Chapter 37

One Step Closer

XxXxXx

4E 82, 26th Last Seed – Blacklight, Morrowind

Nevano made his way through Blacklight, carefully doing his best to remain unnoticed, as was his habit over the past few decades. Granted, the world seemed to have forgotten who he was in the past eighty years, but he wasn't about to give them the chance to remember. Thank the gods for extremely short memories.

Blacklight wasn't high on his list of favorite cities to visit – he despised the confusing layout – but this was the city Jorun and Drelasa had relocated to. Nevano had been the one to convince them to leave Vvardenfell, a horrible, fear-driven feeling in the pit of his stomach had prompted him to beg them to leave the island. Jorun, never one to ignore feelings like that, had unquestioningly uprooted everything he had and had taken his wife to the mainland, finding a job within the city watch and settling down. Not three months later, Baar Dau had crashed into Vivec, triggering Red Mountain's massive eruption and the overall destruction of Vvardenfell. Now, simply because Blacklight contained two of his favorite people, it became a regular destination. He would learn to love it purely because of them.

This visit was different. He was moving faster, risking detection in ways he normally wouldn't take, choosing speed over discretion. Every step closer towards the Veleth household caused his heart to pound in excitement, his head buzzing with an energetic energy that he couldn't quell. Not that he wanted to. He had been looking forward to this particular visit for months now, marking the time with impatience and cursing the slow flow of time. Never before had he looked to the future with excitement.

In his pack was a much-creased letter, dated back in Sun's Dawn. Jorun's normally neat handwriting was scrawled untidily across the parchment. It was incredibly short, which most of Jorun's letters usually were since he knew Nevano got frustrated quickly with lengthy reads. This was shorter than most though, containing a single sentence: "Come at the end of Last Seed". The quick, excited writing, combined with the demand of a visit several months away? There was only one reason for it, a reason that made Nevano cover the distance to Blacklight in record time.

The Veleth family was about to grow.

Children were a fickle thing for Dunmer. They were not the most fertile of races, many families considering themselves fortunate to even have a single child. Those with more than one were admired...and heavily envied. Many pregnancies often ended in tragedy, creating a widely followed superstition of never actually announcing an expected child. When a healthy child was born, the families involved became zealously protective of the child. It was not uncommon for a whole town to come together to protect a single child, for often there was only one child among them. It also wasn't all that uncommon for an infant to be kidnapped by another mer desperate for a child. Essentially, it was every bit as complicated and dangerous as everything else within Dunmeri culture.

Jorun and Drelasa had been trying for decades for a child. Nevano only knew because of his many late night conversations with Drelasa while they waited for Jorun to be allowed to come home for a few days from his Buoyant Armiger duties. Jorun himself had never said anything but Nevano could see that each year that passed that they didn't have a child weighed heavily on him. So the cryptic news that hinted at a child was especially exciting.

Nevano had counted, re-counted, gotten someone else to count as well to make absolutely sure he would be there around the time Drelasa would give birth. He was nearly bouncing with excitement. The only thing that kept him from running was slight trepidation. Even now, at the end, things could go horrible wrong. He couldn't bear to think of anything bad happening. If any couple deserved this one thing going right, it was his two steadfast friends.

He didn't bother knocking when he finally reached his friends' house. He simply slipped inside. It was an unspoken agreement that Nevano would come and go as he pleased so long as he didn't do it only when he was bloody and at death's door. Drelasa hated seeing him in that condition. He wasn't worried about there being extra visitors. Jorun was an only child from a family with a history of only children and his parents were long since dead. Drelasa, as Jorun loved to brag, had left a rather large and wealthy merchant family to marry him. The rest of the clan hadn't been nearly as charmed by his silver tongue as Drelasa had been. Their wedding, as Drelasa had dead-panned while taking a healthy swing of Nevano's sujamma, had been an interesting affair. Nevano had been very sorry he hadn't been there.

"So, you did make it." Drelasa put aside the book she had been reading, a smile lighting up her face. Pregnancy suited her, Nevano noted. She was gorgeous to begin with – Nevano always teased Jorun that he had married a girl that was far above him – but she glowed with a happiness that would put a goddess to shame.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." Nevano smiled in return but checked in alarm as she struggled to push herself up from her seat. "Ah, don't get up."

"I need to." Drelasa grunted as she stood upright and stretched, pressing her hands against the small of her back. "I can't hold one position for too long."

Nevano's eyes went wide as he took in her enormous belly. "Are you sure there's just one kid in there?"

"Just one. Hopefully. Sure does kick enough for three though." Drelasa grimaced a little. "While I often complain about your absence, I have to admit you have amazing timing."

Nevano felt the blood drain from his face. "Is...are you…?"

"Oh, calm down. There's still plenty of time but, yes, the baby is on the way." Drelasa frowned at him, her face going from sunshine to thunder in a heartbeat. "Now don't start fluttering. I kicked Jorun out earlier for doing just that earlier. In fact, before you start annoying me, why don't you go find him?"

Before Nevano could protest, the heavily pregnant woman had shoved him out the door and closed it in his face. The click of the lock sliding into place mirrored the click of his mouth snapping shut. He wasn't about to argue with a pregnant woman. Especially if that pregnant woman was currently concentrating on a baby's arrival. Double that if that laboring pregnant woman was Drelasa Veleth. He didn't want to know how bad the burn from her impressive magic skills would be if he dared cross her in this state.

Finding Jorun turned out to be far easier than he initially thought. A few passing guards watched him get shoved out the door and silently pointed down the street. Nevano smirked a bit. Patrols didn't normally run down this street this time of day. It seemed that even in a city as large as Blacklight, the prospect of a new baby was something everyone took note of.

After a few pointers from guards that Nevano never remembered being posted before, he found himself outside the walls to the northwest of the city, in the foothills of the Velothi mountains headed towards Skyrim. He should have known all along Jorun would be out here. Jorun has been very happy working with the Buoyant Armigers because he didn't have to work solely in a city like he had when he was an Ordinator. Nevano had been a bit surprised when he had gone into city guard work, but strongly suspected that Jorun was planning something. He just wasn't sure what yet.

It wasn't difficult to find Jorun after that, which surprised Nevano greatly. Normally Jorun was difficult to track and even more difficult to actually pinpoint but not today.

The usually calm and collected mer was pacing an erratic path, chewing a thumbnail bloody on one hand and snapping his fingers on the other. He didn't even notice Nevano walking up.

"Never thought I'd see the day you'd get all shook up." Nevano couldn't help but smirk at the pleasure of seeing Jorun jump in surprise. "Bonus prize; I finally managed to sneak up on you. Sadly, I can't take too much satisfaction. Big day today."

"I'm not ready for this." Jorun said bluntly.

Nevano raised an eyebrow.

"Don't even start with 'I've had months to get ready for this' shit." Jorun started pacing again. "It feels like it was yesterday that Drelasa even suspected she might be pregnant and all of the sudden...we're here."

"You've been hoping for this moment for years. Decades, even." Nevano said carefully. "I can see why you would feel this way because it seemed like it wouldn't ever come."

"I don't have the slightest clue what to do." Jorun went on. "For Drelasa or for the baby."

"When it comes to 'Lasa, you need to let her tell you what to do." Nevano snorted as he remembered how quick she was to go from happy to irritated. "She will have that covered better than you. Same holds true for the kid. You'll be a great father, Jorun. Of that I have no doubt. You're scared right now but it'll be fine."

"Can...I ask a favor from you? It's a big one."

"Absolutely." Nevano said without hesitation.

"If something were to ever happen to me and 'Lasa, would you look after my child?" Jorun shrugged one shoulder uncomfortably. "I really hate to put that sort of burden on you but there's really no one else..."

"I would have done that even if you hadn't asked." Nevano said easily. It really wasn't even a question of if he would do it. "No matter how far away I am, no matter what I'm doing, if I ever hear that something has happened, I'm coming straight here."

Jorun's shoulders finally dropped as he sighed a breath of relief, probably the first one he allowed himself since learning he would be a father.

"You know, the fact that you are worried about all this shows that you'll be a great father." Nevano grinned. "You care. This kid has no idea how lucky it is."

"He."

"Thinking it's a boy?"

"I got hit in the head with something when I first said that." Jorun rubbed the back of his head with a small smile. "Drelasa didn't want to know but, yes, I really think it's a boy."

Pleased that Jorun was finally calming down and acting more like himself, Nevano warmed to the topic. "Got girl names picked out in case your wife has somehow gotten a girl just to throw you off?"

"Not sure that's possible but I don't even have a boy name picked." Jorun snorted. "I have a few ideas but...I want to see him first. See which name will fit him best. I have a sinking feeling he will have his mother's temper though. We might be in trouble."

"Oh gods..." Nevano blanched a bit.

Finally Jorun laughed. "We've survived 'Lasa. We'll survive this little one too."

That was the cue Nevano had been waiting for. "Well, we're never going to find out by sitting out here."

The change in Jorun was immediate and impressive. Once nervous and unsure, he was suddenly brimming with excitement and near bouncing to leave. Nevano was used to having to catch up to Jorun in various ways but rarely had he had to run like this to keep up. He hadn't run this fast since he had fled down a mountain after upsetting a cliffracer nest. Instead of fear though, there was nothing but excitement and happiness. Finally things were going right.

That feeling only grew stronger when, several hours later, a very proud and giddy Jorun happily showed off his brand new son.

XxXxXx

4E 201, 4th Frostfall – Blacklight, Morrowind

Consciousness slowly returned to him. Voices reached through the dense fog in his mind, soft, yet urgent. He couldn't make them out at first but he could recognize them. Drelasa, her sweet voice stern, and the two deeper voices of her husband and son. Hot air was puffing against his left arm from he hoped was the dog. He tried to react, tried to move, to say something, but only managed a small grunt so soft he feared it would go unnoticed.

He should have known better. Nothing escaped this family's notice. He could feel attention snap to him. If it was uncomfortable to have just one of them bore that intense look on him, it was downright painful to have all three at once and he didn't even have his eyes open yet.

Drelasa hummed. "There. It's about time. Open your eyes, Nevano."

Nevano didn't want to but knew he had to obey. No one disobeyed Drelasa. Her husband and son may be battle-hardened and have risen high through the ranks but even they jumped at her command. Nevano was no exception, no matter how badly he wanted to keep his eyes shut to block the light from his aching head...and avoid the uncomfortable questions that would follow.

"Don't be stubborn. There's enough of that in this house already."

With a small grunt of effort, Nevano reluctantly complied, dragging his eyes open to squint at the blurry figures around him, shying sluggishly away from the meager light. Slowly things came back into focus and he could easily recognize Drelasa, Jorun and Veleth. The longer he kept his eyes open and focused, the easier it got. The pain was completely gone, save for a massive headache and a small sting on his chest he had no idea how he aquired. Other than that he felt far lighter than he had in months.

"Well, his eyes dilate normally and he's focusing. Nevano? Can you-" Drelasa was cut off as Jorun clapped his hands right next to Nevano's ears.

"Son of a gods' damned WHORE!"

"He's fine."

"Jorun!"

"If he can curse like that, he's fine." Jorun said easily. "Sick mer don't cuss. They act sick. See? He's cursing in different languages. It was just a little shock to wake him up." Drelasa made a disgusted noise at him that went ignored. "So, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time? Collapsing without a definitive cause is a new one. Usually you have half a skeleton's worth of broken bones or a dozen bleeding holes in you. Or half a contingent of angry Ordinators chasing you. We've done all those scenarios. Certainly gave the boy a scare. If that was your end goal, you achieved it."

"For once the Ordinators aren't mad at me." Nevano groaned. As much as he didn't want to admit it, that shock had done wonders to wake him up fully. "Well, they still kinda are. I couldn't resist...but not ready to kill me mad. Yet. Still, your guess is as good as mine. Kind a want an answer myself. This is really getting old…"

"This has happened before?" Drelasa pounced on him with the ferocity of a hunting cat. Instinctively her husband and son took a step away, out of her line of fire.

"This…uh, this was…" Nevano shrank back but he had far less room to escape than the other two did. He desperately tried to stay quiet but his tongue refused to obey. He was in big trouble. "The…fourth time?"

"FOURTH?!" Both Veleth men flattened themselves against the wall. Lady ran out of the room with a skitter of fleeing nails. "Have you lost your damned mind?! Have you at least gone to a healer?"

"I forgot to!" Azura strike him down now, he was only digging himself in deeper but his mouth kept betraying him. "Look, it hurts and then it's gone and I go about my day."

"You collapsed in the middle of the road! You could have died! In the middle of nowhere!" Drelasa's red eyes were spitting indignant sparks now. He would happily accept being set on fire at this moment. He would live longer. "And if you think for an instant that you are going to just get up and start walking around like nothing ever happened, then you have another thing coming, you stupid fetcher! Your ass is staying here, where I can make sure you aren't going to drop dead because there is no telling what damage has been done because you're too stupid to realize that maybe you need to see a healer! No going out, no running around for this secret mission, none of your solo wanderings until we figure this out, do you understand me?"

The only thing he could manage in response to the onslaught was a very undignified squeak. To their credit, neither Jorun nor his son laughed though that could be because they too were bobbing their heads in agreement in hopes of staying out of trouble.

Partially mollified, Drelasa went back to fussing over him. "We pulled a shard from your chest. It was emitting a magical pulse which was causing you to seize up. Strong enough that it was apparently affecting your heart and lungs though you were lucky there doesn't seem to be any lingering damage. We were hoping you could enlighten us to what it might be."

"A shard?" Nevano winced at her ferocious emphasis. "Like from a rock?"

"Crystalline. Unique red color to it." Drelasa tipped a small bowl in his direction, the fragment clinking against the bottom as it shifted.

"I...I don't recognize it at all." Nevano admitted.

"Does Nerevar?" Jorun asked, coming back over now that he wasn't in danger of bodily harm from his wife's temper.

"Nerevar...has been quite since we left Mournhold." Nevano wasn't quite ready to admit that he couldn't even feel the old Chimer's soul anymore. "I think he used more energy than he was used to since the veil between the living and the dead was so thin there."

"It's a bit unusual for you to not remember an injury." Jorun said. "Normally you can recount every scar and scratch. You used to keep the boy entertained telling those stories in great detail."

"For once I can't even make a story up." Nevano flopped back gracelessly. "There isn't even a time I can't account for that would explain this."

"We'll figure this out, one way or another." Jorun said. "You're alive at least. One more incident you've managed to crawl through."

"I think 'Lasa would have been happier if a dragon had landed on me instead of a rock making my heart stop."

"Can you blame her?" Jorun gave a his glaring wife a placating smile. "A rock is rather boring. A dragon would make for a far more interesting story, though in these mountains you are far more likely to find a stone giant. Now there's a good story. Combining rocks and monsters."

Both men yelped as Drelasa finally hit the breaking point in her temper and started throwing whatever wasn't nailed down within her reach.

Veleth, still nursing a massive hangover, merely pinched the bridge of his nose as he walked out of the room. It was very apparent that he simply couldn't drink enough alcohol to be able to deal with them.

XxXxXx

4E 201, 14th Frostfall – Blacklight, Morrowind

Nevano thought he was going to go mad. Drelasa had all but leashed him indoors, hardly letting him out of her sight. He chafed at the unwanted attention, his mood souring to the point where they would start hissing and spitting at each other like two cats in an alleyway. Desperate to relief the boredom, he resorted to trying to teach Veleth to lie and cheat using card games as a good starting point. When that got boring, and a little futile, Nevano simply cleaned Veleth out of whatever he had on him, taking a small delight in listening to the grumbling. Kid might be able to beat him in games that required sheer strategy, like chess, but when it came to luck and cheating, Nevano would always be heaps ahead of the younger mer.

During one such game, right as Veleth threw down his useless hand in disgust while Nevano scooped his earnings off the table, Drelasa walked in. Nevano froze for a fraction of a moment when she stood next to them, her arms folded tightly over her chest, before throwing his own cards down.

"Something I can help you with?" He asked politely, ignoring the indignant squawk from Veleth when he saw just how bad Nevano's hand had been. Nevano's mouth twitched. Better luck next time, Bull.

"Jorun asked for you to meet him in his office." Drelasa frowned. Obviously she hadn't approved of Nevano's leaving the safety of the house. "I'd rather he brought it all here but he was adamant. However, there are some ground rules you have to follow or else you will be staying here."

Nevano tipped his chair back and rested his feet on Lady, quietly waiting for her to continue.

"First, you still have to avoid detection as much as possible. Those lenses you have, keep them on. Bonebiter blends in enough but Trueflame and Hopesfire need to stay here." Drelasa bit her lower lip. Nevano sighed and sat flat in his chair. She was so obviously worried about him that he couldn't help but feel bad for being such a pain the last few days. He simply couldn't stay irritated when all she wanted was for him to remain alive. "Secondly, you seem to not have any lingering side affects from that shard but if you feel anything out of the ordinary please just come back home. Lastly...please be careful."

Nevano stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. "I promise. I will follow all that and more if need be. I'm not going to drop dead on you."

"You damn well better not." She sighed. "You three will be the death of me. Why couldn't at least one of you have taken up a safer profession?"

"You wouldn't have fallen for Jorun if he hadn't been the dashing soldier sweeping you off your feet." Nevano grinned broadly, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "You wouldn't have met me if I was some boring, safe, paper pusher back in Cyrodiil instead of the gallant adventurer that I am and your boy, are you kidding me? He had no choice but to be the bull he is coming from you two."

"Oh stop and go find my troublesome husband." Drelasa smiled a bit as she shoved Nevano away. "Go be dashing and gallant. Just don't get caught."

"I would but there is a small problem." Before he could continue, Drelasa wordlessly pulled Bonebiter out of nowhere and shoved it into his hands, a brand new glossy string wound already strung on it. He smiled. "Never mind. No problem anymore."

As Nevano was leaving he heard her turn her attention to her son. "I have a different job for you."

It was a bit overwhelming to suddenly plunge from near isolation into a large city packed with people. Nevano felt his mouth go dry as he looked at the traffic making its laborious way through the streets. He had been so long out of touch with civilization that he suddenly realized he didn't know how to act with his own kind. Skyrim had been easy; the sparser population was far more interested in keeping to itself. Blacklight had a far denser population and Dunmer, suspicious by nature, always took notice of outlanders.

He gave into his anxiety and ducked into the alleyway, preferring to take the long way to his destination if it meant keeping out of crowds. By the time he made it to the military district, he had gotten his nerves under control enough to emerge from the back streets and make it across the square to the watch building. Fortunately, the crowd was much thinner here and comprised mostly of off duty soldiers and guard who were a bit more eager to ignore someone rather than make more work for themselves.

He went into the building, belated realizing that, while he could probably pick out which window was Jorun's office from outside, he had no idea how to find it inside. The interior of the watch building was confusing, with hallways and stairs branching off in all directions. He could search for hours and still be lost. Briefly, he considered climbing up to the window like he did last time, though there were far too many witnesses this time of day.

"Oh! You are...the guest that I was told to look for." Nevano looked up as a square shouldered woman seemed to materialize from the dark interior. Though she had a smile on her stern face, her eyes were scrutinizing him thoroughly. He was glad his eyes were hidden behind the lenses but he wished he had his hood to hide a bit more in. "I'm Cruivah Ienith. First Lieutenant in Blacklight's Watch."

"What is it with Jorun and surrounding himself with women that all look like they could kick someone's ass without much effort?" Nevano muttered, loud enough for her to hear. "I swear...he's got a thing for it. Dirty old bastard. Anyway I'm...huh, I don't have a good fake name ready for you."

Cruivah's cheeks flushed a shade or two darker. "Umm, Jorun did mention you would most likely have something...witty to say." The faint stain on her cheeks spread to her ears and neck. "I...uh, well...right this way, please."

She spun on her heel and marched up a flight of steps, a little faster than necessary. Nevano fell in step behind her, smirking a bit. She wouldn't stare quite so hard at him next time.

"Here." She pushed open a door at the top of the stairs without preamble. "Sir, our guest has arrived." She hurried away before anyone could say anything else to her.

"Do I really want to know what you said to Cruivah?" Jorun asked as Nevano shut the door behind him and dropped into a chair.

"Probably not." Nevano pulled the lenses off. "Though I'm not sure you gave her a good enough warning."

"I'm sure she'll be fine, though I'll probably get an earful later." Jorun shoved the letter he had been reading away into a haphazard pile that threatened to topple over. "Just be aware once she recovers she might come after you. She hates losing in any situation."

Nevano made a noncommittal grunt, distracted instead by the letter. He wasn't the best or fastest reader, especially when he was trying to snoop upside down, but he did catch a few words. Most notably, words that told him that Jorun was currently embroiled in a written argument with a councilor.

"And you get upset when others are nosy." Jorun didn't quite smirk but Nevano could see the humor in his eyes.

"Their nosy and my nosy are different." Nevano said. "What are you arguing for?"

Jorun rolled his eyes. "Be faster to tell you what I'm not arguing about. I've got arguments going with councilors all over the place. I'm not their lapdog and they don't particularly like that. Makes it difficult to have an intelligent conversation with any of them."

"That's not a Redoran seal though." Nevano nodded at the blue wax seal of what looked like a pair of handcuffs. "That's...Dres?"

"I'm not sending you and Modyn all over Morrowind for my amusement." Jorun smiled. "I've been planting the seeds of dissent in the minds of councilors in all the Great Houses. I have to say, I was rather surprised to get into a debate with House Dres. They've always been against Imperial rule. That's what I get for assuming."

"So you are running the political front." Nevano said slowly, heavily distracted by Jorun's messy desk.

"Better me than you or Modyn. Both of you have expressed a disdain for politics, despite there being a certain flair for it, each in your own way."

Nevano didn't comment on that last bit. He really didn't want to get entangled with politics again. It had hurt enough the first time around. Instead, he allowed his attention to suddenly be diverted by a small bowl, partially hidden in the organized chaos, holding a now familiar red shard. He realized he had never gotten a good look at this shard that had apparently taken up residence in his chest after his initial glance at it. As hard as he tried, he couldn't think of a single instance in which a chunk of magical rock could have gotten embedded in his chest. Generally he kept his armor in good enough condition that nothing should have had that sort of access to his bare skin. Not to mention, he would have remembered being hit with a rock hard enough to be embedded. It made no sense.

"It hasn't flared since we pulled it from you." Jorun said. "But I still wouldn't touch it with your bare hands. That magic...saying it didn't feel right wouldn't do it justice. I can't really find a good word for it. Twisted may be the closest thing I can think of."

Nevano pulled the small bowl the shard was resting in over, scattering a few scraps of paper. First glance, the shard seemed to be nothing special. It was red as blood with small veins of darker red weaving through like spider webs, about the size of his thumbnail. The edges of it were still sharp and ragged, as if it had been broken off from something. As he stared at it, something moved deep within it's crystalline core. He jerked back, heart hammering, his throat tightening a bit as he remembered how much pain that little shard had caused.

"Nothing in my personal library is giving me a clue as to what that might be." Jorun's had turned around, throwing a few letters into a small pile of ash and igniting them. "And I've gone through just about everything."

Starting to feel a little queasy looking at the thing, Nevano shoved the bowl back across the desk. "It's not important right now. You asked for me to come here so I'm guessing it's not just for a friendly chat. What are we doing next?"

"Yes and no." Jorun turned back and sat back down. "See, I might be a Buyout Armiger but first and foremost, I am head of the city guard. I do take that rather seriously. My job, both jobs really, is to make Morrowind safe again for our people. I work hard to protect our home. So when I get reports of things going on behind my back, I tend to get a little annoyed."

"What happened?" Nevano raised an eyebrow. Between being head of the watch and apparently having a good touch on the pulse of an extensive spy network, there wasn't much that could slide past Jorun's notice and that wasn't even taking into consideration his already incredible sense of awareness. Nevano could see how anything like that happening would be annoying to him.

Jorun raised a hand and started to tick off grievances. "First, the Thalmor have been coming and going in larger than normal numbers off the docks. Logs never indicate where they are going but rumors among drunk sailors is that they are going to Vvardenfell. I haven't been able to verify that. Nothing hugely suspicious at first glance, given the rebuilding efforts going on there, but I'm not dismissing anything they do. Second, the Thalmor took over the city archives. They kicked the archivists out and refuse to let anyone in. No one knows what they are looking for but no one has the spine to throw them out or demand anything from them. Lastly, and this one annoys me the most, a scholar went missing a few weeks ago. Either no one bothered to report it because no one cared or they were too scared. The only reason I even know about it is because I was tracking a spy that has been toying with me and I just happened to hear a few muttered complaints. I started to look into it but was told it was none of my business. That it was being handled and the Watch did not need to get involved. Last I checked, missing civilians was under Watch jurisdiction. So now I'm making it my business."

"You were tracking a spy?"

"We have spies, the Thalmor has spies, the empire has spies...everyone has spies everywhere. The very walls have eyes even. We know they are spying and they know we are spying." Jorun said. "Not all spy work is about staying hidden. It's also about being in plain sight, facing other people who you know are spies while never acknowledging them as such, playing a game of words where you talk but say nothing at all while hoping someone says something useful before you get caught. Some are better at it than others. For instance, there's a Thalmor spy and a council informant in the ranks of my guard. That's just for starters. The Thalmor spy in my ranks is stupid though. I figured out who she was the moment she joined."

"Yet you let them stay?"

"Better here where I can keep track of them and feed them the information I want them to have." Jorun smiled wryly. "This particular spy I'm trying to track is a clever one. Giving me a headache. However now is not the time for that."

"Right, the scholar no one bothered to tell you about it and some missing books." Nevano crossed his arms. "Because you aren't busy trying to plan a rebellion or anything."

"No, I just sit in my office and burn letters all day." Jorun chuckled, then stopped abruptly. "Wait...that is half my job here."

"And you wonder why I don't settle down." Nevano smirked. "I take it that you are going to do something about all this?"

"Yes." Jorun slowly smiled. "See, I don't appreciate things like this happening under my nose and then being told to butt out. Makes my nose twitch. So I'm going to do some poking around of my own. Standard procedures, you see."

Nevano grinned broadly. It had truly been too long since he and Jorun had last caused trouble together and he could sense they could cause quite a bit now. "Planning on making me an honorary guard for this trip?"

"Nope." Jorun stood up, picking his sword up and buckling it on his belt. "I'm off duty. I'm just reacquainting you with the city. Two old friends taking a stroll. See important monuments. All the things tourists like to see."

Nevano stood to follow but glanced back at the shard as he got to the doorway. Nothing moved within it. It was a rock, nothing more, sitting innocently in its bowl. Still, his spine prickled as he looked at it. He shut the door quickly to hide it from view.

The trip to Rootspire was a silent one. Jorun knew every side road, back alley and shortcut to ensure that no one, not even his own guard, would see them.

"What are we looking into first?" Nevano asked, his voice low enough that it was almost unheard.

"I put someone else in charge of the missing scholar." Jorun said, just as quietly. "We are doing the sneaky stuff."

"Someone who can and will happily beat the information he needs out of someone to find out what happened without the blame falling on the Watch. Not sure he'll appreciate that when he figures it out but he needs to learn." Nevano smirked. "And we are sneaking where?"

"I am desperately curious to find out what's going on in the archives." Jorun bypassed the front entrance to Rootspire. "I just have a feeling that we need to look in there."

Nevano was the last person to argue with Jorun's gut feeling. Veleth was highly accurate when it came to that sixth sense but Jorun's gut was as finely tuned as a well-trained hunting dog. If he thought they needed to be somewhere, Nevano would hurry to get there as fast as he could, even if it led them to some rather dubious places. Jorun led him through a side door to Rootspire and, somehow managing to avoid guard patrols, went down several side halls that wound down under the building. Finally they came to a heavy wood door that Jorun deftly picked with speed that made Nevano suspect he was rather familiar with this particular lock.

"We aren't supposed to be here, are we?"

"Did the lock picking give it away? In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a mere guard. I might head it all, but, in the end, still a guard." Jorun gave him a wry smile. "Not something most people consider especially grand...some even consider it a nuisance, like, say thieves or certain adventurers who like to wind up in places they aren't supposed to be. Due to that, my access to certain places is generally limited. The archives used to be more open to the public but since the Thalmor moved in, that access was greatly restricted. Every time I go now, I'm either outright denied or someone is breathing down my neck."

"I take it you didn't ask for permission this time."

"Considering that now involves begging in front of a Thalmor and I would rather kiss my wife's dog's ass than do that." Jorun said. "So now I tend to beg for forgiveness from the council if I get caught rather than ask for permission. So, to answer your question, no, we aren't supposed to be here at all. So if you hear someone heading in, try to hide or kill them quietly. The less blood the better."

"This is fun. I think I like this spy stuff."

"Don't get any ideas."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You would be a horrible spy."

"What? I think I would be a great spy!"

"Nevano, you are the epitome of what not to do as a spy." Jorun said. "Every spy school out there is using you as an example of how not to do things, oh persecuted Nerevarine."

"...There is no such thing as a spy school."

"That you know of."

"Annoying fetcher..." Nevano grumbled under his breath. "Fine, just tell me what I'm supposed to do."

"I'm going to start pulling some things from the shelves and you read through them…." Jorun trailed off when he saw the pained look on Nevano's face. "Right. Not a strong reader. Ok, just look around for books that look like they've been touched recently. No one really comes down here anymore so you'll be able to tell by tracks in the dust. Or anything suspicious that someone might have left down here."

Nevano looked around and felt his shoulders drop. Rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched endlessly into the darkness. He had never seen so many books in one place before. It made his head swim a little. He grabbed a candle and chose a row at random. He didn't have a magic gut to tell him which direction he needed to start looking. He was just going to have to get lucky.

Nothing stood out in particular unfortunately. Just dusty books crammed into every available space. Worse yet, none of the shelves were labeled. There was no organization that he could discern. He tried to make out some of the titles and words but the letters would jump around on the page, becoming a jumbled mess on the page to the point where he couldn't tell if it was in a language he knew or something foreign. It was incredibly disorienting for him. It was why he hated having to read unless it was something interesting enough to warrant the effort and nothing here was striking that interest.

A few rows down, something did finally catch his eye. In the thick dust on a shelf was a single clear spot, as if someone had pressed a finger into it. Nevano crouched down to get a better look at the books on the shelf. All of them were covered in the same think layer of dust except for one. The dust in front of it was still undisturbed but it was clear the book had been handled recently. He reached out and pushed the book back against the shelf and slid it up. From there he could grab it and pull it out without disturbing the dust around it. The book itself was unremarkable. There was no title stamped on the ancient leather cover and the words on the first few pages made even less sense than normal to him. Frowning, he made his way back to Jorun, still trying to decipher a single word.

"Either I've become dumber over the years or this book is...in code maybe?" Nevano held up the book.

Jorun took it from him and looked it over. "Not surprised you don't recognize it. It's in Velothi. I know you speak it but it's not very often the language of the Ashlanders is written out. This is only the second time I've ever seen it. I almost forgot how intricate the vowel clusters are. Look here you can see..."

"Jorun!"

"Right. This is...this is fascinating. Where did you find it?"

"Down that row." Nevano gestured vaguely down the room. "Someone went through a bit of effort to ensure no one would see they had pulled this book."

Jorun scanned a few more pages before snapping the book shut. "I think we got what we need. Grab that pile over there and let's get out of here."

Nevano turned to the solitary table, fully expecting to see a small stack of books but instead was greeted by a massive pile that completely covered the entire table. "What the hell? Jorun, there's enough here to fill a bookstore! Someone will notice this is missing!"

"Stop your whining. We need it all and I don't care if someone notices." Jorun waved him off. "I'll return it, if that's what you're worried about. Eventually."

"What makes you think I care if you return it or if it somehow winds up in your personal library?" Nevano mumbled, starting to stuff as many books and scrolls in his bag as he could. "Could steal this whole place and I would laugh. Just didn't realize I was going to be used as your personal pack guar and carry half a damn library."

"Oh, would you stop complaining? For Azura's sake..."

"I'm not the fetcher who..."

"Shh, shh..." Jorun waved a hand to silence him. "Hear that?"

Above them, the heavy wood door creaked. Jorun's eyes narrowed and, with a quick wave of his hand, extinguished the candles, plunging them into darkness. Nevano growled to himself. He was only armed with the small dagger in his boot and Bonebiter. Bonebiter was near useless in here; its devastating power would do more harm than good in such close quarters. He didn't think Jorun would really be all that happy if he managed to destroy the archives in one shot.

He jumped when something lightly touched his shoulder. He could feel rather than see Jorun behind him. Again he pushed at Nevano's shoulder, turning him and giving him a slight push. Taking the hint, Nevano moved through the darkness until his hand touched a shelf. He crouched behind it, turning towards the sound of footsteps coming down the stone stairs.

Whoever it was had the sense to not take a light with them. Nevano felt his heart beat faster as the footsteps came closer. He reached down and carefully removed his knife from his boot. A hand grabbed his and gave it a shake of disapproval. Jorun again. Nevano had to stop himself from jerking his hand away in annoyance. The footsteps had paused, perhaps not hearing the ever so slight noise, but sensing the movement.

For several long, tense moments, they stood in the pitch dark. Jorun's hand was perfectly steady on Nevano's. Then, by some miracle, the intruding footsteps turned and moved away, down a row of shelves opposite them. Jorun let go of Nevano's hand and gave him a gentle push towards the stairs. He didn't need to be told twice.

Jorun slammed the door behind them and jammed a rock into the frame. It wouldn't prevent the door from opening, but it would make it difficult to get open again. It was just enough to buy them enough time to get away.

"Do you know who that was?" Nevano dared asked in curiosity as they hurried away quickly.

Jorun grunted in annoyance. "We need to leave. It won't be long before this place will be crawling with Thalmor."

As they fled Rootspire and out into the streets of Blacklight, Nevano got the uncomfortable sense of being watched yet every time he looked behind, there was nothing there. Perhaps Jorun was right after all; the very walls had eyes. A shiver ran down his spine as he realized that danger was a lot closer to home than he had initially thought.

XxXxXx

Veleth walked through the streets, absently weaving through the mid-day crowds with practiced ease. No one paid any attention to him. They were fully absorbed in the shop carts and stalls lining the curving market streets, taking full advantage of the still-warm weather. They didn't spare a glance towards the tall mer in plain clothes. Veleth highly suspected they wouldn't have noticed him even if he was fully armed and armored. As it were, he was simply a part of the crowd, just another ordinary citizen, one of the hundreds in the streets. Exactly how he wanted it.

"While your father and Nevano do their part, you have sneaking of your own to do." His mother had told him. "You just have to remember, you are not a Redoran guard. You are not even a soldier. You are nothing. You have to swallow your pride and play the part of nothing. However just because you have to be nothing doesn't mean you do nothing. Being nothing means you can do anything."

Sneaking. He was going to have to sneak and lie and all the things he had never liked or been particularly good at. He had been very much against it at first, resolutely setting his mind to try to find a way around it, but he hadn't gone more than a few streets from home before he felt a prickle of warning deep in his gut . He knew then that he was being watched and followed. It had irritated him more than anything. He had turned down the market district in an effort to lose himself in the crowd but the feeling hadn't faded.

He feigned being jostled by a particularly pushy woman and stole a glance over his shoulder as he staggered a step. One Thalmor and two Dunmer soldiers in steel armor that told him they were guards from Rootspire, not his father's men, were several dozen paces back. Nothing completely out of the ordinary except he could feel the Thalmor's eyes drilling a hole in his back. What angered him more than anything was seeing the two Dunmer guard. Was Morrowind really so far under Thalmor influence that Dunmeri guard were at their beck and call? A red haze tugged at the edges of his vision as he thought about that. He would love nothing more than to slaughter the Thalmor right there, in front of hundreds of witnesses. However, he was armed with nothing more than his knife tucked away in his boot. It was sharp but not the best weapon against three well-armed opponents. Reluctantly the blood lust faded into the back of his mind. It would have to wait.

His mind began to race. He needed to lose this tail but he just wasn't so sure how without pinning them to a wall with something sharp. He was a fighter, not a thief or a spy or a scout or anything that relied on an ounce of subtly.

"Just because you have to be nothing doesn't mean you do nothing. Being nothing means you can do anything."

Anything. He was a nothing, cut loose from the rules that bound him to everything he had been a part of. He glanced around at all the people around him. He was a nothing...but he was doing everything to protect them, this place, his home. His mind flashed to the swamp in southern Morrowind, the smell of rotting flesh and decaying foliage that had been overlaid with the scent of freshly spilled blood, the dying screams and battle cries of Dunmer and Argonian alike echoing in his mind as clearly as if it happened yesterday. He had wished he had been free from rules then, to protect his men from a senseless death. He wished he could have found the courage to tell the council to go kiss a guar's ass. But...he could now, right? Wasn't that what they were doing right now? Wasn't he just handed freedom to do whatever it took to free his home? A thought popped into his mind, a challenge really, one that he wasn't fully sure was his own.

What are you going to do with it now?

Filled with a sudden jittery energy, Veleth glanced around. To his right was a fish stall, a wagon with chickens in a cage, and a textiles stall. To his right was a pottery seller, produce and an alchemist. As his eyes fell on the alchemist stall, an idea began to form. He wasn't an alchemist by any means but, thanks to his mother, he was rather familiar with the process. More specifically, he was familiar with the byproduct of the ingredients. He had rather vivid memories of his childhood, of playing with the slick, jelly-like substance that came from hackle-lo leaves, one of the more popular ingredients in easy-to-make potions and salves. He slowed his pace and drifted closer to the stall, smiling to himself as he caught the familiar, crisp scent of hackle-lo and saw a large pot filled with it. Yes, his plan would work.

He paused, pretending to be distracted by the contents of a nearby stall, allowing his pursuers to get close. The Thalmor picked up the pace, pushing people out of the way in his haste. Just as they got close, Veleth kicked over the pot of hackle-lo jelly, spilling the slippery gel all over the street. Immediately, people began to slip and slide, including the three unsuspecting tails, comically crashing to the ground with a clatter of steel armor. Before they could recover their footing, Veleth allowed himself to be pushed back by the crowd...right into the cart full of chickens.

Squawking chickens flew in every which direction, feathers wafting through the air thick as snow, sticking wonderfully to the hackle-lo gel.

Veleth was a bit surprised at how much he was enjoying causing chaos. He could...get used to this. However, no matter how much he was enjoying himself, he needed to take advantage of the distraction and disappear before attention came back on him again. He pushed his way through the gawking crowd, finding it a bit harder to part the waters in plain clothes than he did in uniform.

Finally breaking free of the crowd, he ran through the streets, ducking through side streets and alleyways and various other shortcuts he was familiar with. The rows of houses and shops began to fade the closer to the military ward he got. The buildings became less warm and homey and more stark and cold. When he reached a statue of King Moraelyn of the Ra'athim, he slowed a bit, fully within the bounds of the military ward. Then there was a small clatter of armor behind him and a muttered oath. He ducked down a small alley that led to a courtyard with several other alleys branching off from it. Tired of running and getting frustrated, Veleth chose one at random and stopped out of sight. It didn't take long before his very annoyed pursuers came into view.

"He's down here somewhere." The justicar snapped.

"Look, this one is nowhere near as slippery as his father is." The Dunmer guard sounded more than a little peevish as he plucked a few chicken feathers from his armor. "We didn't even see him come down this way. You just guessed. It's very likely he's gone. Not sure why you Thalmor as so obsessed with him anyway."

"He came back under suspicious circumstances. I don't care what the official reasons are, I want him brought before the ambassador and questioned!" The justicar all but stomped his foot like a petulant child. "You will search for him as I told you to!"

"We were told to accompany you." The other guard spoke up angrily. "Not get covered in shit and chicken feathers. That was warning enough for me. That man is a fighter and this was clear warning to stay away. He's been on Solstheim for seventy years. You don't survive there for that long on that nightmare spit and be a pushover. I, for one, don't feel like being humiliated anymore than I already have today. You can keep looking for him if you want but our job here is done."

Veleth smirked. So, some of his recruits had come back to the mainland with stories. Or at least some more favorable ones. He had sent a few back that undoubtedly had a less-than-savory things to say about him. He wasn't sure what they would say if word got back about this. The twins would laugh and never let him live it down. Perhaps it would be best to just bask in the satisfaction now and then never bring this up again.

The justicar didn't stick around once his backup left. Perhaps he wasn't as brave without something heavily armed and armed at his back...or perhaps he realized that Veleth already had a few ideas on how to permanently get rid of his problem. Either way, Veleth found himself mercifully alone and free to continue on his way.

The Shad Astula had appropriated a building not quite in the military ward but not quite out of the market. It was tucked away, much how the occupants preferred it, away from the heavier flow of traffic and away from prying noses, mostly that of Thalmor. Mostly, as was typical for mages, they simply wished to be left alone. As long as the experimental explosions from spells gone wrong were kept to a minimum and escaped summoned creatures didn't terrorize too many people, most of Blacklight was rather willing to grant them their wish.

It was thick and stuffy in the school's building. The stone walls were covered in thick, ancient tapestries, all the windows were shut and the drapes pulled, every candle and fire in the place was lit and roaring despite it still being warm outside. Immediately, Veleth felt sweat prickle on his forehead and down his spine. He was quite thankful he wasn't wearing his heavy armor.

As he moved through the entry hall, he was struck by the lack of Thalmor. Just about every building, especially places like this, had an abundance of Thalmor babysitters. There was no such thing here. In fact, there was a lack of any living being at all. Were it not the well-tended fires, he would have wondered if the place had been abandoned entirely.

A strange chirp made him look up and the tiniest clannfear he had ever seen was standing on the stone stairs watching him, its tail quivering as it tried to balance. The reptilian daedra were normally waist-high to a man, with long, wickedly sharp claws that could easily slice through all but the thickest metal armor. This one was no bigger than a house cat and seemed about as friendly as it hopped down the steps one at a time, chirping excitedly. It certainly didn't seem to have the intent to eviscerate him though, even if it did, he could probably punt it across the room before it did too much damage. What he was really curious about was what was it even doing here? Ever since the Oblivion Crisis, it was impossible for daedra to enter the mortal realms on their own. Unless a mage summoned it, usually with great difficulty.

"You belong to a mage around here, little thing?" Veleth crouched down as the tiny daedra hopped over to sniff his boot. "You aren't nearly as scary as your bigger cousins. As long as you don't bite me I won't make you a new decoration for the wall." The clannfear looked up at him and chirped. A collar he hadn't noticed earlier slipped, a small tag bouncing against its scaled chest said 'Fluffy'. He cringed a little at the name, thinking no one in this city could give any creature a half-decent name. "Ok then...er, Fluffy. Where is your master?"

At the sound of its name, the clannfear let out a shrill trill that made Veleth wince and scurried back up the stairs. Veleth shrugged and followed the diminutive lizard through a maze of hallways that were every bit as hot and stuffy as downstairs. Unlike the entry hall, the smoke from the fires was heavily scented with some herb that he couldn't identify. It was nauseatingly coy, making his head give a warning throb that threatened to turn into a massive migraine if he didn't find fresh air soon.

Finally, Fluffy squeezed through a door that was cracked open just enough to allow the tiny lizard to escape. Seeing as how the place had so far seemed to be completely devoid of life, Veleth was a little hesitant to push that door open.

"Oh, there you are, Fluffy!" A voice exclaimed. "I was wondering where you had gotten off to. You must be careful. The last time you took off like that, they threatened to send you back to oblivion if you stole from the larders. We must be careful. Ever sine the Oblivion Crisis I can't summon you as easily. You know that's why you stay with me."

Well, that explained the daedra. One minor mystery solved.

Veleth shoved the door the rest of the way open. Fluffy chirped happily at him from a perch on a desk that made his father's desk look neat by comparison. Scraps of parchment with random scribbles on it, wax drippings from candles, broken quills and powders from who-knows-what littered the desk here and there among piles and piles of books and scrolls. The rest of the room wasn't in any better shape. In the middle of it all was a tiny Bosmer, nigh drowning in his robes. Suddenly the tiny clannfear made even more sense.

The Bosmeri shrieked in surprise when he saw Veleth, sweeping up Fluffy. "I was given permission to be allowed to have him here!"

"I do not care one wit about your choice in pets." Veleth said flatly.

"Oh...then who are you? You aren't here on behalf of the Redoran Council are you?" The Bosmer let Fluffy hop off his lap, straightening his robes nervously and trying his best to not look like Veleth had scared him half to death. "We already paid the damage costs for the shield experiment."

"Again, no. I don't care." Veleth pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who I am is not important."

"Depends on what you want to know." The Bosmer tried to stand tall but Veleth, who was already pretty tall for a Dunmer, towered over him. If he came up to Veleth's middle he would have been shocked. Even Nevano was taller.

"Let's start with where everyone is." While not important, Veleth's curiosity was burning a hole in his mind.

"Why, downstairs, of course." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Classes are held where things can be easier to contain. Ever since it rained frogs for three days, the council and the Thalmor demanded we take extra precautions."

"How...do you make it rain frogs for three days?" Veleth blinked. "Wait, never mind. I don't think I want to know. I probably wouldn't get it anyway."

"I couldn't explain anyway. We still aren't sure how that happened." The mage tapped his chin. "Though I suppose that conjuration spell framework matrix was combined with..."

"Moving on." Veleth cut him off, already lost in the ramblings. "While I'm not going to tell you who I am, I am not with the council and I'm certainly not with the Thalmor. I'm actually here about a mage that went missing."

"Oh, you mean Lloden Salvi?" The mage blinked. "Yes. The scholar. He was a mage, part of House Telvanni back in the day that also worked with the Empirical Historic Society. Studied magical artifacts. I don't know what he was studying in particular but it attracted the attention of the Thalmor. He's not missing. Not technically anyway. They took him on an expedition related to what he was studying. Not sure where exactly."

"Is that a common enough occurrence that no one seems to be really upset about it?" Veleth asked with a touch of irritation in his voice that he couldn't help.

"Well, we aren't fond of the Thalmor, but you can't deny the chance to be able to get out and get some good research in. Especially if its paid for by someone else."

Veleth had to swallow his sense of incredulous outrage. "Did he ever tell you what he was studying or why the Thalmor may have wanted him?"

"No. He was very secretive and defensive about his studies. Typical Telvanni. And no, he said nothing about where he went. He was here one day and the next thing we know, Thalmor are in here, causing a massive fuss and demanding he go with them. I just happen to overhear them say they were leaving to the site with him. Most of his things were packed up and gone before most of us had a chance to even blink."

Veleth turned to leave in frustration. This was getting nowhere. Maybe there was someone else in this place that could give a clearer explanation.

"Oh! Before I forget. There was something I know he was studying before he moved on to his current subject." Veleth paused. "I dare say they could be connected. He had been studying mythic creation artifacts and powers. Of course, I told him that such artifacts are so exceedingly rare and dangerous that we should count ourselves lucky that most are considered myth. Now that I think on it...I did see some drawings that pertained to the Nerevarine in his room once when I went to ask for my soul gem that he borrowed back." The mage absently petted Fluffy as he spoke. "That caught my interest because I recently heard that the Thalmor had somehow gotten Hopesfire and Trueflame in their possession. Briefly though. Apparently someone stole them back again. I have to admit I find that hilarious as well as sad. I would have liked to have seen those. Not sure how they ended up here though. The Nerevarine hasn't been heard of since his trip to Akavir though I guess he could have come back without a word."

Veleth almost said that it probably wouldn't be long before all of Blacklight would see those swords again and their wielder but he held his tongue. It wasn't time for that. Not yet anyway.

XxXxXx

"Lloden Salvi went willingly?" Nevano could see that Jorun's mood wasn't improved any at all by his son's report on the missing mage.

"Seems that way." Veleth shrugged a bit. "It looks like the Shad Astula really doesn't care what's going on around them one way or the other as long as no one bothers them. The Thalmor taking a mage? One big research trip for them, fully funded. Not sure if that mage I talked to understood that this mage will probably be killed to maintain silence afterwards. Though...if that happens, we could probably stir up the Shad Astula."

"I like that thinking." Jorun nodded. "If we can get them to notice, we'll use it."

Veleth tilted his head from side to side. "There was something interesting that the Bosmer said. He said was that this scholar was part of the Empirical Historic Society. I never heard of that before. I'm not sure if it means anything to you."

"Empirical Historic Society? Heh." Jorun shook his head. "That lot dissolved out of Morrowind two hundred years ago. When the Oblivion Crisis occurred, they packed up and shipped back off to the Imperial City. Didn't think any stayed but it's been a while. A few could have crawled back. Anything else sound interesting?"

"Just what he was studying. No one knew why Salvi was taken since he was keeping his current research secret but it was mentioned that before he went secretive, he was studying...mythic creation artifacts."

"Creation artifacts? He actually said that?"

"What are those?"

"Well, it's the dualism of religion, of Anu and His Other. Anuiel is perceived as order, as opposed to the Sithis-Chaos. They divide into the et'Ada and from there we get the Tamrielic pantheons which contain the archetypes of the..." Jorun trailed off as he took notice of the wide-eyed, blank stares in front of him. "Religious artifacts. We are talking about religious artifacts left behind by the gods."

"So, like Azura's Star or something like that?" Nevano finally dared to venture a guess.

"Close. This has to do with artifacts relating to creation."

"Creation? As in...creation of...of what?"

"Of everything. Of Mundus. Azura's Star was an artifact that Azura created using her power. The creation artifacts were something that was used to maybe create Azura." Jorun waved it off. "The topic is so obscure that it's mostly a point of debate amongst scholars with too much time on their hands. One can spend days, weeks even, arguing over all that but we don't have time for that."

"No, we just have a mage who went on a holiday with some Thalmor, a stack of books that might be taller than Bull, a glowing red shard no ones a thing about and Drelasa is still holding my swords hostage." Nevano said sarcastically. "Am I missing anything? Oh, and Vel still won't say a word about the chicken feathers."

Jorun grinned. "That about covers it. Though I'm sure word of any sort of feather incident will make its way around by morning. Sorry, son. Anyway, there is one thing. This book...Nevano you might have to help me with a few of the translations. I'm decent enough in Velothi but not fluent in it." Jorun frowned. "In fact...this word right here. What is that?"

"That's Chimeris. Only reason I know is because I got a dead Chimer in my head..." Nevano sighed and looked it over, carefully working it out. He hated how words tended to twist over themselves as he looked at them. "Roughly translated, it says 'red tower'. Not sure what that refers to..."

Jorun froze, his eyes fixed on a point beyond them. "Red tower..." He repeated slowly. As the seconds stretched in silence, Veleth and Nevano exchanged a look, each daring the other to be the first to try to drag a clear answer from the older mer. Before they could decide, Jorun jumped up, scattering scrolls and books. Both younger mer yelped but he paid them no heed, rushing over to one of the many shelves crammed with books. "This is all connected. All this is connected."

"All what?"

"It's so obvious. I can't believe I didn't see this sooner." Jorun threw several books in the vague direction of the table, not bothering to really aim.

"Enlighten us, if you wouldn't mind, Da..." Veleth caught a few books before they hit him in the face.

"I will. First, though..." He spun around, pinning Nevano to his seat with an intense red-eyed stare. "What happened to the Heart?"

Nevano squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "What heart?"

"Don't play dumb. The Heart. The Heart of Lorkhan."

"It's gone." Nevano's voice was flat despite his heart beating into his ribs.

"Are you sure about that?" Jorun pressed harder. "Are you absolutely positive?"

"I did exactly as I was told to." Nevano allowed anger to color his voice, using anger as a way to escape the rising bile of fear in his belly. "Once with Sunder, then with Keening. I hit that stupid heart until it shattered."

"Shattered?"

"I didn't see. I heard a sound like ice breaking, then I was thrown back." Nevano crossed his arms. "I was a bit more concerned with the cavern coming down around me and Dagoth Ur breathing down my neck. Why the hell do you want to know about the Heart? It's gone, alright?"

"The Heart of Lorkhan is a creation artifact." Jorun held up a book. "In punishment for creating mischief during the creation of the world, Lorkhan's heart was separated from his self and thrown down into the mortal world, here, during the Dawn Era. That's one story anyway. Doesn't matter how it got to Red Mountain. It was there, it was real, it was used."

"How is that in any way related to..."

"I'm not done yet." Jorun scooped up several scrolls from the floor. "The Empirical Historic Society. They don't just collect dusty old scrolls, they collect artifacts that had to do with the building of the empire. Or so they say. Usually what it would up being was treasure hunting whatever they could find from any era. Every faction had it's treasures. However...I just saw it...here!" Jorun pulled a scroll out. "Dated five years after Nevano destroyed Dagoth Ur. There was an expedition led into Red Mountain, partly funded by House Telvanni, to try to uncover the truth as to what happened down there. Apparently they didn't want to swallow the vague answers they were given and the revered Nerevarine kept disappearing on them."

Nevano stared in horror, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

"By this account, they actually made it all the way to the Heart's cavern." Jorun's eyes darted back and forth as he read with lightning speed. "They were looking for signs of a fight, wanting to know how it was that Nevano defeated Dagoth Ur and there were signs of blah blah blah it's going on about very minor findings...there. Right there. They found it. The Heart didn't just disappear. It couldn't have. It's an artifact. No mortal, no matter what tools he was wielding at the time, could destroy such a thing. They found the pieces."

"Da, are you saying that the shell of the Heart of Lorkhan was in a box for the past two hundred years in a basement in the Imperial City?"

"Seems that way, son."

"And are you also saying that the Thalmor found it and decided to take it, as well as a kidnapped expert on the Heart, who may or may not be somewhat willing, to an unknown location to do gods know what to it?"

"Sounds insane, doesn't it?"

"There is no proof." Veleth said bluntly. "We have a lot of circumstantial evidence that may or may not be connected but most of it is revolving around myth and theory."

"No. There is." Jorun looked at Nevano, a spark of pity in his eyes.

Nevano felt his insides turn to ice as the horrible realization began to sink in. "Jorun…don't say it."

"I would have thought it to be impossible as well but the proof landed right in front of us, quite literally." Nevano squeezed his eyes shut. "The Heart of Lorkhan did not disappear. It shattered. Its energy escaped but the shell remained. Now someone is tampering with that shell. How do we know this? Because we just pulled a very reactive piece of the Heart of Lorkhan from Nevano's chest."

XxXxXx

A/N: Did I just change lore around? Yes, I did. Oh yes, I did. It's glorious.