Cearbhail:

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things so... here we go.

=^^= Enjoy...


Battlemage's Log: 4e207, 14th Eveningstar

It's been two weeks now since Master Neloth left to go find the Dragonborn High King. I don't know what's taking him so long. I could have traveled by horse all the way from Skyrim to Elsweyr by now and bought a nice house. Winterhold is literally right next to Windhelm, which is where his ship comes in. It should have been a day's walk at most. Either way, I've been doing my best to keep everyone calm. Mistress Ildari is still trying her best to fight any influence that might try to creep into her body, and there are still more attacks heading at our barriers. Veselle's 'father' repetitively patrols our settlement's barrier, making claims that no matter what we do, he'll still get her back. I wish I had something to fight him with, but I have nothing.

Since I'm pretty much grounded to this town, and since I'm the only one that still has any mental acuity, I've been making sure the gardens are kept clean, the water still running as ever before. I've almost become the steward for the whole settlement. I don't really have to worry about any ash monsters coming in to fight us, but… there has been signs that we're not safe here anymore. Once… Talvas tried to walk into our village. He had floating sheets of ice behind him, like he was going to attack me once he walked through the barrier. As soon as he crossed the barrier… he passed out. Now he's in a coma too; just like Veselle. The other mages just stood there, right outside the barrier, each one glaring at me. Even my instructor, Master Teldryn, stood there glaring at me from behind his ash filter. He actually tried to destroy the barrier, but I guess he's not strong enough to break the enchantments Masters Neloth and Ildari set down.

So, as I run through my day set up, I have already taken care of preparing Mistress Ildari's meditation bath. She finds that it's easier on her mind if she rests in a bathtub. The sound of her breathing underwater helps drown out the voice of Hermeaus Mora or something like that. And while she's keeping herself partially drowned, I'm taking care of both Veselle and Talvas. They both need daily supplements and need to be hydrated. I learned enough from Mistress Ildari to know a certain circle that we set up to help teleport food and water into their stomachs. I just have to place the food on the circle and then activate it. The teleportation takes care of the rest. I do this once a day, as Mistress Ildari advises, unless something happens. And if it does, another circle designed to keep their health in check will alert me to the problem. The past two weeks have been mostly like clockwork. I get up, I check on Talvas and Veselle, and then I go take care of the farm. I check the barrier on my way to the gardens, and then I check on Mistress Ildari. After everything is checked and normalized, I go work out, practice my new energy arts. I have to stay on top form. Even learned some new spells from the tomes in the library. I'm certain I can modify these spells into my martial arts somehow.

Better get back to my tasks,

Battlemage Mirri Severin.

I can't believe I could ever feel this lonely. I mean… I grew up in a family of trained assassins, the Morag Tong. My father might not have been a great man, and he may have trained me to kill Redorans, but… he was still my father and he was there for me when I needed him to be. And I had a pretty standard mother too. They both pushed me hard, but if I ever needed to talk to someone, they would respond back, and often give me great life lessons in the process. And when that all changed… when my family was suddenly taken from me, I was immediately given a new one: Veselle and her family. As I've adjusted to living here, I've gotten used to all the crazy people living here. And it's because of this that… when this town is practically dead… I feel like I'm all alone.

The only company I have is Mistress Ildari, and she's pretty much locked herself in her own coma in a filled bathtub. Veselle, my best friend, is currently sleeping in a coma of her own as well, and Talvas is similarly just like that. The barrier is patrolled by ash monsters that constantly try to bust it down with pure magicka strength. I spent the first three days constantly on alert, watching their attacks on the wall. Occasionally I'd rush over to destroy them, all in fear that the barrier would fall. After three days of defending the barrier, and essentially passing out right in front of it… I woke to find that the barrier was still up, still at full strength, and that ash monsters were covering every inch of the wall, banging on it. I slept for maybe 12 hours. For 12 hours, I was passed out, right in front of the barrier, while every monster available tried to break out defenses. And the barrier hadn't even slacked in the slightest.

Just having to deal with that realization told me that the barrier was as impenetrable as Master Neloth said it would be. I still check on the barrier every hour or so, still scan it for any signs of decay or weakness. The meshing is just too perfect, too self-reparative. Whatever damage that is taken is immediately fixed by a Restoration meshing that absorbs nearby magicka and uses it to repair the barrier. It's a great barrier if someone is constantly attacking it with magicka-induced attacks. Not to mention, no one can pass unless given authority by Mistress Ildari or Master Neloth. The only ones that can enter live here. And Talvas already tried coming in here to fight. He went into a coma. It's probably a fail-safe measure for possessed entities or something like that. I've studied the barrier enough times to know how well it works, but I can't figure out most of the meshing that was used to create it.

So, since the barrier is sealed perfectly, I no longer had to worry about watching it so intently. And so… I would wander the village, check on the sleeping three people, and then… I would train. Like I would do back when I lived in Raven Rock. I would study texts, tomes of knowledge. I learned new spells and practiced them. I made new wands and staves; new tonfas enchanted with elemental runes for combat usage. I pretty much upgraded our whole arsenal. And no… we didn't have much of an arsenal before now. I made it from scratch. We had some staves, but they were specific ones for specific duties. Now… we had a whole arsenal to choose from. Any spell I could replicate became a combat item of some sort. It's been two weeks of nothing else to do.

But, no matter what I do… no matter how I try to distract myself… I'm still alone. I'm still stuck in this town with no one to really talk to. If I disturb Mistress Ildari, I might ruin her meditation, which might lead to her going crazy. I heard from Veselle that crazy Ildari was bad for everyone, so I decided it was probably in my best interest to let her focus.

Of course, we did have two prisoners locked away in the tower holding cell. They won't talk to me though. Also in comas. Jeez… comas seem to be coming into style like saying 'bae' or 'crae-crae'. Another thing I wish we could get rid of.

So, it was through this complete and utter isolation that I tended to spend my days hanging around the barrier, chatting to the ash monsters. I feel like they get me. Sure, they groan a lot, and they may have some issue with me if I step outside the barrier, but… as long as I stay on my side and them on theirs… well… at least I have someone to talk to.

And here I was… standing on my side of the barrier. A massive swarm of ash creatures standing in front of me, each of them throwing Ash at the barrier. As I watched, I could see the Ash explode lightly on the invisible wall of Restoration magicka. It made a small shimmering sparkle that spread across the invisible wall. I liked coming out here at night and watching the wall light up. It was like watching fireworks, only… there was an element of possible death if the fireworks ever dropped, even for a second.

"So… morning, Larry." I said to the ash monster I named Larry. I liked Larry. Larry was cool like a cucumber in the middle of a frost storm. Ugh… I've been hanging around unconscious Veselle too often. I'm starting to pick up her eccentricities. Or… or I'm going crazy from too much social withdrawal. Maybe.

"Good morning, Mirri." The ash monster replied as he hammered away at the barrier. "Did you enjoy the fruit cake I made for you last night?"

I found myself nodding as I looked down at the fruit basket in my hands. I must admit… I don't care much for fruitcake but… I did find the gesture very kind. "It was very delicious. Thanks for making it for me."

The ash monster shrugged as it splashed another volley of Ash at the barrier to no avail. "We're always here for you Mirri. If you open the door, we could have a party."

"A party? For me?" That was kind of him to offer, but unfortunately… I had duties I had to perform. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you in."

"Oh well… we're still bestest buddies." Larry responded.

I looked from Larry to the other six ash monsters all trying to get through the barrier too. "Morning everyone. Mike, Moesha, Yeager, Anne, Phil, and Bob." They all replied to my morning greeting as they continued to blast Ash at the barrier. "So, Anne, how's that baby of yours?"

"Won't sleep a wink. I tried rocking him on a tectonic plate but… he just won't calm down." Anne replied.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry to hear that. You should probably try feeding him a heart stone. I hear ash monsters enjoy them."

She nodded her thanks. "I think I will. Thanks for the help. You're the best."

I started to settle myself onto the ground as my friends chattered amongst themselves. I ran through the basket of fresh fruits I picked for myself. I ended up with an ash yam as my morning snack as I told my friends about my night of restlessness. They listened eagerly to my story, and I ended up spending a few hours alone just chatting about nothing to them. Every once in a while they would share a story with me about their lives in Oblivion. I kind of wish I could have gone to whatever realm they were from. If not only to see what their home lives were like.

Four hours passed and I was still just sitting in front of the barrier. I had just finished telling a story to Bob about a time when I was in a situation where I had to kill this five year-old boy… which I thought was a game back then. I was five too. Well, the boy really liked me… and my father didn't like that. So… we had to play a game of keeper's hide and seek. The boy would hide… and I would seek. If I found him, I had to poke him with this special needle thingy. Well… I found the boy, and I poked him in the arm like I was told to. No one told me the boy would fall asleep… and never wake up.

It was around that time that I heard a small laugh… a real laugh. "What are you doing?" I watched as Veselle's 'father' walked up to me. His arms were folded behind his back, his chest puffed out like he was holding himself proudly.

I nodded to Bob. "Telling a story to Bob."

"His name? He's a conjuration… he doesn't have a name. He's like a zombie, soulless and thoughtless." Veselle's father replied. "And… I've been watching for a few days. You come out here and… mutter to these monsters. And then you pretend that they're talking to you. Two weeks… you've been here for two weeks and you've already resorted to manifested personalities?" He shook his head. "You must be crazy."

"Don't listen to him, Mirri." Bob said.

"He doesn't know how to talk to us." Anne responded back urgently.

"You should kill him before he denies us a second time." Terry also said. Oh yeah… Terry's here too. I try to ignore Terry. He has terrible advice. Heh heh. Oh man… was I really that far gone?

I glanced away from the ash monsters over to Veselle's father. "What do you want?"

He glanced from me over to the ash monsters. He finally looked back. "I want in. And… you're going to let me in. Or…" He arched his hand over to my ash friends. "I will destroy them. Starting with Bob."

Hmm… let in the evil man that wanted nothing more than to take my best friend away from me… or let him kill my possible mentally created personified ash creatures that want nothing more than to get in and kill me. Hmm… that was a pretty hard decision. "I choose my friend."

He smirked. "Really?" He blasted Bob.

Bob screamed out in horror as his life force was suddenly snuffed away. "No! Mirri, you betrayed me! I thought we were bestest buddies!" He screamed as he was reduced to a pile of ash.

"No!" Anne screamed. "I loved him. Mirri… you bastard."

Veselle's father aimed his hand over to Anne next. "Let me through or… this one's next."

"No… not me. Anyone but me! I have a baby! Little Alexander needs me! Please, Mirri! Don't let him kill me! My baby needs me! His father left us when he was but a pile of cinder!"

"Three… two… one…" I closed my eyes as Veselle's father blasted her. I felt hot ash rain down on top of me as she exploded. I wiped the ash off my face… but when I pulled my hand away… it was clearly blood on my hands. I screamed as I jumped back, surprised that I was covered in blood. Blood exploded from Bob too… and I hadn't realized it. I was covered in the blood of Anne and Bob… and… that meant… they weren't figments. Or… or I was so crazy that I wasn't really covered in blood… I just thought I was. Man… how deep was this rabbit hole anyway? Where do I get off?

"Let… me… in…" Veselle's father said. He aimed his hand over at Yeager next.

I shook my head. "No… I can't." Another explosion of blood slammed me in the face. More hot blood dripping down as I kept my eyes shut. I didn't want any of this. I just wanted to get up and leave. But… I couldn't. I couldn't just abandon my friends like this. Not again.

"Mirri… yes you can. Mirri… wake up! And let me in!"

Wake up? Wait…

I felt my eyes slowly opening up. Man… how long was I sleeping for? As my vision started to clear up, I found myself leaning back against Veselle's bed, my head resting on my outstretched arm. Veselle was resting peacefully. As the world started to come back to me, I heard heavy knocks on the door.

"Mirri, unlock this door! I can't open it from this side." It was Master Neloth. He must finally be back now.

I wiped the drool off my cheek and my sleeve as I started to push myself up. "Yeah, I'm coming."

"Good, you're finally awake." Master Neloth responded from the other side of the door.

I slowly trudged my way over to the door, but as soon as I reached the doorknob, I came to a complete stop. "Wait…" I shook the weariness from my head. "How can I tell if you're really Master Neloth?"

He sighed. "Apprentice Mirri, I do not have time for any antics. The situation is dire and we need to get going. I have the Dragonborn High King with me and we need to begin preparations for our battle with Miraak."

Well, I don't think anyone knew about our mission to go find the High King from Skyrim and bring him back to help us fight another Dragonborn but… I couldn't know that for certain. Hermeaus Mora was involved and… he would pretty much do anything to get into this room, and he would know things as well. "That's not good enough."

Master Neloth sighed again. "Apprentice Mirri, while I appreciate the gesture of you attempting to sound in control of a possible hostile takeover situation… I must advise you stand back. I grow tired of your attempt at control and therefore will resolve this situation myself."

He's going to do what? I barely had time to ask myself that before the door exploded into tiny shards of wood. As the door, and half the wall, exploded into dust, I could clearly see Master Neloth standing on the other side of the door, his staff stretched out. Standing behind him was a lanky Nord with long brown wavy hair. He waved a welcome to me. "Hello. I'm Asger Stonearm… the High King of Skyrim, and lover of bacon. I'm here to entice your women, make them regret I'm married, and eat pancakes. And we're all out of women who resent me being married. Where are the pancakes?"

That was an introduction? Who was this guy? I glanced from him back to Master Neloth. "Um… sir?"

Master Neloth shook his head. "I know he seems… odd… but I assure you, this is the Dragonborn we were told to find."

Asger nodded his head. "Yes, and… the question still stands." He glanced back to Master Neloth. "Where are the pancakes?"

Master Neloth glanced over to me. "Pancakes seems to be a reference to an old bardic tale, where the pancakes were enticers to ancient flagged events that led to quests. I am assuming our Dragonborn is asking us where to begin our search to find Miraak."

Asger nodded. "Yeah… that's exactly what I meant. You mean… someone finally understands the reference? Jeez… it's felt like four years! And no one has gotten it yet!"

My head was spinning. Real… live… people. I'm not alone anymore! I wanted to say words, any words. Any words would do. I just had to figure out what to say. Come on, Mirri! You're socially awkward… but… so is he! And so what if you've been locked behind a door for the past two weeks, keeping yourself in an induced coma while you waited for the return of Master Neloth… you can't have gone too far off the reservation. Just introduce yourself like a normal girl.

"Hi, I dreamt I was friends with ash monsters and involuntarily let someone's scumbag father kill them in front of me!" I screamed to Asger as I stretched my hand out.

Crap. I don't think I'll ever find enough words to fix that. Why would I even say that? That made no logical sense!

Master Neloth's only response was rubbing his eyes exhaustedly. "Oh great… now you too." He glanced at me with longing. "You… I thought we had something. A serious…studious… practitioner. Not crazy, not abnormal… but it would seem two weeks of isolation have driven you to abnormality after all." He shook his head. "Rest in peace, studious Mirri. I will miss you."

Asger, on the other hand, didn't seem too bothered by my introduction. He took my hand, shaking it. Ooh! A real hand, shaking mine. It felt so nice. I missed this. Veselle's hand was comfortable whenever I got too out of it, but to have it voluntarily touching mine… yay. Small victory for the socially awkward. And socially isolated.

"Well, you're too normal." He responded. He glanced over to Master Neloth. "Oh, like you never watched as your best friend's parent slowly but surely killed off your friends in front of you."

Master Neloth glanced back at Asger. "High King, you're not serious, are you?"

He nodded. "You should meet Lydia sometime. She killed her own mother… with a birthday cupcake. And Ruby… both her parents were slaughtered by some pirate slaver guy. And me… well… that's a story for another day." He winked over to me. "Let's just say… some people like to call me… the Storyteller." Before I could even comprehend what it was he was trying to tell me, he clapped his hands. "So… this Miraak guy. We should find him, and kill him. Right?"

Master Neloth nodded. "Yes. He has enslaved the island, as you have seen for yourself."

Asger nodded back. "Any idea where we should start?" As Master Neloth was about to answer, Asger shushed him with his hand. His eyes darted for the center of the island. His nose began to twitch. "I smell… I smell…" He closed his eyes, turning around so that he faced wherever he was focusing on. "Pancakes." He pointed off in the distance. "The quest is that way." He nodded to Master Neloth and me. "We should go."

"Right you are." Master Neloth glanced at me. "Mirri… I think you should stay here."

"Stay here?" I finally found proper words to say. "But…" I couldn't stay here. I was already going out of my gourd just sleeping my days away. I mean, sure… I still got up and did things, but I spent all day in this room with Veselle, keeping her company. And keeping me sane…ish.

I pleaded to Master Neloth with my eyes as he looked me over. He was about to respond but he paused as he glanced into my eyes. After a few seconds of staring through me, probably using his Scrying Eyes spell, he finally sighed. "I see. Very well, Mirri. Collect your travel bag and meet us by the entrance to the barrier. We leave as soon as you are ready."

As soon as he said that, he started heading for the barrier. So… I had to get ready. I was already in my armor, thanks to the fact that I've been sleeping in my armor ever since Master Neloth left. It was the same armor Boethiah gave me, the ebony chainmail or something like that. There was only one other thing I could possible want. My belt of wands that I've been making ever since I got bored. There were perhaps 20 different wands all stuffed into the belt's wand holsters. That only took me a few seconds to put on before I was actually ready to go.

As I clicked the belt on, I glanced over to Veselle. She was still moaning lightly in her sleep, tossing a bit as if she were fighting in a bad dream. She was sweating a bit, but nothing too bad. I loaded a small bowl of water and oatmeal on the teleportation food circle on her table. I set it on automatic teleportation for whenever she needed it, and then I turned around to leave. I noticed Boethiah's gift to Veselle, a Daedric naginata. Without much thinking, I grabbed the naginata and spun it around my body. I found it pretty useful and balanced so I strapped it onto my back and raced out to join High King Asger and Master Neloth. It's my duty to protect this family. And sitting here isn't helping me much. I wanted to see what it would be like to stand beside two epic level fighters. I wonder… will I even be able to help? And if we find Miraak… will I just be a burden or a liability?

I shook the fear out of my head before I reached the two masters. I couldn't think like that. I needed to be here. I needed to help. For Veselle's sake. Someone had to tell her what it was like. Master Neloth sure won't be doing that. And I doubt even Veselle can coherently understand High King Asger's rambling. Either that… or I'm desperate for some social interaction. Probably the second one. I'm almost deathly sure of it. Yeah… I'm this bored. I'm abandoning my friend in need to get some much needed social interaction. Sorry, Veselle. And Bob. Sorry too Bob… and Anne. Terry… no. I'm not sorry for Terry the Terrible. He's a butt-face. No, seriously. His face… it looks like a butt. That why he acts like such an ass. Ha! … Oh, man. I've really lost it, haven't I? When I get back, I'm going to meditate until I resume my normal sanity.

"Well, time to find what we're made of!" High King Asger said as we walked out of the barrier. He glanced down at me, smiling. "I'm sure this adventure will be the stuff of legends! I bet… we'll find some ancient shrine, or temple… and at the base will be a quest giver. And he or she will likely have some idea as to what is really going on… and they'll lead us to the quest dungeon. And we'll fight numerous foes, evade numerous traps… and then… we'll finally meet the bad guy. And he'll own us… oh, he will own us. Horribly. If not only so we can get a taste of his true potential. And then… plenty of backtracking… walking around, getting the sights, making sure we use the whole island to do it too! And then, we'll be forced to use a new mechanic that's been added to this island, some kind of mechanic that isn't in the rest of Skyrim! Like bending wills or something! Or traveling to another dimension at will! Something really grand! And, it will all come to a head as we're revealed to the true murderous villain… who only uses someone else to get what they want!" High King prattled on. He glanced over at me. "Doesn't that sound marvelous?"

I found myself shrugging. I was still reeling over the fact that I was communicating with a living person. I'm not crazy if I think he's talking to me. Because he's real. And he's talking to me. With real words. I just wanted to reach out and touch him. But I couldn't. That's not socially acceptable. And his aura… it just radiates with personality. Like… like I had to like him, because he's special or something. Like a main character. But that's a stupid thought. There's no such thing as a main character. Or… am I crazy because I'm thinking of auras and main characters? Am I still sleeping? Was this all a dream? I wonder… what's Veselle dreaming of right now?


Cearbhail:

It's been so long since I've updated this. After Shoutmen is next and... I'm kind of stuck on that. Might be willing to accept any suggestions. This chapter I knew basically what I wanted and rolled with everything else. Still hated it.