Dar'adhavi paused at the top of a small ash drift, studying the ruins of the fort. She couldn't see any movement, which was meaningless, given that the ash spawn could claw their way up from seemingly harmless ash drifts. She considered her quiver and fired an arrow into a training dummy half buried in the ash. The response was almost immediate, with ash spawn rising from all over the courtyard and descending on her arrow. She picked them off with impunity, then crept through the gate.
She froze, pinning herself against the wall as a voice rung out, announcing an intruder and commanding his men to destroy them. She held still, hardly breathing, waiting to see if any more spawn would appear. After minutes that dealt like hours with no movement, she relaxed and gathered her arrows, ears swiveling constantly to catch any wayward movement.
She tried the doors, swearing quietly until she reached one that was unbarred. She paused in the entryway, letting her eyes adjust as she picked off a few more ash spawn. She crept through the ruins of the fort, picking off the ash spawn and spiders as she went, until she found a key and a journal. She ignored the journal and headed back the way she came, unlocking the chamber at the center.
More ash spawn, and a human with a glowing stone in his chest. Dar'adhavi found a shadowed place on some barrels and started to take them out. The human called for support in the same voice she heard in the courtyard as she landed an arrow in the ash spawn closest to him. She put him down with an arrow in his eye and approached cautiously. He smelled dead, almost but not quite like a dragur, and she wasn't sure what the stone could do. She didn't relax until the stone was in her pocket, along with some other small trinkets lying around.
She left the fort, heading back to Raven Rock. Veloth might be willing to pay her for stopping whatever that was, and if not, well, she could find some form of compensation. She skirted the edge of the town, looking for secure places to stash supplies, just in case, humming a bit as she found a barrel full of wine. She caught sight of Veloth and approached.
"General Carius is dead again. He had some stone in his chest, and it appears someone else raised him for their own purpose."
Captain Veleth sighed in relief. "You have our thanks, Outlander. Here. I have a small discretionary fund available to me, and I thought it best suited as a reward."
Dar'adhavi accepted the pouch, tucking it into her belt as she fell into step with the captain. "Is there anything else this one can assist with?"
He sighed, annoyed. "There is. Several of the Guard have taken to drinking themselves insensate when off duty. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but they've found something more potent than the usual fare."
"Emberbrand wine? This one found a stash of such back there," she waved at the ruined houses hiding the cache.
"Well, then. That solves that little problem of mine. You have my thanks again. Should you need anything, if it within my power, I will assist you."
She flicked an ear as she heard movement in the forge behind her. "Not at the moment. But this one must take her leave, and speak to Glover. May your road lead you to warm sands."
She bowed shallowly and turned to the forge. She hid a smile when she saw the Shadowmark on the doorframe as she waited for the smith to notice her.
"Can I help you?" he asked, examining the blade he was working on.
Dar'adhavi grinned. "This one wished to speak to you. She has a letter, as well."
He grunted, shoving the blade into the oil-filled trough and turning to face her. He set the blade on the anvil, grabbing the offered letter. Dar'adhavi leaned against a post, studying his face as he read the letter. She'd not opened it, choosing to give Delvin his privacy, but she could follow the general tone of the letter on Glover's face.
His eyebrows were almost at his hairline when he looked up at her. "Well, this is… I think we should talk inside."
She nodded, following him into his cottage.
"Delvin says you're a Nightingale? And the new Guildmistress?"
She nodded. "So this one is. Mercer Frey had betrayed the Guild, and is dead by this one's claws." She cocked her head at him. "This one is also hoping to further the Guild's interests outside Skyrim's borders, and was hoping to recruit your assistance."
Glover sighed. "I'd love to help, but I've mostly gone legit. There's nothing worth stealing on this rock." He leaned against a small table, running a hand over the fuzz along his scalp. "Well, that's not completely true. Couple of people managed to steal from me."
"Oh?"
He sighed, resigned. "Yeah. Crescius took my ancient nordic pickaxe, and Esmond Tyne…" he scrubbed a hand over his face. "He saw the shadowmark on the door, mentioned it. I thought he was one of us so I let him in. He took my plans for an improved bonemold formula."
She shook her head. "Well, you are still of the Guild, as far as this one is concerned. This one shall see about returning what was stolen, and then we shall discuss business."
"Well, that's appreciated. You can leave your things here, and you're welcome to stay here as long as you're in Raven Rock. Crescius is probably in the old ebony mine, and I don't know where Esmond went."
"This one will find him. But first, the pickaxe. This one assumes it is worth more than a common pickaxe?"
He snorted. "Of course. It's more durable. And Crescius is determined to get into that mine."
She sighed. "Very well. This one will head to the mine, then."
Glover showed her where she could leave her pack, directing her toward the mine at the city's edge. She stopped just inside the mine, brushing as much ash out of her fur as she could.
This Miraak will have much to answer for.
She heard voices and slipped into a shadow, shamelessly eavesdropping.
"Dammit, woman, I said to leave me be!"
"Crescius, last time you explored the mine, you almost fell to your death!"
Dar'adhavi sighed and walked into the light. The couple continued their argument as she approached, the old Nord demanding to be left alone, as the Dunmer woman begged him to stay, claiming she did not wish to be a widow. The Nord glared at Dar'adhavi when she stepped into his line of sight.
"Who the blazes are you? Can't you see I'm busy?"
She twitched her tail in annoyance. "This one is here to collect a stolen Ancient Nordic Pickaxe for Glover Mallory, but…" She sighed. "This one is younger and better suited to travels in the dark. Perchance this one could help you find your ancestor's remains?"
He considered her, eyes narrowing. His wife smacked his arm.
"Yes, absolutely. Here, this is a letter and a key that belonged to him." The woman swept a book off the desk, shoving it at Dar'adhavi. "His name was Gratian Caerellius. The East Empire company said he died down there in a rockfall. If you can find his remains, he should have a journal. You're welcome to anything you can find down there, and I'll see to it that Glover gets his pickaxe back. And, we'll pay you, if you come back with any information."
Dar'adhavi raised a brow, taking a step back as Crescius wheeled on the Dunmer. Before he could speak, she laid into him. Dar'adhavi slunk past the arguing couple and headed deeper into the mine. She kept to the shadows, picking off the frostbite spiders and occasional skeever that had taken up residence, following the path of the mine. She found a few dead ends, but they didn't slow her for long. At the end of the dug out area, she found a wooden wall, with several loose boards.
She approached the wall, carefully scenting the air. The air smelled fresh enough, and she could tell there was water ahead, as well as some dragur.
Well, this should be fun.
She pried off the loose boards, unsurprised to find the area beyond mined as thoroughly as the entrance. She followed this new path, pleased to find a small strongbox near a gate. The strongbox yielded a diamond, some coin, and a necklace with the East Empire emblem on the pendant. She pocketed them, then tried the key on the gate. It opened easily, and she walked on, tail twitching.
She paused as she studied what lay ahead. It appeared that the old miners had stumbled upon a ruin, similar to the ones in Skyrim. She shrugged and crept onward, slipping past the dragur, and picking off the ones she couldn't avoid. She didn't see anything that looked like the recently deceased, but she did find several gemstones and a fair amount of coin.
Deeper into the ruin, she found an opening into a massive cave, with a door on the wall opposite.
"Well. I guess I found the rockfall."
She secured the spidersilk rope and carefully lowered herself down. She left the rope for now, in case she needed an exit, and walked deeper into the cave. She found some skeletons mixed with the remains of some dragur in the ruins of a campsite. Shrugging, she rooted through the packs, unearthing a journal, a sword that reeked of magic, and several coins.
She pocketed the coins, scanning through the journal. It was Gratian's, claiming the ruins were of the Bloodskaal clan and the sword the Bloodskaal Blade. She rolled her eyes. Named weapons were never worth the drama. She studied the door and Gratian's sketches and scowled.
"You were supposed to be a scholar. How could you miss the answer before you?" she demanded of his skull, rising and raising the blade.
Carefully, she swung the sword, practicing on aiming the ribbon of light at the stones around the chamber before finally striking the door. Once she had hit the pattern engraved on the door, it slid open, revealing what looked like a hall of stories, hung with row upon row of swinging blades.
Dar'adhavi swore. There was likely something in there, and an incredibly dangerous something, at that. She glanced back at her rope and sighed, annoyed. Well, nothing for it. She collected her rope, stowing it in her pack as she approached the open door again. She stood for a bit, watching the blades, timing her movements carefully. She slid under the first set of blades, berating herself. You could leave. Yes, leaving the door open means it's likely that whatever is in here will slaughter the town, but that hardly concerns you, does it? She sighed, slipping under the final set of blades. A week ago, I wanted to be Empress. I should actually hold myself to a higher standard. She pulled the lever, hearing the blades stop behind her as the portcullis before her rose.
She walked into a flooded chamber, a word wall on the far shore, and a large chest before her. As far as she could see, the chamber was empty save for those. She crouched, pulling shadows around her as she walked around the edge of the pool. She could faintly see something in the water. She stopped halfway around the pool, drawing her bow and picking up a small stone. She tossed the stone to the far edge of the pool, drawing and nocking an arrow as the water boiled.
A dragur, wearing a mask of the dragon cult's priests, rose from the water, screaming at where the stone had fallen. Dar'adhavi nodded, shooting it in the back of the head and moving as it whipped around, charging where she had been. She continued to shoot it and move, relaxing as it collapsed into ash at last. She read the wall, twitching her tail at the praise to Miraak, and searched through the chest. She wasn't too surprised to see it was empty. After all, it made for a very attractive trap for the foolish. She shrugged and headed through the second door. It opened, revealing a greenish-black book on a pedestal. The book simultaneously attracted and repelled her and she walked past it, intending to leave it untouched.
But she found herself standing before it, whispers echoing in her ears.
"Fine," she snapped, grabbing the book.
She opened it, unnerved to see the words swirl around the page as tentacles emerged from the pages, pulling her in.
When her vision cleared, she found herself standing on a platform, surrounded by water of the same blackish-green color as the book. There were towers of books and scrolls. Slowly, she spun in a circle, but there was no obvious exit.
"So, another seeker after knowledge enters my realm. I am Hermaeus Mora, Prince of Fate and Lord of Secrets. This is Apocrypha, where all knowledge is you will prove clever enough to uncover the secrets hidden here. If so, welcome. Perhaps you are a fool or a coward. If so, you are in peril. Read your book again and escape before Apocrypha claims you forever."
She swore, realizing what Sheogorath's warning had meant. Her beltpouch jerked and she swore again. She dug the clear crystal out, unsurprised to see it was floating, pointing in a particular direction. It didn't appear to be the exit, but nothing was ever what it appeared to be in Oblivion. She followed the crystal, scowling at it when it collided with a pillar of books and scrolls. She tried to pull it clear, but it stuck fast to the scroll it landed on.
Rolling her eyes, she pulled the scroll free, tucking it into the slim pack she wore under her quiver. Once the scroll was secure, the crystal floated, pulling her in a different direction. She followed the crystal, resigning herself to a few hours of aimless wandering.
At least Hermaeus Mora doesn't seem annoyed by my presence, she consoled herself, following the crystal as she scaled a pillar of tightly packed books. The crystal landed on a tattered-looking journal, wedged firmly into the pillar. She sighed, settling herself and pulling a dagger from her boot to prise the journal free. It eventually slid loose, and she slipped it into her pack as the crystal tugged her in a new direction.
Dar'adhavi followed the new path cautiously. There was a smell ahead that had her hackles rising. She dropped to a crouch, slowly easing her way from shadow to shadow. The crystal seemed to respond to her movements, as it was still guiding her, but more gently. She rounded a corner, freezing as she caught sight of a daedra. It had its back to her, apparently content to act as caretaker for the books and scrolls scattered around. Slowly, trying to avoid drawing attention to herself, she pulled her bow free, nocking an arrow as the daedra moved to a different section. Dar'adhavi swore under her breath as she caught sight of the thing's face. It bore more than a passing resemblance to the masks worn by the would-be assassins in Riften. That decided her. She loosed the arrow, silently moving to a new hiding place as the arrow landed.
She swore again as the daedra summoned two copies of itself, seeking out her hiding place. She scented the air, then aimed at the middle daedra. It fell, the other two vanishing as it did. Dar'adhavi approached, but it was nothing more, now, than a tattered cloak. The crystal moved, jabbing at the pile of cloth. Dar'adhavi arched an eyebrow at it, then rooted through the remains, unearthing the scroll the crystal wanted.
Dar'adhavi continued down the path, dodging a tentacle that emerged from a pool as it whipped through the air. The crystal directed her to a dead end, occupied by another floating tentacle-faced daedra and a small cyclone of loose pages. She sighed, shooting the daedra twice in rapid succession, then poked through the books and scrolls it left behind. There was nothing to interest her, or the crystal, which was insistently pointing at the cyclone.
She released the crystal, snatching the page it attached to. Once she held it again, it continued pointing at the cyclone.
"Are you sure?" she asked, wry, as she loosed the crystal again. It connected to a second sheet, which she added to her growing collection.
Twice more the crystal attached to loose sheets in the cyclone, before it fell, dangling at the end of its chain, as lifeless as it had been on Nirn.
Dar'adhavi shrugged, tucking it back into her pouch and seeking the exit. She crept through the halls, thinking over what she had seen and been told as she made her way out.
She paused at the tunnel's end, studying the room before her. She could see two platforms, elevated from the main room, across from the tunnel exit. The defining feature of the room below, however, was a massive pool, filled with the same inky black fluid that rippled under the small island. Her ears pinned back, tail lashing as she considered the pool. The smaller ones she had passed birthed tentacles that whipped past her with enough force to wound. A pool of this size likely housed something far worse.
She scanned the rest of the room, spotting a small scrye on the far wall. She sighed. There was no way to get anywhere in that room without moving dangerously close to the pool. She counted her arrows and swore softly. Ten. She unslung her pack, swearing again as she realized she'd foolishly left her sword with Glover. She pulled the Bloodskaal blade loose, laying it in easy grabbing distance, just in case. She winced, hoping it wouldn't come to that. The sword was far heavier than she was accustomed to, and she would tire much faster if it came to a fight.
She retreated a bit, grabbing an empty soul gem from a table. She tossed it into the air, catching it and considering its weight. Nodding to herself, she crouched beside the sword, hurling the gem into the pool.
The reaction was immediate. The water boiled, and a massive daedra rose, roaring and spitting poison in an arc.
Dar'adhavi hissed, firing two arrows in rapid succession. The second arrow must have hit something important, as the daedra froze, falling onto its face. Dar'adhavi took advantage, shooting it until she ran out of arrows. Tail lashing, she dropped the bow, scooping up the Bloodskaal blade as the creature staggered to its feet.
She swung the blade, lashing the daedra with a ribbon of red light. The daedra turned to face her, roaring again. She roared Fire Breath back at it, lashing it with another ribbon as it staggered back from the flames.
Thankfully, it fell under the combined attack, and Dar'adhavi allowed herself to collapse in relief.
She tucked the sword back into her pack, slowly approaching the creature to see what arrows she could retrieve. She slipped the small amount of gems and jewelry that decorated the daedra into her pouch, then turned to face the platforms. She triggered the scrye, flicking an ear when the far platform grew a set of stairs, gate swinging open.
She searched the platform, discarding most of the books and scrolls, deciding to leave instead of indulging in her avarice. A scrye on the platform triggered a second set of stairs, leading to the next platform. She followed the new staircase, eyes narrowing at the book on the pedistal before her.
It was the same book she had opened in the barrow, the sigil on the front glowing with a pulsing light, like a heartbeat. She opened it, studying the sigils that appeared. She touched the third, shuddering as she felt the magic slide down her spine.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the chamber in the ruin, the book lying harmless before her. She sneered at it, but opened her pack to bring it with her. She was surprised to see the papers still there, but planned to deal with them later, after she'd returned to Raven Rock. She headed up the stairs, dropping to a crouch when she heard voices ahead.
It was a tomb, similar enough to all the ones she'd passed through in Skyrim, and full of bandits. She rolled her eyes at the bandits, mercilessly taking them out from the shadows. Once she was clear of the ruins, back in the open air, she paused, considering. The tower she was facing was obviously a part of the bandit group she'd just wiped out in the tomb, with even more bandits preying on the populace.
She shook her head, choosing to avoid the fight and scale down the mountainside. She was on the far side of the range from Raven Rock, and the sun was slipping below the horizon. She'd get clear of the bandits, find a place to make a camp, and read what she'd stolen from Apocrypha.
Dar'adhavi scaled the closest ridge, seeking out the fastest path to Raven Rock. She nodded to herself and headed down a game trail. Once she was a decent distance away from the bandit camp, she started looking for campsites, finally settling on a small overhang. She tucked her pack under the rock, setting out to find enough wood for the night.