"Where is that lazy steward of mine? Varona! Oh no, wait. She's dead. Drovas! Why can I never seem to get a decent cup of tea around here…?"

I all but slammed a cup of the stuff down in front of the wizard and snapped, "There. Happy now?"

Neloth stared at it and looked back up at me again. "You don't even drink tea."

"No," I said, my throat tightening. "But there was someone I loved who did."

I sat down at the other end of the desk without another word and prodded the Black Book with a forefinger. Probably a bad idea, but I didn't particularly care. I'd heard that construction had begun on the shrines surrounding the Stones again. Miraak was growing more powerful with every moment that I did nothing, but the Skaal… the Skaal wouldn't like the price Hermaeus Mora demanded for the only weapon that could be used to defeat him.

I heard Neloth take a sip of his tea and grudgingly mutter, "It's not terrible…"

To keep my mind off the dilemma at hand, I asked him, "What's Vvardenfell like now?"

Neloth seemed surprised by the abrupt question. "The eruption of the Red Mountain hit us hard. The city of Vivec was destroyed and it took decades for us to rebuild. We are still but a shadow of our glorious past, but someday we will rise again. However, House Telvanni still has its properties on Vvardenfell. I've never been to the mainland myself."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Never?"

"Some of us have more important things to do, you know."

I shook my head. I left the island when I was twenty-one to go to Mournhold. Even though I was born in Skyrim, in the Rift, I could barely remember it. I'd been too young when we went to Morrowind. For all intents and purposes, the first time I'd been away was when I boarded that ship in Ebonheart.

"You are too young to remember the exploits of the Nerevarine," Neloth commented. "He defeated Dagoth Ur and saved us all from the blight."

I snorted. "I wouldn't count on that. And the Nerevarine was female."

"Really? Oh, yes. I remember now… Talise, I think her name was. Yes, that's it. Bosmer. Little thing, but packed quite the punch."

"Whatever happened to her?" I asked.

"Oh, she's still around. She's the Archmaster of House Redoran, if I recall correctly, and she's just as uptight as the rest of her blasted House."

I faintly remembered Captain Veleth mentioning something about the Archmaster of House Redoran being named Talise. Could that really have been the dark haired Bosmer I first encountered in the South Wall Cornerclub all those years ago, back when I was still a member of the Guild?

There was a sudden, loud thud as someone's feet collided with the platform at the top of the tower's shaft. Looking around, I saw Talvas hurry into the laboratory. He seemed out of breath… and very worried.

"Master Neloth," he gasped, "there's… someone skulking about the tower grounds. At first I thought I imagined it, but I caught a glimpse of him. An Altmer, I think."

"Who in Oblivion would come all the way out here?" Neloth murmured, puzzled.

I was confused as well. An Altmer outside of Tel Mithryn? Who would willingly go that far from Raven Rock? It had to be Gan, the stubborn son of a guar. Or maybe it was a Thalmor agent I'd somehow missed when I destroyed their ship.

Unless…

I felt my blood turn cold in my veins at the sudden thought. He wouldn't. He was a s'wit, yes, but he'd never stoop that low… would he? But, the longer I thought about it, the more certain I became. How else could they have known my real name unless someone who knew had told them?

There was only one other person on the gods-forsaken island who knew.

Damn him! Damn him to Oblivion!

I shoved myself away from the table and got to my feet, gritting my teeth. Neloth stared at me and Talvas even jumped a little. Without a word, I descended the shaft and stepped out of the tower. Sure enough, I saw the mer waiting out among the ashy dunes, a black and gold figure on the landscape. His yellow-green eyes were fixed directly on me. I felt burning, gnawing rage bubble up in my chest and I stormed across the ashes toward him.

"You no-good, self-serving, fetching, traitorous pile of cliff racer shit!" I screamed at him. "You joined the Dominion, didn't you? Didn't you?"

A cold smile curled Gan's lip. "Of course I did. You know I've never been one to be on a losing side. Neither were you, until you joined the damned Emp–"

I slammed my fist into his jaw, sending him staggering back.

"How dare you!"

"How dare I?" He wiped the blood from his split lip away from his mouth. "You're the one who abandoned the Guild. The Camonna Tong came in two months after you vanished and stormed the South Wall, even with our defenses. It seemed like the next thing I knew, I was hearing some girl in Cyrodiil with your name was playing hero for that lowly Septim. You sold out, Mara."

"Don't talk to me about loyalty! What we did, what we all did, was wrong and you know it!"

"You never used to be so concerned with "right" or "wrong"… Or was it something else?" The mer let out a short laugh. "You slept with him, didn't you?"

I drew my sword and charged at him. He dodged easily. Before I could turn on him again, he caught hold of my arm and twisted it behind my back. My blade dropped from my hand and hit the ground with a dull thump. I gasped.

"You don't mean to tell me that you actually loved him?" He hissed in my ear. "What did that bastard have that I didn't, hmm?"

"A heart," I spat.

I wrenched myself from his grip and Gan shoved me down. My eyes stung from the cloud forced up at the impact and I coughed out ashes. Before I could scramble out of the way, he had a knife pressed against my throat. His sick-colored eyes narrowed and loose strands of pale hair hung in his gaunt face.

"They thought you were something special back in the Guild, you know, but you're not," he snarled. "You're just the same as you always were: an obstinate, abrasive child who always reaches higher than she has any right to. Ancarion heard you were on the island, and wondered if I knew anything about you. And oh, I know so much about you, Mara Fides. I know exactly what you are in the dark."

I could feel his blade starting to bite into my neck. I saw his sneer. He couldn't kill me, no, but he didn't know that. He was still going to try.

"Fus!" I Shouted.

The Altmer's head snapped back and I sat up fast. Grabbing him by the shoulders, I flipped him over so that he was lying flat on his back. I knelt with one knee against his stomach, pinning him to the ground, and tore the knife from his hand.

"You know nothing about me, Ganril. You never have."

I shoved the dagger between his ribs, plunging it straight into his heart. He let out a strangled gasp. I kept my hand firmly clenched around the hilt of the blade and leaned in close, watching as the life faded from his eyes. Then he went slack, lying still as his last breath escaped him and his eyes glazed over.

Standing shakily, I took a step back. One hand clenched into a fist at my side while I used the other to throw fire at his corpse. The smell of burning flesh quickly filled the air. I spat on the ground, turned on my heel, and marched back toward the tower. As I did, I saw Drovas peering out of his house with wide eyes.

"Dispose of that once it burns out, if you please," I said, pointing over my shoulder to where what was left of Ganril was ablaze. The steward continued to stare at me even as I went back inside the tower.

After that, I realized that I didn't have any more options. I had to go to Storn about Hermaeus Mora's bargain. If he refused to cooperate with the plan… well, I didn't really want to think about that.

It was night when I reached the Skaal Village, and everything was quiet save for the sound of my boots crunching on the snow. The shaman sat on the wooden bench outside his house, examining what looked an awful lot like teeth by the light of the moons. Looking up at me, he said, "Ah, Dragonborn. It has been some time since you returned to us. What news do you bring?"

I took a deep breath to prepare myself for what I needed to say.

"I found another Black Book and spoke to Hermaeus Mora," I told him. "He asked for the "secrets of the Skaal""

"Hermaeus Mora…" Storn shook his head slowly. "… Old Herma-Mora himself. So he is the source of Miraak's power. Of course. We have many tales of Herma-Mora trying to trick us into giving up our secrets to him. And now he comes again for what we have long kept from him."

"Herma-Mora… Why do you call him that?"

"That is our name for him. The Demon of Knowledge. He has always been our enemy."

"And what is it exactly that he wants?"

The shaman closed his eyes. "Ah. Ancient lore, handed down from shaman to shaman since the All-Maker first gave Solstheim to the Skaal. How to talk to the wind, how to listen to the earth – these are our secrets. Nothing of power or mastery."

I frowned, feeling confused. "So why would Hermaeus Mora want them?"

"It is in his nature to hoard secrets to himself. Their value to him is of no consequence. The very fact that the Skaal have kept knowledge from him has merely increased his desire to have it."

I stood there in silence for a long time, steeling myself for the words I needed to say. The only sound was that of the wind blowing in from the sea. It sent a shiver running through me.

"He told me that it's the only way he'll teach me the Words of Miraak's Shout," I finally whispered.

"So it falls to me to be the one to give up the secrets to our ancient enemy," Storn sighed. "I do not know if I have the strength to face him. The Tree Stone is still corrupted, and the Sun Stone has fallen back under Miraak's influence… The land is out of balance. But with the other four restored… it may be enough. It will have to be."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"You mean you'll give him what he wants?" I asked.

"Yes. The Skaal also tell of the day when we must finally give up our secrets. When Herma-Mora finally wins. As shaman, it is my duty to guard these secrets, but also to decide when it is necessary to give them up. I believe that time is now. If I am wrong, may my ancestors forgive me." Storn got to his feet, pocketing the teeth, and walked toward the center of the village. He beckoned to me. "Come with me. Let us end this dark game once and for all."