It was several more chambers before we finally found a single bone on the floor of what looked like a small bedroom.

It was hard to believe this was the only known physical form of a race that had disappeared over a thousand years ago.   

We had destroyed just about every moving object inside the Aleft stronghold, so Laurenna and I emptied every single container we had encountered on our way inside this place. We found lots of ebony, emeralds, rubies, scrap metal, and a lot of those very heavy cogs that merchants pay so much for.

Once finished, we did the water-walking spell and headed back to Gnaar Mok.    

Just as we were leaving Gnaar Mok, I remembered something that M'aiq the Liar had told me. It was about a sunken shrine near Hla Oad, south of were we were.

"How can you find such a thing?" Laurenna asked.

"From the air." I said, smiling.

"Will you be long?" she asked.

"Not that long." I said. "I'll just fly around the area, and if I don't find anything after 10 or 15 minutes, I'll return here."

"Ok," she said, "but don't get into trouble."    

I promised I'd be a good wizard, and with a wink and a smile, I turned myself into a cliff-racer.  After getting my bearings, I rose a few feet over the treetops and headed south to Hla Oad.

I wasn't really sure this thing I had been told about was real, but since I was in the area, I figured I may as well check it out.

I found Hla Oad, was attacked by several other cliff-racers defending their territory, then headed due west, hovering over the water once in a while to check for anything unusual. All I could find were several slaughterfish and not much else.

I was about to give up when something unusual caught my eye.   

I almost couldn't believe my eyes. The Liar had actually told the truth about at least one thing. There was truly a sunken shrine under the water.    

I dropped to the surface of the water and changed back to my handsome self. I could have gotten closer to the before changing back, as I did a belly-flop into the water.

After killing off the two slaughterfish that attacked me, I used a water-breathing spell and did some exploring. 

While exploring the shrine, Boethiah, the Daedra the shrine was dedicated to, spoke to me. He was understandably upset that his shrine was allowed to sink, and remain in ruins.

The Daedra said that if I helped re-build it's shrine, I'd be rewarded with Goldbrand, a powerful, legendary sword. However, I'd have to find a sculptor to do the work.

Boethiah gave me a riddle to help me find a sculptor to recreate his shrine. The main clue was that the person I needed to find lived in Caldera.

Well, I had to go there anyway to sell off some of the stuff I had found in the Dwemer stronghold.

I swam back to the surface, changed back into a cliff-racer, and flew back to Laurenna in Gnaar Mok to give her the good news about my find.

Laurenna was amazed to hear that there was actually a real shrine under the water.

"We have to go to Caldera anyway and sell off the stuff we found, so we can find the sculptor there and then head for home.   

Once we arrived in Caldera, we asked a few people around town about sculptors, and someone suggested we check the place were all the orks hang out.

Well, I thought that was a bit strange, but this is a strange place, after all, so I had nothing to lose by checking it out. Besides, that's where Creeper stays, and I was going there anyway. 

After selling all of our loot to Creeper, we asked about the resident sculptor and were directed to the third floor of the building, were we found Duma gro-Lag.

"You need not worry," he growled, "my anger is reserved for the foolish."

I spoke to him about the shrine to Boethiah that had sunk under the seas.

"You want me Duma, to build a shrine?" he said. "I am most honored by your request. Usually, I just stay up here and smash this rock or that rock and see what happens to it."

"What do you need to perform this task?" I asked.

Duma thought for a moment, then said "I will have to find a place to build this shrine. It must be in a good place, lots of rocks that I can use. I will also need 2,000 septims for material and an idea of how the shrine should look. Maybe you can find a book with pictures that will help."

I said I would find the right book while he was out searching for just the right place to build it, and return in a few days.   

Upon our return to Balmora, I stopped in at the basement of the Illuminated Order and handed the bone (a femur, I think), to Thuvien, advising him I'd be back in a few days for more tasks. 

I used the spellscroll to return to Solstheim castle and immediately checked my library for any books or references to Daedric shrines. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything helpful. I also checked my other libraries, but still came up with nothing useful.

This would require a trip to Jobasha's Rare Bookstore in Vivic.  

I used the house ring of teleport to return to Caldera and re-join Laurenna.

"We'll have to go to the city of Vivic and check with Jobasha's Rare Bookstore tomorrow." I said, then added "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Dinner is on me, tonight." she replied. "Go get changed into something more appropriate."

Well, I hadn't had someone take me to dinner before, but I wasn't going to complain.   

It was getting late in the day as we strolled across the bridge and headed to the Eight Plates for dinner.

Suddenly, a dark elf by the name of Rararyn Radarys stopped us. He pointed directly at me, with a wild look in his eyes, as if possessed.

"The Sixth House, the Sleeping House, House Dagoth, the House of Lord Dagoth, the true house, the one house to welcome all true Dunmer, and drive the n'wah from our land, calls to you, Eldorf Dragonmeal."

I was taken aback that he called me by name!

I asked him about Dagoth Ur, and he replied "He is the Lord and father of the mountain! he sleeps, but when he wakes, we shall RISE from our dreams and we shall sweep our land clean of the n'wah."

"How do you know my name?" I asked.  He ignored my question. By this time, he had attacked a crowd, including one of the Redoran guards of the city.

"Why have you denied him?" the sleeper went on to say. "As Lord Dagoth has said, 'All shall greet him as flesh, or as dust.'"

He turned to confront Laurenna, saying that all outlanders will be driven from the land, and at that point, I stopped him. "You have said enough!" I shouted. "Leave us in peace, or I shall make quick work of you."

The guard told Rararyn to move along, and the sight of too many of "us" and only one of "him" apparently caused him to think a little more clearly.

I had remembered that much earlier in my searches of the sewers of Vivic, someone else calling himself a dreamer, had rambled on about pretty much the same thing. The only difference was that he didn't know me by name. This was something very, very different....and disturbing.