-1The Illuminated Order

Chapter 5 - Vampiric Matters

At around 11:30 A.M., Cunius Pelelius had woken up and gotten dressed. He didn't want to appear to regal, but at the same time, he had to mean business. Since travel to the mainland was quarantined due to the resurgence of the blight, the Hlaalu Lawman had to be magically transported to Mournhold, the capital of Morrowind, from Ebonheart.

The Dark Brotherhood didn't directly operate out of Vvardenfell; their only base that was close enough was in Mournhold, and he had been instructed to meet a silver-haired Dunmer with a scar running from his right eyebrow down to the corner of his mouth at The Winged Guar, the only tavern/restaurant in the city in the Godsreach district.

As he entered the pub and walked down the stairs before him, Cunius was surprised at the amount of activity. Patrons were talking, the bar tender was being kept busy, and the aroma of great cuisine was somewhere within nose-shot. It was easy to understand why his initial contact had said for the meeting to take place here: it was busy, created a lot of noise, and so prevented anyone from being overheard.

The Hlaalu Lawman knew that what he was doing was illegal, but he was so used to doing illegal things in the service of House Hlaalu that the thought didn't even occur to him. The Dark Brotherhood weren't officially sanctioned by the local government, so they were illegal in every definition of the word. Cunius had made this decision for one reason: the Brotherhood never turned down a contract. He was ignorantly unaware of the fact that the Brotherhood and the Morag Tong had a passionate hatred for each other, which would end up bringing disaster for many people.

Cunius spotted his contact near the back of the room in a corner, his back in the little crevice so he could see anything coming. He was quick, but careful, in walking to the other side of the tavern and sat down in a chair opposite of the silver-haired Dark Elf.

"I take it you're the one from Hlaalu?" the Brotherhood assassin asked quietly.

Cunius nodded. "I have a problem…two, actually. I will pay well."

The Dunmer tried not to smile. Of course you will. You're Hlaalu, everything is money to you.

"Just so we're sure, how much?"

Cunius handed a bag containing ten-thousand drakes under the table, just in case anybody was watching. "Five thousand for each hit."

This time the assassin couldn't help being shocked. Since this man hadn't told his boss who the targets were, this much gold meant that it was someone very important. "Alright, so tell me about the targets."

"Well, one is my brother…apparently, he fled High Rock authorities when he was suspected of being tied to Mannimarco, the King of Worms. Do you know who he is?" When the Lawman got a nod, he continued. "Right. So. Bulletins were sent out to the various Imperial settlements, but, well, I just can't have the House, especially the Councilors, finding out. It could ruin my career, thus I need him killed."

"Okay," the assassin said, nodding. "And the other?"

Cunius casually looked around over his shoulder just to be sure that there weren't any eavesdroppers, and then looked the Dunmer directly in the eyes. "I took my request to the Morag Tong, but they turned me down, citing that they don't kill family members for relatives without probable cause. Not only that, but Eno Hlaalu felt a need to insult me and my House on top of that. For that, he must die."

The Brotherhood agent's eyes widened ever so slightly, but he couldn't help but feel weary. Most likely, his boss was going to have to make a dicey decision on whether to pursue Eno or not, but taking on this man's brother also wouldn't be easy. If the Lawman's sibling was possibly a necromancer, it could cause a few problems…yet it was nothing a standard Murderer couldn't handle.

After Pelelius provided a few more details on his brother, including his name and his stated intention of exploring the southern parts of Vvardenfell, the two men shook hands and Cunius left as quick as he had came. He headed back toward the Royal Palace, where the Argonian Effe-Tei would transport him via magic back to Ebonheart. With this decision, the wood had been tossed into the fire and would only get bigger as the days passed on.

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Unaware of the arrangements being made to terminate him, Cavortius finally reached Molag Mar by noon, having transferred to Vivec from Balmora and taking the Silt Strider to Molag Mar. When he stepped off the giant bug onto the platform, he was underneath a covered pavilion. He proceeded down a small hill to his right, then made a left towards the town.

Molag Mar could only be described as a missing canton of Vivec--architecturally, it looked exactly like one of the cantons, but the domed red roof seemed to be missing. Another thing that stuck out to the Imperial was the land around him--it was a deep grayish-brown color, resembling ash. This struck him as a stark contrast to the lush environments he had been accustomed to in the southwest.

Crossing the bridge leading into the canton, Cavortius walked around to the right side until he came to a covered ramp leading up to the second level and presumably the Waistworks. His insight was rewarded by the appearance of a door at the top, and he entered.

Inside was a short hall that led to a T-shaped intersection leading to the outside and before him was similar to any other canton in Vivec. Did this used to be a canton and it just floated away? he wondered absently. Shrugging, he walked into the larger part and looked over the square hole before him, which actually revealed what was on the floor below--a table and plants on one side…and a fresco against another wall.

Seeing that nobody was nearby, Cavortius vaulted over the ledge and landed in the middle between the table and the fresco. It was macabre, to say the least, with a large black circle in the upper right corner. He could feel a piece of paper shuffling about in his rucksack--it was the scroll that Demnevanni had given him. The next thing he knew the Imperial was transported…somewhere, for lack of a better term. As he landed inside of a small hallway, he thought he heard the crackling of thunder. It was a strange sensation and feeling.

The room was bathed in an eerie red glow and a figure up ahead was pacing about.

"Hello?" Cavortius called, walking into the room.

When he closed the distance with the man, he spun around and gripped Pelelius' hand and shook it rapidly…smiling in a most unorthodox way; two of his teeth were fangs.

His look of panic must've been clear on his face, for it prompted the man to speak. "Do not worry, child. I'm not going to bite you. I am Decius Mus, and I presume Thuvien has sent you here."

Decius was an Imperial, probably about thirty years older than Cavortius, and had his purple-blackish hair tied into a ponytail. The man's eyes were almost pure white, but upon closer examination he could see the pupils. The fangs looked sharp and mean, ready to tear through an unfortunate soul's neck.

Cavortius nodded, relief swarming over him. He thought it had once again been a trap, but he had been proved wrong. "Yes…Cavortius Pelelius, Instrument of Hidden Motives."

"Yes, Thuvien has told me all about you, but…um, I think there's something I need?" The Imperial pointed to his fangs.

Wordlessly, Cavortius reached through his travel bag searching for the flask and when he finally found it, tossed it to Decius. The Imperial vampire caught it with lightning speed, opening the top and sniffing the aroma.

"A sample of blood from an elder Aundae, eh?" he asked, more to himself then anything. "Yes, this will prove most useful in my research."

He walked over to a bookcase, which proved to be against the wall behind him, and placed it on a middle shelf next to some sort of key. On the very bottom shelf was a…skeleton, which made Cavortius raise an eyebrow. Against the west wall was a desk and a chair, and in the corner was a gigantic bust of a mummified head. In front of him were two waterspouts catching water presumably from the Underworks. Two screens off to his right disguised a barely-concealed stone coffin.

This is truly the home of a vampire, the Imperial thought.

"You'll be a very useful agent to me," Decius Mus said. "As you can imagine, I find interacting with most of the locals somewhat…difficult. You'll be able to deal with those issues on my behalf. Which reminds me…I believe you have one of the King of Worms' teleportation amulets."

Cavortius nodded, and unfastened the amulet from his neck, which he had placed around his neck on the journey to Molag Mar. The vampire put the amulet in his left hand, chanted a few words, then a flash of magicka transferred to the talisman when he put his fingertips on it. The ritual finished, he handed it back to Pelelius, who secured it around his neck.

"I've upgraded the amulet to place you right outside the hall here," Decius stated, "but, please, do remember to knock. But with this in mind, I'm going to teach you a few things."

Over the course of an hour, Decius taught Cavortius a few new spells, such as Almsivi Intervention, which he had been desperately seeking since the Imperials had traced him here. Then, after that, he was taught how to summon dead spirits from bones of the person in question, which involved learning a new, modified soul trap spell created by the Order that worked in much the same way as a regular soul trap spell did, but instead of casting it on a live target and capturing the soul in a soul gem, it was a touch spell applied to a critical bone on the body and then the spirit came to life before his eyes.

When the training was complete, Cavortius was sweating from trying to learn the spells and not having much success. Decius shrugged, saying, "It takes some practice at first, but eventually you'll get the hang of it. It's very useful."

The two men stood in silence for several seconds, staring at each other, until Pelelius broke the silence.

"Has, uh, Thuvien told you of my situation?" he asked.

Decius licked his lips and nodded. "Yes, and rest assured, you are on the southeastern coast of Vvardenfell--it will take time for news to arrive in these Dunmer settlements. For right now, you're safe. Speaking of which, I have a mission for you.

"I have heard of the existence of a new, so-called vampiric threat. Such as I am, I must learn more."

"Okay," Cavortius said wearily, hoping that he wouldn't be sent into the vicinity of hostile vampires. Being around a docile one was unnerving enough.

"I've learned that the vampire hunter Ano Vando recently wrote the High Fane of the Temple with news of what he called a 'new vampiric threat'. The Temple brushed him off. They probably had their reasons, but Vando is an expert on vampires."

Mus walked over to the shelf where he put the vial of Aundae blood and held the bottle up to his lips, sticking out an elongated tongue, trying not to squeal from anticipation of the blood dripping onto his tongue. When it finally did, he couldn't resist smacking his lips in delight and wasn't the least bit mindful of the weird look he was getting from his pupil.

"So anyways," Decius said, wiping blood from the corners of his mouth and replacing the bottle, "I want you to acquire his notes from his room in Ald'ruhn. He's staying at a hotel called the Ald Skar Inn. His room is the only one with a door, that much I know. Oh, and…they might be hidden. Ano doesn't like leaving his precious things in the open."

Cavortius nodded and got the indication of a dismissal. He turned his back on Decius, focusing his mind on the words for Almsivi Intervention. After failing a few times, he finally got it and was hoping he would end up in Ald'ruhn, but was instead on the very top level of Molag Mar. Recovering from the sensation of being pieced together, he checked his bearings and determined the Silt Strider was to his right.

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Unbeknownst to Cavortius' quick departure, Darko Valinus and Hawkeye landed at the docks in a boat on the other side of Molag Mar. When they had reached Vivec in pursuit of Cavortius, the caravanner had been cooperative and told the pair of his fare, so they took the boat at the nearby dock.

"Okay, so…we got a lead," Darko said as they walked onto the canton. "If he's escaped here, the chances of us finding him tip towards us."

"Agreed," the Nord replied. "Plus, there aren't many places where he can hide. The only trouble will be if we confront him, and he escapes into surrounding region. That could be a problem, but I doubt that will happen."

As they walked up the ramp leading to the Waistworks, both men's stomachs growled simultaneously, which prompted a glance at each other.

"Let's get some food and a drink," Hawkeye said, and Darko nodded his agreement. One could never be too hungry or too thirsty.

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As the sun was beginning to set outside, a fierce Blight Storm began raging, and Cavortius had managed to find the Ald Skar Inn right as the storm was beginning.

At the time, he didn't even realize how perfect his timing was. The journey to Ald'ruhn required him to transfer to the Hlaalu city of Suran, then to Balmora, before finally reaching the heart of Redoran power in Vvardenfell. With his arrival, the sun would be setting and Ano Vando would go out and hunt creatures of the night.

All of this came to mind as he sat on the lower floor of the inn, ostensibly reading a book but in reality watching the room with the only door on it. Occasionally, people wandered down the stairs, but for the most part he was alone. With the hood on his robe up and the iron helmet Thuvien had supplied fitted securely over his head, no one could identify him.

His patience was rewarded when a Dark Elf clad in iron armor, minus the helmet, with a scar running across the right side of his face and a mohawk hair style walked out of the room and marched up the stairs. Just from that brief glance, the Imperial could tell that Ano was not one to tussle with. With a start, he realized that the Dunmer hadn't locked the door to his room.

Good, he thought with a small smile. No Alteration magic required.

Glancing about to make sure he was alone, he quickly crossed the hall to the closed door, opened it, and then morphed inside as though he weren't there. Unlike the vampire hunter, Cavortius locked the door and began to tear the room apart. He searched in the cupboard, under it, around it, on top of it, under the bed, but he didn't want to touch the bed for fear of Ano learning that someone had been in his room.

Finally, Cavortius couldn't stand it anymore and he lifted the pillow up and…there they were, innocently sitting there. He slapped his forehead, wishing he had looked sooner. After stuffing the journal into his travel bag, the Imperial touched the amulet around his neck, spoke its destination quietly and he was gone in a flash of light.