Tenaka clapped Balefire on the shoulder, impressed at the scale of his
brother's magic. "Aye, brother," he said. "Behind the wheel is a
seemingly
perfectly ordinary door. I believe that we should expect tricks, however."
The Dreadlord walked up to the door and pressed his hands against the
centre. He ran his hands down the crack that marked the centre line. He
stiffened in surprise. The crack was merely cosmetic. Instead of two
somewhat massive doors, they had one even more massive door to deal
with. He
mentally called out to Kriella who came to stand beside him. They each
pushed a side of the door and as expected nothing happened. Next they both
pushed their strength against the centre of the door. Again, it did not
budge.

The two of them returned to the party. "Before us stands but one door,
fashioned to look like two," said Tenaka, to no-one in particular but
looking at Balefire. It takes more strength than is possessed by us two to
open it. Observe." Tenaka twirled around to face the door and pushed his
hands out in front of him. As his arms reached their furthest, a green ball
of force flew out towards the monstrosity that barred their way. The
resulting force explosion was mild and Tenaka waved Rathine to silence
before the Dremora could ask questions. The Dreadlord repeated the
procedure, but the force flew into the wall beside the door. Again, the
explosion had little or no effect. However, Tenaka’s eyes widened in
surprise. He had been expecting this, but it still surprised him. Kriella
nodded at him – she now understood the problem.

"Balefire," started Tenaka. "I am sure that I needn't ask if you felt the
same as me then." Balefire nodded, not seemingly understanding the
relevance.

"Two identical results from two differing materials is rare, but not unheard
of, brother," said the Warmage.

"Aye, brother. But this does add evidence to a theory. Remember this if you
ever decide to walk the Labyrinth!" The Dreadlord smiled at Kriella who
walked to the door and felt around it. She felt almost the entire radius of
the recently destroyed defences and then a slight sound of satisfaction
could be heard by the party. She pushed against the door and passed
straight
through it.

"The door and wall are the same, my friends, but why then would our current
nemesis choose to defend a patch of wall. This Vex is subtle. There is a
doorway here, but not where we are supposed to expect it to be. Kriella has
been able to find it by using some abilities she learned as an assassin." He
saw Balefire stiffen. "Relax, brother," said the Dreadlord. "She has never
been a part of the Brotherhood, and in fact used to spend her time hunting
them down! Anyway, the point!"

Tenaka pointed his arm at the door and released the Antilight. Balefire took
the sight quite calmly, having seen it in the Guardian Citadel. But to the
others this was something quite unusual. The absence of light radiated from
the Dreadlord's arm and stretched out towards the door. As it touched,
there
was a crackle and the door shimmered before disappearing. Tenaka
withdrew
the Antilight that had absorbed the magic that had created the illusion. As
the magic flooded into him, he fell to the ground, writhing. Balefire came
to stand over him, but recovery was swift.

"What happened, brother," the Warmage asked.

"I have absorbed Daedric magic - not a pleasant experience.
However, this
may be advantageous." Tenaka concentrated and opened a Window back to
the
Angry Porcupine. None of the green light was in evidence and, satisfied,
Tenaka closed the Window. "It would seem that my magic appears to Vex as
Daedric and so he no longer opposes me on the arcane level. Would
anybody
like to experience this to help them?" Balefire nodded, but the others
seemed hesitant. The two Ebonheart brothers touched palms and power
flooded
from Darkflame into Balefire. The elder brother managed to remain standing,
having been expecting the sudden pain, but still a slight grimace could be
seen on his countenance. Tenaka dropped his hand and replaced his
gauntlet.
He looked towards the door and smiled.

Now all could see how they had been fooled. The actual doorway was
somewhat
to the right of where the door had appeared. Where the door had been,
the wall continued. Tenaka and Balefire led the way into the palace. As they
entered, they saw that they were in a hall that ran off in two directions.
"Well, Zerith," said Tenaka. "Which way?"

"Here we have a problem, my friends. To the left lies Nyx's chambers,
but it
is to the right where Vex may be found. We must either prioritise or
divide..."