Chapter 32

Nerevar's Mercy

XxXxXx

3E 433 – Mournhold, Morrowind

Despite its rather dour sounding name, Mournhold was a vivacious city. People were always outside, the heat not seeming to bother them, to shop and catch up on the latest gossip. Even the market district of the Imperial City was not as lively as the capital city of Morrowind. It was the city of light, city of magic…and the city of gatherings.

Nevano felt disconnected as he walked through the busy streets. He could feel himself brush against people as he wound his way through the crowded streets, could feel the sweat roll down his back as the heat bore down on him like an oppressive blanket and could feel the street beneath his worn boots but he couldn't focus on anything. There was too much noise, too much movement and too many people brushing up against him for his mind to handle so, in an act of self-preservation, it completely shut all stimulation out. He was a mindless thing pushing his way along, like one of the machinations that wandered the halls of dwemer ruins. He could barely hear the animated chatter around him. A few people protesting as he shoved them aside, but it was merely a muted buzz in the back of his mind. He really wanted to curl up in a corner and shut everything out but he was searching for…something. He really wasn't sure what.

"Hey!" An Imperial man took special offense to having an elbow shoved in his back and spun around to face his assailant, grabbing Nevano's arm before he could get away. Nevano stopped and looked at him. He must have had a murderous look on his face because the Imperial quickly dropped his arm as if it burned him. "You look like you need a drink."

"Don't we all." Nevano said, trying to quirk up one corner of his mouth to show he really had no intention of killing the man, especially now that he had let go of his arm. It felt more like a grimace than anything but it still had the desired affect fortunately.

"You're new in town aren't you?"

"What gave it away?"

"You have ash clinging to you for one." The man said, causing Nevano to glance down at himself. Sure enough, there was ash settled in the folds of his armor and clothing. Something Nevano had come to find perfectly normal, even expected, while living in Vvardenfell but it was not something normally seen on the mainland. "Look, there's a tavern just down the street here. On the left. Called the Winged Guar. If you're from the island you're going to need a drink or two to get the ash from your throat."

Nevano nodded and turned down the street the man had indicated.

"Hey, wait! I thought all travel from Vvardenfell was being restricted…"

Nevano didn't stop or answer the man. The less the man knew, the better. For everyone. Besides, Nevano now had a bit of a goal, allowing his mind to focus with far more clarity than he had been able to muster a few minutes ago. He wasn't about to let that focus go to waste answering stupid mundane questions.

It wasn't hard to pick out the Winged Guar. In stark contrast to the usually conservative Dunmer architecture around it, the tavern was a bit brighter with a perky shade of green paint on it and some decorative shrubs planted around it. Nevano knew the shrubs served more than one purpose. Not only did they distinctively indicate the tavern itself, but if a drunk fell off the short flight of stairs, there was a bit of a cushioned landing so they wouldn't kill themselves. Not outright anyway. Inside the tavern was rather busy for as early in the day as it was but Nevano noted there was less drinking and more talking going on. Still, no one bothered him. They were used to strangers apparently, which suited him perfectly. He slid onto a stool and ordered a drink.

He had always enjoyed a drink every now and then – it was practically a requirement back home in the Fighters Guild to drink with your guild brothers and sisters after a successful contract – but the feeling of the burning liquid sliding down his throat gave him a dose of reality he hadn't felt since…since he had been thrown into prison in Cyrodiil. He threw the rest of the sujamma back, nearly choking when the burning seemed to strike him in the face but he managed to catch himself before he coughed the drink back up again. He sat still a moment, considering the hot pool in the pit of his stomach, the slight buzzing in his head and the rough numbness in his throat and nose. Slowly he felt the tension in his shoulders relax and the annoying chatter in the tavern dulled into a pleasant buzz he could easily deal with. He dropped a few coins on the counter and got another drink. Drelasa would not approve of this, not in the slightest, but as the second drink joined the first in his stomach, Nevano found that he couldn't bring himself to care over much. This was a feeling he could get used to.

"The High Ordinators are grumpy. More than usual anyway." Nevano didn't know why his keen ears picked up that particular line of conversation amid a sea of mundane talk but he didn't fight it. Trust your gut and all that. Jorun would be proud.

"What doesn't make one of those fetchers grumpy?" The tavern patron's companion huffed back, slightly muffled in a mug as he took a swing of his drink. "What's got them feathers ruffled this time?"

"Something about goblins in the sewers, Helseth deliberately testing his limits with our Lady and now some stranger arrived from Vvardenfell with rumors of the Dark Brotherhood snapping at his heels." Oh. That was why his ears had narrowed in on this string of conversation. Goblins didn't interest him. Helseth irritating Almalexia was slightly amusing but nothing he felt like involving himself in. However, he could easily guess that the stranger they were talking about was him. Word certainly traveled fast but then again, rumors were the only things consumed faster than booze in taverns.

"That would do it, aye." The second said. There was a pause as he took a deep drink. "Dark Brotherhood, you said? Poor sodding fetcher is probably dead already. No one escapes them. Those n'wah are scum…but effective scum. Did I ever tell you about the time I escaped a Morag Tong writ by sleeping with the prettiest assassin you've ever seen?"

"If you ever saw an assassin you'd piss yourself, you stupid fetcher."

Nevano stood up abruptly and left, almost repelled out of the building by the talk of his supposed mortality. Yes, he should be dead. He should be dead many times over, but he wasn't. He was never going to die, not unless he let someone kill him or ran a sword through his own gut. He didn't want to hear about death right now. He didn't want to think about his cursed gift from Dagoth Ur. He wanted to kill the Dark Brotherhood assassins after him and gain back a small bit of freedom. At least those two had given him a small clue. A High Ordinator. They had mentioned a High Ordinator. Nevano half-heartedly wished he had stayed to ask about that but the feeling was short lived. The Ordinators in Vivec City were very easy to spot in their distinctive armor that they never allowed anyone outside the order to wear. How hard could it be to find a High Ordinator?

As it turned out, it was even easier spotting a High Ordinator than it was picking out the normal ones. Pale armor that was so ridiculously ornate it was on the verge of being useless with an equally ornate ebony scimitar at the hip that was most decidedly not useless. One thing that was the same was the presence around them. Aloof, deadly, forbidding, frightening enough that people gave them a wide berth but not so inefficient that people avoided them entirely. They knew their job and did it well, Nevano had to admit. Sometimes a little too well. Keeping a wary eye on that weapon, Nevano cleared his throat, trying, and failing, to keep his heart from jumping slightly when the pale, expressionless mask turned towards him.

"I heard you could tell me about the Dark Brotherhood presence here in the city." Nevano blurted out before he lost his nerve. It wasn't that long ago he had been chased through the streets of Vivec by a group of Ordinators and this High Ordinator was twice as intimidating as the ones on Vvardenfell. It didn't help that the armored mer stayed silent as his red eyes, hidden far back in the mask, studied Nevano with a distinctive air of disdain.

"I need to find where they are hiding." Nevano said. "I've already killed four assassins in two different attempts to kill me. I'm rather sick of it. I need to find them so I can get them off my back once and for all." That finally sparked a bit of interest. The Ordinator lifted his chin as he considered Nevano a bit more carefully. Nevano waited, holding his breath.

"Go talk to Fedris Hler." The Ordinator finally said, nodding at one of the massive gates to the northwest. Then he looked away, effectively ending the conversation. Nevano let out the breath he had been holding and beat a hasty retreat before the Ordinator decided to pay closer attention to him. He could have sworn that, unlike Vvardenfell's Ordinators, most of the High Ordinator's equipment was enchanted. The air seemed electrified around the temple guard but if his gear was enchanted, it was so expertly done that Nevano couldn't tell just by looking. However, he wasn't going to stick around to find out. He took his cue and quickly left.

The gate the Ordinator had indicated led to a beautiful, well-maintained park. Birds flitted in and out of the trees that lined the walks and butterflies danced over the carefully cultivated flowers. Nevano felt the tension bleed from his shoulders as he walked through the relaxed park. It was nice to find a oasis of peace in a chaotic world. Eventually all the paths led to a massive white building that swept up into the sky like wings while white towers twisted up to the heavens with it. Nevano stared up at it with wide eyes. Vivec's palace was impressive but this temple, and he knew it had to be Almalexia's temple, made his golden palace look like a cheap lump of metal and stone.

"Can I help you, my child?"

Nevano nearly jumped out of his skin when a Dunmer women in blue robes seemed to appear from the shadows of the temple. "Sorry, I just...I'm looking for Fedris Hler."

"Oh, he is just inside the temple, child." She said kindly. "Go right on in."

Carefully Nevano pushed open the big ornate doors to the temple. In stark contrast to the bright airy nature of the exterior, the inside was dark and forbidding. Thick rugs and tapestries on the floor and walls muffled every sound. There was a certain feeling in the air, so thick Nevano felt it like a second skin. He couldn't quite tell what it was but it made him uncomfortable.

"Leave your weapons by the door."

For the second time in less than five minutes, Nevano found himself nearly leaping out of his skin. He spun around and found that he was being watched by a mer in a plain brown robe who was frowning at him disapprovingly. Nevano wasn't fooled for a moment by the plain dress. He could see glints of green armor hidden underneath the robe. This mer with the cold eyes, scarred face and tattered robe was dressed in glass armor. Not something most priests would wear. Slowly Nevano put his sword and Bonebiter by the door.

"The dagger hidden in your boot as well please." Definitely not a priest. "Thank you. Now, how may I help you?"

"I'm looking for Fedris Hler."

"I am Fedris Hler and you are...? Ahh yes...you're the one recently arrived in Mournhold from Vvardenfell. I was told of your arrival." The cold mer said. Again, Nevano had to wonder how the hell word traveled so fast. He was starting to get suspicious that he was being watched far more closely than he initially thought. It irritated him. He was going to have to be more careful. "I understand you have some problems with the Dark Brotherhood. An interesting group...and usually rather effective. I'm surprised you're still alive. Perhaps you have potential, or they sent incompetents. Either way I'm not sure you..." Before he could finish, an acolyte quietly stepped forward and whispered something in Hler's ear. "Pardon me one moment."

Nevano stared after Hler as he disappeared deeper into the temple, careful to keep his face devoid of emotion. He couldn't fully read the mer but he got the distinct feeling that the less he said, the better. He wasn't sure what about the temple was making him so uncomfortable but he wanted to press himself into a corner to protect his back while he waited. Maybe it was because this was the home of a god. Nevano didn't have much experience with gods. In fact, his whole life he had been blissfully ignorant of the gods, both aedra and daedra. If anything, he would have lived the rest of his life spurning the gods entirely. This past year he had gotten a rather rude introduction to gods and their follies though, technically, Almalexia wasn't even a god anymore. He had seen to that when he had destroyed the Heart of Lorkhan. She was mortal now. The oldest female mortal living on this plane of existence. Nevano nearly snorted out loud when he thought about that. She was nothing more than an old woman.

He was having a merry time musing up every unattractive feature she could have when Fedris Hler returned and wordlessly beckoned him to follow him into the inner sanctuary, where a light shone from underneath the door.

"Almalexia." Nerevar murmured before retreating again. Nevano felt a pang of pity for him. This couldn't be easy on his mental roommate. If he remembered his history right, she had once been Nerevar's wife. Then she became Vivec's consort. That was a level of cruelty Nevano wouldn't even wish on his worst enemy.

The doors swung open and what Nevano saw was decidedly not an ugly old woman, not in the slightest. He nearly choked on his own tongue when he took in the font of beauty before him.

She was nothing like the statue he had seen in the plaza. That statue diminished her loveliness to the point of making her look plain. The statue didn't show her flawless gold skin or the glossy red hair that flowed like a waterfall over her shoulders. Her clothes, if there was enough cloth to qualify them as clothing, left almost nothing to the imagination, allowing Nevano to take in every delicious curve and fine plane of her body. If there was ever a perfect female form, Almalexia was it. She was something that any hot-blooded male would fantasize about.

'So this was your queen?' Nevano thought, knowing Nerevar could hear him loud and clear. 'She is…'

Nevano never got to finish. Almalexia turned his gaze on him and froze him, both physically and mentally, in place. Her eyes, a hawkish gold much like his own, pierced him to his very soul, making him feel completely naked in front of her. His breath froze in his throat and he felt as if his heart would explode from the pressure of something squeezing the very life out of him.

It was gone in an instant, her eyes softening minutely as she smiled at him. The breath that had caught in his throat left in him in a huff, his heart pounding in alarm. In that instant Nevano's opinion of her changed. Deep in her eyes there was a spark of…something. He couldn't explain what it was but it sent warnings bells off in his head. She was no longer the avatar of feminine perfection; she wore the cloak of it, hiding something that Nevano wasn't wholly certain he wanted to see.

'Never mind.' He thought. Nerevar stubbornly stayed silent but this time Nevano could feel a bit of a dark smirk. Bastard.

"So you are the mer I've heard so much about: the one pursuing the Dark Brotherhood." Almalexia said. Her voice was vibrant and captivating but Nevano remembered that little spark in her eyes and he felt his hackles rise. "Fedris Hler tells me that your name is Nevano." She leaned forward and ran her fingertips over Nevano's face, down his forehead, over his eyes and nose and ghosting over his lips. Her touch left the feeling of fire in its wake. Nevano desperately wanted to claw at his face. "Perhaps I should call you by a different name? I could get your names mixed up; they are very similar. You are so very much like him actually…"

Nevano couldn't take it anymore and took a step back. The five High Ordinators he hadn't noticed before bristled, reaching for their weapons. Apparently he had violated some sort of rule of etiquette where he was supposed to take whatever treatment was given to him but he couldn't bring himself to bear it. He wanted away from her.

"No, my Hands." Almalexia swept her hand gently at them, stilling them as effectively as calling off a dog. "I can only imagine how much of a burden it is to be so much like him. It must be difficult to be compared to him and maintain your own identity." She gave him another gentle smile. Nerevar growled in the back of his mind. "I miss Nerevar, you know. I often wonder what could have been. But the past is the past. There is much to be done now to protect Morrowind. We will discuss this more in-depth later. Go take care of your Dark Brotherhood problem, for I have no doubt you will easily persevere seeing as how you already faced Dagoth Ur and emerged victorious. When you are finished, come back to me."

Come back to me. As she spoke those words, the spark once again showed itself in the back of her eyes, stronger this time, making his stomach clench. If he wasn't sure before, he was now; Almalexia was a wolf in sheep's clothing. As deadly as she was beautiful. He stepped back from her as the realization sunk in. Fortunately she was done with him, having already spoken her dismissal. The zealous guards didn't rise up as they did last time, allowing him to leave unhindered but their eyes followed his every step as he beat a hasty retreat.

Nevano didn't want to say that he was fleeing the temple, he was walking with his head still high after all, but if he had a tail he could just about guarantee that it would have been tucked firmly between his legs. However he had one question kicking around in his mind as he slunk away: what in oblivion had Nerevar seen in a woman like that beyond the obvious?

A slow grin stretched and pulled at skin that hadn't molded in that shape for months as Nerevar sent him a mental slap upside the head.

XxXxXx

4E 201, 22nd Hearthfire – Mournhold, Morrowind

"Hello Almalexia." Nevano said. "It's been a long, long time and I can't say I'm glad to see you again."

Nerevar's former queen was just as beautiful in death as she had been in life, more so, even, with all the blemishes of the living erased. However there was a familiar glimmer in her eyes, one that he wasn't the least bit surprised to see. He remembered that look vividly, for it had been inches from his face when he finally sunk Trueflame deep into Almalexia's chest and watched the light fade from her astonished face. He remembered laying her bloodied body down on the ground, in the shadow of Sotha Sil's desecrated corpse, before looking at her face, finally at peace and devoid of madness, and thinking how much of a waste it was for three powerful beings such as the Tribunal to be so consumed in their greed for power.

"It's funny." Almalexia said. "I am still uncertain by which name to call you."

"It doesn't matter." Nevano said firmly. "No more than it did back then."

"Why are you here?"

"Why am I here?" Nevano struggled, and failed, to keep the incredulity out of his voice. "Why am I...why are you here? You're dead! You have noticed you are dead, yes? It's a little hard to miss, at least I would think it would be. I've never been dead before so I couldn't say for certain but being mostly see-through should be a big first clue. Also, dead people do not come back and round up a small army of Ordinators to fawn over them so maybe you should explain what you are doing here first!"

"I am protecting them."

"Protecting them or hoarding them?" Nevano asked sardonically. "Even flea-infested mutts taken off city streets aren't made to grovel at their rescuer's feet like this. You've at least been feeding them right?"

"I could easily kill you now." Almalexia said, her eyes blazing up suddenly in a fit of madness that Nevano remembered all too well. The Ordinators in the room stood as one in response to her sudden change in mood, the hissing of steel echoing in the room as they drew their weapons. "It would be so easy to simply take your life, to make you mine once and for all. Then we could be together again, forever. We could rule this land once more, Nerevar."

"I remember when weapons weren't allowed in the temple." Nevano muttered, warily eyeing the forest of bristling weapons around him. "I would like to make that a rule we all follow again."

"Your humor does you credit." Almalexia said, her mad eyes shining brightly at the impending bloodbath. "But it will not save you this time, Nerevar."

Trueflame and Hopesfire burst into flame at his hips in response but Nevano didn't draw them. He didn't move at all. Actually, he couldn't move even if he wanted to. Something both icy cold and burning hot was sliding under his skin, along his bones. He knew instantly that it was Nerevar taking control of his body but this was very different from all the other times. Usually it felt as if something was alongside him, supporting his body. It was painless, even a relief if he was in real trouble, but not so this time. He wanted to scream as Nerevar's forcible take over felt like it was shredding his bones but the icy hot onslaught had reached his throat and paralyzed his voice. Finally Nerevar surged forward within his mind, claiming full control of their shared shell and all but throwing Nevano out of the way. Within the confines of his own mind, Nevano found himself recoiling from Nerevar's presence. Nerevar generally was rather mild-mannered, stoic, not quite the same way Veleth was, but rather with a quiet curiosity that had him checking in on Nevano's antics without judging on any indiscretions. Nevano had rarely felt him get angry before, but now a raw, red rage filled the space in his mind, suffocating him. Red Mountain's eruption couldn't match the fury that was now exploding within him.

"You keep invoking my name, Almalexia." Words in a language that Nevano had never uttered himself spilled from his lips. He recognized it instantly as the ancient Chimeri language though he couldn't say for sure how he knew that, or how he understood it. "Well, here I am."

Almalexia's eyes went wide. All the Ordinators hesitated as her concentration wavered. "Nerevar..." She whispered. "But..."

"Are you surprised?" Nerevar drew Trueflame, the flames burning red hot in tandem to Nerevar's fury. "Did you not believe Azura when she said I would be reborn? Did you not see me watching you through Nevano's eyes? Every step you made against him, every plot you hatched, I saw and heard it all. Three, no, almost four millennia now...has it been so long since we last talked face to face? Right before you killed me?"

"Nerevar, NO!" Nevano mustered up every bit of strength he had to push through the angry barrier. "She's not worth it!"

"Oh this is very worth it." Nerevar growled in Nevano's voice. "I waited millennia for a moment like this. I thought I could be patient and find her in the realm of the dead but now, seeing her...no. This is MY moment now."

"Not while you are in my body it's not!" Nevano shoved again at the barrier. "It's not worth it! Look at her! Look at what she's become! Do you want to end up like that? Clinging to a life that no longer exists in a rotting ruin holding innocent people hostage?"

Nerevar hesitated, the flames on Trueflame wavered a little. Nevano felt the iron hold Nerevar had on his mind lessen a bit and he took advantage of the opportunity, pushing at the other's presence and regaining control of his own body.

"Let it go, Nerevar." He murmured, finally using his own voice out loud. "It's not worth it anymore. You go down that path, you start a fight here, then you forfeit the life of every Ordinator here. You'll be no better than Almalexia, or Vivec or even Dagoth Ur. You aren't them."

Trueflame clattered to the ground, its flames extinguished. "You're right...I'm sorry." Nerevar said. Then he looked back up at Almalexia. "One day, after Nevano and I part ways, you and I will meet again. We will have much to discuss. Even more after I find Sotha Sil and Vivec. Do not count on a happy reunion between old friends. You forfeited that privilege...as well as any right to interact with the world of the living. If you do not release these Ordinators or if you refuse to leave, I will forsake my promise to Nevano and settle the matter personally."

Nevano said nothing as Nerevar finally gave up the last bit of control, sliding back into his normal spot in Nevano's head. He suspected that the only reason there wasn't more of a fight was because Nerevar had completely worn himself out. It was probably just as well. That was not something Nevano ever wanted to go through again.

"I don't envy you." Nevano said, looking back at Almalexia. "I've done a lot and seen a lot in my life and the only time I've ever felt him angry is when you or Vivec were involved. Whatever is waiting for you when I die...I don't think there's a realm in hell you can hide in from him. You better hope I live a long time."

"And what of you, plaything of gods and kings?" Almalexia asked. "What do you think of all this, if you are even allowed to think of it?"

Nevano froze halfway picking up Trueflame, his outstretched fingers shaking a little.

"I see you are at least aware that that is what you are." She said. "However, I see you continuing to follow the same path over and over. Are you content in your role? Will you continue to follow the directive of others the rest of your days? Will you continue to be their pawn?"

"Or will I become you, you mean." Nevano said quietly, his hand still suspended towards his sword. "Will I become so selfish as to claim power for myself that was never mine to begin with? Will I abandon my friends purely because some little job is beneath me? Is that what you mean?"

"You think yourself better than me." Almalexia's eyes burned again. "You would have done the exact same thing as we have given half a chance."

Nevano finally picked up Trueflame and brushed it off, small flickers of fire dancing in the wake of his touch along the blade. He thought back to all the times he could have run, could have abandoned the quests imposed on him, could have abandoned the world entirely and faded into obscurity while leaving the rest of the world to deal with things that, quite honestly, were not his problem. Yet, despite every opportunity to run, he had made it his problem. He hadn't run. He could have joined Dagoth Ur and killed him, taking godhood for himself (which, if he were completely honest with himself, the thought had crossed his mind) but he hadn't.

"You are thinking of a world were the options are to run, to be a pawn or to take advantage of a tempting power." Nevano sheathed Trueflame at his side. "Three options. Options that aren't all that great. I didn't like those options, so I chose option four." Almalexia stared at him. "I could have run, but I was too scared to run. I could have bowed down to what the emperor wanted, what Vivec wanted, what you wanted, what Azura wanted, but I had too much pride. I would have taken the power for myself and found a way to destroy all of you...but I was too stupid to really figure out just how the hell you did that. See, it took a scared, stupid, drunk orphan who has no problem stealing what he needs to survive to figure out what a god couldn't."

"And what was that?"

"That option four was to make my own way." Nevano met her eyes once more. "All of you made the mistake of thinking I was this spineless worm that would obey because I had to. All of you made the mistake thinking I was alone and scared and had no choice in life but to follow this path. No, it was because of my family and friends that I fought. It's why I fight now. No god or king commands me and, most importantly of all, no stolen powers."

"You fight a whole nation for a handful of people?"

"I'd fight the world for them." Nevano said. "Gods and kings be damned."

Almalexia watched him silently, studying him carefully. Then she raised her hands and, with a snap of her fingers, sent a wave of magical energy through the room that made Nevano wince. At first he was afraid that she had finally snapped and was just about to draw both swords when he noticed the Ordinator closest to him shudder and groan. As Nevano watched, the mer pulled his helmet off and rubbed at his forehead, a spark of life returning to his previously empty eyes. The rest of the Ordinators began to stir as well, murmurs of confusion echoing in the room.

"We were the symbols of love, wisdom, mercy and protection and I see now that we failed in the end." Almalexia said sadly, looking over the Ordinators as their eyes slowly cleared in awareness. "But you...you embodied those qualities better than we ever did. You are..."

"I am merely Nevano." He said. "I am nothing more than that." Almalexia said no more but continued to watch silently as Nevano directed the Ordinators out of the temple. As soon as their footsteps faded he turned back to the spirit of the golden goddess. "It's time Almalexia. If there is one promise to Nerevar you will keep, make it this one."

"If not for Nerevar, I will for you. Nerevar might have shown me mercy, for now, but it was only because of you." Almalexia said. "Before I go, I have a parting gift for you. It is not a trinket or weapon or anything like that but it is just as important and may be the thing that keeps you alive if you insist on continuing this mission to save the city and the Ordinators."

Nevano raised an eyebrow, silently encouraging her to continue.

"The self-proclaimed Autarch of the Ordinators did not do anything to his men. He is just as much a puppet as they are. Those weak little scrolls you carry won't free these men from the grasp on their mind, not completely." Almalexia said. "You've freed them for now but eventually the darkness will return and reclaim them. You need to destroy the evil that lives in the heart of the palace. Then the Ordinators will be freed forever and the dead will stay in their eternal rest."

"I guessed as much…though not about the Autarch." Nevano admitted. "But what is it? What is in the palace?"

Almalexia looked him right in the eyes and Nevano saw a look he had never before seen in the beautiful goddess' eyes: pity. That, more than anything else she had ever said or done before, filled him with a dread that made his stomach drop like a stone. Her next words only confirmed his worst fears.

"Why, it's the spirit of King Hlaalu Helseth."

XxXxXx

Goblins were interesting creatures. They lived all across the provinces of Tamriel and they varied greatly in each place. The ones that lived in the Summerset Isles were gray, lifeless, spindly things, bred into near uselessness through generations of captivity. In Cyrodiil they grew to the size of a human with all the aggression of a wild boar and the intelligence of a scrib. The ones found in Morrowind were a clear reflection of the savage land itself; some grew to be massive, hunched over like a troll as they ran through tunnels and caves as fast as rats with their smaller brethren. They were smart enough to make their own crude armor and weapons but, fortunately for the Dunmer, they stopped short of being smart enough to form a society higher than squabbling packs fighting over small tracts of territory. They were pests. Dangerous pests, but still pests. The smaller bands were often used as tests for young fighters testing their growing skills. Larger bands posed a bit of a problem though. Like now.

Goblins burst out of the sewer like a flood, swarming out with far more efficiency than the Dunmer soldiers had earlier, their shrieks and garbled war cries making every sensitive mer ear twitch. None of them backed down though. A goblin pack this large was intimidating but the soldiers had been fighting undead Ordinators for weeks now. Goblins were a welcome change of pace and were easy targets for the waiting archers.

Veleth watched the storm of arrows slice through the air and stop the first row of goblins in heir tracks. It didn't slow the onslaught at all as the creatures behind the first simply shoved their dead brethren aside and continued their charge undeterred. Another barrage took out a few more but the goblins refused to slow. Veleth tightened his grip on his weapon. His heart was pounding with excitement, straining against his ribcage with the anticipation of the fight. He barked out the order to prepare to engage but he barely heard his own voice over the blood pounding in his ears.

With a garbled shriek, the first goblin reached the point he had mentally designated the starting line. At his order, they all rushed in to meet the gobbling horde with battle cries that drowned out the horrible shrieking. The goblins, used to decades of easy prey, hesitated. Sure some prey fought back but this was a level of ferocity the spoiled tribe wasn't used to. As such, the entire front line crumpled under the furious weight of the charging Redoran. War cries turned into terrified squeals, then to garbled moans as they were cut down. Many of the smaller goblins were already starting to hesitate and edge back towards the sewer. This was more than they had bargained for.

At this point Veleth could have just driven them back into their holes. They were certainly surprised enough to be cowed into it. He could have gotten a mage to seal them into that portion of the sewers. He could have targeted the more aggressive larger ones and demoralized the smaller goblins into abandoning the den entirely. He could have come up with any number of solutions to end the conflict quickly and without expending so much energy. He chose the other option instead.

His weapon sunk deep into goblin flesh, blood spraying everywhere. The goblin shrieked in agony as his entire left arm was nearly severed at the shoulder. With a twisting jerk, Veleth freed his axe and put the squealing creature out of its misery with another strike to the same spot, driving deep into the chest, shattering the breast bone and puncturing the heart and lungs.

Another goblin tried to leap onto his back but, Nevano's taunt still ringing in his head, he refused to be flanked ever again. His axe still buried deep in the other goblin, Veleth kicked out, making his would-be assailant squawk in shock as it flipped through the air back the way it came. He wrenched his weapon free, the blade coming away with a sickening slurp. Three more goblins lunged at him in a perfect row but a powerful sweep had all three falling back bleeding from deep cuts. He gave them no time to recover; he followed them down and left two of them a bloody mangled mess. The third scrambled away as far away from the enraged mer as it could. It wasn't mortally wounded, but it was crippled. That goblin had lost the will to fight, indeed had lost the ability to fight. Veleth didn't pay any more attention to it. It would crawl off to a corner of the battlefield and be one of the ones they finished off after the fighting was over.

The rest of the goblin tribe were starting to back down. This entire encounter had rapidly gone from a fight to a goblin slaughter. The streets were slippery with goblin blood and goblin bodies decorated the district. Not a single mer body was among the carnage. It was simply too much to take anymore. With eat-piercing shrieks, they turned and ran back to the safety of the sewers.

"Cut down as many as you can before they get back to their holes!" Veleth ordered, casually lopping the head off of a small goblin as it ran by. "I don't want this countryside to suffer a goblin infestation after all we do here."

"You don't mess around with your foes do you?" Nerus asked, a mixture of awe and apprehension in his voice, slicing the throat of a goblin as it tried to crawl away.

"Leaving things behind unfinished tends to give it the opportunity to bite you in the ass later." Veleth said grimly. "Not letting that happen." Not again. Not ever if he could help it.

"Now what?"

"Now we keep watch, just as we were doing before." Veleth said. "We keep this district clear and when we get word that Nevano and the Churl have cleared the temple and Godsreach, we drop the barrier and begin our assault on Brindisi Dorum. We don't deviate from the plan."

"I've been meaning to ask you this but...what if we encounter Andas?" Nerus asked.

"We have enough capable fighters. We can hold him off until we can free him along with all the others." Between himself, Nevusa and Nevano, Veleth knew they could easily hold off the autarch, especially if Nevano was in a feisty mood. Nerus apparently picked up on his train of thought but, as Veleth had come to expect from him, he had it all backwards.

"The other two runts with you? Not so likely." He shrugged. "I know he's the Nerevarine and all that but I thought he'd be bigger."

Veleth thought his jaw would crack as he clenched his teeth. He swiftly reached past the Nerus' armor and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt that was just peeking out. The shorter mer yelped as he was lifted up and slammed into a wall.

"Those 'runts', as you call them, would beat your miserable ass to the ground just for thinking that." Veleth growled, giving the terrified Ordinator a shake to punctuate each syllable. "As it is, you get to deal with me. I will NOT tolerate any more of your nonsense. Nevano isn't here to stop me so the next time I hear something stupid come out of your mouth, I will knock your damn teeth out. Do I make myself clear?"

At the frantic nodded, Veleth dropped Nerus and watched as he slid down the wall and fell flat on his ass before turning away. As he did so, he found himself faced with an audience of awed Redoran and stunned Ordinators.

"Anyone else have disparaging remarks to say about the mer who are risking their lives to save your hides?" Veleth growled, looking over the pack of Ordinators. They quickly shook their heads. The Redoran soldiers grinned wider. "Damn right you don't."

The little blood-thirsty monster in the back of his mind roared its approval.

XxXxXx

Nevano slowly made his way through Godsreach, the pack of Ordinators following silently behind him. He didn't blame them for not wanting to talk. He could barely imagine just what was going through their minds, muddled though they were. They readily followed him though, something he greatly appreciated. If they had balked or started demanding answers he probably would have just left them in the middle of the district.

Godsreach was quiet, their footsteps echoing down the street, telling him that Nevusa had completed her mission. The more residential district seemed to better shape than the others; it's buildings were more or less intact, though some roofs were caved on a few of the manors. Still it kept the memory of its grandeur alive. Nevano smiled wistfully when he saw the Craftsman Hall. He still remembered the day he had been handed his glass and leather armor that still protected his sorry arse.

He turned his attention away from the echoes of memories as best he could and looked towards the group of mer at the other end of the street. He had to focus on the task at hand. This next, and final, phase to this plan was by far the most dangerous. His tongue wouldn't get him out of trouble this time.

The expressionless leather mask turned to him as he directed his group of Ordinators to the others. "We've already sent a messenger along, I didn't know how long you would be." She said. "How was your…party?"

"I've been to better ones." Nevano said. "Worst host ever. Never even offered drinks. I did bring back a bunch of Ordinators though. Some are so disoriented they're running into walls so they're pretty much useless at this point. I can't tell you if it's been a success or not..."

Nevano ignored the pointed look he could feel through the mask and looked up at the massive gates leading to Brindisi Dorum with more than a little trepidation. What was about to ensue would be nothing short of chaos. Three gates would burst open on hundreds of furious Ordinators. It wouldn't even be a battle. It was a round up. A bloody, violent round up. Though, Nevano's thoughts darkened, if Almalexia's words were true, these soldiers were risking their lives for a handful of borrowed time. There needed to be a permanent solution and he needed to come up with it fast.

"Nervous?"

He looked over at the Churl. Her mask fully hid her expression but he could easily envision his daughter's bright, curious gaze. A surge of affection went through him as he thought on that. His daughter. He was getting very used to thinking that.

"Not of this, no." He answered. Then, prompted by her silent plea, expanded on his statement. "I'm not nervous about this fight or for myself. I'm more concerned how to fix all this permanently. But that's for later."

"Not for yourself?" she asked. "You aren't afraid of getting killed?"

Not in the slightest. However he wasn't going to tell her that so callously. How could he tell her that, faced with an endlessly long life as he was, there were times that he would have welcomed death? How could he explained that the mere thought of outliving all his friends, watching them die one by one, was so painful that he wanted to run himself through with Trueflame? Fortunately, mercifully, as he mulled over a suitable response, the barrier flickered. He nearly sighed out loud in relief but it was tempered by the realization she would ask again. Hopefully by then he would have a fitting lie she would accept.

"This is it men!" She called out. "Remember, do your best not to kill any of them in there but I don't want you to think that this is a suicide mission. As soon as we can, we will unleash the scroll and all of Mournhold shall belong to us once more!"

Nevano stayed silent as a roar went up from the Redoran soldiers, punctuated here and there by a supporting cry from a few Ordinators who were in better shape than the others. They had refused to remain behind. It was still their city, they had argued, and they would still fight for it with their dying breath. Nevano idly wondered if they knew who had enslaved their minds but if they did, they were staying amazingly quiet over it.

The barrier unceremoniously dropped, so suddenly that most of them had to look twice to make sure it was actually gone. Two soldiers jumped up and pulled back the bars on the massive gates.

"This is it!" The Churl called out, pulling her weapons free. "Let's show these Ordinators how it's done!"

The gates burst open and Nevano found himself running, swept up in the sudden frenzied stampede. The plaza was packed with Ordinators, twice as many as he originally thought. Either Nerus couldn't count or he simply couldn't imagine the number he was told. Either way, he was quickly rethinking his original plan.

A polearm swept through the air at his head. Without even thinking about it, Nevano dropped to his knees, his momentum sliding him along the ground under the blow. Trueflame whipped around, the blunt curved back of the blade hooking behind a knee and yanking an Ordinator flat on his back. Nevano pushed off the ground, regained his footing and continued his run. He wasn't quite sure what his plan was but he knew he couldn't stand still in this mass of heavy armor and weapons. He just had to keep from getting killed until the scroll was used. Though maybe...

A quick glance over his shoulder revealed that he had a small group of Ordinators chasing him, with more joining as he went along. Nevano grinned. If he could enrage enough Ordinators to make them follow him, to keep their attention on him and not on the soldiers, he could keep them busy, and alive, until the spell was broken. All he had to do was not not trip over anything.

He grabbed the shoulder guard of an Ordinator worrying a bleeding Redoran soldier and used him as leverage to take a sharp left turn, toppling the possessed mer and causing a massive pileup as all the other Ordinators tripped as well. Nevano laughed wildly, partly from the adrenalin and partly to keep from losing his nerve completely in the madness. All around him weapons clashed, armor groaned and bodies heaved in a dizzying dance that made his head spin. He had been in plenty of fights but this was a battle he was not prepared for. It was both overwhelming and exhilarating.

He continued running, ducking under weapons and knocking Ordinators over whenever he could. A few times he pulled soldiers out of the way of what would have been mortal strikes. He thought he caught a glimpse of Veleth but he was going too fast to get a better look. Besides he had far more pressing matters to concentrate on; his muscles were starting to ache and his lungs were starting to burn. What was taking Garil so long to use the damned scroll? Was he taking a stroll around the plaza before getting to the middle? He would have growled but that required air and he was too busy greedily gulping in air as fast as he could to his burning lungs to spare any on a fruitless gesture. He couldn't keep up this pace for much longer.

Just as he was starting to think about altering his plans again, a now-familiar blue glow began to cast itself through the plaza, magic tingling over his skin when it washed past him. He grinned. In a few moments it would all be over and then they could...

Nevano never got to finish his thought. A spear seemed to materialize out of nowhere and collided painfully with his knees. He could have sworn he heard a crack or maybe it was his imagination. It certainly hurt enough he would have believed something rather important had cracked. Or maybe it was just the sound of his bones hitting a hard wooden spear haft. Either way he flipped head over heels and landed hard on his back, knocking what little air was in his lungs clean out. Stars danced in front of his eyes and darkness teased the edges of his vision as he desperately tried to suck in air to re-inflate his screaming lungs. "Damn..." he groaned.

He didn't get a chance to recover. Something flashed in the bland light. He knew that flash. He used every bit of strength left in him to rolled out of the way just as an axe slammed into the ground with enough force to shatter the cobblestone. He tried to push himself to his feet so he could get away from his attackers but an armored boot rammed into his ribs, flipping him back to the ground. He looked up, gasping ad groaning, to find every Ordinator that had been chasing him staring down at him.

"You bastards really don't like it when you have to chase your prey, do you?" He coughed. "I mean, this isn't the first time you've chased me and you were just as angry then." One raised his axe. "By the way, you lot are horrible at catching runners. You were horrible then and you still are. You couldn't catch an obese nix hound on a hot day even if you offered it a sweet roll." The axe began its descent. Nevano sucked in a quick, painful breath. "Shit!"

The weapon stopped just short of splitting Nevano's skull. It was so close that even when he crossed his eyes, Nevano couldn't fully see the blade. He let out a massive sigh of relief. "I really need to stop ending battles this way..." He muttered.

The Ordinator above him, blue magical energy still swirling around him, blinked and pulled his weapon back. "I...who are...did you just say something about an obese nix hound?"

"Mournhold is ours!" Garil announced, his gruff voice carrying to every corner of the plaza. The Redoran cheered and the Ordinators got to their feet. Nevano did not join them. He peeled himself off the ground, grunting as his bruised body protested, and pushed past soldiers and temple guards, grunting in annoyance at their reluctance to move. They were too busy celebrating to notice the small storm cloud moving amongst them. Nevano ground his teeth but he couldn't bring himself to think bad of them. They thought they were through with this entire adventure. They had no idea that this was merely the beginning.

He managed to find Veleth in the throng and grabbed him by the armor, wordlessly dragging him along as he searched for Nevusa. Veleth, recognizing the strange mood Nevano found himself in, didn't ask. He simply pulled himself free and followed. Nevano noticed that he too refrained from celebrating with the rest. So, the famous Veleth gut was also suspicious. Good. It should be. He found Nevusa standing a bit apart from the others. Fortunately she saw them before they had to push through the crowd and trotted over.

"I can't believe we managed to pull that off." She said. "Especially with so few casualties. Unfortunately we lost a few dozen Ordinators but we only lost a handful of Redoran."

"Good." Nevano said distractedly. "C'mon. We need to talk to Garil."

"Nevano?"

"Did you notice someone was missing in that fight?" He asked.

"Missing?" Veleth frowned. "No, I...Andas."

"You're right." Nevusa said. "We would have heard that ruckus if he was in a different part of the plaza. We would have lost many more men. But what...?"

Nevano gestured them into silence and weaved his way back through Redoran soldiers and half dazed Ordinators to where Garil was already issuing orders at rapid speed.

"We have a problem." Nevano said brusquely, effectively catching the general's attention.

"Another?"

"We are nowhere near done. I know what's in the palace." Nevano blurted out. Instantly Nevusa and Veleth leaned in closer while Garil's expression did not change. "I know you noticed Andas was missing and I know it looks rather bad for him but I now know that Andas did nothing. He's just as possessed as everyone else. If we combine all the other accounts, he was the first one possessed and everything fell apart from there."

"But what possessed him?" Veleth asked impatiently. "If it wasn't him, then what else is out there?"

"King Helseth."

"He's dead." Nevusa said bluntly.

"So was Almalexia but I still saw her in the temple. Actually, it was she who told me that it was Helseth." Nevano looked up to three expressions of varying degrees of disbelief. "I'll go further into that in a moment but I don't think she was lying. She hated Helseth. She saw him as an upstart brat and he saw her as a useless relic. Neither of them were wrong…however, Helseth made a hobby of making jabs at her without outright attacking her. Drove her mad...well, worse than she was already. Her giving up that information so that we can go and do the dirty work of disrupting Helseth's plans is more for her revenge than our benefit."

"Hold it, how did you get this information again?" Veleth asked. "Did I hear you just say Almalexia?"

"Almalexia was in her temple, holding the Ordinators in the temple under her will." Nevano sighed. "Almalexia didn't want to let go of her followers. She loved being a god and having people worship her. Wasn't a pleasant chat but long story short she released the Ordinators, told me about Helseth and told me that Andas was Helseth's puppet. She's gone now, so you don't have to worry about that"

"Makes sense, actually." Garil said. "I hate to say it but so far that's the only explanation that has made sense this whole time. As I've pointed out before, Andas never had the skill for something like this."

"Not to mention the temperament, ambition and the host of other things that made Helseth…Helseth." Nevano said. "Helseth killed a lot of people to not only get the kingship of Morrowind but to hold it as well." He glanced at Nevusa and Veleth. "You two hadn't been born yet when Helseth was in power. That was one mer who I would consider far more dangerous than Dagoth Ur. Wherever Helseth went, there was a trail of bodies in his wake. Nothing was going to stand in his way for…whatever his ultimate goal was. What that was, I have no idea. The Argonians invaded and killed him before any of that came to pass. Probably for the best, to be honest."

"Which made his soul angry beyond all reason so he clung to the palace." Nevusa finished. "Which caused him to warp into some evil being that is slowly poisoning the world around him."

"I would argue more twisted than usual." Nevano shrugged. "But, yes, you are correct."

"So…how do we stop him?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." Nevano slumped back on a piece of rubble. "That is a shade that has been sitting and brooding and growing angrier and more powerful in the past two hundred years. It'll be worse than killing those undead Ordinator zombies because I rather doubt Helseth has an actual body. Being see-through like that complicates matters. I'd rather deal with the undead. Hell, I'd rather kill a god run mad again. They at least bleed."

"Why the Ordinators though?" Veleth asked. "The Ordinators are temple guards and, going by everything you just said, there was no love lost between them. Why would Helseth enslave their minds?"

"What better form of revenge than taking over your rival's guard?" Nevano shrugged. "That and Helseth isn't one to let a golden opportunity slip by. There were highly trained walking weapons so conveniently around so he made them his own."

"So what is our next move?"

"We won't do anything today." Garil said sternly. "Those Ordinators you freed need rest in the worst way and so do our soldiers. Tonight, we rest and in the morning, we plan. I got to think over this. I'll be the first to admit that undead are far out of my area of expertise. Churl, if we have to ask that witch of yours for help again, so be it. A shade isn't something we can just go in on with a wing and prayer." He looked directly at Nevano as he said that.

"You say that as if you believe Jorun's stories about me."

"That is precisely why I said it." Garil said dryly. "I never believed a mer could be as stupid and reckless in his planning as you yet somehow be right most of the time. However I'm not taking the risk this time. Now go on. I got twice the army to keep in line here."

Nevano let it go. He had no other choice. He had to, begrudgingly, admit that Garil had a point; he had to think on this. He couldn't go running in recklessly and hope to win on pure luck alone this time. He wasn't going to admit that though.

XxXxXx

Nevano found himself unable to sleep that night. He lay back, using his pack as a pillow, staring up at the black, starless canvas of sky above him, listening to the deep rhythmic breathing of Veleth somewhere off to his left. Nevano had to admit he was rather surprised the usually restless mer had fallen asleep so fast. Kid was an insomniac of the worst kind. Still, he was glad for it, especially since he had to guess Veleth's weight when he slipped the rather powerful sleeping potion into his drink earlier.

He turned his attention back on the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of a star from between the clouds but the thick haze refused to let even a twinkle peek out to the world below. He frowned, his thoughts as fidgety as the angry clouds above. Like the clouds, they swirled around the palace in the center of the ruined city.

Helseth. It had to be Helseth. Nevano scrubbed his hands over his face. He would have happily accepted that Almalexia had been their perpetrator this whole time. Almalexia he knew how to deal with. She might have been a god with a thousand secrets but in the end she had merely been a mortal dabbling in powers that had never been hers to dabble in and had been driven mad in the end. She ended up very cut and dry. Helseth was seemingly cut and dry initially, a spoiled royal brat playing king, but in reality there was a thousand secrets hidden behind his shrewd eyes. Almalexia had the capacity to feel bad about those secrets; Helseth did not. It made him extraordinarily dangerous and a pain in the arse to deal with.

Nevano rolled over and tried to convince his body to sleep but he could barely keep his eyes closed for longer than a few seconds. He looked over and could see the outline of Nevusa curled up in a ball lying beyond Veleth. She had laughed uproariously when Veleth had slumped over, almost instantly snoring and drooling, and kept on giggling as she held up a small pouch, wordlessly showing him her intention of drugging the stubborn mer as well if Nevano hadn't. If there had been any doubts that she was his daughter, they had disappeared in that moment.

Nevano sat up abruptly. Neither Nevusa nor Veleth had ever met Helseth. They hadn't even been born when the fetcher had died for oblivion's sake. Helseth's exploits were merely stories that were printed in books, some so outrageous that they almost didn't seem real. Nevano knew otherwise though. He had faced a calm, cool and collected young king who readily admitted to sending Dark Brotherhood assassins after him and had somehow come out of that meeting alive. Even then he highly suspected that it was more because he was more amusing to Helseth alive than dead. These kids with him, Nevusa so bright and curious and Veleth so stubborn and blunt, had never before met with anything like Helseth. Veleth already had a hard enough time dealing with blatant political tactics. The thought of these kids facing the shade of Helseth...if it still possessed even a fraction of the devious cruelty that he possessed in life then there was no way they would be able to withstand him.

A shiver ran down Nevano's spine. No. He couldn't let that happen.

Carefully he got up. He wouldn't need his pack for this. Just Bonebiter, Trueflame, Hopesfire and all the luck he could possibly muster. No scroll was going to save him this time. Speaking of scrolls...he pulled out the final scroll and set it on Veleth's pack for him to find. Hopefully they wouldn't need it but just in case the Ordinators started to lose their grip on sanity again, they could use it buy more time. As he straightened up, he saw something very familiar on the ground where it had obviously fallen from Veleth's pack. Nevano smirked and put it on the scroll. He was going to get an earful from Veleth when he got back, especially if he ever realized Nevano had drugged, he might as well have something to laugh about later.

"Sorry, you two." Nevano murmured, securing Bonebiter to his back. "This one I'm doing alone. I'll beg for forgiveness later. Maybe."

Careful to not make a sound, Nevano slipped off into the night towards the palace.

XxXxXx

It wasn't the hidden dawn sun lightening the sky or the sounds of the few brave morning creatures that still lingered in the area starting their morning chorus. It wasn't the rock that had worked its way under his armor and was trying to become a permanent attachment to his spine. Nor was it even the grumblings of a few dozen soldiers chosen for night watch. No, what woke Veleth up was a small voice in his head, spoken so clearly that even in the fog of sleep he might as well have been wide awake to hear it.

"It's always when you sleep the soundest."

Veleth jolted awake and found himself standing before his brain had even registered the movement. For a long moment he stood there, his mind slowly waking up. He felt sluggish and he couldn't quite explain why. He didn't even remember falling asleep. He looked around and everything seemed normal. Most soldiers were just starting to wake up, no one seemed alarmed or upset. What had woken him up so abruptly? He turned to nudge Nevano awake only to find his spot empty. He glanced around for Trueflame and Hopesfire but they were missing along with the golden-eyed mer. While there were several plausible explanations for Nevano's absence, Veleth's gut told him otherwise.

"Son of a gutter whore..." he cursed.

"Good morning to you too, bastard son of a guar." Nevusa groused as she sat up.

"Not you." Veleth snapped, a bit harsher than he intended. "Nevano took off."

"What?!" That woke her up. "Are you sure?"

Veleth sighed as he caught sight of the scroll with clear evidence of Nevano's departure. "Besides missing weapons?" He held up the fork, the same fork Nevano had given him before they left Adrusa and he had, for some reason, carried with him through the sewers. "He left the scroll and this. Gods dammit Nevano..."

"Mother was right." The Churl said, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. "He does do stupid things."

"My father used to tell me he would always leave at midnight." Veleth growled. "Stupid fetcher…"

"As you said before, insane and brash." She sighed. "But also, bold, loyal and will do anything to protect those he cares about. However, you failed to mention that he ties all of those together at once into a maddening knot that makes it so that I want to hit him over the head with something heavy. Like a pot. Can I hit him over the head with a pot?"

"So that you can give him a legitimate excuse to act even crazier?" Veleth groused. "No. I'm tying a bell around his neck when he gets back. One he can't squirm out of."

"There's the one in the plaza that fell from the palace tower that looks like it'll take ten men to lift."

"That one. That's perfect."

"Consider it done."

XxXxXx

A/N: So far it has been quite the summer! Far busier than I thought it would be. My apologies on the outrageous delay. I promised a big chapter and boy did this one live up to it. Thank you again for your patience. Big shout out to AEsob, VikingbardofRagnarok, Lizzard and Reiko x 3 for our fun conversations, idea bouncing and listening to me whine. Y'all are awesome!