Chapter 5 – Dark Arts On Trial
"Aendel, you must understand that you are perfectly safe here," Latta said gently to the Bosmer sat before her. Although it had been many years since she had been rescued from Xaselm, she still bore several scars and blemishes from her ordeal. "I understand it must have been something of a shock to be dragged from your home in the dead of night like that, but Staada's intentions were good"
"Who are you?" Aendel asked nervously.
"Do you remember the woman who helped you to heal in the Sacellum when you were first freed from Xaselm?"
Aendel nodded.
"I am her daughter. My name is Latta, and this is Ariel. We are trying to stamp out Necromancy once and for all, and we need your help"
"Is it about Relmyna Verenim?" Aendel said. "I fear I will not be much use to you – I only overheard her conversations a few times, and I cannot remember much…"
"You will be able to remember," Ariel said. "The memories are all there in your subconscious. Close your eyes. Try and imagine you are back in Xaselm listening to Relmyna"
Aendel briefly shuddered at the thought, and then eventually spoke. "I can hear her speaking. I cannot understand what she is saying, but I can hear her voice, and the voice of the other person there…"
"Who is it?" Latta asked.
"It's a man. I do not know who it is. He has a deep voice with an accent I do not recognise…"
"That's Sheogorath" Ariel explained. "In his mortal form he was a Nord from the indigenous population on Solstheim in Morrowind. It's a unique accent, not even found among other Nords"
"Sheogorath was in there?" Latta said softly, almost to herself. "Interesting. Did you ever hear anyone else?"
"There was one other conversation I heard" Aendel said, opening her eyes. "There was a Redguard, who was only ever referred to as The Witch Doctor. He told Relmyna he had found what she was looking for in Tamriel, and in exchange Relmyna released 'the prisoners'. I don't know who they were, but one was dead and The Witch Doctor vowed that one day he would kill Relmyna for it"
"The place in Tamriel," Ariel asked. "Did they mention a name?"
"The Witch Doctor referred to it as The Golden Home, and the two kept mentioning the Ayleids"
"I see what this means" Ariel said, standing up and pacing around the room while she spoke. "The Witch Doctor must have been tasked by Relmyna to find her a place to practice necromancy in Cyrodiil in order for her to release people close to him who she had taken prisoner. He would have gravitated towards Ayleid ruins, because they are naturally magicka-rich and hidden from the public eye. The Golden Home translates into the Ayleid language as 'Sancremath', which must refer to a particular Ayleid city, or at least a district of one"
"They mentioned a sepulchre too, and it requiring a key" Aendel added. Ariel turned and smiled at the Bosmer.
"That narrows it down even further. Well remembered!"
"Do you know this ruin?" Latta asked Ariel. Ariel shook her head.
"Camri probably will, though"
"I have some questions for you, Aendel" Latta said, turning to face Aendel. "Firstly, when Sheogorath came to speak to Relmyna, what were the circumstances? Did they get on well? Were they arguing?"
"He always seemed fond of her" Aendel replied. "But the last time he came – the last time I can remember him coming – they argued. He called her a necessary evil"
"Because of the Gatekeeper" Ariel suggested.
Aendel nodded. "Relmyna was the only one who knew how to rebuild the Gatekeeper"
"Secondly," Latta continued. "Did she ever mention Mannimarco or the King of Worms?"
"Yes," Aendel said uncomfortably. "Once, just before she killed one of her prisoners, she told the prisoner that the King of Worms would have mercy on her soul. She also mentioned hoping that one day Mannimarco would see her work and be impressed by it, and lamented the unavailability of black soul gems, saying it would not be a problem for the King of Worms"
"We need to find Relmyna Verenim," Latta said with authority, standing up. "She can lead us to Mannimarco. If she cannot, we will kill her"
"But what about the Gatekeeper?" Ariel asked. "Does it not defend these lands?"
"Only from whatever might arrive from Tamriel. Once Sheogorath's business with the mortal realm is complete, the portal will close. The Gatekeeper is only needed until our quest is over. Do not think that killing Relmyna will somehow weaken it – she built it, but she does not have control over it"
"There's one other thing, Latta" Ariel said. "Aendel mentioned Relmyna speaking of black soul gems"
"Yes. Do you know of these?"
"I know something about them. They are the only type of soul gem capable of containing a human or elven soul – they are the root of necromancy, and they do not occur naturally, they must be created through a dark ritual involving an astral phenomenon called the Shade of the Revenant. I'm sure the Arcane University back in Cyrodiil will be able to tell us more"
Latta walked over to a blackboard hung on one wall of the room and picked up a piece of chalk, and began writing:
--
Four-Step Plan to Defeat Cult of Necromancy
1 – Locate, interrogate and neutralise Relmyna Verenim
2 – Cut off supply and manufacture of black soul gems
3 – Eliminate the source of Mannimarco's divine power
4 – Kill Mannimarco
Other priorities:
Determine Sheogorath's relationship with Relmyna and necromancy in general
Determine Mannimarco's plans, and his reason for returning to the mortal realm
--
"Get Camri, Staada and Assurrani back in here, Ariel," Latta ordered. "We need to put this plan into action"
At that moment, Camri and Staada stepped into the room, and Latta motioned for them to read her writings on the blackboard.
"Camri, do you know of an Ayleid ruin with a district called The Golden Home, or Sancremath?" Ariel asked Camri. "Or a person called The Witch Doctor?"
"I know The Witch Doctor" Camri replied. "He's an alchemist. He got quite a lucrative job supplying the Thieves' Guild with potions for invisibility, night-eye and life detection"
"Do you know where we can find him?"
"No, but I know someone who will know where he is. Where's Assurrani?"
"He's outside practicing his archery" Latta replied.
"We should all return to Tamriel as soon as we can"
"I think I should stay here," Staada said. "I will see what I can find out with regards to Sheogorath's involvement with the Necromancers"
--
Black Marsh, site of the Battle of the Border
Areen walked along the wide trail leading through the dense woodlands. It had not been long since he had been here, fighting for his nation against a large group of Imperial Legion soldiers led by a corrupt general. The battle had been won, with many casualties on both sides.
But nothing could prepare Areen for the sight that greeted him when he got to a part of the trail where the battle had been turned – a length of the path where Ariel Lasaille had laid hundreds of daggers, throwing stars and other small, sharp objects hidden in the grass then used her powerful telekinetic abilities to hurl them up into the advancing band of Legion soldiers – the result had been little short of a massacre. A mass grave had been dug on the site after the battle.
A mass grave which Areen discovered to have been excavated and completely emptied
The bodies of every single fallen soldier, Legion or Argonian, were gone.
--
North of Bravil, Cyrodiil
"Shouldn't we wait until the morning, Camri?" Assurrani suggested as Camri tried to lead the four northwards towards the Imperial City.
"No" Camri replied. "The man I'm looking for has a very specific time when he can be found. We need to be in the Imperial City by midnight"
"That only gives us a few hours," Ariel said, guessing the time.
"Right. So we'd better get going"
The four began to walk along the road, Camri leading and Latta guarding the rear.
"Stop" Ariel whispered suddenly. "We're being followed"
Latta spun around as Camri drew his bow and aimed back down the road towards Bravil. A shadowy figure in a black robe was approaching them.
"Stop! Show yourself!" Camri called.
"Stand aside or I will kill you all" the figure replied in a subdued voice.
"Will you now?" Camri retorted. "You and what army?"
"Myself and this army"
Assurrani looked around nervously as the undergrowth surrounding them began to fill with rustling sounds as ghostly figures converged on the four. "I wouldn't have said that, Camri…"
The robed figure suddenly summoned a mace and lunged at Camri, swinging the mace wildly. Camri dropped his bow and quickly drew his sword as he rolled to the ground to avoid the attacks, then leapt up just in time to use his sword to block another mace-stroke. As the man reeled, Camri delivered the killing blow to his chest using his sword.
"They're necromancers!" Ariel exclaimed. "Look at the markings on their robes!"
"Don't worry about that," Camri said calmly, picking up his bow. "Just make sure all my arrows hit their targets"
As Camri reached into his quiver for an arrow, he glanced around looking for the other two.
A necromancer was rushing at Latta, unleashing a bolt of red magic, which Latta dodged and responded to with a burst of frost, which hit the necromancer, slowing the pace of their attack. Latta lunged forwards and sliced the necromancer's head clean from his body with her sword.
Assurrani found himself between two summoned skeletons, but executed a terrific move, slashing out with both arms simultaneously – with his right hand; he sliced through the neck of one of the skeletons with his razor-sharp ebony shortsword, and with his left hand delivered a powerful blow to the second skeleton's solar plexus with his fist, the sheer power of the attack literally smashing the skeleton apart.
Camri fired his bow wildly into the undergrowth and Ariel responded immediately, using telekinesis to curve the arrow mid-flight and slam it into the forehead of an approaching necromancer.
"Camri!" Assurrani called, fighting off a zombie. "Kill that damn conjurer!"
"There" Ariel whispered to Camri, pointing at a necromancer ducked behind a bush, visible only by Ariel's life-detection spell. Camri fired high, and Ariel once again curved the path of the arrow's flight, over the bush and into the necromancer's scalp. As Assurrani braced himself for an attack from the zombie, the creature vanished in a flash of red light. As that happened, a flash of lightning lanced past Camri and Ariel, hitting a necromancer attempting to sneak up on them from behind.
"Latta! Behind you!" Ariel shouted. Instinctively, Latta spun around, her sword brandished before her, and cut down another approaching necromancer.
Silence fell.
"There's one more!" Ariel cried. "He's getting away!"
Camri gave chase immediately, spotting a robed figure running through the undergrowth. He ran with one eye on the ground and the other on the necromancer, stepping over obstacles as if they weren't there, vaulting over rocks which the necromancer ran around, until the necromancer tripped over a log, landing clumsily in a thicket of tall grass. Camri threw himself over the log and landed on top of the necromancer, but as he did, he felt an impact on the side of his head, hitting him with a dull thud. It hadn't even hurt. What had the necromancer hit him with?
The necromancer's tactics worked, confusing Camri long enough to place his hands on the Imperial's back. Camri roared in pain as unbearable heat surged through his body from the necromancer's hands. The necromancer leapt to his feet, but had made two paces when Latta struck him down with a bolt of lightning.
Camri sat down in a daze, trying to figure out what had happened to him, as Latta ran over and helped him to his feet. Assurrani bent down and picked something up from next to the fallen necromancer's right hand.
"Seriously, my friend, almost defeated by this?" the Dunmer said wryly. Much to Camri's surprise, Assurrani handed him a summer bolete mushroom – a patch of them was growing in the grass.
"That's what I call thinking on your feet" Camri said, tossing the mushroom away. "You confuse someone for a fraction of a second, you've got an opportunity to kill them. It's good for lateral thinking, all this magic"
"There'll be a reason he was trying to get away," Ariel said, walking over as Camri swallowed a handful of mugwort seeds to ease the pain of his wounds. Assurrani searched the necromancer's body and found a note.
The Empire is on to us. They have four people working from them – three were involved in the incident involving General Seminus, the fourth's identity is unknown. If these four apprehend you, you MUST either kill them or let them know that you have been found. If you are attacked, make sure you get away. Return to me at the rendezvous by the statue in Bruma so I can report the incident to M.
"M? That's got to be our man Mannimarco" Camri remarked. "And we've got a target in Bruma"
"We don't know who the target is, though" Assurrani replied. "We just know that, at some point, they will be standing next to the main tourist attraction of Bruma"
"There's two statues in Bruma" Ariel added.
"Well, we've got some clues" Camri continued. "Look at the handwriting – only a Breton would write as flamboyantly as that"
Ariel scowled at Camri.
"Second, you can just look for someone who seems to be up to no good" Camri said, looking at Assurrani.
"Me?" the Dunmer replied.
"Yes, you're the trained assassin here, and I see no reason for all four of us to go after this man"
"Don't you want to keep him alive though? He can probably lead us to Mannimarco"
"No-one can lead us to Mannimarco yet" Latta said suddenly. "His apotheosis is not complete. Even if it was, do you honestly believe you can get information out of someone that high up in Mannimarco's organisation? Someone who allegedly has direct contact with him?"
"Exactly. And he's obviously some sort of officer in the necromancer movement. You take him down, you disrupt them. So you two can go and kill him," Camri said, looking at Latta and Assurrani. "Myself and Ariel have business in the Imperial City – I have to find the Witch Doctor, and Ariel needs to meet her new guardian"
--
The Shivering Isles, Sacellum Arden-Sul
Aureal Commander Staada sat in the dark chapel with Dervenin, the High Priest of Mania. It was late at night, and the two had met for a secret council – a council of the future, of politics and of war.
"Dervenin, I am sure you have noticed a change in Sheogorath's behaviour recently" Staada said quietly, her face lit only by the pale green glow of the Flame of Agnon. "His bias is moving more towards Dementia by the day"
"I have noticed" the Bosmer replied. "But Our Lord still cannot bring himself to defile this temple of Mania by moving the Flame. As long as the Flame of Agnon burns, the Sacellum is our haven, Staada"
Staada continued. "This is caused by an imbalance of power. Dementia may not have a Duke at the moment, but it has a court, a steward. More power than we do. If Sheogorath is going to fully defer to Dementia, we will be in dire trouble"
"Mania will die without Sheogorath's divine energies" Dervenin said solemnly. "If Sheogorath fully aligns himself to House Dementia, gloom and despair will ravage our lands to the north. And…"
Dervenin hesitated, and then looked Staada in the eye. "Your people will die out"
Staada nodded, letting Dervenin's words sink in. "We have two options. We either have to get Mania back into power – install a Duke who wields genuine power, not somebody who is just a front for the House. Or we deal with House Dementia"
"Commander, might I remind you that taking any action against House Dementia at this stage will surely invoke the anger of Sheogorath? I dread to think what he might do…"
"We can take him on if he opposes us," Staada said proudly. "The province of Mania turning on him will weaken him, such is his bond to his realm. He is powerful, but not invincible"
"But if we kill Sheogorath, Mania and Dementia will both collapse. We cannot do that. Sheogorath's position is a mid-point between Mania and Dementia, both must exist to keep the realm in existence," Dervenin said, speaking his inner monologue. "But of course, there is a successor to his throne, someone who would keep the realm alive – Latta"
Staada suddenly stood up as a thought hit her. "What would happen if Latta were to complete her apotheosis, become a true Daedric Princess and claim the Throne of Mania?"
"Sheogorath would defer fully to Dukedom of Dementia" Dervenin said. "And the balance of power would be restored"
"We need to do something soon" Staada said, suddenly sounding slightly vulnerable. "The Wellspring that the Golden Saints are born from relies on Sheogorath's belief in Mania. Recently, the Seducer army has bloomed whilst I am in command of a skeleton army, barely enough soldiers to guard the city with"