However, at this point Alanya needed to get back on track and find herself a skull, so after a restful night's sleep, she made her way back towards Balmora, intending to take a slightly different route to Pelagiad than she had taken the day before. Passing up the more verdant land she had traversed previously, Alanya took a more barren road between the two towns ... and happened to find a cave entrence along the way.
"Hmm, what's this?" Alanya mused as she approached the cave entrence. "More bandits or smugglars, perchance? Well, Sharn didn't sound like she was in a big hurry, so ..."
Thus Alanya entered the cave of Hassour, and thus did Alanya embark upon her first first-hand experience with the unmourned Sixth House.
"... I don't like the look of this place," Alanya muttered to herself as she quietly tiptoed through the cavern. "Those red candles throw odd shadows ..." More unnerving than the tricks of the light was the low, almost inaudible, but omnipresent sound of chanting, always just off in the distance but chilling all the same.
" ... What am I getting myself into?" Alanya asked herself as she rounded another corner, feeling a cold sweat forming. " ... Maybe I ought to leave ..." But as she thought of flight, she spied a figure ahead, a lone human shape that seemed to be bowing, praying perhaps. " ... Lemme just get a little closer, see who this guy is ..."
Alanya crept closer, as quietly as her stealthcraft would allow. With each pace, she felt her heart pound in her chest, a wordless dread growing but also a strange, perverse fascination, a need to see just what secrets this cave had to offer ...
... and that's when the figure she was stalking sensed her, but a mere ten feet away, and turned to look upon her. And Alanya saw with a shock that her target was anything but human.
It had a human shape, to be sure, and it wore a simple loincloth as a human might, and it had a face as a human would - but the skin was the color of ash, and the twisted limbs were gnarled beyond any level a human could endure and still move, and the face ...
... the face was the most inhuman, though it was less the ashen complexion and collapsing features and more the utter, total rage and hatred reflected there that made its face a mockery of human visages. For a single, terrifying second, Alanya thought that she had stumbed on some servant of a Daedra of malovelence, before the creature before her growled " ... N'wahhhhhh .....!!!" and flung a ball of magical lightning at her ...
------
Meanwhile, I the player was thinking "Drat, Ash Slaves can still sense me before I can get close enough for a Critical; oh well, I'm level 17 or so, I can take this goon. It's not like my old character who stumbled on a Sixth House base at level 5 and got toasted ..."
Remember the lessons Alanya and I had learned in the ebony mine? Good - you're doing better than I was at the time in learning from the mistakes of history ^_^
------
Alanya learned to hate something even more stridently than she loathed Skeleton Archers that day, as the Ash Slave retreated while blasting her. She tried backing off to hide behind rock formations, but that didn't really seem to hinder the monster - I thought I was under cover, but the game insisted the Ash Slave had a clear line of fire. Sigh ...
Alanya ended up falling back on her old strategy of charging forward, taking the hits through potion use, and stabbing the offending ranged attacker until it stopped moving. As you can probably guess, this resulted in a bruised and battered Alanya, one who was forcibly shown that level 17 does not necessarily equate to UberGodHood in Morrowind - well, at least not if you're avoiding Potions Of Ubermench Five-Digit Stats that is =P
After her first fight with an Ash Ghoul, Alanya thought to herself "Ugh; okay, whatever the hell is hiding deeper in this cave, it needs to be put down, now. That stupid skull can wait; we just gained a new priority."
Moments later, as she found more Ash Ghouls, Alanya would find herself questioning how she went from being afraid and thinking of leaving one moment to to being determined and bloody-minded the next, especially considering how her fight with the first Ash Slave had gone. By the fourth Ash Slave, and the fourth time she had to heal up after a fight, she really found herself wondering what was driving her to push further and further into an enemy stronghold she obviously wasn't quite ready to take on all by herself.
While hiding behind a large outcropping of rock and using her dwindling Magicka reserves to soothe away the pain of repeated shocks and punches, Alanya considered her options. "Meh; I'm running low on magic and I've only got a few healing potions on me, and this damn cave's too dark and has too many odd outcroppings for me to snipe effectively - not that those outcroppings have helped me when I was the one being sniped. What do I do? Leave now, go stock up on more supplies, come back and finish this place off? Or press ahead ..."
Alanya sighed; much as she wanted to go get more supplies, she realized that right now, she at least had some advantage of surprise. None of the monsters she had met had managed to get away to warn anyone further in the cavern, so whatever lay at the heart of this hell may not know she was here yet - but they'd have to notice their missing monsters if she took the time to go back to town and stock up, and could prepare for her. And despite what she had learned already from her fights with the Ash Slaves, she still didn't know what lay beyond that last door - the door which fairly reverberated with the sound of ritual chanting and echoing bells ...
" ... I'll make one pass through that door," Alanya decided after deliberation. "A scouting mission, maybe hit things I can take on without much of a fight if there are any, get a feel for what's waiting for me. That way, I'll at least know what to expect when I come back ..."
And so, Alanya passed into the inner sanctum of the Sixth House base, towards the shrine - and the priest that presided there.
When Alanya entered the inner shrine of Hassour, she expected to find monsters, things as bad or worse than the Ash Slaves she had just slain. Her imagination counjured up images of twisted half-men of ashen skin and claws and things, or of blighted parodies of Nix Hounds mixed with Kagouti, or of deranged madmen in demonic-looking armor wielding Daedric weapons with abandon.
She did not expect to find ... Naked People.
Yup, Naked People. Dreamers. Deluded souls ensnared by the devil-dreams of Dagoth Ur. Eaters of corpus chunks, first step in the evolutionary ladder that ends with the maddenly twisted Ascended Sleeper.
To Alanya at this point though, they were simply Naked People. Naked Dunmer to be more precise, seemingly all with perfect figures despite their rabid gnawing on diseased-looking hunks of meat that made Alanya's stomach twist into pretzel shapes. Naked People, chanting and praying and generally acting like wacked-out cultists of a mad god.
Now, normally, Alanya has no problems with Naked People; those familiar with her own preferences in attire will no doubt guess (and correctly) that Alanya has few inhibitions about the beauty of the human figure. Given a choice, Alanya would in fact happily spend lots of time with Naked People, doing Naked People Things in the late hours of the evening and Groggy But Satisified Naked People Things in the morning. She had gotten herself imprisioned in fact due to her liking of Naked People Things coupled with her likikng of Making Braggerts Look Foolish, and despite this humbling lesson had continued to do Naked People Things here on Vvardenfell, most lately with the lovely Galbedir, who was slowly becoming Alanya's exclusive partner for Naked People Things.
... But these men and women were clearly nuts, and more to the point, they were murderously nuts. The hatred that had twisted the faces of the Ash Ghouls into inhuman shapes was relfected in their wild eyes, and Alanya intuitively deduced that those Ash Ghouls were once Dunmer like these, probably changed by whatever foul properties of that nasty-looking meat they were all gnawing with abandon.
Fortunately for Alanya, these Murderous Naked People did not have sharp hearing Thirty minutes later, there were a dozen Naked Corpses, by which point Alanya was rather sick of the joke and I was saying "Okay, now there has to be a Dagoth around here somewhere ..."
------
Alnaya approached the alter, which was bathed in the dull red light of the lava-filled cavern. The heat from the lava added a new layer to the oppresive atmosphere in this place, sapping Alanya's strength, but she grimmly pushed on.
She had guessed that there remained only the head of whatever cult she had stumbled upon to deal with, and figured that there was no time like the present to send him to whatever hell he prefered.
Slowly, she crept towards the alter, but when she got closer, she paused, blinking - for at the center of the alter was a larger version of a strange statue she had come across before, in smuggler caves and in a shipwreck she had found early on. And the symbols on the alter ...
"The Sixth House ..." Alanya breathed, recognizing the symbols from Hasphat's notes.
"Indeed," came a voice from Alanya's right. "Behold the shrine of Dagoth Ur, Outlander, and marvel - I allow you a moment to bask in the greatness of our Lord before sending you to the fate of all N'wah."
Alanya blanched, and whirled, her eyes widening as she met her first Ash Ghoul. The tentacle that comprised its face twirled in a chilling approximation of a serene smile.
"Greetings, Outlander; I am Dagoth Fovon, Priest of the Unmourned House," the creature said, sounding almost pleasant. "I am impressed - to have managed to slay single-handedly my fellow brothers and our carde of Dreamers shows a strength possessed by few these days. For this, I shall do something I do not usually do for Outlanders; I shall offer mercy."
" ... Mercy!?" Alanya gaped.
"Yes," Fovon replied. "We have need of people with strength like yours; not everyone can handle the blessings of our Lord, but you, I can see, could handle his power and become a powerful liutenient in our campaign." He held out his hand ... "Come; put aside your spear and join us in restoring Morrowind to its proper glory, or else be swept aside here and now. Why throw your life away, when you can achieve such great things ...?"
Alanya shivered; she could instinctively sense that the monster before her was much tougher than anything she had faced till now - with perhaps one exception -, and this time she was completely without the advantage of surprise, her greatest weapon. She considered fleeing; there was time enough to use her amulet of recall, she was sure ...
... she heard herself ask the Dagoth " ... The people who accosted me in Balmora; those were your people, weren't they?"
"Not totally," Dagoth Fovon explained. "By the power granted me I have shared with them the glory of the Sixth House and our goals through their dreams; they are still confused by the truths that reveal themselves to them in thier sleep but all will work itself out, in time. Those Sleepers who can accept the truth will find their way here, and take the place of the weaklings you have culled from our flock to become our new Dreamers; those who cannot will simply go mad, their ravings a grim reminder to the Outlanders of the doom that awaits them all."
"I'm an Outlander," Alanya retorted. "Shouldn't I be doomed, like the rest?"
"There are," Dagoth Fovon said patiently, "exceptions to every rule; in your case, you possess a strength rare in both Dunmer and N'Wah. No; I think of all Outlanders, you perhaps have what it takes to serve our master well, and so I offer you mercy."
Alanya's eyes narrowed. "Mercy you don't show to your own followers, or the Dunmer whose dreams you invade," she sneered. "The very people you claim to be working for ..."
Dagoth Foven's tentacle-face twisted unpleasantly. "You do not fully understand what you are talking about," he said, his tone dangerously calm. "We are at war, Alanya; in times of war, you must do things you would naturally find abhorrant, to survive. For the sakes of the Dunmer we will free, and the unborn generations of Dunmer our actions will allow to live in freedom, we must not allow our desire to help our people from preventing us from taking necessary steps. Those who die in our campaign die happy; they would thank us for what we do if they only understood ..."
"Then go explain the reasons for their sacrifice to them," Alanya snarled, calling upon her spear's enchantments. "Maybe they'll appreciate your mercy more!"
------
... As you probably guessed from that last little exchange, Alanya failed her Stealth check while trying to sneak up on the Ash Ghoul Dagoth. =D This of course isn't an actual boss battle in the game, but I really think your first encounter with a Dagoth should have some special text to go with it, assuming you meet one before the Main Quest normally makes you do so. Hmm, there's something to consider, should I ever take up modding ...
Well, here was an enemy who was about even in terms of level with Alanya at the time; he could deal out about the same amount of damage I could, he had some offensive and defensive magic to back him up that I lacked, and he had the drop on me rather than he other way around. On the other hand, I had healing potions, an itchy mouse button finger, and (presumably) the advantage of a living human mind directing my actions, allowing me to analyize the situation and respond accordingly in ways a computer AI cannot hope to match.
So, how did the fight go?
------
Fovon moved quickly, closing the distance between himself and Alanya before she could set her spear properly to counter such a charge. His horny fists lashed out, forcing Alanya backwards three steps, and the heat of the lava around them baked her back, reminding her of the consequences of a missed step.
"Bathe in the purifying fires, Outlander!" Dagoth Fovon roared. "Repent your foolishness in your last agonizing moments of life!"
"Why don't you take a bath instead!" Alanya yelled back, trying to sidestep the Dagoth and push him into the lava below. Sadly, he proved more sure-footed than that, and his fists lashed out again, smashing acrosss Alanya's face and sending her sprawling.
"Uhh ..." Alanya moaned, her vision becoming clouded by blood - Fovon's fist had cut her skin. Woozily, she pulled out a healing potion, trying to scramble to her feet ...
A powerful force siezed Alanya by her waist, and she screamed, feeling herself being hoisted up by unnaturally-strong arms. Desperately, she clawed at the air in front of her, where a face should be, and was rewarded by the sickening feeling of her nails sinking into diseased tentacle flesh.
"Fetcher ...!" Dagoth Fovon growled. "Forget the fires; I'll crush you instead!" But his grip had loosened for a second, long enough for Alanya to shift, just a little ...
It was a miracle, but she still had a hold on her spear; she brought it up and stabbed the point down as hard as she could with one arm. Dagoth Fovon twisted, taking the blow on his shoulder instead of his head, and dropped Alanya, who scrambled to more secure ground while gulping her potion.
Wiping blood out of her eyes, Alanya set herself for Fovon's next charge - but the Dagoth raised his hand and released a ball of lighting at Alanya, catching her off-guard.
"Fool - you have no hope of winning!" he screamed, rushing forward and swinging with his good arm. Again, his fist caught Alanya in the face, widening the cut, and this time Alanya felt a wave of nausea overtake her with unnatural force.
I've been blighted ... Alanya realized with a sick certainty, her limbs starting to shake. No, no ... got to take the cure potion; can't fight like this ...
But Dagoth Fovon offered no respite for Alanya, swinging his good arm repeatedly at her. Her chitin armor creaked with the force of his blows, threatening to break, and with shaky legs she couldn't dodge easily ...
"DIE!" Fovon screamed, by now as maddened as his dead servants. "DIE, DIE, DIIIIIIIE!!!!!!"
"NO!" Alanya screamed back, throwing her spear forward with what strength her limbs could muster. Dagoth Fovon impaled himself on the Daedric steel, roaring with pain as he tried to pull himself free. And, in that moment, Alanya felt a madness overtake her as well ...
With hysterical strength, Alanya tore the spear out through Dagoth Fovon's side, and brought it up for repeated stabs. Fovon fell to his knees, trying uselessly to fend off Alanya's assault, but the Breton woman could not be stopped, not by a foe with one arm already crippled and a gaping wound in his side ...
Alanya stabbed, again and again, until there was nothing left but a puddle of ichor and a mass of diseased flesh that vaguely resembled an Ash Ghoul. Then, sobbing, she ripped out her cure potion and gulped it down fervishly, relief overtaking her as she felt her limbs steady ...
A search of the shrine revealed little; an amulet and a large hammer bearing the symbol of the Sixth House, both of which she claimed, more ash statues, and lots of diseased hunks of meat. There was some money, which Alanya figured would be helpful for buying new healing supplies later, and some other minor stuff which she also claimed. It was time to go home, but first ...
Alanya raised the heavy hammer she found, straining to lift it overhead, and brought it down with a wild cry on the large statue on the alter. It took three blows, but she broke the statue into pieces, which she threw into the lava, along with the hunks of meat. Then, with her remaining strength, she broke the clappers off the bells, defaced every symbol she could find, and called upon every blessing she knew of, Bosmer, Breton, or whatever, to clense this unhallowed place.
Recalling home, she tossed the hammer onto the floor and sunk into her hammock, knowing deep down that this was only the first encounter she would have with the Sixth House. It seemed, in addition to bandits and beasts, that she had a whole new prey to hunt on Morrowind.
Immediately following the events in this chapter, Alanya decided to take a day off from adventuring. You can read about her day off in the Side Story Discussion of Seasons.
Soon after the events in this chapter, Vivec and Dagoth Ur both had premonitions regarding Alanya. You can read of their premonitions in the Side Story Poems and Dreams.
Return to the Previous Chapter
Go On to the Next Chapter
Return to the Main Story Main Page
Return to the Home Page