-1Author's Note: Yes it is insanely long, but it's worth it. And just so everyone knows, I will be gone for a week and won't be posting anything. I gotta enjoy the beach know? : But while I'm gone, check this out and give some feedback! Now, on with the story.
The Illuminated Order
Chapter
1 - Wild Goose Chase
A quick note on a piece of parchment paper, saying who's diary it was and where he had found it, was enough for Cavortius. He snuck the book onto the counter at the Eight Plates when no one was looking, then melted back through the crowds and out the door, making his way for the Silt Strider at the south gate. The rain continued to fall steadily.
When he approached the gigantic flea-like bug, the caravaner asked, "Where would you like to go?"
"Hla Oad, please," the Imperial replied.
For a brief moment, the caravaner gave the Imperial a frustrated look. "I'm sorry, outlander, but my Strider doesn't go there. The closest I can take you to there is Vivec, and then you'll have to take a boat."
"That works, sera. How much?"
"Thirty septims." Cavortius rummaged through his pockets and produced three 10-septim pieces of gold and gave them to the Dunmer, who barked a command at the Strider.
The giant bug lowered itself to allow both Cavortius and the driver to get in. The Imperial took a seat behind the caravaner and closed his eyes as the rain pounded down on his body.
He must've dozed off because the fact that the rain wasn't pounding on him anymore caused him to stir. He opened his eyes and discovered it was close to dawn, but it was still dark outside. The caravaner bid him a good morning and he headed back to Balmora, the Strider stomping away into the distance.
Cavortius found himself back in Vivec, the first place he'd been to upon his arrival, so he already knew where the boat service was. As such, he left the gangway he was currently standing on and made a left toward the city, then another down the hill to the docks.
The scale of Vivec when he first saw its large cantons had been overwhelming and still was to a degree. The god Vivec resided at the far side of the city, in the Temple canton and more specifically the High Fane. Supposedly the god's skin was both bronze and green--a reminder and symbol of what his people used to be, the Chimer.
When Cavortius had arrived, he heard the locales mention something called Red Mountain and something evil named Dagoth Ur and that the Tribunal had something to do with it. But that wasn't his problem; it was everyone else's. His current priority was finding this tomb.
The Dunmer who operated the boat was Ano Andaram, whom he had met at the docks of Ebonheart and was a rather friendly Dunmer, for he hadn't been rude in saying he was an outlander. This Dunmer rather liked helping people, and it was Cavortius' first 'friend' in Morrowind…at least, he felt it was so.
"Ah, back again, I see," Ano greeted, extending his arm for Cavortius to shake.
"Indeed," the Imperial replied, taking the hand. "Hla Oad, sera."
"Thirty-five drakes." The money was exchanged and Cavortius laid down on one of the wooden planks that doubled as benches, and the Dark Elf began to unravel the rope that was tied to the dock.
Before the boat had even begun to move, Pelelius was asleep.
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Cavortius, subconsciously, was very much enjoying the nap on the way to the small village of Hla Oad. It was surprisingly dreamless despite him having killed a man just a few hours prior.
The one thing he didn't prefer, however, was the second rude awakening within days of landing in Morrowind.
A violent jerk of the boat, accompanied by the sound of a crashing noise, served to bump the Imperial off of his makeshift bed into the boat itself. He landed hard on his chest, and that was what had woken him up. He peered out over the edge of the boat, still trying to clear the sleepiness from his eyes.
It was dawn, and the sun had already began to rise overhead and the direct sunlight to his still-waking eyes was painful. Out of his peripheral he saw two ramshackle houses made of wood, clay, straw, and resin. Then he heard the sounds of two voices arguing, and when Cavortius looked toward the bow, he discovered the source of his awakening.
Somehow Ano had managed to crash part of his ship into the dock and had nearly avoided hitting another ship that was currently tied to it, thus prompting the owner of that ship to yell at Ano. At least, that's what he assumed. The necromancer felt his shoulder for his travel bag, but it wasn't there--to his chagrin, he was laying on top of it.
Slinging the pack over his shoulder like a sash, he stood from the boat and stretched out his arms to rid them of the aches he felt.
"Hey, uh, Ano," Cavortius stated. Both his driver and the other shipmaster stopped arguing to glance at the Imperial.
"Oh, hey Cavortius…um, look. As you can see, I have a bit of trouble here."
"A lot of trouble!" the other shipmaster shouted, crossing her arms and glaring at Ano.
"So, uh, you've paid me and you're free to go," Ano stated.
"Okay, thank you. How will I get back?"
He cocked his head toward the Dark Elf woman. "Her."
Cavortius nodded and climbed up onto the dock and walked into the village. He looked at his map just to make sure of where he was, or rather where the village was, and put it back in his bag once he was satisfied.
However, rushing off blindly into the wilderness was a surefire way to get himself killed, so he hung around town for a bit and gathered information.
Hla Oad was aligned with House Hlaalu, which always put a foul taste in Cavortius' mouth, and it appeared that only seven buildings were in place. But what struck the Imperial most was the level of tension in the air. Everyone here seemed more hostile than others he had met, and it was more than the whole 'outlander' thing he had going for him.
Nevertheless, he managed to get directions to the tomb with the help of one of the Hlaalu Guards and even got it pin-pointed on his map. It was indeed southwest of the settlement and didn't require much of a walk. Nearby was a ship that wasn't docked at Hla Oad, but something about it told him to steer clear.
Cavortius now stood before the door to the Heran Ancestral Tomb. Just out of human nature, he tried the door, and to his surprise it opened. The tomb wasn't as lit as the cave near Balmora, so he quietly invoked his Night-Eye spell and the level of light filtering through his pupils increased.
Before him was a staircase leading to another door, and the Imperial drew his dwarves short-sword, holding his right arm out and the tip forward. He kicked open the door and was greeted by a spear-wielding skeleton, who's bony permanent grin seemed too outlandish for such a situation.
Since Cavortius was some distance away and out of sword's length, he casted a Frostball spell from his left hand and the skeleton froze in place. The Imperial quickly crossed the gap and started hacking away at the skeletal corpse, hacking both its limbs off but it managed to become unfrozen and it head-butt him to the ground.
What it did next was almost unreal. The skeleton pounced on top of his prone form and continued trying to bash its head into him! The fall had crossed him to drop his sword and that Fireball spell had cost him more than half of his magic reserves. So all he had was his arms to protect his face.
The skeleton's hard skull bashing against his arms burned like Oblivion, but gradually the undead guardian bashed its head a little too hard and its skull split in half. The skeleton collapsed on top of the Imperial, who roughly pushed it off and then retrieved his fallen short-sword.
As Cavortius proceeded through the tomb, he encountered two more skeletons and a Daedric creature known as a Scamp. Each time he encountered these creatures he tried a different method of attack--be it a spell, a summoning scroll, or his blade, but each creature fell dead in the end.
He reached what he thought to be the end of the tomb, with a door propped open with the help of a rock. He assumed it to be the end because the key he had procured from Senzani's corpse hadn't been put to use yet. In all actuality, the Imperial was becoming rather annoyed at the thought that this adventure could all be for nothing and that he was on a wild goose chase. But still he pressed on.
In the final room was a skeleton with a sword and shield. To soften it up, Cavortius casted a lightning spell. The skeleton champion twitched and convulsed in place, stunned from the electrical burst, and Cavortius charged in with his dwarves short-sword, knocking the shield out of line and chopped horizontally at the guardian's spine. It fell in two separate pieces, the sword and shield each clattering to the floor.
The Imperial stopped to put his hands on his knees and catch his breath. He was breathing heavy, mainly from exhaust, but he found yet another door standing before him when he looked up again. Reluctantly, he approached it and tried the lock. To his surprise, he met resistance and kept pushing, but it wouldn't budge--it was locked.
Pelelius' excitement suddenly shot up. Could this be the door? he wondered. He patted himself down, trying to find the pocket on his robe where he put the key, and was furious when it wasn't there. Yet when he looked on the ground, there it was.
He chuckled to himself--it must've fallen out when he had engaged that skeleton. Bending over, he picked it up and inserted it in the lock and turned. The door opened.
"Yes!" he exclaimed and proceeded to trod down a long narrow staircase. He still kept his guard up, though--Senzani whacking him on the back with a staff still rang clear in his memory.
As he reached the bottom of the steps, he came upon a massive, shadowy figure. His Night-Eye spell had worn out because as he had moved deeper within the Heran Ancestral Tomb, the lighting became better. But down here, it was nearly pitch-black save for a source of light behind the figure some ways away.
Cavortius moved forward in a crouch, sword at the ready, and silently invoked Night-Eye. But upon doing so, he wished he hadn't.
Somehow, the Ogrim that stood before him didn't charge him at first, as the massive bloated Daedric creature was staring right at him. But then it let out a vicious, horrible snarl and then lumbered toward Cavortius with surprising speed. That was the Imperial's cue to backpedal toward the stairs.
How in Oblivion did it fit through the door?! his mind blurted. He cast two weak Firebite spells in quick succession as he reached the safety of the doorframe. His furious backpedaling and not paying attention to where the steps began caused him to trip on the bottom stair and fall backward--luckily, this saved his life as the Ogrim had swung its massive fist forward to hit the small human.
Cavortius scurried back up the stairs on his butt, casting spells at the beast. In the process, his sword fell from his hand and clattered back down the stairs toward the Ogrim, who was trying to push itself through the tiny doorframe.
"Ysmir's Beard!" he cursed. But then he had an idea. A crazy, suicidal idea, but it could just work.
When a person is charged by another in combat, the defending person usually backs away, just as the attacking opponent would suspect. But rarely does the defending person charge. And this was what Cavortius did. In doing so, he hoped to confuse the Ogrim (which, from being a necromancer, he knew weren't smart servants).
He charged back down the stairs, screaming and yelling incoherent words, and the Daedra beast briefly held a puzzled look on its face. That ended the moment Cavortius slammed his body into the creature's belly. It didn't knock him over (such creatures were very powerful), but he did make the beast stumble away from the doorframe. This distraction allowed the Imperial to scoop up his short-sword and drive it through the Ogrim's belly, carving a rough circle in its stomach and disemboweling it.
The Ogrim cried out in pain before falling flat on its face. Despite getting blood on himself, Cavortius was glad this was over. Yet the fact that an Ogrim had somehow found its way down here made him wonder.
Nevertheless, with sword still drawn, Cavortius recast his Night-Eye spell and proceeded down the long tunnel to the source of light at the end.
What he came to was a small circular altar about waist-height with a small stone chest sitting on top. The key he used for the door also worked for the chest, and here he hoped was the phylactery of divinity.
But as he opened the chest, all he found was another piece of rolled up paper and a key (which he immediately pocketed out of habit). At this point, Cavortius almost tore it up in anger over being led into a wild goose chase, but he stilled himself and unrolled the letter.
"We are about to disappoint you, and reward you as well. There is no phylactery of divinity to be had here or, indeed, anywhere on Vvardenfell. Do not let this trouble you, however, as we have known for centuries that the instructions 'The Red Book of Worms' contains for becoming a lich are fraudulent and ineffective in any case.
You are no doubt angry, justifiably so. Hear us out before passing judgment, however.
We gave you information we knew was in error, and we did so willfully."
Cavortius stared down at the piece of paper in disbelief, his eyes and mouth both wide in shock. He also had the sense to move up against the back wall in case anymore demons came out of the darkness.
What in the Gods' names is this? he thought wearily. Nevertheless, he kept reading.
"It was not to waste your time that we did so, however, but rather to keep us from wasting our own. It was needful to see how determined you were in your endeavor, how much effort you would go through to further your goal of becoming a Lich. We needed to see the strength in your resolve, and having you gather the reagents specified by the Red Book (something more than one of us has, at one time or another, done as well) was an adequate means of measuring that."
Cavortius had to keep in mind that this letter must've been written with Senzani in mind. But yet, this letter had been placed here by hand…as far as he knew, there was no type of spell or magic that could magically place letters in places.
"We are an organization that has existed on the fringes of society in Vvardenfell for centuries, since before the coming of the Empire. We have dedicated our efforts to the study of those things the temple has deemed anathema; vampires, lycanthropes, necromancy and other, similar studies. Studies that are outlawed, whose practitioners are persecuted and executed (as we are sure you are aware). It is thus that we must maintain the secrecy with which we have cloaked ourselves for our own self-preservation.
We are the Illuminated Order of the Invisibles. We extend to you, based on the vigorousness of your own researches, an invitation to join our number. It is an invitation extended but seldom, and we hope for your forgiveness of our deception of you and your acceptance of our offered brotherhood."
Were it not for the fact that Cavortius had slain the recipient that this letter had been for, he would've joined straight away with this Order. After all, what this Order did was extremely intriguing and inviting. Maybe he could join anyway? But then they'd be suspicious as to how he had found them. The Imperial continued to read.
"Lest we continue to give you the wrong impression, let us state now that we do not, sadly, know of any viable method of becoming a Lich. We have searched. We continue to do so. It eludes us. Joining us will not give you the opportunity to become a Lich, but it will open many other doors and hidden records to you.
Should you wish to join our Order, take the key contained in this chest and travel to Balmora. There look for Demnevanni Manor. In the chambers beneath the manor you will find Thuvien Demnevanni. Recite unto him, "Behind closed eyes, realize your sight" so that he may know you, and you will be welcomed as the newest member of the Illuminated Order."
So that settles it then, Cavortius thought. I may not become a Lich, but I can still continue my passion. He was just about to roll up the piece of paper when, after a blank space on the scroll, he saw more writing. Curious, he began to read again.
"Oh yes, one final thing.
We are not fools, Cavortius. We are quite well aware you are not Senzani Na, to whom we first prepared to extend this invitation."
"What the fuck!" Cavortius screamed, dropping the letter and backing away from it and drawing his short-sword. His first thought was that this was a trap, that the trail he thought he'd erased in High Rock had followed him here. Who knows if he had passed invisible guards on the way down the chamber? All it would take was a mage to teach the spell.
"Where are you?! Come out and fight me, you bastards!"
But for a long time, nothing emerged and nothing happened. On the verge of hysterics, Cavortius managed to pick up the scroll with a trembling hand.
"In the end, this matters not. Whether originally intended for you or not, it was you who ran our gauntlet and satisfied our curiosity. Thus do we invite you, as we would have him. We merely do not wish for you to make the error of believing us ignorant of the truth in this matter."
The letter ended there, once again unsigned like the note he had found on Senzani Na's body. Cavortius didn't know what to think. This could be a very elaborate trap or it could be the divine intervention he had been seeking since escaping High Rock. In a panic, he ran down the long hall, vaulted over the Ogrim's body, and sprinted as fast as possible for the tomb's entrance.
This can't be, this must be a joke, a dream, a sick prank! he thought alarmingly.
When he reached the top, he pushed through the door into the outside, the sun high above his head now. He didn't care if the water near him could be dirty; it would be cold, it would wash the blood from his body, and it could also help to see if he was dreaming.
Without hesitation, Cavortius Pelelius stripped off his travel bag and jumped into the mouth of the Odai River. The water was extremely cold, but served to shock his mind and body to full alertness. After treading water for a minute, he swam for the shoreline and crawled onto the bank. He reached into his travel bag for the note…no, it was still there, and it was very real. He wasn't dreaming, he hadn't gone mad, but something just didn't smell right about this whole situation.
Instead of heading back to Hla Oad to catch a boat to Vivec, Cavortius pulled out his map and looked for Balmora. From the looks of it, if he followed the Odai River north, he would emerge in Balmora. Hopefully, the walk would give him time to think and pass the time. In the potential case that this was a trap, he wanted to walk through the southern gate at night and find the manor.
And if it was a trap, then Cavortius would go out fighting.
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The walk had taken Cavortius six hours and by the time he reached the road leading into Balmora, it was about nine o'clock. Stars glittered in the sky, and Nirn's two moons were semi-visible.
If the Illuminated Order had a base in Balmora, which seemed to be this manor mentioned in the letter, Cavortius assumed that it wouldn't be in the upper-class district where House Hlaalu 'nobles' resided. No, it would likely be in the poor part of town east of the Odai--mainly to be inconspicuous.
As Cavortius reached the south gate, he pulled the hood on his robe up and adjusted it so it obscured half of his face. When he was satisfied, the Imperial walked quickly but discreetly across the south-most bridge leading to the east side of town and walked up the stairs near a large house with a tower.
He walked down the streets, past the South Wall Cornerclub, but found nothing on the name plates mentioning a Demnevanni Manor. Becoming increasingly weary that this was a trap, his hand occasionally reached for his short-sword, but he restrained that impulse.
Cavortius walked down the stairs near the house of a man named Caius Cosades, past another house on his right, and went right on the street. The tall tower next to that house was the Eastern Guard Tower, and the Imperial knew immediately that it wouldn't be there. But next to the Guard Tower was a curious building that he didn't remember being there before.
Then again, when Cavortius had left for the cave the previous night, he had been half drunk and intensely focused on his task, so he may have missed it. As he approached the building, the tag on it said Demnevanni Manor.
The Imperial was extremely hesitant as he gripped the cord-latch on the door and looked around to see if anybody was watching. A Hlaalu Guard was making his way across the river toward the rest of the city, but that was all he could see. He inserted the key he had found in the tomb in the lock, quickly entered and shut the door behind him.
Immediately he got a strange vibe upon entering the manor. To his left was a bed with a canopy, a dresser, table and chair directly to his left, and another dresser opposite the bed. On top of the closest dresser was an open piece of paper.
Ever curious, he examined the paper without touching it. The words, written in spidery letters, sent chills down his spine: "We're watching you, Cavortius."
On the opposite wall was an evil-looking tapestry, with red light glowing from behind it. No matter how much he wanted to turn around and leave, thinking this whole thing to be a trap, some unknown force was at work and he felt himself slowly being drawn towards the tapestry. Pretty soon, he was on the other side of it and he didn't know how.
Cavortius began to slowly walk down the stairs, his hand hovering on his short-sword. The red glow, he discovered, came from a series of red candles he found in the corners of each flight he went down. There were about five flights of stairs, and he was wondering when in Talos' name it would end.
When it did, he found himself looking into a dirt chamber that resembled a cave, with a doorframe connecting the manor to this room. Inside was a bedroll, some dressers, an altar which contained three red candles, a skull, and bloody writing, and various alchemical apparatuses.
And standing behind the altar was a Dark Elf dressed in a blue robe with large pieces of gold embroidery stitched on the shoulders, chest, and neck. The expression the Dunmer had was somewhat sour, yet strangely warm and welcoming. This must've been Thuvien Demnevanni, who looked to be about a hundred years old (though he couldn't be sure, as the way that Dunmer aged was a mystery to him).
"You're standing in my light," Thuvien said blandly.
Cavortius raised an eyebrow, not sure what to make of the statement, but then he remembered the phrase he was to speak. "Behind closed eyes, realize your sight," the Imperial said.
Demnevanni raised both his eyebrows and then nodded. "It is always a pleasure to meet another who will willingly step out of the light and into the shadows…where those formless and nameless howl silently for our very souls. Will you willingly step out of the light? Will you join the Illuminated Order?"
Cavortius took a deep breath and exhaled. This is your chance. You have the potential to make some friends and family here. Do it.
"I will," Cavortius said with confidence.
"The order is well pleased with you," Thuvien replied. "We claim you as one of our own. Henceforth, you are Cavortius, the Instrument of Dark Labors, one of the Illuminated Order."