Chapter 11: Cliche
The Glass Army (11)
Valer had woken up before Serana, considering he hadn't slept at all. Strange. He usually had the strange dream, but not the night before. He laid there for about a solid hour, thinking about what he heard yesterday. '...the chosen one.'
Serana opened her amber eyes and looked at him.
"Hey..." She said softly.
"Hey."
She smiled weakly. Their situation had scared her. For him. He was the center piece in all of this, as he had been for so many other events. She knew it was futile to ask him to settle down completely, considering many dangers knocked on his door every day. Now they were in danger's house.
-The courtyard of Yjergnheim-
"Well, well, well. Looks like you're up early." Fenris said. He stood in the center of the courtyard where a fountain once was. Around him stood Kirstia and the other two knights. The rest of them were around the ruined city.
"Yeah. We didn't want to be late for anything." Valer said, sarcastically.
He chuckled. "Very true."
Fenris explained that they would be sent to retrieve certain items in order to reach their final destination. When asked where the final destination was, he never answered. Valer noticed the elder scroll on his back again and asked him about it.
"Is that the elder scroll you used to-"
"Yes." He said simply.
Valer whistled.
"Your first mission starts now."
Valer and Serana glanced at each other.
"In the mountains, there is a ruined temple..."
-Ruined Temple-
"Remind me why we're here?" Serana said, irritated.
They had been walking around the base of a snowy mountain for a good thirty minutes. After a painful search, they found it right where they started. Kirstia turned to face her and folded her arms.
"We're looking for a scroll. It's at the end of the temple. You think you can keep up?"
Valer rolled his eyes and vanished. Serana looked to see him run head first into the temple at the speed of his thu'um. The two women stared at the open doorway for close to ten minutes, frozen in shock. A minute later, Valer came out, holding the scroll and steaming. Literally.
"Valer?"
"What happened?"
He tossed the elder scroll to Kirstia and patted away a flame that sparked on his shoulder.
"Don't touch me. The water around the scroll was enchanted."
"How did you get past it?" Serana asked, pulling a hand away that she didn't realize was out.
He held up another scroll of enchantment. Frost.
"What's next?"
"A Sigil Stone." Kirstia said, staring at him warily.
He finally stopped steaming and whistled. Kirstia tilted her head in confusion, until she heard galloping in the distance. She turned around and nearly fell back. Running towards them was a pitch black horse with glowing red eyes.
"What in Oblivion is that?!" She yelled, stumbling away.
"An old friend of mine."
It passed her and stopped in front of Valer. He slowly placed his hand on its face.
"It's been a while, Shadowmere." He said.
It just stared at him, half malevolently. Then, Valer laughed. Kirstia squinted, suspicious. With a swift movement, he was on top of its back with Serana.
"You coming?" Valer chuckled.
Kirstia warily whistled, and her horse came to her from behind the bushes. Serana looked at her with scorn.
'She made us walk when we could have taken the horses!
"So where is this Sigil Stone?"
"It's up in the mountain. The cave system is called Nightshade Cavern." She said, glancing at Serana briefly.
Valer and Serana exchanged looks of disappointment. Walking the circumference of the base of a mountain can be tiring. Without even getting directions, he kicked Shadowmere and rode up the frozen mountain. He was in the zone.
-Nightshade Cavern-
The three of them walked in to see a sparkling cavern full of gems, mushrooms, and water.
"You didn't tell us about this." Valer said.
He looked around and saw piles of gold and jewels. But at the center of the networking cavern was a Sigil Stone on a pedestal.
"Bingo."
He quickly ran across the arcs of stone and was just about to cross the water when he saw something. Under the water, a large blue serpent swam quickly through the water. It wasn't a dragon, but it wasn't friendly.
"Turn ba-!" The serpent's tail shot out of the water and wrapped around him.
He glanced at them briefly before he was dragged under the water. The two women ran to the edge, but stopped for fear of sharing his fate. They peered into the water and saw two green gems. No. They were eyes. The blue snake's head rose out of the water and looked at them.
"WHERE'S VALER?!" Serana demanded, pulling out her dagger.
A sword cut through its head. A Daedric sword. The serpent's head collapsed onto the stone floor. The sword maneuvered around, cutting the way out for the wielder. Valer stood up out of its head, covered in blood and gold coins.
"Why didn't you ask for the stone?" He said, stepping out of the mass of flesh. He smiled and walked towards the Sigil Stone. Just as he picked it up, the cavern shook.
'Cliche.' He thought, nonchalantly.
The water drained out, and the floor suddenly opened beneath them. They tumbled down into a dark hole, falling into a black abyss. Then everything went black.
-?-
A lone Altmer walked briskly down the corridor, passing numerous others in red robes. He turned a corner and stepped into the shadows.
"What is it, Tandil? You know I have to prepare for the-"
"He's crossed the ice, Gelebros." The figure of another elf was silhouetted on the opposite side of the cavity. Two Psijics passed them, but didn't see them.
"What? The Dragonborn?" Gelebros said frantically.
"Yes. And the knights are planning to bring him here."
Gelebros massaged his temples and took a deep breath.
"What should I do?" Tandil asked.
He was answered with a sharp look that could pierce the shell of a mudcrab.
"You're asking me? This is your field! I'm just a grunt! Just-...just go tell Quaranir. He'll know how to deal with this before it gets out of hand."
They both walked out of the space and went separate ways.
-Somewhere in Nightshade Cavern-
He was having the dream again. He was above the Throat of The World. Then, he tumbled onto the clearing, and couldn't move. Only this time, his side hurt. He was wounded. The green dragon loomed over him, but didn't attack. He struggled to look at the peak, and saw the dragon skeleton. The figure came, not long after, and crouched down next to him.
"Dragonborn." It said.
Fire engulfed his vision, and the dream faded away.
Valer woke up and saw the Sigil Stone glowing brightly next to him. Then he remembered. Valer sat up and was rocked with immense pain in his abdomen. Soft hands were placed on his chest to push him back down.
"You're injured." Kirstia said.
He looked down and saw bandages wrapped around his body. His ribs were broken. He glanced to his right and saw Serana unconscious.
"What happened?" He said.
"It was a trap. The stone was rigged." She looked up at the large boulders jammed together.
He sighed and looked back at Serana.
"Is she alright?"
"A minor head injury."
"Well," he said, sitting up despite the pain. "Time to go."
"Wha- you can't-!" She was shocked by his sudden readiness.
"I've had worse. Let's go." He said, picking up the Sigil Stone.
He put it in his pack and swept Serana up in his arms. Looking around, ignoring Kirstia's baffled look, he saw a small crevice in the stone. He walked towards it, and felt Kirstia close behind him.
-Yjergnheim City Gates-
Fenris was worried. They should have come back already. He and two other knights were standing at the entrance to the city, waiting for at least one of them to return. In the distance, a pitch black horse galloped towards them. Fenris ran towards it, but skidded to a stop when he saw it had no rider, and red eyes.
"What the-"
It stopped in front of him and stared into his unsettled face. After a while, no one spoke. The area was filled with awkward silence. Then, it spoke.
'Are you Fenris Eraldsen?' A deep, whispery voice said.
The voice seemed to come from inside of Fenris' head, and considering the others didn't react, it must have been.
'Are YOU Fenris Eraldsen?' It repeated.
He wasn't sure if he should speak, or think. He thought. 'Yeah, what-'
'My master is in trouble. You must aid him.'
It turned to its side and bent down a little. Fenris, not knowing what was going on, hesitantly mounted it. Immediately, it took off, running at unnatural speed.
'I am Shadowmere.' It said.
'Fen-"
'I am aware of your identity. My master, the Listener, has spoken of you.'
'Oh...'
He had no idea where they were going, but he had no choice now.
-The Palace of Kings, Windhelm-
"WHAT?!" Ulfric yelled, bolting up.
"They crossed the ice before my men could stop them, Sir." A Stormcloak said.
"They?!"
"He and his wife, Sir."
Ulfric plopped back down on his throne and looked at the floor. The Dragonborn, his general, was now over seas, or Divines know where, and probably wouldn't come back. How was he supposed to deal with any Thalmor or Imperials that attacked? Most of all, what if the dragons became even more unruly with his absence?
Just as the thoughts passed through his mind, a roar was heard in the distance.
'Speak of the Daedra.'
Ulfric ran outside to see a red dragon perch onto the archway of the entrance.
"Where is Ulfric?!" It roared. "Where is Ulfric Stormcloak?!"
Ulfric walked to it fearlessly. "Here, dragon. I am-"
"The Dovahkiin has vanished! I fear he is in Atmora."
Ulfric's eyes widened. "A-Atmora? Isn't that...so the legend is true." He looked back at the dragon.
"What is your name?"
"Zu'u Odahviing."
"Ah, so you're the dragon Stormblade captured. I see you've been on good terms with him."
Odahviing grumbled.
"Very well. The only thing for us to do, dragon, is wait. So I suggest you do so."
Odahviing's eyes turned fiery. "You dare command a dovah, human?"
Ulfric, although scared out of his mind, waved him off. "I'm sure the Dragonborn would tell you the same thing."
Odahviing squinted. "Beware, human. Although you can use the thu'um, that does not enable you to defeat me." Then, he exhaled. "But so be it."
He flew off towards Winterhold.
Ulfric shook his head with confusion. Wondering how what he said could be taken as a threat. Then again, dragons were known to love battle as a child loves sweet rolls. Maybe Odahviing was threatening him. He just then noticed the Stormcloaks that were stationed near the archway coming out of their hiding spots. He shook his head and went back inside. He had a lot of work to do.
-Somewhere in Nightshade Cavern-
Valer walked, holding Serana, with an itch on his nose. Kirstia led the way, using magelights to illuminate the path. The cavern was beautiful. Crystals were scattered across the rock faces, the rock itself was reflective, and gold coins and jewels littered the floor. Valer knew that if Serana woke, she would take as many as she could.
He had no need for gold. Mostly because he had become the wealthiest man in Skyrim. His service to the Jarls, being thane, and his rank as general got him an outrageous salary. His adventures scored him millions. He was set for life.
Finally they saw a bright light in the distance, and automatically ran to it. They slowed to a stop once they saw what it was. It was a flat rock that showed their perfect reflection, including the magelight.
"Great." Valer groaned.
He tried to look around it, but it was a dead-end. He tapped the mirror.
'Hollow.' He thought.
He placed Serana on the ground gently and ran a distance back.
"Where are you going?!" Kirstia yelled, watching him disappear into the distance.
After a while, there was nothing. Then, she heard echoing. Some foreign words.
"Wuld Nah Kest!"
Valer shot forward faster than a Dwemer bolt and...went into the mirror. Not breaking it, but going into it. The reflective rock rippled before becoming solid again. Kirstia's jaw dropped.
Serana stirred. "Valer?"
She looked around, ignoring the gold. Her vampire senses were going berserk . She saw Kirstia staring at the mirror with wide eyes.
"What happened? Where's Valer?"
Kirstia didn't respond.
-nrevaC edahsthgiN ni erehwemoS-
Valer skidded to a stop and looked back. The mirror was there, with the reflections of Kirstia and Serana...but no him. He also noted that only their reflections were there, not them. Turning around, he noticed that the tunnel was a backwards copy of the one he came through. But what really caught his eye was him. Standing there, in the exact same pose as him, was a carbon-copy of himself. There was no apparent difference except for the fact that 'it' was glaring at him. Valer walked up to it, and it walked up to him. They stood nose to nose, staring straight at each other.
Valer tilted his head to the left, expecting it to go right. It went left. He raised his right hand, expecting it to raise its left. It raised its right. It wasn't technically mirroring his movements, but did as he did.
"Whoa." Valer said.
It kept its right hand up, and turned it horizontal, balling a fist.
"What the-"
It punched him square in the face. He flew back and hit his head against the mirror. It cracked, then fixed itself. He looked at his doppelgänger just in time to dodge another punch. Its fist hit the mirror and cracked it, only it didn't fix itself.
'Alright, so that's how it works.' Valer thought, cracking his knuckles.
Valer attempted to punch it, but only met its fist. He punched again, and hit its fist again.
"So now you want to mirror me?" Valer said.
It kicked him in the chest, sending him flying down the tunnel. Valer skidded to a stop, stood up and shouted.
"Su Grah Dun!"
It stopped and did the same. "Su Grah Dun!"
Its voice sounded just like him, but had a strange watery sound. Valer unleashed a flurry of attacks on it, only to have them blocked and countered at equal speed. Valer fell back, preparing to shout again, when he remembered it took time to recharge. Apparently it didn't apply to his double, and it knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Mul Qah Diiv!"
"Oh come on!"
