I hate to keep y'all, but I need to lay this out. Guest reviews are annoying. I like to respond to reviews whenever they earn a response, either by asking a question worth asking or detailing what they enjoyed in detail. Some people have gotten multiple responses. However, someone left a review that really needed to be responded to, to set record straight and whatnot, but it was a guest review.
Let me say this again, I'm not going to respond to a guest review in the chapters. If you have something to say, log in and say it on an account so I can respond and we can discuss it. If I can't discuss it, then I'm just going to delete it. And that's the end of that.
Now, with that out of the way, let's get to something funner and happier, kinda. My thanks to my co-writer and editors, trestwho and naancontributor.
Blake and the rest of her party arrived in Solitude after a few days at sea. Cold was the best way she could describe it, with ice floes growing thicker and snow beginning to accumulate more and more. Even the warmer waters surrounding Solitude weren't entirely enough to abate the cold, but she welcomed whatever relief she could find. After paying the shipmaster for their lodging, the group went into the city itself, noticing a large group of angry protesters outside of the Thalmor Embassy. It wasn't hard to imagine why they were there, and Blake didn't blame them in the slightest. Neither did the guards for that matter, although they did keep the protest from turning into a riot. Still, she and the others kept to themselves, Inigo splitting off to go towards the marketplace and Erandur going towards the Temple of the Divines to speak with the priests there. Blake and M'rissi were content to follow Erandur a few ways back, happy to let him converse with his fellow clergy.
"Good news, my friends," Inigo announced as he came back from the marketplace, a bundle of scrolls in his arms. Blake and M'rissi were both waiting just outside the Temple of the Divines, where Erandur was speaking with the other priests. "Skyrim is a big and confusing place sometimes. As we are bound to lose each other from time to time, I have procured us some special maps." He handed two rolled up maps to the women, who immediately unfurled them to see identical drawings of the Skyrim landscape.
"This is pretty detailed," Blake admitted with a nod, admiring the intricate artwork on its surface. "But I already had a map."
"Not quite like this one. Let me show you. My brother once found one just like them on the remains of some poor old adventurer in Cyrodiil. It can easily mark locations on command, and also show the position of items and people too. Watch this." He held a finger onto the compass part of the map, which Blake noticed was actually functioning as a real compass. "Where are you, Inigo?" A moment passed, and then a triangle appeared on the city of Solitude. "There!" he pointed out, earning a smile of pleasant surprise from Blake.
"That's actually pretty handy," Blake agreed before pressing her finger onto the compass. "Where are you, Yang?" When nothing happened, she raised an eyebrow and tried again. "Where are you, Yang Xiao Long?"
"Oh, that is another thing. The person you're looking for needs to have touched the map, at least once. Still, like this, we can always find each other if we find ourselves separated."
"Then we should poke each other's maps, yes?" M'rissi asked before doing so to the other two. After being shown a few other features of the enchanted maps, such as a self-destruct passcode system and the ability to mark down different destinations at once, Blake rolled up and stashed the new acquisition away. Erandur had finished speaking with the priests, and so the group moved on to the Winking Skeever.
"Why don't we go to Ruby's house?" M'rissi asked after a moment.
"Because the guy we're looking for will be at the inn," Blake answered before pushing open the door leading in.
"Come on in," Corpulus Vinius called out to them as the group entered. "We've got warm food, warm drinks, and warm beds.
Blake looked at her comrades and nodded, and they went over and sat down at a table a short distance away. She then looked over and saw a dark green Argonian male with longs horns growing from the back of his head. His beady eyes locked with hers after he took a swig from his mug, and he seemed to have a grin appear as he shifted his attention.
"So, what do we have here?" he asked as she approached before placing the mug down. "Hmm. Let me guess. By your scent, I'd say you were from the Guild. But that can't be true, because I told Mercer I wouldn't deal with them anymore."
Blake knew very well it wasn't her scent giving her away. He could clearly see the Thieves' Guild gloves on her hands, complete with the insignia on the back of the wrist. She wore it to this very meeting to use as evidence of who she represented.
"I'm here because of Goldenglow Estate," she said plainly.
"I don't deal in land or property," he stated lowly. A sly grin then ran across his face as he brought his mug to his lips. "Now, if you're looking for goods, you've come to the right person."
Blake held her face even, stood up straighter, and looked down on him.
"Yeah, you can stop pretending like you don't know. We already know about your involvement, Gajul-Lei." Seeing his grin fade and his eyes widen brought immense satisfaction to Blake, but she held her face and revealed none of her pleasure to him as he squirmed.
"Oh wait… Did you say Goldenglow Estate? My apologies." He took in a breath and calmed down a little. "I'm sorry to say I know very little about that... bee farm, was it?"
"We have evidence pointing to you as the broker for the new owner."
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." He grimaced, and Blake was beginning to realize he had a lot of facial expressions for an Argonian. It probably actually helped to put customers at ease when she thought about it. "I can't be expected to remember every deal I handle."
"Just tell me who it was. The Guild is ready to forget this whole thing for that."
"I don't care what you promise," he whispered in a hiss. "If I tell you the buyer's name and word gets around, it could ruin me!"
Blake wanted to sigh, but held it in. Instead she pulled up a chair and sat down on it. Now with her head even with him, the Argonian's tension dropped a bit. She let up on the hard look she was giving him, letting go of her immediate intimidation factor.
"Look, there's obviously something that can be done," she said as sympathetically as she could muster. "This one-time buyer's bringing you a good deal of trouble, and they've already stirred up the Thieves' Guild and Maven Black-Briar. Surely, everyone would understand if you had to cut everything with someone like that and let a few wronged parties know who's responsible for some terrible circumstances. Especially if they were willing to do something for you in return?"
Gulum-Ei looked to the side and hummed before looking back at Blake. "Well, now that you mention it, there is something I've been trying to get my hands on. I have a buyer looking for a case of Firebrand Wine. There just so happens to be a single case in the Blue Palace. Bring it to me, and we'll talk about Goldenglow Estate."
"Glad we could come to an agreement." Blake flashed him a smile and stood up. "Take care now. I'll be back real soon."
"Of course." He nodded, and Blake headed over to where her fellows were.
"We heard everything," Inigo confirmed.
"I didn't," Erandur admitted. "I'm afraid my hearing isn't quite as attuned as any of yours."
"Well, everything's going okay. Not as bad as I feared, but not as good as I'd hoped."
"At least this one is not as slimy as Salthasar," M'rissi groaned. Blake couldn't help but agree then turned to face Erandur. He was noticeably uncomfortable, and it wasn't hard for her to realize why a Priest of Mara would feel so.
"You don't feel too uncomfortable about this, do you?" Blake asked him, to which he sighed and shook his head.
"While I'd prefer we didn't go to these lengths, I at least understand why you're doing this. Better it being done in a controlled manner than by some scoundrel slitting throats here and there all along the way." Blake smiled and nodded at his answer. Truth be told, that had been her thought as well. Better her than someone else.
"Thanks for your understanding. I promise not to mix you up in anything you don't want to do." She paused for a moment, tapping her chin before pointing upwards. "While we're on this, I guess you could stay at the manor. We'll take you up there in a bit."
"That sounds lovely." Erandur smiled. After a moment passed, the group left the inn and began heading out and towards Proudspire, but stopped a moment when they saw Sorex talking with an Argonian sporting extremely pale purple scales, a brown head, and brown feathers.
"I'm not interested, Jaree," the young man told him. "It doesn't matter how many times you ask." As Sorex walked away, the Argonian watched him go and crossed his arms.
"You might want to rethink that. You're missing out on some wonderful opportunities working in that bar." As he leaned up against a post, Blake looked forward and then turned to her companions.
"M'rissi, go ahead and bring Erandur to the manor. It's right next to the Bard's College."
"Okay. You do not take too long talking to the lizards."
"Don't call them that," Blake admonished her before she and the Dark Elf went ahead.
"You know, I actually used to be a member of the Bard's College many years ago," he began to tell the Khajiit. Once they were getting out of human earshot, Blake walked up to the Argonian with Inigo watching her back.
"Jaree-Ra?"
"Depends on who's asking."
"I'm with the Guild. We got your letter."
"Really? I'm actually a bit surprised. I was practically sending those by habit at this point. Wasn't really expecting a response. What changed?"
"Me," she stated while pointing her thumb at herself. "So, what exactly do you need?"
"So," Jordis began as she helped to serve the evening's dinner, the soup kettle much larger than what she normally cooked, "you are a friend of Blake Belladonna?"
"Indeed I am, my dear," Erandur answered while Niri began laying out bowls and utensils. "There was some...nasty business in Dawnstar that Blake helped me solve, and afterwards I felt that my services were better served with her than staying in a small chapel almost no one would ever visit."
Jordis nodded at his answer and began spooning the rabbit stew into the laid out bowls. The housecarl was proud of this one, and the expression on M'rissi's face heightened that feeling. But before any of them could dig in, the door slammed open and revealed a fuming Blake who wordlessly stomped to the nearest cushioned seat and plopped down. The Faunus let loose a sigh and rubbed her forehead, telling everyone that something was wrong.
"Blake?" Inigo called out in concern. "Something the matter?"
"Yes." Another sigh escaped her lips and she frowned. "Sneaking out that wine was a damn waste of time. Gulum's still hiding something, but I don't have any real leverage."
"Is this about that…'special task' you have to perform?" the maid asked.
"No, I…" Blake looked back over to her and looked up and down. "What… Where did you get that?"
"Oh, this?" She indicated by lifting the hem of her shirt with one hand. "Endarie offered it to me with Lady Ruby's discount. I know it's not really Nordic tradition, but this style of maid outfits has really become popular the past few years."
The outfit she was wearing was practically the stereotypical maid outfit known far and wide in all of Remnant media to a t, even including the often forgotten frilly headpiece. It was mainly a red that accentuated her skin very well and made her hair seem all the more vibrant, with the apron and accents a cream that fit well. Blake had to shake her head out of her contemplation and blink a few times to straighten her thoughts back out.
"It, uh, looks good on you," she honestly said to the maid.
"Thank you, ma'am. It's also very easy to work in. Much better than…" As the Altmer went quiet, Blake was painfully reminded of where her life had been not so long ago.
"Here, sit down," Blake offered, while indicating a seat. "No need for you to work while supper's ready."
"Oh, thank you." The woman offered her a smile and took the seat while Jordis passed her a bowl of the stew. Blake closed her eyes a moment to try and get some peace, but it was soon interrupted by something against her cheek. She looked from out the corner of her eye and saw M'rissi poking her with a spoon.
"You were talking about business problems. Can she help?"
"I don't think so. I'm going to have to shadow Gulum for a while. I need to figure out where he goes and what he does day by day and see if I can dig something up. Pretty sure he's hiding something big. If not, he might have records somewhere."
"That's not so bad," the Khajiit replied before humming. "But M'rissi thinks you are having a problem with something else."
"Jaree-Ra," she answered simply.
"That slime?" Jordis asked as she set the cauldron back on the iron rod. "That bastard would have never set foot in this city if King Torryg was still alive. Unfortunately, he's been sneaking around the streets lately. Don't tell me you listened to anything that tripe crawler had to say."
"Barely." Blake remained quiet a moment as she picked up a spoon and poked at her stew. "Say, do you have ground canis root?"
The housecarl seemed to think a moment before shrugging. "I'll check the basement. If we don't have any ground we might have a whole piece somewhere I can grind up." After the Nord's head disappeared, Blake looked over at Niri.
"Don't mention anything we're about to talk about."
"Uhm, yes ma'am," the maid answered fearfully, Blake's gaze more than enough to cow her.
"Right, so Jaree wants some help in a seemingly simple task. To put it bluntly though, it's with piracy." If everyone's attention wasn't on her before, it was now. "With the weather getting worse the closer winter arrives, the Solitude Lighthouse is more needed than ever to ensure safe passage of any passing merchant ships. One of these ships is the Icerunner, a merchant vessel containing supplies for the Imperial Legion stationed here as well as a good bit of general merchandise. Jaree wants me to...'turn off' the lighthouse, allowing it to run aground where his men would pose as saviors while also getting its cargo."
"Pose as saviors?" Erandur asked, curious as to what that meant.
"I made it clear I couldn't be on-board if there was killing, citing Guild rules and all, but, apparently, there doesn't have to be. Less piracy and more like a big con, but it's not exactly guaranteed to be bloodless. A ship hitting the beach can still be deadly depending on where in the ship you are and how unexpected or hard it hits. Still, I have a bad feeling… The Icerunner comes in tonight, around midnight, so the lighthouse has to be put out at the right time, a little after the patrol around ten, in order to be effective. If I don't do it, he'll get someone else. Someone possibly far less interested in the well-being of sailors. He's not exactly pining for options, but I think he'd prefer a proven sneak over an untested one. There's plenty of dockworkers without a moral bone in their body and more addictions than I care to count. A Guild thief is just...better. I could try to stop them wholesale, but then they might just go to ground and come up later. Perhaps they'll plan something else that could be even worse. They might just give up on the subtlety altogether and attack the vessel. I don't really know what these guys have up their sleeves, be it ships, boats, or trained seals and horkers, but I'm assuming the worst."
"Hm, so in the end, damned if you do, damned if you don't," Inigo realized while stroking some of his whiskers. "Well, in that case, I suppose we ought to."
"But then there's the Gulum problem," Niri pointed out. The catfolk stared at her, causing her to blush and look away.
"She makes a good point," M'rissi agreed.
"I really don't want to think like this, but Solitude is making me hate Argonians," Blake grumbled. She shook the negative thoughts away and tried to think of the more positive interactions she had experienced, like with Keerava and Talen-Jei. 'Wonder if they've set a date for the wedding yet?' she idly thought.
"Ooh, she knows! You don't have to do it," the Khajiit woman offered.
"No, M'rissi. I have to."
"You don't understand her. You don't have to do it," M'rissi insisted. A confused look crossed Blake's face, one replaced with realization at the smug look on M'rissi's. "She is very capable."
"I... I don't..."
"Actually, I agree with her," Inigo piped up. "Not on her own, obviously. I don't trust these pirates as far as I can throw them. But, the fact remains that there are three of us available to do two jobs. M'ri and I can play pirate for an evening while you shake down Gulum-Ei. It's the best way to get this over with, for everyone involved. You'll be happy from a job well done. The Guild will be happy from us doing a good job. The pirates will be happy with a ton of loot. The sailors will be happy because they are not dead. And we'll be happy…uh, for participating. Everyone's happy! Eeeeexcept Gulum-Ei, but no one cares about him."
Blake thought it over for a moment. Part of her still wanted to say no for a number of reasons, but then she looked back over at her friends. Inigo was an experienced adventurer even before she ever met him, and M'rissi had an uncanny fighting instinct on top of her range of talents. The job was simple, so long as there wasn't a hitch, and a part of her wanted to believe they were more than capable of getting out of a tight spot should they end up in one.
"Alright, you two can take on Jaree's request. Just be careful, don't get caught, and stay safe."
"I promise," Inigo replied with a nod while M'rissi saluted. Blake smiled at them as Sarullo and Jordis came down and up the stairs at the same time, the Altmer man pausing to let her go ahead with a polite wave of his arm.
"I say, the stew smells lovely. And is that canis root?"
"It is. I managed to find some and crushed it, Blake."
"Ooh, would you happen to be making canis root tea?" the former captain asked, seeming delighted by the prospect.
"I…suppose?" Jordis guessed, realizing that she didn't know what the canis root was intended for in the first place.
"A suggestion then, before you set it to boil. About a half measure of cow's milk added to the pot will truly bring out the flavor. I don't intend to tell you what to do, of course, but I promise you will all love it."
Blake smiled and went along with it. "Actually, that sounds like it'd be pretty good. If you don't mind, Jordis."
"Not at all…" the housecarl said uncertainly as she went back into the kitchen. With their conversation essentially over now with the two in the picture, Blake went back to her lunch and took a bite, finding it to be quite to her liking. Holding herself back from gobbling it up, she began to eat away while listening to the Nord flip through pages.
"So many elves," Jordis mumbled where no one except for perhaps Blake could hear. "Well, at least they aren't Bosmer."
Ruby strummed her lute's strings to what she had told the other ladies was 'The Song of the Golden Dragon', which she had been practicing since leaving Whiterun, trying to copy what the man in her recording was able to do. It was a song that required rapid plucking interspersed with plenty of strumming that ranged from soft and quick to even more rapid than the plucks. Often, the two had to happen at the same time. The breakdowns were hard for her to get a grasp on, but she had nearly gotten the song in its entirety. Part of her was hoping to show the Bard's College what she could do, but another part was nervous that she'd screw up in front of everyone.
Of course, that was something for after the business with the Thalmor was over.
"We're nearing the gate. We have just three days to get everything ready," Delphine reminded her.
"Three days of picking out dresses and trying on shoes," Ruby groaned as she put her scroll and lute away. "At least Blake will share my pain this time..."
"Speaking of which, we also need to get my man on the inside to speak with her. Only certified guards will be allowed to bring any weapons, and we don't have a way to get that."
"So he'll be sneaking in her gear?" Lydia asked, thankful that this part of the plan didn't affect her. As a housecarl to Ruby, Lydia was one of the few that would be allowed to bring her weapons to the Embassy, although she would have to leave her armor behind.
"Precisely."
"Okay." Ruby nodded and thought back over the plan. They had discussed it several times, usually after making sure there was nothing hiding around to listen in on them (Delphine was paranoid about it, but Ruby figured she had good reason to be), and so far the plan was that Ruby, being a fairly known face in Haafingar, would bring all the attention to herself, cause some sort of distraction giving Blake a chance to slip away unnoticed, and then just mingle along until the end or if Blake gave her the signal or returned. They still needed to talk over the plan with Blake, but it was already mostly cobbled together.
After they entered the city, a figure stepped out of an alleyway to reveal that it was Blake waving them over. The three humans paused a moment before cautiously going over and joining her in the shadows.
"What's up?" Ruby asked her.
"Waiting for Gulum to move out ." She frowned. "He's stiffed me on a deal for info, and so I'm going to have to balance the scales, so to speak."
"What exactly is going on?" Delphine asked.
"Guild business," Blake gave for a short answer. With a visual prodding from the others though, she sighed and shook her head. "He was the broker for the sale of Goldenglow Estate. I know he knows who the buyer was. I don't need Mephala's guidance to tell me he was lying." A pleased feeling escaped the Blade but Blake ignored it.
"You sure he was?" Ruby asked, willing to give someone the benefit of a doubt.
"I was able to find his tell. He tries to keep his eyes partially closed rather than wide open like an Argonian naturally tends to do, probably to keep from off-putting potential customers. Whenever he's caught off-guard, they go back to their natural position for a moment."
"Okay. But what do you think you're going to find that can convince him?"
"I'm not sure, but I remember Mercer and Brynjolf talking about how they've been getting less and less shipments from him. If it turns out he's been short-handing them, they won't like it. That, or I could use the law like a guillotine over his neck once I get proof of him skimming off the top." She looked back at Ruby. "Might need your help with that. The threat of a Thane bringing that to the courts would have a lot more weight behind it."
"No problem." Ruby then looked back and hummed in thought. "Where's the others?"
"Inigo and M'rissi volunteered to take the other job. A ship ran aground up the eastern coast thanks to… Eh, never mind. Basically, they're helping save the sailors and 'salvaging' the wreck."
Delphine raised her eyebrow and Lydia had a disappointed look on her face, but neither said anything. Part of Ruby wanted to speak up, but at seeing the flash of regret pass Blake's face, she decided against it.
"Okay. How about the priest guy?"
"Erandur's up at your manor. He's been talking to Niri and Sarullo a lot. Jordis seems okay with him, but I heard her mutter something about Bosmer."
"Yeah, she…has a thing about them."
"Wait, who are these people?" Delphine asked.
"My maid, my tenant, and my other housecarl." Ruby then blinked a few times. "Oh, that's a series of words I never thought I'd seriously say. Weiss, maybe, but not me."
Before anyone could speak again, the door to the Winking Skeever opened and a dark green Argonian stepped out. Blake looked at her comrades and nodded.
"That's him. Wish me luck." She concentrated a spell between her hands and released it, turning invisible in a silent wink of pink-purple. For a moment, the humans were unsure of what to do, then Ruby shrugged.
"Well, let's go on home. Maybe this Erandur guy can help me figure out how exactly I'm supposed to pray to Akatosh."
"…What?"
When M'rissi and Inigo showed up at the wreck of the Icerunner, they had expected to see about a dozen pirates swarming it. Therefore, the half dozen pirates with vein-like tattoos on their necks were no great surprise. What was surprising, and alarming, was the number of sailors floating in the water or scattered along the shore. Blake had said that Jaree-Ra specifically stated that they were going to feign benevolence and rescue the crashed seamen with the idea being that they'd reward their 'rescuers'. Obviously, something had gone terribly wrong. A pirate in mage robes turned to them as they approached, carefully masking their caution, and smiled with a polite nod.
"Ah, greetings. You're the ones who put out the fire in the lighthouse, right?"
"Yes, that was us," Inigo answered.
"M'rissi did most of it," the girl bragged. While true, it was mostly thanks to her using magic. Inigo's plan had been a bit more manual and required a few trips up and down the stairs with pails full of water. She let him start, then finished off the fire with a soft Water Stream spell. She laughed for nearly half a minute at his expression when he returned with more water.
"Ah, that was some good work. Deeja's in the hold of the ship, down two levels. Mind your step."
"Thank you," Inigo said before climbing up to the ship's deck with M'rissi behind him. Quickly, he noticed a few bodies scattered about, being dragged off the side of the ship and thrown into the water.
"Damn shame what a wreck can do, isn't it?" one of the Blackbloods asked with a wry grin. "Wouldn't think it'd killed so many, but there you go."
"Yes. Quite a shame." Inigo looked towards one of the corpses and saw how his neck was sliced open. He knew for a fact that nothing about a shipwreck could cause such a clean wound. He might not have been a maritime expert, but he knew the difference between inflicted wounds and wounds from accidents. As they headed down below, he swiveled his head and ears about, doing his best to listen for anything nearby.
"Careful, my friend," he warned M'rissi in a whisper. "This situation smells deceptive."
"She thinks something bad is going on too," she admitted.
"Yes. Keep your wits sharp, and be ready to fight your way out."
The Khajiits headed deeper into the ship, passing by one of the Blackblood Marauders here and there. Most seemed to be relaxing, despite the bodies spread about. A couple had even started eating some of the ship's provisions at a table. Each one they passed only made their tension rise, making it more difficult to mask it. But manage it they did, even as they entered the cargo hold, where they came up to a green, female Argonian in leather and hide armor.
"My brother told me you were coming," she said while turning towards them. "I'm supposed to give you what you earned."
"Very well," Inigo answered, putting on a smile to hide his tension. "We'll take our fair share of the loot and head on home." When the Argonian smiled wickedly, Inigo's fur stood on end.
"Ha! I'm afraid the loot's already been moved." Inigo suddenly heard the sounds of several boots on the move, at least four pairs taking position just outside the part of the cargo hold that they were in. "You've been useful to the Blackbloods, though. You've earned a quick death."
Two men popped in, swords drawn, and Deeja pulled out her own blade.
"Damn it! We're had!" Inigo yelled as he quickly drew his sword. The Argonian woman jumped out of the way, but his swing towards her then turned into a windup for one of the other pirates, whose arm came flying off. As the pirate screamed, M'rissi ducked down and drew her own elven style sword and met Deeja in a deadlock before hissing and baring her teeth.
"You will regret that," the Khajiit girl said before kicking her into the wall. Inigo quickly cut down the other man and then pulled out his bow in a flicker of movement to shoot two more heading towards them. M'rissi swung her blade down at the Argonian, but she moved into her swing and caught her arms before kneeing the smaller woman in the belly. M'rissi resisted the urge to double over before letting go of her sword with one hand and raking her claws across Deeja's face. As she yelled fromm the pain, Deeja bit down on M'rissi's shoulder and pushed her arms away. The Khajiit woman screamed, and Inigo turned to see her being overpowered.
"Get your filthy hands off of her!" he shouted as he plunged the arrow he was holding into her back. She yelled again, and then he pried her jaws away and threw her fully across the room. Her back hit a mounted horker head, and the three tusks pierced into her. For a moment, she struggled to get back up, but then Inigo took his sword and sliced through her throat. He turned his attention back to M'rissi, who had started healing her extensive bite wound.
"M'ri, are you okay?" he asked in worry.
"She is fine. The lizard woman did not bite her too hard."
"I'm also worried about you getting sick. I doubt a pirate's mouth would be very clean."
"Then let's get home and clean it. The pirates are nothing but murderous backstabbers." She made to stand, but hissed in pain as she shifted her arm. She focused on healing it again while she started picking through the dead woman's pockets. Once she was done, the two began to move. On the mid-deck, three more of the Blackbloods tried to stop them. Inigo slew the first so quickly he was still falling by the time he shifted his concentration to the second. The third immediately turned tail and ran, but M'rissi hit him with a lightning bolt that sent him careening before he barely made it back to his feet and scrambled out.
"Damn! There's still the ones outside!" Inigo said as he tried to listen for them. The cacophony was confusing, however, and his ears weren't so keen as to start differentiating which were which amongst the yelling and screaming. "Okay, how's your arm?"
"Better. She can fight."
"Okay, but keep close. We watch each other's backs." M'rissi nodded and readied herself. "On three, throw up a fireball. One, two,... Three!"
M'rissi launched a fireball from her left hand through the doorway and Inigo jumped out, slicing through one man's neck and then skewering another onto the black blade. He pulled loose in time to parry an axe and then jumped out of the way of an ice spike. M'rissi charged in and cut across the man's back with a catlike scream then cut into his neck. Inigo charged at the mage, whose eye went wide with terror before he tried to block the incoming sword with a ward. Inigo backed up a step and then slashed down, overpowering the spell and slicing through the marauder mage's arm. His bald head went flying next, and then Inigo took out his bow and rapidly loosed a trio of arrows at three men, each of them seemingly being hit at the same time before they fell. His eyes then went to M'rissi, who was locked in a sword fight with a Redguard wielding a scimitar. He slashed at her twice, quicker than most humans could perceive, and M'rissi buckled under the blows, her injured arm giving out and letting go. The Marauder took advantage of that and sliced up, hitting her side and slicing up the right side of her chest.
"NO!" Inigo screamed before loosing an arrow at the man's back. The pirate turned and sliced the arrow along the shaft, but another one came right after it. Inigo grabbed as many arrows as he could hold and started rapidly shooting them, with at least three coming at the man every second. The Redguard slashed them equally as fast from the air as he began walking towards the blue Khajiit, a devious smirk stretched across his lips. Inigo realized he was running out of arrows on hand and space between them, and so held his last one a few seconds before letting it go. The Redguard knocked it away like all of the others and charged him, but Inigo pulled back his bowstring again and let it go while also releasing his hold on the bow. The man paused a moment before knocking it out of the way with his hand, but Inigo had already made his move. Ducking low, the Khajiit rammed his shoulder into the man's chest, wrapped his arms around him and lifted before throwing him down onto the deck. He quickly jumped up and landed with his knees driven into the man's chest, cracking at least a few of his ribs with the full weight of his body and armor. The pirate tried to force him off, but Inigo wrapped his fingers around his throat while kicking his scimitar away and squeezed hard. The man struggled, then managed to kick one leg up and knock him over. Inigo refused to let him get away, and when the man turned to get up he grappled him from behind, holding his legs back with his own and trying to put him into a stranglehold. The Redguard tried elbowing his way out, but the Khajiit's armor took most of each blow, and the few he felt he deigned to ignore in favor of keeping the pirate down and applying more and more strength into his growing grip while pulling. Both shouted with exertion, the man with a gurgling voice, and as his desperation grew his hands blindly reached over his shoulder to scrabble at his strangler's face. The Khajiit shook his head back and forth to keep the pirate's filthy fingers away from his eyes, then Inigo yanked up and back while his legs pulled down in a move he recalled his father once showing him. The man's neck popped and he went quiet and limp.
Inigo's muscles finally relaxed and his limbs practically collapsed to his sides as he started gasping for air. After a moment, he pushed the corpse off of himself and slowly got to his feet. His first muddled thoughts were to pick up his weapons, but after collecting his sword, bow, and a few salvageable arrows, he gasped and ran over to M'rissi's side.
"M'ri!" he shouted in fear and worry as he sped over to her. "M'ri! Please speak to me!"
"…Good job, Ini…" She sucked a breath in as she clutched her side, trying to heal it. "Oh, it aches!"
"Hold on! I'll get you back to Solitude! Just hold on!" he scooped her up into his arms and practically jumped off the grounded ship before taking off for the nearby city.
"She's sorry…"
"No no no no no no! Do not be sorry! Just focus on healing yourself." The Khajiit girl nodded and winced while focusing on her magic. Inigo breathed fast and deep as he leaned into his run, determined to get back to Solitude as quickly as his feet could take him.
Gulum-Ei entered the East Empire Company's warehouse, pocketing his key after locking the door behind himself. He started walking through the warehouse, checking random items off a checklist he had as he went by them. There were entire sections dedicated to furnishings, raw resources, and armaments, with special places filled with a mix of luxury and magical items. He took note of some artworks and made his way by the steel covered ship that no one had come to reclaim yet. For a moment, he looked back and over his shoulder, making sure that no one was watching him before he went down a set of safety stairs into some waist deep water and then headed around the bend. A ramp led up out of the water, just behind several crates of several different kinds of alcoholic beverages, where the door to his special hideaway was. For a second he paused when he thought he heard something, but turned only to see a rat scurrying across the floor. He smirked and then went on.
He passed through and began nodding to his employees guarding the 'specially acquired" merchandise. Throughout the grotto were shelves stocked with an assortment of items, altogether coming up to be worth hundreds of thousands of septims, of which he paid nothing to obtain, and was actually paid to look through. It was the fruit of years of secretive movements. A crate here, a bottle there, one of a hundred enchanted swords missing. He was one of the people writing down the numbers, so all he had to do was make sure the numbers matched up with what was left.
He spied two of his workers swimming around, but decided to say nothing to them this time. They were probably on break, seeing as how they waved at him unabashedly, though they should have been at least a little, in his mind. The clothes the Dunmer woman had chosen to swim in were practically transparent when wet, not that her Nord swimming partner seemed to mind at all. Judging by the look on her face, neither did she. He went on and passed by several more guards and then the guard dog, Cerby. The dog sniffed at him affectionately and he gave it a scratch behind the ears. Cerby then sniffed the air and barked. Gulum looked back, but saw nothing.
"Save it for when we've got intruders, boy." The dog made a small whine and rubbed against his leg before suddenly following a scent with his nose on the ground. Gulum-Ei tensed as he watched the dog at work, only for the tension to cease when he leaped and pounced upon a skeever that had been hiding in a corner. The Argonian laughed as the dog brought the oversized vermin over and set it down.
"Good boy," he congratulated the hound before giving him another pet. The dog let out a small bark and then picked up the dead skeever and carried it off, likely to show it to the others. Gulum-Ei continued on until he reached the back end of the grotto, where most of the goods were placed, many of them being prepped to be sold to buyers. Two of his workers were there, keeping a fire lit for warmth. Suddenly, the woman drew her bow and the man his axe. Gulum-Ei went wide-eyed, but then turned and saw someone in black and red armor behind him, a veiled hood hiding their face, and a pair of daggers in hand.
"No," he muttered in fear as he backed away. "No! It can't be! The Brotherhood…"
The man charged the figure, who side-stepped and hit the back of his neck with the pommel of one dagger, then kicked up with a knee into his gut before kicking his head and knocking him to the ground. The woman shot, but the assassin ducked under the arrow and threw a jagged, black and red dagger that sliced through the wood of her bow as though it was warm butter. She, for the attacker was definitely a woman, charged in and uppercut the archer hard enough to send her several inches into the air and onto her back. Gulum backed away in fear as the assassin looked at him before she pulled off the hood, revealing Blake's face.
"Y- you?"
"Me," she declared as she marched over to him. "I told you, Gulum, you owe us all the information. Now, are you going to give it over, or should I let the Jarl and the Solitude court know about this little stash you've built up?"
"Okay, okay! No need to be rash…" His face seemed to break down as he shook in fear. "Please don't tell anyone! I was going to let Mercer know, I swear! Please, he'll kill me!"
"Tell me first, then I'll decide what I'm going to do."
"Alright, alright. It was Karliah! The buyer's name was Karliah!"
For a moment, silence hung between the two.
"Who's that?"
"H- Mercer never told you about her?" Gulum seemed to calm back down and stood a little straighter. "Karliah is the thief responsible for murdering the previous Guild Master, Gallus. Now she's after Mercer."
"She…murdered him?" Brynjolf, Delvin, and Mercer were some of the longest-standing members of the Guild alive. If the previous Guild Master was anything to them like what they were becoming for her and had been for the other members, then Gallus was likely someone they respected greatly. "And you're helping her?!" Blake shouted.
"Help…? No, no! Look, I didn't even know it was her until after she contacted me. Please, you have to believe me!" he begged.
Blake growled, but held herself in check as she flexed the fingers of her free hand and sheathed the Blade of Woe.
"Where is she now?"
"I don't know. When I asked her where she was going, she just muttered "Where the end began."" The Argonian nervously gulped and walked over to a strongbox. Blake readied herself for anything, but when he flinched, she just looked at the box and nodded for him to go ahead. He shakily unlocked the box and pulled out a small stack of papers.
"Here, take the deed for Goldenglow Estate as proof. And when you speak to Mercer, tell him I'm worth more to him alive."
Blake took them and looked them over. Most of it was the bill of sale repeated, but the last page held the actual deed.
'Maven really wanted this last we spoke.' Blake shook her head and set the document down on a desk. 'I can think of some better uses.'
"I'll let Mercer know. I'll think about vouching for you," she said as she yanked her daedric dagger out of the crate it had sunk into. She then grabbed a quill and an inkwell and set them down next to the documents. "Although, I think maybe you can make it up to me for having to go to these lengths."
The Argonian whimpered and sat at the desk before taking the quill in hand.
As Blake came back to Proudspire, the signed deed to Goldenglow Estate safely tucked away into her knapsack, she walked into the main room where everyone was in commotion. M'rissi was on the floor, undressed with a blood-stained towel across her chest and lying on several blankets with a pillow under her head, Erandur and Ruby feeding healing magic into her while Niri pressed a wet cloth to a bloody spot on her side.
"What…? What happened?!" Blake asked, feeling nothing but blind panic fill her soul.
"Blake!" Ruby yelled as she looked up. "Blake, those pirates… They tried to kill Inigo and M'rissi!"
"WHAT?!" The Faunus slammed the door shut behind her and kneeled down by her friend's side , throwing her knapsack off to the side as she did.
"Ooh, do not yell," M'rissi groaned before opening her eyes. "Her head is swwiiiiiming enough. Mm, she does not like this."
"She lost a lot of blood," Erandur explained. "She was coming dangerously close to death's door, but we managed to heal her in time. She's going to need to drink plenty of water and rest for at least a day to recover, but the danger's passed, at least. We're just finishing up on the nicks to her ribs." Blake nodded and looked down at her friend before brushing her hair back from her paled face. After a moment, she looked back up at Ruby.
"What about Inigo?"
"He's okay," Ruby revealed, and Blake let out a sigh of relief. "He wasn't hurt, we checked, but he ran all the way here. His adrenaline must have crashed him hard."
"He's in the basement," Niri told her. Blake nodded and looked down to M'rissi again.
"I'm going to check on Inigo and then I'll be right back."
"Mkay," M'rissi breathlessly let out. Blake stood up and went to the staircase before going down into the basement. Inigo was lying down on an old cot, his armor splashed with blood all about. He looked over to Blake and frowned.
"My friend, I am so sorry." The fur around his eyes was wet and his ears were drooped down. It wasn't hard to tell that he had been crying.
"No, don't be sorry," Blake immediately replied. "I'm the one that decided we should work with that scum."
"But I am the one who decided to go off and do it." He sat up with a pained groan. "I should have realized a long time ago, we really depend on you for a lot, Blake."
"Hey, you're no slouch." She squatted down next to him. "You've been more helpful to me than you realize, and I'm the one dragging you from one end of the world to the other, not the other way around."
"That may be, but where I can shoot three men down in the blink of an eye, you move, cut them, and loot them in half that." He giggled a little before wincing. "But it's not just ability, I am terrible at looking out for others. We've had you watching for us both. I turned my back and let that man get to M'rissi, and she nearly died because of it."
"I seriously doubt it was that simple." Blake shook her head. "Look, it doesn't matter. The real people responsible are the ones who attacked you. What exactly happened?"
"Simply put, we were betrayed. Heh, guess I know what that feels like now." He groaned while pulling himself up and Blake stood and offered him a hand. He took it and finished getting up to his feet. "We went into the ship. They had killed all the sailors and guards, and I knew something was wrong. Looking back, we could have stayed inside and let them come to us. Tight quarters do large numbers no good. Eh, anyways, Jaree-Ra's sister said they'd moved all the loot, and said she'd give us a quick death. We refused."
"And her?"
"Dead." A pleased snarl crossed Inigo's face that quickly became a wince. "All of them that were there are dead now. The last one… I think he might have been an Alik'r before. Unfortunately, I have no idea where they could have taken everything."
"And I doubt we're going to see Jaree-Ra in town anytime soon." Blake sighed. "I'm just glad you're both safe." She then pulled the Khajiit into a hug, which he quietly returned. The two stayed that way for quite some time, until the two heard someone coming down the stairs and turned to see Ruby.
"Hey. You okay?" she quietly asked.
"I'll live," Inigo answered. "I'm more concerned about M'rissi's well-being at the moment."
"She's better, but she's going to be out of commission for a few days. Erandur said there's nothing magic can do for her at this point, and we just have to wait for her body to do the rest." Blake heard a grinding sound and saw that Ruby's jaw was moving about. "But…M'rissi gave me something. She said she got it off that Deeja tramp's body." The girl held out a note, which Blake took and read.
Sister,
Once you have picked up the packages send them on to me at Broken Oar Grotto. The fools who did our work at the lighthouse should arrive shortly thereafter, make sure they are taken care of.
Blake practically snarled at that and looked up to meet Ruby's enraged, dragon-like eyes.
A few hours later, Ruby, Blake, and Inigo went to the Castle Dour dungeons. While they knew where Jaree was likely hiding, they didn't know where it was, and so were hoping the guards there could provide an answer.
"Excuse me," Ruby began, speaking to a guard sitting near a fireplace who immediately snapped to attention when he saw the spear in her hand.
"Y- Yes, Thane?"
"I was hoping you could tell me where Broken Oar Grotto is."
"Broken Oar?" the guard mumbled while rubbing his chin. "Think I've heard of it before."
"Hold on," another voice interrupted, and they all turned to see a big and stout Redguard. "You're lookin' to go to Broken Oar Grotto?"
"Yes," Ruby answered honestly.
"Follow me for a second then. I need to talk with you about something."
Ruby looked back at the other two and shrugged before following him. The man led them to a room that made Ruby nearly jump out of her skin. There was a rack, a gibbet, and a table so stained with blood that it was practically dyed a dark red. The man shut the door behind them all and walked over to the center.
"Thickest walls aside from the one around the city. So, you're planning to go to Broken Oar. I suppose you know what's there?"
"Pirates," Ruby answered quickly. "They hurt a friend of ours, nearly killed her."
"Ah, I see. Well then, that makes things easier. Perhaps you can help me out with a problem."
"What problem?"
"I may have accidentally let a prisoner escape, the leader of the so-called Blackblood Marauders, Hargar. I told everyone he died during questioning, so I'm in need of someone to take him down so he doesn't show up and disprove that. Luckily, I have him tracked down, right where you're lookin'."
"Broken Oar Grotto."
Inigo growled. "If he's the leader of those bastards, he's as good as dead."
"That's what I'd like to hear." He turned and pointed at a map on the wall. "Right here, north of the peninsula. Look for the wrecked boats and a small islet just off the shore. You might run into trouble, so make sure you're prepared. Get rid of Hargar, and I'll make sure you get a sack of coins when you return."
"Thanks a lot, uh…" Ruby tried to search for a name in her memory.
"Ahtar. And don't mention it."
"Right. Thank you, anyways."
The three rode towards the north along the shoreline. As morning began to peek around, they found exactly what they were looking for. Several ships were run aground near the large mouth of a cave, where they tied up their horses and headed inside. Ruby immediately brought Crescent Rose to the ready while Blake took out Gambol Shroud and her Daedric dagger. Inigo simply notched his bow and kept his eyes and ears open. As they entered, they saw what looked like a large scaffolding turned platform, where two men were talking at the top. Inigo took aim and loosed an arrow followed by another, and then both men were sent to the floor. With little regard to subtlety, the group then ran in. One man was completely blindsided by Ruby, who swiped him aside with her scythe, sending him into the water below in two halves. A man on lookout was taken down by an arrow and fell from his perch.
The group then came up to a repurposed ship, and a few of the pirates spotted them as they came. They went out in force to meet them, but Ruby took a large breath and held her ground.
"Yol Toor!" she Shouted, setting the dozen or so Marauders ablaze and burning a few of them to death on the spot. Several jumped into the waters, but others struggled before collapsing. The rest looked at her fearfully, but they began moving to flank the group rather than come at them from straight ahead. One came at them with a Dwemer metal greatsword, who Blake engaged with her weapons crossed to block him. As Ruby dashed from target to target, Inigo sped past the others towards the sole Argonian amongst their numbers. Jaree blocked his first strike and tried to reciprocate, but Inigo ducked under the slash and swiped up. While Jaree barely moved out its reach, he couldn't hope to dodge the follow-up and was forced to block it awkwardly, which pushed him back into a column. Inigo let go with one hand and clawed, digging several furrows across his foe's chest. As Jaree screamed, Inigo kicked him, where he dropped his sword. The Argonian tried to get to his feet, but was met with Inigo's ebony sword held to his neck, practically resting against his shoulder. He looked up at the Khajiit's scarred face, fear completely overtaking everything in his mind as he was looked down upon.
"Who will mourn you?" Inigo asked as his sword shifted. "Nobody." Inigo pulled his blade, drawing it across Jaree's throat and slicing through neatly. Jaree-Ra barely noticed for a moment until he reached up and felt the deathly wound. He slowly fell over as death took him and Inigo turned back to see Blake having beheaded Hargar and the remainder of the pirates completely destroyed. He took a deep breath and let it go.
"Let's get out of here."
"God, I hate the cold!" Yang complained as Lucky Day trudged on below her. As they moved, large swaths of snow were pushed aside, and a gust of icy wind caused Yang to bundle herself up and shiver.
"It's not even that cold," Weiss pointed out. Toggle seemed to oink in agreement.
"Weiss, there is snow everywhere. Look right, it's snow. Left, snow. The trees are all covered in snow. That hill? Just a big pile of snow." Yang didn't know whether it was because they were in the Pale or if it was because winter was so close, but regardless the brawler did not like it. She dreaded to think that soon all of Skyrim would be like this.
"You wouldn't last half a day outdoors in Solitas," the heiress remarked before slowly shaking her head.
"Whatever, we're almost there." Yang pointed towards the mountainous area ahead of them. "Damn you, Tolan," she griped with a small snarl before taking a calming breath and looking back to her teammate. "How far out you suppose Erevan is?"
"A few hours, at the least, though I'm willing to bet a day."
"Can't wait a day to go in and save that idiot's hide. We'll have to dive in." Yang hopped off her horse while Weiss slid from her own saddle then tied a lead rope to the hog. "Watch over Lucky, Togs."
Toggle let out a few oinks and the girls headed up an old trail. There were some ancients steps that seemed to have been dug out a time ago, along with a few cairns set with lanterns to light the way. The trail led up and wrapped around the mountain, ending at a shard of ruins where a lit torch had been left. Yang picked it up and sniffed the air and the handle.
"He was here, recently. Come on! We might be in time!"
She tossed the torch behind herself as they both headed into the cave before them. Weiss drew Drainheart while Yang readied Holy in her left hand. As they came close to an open chamber, they began to hear voices.
"These Vigilants never know when to give up," a man stated with a hint of annoyance. "I thought we'd taught them enough of a lesson at their hall."
"To come in here alone…" a woman contemplated. "A fool like all the rest of them."
Yang looked forward and saw the two speakers, a Nord man and a Bosmer woman with a shaved head, both clothed in the leather armor the Volkihar clan sported.
"He fought well, though," the Nord admitted, grudging respect evident in his voice. "Jeron and Bresoth were no match for him."
"Ha, those two deserved what they got." The Bosmer haughtily laughed. "Their arrogance had become insufferable."
A few more steps to the left and Yang could see three bodies laid out close to each other. Two of them were vampires as well, but the third she could plainly see was wearing the robes of a Vigilant.
"No," she muttered before clenching her teeth. "Damnit."
She went still when she heard something else padding along the cold ground and looked to see one of their undead dog things sniffing about. It turned in her direction and snarled, but Yang quickly took up her crossbow with her right hand, loaded and ready, and fired the bolt from it. The missile zipped through the air and hit the beast in the head, killing it instantly, but the vampires quickly took notice.
"I was really considering asking for surrender," Yang started as she holstered the weapon and drew Black Whisper, "but I've decided against it."
"I must concur," Weiss said as she readied herself.
"Get them!" the woman yelled as she charged. The man went behind her and the Huntresses met them. Weiss gracefully jumped over the woman while cutting across her throat, whereas Yang slammed one axe against the man's sword then smashed the other through the iron weapon and his shoulder. She then struck down a third time before kicking him off her blades, his upper body practically chopped into thirds.
"Those were grunts," Yang stated as she dipped her axes into a cold stream going by and sheathed them. As she began looking around, she went over to Tolan's body and looked him over, finding stab wounds in his left thigh, gut, and chest, as well as a deep gouge on his throat. Still, the other two vampire corpses let her know that he had gone down swinging, one of them with a caved in chest and the other with her head smashed like a melon.
"You idiot," she muttered at the dead man. "Gods, if you've ever been just, take your hardheaded servant to rest." She crossed his arms over his chest and then laid his hammer upon them. For a moment she just kneeled by the dead man, then reached over and took his Stendarr amulet. She held the horn-shaped piece between her fingers for a moment and then pocketed it. "I'll let your brothers and sisters know." She stood up just before a metal gate opened up nearby, then Weiss came back from a section of the ruins towards the front of the chamber.
"Found the switch, and I also found an ancient enchanted sword." Weiss help up a glass sword, shaped more akin to the Nordic style, only slimmer. "Weight's a little different than I'm used to, but the fact that it has a Paralysis enchantment makes it worth it." The heiress then looked over at the fallen Vigilant and sighed. "I'm sorry. If I hadn't made us backtrack…"
"No, Weiss, don't blame yourself for this. What's done is done. Tolan made a choice and it cost him. Just wish he had waited a little more." Yang nodded at the body and began to head down. "Come on. We need to figure out what these guys want from here."
The pair traveled down into the tomb, going through a winding hallway for a moment before coming up into a cavern filled with iron caskets and a stream running through the center. Weiss gasped and looked around at the architecture.
"I don't believe this… This is different than the other tombs."
"I don't see it," Yang admitted. Granted, she hadn't been in too many ruins as of late, but they all kind of looked the same to her.
"Look, normally the Nordic tombs held dragon motifs everywhere, but see on the coffins and those braziers? Those are bird motifs. And while I've seen standing coffins I've never seen them set like this."
"So, what does it mean?"
"I'm not entirely sure. I'll have to compare it to other known tombs and look at the history, but this may be indicative of who exactly built this place." With that the two hopped down and walked along next to the stream. After a bit of a walk, Yang held her arm out then took up her crossbow, loaded it, and aimed. The bolt went flying and hit a vampire that Weiss hadn't quite noticed in the back, causing her to stumble forward and fall to her knees. The heiress ran forward as another vampire came up and struck out. He managed to parry, and just then a pair of skeletons popped out of the ground. Yang smashed one apart with Holy then shoulder slammed the other into a wall while Weiss riposted and then sliced up, felling her foe just before several more skeletons came from upstairs. Yang started smashing them apart one after the other while Weiss summoned a Flame Atronach behind them. The brittle undead were quickly destroyed, and then all was left was the other vampire struggling to get to her feet.
"All right," Yang said calmly as she walked up to the vampire. "We can-"
With a shout, the vampire turned and tried to bring her axe down on Yang, only for the blonde to catch her wrist and look at her with an unamused expression.
"Yeah. No." Yang punched her across the chin and the undead woman went limp. "Now, as I was saying… Uh, hello?" She reached over and poked her neck before dropping her to the ground. "Oh…shit. I killed her."
"How hard did you hit her?"
"Not that hard, I thought. I mean, I hit that one vampire harder and he… Ah, never mind. I'm guessing there's a level of power difference at play."
The two went up and around, going by a line of graves with headstones that had swirling symbols and pictures engraved and painted upon their surfaces. The next room also held a number of coffins, with four of them set deep into the floor and three set in corners more normally but without lids. Further down they came upon a battle between risen draugr and a vampire and her hound. The beast managed to mangle one of the mummified corpses' legs, but was still struck in a deathly way on its neck before the vampire managed to send an ice spike through her foe's head. The other then sliced open her side, spilling some of her insides as she screamed and fell to the ground, clutching her wound. Yang threw Holy, hitting the other draugr in its chest and splitting it nearly in half, but it still managed to stab the vampire in the throat as it fell. After Yang recollected her war axe, they pressed on.
"Oh, that doesn't look good," the blonde commented when they entered the next chamber to see another graveyard, only this one had become submerged by a pair of waterfalls pouring in. A few steps closer and a number of skeletons began to rise out of the water. "Aw man!"
"What?" Weiss asked as she readied herself.
"I wish I had recorded that! That was menacing as all get out! It would have been perfect!"
Weiss stared at her teammate for a moment, her expression blank and unamused while Yang had the audacity to actually look put out, before they began destroying the bony things. A vampire from across the subterranean pond noticed them and tried to drain Weiss as she approached, only for her to fire her own drain right back and close the gap with him. Her sword pierced him all the way through and then threw him off the blade. They went into the hall beyond the cavern and made to turn, but both girls gasped and nearly screamed before they calmed themselves.
"It's okay," Yang said reassuringly as she went up and kicked the dog-sized spider corpse. "It's already dead."
"Yes, that's good." Weiss took a few breaths and looked to her side before pushing against some of the webbing at the doorway. "Yang, I just had-"
A vampire suddenly popped around a corner and looked in their direction. "I thought I smelled mortal blood!"
"Must mean me," Yang said with a chuckle before the vampire threw a spell at the dead spider. It began moving and picked itself up and Yang screamed before kicking it at the vampire and throwing an explosive Fireball after it. It exploded into a green splatter and fiery orange and the vampire screamed in pain. The Atronach sent another at her for good measure just before a pair of undead dogs came charging. One was smashed aside by a pair of axes while the other found itself jumping onto Weiss' sword. Two more vampires appeared and started throwing ice and drain spells, only for them to ram into Weiss' ward. She concentrated on the power of the Staff of Magnus and felt it reach out and begin sucking away at the magicka and life-force of one vampire while Yang met the other in melee, quickly chopping him down with overpowering force. Just past them they came upon a massive spider, perhaps the size of the one they killed back in Bleak Falls, fighting a single vampire. Both were covered in wounds, but the vampire was still going strong before he managed to jab the creature in the head. Weiss' Atronach threw a firebolt at him when he turned, and the vampire was sent to the ground smoldering.
"Whew, there are a lot of these guys. They really want whatever's down here," Yang remarked as she and Weiss moved gingerly through the exploded spider bits.
"Yes. You know, I had thought they might be open to communication, but it seems they don't care about who I might be."
"Yeah, seems like it. Maybe it's a clan thing." The two went between a pair of overlooking gargoyle statues and through a door into a room with two large paneless window grills, an open doorway, and several gargoyle statues standing at the exit. Idly, Weiss noted that the architecture had changed almost entirely from something Merethic to a design far more sophisticated.
"I'll never tell you anything, vampire," the girls heard as though across a canyon, surprising them both. "My oath to Stendarr is stronger than any suffering you can inflict on me."
"I believe you, Vigilant," an oily voice answered. "And I don't even think you know what you've found here. So go and meet your beloved Stendarr."
The girls gasped and almost ran to the other side and looked over the balcony to see a pair of vampires and an enthralled Orc standing over the body of a half-dressed man who now had a slit throat in addition to his hands being bound behind his back. Yang's eyes burned red and golden hairs began to stick out of her upper body while Weiss clutched her Staff tightly.
"Are you sure that was wise, Lokil?" the female vampire asked her male companion who was now licking his knife clean. "He still might have told us something. We haven't gotten anywhere ourselves with-"
"He knew nothing," the man cut her off before sheathing his blade. "He served his purpose by leading us to this place. Now it's up to us to bring Harkon the prize." He began walking away from the slain Vigilant, tossing a book down to land near his head. "And we will not return without it. Vingalmo and Orthjolf will make way for me after this."
"Yes, of course, Lokil." The woman nodded before wagging her finger at him. "Do not forget who brought you news of the Vigilants' discovery."
"I never forget who my friends are, Galla. Or my enemies." Lokil said the last statement warningly, to which Galla merely smirked.
"Any objections to me killing these scumbags?" Yang asked her friend, anger still evident on her face.
"None." The two then jumped down and landed on the dais the vampires had been about to leave. The thrall charged them with a sword in hand, but Weiss slashed at him, cutting across his arm. Rather than flinch back like she'd planned, the Orc fell over stiff from the enchantment of the sword taking hold. Taking advantage of this fact, Weiss focused ice into one of her glyphs and caused ice to erupt from the ground and around the thrall's body, locking him into place to the point he couldn't even wriggle. The female vampire stared at the display with something near disbelief before clenching her teeth in anger.
"That…was my favorite, you little wench!" Galla screamed at her, seemingly mistaking the prison for an ardent kill.
"Don't see why, unless you meant something aside from a meal."
The vampire growled, but Lokil held his hand out to stop her.
"You should run along now, child. There's no blood here for you."
"I don't know. You two look like you bleed," Yang quipped as she took up her axes. He looked over at her and snarled.
"I see. Very well then." He looked over at his companion and lowered his arm. "Don't hold back. Allow us to show you how mortal you still are, vampire."
Red liquid began surrounding him and started to surround her a second later, and then both charged forward just as the bloody change finished. Galla glided at Weiss and then grasped her before flying upwards and then kicking her away. The woman still held a feminine shape, perhaps even more feminine than before, with her face still present, but now framed by monstrous claws, feet and wing-like protrusions. Somehow, her outfit had also changed from the armor of before into a scanty covering.
"Wha- what?" Weiss got out as she stumbled from her landing and gazed up to fully take in her opponent's new appearance.
"You're going to pay for killing my favorite slave," the vampire promised darkly. "If you're lucky, I'll kill you, but I haven't decided yet."
Yang pushed the other Vampire Lord away and accessed the situation. The platform she was on was too small for a proper battle against something with as much mobility as one of them, which meant she needed to get over to the much larger platform in the center. As he prepped a spell, Yang braced herself and leaped away before charging towards the area. Luckily, there were plenty of pillars and the like to duck behind and force him to come closer. While she could hit him with fireballs or her crossbow, she preferred to finish him off as quickly as possible, and that meant taking off as big of a chunk out of him as possible.
The vampire took the bait and hovered in closer, within reach if Yang was quick enough. Another ball of red light came at her and Yang jumped up and forward as hard as she could, performing a flip midair and coming down on her foe with an axekick. The Vampire Lord stumbled down on his feet and Yang came in swinging, Holy digging a deep gouge in his right side and Black Whisper carving his left. Before she could get a third hit in, he reached out and grabbed her wrists before pulling her arms apart as far as they could go and then trying to pull them even further. Yang screamed at the strain she was feeling as he shook his head and looked at her.
"You're strong, mortal. Perhaps strong enough to consider-" His words halted as Yang's leg kicked out, knocking him away and into a pillar, the impact thoroughly cracking the stone column. To both of their surprise, her leg was longer with a swath of yellow-gold fur exposed between the greave and cuisse. Yang was dumbfounded for a split second before she focused and shifted it back into human form.
'Okay, that loosened my greaves, but I think I can work with this.'
Weiss blocked the rapid claw strikes coming for her before reaching out and hitting Galla with a Vampiric Drain. The Vampire Lord shrieked at the feeling and threw an orb at Weiss that the heiress blocked by flipping the Staff of Magnus from under her arm and absorbing it. Enraged, Galla took wing and zoomed over to the side before dashing again behind her. Weiss turned, only to see a cloud of bats. For half a moment, she was still, but managed to turn in time to see and duck under the sickle claws of her enemy. However, caught in an awkward position, Weiss couldn't fight back as Galla surged forward and pushed her to the ground. As her back hit stone and dirt, the larger woman grasped her wrists and stepped onto her ankles. Weiss struggled to get loose, but the other vampire's strength greatly outmatched her own. Galla looked down at her with a smirk that slowly widened and morphed into an evil smile.
"Oh, you are pretty. And unlucky. I decided I'm not going to kill you." She moved and pressed her knees to Weiss' thighs. "Bitten young weren't you? Lucky me…"
Horror sank into Weiss' mind at the implications. Her struggles renewed, but it only seemed to excite the vampire holding her down even more. Galla laughed and tightened her grip while bringing her face closer.
"Don't worry. It only hurts once." As the vampire opened her mouth wider and brought her fangs towards Weiss' neck, she screamed and pushed out her magicka in every direction, not caring for the consequences. The scar around her eye burned and one of her feet seemed to be sending arcs of electricity about randomly. From her left hand came a chill so cold even she was feeling it bite into her, and her attacker was noticing it as well. Galla looked over in worry and screamed as she picked herself back up to her knees and clutched a half-frozen half-frostbitten hand. Weiss screamed louder as she grasped her glass sword and swung up, slicing across her foe's face and sending her back further. Weiss followed and kept screaming as she slashed again and again, hitting her arms as Galla tried to block the cuts. One slice swept through her frozen wrist, cleaving off her hand and she screamed while reaching for it, only to go still. Weiss paused when she realized the sword's enchantment had managed to sink in and then stabbed into the ground where one of her glyphs formed beneath it. A copy of it bearing an elaborate sword pattern appeared behind her and the Vampire Lord's eyes widened as a greatsword longer than she was tall and wielded by two metallic arms emerged. The white blade was then brought up, ready to come down upon her.
"Rot in Oblivion!" Weiss cursed her with eyes a poisonous yellow before the sword swung down, slicing through the remaining arm futilely raised between them and cleaving Galla in half. As the second hand fell next to the first, the Vampire Lord's body melted into blood and her bones turned to ash, all mixing into a filthy, red puddle. Weiss' summon disappeared, and the girl shivered as she wrapped her arms around herself.
Yang bashed her foe away, leaving two deep cuts that were quickly sealing up. She sent a fireball after him and Lokil ducked under it and charged her. She went to get him in an uppercut, but he stopped just before the blow could touch him and then reached out with a swing of his claws, knocking Yang back and nearly into a pillar. Before she could go back, he rushed up and grabbed the handles of her war axes.
"No more of that," he said with a laugh. Yang then let go of both and brought her right fist around in a hook, knocking his face away from hers. As he straightened, her left came around in a haymaker.
"Not your call," she taunted while cracking her neck. He growled and she jabbed at him. He blocked with his arm, then she closed in for a quicker one, only for her hand to open and her fingers to turn into yellow-furred claws that gripped his arm hard enough to break through the skin and draw blood. Caught in her grip, the Vampire Lord was at the mercy of several of Yang's punches, each with some of the force she had been hit by in their battle coming back at him. Lokil managed to rip himself away and tried to jump into the air, but Yang caught his foot and tugged him back down. His claws scrabbled against the stone floor as she dragged him around and began swinging him around herself like an axle, smashing his head against a pillar on the third turn and cracking it while letting go. As he tried to get up, Yang scooped up Black Whisper and threw it at him, the ebony axe sinking into the flesh of his belly and closing off his magicka yet again. As his body tried to heal, Yang ran up and shoved him back into an arch before kneeing the back of the axe head, pushing it further into him. As the vampire cried out, Yang pulled loose Volendrung, which had been little more than dead weight to her throughout most of the battle, spun, and swung it around and smashed it into his chest. Lokil tried to cry out, but could do little more than squeak out a hiss of air as he reached forwards. Yang let the spiked hammer go, which stayed stuck in his chest, and pulled Fiery free. She brought the axe around with a yell and chopped into the vampire's skull, right above his nose. Dead, the Vampire Lord dissolved into blood and ash, and all the weapons embedded into him fell into the mix.
After Yang caught her breath, she looked down and grimaced at the mess surrounding her weapons. "Ew," she groaned before looking to see how was Weiss was doing, only to see the friendly vampire crossing the bridge to the central platform. "Hey, Weiss. Kill yours okay?"
"I don't want to talk about it," the heiress muttered.
"Okay." Yang decided not to press for details. The look in Weiss' eyes was more than enough for her to know she seriously meant it. "Hey, you know a spell to make water, right?"
Weiss nodded and summoned up a ball of water that she poured onto the bloody weapons. Once clear of the blood and ash, she stopped and Yang began picking them up and wiping them off.
"Thanks, Weiss."
"You're welcome." Weiss started looking around, trying to figure out what the vampires wanted from the place. She started walking around and looking into the empty braziers, but nothing about them really stuck out to Weiss except how they were placed around a sort of pedestal in the center. She hummed as she went over to the singular object, and noticed how the circle at the top seemed like a button. She looked around, but could see nothing that could have been a trap, unless the braziers themselves were the traps. As Yang came back from checking the Vigilant's body, Weiss pressed down on the button then screamed in pain as a spike shot up and through her palm.
"Weiss!" Yang shouted as purple light seemed to erupt from below in a circle. The girls were still for a moment, but nothing else seemed to be happening. "What happened?"
"If I were to guess," Weiss ground out while trying to heal her hand, "this thing needed blood given to it to be activated."
"Here," Yang offered while uncorking a healing potion. Walking through the purple light seemed to do nothing to her, so she looked at it a little more closely and noticed a branch of the light going out from the circle past one of the braziers. "Hey, these do anything?" Yang asked while pointing at it.
"I don't think… Well, they didn't a minute ago?"
"Did they have purple stuff in them a minute ago?" Yang asked while looking down into it.
"What?" Weiss walked up and looked down as well. "I don't think so. I'm sure I would have noticed that."
"Huh. Did they move, too?" Yang asked as she pushed the brazier's stand, making it slide along the purple line.
"Definitely not." Weiss looked at her newly healed hand and clenched it while Yang pushed the brazier to the outer edge where it locked into place and purple fire sprang to life from it while some sort of energy seemed to be siphoned from Weiss. "What…?"
"Whoa! The line got longer," Yang pointed out toward the purple light that had gone from the lit brazier and turned to touch the circle, going through another unlit one.
"I guess we're supposed to put them in the right order," Weiss surmised while walking over to it. She pushed it to the outer edge, only for nothing to happen.
"I think you've got to follow the line."
"Oh, of course." Weiss pushed it back, this time taking it to the inner circle just before the circle of light, where it lit itself while drawing more of the same energy from her.
"You okay?" Yang asked in concern.
"I'm fine. It's barely noticeable. Not like Morokei at all."
"That's good, I guess. Still, even a mini-Morokei would be bad news."
Weiss couldn't help but agree as she went over and pushed the next brazier into place, with Yang already ready to shove the next right.
"What kind of shape is this making?"
"No idea. Some sort of rune, maybe? A family sigil?" Weiss shrugged before pushing the last one into place. As the line of purple met back with itself, the center of the platform seemed to split apart and release a ton of pressurized air and magic. The braziers shot back, Weiss barely getting out of the way of one, and the whole floor shifted, lowering itself from the center out in tiers like compact bleachers, with the very center staying put as a pentagonal obelisk.
"Whoa," Yang mumbled in quiet amazement. "Okay. So what's that?
"I don't know. We'll have to see." They walked up to the column and looked around it for a moment before stopping at the two sides with linear divots down most of their centers.
"Well, I don't really know what else to do about it," Weiss admitted. "Try opening it, but be ready."
Yang nodded and pulled against them then pushed. When nothing happened she tried to pull it down, but still nothing budged. She stopped and moment and hummed in contemplation while Weiss walked up and looked it over before looking at her hand.
"Oh, how silly! Of course it'd be something magic." Weiss pressed her hand to the monolith and immediately it shifted. Stone slid against stone as part of it fell away. Both the girls gasped when a young woman was revealed within, seemingly asleep while standing. Her knees gave and she fell over and caught herself before standing back on her feet and opening her eyes, showing them her orange irises.
"Unh… Where is…" She looked at them both in confusion as the girls stood at the ready. "Who sent you here?"