Blood and Ash
A lone Dunmer strode across an ashen road, a well-worn path made to look fresh by a recent coat of ash. Such phenomena had become commonplace since the eruption of the Red Mountain. Many things had changed since the Red Mountain unleashed its fiery fury upon Morrowind. The day-to-day lives of the Dunmer had been devastated. Many people perished during the destructive event and many more died during the hardships that ensued after.
The sky was beginning to darken and clouds were slowly moving in from the west. The wind picked up slightly, picking up and carrying thin wisps of ash from across the ground. The lone Dunmer looked skyward, taking note that it would be getting dark soon and he would have to return back to his town. He was clad head to toe in bonemold armor, and sported a bonemold tower shield marked extensively with dents. The Dunmer was none other than Llethis Arobar, the Captain of the Guard of Ald' Ruhn.
He had been on patrol for most of the day. The sky was clearly indicating that is was time to turn in. Of all the things a Captain of the Guard could be doing, one would never guess that he would be on patrol on his own. Llethis Arobar was not one to shy away from the basics. Being on patrol gave him the chance to get away from the responsibilities of being captain, of being a noble. Llethis had no desire to be the head of his family, but after so many deaths brought on by the Red Mountain, he no longer had much choice. He yearned for his younger years when life was simpler and he had more opportunities for fighting bandits and dangerous creatures.
And suddenly fate had decided to give Llethis a taste of the good old days. The Dunmer heard sounds.
"Help!"
If there was anything that sent a guard running, it was a cry for help. The purpose of a guard was to protect others. The path led him up a hill and once he got to the top, he saw a large animal in the distance.
It was a kagouti. Kagoutis were powerful reptilian animals that were basically an oversized head mounted on two legs. They were aggressive and Arobar had fought against them several times before. It was rambling around amidst some trees—or what passed for trees these days. The trees that had somehow managed to survive the devastation of the Red Mountain were little more than leafless, smoldering black husks.
On a closer look, Llethis noticed that there was a figure up in one of the trees. Someone had managed to climb to safety, though Llethis knew the tree wouldn't hold up against the kagouti for long.
The captain of the guard took off in a dash down the hill. He hoped the kagouti would remain focused on its prey long enough for him to reach it and hit it with a sneak attack. Not the most honorable thing, but there was little consideration for honor when there was an innocent to save.
But luck was not on Llethis' side. The kagouti heard him coming and turned to face him. Llethis launched a fireball and hit the creature square in its large snout. The animal howled in a rage. Llethis looped in from the right, mindful of the thrashing kagouti's dangerous tusks. He landed a striking blow on the animal's side. The kagouti flailed, its left tusk landing a glancing blow on Llethis' bonemold shield.
Llethis backed away as the tusks thrust forward, trying to skewer him. A throaty, wet gurgle erupted from the kagouti. Thick strands of muddy drool oozed from its mouth. Llethis noticed that the animal was covered in bloody sores. The creature was clearly diseased. Putting it down would be doing it a favor.
A fireball struck the kagouti on its back. Llethis saw that whoever was hiding up in the tree was now raining down fireballs. The enraged kagouti turned back around and charged the tree, felling it in a single ram.
Llethis couldn't tell if the person in the tree was all right or not. But he needed to finish the fight first. He charged forward as fast as he could and struck the back of the kagouti's leg. The creature roared and tried to turn but stumbled and fell. Llethis quickly climbed on the animal's back and grabbed onto its head frill. The kagouti started to get back up, and the Dark Elf swung his ebony sword around and stabbed the creature right in its eye.
The kagouti quickly crumpled back to the ground again. It squirmed for a while before it finally fell silent.
As Llethis retrieved his sword from the dead animal a figure emerged from the fallen tree. It was a short, slender Dunmer woman dressed in leather. She had several belts secured over her small body.
"Are you hurt?" Llethis asked.
"No, I'm fine." She dusted herself off trying in vain to remove the fine layer of ash that now coated her. "Thanks for saving me. My name is Vermelle Velran."
"I am Llethis Arobar, Captain of the Guard of Ald' Ruhn. We must be going. The ash spawn tend to be more active at night."
"Wow, you don't waste any time, huh?" She started off after Arobar.
"Not where the ash spawn are concerned," he answered.
"A tough guy like you, worried about ash spawn? You're kidding me."
"I take it you're not from the area. They tend to attack in great numbers at night. The roads are not safe, as you well know."
"You handled that kagouti pretty well. I'm sure the great Captain of the Guard can take on ash spawn."
"There's having fun and then there's courting death. If you linger here too long you will understand the difference," Llethis warned.
"Alright, alright, you win, Captain Arobar. So tell me, are ash spawn always this big of a problem up north?"
"They've only become such a threat since the eruption of the Red Mountain," Llethis explained.
"Huh, they're not that big of a problem down south."
"Down south there are the Argonians to contend with."
"I know. Trouble everywhere. Almost feels like the Dunmer are being punished," Velran said.
"Times have been challenging, I will admit."
"Must be if the Captain of the Guard is on patrol by himself. What is up with that? You guys short staffed or something?"
"Sometimes it's nice to go on patrol. Clear my head. Rescue the occasional endangered traveler."
"Yeah, you certainly did that today! Thanks again, by the way. I wish there was something I could do to repay you."
"Your thanks are more than enough. This is my purpose, after all."
"To protect?"
"Yes. I've seen more than enough death in recent years. And I'm glad I could prevent yours."
"I guess a Captain of the Guard would see a lot of death," Velran admitted. "A lot of us are used to seeing excessive death these days. Any deaths in particular that bother you so?"
"Awfully personal question."
"When you travel a lot like I do, you learn to make friends quickly. And that means asking annoying personal questions."
Llethis thought a moment, wondering why he was even entertaining the idea of opening up to this virtual stranger. She was an odd girl and had this strange aura of cheeriness to her. He guessed it wouldn't hurt to talk about it. It's not as if anything worse could happen, it was a recent loss he wasn't going to recover from anytime soon.
"I've lost my family because of the Red Mountain."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Velran was quiet for a moment. "You sure you don't want anything in return for saving me?"
"You propositioning me?"
"No. Just usually in this situation isn't the rescued individual supposed to act all gracious and give up a huge sum of money because of the gratitude bursting at the seams in their heart?"
Llethis laughed. "I think you've read one too many adventure novels. That sort of thing really doesn't happen."
"What if it did this time?"
"I don't need money as a reward. What are you, a rich merchant looking to lighten her pockets?"
"Ha, I wish. No. I'm a necromancer."
"You're a necromancer?" Llethis drew his sword and entered his combat stance.
"Whoa, whoa! Easy there, buddy." Velran held up her hands as a sign of submission. "I didn't tell you that to start a fight."
"Then what was the point in telling me? Choose your words carefully, your life depends on them."
"What if I told you I could bring back your family?"
"Why would you offer to do that?"
"Gratitude for saving me, of course. You saved my life; I can repay the gesture with interest by bringing them back from the grave. And because I've been in your position before. Plus, it would repay my debt to you. And because I can. What do you say?" She kept her eyes on his sword.
Llethis let out a sigh while sheathing his sword. "This is not how I expected this day to go."
"Me neither." Velran shrugged. "What do you say?"
"I don't know."
"What's there to know?" She asked. "You want them back, don't you?"
Llethis started walking again and Velran quickly followed.
"Necromancy is… Will they… be the same people they were before?"
"Of course. Necromancy isn't the evil that our people think it is. Look at me, do I look evil to you?"
"Looks can be deceiving."
"And actions speak louder than appearances," Velran countered. "What more have you to lose?"
"Everyone has lost a great deal since the eruption of the Red Mountain." He somberly chuckled. "But there is always more we could lose."
"But you could reclaim what you lost. What's the worst that could happen? I screw up the spell and you're no worse off than you were before."
"What would happen if you screw up?"
"Just some zombies… but I'm sure a tough guy like you can handle a few zombies no problem."
Llethis didn't like the sound of that. "I'd rather my family not be brought back as a bunch of shambling corpses."
"Relax, it won't come to that. I've had practice at this. I wouldn't offer if I weren't confident I could do it. I do need the occasional practice though, and the resurrection ritual isn't something necromancers' take lightly. We don't go reviving everyone's dead. All of Nirn would erupt into chaos if we did that. People would end up killing each other in the streets for fun because there would be no lasting consequences of death. But I need to keep the skill sharp, and you most certainly deserve it for saving my life. No good deed goes unpunished, you know."
"I'll think about it. What's a necromancer doing out here anyway?"
"Living life, doing necromancer things."
"And what would those be?"
"Well today, getting attacked by a kagouti. I am a person, just like everyone else. I just have skills in a realm of magicka our people don't appreciate."
"For good reasons," Llethis stated.
"Or bad ones. I am offering to bring back your family, you know. You should appreciate that."
"And you should appreciate the fact that I haven't arrested you yet."
"I do appreciate it."
The Dark Elf captain thought for a moment. "A necromancer couldn't handle a single diseased kagouti on her own?"
"Necromancy isn't all about powerful attack spells. I'm more of a healer. A rather good one, at that."
"Perhaps I'll see just how good you are." Llethis found Velran to be quite odd. It didn't seem to be the wisest idea to so casually reveal her true identity to a guard captain. She hardly needed to repay him for saving her. Perhaps she was just offering to do this out of the good of her heart. A necromancer with a good heart, now there was something new. Llethis couldn't help but wonder what things would be like with his family back, to see his father Ienith and his younger brothers Ilen and Nelos once more. Such a thing felt too good to be true. It was very tempting to take her up on her offer. It was definitely something to think about.
After a half-hour more of walking and Ald' Ruhn was in sight. The old Dunmer town was a dusty cluster of Redoran-style buildings nestled against the slopes of the Red Mountain. Ald' Ruhn was a shell of its former self, ironic since the entire manor district of the town was built inside the hollowed shell of an ancient emperor land-crab named Skar. The walls around the city had been upgraded and encompassed the city entirely as the inhabitants tried to rebuild and defend against increasing common attacks from the local wildlife and ash creatures.
The pair began to hear noises in the trees, and picked up their pace. There was no need to get in a fight with any of the local fauna when safety was so close at hand. They hadn't come across any further creatures or threats, but Llethis couldn't fight off the looming sense that something was following them. He had been completely wired for spotting anything out of the ordinary, yet the sense of quiet dread never manifested itself.
"So, we gonna do this or what? I don't want to turn this into a weeklong adventure. If we get the ingredients today we can do the ritual by tomorrow. What do you say?"
"Very well. But I cannot permit the resurrection to take place within city limits."
"Don't worry, we'll go back outside tomorrow. Nobody will learn your dirty little secret," Velran smirked.
Llethis knew it wouldn't be a secret for long. Even if no one saw the ritual take place, everyone would certainly take notice that his dead family members were suddenly among the living once again. Llethis didn't care though; his family came before his culture. It was a risk he was willing to take. And if necromancy could bring back what he had lost, then he could tolerate it this time. But Llethis knew the others wouldn't understand right away. It would take some convincing. But perhaps others would also like to be reunited with their deceased loved ones.
The pair reached the walls of the city.
"Open the gate," Llethis commanded the guards up at the top of the wall.
"Who is that with you, Captain?" one of the guards asked.
"A traveler I saved along the road. She is a refugee from far south."
"I don't know, Captain. Is it wise to let in a stranger?"
"These are dark times indeed if we have stopped helping our own people. What would you have her do? Set up camp on her own and risk the ash spawn? Last time I checked we still have the Rat In The Pot in Ald' Ruhn," Llethis mentioned the inn just inside the city gates. "And it is still open to travelers." Llethis grumbled; it was good that the guards were suspicious, but to second-guess his orders was another thing entirely.
"Sorry, sir." The gates opened.
"Your guards are kind'a suspicious, huh?" Velran said.
"We are on high alert."
"You guys really think the Argonians are gonna attack this far north?" Velran asked. "That's a long ways for them to go."
"No, but there are worse things around than those scaly savages these days."
Velran gave a little chuckle. "Yeah, I certainly know that first-hand."
The pair kept walking as the gates closed.
"So, what do we need for the ritual?" Llethis asked once he was sure they were out of earshot of the guards.
Velran stopped and started to dig around in her pack. Llethis watched as she pulled out several dusty papers and started shuffling through them.
"Here, take this one." Velran handed over the crinkled parchment.
"What is it?"
"A list of ingredients for the resurrection ceremony. I'm giving you the easy half of the list, the more common stuff."
Going through the list, Llethis did see that many of the ingredients were fairly common. He had a good deal back at his manor and the rest could be easily purchased at the market.
"This won't take long."
"Good. I'll take care of the more difficult stuff. It'll be faster if we split up."
"Very well." Llethis didn't think that the girl could do much on her own if she started trouble, she couldn't deal with a diseased kagouti, after all. "We'll meet up at the center of the market when we have everything. Then you are welcome to stay as a guest at my manor for the night."
"Sounds like a plan," Velran agreed.
They separated, Llethis heading off towards the market.
Vermelle Velran watched as Llethis Arobar departed. She noticed that he had a pep in his step that he didn't have before. Obviously the captain was excited with the concept of seeing his family again.
The good captain is in for a surprise, no good deed goes unpunished, she allowed herself a faint smile and turned back towards the walls.
The two guards at the top of the wall were looking outward, scanning the skyline for any cliff racers or similar threats. Velran casually walked up the stairs leading up to the wall.
"Hey boys," she said with a smile. Both her hands glowed with a sickly purple aura.
"What are you—" the first guard was cut off midsentence as a sword was plunged deep into his back.
The other guard whipped around to face a pair of Argonian skeletons wielding iron swords. The nearest skeleton struck in a downward slash, but the guard easily blocked the attack with his shield.
Knowing he was outnumbered, the remaining guard tried to sound the alarm. "WE'VE GOT A—" a Daedric sword pierced through his neck with a sickening squelch. The guard dropped his sword and shield, trying in vain to grab at the weapon protruding from his neck. He tried to speak but only wet gurgles escaped from his throat as Velran twisted the Daedric sword side to side, lazily trying to slice the guard's head clean off. Eventually she just gave up and allowed her conjured weapon to simply dissipate. The guard collapsed on the floor, blood gushing from the wound. He sputtered and struggled for a moment before falling still.
The fight was over far too soon for Velran's tastes. She sighed as her skeletons began opening the gate. All too easy. A trusting guard captain and lackluster guards. They would have made this more difficult had they not helped me. Times are darker than they think.
As the gates of Ald' Ruhn opened Argonians armed for war started to pour in.
Aloe Vera leaves, blisterwort, imp stool, Lady's Mantle leaves, mugwort seeds; Llethis was reading down the list of ingredients needed for the resurrection ritual. He could not believe his good fortune that the ingredients needed were so common and inexpensive. Even if they hadn't been, expending the money was more than worth bringing his family back and Llethis certainly had the money if the situation had called for it. He only hoped Velran's half of the list wasn't overly taxing.
The sky was growing increasing darker as dusk settled in. He would have to hurry; the shops would be closing soon. Suddenly and without warning, Llethis heard a shriek and looked up from the parchment to see a wave of terror coming his way. Dunmer were tripping and falling over each other in an effort to flee.
"What is going on?" Llethis demanded. He tried to get a glimpse of what everyone was running from but saw nothing. A swarm of cliff racers? Perhaps the ash spawn had broken through the gate?
"ARGONIANS!" a Dunmer yelled as he ran by.
Llethis blinked for a second, trying to take in what he had just heard. What he was seeing now. There was no way the Argonians could have made it this far north already. He drew his ebony sword.
Panicked Dunmer tripped and fell over each other as they raced to flee the attacking beast folk.
Argonians indeed. First there were four of the ruthless scaled savages. Then eight. Then twenty. Wielding all manner of swords, spears, axes, daggers, halberds, and bows. Elongated, animalistic faces filled with razor-sharp teeth cried out for Elven blood, the blood of the people Llethis was charged with protecting. And several succeeded, reaching out towards the terrified innocents, stabbing, slashing, hacking away.
The ground was already laced with warm blood before Llethis could reach the first Argonian. The Argonian's sword clattered against Llethis' shield. He quickly struck with his own sword, slicing off his attacker's arm just above the elbow. The Argonian warrior howled in pain and Llethis wasted no time in freeing the lizard's head from his body.
The display of combat prowess attracted the attention of several Argonians. Five of the lizard folk came charging in on him without hesitation. Llethis fired off a quartet of fireballs, surprising his opponents with his magical powers. The enflamed Argonians hissed and cried like frenzied wraiths, unable to put themselves out.
Several more Argonians turned their attention to Arobar, but they were much slower in approaching him now. All the better to the Captain of the Guard, for the longer they took fighting him, the more people could escape.
"Attack me all at once. This is only exercise for me if there's no real danger." Llethis let his anger flare as he taunted his opponents.
He lopped off the next Argonian's head with a single swift strike and it soared in the air before hitting the roof of a nearby building. The Argonian warriors cringed for a moment and drew back.
"He has the strength of an Orc!" one of the Argonians cried.
"He's nothing more than another damn Dunmer. Kill him!" another ordered.
Llethis spun and slashed and cut his way through the Argonians while his bonemold tower shield protected him from their attacks. Two Argonians fell with one wide swipe of Arobar's sword. An Argonian that had managed to get behind him was suddenly rewarded with an arrow in the head. Several of the Redoran guards began to rally to their captain.
Just as Llethis and his guards were starting to beat back the Argonians in the market, new enemy reinforcements arrived in the form of the Paatru, a sub-species of Argonians that were toad-like. Llethis considered them to be even more grotesque than their more common brethren.
"Since when do the toads leave Black Marsh?" one of the guards asked.
"They need every lizard they can get if they're trying to take Ald' Ruhn!" Llethis cut into a Paatru wearing dirty glass armor.
The Redoran guards quickly learned that the Paatru were no more dangerous than the regular Argonians they had fought off so far. And yet, Llethis was starting to hear the death cries of his troops. Between the swinging maces and thrusting spears, Llethis was only half-aware of the arrows and fireballs that were flying across the battleground. Then Llethis realized that the arrows and fireballs had been coming from above.
"The skies!" a guard cried out. "They're attacking from above."
Sarpa, winged Argonians rarely seen outside Black Marsh, littered the skies. The Redoran archers aimed their bows skyward, knowing they were the best defense the Dunmer defenders had against the airborne enemies.
Llethis launched a fireball of his own, but the Sarpa he had targeted had effortlessly dodged the attack. However, the Sarpa was unable to escape an arrow from a Redoran archer and the flying lizard man fell to the ground.
The grounded Sarpa warrior struggled to get up, obviously suffering from a broken leg. Llethis charged in and cut him down before any of his allies could come to his aide.
There were rumblings as large Argonians entered the fray. Nagas, 8 foot tall Argonians with black scales and snake-like features. The Nagas had a reputation of being brutes, even among their own people. And that was certainly saying something. Llethis could hardly believe the Nagas were working with the other Argonians as a military unit. The giant, snake-like Argonians wielded giant hammers that were able to splatter any Dunmer in a single blow, no matter how well made the bonemold armor of the Redoran Guard was.
Bones were pulverized and armor was shattered. Half of the Dunmer archers turned their attention away from the Sarpa to focus on the Nagas.
And then Llethis saw her, Vermelle Velran. What was she doing in the middle of all this mess? Why hadn't she run away? Had she come to help fight off the Argonians? Llethis thought the poor girl was going to get herself killed, and he needed her alive. But then he noticed that the Argonians weren't attacking her.
And then he watched as the small Dunmer girl summoned a Daedric sword and stabbed a Redoran guard in the back.
Without wasting a moment to stop and think, Llethis charged the necromancer, but was brought to a halt when she fired off a fireball at him. "Velran! What are you doing?"
"No good deed goes unpunished, remember, Arobar? I've invited some of my friends to partake in our generous Morrowind hospitality."
"Why have you done this? How could you side with these animals against your own people?"
"That's simple. Because the Argonians have treated me better."
"These savages?!"
"Hardly savages, you racist swine. They're just people, same of you or I. And the Dunmer have been due for a reckoning for quite some time now for what they've done to the Argonians."
"And that justifies slaughtering the innocent?" Llethis asked as he attacked.
"Look who's talking? Hypocrite!" Velran's Daedric sword clanged against Llethis' ebony blade. "I've been mistreated, prosecuted, and hunted because of my powers! I never did anything to anyone! You have no right to speak of innocence!"
The small girl was surprisingly strong for her small frame. Velran continued to hold her own in the test of strength.
"So you set me up, you didn't need rescuing. You could have killed that kagouti whenever you wanted." Llethis casted a Shield spell on himself.
"Of course I didn't need rescuing you deluded fool. Do not take me for some helpless little girl."
"What will this accomplish?" Llethis was able to knock Velran back with a particularly brutal blow. "Other than getting a bunch of people killed? The Oblivion Crisis, the eruption of the Red Mountain, how much more blood will be spilled before maniacs like you are sated?"
"Oh, don't worry about that," Velran sneered. "There's not that much blood left to spill anymore. It won't be long now."
"You're going to give me the other half of that ingredient list for the ritual," Llethis demanded. He wasn't going to end up empty-handed. He'd perform the ritual himself if he had to.
"You fool. I can't resurrect the dead. I gave you a list of ingredients for making health potions."
A pair of Argonians jumped into their fight to assist Velran.
"Is this all you bring to me, Velran?" Llethis cut down the two Argonian warriors. "I've fought against the Daedric Forces of Destruction. If you want to claim Ald' Ruhn you're going to have to do better than throw hordes of walking lizards at me and my men."
Velran scowled and howled a battle cry before charging headfirst at Llethis. The guard captain responded with a fireball that caught her square in the chest. The small necromancer writhed on the ground while frantically casting multiple healing spells on herself.
Llethis moved in to make the killed blow.
"Now, Velran. What have you gotten yourself into?"
The Dunmer leader stopped his advance and noticed a portly Breton clad in black leather armor underneath an oversized open black robe amongst the Argonians. He had a bald head and a large, shit-eating grin. He casually strode forward, taking notice of Llethis and Velran, sizing them up.
"And what is a Breton doing amongst the barbarians of Black Marsh?" Llethis demanded.
The Breton looked Llethis up and down for a moment, all the while continuing to sport a large, toothy smile on his round face. "Oh, just a concerned citizen of Tamriel. The Order of the Black Skull deemed it morally necessary to support the Argonians in this matter."
"You mean the Order of the Black Worm."
"You did not mishear me. Not all necromancers are so cowardly as to answer to Mannimarco."
"But all necromancers are cowards," Llethis spat.
"Quite to the contrary I would think. It seems everyone is scared of us these days. The name is Siroc Sarus."
"You're name doesn't matter. You'll be just another corpse in a second."
Siroc merely chuckled. "So this is the legendary Morrowind hospitality I've heard so much about. And you underestimate the danger of corpses." The portly necromancer cast several spells in quick secession, and many of the Argonian corpses had started to stir and pick themselves back up off the ground.
"You killed them once. Let's see if you can do it again."
Two of the nearest thralls lunged, and Llethis cut them down. Three more came at him. He slashed his ebony sword again and again.
Llethis panted heavily, he felt a sinking feeling he was going to die. He was exhausted; he only had so much endurance. It wasn't as limitless as his dedication. He backed up, trying to put some distance between himself and the remaining reanimated corpses.
As the undead nightmare continued to advance, the Breton necromancer Siroc Sarus simply stood by and smiled, joyfully entertained by the entire spectacle. Llethis Arobar and his guards refused to back down against the oncoming undead and Argonians, refused to give up. They kept fighting and fighting as all of Ald' Ruhn burned around them.
The bodies of the undead thralls were reduced to ash, but Siroc Sarus was quick to resurrect any Argonian that fell in battle. Llethis knew he would have to kill the Breton necromancer if they were to turn the tide of battle. The Dunmer captain ran past the thralls, ignoring them completely.
He came in and brought his ebony sword down hard. The Breton necromancer caught the black blade with his gloved hand. Llethis was wide-eyed in shock. The necromancer had caught his ebony sword while wearing nothing more than a dark leather glove to protect his hand. He could feel the necromancer's obscene physical strength through the sword. Llethis struggled but couldn't break his sword free of Sarus' grip.
"Now, you didn't expect me to just stand there and take it, did you?" Sarus asked. With his free hand the necromancer pushed at Llethis with an open palm and sent the Dark Elf flying backward.
Llethis was left wheezing on the ground. He thought his armor had shattered, but it turned out to still be intact. He quickly got himself back up, wondering how in all of Nirn the overweight necromancer could be so physically strong.
"Ignoring the thralls and rushing in to cut the head off the snake," Siroc smiled. "You figured out how to properly fight a necromancer. Well done."
Velran was alongside Siroc now, scowling at Llethis. "No more games. Let's finish this," she hissed.
"Calm yourself, woman. You're just mad he burned your ass," Siroc chuckled.
"It's not funny!"
"Yes it is." Siroc Sarus sighed. "But all good things must come to an end. And we're running out of Dunmer to kill."
"I beg to differ, you dirty murders," Llethis interjected. "My men are winning. I hope you brought more Argonians."
Sarus' smile grew even wider. "Oh, we brought something better." The necromancer whistled sharply and yelled: "Hey! Charter Black!"
The ground began to shake. Many of the Argonians started to pull back as their Dunmer opponents looked around in confusion. Why were the Argonians suddenly stopping? What was causing the ground the shake? What had the necromancer brought with him?
And then the Redoran Guard had their answer. A massive boneman colossus plodded into view. It was a large, humanoid skeleton the color of the darkest night with violet flames frolicking within its chest and eye sockets.
Llethis had seen a bone colossus before but not a boneman colossus. He had read about how dangerous they were. A boneman colossus was something else entirely from the average undead creature.
"Go on, Charter Black, you know your job. Kill, make an entertaining show out of it," Sarus said casually.
The massive black skeleton howled in an otherworld tone and started towards the Dunmer.
Llethis knew there was no way he was going to take down the boneman colossus, not on his own or with his men and certainly not under the current circumstances. And when one couldn't win, one needed to run.
"Fall back to Under-Skar!" Llethis yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping his surviving guards could hear him over the din of battle.
Siroc Sarus just smiled as he watched the Dark Elf warriors pull back towards the Manor District. Fleeing from the boneman colossus and the Argonians. It made no difference to him. Ald' Ruhn was going to fall; nothing could stop that because nothing could stop him, let alone those that had accompanied him. It was all just an entertaining little game to the powerful necromancer.
Llethis Arobar struggled to catch his breath, one shaky hand holding the guardrail as he surveyed the Manor District, the interior of the giant shell of Skar. Under-Skar was the domain of the House Redoran Councilors. Several great manors were connected by wooden walkways. A few of Ald' Ruhn's finer shops lay at the bottom of the shell. It was an excellent defensible position, especially from the massive boneman colossus. It may be powerful, but Llethis knew there was no way the massive skeleton would be able to get around without breaking the walkways. It wouldn't be able to get around, of that Llethis was sure.
The guard captain slowly moved back, away from the entrance to the outside. He looked around as his guards grabbed anything they could to barricade the door to the outside. Llethis knew it was a futile effort. He was tired and saddened; he had lost his chance to bring back his family. No, there had never been a chance to bring them back in the first place. The necromancer Vermelle Velran was nothing more than a spectacular liar. Llethis began to feel a dull acceptance of the situation. It didn't matter if Velran had fooled him or not, the boneman colossus would have managed to smash through the city walls on its own. The bloody attack on Ald' Ruhn on this day was inevitable, no matter how it started. Even still, Llethis' love of his hometown wouldn't let him give up. Ald' Ruhn would fall, but he could still save some of the people. His heart and soul started to scream at him, demanding he organize his guards and get the survivors away.
"It won't matter. The boneman colossus will break through with little effort," Llethis spoke loudly for all to hear.
"What do we do, Captain?"
Llethis looked around and thought for a moment. Red eyes were watching him, waiting for instructions. Where was there to go? Llethis thought. The answer was obvious. There was only one way to go from here.
"Azaril," Llethis called upon one of his guards.
"Sir?"
"Lead the civilians through the secret tunnel. Get them as far from Ald' Ruhn as you can."
"What about the rest of you?" Azaril looked around at the other guards. He did not want to be the only one to leave while the others stayed and fought.
"We'll follow soon enough. Hurry now. Get everyone together and go."
"Yes, Captain."
"As for everyone else," Llethis spoke. "Archers take up hidden positions at the manors. All other guards will stand by in front of the Redoran Council Hall. We'll draw their attention to the Council Hall and when the lizards reach the halfway point the archers will open fire from all sides. All right! Everyone get into position! Let's go!"
And then the entrance to the outside exploded. Llethis looked to see that it was none other than that boneman colossus. It had arrived sooner than he had hoped. They had no time to get into defensive positions now. The archers unleashed their arrows and those with ranged magical attacks cast them at the skeleton. But it was all in vain. Nothing seemed to phase the massive black skeleton in the slightest. It simply stood there and endured the attacks the way someone might stand outside on a stormy day and endure the rain. It wasn't moving forward, it was too smart to try the wooden walkways.
Argonians and skeletons started swarming in, moving around the stationary boneman colossus to get to the Dunmer defenders. Llethis took off in a run towards Arobar Manor.
It was quite a trek. Arobar Manor was located near the rear of Under-Skar, right next to the Redoran Council Hall. Just as Llethis reached his home and he turned just in time to raise his shield to block an incoming ice spike. Velran and several Argonians were barreling down on him.
Llethis let out a sharp whistle before yelling— "Yakum!"
A moment later and a war durzog burst through the front doors of his manor. The dangerous beast charged right into the nearest Argonian.
"He has a war durzog as a pet?" Velran halted her charge, watching as the Argonian was torn to bloody ribbons. "You've got to be kidding."
As Yakum torn into the next Argonian, Velran summoned a Daedric war-axe and was forced to battle Llethis again.
The pair crossed blades, each trying to overpower the other with pure strength. Llethis couldn't believe how much power the Dunmer necromancer packed in such a small frame. Judging from her size there should have been no way she would have been able to challenge him in a contest of physical strength. Then Llethis realized Velran must have cast a strength-enhancing spell on herself. Of course, it was so obvious. But even with her spell she wasn't able to overpower him.
Llethis knew he wouldn't last forever. And he had a few spells of his own. With all his strength he pushed the axe away and slapped at the handle of her axe, crimson flames erupting from his hand. The magical attack caused Velran to yelp in pain and before she could recover Llethis kicked her square in the gut, knocking her over the walkway to the lower level below.
Just before Velran hit the ground she was briefly coated in a dull white light. And then she hit he ground with a crack. She groaned, but didn't move from where she had fallen. Since Yakum had taken care of the Argonians that had come to attack Arobar Manor, Llethis allowed himself to look down at Velran, realizing she had cast a Protect spell on herself right before she landed. Without it she probably would have died. He could definitely change that with a fireball or two.
But across the way on one of the plateaus, Llethis noticed the other necromancer; Siroc Sarus was advancing with the Argonians on the Redoran Council Hall. The overweight necromancer turned to look where Velran had fallen.
Sarus put his palm to his forehead in mock disdain. "Ms. Velran, would you get up already? You're embarrassing yourself."
She merely let out a half-hearted groan in response.
Sarus looked over toward Arobar Manor, locking eyes with Llethis. "Don't worry, it'll be you're turn soon enough." He started summoning several bonemen, black skeletons more powerful than their more typical cousins. Sarus summoned them in pairs, but didn't cease casting the spell. Two, four, six, eight, ten. He kept summoning more and more. The bonemen wielded all manner of weapons from axes and hammers to bows and halberds.
The bonemen started to pour across the bridge towards the Council Hall to supplant the flailing Argonians. Llethis had never seen anyone conjure so many undead at the same time before. He hadn't even known it was possible, yet it was happening right before his eyes. The portly Breton necromancer was winning the Argonians' fight for them!
Llethis knew he had to dispose of that fat necromancer or his guards would be overwhelmed. He drew upon his inner reserves of magicka and cast a powerful fireball at Sarus. The necromancer simply ignored the attack and let it hit him. The Breton's body flashed with light and the fireball instantly dissipated against his body.
"An absorption spell!" Llethis clenched his teeth in frustration.
"You are correct, sir. Magical attacks won't work on me. Try again," Sarus casually said as he started walking across the bridge, following his bonemen.
Llethis had no bow or arrows on him. He had no ranged attack that would work. And he had the sinking feeling that Sarus had powerful Protect spells that would guard him from arrows anyway.
If Llethis couldn't attack the necromancer directly then he'd have to do it indirectly and now was his one and only chance. He cast one more fireball; only this one was aimed at the walkway itself.
The wooden walkway instantly caught fire. The elevated pathway collapsed, and the necromancer and his mob of bonemen fell.
The portly necromancer landed on his feet. He looked up at Llethis and began to clap. "I congratulate you on your common sense, Dunmer. There are few opponents these days that put any points into that attribute." He then fired off an ice spike that Llethis easily dodged.
"Yakum! Come!" Llethis beckoned his pet to follow as he ran for the Redoran Council Hall.
Just as he reached the entrance to the Hall the last of the Argonian attackers had been wiped out by the few surviving Redoran guards.
They could hear the beating of wings. Sarpa warriors were coming. And it was only a matter of time before the necromancer and his bonemen would get back to the upper level.
It was time to go, nothing needed to be said. Llethis and his guards made it inside the Council Hall and took the secret passage leaving out of Under-Skar. It was quite amazing, the secret escape route was being utilized exactly what it was made for; Llethis just didn't ever expect to see the day come to pass when it was needed. There had been the invasion by the Daedra during the Oblivion Crisis, the eruption of the Red Mountain, and now the Argonians. Ald' Ruhn had finally capitulated after one too many trials.
Llethis and Yakum stumbled through the tunnel into the hot night air. Masser and Secunda were up in the sky looking down on them with pity. Llethis looked around, the others were already running off into the night. Everyone was heading north towards Maar Gan; it wasn't safe south. Llethis could only guess if Caldera and Balmora were still standing. Perhaps they had been passed over and the Argonians thought they could get away with a surprise attack by striking farther north than the Dunmer were ready for. If that was indeed the case, their plan had certainly worked. Llethis Arobar and his war durzog Yakum fled into the forest, hoping to come across the other survivors. They needed to regroup, warn the other cities and towns of what had happened. The Dunmer needed to reorganize and strike back at the invading Argonians before all of Morrowind fell. Llethis ran, his heart pumping hard in his chest as Yakum loped along by his side. He may have lost his home, but his adventure was just beginning.
Author's Note: Entry for The-Bard's-College Collaboration Contest on Deviantart.
Elder Scrolls copyright belongs to Bethesda Softworks.
Llethis Arobar and Yakum belong to PolevaES.
Illustrations provided by the unbelievably talented PolevaES. Story by ZakoBattledroid.