Winds of the Ashfall: An Elder Scrolls Tale

Greg J Miller

~O~

Chapter 11

Tirdas the 30th of Last Seed 4E71 Afternoon

Since that incident with the cliff racer just after midday, though tensions remained just a little elevated, the continuing journey along the eastbound road passed far more easily. Upon two occasions, Suvaris had spotted dark wings sailing high above the rocky slopes. Both times it had turned out to be only cliff darters, the much smaller cousins of those larger cliff racers. Those smaller more birdlike flying reptiles generally presented no tangible threat to anything larger than lesser-sized rodents and the like.

As he marched along the road, Suvaris found himself casually reminded of old tales, after Dravyn's earlier mentioning of Saint Jiub. As he understood it, nearly a hundred years before, just after the island of Vvardenfell had been opened up again for general settlement, the numbers of cliff racers across the island began to surge. It was said that they thrived far more upon Vvardenfell than across the mainland regions. Suvaris didn't really know whether those creatures had suddenly increased in number upon that island or whether there were just far more people settling there to notice them. In either case, the great number of cliff racers across parts of Vvardenfell had been said to be a great menace.

Unlike what Suvaris found to be more common across most parts of the mainland, it was said that the cliff racers of Vvardenfell routinely attacked people, almost as though they preferred that to hunting lesser creatures. For more than a decade, traders, travellers, temple workers and soldiers had fallen to encounters with cliff racers across the large island.

With the general scarcity of easy prey across many parts of the barren landscape of that isle, cliff racers were said to be commonly attacking in groups of three, four or even more, often jostling one another to get at their targets.

As for 'Saint Jiub', Suvaris had heard a number of possibly exaggerated tales of his activities. Around five years before the Oblivion Crisis, a Dunmer known only by the name of Jiub, had set out upon a personal mission of culling the cliff racers across the main isle of Vvardenfell. Some claimed that his actions were driven out of seeking penance for past crimes against innocent victims. Others suggested that he could never have even been guilty of what Imperial outlanders had previously imprisoned him for.

From what Suvaris had heard, Jiub had gone after the flying reptiles both on his own and sometimes with the rarefied assistance of others. According to what he'd heard, Jiub had been hunting the cliff racers riding upon a large silt strider at some point. Apparently he kept at it long enough that most of the cliff racers had been completely eradicated from Vvardenfell.

It was said that before the time of his disappearance, Lord Vivec had favoured Jiub for his efforts and made declaration of his sainthood. For a few short years, Jiub had been widely revered for his achievements. He'd been hailed across all of Morrowind and Suvaris recalled how they even held annual tributes back in Cheydinhal with the 'Saint Jiub's Fair'.

It was said that Jiub perished some time during the Oblivion Crisis. Some claimed that he died defending Morrowind from the Daedric invaders of Mehrunes Dagon's realm of Oblivion. Others said that he had been in Cyrodiil at that time, fighting side by side with the Hero of Kvatch. There were some that claimed that Jiub had actually survived the Oblivion Crisis, but had afterward withdrawn from public sight.

Suvaris wasn't completely convinced of everything that had been said of Saint Jiub, but he didn't really know what was fiction and what was true.

Though Suvaris might have been relatively confident of fending off just one cliff racer, he held no desire to test himself against several at the same time. There was something about dealing with those flying predators that he did not like at all. In any case, none of that was really of much further concern that day. He'd not needed to deal with any more than just the one that afternoon and that suited him perfectly fine.

The remainder of the afternoon's journey provided nothing much more than light breezes and perhaps just a little mindful caution to alleviate the danger of any boredom.

For some distance, the eastbound road continued to twist and turn through the rocky hillsides of the northern Stonefalls region. Eventually, the path started to straighten out a little just a few leagues short of the River Thir. Along that latter stretch, the road began to gently undulate across the barren landscape, rather than following such a torturous path though the rugged hills and outcrops.

Just before mid-afternoon, they passed by a taller rock formation rising up between the Stonefalls Road and the Inner Sea. The lesser side road veered off to the north toward the small settlement of Balfalls, situated not so far from the strange formations of stone and coral historically known as Vivec's Antlers.

Just as Faryl had mentioned earlier, they had no intention of actually going to Balfalls that day, but he did pass some comments about the settlement as they passed the road. He'd mentioned that he understood that there used to be a lot more Imperials living in that place decades ago, but the small settlement had been wiped out more than once.

Dravyn added that he thought that a couple of times it had been because of what came from previous eruptions out in the sea, but the Umbriel Crisis of about thirty years before was the worst of it. Without receiving any warning about the flying city bringing death and destruction in their direction, everyone living in Balfalls at the time had been consumed to join the march of unliving creatures.

Faryl understood that not long afterward, since there was no one alive there to challenge them, some local Dunmer farming and mining families laid claim to the settlement and made it their own.

Most of that was news to Suvaris. The last time he'd seen the place had been after the Oblivion Crisis, but before the destruction of Vivec City. Though that township still carried the Dunmer name for the Stonefalls region, he did recall that it had been home to quite a few Imperial families back then. He'd never had reason to pass through there during the time just after the destruction of Vvardenfell, but he'd thought that Balfalls survived in some fashion.

Just a little further along past Balfalls, the party passed by the southbound road before the river. Suvaris knew that road led to Andrethis. He'd been on the southern stretch of that road only a couple of weeks before. Just over half way down that road was where he'd turned off along that other side road that led to the ferry crossing.

In the distance ahead, Ash Mountain rose up above the surrounding landscape. A thin line of lava flow could be seen lazily running down the western slopes, draining off toward the shores of the sea, somewhere out of direct view. Of course, their immediate destination lay between the river and that smouldering mountain.

Before long, they were approaching the stone bridge crossing over the Thir. From the delta on the mouth of the river, the Inner Sea again came into clear view for the first time since the early morning. Despite the light southerly breeze, a taste of the salt air from the sea could be sensed. The vaguest whiff of sulphur served as some reminder of what the people of the nearby city must have endured over previous weeks.

"Hold up." Faryl called a halt just short of the stone bridge.

Dravyn seemed to know exactly what his brother was thinking. Before anything else was said, he'd already moved about to the side of the pack-guar he'd been leading and started rummaging though the load. After a few moments, he'd withdrawn some dust masks. He passed two of them to Faryl, keeping another two on hand. Obviously, one of them was meant for his son.

Faryl handed a mask to Suvaris. "Ya might be wantin' this. As a gift, o'course."

Suvaris bowed his head, graciously accepting the offer.

Faryl continued. "Dunno if we'll be needin' 'em, but we always meant to hang onto one each… just in case. Better safe, than sorry."

"Of course." Suvaris indicated his accord.

Continuing onward over the bridge, those taller structures of 'The Black City' came into clear view, rising from the northern part of the land immediately ahead. Old Ebonheart was effectively situated upon a fair sized island in the mouth of the River Thir.

The broadest river channel was the one they were crossing over. The lesser channel flowed along the southern part of the Ebonheart Isle and up around the eastern side. Two other bridges connected the island to the mainland. The other main bridge was over the eastern side. The lesser one was at the south.

Suvaris felt mildly comforted that most of the Black City still stood. The taller dark stone structures served as familiar sight. Though the stone of the buildings was dark, it seemed further blackened from the irregular ashfall. Even so, those rectangular towers capped with old Velothi styled spires seemed outwardly unchanged since the last time that he'd seen them. That part of Ebonheart had withstood since much earlier times. It had been there since long before the rise of the Septim Empire in Cyrodiil. Of course, he knew that some parts of that city had been torn down and replaced many times over the years, whether by choice or by necessity. Even so, the dark towers and fortifications continued to endure.

Suvaris glanced to Faryl. "Tell me, do you know of how Old Ebonheart fared during the ah… the Umbriel Crisis?"

Faryl shrugged. "Heard they got some warnin' about what was comin'. Some mages got word from other mages in the south. Ain't the first time that Ol' Ebonheart needed to be cleared out for some reason. A lot of folk escaped to the east, ahead what was comin'. Some didn't make it out safe, but a lot did."

Dravyn had been listening. "Some parts of the city got broken or burned when all that was happinin', but that was mostly only down by the docks an' maybe a few parts out the front."

Faryl resumed. "Most of the city was left standin'. What got busted, got built up again since back then. No matter what the world throws at us Dunmer, we always come back." His forced grin conveyed his optimistic viewpoint.

Bradyn directed a question. "Wasn't Cheydinhal right in the line of all that Umbriel stuff, back when it all happened?"

Suvaris glanced back with a grim nod. "Yes, yes it was. With sufficient warning and some assistance from the Imperial Legion, most of Cheydinhal was also evacuated ahead of Umbriel. Only a relatively small number perished and though the city itself endured some notable damage, it was relatively minor in the greater scheme of things."

Bradyn prompted further. "So, it ain't like that now?"

"No. The damaged structures of the city were repaired over time. However, some families never returned to Cheydinhal after the crisis had passed. A few relocated to Bruma or Chorrol, and to some to other places."

"So, everythin' else eventually got back to normal over there?"

"Yes, more or less." Suvaris' tone indicated that he wasn't really interested in elaborating further than that.

The brief discourse mostly fell away once they'd crossed over the bridge and stepped onto the island. It seemed that they'd arrived at Old Ebonheart with at least a good couple of hours of daylight remaining. Faryl seemed outwardly pleased about making such good time. He said as much, but otherwise left it at that.

Suvaris cast a casual eye over what came into immediate view across the southern portion of the Ebonheart Isle. Of course, that only included what was located outside of the old fortified stone wall, but there was still quite a bit to see there.

He noted the modest-sized tavern and the grouping of several small timber houses along the northern side of the road. Though some similar arrangement of structures used to be there several decades before, many of them looked to have only been built at some time after he'd last visited the Black City.

Across the southern side of the road, the lumber stores occupied the same general location as before. It was the same with the woodworker's workshop, though it was obviously a newer structure than what previous stood there.

Outside the sheltered portion of that warehouse near the lumberyard, he observed a large wagon with a heavy-set Nordic horse. He wondered if that meant that the lumber operations were still jointly run by Ebonheart Dunmer and localised Nords.

At first look, the weathered stone structure of that lesser trade-hub near where the three roads converged appeared outwardly much as before. He imagined that it had been there since long before he'd been born and might well be there long after he was gone. He could just make out some of the signs, indicating the smiths and armourers inside, along with some other merchants. That indicated that it still seemed to serve the same purpose as before.

Beyond that older structure, there were several more small timber houses along the road leading to the eastern bridge. Again, it seemed to be a mix of the old and the new.

Looking over toward the south-eastern part of the isle, he could see that the old Imperial barracks appeared to have been refurbished to serve a similar purpose. Some fully armoured Redoran guards moving about the front of the structure seemed to support that notion. He wondered whether that meant that House Redoran had fully taken over administration of Ebonheart or was merely providing soldiers for the region. Obviously, since House Hlaalu was long gone, some other house must have taken over that role.

Further east, he could see the towers of that large estate situated off in the distance across the channel to the east of the isle. It was too far off to see the current state of it. He casually wondered whether it was still in the hands of whichever Great House currently held administrative rule of the city.

Though he couldn't see anything of it from that location, he expected that the eastern farmlands, situated between the eastern bridge and the foothills of Ash Mountain were probably still utilised as before. There also used to be some smaller farms to the south near the old mines, but all of that remained well out of view from that position.

Nearing the metalworker's bazaar, Suvaris observed a couple of miners unloading a pushcart of ore and another couple of commoners were heading into the blacksmith's.

Looking about each of those he'd observed so far, Suvaris had noticed only a couple of people carrying dust masks of some sort and only one elderly individual actually wearing a mask. Added to that, with that southerly breeze still blowing, the air did seem fairly clear.

Suvaris looked to Faryl with casual curiosity. "Are you certain of the need for those dust masks that you're bringing to Ebonheart?"

Dravyn responded first. "We got a contracted buyer."

Faryl returned a confident expression. "Even if they don't really need 'em right at the moment, no tellin' when the next time they're gonna be needed."

Dravyn spoke again. "Same sorta thing happened twice about ten years back."

Faryl added to his brother's comment "Twice in the same year. "An' same thing about five years b'fore that."

Dravyn grunted. "We just gotta get the delivery down ta the warehouse an' get paid for it."

Passing through the entryway into the main city area, Suvaris looked ahead past the houses and manors along either side of the street toward the Ebonheart Plaza. The main marketplace appeared moderately active, with several customers wandering about the stores and open stalls of the bazaar.

Suvaris glanced to Faryl again. "I think that I'll go visit the marketplace. I'd like to replenish some of my travelling provisions."

Faryl returned a mild shrug. "Dunno how well stocked things'll be. Likely ta be a bit lean on lotsa things, with the ships not sailin' through here an' all that."

"I'm sure I'll find something adequate."

Faryl shrugged again. "Yeah, prob'ly. After we sort our business over at the trade warehouse, we'll be makin' our way for the big inn down by the docks. Ya can't miss it."

Suvaris returned an agreeable nod. "I'm sure I'll find it easily enough." He'd already decided that it would probably be easier to stay the evening at the same place as the Rurvyn traders, if he intended to travel with them again the next morning.

Faryl and the others veered off along the street to the left, headed for the western docks north of the city centre, as Suvaris ventured into the marketplace of Ebonheart Plaza.

Browsing the market stalls, Suvaris observed that the goods available seemed only in modest supply. It wasn't as though nothing at all was on offer. It was more the case that what was in supply was not necessarily to his preference. He was hoping to find some fresh fruits or the like, but there was nothing of the kind available. He'd ended up settling for some more dried meats and cheeses and some sort of saltrice biscuit. From his recollection, breads and biscuits made from saltrice were hardly appealing at all, but they did keep well.

Since he was in the marketplace, Suvaris did make a point of asking about whether anyone recognised the Suvaris name or had seen or heard of a Travlon Suvaris. He'd been mostly met with shrugs and blank looks. Just a couple of traders thought that they might've heard the name or something similar, but were not at all sure of it. Most of the people he'd encountered had been complete strangers, with the exception of one or two vaguely familiar faces. The elderly Dunmer selling baked products mentioned that he seemed to recall someone with the old Fighters Guild going by the name of Suvaris, from many years back, then finally realised that who he was speaking with, was the very same person.

Since he'd acquired what he was after and it didn't seem likely that he was going to have much luck with his inquiries, Suvaris decided to make his way for the western docks before running out of daylight.

Departing the marketplace of Ebonheart Plaza, Suvaris observed a male and female Ashlander leaning on their spears just outside the doors of the old Tribunal Temple. He silently reminded himself that it was probably known as the 'New Temple' after the reformations of the past decades. He wasn't exactly sure whether the Ashlanders were guarding the place, or waiting for someone inside, or else there for some other reason. He made a point of avoiding the urge to stare at them and just kept moving along toward his destination.

Heading downhill toward the area near the docks, Suvaris deftly sidestepped a huge pile of guar dung on the main path. That casually reminded him of why most of the major cities of Imperial Cyrodiil maintained strict policies of excluding horses and other beasts from the streets inside the fortified walls.

Though it might have seemed extreme, some of the cities didn't even allow pet dogs, cats or the like within their walls. That reminded him that he'd had more than one close encountered with dog-shit on the streets of Chorrol. There weren't a lot of dogs in that city, but just enough to remind of the need for caution along certain streets.

Of course, anything like that would have seemed a pointless exercise in places like Bravil. The dogs were of far less concern. With the stench rising from the sewers feeding into the channels of the Larsius delta, a little horse-shit on the streets might not have even been so quite so noticeable.

Even so, those other exclusion policies generally kept the streets of certain cities far cleaner than some other places. He was casually thinking that Old Ebonheart might have benefited from at least keeping the pack animals to the areas south of the old battlements of the main city districts.

Down the hill, Suvaris cast an eye over the dockside area. He noticed just the one middling sized vessel at port. That reinforced what he'd been hearing about the ships keeping away from the Scathing Bay region of the Inner Sea over recent weeks.

At first glance, he spotted just two timber warehouses and some other lesser structures down by the western Docks. He observed that aside from the stone docks, most of the dockside area seemed as though it had been completely replaced since the last time he'd been in Ebonheart. That also supported what the Rurvyn traders had mentioned.

Looking over to his right, Suvaris noted that there were some larger warehouses and newer houses over the northern end of the isle. Given that the area north of the Ebonheart Town Hall used to house the Argonian quarter of Old Ebonheart, he didn't feel at all surprised to learn that the space had been repurposed over past decades.

Suvaris was just trying to figure whether the inn was supposed to be one of the structures near to the docks or closer to those other warehouses over on his right. He then spotted two of the three Rurvyn's coming along the northern path and headed directly for the docks on his left.

"Suvaris." Faryl called out unnecessarily, waving his free hand.

Dravyn was also carrying a small bag. Evidently, their bags contained some personal possessions generally left attached to the pack-guar.

Dravyn spoke up once they were near. "Bradyn's gettin' the guar sorted at the livery sheds an' gettin' the rest of our stuff into the lockup. He'll be along in a bit."

Suvaris had already assumed something of a kind. He returned a silent nod of understanding.

"Ya get what ya was after at market?" Faryl's polite query sounded sincere.

"More or less."

With an unspoken gesture from Dravyn and a glance directed toward the sun falling low over the mountains in the distant west, they continued onward for the inn down by the docks.

~O~