Trai

             (4E-200 18th of Rain's Hand)

     Almost all of Galeron's focus during the past few months had been on integrating the newly encountered runes from the Eye of Magnus into his Magicka Core.

     He had other projects he wished to work on but the major one required his minions to finish up their missions first.

     Venerus, having the easiest task, had returned a few days ago, after activating the same type of enchanted teleportation device he'd been given for his previous mission. Although, he hadn't stayed long before Galeron sent him off on another mission. 

           (4E-200 15th of Rain's Hand)

     Venerus had been traveling for several weeks straight, in order to reach his destination in Cyrodill. The mountainous terrain he had to cross slowed him down greatly, even while riding an undead horse.

     When he finally arrived in Cyrodill, he made his way directly towards Chorrol and then continued southwards to Hackdirt Village.

     'Master told me that there was a good chance that the village might be completely abandoned but I had suspected to find at least a handful of people here, considering there's an actual temple here. Literally any group of faithfuls could move in here and start growing their following.

     'However, it seems to not only be completely deserted but the caves that Master spoke of seemed to have been filled in and entirely covered over.

     'Well, this dirt isn't going to move itself. I guess I might as well get to it. Master won't be pleased if I dawdle for too long.'

     Venerus spent over two weeks digging out the old tunnels. It took him that long to finally reach the deeper sections that hadn't been filled. Two days afterwards he finally had all of the branching tunnels cleared, as well as the cave entrance.

     It took him yet another three weeks of exploring the various caves and yet he still hadn't found an end to any of them. He had, however, found the location where the presumed Deep Ones could still be faintly heard growling deeply in the depths.

     Upon this discovery, he backtracked two hundred meters, as per his master's orders, and activated the same type of artifact he had used in Darkfall Cave.

     It was then that Galeron had appeared and congratulated him on a job well done. He then placed down a permanent portal to Fort Doomguard, secured the cave entrance, regretted not having time to visit the Imperial City or an Ayleid ruin, and brought Venerus back to the Fort.

     It had only been a few minutes after their return that Galeron had sent him off on another mission, claiming that he would have plenty of time before Morila returned.

     Now on his way to Dawnstar, he looked back at the two children, in a magically induced sleep, laying in the back of the covered wagon he was pulling. They both had similar features. Unnaturally dark grey almost black skin, red eyes, and vampire-like canines. The female was twelve and the male was seven.

     Of course, he noticed the remarkable similarities between them and his Master, yet he had been given strict orders not to ask any questions, when Galeron had appeared before him in Redwater Den. He was ordered to escort them to Dawnstar and then summon his Master once again.

     Venerus sighed, wishing he knew what the hell was going on with these two but, ultimately, put it out of his mind and continued ushering Corpse towards Dawnstar.

-----

            (4E-200 12th of First Seed)

     Morila had entered Riften, under the Illusory effects of the enchanted robe given to her by Galeron. She was under orders to steal, purchase, or otherwise acquire every unit of every item on the list she was given. If it was on the list, it had to be obtained, preferably without paying.

     Once she had finished her "shopping," she was to hide the loot in Redwater Den and then head back to Riften for a spot of kidnapping.

     Galeron had given her orders to tempt at least two children into leaving the orphanage with promises of a better future. She was to then deliver said children to a cage in Redwater Den with plenty of food and water to hold them over until Venerus could arrive.

     She had been stunned, when at night she had stealthily entered the orphanage, only to see her very own children there in their beds!

     Their beds had been pushed away from the other children and she could easily make out several wounds on their bodies, given the lack of provided blankets or sheets. Their clothes were filthy and shredded and it was obvious that the other children and perhaps even the caregiver had been abusing them.

     Neither she nor Galeron had thought these two would survive the slaughter at Darklight Tower. 

     Part of her was relieved to know that they were still alive but another part of her knew that the dreams she and her coven had were dead and gone. They had died along with the rest of the coven and the only person who could resurrect them seemed to have a particularly potent distaste for the very ones who brought him into this world.

     She could only guess that someone had actually been foolish enough to think that these two could survive in normal society and spared them the fate of the other coven members. Even now, it was clear they wouldn't last much longer. If they didn't die from the abuse, they would most likely lash out in some way, giving the people all the reason they needed to put them down.

     Deep down Morila still naively hoped that something would come of her coven's efforts, making her glad that Galeron's orders were in line with saving Lyra and Telthor from this place. Just like with Galeron, there was very little maternalism in her desire to save them. She simply desired to serve the Crow Mother and Nocturnal and to spread their gifts far and wide.

     Thus, with a somewhat lighter heart, Morila charmed her two children into waking up and following her but not before putting Grelod the Kind out of the Children's misery. It was a special task from Galeron, a task that he had made clear was not optional.

     Once outside and on her horse, she sat Telthor in front of her and had Lyra sitting behind her with Lyra's arms wrapped around her waist. Guiding her undead horse, which had a blanket covering the markings on its neck and chest, she easily passed through the gates of Riften with only a few hateful glares from the guards.

     As she suspected, her children's unique characteristics made the task of getting the children out of the city much easier. No one wanted them here and seeing them being whisked away in the middle of the night was nothing but a relief for anyone witnessing the scene.

     After leaving the city, she returned once again to Redwater Den and placed her children in a large secured cage along with several months worth of preserved food and water, as per Galeron's orders.

     With her purpose in Riften having been fulfilled, Morila finally arrived in Dawnstar, subtly acquired as many supplies as she could, and placed all of them behind an enchanted statue in Nightcaller Temple. When a flame spell was continuously applied to the statue, it would become ephemeral allowing one to pass through. 

     Morila only carried the supplies through to the other side before applying different spells to the ephemeral statue to see if it would resolidify. Indeed, applying a continuous frost spell to the statue made the thing solidify again, allowing her to leave the supplies behind in safety.

     Finally, she snuck into the house of one Silus Vesuius, slit his throat in his sleep, and made off with Mehrunes Scabbard. This artifact she then placed in the Nightcaller Temple, along with the other loot.

     With all of her Skyrim business tidied up, Morila was finally able to ride her undead horse into the sea off of Dawnstar's coast and have it swim onwards to Morrowind. Even with her speed being slightly augmented by her magic, it was going to be a long slow trip to Morrowind's coastline.

-----

           (4E-200 11th of Second Seed)

     Venerus had driven past Dawnstar, parked the cart at Nightcaller Temple, drove himself and the children carefully down the northside of the mountain on Corpse's back, and eventually arrived at a cave opening set into the cliff face bordering Dawnstar's eastern beach.

     Standing on the icy shore northeast of Dawnstar, he witnessed a black metal door, which had sculpted into it a deathly relief. A large skull, a bloody handprint on its forehead, and the skeleton of a recently stabbed person lying beneath it.

     While a frigid ocean breeze blew his hair and robes about, Venerus took out the last artifact he was given and activated its effect. An instant later, a flash of pale white light was seen, as Galeron appeared before him.

     "Ah, Venerus, it seems you've found the place. Excellent! Now, let's see to this business, shall we?" Galeron spoke, while stepping towards the Black Door.

     After approaching the door, he was then queried by a rasping ghostly voice that came from seemingly nowhere.

     "What is life's greatest illusion?"

     Galeron responded promptly and confidently, "Innocence, my brother."

     As soon as Galeron gave his reply, the door, despite having a handle on it, opened of its own accord and allowed him to gain entry to the abandoned Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.

     Once inside, Galeron addressed Venerus. "Now that we're inside, I'll summon my contingent of Dremora and have them on standby. Search the entire Sanctuary and if you come across a man dressed in a Jester outfit summon your own Atronachs and attack immediately afterwards. I'll be following close behind and my orbical will be floating beside you the entire time. My Dremora will attack shortly after you engage him. Remember, we aren't trying to kill him so try your best to avoid fatal injuries. That being said, he's no pushover so stay on your toes."

     "Of course, Master. I'll heed your words." Venerus acknowledged, walking ahead towards the Sanctuary's first room.

     Galeron followed close behind Venerus, wrapped in his invisibility spell, with his fifteen Dremora following a bit further behind.

     After turning left and going down a flight of stairs, there was a door that led to the greater part of the Sanctuary. Before they even reached the door, they could hear a singular voice chatting manically out loud.

     Knowing that Cicero was most likely talking to himself/the night mother, Galeron gave the order to stop so that he could completely refill his magicka. He knew that Cicero would probably be at it for a while and during that time he most likely wouldn't be leaving. As long as they continued to hear his screaming and whispering, a short break was warranted.

     With full magicka reserves and a full contingent of Dremora, Galeron cast Detect Life and could then see the light red humanoid shaped glow representing Cicero pacing back and forth, just beyond the wall they were standing beside.

     Galeron waited until the red glow had moved past them and the door, before finally giving Venerus the nonverbal command to open the door.

     Venerus immediately burst through the door with an invisible Galeron right on his heels. The assassin, dressed in a Jester's garb, spun around to see who had intruded upon him. As soon as Cicero's eyes landed on Venerus, he realized too late that a large metal ball wrapped in a white frosty mist was flying towards his face and he had little time to react. He attempted to dodge the projectile but, even with his impressive speed and reflexes, it still made contact.

Crunch!

     Galeron's orbical forcefully impacted the left side of Cicero's face and broke his nose, while also fracturing his jaw and cheekbones in several places. The Orbical, however, didn't move on after the impact. In fact, it stayed connected with his face, leaving his neck bent slightly backwards while conjuring a pillar of frigid winds to surround him.

     Besides being in severe pain, Cicero was fully enraged at this desecration of the Night Mother's Sanctuary. Ignoring the cold building up in his bones, his pained and broken face, and the blood seeping from it, Cicero crouched down. With his head now clear of the metal ball, he could see that more than a dozen Dremora were rushing into the room and heading towards him.

     Galeron had given specific orders for them not to use weapons and to only make attempts at grabbing ahold of his limbs. Thus, when Cicero saw the large male Dremora in the lead running towards him arms spread wide, he didn't hesitate to roll forward and, using the momentum of his roll, sprung forward with his daggers in hand.

     The leading Dremora, wasn't quick enough to respond to Cicero's attack and ended up with his head being almost completely severed from his neck by two daggers slashing at him in a scissor like motion. The Dremora was instantly banished back to Oblivion.

     Cicero, still in a rage, had no thoughts for the Dremora's fate.He simply spotted the next Dremora to his right and targeted it with his daggers. 

     Galeron had witnessed his unexpected maneuver but quickly reassessed the situation, sending his Orbical charged with lightning directly into Cicero's back. This knocked Cicero off balance and directly towards the Dremora he was targeting. At the same time, multiple icy blasts from multiple directions landed on Cicero's body.

     The Dremora Cicero had targeted was almost upon him and was grabbing for his arms. In response Cicero fell flat to the ground on his back, evading the Dremora's grasp.

     Stabbing the Dremora in his ankle and then bringing his leg up, around, and behind it, he buckled the Dremora's knees and brought him to the ground with him, where he repeatedly stabbed it in the throat. Thus, another interloper was banished.

     Cicero then attempted to recover while feeling that he was on a roll. He was comforting himself with the thought that he was justly righting the wrongs committed by these trespassers, while attempting to regain his footing.

     Just as these thoughts occurred to him, his left arm was caught in a powerful grip and then his right arm.

     Now the remaining Dremora were upon him and were locking down his limbs and his head. They stood him up and another bear hugged him from behind.

     "Arghhh! Let go of me, you swine! Let go of poor Cicero! He must defend the Night Mother!" Cicero screamed, while struggling desperately to free himself from his attacker's vice like bondage.

     "Cicero, Cicero, Cicero, whatever shall I do with you?" Galeron spoke, as he removed his Invisibility and approached Cicero. The maddened murder Jester attempted to speak out, once more, but Galeron was quick to clam him up.

     "The Dark Brotherhood in shambles! Entire Sanctuaries raided, pillaged, plundered! No Listener! Speakers either scattered or dead! It would seem that your organization is in a bit of a dicey situation.

     "Of course, this wouldn't be happening, if the Brotherhood had a backer. A powerful backer with plenty of money and political pull. A backer who would, obviously, benefit from his charitable actions by being able to commandeer any Brotherhood members to work on his behalf, granting that this doesn't impede the Brotherhood's business in any way.

     "And, yes, I can already hear you protest, despite your currently sealed lips. 'But the Brotherhood is backed by the Night Mother and by Sithis himself! What would they need with an upstart like yourself?' 

     "Well, you wouldn't be wrong to think of me as an upstart, since I've only just begun my journey. However, I think you'll find that, as far as upstarts go, I'm doing quite well for myself. I grow more powerful every day. I have more followers every day. I have more money and knowledge every day. I may have only just started but it has been quite the spectacular beginning and me and my organization will reach even greater heights, with or without the support from your organization.

     "Also, while my organization is experiencing success after success, your organization is on the brink of complete and utter collapse, dissolvement, dispersion. If your organization could survive in this world without a third party backer then it would be, yet it is not. It is instead here, with the fate of the one and only leader of this organization resting comfortably in my hands." Galeron spoke towards Cicero while walking towards his position.

     Standing directly in front of the Jester, Galeron grabbed Cicero's chin and met his hateful gaze with one of unadulterated aloofness. "I think we both know, Night Mother, that I'm really speaking to you. You may not deign to speak for yourself but I know you can hear me and that's all that really matters.

     "Tell me, Night Mother, after I kill your Jester here what would happen to your dear sweet organization, if I were to say…  haul your coffin up to the red mountain and toss it into the boiling lava within?" The look on Cicero's face, upon hearing these words, was one of pure horror. He had been so busy hating these interlopers that he hadn't really had the time to think rationally about his current situation and its potential consequences.

     "What if I were to drop you off in the middle of the deepest ocean or perhaps send you off on a trip to one of Nirn's two lovely moons? Even if I were to do nothing else but kill your Jester and then join the many efforts already underway to annihilate all the remaining members of your Brotherhood, it would take you years, ages, possibly even entire eras to recover from such a disaster. Assuming, of course, that you manage to recover at all.

     "With all of this being said, I'm going to make a proposition to you, well I call it a proposition, it's really more like a notice of intent. I'm going to propose a cooperation between our two organizations and I want you to remember this moment. Remember that I don't need you. I have before me the option of ridding the world of you and the Brotherhood once and for all and yet I'm offering cooperation. Remember the way things could've turned out for you, had I simply decided that the usefulness that your organization might possess simply wasn't worth the effort. Had I made any other decision other than the one I'm about to make, I could have received praise, riches, and accolades galore from all of the forces currently opposing you. The world would be forever rid of the Brotherhood and I would receive untold benefits for my efforts.

     "So, Night Mother, when I say that your Jester here will now serve as my faithful undead and that your coffin will rest peacefully and securely within my hidden domain, while I work with you to rebuild the Brotherhood, don't let your status as some powerful otherworldly being prevent you from understanding the truth of this event. If you possessed the power to affect Nirn to such a degree as to save your organization personally, you would have already done it. Whatever power you may wield, it clearly is not enough to protect your Nirn based organization from external threats.

     "Right now you may be thinking all sorts of 'Foolish mortal, how dare you, you'll pay for your insolence' type nonsense but, really, having to lend me your assassins when I require them is a mild fate. The reason that I've bothered saying any of this is, of course, to instill within you a sense of just how mild a fate it truly is.

     "With this cooperation, I will provide you and yours with the necessary funds and materials to kick start a new, stronger Dark Brotherhood. You will kindly acquiesce to my requests to place your new Sanctuaries where I deem most suitable and, once again, any and all members of this revivified Brotherhood will, upon my request, do my bidding under my banner. The sharing of sensitive and useful information will also be a facet of our cooperation. Our two organizations, despite their cooperation, will maintain a strict separation of operations. My people may work for you and your people may work for me but your organization's accomplishments will belong to you and vice versa.

     "Now, obviously, you're not going to respond to any of this but then you don't really have to. My little speech has finally come to an end and so we can now get down to business." Galeron abruptly concluded, while taking a Teardrop Gem and Soul Trap Dagger out of his robes.

     Choosing not to stand on any further ceremony, he swiftly disrobed the Jester, stabbed him with the Teardrop Gem, and claimed him as one of his own.

     Not having any tolerance for Cicero's jibber jabber, he issued a series of commands that prevented the jester from acting like an unhinged chatterbox while in his presence.

     "Now that your loyalties lay with me, I'll issue you your first mission. Venerus, bring the children. Cicero, your first mission is the raising and training of the two children I've brought here. You'll train them up as loyal Dark Brotherhood assassins and make sure that you don't hold back. Their training should be regular, intense, and unforgiving. 

     "While you're doing that, I'll see what I can do to poach contracts and personnel from the Falkreath Sanctuary. You should know that Astrid, the Sanctuary leader there, has forsaken the Night Mother and the Five Tenets. Thus, anyone not willing to join us here should be considered a traitor and there's only one proper fate for a traitor.

     "Lastly, I'll be placing a permanent portal in this Sanctuary to my hidden domain. None but you are permitted to even know of its existence and location, much less use it." Galeron informed Cicero, as Venerus arrived carrying two small bodies, one across each shoulder. He laid them down gently on the platform where the Night Mother's coffin stood and backed away.

     "Ahh, here we are. These two should wake up sometime before the end of the day, so I'll expect their training and initiation to start as soon as they do. Come Venerus, Cicero, let's find a suitable place for our portal and then return to Fort Doomguard." Galeron ordered, as he banished all his Dremora and began scoping out the rest of the Sanctuary.

     A couple of hours later, the portal had been placed in a small secure chamber within the Sanctuary leader's lodging and the Night Mother's coffin was placed in a specially crafted chamber in Fort Doomguard's basement. 

     Galeron took Cicero back to the fort and got him familiar with the place, while Venerus began moving the supplies from the cart to the portal.

     Once Cicero's tour was completed and all of the supplies were moved from both the cart and Nightcaller Temple to the Fort, Cicero returned to oversee the Dawnstar Sanctuary and Venerus was chucked out into the cold on yet another mission.