Chapter 22

Old Friends

XxXxXx

4E 201 – Raven Rock, Solstheim

It was well past sundown when Veleth finally finished his story and left to complete one more patrol for the night. Or two. Nevano saw the look on his face as he left. He hadn't had to think about his past for a while now and it obviously brought up memories he'd rather have forgotten. Nevano could relate. He sighed and got a bottle of sujamma and a bottle of greef to make some shots while he mulled over everything he had just been told.

"Those are...some pretty strong shots."

Nevano looked up to see the same Dunmer woman he had seen crying in the corner on his first day there. If he wasn't mistaken, she had some sort of relationship with Veleth. He had to admit his new friend had pretty good taste.

"That was the point." Nevano said with a small smile, "It's not a good drink unless it tries to burn the lining of your stomach off…or kills your liver. Whichever comes first."

"I have to admit that's the first time I've heard that before." She blinked. "Especially from someone I usually see sober."

"Most don't have the same preference I do...or tolerance." Nevano tossed a shot back, "My apologies. My name is Nevano. I know I've seen you around but never had the opportunity to introduce myself."

"Dreyla Alor." She finally smiled fully and it transformed her face into something radiant. Yup, Veleth definitely had good taste, "I think you're the stranger I have to thank for getting Modyn back home in mostly one piece."

Nevano slid her a shot, "Careful downing that. You're welcome but he's a tough enough mer that he would have made it back on his own without my help. I just made things easier on him."

Dreyla carefully sipped at the shot, trying her hardest to not cough at the strong liquor, "Oh, that's…that's really strong. I heard him tell you how he got here. He doesn't tell many that story. There are a fair few who were here when he arrived but most don't know all the rest. Some of it he's not overly fond of."

"I don't think he fully realizes it wasn't his fault."

"He did the best he could in that swamp. He wanted to save his men."

"Not what I meant. Yes, you're correct and I agree with that whole-heartedly but what I meant was that he was used as a pawn. He didn't see it then and his disdain for the intrigue game prevents him from seeing it now."

"What?"

"Ah, don't worry. Just me rambling."

"How did you get that from his story?"

"Not the first time I've heard a story that ran along those lines." Nevano tossed back another shot, enjoying the feeling of fire sliding down his throat and settling in his stomach in a pool of fiery heat. "A strong warrior, single-mindedly determined to save everyone he has sworn to protect, loyal above all else and disdainful of politics? Veleth isn't the first and certainly won't be the last. His greatest strength left him vulnerable to those with less than honorable intentions. Personally there are not enough mer out there like him and far too many of the other kind."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I can see that you care for him a great deal and behind every warrior there should be someone who is there for them. Someone who loves them. That love is what keeps us fighters from becoming monsters. Something pure to beat back the beast, so to speak." Nevano drained the last of his drinks, "Don't worry. Whatever is coming isn't going to happen right this second."

"You're pretty insightful for a kid." Dreyla still sounded doubtful but when she looked up and met his eyes, Nevano knew that his words had sunk in and rang as true in her mind.

Nevano grinned, truly amused, "Dreyla, I'm probably the oldest mer in this town right now. I've seen more blood and shit than anyone here. I think Veleth will end up seeing more action in the future. Now, more than ever, we all need to be strong."

"And you? What's your role in all this?"

Nevano stood up, pulling his hood over his face. His ring, the distinctive gold star set on the silver moon, caught the firelight from the sconces on the wall. Dreyla's eyes went wide. "My role? That has yet to be determined." He stepped out into the dark and set out east. He had a necromancer to hunt down.

XxXxXx

Nevano ventured back across Solstheim in no particular hurry. His mind was churning, digesting the story Veleth had told him. He was impressed with the younger mer, his initial respect of him only increased after he heard his back-story. The kid was indeed a bull; tough, resilient and a little single minded but there was a huge well of potential there. Personally Nevano thought the Redoran council were a bunch of fools who didn't see what they had in him but then again this was the same council he had to kill the archmaster of once in a fit of pride in order to save the province. He was also fairly certain Veleth wasn't even aware of his own potential. It was a very interesting situation, one that Nevano was still contemplating taking advantage of. Not in a bad way; the captain had inspired a resolve in him, one that he was surprised to see in himself, but, as before, he had to shove it into a back corner of his mind. He wanted to solve this current mission first before making a concrete decision on this monumental predicament.

Tel Mithryn was something the locals of Raven Rock had murmured about with a mixture of fear and disdain but that didn't surprise Nevano in the least. Most people spoke of the Telvanni wizards like most spoke of dragons: awe, fear and trepidation. Nevano had an altogether different opinion of them: migraine-inducing source of frustration. The Telvanni were very proud, haughty and aloof. Granted they were easily among the most accomplished magic wielders in the world but after throwing in the usual Dunmer characteristics they became a whole new level of dangerous…and annoying.

Nevano looked up, a bit surprised to see the giant mushroom tower far closer than he initially thought. That's what he got for not paying attention, he supposed. The wind shifted slightly, blowing almost directly into his face instead of straight north. Nevano scrunched his nose as he got slapped in the face by a handful of ash.

A low keen rode the on the wind, barely heard above the incessant crashing of waves. Nevano froze, his ears pricked. It was a haunting noise, sweet and sad all at the same time. The keen rose in pitch and volume, echoing in his very bones until it released it a yodel that made the very air vibrate. Nevano's breath caught in his throat. Only one animal in the world made that noise but there was no way…could it really be? He took off at a run up the hill, jumping over rocks and dancing around trama roots that tried to snake their way around his ankles. He slammed to a halt at the top, looking down over the edge.

Slowly the silt strider turned to face the new visitor, giving an inquisitive trill as it reached up with a massive front leg to touch Nevano's face with surprising gentleness and versatility.

"Hey there." Nevano said gently, reaching up to stroke the inquiring appendage as it continued to stroke his face, "Easy there. You are definitely a sight for sore eyes." The silt strider gave a pleased purr.

"I've never seen Dusty react like that anyone besides me." Nevano jumped when a Dunmer rose from a small campfire not too far on his right. How had he not noticed him? The silt strider, Dusty, gave Nevano a rebuking poke in the cheek for moving too fast. "She's used to visitors but never before has she ever paid them any attention."

"It's been…I don't even know how long since I last saw a silt strider." Nevano gave Dusty another pat, "She's gorgeous."

"Aye she is." The mer gave Dusty a look of fierce pride, "One of the last I'm afraid. I personally trained her from a larva. Feels like a lifetime ago now. She hasn't been in traveling condition for quite a while now. I've tried to let her go off on her own but she insists on staying here. I've decided to stay here with her and make sure she passes in peace. It's the least I can do for her."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Nevano said sincerely, "It's like seeing another piece of Morrowind go."

"Aye, that it is." The mer stuck out a hand, "Revus Sarvani by the way."

"Nevano." Nevano gave him a quick firm handshake then had to fend off an insistent insect limb that bopped him in the face again, "Someone doesn't like the attention wandering off her, does she?"

"She certainly likes you." Revus said in amusement. "As I said, the locals come out here every once in a while to catch a glimpse of Dusty but she never so much as makes a peep around them. Usually she's pretty aloof."

"I have a habit of attracting the ladies." Nevano grinned, "This…is a little ridiculous though."

"Say, are you heading to Tel Mithryn?"

"I am."

"Just be careful. Some young Nord lad came traipsing up this way not too long ago and then he and the wizard went off to that dwemer ruin. I don't know what happened but I could hear an awful roaring on the wind. Dusty here was upset about it for a long time after the noises stopped. They haven't come back yet."

"Thanks Revus. You stay safe out here." Nevano gave Dusty one last pat and set off towards the stand of mushroom towers, the silt strider's mournful howl following him. So, Gunjar had sought the aid of the Telvanni wizard eh? That was a good idea…as long as Gunjar remembered his manners and didn't insult the Telvanni too bad. If Nevano had to choose between a two-headed dragon and an angry 1,000 year old Telvanni wizard, it would be the dragon every time, no contest. Dragons breathed fire or ice and had big teeth and claws. Master wizards made jewelry out of soul gems that they trapped the souls of those that annoyed them too much in.

Tel Mithryn consisted of a cluster of mushroom houses, dominated by one large towering structure. He smiled a little. It was like looking at a miniature version of Sadrith Mora, except without the Telvanni guard. THAT was something Nevano was rather happy about. If he thought the Ordinators in Vivec hated him, the Telvanni guard had been exponentially worse. The Ordinators didn't care if he was an outlander; the Telvanni took it as a personal affront. Stealing slaves from the slave market hadn't exactly done anything to endear him to the Telvanni.

"Why are you out here? The master is away. Aren't you supposed to stay in the tower?" A stern looking old Dunmer woman was watching a younger man flip frantically through a book.

"If you must know, I'm trying to get this spell to work. Now let me concentrate. Besides, shouldn't you be worrying about the damage to the tower, Elynea?" he said distractedly.

"I at least know how to repair the tower. Why aren't you doing this in the lab, where it would be safer for us all?"

"The uh…the lab is too small. Also I need the ashy soil. The master told me to practice this spell while he's away. No need to tell him about when he gets back. He knows all about this."

"It's on your head if something goes wrong. Just let me get back inside first." Nevano watched as the old woman walked into one of the smaller mushroom compounds, grumbling under his breath. He also noted a few more faces quickly disappear back into the other buildings after the exchange ended. He didn't blame them. An apprentice working on a spell he obviously shouldn't be? This was going to end badly.

"So what spell are you trying to do?" Nevano spoke up when he got closer.

"I'm trying to summon an ash guardian, I'm having trouble deciphering the master's handwriting…" The younger man never even looked up. Nevano idly mused that he could have been a talking bear and the kid still wouldn't notice.

"Are you sure you should be trying to attempt it then?"

"Yes I…" the apprentice trailed off as he squinted at the page, his concentration fully on the book in front of him. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude but I need to concentrate."

Nevano rolled his eyes and started up the winding wooden ramp to the main mushroom tower. Like everyone else, he didn't want to be outside when things went to hell but somehow he had a feeling he was going to be sucked into this stupidity anyway. Just as he was about to open the round door, there was a small boom, a rushing noise, what sounded like boulders grinding together and a high-pitched scream. Nevano spun around and ran back down the ramp, snapped Truefire and Hopesflame free as he ran. Sure enough the apprentice ran up to him, absolutely panicked.

"What did you do?" Nevano asked flatly, bracing himself to hear what sort of creature had been summoned from the pits of hell.

"I summoned an ash guardian but…" the apprentice looked nervously over his shoulder, "It's running amok! Please help me before the master finds out!"

"I should make you clean it up." Nevano narrowed his eyes, "But you're pathetic enough that you'll get killed and that thing you summoned will refuse to disappear when you die because undoubtedly you screwed that up too." Nevano sighed. "Fine but you stay out of my way."

"Not a problem! I'll be in the tower!" Nevano really didn't know why he added 'stay out of my way'. The apprentice had been edging to the tower door and had disappeared inside before he had even finished speaking. Well, at least he wouldn't be underfoot.

Nevano jogged over to where he first saw the apprentice and found himself diving face first into the ground as a spray of ash and rock aimed at his head flashed overhead. He drew his legs up under him and coiled himself like a snake, ready to spring up as soon as the spray was finished. He tried to get a good look at his opponent but all he could see was a confusing whirlwind of ash and rock.

The spray ended and he jumped up and ran in, striking out with Truefire. He had no idea just what he was striking at per say but this thing reminded him of an atronach. He knew that with an atronach, even if it seemed his sword was striking at nothing his weapon was actually doing damage. Instead of his sword sinking into his foe, striking something, anything, Nevano was instead thrown sideways as the whirlwind of rocks spun faster and knocked the blade aside. Nevano didn't try to fight to new motion, instead relaxing his muscles to easily go with the motion and turn a fall into a graceful roll back to his feet again. He had to immediately run though, as the ash guardian began to spray at him with a pounding stream of ash and rock again. Fortunately he found that he was far faster than the creature and easily got around behind the ash guardian. He narrowed his eyes as he saw a glowing spot in the center of the ash guardian's back. He thrust both swords up and into the glowing point before it could raise its defenses again. This time he made contact and the ash guardian abruptly crumbled into a pile of ash and rock.

Nevano sheathed his sword, nudged at the pile with his foot, trying to find whatever had made the glow but whatever it was had disintegrated along with the body. Perhaps this thing was in the atronach family after all. Most atronachs had a life core in the center of their bodies. Strike that and they would go down. Some were easier to see than other. Storm atronachs were easy to see even if it was insanely difficult to actually hit. He wasn't sure where to categorize this new type of atronach. It was definitely something to keep watch for though. He shook his head and went back up to the mushroom tower.

As soon as he went in he was jerked straight up off his feet and carried to the upper level of the mushroom, to the hollowed out cap that made up the main living space of the structure. He wobbled as he landed on the platform at the top. So the levitation was automatic instead of leaving it up to the visitors to provide their own levitation potion or spell. That was unusually friendly for a Telvanni.

"Is it gone?" The apprentice was suddenly in Nevano's face, looking near in hysterics with fear.

"Yes it's gone." Nevano put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him back a step or two. "Don't go poking around in spell books unless you are told to. You aren't the first stupid apprentice I've had to bail out when it comes to summoning things they shouldn't be. Azura knows you won't be the last either."

"What a relief." The apprentice sagged back into a nearby chair. "I promise I won't do that again. As long as the master doesn't find out…I'm Talvas Fathryon by the way. You really saved my hide, the master will be back any second and if he saw that…he'd do worse than just kill me!"

"Knowing these Telvanni wizards I'm not about to take that as an exaggeration." Nevano grunted, "Who is your master anyway? No one has said his name yet. It's like everyone is afraid if they say it he'll suddenly appear in front of them."

"Oh, it's Master…" Talvas trailed off as the door below banged open. Without finishing his sentence he leaped up and dove for a nearby table, frantically attempting to look busy. Nevano rolled his eyes and leaned against a table he quickly checked to make sure it was empty save for a few piles of books. He didn't want to lean against something…reactive. The funnel of levitation magic glowed slightly and voices rose up with the owners.

"….keep looking for more Black Books. The information contained in those books is immeasurable." Nevano frowned. That voice sounded vaguely familiar.

"I will but I think for now I should return to the Skaal. I think I got what I need to continue on with my quest."

Nevano stared as two figures landed on the platform, frozen in shock. Gunjar he recognized right away, of course. But the other…that was…no it couldn't be. Yet he couldn't NOT believe what was right in front of him. Master Neloth, one of the House Telvanni councilors, a master wizard who was over 1,200 years old now if Nevano's memory served him correctly. He remembered Neloth, oh yes he did. Neloth was easily the crankiest wizard Nevano ever had the displeasure of knowing, one who really had taxed his patience and his wallet.

Gunjar lit up as soon as he saw Nevano, spreading his arms wide and giving that goofy smile that Nevano had to return. He couldn't help it; Gunjar's cheerfulness was always infectious. "Nevano! I didn't expect to see you here! How is your side of things going?"

"Nevano?" Neloth looked Nevano up and down briefly. "Hmm, that was the name of the Nerevarine. You two are probably too young to remember him…"

"Too young?" Nevano started. "Too YOUNG?! Neloth, you don't recognize me at all do you?! By Azura I want my 2,000 drakes back that I had to bribe you with to make me Hortator!" Nevano waved his arms around frantically.

"Well well, they said you went to-"

"To Akavir, yes I heard that rumor." Nevano interrupted impatiently, "It's not true. I never left. I've been slinking around, unnecessarily apparently."

"Then what are you doing back here?" Neloth asked as casually as if he were asking about the weather. All at once Nevano felt his temper ignite, like a spark thrown on old dry wood.

"I'm on vacation." Nevano said flatly, "Though it got interrupted when someone decided to send giant ash beasts to try to destroy Raven Rock. I mean, here I was, walking along the beach, enjoying the sun, sand and waves when suddenly BAM! Crazy monster attacking a guard who I later learned is the son of an old friend. So the kid I haven't seen since he was half my height and I have a lovely bloody reunion surrounded by piles of ash that used to be gods damned monsters before skipping over to Fort Frostmoth and having to decapitate another old friend because someone decided TO REANIMATE DEAD BODIES WITH GLOWING ROCKS!"

"Glowing rocks did you say?"

"So glad that's all you caught out of all that." Nevano said, his voice dripping with sarcasm but such sarcasm was always lost on Neloth.

"Nevano, calm down." Gunjar gingerly tried to placate the fuming mer.

"I'm PERFECTLY CALM GUNJAR!"

"Well, there have been all sorts of things going on around here." Neloth groused, completely ignoring the bickering, "First my steward goes missing and is found dead, my house is withering and now these…ash beasts. I've even been attacked by dragons!"

"Uh those…might not be about you…" Gunjar said, blinking owlishly. Nevano rolled his eyes.

"Either way it's all pointing to the irrevocable truth; someone is out to get me!"

"It'll be me in a moment if you don't hurry up and get to the gods damned point!" Nevano snarled then trailed off to muttering in Velothi when Gunjar elbowed him painfully in the ribs.

Fortunately Neloth was not the type to notice anything that did not pertain to him. He had the amazing ability to stay utterly focused on what was in front of him while effectively blocking out anything and everything around him. Nevano supposed it was a good thing as the phrases he was growling out were not polite and were starting to toe the line of homicidal. He had no idea if Neloth knew the Ashlander tongue or not but it really wasn't too hard to get the gist of it.

"Since you're still here, you can help him." Neloth threw over his shoulder at Gunjar, fiddling with a ring. "An interesting combination, the Nerevarine and the Dragonborn. This should be easy then. Take this ring. It's imbued with a tracking spell. Go wander around and see if it alerts on anything." Neloth dropped a ring into Gunjar's outstretched hand and absorbed himself immediately in something else. Nevano could feel a tic forming in his left eye as he grabbed Gunjar's arm and threw him into the magical elevator before jumping after him himself.

"Calm down, I'm going!"

"Of all the Telvanni in this world is had to be NELOTH!" Nevano ground his teeth, "The most aggravating Dunmer in the world."

"True but he's…" Gunjar stopped and pulled his axe loose, "What in Shor's name are those things?"

Nevano pulled Bonebiter out, not in the least bit surprised to see the ash spawn crawling up from out of the ground. "Remember I mentioned crazy ash monsters? These would be them. When you strike, strike for the chest and try to split it apart. A simple hit doesn't faze them. Go in hard and fast, I'll back you up."

Gunjar didn't even hesitate. He simply lowered his head and charged in, his axe drawing back for a massive strike as he neared the first ash spawn. Nevano knocked an arrow and carefully sent it flying over Gunjar's left shoulder to strike a ash spawn attempting to flank the younger man in the face. While it took off the thing's face, it didn't quite stop it but a second arrow that was swiftly following the first reduced the monster back the stuff it was made from. Gunjar had taken Nevano's advice to heart and with one massive strike cleaved his target in half. He didn't have enough time to wind up for quite as powerful a hit as the first time but a combination of massive axe and magic-imbued arrow took care of the final spawn.

"Ash spawn huh?" Gunjar asked, hefting his axe up on his shoulder.

"That's what the Redoran Guard called them. Name is appropriate enough." Nevano kept Bonebiter out as he walked up to Gunjar. "They just…form up from the ash. Sometimes you can tell where they'll pop up from but usually they surprise you. Never thought I'd say this but I miss the draugr. They're far more predictable."

"Careful what you wish for." Gunjar smiled, slipping the ring Neloth had given him on. It was made by an elf and presumably for elves. It only fit on Gunjar's little finger and barely at that. "I don't see anything around here."

"Not sure exactly what we're looking for." Nevano said as they started walking around the group of mushrooms. "For all we know, the reaction could be anything from pixie lights to an explosion…I hope that ring isn't what is going to do the exploding." He grinned when Gunjar immediately held his hand away from his body as if it would explode at any moment. "Come on. I know it sounds morbid but there's got to be a cemetery around here. All of my past dealings with the Telvanni involved kidnappings and killing. I only saw a spriggan in a cage so that leaves death."

"Over here." Gunjar confidently went around to the north side of the itty-bitty town. Nevano didn't know if it was the ring that was influencing him or if he had seen it on his previous visit to Tel Mithryn. Nevano shrugged to himself, just happy that Gunjar knew the way.

"There's another ash spawn, Nevano…" Gunjar started to say, pointing to a tree that protected the little cemetery. He didn't get a chance to do or say much else as Nevano simply fired off the arrow he had been twirling in his fingers. "There's another ash pile, Nevano."

Nevano pulled out another arrow, twirling it idly while he watched Gunjar poke around. Seeing the ash spawn standing guard over the cemetery like that was a pretty good indicator that his gut feeling had been spot on. He remembered Veleth saying something about how local superstition had been murmuring about the ash spawn maybe being undead, the disquieted souls of those killed by the angry Red Mountain rising up to lash out at those still living. He was starting to think that there might be some grain of truth to that.

"Ok, I can't read your Dunmeri chicken scratch but this grave is empty except for this glowing stone…" Gunjar broke into Nevano's reverie.

"Glowing stone?" Nevano frowned at the red stone that Gunjar was holding up. "Weird. And it's not chicken scratch. It's daedric lettering. Frightens humans and small children." He came up next to Gunjar and looked down at the simple stone headstone. "We like to keep up the 'dark' in 'dark elf' and…oh Azura."

Ildari Sarothril. The headstone read Ildari Sarothril. The same name that had been stamped on the back of the diary he had found in Fort Frostmoth.

XxXxXx

"Hmm, I've known for decades that heartstones will mitigate the ash but it would have to be very close by. Where exactly did you find this heart stone?" Neloth said later, examining the stone that Gunjar brought to him.

"In a grave marked Ildari Sarothril's grave." Gunjar said. Nevano crossed his arms tightly across his chest, more than a little interested in hearing Neloth's explanation. None of this made the slightest bit of sense to him. Ildari Sarothril was the one he had identified who had raised General Flax Carius at Fort Frostmoth but now she was supposed to be dead? Was she dead and someone was impersonating her or had something else happened?

"Ildari? Then it's my own fault." Nevano nearly fell over. Neloth…apologized? He wanted to run to the window to see if guar were fluttering through the air on fluffy white wings. "She was my apprentice before Talvas. She volunteered for one of my experiments with the heartstones. It was quite annoying when she died."

"Experiment? What did you do?" Gunjar demanded, frowning.

"My necropsies of Spriggans led me to believe that a heartstone could be implanted into a person's chest, granting them great power. I was considering replacing my heart with a heartstone but Ildari offered herself up first. Of course this was before I sent someone out to investigate the Foresworn briarhearts. Now I know that I did the surgery all wrong."

"There wasn't a body in the grave. Just the heart stone."

"What? That's impossible. Wait…unless she didn't actually die. The heartstone could have kept her right at the edge of life and death! Could it be? Could it be that Ildari is still alive? Could she be my nemesis?" Once again Nevano could see that Neloth was not grasping the situation the right way. It was still about him, not about all the other people who had suffered from this…botched surgery. "Wait a moment while I cast a more specific divination."

Nevano exchanged a look with Gunjar. He could tell that this much magic was starting to make Gunjar uneasy, even for one as open-minded as the green-eyed man was. Well, maybe it wasn't the amount so much as it was the type. This was…necromancy. There, he finally let the word cross his mind. Necromancy. His irritation, which he had managed to push down to a manageable level, started to bubble back to the surface as he watched Neloth begin to perform a complicated series of hand signals. All he wanted right now was to be pointed in the right direction so he could go kill someone.

"She lives. Seek her in highpoint tower!" Neloth said in a deep reverberating voice, so unlike his usual demanding tone. Then he blinked and shook his head a little, going right back to normal. "So…Ildari does live after all. She thought she could hide from me. But she can't. Go rip that thrice cursed heart from her chest."

Nevano spun on his heel and marched out of the tower. He was angry, very angry. He couldn't exactly explain why he was so angry. Irritated, sure but not teeth-grindingly angry like he was. He knew that dealing with a wizard was going to be aggravating but this had been far more than he bargained for.

"Hey, Nevano!"

Nevano spun around to see Gunjar running to catch up to him. He forced a smile on his face, "Did you see the silt strider? I missed seeing those. Useful things. It was the only way to get overland in Vvardenfell unless you felt like walking. The first one I ever saw was in Seyda Neen. Made quite a fool of myself to be honest. I had no memories of my homeland and seeing a giant bug sent me over the edge."

"Why can't you Dunmer be normal and just use horses?"

"Horses are far more delicious than a giant bug. We've been over this." Nevano grinned, "We at least use actual animals. Bosmer have moving trees. Moving. Trees."

"I think we can all agree Bosmer are strange…actually, all mer are strange."

"I…can't even argue with that."

"That's all beside the point. You're evading again. You were really on a roll back there."

"Sarcasm is one of my finer qualities." Nevano shrugged, "It's just been cranked up rather high lately."

"That wasn't sarcasm. That was anger."

"The Telvanni always seem to stir me up." Nevano sighed and scrubbed at his messy ridge of hair, "My apologies. We didn't get along two centuries ago and we still don't get along today. I stole a lot of slaves of them and they never forgave me for being an outlander and having to owe me for saving their worthless hides. Neloth…was a particular pain in the arse. I had to petition every idiot councilor in Vvardenfell for the title of Hortator and he honestly didn't care. I had to bribe him nearly my entire purse just to get the time of day and even then it was a brush off. Oh, and I had to rescue a Redoran councilor's daughter from his mushroom palace. So to be treated like his lap dog again? Like I'm doing this at his command and not on my own volition? Makes it a little hard to put a muzzle on the rage."

"It could be far worse…he could have asked to use you as an experiment." Gunjar smiled as Nevano made a face. That definitely was worse. "Found out your purpose for coming here yet?"

Nevano sighed, "Unfortunately I did."

"Don't sound too excited."

"It's all pointing to trouble back in Morrowind." Nevano prodded the inquiring limb of a trama root plant with his toe, avoiding impaling his boot on the long thorns. "I've been asked by multiple people to go back to Morrowind to…I don't know, take care of it. Like I'm the only person who can just swoop in and clean up a mess like a maid. I already know how it ends. I clean up Morrowind's mess, again I might add, and the dirty shit rag gets thrown away."

"Or maybe you're the only one who can pull off a spectacular save for a nation who got themselves into trouble so deep they can't figure out how to get out of it." Gunjar said too casually and innocently for Nevano to actually rebuke it. "Or maybe a nation will rejoice at seeing their old hero coming back to save them again."

"You still have a very romantic view of this hero business, kid."

"Or maybe I don't care what the councilors and kings and jarls think and focus instead on the civilians who are truly grateful."

"Gunjar…"

"I'm headed back to the Skaal. I'm off to kill Miraak once and for all. The next time we meet, hopefully all will be well on this island again. Think about what I said." Gunjar smiled and turned northeast. "It's easy to give in. But we aren't the breed of people who caves easily, are we?"

Nevano stared wordlessly after his Nord friend, his mouth hanging open. When he finally regained the sense to shake his head and shut his mouth Gunjar was already out of sight. "Huh…the kid learned more than I thought."

Maybe, a small voice in the back of his head said quietly, just maybe, he had a point…

XxXxXx

He had to wander around a bit to actually find the entrance to the tower. Highpoint itself was perched on…well on a high point. It sat on a hill overlooking a good portion of Solstheim. On a clear day Nevano was fairly certain he could almost see the entire southern half of the island. However there was no entrance to be found so he descended to the bottom of the hill to look around. He figured he was on the right path when an ash spawn started to crawl out of the ground in front of a set of steps. A quick shot from Bonebiter to the head before it finished emerging took care of the problem and he continued up the flight of stairs, pausing only to dispatch the ashspawn guarding the door.

Highpoint tower at first glance seem to be identical to Fort Frostmoth; ash piled up from where it seeped in from cracks in the structure, moss growing on the neglected walls and old furniture rotted away to unrecognizable heaps. All in all, the same rot and neglect Nevano had encountered in old caves, forts, castles and caverns all over Tamriel. However, as he descended the spiral stone staircase, he began to see some signs of habitation. A chair sat in front of an unlit fireplace with fresh firewood waiting to be ignited. Fresh food sat in a bucket and a few empty bottles free of dust sat nearby. He pulled out an arrow, just in case, and continued on down to the next level, where even more obvious signs of someone living here were evident. A familiar leather journal caught his attention and he snatched it up, shaking a little when he saw the now familiar stamp of daedric letters on the back.

"Ildari…" he growled and flipped it open.

"The fools have taken me in. Weak, pathetic men intent on looting this ancient fortress with their crude mining. Niyya is pleasant enough. I may choose to spare her when the time comes.

I'm still weak from Neloth's betrayal. He promised me power and glory. He failed to mention the constant pain. And the voices. By the three I would do anything to not hear the voices.

When my strength returns, I will have my vengeance upon my former master. I can feel the power of the heart stone beating inside me. I need to find a way to tap into its power. Then he shall pay in blood and fire and ash."

"What the hell?" Nevano breathed, flipping through the pages to see if there were more entries but it abruptly stopped. His stomach clenched as his eyes fell on the words "the fools have taken me in" again. Suddenly his quest took on a whole new edge of urgency. He needed to go quick and hopefully save these miners. He dropped the diary back on the table and raced down the remaining stairs to the bottom floor. The signs of habitation he saw…they weren't from Ildari. By Azura he should have looked into this situation sooner!

He followed the hallway and into a room with three hallways leading from it. Two of the hallways were clogged with spider webs and guarded by pulsating red sacs that made a noise that made his teeth feel like they were melting. The third had a soul gem that flickered dangerously with electric magic. The choice was fairly easy. Spiders were only marginally better than rats and Nevano still avoided them if at all possible, especially when they were in sacs making that horrible sticky squishing noise that made his stomach flop. The soul gem was no issue. Nevano simply threw a rock at it and once it fell from its spot, the magic ceased working. He had seen that before in Alyeid ruins and thought that, while initially a good idea, the security system had a few glaring flaws.

He went along the hallway, a few more ash spawn that he quickly dispatched, a torture chamber with a glaringly obvious tripwire, and then it ended facing a wall with a strange symbol glowing on it. Nevano frowned. He had never seen anything like it before. He took a step closer to investigate.

"No! Look out!"

Nevano jumped back purely out of reflex as the symbol glowed brightly and exploded outwards in a rush of frost magic. He managed to jump far enough to avoid the brunt of it but he could feel needles of ice pelt the exposed skin of his arms and face.

"Over here! Help me please!" Nevano shook over the sting of cold and looked over to the right, seeing an arm waving frantically at him from a cage. He stumbled over to see a Redguard woman in miner's clothes watching him with a wary hope. "Unlock the door, hurry!"

Nevano pulled a lockpick from his pack and knelt in front of the lock. "Niyya, I presume?"

"I…how did you know?"

"Ildari left a diary. I saw your name in there. Seems you were the only one who might have sparked a small ounce of pity from her."

"Oh please, that witch was going to kill me soon, I just know it."

"What can you tell me about her?" Nevano cursed as his lockpick broke and he fished around in his bag for a new one.

"We were digging in these mines when she found us. She was hurt so bad…we took pity on her and nursed her back to health." Niyya looked down, a tear sliding down her face. "She repaid our kindness by attacking us in the middle of the night. Those of us that didn't die were made prisoners."

"What did she do with the prisoners?"

"Horrible things. Experiments…and worse. I'm the last one. The others are all dead now." Niyya's voice turned hard as she looked back up at Nevano. "If you can find her, don't make her end quick."

"Do you have a place to go? Once I get this lock open that is…" His hands were shaking so bad from anger and frustration that it was a wonder he could move the picks at all. It wasn't an overly difficult lock, there was only the one tumbler to get past, but in his state it might as well have been five tumblers.

"After I leave this place I'm going to get on the first boat to the mainland. I have family in Skyrim."

Nevano finally got the lock open and allowed Niyya to go free. She gave him a grateful look, "Good luck to you." And she was gone. On the table behind him, Nevano found another diary. He was almost afraid to pick it up. Ildari's journals were getting increasingly insane and he wasn't so sure how much more of this he could take. Yet his hand reached out and picked up the small leather bound book. He had to know. He had to see just what he was up against.

"I am stronger now. The heart stone kept me alive after Neloth's butchery. I can feel the bones in the ash calling to me. I can call back to them too. With the heart stone I can bind the spirits to bone and ash and raise a servant to do my bidding.

Tonight I will seize control. These miners and fortune seekers are pawns of Neloth. I can feel them staring at me. I'm sure they are sending him messages, reporting on my every move. The only ones I can trust are the voices. They've never lied to me. They've shown me that these fools plan to betray me, just like Neloth.

When they are all asleep I will raise my ash spawn. Their brute of a leader will die first. I can see the lust in his heart. He may act all kind and generous, bit I know what he wants, what they all want. They want the heart stone.

I'll keep a few prisoners. I need test subjects for my experiments. There is more that the heart stone can do. I just need to try out a few ideas."

Nevano dropped the diary as if it were on fire. He felt sick to his stomach. This was insanity. No, this was beyond insanity. He rubbed at his face in an effort to relieve a bit of the anxiety building in him. The level of madness in this journal was nearly on par with Dagoth Ur's madness, something that still caused his heart to pound and his stomach to churn thinking about the citadels of Red Mountain. This…this needed to end. Now.

He made his way through the mines, past tools had been placed down where the miner had last been working. They were waiting to be picked up and used again, but now they were forever frozen in place, a memorial to all the miners who had been horribly brutalized and slain. Nevano was careful not to disturb anything. It was a bit silly but he wanted to leave all signs of the miners as intact as possible. Maybe so the next time someone ventured in here, they would stop and give a thought to the previous occupants. In a way, it would keep the miner's memories alive.

The mines opened up to a huge cavern, lined with scaffolding that led up to what looked like ruined towers up in the back. In font of him three pillars with lights on top surrounded a raised platform. He didn't hear anything nor did he see any piles of ash that could possibly contain a ash spawn lying in wait. He stepped out of the narrow passage into the cavern.

"You've gone far enough." Nevano nearly jumped out of his skin. Up by the ruined towers, a woman had suddenly appeared. Even from this distance Nevano could see the bright gleam of madness in her eyes. Ildari. "Neloth is a fool to think he could send some low-life to finish me off."

Nevano's widened in horror as Ildari waved her hands. The crackle of magic flowed through the room, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Five ash spawn began to rise up from the ground and a ash guardian was coalescing from the summoning circle. He remembered the last journal he had read; Ildari could call out to the spirits living in the ash, raising them up as mindless undead slaves. Several sets of glowing eyes settled on him. She hadn't summoned a spawn or two, she had summoned a small army.

"That…n'wah…" He breathed. This was bad. This was very bad. Quickly, as they began to move towards him, he fired off a shot at the nearest ash spawn before slinging Bonebiter over his shoulder and drawing his twin swords. By pure luck, his arrow struck the ash spawn in the chest, disintegrating it. Too bad he didn't have time to fire off any more shots like that.

He blocked a blow from one of the ash spawn with Hopesfire and swiped at another's knee with Trueflame. He was about to double thrust into the ash spawn in front of him when he saw the ash guardian magic up a rather hefty rock. He abruptly changed course and rolled to the side just as it came crashing through, helpfully taking out one of the ash spawn for him, leaving three left. He was starting to feel a bit more optimistic, especially with the way his luck was going. Three were a bit more manageable than five. Five could surround him entirely where three could only flank him. He never let anyone flank him.

Sure enough, the three ash spawn started to try to get around to his sides but he back flipped away from them, opening up more distance between them and allowing him to side step around so his foes had to come at him directly instead. It was a clever move, one that had gotten him out of many scrapes in the past. It worked perfectly this time as well….except he forgot about one rather important thing.

The ash guardian let loose a geyser of dust. Nevano saw it far too late out of the corner of his eye and only had time to shield his face before he took the full brunt of the attack. It lifted him clean off his feet and up on the scaffolding, slamming him against one of the massive stalagmites. White light exploded in his vision as the air was knocked from his lungs with a sickening crack. He gasped and tried to suck in air to refill his lungs but pain shot through his chest like a whip crack, paralyzing his entire respiratory system in shock. He clamped down on the flare of panic that instinctively tried to well up. He knew what the crack was. At least three ribs had cracked. The pain was excruciating but he could take in small gasps of air so his lungs weren't punctured. He could continue to fight. For now.

The creak of wood snapped him out of his self-analysis. Ignoring the pain to the best of his ability he brought up his swords to block the organic sword. The impact of the swords sent shockwaves through his chest. He groaned and nearly lost his grip. Already his hands were shaking, the ash spawn's sword inching closer to his face. The other two ash spawn were coming up the ramp as well, not to mention the ash guardian below. Four against one and he had broken ribs. This wasn't looking good…unless…

Nevano wasn't a particularly big mer. He was short and was more on the wiry side. These ash spawn were enormous, dwarfing even the imposing Captain Veleth. However, he didn't need to be big for what he had planned. He broke off the defensive block and threw himself at the ash spawn, driving his shoulder into the thing's chest. He certainly wasn't big enough to knock the spawn over but he didn't need to knock it down…he just needed it to take a step back.

The ash spawn, its balance thrown off, took a step back…only to stumble when it unexpectedly found the ramp. Nevano landed on his knees at the edge of the ramp and watched his plan unfold. The ash spawn stumbled backwards down the ramp, crashing into the other two ash spawn and sending them tumbling off the scaffolding and onto the ground below. Nevano wasted no time to see if they survived or not. He ran the rest of the way up the scaffolding to where Ildari had stood. The ash guardian was still sitting in its summoning circle, facing where he had been moments earlier. Nevano could see the glowing spot on its back. He pulled out Bonebiter, knocked an arrow and nearly screamed in pain as he let it fly, the immense pull of the string too much for his broken ribs. The sound of rushing wind died down as the ash guardian dissipated, leaving only the sound of Nevano's strained panting. He leaned over the side of the tower, looking for any sign of the other three ash spawn but saw only smoking piles of ash. It was only then he allowed himself to collapse on his back.

He lay there for a few minutes, trying to get his breathing under control. He had to force himself to take deeper breaths instead of the shallow pants to prevent hyperventilation. If he passed out now he might as well mark himself as dead. It was hard though. The pain would rise in sharp spikes that made his whole body twitch involuntarily every time his chest expanded with air. He could feel Nerevar pushing at his consciousness, encouraging him to get up.

"I'm working on it, you fetcher." He snapped, slowly shoving himself up to his elbows, avoiding bending his upper body as much as he could. He glanced around and saw that the tower ruins were relatively well stocked. A few shelves had some alchemical ingredients and a few books on them while a hasty travel alchemy lab was set up nearby. That made sense. Certain potions could help production in a mine. A few other miscellaneous things were littered here and there but then he saw it. That ominous leather book that he was really starting to hate seeing. He shoved himself to his feet and staggered over.

"These warrens are well suited to me. I can plot my vengeance undisturbed. I've created many ash spawn and summoned atronachs to do my bidding. Yet I know it isn't enough. Neloth is a wily old wizard. I need more power.

I'm out of test subjects, except for Niyya. I saved her for last. She pretended to be my friend when I first cam here. But now I know the truth. The voices have told me all about her lies and betrayal. She works with Neloth to bring me down. I've saved a special experiment just for her. It will take quite a while to complete.

I can't attack Neloth directly, he's too powerful. But I can make his life uncomfortable. I've killed his steward, I've wither his home. Maybe I should poison his precious tear. I'll need a more capable servant for that. The ash spawn are too clumsy for such delicate work."

This diary Nevano slipped into his bag. It was the ultimate form of conviction, this written confession. Not that he really needed one. This lunatic needed to die period, but he felt better for having it on hand. Maybe that was Gunjar and Veleth, the two morally correct ones, rubbing off on him. Nevano winced as he straightened up. Unfortunately he couldn't wait around until his ribs were better. He no longer had that luxury of time. He needed to hurry up and find Ildari before she killed anyone else. He had no doubt that if she escaped from here, she would relocate to another lair and find more people to experiment on.

He entered the tunnel, one arm wrapped around his torso in a futile attempt to ease the pain. Out of all the bones he had broken in his life, ribs were undoubtedly the worst. He had snapped his arm so badly once that the bone had protruded from his skin but that still didn't compare to the discomfort of broken ribs grinding against his lungs, restricting his breathing and causing potential damage to his respiratory system. Perhaps it was the instinct to protect his ability to breath that made it seem worse. Or maybe it was because he couldn't stop his chest from moving while he breathed causing a constant aggravation. At least with a broken arm or leg he could immobilize it. The ribs had no such luxury.

He nearly cried out in frustration as yet more ash spawn popped up but this time he caught them unawares and Bonebiter was able to take care of them without creating a huge ruckus like earlier. Nevano knew that if he got into another big fight he would have to be crafty or he would end up in big trouble real quick. He groaned when he fired off the last arrow and dropped to his knees, both arms wrapped around his chest. He coughed and winced when flecks of blood stained the ground in front of him. He was injured far worse than he thought.

Trying to work out a quick fix he dug through his pack until he found a roll of bandages. He stripped off his armor and wrapped the bandages as tight as he could stand around his ribs. It was most likely the worst thing he could possibly do but he had no choice right now. It would have to suffice until he could crawl out of here and back to Raven Rock. If he was lucky he wouldn't collapse a lung along the way and pass out in the wilderness to drown in his own bodily fluids.

He gingerly shrugged his armor back on. It didn't dull the pain much but it at least allowed him a bit more freedom of movement. All he needed to do was hold himself together long enough to send a magic-charged arrow into Ildari to crush her ribs far more effectively than she had tried to crush him with her minions. Or crushed. That ash gurdian had definitely gotten in a lucky hit but Nevano intended to return the favor. With that uplifting thought in mind, Nevano picked himself up, wiped the blood from his mouth and trudged on down the tunnel.

Fortunately he didn't have to go much farther. The tunnel ended into a big room that he knew Ildari was in. He could sense the change in the air. The very energy of the room was cringing away, much like it had around Dagoth Ur. He crept a bit more in and up on the landing he could see her, muttering to herself and pacing around. Nevano darted across the room and up a flight of stairs to the landing, pulling an arrow free as he did so. When he looked around the corner he could just see her. Now was his opportunity. He pulled the arrow back to his cheek, lining the shot up with Ildari's head. One shot was all he needed to put an end to this ash beast madness. His breath warmed his cold fingers as he sighted down the wood shaft and he realized that he was breathing far too fast and shallow for good aim. He forced himself to deepen his breathing, ignoring the pain from his broken ribs. In and out…in and out…in and release.

XxXxXx

A/N: PSA PLEASE READ! Due to me solidifying and reviewing my story line, I realized that I have to follow 's guidelines and change the rating of this fic to M. Not sure if that will affect any of my wonderful readers but I figured I'd give warning. For now, to give everyone enough time to read this, it'll stay rated T but when I finish and post chapter 24, I'll change the rating to M. With that in mind, I will stay within the guidelines I clicked "agree" to when I first posted this. That means I have to curb myself a bit (a bit…sort of.). However, Archive of Our Own has fewer restrictions and some of the chapters I post on there will have…bonus content, if you will. Don't worry I will let you know when I leave out certain scenes. If it's not your cup of tea, have no fear this version here will stay tamer while the more curious and adventurous can head over to see what monstrosity I have conjured. I've tried to post a link to my Archive of Our Own account but it refuses to show up on my profile. My apologies but until I figure out a way around that, you'll have to find it the hard way. I'll try to post here at the end of the AN. If you see a link, that would be it. If you don't, it's still the same username. If it doesn't link, copy and paste in the search bar and it'll take you to where you want to go more efficiently than the magic carpet from Aladdin. Thank you to all of my readers who have stuck with me thus far. We are gearing up for the big plunge. Just a few more chapters left. /users/vanillathunder215