33: The scholar's surprise

The last time I passed through Molag Amur I actually passed over it. That was easier; a lot easier. That time I flew from Vivec City on the blessing of Vivec's shrine of generosity and reached the Dwemer ruins at Nehuleftingth in a matter of hours. Today I started from Suran; much closer, and trudged all day to get here. Molag Amur is not a trackless waste; quite the opposite. It is cross hatched with trails, curving between sharp ridges of rock and steaming lava pools. Frequently they curve back on themselves, leading nowhere.

As the sun settled behind a ridge I arrived at the ruins. Senilius Cadiusus did not welcome me as warmly as he did before. My last visit here did not end smoothly, and he remembers it well. He is apparently still suffering ill effects, and holds me responsible.

At first he did not recognize me. "Hail traveler," he said as I entered the ruin. Then I raised the Mask of Dwemer metal that protected my head. "You! I have sent my report to Edwinna. There is nothing for her to have sent you here for, so move along."

"Edwinna did not send me, I am just here for shelter."

"You took the book! The fruit of my labors! Now all I hear is that the Breton wizard has solved the riddle of the Dwemer. And I don't even have enough of a crew to continue my excavations here."

"You lack a crew because you get them killed. Anes Vendu found that book. It was the fruit of his labor and his life that was given." I stepped close to the Cyrodiil. He is a scholar, and a coward, and I fully intended to intimidate him. It worked.

"Well," he blustered, "Edwinna has clearly been mislead by the report of a scaliwag adventurer, but that doesn't mean everyone will. Trebonius certainly wouldn't, and even though I hear there is a new Archmage I'm sure they won't be either. I sent a message to him already."

"Is that so," I hissed. "Well, the Archmage isn't in Vivec presently, so I wouldn't count on him overruling Edwinna. As a matter of fact he pretty much counts on Edwinna's advice in research matters."

"Advice from Edwinna! What sort of Archmage is that? Trebonius would never let that bookworm make an important decision that stands between me and my research."

"Trebonius was a pompous arrogant fool. That seems to be common among you Imperials. Before you say something really regrettable I want you to know the new Archmage is not from Cyrodiil. He is a Breton."

"A Breton? So you have his ear. We are ruined. I will never get the lower levels mapped out without a crew." He hung his head. "We may as well leave."

"No. You will continue exploring, slowly, carefully. Take no risks. I'm sure that won't be a problem for you."

"What for? What we came here for has already been done. Some Breton is the Archmage. We should just go back to Cyrodiil; to civilization."

"Vvardenfell may not meet your standards of civilization, but it's all you have. There is an embargo. And the Breton Archmage may not meet your approval either, but as you said I have his ear. These ruins are close to Telvanni territory, and they are likely to move against you early in their campaign against us when it comes."

He exploded. "You would leave us out here as bait!?"

"More like an early warning system. I have a message for Edwinna." I turned on my heel and stalked to a table littered with papers.

I handed him the message, more for the pleasure of watching his face as he read than anything else. He read:

Edwinna,
Send a couple apprentices adept at destruction magic to Nehuleftingth to support the work here. Make sure that they have recall scrolls, and place their marks at a guild hall. Also, hire a band of reliable fighters to escort Senilius Cadiusus and his daughter to a guild hall so that they also can place their marks, then have them escorted back. All of our members here need to be prepared to evacuate when the Telvanni attack.
Arvil Bren, Archmage

It wasn't quite as dramatic as I had hoped, but the signature did demolish the flathead's smugness.