Chapter 410: The Old Woman Of Mournhold

another Double Chapter! Praised be the sleepy Don-chan.

~~~~~~~~~~

(Part 1)

Morrowind, previously named Dwemereth, Veloth, Resdayn, and Dunmereth, is the province in the northeast corner of Tamriel, and the home of the Dunmer. It is dominated by the large island of Vvardenfell and its centerpiece, the ash-spewing Red Mountain, but also includes territory on the continental mainland. The Inner Sea separates Vvardenfell from the mainland, and the Sea of Ghosts lies to the province's north.

By riding to the east from Windhelm, one will cross the Frozen tundra of Skyrim as soon as the Velothi Mountains range is passed. From there, travelers will have to go past the checkpoints of Skyrim and Morrowind, one is guarded by Eastmarch Guards and the other is guarded by House Redoran Guards.

"This is the Dunmeth Pass. Don't worry about our identities, I have a pass from the Temple." Isha said.

"Great." Jon kept checking his surroundings every now and then.

"So you are being chased, eh? That's why you told me not to use the Atronach Horse."

"It is kinda one of the things I am famous for."

"I see. People asked me a lot of questions on my way in Skyrim too."

"What people?"

"Traveling merchants."

"I see." Jon nodded, "Probably Thalmor."

"Really? You made some tough enemies this time. Why didn't you escape to Winterhold then? Word is the Thane of Winterhold has killed a big number of high elves and got the Thalmor to pay him a bounty. The man may protect you." Isha said.

"The Thane of Winterhold? You believe the stories?" Jon smirked.

"Not all of them but he sure is not a fan of Thalmor."

"He and everyone else."

"... True."

The conversation dragged on until Jon and Isha crossed the borders. The Dunmer let the two past the checkpoint once Isha showed her pass.

"Where are we heading now?"

"The city of Blacklight is the nearest thing to the borders. Two days on Atronach Horses."

"Once we are on the road, switch to an Atronach Horse, Joergen can keep up easily."

*Happy horse noises*

"Yes, don't fret over it."

"Haha! You have some strange things around you, Krilon. By the way, where is your cat?" Isha asked.

"Here."

Jon pulled his coat's side and Isha could see Nefertiti sleeping in a large pocket. She noticed the light and hit Jon's hand to keep his coat as it was.

"Well... that's one way to take a nap."

"Yeah, it was my fault telling her about that place."

The chilly atmosphere of Skyrim started to soften the more and more they went further into Morrowind. This was thanks to the Velothi Mountains that acted as a climatic barrier. As soon as the mountain range was over, Morrowind declared it's full presence. The snow was no more and the weather felt a lot warmer, Nefertiti felt the change and jumped out of Jon's pocket.

What accompanied the change of atmosphere was the change of flora. Jon may have visited Morrowind twice before one to Solstheim and the other to Tel Fyr but both areas were covered in volcanic ash. This place, however, was far from Vvardenfell Volcano and its appearance was charming and nice.

"There was all this beauty beyond that ugly Windhelm?" Jon wondered.

"Everyone says that. This place makes you hate the ever living out of Skyrim... no offense."

"None taken. I knew Skyrim is not the most beautiful place there is but this... this is the first time I really feel I'm on a magical planet."

"What is that about?"

"Past life and Dragon stuff... will tell you about it later."

The alien sight of Morrowind left a very good impression on Jon. The place is sure different, the soil look clearer and the plant life is way too different from Skyrim.

The mighty emperor parasol mushroom trees, herding Netches and Guars, natural rock structures, mountain farms, thick forests and too many new things.

The mountain road had some strange encounters along the way but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Jon took a whole bunch of images with the System like an airheaded tourist in a new piece of land.

"This is way much better than Solstheim." He said.

"You've been there?"

"Awful place. Wherever you walk, you get Ash in your boots and don't let me get started on how ash and sweat react."

"Poor you."

After passing the mountain road, the traveling road started going through the marshlands where the weather started to became warmer and the marsh farms appeared. A couple of days passed on the road until Jon could smell the scent of the sea.

This meant that the City of Blacklight, Morrowind's Capital, is close.

Blacklight is a stronghold under the rule of House Redoran, the current largest Great House of Morrowind and the biggest holder of authority. It is also the second biggest trading partner to the Dare Dragon Company after the East Empire Company.

The other houses are Telvanni of Mages, Indoril of Orthodoxists, Dres of Slavers. House Hlaalu used the be one of the Great Houses but was cast down and replaced by House Sadras to humiliate them.

Anyway and by the end of the day, Jon and Isha reached Blacklight.

As the current seat of power in Morrowind, this city is by far the richest as it has two docks one to the Sea of Ghosts and the other to the Inner Sea. This makes the city a major trading hub.

Morrowind's map itself looks like a pincer holding a rock. The rock is Vvardenfell Volcano, the left claw of the pincer is Blacklight Region and the right claw is the Telvanni peninsula, the palm of the pincer is made of several regions but it is commonly known as Mournhold region. [A/n: actually it is Bal Foyen, Stonefalls, and Deshaan these places vaguely appears only in ESO.]

The gab between the pincer and the rock is known as the Inner Sea which Blacklight is on top.

Blacklight itself can be described as a typical Redoran city with its beetle-like buildings the same as in Solstheim. This doesn't mean that the city doesn't have any large buildings. Actually, there were two massive buildings one in the North of the city in a clearing of buildings and the other is on a vast space to the south.

What took Jon by surprise was how these building had a very strong similarity to the Hindu Tower Temples in terms of architecture. These buildings were called Gopuram or Gopura.

"The building in the North is the Rootspire, the Center of House Redoran and the Assembly Hall of the Grand Council. The one to the south is the Temple of Azura."

"Damn! Why are they so big?"

"Funny story. At first, the Dunmer were used to the system of the Ruling Tribunal but as soon as that was cast down, the Grand Council kicked off the King of House Hlaalu which was loyal to the Imperials. The Grand Council and the Temple of Reclamation fought over power and to show off their ability, they built two large bases here, the Rootspire and the Temple. The Temple wanted to show off more so they went higher in their building than the Rootspire so the Grand Council added a few more floors to the Rootspire, each year, the Temple and the Grand Council would go up and up until the sight you are seeing."

"Goodness me! People are stupid."

"Exactly. The Grand Council had more money though, the won in the end."

The direction the two took was towards the Rootspire which is near the docks. The moment the two were around the place, Jon's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

The Rootspire building was built in a small gulf on a solitary rock. It was as if the land around it sank just like the College of Winterhold and it two had bridges connecting it with the rest of the city.

"Crazy, right?"

"Yeah."

"Hurry up then, our ship is waiting."

***

Three days have passed since the departure of the Inner Sea ship on to the south deeper into Morrowind. Jon kept himself busy by staying on the deck and drawing whatever sight that fancies his interest.

What made him most interested was the old city of Vivec after it's destruction under the Baar Dau and how the water around the ruins of the city is still boiling after 200 years because of an active underwater volcano. Vivec was a city built on the shape of many pyramids connected to each other by platforms band roads. It was a very intriguing place and sadly it was in this world no more. It now became known as the Scathing Bay.

"Pretty dumb, right?" Isha spoke.

"What?"

"This place. Someone with some almighty power to stop a falling meteor instead of just getting rid of it, he kept it hanged in the sky. Once the almighty man was no longer almighty, the city paid the ultimate price."

"Ah... maybe he had his reasons." Jon said not interested in this conversation.

"Reasons? To keep a death trap above a city?" Isha scorned, "All his reasons were about pride and showing off."

"I don't buy it." Jon said.

"What do you think of it then?"

"Maybe he had no power but just to keep it up there. Maybe he had no choice. Maybe the Baar Dau was something important to Vivec that he couldn't let it fall down. Vivec is known to be one of those who attempted to achieve CHIM... maybe like my pebble... maybe the Baar Dau was his existence in the Tower and it fell from there... is it really possible? But it would explain..." Jon went on a brain tornado of his own.

"Hey hey hey, what language were you speaking just now? I heard words but I couldn't put them together." Isha panicked.

"Nothing... just a complicated magic that just came to my head. Let's head inside."

Jon dismissed those thoughts and pushed Isha in the ship but before he follows, he looked back at the ruins if the city and cast [Telekinesis]. With a strong pulling power, he took out a rock from the deep part of the sea bed and took it in his hands.

"How curious!"

**

(Part 2)

Mournhold, the City of Light and Magic and the City of Gems, also was known as Almalexia after the name of the God-King who resided in here. It was once the seat of power of Morrowind and a big city famed for its wealth and beauty but that was long ago.

Mournhold suffered the most after the red year and was sacked by the Argonians leading to the disappearance of the Hlaalu royal family.

After the destruction of the city, House Indoril came in power as well as the Temple of Reclamation and just like Blacklight city, there was a rivalry between the Faith and the State which resulted in slowing the movements of rebuilding.

It was very strange for House Indoril to opposite the Temple even with the reputation of the house as a fanatic one but things were different in the halls of politics and many sought after gains.

Still, problems never ended in Mournhold. The region around it was known as Deshaan and when the war with the Argonians started, all of Deshaan were claimed by the Argonians of Black March until Mournhold. The south of Mournhold was unofficially the new borders between Morrowind and Black Marsh.

Every now and then, there were always Skirmishes and Negotiations between the Grand Council government of Morrowind and the An-Xileel government of Black March resulting in a big pile of nothing over the years so basically the South of Mournhold was obliterated with struggle until this very day.

South to Mournhold, there are only two cities which are Narsis and Tear. Narsis is the capital of House Hlaalu and still under its rule till the day but the city was kept in a sorry state because of the constant raids of the Argonian brigands. Tear, however, was utterly destroyed then taken over by the Argonians as vengeance against House Dres that was known for its Argonian slaves trade.

Jon was concerned about the situation so he had to make Isha fill him in. Having knowledge about the general situation is never useless.

Now as he entered Mournhold, he kept checking around all the rebuilding process as he advanced in the city.

The walls were cracked, the streets were not clean, ruffians here and there, bad looks to strangers... Mournhold turned from the flower of Morrowind to a frontier town.

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The city itself was in the shape of a circle with four districts and a stronghold in the center each district was septated by a wall.

The Plaza district to the south was a place of gardens and beauty 200 years ago, now it is filled with tents and slums of the refugees. The place nearly had zero security except at the city gate.

The Bazaar district to the east was a bit better in status as the city's trading hub. It was the area of traders, taverns and the hard workers.

Godsreach district to the west has kept it's mid/high-class residential theme even with its appearance suffering a bit with age. Still, many of the well-off residents lived here.

The temple district to the north was as its name gave off and the residential places around it were all High class. It kept its safety and appearance from the days of old.

The former Royal Palace was now the Indoril seat of power.

Jon and Isha took the direction of the Bazaar district and ventured into its alleyways and roads until they reached a good looking building with a lot of security. It gave off the feeling of a Mafia Hideout with all the buff guys around it who seemed to be many all races.

Jon looked at the large sign on the building and his heart raced right away.

{White Cat Casino}

"Oh yeah."

"Come on in." Isha called and Jon energetically followed.

From the inside, the place was a casino no matter how one looked at it, it seemed to be a place of gambling rather than a place with many game tables and a central fighting ring. Heck, there were even Gwent tables with the mark of the DDC too.

"Ms. Isha, you returned fast." A male voice with a Nord accent called for Isha.

"Lanmas, here you are. This is my friend, Krilon, the Labourer of Azura and the keeper of the Ebony Blade. Krilon, this is Lanmas Sadar, the manager of this lovely place."

[A/n: a sponsor character returns. I love my patrons!]

"Oh!" Jon was taken aback by the familiar face he came across.

"Hey." Lanmas offered a handshake with doubtful eyes.

"Hey. Lovely place you have here, Mister." Jon said.

"Oh, thank you. But I'm just the manager of the day to day work. The owner is up there, she is waiting for you two. The others have arrived." Lanmas said and led the two up the second floor.

The casino's style became classier by the second floor and more Gwent activity were seen. Going deeper in the floor a well-guarded place, Jon and Isha saw two High Elven young ladies who appeared to be twins. The High Elves gazed coldly at the two humans and snorted disdainfully. One of them was carrying a bow on her back and kept a calm face while the other was carrying two daggers and looked quite playful.

"Wait here." Lanmas said and bypassed a door.

From behind the door, one could hear a voice of a woman speaking in a stern tone.

{So you couldn't kill him or either secure the shipment? I know the shipment was well guarded but killing a man should be your specialty. Why didn't you just throw him off your Ego or bury him beside your IQ?}

{But, mistress. There were no rocks or trees to...}

{You know what... somewhere out there, there are a lot of trees which produce air for you to breathe, you own them an apology.}

{Sorry, mistress. It was dumb of me.}

{Well, at least you can apologize. You are not the dumbest person on Nirn but you better hope he doesn't die.}

"Oooh! Savage." Jon out there couldn't help but feel bad for the poor soul in there.

Lanmas seemed to have solved the argument and announced the arrival of the four people outside.

"Come in."

As he called, the High Elves barged in first with high noses. Isha went in after Jon's polite 'Ladies first'.

The room beyond the door looked cozy and classy. Lanmas was standing on a side and a Dunmer man in an ebony armor stood on the other.

In between, there was an old Dunmer Woman with a sharp face, red eyes, white hair, and a chilly atmosphere. She was wearing a classy indigo dress and holding a magic staff. Jon could tell her level from Aura alone and she seemed to be even more powerful than Nurina in terms of Magical ability.

The old woman gazed at the four youths and sneered.

"So this is what the Gods send me. Some brats."

Jon and the other three didn't seem to be replying. The woman looked at the two High Elves and spoke.

"Labourers of Mephala, keepers of the [Bow of Shadows] and [Ring of the Khajiit]. Your names?"

"Mirran and my sister Miranda." The first sister spoke.

Jon turned with curious eyes to the two Altmer who Labour for one Daedra at the same time but he frowned when he noticed something.

"Labourer of Boethiah, keeper of the [Spear of Bitter Mercy]. We met before, your name is Asha..."

"Isha."

"Right... and you. Nice mask." She turned to Jon.

Jon nodded back.

"Labourer of Azura, keeper of the [Ebony Blade]... where is it?"

"Here." Jon opened his palm and the blade appeared from the [Cube].

"Oh... That's a nice trick." The woman applauded. "Your name?"

"Krilon."

"That's your real name?"

"My Dragon Priest mask name."

"How Nordic! Your real name then... and put off the mask." She said.

Jon smiled briefly the put his hand under the mask and snuck a Transformation Potion in his mouth.

As soon as the mask was removed, the old woman opened her eyes wide with surprise.

"Oh my! I don't look that old, do I?" The woman said in nostalgia.

Indeed, the face Jon turned to was hers. He even copied her smile and used it against hair.

"You are good. Fine, keep the name... but I must see the face." She said.

"Very well."

Jon touched his face and returned to his normal looks. Red hair, lazy face, smug eyes, traveling beard and messed up hair.

"I see now why you are so concerned about your looks." Isha said as she studied Jon's face.

"Impossible!" The one who seemed not believing what he seeing was Lanmas Sadar.

"Hey, Lanmas."

"L-Lord J..."

"No names. I'm Krilon."

Seeing Lanmas' reaction, Jon's identity became something curious right away.

"It seems we have someone with a big name indeed for this boy to react like that. I expect some expansion, Krilon." The woman said.

"Keeping things like that to yourself, it harms the team, whoever you are." The Dunmer clad in ebony spoke.

"Whatever." Jon scoffed him off causing the latter to frown.

"Anyway, you did a good job traveling here, you will receive food and a place to stay then we will talk tomorrow." The woman said before realizing something else on her mind.

"May I ask. How old are you all?"

The Altmer girls answered first.

""28.""

"22." Isha said.

"Oh ... Pretty young." She then looked at Jon with hopeful eyes.

"18." Jon said.

"""Seriously?!"""

The reaction was fast and genuine.

"By Azura!" The woman held her head with tired expressions.

"So, you are the youngest in the bunch, that's befitting a Nord. Be a good boy then." Mirren, the first Altmer sister, mocked Jon.

Jon eyed Mirren up and down then decided not to reply.

"Keeping it silent, he? I think I am going to have fun putting you in line."

"Knock it off." Isha glared.

"Or what? A Nord with some illusions is only a hindrance. Your kind should only keep their axes." Mirran seemed to be unwilling to stop.

Jon faced off Mirran who came all the way to him. She made a confidant victorious pose as she thought of oppressing the Nord more in front of everyone.

But what Mirran didn't expect was Jon's reacting. Out of nowhere, Jon kicked beneath Mirran's waist to perform a successful low blow.

Mirran, who was there is a second, took Jon's hit, flew up and went down on face and knees holding the hit spot.

"Krilon, what did you do?"

"What are you doing,?"

The people around the room got enraged seeing Jon hit a girl like that.

"Hm?" Jon tilted his head and pointed at Mirran.

"But that's a dude."

----

A/n remember guys that your comments are necessary to supply my big brain with ideas and feed my lonely soul.

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