Finally, chapter thirteen. First, answers to reviews.
Graysoul - Nah, it's cool man. I can tell apart hate-filled comments and true reviews. As for the mistake with Alduin, that's not a mistake at all - all sources before Skyrim insisted that Alduin is just a name given to Akatosh by Nords. It can be explained as Imperials misunderstanding Nord beliefes and it is approach I've taken here - if Azirra were to ask anyone but Nords, she would be told Alduin is nordic name of Akatosh. Sure, it's not the case, but it wouldn't be a first situation like that.
Guest - Heh. Windows runs programs and Sheogorath runs mortals. Let no one tell you otherwise.
Lunar Loon - Those flying rats are just disasters waiting to happen. Have you read the epic of Jiub? I cried and laughed at the same time when I was reading it.
mk0008 - Sadly Ted can't make many appearances until he becomes Azirra's companion. Since he wants to take approach of mysterious Jedi master, it's gonna take some time.
NoSkillzOnlyHax - Exposition warnings, noted. And as insanely stupid and unlikely as it is, I would actually love it if Jiub found his way out of that pit to make appearances in future games. He would be like a great hero in which footsteps we would follow xD
Accursius - Maiq it is! Maybe not instantly, but the only canon game character that talks about living dragons is a must have.
Charles506 - America's leader sure could learn a thing or two about xenophobia from proud Dunmer of Morrowind, no doubt about that.
Mehrunes Dragonbro - Really? Wow. I didn't know that. I'll make sure to take a look the next time I'll play Oblivion.
Friends, we're going on a ride! Today we have arresting, disturbing visions, flying people and disrespecting the dead... Huh, when I put it like that it sounds as if it was an aftermath of a really nasty rock concert.
The headquarters of Camonna Tong were surprisingly nice and tidy. They may have been racist murderers and the scourge of the city, but Azirra had to admit they had some style when it came to the interior design.
"What the... Get out of here, dirty cat, and take that lizard with you! We don't allow animals in here!"
Said superior design wasn't however making up for the fact all patrons had acid instead of saliva. Azirra, with her face hidden by her steel helmet, glared at the elf that sat at a nearby table and that was the one that decided to voice his displeasure. Interestingly enough, his hair was dyed red and he was wearing bone mold armor. Saves us time, I suppose.
"Perhaps. But you better allow in the companions of an inspector."
The Dunmer was about to get into a proper shouting match, but the entrance of two guards and Sudione shut him up. The Redguard glanced at him.
"Are you Thanelen Velas?"
The man's shifty eyes started rapidly changing the object of their focus - first it was the guards, then Sudione, after that standing in front of him Nine-Toes with Azirra, and finally Tappius, who just happened to stand by the door in a pose that seemed to say 'No sir, I definitely didn't pick this spot just to make sure you can't escape, I just like to block the door for the people I follow'. Velas faced Sudione again.
"I am. What is this all about?"
"Witnesses, this man matches your description. Is he the one you saw?"
With some minor sadistic glee, Azirra noticed that the Dunmer got slightly nervous. Since she wanted to speak as little as possible, she just nodded. Nine-Toes didn't have that problem.
"Yes, that's him. He's the one that left the Hlaalo Manor."
Sudione smiled and gestured at one of the guards. He removed his sword from a scabbard and approached the soon-to-be prisoner.
"We already have all evidence we need. Do you have anything to say before these gentlemen put you in jail?"
For a second, the Dunmer was staring at them with an unreadable expression and Azirra got worried he saw through their act. That worry got stronger when he chuckled.
"To be honest, I'm surprised it took that long for you all to get here. It wasn't my plan and I knew it will most likely fail, but some bleeding heart amongst the big bosses tried to get the Guild out of the game with less killing involved." The murderer turned towards the stairs leading down, into the proper club. "Banor, this Hlaalu dog got me, as I said would happen. Inform the boss once the messenger is back."
"Sure thing, Velas," came the answer from below. Azirra frowned. They seemed awfully unconcerned their little scheme was destroyed.
"Quite stalling, criminal scum," grunted the guard.
"Oh, don't be so serious about all of this. Once I am in jail the magistrate will receive a nice gift from my friends and I'll be free." When Sudione opened her mouth, he quickly added: "You won't be able to do anything about this, outlander. Guess what, he has powerful friends. Much more powerful than you, that much is certain. Looks like you did all of that for nothing." The Dunmer smirked and looked at Azirra. "Still, our plan failed, so that's not really a true win for us. If it wasn't for you meddling kids..."
What is he going on about? I'm twenty-three.
"I guess we can go now. I'll see you all in some dark alley, n'wah," said calmly the Dunmer on his way out. A slight poke with a sword from the guard walking behind him cut his threats short. Nine-Toes, Azirra, Tappius and Sudione, the only people left in sight, glanced at each other.
"This whole Camonna is a pile of dragon dung." Azirra finally summered up their thoughts, annoyed from being unable to do anything about this.
After this not really satisfying ending to the investigation, each of them went their own way - Tappius went back to Cornerclub to inform Habasi her most promising recruit no longer has to hide in the basement, and Sudione returned to the Council House. Nine-Toes left after telling her to visit him next time she's in the area, since by then he should have been able to 'contact some people from whom she could learn a thing or two', as he put it. That left Azirra with only three things on today's agenda - selling armor, questioning the Orc mage, and checking for any guild work from Ajira.
Although she was already on more or less friendly terms with the blacksmith from Fighters Guild, she remembered she sold him the weapons taken from smugglers' den, and hence he didn't have much gold left. Instead she entered the building opposite of Mages Guildhall, which was a proper armory. A Bosmer behind the counter perked up at her entrance.
"Good afternoon! Welcome to Meldor's armory, the most popular shop of its kind in the city. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." Azirra knocked on her breastplate. "I had to do some fighting recently and the armor I have is far from what I need. I was almost gutted by a group of smugglers because this made too much noise in the worst possible moment. I'm not some great brawler, I need something lighter and less noisy."
"Something lighter? Let me see..." The armorer started searching through one of the several big chests that were in the room. Meanwhile, Azirra eyed an interesting piece of armor that lied on a counter. And by interesting, I mean strange - it was clearly supposed to be a helmet, but in her opinion, it would look more natural in the depths of a sea, as a head of some ancient monster. Morrowind once again succeeded at weirding her out. "Here's my selection."
Meldor placed four bundles on the counter and opened the first one. The gear in it was, surprise, strange - it resembled a carapace of some massive bug, not an honest and classic armor. As it turns out, her suspicions about the origin of material weren't misguided.
"This is the bare minimum when it comes to protection, a complete set of netch armor. Very popular amongst the adventurers, since it's quite cheap for an armor. My price for all parts is six hundred septims, five hundred and seventy if you'll order bracers instead of gauntlets."
Azirra flinched. That's for the cheapest armor on the market? No wonder smugglers were simply wearing clothes!
"Next we have another set of netch armor, but this one was additionally boiled for better results. The price of all parts is seven hundred and twenty septims, and again, you can save thirty if you pick bracers instead of gauntlets. The same is for other armors."
Another bundle was opened. Inside was the same kind of armor Habasi was wearing - white, thin, and once again without any metal. Are the blacksmiths of Vvardenfell incapable of metallurgy?
"This is another very popular type or armor, a chitin. It's even lighter than the previous kind, making it the lightest armor there is, while the protection it offers is slightly better. The set with gauntlets costs eight hundred and fifty septims. There are no bracers for this type."
The Bosmer opened the last bundle, revealing to Azirra a set of armor she was already familiar with, a bone mold type, the one favoured by the guards.
"And this is the best armor available to most adventurers that do not want to be burdened too much. It's still quite heavy, since it's a middle ground between light and heavy armors, but bonemold armor provides much more protection than previous types, as it covers the entire body. The only downside is that it's weight takes some time to get used to... That, and the fact from time to time you might be confused for a guard, since it's so popular the professional Dunmer soldiers use it in the entirety of Vvardenfell, with the exception of Ordinators. Since it's that good, it's however also very, very expensive. I don't like guessing how rich my customers are, but know that few can afford a full set, so they usually only buy one piece of this kind at a time. Not surprising, few people walk around with three thousand and seven hundred septims in their pocket."
How much?! Azirra knew good armors were costly, but this was ridiculous.
"Don't you have, I don't know, elven armor?"
"Elven? That requires moonstone to make and sadly there are no moonstone deposits on the island. The import makes it unprofitable for most merchants to sell it," said the Bosmer, dashed her hopes.
Darn it. I always wanted to have a set of elven armor ever since I saw that battlemage in the tavern back in Kvatch.
"So, what is it going to be?"
It's actually not so bad, thought Azirra. She walked into the guildhall of Mages Guild with full set of chitin armor hidden under her robes. That was probably why traditional clothes of a mage were so loose. It's quite comfortable. Also, to her surprise, selling iron greaves and steel cuirass she no longer needed completely covered the purchase of the entire set without the helmet, she even gained ten septims on the exchange.
Why didn't she buy the headgear? Maybe because it looked silly. Maybe because some racist Dunmer forged it in a way that made it impossible for beast races to use. Or, as some would eloquently say, her head was too flat. Either way, she kept her steel helmet. Western and local styles clashed terribly, but that was the least of her worries.
"Friend!" exclaimed Ajira as soon as Azirra entered the main room. "You've been gone longer than this one expected, Ajira was getting worried again." The alchemist for a change was reading the book at the table amongst other mages, instead of sitting behind her desk in the smaller chamber away from everyone like a social outcast.
Not that Azirra had anything against people like that, for as long as she could remember, she too preferred being alone. Whenever she talked to anyone else for the last twenty years, she always had a strong belief they were better than her - comes with being a beggar. Hopefully it would change soon, she certainly could do without so much anxiety when talking to anyone.
"Greetings, Ajira. This one was slightly busy yesterday, Khajiit had to help a friend. You mentioned you might have some more work for Azirra by now."
"Ah, yes! It's about the second part of my flora report. I need more samples, this time from around the Lake Amaya."
A muscle near Azirra's left eye started twitching.
"Did you. Just ask. For more. Mushrooms?"
Ajira quickly shook her head, sensing the incoming danger.
"No, no, no, it's not about mushrooms! This time Ajira needs flowers, just flowers!"
"...Very well, if there's no danger of me sneezing out my brain, then this one will gather them. What exactly do you need?"
The other Khajiit clapped.
"First, this one needs Gold Kanet. It grows near rocks, has yellow flowers and broad, dark leaves. Ajira also needs petals of Stoneflower, they are small, blue and stems usually bend towards the ground. Third flower, Willow Anther, is tall and has purple petals. And finally, a simple Heather. It's pink, grows near the ground and has needles, you surely know."
"And they are near Lake Amaya, yes?"
"Indeed. It's north of Pelagiad. To get there, you must head south, past the Moonmoth Fort..."
Azirra lifted her hand in a gesture of silencing.
"Don't worry, this one bought a map. Azirra had a feeling this one will do a lot of traveling in the future."
"Oh. Alright." A short, awkward silence took place. Remember how Azirra thought Ajira was probably her only true friend? Forget it, turns out they don't know what to talk about when it wasn't about work. "Sooo... does Azirra know how to brew potions?"
Her ears perked up. Well, it wasn't exactly a fun way of spending time, but it wasn't directly connected to work either.
"This one knows a thing or two," admitted Azirra. When one is a beggar, it sure is useful to know which plant from the forest can fill your stomach and which one can fill your grave. And if you learned which ones combined increase your jump height so much you can just jump over a city's walls when things don't go your way, the better. "But this one learned on ingredients from Cyrodill. Those available around here surely are much different."
Ajira nodded with energy, thankful for accepting the topic.
"They are, hence why Ajira was researching some of them so that Mages Guild can one day publish an official manual on the subject. Do you want Ajira to show you the ropes? It's free of charge, this one has nothing else to do."
And so do I, thought Azirra. Except for asking the Orc. I guess I'll take care of that first.
"Sure. Go ahead and prepare everything, I need to talk with Muzgob first."
"Muzgob? But she... Oh, oh, this one understands. Well, good luck convincing her to teach you anything. She's so worried about being labelled a necromancer she doesn't even offer most people to teach regular conjuration."
"This is not..." No, wait, that's a pretty good excuse! "This one should at least try."
Ajira shrugged and went to the smaller room. Azirra approached Sharn gra-Muzgob. The older Orc was reading another book, and, as soon as it become clear to her the Khajiit wanted to talk, she looked at the younger mage with this pissed off look typical for all people that have to put away their favourite book because some idiot wants something from them.
"What is it?"
"Hello, Sharn. A friend of mine needs some information, and Hasphat Antabolis mentioned you would know the most on the subject."
The Orc blinked.
"Hasphat? But he's one of the few people that do not stubbornly believe I am a master necromancer. Which is not true, I assure you."
"...It's not about that. I was asking him about the subject of the Nerevarine..."
Sharn grimaced.
"Talk louder, why won't you? Look, this is only slightly better than talking about necromancy, not that I would know anything about it. The Nerevarine cult is outlawed because amongst its principles are hostility towards both the Temple and the Empire. It's not safe to speak of it even here in Balmora, which in theory is the most tolerant city on Vvardenfell."
"Is there perhaps some way in which I can make it worth the risk to tell me? Caius really needs to know," said Azirra, fully aware that old Orc simply refused her because she was in bad mood.
"You know Caius? That is a different matter then. You know how it works. A favor for favor."
"What do you need?"
"The skull of Llevule Andrano."
Azirra gave no verbal answer. Her face said everything.
"No, the skull is no longer attached to the rest of the body. No, I'm not a necromancer, get it into your head! It's just... Ugh, just go to his family tomb and bring it to me. There. That's what I want in exchange."
The things I do for the Empire...
"Fine. But why in the world would you need some skull? Was he important?"
"No, he was no one special," stated Sharn in a voice that left no place to argue. "Just a journeyman enchanter. The tomb is south of Pelagiad, just follow the path to Seyda Neen, and you will see the entrance to your right. In case you didn't know, Dunmer tombs have... a peculiar shape, so you won't mistake it with a cave or an old mine, I heard there are some in the area."
"How will I recognize the skull? It's a tomb, I think there will be plenty of those around."
"That's easy. Only his skull will have ritual markings on it." Sharn glanced at Azirra's scabbard, barely visible under the long robe. "I see you already have an enchanted blade. Good. That's one of few ways in which you can take care of a ghost. Do you know any fire spells?"
"Only Firebite. I usually use shock and poison."
"Not really effective against the undead, especially the second. You know what, take these." Sharn reached into her pockets and pulled out four scrolls. "They are nothing special, just a few old scrolls I no longer need. Two of them are scrolls of Taldam's Scorcher, I guess you can figure out what they do. Works only on a single target on touch, but it's deadly. The other two are scrolls of Vitality, they act like healing potions, but work slowly."
"...Are you sure? They sound expensive..."
"Of course. They are cheap. I think. No idea, I made them for practice long time ago, I never checked how much they are worth. Was easy to make them, so probably not much. Besides, look around. What are the chances I'll need them when these days I no longer leave the city?"
Azirra decided not to question her logic. She felt she was going to make a profit from this.
"Thanks, I guess. I'll go for that skull tomorrow."
Azirra didn't know where she was, how did she get here and who was the person walking next to her, but there was one thing she was completely sure of - she was dying of fright. They were walking among the dead that were placed as if it was a wedding celebration.
There were voices. She heard voices even though no one spoke... Nobody but Him. Her tall companion, with face hidden by golden mask, was calmly speaking to each dead body they passed, cracking jokes and laughing, as if they were alive. It was then she realized she wasn't breathing and felt no need to do so - was she dead too?
The whispers were getting louder. Louder and louder. At this point it has become impossible to hear the words of her friend. The voices were no longer whispering, now they were shouting. Some in joy, some in terror, all in pain. Azirra wanted to scream as well, but her lack of breath made it impossible.
The Dunmer in the golden mask took her hand and his nails... No, his long claws dug deep into her palm, drawing blood.
Azirra sat up abruptly. After a few seconds, she realized she was sitting in the same place she fell asleep - on her bunk in the guildhall in Balmora. There were no dead in sight, the same went for the masked man. The silence was disrupted not by whispers of spirits, but the obnoxious snoring of Galbedir. It was still night - even with the lack of windows she could tell that much since everyone else was still sleeping. It was just a dream. She grimaced and reached down with her hand to investigate a strange, unpleasant feeling.
Not just a dream. A dream that made her wet her bed.
Our Khajiit mage made a fatal mistake - she decided to walk to Pelagiad on foot.
It was unavoidable, she kept telling herself. Sooner or later I will have to go to some forgotten ruin in the middle of nowhere, that's for sure. I might as well start on the quite safe path to get used to it.
*SQUAAAAWK!*
But there was no getting used to this.
"Another one?!" screeched Azirra, quickly rising the dwarven spear she was using as a walking stick. Her bloodshot eyes were scanning the horizon, but she saw nothing. The sound repeated, and this time the Khajiit looked straight up, only to see three cliff racers homing in on her.
"Oh, come on!"
Those beasts were, without any doubt, created by Sheogorath himself. They almost always attacked in groups, did so with great aggression, and often remained undetected until they were two seconds away from sinking their talons into a traveler's eyeballs. Azirra was slightly luckier than most outlanders facing Morrowind's greatest annoyance – her spear was perfect for defense against them, since unlike with a bow you could actually immediately defend yourself when surprised like that while not letting them close enough to maim your face, which is the case with swords. Then again, with a spear she could only stab at only one of them at time, that however was as close as one could get to the perfect weapon for defense against those flying rats - no one had ever invented a perfect tool for their extermination.
"JUSTICE FALLS FROM ABOOOOVEEEEEE!"
And then one of the cliff racers was decapitated midflight by a falling, half naked Dunmer. Just like that.
Azirra, in silence, watched as the elf quickly killed the other two beasts. She looked up and deduced that, unless it was another case of unexplained rain of mer, the fighter jumped from the cliff above. To kill a cliff racer.
She had a bad feeling he did it just for the pun.
"I am victorious once again!" exclaimed the Dunmer sheathing his blade. He bowed slightly to Azirra. "You can continue on your path, traveler. If you ever encounter a nest of those vile creatures, please inform a bartender from the nearest town, so that I, Jiub, can hear about it and destroy it."
It took Azirra several seconds to formulate a response.
"Who are you? Some kind of..." The word 'knight' couldn't get through her throat. Knights, as everyone knows, don't rescue damsels in distress while dressed only in pants and courage. "...professional cliff racer hunter?"
"There's sadly no such thing as a professional cliff racer hunter. No one wants to willingly look for these vermin." He smiled bitterly. "No one but me, that is. I have committed many sins in my life, and now, as a form of penance, I had sworn to any god that wants to listen that I will not rest at peace until the entire species of cliff racers goes extinct, even if I have to cause it by myself."
This man is drinking skooma. Either that or he is a saint.
"I appreciate the help. I wish you luck on your quest, mister Jiub."
"And I wish the same for you, whatever your quest might be."
Then the Dunmer walked away, traveling up the same path she was leaving behind. Azirra shook her head and continued her journey.
The second worst part of her trip was the terrain. Azirra happened to be of one of several breeds of Khajiit that had cat-like, not human-like feet. In other words, there were no shoes in her size. That meant that by walking on this route, which for a short part led through a foyada (a long indention formed by flowing lava), she ended up with her fur covered in ash. If walking through sand was anything like walking through ash, she had no idea how other Khajiits could actually miss the feeling after leaving Elsweyr.
Fortunately, that wasn't going to be a problem for long - after turning left on the next crossing and walking through a small pass, she discovered she was very close to Lake Amaya. She took a small break here to eat supplies she bought this morning and wash her feet, which by the way resulted in almost losing them to slaughterfishes (those pests were in her opinion an underwater version of cliff racers, that's how aggressive they were). Soon she was on the move again, picking plants along the way. She wasn't taking only those Ajira asked for, she planned to start making her own potions. She bought some new healing potions to replace the ones she drank in Arkngthand and one antidote (she wasn't going to forget her lesson anytime soon). It costed quite a bit - one hundred and twenty septims, and that's the price given to her by Ajira, others would surely demand more.
The rest of her trip was undisturbed and devoid of any interactions, that is if you don't count that strange, wealthy dressed woman standing on the sideline of the path. She took no action towards Azirra, and the Khajiit was fine with that - the Dunmer was sighing dreamily from time to time and whispering to herself how a handsome thief had stolen her jewels (Nothing out of order here, she thought), gold (The same) and heart (...what a master thief!). She had had enough weird meetings for today.
At last, after two hours of walking, she arrived to the town of Pelagiad, which was... let's say unimpressive. Just a tavern, few houses, two shops, and a fort. Since she was relatively well rested and not hungry, she decided she would visit the tavern on her way back. Because of this, Azirra continued on her path south, searching for an entrance to a tom...
"Azirra! Wait up!"
The voice was familiar, but she couldn't quite pinpoint the owner. She looked over her shoulder. A Khajiit was approaching her from the road leading directly to Pelagiad. He had dark fur and chitin armor.
It's that thief that almost got framed for that noble's death, realized Azirra. What is he doing here? Habasi's underling closed the distance.
Azirra was no stranger to being way too close to people she didn't know very well. Oh, don't make that face, it's not about that. When you are a beggar from Kvatch, it's only natural to try to preserve heat during winter nights by snuggling up next to others who share the same fate. Thanks to this, Azirra usually had no problem to stay warm - because of her fur she was sometimes called 'a living blanket' by some dumber children in the band. But here and now? She only felt embarrassed that a taller male Khajiit had just glomped her.
"Greetings, Azirra," said the thief, finally letting her go. "I had no chance to thank you for helping me back in Balmora. My name is Dar'shanji, in case you had forgotten."
"Y-your welcome."
"By the way..." He tossed something at her and she caught it. It was her own coin purse. She frowned and looked at him with squinted eyes.
"Is stealing your idea of thanking someone?"
Dar'shanji only smirked mischievously.
"Not at all. I simply like to train my skills whenever possible. I would never steal from a friend." The thief stood back. "I was sent here to free another member of the Guild from the prison at fort, but I happened to notice you. I always remember when someone help me. Is there anything I can help you with, Azirra? I always pay my debts."
Azirra hesitated for a second.
"...Do you know how to fight?"
"I'm great with my claws and pretty good with a sword, if I can say so myself," stated with conviction the other Khajiit. "Why? Are you going for a fight?"
"Possibly. I... need to pick something up from a certain old Dunmer tomb for my friend. I think I'm well prepared, but I wouldn't mind some company."
"Count me in then, I don't mind doing that. Is it far from here?"
"No, I've been told it's just south of the town."
"Then I guess Bragor can wait a few hours, he's not going anywhere." Dar'shanji walked down the path to Vivec and Seyda Neen. "Shall we?"
Something was wrong.
Maybe it was the dead carcass of some big animal in front of the entrance. Maybe it was because said corpse lacked a head. Or maybe the fact that the entrance itself was slightly demolished on the sides and the door was open. Either way, Azirra was getting bad feelings about it.
"That's... not how Dunmer tombs usually look." Judging by Dar'shanji's comment, she wasn't the only one. Azirra walked up and opened the door wide. The corridor went straight only for a few meters and ended with stairs leading deeper into the tomb.
"Ready?" she asked him.
"I am always ready. I'll take the lead." Dar'shanji descended with his weapon drawn, while Azirra followed him. To her confusion, there were deep scratch marks in the walls, as if some abomination sinked its claws in it.
The first room was simple - it contained only a pile of ectoplasm, a small Tribunal shrine... and the corpse of a Dunmer adventurer. Needless to say, that reminder of how the mission could end made Azirra nervous. Still, that wasn't the worst part, which was how the body was damaged. Yes, there were signs of a magical attack, but who cares about it if the corpse was flattened? Really, it looked as if Mehrunes Dagon had manifested in the mortal plane and then stomped on someone.
"That... is strange," said Azirra. "I've never heard about an undead that could do that." She shared a look with her companion.
"There is a door to the right and a corridor to the left," pointed out Dar'shanji. "Which way should we go first?"
"Corridor. We will secure rooms later."
A minute later, after ignoring another door to their right, they found themselves in a rectangular room with small altars and ash pits under walls. Furthermore, there were bones of two skeletons on the floor. Judging by the lack of clothing and armor, but the presence of rusty swords, those were the undead guardians of the tomb.
Azirra was new to this adventure business, but from her... lessons back in that cave near Kvatch, she knew the undead formed naturally, and, if beaten undead is left alone for long enough, it will rise again. In other words, someone or something was here recently.
Also, those strange, long scratches in the walls of the corridor were making her nervous, since she couldn't explain why something would make them...
They continued. Passing another door, they entered another corridor leading out of the chamber and then down the stairs. For some reason, the scratch marks were absent there. Finally, the path ended with a door. They heard a particular sound from behind it. Azirra recognized it - the clattering of bones. Whatever attacked other undead spared this one.
"I guess now we explore rooms," whispered Dar'shanji. Azirra gestured at him to charge. The thief ran at the door and opened it with a kick.
And... the battle was over. The unfortunate skeleton was standing right behind the door and scattered all over the room as soon as it hit him.
"Really?" murmured Azirra. "That's it?"
Dar'shanji chuckled.
"Looks like it. What are we looking for, anyway?"
"A skull with ritual markings. I need to trade it for information."
"...Your informant has some serious problems."
A short inspection revealed no such object in the room. As a result, the two Khajiits returned to the last door and opened it. There was another corridor behind it, this time descending in a slope and slowly turning to the left.
At the bottom waited for them another pile of bones, and, which was more alarming, a butchered bone walker. It was crushed much like the Dunmer. To the right from this carnage was another door. The duo ignored it for now and continued down the corridor, which again ended with a door.
Before they had a chance to open it, the entrance opened on its own and a headless bone walker jumped at them from inside.
That fight, too, was a bit of a letdown. Dar'shanji kept hacking at it with a sword, while Azirra took one of the scrolls she received from Sharn, and, using the delay the thief provided for her, channeled its power. After that, she only had to overcome her disgust and tap the abomination on the chest, setting the entirety of it on fire. The rest of it sort of happened on its own.
The room they entered contained nothing of interest, excluding some alchemy ingredients left behind as gifts to the ancestors (taken by Azirra) and the Homilies of Blessed Almalexia.
"Habasi told me to get some new toilet paper," joked Dar'shanji and took the book.
They retreated back to the door next to what was left of the first bone walker and suddenly Ajira was again struck by a feeling of foreboding - if she focused enough, she could hear a deep, deep breathing behind it. And the undead aren't known for making such sound.
Whatever had mauled other enemies was waiting inside.
"Dar'shanji, wait." Azirra formed a triangle with her thumbs and forefingers. A few seconds later a bonewalker, for the moment docile, formed next to her. Besides the raised brow she got no reaction from her companion. "Go on."
Dar'shanji slowly approached, grasped the handle and pulled. The thief screamed and jumped away, pressing himself against the wall. Azirra's eye twitched.
"Peek-a-boo!"
The room was full of a laughing dragon.
"Ha ha! Guess who's been waiting behind this door the whole time? Yes, it's me!"
A/N:
I know you had to wait long, but that's university life for you. There's another mostly finished chapter waiting in the freezer, it will be perfect to publish it in the middle of exams to not keep you waiting to July.
Camonna is going down...! Or not. One member that will be released is no progress at all. The conflict between the Guild and Camonna might become an important thread in the future, we will see. Azirra now has a proper armor that actually increases her chances of survival instead of lowering them.
A wild Jiub strikes again, once more without any warning. Seriously, this time I also didn't see that coming until last minute. I was thinking 'Alright, time to write about traveling to Pelagiad. What might happen when traveling in Morrowind...' and poof, cliff racers. And then poof, Jiub. I think it might become a trope in this fanfic. To those that are unaware, those flying rats actually are quite rare in this area, though it's not impossible to find them. The general rule is, the more mountains around and the closer you are to Red Mountain, the more cliff racers you can encounter. Also, a curious fact: the overpopulation of those assholes wasn't intended by Bethesda, they are actually a result of an error with monster spawning feature.
Andrano Ancestral Tomb is a medium-sized dungeon with several treasures (mostly ingredients) and few enemies. In the game said enemies are an ancestral ghost, two bonewalkers and five skeletons. So the loot is quite good when compared to the obstacles. Furthermore, if I'm not mistaken, you can take the skull even before coming to Balmora - it's quite close to Seyda Neen and thus you can spare yourself more walking as long as you have something effective against undead (and dear God, walking is something we all hate in this game, especially after you played newer games - point for Skyrim).
I guess that's all for now. See you next time, when Ted will again bullshit his way into main quest.