The Cure For Curie (Complete!)

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"You remember what you're supposed to say when you hand the guard the letter?" Cosnach asked the fidgeting courier.

"Yes. Yes, I remember. You've said it enough times." He replied nodding frantically.

"I just want to be sure. This is very important business." Cosnach handed the small man an envelope and a sack of gold. "Listen, there's another in it for you if you make sure to tell them about Whiterun."

The courier nodded as he snatched the items, dashing out of the house to start his task.

"You're sure this plan is sound?" Jordis, their housecarl, asked.

"Not really. I'm hoping it all just kind of falls into place. Once those mages find out we have the book, they won't be able to resist the bait." He answered as he moved to sit in front of the fire.

His mind was swept away by the dancing flames. He worried about Lilelle. He hoped the healers would be able to undo the damage done to her. He hoped his half cocked plan would work. He knew it was a long shot, and more likely than not, he would be walking into an ambush. He didn't mind though, his wife needed information, and he planned to get it at whatever cost.

He knew that if she was awake now, she would have never let him go through with this. He figured that she might even have it all put together by now, even with the small amount of information they had gathered from the temple. She probably had already thought up a full proof way to stop these mages and his hair brained scheme was nothing more than nonsense. None of that mattered now. His wife was laying upstairs, broken. He couldn't help her any other way than trying his best to make headway with the necromancers and putting a face to the Undead King.

He poured mead from a keg into a metal tankard and returned to his chair in a slump. Tomorrow was a busy day, but tonight he would drink. Drink for hope. Drink away the pain he felt. Drink away the fear. Drink to find his courage. The mead warmed his belly as the fire warmed his toes, quickly putting him to sleep.

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"I have a package for you. Wouldn't say who it was from, but paid a lot of gold to be sure it was top piority." The courier said as he was met at the gate.

A guard dressed in the armor of the Thalmor moved forward to take the envelope. The courier cocked his head in confusion as he studied the man. He thought it quite odd that a short Breton man was part of the Aldmeri Dominion, but knew better not to ask any questions.

"Where'd this get delivered from?" The guard asked, his tone heavily implying he would have very little patience.

"Whiterun. Man staying at the Bannered Mare." He replied slowly backing away. As the guard reached to unlock the gate, the courier turned and sprinted off. "Gotta run! Lots of packages to deliver."

"Shit." The guard spat as he moved away from the gate and back toward his post.

"What is it?" A dark elf clad in the same armor asked.

"Don't know. It says it's addressed to the king."

"You better take it to Lady Adla at once if you know what's good for you."

The Breton nodded and went inside the embassy. He walked through the small ballroom and into the living quarters. There was a back door that lead to a courtyard where he was sure the woman would be.

The courtyard had been completely torn apart. Since the mages had seized control of the Thalmor Embassy they had dismantled the second building in the back and had turned the courtyard into an evergrowing pit. They were digging down into the earth in search of the Dragur Matron. She was the one woman who could bring about the change that the necromancers longed for, and the unlimited power that would come with it.

The guard spotted the stern woman hunched over a wood table studying her notes. She was the Arch Necromancer at the embassy and she was as cruel as she was commanding. There was no mage in all of Skyrim better suited to run their operation here than the Bosmer woman he was walking towards.

"Excuse me, ma'am." He said softly. She looked up at him, glaring at the disruption. Without another word he handed her the letter and scurried back to his post.

Adla read the words Undead King scrawled across the front of the envelope. She turned it over and cracked the wax seal, she would judge it's importance first. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the ancient words written on the parchment. It was a page from the treasured book they had lost in the cave. On the back was written:

I have something that belongs to you, as you are now very aware. It can be yours for a price. I shall await you at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun. Send an emissary if the king is too much of a coward to come himself. I'll be sitting on the first bar stool.

Adla read the words over and over, struggling to think of a plan. They were days away from uncovering the Holy Mother, and they would need the ancient incantations to return her to life. She couldn't go to the king with this, he had not been told of the book's loss. No, she would have to go herself. She was an Arch Mage after all, perfectly capable of handling a buffoon looking for a quick payout. She would dispatch of this nonsense quickly and be back in time with the book.

The king didn't have to know. She had plenty of time to correct the mistake made. She needed to prepare for the journey. Whiterun was a day's ride or more away. She smiled wide, everything would work out. She was sure of it.