Chapter 17: 17

Chapter Text

"Fucking finally!" I exclaim as I fall heavily against the wall.

Serana smiles widely as she looks upon our work. "We've done it."

"Great." A tired Svar says. "I'm going to sleep. We'll deal with whatever step two is when I wake up." She leaves without another word.

Serana stares transfixed at the swirling violet hole in the ground. "I must admit, I am having trouble believing we were actually able to accomplish this." She turns to me with a manic gleam in her eyes. "We created a portal to the Soul Cairn."

I nod as I push off the wall. "Yes we did, and I'm really happy we did, but I need a break. I'm just going to sit in a broom closet and do nothing for a while."

Serana chuckles and turns back to the portal. "Feel free to rest Dusk. You have more than earned it."

I nod and leave the room. At the threshold of the door, I stop and turn around. "Hey." I say.

Serana turns from the portal to regard me. "Hmm?"

"Don't go in there without us." I say seriously. "I know you want to see your mom, but we'll get her together."

She gives me a soft smile. "Thank you for your concern Dusk, but I assure you I will not try to free her on my own. I will wait until both yourself and Svarline are prepared to accompany me."

I nod. "Good. I'll see you after I take a minute to breath."

She gives a wave over her shoulder and turns back to the portal.

I walk down the hall to my broom closet, and collapse into a heap on the ground.

That. Fucking. Sucked.

We've been working on that damn thing for months. I know I was the one who suggested it, but come on. I had no idea what I was signing on for. Hell, I haven't slept in… holy shit I haven't slept since we started this thing have I?

I let out a small groan, and sat up with my back against a wall.

I've been too busy to sleep. Serana and I would work on the portal through the night while Svar slept. Then Svar would train with Paarthurnax for a couple hours and join us before going back to sleep.

The only times I took breaks to train were after our hunts, so I guess I didn't really take breaks. At least the training paid off a little bit. I got some new stuff from Abjurer, some new vampire stuff for draining people, and some new perks from stat points.

I pull up my character sheet to look over all my new stuff.

Dual Wield-700 STR perk

You may dual wield weapons, even if they typically require two hands to use properly

Unnatural Regeneration-700 END perk

Your vampiric traits grant your HP/SP regen an additional increase of x2

Physics Defying-600 DEX perk

You may run and jump across objects that would otherwise not support your weight, or would fall away from you.

Deft Step-700 DEX perk

You movements make no sound unless you want them to

Awakened-1000 INT perk

All spells are 30% stronger

You will receive no additional perks for your INT stat

Second Chance-1000 WIS perk

Once per day, if you are dealt a killing blow, the blow will be negated.

You will receive no additional perks for your WIS stat

Flaw [Greed] lost for reaching 1100 WIS

Motivational-600 CHA perk

There is something about you that draws others to your banner. Recruitment attempts will be easier.

Plot Advancement-600 LUK perk

You have a tendency to meet people important to the world you are currently in

[Hypnotic Gaze]

Look into the eyes of weak willed mortals and plant suggestions into their mind that must be obeyed. The target will have no memory of the encounter

[Feline Feet]

Fall damage is reduced to one-fourth normal

[Restoration]

Costs 1000 MP

Remove a curse, petrification, insanity, or exhaustion from the target

[Healing Ward]

Costs 400 MP

Creates a ward around the target that protects them from damage, as well as healing them 30 HP per second.

[Empowering Aura]

Costs 250 MP

Allies within a 20' radius of you are surrounded in an invisible defensive shield that, while active, increases their defensive stats by 10%

[Negative Zone]

Costs 2500 MP

Takes 2 hours to cast

Creates a zone that negates teleportation of all who are not registered as friendly

[Safe Zone]

Costs 3000 MP

Takes 2 hours to cast

Prevents beings from entering the affected area. Only those registered as friendly may bypass this ward without issue.

Dusk the Master of the Storm

Level- 251

Class- Abjurer - LVL 53/100 [6%]

Crafting Class- N/A [0%]

Race- Vampire Lord

Tier- Immortal

Alignment- True Neutral

HP- 17600 [10560 per minute]

MP- 23320 [17490 per minute]

SP- 17600 [10560 per minute]

STR- 874

END- 880

DEX - 765

INT - 1166

WIS - 1166

CHA - 650

LUK - 654

MP Regen= WIS x 15

MP= INT x 20

SP/Health Regen= END x (6x2)=12

SP/HP= END x 20

It's advancement, but not nearly as much as I wanted from spending nearly five months in this place. I didn't train nearly as much as I wanted to which slowed down my leveling. I'd only jump in an ID when we got back from hunting every other week, and even then only for an hour or so before I went back to the portal. It's better than nothing though, and we finally got the damn portal working. I'm alright with this.

Besides, I lost Greed. That on it's own is almost enough to make up for the slow leveling. It was annoying as hell, and I'm glad I lost it before it screwed me over in any significant way. If getting 1100 in stats is how I lose all my flaws, then I need to get strength up so I can get rid of martially inept.

I take a deep breath and look up at the ceiling.

We really just made a portal to the Soul Cairn didn't we? Jesus Christ.

I guess we actually have to worry about how we're going to travel around now. Serana and I should be fine, but I don't know how we're going to get Svar through the thing. I doubt any of us are willing to run the risk of soul trapping her, so we're going to have to get creative.

The three of us already discussed this while we worked. Svar was going to pick at Paarthurnax's brain to see if he had an answer, and was pretty adamant about not being turned into a vampire. She said she'd, 'make her own way'. Not quite sure what she meant by that, but she was determined about it, so I support her. Means we have to find an alternate way to get her through though.

Actually, I still have this month's Vizier don't I? We can just use that I guess.

Speaking of Vizier, I've used it three times while we've been finishing the portal. The first question I used to track down dremora parts. The only place I knew of that had actual dremora inside it was Clavicus Vile's shrine, and I didn't want to piss him off by cutting it up with Yamato.

The second question, I used to figure out if Valerica can be freed the same way as in the game. It's kind of important information. Had we showed up expecting to kill Keepers, and instead had to destroy some special crystal, we would've had some serious problems.

The answer I received confirmed that we would have to kill Keepers, and that there were only three. It might seem like a waste of a question, but I wasn't willing to risk anything.

The third question, I used to ask about Durnehviir. He only showed up in the game when the force field came down, but I doubted he'd give us any breathing room if he spotted us. I wanted to know how effective he would be in a battle against us, and whether or not he'd be protecting the Keepers.

Surprisingly, I was told that Durenhviir would be a non-issue. As long as we didn't step on his toes, he'd be likely to leave us alone. I guess it kind of makes sense though. The guy was cheated and enslaved by the Ideal Masters, so it's unlikely he actually holds any loyalty for them.

I was a little put off by using up my Vizier questions without asking for a way to free myself from Molag Bal, but we needed solid information before we entered the Soul Cairn. Besides, I'm immortal now. So long as I don't get myself killed, I'll have plenty of time to free myself from Molag. Hell, Valerica will probably be able to help.

We have to free her first though.

I let out another sigh as I closed my eyes.

I was saving my last Vizier for information on the Soul Cairn in general. I doubt it's like the game with only three enemy types, and it would be really nice to know what all we'll have to fight in there. At the same time we need a way to get Svar through without turning her. I'm still not sure what her hang up is about becoming a vampire, but I'm not going to press her into something she obviously doesn't want to do.

I guess I'll just have to use Vizier to get her through. We'll worry about what's on the other side when we're on the other side.

I let out one last sigh as I stood.

I exit the broom closet and head back to our room.

I enter, and find Serana asleep next to Svar.

Moving silently so as not to disturb them, I lie down beside them and close my eyes.

I'll worry about all of this when we wake up. The two of them will be able to throw in their input, which will help.

Besides, while I don't need sleep, I'm really fucking tired right now.

The three of us wake up after around ten hours, grab something to eat/drink, and head to the portal room.

We stand around the swirling vortex and just stare at it for a while.

Svar shakes her head. "I'm not sure it's sunk in yet that we actually finished this thing. It feels like we've been working on it for a year."

Serana chuckles. "A year is less time to me than it is to either of you. I am amazed we were able to complete it so quickly, and with such ease."

"It's done." I say. "That's all I really care about. This thing has been a headache and a half."

Svar tilts her head as she looks at it. "When are we going through?" She asks no one in particular.

"As soon as possible." Serana says almost instantly. "We are as prepared as we can feasibly be, and I feel it best we take care of this now." She turns to me. "You still possess the bodies of those we did not drain, yes? My mother will have not fed in hundreds of years. She will have been able to sustain herself with her blood magic and necromancy, but she will be starved. I would rather she feed on dead bandits than any of us."

I nod. "I've got plenty of dead bodies in my inventory, so no need to worry about that." I think for a moment, then nod again. "I'm of the same mind as Serana. We need to get this done sooner rather than later, so I'd like to go as early as we can. We will need to figure out a way to get Svar through." I turn to Svar. "Did Paarthurnax have any ideas that could work."

She shakes her head. "Necromancy isn't something he ever dabbled in, so he's as lost as we are. We'll have to figure something else out."

Serana hums. "It seems it is a good thing you saved your seeing ability Dusk. I cannot see another way to get Svarline through the portal."

I nod. "Looks that way. I'll ask for a way to let her in and back out unmolested in any way by the Ideal Masters, the realm itself, and without any lasting damage to herself. Sounds good?"

Svar and Serana nod, and I ask the question.

I hear whispering in the back of my head. Three words repeated over and over.

"Sil vaaz gron." I say aloud.

Serana and Svar turn to me.

"Is that a shout?" Svar asks.

I nod somberly.

Serana narrows her eyes. "What does it do?"

I look up to meet their gaze. "It will essentially tear the person's soul from their body, and bind it to the location it was removed. If Svar uses it on herself, she'll be able to enter, and move through the Soul Cairn unhindered."

"But…" Svar prompts.

I turn to look at her. "For one the process is going to suck for you. You're tearing your soul out, so it won't be a very pleasant experience."

"I can handle pain." She says with conviction.

"For another point," I start again. "you'll be without your soul when we go through. You will literally have to leave it behind. That'll essentially 'kill' you, and allow you to move through the Soul Cairn with us, but you'll be significantly weaker. I'm not sure your shouts will function properly if you do this. They're kind of reliant on your dragon soul, which you'll have to leave behind in order to enter."

Svar puts a hand on her chin and thinks for a moment. She turns to me with an intent gaze. "This is the only way?" She asks.

I nod. "This is the only thing my ability showed me. Unless you've changed your mind about letting Serana turn you, this is our only option."

She nods her head. "Ok. Do you have an estimate of how much weaker I'll be?"

"Weak." Serana speaks up. "You will be without your soul. For all intents and purposes, your body will be that of a raised undead. You will still have access to your magic, though it will feel further away than you are used to, and Dusk is right. Your thu'um will most likely be greatly affected by this change." Serana shakes her head slightly. "Please Svarline, let me turn you. I do not want you to take unnecessary risks."

Svar smiles, but shakes her head. "Thanks for worrying, but I'll be fine." She turns back to face me. "You can place some protections on the area where I'll leave my soul right?"

I nod. "I can, but are you sure you want to do this? You are going to be a walking husk for the entire time we're in there."

Svar takes a deep breath, and nods. "I'm not letting you two go in there alone, so this is the only way."

I can respect her wish to not become a vampire, but I'd prefer to find a way to cure her later than to carry on with this. I'm really uncomfortable with letting her rip her soul out.

"Svar…" I try to speak up.

"I'm not letting you go in there without me." She cuts me off and looks me in the eye.

"I wasn't going to say that." I say calmly. "I was going to say that this has the potential to go wrong. I understand you don't want to become a vampire, but at the very least we could turn you for this, then wait a month to ask for a way to change you back. Why are you so set on this?"

She looks between Serana and I. "No offense meant to either of you, but I don't want to be undead. I also don't want to have to run from the sun. I'm a dragon. Giving that up just feels… wrong." She turns back to me. "I can't explain why, but I just can't be a vampire."

I held her gaze for a moment longer, before I let out a sigh. "Give me a few hours to get the spells cast, then be ready with the shout. As soon as it takes effect we'll need to go. I don't know what the consequences of being without your soul for too long are, but I'd rather not find out."

Serana shakes her head. "Svarline will be fine so long as we return before a week has passed. As I do not believe our journey will take more than a day or two, the risk is minimal. It is still existent however, so we should not tarry unnecessarily." Serana narrows her eyes at me. "That is assuming of course that we know how to return her soul to her body. Did your ability show you how we could accomplish this?"

I nod. "Yes. It's rather crude, but we essentially just shove it back in with soul magic. Between the two of us, it won't be a problem. It'll be even easier if your mom helps us."

Serana nods. "Then I believe this is our best option, and while I have my misgivings about the action, I believe we should begin as soon as we can."

I let out a sigh, and looked at Svar. "I'm going to start casting my protection spells. Do whatever you need to to get ready. Serana's right. The second we do this, we're going through the portal. From there, we'll travel in a straight line to her mom. There's not really anything else in that place that interests me right now."

Svar tilts her head curiously. "Out of curiosity, what else is in there?"

I chuckle. "It's the Soul Cairn, so there's probably a lot of shit in it, but nothing I want. There's a ghost horse, but we can get him out when Serana's mom is safe."

Arvak is a good horse, but Valerica takes priority right now. Besides him though? Nothing in that hellscape is all that appealing to me. I haven't been using soul gems, and everything else would only be useful to me if I was a lower level. As it is, I can get everything I remember from that place on my own. If we leave with only Valerica I'll be happy.

I scrunch my eyebrows as something occurs to me.

How the hell are we going to know where to look for her? The place might be scaled up, and the castle might not be a castle.

I turn to Serana. "How are we going to find her? The portal should take us relatively close, but that doesn't mean she'll be in sight."

Serana smiles. "Leave that to me. Blood magic is very useful for finding those who share your own blood."

I nod.

I guess I should get started on those protection spells if we want to leave today.

"I'll let you both know when I finish prepping the area. See you then."

They both give me a wave, and I leave.

Once I'm far enough down the hall to be out of vampire hearing range, I sigh softly.

This seems like such a bad idea. We're tearing her soul out and leaving it behind. In what universe does that sound like a good idea?

I sigh again.

As stupid as it sounds to say, at least the process is safe. Vizier told me of everything that could go wrong, and none of that will really happen unless Svar messes up the shout somehow.

I arrive in a small room, and begin casting every area protection spell I have.

I really hope this doesn't end badly for us.

(Serana)

Dusk leaves the room with an air of uncertainty around him.

I cannot say I blame him. I am not thrilled about our current plan either.

"Svarline." I say once Dusk has gone. "Are you certain you wish to go through with this? There are a number of things that could go wrong. Both during the process itself, and during our journey. It is impossible to know when we will find my mother, and I would rather you not be in danger for that time."

Svarline turns to me with a sad smile on her face. "I'll be fine. Besides, you and Dusk will have my back right? If anything happens, I know you'll save my ass."

I let out a soft sigh, and step closer to her. I hold her gaze as I speak. "When we are in the Soul Cairn, you will inform Dusk and myself of any issue you have. If the struggle proves to be too much for you, we will return immediately."

Svarline shakes her head. "I'll be fine. We're not leaving until we get your mother out."

I narrow my eyes at her. "You will inform us of any problems you experience. If you are in distress, we will return immediately. My mother has taken care of herself in that place for hundreds of years. If she has to wait a week longer to ensure her rescuers do not kill themselves, I am sure she will find a way to manage. Is that clear?"

She stares back at me for a time, before she breaks eye contact. "Fine." She says. "I'll tell you if anything happens."

I nod. "Good. Now familiarize yourself with the words of your new shout. I do not wish to risk a mistake in it's utterance."

She raises an eyebrow at me. "Since when did you start ordering me around?" She asks with a grin.

I stare back with a blank face. "Since you decided it would be a good idea to rip your soul from your body. Now study your shout. I will be displeased if you tear yourself asunder instead of simply separating yourself."

She nods. "I'll be careful." She turns to leave the room and throws a wave over her shoulder. "See you when everything's ready."

I watch her exit the room, and listen to her steps until they echo out of range. I walk over to a chair and sit down.

I do not like this. I do not like this at all. There is far too much that can go wrong, and we will be too far from her soul to remedy any problems in time. This is without knowing what dangers the Soul Cairn may pose.

Dusk has spoken of what his knowledge has provided him during our construction of the portal, but he made it very clear he is uncertain whether or not his knowledge will prove valuable.

The part he is sure about regards these, 'Keepers'. From what he has told me, there are three of them, and each is responsible for my mother's imprisonment. We will need to kill every single one of them if we wish to free my mother.

One thing Dusk was not certain of regarding the creatures, was their strength. He believes they will be strong, but not too powerful for our group to defeat. I hope he is right.

I stand, and begin pacing.

We are moving into an unfamiliar plane, while Svarline is weakened, with information that may prove false. I do not like this. The reward must be great for me to attempt expeditions such as this.

My mother is worth it.

She is trapped just as I was. The fact that we placed ourselves in this situation is of no consequence. She has hidden herself from the world to stop that monster's advance, and I will not abandon her to her fate.

But I do not wish for Svarline and Dusk to die saving her.

I cease my pacing, and close my eyes.

I will free my mother, and I will protect Dusk and Svarline as they protect me. The four of us will emerge from that hell together.

We will do this, and none of us will die. I will not allow it.

(Dusk)

I finish casting the final spell, and take a deep breath.

Last chance to stall. If I tell them we're ready, then we start.

Fuck.

I activate my soul magic and start to track down Svar and Serana.

Serana is still in the portal room, and starts moving towards me the moment I move towards her. I change direction to get Svar, but she's also already moving my way.

It just sunk in how OP our collective x-ray and wallhack shenanigans are.

I lean against the wall and wait for the two of them to arrive.

They both enter at the same time, and the three of us stand in silence for a moment.

I look at Svar. "Last chance to say no." I tell her.

She nods. "Let's do this." She walks into the center of the room, and closes her eyes.

I move to stand next to Serana in order to give her some space.

Serana and I watch in silence as Svar slows her breathing, then slowly opens her eyes.

"SIL VAAZ GRON." She intones quietly, yet powerfully.

The moment the words leave Svar's mouth, she cries out in pain. She falls to her knees, and long thick ribbons of golden energy begin to fly from her body.

Svar raises her face to the sky, and begins screaming.

Serana moves to assist her, but I put an arm in her path.

There's nothing we can do now but stand and watch. If we try to help, all we'll end up doing is screwing up the effect.

Serana looks at me for a moment, before nodding sharply. She takes a small step back, and the two of us continue to watch as Svar's soul is slowly ripped from her body.

After what feels like an eternity of watching Svar scream, the energy stops flowing from Svar, and coalesces in the center of the room. Svar's eyes roll back, and she starts to fall the rest of the way to the ground, but Serana and I have already sped across the distance to catch her.

"Svarline. Speak to us. Are you alright?" Serana asks quickly.

I use my vampiric senses to analyze Svar. Her blood is still flowing, her heart is still beating, and she's still breathing, but I can no longer feel her soul inside her body.

The shout worked.

"I...I'll be fine." Svar mumbles weakly as she pulls herself from Serana and I's grasp. "I just need a minute." She pulls herself to her feet, and begins to stare at the concentrated golden energy in the center of the room.

I follow her gaze, and see a second Svar standing there. This version is made of countless ribbons of golden light that weave in and out of each other. The spectral Svar does nothing. Just stands there, and stares off into nothingness.

"So that's my soul huh?" Svar says softly. "I was expecting something a little… more. That's just me, but glowy." She sounds disappointed in herself.

I turn from the golden specter to face her. "And like you, it's beautiful."

"And unrelenting." Serana says as she stands. "Both are wondrous qualities."

Svar smiles between us. "Thanks." She takes a deep breath, and suddenly she's focused. "Are we ready?"

"Not yet." I say. "Test your magic and thu'um before we go through. Better now, than when we're in combat."

She nods, and holds out her hand. A wooden chair in the corner of the room begins to reshape itself. Soon, a small table was created from it's parts.

Svar frowns. "That was a lot slower than usual."

"It is to be expected." Serana says softly. "It is discomforting I am sure, but you must push past it."

Svar nods, and looks at a wall. "Koraav." She pans her gaze across the stone's surface, and frowns once more. "I can barely see anything. Before, I could see all the way out past the old forsworn camp. Now, I can't even see the whole temple."

"It's temporary." I say. "I know this sucks, but it'll be over with once we're out of the Soul Cairn."

Svar nods. "Then let's get this over with."

The three of us walk to the portal room in silence. The atmosphere is somber, and serious. We're about to go to one of The Elder Scrolls's hells, so it's understandable really.

When we get to the portal, a pouting Mr. Rogers is sitting there waiting for us.

I smile sadly as I walk forward. "Sorry I can't take you bud, but I'm not willing to risk the ghost dimension hurting you at all. Make sure to protect Svar's soul alright?"

He nods up and down, and rubs his head under my hand for a moment.

I chuckle, and scratch him behind the ears.

He pulls back with a serious bark, then leaves the room in the direction we just came from.

Don't worry buddy. I'll be careful.

I walk to the edge of the portal and lean over it to look inside.

There is a floating staircase that leads down into a violet oblivion. Just like in the game.

"We are as prepared as we can be." Serana says as she walks up beside me. "Let us go before Svarline suffers anymore."

I nod. "Let's do this."

Quest added

[The Soul Cairn!]

You have managed to obtain access to the Soul Cairn!

Objective- Free Valerica from the Ideal Masters

Bonus Objective- ???

Bonus Objective- ???

Bonus Objective- ???

Bonus Objective- ???

Rewards- ?,?

Bonus Rewards- ?,?,?,?,?

Failure- Serana will cry, then you will die.

Well I don't want Serana to cry, so I better not fuck this up. Dying would probably suck too I guess.

Svar, Serana, and I descend the staircase, and are absorbed by the swirling violet energy around us.

I feel myself being pulled, and suddenly I'm standing on a floating platform. Serana appears on my right, and Svar on my left.

The platform we are on gives us a good view of the area for miles. Or whatever a mile is equivalent to in a hell dimension.

Leading down away from us, is a floating staircase that leads to a sand colored dirt path. Crumbling black stone structures hug the trail, and dot the landscape as far as we can see. The sky is a deep purple that is constantly interrupted by large black clouds. A large stone wall higher than the portal blocks my view of anything to my right.

Damn that thing is big.

I reach out with my soul sense, and immediately deactivate it. I was overwhelmed by the sensory overload the second I tried to feel anything. The very air seems to be coated in souls. It's as if the air wants to devour me, and the higher up I sense, the more hungry the air feels.

Note to self stay on the ground if at all possible.

"This place is worse than I was expecting." Svar says as she looks around.

"Then we can be confident we have arrived." Serana says. She brings her wrist up, and slashes across it with a long claw. She pours magic into the dripping wound, and begins scanning the area. Her gaze focuses on a point beyond the large wall, and she points it out to us. "My mother is that way."

Svar looks at the large wall, and turns to us. "So we're flying?"

"No." Serana and I say at the same time.

Serana regards me with a raised eyebrow. "You feel it as well then? You have progressed further than I had thought."

Svar scrunches her eyebrows. "Feel what? Why can't we fly?"

"The air." I say. "It's like it's alive. Like it's being held together by thousands of hungry souls, and the higher up I reach, the more deadly it feels."

Svar swallows, and nods. "Stay on the ground. Got it."

The three of us start down the stairs, and keep our eyes peeled on our surroundings. We reach the bottom, and begin walking in the direction Serana indicated.

Ok, so far so good. I'd rather not draw any attention, so if everything here is fine with leaving us alone, I'm fine with leaving them alone.

"On our right!" Serana yells, and begins firing ice spikes into the dirt.

I turn in the indicated direction and draw Yamato. I focus my soul sense on that area only, and feel hundreds of things moving up out of the ground.

Skeletal hands reach up from the ground in dozens of places, ghostly specters float through the walls of the surrounding structures, and a being made of sand simply comes into being.

"RONAAZ!" Svar shouts. Her bow and arrows settle around her, but they are faint. When before they shone a bright viridian green, they are now barely visible.

Svar grits her teeth and starts firing into the oncoming hoard.

"Get behind me!" I yell, and run forward. I draw Yamato and begin slashing at anything that moves. Skeletons collapse, only to be replaced by others, strange spirits dissipate, only to reconstitute themselves, and the sand thing just picks up more sand to replace what I cut away.

Not sure what I'm dealing with, I observe it.

Enslaved Sand Elemental

Level- 237

Tier- Immortal

HP- 29427

Thought about you- You smell delicious. It wants to devour you before anything else can.

I really hate that damn flaw.

I put Yamato back in my inventory, and begin firing bolt after bolt of lightning into the sand.

It doesn't seem to do anything. The elemental just keeps moving forward.

"Serana!" I call. "Ice this guy! I'll deal with the weaker undead."

I don't bother looking to see if Serana will do as I say, I trust her. I pull Yamato back out, and enter my lightning form. I ready the sword, and begin speeding in and out of the slowly growing army of undead.

I slash at anything that moves. Doing everything I can to fight these things off.

Periodically, a faint green arrow would bury itself in a ghost or skeleton, but I'm too focused on dismantling everything to care too much.

"Dusk!" I hear Svar shout.

I run out of the pack and look towards her.

Svar is panting heavily. The sand around her has been turned into hardened stone spikes that slow the advance of the skeletons, but do nothing to stop the wraiths. Her bow has disappeared, and she's drawn Ascalon.

Shit.

I teleport behind her to cut down a wraith who had gotten too close.

"Stop using magic!" I say as I cut down another wraith. "Just use physical attacks."

The two of us keep fighting the undead back, but without her magic, Svar can't hurt the ghosts.

She needs a way to fight back.

"Trade me!" I say to her as I run up. I hold Yamato out to her, and hold my hand out for Ascalon.

Seeing my intent, she tosses Ascalon to me and takes Yamato.

She pivots and cuts through a specter that was coming up from behind her. She grins through her exhaustion. "Always wanted to use this thing." She says excitedly.

I coat Ascalon in electricity, and the two of us begin to cut through ghosts and skeletons alike.

The two of us fight back to back. Forcing everything back, but they're slowly overwhelming our position even with Svar now being equipped with Yamato.

I might need to teleport us out of here.

"Serana!" I yell, but receive no answer.

What the hell?

"Serana!" I yell again as I cut through a wraith.

A portal opens directly behind Svar, and Serana steps through.

"To me!" She yells.

Svar falls backwards through the portal, and I godspeed after her. The moment we're through, Serana closes it behind us.

I let out a sigh of relief as I relaxed.

That sucked.

I look around, and see a small room made of black stone.

We're in a building of some kind.

Svar drops Yamato and leans heavily against a wall.

Serana and I are beside her quickly.

"Are you alright?" Serana asks.

Svar waves us off. "I'll be alright. I'm just tired, and hungry. You have any food, Dusk?"

I nod and pull some dried venison from my inventory. "Here."

She gives me a grateful nod, and starts devouring her meal.

"What happened?" Serana asks me while Svar eats.

"Exhaustion." I answer. "She just got her soul ripped out, and started fighting hundreds of undead right off the bat. She needs a breath."

Serana nods. "Then we will wait here for a time. We are currently in a room within the wall you no doubt saw upon exiting the portal. We should be safe for the time being."

I nod and walk back over to Svar.

She's just finishing up her snack when I walk up.

"Are you feeling alright?" I ask.

She nods jerkily. "I'm good. I just need…"

"I believe you and I had an agreement, Svarline." Serana calmly walks up next to us, and stares at Svar. "We cannot help you if you do not tell us what is wrong with you, so tell us what is wrong with you." Serana says with iron in her voice.

Svar takes in a deep breath, then lets it out. "I can't use the thu'um from now on." She says wearily. "The bow took too much out of me, and made it so I was too weak to use my other magic. Physical stuff is the easiest, so I'll probably stick to Ascalon while we're here."

That's not going to work with all the ghosts about.

I shake my head at her. "No. Use Yamato. Ascalon is a powerful weapon, but only really shines when used to fight dragons. It can't cut through ghosts. Yamato can, and there are obviously ghosts here who want us dead. You take Yamato. I'll use Ascalon and my magic." I pick Yamato up off the ground and hold it out to her.

Svar looks like she wants to argue, but she accepts the blade. "Thank you." She says.

I turn to Serana. "Where do we go from here."

She closes her eyes for a moment, then points through one of the walls. "My mother is in that direction, but I do not have a way to locate the Keepers. If possible, I would like to eliminate them before we move to my mother's position. The faster we deal with them, the less prepared they are for our assault."

I nod. "Makes sense. They shouldn't be too hard to find. Just look up into the sky, and look for a large circular gathering of stone with a brighter purple hue. They should be pretty hard to miss." I turn back to Svar. "Are you ready to move?"

She takes one more deep breath, and nods. "I'm ready."

Serana hums as she places a hand on her chin. "Before we continue, I would recommend each of us activates our own invisibility. I do not know if it will do overmuch, but if it allows us to avoid another confrontation such as the one we just left, it will be well worth it." Once she finishes her statement, her form vanishes.

I look over my shoulder at Svar. "After you my dear. Careful with the ranged slices." I activate Embrace of Shadows, and my form also vanishes.

The last thing I see of Svar before she too becomes invisible is an eager grin on her face. A few moments later, and the wall Serana indicated has a massive hole in it.

I hear Svar chuckling. "I might not give this back Dusk."

"You'd better." I say as I silently move forward. "I love that sword."

"You bring up a good point, but you love me more than the sword, so you'd let me keep it." Svar says back as she moves through the newly created hole in the wall.

Serana hums as she walks after Svar. "Svarline, while I appreciate your sharp wit, now is not the time."

I hear Svar stop moving, and stop myself.

"Did she just…?" Svar asks.

"Yes." I say back. "Yes she did."

"Serana, if I could see you I'd kiss you." Svar says seriously.

"I'm as big a fan of kissing as the next guy, but we should really get moving. Save it for when we get out of the hell dimension." I say as I move through the wall.

"Quite right." Serana says from in front of me. "As Svarline cannot enhance her senses at present, I will leave a trail behind me as I walk. I have found something similar to what you described, Dusk. I will lead us there first."

We fall silent, and we begin walking with Svar following the trail Serana leaves behind her.

I don't need it because I can hear her movements, but it's still helpful.

I've also just learned something about my new silent movement perk. The sounds I make are quiet, but bushes I brush past still make noise. I'll need to work on my sneaking when I get a chance.

The three of us continue on quietly across the tan colored ground. Serana sometimes walks us in wide circles to avoid groups of undead, but other than that we aren't having any issues. I'm still waiting for my flaw to screw us over again, but for now it's smooth sailing.

"Dusk." Serana says quietly. "Is this a probable location of one of these 'Keepers'?"

I look at the large castle, with the swirling purple sky above it.

"It's a safe bet." I say under my breath knowing she can still hear me. "How do you want to play this?"

She hums quietly. "I am unable to differentiate between souls in this place, and there is no blood within that castle."

I sigh softly. "Old fashioned way it is. Svar?" I turn to face her.

I hear her shuffle a little. "Is one of the Keepers here?" She asks.

"It's likely. We're going to need a way in." I respond.

"I'll make one." I can hear the smile in her voice. She begins moving forward, and Serana and I follow after her.

We slowly creep up to the wall of the castle, and I hear Svar start cutting with Yamato. A section of the wall falls outward, and Serana and I catch it before it can make too much noise. We lower it down, and the three of us move inside.

We enter onto the ground level of a staircase that leads both up and down.

"Which way?" Svar whispers.

"Up." I say quietly. "No evil overlord ever lives in the basement of their massive castle."

I hear Svar shuffle to look at me, and can guess she's raising an eyebrow at me. "That's your reasoning?"

I smile at her invisible form. "Yep. Now follow me, so I can prove myself right."

I hear Serana chuckle as the two of them start to follow me up the stairs.

Not wanting to overload my senses, I use my electromancy instead of my soul magic to look around.

The first floor we come to is empty with the exception of a few skeletons walking around, so I keep leading us upwards until we reach the top floor.

I reach out with my electromancy, and feel a large figure sitting on a large throne.

Guess I was right Svar.

I smirk, and look over to where she's standing. "There's a large humanoid sitting on a throne around 100 feet in front of us." I whisper. "Guess he wasn't in the basement after all huh?"

I hear her sigh softly. "I wasn't saying you were wrong. It's just never occurred to me how predictable evil overlords are with their fortresses."

"It does not appear that we have been detected." Serana whispers, interrupting our discussion. "I believe it best we strike from the shadows with Yamato. It has already proven effective against dragonbone, so unless Dusk was incorrect about their chosen armor, we can deal with him easily."

"Feels a little anticlimactic doesn't it?" Svar whispers back. "These guys are supposed to be tough right? I was kind of looking forward to fighting them."

"Apologies Svarline, but I would prefer to deal with them as quickly as possible, with as little risk to us as possible." Serana quietly says back to Svarline. "You are not at your strongest, and I would like to free my mother quickly. We will find something else to challenge you once you are restored."

"Alright." Svar says, and I hear her move. "Serana's the most quiet out of us, so she should probably take Yamato."

Serana hums softly. "Very well, I will return it once the Keeper has fallen, or if I am discovered."

Svar passes the blade over, and we begin moving forward again.

I hang slightly back from the two of them, but stay close enough to support them.

I really don't want my everything aggro flaw to screw up the sneak attack.

I use my electromancy to keep track of Svar and Serana as they move down the hall.

Before too long, we've come to a large door leading to what I assume to be the Keeper's throne room.

I feel around with my magic, but I don't feel any bodies other than ours. Ours and the large suit of armor sitting on the throne.

Suit of armor? Why the hell is it just floating?

I focus closer on the area, and feel slight movements from within the armor.

Huh, guess the Keeper's are some kind of half-specter bullshit.

I move forward, and gently rest a hand on Serana's shoulder.

She doesn't react at all, simply waiting.

I lean in close to her ear, and silent as I am able say, "It's part specter. Be ready in case Yamato fails for whatever reason."

She nods, and I step back.

I feel Serana creep forward very slowly with my magic. She makes no sound that I'm able to detect. Even with my enhanced senses. Without my electromancy, I wouldn't know where she was.

I move further into the room so as to be in a better position to support her, and Observe the Keeper.

Keeper Faulos

Guardian of the Soul Cairn

Level- 350

Tier- Immortal

HP- 75,000

Thoughts about you- It is unaware of your presence.

Damn he's beefy. I really hope this sneak attack works, because I don't want to fight this guy fairly.

I focus my magic back on Serana so that I know when she makes her move.

She stops about half of the way to the throne, and brings the sword above her head. She slashes down, and then breaks into a flurry of ranged blows. All of which are directed at the Keeper.

The first slice cuts the armour in half, and bisects the chair underneath the armor. A very high pitched screech follows the first strike as the armor begins to move, but Serana's follow up slashes tear the armor to shreds.

I watch as a thick black smoky form rises from the destroyed armor, and tries to float away from Serana. Before it can, I move forward and unleash my lightning upon it's struggling form.

The thing shrieks again, but it is forcibly quieted when Serana steps forward and channels soul magic into the thing.

The smoke disperses, and a great *BOOM* echoes across the sky.

"I think that means it's dead." Svar says, now visible, as she walks up to the shadowy pool on the ground.

I drop Embrace of Shadows and nod at her. "One down, two to go."

I walk up to the diced armor and pool of black goop, and just start inventorying everything. I take the goop, the shards of dragonbone, a nice dragonbone shield, and the very large dragonbone longsword still sheathed by the throne.

I have no idea if most of this will be useful, but I'm taking it anyway.

A shriek emanating from the way we just came draws my attention.

The Keeper made a lot of noise while we were killing it, and then the sky practically blew up. Of course our cover's blown.

"It's time for us to leave." The now visible, Serana says. She holds out her hand, and creates a portal.

The three of us quickly move through it just as a clattering group of skeletons enters the room, and Serana closes the portal behind us.

I look around, and realize we're in the same room from before. It still has the hole in the wall and everything.

I turn to Serana and Svar. "I don't think the sneak attack strategy will work twice."

Svar nods. "The sky kind of made a lot of noise when that guy died. It's a safe bet that the other two won't just be sitting on their asses."

Serana nods. "Our gambit will not work again. We'll likely meet severe resistance in our next two battles." She walks over to Svar, and gives Yamato back to her.

Svar nods in thanks, and heads to the hole from earlier. She stops at the exit, and looks over her shoulder. "Are we going?"

I nod. "Let's go kill these half-spectral assholes."

Svar grins. "That's wraith-ist." She laughs at her own joke, and turns herself invisible as she walks through the hole.

Never change Svar.

I activate Embrace of Shadows once more, and follow her out.

"I will lead once more." Serana says from my side as she too becomes invisible. "I will again leave a trail in my wake, but I will move faster. We cannot afford to tarry if the denizens of this place decide to hunt us."

"We'll follow your lead." I say.

Without exchanging any more words, the three of us start moving.

We move towards the another violet hole in the sky at an increased pace, and frequently swerve to avoid large groups of undead.

Somehow, we make it to our destination without encountering any resistance, but we encounter a slight problem.

"It's a floating castle." Svar sans her invisibility says. "I want a floating castle."

"Then you will have to resign yourself to living here." Serana says as she drops her own invisibility. She looks up at the castle as she continues. "The amount of energy required to keep that structure aloft can only be supplied by an extremely large powersource. In order to make the castle 'float' the Keeper likely uses hundreds of souls each week. Something we will not be able to replicate when we return."

Svar sighs. "Then I guess we'll just have to kill the Keeper for getting my hopes up." She takes a deep breath, and her cape slowly splits itself apart to form her wings.

She pants slightly once her spell is complete, but she quickly composes herself.

I deactivated Embrace of Shadows and studied her for a moment.

"Are you alright?" I ask seriously.

She nods. "I'm good. Just a little tired, but I'll be fine. Let's kill this guy." She spreads her wings, and takes to the sky.

Serana and I share a look of concern, before we bring out our own wings in order to fly after Svar.

The floating fortress isn't all that high up, so it doesn't take the three of us very long to reach it. We land at the very top of the structure, and Svar uses Yamato to cut through the roof.

A large circular section of stone falls away, and the three of us move in through the gap. Right into a freaking throne room.

A large figure armored in dragon bone takes a bow off his back, and takes aim at us.

"Move!" I yell. I grab Svar and Serana's shoulders and teleport us to the corner of the room.

Svar brings Yamato up and charges the Keeper while Serana raises ice pillars from the ground to provide the three of us cover from the Keeper's arrows. I cast a healing ward, as well as a gifted ward, onto both Serana and Svar, and enter my lightning form. Then, I Observe the Keeper.

Keeper Haxius

Guardian of the Soul Cairn

Level- 350

Tier- Immortal

HP- 75,000

Thoughts about you- You killed a Keeper. You must die.

Huh, he's got the exact same level and hit points as the last guy. I'll think that over later.

The Keeper keeps firing arrows towards us at a pace that would make Robin Hood jealous. Most of them are intercepted by Serana's ice pillars, but some of them find a clear line and bounce off the wards I put over Svar and Serana.

Svar keeps charging. Sending ranged slashes at the Keeper all the while. Pieces of the Keeper's armor fall away, but other than that the Keeper seems to be doing alright.

Taking advantage of Svar distracting the thing, I activate Godspeed and speed around behind the Keeper with a chidori in each hand. I jump up and dig my hands into the Keeper's back. Forcing my lightning magic throughout its entire form.

The Keeper's body locks up as my lightning courses through it. Svar and Serana use the presented opportunity to cut off it's legs and stab icicles into its chest.

I change my lightning magic to soul magic, and begin tearing apart the specter-like being's soul. I'm not as proficient as Serana, so it takes me around five seconds to completely destroy the thing when it took her only a moment.

The result is the same though. The specter lets loose a high pitched screech, and an even louder *BOOM* shakes the sky.

It could just be that we're higher in the air this time, but that boom felt a lot stronger. Or maybe each death makes things even more unstable?

I'm pulled from my thoughts when my sensitive ears pick up the sounds of movement outside the room.

"We need to go." I say. I quickly inventory everything. I take the goop, more armor shards, the dragonbone bow, and a large quiver of dragonbone arrows.

The sound of approaching undead grows closer. Serana opens a portal, and the three of us move through without a word.

Instead of emerging back into the room inside the wall, this time we emerge out in the open.

I turn to Serana with a raised eyebrow. "Are you trying to avoid them tracking us?"

She nods. "While it is unlikely they can track our teleports, I'd prefer to be safe."

"Good." Svar says. "I don't want any of those assholes to surprise us."

I look up and around us in search of the third and final Keeper. I find it, and indicate it to Serana. The three of us activate our invisibility once more and get moving.

I'm honestly kind of surprised things have gone as well as they have. The Keepers are really high level, but if you hamper their movements with Yamato they get a lot easier to take out. We've been here for just under four hours now, and we've almost made our way through the Keepers. After this, we just have to grab Valerica and leave.

Serana leads us towards the final Keeper. Once more giving every grouping of undead a very wide berth to ensure they don't detect us.

With Serana leading the way, we once more manage to avoid anything that might have interrupted our journey to the last position.

This one isn't in the sky, it isn't even a major fortification really. There's just a very large suit of armor sitting on a throne in between two lit braziers. A large battleaxe leans up against the side of the throne, and the hulking armor seems as if it's waiting for something.

Keeper Fezius

Guardian of the Soul Cairn

Level- 350

Tier- Immortal

HP- 75,000

Thoughts about you- It is waiting for you so it can kill you.

At least he's keeping things simple I guess.

"I really don't feel like fighting this guy fairly." I say quietly. "Serana, get ready to cast a massive ice spell directly below you. Svar, cut his legs off when he tries to dodge. Let me know when you're ready."

I feel Svar ready Yamato.

"Ready." She says.

From my left, I feel Serana begin to gather a massive amount of magic. She channels her magic for nearly 15 seconds.

"Ready." She says terse.

I place a hand on Serana's shoulder, and say, "Go."

I teleport Serana and I into the sky fifteen feet above the Keeper and create a shield beneath Serana and I, so that we can stand in the air without falling.

Serana feels the teleportation, and unleashes her spell down toward the Keeper.

The spectral warrior hears the blizzard coming, and tries to dodge out of the way, but Svar cuts off his legs with a ranged slash from Yamato.

Serana and I begin bombarding the Keeper with elemental magic from above, while Svar keeps his movement restricted.

The Keeper doesn't last long.

The black mist slowly evaporates away from the armor, but Serana and I reach out with our soul magic to tear the thing apart.

The thing lets out a high pitched screech, and an even louder *BOOM* accompanies the sound.

I let out a sigh as I lower the platform Serana and I are on down to the Keeper's body.

Svar walks forward and meets us there.

"Do these guys have no originality?" I ask Serana and Svar when we're all back together. "They all died in the exact same way. Loud screech, followed by a loud boom. You'd think there would be something unique, but no. It's all exactly the same."

I inventory all of the Keeper's stuff, then turn to find Svar and Serana looking at me with grins.

"What?" I ask.

Svar laughs. "You're complaining about how they responded to you killing them. It's just funny."

I guess it is kinda funny, but I was just kind of underwhelmed by the damn things. They all died like the wicked witch of the west. I was expecting something like how the Lost Boys died. There was a lot more variability in those deaths.

Am I really thinking about this right now?

I shake my head, and turn to Serana. "Do you have your mom's location? The sooner we get her out of this place, the sooner we can get Svar back to her soul."

Wow that was a weird sentence.

Serana nods, then points. "She is nearly a mile in that direction. It should not take us very long to reach her."

Svar nods. "Good. We'll follow your lead."

The three of us become invisible once more, and start on our way.

Once more, we weave in and out of various wandering undead, and sneak our way towards Valerica.

It doesn't take long for an enormous castle to come into view. It's easily three times the size of the biggest Keeper's fortress.

"She's there." Serana says in a daze. "We've almost made it."

She picks up her pace significantly, but still moves slow enough to allow Svar to keep up.

The three of us reach the castle, and drop our invisibility.

"Svarline." Serana says distractedly. "Could you please open this door?"

Svar nods, and cuts the lock with Yamato.

Serana pushes the door open and rushes inside, her eyes fixated on a single spot.

I need to figure out that blood magic trick she's using. It seems pretty damn useful.

Serana moves forward, and yells. "Mother!"

Sixth sense tells me I'm about to die, and I immediately grab Svar and teleport the fuck away.

I spin around, and see a tall pale figure with bat-like wings sprouting from it's back. The creature turns it's manic red eyes back to me, and bares its fangs in a hiss.

Valerica

Daughter of Coldharbour

Level- ???

Tier- ???

HP- ???

Thoughts about you- ???

Oh fuck. Vampire lord Valerica is trying to fucking kill me.

Valerica takes a small step towards me, but before she can get too far another vampire lord barrels into her.

Serana slams Valerica into a wall, and the two start trading blows.

"Dusk!" Serana growls in between strikes. "She needs blood!"

Not wanting to see what happens if Valerica gets away from Serana, I quickly pull twenty dead bodies from my inventory, and slit all their throats with my claws. I then throw the bodies towards the fighting vampire lords.

Valerica's head snaps towards the corpses, and she falls upon the nearest one. Sinking her fangs into its neck and drinking deeply.

She drains one corpse, then two, then five, then ten. Pretty soon, every single body I brought out has been completely drained.

I regard Valerica cautiously.

If she freaks out again, I'm taking Svar and teleporting away. I'll come back to help Serana once the soulless dragonborn is safe.

Serana hesitantly approaches the vampire lord. "Mother?" She says softly.

The vampire lord slowly changes shape. Long black hair grows from her head, and her bone white skin reagins a slight amount of color. Her eyes become less hungry, and grow more confused. She turns to look at Serana with blood still falling from her chin.

"Serana?" The woman croaks.

"It's me mother." Serana says with tears in her eyes. "It's me." Her voice cracks on the last word.

Almost faster than I can track, the woman closes the distance to Serana and throws her arms around her. "Daughter." She says softly.

Svar nudges me, then motions towards the door. "We should give them a minute."

I nod, and the two of us walk from the castle.

Looks like we've found Valerica.

(Interlude: Legate Rikke)

I look up from the battle map on the table in front of me when a messenger enters the room.

"Report." I say.

He salutes, and begins his report. "The undead have made it past our first defensive perimeter. The mages from the College ordered everyone back to our secondary defensive position. They said to tell you that the vampire's necromancers are incredibly strong, but they're not sure how many there are. They're making preparations to deal with them, but they can't cover our ground troops at the same time."

I curse under my breath.

Without our mage support we're all but defenseless against the undead. We can kill them sure, but they'll just be raised again along with any men we lost.

I grit my teeth as I turn back to the messenger. "Pull everyone back into the city. Without the mages, our plan doesn't work. Get every archer we have up on the battlements to cover our troops retreat, and get the ballistas and trebuchets ready for use. The undead don't have siege engines, so all we have to worry about is magic which the College already prepared us for. Get word to Mirabelle to activate the barrier, then hurry her ass up with whatever countermeasure they're making for the necromancers."

The messenger salutes once more, then runs from the room.

I rub my forehead as soon as the runner leaves.

This isn't going well.

We managed to hold them effectively in the woods, but as soon as they made it into the marsh our defense crumbled. Vampires are much more mobile through marshland than heavily armored soldiers, even with all the powdered silver we spread through the water.

As if Potema attacking Solitude wasn't bad enough, we're now getting reports of fighting in Whiterun, and a burned down Falkreath.

I don't know how we're going to beat this.

I shake my head to clear it.

I can't help Whiterun without securing repelling Potema's forces, and Falkreath is already lost. I need to focus on Solitude.

I look back down at the map, and rearrange a few things.

Without our forward defensive positions our cavalry is all but useless now. We'll need to rely on our ranged options, and hope the vampires are unable to force a melee.

Our walls should be able to stop them. Not even a vampire can jump that high, and every vamp we've faced thus far has been young. They were likely turned right after Morthal fell.

I clench my fist at the thought.

How many innocents have been killed in all of this madness? How many of Skyrim's sons now lie dead? How many of her daughters? How many of her children?

I push away from the table, and pick up my helmet as I walk to the door.

This city will not fall. I will not allow it.

(Interlude: Sam Guevenne)

My the trees here truly are lovely. I wonder if I would be able to make a suitable vacation home here?

"Papa!" My little girl cries. "Uncle Sheo's chewing on the bark again!"

"I don't see why he wouldn't." The jester sing-songs. "It is quite tasty after all."

I chuckle as I turn to my companions. "Have you found the clue they left yet Cicero?"

The jester nods his head up and down. The bells on his hat tinkled with the action.

"Yes I did. I did indeed! Look!" He holds up a mushroom, and begins to dance a jig with the fungus still in hand.

I scratch my chin as I observe the offered fungus.

I suppose this could be the lettuce mentioned in the coded message, but it could also be the whetstone.

Hmm, these assassins truly know how to cover their tracks.

"What are your thoughts on this Raven?" I ask as I turn to the box.

The box does nothing.

Hmm, she's stumped as well.

"Ha!" My friend laughs as he appears in front of me. "Good one Sammy! I never wood have thought you were punny!"

I tilt my head at him. "Well you know how it goes. After a few hundred years of the same old jokes, I felt the need to branch out."

My friend smiles as he accepts my challenge. "Good for you Sammy! Way to spruce up your repertoire!"

I smile back as our game begins in earnest. "You know me Sheo. I truly do enjoy acorn-y joke from time to time."

Sheo wipes a tear from his eye. "I'm so proud of you Sammy! You've finally moved away from your roots."

I scoff. "Don't get so sappy on me Sheo. You'll make me cry too."

"Papa!" My little one groans. "Can you please stop with the tree puns?" She begs desperately.

Sheo and I share a look, then we shrub.

Agatha groans even louder, and buries her head in her hands. She turns to the box pleadingly. "Mom! Tell them to stop!"

The box does nothing.

My friend smiles victoriously. "You see Agy! Even 'ol Raver's likes our jokes."

My little girl looks around the group as if we've all turned against her.

She's so cute.

"In the name of the Silvenar, I bid you halt!"

I suppress a sigh as I turn to the small group of elves.

"What can we do for you?" I ask in elvish.

"You are trespassing on these lands carrying unknown goods." He gestures to the box. "You will come with us for questioning, and submit your crate to our custody."

The jester freezes mid jig, and slowly turns to face the elf. He frowns at the elf. "You can't have mother. We're finding the rest of the family, so mother is indisposed right now."

The elf narrows his eyes, and draws his sword. "Take them!" He orders.

His company draw their weapons, and move forward to secure us.

I let out a long sigh.

I suppose I don't want a vacation home here after all. It would be far too much work.

The first of the elves reaches out to the jester, and gets his hand cut off for his trouble.

The elf falls back with a loud scream as he holds his new stump.

The jester tilts his head at the rest of the elves as he brandishes his daggers. "You were rude to mother, so I'm going to kill you now."

My little girl's eyes light up, and she turns to me. "Can I help papa? Please please please please please!" She hops up and down as she grips my robe in excitement.

Well, she has been working hard.

I turn to my friend. "What do you think Sheo?"

He grips his chin and thinks while the jester continues to cut down the elves.

My friend gives a sharp nod. "I think she's ready, but don't forget to ask Raver's."

I nod, and turn to the box. "Do you have any objections?"

The box does nothing.

Well, if she's alright with it too…

I turn to my little Agatha, and smile. "Sure darling."

"Yay!" She throws her hands up and spins around happily.

"Little Agatha is going to play?" The jester asks excitedly. "The rest are yours little sister!" The jester slits the throat of the elf he was holding, and sheaths his daggers.

My little Agatha skips towards the remaining four elves, and smiles. "I've been practicing, so don't hold back!" She tells them excitedly.

The captain turns to his men. "Retreat! Bring news to Grahtwood of these trespassers. I will buy you time."

The other three elves nod, and begin to run.

Agatha frowns. "That's not nice. This is my first chance to impress papa, and you're running away." She holds out a hand, and the forest comes to life.

The great trees groan as they bend down. Their branches shoot forth, and entangle the fleeing elves before crushing them.

My little Agatha turns back to the captain with a frown on her face. "I wanted to fight, but you didn't fight. You're rude." She points to the ground, and a thick green smoke pours from the plants at the captain's feet.

The captain begins coughing up a storm. He tries to run, but he soon passes out from the smoke.

I turn to my right at the sound of clapping.

"Well done little sister! You've gotten much better!" The jester praises.

Agatha's eyes light up. "Have I really?"

The jester bobs his head up and down. The bells on his hat tinkle once more.

"Yes! Lets dance to celebrate!"

Agatha giggles, and runs up to the jester.

They take each other's hands, and begin to dance around the bloodstained grass.

My friend appears at my side, and holds out a lute to me. "Music!" He screams, and pulls a flute out.

I smile, and the two of us begin to play.

Ah this is nice. My friend and I are playing beautiful music while my little girl dances in the shade of vibrant graht-oaks.

How could this possibly be any better?