I am Lena Wolf, Lena's life as it happens Options

[Lena Wolf]

9-10 Frostfall, 4E202 - Haven - Southpoint - Elden Root

"It's the Ninth of Frostfall," Hauk looked at Lena with significance at breakfast. "We have to be back in Anvil in a week. We have no time to go exploring the South of Pelletine." He hovered over the plate of fruit, picking up an apple. "And I've had enough of coconuts."

"You are probably right," Lena nodded, also searching for a familiar piece of fruit. "Besides, I hear that the coastal road has very steep patches as well, and we'll get stuck again. So what do you suggest?"

"Turn North and take a peek in Valenwood," Hauk seemed to go over a list in his head. "There is nothing that would interest the Legion in this jungle. Other than the Khajiit pocketing the Imperial Infrastructure Grant... But I've seen enough to report on that," he added with renewed annoyance. "Now I'm curious to see whether the Bosmer have done any better."

"Imperial Infrastructure Grant..?" Lena had never heard of such a thing.

"Yeah... Did you think they financed the roads themselves?" Hauk smirked. "The Empire paid for it, and root tunnels were definitely not a part of the deal!"

"But why would the Empire bother with provincial roads?" Lena was still not getting it.

"Because roads are a sign of civilisation!" Hauk recited what sounded like a slogan. "And because the Legion needs decent roads to move the troops," he winked. "Anyway, I hear the terrain in Valenwood is even more challenging, may be not so much of a jungle, but deep lakes, steep cliffs and generally not very passable areas. Plus you know how the Bosmer feel about cutting down trees... The kind of jungle clearing that the Khajiit have done here, would simply not be happening in Valenwood. We need to go and see," he concluded firmly.

"Well, all right," Lena nodded. "I don't think I'll find any clues for my assignment down South either. The only 'Dark' thing around here seems to be the spiders." This was probably not entirely true, but it had been clear from the start that Lena would not have time to visit everywhere. And Valenwood meant finally going North.

...

"Where is everyone?" Hauk struck a conversation with the harbour master in Haven. "It's an impressive city but has everyone just up and left?"

"But it's the holiday season, of course!" The harbour master gave him a big grin. "Everyone is off to the countryside, bond with nature, avoid the crowds, that sort of thing."

"Well, if they wanted to avoid the crowds, they should have stayed right here!" Lena seconded Hauk on that. "But we are not complaining. Is there an inn in town?"

"Oh yes," the harbour master nodded. "The Stairway to Heaven it's called. You will find it eventually."

"All right," Lena turned to go. "Oh, what about the horses?"

They entered the city over the bridge from Anequina, and this was the harbour side, not the "official" entrance on the other end.

"Yeah, you should have left them on the other shore," the harbour master agreed. "There's no hay for them here, and we are not keen on... you know... they stuff they leave behind," he twitched his nose and Roach snorted. "I always say we ought to build stables there so that travellers would get the idea."

"That is all well and good," a well-dressed mage joined in. "But what if people want to pass through the city? They'll still have to bring their horses in. I wager these travellers also intend to continue into Valenwood, that is to come out from the main entrance." Lena nodded vigorously.

"Yes, well, there's that," the harbour master agreed. "Leave them here then, or take them to the shore so they could graze. Come back once you know your way through the city." He nodded to his own solution and walked off.

The city of Haven was magnificent. All these stately houses with orange tiled roofs, narrow streets and complex layout. There were quite a few soldiers in the streets, and even an open air bar, with mead kegs found throughout the city.

"These people know what's important," Hauk approved.

The views of the harbour and of the hilly countryside were fabulous, and Lena and Hauk walked every street at least three times as they got thoroughly lost in the labyrinth of narrow passages, stairs and arcades. Of course Lena managed to fall into the same pothole twice, and had significant trouble getting out, having found herself somehow under the paving...

"Well, you shouldn't investigate every dark corner, really," Hauk was stifling a laugh. "Look, I didn't fall into any potholes at all. And in fact - here's the inn."

It was getting late and the inn was certainly a welcome sight.

"These Bosmer are really weird," Lena was saying as they were climbing to the top floor to the only guest room. "Just the one room?"

"Yes, but it comes with a triple door!" Hauk smacked his lips, examining that extraordinarily secure construction. "Was this built for royalty? Look at the size of the room!"

"Close the doors and never mind that," Lena grinned. "I like it. The bed's good too..." And seeing how it was well past midnight and they'd been in the saddle and on their feet all day, the bed was the best news of all.

10 Frostfall

The morning greeted them with bright sunshine - a lovely day for travelling. Southpoint was only an hour away, and they spent the morning wandering around the port and the markets of this beautiful sprawling city. A lady in an evening gown was pacing up and down a square, a few dock workers were lazying about the docks, but otherwise the place was deserted. Holiday season was clearly in full swing.

"That is a beautiful frock you are wearing," Hauk smiled at the lady. "Going some place nice?"

"I wish!" She looked at the same time annoyed and pleased to chat with them. "It's all nature and countryside, I'm fed up with it!" She said rather hotly. "What about culture, I ask you? Civilisation? You don't find that up a tree!" She went quite red. "There's nothing going on here! No shops, no theatre, no entertainment! You can't get flowers because that's against Bosmer values - plants can't be cut!" She snorted. "Oh I so miss the Imperial City!"

"But surely... somebody built this town?" Hauk looked at the elegant buildings around him. "A city to rival any in Cyrodiil. Haven too. And both so empty. What happened?" He smiled at the lady, gallantly offering her his arm. "Would you be so kind as to show us around?"

"Well, if you put it like that..." She calmed down and smiled. "It is a rather lovely city, actually. We have this long promenade along the water..."

The walk around town was very pleasant, and it was well past midday when Lena and Hauk finally took their leave, still not having found out where everyone had disappeared to.

"This is really odd, you know," Hauk was saying as they were riding on. "It's as if everyone just vanished."

"Together with their belongings," Lena nodded. "I poked my nose into a few houses - they were empty inside!"

"Very odd indeed," Hauk mused. "Hey!" He spun around and swore, pulling an arrow from between the plates of his armour. "I think we've found some locals!"

Bandits dealt with, they continued their journey along a scenic green road until they reached a small village of Meadow Run. This settlement wasn't empty.

"Does this look familiar to you?" Lena looked around at the tall houses.

"Umm... No," Hauk shook his head. "Why? What are you thinking of?"

"The Shivering Isles," Lena smiled. "Not the same of course, in particular not the same nature, and these rock formations are quite different, but there's something about these wooden steps and the doors being so high up..." She sighed. Perhaps she simply missed the Shivering Isles, or perhaps some of the Bosmer who came to live there, brought their style of building with them.

"Are you going to Elden Root?" One of the villages approached Lena. "It's just up that way, you know."

"Yeah, I suppose, we'll go see if it's nearby," Lena nodded.

"Elden Root is an ancient Elven city," the villager proudly informed Lena. "Well worth a visit! The inn there is still open too - the Eagle's Nest, on the Market Square. You can't miss it."

"Oh, that's good to know," Lena smiled. "Thanks!"

"Just..." the Bosmer shifted her eyes uneasily. "Well, you know, don't be too surprised..."

"Of what?" Lena had a suspicion. The holiday season.

"If you don't see a lot of people about," the Bosmer managed. "It's..." She seemed quite lost for words.

"The holiday season?" Lena suggested.

"Yes, that's true, but... Never mind," the Bosmer concluded brightly. "Enjoy your visit! The city is still there in all its splendour."

Lena and Hauk rode off, it was indeed just a short stretch to Elden Root. The city was nestled between the hills, and the views were lovely, despite the rain.

It was a wonderful place, they really liked it. But this city too was nearly empty.

"I am starting to wonder..." Hauk was saying as they were walking the streets. "That woman back in Meadow Run - what did she mean? There's more to it than just the holiday season."

"I had the same impression," Lena nodded. "Something isn't right. Oh wow, look at that!"

Elden Root was indeed an ancient Elven city.

Crossing the water, they found themselves in a poorer part of town. Grand stone houses were replaced by wooden shacks with people living on two levels, like in Bravil. But unlike Bravil, people here built whole streets on the upper level, much of it around a boarded up chapel and on top of an old Ayleid ruin. Wooden houses covered it all. A few people were walking around there, happy to see new faces. Lena cautiously asked whether everyone else was on holiday.

"Holiday?" The Bosmer didn't seem to understand what she was talking about. "Oh, you mean where everyone is gone to?" He clasped his mouth. "Me and my big mouth! Yes, holiday, indeed."

"Umm... Really?" Lena smiled her most charming smile. "It must be a wonderful place if everyone just up and left..."

"Well, if you must know..." the Bosmer looked around, but there was no one else in sight. "It isn't a holiday," he continued in a hushed voice. "Something awful has happened! They've all been taken!"

"What?!" Hauk exclaimed, then caught himself and also lowered his voice. "We've found the same in Haven and Southpoint!"

"Really?" The Bosmer went pale with anguish. "I... I didn't know that! This is worse than I feared! Oh Gods..!" And with that he buried his face in his hands and disappeared into the nearest house.

"This doesn't bode well," Hauk sounded grave. "And people are afraid to talk about it for fear of being taken also, no doubt."

"Taken..." Lena was trying to think what it could mean. "As in - kidnapped? By whom? And are they still alive?"

"We'll need to find out," decided Hauk. "This town is the only one so far when at least one person didn't try to cover it up. Perhaps there are clues to be found."

They walked around the city until it got quite late and their feet firmly refused to walk any further. They passed the Market Square several times, it was eerily empty without any traders, but the Eagle's Nest tavern was open, even though there were no customers. The Eagle's Nest inn was just next door, and Lena and Hauk gratefully headed inside.

"Welcome, welcome!" The publican greeted them cheerfully. "Do come in! We've got food, drinks and beds - and have you seen our outdoor cafe as well?"

"Yes, we are just coming from there, thank you," Lena beamed at her. "We are looking to stay the night."

"But of course!" Bothiel the publican was overjoyed. "You can use either of the larger rooms on the top floor - a twin or a double, whatever your preference," she winked at Hauk. "Would you care for any dinner first? We have a proper dining room just upstairs."

This was music to their ears and they allowed Bothiel to fuss about the food and the drinks. Lena had no wish to spoil the evening by asking about any mysterious disappearances, after all, that could wait till the morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new mod TWMP Valenwood Cities is in the making. You guessed it - it will be for TWMP Valenwood Improved, with or without the Southern Alliance. I am uncertain at this point whether it could be easily converted to the original Valenwood Improved - it could be a problem because of the changed FormIDs. We'll see. But my game is all TWMP, follow me if you wish! Those Bosmer will need rescuing and it won't be easy...


This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Mar 6 2022, 09:40 PM

[Lena Wolf]

11 Frostfall, 4E202 - Holidays in Elden Root

"Holidays? Ha!" Jorgen Rammstein laughed derisively. "That's what the cowards would tell you. Rubbish! This city is in big trouble!"

Finally, Lena and Hauk found someone who wasn't afraid to talk about what happened. Jorgen Rammstein was an old Nord who'd clearly seen enough battles in his life to not be afraid of almost anything.

"Necromancers," he continued. "Swooped down onto the city shooting their spells everywhere tucking people into their black soul gems. A massacre it was. Those folks that had some wits about them, ran for cover, hid in their houses, in basements, crypts, what have you, but those that had to see what was going on... It wasn't just the cats that got killed through their curiosity." He shook his head in sorrow. "We tried to stand up to them, the City Guard fought bravely, and those of us who could still hold a weapon... But those were no ordinary Necromancers, I am not even sure they were of flesh and blood..." He beckoned Lena and Hauk to follow, leading them to his house - a stately mansion in the Upper District. "Some of them were, just people I mean, and we killed them all, but it didn't stop the attacks."

"Did they capture everyone into the soul gems?" Hauk was looking grim.

"Not everyone," Jorgen turned to him. "The City Guard... they are all dead. Just dead. But the Captain got taken."

They entered Jorgen's house, a comfortable home with many trophies on display, and Jorgen led them into the basement. There, between the kegs of mead and old battleaxes, lay some robes and scrolls.

"This is what they had on them," he pointed at the robes. "Regular Necromancer robes, some scrolls, some soul gems, nothing unusual. I just kept these as a sample. These were just acolytes - foot soldiers. But I found a few notes on them."

He handed them a stack of wrinkled notes. They were just scraps of messages, brief excerpts of communication, many were about getting more black soul gems, and none of it made any sense.

"You should go see the Chapel of Arkay," Jorgen was saying, passing the mead to Lena and Hauk. "Our coward of a Mayor had it locked up! What a disgrace! Instead of cleaning it up, he locks it up and denies access to those few of us that survived the attack!"

"Chapel of Arkay? Where is it?" Lena didn't recall seeing any chapels during the walk the day before.

"It's in the Lower District, it's quite built up there," Jorgen calmed down. "But the people used to go to the Chapel, and the Priest was a good man. Oh, just break those damned boards and go see inside! Prepare for a shock... But may be you'll find some clues. You are looking into it, aren't you?" He looked at Lena and Hauk in turn, and Lena nodded firmly.

...

"I wonder who else is still around," Lena turned to Hauk when they were back in the street. "Perhaps we should knock on some doors and see."

That seemed like a good idea and they knocked on the next door.

"Who is it?" A hoarse voice came from within. "If you are not from the inn, go away!"

"We are not from the inn, we are travellers," Lena was taken aback and said the first thing that came to her mind. "We were just..."

"Are you all right in there?" Hauk interrupted her, speaking loudly at the door. "We've just spoken to Jorgen, your neighbour. We know what's going on."

The lock clicked and an Orc peered through a narrow opening.

"Spoken to Jorgen, have you?" He squinted at them. "So are you looking into this matter or what?"

"We are," Hauk nodded.

"Well, why didn't you say so!" The Orc threw the door open wide. "Please, come in! Have you eaten? Do you have a place to stay? This town is a mess! I'm Ogg gro-Kash, at your service."

The change of tone was quite remarkable. Ogg gro-Kash was showing them around his lovely mansion, as if trying to sell it to them.

"Do you live here alone?" Hauk asked pleasantly, noticing that some of the rooms looked rather unused, if pristine.

"I do, I do!" The Orc nodded vigorously. "I just use that bedroom, quite enough for me! This suite here however is vacant! Well, fully furnished as you can see, but without an occupant. And you've seen the common room downstairs, we get supplies and service from the inn, even in these dire times, and..." He suddenly stopped talking, perhaps realising that he already said all that he wanted, and more.

"Very nice," Lena smiled at him.

"You think so?" Ogg smiled back at her. "Then perhaps would you consider taking it on? The suite, I mean. I would sell it to you for a pittance." He blushed and shuffled uncomfortably. "I no longer want to live alone."

"I see," Hauk looked up. "Thank you. We'll think about it, I don't know how long we'll be staying."

They chatted a bit longer, then Lena and Hauk continued their tour of the city. Most buildings were empty, but a large mansion with a door on the corner certainly wasn't. They were greeted by a butler who informed them that his Master and Mistress were currently not receiving visitors, and that because of the recent events in the city, his Master was no longer attending the Council meetings, as those had been cancelled. He suggested that all enquiries should be lodged directly with the Council.

"But is the Council still in office?" Lena asked in surprise.

"Not as such, no," the butler shook his head. "But the Mayor is still alive, if that's what you mean, and his clerk is usually loitering in the Council Chambers. Just go and see for yourselves, it's just over the water in those Ayleid buildings."

There was indeed a cluster of buildings on the other side of the canal looking very much like the buildings in the Imperial City.

"The Imperial City was built by the Ayleids," Hauk reminded Lena. "It is not Imperial architecture, it is Ayleid architecture."

The first door led to the Mages Guild. The room was well appointed but empty, as was the residence suite upstairs.

"Four beds," Lena noted. "And four chairs at the dining table downstairs. This chapter has four mages."

"Had four mages," Hauk corrected her. "We don't know what happened here. Do they have a basement?"

They did, and in it they found Menandril.

"Well, I am not coming out, not until the City Guard is restored," he said defiantly. "Forgive me. It was awful. And yes, I am a mage, but not a Battlemage," he looked at Hauk with significance, recognising a battlemage in him. "I am the head of this chapter, and as such responsible for my mages. I've teleported them to safety. Restore the City Guard and we will be back, but until then I'm staying here."

The next door led to the Council Chambers.

"The Council is closed," a clerk informed them as they came in. "Due to the recent events, the Mayor cancelled all Council meetings as there aren't enough people left to govern." He looked dejected. "And we have no City Guard."

"The City Guard seems to be the key to many things here," Lena noted.

"Oh yes, the Captain--" he clerk interrupted himself. "Well, yes. The Captain was so reliable..."

"And let me guess - the Mayor has locked himself in his residence and is not coming out until the City Guard is restored," Hauk offered.

"Yes! How did you know?" The clerk looked at him in surprise, then realised something. "Oh, you've been talking to some of the others... Yes, well, it's not like the Mayor can do anything about it, can he?"

This was a very depressing scene, so Lena and Hauk left. The next door led to the City Guard Offices and barracks, the building was well furnished and completely devoid of people. Crossing the cemetery, they returned to the town proper, now looking for the Chapel of Arkay somewhere in the Lower District. They soon came upon two doors that were boarded up.

"This must be what Jorgen talked about," Hauk tried the boards. "These are solid, and the door behind is that of a house, this must be the Priory. Try the other one."

The other door looked like a chapel door, and the boards were somewhat loose, so after a few attempts they managed to break them off. The door behind them wasn't locked, so they entered.

"Oh Gods!" Lena exclaimed in horror. The Chapel had been desecrated, with blood and decomposing bodies everywhere. A corpse was strung up by the statue of Arkay, mort flesh was on the altar. Dried blood covered the floor.

"They could have cleaned it up!" Hauk looked around with disgust. "It must have been awful when the attack happened, but now it's just disgusting rather than dangerous. But what is this?" He walked over to a side table pointing at a scroll and a book on it. "The Register of Elden Root," he read on the cover. "Look - names and occupations of everyone living here... Everyone who used to live here," he corrected himself with sadness.

"Oh, this scroll is interesting," Lena unrolled the blood stained document. "It's a really nasty letter to Prior Livan - he must have been the Priest here. But it does explain what had occurred." She passed the scroll to Hauk who read it attentively, trying to focus on the important information among all the angry dribble.

"So, there is a way to rescue these people," he looked at Lena thoughtfully, rolling up the scroll. "We better take this, but leave the Register here, we'll be needing to consult it time and time again. This is going to be a very lengthy affair, trying to find those soul gems..."

"Yeah," Lena sighed. "Where should we even start looking? And when? We have no time for it now..."

"Oh hello!" A voice coming from the door startled them. "Finally someone came to investigate!" An ageing Orc woman entered the chapel. "Ngana gra-Kadash, a mercenary, an adventurer, now retired," she introduced herself. "We've killed quite a few of them, between the City Guard, Jorgen and myself," she was looking around the chapel, turning a rotting corpse with her boot. "They rot just like everyone else," she snorted. "It's such a shame and such a disgrace that the Chapel is just left like this," she sighed. "The Priest was a good man, but I was too late to save him..." She looked away, and Hauk thought he saw a tear glistening on her cheek. "He's been taken, you know," she looked at Lena and Hauk with anger. "Into a black soul gem - I saw it!"

"Then we might be able to rescue him," Lena handed Ngana the Necromancer's scroll. "Except we have no idea where to look."

Ngana took a few moments to read the scroll, her face contorting with rage.

"Oh, that changes everything! The bastards!" Ngana added a few words that made Hauk blush. Lena figured that was an Orc swear. "I can help you with this," Ngana's tone suddenly changed from angry to hopeful. "I've got scraps of paper I took from their bodies. Made no sense to me, but I saved them anyway. They make sense now. Follow."

She led them to her house nearby and handed them a bunch of scraps similar to those they got from Jorgen.

"These must be the names of the ruins where they took the black soul gems, or at least where they were going to take the soul gems," Ngana was pointing at some of the inscriptions. "Noutar Emero, that's a ruin near Haven, for example. And here's another - Atatar."

"That's not far from Leyawiin," Lena nodded. "I recognise a few others, but not all."

"Some are in Valenwood, some in Cyrodiil," Ngana confirmed. "I can mark them on your map. It's a start."

...

"This isn't something we can solve in a day," Hauk was pouring over the map with Ngana's markings. "Not in a week, and not in a month, it's all over the place!" He sat down at the table. "And I'm due to leave for Morrowind soon. You must promise me you won't go alone."

"I promise I won't," Lena smiled. "What are we expecting here? More Necromancers and undead?"

"Undead, I should think," Hauk nodded. "Take Jowan. And Garrus - Jowan is no good with a blade."

They were drawing up battle plans, assessing potential resistance, putting it to a schedule. Lena was four months pregnant, she still had time before she'd be forced to take a long break. Yes, she could help at least some of these people until then...

It was well past midnight when Lena and Hauk finally got up from the table at the Eagle's Nest Inn and went to bed. Their current assignments were pressing them on, they'd be leaving Elden Root on the morrow. The hunt for the soul gems would have to wait.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The people, places and events in this episode are a part of the upcoming mod TWMP Valenwood Cities. They are already present in my reality!

[Lena Wolf]

12 Frostfall, 4E202 - The journey

In the morning Lena and Hauk left Elden Root to continue their journey North. They would be passing through Silvenar and Arenthia on their way to Skingrad and finally Anvil where Lucien was expecting Lena in just a few days. The Legion was expecting Hauk too, but he wasn't saying when or where.

The road was scenic, it went through a forest studded with lakes, white stones of Ayleid ruins visible in many places. Suddenly Lena stopped her horse, peering into the distance.

"Whaa--?" Hauk was caught off-guard, nearly colliding with her. He too was lost in thought in that landscape.

"There - can you see it?" Lena pointed into the valley. It was hard to make out anything at that distance, but Hauk too saw a figure in red.

"That's an unusual robe, I'll give you that," he nodded. "But that's not why you stopped, is it?"

"No," Lena said slowly, still peering at the figure. "I've seen this person before... in a dream."

"Oh?" Hauk turned his horse to look at Lena. "Good or bad? Good, it seems. Look, there's a clearing just there, why don't we stop for lunch, and you can tell me all about it."

...

Sands everywhere, dunes moving across the horizon. Wind moving sand, gently and slowly, it was a landscape that never stood still. At night the sky was dotted with stars, some were falling. One star at the far horizon shone particularly brightly, calling you to follow...

As the sun rose, Lena got up, wrapping her red cloak around her and lowering her hood - the sand was getting everywhere. And yet this wasn't an unpleasant morning. She tried to remember which way was the bright star, no longer visible during the day. She wasn't entirely sure, so just picked a direction and started walking.

The sand was soft under her feet, it was easy to walk - she was almost gliding above it. Almost. She felt the warmth under her feet. "May you always walk on warm sands," she remembered an old Khajiit greeting - this must have been what it meant.

A ruin appeared from the sand, there was a carving on the wall. As Lena approached, the carving lit up, it seemed to be telling a story. A pilgrim walking towards a bright star...

Lena climbed on top of the ruin, and now she could see further ahead. There were more ruins there, larger ruins, something looking like a city buried in the sand. And something else - fireflies. Bright shining slivers floating in the air, then swarming, rushing upwards, breaking up the swarm and gently falling to the ground again. One floated close to Lena, touching her scarf. The scarf caught fire - no, wait, it grew longer, and with it, Lena felt lighter than air. Now she could fly.

Flying consumed the scarf though, and then she had to walk again. But there were more shining slivers around, they would attach themselves to her scarf for a time, allowing her to fly. She was sure that's how it worked.

She was nearing the large ruin now. She started noticing standing stones in the dunes. They had carvings on them, but she couldn't make out the words - the sands have washed away the details. They looked like tombstones that one finds in the wilderness or along roads - tall narrow things, marking a place where someone died during their journey.

Lena stood at the ruins of several buildings arranged in a circle, with a tower in the centre. They all seemed to be gateways to somewhere, each having a wide porch with a door leading into the dunes. Some were not accessible - the porches were too high, and the staircases had collapsed. But look - here were the fireflies, perhaps there was a way...

...

At night the sky was dotted with stars again, and some were falling. The bright star at the horizon was still calling Lena to follow. She was sure which way to go now.

As the sun rose, it coloured the sands pink. Lena could see far from the top of the tower in the centre. She noticed more ruins in the distance, and more tombstones. What was this place? She felt the urge to go through one of the portals.

A pilgrim in a red gown was approaching the ruins, wondering about the same things that Lena had been wondering about. Their gowns were the same, only their scarves differed in length. Together, they gathered enough fireflies to rise above the central tower and reach a shining beacon. Suddenly a bridge appeared linking the tower to one of the porches, and Lena and the other pilgrim took it. As they stepped onto the porch, a bright light stopped them in their tracks and a shining figure of a tall pilgrim appeared, lighting up the carvings on the walls. They were to seek out the bright star, and the carvings told of a perilous journey ahead, a journey taken by so many pilgrims before them. There was hardship ahead, danger and possibly death, but also great wonders and discoveries - everyone's journey was different.

The light on the porch was extinguished, the carvings on the walls fading into the shadows again. But as Lena's companion got up from her seat, they both saw a bright light shining from within the depth of a passage at the far end of the porch - the passage into the dunes. A great gate was opening, and the light was shining from within. The light of the bright star. Lena and her companion walked towards it, and their respective journeys began.

...

"That sounds like quite a magical dream," Hauk smiled. "Did you manage to explore more of that world?"

"Oh yes, the dream would revisit me occasionally," Lena nodded, looking into the distance and seeing dunes coloured pink by the rising sun. "And every time I would continue from the point where the previous dream ended. I always flattered myself thinking it was just my rich imagination, but now that I've seen that pilgrim here, in Tamriel... I am not so sure. I mean, you've seen him too, haven't you?" She looked at Hauk, uncertain.

"Indeed, it wasn't just your rich imagination," he agreed, passing Lena a sweetroll. "Dreams can take you to other worlds, after all Vaermina does it all the time. Although this doesn't sound like on of Vaermina's nightmares."

"It definitely wasn't a nightmare," Lena shook her head. "There was some danger in it, sure, but nothing that couldn't be overcome."

"And how did it end?" The sun was high above them and Hauk thought it was time to get going.

"It didn't..." Lena smiled. "Oh, I reached the bright star... But that wasn't the end, it was only the beginning of another journey."



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The dream is the Journey. The pilgrim's gown was brought to Tamriel by Natterforme. The pilgrim is now in Valenwood, and there are rumours of an unusual red gown seen on the shelves of the Adventurer's Heaven in Elden Root. Stranger things have happened.

[Lena Wolf]

15-16 Frostfall, 4E202 - Back to Anvil

When Lena and Hauk were finally approaching Anvil, the night had already fallen.

"Shall we stay at the Gweden Farm?" Lena turned to Hauk, looking and sounding tired. "Then go into town tomorrow?"

"Good idea," Hauk agreed. "I think you'll find someone picking you up in the morning, too," he winked at her. Lena was missing Lucien, and knowing that he was somewhere in Anvil, somewhere nearby, made her wistful.

...

"Oh hello!" Signy greeted them enthusiastically as they entered. "It's been a while! Gosh, you both look tired, come in and sit down - we'll fix you something to eat." Then called out over the shoulder: "Faustina! Come and help me get their armour off!"

"Oh thank you, but we can manage with the armour," Lena protested, but Signy and Faustina were already undoing the buckles and pulling various bits of metal off Hauk, while Tsarrina was purring around Lena's sword belts and throwing knives.

"This is a Desert Robe, is it not?" She was shaking the sand out of Lena's robe. "Heavily enchanted, but no shield. This one knows such an enchantment," she gave Lena a toothy grin. Even after a month in Elsweyr, Lena still had trouble with that. "Someone wearing the same enchantment was asking about Warlock quite recently." Tsarrina wisely chose Lena's Mages Guild title over the one that went with the robe.

"Is he here?" Lena exclaimed with hope in her voice, and Hauk smirked. She'd been trying to hide her impatience and apprehension for the last day at least, as they were headed towards Anvil, but he noticed it anyway.

"No, he isn't here now," Tsarrina shook her head. "But this one knows where to find him. Warlock needs to rest, her Speaker will be here in the morning."

Lena sighed with disappointment, but with her travel garments removed, she suddenly felt her every muscle hurt as if... well... as if she'd been in the saddle for the last day and a half non-stop. Which she had.

"We have a bath house if you want it," Signy looked at Lena and Hauk as they were tucking into their stew. "You will sleep better afterwards."

"I'm falling asleep already," objected Hauk. "Do you know when was the last time we stopped for a meal and a rest?" He looked at the ladies, and all they could do was shake their heads.

"And in your condition, too," Faustina looked at Lena sternly. "You need to eat and rest regularly, you know." Hauk gave her a warning look, but it was too late.

"My condition!" Lena exclaimed hotly. "First, how do you know? And second, it doesn't mean I'm an invalid!"

"Oh, well..." Faustina crouched level with Lena and put her hand on Lena's shoulder. "You're all this town is talking about now, of course." Lena felt a wave of calm wash over her, just like what Lucien would do it in such situations. Faustina too was an Imperial. "Your upcoming wedding."

"My wedding," Lena repeated with disbelief. "I didn't realise I was such a celebrity here. And you didn't answer my question - how did you know I was pregnant?"

"Well, dear..." Faustina didn't have another charge of calm in her and had to turn to more mundane diplomacy. "Cyrodiil is but a small village in a way... That robe of yours... We know what title it carries, and when someone from your organisation gets married, people hear about it. In particular people who are in the business of information exchange, as we are here. At your own suggestion, by the way." She smiled in the most charming way and shot a pleading glance at Hauk.

"It's true, you know," Hauk said to Lena soothingly. "They are supposed to know rather more than an average person. I wager it isn't widely known otherwise."

Lena sensed that he didn't believe it himself, but she was too tired to argue. She supposed she might have done a thing or two in all these years that made her stand out from the crowd. And of course it wasn't all about her - the better part of it was probably about Lucien. Master Assassin was getting married! That would make heads turn. She sighed and went to bed.

16 Frostfall

"You sleep rather soundly for a murderer," she heard a familiar voice in her sleep. "That is good - you need your rest."

"Wait, no, this isn't how it goes!" She laughed and woke up. Lucien was sitting on the bed next to her, and everyone else had left the room. "I missed you," she pulled him in and allowed him to take advantage of the privacy.

...

"How was your trip?" Lucien asked her after some time, handing her a robe and pulling one on himself. "We should let the others in, you know," he smiled.

"If we must," Lena giggled. "Do you want a report, now?"

"No, not about the assignment - we'll talk later, it can wait, can it not?" He looked at her and Lena nodded. "I was referring to a more personal side of it. How have you been?"

"All right," Lena looked at him with suspicion and thought to herself: "He means how have you been travelling around Elsweyr with a pregnant belly. Good for him that he didn't say it." Then continued aloud: "But you've talked to Hauk, haven't you? So you know."

"I am asking you, though," Lucien objected. "Tell me."

Was there anything to tell? It was a month-long trip, they've had their share of dungeon delving, fights and unpleasant encounters, and that being Elsweyr, she'd consumed more skooma than was probably good for her... in her condition... she had to admit, it did make a difference.

"I'm all right, we both are," she put a hand on her belly. "My vampirism relapsed a couple of times, but I had blood with me, so it wasn't too bad... Not too long, anyway. And Hauk wouldn't let me go without feeding... you know how he is. But you can't buy bottled blood anywhere there, did you know that? Ah, you didn't!" She concluded with triumph, watching worry wash over Lucien's face. "I'm all out of it now, so I'll need to restock. We didn't stop at Skingrad - there was no time."

"We can get some in Anvil," Lucien was writing a note. "Here, give this to Beatrice Gene at the Castle." He handed it to her.

"Who is Beatrice Gene?" Lena glanced over the note which simply said "As usual. LL.".

"She's a maid at the Castle, you will most likely find her around the dining room," Lucien replied matter-of-factly. "She supplies the local Sanctuary. Since the Sanctuary itself is not open to us - we must follow the rules, mustn't we - you'll have to ask her directly."

"There are vampires at the Anvil Sanctuary?" Lena looked up, surprised.

"It isn't that unusual," he smiled. "Vicente is certainly not the only vampire in the Brotherhood."

Of course not. She was one too, she reminded herself.

There was a knock on the door, then Signy's head appeared on the top of the stairs.

"Are you two up? We heard voices," she smiled and entered, seeing them already dressed. "Coffee and sweetrolls are here!"

"Sweetrolls!!" Lena jumped out of bed in excitement. "I missed sweetrolls!!"

No Khajiit Delight could replace a sweetroll for her. The day was starting well.

[Lena Wolf]

16 Frostfall, 4E202 - Elsweyr report

"So, let's hear it. What did you find out?" Lucien sat back in his chair, looking straight at Lena. The Dark Brotherhood Speaker Lucien Lachance was waiting for a report from his Silencer. Lena swallowed involuntarily. Lucien's new Anvil office was established in the previously abandoned house that came into possession of the Brotherhood after Lena completed the contract on Corvus Umbranox. It was uncommon for Speakers to have more than one office - and Lucien's main office was of course at the Cheydinhal Sanctuary - but the Night Mother must have had her reasons to deviate from the rule this time. This office wasn't particularly secret either - or sufficiently secure, and it was on purpose. No valuables or papers were kept in it, but the Black Hand tapestries could be seen through the windows from outside, if anyone was curious enough to peer in. This house was a message, even if Lena wasn't entirely sure what it said.

"Well, I haven't found the attacker," Lena started her report. "But this wasn't the requirement. I poked into every mystery I could find and talked to everyone and tried to separate gossip from information. There's also a revolt against the Empire going on, which complicated things. I believe it is completely unrelated."

"This is the first important conclusion," Lucien nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Not fully, but I think it very unlikely." She gave Lucien a long look - as usual, he knew more than he was saying. "Why, is there a connection between the Brotherhood and the Empire?"

"May be or may be not," he smiled. "Continue."

"I met several people with assassin skills, but as you requested that I shouldn't reveal myself to anyone, I don't know if any of them were ours, because they didn't say anything either," she smiled. "They were not hostile to me, and I haven't seen them work at all, which could mean anything really, but I don't think any of them is our attacker."

"Why not?" Lucien's gaze was probing. "They could simply be biding their time."

"True, and I can't explain it. It's just my impression," Lena was apologetic. She didn't have proof one way or the other - it was very hard to prove that someone didn't do something. "But I had to limit the number of leads to follow. I can give you a list of their names, if you want." Lucien shook his head, signalling her to continue. "In Orcrest I was contacted by someone wanting me to do a job on behalf of the Dark Brotherhood. I thought it suspicious, took the job, but I now think that isn't our attacker either. I think it's a local mercenary group posing as us, actually. The same amateurish approach as that of Skyrim assassins - parading their affiliation and babbling something about being the only survivors of a Purification. They've got a house plastered with the Black Hand tapestries worse than this one," she rolled her eyes at the tapestries around her, "and a Black Door in a rat-infested hole, but the door is fake - it's just a door without any protection. Painted to look like ours." Lucien was listening intently, then suddenly took out a scroll and started making notes.

"Not our attacker, most likely, I agree, but an imposter organisation needs investigating anyway. Purification, indeed!" He smirked. "I wonder what our branch in Orcrest has to say about this? It's right under their noses!" He sounded annoyed, and Lena thought that someone was likely to receive a visit from an equally annoyed Listener in the near future.

"Orcrest was a mess anyway. The anti-Empire revolt started there, no Imperial is safe, and even Hauk was picked on, since Skyrim had been with the Empire from the start. But Hauk has no difficulty standing up to a couple of stray Orcs, so they soon left him alone," Lena chuckled. "It is however an ideal place to hide for someone who wishes to vanish into thin air. Although I don't think that the attacker resides there, I think he or she uses it as a stepping stone to get away. You lose track of anyone there very quickly."

"Interesting," Lucien nodded, making more notes on a fresh scroll. "Anything else?"

"About Orcrest? No," Lena shook her head. "Didn't find anything of substance there. Hauk had his own business, as you can imagine, so I had a lot of time on my hands, and nothing. This isn't it."

"All right," Lucien drew a line under his notes. "Continue."

"Corinthe," Lena started a new chapter. "Lots going on there, that's a big city, bustling with all sorts of things, and I thought I caught a trail of someone suspicious." She smiled contentedly, and Lucien looked up. "A woman approached me with a proposition to steal something, said I looked promising. I thought she singled me out because she suspected me to be an assassin though."

"And?"

"Well, she's dead. Sorry," Lena blushed and Lucien looked annoyed. "I went on this 'heirloom recovery' job with her that she was talking about, but there was an ambush set up in the cellar. I had to defend myself. Didn't get a chance to interrogate her..."

"Hauk?" Lucien interrupted her.

"Wasn't with me," Lena looked apologetic. "I regretted it the moment that woman attacked. Hauk would have made her talk..."

"You need to invest in a paralysing dagger for just such an eventuality," Lucien pointed out. "Like the one I gave to Fenris back in Leyawiin - ten seconds paralysis. Impossible to resist and gives you enough time to tie them up." He made another note. "And Fenris' blood - he did give you some, I trust? That would have been the time to be a vampire again."

"I didn't take Fenris' blood when I was there last," Lena blushed again, realising just why he had left it for her. "I couldn't imagine why I would want a relapse on purpose... I see it now."

"Well, anyway, that's for another time," Lucien dismissed the topic. "Continue."

"I didn't find any documents on the woman's body, save for a scrap of parchment - a fragment of some pamphlet or a manifesto." She passed the fragment to Lucien. "I searched the house, nothing out of the ordinary, but lots of valuable jewellery, so I think she probably was with the Thieves Guild. May be a fence or a doyen or something. But this trail went cold."

"It's a lead though," Lucien looked thoughtful, turning over the fragment in his hand. "The Thieves Guild has every reason to hate us, what with your recent projects and all," he smiled. "Both in Cyrodiil and Skyrim. Perhaps they want to warn us not to try the same thing in Elsweyr. Be on the lookout for more such scraps of parchment." He gave it back to Lena.

"Since when have thieves become skilled assassins?" Lena looked dubious. "Skilled enough to kill some of ours?"

"The attacker is not necessarily a skilled assassin," Lucien objected. "I did say that most attacks ended with the attacker running away. They are good at stealth and escapes, but they are not that great with a blade. This is not a professional assassin."

"That was my impression too - that there are no professional assassins in Elsweyr. Which means of course that they keep out of sight. I did find a lot of thieves though, and most of them not affiliated with the Guild, but just working for themselves, with little skill too, I might add. Which is probably why they are not allowed into the Guild."

"They just add to the general confusion which allows the attacker to escape," agreed Lucien. "But what about smaller places like Riverhold, for example?"

"Great skooma there!" Exclaimed Lena, then blushed. "Umm, I mean I had to mingle, didn't I?" Lucien shook his head and smirked.

"You know it addles your brain, right?" He looked at her, still smiling. "Do you even remember anything of Riverhold? Apart from the skooma den?"

"Of course I do!" Lena said hotly, but with little conviction. "Well, there wasn't much to remember - nothing happened. The people there were very talkative. There's a lot of smuggling going on, but with the Khajiit it's almost legal, even the Legion often looks the other way, and Riverhold thrives on that. An assassin would stick out as a sore thumb there. Or someone who was trying to kill assassins," Lena corrected herself. "Dune, on the other hand, is a different matter entirely."

"Oh?" Lucien sat up, feeling that she was now coming to the juicy bits.

"A city of mysteries, that one," Lena grinned. "Pretty much everyone you talk to, has a story that they are not telling. You can tell from what they do say. There's always more of everything."

"And?"

"And... nothing," Lena sighed. "Nothing concrete. Too much potential, I couldn't choose which lead to follow and didn't have time to follow them all. An attacker could be hiding there. Or it could be a group of attackers, or - if it is indeed run by the Thieves Guild - it could be directed from there. But I have nothing, other than to say that I don't see another place with equally good provisions."

"All right, I see. Were any of those possible assassins that you mentioned, living in Dune?" Lucien raised his quill, ready to take notes.

"Yes, Jagar, a Redguard. He was rather obvious though, so might not be one of ours - I hope we're better than that. And I think their Fat Cat Zayiq Cherim is with the Thieves Guild, must be the local head. He practically runs the city. And then there's Under the Influence - a skooma den without an obvious owner with a Redguard woman selling skooma and a Khajiit doing apparently nothing. They have a chest there with odd jobs from various 'clients' - some 'heirloom recovery', some 'honour recovery', some also just plain requests for rare ingredients like vampire dust or daedra hearts. I think this might be an independent mercenary broker. I took a few of those scrolls, they turned out quite straightforward."

"Honour recovery?" Lucien looked up with amusement.

"Revenge killing. Someone didn't want to do a Sacrament. The Khajiit can be finicky about making an effigy of one of their own."

"But that chest does not guarantee the results," noted Lucien.

"Quite. Yet it seems to be good enough for some."

"All right. A small scale mercenary broker, never mind that. People who want guarantees will do the Sacrament. However, that broker could be used to set a trap for one of our own."

"Without anyone realising it, yes," Lena nodded. "And we would never be able to catch them doing it, either."

"We'll need to watch that somehow," Lucien paused in thought. "And I don't even know if we have a branch in Dune. I wonder why... A city of mysteries..." He looked at Lena searching. "Coupled with an escape via Orcrest... That could well be how they do it. Whether it's just one person or several." He made some more notes, then took out a fresh scroll. "Well done! I have enough for a report, it will have to do for this round. If they won't tell me whether or not we have a branch in Dune, they can continue the investigation themselves," he said with defiance. "I am but a Speaker..." He smirked. "All right, we'll see." He got up, walking over to Lena and raising her from the chair in an embrace. "I have a report to write... and some other duties. You have things to do as well, don't you?" He kissed her and she got the distinct impression that he was trying not to make her feel dismissed. But he was the Speaker, and, well, he had work to do.

"It's all right, I'll leave you to it, Mr. Lachance," Lena smiled. "See you later."

"Are you staying at the Benirus Manor?" He asked, not quite letting go of her.

"Yes, I think I will," Lena nodded. "Hauk is already gone - he's got a report to write as well." Lucien released his embrace and Lena turned to leave. "I've got some chores to run, but then... I could use some rest. Find me at the Manor when you are finished."

Lucien nodded, sitting back down at his desk, and Lena stepped out the door, catching a glimpse of him already absorbed in his report. "I've got a report to write too," she suddenly remembered. "For the Cartographers Guild. They did ask me to check those Elsweyr maps on the ground. Now, where did I put those notes..?"

[Lena Wolf]

16 Frostfall, 4E202 - An evening in Anvil

"I grew up in this city, you know," Lucien was looking over Anvil from the top of the lighthouse. "It was quite different back then."

"Yeah... I can imagine," Lena put her arm around his waist. "And with everything that happened in this lighthouse, too..."

"Oh, that is still ongoing," Lucien turned to her. "What with Rayenna still living here... She's got to live somewhere, of course, but I can see why some think that the lighthouse carries a curse."

"So... where did you live? Is the house still standing?"

"It is, but we didn't live in a house," Lucien laughed. "We lived in the chapel - my mother was an initiate and later a Priestess here."

"I see..." Lena nodded. "So when you joined the Brotherhood, you left."

"Yes, I was assigned to the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, so I moved there." He paused. "My mother's grave is on the chapel grounds. She lived to be an old woman - for an Imperial," he smiled, looking at Lena over the shoulder.

"Did she not object you joining the Brotherhood? It is quite different from the service to Dibella."

"Well, she would have preferred me becoming a Priest, yes," Lucien smirked. "But I followed my father's path, and she did not object. She saw him in me somehow."

"But your father - are you in touch? I assume he still lives?" Lena raised her eyes to Lucien in question.

"He lives, as far as I am aware," Lucien nodded. "But we've never met. He chose to stay away in order to protect us, and he was probably right - he is with Morag Tong."

"Yeah..." Lena was remembering something. "But wait... weren't you born in Morrowind? So you can't say you've never met. It's just that you don't remember."

"Well..." Lucien laughed. "True - he was with my mother of course when I was little. But it's like you say - I don't remember any of it. When the Arnesian War started in Morrowind, my mother left for Cyrodiil, and all contact with my father was lost. As far as I know," he added with some hesitation.

"I think you might find that not to be entirely true..." Lena sensed that there was more to it, but that it wasn't the time to pick at that particular mystery. "Things may have changed since then. Perhaps the future holds surprises."

Lucien looked at her with amusement. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you are playing a seer. Yes, the future definitely holds something, when does it not?"

They dropped the topic - the sun was setting colouring the sea and the sky pink, with the deep blue of the night already creeping in from the East. The evening was too beautiful to waste on philosophical discussions, so they locked their arms and went down to the quay for a stroll.

...

The Flowing Bowl was busy and Maenlorn was dashing back and forth serving drinks and food, but he noticed Lena and Lucien come in, motioned them to a table at the back of the room and disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later he emerged with a loaded tray and started offloading it before them.

"It's good to see you again, Lucien," he smiled. "Even though you won't be needing a room here any longer, I expect? And congratulations on your upcoming wedding," he beamed at Lena, then turning to Lucien, he added: "Your mother would have been pleased to see her boy finally settle down. Although I wouldn't count on that myself." The twinkle in his eye was unmistakable.

Lucien laughed, not trying to pretend he didn't get Maenlorn's insinuations.

"We don't worry about such things, Maenlorn," he looked around the room, noticing some people turning to listen in, and some women staring a little too hotly at the mention of the wedding. "Dibella be praised!" He raised a toast to the room, and people quickly turned away to mind their own business. "I see this city remembers me in more than one capacity," he winked. "How did you know about the wedding?"

"The Temple, of course," Maenlorn's broad grin directed at Lena showed her that Lucien's question was for her benefit. "You're all they talk about - the word came from Bravil almost immediately. Lucien is getting married! Who would have thought! And we believed he was a true Dibellan! And so on, and so forth. Oh, and also: but his bride is already pregnant! No surprises there though," he grinned at Lena again. "Don't you worry dear, we don't mind such minor details. Not here in Anvil we don't." He moved a few platters towards her. "You've got to eat."

Maenlorn walked off as new customers were coming in.

"I remember Maenlorn from long ago," said Lena watching him dash around the room. "And his brother Caenlorn too. But they probably don't remember me from back then."

"Of course they do," Lucien smirked. "Bosmer have long memories. But they don't let on much."

"I wouldn't be so sure..." Lena looked around the room noticing people being interested in Lucien, not herself. She didn't mind. "I am only known here as one of the mages with the Guild."

"Yeah, the one who sorted out the Benirus Manor. And the Serpent's Wake. And Lelles' 'houseguests', and that Bjalfi at Fort Strand... Oh, and the Gweden Farm of course - do I need to go on?" Lucien smiled. "You are not exactly incognito here."

Lena smiled at the recollections. "The Serpent's Wake was really strange though. 'Someone murdered the entire crew!' - Varulae told me and I didn't believe her, I thought it was she who murdered the crew. But then I changed my mind, and I still don't know what to think of it."

"When was it that you helped her?" Lucien looked at her shrewdly.

"Mmm, last year? Why?"

"Because she's been running that gag for two hundred years at least," Lucien smirked. "It was true enough back then - they had returned from the Summerset Isles and someone did in fact murder the entire crew. It was one botched job if you ask me - the contract was on Varulae, not the crew!"

"It was ours?" Lena sat up. "So how come Varulae is still alive?"

"Did you not find any papers on that when you were searching the lighthouse?"

"In the cellar?" Lena looked shocked.

"In the cellar," Lucien nodded.

"Oh... Yes, I did... A contract on the owner of the Serpent's Wake... I didn't pay attention to it though, I found many other similar papers, I just thought since Bellamont was a Speaker..."

"Yes, of course, most of those papers were just ordinary contracts," Lucien nodded. "But he had started undermining the Brotherhood already long before he main events. That was supposed to be an ordinary contract and it should have been passed on to the Anvil Sanctuary, but Bellamont twisted it, murdered the crew instead of the actual target hoping that the contract giver would complain... Trouble was, the contract giver was among the crew... And Varulae now had a ghost ship to milk."

"Milk? But she paid me for the recovery of the crystal ball? A most ordinary crystal ball, I might add..." Lena said, still puzzled.

"Yes, she paid you - what? A hundred septims? And collected a few thousands from the bookie. Why do you think there was a crowd there waiting to see whether you'd come out alive?" Lucien sat back, smiling.

"So if that was - is - a common thing, why would anyone remember me for falling for it?" Something didn't add up.

"It was because of the noises heard coming from the bowels of the ship when you were inside, and because of the damage to the ship," Lucien explained. "Did you summon a daedroth? Or something equally destructive? Were you throwing fireballs? On a wooden ship?"

"Well... I might have done..." Lena turned red realising her mistake.

"Oh don't worry about that!" Lucien laughed. "Varulae made more than enough money on you to cover the expense of repairs. But she became a lot more careful with her selection of candidates after that. No more mages!"

"Right... So she was doing it for two hundred years, and then one Lena Wolf comes along, and boom goes Varulae's ghost ship..." Lena noticed several people in the room smirk and giggle and wondered just how many of them were listening in on their conversation. "Yeah, I can see why they might remember me," she concluded with a smile.

...

They returned to the city through the Castle Gate and Lena noticed Lucien glancing at the cemetery by the Chapel. He seemed somehow detached.

"I need to stop by the Mages Guild," offered Lena. "I'll see you at the Manor shortly."

Lucien nodded and smiled.

...

Irene Lachance's grave was well cared for, although the stone was plain, with just her name on it. No dates, no epitaphs.

"Hello, mum," Lucien kneeled by it. "I did as you asked. I've waited for the right woman. It took a while."

He didn't expect a reply. Ghosts of Imperials did not linger in Mundus, didn't follow their children along like Dunmer ancestors did. Yet he thought he felt something... a presence. "Probably just my imagination," he reasoned. He looked up and saw a faint ghostly apparition further on among the graves. It beckoned to him. Lucien got up and followed.

The ghost disappeared through the doors of the chapel undercroft. Lucien pushed the door fully expecting having to fight Sanctified Ghosts within, but the undercroft was empty, the dead resting peacefully in their coffins. The ghost from the cemetery was hovering in the middle of the room, looking more solid in the gloom.

"Your mother has departed," the ghost said to him. "Just as you thought. But I am still here. We are all still here - you are not alone."

Lucien peered into the ghost's face, he could now make out the features. They didn't look familiar, but they were Dunmer.

"My father's side? Are you my father?" He asked.

"I am your Great Uncle," the ghost replied. "Your father still lives. You wished to speak with your mother... That isn't possible. So they sent me instead. I was like you - an assassin. Like your father. You are one of us."

"My father... I don't remember him." Lucien wasn't sure what to say to the ghost.

"No, you were too young. And you know why he's been staying away, although it might be less of an issue now..." The ghost turned around, as if listening to someone behind him whom Lucien couldn't see. "They say I shouldn't interfere, that you know what to do. Do you?"

"Do about what?" This was a most perplexing conversation.

"Your marriage will anger that other woman... a Redguard? She will turn to Mephala for help."

"Rayenna?" Lucien had been talking to Sa'Sinar about her only that very morning. Rayenna had tried to have Lena murdered before, hoping to have Lucien for herself, and now she had been exiled from the Dark Brotherhood. That didn't mean she couldn't work, it only meant to she had to face the Wrath of Sithis in her sleep. Sa'Sinar, her Speaker, was giving her contracts, trying to keep her close and under observation, more than for any other reason. It seemed the Ancestors thought she would make a move.

"Yes," the ghost nodded. "There is no telling what she'll do, but if she turns to Morag Tong..."

"All sorts of unpleasantness might follow," Lucien finished his sentence. "Yes. I know. But what can I do? Lena won't stay at home, and other than taking precautions and sending someone to warn my father, I don't see..."

The ghost laughed, and the sound of its cackle resonated in the crypt.

"You do know what to do, my boy!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Welcome to the family!" He span around, listening to the unseen others. "Come and visit us in Morrowind some day," he said, as if relaying a message. "We have an Ancestral Tomb not far from Odrosal, just inside the Ghostfence."

"The area obliterated by the eruption of the Red Mountain," Lucien looked at the ghost with suspicion. "I know it must have been after your time, but..."

"But don't I read the papers?" The ghost chuckled. "Yes, I do. Well, come and see for yourself. Perhaps not all of the official accounts were true," he winked. Could ghosts wink? Evidently.

"Come when things get settled, we are in no hurry," the ghost winked again.

"Why have you never come to me before?" Lucien wondered why none of his Dunmer ancestors ever came to his defence as they did to their Dunmer children.

"You are not a Dunmer," the ghost came closer. "We can't... It's against the rules. But you called on your mother now, and since she couldn't attend, we figured those rules were more like guidelines anyway. I mean, what can they do to us? We are already dead..." The ghost paused, listening to something. "Oh, turns out, they can do things to us after all... But never mind that, we'll manage. Come and visit us some day..."

The ghostly shape twisted, swirled and disappeared. "Someone definitely did something to that ghost," thought Lucien with a shudder. Odrosal, just inside the Ghostfence... the Salvel Ancestral Tomb... he'd remember that. For later. For some day.

[Renee]

I am up to Page 5, Post 93. I have never had a character go to Shivering Isles yet, so I have no idea what it actually entails. But the verbal exchanges between Lena, Sheo, and Dylan are a delight! I also 'enjoy' (not sure if that's the right word) the fact that Lena actually struggles with her semi-vampirism.

Maybe I've said this before in the past, probably have. But vampirism should not be something as casual as portrayed in ES games, it should be dramatic at times. Stressful. Maybe even embarrassing, amongst her friends & followers. Which is definitely captured at times.

[Lena Wolf]

Renee - the way Sheogorath speaks, is pretty much taken from the game. Not necessarily the actual words, of course, but when you do get there, you'll recognise it, I hope.

As for vampirism... Lena indeed has a problem with that. I mean, she got infected by accident, it took her literally years and years to get everything together for that cure with the Witch's Potion (the only possibility before Vile Lair came out), and then when she took it, she lost such a chunk of her abilities and looked so bad, that everyone shunned her because of that... And now it turns out she wasn't even fully cured! Yeah, she's got a problem with that.

[Lena Wolf]

16 Frostfall, 4E202 - Carahil - Raevus Palenix

"So it's true!" Carahil was eyeing Lena's pregnant belly which started becoming noticeable. "I didn't think vampires could become pregnant."

"It happens," Lena turned red. "I know your views on vampires and other undead, Carahil. Yet you didn't object working with Hannibal Traven."

"It's not the same!" It was Carahil's turn to go red. "He was a lich... He didn't suck the blood of the living!"

"I don't either!" Lena's voice was raised higher than she would have liked, but Carahil's comments really stung.

"Now, now, ladies," Thaurron walked in from the adjoining room. "There's no need to quarrel. Vampirism is a disease, Carahil, you don't get it by choice..."

"...whereas lichdom..." Lena put in.

"And he renounced that!" Carahil cried, this argument was clearly not over.

"Enough! Both of you!" Felen looked up from his alchemy station. "You are making this potion go sour!"

"What..?" Everyone looked at him in disbelief, but the shouting stopped.

"Good," he smiled and winked. "You should be congratulating Lena on carrying a child, not argue with her," Felen said, looking at Carahil with meaning. "It's a blessing, not a curse."

"She's a human, it comes easy to them," Carahil replied bitterly, shooting Felen a sharp glance. "And they don't value it as we do."

"Carahil..." Felen started, looking at her intently, then changed his mind and walked over to her, taking her hands into his. "Yes, it is harder for elves. But there is no need to despair - we have more years before us, too."

Thaurron nodded, watching them, then tugged on Lena's sleeve, motioning her to follow him into another room.

"Carahil is bitter, forgive her," he said to Lena when they were out of earshot. "She is no longer that young, not even for an elf, and she fears her time is running out. They are both elves, yes, but different elf races don't mix all that well..." He sighed and looked at Lena with a sad smile.

"Oh I had no idea..." Lena said softly. "Restoration magic... I see now."

Thaurron nodded.

"Yes, this is how it started. A long, long time ago." He looked over his shoulder, making sure that Carahil was still out of earshot. "This was even before your time - before you were born. She lived in High Rock, she was involved with an Imperial Agent, she was even with child..."

"But the child didn't survive the Dragon Break," Lena gasped.

"Quite. The Agent vanished too - his body was never found, if indeed he died. Carahil was never quite the same." Thaurron shot another glance over his shoulder. "I've known her for some time - some time even before that."

...

When Lena returned to the Benirus Manor, Lucien was examining the vast wine collection in the cellar.

"This is really quite remarkable," he turned to Lena, showing her a dusty bottle. "What?" The look on her face made him put the bottle down.

"Don't you die on me," she whispered, pulling him into an embrace.

"I wasn't planning to, no."

The child in Lena's belly turned and kicked, and they both felt its movement. It wasn't true that humans valued their children less. Besides, these two both had elven blood in them.

...

Once Lena calmed down, they picked up a few of those old bottles of wine and settled down by the fire to let the stress of the day go up in smoke. Then Lena remembered something that happened in Corinthe.

"Do you know Raevus Palenix?" She asked casually, watching Lucien out of the corner of her eye. He looked up at the mention of the name. "He was with the Mages Guild in Corinthe."

"Was?" Lucien sounded interested.

"Yes, well, there was a bit of a bother with the Guild there, nothing to do with us. But Raevus approached me later asking to come with me. Claimed he's in trouble with the Brotherhood - expelled. And you know what that means. He knew who I was though, and I thought it strange." Lena just realised she should have mentioned it in her proper report earlier. Oh well.

"So why did you not mention it earlier?" Lucien looked at Lena with a twinkle in his eye, not with reproach or annoyance that Lena had expected. Something didn't add up.

"I... well..." Lena's mouth went dry for some reason. "I should have... Speaker."

"Indeed. But let's hear it now - what happened?" Lucien was smiling, as if expecting an amusing tale. Lena noticed that he didn't answer her question - whether he knew Raevus or not.

"He wanted to come with me - wherever I was going. He had the Cruelty's Heart but I couldn't decide whether it was rightfully his. He said he killed someone he shouldn't have, and stole some scrolls, several times, so that the wraith was set onto him, and now his Speaker decided to expel him, which means of course the assassins have been sent out. He was basically asking for protection, I figured and I refused. And then I changed my mind."

"And?" Lucien wasn't betraying any reaction.

"I sent him to Orcrest," Lena looked up.

"Not the safest place for an Imperial!" Lucien smirked. "But a good place to hide, from what you told me."

"There's an old Dark Brotherhood Crypt there underground, with a shrine to Sithis. I sent him there. Promised to come for him later, too..." Lena blushed, not understanding why.

"Sent him to the Dread Father, have you?" Lucien laughed. "Well done."

"So, you know him?" Lena repeated her question.

"Indeed I do," Lucien nodded. "He made some waves with that murder. He killed his Speaker's Silencer and took his summoning scrolls similar to the ones we gave you to summon Rufio's ghost. Each Silencer gets them."

"So of course his Speaker had him expelled," Lena nodded. "But he said he'd done it several times."

"Well, he stole the scrolls several times because he wanted every single copy."

"But why?" Something still didn't add up. "He's a mage - a Conjurer with the Mages Guild, he's quite capable of summoning whatever he wants without any scrolls! What's so special about those? Did he kill that Silencer for them too?" Lena thought she might have guessed the connection.

"Do you remember your Rufio scrolls?" Lucien looked at her with expectation.

"They summoned Rufio's ghost to fight for me..." Lena tried to recall the details - it was two centuries since she used them. "Long term binding..." she nodded. "He'd stay in Mundus until he was defeated or dispelled. So, who is being summoned by the scrolls that Raevus stole?"

"Someone dear to him," Lucien answered somewhat evasively. "Like Matthieu Bellamont, Raevus joined the Brotherhood because someone dear to him was murdered. This was many years after that dreadful business of course, and the Brotherhood was very watchful. But Raevus didn't become a traitor, at least I never believed it. He just wanted to get that one person, and eventually he did. I don't know when he learned about the scrolls, but of course then he had to have them."

"So who placed him in the same Sanctuary with the Brother who killed his beloved? For it was his beloved, wasn't it?" Lena thought there was more to the story.

"It was," Lucien nodded. "It was his Speaker who approached him and took him into his Sanctuary, arguing that he would be able to watch Raevus and make sure he didn't become a traitor. Several of us thought he was playing with fire, but ultimately the Night Mother didn't object, and the matter was settled. Raevus has done very well for himself, he is an Assassin."

"And now?"

"Now he is being hunted, of course," Lucien was looking into the distance and shadows passed over his face. "And we both know how that feels."

"Is there a solution?" Lena asked softly, suspecting that the answer would be "no".

"Yes," said Lucien equally softly. "Kill the Speaker."

"What?! Why?" Lena spun around, looking at him intently. "That's..."

"Treason?" Lucien smirked. "Well, it rather depends who it is, don't you think?"

"Tell me the whole story," Lena's brow furrowed.

"Well, there isn't much more to tell, really," Lucien shrugged his shoulders. "But you might remember the Speaker: Alval Uvani."

"Gosh!" Lena was startled. "I spared him!"

"And rightly so, he is a Speaker. Which doesn't make him a nice person, necessarily," Lucien sighed.

"Alval Uvani lives in Leyawiin," Lena mused. "So Raevus was with the Leyawiin Sanctuary, right?" Lucien nodded.

"Leyawiin-Rimmen Sanctuary," he corrected her. "But close enough."

"The Border Watch?" Lena's eyes went wide. "We have a Sanctuary in the Border Watch?" Her laugh became rather uncontrollable. "The Plague of Burning Dogs!" She couldn't help herself.

"Yes, I've heard of that peculiar phenomenon," Lucien was laughing too. "So it was you, was it? That figures!"

"She-sheogorath," Lena managed to say between fits of laughter. "I only stole some cheese and poisoned some sheep, but the dogs were his!"

Once the laughter subsided, they continued their otherwise very serious conversation.

"Yes, we have a Sanctuary there," confirmed Lucien. "It's the perfect place - everyone avoids the crazy cats! But some of that craziness seems to have rubbed off on the Sanctuary too."

"Well, I can't blame Alval for being grumpy," Lena smiled. "If that's where he has to call home. No wonder he travels from place to place."

"He travels because he's a Speaker," Lucien pointed out. "And grumpy, well, that's just how he is. But he didn't handle that business with Raevus very well, I don't think."

"But is that reason enough to kill him?" Lena was dead serious now. "He is a Speaker."

"It's a choice between him and Raevus," Lucien nodded. "If Alval is killed, Raevus will be exonerated."

"Does Raevus know this?"

"He does, I told him," Lucien smiled. "But he refused to kill a Brother, even to save his own skin. He only made one exception, he said, no more."

"You spoke to him?" Lena gasped.

"This has been going on for a while now," Lucien sat back in his chair. "It's been several years since Raevus killed that Silencer. Alval has a new Silencer now, and although he did send her after Raevus, she wasn't successful."

"But she still lives?" This matter was getting stranger by the minute.

"Indeed. Raevus paralysed her and vanished. She never found him again. Alval changed his mind and sent out a group of assassins after Raevus instead, they are roaming Tamriel as we speak."

"But he's right there with the Corinthe Mages Guild..." Lena said, then remembered how good Raevus was at vanishing into thin air. "A Master of Illusion?"

Lucien bowed his head. "We should help him."

"You mean I should--"

"No, this will be a tragic accident," Lucien smiled thinly. "Alval is partial to apples, both poisoned and regular. It's too easy to make a mistake, especially when drunk..."

"Mead!" Lena exclaimed, remembering something. "Oh, this is evil."

"No, this is practical," Lucien looked serious. "In his own house, in his pantry where he keeps both kinds of apples quite close together. 'This was an accident waiting to happen' is what we are aiming at."

"But the Night Mother will know," Lena objected.

"Of course she will," Lucien nodded, "since it was her idea in the first place." He smiled. "I wouldn't worry."

"So me meeting Raevus..?" Lena gasped.

"Was completely accidental," Lucien interrupted her. "I was supposed to do it myself, I might still do it myself, if you are occupied elsewhere. We'll see, it's not the time yet."

"Then when?" Obviously, there was a lot more that Lucien wasn't telling her.

"Not yet," he smiled. "This will have to do. Raevus will be safe in Orcrest."

This closed the discussion. Lucien opened another bottle of wine, poured a little into a clean goblet, rolled it around, inhaled the aroma. He wouldn't taste it until it would have had time to breathe. It wasn't the time for drinking it yet. Patience was the key.

[Lena Wolf]

16 Frostfall, 4E202 - Doubts

"You haven't said anything about Valenwood," Lucien said to Lena as they were sitting by the fire in the Benirus Manor in Anvil after a long day of reports and conversations. Lena had just returned from a month-long trip to Elsweyr and Valenwood, but didn't say anything about Valenwood in her report.

"Well, there wasn't anything to report there," Lena shook her head. "Mostly because we didn't have time to look around. We always knew we couldn't do it all. We also didn't go to Torval or Senchal for the same reason."

"But?" Lucien looked at Lena shrewdly - he could tell there was something.

"But... Well, the cities in South Valenwood were empty!" Lena looked shocked. "In Elden Root we discovered that it were necromancers. Captured a lot of people into black soul gems, then hid the gems in various ruins throughout Tamriel! I don't know what happened in Haven or Southpoint though."

"This is awful, but not that unusual, as far as your adventures go," Lucien kept his gaze on Lena. "So you'll round up some of your friends and go delving into the ruins. You do it all the time. There's something else."

"I guess you are right..." Lena stared into the fire. "There were a few occasions that brought back memories. And also I took Hauk to the Void."

"He mentioned it briefly," Lucien nodded. "You met Dar-Pha."

"You know Dar-Pha?" Was there anything that Lucien didn't know?

"Not personally, no," he laughed. "But Hauk told me about her. He thought he'd lost her forever when he left Antaloor and she wouldn't follow him to Tamriel. Not the kind of woman to follow anyone, she isn't, but the sound of things. But now he found her again... How are you taking it?"

"I..." Lena was taken off-guard with this question. She realised now that seeing Hauk's reaction to Dar-Pha was a shock to her, a shock of which she was ashamed. Hauk wasn't her man, she herself chose Lucien, and yet there she was feeling jealous and betrayed because Hauk loved another woman... She shouldn't have been having those feelings, they had no right to exist, and yet there they were. "I am dealing with it," she answered firmly. "He is my best friend."

They sat in silence for a while, Lucien was watching Lena's face that was awash with emotion - she wasn't trying to hide it. She was confused, her soul was in turmoil, and it wasn't just Hauk that she was thinking about. The same as Hauk had thought that he'd lost Dar-Pha forever, Lena thought of Scorpio - her companion in Gransys, one of the worlds where she had spent many years, having stepped through a portal in Sheogorath's Palace. What would happen if by some miracle she met Scorpio again? What would she feel? Would that shake her commitment to Lucien? Should she even be getting married? There was still time to call it off... And her child... who was the father? A few weeks ago she felt certain it was Hauk, but after their trip to Antaloor, she realised it was only wishful thinking. She could not know it, it wouldn't be certain for years to come, not until the child was sufficiently grown up to show signs of lineage. She had been fooling herself.

She got up and went into the basement of the manor. Lucien didn't stop her and didn't follow.

...

"Is that why you wanted to be a lich?" She was sitting by Lorgren Benirus' altar where his body was resting. "Liches have no emotions, as I understand it. Were you tormented in life? Why did you turn to Necromancy? How did it start?" She smoothed out the cloth on the altar, but Lorgren did not respond. "I am sorry we had to fight you, this is none of our business. We interrupted your ritual... well, your grandson interrupted your ritual... I hope it will be completed some day."

The crypt was quiet, there were no ghosts within, and Lorgren Benirus lay undisturbed on his altar. Lena wasn't getting any answers.

There is no pain stronger than that of the soul. Self-doubt is a plague that destroys all, crumbling everything to dust. Lena curled up in the corner of the crypt and fell asleep, exhausted. She dreamt of the people she loved, past and present, as if saying good-bye to them all, as if preparing to depart. There was no pain in the Void, and Sithis was waiting for her in the distance.

She woke up with a jolt just under her liver. The child in her belly was kicking.

"You don't want me to die, do you," she told it, smiling, stroking her belly. "Well, if you insist... Let's go see what your father is doing." She got up and started walking through the long corridor of the Benirus Manor basement. "Whether he is your real father or not... he will be your father," she concluded, shaking off the last of her doubts. The pain was subsiding.

...

"And now you feed," said Lucien, lying down on the bed with his neck exposed. "Your vampirism has flared." Lena found Lucien waiting for her to emerge from the basement.

"What?! No!" Lena cried in indignation. "I'll go out and find a beggar."

"Come - it isn't the first time," he smiled. "You'll get arrested in your present state."

"What..?" Lena was confused - the candle by the bed highlighted Lucien's throbbing vein with tiny scars of puncture marks around it. "Who did this? When?" Lena sat on the bed and touched the scars. "They feel old."

"They are old," Lucien nodded. "It was you - I let you then just as I do it now. You need blood. Feed, and I'll tell you later."

"But..." Lena gasped. "Oh no!" A fragment of a memory flickered before her eyes.

"Feed," Lucien repeated, taking her hand. "We'll talk later."

She could not hold off for much longer, the scent of living blood was driving her hunger up and up, she was getting dizzy. She remembered Dylan telling her the same thing when she got to Thadon's chalice... She kneeled over Lucien and fed.

...

Lena woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and saw Lucien handing her a cup. There were fresh bite marks on his neck.

"Thank you," Lena followed him with her eyes. "I should carry more blood."

"Nonsense," he brushed it off. "You cannot prepare for everything."

"Tell me about that other time," she said darkly. "I don't remember."

"No, you wouldn't - you were too famished," Lucien nodded. "And wounded too, must have been in a fight. You came to Fort Farragut to rest no doubt, but that time I was there too. I cloaked immediately but of course you could smell me."

"And I attacked?" Lena whispered with horror.

"No, you tried to climb the ladder to leave, but your wounds made you too weak. Then you said I must leave, warning me that you would not be able to control your hunger for much longer..."

"Oh," Lena thought she recalled something like that. Or possibly only imagined recalling it. "So why didn't you leave? My wounds would have healed enough in a few hours and I would have been gone."

"I couldn't... you might not have survived. I lay down on the bed and let you feed instead."

"And you were gone by the time I woke up," she guessed.

"No, but you could not smell me any longer," he smiled.

"Not after I just fed," Lena touched his face. "Repeatedly. How many times?"

"That night? I lost count," Lucien kissed her. "You were very weak."

"Was that the only time?" She looked at him with suspicion.

"No, but it was the first."

Lena fell on the cushions, her face burning red. "I don't remember any of it," tears were running down her face. "Vampires must be killed - I see it now."

"Don't blame yourself," Lucien lay next to her, wiping away her tears. "Do you remember other people you fed on?"

"Mostly, yes," Lena looked at him, surprised at the thought. "So why not you?"

"Because you never regained consciousness. You were wounded and dying. Your feeding was instinctive." He paused, trying to calm her. "And the dressing I put on your wounds made you sleepy."

"Why did you not want me to remember?" She looked at him with worry.

"I didn't want you to stop coming back."

They were looking into each other's eyes, each reading the same. That Lena would have never returned for fear of feeding on Lucien again, and that Lucien needed her to keep coming back, until one day, he hoped, she would stay...

"What about the other times?" Lena wanted to have the full picture now.

"Twice more," Lucien pulled her into an embrace, her head resting on his shoulder. "But not so extensive. You were always wounded though, when you came."

"That's why I came - to recover," nodded Lena. "I was getting into a lot of fights - everyone wanted to have a go at a vampire." She was calming down now. "It eased off after I took the cure."

"And I haven't seen you in a long time then," said Lucien softly. "I almost gave up hope." He was stroking her hair. "Then one day I found some of the apples missing..." He smiled.

"You must never allow that cupboard to run out of frost salts," Lena said suddenly. "Not like that time..."

"Oh," Lucien laughed. "That's how it became self-replenishing," he grinned. "I was surprised - and pleased - to wake up with bandages all over."

"My chameleon isn't as good as yours, but it didn't need to be - you passed out as soon as you got to the bed."

"It happens."

"So then in Riften... I mean, if you remember it from before... Why did you say you were surprised?" Lena raised her head to look at him.

"I was - I've never seen you do it. It's not the same to discover the result afterwards, you know," he smiled. "How many times have you undressed me like that?"

"A few..." Lena blushed. "Well... quite a few... As many as was needed," she added defiantly. "You get into fights a lot."

"I am an assassin," he shrugged, grinning.

The room was quiet. The two people on the bed were thinking of Fort Farragut. They had been meeting in its sanctuary for the past two hundred years, never admitting it to each other, and sometimes not even to themselves. Their private relationship had been shrouded from prying eyes, and neither of them wanted to make any claims or demands on the other. The lack of bonds was perhaps the strongest bond of all.

[macole]

Good ole Lucien, using Lena's affliction to his advantage. But then, I'm not entirely sure who is using who.

This post has been edited by macole: Apr 5 2022, 03:57 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Good ole Lucien, using Lena's affliction to his advantage. But then, I'm not entirely sure who is using who.

I think they may be worth each other. Neither one is an angel.

[Lena Wolf]

17 Frost Fall, 4E202 - Below Anvil

"What are your plans for today?" Lucien asked Lena at breakfast.

"I don't know..." she mused. "Probably get going to Bravil - the wedding isn't that far away, and I've got nothing to wear," she rolled her eyes.

"Mmm, I see. How do you feel about delaying it for a bit and delving into some sewers with me first?" He smiled at her.

"Sewers? With you?" Lena's eyes lit up. "Any time, dearest! What's up?"

"Apparently something fishy is going on in the sewers under Anvil," Lucien poured himself another cup of coffee. "Now, that in itself is not surprising, the thieves and smugglers have been rattling in there for ever and a day. But two assassins from the Sanctuary here disappeared recently, and then were found dead in the sewers. Admittedly, those were not the brightest Brothers, but still. We need to find out what happened."

"And they asked you to investigate it?" Lena shook her head in disbelief. "You, a Speaker?"

"Well, no," admitted Lucien. "I was talking to Sa'Sinar the other day and he mentioned it. He was going to send his new Silencer, but I volunteered. Thought it would be fun," he winked. "Besides, there's a passage into the sewers from our new office here in town - the formerly Abandoned House, and I need to know what's under my feet."

This made a lot of sense to Lena, although she was sure that the trapdoor in Lucien's office was locked. Then she realised something else.

"Aren't you familiar with the sewers already? From when you were growing up here?" She smiled at him.

"Of course I am," he grinned. "But that was a very long time ago, and sewers do change. They've opened up new passages and closed off some of the old ones, so it isn't going to be all as I remember it. And of course new tenants moved in everywhere - sewer real estate is very volatile," he smirked. "Have you heard about that pirate ship stuck inside a cave? There's more than one under Anvil, apparently. And we'll need to check the passages into the Castle too, you never know. It might take a few days."

"A ship..? ships? passages into the Castle?" Lena was looking at Lucien round-eyed. "Yes, I've heard some stories, but never knew they were actually true!" She exclaimed.

"All right then, finish your coffee and let's get going," Lucien laughed. "Oh, and don't wear anything clean - there's no point."

After all the conversations, reports and doubts, trawling through stinking sewers filled with rats, goblins and other vermin was an offer that Lena couldn't pass up. Nothing better to take your mind off things than imminent mortal danger! And for Lucien, not having to be careful to only kill the target and no one else, not needing to cloak in chameleon, not bothering with slipping poisoned apples into people's pockets, but just going out there, swords blazing, cutting down everything in sight, was a welcome change of pace, too. It wasn't quite their honeymoon yet, but it was coming decidedly close to it.

[Lena Wolf]

30 Frostfall, 4E202 - Wedding

"Before we go through with it, I have to tell you that I was married before," Lucien looked at Lena intently across the table. They were having dinner in Lena's house in Bravil, their wedding was scheduled for the following day. "The Priest will point it out to you tomorrow, I'm sure they dug it all up. Also, I have a child."

"Interesting," Lena mused, sensing that, as sensational as it sounded, it wasn't all that important. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Lucien looked surprised and amused. "This isn't the reaction I expected! Where's the indignation, the jealousy?"

"Oh, I know you are not a virgin," Lena grinned. "You can't shock me with that. And you must have had a reason to never speak of your wife and child. Do they still live?" In truth, Lena was getting rather jealous and more than a little hurt that Lucien waited that long to tell her this. But she wanted to get him to tell her the whole story, and so she had to control her temper and appear calm, or Lucien wouldn't talk.

"They might do... after a fashion," Lucien said slowly, refilling their goblets. "There is no grave I can visit, although they no longer walk the Nirn. They've been taken."

If Lucien's family had been killed, he showed little sadness about it, and Lena thought it strange. This was Lucien Lachance, the merciless killer. Did he kill them himself? But no, they were not dead. Wait... Lena tried to remain calm and listen.

"Rosa... my wife... she was an assassin too, and as such, she came into contact with various people, most of whom she killed. She was a most striking woman... a Black Widow. She used to play with her victims first..." He smirked. "Well, no matter. I did not resent her the entertainment, as I was having some of my own... The child I spoke of, wasn't hers."

"And you were blessed by Mara like that?" Lena couldn't hide her surprise. She couldn't quite see such a couple getting married at the Temple.

"Oh, we weren't married at the Temple," Lucien shook his head. "But we were married nonetheless. The Priests don't go by the letter of the law, and so they will speak to you about it."

Where was this going? Lena was getting impatient, although she tried to control it.

"Please, Lucien, just tell me what happened," she smiled at him.

"I see you are holding your nerve," he smirked. "Very well. Just note that I was the first to bring up past marriages, you still haven't told me about yours."

"Mine..?" Lena gasped. "But that was... in another world!"

"It counts." Lucien looked straight at her. "I know it because the Priests dug it up. I didn't like to hear it from them, and I am sparing you that experience now."

"All right," Lena's eyes were hard and cold, just like his. "Let's hear it. Thank you."

"This story is short: one of Rosa's targets was a Priest of Boethia. Not a person to cross, and not a person to have fun with. She should have killed him straight away, but no, she engaged in her usual entertainment. Granted, Boethia is not Mephala when it comes to sex, but she's not far off in other respects, and this Priest converted Rosa to Boethia's side before she could fulfil her contract. Which she never did, by the way."

Lucien paused, and Lena was listening silently, sipping her wine. Clearly, he had to go after that contract himself, which is probably how he found out.

"Boethia wanted a sacrifice. Rosa chose my son. They are both in Boethia's realm now." He put down his goblet signalling the end of his story.

"What happened to the mother of the child?" Lena asked in order not to ask the other more burning question - whether Lucien still loved Rosa.

"She went after him. Never to return."

"No, you don't normally return from Boethia's realm," Lena thought of her own experience - the Tournament of Ten Bloods. What other fun was taking place on those planes? More fighting, she figured. "But you would have survived it. Did you try?"

"I did. It wasn't a Tournament for me though. Boethia had me watch Rosa sacrifice my son. Then I had to fight Rosa. I killed her, but later found out that none of it was real. A show for the Prince's entertainment."

"But what was the point?!" Lena exclaimed with disbelief.

"Suffering, of course," Lucien smirked. "You had to do the Tournament, that was the easy bit, I am afraid."

"I got lucky," Lena nodded. "So... what now? Are you supposed to go on living with them trapped in there?"

"I think the intent was to make me suffer, yes. And to make me come back and try to free them again and again. But I solved that little riddle - I never went back." Lucien sat in his chair, looking at Lena with those hard, cold eyes of a seasoned assassin. What's another life, after all?

"Please continue," Lena knew there was more.

"Oh, you don't think that I just put it out of my mind, do you?" He smirked. "Very well, I asked someone else. Vicente went in there, and he got the Tournament, because Boethia had nothing else to hold over him. He saw my son's corpse on display and he killed Rosa - whether he killed her for real, or whether she'd rise again, I do not know. Did you have to fight a dark-haired Imperial who moved like a Redguard? No? Well then, may be she is dead."

"And now you owe Vicente a debt," noted Lena.

"More than one, but so does he," Lucien nodded. "We stopped counting a long time ago."

They sat in silence for a long while, drinking wine and watching each other, without saying anything else. Lena would have to decide for herself what Lucien's feelings towards Rosa might be, and whether that was a problem. Then Lucien broke the silence.

"Tell me about your marriages," he said matter-of-factly.

"I left them," Lena shrugged. "There's nothing else to tell."

"Not good enough."

"Very well, it was in another world - in another time. I got there from the Shivering Isles - Sheogorath has portals, you know. I spent years there... in Albion. But when I got back, it was the evening of the same day, that's in the Shivering Isles. And also here in Mundus, I think. Something like that."

"Yes, time dilation, or whatever you want to call it," nodded Lucien. "That's unimportant, and you know it."

"You want to hear about my husbands, my families..." The memory was bothering Lena. "I was married multiple times there - there was no punishment for that, other than the wrath of your spouses. I didn't care. I didn't care enough for any of them, and that's just the thing. I had others on the side. I could do what I wanted."

"There are plenty of men here too, and Sanguine preaches just that behaviour," Lucien objected. "You are his lover, but besides Hauk and Dylan, you are not having anyone else. What changed?"

"I got bored," Lena smiled. "I think I've seen every shape and every variety of... you know. It gets old after a while."

"You don't say," Lucien laughed, and the tension in the room suddenly dropped. "You are not a virgin either."

"You know about Dylan," Lena stated the obvious and sighed.

"Of course," Lucien smiled. "You told me. Then Sanguine told me. Then Hauk told me. I think we all know each other. I should meet Dylan too."

"And you still asked me to marry you?" Lena raised an eyebrow, smiling. "The Priests will be shaking their heads throughout the ceremony."

"I was a Dibellan, remember?" He smiled.

The next round of drinks went in a much lighter atmosphere. Then Lena realised something.

"Your marriage to Rosa - when was that?" She looked at Lucien intently. "I never noticed anyone at Fort Farragut - or were you just keeping it as your private residence?"

"It is my private residence, has always been," Lucien nodded. "And Rosa never stayed there. I married early, and the marriage did not last long. My mother didn't think it was the right match, but we did not intend to marry at the Temple, so it didn't matter. Oh, they never met - but I guess what I told her of Rosa was enough."

"What was your mother's objection?" Lena was wondering what Lucien's mother would have said about her.

"That she liked hurting people," Lucien smirked. "I replied that it was normal because she was an assassin, and mum said: 'I know what an assassin is. Your father is an assassin. You are an assassin.' So? - I asked, but she didn't explain. She made me promise however to wait for the right woman before marrying again - and that was before any trouble with Rosa even started! I made that promise not realising just how soon I would have to start acting on it..."

The child in Lena's belly turned and kicked, and she jerked involuntarily.

"And you think I am the right one?" Lena sounded dubious, perhaps on purpose. "What would she have said about me?"

"She thought you were a bit young for me, to start with..." Lucien laughed watching Lena's surprised and dismayed reaction. "Of course she still lived then! It was two hundred years ago, after all, that whole Purification affair."

"Purification? But we weren't... You were just my Speaker at the time, nothing else!" Lena exclaimed hotly.

"Except for that one time..." He winked. "But I guess you put it down to an accident, did you?"

"But I was seventeen!"

"And I was forty three, so?"

"I didn't know what I was doing... and yeah, I didn't believe it even happened."

"For two hundred years," Lucien nodded, still smiling. "Oh, it happened. On purpose. From both of us. And then you vanished without a trace, and I didn't even get a chance to tell you that I made you my Silencer. Not until much later. Someone who makes Silencer at seventeen, is no longer a child," he added, looking straight at her.

"I guess I had to grow up," Lena sighed.

...

The ceremony at the Chapel of Mara in Bravil was supposed to be quiet. Of course they needed witnesses, and it wasn't right to keep it from their friends, so Lena asked Hauk, Jowan and Garrus to join them, and Geralt came from Skyrim. They couldn't invite the entire Sanctuary - that would not have been prudent - but Ocheeva and Vicente had to come, and Antoinetta Marie turned up anyway, with Gogron appearing a little later. Kud-Ei, Henantier, Ardaline, Delphine and Ita from the Mages Guild entered en force, followed by Volanaro, Selena, J'skar and even Jeanne - although that wasn't surprising. Dagail and Agata arrived the day before, and Dagail and Ungolim's warm reunion became the talk of the town for weeks to come. Nilawen, Ungarion and Daenlin came in to say hello, not wishing to impose, but Borba quickly set them straight, ushering them in. A pair of Dunmer stayed back in a dark corner, but Lena spotted them and signalled Hauk to bring them in - Falanu and Fenris. Mazoga surprised everyone with her Daedric armour and a Leyawiin shield - she wore her full Knight attire for the occasion. The chapel got full and hot, and once the official part was over, the festivities spilled into the street, and some people said they even spotted a dremora or two passing the ale around... But surely, everyone had had too much to drink at that point to really notice anything.

"Who are they?" A young guard asked his older colleague. "Mages?"

"Of sorts," the older guard smirked. "Lena lives here - you've seen her around. As for Lucien... just hope you never get on his business side."

The young guard didn't really understand, but thought it was wise not to ask. After all, they were getting free ale - and who could argue with that!

[Lena Wolf]

A note to Lena's readers

You may have noticed that we no longer follow Lena into every cave she visits. As Lena's pregnancy progresses, she finds herself in need of more rest than before, and her mornings are often marred by the less pleasant signs of carrying a child. She does not want these things recorded. From this point on we shall focus on the more important events in her life, for be assured that you won't miss any of those.

Until her child is born, Lena finds herself unable to go adventuring in her usual fashion, and with Hauk gone to his Legion assignment in Morrowind and Geralt following the werewolves in Skyrim, she just wants to stay around Lucien most of the time. Being a housewife is not exactly her thing, but an assassin with a morning sickness lacks a certain prowess, too. She hopes that life will return to normal once the child is born. We hope so too.

[Lena Wolf]

31 Frostfall, 4E202 - Travels

"Go. I don't want to see either of you for at least a month," Ungolim was saying to Lena and Lucien from behind his Listener's desk at the Black Hand Office in Bravil. "Ocheeva is perfectly capable of keeping an eye on your Sanctuary while you are away, Lucien," he added, moving a large pile of scrolls to one side. "No, you can't have those - I'll give them directly to Ocheeva." Lucien looked annoyed, and Ungolim chuckled. "I am relieving you of your duties as a Speaker for a month or two - don't make me suspend you as well! You're supposed to be on honeymoon, for Sithis' sake!"

Lena was watching them with a smirk of her own. She wouldn't have minded returning to normal duties herself, having done a lot of travelling in the past few months, but it was obvious that Ungolim was having none of it. She wondered why.

"Your reunion with Dagail yesterday was very touching," she said with a smile. "I didn't realise you knew each other."

"We do," Ungolim nodded. "We go a way back..." He looked at Lena with a vacant gaze, seeing a mental image instead of her. Perhaps he was looking at a young Dagail. "I knew her father..." He said slowly. "It was a very long time ago. But some things you never forget." Then, as his gaze returned to the present, he suddenly asked: "Why did you not try to kill me during the Purification Crisis? I was on Bellamont's list. You've seen me here in Bravil often enough, did I not succeed in appearing like a silly lovestruck Bosmer?"

"The Blade of Woe and the Shadowhunt in your bedroom told a different story," Lena smiled. "I had orders to investigate every target before proceeding," she shot a glance at Lucien. "So I searched your house."

"I see," Ungolim fixed her with a probing gaze. "You didn't make many mistakes... I always wondered how Lucien managed all those investigations while the entire Black Hand was out to get him. But in fact he didn't. It was you." He smiled approvingly. "Now your appointment makes sense. It isn't often that someone makes Silencer at seventeen."

"Now you see why I insisted," Lucien looked at Ungolim with significance.

"Yes..." Ungolim turned to Lena and almost started saying something, but then changed his mind. "No, I won't tell you that story - even now, it may be too soon. Lucien will tell you some day."

"Tell me what?" Lena's curiosity was aroused.

"She already knows parts of it," Lucien smiled. "That I insisted on making you my Silencer even though you've vanished and we couldn't find you. But I knew - well, hoped - you'd be back, and the Night Mother had to intervene to make Ungolim allow it," he smiled at Ungolim. "You thought I was being sentimental," he smirked. "But that was only a half of it."

"Well, anyhow," Ungolim drew himself up, putting an end to that conversation. "Have you two decided where you going for your honeymoon? No? I thought as much. Here, have a look at these." He pushed a bunch of scrolls towards Lucien. "All holiday destinations. Most are even free of vermin and bandits, if you believe their prospects. Bring your swords along anyway. Pick something and go - pick several, if you wish. Shoo!"

...

"Most of these start in Anvil," Lena was going through the scrolls advertising the holiday destinations. "They should really establish a travel agency there," she laughed.

"Ardah," Lucien was reading from one scroll. "If you are sick of the dirty environs, the lousy weather and the eternal same lookout of Tamriel, give it a try and make holidays on Ardah. The Stroti Agency."

"Finally a place with good weather, by the sound of it!" Lena laughed. "Or how about this: Madgod's Paradise: a perfect retreat for a Madgod with the colour and bliss side of madness. MikkHep Agents in New Sheoth."

"That requires going to the Shivering Isles first," Lucien objected. "And I'm not even a tourist."

"I'm sure I can get in a good word with Sheogorath for you," Lena winked. "Besides, I've got the key."

Lucien picked up another scroll. "The Island of Saldaea," he unrolled the scroll on the table. "Two islands south of Leyawiin that contain a town with two towers, a wreaked ship with an interior, a lighthouse, a cavern system, stables, and an Ayleid ruin with two levels. They have horses and accommodation too, from Unit Alpha. Starts in Chorrol."

"Why in Chorrol if the islands are South of Leyawiin?" Lena looked at her wine with suspicion. "That's like going from Anvil to Rimmen via Windhelm."

"Mages," Lucien smirked. "There's apparently a portal somewhere near Chorrol, that gets you to a Temple of Leya where you find another portal to get you to those islands. Don't ask me! It's a part of the adventure."

"All right, listen to this," Lena was skimming through another offering. "The isle of Centiel is a dangerous, yet beautiful Island which holds a dark secret deep beneath the surface. Can you gather the fabled Jewels of Centiel and open the way to the long forgotten tomb of Lord Ondor? Friendship, betrayal, danger, and untold riches will meet you on your journey. From Armless Wunder Agencies in Anvil."

"That sounds like a theme park!" Lucien pulled the scroll towards him. "Two islands in the Abecean Sea, it says. Bring your swords. Towns, cities, dungeons, monsters - the whole nine yards." His eyes sparkled.

"Well, if you want a working holiday," Lena smirked, "then how about some pirate fun? Nascosto Isles is made up of several large islands, all beautifully landscaped, and full of unique houses, caves, dungeons, and ruins to explore. But recently they've been plagued by pirates which forced them to re-market their islands as an action adventure. Save the island from an impending attack and fight pirates in Pirate Cove. Sounds like fun! JBVW Agencies, a ship is moored on the Eastern shore of the Upper Niben."

"Or we go for something epic," Lucien was reading a long scroll. "The Island of Cybiades needs your help! This is a plea from the Captain of a ship moored in Anvil looking for a hero to lead the fight for the liberation of Cybiades. This isn't a theme park, this is for real." Lucien raised his eyes from the scroll. "Deathless Aphrodite is waiting."

"Is that their ship?" Lena pulled the scroll towards her. "Shall we?"

"Let's," Lucien nodded. "And then Ardah for balance."

[Lena Wolf]

The honeymoon of two assassins was befitting their occupation - it was filled with danger and death. "We work in the dark to serve the light," Lena recalled the phrase with which she responded to Altair's greeting, not knowing where it came from. It was instinctive. Was that even possible? Lucien noticed that something was weighing on Lena's mind, but he knew better than to ask. She would speak of it when she was ready. For now it was between her and Altair.

After a month of on the Cybiades they were ready for a break. Ardah proved true to its advertising - clean, peaceful, idyllic. By the end of the second week Lucien even forgot to put his dagger under the pillow for the night. Lena noticed. "No, he didn't forget it," she thought, "he chose to trust this place." Finally they relaxed.

Three days later they were bored, however. Time to go home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

17 Evening Star, 4E202 - Fenris

"Mistress, you are back!" Fenris kneeled before Lena as she entered the Leyawiin Sanctuary. Something seemed to be different this time, Fenris knew Lena didn't want him to kneel, and yet he did it.

"Hello, Fenris," she replied, lifting him up by the shoulders. "How have you been?" This had become their usual greeting by now, but again, something was different this time.

"I am keeping well, Mistress," he smiled at her. "I did not expect to ever see you return, and I am glad you are back."

"Never return?" Lena asked in surprise. "Why not? What happened?"

"Your wedding..." Fenris looked at Lena's visible pregnant belly. "And your new life."

"My new life..? Oh, my child? But why never to return here? Wait, is it what I'm thinking it is?" She thought she guessed it, but wanted to hear it from Fenris first.

"What are you thinking, Mistress?" He looked at her, smiling.

"Fenris, you are not answering my question."

"No. I am your slave, your property. You are free to make me answer. Or try to, anyway. See how long I can keep disobeying." He stood there, smiling at her, then he kneeled again, looking at her from below. "My Mistress."

Lena was perplexed. She no longer had any idea what was going on - she thought it might have had something to do with vampirism, but perhaps not. Fenris was rebelling, yet at the same time imploring her to... what, exactly? Or was that a test? Could a slave be testing his master? Was Fenris still a slave?

Since Lena couldn't decide what to do, she did nothing. That is, she lifted Fenris by the shoulders again and marched off to the dining room to have something to eat. Fenris wasn't leaving her side, but she acted as if nothing was the matter, even though this was not Fenris' normal behaviour. "Something will come up and explain the situation," she thought, watching Fenris out of the corner of her eye.

Lena had been travelling all day and was now tired. She would normally bathe in the Purifying Pool and then go to bed. But Fenris would not enter the pool for fear of losing his vampirism. Normally he wouldn't enter, that is. "I wonder what he'll do now," Lena thought with mischief. She went to the pool, with Fenris following.

She entered the pool cavern, and Fenris cringed, but entered with her. After all, as long as he stayed away from the water, he was safe. She undressed and entered the pool. Fenris picked up her clothes, folded them neatly and sat there, watching her bathe. Finally, she finished bathing and walked up to Fenris, or rather to her clothes - he was sitting right next to them.

"So it's true, then," he said, looking at her intently. "Your child."

"Did you think it was a ruse?" Lena laughed, allowing him to touch her belly. "You can feel the child inside. Why are you surprised?"

"But you are a vampire!" Fenris looked at all of Lena now. "Your skin... your scent. Your eyes aren't red and your fangs have retreated, but that doesn't change anything."

"Yes, well, I was surprised with it as well," Lena admitted, getting dressed. "I never thought it possible."

With that cleared up, she went to bed, expecting Fenris to resume his normal behaviour - to leave her alone. But he stayed by her side. When Lena awoke, Fenris was still sitting by her bed, looking tired.

"Have you slept at all?" She asked him, wondering what was the matter now.

"No, I watched you sleep," he said. "Your sleep was peaceful."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Lena's perplexed state of mind must have been showing, because Fenris smiled.

"I can think of a number of reasons. You take lives. You serve Molag Bal. You stood naked before me even though you said your vows at the Temple. And of course, you are a vampire," he was quite serious now.

"Fenris... oh dear," Lena shook her head, unsure how to untangle this ball of confusion. "I take lives - I am an assassin. If that troubled my sleep, I would not have gotten far. I do not serve Molag Bal - did you think he made me a pure-blood? And that I carry his child?" She looked at Fenris and he nodded. "No. It's the Mazken Wellspring that restored me." Fenris sighed a sigh of relief. "As for my wedding vows... well... that's between Lucien and me. Our bonds are stronger than that - make no mistake." Fenris paled, and Lena decided to leave him with his doubts of a possible punishment from Lucien Lachance. "Is the thrall well?" She asked, suddenly changing the topic.

"Ye-yes," stammered Fenris. "Well fed and all."

"What about the blood chest?"

"Empty," Fenris admitted. "You haven't been here in a while... and blood doesn't keep. Not even mine. But I can refill it easily, fresh." He got up, presumably to go see to it, but Lena pulled him into the bed and pinned him down.

"Later," she said, nicking a vein on his neck with her dagger. "Tonight you are coming with me." She drank his blood. Two vampires went into the night.

[Lena Wolf]

21 Evening Star, 4E202 - Domination

"You thought Molag Bal made me a pure-blood," Lena looked at Fenris sideways as they sat by the fire in an Ayleid ruin. "You thought I carried Molag Bal's child. It was a logical assumption. But did you really think Molag Bal would have allowed me to marry after he'd made me his bride?"

"I wondered about that," Fenris admitted. "It bothered me. It would only be possible either if your husband was a pure-blood himself, or if you were going to sacrifice him."

"We are talking about Lucien Lachance!" exclaimed Lena. "Molag Bal would have a problem with Sithis if anyone were to sacrifice Lucien for him," she smirked. "And everyone fears Sithis, Molag Bal included."

"Does Sithis own you too?" Fenris asked matter-of-factly.

"Sithis owns everyone," Lena nodded. "Everyone and no one. Sithis gets every soul anyway. But as the Dark Brotherhood made Sithis their patron, everyone thinks that Sithis protects us. Truth is, he doesn't care. If anyone were to sacrifice any of us in the name of another god, Sithis would not go after that god, but that god would fear it anyway, and cower before Sithis. This is how it works."

Fenris was listening and struggling to believe it. "How do you know?" He asked, uncertain.

"Sithis told me," Lena said simply.

"Sithis..!" Fenris gasped. The way Lena said it, it was clear that she wasn't referring to one of those mystical visions that people were having when they were lying prostrate at the foot of a statue representing a deity they were praying to. No, Lena was referring to an actual conversation.

"Yeah..." Lena smiled at him. "Perhaps I am not as innocent as you thought."

"Innocence is but an illusion," Fenris nodded.

...

They've been out for three days, and Lena's vampirism had reached its full power. Fenris' too, but he was used to it. Lena didn't dare to drink bottled blood thinking that it would send her vampirism in remission completely, only to be triggered again by the next wraith they encountered - switching between states so frequently could be deadly. But her endurance was dropping faster than that of a regular vampire, and in three days she grew as weak as if she hadn't fed for a week.

"You need to feed, Mistress," Fenris was looking at her with worry. "This can't be good for your child - you are so weak. Every wraith will knock you out now." They were still going through ruins filled with undead.

"Well, firstly, there are no mortals to feed on here," Lena objected. "And second, if I were to drink living blood, it would clear my vampirism, and then every wraith would be able to knock me out anyway. Might as well save it."

This was the fourth time they were having this conversation, with Lena refusing to feed and growing weaker and weaker with every hour. They needed to return home, but the labyrinth seemed to go on and on, and they couldn't be sure how much longer they would stay in it.

"I didn't expect this ruin to be a labyrinth," Lena looked at Fenris apologetically. "Or I would not have drunk your blood before we left. Although it would not have taken long for the wraiths and liches in here to trigger my vampirism with their spells anyway," she smirked.

"You must drink my blood again," Fenris said firmly. "It will sustain you. But what other effects it will have, I do not know."

"Vampires can't drink vampire blood!" Lena exclaimed, remembering a vampire recoil after drinking her blood back in Skyrim. "One that drank mine nearly died!"

"Your blood is different," Fenris objected. "You've taken the cure - the Witch's Potion. It's the worst there is. I wouldn't drink your blood, but you can have mine."

Another wraith interrupted their conversation, knocking out Lena with one hit of its frost spell. She came to after some time, finding herself on a bedroll by a fire. Fenris was there too, he dropped to his knees in meditation. "Just like Geralt," Lena thought. She stirred and Fenris opened his eyes.

"Ah, you are finally awake, Mistress," he smiled at her. "I tried to keep you warm," he gestured at the fire. "My body has no warmth now, but I tried to preserve yours." His features were gaunt, he was famished. "You must drink my blood and regain your strength, or you will never get out of here. I am immortal of course, but you are not. You will perish."

"How long was I out?" Lena tried to sit up, but her head was spinning.

"Half a day, I think," Fenris estimated.

Lena looked at two bottles of living blood in her pack. It might be enough to boost her regeneration once her vampirism was cleared, but she would require proper food and a lot of sleep, neither of which she could get until they returned home. It would not restore her endurance, and the first wraith they meet would knock her out again, triggering her vampirism and leaving her in exactly the same predicament.

Fenris sat watching her. His features were gaunt, but for a regular vampire going hungry for three or four days was in no way life threatening. He was a little weaker than when they just started, but he could go on for weeks before any serious exhaustion set in - Lena remembered it from her own experience. He could continue for months without feeding, and not die. She couldn't. She took bottled blood out of her pack and put it in front of Fenris.

"Drink it first."

"Make me." Fenris looked at her with a challenge.

"What?" Lena sat up, steadying herself, and looked straight at Fenris. "What?" She repeated in a firmer tone.

"I won't drink it," Fenris shook his head. "Make me."

"What are you asking me to do?" Lena was confused. Should she have understood it? Perhaps she was still dizzy and misheard Fenris somehow.

He didn't answer, just sat there, looking at Lena with defiance. He, who just offered her his blood. Repeatedly. Insisted that she'd take it. He was now looking at her with defiance. He, her slave.

"Do it, he is waiting!" A voice spoke in Lena's head. "He knows what must be done."

"Molag Bal?" Lena thought she recognised the voice. "You again!"

"Of course, and I never left. I shall yet have you for my own, Dragonborn. I do not fear Sithis."

"It's not Sithis you need to worry about," Lena replied in her thoughts. "Get out!"

"You show promise," Molag Bal smirked. "You need to do the same with your slave as what you are trying to do with me - dominate."

May be this was what Fenris was expecting. He'd been a slave of Rowley Eardwulf for some two hundred years, he could not get used to not being treated as a slave. Was that it? Or was he serving Molag Bal by enticing Lena to dominate him? Serving Molag Bal in exchange for what?

"Did you ask Molag Bal to make you a pure-blood?" Lena spoke sternly and coldly. Fenris shivered.

"No, I did not," he shook his head, but didn't elaborate. Perhaps that wasn't it.

"Continue and you might earn my mace still," she heard the voice of Molag Bal again.

Lena got up and put away the bottle of blood that she had previously set before Fenris. She stretched and walked around, with the feeling returning to her limbs and warmth returning to her body. She uncorked the last bottle of Tamika West Weald and drank it, filling herself with vigour. It would not last, she knew it, but she didn't need it for long. If domination was what Molag Bal wanted, he was going to be disappointed.

Fenris was still kneeling before the fire in meditation position when Lena came up behind him. She was quiet, but of course he heard her, but didn't move, still looking into the fire, his hands on his lap. She knelt behind him and kissed his neck. Fenris jerked, then froze. Lena's breath was warm, much warmer than Fenris' body, and it made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck as Lena kept circling around him, kissing his neck left and right, rubbing her cheek against it, but not touching him otherwise and not looking into his face.

After a while, it wasn't just Fenris' neck that started to glow under his dark Dunmer skin, but also his cheeks felt warmer, Lena noticed. "It's too bad you can't see him blush with this skin colour," she giggled to herself. Yet, he still sat motionless before the fire. "Time for phase two," decided Lena.

Keeping her hands behind her back and still kneeling behind Fenris, she lifted herself up a bit, twisted, and brushed her glowing cheek against his ear. Gently and slowly. Left, right. Again. And again. Kiss his neck. Brush against his ear. Let hot breath run down his cheek. "Oh look, the Dunmer do have tiny hairs on their faces," she noted to herself. "Now I'm getting somewhere!" Fenris' face was glowing.

He spun around and kissed her, locking her in an embrace and pressing her to his chest, which was now heaving with heavy heartbeat. Quite unusual, for an undead. But then, he wasn't a lich, he was a vampire.

"Drink my blood because I want you to," he whispered into her ear, covering her face with kisses. He gently pushed her onto the floor and was now on top of her. The warmth of her body made his body respond... "What are you doing?" He whispered. "Just because I'm your slave, it doesn't mean I'm..." He moaned, rolling over onto his back, as Lena's touch finished his phrase for him.

"I know," Lena kissed him. "I'm glad it worked." She bit his neck without domination.

...

Semen and blood covered the Ayleid floor. The blood was dark, undead. Lena was sitting by the fire eating cheese and grapes that were somehow well preserved in the chill of the ruin. Fenris was trying to clean the floor, then just threw a cloth over it, giving up.

"I haven't experienced this in a very long time," he smiled at Lena, sitting down at her feet. "With Rowley, it was always the opposite," he shuddered. "I bless the stars that made him sell me to you." He looked at Lena fondly. "My Mistress. But why did you do it? You could have just tied me up and drank my blood - I would not have resisted much."

"No," Lena shook her head. "Domination is not my way. Not usually, anyway," she winked at him. "Why did you suddenly start to resist? You've been offering me your blood for days already! Then this defiance. I was confused."

"But you have to dominate me, I am your slave," it was Fenris' turn to be confused. "Not entice and arouse me as you did..." he blushed. Yes, you could see it under the Dunmer skin, even on vampires. "I resisted as long as I could. Pain is far easier to endure than a promise of pleasure." He sat looking into the fire for a while. "If Lucien Lachance decides to kill me now, I won't mind."

"Lucien won't kill you," Lena was finishing the cheese. "Because actually nothing happened."

"What? But I..." Fenris pointed at the puddles on the floor.

"Yeah, on the floor," Lena nodded. "Exactly. I wasn't even naked."

Fenris smirked at that. "It wasn't necessary. I've seen you the other day. I've felt you now. I put it together, and there is the result. Do you mean to say you won't tell your husband about it?" He looked at Lena with hope in his eyes.

"Oh, I don't know. I might do if it comes up," she answered, and Fenris shuddered. "I drank your blood!" She exclaimed. "We are not exactly strangers. It wasn't an anonymous feeding, and you are not a thrall."

...

"How are you feeling?" Fenris was looking at Lena intently, trying to judge what the results of her drinking his blood while relapsed could have been. "You look better - did I provide nourishment?"

"You did," Lena smiled. "Thank you. But also something else... I feel different somehow." Lena got up and walked around, as if testing her body. "It feels... familiar. I suppose we'll find out once I drink living blood again - whether my vampirism is still recessive."

"You will need more blood," Fenris looked at her and grinned. "I never want to leave this labyrinth."

[Lena Wolf]

20 Sun's Dusk, 4E202 - Arrival

"Come on, Nord, this ain't Skyrim!" A guard kicked Hauk in the shins trying to wake him up.

"Whaaa--" Hauk groaned, turning sleepily and trying to ignore the guard.

"Up, I said - up! You useless piece of..."

Thud. The guard's head hit an awkwardly placed crate, putting an end to his swearing. Hauk turned over and continued snoring.

"Now you've done it!" A fellow passenger on the prison ship was going through the dead guard's pockets, trying not to disturb the Nord. "Wait until they discover this! I better make sure it's clear I had nothing to do with it!" He snuck up to Hauk and carefully clipped the guard's dagger onto Hauk's belt. "There... should there ever be any doubt... Ouch!"

"You didn't really want to do that, did you?" Hauk pinned the prisoner against the wall, squeezing his throat. "I wonder if anyone would be bothered by an extra corpse?"

The prisoner was making strange gurgling noises.

"What's that?" Hauk looked concerned. "You are not making a lot of sense, pal. You do know why they had me sedated, don't you?"

The prisoner seemed to be nodding and making more desperate gurgling noises.

"But I suppose I could use the dagger," Hauk turned it over in his hand. "Imperial steel ain't bad. All right then..." He released his grip and the prisoner dropped to the ground, still making gurgling noises and now bracing his throat.

Hauk lay down on his cot and resumed snoring.

The guard Captain was passing by, saw the dead guard, noticed the bloodied crate corner, the sleeping Nord and the cowering Dunmer looking terrified and clutching his throat... "I did tell him to go gently," the Captain muttered, prodding the guard with his boot. "What an idiot." Then, turning to the Dunmer he added: "All Imperial property must be accounted for, and everything this guard possesses, is Imperial property. Including his side arm." Then, noticing an incredulous look on the Dunmer's face, he clarified: "His dagger!" The Captain turned away and walked off, smirking to himself at the stifled swearing of the Dunmer.

He walked to the end of the ship and unlocked the last door with his key. The storage room was filled with crates and chests with Imperial seals. He picked one up, hoisting it on his shoulder with a swear - the chest was heavy. Locking the door again, the Guard Captain carried the chest to Hauk's cabin, pushing the dead guard out of the way and glaring at the Dunmer prisoner who was trying to pretend not to exist.

"C'mon, Hauk, we're nearly there," the Captain patted Hauk's shins.

"Hullo, Julius, here's your man's dagger," Hauk passed the dagger to the Captain. "Did you not teach him the code?"

"I did," the Captain nodded. "But he didn't believe me. Idiot. Here are your things. You better get ready, the ship will dock soon."

The Captain left and Hauk opened the chest, shooting a glance at the Dunmer.

"This isn't happening and you never saw the Captain here," he said slowly. "I am a prisoner like any other and they sedated me due to my violent nature. Got it?" His eyes weren't leaving the Dunmer, who was nodding vigorously, still clutching his throat. "All right then..." Hauk started rummaging in the chest, removing bits of steel armour and laying them out on his cot. "Everything seems to be here..." He muttered to himself, starting to strap the armour on. His robes were on the bottom of the chest, he rolled them up in a bundle and tucked it into his belt. An assortment of knives and daggers got distributed into specially made sockets on his otherwise ordinary looking steel cuirass, greaves and boots. There were no gauntlets, shield or helmet - Hauk was a battlemage. He was nearly ready when the Captain brought him his claymore.

"Your blade," he said, passing it to Hauk with a smile. "Ebony core, silver plated - right? We don't see them often. Imperial Battlemages use plainer weapons, not like you Specialists."

"Imperial Battlemages don't normally fight the undead," Hauk pointed out. "Not every smith can forge a blade like this." He strapped it to his back and turned to the Dunmer prisoner. "Remember - violent nature. I slept the whole time. You saw nothing."

The ship jerked as it docked and Hauk turned to leave, accompanied by the Captain. The prisoner craned his neck trying to see and mostly to hear without being seen.

"Good luck to you, Animal," the Captain waved goodbye to Hauk.

"Optio!" The guard on the shore snapped to attention.

"At ease," Hauk grinned, walking towards the offices.

"Optio?" The prisoner sat back on his bench. "Animal?" He was trying to put together what he'd heard. "No, it can't be!" He swallowed hard. "I saw nothing at all."

...

"Your 'Release Order'," the clerk in the first office slid a piece of paper towards Hauk. "Nonsense of course, but formalities must be maintained. Go see Gravius in the next room."

Hauk nodded, taking the paper and moving on. Best get it over with.

"Ah, there you are," Gravius took Hauk's papers. "Let me just file those. Here, your 'allowance' and a package for Caius in Balmora. Formalities. Where would we be without them." He yawned, and Hauk thought that the Captain was just as eager to get it over with as Hauk himself. It was 2:30 in the morning.

"Did you have to stay up waiting for me?" He asked.

"Yeah, they made sure... Three separate messengers brought me that order! Three!" He glared at Hauk, then glared at the guard by the door who cringed. "Anyone could have given this stuff to you, right? So why me?" He glared some more.

"You know my face, Gravius, the others don't. Perhaps they wanted to make sure there was no mistake. I wasn't the only prisoner on that ship, you know," Hauk remarked.

"Yeah, but I trust Julius didn't let anyone else off the ship here?" The Captain looked worried for a moment, undoubtedly not looking forward to handling any more released prisoners at that time of night.

"No, it's just me," Hauk reassured him. "There was a Dunmer sharing a cabin with me though, he might have seen a bit too much. But I think he won't tell, not after he heard what they call me," he smirked. "It's been a while, but Morrowind seems to remember."

"Morrowind remembers," Gravius nodded. "And not just the Animal. Your other 'title' too."

"Pursuing love interests is beneficial in more than one respect," Hauk objected. "It gets you access to families where you wouldn't dream of getting access to otherwise, not as an adventurer and certainly not as an Imperial Legionnaire."

"But even so, the Telvanni? By Talos, Hauk, you may be a mage, but you're no match for one of them!"

"And I wasn't there to fight," Hauk grinned. "Besides, it was the lady's idea. How was I to know she was a virgin?" He laughed as Gravius's jaw dropped and the guard by the door giggled. "She wasn't of the first youth, you know."

"Get out of here, Thief of Virtue," Gravius laughed, waving him away. "Seyda Neen is but a humble settlement, we are not used to the likes of you."

Hauk smirked, muttering: "That I very much doubt," then left the building.

In the courtyard he found a barrel, and hoping to get a torch, went through it. A basket, a ladle and a candle was inside, but no torch. "Yeah, a humble settlement, all right," Hauk smirked. "Oh, but what's this?" An enchanted and engraved ring was on the bottom. "Confiscated from someone for 'safe keeping', no doubt," he decided, pocketing it. Morrowind hadn't changed at all.

...

"Did you find a ring in there?" A Bosmer ambushed Hauk just as he emerged out of the main door of the offices. "An engraved enchanted ring? A family heirloom, you know! The guards confiscated it, I swear!" He was about to burst into tears.

"Here, I found it in the courtyard," Hauk handed him over the ring. "Don't annoy the guards quite so much next time." He brushed off the Bosmer's profuse thanks and looked around. It was nearly dawn. "Hang around here until the first light, then set off to Balmora," he decided.

[Renee]

the way Sheogorath speaks, is pretty much taken from the game. Not necessarily the actual words, of course, but when you do get there, you'll recognise it, I hope.

If we go there. So far none of mine have been to Shivering Isles yet! But that's what it is. I read what SI is like through the words of others over the years. Kinda nice knowing there's this whole other worldspace none of mine have gone to, yet.

Up to Page 5, post 94. She just got back from S.I. Hauk is reading. I can just imagine for these folks of ours who go on large adventures all over their world, that reading a book has a whole different meaning than it does for us earthlings.

Love the end part when she cuddles up next to Hauk. That's really nice.