Online:Martus Tullius

Martus Tullius is an Imperial Battlemage who has ventured to the Dread Cellar from the Battlespire with the recruit Lucilla Caprenia.
 
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Quest-Related Events
Martus is first encountered defending himself from cultists with Lucilla and Imperial Soldiers. 

After the brief skirmish:
:Lucilla Caprenia: ''"Martus, we aren't prepared for this!"
:Martus Tullius: "If a few cultists are too much for you, best give up on the Spire. Consider that a lesson in keeping on guard."

Speaking to him to start the quest:
:"This area is off limits. Only those with the highest authority are permitted here. Though there's no one left aside from these cultists and Daedra to enforce such restrictions. If you're here to explore, perhaps we can come to an arrangement?"
:What are you proposing?
:"We have come from the Battlespire to investigate the magical energies radiating from the Dread Cellar. This installation should be abandoned, but as you can see it isn't entirely empty. I'll turn a blind eye to any scavenging, if you assist us."
:Assist you how?
:"If this ambush was any indication, we're going to face a fair amount of resistance searching these ruins. Help us clear out the prison and discover the source of magical activity here and we'll compensate you for your service."
:I'll assist your investigation then.

After agreeing to help, you can ask some questions:
:"Then your first orders are to act as vanguard and secure the entry to the Dread Cellar. Consider anything or anyone you encounter inside a threat. We'll catch up to you once I've tended to Lucilla's wounds."
:Tell me about what brought you out here.
::"We were tipped off that the Dread Cellar had become the source of intense magical activity from an unusual source: a Dremora named Lyranth. She warned that a group called the Waking Flame is at work here. That much has proven to be true.
::'''I've dealt with the Waking Flame before.(If you fought them before Dread Cellar)
::"That should prove useful. Lyranth told us that these Dagonic cultists seem to be unified toward some greater purpose. We need to discover just what that is and put a stop to it."
:What is the Battlespire?
::''"The principal stronghold of the Imperial Battlemages. The Spire's council continues to train and dispatch battlemages to preserve what remains of the Empire where we can.
::Lucilla is a battlemage-in-training herself. This mission will be a good test."
::You've already taken casualties. A trainee might not survive this.
::"This will be nothing compared to her trial within the Battlespire to attain the rank of Battlemage. She will be expected to survive traversing the planes of Oblivion. Killing the invading Daedra here is the perfect practice."
:What can you tell me about the Dread Cellar?
::"The Dread Cellar was a prison for the worst enemies of the Empire. It was a highly protected secret until the Empire collapsed. It was abandoned not long afrer. There isn't much more I can say than that."

After you dealt with the Waking Flames forces inside the entrance of the Dread Cellar, Martus and his student will walk inside to begin their investigation:
:Lucilla Caprenia: "This place is enormous, Martus. Where do we even begin to search?"
:Martus Tullius: "Focus, Lucilla. You can feel the aberrant energies if you just focus."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "This debris. I feel it. Gods, I wish I couldn't. It's tying my gut in knots."
:Martus Tullius: "Keep clearing the path ahead. I want to evaluate this Daedric stone."''

Speaking to him while he's investigating the broken Daedric stone:
:''"We're on the right trail. This wreckage is saturated with lingering sorcery. Whatever this used to be, it held enormous power when it was intact."
:Any idea why it's broken?
:"It could have simply been defective, or releasing the energy might have required it—like a child's clay bank—or it might have become overfull and burst. I've never seen anything quite like it. But I can feel more of this energy farther in."

After you defeated Scorcion Broodlord, He will appear with Lucilla to inquire about the beast:
:Lucilla Caprenia: "Ugh, there's so much...anguish"
:Martus Tullius: "That creature. Was it feeding on these? No, there's too much gathered here for this to be some Daedra's dinner. More likely the Dremora were using that creature to draw out this energy, but why?"
:Lucilla Caprenia: "What even is this power, Martus? It makes want to curl up and die."
:Martus Tullius: "Steel yourself, Lucilla. We'll only find out by forging ahead. Escort, please take the lead."

Speaking to him on his thoughts of the Daedra:
:"That's a Daedra the likes of which I've never seen, or even heard of, in my time at the Battlespire. Its corpse still pulses with the same energy as within these stones. They are connected."
:The monster was siphoning energy from them before I killed it.
:"Hmm. The obvious explanation would be that the creature feeds on these energy reserves, harvesting them as a honey bee might. I don't like obvious answers. All these Daedra didn't come here to rear these things like cattle. There's a bigger picture."
:What makes you say that?
:"You could call it a hunch. I would call it experience. Daedra don't just arrive on the mortal realm by coincidence and they aren't here to just live off the land. They are doing this for a greater purpose. We just need to discover what and thwart it."

Entering inside the interior of the Dread Cellar, Martus and Lucilla will stop by to examine the writings of the cultists:
:Martus Tullius: "The cult has made itself at home here. To be expected. These diagrams. They don't depict anything we've seen so far."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "It almost looks mechanical. Cataclyst...that mean anything to you?"
:Martus Tullius: "Not yet."

Speaking to him:
:"Another piece of the puzzle. The question is where it fits in. We'll gather what we can carry and be right behind you."''

Eventually you'll see more of these Daedric stones, Martus ends up destroying one of them:
:Martus Tullius: ''"Another vessel! But this one is drawing in energy. The Daedra didn't bring this baleful energy with them, they're drawing it out of the Dread Cellar itself!"
:Lucilla Caprenia: "What could have happened here that could produce that much vile energy?"
:Martus Tullius: "Best not ask questions you don't want the answers to.   We should destroy any more of these we find."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "You'll hear no argument from me."
:Martus Tullius: "I sense more down these side corridors. We'll split up for now. Keep clearing the main halls of the enemy."

Speaking to him, he will offer a theory about the negative energy produced by the prison:
:"I've read theories suggesting that the Daedra feed off mortal emotions. Fear, desire, hatred. Some more compelling than others. This is the first time I've seen it manifested so literally. These vessels are soaking up all the Dread Cellar's misery"
:Its misery?
:"The closest I can compare it to is the way necromancy can harness connections between a soul and the intense emotions that can stir the undead. They are harvesting the residue of such emotions here. In disturbingly great quantities."
:To power that machine?
:"That's my guess as well, though we haven't discovered evidence of that just yet. If the Cataclyst requires feeding off so much mortal suffering, its purpose must be truly frightening."

: : "Protect it! For the glory of Lord Dagon!"

Once you dealt with the Daedric forces:
:Martus Tullius: "More of the cult's designs."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "He said "protect it." Do you think they've finished it? Their Cataclyst?"
:Martus Tullius: "Likely. Look for anything that might tell us what it is."
:Martus Tullius: "You, keep going. We'll be able to regroup with you a little farther ahead."

Speaking to him:
:"I doubt the Waking Flame expected us to get this far, but they're beginning to realize the threat we pose. Keep up the attack while they're still unprepared. These corridors should rejoin beyond the room ahead."
:You know the way ahead?
:"I'm familiar with the layout of this prison. I came prepared to assault it after all. Once Lucilla and I have looked over this Cataclyst research we'll catch up with you."

Later on, when you navigate through the inner sanctums of the prison before the Confessional, Martus and Lucilla will try to stop a Scorcion from draining energy from the crystal but it got away:
:Lucilla Caprenia: "Another one of those monsters!"
:Martus Tullius: "Stop it from draining that vessel!"
:Lucilla Caprenia: "Got away!"
:Martus Tullius: "We stopped its harvesting, at least, but I feel far greater concentrations of this power ahead."

Speaking to him, he will reveal further information about these stones:
:"That creature had the sense to flee. Did it value its life, or was it protecting the power it had siphoned away from this vessel? Either way, if we continue to destroy these Agonymium Stones it'll reduce the threat they pose."
:Agonymium Stones?
:"That is how the cult refers to them and it's just as we believed. They are Daedric relics fashioned to soak up the residual negativity saturating this place. Why they have those creatures feeding on that energy? I'm still not sure, but I can guess."
:For the Cataclyst?
:"That seems like a safe assumption. Those creatures might just lead us to that infernal device."''

 

At the Confessional, Martus and Lucilla will encounter Cyronin and the fight begins:
:Martus Tullius: "We stopped its harvesting, at least, but I feel far greater concentrations of this power ahead."
:Cyronin Artellian: ''"Is that you, Martus? I thought you'd lost your appetite for screams."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "A battlemage? Martus, you know him?"
:Martus Tullius: "Whatever you've gotten yourself involved in, Cyronin, it ends here."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "Let me handle the big rock, you worry about him!"
:Cyronin Artellian: "If you listen carefully, you can still hear all their screams."

During the boss fight:
:Martus Tullius: "He's gathered a massive amount of energy!"

Throughout the battle, Cyronin will be taunting Martus about the past:
:Martus Tullius: "He's channeling short pulses!"
:Cyronin Artellian: "Is that malice in your eyes, Martus? Have I rekindled your passion for causing pain?"	
:Martus Tullius: "You've always had a special place of loathing in my heart, Cyronin."
:Cyronin Artellian: "It's not the killing I enjoy most. But I do enjoy it."

:Cyronin Artellian: "Your potential didn't know the depths you were leading her down. Maybe I'll show her how deep they go."
:Martus Tullius: "Our concern for how low you've sunk ends when we bury you."

:Cyronin Artellian: "The terror wells up in this place. It wells up in you."
:Martus Tullius: "He's gathered a fair amount of energy. Be ready to dodge!"

:Cyronin Artellian: "Can you feel it? The palpable dread?"
:Martus Tullius: "Stay light on your feet, he's about to make you dance."

:Cyronin Artellian: "Why so glum, Martus? Aren't you pleased to know I turned all that pointless suffering into something greater?
:Martus Tullius: ''"I do take some satisfaction knowing you've damned your soul to Oblivion."

Once Cyronin is defeated, Martus will defend his secrecy of the mission and his past despite Lucilla getting mad:
:Lucilla Caprenia: "He was responsible for this nightmarish place. You were responsible for this place!"
:Martus Tullius: "That has no bearing on this mission."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "We just killed another battlemage! Someone you knew!"
:Martus Tullius: "I…I wasn't expecting to find anyone still here. This place was closed down."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "I guess your secret wasn't as safe as you thought. I can't believe you."
:Martus Tullius: "Our objective hasn't changed. Discover what the Waking Flame are up to and stop it. We need to keep moving."

Speaking to him:
:"Despite what Lucilla might think, I had no foreknowledge of what—or who— we'd find here. The Dread Cellar was abandoned a long time ago, and I left it behind before that."
:What's your history with the Dread Cellar?
:"I was an interrogator here. Like Cyronin. Though I didn't enjoy the work the way he did. It was a necessary evil. The captives held here all posed existential threats to the Empire. Dangers to be contained. Intelligence to be extracted."
::Dangerous how?
::"An Elder Councilor's aid secretly spying on their correspondence. A guildmaster propping up a puppet governor. A Dibellan high priest who covertly commanded a cult of Mephala. A vampire who held an entire island in her thrall. Just to name a few."
:::And what did you do to them?
:::"I extracted knowledge from them. Coercing cooperation however I could. Sometimes subterfuge was enough, usually it was not. Our methods were better left to the imagination. It left scars on them and I both. Eventually, I sought reassignment."
::::Do you regret your time here?
::::"I regret that I lacked the resolve for it. Had I still been an interrogator here, I might have uncovered something that would have prevented all this senseless slaughter. Or maybe I just would have become like Cyronin. Who's to know?"
:Who was Cyronin?
:"An interrogator for the Dread Cellar, though that's a charitable descriptor. Torturer would be closer to the truth. I never knew what became of him after his place was abandoned. I tried my best to forget him."
::He didn't return to the Battlespire?
::"That's what should have happened, though becoming entangled with a Daedra cult was a natural fit. He wouldn't have been able to continue indulging his dark impulses at the Spire. I'm only surprised he didn't wind up in service to Molag Bal."''

When you get to the Pit of Despair, Lucilla will argue with Martus over his involvement in the Dread Cellar's activities:
:Martus Tullius: "The—the torturous energies are much stronger down here."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "Whoever could have guessed? How could you ever have participated in this wanton cruelty?"
:Martus Tullius: "No one here deserved your pity. Save it for the poor souls being butchered in Cyrodiil."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "You can explain it to the Spire Council, in case you neglected to inform them of what you were up to here."
:Martus Tullius: "Lucilla. That will not go how you expect."

Speaking to him again on his personal feelings on being called out by Lucilla:
:''"We are drawing close to something of immense power. I have no doubt it's this Cataclyst we've learned about. Now isn't the time or place for squabbling. We need to focus on finishing the mission and getting out here alive."
:Do you feel any responsibility for this?
:"I may be made to account for my role in this prison someday, but I won't bear the guilt of whatever madness Cyronin was party to long after I left. I will stop it, not because of misplaced guilt, but because that's my duty."
:Are you concerned about Lucilla telling your Spire Council about all this?
:"She can say whatever she likes in our debriefing. It will be a rude awakening for her though. Neither my history nor that of this prison is a mystery to our superiors. I was chosen for this mission for my knowledge and discretion. Sadly, she was not."

In the Antecedent Cataclyst:
:Martus Tullius: "The Daedra are pouring their energy into that machine!"
:Lucilla Caprenia: "There are more of them coming!"
:Martus Tullius: "Over there as well! Lucilla and I will hold them back. Stop that thing!"
:Magma Incarnate: "Let this world be shattered for the glory of Mehrunes Dagon!"

When portals start to appear during the fight:
:Martus Tullius: ''"It's drawing power from another stone! Use this portal to reach it before the Daedra recovers."''

During the fight when you sever the crystal's connection to Magma Incarnate, Martus will conjure up a portal to let you return to continue fighting the boss:
:Martus Tullius: ''"You've cut that thing off from its power. Use this to get back to the Catacylst!"

Following the defeat of the Magma Incarnate:
:Martus Tullius: "Didn't think we were going to survive that. Nearly didn't."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "So long as this awful place remains, what's to say they won't try again?"
:Martus Tullius: "It looks like their contraption didn't survive producing that abomination, thank the Divines."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "I'll see that you're rewarded for cleaning up Martus's mess."

Speaking to Martus before you speak to Lucilla:
:"Argh, my age is showing. Don't worry, I'll live. It'll take some effort to mend though. I'm glad that abomination didn't leave you too much worse for wear."
:Do you know what the adomination was?
:"I don't know. It resembled a type of Daedra native to the Deadlands, but whatever this diabolical machine did to it made it unlike any Daedra I've ever seen. I have to wonder if it turned out as intended given the condition of this contraption now."
::Do you think that other battlemage was behind all this?
::"Doubtful. Cyronin was an imaginative torturer, but not smart enough to contrive this whole scheme. He likely helped the Waking Flame tap into the torturous energy soaked into this prison, but conceiving of this machine would be beyond him."
:::Any idea who could really be behind this?
:::"No, but I suspect our Dremora informant may have more to say about that. I'll be sure to coax it out of her when she and I speak about what we uncovered here."
:What happens to the Dread Cellar now?
:"That will be up to the mages of the Spire Council. We don't have the resources to guard this place from further incursions. They may devise a means of cleansing the lingering energies here, or simply decide to blast it into dust. It won't be missed."

If you spare Martus:
:Lucilla Caprenia: "Martus, what you've done is unforgivable."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "I won't be returning to the Battlespire with you. I won't be returning at all."
:Lucilla Caprenia: "If this is what it means to be a part of the Spire. I want nothing to do with it."''

If you convince Lucilla to spare Martus, he will respect Lucilla's decision to desert the Imperial Legion:
:''"I admire Lucilla's convictions, even if they're going to get her killed one day. Deserting the legion would be insane if the Empire wasn't in shambles. The best I can do for Lucilla is report her as presumed killed in action."
:Do you think you and Lucilla will reconcile?
:"That will be up to her. I don't harbor any ill will toward her—or you—for any feelings you may have about my past. I don't expect either of you to understand. It's not something you can truly weigh against your conscience until you experience it."''

If you execute: