-1The Illuminated Order
Chapter 4 - An Old Haunt
As soon as he entered Demnevanni Manor, Cavortius locked the front door and moved the dresser in front of the door. It was paranoia talking, but it had its place. When he trotted down all the stairs, and the old Dark Elf caught sight of him, he spoke.
"You may be wondering why go to all the trouble to acquire a dwarven bone," he began in his dusty voice, "when there are, however rarely, dwemer ghosts to be found who could be questioned. The truth is, we've tried. For some reason, our usual techniques of extracting information from a spirit are inadequate to the task. Damned if we know why."
The Imperial wasn't sure if Thuvien had been speaking to him or not, but he disregarded it as the ramblings of an old man. He reached into his rucksack and pulled out the dwemer bone, setting it upon the altar. The Dunmer immediately dropped what he was doing to inspect the bone.
"Remarkable!" he exclaimed, turning it over in his hands to admire it. "If you only knew how long we've been looking for one of these…. The Order is pleased with the way you've been performing tasks. The time has come to promote you. You are now an Instrument of Devious Gambits."
Instrument of Devious Gambits, Cavortius thought with a smile. I like the sound of that.
"Thank you, Thuvien. It is an honor to serve the Order."
"Indeed, as it has been for all. I have one more task for you, then I will teach you how to interrogate spirits. Come sit down with me, please."
The two men silently walked toward the table, which had become the regular method of assigning a task to the Imperial. For some odd reason, Pelelius recalled a strange, fleeting expression that had appeared on Demnevanni's face when he had first mentioned Scourge Barrow. His assumption would soon prove prophetic.
"We need you to go back to Scourge Barrow," the Dark Elf stated.
Immediately, a flood of emotional memories rushed to him in droves, causing him to close his eyes. The day was very clear…they had all been sitting around a campfire, Mannimarco included, and they had been discussing something about a zombie, and then all Oblivion broke loose. Guards rushed the place, arrows flew through the air, and a glorious battle took place. Somehow in the confusion he managed to slip out, and for a time didn't realize that Demnevanni was trying to get his attention.
"What?" Cavortius said, startled. "Oh…I'm sorry. I was…recalling the memories."
Thuvien nodded. "Understandable. I'm sure you already know the specifics, but I've been tasked to present this in a formal way." The Dark Elf cleared his throat noisily a few times, then slid an amulet of some sort across the table.
"Scourge Barrow was the lair of Mannimarco, the King of Worms. Parts of it had collapsed during the battles fought during the Second Numidium, as well as most recently when it was raided by the forces of Daggerfall, thus keeping some of its secrets."
It was strange but the King of Worms had mentioned passages in the ruins that even he couldn't get past, though it was clear he had once used them previously.
"But we have a way to uncover those secrets, more, to recover those secrets. We found the corpse of one of the King of Worms' agents, upon which was a teleportation amulet."
Thuvien gestured to the amulet in Cavortius' hands, and the Imperial remembered that he had not yet earned his place in order to acquire such an amulet.
"These amulets," Demnevanni continued dryly, "allow instantaneous travel to Scourge Barrow, all the way in Daggerfall. We've altered the enchantment on this one a bit, to enable it to also teleport back to this Manor.
"Be warned, as you may know: Scourge Barrow collapsed. It's possibly entirely filled with rock, in which case teleporting into it will likely prove instantly fatal." The look of fear on the Imperial's face was very visible, so Thuvien tried to soothe his mind. "The risk is great, but the potential rewards are worth it. Return when you have found something of use. Preferably something dead."
Saying no more words, the Dunmer stood and began to mess with the same skeletal corpse he'd been working on since finding the Manor. Cavortius just sat at his end of the table, turning the amulet over in his hands. The memories were still crystal-clear, and the thought of teleporting into a rock wasn't all that--
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What the fuck just happened?! his mind screamed. The answer to that question wasn't ready to answer itself, as he now found himself a dimly-lit room filled with red lights, fallen rocks, sarcophagi, and…well, a few ancestor ghosts and zombies who weren't too happy to see him.
Cavortius drew his dwarven short-sword, and charged at the undead wave coming at him. He cut through the flesh of one of the zombies, causing it to stumble out of his way, but into another one. This one took a bite out of his arm, which burned like a thousand tiny knives were sticking him, and he cursed it. He elbowed it in the face, then cut off both of its legs, leaving it for dead.
He turned his attention to the ancestor ghosts, who tried to fling spells at him, but he rolled out of the way from all that were cast and cut them both down with downward and sideways strikes of his short-sword. Thinking all was said and done, he proceeded to walk to the front of the room, which contained a throne of sorts, but he was wrong. The zombie who's legs he had removed earlier clawed deep into his leg, and he screamed in pain. He was thankful he was quick on his feet, and a swift decapitation and a stab in the back occurred, followed by the downing of a restorative potion.
Feeling the effects of the potion taking hold, Cavortius had a moment to catch his breath. Looking around he knew this to be the infamous "Worm Throne", where Mannimarco made many of his decisions when he wasn't personally directing the affairs of his cult. The throne itself was at the front of the room. No one but the King of Worms himself and his most loyal servants were allowed in here. It had been described as a gothic, grotesque display of rotting bones adorned with the most precious and rarest metals in all of Tamriel. The tapestries were rumored to have been made from human flesh, either from the King's victims or treacherous members. The Imperial felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of such a thing, knowing full well that if the Necromancers ever caught up to him, he was sure to meet a similar fate.
Then he realized that he must've been fumbling with the teleportation amulet and accidentally activated it. Cavortius, feeling more at ease now that he had figured that out, began to search the dimly lit Worm Throne. The passage behind him was sealed off by fallen rocks, a testament to the fact that Daggerfall forces still raided the place occasionally.
Thuvien had said to bring back anything that would be useful for his research, but after searching every sarcophagi in the room as well as the back of the throne, he was ready to give up when he spied something similar to a corpse trapped under a large boulder. It was somewhat hidden behind an alcove of other boulders on the west side of the room. As he approached, Cavortius' eyes widened, and his nose was assaulted by the miasma of smells.
"No…could this be…it can't be…" he muttered with disbelief, crouching next to the corpse to get a better look at it.
The corpse was in fact a large skeleton, larger than any human skeleton. Yet from having worked here in Scourge Barrow before, he knew just from instinct that this was what he had came for. Inside the corpse's rib cage was a piece of paper. Now curious, Pelelius delicately reached into the skeleton's body and grabbed the corner of the paper, shaking it off to get rid of the maggots that were crawling around on it. Setting this aside, he knew that this large skeleton would be of interest to Demnevanni, so he carefully separated the head from the neck with his sword, and put the large skull in his travel bag.
Casting Night-Eye so he could study the paper better, Cavortius picked up the parchment and began to read…with skepticism, of course, because every piece of paper he had picked up so far had brought up startling revelations to him.
"Most remarkable of all my agents,
Does this messenger come as something of a surprise to you? No matter. You have served me well and I do not forget your service. As I scribe this note I sit in my hall under Scourge Barrow, undergoing final preparations now that you have delivered the Totem to me. Soon, very soon indeed, you shall be departing on your way to the harridan Nulfaga's holding, from which she will transport you to the Aetherial Void. Though the obstacles you shall face one there are not entirely unknown to me I have every confidence in your inevitable success.
I have instructed this zombie of mine to remain within Scourge Barrow for a span of days immediately after the second coming of Numidium. It is my hope that this will keep it from difficulties in the surface world in the tumultuous days to come. Within a week, it should be safe for it to journey to the surface and make it's way to you, bearing this final missive as well as your reward."
Cavortius' eyes narrowed as he stared at the note. Something wasn't adding up…this zombie had been down here in the Worm Throne since the end of the second coming of Numidium…but yet, the passage had been sealed off by Imperial forces. Or was he, in fact, wrong in what he knew? Maybe the Worm Throne had been collapsed from the start, and Mannimarco was cable of teleporting into the room on a whim…to work on his zombie minion, which had indeed confirmed his initial suspicions.
"The zombie brings you my staff, an item of considerable enchantment. Its properties are rather unique, and as you can see from examining it, not without price. With the proper precautions it is a powerful tool, and one I feel you are suited to take in hand. Take this, my final gift to you. You have well earned it.
I do not know precisely what awaits me from this point forward. I may be able to contact you again. I may not. If not, know that you have performed well for me, and remain the most favored agent of,
Mannimarco,
King of Worms"
A chill shot up the Imperial's spine as his head whipped around back to the throne room. He didn't know why he did, but something felt off--his gut told him so. When he turned back to stare at the King of Worms' throne, a long glowing staff was laying on the throne where one hadn't before.
"What in Oblivion…" he rasped. Cavortius swore he could hear a voice speaking to him, and it sounded faintly like Mannimarco. The Staff of Worms was laying right there where it clearly hadn't before. In the dim of the room, he was creeped out. The dead normally didn't scare him, but around Mannimarco, he felt the evil shimmering off of the man's body, from his soul.
"I see you…" a voice echoed quietly in the chamber. The hairs on Cavortius' arms and legs was standing on end. Slowly, he drew his dwarven short-sword with his right hand, and clutched the teleportation amulet in his left.
"I know what you've done, child," the voice said again, this time more demonic. "I will find you, hunt you, kill you, then punish you!"
As Cavortius turned around in a flash, fear coursed throughout him, and in response, he pushed on the center of the amulet. In a swirl of magicka, he was gone, but not before he had seen a larger-then-life visual of the King of Worms' face suspended up in the air behind him, laughing as he left Daggerfall's most infamous barrow.
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Cavortius slammed onto the ground, breathing heavily to the point that Thuvien thought he was hyperventilating. Alarmed, the elder Dunmer ran to his pupil's side.
"What is it, Cavortius?" Thuvien asked with concern, helping the Imperial get to his feet. "What happened?"
"I saw…him…I saw…the King…of Worms…" he breathed in between rapid breaths. "He knew, I was there. He knew!"
Thuvien, who was rarely surprised, shuddered upon hearing this news. "Hold on, let me get you to the table, and give you something to drink."
The Dark Elf helped move Cavortius to the table in the back of the room, and sat him in a chair and gave him a bottle of beer. Much again to Demnevanni's surprise, Pelelius chucked the whole thing down in one long gulp, smacking his lips multiple times.
Cavortius began to rummage through his travel pack and removed the skull. "This skull…it's the skull of a large zombie servant that Mannimarco had created after the second coming of the Numidium…but things just didn't seem right…the passage, I thought, must've been sealed off when the Daggerfall forces arrived, but…but…it just…"
Thuvien could tell that his pupil was really stressed out, for his grip around the bottle was so tight that he crushed the empty beer bottle with his bare hand, cutting it and making him bleed. "Slow down, and take a deep breath, Cavortius. Please."
The Imperial inhaled deeply, held his breath for a few seconds, then slowly exhaled. "I cut the zombie skeleton's head off, figuring it would help you. Then I noticed this--" He produced the letter he had found. "--and found out what it was.
"Only…only, it…it just didn't make sense. Why would Mannimarco have sealed off his old throne room for so long? I…I don't know why, but when I finished reading the note, I looked back at the throne room, and the Staff of Worms had appeared where it hadn't before. And then the voice…the voice of Mannimarco…it spoke to me! And when I turned around, I saw his face Thuvien! I saw him! He said he would hunt me and kill me!"
Cavortius had never been so scared in his life. Scourge Barrow had brought back so many bad memories, so many visions of the people he had killed in the name of evil…and the King of Worms had found him! Still, he thought all of this running would help…but not so. Then again, he assured himself, I'm back here now, safely on Vvardenfell, on the other side of Tamriel.
After moments of silence, the old Dark Elf spoke up. "Well…Cavortius, I am really sorry for sending you back to that wretched place. Putting the needs of the Order aside, I now realize that I hadn't fully grasped how bad this place was to you, but I sent you in anyways. Even so, you brought me back the skull of one of the king's servants, and so I shall compensate in two ways. The first is another promotion…you are now an Instrument of Hidden Motives."
Thuvien Demnvanni maneuvered around to the other side of the table and sat down opposite of Pelelius, who would've normally smiled at being promoted, but was silent for the time being. The Dunmer reached into a pocket on his robe, pulled out a small flask of some sort and a scroll, and pushed the two items with his fingertips toward the Imperial.
"I need for you to deliver this flask of blood to another in the Order."
"Okay," Pelelius replied uneasily, grabbing the bottle and scroll as hesitantly as his reply had been, and put it in his rucksack. "Tell me more. Am I being transferred?"
Thuvien nodded. "Take this flask of Aundae vampire blood to another member of our Order, Decius Mus in Molag Mar. In the lower waistworks there look for a fresco. Approach the fresco while carrying the scroll I gave you, and you'll be able to enter the guildhouse there.
"Decius Mus will now take over your instruction, including your training in the summoning of spirits from bones, and I'm sure he'll have a number of tasks for you as well. Oh, and before I forget, I have something else to tell you about the amulet…"
Cavortius held up a hand, which would serve as the third surprise Thuvien received in the past five minutes. "Do I need to read this scroll? Or just have it on me?"
"It simply needs to be on your person," Demnevanni replied. "Now…after some amount of research into other amulets such as the one you posses, the Order has discovered a method of capitalizing on the enchantment used by the King of Worms to transport his servants.
"We can now encode additional locations into the amulet's mystical memory for quick transport. Speak to Decius, and any other superiors in the Order about it and they can enchant the teleport-locations of additional safe houses for you. Now get that flask of blood to Molag Mar. Good luck, and watch your back."
For several minutes, Cavortius sat in silence, picking the bits of glass out of his skin and cringing when a lance of pain would shoot through his arm. The bleeding had stopped, but he didn't bother drinking a potion. He wanted a reminder of this event, and it would remain.
"Demnevanni…how did Mannimarco see me?"
Thuvien, in turn, rubbed his chin trying to think. "Honestly, I truly do not know…it's a mystery to me…Vivec only knows how he could've done it. Be careful. And take this helmet…I managed to find one while you were gone."
The Dark Elf walked over to the altar and grabbed what looked to be an iron helmet and presented it to Cavortius, who wordlessly put it over his head. He adjusted it until he could see through the eyeholes clearly, as well as having a suitable means to breathe.
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Darko and Hawkeye were sitting atop the Lucky Lockup, making casual conversation to make passersby assume that they were just talking…which they were, but in reality, they were both scanning the southern gate of Balmora and the Silt Strider port.
It was when a figure in a dark blue robe, hood up, approached the stairs to the Silt Strider port that they both perked up to watch.
"That has to be him," Hawkeye whispered to Darko.
"What makes you think so?" Valinus whispered back.
"The way Cavortius moved…I remember it well…this guy here is moving similarly, but he must've realized that someone would be on to him, so he's either changed robes, put on a helmet to obscure his face, moved out of town, or all three. So, when one doesn't know which to do, a good Legionnaire focuses on the movements. And this guy, he looks and moves like Cavortius. Understand?"
I'm glad I have Hawkeye to learn from, Darko thought, smiling slightly and nodding at the Nord. The man in the dark blue robe followed the caravaner into the Silt Strider and the large bug began making its way south.
"He's either heading for Seyda Neen or Vivec," the Imperial trooper said.
"We better getting moving, then," Hawkeye said and the pair raced down the stairs into the tavern to grab their gear and begin the trek down south. At the way the Silt Strider was going, the Nord figured that he and Darko would reach Vivec before Cavortius did.