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Chapter 24 - Evil in Waiting

Over the next couple of weeks, while Andreius and his party were sailing from Solstheim to Dawnstar, then going to Solitude and preparing to leave for High Rock, Yssha and her team concentrated on taking care of the remaining dragon priests. Time permitting, she wanted to retrieve the last fragment of the Gauldur Amulet and reforge that as well before her armor grew too snug. Granted, she could use mage armor without worrying about the fit, but her dragonscale didn't have to be renewed, and the enchantments on it were useful.

They had no reason to choose one of the priests over another, so they'd flipped a coin, and Hevnoraak at Valthume had gotten the first head. From the outside, it was a typical barrow, but with no hostiles, for a change. They climbed the wide stone steps and entered.

As soon as they walked into the vestibule, a ghost spoke to them. "Leave, strangers. Evil stirs in this place. I fear for the security of the very land if it should break free."

"We will remain," Yssha said calmly. "We are here to defeat a Dragon Priest who may be interred here." She introduced herself and her team.

"And I am Valdar," the ghost said. "We stand at the tomb of Hevnoraak, who has been dead for many generations. I fear, however, that his return may be at hand."

"Return?" Yssha frowned. "The Priests, unlike the dragons they served, were not immortal."

"Not as such, no, but Hevnoraak made arrangements of his own, and was strong enough to make them effective. I have been holding him here. While he regains strength, however, I am fading. By now I can barely contain his power, much less defeat him if he awakens. But with the help of living champions I may be able to succeed."

"That is our mission, as I said. Of course we will help."

"Excellent." Valdar's ghost smiled. "Three vessels in the tomb below hold the power to vanquish Hevnoraak. Before anything else, we need those. Bring them to me - but be careful, friends. They are guarded by Hevnoraak's minions. They will stop at nothing to see their master return." He moved to a throne deeper in the room, and sat there, unbothered by the skeleton it already held, undoubtedly his own.

Yssha bowed slightly. "Can you tell us any more? Such as why you are here?

Valdar nodded. "Hevnoraak planned his resurrection obsessively before dying. My duty in death, as it was in life, is to make sure he stays in this tomb for eternity."

zyssha frowned. "You make Hevnoraak sound worse than most Dragon Priests. Why would that be?"

"He had a way of enthralling people and built up a loyal army of followers," Valdar replied promptly. "Good men fell under his spell and were forever twisted. Made ... evil. After that, fear was enough to keep them in line. He could torture and humiliate them and they would not rebel. Even in death, they serve him still."

"I see. And these vessels you mentioned earlier are part of his plan?"

"Yes. Find all three vessels, then return to me. With these we can defeat him. Without them, we have no chance."

"We will see you later, then."

The first chamber was huge, with a sealed-shut sarcophagus in the middle, and a throne in the rear. Hevnoraak's throne room, probably, Yssha thought. There appeared to be nothing else in the room, so they headed into a passageway south, dodging a pressure plate. They had to fight a couple of strong draugr, then found the door that should lead them deeper in was sealed from the other side, and Yssha sighed.

Marcurio chuckled. "What would you expect, love, an easy Dragon Priest lair? You know better than that!"

"Yes, we all do, and we clear them so subsequent adventurers will not all be slain."

"And for the loot," Serana added, grinning. "They do usually have some of the best loot."

"Plus an occasional Word Wall," Marcurio pointed out.

Yssha chuckle-purred. "True, it is not all altruistic. But still, we do protect those who cannot possibly handle Deathlords and worse. Bandits and vampires or necromancers who might move in later are at least within the capabilities of experienced adventurers."

They went on, then, fighting draugr and frostbite spiders. It was fairly routine, if any dungeon could be called that, and they had two of the vessels by the time they got to a room with three frostbite spiders. Those were easier than draugr, at least, guarding an iron claw on a pedestal in the middle of four statues. It was obviously a trap; the only question was what the statues would shoot at her when she grabbed the claw.

Or would, if she grabbed it physically. Instead, she cast Telekinesis, then they waited until the flames died down, and went past to the puzzle door. Dragon-Hawk-Wolf opened the door, and they were braced for the draugr, who promptly charged them. She softened them up with "Yol ... Toor SHUL!", then attacked with her mace as they burned. Lightning crackled from Marcurio and Nevan, while Serana stuck with her usual ice spears.

Once the draugr were down and they were done with any necessary healing, Yssha approached the Word Wall and absorbed Laas, the first word of Aura Whisper. That was nice; used with the Detect Life spell, it was possible to detect everything but undead, including Daedra and dwarven automatons. Then she picked up the third vessel, which opened the sealed door they'd encountered earlier, and returned to where Valdar was waiting.

"We have the vessels," she told him.

He smiled. "That's good. I worried that I had sent you to your death."

"And now that we have them, what is the next step?"

"In life, Hevnoraak drained his own blood from his body. His goal was to transfer his power back into himself after death, becoming a powerful lich. The vessels contain that very blood. Empty them and you remove any chance he has of regaining his former powers."

"That seems dangerous, but with a Dragon Priest, that is to be expected."

"More dangerous than you know. Left alone, however, he will awaken when he has grown too powerful to be stopped. This is the only way to be sure."

"Understood." She glanced at the rest, getting nods, "We are ready."

"Very well. Empty the vessels into the sconce near the throne, then sit in the throne. When you have done so, I will unbind Hevnoraak. He will awaken in a weakened state, but the lich is still to be reckoned with. Be prepared."

"We are," Yssha assured him. "We have been doing this for some time, and have worked out a very effective method." Which was true, especially now that her Shouts had gained power. She obeyed his instructions, and once she was seated, he resurrected the Dragon Priest.

"Fools!" Hevnoraak exclaimed. "You will not hold me here any longer, Valdar!"

"Kill him now, while we still can!" Valdar yelled.

Once she hit Hevnoraak with Fire Breath, the others went into action, with the usual results, though once she saw him start to teleport, she added Marked for Death.

When it was over, the four of them approached the ghost. "Thank you, heroes," Valdar said. "Now I may finally rest. Take Hevnoraak's iron mask. It may be of use to you, and serve as some reward for your feat here." He vanished.

"That's one down. Two to go," Nevan said. "Tomorrow, or the day after?"

"Day after, I think," Yssha replied. "This was a large dungeon, and I think a day's rest before another Dragon Priest would not be amiss."

That got general agreement, and they left Valthume.

Stopover in Dawnstar

Andreius and his party disembarked in Dawnstar, having decided to ride to Solitude as they'd originally intended, rather than sail, since they'd have to do something with the horses anyway. Ride them to Solitude, then replace them with a more heat-tolerant breed there or across the border in Hammerfell, they'd agreed.

They'd reached the Windpeak Inn and ordered a meal and drinks when they heard a dragon Shouting Odkiinbrii's name, and the reply, "Zu'u meyz, Suleykaar!"

"Huh?" Imiril slid off the bench and scrambled outside, followed by the others, to the largest open area nearby. Suleykaar was coming! His dragon ... or rather the one who'd claimed him and his family as under his particular protection, so maybe in dovah terms, he was Suleykaar's. Not that it mattered to Imiril!

He waited impatiently for the two dragons to join them. It seemed forever, and he'd have been pacing or otherwise showing his anxiety, if he hadn't been trained most of his life to conceal such emotions as unbecoming a royal. Eventually, though, they landed, and he approached the wine-colored one. Fully grown, Suleykaar was a bit larger than Fusmulgar, but a bit smaller than Odahviing ... and a lot bigger than Odkiinbrii.

He smiled, remembering their first meeting, when Suleykaar had claimed him and his family. "You're not going to knock me over again, I hope!"

The huge head tilted, as if studying him. "Certainly not. If I were to do so now, I might injure you, which I have no desire to do. Though I must admit, sheltering you under my wing is something I would happily do again."

"That part, I wouldn't mind either," Imiril admitted. "It wasn't particularly comfortable, on damp ground, but it was most reassuring. Like the way Dovahkiin said she felt the first time she sat in the Mirmulnir Throne."

Suleykaar nodded. "I know of the Mirmulnir Throne, and that he gave her his bones freely. Monahu told us that tale as an example of proper devotion to one's thur." He gape-grinned. "Even though he only accepted her as thur after she killed him. Which is most unusual, but she did prove her strength by killing both Alduin and Miraak before he swore to her."

Imiril chuckled. "I don't understand that part, but swearing to the strongest is hardly unusual for either mer or men. Probably not for the beastfolk ... er, Betmer ... either."

"As it should be," Suleykaar said. "There are many times the strongest is not the best, but - in what we have observed throughout the millennia, those ruled by the best usually succumb to those ruled by the strongest, in very short order. And usually fall to internal problems, rather than external force."

"That isn't very encouraging, you know," Imiril said. "I'd really like to be a good ruler, not just a tyrant like my father was."

"Oh, dovah are expert tyrants." Suleykaar grinned again. "Ancestral memory tells me how to make you one. But, of course, it tells us the reverse as well, simply by being the reverse."

"Then I ask you to join my Council as an advisor ... pruzaak, I think Dovahkiin called it."

Suleykaar frowned. "I am ... very young for that, you know. I have no wisdom of my own, only what I have inherited."

"I understand that, and I'll understand if you refuse. But ... thousands of years of ancestral memory have got to be useful for a King with only about a quarter-century of training, and only a few days of actual rule."

Suleykaar rumbled a chuckle. "Onikaan, dii prinziip. Geh, zu'u fen kos hin pruzaak." He snorted. "Krosis ... I still do not think in Common very well. 'Wisdom, my protectee. Yes, I will be your advisor.' And I am ... honored? ... to be asked."

"Geh, that is the right word," Odkiinbrii assured him. "I have taken his kiim as my partner, so I will aid in both, while she lives. If you permit, of course; your claim has precedence."

Suleykaar looked at the frost dragon. "When were you created or hatched, if I may ask?"

"Oh, in the early days, in Akavir," Odkiinbrii replied with a shrug. "I went through the War, yes ... was killed by a Blade not long after they were established in Tamriel and Cyrodiil was settled. I was one of those resurrected by Dovahkiin, not Alduin."

Suleykaar turned to the mer he'd taken under his protection. "This would add much experience I lack, prinziipi. If you are willing, I would recommend making him another advisor."

"So be it," Imiril said with a smile. "Though both of you will have to wait to attend council meetings until I can have the Council Chamber modified considerably, to accommodate you."

Odkiinbrii nodded. "If you will have us provided with minutes of your meetings, we should still be able to assist until then. But now, you and your kiim should take at least a brief ride on Suleykaar, as a symbol."

"I have no problem with that." Imiril grinned, extending his hand to Arenim, and both of them mounted one of the youngest dragons on Nirn for his first flight with riders.