Morrowind, A fanfic Options

[The Metal Mallet]

Nice developments. Helseth is certainly despicable. I like it!

[Alexander]

Helseth stared after him as he left, and wondered how much Gavas would enjoy sharing that cell with Barenziah when the time came. A cruel smile crossed Helseth’s lips.

The next day, as Helseth was reading through a few petitions, a knock on the door preceded his guard Drusus. “My king, I‘ve just come back from Vivec.”

“Ah, Drusus, welcome, and how fares our good friend Crassius Curio?”

“My king, he would not listen to reason, so I made sure he will not bother you again. As promised, I went to Master Yngling and told him to testify and say he saw Master Bero leaving Curio manor late last night. I expect before the end of the day, there will be a massive hunt on for Bero.”

“Good, you’ve done well, Drusus. But now I have another job for you. In a moment a very rude Nord will come in, so please stand in the corner beside the door and wait there for a moment.” Helseth saw Drusus smile; it was so nice to have men in his employ who were not bothered by simple things like guilt or honesty.

Right on time, another knock came at the door and Garding strolled in carrying a dark sack. “King, it is done. Dram Bero will bother you no more.”

“Thank you Garding, and did you take care of the body like I asked you to?”

“Aye, I did. I buried the body, but thought you might wish to look one more time on the face of him, so I kept that.” Helseth saw him put a hand into the sack, and pull out the remains of the man he’d hated so much. The face was barely recognisable, blood and wounds covering it’s every piece. Garding had obviously gone into a frenzy when he did it. Helseth looked at him again,

“So, even though I asked you explicitly to get rid of the body, the entire body, you choose to walk in here in broad daylight, carrying evidence that could destroy me?”

Helseth felt himself flush as Garding argued, “King, I will get rid of the head shortly if it bothers you so much. I just thought to show you it was done, and done well.”

“You idiot,” Helseth screamed, “what if someone had seen you come in carrying that; you could have ruined everything.”

He nodded to the corner where Drusus was waiting. “King, none of that now. I gave you what you wanted, Bero is dead, now I want my reward. Where..”

Garding stopped in mid=sentence, a small line of blood trickling from his mouth down his chin, and he looked down to see the end of a sword protruding from his stomach. He gurgled and it seemed for a moment as if he was going to say something more, but Drusus turned the blade and Garding fell down dead.

“Imbecile,” Helseth said as he kicked the lifeless corpse. “Drusus, get rid of this, and of the head. Make sure no one ever finds them.”

“As my king commands,” came the reply.

Helseth received a message later that day. A message he’d been expecting. It was from the Hlaalu council asking him to come to the Council house in Balmora and officially take the responsibility of the house as Grandmaster. He wasted no time in assembling a guard to go along with him and travelled to Balmora.

The trip was a short one, using magical means to travel to Vivec, and then on with a Silt Strider to Balmora. Helseth loved Balmora; it was a busy city, always booming with life and people coming and going constantly. A path was cleared through the masses by his guard, and he walked to the Hlaalu council house. Once inside, he saw all of the councillors had been awaiting him. Only four remained now, but they didn’t seem to mind. Like Helseth, most of them had always believed in the credo: “The fewer Mer, the more land and slaves for those who remain”. Yngling especially looked ready to burst with pride; an opportunist to the bone, he likely saw the potential of Helseth running the house.

“Thank you, councillors, for this honor you’ve seen fit to bestow upon my person. I promise you all to do my best to lead this house to greatness once again. Where Hlaalu will stand as the paramount house, alone above the others. And I promise you, stick with me, and you’ll become rich beyond your wildest dreams.” The councillors cheered at that, and Helseth looked pleased. “This is how easy things can be,” he whispered to himself.

[Alexander]

Chapter 8. A tale of two Snakes.

Vivec. Quite possibly the largest city in Morrowind both in terms of population and overall size. Divided into cantons, with a change in two of them since lord Nerevar had come back. After he’d defeated Dagoth Ur, and then killed the remaining two members of the Tribunal, the temple followers wanted to change the palace that had belonged to Vivec, and turn it into a palace for lord Nerevar. He had refused, of course, but he did make a few other changes. Formerly St. Olms canton was now home to representatives of the house Indoril. And St. Delyn home to house Dres. Varvur assumed lord Nerevar had always thought whoever had built Vivec had made an error by only allowing three houses to represent themselves there.

As was customary, Varvur first went in search of the ranking Redoran in Vivec, Favela Dralor. While walking through the Hlaalu compound, where the boat had dropped him off, Varvur noticed many nervous and even hostile looks thrown his way. There was a tension here so clearly one could likely cut it with a Daedric dagger. He sighed in relief when he found himself across the bridge to the Redoran canton, but even there he felt some nervous stares.

Favela revealed the reason for the nervousness. “Haven’t you heard yet, Varvur? Cassius Curio was murdered two nights ago. He was found by servants yesterday morning; someone had strangled him. It was not a pretty sight, I can assure you. But luckily there’s already a large search going on to find the killer, one of his own kin- can you imagine that? But then the Hlaalu have never taken their house relations as seriously as we have.”

“Who killed him then, Favela?”

“Why it was that Dram Bero character. I tell you, no one in his right mind would want to live in a haunted house, and he proved that he was crazy when he strangled old Curio.”

“But did anyone see him do it? I mean are there any witnesses?” Varvur remembered when he’d last seen master Bero at the funeral and he looked simply crushed. And even before that, he’d always been on good terms with most of the Redoran and even Indoril nobles. To think he could have done such a ghastly deed.

“Yes, Yngling saw him. He witnessed Bero coming out of Curio’s manor, and saw him holding a bloody cord. He confronted him about it and was nearly killed himself. Bero fled the city and Yngling got together with the other remaining councillors; Velanda Omani, Nevena Ules and Raynasa Rethan, and threw Bero out of house Hlaalu. I hope they find that monster and string him up.”

Varvur thanked Favela for bringing him up to speed. Even though he had some doubts about Dram Bero being the killer, he was wise enough to keep those to himself, and went on his way, the reason he’d come to Vivec. Across the bridge from the Redoran Compound lay the Arena, a canton on its own, it housed much of the scum of Vivec. At the very top one could find the actual Arena, with seating to house all of Vivec if need be. Varvur recalled the crowd when lord Nerevar had battled the former Grandmaster of the Redoran, Bolvyn Venim. There hadn’t been an empty seat in the area. Everyone who was anyone wanted to see this man who claimed to be an incarnate in action, not least of all the Redoran nobles. I think there were but a few people who actually felt sorry when Venim was cleanly beheaded by lord Nerevar, and most of those were removed from the house in the next few weeks due to evidence of corruption. All were surprised when rather then demanding the title of Grandmaster for himself, lord Nerevar instead allowed the Redoran to choose amongst their own for the new Grandmaster. Of course Varvur’s father had been granted that honour. Varvur later learned that to be typical of lord Nerevar’s character, an excellent swordsman, perhaps the best in the land even, with a huge sense of honor and righteousness, he was the ultimate fighter. At the same time he’d never to Varvur’s knowledge, used any magical or stealth abilities. But with a sword arm as fast as his, he didn’t need it.

But today Varvur was not there to visit the arena pit to see a fight; no today he went to where the rats were housed, to the storage area. It was a place everyone knew how to find, but none were willing to go. Entering the area, Varvur noticed he was being followed. A Dunmer whom he had seen first in the Hlaalu canton was trying his best to go unobserved. Quickly, Varvur rounded a corner, drew his blade and stood very quietly. Very softly, he heard ever nearing footsteps and just as the tail reached the end of the stairs, Varvur grabbed him, shoved him to the wall and pressed his blade to his throat.

“Why are you following me?”

“Mercy Serah, I was merely ordered to keep you from doing anything rash.”

“Like killing you?” Varvur saw he held a young Dunmer, he couldn’t have been more then 50 years old, most definitely not a weathered assassin.

“Serah, Grandmaster Eno bid me to welcome you, and promise you safe passage for one day in our headquarters. Look Serah, in my right pocket is his seal.” Not trusting what appeared to be the thrall a bit, he bid him to slowly take it out himself. It proved to be truly the seal of the Grandmaster of the Morag Tong.

Such a thing had not occurred so long as Varvur could remember, a non-member allowed freely into the headquarters of the Morag Tong and leaving with their life.

“Please Serah, the grandmaster bid me to blindfold you so you would not know the inside.” Varvur sheathed his blade, and allowed himself to be blindfolded. He was led by the thrall into a door, and down a short ladder. He assumed he was directly below the storage area now and he didn’t think this was the only entrance, and likely the last time this entrance would be used. He walked for a short time through what he felt was a narrow corridor; in the distance he heard some vague chanting so he knew there had to be a shrine present, and a bit further he heard the distinct clink of blades. They came to a door, and he heard the thrall knock softly on it. The door opened and he was ushered inside. Not until the door was again closed and locked though, was the blindfold removed. And there Varvur found himself eye to eye with Eno Hlaalu. Though relatively young at 125, the current Grandmaster of the Morag Tong was already legendary. Rumour had it he’d made a tremendously fast rise to the top of the assassins guild, and there was even a rumour that he’d allowed the former Grandmaster, already getting on with age, die peacefully in a remote location rather than killing him as was the custom. Such rumours had of course never been proven.

“Hello Varvur; I knew you’d come here sooner or later. I hope my thrall has not inconvenienced you in any way?”

“No, thank you, master Hlaalu,” Varvur had always been taught it’s better to show politeness to a snake when you entered its den than risk its wrath, “But your thrall could do with some more lessons in how to better sneak.”

“Yes, I’ve been telling him that myself but young people today have a hard time listening.” Varvur listened as he looked over the room. It was very plain, with very few things in sight. Almost everything in it seemed to have a function except perhaps one thing. In a corner Varvur saw a magnificent enchanted cuirass. It was obviously crafted from heavy material by the looks of it and very out of place in the room of a warrior who spent his entire time training for speed.

“Yes, a magnificent cuirass, wouldn’t you agree Varvur? It’s actually an artefact, the Lords Mail. It was given to me as payment for a….. recent service. Of course that is all I can say about that.”

This post has been edited by Alexander: Mar 9 2008, 10:17 AM

[Agent Griff]

Hm, the plot thickens more and more. What could the Morag Tong have had to do with Nerevar's death? A couple of things that kept me from enjoying your latest update to the fullest are two awkwardly phrased sentences in the paragraph which describes the Nerevarine's victory against Bolvyn Venim. They were rather illogical but overall it was a good update with enough mystery to it.

Also, near the end, you confused "than" with "then". Understandable though.

[Alexander]

Hm, could you point out those two sentences? Then I can still improve them perhaps

[Agent Griff]

"Varvur later learned that to be typical of lord Nerevar’s character, an excellent swordsman, perhaps the best in the land even, a huge sense of honor and righteousness, he was the ultimate fighter."

This sentence doesn't make too much sense if you ask me. I think you ate up a verb somewhere, perhaps before the "huge sense of honour and righteousness" part. Now that I look at it however, it is only one sentence.

I also see that you've corrected the part where you confused "than" with "then".

[Alexander]

Varvur nodded. “So, you’ve come here looking for the murderer of lord Nerevar have you? You’ve come to the wrong place. No Morag Tong member killed lord Nerevar. Not many people know of this, but he and I made an arrangement. He would allow us to remain, doing what we do, for the guarantee that each time there was a council meeting, every member of the Morag Tong was accounted for and inside either this headquarters, or one of the chapter houses in the great cities. After the murder I immediately summoned the local heads, and all the members that night were accounted for. So you see, we could not have done it.”

“Why would lord Nerevar make such an arrangement with you master Hlaalu?”

“I guess he did not want to have to worry about anyone falling over dead during a council meeting. Though I guess in the end, it was not enough.”
Varvur believed him; one could say a lot about the Morag Tong, but they were definitely not liars. Their honour code prohibited it.

“But then if the Morag Tong was not responsible, do you have an idea who was?”

Eno looked Varvur over first before he said, “No. I cannot give you the name of the murderer, but I can give you the name of one who might know. Belwen, a Bosmer and clothier in Mournhold has long been believed to be either a member, or an informer of our Sithis-worshipping cousins. He might not be the head of the snake, but at least he might be able to tell you where to find it.”

Varvur saw Eno looking at him slyly, head of the snake, either a coincidence, or Eno had known what Balen Sarethi had said to him. Varvur assumed the latter and it made him shudder with unease.

“Now before you go Varvur, a word of advice: be careful what you do once you’re in Mournhold. Some of my thralls call me the master of birds, after a hobby of mine. I enjoy listening to the songs of birds, and the past week those songs have not been good. They sing of death, of people being murdered, of the undead moving in vast numbers across the land to Mephala knows where, Great Houses being rearranged, old alliances broken and new ones popping up everywhere. Some might say we have an exciting time ahead of us, but to people who make their living off of covert deaths, I think the coming time will be dangerous, and trying. Now leave Varvur, and don’t come back. If you are wise, stay out of our path, for when next you meet the Morag Tong, there might be more then a thrall waiting.”

As if on cue, the young thrall entered the room again and bound the blindfold over Varvur’s eyes. He was carefully lead back through the corridor, and out of the headquarters. When they were back in the storage area, the thrall asked to have the Grandmaster’s seal back, promised to deliver it again onto the hands of Grandmaster Eno, and disappeared into the shadows. Upon consideration, Varvur thought the thrall might not have been as inexperienced as he’d wanted him to think. With that thought and everything Eno had told him, he set out to find Asciene Rane to inquire about transportation to Mournhold.

Of course Varvur knew of whom Eno had been speaking. The Dark Brotherhood, once a part of the Morag Tong, who ages past had broken off from the Morag Tong and started their own assassins guild. It quickly became little more then a death guild though, abandoning the worship of Mephala, led by a legendary creature called the Night Mother, they now sought the favour of the dark one, Sithis. The Dark Brotherhood in recent years had crossed the path of lord Nerevar three times, first sending a single assassin, then sending no fewer then three assassins when lord Nerevar disposed of the first. He did the unthinkable though and actually faced and defeated three Dark Brotherhood assassins. After that second attempt he felt the world, or at least Morrowind, would be a better place without them. As the story goes, he travelled by himself to Mournhold, found the Dark Brotherhood beneath the Great Bazaar and killed them to a man, even going so far as to kill one of the famed speakers of the Dark Hand. That was a feat few people could honestly claim.

In recent years no Dark Brotherhood member had shown itself in Morrowind, and their lair beneath the Great Bazaar was long empty, but all knew that was no assurance that the Brotherhood really was gone. If this Belwen was in fact a member, then the Brotherhood had once again found some nerve. After having arrived in Mournhold, Varvur wasted no time in finding the shop of Belwen. He spent a few hours first observing the store from a distance, and when it was growing late and Belwen was just about to close up for the evening, Varvur entered the shop. A look of recognition crossed the face of Belwen and he immediately went for something underneath his desk. But Varvur proved even faster as he drew his blade and put the very tip of it square through the throat of the Mer.
His instincts proved correct, as below the counter Varvur found both a crossbow aimed at the door, and what appeared to be an explosive device. He assumed Belwen would have tried to use the bolt on him first, and then if that had failed, he would have blown himself up before answering any questions.

Such a Dwemer explosive device was very hard to come by, and very expensive, an indication that Belwen had been more then a simple lowly operative, and more than a mere spy. Varvur locked the door of the shop from the inside, and went on a careful search through the house. During that search he came very close to setting off traps on several occasions. The first was a book he opened to see if there was something hidden inside and the book was connected to a wire. It was all he could do to duck in time for the crossbow bolt to barely miss him. And when he found the hatch leading down to the basement of the shop, two of the stairs were rigged and below there were a number of very sharp, and most likely poisoned spears waiting for anyone not alert enough.

In the end, his search proved successful at least, for on a table in the basement of the shop Varvur found a note sent to Belwen.

Last message received in good order. No new orders. Fafnir will collect your next report as scheduled. If you must reach him, it’s the same location as always, Imperial City, Cyrodiil.
Mother is pleased.
L.L.

How careless, Varvur observed, to mention an operative by name like that. It must be someone very low on the list for them to care so little about his identity. And that last line obviously referred to the Night Mother. If this L.L. knew how she felt about him, he or she must be someone who could take Varvur to her. And he had a feeling this Fafnir would be able to tell him who L.L. was.

[Agent Griff]

Hm, I can sense a bit of Varys the Spider in Eno Hlaalu's passion of "listening to birds". Much like Varys' famed whispers which served him so well. Still, the plot really thickens now, seeing as the Dark Brotherhood is also involved. I don't know why, but the mention of Lucien Lachance makes me think Varvur's in for a visit to Cyrodiil to inquire about certain things...and maybe spread rumours the Nerevarine's departure to Akavir.

This post has been edited by Agent Griff: Mar 9 2008, 10:47 AM

[minque]

Woah.....you're incredible Alex!...Just got to collect this story if I may! More please?

[Alexander]

Chapter 9. Plans unfold.

Sadrith Mora. ‘Forest of Mushrooms’ as the translation went. A most apt name, Baladas thought. For every building but two were true Telvanni. Mushrooms, grown and shaped using magic in ancient traditions. The town was shaped in an oval form, with all the buildings surrounding the ancient Tel; Tel Naga. Master Neloth had been killed by lord Nerevar during his quest to become Hortator, and a short time later, the Supreme Magister had asked Baladas to become the new Master of Sadrith Mora. Baladas had known it was only at Divayth’s “suggestion” that this offer had been made, and he had accepted.

The first thing he’d done when coming to Sadrith Mora had been to free the slaves, closing down the slave market and putting up proclamations there. No one in the area of Sadrith Mora was allowed to keep a slave, and any slaves found there, or brought there, were automatically freed. It had made him very popular among some more progressive Telvanni, but traditionalists, mainly people relying on the slave trade for their income, had voiced objections. Two even went so far as to come to Tel Naga and loudly demand Baladas either remove himself from Sadrith Mora, or learn to live with slavery, as it was part of the Telvanni way. He’d known for a while that those two had been ignoring his orders and were still trading slaves, almost under his very nose. He still smiled when he thought back to that moment, after the Mers had made their demands, and he had smiled and simply asked them if they realised death was also the Telvanni way. He had them beheaded, then he put their bodies inside the cells at the now defunct slave market, and had posted their heads on spikes at the entrance to Sadrith Mora with a simple sign saying <i>Slaves are free; anyone wishing to object should feel free to visit Tel Naga any day. </i>No more objections had risen after that incident.

As he looked out the window now, he saw many men crowding the open space of the town.. Dunmer, Khajiit and Argonians side by side, but also some Bretons, Imperials, Nords and even a few Bosmer, Altmer and Orcs. They were all training. Gathering his forces had proven easy. Getting them ready was an entirely different matter. Many of the former slaves were not inexperienced with small weapons like knives and dirks, but getting them to become good enough to be effective in a real battle would prove an entirely different matter. His men were training the less experienced ones, but Baladas had no idea how long he had until they would be forced to see action. Fortunately, what they lacked in training, they made up for in enthusiasm and spirit. Though how well that would serve them, pitted against an experienced army such as that of house Redoran, or house Indoril, Baladas did not care to think about.

“Magister, it is time.” Baladas woke from his ponderings to see a servant standing at the door; he’d asked to be alerted at 6. He was expected at Tel Fyr in a few moments. “Thank you, Daral.” Smoothing out his robes, he cast the spell, and was once again standing before the entrance to Tel Fyr. It was quiet as usual, not having any retainers for himself, gave Divayth the benefit of rest. Baladas made his way up to the Tower of Tel Fyr, and there, as expected, were the same three people he had seen when he came here last. They were, however, seated a bit differently this time. They’d left him a seat to the right of the robed figure, at his right hand, a position of honor. He sat down, uncomfortable next to this stranger, and waited for Divayth to take the lead.

“Welcome Baladas. Obviously everything you hear tonight cannot go beyond these walls. I believe you’ve met Dhaunayne several times before, yes? Good. That saves some introductions. The person you’re sitting next to, however, must remain nameless for now. Even to you. He will reveal himself in due time. Right, let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? As I said at the great meeting, we plan to erect a new Ghostfence that will separate our lands from the rest of Morrowind. Why? So none can interfere with us ever again, and we will be left to ourselves as we prefer. Now,” Divayth stood up and picked up a steel tablet from a cabinet which he laid in the center of the table. With a small wave of his hand, a map of Morrowind appeared, outlining the five Great Houses and their respective borders. “Now Baladas, as you can see, Telvanni holds quite a bit of land, but very erratic borders. We mean to correct that before we place the Ghostfence. We mean to claim all the lands east of the foyada Bani-Dad, including Dagon Fel to the north and the entire Sheogorad region. From the foyada south a bit, and everything east of Ald’Ruhn. Then along the foyada Mamaea, again everything east of that, which is the Molag Amur region. We will also take Suran, and everything east of it. From Suran, we mean to draw our border south for a bit, and then south east, incorporating lands as far as Dervon’s Watch, and ending just to the north of the island of Gorn.”

As Divayth had been speaking, the border he described had appeared on the map. With the border done, Baladas looked down and saw the region described by Divayth was fully one quarter of Morrowind, perhaps a bit more even. How could the Telvanni ever plan to hold such a large region? With the Ghostfence in place maybe, but until it was up there was no way they were strong enough to both keep that area, and defend it against the combined force of four Great Houses. He assumed his face had betrayed his emotions because Divayth went on.

“Now I realise this looks very ambitious, but I assure you we can manage it. You see, House Telvanni will not stand alone in this. As you can see, Dhaunayne is here as well. Clan Aundae will stand with us, and even those vampires beyond Clan Aundae. Would you care to explain it yourself, Dhaunayne?”

“Delighted, Divayth,” came the creepy voice of Dhaunayne, “Thanks to our mysterious friend here, Clan Aundae will soon be the only Vampire Clan left in Morrowind. He has devised an ingenious spell which can actually turn the allegiance of a Vampire. Once cast on a Berne or Quarra, they will become loyal to me and will remain that way until the end of time. I plan to start tonight at Druscashti. I have gathered all of my children, and will assault Druscashti. We will bewitch all of the vampires there, while I kill Vomina Quarra and drink her blood. I’ve heard Quarra blood is so precious that she even bottles some of it. I mean to try it for myself.” At this last, she licked her lips, “The night after, we will visit Galom Daeus, where we will do the same to Raxle Berne. And on the third night, we will do again the same for all the minor vampire tombs of our competition. The end will leave Clan Aundae with more then enough manpower to aid the Great House Telvanni anywhere they should need it.”

[BSD-IES]

Woah, this is absolutely racing along, there's barely time to take a breath there's so much happening. Plot twists, deception, confusion... it's all looking very interesting - if there's one thing I can say for certain it's that I don't know what's coming next.

All in all, a very good read so far, and I'm looking forwards to the next installment.

[milanius]

As much as Helseth seems despicable so far Telvanni warlords, no matter how 'benevolent' their goals seem, aren't doing anything really to appear more humanitarian. Securing their lands? Nice enough. Stealing the land from other 2 houses on the island with the aid of vampires? Machiavellian. Also, what will become of Ashlander tribes who will trapped within the new Ghostfence? "Oh, so sorry, you are now a part of our mini-empire. Should you not like it in here with us, you have two choices: we will forcibly relocate you via Magical Train or..." [fill in the blanks with more heads].

They aren't benevolent people, they never were. Freeing slaves won't make an ***hole be any less of an ***hole. Events might turn out as a bloodbath involving hirelings of ***holes on all sides.

Another amusing fact: Ghostfence can't [and in fact, it didn't ] stop people with levitation spells; same goes for coastal region and individuals who have Water Breathing readied... now, imagine a strike force, well equipped and prepared, with enough solutions ready for any scenario, coming out of the blue sea right behind Sadriht Mora. No big deal, only a regiment of Redoran honor guards, with decent supply of defenses against magical attacks. 4 hours later, if they don't have anything else but "Burn to the ground and retreat" as orders, there won't be much left of that city. Same goes for any coastal stronghold that Telvanni have.

In any case, I doubt that the Redorans or Hlaalu will just sit idly while Telvanni are attempting to take over their land, including the best brothel in the entire Vvardenfell.

This post has been edited by milanius: Mar 9 2008, 11:26 PM

[Alexander]

Woah, this is absolutely racing along, there's barely time to take a breath there's so much happening. Plot twists, deception, confusion... it's all looking very interesting - if there's one thing I can say for certain it's that I don't know what's coming next.

Hehe, well I don't like it myself if a story I'm reading seems to be going real slow and drawing things out, so I wrote as I enjoy stories I read myself

And thanks, thanks to you and thanks to everyone else for the great comments so far, I really enjoy reading all of them, and I'm loving the fact that people like this.

Thank you

[Alexander]

As much as Helseth seems despicable so far Telvanni warlords, no matter how 'benevolent' their goals seem, aren't doing anything really to appear more humanitarian. Securing their lands? Nice enough. Stealing the land from other 2 houses on the island with the aid of vampires? Machiavellian. Also, what will become of Ashlander tribes who will trapped within the new Ghostfence? "Oh, so sorry, you are now a part of our mini-empire. Should you not like it in here with us, you have two choices: we will forcibly relocate you via Magical Train or..." [fill in the blanks with more heads].

They aren't benevolent people, they never were. Freeing slaves won't make an ***hole be any less of an ***hole. Events might turn out as a bloodbath involving hirelings of ***holes on all sides.

Another amusing fact: Ghostfence can't [and in fact, it didn't ] stop people with levitation spells; same goes for coastal region and individuals who have Water Breathing readied... now, imagine a strike force, well equipped and prepared, with enough solutions ready for any scenario, coming out of the blue sea right behind Sadriht Mora. No big deal, only a regiment of Redoran honor guards, with decent supply of defenses against magical attacks. 4 hours later, if they don't have anything else but "Burn to the ground and retreat" as orders, there won't me much left of that city. Same goes for any coastal stronghold that Telvanni have.

In any case, I doubt that the Hlaalu will just sit idly while Telvanni are attempting to take over the best brothel in the entire Vvardenfell.

Hehe, I absolutely love reading your theories Mil, really enjoy it

(So as a note to everyone else, please don't hesitate to post your theories, or pm them to me, I'd love to hear them, though I can't promise I'll explain things or get into it too much )

As to your post Mil, of course I wouldn't presume to know what Magister Fyr is thinking there, but perhaps they've found ways to counter levitation going above the ghostfence? I mean someone who can create a spell that can turn the allegiance of a Vampire could possibly do more. Pure speculation there though

And as to the redoran troops, perhaps the Telvanni are simply planning to wipe all the other houses out? I mean the Imperials certainly are in no state to interfere in local politics with all the trouble they're in. But again, that's pure speculation on my part

[Alexander]

Baladas thought about what he had just heard. “A bold move, and it will give you plenty of manpower indeed, men and women who are next to useless during the day.”

“Right you are,” Divayth said, “Which is why we need more men. We will also be joined by the Ashlanders.”

“Ashlanders? Why they have no more love for the Telvanni then they had for the Tribunal.”

“Again, you are correct, Baladas; however, since they have no more love for the temple than they have for us, they will be more then willing if we provide them with a way to become independent for all time. That, and the fact that we will give them the Grazelands, save Tel Vos and Vos of course. And we have one thing no one else has that will assure us of the Ashlanders assistance, and you’re sitting next to him.”

Baladas looked to his left, and asked himself who this figure could be that would be so easily able to ensure an alliance the Ashlanders. Perhaps some mythical figure, a god, or simply a very powerful wizard. Divayth spoke again, “In two days time, not tomorrow night but the day after, Master Aryon will take the forces of Vos, Tel Vos and Tel Mora and head north to occupy Dagon Fel. I do not expect much resistance from them, and I will make sure the spies of other houses and the empire are imprisoned, or should they resist, they will die. One Wizard lord will be stationed there with a garrison and that will be the end of that. I want you to take the forces of Sadrith Mora, Tel Aruhn and Tel Uvirith to Ghostgate. Don’t attack them; instead present the head of the temple with this.” Divayth took a scroll out of one of the drawers of his cabinet and presented it to Baladas. It carried the wax seal of the temple. “Ask to see the head of the temple, hand him this, and Ghostgate will not raise a finger against you. And finally, I will take the men of Tel Branora and Port Telvannis and go through Molag Mar and then take Suran.”

“And,” Baladas said, “You’re going to give the temple head of Molag Mar another sealed scroll, I assume, and they will simply bow down before you?” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice as he asked.

“Yes,” came the reply, “they might not bow, but at least they will not oppose me.” Divayth seemed awfully sure of himself; what did he know that he wasn’t telling? The plan seemed sound; they would likely establish the new borders, at least those on Vvardenfall, in a single night, but that did not explain how he meant to get the mainland parts, nor how he meant to defend it. But Baladas assumed no answer would be forthcoming that day.
“Very well; I will make sure my men are ready the day after tomorrow.”

Divayth looked pleased at that and said, “Good. And then there is one more small thing. Two days after the attack, I want you to go to Vivec, and see Eno Hlaalu, Grandmaster of the Morag Tong. He will give you something; examine it carefully and keep it safe. When next you hear from me, take the item to Ald’Ruhn and show it to Athyn Sarethi. You saved his son, so he owes you a life; at least you will be able to leave the town with your life intact, but I believe you will leave with a great deal more than that.”

It seemed that with each sentence Fyr spoke, more questions arose. Sealed scrolls for the temple heads, something from the Morag Tong to deliver to the Grandmaster of the Redoran by a Magister of House Telvanni. Stranger things might have happened, but for the life of him, Baladas could not remember any.

Everything after that was merely repetition, the hammering out of details and some assuring words. It was well after midnight when both Baladas and Dhaunayne left. She to vanquish or subvert the Quarra, he back to Sadrith Mora. As he lay in his bed that night, staring at the top of the Tel, he found it hard to get to sleep. He realised, with the course House Telvanni was taking, there would only be two possible outcomes of this, complete victory, or eradication of their house.

[BSD-IES]

"And we have one thing no one else has that will assure us of the Ashlanders assistance, and you’re sitting next to him.”

Oh, really? I'm getting a (possibly far fetched) crazy idea here. Vampiric undead, sorcery... Is everyone who we think is dead, actually dead? If these powerful sorceror's can change the allegiance of a vampire, can they bring the dead back to life? After all, who could guarantee the ashlander tribes assistance, than one who had maybe been granted a, erm, specific title?

Of course, I could be barking up the wrong tree. Or just barking mad

See what this story is doing to me? I'm turning into one of those conspiracy theory nuts

[Alexander]

"And we have one thing no one else has that will assure us of the Ashlanders assistance, and you’re sitting next to him.”

Oh, really? I'm getting a (possibly far fetched) crazy idea here. Vampiric undead, sorcery... Is everyone who we think is dead, actually dead? If these powerful sorceror's can change the allegiance of a vampire, can they bring the dead back to life? After all, who could guarantee the ashlander tribes assistance, than one who had maybe been granted a, erm, specific title?

Of course, I could be barking up the wrong tree. Or just barking mad

See what this story is doing to me? I'm turning into one of those conspiracy theory nuts

Hehe, interesting theory, but if that's the case, then I wonder how you would explain him being in two places at the same time. That is a body being cared for in Ebonheart, and at the same time Baladas being in Tel Fyr and speaking to Divayth, Dhaunayne and that guy already present.

hmm...............................

On the other hand, and mind you this is again just stating some facts, Ashlanders are known to worship their ancestors, and daedric gods. Especially Azura, Boethiah and Mephala.
hm......

And of course there's always the possibility of an impostor isn't there? Either pretending to be lord Nerevar, or Azura, or whomever.

Or all of that could be entirely incorrect. Boy, I hope that Alexander guy finishes the story soon and gives us the answers neh.

[BSD-IES]

*Back to the drawing board*

I'm not sure that I want that, erm, Alexander guy, to finish the story too soon. As much as I'm looking forward to a resolution, I'm rather enjoying the current journey of confusion

[Alexander]

*Back to the drawing board*

I'm not sure that I want that, erm, Alexander guy, to finish the story too soon. As much as I'm looking forward to a resolution, I'm rather enjoying the current journey of confusion

Well, I wouldn't worry about that. I just checked and right now we're going on page 45, the story has 109 pages so we're not even half way there yet

[Agent Griff]

Great, even more Morrowind goodness awaits us then. To say that the plot has thickened would be an understatement. Vampires, mysterious robed guys of immense power, a replica Ghostfence. What's next? Vivec and Almalexia coming back from the dead to claim what was once theirs? Seeing the rate that Fyr is spewing out wild plans, it wouldn't be surprising.