Chapter 4 – The Source
"Damn it to Order" Staada whispered under her breath. "This tunnel is supposed to be kept clear!"
In the ancient passageway deep beneath Xeddefen, a narrow tunnel rather grandly titled The Saints' Path, Camri and Staada hid in the shadows watching a tall zombie-like creature pacing backwards and forwards in front of them.
"I've never even seen one of those before" Camri whispered.
"It's a flesh atronach," Staada explained. "Relmyna Verenim created them – she's the necromancer myself and Latta mentioned earlier. It makes me sick to think of how she must have made them"
Camri slowly drew his bow and loaded an arrow into it, then waited until the flesh atronach was walking towards them, quickly aiming and firing. The arrow slammed into the atronach's temple, killing it instantly as it let out a quick, inhuman scream of pain.
"How many more are there likely to be?" Camri asked as the pair stood up out of the shadows.
"I don't know" Staada replied truthfully. "I don't even know how they got down here. But the gate is not far from here"
The two followed the passageway until it emerged in a large chamber, the passageway leading out into an aisle that led between two grand staircases, with tunnels leading into dark corridors at the tops of the staircases. A bridge spanned high across the top of the chamber.
"Ambush points," Staada explained. "In case we need to keep anyone out of The Fringe – or in it"
"I'd suspect an ambush here, personally" Camri commented. Staada stopped him and motioned him to turn around; where he saw a small alcove above the passageway he had just emerged from, with a waist-high stone wall covering its entrance.
"You would not be expecting an ambush from up there, though. I need to borrow your bow"
Camri hesitated then handed his Elven bow, a prized possession, to Staada, along with an arrow. Staada aimed at a large bust of Sheogorath at the far end of the chamber and fired, striking the bust in a gemstone mounted in its left eye, and a hidden mechanism caused the floor in front of the bust to lower into the ground, transforming a staircase which led down into a narrow tunnel. Staada handed the bow back to Camri, who noticed another, different-coloured gemstone in the bust's right eye.
"I'm guessing the other gemstone opens a tunnel that leads into Dementia" Camri said.
"It did" Staada replied as she led Camri into the tunnel. "That was the Seducers' Passage. It caved in during a battle against the Forces of Order in the Fringe, and they are yet to unblock it"
Soon, they reached a sturdy metal door which Staada used her key to unlock, heaving it open and revealing a wider tunnel, along which several golden seams ran. The stone lining the tunnel had a dark purple hue to it, and flashes of orange magicka flitted down the length of the tunnel.
"The Saints' Entrance" Staada explained. "You are in hallowed ground among my people"
Eventually Camri and Staada reached the end of the tunnel, marked by a seemingly impassable stone door. Staada placed her key in a small floor-mounted keyhole near the door and turned it, causing the stone door to recede backwards then slide into a gap in the wall. Staada hurried Camri through the entranceway, and a few seconds later the door slid back into position, Camri noticing that it had been disguised to blend in with the surrounding rocks.
"Here we are" Staada said. "The Shivering Isles"
Camri looked around – even in the dusk, he was greeted with the same explosion of vibrant colour that he had seen when he had first entered The Fringe.
"We had better go cross-country to New Sheoth" Camri suggested. "I've always found it a good idea not to stick to the roads"
"You're right" Staada suggested. "There will be Golden Saint patrols on the road. I do not want to arouse suspicion, especially amongst my own soldiers"
The journey to New Sheoth was a tough one – wanting to stay off the roads, Staada and Camri had had no choice but to traverse the border between the Mania and Dementia districts of the Shivering Isles, which was a ridge of high, steep-sloped mountains running the length of the Isles, along which the main path through Mania ran. Staying off the roads, however, had meant climbing along the slopes, which was difficult on the soft, dark soil that made up the ground of Mania. At one point they had had to climb behind a large waterfall, which if nothing else offered a sight that Camri had never seen before. By the time they reached New Sheoth, night had long fallen, something which would work in their favour.
"I'm going to distract the guard at the gate to Bliss" Staada said as the pair emerged from the dense undergrowth a few hundred yards from the walls of New Sheoth. "We leave it open all the time now that there is no real danger to the Shivering Isles. Get into the city and take a right – you'll be at the back of a shop. There'll be plenty of crates for you to hide behind. I'll come and find you there"
"I have to say, you have a very good idea of how to sneak into your own city undetected" Camri quipped.
"You learn these things," Staada replied. "Sentry duty on the gates at night is dull. I did it myself. I'd welcome my commander coming to speak to me for long enough to let someone sneak in"
"Well, if you were speaking to me I wouldn't notice an ogre striding past me" Camri replied.
"You are quite the silver-tongued rogue, aren't you?" Staada said with a wry smile. "Come on, let's get on with this"
Staada led Camri out of the undergrowth to the wall that ran perpendicular to the main wall which had the gate built into it, then up to the corner. Staada peered around the corner and saw the sentry, a Golden Saint with a gift for marksmanship called Erilla.
Approaching Erilla, Staada made care to orient herself so that the sentry would be faced away from the gates.
"Good evening, Erilla," Staada said. "I hope all is well?"
"Nothing major to report, Commander," Erilla replied. "I did spot a few Grummites up the road though, but they saw me and ran"
"They must have set up a nest nearby" Staada said with a false sigh. "I will have to send some Aureal to clear it out"
As Staada spoke, she saw Camri quickly sneak through the gates then into the alleyway to the right, as instructed.
"Keep an eye on them," Staada said as soon as she had seen Camri. "If they get too close to the city, kill them. Madgod's blessings to you"
"And to you, Commander"
--
Camri watched two Golden Saint guards walk past his hiding place, somehow knowing that they were not Staada despite looking near-identical to her, before the Commander entered Bliss and quickly headed for Camri's hiding place.
"Aendel's house is the southernmost house on the western side of the main street of Crucible" Staada said furtively. "Head for it if we get split up. I'll meet you there. Remember, you're a prisoner"
Camri took a pair of wrist-irons off his belt, which he had owned ever since Areen had broken him out of the Imperial City jail and kept for instances such as this, and clasped them over his wrists. Staada grabbed him by the forearm and led him back out into the streets of Mania – nobody paid the two any heed, presuming that Staada had simply apprehended a criminal. The pair headed up a grand stairway towards the huge, impressive structure of New Sheoth palace, Staada leading Camri through a gate into the palace grounds.
"There's no turning back from here," Staada whispered. "If anyone sees me leading you away from the palace they will know something is up… Damnit, the guard is changing!"
The pair watched as several Golden Saint and Dark Seducer guards began filing out of the palace, some relieving their comrades of duty.
"The guard is in disorder. This will be a good distraction," Camri said.
"Yes, but the guards will be moving around a lot more. They are still on duty"
Camri removed his wrist-irons and placed them back on his belt. "We'll split up then. I'll meet you in the house"
Staada nodded. "Stay out of sight. Wait at the door on Aendel's balcony and I'll come and unlock it for you"
The reason Camri had decided that the pair should split soon became apparent to Staada, as Camri recalled advice given to him by Ariel and executed a terrific leap from the palace wall, grabbing onto the roof of a building in Bliss and clambering up onto it. Locating a gap in the battlements on the great wall between Bliss and Crucible, Camri leapt again, hanging onto the battlements by his fingertips as he saw Staada hurriedly moving through the palace grounds towards Crucible, then hauled himself up. The gloomy, dank expanse of Crucible lay beneath him, reminding him of Bravil or Leyawiin on a particularly bleak day.
Camri located the main street that ran through Crucible and, checking he wasn't being watched, jumped to another rooftop, finding to his delight that most of the buildings in Crucible were connected by a single, mostly flat roof, and began scurrying along it, before a sight in front of him froze him in his tracks. Two people were fighting hand-to-hand on the rooftops, with a small crowd assembled, watching them.
"Hey, what's that?" an Orc in the crowd called, turning around and halting the fight. "Someone's up here!"
Camri looked around desperately. He glanced down to the main street but there were several Dark Seducer guards patrolling it – no good. Where else could he go?
The Orc and two Bosmer strode across the rooftops.
"Nothing here, Balush" one of the Bosmer said angrily to the Orc. "Nothing but shadows. Fool"
"Shut up or I'll push you to your death" the Orc replied as they turned around and rejoined the crowd – the fighters started brawling again, and the crowd began to cheer loudly.
And no more than a few yards away from them, Camri shimmied along the edge of the rooftop, gripping it with his fingers, almost completely camouflaged in his dark brown leather armour. Eventually, Camri located the balcony of the last building in the row – Aendel's house – and let himself fall onto it, ducking into the shadows as a Dark Seducer guard walked past on the back street below. Eventually, there was a soft clack as the door's lock was gently opened. Camri discreetly opened the door and slid inside, still trying not to attract attention.
"Bad news" Staada whispered, without greeting him. "I got spotted by a Dark Seducer guard captain and had to explain myself. I told her I'm taking Aendel to a healer in the Fringe, so I'm covered, but if we get seen again you'll have to find your own way out"
Camri glanced out of a window that looked out over Crucible. It could not have been more than ten yards from Aendel's house to the gates that led out of the city, but they were ten yards of open ground, and there were several Dark Seducer guards on patrol.
"Where is she?" Camri asked.
"Asleep" Staada replied. "Wait here – I will go and wake her"
Camri heard voices coming from downstairs.
"But I'm safe here, Commander"
"You will be safer with us"
"But the road back to the Fringe goes past…"
"Don't worry, Aendel. Relmyna Verenim is not in Xaselm anymore. She's fled the Shivering Isles, gone into hiding in Tamriel"
Staada walked back upstairs and looked out of the window.
"It's no good," the Golden Saint said bleakly. "We'll get spotted as soon as we leave the house. You'll have to meet me outside the city gates"
"I'll leave now" Camri replied. "It might take me a while to get past the Seducers undetected"
Hanging on by the tips of his fingers, Camri hauled himself up onto the wall surrounding New Sheoth. He had had to climb back onto the rooftops, making sure to avoid the crowd of fighters on the roof again, and execute an enormous leap to reach the wall – he had made sure to drink a home-brewed potion to give him a slight boost in speed and agility so he could make the jump. Camri dropped down on the other side of the wall, again gripping it with his fingertips, and free-climbed down the rough stone until he reached the ground.
Camri made his way around the wall until he spotted the closed gate leading into Crucible. No sentry on duty – it would make his life a lot easier. Camri waited just off the side of the road leading out of the city for Staada to appear, when he became aware of a rustling sound in the dense undergrowth nearby, and drew his sword, glancing around uneasily. He couldn't see anything…
Suddenly a tremendous impact threw him off his feet and he landed painfully and clumsily on the cobblestone path, dropping his sword as he landed. The creature revealed itself – a hulking, grey reptilian beast, the likes of which Camri had never seen in his life. Camri struggled to his feet and retrieved his sword, watching as the creature executed a colossal leap over his head. Camri turned to face the creature, but was rewarded with a kick to the chest, which sent him staggering back into the undergrowth, landing face down. Camri roared in pain as thorns cut through his cheeks, hearing the creature charging towards him again.
Camri turned around just in time to see the creature swing a colossal forelimb horizontally, smashing it into Camri's head. Then, everything went black.
--
"Ah, you're awake at last!"
Camri opened his eyes, dimly aware of a female voice nearby. He winced at the pain in his head, and then sat up. He was in a bed, in a building he thought he recognised as the inn in Passwall. Looking to his side, he saw Commander Staada sitting at the bedside.
"What happened?" Camri asked weakly.
"You encountered your first Scalon" Staada replied. "A particularly large one, by any account. It knocked you out and was about to eat you alive before I fired an arrow into its head"
Camri shuddered.
"I had to carry you all the way back to The Fringe" Staada continued. "Not easy when you're trying to hold up Aendel as well"
"What happened to her?"
"She lost her foot a long time ago. That's why I thought you should come with me – I thought we would need two people to help her back to The Fringe. Ironically, what happened was the opposite to what I predicted…"
"You got her back alright?"
"Yes. Your friends are still here too. Latta and Ariel are speaking to Aendel right now – they wish to return to Tamriel when you are ready"
"It's nothing that a pint of ale can't cure" Camri said, clambering out of the bed, and placing his hand on Staada's shoulder. "Thank you for rescuing me"