As Ruby waved goodbye to Zora and Joselyn leaving for Riverwood, Lydia looked over to the elder sister, who was stretching out in the sunlight. Taking a deep breath, the housecarl walked over to her.
"Yang?" she asked, nervousness apparent in her voice.
"Hey, what's up Lydia?" Yang replied, already suspecting what the question on the housecarl's mind was.
"Do you think you can call up Weiss and Blake? I want…to see if they'll be okay with you unlocking my Aura."
Yang turned fully to her, a ghost of a smile on her face.
"All right. Let's go get Ruby and call them up." Yang walked over to get her sister with Lydia close behind. After a few minutes of preparation, Yang dialed Weiss' number, and she and Blake quickly appeared on screen.
"Yang? What's up?" Weiss asked, Blake peering over her shoulder.
"We have a question for you. Or actually, Lydia does. Lyd?" Yang handed the scroll over to Lydia, who took a deep breath.
"I want Yang to unlock my Aura." Lydia declared with absolute certainty. Both Blake and Weiss' eyebrows shot upward and they looked at each other, a nervous expression on their faces.
Weiss and Blake couldn't really argue with Lydia's points or Ruby's about how if anyone could be trusted, it was her. In the end, they conceded and said that they were fine with unlocking Lydia's, both so they could confirm whether or not it could even be done, and, if it could, to allow her to better help and protect Ruby.
"Okay, so, this is a bit of a big moment," Yang said as she side-jumped a few times and limbered up her arms. Ruby blinked with an annoyed expression as she held up her scroll, the camera pointed at her sister and Lydia, both of their teammates on the other end of the call, ready to observe.
"Really?" Blake asked in a flat, unamused tone.
"Hey, cut me some slack! I've never done this before," Yang defended herself.
"It's not like it's a strenuous physical activity," Weiss countered.
"Well, according to Pyrrha, it can be tiring."
"When did that happen?" Ruby tilted her head.
"I overheard Pyrrha talking about it with Jaune back in the first semester after the whole 'Cardin' thing." Yang revealed as she lunged forward. "Decided to butt in, and in that little talk, I learned more about the technique than in three years at Signal. No idea why it came up in the first place, but I'm not complaining." A silence descended over the group.
"Are we…?" Lydia tested before Yang stopped and took a deep breath and clapped her hands.
"Alright. Let's do it!" She pumped her fist, and Lydia nodded.
Yang walked over to Lydia, reached out, and placed one hand on her temple, and the other over her heart. For a minute everyone stood still and remained silent, as Lydia tried not to fidget at the intimate position.
Suddenly Yang's pupils dilated before she closed her eyes, and a slight glow enveloped them both. The sounds of nature faded away around them as a pressure exerted itself upon the world. Yang spoke, even as her voice only sounded as a whisper, yet somehow heard loud and clear. Lydia then realized that her shield-sister's words were reverberating from within her.
"For it is with dedication that we find our purpose," Yang began to chant. "Through this, we become guardians of the innocent and a beacon for all. Infinite in strength and unbound by fear. I uplift your soul, and by my hand, illuminate thee."
The glowing stopped, and Yang took a step back as the ritual ended. Lydia stood in place a while longer, looking at her arms while clenching and opening her fists.
"Did it work?" Ruby asked. Yang took out her own scroll and hovered it over Lydia, grimacing as she did.
"I'm not getting a reading." Yang shook her head, her eyes turning blue.
"I… I certainly feel different," Lydia objected. "You did something."
"Maybe Yang didn't finish?" Ruby suggested.
"Sheesh, I know I made the "first time" comparison, but I didn't think it'd be that similar," Yang muttered while rolling her eyes. She tapped her scroll a few times and hummed. "My Aura did dip, so I did something in there."
"Yes. I'm telling you, something's different. Like a muscle I never felt before being touched."
"That could be a placebo effect," Weiss suggested before shaking her head. "Regardless, we would get a reading if an Aura was unlocked."
"Maybe Auras on Nirn work different?" Lydia was reaching at this point, and Yang frowned.
"Well, there's one way to test it."
"How-?" Yang suddenly punched Lydia's shoulder. "Ow!" the woman cried out as she reached up and rubbed the sore spot. "Could have at least given me some warning…"
"Yeah, nothing seems too different. Well… I guess that's that. At least you didn't explode." The housecarl didn't seem comforted by that, and remained silent for a moment. "Hey, it's okay. Tell you what, after I figure this ring situation out we'll go training together. You might not be at our level, but you're still plenty badass."
"Thank you, I suppose."
Ruby could feel the sadness rolling off of Lydia all the way to the old Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary and back. With Lydia depressed, Zora and Joselyn headed back to Riverwood, and Yang gearing up to hunt the White Stag, Ruby was beginning to feel a little lonely. Just as she started thinking about doing something to get Lydia out of her funk, a guardsman patrolling the road waved her down.
"Excuse me, have you seen a dog on the road?" he asked.
"Uh, I don't think so." Ruby looked at Lydia, and she shook her head as well.
"Drat!" The guard kicked at the ground. "Starting to think that mutt's long gone."
"Did somebody lose their dog or something?"
"No." He shook his head. "Local blacksmith saw one while he was out. He's offering a reward for anyone that can bring it to him."
Ruby hummed and then looked back down the road. Twirling her fingers, she felt the magicka temporarily weave itself under her instruction.
"Where's the blacksmith at?"
"You can find him easy. Just follow the hammer sounds, ask for Lod."
"Thank you, sir." Ruby waved at the guard as she and Lydia headed back into the town, the beginnings of a plan coming together. Surely, a simple mission to find a dog would help distract her housecarl from her worries. After all, who doesn't like dogs? Well, Blake didn't, but in Ruby's opinion she was weird like that.
The noontime sun burning overhead, Yang followed the scent of the White Stag, having found white tufts of its hair from before. Valdimar had decided to abstain, as hunting wasn't really something he was good at, and remained behind to work on a few things like gathering supplies and crafting some potions with the vampire dust they recovered. Apparently, the ashes and dust that came from the crumbled hearts of dead vampires were useful in making invisibility potions and could even be used to make a cure for the vampiric diseases. At least until the disease fully incubated, afterwards it was about as effective as water.
The woman stopped as she saw fresh hoof prints in some of the softer ground. She sniffed at the air and quietly walked forward before peering around a bush, stopping dead in her tracks. The creature she saw was perhaps the largest deer she had ever laid eyes upon. A few does were nearby as well, as was a younger buck that was probably only a spike a little earlier in the year. The White Stag towered over all of them, its shoulder higher than Yang's head. It was beautiful, majestic even.
'Time to kill it,' Yang immediately thought. 'Geez, I feel like one of those Atlesian dentists hunting in Vacuo. I see a magnificent creature and the first thing I think is how to kill it. Oh well.'
Slowly, she pulled up her bow and drew back an arrow. Ears flickered about as the deer all seemed to hear her movements, but she already had the arrow ready by the time any of them began to move. She released it, and for a split second time seemed to slow as it flew at her target. However, the White Stag seemed to sense it and reared up, the arrow flying beneath his chest and into the woods. The small herd scattered, and the White Stag charged out of the clearing at breakneck speed.
For a long moment, Yang stood in stunned silence. When she finally snapped out of it, she looked toward where the Stag had run off to and growled.
"Oh, you are not getting away from me that easily!" She took off after the Stag's trail, bow in one hand and arrow in the other, going as fast as her legs let her. She saw the deer ahead, which turned to look at her. She drew and fired the arrow quickly, but the Stag turned out of its way and ran in a new direction. Growling, Yang tried to fire again, only to lose sight of it in the underbrush.
"Okay! You wanna play like that!" Yang tossed the bow and quiver aside and was about to let her transformation take hold, only to pause and look down at herself. Thinking a little clearer, she went over to a tree and hung up her pack on a low-hanging broken branch. She undressed, constantly checking to make sure the impossibly low chance of someone stumbling upon her didn't come to pass, then packed away her clothes. She focused on changing, stumbling only a little as her legs shifted form. The full process went quickly this time, and then Yang was ready to pursue her prey once again. She scratched a tree nearby and rubbed her face against it to ensure her scent stuck around, and then took off after the White Stag's trail.
This time, she caught up to the beast within moments, but the Stag took off again with her on its tail. As she gave chase, she felt elation within her when the distance seemed to close, only for the Stag to suddenly change direction. Yang slammed into a tree, breaking up part of it before pushing herself off and then going back on the chase. Again she was able to close the distance, but then the Stag ran up a hill and jumped from the top. Yang pursued it, only to trip over a large, rocky gap just past the hill's top. She regained her footing and went back at top speed. Wiser to the Stag's tricks, she watched the path in front of it as much as her prey itself. She saw it heading towards a rocky wall before turning, and Yang jumped up, hitting against the wall with her feet and jumping back off.
So much closer now, Yang salivated at the thought of catching the Stag. She nipped at its heels, trying to catch them, but then received a sudden kick in her face. Completely taken off-guard, Yang stumbled for a moment before finding her footing and taking off once again. Rage and a competitive spirit shouted in her mind as she ran after the White Stag. It started going through rockier ground, but, playing to her advantages, Yang jumped up at the side of a tree and pushed off of it, heading towards another that she pushed off of as well. Using her clawed hands to gain grips and her powerful legs to send her forwards, Yang was able to circumvent the whole of the rock-filled portion of forest and close the distance even more. As she leaped at her prey, fully convinced she had it at last, the deer turned and aimed its sharp antlers up at her. Thinking quickly, Yang shot her hands forwards and grabbed onto the antlers while her feet shot around and dug into the Stag's neck.
Letting out a pained bellow, the White Stag slung its head to the side, throwing Yang off. The werewolf rolled to her feet and jumped back at the Stag, clamping her jaws around its neck and grasping with both of her claws. The White Stag struggled, trying to kick her away with its front hooves, but Yang only dug in even further. White and gold fur was stained with red as her claws ripped open part of its side and she brought it to the ground. It still tried to wiggle free, but then the Huntress' claws stabbed into its ribcage. The Stag struggled only a moment longer, and then Yang backed up and howled in victory. As she thought about feasting on her prey, something rose up from the slain deer and formed into a translucent version of the White Stag. The werewolf stood at the ready as the ghostly Stag took a step forward, only to hear a deep laugh.
"Well met, huntress!" A deep voice bellowed from the ghostly stag, sending Yang aback.
"Wait, what?" Yang responded, realizing a moment later both she and the ghostly deer were speaking in werewolf. "Didn't I just kill you?"
"And skillfully, too!" It seemed way too happy about it for Yang, creeping her out, but she said nothing. "I've been watching you for ages, it seems. You have the makings of a fine hunter. With all I have seen, and what I have glimpsed of you, I believe I can proudly make you my champion!"
"That's great and all… Wait, you've been watching me?"
"I watch over all hunters, especially those bearing my Gift. And you have been exceptional, proving your worthiness even before having gained it." The spirit laughed again. "One part of me even pushed past Vaermina to see to your change. That aspect of me is the welcomer, who greets those with great potential. And you certainly have it, even more than the others. You all call yourselves Huntresses, but while the others train to defend, you've pushed to go forward. You seek the thrill of the hunt! Truly, you are worthy of my gift!" At once, Yang understood exactly who she was talking to. This was no stag.
"So, you are Hircine," Yang declared, and the apparition bowed its head.
"I am the spirit of the hunt, just one glimpse of the glorious stalker that your kind calls Hircine."
"Phrasing," Yang muttered before holding up her hand. "Okay… Lord Hircine, I ask for your assistance. Please, remove this ring." She held up her paw, the silver Ring of Hircine shining on her ring finger. Idly, Yang noticed that the Ring had enlarged itself upon her transformation, but moved on. "I have control over my form, and wish to live as both a hunter and a member of society."
"Hm, I may consider it," the Daedric Prince harrumphed. "But you must first do a service for my glory."
"Hey, I'll take down a wild mammoth bull if it means I don't have to worry about turning in the middle of supper."
"While an excellent proposal, it is something to be saved for later." Hircine shook his head, actually sounding regretful. "No, the one who stole this ring has fled to what he thinks is his sanctuary. Just as a bear climbs a tree to escape the hunt, but only ends up trapping himself."
"Yeah, that happened once or… Wait a minute." Yang felt a creeping horror as she realized what Hircine was asking of her.
"Seek out this rogue shifter. Tear the skin from his body, and make it an offering to me. Fly, my hunter. There are others who vie for my favor. A bit of competition. Don't dally while the prey flees."
Before Yang could accept or reject the proposal, the apparition disappeared into thin air. For a long moment, the golden werewolf stood stock still, looking down at the corpse of the White Stag she had worked so hard to take down.
'Suddenly, I don't feel hungry.'
Ruby whistled into the woods before clicking her tongue. "Come here, boy! Come here!" Lydia followed after her with the meat Lod handed them to attract the dog as Ruby followed the trail her Clairvoyance led them on. Ruby had caught glances of her maybe smiling once or twice as they searched for the animal, and she silently congratulated herself for finding something to take Lydia's mind off of the whole Aura failure.
Suddenly, Lydia stopped and looked over. Ruby followed her gaze and smiled. A dog was coming towards them from out of the woods, a Northern Shaggy Hound from the looks of it. It walked up to them, its tail wagging and tongue panting.
"Looks like we found it," Lydia said.
"We sure did. Hey there!" Ruby greeted the animal as it came right up to her. "Hey there, boy? You lost? I bet you're happy we found you, aren't you?"
"Yep! You are exactly what I was looking for!"
Both girls went still as the voice touched their minds, the dog now sitting in front of them.
"Lydia?"
"Yes, my Thane?"
"Did the dog just talk?"
"I'm afraid so."
"There's fire-breathing dragons in the sky, whose souls you've been eating on occasion, and you're surprised about a talking dog?" The dog tilted its head. "Geez, talk about priorities."
"It's not like I wasn't surprised about the whole dragon thing. Wait, you know I'm the Dragonborn? You were looking for me?"
"Yeah, you're basically just what I need." The dog then went over and started sniffing the meat in Lydia's hands. "You see, my name is Barbas, and I have a problem I think you can help sort out." He started eating it right out of Lydia's hand. "Mm, how'd you get walrus this far south?"
"Wait, what kind of problem would a dog need help with?" Ruby asked, wondering if it was something she might have caught or some side effect of all those dragon souls making her hear a dog's voice in her head.
"My master and I had a, uh, bit of a falling out. We got into an argument and it got rather, uh-eeh, heated." Barbas whimpered at that. "He's kicked me out until I can find someone who can settle our disagreement. That's where you come in."
"Oh, okay. Not sure what you'd need me specifically for… Then again, I've gotten way better with words the past couple months. Okay, let's go find your master, and I'll talk some sense into him."
"Thanks a ton. Uh, little warning though, it's kind of a long way there. Luckily, I know a shortcut. Follow me."
Ruby and Lydia followed after the telepathically talking dog into the woods. At a very large tree, Barbas paused and barked at it before something seemed to open up on it like a mirror, only showing a rocky, snowy area. Cautiously, the two stepped through, and Ruby immediately began to shiver from the cold. Lydia was, once again, unaffected, and Ruby cursed her Nordic heritage.
"Thank you, again. Now, since he banished me, Vile's been rather weak. He can't manifest far from one of his shrines. There's a cult been worshipping him at Haemar's Shame. We should be able to talk to him there."
"Your master's name is Vile?" Ruby asked, finding the name weird. Lydia, on the other hand, stopped dead.
"Wait, Clavicus Vile is your master?!" Lydia asked in shock and surprise.
"What, you didn't know that? What're they teaching kids these days?"
"Is he important?" Ruby asked.
"Clavicus Vile is the Daedric Prince of power and deals," Lydia explained, subtly placing herself between Ruby and the dog. "People usually make contracts with him for their own gain, but often he tends to turn their wishes against them for his own amusement."
"Wait, so he uses all the room in a wish to make it backfire? Like a monkey's paw?"
"A what?"
"Yes, like an unlimited, talking monkey's paw. He made that thing to really dig in at that monk guy, but we lost track of it somewhere near the K Signs."
"Oh, so he made the monkey's paw. Wait, but how did we get that story on Remnant? No, wait, probably makes sense in some way Weiss can figure out. Let's just go on and get Clavicus to take you back."
"Thanks again. Now, if this works out, I'll make sure you're rewarded. Just don't trust any offer he makes you. Okay?"
"Careful of the fine print, got it."
As the two followed the dog, Lydia the more reluctant of the two, Ruby began to wonder about where they were headed.
"You said there's a cult. Are they baddies?"
"Eh, it's all a matter of perspective, really. Though, I should warn you, they're vampires."
"Bad vampires?" Ruby inquired, and the dog actually paused.
"Never thought I'd hear a mortal ask that in this century. To be honest, they're hoping Vile will cure them. They've been trying all kinds of offerings, and some of them are starting to wonder if they can offer him mortal sacrifices. A lot of arguing on that point, last I heard."
"Wait, but if Vile does the whole wish backfiring thing…"
"Well, they'd stop being vampires if they became something else. And some people consider a stab in the heart a decent cure." He walked over a boulder and looked back at the two. "Alright, we're here. Now, how do you two want to do this? They can't really hurt me without the right tools, but you guys…"
"I'm gonna talk to them."
"Are you sure that's a wise course of action?" Lydia asked as Ruby started heading over to the cave's mouth.
"Maybe, maybe not. But, if they're really looking for a cure they can't be that bad." She headed inside, seeing the icy caverns around her, reminding her somewhat of the ones under the Bloodlet Throne. As she began to wonder whether or not vampires had an affinity to ice, she came out into a more open space, where a woman in thick furs was waiting at the top of a balcony. She drew an arrow along her bow and aimed right at Ruby.
"Hold, stranger!" the woman demanded. "Master, there is an intruder!"
"I told you, Anne, stop calling me that," another woman's voice came from an adjoined tunnel before a pale blonde showed up. Ruby saw the yellow in her eyes and realized quickly that she was a vampire. "You, what are you doing here?"
"I was bringing something to the shrine of Clavicus Vile. It's kinda important." Ruby gestured with her empty arms. Anne, however, still looked suspicious and turned towards the other woman.
"Should I send her to Sovngarde, Elza?" she asked, only for Elza to narrow her eyes and hold up her hand.
"No, hold on a moment." She pointed to Ruby's torso, indicating Qahpeyt. "That armor, where did you get it?"
"Eorlund Grey-Mane and my sister made it for me."
"From a dragon's hide, correct?" At Ruby's nod, Ezra looked back up to the archer. "Put that bow away, before you get us all killed! We have a guest for Lord Enrik."
"At once, master!" Anne saluted and ran off.
"And stop calling me master! We're sisters, for Mara's sake!" Elza called after her, but Anne said nothing. She sighed. "I apologize for her. Ever since we got turned, she's been like that."
"Sisters. What can you do?" Ruby smiled and shrugged, as did Elza.
"Indeed. You are free to join us."
"Cool. Let me just grab my housecarl and dog."
"Of course, dragonslayer."
"Wow, so you guys are from all over Tamriel?!" Ruby asked as she followed the sisters deeper into the caverns.
"Indeed, we are. Anne and I are from Skyrim, Jasmin over there from Hammerfell," the Redguard woman in question waved, "and Ella came from Cyrodiil." The blonde Imperial curtsied, a glass dagger dangling off her belt, and Ruby happily repeating the action. Elza smiled. "We have a wide variety of people here. Good people."
"Cool!" Ruby exclaimed as they walked further into the cave, Lydia remaining on of the vampires were watching them warily, but a handful of people were looking at them with dead expressions.
"You have thralls?" Lydia asked, feeling anger rising up.
"Bandits and skooma addicts," Elza explained. "We do try to stay away from decent folk, but we have to feed somehow. If anything, their lives are better off now than before. Lord Enrik has us release them and find replacements every once in a while. They wake up in a field with no memory and enough coin to get through the month, completely cleaned of their poisons and healthy as oxen."
"Arora's bloodline has some sort of mind magic that helps with the memories part," Anne added, pointing to a long haired Nord woman in the corner, currently chatting with a short haired Imperial with black hair. One could easily see the Akaviri in her blood. "Murien's helps us find new ones. Besides, most of the time we just drink animal blood to stave off our thirst. The only mortal blood we drink is the blood of bandits, and no one's going to miss them."
"And how-" Lydia moved to protest, but Ruby's glare stopped her. She sighed, then looked at the vampiric sisters. "Okay, then. Just so long as no one innocent gets hurt."
"We would never dream of it."
The group came up to a room with a large statue at its center. A Breton man stood up from a bench, decked in steel armor lined in bronze. His eyes were actually an icy blue, but seemed to glow with a yellow aura in the low light. Beside him, an elven woman stood, her own eyes mostly a milky color, but with visible green beneath. Her skin was also pale and milky, making Ruby wonder if she was an albino of some sort.
"Greetings. So, you're the Red Dragonslayer we've heard so much about," the man began. "I was expecting someone…taller."
Ruby unconsciously puffed. "Sheesh, I'm not done growing yet."
"The famed dragonslayer is but a child?" another vampire asked. "How frightful can these things be if you're the one bringing them down?"
"Hush, Philliphus," Enrik commanded the other man, who looked away at his glare. "We know how dangerous the dragons can be. Besides, you of all of us should understand that size isn't everything."
Several of the vampires began to laugh, but one did pat Philliphus' shoulder in a comforting gesture, earning a grumbling smile from him. Enrik laughed and shook his head.
"Do not take offense, my lady. It is simply how we've heard the tales." He waved his hand in emphasis. "You'd think yourself a half-Giant that eats dragons for breakfast and kills necromancers for exercise hearing them. I do wonder though, why are you here?" Ruby walked forward, the talking dog trotting beside her.
"I came to see Clavicus Vile. I'm returning his dog." She gestured towards him, and he barked in reply.
"Barbas, the Balance of Power? The Voice of Reason?" Enrik looked over at the dog sitting next to Ruby.
"Yep, that's me!" To his credit, Enrik didn't lose his composure like Ruby and Lydia did. In fact, he actually seemed to grow hopeful.
"Then maybe…not all is lost. Please, young lady, feel free to speak to the Prince of Power." He gestured towards the statue. "Just…see if you can get him to notice us."
Ruby nodded and walked over to the shrine. Slowly stepping closer to the statue, she began to hear a voice letting out a long-winded sigh.
"Here I was, hoping for some entertainment, but instead everyone's getting along almost perfectly." For a moment things were awkwardly silent. "Wait a minute, I was only trying to speak to you! Why is my voice carrying out?"
"That would be her soul, master," Barbas explained as he came over. "It's sort of…within and without, at the same time."
"Well, that's interesting. Don't think I've seen anything like that for a few centuries. Why it seems like… Wait, Barbas, what are you doing here?"
"He led us here. Mr. Vile, could you please take Barbas back by your side?" Ruby requested, looking up at the statue with her eyes wide and lip at a slight pout, recalling Yang's lessons on how to use her expressions to convince people.
"Request denied. No deal," the Prince said simply, sending Ruby aback in shock. No one had ever resisted her puppy dog eyes. "I'm glad to be rid of him. Even if it does mean that I'm stuck in this shrine, in the back end of…nowhere, listening to careful vampires…begging me…for a cure…" Vile went silent.
"Well, perhaps there is a way he could earn his place back at my side. Maybe. But no promises."
"Okay." Ruby nodded, happy to at least be getting somewhere. "So what should we do?"
"There's…an axe. An incredibly powerful axe. An axe powerful enough for me to have quite a bit of fun, indeed. If you bring it to me, I'll grant you my boon. No strings attached. No messy surprises. At least, not for you. As I recall, it's resting in Rimerock Burrow. Barbas can lead you right to it. The little mutt might even earn his place back at my side."
"An axe?" one of the vampires went. "Then maybe…we could be the ones to bring it to him?"
"Hold on, he gave that request to her," a Dunmer woman began.
"So what? If we bring it back, then we should get his boon. We can finally be cured!"
"Did he mean for the no strings thing for whoever, or just me?" Ruby asked Barbas.
"Knowing my master, it was just you and you alone."
"It's not like I can even cure vampirism anyways," Clavicus said before laughing, causing the vampires to all gasp and/or freeze in place. His laughing stopped abruptly, and Ruby could almost feel his metaphysical eyes resting on her.
"What… Damn your soul's strange construction!"
"He cannot cure us?" a vampire asked. Vile let out another long sigh.
"No, of course I can't. At least, not alone. See, your vampirism is Molag Bal's territory. Now, if I went messing with his things, how do you think that's going to affect me? No, I'd rather not risk his ire. You're better off speaking with dear cousin Meridia, or maybe my thorny big brother himself. Tell you what, stick around and I'll give you a way to speak to him directly."
For a long moment, no one in the cave said anything, then one near the back fell to his knees and started crying. Another man bent down and started patting his back, trying to comfort him. Lord Enrik gripped his face in sorrow.
"We…were so close… After all this time…it was for naught."
The milk-pale elf made some signs with her hands, catching his attention.
"No, I'm afraid not, my dear. I fear…we may never." The pale elf looked crestfallen yet put her hand on his shoulder, attempting to comfort him. He absentmindedly took hold of her hand. Across the room, the other vampires were in similar states of sorrow, and it broke Ruby's heart. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she remembered something.
"Hey, don't be down, guys," Ruby said to them all. "I think I can still help you out."
"How?" a Suthay Khajiit asked. "This one searched all of Elsweyr and Cyrodiil. The Blood Salts were destroyed. The Fountain of Purification was filled with sand. The Healing Hand is lost to time. Dealing with Bal may cure us, but what he has us do may damn us to Coldharbour as well. Ugin would rather live in his curse and avoid the Rape King's hands."
"Do you, perhaps, know a cure?" Anne asked, her voice filled with hope.
"I don't know a cure. I'm sorry." Ruby shook her head, but before Anne could become deflated again, Ruby continued. "But, I have a friend, who has a friend… Or acquaintance? Doesn't matter. But there is someplace you can all go. I don't know where it is, but my friend has an idea." Ruby took out her scroll and brought up Weiss. After a moment, the heiress answered.
"Hello, Ruby. How is everything?" Weiss' voice carried across the cave, shocking everyone. A few got closer out of curiosity, especially the pale elf. Ruby smiled, then turned her attention back to the scroll.
"Hey, Weiss. Is anyone around?"
"I'm actually by myself at the moment." Weiss revealed, the howling wind sounding behind her. "The caravan's setting up camp near the Stonehills. Apparently, the Labyrinthian was mostly cleared of frost trolls and so they're taking advantage of the fact to get to Whiterun sooner. I'm going to assume that was you and Yang when you were passing through, so thank you. What's up?"
"Well, I found a bunch of friendly vampires." Ruby turned the scroll around so that its camera and screen were pointed at the lot of them. "Say hi, Weiss."
"Uh, hello…everyone. How many are there?" Weiss narrowed her eyes, wondering exactly why Ruby was calling her about this.
"There are…twenty-eight of us," Enrik answered as he looked over the scroll in interest. His face scrunched as he recognized the tell-tale vampiric complexion Weiss currently held. "You're a vampire as well?"
"I am. What exactly did you call me for, though?"
"Remember that guy you told me about with the super-secret vampire hideout?"
"Jarmak and Duskfall Haven, yes. Why… Oh!"
"Today was a good day! I helped a lot of people!" Ruby happily marched out of Haemar's Shame, Barbas and Lydia behind her.
"Pretty sure it was a capital offense in most provinces." Barbas pointed out, to which Ruby stuck out her tongue.
"Well, they can stick it! Those were good people. Desperate in some cases, but still good. Besides, you could just look at them and tell they were like a family. And did you see how much Ariel cared for Enrik? It was adorable!"
"I'm still surprised a Maormer came this far north," Lydia stated.
"Wait, what's a Maormer?"
"The sea elves, or tropical elves, depending on who you ask. They live on the island of Pyandonea, south of Tamriel proper. I hear they have a sort of rivalry with the high elves, but not much new has come out of there for some time. Not since the War of the Isle back in the Third Era, at least."
"Oh, that's neat. I wonder what might be on that island." Ruby tapped her chin in thought.
"Thunder lizards, toothed birds, and greater toothed birds." Barbas answered, directing Ruby's attention.
"What's a toothed bird?"
"Imagine a bird, but anywhere from the size of me to a little bigger than a mammoth, that doesn't fly. Now give it a mouth full of sharp teeth instead of a beak."
"Wait, you mean a dinosaur? There are dinosaurs on Nirn?"
"I'm going to assume they're the same thing," Lydia said. "But yes, he is correct. A few species of toothed birds even live in the jungles and forests of Elsweyr and Valenwood. A caravan even brought one around in a cage when I was around your age. Never got to see it, though. Apparently, it was extremely intelligent, and it broke out somewhere in the Rift, but no one's seen it since."
"This sounds like something straight out of Cretaceous Carnival."
"What's that?"
"Movie about an Atlesian industrialist who runs a genetics company and he clones dinosaurs to open a theme park, but things go terribly wrong. Actually spawned a whole franchise, but only the first one was really good. The fourth was kinda good, but that's in comparison to the others, which were okay, but, eh."
"Huh. Sounds interesting." Lydia nodded, thinking that one of these days she'll need to watch these movies Ruby keeps talking about. They continued on following Barbas, a comfortable silence over all of them, until the dog stopped in front of a large boulder and barked at it, opening a portal on its surface.
"Alright, got us a shortcut! We should be at Rimerock in no time." He happily barked and walked through the portal.
"And then we'll get the Rueful Axe and you back to Vile," Ruby said as she stepped through after the dog. "What is this thing anyways?"
"One of Clavicus's little jests," Barbas began to explain. "A wizard named Sebastian Lort had a daughter who worshipped Hircine. When the daughter became a werewolf it drove Sebastian over the edge. He couldn't stand to see his little girl take such a bestial form. The wizard wished for the ability to end his daughter's curse. Clavicus gave him an axe."
"Wow, your master's a real jerk! I guess this axe is silver or does extra damage to werewolves or something like that?"
"A little bit of both. And yeah, he can be a real stinker sometimes. Still, when people are smart about it he can really help 'em out. And I try to keep him from going too far or giving them an inescapable clause."
The three came upon a snow-covered wooden bridge and carefully walked across and headed into the cave at the other side. Ruby sighed as she summoned up a Candlelight.
"Always with the caves and the tombs…" she grumbled, and Lydia patted her shoulder.
The group stopped when they spotted a flame atronach up ahead. Ruby watched as the otherworldly being hovered from one end of the room to the other, occasionally landing on its feet for a moment before going back on its patrol.
"Okay… Hey, Lydia. Let me see your bow for a second." The housecarl passed over the weapon and one arrow. Ruby took it up and drew it back, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out before releasing the arrow. The steel-tip pierced the atronach's head, and the elemental fell over. Ruby figured her stealth was secured, but then the fires from within it exploded out.
"Wha…" they heard echo out from the other side. After a moment, a man came from further inside the cave and began investigating the explosion. Ruby, Lydia, and Barbas hid behind some large vases and an overturned table while the man looked over the scene and put out a few fires with frost magic. As he started looking around, Ruby made signal to Lydia, who nodded. As he passed by where they were, Lydia shot up and put him in a headlock. The man struggled for a moment, trying to freeze her arms, but soon his struggling slowed until he went limp in her grasp. She gently laid him down onto the ground then took the dagger from his belt.
"You okay?" Ruby asked, eyeing the frost on her gauntlets.
"He mostly just chilled my armor. I don't think he was much beyond a summoner." Lydia looked down on the unconscious mage and picked him up. "I'm assuming that you don't want us to kill him."
"Not if we can help it, no. Is this Sebastian?" Ruby asked the daedric dog.
"That's him. I remember the balding spot. The axe should be around somewhere." Barbas began to sniff around, seeking out the axe. They headed up the nearby ramp, Lydia carrying the man over her shoulders. Ruby started searching around, but immediately found a silvery axe lying on a stone altar next to some other random things.
"Is this it?" she asked while hefting it. She looked it over in awe, noticing the howling wolf motif on both sides of the double-headed blade and the pure sharpness of its edge. "Oh, this is so cool," she muttered. "Yang could really chop through a troll with this thing."
"Listen, that axe isn't the only item dear old Clavicus has," Barbas explained. "Give him the Rueful Axe and once we're reunited, the Masque of Clavicus Vile will be yours."
"A mask? His boon's a mask?"
"Yep. This masque is a real thing of wonder, and way more useful to you. Wear it, and you'll find people way more agreeable when you speak to them. Your ability to charm people and convince them to your viewpoint will be doubled."
"What's the catch?" Ruby immediately asked, and Barbas chuckled.
"It's a little heavy. Clavicus really went overboard in its latest iteration. Honestly, I liked it better when it was just a simple mask that covered the eyes and cheeks."
"But what's the real catch? Does it make it impossible to sleep? Do I have to keep it on all the time? Does it choke me every time I blink?"
"The Masque itself doesn't do anything negative. Well, to the wearer. Anything negative that comes from it is purely through the way it's used. Clavicus originally made it for a disfigured noble girl. She went from being silently abhorred to loved and praised by everyone overnight. She got married to a baron, and a year and a day after the marriage, Clavicus took the Masque back. The baron kicked her out, even though she was way into her pregnancy, but years later their daughter got revenge on him. Vile got a kick out of the whole thing."
Ruby was a little skeptical on accepting an item from the being who quite possibly spawned the saying 'be careful what you wish for', but at the same time the Rueful Axe was just another one of his tools and might have been worse. Besides, returning it was the way to get Barbas back to him.
"Well, let's get this back to Clavicus then." She looked back to see Lydia coming out from the tunnel.
"I set him in a bed. Looks like he lives here. You sure it's all right?"
"Well, if he's a problem we'd have heard something, I'm sure. We can write a letter to Solitude asking them if there's any trouble in the area. Ready Barbas?"
"Sure, just give me a minute to find a shortcut."
The trio left the cave and Barbas began sniffing around before stopping near a sheet of ice. He barked at it, and another portal formed. Ruby and Lydia stepped through, back at the mouth of Haemar's Shame. Heading inside, they saw that the vampires were packing up what they could and preparing to leave. Several of them looked in the three's direction as they passed by, and the few near the shrine watched as they approached.
"You have it?" Enrik asked as they came back. "That was swift."
"Barbas knew some shortcuts," Ruby simply explained as she walked up to the statue.
"Ah, you've got the axe! And my dog. Splendid." He laughed a little bit. "Excellent work. A young heroine and her faithful companions, retrieving the ancient artifact for the prince. It's almost…storybook."
"Hopefully not very old fashioned. Those usually ended up with crippled stepsisters and dead mermaids."
"I know that..." Ella grumbled. Ariel nodded in response to it as well.
"Quite. Ah, but it almost seems a shame to give a weapon like that away, doesn't it? I suppose I could be persuaded to let you keep it…" Ruby pursed her lips in interest at that. "But only if you use the axe to kill Barbas. Simple as that."
Ruby's mouth gaped in shock as she looked back up at the statue while Barbas began to whimper and backed away with his tail between his legs.
"What? You want me to… He's your friend!"
"Oh, it's not like he'll stay dead. He'll just sorta…black out for a few hundred years while he pulls himself back together. In the meantime though, I can get my power back while he does so, and you get the axe! No real loss, and everyone wins in the end, eventually." Ruby frowned and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, no. Request denied. No deal. You take this axe like we agreed and take Barbas back, you mean jerkface!" Lydia gaped and the vampires gasped in shock, while Barbas wagged his tail happily.
"Fine," the Daedric Prince groaned. "You're no fun at all. Guess I'll have to make my own fun elsewhere. And with the pup back, I'll be restored to my full power," he seemed to realize while growing excited. "There's a whole world just waiting for me!"
Barbas happily barked with his tail wagging as the axe disappeared from Ruby's hands. "I knew I could trust you!"
"Yeah, yeah, dog gets master, master gets cosmic axe. Just get over here, mutt."
"Don't worry," the daedric dog reassured Ruby as he began to fade. "I'll make sure he sees the light. I trusted you, now you trust me." As he fully disappeared, the statue seemed to change. Rock seemed to grow from the ground and shaped itself into that of a dog exactly like Barbas.
"Ah, that feels so much better," Vile said in relief. "You forget how nice supreme power feels until you've been stuck in a cave for a few years." He let out a sigh. "It's a shame you wished for something so dull as me taking back the mutt. Quite the lack of imagination on your part."
"Hey, I can imagine stuff! This one time I made a play about a girl whose grandma got eaten by a wolf and…." Ruby trailed off as she realized something. "Wait, when did I ever say that was my wish? You were the one that wanted the axe, and Barbas wanted to be back. I just helped, and you said you'd reward me for it, no strings attached."
"Are you talking back to me? Why I… Oh, I guess you're right. Huh, well. Fine then. Here's my boon."
A purple, swirling orb appeared in front of Ruby and something fell from it. Ruby caught the object and lifted it up to see that it was, indeed, a decorative mask. In fact, it matched the one in the statue's hand. Ruby looked back up, however, and saw that that mask was gone.
"There's your reward. And, I suppose, I could be convinced to strike up a deal with you for something else. Now that I'm back at full power, I can do almost anything."
"We probably shouldn't," Lydia suggested.
"I know, but at the same time… Hold on. Let me talk to a friend of mine for a minute, and we'll be back with that request."
"Gods, its cold," Blake shivered in the freezing night air, despite being draped in thick fur. There was a certain irony in the fact that she was wearing sabrecat fur, but she didn't care.
"You're such a baby," Weiss chastised, still wearing her mage's robes, albeit a thicker set. Blake glared at her, unamused. Weiss saw her, and smugly smirked. "Don't get jealous."
"I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous of you being able to survive in this cold? We shouldn't even-" Blake was cut off as Weiss' scroll began to ring. Quickly, Weiss pulled it out to see it was Ruby calling yet again.
"Yes?" she answered, holding the scroll up to her ear in private mode, likely to keep the nearby Khajiit from overhearing. "Hello, Ruby. What's the occasion? … You did what? You do realize just how dangerous it is to mess with them, right?"
"What happened?" Blake asked, not hearing Ruby's voice over the speaker. Curse Weiss and not putting her phone on speaker.
"She helped out Barbas and Clavicus Vile, the Daedric Princes of Bargains." Weiss returned to her conversation with Ruby while Blake's eyes widened. "Uh huh... Uh huh... You want me to what? Why should we... Right away. Give me an hour. Bye." Weiss hung up and walked back to the camp, a confused Blake coming along behind her.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Ruby asked me to make a wish contract for Clavicus Vile, and I'm going to make it ironclad. Heh heh heh..." Weiss cackled to herself as she grabbed a pen, inkwell, and a roll of paper while Blake stopped dead in her tracks.
"...What did I miss?"
It was night by the time Yang sniffed out the cave Sinding had gone to. His trail was light but it was still there. She'd even seen his massive paw prints just outside of it. Masser was completely gone, but Secunda had returned a sliver. However, as she stepped into the cave and came out to a grove on the other side, the sky seemed to change completely. Hanging above the open skylight of the grove was a moon unlike the others. It was middling in its size and blood red, casting a crimson tint to everything around. Yang could hear the baying of hounds and shouting of men. At one point, she heard a deep howl and then a scream. Sinding was already being hunted, but he definitely wasn't defenseless.
Looking at the ring on her hand, she took in a deep breath and weighed everything that had been on her mind the whole way here. She had no doubts that Hircine would leave the Ring on her for the rest of her life if she didn't do as he said. Maybe she could pass it on again, but she didn't think she could do that to someone. Sinding had killed a child, and in most cases that was enough to have someone executed immediately. There was even a punishment to rip out someone's soul for a crime so abhorrent, and part of her felt he definitely deserved it. At the same time, she knew he didn't want to. It was all an accident. A horrible, terrible accident that resulted in the death of a little girl, but still one all the same. Like driving a beat-up car knowing the brakes might give out any moment, and then they do, right as a child goes out in the road.
She shook her head and kept moving forward, stopping as she heard pained breathing and smelled blood. She went past a boulder and saw, leaning on the other side, a Cathay-raht Khajiit bleeding all around, a blood pool having formed beneath him. A large chunk of his side was torn out, and she could see the white of his bottom rib in the light of the bloody moon.
"Hey, hold on!" Yang said as she knelt by his side. The Khajiit, however, held up a hand.
"No need. This one…is done for," he said, amazingly clearly for someone bleeding out and approaching their last breath. "Hehehe, it is a big beast. Lord Hircine was right when he said it was a great trophy. This one should have known better than to hunt a manbeast with only a bow and claws. But she was a good bow. Made it bleed. Someone will get it, surely. Maybe you? Maybe another hunter? Maybe one of those Silver Hand looking for glory? He hopes not those."
"Silver Hand? Here?" Yang's eyes widened.
"A few. They… Oh, this one cannot see anymore. Ah, he hopes that he can hunt with the Lord. He has…hunted well…"
The Khajiit's head leaned over and his body stilled. Yang sighed, closed the Khajiit's eyes, stood up, and looked into the grove before marching in. The baying hounds were distant, but her sense of smell let her know that her target was close by. The lupine head of Sinding appeared from over a cliff, and then he looked over and down at her.
"Never thought I'd see you again," he said, his voice almost matching his human form's perfectly. Yang was astonished, but kept it to herself as she swallowed the knot forming in her throat.
"I was sent to kill you, you know," she revealed, a tone of regret filling her voice.
"And I would deserve it, wouldn't I?" A low whimper rose up from his throat. "I can't stop you if that's what you want to do. But, neither do I want to die. Not the man nor the beast in me want to just roll over and let it end. The beast wants to fight it and win, to be the true hunter it's always craved being. The man in me wants to fight, even if it means losing." He looked up and whimpered again. "I've been running…for so long. Years I spent running from the trut'. Even more I spent running from it while looking for a cure. Now, I'm on the run again, from real hunters this time. I don't want to run anymore, lass. I refuse to run away from this. I'm going to make my stand here."
"Even if it kills you?"
"Especially if it kills me. No more running away. From now on, I'm only running forward. I know you can beat me. Strong as I am, yer stronger still. But if you can find it in your heart to spare me, then I can be a powerful ally to you, and I would promise…to never return to civilized life." He shifted his footing, seeming to stand taller. "I know now that I can't live among people."
Yang stood there for a moment, looking at the silhouette he cast against the red moon. She looked back down at the Ring and took in a deep breath.
"I'll never forget what you did," she began. "But maybe I can forgive you. I haven't decided yet if I will. What I have decided, is that this…just isn't fair. All of this, for one werewolf." Yang smirked as she tossed off her pack, feeling the fur trying to sprout up from her skin. The idea of a hunt against fully prepared prey in such numbers while next to another werewolf sent tingles throughout her body as the beast inside howled. "Let's even up the odds, shall we?!"
"There's two of them!"
"It's the Golden Wolf! She's hunting with him!"
Yang leaped forward and smashed a man wielding a silver sword into the ground. She roared at the others around her, who all came with their own weapons, some regular steel, others silver as well. One Bosmer aimed at her with his bow, only for Sinding to grasp him in his giant claw, lift him up, and rip off his head. Yang pounced upon another Silver Hand and ripped his throat away before jumping back out of the path of a hammer.
"We need to get out of here!"
"If anyone runs I'll- GAH!" The man went down as Sinding smashed into him, crushing him up against a rocky wall and staining it red. A woman with an axe charged at Yang, only to be backhanded off the nearby cliffside with a bloodcurdling scream that ended in a wet squelch. An Altmer went at her with a rapier, but she blocked it with one arm and then clawed out with the other, gutting him. The hunters began to run for it, and Sinding pounced on one who hadn't yet started running. Just as he was about to go after the others, Yang put a claw to his shoulder, gripping it tightly.
"Stop," she commanded. "They're beaten." He looked at her then at the fleeing hunters. After a moment, he looked back to Yang and nodded.
"Right," he uttered as he turned back toward her. "Thank you for your help. I will make my home here, away from anyone I might hurt."
"Just keep in mind, if I ever hear about a werewolf terrorizing people in Falkreath Hold, I'll be the first one down here. Don't make me regret this."
"I won't, I promise." The larger werewolf suddenly licked the side of Yang's face, and the woman shoved him off.
"Whoa, hey bucko! Not on the first date!"
"Uh, er, sorry… There was a little blood there and instincts… I think I'm going to start cleaning up." Yang watched as the werewolf quickly walked away and then jumped up and started climbing up one of the ledges. She shook her head and let out a small laugh before leaving the cave. On her way out, she picked up her sack and carried it with her, all her belongings inside it. She started wondering how she would have to adjust to a new life of random transformation. It could have probably been played off as an uncontrollable part of her Semblance back on Remnant, but in Tamriel werewolves were a very well-known subject.
'What am I going to do?' she thought to herself. As she exited the cave, a voice rang out beside her.
"Well met again, Huntress."
Yang spun around so fast her bag went flying out of her mouth. "Hircine? I… Look, I didn't kill Sinding…and-"
"I am aware! And astounded! And greatly pleased!" As Yang stared blankly at the deer spirit in complete shock, he began to chuckle. "By bringing down and routing my other hunters, you turned the chase inside out. And they were no base prey. As for Sinding, he's finally stopped acting like a meek little rabbit, and embraced himself as an apex predator, much like yourself." The Daedric Prince laughed again. "You continue to amuse and impress. Go forth, with my blessing!"
His nose touched the Ring of Hircine, which turned from silvery to white. The spirit disappeared, and then Yang felt something strange within her. She focused, and suddenly she shifted back to her human form, quicker than she ever had before. She looked at the Ring and cautiously took it off, placed it back on, and took it off again. She put it back on, and after a moment of focus, the fur sprouted from her skin again as she transformed. She shifted back to human form, feeling a little dizzy by the sudden perspective change, and looked over herself again.
"So this is what it can do," she muttered in wonder. Looking in the direction of Falkreath, she hummed before transforming back into her wolf form, picking up her pack, and then taking off towards the town.
'This'll be useful.'
"-furthermore, the lifespan will be a minimum of twenty years with all of them being happy, healthy, and free of-"
"Oh for Sithis' sake, just put the list under the Soul Gem! I will go by everything you've written down!" Clavicus cried out. "I know your dragon part's main weapon is words but I never thought they could be used so brutally."
Ruby snickered, as did the vampires around her, and set the contract-like list down on the altar and underneath the Greater Soul Gem one of the vampires gifted her.
"Your friend is something else," Barbas complimented. "These conditions are pretty airtight."
"Yeah, Weiss kinda made us all promise to always let her go over any contract before signing anything after Yang and Nora's last bet." Ruby rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I still don't know how she got that Ursa mannequin into our dorm room."
"You know, you really didn't have to go to these lengths. I was just going to grant it while making it ugly."
"Good thing we made sure that 'cute and/or adorable' was mentioned on page three," Ruby happily pointed out.
"I am painfully aware of that. Now, stand back! Creating life can be messy work." Ruby took a few steps away from the altar and watched as the dozens of pages went swirling through the air around the Soul Gem as it hovered in place. Everything seemed to fuse together, shining brightly as it did, and then the finished product plopped down into the snow. Ruby gasped and then picked up her granted wish in joy.
"AWWW!" several of the vampire girls, and even a few of the men, cried out. Lydia bit her tongue to prevent herself from joining, but still smiled brightly.
"Yes! She's perfect!" Ruby squealed as she hoisted her wish up high.
"What?! But I gave it tiny little legs and a round body! It's useless as a guard dog or a hunting companion!"
"You don't know corgis then," Ruby said as the corgi pup started furiously licking her face. "Ah, stop it! Ha ha!"
"Told you she'd like it, master," Barbas stated.
"You told me in such a way that I thought it was sarcastic!" Clavicus protested. "Oh whatever. I can't win with this girl." Ruby smiled in victory, while the corgi looked at the statue with her tongue hanging out of her mouth.
"Well, thank you either way, Clavicus Vile. Seriously though, try doing things that just help people without messing them up. That can be just as fun, too."
"Sure, sure. Can you leave now?" He sounded irritated, and internally Ruby was elated. It quickly turned into embarrassment, however, and she awkwardly laughed and scratched her cheek.
"Uh, about that… I have no idea how to get from here to where I was. Barbas made portals and stuff." Ruby looked anywhere but the statue, and she could hear Clavicus roll his eyes.
"Fine, then I'll teleport you and the mutt back to the outskirts of Falkreath."
"Is this a trick?" The question immediately came out.
"You'll teleport, and end up outside of Falkreath, safe and sound. No appearing halfway inside a tree. No coming up a hundred feet off the ground. No getting there but you're inside out."
"Those were all very specific. Barbas, what do you think?"
"I think it's better if I do it, but he really means that he's not going to hurt you in any form or fashion by teleporting you."
"Okay. But if you do something mean, remember who I am and stuff." The corgi pup barked as though in agreement.
"Of course. Off you go." Ruby then disappeared in a swirl of purple magic, Lydia left behind as she went. "Whoops, it seems I forgot something. Maybe I can-"
"I'll walk, thank you. I have more trust in the vampires." Lydia turned and walked out of the cave without saying another word, the last of the vampires following after her.
"Suit yourself. I can always give these scrolls of greater jumping to someone else," Clavicus replied as Lydia disappeared from view of the statue.
"Yeah, someone who won't die on impacting the ground," Barbas suggested, but Clavicus merely chuckled.
"No, someone with a lot more friends to share them with."
Ruby came back into existence with the puppy securely held to her. Looking around, she began to happily skip into Falkreath before pausing and turning a one-eighty.
"That sneaky son of a horker! He didn't 'port Lydia with me!" Ruby glared in the general direction of Haemar's Shrine, as did the corgi, as if sharing her irritation. This perked her right up. "Ah well. Let's get you to Lod, little lady."
The puppy happily barked at that.
I have a now. Donating to it earns nothing, but enough donations mean fewer hours at work, means more hours at my computer, means more story. Simply look up Jesse Aaron Kirk.