Chapter 10
Kagrenac once again sits hunched over his desk, examining his plans for his Tools. His passing curiosity has turned into a full-blown obsession as the voice in his head continues to convince him to either return to the Heart Chamber, or to work on the tools. Try as he might, he's unable to suppress how hard the voice is working him. For nearly six months, he's been locked inside of his private chambers inside of Endusal and he's ignored everyone that's come to visit him; Yagrum Bagarn included.
The broken door has long since been repaired and Kagrenac has long since personally reinforced it. His fingers run through his matted and tangled hair as the voice once again crawls inside his head. The once vibrant colors of his eyes have dulled and the women he usually calls for to "help him relax" have stopped showing up, on his orders. Dirt has caked his skin and armored robe and his polished mace is covered in a layer of thick dust.
The war with the Chimer interested him at first and his improvements to the gigantic, lumbering steam centurions and rolling centurions have helped to turn the tide. The extendable mace on the right arm of the lumbering centurions serve two purposes; one is to add another layer to the already intimidating visage, while the other is to give it a slightly longer range in its attacks. The rolling centurions have been completely changed from their original purpose of just helping the spider drones to fix and maintain the city-fortress' to now serving as part of the war effort. Their lower half has been completely removed and replaced with a rolling sphere, hence the name.
Their tools have been removed and replaced with a shield –which serves a second purpose as the top half of the sphere- and a retractable blade. These automatons don't necessarily serve as the vanguard like the gigantic centurions do. Instead, they serve as more of a protection for the Dwemer's home or as support on the battlefield. The armor has also been reinforced on the rare chance that the Chimer are able to actually break into the heart of their empire; Dumac's Fortress.
You must work harder, The voice inside his head calls out. The Chimer is pushing your people back. You are fighting a losing war.
"Shut up!" Kagrenac screams as a headache quickly forms.
The Tools must be completed, or else all is lost.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Kagrenac pounds at his own head. "Get out of my head, you irritating voice!"
You are the only one that can save your people. The Tools must be completed, or the Chimer will eliminate your kind.
"I'm not listening…" He rubs his temples with the palms of his hands, further ruffling his own dark hair. "If I don't listen, you don't exist…"
I am here to help you, Chief Tonal Craftlord Kagrenac. The Heart is the only thing that can bring victory to your people. Do you not want victory?
"Victory for Dumac is victory for all Dwemer…"
Exactly. Once you finish this project, then Lord Dumac will bring victory to your people. Once you use the Tools on the Heart, then the Dwemer will become immortal. You will become gods among the men and mer of this land.
"We will become gods…" Kagrenac shakes his head. "No, Lord Dumac will never approve once he hears about this."
He does not have to know. You have kept it secret from him this entire time. Once you have become gods, he will reward you with whatever you wish. You will have your choice of any woman in this land. Gold will be thrown at your feet when the mortals worship you like the gods you are. The finest ale and mead will flow until the end of time, only for your consumption.
"The finest ale, and women? Only for me?"
Yes. The voice almost seems to hiss the word.
"Well, I-" Kagrenac suddenly gets to his feet and starts pounding his head once again. "No! Leave my mind, voice! Leave me!"
Kagrenac picks up his mace when he feels a hum inside his head. It has the strength of his improved centurions, and the heat of the molten lava flowing beneath his feet. Try as he might, he's unable to pry the voice from deep inside his brain. His screams fill the room and the air whistles with the swing of his mace. The Dwemer weapon connects with the pillars, taking huge chunks out, and with his desk. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, none of his frantic swings hit the plans or the crude clay moldings of his Tools.
Exhaustion soon takes over, but not before he throws his mace at the door. It hits with an audible thunk but no mark is made in the reinforced metal. Silence fills the room and Kagrenac doubles over and places his hands on his legs for support. Sweat drops fall to the ground and he takes in gulps of air as he feels the voice slowly recede. Once the humming and heat finally disappear and his mind returns to him, he collapses onto his knees.
"What should I do?" He asks himself. "I have never left a project unfinished, but if Dumac discovers what I plan to do, he'll have my head." He falls forward and uses his hands for support. "I can see no other way out of this situation."
"There is one way." A familiar and strangely comforting voice calls out from the doorway.
Kagrenac looks up to see one of the few men he trusts with the information of this project; Yagrum Bagarn. Yagrum reaches down and picks up his Chief Craftlord's mace and returns it to its owner. He grabs Kagrenac and helps him back onto his feet. The mad obsession has filled the Chief Tonal Architect's eyes, but underneath that madness is something that resembles pleading.
"This project will be the death of you, but should Lord Dumac discover it, then that will also be the death of you."
The mace slips from Kagrenac's fingers and once again hits the ground. "Regardless of what I do, I will die. I see no other outcome."
Yagrum places his hands on Kagrenac's shoulders. "There is one way out of this, Lord Kagrenac; abandon this project. Let it be forgotten to history, and destroy the plans."
"I-I can't."
"Why not?"
"Something… or someone is preventing me from doing so. I have tried to before, but whatever it is has always stopped me."
"What is preventing you?"
Kagrenac shakes his head and backs up until he collapses onto his chair. "It's a…voice. It is not a comforting voice. Whenever I hear it, it feels like molten metal, or broken glass, inside my head. If I resist, then it feels like it's digging deeper. If I do not, then I can still feel the burning. It feels like it's tearing away at me, like it's clawing at my mind."
"Then we need to get rid of it." Yagrum takes a step closer to Kagrenac, but a subtle change in the air around them suddenly stops him in his tracks. He feels the change, as does Kagrenac, but neither man knows what it is. It's like the warmth of the air is suddenly drawn away, only to be replaced by a chill that goes straight to the bone. Kagrenac's long, unruly hair falls into his face and a devilish grin slowly forms.
He does not appreciate what you're doing. The voice returns, but much stronger than before. He seeks to undermine everything that you have worked so hard for. He wants all of the glory for himself.
"Glory…" Kagrenac's voice is barely above a whisper.
Yagrum sees his Chief Tonal Architect's shoulders quickly rising and lowering. He moves closer to him, but before he can get close enough to touch him, his warrior's instinct takes control and he jumps back. By the time his feet touch the ground, he's already drawn his sword. Something wet catches his attention and he looks down to see a shallow cut made by one of the edged spikes. Instinctively, he takes a step back as Kagrenac slowly stands up.
Something about him is different. It may be his hunched stance, or the way his hair covers his face and casts an ominous shadow. It could also be the way that he takes slow, deliberate strides or his arms swinging with each step. Whoever or whatever this thing is, it is no longer Kagrenac, the Chief Tonal Architect of the Dwemer Kingdom. A scream erupts from the possessed Dwemer before he runs full sprint at Yagrum.
The speed of this creature is much faster than anything the host could possibly hope to achieve. Its attacks match Kagrenac's controlled, wild swings, but it lacks the power behind each blow. The first few attempts fail to connect with his opponent, but they do manage to make him retreat on his heels. Yagrum stops only when his back hits one of the pillars not damaged by Kagrenac's earlier fit.
"Lord Kagrenac," Yagrum manages to duck under another wild swing with less than a second to spare. "Stop this madness! Remember who you are!"
Kagrenac laughs in his throat and his head twitches to the right a couple times before returning to normal. "The Tools are my creations! You will not take the glory from me!" He charges once again.
Yagrum rolls out of the way as the mace takes a chunk out of the pillar. Without losing momentum, he slams the pommel of his sword into his back between the shoulder blades. He then grabs Kagrenac's hair and pulls him back and drops his sword, clenching his armored hand into a fist. The fist connects and a sickening crunch can be heard, which is quickly followed by blood flowing out of his nostrils. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, Yagrum charges forward and slams his shoulder into Kagrenac's stomach.
The sudden tackle takes the High Priest totally by surprise and his feet leave the ground. He is pushed all the way back to his desk and he reaches back and grabs a small vase used mostly for decoration and slams it into the back of Yagrum's head. The feeling of the arms wrapped around disappears and he cracks his nose back into place. A laugh escapes after he picks up his mace once again.
"The glory is mine! You will not-" He's cut short when he feels a sudden pain in his jaw followed by a sudden darkness.
Yagrum pushes his Chief Architect hard into the desk. He lets go when he feels a sudden pain in the back of his head followed by the unmistakable warmth of his own blood flowing freely. Ignoring the pain and the rambling, he clenches his hand into a fist again and uses what strength he can to swing it around. His gauntlet connects with Kagrenac's jaw and it stops him mid-sentence and sends him straight to the ground, unconscious.
He waves his hand a couple times to try to get rid of the tingling now emanating down his arm. He used more than he thought he did and his arm went partially numb from the force of the blow. Once the feeling returns, he kicks the mace away with his foot and looks down at the unconscious Kagrenac. He shakes his head a little. "You'll thank me when you wake up, Chief Tonal Architect."