Tides of Time, p.4
They silently contemplated the sight of Red Mountain spewing ash into the high winds above Mundus even after two centuries. A Nord and a Dunmer in this current lifetime. In a previous life, they had been a Dunmer and a Dwemer, respectively. Warlord Indoril Nerevar Mora, Hortator of several tribes and Houses, presently known as his own prophesied reincarnate, the Nerevarine Severus Timberwolf. The other one, Lord of all the Morrowind Dwemer clans, King Dumac Vvardenfell, presently a two-souled Dunmer known as Master Curtis of Winterhold College. One soul was Slitter, a Redoran lowlife; the other was Dumac, brought back from beyond Oblivion by a strange Atmoran god.
Revyn had come to Solstheim to deal with a group of Altmer refugees smuggled out of Auridon of the Summerset archipelago. He'd managed to clear his schedule and escape Windhelm for a time. He'd also ordered Master Curtis to put aside whatever project he was handling to come along. He wasn't intending to foist all the Altmer on Master Curtis and have them brought to The Vale, the last Falmer enclave hidden in the mountains between High Rock and Skyrim. But he hadn't told Master Curtis that just yet. Fortunately, Curtis had anticipated the order and brought Irdal with him. Revyn had no objection; he was indebted to the lady for her help during his wife's pregnancy. Irdal was also from Nchardak, and he hoped seeing the ruins of her home city would not be too much for her.
He looked away as Curtis wiped tears off his face. Severus had already shed his. Still, his face showed his tired grief as he looked at Curtis and patted his shoulder.
"It's like we could take a boat across this bay and be at the foot of the mountain. But it's weeks away at the center of the island," said Curtis after a long, deep sigh. "Shit. All that work — and Vivec just had to try to one-up Sheogorath. Didn't you ever tell him you never stick your dick in crazy, Nerevar?"
"He did not have that kind of relationship with Sheogorath," Revyn murmured, gently sliding in the comment between them. "I don't believe he could have resisted boasting about it in his writings if he did. Egotistical, drawn to dangerous entities and situations, but not insane or suicidal. Molag Bal may have been satisfied in merely popping Vivec's head off and using his body like a hot towel wrap. But Sheogorath would have eviscerated and rendered him into scamp kibble out of boredom."
They had stopped at the former Fort Frostmoth, a Legion fort that had been destroyed and partially buried by the blast of Red Mountain. It was being rebuilt by House Redoran as their Naval port. The fiery Dunmer didn't like the sea; however, who else would protect their interests when Dominion ships prowled about? Not the Empire or Skyrim. Morvayn sent copies of the past decades of reports of Altmer ships sighted around his territory to Revyn. Revyn added these reports to the compilation he possessed of Dominion activity around the northern coast of Skyrim. He presented these reports to the Archmaster of House Redoran, who guested at his home during Ulfric's coronation. As a result, the Archmaster commissioned two warships from Winterhold's reviving shipbuilding industry.
Revyn and Counselor Arano had come to Fort Frostmoth to discuss with the Selvaai commander mining and payments for the heart stones embedded in and around the fort. This was because the fort and its surroundings were no longer considered part of Morvayn's domain but owned by the House and answerable to the Redoran Council. The landless Selvaai, originally contracted by Morvayn for the security of Rock, was appointed the responsibility of Frostmoth. Fortunately, the Selvaai had no profit ambitions regarding the heart stones.
Yes, heart stones. The newest business venture of Cliff Racer Enterprises (CRE), a company based in Blacklight and started between Revyn Sadri, Master Bladesmith Turik Galam, and Master Armorer Nisil Feren. CRE was created for the innovative development of Dragon bonedust armor and weapons, the Dragon dust originally coming from Sadri's other company, Snow Crown Investments. Lleryn Morvayn later joined CRE as the fourth owner as a condition of the exclusive supply of Solstheim's Dragon bones to CRE and Snow Crown Investments.
Thanks to Telvanni Neloth Adrevanni and his groundbreaking research into the latent power of the heart stones of Red Mountain, Winterhold College wanted heart stones. The departments of Conjurations, Enchantments, and Dwemer Studies had discovered an interest in these accursed reminders of Morrowind's misfortune. Conjurers found that using the stones enhanced control over dangerous Oblivion summons (knowledge pioneered by Master Neloth and his apprentice, Master Conjuror Talvas). Enchanters desired the stones because Neloth's staff enchanter simplified the current process that requires three to four mages to imbue magic into a staff. And Dwemer Studies needed a lot of fresh dynamo cores.
As this new income opportunity rode on the research of Master Neloth, his continued cooperation was vital. Morvayn asked Revyn Sadri to be the intermediary because the mage-lord seemed to like Revyn. Revyn had pulled in Curtis on this trip, and Curtis had brought Irdal from The Vale to help him gather and evaluate core samples.
Revyn went to sit by Irdal, leaving Curtis and Severus to reminisce. She was sorting through a box of heart stones mined yesterday from the basement level of the fort. Curtis jokingly called her his "crystal singer," although she used a tool to test the heart stones rather than her voice. Irdal explained to Revyn that she was testing samples for susceptibility to internal stress fractures by pulsing sound waves through the crystals. These cores would be going into mobile automatons. They had to be strong enough to withstand movement, vibrations, and sudden impacts. They also had to endure abrupt and extreme temperature shifts while generating and/or directing intense magical energies. Revyn could follow some of her explanations from his experience as a miner and stonemason.
"How is the percentage?" he asked. "I can't imagine it would be very high for being ejected so far from the source." He also asked, "Is it true that Vvardenfell supplied all the power cores from Red Mountain?"
"Why else build cities on an active volcanic island subject to multiple major tremors every other decade? But, as far as these rocks, better than fifty percent for mobile cores. Of the rejects, eighty-five percent appear to be fit for fixed placement, but further testing will be needed to sort them for load capacities," said Irdal. "The ones buried on impact have better percentages for mobility functions than the deposits exposed on the surface.
"Only the Vvardenfell and their sub-families were crazy enough to settle there," she said absent-mindedly. "Stubborn as they were ambitious. The discovery, abundance, and power of these heart stones made possible the technological development of our race. Vvardenfell had the monopoly, so their small clan stood as equals to the larger clans on the mainland. The mountains and the ocean — and even the presence of the barbarian Atmorans and Chimer — made territorial conquest of the Strong-Shields nearly impossible. Perhaps they weren't the most gifted engineers, but they were innovative to make up for it. And they knew how to scout talent to offset their shortcomings. Dumac Vvardenfell was a prime example. As an engineer, he was master-level and qualified to teach basics and intermediate. He could've been better, but as the ruler, administration and politics mandated his life and interests. And…"
Ah, yes. Irdal was in love with the Dumac of the dream memories. She was aware it was absurd. The soul was there, but not the shell. She showed Curtis respect and friendship. She knew everyone was counting on her to bring Dumac closer to revival because Joric Ravencrone, a verified seer, said she could. Of all the Dwemer, Dumac responded best to her because she was an islander from Nchardak. They weren't trying to bring a dead mer back to life, just revive some memories to enable Curtis to better control the powers that were coming back to him.
Curtis respected and considered Irdal a dear friend, but he loved Colette. He wanted that Dumac part of his soul to find a measure of happiness. Lorkhan had probably thought he was being merciful to send Dumac far away and spare him the fate of his people. It was foolishness to say Dumac understood it was supposed to be a gift. Curtis might dare to think that but felt Dumac would decry the whole thought as sentimental trash. Dumac saw Lorkhan's Heart as a power source to be used just as Daedric and Aedric beings considered mortal souls convenient-use batteries. In Dumac's view, the Heart of Lorkhan would not have high-level cognizant functions unless gods were octopi with brain cells distributed throughout its body. He also conceded that even among the Dwemer, one can make decisions and plans based on the "feelings" in the heart and guts. And the Lorkhan's heart yearned for vengeance upon those who constrained it; and peace from its own restless nature. Dumac couldn't forgive himself for that. His feelings had inclined him to accept an alliance and, eventually, friendship with Nerevaar. As a practical precaution, he'd investigated Nerevar's friends and their levels of influence on Nerevar. The mistake he couldn't forgive himself for was he'd overlooked Azura's control of Nerevar. His trusted friend's religious nature he'd accepted as a personality quirk. As a Dwemer, he'd ignored the existence of Daedra and Aedra in everyday living. Their realms were mathematically acceptable as existential quantifications. Religious concepts as "people" did not register in his logic. Thousands of years later, that massive oversight still burned him. Curtis had talked with Revyn about those memories and bounced his theories to see how they played. Revyn listened, made sounds when appropriate, and inevitably called servants to help him tuck a drunk, unconscious Curtis into a guest bedroom.
Curtis and Severus eventually rejoined them, and Irdal reported her findings. Curtis went with Counselor Arano to discuss mining schedules with the Selvaai commander. Severus went along to observe. Revyn stayed with Irdal to talk about gemstone cutting; he had the notion of using tiny heart stone chips in jewelry he wanted to create for gifts. Irdal assured him it was a common enough practice with Dwemer mages. A properly-shaped and enchanted heart stone was a small and powerful tool when crafted correctly; otherwise, it was a foolish choice of gem. Heart stones may look like rubies or red garnets, but it was important they not be treated as such. The low-level, unregulated magicka they emitted inflicted unpleasant skin dryness, joint pains, and headaches. The peculiarity of heart stones was that refining their shape also refined their power, making their effects stronger and deadlier. If the Redorans were looking to expand their colony on the southern half of the island, removing the heart stones made sense if they wanted healthy crops, animals, and people.
Mining talk completed, they continued towards Tel Mithryn. Sorting and grading the heart stones would be the work of Telvanni agents. Tel Mithryn's population had stabilized to around sixty. Neloth had no interest in trying to expand in the Redoran territory. When he eventually left, the inhabitants would follow him back to Sadrith Mora or be absorbed into Raven Rock's population. Most of the negotiations with Tel Mithryn would be finding and training inspectors, gem cutters, researchers, and scholars.
Revyn was delighted to see the Adrevanni couple Alyrisa and Borren. They had met some months ago when Neloth's Adrevanni clan representatives visited to judge if he and his daughter were worthy as members of the family. He liked these two. They seemed sensible and were sensitive enough to get nods of approval from his Ancestors. They were currently childless; he hoped their future child, whether boy or girl, could become great friends with his future child. He was also pleased to see the brothers, Andstar and Alveru. Curtis had reported his favorable impressions after returning with them on a recent scavenging trip in Blackreach.
It wasn't a difficult contract. All Neloth wanted was his pick of heart stones for his experiments. And if the other Adrevanni wanted heart stones, they would get it at a discounted price so long as they did not compete as heart stone marketers. Thus, while there were plenty of other matters to be dealt with before the company could function, Revyn's duties were over. He'd fulfilled his primary role of coaxing cooperation from Neloth. And Neloth had assigned Andstar and Alveru to deal with any of the remaining contract matters, much to everyone's relief.
X—X—X—X—X—X—X
They returned to Raven Rock to report success to Counselor Morvayne, then settled for dinner and drinks at the Retching Netch because Severin Manor was stuffed with Winterhold College students.
"Just sending some of my students from the college isn't going to cut it if we're talking serious business," said Curtis. "While they might help in the initial stages of research, I'm certain there are other Telvanni or other long-time researchers who could be hired. But even before research, there's proper mining techniques and tools beyond shovels and pickaxes, there's safety precautions to prevent serious health dangers, and there's proper shaping. Different functions require different gem shapes. I can provide samples, safety guidelines, and other hints, but recruiting stonecutters and jewelers and training them…"
"Isn't the stonecutting coming before the research?" asked Alveru.
"When you take apart the old Dwemer machines, have you taken note of the shape of the cores? Data cores versus battle cores? Stationary weapons cores versus the cores in tactical spiders? Shapes, facets, stone grades, texture… Learn the forms, then work backward to understand the functions."
"A moment. Texture?" asked Alveru.
"Affects sounds, frequencies, reflection. Remember, Dwemer science and magic were largely based on harmonics. Being in harmony or in tune with power."
"I see."
"No. 'I hear' would be the proper response. Ever sing in different places just to hear how your voice sounds? Ever sing in a choir, especially one that goes to different places to perform? And I know you've never been in a sound studio."
"It has not escaped my attention that the Dwemer title of 'tonal architect' was the equivalent of 'master mage,'" said Alveru.
"My brother and I have understood the importance of sound in Dwemer technology," said Andstar. "One of our best discoveries was an architect's toolbox of tuning forks and crystals with project notes for re-cutting and re-tuning to other uses. I play a flute, and Alveru is competent with a hu'uchir. We have experimented using music with gem cut cores we found in a workshop. We have made some progress in associating certain, er, notes and tempos that certain cuts of stones respond to that we could notice."
Alvaru leaned over the table and refilled Curtis's cup. "Now, aside from Blackreach, where else have you explored that taught you your knowledge? My brother and I have only explored the Dwemer ruins on Vvardenfell that haven't collapsed or been buried by Red Year. And we have had access to writings passed down in Telvanni families from the First Era of transactions with the Dwemer. Not to insult you with gross generalizations, but Redorans never had the interest or, hm, patience to study the Dwemer sciences unless it was Dwemer battle tactics."
Revyn, sitting at a nearby table with Irdal, Severus, and Talvas, noticed that Andstar had ordered yet another jar of sujamma. "Oh, dear. How many cups is that now for Curtis?"
"His alcohol tolerance is high," said Irdal reassuringly. "He'll pass out before he gives out any secrets."
"Is that so?" Revyn frowned, saying, "That's not been my experience with him. Twice I've been drinking with him, and twice he's turned into an abusive drunk. I say 'abusive' because that was my overall impression. He didn't do any physical, but the tone and volume of his words as he spoke Chimeris."
Irdal's eyes widened. She glanced at Talvas. Talvas, whose sense of self-preservation was well-trained by Neloth, made an excuse of being hungry and left their table to browse the bar snacks. "Does he?" she demanded of Revyn. "Serjo, what does he say? Is it Dumac?"
"I barely understand Old Chimeris when I'm sober, my dear. And by the time he's turned into Dumac, I'm just about to losing my own ability to walk."
"It takes us a great deal of effort to find Dumac in the dream state," said Irdal. "And we've seen him drunk before, and never has Dumac come out. We've met Slitter but never Dumac." She sounded so discouraged that Revyn automatically reached for her hands to offer comfort.
"Why don't we try to meet Dumac together tonight? We— Uh-oh. Sounds like he's here."
Indeed, Curtis had banged his empty flagon on the tabletop and was declaiming something in Chimeris. Andstar and Alveru had pushed their chairs back in surprise. From their expressions, they understood the old language.
Severus was out of his chair and pulling up Curtis. "Time to retire, old friend. I think you've had enough."
[Nerevar, since when were you appointed my protocol clerk?]
**Just making sure that you don't spill any state secrets, old friend.**
[Nonsense. I'm just trying to enlighten these burnt sand ghouls about the importance of shaping a power gem.]
**Friend, I'm used to your sloppy tolerances for naming things, but they might find it insulting.**
"I've been called worse than 'burnt sand ghoul,'" said Alveru. "Are you well, Curtis? It's rare to hear anyone speaking Chimeris who isn't a linguistics scholar or a millenia-old mage."
"Nerevar?" said Andstar, stunned, staring at Severus.
Irdal rushed to grab Curtis's other arm.
[Ah, Irdal, my sleeping beauty. You want to dance with me again?]
"Yes, but in a more private place, my lord."
[Hm. Should I not meet your kin first?]
"We've been trying to meet you, but you've been avoiding us."
[Have I? My deepest apologies. I've been depressed lately and haven't been in the mood to socialize. If your kins' invitations have been among those I've refused to look at, the fault is mine.]
"I'm just glad we can meet here and now."
[Yes. Transport accidents are rarely good ones. But I can't complain if it brought me to you.]
"Transport accident?"
[Something has interfered, created new synchronicity. I know that skinny dremora over there is the cause. Twice before, I've dropped out of transit to see his face. He refused each time to answer my questions. I would hammer and draw his reasons out of him, but he'd always paralyzed me with foul magic. But now that you and Nerevar are here, and you obviously can move, help me capture and get answers from him.]
"Andstar, Alveru, your concerns are gratifying, but please allow us to deal with this," Revyn said to the Adrevanni brothers, unaware of the meaning of the conversation behind him. The brothers, however, did understand. They nodded and grabbed Talvas, forcing him to drop the tray of food he was carrying, and marched him out with them. If anyone knew what was going on, House Father Neloth surely did.
"Can you get us a room and more drinks, Revyn?" asked Severus.
"Of course!"
All the rooms in the Netch were full, so Geldis let them use his personal room. Revyn fell asleep on his cousin's bed while Severus and Irdal talked with Dumac.
X—X—X—X—X—X—X
"Are you sure you don't need a few more hours of sleep, ser?" Revyn asked Severus. "You and, um, Dumac were drinking and talking until dawn. And I have sufficient guards to accompany me to Tel Mithryn." Revyn had brought two bodyguards with him, and Morvayn had assigned two more.
"I'm good. If only these guar wouldn't grunt so loudly."
Today was not about heart stones. Today, Revyn was going to meet them.
What could he expect from the children of Morgiah? Ardeth Chamius d'Karoodil, their cousin, had this to say.
"Prince Goranthir was generally well-liked by his classmates and tutors at the academy for nobles. He is… was a patron of the arts, although he preferred non-traditional and innovative works. His talents in magic favored the Alterations school. He is equally talented in the mathematics. During imprisonment, he kept his sanity by contemplating the mathematical principles of Alterations. By now, I am sure he has significant contributions to make to the practice.
"The sin of being a half-breed is harsh for a man; for a woman… Princess Rinnala was hailed a beauty as a child. It worked against her as she grew older, inspiring desire without respect as her eyes and skin declared the impurity of her blood. Her sense of humor is darker and more edged. She is an adept-level Destruction mage and possesses the rare gift of two racial talents. When she combines Dunmer's Wrath with our natural power elevation, she becomes a walking pillar of fire. She enjoys history and likes to compose ballads about events — or people — that amuse her."
"She shares some traits with my beloved wife," murmured Revyn. "What's the age difference between the siblings?"
"Ten years. Why?"
"You've met Taliesin. There's thirty years between him and my wife. But your prince does not seem too similar."
"He is not. From birth, the lives of nobles, especially royals, are regimented to conform to ideals. But if you're curious, the prince and Taliesin seem to connect. They both enjoy card games and enjoy discussing literature. Um, he enjoys writing poems that his sister will compose music for. Before imprisonment, they had composed small musicals under false names — a common practice for nobles — and were gathering some acclaim."
The number of Altmer extracted from their prison estate was fifty-eight. Half were blood kin, others were nobles who sided with the half-breeds or simply refused to support the Thalmor, and then a few high-level, well-connected servants too troublesome to kill outright. The other Altmer defectors were those who helped them navigate the waters and made possible the overland run, and that brought the total Altmer population to seventy.
Dominion ships were prowling around. Neloth had sent the majority of the Altmer to Skaal village, and others were scattered in small hunter camps. The ones remaining at Tel Mithryn were bait to hold the Dominion's eyes on the Telvanni settlement.
Revyn, Severus, and Ardeth ascended to Neloth's quarters. Revyn's guards remained below to watch those entering the tower. The Adrevanni and Talvas were at the far end the chamber conspicously poking around in a centurion's innards.
Taliesin and two of his Maomar wives came up. Revyn quickly embraced them.
"You look good, brother. All the ghosts laid to rest?" asked Taliesin.
"Yes."
"Where's Curtis? I thought he'd be here."
"Um, some very late night drinking with Uncle Wolf."
"Oh, I see. Uncle Wolf drank him under. Not surprising."
Revyn turned to Taliesin's wives, Maomer, veiled and in long robes to protect their pale skins against the ash. "Cherrun, Zyronne, dear ladies. The waters around here must be horrible for you. Here, I had the healers in Winterhold make this hair soap and skin cream. It should help. And these little tins are from your children. They've been learning to make cookies."
"It may be permanent. It was a bad break and mangling, but what pain remains is tolerable. It's not like I need to impersonate a Thalmor footsoldier any longer. And you, Tally has told us you were captured yet again, and the fools thought they could use murdered souls to constrain you." The two women made sounds of delight and eagerly asked him more information about their children. Revyn told them how they were taking to the underground lakes and streams around Aldmora.
Taliesin cleared his throat. Four others had set down on the landing.
"Oh, of course," said Ardeth. She went to the new ones and led them to Revyn. "My Prince, Princess, this is Revyn Sadri, a lord of House Mora, a courtier and counselor to the throne of Windhelm and the Stormcloak Alliance, a kinlord of the House Felix members in Skyrim, and teacher in the arts of sales and diplomacy.
So, these were the children of Morgiah. Decades of deprivation left with a gaunt, searching hunger in their eyes though their bodies had filled out and their flesh and hair had become smooth and glossy from proper nutrition. The color of their skin was Dunmer, as were their red eyes. However, in height and overall formation, they were Altmer. Quite a beautiful pair. Queen Berenziah's beauty marked her descendants. Revyn could see their kinship to his beloved wife.
They towered over him. If he recalled correctly, they were about two decades younger than him. But Altmeri had the longest lifespan of all the mer, and four to five hundred years shouldn't be a problem to them even without spells to boost their youth and health.
And they were bowing deeply to him. All the Altmer present did the same.
"Um, what is this? Is there some protocol I'm unaware of?"
"Our dear Cousin Ardeth told us how she found you and followed you," said the prince.
"It's clear to us from her tales that even if she'd met our Cousin Helsette first, there was no guarantee that she would come to our aid," said the princess. "The catalyst for our salvation has been you, my lord."
"Ah. Please rise, noble sir, noble lady. I repaid Lady Ardeth for saving my sanity by introducing her to the people she needed to talk to, that is all. My kinfolk listened for my sake, but it was her passion that convinced them that the risk for your lives was worthwhile."
They straightened. "Very well. Then may we beg the opportunity of a consultation? Ardeth tells us you cling to the identity of a shopkeeper. Advise us, if you will, how may we begin to repay our debt?"
Revyn's face must have shown his confusion because, finally, the princess smiled. "We asked the Felix the same question, and every time they said we should wait here on Solstheim until you came. Even Lady Helsette, who was here for a day two weeks ago, said the same."
"I… see." It was a struggle not to dance around, screaming at this new responsibility. He resorted in desperation to a tried-and-true method of control. "I need an inventory, please, of skills and experiences your people had before the exile and learned during imprisonment. Also, if it's not too much trouble, long-term goals, even impossible ones for the foreseeable future, like returning to power and revenge on the ones who had stolen their lands and property. The more details I have, the better I can move stock — er — decide the avenues best to pursue."
"Cousin Helsette had anticipated this, and we have preliminary lists for your review," said the prince, smiling now. He nodded to an attendant who bowed and presented a thick scroll.
X—X—X—X—X—X—X
"Oh, you're definitely coming back with me to the Vale," said Curtis. As soon as his hangover had faded enough, he'd and Irdal had rented guars and ridden over to Tel Mithryn. "It's the only place to grow these babies." He cautiously examined one of the dozen baskets that held a dormant gryphon egg. Very cautiously. The adult gryphons watched him while their handlers watched every feather fluff and twitching tails. The baskets were padded to minimize jostling and were also enchanted to slow down egg development, extending the window to find a new nesting area by half a year. There was only a month before the spell collapsed.
"Even if you left today — and I don't think that's possible because of the current tide schedule — it would take at least a month unless you threw all caution to the winds and just flew." Revyn looked apologetically at the leader of the gryphon riders group, Tusair Stormwatch, whom Curtis and others had rescued from ancient ruins at Arcwind Point in The Rift. "I am sorry. I had heard gryphon riders had unexpectedly joined the rescue and evacuation. But I wasn't aware of the eggs and the need for fast relocation."
"The slip-ups were on our end, Revyn," said Severus. "There was a lot of improvising during this operation, having to hastily set up new plans and depend on untested communications through inexperienced people or people we couldn't fully trust. So when unknown messengers came to your people — who had their own crises to deal with — it was no wonder their incomplete information were given low priority value."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I—"
"We know if the messengers would've been able to talk to you, you would've understood our problems and made adjustments. But you weren't available, thanks to your captors. And your people had their hands full with Ulfric and all your coronation assignments. Even so, your people came through when it really counted."
"I am glad about that. But that really doesn't help with the present problem. Not unless someone here is a master Illusionist."
"A master isn't needed, my lord," said Tusair. "We have specialized spells and devices for covert surveillance. Skyrim has no experience with aerial warfare, so I expect no one will notice us. However, I do worry about Dragons. I haven't seen one before, but after talking with Taliesin—"
"I got an idea." said Curtis, interrupting. "It's risky. How 'bout we try to get Frosty to fly with 'em? Your birds can fly on it's slipstream. 'Course, it's dangerous because of the speed. Falling out of the stream will rip your wings off. But if that's a risk you don't want, then we can try bribing Frosty to fly the eggs and one of you handlers to The Vale. It'll take a week for someone to sail from here to Winterhold and then hike up to Frosty's place. A couple hours of flight if he agrees, and those eggs will be in The Vale in less than two days. The gryphons and others can then fly at their own pace. As for nesting spots, there are a couple of hidden places we've cleared of Falmer and you can only get to by air or portal stone."
"Portal… Ah, the paragon crystals," said Revyn.
"Yup. And if those places are too small, they can even used the ruined throne hall and balcony of the temple. It's high, no roof, and a nice view of The Vale. As long as they don't crap on the statue of Auri-El or the wayshrine, I think everybody will be cool with them nesting up there for a season."
Related story(s): #11-12 Solstheim; #34 Bones to Grind; #43 Brother Owl; #54 Assassins; #59 Family Investments; #61 Fishwives; #80 Nesting Instinct; #94-95 Art of the Sale
Related 2nd Life story(s): #38 Arcwind Point; #42-43 Chanticleer, #44 Clockwork Bird