Chapter 14: 14
Chapter Text
Our schedule was pretty much the same for the next couple of days. Svar and I would spar when we both had a moment, with Paarthurnax giving us pointers to improve after the fight, and Serana and I would continue our work on the portal.
Serana…
Turns out she's bi, which in retrospect kind of makes sense. In the game, the only thing stopping her from marrying the dragonborn was her temple hang up, regardless of your gender. Then again, that could have just been a convenient excuse to stop talking about it. She's not quite as assertive in the game after all.
Either way, this Serana is bisexual. Svar and I talked about what happened, and our conclusion was twofold. Either Serana is just fucking with us again, which isn't out of the realm of possibility, or she's genuinely interested.
I don't know which one it is, and frankly it doesn't matter. Svar gets insanely uncomfortable whenever the topic is brought up, leading me to believe she wants Serana as far away from us as possible. There's also the fact that I'm not too keen on trusting the vampiress for a variety of reasons.
Serana herself has been as mature as you'd expect a thousand year old immortal to be about the situation. In other words, she's left us alone, and is professional in her dealings with us. When she's not fucking with us that is.
Bottom line, nothing is happening between us at the moment, and we've all got more important shit to do than sweat over it.
Speaking of more important shit to do, we've hit a hang up with the portal. There are very few things we need to make it that we don't already have, but the things we're lacking are pretty damn important.
Like the wispmother essence and shards that we need before we can do anything else.
Svar, Serana, and I sit around a table in the mess hall to eat our dinner.
"This is a problem." I say aloud.
Serana hums. "I would agree. You would not happen to know the location of a wispmother would you?"
I go through what I remember from the game to think about it.
There's that one in the valley to the south near that one hut with the guy. I obviously don't remember it all that well though. All I know is that it's south.
There's also that one on the way to the place Karliah shoots you with an arrow, but that's on the other side of the province.
There's also the one in Labyrinthian, but I doubt we'll be able to break through whatever wards Savos put up. I'm willing to bet that in real life his defences are a little more involved than replacing a door knocker.
On second thought I could probably just use Yamato to cut our way in.
I shake my head to refocus as I speak. "I've got a general location of two, but nothing's exact, and they could've moved. I know for sure where one is, but it's in a place I'd really rather not fuck with due to the extremely powerful undead lich that's been sealed there. Plus, I don't even know if we'll be able to get in that place. The archmage of the College of Winterhold should have sealed it."
Serana doesn't respond. Instead, she scans back over the book I gave her that details the portal's construction process.
Svar tilts her head at me. "I get liches are bad, but why would the archmage seal it away instead of organizing a force to destroy it?"
I look to the ceiling as I consider how best to explain. "Because it's not just a lich." I begin. "It's a dragon priest. Way back when dragons ruled Nirn, they would elevate some mortals who loyally served them. The dragons would make these followers immortal, and insanely powerful. Dragon priests aren't your typical lich, and liches in general need lots of preparation." An idea hits me. "Would Paarthurnax be willing to help us?"
Svar shakes her head. "He's made it very clear he is only my teacher. I think he might help with Alduin, but short of that, he's impartial."
Well, at least he's willing to teach Svar. She's already improved immensely.
We descend into silence once more as Serana continues to study her book.
After a moment she says, "We cannot continue our work on the portal without a wispmother. While I am no warding expert, I have experience breaking weaker wards and seals, so I might be able to break through whatever this archmage has placed upon the place. If you are only sure of the location of the wispmother who resides there, I would prefer we go there. I am sure between Svarline, you, and myself, we will be able to deal with whatever threats may exist within. We have your knowledge to prepare ourselves with after all. So, what do we need to prepare for?" She looks up to meet my gaze as she finishes.
That's a good question. What the hell was in Labyrinthian? Lot's of undead; skeletons, draugr, ghost draugr, ghost dogs, a skeletal dragon….
Oh shit there's a dragon.
I let out a long sigh. "Ok. To start, there's going to be a shit load of trolls before we even make it into the place, but they shouldn't be all that hard to deal with. Then we've got undead out the ass. Skeletons, draugr both weak and strong, ghost draugr, ghost dogs, and even a skeletal dragon."
Svar's eyes light up. "There's a dragon there?" She asks excitedly.
I nod. "There is, but don't get too enthusiastic. I don't think skeletal dragons have souls for you to absorb."
Her bright expression sours somewhat, but she perks back up. "That's alright. Disappointing sure, but I'm fine with just fighting him."
"As interesting as a skeletal dragon is," Serana breaks in. "I am much more concerned about this dragon priest. I have not fought any myself, but I remember the Mages Guild once assaulting and killing one. They lost over half of the battlemages that entered the fight. Would you tell us more about this one Dusk? Do we even need to face it in order to defeat the wispmother?"
My eyes widen when she discusses the Mages Guild's assault. "How many mages did they take that they lost half of them? I mean, are we talking four for a loss of two? Or more along the lines of a hundred for a loss of fifty?"
Serana hums patiently. "There were a little over fifty mages assigned to the battle if I remember correctly. Now could you please provide details on this foe?"
The Mages Guild lost over half of a fifty man force to take one of these bastards down? Ha, that asshole didn't even have the Staff of Magnus.
"Oh fuck." I say aloud.
Svar and Serana both become hyper-focused on my words.
"What happened?" Svar asks seriously.
I shake my head to focus. "Don't worry, nothing's about to attack us. I just remembered something that makes me really not want to fight this guy."
Serana's eyes narrow. "What could make you more worried than my previous statement of a dragon priest's capabilities?"
I swallow the lump in my throat. Thinking about fighting this guy would be quite fear inducing if I wasn't me. Thanks for the save Gamer's Mind!
"For starters, the place I've been thinking about is Labyrinthian." I say. "As I said, undead out the ass, but the dragon priest, who's name is Morokei by the way, is going to be significantly worse to fight than a regular of his kind."
"Why's that?" Svar asks.
I sigh. Guess I should just come out and say it.
"Because he has the Staff of Magnus."
Silence descends upon the room.
Svar heavily leans back in her chair while she processes that. Serana on the other hand, leans forward.
"Are you sure?" She asks.
I shrug. "I give it 90% odds. Not everything is like I know it to be, but I feel like this one's a pretty safe bet."
She studies me for a moment, and nods. "Then we must kill him."
Quest added
[Morokei!]
You are headed to Labyrinthian, might as well defeat the mini-boss!
Objective- Defeat the dragon priest sealed within Labyrinthian
Bonus Objective- Collect the desired ingredients from the wispmother
Bonus Objective- ???
Rewards- The Staff of Magnus, Morokei, ?
Bonus Rewards- Continued ability to work on the portal, ?
Failure- Death and enslavement
Why is it death and enslavement? I really don't like this.
I raise an eyebrow across the table at Serana. "You heard what I said right? A being that can kill 30 out of 50 battlemages on their own, has one of the single most powerful artifacts in existence to make itself even more deadly. How exactly are we supposed to beat this guy?"
She places a hand on her chin and looks down at the table. "It might have the staff, but the three of us are far from weak. I am a Daughter of Coldharbour. One who spent thousands of years honing her abilities. Svarline is the dragonborn. A dragonborn who has been training for nearly a month under one of the strongest dragons in recorded history."
Svar looks taken aback. "Wait, what was that about Paarthurnax?"
Serana waves a hand in her direction. "There is a tome in the library that describes him in great detail. You should read it, but do not judge him too harshly for his past deeds."
Svar's eyebrows draw together in confusion.
I guess Serana found something talking about Paarthurnax's overlord days. I'm pretty sure Svar will be able to see past that, but it'll probably come as a bit of a shock.
Serana looks up at me. "And you Dusk, I don't know what you are, but you are far from normal."
I shrug. "True, but again. Dragon priest with the Staff of Magnus. We're good, sure, but I don't know if we're that good. We could probably just ignore him, grab the stuff we need off the wispmother, and get the hell out of dodge."
Serana hums. "And leave such a powerful weapon in the hands of this Morokei? We have an opportunity to acquire the means to better ensure our survival, and I believe we should take it. With enough planning and preparation, I am confident we could defeat this creature."
I go to argue, but my mind wanders back to the Staff. In the game it was good, but grew to be mediocre the stronger me character got. In the lore though, that thing was insane. Though now that I'm thinking about it, didn't it have some sort of One Ring function where it would abandon the wielder for one reason or another? I don't remember all that well, but it doesn't really matter. I'm really starting to hate Greed.
I look up at Serana and narrow my eyes. "So we fight this age old undead dragon priest and maybe win, what happens then? Who's to say you won't stab us in the back to grab not only the staff, but Yamato, Ascalon, two Elder Scrolls, and an underground fortress that has the makings of a portal to the Soul Cairn inside? This seems like the perfect situation for you to get rid of us with little to no effort."
Svar tenses next to me as I stare across the table at Serana.
Serana smiles at me. "While I suppose it is wise to mistrust me, you need not waste the effort. I give you my word that I will not attempt anything nefarious against either of you unless I am provoked."
Svar raises an eyebrow at the vampiress. "What exactly is your word worth? The last time someone promised us something, we got chased out of a city."
Serana chuckles as she turns to her. "I have no reason to lie to either of you. Had I wanted you dead, I would have killed you already. The both of you sleep quite soundly after all. No, I believe the three of us could grow to accomplish much in this world, throwing that away for something as materialistic as your weapons is foolish."
Ignoring the bit where she openly admitted to watching us sleep, I used my soul magic while she was talking to try to detect deceit, but all I got was a feeling of amusement and the impression of her soul waving at mine.
I need to get a lot better at this.
Svar relaxes slightly and turns to face me. "It's up to you. I don't think she's lying, but that doesn't mean she's telling the truth."
My thoughts exactly.
I sigh. "Alright, fine. We'll try to bring down Morokei, but he's going to be tough. How are we going to go about this?"
Serana smiles. "He is not unbeatable. We need simply strike until he bleeds, then continue to rend at the wound."
Ya. It's definitely going to be that easy.
The trip to Labyrinthian took around five days. The three of us and Mr. Rogers were trying to draw as little attention as possible, so while we could have just teleported or used Godspeed, we decided to walk. The only somewhat subtle teleport we have is Serana's, and she's never been to Labyrinthian before. Meaning she didn't know where we were going, which left going by foot as our only option.
We stayed off the roads, and avoided anyone Svar, Mr. Rogers, and Serana were able to sense. Aside from the local wildlife doing their very best to eat me, we didn't have any trouble as far as combat is concerned. Interestingly enough though, it snowed at some point while we were in Sky Haven. I guess living underground can really make you grow out of touch with life on the surface.
Serana, Svar, Mr. Rogers, and I are currently standing at the bottom of a very large, very icy staircase that leads up to seemingly nowhere. The only visible feature aside from the large staircase is the highest point of an archway at the very top of the mountain.
Ya, fuck this. We've walked enough.
"Serana? Could you teleport us to the top of that mountain? The more discrete the better." I say while pointing toward said mountain.
Serana nods, and holds her hand out. A swirling portal opens in front of her, and the three of us plus our ghost pup walk through.
We appear at the apex of one of the smaller peaks in the area, but we're more than high enough to observe our destination.
Svar surveys the ground below. "This the place?" She asks.
I nod to her.
Below us, is a large crumbling stone ruin. It's easily a mile or two long and wide, making it evident that this was once a large city. There are eroded pillars, collapsed statues, and staircases covered in snow. Quite a few structures were obviously small houses or shacks of some kind, but they have long since decayed into almost nothing.
There are a few trolls and bears poking around, but other than that, the area is deserted.
I continue to look around until my eyes come to rest in the center of the ruins.
Directly in the center, is a large still standing structure. While some of the stone bricks have chipped away, the structure as a whole stands undisturbed. A stark contrast to the destruction around it.
"That's where we're going." I say, pointing to the center building.
"Not much to look at." Svar observes.
Serana hums. "Neither are we at first glance. I will open another portal to transport us down, but stay on your guard. I do not wish to be ambushed."
Svar and I nod, and the three of us proceed through another one of Serana's portals.
We emerge not ten feet away from a giant, circular stone door.
"Yep, this is definitely it." I say.
I reach into my inventory and pull out Mr. Rogers' katana. I toss it to him, and he catches it with a playful growl.
Svar follows the action with a interest. "Since when did he have a sword?"
I shrug. "Since I traded him for his other one, and enchanted this one."
Svar raises an eyebrow. "He had another one that you traded him for?" She asks in amusement.
"As amusing as this conversation is, I would appreciate it if we could focus on the ruin. There will be plenty of time to tell this story later." Serana says calmly as she moves forward, and I feel her pulling on her magic.
She keeps channeling her magic, and grits her teeth. She tenses and keeps pouring magic out, but nothing happens.
She relaxes with a long exhale, and turns to face us. "Whatever the archmage used to seal this place is incredibly powerful. One would typically need to sacrifice a soul to do what he achieved here. It is likely the work of the Staff of Magnus. I can't break through it."
Huh, guess Savos used one of his little friends to close the place up. Does that mean there aren't any ghosts binding Morokei in place? Need to watch out for that. If he's got free reign of the entire ruin this is going to be a lot harder.
I step past Serana as I pull Yamato from my inventory. "Better hope this works. Because if it doesn't, we wasted this trip." I say as I prepare to cut open the door.
Standing not a foot away from the door, I slash out with Yamato. The enchanted stone holds for a brief moment, but gives way. I feel a great flood of magic wash over me as the sword cuts into the door.
Stepping back in case of an attack, I wait for a moment.
"What the hell was that?" Svar asks.
She must've felt the wave too.
"That," Serana says cheerily. "was the ward breaking. We are now free to proceed."
She walks forward and through the makeshift doorway I carved into the stone door. Svar and I at her heels.
"Alright." I say. "From this point on, expect every corner to try and kill you. When we were in Blackreach we had the ability to teleport around all the unpleasant residents, we don't have that ability here, so we'll have to fight everything. Don't drop your guard."
Svar gives me a nod and her skin turns to scales as her alteration magic does its work.
Serana just smiles at me and begins walking into the ruined city's center.
The three of us hadn't made it a hundred feet when a mass of draugr and skeletons charged towards us from down the hallway.
I stepped in front of my companions, and pulled Yamato from my inventory once more. I let out two ranged horizontal cuts that extended the length of the hallway, bisecting the entire advancing force.
They fell to the ground in pieces, and continued to roll towards us for a moment before coming to a stop.
Svar walks forward. "Let's hope it's all that easy. The sooner we're done here the sooner we get to leave."
The four of us continue on with me at the lead. Whenever we come to another group of undead, I use Yamato to kill them all at a distance.
Even the stronger draugr fall quite easily to Yamato's blade. Despite the fact Labyrinthian is far more populated than in the game, we're progressing without issue.
Svar and Serana have only needed to attack to stave off boredom, and Mr. Rogers happily runs forward to slash at anything that survives Yamato cutting it in half.
I was honestly starting to feel pretty confident. Of course that's when a large wave of blue mana washed over our group.
Mr. Rogers yelped in pain and Serana, Svar and I nearly collapsed as over half of our mana was drained almost instantly. Svar's scales revert back to normal skin.
"WO LOS HI? HI LOS NI AREN." A booming voice said from everywhere at once.
"Svarline, translation." Serana gasped out as she recovered.
Svar takes a few deep breaths and says, "He's asking who we are. He said we're not Aren."
"Anyway to tell him to go fuck himself?" I half-heartedly ask after I've recovered.
Svar lets out a small chuckle. "Paarthurnax wouldn't teach me fuck. Said there are some powers mortals can't be trusted with."
I let out a chuckle of my own, then turn to Serana. "Still think we can beat this asshole? That was just the staff. Had he been here to capitalize on that, it's safe to say we'd be dead."
Serana nods sharply. "We will defeat him. The more powerful the weapon, the less the wielder focuses on maintaining their own abilities. Stick together, and we shall be victorious."
Another way swept through the hall and began draining us. Expecting it this time, we were able to stay on our feet, and the only effect was its drain on our mana.
"KAH FEN KOS HIN OBLAAN, MON DO COLDHARBOUR." The voice echoed with what seemed to be amusement.
"Translation?" I asked Svar.
"'Pride will be your end, Daughter of Coldharbour.' He knows what Serana is, and he can hear us." She says.
Serana's features harden. "We will kill him."
Svar and I nod, and the three of us, as well as a pissed off Mr. Rogers, continue through the stone hallways.
I stay in the lead with Yamato, and kill any undead that charge towards us. With the threat of Morokei suddenly sapping off our magic, it just makes sense to have the bladesman in front.
We move through more undead, no ghosts just yet though, and come to a large iron gate.
Svar looks at it with a large grin on her face. "Is this it?"
I shrug. "As far as I know? Yes, but I've been wrong before."
"We should prepare for anything." Serana says. I feel her pull on her magic, and her necrotic armor comes into being around her.
Svar nods and her scales reappear. Her cloak also splits and opens up into her wings. While there isn't all that much room to fly down here, there is some. Plus, the extra limbs will probably help her fight.
I enter my lightning form, and walk through the metal gate.
I emerge into a massive circular chamber. The ceiling is easily sixty feet up, and the room has a radius of roughly eighty feet. There are support columns every ten feet or so, but aside from that, the room is empty.
I poke around with my soul magic, but don't sense anything.
I turn to Serana and Svar and quietly say, "Do you guys sense anything I don't?"
"KORAAV." Svar quietly uses her thu'um, but her words still carry a great sense of power. She begins looking around the area.
Serana doesn't move, focused on listening for movement.
My sixth sense triggers and I grab Svar and Serana on the shoulder to teleport away with them.
I look back and see Mr. Rogers stabbing his sword up into a hulking, rotting mass of bone and sinew.
Mr. Rogers lands a few hits, but the thing swipes out at him with something I can't quite make out, and Mr. Rogers dissipates.
Oh we are murdering this thing now.
DIILUNSLAADSULEYK
Undeath. Eternal. Power.
Level- ???
Tier- ???
HP- ???
Thought about you- ???
The skeletal dragon turned its skull to face us, and made a large clacking sound as it started to charge.
"GOLZ!" Svar shouts.
The stone floor beneath the dragon begins to open in some places, and grow spikes in others. Slowing the dragon's progress, and leaving many exploitable openings.
Serana began taking advantage with ice magic while I activated Godspeed.
Moving through Svar's obstacles at the speed of lightning, I pull Yamato from my inventory. I weave in close to the dragon, and reach up with my blade towards it's right wing. I slash down and disappear with Godspeed.
I stop and turn around to observe the battlefield, and see the dragon's severed wing on the ground. I smile and move to charge at it's other side, when its severed wing begins floating. The wing bone rises up and perfectly reattaches itself to where it was just cut from.
What?
The dragon turns its skull to look at me and makes louder clacking sounds. It turns and begins moving towards me.
I Godspeed away and appear next to Serana.
"Swords obviously aren't that useful right now. You're the necromancer, how do we fight this thing?" I ask her.
She snarls as she throws more ice magic at the dragon. "I can't sense whatever is binding it here. This is not a normal undead, otherwise I would have sent it on already. We must either flee, or find its connection to this plane."
"Where the hell would that be?" I ask as I join her in throwing elemental magic towards the dragon.
It has turned back around, and is still focused on me.
"Svarline!" Serana draws Svar's attention. "Look for a connection this beast has to the world!"
Svar uses her alteration magic to turn the hazardous stone maze she made with her thu'um slick with oil, causing the dragon to slip to the ground. "What?" She yells back.
I let out a grunt of frustration. "Just find anything that's metaphysically connected to the dragon. We'll buy you time." I charge in with Godspeed and Yamato.
Svar still looks confused, but still begins scanning the surroundings.
I rush in and out of reach of the dragon, taking a limb with every pass. All it does is slow the thing down. It always repairs itself, and just keeps on trying to bite me.
Serana continues to ice up its joints to prevent movement, but again, the dragon is only concerned with biting off my head for whatever reason.
All of a sudden, Svar's wings open wide and she flys straight towards the ceiling. She looks around frantically, and comes to a stop at a point next to one of the columns. She uses her alteration magic to force long claws to extend from her fingernails, and she begins tearing into the stone.
Serana and I keep kiting the undead dragon around while she works.
Svar makes one more slash against the column, and calls out, "Got it!" She dives to Serana and hands her a small stone growling a sickly green.
Serana wraps her hand around the stone and forces a large amount of magic into it.
The moment she does, the dragon skeletal dragon collapses.
Because I believe in the sacred art of the double tap, I rush forward and immediately inventory each piece of the dragon separately. Soon, there's nothing left of the beast.
I look over at Svar and Serana, to find Serana smiling widely as she looks at the still glowing rock in her hand.
Well that can't be good.
I deactivate Godspeed and walk over to them. "What is that thing?" I ask as I get closer.
Serana turns to grin at me. "It is a soul stone. They are very hard to come by, and quite powerful."
Not that I don't trust you, but...
Soul Stone
Able to seal the souls of powerful creatures in order to use them as a power source
Has a variety of uses
Serana raises an eyebrow at me. "Did I not just tell you what it was?"
I shrug. "There's no harm in verifying."
She hums, but doesn't respond.
Svar lets out a breath as her scales fade. "How much further is the wispmother?" She asks.
I shrug. "Not sure. Shouldn't be too long."
I summoned Mr. Rogers and scratched him behind the ears.
"You ok bud?" I ask.
He wags his tail and barks at me.
I smile. "Good boy." I give him back his sword, and the four of us continue on our way.
We keep wandering through the halls, fighting through more undead, and finding nothing interesting.
We round another corner and find more undead, only these ones are ghosts.
"Allow me." Serana says as she steps forward. "Your sword will not be able to harm things that have no substance."
I stay where I am and grin. "You wanna bet?" I slash through the hallway, and every ghost lets out a horrible shriek, before fading into nothingness.
Serana's eyes widen as she views the result. She turns to me with a curious expression. "Where exactly did you acquire such a blade?" She asks curiously.
The corner of my lip pulls up. "I pulled it out of my ass." I say.
Svar starts cackling behind us. "Yep, his booty is pretty valuable."
I turn around and raise an eyebrow at her. "Pretty sure my booty is priceless."
Svar puts a hand on her chin and tilts her head. "The sword? Definitely. The other? I've seen better."
"Well now you've hurt my feelings." I say with feigned hurt.
She smiles and leans in for a kiss.
"Don't worry." She says as she pulls away. "I still like you."
"Please save it for later." Serana says, sounding irritated.
I raise an eyebrow at her. "What's got you so pissed off?"
She turns to glare at me. "There is a time and a place for affection. This is neither that time, nor that place."
Svar shrugs at her, and the four of us continue on.
We round another corner when another blue hued wave washes over us, draining our mana.
"HI LOST WAHL NII GUT. ZU'U FEN MED DU HIN SIL." The voice speaks out once more.
I take a deep breath. "Svar?"
"'You've made it far. I will enjoy devouring your souls.' He's being pretty damn cliche don't ya think?" She answers.
Serana chuckles softly. "Yes he is. I cannot tell you the number of times I have received such threats."
The three of us and Mr. Rogers continued on.
I Yamato'd a few more groups of undead, and we kept wandering through old stone hallways.
After a little more wandering, and a little more bisecting, we came to a small corridor blocked off by ice.
Huh, don't remember that from the game.
"I will handle this." Serana says as she walks forward. She begins calling on her cryomancy, when a large blizzard erupts from the blocked off area. Serana is blown back by the gust, but lands on her feet and is instantly on guard.
"What the hell is that?" Svar asks as her skin turns to black scales.
Emerging from the far end of the passage, is a female humanoid shaped mass of walking ice. The entity moves forward a few feet more, before stopping to look at me.
Frost Elemental
Level- 147
Tier- Immortal
HP- 14734
Thought about you- You smell interesting. She wants to absorb you and take your power.
Sentient ice that wants to eat me. Must be a Tuesday.
The emotionless face of the elemental stares at me, and then sixth sense triggers.
I grab Svar and teleport out of the way as giant icicles shoot out of the ground and begin flying around the room.
I pull Yamato from my inventory and use a ranged slash to try and kill the thing. My attack connects, and the elemental's form falls away, but she just remolds the severed ice and rises back to her feet.
I let out a sigh.
I'm really kind of done with this.
I move forward and keep slashing with Yamato. The cuts don't really harm the thing, but they do make it so she can't move.
"Svar?" I say as I continue mulching the elemental. "Fire would be nice."
Svar grins and walks up next to me. Smoke begins to rise from her shoulders as she takes in a deep breath.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!!!" Svar shouts.
Instead of the wave that typically accompanies the shout, there is instead a beam of fire as if a dragon had shouted instead of Svar.
She's getting better.
The elemental tries to get away, but between me cutting any part of it that moves, a now recovered Serana forcing away it's ice, and Svar melting it to slag, there isn't much it can do.
The fire continues for a second longer before all the ice in the area evaporates.
I feel around for its soul just in case, but find nothing. It's dead.
"Well," Svar says. "she was a lot less intimidating than she looked."
"We had a hard counter for her." I respond. "We might not have one for whatever comes next."
Serana hums. "True, but so long as we are not caught unawares, I believe we will be fine."
The three of us continued on. Mr. Rogers trotting along behind us.
A few groups of undead later, and we enter another large chamber. There is a small stairway leading on at the far end, but other than that, it's pretty open in here.
Serana's mouth forms into a wide grin. "We're here." She says.
"How can you tell?" Svar asks.
"I can hear bells." Serana says simply.
"Guess we're in the right place." I say as I enter my lightning form.
Svar and Serana follow my example. Donning their scales and armor respectively.
The three of us and our ghost dog walk forward, keeping our eyes open to our surroundings.
From the right, I hear a faint tinkling of bells. I look over and see a faint light blue glow coming from one of the walls.
"There." I point it out to my companions and get ready.
Sixth Sense suddenly screams from beneath me and I dive to the side.
Emerging from the floor beneath where I was standing, is a pale ghostly woman wearing nought but torn white wrappings.
Alfhina
Mother of Wisps
Level- ???
Tier- ???
HP- ???
Thought about you- ???
I'm going to murder this bitch.
I Godspeed away from her while Svar charges in.
"YOL TOOR SHUL!!!" Svar unleashes more flame towards the ghostly woman.
The wispmother falls back into the ground to escape, and disappears from view. At the same time, dozens of small blue orbs emerge from the surrounding walls and ceiling. Every one charges towards myself and my companions.
Mr. Rogers charges a pack headed towards him with a challenging growl. He swings his sword back and forth, but the small globes are too agile for him to land a hit on.
Serana draws her own blade, and begins striking out at the wisps. Her frost magic will be all but useless against these things.
From where I stand, I begin firing bolts at each of the wisps I can see. Most connect, but the wisps just fall back into the walls to recover whenever they get hit.
Sixth Sense screams again, and I teleport to the other side of the chamber. Turning back, I see the ghostly woman glaring at me as she moves back toward the wall.
I've got to take away their phasing.
"Cover me!" I yell.
I don't wait for a response. The wispmother is too close to the wall, and I won't be able to force her out.
I crouch down and place my hands on the ground. I channel my magic, and force it out into my desired shape. The lightning runs through the ground, up the walls, and across the ceiling according to my will.
The wispmother is inches from the wall, when a blue field emerges from it, forcing the ghostly woman back.
It's taking all my concentration, but I've managed to create an electrical prison around the entire chamber. The walls, ceiling, and floor are now charged with lightning. Making phasing through them all but impossible.
The wispmother turns to me and screams in rage. She raises her arms and creates a storm of icicles. She brings her arms back down, and every chunk of ice she just created is sent towards me at incredible speeds.
Before they can reach me, however, Svar appears in front of them and shouts once more. "YOL!!!" Her entire form is covered in flame with her word, and she spreads her flaming wings to interrupt the path of the ice. The ice sizzles and evaporates when it comes into contact with her, leaving the both of us unharmed.
I smile. "You guys get the big one." I say to Serana and Svar. "I've got the pests."
I close my eyes and use my lightning to feel for the magnetic fields around me. Given I have the entire room surrounded in my magic, I can feel every movement within. I mark Svar, Serana, and Mr. Rogers as friendly, and start sending bolts at everything else.
From the walls, ceiling, and floor, lightning bolts shoot out and collide with every wisp in the air. Some try to dodge, only to move into the path of other bolts. Others try to phase back into the ground, and are electrocuted by my cage of lightning.
What wisps are able to avoid me, are forced directly into Mr. Rogers, who has dropped his sword and decided to tear them apart with his teeth.
"RONAAZ!!!" I hear Svar yell, and feel her spectral bow form in her hands. She begins firing arrows into the wispmother while Serana strikes with her sword.
The last wisp dies, and I focus all my magic onto the wispmother. She's been pincushioned by ethereal arrows, cut apart with Serana's enchanted sword, and is now being assaulted on all sides by her own personal lightning storm.
The wispmother doesn't last long.
With one last anguished filled shriek, her form explodes into magical ice.
Once I check with my soul magic to ensure she's dead, I release my magic and let the lightning cage fall.
Mr. Rogers retrieves his sword, and Svar's scales turn back into skin.
I look over to where the wispmother died, to find Serana already poking through its remains.
"Would you put these in your other space Dusk? I would hate for them to become damaged in our battle with the dragon priest." Serana holds out several softly glowing pieces she looted from the explosion.
I walk up and put everything in my inventory. "So we're really going to fight him huh?"
Serana nods. "We have come this far. It would be a waste to not pay him a visit."
Another large blue wave rushes through the chamber. Taking our mana with it.
"HI LOS DUN. ZU'U SARAAN UN GRAH." Speaks the accompanying voice.
Serana and I both turn to Svar with raised eyebrows.
She shrugs. "Essentially, 'You're strong. I await our battle.' I'm really starting to think this guy doesn't know what the word 'original' means."
The three of us continue deeper into the ruined city. Mr. Rogers chews on the handle of his sword while he follows behind us.
We walk for another half hour. We encounter no undead, and no traps. However, the further we walk, the more each of us is made aware of a large concentration of magic in the direction we're walking.
"I believe we are here." Serana says as we come to a stop at a large iron door.
"Be careful." I say. "We've already seen his wave dispel Svar's scales. There's no reason to believe our other magical defenses will be immune."
Serana and Svar nod.
Serana turns to Svar. "If you would do the honors?"
Svar steps forward and takes a deep breath. "FUS RO DAH!!!" A tangible blue-hued energy booms out from her. The door is torn from its hinges as the wave passes through it, revealing a wide, high ceilinged chamber with numerous support columns beyond it.
Heh, she figured out the staple. Nice.
We cautiously proceed into the large chamber, and our eyes are instantly drawn to the large blue orb in its center. Or, more precisely, the figure imprisoned within it.
Wearing only a torn cloak that barely reaches the small of his back, and a small kilt, is the dragon priest Morokei. His skin is pulled tight against the bone, with no trace of muscles or organs. His limbs are long, but toothpick thin. He floats a few feet from the ground, and studies us from behind his expressionless mask.
My eyes wander down to his left hand, and see the Staff of Magnus in all its glory.
The Staff of Magnus
Divine Weapon
The staff of the God of Magic, left behind when he fled Mundus
Absorbs mana from the target for as long as they are within range
Absorbs life force from the target when mana is depleted
Empowers the wielder with its stolen magic
Morokei
Glorious
Level- ???
Tier- ???
HP- ???
Thought about you- ???
This is really going to suck.
"What have you determined?" Serana calmly asks from my side without looking away from Morokei.
"As we figured, magic is all but useless against this guy. Don't cast any spells after the battle starts because they'll do nothing. If anything they will just empower him. It's a safe bet to assume any improvement spells will work against us too. We'll have to fight a purely physical battle." I respond.
"Understood." Serana says.
I hear her snarl softly and look over.
Her muscles bulge, and her jaw unhinges. Her skin grows even paler, and two large bat-like wings emerge from her back.
She's going vampire lord right from the start? I knew this fight was gonna suck.
Svar pulls Ascalon and begins preparing herself.
I hear a small whine, and look down to Mr. Rogers.
I smile sadly. "Sorry boy. I don't know how that staff will interact with you, and I'd rather not have anything irreversible happen."
He nods his head sadly and tosses me his sword.
I inventory it, then unsummon him.
I take in a deep breath as I pull Yamato from my inventory. I let it out, and turned back to face the dragon priest.
Paying more attention to the shield he is confined in this time, I observe two beams leading off and up away from it.
"Get ready." I say.
I grab both women on the shoulder, and teleport us up towards a ledge where the first beam leads.
Sitting in a meditative position on the ground is a female ghost, wearing mages robes. She doesn't pay us any mind, focusing solely on Morokei.
I reach out with my soul magic to try to see if she's still alive somehow, but only feel a battery.
Savos really fucked over his friends.
I walk to the ledge's edge, and look down to the source of the other beam. There is a ghostly male mage a little ways away in a similar position to the female sitting near me.
I look back at Svar and Serana. "Are you ready? The second I do this it's game on."
I get a determined nod from each of them, and bring Yamato up.
"Go." I say, quickly sending a ranged slice at the male, cutting him in half. I pivot and slice through the woman as well.
I hear a triumphant screech and turn my blade to point at Morokei. I refrain from striking when I see Serana has already used her vampiric speed to close the gap.
She has engaged the lich in martial combat. Her using her sword and claws, while Morokei uses the staff of Magnus as a bo staff.
Even as he fights the vampiress, the dragon priest laughs. He breaks away from Serana for a moment and gestures with his right hand.
A large portal opens up behind Serana in response to the action, and a large mass of moving fire floats through.
Fire Elemental
Level- 184
Tier- Immortal
HP- 19524
Thought about you- You aren't important at the moment
Before the elemental can close the distance to Serana, I use my Akaviri Sword Style to send slash, after ranged slash into the thing.
Each cut severs it, but I'm having the same problem I had with the frost elemental. Whenever something gets cut off, the elemental can just replace it.
On the plus side, the elemental couldn't really move while it was reconstituting itself. I was keeping it busy if nothing else.
I spared a quick glance back toward Morokei to find Svar having joined in the fight. Being nowhere near as fast as Serana, Svar was playing support. Whenever it looked like Morokei had an opening, she would step in to let Serana recover before quickly exiting his range again.
This isn't working.
We're keeping both the elemental and Morokei busy. Making it so they can't cast anything, but it's not going to be enough. All it takes is him getting one lucky chance to cast one spell, or using the staff unimpeded and we're fucked.
Looking slightly behind the elemental, I get an idea. I send one more slash into it to slow it down, and change targets to the three support columns around it.
Three strikes later, and the columns collapse, bringing that section of the ceiling with them.
The elemental tries to dodge, but I send more sword strikes into it to stop its movement.
It gets buried under the rubble, and I'm free to strike at Morokei for a bit.
I'm not naive enough to think that stunt killed the thing, but it will keep it busy for a couple seconds while it tries to find a way free.
I jump from my ledge and charge across the ground towards Morokei. Even without Godspeed, I get there within five seconds, and move to attack Morokei's back, while Serana strikes from the front.
"FIIK LO SAH!!!" The gravelly voice shouts out, surprising me. Morokei turns around to face me, while a phantom version of himself moves forward to press the attack on Serana.
Oh shit.
I try to slice right through him, but Yamato is stopped cold by the Staff of Magnus, surprising absolutely no one.
This is gonna suck.
I retreat slightly to try and give myself some space, but the priest gives me no room.
He keeps close to me, floating up, down, and sideways to try to create openings in my guard.
I trade strikes and parries with him, but can't get around his guard. This guy is freaking good, and I can't rely on Godspeed right now.
I bash the Staff of Magnus away, giving myself a brief opening, and move to capitalize.
"LUN!!!" Morokei shouts once again.
Originating from the large orb atop the Staff of Magnus, another large blue wave expands in every direction.
Being closest, I'm hit first.
My strike is forgotten as I gasp. My magic being torn from me. A moment later I feel a large impact on my midsection
-1362 HP
The orb of Morokei's staff connects with my chest and I'm sent flying. I roll to a stop with a groan, and force myself to look up.
Morokei's clone thing is gone, and Serana is on top of the real one again. She has a large burn on the right side of her face though. Something got a good hit in on her.
Svar has moved away from the pair, and is currently battling the escaped fire elemental. She's moving slower, and it looks like she's giving all she can just to dodge away from the large pyres of fire the elemental is giving off.
This is so bad.
I pick up Yamato to support Svar when I hear a loud scream of pain from Serana. I snap my head to look over and see her pinned to the ground, struggling to get up.
Morokei floats over her, firing bolt after bolt of lightning into her body to keep her still.
Shit.
Svar's standing, Serana's about to be finished off.
I reach out toward Serana with my off hand and start to channel what mana hasn't been taken from me. I don't cast any spells, they would only fuel the Staff. Instead, I do everything I can to divert Morokei's bolts away from Serana. I'm a master electromancer. Changing the path of lightning is within my capabilities.
The dragon priest turns to me in frustration, giving me a slight opening. I bring Yamato up and send a ranged slash just inside Morokei's guard.
The lich screams in pain and fury as his left arm falls to the ground. The Staff of Magnus falling with it.
Not wasting the chance, I immediately activate Godspeed and rush in to grab the Staff. I place Yamato in my inventory on the way over to free up both of my hands. I put a hand on Serana, and use the other to pick up the Staff. No longer under threat of the Staff, I teleport the two of us and the Staff away.
Coming out of the teleport I spare no time. I turn around and Godspeed back towards Svar and the elemental.
Sweat is pouring from her forehead when I get to her, but she is still fighting the thing. I place the orb of the staff against the creature and pull.
The elemental gives a shriek of pain as I begin to drain its power away. The process isn't fast enough, as a pissed off Morokei slams into me and punches me in the throat with his one remaining arm.
-167 HP
He reaches out to wrench the staff from me, but I inventory it before he can.
He shrieks in rage and forces a spell into my throat.
-2147 HP
-10 HP per second until healed
Morokei throws me to the ground, and reaches out his arm to open another portal.
Another fire elemental, as well as two frost elementals emerge from it.
The three charge toward me, and I teleport away.
Morokei teleports after me, and tries to cast another spell when a black blur rams into him from the side.
A now black scaled Svar starts to strike out at him with Ascalon, but the lich creates several magical shields to protect himself.
I heal myself to stop my HP loss, and look over to the new elementals. I find them and the first fire elemental doing battle with two nether liches.
Seeing what Serana did, I summon Mr. Rogers and toss him his sword.
"Kill those fucks!" I yell at him.
He growls and charges them.
I turn back around to face Morokei.
The lich has beaten Svar to the ground, her scaled form slowly rolling over to try and stand, but a ghostly armored vampire lord Serana has taken her place and is continuing to hary the lich.
I enter my Lightning Form and reactivate Godspeed, joining into the fray.
While Ascalon and Serana's sword are deflected away by the lich's shields, Yamato cuts straight through them. I take a piece of his stomach with my first strike.
The lich screams and channels more magic than I thought he had.
I reach into my inventory to pull the Staff back out and stop him. I begin siphoning off his magic even as he forces more into whatever spell he's attempting.
He growls in frustration, and I feel a portion of his mana split off. A bolt of sickly green energy shoots from his hand straight towards Svar.
She's still getting up, and has no idea the attack is coming.
I can't stop it without letting Morokei continue whatever it is he's trying, butI have to help Svar.
I teleport over to Svar and knock her to the side, absorbing the spell into the Staff.
Morokei laughs triumphantly as he unleashes his spell.
The entire chamber becomes blanketed in a swirling storm of fire and frost.
I slam the Staff into the ground and create a dome roughly 8 feet in radius that negates every part of Morokei's spell that comes near me and Svar, but can't do much else aside from that.
A violet portal opens at my side, and a heavily burned and battered Serana falls through it just as Svar finally climbs to her feet.
"What the fuck do we do now?" I ask them both.
"Soul stone…." Serana says through gritted teeth. "Use…. the Soul Stone. Trap. Him."
She pulls said stone out and hands it to me, motioning for her to take the Staff.
I take the stone and give her the Staff.
She grabs it and keeps up the negation field I made. "I'll cover you." She says terse.
I look at Svar, and she gives me a nod.
"Go." Serana says. She lifts the Staff up and starts absorbing the storm into its orb.
"KORAAV!! PRODAH!!! Follow me." Svar says and takes off at an alteration magic enhanced run.
I reactivate Godspeed and follow after her.
-50 HP per second exposed to the storm
I ignore the notification and loss of HP, and press on.
With the elemental storm raging around us, I can't see or hear a thing.
I close my eyes, and use my soul magic to follow after Svar. I sense her closing in on something incredibly powerful, and rush in front of her with Yamato drawn.
Through the storm, I begin sending ranged slashes at the entity, and am rewarded with a shriek so loud I can hear it through the blizzard.
Svar passes by me on the right and shouts, "TIID!"
From my perspective, it's as if she just sped up to a speed almost equal to Godspeed. She rapidly closes the gap on Morokei, and weaves in and out of every bolt he sends her way.
Slow Time is OP.
I keep sending slashes at Morokei whenever Svar gives me an opening.
Through my soul magic, I feel a chunk of his stomach come clean, then a finger, then his leg, then Svar takes his hand.
Morokei grows desperate, he begins to try to flee, but Svar shouts again.
"HORVUTAH!!!"
Morokei freezes in place, unable to react in any way.
Realizing the opportunity for what it is, I Godspeed forward with the soul Stone in my hand.
I press the stone against his unmoving chest and channel soul magic as I try to force him into the gem.
He resists, even as his form is frozen.
The two of us metaphysically battle back and forth, and I slowly start to lose ground.
I grit my teeth and keep pressing, but Morokei slowly starts to get the better of me.
Goddamn it! I'm not strong enough!
I feel a hand press against my shoulder and suddenly Morokei is the one on the back foot.
I redouble my efforts and force everything I have into this battle.
I can feel the dragon priests struggle, I can feel his fear.
I let out a yell and forced him the rest of the way.
His soulless body crumples to the ground, and I can hear his anguished screams from within the stone. Lamenting his freedom from one prison only to be chained within another.
I allow myself a smile as the storm around us fades to nothing.
I feel around with my soul magic for the elementals, nether liches, and Mr. Rogers, but find nothing. They all must have perished fighting each other in the storm.
Quest Complete!
[Morokei!]
You are headed to Labyrinthian, might as well defeat the mini-boss!
Objective- Defeat the dragon priest sealed within Labyrinthian(Complete)
Bonus Objective- Collect the desired ingredients from the wispmother(Complete)
Bonus Objective- Soul Trap Morokei(Complete)
Rewards- The Staff of Magnus, Morokei, 1 Gacha coin
Bonus Rewards- Continued ability to work on the portal, 2 Gach coins
Level up x14
Gain 140 Stat points
For defeating two enemies over 100 levels higher than you, you gain 10 levels
For reaching 800 INT you have gained a perk!
WUBRG
You are capable of using any magic, and using it when it would be impossible for a normal mage. Non-magic zones mean nothing to you, and worlds bereft of magic are your playground. Note: Your magic can still be negated by powerful opponents and artifacts, but barring those circumstances you will always have access to your magic
For reaching 800 WIS you have gained a perk!
player.restoreav magicka 1000
You MP regen now equals WIS x 10
For reaching 400 CHA you have gained a perk!
Unintentionally Suave
When you make statements that would typically be taken as insulting, they will be taken as compliments. (Does not apply if it is your intent to insult them)
For reaching 400 LUK you have gained a perk!
Uh… That way!
Occasionally when unsure of the correct course of action, you will feel an urge pointing you towards a certain option (Action must be unambiguously correct. Ex. The stream is in that direction. NOT Is this a good plan?)
Dusk the Master of the Storm
Level- 194
Class- Saber - LVL 95/100 [12%]
Crafting Class- N/A [0%]
Tier- Mortal
Alignment- ???
HP- 13560 [2712 per minute]
MP- 16720 [8360 per minute]
SP- 13560 [2712 per minute]
STR- 674
END- 678
DEX - 480
INT - 836
WIS - 836
CHA - 440
LUK - 444
MP Regen= WIS x 10
MP= INT x 20
SP/Health Regen= END x 4
SP/HP= END x 20
I look up at Svar and smile. "Holy shit. We fucking did it!"
She ignores me. Her eyes focused behind me.
Oh shit.
I quickly turn around and find Serana no longer transformed. Most of her clothes have been burned away, and her body is covered in burn marks and deep gashes. The Staff of Magnus lays abandoned at her feet.
I rush up to her and start healing her, but she cries out in pain.
"Restoration… deadly…. undead." She forces out, before swiftly collapsing.
I catch her and lay her down.
"Svar." I look up at her. "Do you know of any ways to heal a vampire?"
She shakes her head as she rushes up. "I've never had to try before."
"Blood." Serana gasps. "Need….blood."
Fuck.
I look through my inventory but I don't have any bodies left. I gave them all up to be turned into undead.
I look at Svar, and see she is beat to shit.
Without her scales covering it up, her form is also covered in burns, and punctures. She's not nearly as bad as Serana, but she's not exactly ready to be a blood donor.
"Fuck." I say aloud.
Svar falls down to her knees next to me. "What do we do?" She asks frantically.
I shake my head and look back down at Serana.
The only sources of blood here are Svar and I, and if Serana starts drinking from Svar she's probably not going to be able to stop herself in time. Svar has too little left.
I have Gamer's Body though. As long as I have HP I'll live.
Svar is frantically pulling cloth out of her bag and pushing it into Serana's wounds, but it's not doing a damn thing.
"Svar." I say.
She looks at me pleadingly.
"Serana needs blood, and if we give her yours she'll drain you. If we give her mine though, I'll be fine, but I need you to keep casting healing spells on me. Otherwise she'll kill me. Do you understand?"
She nods and moves closer to me.
This is going to suck.
Serana has stopped moving when I bring my forearm to her mouth. She doesn't respond, so I cut myself on her fangs.
Serana's eyes snap open and she latches down on my arm.
-500 HP per second you are drained
Svar starts to heal me, and my hit points play a sick game of tug of war as Serana continues to drink for a full minute.
Her pale skin gains a slight hint of color, and her wounds slowly start to heal themselves. She continues to drink with a hungry glare in her eyes.
I'm starting to get kind of light headed. Can that even happen to me?
I lose a few seconds, minutes? All I know is that I'm now lying on my back.
When did I fall down? Huh, my arm doesn't hurt anymore, but now my neck does.
I groggily look around, and see Svar knelt down over me with tears in her eyes. Serana sits next to her with an expression I can't quite decipher.
Svar and Serana share a look, and one of them says something to the other that I can't understand.
Serana gives Svar a sharp nod, and brings her wrist to her mouth. She cuts herself open with her fangs, and slowly lowers her hand to my mouth. Some of her blood falls away and splatters against my chin and mouth.
What the hell's going on? Wasn't Serana half dead a second ago?
I open my mouth and lick my lips.
I taste the most delicious thing I have ever tasted, and latch my mouth around the source. Hungrily drinking up the delicious fluid.
I drink and drink, but it becomes painful so I pull away. I lay back and more pain comes. I try to relax, but it grows unbearable.
I scream.
It feels as if my muscles are being pulled as far as they can physically go. As if my bones are breaking and reforming. As if my body is imploding on itself.
I let out one last scream as darkness takes me.
(Serana moments ago)
I feel my hold on this world slipping. Nothing I've tried has stemmed the flow of blood from my wounds.
Dusk and Svarline speak above me, but I pay it no mind. They have no way to resuscitate me that does not involve great sacrifice on their part. They have both made their distrust of me quite clear, and it would be foolish to believe they would risk themselves to bring me back.
My stomach clenches as another tremor of pain passes through it.
I chuckle internally, for I am physically incapable of doing so outwardly.
I am a Daughter of Coldharbour, amongst some of the strongest beings on Mundus, and I'm going to die forgotten in a tomb lost to time. I haven't even been free of the last such tomb for a whole year, and already I've expired.
Do I regret it?
Hmm, I suppose I regret having to die, but I do not regret the actions that brought my death about. Had I not overextended, Svarline would have been cut down by a strike she did not even see. Had I not poured the last of my strength into the Staff, the entire structure would have collapsed on top of us. Killing everyone. This way, only I die.
I chuckle again as I think back to a discussion I once had with my mother.
'You will one day find someone for whom you would do anything.' She said. 'For me, that person was once your father. See to it that you do not make the same mistakes I did.'
Looks like I did mother. I'm sorry I couldn't free you, and I hope you never see me again. If you arrive where I am bound, I will be most put out.
My thoughts turn hazy as I feel the last of my strength leave me.
Something is placed against my mouth, but I'm too weak to care. A moment passes, and the same object is forced into my mouth, and stabbed against my fang.
BLOOD!!!
I latch my fangs around the source and begin to feed, uncaring how my companions were able to acquire a corpse.
I drink and drink for what feels like hours as I lavish in the new unlife the blood provides me.
"Serana!" I hear someone shout, but ignore them in favor of the blood.
"SERANA!!!" This shout is accompanied by a large force impacting my head.
I'm forced away from my meal, and turn to snarl at Svarline.
"You're killing him!" She shouts in my face.
I scoff, you cannot kill that which is already dead. I know not where they acquired the corpse, but Dusk could have…
Dusk.
A cold spike of dread pierces my being as I look down at the body upon which I just fed.
Dusk lies unmoving on the ground. His wrist still leaks blood from the wounds my fangs inflicted upon him. I can still feel his soul, and hear his heartbeat, but both are faint and growing weaker.
"No." I gasp as I realize what I've done.
Svarline rushes past me and begins frantically trying to heal him, but her magic only causes him to hiss in pain.
She pulls back and turns to me. "What's happening to him?"
I force my emotion down and move to sit next to her. I need to be sure.
I look at his eyes. Where before they were an ash grey, they have become red-hued in the iris. I listen for his heart, and find it slowing even faster.
I solemnly look to Svarline. "He's dying."
Her eyes narrow at me. "Then fucking fix him! We just fixed your sorry ass, so return the Oblivion damned favor!"
"There's only one thing I can do. He is in this state because I did not control myself while feeding from him. If I do not turn him, he will die." I respond seriously.
Svarline's eyes widen. "Are you fucking kidding me?!?!" She screams. "You turned him into a damn vampire?!?!"
I shake my head. "Not yet. Turning someone has to be intentional, but the wounds I've inflicted will not heal without a master restoration mage on hand. Something we don't have. The only way I can save him is to turn him."
Svarline opens and closes her jaw a few times. Her eyes regain their focus and bore into my being. "Will he still be Dusk?" She asks, deadly calm.
I nod. "Yes. He will need to adjust to his new abilities and urges, but he will still be Dusk."
She holds my gaze for a moment longer before she speaks. "Do it."
Without waiting for her to say anything else, I lift Dusk's form up to allow me at his neck. While it is possible to turn someone with any bite, the neck is the easiest.
I sink my fangs into him as gently as I can, and drain the last of his blood.
I pull back, and sense him regain a hint of consciousness.
He nearly died for me. I would never have expected such an outcome. I don't know how to feel.
Svarline turns to look at me with tears in her eyes. "Bring him back Serana." She says in a voice heavy with weariness. "Please bring him back."
I give her a sharp nod and bring my wrist to my mouth. I use my fangs to cut my wrist open, and lower it down to Dusk's mouth.
He seems confused for a second, but then he gets his first taste. His eyes shoot open wide and he latches down on my wrist drinking hungrily.
He slows after a moment, then outright stops. His face contorts and he lets out a scream.
He writhes in pain, and I have to stop Svarline from moving to aid him.
"He has to do this on his own." I tell her.
She looks at me in grief, but ultimately nods.
Dusk lets out a much louder scream and descends into unconsciousness.
Svarline stares at him for a long time.
I pull her into a hug. "I'm sorry. This is my fault."
She shakes her head. "Not your fault. We both wanted to save you, we just didn't know what else to do."
I place a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you for bringing me back. I will repay this debt."
Svarline looks up at me. "You can repay us by not dying again, and by helping Dusk. He's going to need help."
I nod. "He nearly gave his life for mine. I will teach him whatever he needs to learn."
Svarline nods. "Good." She hesitates a moment before she leans into me.
I almost pull back in surprise as her lips brush against mine, but control myself and return the kiss.
She pulls back and regards me seriously. "I'm glad you're not dead." She pulls me into a tighter hug, and we stay like that for a long time. Watching over Dusk and each other.
So am I Svarline. So am I.
(Interlude: Aela the Huntress)
Skjor and I had been outside the city for over two weeks by this point. Typically I would enjoy being outside the confines of the city with my lover, but he has been distant. Focused on our mission and nothing else. It makes sense I suppose. When all of Whiterun manages to piss off the dragonborn and her mate, people tend to panic.
The first five days were spent walking Whiterun's perimeter trying to find the direction Svarline and Dusk actually fled in. I'm not sure how they managed to run around the city multiple times while they were escaping, but it made our job much more difficult.
Eventually, we found the trail and began following it. They were moving fast. Not only did they cover a large amount of ground quickly, but their passing stirred up the landscape something fierce.
Burn marks on the grass, bushes that had been completely blown through, evidence of their flight could be found along the entire trail once we were sure we found the right scent.
Suffice to say, once we found the trail, following it was far from difficult.
"Aela." Skjor says as we come to the bottom of a hill. "Do you smell that?"
I inhale deeply and sense what he smells. "Fire." I say.
He nods. "Stay close."
The two of us silently creep up the hill in the direction of the smell. We crouch low and crest the hill to see what is burning.
A little ways away from us is a burning building I recognize as the Hall of the Vigilant. I've only been to the place once, and hated every moment of it, but I can't bring myself to think why someone would actually burn it down.
A rush of motion catches my eye and I zero in on the location.
An incredibly fast figure smalls a figure into a nearby wall, holding them up by their neck.
"Vampires." I say quietly.
Skjor nods. "The question is, what do they want?"
"Svar and Dusk's trail leads here. Could the vamps be trying to find them?" I ponder.
Skjor grips his chin. "If that is the case, we need to hurry. We can't let the dragonborn be turned by vampires."
I glare at him. "She has a name Skjor, and you should be more worried about whether or not she's still alive. The Hall of the Vigilant is full of mages and clerics. Vampires just burned down the headquarters of the most successful daedra hunters in the province. There's something bigger going on here."
Skjor shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. We need to secure the dragonborn, and bring her home. That is our current objective. Everything else can wait."
I shake my head at him. "You need to learn to think Skjor. An organized vampire coven just assaulted the Hall of the Vigilant and won. We need to find out what they want."
Skjor turns to me with an iron gaze. "We leave now. Understood?"
I growl at the display of dominance, but don't argue. When he gets like this it's pointless.
"Fine." I ground out.
The two of us creep back down the hill, and move away from the burning building.
"What now?" I fume at him.
"We take a wide berth around the vampires. So long as we do not stray too far, we will pick up the dragonborn's trail once more."
"And if Svarline and Dusk were in the Hall?" I ask through gritted teeth.
Skjor's eyebrows scrunched together. "Then we will have to fight the vampires."
He begins walking away, and I'm forced to follow him.
I hope those two haven't gotten themselves killed. I actually kinda liked them.
(Interlude: Sam Guevenne)
"No fair! She must've cheated! You can't have four aces when there's only eighteen in the deck!" My friend cries as he stands up in outrage.
The jester places a hand against his heart, and regards my friend with a shocked expression. "You would dare insinuate that Mother cheated. Mother never cheats! Mother only ever wins!" The jester turns to his right. "Tell him Mother!"
All three of us turn to the Jester's right and await a response.
The large wooden box continues to sit there. Doing absolutely nothing.
The jester turns back to us with a wide smile. "You see! Mother didn't cheat!"
My friend sighs, and falls back into his chair. "Sammy boy, she's kicking our ass. Pretty soon we'll be out of gizmos!"
I let out my own sigh and looked at the box. "How did you grow to be so good at cards? I've been playing cards for years and you're still beating me. What's your secret madam?"
The box continues to do nothing.
I smile. Of course she wouldn't tell me her secrets. I never share mine either after all.
I stretch out my muscles as I stand from my chair. "Sheo my friend, I do believe it is time we quit this game. If we play anymore, I'm certain we will leave here naked."
Although…
I turn to look over at the serving girl from last time.
She's been watching us intently the entire evening. Doing any little job she can to keep us in sight.
I give her a small smile, and wink at her.
Her breath catches, and she hurries into the back room.
My friend stands with a flourish. "Very well Sammy boy! To the nakedness we go!" He charges from the bar.
I hear an echoing *woop* as he slowly gets further away.
I turn to face the box once more and give it a bow. "Until we meet again my lady. Tonight has been a most pleasurable experience due to your company."
The box continues to do absolutely nothing.
Ha, speechless. I've still got it.
I place another large coin purse on the table for the serving girl, and follow my friend into the night.
We might've lost everything we found while playing Jack-a-Roo, but it was worth it for such an enjoyable evening.
I wonder what we'll get up to next?
