Chapter 5 – The Needle And The Damage Done
Council Chambers, Pelagiad castle, two days later
The Sinclairs were the last to reach the gathering at the Council Chambers. Varo had been cured of the curse that the Bonewalker had placed on him, and was fighting fit again. Most noticeably, he now wore Keening in a small sheath on his belt.
"Thank you for coming, everyone" Varo said, taking a seat at the large round table. Also seated were Jurard Aurmine and Laurent Getenne, Erdora, Hermidius and Father Indarys. Levisson was in the healing house at Hlormaren, and Sten had remained there on active duty until he was needed again.
"Firstly, I don't know if you are aware of what occurred in the cave of Ashirbadon a few days ago. It very nearly claimed the lives of Laurent and my daughter, and two of our men were killed there. Laurent, have you found anything?"
"It was House Telvanni. The two men who attacked the cave told us that they were Telvanni – Salen Gothren and Vanur Aryon. I have checked the most recent Telvanni census and they are both members. The worrying thing is, Gavas Sevil, the man who turned on us to aid the Telvanni agents, is not"
"House Telvanni cannot muster an army big enough to pose a threat to us" Father Indarys said. "They bunch into their own little clans, each led by a wizard who generally has it in for all other Telvanni wizards. They're too busy killing each other to muster any great amount of man-power. And they lost favour with the other Houses aeons ago"
"It sounds like they were working for their master, as opposed to the House as a whole. What a shame we cannot speak to them to find out their intentions" Varo said.
"We may be able to…" Fariel said shyly. "One of them, Aryon, got away. He must still be out there somewhere"
"I'll get some agents to track him down" Hermidius said.
"Alright. On a related note, what of the crystals?"
Jurard stood up. "We are almost certain that they are related to magicka. We find them everywhere where magic is being practiced often, or where there is a powerful enchantment nearby. That's why we found them in the Guildhall. We found some behind your house, where you practice spellcasting, like you thought. And the Dwemer ruin was filled with them because of the enchantment on Keening…"
"…and we found evidence that a sorcerer had once lived in Ashirbadon" Laurent added. "Perplexingly we also found an amulet belonging to the Sixth House in there"
Laurent removed the amulet from his pocket. Jurard identified it as being the same as the one he had found in Arkgnthutch-Sturdumz.
"Yes, this is the big question" Erdora said. "Why were ash creatures alive inside Arkgnthutch-Sturdumz?"
"I have given this some thought" Father Indarys said. "From what I have read in the studies of these creatures from the time of Nerevarine, they rely on magicka to survive. They once drew it from the spirit of their Master, Dagoth Ur, but now he has gone they must be getting it from somewhere else"
"The crystals" Jurard said.
"Exactly" Father Indarys continued. "Jurard, Laurent, I think your research must continue. If you find any more of these crystals, look for signs of Sixth House presence"
"Now onto the big issue" Varo said ominously. "This cult who want to re-instate the Almsivi. They are a threat to us for two reasons – number one, I imagine they will want Vivec City for themselves. Number two, they intend to 'use the power of the island' to create the new Almsivi"
"I have word from the mainland" Father Indarys said. "There is talk of a Dunmer warrior – Arlen Saroth is his name. He is Nerevarine to the new Tribunal – the one they get to do all their bidding from them. He is a descendant of Alvas Dres, Patriarch of House Dres"
"Thank you, Father. I doubt it will be long before Saroth makes his appearance on the island. Until then there is little we can do. Thank you all for coming"
As various people got up to leave the room, Father Indarys grabbed Varo by the arm and took him to one side.
"I need to speak to you further. Come to Moonstar"
--
Caldera, the previous day
Romanus Ratarius opened the letter from Varo that had been delivered to him and read it carefully.
"Madness!" Romanus said angrily, throwing the letter to the ground. His bodyguard, Burdush gra-Barat, turned to face him.
"What is it, Mr Ratarius?"
"Varo" Romanus replied. "He wants to stop us exporting ebony and glass, because some of it contains Dagoth Ur's spirit. We're to cease exporting until it can be determined where it is safe for us to mine"
The pair were stood in Romanus' house in Caldera, rebuilt to the north-west of its original site. Romanus had not had an easy time on Vvardenfell. Shortly after landing on the island, he had his band of surveyors and builders had travelled to the old site of Pelagiad, hoping to rebuild the Imperial town. However, feral Dunmer tribespeoplem who had somehow survived the destruction around the time of Dagoth Ur's reign and had lived on the island for the proceeding years, viciously attacked them. No sooner had the tribespeople been defeated when Drothan Indoril and his Dunmer soldiers landed on the island and attacked them, reducing their number even further. Most of his mercenaries had left his service to fight alongside Varo against the Dunmer, leaving him with a skeleton crew of workers. Nevertheless, he had overseen the rebuilding of Pelagiad and a new mine had been built, mining ebony from a lava field that had filled the Foyada Mamaea after Red Mountain had erupted – a mine he had just been instructed to shut down until further notice.
"I suppose there's not a lot we can do about this" Romanus said to Burdush. "Did you find anything at the site of the mine?"
The Orc nodded. "Two cave entrances. One was filled with open ebony veins – that's the old mine. There was another cave, it didn't contain anything of interest but we could use it for storage. We found an old ancestral tomb too, it also didn't throw up anything particularly interesting"
"Very well. The ebony underneath Caldera has been there for much longer than five hundred years. We can start mining it because it's safe to export"
There was a sudden loud knock at the door.
"Come in!" Romanus called.
One of Romanus' workers, a Nord named Stirjen, entered the room.
"We've found something in the old mine, Mr Ratarius" Stirjen said.
"What is it?" Romanus asked.
"It's a door, and we can't open it"
--
Azura's Coast, one month ago
Father Indarys and Steward Selvio Drath both walked briskly towards the torchlight. Rain blown by the strong easterly wind lashed their faces. Eventually they reached the two Legion soldiers who were holding the torches.
"What is it?" Father Indarys said, speaking loudly to be heard over the gale.
"Thanks for coming, Father" one of the soldiers replied. "We found this Altmer washed up on the shore. He was unconscious, but we revived him, but he said he won't tell us who he is or why he's here until he sees you"
The soldier stepped aside, revealing an Altmer sat on the floor, his face covered in blood dripping from a cut on his forehead.
"Marconi? Is that you?" Father Indarys said, crouching down next to the Altmer, who turned to look at Father Indarys.
"Yes, it's me" the Altmer said, nodding. "Forgive me. I had to make sure I was in the right place"
"I thought the statue would have told you that" Father Indarys said, helping Marconi to his feet and pointing to the south. On top of a hill was a huge statue of Azura, built in ancient times and now the centre of Moonstar. The statue had been enchanted to glow eternally with the light of Azura.
"What happened to you?" Selvio asked Marconi.
"I was trying to get to Moonstar" Marconi replied. "My boat got caught in this damn storm. The waves ripped her apart. I must have been knocked unconscious"
Marconi turned to face Father Indarys. "I must speak with you, Father. In private"
--
"I don't know Marconi very well" Selvio Drath said. "Who is he?"
Selvio was sat with Father Indarys in his office, waiting for the temple healers to aid Marconi.
"I'm sure you know the he was instrumental to our success against the Grand Council" Father Indarys said. Selvio nodded.
Marconi had been a crewman on the ship that had first brought the Sun and Moon Cult to the island. But then the ship's captain had betrayed them to Drothan Indoril, just as he and his soldiers were preparing to land on the island. This transpired to be an elaborate double-cross to lure Drothan into the event that killed him and his soldiers, when Marconi had mysteriously re-appeared with a key to unlock an ancient door deep beneath Vivec. Many questions were asked – how Marconi had got the key, how he knew that it would be needed – but Marconi had disappeared shortly after the war had been won.
"I never know whether to trust him or not" Father Indarys said. "He seems to have accomplished more than is possible in a mortal lifetime. He is in possession of artifacts that date back to the time of Nerevarine, and even earlier. And I have no idea how he came across that key. As well as all this, he has found the time to become incredibly gifted in both magic and combat"
"There's something interesting in the census records" Selvio said, tapping a pile of books on his desk. "These were taken in Mournhold, where he lived before joining Matari's crew. He lists his occupation as a sailor, which is true. But, these four census records were taken once every ten years. And in every one he states his age as the same – fifty"
"Perhaps when he told me that he wanted to make sure he was in the right place, he didn't mean in space, but in time…"
"With respect, Father, I think that is extremely unlikely"
"From what I have seen on this island, Selvio, nothing is unlikely"
--
Tel Indarys, Moonstar, the present day
Varo stood at the foot of Tel Indarys, a grand tower on the southern edge of Moonstar, as Father Indarys unlocked its door then led Varo inside.
"It's quite a tower you have here" Varo remarked. "The name – it's Telvanni, am I right?"
"To an extent" Father Indarys replied. "It's old Elven, it literally means 'Indarys Tower'. But you are right in saying that I have respect for the Telvanni. They are not like the other Houses. Here's something that may interest you – whilst all the old Telvanni tower towns on old Vvardenfell were named after their founders, Tel Mora was not – it translates as 'forest of towers'"
"Your knowledge of old Vvardenfell amazes me, Father" Varo said as Father Indarys led him upstairs. "But are you going to tell me why you brought me here?"
Father Indarys led Varo to a door and motioned him inside. Varo opened the door, walked through it and closed it again.
"The last time I saw you" a deep voice said suddenly, "you were carrying me to safety"
Varo smiled and turned around. "Hello, Marconi"
"Hello, Commander. I'm glad we meet under more pleasant circumstances this time"
"You have no need to apologise, Marconi. You saved my life. Now, what can I do for you?"
"I know where Sunder is"
"Varo! Marconi! Get out here! Now!" Father Indarys shouted from outside. Varo looked at Marconi then threw the door open and ran out, drawing his sword, as Marconi followed behind him. Varo looked down the stairwell and saw, halfway down it, Father Indarys pinned to the wall by a Dunmer assassin holding a sword across his neck. As Varo raced towards Father Indarys, the priest placed his hands on the Dunmer's back and electricity surged out of them. The Dunmer convulsed wildly then fell, tumbling like a ragdoll down the stairs.
"There was two of them" Father Indarys said, regaining himself. "I managed to fight them both off"
"Are you alright?" Varo asked him.
"The first man never even got chance to attack before I killed him, and the second forgot some basic facts about Destruction magic. I'm fine"
"I wonder who they are" Varo said, examining the body of the dead assassin. "Morag Tong, perhaps?"
"The Morag Tong don't target people like us" Marconi replied. "They're the agents of inter-house feuding"
Varo picked up a note from the assassin's body and read it.
Glory will be ours. The blessed Almsivi restored. Only one stands in our way – anyone who succeeds in killing him will be a hero and a saint of our new order. Dagoth Sinclair must die.
Dres
Varo's blood ran cold. "Dagoth Sinclair? I know I have made many enemies on the mainland but this…"
"…is propaganda" Father Indarys said, interrupting Varo. "They're trying to make you out as the arch-enemy of their faith, and what better way to do that than to associate you with Dagoth Ur, the nemesis of the old Almsivi?"
"This is because he came to me in a dream…"
"Varo, Dagoth Ur has come before me in a dream. He has come before sailors, miners, even bakers in their dreams. And nothing has become of it – he is powerless"
"Try telling that to my dead son" Varo replied. "Marconi, you say you know where Sunder lies?"
Marconi nodded.
"Is it on this island?"
"Yes. In Kogoruhn, the old stronghold of the Sixth House. It's north of Red Mountain, more or less due south from where Dagon Fel used to be"
"I will be back in a week. I want you to take me there"