09 - Victoria - The Rescue of Erthor:

Using the key I had found upon Glarthir's corpse, I entered his house in search of any items of interest. It was quite quite a large place, with a scattering of books which I took my time to read. 'Brothers of Darkness' caught my eye, and as I had guessed it referred to the Dark Brotherhood, that infamous guild of assassins. Perhaps I should join them? The pay would be good, and the work interesting - my earlier assassin training would likely come in handy. However I had learned from overheard rumour that you were only invited to join having killed an innocent; and so I shall bide my time until a useful opportunity presents itself. Two birds with one stone, so to speak. 'Disaster at Ionith' also proved an interesting read, for although I had heard of that terrible expedition, I had not read the commissioners report - and it was enlightening. The final book of note was the 'Manual of Spellcraft', which confirmed my earlier suspicions; spell making is only available from the Arcane University, and even then only to members of rank. It seems they will not trust the public with such powers. A wise move perhaps, but then any individual with the power to truly utilise such a tool could easily ascend the mages guild ranks, as I would prove to them. I detest resorting to using 'pre-made' spells, and had my mind had not been set upon gaining entry to those halls already, it would have been following learning this information.

Entering Glarthir's cellar I found a selection of foods and drinks, including some 'Surile Brother Wine' - obviously his paranoia had not prevented him drinking the products of one he believed conspired against him. It seemed even his twisted reasoning was warped. Ascending, I found his bed at the top of the house, which was littered with chests, and appeared almost like a store room; however again the locks proved beyond my skills. Deciding I had seen enough I took what gold I could find, perhaps a mere fifty or so. I claimed nothing else, for the items could be traced, and I knew of no fence to whom I could safely sell stolen goods. The gold meanwhile was as any other, and so would not be a problem.

Leaving the building, I spent the remainder of the night at the mages guild, rising at nine in the morning to buy a number of spells from Druja, namely an unsealing spell for 'easy' locks (alas I had yet to encounter a better spell of this kind, as so this must suffice for now) - and a soul trap spell, for I could not forget my heritage. Besides, in time I would surely acquire a staff of power, and if so I would need the souls of the vanquished to fuel its usage.

Leaving via the West Gate I began the journey to Black Flats Cave, which happened to take me through the vineyard from which I had stalked the Surile brother for Glarthir - now deceased. At last I entered the open countryside, walking through the flowers and bushes as the sun warmed my skin. It was pleasant enough, and besides the odd encounter with wolves, and occasional pauses to gather reagents, I made swift progress - arriving at the cave itself before midday.

The cave appeared agreeable enough from the outside, surrounded as it was by flowers and trees; it seemed a perfect place to live in peace – if one desired solitude. What then could have happened to Erthor? Entering the cave, it became a great deal less pleasant, for it was both dark and cavernous. Observing from the shadows I saw what appeared to be an undead zombie shambling in the chamber. My shot caught his attention, and he charged. He, and all his kind in that cave, proved surprisingly resilient, as my later accounts will attest. With him dealt with I continued to use caution; and, due to the darkness, scouted used my spell of Night Eye - which transformed the dark caverns.

Continuing onwards, I moved through cavern after cavern, defeating the deranged zombies as I went. It was a tiring experience, for each stumbling corpse absorbed a great deal of damage before going down. Sneaking down one particular passage, I was distracted by the chamber ahead, and was thus greatly shocked when a zombie - who I had apparently unknowingly crept past - struck me from behind. Such events anger me greatly, for I prefer to be clinical in my methods, and this was clearly an unforgivable oversight. Following the destruction of the zombie my anger impelled me to create a deadly poison, made of Lotus Seeds and Nightshade; yet even as I made it I suspected that poison would have no effect upon the dead. I suppose the knowledge that it was ineffective is useful in itself, for the poison coated arrow appeared to do no additional damage as the next creature lurched towards me, leaving me to dispose of it through more traditional means.

The only other undead encounter of particular note occurred upon finding a pair of zombies at the base of a passage; where, realising I must fight them both simultaneously, I approached carefully, before firing an arrow from the shadows. As they turned I cast fire in their direction, while simultaneously retreating. As they approached I darted forward to deal my electrical touch, before again retreating. My magicka reserves now drained, I summoned my Daedric dagger, and held them at bay with skilled slashes until my powers had returned; whereupon I finished them both in short order with waves of fire.

Moving onward I beheld the silhouette of a figure in the distance, however its stance appeared unlike the previous undead encounters, and so I approached, using my Starlight spell to light my path, and reveal my target.

It was Erthor, who had apparently become trapped by the invading undead; although he did not say how or why they had come. He asked that I lead him to Skingrad, and so we headed back the way I had cleared, until at last the day shone upon us from the entry passage. The open sky was a welcome relief from the oppressive caverns, and the journey back provided little difficulty, although it was now early evening.

Entering via the West Gate through which I had left, I lead Erthor to the mages guild in the northern region of the town. Upon entering he immediately visited the guild head, and, their animated conversation complete, I was given my first reference to the Arcane University. My path is now clear; I shall follow the marked road to the south west, until I arrive at Anvil - and there must secure my next reference, while perhaps again enquiring regarding permanent housing.