Raid on Ilunibi

"...find that Sixth House base, kill Dagoth Gares..."

- Caius Cosades

The Raid on Ilunibi occured as a part of the start of the Vvardenfell Crisis. It was conducted by the Blades, with the Nerevarine as their agent. It marked the entrance of the Nerevarine into the Crisis, as well as the Nerevarine's first encounter with the Sixth House. The Raid ended with the death of House Dagoth priest Dagoth Gares, which ended operations within the Ilunibi Shrine.

Prelude
The raid was a direct result of the Battle of Ilunibi, in which an Imperial Legion patrol entered the caverns of Ilunibi in an attempt to rout suspected smuggling activities therein. Within the caverns, the troopers found a Sixth House shrine, and were forced to contend with the cultists and Ash Creatures of the House Dagoth. Only a lone trooper survived, escaping by the will of Dagoth Gares to report what had occured. The trooper returned to the Buckmoth Legion Fort and reported what he had seen. Gares had infected him with Corprus however, and the trooper did not live long.

The Infiltration
The report traveled through Imperial channels, eventually reaching Blades Grandspymaster Caius Cosades in Balmora. Responding to the report, Cosades tasked his premier agent of the time, the future Nerevarine, with infiltrating the shrine and killing Dagoth Gares. The Nerevarine, who had already been investigating the Sixth House, was sent to Ald-ruhn to speak with Buckmoth Champion Raesa Pullia, who gave information about the shrine and battle that had taken place there. Armed with the intelligence, the Nerevarine traveled to the village of Gnaar Mok and there learned the location of Ilunibi. The Nerevarine proceeded to the caverns.

In Ilunibi, the Nerevarine was forced to contend with the shrine's inhabitants, though not in full force, as the patrol had been. Fighting through Dreamers and Ash Creatures, the Nerevarine came to the Sixth House shrine itself and there encountered Dagoth Gares. Gares greeted the Nerevarine civily, calling the Nerevarine "Lord Nerevar". Gares presented a message from Dagoth Ur, inviting the Nerevarine to come to Red Mountain and join House Dagoth in their struggle. Gares stated that until this was done, all of the Sixth House would treat the Nerevarine as an enemy, and then the priest attacked.

The two fought across the shrine, the Ash Ghoul proving to be a powerful opponent, but after a time the Nerevarine was able to prove victorious. As Dagoth Gares died, however, he breathed out wicked spores that came upon the Nerevarine. With his dying breath, Gares proclaimed a curse on the Nerevarine, infecting the hero with Corprus disease.

Aftermath
The mission complete, the Nerevarine was forced to travel bearing Corprus back to Balmora to report to Caius. Anticipating a possible contraction of the supposedly incurable disease, Cosades had already found a possible source of a cure. The Nerevarine was then sent to the tower of Tel Fyr to seek the aid of the wizard Divayth Fyr.

Behind the Scenes

 * The raid is seen in the quest "Sixth House Base", and is the player's first real encounter with the Sixth House in the Main Quest.


 * Following this quest, Ash Slaves will begin attacking the player in their sleep in key cities.

Appearances

 * The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind