A Tower of Nightmares...
The Tower of Dawn was a location that had all but been willfully ignored by not only the people of Dawnstar, but Skyrim in general. Although it had originally been constructed for some benign, albeit forgotten, purpose eons ago, it now would forever hold the taint of the Vaermina’s cultists and the unending nightmares they caused a few years ago. That particular event was in the past and life had carried on as usual, but there was an unmistakable scar that had been left upon the citizens in the Pale, and people were still reluctant to allow themselves to sleep. Insomnia was common, and many forced themselves to stay awake as long as possible. This made the people of Dawnstar inattentive, forgetful, and worst of all, quite prone to flights of fantasy.
That was what Valyne was counting on. A Dunmer in her mid-40s, she was still somewhat young but nevertheless accomplished, sporting a very utilitarian and no-nonsense appearance and disposition that served her well for the Tribunal and more recently with the alliance with Akavir. Her and her group of specialists were dispatched to destabilize the Northern coast town of Dawnstar, a hole that was barely worthy of the term in all fairness, using as little resources and manpower as possible to create a beachhead for the Akaviri forces coming in from the East. Despite their overwhelming superiority to the mainland Tamrielic forces, the Akaviri couldn’t be everywhere at once, and when it came to the subtle work of a dagger in the dark, the Dunmer had no equal. Although the Morag Tong was a rather infamous order across Tamriel that everyone knew by reputation, there was no shortage of skilled agents working for the Tribunal that were just as proficient in the art of murder. While the Kamal were a hammer that struck with irresistible force, Valyne’s team was a scalpel cutting away the rot with precision and a steady presence.
Their operation in Dawnstar had gone largely according to plan, relying on a string of murders that would sow discord between the Nords and their Argonian refugees, and keeping the guard so busy with seemingly unrelated deaths that they were spread thin and unsure of where to begin looking. The attempt to blame the Argonians by using clever disguises was never a permanent solution, one put forth and executed by Malur to throw off the scent, but when he returned with the tail missing it didn’t take long for the guards to figure out that the taxidermy tail didn’t belong to any living Argonian. The other evidence that their grip was slipping was Hlavora’s gaping wound that she had hastily sealed with an ash shell when her and Bovis had gone to slaughter the miners. One of them, an Orsimer, had lived up to their beastly race’s reputation for violence and had managed a solid hit that had buried deep in Hlavora’s organs. Five health potions and periodic application of restoration magic later, the young assassin was losing strength fast. She wouldn’t likely survive the night, barring some miracle.
The citizens of Dawnstar were starting to get wise, and Valyne knew that her window of opportunity, as unideal as it was, was rapidly closing. They’d move tonight and complete their mission. There was no other alternative.
Suddenly, the heavy oak door swung open and Bovis came in, concern furrowing across his handsome brow. “Serjo, we’ve been discovered.” He reported succinctly. “A Khajiit and a Breton from the looks of things are investigating the tower. They’ve found their way through the false wall.”
“Then time is of the essence.” Valyne reported, rising up from Hlavora’s bedside, brushing the folds free from her brigandine, her fingers brushing across the elegant handle of her Ebony blade fashioned to her hip. Malur rose from an end table, having spent the past thirty minutes polishing a potent poison into his twin daggers. “You both will go ambush the interlopers, do not permit them to escape. I will head into Dawnstar and finish our mission. Do not wait for me; it very well could be a one way trip. Report to Commander Droril and inform him of our efforts. Do not prematurely celebrate our success; you would not wish for my failure to prove you both to be liars.” She commanded. The two males nodded, leaving through the door, leaving it ajar knowing that Valyne was soon to follow. She looked down at Hlavora, whose brow was covered in sheen of feverish sweat. The younger woman looked up and him imploringly. “Do not let me hinder the mission. Do it.” She requested softly, closing her eyes and trembling.
“Your sacrifice will be venerated by your ancestors and our people. I will never forget your bravery.” Valyne promised, unsheathing the blade on her hip and drawing it quickly across Hlavora’s throat, taking her hand in her own and holding onto her as she began to fade, blood pouring from the wound with each beat of her heart, slowing ever so slightly each time. Hlavora’s lips curled up into a smile for the briefest of moments before her grip grew slack and the brilliant light from her sunset coloured eyes dimmed. She had left this world behind, Valyne reflected, releasing Hlavora’s hand and cleaning her blade with a cloth before sheathing it and leaving through the door.
For Bovis and Malur, they quickly and silently located their much more clumsy footed intruders in short order, hiding in dark corners as their quarry approached. With blades drawn, the two Dunmer descended on Rhasha and Marcel, Borvis with his poisoned blades after the Khajiit and Malur with a glaive after Marcel, leaving the pair with only moments to react.
Nyxella,
TokyoPewPew,
Tlaloc
