A/N: Alright, on to chapter seven. I expect to move past this segment of the main quest and get into the side quests either by the end of this chapter or the next, which will bring us into the meat of this tale. Time to infiltrate the Mythic Dawn and take a magical book.
PREVIOUSLY:
"So this is it, huh? I hoped to never have to see that damn statue of Dagon ever again, but if it's the only way to stop the real thing from coming here, I'll go steal that amulet no problem." Nightshade narrowed her eyes in determination.
"I'll be waiting outside the caverns for you to come back so we can make our getaway." Caesar informed her.
"Please tell me this guy isn't our getaway horse." The elf pat the old thing on the flank.
"Don't worry about that, just leave it me." The Hero of Kvatch assured her. The two were on the road to Cheydinhal, and on the road to saving the whole kingdom from utter destruction.
The Mysterium Xarxes: Road to Paradise
The trip to Cheydinhal wasn't short, and it was starting to get chilly, but it was made easier thanks to Nightshade's massive blanket. It covered the horse's entire flank, covered Caesar's shoulders and the entire front of his body, and completely covered Nightshade, who sat behind the Hero. More than once she found herself falling asleep against his back in the darkness and warmth of that thing.
"Nightshade. We're here." In fact, she was fast asleep when they arrived at their destination. Caesar shook her awake. When she opened her eyes, her sight was very blurred, and she barely knew where she was.
"Wha...?" She blinked her eyes until they cleared. "Oh, we're in Cheydinhaaaaaaaaal." She yawned as she said it, and Caesar chuckled.
"Come on, time to set up base and go over our plan." He reminded her. She dismounted groggily.
"Can I sleep first? I'm so tired." She yawned again.
"Tired? You've spent most of the trip sleeping!" The Redguard led his horse into the stable as Nightshade folded up the large blanket and draped it over her shoulders.
"Sleeping on a moving horse is not very restful. I need a bed." She began to shuffle towards the gate, intent on reaching the Sanctuary and getting some real sleep. Caesar caught up with her, and hoisted her over his shoulder, moving at a much quicker pace. When they reached the Sanctuary, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder somehow, so he plopped her onto a bed, removed her weapons, laid them aside, unfolded the blanket, and covered her with it. Not feeling even remotely tired, he headed to the training room of the Sanctuary, stripped off his cuirass and shirt, and began running himself through his sword drills.
Nightshade awoke once, and only barely so, and removed her armour, which had been bothering her subconscious. Sleeping in a metal suit wasn't exactly pleasant. All of the pieces dropped to the floor with a clatter, and she tucked herself in again, much more comfortable.
When Caesar returned from the training room that evening, Nightshade was still asleep. The Redguard picked up her armour pieces and put them neatly beside her weapons before choosing a bed for himself and turning in. She wasn't waking up any time soon, so it was likely best to simply wait until morning to discuss the plan.
xXxXxXxXx
Another dream... Nightshade thought to herself. She was quite good at discerning the differences between the real world and the world of dreams.
Nightshade appeared to be in the Temple of Mara, in Bravil. And yet, upon looking around, she found that it was not Mara who came to visit. Instead, she was greeted by three other women. One appeared as a pale woman in a black robe and a shadowing hood, with a raven perched upon her shoulder. The next bore a long silver robe, and a pendant in the shape of a star bordered by a crescent moon hung from her neck, while a silver rose adorned her hair. The third was a woman in flowing golden robes, with a unique ring around her finger. Each woman had hair and eyes matching their attire.
"Nocturnal, Azura, and Meridia. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Nightshade smiled. These were the three specific Daedra that Nightshade revered, so it hardly seemed coincidental that all three were in her dream.
"We are not here to chat, child." Nocturnal told her firmly. Nightshade lifted her hands in innocence.
"My bad, my bad. Sorry. Please, then. Tell me why you are here." She sat down on a bench, ready to hear what the three women had to say.
"Nightshade, you have thrown your realm into disarray." Azura stated the obvious.
"Well yeah, I know that already. Your point?" She asked anyways.
"Mehrunes Dagon is in over his head." Nocturnal told her. "He must not be allowed to take your realm. He is ambitious, and many of our fellow Princes are behind him in this endeavor."
"Molag Bal and Mephala are particularly interested in his plans." Meridia continued the speech. Of course she would be concerned about Molag Bal being involved. The two were sworn enemies, as their realms and interests interfered with one another's, and the two were often in conflict. "If he is allowed to take Mundus, his ego will grow to unimaginable sizes. His desire to take control of other realms will not stop with yours, and he will then turn to the realms of those he does not have close ties with."
"So, yours, essentially. Three of the realms with the least amount of death violence, and terror in them." Nightshade knew they had personal goals in mind. They were Daedra, after all.
"You must understand," Azura began. "Mundus is rather dear to us, in our own ways. Mortals such as yourself are interesting. I find myself particularly fond of your elven people, and your feline race, the Khajiit. Such graceful creatures..." She trailed off.
"The thieves of your realm amuse me. It would make my life that much more boring to see them go." Nocturnal added her own piece. "And it would also be a shame to lose my Nightingales, as well as remove the prospect of me ever having any more."
"The mortals who tamper with my energies anger me greatly. The necromancers who bring back the corpses of the dead. These mortals anger your Aedra, Mara and Arkay, as well." Meridia told Nightshade. "They disturb the order of life and death, and the warmth of their souls are not reconnected with their bodies, thus they cannot feel compassion or love. The acts of bringing back the dead affect the souls of those who participate in the act as well, and taints their souls black. These things are what anger us three of life, love and light. However, there are mortals who please us greatly by seeking out and purging these creatures and their masters. Mortals such as yourself, Nightshade, and this is why I have sought you out."
"I have sought you out because you use my shadows well. Anyone who catches the attention of one who bears the cowl stolen from me long ago is more than likely one whom I can place my trust." Nocturnal stared Nightshade down, but it wasn't menacing. More like... Expectant.
"I have become fond of your ancestors. And seeing into your future gives me confidence that I can place in you my faith. And no, I will not tell you what I have seen. My visions show me different paths, with different outcomes. I see you both succeeding and failing, in many different ways, for many different reasons. I simply choose to place my bets on the more positive side of things." Azura explained.
"So you want me to save my realm. Well you're a bit late to rush in to tell me that. I'm already working on it." Nightshade stood up.
"We know. We simply decided to give you extra incentive. When you are ready, come to our shrines, located around your province of Cyrodiil." Azura requested. "If you can prove to us your worth, we will give you gifts that may help you on your quest. I offer you my Star, a powerful soul gem to use and reuse as you see fit, trapping the souls of creatures who would wish you harm and allowing you to bring magic to your objects, so that you may use them to better smite your enemies and clear the path to your goal." She extended her hand, and Azura's Star appeared, the bronze gleaming.
"I offer to you my Skeleton Key, to give you access to my shadows, so that you may hide from your enemies, and find their secrets." Nocturnal reached under the wing of her raven and pulled out the unbreakable lockpick.
"And my gift is this ring." Meridia held up her finger. "Once stolen from me by a Khajiit, it will support your use of the Skeleton Key, allowing you optimal usage of Nocturnal's shadows by bending my light around you and concealing you from those who would wish to impede your quest."
"So I go to your shrines, run some errands, and you give me stuff to help me save Mundus from Mehrunes Dagon so that he doesn't wipe out my world or invade Moonshadow, the Evergloam, or the Coloured Rooms. This seems like an entirely win-win situation to me." Nightshade shrugged. "You don't need to ask me twice. I'm in." The Daedric Princes seemed pleased with this, and they began to glow their respective colours.
"We're counting on you, child.' Azura said as the glows overtook the whole room, mixing together and just turning everything white.
xXxXxXxXx
When the light faded, and Nightshade opened her eyes, she was back in the real world, in the Cheydinhal Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary. She sat up and looked around. Caesar was still asleep, and she didn't want to disturb him. She crept quietly out of her bed and towards the table on the other side of the room. She found a delectable looking pear, and began to munch on it. As fond as Nightshade was of apples, she'd overheard Mraj Dar talking about some that had been injected with chokeberry poison that killed victims within seconds of being consumed, so she didn't trust the ones laying around, and opted for other fruits instead, hoping that the cat hadn't been playing with said other fruits with his poison.
Caesar opened his eyes and yawned. He was pleased to see that Nightshade was already awake, so he got up and met her at the table. "Ready to go over our plan?"
"I put on my best 'influenced by a magical force' act and get in. Head to Dagon's shrine, kill Mankar, get the Amulet, and get the fuck out. You'll spend that time preparing an optimal getaway. Not much to go over." She told him, taking another bite of her pear. Caesar smirked.
"No, I suppose not. We'll head out as soon as you're ready." Nightshade tossed her pear core into a wastebasket as her partner spoke, and then headed over to her bag, pulling out some thick red robes.
"I always wondered why I was compelled to keep these. I think I know why now. I've been saving them for this moment." She changed into the them. They were heavy, and uncomfortably warm, but for the sake of the mission, she knew she had to wear them. "Lake Arrius is almost directly north of here, it won't take us long to reach it. We should get going right away." Nightshade stretched as Caesar changed into his Blades armour.
"Agreed." He said when he finished, and the two left the Sanctuary without a word to anyone. The old horse waited for them, as it always did, and the two set off on horseback towards Lake Arrius.
xXxXxXxXx
Caesar dropped Nightshade off at the opposite end of the lake, so as to not be seen. His armour alone would be enough to blow the entire operation. She made her way confidently to the door. Dagon is a confident and brutal Daedra. His influence wouldn't cause anyone to be slow and sluggish and without mind. So the best way to make it believable would to act as if nothing had changed. She entered the caverns, and walked confidently towards the next door, being guarded by another Mythic Dawn member. She reached for the door's handle without acknowledging him.
"S-stop! What do you think you're doing?!" The doorman asked.
"Going inside. Obviously. What's it look like?" She asked back.
"W-well... Aren't you... Nightshade?" He looked away, not sure how to handle her confidence.
"Of course I am, and unless you want me to deliver your head to Lord Camoran, I suggest you stop pestering me." She turned the handle and walked inside. Right in the entranceway was a higher-ranked member of the Mythic Dawn, a man named Harrow. He drew his sword menacingly.
"You! What are you doing here?" He demanded.
"Another lowlife to bother me? What a pain. Move, or I'll take your head clean off your shoulders." Nightshade held out her hand, and a Daedric longsword appeared in it. Harrow seemed surprised, but then he seemed to relax.
"Of course. My apologies. It's good to see you've returned to us in one piece, milady." He sheathed his weapon. "Lord Camoran will surely want to see you. He's holding a seminar at the shrine."
"Yeah, what else is new? As you were, Harrow. I'll go see Lord Camoran right away." She walked straight past him and into the shrine room, where, just as the man had said, the High Elf Mankar Camoran was standing near the statue of Mehrunes Dagon, arms spread wide and talking as if he was the apostle of a god. Which, in a way, he was. Around his neck was Nightshade's target, the Amulet of Kings.
"The Dragon Throne is empty, and we hold the Amulet of Kings!" He preached. "Praise be to your Brothers and Sisters! Great shall be their reward in Paradise! Hear now the words of Lord Dagon! 'When I walk the earth again, the Faithful among you shall receive your reward: to be set above all other Mortals forever. As for the rest: the weak shall be winnowed, the timid shall be cast down; the mighty shall tremble at my feet and pray for pardon.' Your reward, Brothers and Sisters! The time of Cleansing draws nigh! I go now to Paradise. I shall return with Lord Dagon at the coming of the Dawn!" And with that, without even noticing Nightshade, he turned around, opened a portal, and fled to Paradise. She cursed internally. She hadn't wanted to risk attacking him with everyone around, but she didn't think he'd be so quick to bail. She had to think up another plan, fast. She couldn't go back empty-handed. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to escape being noticed by Mankar's children, Ruma and Raven, and this put a stopper on her planning for the time being.
"So, the traitor has finally come back." Raven mocked. "Unfortunate that father had to go so quickly, I'm sure he'd have loved to see his Chosen One returned to see the Dawn."
"Oh well, he'll be back. And then you two can catch up." Ruma added.
"Yeah, maybe. Who's the random Argonian on the altar?" Nightshade pointed.
"A priest of those ridiculous Nine Divines. He's our sacrifice this time, but unfortunately there are no new initiates to perform the ritual. How about you do the honours, Nightshade?" Ruma suggested. Nightshade smirked.
"With pleasure." She approached the shrine and looked down at the priest. Instead of summoning a dagger and killing him, she shook him awake. "Hey, get up." She whispered. The Argonian groaned, but Nightshade covered his mouth to keep him quiet. When his eyes opened, and the cleared, she spoke again. "I'm gonna get you out of here. When I give the signal, get up and run away as fast as you can, understand?" He nodded slightly. "Good." Nightshade backed off a plan already forming in her head. If she couldn't catch Mankar on Nirn, they'd have to follow him to Paradise, and Nightshade knew that the book was the key. She approached the pedestal where the Mysterium Xarxes sat. "Hey Raven! Ruma!" She called. The two looked, and seeing where she stood, turned angry. "Say hi to your dad in Oblivion. Now!" She shouted as she picked up the book. The Argonian got up and ran. He was very fast, and he cleared the altar before the statue of Mehrunes Dagon collapsed onto where he just was. Nightshade shoved the book into her bag as every member of the Mythic Dawn in the room swarmed her. When enough of them got close enough, Nightshade's whole body burst into flames. Then, those flames grew. "Burn, all of you, burn!" She laughed as the flames went out of control and covered the entire room, charring every cultist. She hoped sincerely that the priest would be able to make it through the caves without being killed. The flames continued to roar in the room, licking at everything it could use as fuel. It tried to consume her clothes, but somehow could not eat away at them, or her, even though she had no control over the fires any longer.
The next step was to battle her way out. Her magicka took a hit from that fire spell, so she'd have to do it the hard way. Thankfully, her daggers were both still hidden in her boots. She burst into the living quarters of the Mythic Dawn. Everyone inside was facing away from the entrance to the shrine, likely trying to get at the would-be sacrifice that had undoubtedly sped through here. She reached into her boots and drew her daggers. One soared through the air and took an agent of the cult out through the back of the head. The other, still in its wielder's hand, found itself in the back of another cultist, while the first was removed from the skull of its victim. Suddenly, all eyes were on the former Chosen One. Some seemed surprised to see her. Those ones she recognized. They had been around before she abandoned the cult. The others simply attacked. Nightshade threw both small blades at once, removing two red-robed cultists from the fight. Nightshade reached into a hole she had cut in the back of her old robe and drew her silver sword from it. The thick robes had easily concealed the longsword hidden inside. She met the Daedric war axe of a cultist, deflecting the weapon and spinning rapidly, basically gutting the sucker that stood against her. The remaining cultists seemed to grow some brains. Some of the lower-ranked members fled, while those who stayed summoned forth their Bound equipment. The first to come forward and face her made a mistake by doing so, however. With her magicka somewhat restored, Nightshade made quick work of the cultist, reaching up under his helmet and lighting a fire in it. There was no opposition left in the room after that. His screams of agonizing pain as his face burned to a crisp was enough to scare the rest of the hostile cultists away, and likely for good reason.
Apparently, they had spread the word, because there as no one around the rest of the way of out of the caverns. She proceeded leisurely out of the hideout. Caesar was waiting for her, looking confused. Nightshade was quick to share the look, because two Redguards she had never seen before, on large Hammerfellian warhorses, were with him.
"I think I just saw the entirety of the Mythic Dawn cult flee from their own hideout in terror. Oh, and some Argonian who looked really eager to get the heck out of there. What happened?" The Hero of Kvatch asked.
"I may or may not have scared the shit out of them by burning a guy's head inside his helmet right in front of them." She shrugged. "You should have heard him screaming, it was terrible. Who exactly are these guys?" She gestured to Caesar's new companions.
"My older brothers. Nightshade, I'd like to introduce you to Mordrith and Terius." He explained. "They've spent the last several years hunting me down so they could kill me." The Hero then said nonchalantly, handing her a duffel bag.
"And now all of a sudden you're buddy-buddy with them? When did they even get here?!" The girl opened the bag and removed the equipment. She hid behind a nearby tree so that she could still continue the conversation while not being seen by any of the brothers.
"Not long ago. I was counting on them finding me. They were going to help us escape, although I suppose that's not really necessary anymore. I did some explaining, and they understand what really happened when they swore to travel to the ends of the kingdom to make me pay. No hard feelings when it wasn't really my fault." Caesar tried to peek around the tree, but nearly got a fireball to the face for it.
"What wasn't your fault?" The elf emerged from behind the tree, now donning the equipment her uncle bestowed upon her.
"That's between us." One of the Redguards on the big horses snapped. He bore some basic iron armour, with a matching iron claymore on his back. He seemed a grumpy sort, almost as though he couldn't be happy about anything. This was Mordrith, the middle brother, aged twenty-three.
"Now, now, brother. No need to be rude." The next Redguard, who bore a better resemblance to the youngest brother, wore steel armour, and appeared to favour the warhammer. The one on his back was solid steel, and could probably send Nightshade flying like a football. He had kind eyes, and a much more level head than either of his brothers. This was Terius, the eldest brother, aged twenty-seven. "My apologies. Manners are not my brother's strong suit."
"No, it's alright." Nightshade shook her head. "He's right, it's your business."
"Well? Did you get it?" Caesar looked at his partner expectantly. Nightshade shook her head somberly.
"No. Camoran escaped before I could get him. But I got the next best thing." She pulled the Mysterium Xarxes from her bag. "The book that has four books written about it. With this, we should be able to chase him down."
"I see. So much for being a master thief. You couldn't even get what we really came for." Caesar scolded.
"You're mean." She said, putting the book away.
"Is there not somewhere this object must be delivered to as soon as possible?" Terius asked.
"You told them everything, didn't you?" Nightshade's shoulders dropped.
"No time to worry about that. We have to get that book to Martin, now." Caesar whistled, and the old pinto he called his horse walked out from the trees. "Get on. We're leaving." Nightshade swung herself up onto the horse, and the four left for the Jerall Mountains.
xXxXxXxXx
Once again at Cloud Ruler Temple, Jauffre met the group at the gate. Paying no mind to the newcomers, he approached the warriors riding the paint horse.
"Thank Talos you've returned safely! Do you have the Amulet?" He asked, hopeful. Caesar shook his head. "Please tell me you have some good news..." His gaze shifted to Nightshade. She smiled, and showed him the Mysterium Xarxes. He sighed in relief. "Ah. Good. You should take that to Martin right away. He'll be in the Great Hall, reading. He's hardly taken time to sleep since the two of you left." The party made their way into the temple interior. Martin was sitting at his usual table, reading, but he looked up when they arrived.
"Ah, you're back. I told Jauffre not to worry." He looked at Caesar, and his face turned somber. "... I can see you have bad news. You didn't recover the Amulet, did you?"
"No..."Nightshade grimaced. But then she perked up. "But we do have this!" She pulled the ever-important book out of her bag. "Ta-da! The Mysterium Xarxes!"
"By the Nine!" The soon-to-be Emperor looked terrified. "Such a thing is dangerous to even handle!" Then he relaxed. "Forgive me. I suppose, as a former member of the cult who utilized the book, you would know how to handle it. You were right to bring it. But still, you'd better give to me. I know some ways to protect myself from its evil power." She handed it to him.
"This thing can lead us right to Camoran!" She grinned.
"It can? Do you know how to use it?" Nightshade's entire body seemed to falter.
"No..." She looked away shamefully.
"It's alright." Martin smiled at her. "I'm sure the secret of how to open a path to our enemy can be found within these pages." He looked the book over. "But I will need time. And lots of it, I'm afraid. Tampering with dark secrets, even just reading them, can be very dangerous. I'll have to proceed carefully. I'll have to decipher the Daedric language, and I'm sure the instructions with be in riddles, so I will also have to interpret them. This will not be easy. I have no idea how long it will take." The bastard-son of Uriel Septim VII explained. Suddenly, Nightshade came up with an idea. SHe reached into her pouch again, and from it, produced a small whistle.
"Here, take this." She handed it to him.
"A whistle? What is this for?" He looked at her in confusion.
"That whistle can be used to call my pet hawk, Red. No matter where he is, he can hear it, and fly to its source. When you've figured out our next course of action, call him and write us a letter. When he gets here, just give it to him and tell him to find us. He'll know what to do. When we get your message, we'll come back right away." She explained. Martin's face lit up.
"This is brilliant! Thank you!" He smiled again. "Meanwhile, you two can do whatever you see fit while I go about this."
"Brother." Everyone turned to look at Terius. "The people who live here... They are excellent warriors. If you don't mind, Mordrith and I would like to remain here a while."
"Not at all. If it's alright with Martin." Caesar looked back at the priest.
"I say, the more the merrier!" He was a very happy young man, it seemed, now that some real progress could be made.
xXxXxXxXx
Nightshade and Caesar once again departed from Cloud Ruler Temple, with Mordrith and Terius opting to stay and train with the Blades. They were promised to be informed of any new developments via Red-Mail. They worked their way down the mountain path, back towards Bruma and the rest of Cyrodiil.
"So, what do we do next?"
A/N: In the original version of this story, Mordrith and Terius play a slightly larger role, but working with four characters constantly would be quite a strain, so I'm cutting them a bit. Also, now the role of Red the hawk has been revealed! He is what's tying me to the main quest for the majority of this series. Now, at long last, I can get into the real content pf this story. The side quests!