Epilogue

There was an investigation, of course.

The first pair of Blades got a hundred yards into the ruin before they were swarmed by undead and chased unceremoniously back out.

The second party of Blades was three extremely stealthy men and a renowned mage. They made it almost two hundred before they, too, were detected and chased out. Nobody saw any trace of a living presence.

By the time the third party arrived, all the undead on the outer walls had risen again. They didn't even get through the front doors. After that it was officially decided that, whatever had caused four Blades and a tracker to vanish, it was long gone. They never did locate Tracks-Too-Well, who lived out the rest of his days fishing in the company of an easygoing female named Krzx-An.

Two Kyn and two humans settled in the driest chamber they could find, next to an air shaft but not too far from the nearest water leak. Somewhat to Ebel-Merodach's disgust, they found a secret exit from the ruin that led out into the waters of the lake. A crash course in swimming soon enabled him to hunt for himself and Sodrinye while Menien Goneld put an old set of skills to good use. Laure, once it was explained to her why lightning spells were a bad idea underwater, was helpful with this as well. By the time they saw their first winter they had worked out the sanitary arrangements and the Blades had stopped coming.

Menien Goneld never went back to Kvatch. But then, as he often thought to himself while watching Laure undress to go swimming, there were compensations. Laure herself was not unhappy to live in the same building as a much older and wiser mage, and her uncritical fascination eventually won Adanatir over. Once he had securely wired his soul stone to the inside of his ribcage, the old lich never thought of harming his new housemates. He had not realized how very bored he was until diversion returned and brought with it new conversations and new faces.

Meanwhile, far out in the Void among the planes of Oblivion, the Sleeper Pelinrye made contact with a Sleeper from another clan. And another. Magicka was hoarded and many plans were made.

The time of Dagon was over. The Age of the Sleepers had begun.

After many months and many, many words, this tale is finally at

THE END

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