As instructed, I headed down the extremely long hallway until I arrived at a staircase, leading down to a small garden. There was a ghostly form at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me.

As I approached, he smiled, as if he knew me. I guess he did know me, since I was the one that retrieved his skull. 

"Ah, greetings." he said. "I have things I would speak of with you."

"Certainly." I replied. "What is it you wish to discuss?"

"Well, first, I must thank you." he said. "I am told it was you who retrieved my skull from Imboca, making it possible for my spirit to be summoned to walk amongst the living again. Your efforts in that are sincerely appreciated."

"Oh, no worries." I replied, trying to sound humble.

"I am pleased to see that the Order has continued on so capably since my demise." he continued. "I founded it when I first came to this world, but never expected it to really take root."

I gave him a strange look at what he had just said: "...came to this world"? Apparently, he understood the reason for the surprised look on my face.

"Yes, you heard me correctly." he said. "I am not a child of your world. That is itself a very long and tawdry story, and one I've no real desire to relate. Still, if anyone has earned the right to answers from me, it is you, so I will tell you a short tale of my history."    

"I was born in what was the 1804th year of our calendar's reckoning, in an island empire known as England. My fortunes led me abroad, across a sea, to another land, called the Americas. I became a pirate, a career that lasted for but a few years before my luck ran out. My ship was lost and I was left to die by two good friends, on a beach of one of the islands in the region. Starving, dehydrated, with no resources, and no reserves, I thought death was imminent. It should have been.

Instead, the natives of the island - a curious tribe of degenerate men - rescued me. I made a bargain with them; in exchange for my life, I would serve those whom they served. Their religion was based around what they called 'The Invisibles'; other-worldly spirits who themselves performed as servitors for more powerful spiritual entities. I later learned that those the Invisibles served were those who have come to be called, here on this world, Those Who Dwell Outside.

For nearly seventy years, I served the Invisibles on my world. The details of that service are largely unimportant now, but after my last, great task was complete - the planting of a black mirror, like an evil seed in the psychic fundament of England in 1893, which would forment chaos throughout the region for decades to come - I sailed away from England once again.  My intention was to return to the ruins of a castle at Weisseria belonging to one of the others who served the Invisibles.

I never made it. Storms on the land and storms at sea ravaged England between 1892 and 1893. Once such storm claimed my ship. I expected to die. Instead, I woke clinging to the flotsam of my ship as I drifted up to the dock at Castle Ebonheart. Shortly afterwards, I founded the Order of the Invisibles, intent on serving my old masters once again. But after years of searching, I discovered they were unknown on this world - and even Those Who Dwell Outside were known but barely.

Most members of the Order believe it is named after our penchant for extreme secrecy; are we not, after all, nearly invisible to the populous of Vvardenfell? Only Selrach Otived - and now you - know that we are actually named for the forgotten service of a group of spirits who do not even exist in this world.

Well, you have your curiosity sated for now. Enough about the past. I understand you are currently about to seek out the lich, Semutra. It may interest you to know that, in my life, I knew her, and had dealings with her more than once. Before she became a lich, she was a noble, you know, of the court of Mournhold. She was also a powerful enchantress, and there were even rumors, for a time, that she was the lover of Sotha Sil, the God King."

I had heard of the name, Sotha Sil, before. He was one of the original members of the Tribunal.

Imaginos provided me with a key to Semuta's tower, along with a warning that Semuta was very powerful, and that, if possible, I should avoid a confrontation with her.   

I returned to Selrach and advised him that the conversation had taken place.

He advised that my next objective, of course, was go to into the Red Mountain area, get into Semuta's tower, and try to obtain information from her on becoming a lich.

I was still shaken by the story I had just been told. An island nation named "England". What a strange name for an empire indeed. And these creatures, spirits, or whatever, that dwell outside? Very odd, indeed.   

I found "Eats Crow", and was returned to the fishing village of Khuul. From there, it was just a quick activation of the house ring that brought me back to Sadrith Mora.

Laurenna was already sleeping when I arrived, as it was nearly midnight.

"Are you done with your chores yet?" she asked. "I really don't like this with you arriving at all hours of the night. I nearly thought it was a thief sneaking into the house."

I gave her a hug and a kiss, said I was very tired (I was), and we decided to defer any further discussions on the subject until morning.  

I spent a very restless night, that night, thinking about the events of the last few days, and what I had confronted face-to-face.

The Wise Woman of the Urshilaku Camp said that I may have a destiny, but I still had nearly 15 days to find out what that fate might actually be.

Would I truly be a Nerevarine for these people? If so, would I have to face Dagoth Ur? And if not, would I actually want the face of a lich staring back at Laurenna? Yes, it would indeed be powerful, and might be necessary to defeat Dagoth Ur, should that become necessary.

But, would that justify living an un-dead existence? Perhaps there might be secrets to be learned, helpful secrets, but I really did not want to go into the Ghostfence yet. 

Calm in my decision, my eyes finally closed, and I allowed the
spirits of sleep to have their way with me until the first light of dawn.