Cearbhail:

Yup, next day delivery. I really wanted to keep up the flow while I still had it. I might just continue until this entire quest is done. If I post one tomorrow and it's this story and not Chronicles of Ruby then you know that for certain. Anyway, I had so much fun writing this.

Oh...and enjoy. ^^


Dear diary of shadows,

So, we've had a small break. I got to use my martial arts for a real fight for once. I mean, sure I've used it against Mjoll and Karliah but I've never actually had a real life or death brawl with monsters. I had to stand up to several draugr while Talvas unleashed his drunken spellcaster art form. Yeah, that's right. Talvas is drunk. He's afraid of close spaces so he keeps himself intoxicated to the point where he doesn't worry about things. It makes him louder, less cautious about touching me, and really really excited to fight things.

Oh yeah, about him touching me thing. He seems to enjoy hugging and kissing me while he's in this state. Not that I really mind, well, not really I guess. But it's just that he's drunk and… whatever he's feeling isn't real, and I don't want fake stuff, you know? But either way, we got in a fight with some draugr and I got cut pretty bad. Talvas healed me…held my hand, tried to kiss me. And then I pushed him off me. He passed out and so… we just sort of slept here over night. I can tell by the watch on his wrist. It's actually 01:23, the 19th of Second Seed. Once he wakes up, we'll get him doped up and ready to continue this quest. We still have a mine to clear out.

Veselle Tenvanni.

I closed my book and stuffed it away. I looked over at Talvas, who I had to wrap up in a blanket earlier when he passed out after eating too much. It amazes me the things he keeps in his backpack. I actually had to look inside to see just how much stuff we had. A few blankets, two thermoses (one sujamma and one juniper juice), ten or more apples, a pound of grapes, two more eggs, a crystal ball for communicating with Master in case we needed help, a single pillow, and a crystal quartz wand. I'm guessing that was for drawing circles that we might need later on. So, I had pulled out a blanket for him and a pillow and pretty much adjusted him until he was comfortable.

And it wasn't easy. He kept wrapping me up in his arms and hugging me to him like I was a teddy bear or something. It took real effort to escape his grasp and make sure he was properly swaddled in his blanket. I used to see drunks in Riften all the time. If you don't swaddle them, they just get up and walk around, usually for the worst. They were worse than babies, they were drunken babies. And Talvas was no different. He snored loudly all night long. Shortly after Talvas went to sleep, I released Kyuu so that he could sleep in Aetherius. So…I was all alone in a dark crypt while my drunken partner slept all night long. I thought about drawing a circle around us and getting some sleep as well, but I was afraid. I can admit it. I know circles work, but what if I woke up and found a hundred or so draugr surrounding us? I mean, I could fry them, but what about Talvas? I might fry him too by accident if I did that.

So, I stayed up while Talvas slept. Well, that was the plan at least. Once we got towards 21:50, I found my eyes closing on themselves and I was sluggishly rocking side-to-side. So, I pulled out a blanket and lied down. I don't really know what happened but I felt warm. And I wrapped myself around that warmth. I heard light snoring and opened my eyes. I had somehow ended next to Talvas, my arms wrapped around him. He was still swaddled so he hadn't moved. That meant when I was tired that I had lied down next to him and fallen asleep. My head had been resting on his shoulder as a pillow. I must admit…it felt nice. And it was warm, so I just…drifted off again. It was around 01:10 that I woke up and started writing my journal entry. I wanted to go back to sleep, but I could feel it again… that icky feeling that something was reaching out for me.

As I looked down the hallway to the chamber beyond, I could sense something was looking for me, reaching out for me to take it. Whispers in the dark called for me and I couldn't turn my ear away. Whatever it was…it wanted me to find it. And I intended on it. Whatever it was…I had to know what for sure. So, I started looking around for stuff to do while Talvas slept. Kyuu was still sleeping so I didn't want to wake him up. He said he'd tell me when he woke up; and I've yet to hear him say anything to me. The crypt had gotten colder as the night progressed. There was the constant cold breeze that passed through, and for once I wished I had a huge coat to wear over my clothes. I wasn't wearing my robes anymore. Since they got slashed up earlier today and Kyuu ran out of energy to fix them, I had to switch to my personal clothes. So, I was wearing basically a tunic and a skirt, instead of my layered robes that flowed down to my feet. Even so…my robes were still basically a dress and I doubt I'd be any warmer than I was right now…just more protection from the draft on my bare legs. My legs were freezing. My arms were too. I looked at the scar that had formed on my arm. How long would that stay there? I'm sure I could find a spell to remove it completely.

Occasionally, I would look at Talvas. He'd groan and try to shift to his side, but my swaddling proved too effective. He was locked in his spot. That was a problem though. If he vomited…he could drown on his own bile. So I would make sure to look at him to make sure he wasn't drooling out his mouth. He didn't. He just snored, groaned, and mumbled in his sleep. A few more minutes would pass by and I'd find myself leaning against a wall covered in cobwebs and mold. I'd drift off for a few seconds, but then I'd hear something…some shifting of stones, or the sounds of draugr shuffling on bedrock…the occasional barking that draugr make. It sounded like they weren't too far away, but I wasn't going to search them out. I wanted Talvas by my side when I continued on. And hopefully we'd find this thing before too long. Whatever I was feeling. I yawned for a second before my vision blurred. I found my eyes closing and I thought I saw something in the distance. A shadow or something.

I don't know where I was, but I was standing on a platform, surrounded by bubbling tar. The platform looked like it was a net made up of black tar strings. The tar that bubbled right underneath me looked poisonous, ready to consume me if I fell for a second. There was a feeling…I had felt it before. The gnawing feeling on my neck, that feeling that someone was watching me, toying with me. I looked up at the sky. The sky was tinted with a dark sick green/yellow/even orange skyline. Bubbles of tar floated in the sky above me like they were clouds or something. Welcome to my library... I heard a heavy grinding, oozing voice call from the back of my neck, like whoever said it was leaning over the back of my neck, craning their mouth to my ear as they whispered a greeting to me. I felt tentacles wrap around me, holding me in my place as they slithered around. I was so frightened. If I moved, I didn't know what they would do. Would they tighten? Would they pull me apart? I didn't know.

It isn't often I see a fresh young face in my library… The voice continued to call from behind me as the feeling of tentacles continued to slither all around me, constricting around my arms, around my neck, around both my legs. It was like a giant constrictor boa made up of a massive tentacle had wrapped itself around my entire body, just tight enough to keep me locked in my spot. It ended around my neck, the very tip brushing against the ear where I heard the light whisper of whoever had contacted me. I tried to look down, but I didn't see anything wrapping around me, but I could still feel it. Knowledge… is that what you seek? A clue… to a mystery? What would someone like you offer in payment to such knowledge? How would you change your fate…your timeline? Would you destroy the very fabrication of webs laid out? The voice started growling at me, the tentacle around my neck constricting. I could feel my windpipe closing off and I tried to raise my hands to pull whatever was around my neck off me, but they wouldn't move from their spot. Destroy all I've set in place? All the years of planning, conniving? You are not the one I seek, but an intruder. You are not Dragonborn. You aren't even the one to bring him to me. You are but a puppet…a figment… a bleep on the eternal calendar. What knowledge could I possible offer such an… impudent child such as yourself? What do you offer in return? What memories are you willing to share? What knowledge has someone like you obtained?

I was frozen in fear but my thoughts were starting to spill from my head. I could see my birth, my first couple years growing up, my mother's face… my father. My entire childhood flashed before my eyes, and finally the day when father was locked up for stealing a ring. I was left alone for a couple months, always visiting him. The memory of Mehrunes Maven appeared in my head and the image froze. Hmm…this is interesting. The memory started playing out and then I heard the Vermeister calling for me. Very interesting. The creepy voice called from inside me. The tentacle wrapped around my neck started to loosen and then it slid into my ear…which felt really, really weird. The memory played out, the Vermeister summoning itself and killing the Aldmeri Dominion agents sneaking up on Ruby and Maleek. Friends with my enemy… it would figure.

The memory of the battle faded away and it started speeding up through the month of me learning how to make enchantments to make money. I saw my father's funeral and then I packed some clothes and whatever coins I had made. I left Riften and went to Raven Rock to find Master Neloth. I could feel a tear forming on my cheek as I spent my first night in Talvas's room, holding a tiny cake that I had snuck in from Raven Rock. I sung myself a 'happy birthday' song, blew out the candle and cried myself to sleep. That's when I had my first lesson the next morning about learning flames. A Telvanni mage? Student of the man I wish to ensnare. His brain…is filled with much knowledge I seek. And he will bring me the one I want. The Dragonborn. My brain rattled like someone was fiddling around with it. I could see this… I'm going to call it a floating tar pit filled with a thousand blinking eyes and a million tentacles. It was floating around inside me, all those eyes looking at my memories and all my emotions. I could feel a tentacle slide down from inside my brain down to my heart, wrapping around it. Such pain for one so young…yet, not nearly as much as those I've met recently. Nothing to learn from you in that department.

I started trying to fight my constricted body. "Let…me…go!" I tried to scream but as I started to say anything, I felt a tentacle slide up my throat and push through my mouth. It was so thick that I couldn't breathe and I couldn't even form words. I tried to bite down…or at least raise my constricted arms, but I couldn't do anything. Silence. The voice slithered through my head and the tentacle pulled back inside me. More memories flicked by, my entire training up to this point…and then…some flashes of stuff I hadn't seen yet. A…pillar? I don't know what to call it. The entire town was working on it, mumbling nonsense phrases. I was lying in bed, coughing up blood, Master Neloth standing over me. My face looked completely fallen in. I looked older… like it couldn't be tomorrow or anything. "Just hang in there Veselle." Master said as he placed a damp towel on my head. "I will find this…Miraak, and put an end to this war of his." Ah…just the outcome I require. You have been set down the path already. And now… I offer a trade. You must never mention this to anyone, and in return, you will return alive…with a gift.

The tentacles released me and I fell to the floor. You know that moment when you fall asleep and you 'fall'? You know, where you feel like you're falling but then you snap awake and find yourself still in your bed? That's what happened. I fell and woke up jerking awake. I was still leaning against the wall, and Talvas was still snoring in his little swaddled wrapping. I thought the whole thing was a dream until I felt something in my hands. I looked down to see a book in my hands. It was dark green like the bubbling tar that was beneath the platform I was trapped on in my dream. On the cover of the book was a sigil for the gate of Oblivion. So…it was a Conjuration book? Should I open it? It was a gift so…why not?

I cracked it open, just to take a peek. I got to stop doing that. The book snapped open to page one and started flipping through all the pages on its own. My eyes darted around every symbol as the pages flipped by. Just as quickly as the book snapped open, all the pages had flicked by and everything inside the book was lodged inside my head. Unlike with the flames spell, this one was pretty simple. The knowledge itself was a contract with a Daedra Seeker. The entire book just laid down the terms and conditions for conjuring the creature. It was a long distance tank. It lacked the capacity to move quickly so it was best used when we had a lot of distance to our target. It attacked by throwing waves of air/electric magicka that acted like a solid wall of pain. And that was all I really needed to know. One seeker was assigned to me: name was Inquianari. Bit of a bookworm, know-it-all, and somewhat a never stopping talker. I should know, I heard all about him in the book.

Talvas was still sleeping, and Kyuu was still resting in his plane, so I figure… eh, why not? I warmed up the portal magic and visualized Inquianari. I willed a connection between him and me, and I released the portal. The portal flew off my palm growing bigger than me, turning dark purple as it ripped open. I heard a growling sound as the seeker drifted through the portal, closing behind it. It looked so…squidly. I mean, it was a massive well…mass of a round bulbous body wrapped in a ghastly sheet or cape, heck I can't tell. It had two really long arms that drifted further down than its floating body. It had no legs that I could see, and its entire head was comprised of tentacles like an octopus, with two beady eyes. The seeker was just standing there with a book levitating near its eyes.

When it didn't say anything I nodded to it. "Um…hi. I'm Veselle. I'm your um…partner?" Inquianari looked at me for a second before looking back at his book. And he stayed like that, his breath sounding like a light purr mixed with a ghostly moan. "So…I guess I should tell you all about me, right?" He just floated there for a few seconds and he continued his purring moan. "Right." I said, clapping my hands. "I'm well… I'm a mage. But I guess you knew that, right? You know, because I can summon you. So…you like books, right? I like books too. Whatcha reading?"

Inquianari glanced at me for a second and then looked back at his book, his moaning continuing. Well…this was not the conversation I intended to have with my new friend. It was like being back with Master Neloth all over again. I sighed as I sat back against the wall. The silence was replaced with the seeker purr/moaning while Talvas snored. I shook my head and tried to close my eyes again. "I wouldn't fall asleep." A scholarly voice that sounded almost like Karliah's whispered into the air. "Too many draugr around." The seeker said to me, returning to his book.

"You sound like a girl." I said to him.

The seeker looked over at me. "We all sound like this. We're all females." The seeker said to me. "What man could possibly be entrusted with acquiring and organizing limitless volumes and tomes of ancient and forbidden knowledge?" She looked at me. "My apologies, Lady Veselle. I was in the middle of my favorite romance and I wanted to finish my chapter before conversing." Her book vanished in thin air. "It really is a wonder tome, but unfortunately, you still have to wait 620 more years until the author writes it." She looked away. "Sadly, you may never know the splendor of being in such a book." She looked at me, sticking out her hand. The same book reappeared and she floated up to me. "I'll let you borrow it, though. You know, just in case you feel like reading it."

I nodded and took it from her. It looked brand new, and she said it was from 600 some years ahead of today. Wow…I was going to read a book before it was ever written. That would mean…I could get her to supply me with books to series that would outlive me before they were ever finished. I liked that idea. Imagine…I would never not know how something ended. My, my. Having that kind of power could drive someone crazy. I squealed at the thought and hugged the book close to me. "Thanks, Inquianari." She nodded in return. "Um…" I looked back up at her. "Mind if I call you Anari? You know, a nickname?"

She nodded to it. "That would be acceptable." She said to me. "However, I do wish to be able to do the same with you. Would be ok for me to call you Elle?"

I nodded. That sounded like a cute nickname. People usually just called me Vess. "Sure, I don't mind that one bit." A smile formed on my face and I stood up, stretching my hands out for a handshake. "I can tell this will be a good partnership."

She took my hand and inspected it for a second before a long tongue snaked out of her mouth. It lapped on my hand a few times, this thick ooze spilling out onto my hand. I held the bile growing in my mouth as I looked up at her. "Hmm…you seem to be a descendant of the ancient Chimer race of elves. I taste fire magicka thick in your aura. You have ancestry steeped in magicka, almost like your family was a strong mage line. You must be quite powerful to be this tasty." She said as she wrapped my hand in her long tongue, running it over my palm and fingers. "Left handed…hmm…martial artist…mmm…favorite food is strawberry yogurt…"

"No it isn't!" I said to her, trying to hide just how disgusted I was. I was trying not to grind my teeth by her slithering tongue that danced on my fingers. "I haven't even had it yet."

Her eyes darted up to mine. "I suggest you try it then. You'll make it your favorite." She started running her tongue across my arm and I forced myself to look away. "You've died once, and healed by an Aedra Lord. You must have been young, because it's faint. Natural conjurer; book reader; strong-willed, a little sassy, headstrong, and…" Her tongue danced on my arm so more, and then it snaked up my arm sleeve to my armpit. I tried to keep myself from laughing as she started licking my armpit. "ticklish." She pulled her tongue away, nodding. "Information gathering complete. I think I know everything about I need to know."

That was her way of getting to know me? I could think of several less invasive, less disgusting methods of acquiring who I was as a person. She could just…ask me.

"Ah-hum…" I heard Talvas clear his throat. I looked over at him to see him staring at me with wide eyes. "Maybe I'm still drunk but…how come I never get to do that to you?" He asked as he opened his thermos and started drinking more sujamma. Oh great…more drunk Talvas. Oh well, I should expect it. He gets scared in enclosed spaces. I guess he needed a quick fix before we started on.

His comment made my face blush madly as I pulled my hand away from Anari. "You ever do anything like that to me and I'll…I'll…" I could think of anything so I warmed up a firebolt and threw it at his face. It launched from my hand, slamming him hard enough to make him slam into the ground with a thwack. "I'll do that." I crossed my arms and looked at Anari.

Anari looked at me for a few seconds, tilting her squidly head. "I do not understand. Why would he lick you?"

I refused to answer that, but instead I turned around and started for the next chamber. "Pack up your stuff, Talvas. We're moving on." I looked back at Anari. "Anari…I have a question."

"Of course, mistress." She replied.

"I have this other spirit. Is it possible to have you both out at the same time?"

She stopped in her spot. "I would inquire if you were a real conjurer, but I already tasted that. A conjurer would know that you can summon as many spirits as your magicka control will allow for. You have to maintain the magicka draw for both of them, which for a summoner of a Vermeister, you should have no problem holding even six spirits in our plane for a whole day, depending on how you split up your drain between all six of them. Wouldn't want one spirit receiving all the energy for six spirits while the other five slowly drain until they are forcibly expelled from Mundus into Aetherius…or in my case Oblivion." She paused and then looked at me. "Why would he lick you? Is it to gather information as I have? I do not recall elves having that capability. Should I see about finding more about you by doing a more thorough scan of your deeper functions?"

I didn't even know what she would lick to find that out, so I shook my head. "No, no more licking. Elves don't have that function."

"Then why…"

I sighed. "Because he has this…crush on me and apparently he has plans to use his tongue." I don't even want to think what he'd do with it. And with his increasingly intoxicated state, he just might try. Heck, last night he was trying ever so tactfully to get me to sleep with him. I really had to struggle to get out of that. Heck, even if I may have wanted that…he was still drunk and I didn't want that to be held against us in the long end. Whatever. I'd just smack him upside the head when this whole thing was done. Mjoll taught me how to erase memories by smacking them out with concussions. Talvas would forget this whole adventure soon enough.

By the time I had entered the next chamber, Talvas had sluggishly caught up with me, all our stuff packed away. I looked him in the eyes to see that same creepy stare he gave me yesterday. But now I knew what it was. It was his drunken eyes. They looked unfocused and distant. That's what was so creepy about them. We found ourselves standing in a dark round chamber. Draugr were lining some thrones circling the room, and I knew what that meant. I paused before we completely entered the room. "Talvas." I pushed him back. I pushed Anari as well. "Wait out here." I stepped into the room and just like I thought, when I got halfway inside, both the gates to the entrance and the exit fell down upon me and the unlit torches on the wall started lighting up one by one.

Now…I didn't want Talvas in the way because I wanted to have some fun. I had a rough night and I just got mind-fucked by a tentacle god, and armpit licked by my new spirit. I could still feel that oozy saliva on my armpit. It felt weird. And these draugr that were standing up were my new punching bags. They were stupid and stood up one by one and running at me, waiting until I killed one for the next one to charge in. What were these, honorable draugr? They just waited here, thinking. Ok…Fred goes first, then George, then me if they last this long…then Sally. I couldn't think of a worse hell than being the last one picked…like always. Because he would know that if someone lasted that long…he really stood no chance to win.

So the first draugr ran up and I spun my staff around, cracking it in the skull. It went down and then the second one ran up. I rolled under his legs and stuck my foot right up its crotch. Now, I've heard a Draugr bark, I've heard them growl, and I've heard them talking in their dragon language. I've never heard one go falsetto before and grab its balls as it fell to its knees and pray to Alduin. That was a first. I gave him a mercy kill. I blasted his head off with a firebolt. The other draugr looked less certain of facing me so they all started sitting back down. Now…that wasn't fun for me. So I tipped my staff to the ground and willed my fire rune into the floor. The rune spilled out through the staff and onto the ground. I willed it to expand until it reached the feet of the draugr sitting quietly on their thrones. I could see their teeth chattering as they anticipating what I was going to offer them. "Either you get up and fight me…or I will blow you the fuck up."

I've never seen draugr contemplate things before. But they looked at each other and started talking in dragon speech. "They say they don't understand the cruel mistress's commands." Anari called from the closed gate. "But they suggest it's a die-die situation so they might as well go out in honor. So…it looks like they choose death by whatever cruel punishment you are offering."

"Awesome." I replied and readied my staff…letting the fire rune to dissipate. The ten or so draugr all stood up and ran for me…not one on one this time. I pushed forward, jumping into the air using some magicka in my boots to launch me up. I slammed my boots into two towering draugr running straight for me. I launched flames through both my feet, pushing off them. The two draugrs cried out as they fell down, clawing at their inflamed heads. I was soaring through the air, spinning around and landing gracefully ten or so feet away. Eight more draugr were charging me and I had to think fast. So, I…became invisible. Yeah, I still had that spell charged into my staff. And I used it on myself. And when I disappeared, I whipped around and set a fire rune underneath a draugr. I held enough of my power that when it went off it only blew up the one draugr. It was pretty hilarious actually. One second he's there the next…he's there…and there…and over there…and on the ceiling.

And since I had popped back up, I cracked one draugr on my right in the head, reverse-spinning my staff and cracking the one right next to him. They both went down. I rushed through the rest of the crowd, throwing one with a levitation spell up onto this stalactite thing on top of the ceiling. I left her there. She fell down on her own anyway. I had only one left and so…I had some fun with him. I ran up to him and levitated his skull out of his head. And then I beat him to death with it. It was pretty easy actually. All this time I was thinking of Talvas and his trying to pull up my skirt and fuck me last night when he was drunk off his mind and partially asleep in the blanket I gave him. He wanted head? I'd give him a head. I cracked the draugr's head one more time with its skull, smashing the skull-less draugr's head flat. I dropped the skull on the ground and the doors started opening on their own.

Talvas slowly walked into the room, looking at all the carnage. Anari just floated in; purr/moaning as she glided into the room. "I detect high levels of adrenaline and anger in the air, as well as a tinge of self-abuse and shame." She looked at me. "Mistress, are you ok?"

I was out of breath, and I was splatted with draugr blood, but I nodded, looking down at the smashed draugr. "I'm better now." I looked at Talvas. I picked up the skull and tossed it to him. When he questioned me, I arched my eyebrows. "That's the only head you're getting from me." And I turned to continue on. Ha! That was a great one liner. I bet he'd be lost on that one for a while. Serves him right.


Cearbhail:

Yup, had some great moments in this one. Hope no one minded the whole... Veselle goes badass martial artist on the draugrs. Like I said, she's growing up quickly and learning how to use both her body and her mind to fight. Having something else on her mind that she's trying to resolve makes a great focuser too. And Anari... she was one of my favorite moments of today. I thought...she needs two spirits. And then I thought... why not make it a Seeker? A know it all spirit that's really intelligent but clueless at the same time. Really shabla clueless. Oh well, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Oh...and Red Vs Blue reference... you know, beat him to death with his own skull. It doesn't seem physically possible!