-1Author's Note: My life has been extremely busy the past couple of months, and to be honest, I've put this off, not feeling very creative…until now. I will begin to post regularly soon. For now, enjoy.
The Illuminated Order
Chapter 7 - A Shipment of Literature
For a few minutes, both necromancer and Legionnaires stood in silence as they stared each other down from opposite ends of the corridor.
"What's the meaning of this?" Cavortius asked, hoping to bluff his way out of this in the hopes that maybe they didn't think it was him.
"Why did you run?" the larger soldier asked, confirming the Imperial's suspicion that he was a Nord. "You must've heard us talking about you."
Cavortius swallowed the lump forming in his throat. The truth was, he had heard them coming down the corridor in the Waistworks and recognized their voices. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Ah, but see, we've been following you," the other soldier said in a measured voice, his accent clearly Imperial.
The Nord nodded. "I knew it was you in Balmora from the way you carried--"
Without any further way of finishing his sentence, Pelelius used his altered Telekinesis spell to manipulate both men, causing their heads to smash really hard into each other. They both fell to the ground in a crumpled, armored heap.
With much effort, Cavortius managed to drag the two soldiers one by one back toward the false refuge, unlocked the rickety door with an unlock spell, and then dragged them inside. As he stood there in the darkness, he realized he needed to cover his tracks.
That dead Buoyant Armiger would surely raise hell if they woke up to find it, he thought. Carefully, he used a fire spell on touch to ignite the body, watching it burn until their was nothing left but a skeleton and faint traces of the Mer's Chitin armor. Satisfied, the Imperial exited the refuge, relocked it, and teleported back to Decius' hideout.
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As Cavortius landed inside of the hideout, Decius stood from his chair. "My old, decayed rotting heart warms at your presence. Have you taken care of the vampire hunter?"
Cavortius nodded. "He is dead. I burned his body, even though it wasn't exactly necessary."
Decius smiled, licking his lips with satisfaction. "Irony. I love it. Not a moment too soon. The false trails I've seeded are useful, but only until a point. You've performed admirably, and I reward your efforts with promotion within our ranks. For your diligence on this mission, I elevate you to Inquisitor of Obscure Arts."
Cavortius wanted to smile, but with what had recently transpired, he would have to tell Decius. He had no idea how the man would react, but he prepared himself mentally if it was violent. "There's something I need to tell you before I accept another mission."
When Decius indicated he was listening, Pelelius continued. "I'm sure Thuvien told you my history, yes? Well, it seems that High Rock authories finally managed to reach Morrowind, and ever since I started working for the Order, and after a panic attack that caused me to resist two Imperial--"
The necromancer was unable to finish speaking, for Decius shot his hand at Cavortius' throat and he suddenly found himself pinned to the bookshelf, the seemingly friendly vampire's teeth suddenly elongated and his eyes a crimson red. The necromancer was frightened at the thought of dying.
"Stupid human! Look what you've done!" he snarled. "I've been working with the Order since its conception. I've spent my entire life serving them, and you come along to muck things up! Do they know of this sanctuary?"
Cavortius rapidly shook his head, and replied in gasps. "No, they do not. As I left the sanctuary, I heard them talking and recognized their voices and I bolted for the sewer. I took care of the vampire hunter, and as I was leaving the false sanctuary, they appeared out of nowhere. I used magic to knock their heads together pretty hard, and I tossed them inside the false sanctuary. It was then that I burned the body."
Decius stared at Cavortius for a few seconds, not saying a word, before releasing his grip on the necromancer's neck. "Thank you for being forthright with me. I didn't want to kill you. You're too valuable an asset. Judging from what you said, they will be knocked out for quite some time. Hopefully, you will be gone by then.
"In the meantime, here is your next mission. The temple in Gnisis has seized a shipment of books that were meant for me. Three books I was having sent to me were confiscated by the Gnisis Temple some time ago when the courier bringing them was found dead outside the temple. Two of those books are not that rare--The Posting of the Hunt and The Old Ways--but the third, The Outside, is exceedingly hard to come by."
The vampire walked over to his desk and sat down in the chair. The sudden change in demeaner in Decius Mus served to further reinforce the notion in Cavortius that the vampire was not one to trifle with. "I must have it. If you can procure all three, so much the better. At minimum, though, you must retrieve The Outside from where ever it's being stored in the Gnisis Temple."
Without any further words, Cavortius Pelelius left the sanctuary and proceeded toward the boat outside, looking to book passage to Vivec. Something was tugging at him, though, and upon further reflection, it was the fact that the courier ended up dead. It was the way Decius had said it with a tinge of weariness. He shoved the thought to the back of his mind as he paid the captain the fare for Vivec.
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The sun was beginning to set as Cavortius stepped off the Silt Strider port in Gnisis, the sun setting behind a red and white dome that sat atop a nearby hill. The town of Gnisis, according to his map, was located in northwestern Vvardenfell, located on the Ouada Samsi. He had taken the boat to Vivec, took the Silt Strider to Seyda Neen, then to Gnisis from there. Conveniently enough, the Gnisis Temple was located in the center of the town, and so he made his way there at once.
Inside, Cavortius was struck with how plain the Temple was. You'd think they would spice up the place with some paintings or something, he thought absently. For the next fifteen minutes, Pelelius wandered around the temple, checking every bookshelf he came across, but had no luck.
As he was about to give up, he entered a room with two slopes in the center that led to a catwalk of sorts around the perimeter of the room. Between the two slopes where it was level was a strange gray mask of sorts laying upright on a stone pedestal about knee-high. Curious as to why such a random object would be in the temple, Cavortius approached it and was about to touch it when he heard a growl near by. The necromancer jumped back in surprise, looking around for the source of the growl, which turned out to be an Ordinator, the holy warriors of the Temple.
"Don't touch that, filthy outlander," the guard rasped. "Or I'll cut off the fingers you touch it with."
"I'm sorry," Cavortius replied, "I was just curious as to why a mask would be here."
"That mask was formed from Our Lord's tears as he led his followers away from Red Mountain during a fierce blight storm. Weary and tired, they rested here in Gnisis. When he woke up, he found himself and his followers encased in ash, leaving Vivec full of despair. Vivec's tears weakened his ash cast. He tore the ash from his perished followers, breathed life into their lungs, and cured them of the blight." The guard breathed slightly, having almost run out of breath from the spiel.
"Wow," Pelelius said. "That's quite heroic of him."
The Ordinator nodded. "Indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time for my dinner."
The guard briskly walked out of the sacred room, leaving Cavortius alone with the ash mask. He spied a bookcase off to his left, and a glimmer of hope filled his eyes. Walking over, he was surprised to find the three books that Decius had asked for. Looking around, he stuffed all three books in his rucksack, tied the top tightly, and quickly but discreetly exited the temple. By the time he got outside, it was completely dark. Torches were lit on the various buildings, which provided some illumination.
As he made for the Silt Strider port, he noticed a woman in a brown robe with short brown-blonde hair about to get on the large bug. The robe seemed to be form-fitting; as he approached, he noticed that she had a voluptuous rear. There was something about her that immediately appealed to him.
"Hi," he said sheepishly. "I'm Cavortius. Where are you going?"
The woman turned around, and for a second, he thought he saw a glint of recognition in her eyes, almost as though they had met before. Then again, it may have been something else--he couldn't tell in the dim of the torchlight.
"Vivec," she replied, smiling wide. "I'm Helga Swift-Hands. Where are you going?"
"Truthfully, I'm also going to Vivec." She's beautiful, he thought.
"Well, now, what's a handsome man like you doing all alone?" Helga asked, stepping closer to him. "Let's go together. You look like you could use some company. I know of a place we could sit and talk."
Cavortius found her request odd, but how could he pass up such an opportunity? On top of that, he needed a break from the Order. He smiled at Helga, and said, "I would love that. I'll even pay for your ride."
After giving the driver the necessary amount of gold, they climbed into the hollowed out shell of the Silt Strider and they were on their way to Seyda Neen.