Part 11 - We Could Burn It All Down

Chapter 186 - Swallowed By Time

For the second day in a row, Miles and Gwen found themselves climbing the Monahven. This time, it was a little more casual, although still painful for both as Gwen had a hangover and wouldn't stop complaining about it.

"You shouldn't get drunk when there's stuff to do." Snapped Miles when he'd had enough.

"I told you: it was a long day."

"Yeah it was, and it still wasn't over by the time you were so drunk you could barely walk. Snap out of it, Gwen. We've got stuff to do."

Suddenly, a shadow blocked out the Sun for a few seconds. The pair looked up as Paarthurnax swooped overhead and came in to land in front of Max's tomb a few hundred metres ahead. The spiders picked up the pace.

The dovah eyed the spiders wearily.

"Drem yol lok. Greetings. What brings you to my strunmah, my mountain, on this fine day?"

"We're looking for an Ethereal Plate and thought you'd maybe have a sort of dragon sense that tell's you where one is?" Miles replied.

"A dragon sense? You imply you believe I have a sense, similiar to your…spider sense, that allows me to locate objects of power?"

"I guess. You knew Max was back two-thousand years ago."

"Indeed. I can sense the Ethereal Plates, but they are harder to see. If to see a Rah, a God, is to me as seeing a ship is to you, then seeing an Ethereal Plate is to me as seeing an insect is to you. On the scale of power, the Plates are insignificant."

"But you can find one?"

"Can you see an insect when you search for it?"

"Yeah."

"Then I can see an Ethereal Plate close to us now."

"Where?"

"It adorns the tomb of Dei Volente, cloaking his body from the unforgiving tides of time."

"The Time Plate?"

"Indeed."

Miles and Gwen turned to face the round stone that sealed their son's tomb. The gold writing carved into the marble wall was in the illegible characters of Dovahzul. It didn't matter; what was inside did. Miles and Gwen turned to face each other.

"We can't open Max's tomb." Said the latter.

"Why? You scared he'll rise from the dead and tell you to get on with having a family?"

"You wish. No. It's a tomb, Miles. You wouldn't dig up your Uncle's grave, would you?"

"Uncle Aaron wasn't buried with an Ethereal Plate. Anyway, this is rolling a stone back, not buying a shovel and digging it up."

"What's the difference?"

"You can put a stone back exactly how you found it. I'm opening it, Gwen. Max would want it."

Miles threw his backpack down and walked towards the stone, stopping when Gwen said:

"That's what Legion Miles would say."

He turned to face her.

"You…oh that was slick."

Suddenly, there was the grinding sound of a large stone rolling along the ground. Paarthurnax lumbered backwards from his handiwork and faced the spiders.

"What is happening is bigger than two quarreling mortals. Take the Ethereal Plate, defeat whatever evil it is you face, and return it to this place."

The dovah was clearly getting irritated. Miles nodded and walked inside the tomb. Much to his surprise, it didn't smell of death, only the candles that somehow continued to burn after five years. In the centre of the room was a stone cast of Max lying holding Furore Mortale to his chest. Miles knew his son's body was in there, and he stopped. He placed a hand on the cast's shoulder.

"For the record, Max, this wouldn't be my first choice but CotHEG needs put in its place."

Usually Max would have given some over the top sign that he'd heard, but he was dead so there was no howling winds, no earthquakes, no booming voices. Just silence. Miles turned to his objective: the red Ethereal Plate of Time was embedded in the wall opposite the tomb's entrance. The spider took a few steps forward, then raised his hand to take it. A thousand thoughts were running through his mind, the most prominent being:

"What if I'm not worthy anymore?"

His hand touched the Plate. Nothing happened, so he breathed a sigh of relief and prised it free and turned it over in his hands. With a silent nod to Max's grave, he left again and Paarthurnax hauled the stone back across the entrance with his teeth. Gwen looked at the Plate in Miles' hand and said:

"It feels like we're fighting Conall or Helltreader all over again."

"Loads has changed since then."

"It doesn't change how it feels."

Paarthurnax interrupted the exchange before it became an argument:

"Go, Mulkrilkendov. Chappingham comes with vengeance. Pruzah wundunne."

"What?"

"You will see."

"Just tell us." Said Gwen.

"There is no need. It is too late. I will find the Void Warrior; time needs him here."

"What?"

The dovah spread his wings and soared into the air, tearing down the hill side. The spiders exchanged looks, but before any words could be exchanged a ring of three different colours of flames appeared: white, black and blue. Four figures floated through, three wielding the Reflection, Void and Imagination Plates and the fourth with seemingly no source to their power. Miles webbed the Ethereal Plate to his chest since he wasn't wearing his suit. Gwen threw her backpack down and pulled her's out.

"You have commited crimes against the Church of the High Elder Gods. You are to be executed immediately." Said the person with no Plate, which the spiders suddenly realised was Chappingham, the priest who'd come to conscript them into the Church.

"Don't we get a trial?" Asked Miles.

"You have commited herecy of the highest order. There will be no trial."

"What would Dei Volente say?" Gwen asked.

"What he would say is irrelevant. He's dead, at your own hands, I believe."

"Actually it was Jacob who…"

"Then Jacob will be put to death as well." Chappingham turned to the three Plate Wielders. "Kill them."

The wielders floated down to the ground and drew swords of their respective Plates' colour. Miles drew two red katanas from thin air and chucked them to Gwen who caught them just in time to parry a first blow from the Imagination Plate's wielder. Miles leapt into action, charging a fistful of Ethereal energy and swinging it at the wielder of the Void Plate. The Reflection wielder swiped for his arm, but took a foot in the stomach. Void had already recovered, though, and headbutted Miles in the face. He staggered back, clutching his forehead, but using his spidey sense to jump over a thrown sword. As he came down, he punched the ground with a mega venom strike that knocked his opponents back and gave him some precious seconds to get his head straight again. Reflection came running, but by now Miles was in the mood for blood: he drew his own red sword, charging it with his venom strike and slashing out with phenomenal strength. Reflection made to parry the blow with their own blade, but it was shattered and the red blade buried itself in their shoulder. Miles pulled it back and thrust it forward through their heart. Before their body had even hit the ground, he ripped the Reflection Plate out its slot on their armour.

"Gwen! Catch!"

She discarded a katana and caught it, webbing it to her chest since her suit didn't have a slot. She fired a web at Imagination's face and they pulled at it desperately, failing to get free before a jet of white energy burst from Gwen's hand and went straight through their head. By this time, Miles had taken care of Void as well with a combination of his venom strike and Ethereal energy. Chappingham snarled angrily as his feet touched the ground.

"You have no idea what I am capable of. I will kill you, wipe out the Volente Guard, and then I will be the new king of this world."

"We get threats like that every day. You're no different to any of them." Gwen replied.

"But that is where you're wrong."

The spiders' spider senses went off and they leapt into action, only to be hurled back against Max's tomb's entrance. The stone cracked a little under the force of the impact and the pair were pinned.

"Why does…everyone have telekinesis these days?" Miles complained, clawing at the invisbile hand round his throat.

Suddenly, there was a roar followed by a torrent of flames that engulfed Chappingham. The spiders were released and they slumped to the ground, trying to catch their breath. The Void Warrior, Jacob, leapt in between the overpowered priest and the pair. He spotted the Ethereal Plates on Miles and Gwen's chests and had a moment of realisation about just how powerful the priest was. How was it possible? Did it matter? He had to keep them alive. The world needed spider people whether it knew it or not. There was an option, but it was unpredictable and dangerous. Still, they'd likely all die anyway if he didn't try it. Jacob knelt down and grabbed Miles and Gwen's wrists, then said three words that made Gwen squirm uncomfortably:

"Tilår niwasþ nalir."

A split second later, the trio were swallowed by time leaving Chappingham looking confused, then gleeful as he basked in his victory.

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Skyrim

Note

It occurs to me as I re-read this that I never actually explained Chappingham's powers, so let me do that here. My idea was that he was drawing power from Max's body, but I abandoned that plotline for the one you're getting now. So there's the explanation for that.