Morrowind, A fanfic Options

[Alexander]

Ungolim moved down the stairs, and Varvur had no choice but to follow him. They entered what appeared to be a crypt. Spider webs and dust were plentiful. There was also a smell to the place, a smell one can only find inside a tomb, the smell of death, of rotting flesh, and more, it smelled of foul magic. At the far side of the crypt there was a tomb with the likeness of a woman carved on it, and scattered about the crypt were skeletons, some of adults, but also of children. And standing in front of the tomb, a ghost-like figure of a woman. Ungolim got on his knees and was about to say something when an otherworldly voice came from the ghost, “Leave us!” It was almost amusing to see how quickly Ungolim lunged out of the crypt again. If someone like that was so scared of this ghost, Varvur knew he had to be on his toes.

“So young one, finally you stand in front of me, after having killed a faithful servant, and a traitor. Yes, I call Fafnir a traitor; anyone who will betray the Brotherhood to an outsider is a traitor. And did you see them standing outside, my faithful black hand? Ha! They wouldn’t recognise a traitor if he jumped up and slit their throats. But you do, don’t you? Yes, you see what others don’t. Yet with all your wit, you’ve failed to see the solution to your mystery. And it has been there all along, right in front of you; you have all the clues, yet you do not see it. And why should I help you then?”

Varvur didn’t know what she was speaking of. Was she simply toying with him? Trying to make him feel bad? Or did she want to trick him into agreeing to something. He wasn’t sure, but he had to know.

“I am sorry lady, but I don’t know what you mean. I don’t know who killed lord Nerevar, please tell me.”

“So you really want to know? Fine then- you killed him Varvur.” And when she saw Varvur look shocked added, “Yes, you heard me. You killed him, and I killed him, and your father killed him, and Helseth killed him, and Vivec and Almalexia killed him, and Dagoth Ur killed him., Everyone killed him, and no one killed him. You really want to find the answers, you really want to hear more clues when everything is right there, fine then, to find the one you are looking for, hear my words and mark them well, for I shall not repeat them.”

Those who live die, and those who are dead return to life.

The man you are looking for went from the house of the old god, to the house of nature.

And the key to everything lies with those who never drown, in a place built by people far from home, in a land that did not want them.

“Now leave, before I change my mind and claim your soul for my lord Sithis.” And with that, the ghost of the Night Mother vanished. Varvur went over the words again, wanting to make sure he had committed them to memory and then walked out of the crypt. As soon as he emerged, the statue of the old lady started moving back again, covering the entrance to the crypt, and Varvur saw only Lucien remained standing near it. As the statue closed, Lucien came up to him and said,

“Well, I hope my lady has given you what you came for. Now, I’ve arranged passage for you back to Morrowind, and my lady bid me to tell you she knows of your other quest as well, but also knows there is no rush there. Apparently even gods will await the pleasure of a hero.”

He smiled at that, likely thinking he’d made quite a jest even though Varvur had little idea what he spoke of. He assumed others might get it.

Lucien had arranged for Varvur to be allowed to join a caravan, but this time he did not have to worry about guarding it against trouble, for he was an honoured traveller now, himself protected by guards. All the while back to Morrowind Varvur thought over this latest riddle. He didn’t understand the first parts, but did believe he knew what the last few lines meant. ‘Those who never drown;’ only Argonians never drown. And a place built by people far away from home, in a land that did not want them. Well, Ebonheart had been built by Imperials far from their home. So had Wolverine Hall and it was even further away. This could imply either settlement, he thought, but there were very few Argonians in Wolverine Hall, and an entire Argonian mission in Ebonheart.

The first town he came to in Morrowind was Kragenmoor, which was also the end of the Caravan; from then on he’d have to find other methods of transportation. When he arrived at Kragenmoor, however, the first thing he noticed was the amount of people there, many more then he had seen when he first left for Cyrodiil and that had not been that long ago. He also noticed more then half the people were either soldiers, or training to be soldiers. And the largest surprise came when he saw his father’s cousin standing at the center of town surrounded by a number of bodyguards.

He waved at him, and moved through the throng of people to stand before his relative,

“Hello uncle, what’s going on here?”

“Haven’t you heard yet? There’s a war between the Telvanni and their evil brood on one side, and Hlaalu and Dres on the other side. House Indoril is split right down the middle, with one faction siding with Dres and Hlaalu and one with Telvanni. Your father has declared Redoran neutral, but has ordered us to fortify all our towns. This close to Indoril territory, who knows what mistakes could be made, and what things could spill over. Go see your father if you can; he should be in Blacklight, when you can, visit him and he will explain everything. So sorry Varvur, but I need to continue here.”

“Of course uncle, thank you for the information, but first I must go to Ebonheart.”
With that Varvur took his leave from Balen. Varvur sought out a captain in Kragenmoor, and asked for a horse to carry him swiftly to Veranis Hall where he could catch a boat to Ebonheart.

He arrived in Ebonheart early in the morning, and went straight to the Argonian mission. Inside he demanded to see Im-Kilaya, the head of the mission. When the Argonian arrived, Varvur decided to waste no time. He was tired of searching, and it was time to get answers. So the moment he saw Im-Kilaya, he drew the Ebony Longsword, and pointed it at him,

“Argonian, you have 5 seconds to tell me what happened the night lord Nerevar was killed, or I swear to Azura, I will end your life.”

Surprisingly, rather then deny anything, Im-Kilaya burst into tears.

Honestly Serah, I did not know this would happen, I knew nothing of the poisoning, I only did what he asked because he was my brother, I could never imagine he would do this.”

Something wasn’t right here, Varvur knew, something was very odd.

“What do you mean your brother, what did he make you do? The truth now.”

“Of course, Serah. The day before the meeting, my brother came to me. He told me his master and master Baladas was planning a surprise for lord Nerevar, but that they needed someone to distract the room for just a moment, someone no one would hurt even though it was such an important meeting. He said the only man whom they would not hurt was the poor Jester. So he asked to stand with the Jester just outside the chambers, and make sure he entered at the right time.”

“Who is your brother, then?” Varvur asked.

“Serah, my brother is Vistha-Kai, warden of master Fyr.”

Baladas. Of course, that was the answer. Now the verses made sense. He who had once lived in a Velothi dome- ‘house of the old gods’, and now in a Telvanni mushroom tower- ‘house of nature. And that first line- ‘he who had died,’ perhaps that referred to Divayth Fyr, had he died? Who knows, no one had been around for centuries who knew him when he was younger, so who could say what had happened to him in his life.

Of course who could do a better job at covering their steps then two Wizard lords of the Telvanni. Then that must also be the cause for the civil war; Hlaalu and Dres must have found out Telvanni killed lord Nerevar, and it wouldn’t surprise Varvur if it turned out the Telvanni were also the ones who killed master Curio, perhaps even in league with Dram Bero.

Now, another choice presented itself to Varvur- where would he go first? Would it be Sadrith Mora, where half the Telvanni army was likely massing, or Tel Fyr, to battle what could be the most powerful Wizard lord in all of Nirn. In the end, considering the role Fyr’s warden had played, the choice was easily made.

[Burnt Sierra]

Oooh! Jumping to conclusions young Varvur....

Something tells me that Fyr and Baladas might just be able to set him straight on that. Although, and why I'm surprised by this I no longer know, this update raises more questions than it answers...

No way has Fyr set him up to die...so that means one of two things.

Either someone - and there's only one person it could be - is trying to get Fyr and Baladas to take the fall. Which doesn't quite add up, as Helseth wasn't expecting problems back then from the Telvanni.

Or...

My original theory might still have some merit After all:

"Those who live die, and those who are dead return to life.
The man you are looking for went from the house of the old god, to the house of nature."

Dead return to life? Well, that would work. The tricky one is the House Of Nature. However...surely it depends what you mean by nature. A certain house I can think of uses mushrooms to create their buildings....

Or is there a third choice I'm not thinking of... Like.....vampires. What's their connection. Technically, are they dead? Or at least the undead? So if someone became a vampire, could they pass as dead? Hmmm, my head's starting to hurt

Again.

[Olen]

Hmm I think my idea of who the archmagister is might be correct... I suppose I'll see but he certainly fits everything. Though so does another.

But this really twists things, Baladas doesn't know who did it (well didn't anyway), so maybe Fyr did but it seems somehow unlikly. Hmm, I really am confused.

[The Metal Mallet]

I think I am beginning to draw my own conclusions.

Perhaps the Nerevarine's "death" was all just a ploy to get the corrupted ones to expose themselves as the vie for power they could now claim? Fyr's calm nature throughout this whole ordeal could certainly give proof to that.

[Alexander]

Well my trusted readers, very soon you'll have all the answers. Can't promise it will be tomorrow though


Ah, and to start tomorrow off nicely, I'll be posting the first update (the first of 3) just after midnight.


Alex

[Alexander]

Chapter 19. Endgame.

It was before dawn and Helseth looked at the walls of Necrom. They were high, mighty and very impressive. But fortunately, thanks to the Dres army and their flying wasps, they would not stop Helseth’s army from taking the city.

All around him his army was starting to stir, men putting on their armor, sharpening their weapons, polishing their shields. Everyone knew a great victory awaited them and they wanted to look as good as they could.

Last night Helseth had received his final reports before the battle, and spoken to the faction leaders. Everyone knew what to do that day, so if all went well, and Helseth had no reason to think otherwise, he would have to do little more than watch as his victory unfolded.

He’d been surprised by the reports; fully half of house Telvanni was not here ; they were guarding other parts of the front. They were facing most of the Ashlanders though, but Helseth was not at all worried by them. Baladas Demnevanni, apparently now a Magister of house Telvanni, had come to them last night and told them they need not even bother storming the walls. Instead the Telvanni and their allies would come out of Necrom and face Helseth’s army in the field.

Helseth accepted of course, though he knew it to be madness on the part of house Telvanni. They were outnumbered nearly three to one. Almost all the forces of house Dres had shown up, which now made up of more than a third of Helseth’s army. His mercenaries, the Hlaalu and Camonna Tong men and the two guilds contributed another third, and finally the Indoril constituted nearly a third.

Helseth had thought of this day for weeks now, and he’d told his commanders last night what they would do today. They would attack during the daytime, to make sure the Vampire allies of the Telvanni were useless. Helseth wanted his Indoril in the center. They would not break and could support the flanks if need be. The Dres would serve as the reserves, ready to shore up places where they were needed. They were especially suited for that because of their light armor and fast wasps. The left flank would be held by the Hlaalu and Camonna Tong men, and the right by the fighters guild, with the cavalry mercenaries at the far right ready to storm. The mages would be at the rear, using their magic to offset the Telvanni wherever they might come.

He felt it in his very being; today would be the day to defeat these rebels. He wanted to prove to everyone once and for all, that they’d best obey him or they would surely die.

[milanius]

...it'll all fail miserably, won't it?

[Alexander]

Varvur had been able to dodge every patrol he came across. And he came across quite a few. Until Suran things had been easy, but he arrived in Suran to find it occupied by Telvanni. He had gone back to his mercenary guise, and was able to exit the town with no trouble from guards. Beyond it, he did his best to stay hidden. It was slow going, and there were a number of times when people had come close to noticing him, but after two days, he finally found himself looking at the entrance to Tel Fyr. Compared to some other Tels, Tel Fyr was very modest and small even. Divayth preferred not to keep too many servants around, so he did not need to accommodate them.

Varvur slowly opened the door, and snuck inside. He’d never been there before, but had frequently heard the stories of his cousin who was once kept prisoner here for a time. To the left was the way to the corprosarium, and to the right the passage to the tower of Tel Fyr, home to the Wizard lord himself. Varvur pondered his choice; he could go to the left and kill the warden first, but if he did that and then got killed by Divayth, it would have been a death without meaning. Or if he went right, to face the Wizard, he could get killed without ever having avenged lord Nerevar.

He choose to go right anyway, remembering again the tale of Balen about the snake’s head. He slowly and carefully made his way up the slope until he reached a door. Opening it slowly, he gazed ahead, looking for any magical traps. Satisfied there were none, he slowly closed the door behind him. He knew the Wizard would be one floor up, but climbing there was simply not an option. Acting on a hunch, he went into the room left of the entrance, where he saw a number of potions. He was lucky yet again; one of the potions allowed the drinker to fly, only for a short while- but still, it would do the trick nicely he thought. He drank it, and immediately felt weightless.

He’d used such a potion once before, and had found it funny to fly inside his father’s house that time. This time though, he did not find it funny at all. He tried his best to remain quiet as he slowly drifted up through the shaft to the upper floor. Poking his head just above the edge, he saw a figure standing with his back to where Varvur was. Usually Divayth wore Daedric armour, but for some reason, today he appeared only to be wearing a dark robe. He had the hood of the robe over his head and was bending a bit over a table, intensely staring at something.

Varvur drifted further upwards, and into an adjoining room. He knew he would have to wait for the potion to wear off; one thing he hadn’t trained for was fighting while he was floating about. Luckily he didn’t have to wait long. He felt himself slowly drifting down until his feet were once again firmly on the floor. He silently took off his Akavir katana and placed it on the floor, he wanted to avenge lord Nerevar with the lords own blade.

Being careful not to make a sound, Varvur snuck out of the room and looked at the figure, which he saw was still bending over the table. He felt very lucky at that moment. He snuck to the entrance of the room where the man was standing, but just before he entered, he must have stepped on something as there was a small creak.

[Burnt Sierra]

A small creak eh? Folllowed by a huge fireball and a Dremora Lord charging at him? Or followed by Fyr turning round, smiling and saying, "Ah Varvur, I've been expecting you."

I'll have to wait to find out - though I have a pretty good idea about this one. Your portrayal of Fyr is of a much nicer wizard than I ever took him to be

Man, I really hate waiting....

[Olen]

I don't think its Fyr... But I do think we're about to find out who the archmagister is. As for the coming battle someone will turn on helseth, most likly the indoril though either dres or hlaalu might. Certainly most of you're characters are more likeable than I took them to be, but then I think they're meant to be so thats fine.

I'm surprised how easily Varvur managed to sneak in though.

[Alexander]

Dawn had arrived, and with it the troops had come out of the city just as Baladas had promised they would. They filed out of Necrom and positioned themselves in front of the city. A large mass of Ashlanders and former slaves formed the center, with rebel Indoril on the right and Telvanni on the left. It was a very smart tactic, Helseth knew at once.

The Hlaalu and Camonna Tong were most likely to break first, the Indoril never would, and the fighters guild would hold for a time, but the Hlaalu had never been the best fighters. Surely Baladas wanted to simply keep the Indoril and right flank of Helseth’s army busy long enough for Drulvan’s Indoril to scatter the Hlaalu, and then join the slaves and Ashlanders against Helseth’s center. Once that tide had started it would be hard to stop it.

It might have worked too, if Helseth did not have the whole of house Dres in reserve, ready to come to a failing flank. When he recognized their intentions, he spoke to the viceroy and they agreed to move the majority of the Dres behind the Hlaalu. It would bolster their resolve, keeping them in the fight longer and, should it look as if they’re breaking, the Dres would quickly come to the rescue.

Helseth looked again at the people around him- the Gahprovihn of the Indoril, the viceroy of house Dres and his many bodyguards. Both the “leaders” had chosen not to personally lead their men into battle. Especially the viceroy of the Dres seemed like a cowardly man to Helseth. Since the start of the campaign, Helseth had not once seen him without his full body armor. Every part of his body was covered; one could not even see the red of his eyes, and when he responded to something it was almost always in high grunts, as if he was afraid even to speak aloud for fear of bringing attention onto himself or providing an assassin with a target.

Helseth didn’t really care though, so long as he helped him win this battle and thus the war. He wouldn’t have cared if the viceroy had showed up naked with his ears painted purple, if he thought that would help him through this, let him do it.

Far in front of him, he suddenly heard heralds blowing horns from atop the walls. He felt that it must be the sign for attack, and he was right. Slowly but surely, the host of the Telvanni started and moved towards his army. He could see people readying their weapons, bracing themselves for the initial impact. His orders to the mages guild had been clear: wait before you fire your magic until the entire Telvanni host is committed, too early a show of power could have them running away and chasing someone can be tiring.

The Telvanni came steadily closer, and then the battle had begun. Telvanni wizards shot spells at the fighters guild, Ashlanders and slaves tried their best not to get killed while battling Helseth’s Indorils, and Drulvan’s Indorils hoping to make fast work of the Hlaalu and Tong. At the very front he saw the powerful figure of Drulvan himself, complete with his plumed helmet. Any minute now the mages guild would let loose their spells and then the Telvanni would be as good as done for.

On top of the walls, a herald suddenly blew yet another signal on his horn, a different signal this time. Helseth was just about to ask the Gahprovihn if he had heard that signal before, when suddenly all around him the sky darkened.

[Burnt Sierra]

Oh, that's really clever! You crafty little... Bang goes Helseths plans for nullifying a certain aspect of the oppositions army.

Wow, all of a sudden I'm hungry. Maybe I'll have a a nice rare steak for tea tonight... bloody as hell...

[Agent Griff]

I don't know why, but I think the Mages Guild will turn. You made us think that the Dres might surrender by describing their leader as a craven, but then again Helseth's plans do depend on the Mages Guild pretty much. We'll see however. Brilliant story. Truly one of the best epic stories on this site and when I say epic I mean epic! A tad short maybe.

[milanius]

Darkened sky, eh? Guess who can fight in shade... Hlaalu flank may find themselves knee-deep in vampires any time soon.

[Agent Griff]

Oh, clever me. I forgot all about the vampires.

[minque]

Ahrrghh been away from home about 48 hours and find a h*** of a lot of updates.....mymy....I'm reading and pondering, but it doesn't help, no way Sir....


AAAAAAHHH I want more....NOW! please...

[Alexander]

Oh, clever me. I forgot all about the vampires.

Well, since they're already on the side of the Telvanni, I'm sure it was not the party Gulvan was speaking about to Baladas.




I promise, I promise, tomorrow will bring many answers. Like last night, I plan to post the first one right after midnight.

[Burnt Sierra]

I promise, I promise, tomorrow will bring many answers. Like last night, I plan to post the first one right after midnight.

Fangtastic! Bring on the witching hour...

[Alexander]

Varvur felt a strong tug at the Ebony Longsword, and next thing he knew it was flying upwards, in an arc towards the cloaked figure, who caught it, but rather then hold it, placed it on the table in front of him.

Varvur wanted to jump forward and throw himself at the figure, willing to use his own body as a weapon, but for some reason he was unable to move. The Wizard must have put him under a spell. It was so frustrating and maddening, to be this close to finishing the killer of lord Nerevar, and not even be able to move.

That feeling changed though, when the cloaked figure pulled down his hood, and in a calm and low voice said, “Hello Varvur, I’m glad you made it just in time.”

Varvur couldn’t believe his eyes. The figure, without the hood, looked exactly like lord Nerevar. He had to be an impostor, perhaps Baladas trying to fool him, or Divayth trying to fool the world. Apparently his feelings must have been visible on his face.

“Haha, don’t worry Varvur, I’m not an impostor, I am lord Nerevar.”

Lord Nerevar made a move of his hand, and Varvur could move again.

“Come here Varvur, there is something I‘d like for you to see. Do not worry, I will explain all in a moment, but for now, please, come.”

Varvur moved forward, and looked in the direction lord Nerevar was pointing, toward a large steel tablet lying on the table, and in it, he saw moving pictures. It seemed so lifelike, the scenes appeared to be happening right in front of his eyes. He saw a great city, looking not unlike Necrom, and before the city, two armies were fighting. He saw armour everywhere, men dying as a great host of what appeared to be a combination of mercenaries, Hlaalu retainers, fighters guild members and Indoril soldiers were advancing toward the city. Behind the advancing army came another host, this time of some standard infantry, but also spearmen with spears and shields, on top of giant flying wasps. Varvur realised those must be Dres warriors, and knew that the city was about to fall. No city in history had been able to successfully defend itself against the flying wasps.

[Steve]

I just spent an hour catching up and now I'm still so behind!!!
It's like reading a good book series and when you finish one book you can't wait for the other!
But with this, it is paragraphs you can't wait for! lol

Varvur has been such a good person throughout all of this. He seems simple and innocent to this whole mess. I definetally enjoyed reading his stuff the most.
But uh, the most difficult thing for me to figure out is. How does Lord Nerevar die and then live? I'm so confused......
But! I shall wait patiently!

This post has been edited by Steve: Mar 20 2008, 05:48 AM