Archcanon Tarvus
Lord Vivec must conserve his remaining energy, so we need to solve this problem on our own. It all comes back to Chodala. That damned Ashlander's draining the Warrior-Poet's power! We need to stop him and get that damn staff!
Vestige
Sunna'rah makes Chodala invulnerable. How do we circumvent the staff?
Archcanon Tarvus
How should I know? That's not a skill the Tribunal teaches. Return to Barilzar's tower and get Sotha Sil's former apprentice to come up with some kind of countermeasure. I'm sure he knows more than he's told you. I do have one concern, though...
Vestige
Just one concern?
Archcanon Tarvus
You see right through me, Outlander. I have more worries than a kwama queen has eggs. I'm talking about Chodala's sister. Seryn claims to want to help, to want peace, but I don't trust her. Seek out Barilzar, but be wary of the Ashlander's sister.
Vestige
I'll return to Barilzar's tower and see if he knows how we can circumvent Chodala's staff.
The Vestige returns to Barilzar's Tower to talk to the mage.
Barilzar
Is someone up there? I could use some help down here!
Barilzar is in the Inner Sanctum. The Vestige goes through the Tower Understructure to reach the Sanctum and fights three skaafin and a hunger on the way.
Barilzar
Hurry, please! I have a natural aversion to daedra!
Barilzar is working on a dwarven spider.
Barilzar
So hard to concentrate and maintain schedules when interruptions constantly occur. Don't they know the Great Gear never pauses in its rotations? So that was you up there? I appreciate the assistance. Daedric entities can be very unpredictable.
Vestige
Why were Daedra attacking you, Barilzar?
Barilzar
Logic has very little place in the behavior of Daedra, my helpful associate. Studying the fabric of reality does tend to attract unwanted attention, but these creatures appeared just before you entered my tower. I wonder, why have you returned?
Vestige
I located Sotha Sil's tool, but it's been altered to steal Lord Vivec's divine energy.
Barilzar
Ah, a modification of my master's old experiments, turning a simple tool into a dangerous weapon. Ingenious! Evil, yes, but also quite brilliant. Hmm. A tonal inverter should counter it. Uses sound waves to temporarily disrupt the flow of energy.
Vestige
Do you have a tonal inverter I can use?
Barilzar
No, of course not. I just invented it! I need proper components to build such a device. My hirelings scour the land for materials all the time. Here's a list. Head out the back door and ask them to direct you to these common Dwarven components.
Vestige
Where can I find these hirelings of yours?
Barilzar
Hirelings? Yes, they worked for me. Before they quit, ungrateful netches! Still, I paid them well before the pistons slipped their alignments. They should know where to find the components. Last I heard, Snorfin and the others were in Molag Mar.
Vestige
Do you think the Daedra will return to trouble you?
Barilzar
The situation is wound dangerously tight, but I believe the gears revolve around you. Once you leave, I should be perfectly safe. Or, at least as safe as I ever am in the midst of all these experiments. You however... stay vigilant, my friend.
Vestige
Can you tell me more about these components you need me to find?
Barilzar
I could, but I won't pour five-year-old flin into a cracked decanter. No offense. Suffice it to say, they're fairly common as far as Dwemer components go. Use the list and talk to my former hirelings. I'll build the device the moment you return.
The Vestige searches Molag Mar for Barilzar's hirelings.
Leona Blasio
If you're another pilgrim looking for charity, I suggest you move along. I have neither the time to waste nor the gold to spare. I'm currently between employment and my own funds have become dangerously depleted.
Vestige
Barilzar sent me to talk to you. I need to find the items on this list.
Leona Blasio
Let me see that. What's that crazy mage need this time? Hmm. I suppose you could find a manual clockwork shaft in the Nchuleft ruins. But I'd avoid that place if I were you. If the roof doesn't collapse, the constructs will rip you apart.
Vestige
Barilzar needs it to build something important, so tell me how to find the manual clockwork shaft.
Leona Blasio
If you insist. Deep in the ruins churns a big machine. When I was there, it sputtered and vibrated, collapsing parts of the ceiling. Lava and rock fell everywhere. You need to get past that and some nasty constructs to retrieve the item.
Vestige
Why don't you work for Barilzar any more?
Leona Blasio
That mage is a menace! Oh, he always paid well, but the places he asked me to go—each was more dangerous than the last. And if I had to hear about the Great Gear one more time... For my own health and sanity, I had to break ties with Barilzar.
Snorfin
I feel like such a puny snowback, hiding here in Molag Mar! But you don't want to hear about my troubles. What can this broken Nord do for you?
Vestige
Barilzar sent me to talk to you. He said you could help me find the items on this list.
Snorfin
Barilzar! He's the reason I'm a shattered man, doomed to become a cowering sheep like the rest of these pilgrims! Oh, all right. Let me see that. Hmm. Arkngthunch-Sturdumz. You can find a sonance generator there—after you deal with the steam trap.
Vestige
What's that about a steam trap?
Snorfin
The cursed contraption! I almost had it figured out when a ghost floated up to me. No problem, I think, but then it enters a centurion! Ghost machines! No sane Nord can fight ghost machines! I dropped my notes and ran as fast as I could.
Vestige
You left your notes in Arkngthunch-Sturdumz because of a few ghosts?
Snorfin
Not just ghosts! Ghosts that possessed Dwarven machines! I'm through working for that crazy old mage and his clockwork monstrosities! But if you want to get past the steam trap, find my notes and follow the directions.
Volrina Quarra
Damned vampires! I'll find a way to make them pay for what they did to my brother, I swear it on the Tribunal and any Daedra willing enough to listen! What do you want? Can't you leave a person to her anger and her grief?
Vestige
Barilzar said you could help me locate the items on this list.
Volrina Quarra
He did, did he? Let me see that list. Hmm. Well, the crazy old mage always said there were no coincedences. The inversion conduit. I saw one in Galom Daeus—right before I barely escaped from those damned vampires.
Vestige
Tell me about these damned vampires.
Volrina Quarra
Eager to become cattle for the bloodsuckers? The Berne clan killed my brother, damn their eyes! The item you seek was in the manufactory, but you'll need a control rod to get a dwarve spider to unlock it for you.
Vestige
Why did you stop working with Barilzar?
Volrina Quarra
Because the mage wanted to send me to the far side of Vvardenfell and I need to remain here. I'm not going anywhere until I make the Berne clan pay for what it did to my brother. If you can kill some of the bastards, that'll be a start.
The Vestige goes to Arkngthunch-Sturdumz, Nchuleft and Galom Daeus in order to retrieve the necessary items. Then, they return to Barilzar's Tower.
Barilzar
Have you only just arrived, or is this you returning? Can't always keep the cogs and pistons in line. Ah, I remember! The components for the tonal inverter! Were you able to acquire them?
Vestige
Yes, I recovered the sonance generator, the inversion conduit, and the manual clockwork shaft.
Barilzar
Impressive! I thought I'd never see you again. That's what usually happens when I employ hirelings to acquire rare and exotic items from dangerous locations. Well, the Great Gear doesn't dawdle and neither do I! Hand them over and I'll get to work.
Vestige
Here are the items you requested.
Barilzar
One tonal inverter coming up! Connect this, tighten that spring, don't explode! Almost done... there! Whew! Got it right the first time! No explosions... yet. Go ahead. You can take it. I'm sure it's stable. Mostly sure. Once the tonal inverter is in your possession, talk to me and I'll tell you how it works.
The Vestige takes the Tonal Inverter.
Barilzar
Do you like it, my latest creation? I call it the tonal inverter! Did I mention that already? No matter, it should counteract Sotha Sil's modified staff, at least momentarily. I assume you know how to use this, correct?
Vestige
No, I don't know how to use the tonal inverter.
Barilzar
Of course you don't, I just invented it! Honestly... You won't use it, anyway, not if you plan to fight the one who wields Sotha Sil's staff. Almost impossible to operate the tonal inverter while also engaged in battle. It's too cumbersome.
Vestige
So how do I use it to counteract Sunna'rah?
Barilzar
Sunna'rah? The blessed staff? I suppose the name fits. Sort of. You'll need someone to assist you. Someone you trust. Oh, not me. Too busy. Too fragile! But using the tonal inverter is definitely a two-person activity.
Vestige
Is the tonal inverter hard to use?
Barilzar
Easy as scrib jelly pie! One person operates the controls to generate the sound waves. When it reaches the proper pitch, you activate the inverter and discharge its energy to disrupt Sunna'rah's power. Temporarily. Here. I wrote you instructions.
The Vestige travels to Vivec City. They go to the Archcanon's Office. Seryn is there, talking to Tarvus. Two Buoyant Armigers are there, too.
Archcanon Tarvus
Your presence defiles this city. How dare you demand to see our lord!
Seryn
I'm here to help... If you won't listen to me, listen to the Outlander!
Archcanon Tarvus
Thank the Three, the Outlander has returned. Was Barilzar able to help us? Pay no attention to this Ashlander. She's been blathering on about Lord Vivec's condition and how she can help, but I'm certain it's a trick of some sort. I was just about to have her thrown out of the city—or possibly tossed to the slaughterfish.
Vestige
That's Seryn, Chodala's sister. She helped me in Ald'ruhn.
Archcanon Tarvus
I know who she is! I still don't trust her and I refuse to let her anywhere near Lord Vivec. Who knows what an Ashlander would do while the Warrior-Poet is in such a fragile state?
Vestige
I need her help. It's going to take two of us to operate Barilzar's tonal inverter.
Archcanon Tarvus
A tonal what now? Well, since I can't go with you, what with Lord Vivec requiring my undivided attention, I suppose we'll have to let the Ashlander assist you. Very well. Take her and defeat Chodala. Then bring me his staff so we can restore Vivec.
Vestige
Sunna'rah will soon be in our hands.
Seryn
If that old idiot is what passes for a Tribunal leader, it's no wonder the Houses are in such disarray. No time to dwell on that, though. I found my brother! And it's worse than I feared. Chodala's quest for power has led him down a dark path.
Vestige
What do you mean, a dark path?
Seryn
Chodala and his most loyal followers have taken refuge in a ruin called Kaushtarai. It's an ancient shrine devoted to the Daedric Prince Malacath. I think my brother plans to ask the God of Curses to help him.
Vestige
I've got a device that will counter Sunna'rah, but I need your help to use it.
Seryn
It will allow us to stop Chodala? Then of course I'll help you. Since the Tribunal's dogs took my weapons, I'll need to replace them. Meet me at the ruins when you're ready.
Vestige
I'll see you at Kaushtarari.
The Vestige meets Seryn on the stairs at the entrance to Kaushtarari.
Seryn
Here we are, on the Furious One's bloody doorstep, preparing to enter a Daedric ruin to try to stop my brother's march toward power. I hope that device you mentioned really can counter the invulnerability granted by the staff, Sunna'rah.
Vestige
Take this. It's a tonal inverter. It should disrupt the staff's power for a short amount of time.
Seryn
Well, that's larger than I expected. But it looks simple enough to operate. I suppose it's better that I work the device. I'm not sure I'm capable of attacking Chodala. He's still my brother, no matter how dangerous his beliefs have become.
Vestige
Take a look at these instructions. They explain how to use the tonal inverter.
Seryn
I'll help you counter the effects of Sunna'rah. Maybe once we neutralize it, Chodala will listen to reason. I know that's probably just wishful thinking. I'll settle for finding out who tempted Chodala with that damn staff.
Inside, the two encounter skaafin, dead Red Exiles and Renos Oran.
Renos Oran
Chodala... he's gone mad. Sought to make a deal with a Daedric Prince...
Vestige
What happened here?
Renos Oran
Chodala appealed to Malacath... but the God of Curses rebuked him. Killed us all... said Chodala already served... another...
Vestige
Where can we find Chodala?
Renos Oran
He went... deeper into the ruins... into Malacath's shrine...
Seryn
These creatures... they don't belong to Malacath. Another Prince's power is at work here.
The Vestige and Seryn enter the shrine of Malacath deep in the ruins.
Chodala
You don't refuse me, Malacath! I am the Nerevarine!
Seryn
Chodala, brother, stop this madness!
Chodala
You bring this Outlander to kill me, sister? You can't harm me! I have a powerful patron on my side!
Seryn
The staff protects him. You can't hurt him until we use the tonal inverter. I need a moment to get this working.
Chodala
What is that? No matter. You are no longer worth my time.
Seryn
Skaafin! They serve the Prince of Bargains. Keep them busy while I finish this.
Chodala summons three skaafin, the Vestige has to fight them. Meanwhile, Seryn prepares the tonal inverter. After the beasts are defeated, Seryn uses the inverter.
Chodala
My protective shield! What have you done? I'll destroy all of you for this!
Next, the Vestige fights Chodala and defeats him.
Seryn
Oh, brother, why did it have to come to this? Azura, we've defeated the false Nerevarine, just as you commanded.
Seryn runs towards her brother's body.
Seryn
That was... harder than I expected. Chodala was so angry…so full of rage. Not like himself at all. Still, I can't believe I helped kill my own brother...
Vestige
We did what was necessary.
Seryn
I know that! It was either Chodala or the lives of hundreds of Dunmer, all because he convinced himself he was the Nerevarine. Or someone convinced him. Either way, my brother is dead and the Cavern of the Incarnate has another resident.
Vestige
We should return to Vivec City.
Seryn
Take Sunna'rah and I'll meet you back in Vivec City. Your Archcanon made it quite clear that the staff was the key to saving Vivec. I need to take care of my brother's remains. Then we'll be done here.
The Vestige goes to Vivec's palace in Vivec City.
Archcanon Tarvus
Oh, this is terrible! Lord Vivec collapsed! Tell me, Outlander, were you able to defeat Chodala? Have you brought me his staff? I'm afraid Lord Vivec may not last much longer.
Vestige
We defeated Chodala and brought back Sunna'rah.
Archcanon Tarvus
And just in time! According to my calculations, with every use of Sunna'rah, Chodala drained more energy from Lord Vivec. It almost killed him! But we can use the staff to save Vivec. Just plant it in the floor and the power will return to him.
Vestige
I'll plant Sunna'rah in the floor and return Vivec's power to him.
Archcanon Tarvus
Perfect! It's working just as I expected!
Seryn runs in.
Seryn
What are you doing? It's killing him!
Archcanon Tarvus
What did you expect? That's the point of all this after all.
Seryn prepares the tonal inverter, the hero uses it. Sunna'rah sends out a shockwave. Archcanon Tarvus shows a projection of a clockwork sphere and speaks. Then, he takes Sunna'rah and dissapears.
Archcanon Tarvus
You're too late! I see it now, the Clockwork City! Look what Barbas has found for you, Master!
Vivec
Barbas... pet hound of the Prince of Bargains. I should have known. Talk to the Ashlander while I... compose myself
Seryn
I knew something was wrong as soon as I approached the palace! I could feel it in my bones. I was on my way here when Azura showed me a vision. I saw Sunna'rah, killing Vivec. Even without Chodala, the damn staff is dangerous.
Vestige
The Archcanon seemed to know that Sunna'rah wasn't going to help Lord Vivec.
Seryn
I don't think that thing was ever the Archcanon. It called itself Barbas. As an Ashlander, I'm more familiar with Daedric lore than most of the Elves of the Great Houses. Beyond that, I've made a study of the most prominent Daedric Princes.
Vestige
Why are the Daedra relevant to all this?
Seryn
Because Barbas is a loyal servant of the Daedric Prince, Clavicus Vile. I'm not an expert on the Prince of Bargains, but it seems to me that this was all part of some grand plan. Perhaps Vivec can explain things better than I can.
Vivec
Azura's champion... is correct. That was Barbas, faithful hound of Clavicus Vile. A shapeshifter. He killed the Archcanon... took his place. Chodala... Sotha Sil's device... impersonating Tarvus... it was all part of some elaborate plan.
Vestige
Plan? They tried to kill you!
Vivec
That was simply a consequence. They needed Tribunal energy to locate the Clockwork City.. I was the easiest target. If Barbas enters Sotha Sil's city... disaster will follow. I appreciate your help, but I must conserve what remains of my energy.
