As the guard led the captive Argonians through the city, Hasir's eyes beheld the governor's mansion that pierced the skyline like a
sharpened bit of glass. Before the manor were six cages each filled with slaves: three Argonians and three Khajiit. The slaves yelled
at the top of their lungs for the passing Argonian to help them. They just eyed them with disappointment and shook their heads
signalling they could not do anything for them at the present time. The guard rounded a corner and there, atop a far off hill, was a
run down mine.
The guard came to a halt in front of the Argonians,
"Listen up slaves, this in Abaelun Mine, the largest, and one, diamond mine in Vvardenfell. In my opinion mining is a better
punishment than jail, builds character you know. But you are not here for punishment, no, you are here for slave labor." His mouth
curled around the edges.
Hasir cleared his throat. The Imperial guard, who was named Phineas Neresticus, glared at him,
"What are we going to do once we enter there?"
Neresticus waved a hand in the air and sighed as if he was tired of this question being repeated time and time again. He paced in
front of the bound Argonians as he told them about his plan to have them to mine not for diamonds but instead for Mnemic eggs.
Hasir opened his mouth and told Neresticus hotly that Mnemic eggs were not found in mines but deep underground below hist trees
which, he reminded him, were situated in Black Marsh. The Imperial walked up to the Argonian, lifted his hand and smacked Hasir
hard across the face, sending him sprawling across the ground.
Hasir got up, slammed his tail down hard on the ground, so hard, in fact, that Neresticus was knocked onto his backside. With the
guard momentarily incapacitated, Hasir turned to his aunt and uncle and told them what Neresticus had told him of his ancestor and
his revenge plot that he had on the entire Argonian race.
Drujeeta's eyebrow furrowed as she looked at her nephew with a confused look,
"A racial genocide just becauysea Argonphobic guy's ancestor made the 'wrong' marriage decision? Seems a little bit extereme, don't
you think?" She asked him, tugging at her ropes so her hands could breath easier, "what in Oblivion does he want with a Mnemic egg
anyway, you know, that 'seed' is what is left over when a hist tree dies right? it contains..."
"The soul and conscience of every histborn that came from that particular hist tree," He chuckled at the defeated look on her face, "I
know, Aunt Drujeeta, I am not a hatchling." She merely nodded solemnly at this, "I know Hasir, but, it was so long ago that your
mother, Haxara told you about this, Sithis help her, wherever she is." Juleen turned around when he heard the word Haxara, "Did I
hear correctly? You suspect my sister is missing? By my scales, I refuse to believe it, last I heard she was in a camp called Urshilaku
in Morrowind." Both Hasir and Drujeeta eyed him with shocked comprehension, "I hear tell she has taken up post as the tribe's local
wise woman after fleeing from Black Marsh.
The continued look at him with shocked expressions,
"H-how did your hear that?" They said, both confused, Hasir was about to speak but Drujeeta cut across him, "Did the hist tell you?"
Hasir felt a twinge of sorrow as he felt Drujeeta did him an injustice by not letting him complete his 'very important' thought, at
least he thought it was important. He did not know much of the sentient trees of his home; a home that he felt he barely knew. His
tail slunk between his legs as he walked as far away from the group as he could without the rope breaking its bonds that he shared
with the other slaves. He felt a little rejected in the fact that both his aunt and uncle knew of the hist and Blackmarsh and not him.
By Oblivion, more than half of the entire Argonian raise knew more about Black Marsh than he did. All he knew of the swampy land
was the birthing pools that Argonian eggs laid in before their hatchinging days; He knew nothing of how the traditional Argonian
holidays worked. He didn't even have a proper hatching or naming day because he had been given to complete strangers from a
different clutch than his.
He barely got time to bond with his own clutch let alone his mother. Minutes after Hasir was aboard the ship, He was whisked away
to Morrowind for Molag Bal's blessing. The reason why his mother put him on that ship without him so much as celebrating a single
naming or hatching day ceremony, is unknown to anyone in his clutch and even to him. He did not even know if his uncle was telling
the truth when he had said his real mother, Haxara, was here in Morrowind or not. He had no time to think on this now, he had to
follow the Imperial's orders, no matter how stupid he might think they are or risk getting slapped again. Hasir trooped on following
the other Argonians to a mound of earth with an oak wood door in the center.
Neresticus put out an arm to block the Argonian's forward movement and directed the Argonian slaves to gather around him in a
circle to the left of the door,
"Slaves, as I said before, this is Abaelun mine where you will serve out your miserable existence mining for diamonds, if you find
anything valuable, like say a mnemic egg," Hasir growled at this, How could this guy be so thick? I told him time and time again a
Mnemic egg can't be obtained by mining
Not hearing this thought, the Imperial continued talking,
"If you find such a thing, please notify me and I will bring it back to my superior, Vadem Dren and he will let you go free."
There were exchanges of excited looks at this, everywhere Hasir looked, tails raised in jubilent anticipation. Neresticus roared with
laughter,
"You stupid scalebacks actually believed me? Vedam along with all dunmer hate every damn thing about your race so what makes
you think we will EVER turn anyone of you loose?" He said roaring with laughter as he opened the door and walked into the mine;
four sullen looking Argonians followed him, each one not daring to look at the others.
