Winds of the Ashfall: An Elder Scrolls Tale
Greg J Miller
~O~
Chapter 9
Morndas the 29th of Last Seed 4E71 Morning
Just as he'd planned, Alaron Suvaris rose before the sun. Once he'd attended to immediate matters, then gathered his belongings and dressed in his ebony armour, he left the rented room above the tavern. Downstairs, he was mildly surprised to find the place empty and unattended. Not having the time to wait about for anyone, he left the key to the room on the service counter and quickly departed the Brandy and Egg.
With the sun yet to crest the eastern horizon, the muted colours of the morning remained slightly subdued as Suvaris stepped out onto the main street of Silgrad. Turning eastward and heading directly for the main road running past the township, he noticed what appeared to be a couple of pale coloured moths sailing past on the mild southerly breeze.
Only from hearing the occasional noise outside, he'd been vaguely aware of some gusty winds persisting through parts of the evening. It seemed to have eased to only a light breeze at some point. There were just a few wispy clouds drifting high in the otherwise clear sky and the morning air did seem quite cool. However, it was fair to recall that the previous day had also started off fairly cool, so that wasn't necessarily any clear indication of just what might lay ahead for that day.
Doing his best not to be late, Suvaris quickened his stride along the last part of the broad street up the centre of Silgrad. Except for just one or two that he'd noticed, most of those sparsely spaced street lamps had burned out by that time of the morning. Other than only the one person leaving the western end of town, headed toward the farmlands, no one else appeared to be out and about on the street at that early hour.
At the eastern end of the central street, Suvaris turned south and maintained that brisk pace along the main road skirting along the outer edge of town. He again noted another couple of fluttering insects drift by on the breeze. He then realised that they weren't actually moths, but white butterflies. From his recollection, they weren't necessarily so uncommon, but it seemed slightly odd to see them fluttering about so early in the morning.
As he arrived at the southern corner of the township, Suvaris noticed the Rurvyn traders and their pack-guar coming along behind the houses, obviously having just left the back of the smith's. Looking off in the opposite direction, he noted that the sun was just about to rise above the horizon, a little to the right of Red Mountain.
Faryl spoke up with mild cheer. "Mornin' to ya."
"And to you all." Suvaris inclined his head, extending a broadened response.
Dravyn and Bradyn merely returned mildly courteous nods of acknowledgment.
Faryl kept moving toward the main road. "Was a bit windy, last night."
Suvaris politely agreed. "Yes, I'd noticed."
"Was talkin' about Dravyn."
"Shut yer face." The brother's sharp response sounded only half-serious.
Faryl chuckled mildly to himself as he took the lead along the road. Suvaris quickly fell into step at his side. As before, the other two held back a little, leading the guar along behind them.
Young Bradyn weighed in with his opinion. "Least it wasn't so hot, after them winds came up. I'll take windy weather over stinkin' hot anytime."
Dravyn called ahead to Suvaris. "You get looked after by Bovis?"
Suvaris glanced back only briefly. "Yes, I found his tavern easily enough and the accommodations provided were satisfactory. Of course, the brandy and the eggs were both better than satisfactory."
Dravyn grunted. "Yeah, everyone says so."
The southerly breeze turned gusty for a few moments, whipping up a little dust along the road ahead. However, it wasn't just the dust that drew attention. Several more of those white butterflies took flight as the low bushes along the roadside were shaken in the wind. Looking further out, a greater number of those butterflies could be seen floating on the winds.
"Heh, will ya take a look at all that. Don't see that so often." Faryl's excitable comment reflected what Suvaris was already thinking.
"Gotta be hundreds of 'em." Bradyn sounded a little astonished.
Dravyn weighed in. "Thousands, more like."
Suvaris agreed with the estimate. "Yes, at the very least." Looking toward the south, the small white wings seemed to fill the air for as far as the eye could see.
"Don't normally see that many about." Dravyn sounded almost suspicious.
Faryl agreed with his brother. "No, not all at once."
Though it did seem unusual, Suvaris remained more reserved. "From my younger days, I seem to recall that those particular butterflies were generally much more common further south, but still… rarely so many all at once."
Faryl spoke again. "Yeah, we seen 'em before too, but not like that many."
Dravyn voiced a notion. "Almost like some sorta plague from one of the gods, or else somethin' ya might expect outa that Sheogorath character."
Rather than citing the workings of that Daedric Prince of madness, Suvaris held a more rational explanation in mind. "I might think that the sudden burst of unusually warm weather must have caused all those butterflies to hatch from their cocoons all at the very same time. Along with that, those gusty southerly winds have probably blown them northward from the Deshaan. I've seen something like that before, though perhaps not quite so many as this."
Bradyn weighed in. "I'm with the Guild Fighter. Not everything's 'bout the gods."
His father frowned at him. "Not everything, but more than enough things."
Faryl added another thought. "Hope them butterflies ain't gonna go causin' problems for all the farmers of these parts. Last thing we need is some sorta famine from losin' the last of the summer crops."
Suvaris responded. "A fair concern. However, it seems that most of those butterflies are likely to serve as a feast for other creatures."
In the fields off to the east of the road, a minor flurry of small birds illustrated exactly what Suvaris had been suggesting. It was likely that the birds would be gorging themselves upon the insects. He also understood that all that activity would be likely to attract other predators of a larger variety. Though the butterflies provided some measure of distraction, he reminded himself that it would be wise to maintain vigilance for that kind of trouble.
Suvaris again looked to the road ahead, recalling that portion of the journey from more than a week before. The road turned eastward not far out from Silgrad, then shifted in a generally south-easterly direction for some distance. It followed a path remaining only a relatively short distance from the western shores of the Inner Sea. "I'd say that we're unlikely to make it to Bodrum before dark."
Dravyn spoke up again from behind. "Not goin' to Bodrum."
Bradyn added to that. "Be turning the other way where the road splits."
"Headed for Ol' Ebonheart." Dravyn clarified his son's words.
Suvaris turned slightly, directing a slightly confused expression. "I'd thought that we'd be travelling to Mournhold by the southern route. I'd been advised by several to avoid the road by the Inner Sea. Especially, around Old Ebonheart."
Dravyn responded with a vague shake of his head. "Word's slow to spread, but all that's settled down a fair bit over the last coupla weeks."
Faryl explained further. "All that trouble was weeks an' weeks ago. There were some fresh eruptions of bad vapours, an' the like, out over parts of Scathing Bay. Makin' it all too way dangerous for shippin'. An' Ol' Ebonheart copped it real bad, as well. But like Dravyn says, it's all settled down a fair bit by now."
Suvaris' silent expression conveyed his measure of scepticism.
Dravyn responded first. "What we heard, place was pretty much cleared out for a good few weeks, but everyone's pretty much back there now."
Faryl continued with a shrug. "That's right. We seen it. Passed through Ol' Ebonheart just a coupla weeks back. Needed to wear special dust masks about town, but it's not so bad."
"Special dust masks?" Suvaris wondered exactly what was meant.
Faryl nodded in an animated fashion. "Yeah, that's part of why we're headed there, for Ol' Ebonheart. Got a few sacks fulla dust masks for the people there."
"Special dust masks." Dravyn emphasised the point.
Faryl nodded again, looking to Suvaris. "Yeah, special like. They been soaked in charcoal water and treated with special potions."
"I see." Suvaris returned a reserved nod. He thought that it sounded like something suitable for dealing with dust and ash, but he wasn't convinced of what level of protection might be offered against more toxic vapours."
Faryl resumed. "Won't be getting near there til tomorrow."
Dravyn chimed in again. "Oughta make Veranis Hall by midday or so."
"An' Omayni before nightfall." Faryl added to his brother's comment.
Suvaris nodded silently to himself. He'd passed by those lesser localities on his way northward, but paid little attention to either place. He'd actually forgotten the name of the village of Omayni. He hadn't been quite certain of the name of the other place either, since it had changed name at least twice that he recalled and was apparently again known as Veranis Hall.
Suvaris gave voice to a thought. "I don't recall seeing much at… Omayni."
"Ain't much there." Faryl shook his head. "They got a little tavern. S'posed to have a room for rent, but ain't likely much like ya might be useta. Ain't likely better than sleepin' out or worth the coin they might be askin'."
Suvaris returned a silent nod of understanding.
Faryl resumed. "A cousin of Bovis married a fella who runs a farm there. They grow a bit of saltrice an' wickwheat, an' some other stuff. They let us stay in their grain shed, when we're passin' by."
"I see." Suvaris had already lost track of the various family connections that the Rurvyn's had previously mentioned, but it seemed like they had relations in just about every place that they regularly passed through.
After young Bradyn again passed comment of his approval of the cooler conditions of that morning, the conversation fell away. Suvaris returned his attention to keeping a watchful eye upon the road and listening for other unseen threats that might be lurking nearby.
It had to be at least a good hour past midday by the time that they finally approached the small settlement of Veranis Hall. For the most part, the journey along the road had remained relatively trouble free, but not without its moments.
Stopping for a quick piss-break by the side of the road around mid-morning, there was an incident involving a large rat, the size of a small dog, emerging from the nearby bushes and fields of heather. It was the agitation of the guar that firstly alerted them to something.
Suvaris was quick to put the rodent down with his blade, before anyone else needed to become involved. Before resuming the journey, he made a point of dragging the bloodied carcass a short distance into the field to avoid attracting other predators too close to the road.
About an hour later, they'd encountered another pair of Dunmer traders travelling on foot to Silgrad Tower from the south. They carried their wares in heavy backpacks, instead of using a guar. Those traders also had an armed guard with them. From appearance and general behaviour, he looked to be hired for the task. The guard hardly looked as well armed or armoured as Suvaris, but he seemed reasonably up to the job.
After some brief comments were exchanged about all the white butterflies fluttering about, the two parties parted ways and then continued onward in opposing directions.
A little further along, a small pack of nix-hounds were spotted off in the distance, in the hills to the west. They appeared to be chasing something and headed further away. Since they seemed to keep heading in that general direction, they posed no immediate concern.
With the persistent southerly breeze of that morning continuing on into the afternoon, the day never really seemed nearly as warm as it had been on Sundas. That was certainly something to be grateful for. Even so, everyone was feeling quite ready for some rest by the time that they arrived outside Veranis Hall.
They didn't have any need to actually go into the settlement. They merely stopped in the shade of a convenient tree along the roadside just outside the place. Veranis Hall wasn't much to look at. It appeared as little more than a large manor belonging to a wealthy family, surrounded by a handful of farmhouses, with the nearby farms just beyond.
By the time that they finally paused for a break, no one seemed much in the mood for conversation. Once they'd all eaten, quenched their thirst, and briefly rested, they again resumed their southbound journey along the road.
The remainder of the afternoon proved to be blissfully uneventful as they travelled the southbound road. It easily seemed even quieter than the morning had been. They passed no one at all along the road. There were still quite a few butterflies fluttering about. As a result of that, they also observed a lot of birds, but not the kind that meant any sort of direct trouble. Though they'd again both heard and seen some creatures of the wild that represented potential threat, none had been near enough to raise cautious concern to any state of great alarm.
Though Suvaris wasn't perfectly clear upon where the line was currently drawn, he knew well enough that they'd left the Velothis region of Morrowind behind them and entered the north-western part of the Stonefalls region.
Even though the smouldering peak of Tormented Spire was still a fair way off, some of its periodic influence upon the landscape had become more evident. Compared to the greater activity of Red Mountain over the past decades, Tormented Spire had remained comparatively quiet. It still smouldered and bellowed some ash from time to time, but far less than that much larger mountain across the sea on Vvardenfell. As he understood it, Tormented Spire also dribbled some lava flows from its sides, but that also remained rather moderate in the general scheme of things. Some amount of lava periodically drained from the eastern slopes reaching near to the River Thir. A lesser amount sometimes came from the western slopes, flowing down into the rocky valleys and upper tributaries well to the east of Kragenmoor.
From the best of his recollection, there wouldn't really be much likelihood of encountering lava flows anywhere along the road between there and Old Ebonheart.
Nearing their immediate destination late in the afternoon, the road took them quite near to the south-western corner of the Inner Sea. If not for the prevailing southern wind, he might have expected to smell the salt on the air. He didn't really know whether to expect anything more dangerous that far from where the recent eruptions had been occurring. The others made no mention of it.
Though he wasn't at all certain of just how much Scathing Bay had recently affected some of the coastal regions, the land had generally been more fertile near to the sea. Even so, some areas between the coast and Tormented Spire had had always been somewhat barren.
Some of that was already in view. Looking off to the south toward the hills between Omayni and the smouldering mountain, the vegetation appeared rather more strained than what grew in the northern Velothis region or even much further south where the southern Stonefalls region met the Deshaan.
Just as they neared the village of Omayni, a momentary easing of the southern breeze allowed Suvaris to hear a strange noise that he'd not heard in many years. The sounds were coming from somewhere over the far side of the village, near where some of the village farmlands were not so far from the sea.
Though he couldn't actually see anything from the road, the echoes of the mournful howls of a herd of netch were unmistakable. Given that he'd rarely seen any wild netch roaming anywhere other than near the upper reaches of the Thir or down near the southern marshlands of the Deshaan, the likely conclusion seemed obvious enough.
Noting Suvaris' curious expression, Faryl spoke up to confirm. "A fella runs a herd of netch out the back of Omayni."
Suvaris returned a nod. "Yes, I expected as much."
He still held somewhat mixed feelings over the farming of netch. Of course, he was perfectly aware that it had been a practice of some long standing, going right back to when his ancestors first spread out across that land. Given that the flesh of those free-floating creatures was toxic and completely inedible, harvesting them just for the netch leather seemed a wasteful exercise. He also understood that Telvanni mages valued extracted netch jelly for its other alchemical properties, but that still seemed somewhat unnecessary to his thinking.
Out in the wild, the netch generally presented as one of the most harmless creatures of that land. They just floated about near certain waterways, grazing and drifting just above the land, buoyed by their internal gas sacs. Left alone, they generally caused no trouble. Only upon rare occasion, a raging bull-netch or a calving betty-netch might turn aggressive if unexpectedly provoked. The shock-charges and poisons from their dangling tentacles could be quite dangerous. Even so, that sort of thing remained fairly rare.
Suvaris was shaken from his passing thoughts as a loud screech from a circling falcon caught his attention. He turned about just in time to witness a second falcon swooping down toward a small copse of stringy pale birchwood just north of the farmlands. That falcon rose from the trees with a smaller bird in its grasp, possibly a little warbler of some sort. Another couple of little birds scrambled, more likely toward danger than safety. The other fluttering white wings about those trees provided a clear enough picture. Just as he'd been expecting, those butterflies were still drawing lesser creatures, which in turn were attracting larger predators.
Having reached the edge of the township, Faryl spoke again. "Well, here we are. We gotta go see Gils and Velsa. They're the third house back from the road."
Dravyn added an observation. "Looks like Velsa's home." He was making reference to the thin column of smoke rising from the flue on the roof of that house.
Bradyn chimed in with his most immediate thought. "Good thing. I'm bustin' for a piss and I'm starvin'."
Suvaris glanced to where the traders indicated, then looked ahead. "I think that I might go take a look at that tavern."
Faryl shrugged. "Suit yerself. Course yer welcome to come join us, if ya want. Velsa usually puts on an extra pot of stew for us, when we visit."
Suvaris returned a polite nod. "Of course. I'll certainly keep that in mind."
The three traders split off to head along the back of the houses of the village as Suvaris continued on toward the roadside tavern up ahead.
Alaron Suvaris emerged from the shabby tavern with a mild scowl and closed the timber door behind him. He paused a moment to swat away a white butterfly fluttering about his head. With a heavy sigh, he looked briefly to the rapidly fading sky, then turned and made his way back along the road.
His visit to that tavern proved both brief and disappointing. Though he'd not been expecting too much, 'rugged' seemed an overly generous description for the place. Added to that, after introducing himself to the barkeep, he was quickly informed that were no rooms available. He learned that another passing traveller had already acquired the only one in the place.
He'd only briefly considered eating there, then decided otherwise. Since he would be returning directly to meet up with the Rurvyn traders, he imagined that it might be thought impolite to reject the likely offer of a meal, while accepting the hospitality of shelter for the evening.
Approaching the back of the house that the Rurvyn's had indicated, Suvaris observed young Bradyn tending to the pack-guar by one of two larger sheds situated a short distance from the farmhouse. Dravyn's son had already unburdened the guar of their loads and was seeing to it that they were fed and watered.
The younger Dunmer looked up just as he was finishing with his tasks. "No luck at the tavern, then?"
"No." Even without speaking, Suvaris' grim expression said as much.
Bradyn anticipated the next most likely question. "Faryl an' me dad have gone in to see Gils and Velsa."
Before anything had been said, Suvaris had already assumed as much. Something else had just drawn his attention. There was a subtle, but notably distasteful odour coming from the nearby crop fields. The smouldering mounds spaced out along the southern edge of the fields appeared to be the source. With the light breeze still blowing, only one mound was really close enough to smell.
Bradyn screwed up his nose. "Yeah, that stinks a bit. Seems Gils's been burnin' dried dung. Reckons the butterflies don't like it an' it's 'sposed ta keep 'em away from the crops. It's just about burned out."
Suvaris shrugged mildly, offering no verbal comment. He hoped that the breeze would continue to blow in the same direction.
"You ain't eaten nuthin' yet?"
"No, not yet."
Bradyn pointed over toward the other structure. "That's the grain shed where we'll be settin' up for the night. If you wanna watch our stuff, I'll go let 'em know we'll be needin' an extra servin' of whatever Velsa's got for us."
Suvaris returned a polite nod. "Yes, that sounds perfectly fine."
He headed over to the grain shed as the lad made his way for the door at the back of the house. He then unburdened himself of his travelling pack, setting it down by the inside wall of the shed, out of direct view from the outside. He set down his helmet and gauntlets just next to his pack, then briefly considered the suitability of the location as a place to stay for the evening. If nothing else, it seemed better than camping in the wilderness.
Only a few moments passed before Bradyn returned from the house. He mentioned that the other two would still be a short while, but hopefully not too long. After the lad had pointed it out, since he had the time, Suvaris went off to make use of the outhouse by the side of the farmhouse.
As he returned, Suvaris noticed Bradyn setting up a small campfire placed well outside the front of the gain shed. It seemed obvious enough that it was more for the light it would cast than anything else. As the lad mentioned, it wasn't too smart to have a fire too close to the grain store, not even a lantern.
Though the sun was well below the Velothi Mountains, Secunda was already in the eastern sky. The crescent of the smaller moon was a little closer to its first quarter. Of course, it would be a while before Masser joined it in the evening sky.
With nothing else to attend, Bradyn selected four larger blocks of timber to serve as low stools and set them about the small campfire. Both of them sat down to wait.
Before long at all, Faryl and Dravyn emerged from the back of the farmhouse carrying the promised bowls of stew. Soon enough, they were all sitting about the low fire and eating. Though it seemed nothing out of the ordinary, the stew was good enough. Once everyone was done, it was young Bradyn's job to take the bowls back to the house.
Taking a sip from his water flask, Suvaris noted a few glowing torchbugs out over the open fields. It was fair to assume that the butterflies had set down for the evening. Though the winds had eased notably since sunset, the light breeze remained pleasant. Just momentarily, the mournful bellow of a netch echoed from the far side of the village.
With a mild yawn, Faryl passed comment. "Ain't gonna stay up too late. Plannin' ta set off early again in the mornin'."
"So, we should be in Old Ebonheart by tomorrow evening?" Suvaris was only seeking casual confirmation.
Dravyn responded first. "Provided there ain't no trouble between here and there, should be another easy run tomorrow."
Faryl added his piece. "Oughta pass by Balfalls some time in the afternoon."
"Then after that, we oughta make Ol' Ebonheart at least a good hour or two before dark." Dravyn completed that part.
Faryl resumed. "We'll be stayin' at the inn down by the west docks. Ain't the best place in town, but we gotta keep costs down. Course, you can do whatever ya want, long as yer ready to go when we head out."
Suvaris merely returned an agreeable expression with a silent nod. Bradyn had just returned from the farmhouse and quickly took to his makeshift seat again.
Dravyn spoke up again. "You ever make it over to Imperial Ebonheart? Back in the day, I mean, back before everythin' that happened on Vvardenfell?"
Suvaris shook his head. "No. I visited Vivec City just the once, very briefly. I did see the Imperial trading centre from a distance, but I'd never been there."
Faryl stifled another yawn. "I heard it said, that on a clear day, Vivec City useta be seen from the hills at Ol' Ebonheart. Course, all that was before my time."
Suvaris nodded. "Yes, on a clear day."
Bradyn had been quietly listening to the conversation, his gaze rarely shifting from Suvaris for long. He obviously had another question on his mind. Whether it arose from curiosity or suspicion wasn't so obvious. "Why'd you end up goin' to Cheydinhal?"
Suvaris hesitated with a mild sigh. "At first, I was merely escorting refugees fleeing Morrowind. After the Oblivion Crisis, Vivec City, and Red Mountain… for many, the invasion from the south was one disaster too many." He paused a moment. "Back then, the Dunmer Count of Cheydinhal, Count Indarys… well, he was somewhat more welcoming than some others. With so many of our people already there, it seemed a suitable place to start anew."
Bradyn pressed a little further. "So this was all right after them lizards killed your family?"
Suvaris looked away. "I didn't say that." He released a heavy sigh before saying anything else. "As I understand it, they weren't killed by Argonians, but they perished because of them nonetheless."
Bradyn's confused expression indicated he wasn't going to easily leave it alone.
Suvaris made it clear. "I won't speak of it any further."
Faryl yawned again. "I reckon it's starting to get to that time, if we wanna be up and about before the dawn."
Dravyn agreed with his brother. "Yeah, sounds about right."
Soon enough, everyone was looking to get settled in for the evening.
Suvaris discarded his armour, stripping down to his underclothes. Though he was tired, sleep did not come as quickly as he might have preferred. Despite the younger Dunmer's words provoking old memories, he tried not to think about the loss of his family all those years before. Instead, he turned his thoughts back toward that book that he'd been reading the previous evening. He hadn't got all that far into it. Just enough to gain the general idea of the story. It seemed to revolve about the activities of a motley crew of pirates sailing the seas of the Abecean aboard The Black Drake. The captain of the vessel was an Imperial man, pretending to be perpetually drunk, even when he wasn't. He was trying to remember the name of the pirate captain as he drifted off to sleep.
~O~