I was greeted by my mechanical guard, Primus Pilus.

"Master....greetings....you....are...injured."

"Yes, Primus," I replied, "I am most certainly injured."

"You....repair....self." he replied, advising me to use a health potion. It was nice that he cared about my health.  

I headed up the stairs and through the tunnel to the next level of my stronghold.

I dumped my stuff on the floor and fell into the bed, hoping that I would wake up and that this would all be a bad dream.

I was more tired than hungry, and sleep came quickly.   

The captain of my guard, Sara N'tashra woke me in my room two days later, to see if I was ok. She saw me without my shirt, and as soon as she saw the stains on my skin, she froze in her tracks.

"Master Eldorf!" she exclaimed, "What happened to you? Is that....oh my, by the gods, you have contracted corprus! Oh, I am so sorry!"

"It is a long story." I replied. "It came as a result of a battle with a member of the Sixth House. I must check my library for information about this disease."

As she left, I added "Sara, keep an eye out for strangers in the area. If you see dreamers in the area, I want them captured and questioned, understood?"

"Yes," she said, "I will advise Primus to notify the mechanical guards as you command."  

For the three days and nights, I poured over every book in my library. The Telvani had made extensive studies of just about every type of magick out there, but even with their extensive knowledge, there was nothing about a cure in the works for corprus. Every piece of information on the subject gave the same conclusion: loss of mental faculties, followed by distortion of the body, and eventual loss of the victim's life due to distortion of the internal organs.

I couldn't believe that I had come this far to end up like this, but after realizing that I had been reading the last book 5 times in a row, I gave up.

I did not want to be a danger to anyone, and I knew that eventually, I would go on a rampage, striking out at others around me without thinking.

There would only be one safe place for me now: The caves below my stronghold.

I went down the stairs, got some food, then headed to the lowest reaches of my stronghold.

Since the Telvani grow their houses, the roots extend deep into the ground. I didn't remember actually making it into the lower areas, but became awake again, standing right in front of a 40 foot drop, where a pool of hot lava waited for me.

I stood there for several minutes, wondering if it would be worth it to just drop myself in, instead of going through the torture of the disease.    

After a few minutes of sulking, I finally decided to simply live in the deepest reaches of the cave. As far as the rest of the world, Caius, the Empire, and everyone else was concerned, I was defeated in my battle with Dagoth Gares, and that would be the end of my story.

As I went deeper into the caves, I came upon a rushing waterfall.

While the area was volcanic, the water seemed sweet and refreshing.  

I stood in the path of the rushing water, and loved it. It felt as though the strength of the waterfall would wash the corprus out of me, along with the other two blight diseases I had become afflicted with.

I must have stood there for 20 minutes before I realized that the cold water was simply numbing me.  

I went on through the waterfall and found a small cave at the end of it. In the cave was a small bed and desk, complete with books.

Well, at least I'd have something to read until I forgot what the words meant.

I laid down on the hammock and fell into a deep sleep, waking only when I was hungry.

I felt sad, like I was missing someone, only I couldn't remember her name.  

COMING UP: FRIENDS TO THE RESCUE