Since I had already found the dorr once, it wasn't hard to find again. And as soon as I'd gone through the short stretch of tunnel beyond it, I could understand why it was there. Instead of a long underground passage like I was expecting, there was a large area open to the sky. Judging by the number of cave entrances I could see, this part of the massif had been riddled with caves, and had collapsed a long time ago. The local wildlife had moved in, and there were a lot of creatures being blocked by that door.
The Reef Vipers and Welwa seemed to have divided the place among them. The Reef Vipers preferred the floor of the basin, near the river, presumably the same one that carved all the caves. The slopes were infested with Welwa, and there would probably be something else in the caves when I reached them.
The abundance of predeators hadn't stopped someone from building walkways and ramps, so this area had been inhabited by people (or at least goblins) in the past. If they were still here, they'd have kept the numbers of the critters down, wouldn't they? Presumably they'd left other signs of their past habitation in the caves, if Imredil found anything of interest here, it was likely to be in those ruins.
I followed the walkways as much as possible, on the assumption that they would be more likely to lead to places of interest than the other trails. I soon found myself going into caves at the higher levels, which is where I encountered the goblins. Now, did they build the walkways, or just take them over when they moverd in? And had they occupied the ruins as well (if there were some,)?
There didn't seem to be any of the outside creatures inside the caves, so apparently the same territorial agreements that I'd noted outside applied. I did at one point come out to an area with a Gryphon's nest, but went back inside and left it alone.
Finally, after a few encounters with hostile goblins, I started to see evidence of Elven construction. Old, and crumbling, but this was most likely where I'd find Imredil.
I did not expect to find daedra, however. Perhaps I should have, because this one was definitely one of Mephala's, a Spiderkith with her summoned spider cohorts.
When she went down, she gloated that she'd delayed me enough. "My mistress has already claimed her prize."
I hoped that didn't mean Imredil.
In the room beyond her, I found Imredil being dragged into a portal, and a knight on glowing golden armour trying to prevent it. He looked suspiciously like the one that had been trying to contact Valsirenn and myself earlier, but now he was actually here, and taking part.
I joined him in defending Imredil, and burning the webs, but the portal changed its focus, and captured him instead. I soon discovered why.
Imredil was no longer a valuable hostage. He'd been poisoned, and was dying fast. He gave me his Resolute Diamond, and another gem, which he didn't have tiome to explain before he passed.
As soon as I left the ruins, a projection of Valsirenn summoned me back to Artaeum, so I made my way there, hoping for some explanation. I especially wanted to know what use a Resolute Diamond was to us without its keeper.
Iachesis took one look at the gem Imredil had given me (not the Resolute Diamond, the other one), and told me it was a Dawnstar gem, associated with Meridia, and it was her Golden Knight that had probably dropped it, or given it to Imredil. He took me down to the Dreaming cave, where there was a portal to Oblivion, blocked by a glowing barrier of daedric origin (or so Iachesis informed me). He'd recovered some of his lost memory, and now recalled bringing the Heart of Trandparent Law down here, and going through that portal. Of course, he couldn't retrace his path with that barrier in place.
"Hold the Dawnstar gem near the barrier, and see what it does," he requested.
I did so, and the barrier recoiled a litlle, but not all the way.
"We'll need to reunite the gem with Dawnbreaker before we can get through," Iachesis proclaimed. "And that means finding the Golden Knight who bears it. We will need Meridia's assistance in locating him, but using the Dreaming Cave to contact her is too dangerous with this barrier here. It will most likely relay everything to Mephala, Vile and Nocturnal."
I went outside to find Leythen and Valsirenn, to see if they had any idea how to contach Meridia. I'd already asked Nocturnal if she knew anything, but Mephala hadn't shared any information with her. Meridia was our only option.
Leythen informed me that Mephala's cultists had attacked Meridia's cultists wherever they could find them, and there were not likely to be many left to ask for directions to any of her shrines. He suspected that Vile's cultists and Nocturnal's had taken similar actions, including against the cults of any other Daedric Princes that had got involved in the conflict.
"The cultists are at war with each other?" I asked. "I always assumed they just ignored each other, as a lost cause."
Leythen responded that he'd been informed by Mephala that this was the case now, because the Daedric Princes themselves were in conflict. The Court of Bedlam, the direct agents of the the triad, had nothing to do with the cults, but were kept informed as the cultists could be dangerous in times like these.
I decided at this point to let Razum-Dar know of the cultist war, and at the same time, I could ask if he knew of any Meridian shrine on the island.
That was a good call. Not only did he know of a shrine, but one of Raz's personal friends was a member of her cult there. He'd like to make sure she was safe.
We travelled together to Eton Nir Grotto, which was the site of the shrine. We found Sadara-do (Raz's friend) outside. She fled from the attack, and was afraid to try and go back in, with all the daedra the Me[hala cultists had summoned still in there.
"Raz and Sadara-do will try and enter through a side-entrance. You go in the regular entrance, and attract their attention away from us," Raz decided.
I didn't like to admit it, but that was actually the best plan. If we all tried to sneak in, we were more likely to give ourselves away as a larger group. Two could do, while three might not. And a distraction would certainly make it easier for Sadara-do to get through. Nocturnal also reminded me that I was the only one here who was immortal, even if the others didn't know that.
I probably had her help fighting my way in. The daedra never attacked me as large groups, and seemed oblivious to battles that they should have been able to hear. And although I didn't know the way, I seemed to take the most direct route.
I reached the shrine as efficiently as I could, it seemed. As I approached, a light began to shine at the top of the statue of Meridia, between her upraised hands. It lit up her face, and also let me see that Raz and Sadara-do had made it here safely. Sadara was dismayed by the state of the shrine, with dead bodies strewn around, amd furniture broken everywhere, but the re-appearance of the light gave her hope.
"Meridia is still here, and wants to talk with us," she proclaimed.
"The statue wants to talk? To Raz?" Raz said, puzzled.
"My followers murdered. My shrine desecrated. The other Daedric Princes must answer for these insults. But I sense a question in your mind. Speak. Ask what you will of the Prince of Light."
"Your Golden Knight was captured and his sword damaged. We seek you guidance on how to repair it," I responded.
"They dare to steal my vessel? To hold prisoner the agent I put in place to foil their despicable plans? My light will not be snuffed out! You must set Darien Gautier free!"
"Darien is the Golden Knight's name?" I asked.
"He thinks of himself as the mortal Darien Gautier, but he is the vessel of my power in your realm. You and he will need to work together to end this. You must enter Mephala's realm and retrieve him."
"I have the Dawnstar gem from the sword. Will that help?" I added
"You can use it to locate Darien. Now return to the Ritemaster and tell him what I said."
