Sheogorath was once the Champion of Cyrodill
He doesn't talk about those days much
He made more sense back then
Didn't really hit home until he came upon a shrine to Sheogorath
He tried summoning the Daedra upon the shrine
Only to be told he was praying to himself
And so the madness, having long since begun, finally sunk in
After the morning prayers, Bann-Je returned to him room and sunk into a meditative pose. He tried to focus his mind and body as he sat in the lotus position. Late last night, Claudia had informed him of his mission and objective. His duties were cleared by Archon Tacitus this morning. He only had one objective for this day, and that was finding out whether or not Noble Bernard Landuc was guilty or innocent.
Bann-Je, as with everything in life, was very methodical about how he prepared for such a mission as this. Meditation, focus, was required. This was not something he learned form the Imperial Cult. Secretly, it had its origins in something the Cult would have found pagan. Many years ago, after the Oblivion Crisis, the Argonian nation of Black Marsh took over the Dark Elf nation of Morrowind. While Morrowind became part of Black Marsh, that did not mean that the Dark Elves forgot their old practices or that the Argonians did not get involved in their affairs. The Morag Tong was the professional assassins guild in Morrowind, their patron the Daedric Prince Mephala.
His mind focused so that every muscle in his body was attuned to his senses, Bann-Je opened his fierce yellow eyes. Before he hunted in the name of Stendarr, he was an assassin for Mephala. Before his message was that of justice tempered with compassion, his goal was only that of what the Webspinner weaved. Bann-Je was ready to deliver whatever fate would hold for Bernard Landuc.
But not before he passed back and forth through his door three times first.
Sibylla took her spot at the front of the sanctuary to once again any who came seeking for help. This time, to substitute in Bann-Je's place, was a very antisocial looking Do'Ravier. While it was acceptable to wear their hoods at any given time, Do'Ravier's was lower over his head than usual.
"Don't look so happy there, Do'Ravier." Sibylla jibbed out of the corner of her mouth.
The Khajiit just grunted in response.
Sibylla shifted her jade green eyes back and forth across the sanctuary. Assured that the two of them were in seclusion, the Nord decided to ask her hushed question.
"Is this really all about one girl?" Sibylla asked curiously.
Do'Ravier drew in a sharp breath and then retold the whole story.
"You just let him talk to you like that? How dare he!" Sibylla growled.
"She's courting a cur." Do'Ravier grumbled.
"And you just let him continue? Why didn't you jolt him with a spell or something?" Sibylla demanded.
"My lightning spells, or any of my spells for that matter, are not play things." Do'Ravier protested.
"Still, you should have done something if you really care about that girl." Sibylla asserted.
"Lets be honest here, it's just an infatuation. I cannot honestly say I love that girl yet." Do'Ravier explained.
"Some infatuation I'd say." Sibylla muttered sarcastically.
"Just let it go, nothing worth getting your hair all raised up about. This will all just pass me by and I'll bounce back eventually." Do'Ravier said.
No sooner did Do'Ravier say that did they hear the cathedral door open. Sibylla would have just thought their visitor was just another noble coming to either ask for advice or donate but then she caught a glimpse of Do'Ravier's tail. She recognized the way it was twitching and fidgeting. The tip of his tail only did that just before they launched an attack.
Do'Ravier immediately recognized the man. It was Mark.
"Well...sir, Khajiit, I would like to seek your counsel. Privately." Mark announced, stepping up to them.
Claudia and Bann-Je walked towards Bernard Landuc's estate in the open Wayrest streets. Claudia still had her priestess robes on but Bann-Je was wearing a completely different get up. His clothes, while not very expensive, still made him rather presentable and were a grade above simple cloth and rags. Landuc's estate was not very wide, it looked like just another large building surrounded by a simple fence to keep the rest of the common people away. Gazing up at the many stories, and methodically counting each window, Bann-Je voiced a question to Claudia.
"Tell me why I am in this getup and what exactly is the plan?" Bann-Je asked.
"You're going solo on this one, Bann-Je." Claudia started.
"I was already under that impression since Sibylla and Do'Ravier are not here." Bann-Je replied.
"Yes. Anyway, I learned that Landuc is in need of yet another servant. I managed to pull a few strings and now you're a butler." Claudia shrugged.
"I think I can handle things from here then." Bann-Je replied, stepping up to the estate fence.
"Divines watch over you...and please, try to suppress your compulsion, thing." Claudia pleaded.
Bann-Je stepped into the threshold of the gate and, suddenly filled with the competing urges to stifle and act on his obsessive compulsiveness, Bann-Je ended up standing in place for three seconds before finally continuing forward.
"Oh please, Divines, help him." Claudia whispered painfully, her palm at her forehead.
Sibylla did her best not to fidget in her robes while she waited anxiously off to the side. Do'Ravier and that merchant noble, Mark, were still talking. It seemed rather serious and was certainly going on much longer than any simply apology. For the first time. Sibylla actually found herself hoping, praying, for someone to come in, at least to keep her preoccupied till she found out what was going on.
Mark finally turned around and seemed to be walking to the exit.
Divines be praised!
"So, what was that about?" Sibylla asked expectantly.
Do'Ravier did not respond, simply staring cold as death towards the door even though Mark had long since left.
"Well, aren't you going to say something?" Sibylla demanded.
"Priests are charged with keeping the confidence of those who seek their counsel." Do'Ravier growled.
"Confidentiality my shiny Nordic posterior." Sibylla snapped, pulling Do'Ravier's hood back.
"There! Your ears are flat against your head. That's what every cat, and most Khajiits do, when they're angry. What's going on?" Sibylla asserted.
"...He came to ask for forgiveness and counsel...because he is cheating on her." Do'Ravier grumbled.
"What? He came to you because of that?" Sibylla screeched incredulously.
"I always knew some people were not bright...but someone always has to come along and lower the bar." Do'Ravier grumbled.
"Well, you should really do something now." Sibylla said, her eyebrows narrow with indignation.
"What? For all he knows I'm just a humble Khajiit who knows the woman he is cheating on. From that perspective alone I cannot light him up like a torch." Do'Ravier shrugged.
"Why do you have to be some darn logical?" Sibylla snapped.
"People are not very forgiving unless Khajiit do everything very perfectly." Do'Ravier murmured.
"Want me to go punch him?" Sibylla offered.
"No, Sibylla. Just no. But perhaps say a prayer for him. One that does not involve some kind of harsh judgement befalling him." Do'Ravier offered.
"And why not?" Sibylla retorted.
"Because even if I do detest him, I know that compassion and patience are the more righteous and effective answers." Do'Ravier replied.
Bann-Je found himself immediately plunged into the action no sooner did he introduce himself as the new butler. The attendants at the door barely cast him a second glance, simply pushing him right into the presence of a Wood Elf woman.
"Hello, my name is Eltia and I am Sir Landuc's overseer. I take care of all the upkeep here at his estate. You must be that new butler we're in need of. Your name is?" Eltia asked, though she spoke a mile of a minute.
"Uh, my name is Squints his Eye." Bann-Je replied, pulling out an old alias.
"Oh, good to have you Squints his Eye. I see you are dressed the part, there is no formal uniform for a butler, just mind that you dress sharp. Follow me as I show you around the Estate and explain your duties to you." Eltia instructed, scribbling a few things on her notebook as she did so.
She passed under a door. Bann-Je hesitated a moment before continuing but other than looking like a momentary pause, Bann-Je felt no one would have thought otherwise. He also squashed the urge to polish a nearby stair railing.
"Keep in the part, keep in the part. You're not Bann-Je, you're Squints his Eye." Bann-Je scolded himself, quickly meditating again before he felt a change wash over him.
"Just keep your eyes and ears open. Please, the cleaning staff is always in need of help so if the master does not need your services do what you can to help out the cleaners. Still, your highest priority is to the master. Do not keep him waiting." Eltia explained, leading him further up the stairs.
"Yes, Eltia." Bann-Je replied.
They passed another doorway but this time Bann-Je ignored it, no longer feeling his compulsion. Instead, he felt another urge. The urge to hunt.
He needed to shed blood.
"Ah, and here is the man now, Bernard Landuc." Eltia introduced.
Ban-Je found himself gazing at a man who was happily playing with his two children, pushing a ball down the hallway so to get a few moments to himself since he felt his attention was required elsewhere. Before Bann-Je and Eltia could get directly to him, Bann-Je also saw him kiss his wife goodbye before she went off to run her errands.
"Master Landuc, this is Squints his Eye, the new butler. I'm sure you two will get to know each other better as he remains in your employment." Eltia introduced.
Landuc was also the friendly sort, taking the initiative and earnestly shaking Bann-Je's hand.
"Please to meet you, Squints his Eye. Do not be too nervous, I trust you'll find from my other servants that I'm more than fair and honest when dealing with my employees. Besides, I can't much abide all those silly rules and airs of how other nobles treat their staff." Landuc smiled.
"Thank you, sir." Bann-Je replied.
"Stendarr have mercy, please do not tell me a devoted husband and loving father slipped into Daedra worship."
Sibylla and Do'Ravier both passed the time helping whoever else would show up in the sanctuary. Despite the stream of people needing support and advice, Sibylla found a small part of her still annoyed with Do'Ravier. She did understand where the Khajiit was coming from and deep down, she knew it was because the two of them came from opposite sides of the spectrum. Do'Ravier tended to emphasize patience, fostering growth in a person so that they would move on to a better place. Sibylla preferred for immediate correction or punishment. On an intellectual basis, Sibylla could understand the Khajiit. She did not have to agree but she could understand.
That did not change the fact that her emotions still had a mind of their own.
Both of them were startled from the lull in traffic when the sanctuary doors burst open and a group of robed mages strode purposefully into the building. Do'Ravier also spotted a few of the librarians within the group. More importantly, the Wayrest librarians were pointing directly at him.
"Him. That's the Khajiit you're looking for." the librarian announced to the scholars before turning around and leaving.
"Do'Ravier, what did you do?" Sibylla whispered in annoyance out of the corner of her mouth.
"Truth be told, I honestly don't know." Do'Ravier murmured back.
"Don't lie to me." Sibylla hissed.
"No really, I honestly don't know." Do'Ravier defended.
"You're the one who checked out all the Dwemer books in the library, right?" one of the mages inquired.
"Uh, yes, this one was using the books. Do you need to use them? This one does not mind, just place them back in the study room." Do'Ravier shrugged.
"Thanks, but that's not the real reason we're here." another mage explained.
There were three mages. Two of them were Bretons, both men. One had short blonde hair, cut so close to his scalp he might as well had shaved the whole thing off. The other one was in fact bald but he had a thick, brownish red beard. The last mage was a Redguard woman, also with short hair that barely crept past her ears.
"Is there something this one can help you with then?" Do'Ravier asked.
Sibylla wondered why he always reverted to the brutish Khajiiti dialect whenever he was around strangers.
"You're the closest thing this city has to an expert on the Dwemers and we've run into a bit of a bind at a nearby ruin. Perhaps you could help?" the mage with the red beard explained.
And for the first time since yesterday, Do'Ravier smiled.
"Let Do'Ravier get clearance from the archon and then this one will come to help." Do'Ravier replied.
Archon Tacitus was more than happy to send him off.
Bann-Je had been working for several hours with the cleaning staff when he was led to the upper corridors. The maid he was following was busy making sure the curtains were all clean and up to par. It had become his job to make sure that her supplies were well in order. He was not too worried about Landuc calling him as it was made clear that Landuc would be in the middle of several important business meetings, the nature of which had to remain private.
Bann-Je was okay with that.
The maid sent him off with a bunch of spent, dirty rags that he was suppose to dispose of and return with clean sheets to use. Realizing they were working on the top floor, and therefore the area where Bernard Landuc's private room was, Bann-Je realized this was his chance. Stealing away from any prying eyes, Bann-Je crept right up to the door.
If there was one place to hide a private shrine in a place like this, it had to be in the man's own room. The servants said the man never set foot into the basement and, having seen the underground space himself, Bann-Je knew that no foul altar was down there. All their food stores were down in the basement, hardly a place to have a Daedric shrine.
Unless Bann-Je found any evidence here, then he would have to write off Landuc's residence as cleared. For the sake of the man's family, he prayed he would not find anything.
"No, focus again. Squints his Eye, not Bann-Je. Bann-Je is not here."
Bann-Je gently caressed the locking mechanism on Landuc's door. Bann-Je knew nothing of picking locks but he did not need to. There were several arcane magics, some of which most mages did not bother with, much less knew. However, the assassins of the Morag Tong dabbled in such magics.
Guards could take lockpicks away from you and such instruments had a tendency to draw unwanted attention. Magic sometimes went under the radar.
His palm placed firmly against the lock, Bann-Je gently projected special magical forces into the mechanism until finally he was rewarded with the feeling of the lock sliding gently aside. It was if he had slid the proper key inside even though he had no such thing. Glancing to see if anyone was nearby and finding himself alone, Bann-Je uncharacteristically slipped inside the room and closed it behind him.
The room was kept and everything was in order. There was a large canopy bed but nothing grabbed his attention. There were a few shelves but they were clearly set away from the wall so those were not false passages. There was the desk but that appeared innocent enough. Then there were three wardrobes and then the vases and-
Wait a minute.
Three wardrobes?
Bann-Je went straight for the center one. One wardrobe could be for him, the other for his wife but this center one was a bit taller and wider than the others. Once he was finally up to it he noticed that it was also deeper.
Swinging it open, Bann-Je found a man sized statue to the Daedra Boethiah.
"I see you you want to cut your employment short, Mr. Squints his Eyes." Landuc said behind him.
Do'Ravier learned that the blonde mage with the short haircut was Louis, red beard's name was Geoffrey and the Redguard's was Sylva. The three of them led him to a Dwemer site that was just recently approved for excavation. He found himself staring at what had once been a large Dwemer tower. The problem was that most everything except the grand door was buried under the ground. Even the tower that climbed higher was underneath the hill it was built into. For all the world it looked like there was a massive golden door in a mountain side.
"Simply put, we can't get in." Louis shrugged.
"We thought maybe you could read it or knew a trick or something." Geoffrey explained.
Surveying the door, Do'Ravier gave it an experimental push but it was stuck fast. Drawing from what he knew of Dwemer ruins, he could think of only one conclusion.
"It's barred from the inside." Do'Ravier said, tapping his Dwarven spear on the golden door.
"But how could you unlock it? Is there a keyhole we could try to pick? Anything to save us months of digging?" Sylva inquired.
"This one knows that this is the grand entrance. Even we do not put keyholes in our city's main gate. However...Do'Ravier had seen from old Dwemer sites that they liked to put lookouts over their gates. This one finds that rise overhead very appealing." Do'Ravier pointed above them, revealing a mound that rose out from the rest of the climbing hill.
Claudia found herself with some spare time so, instead of trying to see if there was extra work to be done at the cathedral, she made her way to the Wayrest library. Stepping inside, she immediately went up to the front desk where most of the librarians were ready to assist people. The nearest librarian gazed into her sharp almond eyes that perpetually held a slight, pink tint to them.
"How may I help you?" the wizened old Breton librarian asked.
"Do you have any books on the various gods and religions here in Tamriel?" Claudia asked politely.
"Ah, you will find them at that far section over there. However, if you wanted any information on Daedra, I am afraid you'll have to go look in a different library. One of the Temple researchers is using all of them right now. He's a peculiar Khajiit that one. the elderly librarian warned.
"I work with him. Is he keeping them in his study room? I'll make sure not to disturb them." Claudia explained honestly.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt but do not disturb them. Divines have mercy on us if that Khajiit were to get upset. He just seems so strange to me." the librarian wheezed.
Claudia made her way up the ascending staircase to the second floor where the large windows let in the brilliant light of the noon day sun. The studying room was not hard to miss as it jutted deeply from the walls and was sealed with two large wooden doors. Claudia snickered to herself as she opened the doors. It was as she imagined what Do'Ravier's study place would look like. As she suspected, the place, though organized and neat, looked like a whole team of mages and scholars had a study session instead of just a single energetic Khajiit. The chalkboards were filled completely with notes and scrawls and even thenwalls not enough because she could see scrap paper where Do'Ravier had made further notes.
Still, she was more interested in the books.
She had to leaf through some of the books first, making sure each time that she returned back to the original page she found it in. She initially had some difficulty because many of the books Do'Ravier had pulled out were in fact on Dwemers, if not Dwemer in origin.
"Finally!" Claudia exclaimed, finding a book that was talking about Daedra.
Truth be told she was not quite sure what she was looking for. Originally, she came to the library telling herself that she would research the mysterious destructive force that killed most of the cultist and whether there was any documentation of Daedra doing that. However, the more she thought about it she could not shake the feeling that she was in fact researching about that dream she had. Something, she wasn't sure what, but something was telling her it was a Daedra.
Slipping a scrap paper between the pages to hold Do'Ravier's place, she pushed it so that she was back at the first page. Her blood ran cold upon casting her eyes on the first entry. The face she saw in her dream was printed on the page as an illustration.
The entry read Azura
"I know for a fact that you are unarmed. The guards always make sure of that whenever someone passes through the doors of my house." Landuc said sinisterly, stalking towards Bann-Je.
"You are not mistaken." Bann-Je admitted, backing away from Landuc and closer towards the shrine.
"And it was a mistake for you to come here and to see that." Landuc warned, motioning towards the statue of Boethiah.
"It was a graver mistake for you to begin worshipping such a thing. Do you renounce it?" Bann-Je asked.
"Who are you to threaten me in my own house without even a day under my employment? I could just fire you but I fear you have seen too much." Landuc replied darkly, drawing out his sword.
Bann-Je was immediately on his guard, every muscle screaming to react but his discipline and focus kept him on track. At first, he was tempted to conjure his bound blades but then he noticed something.
Despite the personality differences between Bann-Je and Squints his Eye, both of them shared an obsession with methodology and perfection. Both saw the flaws in Landuc's posture and were able to catch exactly how he would attack.
Landuc lunged forward, arm outstretched to plunge the deadly blade deep inside Bann-Je. Instead, the Argonians fluidly stepped to the side and placed both hands on Landuc's wrist and arm. With a quick twist, the Argonian drew a pained grunt from the nobleman.
He had also disarmed the man and was now armed with Landuc's sword.
Landuc did not even have the chance to voice his astonishment when Bann-Je swung the blade around and angled it before driving it inside Landuc's midsection. As the blade plunged deeper, the assassin took the man's own hands and placed it around the handle of the blade. Bann-Je finished by knocking the hilt downwards, making sure that the blade would cause further internal injury and insuring that the wound would be fatal.
"The justice of Akatosh and Stendarr has found you. Know this one last mercy before your judgement." Bann-Je judged before delivering a deft blow to Landuc's head to stun him.
The noble exhaled his last just as Bann-Je silently and invisibly slipped out the door.
A maid found the dead body of Landuc in his room about an hour later as Bann-Je was waiting in the living room for any further orders. All the servants and staff were shocked and upset. Why had Bernard Landuc taken his own life? No one else had been in the room and the noble's own hands were clearly around the sword that had gored him. Even the angle was just right, further suggesting that Landuc had committed suicide. Was it some form of ritual suicide? After all, they found his corpse in front of some dreadful idol.
Bann-Je did not bother himself with such matters. He politely apologized to Eltia and told her she need not worry about paying him his wages. He would find employment elsewhere. That was the last anyone saw of the Argonian butler.
Do'Ravier's hunch was a correct one. It took only a few of the workers an hour or two to clear off the rubble. Before they knew it, they had found what had once been the guards' watch post that overlooked the main entrance. Louis, Sylva and Geoffrey were eager to find the release hatch so they could open the main gate.
"Do you see anything?" Louis asked, peering into the pitch dark corridor that disappeared deeper into the ruins.
"Maybe you can see something. Khajiits have good night vision." Sylva smiled, nudging Do'Ravier.
"The light does not go very far but this one believes there is the lever right down there." Do'Ravier replied.
"Well then, let's go down there and-"
The corridor suddenly went dark and their world filled with noise while the ground pushed them up. For a few brief moments it was if every corner of their being shunned their very existence, repelling them from all directions while the world sought to drown out their screams. When it was over, Do'Ravier was very certain that despite his wide open eyes it was very dark and the only reason he knew he was not dead, other than the fact that he was breathing heavily, was that he could feel his frantic heart pounding in his head.
"Oh gods, what happened?" Sylva's voice chimed further away from him.
"Are...is this Oblivion?" Louis' voice said from another direction.
"This one is going to take a stab at this, but this one believes there was a cave in." Do'Ravier replied.