Disclaimer: I obviously do not own The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Skyrim is owned by Bethesda Studios. Nor do I own The Lord of the Rings. I'm just a happy writer fooling around in these two universes.
There is another one?
Warm blood sprayed up covering her arms and chest as her sword sank deeper into Alduin's scaly neck. With heavy arms, she pulled the blade back out. A hiss passed her lips, and she dropped the sword. Hands flew up to pull her helmet off. Her face burned. A scream passed her lips. She fell to her knees.
"Katla."
The voice was distant. Too distant.
Katla's breath came in short forced bursts. A hand flew up and pressed against her ribs. Where was all that pain coming from? The dragon hadn't hurt her that badly. She looked down. Her eyes widened. What was going on? She screamed again as her body slowly changed. Her chest grew bigger. Her neck grew longer. A tail ripped out from her lower back. Her hoarse screams turned into roars. For the longest time, she just lay there quivering.
The pain subdued.
Big amber eyes opened once more. How long had it been? She stretched her long elegant body as she rose. She walked over to the cave opening. Hadn't she been in Sovngarde? An open field and a strange sky? She quickly shrugged the foreign thought off. She was hungry. Her emerald wings spread out on either side of her. A few powerful strokes brought her up into the air. Beneath her, hills rolled by. Lush green turned to bristled yellow as she left the deep rivers of the Reach. Small shapes caught her eyes every once in awhile, but they didn't interest her. She didn't feel like elk.
Then suddenly she pulled her wings in. The wind passed her head and filled her ears. She caught herself before the ground hit her and struck her prey down. The taste of warm blood filled her mouth. It tasted strange. She looked down. A choked scream passed her lips, and she woke up.
Katla jerked and sat up. She was breathing heavily.
"Same one again?"
Amber eyes looked up at the man sitting next to her. She forced herself to take a deep breath. He was fine. She hadn't just torn him to pieces and… She grimaced. She didn't want to think about it. "Yeah," she answered.
"You know it ain't gonna happen."
"I know Ra'shall." She shuddered. "Doesn't make it feel any less real."
Ra'shall offered her a concerned glance. He wondered where the nightmares were coming from. It wasn't like Katla. She'd never had this kind of problem before. "Here," he said as he handed her a cup. "It has some calmin' herbs in it. Hopefully, it'll help." He watched her drink the concoction down. Her eyelids dropped almost as soon as she had finished. He might not have been entirely honest with just how calming that drink had been. He, however, knew from experience that she wasn't likely to fall back to sleep on her own, and she had been dreaming a lot lately. She needed her sleep. He knew he couldn't give her that particular potion too often. It would be dangerous, but he would give it to her from time to time just so she got a chance to sleep.
He rose from her bedside. His tail waved back and forth behind him as he walked back to his own bed. Maybe he should talk to Rhavaniel about those dreams. The Arch-Mage might know something he didn't. 'It might be worth it,' he thought as he lay down. He would do anything to get rid of those nightmares.
Ten years they had spent together. They had travelled the world. She had helped him confront his family, stuck-up as they were. She had saved his life so many times he'd stopped counting. She had even taken the fall for him… It had been the beginning. That's when she had first met Alduin, the World-Eater. Then she had been called by the Greybeards and declared the Dragonborn. It hadn't changed anything though. She might have been some kind of legendary hero, but he wasn't leaving her. They had done everything they could together. He had been there almost every step of the way. Except for the last part. He hadn't been able to go with her when she had left to confront Alduin. He wished he'd been able to go with her. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to, or that he'd been too injured. No, the dragon that had brought her to Skuldafn, where the gateway had been, could only bring one person.
To say he hadn't been happy would be an understatement.
He turned around, sighed, and closed his eyes. He needed to get some sleep too. He'd try to figure things out in the morning.
…
Light paws wandered around the dining hall the next morning. Ra'shall had been up with the sun. Bread was baking in the oven filling the house with its rich scent. He had needed something to do with his hands as his brain worked. Katla had been getting some rather horrid nightmares the past month or so. It had been several months since she defeated Alduin. He didn't see a correlation. She had killed plenty of dragons. Sure, Alduin had been the most powerful one, but why wouldn't she have shown signs earlier if it was because of that. "It has to be somethin' else," he muttered to himself.
"What has to be something else?"
Teal eyes met amber eyes. "I don't think your nightmares are natural," he said bluntly. He knew Katla well, and she hated it when people tried tiptoeing around her.
Katla crossed her arms. Her expression turned thoughtful. "You think someone is affecting me?" she asked.
"I think it's a possibility," Ra'shall said. "This ain't like you Katla. You are probably the most fearless person I know. This just feels off." He paused. "I think we should go see Rhavaniel. Maybe she'll notice somethin' I can't. She's a mage after all. I'm no good with magic and neither are you."
Katla chuckled. "You could say that again," she said. She sniffed the air. "I think the bread is done," she pointed out.
Ra'shall's ears twitched as he turned around to walk into the kitchen. He came back out a moment later with two golden brown loaves.
"You really know how to spoil a girl, don't you," Katla said with a smile.
Ra'shall raised an eyebrow. "I don't see no girl," he said as he placed the bread down on the dining table.
Katla snorted and then she started laughing.
Ra'shall let out a sigh of relief. It was good to hear her laugh. She couldn't be that affected by her nightmares if she laughed like that. He smiled. "Take a seat," he said. "I'll get some butter and jam. I think we have some milk too."
Katla sat down while Ra'shall walked back into the kitchen. She moved one of the loaves of bread and grabbed a knife. The crust cracked satisfactory as she cut down. Steam rose from the spongy inside. Katla took a deep breath. Newly baked bread was one of her favourite scents. Ra'shall handed her the butter. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," Ra'shall responded. He sat down across from her, and she handed him a slice of buttered bread. The two of them ate in silence. Outside birds chirped happily. Their hens clucked, and once in awhile their cow mooed. It was peaceful.
"So, you think we should head off today?" Katla asked once she was full.
"I think that's best. You're gettin' those nightmares more often now," Ra'shall answered. "I'd rather have Rhavaniel take a look at you now than see what will happen later on. We don't know what they are tryin' to do, or if this is just you finally reactin' to everythin' that's been goin' on the past year."
"But you think this is coming from outside," Katla said.
"Sound more logical to me," Ra'shall said.
"I guess we should pack then," Katla said as she stood up. It had been several weeks since they last travelled. It would be nice to get out there again. She smiled as she lifted her horned helmet of the mannequin that held her armour. She had made the armour herself crafted from dragon bones and hide and laid with ebony plates. She had seen other designs that were completely made from dragon bone, but she didn't like them. To her, that design wasn't functional. It's big shoulder pads seemed completely useless as well as restraining, so she had constructed her own. She placed the helmet back. It would take some time to get into the armour, and she needed to pack first either way. She walked back to her bedroom and grabbed a backpack and some clean clothes.
It would be nice to see Rhavaniel again. She was a little… odd, but her heart was in the right place. The first time they had met her had been as they searched for the Elder Scroll they had needed to defeat Alduin. She had been an Adept at the College of Winterhold at the time. To find the Elder Scroll Katla and Ra'shall had needed help from the College Librarian Urag gro-Shub. Rhavaniel had stumbled out of a tower, smoke billowing out behind her. She had turned towards the door. "You moronic piece of Sabercat dung," she's shouted. "I told you not to add the powder."
Ra'shall hadn't been able to stop himself. Alchemy was his passion. "Potion gone wrong, eh?" he asked.
The irritated red-haired elf had turned towards him. "I don't see how that's any of your business, kitty," she spat.
Ra'shall didn't care about her attitude though. A little fire had never hurt him. "Oh, I don't know," he had said. "I'm a Master Alchemist. That might be why I'm askin'."
The redhead didn't get a chance to respond. Another person stumbled out of the tower. "You will never manage Rhavaniel," the man said. "Your ideas are simply insane."
"Oh, really," the elf responded. "If you would just have let me do it, we'd be fine, but you wanted all the glory so you botched it up." She clearly wasn't happy.
"You can't talk to me that way, girl," the man said. "You may be the Arch-Mage's favourite because you found the Eye, but that doesn't mean the rest of us has to bow to you."
"Jeez, calm down man," Ra'shall said.
"Stay out of this you mangy cat," the man hissed.
At that point, Katla had needed to step forward. "He isn't worth it," she told her friend as she placed a hand on his shoulder. She turned to the fiery elf. "Would you mind showing us the way to the Arcanaeum?" she asked calmly.
"As long as it gets me away from this arsehole."
They followed their guide into the main building and down a set of cramped stairs.
"Another explosion, Rhavaniel?" an elderly Orsimer asked.
"Yeah, Ternivir is being an idiot. He still won't let me do things on my own," Rhavaniel said.
"You surpassed him months ago," the Orsimer said. He shook his head. "Sometimes they make me wonder." His eyes narrowed as he saw the other two. "Well, well are you here to see old Urag gro-Shub?" he asked.
Katla nodded. "Yes, I need to speak to you about the Elder Scrolls," she said.
Urag's expression turned distant for a moment. "I think I can find you what you need," he said after a while. Katla wandered off with the Orsimer while Ra'shall stayed back with the elf. "So you're studyin' to become an Alchemy Master?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered. "I could do with a better Master though. Not that the College can offer me one. They don't think Alchemy is classed as magical knowledge for some reason. I don't care how they class it. I want to learn. It isn't like they can teach me anything else." She sighed.
"As I said, I am a Master Alchemist and the College does recognise me, as does the Masters' Enclave," Ra'shall said. "I wouldn't mind takin' a look at what you have to offer." He smirked. "If you're lucky, you might not even need more studies."
"Ra'shall I'm leaving!"
Ra'shall turned to Katla. "Are you comin' back here?" he asked.
"Yeah," Katla said. "I need to take a swim in the Sea of Ghosts, and this is the closest warm place afterwards so I'll be back."
"I'll wait for you here," Ra'shall said. "I have an obligation as a Master to educate this student hungerin' for knowledge."
Katla had snorted and laughed, but she hadn't said anything about it. "I'll see you later," she had called before leaving.
As far as she knew Ra'shall had put Rhavaniel through the ringer. He had made sure she knew what she was doing. Then he had asked her to show him something new. The potion hadn't exploded that time, and Ra'shall had happily declared her a Master. She had been mostly self-taught just like he himself had.
They had met Rhavaniel again later. She had asked for their aid. She'd needed to find the Staff of Magnus so she could control the Eye of Magnus. Neither Katla nor Ra'shall really cared all that much about the Eye, but they didn't mind helping her out. It had turned out to be rather important since the Eye apparently was powerful enough to destroy the world or at least a good chunk of Tamriel.
Rhavaniel had become the Arch-Mage since the old Arch-Mage had died trying to contain the Eye, and she was one of the few mages still alive with multiple Masteries. She was also one of their oldest members. Not that most of the other member knew she'd been around for over a hundred years. She was an elf after all. She didn't look a day over twenty-two though. That was probably why people tended to not take her seriously.
Katla fastened the last strap that held her armour in place. She fasted her quiver to her backpack. Then she picked up her improvised sheet for her sword. The blade was a little long for a regular sheet. She wouldn't be able to draw the sword the way one normally would. She had worked that out though. Once she was geared up properly, she headed downstairs. Ra'shall had packed food. He added some of the food packs to Katla's bag. "I packed some extra just in case," he said. "You never know what could happen."
"True," Katla said. "Have you talked to the family down the hill?" she asked.
There used to be bandits living in Pinewatch next door, but they had tried robbing Katla and Ra'shall one too many times. Bandits didn't go there anymore so a small family had moved in. It, strangely enough, was safer to live in Pinewatch than the nearby towns. Most people knew that Katla and Ra'shall were more dangerous than guards.
"Yeah, I told 'em we'll be gone for a while. They'll take care of the animals for us," Ra'shall said.
The family had been a little nervous when Ra'shall and Katla left in the beginning, but these days they knew they wouldn't be in any danger. It could have something to do with the Thieves Guild. Ra'shall was the leader of the Thieves. Most bandits knew to keep away from him. Both their house and Pinewatch were marked as untouchable. Thieves knew to stay away.
They locked the house up and headed off. It was early autumn. The leaves were slowly turning yellow. It was a good time to travel. Winter would be coming up soon enough, but hopefully, they would be somewhere warmer by then.
They passed by Riverwood, a small town by the White River, around midday.
"Katla!"
The Nord warrior turned around. She sighed. "Yes, Sigrid," she said calmly.
"A pack of wolves has been stalking the town. Will you please help us?" Sigrid asked.
"Sure, we'll deal with it as we go," Katla said. She knew arguing with Sigrid wouldn't lead to anything. She couldn't understand why some people couldn't just go to the guards. They knew how to deal with wolves. People didn't have to ask her. Just because she had dealt with Alduin that didn't mean people had to come to her with every little thing. There were others who could deal with most of those problems. What really irritated her was when people asked her to do things they should be able to do themselves.
"You really should just tell people no," Ra'shall said.
"I know but she gets impossible, and it isn't like it is going to make a difference," Katla said. "I'm not going to kill the wolves. I highly doubt they are actually troubling her, and if they are the guards will deal with them."
"So you lied to her?" Ra'shall with a grin.
"Yeah, I do that sometimes with people like her," Katla said. "It isn't my job to fix their problems."
"I have taught you well," Ra'shall said dramatically. Then he started laughing.
Whiterun silhouetted against the setting sun. The city looked dark and looming in front of the bright light. They had decided to avoid the city. The Jarl would try to get them to stay for a few days and they didn't really want to deal with it. The Jarl of Whiterun had always been kind to them, and they didn't want to be rude. Therefore they chose to stay away from the city. That way he wouldn't know they had passed by.
The set camp just north of Whitewatch Tower, one of the guard towers protecting Whiterun.
"It's nice to be out again," Katla said. She had taken her armour off and was sitting in just her linen undergarments. They had gotten a fire going and would fry up some rabbit and potatoes.
"I fully agree," Ra'shall said. "You've locked yourself up for way too long. We're not meant to sit in some house somewhere. Sure, it's nice to have a place to call home, but we're wanderers. We don't belong in a cosy little house with a rose garden. Can you imagine livin' that way for the rest of your life?"
Katla chuckled. "No, I guess you're right," she said. "It doesn't feel like us."
They ate in silence.
In the sky above the moon rose high. Strange shadows reached out over the ground. The fields were coated in grey.
A chill filled the air. It wasn't summer anymore that much was clear. It smelled crisp and clean if the smoke from the fire didn't blow up in your face. A nearby bush rustled and a hedgehog came hustling out. It was time to go into hibernation soon. He or she was probably trying to get some last minute food gathering done. Amber eyes followed the little creature. A small smile played on her lips. It was the little things that made everything worthwhile. Just seeing something small like the hedgehog trying to survive made her think. It also made her happy. If the small things could survive and take care of themselves then humans and mers didn't really have an excuse.
The fire burned down as Ra'shall and Katla went to sleep. Overhead, clouds rolled in. The next day would be grey. A soft wind blew in from the south bringing some lost summer heat from Cyrodiil with it.
The next morning didn't really dawn. The clouds covered the sky like a blanket. A thick woolly blanket.
Katla and Ra'shall continued north along the road to Eastmarch. It was nearing midday or so when they met a small caravan heading south. They had nearly passed it by when they heard a shout.
"Wait!"
They turned around. A man bearing the typical courier's uniform came walking up to them from the caravan. "Are you Katla and Ra'shall?" he asked as he reached them.
"Yes," Katla answered.
"I have a message here for you, from Rhavaniel," the courier said as he dug through his bag. He pulled out a letter and handed it to Katla.
"What could she want?" Ra'shall mused out loud.
Katla opened the letter up and read through it quickly. "She would like us to come to Solstheim and help her out… There is a ship waiting for us in the Windhelm harbour," she said.
"Well, I guess we're goin' then," Ra'shall said. "We'll have to refill in Windhelm first, but that's about it."
"Isn't Solstheim the Island off Skyrim that has an active volcano on it? The one that is a part of Morrowind really?" Katla asked.
"I think so," Ra'shall said. He shrugged. "I highly doubt that actually matters."
"Apart from the whole volcano thing. I'd rather not be there if the volcano decides to erupt," Katla said.
"Rhavaniel can probably tell us to get out before we get melted," Ra'shall said.
Katla rolled her eyes and smiled. She wasn't scared, but she couldn't fight lava with her weapons.
…
They arrived in Windhelm late the following day. Both of them felt the need to sleep before they went to sea so they entered Candlehearth Hall a grand Inn that took up most of the central square. It was a cosy place bathed in candlelight. There were quite a few travellers there, but it was past high season.
Ra'shall walked up to the owner, Elda, and paid for a room. They could get two rooms sure, but it felt unnecessary. Katla dumped her things off in their room, got out of her armour, and headed down to the baths. She didn't mind being out on the road, but she missed cleaning up on a regular basis. She and Ra'shall cleaned off whenever they got the chance. He was a Khajiit after all. His sense of smell was quite a lot better than hers. Dirt and sweat weren't his favourite scents. She sighed as she stepped into the warm water. Slowly, she undid the plait she kept her hair in while travelling. It kept her hair out of the way. Long, brown locks fell down her back. She kneeled down so she could wash her hair out.
The bath was empty except for Katla. She appreciated that. She didn't mind company, but it was nice to be alone. She got up and dried off before getting dressed in a simple green linen dress. When she got back to their room, she noticed that Ra'shall had been out and bought some food. He must have caught the very last of the market.
The door opened. "I got us some dinner," Ra'shall said as she entered with a tray in his hands. He placed it down on a heavy oak table. "I'll take a bath first though."
"It'll get cold," Katla said.
"Yeah, probably but I'd rather clean up than have perfectly warm food," Ra'shall said his nose scrunching and his ears folding back. He grabbed a change of clothes and headed back out of the room.
Katla settled down by the table. Ra'shall had brought bowls of thick vegetable soup and heavy bread. There was some dried venison as well. It was a little salty but not that bad. Ra'shall returned not much later his fur still slightly damp. "That's better," he said with a sigh as he sat down.
"I guess we should pack our armours. I highly doubt we need them on at sea," Katla said.
"You're probably right," Ra'shall said between bites.
Katla rose from her chair. She figured she might as well treat the armours before they packed them. She grabbed what she needed and headed outside. Ra'shall had some problems with the oils she used while she worked with them, but he liked what they did for his armour. The scent disappeared as the oils dried into the leather so it didn't bother him then.
It was a clear night. The clouds that had covered the sky the previous day had travelled south. They could use some rain down there.
Skyrim, where they lived, was the northernmost country in Tamriel. It was the home of the Nords a hardy people with thick skin that didn't care much about the cold. These days many Dunmer lived there too since their homeland Morrowind was having some volcanic problems. Cyrodiil to the south was the centre of the continent, but Katla found it uninteresting. The fields bored her. She didn't really feel like going back there ever. If they ever travelled south again, she'd rather go east by Hammerfell. Sure the Orsimer were unfriendly, but if you were strong enough they didn't bother you.
Katla finished working the armours over. She headed back inside. They would have to get up early the following morning. Ships preferred going out with the morning tide.
The sun was barely peeking over the horizon when they rose the next morning. The made their way through the Gray Quarters down to the docks. They passed a few fishermen mending their nets. A group of sailors were grouped together down at the far end of the docks.
"Mornin' fellas," Ra'shall said. "We're lookin' for passage to Solstheim. Any of you goin' over that way?"
The men looked at each other. "I can't go. I'll lose too much," one of them said.
"I might be going back," a gruff voice said from behind them. "It depends on who you are."
They turned towards a weather-worn Nord. "I'm Ra'shall and this here is Katla," Ra'shall said.
The man nodded slowly. "Then I'm your ride," he said. "A rather… odd, mer girl paid me to bring you over."
"That would be Rhavaniel," Katla said.
"Might, might not, I don't get paid fully until I bring you over," the captain said. "We should leave now. I don't want to miss the tide."
"Of course," Ra'shall said.
They followed the captain on board his ship.
"How long will it take us?" Ra'shall asked.
"Two maybe three days depending on the wind," the captain said.
"We don't mind rowin' if the wind doesn't hold," Ra'shall said.
"That's good," the captain said. "The men don't like dealing with landwalkers who don't understand that life on the sea can be rough."
"We're not at home at sea that's true, but we don't fear some hard work if necessary," Ra'shall said. "It's probably better if we stay out of the way unless you really need our help though."
The captain laughed. "That's understandable," he said. Then he turned to his crew. "Cast off. Let's get out of this port!" he shouted.
There was a bit of hustling going on as they left the city behind. As they got out to sea, however, everything calmed down. It wasn't that big a vessel so the crew was rather small. Ra'shall noticed several of the men leering at Katla. They were sex deprived Nords, and there she was. He smirked internally. The crew of this boat might be well-travelled men, but they had never met a woman quite like Katla. He wasn't worried about her. She could take any of these men on and win.
The first day was calm and the wind brought them far. The second day the wind had changed. It was still bringing them forward, but it was going much slower.
"If this continues we'll take to the oars tomorrow," the captain told Ra'shall.
"Fully understandable captain," Ra'shall said. He wasn't that fond of travel by sea. All that water made him just a little queasy. His eyes followed the foam on top of the small waves the boat was leaving behind. After a while, he curled up and fell asleep. Hours later the Khajiit woke up suddenly. It was dark apart from the lanterns. He turned around slowly and stretched. Katla was lying asleep not far away from him. He stood up slowly. He really needed to walk around some. He felt all stiff. He noticed that the captain had fallen asleep. He stopped to watch the moons. All Khajiit had a special bond with the moons; they played a big part in their birth.
"Put that back in your pants or I'll send you overboard!"
Ra'shall turned around. Katla was standing with two of the crewmen in front of her. It looked like she had stood up in a hurry. Her blanket was still clinging to her.
One of the men laughed. "Oh, right girl," he said. "You will throw me over."
Ra'shall rolled his eyes. The guy really should have taken her seriously. The splash when he hit the water woke up the captain.
"You should probably throw him a rope," Katla called. "Unless you want to lose him out there. He has probably cooled down by now."
"You ... vindictive …" The guy was shaking as his fellow crew members helped him up and handed him a blanket.
"You only have yourself to blame, Jeremy. She did warn you," one of his friends said.
The soaked man grumbled. No one else bothered Katla after that.
Thankfully the following day dawned bright and clear and with a strong wind blowing them closer and closer to Solstheim. The pulled into the harbour slightly after midday. "I hope you can help your friend deal with what's going on here," the captain said. "She said she would fix things, but well..."
"We'll see what we can do," Ra'shall said. "This isn't our first time. If my companion can kill Alduin, she can deal with this as well I'm sure."
The captain did a doubletake. "You are the Dragonborn?" he asked turning to Katla for the first time.
"Some call me that," Katla said with a shrug.
The man who had tried to have a bit of … fun with her looked green as he realised just who he had messed with.
"Good luck then, I guess," the captain said.
"Thank you and good sailin'" Ra'shall responded. He and Katla headed up towards the town. The ground was covered in ash. The houses looked like turtle shells or insect carapaces made from sandstone. The guards wore armour made from some kind of shell. Katla had seen similar when they had travelled through Morrowind years ago, but it wasn't quite the same. Probably because the creatures they used were different.
"Ra'shall! Katla!"
Katla turned around. A smile played on her lips. "Hello Rhavaniel," she said.
"You came here quickly," Rhavaniel said. "I thought it would take over a week for you to get here."
"We were headin' to the College of Winterhold when your courier found us," Ra'shall said.
"You were?" Rhavaniel said surprised. "How come?"
"You have somewhere private to talk?" Ra'shall asked. He didn't feel like letting the whole town know what they had to say.
"Sure, this way," Rhavaniel said. She led them up a street passed several shops and a blacksmith up to the far end of the town where a house stood a bit secluded off. "They gave me this place after I help them deal with some stuff. An ancient general was back from the dead, I cleaned up the local mine, and I helped with some political problems. They gave me this house once I had clear that up. There is a Word Wall down in the mine. You might want to go down there Katla." She took a deep breath and sat down at a table in the entrance hall. The house had a rather strange design. The entrance was horse-shoed around a staircase down to a lower level and that was all there was above ground.
"So why did you want us to come here?" Ra'shall asked. "I'm guessin' that is the most pressin' question right now."
"Well," Rhavaniel said. She turned slightly in her chair and grabbed a piece of paper. "Some time ago, I was travelling. I came across these really strange men. I tried talking to them, but they weren't very talkative. They were looking for you though, Katla." She handed the paper to the brunette.
"Board the vessel Northern Maiden docked at Raven Rock," Katla read. "Take it to Windhelm, then begin your search. Kill the false Dragonborn known as Katla before she has a chance to reach Solstheim."
"Well, that's nice," Ra'shall said sarcastically. "What have we ever done to them?"
"As far as I have understood Miraak sent them, and he is some kind of Dragon Priest or so. I decided to go here alone to scout things out. You guys deserved some downtime. Lately, it has gotten a little out of hand though. I could probably handle it alone, but I think that Katla at least has a right to know about this place," Rhavaniel said. "Miraak calls himself a Dragonborn. I'm not sure that's what he is, but that's why he calls Katla false. He works with Hermaeus Mora. I found one of the infamous Black Books in the mines too."
"I'm not touching those," Katla said.
"Yeah, I know," Rhavaniel said. "I'll deal with those. I've already sold my soul to Mora either way. I haven't found that much information on Miraak. What I have found out that he has a temple on the Island. I've avoided it. I think we should all go there together."
"Probably a good idea," Ra'shall said.
"So," Rhavaniel said, "why did you want to see me?"
"Katla's been havin' nightmares for several weeks now. She wakes up screamin'. It ain't like her, and I'd like you to take a look because I think that she's bein' affected from outside," Ra'shall said. "I could be wrong, but I'd like for you to check."
"Sure," Rhavaniel said. She moved up closer to Katla and reached up placing her hands on the brunette's temples. Her violet eyes closed slowly. She reached out with her magic.
Ra'shall rose from his chair. He figured the women would probably be busy for a while so he might as well make them some food. Strangely enough, the kitchen area was up there in the half-moon entrance hall. Dunmer were just a bit strange sometimes. He opened some jars, but there wasn't anything in them he dared use.
"There it is!" Rhavaniel exclaimed suddenly. She tilted her head to the side and looked to be deep in thought for a moment. "I think you are going to have to help me," she told Katla. "I can't enchant. At least I'm not good at it, but I think the best way of dealing with this would be placing an enchantment on something."
"Do you have any metal to work with here?" Katla asked.
"Yes, there is silver and gold downstairs. There is also a fully functional forge, an enchanting table and an alchemy station," Rhavaniel said.
"I guess I can make a thin circlet," Katla said. "It's not really my thing, but I think that would work the best."
"Probably," Rhavaniel said.
"Before you ladies go down and deal with that, how 'bout some food?" Ra'shall asked.
"Yes, please I'm famished," Rhavaniel said. She cleared the table off so they could sit there and eat.
"You have been doing some research, haven't you?" Katla commented. There was a lot of scribbled notes in the pile of things the elf had moved.
"They have some really interesting creatures on this island," Rhavaniel said. "I've been…"
"That's great," Katla said with a pained smile. She liked Rhavaniel, but she didn't feel like listening to her dissection stories as they ate.
"Oh, yeah, maybe not now," Rhavaniel said as she looked at the plate Ra'shall placed down in front of her. She wasn't squeamish herself, but she could see how some of the things she liked talking about wasn't great dinner conversation.
"There is another Dragonborn here then?" Katla asked as they ate.
"If you want to call him that," Rhavaniel said. "I'm not too sure, but then again it is hard to say. He's doing something to the people of this island. There is a strange spire just west of the city. People walk around out there. I still don't know why. There are Dragon Cultists around though."
"I guess we'll figure it out as we go," Ra'shall said. "Though, I think I'll take a look as you work on that enchanted circlet later. Maybe I can at least get some more information out people."
"It's possible I guess," Rhavaniel said. "You are better at hiding than I am after all."
Once they had finished eating Rhavaniel and Katla headed downstairs while Ra'shall left the house. Katla walked around the forge. There was still some glow in it but it wasn't anywhere near enough heat for her to work. "Yol," she almost whispered. A fiery cloud left there and hit the forge. Dragon fire worked wonders, but it would still take time.
"I have some firesalts would you like me to throw them in?" Rhavaniel asked.
Katla shook her head. "No, firesalt and dragon breath creates all kind of problems when you mix them. Last time I tried it exploded in my face," she said. "You might as well go back to your research. This is going to take a while."
"Sure, just let me know when we can enchant. I think we want Miraak staying out of your head as soon as possible," Rhavaniel said.
"We're two on that," Katla said as she watched the flames. She heard Rhavaniel walk off, but her focus was on getting the forge up and running. Orange and licking yellow, the flames danced in the forge. Now, Katla could probably have used only the melter, but she didn't have any moulds. She would have to hammer the silver so the forge made more sense. She also wanted to take a look at Rhavaniel's armour. The elf had a dragon scale armour plated with moonstone. It was a much lighter armour than the one Katla herself wore. It was once again Katla's own design. The common elven armour was more flamboyant than practical. It wasn't to Rhavaniel's preference at all.
Katla grabbed the hammer. She weighed it. 'Good enough,' she thought. It wasn't quite as good as her own tolls, but it would do. She found a piece of silver and stuck it in the flames. The impurities crackled and popped. She would have to work those out.
The hammer rose and fell. The bell-like sound rang through the house. Katla smiled softly. She liked working metal. It was calming. She took her time. She might not care much for a circlet, but she wasn't going to turn out subpar work just because of that. Once she felt satisfied she cooled the metal down. She would need to polish it to truly be happy with it, but she was almost done now.
"Rhavaniel!" Katla called once she felt like there wasn't much more she could do.
"Coming!" Rhavaniel called back. It took a bit of time before the Bosmer showed up. Her hair was wild. She must have been running her hands through it a lot. "Time to enchant then," she said.
"Yes," Katla said and they headed over to the enchanting table. The two ladies put their heads together so they could enchant the circlet.
"Hopefully this works now," Rhavaniel said as Katla put the circlet on. "It should of course, but you never know." She yawned. "It's probably time to go to bed," she said.
"Sounds like a good idea," Katla responded. She was exhausted.