Chapter 26:
Guidance
The horizon bore a pinkish hue as they reached the small town of Dragon Bridge. They left Arvak in a small wooded clearing not far from the town, promising him they would return at nightfall.
The Inn was almost empty when they entered, most of the town's inhabitants still asleep. Two guardsmen who had just come off guard duty sat in the corner, nursing two tankards of mead.
Emily and Serana took a seat near the corner. After a few minutes Emily got up and approached the bar. She still had the hood pulled low over her head as she ordered a small bowl of raw clams. The bartender raised an eyebrow as she pushed the small earthenware bowl across the countertop.
As she passed by the table where the guardsmen sat she heard a few words of their whispered conversation.
"Did you hear?" said one, "Roggvir's case was brought forward last week."
"I did," the other replied, "Damn sorry business that." He took another swig of mead, "They tried to break him out, you know," he said. The other guard leaned farther across the table.
"They got the Thieves Guild involved from what I heard," he continued, "Sent one of their best men too. Last I heard Elenwen took a personal interest in the affairs and had him carted off to the Embassy for questioning." His companion shuddered.
"I think I would have preferred to meet the headsman's axe," he said.
Emily re-joined Serana in the corner, pushing the bowl of raw clams towards Finn. She took out the map and spread it out on the table.
"So, what do you think is our best route then?" she asked.
"I think we should follow the coast," Serana replied, "It'll be quicker than heading inland. And this time I won't have to worry about you getting frostbite before we're halfway."
"That will be a welcome change," said Emily with a hint of a smile, "Took me all day by the fire last time to feel warm again." She looked around the bar at the few patrons and the bartender cleaning a tankard behind the counter.
"It's strange, you know," she continued. Serana listened as her companion continued. "Around this time I'd usually be exhausted from our night's travel. But now-." She left the sentence hanging.
"I know," Serana replied, "Sleep takes on a new meaning now. A way to pass the time or escape your own thoughts rather than rid you of fatigue."
"When will I need to feed again?" Emily asked.
"Tonight, before we leave," Serana replied, "I still have three bottles left."
"Where did you get them?" Emily asked.
"Do you remember where we met the feral vampire?" Serana asked. Emily nodded.
"There was a keg there," Serana explained, "She'd probably been skimming off remnants from the bone pit.
"Don't worry, I won't elaborate further," she said when she noticed Emily's grimace.
At around noon Emily decided to retire to her room. She paid the bartender the coin and pushed open the door to the adjoining room. She found it hard to believe that this was the first bed she had slept in on entering this strange land. Finn accompanied her, curling up on the armchair across the room from the bed. Emily sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling off the leather bracers and breastplate, electing to sleep in the red undershirt and dark breeches. She huddled under the furs, willing herself to sleep. Though no tiredness lured her on she soon fell into a fitful sleep.
She awoke in a world of crystalline structures and above her burned a light that almost blinded her. It made her skin smart and she cowered from it.
"Child of night," said a voice that shook the crystals beneath her, "Why have you sought the guidance of myself and my kin?" Emily fought against the smarting pain to look up into the light. In the light she saw, or thought she saw, a face.
"Are you…the Divines?" Emily asked. The light above her grew brighter as the great orb moved closer. She cowered beneath the light.
"I am the One," the voice replied, "Now tell me, why have you sought guidance?"
"I killed…out of need," said Emily, unable to face the gaze of the bright faced orb, "I killed to feed. I don't remember doing it but it doesn't change the fact that I did. I seek repentance."
"You are seeking that which belongs to me, are you not?" asked the voice.
"We're seeking the Elder Scrolls," Emily answered.
"And this is in aid of finding that which is mine," replied the voice. Emily waited for the orb to say more. She was about to speak up when it continued.
"You tread a path between sun and shadow," it said, "Whether you plunge into endless night or stand tall in the light of the sun will be down to your actions alone."
"But what must I do?" Emily I asked, "I don't even know where to sta-."
"Silence, immortal," the voice boomed. Emily shut her mouth quickly. "To pursue the knowledge you seek you must go to the ice fields near the Northern beacon of Magnus' wisdom. Find the madman who contemplates an artefact of ages past in his icy stronghold but beware, do not take knowledge that was never yours to own."
"What do you mean?" Emily asked.
"Knowledge is tempting but an endless pursuit will rob of you your light, plunging you into endless night." The orb was fading now, withdrawing as the crystalline structures began to shatter around her. The light dimmed as the orb disappeared from sight, leaving her in the shadows.
Emily's eyes snapped open. She was lying on her back, facing the ceiling. The words still rang in her head as she snapped up. She looked down at her hands as they rested on the furs that still covered her. There were angry red marks on the backs of her hands that looked like burns. She got out of bed, dressing quickly before leaving the room. She found Serana at the table by the corner. She was reading from a book, only lifting her hand to turn a page. She looked up when she heard Emily's footsteps.
"Is something the matter?" she asked as Emily sat down next to her. Emily rubbed the back of one hand with the other. The skin still smarted where the light had touched.
"I had a strange dream," she replied, "And when I woke up my hands were like this." Serana held one of her hands delicately.
"What was the dream?" she asked.
"There was an orb of light with a face," Emily replied in a low voice, "I was on some kind of crystalline structure." Serana listened as Emily continued. "The voice asked me why I sought the guidance of him and his kin," she explained, "Then he said to retrieve the knowledge we seek we must go to…" she paused, trying to remember the words the being had used, "The ice fields next to the Northern Beacon of Magnus' wisdom. He mentioned a madman who contemplates an artefact of ages past in his icy stronghold, something like that."
"Magnus is the god of magic to the Altmer and Bretons," Serana replied.
"And these marks?" Emily asked.
"They look like burns," Serana replied.
"Perhaps there was a hole in the thatching above my bed," Emily suggested but Serana shook her head.
"If it had been the sun," she replied, "Even a small amount would kill you."
"Are dreams something to be listened to in this world?" Emily asked.
"Are they not in yours?" Serana replied.
"Depends on who you ask," Emily shrugged her shoulders.
"The Northern Beacon of Magnus' wisdom almost certainly refers to the college," Serana said thoughtfully, "The sea around it is sometimes known as the Ice Fields."
"Do you think we should check it out?" Emily asked.
"Maybe," Serana replied, "This dream of yours certainly seems like…something. I wonder who the madman is or the artefact."
It took them a whole week of hard riding to complete their journey across Skyrim's frigid coastline. Emily found herself feeling grateful that the harsh winds and freezing spray blowing in off the sea of Ghosts did not elicit anything more than a mild shiver from her in her undead state. What was far more difficult to come to terms with was the act of drinking blood, even when the first three feedings came from blood already gathered which did not necessitate drinking directly from a mortal.
But on the fourth night they stopped in the coastal city of Dawnstar. Emily felt the first traces of thirst creeping up on her. Serana led her through the snowbound city streets towards the houses that lay on the outskirts.
"Tell me what you hear from this house," Serana said, gesturing to the small cottage they stood before.
"What do you mean?" Emily asked.
"As a vampire you can hear and smell things others can't," Serana replied, "Close your eyes and tell me first what you hear." Emily closed her eyes, straining her ears to listen. At first she heard the slap of the waves against the snow encrusted sands and the howl of the wind blowing in over the sea walls. Then there came another sound, a quieter steady sound. It was a sound once familiar to her, the steady rhythmic beat of a heart.
"A heartbeat," she replied.
"A or many?" Serana asked. Emily listened again.
"Just one," she said. Serana smiled.
"Correct," she replied.
"Why are you asking me all this?" Emily asked, puzzled.
"As a vampire you'll need to learn how to hunt in a way that keeps you safe and those you feed on alive," Serana explained, "This house has only one inhabitant. It will be an easy first peaceful feeding." Serana led her to the door where she made a gesture over the lock. They heard a click and the door opened, allowing them to slip inside. On a bed upstairs lay a man, fast asleep, unaware of the two nightwalkers that kept vigil. Serana nodded to Emily who crossed the room to the bedside. She heard the man's heartbeat and saw the veins in his neck twitching as the blood pulsed through. Slowly she bent over the man, every nerve in her body on edge at the thought of what she was about to do.
She bit into the man's neck and warm blood flooded her mouth. It was intoxicating and she drank greedily, blood coursing down her throat. Then she felt Serana's hand on her shoulder and she withdrew. The man still slept but his teeth were gritted and two puncture marks were apparent on his neck. Serana passed a hand over his neck and the bitemarks faded, closing over.
"You will be no more to him than a nightmare," she whispered to Emily as they left the room, descending the wooden staircase and leaving the house.
"And he won't become a vampire?" Emily asked.
"No, a vampire can only turn someone through biting if they truly wish it," Serana replied.
"Then you wished to turn me?" Emily asked.
"So that we could enter the Soul Cairn together as you wished," Serana replied.
"Is that the only reason?" Emily asked. Serana smiled and looked over towards the docks.
"There might have been another reason," she replied. Emily waited for her to continue but she said no more, instead leading her outside the town to where Arvak awaited them and they continued on their journey to Winterhold.
On the seventh night the great island the College stood upon came into view. But instead of taking the track that would take them up into the ruins of the once great city they instead rode under the stone bridge, turning their attention to the icy floes. They dismounted from the horse and stood on the shoreline.
"So this icy stronghold of his is out there somewhere," said Serana, "Doesn't look like somewhere I'd pick."
"What kind of place would you pick?" Emily asked as they stepped onto the first of the ice floes.
"A forest," Serana replied, "Somewhere quiet with moonlight dappled clearings where I could read and wander. Somewhere with crystal clear pools and flowers of all kind I could practice alchemy with."
"It sounds beautiful," said Emily as they leapt across the gap between two great slabs of ice. The ice rocked beneath them for a moment and they moved to the centre until the rocking ceased. The ice floes took them far out beyond the island of the college and out into the Sea of Ghosts. The night was clear and afforded them a view of the distant icebergs. As they neared the icebergs Emily spotted two lights outside one of them.
When they drew nearer they found the lights stood on either side of a jagged hole cut into the ice, partially boarded up with wooden slats. They slipped between the wooden boards and followed the dark tunnel beyond. Even as two undead they felt the chill of ice pressing in on them on every side. The tunnel was winding and brought them out into a large cavern dominated by a great metal cube. A man paced before the metal cube and he muttered to himself, seemingly unaware of the two intruders in his glacial home.
"Excuse me," Emily said as she approached the man. He did not seem to hear her and continued his mutterings.
"The transcendent skies mock the earth bones below," he wheezed, "As none can move as fast as they. But Septimus knows of the earth bones and their secrets. Their lies. Their treacheries."
"Excuse me," Emily said again, "I was told you could tell us where to find an Elder Scroll." At these words the man whirled around with astonishing speed and Emily took a step backward.
"An Elder Scroll, yes," he said, wheezing with laughter, "Indeed, Septimus knows. The Empire, they absconded with them." He laughed again, a wheezy chortle, "Or so they think." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "The ones they saw, ahh, the ones they thought they saw." He was now leaning so close that Emily could plainly see his yellowed teeth and his voice was now no more than a whisper, "I know of one. Forgotten. Sequestered. But I cannot go to it for I, poor Septimus, have risen beyond its grasp." Emily looked on bewildered as the man's words died away.
"Do you know where it is?" she asked, unsure of what kind of response to expect.
"Here," replied the man with a toothy grin, "Well, here as in this plane. Mundus, Tamriel, nearby relatively speaking." He laughed, "But then again, it's all nearby." Emily recognised the faint annoyance in Serana's pursed lips and folded arms.
"Well, can you help us get it?" Emily asked.
"One block lifts the other," Septimus replied, "Septimus will give you what you seek but you must first bring him something in return."
"And what exactly do you want?" Emily asked.
"You see this masterwork of the Dwemer?" Septimus asked as he gestured to the great metal container, "Deep inside is their greatest knowings. Ahh, Septimus is a genius among men but he is but an idiot child compared to the dullest of the Dwemer. But he is lucky for they left their own way of reading the Elder Scrolls. In the depths of Blackreach one yet lies." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "Have you heard of Blackreach?" he asked. Emily shook her head. "Cast upon where Dwemer cities slept, the yearning spires hidden learnings kept."
"Okay, now you're just speaking in riddles, old man," said Serana, a note of impatience evident in her voice, "Can you tell us how to get there or not?"
"Oh yes, impatient child of night," Septimus replied, "Blackreach is deep, under deep. Below the dark. Hidden Keep, Tower Mzark. Alftand, the point of puncture, of first entry, of the tapping. Delve to its limits and Blackreach lies just beyond. Ahhh, but not all can enter there. Septimus alone knows the hidden key to loose the lock to jump beneath the deathly rock."
"And that key would be?" Serana asked. The man reached into his robes and pulled out what appeared to be a bronze sphere covered in strange markings and a bronze cube covered in grooves which ran the length and breadth of it.
"Two things I have for you both, one edged, one round," he explained, "The round one for tuning. Dwemer music is soft and subtle, needed to open their cleverest gates. The edged lexicon, for inscribing. To us it is but a hunk of metal but to the Dwemer it is a library full of knowings. But alas, empty." He handed the lexicon and sphere to Emily. "Find Mzark and its sky-dome. The machinations there will read the Scroll and lay their lore upon the cube. Trust Septimus. He knows you can know."
"And what exactly do I do with this?" Emily asked, holding up the sphere.
"The deepest doors of Dwemer listen for singing," he explained, "It plays the attitude of notes proper for opening." Here he put a hand to his ear as though listening to something. "Can you not hear it? Too low for hearing?"
"And the cube?" Emily asked.
"To glimpse the world inside the Elder Scroll can damage the eyes and the mind as it has to poor Septimus," Septimus replied, "But the Dwemer found a loophole as they always do. To focus the knowledge away and inside without harm. Place the lexicon in the contraption and focus the knowings inside. When it brims with glow bring it to Septimus so he may read once more."
Emily turned to Serana. "Any idea where this Alftand place is then?" she asked. Before Serana could reply Septimus clapped his hands, hopping from one foot to the other.
"A-ha, an eager one," he wheezed, "Good, this is good to see. Septimus can show you if you have an inscription of the land you walk in your possession. A map." Emily took the map from her bag and Septimus marked a spot South west of the city of Winterhold.
"We should be able to get there by daybreak," said Serana appraisingly as she looked at the map, "So long as we leave now."
"I think that would be a very good idea," said Emily as she glanced over her shoulder at the madman who had resumed his ramblings. Serana and Emily climbed the icy ledge which brought them to the tunnel and back out into the open air of the ice floes.
"Did you get what he was talking about?" Emily asked as they made their way back across the ice floes.
"He was rambling," Serana replied, "The Scroll drove him mad. But most madmen speak at least a few grains of truth. Besides, Alftand is our only lead for now."
Across the floes they trekked until they reached the shoreline. From there they mounted Arvak and galloped off towards the snowy plains southwest of Winterhold.