Co-writer xTRESTWHOX actually wrote a large part of this chapter, somewhere around a quarter or third of it. Man, I love the day me and him got together on this project. Enjoy!

Wind passes under wings. Clouds go by. A structure of stone is before. Wings tilt, and she's swooping down, catching a mortal with her talons. She laughs as she flings the mortal away. She catches another one and tastes it before swallowing it. Another runs for the city of wood and stone. She lets it run. It will bring out the other warriors into the open, where she can destroy them with ease.

The Overlord has finally returned. His undeniable Truth will be for the entire world to see. And this city's embers would be her gift to present to him. When the defenders were dragged out and killed in the open, destroying it would be that much easier.

Waiting in the mountains, the trap is sprung!

She wings out once again and begins to destroy the foolish creatures in droves. Their arrows sting, but it will be fine. They are sharper than in times past, but still not sharp enough to kill a dragon!

Magic hits, and it hurts! The spell casters are more careful about dodging the Voice.

A Red one bothers to speak with her. Pathetic! It wants peace? Then it should have fallen on its knees the moment the Overlord returned!

It is fast though. It dodged away even when Time was Slowed to the crawl of Sand.

The bright Yellow hurt her, so she tries to hurt it, but it survives. It is strong.

Something fell upon her back! A wing! It cut a wing! She cannot fly and falls to the ground. No matter. Even when bound to the earth a dragon is formidable. The mortals will see their deaths up close.

Yellow charges at her, and she Shouts for Time again. She snaps up the mortal and flings it about before throwing it back to the ground. It still lives, so she jumps forward and stamps a foot down. This time bones crunch and the mortal screams. The Red screams as well, and then charges at her with its blade, cutting a long, winding wound upon her neck and body. She roars in agony and backs away. It's the most damage she's ever faced! How could such a small mortal do such a thing?

Red drags Yellow away and looks back at her. A few mortals have surrounded her to try and close in, but she doesn't let them. She needs a moment to recover before going on the offensive again.

A voice yells to her in her own tongue. It threatens vengeance and death. It comes from the Red. She actually feels honored that the mortal would bother with Dragon Tongue to relay such. She accepts and promises death.

Then Black reappears with a tether and yanks back her head. White uses some sort of magic to create a trail. Red dashes forward so fast she cannot be seen.

Pain! Pain explodes through her chest! Heart is pierced! Thoughts weakening!

She struggles to remain awake, to keep living, but in the throes of death, she feels a tugging at her soul. There is a dragon nearby! Her eyes lock onto Red, and she realizes why she'd spoken in Dragon Tongue.

"D- Dovahkiin?!" she cries out in surprise as she can feel her life blood pouring from her chest and her soul being torn form her being.

"NOOOOOO!" Ruby screamed as she ripped away the blankets and clutched at her chest, trying to keep blood from flowing from a wound that didn't exist. Her body was covered in cold sweat, and her breathing was ragged. As her heartbeat slowed, and breathing regulated, she closed her eyes tightly.

'It's just a dream. Just a dream. You're not Mirmulnir. You're not dying.'

Ever since she…absorbed Mirmulnir, she could feel exactly what he felt in his dying moments. There were other memories, but the memory of dying was the freshest to them both. Ruby had to keep touching her neck to assure herself that there wasn't a spiral cut on it. She needed to feel the place above her heart to remind herself that there was no stab wound.

Before she could examine herself further, a candle moved as Lydia came over to her, slightly bedraggled and in her sleeping clothes.

"My Thane, are you all right?"

"I- I'm fine, Lydia." She wasn't, but she doubted the housecarl knew how to help with nightmares fueled by the soul of a deceased dragon. "Just a bad dream. I just need a moment." Ruby looked around in the dim light and noticed that her team's beds were empty. "Where are the others?"

"They went off with that wizard," Lydia harrumphed, clearly displeased. "They said something about raising fawns and baby birds."

Memories of the three's intoxicated misadventures in the inn came roaring back and Ruby sighed in annoyance. "I can't believe those guys." She got enough before from her uncle, and it was really looking bad when Yang seemed to be letting the culture get to her, but now her whole team was drunk off their butts? She would be making rules after tonight! She blinked wearily. After some decent sleep of course.

"Thanks for checking on me, Lydia. I really appreciate it." She pulled the blankets back over her, blocking off the slight chill in the air.

"Only doing the least of my duties," Lydia dutifully nodded. "I'll let you go back to sleep. Good night, Thane Ruby."

"G'night," she wearily replied as she tried to let sleep claim her again, hoping for a night without dreams.

When Ruby woke up again, this time to the light of the dawn's rays, she quickly noticed there was still no sign of her team anywhere. As the girl trudged down into the surprisingly clean inn's lower level, she went over to Saadia, who was watching over the inn while Hulda rested.

"Have my friends been back yet?" Ruby kindly asked, hoping that they were still around.

"No, sorry, ma'am. I, er, haven't seen them since last night."

Oh yeah, last night. Last night when after Weiss finished her impromptu drinking song (which Ruby would admit was good, but still!) she started getting all cuddly with the Redguard woman. Ruby had to watch them like a hawk to make sure nothing bad happened there, but that gave an opening for Yang to start making out with some orc.

"But," Saadia, reaching into a nearby cupboard, interrupted Ruby's thoughts, "there was someone who left a note for you." Quickly finding the aforementioned note, Saadia took out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Ruby, who unfurled it and started reading the contents.

To the new Thane,

Me and your friends are going on a little trip. Shouldn't take too long, but you might feel a little lonely without 'em, so I figured a way for you to join us up early.

You've still got a mission to do with the Companions, right? Well, I put in a request with them, and I asked for you specifically. There's an item down in Shimmermist Cave that a friend of mine wants out of there. Said a good warrior should be the one to do it. I figured a dragonslayer fit the bill nicely.

Oh no, what did they tell people?!

Anyways, get the request, go kill everything in that cave, and retrieve the object. Don't need you to return it to me. My friend will pick it up from you, eventually. You'll know what it is once you find it. After that you'll be able to head right over to one of my places.

Meanwhile, the girls and I have a wedding to attend. But between you and me, I don't think the marriage is going to last all that long.

Your party buddy,

Sam Guevenne.

Ruby groaned and rubbed her face in exasperation. She and Yang were going to have a long talk about what was and was not acceptable when following in Qrow's footsteps.

"Thanks Saadia. Sorry about last night. Weiss isn't usually so…"

"Oh, it's all right. Could have been worse. Better a girl just holds onto my arm while complaining about her family than a man decides to hold on to other parts of me."

"True enough," Ruby chuckled, but then stopped when she realized that that might actually be a problem. Saadia noticed her concern and waved it off.

"Don't worry about me. That's what this is for." She brought up an iron dagger for a moment and then sheathed it back to her pocket. Ruby nodded and then headed back upstairs, ready to go through her morning routine before heading up to Jorrvaskr.

"Aye, it's not often we get a request for a specific member. Less often that member is a greenhorn like you," Skjor explained as he went over the short contract. "Then again, you have made a bit of a name for yourself. Well, it's rather straightforward. Honestly, we've been looking into clearing that cave for a few weeks now. Falmer seem to have taken up residence in it. Probably trying to grow their little nasties," Skjor snarled, much to Ruby's discomfort. "Kill any Falmer, kill any chaurus, rescue anyone caught by them that aren't dead yet, and retrieve whatever this object is and…hold on to it." Skjor rubbed his chin in thought. "Last bit's odd, but shouldn't be a problem. I suggest having a mage look whatever it is over, just in case. As for Falmer, be careful. They're sly little monsters. I suggest taking backup."

"Don't worry. I've-" Ruby started, only to get interrupted with the sounds of Jorrvaskr's doors being opened.

"My Thane, I've stocked up on our provisions," Lydia announced herself, catching the attention of both Ruby and Skjor, whom she briefly locked eyes with before continuing on. "We are ready to depart."

"… Thank you, Lydia," Ruby thanked the housecarl, still unsure about her. Skjor, on the other hand, shared no such feeling and gave the slightest hint of a smile, the most Ruby had seen on the man.

"Lydia, it's an honor to see you again," Skjor remarked, a degree of respect in his voice Ruby had again not seen or heard.

"Likewise, Skjor," Lydia nodded to the companion. At this, Skjor paused for a moment.

"You know, the offer is still valid."

"My answer is the same," Lydia's reply was quite curt, Ruby observed. Almost as if this conversation had happened before, in many instances. Over what, she didn't know.

"Well, anyway," Ruby interrupted before the conversation could start back up, "we better get going. The sooner we get this…thing, the sooner I can get my han- I mean, get back to my friends. Hehe, yeah…" Ruby nervously chuckled, trying to hide her slip up. Judging by Lydia's nod of approval and Skjor's nod, she was unsuccessful. Flushed with slight embarrassment, Ruby motioned for Lydia, and the two left the hall of the Companions behind. The two silently walked through the bustling town and through the front gates.

"Just so you are aware," Lydia cut through the silence, her smirk audible to Ruby's ears, "if you wish to throttle them, I'll hold them down."

"Oh, shush."

Without any means of transportation, Ruby and Lydia began the long hike towards Shimmermist Cave. They were lucky that the cave itself was relatively close to Whiterun, but even then it was still half a day's journey.

"So," Ruby began, trying to break through the awkward silence that had once again descended over the duo. This had been a familiar song and dance between the two of them, and if Lydia was going to be sticking around, Ruby was determined to break the ice. "Your weapons and armor? Steel?'

"That is correct, my Thane," Lydia quickly gave a to-the-point answer, causing Ruby to sigh. This had been a familiar song and dance. Ruby would ask a question, Lydia would give a direct answer and not elaborate, causing Ruby to go silent. But not this time!

"So…did you forge it? I'm a pretty good smith, if I say so myself. At least, Eorlund thinks so, even though he beat me…" Ruby whispered the last part, causing Lydia to laugh slightly. Success!

"I heard about that. A little girl caused the great Eorlund Grey-Mane to actually sweat for once," Lydia mirthed to herself. "It was actually Eorlund himself who made my weapons and armor. A gift for being chosen to be a housecarl."

"I wanted to ask about that. How did you become a housecarl anyway?" Ruby asked, curious about the subject. "Were you always a housecarl, your parents? Were you born into it?" Lydia perked up at this, evidently proud of the accomplishment.

"I was not born into being a housecarl. I earned it, actually."

"Oh! How'd you earn it?"

"It started with my father, really. He was a guard for thirty years. Used to be an adventurer, until he 'took an arrow to the knee', so he says," Lydia chuckled. "Nine times out of ten, that simply means that they got married. In this case, to my mother, who…died during childbirth."

"Oh, I'm… I'm so sorry, I-" Ruby stammered, trying to give an apology, only to be waved off by Lydia.

"It's alright. I never knew her, though sometimes I wish I did. It's far in the past now. As I grew older he taught me everything he knew. When he grew too old and weathered to continue being a guard, he stepped down. As he did, I rose to take his place." Lydia smiled at the memory. "I'll never forget how proud he was when I first stepped home wearing that armor."

"He sounds amazing," Ruby replied.

"He was…" Lydia grew wistful, causing Ruby to look downcast as she realized the implications. Lydia, noticing her charge's disposition, continued. "He had developed ataxia during his last few years, which caused him to step down in the first place. It…eventually caught up with him, and he died peacefully in his sleep. The entirety of the Whiterun guard went to his funeral, along with the Jarl."

"I'm… I'm sorry. I…lost my mother when I was young, too," Ruby added, forlorn, to which Lydia nodded in understanding.

"He rests in Sovngarde, now. At peace. When I die, I will join him once again." Lydia smiled at the thought, before shaking her head. "Moving on, thanks to my father's training, I quickly caught the attention of my superiors. I quickly rose up through the ranks, eventually settling on captain. Many thought I was going to become commander, but my fortunes quickly changed."

"What happened?" Ruby got slightly worried, which went away when Lydia smiled.

"I stumbled across evidence that the Thieves Guild was attempting to reestablish a foothold in Whiterun," Lydia revealed, only to receive blank look from Ruby.

"Thieves…Guild? What is that?"

"I'm not surprised you hadn't heard of it. In their present state, they're a joke. Back in my father's day, now that was a different story. The Thieves Guild is what the name implies: a guild for thieves and other illegal activities. Anything short of murder is fair game to them. Their fortunes had reversed over the years, making them a shadow of their former self, until they all but disappeared."

"So they tried to make a comeback in Whiterun?" Ruby inquired.

"They did. It wasn't a large group, thankfully. Only about five members. Regardless, I uncovered evidence that they were in the city, which I investigated, and found that they were trying to establish a foothold and were planning a massive heist of Dragonsreach, which I stopped," Lydia perked up in pride at that.

"Wow!" Ruby gushed. "Then what?"

"That caught the attention of many, including the Jarl and the Companions. I was approached by both, who each extended an offer for me to join, either as one of Balgruuf's housecarls or as a Companion."

"And you chose to be a housecarl," Ruby concluded, to which Lydia nodded.

"That I did. I wanted to serve Whiterun, rather than be a Companion. They still extend offers to me, which I refuse each time," Lydia revealed, answering an unspoken question of Ruby's.

"That's…amazing," Ruby stated, eyeing the cave. They were close now.

"If I may ask, what about you?" Lydia asked, curiosity etched on her face.

"Well," Ruby began, unsure of how to proceed. She was still thinking as they walked across the bend, only for the two of them to stop dead in their tracks as they came across a grisly scene. In the middle of the road was a destroyed cart. The horses were missing, and there was a dead Nord woman lying on the ground with strange arrows having turned her into a pincushion.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, apprehension filling her voice. Lydia had already unsheathed her weapons and was looking around for any threats. Seeing none, but staying on guard, the housecarl walked up to the corpse and pulled out one of the arrows, inspecting it before throwing it away in disgust.

"Falmer," Lydia revealed, uttering a quick prayer for the woman before standing. "Falmer must have attacked her."

"There's a blood trail. Look," Ruby pointed out, eyeing a trail of bloody splotches leading up to Shimmermist Cave's entrance.

"They must have dragged off any survivors, leaving her as a warning," Lydia mused, unsheathing her weapon again before taking point. "Have you faced Falmer before?"

"No, I haven't," Ruby answered, unfurling Crescent Rose. If Lydia was confused about the sniper-scythe she didn't show it. "Any advice?"

"Show no mercy," Lydia responded. With that, the two of them made their way into the dark cave. Whatever was in there was key to finding the rest of her team, and Ruby wouldn't let some cave monsters stand in her way.

On high alert for any danger, the two slowly entered the cave, with Lydia taking point. Upon entering, Ruby suddenly let out a shriek, causing Lydia to whip around in search of the source of Ruby's distress. A spider was just inside the entrance around two waterfalls, and Lydia, seeing Ruby's apprehension, smirked.

"Don't like the spiders?"

"I…really don't. They're just so…creepy!"

"The Dragonborn. Slayer of dragons, devourer of souls, scared of spiders," Lydia laughed to herself, causing Ruby to slightly frown in embarrassment. "All right. One moment."

The housecarl drew her sword and charged the giant arachnid. The spider seemed stunned, and barely had any time to react as the Nord sliced across its face before jabbing it in its 'neck'. The oversized bug shuddered, and then collapsed, its legs making a few twitches as the life left it.

"Phew! Thanks!" Ruby beamed as they continued forward.

"Any time, my Thane."

They traveled downwards and then into a narrower tunnel where the light from outside found it harder to reach. Ruby looked up and around the cave as the light slowly died out until it got close to pitch black.

'Really need to get Weiss to show me that candle spell,' Ruby thought in remorse. 'Either that or buy a torch.'

The darkness didn't last long, to Ruby's relief, as their path suddenly became illuminated by the soft blue of glowing mushrooms. Ruby awed at them for a moment and reached out to tap one, surprised by its sturdiness despite its gel-like looks. The darkness fled even more as the ceiling became practically covered in bioflorescent flora. Mist seemed to waft in from further in the cave like a thick fog, reflecting and refracting the light from the fungus and other glowing life, likely giving the cavern its name. Ruby began wondering about what kind of ecology was at work in this place when Lydia held out a hand, stopping her. A ways ahead of them, Ruby saw the silhouette of a hunched over creature holding what appeared to be a sword and looking back and forth over an outcropping.

"Did he spot us?" Ruby whispered.

"It can't see," her housecarl answered. "Falmer are blind. They go by sound, not sight. If we stay quiet, we should be able to get closer."

'Wait. If Falmer are blind, how do they have archers?' Ruby thought to herself, confused by the implications, before shaking her head, shelving the question for later.

Softly, the two tip-toed their way closer, carefully stepping over a tripwire that had been softly illuminated by the pervasive blue glow when they came to the opening of a larger cavern. The image of the apparent Falmer cleared the closer they got, and soon Ruby was able to make out more details. The creature was anorexic looking, with ribs poking from wrinkled, pale skin. Two long ears were on either side of its head, likely picking up every stray noise. Its face was mostly flat, with two slits in place of a nose, an open mouth filled with needle-like teeth, and no eyes. The creature made little grunting noises as it walked in a small patrol, listening out for intruders.

'Ew! It looks like Gobble's ugly cousin! If that cousin was also the baby of the ugliest goblin ever!'

A low hiss brought her out of her thoughts and she and Lydia spun around to see another Falmer barring its teeth and taking out a sickle-looking weapon and a shield.

"We've been spotted!" Lydia shouted as she unsheathed her sword, preparing herself against the creatures. The one from above jumped down aiming for Lydia's head, only to be smacked aside by her shield, sending it sliding in the dirt away from them. Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and dashed over to the sickle wielder and struck at it. The Falmer managed to duck under her first swing and went for one of its own to which Ruby quickly stepped back and continued her scythe's arc, returning it and crashing the blade against the chitin shield in her foe's hand. With an audible crack emanating from the shield, the Falmer flew several feet away and into a stone column. The creature struggled back up and made for a jumping swing, which Ruby used to impale it upon her scythe's blade with an upward spin of her own weapon, sending the creature over her head with a gaping hole in its stomach.

She looked over and saw Lydia flick her sword clear of blood over the body of the other Falmer, a scowl on her face. Before Ruby had a chance to speak up, a horrific smell, previously masked by adrenaline, caught her attention. Slowly, Ruby walked over and peered under the alcove where the woman was at and gasped. Under the ledge was a small pile of human and elf bodies. Some were dressed like hunters or bandits, while others wore normal, everyday clothing. One High Elf had purple robes and enough stab wounds on his torso to look like he belly-flopped into a knife factory.

"What- What is this?"

"Victims," her housecarl spat as she bent to observe one a little more closely. "They've been dragging the dead into this place. Probably only under the cover of night."

"This is just…awful!" Ruby figured these things were bad news, but she didn't think it was this bad. "But why do all these…bodies look…?"

"Fresh?" Lydia stood back up as she said it.

"Y- yeah…"

"I don't know. Maybe the Falmer eat them?"

Ruby felt like she was turning green, but shook her head and stepped away from the bodies. "We- we should keep going."

"Of course, my Thane."

Deeper within they came across a boulder where a set of chitin armor, shield, sword and bow lay. Ruby took a moment to look them over, but stuck out her tongue in disgust when she detected how much they felt like picking up a large bug leg. Only a little ways past that there was a Falmer with its back turned towards them. Usually, Ruby wasn't one for sneak attacks or backstabbing, but after seeing the murdered innocents earlier, she felt little sympathy for what were obviously monsters. Her scythe sunk deep into the Falmer's shoulder, nearly splitting it in half when she yanked her blade free. The creature let out a slight gurgle as it fell forward, blood splaying out and a foul stench emerging.

"Urk! I don't think…I'll ever get used to that."

"The smell of death is never a pleasant one," Lydia agreed. "Especially when you cut open their intestines."

"Yeah, next time I'll try to only get the upper half. Blehk!"

They continued on, going up and down for a while until they came upon another open area, this one with a few huts made mostly of some unknown material. The Falmer within noticed them almost immediately and began charging them. Ruby nodded to Lydia and hopped over the ledge near them, drop kicking one of the creatures. Another fired an arrow at her, but the young warrior dodged the projectile and aimed Crescent Rose at the archer. Before she pulled the trigger, she recalled how she had a limited amount of ammo and swung her scythe around behind her, fighting the urge to use her weapon's recoil for a boost. A shaft of wood suddenly appeared on its chest and Ruby recalled that Lydia had brought a bow along.

Her attention returned to the other Falmer and she swiped over, detaching its head from its body before it could fully stand. She was ready to give Lydia an all clear, but then another Falmer dropped from some high spot and caught the older woman with a dagger to her side. The Nord cried out as Ruby screamed.

"Lydia!"

Recovering quickly, the housecarl dug her blade's edge into the Falmer's throat and stumbled away, dropping down to her knees in pain before pulling something from her pack. Ruby rushed up to her and the woman waved her off concerns.

"He didn't get me deep," she bit out. "Poison's the worst part."

"Poison?!" Ruby practically shrieked.

"I'll be fine." Lydia downed the potion in her hands and sighed. "All-Purpose Antidote. It works with nearly any kind of poison. Only the truly exotic ones can get through it. Going by the color on that dagger, I think it's just a slow acting poison. Probably meant more to cause pain than death."

Ruby shuddered at the thought and looked at the dead assassin. It had several little sacks around a belt on its hip, and she could only assume that some kind of poison was in each of them, going by the one that was sliced open and had the same orange color inside it as the poison on the dagger.

As she went back to going forward, she looked at the huts and felt another measure of revulsion.

"The doors are made of bug legs? Do these guys farm bugs?"

"Actually, I think that they do. They raise a large species of insect called a chaurus. I've only ever seen the tiny ant chaurus, but apparently the ones they raise grow like pigs."

"Ugh, why do bugs get so big here?"

Lydia raised an eyebrow, but didn't question the comment as they moved on once again. As they rounded a corner, Ruby noted a strange, bulbous thing on the ground. Another glowing cavern was up ahead, but they paused when a chittering sound reached their ears.

"Uh, how big did you say these things could get?" she whispered.

Before Lydia could answer, a creature crawled within their sights. The size of an average dog, it was covered in chitin and walked on four legs, mandibles extending around a horrific face filled with teeth. The back end of it had a set of pincers with sharp tips, snipping at the air. Its upper body bent upwards, giving it an appearance like a snake moving to strike. Its beady eyes looked over to them and then it chittered loudly before squaring up with the ground and rushing over to them.

"Oh god!" Ruby screamed as she jumped away from its chomping mandibles. Lydia attempted a slash, but her sword slid against the hard chitin of the creature, barely scratching it enough to draw blood. The bug turned towards her, giving Ruby the opening she needed to slice it in half. The front half of it struggled in vain for a moment before going still, green ichor leaking out from its corpse in a growing puddle.

"This place is so gross," Ruby complained as she turned, only to stop suddenly as her eyes opened wide at the sight before her. "Lydia?" she squeaked out.

"My Thane?" the housecarl answered with worry. She walked up next to the younger woman and looked about to see what she saw. Piles of bones were scattered about, but many of them were recognizable. Human and Meri skulls dotted the pen, as well as a few more feline or reptilian shaped ones. Some of the skulls seemed smaller than average, and one unscattered skeleton looked a little smaller than Ruby's frame.

Ruby's grip on her scythe tightened as she walked over to one of the bulbous things that lined the whole room. She kicked it open, revealing a small, blue orb inside, and then stomped down on it. When her foot lifted up, a small, white chaurus was revealed to be inside of it.

"It's a feeding and breeding pen," she growled before stomping another nest. "They've been feeding them people." She stamped two more, destroying their contents as well, finally letting out the built up stress she had been accumulating since her arrival in Skyrim. "They've been making more!"

Lydia blinked at what her Thane was doing, but then supposed it was the responsible thing to do. There were a lot of those egg sacs around this chamber. Just as she decided to begin helping, Ruby had come close to the other end of the chamber, and both heard a high-pitched shriek and saw an even larger chaurus charging the younger girl. She tried jumping away, but the spiked mandibles caught onto her leg and the massive bug began slinging her around. Ruby shouted as she was swung through the air and then away and into a wall. She made to recover, but the chaurus was already charging upon her again.

Luckily, a blade plunged itself into the soft flesh around its mouth. The chaurus screeched and began thrashing as it involuntarily backed away, hitting the ground and slinging itself side to side in painful death throesbefore finally going the danger passed, Lydia was down by Ruby's side in an instant, looking her over with worried eyes

"Where are you hurt?" she asked as carefully looked about the tear in Ruby's leggings, only for the girl to push her hands away.

"I'm okay, I'm okay! My, uh, shield...no, stoneskin saved me."

"I know for a fact you never used a stoneskin spell, or any other spell for that matter." She looked back at the tear and gripped her leg firmly as she turned it. "Even with stoneskin, you should've had puncture wounds. Just what is going on? Your sister was said to have been crushed underfoot by a dragon, yet she was walking the next day. Miss Schnee was reportedly set directly ablaze by the dragon but walked away with only some scorches. My Thane, I don't mean to question you, but this is no normal magic you all have displayed."

Ruby quietly mulled over the options in her mind. She could keep lying, and possibly risk losing Lydia's trust. She could just tell her that she couldn't tell her about it, but that might be just as bad. But then, it didn't seem right to let the world know about this when no one here knew about Aura.

Weiss and Blake both agreed it was dangerous. Aura was the big game changer in Remnant. If people in Tamriel learned about it, there could be a huge uprising of power for a select few individuals. Powerful people had turned the continent on its head in the past, and giving them Aura would only escalate that power. Even on Remnant, in the early days of Aura, it was said that many of the first Auric warriors –essentially Huntsmen before the time of Huntsmen– would often fight for selfish reasons before they fought for the good of the people. They would be conquerors rather than heroes. Warlords instead of defenders.

Yet, when she looked into Lydia's eyes, she saw only eyes of concern that begged her to relay the truth of the matter for her own good. They reminded her so much of when Yang looked at her, trying to be more of a mother than a sister without realizing it. Ruby took in a deep breath.

"You're…going to be around a while, right?"

"I swore to serve you and defend you and all that is yours, until your dying breath or mine."

She sighed. "Well, if you're going to be around that long, let me explain…where we all came from."

Once her explanation was over, Lydia seemed to absorb all of the information slowly. They didn't say much else as they went onwards again. She simply…accepted it. There was a moment of worry about something to do with Sheogorath, whoever that was, but she dropped it rather quickly.

A watery cavern and a few more dead Falmer later, two paused at the sight of a set of bronze double doors. Ruby looked at the metal and that of her gauntlet, realizing that they were the same material.

"Wait, what did Adrianne call this?" she wondered quietly.

"I didn't even think a Dwemer ruin was around here," Lydia mused.

"Dwemer, right! Wait, do Dwemer have anything to do with Falmer?" Ruby recalled Weiss describing each of the elf races with name that had 'mer' in it some time ago, then remembered someone calling Dwemer 'Deep Elves'.

"I suppose so. I mean, they're both elves."

Ruby felt herself pale at the implication. 'This whole time, those things were elves?' She shook her head. 'Even if they're some kind of elf, all of these guys are cold-hearted murderers. Besides, Lydia might not really know. She could just be guessing. I haven't seen anything elfish about these things yet.'

She pushed open the doors and saw a Falmer in the distance look up in surprise. Quickly she took in the room, seeing a large metal statue thing next to a lever. A lever that the armored Falmer was now running towards.

"No you don't!" she yelled while dashing forward in a burst of rose petals. She bashed the Falmer away and then swung down, piercing its chest through its insectoid armor. It let out a pathetic grunt as it made to grab at the blade, and then went still. Ruby pulled her scythe free and looked over as Lydia walked up, observing the structure they had come upon.

"A fully intact Dwarven Centurion," she whistled. "Good thing you stopped that thing. This might have been a bit much for us."

"Wait, what? You mean that thing…" She took a second, closer look at it and then realized that it had actual joints and parts made to move. She also finally started hearing the clanking of gears and the sound of a steam release valve going off somewhere. "Tech?"

"What?"

"Nothing! Just, um, thinking… Ooh, a chest!"

Deciding that a distraction was in order, Ruby opened up one of the Falmer's chitin-made chests and began digging through it. Inside was a sword made of the Dwemer metal, a scattering of coins, and an odd looking, vaguely orb shaped object. Ruby lifted it up to inspect it, before loud, feminine voice suddenly boomed out from all around.

"A new hand touches the beacon," the voice began, scaring Ruby into almost dropping the object and causing Lydia to jump in shock. "Listen. Hear me and obey. A foul darkness has seeped into my temple. A darkness that you will destroy."

"M-me? What?" Ruby shrieked, out of both fear and confusion.

"Return my beacon to Mount Kilkreath. And I will make you the instrument of my cleansing light."

The two waited for the voice to say something else, but no more words came. Ruby looked over to Lydia, who seemed a little paler than usual.

"I- I think that might have been a daedra… Possibly a Daedric Prince."

"A Daedric what?"

"A dark god..." Before Ruby could respond, a strange, alien feeling washed over the two.

"Hey, you got it!" a much more normal voice said, prompting them to turn and see a somewhat familiar figure.

"You… You just… How long have you been there?!" Ruby demanded of Sam.

"Hey, I swear I only just got here. But besides that, hurry up and grab your loot! Your friends are on their way." He waved his hands and a purple orb shimmered into existence before him. "This portal will take you straight to the Misty Grove. You guys have been in here a while! I bet your thirsting and starving half to death! That won't do! Dying of thirst is no fun at all!" He stepped into the orb-portal and disappeared.

Ruby looked to Lydia, who just stared forward incomprehensibly. When she looked back at the portal, she sighed and turned back to grab what she could before taking Lydia by the hand and pulling her along with her into the portal. On the other side was a grove, like the man had promised, as well as a table covered in a feast, surrounded by merry folk eating and drinking to their heart's content.

"Okay, so this is weird…" Ruby spotted the man that brought them there and stomped over to him. "Look!" she started, catching his attention. As she angrily pointed at his chest, he seemed more amused than irritated. "You dragged my sister, best friend, and next best friend off last night-"

"Two nights ago," he corrected. "You were in that cave all day and most of the night. It's nearly morning now."

"Whatever! I just want to know who do you think you are doing that?!"

"All right, I'll be perfectly honest with you. Name's Sanguine." With that he was surrounded by a purple energy, that, when let up, revealed a red and black being with horns on his head and jagged, spiky armor. "And I'm the Prince of Pleasure, Lord of Debauchery, God of Sin."

Ruby's brain ceased working for a moment as she tried to wrap it around what she'd just been told.

"Wait what?"

"Just think of me as…the party god," he simplified before plopping something onto her head. Ruby reached up and looked at what she'd received to see it was a cloth party hat, which all of the revelers seemed to be wearing as well. Deciding she actually kind of like the color of hers, she placed it back on.

"Okay…" She really didn't know how to respond to this. She could barely talk to a Jarl, how was she supposed to talk to a god? And a party god? Were the rules just completely different for them?

"And hey, I had a blast with your team! Most fun I've had in a while! Unfortunately, they've gotten a little delayed by a storm, which I had nothing to do with, before you ask, but they should be here tonight. Until then, pull up a chair! Have a drink! Eat as much as you want! Or fall unconscious somewhere! Whatever floats your boat!" He went over and patted Lydia on the head, leaving a party hat on her cap as well with an audible plop. "Get some relaxation in!"

Ruby looked towards the feasting table and a nearby keg with mugs stacked around it. Wondering if she was breaking any rules, she took a mug and looked into it. Lydia seemed scared, but she was already moving to fill a mug and started downing it.

"You okay?"

"We're in the realm of a Daedric Prince. The best thing to do is go along with what he wants until he becomes uninterested enough to let us leave."

Ruby looked at the keg and groaned. She filled it up and looked at the yellowish drink with a grimace.

"Lydia."

"Yes, my Thane?"

"I'm going to try to drink this, but don't let me drink any more after it." She looked over and tried to channel her inner Weiss. "In fact, I order you to not let me drink another."

"As you wish, Thane Ruby."

Ruby took a large sip of the mead, and immediately wished she hadn't. She let out a noise of disgust and actually threw the mug away, the only thing keeping her from spitting being what manners remained.

"Not to your taste?"

"It was awful! Ugh, do we have any milk around here?"

"There's some goat's milk over there."

"Close enough," Ruby groaned as she closed in on the white drink. She gulped some of it down and smacked her lips, tasting an obvious difference between it and cow's milk. Still, it was better than mead, so she went with it while eating from a plate that seemed to be almost magically served with the foods she wanted to eat the most, including a PBJ, several strawberries with a sugar dip, and a stack of warm chocolate chip cookies. She just kept eating until she felt stuffed, the grove seemingly wanting her to continue her feast, but she managed to drag herself away from the table and lay down in a nice spot under a peach tree. Lydia sat near her, seemingly just as filled.

"Hey Lydia?"

"Yes?"

"We met a god."

"We did."

"And I think another one yelled at me to do stuff."

"Certainly seems so."

A moment of silence passed between them before Ruby rolled over and wrapped her arms around the older woman's waist. "I'm scared," she admitted.

"It'll be all right," Lydia comforted as she started stroking her thane's head. "It'll be fine."