The Story of Trey Chapter 10 Options

[treydog]

Thanks to the efforts of Stargelman and Alexander, Chapters 1-8 are available in the Fan Forge section of the main page. So rather than clutter things with reposting all that, I will start with the current "live" chapter.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke

Chapter 10

Before I relate the next phase of my adventurers in Vvardenfell, I find it necessary to talk for a moment about time. As I have written it, this story seems to be a continuous description of events, one following swiftly on the heels of another. That is not completely accurate, for several reasons. First, there were periods of several weeks that I spent recovering from wounds or from the strain of the many missions I undertook. I have not felt the need to burden the reader with a recounting of all those “slack” periods. Second, certain things occurred during the time of this story that I am not yet ready to reveal. There may come I time when I feel able to relate those other stories, but that time is not now. When I left “home” and made my way to the Imperial City, I was 17. And I celebrated my 18th “birthday” in Vivec. So it may seem strange that such powerful figures as Athyn Sarethi and Sul-Matuul entrusted one so young with the difficult and dangerous tasks that they gave to me. The reason they did so is this- by the time I set my reluctant feet upon the Path of the Nerevarine, when I went into Kogoruhn and came out again, I was 23. Often, in those difficult days, I felt much older, despite the “immunity” to aging that corprus had granted me. Those years had given me a fair number of scars, physical and emotional, and the wisdom that went with them.

While I recovered from my exertions in the ancient House Dagoth stronghold and contemplated my quest to find the Cavern of the Incarnate, I decided that I needed to do two or three other things first. For one, I needed to find out as much as I could about the House Dagoth creatures I had encountered. If I was destined to fight those foul beasts, it would be well to understand the nature of my enemies. The best place to gain such knowledge would be the Ghostgate, where Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers daily fought against the creatures of the Blight. If they would share their wisdom, I might have a better chance of survival. The second task I wished to accomplish was the creation of a better weapon- a sword for preference. In my many battles, I had managed to soul-trap several fairly powerful creatures, and one those soul-gems could be used to enchant a long sword with useful spells. My struggle against Dagoth Uthol was fresh in my mind as I considered this. Because my own skill at enchanting was marginal, I would need to seek the services of a Mages Guild enchanter. The sort of enchantments I had in mind would cost considerably, so I would need to find a way to raise the necessary gold. Such were the mundane thoughts with which I occupied my mind- mostly to avoid thinking too deeply about what would happen when I found the Cavern of the Incarnate.

After frankly moping around Ald’ruhn for two or three days, I decided that it was time to put my plans into effect. My first task would be to have a sword enchanted by Galbedir in Balmora. Here I ran into my first problem- although I had appropriate soul-gems for the sort of enchantments I had in mind, I did not have a good enough sword to take the enchantments. It seemed that an item’s capacity for enchantment was related to the material from which it was made. The best weapons for enchantment were Daedric or ebony, followed by Imperial and Dwemer. Due to its nature, glass was among the worst materials for enchanting- Galbedir tried to explain the reasons, but I fear I quickly got lost in the arcana of her explanation. What it came down to was this- if I wished to have major enchantments placed on a weapon, it would have to be Daedric or ebony. And the best place to find a Daedric weapon was the sort of place I had scrupulously avoided- a Daedric shrine. The items were so rare and so difficult to find that no merchants carried them. Some ebony weapons were rumored to be stored in the Great House vaults in Vivec, but even I didn’t want to think about burglarizing those. And even if I did raid one or a dozen Daedric shrines, there was no guarantee of finding a long blade- it was merely a possibility. Even better, the likelihood of finding such a weapon was directly proportional to the likelihood that said weapon would be guarded or even wielded by some particularly powerful summoned creature. The irony was almost too much for me to bear- in order to create a weapon that would give me a decent chance against the creatures of Dagoth Ur, I would have to face the almost equally nasty summoned creatures of Oblivion. Unfortunately, there was nothing else for it- I simply HAD to have a better sword. And I knew of at least two Daedric shrines that were fairly close to Balmora- Shurinbaal, near Gnaar Mok and Ald Sotha, near Vivec. As I set off for Gnaar Mok, I wondered at the ultimate irony- the cruel twist of fate that had turned me from a thief into a crusader.

This post has been edited by treydog: Oct 22 2009, 05:43 PM

[treydog]

When the effects of the Recall spell had subsided somewhat, I realized that I had an unexpected problem- with the weight of my fancy sword and the items the Failed Incarnates had given me, I couldn’t move. Of course, that had happened to me before, when I learned the hard way not to try to carry my entire library with me into the wilderness. Fortunately, I was in the Urshilaku camp, where anything I put down would be safe. The heaviest item I had was the Daedric sword- once I laid it aside, I was able to move easily. The items from the Cavern of the Incarnate, though, I needed to consider more carefully. Even if I had not felt such a deep connection to my predecessors, I still wouldn’t have just tossed their gifts on the ground. They were gifts after all, never mind their symbolic significance. On the other hand, most of the items were of no practical use to me. For example, I wasn’t proficient enough to handle Erur-Dan’s spear or Conoon Chodal’s axe. As I pondered what to do to honor the items properly, the answer came to me- I actually DID have a place for the artifacts. My stronghold at Bal Isra should be complete. Leaving my sword where it lay, I was able to make my way to Ald’ruhn and, from there, to Bal Isra. I cannot describe the feeling I got when I trudged up the ash-covered slope to the front door and received Hetman Guls’ greeting,

“Welcome home, House Father.”

Those four words meant everything to me. No matter what the future might bring, I had a home to come back to.

I thanked him for his greeting and entered my new home. A room had been prepared for me on the lower floor, so I made my way there with the things from the cavern. All this worry over a few enchanted items may strike some of you as rather foolish- after all, why keep things I couldn’t use? Besides the reasons I have stated before, there was this- these were some of the very few gifts that I had ever been freely given. Maybe if I had been accustomed to receiving lavish gifts on my birthday, I wouldn’t have cared so much for these. But the fact was that the only birthday gifts I ever received were the books I had purchased for myself. Therefore, I treasured every one of the items I had received in the Cavern of the Incarnate. I found an honored place for each one in Indarys Manor, as my new home was called. My final reason for preserving the gifts was this- they reminded me of the responsibility I carried and the price of failure. I next took the time to meet the retainers who now lived at Bal Isra and then slept in a bed that belonged to me for the first time in my life. With the arrival of the morning, I Recalled to the Urshilaku camp so that I could talk to Sul-Matuul and Nibani Maesa about what had happened to me in the Cavern of the Incarnate.

I picked up my sword and slipped the Moon-and-Star ring onto my left hand, then entered the ashkhan’s tent. When Sul-Matuul saw the ring, his face remained expressionless, but he declared,

“You have passed the Third Trial. Before you lie the Fourth and Fifth Trials. I have spoken with Nibani Maesa, and I know these trials. You wish to be called Urshilaku Nerevarine. But first, would you hear the counsel of Sul-Matuul?”
Though I had learned much and grown wiser during my years in Vvardenfell, I had no doubt that the ashkhan was far wiser than I. Therefore, I indicated my willingness to listen to any advice he could provide. He warned me that, as soon as I started the Fourth and Fifth Trials, I would have to declare my conviction that I was the Nerevarine. And that act would make me a marked man. The reason for that was that the Fourth Trial was to be named Hortator, or war leader of the Great Houses. To achieve that goal, I would have to convince the councilors of the danger of Dagoth Ur and that I was worthy to face that danger. In the words of Sul-Matuul,

“I would give you warning. When you are called 'Nerevarine,' the word must spread, and many must hear. Your enemies will hear, and come seeking your blood. And such friends as you may have among the Great Houses, those who heed the words of the Temple, they may forget their love for you. If you have business with the People of the Houses and Temple, you may wish to conduct that business first, before you are named 'Nerevarine.'”

He also advised me to take care in approaching the councilors, particularly the Telvanni. In his words, “Anyone who isn’t afraid of a 2000-year-old wizard is a fool.”

His second piece of advice regarded the Fifth Trial, which was to have the Ashlander tribes name me Nerevarine. He advised me to seek the council of Nibani Maesa regarding the other tribes. As an outlander, I would not be trusted and could make an error that would make my task difficult or impossible. Not all of the tribes would be ready to accept me in the way that the Urshilaku had done. Although I intended to speak to the wise woman as well, I asked Sul-Matuul to share his knowledge of the other three tribes. He told me the names and showed me the locations of the camps of the Ahemmusa, Erabenimsun, and Zainab. Uniting the tribes would not be easy, for they were proud and would need to be convinced before they gave up their differences with one another.

True to my contrary nature, I decided that I would rather deal with the Ashlander tribes first, even though that was considered the Fifth Trial. In truth, it seemed to me that it would make little difference which impossible task I attempted first- and the Ashlanders were less likely to turn me into something unnatural than the Telvanni. With that in mind, I took my leave of Sul-Matuul and sought Nibani Maesa. She offered me her knowledge regarding the other tribes, which I will summarize here.

The Ahemmusa had come upon hard times, having been driven from their best grazing grounds, and attacked by monsters. The wise woman of the Ahemmusa, Sinnammu Mirpal, was also their ashkhan. They would be the most likely to name me Nerevarine, after the Urshilaku. The Erabenimsun were a dangerous bunch, led by a ruthless ashkhan named Ulath-Pal. My best chance would be to seek out the Wise Woman, Manirai, and follow her advice. It was likely that there would be blood-letting, no matter what, for Ulath-Pal and his gulakhans did not abide by the rules of hospitality. Finally, there were the Zainab. They were arrogant and proud, as well as devious. However, they were honorable in their own way and would respect strength and cleverness. I might have to bribe them, but I might also have to win a battle of wits.
I did not look forward to a long period spent wandering in the Ashlands- moreover, I was not certain that I could accomplish this task. Apparently, I was the first of the Incarnates ever to have gotten this far. Still, the situation of the Ahemmusa concerned me; it sounded as though they were barely surviving as a tribe. My dealings with the Urshilaku and most of the other Ashlanders I had met had given me a great respect and affection for the tribal Dunmer. They had maintained their beliefs and their way of life despite the Temple, despite the Great Houses, despite the terrible conditions in which they lived. If I was to follow Azura’s admonition to “heal her people,” I could do far worse than to start with the Ahemmusa. I could have gone to any one of the tribes, but I chose the one that seemed to be in the greatest need. By such small decisions as that is our fate determined.