The Real Author is back. Hi. So, here is the next chapter. Hope you like Sheogorath, cause if ye don't ye won't like this marvelously awefull little chapter.
Sheogorath
Sheogorath. The Madgod himself. All inhabitants of the Isles hold respect for him in the darkest corners of their hearts which glimmers through at the mention of his name. A Daedric prince. The embodiment of Change. And, in his case the embodiment of madness. Why does such a Prince exist? What Daedra, logical and orderly creatures on the whole would choose to rule over madness. The simple answer is, none. None would choose to do so. Yet Sheogorath has. Or has he not?
Earil sat back, apparently satisfied that there were no more strange instruments he could aim at Nerte, and he took off the large, ridiculous looking pair of convex glasses (Aurascopes he called them) – well, they could be called glasses, she supposed.
Earil rocked back on his chair, looking nervous. "Well, I've checked you over…" he paused here and Nerte asked "And?"
"And nothing" he finished hurriedly "I could find nothing, no residual links of any kind at all, nothing…"
Nerte delved into the back of her mind and felt the brooding presence of Adriana there. "So, why can I still find her presence here?" she asked, irritated.
"Um, I have no idea… very sorry…" he stammered this last bit out as Adriana herself burst into the room, laughing loudly and sounding slightly evil.
"Look who's in a good mood" muttered Nerte.
Adriana swung round and glared at her, changing her manner instantly. "And?" she asked "Can this… person," she said waving a hand at Earil "help us?"
"No" said Nerte. "It would seem not" she said, giving him a small smile, deciding that as he had, after all done his best, she should at least try and act like she was grateful, something which Adriana was completely incapable of. Despite being as tall as them, Adriana, especially an angry one (was there really any other type?) was quite intimidating to say the least, and the High Elf looked like the sooner she was gone the happier he'd feel. He returned her smile weakly, perhaps grateful that as she trudged out the door the Saint followed behind her.
Nerte noticed the new sword and said nothing about it but did say "So, you meet the champion, and don't follow him, or even let me know. Very smart of you."
Adriana's face tensed up even further than normal, and in suspicion asked angrily "have you been using the link?" she asked. "To spy on what I've been doing.
Nerte smiled to herself. She hadn't even noticed. "I might have." She rolled her eyes at Adriana "look, come on, you need to be using it as well. It is truly marvellous. I could see everything you could, it was remote, but definitely you."
Adriana growled, but didn't say anything further.
Nerte had to stop herself adding one final comment to this. She was very smug about the fact that Adriana's sense of hearing, sight and smell were nothing on hers, but if she said this she would probably have found herself lying on the ground spitting out teeth if she didn't move quickly. Ah well…
She sighed. "So now, the trail ends. We'll have to go up around the palace and hope we bump into him, I guess." She really had been hoping Earil wouldn't find anything – if he had, she wouldn't have said so until this was all over, anyway. She had a feeling it could be pretty useful at some stage. Slightly irritating however. Regardless of how she positioned her thoughts she could feel Adriana seething in the background.
Adriana couldn't even feel Nerte's comparatively mild presence in the background static of her mind without the greatest concentration, and she found this rather unsettling. She had the feeling that Nerte could be in her head at any time she wanted. Thankfully it seemed only to be on a conscious level. She could imagine very few things worse than Nerte sifting through her subconscious. She shrugged to herself. Really, if Nerte wanted to look through her eyes, than at the moment that was her problem. Annoying, yes, but at the moment it couldn't harm her really, anyway.
At this moment there came a wisp of purple smoke and the air in front of them shimmered. A dark shape formed in its centre. The shape sighed.
Haskill stepped forwards, and both the Saint and the Seducer almost ran into him, both of them pulling up quickly in surprise. The small man looked from one to the other and proclaimed in a dry voice.
"Well, it would seem that as they would say, 'the game is up'". He muttered this to himself. "Sheogorath knows you're here, and he's demanded that you come to his palace at once. As with everyone, he has been playing a ridiculous little game of his own behind the scenes here, or at least has decided my idea was a good one… Oh dear" he muttered to himself as he paled and Nerte could see brickwork through him. "Summoned again, by that fool of a Champion no doubt…" With this final statement and a gloomy look at them Haskill vanished. "Right" said Nerte. "Let's go…"
Sheogorath's palace in New Sheoth loomed before them, the immense staircase thrusting up above them. The flames of both the Shades of Madness lined each side of the stairs, signifying both the split in the palace and the literal split between the two countries which the palace was built on. Syl's palace adjoined Sheogorath's great throne room to the right, while Thadon's palace was to the left. The entire palace shimmered, caught in the rays of the low, afternoon sun, right before it plunged beneath the waves of the Sea of Madness to be re-born the next day when the time beckoned. Sheogorath had originally supposedly created it in honour of one of Azura's phoenixes, apparently a magnificent sight in bygone ages. This sounded like the sort of thing he'd do to Nerte, but perhaps it was a little farfetched. Both Nerte and Adriana received plenty of glares, from not only their opposing races, but their own. Those who guarded the palace knew exiles when they saw them, and while sneering at them, held their distance until they received further orders. In front of them they faced the split doors of the split lands. Adriana entered on the left and Nerte on the right, the doors through which they had long entered.
Neither of them had spoken about the summons to the palace, and neither had considered ignoring them either. Once the Madgod knew of you in his Isles and had called on you, you did not refuse. To do so would be most unwise. While not the sanest of the princes he still had great power. And anyway, what is sanity when comparing to some of the other Princes. At least Sheogorath could be pleasant when the mood held.
From the sidewalks that surrounded the main room Nerte and Adriana looked at each other. Like the rest of the palace the throne room was split into two halves. The room soared up above them, and Auriel patrolled the northern side of the room, while Mazken held their positions to the south, dark flames spluttering near them. A divided carpet ran along the room one side red, the other green running into a figure as divided in costume and mind as the rest of the room. Sheogorath. Haskill was no-where to be seen, but then, he had been summoned…
Simultaneously they both stepped out into the open.
"Ah, ye made it, my little friends!" shouted the Madgod, his Golden Saint like eyes widening happily "How are'ye feeling? Well? Sick? Happy? Sad?" he asked, but before they could answer he continued, suddenly sounding almost angry "Arr, don't answer. I can see right through you're little skulls"
Nerte and Adriana didn't bother answering. It didn't pay to do so – whatever you said – it would be wrong.
"And here ye are, working behind my backs" he roared at them.
"Haskill thought I didn't know" chuckled the Prince of Madness. "What a dear little chappie he is." His mood swung suddenly to irritation and he scowled, his grey beard jutting out "Doing things behind me back again he was. I'll have to have a word with him about that. Or maybe even two."
He grinned at them again and said "anyway, now you're here you may as well make yourselves useful… Unless ye want to meet Malacath in person" he finished off menacingly.
"So, we keep working the way Haskill said, do we, my Lord?" asked Nerte.
"Yeah, ye may as well now ye've started, just think what a waste of perfectly good Grummites it'd be if you stopped now… Anyway, Haskill's probably right about ye helping the little mortal through it. He is a bit daft, even if he is supposed to be me…"
"What?" asked Adriana, sounding almost pleasant for the first time since Nerte had met her.
"Nothin'" he snapped at her, waving his hand with his cane in it, small purple flowers shooting out of the cane and melting before they hit the ground.
"But first things first now…this won't do at all…" he muttered to himself and waved his hand again, with more purpose than agitation this time. Blue light flowed around the room, encompassing firstly Adriana and then Nerte. "So then? How's that feel, eh?"
Nerte stepped back in surprise. She felt a surge flow through her as a bond was renewed. Looking at Adriana's face she had felt the same thing too.
"Couldn't have ye wandering around not connected to your Wellspring's could I?" he asked, almost serious for a moment. "So, you are officially no longer exiled until I see fit to exile you back to where ever I sent you in the first place. Anyway, the Wellspring's power tells me right where you are… Very useful, to track my champion, and his rather… excitingly tedious progress."
"Now, before ye ask, I've sent the wee fellow up to Cylarne to get the flame lit, so that he can bring back a bit of flame and light up the watchtower here – Nice and symbolic, completely useless – a good task for a beginner, eh?"
Cylarne? thought Nerte. Easy, if he can convince the Saints and the Seducers to work together…
"Well, my dear," he said, picking up on her thoughts, "looks like you two havn't throttled each other yet – that's a nice start anyway…"
Sheogorath paused for a moment and then roared at them "Well what are'ye waitin' for? Get going or I'll get you going! Time flies when ye ain't havin' fun!"
Nerte and Adriana turned smartly and left before Sheogorath's temper could worsen.
"Oh," he said loudly to their backs "One last thing…"
Sheogorath, the Madgod waved at them, as they turned around. Adriana felt something change. The steel armour she was still wearing loosened and shortened around her legs and back, and broadened across her shoulders. Suddenly it felt far more familiar…Without looking down she realised the Madgod had transformed it to Auriel Golden Armour. She smiled softly to herself and turned back away, knowing enough of the Madgod not to say anything further. She glimpsed Nerte as she turned away, and saw that she too, was clad in the armour of her race.
As they exited the room Nerte heard the Madgod cry out, whole heartedly with a cackle behind his words, ringing around the chamber "Come visit again, or I'll… pluck out your eyes!"
