The change in climate was evident once they could finally see the island of Solstheim in the distance, and Arcos could already tell that he was not overly fond of it. The air was dry, and the heat only became stronger the closer they got to the island. He wondered how anyone could live out here… but then again, it reminded him that this was no longer a part of Skyrim. They were now officially in Morrowind, and the Dunmer primarily inhabited these lands.
However, since he traveled here not by boat but through… extraordinary means, they could not simply land beside the next settlement. They would have to find another, more secluded space to land…
Knowing this, Alduin ignored the small settlement that she could already discern in the distance, choosing to navigate around it in order to search for a more hidden spot behind some cliffs. The flaps of her wings created strong gusts of sand and ash beneath her before she landed, and the moment she did, Arcos carefully moved off of her neck to observe their surroundings.
"How annoying…", perking up slightly, he looked back at Alduin the moment he heard her grumble, witnessing how she tried to rub her left wing against some of the rocks in order to clean off the ashes that were staining her scales. To no avail.
However, once she glanced towards her dear bonded, only to see that he couldn't effectively hide his amused expression, she growled lightly.
"Do not make a false comment about my stunning appearance or you will regret it.", in the end, her frown was quick to dissolve once he simply smiled back at her in all honesty, his eyes closed.
"I will help to clean you later."
With that, he resumed to regard the settlement in the distance, unsure whether or not they had been discreet enough for them not to notice. And even if they didn't, he would stick out anyway amongst the Dark Elves…
Alduin moved up to his side as she regarded the small settlement as well, pondering about the most obvious problem that she possessed.
"Speaking to these elves… I cannot approach the settlement directly without scaring them to death…", Arcos glanced at her once he heard the small amount of frustration within her voice, however, before he could come up with something, her golden gaze met his own.
"Dreh Hi Ov Zu'u?", he couldn't stop the small gasp from escaping him. Of course he did… he trusted her with everything he was.
Without needing to say a single word, Alduin smiled before she suddenly but gently leaned her forehead against his own, and before long, her eyes gained a subtle glow. A long moment of silence passed, and Arcos found himself almost lost within her gaze. Thus, after what felt like an eternity to him in which he was almost entranced, he muttered almost inaudibly.
"I… did you do something…?"
"Not too much. I just wanted to gaze at you for a while longer…"
His eyes snapped open immediately once he heard her voice within his mind, and he looked back at her to see that she had not spoken physically at all.
"If I cannot be with you directly, I will be with you within your mind. I want to see as well what is transpiring there through your perspective..."
He would be lying if he said that it felt natural, however…
… with the knowledge that she was still with him, his previous fears and concerns almost seemed to dissolve in an instant.
"I will circle the settlement from above should you ever find yourself threatened. Do not worry, I will be… discreet.", and with that, she gave him one last tender lick before she took off into the sky once more.
Stares. Arcos was not one to feel overly paranoid, however, even if he tried not to, it was hard not to notice the many stares he received from anyone he trespassed. Trying his best to stay on a low profile, he searched for a spot that was not overly populated and away from the main marketplace before he leaned slightly against a tall tree in order to get a better view of the entire settlement.
Certainly, the Dunmer had perfected their way of living to match the harsh environment. He couldn't help but notice some dried potatoes he had seen upon one of the market shelves, as well as the way the vendor was just about to harvest fresh ones from the ashen ground. How could anything grow in a place like this…?
On the other hand, while he had a better time to ignore the stares of the denizens of this place, he got much more tense at the way the guards were keeping an eye on him. If he didn't know it any better, he would say that they were not very trusting towards outlanders…
"Something feels… not right within this place."
He perked up slightly once he heard Alduin's voice within his mind, and a glance towards the sky revealed that she was keeping close to the giant cliffs nearby. While he did consider speaking to some of the denizens here to learn more about this place, he was worried that it would raise any more suspicions against him.
However, just as his gaze wandered through the settlement, he caught sight of something that immediately struck out from the rest of the settlement. A small distance away, there was a large stone pillar where several workers seemed to be trying to get it into shape. But among those workers were also normal denizens, their clothing not fit for something like this at all, and even guards…
… it was almost as if any volunteer could join if they wanted to.
"You there, state your business, outlander.", a voice suddenly tore him out of his thoughts, and he turned around to see that a fine clad Dark Elf was standing in front of him, eyeing him closely.
And yet, after the Elf took a glance at him to size him up, his expression began to ease slightly.
"I assume this is your first time here, outlander. In this case, let me welcome you to Raven Rock in the name of house Redoran. I am the advisor of Lleril Morvayn, the ruler of this settlement. I hope I must not remind you that this island is a part of Morrowind, and thus, our laws apply. As long as you abide to them, you will not get into trouble.", internally, Arcos could hear a small but mocking huff on Alduin's part.
"Their 'laws' are nothing but words on a parchment if I should decide to burn this place to the ground. He should watch his tongue…"
The Dark Elf looked at him with a small amount of confusion as he seemed to blankly stare into empty space for a moment, thus, Arcos was quick to nod in acknowledgement.
"Of course, I will do my best to adapt to your customs.", hearing this, it seemed to improve the Dark Elf's impression of him by no small amount, for he held his hands behind his back with a small but content smile.
"Very well. If you should require any information, I will be happy to provide them.", and that was an invitation that he could not refuse.
"I was wondering what kind of pillar that is.", pointing towards the large stone pillar in the distance, the Dark Elf followed his gaze before he suddenly seemed to frown slightly.
"Ah yes, yes, that… that is…", Arcos looked back at the Elf as he began to stammer in uncertainty, as if he didn't quite know what to say.
"... to be honest, I don't quite remember what exactly it is. I-i… I know it was important, but… perhaps it was connected to the temple in the center of the island…? No, I'm sorry, I'm unable to tell you anything else, I really can't remember."
Arcos tried his best not to stare in a perplexed manner. Temple…?
"Thank you for the information nonetheless.", with that, the Elf took his leave, and to his growing confusion, the Dunmer looked as though he didn't give the topic a second thought.
How could he not know what they are building within their own settlement…? Whatever was going on here, he only knew one thing. Alduin was more than right about what she said, something was not right at all...
Once he was far out of reach from the Dunmeri settlement, a large shadow circled him from above, and before long, Alduin carefully landed a short distance away from him, mindful not to swirl any of the ash and sand into his direction.
"That Elf, he mentioned a temple in the center of the island. Could you already see it from the skies?"
"I already know of this temple…", concern filled his eyes once he witnessed her blank stare, but suddenly, all the dots connected within his mind. How could he have forgotten…
"Is this Miraak's temple…?", Alduin broke out of her trance before she looked back at him, and unbeknownst to him, she was regarding him in a way that he could not quite discern.
"Geh. So you already know of what once transpired here?", he didn't need to speak a word, for a simple nod was enough. And suddenly, Alduin wordlessly nudged her forehead against his own as the memories returned to her mind.
"I wish… you had been with me already all those centuries ago…", one after another, from the uproar of the mortals, up to the betrayal of Miraak and his allies, the memories replayed within her mind. Arcos regarded her with sheer concern as he hugged her in return, unable to even comprehend what she must have already experienced back then. In a way… he still felt as though he had missed out on it…
And yet, suddenly, a small hum sounded in his ear as she crooned.
"Nid, a foolish thought of me. Our bond has always existed, even if you were not there yet at that time… it was always enough for me, knowing that, one day…", she stopped amidst her words, seemingly stopping herself from speaking any further before she merely opted to smile at him.
If only he knew… how often did she dream of him when he was not even born…? In a way, he had been with her…
The ruined remains of the once proud temple still stood tall at the center of the island, and as Arcos took a few steps towards the entrance, he witnessed several skeletons of dragons that were almost buried beneath the ground. Another sign of the savage battles that had been fought even here, far away from Skyrim…
However, Alduin grew more and more restless as she regarded the ruins of the temple, almost seeing herself as she burned and destroyed this place all this time ago. Miraak was buried alive… it would not be possible, would it…?
She shook her head slightly as she watched her dear bonded approaching the entrance, and it took all of her willpower to suppress the overwhelming urge to simply grab him and take him away from this dreadful place. She would at least know what he sees inside…
"I will remain here to watch out for any threats. Be careful…", giving her a determined nod in return to reassure her, Arcos pushed the large doors open that led inside before he entered. Pulling out his sword in preparation, he took a first glance around the entrance hall. It was huge, and a long staircase was leading further down into the ground. Alduin remained silent as he strode onward, albeit he could feel her disgust upon witnessing the interior of this place.
He refrained from inquiring about it any further.
And yet, he perked up slightly as he went down the staircase, for he could hear the faint voices of two people somewhere deeper in the temple…
"A shame that they are no longer alive, I could use some fun…", Arcos kept himself hidden behind a corner before he glanced into the next room, which was another giant hall. But the sight proved to be a lot more gruesome. Hanging down from the ceiling, there were several cages that were filled with multiple skeletons. And one could only guess what horrors these poor souls had been forced to endure before they met a slow and painful end…
And there they were, the same kind of cultists that had attacked them… two in total. Unaware of his presence, they unknowingly made the mistake to stand close to each other as Arcos inhaled.
"Fus Ro Dah!", they could not even turn around before the shockwave violently tore them off the ground, throwing them against the next wall. Unbeknownst to him, Alduin was more than agitated, for even though she could see through his own eyes, she almost forgot that she was nonetheless still waiting outside. Thus, she was more than surprised when she realized that she had subconsciously released her fiery Thu'um against her environment, having mistakenly thought to have burned the cultists instead.
And she grumbled in frustration.
Not intent to stay in one place for too long, he proceeded further down into the temple, and regardless how often he believed that it could not get any worse, he was always proven wrong the further down he went. Within the next hall, even though it was smaller than the other ones, there was a large skeleton of a dragon hanging from the top of the ceiling. Entirely displayed for amusement purposes…
Upon witnessing this, Alduin was once again reminded of why she had taken so much pleasure out of burying Miraak beneath his own temple…
Tearing his eyes away from the gruesome sight, Arcos witnessed that there was only one small staircase left, for it was barely hidden behind an ancient throne that was located at the very end of the hall. He could guess what kind of hall this once was…
Wasting not any more time, he carefully descended the last staircase, and it was only then that he realized how stifling the air had become, making it more and more difficult to breathe properly. This could not have been an official path that was meant for just anybody, if it was hidden behind the throne. However, as he moved further downwards, he came to notice strange markings upon the walls, ones that didn't match anything that he had seen within any of the halls…
… one of those markings depicted something that… looked remotely like a… crab?
Before he knew it, he had reached the end of the staircase, and in front of him was a relatively small room. Two torches served as the only source of lighting, and within the very center of the room, there was some kind of small, black altar.
And a strange book was placed at the top of it.
As he took a tentative step closer towards it, he could feel a strange sensation, one that almost beckoned him to approach the altar…
… until suddenly, Alduin's voice cut him out of that influence, making him stop just before he could touch the vile book.
"No! Do not touch it!"
Having sensed far too late what kind of book that was, it suddenly opened by itself, and before Arcos knew it, several tentacles seeped out from the pages it depicted.
And the last thing he could witness was a low chuckle within his mind before everything turned dark.
Strange noises echoed all around him the moment his senses returned to him. Slowly blinking his eyes open, his eyes were confronted with something that he had never seen before in his life. The 'sky' was painted in a poisonous looking green, and wherever he looked, large tentacles were swaying back and forth high in the air.
But suddenly, a familiar but sickening voice sounded within his mind.
"I bid you welcome… Dragonborn… within my infinite library…"
Arcos gritted his teeth as the voice of Hermaeus Mora echoed within his head, and he glanced at the almost endless amounts of books that were gathered everywhere around him. He was trapped within his realm…
… Apocrypha.
"It was inevitable that you would arrive here… eventually… to seek my knowledge…"
"I don't need anything from you…!", his voice was seeping with hatred, and still, Arcos desperately tried to call upon Alduin within his mind… but to no avail.
Another chuckle echoed within his head instead, causing him to clasp it in discomfort.
"Ah… but of course… she provides you with everything you need…"
A long silence stretched between them for a long moment before it sounded within his mind once more, a lot darker than before.
"Alduin… thinks so highly of herself, does she not? Undoubtedly, she is a nuisance to… involve herself in my plans…"
And all of a sudden, the voice almost whispered in his mind.
"... and I do always seek to… remove… any obstacles…"
"Yol Toor Shul!", filled with anger, Arcos violently burned anything around him, the searing flames consuming the many books around him until only ashes remained. And still, as he panted heavily, the voice in his head merely continued as if his outbreak had been nothing but a small disturbance, not paying it any heed.
"She may try as she wants… it will not change anything…"
Suddenly, his vision began to blacken once again, almost as if his consciousness was sapped out of him, only to be replaced by the same tiresome feeling that had overcome him before.
"The next time… you will come here… willingly…"
And before he knew it, his entire vision turned dark once more.
With a gasp, Arcos's eyes snapped open as he panted heavily, and he could feel his heart beating furiously within his chest. Dry air was tingling upon his skin, making him realize that he was no longer within the temple…
"Dii Sil!", his heart skipped a beat the moment he heard the caring voice of a certain dovah, and a pair of wings immediately enveloped him before he was relentlessly getting licked, her head pushing against his own with need.
Realizing how she must have felt once he suddenly disappeared within the temple, he hesitantly reached a hand towards her head, causing her to lean into his touch while her body almost trembled.
And yet, a slight glance behind her revealed that half of the entire exterior of the temple was almost torn apart, multiple claw and burn marks still evident upon the destroyed pieces, indicating that something had tried to forcefully break into the temple without restraint.
And he hugged her deeply, a lone tear running down his cheek.
Translations:
Dreh Hi Ov Zu'u? / Do you trust me?
Geh / Yes
Nid / No
Dii Sil / My soul