Chapter 2: The Hunt for the Relics

Onward to Morrowind!

Adventurers Wanted!!! 

Seeking a group of capable people looking to make some coin. If you are interested, seek me out in Narsis. 

Dralas Lloren

This was the notice that our newly-formed group of adventurers found as they prepared to leave Stormhold. After doing some shopping in town and getting some shiny new enchantments for their weapons, they prepared to head out. 

Upon preparing to leave Stormhold, the group came across a stressed-out Dunmer man standing next to a broken wagon. This man, Talvyn Hlor, claimed to have been attacked by crocodiles on his journey, which spooked his horses and led to one of the wheels on his wagon being broken off. He offered the group a free ride to Narsis if they helped him fix it.

And so, while Sun-on-Scales held up the broken wagon, Jericho, loudly declaring his intention to help the troubled merchant, fixed the wheel so expertly that the wagon was actually in better shape than it was before. Grateful, Talvyn agreed to bring them all to Narsis.

On the way there, Talvyn explained to the group that he was trying to gain status in Great House Hlaalu, and that his wife would be disappointed in his failure if he came back empty-handed.

"Excuse me," Yew asked, "what's a wife?"

Talvyn looked at her oddly, surprised that she didn't know what a husband or a wife was, but he explained it to her nonetheless. And after a chance encounter with a spriggan, which the group rather easily dispatched, they arrived in Narsis.

Narsis, the center of power for Great House Hlaalu

Stopping for information and getting breakfast at the local tavern, they ran into a pair of Khajiit adventurers, Jo'renji and Ashni, who seemed excited to hear about their exploits. The two told them where they could find the home of Dralas Lloren. 

Dralas, for the most part, seemed like a relatively normal Dunmer mage, although by the looks of his robes, he didn't get out much. He claimed to be looking for four relics that could be found in the Daedric shrine of Ashurnabi, in an attempt to study him.  

"You know, many people believe the Daedric Princes to be evil, but they're really quite fascinating," Dralas claimed. While this seemed slightly suspicious to say, Sun-on-Scales didn't seem to think much of it - he seemed sincere enough. The group was convinced to help him when he paid them two hundred gold upfront and promised more once the job was done. 

Daedric ruins, such as this one, dot the landscape of Morrowind

The group arrived at Ashurnabi and quickly found out that it was an old ruin dedicated to the worship of Mehrunes Dagon, the Prince of Destruction. Inside, they found a rather suspicious book surrounded by a magical ward and guarded by a rather large clannfear. Surrounding this were three hallways, two of which were locked behind large gates. They took the only open one away from the center, and, after battling their way past a few scamps and clannfear, found the first relic - a small statue of Mehrunes Dagon. 

a scamp

Upon taking the statue, the group found that a second door had opened up, leading to another hallway. Again fighting their way past some lesser Daedra, they found the second of the relics - a small, dark purple gem that resembled a black soul gem. Growing suspicious, but continuing to look for the relics, they soon got their hands on the third relic - a small, crudely carved stone dagger. The dagger didn't do anything and was ineffectual as a weapon, but upon further inspection, Sun-on-Scales and Yew could feel it pulsing with Daedric magic. Yew began to wonder what Dralas's intentions for these clearly powerful relics were. 

Meanwhile, in the main room, the ward surrounding the book went down, and the rather large clannfear guarding the book attacked the group. Sun-on-Scales, Alucard, and Yew managed to fight it off without much help from Jericho, who instead chose to grab the book and run as far away as possible. 

A clannfear

Upon trying to read the book, however, both Jericho and Sun-on-Scales were struck with agonizing pain, which was so severe for Scales that he actually passed out. By this point, it was clear that these relics were dangerous, and Yew, Jericho, and Alucard began to wonder if they should really give them to Dralas.

Still, after gathering the relics, they returned to his home, where Dralas quickly got Sun-on-Scales back on his feet and demanded that the group give him the relics. Dralas finally managed to convince the group to give the relics to him after dropping one thousand gold in their laps, but not before threatening them if they didn't give him the relics. After acquiring the relics from the rather reluctant group, he brought them down to the basement of his home, where he laid the relics out on an altar and began to perform a ritual to discern their power.

Upon reading the book, however, there was a flash of blinding light in the room, which paralyzed everyone except Dralas. The room began to shake, and a large booming voice called out.

"Excellent work, my servant. Our work here in Morrowind is only beginning. Now, kill the pawns and come to me, and our true plans can begin”

Dralas then turned to the group. "I'm sorry," he began, "But I'm afraid I'll have to kill you. You know, loose ends and all that. But do not fear, for your deaths will herald a glorious new age for this province. Farewell."

And with that, he opened three Daedric portals in the basement, went through the first one, and disappeared. While lesser Daedra began to come through the other two, the group found that their paralysis had been lifted. At first, they struggled to fight off the monsters attacking them, but fortunately, Jo'renji and Ashni, the two Khajiit whom they had met in the tavern earlier, had heard the commotion and came to help. Jo'renji managed to close the portals while Ashni helped fight off the remaining Daedra.

The group explained what had happened with Dralas and the relics.

"He claimed that he was just going to study them, but he's a Daedra worshipper!" Sun-on-Scales explained.

"He tried to kill us! I'm going to kill him and eat him!" Yew exclaimed.

"More importantly, he tricked us, and that's not the thing I take kindly to," Alucard added.

An investigation of his house revealed that he was a member of a group called the Path of Dawn, and that he was planning to meet a co-conspirator on Vvardenfell, near the town of Ald'ruhn. Jo'renji and Ashni agreed to come with them and help.

And so the group left Narsis and set out for Ald'ruhn, determined to find the treacherous Dralas Lloren and put an end to his threat...