Chapter 8 – Falas Assurrani
"It's good to see you, Falas" General Seminus said as Assurrani walked into his room. "I thought I'd lost you there"
"Don't speak too soon" Assurrani snapped. "The Imperials told me a few things while they were holding me. And I want to know if they're true or not"
Seminus said nothing, instead just standing up from his desk and looking at Assurrani.
"You're not really working with the Empire, are you?" Assurrani asked him sternly.
"No, I'm not" Seminus replied. "They obviously told you that I'm doing this for my own personal gain, and it's true. I am trying to find the Marsh Spirit to wage war in the south and claim Argonia and Elsweyr for myself"
"Why?"
"Money, Falas. Both provinces are rich in valuable resources. Gold, glass, ebony, diamonds, you name it. And if I can get the Marsh Spirit, I can use it as a deterrent. The Argonians and Khajiit will surrender when they see the power we have. The more of them that remain alive, the more workers we have to tap into this wealth.
"Then, when I get all the money, I am going to use it to bankrupt the Empire and take it for myself"
"How are you going to do that?"
"I estimate there to be 5 million Septims' worth of gold and diamonds buried under Elsweyr. If I place all that on the market, the Septim will become worthless. There will be riots in every city as certain people realise they can buy enough weapons, armour and training to take on the Imperial presence in their cities. People like our man Camri Ebonheart. He almost caused total reform in Skingrad.
"While this is happening, Aldmeris and Akavir will stop trading with the Empire, because the Septim will be so weak they will not earn anything from doing it. Think of the chaos this will cause.
"The people of the Empire will want reform, an end to the chaos. And me, you and the Third Battalion will give them just that. And if anyone gets in the way, well, the Third Battalion will be equipped with glass and ebony equipment to prevent any trouble"
Assurrani nodded slowly. "It's a very detailed plan, I'll give you that"
"Thank you" Seminus said. "The question is, do you want to be part of it? Or are you still loyal to the Empire?"
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Urshilaku Camp, The Ashlands, Vvardenfell, several years ago
"Fifty years ago, the Erabenimsun tribe experienced something that caused them to become the most powerful of the Ashland tribes. They took our honour from us" Zanirabitti said to the two other tribesmen in his yurt. "Their corrupt Ashkhan and all his followers were killed"
"So, you're suggesting…" Alakir began before Zanirabitti cut him off.
"Yes I am" Zanirabitti said, turning to Assurrani.
"Falas, you are our most skilled fighter. And I know you don't like living here under Sun's command"
Assurrani nodded. What Zanirabitti said was true. The Urshilaku Ashkhan, Sun, was not a popular leader. A monk, the son of the previous Ashkhan who had succumbed to old age, he had been persuaded out of service with the Tribunal Temple to lead the Urshilaku tribe. However, his ways had become Imperialised. He often spoke of trading with the nearby towns of Dagon Fel and Maar Gan, and letting outlanders join the tribe. He wouldn't even tell the other tribesmen his name. They simply called him Sun.
"I'll do it" Assurrani said. "Might I suggest, sera, that it is done discreetly as opposed to me simply entering his yurt and slitting his throat"
"How do you mean?" Zanirabitti asked.
"When he goes out on one of his little trading trips to Maar Gan or Dagon Fel, I'll follow him and kill him in the wilderness where there are no witnesses. I don't think the people will react well to one of our own assassinating the Ashkhan. We need to make it look like he was killed by nature"
"You are a talented man, Falas Assurrani" Alakir said. "If anybody can do this, you can"
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The next day, Assurrani sat in the entrance of his yurt, watching Sun walk west towards the mountains on his way to Maar Gan. He strapped the hilt containing his handmade ebony blade onto his belt, slung his bow over his back and stood up. As he began to walk through the camp, following Sun at a distance, another tribesman waved at him.
"Off somewhere, Falas?"
Falas turned to the tribesman. "Yes, I'm going to the abandoned ebony mines. I'm making a sword for Zanirabitti"
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Sun reached the mountains, ducking down as he ran through the deadland between the ruins of Assurnabitashpi and Druscathi, trying to avoid being seen by the Daedra and vampires who inhabited them. He spied the pass into the Foyada that led south to Maar Gan.
As he walked through the pass, he heard the faint sound of gravel crunching under boots through the crisp air. Good. Assurrani was following him.
Sun turned round, his arms held up in surrender.
"Do not kill me yet, Assurrani" Sun called. "Let me talk to you first"
Assurrani emerged from behind a boulder, lowering his bow and returning an arrow to his quiver. He cautiously approached Sun.
"Assurrani, what do you know of the Morag Tong?" Sun asked him.
"They're the guild of assassins who work with the government" Assurrani replied. "They're highly secretive even though everyone knows of their existence"
"You are right about how highly secretive they are" Sun replied. He pulled up the sleeve of his fur coat, revealing a tattoo on his forearm. It was the emblem of the Morag Tong.
"You're Morag Tong?" Assurrani asked in disbelief. Sun nodded.
"That's right. And I have a proposition for you…"
"You want me to join?"
"Yes. The Morag Tong have wanted you as a member for a very long time. We thought that by infiltrating your tribe we could find a way of persuading you to join. We know that you don't enjoy being an Ashlander. We know you're very good at killing people. We headhunt in more ways than one, Falas. Eno Hlaalu himself gave me the order to find you and persuade you to join our guild"
Assurrani turned around, looking across the desolate Ashlands back towards his home.
"I'll do it"
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South of the Imperial City, the present day
Camri, Ariel, Horunn and Areen walked quickly through the undergrowth at the side of the road. They were returning to Veyond Cave, having been re-united by chance on the Rumare ring road. They were going to make a short stop for the night before following the directions from Skingrad, to the Argonian town of Gideon.
Areen was on point, leading the group and constantly looking around. Suddenly, he froze.
"Torchlight coming down the road from the Imperial City" he said. "Their speed suggests they're on horseback, riding slowly"
"Legion patrol" Camri said. "We'd better hide"
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A few minutes later, three Imperial Legion horsemen rode past. Camri noticed something on the back of one of the horses. A prisoner, bound and gagged. In the torchlight, he recognised her face.
"That prisoner!" Camri whispered to the others. "I need to talk to her! Take the horsemen down!"
Camri and Areen leapt from cover, Areen using his wooden staff to trip the nearest horse, sending it tumbling to the ground, throwing its rider down onto the road.
"Ambush!" one of the other soldiers shouted. The other two soldiers leapt off their horses and drew their swords, whilst Camri plunged his sword into the throat of the fallen rider.
Horunn emerged from the bushes, joining Camri and Areen as they formed up against the two soldiers. One of the soldiers slashed wildly at Areen, who blocked the blow with his wooden staff. The staff snapped clean in two under the force of the impact, leaving Areen with two wooden clubs, one in each hand. He smashed the soldier in the side of the head with one, and delivered a powerful blow to his arm with the other, disarming him. As soon as he had done so, Camri leapt forward, grabbed the soldier's helmet and twisted it until his neck broke.
As Horunn ran to face the second soldier, there was a loud Vvvip! as an arrow sailed through the night air, missing Horunn by inches. It had come from the trees on the other side of the road.
"Foresters!" Camri shouted. "Areen, follow me!"
Camri raised his shield, reeling as an arrow slammed into it, sending splinters of wood falling to the ground. Camri saw the foresters. Two of them, hiding in the trees, almost completely camouflaged in their leather armour and green hoods.
"One each!" Camri called to Areen. "Come on!"
The pair began to race towards the treeline, Camri using his shield to block arrows and Areen simply leaping to one side and dodging them. As Camri reached the treeline, he thrust his sword straight into the chest of one of the foresters.
Horunn parried with the final Imperial Legion solder. The soldier was encumbered by heavy steel armour and was becoming fatigued. As the soldier delivered one final weak, pathetic swordstroke, Horunn easily blocked it and swung his sword sideways, hewing the soldier's head from his body.
Suddenly, Horunn was knocked back as he felt a searing pain in his chest. He looked down, horrified, seeing an arrow jutting from his abdomen, blood seeping through his chainmail cuirass. He staggered then fell to the ground.
"Horunn's hit!" Camri shouted, turning round and bolting back onto the road just as Areen drew his dagger from his belt and hurled it at the forester, the dagger embedding itself in the Forester's forehead and killing him before he knew what had happened.
Ariel and Camri both ran over to Horunn and dropped down by his side. Camri examined the wound. Horunn was beginning to pass out, rolling his head around and quietly moaning to himself.
"I can heal this but I'll need clean water" he said. "We need to get back to the cave, now! Get him on one of the horses!"
As Ariel and Areen gradually got Horunn to his feet, the arrow still protruding from his chest, Camri ran over to the prisoner, who had been knocked off the horse in the chaos. Camri ripped away the cloth that was gagging her.
"You again!" Camri exclaimed. He was right – it was the Imperial woman from the Imperial City jail and Castle Skingrad junction. "Meeting twice is coincidence. Meeting three times is not. We need to talk"
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Vivec City, Morrowind, a few weeks earlier
"Falas, I've got a job for you" Sun said, walking into Assurrani's quarters in the Morag Tong guildhall. "It's an important one, and it will be very time-consuming, but I believe you will be up to it"
"What do you need me to do?" Assurrani asked.
"You will be representing both the Morag Tong and the Empire. You need to travel to the Imperial City in Cyrodiil, and meet with General Anvius Seminus of the Imperial Legion. He will instruct you further, but he has told me that this is a very important matter. By the sounds of it, you will be hunting down and killing a group of people who threaten the good of the Empire"
"I can think of a problem already" Assurrani said. "How am I meant to get past border patrol? The Morag Tong are forbidden to operate outside Morrowind"
"Remember what you told Krenaia the day you followed me out into the wilderness? Do you remember where you told him you were going?"
"To the ebony mines" Assurrani replied. "I told him I was gathering ebony to forge a sword for Zanirabitti"
"There's your answer" Sun replied. "If you are up to this task, you will be able to solve this simple problem"
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Luther Broad's Boarding House, The Imperial City, the present day
As Assurrani finished the pint of ale, he had reached a decision. He was not going to let Seminus wage war in the South. He was not going to help the corrupt general anymore. But he wasn't going to join in with the Imperial and help the Argonians declare war on the Empire. He was going to find the Marsh Spirit and destroy it. But that meant espionage. General Seminus was his best link to the Marsh Spirit. He would have to pretend he was on Seminus' side for as long as possible. And after all this was over, he was going to find out who broke him out of Fanacasecul.
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"I've thought about it" Assurrani said to Seminus. "I will help you find the Marsh Spirit and wage war in the south"
Seminus walked over to Assurrani and put his hand on his shoulder. "I knew I could rely on you, my friend"
"Do you know where they are? The Imperial and the Breton, that is"
"I'm afraid not. We've lost them" Seminus replied. "You might try Veyond Cave again"
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Veyond Cave
Ariel sat down the Imperial prisoner in the main cavern of Veyond.
"I'm sure you know that we mean you no harm" Ariel said. "First, what is your name?"
"I am Lunia Macria" the woman replied.
"Ariel Lassaile" Ariel replied. "Camri believes it is not coincidence that our paths keep crossing. Do you believe in fate?"
"Not until the Empire kept moving me around" Lunia replied. "When I saw Camri for the third time I began to wonder if maybe our paths were meant to intertwine. Where are you travelling to?"
"To Argonia, to the town of Gideon"
Lunia gasped in shock. "You cannot go to Argonia! The Third Battalion has the entire border closed! You'll never get through!"
At that moment, Areen walked up to them and sat down next to them.
"I'm afraid she's telling the truth, Ariel. Sudana just told me"
"Did she tell you anything else?" Ariel asked him. Areen looked at her gravely.
"We need to move fast. The Legion have been making hit-and-run raids into Argonia to weaken their defences. It can only be a few days before they attack"
"But will they attack without the Marsh Spirit?"
"It's not a risk we can take. We will talk about this later, though. You have work to do"
Ariel turned back to face Lunia.
"It seems you don't know what part you play in this, so we must find out" Ariel said. "What do you do for a living?"
"I am a researcher for the Guild of Mages"
"So why did you get arrested for spying in the Leyawiin guard quarters?"
"Because if the Empire has sent an entire battalion down to Leyawiin when there is no national crisis or other reason for going to war, they are looking for something important. Something the Guild of Mages will probably be interested in"
Ariel opened her eyes widely. "The Guild of Mages spies on the Legion?"
"We've done it for a long time" Lunia said. "A few years ago we saw the Legion raid a cave by the Imperial Prison, apparently there was a gang of rogue agents who were sneaking into the Imperial Prison. It turns out they uncovered an Ayleid shrine to Meridia in there. It made for some very interesting research"
Where you become free of the grasp of the Empire.
Lost Meridia.
Ariel leapt up and ran further into the cave.
"Camri!"