22 Sun's Dusk
~~~
After all the weeks I have been spending in preparation for my confrontation with Dagoth Ur it is ironic that the most progress made against him has been due to relatively whimsical decisions of my own. Yesterday's retrieval of the artifact 'Keening' was decided upon only to see how far I could come to retrieving it. Success was not expected, but certainly welcome!
Today I rode my luck a little further and woke in Ald'ruhn certain that I could also retrieve the artifact-weapon 'Sunder' from Red Mountain. Vivec's document called for a raid on Citadel Vemynal to slay a Dagoth named Vemyn and retrieve 'Sunder'. On my way out of Ald'ruhn I prioritized the defeat of Dagoth Vemyn over 'Sunder', rationalizing that the fewer resources Dagoth Ur had, and the quicker I eliminated such resources, would reduce his influence and make further raids into Red Mountain a little easier. That was my idea, anyway, but my ideas never seem to reach fruition.
My pitiful "map" of Red Mountain, as provided to me, is woefully inadequate and served only to inform me that Vemynal is in the northwest of Red Mountain. As to how best to get there, it could not tell me. I figured I would skip going to Ghostgate, instead I would walk the perimeter of Ghostfence until I judged it safe to levitate over. In this way I hoped to elude Dagoth Ur's notice and possibly end up closer to the citadel than passing through Ghostfence in the regular way.
I chose to levitate over a section of Ghostfence right before a small bridge so that should I be attacked upon landing, I at least had the bridge to funnel my enemies on to. I slowly floated upwards and over Ghostfence, bracing myself for the inevitable Blight storm. But when I finally descended on to land, there was...nothing. No wind, no red sky, just an eerie silence.
The unusually clear weather made the large Corpus beast idling just around the bend of the path easy to spot...and shoot. Had I known what I that would have done, I might have snuck by it. Just as the first silvered arrow smacked into the creature's diseased flesh the sky started to darken, the wind picked up, and soon I was engulfed in a Blight storm with an angry Corpus monster charging at me and bellowing.
So my idea that Dagoth Ur controls the Blight storms personally is somewhat supported. Perhaps the sudden assault on one of his minions alerted him to my presence. Or it could be just a coincidence, but I will certainly be keeping this in mind should I ever see clear skies within Ghostfence ever again.
With the Blight storm at full strength, my decision to levitate over Ghostfence was proven a good one, it shortened the walk to Vemynal considerably and as a result I only was ambushed three times while walking outside at Red Mountain. A good number considering my previous journeys to this accursed place.
It was no safer inside Vemynal. Retrieving 'Keening' had been fairly simple and low-risk due to the slight garrison Dagoth Ur placed within it, but Vemynal was much more densely populated with all manner of hostility and evil.
Several of the ruin's denizens were wearing the Sixth House amulets that normally mark the wearer as an elevated individual within the Sixth House, so I suppose it is possible that I have further eliminated more of the Sixth House's upper ranks, if such a thing exists within their twisted hierarchy.
I found Dagoth Vemyn on the lowest level of the citadel, though calling it such is being quite generous, for the entire complex is all of four rooms and one stairway. Only one room was on the lower level and it is there that Dagoth Vemyn met his end...but not by my hand.
The Dagoth's room was nearly identical to his comrade's from yesterday: a large room with a smaller square room in the middle accessible via four large metal doors, one on each side. Dagoth was in the smaller room, as expected, but he was completely alone. Rather than face the Ash Vampire in hand-to-hand combat I used my last Golden Saint scroll to satisfy my curiosity. Would Dagoth Ur's most powerful follower prevail against Sheogorath's?
I was able to peek through the gap between the doors and opened it when the Dagoth was on the far side of the room. By the time he had noticed me I was already stepping out of the doorway to give the Golden Saint room to maneuver. The battle was very one-sided, with the Ash Vampire quickly succumbing to the Daedra's two-handed blade.
The hammer 'Sunder' was in the Dagoth's posession, strapped to one of the creatures's sinewy thighs. It looks similar to a one-handed hammer any metal worker would have in his inventory for the fixing of small dents and other fine work. Its smallness contrasts with its considerable weight, almost all of it at the weapon's head. A blow delivered with this would be grievous, making its name very appropriate.
I had no other business at the ruin and having left Keening in Ald'ruhn, I had no further business at Red Mountain at all. I waited until the Golden Saint's hold on this plane expired and Recalled back home. It was only just after lunch.
'Keening' and 'Sunder' will now be on my person at all times. I am certain that Dagoth Ur knows of their theft and will take great efforts to re-acquire the means to his destruction. It is for this reason that I re-armed myself with my most powerful weapons: a Daedric dagger, spear, bow, and eight very rare Daedric arrows. So armed, I am ready to face whatever the mad demi-God sends after me. I did discard my shield, for I never really was very good at using one back in Cyrodiil and unlike much of my previous education I did not improve much here in Morrowind. I always have been more comfortable with simply removing my body from a foe's strike than meeting it with a plank of wood or Dreugh chitin.
Most of the afternoon was spent organizing my Ald'ruhn home, firstly to make it easier to move to the Manor once it is completed and secondly to ensure I am carrying only the most essential of equipment, as my Daedric arsenal weighs me down greatly. I am still in need of Restoration potions of several kinds and will be shopping tomorrow...and possibly confronting Dagoth Ur by the end of the week.
It is a somber thought, but not one I dwell on with much anxiety. My skills and my body have improved greatly since arriving here and I am as ready as I shall ever be for the task put upon me. Should I fail I at least have the grim amusement of being the sole Khajiit spirit occupying the Ashlanders' "Cavern of the Incarnate".
So my idea that Dagoth Ur controls the Blight storms personally is somewhat supported. Perhaps the sudden assault on one of his minions alerted him to my presence. Or it could be just a coincidence, but I will certainly be keeping this in mind should I ever see clear skies within Ghostfence ever again.
With the Blight storm at full strength, my decision to levitate over Ghostfence was proven a good one, it shortened the walk to Vemynal considerably and as a result I only was ambushed three times while walking outside at Red Mountain. A good number considering my previous journeys to this accursed place.
I found Dagoth Vemyn on the lowest level of the citadel, though calling it such is being quite generous, for the entire complex is all of four rooms and one stairway. Only one room was on the lower level and it is there that Dagoth Vemyn met his end...but not by my hand.
The Dagoth's room was nearly identical to his comrade's from yesterday: a large room with a smaller square room in the middle accessible via four large metal doors, one on each side. Dagoth was in the smaller room, as expected, but he was completely alone. Rather than face the Ash Vampire in hand-to-hand combat I used my last Golden Saint scroll to satisfy my curiosity. Would Dagoth Ur's most powerful follower prevail against Sheogorath's?
The hammer 'Sunder' was in the Dagoth's posession, strapped to one of the creatures's sinewy thighs. It looks similar to a one-handed hammer any metal worker would have in his inventory for the fixing of small dents and other fine work. Its smallness contrasts with its considerable weight, almost all of it at the weapon's head. A blow delivered with this would be grievous, making its name very appropriate.
I had no other business at the ruin and having left Keening in Ald'ruhn, I had no further business at Red Mountain at all. I waited until the Golden Saint's hold on this plane expired and Recalled back home. It was only just after lunch.
'Keening' and 'Sunder' will now be on my person at all times. I am certain that Dagoth Ur knows of their theft and will take great efforts to re-acquire the means to his destruction. It is for this reason that I re-armed myself with my most powerful weapons: a Daedric dagger, spear, bow, and eight very rare Daedric arrows. So armed, I am ready to face whatever the mad demi-God sends after me. I did discard my shield, for I never really was very good at using one back in Cyrodiil and unlike much of my previous education I did not improve much here in Morrowind. I always have been more comfortable with simply removing my body from a foe's strike than meeting it with a plank of wood or Dreugh chitin.
Most of the afternoon was spent organizing my Ald'ruhn home, firstly to make it easier to move to the Manor once it is completed and secondly to ensure I am carrying only the most essential of equipment, as my Daedric arsenal weighs me down greatly. I am still in need of Restoration potions of several kinds and will be shopping tomorrow...and possibly confronting Dagoth Ur by the end of the week.
It is a somber thought, but not one I dwell on with much anxiety. My skills and my body have improved greatly since arriving here and I am as ready as I shall ever be for the task put upon me. Should I fail I at least have the grim amusement of being the sole Khajiit spirit occupying the Ashlanders' "Cavern of the Incarnate".
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