I urged my horse on a full gallop, knowing full well that agents of the Mythic Dawn would most likely try to stop us along the road. There were a few bandits that tried to stop us, but I plowed right through them, knocking them to the side of the road. All I could hear from behind me were a number of curses equating my my parents with animals. I couldn't help but laugh at some of them. I finally let the horse catch his breath as we climbed the mountain pathway to Cloud Ruler Temple.

As I reached the entrance and dismounted, I noted several injuries that the bandits had made on my horse as we ran past them. I performed a healing spell on him, and asked one of the attendants to bring him some oats and hay. He had performed well for me, and deserved a reward for getting me here safely.

I located Jauffre in the sleeping quarters, just getting into his armor. "Thank Talos you've returned safely!" he said. He noticed the Mythic Dawn robe I was wearing. In my haste, I hadn't had a chance to change clothes yet. "I hope you're not actually joining them." he said, half-jokingly.

"No," I replied. "It was necessary to wear this to get into their temple. I just didn't take the time to change." I replied.

Jauffre seemed relieved. "Do you have the Amulet?" he asked.

"No." I replied. "I was so close. I was in their shrine. Mankar Camoran was wearing it, but opened a portal and escaped with it before I could capture him."

Jauffre's face took on a somber look. "Please tell me you have some good news, at least."

"Perhaps." I replied. "During the battle with the other members of the Mythic Dawn, I was able to escape with this." I showed him the book, the Mysterium Xarxes. "I'm hopeful that it can help us open a portal to where Mankar escaped to. I know it has to be important to them - they tried to kill me for taking it."

"Well, that is some good news, at least." replied Jauffre. "You should take that to Martin right away. He'll be in the Great Hall, reading." Jauffre put his hand on my shoulder. "He's hardly taken time to sleep since you left."

I found Martin in the great hall, reading over an old book, concentrating as if the end of the world was coming soon. And perhaps that may have been exactly what was worrying him. I tried to make myself noticed, making a little noise as I sat down, adjusting my sword, but he was totally lost in thought. After he turned four more pages, he closed his eyes, put the book down, looking exhausted, trying to remember everything he had just read. As he opened his eyes again, he finally noticed me sitting there, smiling for what must have been the first time in days.

"Ah, you're back." he said. "I told Jauffre not to work."

I started to speak. "Martin, I...."

He studied the worried look on my face. "I can see you have bad news." he said. "You didn't recover the Amulet, did you?"

"No." I replied, "Mankar Camoran was wearing it." I explained. "Just before I could get close to him, he opened up some sort of portal."

Martin looked sad. "I see." he replied.

"I did manage to recover the Mysterium Xarxes from their shrine." I said, producing the book.

Martin's face went white. "By the nine!" he exclaimed out loud, "Such a thing is dangerous even to handle!" Suddenly, Martin caught himself, realizing that I had done the only other thing possible to try retrieving the Amulet. He saw my shocked looking, as if I had done something dreadfully wrong. "Forgive me." he said, in a much softer tone. "You were right to bring it here. But you'd better give it to me. I know some ways to protect myself from its evil power."

"I'm sorry." I said. "I didn't know I should handle it." I handed the book to Martin, who quickly dropped it on the table in front of him.

"No, no." he said, "I'm sorry for my earlier outburst. The book is just...evil. It might have corrupted you, if you remained in possession of it for too long."

"Can this book lead us to Camoran?" I asked.

"I'm not exactly sure." he replied. "Perhaps." he glanced at the book, studing the cover. "I suspect that the secret of how to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise, such as the way you described it, lies within these pages. But I will need time to study this." He paused for a moment, measuring what he should do, what he should tell me. "Tampering with dark secrets, even just reading them, can be very dangerous." Martin put his hand near the cover of the book, as if to feel for some kind of magical aura from it. "I'll have to proceed carefully." he finished.

"Where did this book come from?" I asked.

"As I understand it," he replied, "this evil book was written by Mehrunes Dagon himself, and given by him to Mankar Camoran. I suspect that Mankar Camoran used it to create his Paradise. Studying it should give us the means to open a gate there ourselves."

"You should be able to understand and work this, right?" I asked.

Martin smiled. "I put aside the dark arts when I became a priest." he replied. "But the workings of fate may be seen in this, too. They say 'The gods can turn anything to good', or so I piously told those who came to see me for advice." He turned back to the book, pondering it, adding "Perhaps I may yet come to believe it myself."  

"And the Oblivion Gates?" I asked.

Martin sighed. "It is now clear to me that the only way to stop the Oblivion invasion is to relight the Dragonfires. Emperor, Amulet, and Dragonfire - with these divine gifts, the daedra of Oblivion have been kept at bay for thousands of years."

"But how did it work?" I asked.

"While the Dragonfires burned, the divine barriers kept the daedra from making more than fleeting visits to our world."

"You mean like when I summon a creature?" I asked.

"Exactly." he replied. "But the Dragonfires can only be relit by an heir of the Septim blood wielding the Amulet of Kings. This is the essence of Mankar Camoran's plot. He was undone only by the merest...chance."

"You?" I asked.

Martin nodded in agreement. "But his complete victory remains perilously close. We must recover the Amulet of Kings and use it to relight the Dragonfires, before it is too late to stem Dagon's invasion.

I smiled at Martin, and he smiled back. "I hope the book can be used to help us, then." I said, not having that much more to add.

"You have been more than helpful." he replied. "In the mean time, you should speak with Jauffre. He was concerned about reports of spies in Bruma."

I started to head back to where I had left Jauffre when I heard a familiar voice. "Shakula. May I speak with you for a moment?"

I looked into the shadows, behind Martin. It was Baurus.

"I never had time to properly thank yo for your help back in the Imperial City." he said. "I wouldn't have made it back here if it weren't for you."

I told him of my encounter with the Mythic Dawn shrine, how I found it, and how many of their number I had put down. In return, he showed me a few defensive techniques I would have to practice. I was certain they would become useful in the future.

I changed out of my Mythic Dawn robe and used the spell of recall to return to the Mages Guild offices in Chorral. I had used a number of potions recently, had had to rebuild my stock before any more adventuring. My enchanted sword also needed to re-charged, otherwise the spell associated with it would not work.

I had accumulated a large number of ingredients recently, but I only needed certain potions, ones that I was becoming very familiar with. During my run through the Mythic Dawn shrine, I had also come across several very high-quality alchemical equipment, and decided to put them to immediate use. I was in a race against time, since I knew that Jauffre needed me for an important mission.

I changed clothes again, sword fully recharged, carrying a number of potions and soul gems to recharge the sword again, should I find myself in a bind.

I was about to run back to Cloud Ruler Temple, leaving by the front gate, when one of the guards mentioned something odd going on just up ahead. "A daedroth just came by." he said. "I don't where it came from, but just watch out."

Such things don't usually hang out this near to a major city. And up ahead, I could hear a loud, roaring noise. One that I had heard before.

The sky began to turn an angry red.

As I feared, just a little to the west of Chorral, an Oblivion Gate had opened. and there were already two more monsters coming out of it.

I blasted them with a shot of God's Fire, killing them within seconds.

The sky continued changing to a ruby-red hue, lightning crackled around me, and I could hear shouts of alarm from the guards a the gates of Chorral. There would not be another disaster like Kvatach. At least, not while I was alive.

I pulled out my sword and jumped into the gate, going into shadow so as not to be seen by anything there.

Again, I used the spell "Cloak of Shadow" to fight my way to the top of the tower. I had stopped collecting weapons by this time, as it would encumber me to the point where I couldn't move.

I finally made my way into the top-most chamber, finding several guardians there. I used summoned creatures to fight for me, staying safely in the background. I had already needed the use of two soul gems to recharge my sword. I didn't want to waste them on these goons.     

Once again, I had made it to the Sigil stone, removed it from the flow of power it was guiding, and watched as the holding magic of the Oblivion Gate fell apart around me.

As usual, I suddenly found myself right back where I started - in front of where the Oblvion Gate had been created.

Chorral was safe from attack, as long as another gate didn't open up within the city.

But now, it was time to return to Cloud Ruler Temple. I knew Jauffre would be wondering what had happened to me, and he had enough to worry about as it was without my adding to his list of things to be concerned about.