Honor of the Dragonborn

Raven Rock

Vilkas had never been out of Skyrim. He watched in fascination as the port of Windhelm disappeared in the distance. Once they got out over open waters the rocking of the ship made him a little queasy, but the cool salt spray was refreshing and his stomach settled once he got used to the motion. Krinna didn't seem to be bothered by the rocking at all, and Vilkas was amused by the almost child-like excitement on her face as she looked out over bow of the ship.
"First time on the sea?" Gjalund laughed, watching the two of them looking out at the water.
"Is it that obvious?" Krinna grumbled over her shoulder. Gjalund just laughed and Vilkas rolled his eyes. The captain certainly was in a better mood now that he was out in his element and five hundred septims richer.
After a while they saw the column of smoke coming up from the horizon and Vilkas knew from what he'd read that that was the smoke from Red Mountain. Eventually the actual mountain came into view as they approached the island. Krinna commented quietly that she recognized it all. Then finally, they were pulling into port at Raven Rock.
Vilkas took in the curious scenery that Krinna had described from her vision; there were large stone walls and domed buildings with the occasional evergreen tree, and a dusting of volcanic ash that seemed to be everywhere. Even the sky was tinted from the volcano. Vilkas noted that it was definitely different from the sights he was used to in Skyrim. Part of him was curious and excited to explore somewhere so different, the other part was uncomfortable to realize how far they were from home.
Vilkas's attention was drawn back to the ship as the crew finished tying up at the dock.
"I don't recognize you, so I'll assume this is your first visit to Raven Rock, outlanders," a stern looking Dunmer addressed them from the dock. "Raven Rock is sovereign territory of House Redoran. This is Morrowind, not Skyrim. While you're here you will be expected to abide by our laws. Now, state your intentions."
"I'm looking for Miraak," Krinna answered, her irritation from before returning as she said The name. "Do you know him?"
"Miraak..." the dunmer repeated in confusion, "I... I'm unsure." He paused and thought for a moment. "I swear I know the name, but I cannot place it," he said a moment later.
Krinna glanced back at Vilkas and he shrugged in response.
"Can you tell me anything about him?" She asked hopefully.
"I don't think so... I'm not..." the dunmer seemed to look more confused the more he tried to remember. "The name has something to do with the Earth Stone, I think. But I'm not sure what." He pointed out to a large stone with structures around it on a peninsula that was on the other side of the small bay they were docked in.
"Thank you," Krinna told him, "we'll start there."
The dunmer gave a generally disinterested nod at that and stepped to the side, to allow them to climb off the ship. Vilkas followed Krinna, and they each took a second to get used to the solid ground again. They heard the dunmer greet Gjalund... Vilkas didn't exactly try to eavesdrop, but the pair weren't really being quiet... He suspected Gjalund was trying to swindle the Dunmer, claiming this shipment of supplies cost double the agreed upon price... so he'd made a mental note not to trust Gjalund too much... he also learned the Dunmer's name was Adril, and he was obviously in charge on at least some level.
Vilkas's attention went next to the guards, they seemed to patrol the city just like guards he'd see back home, but their armor was of a variety Vilkas had never seen before; it looked to be mostly made of some kind of bone.
"I'm thinking we go see if we can find anymore clues at that 'earth stone,' and then find somewhere to stay the night," Krinna suggested quietly. "Thoughts?"
"Sounds good love," Vilkas nodded. "There's bound to be an inn somewhere in Raven Rock."
Krinna simply nodded in response and they began to make their way curiously toward the large stone Adril had pointed out.
***
The Earth Stone was a tall pointed stone that stood in a shallow pool of water, but the especially odd thing was the seemingly random collection of people around it. There were guards and civilians, Nords and Dunmer... they were all working as if in a trance, building a wooden structure around the stone.
Krinna recognized them immediately as the enslaved people from her vision. She tried to ask a few of them what they were doing, but they all ignored her and continued reciting some cryptic mantra.
"You there... You don't seem to be in quite the same state as the others here," a Dunmer in red and gold robes addressed Krinna suddenly. Krinna realized she recognized him from her vision; one of those images that flew by too fast to really register, but left her with a sense of deja vu now. She knew he was a wizard of some sort, so she hoped he'd be more help than the man at the docks.
"Very interesting," the man continued as if he was studying them. "May I ask what it is you're doing here?"
"I'm looking for someone named Miraak," Krinna replied.
"Miraak...Miraak..." the wizard said thoughtfully. "It sounds familiar but I can't quite place... Oh. Wait. I recall. But that makes very little sense. Miraak's been dead for thousands of years."
"That's what I read too," Vilkas spoke up, "but he's apparently alive enough to send cultists after my wife." He sounded exasperated and irritated, but that didn't seem to phase the Dunmer at all.
"So what does that mean?" Krinna asked exasperatedly.
"I'm not sure, but it is fascinating, isn't it."
"Not exactly the word I'd use, but sure..." Krinna grumbled.
"Perhaps it has some relation to what's going on here. Quite unexpected," the wizard turned and looked back at the earth stone. "I'm afraid I can't give you any answers. But there are ruins of an ancient temple of Miraak's toward the center of the island. If I were you, I'd look there."
"What are these people doing?" Krinna asked. She knew he was an intelligent man, so she was hoping he'd have some useful information on something but...
"Building something, clearly," the Dunmer replied dryly. Krinna rolled her eyes. "And yet they don't seem to have much to say about it," The man continued looking curiously back at the enslaved people, "I'm very interested to find out what happens when they finish."
"Has anyone tried to stop this?" Vilkas asked, looking over at the chanting people.
"I certainly have not!" The wizard answered almost indignantly. "Doing so would interfere with whatever is going on, and I would be unable to see how this all turns out."
Krinna rolled her eyes again and looked back to Vilkas who looked just as annoyed as she was.
"Well thanks for the information," Krinna said in partial sarcasm.
"Yes, yes," the Dunmer replied in a bored tone as he continued watching the people build.
They turned and began walking back toward town.
"He was in my vision," Krinna told Vilkas quietly. "Pretty sure we haven't seen the last of him."
"Wonderful," Vilkas grumbled sarcastically.
Krinna was suspecting he'd been part of her vision that came with a feeling of irritation, but at least they had another lead; Miraak had a temple...

They made their way back into town and found what they suspected was the only inn in Solstheim, 'the Retching Netch.'
"What in Oblivion is a netch?" Vilkas asked when they got to their room for the night.
"I have no idea," Krinna shook her head, "I have a feeling we'll have things to explore around here once we're done with Miraak."
"Aye," Vilkas chuckled, "might even be worth coming back for a hunting trip."
"Yeah... I'm sure whatever a netch is, you've never killed one," Krinna teased.
"Yet," Vilkas said with a cocky smirk. Krinna laughed.

Krinna slept fitfully and her dreams were nothing but the repeating of that cryptic chanting that the enslaved people kept repeating.
She woke to find Vilkas sitting blearily beside her, rubbing his eyes.
"You alright?" Krinna asked as she leaned forward to wrap her arms around her husband's bare midsection.
"Aye," Vilkas answered in a low grumble. "Haven't slept that badly since the beast blood though," he added. Krinna thought he sounded tired. She hugged him and rested her head on his muscled shoulder.
"You hear that damn chanting too?" She grumbled.
"Kept wanting to get up and go work on building that damn temple," he nodded. "You too?"
"Mmhmm," Krinna nodded against his shoulder. "Do you want to get up now or try and get more sleep?"
Vilkas leaned back and rolled over in her arms, effectively rolling Krinna underneath him. "I want to drown all of that nonsense out for a while," he said in a low, husky tone, grinning down at her. Krinna responded with a surprised grin before she pulled him down into a kiss.