#cyrod

"Many people hear many things," said Divayth. He turned to place the vials in a rack before turning back, his black-and-red, spiked Daedric armor clanking slightly with the motion. "Who told you this?"

"We can't say," said Qismehti. "But you can help them, can't you?"

Divayth approached, and tilted Malcius's dangling head up with one hand, using the other to lift his drooped eyelids to inspect his pupils. "Certainly looks like corprus. Circumstances of infection?"

"Curse," said Ku-vastei, gritting her fanged teeth. "From a Dagoth."

"Rare transmission type," said Divayth, dropping Malcius's head without warning, "but not unheard of. Tricky cases. As I'm sure you've noticed, onset is rapid."

Ashiri nodded. "It happened less than a week ago, in the West Gash. We've travelled as quickly as we can, without the aid of silt striders or ships. Neither would have us."

"It wouldn't have mattered if they did," said Divayth, now beckoning Ku-vastei to open her mouth so he could inspect the back of her throat. "The curse subtype isn't infectious. But the patient is still dangerous when they lose their mind and lash out."

This, unfortunately, Qismehti knew well. She reached for her bruised jaw with her free hand. She wondered why this up-close inspection was even necessary, even if they weren't contagious; their mutated, bloated bodies should have been evidence enough of the Divine Disease.

"Can you cure us?" asked Ku-vastei again, shrugging off Qismehti's arm, taking a step even closer towards Divayth. He didn't budge.

"We'll see," Divayth responded, rubbing his pale-bearded chin, his Daedric vambraces grinding slightly against his cuirass. "You're somewhat in luck. I've made some recent breakthroughs."

Qismehti pulled out her coinpurse. "How much?"

"Do you take me for a swindling Hlaalu?" asked Divayth with a scowl. "I heal for free, when I can."

"A swindling what?" growled Llethym, dropping his side of Malcius, who would have completely collapsed had he not woken for a brief spurt to catch himself.

"Ah…" Divayth gave a thin smile. "I should be more aware of my company when I say such things. My apologies, muthsera."

Llethym seemed caught off guard enough by the honorific to drop his dispute.

"But no," continued Divayth, "the only price you pay is the risk."

"Risk?" asked Ku-vastei.

"If my cure fails, best case is that you simply join the residents of my Corprusarium for the rest of your existence. Worst case…you die."

Malcius and Ku-vastei glanced at each other. The Cyrod's forehead beaded with sweat, but he nodded. "We'll try it," said Ku-vastei.

"Not yet." Divayth turned to a nearby shelf lined with vial-racks and plucked two vials of clear liquid to offer to Ku-vastei and Malcius. "It will take some time to prepare the potions. But I ask one thing of you before you do. First, drink this."

Ku-vastei and Malcius shakily took the vials in their hands. Ku-vastei gave hers a sniff; the smell of potent alcohol burnt her nostrils. "Is this…flin?"

Divayth nodded. "For your strength. I'd give you something cheaper, but I need you relatively sober for what you're about to do."

Malcius wasted no time in downing the shot of flin, but Ku-vastei persisted in her questioning. "And what is that, exactly?"

"You'll go down into my Corprusarium and fetch me a pair of enchanted boots from one of my old patients, Yagrum Bagarn." Divayth took the empty vial from Malcius's hand, and used a small, spongy utensil to swab around its rim. "It's not so much about the boots, though I have need of them. You need to see what could await you, if the cure fails."

Ku-vastei mulled it over, then nodded grimly before taking a long draught of the flin.

"You'll go alone, you two. Your companions and I will finish preparations for the procedure, and discuss certain necessities regarding the outcome."

"I object," Ashiri said, stepping forward now that Malcius's strength had returned. "I'll go with her."

Divayth glared at Ashiri, looking her up and down. "You're that nuisance mabrigash, always bothering Aryon and Dratha with your antics, aren't you?" He took Ku-vastei's vial and swabbed it as well, keeping the swabbings separate. "I believe Ku-vastei will be fine."

"I never told you my name," said Ku-vastei, stretching her shoulders with newfound vigor from the flin.

"We've met before," Divayth said with a sly chuckle. "Back when you were a House hireling doing errand-work for the Mouths. I understand you've come a long way since delivering me that coded message for Aryon. And I also understand that your mind is too addled by now to remember, so I'll forgive the slight."

Ku-vastei turned towards Ashiri to take her hands, dwarfed in Ku-vastei's mutated claws. "I'll be fine," she whispered. Ashiri slowly nodded, and with some hesitation gave Ku-vastei a kiss on the cheek.

"Now go. Delte, please see them to Vistha-Kai downstairs."

"Yes, my lord." Delte beckoned Malcius and Ku-vastei closer before casting a Levitation spell on the three of them to see them safely down the flywell.

As they floated down, Ku-vastei noted, "Vistha-Kai — that's an Argonian name."

"Yes," said Delte. "He was once one of Lord Fyr's slaves before he disavowed the practice and freed them. But Vistha-Kai refused to leave the tower. He's a very good man, now the Warden of the Corprusarium. He trained my sisters and I in the martial arts."

"Your sisters?" Malcius asked. Their feet landed softly on the spongy fungal floor of the flywell. "Is Divayth Fyr your father?"

"Yes — and no. He created us from his own flesh. In a sense we're his daughters, but not in the traditional sense. It's…complicated."

"When isn't everything complicated in this desolate waste of an island?" scoffed Ku-vastei. Delte smiled but said nothing, turning to lead the two through the maze of corridors towards the Corprusarium.

Passing through the final door to the Corprusarium, the mushroom halls of Tel Fyr suddenly emptied out into a dimly-lit rock cavern. Across the room Delte led them to was a loosely-planked wooden door, light trickling through between its fingers, but obscured slightly by a silhouette standing before it. In the shallow torchlight Ku-vastei could make out the glint of scales and steel, and the slitted lizard-eyes of her people.

"Delte Fyr," said the Argonian simply, his voice deep and gruff.

"Good evening, Master Vistha-Kai," Delte said with a curtsy. "I have brought these two patients to visit the Corprusarium."

"Patients?" inquired Vistha-Kai, leaning on a hefty two-bitted axe with its pommel digging into the earth below. "Visiting? Surely they mean to stay, then."

"Hopefully not. Lord Fyr expects a breakthrough, but demanded they fetch him something from Yagrum first."

"Yes, yes," Vistha-Kai said, nodding as he stepped forward into the brighter part of the chamber. "I know the ritual well." He heaved his axe under its beards, slinging it into the air and catching it further down the haft, and then pointed it at Ku-vastei and Malcius. "Argonian. Cyrod. You may enter, but you will not cause any harm to my inmates. If you do, you answer to me."

Something about Vistha-Kai's easy grip on the axehaft told Ku-vastei he meant it, and could carry out his vengeance with little trouble. "Surely," she said, "we won't be in any danger if we keep our distance, correct?"

"If most of our patients see you, they will attack you. Most are strong and vicious, as I'm sure you have come to learn with your condition. They can be quicker than you expect. Do not underestimate them. But most importantly, do not harm them."

Malcius audibly gulped and sidled closer to Ku-vastei. Ku-vastei frowned and began to brainstorm, consulting her inventory and magical knowledge in her mind. "No other rules?"

"None. Do not harm my inmates. That is all."

"You remember the way back to Lord Fyr's laboratory, yes?" asked Delte.

"Mostly," nodded Ku-vastei. "We'll find it when we return."

"Please do return," said Delte. "We have high hopes for you two. I will see you there." She silently opened the round door back to the tower, the only sound being the subtle click of the mechanism behind her.

"You may proceed," said Vistha-Kai, and he stepped aside to allow Ku-vastei and Malcius to continue to the door to the wider Corprusarium.

"This Yagrum," said Ku-vastei. "Where will we find him?"

"After this door," Vistha-Kai explained, "go straight across to the next, to the Bowels. Then turn left, following the curve of the cavern to the right, and then straight across. Yagrum Bagarn and Uupse Fyr will be on your left at the far end. Note that Yagrum rides upon a four-legged metal carriage; he will be difficult to miss. Retrace your steps to return to me."

Ku-vastei had to grab Malcius by his arm to drag him forward towards the door with her; he had more strength now, and was more clear-headed as she was, but was still flimsy in his resolve. She pulled the door open and passed through it with her friend in tow.

She looked around. The cavern was dark, so she waved her enlarged claw in front of her eyes with a small dose of magicka, and the room lightened with a subtle green glow. She saw some shapes that seemed to shamble from here to there, large and malformed.

"Don't move," Ku-vastei whispered. She slowly removed her backpack and sifted through it as silently as possible. From it she retrieved an amulet, its sapphire turned teal in the pale Nighteye sheen, and a small vial.

"I think I see something coming," whispered back Malcius, pointing at a shape in the darkness.

"Shh," Ku-vastei hissed. "Put this on. I'll drink this potion of Invisiblity. You'll have to open any doors for us."

Malcius was frozen stiff, arm still outstretched. "It's coming!"

Indeed it was. As it grew closer Ku-vastei got a better look through the Nighteye. It was monstrously-shouldered, its arms and legs like treetrunks ending in stubby claws, swinging like meaty pendulums as it approached.

"Put this on. Now." She shoved the amulet towards Malcius. She chewed the stopper from the vial and downed its contents in one swallow. She threw the vial behind the Corprus beast, hoping to distract it. The glass shattered on the cavern floor, but the beast just groaned, a horrible, pained, malevalent gurgle, unflinching from its original path. It lunged forward with its horrid fist —-

Ku-vastei wrapped the Amulet of Shadows around Malcius' neck like a chain and yanked hard with her Corprus-mutated strength, concealing him with a magic Chameleon enchantment. His own cancerous body slammed into hers, knocking them both to the floor.

The beast's claw swooshed in the air where Malcius had been a split-second before, barely missing his ochre monks' robes.

They laid there, silent, barely even breathing, as the confused beast looked around, then slowly limped away into its old corner.

When Ku-vastei was sure it was safe, she slowly stood, lifting Malcius with her, her bloated fingers wrapped around his arm.

"Do not let go of my hand," she whispered as she tightly wrapped those fingers around his palm, giving it a squeeze. Malcius squeezed back, his own Corprus-strength making Ku-vastei wince.

They slowly stalked down the path Vistha-Kai had indicated, giving the other inmates wide berth. To avoid dispelling her Invisibility, Ku-vastei had Malcius open the door to the Bowels of the Corprusarium. Finally, after what felt like miles of winding caverns filled with disturbed moaning, they were able to make out a light ahead.

"I hear voices," Malcius said.

Ku-vastei smirked, even though Malcius couldn't see it through the dark, the Invisibility, and her facing away from him. "Actual people, or Mara?"

Malcius gave Ku-vastei a shove meant to be light but that nearly knocked her over. "Both are actual. But it's people talking up ahead. Can't make out the words."

Ku-vastei listened closely, but couldn't tell what was being said either. All she could distinguish were the voices of a man and a woman. She affirmed Malcius' observation by squeezing his hand.

As they approached, she began to pick up the words:

"Leave it, Uupse. I'm fine. Leave me to my rest, please."

"Lord Fyr will be terribly cross if I don't give you your medicine."

"Bah! He'll get over it."

Finally, the owners of the voices came into view in a well-lit nook on the left. A Dunmer woman in bonemold armor was bent over something in the corner, in front of a large cabinet. Ku-vastei squinted. Behind the woman was a truly massive mer, his obsurd Corprus rotundity squeezed into a Dwemer-brass chassis supported by four Dwarven spider legs. This must be the Yagrum that Vistha-Kai described, she thought.

"Hello?" asked the woman as she straightened up, but still attending to Yagrum. "I hear you. What do you need, dear?"

Malcius let go of Ku-vastei's hand to unclasp and remove the Amulet of Shadows from his neck. "Hello," he quavered awkwardly. "We're looking for Yagrum Bagarn?"

"We?" the woman said as she turned around.

Ku-vastei cast a quick Dispel on herself to clear the affects of the potion.

"Oh, you poor dears," cooed the woman. "You must be new patients. I'm Uupse Fyr, caretaker here. Pleased to meet you."

"Hopefully," Ku-vastei said, "we won't be staying here. Divayth thinks he can cure us."

"Well, let's hope," Uupse smiled. "One day I wish to have everyone here cured. But at least you've met us down here, just in case you need to stay."

"You needed me?" asked the bloated elf in the chassis. "I am Yagrum, yes. 'Last of the Dwarves' and all that."

"'Last of the Dwarves?'" asked Ku-vastei.

"Correct. I'm all that's left of the Dwemer race, to my knowledge. And I've looked extensively."

Ku-vastei figured he hadn't always been in that chair of his. Even with the spider legs, it would make any "extensive" searching quite difficult. "What happened to them?" she continued, agape and breathless. "To your people," she clarified.

"I have no idea," Yagrum said, shaking his head. "I wasn't there. Or, here, in the metaphysical sense, at all, I suppose. I was exploring some realms of Oblivion at the time of the Battle of Red Mountain. Then I come back to find myself completely alone."

Ku-vastei frowned; the expression tugged at a growth on her face painfully. "You really have no idea?"

"Well, surely it had something to do with Kagrenac's Anumidium project. I knew something would go wrong there, eventually. Such risky science. But I didn't expect it to go so terribly wrong."

"Do you have any clue where the Dwemer are, now?"

"I said I've checked extensively," Yagrum snapped. "They very well may not exist anymore, for all I know. Or tucked away in some dark corner of Coldharbour, or worse." He stepped forward, his mechanical legs slowly skittering on the tiled floor of the nook. "Look, this isn't really that interesting a topic. What did you really come to me for?"

"Divayth sent us for some…boots?" suggested Malcius with a shrug.

"Boots…" said Yagrum, scratching his corpulent triple chin in thought. "Hm. I suppose he means those Levitation boots. I fixed them up as best I could, but the original enchantment was shoddy, basically irredeemable." He glanced at Uupse. "If you could, dear. The Dwemer brass pair on the bottom shelf."

Uupse nodded with a smile. She opened the large cabinet behind Yagrum and fetched the boots, as uniform as any other pair of Dwemer make. She delicately handed them to Ku-vastei.

Ku-vastei took a moment to check the etched runes along the metallic binding of the plates. She began to see the issue. "I see what you mean." She ran her finger along the runes, which barely responded to her touch. "They weren't given enough of an initial charge. And this mythopoeic phrasing is all wrong. The creator didn't know the proper Ehlnofex syntax. These couldn't possibly generate more than an inch of lift."

Yagrum's eyes widened. "An enchanter as well, hm?"

"Yes," said Ku-vastei. "Trained by Master Aryon in Tel Vos."

"I see. Divayth's old protege. I remember him. He came to visit me often. Charming boy. Well, you're correct. They're worthless, basically. Let Divayth know that. I have no clue where he scrounged them up. Couldn't be an original enchantment from my people. We had better standards." He rolled his eyes. "Well, I like to think we did, at least."

Ku-vastei nodded. "I'll tell him."

"You two best return upstairs," Uupse said. "Lord Fyr doesn't like to be kept waiting overlong. I hope his latest cure works for both of you."

"Pleased to meet you, uh…?" Yagrum said, his voice trailing off into the question.

"Ku-vastei, of House Telvanni."

"And Malcius, er…unaffiliated."

"Hmph. Well, be off with you then. I need a nap."

By the time they returned, the shot of strength they received from the flin was beginning to wear off. Ku-vastei could feel her body and mind becoming sluggish again. Malcius was worse off; he stumbled several times as they neared the lab, and Ku-vastei had to carry him with great effort as they levitated back up to Divayth and their friends.

Llethym and Qismehti jumped from their seats to help carry Malcius to a cot, and Ashiri took hold of Ku-vastei's hands to lead her to another.

"You took too long," chided Divayth as he mixed liquids and transferred two of them to a pair of hypodermic needles. "Those vials should've been more than enough."

"Not…easy," Ku-vastei gasped. "Getting past the patients."

"Doesn't matter now," said Divayth, flicking a drop of fluid from the tip of the first needle. "We must work quickly. Which of you will go first?"

"Mal-"

"Go first, my friend," interrupted Malcius, in a rare moment of clarity. "I can wait until yours starts to work."

Ku-vastei didn't have the willpower to argue. She nodded weakly.

Divayth stomped forward in his Daedric boots and bent over Ku-vastei. He checked over her body, looking for a suitable injection point free from growths. Finally he settled on the side of her neck, and slowly inserted the sharp point between the scales there. He carefully pushed the plunger, distributing the cure into her bloodstream.

There was a minute of anxious waiting. Even Ashiri, almost always collected and sharp-witted, was biting her nails as she stared at Ku-vastei. Llethym chose to look away at a far corner of the room, while Qismehti did her best to sooth Malcius as the throes of the disease hit him again full force.

First, her mind unclouded. She could smell the sharp alchemical odors of the lab, almost burning her nostrils. Her eyes sharpened, and the world seemed far too bright. She clenched her fists as the pain began — a new pain, different from that of the Corprus. The growths all across her body began to shrink. The release of pressure as they withdrew was a relief but also an intense ache; the ones that had already burst through her skin and scales now shriveled, leaving behind large pock-scars that would linger with her forever.

She felt something new. An expanded consciousness, like from skooma but much wider, far too wide. It was gone in an instant, but she had an ominous feeling of having seen something no mortal was meant to see, if only for that brief moment.

Then, it was over. The pain subsided into a generic ache all over her body, slightly concentrated where the largest growths had been. She held up her right hand to her face, inspecting the fresh scar there from a receded tumor. She flexed her fingers and twisted her wrist to prove they still worked.

She sat up halfway, propped up on her elbows. "Did it work?" she asked.

Divayth flashed a magical light in her eyes, checked the back of her throat, and closely inspected the scars on her scales. "It would seem so. But you still have Corprus."

"What in Oblivion does that mean?" fumed Ku-vastei. "This was supposed to cure us!"

"It did, in a sense," he continued, holding up a palm. "I can't remove the disease entirely. But I can get rid of its most nasty, detrimental effects. Some of them are benign, or even beneficial. You'll find yourself stronger, for example, if only after a few weeks of rest. And you'll live forever."

"Forever?"

"Yes. The Divine Disease imparts immortality to its victims. But for most, it's an eternity of torment. With the adverse effects cured, you'll experience a much more…'normal' eternity."

"I'm losing him," shouted Qismehti, slapping Malcius' face in a desperate attempt to keep him awake.

Ku-vastei sat up and swung her legs off the cot. "Fyr. Give him the cure. Now."

Wordlessly Divayth assented, quickly scanning Malcius' body for a tumor-free spot to inject. Inelegantly he stabbed a vein and slammed his palm on the plunger.

Malcius' eyes remained closed for an agonizing moment. Then they ripped open wide as every muscle in his body spasmed. He opened his mouth as if to scream but no sound escaped his lips. His jaw stretched open wide, wider, seemingly too wide to stay on its hinges. Blood began to stream from his eyes, ears, nose, and tumors.

"Mara!" he finally screamed, before his voice fell to a whisper.

"Mother Mild…

"Is that…

"Please…

"I want…

"Mother…"

Malcius fell still. Forever.