Chapter 13 - Another Scroll, Another Daedra, Another Journey
"Well, the College may not have helped us with finding the Moth Priest, but they did help us get the second scroll..." Yang conceded reluctantly, as she tried deciphering Septimus Signus's ruminations on the Elder Scrolls, and smashing the buttons on the Dwemer console accordingly. His book was singularly confusing and could charitably be described as a collection of scribbles, but the Sheogorath-touched scholar had clearly been granted some insight into the fabric of reality.
After all, he'd actually been correct.
Behind her, Serana preened, clearly enjoying the feeling of vindication. She'd felt like she'd wasted their time, when they'd been... coerced, into joining the College (despite Yang's disinterest in most schools of magic and Jaune's inability to cast a spell), posing as prospective new students so as to not invite too much suspicion, just to find out that the Moth Priest had left the College for Dragon Bridge the day before they'd arrived.
The librarian, an old Orsimer named Urag gro-Shub, had fortunately mistaken their interest in the Moth Priest as intellectual curiosity, thinking that they wanted to learn about Elder Scrolls in general (Serana having had the sense to keep hers out of sight since they'd left Fort Dawnguard), and had given them the name and location of another scholar who studied in the scrolls as well as the Moth Priest's next location.
They'd not bothered with the lead back then, the priority being to secure the Moth Priest before the vampires could get him, but the knowledge had paid off when Dexion had revealed there were two other scrolls, and they'd navigated the ice fields north of Winterhold to find a glacier with a door, being illuminated by a nearby torch.
Septimus Signus had, as his book had suggested, been utterly mad, speaking in metaphors and riddles, but he'd still told them about Aftland, an ancient and massive Dwemer ruin... that was merely the "point of puncture", an entrance to a far greater underground city called Blackreach. According to him, it was the only way to reach the Mzark Tower, where the Dwemer had hidden an Elder Scroll. He'd even given them a Dwemer Attuning Sphere, to unlock the passage from Aftland to Blackreach, and a Lexicon, to inscribe the Elder Scroll's knowledge.
All he'd asked for, in return, was for them to etch the Lexicon with the Elder Scroll's knowledge in Mzark, and return it to him, so that he could use it to open the Dwemer Lockbox he'd found. Even Jaune hadn't been naive enough to jump on that; as far as he knew, the Dwemer (which Yang and Serana had explained to him were ancient dwarves) had locked its contents away for a reason. But still, fair was fair, and they'd agreed to help each other out.
Also, even if she could withstand Jaune's pouting, she didn't think trying to threaten the College-educated wizard and Skyrim's premier scholar on Elder Scrolls into cooperation was a good idea.
It'd been a few weeks since then, give or take (the passage of time was not easy to keep track of when underground). It hadn't taken them long to travel to the Aftland glacier from Winterhold, but navigating the frozen former city had taken much longer. It's halls still crawled with spider-like constructs the size of dogs, that had shot lightning at the trio and tried to maul them with their pointed spindly legs, and metallic spheres that hid humanoid torsos, that had fired bolts of dwarven metal at them with more force than a Dawnguard crossbow, before rolling up to slash and stab at them with blades for forearms.
Yang's Voice and fists, Jaune's Aura, sword, and shield, and Serana's Destruction and Conjuration magics, had been more than sufficient to overcome the patrols they'd encountered, but each fight still took time, still drained energy, still caused injuries. If it hadn't been for Jaune's healing Aura, Yang doubted she'd have been able to carry the healing potions she'd have needed to get through Aftland.
Then they'd run into the colossal construct that guarded the passage to Blackreach.
Up until then, Jaune had been amazed by the fact that Skyrim, a fantastical medieval world (from his perspective), had actual robots. Hearing they ran off of soul gems, like enchantments, had fascinated him, and he'd begun wondering if he could bring a few of the robots over to Remnant (if he ever returned). Sure, the spiders were annoying with their zaps (though Nora would've probably found them cute), but a few dozen of the spheres could have probably cleared Mountain Glenn by themselves!
The giant robot quickly knocked the idea of trying to disable the things out of his mind.
It's armor withstood the full fury of Serana's strongest fire and ice spells, and it vented super-heated steam at Yang as she leapt at it, preventing the close-quarters brawler from closing the distance.
Jaune ran through the heat, ignoring the burning pain (he'd dealt with worse), trusting in his Aura to protect and heal him, but the golem, easily twice the size of an Ursa Major, had the strength to match. Its first blow, while blocked, had unbalanced him from the sheer force. Its second blow had broken his guard. Its third blow had sent him flying into the wall, and made his Aura, already weakened from the exertions of the expedition, begin flickering and shimmering intermittently. It'd been a month since the Tower, and he'd almost forgotten what Aura depletion had felt like.
But his Aura hadn't broken yet, and he was no longer the same naive boy that had ran up the tower by himself.
He'd rolled out of the way, as the construct had attempted to stomp on him, and an Unrelenting Force Shout from Yang hit the colossus's hammerfist as it swung at him a fourth time, causing it to overswing and miss. Jaune had quickly buried his ancient Nordic sword into the dwarven metal before it could lift its arm, and channeled as much Aura as he could spare into the sword, freezing the arm to the ground. He'd then withdrawn the sword, before slashing wildly at its chest. The Nordic metal, ancient as it was, had also never been designed for the temperatures it had been subjected to, and had ahattered at the impact, but the blow had still cut a rent in the robot's armor. Serana didn't miss her chance, and a thunderbolt fried the colossus's delicate circuitry from within, ending it.
After that, a bit of rest, and lots of concern for the male of the group, they'd descended into Blackreach.
Yang would freely admit her mouth had fallen as well, as they'd gotten their first look at the massive cavern. Glowing geodes and bioluminescent fungi dimly illuminated the walls. and a massive orange orb over a walled structure seemed to serve as the equivalent of the sun, to whatever inhabited the cave. The horizon stretched far beyond what her eyes could see, and she couldn't deny she'd been impressed. Jaune and Serana certainly didn't.
Then they'd gone through the arduous process of actually making their way through the cave, trying to find the exit to Mzark Tower. She'd lost track of the time, but guessed it had to have been more than week at least, and in that time she'd run into no less than four more of the colossi patrolling the depths of Blackreach, along with an irascible giant, nests of Falmer and their black-chitined poison-spitting pets (she'd thought the Falmer were just a myth, just like the dragons), and three wrong exits, that had taken them to even more Dwemer ruins, (and the giant guardians that had almost killed Jaune. At least he'd found an enchanted glass greatsword in one of them, to replace his broken blafe), she could safely say that any awe she may have had for Blackreach had turned to a deep loathing for the Dwemer, the Falmer, and caves in general.
A loud ping shook Yang out of her memories, and as she looked up from the console and the book, she saw the weird Dwemer light-focusing mechanisms retract, before a large green geode descended, splitting in two to reveal an Elder Scroll. Also, the Lexicon she'd placed on the consoles pedestal was glowing with etched runes, which she figured meant that Septimus's device had transcribed whatever he wanted. Serana stared at the revealed Elder Scroll with no small amount of amazement and disgust. The mechanisms involved were amazing, especially considering their age, but the Elder Scrolls and the prophecy had ruined her unlife.
Yang gingerly took the Elder Scroll, figuring that it probably wasn't wise to put all the Scrolls with a single person (just in case), and she called for Jaune, who'd been guarding the passageway (also "just in case"; she'd seen how just how many of the blind cave elves had dwelt in Blackreach).
"Nothing's crawled out of the cave, Yang, just like the past hour or so we've been here." Jaune called back, bored out of his mind. He understood why she'd asked him to stand guard, sure, but that didn't meant he had to enjoy it. At his signal, she and Serana joined him, and as they headed for the exit he looked at Yang's new acquisition, remembered just how old the ruins were supposed to be, and asked: "Is it fragile? Do we need to be careful with it?"
"Ha! Nothing can destroy an Elder Scroll." Serana replied, laughing at the thought, and Yang nodded in agreement.
Then she looked around, at where the exit had taken them, and asked: "Anybody know where we are?"
-ONE NAVIGATION SKILL CHECK LATER-
"Give it, quickly." Septimus Signus snapped, as Yang held out the Runed Lexicon, and as she rolled her eyes and callously tossed it at the mad scholar, Serana bit back a chuckle, and Jaune tried to frown (Yang saw right through it; as much as he wanted to disapprove, Septimus had gotten them stuck in a cave for weeks). The scholar caught it with a simple Telekinesis spell, and he held it up to his ear, murmuring: "Extraordinary. I see it now! The sealing structure interlocks in the tiniest fractals. Dwemer blood can loose the hooks, but none alive remain to bear it. A panoply of their brethren could gather to form a facsimile. A trick. Something they didn't anticipate, no, not even them."
"What are you talking about?" Serana spoke up uneasily, picking out a few words. She didn't know what exactly he was talking about, but she didn't like the sound of what she understood.
"The blood of Altmer, Bosmer, Dunmer, Falmer, and Orsimer." Septimus explained, as if it were obvious, before holding out a weird device of cylinders and needles. "The elves still living provide the key. Bear you hence this extractor. It will drink the fresh blood of elves. Come when its set is complete."
"... you want us to kill different elves and drain their blood?" Yang asked in disbelief, refusing to take the proffered extractor. Jaune's frown deepened as he realized what Septimus Signus was asking them to do, and Serana began pushing him away, before anyone could do something rash.
Yang would normally have protested at leaving the two of them alone, but curiosity welled within her, and she felt the man at least owed her some answers, for the journey they'd gone through. As Jaune and Serana left the glacier, she asked: "Why are you so eager to open the box, anyway?"
"The box contains the heart. The essence of a god." Septimus stated, and Yang's eyes widened. She'd heard of similar myths and legends. "I have devoted my life to the Elder Scrolls, but their knowledge is a passing awareness when compared to the encompassing mind of divinity. The Dwemer were the last to touch it. It was thought to have been destroyed by the Nerevarine, but my lord told me otherwise."
Even Yang knew the story of the Nerevarine, and what had happened in Morrowind, just before the Oblivion Crisis. She shot back: "How can you be so sure the Heart of Shor is in there? Who is your lord?"
"The Daedric Prince of the Unknown. Hermaeus Mora." Septimus Signus stated matter-of-factly. "I thought there were no secrets left to know. Until I first spoke to him. He asks a price - to work his will. A few murders, some dissent spread, a plague or two. For the secrets I can endure. In time, he brought me here. To the box. But he won't reveal how to open it. Maddening."
Yang blanched, not wanting to get involved with another Daedric Prince, and especially not one whose will involved murders, dissent, and a plague or two. Pushing the extractor away, she stormed away as quickly as she could, snapping: "Sorry, not interested. Do it yourself."
As she reached the exit of the glacier, however, a purple flaming portal with a black center materialized between her and the door. Yang stiffened; she'd seen Serana summon enough to recognize the signs of a Conjuration from Oblivion. Looking back, however, Septimus was still frozen, apparently unable to process her denial of his request.
He hadn't been the one to cast a Conjuration spell.
As she turned back, the black center of the portal suddenly spread out, and the purple flames were extinguished, leaving only an inky stain in the fabric of reality for her to stare at.
Then an eye opened in its center, staring at her, followed by dozens more, and tentacles writhed out of the spaces between the eyes.
A wretched voice boomed out, like a thousand drowned slugs from the depths of an unfathomable abyss, impossibly loud and impossibly far away: "Come closer. Bask in my presence."
"Hermaeus Mora, I presume?" Yang asked contemptuously, refusing to sound impressed or concerned (even if she was).
"Clever deduction, Dragonborn." Hermaeus Mora praised Yang. "I am Hermaeus Mora. I am the guardian of the unseen, and knower of the unknown. I have been watching you, mortal. Most impressive."
"What do you want?" Yang spat out, gripping her axe tightly.
"Oh, I think you will be more interested in what you want, Yang Xiao-Long of Bravil." Hermaeus Mora chuckled, like bones being ground together underwater. "I know you want to know what happened to your mother."
"You know what happened to Raven Branwen?" Yang asked in disbelief, unable to help herself. She knew the daedra lied, but...
"I know that and more, Dragonborn. I am willing to show you, what happened to your mother, as well as tell you what you need to know to stop Miraak, before he becomes an even bigger threat. I can even tell you the reason behind the return of the dragons, if you so wish. All these secrets and more, all that you desire, all the power you could imagine, I offer to you. And all I ask for, in return, is but one boon, Dragonborn. Am I not a generous god?"
Yang bit her lip, as she thought it over. She knew the daedra was lying, but Hermaeus Mora was the Daedric Prince of Knowledge and Secrets; if there was a daedric prince she could trust to be telling the truth on this, it would have been Hermaeus Mora. Dealing with Miraak, finding out what happened to her mother, the glory of being the Dragonborn who ended the Dragon Crisis... Yang couldn't deny she was tempted. Wanting to give herself more time to consider the offer, she countered: "And what would you ask of me?"
"Give me Jaune Arc of Remnant."
As soon as Yang heard and processed the Daedra's words, an overwhelming urge to break something welled up within her, and a furious denial was immediately at the tip of her tongue, waiting to be unleashed.
But she wasn't the same impulsive woman who'd crossed the border a month ago.
She'd been lecturing Jaune on controlling his instincts, seeing the big picture, and curbing his impulses. Some of it had naturally rubbed back off on her.
If Hermaeus Mora wanted Jaune, she doubted it'd give up just because she said "no".
Instead, reining in her temper through a supreme force of will, she asked: "Why do you want him?"
"His knowledge, of course!. All the knowledge, the secrets, of another realm!"
"It wouldn't matter." Yang replied, trying to dissuade him. "His world's too different from ours; you wouldn't be able to use any of his knowledge."
"It doesn't matter. He has knowledge, and so I want it."
Yang's expression hardened, as it finished speaking, and knew there would be no negotiating with the Daedra Prince. Reaching for her axe, she growled: "Then we're done here. Get out of my way."
"Are you sure? Do you not want knowledge the Greybeards are too scared to share with you? Shouts that would make you invincible? Do you not care of your mother's fate? Is that not why you are in Skyrim?"
"Not in exchange for Jaune. Never." Yang snarled, drawing her axe. "He's worth more than all that. He's been there for me more than my egg donor ever was."
"I will not ask a third time, Dragonborn. Are you sure?"
"I will never hand him over, not to you or anyone else, monster."
"So are you free to believe, mortal. But be warned. Many have thought as you do. I have broken them all. You shall not keep him from me forever." Hermaeus Mora declared ominously, before the abyss of eyes and tentacles imploded upon itself soundlessly, leaving her alone in the glacier (save for a still-stunned Septimus Signus).
Yang glared around cautiously, wanting to be sure it wasn't a trick, but her instincts told her the otherworldly intruder was gone, and she slowly holstered her axe once more, before forcing out a sigh, trying to relax.
As if dragons, vampires, and cultist assassins from a different island weren't enough, now she had a Daedric Prince after her and Jaune. Truly, sometimes she wondered just what was wrong with the land of Skyrim. Bravil, for all it's crime-ridden, drug-addled flaws, had not been anywhere near as exciting as Skyrim had.
She decided against mentioning it to anyone, though, especially Jaune. She needed him to focus on the more pressing vampiric threat looming over their heads, rather than learning that an untouchable Daedric Prince had taken an interest in them, and him specifically.
After all, she ruefully reflected, knowing him, he'd probably sneak away from the group and offer himself to Hermaeus Mora, in exchange for her safety (and Serana's as well).
And she couldn't have that, couldn't have him senselessly sacrifice himself out of a misplaced sense of selflessness, especially not when she needed him by her side, to deal with the looming conflicts ahead.
No, much better to pretend that the exchange never happened.
Her resolve firm, she finally stepped out of the glacier, and greeted Jaune and Serana nonchalantly: "Hey, sorry I took so long. Septimus just spent ages trying to convince me to get the blood of the elves or something. So, what have you two been discussing?"
"Oh, Serana was just saying she might know where the third scroll could be." Jaune answered with a shrug, nudging Serana with his elbow.
"I only said we needed to find my mother, and that she cryptically told me that she'd be somewhere my father would never search." Serana said modestly, holding up her hands. "He was the one who suggested clues to finding her might be back in Castle Volkihar!"
"..." Yang stared at the pair, processing their words, and finally asked: "So... you want us to take you and the scrolls back to Castle Volkihar?"
"Well, when you put it like that..." Serana said sheepishly, looking away, and Yang shot Jaune the look as he developed a sudden fascination with whistling and the sky, wondering whether he really was worth it all.
Author's Note: And we're back, with a relatively short chapter.
Yes, I know Septimus Signus is actually listening to Hermaeus Mora, but at the start of the chapter Yang doesn't know that. Instead, all she sees is a mad scholar; why wouldn't she assume he's under Sheogorath's influence first, especially when he's the Daedric Prince she's most recently been in contact with?
Also, Dwemer constructs run off of soul gems... for some reason, I'm reminded of Penny Polendina, but I'm not sure why. Will I do anything with it? Probably not. Just thought it was a fun fact to point out.
And yes, I skipped through most of a boss fight. I mean, sure, a Dwemer Centurion is a tough foe, who could probably go toe-to-toe with a dragon if it doesn't fly... but the fight adds little to the plot. And yes, I did the same for Blackreach. Blackreach is a visual spectacle; it doesn't translate well to words (unless you were Tolkein, I suppose).
The official name of the Heart is the Heart of Lorkhan, but, since Yang's a Nord (albeit not a traditional one), she'd still probably know Lorkhan as Shor.
And yeah... initially, my plan was to just have Yang immediately blow up at Herma-Mora. After all, that's pretty close to her character as reckless and impulsive. But then I realized I accidentally wrote myself out of that with how she's been the voice of reason, restraining Jaune's impulsiveness (rather than the other way around I originally had in mind when I started the story). So yeah, that idea got tossed outta the window.
I'd like to call in character development, but it's more of me writing myself into a corner. Truly, writing each chapter on an individual basis and going with the flow over sticking to any semblance of forethought has bitten me in the arse once more.
And don't get me wrong, Yang is still over-protective, probably violently so if need be. But now she's less likely to punch a non-immediate threat and more likely to think up long-term solutions to eliminate said threat. For example, if she were to see a girl flirting with Jaune who was probably less than well-intentioned, she wouldn't just punch the girl. She'd pretend to be Jaune's girlfriend to make sure he doesn't run into similar situations again, possibly while either preparing to hook the girl up with some other sucker or to ruin the girl if need be.
A Daedric Prince is still a tad bit more persistent and less easy to punch than a gold-digger, though.
And Raven Branwen... I did originally have plans for her, but, well... she really doesn't matter. She may have been the initial excuse for Yang to visit Skyrim, but I can't see Yang giving up Jaune for information on her mother, especially not now. And once she says no, makes the irreversible decision to give up her best lead on her mother... she'd probably going to have an awakening, where she decides to focus on whats in front of her, whats important, rather than wondering about the past.
It's like the fable of sour grapes, where once you decide something is unattainable, you rationalize not going for it as the best outcome. Yang's rationalization will probably be something along the lines of "either she had a good reason for abandoning the family, and Yang would feel bad about resenting her for almost two decades, or she genuinely was scum, and not worth Yang's time".
As for why Herma-Mora seemingly drops it so easily... he's an immortal Daedric Prince. He can afford to wait, to try again next time, rather than pushing her when she's so stubborn at the moment and having a hostile Dragonborn as an enemy. Also, he probably knows a thing or two that Yang doesn't. Or maybe he's just a cryptic ineffable bastard who likes sounding mysterious and wise.
Also, just a reminder, I actually do have a ko-fi. I'm not going to ask anyone to donate if they don't want to or can't, it's just that someone actually told me I should probably mention it more than once every ten or so chapters.
