Chapter 30

The Devoted Ones

XxXxXx

4E 201, 21st Hearthfire – Mournhold, Morrowind

Nevano held his breath as watched Veleth and Nevusa blink in surprise, the shock of the sudden turn of events overtaking the bloodlust in their eyes. Judging by the uncomfortable shifting of armor behind him, the Ordinators were doing the same thing. When weapons wavered and finally lowered, he allowed himself to breath a sigh of relief.

"You…" Nevano turned around to face the Ordinator at his back. The exhaustion was still there, but the rest of his look was unreadable. "I saw your eyes and your swords. Only one mer matches that description. But he's gone." He stated with an edge in his voice. "Either those are imitations of Trueflame and Hopesfire or you are…" Nevano held up his right hand, clenching it into a fist so his ring stood out proudly. The rest of the Ordinators murmured to each other and shifted uncomfortably. They stilled when their leader waved a hand at them for quiet. "So you are truly the Nerevarine. You chose to come back now. Of all times to come back, you chose now."

"I didn't realize that the Ordinators, the holy guards of Vivec, the pride of House Indoril, a mighty fighting force in Morrowind, had come to depend upon me so much." Nevano said sarcastically. It was the epitome of irony – the faction that had hated him so badly as to try to kill him on sight was now irritated he hadn't been there to save them. He didn't know whether he wanted to be annoyed at that or darkly amused.

"You…" The Ordinator stopped himself with a huff. "I suppose it doesn't matter now. You are the first…sane beings we have seen in a while. How did you get into the city?"

"The sewers." Nevano said with a shrug. "The barrier doesn't extend underground."

"Nerus, I told you to extend it underground." One of the group groused.

"We didn't have the energy to maintain the barrier's strength then."

"Wait…YOU put up the barrier?" Nevano asked incredulously.

"Yes…" The Ordinator called Nerus said with a heavy sigh. "Come. I'll explain. But then you need to get out of here."

Nevano flashed Veleth and Nevusa a quick smile, one that said he had no intention of following that last bit of instructions. There was only one Ordinator he had ever listened to and he wasn't here to put a leash on him. Not even close. Nevano would happily drive this group crazy doing his own thing. It would be just like old times. Veleth shook his head and Nevusa held a hand over her mouth to stop a giggle.

They didn't go very far. In the corner of the bazaar opposite the sewer entrance, the small pack of Ordinators had created a barricade using the rubble around them. Nevano could see the sense in their chosen position: the walls of the city protected their back and right flank while the raised platform overlooked all of the bazaar, preventing anything from sneaking up on them. It seemed secure but, looking over the dozen or so Ordinators, Nevano could see how dire the situation was. Four of the Ordinators were sitting in a circle, blue light emanating from their upraised hands. Nevano could smell the power of the magic they were casting. It smelled like rain. But he could see the strain it was causing on them. Sweat streaked down the casting mer's faces, lines on their faces spoke of the great strain on their bodies. The rest of the group wasn't in any better shape. If a fight had broken out earlier, Nevano had no doubt that he, Veleth and Nevusa would have won purely because the Ordinators had no reserve energy left to fight. It would have been over in a matter of moments. He had never seen an Ordinator look so ragged.

Nerus sat down heavily and motioned for them to find someplace to sit as well. "My name is Saden Nerus. I know who you three are and I have to say you were the last three mer I expected to see."

"I'm teaching the two young ones the fine art of doing the opposite of what everyone expects." Nevano said, ignoring Veleth's noise of protest. "We didn't expect to find….well we didn't know what we were going to find actually but after the waves of undead attacking Adrusa and wandering around the wilderness, we were hoping for the best but fully expecting the worst."

"There are undead attacking outside?" Nerus said. "Vith…"

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Nevano said. "That way, I don't ask a thousand questions out of order, get everything jumbled up and get the wrong idea."

"It's a bit of a long story so get settled." Nerus said.

Nevano propped his feet up on a broken piece of wall and motioned for Nerus to begin.

XxXxXx

4E 201, 3rd Hearthfire – Mournhold, Morrowind

The air in the city was tense. There was no other accurate way to put it. Ever since the Redoran Army had been asked to leave, everyone left in the city had been tense and anxious, especially since they had been given about as much explanation for the exile as the Redoran had. Patrols had been increased but limited only to within the city walls, leading to more confusion and speculation. There was no more excursions out to try to push the Argonians south, there were no more goodwill missions to refugee camps along the road to help, there was hardly anything happening within the city itself. It was as if the entire order had stalled. There was a streak of darkness running through the ranks, one that stank of fear and a little bit of anger. It was shaking the once strong bonds that bound the Ordinators together.

It was not a situation Saden Nerus ever thought to find himself in when he joined the Ordinators ten years ago. The very order that had once appealed to him was breaking down. Cliques were forming and rumblings were coming from within those cliques yet no one from the upper ranks did anything to quell it. While he found it highly irritating, he realized that he, as moderately ranked as he was, couldn't find the want to do anything about it either. He simply continued to follow his orders, as little and insubstantial as they were.

"Nerus."

He glanced up to see the group of mer he had come to know really well among the ranks walk up, wearing rather smug, satisfied smiles on their faces. He realized that this was his own clique but he couldn't quite bring himself to think of them that way. They were the ones who provided a relief from the boredom and the nervousness of the unknown, the ones he could vent his frustrations to without fearing any sort of rebuttal from higher up. They were…he used the term "friends" lightly. Were they not together in the ranks he rather doubted he would have been drawn to their company otherwise. They were brothers in arms. He trusted them to watch his back in a fight and he trusted them with his life but he still wasn't sure he would call them friends. He raised an eyebrow at their smirks, silently encouraging them to talk.

"We found something."

"And that something is…what?" Nerus gestured with his hands with a touch of impatience. He was so very tired of nonsense. Their little games were not high on his list of things he wanted to deal with right now.

"An untouched crate with a mark on it that indicates it's from Balmora."

"So?"

"The mark is of a brewer from there. One of the best brewers in Vvardenfell at the time." The smirk grew bigger. "We think it's an untouched shipment of greef."

"We're supposed to report things like this, you know." Nerus said.

"Don't be such a stick." Came the complaint..

Nerus started to protest but stopped himself. Report…report to who? Report to his immediate commander who would undoubtedly take the alcohol for his own personal use? To an autarch no one was such existed anymore? For some reason this just rubbed Nerus the wrong way. He looked back at the group who was eagerly awaiting his reply.

"Show me."

With gleeful grins they led him through the Grand Bazaar to where the trader's shop once stood. There, in the midst of the ruins, stood a crate, strangely intact surrounded by the wreckage of the city around it. Nerus surmised that it probably fell into a pocket and was protected for centuries. He stepped up to it and easily pulled off the rotted lid, revealing bottles carefully packed in old packing material he couldn't tell the origin of.

In the back of his mind, Nerus knew that what they were doing was wrong. He knew that they should be reporting this in, following all protocol for anything viable found in the ruins but…he couldn't bring himself to care anymore. He reached into the rotted crate and pulled out a jar. The jar itself was weathered and had definitely seen better days but there were no cracks or chips on it and the wax seal on the cork was intact. He stared at the glass container in his hand for a long moment, the strict, righteous voice that had been heavily trained into him arguing mightily against the rebellious, jaded side that had been growing in strength over the past few months. The rebel won.

He pulled out his dagger and cut the seal, much to the surprised delight of the others with him. When he popped the cork off, the smell of greef that had been sitting undisturbed for centuries nearly knocked them all back. However, he noted that it hadn't turned. It was heavily aged to a perfection that normally wasn't seen in such a mass produced alcohol. He was willing to bet it would be on par with Cyrodillic brandy or better. This was something collectors would love to get their hands on. However, Nerus had no intention of sharing this. He gave the bottle one last long look, letting his training give one last plea, before he took a hearty swig of the greef.

At that moment Nerus became aware of two things: One, they were all going to get horribly, happily drunk and very easily at that and, two, Nerus wasn't ever going to be able to drink regular greef ever again after sampling this. The comberry brandy went smoothly down his throat and sent tendrils of fire from his stomach out to his limbs. He nearly groaned at the feeling. It had been far too long since he had last indulged himself like this. He tossed a bottle at one of the others standing around watching him.

"Drink up."

The group eagerly set upon the crate of booze like a group of children on a bag of sweet treats. As Nerus predicted, it didn't take long before they all were very drunk, ridiculously so. They didn't care though. For the first time in months, they found a reason to enjoy themselves, to be lifted from the dark cloud that seemed to constantly hang over them. They were smiling, even daring to laugh once or twice. Whatever punishment might come their way, it would be well worth it.

Suddenly the bell above the palace began to ring. The heavy, mournful clang rang out once…twice…three times, and then fell silent for a moment before repeating itself. It took a moment for the pattern to sink into Nerus' mind. When it did it instantly sobered him up and he spat out his mouthful of greef.

"B'vek! That's…" He stared in shock in the direction of the palace, still grand and ornate in the center of the city. "That's the call of the autarch!"

"You're drunk." One of his group slurred, lying flat on his back staring at the sky.

"Shut up, fetcher." Nerus stood up, still staring at the palace. "That's the call of the autarch, for us to go to the plaza. By the gods…have any of you ever seen Autarch Andas? Why is he calling us now? What could he possibly want after all this time?"

By now the situation had sunk into drunken minds and the others were on their feet as well. None of them had ever seen Autarch Andas before. If anything, the man was little more than myth among the Ordinators, an invisible being that they were told their orders originated from. Nerus often likened him to childhood stories his mother often used to scare him into behaving. But the three-note alarm was only used to assemble directly before the autarch.

"Son of a bitch…" Nerus cursed. "We can't assemble like this! Do you know how much trouble we'll be in if we assemble in front of the autarch while drunk?"

"But we can't just miss it!" One of them wailed. "That'll be noticed more than our being drunk!"

Nerus wracked at his mind, trying to think of a good solution but his mind was muddled with alcohol and he kept coming up empty. All he could do was stand there and stare at the center of the city.

"Nerus…what do we do?"

"I…I don't…" Nerus started to stammer but stopped when he felt the ground begin to shake. Or at least he thought it was shaking. It was hard to tell. Between the alcohol still swimming in him and his panic over the call to assemble he was having a hard time stabilizing himself, let alone feeling if the ground beneath his feet was moving. He looked over at the crate of greef and watched the remaining bottles carefully. Before his very eyes, they began to rock in their nests. That was when it finally sank into his mind that he was really feeling the ground shake beneath his feet. "What the hell…?"

"Nerus…look!"

He looked back up at the palace. Before his astonished eyes, green light burst from the roof and exploded up towards the sky. Amorphous shapes swirled in the sickly green light, looking horrifically like tormented souls twisting in their prison. The clouds turned black where the green light touched it and spread like a poisonous gas. The air turned cold, cold as the grave, the comforting warmth sucked from it. What caused him to start shaking in terror though was the sound of over a thousand voices screaming in fear and something else Nerus couldn't identify. It was coming from Brindisi Dorum, where all the Ordinators were assembled.

"By the gods…" Nerus said, his voice shaking. The others clustered together, shaking as the screaming got louder and more panicked. Nerus was frozen in place in terror. Then, suddenly, silence. If anything, that was even more frightening than the screams.

"I think we need to move." Nerus said shakily. Something deep inside of him was telling him to run, to hide. There was something extremely dangerous out there and his instincts were screaming at him to find shelter immediately. "We…we should hide."

The others didn't question him. A portion of the wall had fallen up on the raised walkways that crisscrossed the bazaar behind them, forming a small pocket in the corner where many Ordinators, bored and exhausted on night patrols, would sneak in a nap. Nerus led his small group to this small alcove and hunkered down, watching the gate that led to Brindisi Dorum. They said nothing, huddling together in complete, terrified silence.

Suddenly the gate burst open and a small handful of Ordinators ran through, scrambling frantically away from some unseen enemy, not even bothering to shut the gate behind them in their haste to get away. Nerus strained to see what was beyond the gate but he was too far away to make anything out.

The fleeing Ordinators came closer to their hiding spot and Nerus let out a quiet whistle to catch their attention. They stopped, saw him, and ran straight to them.

"You…you aren't…" they panted, shaking so hard their armor rattled.

"Aren't what? What happened?" Nerus demanded.

"Andas!" They burst out. "He appeared! He appeared and…started talking absolute nonsense about the king and Morrowind and the Tribunal and then that…that light appeared. It swept over everyone and it changed them! Now they're all spouting nonsense and acting like men possessed. It's like watching the puppets of conjurers!"

"How are you not affected?"

"We were in the very back. When we saw that light, we threw up a ward. It worked but barely." One of them held up his hands for inspection, showing off the burns on his palms and pads of his fingers. "I didn't see anyone else get away. Worse part is that Andas started talking about rising the dead next, so that they, too, could serve."

"The dead? But we burn our dead…"

"No…" An older mer said, shaking his head. "Back when Mournhold was first taken by the Argonians, many Ordinators were simply thrown into mass unmarked graves. Andas had decided that instead of digging them up and riling up the souls of the dead, to instead later erect monuments in their honor. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of them buried in mass graves all over the place."

"Gods…"

"Nerus, what do we do?" Nerus looked around him and realized that all the mer in the small group was watching him, waiting to see what he would do. It was a shock, and more than a little frightening, to suddenly realize that he was the one silently elected to be completely in charge. For a long moment his mind raced, struggling to comprehend just what was happening to them. Finally he was able to grind out a somewhat coherent idea.

"Did you say you could do barriers?" He finally said, looking over at the newcomers.

"Wards, but…we can do barriers."

"Can you perform a spell to erect a barrier around the whole city? Keep everything in?"

"What? By the reclamations why?!"

"Because we don't know what's going on but if this army of possessed Ordinators and undead get out…Adrusa won't stand a chance. They'll be taken completely by surprise and wiped out because they won't realize that they are now the enemy." Nerus said. "There are towns out there, full of innocents. We can't do much except try to keep the tide in as much as we can."

They all exchanged looks but as the hopelessness of the situation sunk in, four of them slowly sat down in a circle and, with one last look that said they desperately hoped this would work, began to murmur the words needed to enact the massively draining spell. A light began to glow on their upraised palms and surround their bodies as the spell took on strength. Their chanting took on a more fevered tone, faster and louder. Nerus chewed on his lip nervously, hoping that this would work. He knew he was asking a lot of them but he didn't feel he had a choice. Finally, with one last bellowed syllable, the blue glow that surrounded the mages shot outwards towards the walls of the city. The mages then settled silently, still glowing faintly, their eyes squeezed shut in concentration. The spell had worked.

Nerus watched as the translucent blue barrier rose up around the city, sealing them all in. He gave a small, resigned sigh. He felt as if someone had just closed a coffin lid on him. He had no answers what to do from here but at least everyone on the outside would be safe. He just hoped that no one would think badly of them. Hopefully, the legend of the Ordinators would outlast this horrible end.

XxXxXx

4E201, 21st Hearthfire – Mournhold, Morrowind

"Let me get this straight." Nevano said when Nerus finally fell silent, settling his feet down flat on the ground. "Andas gives an extremely rare call to assemble and you lot are too drunk to attend, which turns out to be your salvation as all your brothers are instead…put under some sort of spell?"

"Yes."

"And your only idea is to get the few mages you got to put up a barrier around the city to keep everything in?"

"Yes."

"So…did any of you think about what would happen when you finally died because your possessed brothers finally got you or you would die of exhaustion?" Nevano quirked an eyebrow up as they all shifted uncomfortably. "No one? No? Right. I'll just go ahead and say your idea, while admirable and selfless and all those sorts of fancy words, was stupid. Killing yourself solves absolutely nothing if it doesn't do anything other than delay the inevitable. So now it's my turn to use my plan and your turn to shut up and listen and stop thinking about shoving me out the door. I hate being shoved. Ask Bull." Veleth rolled his eyes. "See?"

"Look, it's not your…"

"If you say 'not my fight' I'm going to shove Trueflame up your arse and light it up." Nevano said flatly. "It became my fight when we got attacked by undead Ordinators in the woods. You are holding back a flood of destruction. It's now everybody's problem. If it makes you feel better, I'm not doing this for free. We can discuss repayment after this is fixed."

"Wait, I don't think…" Nerus stammered.

"Great!" Nevano rubbed his hands together. "Time to get things rolling. We got a lot to do kids!"

Veleth leaned over to the bewildered Ordinators. "Best to just go along with it. The more you fight it, the harder he will make this on you."

Nerus shrugged the warning off and looked hard at Nevano. "Do you actually have an idea? No offense but your reputation among the Ordinators is…mixed."

"And I can't tell you how much a source of pride that is for me." Nevano smirked. "Yes, I do have a plan. Mostly. It's mostly a plan. It's better than your plan though."

"How is it any better than ours?"

"Well, to start off, my plan includes using the man power that resides ready, waiting and grumpy in Adrusa. Not sure if you know General Garil but he is grumbling about the lack of action." Nevano said. "Secondly, I don't intend on sacrificing anybody because, well, that's a stupid idea. Lastly, you can't refuse because you are desperate enough to swallow that damn Ordinator pride and actually listen to the insane heretic."

Nevano could hear Nerus grinding his teeth and he couldn't help but enjoy the moment. He had the Ordinators cornered and they both knew it. They couldn't say no, not and sacrifice not only themselves but the lives of everyone in the vicinity. If they said no and the horrors that were held within the city would eventually be released and who knew how far the darkness would spread? Safepoint Adrusa would most certainly be wiped out, Darvon's Watch would easily be next. It could go even farther, to Safepoints Sros, Vvarden, Zyr…even to Necrom. No Ordinator, no matter how badly they disliked Nevano and everything he stood for, could allow that in good conscious. No, they would listen to him. Begrudgingly but that only made him even more darkly amused.

"Alright."

"I knew you'd see things my way." Nevano smiled. "Now, can you hold here for a bit while I get everything underway? Do they leave you alone?"

"No. They've already dragged off two of us. We never found out what happened to them. We try to distract the living away. We just…can't bring ourselves to kill them." Then Nerus lifted his chin. "However, we will hold out as long as we possibly can."

"Great. Bull, Nevusa, let's go. Back through the sewers."

"Wait, wait…" Nevusa stopped him. "What about the spirits? That didn't go so well the first time."

"We set a majority of them free when we killed those Durzogs. Kill the killers and a majority of spirits tethered here are set free. Usually. Doesn't always happen that way. There's a few left in there but we can run through them. I hope." Nevano frowned. "We don't have time to really worry about it. We got to hurry back to Adrusa. Garil wanted a plan; I'm about to give him one. Even he can't complain too much about it."

"I'm willing to bet against that." Nevusa said flatly but to no avail. Nevano was already running off towards the sewer entrance.

"This is where I get to say 'I told you so'." Veleth said.

Nevusa sighed.

XxXxXx

Safepoint Adrusa, Morrowind

"So it was the Ordinators themselves who put up that damn barrier?" Garil grunted. "That stupid mage from the Skyrim college was telling me there was no way through and no way to figure out who cast it…I knew letting those mages run around here was a bad idea but no one will let me tell them to go to hell."

"In their defense, I don't think they were in the right mind to think up of a better plan." Nevano said, twirling a fork between his fingers. Veleth gave him a strange look but he ignored it. "The mages I offer nothing for though don't you usually tell them to go hell anyway?"

Garil gave him a one-eyed glare.

"Anyway, you told me that I better have a decent enough plan before you would agree to help me." Nevano said. "I think I got plan you will agree to. Well…mostly a plan."

"…Where in the nine hells did you get a fork?" Veleth burst out incredulously, unable to take it any longer. Nevusa blinked and looked around trying to figure out where Nevano could have possibly found a fork. Nevano really couldn't tell them where the fork came from.

"Right, let's hear this "mostly a plan" of yours." Garil sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "Before the whole ridiculousness of this situation becomes too much."

"Right now there's only one sure way into the city and that's through the bazaar sewers. I'm sure you could go through the west sewers but I didn't have the time to go through there and clear those out or check to see if the way is clear. Going by what we saw just in the sewers we were in, I'd rather not waste time clearing out whatever horrors live in the west sewers. That's a venture in and of itself. If there were Durzogs in the bazaar sewers then there might be a massive goblin den in the west sewers and that means…"

"Nevano!" Veleth barked. "Quit getting distracted or I'm taking the fork."

"Right! Leave my fork alone." Nevano said, poking at the map with the fork. "As I was saying, I propose that we divide into four groups. Three of the groups will go through the bazaar sewers and rendezvous with the Ordinators in the Great Bazaar. One group will stay in the bazaar with the Ordinators and hold it against whatever comes at them. The other two groups will then split off and clear the temple district and Godsreach. When all three districts are cleared, a signal will be given and the Ordinators will drop the barrier and all four groups will converge on Brindisi Dorom from all sides and clear the plaza out. Once the city is clear of undead and possessed Ordinators, we can then make a plan on what to do about the palace."

"Do you know how long it'll take to get that many men through a hole in the ground?"

"With the Ordinators refusing to drop the barrier, do you have a better idea?"

Garil paced back and forth. "They're all dead or possessed…except for a dozen of them who are so gods damned stubborn they would rather kill themselves than be useful. Stupid fetchers. Now our only option is to shove a few hundred men through a knot hole or else this entire section of country side will be a giant damned graveyard."

"Not to mention you will lose Adrusa, Vvarden and possibly Stros, destroy the supply route to Firewatch and Necrom, and the reputation of both the Ordinators and the Redoran will become mud." Nevano listed off.

"Has anyone told you that you're an annoying little shite?"

"I've heard it once or twice before." Nevano smirked. "But let's face it, if I wasn't here to do a good portion of the leg work, you would be arse deep in dead Ordinators and no idea how to fix it."

Garil growled at him but Nevano was unbothered. By now he had figured out that General Garil was all gruff bark with very little bite, especially to those who were useful. Nevano was nothing if not useful. He already knew what Garil was going to do, as did Garil. This was merely making it all official, a definitive verbal agreement.

"I'll lead the group that will charge in through the southern gates. Churl, you will lead the men into Godsreach. My other two captains got killed in the attacks. I know Veleth can lead but can you handle a group of soldiers?"

"How hard can it be?" Nevano smirked wider as Garil's one eye twitched. "I'll take Almalexia's temple. Something is telling me I'd be shoved in there first anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"The veil between the living and the dead is very thin in the city. The dead can practically reach into the world of the living. You'll be able to feel it as soon as you get close enough."

"What's your point?"

Nevano sighed. "Can we just cut the crap and just admit that when it comes to the really nasty or really creepy stuff I'm going to be tossed in first? That temple was home to Almalexia. Every superstitious mer you have in your ranks will fall flat on their faces if they go anywhere near that temple, especially with me around. I mean, let's face it, who wants to be around the former home of a dead god when her killer is there? Whatever is there, I'll go in first. Me stepping foot in that temple will probably be considered a defilement and it just makes me happy thinking about how mad it'll make those Ordinators."

Garil snorted. "Just…don't say that too loudly around the Ordinators if you want their help later. However I have one concern before we give the go ahead to do anything and you can't tell me that the thought hasn't occurred to you too. What about the Ordinators that are possessed? Is there a way to free them? I am not to keen on just killing all of them."

That was the one snag in Nevano's plan and it was a big one. It had been nagging him the entire way back and, despite his best efforts, he simply couldn't think of any way to save them. He opened his mouth to answer, to say the one thing that no one wanted to hear, but someone beat him to it.

"I think I might have an answer to your problem."

Nevano nearly jumped out of his skin when the old frail voice spoke almost in his ear, the fork clattering across the map table. He heard Veleth utter a curse and felt a little bit better knowing that he wasn't the only one taken completely by surprise. He spun around and jumped again when he found himself face to face with Auntie Glathil.

"Who the hell is the old hag?" Garil asked irritably. He was the only one in the room who hadn't jumped at the sudden intrusion. "Wait, aren't you that witch Churl was bothering me about for the past few weeks? Vaermina's rotted tits, can this can any more ridiculous?"

"That all depends on what you want to hear, general." Auntie Glathil said. Nevano could tell she was gearing up for another one of her premonitions and cringed. That was the last thing he needed right now.

"Spare me your fortunes, witch." Garil growled. "All you witches like to predict death and destruction but we're all going to die one day. If I die in that damned city, so be it. My wife might think I'm a fool but I'll die with a sword in my hand and content that the rest of these fools with me can finish the job. Your fortune telling will only mess that up and make the fools act even more foolish. Now, do you have anything useful to add to this plan or are you here to just scare the superstitious s'wits in my ranks?"

Auntie Glathil sniffed. "I've actually been following those three since they left my house. I was greatly curious at what they would find. Much to my surprise I saw a great many Ordinators held under another's possession. I came to offer help."

"We know Andas put them under that spell but could you see what happened to him?" Nevusa asked eagerly.

"I am sorry my dear, but whatever is at the center of all this is far more powerful than I am." The older Bosmer woman said. "Whatever resides in the palace was shrouded from my sight. Tread carefully. All I know is that it is extremely powerful and extremely dangerous."

"But you are able to counteract the spell?"

Auntie Glathil produced four scrolls from within her robes and laid them on the table. "Gather as many of those possessed together as you can and use the scroll. It should release their minds, or at least allow them enough control back so they won't attack you. The only real cure, of course, is to kill the caster. Find him, kill him and your Ordinators shall be free. Of course, I have no solution for those raised from the grave. Those you would do well to put our of their misery and return them to full dead."

"Thank you very much, Auntie Glathil."

"You're welcome, dear." Auntie Glathil glared at the males in the room. "The rest of you would do well to learn some manners."

"Lady, if you can teach a bunch of rough cut soldiers manners then I'll give up my sword and take up sheep herding." Garil spat on the floor. "Oh wait, I do that already." With one final glare the old witch left.

Nevano watched her go before turning to face Garil. He had a whole new respect for the gruff mer after that show. He picked up the fork again and twirled it over his fingers. "You do know she could probably put a curse on you, right?"

"You might be about the same age as I am but you got to keep your youth." Garil pointed out. "If you ever get to experience being old, you'll understand that there ain't much a witch can do to you that your body hasn't already given up already. Also, an old hag doesn't scare you when you've been married to one for years and years. Anyway, we all know our roles in this. Any last questions?"

"WHERE did the fork come from?!" Nevusa burst out.

"You say one word about Sheogorath and I will nail your tongue to a board." Garil growled at Nevano.

Nevano felt his lips twitch at the want to say something but he stayed silent.

XxXxXx

Later that night, after orders had been issues and the furious rush of preparations had died down to a dull roar as soldiers tried to catch what sleep they could before they all marched out in the morning, Nevano found Veleth away from all the furor, sharpening his axe. He could see the tense set of Veleth's broad shoulders and knew that he was still trying to process all that had happened in the past few days. Nevano didn't blame him in the slightest. A lot had happened in a short amount of time. The stress of it would have broken a lesser being.

"Look what I found." Nevano said, sitting next to Veleth and holding up a carved game board.

"Chess." Veleth gave him a half-smile. "You sure you can handle a game against me?"

"Against a Veleth? I know I don't have a snowflake's chance in oblivion." Nevano said as he laid out the pieces. "But I'm pretty convinced Jorun simply cursed the pieces of his set. He always plays the black pieces and I always lose. I'm willing to stake my dignity to test that theory."

"I've beaten my father before. With the white pieces, I might add."

"Then I'm really going to lose." Nevano grinned and held up a few bottles of sujamma. "Fortunately, I came prepared. Liquid fortification."

They played in silence for a while, Nevano occasionally taking swigs from the bottle as he slowly, inevitably, lost. He didn't mind though. Winning wasn't the point of him hunting down this board and getting Veleth to play but he couldn't play for his ultimate goal just yet. He kept close watch until finally, at the end of their first game, he saw Veleth's shoulders relax. That was what he had been waiting for.

"You ready for tomorrow?" He finally broke the silence as he reset the pieces.

"To be honest? No." Veleth said bluntly. "Don't get me wrong, the plan is a good one, as solid a plan as one can come up with. I just think there's still something not accounted for. Something big."

"You too?" Nevano glanced up at him. "Glad to know I'm not the only one. Unfortunately there's not much to be done about it. We didn't have the time or the manpower to figure out just what that was. Just going to have to improvise along the way then."

"Your improvisation scares me to death."

Nevano laughed. "I can think of far worse ways to die. Disemboweled by an angry daedra, crushed by falling rocks, falling on your own weapon. Scribs. Those are just a few examples, just in case my improvisation becomes too much for you."

"Scribs? No one has ever been killed by a scrib!"

"Therefore, it's a worse way to die than by my legendary quick thinking in a fight."

Veleth slapped a hand to his face and gave an exasperated moan. He grabbed an untouched bottle and started to drink straight from it. Nevano eyes went wide as he watched in utter amazement as Veleth upended the bottle and drained the entire thing in one go. He threw the empty bottle aside and slammed his queen down on the board. "Check mate."

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A/N: Ok so I was still writing in the midst of finishing my presentations and I managed to blurt this one out. I needed some sort of stress release and nothing accomplishes that more than snarking at Ordinators. Or snarking in general Or a random fork. Don't ask about the fork. No one knows where the fork came from.