Chapter 9
Nerevar steps into Narsis, the capital of House Hlaalu and one of the few cities along the banks of the Thir River. The rectangular, single-level stone houses typical of House Hlaalu dot the landscape, accompanied by some higher two and three level larger mansions. Hlaalu isn't known for either its military strength or the capabilities of its mages –which it has none- and instead, it's known for being gifted in the art of business and negotiation. To the councilors of the House, as well as lower class members, morals come second to turning a profit and sometimes not at all. Unlike the other Houses like Telvanni or Redoran, they are more open and welcoming to outsiders.
Their non-xenophobic attitude does come with a price in the form of the hatred of the other Houses. As a house consisting mostly of traders and businessmen, the Hlaalu see an advantage in accepting the gold of anyone that passes through, whether they are Chimer, Dwemer, or anyone else. The war has cut into their profits with the Dwemer, but they quickly formed a contract with the Argonians of Black Marsh and the Khajit of Elswyr. The councilors were aware of the presence of their visiting king and an envoy has been sent out to greet him.
The envoy bows deeply and his dark hair cascades into his face. Daggers are hidden inside his sleeves, just in case this man is a fraud. "My lord. Please forgive us for not greeting you properly. We were made aware of your presence only recently."
"You are forgiven." Nerevar is flanked by a pair of High Ordinators. "Why have your councilors not come out to greet me?"
The envoy bows once again. "They are aware of your presence, but are unable to leave the council house at the moment. I have been sent in their place to tour the city until they have prepared the council house for our king."
"I am in a hurry. I need to speak with them immediately."
"Apologies, my lord, but they will not allow anyone inside until they are ready. Please, if you will follow me."
The envoy leads them through the crowds surrounding the trading stalls in the heart of the city. He points out all of the important Hlaalu landmarks and explains their history, but his guest has a hard time paying attention while people keep coming up to him. They either ask excited questions, of they bow at his feet and beg for an audience. Nerevar and his personal guard push their way through the growing crowd in a futile attempt to catch up to their guide. As the crowd grows some more, Nerevar quickly realizes something; their guide purposely left them behind.
Nerevar's hand drops to the hilt of his ebony sword and his Ordinators follow suit. The crowd moves in closer and the glint of a blade catches his attention. His eyes dart from side to side and one of his guards cries out and drops to the ground with a dagger crafted from ebony sting out of his back. His other guard takes down the assassin within seconds and pins him against the ground. The crowd backs up.
"Who sent you?" Nerevar asks as he lowers himself onto one knee to face the man.
"Go ask your Daedra, king." The assassin spits out.
"Get him to his feet."
The High Ordinator does as he's commanded and holds the assassin's arms behind his back.
"Who sent you?"
The assassin spits again.
Nerevar wipes it off and punches the man in the stomach hard enough to make him spit up blood. "I won't ask again. Who sent you?"
The assassin grins and bites his tongue off. His mouth fills with blood and his body spasms as he starts to choke on his own fluids. The assassin eventually slumps forward and the Ordinator drops the body to the ground. Nerevar kneels down again and searches the body and discovers a note with the seal of the Morag Tong, a major group of assassins headquartered in Resadyn.
A second, well-hidden assassin moves with the crowd closer and under his cloak, he draws a poisoned dagger. Unlike his late associate, he keeps it well out of view until he's looking over his target's shoulder. Carefully and slowly, he pulls the weapon out and holds it behind Nerevar's back. A couple people bump into him and he drops it to the ground. The clang draws the attention of his target and he turns on his heels and runs away as fast as his feet can carry him.
Nerevar, along with his remaining High Ordinator, and the people closest to them, hear the clang and turn in time to see a dagger hitting the ground and a man pushing his way through the crowds. He pushes his way through the crowds himself and keeps up with the would-be assassin, but he always seems to be just a little bit over a fingertip away. His feet leave the ground and his shield knocks the man off balance and sends him tumbling to the ground. The black blade of his short sword flies out of its scabbard and Nerevar presses it against the assassin's neck once he forces him onto his back.
The assassin's hood is ripped off and the blade draws a little blood. It's obvious that this is this Morag Tong's first attempt at an assassination. The man's eyes show fear that betrays what was supposed to be an intense and rigorous training. That is a fear that the Chimer king will exploit. The blood slides down the man's neck and Nerevar grabs him by the collar and lifts him off of his feet.
"Why is the Morag Tong after me?"
The assassin grabs Nerevar's arm in an attempt to try to get him to release his grip. It doesn't work. "My associate and I were hired to kill someone who claimed to be Lord Nerevar once they entered the city."
"Why?" The anger is evident in his voice.
"We didn't ask questions. We simply did as we were told."
"Why is the Morag Tong after me, and who hired you?"
"Someone inside House Hlaalu. We never saw their face. They paid us a staggering amount of coin to kill you. The coins were strange, though."
"And how were they strange?"
"It was made out of some type of silver and it had strange markings on it. It was some type of bearded elf."
Nerevar's eye twitches under his mask. "A bearded elf, you say?"
He knows that Dumac would use any resource to gain an advantage in battle, but using assassins? That's something not even he expected his old friend would do. Something doesn't feel right to him. He doesn't know what it is, but it kind of feels like a faint voice inside his head. Nerevar ends the assassin's life by running his sword through his unprotected chest.
"My lord?" His High Ordinator appears behind him and bows.
Nerevar drops the body and cleans the blood off of the blade on the assassin's clothes before he replaces it into its scabbard. "House Hlaalu has a few things to answer for, and they will answer them."
The councilors of House Hlaalu sit even-tempered behind their paper covered desks and listen to their king's rant about the assassins. Once he finishes, one of the councilors; a woman in her mid-thirties with dark brunette hair tied into a tight bun, gets to her feet. Even sitting down, the woman towers over the other councilors and now that she's standing, the candles on her desk make her shadows dance. Unlike the other xenophobic houses that only have Chimer, this woman is a Nord.
She is wearing a simple navy blue shirt and pants with a scale, the symbol of house Hlaalu, sewed into the sleeves and along the length of the legs. No visible weapons are seen, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't have any on her. Her height gives the other councilors a reason to listen to her word, but the power of her voice is what makes them obey. When she clears her throat, everyone else stops what they're doing and faces her.
"Who are you to think that you can come in here and throw accusations of assassinations around? We are House Hlaalu, and there is no business in trying to kill our king."
"The assassin stated that it was someone inside House Hlaalu that hired him. The strange thing is this." He tosses a coin purse onto the councilor's desk and it opens, spilling the Dwemer coins out over the papers. "That is Dwemer currency. Someone inside this House is trading with them."
The councilor picks up the coin and examines it. She then throws it away. "What's your point, Lord Nerevar Indoril? We trade with the Dwemer. It's just business."
"'It's just business?' Are you not aware that the Chimer is at war with them? Trading with them is giving them the advantage in money and who knows what else. We need that money for our army."
"Where is the advantage in that? It doesn't matter to us who is fighting who. We will just trade with the winners. If you want us to support you exclusively, then you'll have to offer us something in return."
