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A Nord's Tale	By : draygon Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Oblivion Views: 4695 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
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- 12
Sanyue walked through the gates of Imperial City, her eyes darting from one guard to the other as she passed into the Elven Garden's district. She had almost expected to be arrested on the spot, but it seemed that her last minute decision to hide her hair under a leather helm was a good one. She had stopped for the night in Aleswell and as luck would have it, the innkeeper had a leather cap for sale that one of his customers had left behind. She had to haggle him down from twenty Septims but she considered it a good buy. She knew that her description would have been circulated around to every guard in the city and the first thing they would have been looking for was a Nord woman with copper hair. Not exactly a common thing.
She nearly dove into the door to Luther Broad's Boarding House, though she tried to keep her face passive as the owner, Luther trained his sharp eyes on her. He watched Sanyue as she sank down on the stool next to a Redguard man who was bent over a nearly empty plate. Sanyue glanced down at him as he lifted his eyes in her direction. "He- ow!" Sanyue winced as Baurus stomped on her foot to keep her quiet. The look on Baurus face told her that he did not want her to speak a single word. Sanyue whimpered softly as she tried to keep her face passive. "I'll have what he's having," she said quietly, smiling at Luther's near incredulous expression as he sent his assistant down to the kitchens to get her meal.
Sanyue had taken a few bites of the roasted Mutton when Baurus shifted closer to her. "Listen," Baurus kept his head bent as though he were eating. "I am going to get up in a moment and walk out of here. That man in the corner will follow me." Sanyue glanced over at the man Baurus was referring to. He looked Imperial and was sitting at one of the tables against the wall, a book opened up to look as though he were reading. "You will follow him." Sanyue nodded. She wasn't exactly sure what Baurus wanted to do after that. Maybe this was a contact he was meeting?
To his credit, Baurus waited until Sanyue was nearly finished with her meal before he paid his bill and got up. True to his word, as Baurus made his way to the cellar, the man in the corner got up to follow. Sanyue dug through her pocket and put a Septim on the counter before she, too got up and followed after the strange man. She entered the cellar after the man and watched as he made his way down the stairs and to the left. Sanyue crept behind him as he neared Baurus. As soon as Baurus turned to face him, the strange man drew a dagger from his shirt and rushed forward. Sanyue gasped as the man's clothes melted away in a cloud of red smoke. He was wearing the exact same armor as the assassins who killed the Emperor! Sanyue used her long sword to block a few of the man's attempts to even the odds, however the man was not prepared to fight against two sword wielding opponents and went down with surprising ease, his armor fading in the same cloud of red smoke.
Baurus sheathed his sword and turned the now dead assassin over with his foot. "Search the body, I'll keep a look out in case he wasn't alone." Sanyue nodded as Baurus positioned himself at the foot of the stairs. She went through the man's pockets, finding little of value except a hand full of Septims and a thin, leather bound book in the pocket of his jacket. Sanyue took these to Baurus who had relaxed somewhat when it became apparent that his assassin had come alone. "Good work. I am happy to see you, by the way. You just caught me at a bad time."
Sanyue quirked her eyebrows at his description of his near murder as 'a bad time'. "What have you learned?"
"The assassins who killed the Emperor are part of a daedric cult known as the Mythic Dawn. Apparently, they worship the Daedra Lord Mehrunes Dagon. I've been tracking their agents in the Imperial City." Baurus looked over at the corpse on the floor. "I guess they noticed."
Sanyue nodded, reminded of the reason she was here. "They also stole the Amulet."
"What?" Baurus' eyes grew wide as he turned from her to cover his face with his hands. "They took it from Jauffre? Things are worse than I thought."
"But I also found Uriel's son, Martin."
"Oh, thank Talos he lives!" Baurus heaved a heavy sigh. "Martin Septim you say... We will restore him to the throne!" He pounded his fist into his palm. "It is the sworn duty of all Blades!" Sanyue had to smile at Baurus' new found enthusiasm.
"Ok... What's our next move?"
"There's a scholar at the Archane University. Tar Meena's her name." Baurus took the book that Sanyue had found on the assassin's body and thumbed through it's pages. "Supposed to be an expert on daedric cults." He shut the book and handed it back to Sanyue. "Why don't you take this book to her, see what she makes of it. I'll keep running down leads on the Mythic Dawn network." Sanyue nodded. "If you find anything, you can find me here. May Talos guide you." Sanyue clasped hands with Baurus and turned up the stairs and into the main floor of Luther Broad's.

Clutching the book against her chest, Sanyue made her way to the Arcane University. She had made potion deliveries to the University on many occasions, so she knew her way well. The guard at the entrance to the grounds greeted her as she quickly made her way into the main area of the University. The tower was dimly lit with several mages sitting on the benches in the middle of a discussion. Their voices hushed as soon as she entered the door. "Excuse me." She nodded her head to the highest ranking of the mages. "But could you tell me where I could find Tar Meena?"
The mage, a High Elf woman pointed to an Argonian sitting by herself on the other side of the room, her nose in a large tome in her lap. "Thank you," Sanyue nodded to the mage and made her way over as the small group began speaking again in hushed tones. "Excuse me," Sanyue smiled as she got the Argonian's attention. Tar Meena seemed a bit annoyed at being disturbed until she saw the book in Sanyue's hands.
"Ah. You must be the one I got the message about." Sanyue tilted her head. That was fast. "How can I help you?"
"Have you ever heard of a daedric cult called the Mythic Dawn?"
"You know of them?" Tar Meena closed her book and set it down. "One of the most secretive of the daedric cults. Not much is known about them." She turned herself towards Sanyue. "They follow the teachings of Mankar Cameron, whom they call the Master. A shadowy figure in his own right."
Sanyue nodded. "I found one of their books." Sanyue wasn't sure if she should announce within ear shot of obviously gossiping mages that she had killed someone to get the book.
"Ah, yes." Tar Meena took the book from Sanyue and examined it's pages. "'Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes'. You have a scholarly interest in daedric cults then?"
Sanyue pursed her lips, not sure how much she should tell. "I need to find the Mythic Dawn," she tried to pack as much meaning into her words as possible. Hopefully, the fact that she was messaged by one of the Blades would carry weight and keep this mage from asking too many questions.
"Find them, eh?" Tar Meena seemed to look Sanyue up and down, assessing her as she stroked her chin with a clawed hand. "I won't poke my nose in any further. Official business and all that." Sanyue nodded. "I'm used to working with the Blades." Sanyue glanced over at the gossiping mages. The High Elf had lifted her head their way when the Blades were mentioned. She hoped that this would not be spread all over the city. That would make her work impossible. "Don't worry. Say no more."
"In any case, finding them won't be easy." Tar Meena handed the book back to Sanyue. "I've studied Mankar Camoran's writings a bit myself, at least those that I could find." Tar Meena picked up a book that she had in a stack on the floor by her seat that seemed to be bound similarly to the book Sanyue had found on the assassin. "It's clear from the text that Cameron's 'Commentaries' come in four volumes. But I've only ever seen the first two books. I believe that his writings contain hidden clues to the location of the Mythic Dawn's secret shrine to Mehrunes Dagon." She patted the book she had taken from her stack. "Those who unlock this hidden path have proven themselves worthy to join the Mythic Dawn cult. Finding the shrine is the first test." Tar Meena laid the second volume on the bench in front of her as her hand returned to stroke her chin. "If you want to find them, you will need all four volumes of the 'Commentaries'."
Sanyue nodded, she had known that this would not be easy. She had a bad feeling that she would be losing a lot more sleep. "Do you know where I can find the other books?"
"Here," Tar Meena handed Sanyue the book she had been reading. "you can have the library's copy of volume two. Treat it gently, if you please!" Sanyue nodded as she gently put both books into her pack. "As I've said, I've never even seen the third and fourth volumes. You should try the First Edition, over in the Market District. Phintias, the proprietor, caters to specialist collectors. He may have an idea of where to locate those books."
Sanyue nodded her head at Tar Meena as she exited the University. She couldn't help but wonder how all this fit together. Why? Why kill the Emperor? Why kill his sons? Why lay siege to an entire city just to get at one person? Why steal the Amulet of Kings and why the bloody hell was she mixed up in all this? Sanyue sighed, her head already hurting with trying to figure her situation out.
And she knew Phintias. He was rather... abrasive. She pushed the door to the First Edition open, half expecting to be greeted with another assassin. "I'm Phintias, owner and proprietor of the First Edition." Sanyue could already feel the vein on her temple throbbing as Phintias launched into a monotone greeting as though he would rather be doing anything else than speaking to her. "Look around. If I don't have it, maybe I can get it."
"I'm looking for the Mysterium Xarxes."
"Ah, you must be referring to Mankar Cameron's 'Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes'. A common mistake." Sanyue tried not to take the snide tone too personally and tried to remind herself that he was an ass to everyone. "It comes in four volumes." She sighed, her patience wearing thin. "The first two volumes are rare, but you may run across them from time to time. The third and fourth are almost impossible to find."
"I've heard that," Sanyue rubbed her temple. "I happen to be looking for the third and fourth volumes."
"I happen to have a copy of volume three on hand," Sanyue could feel her ire rising. Why had he gone on about them being impossible to find if he already had one? "but, I'm afraid it's a ... special order." Always a catch, huh? "Already paid for by another customer. Sorry. Gwinas would be terribly disappointed if it was gone when he came to pick it up. So sorry I can't help you."
Sanyue sighed and pursed her lips to keep her tongue in check. "What can you tell me about Gwinas?"
"I don't know him personally. But he was very eager to get his hands on Volume 3 of Cameron's "Commentaries". Came all the way from Valenwood. In fact, he's already late. Of course, he would be terribly disappointed if it was gone when he came to pick it up." Phintias pulled the very book they were speaking of from a shelf under his counter, taunting her with it right under her nose. "Feel free to speak to him about it when he gets here."
Sanyue decided she was going to do just that. Just to irritate Phintias further, she sat at the farthest end of the shop where she had a good vantage of the door and Phintias couldn't ignore her presence. Even though this was an official task of the Blades, it still felt good to stick this in his craw. She didn't have long to wait, however. Gwinas nearly shoved the door open in his eagerness to enter the store and ended up knocking over several stacked books, their spines creaking as they landed on each other.
The look on Phintias' face was priceless as the short wood elf bustled up to the counter, hands wringing in absolute hunger for the tome reserved for him. "I'm here for my book." Was he salivating? "Do you still have it?"
"Of course!" Phintias made a show of taking the book from under his counter and handing it gingerly to Gwinas who looked like he was about to eat it. "Keep me in mind for any future needs." But Gwinas was absorbed in the tome already and didn't hear anything Phintias said.
The short wood elf was already walking to the door, his nose still buried in the book when he bumped into Sanyue. The look of irritation was enough to put a smirk on her face. "What do you want?"
Sanyue had to take a deep breath lest she take his book and beat him over the head with it. No doubt reading it in jail was not the best way to discover its secrets. "I need that book, sir."
"Have you been following me?" Gwinas took a step back, holding the book close to his chest. "Leave me alone! This book is mine!"
"I will buy it from you. I offer twice what you bought it for." Who ever said Nords were unreasonable?
"It isn't for sale! You will have to find a copy some where else!"
"And where would you suggest I look?" Sanyue spread her hands out. "I need that copy."
The wood elf took another step back and reached for what looked like a dagger in his belt. "I won't be bullied! I'm not some pathetic book-worm you can push around! I have friends you know!"
Of course, he does. Sanyue rolled her eyes, already tiring of playing nice with this little elf. "Friends? You mean the Mythic Dawn."
It was almost funny to watch the blustering elf nearly come unglued with the very mention of the cult's name. "I... I never said anything about the Mythic Dawn. In fact, I don't even know what you're talking about!" The poor thing had no idea what he was getting into, did he?
"Don't play stupid, elf."
"Very well," Gwinas looked like he had just eaten a lemon. "I see you are familiar with Mankar Cameron's 'Commentaries'." He tried to pull himself up, though it didn't do much about the fact that he was on speaking level with her chest. "I know that daedric cults are not quite the thing, socially, but that's just foolish prejudiced and superstition."
Sanyue narrowed her eyes. He was lecturing her, wasn't he?
"For the adventurous, open-minded thinker, daedric worship holds many rewards!"
Sanyue nearly shook with rage. This little book-worm was lecturing her about daedric cults being benign? "They killed the emperor, you fool!" She had to work to get her breathing under control. She didn't need another incident to further stain the image of Nords in the empire. The look on the elf's face, however, was anything but anger.
"What?" He seemed to stagger under the weight of her words. "They were the ones... ?"
His eyes threatened to bulge out of his skull. Even Phintias was taken aback. Sanyue reached into her pack and pulled out a robe made of rough red fabric and held it under Gwinas' nose. "Would you wear the same robes as the ones who sunk a blade into your Emperor's back?"
The poor elf was gasping for breath as he now held the book like it was some venomous snake. "You have to believe me! I truly had no idea! I... I mean I knew they were a daedric cult," Gwinas looked as though he couldn't bear his own thoughts. "Mankar Cameron's views on Mehrunes Dagon are fascinating, revolutionary even... but to murder the Emperor... Mara preserve us!"
Sanyue held out her hands. "Please. The book may bring us one step closer to hunting them down and bringing them to justice." She tried to keep her voice as level as possible. Gwinas looked about ready to flee at any moment should she finger him as a conspirator.
"Yes!" he practically threw the book at Sanyue. "I don't want anyone to think I had anything to do with their insane plots! It's yours. What you do with it is your business."
"Any chance you know where I can find the fourth volume?" Might as well ask if he was being so cooperative.
Gwinas shook his head. "You can only get the last volume directly from a member of the Mythic Dawn. I had already set up a meeting with the Sponsor, as he called himself." He dug a small piece of folded parchment out of his robe pocket and shoved it into Sanyue's hands. "Here, take this note they gave me. It tells you where the meeting is. I don't want anything else to do with them."
Sanyue unfolded the parchment and scanned the directions as Gwinas nearly ran out of the book store. "You could have just said you were with the Blades." Phintias was back on form, his arms crossed over his chest and his trade mark scowl pulling his mouth down.
"If I did that, my mission would not have remained secret. Would it?" Sanyue gave him a pointed look that seemed to take some of the venom from his glare as she left the store.
The Nord woman sighed, turned back toward the Elven Garden's district and made her way back to Baurus.
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- 12
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A Nord's Tale