After the years that I had spent within Vvardenfell I should have been used to the cold, but I was most definitely not. While the freezing temperatures of the southern Jerals were mild compared to the blizzards and winter months of northern Morrowind, they were still uncomfortable enough to make me glad to enter the interior of Cloud Ruler. It had been late into the evening when we had arrived, well after the evening meal and we wasted no time retiring to the sleeping quarters.

  By the time we had both risen, the Blades were going about their morning duties and routines with their usual discipline. There were obviously a lot more of them present within the fortress than what there had been the last time we stayed and everywhere we looked we could see one or two of them scurrying about on various errands or tasks. The fortress as a whole felt a lot more lived in, more like a home but in an extremely militaristic way.

  Much had changed, and yet the fortress-monastery was still just as it was when we had left it over four months before. It had felt as though it had been an eternity and judging by Jauffre's gaunt frame and sunken eyes we were not the only ones feeling the strain. As Viconia and I entered the main hall we could see him sitting close to the fire in one of the armchairs, deep in thought and gently puffing away on an immaculate hand crafted pipe. A pile of papers and parchments were piled on the table next to him and he had the look of a man with all too much weight of the world on his shoulders. It was an expression that softened slightly as one of the Order approached, bowed slightly to him before gesturing to our approach and it broke into a true smile as he recognised us.

  "Viconia! Kaius!" the smell of pipe tobacco reached us a few moments before he did, grasping our hands in turn with a grip that showed none of his fatigue. "I heard you had arrived in the night. It is good to see you both again."

  "It is good to be back." I said honestly. "You could have made the weather a bit nicer for us though."

  "Ha, it's nothing but a late winter snowstorm. You should have been here a month ago when the ramparts were nearly hidden under the snow."

  The amused twinkle in his eye returned some of the boundless energy that he usually contained and he made a handful of gestures to the nearby Blades staring at us to go about their duties.

  "Cloud Ruler seems to be a little more 'full' these days."

  "Just over a cohort and a half now." Jauffre remarked, showing his true role as Grandmaster but no dealing with or telling whole facts. "We're as prepared and fortified as we can be."

  "How's Martin?" Settling herself with a sigh of pleasure into one of the chairs nearly the fireplace, Viconia dragged over one of the foot stools and leaned back with legs outstretched.

  "He's doing well, as are we all. The translation of the Mysterium Xarxes is taking much longer than we thought but we have made significant progress, especially in these past weeks."

  One of the Blades must have gone and found Martin, for we barely had time to make ourselves comfortable in the chairs before he appeared from the direction of the Library, head down and thumbing through pages of a considerable tome that looked heavier than Sunchild. His concentration may have been elsewhere but he still broke out into a massive smile of pleasure at the sight of us seated in front of the fire, waving us off as we both went to rise to greet him.

  "By Akatosh it is good to see you both again." Thudding alarmingly on the small table in front of the fire, he placed the book down and gave us both a quick handshake before dragging over a chair of his own. Hovering at his shoulder, I initially didn't recognise the Blade who had followed him like a shadow until I saw the smile and the tiniest of nods. Later I would find that Baurus had taken it upon himself to be Martin's personal protector to alleviate his personal shame of Uriel's death. He went everywhere with Martin and I wouldn't have found it surprising if he would have attempted to sleep standing upright in full armour if Jauffre hadn't had a few quiet words to him in the preceding months.

  "You are looking well." Viconia admitted, and I took had to nod in agreement. Despite the fact that he would have been effectively under house arrest in the fortress he was looking much fitter and healthier than the priest he had been in Kvatch. He may have been as pale as he usually was, but there was a growing strength in his arms and torso that hinted towards him doing more than just studying books.

  "Belisarius has that effect on people." Jauffre replied humorously at Martin's discomfort at how Viconia gave the ex-priest a quick up-and-down with her gaze that was as predatory as a wolf's.

  "You're training with Belisarius?"

  He nodded in my direction, shrugging and trying to deflect the way how Viconia's teasing expression had been a little unnerving. "Two or three hours a day. Jauffre's orders."

  "You'll be a swordsman in no time." There was a mutual chuckle between us at my comment but it wasn't far from the truth. Belisarius would be able to teach an armless man well enough for him to enter tournaments.

  "Nothing like what I have heard about your mutual exploits." He pointed between the two of us, relaxing into his own chair and obviously feeling strain from his latest training session. "Closing another Oblivion gate, hunting minotaurs, knighthoods..."

  "Slaying vampires and werewolves." Viconia added, holding her hands out to the fire and warming them.

  "Vampires and werewolves." Smiling, he continued unabated despite Viconia's interruption. "You are the talk of Tamriel my friends."

  "We like to keep busy."

  "That's good." While his tone was humorous there was an edge to Jauffre's voice. "We may have further use of individuals with your talents in the coming weeks. Martin has completed a majority of the translations and we have a clearer picture of what is needed to track down Camoran."

  "Then you have been successful?"

  "In a way." For a moment he looked uncomfortable. "It took longer than I was expecting and we needed to bring in outside help but I have managed to create a ritual that if successful, should allow us to breach Mankar Camoran's Paradise and attempt to retrieve the Amulet of Kings."

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  Viconia leaned forward slightly and continued massaging her fingers. "Doesn't sound easy."

  "It isn't. The ritual is going to need significant resources in order to be successful, and a lot of these resources are very, very particular."

  "How particular?" I asked hesitatingly.

  Jauffre's pipe smoke thickened the air around us like the grey-black clouds blanketing the cliffs all around the fortress. "The Blood of a Daedric Lord, the Blood of a Divine, a Great Welkynd Stone and a Great Sigil Stone."

  "What..."

  Martin suddenly looked extremely worn and haggard. "Four pieces of incredibly powerful magicka and essentially essences of creation and destruction. The only problem is all four of these are incredibly rare."

  "One of the problems." Jauffre muttered.

  "The Blood of a Daedric Lord and the Blood of a Divine is surprisingly simple wherein we need Daedric and Aedric artefacts respectively. The Great Sigil Stone was the easiest to acquire but the Great Welkynd Stone could prove to be one of the more difficult to attain."

  Looking between them both I felt like most of the conversation was completely beyond my comprehension. "How was getting a Great Sigil Stone the easiest?"

  "Thanks to the efforts of the two of you, we have three such Sigil Stones from the stockpile taken from the Mythic Dawn's Shrine." The grin that Jauffre suddenly wore was slightly uncomfortable. "One will be more than enough."

  "And if we didn't have the stones?"

  Both of them shrugged. "Then we would have had to acquire one." Martin replied after a moment's hesitation. "and the only way that I could imagine us gaining such an artefact would be to allow the daedra and the Mythic Dawn to open a series of smaller portals and allow them to combine together like at Kvatch."

  "One down, three to go then." I added.

  "Yes. In more ways than one it is much easier than allowing, and then counter attacking a major daedric incursion." Billowing around Jauffre, the pipe smoke seemed to grow thicker and more physical. "We also have leads on the other three artefacts. A handful of Blades have been dispatched to retrieve a Daedric Artefact and while I'm not comfortable members of the Order affiliating with daedra worshippers there is no other option."

  "And the Aedric artefact?"

  Martin shrugged, looking between the three of us. "This is a little more difficult. Unlike the Daedra Lords, the gods have no artefacts and do not physically manifest themselves in our world."

  "What about Pelinal's artefacts?" Viconia asked suddenly, and both Jauffre and Martin looked shocked at her words.

  "All bar one of the artefacts have been lost for centuries, if not longer." Gesturing helplessly, he sat back into his chair heavily. "The only pieces of the Divine Crusader's armour are the Gauntlet's in Chorral and while it was the obvious choice there aren't suitable for this ritual."

  He must have felt my gaze upon him and looked me in the eye before I could open my mouth. "Aren't suitable? They are artefacts of the Eight aren't they?"

  "They are... In a way. Some of my 'outside help' includes Hannibal Traven and the Cyrodiil Mages Guild. I managed to get the Guild in Chorrol to undertake some tests on the gauntlets and as far as any of us can tell, while they are holy artefacts of incredible power, they are not artefacts in the same way as Daedric ones are. Teekeeus, the head of the Chorrol Guild has the theory that the artefacts aren't directly created by the Divines, but instead were 'blessed' with measures of their power."

  Both Viconia and I shared glances and I struggled not to look at the tiny travelling bag that she had attached to her hip. Instead, I chose to change the topic away from the awkwardness that I was approaching.

  "What is a Great Welkynd Stone?"

  "The pinnacle of Ayleid magic. Once, every Ayleid city had its Great Stone but they're all been plundered over the centuries. As far as I have been able to discern, the Great Welkynd Stones acted like the city's heart, allowing the Ayleids to charge and recharge Varla and Welkynd stones. They used these stones for almost everything from lighting to temperature control and various magicka and rituals. Some of the theories I have seen have also stated that the smaller stones help maintain their cities and constructions without mortal assistance."

  I nodded. "I can believe that. Some of the cities are easily four thousand years old and are in better condition that buildings made a decade ago."

  "Exactly. Now, the biggest issue we have with the Great Welkynd Stone is that they are exceedingly rare and it's almost easier to get our hands on a Daedric Artefact than one. They have been plundered one by one over the centuries due to their great value to mages and occultists but there is one place that is rumoured to still contain one."

  Still puffing away calmly on his pipe, Jauffre looked relaxed but appearances were extremely deceptive. "The ruins of Miscarcand. We're currently organising an expedition to that ancient city."

  "How do you know that one of these stones is still there?"

  Martin shrugged again in Viconia's direction. "We're not entirely certain. The Great Stone of Miscarcand is reputed still to shine in the deep darkness of its ruined halls, but no one has done more than glimpse it from a distance. It is said to be guarded by the ghosts of its last king and his subjects. Miscarcand is one of the most extensive Ayleid ruins in Cyrodiil and was also the capital of one of the largest Ayleid kingdoms. It is also one of the few ruins in near-perfect condition which adds weight to the theory of the Welkynd Stone's magical natures."

  "Let me guess though... No one who has entered the city has ever returned?"

  "There's been a few who have made it back alive over the years." Jauffre replied with a billowing cloud of tobacco smoke. "But it's been confirmed that the city is still almost entirely intact even despite the best efforts of Imperial archaeological teams and assorted scavengers. This is why we want you both as part of this expedition."

  "Not hunting for Aedric or Daedric Artefacts?"

  There was a joint shaking of heads from them both. "No." Martin said a second before Jauffre could. "The expedition to Sancre Tor departed last week although it might be some time before they are successful in their quest and we have several agents already seeking out Shrines and Daedra worshippers. Your skills and experience are better suited with this."

  I turned and looked at Viconia and felt my unease and anxiety grow.

  Viconia beat me to it. "We're not going to be able to help."

  Silence fell between us and for the most part Jauffre and Martin looked confused and amused in equal ways.

  "We have other commitments now." I added, seeing Jauffre's expression of bemusement through the slight haze of smoke.

  "Oh? Other commitments? Are they more important that stopping the end of the world?"

  Jauffre's sarcasm was almost a physical slap to the face but I continued on. "You would've heard of how there has been a call for a crusade to recover the Divine Crusader's Relics?" I said carefully, watching as Jauffre's expression became thunderous and Martin merely nodded.

  "We've both decided to join the crusade."

  Jauffre snorted, coughing as he choked on Viconia's words and a lungful of smoke. "You've what?"

  "We've decided to search for the Relics of the Crusader. It's something that we both must do."

  Jauffre laughed, anger burning in the pit of his stomach and I struggled not to flinch away from his rising choler. "Neither of you have ever stuck me as being overly pious, or the types to be taken on wild flights of fancy. You would turn away from your duty to the Empire, to the Emperor, and to every living being in Tamriel to embark upon a lost cause?"

  "The relics have been lost for hundreds of years, if not longer." Martin's voice was the sound of calm and reason to Jauffre's building anger. "You both have done miraculous things, and performed such extraordinary feats that you will have songs sung about you for decades to come, but what makes you think that this is even possible? The relics are legends, nothing more."

  Fumbling with the traveller's pack and ignoring them both, Viconia reached in and withdrew the gleaming helm and placed it on the table in between all of us. The effect upon the room and both Martin and Jauffre was instantaneous and a silence fell, broken only by the crackling and spitting of the fire.