Dragonborn part 6

-Raven Rock-

After a long but light hearted journey Tarrion and Serana arrived in Raven Rock. They had decided to go back to the town first before looking for the Dark Elf that Storn spoke of, not only because they had their supplies there, but also because Raven Rock was still under the control of the dark spell that came from the Earth Stone and it's people needed to be freed and the stone cleansed. And neither of them had any idea where this Dark Elf was, or where they had to start looking. Storn only knew the name of this Elf, Neloth, and both of them remembered that they met someone at the Earth Stone that had the same name.

At Raven Rock they found it to be empty. Dust was piled up against the buildings and it looked like a ghost town, like no-one had been there in years.

"Hello! Anyone there?" Serana shouted, but there was no answer. "You don't think that everyone is at the Earth Stone… right?"

"That is exactly what I think…. Come on."

At the Earth Stone they saw that the entire town had gathered there. Men, women and children alike were chopping wood and swinging picks at the stones to hew them into shape.

Here do we toil

They heard the chant again and it again send a shiver down their spines. This time however, they knew they could stop it, and as they neared the shrine Serana drew her sword.

GOL

Again that strange wave of energy escaped from Tarrion's mouth, and immediately the people stopped with what they were doing and looked around them, dazed and tired. The structure started to shake and crack and then it fell apart. From the pool of water Tarrion heard a roar, just like when he freed the Wind Stone, yet this time he also saw the creature that emerged.

It was almost as tall as a giant, yet its skin was slimy and had scales like a deep sea creature. Its head looked like the mutated head of a fish and its mouth was filled with sharp teeth. It had tentacles for arms and its tongue also seemed to be a large tentacle.

"I told you… a monster," Serana said as she readied herself and Tarrion agreed, yet there was something about this creature that seemed familiar, yet he could not place it.

The fight against the creature was short. Tarrion Shouted again and the creature's head was encased in ice. Trying to break free it stumbled backwards, but Serana sliced its leg and Tarrion drove his sword through the creatures chest. A muffled, gurgling cry was heard and the monster fell limp.

-the next day-

It took a full day before anyone was able to have a normal conversation without falling asleep every minute. The second counsellor Adril Arano had thanked them over a hundred times and was able to give them some information regarding Neloth.

"Yes… he is a Dunmer wizard…. Highly respected back in Morrowind. I believe you can find him in Tel Mythrin. It's a small settlement to the east of the Island. Just follow the coastline eastward, then a bit north and you will find it. It looks like a large mushroom."

"He lives in a giant mushroom?" Serana asked with a slight snicker.

"I assure you that in Morrowind this is not unusual. The Telvanni wizards often make their houses out of giant mushrooms that they grow themselves."

When Serana and Tarrion left for Tel Mythrin the next day, half of the town was able to thank them and promised that they would always have a place ready for them. They both thanked them and left eastward toward the ashy plains.

As the terrain became more and more empty they put their masks on to protect themselves from the dust and ash, and they followed what looked like a road further east and north. They saw that the terrain was mostly empty, yet also they saw in the distance the ruins of an old fort, and further west more ruins that looked like there was a tomb buried beneath the ash.

"Is it just me, or is someone digging there?" Serana asked.

Tarrion looked but couldn't see anyone, and he assumed it was either the ash playing tricks on Serana's vision, or he just could not see it.

"I can't see anyone…. But if there is, let him dig. We have other things on our mind remember?"

Serana nodded and turned her back to the ruins and continued following the road to the northeast.

After many hours of walking they could see Tel Mythrin in the distance, and it seemd that Adril was right. it was indeed a large mushroom, or actually one very large one and two smaller ones next to it, yet both were as high as a tower. It stood on the rocky formations next to the sea, and it had full view of Red Mountain in the distance, still spewing smoke and ash.

As they arrived they found two Dunmer arguing outside. One of them seemed to be an apprentice and looked young, yet by Dunmer standards he was likely older than Tarrion. The other was a woman, who looked like she would be in her thirties by human standards, and she was furiously trying to tell the apprentice to stop. As she saw the two humans approach she stopped.

"Good afternoon," she started. "Who are you? What is your business in Tel Mythrin?"

"Afternoon," Tarrion answered. "We are looking for Neloth, a Telvanni wizard."

"You'll find him inside, but don't bother him for too long. He is a busy man… and has a lot on his mind."

They thanked her and followed her into the central mushroom. The Apprentice continued with his own affairs.

Inside they saw that it was a comfortable home… for someone that lived in a mushroom. It had a main hall, with several rooms adjacent to it. The wizard himself had just entered the hall with a cup of tea in his hand and he looked at the two that entered.

"Hmmm…. Quite fascinating," he said. "I recall seeing you two at Raven Rock… am I right?"

"True," Tarrion answered. "You pointed us to the Temple in the mountains."

"Ah yes," Neloth said and he started curling his goatee again. "Well… found anything interesting?"

He still spoke with the same posh accent, as a lord speaking to his servant.

"Yes. We found this…. Book there. We heard that you may know more about it."

Tarrion grabbed the Black Book from his backpack and showed it to Neloth. It seemed unchanged and the smoke still oozed from the pages. The Dunmer wizard was surprised, but delighted to see it, as if he had found something he lost.

"Ahhh, yes. Another Book. I have indeed one of these Black Books myself… yet I have been unable to identify its source as of now. Strange. A brilliant wizard such as I should be able to discern the origin and nature of such things without much difficulty."

Serana looked at how Neloth studied the book while still frantically curling his goatee, and she saw how he thought highly of himself. An arrogant man and she raised an eyebrow in his direction.

"Yes, well," she started. "We found this Book in the Temple, and after Tarrion read it he-…"

"You read it?!" Neloth blurted out and he stared at Tarrion for a few seconds. "Ah, yes… you have the look in your eyes. Do not deny it…. You have the look of one who has seen one of the Daedric Realms."

"The what?!" Serana blurted out and she looked at Tarrion. "Is that where you were?"

"I don't know," he answered questionably. "I don't know where I was, but if you say it was one of the Daedric Realms…. I won't say wasn't. It looked otherworldly."

Serana cursed it all in her mind. If the Daedra were involved she would face things she never wanted to face again. She had horrifying experiences with these beings… and even one of the Daedric Lords themselves, and she would do anything to avoid them. But she also knew she would follow Tarrion anywhere… and she would prove to anyone, and anything, that her love for him was stronger than all of them combined.

"Why of course, girl," Neloth remarked and he looked at Serana for two seconds before turning his attention to the Book again. "You think that mortals have the capabilities to create manifestations such as these Black Books? No… one of the Daedric Lords is involved here… but I have yet to discern which one. Something seems to block me from knowing it. But this only strengthens my resolve to know it!" and he straightened his back while curling his goatee like his life depended on it.

"There is but one way to find out who is behind this all… we will have to find out by entering the Book itself."

"We can't…" Tarrion remarked and Neloth looked at him like someone just spoiled his tea. "This book is sealed. We cannot enter it."

"But you said that you had one of these Books too, right?" Serana asked.

"Hmmm….. yes I do, but the book that I have has no relation to this power that is taking over Solstheim… assuming you two still want to stop that."

Neloth walked away to a large table which was filled with parchment, papers and notes. "Hmmm… yes…. The Dwemer might…. Nchardak…. Yes, a similar feel from it."

He rummaged through his papers and notes until he turned around. "We will have to go to Nchardak…. The Dwemer ruins to the northwest."

"I'm sorry, but what do the Dwarves have to do with this?"

"Everything, girl," Neloth answered her and already started packing a few items, including a strange cube. "Forbidden knowledge was something of a speciality of the Dwarves, hmm? They knew that there is more knowledge beyond this world and it seems that they had found a Black Book far before anyone else. They tried to read it, of course…. But no-one knows if it did them any good. But I have seen that Book and the power that emanates from it is similar to the power of this Book. It is likely that they are both linked to this Miraak….. fascinating isn't it?"

Tarrion and Serana looked at each other and they both thought the same. 'Oh so very fascinating… please, tell us more.'

Within the next half hour they left Tel Mythrin and journeyed to Nchardak. While they headed northwest and followed the path, Tarrion asked Neloth what he kew about the Black Books.

"Hmm…. Not as much as I should, perhaps. I studied them for years, but the answer of where they come from always eluded me… but no more! With your assistance I will finally be able to know who is behind this. And it will be the discovery of the century."

They also came across another of the Standing Stones. The Sun Stone and Tarrion shouted again and with Serana and Neloth to help, the monster that showed up was killed.

"This is fascinating…" Neloth remarked as Tarrion pulled his sword from the gut of the monster. "Are you the Dragonborn, or just some Nord who knows a few tricks?"

Tarrion sighed and Serana looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "Would it make a difference?"

"Would it-… Of course it would make a difference!" Neloth said in outrage. "It would make all the difference in the world! The stories say that Miraak was a Dragonborn as well…. But that aside, I wonder if I could take a sample of your blood. Pure for academic purposes… I want to see if your blood and the blood of a Dragon are similar or not. I would also like to know if a black soulgem would work on you. Since you have the soul of a Dragon, I wonder if you could be soul-trapped. And your vocal cords…. Does all that Shouting wear them down? Or the opposite?"

As Neloth started mumbling these questions, more to himself than actually to Tarrion, Serana looked at how he started curling his goatee again and came standing next to Tarrion.

"The only one that can have your blood is me," she whispered to him.

"Good," he smirked. "because it belongs to only you."

"… And your bones…. Do they have a similar structure and density as the bones of Dragons? And I wonder if a Dragon could be captured alive… it would make for a most fascinating test subject. You might be able to help me capture one and in return-…."

"No," Tarrion interrupted him. "You cannot do any of that. You cannot research me or my bones, vocal cords…. You cannot dissect me to research any of my organs…. But my blood you can have…. If you can take it."

Neloth was taken aback by this answer and after sizing the large Nord up a few times he turned around and continued the path, while mumbling something that sounded like 'problematic'. Serana and Tarrion walked a few metres behind him and she smirked at him.

"Is it bad of me to actually want to see him try?"

Tarrion smiled an only chuckled.

-A few hours later-

"Ah… there it is."

The three travellers stood on a small overlook and in the distance they could see the Dwemer city of Nchardak. It was a large city…. Or it would be. The entire city had been reclaimed by the sea and only the highest areas and towers were still visible. A handful of golden domes peaked above the water surface and dotted the area where once a grand city was built.

"The book lies in the greatest of the towers… there in the centre of the city," and Neloth pointed at the largest of the domes. "No-one has been in there in centuries… except me, and I found something interesting on my last visit. Come…. Let's not waste any time."

"I would not recommend going near that place…. It is a place of death."

Behind them a familiar voice sounded and the three turned around, and Serana bared her teeth. Frea walked up to them from between a few trees and she held her hands up as a sign of peace. "I am not here to fight."

Serana gritted her teeth and her hands started to freeze with an ice spell she instinctively charged. "You have some nerve showing up here."

Frea had to swallow a remark and nodded. "You hate me… I can understand that. But I am here to help, as a way of apologizing."

"You cannot apologize for what you said!"

"… I know," Frea answered and she clearly tried her best to keep herself calm. "Yet I know this island better than anyone else, and I may still be able to help."

Both Tarrion and Serana were against the idea, but Neloth seemed fascinated again by the Skaal woman and quickly agreed. Eventually Tarrion conceded and said that she could follow them, if she could keep any remarks to herself and stay out of their way.

An hour later when they arrived at Nchardak they traversed the ancient ruins and the salty sea air filled their lungs. Serana had no idea how it was possible that the entire city would sink beneath the sea and wondered what kind of cataclysm could cause it. She doubted that it was the eruption of Red Mountain, as that would possibly have wiped the city away completely, reducing it to rubble and ash.

Eventually they arrived at the central tower, via the pathways and stairs that were still intact just above the water surface. Tarrion saw a large door, with a wrought-iron barrier in front of it.

"Ah, yes… here we are," Neloth said and he pulled the strange cube from his backpack. "The Dwemer of Nchardak seemed to have been fond of these 'control cubes'. They can activate certain mechanisms in the city like this door. I sealed it last time I was here to keep out ignorant meddlers…. Let me unlock it."

He placed the cube in a small pedestal next to the door. A few small mechanical sounds were heard and the wrought-iron barrier opened and the door was unlocked.

-Nchardak-

Inside they found themselves in a large, circular room and large pipes filled with steam covered the walls. The ceiling was high and was covered with a metal dome. In the centre of the room they saw a small glass dish, and when they neared it they could see what was hidden under it.

The Black Book that they were looking for lay just underneath the glass. Its pages oozing with green and black smoke and a power almost like a siren's song came from it.

"So tantalizingly close," Neloth said, almost with a smile. "But trust me, no magic will open that. I would have had the Book already if it could. No… unfortunately we will have to do this the hard way."

"What do you mean?" Serana asked.

"There," and Neloth pointed at a small pedestal with a single button on it. "See that pedestal? It is my believe that that pedestal controls this glass protection. Press it, and it should open the Book's protective case. But there is no power in this room. We will have to supply this room with enough power so that I can open the case that hides this Book."

"Enough power?" Frea asked. "How?"

"If you would both let me speak, I can explain," Neloth said with a sigh and he started curling his goatee again. "Below this room is a large hall. There we will find four large boilers, each generating power. These boilers can be activated with a control cube such as the one I have here. All we need to do is get those boilers working again, and the Book should be accessible."

"Then we need to find three more cubes," Tarrion answered and took his eyes off the Black Book.
"Four, actually…. The boilers have been flooded, just like most of the city, but if we activate one of the pumps, they should resurface again."

And so Neloth led them down a large elevator and a set of stairs… deeper down into the bowels of the city. They eventually entered a massive hall where, just like Neloth said, two large pumps controlled the flooding of the city, and on a large platform, some twenty metres below them, four massive boilers, each at least twenty metres high, stood silently… half submerged in the waters of the sea.

Neloth showed them how the pumps worked and after placing the control cube in one of the pedestals the old pump came to life and the waters lowered, revealing a new area of the city.

It was long and tiresome. Finding the cubes was easier said than done, as they were hidden in the city, each of them protected by the Dwemer automatons. Each of them activating and deactivating mechanisms. Each of them needed to unlock the other. Eventually they entered the lower parts of the city to find the last of the cubes and the ground was slick with algae and seaweed. It was dirty work and when Tarrion grabbed one of the cubes, deactivating one of the local pumps the water started to rise again, flooding the room and almost drowning Frea.

"Thanks for the help," she snarled at Serana who looked at how she climbed on dry land again.

"You didn't look like you needed any," she answered coldly.

And after they found the last cube and left for the main hall again, Serana grabbed one cube from one of the pumps before Frea had even made it all the way up.

Frea wanted to protest, but thought it wiser not to and after Serana gave her a sarcastic "Oops… I didn't notice that you were still down there." Tarrion quickly activated the boilers before things would escalate.

"Ah, yes…. That should do it," Neloth said happily after the last boiler came to life. "Now we need to get back upstairs and see if the Reading Room has steam. Then it should be a simple matter to release the book."

Back in the reading room they indeed saw that the room had come to life, and the mechanisms on the walls and ceiling were pumping again. Cobwebs had come down and a few spiders had run off to find a better place to make their home. Neloth immediately ran off to the pedestal and pressed the button.

Steam was released and after grinding wheels and pumping pumps the glass casing opened and the Black Book was raised.

"Finally… I hope it was worth it," Neloth smiled as he neared the pedestal. "Quite fascinating… this Book feels different than the one I have, yet if I am not mistaken it is similar to the one you have. Hmmm…"

He stared at the Book and took a step back and turned to Tarrion. "You should be the one to read it. Please be my guest."

Tarrion raised an eyebrow.

"My intentions are nothing but noble," Neloth said with a fake smile. "You should do the honors….. besides it could be very dangerous. These Books are known to drive people insane. And entering one of the Daedric Realms is not something that should be done lightly."

Serana turned to Tarrion and he saw the fear in her eyes…. But he smiled and calmed her. "Do not worry… I will come back. In one piece."

"Just…. Don't agree to anything… alright?"

Tarrion could understand her fear, and with her history with the Daedra, he headed her warning. He knew that the Daedra were mischievous at best, and malicious almost always, and he would be very careful when dealing with them.

"I will…. Besides," and he kissed her. "We still have a wedding to attend to."

Serana's smile gave him a bit more courage and he opened the Book.

Immediately green tentacles shot from its pages and wrapped themselves around his arms and neck, and he became transparent. Serana stood idly as her beloved was swallowed by something she despised and hoped with everything that she was that he would come back to her.

"What was he talking about?" Frea asked and she looked at Tarrion's motionless body. "What wedding?"

Serana did not answer immediately, but when she did she raised herself to her full length and with her head held up proudly she showed Frea the ring on her finger.

"Our wedding," she said and she stared the Skaal woman down. "We intend to marry each other."

Whatever answer Frea thought she would get, this was one she never expected. She blinked a few times while opening and closing her mouth… unable to say a word. Serana gloated as her opponent was defeated by this one statement and for a few moments she forgot about everything that had happened in the last days. She reminded herself of the fact that the man she loved had asked her to marry him, and she had answered with a wholehearted 'yes'.

"This is quite fascinating, though… isn't it."

Both woman had forgotten all about Neloth who now stood in front of Tarrion… staring and studying his motionless body. He seemed to have completely missed or ignored the exchange between them and was focused on how Tarrion seemed here… yet not here.

"Did this happen last time he read that book?" he asked and Frea nodded. "Interesting… that would suggest that he now exists at two places at once."

Neloth walked around Tarrion a second time and suddenly charged a small fire spell in his hand and let it pass through Tarrion's body.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Serana shouted but Neloth seemed to be fascinated by what he saw.

"Calm yourself, girl… he cannot be harmed now. It seems tha-…"

But he fell silent, and both women heard why. The echo of a roar came from outside and by the sound of it, it was no monster… but a Dragon.

-Apocrypha-

When Tarrion opened his eyes he saw the same strange environment as last time he read a Black Book. The ground was littered with pages and scrolls. Everywhere he looked he saw walls… no, mountains of books as far as he could see. When he turned around he saw how there seemed to be water around him. But it was green and toxic and it seemed no life could be in it. He took a few careful steps and he heard whispers. When he looked up to one of the massive piles of books he saw one of the creatures that Miraak had controlled. It had not noticed him… or maybe it just ignored him and it delved through the endless amount of books.

As he continued he saw that the path lead to a shrine… far in the distance. And even further beyond that… he saw a massive tower looming over the endless plains of books and toxic waters.

"Hmmmm…"

A sound like a drum… deep and menacing chuckled and broke the silence that lay over the landscape. Tarrion instinctively drew his sword and when the voice spoke he clenched his teeth, for he knew whose voice it was.

"As I told you… when I gave you the Ogma Infinium; Your fee will is… an illusion."

"Hermaeus Mora…." And he saw the mass of eyes and tentacles form in front of him. "What is it this time?"

=End of Chapter=

=Author's Notes=

An old enemy of Tarrion… a Daedric Lord no less. He sure know how to pick his adversaries, doesn't he? But that concludes it for this chapter.

As with the previous chapters…. If you have any questions you want to ask either Tarrion, Serana or both… feel free to ask them, and I will see if I can't put them in the upcoming 'intermission chapters' "Interview with the Vampiress/Werewolf" that I will make after I finish this Arc.

Dragon Language Used:

GOL: Earth (From the Bend Will Shout)

I'll see to it that I finish this arc ASAP, but if I don't publish anything before the end of this year, I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Years.