Greeting Master Claws,
I had just put the dreadful experience of my ruin-ous slumber behind me. It was the evening hours, and I know travel at night can be quite dangerous. But I’d slept for so long, and I was determined to reach you as quickly as possible so I left immediately.
As soon as I left my shelter, I was greeted by a distraught elf who seemed to be running away from some sort of sea monsters. Curious, I went to take a look, and I came upon a rather gruesome site. Dead sea creatures. Slain by a fearsome Khajiit.
His name was Razum-dar, but called himself Raz. He said he works for Queen Ayrenn and that my help was needed to figure out where these creatures came from. He also told me he was an eye of the queen, whatever that is, and that we should keep it just between him and I. Of course, he did just meet me, and he was already telling me his secret. So I got the feeling that this isn’t a particularly well kept secret.
Naturally I offered my assistance right away. I know I said I would head directly to you, but adventure calls. This is what I set out to do here in Summerset after all, and some more just fell into my lap. I’ll do my best to get to you as soon as I possibly can.
Raz asked me to do some reconnaissance work in the nearby town of Shimmerene. Ask the locals if there has been any unusual activity in the area recently. So I set off to work.
The first person I ran across was an extremely self entitled artist. She seemed upset that I dared to interrupt her in the middle of whatever it was that she was doing. She went on and on about something called the “Path of Alaxon” which she explained was some state of perfection. Based on what she said after that though, leads me to believe that she has a long path to take before she reaches her destination.
Her apprentice was recently taken by the monks of the local monastery for questioning regarding her knowledge of culture and etiquette. That doesn’t seem completely above board to me, but Summerset ways are not my ways. The apprentice had yet to return, and rather than try and get her back, this snobby elf decided that rather than do some paperwork to find out what happened for a “Wood Elf” she would do the work herself. She made her seem like a lesser being. I didn’t care much for her tone one bit.
Next I spoke with a Breton fellow who brought his cousin to the island to work for him. All the newcomers were also carted away for questioning and the only thing his protests managed to get him was on the Divine Prosecution’s observation log. It seems that I was lucky to not get carted away myself. Had I not arrived in the evening, I may have been taken to answer some ‘questions’ too.
Lastly I found the corpse of an Argonian near the river. On him a note that warned that the monks were not just asking questions. They locked him in a cell and once he heard one of the monks use a Daedric prayer, he decided to escape and find passage back to Murkmire via Alinor. It would seem he never made it there. I killed the salamander that he fell prey to. He can now be considered avenged in whatever afterlife he went to. I will be sure to treat this as a warning. This place is beautiful, but it holds many dangers for the incautious.
Everything pointed directly to the monastery. So off we went in pursuit of more answers. Raz provided a distraction to allow me to sneak in, and once inside I had a good look around. Upstairs I found an unusually large pearl on a desk. Similar in both size and shape to the one I saw in the mind trap, but shiny and metallic looking.
As I went to examine the pearl, I was met by an elderly elf who also searching for the missing newcomers. She said was about to explore the undercroft and asked me to join her. I hoped there was no spiders there. I absolutely detest spiders. Too many eyes and legs.
We did indeed find some of the newcomers downstairs. Locked in cells like animals, but not nearly all of them. A frightened young woman said that they had just gathered several of them and taken them to the next chamber. We freed her and had a look around the room. On the floor was a dead Nord beside an equally dead Daedra. Something my new companion called a Skaafin. Her name is Valsirenn by the way. Another member of the Psijic order.
The Skaafin had a key we used to get through the door. Sadly we were just in time to see a creature performing some sort of Daedric ritual involving another of those dark pearls suck the life out of all the poor people we came to find. I steadied my hand, and went after the blasted creature with my daggers. Brought it death by a thousand cuts. A fitting end to the beast that would so callously murder so many innocents.
Val used her mystical arts to send the pearl back to Arteum for study. That’s the island that Oriandra told me the Psijic order are from. The leader of their order sent Valsirenn to Summerset to investigate a warning they had received. Apparently the Psijic order used to be advisors to the rulers of Tamriel before they pulled themselves out of the world. This new threat it would seem, has brought them back.
We went our own ways, and I set off to find Razum-dar to report my findings.
I shall endeavour to keep you up to date on my travels as best I can.
Respectfully,
Tiberious Maximillion III
