We arrived back in Balmora, and without hesitation, changed into something more appropriate for an expedition. Since we didn't know what to expect, Laurenna put on her armor, while I decided to slip into something a little less flashy. After all, if you're going to a monestary, you should at least look humble.  

This time, we took the stiltstrider, since it would drop us right at the boat dock of Vivic. There was no direct strider service to Ebonheart, so it would either be a walk or boat ride from here.

We made arrangements with the boatman to take us to Ebonheart.  

As soon as we arrived in Ebonheart, I saw the boat that I had been told about. I had seen her there before, but never knew who she was, or what she was associated with.  

I walked up to her, and introduced Laurenna and myself. I said that we were interested in going fishing.

"Ah, my friend must have sent you." she said. "I know a place that is perfect for fishing."

I could tell that the conversation was made loud enough for the guard that was standing in earshot to hear. She smiled, and got us on board, tossed the mouring lines, and off we went.  

We had started off pretty late in the day, and by the time we arrived at our destination, it was already well past dusk, and into night.

The monk at the dock greeted us, and said that the shield guarding the door to the monestary would only open at dawn and dusk; we would have to wait until dawn in order to gain entry.  

We decided to wait by the door, so we headed up the stone stairs to the entrance.

The sky was quite clear, and it looked as though it was emblazened by millions of stars in the sky.

I stopped there, for just a moment, and looked at the sky, just taking it all in.  

As predicted, the entrance was covered over by a huge shell. Laurenna and I decided to camp out here until morning.   

We both got up at 6 am, packed the tent away, and suddenly, the shell started to retract, revealing the entrance to the monestary.   

Once inside, we made our way to the main chamber. One of the monks there greeted us, and said that Mehra Milo would be found in the library with Master Barelo.  

Mehra was Master Barelo, as promised. He greeted us warmly, having been told of the reason for my arrival here. He was especially grateful for my assitance in helping Mehra escape from the Ministry of Truth.

"Let me explain something." he said. "We arefiercely loyal to the Temple's ancient traditions. But we are troubled that the ultimate source of the Tribunal's divinity might be the same as the source of Dagoth Ur's evil power. Dagoth Ur's power seems to wax, even as the Tribunal's power wanes. Read 'The Progress of Truth' and other documents of the Apographia in our library, and you'll see why we are uneasy. You see, so long as the Ordinators, Buoyant Armigars, and Tribunal could contain the blight and Dagoth Ur's creatures within the Ghostfence, faith in the Temple's protective power was strong. But now travelers and settlements suffer from blight storms and marauding monsters, and the people fear that the Temple is losing it's ages-old battle with the devil, Dagoth Ur."

I asked about the lost prophecies, the thing that started me on this trip in the first place. He picked up a large book and read from it.

"I have reviewed the Apographa, and have found two passages of particular interest. We've made copies of these passages to give to you. Many are familiar with the two Nerevarine prophecies current among the Ashlanders called 'The Stranger' and 'The Seven Visions'. We have two other prophecies, 'The Lost Prophecy', and 'The Seven Curses', that may offer additional insights into the riddles surrounding the coming of the Incarnate. Perhaps these are the Lost Prophecies that your friend, Nibani Macsa, told you about."

He handed me a several papers, and added "We have also prepared a document for you called 'Kagrenac's Tools'. This document will explain to you, and to others, the terrible secret that the Temple conceals about the true history of the Tribunal, and the corrupt nature of their divine powers. It is to conceal this secret that the Temple persecutes the Nerevarine and the Dissident Priests. This persecution must stop. We must be united against the true enemy, Dagoth Ur. And if you are the Nerevarine, you must lead us against him."

That last statement hit me like a ton of guars. "If I'm the Nerevarine?" I thought. No wonder Dagoth Ur is sending his agents to kill me. Everyone seems to think I'm the one. I told him about the attacks on me by the Sixth House agents. He gave me a very concerned look.

"This is a new threat," he said, "and not yet widely recognized as another face of the Devil Dagoth ur. But it is clearly a sign of a coming crisis, and the Temple may no longer be able to protect Morrowind. In such troubled times, the Dunmer may return to the ancient pillars of faith, the ancestors and theDaedra, and especially to the prophetic visions granted by Lord Azura. Then they may look to the Nerevarine, Saint Nerevar Reborn, to lead them against the grim armies of Dagoth Ur."

"What about this Nerevarine?" I asked. "Do you think he'll actually return?"

"Our interest in the Nerevarine used to be a matter of principle," he replied, "a willing to consider the validity of mystical insights rejected by Temple doctrine. Now, Dagoth Ur grows stronger while the Tribunal grows weaker, and the return of Saint Nerevar, even if only reborn in spirit, may be our best prospect of salvation."

Hmmm, I thought, even if only reborn in spirit. That would make sense, someone standing up at the right time, doing the right thing, could be considered to be harboring his spirit, in a way.

"What exactly do the lost prophecies say?" I asked.

"I'll be happy to read them for you, but I'll give you a copy of them anyway." he said.

From seventh sign of eleventh generation,
Neither Hound nor Guar, nor Seed nor Harrow,
But Dragon-born and far-star-marked,
Outlander Incarnate beneath Red Mountain,
Blessed Guest counters seven curses,
Star-blessed hand wields thriced-cursed blade,
The reap the harvest of the unmourned house.

"Now, I have annotated your copy of the Lost Prophecy with our best efforts at interpretation, but a rough summary might be: An outlander - foreign-born, but welcomed as a guest - confronts seven curses beneath Red Mountain. His hand, blessed by Azura, uses a cursed blade to bring justice to House Dagoth, or House Dwemer, or both. The Nerevarine? An outlander? That wouldn't please many Ashlanders, and may explain how the prophecy got lost."

"Ok," I said, "I've heard about these seven visions, but what about these seven curses?"

"The Seven Curses reads as follows:

Through the doors of the unmourned house,
Where scoffers scoff  and schemers scheme,
From the halls of the oath-breaking house,
Rings seven courses of gods blasphemed.
First curse, Curse-of Fire.
Second curse, Curse-of-Ash.
Third curse, Curse-of-Flesh,
fourth curse, Curse-of-Ghosts,
fifth curse, Curse-of-Seed,
sixth curse, Curse-of-Despair,
seventh curse, Curse-of-Dreams.

Your copy of the Seven Curses bears our guesses at interpreting the verses. In short form: Seven curses come from House Dagoth, or House Dwemer, or both. Fire and ash come from Red Mountain. Flesh is corprus. Ghosts, Seed, and Despair are unclear, but Curse-of-Dreams seems to refer to recent cases of soul-sickness (bad dreams) and Sleeper attacks in the towns."

I was very familiar with the last two curses.

He also gave me 3 books to read: The Real Nerevar, Nerevar Moon-and-Star, and Saint Nerevar. He said I could keep them, considering how important this might be to me.    

We had to wait until evening to leave the monestary, since the shell had closed the entry way again. It was 6 pm when it finally re-opened and we could make our way to the boat at the dock.   

Once at the docks, we asked about travel, and the only place she'd take us to is back to the dock at Ebonheart.

We paid the gold, and once in Ebonheart, took the other boat back to Vivic.  

Once back in Vivic, we decided to spend the night there at the Mage's Guild offices. They had several spare rooms there, so I decided to make use of one for us. I decided it might be safer than staying at our own place in Balmora.

We shed the heavy stuff, and got ready for bed. I really wanted to pour over those books and papers I had been given, but it was late, and tomorrow would be a better time to do this.   

Little did I know that waiting for me in the wings, after everyone else had gone to bed, another ash-zombie had found it's way into our building.

I awoke, and hearing it's moaning and groaning, knew exactly what to expect.   

Realizing that I was now a target, I kept my shortsword at the ready, and now was the time to use it.

It lumbered up the stairs, undaunted by the fact that it was going to use it's fists, which were no match for a sword.  

Laurenna, hearing the same noise, decided that she had had enough of this. Grabbing her broadsword, she stepped in front of me, and in two blows, put an end to the creature's misery.  

"What brought that on?" I asked.

"Oh, well, in case you missed, I wanted to be ready for it." she said. "Then in the rush to grab my sword, I broke a nail. That, alone, was reason enough."

She smiled, and I smiled back. After all, how could a wizard argue with logic like that?

After disposing of the corpse, we headed off to bed, tired from the long day's adventure.

Tomorrow, I'd have a chance to crack those books and see what all the fuss was about.