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]

In the end, it made no difference whether I was going mad or not- I still had to finish what I had started. Therefore, it was time to go see the next Ashlander Tribe, either the Erabenimsun or the Zainab. I knew that these Ashlanders would be harder to convince than the Ahemmusa. First, because the Ahemmusa had needed to believe- it served their purposes to name me Nerevarine and War Leader, as they had no ashkhan and few warriors. My sword could make all the difference to their survival. The other tribes did not have that need. The second reason that the other tribes might hesitate was simple human nature- the Ashland tribes were rivals. Therefore, it would be hard for the Zainab or the Erabenimsun to go along with what the Urshilaku and Ahemmusa wanted. Still, it must be done, so the only question left was where to go first. Should I try the crafty Zainab or the treacherous Erabenimsun? In either case, I had decided that I would avoid populated places until this part of my task was done. Word was sure to reach the Temple soon enough that there was an “outlander” who had proclaimed himself the Nerevarine. When that happened, they would try to silence me- possibly permanently. After all, the last that had been seen of Peakstar was when she was imprisoned by the Temple. And I myself had been sent to convince or kill a “False Incarnate” in Suran. It seemed best to stay out of the areas where the Temple held sway, at least for a time. That decision made, I reached another- I would try the Zainab next. Trickery and craftiness were traits I understood; I had certainly seen enough of them in my life. Treachery, though, was something I recognized only in the abstract- it would be a bit longer before I gained firsthand experience of it.

But I did not immediately seek the camp of the Zainab, for I had much to consider and felt the need for running water. I needed the river rather than the sea, whose salt was as bitter as tears. The water of a river seems to always change and yet remains always the same. So I traveled west and south, avoiding people and towns, until I had reached the Odai. I made a camp along the bank and spent a few days preparing myself for what was to come. The Ahemmusa had named me Nerevarine, and the Urshilaku stood ready to do so. If I could convince the other two tribes, I would then have to go among the Great Houses. Hlaalu, Telvanni…and Redoran. What should be an occasion of honor would be one of dread- I would be asking my House to name me Hortator, not because I was best suited for that role, but as part of a prophecy that defied the Temple. I would have to tell the whole story to Athyn Sarethi, who had been my friend, almost my father as I was reborn in Morrowind. The man I had become was largely due to him. And what I feared more than Dagoth Ur, more than death, more than the fate Azura had laid upon me; what I feared most was the disappointment of the only true father I had ever known.

Here Ends Chapter 10