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16th of Heartfire, 427 3E
Another Mordas has come, so it was back to hunting mudcrabs along the Bitter Coast. While we were in Seyda Neen Neldor introduced me to an apparently well known village resident; a Bosmer named Fargoth. When Fargoth was speaking I found myself noticing the stark difference between his and Neldor's accents. Fargoth sounds quite Cyrodillic and his way of speaking has a sharpness to it. Neldor's accent makes his speech sound more relaxed. His words are not spoken as rapidly as Fargoth's, and certainly not as sharp. I never realized until now the mers of Tamriel are changed when they are away from their homelands for generations.
Having received our payments for the day's quota of crab meat, we went to the tradehouse to purchase a few minor supplies such as candles and lamp oil along with some loaves of bread. After we left the trade-house I noticed a fair haired female Altmer was sobbing near one of the outdoor market stalls. Every now and then she took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her eyes. Although I didn't mean to stare, at one point she caught me looking at her.
Following another gulp of sujamma, she asked in the midst of her weeping, "What is it, Bosmer?"
I replied, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. It's just that I couldn't help noticing that you're upset."
She stopped drinking to blow her nose before replying, "Yes, I've been sobbing my troubles away ever since my husband Indria and I went tomb raiding. I knew that the place was dangerous, but did he listen? No! He dragged me along with him into that tomb. Guess what we found? Death! As Indria and I were going deeper and deeper into the tomb, the guardians became less and less. I thought that was rather unusual. Indria thought it was lucky."
"But it wasn't?" I asked.
She replied shrilly, "No, it wasn't! There is no such thing as luck! I always told him that! Deep into the tomb, we were ambushed! A trio of undead attacked us. Indria did all he could to let me escape, but he died in the process. I had no choice but to escape. I wanted to help him, but I couldn't. The fear in me took over, and took me away from that accursed place."
Now understanding why she was so upset, I said gently, "I am so very sorry for your loss."
She smiled weakly, and replied, "Thank you. My name is Elaninde. I don't suppose you ever venture into tombs?" Before I could answer, she continued softly, "Could you please find anything that remains of my husband? He lies in the Samarys Ancestral Tomb, which is along the coast west of here. Acts like this could get us in trouble, but I'm sure you'd want to help a poor lady out? What do you say? Would you find Indria's remains?"
Neldor, who had been speaking briefly with a Dunmer named Tandram (a fellow bard) had come to stand next to me, asked, "Was he wearing a ring or anything like that? Perhaps we could bring it back to you?"
Following a quick shake of her head, Elaninde answered, "No. I need something of him. It's so hard knowing that he's just going to be left in that tomb, but if I had a part of him...even just one of his bones..." Her words trailed off as she once again broke off in tears.
I said gently, "You want something of him to lay to rest elsewhere. Is that it?"
She was now so distraught that she was unable to respond. Turning my attention to Neldor, I saw him look at the selection of arrows in his quiver before saying, "We have a lot of fire arrows. We could possibly venture into the tomb and see if there is anything left...that would work." He then looked at me and added, "If you're up for it."
The thought of going into a tomb made my heart skip a beat. Not only am I fearful of the undead, but having been raised in Morrowind I consider it extremely taboo to invade the resting places of the dead. Normally I would have said "absolutely not", but I couldn't help but feel pity for the newly widowed Altmer who wanted to give at least a part of her husband a decent burial. And so with a slight nod, I replied to Neldor, "If you think we can handle it."
Wiping her eyes, Elaninde said hoarsely, "Thank you. I'll be here. I can't leave without something of Indria to take with me."
We briefly returned to the trade-house to purchase some lock picks and probes just incase we had to deal with locked doors and traps (wanting to save our Lock and Disarm scrolls for an emergency). As soon as we were outside the tradehouse, Neldor asked, "Are you sure you're all right with this?"
I assured him, "I am. I don't like the idea of going into a tomb. Indeed Elaninde and Indria shouldn't have been in there in the first place, but I can understand her wanting to take something of him to lay to rest somewhere else. Having to leave him there to rot where he was killed has to be painful."
"All right, let's go take care of this," he replied as we left the village and headed through the wilderness toward the Samarys Ancestral Tomb.
When we reached the tomb's entrance, I said to Rey, "I think you better wait out here. No doubt your gray fox friend is lurking around somewhere." Looking at Neldor, I stated, "The only undead I've ever seen were Mebestian's vampire mother and lick grandfather, and neither of them were hostile."
With a sympathetic smile, Neldor said, "I figured as much. Since we have fire arrows we shouldn't have too much trouble. Stay behind me and follow my lead. And...well...just try to pretend that a ghost or a skeleton isn't any different from a thylacine. Once you've seen them a couple of times you'll get jaded to them and consider them just another creature to put down."
Rey sighed and sat down on a rock. I know he wanted to go with us, but I knew the tomb would be dark, and I didn't want to have to worry about where the little fox was or risk him being hit with one of our arrows. Drawing a deep breath, I followed Neldor into the tomb that was filled with the scent of dust. Bones lay scattered on the floor; possibly remains of skeleton guardians.
Fortunately for us, the only undead we met with was a single animated skeleton which was easily destroyed by a couple of fire arrows. Once the skeleton was dealt with, we remained where we were and listened for other guardians for a few moments before moving deeper into the tomb.
When we reached the second chamber, we found the sad remains of a male Altmer. When we drew closer we should see that his chest cavity had been cut open. Putting a hand over my mouth, I had to fight to keep from getting sick on the floor of the tomb.
Neldor whispered, "That's odd. I've never heard of tomb guardians trying to take someone apart after killing them. Zombies do that but they aren't not the sort of undead that is supposed to be inside Dunmer family tombs. Not to mention that they would never neatly cut an incision." Grimacing, he took a old rag from his satchel and wrapped it around the Altmer's heart which had already been cut from the surrounding nerves and arteries. Rising to his feet, he added, "I suppose being able to place her husband's heart in a family tomb might give Elaninde some comfort."
Although I was not comfortable with being inside a tomb, I found myself morbidly curious about what else was in there. So far I had seen nothing that would have drawn treasure hunters in there; just a row of sarcophagi filled with the bones of long dead Dunmers.
Neldor, who was standing near a wall in the back room, commented, "There's a probe jammed under the lid of this chest. Someone was trying to get into it."
As I watched, he disarmed the trap on the chest, then carefully looked inside. Raising his brows, he said, "I think I see what Elaninde and Indria were looking for; the Mentor's Ring. Local rumors say that it was lost within this very tomb."
"That would explain why Elaninde and Indria came in here," I agreed.
Neldor ever so carefully took the enchanted ring from the chest so we could examine it more closely by the light of one of the lit wall sconces. The ornate ring holds a constant effect enchantment which fortifies a person's intelligence and willpower. As I was admiring the ring's craftsmanship, Neldor said, "You know, if you wore this while working on your alchemy, you could likely create more powerful potions. That is, if you feel comfortable taking this out of here with us. For what it's worth, I don't think it belongs in here."
I replied, "I don't think so either based on the rumors; that a tomb raider lost it in here. Why would someone come in here looking for minor trinkets if they already had an item like the Mentor's Ring?"
Shrugging, Neldor answered, "Who knows? While I do find it interesting to hunt for artifacts, I don't get why anyone would break into tombs to take the minor items that family members leave next to the urns and coffins that contain their dead." Reaching over and dropping the ring into my satchel, he continued, "Anyway, it's for you to use now. So let's get out of here and take Indrai's heart to Elaninde."
When we went back outside we saw the little gray fox was out there with Rey, but once again bounded off into the ground cover when she saw us. Watching her go, Rey tilted his head tot he side as though thinking, Vixens can be so silly. I told her you two were harmless. Turning his attention to us, Rey wagged his tail, more than ready to tag along with us to our next destination.
We returned to the Seyda Neen trade-house and very discreetly gave Elaninde the rag-wrapped heart of her husband. Pressing the heart against her chest, she whispered, "Now we will never be separated again, Indria. Never again! We shall be together...forever." Realizing we were still there, she widened her eyes and added as she practically threw an enchanted scroll at us, "Here, take this as a reward."
As she resumed whispering to her husband's heart, we looked at the scroll and saw that it had been enchanted with a Summon Skeleton spell. Some might consider such a scroll useful, but we both find the act of summoning undead distasteful, so we'll likely sell it the next time we meet with a traveling merchant.
After we left the tradehouse and headed out of Seyda Neen, Neldor said softly, "I have a sick feeling in my stomach that Elaninde's husband is not going to rest in peace."
I replied, "So do I. I'm starting to wonder who it really was who originally tried to remove Indria's heart."
As we were heading back to the Ascadian Isles, we realized that we ended up unknowingly helping a necromancer, and it's quite possible that Indria wasn't Elaninde's husband at all. Who knows? There is nothing that can be done to help the mer now. All we can is hope that the assistance we gave doesn't lead to the harming of others.
*~*~*
This quest comes from the Tales of Seyda Neen mod.
Another Mordas has come, so it was back to hunting mudcrabs along the Bitter Coast. While we were in Seyda Neen Neldor introduced me to an apparently well known village resident; a Bosmer named Fargoth. When Fargoth was speaking I found myself noticing the stark difference between his and Neldor's accents. Fargoth sounds quite Cyrodillic and his way of speaking has a sharpness to it. Neldor's accent makes his speech sound more relaxed. His words are not spoken as rapidly as Fargoth's, and certainly not as sharp. I never realized until now the mers of Tamriel are changed when they are away from their homelands for generations.
Having received our payments for the day's quota of crab meat, we went to the tradehouse to purchase a few minor supplies such as candles and lamp oil along with some loaves of bread. After we left the trade-house I noticed a fair haired female Altmer was sobbing near one of the outdoor market stalls. Every now and then she took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her eyes. Although I didn't mean to stare, at one point she caught me looking at her.
Following another gulp of sujamma, she asked in the midst of her weeping, "What is it, Bosmer?"
I replied, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. It's just that I couldn't help noticing that you're upset."
She stopped drinking to blow her nose before replying, "Yes, I've been sobbing my troubles away ever since my husband Indria and I went tomb raiding. I knew that the place was dangerous, but did he listen? No! He dragged me along with him into that tomb. Guess what we found? Death! As Indria and I were going deeper and deeper into the tomb, the guardians became less and less. I thought that was rather unusual. Indria thought it was lucky."
"But it wasn't?" I asked.
She replied shrilly, "No, it wasn't! There is no such thing as luck! I always told him that! Deep into the tomb, we were ambushed! A trio of undead attacked us. Indria did all he could to let me escape, but he died in the process. I had no choice but to escape. I wanted to help him, but I couldn't. The fear in me took over, and took me away from that accursed place."
Now understanding why she was so upset, I said gently, "I am so very sorry for your loss."
She smiled weakly, and replied, "Thank you. My name is Elaninde. I don't suppose you ever venture into tombs?" Before I could answer, she continued softly, "Could you please find anything that remains of my husband? He lies in the Samarys Ancestral Tomb, which is along the coast west of here. Acts like this could get us in trouble, but I'm sure you'd want to help a poor lady out? What do you say? Would you find Indria's remains?"
Neldor, who had been speaking briefly with a Dunmer named Tandram (a fellow bard) had come to stand next to me, asked, "Was he wearing a ring or anything like that? Perhaps we could bring it back to you?"
Following a quick shake of her head, Elaninde answered, "No. I need something of him. It's so hard knowing that he's just going to be left in that tomb, but if I had a part of him...even just one of his bones..." Her words trailed off as she once again broke off in tears.
I said gently, "You want something of him to lay to rest elsewhere. Is that it?"
She was now so distraught that she was unable to respond. Turning my attention to Neldor, I saw him look at the selection of arrows in his quiver before saying, "We have a lot of fire arrows. We could possibly venture into the tomb and see if there is anything left...that would work." He then looked at me and added, "If you're up for it."
The thought of going into a tomb made my heart skip a beat. Not only am I fearful of the undead, but having been raised in Morrowind I consider it extremely taboo to invade the resting places of the dead. Normally I would have said "absolutely not", but I couldn't help but feel pity for the newly widowed Altmer who wanted to give at least a part of her husband a decent burial. And so with a slight nod, I replied to Neldor, "If you think we can handle it."
Wiping her eyes, Elaninde said hoarsely, "Thank you. I'll be here. I can't leave without something of Indria to take with me."
We briefly returned to the trade-house to purchase some lock picks and probes just incase we had to deal with locked doors and traps (wanting to save our Lock and Disarm scrolls for an emergency). As soon as we were outside the tradehouse, Neldor asked, "Are you sure you're all right with this?"
I assured him, "I am. I don't like the idea of going into a tomb. Indeed Elaninde and Indria shouldn't have been in there in the first place, but I can understand her wanting to take something of him to lay to rest somewhere else. Having to leave him there to rot where he was killed has to be painful."
"All right, let's go take care of this," he replied as we left the village and headed through the wilderness toward the Samarys Ancestral Tomb.
When we reached the tomb's entrance, I said to Rey, "I think you better wait out here. No doubt your gray fox friend is lurking around somewhere." Looking at Neldor, I stated, "The only undead I've ever seen were Mebestian's vampire mother and lick grandfather, and neither of them were hostile."
With a sympathetic smile, Neldor said, "I figured as much. Since we have fire arrows we shouldn't have too much trouble. Stay behind me and follow my lead. And...well...just try to pretend that a ghost or a skeleton isn't any different from a thylacine. Once you've seen them a couple of times you'll get jaded to them and consider them just another creature to put down."
Rey sighed and sat down on a rock. I know he wanted to go with us, but I knew the tomb would be dark, and I didn't want to have to worry about where the little fox was or risk him being hit with one of our arrows. Drawing a deep breath, I followed Neldor into the tomb that was filled with the scent of dust. Bones lay scattered on the floor; possibly remains of skeleton guardians.
Fortunately for us, the only undead we met with was a single animated skeleton which was easily destroyed by a couple of fire arrows. Once the skeleton was dealt with, we remained where we were and listened for other guardians for a few moments before moving deeper into the tomb.
When we reached the second chamber, we found the sad remains of a male Altmer. When we drew closer we should see that his chest cavity had been cut open. Putting a hand over my mouth, I had to fight to keep from getting sick on the floor of the tomb.
Neldor whispered, "That's odd. I've never heard of tomb guardians trying to take someone apart after killing them. Zombies do that but they aren't not the sort of undead that is supposed to be inside Dunmer family tombs. Not to mention that they would never neatly cut an incision." Grimacing, he took a old rag from his satchel and wrapped it around the Altmer's heart which had already been cut from the surrounding nerves and arteries. Rising to his feet, he added, "I suppose being able to place her husband's heart in a family tomb might give Elaninde some comfort."
Although I was not comfortable with being inside a tomb, I found myself morbidly curious about what else was in there. So far I had seen nothing that would have drawn treasure hunters in there; just a row of sarcophagi filled with the bones of long dead Dunmers.
Neldor, who was standing near a wall in the back room, commented, "There's a probe jammed under the lid of this chest. Someone was trying to get into it."
As I watched, he disarmed the trap on the chest, then carefully looked inside. Raising his brows, he said, "I think I see what Elaninde and Indria were looking for; the Mentor's Ring. Local rumors say that it was lost within this very tomb."
"That would explain why Elaninde and Indria came in here," I agreed.
Neldor ever so carefully took the enchanted ring from the chest so we could examine it more closely by the light of one of the lit wall sconces. The ornate ring holds a constant effect enchantment which fortifies a person's intelligence and willpower. As I was admiring the ring's craftsmanship, Neldor said, "You know, if you wore this while working on your alchemy, you could likely create more powerful potions. That is, if you feel comfortable taking this out of here with us. For what it's worth, I don't think it belongs in here."
I replied, "I don't think so either based on the rumors; that a tomb raider lost it in here. Why would someone come in here looking for minor trinkets if they already had an item like the Mentor's Ring?"
Shrugging, Neldor answered, "Who knows? While I do find it interesting to hunt for artifacts, I don't get why anyone would break into tombs to take the minor items that family members leave next to the urns and coffins that contain their dead." Reaching over and dropping the ring into my satchel, he continued, "Anyway, it's for you to use now. So let's get out of here and take Indrai's heart to Elaninde."
When we went back outside we saw the little gray fox was out there with Rey, but once again bounded off into the ground cover when she saw us. Watching her go, Rey tilted his head tot he side as though thinking, Vixens can be so silly. I told her you two were harmless. Turning his attention to us, Rey wagged his tail, more than ready to tag along with us to our next destination.
We returned to the Seyda Neen trade-house and very discreetly gave Elaninde the rag-wrapped heart of her husband. Pressing the heart against her chest, she whispered, "Now we will never be separated again, Indria. Never again! We shall be together...forever." Realizing we were still there, she widened her eyes and added as she practically threw an enchanted scroll at us, "Here, take this as a reward."
As she resumed whispering to her husband's heart, we looked at the scroll and saw that it had been enchanted with a Summon Skeleton spell. Some might consider such a scroll useful, but we both find the act of summoning undead distasteful, so we'll likely sell it the next time we meet with a traveling merchant.
After we left the tradehouse and headed out of Seyda Neen, Neldor said softly, "I have a sick feeling in my stomach that Elaninde's husband is not going to rest in peace."
I replied, "So do I. I'm starting to wonder who it really was who originally tried to remove Indria's heart."
As we were heading back to the Ascadian Isles, we realized that we ended up unknowingly helping a necromancer, and it's quite possible that Indria wasn't Elaninde's husband at all. Who knows? There is nothing that can be done to help the mer now. All we can is hope that the assistance we gave doesn't lead to the harming of others.
This quest comes from the Tales of Seyda Neen mod.
