-And I'm back again. Lately I've had some good things going on irl, and this story's updates is only one of them. Let's see if I can keep the momentum going. Enjoy! -
Delphine hadn't even reached near the edge of the coastline before her back began screaming at her again.
She had made her way out of the crypt and back out into the open again. While she was moving out with the plans for improved bonemold armor in the little journal, it wasn't the only thing she was leaving with. On her person (or literally on her back in this case) was an entire set of that strange armor that the Reaver boss had been wearing. With the number of pieces that comprised this full armor set it was almost impossible initially to keep them all together. Thankfully Delphine had managed to scrounge together pieces of cloth and rope to keep them secured in a makeshift backpack that somehow kept everything held within. More than once however the ropes had threatened to come apart from the sheer mass of the armor pieces; a couple more well-fixed knots fixed that, or about as well as could be.
This wasn't a choice she was making lightly either. After much thought and consideration, the armor just seemed too valuable to remain on a dead Reaver. Surely it would serve her better in another fashion, maybe as given to Glover Mallory to pawn off for additional coins.
"He'd... better take this though...!" she grumbled to herself through gritted teeth, "This stuff's... heavy...!"
It also didn't help that she found her steps slipping slightly and even threatening to sink through the flaky ash soil beneath her feet. She must have really been taking hard steps under the weight of this armor. If she wasn't careful, she might end up tripping and falling; maybe even dropping the entire backpack and causing it to break open!
Sweat was positively poured off of her brow as she strained. In the process of her huffing and puffing hard for breath, each breath she took she could taste salted and ashen air. Instead of coughing hard as she had been doing, her mouth was only left with the foul taste of the air instead. Maybe she was growing used to this island and its geography, who knows.
Turning her gaze up, Delphine could see a familiar landmark before her. It was the Earth Stone! She had really made it this far while scarcely even realizing it!
"Perfect... Means Raven Rock's not... too far now..." she said in between her straining.
True enough, a quick turn to her left showed Raven Rock not too far away, just along this stone walkway. This was also good: walking on stone already felt so much better than walking on the more unstable ground of flaky ashen soil. Every step she took was for certainty, bringing her closer and closer to the town.
Before she reentered the town's boundaries a nearby Redoran guard was seen standing in place at a nearby wooden post. His arms were crossed over his chest and his head was turned to the side, focused on the townspeople. As she approached his head slowly turned to recognize her approach.
"Huh? Outlander?" she could hear him speaking, "What's that mighty big pack you've got there? Do you need help?"
"No-no, I'm fine! I'm just... on my way to the blacksmith's...!" Delphine said, hastily dismissing his aid with a quick wave of her hand. The guard didn't say anything, instead she could see him give a small shrug before looking back in the general direction of the town with his arms crossed.
Heavy footstep followed heavy footstep as Delphine slowly made her way closer into Raven Rock. The town was pretty much exactly the way as she had remembered seeing it a mere hour or so ago. The people were still going about this way and that while the vendors continued to manage their stands. As she drew closer, she could see a couple of faces turn towards her, but no one said any more than the first guard had at first. Everyone went about their business, leaving Delphine to do the same.
She wouldn't have that far to walk, thankfully. The blacksmiths was the closest location towards the edge of town where she had been directed. She could hear the familiar, almost rhythmic sound of hammer pounding upon an anvil. Not that much further to go now...
The blacksmith's forge and the table could be seen before her again. Delphine finally eased the massive pack off of her back, mustering what strength she had left to set it down as gently as possible. The pack rattled a little bit as it touched the ground, and instantly Delphine felt a massive relief in her muscles. They were still screaming at her, but at least there was no more heavy weight put upon them.
The sound of the rattling caused the blacksmith to cease his hammering.
"Hm? Oh, you're back! And so soon...?" Glover said. His eyes could be seen looking down at the pack now resting at Delphine's feet, "Huh, what you got there?"
"I'll... I'll get to that... in a second," Delphine said in between her huffs of deep breaths. A few more seconds and huffs later, her breathing had calmed down to where she could speak normally again, "For now... I have it." She reached behind to her smaller pack on her own person and pulled forth the bonemold book.
Glover watched Delphine as she pulled out the item, and his eyes appeared to narrow as he gazed upon the object.
"Wait, could that really be it...?!" he said, barely managing to contain his excitement. The notebook was then handed off into his eagerly awaiting hands. The smith began to skim through the pages as Delphine herself had done earlier, though he took a moment to study a couple of the pages for a few seconds in between.
"By the Eight, this is definitely it," he said with a nod. He then closed the book and looked back to Delphine, "You... You really took on all of those Reavers on your own?"
"Eh, was nothing I couldn't handle," Delphine said with a shrug.
"I hope you gave 'em all a right good beating! Show them that you can't go around taking things that don't belong to you!" the smith said with a growing smile before stopping to compose himself, "Stranger, I don't know who you are or what brought you here... but whether you know it or not, you've done Raven Rock a huge service." He pointed to the recipe book, "With this recipe for the improved bonemold armor, I can now help out the local guardsmen get outfitted with better equipment!"
"So, that's what that was really about?" Delphine said with an absent glance towards one of the patrolling guardsmen, "Genuinely helping out town guardsmen?"
"Of course, it's what I do here," Glover replied, "Whatever I may have been before does not matter; I've only had good intentions towards this town. In this case, that means helping out in the best way I know how: smithing."
Delphine regarded the man's words carefully. Through every word he said, there was a feeling of sincerity behind them. It was made especially poignant from the fact that this man had at the very least 'not denied', his possible affiliation with the Thieves Guild of Skyrim. Almost in direct spite of that knowledge, he appeared to demonstrate willingness to do actual good in such a way? Delphine couldn't help but feel there was a severe shortage of such genuine goodwill in this world. Perhaps if there were more people like that in the world... well, the world might not have these dark days looming over it as they have been.
"Alright, I gotta know," Glover suddenly broke Delphine's musing. He was pointing down at the large pack at Delphine's feet, "What's all this then?"
Delphine reached down and lifted the heavy pack again. She groaned a little bit from both the weight as well as the muscles in her arms screaming from the strain again. With gritted teeth she managed to raise the bag up just high enough to set down on the table between the two of them.
Glover had quickly spread the tabletop clear of items in the way with a quick sweep of his arm. The pack set down on the tabletop with a rattle. Delphine then reached up to undo the makeshift ropes that keep the entire thing tied together. The knot came apart relatively easily, allowing the whole assembly to break apart and reveal its contents.
Now laying upon the table over the patchwork cloths was the armor of the Reaver boss. This armor of carved gray armor plates atop a blackish-brown, mesh interior. Now that it was seen in sunlight, the detail of the carvings could be seen clearer. The cuirass's shoulder pads were carved angularly to evoke the strange imagery of some kind of beaked creature, while the neck area was lined with black fur.
"Well well, that's some quality armor right there," he said, "Nordic Carved Armor! And this detail-work..." He paused for a moment as if to consider something before speaking again, "Let me guess, you also got this from Bloodskaal Barrow?"
"Yeah, you could say that," Delphine said, "I took it off one of the Reavers who was... too dead to care." Her comment actually earned her a small chuckle in response from Glover.
"And you yourself didn't die it would seem. Well, this armor in itself is pretty valuable," he said.
"Yeah, seemed like too valuable a thing to simply leave behind..." Delphine started, but quickly shook her head, "B-but anyway! I've done what you asked me to do and brought you that recipe. Now I believe you owe me some answers?"
"You've got a sharp memory," the blacksmith noted. He then proceeded to take his rag and casually clean off one of the tools on his table, his eyes still locked on with Delphine's.
"So, you were asking me about two... temple priests, was it?"
"That's right, came here last night on a ship from Skyrim," Delphine said. Glover continued to casually wipe off his tool, as if deliberating what to say. The more he did this, the more Delphine found herself not liking it; it's almost as if he did know but was purposely drawing out the discussion.
"Well, you are right: I have lived in this town for a long time," he said, "Long enough that I do have a pretty good idea who everyone in this town is by face and name..."
What was he doing? Trailing off the discussion as if to purposely drag it out? Delphine could feel the frustration within her grow and grow. What was this man's deal? Why was he doing this?
"And the reason I say that is because..." He stopped the motion of cleaning his tool for a moment. He then leaned in ever so slightly towards Delphine, "I don't recognize those two, at all."
"So you don't recognize them; is there a point to this?" Delphine suddenly found herself cutting in. The way this man was carrying on as he had was really starting to get to her.
Glover Mallory simply flashed her a look; the faintest hint of what may have been a frown, before continuing.
"As I was saying, I don't recognize them because they're not any Dunmer that have lived here in Raven Rock before."
"They're not from here?" Delphine said, reasonably more controlled this time, "What, like they're from someplace else?" Glover nodded.
"Elder Othreloth, the chief priest of the Temple of the Tribunal over there?" he gave a quick point in the direction to one of the buildings; the more extravagant of them, "As far as I'm aware, the only 'official' priests that maintain that place are him and his assistant. If there were any other new additions to their priesthood, pretty sure the town would've been made aware of it by now, but they haven't. All this tell you anything...?"
Delphine frowned as well, but nonetheless considered what the man had said.
"You're suggesting it's possible... the temple had been infiltrated?" she said, "Well, who even are those two Dunmer? More Reavers?"
"I could only guess, and anything that comes to mind is no more pleasant than the last..." Glover said. With this semblance of information being relayed to her, Delphine suddenly crossed her arms over her chest and gave the man a look.
"So, if this really is the case..." she said, "Why have you yourself not informed the town guard, or even that Second Counselor person? Especially with how 'dire' this all sounds?" For the first time in all interactions the two had with each other, Delphine saw the man's face become a little downcast; a stark contrast from his livelier attitude from before. It was as if that topic triggered some sort of memory within him.
"Well, the thing of it is... the captain of the guard has always been at best... suspicious of me," he explained, "His concern is not unwarranted, but keep in mind he has absolutely no knowledge of whatever my past may have been either. For all this time it's been my hope that I can help him improve his opinion of me. In fact," He tapped his pointer finger on the armor recipe journal on the table, "Now that I have this here and can now produce the armor to aid him and his men... he may finally come around to believing me and my good intentions."
'By the Gods. How does someone come across as so annoying yet so honorable all at the same time?' Delphine thought, 'Hm, bet he and Esbern would've gotten along famously.'
"Alright... alright," Delphine held her hands up before her. She took a sharp breath to compose herself before continuing, "So... Do you have any idea where those two Dunmer have gone now?"
"Short of catching them again in town?" Glover said, "I... I'm sorry friend. I couldn't tell you exactly 'where' you'd find them now." Delphine pursed her lips hard, a desperate attempt to keep her rising anger in check.
"You really have no idea in the slightest?" she spoke with a low tone, "Even after all I had to do for-"
"For which I am very grateful for, don't get me wrong!" Glover held his hand up, "And don't misunderstand, I'm not withholding anything from you. What I mean is... If you those two you're looking for can't be found here in Raven Rock, there is another place you could look into."
"Where?"
Glover again pointed his out to the side once again. This time he pointed opposite of where he had indicated Delphine from before: to the right side of the town. Delphine gazed down towards the walkway where she herself had come from last night. Past the break in the buildings leading to the docks, there was in fact a passageway under a small arch of a Dunmer structure that led out somewhere. It was impossible to see where it led because the natural land appeared to curve upwards over a hill of sorts.
"Way out east, past Raven Rock's borders, there's settlement called Tel Mithryn," he explained, "As far as I know it's the only other Dunmer settlement here on Solstheim. It's where that master wizard lives. In a giant mushroom no less."
"A master wizard? Like-" Delphine said until she quickly had to do a double take, "W-wait, what did you just say? 'Giant mushroom'?"
"That's right, a giant mushroom," Glover nodded, "I've only ever seen it from a distance, but damn if it isn't a sight to behold. Couldn't even imagine how he managed to accomplish 'living' inside one of those... Just a wild guess here, but if there's anyone that would know about specific Dunmer here on Solstheim, it would be them."
"This you're certain of?" Delphine asked to which Glover nodded again. Delphine paused and put a hand to her chin in momentary thought.
'More redirections! Of course, this would've been too easy otherwise, right?' she thought to herself. Who knows how much of a head start those two Dunmer already had a lead on her by this point! Oh well, perhaps her chances would be better from the mouth of an actual wizard instead of a... a blacksmith.
Delphine shook her head of her thoughts.
"Alright... so, how do I get to this... 'Tel Mitheria'?"
"Tel Mithryn," Glover corrected before pointing down the eastern path again, "So what you'll do is take that exit out of town and follow the pathway. Be sure you keep an eye on the pathway and where it is; ash-storms sometimes blow in and on the path to make it harder to see. In fact, I'd even recommend you stick close to the coast again."
"Close to the coast?" Delphine asked.
"Here, show me the map again...?"
Delphine reached to her side to retrieve the folded map. It was then placed on the table again in between the two of them.
"Here... this is where you'll find Tel Mithryn."
Glover's finger pointed this time to an opposing section of the island. Whereas last time Delphine was instructed to a location in close proximity, this time the location was much further. At least three times the distance as she had gone to Bloodskaal Barrow! The location in question was also on a small peninsula of the southwestern corner of Solstheim.
"That's... quite a way off," she noted.
"Aye, it will be a bit of a walk, I won't lie to you about that," Glover admitted, "However, it's why I also advised to stick as close as you can to the coast. That way it'll lead you right to it. And you'll know when you're getting close when you see the giant mushroom. I've even heard the locals around here give a nickname for it: 'a piece of Morrowind born in the shadow of the Red Mountain'."
"Red Mountain, which is what the Dunmer call Vvardenfell?" Delphine asked to which Glover nodded.
'Another lead to chase down, literally in this case...' Delphine thought to herself, 'Gods know I haven't been doing plenty of those lately. Dammit...'
"Alright then... I suppose that's where I'll be heading for..." she said.
Glover could be seen taking his cleaning rag and wiping off the top section of the Nordic Carved Helmet. In fact, Delphine's attention was brought back to the armor, this strange, visually impressive armor that had even this smith in awe. Brought out here and in the light of midday, the gray of the armor plates themselves appeared all the more pronounced, to say nothing of the aforementioned 'carved' detail work.
Delphine's original plan was to bring back the armor and sell it off; save it a fate better than rusting away unremembered in some Nord crypt. At the same time however, she remembered this very same armor being worn by a Reaver, one of the toughest fights she'd had in recent memory. The female Dunmer was strong on her own, but the armor itself added something of an 'intimidating' factor to her as well. Now that it was literally peeled off her corpse, was selling it for a profit really the best thing to do with it?
"So, about this armor, I'm thinking I can get you..." he could be heard saying even as he continued to clean.
"Um, actually..." Delphine spoke up, "I... I think I change my mind."
"Hm? About what?" Glover asked.
"I think I'd rather... I'd like to keep that armor, for myself," she said while also pointing to her own armor currently being worn, "And maybe instead I sell this armor to you instead."
"Aw, I admit I'm a bit disappointed to hear that," he said. The disappointment at her decision was written clearly on his face as well, "But I'll not argue with your choice. If that's what you desire, then so be it."
The next few minutes were somewhat long, and tedious. The lengthy process of undoing her armor on her body, albeit out in the open this time. Delphine never found personal shame in doing so as there was always some form of under-clothing like her tunic and pants beneath, but she still much more so preferred to do so in privacy in a locked room. And this town had somewhat proven itself to be 'innocent' for the most part; no one was looking at her during this time, and even Glover himself was respectfully turning his gaze away. It did make her feel a little safer, not completely, but enough.
Her weapons and resource pack were taken loose and set down on the table. Finally, after a minute or so, all the armor pieces were removed and placed on the table as well. Now Delphine could begin dressing herself in the Nordic Carved Armor pieces.
The first piece to go on was the cuirass and greaves. Delphine had a fairly decent idea of how the entire assembly worked (she did have to peel it off its previous owner after all), but that didn't mean she found it any easier to place it on her own body.
Eventually, starting with the inner black body-mesh followed by the metal plates of the armor itself following, Delphine's upper body now sported this new armor.
"Looks good," Glover noted, "How does it feel?" Delphine gave a few experimental twists of her body here and there.
"It's... a little snug, but not too bad," she said.
The armor did feel... different on her body, for lack of better word. Maybe it was because Delphine was so used to the feel of actual leather on her body for so long, but this material against her arms was a different feel altogether. For one thing it wasn't nearly as coarse and rough against the outer edges of her arms. Because it covered nearly the entirety of her arms, the woman also noted how much warmer she immediately felt.
'I can hardly feel that chill in the air I once felt,' she thought, 'And hey, I was looking to get some kind of cold gear earlier; maybe this armor will work out after all.'
Once the outer armor was on Delphine then literally stepped into the boots. Unlike the cuirass however, she felt a bit of resistance as she struggled to fit her feet through them completely. Glover must have sensed this as Delphine heard him speak again.
"Trouble with the boots?" he said, "Try loosening the outer strap there, see if that helps."
Delphine looked to where she saw Glover pointing at. She could see a set of leather straps running along the outer shin section of the boots; the same ones she felt a tight fit to get her feet through initially. She reached down with both hands and undid them. Almost immediately she felt a relief of pressure in that area; Glover was right, that's what she needed to do. Her feet and shins no longer felt any constrictive pressure as a result. Delphine then proceeded to secure the straps until they were fastened much more to her liking.
"There we go, that should do it..." she said as she stood back up. She gave an experimental tap of her new boots' toes against the ground, "Yeah, that does feel much better."
"Yeah, usually that's the main problem with people saying armors don't fit them," Glover said, "All that needs to be done is just adjust the fitting straps to their size, and that usually fixes everything."
The next step was placing on the gauntlets. At first, they seemed to be a tight fit as well, but Delphine quickly found and adjusted the outer strap on these gauntlets as well. Her whole hands fit straight into the black material beneath the armor plating. A couple of experimental squeezes of her hands within, Delphine was liking how these were feeling, literally in this case.
"And with that, the helmet is last," Glover directed her attention to the armor piece in question. The 'metal bear-helm' lay on the table, its carved eyes staring straight forward. An animal made of stone... Delphine had seen many types of armor over the years, but this sort of thing was absolutely new to her. She remembered seeing this same helm gracing the head of that reaver back at the barrow. Likely such a design was meant to scare or invoke fear in an opponent, similar to that of warpaint. Delphine could definitely see the appeal of such a design.
"Unless of course the armor you've got now is fine enough without the helm?"
"Um..." she actually considered for a moment, "No, I guess I might as well take this one as well."
She picked up the helm in her hands and carefully placed it over her head. Much to her surprise, unlike the other armor pieces that required a bit of adjusting before fitting completely, the helm fit her head completely. A couple of experimental twists and turns of her head, and the helm remained in place.
"Also looks good. How does it feel?" Glover's voice could be heard. Delphine's eyes narrowed slightly; she noticed that sounds all around her felt somewhat 'muted' from before. Placing a hand to the sides of the helm, she found that it covered the entirety of her ears.
"I can hear, just barely," she said.
"Oh, I see, cause it's covering up the ears there," Glover pointed out, "Think that's gonna be a problem?"
"Um... no, I don't think so," Delphine reasoned. One more shake of her head reminded her that the helm was as good a fit for her head as ever.
And with that, Delphine was now wearing the entire Nordic Carved Armor set. She gave herself a quick look-over of the front of her body, flexing and moving herself for better views. As far as she could see and feel, the entire armor set fit comfortably well on her body. What's more, from the puffs of black that lined the collar around the head, this armor as in fact suited for cold weather as well!
"Yeah... This armor will do fine," she said to herself.
"And I'm assuming you'll be selling off this old armor?" Glover asked to which Delphine nodded, "Alright then, for the whole set I can get you... twenty gold. Any chance you might be looking to trade in the blade there for another one?" His pointed finger directed her attention to her Blade, sheathed and laying on the table.
"No-!" Delphine almost snapped, but she immediately caught herself. The man's comment simply caught her off-guard is all. No matter what may happen there would be no way in Oblivion she'd ever willingly part with her Blade, not even in the interest of using a newer, better sword. She quickly cleared her throat to compose herself, "No. Just the armor, if you please."
Glover simply shrugged. If he caught on to Delphine's almost outburst, he didn't say anything. He simply reached down at his side to pull forth a number of gold coins. After counting them out he placed them in another small coin purse and handed it off to Delphine.
"Good doing business with you," he said. Delphine gave the small coin purse a feel for weight before clipping it next to her own coin purse. She then reached down and resecured both her Blade and her dagger around her waist as well. As she did this however, she noticed that the process of tying small strings felt a little harder to do within bulkier gauntlets. Somehow, she managed to do so in the end.
"Alright then... I guess, I'll be on my way... towards 'Tel Mithryn'," Delphine said. She glanced to her left one more time towards the general direction she had been told to go, past the bulwark and docks, before looking back at Glover Mallory again, "And I guess... thanks, for the help you've given."
"I don't know if it means much coming from me," Glover said, "But... I do hope you find whatever it is you're looking for. It's a hard life to live, for people like us..."
There it was again, the look of genuine earnest in the man's face to match his words. For as vague as he had been with most of the information given, Delphine couldn't find it in herself to dislike the man. And he was right, it was a hard life that someone like her had to lead; the same probably went for him as well.
The woman nodded to him, a simple nod of acknowledgement, before stepping away and proceeding towards the walkway.
The first thing Delphine noticed was literally the steps she was taking. Even though her ears were slightly muted from the helmet she could hear the difference in the steps she took through the new boots. They felt heavier, but not in a sense that they were harder to lift or move. It felt like there was genuine force put into her steps through her feet. They also sounded different compared to the old leather boots she wore. Leather made the subtlest of scraping sounds even when planted flat on the ground, but the metal in these boots came with small thuds.
As she walked along, she noticed a couple of people in the market square turn to face her. Not nearly enough as to make her uncomfortable at all, just the occasional curious soul to glance in her direction. They soon turned back to what they were doing, letting her proceed in relative peace.
She made her way past the docks and the ships on the right side. The sound of small waves crashing on stone and wood of the ships could be heard. The walkway itself stretched forward towards a small dip beneath an 'arch' that connected two buildings on either side together. Delphine saw at least one Redoran guard standing by a door underneath the pass. If she were to guess that was likely the door to a guard's barracks.
"Travel safe, outlander," she heard the guard say to her as she passed.
The walkway dipped a bit as she moved beneath the arch until it began to curve up again. Delphine made her way up the now inclining walkway until she reached the top.
The land itself stretched out before her. Just as in Raven Rock itself, as far as she could see was drab-colored ash. Ash, dead trees, and the occasional strange flora that sprung up here and there. The presence of wind felt stronger out here in the open as well. Gusts of wind blew bits of ash in the air upon her, which only served to aggravate her nose and eyes even more.
At first glance Delphine couldn't see any signs of a 'giant mushroom' close by. The only thing around here to be seen was more stone structures that comprised Raven Rock as well as the walkway she currently stood upon.
"That's right, Mallory said it would be a bit of a walk from here..." she said to herself, "Hm, let me look at the map again-"
Before she could check her map, something caught her attention. A sound heard on the wind that was definitely not the wind. It sounded like... metal? Clashing on metal? It was slightly distant, but relatively close by.
Delphine had heard plenty of fights in her time to know that particular sound of metal clashing. The kind of metal on metal that came from blades clashing against blades. That could only mean that there was fighting going on? And close by?
She rushed up along the pathway, her right hand locked firmly on the hilt of her Blade. Her eyes scanned back and forth towards where the source might be, but the only thing to be seen was more ash. She was getting closer though, she could feel it.
Then, she saw it, the source of the fighting. Nearby what appeared to be the ruins of some wooden structure a trio of Redoran guard were locked in combat with... something. Delphine's eyes narrowed at what she was looking at. There was literally nothing she could think of to describe what it was she was seeing. Another trio of humanoid... something or other. Whatever they were, they were just as gray as the surrounding ash and holding strange red blades in their hands. Their movements were slow and somewhat shambling, but they seemed to be pressing a decent assault on the Redoran guard.
"What in Oblivion...?!" she said to herself.
Just then she caught sight of movement nearby to the actual fighting. From the ash ground she could see something... crawling up? Her eyes widened in surprise this time; it was another one of those things! Whatever they were they seemed to crawl up from the ash around?!
In practically no time this fourth creature had pulled itself up and was standing on two legs, strange red blade in hand. The other three guards were still locked in combat with their own adversaries, apparently unaware of this newcomer.
Delphine didn't even think as she rushed forward. She quickly dashed across the ash ground to advance upon their positions. Her hands quickly reached down and drew forth her weapons.
The fourth creature still wasn't aware of her own position when she finally closed in. It proceeded to shamble over to the trio of Dunmer, its intent to join in the fighting clear to see. It appeared it didn't detect Delphine still, which the woman planned to capitalize on.
From behind Delphine brought her blade down in a diagonal slash against the creature's left 'arm'. She was almost shocked to find that the weapon cleaved cleanly through the... the ash, that comprised this creature's entire body. In fact, now that Delphine was here and much closer, she was afforded a better view of this creature before her. Especially as it turned around to regard her.
The first thing the woman looked upon were the eyes. Or rather, what passed for 'eyes' on a creature like this. Small orbs glowing red orange, almost exactly like that of a smoldering ember. The next thing she could see was its mouth. A gaping hole at the bottom of its 'face' that Delphine could only guess acted as a mouth.
What really surprised Delphine was how dry this creature was. What was supposed to pass for 'skin' on a creature like this was absolutely cracked and void of any sort of moisture at all. Perhaps it shouldn't have come as such a surprise to her after seeing this thing literally crawl up from the ash soil around her, but still!
The creature seemed to look straight at Delphine with its own ember eyes, also void of any sort of emotion in the slightest. It wasn't even the least bit pained by the fact that it was missing a left arm. The appendage in question had simply fallen off of the main body and completely disintegrated back into the ashen soil.
Just then Delphine heard a noise escape from the creature's mouth hole. The throatiest, driest sort of groan she had ever heard in her life. The thirstiest man in the Alik'r Desert could not have sounded as dry and void of liquid as this thing had just now! And those eyes, those unblinking, yellow glowing embers that vaguely resembled eyes looked back at her.
With speed that Delphine almost didn't register, the creature raised its blade-wielding arm up and brought it down in a diagonal slash, just as she had done. The woman barely had enough time to jump back slightly, though not before the very tip of the blade caught the end of the breastplate of her armor. Metal scratched on metal as Delphine was certain a mark had formed.
The creature was off-balance by now from its own attack, which Delphine quickly sought to take advantage of. She quickly stabbed her dagger into the chest of this creature while bringing her right hand up to swing her Blade horizontally. The metal easily cleaved through the ash material that comprised this creature, leaving its head to tumble off and fall to the ground just as the arm had done.
Delphine then stepped back from the now headless creature and watched carefully. Despite having no head, it persisted to stumble forward a couple directionless steps. Finally, the entire body tumbled forward and literally fell to pieces, the blade in its hand doing the same.
The woman panted a couple of short pants, which in turn was followed up by a round of coughs. Ash in the air must have gotten into her lungs from how hard she took breaths, probably from this ashen creature.
"Outlander?"
Delphine turned her head towards the source of the voice. Nearby the Redoran guard were seen standing a few feet away. Now that the excitement of battle had passed, she looked at them with clearer eyes: there were three of them with various weapons in hand, but all dressed in that Bonemold Armor. Two of them had helmets on concealing their heads, save for one. The bare-headed Dunmer had addressed her, judging from how his unmuted voice.
"You have our thanks. Are you injured?"
"Um, no, I don't think so," Delphine glanced down at her own body for any sort of injury on her person. Aside from the now long scar across the breastplate of her armor, she couldn't see any injuries on her body at all. She glanced back down at the ash soil again, "What were those things?"
"Bloody Ash Spawn. They just rise up out of the ash around here, sometimes with no warning," one of the helmet guards could be heard explaining.
"Like I keep saying, it's like the spirits of our ancestors coming back to punish us, in the form of these monsters!" the other helmet guards spoke up.
"Enough with the superstitions, you," the Dunmer with no helmet sternly spoke to his apparent subordinates, "Don't matter what they are, they're a danger to Raven Rock, and we're not about to let any of them harm anyone within. Understood?" Swiftly the two other Dunmer made a quick motion with their right arms; some sort of strange salute motion.
"Yes, Captain Veleth!" they replied in unison.
The helmet-less Dunmer, 'Captain Veleth', appeared to be satisfied with the response and grunted in affirmation. He then turned back to regard Delphine.
"I'd recommend caution if you're heading out of town, outlander," he said to her, "Ash Spawn could surprise you just like they almost surprised me and my men here."
"Right, I'll definitely keep my eyes open," Delphine said with a nod while absently glancing towards the now open landscape that Solstheim had to offer, "Though I was actually on my way to this place- 'Tel Mithryn'. Do you know where that is exactly?"
"Tel Mithryn? Of the House Telvanni?" Veleth said. He took a single step forward, though not in Delphine's general direction. She watched him simply point a finger outwards in one direction, closer to the sea on the right, "It's roughly in that direction, a little off the beaten path. It's actually nearer to the coast, so try sticking close to the water's edge there."
'The water's edge, huh? Just like Mallory had told me too,' she thought, 'From two different sources, I guess that works for me.'
"Ah, alright. I'll do that. Thanks," she nodded to Veleth in turn.
"Best of luck to you, outlander," one of the guardsmen spoke up. With that Veleth turned his attention back to the two Redoran guardsmen.
"Alright men, back to town," he spoke in a professional tone, "How's your armor looking?"
"Think the damn Ash Spawn put in a good hit here and there on mine," one of the guardsmen said while glancing down at his own person.
"Then let's see if that Mallory fellow can get it fixed up," Veleth said.
With him leading the way the Dunmer trio proceeded back towards the direction of Raven Rock, leaving Delphine alone once more. As the woman watched them depart, she felt a sudden urge well up within her. All from that Veleth mentioning visiting Mallory the blacksmith. Before she could say anything however, she held her tongue, watching them leave completely.
"I probably don't need to say anything," she said to herself, "Likely they'll see for themselves when speaking to him..."
She shook her head of any further thoughts and redirected her attention to the task at hand.
"Stick close to the water's edge...?" she said as she looked down at where the gently rolling tides washed upon the shore nearby, "I guess it's worth a try..."
"I'll be damned... It IS a giant mushroom!"
Delphine's trek along the southern reaches of the island carried on for about ten minutes or so. Ten minutes of walking along where the water of the sea met the ashen soil of Solstheim. She took deliberate care to not step into the water at any point as well; these being new boots she was wearing there was no telling whether or not they would keep water out if submerged. Walking this close near the water also carried an additional sense of safety in itself; were any more of those Ash Spawn to appear, it's likely they wouldn't be able to move well if at all when exposed to water.
Thankfully however during her entire walk she didn't come across any Ash Spawn. Or rather none of those strange creatures appeared before her from the ashen soil around her. Perhaps her instincts had proven correct this time. Or maybe that incident outside of Raven Rock was only isolated. Whatever the case, Delphine had little trouble in traversing the lower reaches of Solstheim towards her new destination.
Her destination in question now lay before her. The massive, oversized fungus stretched upwards into the sky, while still maintaining its shape as that of the smaller varieties. Delphine noted how while there was one massive mushroom, there were also a few large additional mushrooms scattered all around it, yet not quite reaching the height of the tallest one.
The mushroom and its surrounding counterparts grew ever larger as Delphine continued her approach. While the scent of ash could be smelt, Delphine also detected the faint sense of... something else in the air? It was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but it was simply there, growing ever so stronger the closer she came to the mass of mushrooms.
"What are you trying to do?"
Her attention was drawn to the sound of someone speaking. She looked over at a small clearing near the base of the giant mushrooms. There were two Dunmer standing next to each other, a male and a female. The female was dressed in what appeared to be ordinary clothes, while the male was dressed in fancy mage robes. His nose also appeared to be fixed in a tome he held in his hand, despite his companion apparently addressing him.
"Is that the 'Tel- Telvor- urgh, master wizard I was told about?" Delphine said to herself. With a shrug she made her way closer to the two.
"Drgh, what am I missing?" the male could be heard saying, "Please, Varona. I'm trying to get this spell right and I need concentration..."
"If it's a spell, it'd be better to speak with- Huh? Um, hello there?"
The female Dunmer's attention was turned to Delphine. The male Dunmer barely even glanced up from his tome in his hands to regard her before looking back down.
"Yes, hello, um..." Delphine said, "Are you by chance this 'Master Neloth'? I was told to find him out here?"
"Master Neloth?" the male Dunmer said, "No, that's not me. I'm his apprentice, Talvas Fathryon."
"And I'm his steward, Varona Nelas," the other Dunmer introduced herself, "Master Neloth is in the middle of some... 'delicate research' as he calls it. In fact, he'd even asked not to be disturbed by even one of us." She quickly cast a glance to Talvas, "Which is why Talvas if you're having difficulty, I'd suggest waiting for when he is available so he could help."
"No! There's no need! I'll figure this out on my own, I will!" Talvas insisted.
Delphine could only stare at this exchange between the two Dunmer, almost dumbfounded. After a second or two realization kicked in for her: the Dunmer that she was told to speak to wasn't even available? After all this time that she'd spent walking to find this place?
She could feel the irritation and frustration mounting within her yet again. Was all this just another colossal waste of time chasing a dead lead?
"Then, I don't suppose either of you have seen a pair of Dunmer come by here? Dressed in priest's clothing?" Delphine found herself asking the pair. Her initial expectations had seemingly been lowered even further than possible, what really was the harm in asking?
"Huh? Dunmer in priest's clothing?"
Talvas lifted his head from his tome and looked at Delphine. A somewhat surprised expression graced his features. He even turned to Verona and shared a look with her as well.
"Was that the strange robes those two were wearing?" Varona asked.
"Probably would be my guess," Talvas replied with a shrug. And just like that, Delphine felt a burst of surprise within her. Her hopes suddenly were raised by this sudden, unexpected news.
"Wait, you have?!" she somewhat hastily said, "They actually came here?"
"Er, yes, we did have a pair of Dunmer visit here, not too long ago in fact," Varona said, "They actually came by and spoke with both Master Neloth and Talvas here. I think they traded things between each other?"
"That's right, those two men brought with them a staff!" Talvas said, "But it wasn't just any staff; it was a staff that had been crafted by Azra Nightwielder! Oh, you should have seen the look on his face when that staff was brought before him! I swear it was probably the only time I've ever seen him so excited, or happy for that matter!"
"You both traded between each other?" Delphine said, "So then, if they gave him this staff, what did you give them?"
"Oh, Master Neloth gave him that book," Talvas replied. Delphine blinked once.
"A book?"
"Never found out what the title of it was, and Master Neloth never let me so much as lay a finger on it, so eventually I stopped thinking about it," Talvas said, "But he seemed more than willing to part with it when that staff was presented to him."
'Books? Again, more books,' Delphine thought to herself. First, she was trailing the two Dunmer that were holding a rather strange book in their possession, now they had come here to this place to trade and obtain another book? Worse still, the names of these books were still not known to Delphine.
'If these people really have some connection to the Dragonborn, what could they possibly want with books of all things?'
"Was this book that he had a book for spells, maybe?" Delphine probed.
"Hmmm, I don't think it was," Talvas actually considered, "All Master Neloth ever mentioned was that it was being used for 'research', but he never elaborated on what exactly." Talvas then proceeded to bury his nose back into his tome. Delphine shook her head at yet another dead end towards information.
"Alright, do you at least know where the two Dunmer went? Can you tell me?" she asked.
"I believe so," Varona said. Delphine felt her spirits within positively leap upon hearing those words, but she forced them down with a stern facade. The female Dunmer stepped forward and pointed in a direction behind Delphine.
"They didn't say exactly where they were going, but I did see them leave in that direction," Varona explained. Delphine followed the Dunmer's hand pointing to see that she indicated due north. She could see the island once again stretch out before her, the heightened landmass to the west, and the vast ocean to the east. Focusing her gaze, she could also see not only the stretch of gray that was the ash soil of the land, but also stark white? Could that be actual snow?
Delphine suddenly recalled what that one Dunmer in Raven Rock had told her: not all of Solstheim was ash. The whole northern half of the island was deep frozen ice. If the distant Red Mountain to the distant east was any indicator, the island's southern half must have been hit by a blast of ash at some point. Though it was a wonder how only one half of the island was affected in such a way.
"You saw them go that way?" she said, "Could they have maybe gone out to that ice part of the island?"
"Honestly? That would be my guess," Varona said with a shrug, "There's not much else in that direction other than the Skaal."
"The... what?" Delphine said.
"The Skaal," Talvas actually turned his head up from his tome to answer, "They're a group of Nords that live in a village north from here. Real strange sort, even for Nords. I've heard they live as 'one with the land', whatever that means."
"It likely means that they grow their own food and hunt their own game," Varona said, "Though they do seem open to trade. In fact, Master Neloth has sent me on his behalf to trade with them on occasion in the past."
'Open to trade?' Delphine thought, 'If it seems like that's what these people are doing, that might be my next lead, however slim.'
"Alright, I think I've heard enough," Delphine said, "Thank you for your help... both of you."
"Oh wait! Wouldn't you rather stay for some tea at least?" Varona said.
"No, thank you, but I really need to get going," Delphine hastily said with a wave of her hand. With that she began to walk northbound and away from Tel Mithryn, but not before calling back behind her, "Thanks again!"
Whatever the Dunmer may have said after that, Delphine didn't know. Nor did she care that much. All that mattered in this moment was her new, albeit somewhat repetitive, task of going to yet another place in search of information.
As she made her way out across the ashen soil, she was reminded of her previous advisements from both Mallory and Veleth: sticking close to the coast's edge. It seemed her next objective lay further north, which coincidentally had the coastline to her right yet again. She inched her way downward and closer to the water until she could hear the gentle crashing of waves on its coast. This should be a good distance to maintain; any Ash Spawn appear, and Delphine could retreat closer to the water if need be.
The further she walked, the more she could feel it against her skin; or rather, the parts of her skin that were exposed underneath this armor. She could feel that very subtle crispy chill in the air. It was small, and almost unnoticeable, but it was there, steadily growing the further north she walked.
"Alright, so those Dunmer priests, who may or may not even be priests at all, did in fact go north from that place," Delphine said to herself, "They apparently traded some things with Neloth, gave him some staff for a book, and departed. And now they-"
In the middle of her musing, Delphine suddenly stopped. As she was recalling what she had learned, she recalled something else that she was told. It was what Talvas had said regarding the trade. Unless she had misheard him, Talvas had said that the two 'men' had traded with Neloth? As in two male Dunmer?
"But wait... that can't be right," she said, "The ones I was following were definitely a male and a female. At first there were two males and a female that entered Windhelm, but then there was absolutely only one male among them."
Delphine cast a glance back over her shoulder towards Tel Mithryn. She couldn't see Talvas or Verona anymore from how far she had traveled by this point. This suddenly put momentary hamper on the seemingly straightforward information she had been given. Was that some kind of mistake on his part, or... intentional?
The woman felt a chill run along her spine. It was a cold chill, but not from the subtle cool air she was beginning to feel around her. It was that sort of chill that felt more like... a warning. A warning of sorts that something was definitely not right.
"Could I have been lied to?" she said to herself. She pursed her lips and grit her teeth at the notion. If there was the actual possibility that there would be more than two quarries she was chasing... Well, she had come all this far anyway, and for a good cause. Nothing was about to stop her now.
She involuntarily shook herself, an attempt to dispel lingering anxieties, and continued on her trek.
The very air was mostly still and silent. Save for occasional drips of water in the distance, there was little sound to be heard. It was also dark. Darkness so thick and piercing it could be cut with a knife. Were it not for the braziers and the candles that had been brought in and set up to provide light, there was hardly means of seeing where one was in this place.
Silent as a tomb was the aptly used description the cultists had taken to using during the time that they'd been here. None of them were strangers to death themselves, especially given their recent history and actions, but none could deny the sheer feeling of death that this place held within.
With the cultists themselves, presently there were seven of them, all gathered around an indoor campfire. Not too long ago two of their members, Nelmyn and Belaris, and rejoined their group upon completing their assignment. The five that greeted them had already arrived earlier. They carried with them a thick bag that with each jostle of movement created thick, unmistakable clinking sounds of soul gems.
"And they're all Black Soul Gems?" Belaris asked while partaking in eating an Ash Yam, "How had you managed to find so many?"
"It wasn't easy, but we managed," Sister Minysa replied.
"That is to say that they're surprisingly scarce on this island," Brother Drethan added, "Had to venture to Skyrim and even dare Morrowind to find them."
"Morrowind 'or' Skyrim? Heh, I don't envy you being forced to explore either place..." Nelmyn said.
"You don't need to remind me of that," Sister Ulenea said while pointing a finger in the Nelmyn and Belaris' general direction, "Compared to what you two were tasked with, ours was menial and pedestrian!" Nelmyn could practically feel the pride welling within himself. He knew exactly what Sister Ulenea was referring to. He gave a couple of prideful pats upon the cover of the large black book.
"Some of us are just more fortunate and luckier I'd wager," he said.
"Oi! You lot! Keep it down!" Brother Tandrus suddenly hushed them. He then turned his head towards the tomb's entrance hallway, "I hear something coming..."
Everyone gradually tensed at these words. Jovial attitudes immediately dropped as they were all put on alert. Their meeting place here (and their very group for that matter) were carefully guarded secrets. No outsider could've had any knowledge of their members, what they sought out to do, nor even where they were to meet to carry out their plans.
"The others? Or intruders...?" Minysa said in a hushed tone.
"It matters not. Be ready..." Brother Tandrus replied. One by one they steadily armed themselves, either by drawing forth their daggers or preparing spells to be cast from their hands. No chances would be taken...
At long last, a trio of figures emerged from the winding hallway that was the entrance. They walked casually and with a sense of familiarity of the place itself. As no 'outsider' was even aware of this tomb's existence before, much less likely had any desire to venture here, the likelihood of this trio being intruders gradually became nil.
And as the figures stepped closer into the light of the lit candles and braziers, everyone relaxed upon seeing who they were.
"Brother Avaldrar," Nelmyn sheathed his dagger as he said, "And Brother Neldrus? Sister Favene? You're back!"
"Tidings, Brother Nelmyn, everyone. It's... good to be back," Favene said.
"Yes, after so much time in that Gods-forsaken frozen land, I'm glad to be back as well," Neldrus added. The three Dunmer made their way down the ascending stairs down to the lowered section of the tomb's floor to join the others. A pile of folded robes and mask could be seen near the tents they had established. Neldrus hastily made his way towards them with Favene following behind at a slower pace.
"Wait, there's three of you plus Brother Avaldrar?" Belaris said with narrowed eyes, "Then... Where's Brother Vondeth?" Upon mentioning their brother's name, the two Dunmer immediately halted their respective actions. Favene sported her usual look of worry, while Neldrus quickly shot her a look of his own.
"Sister..."
"No no, I'm fine," the female Dunmer held her hand up before him. She took a quick breath before continuing, "Brother Vondeth... he is gone." A small round of murmurs spread amongst the gathered cultists between themselves. "He gave his life so that our mission could succeed."
"And succeed at their task they did," Avaldrar continued. Attention was drawn back to him, their de facto leader. With the large bag in tow, he proceeded to fish through it and draw forth the item held within. The book was held up in both hands for all to see, the nearby light from the candles and braziers just barely illuminating the stitched, multi-colored cover to see. Upon realizing what the book was, nearly everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
"Behold: The Oghma Infinium is in our possession!"
"Incredible!" Nelmyn said.
"The book only spoken of in myth and legend!" an awe-struck Belaris added. Nearly everyone clamored to look upon the book closer. All gazed upon the book from a respectable distance; Avaldrar expressly forbade anyone from even casually glimpsing any of the pages within, yet he did not deny them the opportunity to at least look at the book from afar.
The one exception being Favene herself, who chose to simply observe from a distance. For some reason there was less discomfort within her the more distance she put between her and that book.
"Their task has been accomplished," Avaldrar continued as he lowered the book to his side and onto the ground. He then turned his attention to Nelmyn and Belaris, "I am to assume you two have completed yours?"
"We have, Brother. We were also successful in obtaining the Black Book!" Nelmyn replied. He hefted the book in question up for Avaldrar to see. The de facto leader of their cult sported a smile of approval.
"Excellent," he said, "I trust obtaining it did not prove too difficult?"
"We found that we had to... barter, with Master Neloth," Belaris explained, "Fortunately, his price was favorable for us to work with. He'd asked for a staff in return. Though it turns out said staff was crafted by Azra Nightwielder."
"If only we could have kept that staff," Nelmyn said while crossing his arms over his chest, "If Master Neloth of all people sought after it, who knows just how much power it could've had?"
"But we could not have, not when-"
"I know, I know, the return of the Dragonborn 'supersedes the value of worldly treasures'," Nelmyn said, "I don't need the reminder."
"Hm, at least some of us here have our priorities straight," Avaldrar crossed his arms over his chest. He cast a very subtle look out of the corner of his eye towards Favene's direction. The female Dunmer said nothing, nor did it appear she even acknowledged his words, or their hidden meaning.
"And with that, all three groups have completed their tasks," he continued, "Neldrus and Favene here have recovered the Oghma Infinium, and Belaris and Nelmyn have retrieved the Black Book in question." He then glanced towards the remaining group of Dunmer assembled, "And with you lot having already obtained the required number of filled Black Soul Gems, we're nearly ready to begin!"
"Brother Avaldrar," Neldrus said, "I will admit that everything about what we were assigned to do may be a bit 'cryptic'. Perhaps you could finally explain the finer details of the ritual? Starting with why it's to be here?" His outstretched arms an indicator to their current setting. The now ten of them in their group standing within this large, dark tomb, sealed away from the rest of the world.
"You know we were told by Miraak it must be 'where Vahlok fell', which we deduced would be his tomb here," Avaldrar said with a shrug of his shoulders, "Your knowledge of why it is to be here is equal to mine, brother. To all of us. If Lord Miraak means to elaborate on why, that would be at his discretion. But only after we have performed the initial steps."
"So then, what are the next steps exactly?" Favene asked.
"You two have retrieved 'payment' as requested, while you two have provided the conduit as it were," Avaldrar indicated between the two Dunmer pairs in question, "We will be transporting the Oghma Infinium directly to Lord Miraak in Oblivion using the Black Book."
"Wait, what...?" Nelmyn eyes suddenly narrowed. He glanced down at the Black Book in his and Belaris' possession, "What do you mean 'using' the Black Book? What are you saying?"
"I am saying that the Black Book is much more than reading material; it is in fact a gateway, directly to Apocrypha, Hermaeus Mora's realm in Oblivion," Avaldrar said. A soft round of murmurs could be heard amongst the cultists. Nelmyn and Belaris exchanged looks with each other and glanced down at the Black Book.
"You're... actually serious?" Nelmyn said, "This Black Book is capable of leading us directly to Lord Miraak?" Avaldrar gave a quick shake of his head.
"Not lead us directly, I'm afraid. If it were that simple, our lord could simply use the Black Book himself and return to Mundus that way," he said, "As it is, we must heed his specific instructions. We are to use the Black Book 'only' to transport the Oghma Infinium through."
"And it really can do that?" Belaris asked.
"It will not be easy, but it is possible," Avaldrar replied, "It will also rely on the summoning ritual and circle we will create; reduce unnecessary risks that way."
"Reduce risks you say?" Favene perked at the mentioning of those words, "Then yes, I'll agree to that." Her sudden comment earned her a quick look from Avaldrar, but nevertheless he did not comment on himself.
"Sounds good to me as well," Tandrus added.
"Me too; I mean Lord Miraak shall be returned to this realm one way or another, right? Better to be safe than sorry," the normally taciturn Sister Talane chimed as well. She spoke the least out of all of them.
"Alright then, everyone. Let's us get everything ready and set up, starting with the summoning circle," Avaldrar said, "The time of his return grows closer at hand. For the glory of Miraak."
"For the glory of the Dragonborn," the other cultists replied in unison and with equal reverence. With that they proceeded to move and advance to differing locations. Compared to the lengthy and world-traversing goals they were tasked with, something such as setting up a summoning circle would be a much welcome reprieve and change of pace for them.
Favene followed after her brothers and sisters to the cause, working just as dutifully as they were.
'Less risks, less lives lost...' she thought to herself, recalling what Avaldrar had assured her and the others with, 'Yes, I'd like that... I'd like for no more lives to be lost, and so unnecessarily...'
A clap of thunder rang out, followed almost immediately by a bellow.
The master wizard Neloth watched the effects intently. The lightning from the staff had produced a spectacular burst of light and shock. The impact area sizzled for a moment with sparkling electricity, persisting for a number of seconds before eventually fading completely. Neloth was quite pleased by this outcome for once; he didn't need to flinch from the 'unexpected effects' like those that had occurred previously. Times before where he had struck at the more 'durable' sections resulted in the lightning being rebound. This time however the point of impact remained more localized, fizzling in place before fading out completely. Perhaps that was the difference in effects?
"Perhaps... yes. The magic of the staff is not redirected on harder surfaces- or, perhaps it would be 'reflective' surfaces...?" he said to himself. He set the staff down at his side and opened his journal to jot down his notes, "By contrast, the magic of the staff not only does not redirect off of softer surfaces, but its effects persist for... five seconds I believe it was..." Yes, that was about how long the lightning fizzled on the surface for.
He closed his journal again and set it down on one of Tel Mithryn's exterior roots that jutted from the ground. If only this test subject was smaller. Much smaller. Working indoors and in his own laboratory was much preferrable to being forced to work outside and exposed to the weather and elements. Unfortunately, that was just not possible with 'this' test subject.
Near Tel Mithryn's beach, tangled and heavily bound in the mushroom's roots, the live dragon sat.
The capture of a dragon was indeed a glorious, momentous occasion for the Telvanni wizard. Rumors had circulated across Solstheim, including even as far and remote as Tel Mithryn: dragons. The very large, scaled creatures that supposedly had ruled Tamriel's skies during the Merethic Era? Never mind where they had gone during this time, but that they had suddenly come back? The opportunity was simply too good to pass up!
Actually luring the dragon to this location proved somewhat difficult of course. There was no reasonable way to know what something like a dragon would want, desire, or crave. By some stroke of good fortune however, using a slain creature as bait seemed to be what attracted his quarry. Perhaps it made sense in hindsight: dragons appeared to be carnivorous, and thus craved meat.
As opposed to luring a dragon in place, trapping it was far easier in comparison.
The roots of Tel Mithryn were old and ancient, but still strong and durable. Neloth had no doubt in his mind that they would be sufficient to hold something even as powerful as a dragon in place. Of course, the ensuing struggle took place for a bit longer than he would've preferred, but capture was inevitable in the end. Eventually the dragon's strength and struggling had waned and finally settled nicely into its role as test subject. Willingly or not mattered not to master Neloth. His steward Varona had certainly voiced objections, but at least Talvas had good sense to recognize potential from this course of action. The lad was handy to have around for that at least.
And as if good fortune of capturing a dragon was not enough, there was also the surprise visit by those two Dunmer! Neloth did have to admit that even those robes that they wore were not familiar to him. They certainly were not dressed as any Tribunal worshipping priest he'd ever seen before. And how had they also known that Neloth had a Black Book in his possession and desired to trade with him for it? He was certain those fools at the temple remained ever close-minded, but perhaps they were widening their scopes after all.
Eventually, Neloth agreed to trade the Black Book, but only 'after' something of equal value was given to him first. In the end, the priests walked away with the Book, while Neloth had obtained that very thing: the staff of 'the' Azra Nightwielder! He remembered having to physically contain his excitement in the presence of those Dunmer, as well as Talvas who was present at the time. This staff had remained elusive from his grasp for so many years, despite his best efforts to obtain it. If all those Dunmer desired was the Black Book, they could have it. He had gleamed all possible research from that thing anyway.
"How long ago had that transaction taken place?" he said to himself. A week? Many weeks ago? He shook his head; menial details such as that were not worth him devoting his attention to. Varona was better suited for keeping track of that.
Neloth picked the staff back up in his hand. It was now time for the next round of-
"Excuse me? Master Neloth?"
The Telvanni wizard audibly groaned. He had hoped he'd made it exceedingly clear the first time, but apparently not. Was it so hard for his servants to follow basic instructions?
Glancing to the side, he could see his steward Varona, just barely around Tel Mithryn's roots. She was peering around the side and calling out to him. At least she had the good sense to keep her distance, but that was still not enough.
"Varona, was there a part of my very specific instructions of 'no disturbances' that was still somehow unclear to you?" he said rhetorically.
"I-I just thought you should know, there was another visitor who-"
"Kindly escort yourself from my sight before I have a summoned Ash Guardian escort you instead. I will hear of this nonsense later, not 'now'." Neloth spoke with a tone of annoyance, but there was that undertone of a deadly threat.
Fortunately, Varona appeared to understand the command simple enough and vanished from sight. It really was hard to find competent servants and assistants these days.
"Why do I even keep her around?" he said to himself, "Oh, that's right: she's the one that makes my Canis Root Tea."
He let out a grumble at logic and reasoning being used against him. In this case it would be beneficial to 'not' be rid of her in the interests of making sure he actually got his daily tea every day.
With a shake of his head, he turned his attention fully back to his test subject. The dragon itself remained immobilized with numerous roots restraining its legs, wings, massive tail, neck, and even keeping its mouth held shut. It was also facing the direction of the coast, which on the whole was a very good thing. In the off chance the roots somehow failed to keep its massive maw closed, there'd be no risk of dragon's fire setting his settlement ablaze.
"Now then... 'Sahrotaar' was it?" Neloth mused absentmindedly. At one point before its confinement and subsequent restraining it had let out a sound consistently that sounded vaguely like a name, "I believe the next avenue of testing would be the wings themselves. I have a few hypotheses in mind but let us see what ultimately transpires."
The bound dragon Sahrotaar let out a massive grumble and growl from its restrained maw. Perhaps it wasn't too keen on that idea. Regardless, the thoughts and opinions of the dragon matter little in the grand scheme of things. There was research to be done.
Master Neloth charged up the staff again and continued.
-So yeah, if you haven't caught on to it by now, I'm taking yet another MAJOR creative change regarding Miraak's involvement and introduction. This time around there is no him brainwashing Solstheim's people to build shrines around the Sacred Stones nor a Temple at the Tree Stone. Seriously, why would he need to do all that if he's already got cultists who are clearly more devoted to doing his bidding than an unwitting individual who's probably never even heard of him?
You would also not believe how difficult it was initially to fit in Neloth into this story. I recall him mentioning in the game how he'd be interested in capturing a dragon himself. You'd think a wizard as powerful as him would've already done that, but that's just me. For added context, pretend there's a section of land 'behind' Tel Mithryn with just enough space that a dragon could fit, yet is just out of view of any passersby.
That's all I have for now, do all the usual stuff, and keep on reading! -