Upstairs, there was a place to get a drink, food, and a bed for the night.

We decided to get a drink to refresh ourselves. While at the bar, I noticed an old Imperial staring at us.

 "Something I can help you with?" I asked him.

"Well," he replied, " we don't get many tourists here. The two of you seem pretty out of place in these parts."

He smiled, and I smiled back. "I am Eldorf." I said, "And who might you be?"

"The name is Wulf." he said, taking a drink of brandy. "This is a helluva place." he continued. "Why are the two of you here? Sightseeing?"

I decided to be bluntly direct with him. "Definately not sightseeing. I am the Nerevarine." I said. "And I go to confront Dagoth Ur in his citadel."

He looked at me like a hero to be worshipped and respected. "What a piece of luck!" he said. "Look, I'm an old Legion veteran, as old as the poor old Emperor, bless his soul. I'm too old for campaigning."

"So what are you doing here in this place of ash and blight?" I asked.

"I game this far to look at hell. But I can't go any farther than this." He reached into his tunic and pulled out a cloth bag. He opened it and took out an old-looking coin. "I'd take it kindly if you'd carry this old lucky coin with you when you go to Dagoth Ur. Sort of a token of the tough young hero I used to be. Would you do that for an old man?"

Well, how could I refuse?

"That's very kind of you." he replied. "Here's the coin. I've had it with me for a long time, and it's always brought me luck. But I have no more use for it, and I'd like to pass it on to somebody younger. Somebody going places I can't go anymore. Your generation's shaper of history ... an engine of destiny. That coin will bring you luck on the mountain. I promise. 'For Emperor and Empire,' as we say in the legions. Go with Kynareth."

He handed me the coin. I asked him about the 'Poor old Emperor'.

"The Emperor is getting old. Don't know how much longer he'll hang on. So is the whole Empire, for that matter. Getting old, that is. The Emperor and the legions have held the Empire together for hundreds of years. It's been a good thing, by and large. But maybe it's time for a change. Time for something young and new?"

"What do you mean by something young and new?" I asked.

"Oh, no idea." he replied. "Because I'm old. Old dog doesn't get new ideas. But maybe young folks like you should try some new ideas. I don't know. Could be messy. But change is never pretty."

I thanked him for his information, and we carried in, checking the tower for someone that could give us some pointers on what to expect once inside the Ghostfence.      

We finally met up with one of the members of the Buoyant Armiger by the name of Enar Dralor. He knew of my mission, and took me aside to speak with me. He acknowledged that they had all heard the Archcanon had announced Lord Vivec had selected me as champion of the Temple in the war against Dagoth Ur, and offered to help with whatever information he could give.

I told him of our mission, that we would need to retrieve two of the three artifacts that had been lost inside the Ghostfence so many years ago.

"All of our intelligence is old." he said. "No one has ventured far inside the fence for years." He gave me a map, showing what the knew. "This map shows the locations of the citadels of the various ash vampires. Sixth House creatures have become more numerous and powerful, and the most powerful can conjure powerful daedra. Until recently, we've been able to clear routes and keep them clean with raides, but no longer. There are no safe refuges or services inside the fence; you must return here to rest and heal."

Enar Dralor told us to keep the map he had shown us. We thanked him and headed up to the temple chambers.

The priestess wasn't happy with me being there, being very short with me, but she did indicate that each shrine could provide a blessing of some kind.

I made an offering at every shrine. For more than one of them, I had to do it several times, as my astrological sign caused me to simply absorb the magic instead of causing me to be affected by the blessing.