The party, now ten strong, shimmered into existence near the shores of Lake Arrius. "I'm familiar with this area," Macchiatus said. "I grew up near Cheydinhal, and roamed these hills hunting with my friends when I was a teenager. Is this estate the one that used to belong to the Rugdumph family?"
Vari shrugged. "Sorry," he said, "But this is my first trip to Cyrodiil as a human, and I haven't had time to explore much. It's off in that direction," he pointed, "and only a mile or two from here – I think. I got there fast-traveling by map to start with, and left flying." The guard commander eyed him questioningly. It really was true, then, that some of these ordinary-seeming people could turn into dragons? He shook his head.
Dusk was approaching now, as they made their way among the hills to the manor house. Most of the day it seemed, from Vari's perspective, had been taken up in map travel – and he was already starting to feel hunger pangs again. As they walked, he and Sigi rummaged in their packs for bread rolls and dried sausages, munching while moving along.
Andi noticed his younger brothers, and thought he wouldn't mind a snack himself. Using the Healing spell to cleanse his body of alcohol had left him feeling good, but hungry. Yet he was too anxious about the forthcoming confrontation to want to eat. What would they find there? Would Mom have succeeded in restoring the emperor's mind, only to be summarily dumped in an unmarked grave behind the barn while Alderion primed Giorgio to report that everything was fine? If they'd brought the guard commander and his Recorder here only to find that their enemies had covered all the bases, it would be too much to bear.
As they approached the house, just visible a quarter mile ahead, Andi stopped for a moment. "Mina, I need the Kahluthkrii mask," he said. "And I'll take the Silence Collar," Rezira added. The mask was scary-looking, and Junius wanted to know what it was for. "It renders me immune to magical attack," Andi explained. "When we get down there and confront Alderion I anticipate that the first thing he'll try to do is Silence me, and I don't want him to be able to do that. We want to Silence him instead, immobilize him and then get our Silence Collar onto him so he won't be able to cast any spells. He seems to be better at creating illusions than any mage I've ever heard of."
"That's a thought, Andi," Anja said and rummaged in her pack. Sigi had returned her ring to her earlier in the day. "I have this Ring of Detect Magic, and I think Junius should be the one to wear it. He needs to be able to know if what he's seeing is really there, or just the creation of a spell." The little Imperial seemed quite intrigued, taking it from her and slipping it onto a finger. It immediately adjusted itself to fit. Then he looked around. "Aha," he said, "You, Mister Dragonspring, are glowing. But nobody else here is." "Try me now," Vari said – slipping on his Ring of Chameleon.
"Oh, my!" Junius said, looking at Vari and then pulling the Ring of Detect Magic off of his finger and looking again. He put it back on again, and said "Commander, I don't know where this young lady got her ring, but we really need to find out how to get one for our own force. This would have told us immediately that there was something wrong with that tunic we took in evidence." To Vari, he added, "You are nearly invisible to the unaided eye, but with this ring – and I suppose a Ring of Detect Life would have the same effect – you are glowing like a beacon."
"I think I'll leave the ring on for the time being," Vari said thoughtfully. "Might be helpful if the guards here think there are only nine of us." In the twilight, the ring was still more effective – rendering the boy nearly invisible. There were lights around the house, and they would have to cross a bare area in the front yard to reach the main entrance – where two guards were on watch. They wore a motley collection of armor, as if they were mercenaries; but they bore themselves like members of a regular force.
"How's your range on the Paralyze spell now, Andi?" Rezira asked softly. "Pretty good," he replied. Then to Macchiatus and Junius he said, "I'm going to cast a Paralyze spell on both those guards, so nobody gets a crossbow bolt in the guts. Then we can sneak up there and tie them up or something, before trying to go into the house."
Wyll found himself marveling at how easy it was to follow his son's leadership. Wyll himself was all muscle and skill and catlike agility, but the boy he and Kat and Anders had raised had grown into a man with an exceptional mind. Anyone would be happy to let him take the lead. He just hoped Andi was all right with the responsibilities his leadership conferred.
The rest of them held back while Andi cast his spell in an arc just broad enough to strike both guards down. They never even saw him coming, their night vision ruined by the lights near the house. Wyll, Anja, Mina, and Lars surged forward then. In moments they had bound and gagged the immobile guards, then Wyll and Lars each hefted one over his shoulder and carried them away into the darkness. Unless a wandering wolf pack found them, they should be safe enough and out of the way there.
As the group re-formed and prepared to go into the house again, Junius remarked quietly, "I recognized that bald fellow. He's one of Count Terentius' household guard force. He always accompanies the family whenever they're residing in Imperial City." There were grim looks and nods around the circle. It looked like the Terentius family were in this up their eyeballs, whatever "this" was. Mina was stricken. Had Flavius been getting next to her just so he could further his father's evil plans? It was hard to believe that about the charming young man, but she supposed that was what "charming" was all about – deception. Divines knew, Dovi had none of that about him.
Before they opened the doors, Andi held the Kahluthkrii mask in his hands and addressed them all – especially the two members of the Imperial authorities – quietly. "I'll be wearing the mask to go in there, and depending on what we find I may be using Paralysis, Silence, or Command. Commander Octavius, are you familiar with the Command spell?"
Macchiatus shook his head. "Never heard of it," he admitted. "For the duration of the spell, and I can cast it to last 10 full minutes, the subject will do exactly as I Command them to do and believe anything I tell them. In addition, I can ask them a question and they will answer truthfully even though I didn't specifically tell them that they must do so. Beyond my direct Commands, the person will be pretty much themselves and able to think about, and do, whatever they would normally be doing anyway."
"It sounds like the kind of thing that would make a confession inadmissible in Court," Junius opined. The things he had recorded had condemned many a criminal, and he was anxious that nothing he had a hand in would be tainted. "It very much depends on the wording," Andi explained. "If I told you, 'confess to killing the emperor' you would respond with 'I killed the emperor,' but you would be unable to furnish any details since obviously you did not in fact do the crime. But on the other hand, I could Command you 'tell me everything you know about the death of the emperor,' and you would probably be busy for the next three hours reciting every detail that had been reported to you. Plus, if you secretly knew something about the plot, you would reveal it."
Junius pondered. "Three hours? I thought you said the spell only lasts 10 minutes." "True," Andi admitted, "and probably I would have to keep renewing the spell. But sometimes one can make a suggestion to a subject who is under their Command and they will continue to follow through with that suggestion after the spell has worn off. It depends on their attitude toward you, and how you phrased it. We believe that when Alderion came to the house and kidnaped my mother, he met Mina. She thought he was Flavius, Count Terentius' son, because he was cloaked in an illusion. She remembers letting Flavius into the house, and then feeling very sleepy and going to bed. Sigi had a hard time waking her, even though Alderion's spell must have worn off a long time before then."
"Ah, I see," Junius said, making a notation in his book. He had a small, pocket-sized notebook in addition to the official Guard record book – which was far too heavy and unwieldy to be used for field work. "Very well," he said, "use whatever spells you need to prevent anyone in the house from doing us harm, but inform me what they are. This ring enables me to tell when someone is bespelled, but not in what way. And I'll be paying close attention to what you say, so mind yourself."
Andi grinned tensely at him. Clearly, he was going to have to be on his toes around the punctilious little Recorder. Donning the mask again, he had a thought. "Vari?" he asked quietly, and nearly jumped out of his skin as his brother touched him on the elbow. Had he been there the entire time? "Why don't you be the first one in the door, and report what's on the other side of it?" he suggested. "And get ready to duck, if you have to – you'll be much more visible inside the house, with the lamps in there."
Vari gave an unseen salute and quietly opened the front door and slipped inside. The house was hundreds of years old, but they must have been keeping the place up. There was not even a slight squeal of hinges. The entry hall he'd seen on his first visit (was that only a few hours ago?) was empty, and in the dining area beyond the emperor was no longer to be seen. The room seemed empty except for a hulking guard, who was seated at the table shoveling food into his mouth. Vari was glad he'd had a snack on the walk over here, as just the sight of the food on the plate brought a small rumble from his stomach. He froze, but the guard seemed oblivious to the noise.
Turning around, Vari crept back out through the front door and removed the ring to deliver his report. He'd noticed that people found it unsettling to converse with him when he appeared not to be there. "There's just one guard in sight," he said quietly. "He's sitting at a dining table in the next room over from the one just inside the door – that's where I saw the emperor earlier."
"All right," Andi said, specifically addressing Junius. "I'm going to cast a Command spell on him as soon as he's in sight, and tell him not to attack us. Then the rest of the party can come through, and we'll ask him politely to tell us exactly what's going on here. Is that okay?" Junius glanced at Macchiatus, who nodded. "That should be fine," he said. "It's not as if we're bringing this guard up on charges – yet. We just need to know what he can tell us so we don't encounter any surprises."
Andi stepped quietly through the door, having removed the mask again. It made it hard for him speak clearly, and limited his vision as well. He'd just as soon not use it when he didn't need to, though it had served well enough as a disguise during his interview with Croaker. The guard, almost finished with his meal, heard a click as the front door was opened and then closed. He had just turned to see if one of his colleagues was coming inside for some reason, when Andi hit him with the Command spell and then immediately said, "My companions and I are friends, and we mean you no harm. Do not call out, and do not attack us."
The guard smiled and nodded. It had been lonely duty these past few days, and he was happy to see some friends. The rest of the party came in, moving quietly. Until they'd interviewed this guard, they didn't know how many people might be within hearing, hidden within the house.
They gathered around the guard, who sat smiling at them all, at his ease at the dining table and polishing off the last few crumbs of his supper. "Tell me your name," Andi Commanded, and he cheerfully replied "Tertius. That's what everybody calls me." Andi smiled at him. "Good, Tertius. First off, tell me who else is with you here on the estate." "It's just me, Roberto and Carlo outside, plus Juan down in the basement with Master Alderion."
Ah, he took "with you" to mean part of his team, Andi realized. "And what other people are here besides the people you mentioned?" he asked. Tertius grinned. He so enjoyed chatting with his friends. "Just the emperor, and that red-haired woman Master Alderion brought this afternoon. Don't know her name, but she was quite a looker. A shame, that."
Wyll started up, fury written on his usually cheerful and friendly features. "What…" he started, but Andi cut him off. "Let me do it, Papa," he said quietly. "The woman's name is Katja Dragonspring, Tertius. Tell me what happened after she got here." The guard looked a little sad, and Wyll quivered as if he were about to leap over the table and rip the man's throat out with his bare hands.
"She was some kind of mage, it seems like, but Master Alderion had her under his Command. She'd brought a weird-looking mask with her and put it on, and then Master Alderion stood by her side while she worked doing Healing magic on the emperor. I never saw anything like it! Ever since that night we took the emperor from the palace and brought him to the mine, he's been like a little child, or something. He smiles and drools and can't remember who he is, or anything you tell him. But after that Katja person had been working on him for about ten minutes, you could see the lights come on. He sat up straight in his chair, and you could tell he was himself again. He looked right at Alderion and said 'Alderion, what are you doing here, and where am I?' so we knew he was, like, right in the head again."
Junius was scribbling furiously, the rest of them staring in open-mouthed awe – though they were also waiting for Tertius to get around to explaining what had happened to Katja. "Go on," Andi told him, mentally marking the time so that the spell would not suddenly expire without his noticing it. "Master Alderion Commanded Katja to sit quietly, while he asked the emperor a bunch of questions. The emperor said he didn't remember anything since he was at the Ball last Loredas, which seems about right. Then Master Alderion got out a couple of vials of some potion he made, and told Katja to drink them both. He told her it was delicious and she'd feel better after she drank them. I've seen him Command people before, and believe me she'd have drunk it up and asked for more if it'd been fresh horse piss."
"So then what happened?" Andi asked. "Why do you keep referring to her in the past tense? Is she well?" He steeled himself against the answer, feeling Wyll at his elbow doing the same. "Well," Tertius said, considering the question. "She's alive right enough, not a mark on her. But now she's just like the emperor was before she Healed him – smiling and drooling and can't remember nothing. Kind of gives you ideas, if you know what I mean…" He winked and leered, and Andi had to bodily restrain Wyll from going after him. Not an easy task. Andi might be nearly Wyll's height, but he was never going to have Wyll's strength.
"Wyll! Stop, please!" he begged, grappling with the bigger man. "I'm not through questioning him, and besides he's just an idiot underling. I don't think he would really do anything to Mom." Wyll got a grip – but his face was still a mask of fury, golden complexion gone red. Anja put a hand on his elbow, and murmured, "It's all right Uncle Wyll, Aunt Kat will be fine."
Andi was having some difficulty containing his own fury – but his was directed, not at this guard, but at "Master" Alderion. "Tertius," he said, steel in his voice instead of the friendly and placating tone he'd been using to help the spell do its work, "Tell me where Katja is now, and then sit here quietly at the table until I come back."
Tertius, having not noticed the air of hostility in the room, smiled and pointed. "She's in the back room there, first door on the left. Nobody's with her right now, but she's safe enough." They dashed en masse to the door the soldier had pointed out, and found Katja sitting at a small table in what appeared to be sort of parlor. She was still dressed in the clothing she'd had on when she'd been abducted, and looked up as they came in – a faint smile on her lips. Before her on the table were the remains of some bread and cheese.
"Hello," she said sweetly, glancing around at all the people who had suddenly appeared. She seemed younger even than the 30 or so her dragon transformation had kept her at – maybe 25 or even a teenager, so innocent was her gaze. All her sharp intelligence, her awareness of the world, her years of experience, had been drained away. Wyll gave a little moan. Kat, his Kat, so beautiful… and not there. All that remained was this attractive, utterly blank young woman.
He shouldered the others aside and crouched beside her where she sat at the table, looking confused. As he enfolded her in his arms, tears running down his cheeks, she wriggled in his grasp and said, "Who are you and why are you being so forward?" Wyll sobbed and buried his face in her hair.
"The mask!" Andi shouted, "I can bring her back, just like she did the emperor! But I have to have the mask!" He began trying to squeeze back out of the room, and Wyll said behind him, "You all go take care of that son of a bitch Alderion, but don't kill him. I'm going to do that. I'll stay here with Kat and protect her until you get back."
They let Andi pass and then turned to follow him, but Mina stayed behind too. What business had she bearding mages in their dens? Though she did want revenge on Alderion for all this, and for his violation of her own mind earlier today. Right now, she wanted to stay with her mother – and with Papa, providing what comfort she could. In her entire life she had never seen Papa Wyll so devastated, and it terrified her. He was their rock, the foundation stone of their family. He had to be strong, so they all could be as well.
As they cleared the room Andi heard Mom saying, "You're so pretty, dear! What's your name?" and his heart nearly broke. He had to get Mom back, just had to – but first, there was other business at hand. At least she didn't seem to be in any pain. First thing back in the dining room Andi cast the Command spell on Tertius again, sure that the ten minutes must nearly be up.
"What happened to the funny looking mask Katja wore when she Healed the emperor?" Andi asked. "Oh, Alderion took it downstairs with him. He said it's a powerful magical artifact and he was going to keep it for study, and not to tell anyone else about it." Just so long as he doesn't damage it, Andi prayed silently, before continuing his interrogation.
"Tell me what Alderion is doing in the basement," he Commanded. "I don't understand any of that mage stuff," Tertius said, "so I can't tell you exactly what he's doing. He said he needed to work with the emperor for a few hours to help him get his facts straight about what happened to him at the Ball, and afterward. It seems like there might have been a potion involved, not the forgetting one but one to maybe make you remember better."
Hmm, Andi thought. "Get his facts straight"? "Tell me what the rest of the plan is," he Commanded, and Tertius cheerfully complied. As with Charm, repeated doses of the Command spell could have a cumulative effect that might takes hours or days to recuperate from. "Once Master Alderion finishes working with the emperor," he explained, "we're all to pack up and go back to the mine. There's some bodies there under a preservation spell, and we need to set the stage. Then we fast-travel the emperor back to Imperial City, and reveal the plot by Davos Appolonius to fake the emperor's death so his son could rule."
"And the emperor would of course back this up with details?" Andi asked, as Junius wrote furiously. "Of course," the guard replied. "That's what Alderion's doing with him right now." "What about the body of the emperor that's lying in state at the Temple of the One?" Andi wanted to know. Tertius grinned slyly. "That's some old drunk beggar we picked up in the Harbor District the night of the Ball," he said – and now it was Vari and Sigi that had to be restrained from doing him bodily harm.
"He was easy to lure away with a skin of wine," Tertius went on, "and he was about the same size as the emperor so the clothes fit. Master Alderion said that the illusion works better that way, less details to worry about. Of course we had to give him a sponge bath after we stripped him, or people would have been wondering why the 'emperor' smelled like a dead sewer rat. Don't think that fellow had had a bath in my lifetime!" His eyes sparkled, fingers held to nose, as the boys were held back by Anja and Lars.
"So are Alderion, Emperor Giorgio and your fellow guard Juan all together down there in the basement?" Andi asked, thinking about logistics. "No, Master Alderion don't want anybody watching him work. Juan's standing guard on the door at the bottom of the stairwaythat comes out of the kitchen over there, and the other two are inside the room on the other side of the door."
"Sit quietly. You are feeling sleepy, and you don't notice anything that's going on around you," Andi Commanded. Tertius eyelids drooped, and in another minute his head sank to rest on his arms on the tabletop. He began snoring." "Wow, that does work," Sigi remarked. It had not been easy to get Mina up this afternoon.
Andi looked at Junius and Macchiatus. "I think I need to use the Command spell on Juan too," he said, "because if I Paralyze him he's going to fall down like he'd just been killed, and he might thump against the door and alert Alderion. I'd prefer not to have us met with a blast of Destruction magic or a Storm Atronach or something when we open the door, even if I won't be affected thanks to my mask."
There was general agreement, and they all moved as silently as possible through the dining room to the kitchen, and then to a door they presumed led to the staircase Tertius had mentioned. They'd tied the guard's hands and gagged him, all without waking him, and he was currently sleeping peacefully on the floor in a corner of the dining room.
As he stood about to open the door, Andi pondered. He could have cloaked himself in illusion to look like Tertius, if only he knew any such spells. But as he did not, how was he going to keep Juan from attacking him on sight before he could get off a Command? Hmm. Well, it wouldn't hurt to try. Using the visualization he'd employed with such success earlier today Andi let his mind ride the Command spell, through the wooden door and down the stairs to where Juan stood alert, loaded crossbow in his hands and a sword at his side.
It was working, Andi could actually see him through the door! This was an exciting development, and he couldn't wait to tell Papa Anders about it. When the spell engulfed Juan Andi could sense a relaxation. His expression softened, and he seemed less alert. But could Andi embed the Command without speaking it?
He looked around him and gestured to everyone to back up a few paces, then he did the same. "Juan," he sent his thoughts riding the Command spell, "Your friends are waiting for you in the kitchen. Set down the crossbow, because you won't need it, and come up the stairs quietly to greet us."
If this worked, Andi thought, it would almost be like that Calling thing the Dwemer did. Except here the range was about 15 feet, which didn't seem very useful since you could just as easily speak aloud. He continued watching the guard in his mind's eye, as Juan looked around him and then stared down at the crossbow in his hands. He carefully released the trigger and set it down on the floor. There was an area only around 3 by 4 feet between the bottom step and the door he'd been guarding. Then, moving a little unsurely as if he wondered why he felt like doing this, he began walking quietly up the stairs.
As he opened the door and stood smiling at the crowd of people awaiting him, Andi's vision went from mind's-eye to real world, and he smiled back. "Hello Juan," he said. "We're having a slumber party, and I know you will enjoy it. Let's go back in the dining room and you can hang out with your friend Tertius." "Okay," the guard replied cheerfully.
In another couple of minutes two snoring guards were trussed up on opposite sides of the dining room floor, and the group was once again preparing to storm Alderion's basement workroom. "That was amazing, Andi," Rezira said softly as they approached the stairs. "You have got to teach me how to do that. Do you think you can just find Alderion through the door and cast Silence on him?"
"I don't see why not," Andi replied. But when he got to the bottom of the stairs he found himself unable to penetrate more than a little way beyond the door's inner surface. There was some kind of a gray barrier there, misty as fog and as solid as steel, beyond which his questing mind could not go. "He has some kind of magical barrier around him, it seems," Andi reported. "We're going to have to open the door."
Putting on the Kahluthkrii mask, Andi carefully tried the handle. The door was locked. He used the Unlock spell on it, and there was a barely audible click. Then he put his ear to the door, but could hear no sound. Perhaps that magical barrier was there to prevent ordinary eavesdropping, not penetration by mages with powers that had only recently been discovered?
"Zira and I will be first in," Andi told the party. "Get your Ward spell ready," he warned her, "but also try to Silence him if you can. You've got the Collar?" She smiled grimly and waved it at him. He pushed the unlocked door open silently, and they looked into the dimly lit basement room.
It appeared to have been used as a cellar for wines and root vegetables in the past, but Alderion had converted part of it for his purposes. There was a bed on high legs standing in the middle of the room, with candles on stands surrounding it. And on that bed lay the emperor, clad in robes that were of good quality without being ostentatious. His eyes were closed, but he appeared to be in a trance rather than sleeping.
Alderion, looking haggard and nearly ready to drop from exhaustion, was in the middle of reinforcing the spell that would lock the false memories he was supplying into the emperor's mind. The potion's effects lasted for 30 minutes, during which time the emperor would be calm and receptive to what he was being told without being aware of his surroundings. They had already gone through several bottles.
Repeatedly Alderion would recast the spell, then walk the emperor minute by minute through a set of events that, when he thought of them, he would be able to picture as vividly in his mind's eye as any memories of real events from his life. The mage had decided that, since their plans had gone awry and they'd had to keep the emperor for far longer than originally intended, that most of the time during the past few days would be taken up by confused memories of being repeatedly drugged into senselessness, with brief moments of consciousness when Davos' hirelings would have brought him food and drink and seen to his bodily needs.
He only needed to make crystal clear the events of the abduction, during which time the emperor would have heard the guards who captured him talking about getting paid by Davos, with additional conversations overheard in which the guards would reveal the plan to spirit him onto a ship and take him away to exile, "because Davos doesn't want his brother-in-law's blood on his hands," and then the final scene where the "mercenaries" were killed and Giorgio was rescued by Count Terentius' guards, who'd stumbled upon his place of imprisonment by accident.
The last and trickiest bit was going to be the permanent implantation of the new attitudes Giorgio would have, toward Tiberius Apollonius and the Terentius family. His decision to exile his sister and his nephew and name Flavius Terentius as his new heir must spring entirely from his own mind – after it had been carefully planted there by Alderion.
He gave a shuddering sigh, and reached for another stamina potion. His magicka was holding up all right – a mage who had been using his powers for more than a century had a huge fund on which to call – but he had not slept in days, and he felt that his mind was beginning to tatter as his body consumed itself. Then he glanced up in the direction of the door leading to the kitchen stairs, and his face went white with shock and horror.
A tall apparition stood there, dressed in ordinary-seeming clothing, but wearing a hideous-looking metal mask that glinted a dull blue in the candlelight. Was he hallucinating? Where was Juan? Then he spotted a much smaller figure beside the intruder, even as he felt a spell battering at the Wards he'd erected. They were there to keep the help from hearing what he was doing with the emperor, but they also had at least some effect in warding off spells.
That was Rezira somebody, the Dwemer girl he'd met at the party! She was a mage, and so was her boyfriend… Alderion hurled a bolt of lightning at the figure who had to be Andi Dragonspring. How in all the hells had they found him? The bolt slithered away without apparent effect, and in the next instant he felt a shimmering as spells crashed into his barrier from two sides and it popped out of existence. He was Silenced!
"No!" he screamed, and hurled a dagger at the Dragonspring boy. His aim was poor, and it hit his target's arm and then clattered across the stone floor without doing any apparent damage. In another second Alderion slumped to the floor, Paralyzed. His mind was a raging torrent of fury and disbelief, as that slip of a Dwemer girl came over and clasped a Silence Collar around his neck. Doomed, he was utterly doomed!