"Oh, my!" she said, "I nearly jumped a mile high! Where are we now?"

"Well, if Folms did his work properly, we are at the very south end of the grazelands, ready to head south into the Molag Amur region.  It should only take a short walk from here to get to my stronghold." I smiled and added "I hope the noise didn't scare you too much."

"Ha ha!" she retorted, "We Nords don't scare easily. I just don't like being startled like that."     

We left the propylon chamber and headed south from the old Dunmer stronghold of Falensarano.  It wasn't long before we left the pleasant, sweet-smelling plains of the grazelands and entered the dusty, volcano-tortured lands of Molag Amur.

It had been over a thousand years since Red Mountain had last covered this land, and it had yet to recover from the scars of the mountain's wrath.  Even so, there was life everywhere still to be found.  It was in the form of plants and animals that scratched out a living on any purchase they could find.  This was an area especially rich with trama root and fire petals, both good for alchemy ingredients, and I took advantage of the walk by filling my pouch with a number of ingredients for later use.    

A number of creatures tried to have us for dinner, though Laurenna's broadsword quickly showed them the error of their ways.

With all the mist and dust hanging in the air, it was hard to find the way to my stronghold.  We even took a wrong turn and ended up almost walking right into a lava flow.

"Is the whole place like this?" she asked.

"Pretty much, yes." I replied, then added "It doesn't get much better until you get south of the mountains and head east to Suran. It really brightens back up after that."   

It was another 20 minutes and 3 very hungry rats later that we finally saw Tel Uvirith in the distance.

I cautioned Laurenna to stay behind me so the steam centurions didn't think we was some sort of attacking warrior.

She thought I was kidding.   

About 30 paces later, she found out that was extremely serious. The centurion huffed and puffed at me, then shuffled to the side to let me (and Laurenna) pass.   

We made our way into the front door, where we were met by the main guard, Primus Pilus.

"Master...you...return."

"Yes, Primus." I replied "Have there been any further attacks in the area by dragons?"

Primus huffed and puffed for a moment, then replied "No...attack...here. Attack...in...Sadrith...Mora.
Large...dragon...blue...color...shock...attack."  

After the report from Primus, I decided I had better fly to Sadrith Mora, as walking would be too slow.

I showed Laurenna my office and quarters.

"Please, stay here until I return.  I am not sure how long this may take."

Laurenna sulked a bit, but was glad to get off of her feet for a while. I told her I would leave instructions with Primus that she was in charge while I was away.   

I went to the roof door, stepped outside, and changed into a cliffracer. The flight was uneventful, only one or two cliffracers wanted to fight me for territory, but they were easily put down.

As I continued my flight over Zafilbel Bay and approached Sadrith Mora, the seat of House Telvani, I could see smoke coming from one of the mushroom houses, but couldn't see much of anything else.

That changed quickly once I changed back into my very handsome self. People started screaming and pointing to the sky.

It was the Blue Dragon! It was attacking!    

I took up a position near the armor merchant, and the dragon hovered overhead, as if it were taunting me into taking the first shot.     

I didn't need an invitation. I used one of my Rings of Leaches to absorb it's life into myself. Each ring is only good for one shot, maybe two before needing to rest, so I was glad I had made several of them. Dragons can be difficult to kill

That did not go over well with the dragon's disposition, to say the least.

The dragon responded with an attack of it's own, however, unlike the dragons before it, this was different. Along with a blast of fire, it added a shock spell imbedded in the flames.

The blast sent my head reeling, and all I could see were sparks before my eyes.

I had been hit by shock spells before, but never this powerful.

Quickly, I used two of the homemade restore health potions I had brought with me. Made with the finest alchemy equipment in Vvardenfell, they would restore my health faster than this monster could drain it.

One shot of Leach Ring after another, then one blast after another with Dracula's Ring, not as powerful, but able to provide dozens of hits before it wore out. I included a burst of poison bloom, one after the other, until the dragon finally swooped down, blasting a guard into flames, then grabbing the body before it could fall. With the guard firmly in it's jaws, the dragon jumped into the air and flew to the north, fading into the clouds.    

As we all recovered from the attack, a guard came over to thank me, recognizing me as head of House Telvani.

"It was terrible." he said, "The guard the dragon killed was my brother."   

"I seek the lair of this dragon to destroy it." I said. "Do you have any idea where I might start my search?"

The guard thought for a moment, then said "Check in the council chambers. I believe they will have the answer you seek. Good hunting to you, Eldorf the Wise."

I patted him on the shoulder of his very large armor and said that his brother would be avenged, if I had anything to say about it.

I believe the guard may have smiled, but I couldn't tell under that helmet.    

Well, I didn't have very far to travel, since the council chambers were only a one minute walk away from where I was.

Once in the chambers, I checked for Fast Eddie, my Mouth (Representative) in the council.

"Eldorf, good sir, good to see you. I suppose that was you that fended off the attack of this blue dragon, correct?"

I graciously acknowledged the truth, then asked if anyone could help me find the lair of this monster.

"Yes," he replied, "our information is that a fisherman here knows the area where the dragon comes from, and is staying at the Gateway Inn. You should be able to find him there."    

I found the owner of the Gateway Inn in his office, counting the gold received from his patrons.

"Three blessings, sera." he said, as soon as he saw me. "How may I be of service to you?"

"I am looking for the fisherman that seems to know the location of the Blue Dragon's lair. Do you know this man?"

"Ah, yes, I know this person," he replied, "but he is not a fisherman. He is actually a boatman, one of those that transports people to different parts of the eastern side of the island here."

"Do you know his name, and where I might find him?" I asked.

"His name is Farie Minoran, and he left port about two weeks ago.  He took some people looking for adventure to see the dragon. Paid him well, they did, though I do not know if they will ever been seen again. Anyway, Farie went to Tel Mora, or at least, in that general direction."

I used my wedding ring to contact Laurenna and told her to start dinner without me. This looks like a wild guar chase, and I was 2 weeks behind the man I was looking for.