Chapter 23: The Whispering Lady

[10th/11th of Second Seed 4E 202]

During the last few days, Fiona and I had talked a lot, and I had learned most of what she had done over the last few months; I had also told her what had happened around Whiterun, specifically about the alliance with the Stormcloaks. On the previous day, when we had come back from mammoth hunting, a Dawnguard patrol had found us and asked for volunteers to join their group. While I wasn't sure if I'd really want to join them, I certainly planned to visit Fort Dawnguard at some later time; that had been a questline which had appealed to me in the game, specifically due to meeting a certain attractive vampire lady.

A few days ago we had also started to investigate the issue with the strange door in the basement of Dragonsreach, triggered by Jarl Balgruuf asking me to talk to his youngest son, Nelkir. When Fiona and I had approached the door for the first time, following directions from Nelkir, we had found that one of the Daedric Lords, Mephala, had taken residence there, and we were unsure how to handle that. Today, when Fiona and I met at our usual meeting spot below the Gildergreen tree, I told her:

"Good morning Fiona! Now, for today, shall we first discuss the issue of the door and Mephala? I suspect that we'd better address this issue quickly. I would hate to see Mephala pursuing other options and lure in more innocent people."

"I guess that we should, right. Do you recall anything important from the game?"

"Unfortunately I do not. I vaguely remember that there was a quest in that direction, but totally forgot any details; sorry."

"Well, then we just have to be careful, I guess. So, Mephala suggested to talk to Nelkir again, didn't she?"

"That she did, but I'm not sure if this is actually what we should do."

"Why not?"

"Nelkir is just a kid, the Jarl's youngest son, and I believe that we need to get advice from a competent adult person."

"Farengar!"

"Agreed; let's ask him first."

Thus, we got up the stairs to Dragonsreach and headed right for Farengar's study. The court wizard was, as usual, studying something and did not realize that we were close until I cleared my throat and told him:

"Farengar, if you don't mind, do you have a few minutes to talk to us?"

"Sure, what is it this time?"

Without specifically mentioning Nelkir, I explained:

"We have been investigating a strange door with what looked like blood covering part of it deep in the basement of Dragonsreach, and when we got there, a strange voice talked to us."

"What made you look for such a door there? Never mind, what did this voice say?"

Fiona and I quoted the conversation we had had before as precisely as we could, and Farengar raised his eyebrows and looked worried:

"Mephala, you said? The Daedric prince of murder, lies, deception, intrigue and terror? Here in the castle? This is disturbing news, indeed!"

"Wait, you call Mephala a prince, but she seems to be female! Isn't she a princess?"

"The Daedra have many names and appearances" Farengar explained, "but they are usually referred to as Princes or Lords regardless of what gender they use to show themselves."

"Oh; I did not know that."

"Actually, I have a book with some background information somewhere around, which you two may want to read; now, where is that book?"

He spent a couple of minutes rummaging around in his various book shelves and finally found what he looked for. He gave me a book and suggested:

"Here, the book 'The Anticipations', from an unknown author. It may help to understand a little."

"Sure, I will have a look later, but for now, back to Mephala?"

"Oh yes, where were we?"

"We need to be very careful, right?"

"Ah yes, of course. Normally I'd suggest to just ignore the voice and the door, but Daedric princes have an annoying tendency to find somebody else if a person is not willing to help them. A child might even stumble down there and get corrupted, and as she did mention a boy, that might have already happened!"

We both nodded, and I asked:

"So, what can we do?"

"I will trust you with an old key of mine which might fit. Try to unlock and open the door, but be very careful about what you touch and report back to me right away! Specifically, don't touch any weapon or armor in there!"

We understood and agreed, took the key from the court wizard, and headed back down to the bloody door. The key did work, although it required some effort to turn it, and after some pushing we could unlock and open the door, which had apparently not been opened for a long time. The room we could now look into was quite small, and there was not much in it, besides the expected spiderwebs and such; the only piece of furniture was a small wooden table which looked like it might collapse from old age at any time, and the table held a book and a weapon, a dark sword. Recalling the wizard's warning, we did not touch the sword, but I grabbed the book. With that done, we left the room and locked the door again before we went back to Farengar. Together we opened the book, and we read:

Admonition Against Ebony A warning to any who might claim the Ebony Blade

To anyone reading this: BEWARE THIS BLADE

It is hoped that the only people having access to this room should be the Jarl of Whiterun and his trusted wizard. If anyone else is reading this, please understand the magnitude of your folly, turn around, and never even speak of this room or this blade to anyone. It has corrupted and perverted the desires of great men and women. Yet its power is without equal - to kill while your victim smiles at you. Only a daedra most foul could have concocted such a malevolent and twisted weapon. But it appears that all who wield it end up with the crazed eyes of those wild men who roam the hills chattering with rabbits. It is not to be trifled with. Not even the hottest fires of the Skyforge could melt it; indeed the coals themselves seemed to cool when it was placed within. We cannot destroy it, and we would not have it fall into the hands of our enemies. So we keep it, hidden, dark and deep within Dragonsreach, never to be used. Woe be to any who choose to take it.

We stood in silence for a couple of minutes before Fiona asked:

"So, Farengar, you knew about all this, right? You are mentioned here in this book after all."

"No, I did not know most of that, Lady Dragonborn" the court wizard denied. "This book must have been written by a person of a past age, relating to another Jarl and another court wizard, long before our time. The key was passed on over generations, and all I knew was some vague hints about the door and that it should never be opened."

"So, what do we do?"

"I am afraid, even if we kept the door locked, Mephala would sooner or later find a way to lure somebody down there to maybe become her new champion sooner or later, and a person might feel tempted to steal the key from me, maybe even attempt to kill me to get it. We must find another way."

Fiona chimed in: "So, it seems like we've got to convince her to go somewhere else with her weapon!"

"And how would you do that? One can not negotiate with a Daedric prince!"

"Why not? They are not gods, and they interact with mortals, so they also need to listen."

"Ah, Fiona, are you sure that you know what you are talking about?"

"Not fully so, but after all, we both have been assigned to our tasks here by Akatosh himself. Doesn't this imply that a mere Daedra can't interfere with Akatosh' wishes? Trust me, I can do this!"

I wasn't quite so sure about it, but I guess that she should be given a chance. I still had my doubts, but after all my knowledge about dealing with Daedric princes was very limited. In the game you could simply ignore quests or just keep artifacts in your inventory without using them, or, like I had found out, use a mod "… for good guys". I was curious how Fiona might be able to handle Mephala, but I had to keep in mind that she wasn't the timid teenage girl any longer she had been in the first weeks in Skyrim. She was still a petite teenage girl, but she had grown a lot, not physically, but emotionally and psychically, and she knew much better what she could and could not do; possibly being the Dragonborn had significantly contributed to that. So, if she wanted to take the lead here, this was perfectly fine for me. After all, I was neither her father nor her guardian, and at least her ins Skyrim she was an adult person and able to make her own decisions.

The court wizard tagged along, and the three of us unlocked and opened the blood-stained door once more. While Farengar and I kept in the background, the Dragonborn did not hesitate and picked up the sword, and instantly the disembodied voice was heard, saying:

"Excellent work. Now, I trust you're sharp enough to see that the sword doesn't match the description of the Ebony Blade you may know. It has languished too long outside the winds of alliance and betrayal. To return to its past glory, it must first drink the blood of deceit. To return to its past glory, it must reacquaint itself with the hatred of this world. Your world is admirably steeped in lies and inclinations. My blade is a darling leech that feeds on deceptions, and nourishes its master. Seek out those closest to you. The final pluck of their misguided heartstrings will accompany my blade in the song of your grandeur. The blade will feed on the ire of Tamriel. Bathe in your infamy. Feel the weight of their loathing, and my power will course through it once more."

"Oh mighty Mephala" Fiona replied. "there may be an issue with me using the sword like you want. But first, can you please do me a favor and show yourself?"

"You want to see me? Your wish is granted!"

Slowly a figure started to show in the room, very close to Fiona, and the life sized apparition looked like right out of a horror movie, with dark grey skin, odd clothes with spider ornaments, and some kind of webbed crown. While Mephala had two almost normal arms and hands, a number of long spider-like protrusions or tentacles came up from her back, and I was somewhat scared; Farengar at my side also looked uneasy. I thought that Fiona had made a big mistake by requesting to see Mephala in person, and I expect her to tremble and pale. Instead, I heard something like "Wow!" from her, and she told the Daedric prince:

"I have to admit that you look real great! With that look, you'd be guaranteed to win every cosplay competition!"

"What's a cosplay competition?" an irritated Mephala asked.

"It's something where you dress like you're somebody else, specifically somebody you admire. So, Mephala, your look is real great, but see, I am here in Skyrim by the request of Akatosh himself, and he wants me to prepare to fight Alduin. If I kept your wonderful weapon, I might feel tempted to use like you want, but killing people I like and who trust me would make me sad and thus unable to do what Akatosh needs me to do. Swinging a sword to kill friends, and as you suggested, 'bath in my infamy', does not work for me."

"What a pity, mortal. So, you dare to refuse my generous offer?"

"As I said, my task given by Akatosh would severely suffer. Now, if you had a nice ring or necklace I could wear and think about you, that would be perfect."

Mephala was silent for a few moments, and I imagined that she was not used to be challenged by mortals like this. Then she moved her arms in a whirl; the Ebony Blade was gone, and instead a nicely crafted ring was visible on the small table. The Daedric prince told the Dragonborn:

"Dragonborn, this is my alternate offer. Behold, the Ring of Khajiiti; as you are friends with a Khajiit, this appears to make sense. Take it as your own and wear it, and think of me when you do so. If you accept my gift, I will not bother you and the inhabitants of this castle any longer. If you refuse it, there will be dire consequences!"

Fiona looked confused, but quickly nodded and replied:

"I gladly accept, Lady Mephala, and I thank you for this wonderful ring!"

"So be it. Now go forth, child!"

The apparition vanished, and I released the breath I had not even noticed I had been holding. The court wizard asked to be allowed to have a closer look at the ring, and with his detailed knowledge of artifacts and enchantments he explained:

"This ring seems to be genuine, and it allows you to move faster than you usually can. In addition, it enables the wearer to cast the spell 'Hide', which is very similar to 'Invisibility', but requires much less magicka to cast. Congratulations, Dragonborn, for handling that situation in an excellent way!"

That was it? One could really negotiate with a Daedric prince like this? Well, to be honest, I did not think 'one' could, but the Dragonborn was different; it was quite possible that even Mephala did not want to argue with Akatosh on priorities. When Farengar was back in his rooms and Fiona and I slowly descended the stairs back to the Wind District, I asked her:

"Weren't you scared while talking to Mephala?"

"Not really. That was the reason I asked her to show herself; I had assumed and hoped that she might look somewhat scary, and that she did."

"Why was that good?"

"I believe that I mentioned earlier that I used to enjoy watching good horror movies. Mephala looked like right out of one of those, and that sent a strong shiver back down my spine, which sent me into movie mode and made me feel good and calm. Don't ask why that works, but it works for me."

Interesting. I could even imagine this young lady watching movies like 'Alien' and feel great when doing it, maybe even get a kick from it, whereas I almost shuddered just thinking about it.

For the rest of the day, we pursued our own plans, and when I had, hours later, retired to my attic room, there was still some daylight left to at the book Farengar had given me – The Anticipations – and I found some interesting details in there:

The Daedra are powerful ancestor spirits, similar in form and substance to the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names), but weaker in power, and more arbitrary and removed from the affairs of mortals.

That opened up a new question, as I did not know what the 'Tribunal' was. Further I read:

The Three Good Daedra, Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala, recognized the Divinity of the Triune Ancestors (Blessed Be Their Holy Names). The Rebel Daedra, Molag Bal, Malacath, Sheogorath, and Mehrunes Dagon, refused to swear fealty to the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names), and their worshippers were cast out.

So, there were 'officially' good and bad Daedra, and at some later time I might want to learn more about that. I recalled 'Azura's Star' and some of the related quest, but had not idea what the quest for Boethiah had been about. And Mephala, well, we had just met her. But wait, with Mephala trying to find a champion to take her weapon and kill innocent people, why was she a good Daedra? There was some more on her in the book:

Mephala is the Anticipation of Vivec, but manifold and androgynous. Mephala taught the Chimer to evade their enemies or kill them with secret murder. Enemies were numerous in those days since the Chimer were a small [sic] with enemies on all sides. Mephala organized the clan systems that eventually became the Great Houses. Later, Mephala created the Morag Tong.

What? She had founded the Morag Tong? Wasn't that something like the Drak Brotherhood, just in another province? I didn't get it, and hhen the sun had gone down and the first stars showed up on the night sky, I closed the book, settled down in my bed, and at some time during the night my dreams went wild once again:

On a sunny day I ventured north of Whiterun towards a bandit hideout called 'Halted Stream Camp'. There was a bounty on the bandits there, and the steward had pointed out that I should collect some mammoth tusks from there.

No problem, I could do that; I could handle a few bandits on my own easily. I slowly approached the place from the east, where a group of rocks allowed me to stay hidden from the camp. When I was almost there, I saw something like a pit with spikes on the ground, and this was probably the back entrance; smelly animal corpses down there were not really inviting to use this back door, but I assumed that it might be less well guarded than the main entrance. The walls were too steep for climbing, but I managed to jump down without getting impaled, and I cautiously proceeded into the passage starting from there. My Khajiit eyes allowed me to see the first trap easily, and I easily stepped around the pressure plate. A few steps later there was a trip wire which I also avoided, and soon I could hear a few voices. One person said something like:

"Gotta have a sharp axe to cut through all that fat…"

And another one replied:

"Hurry up with it, we've got a merchant in the pit to take care of after we carve this thing up."

I smiled when I noticed that a large section of the floor was glimmering and seemed to have an oil film on it; that was going to be easy. I blasted a fireball against the ground, and of course the oil ignited. However, I had neglected the fact that the oil extended to nearly my position, so that I had to jump back to avoid getting burned. That jump, though, triggered one of the traps I had just avoided minutes before, and there was a huge log now swinging in my direction from the ceiling. I jumped again, thanking my reflexes which were faster than usual for some reason, but that second jump triggered something else. Part of the ground opened below me and I fell down, before I hit something and both my head and my chest started to hurt.

Vaguely I saw a shape looking like Mephala above me, her voice laughed at me and said:

"Ah, the blood of deceit is a nourishing flow."

Eventually I heard a dim voice from above saying something like "Gotcha!" and I felt something licking my cheek before I passed out.

When I woke up, I realized that I had fallen from my bed to the floor, and one of the saber cats was licking my cheek. I had had a bad dream again! Morning had not broken yet, but I did not want to get back to sleep. Happy to be awake, I cuddled with Hanni and Nanni for some time, before I got up to watch the first indications of light on the horizon from my attic room.

[Author's Notes: So, the issue of the Whispering Door got solved in a non canon way; I hope that you like this variation!]