash vampire, who had apparently not spotted me yet. From the lore passed on by the armigers, I felt certain that this was the opponent I sought; it was unlikely that there would be more than one of the “heartwights” in this citadel. Remembering the difficulty I had experienced defeating Dagoth Uthol, I extracting from my quiver a handful of ebony arrows I had discovered elsewhere in the citadel. Although they were exceedingly rare, I could not think of a better way to expend them. Huddling in the shadow of the entry, I muttered the phrase that conjured a Daedric longbow to my hands, stepped into the open, and fired arrow after arrow at the ash vampire. Apparently, whatever Dagoth Vemyn’s powers may have been, keen sight was not one of them. As the arrows pierced him, he proceeded to scuttle back and forth inside the shrine, seemingly unable to locate the threat. That suited me perfectly, and I soon laid the creature low. Perhaps it was not honorable, or epic, or heroic- but it was effective, and that was all that mattered to me. If I could have contrived to roll a boulder down a mountain to crush him, I would have done so. After waiting to make sure the ash vampire was truly dormant, I slipped into the room and took from the corpse Sunder, as well as a magical pendant with an inscription that indicated it was known as the Amulet of Heart-Heal. That name reminded me of the Belt of Heartfire, which I had removed from Dagoth Uthol. Perhaps these artifacts provided the ash vampires’ link to the Heart of Lorkhan. If so, that might explain why Uthol had been unable to return. Regardless, I had recovered one of Kagrenac’s Tools and defeated another of Dagoth Ur’s closest kin. Although I was pleased with my success, I knew that it would only get harder. I still must find Keening and then enter the Heart Chamber itself. Surely Dagoth Ur would sense the approach of someone bearing all of the Tools, even if he had no idea of my true purpose.