Well, looks like this will be the last chapter of the year. No way I'm getting another ready by January 1st. Well, here you guys go. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you, especially xTRESTWHOx and NaanContributor.
"Are we sure about this?" Lydia asked as they walked along the river towards the large mansion set near its banks. The moment they got back from the party and changed into more casual wear (as casual as full armor could be), they headed down from Solitude and followed the directions to Capric's abode.
"I'm a little apprehensive myself," Blake admitted. "But we need to get to the bottom of this. What does he know, and why?"
"For one thing, we know he has something to do with Remnant." Ruby opened up her scroll and went into her music files. "The song he was leading was one from home." She played it, and Lydia listened for a moment to the tune.
"That does sound like something I think I heard."
"Not just that, he mentioned something about Faunus when he came in and took down those others." Blake winced at the memory, the expression of terror that the bound elf had displayed before being nearly quartered now burned into her brain. "That's not a word people on Nirn would just know."
"What would an elf have to do with Remnant, though?" Lydia asked while looking at Blake. The Faunus looked at her after a moment of thought, then sighed and shook her head.
"Maybe he met someone? Elves live a really long time, right? I remember another Bosmer saying he was, like, three hundred or something. Didn't look a day over forty." Ruby hummed to herself. "Wait, that Psijic guy! He said something about the last transfer happening a hundred years ago. Maybe this Capric guy knows about them?"
"Possibly." They paused at the stairs leading up to the doorway before slowly heading up. Ruby prepared herself to rap her knuckles on the door but paused when she noticed the pull rope. She grasped it and tugged, causing a chime and a small gong to ring inside. A few moments later, the door was opened by a Wood Elf standing stiff and straight, clothed in black and red silk that gave off a very dapper appearance. His face had a few age lines, while his head was shaved completely smooth. He looked at them all with his features almost completely blank before holding his hands in front of himself.
"You must be the young Lady Ruby. Master Thorn is occupied at the moment, but you and your associates may wait in the foyer." He then stood aside, allowing them to walk into the house.
"Uh, thanks," Ruby said as she and her party entered. The vestibule was simply furnished with a small fireplace, a few chairs and sofas, a couple of hunting trophies set upon the walls, and a painting of a group of people. The painting itself had Capric within it, his antlers about half the size as they currently were. There was also a large number of Bosmer, several Khajiits of different forms, and a couple of Altmer. Each wore two insignias somewhere on their persons, one being the Aldmeri Dominion's eagle, but the other was a leafy branch and a thorny vine crossing each other on a starry field.
"Ah, the master's old war painting. Yes, he had that commissioned to honor his platoon. The 35th Mage Corp's 12th Division 6th Platoon, Xylo's Brambles."
"He was in the war?" Ruby asked in surprise. Blake looked over at the picture and focused in on it. Capric seemed to be at the forefront of it all, almost in a position of prominence, despite not wearing the Thalmor uniform then.
"I understand a young girl living in Skyrim like yourself may not understand it, but know that he fought very honorably. Most of his efforts were to secure his objectives as bloodlessly as battle allows and keep as many of his comrades alive as possible." The butler closed the door and then began heading further into the house. "I will see if he's ready for guests. Pardon me."
After the butler was gone, Blake looked back and felt one of her ears twitch.
"Guys, give me a sec," she said while readying an Invisibility spell.
"Blake, you can't go sneaking around someone's-" The Faunus suddenly disappeared, and Ruby sighed. "Just don't go peeking into anything private."
Blake shook her head as she headed down the hallway, following the sound of the butler's footsteps and pausing as she saw him come to a stop and knock on a door near the back of the house.
"What is it?" Capric's voice asked from within.
"Your guests are here, sir. I have them waiting in the foyer."
"Ah, yes. Just a moment then. Go ahead and finish prepping supper, then take the night to Solitude. Cost covers are at the back door."
"By your will, sir." He turned and continued on down the hall, opening a door that led to what looked like the kitchen and then closing it behind himself. Blake closed her eyes and then focused her ears on the room Capric was in.
"Well, seems I have to go, soon," she heard him beyond the wooden barriers. "We'll have to pick this up again later. Sorry, my queen."
'Queen?' Blake wondered.
"Oh, don't worry about it, Capric," a voice that sounded like it was coming through an old scroll, or one with a weak signal, reassured him. "These are supposed to be the people that can help with this dragon situation, aren't they?"
"Indeed, they are. Mutual self-interest will ensure they work with us on this."
"That's good. I hope they are as capable as the rumors paint them. We need you on your best here, Capric. With Rulinidil killed by the Stormcloak assassins, you're the only one left we can entrust with handling the dragon situation without pulling resources from other needy areas. I'll let the Council know you're taking charge, and I'll be having words with Elenwen about this security failure."
"Do be kind to her. The failing seems to be more the fault of Rulinidil leaving such a gaping opening unguarded. True, he was her responsibility, but the guiltiest party seems to have paid the price."
"You are too forgiving at times, but I will keep it in mind. Fair thee well, Capric Thorn."
"To you the same, Queen Ayrenn." Blake heard something like a blip on a screen, then backtracked to the foyer where she dispelled her Invisibility, causing Lydia to quickly turn to her and Ruby to jump a little.
"Everything good?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Maybe." Blake brushed her hair back and sighed. "Do either of you know who's in charge of the Aldmeri Dominion?"
"Nominally, Queen Ayrenn III, Aurinai Aldmeri," Blake heard from behind, causing her to spin around as her heart jumped. Capric suppressed a chortle at her surprise, covering his mouth with his hand as he shook his head. The Thalmor agent was now clothed in brown cotton breeches, a red shirt, and house shoes. If any of the three women saw him in this state upon their first meeting, they would have never known him to be a member of the shady organization. "But, a lot of the power resides in the Aldmeri Council. If I dare say, it mostly functions the same as the Empire. Why do you ask?"
"Just…wondering," Blake lied while fighting the urge to flinch back or rub her arms. "Someone has to be in charge."
"True enough. Organization tends to be more important than a central power, in my mind. So long as all the branches are growing right, the tree will prosper." A moment of silence stretched between them before Ruby stepped forward.
"Okay, so we've got a lot of questions to ask. Where do we start?"
"I'd say at dinner. Syndergoth will leave once everything's prepped and we'll have more than enough privacy to say what we want and need. Meanwhile, is there anything less than private you'd care to talk about? How was finding the place, for instance?"
"We found it okay. You can see it from Katla's Farm."
"Ah, the place with the stables. Yes, I didn't want to be too far from civilization. A bit pointless to start up a small economy just to keep myself fed while on an assignment, though this one might be a bit bigger than ones in the past."
"Yeah, what exactly are you assigned to do?" Blake asked, making sure her suspicion wasn't evident on her face or in her voice.
"It can either be stated vaguely or long-winded, but the short of it boils down to 'solve the Dragon Crisis'. I wasn't a part of it, at first, but then I requested to be brought in when I heard about, well, you." He indicated the two of them. "Especially…you," he directed to Blake while looking over her face. She felt her nervousness grow for a moment before he laughed to himself and shook his head. "I'm almost certain of it, now. But more on that, later."
"Okay." Ruby shrugged. "Your butler said you were in the war. Does that mean you fought in the Great War here?"
"Yes, that." He nodded while closing his eyes. "Unfortunate, that, but I did what I could. I admit, I made a few mistakes, and some decisions a person like me should have no right to make. In the end, though, I think I accomplished what I set out to do and then some. It certainly got me some attention." He smirked. "And a nice, purple uniform."
"Sir," the group heard as the butler returned, "dinner is served."
"Thank you, Syndergoth. Take the evening, then."
"Yes, sir. I suppose I'll go and see this Solitude up close." Syndergoth bowed, and as he walked down one hallway, Capric motioned them to follow him into another.
"I apologize if you've already eaten, but I haven't yet, and my diet tends to…cause glares." A few eyebrows were raised at that comment.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Ruby asked slowly, remembering Jordis' feelings towards Bosmeri diets.
"It's not exactly normal for a Bosmer." The group heard a door close and Capric made a small sound of acknowledgment while activating a spell. His eyes followed something unseen by the others while he smirked. "Synd, you old goat, you were ready to go out for a while." He let the spell go as they came into the dining room, where a table able to seat eight was set with four plates, cups, and silverware, a spread set out through the center, of which the main piece was a large bowl of lettuce. "Please, have a seat and help yourselves."
"Uh, I don't see what's so weird," Ruby stated while pointing out the food. "Salad stuff, grilled fish, chopped fruits…"
"There's no red meat," Blake pointed out and Lydia nodded.
"Yes, I never developed a taste for it," Capric explained as he seated himself at the head of a table. "I take more after my father in that regard. Ah, speaking of which, you're all probably bursting with questions right about now."
"Yeah, like how did you know that song?" Ruby shot while noticing some strawberries sitting across from the sliced apples.
"Well, that's simple. I bought the album."
Both the girls looked back over at him, the admission not halting Ruby's subtle attempts to take the bowl of strawberries. Capric laughed at this and handed her the bowl.
"So, you've been to Remnant," Blake figured, to which Capric nodded.
"I've more than been there. I was born there."
That revelation actually stunned them. Ruby felt her words get caught in her throat a few times before looking at the side of his head to see the points of his ears.
"But you're an elf!"
"I am, I suppose. On my mother's side."
"And you take after your dad's diet," Blake said while indicating the vegetable-centered dinner set before them. "He was a Faunus, wasn't he?"
"He was a deer Faunus, to be specific. Forest Shields Prince. My mother was Tuinel Thorn." Capric continued on, casually fixing his plate with several grasps of lettuce, spinach leaves, apples, and diced chicken. "Somehow, by means I have not been able to discern in all my years, my mother ended up on Remnant. She was mistaken for a deer Faunus due to her antlers, but luckily she ended up in a mostly Faunus populated area. She met my father, and a few years later, I was born. We always figured the ears were just a fit of genetics, no different than having a certain eye or hair color. One day she disappeared, and we assumed the worst, especially since the Mistralians' aggression was growing at the time. If it wasn't the Grimm, it was probably one of them." An angry look crossed his face for a moment, before he dropped it for a slight melancholy, then brought back his polite smile. "Well, since I'm on that, how did the war over on Remnant go?"
"War?" Blake and Ruby met eyes for a second. "Uh, which war do you mean?"
"Well, goodness, how many have there been in the past hundred years?"
"Hundred?" Ruby let her mouth hang open while thinking. "There was the Great War, and then the Faunus Rights Revolution. I think that's really it."
Capric seemed to go stock still, looking at her as though in shock. After a moment, he let go of his fork and knife, letting them clink against his plate.
"Okay, what…year is it?"
"Um, Eighty AGW…"
"You're…kidding me…" Capric leaned back into his chair and stared at the ceiling while going still. The guests looked back and forth at each other for a minute, trying to figure out what was going on, before a chuckle rose up from the half-elf's throat. He finally sat back up, mirth coating his face.
"Gods damn, you mean… You mean to tell me…it's only been about twenty-four years since September of Fifty-six?"
"Uh… Yeah?"
His eyes went back over to Blake, his smile still stretched across his face. "Well, seeing as they called it a revolution, that means we won, yes?" He barely saw her nod before laughing and closing his eyes as it seemed to sink in. When he looked back at her, Blake couldn't help but feel like he was dissecting everything he could see about her. "Goodness gracious, you… I don't want to assume here, but…your name is Belladonna, yes?"
"Blake Belladonna," she confirmed.
"You know Ghira then?" Blake wanted to jump out of her seat and demand how he knew about her father, but she remained calm and reminded herself that pretty much any Faunus from Anima in the Fifties knew the name Ghira Belladonna.
"I do."
"Blake, isn't that your dad?"
"Ruby…" Blake muttered.
Capric let out a jovial laugh, tears coming from the corners of his eyes.
"Don't tell me! Kali finally got that man to notice her! Oh, Sweet Spring, this is some of the best news I've had since getting to this world! We won! Some of my friends led happy lives! There's still time!" As he laughed in honest joy, Lydia looked over to Blake.
"What exactly is going on?" the housecarl asked, and Blake moved to explain.
"My father was fairly well-known thanks to… Wait, friends?" the Faunus shot over to the host.
"I'm sorry," he apologized while wiping some tears away. "Yes, sorry. Friends might be stretching it, but my father… Our fathers were good friends. They were a part of the group leading the charge against the Mistralians. Well, before the Mistral government went from turning their backs to it all, to outright supporting the mobs. Things…happened after that. I was practically a boy at the time." He rubbed his chin while closing his eyes. Somberness seemed to take him a moment before he managed to bounce back. "It was in the middle of it all that I ended up just outside of Cori Silmoor, far in the west of Valenwood. I was badly injured and my Aura was drained completely. The healers that scraped me up off the ground were surprised when I recovered, but not too surprised when I didn't seem to have even basic knowledge of Tamriel. At the very least, I was able to play off my cluelessness as amnesia. That was…in Year One Hundred of the Fourth Era. At the time, I thought it had something to do with the moons returning, as it seemed to happen right at the end of the Void Nights. I've been looking into Dawn Magics this whole time to find a way, but with your group… Well, maybe the dragons have some answers. I have to wonder about the time disparity, though."
"Oh, it turns out the timelines are nonlinear," Ruby explained to him.
"Ruby," Blake said, getting her attention.
"What is it?" she asked, looking over at her teammate. Capric looked over as well, though he seemed to catch on a bit quicker.
"I see. It's fine if you don't trust me with everything, but believe me, I also want to get back to Remnant. It was my home, and while I have plenty of fond memories of this world, I want to see it again. My aging notwithstanding, I could never really fit in with any of what this world tells me is my people."
"For someone who doesn't fit in, you sure found a niche."
"Blake," Ruby quietly objected.
"Yes, the Thalmor. Believe me, it wasn't my first choice, but when it came to working for them I had no choice. I clawed my way up into their ranks for two reasons, and the main one was to use their resources to find a way back."
"And the second?" Blake quickly asked.
"To try and keep them from going too far. You don't realize what kind of web these people have spun. I've barely plucked at a few strands and have seen so much." He sighed at that. "Trust me with this much, I don't want the Thalmor to have anything to do with Remnant."
Blake mulled his words over in her head, trying to weigh what she knew against what Capric had just relayed to her. Part of her managed to dig up memories of old stories her father used to tell her when she was little.
'Lou, Louie, Gilly, Kait,…Forest… He did talk about a Forest sometimes. What did he say? "Forest went and clobbered those"… Did he say Huntsmen? No, something else.'
"Blake?" Ruby tried to get her to speak up.
"Look," Blake started with a pointed stare, "we still don't really know you, or what you want. Trust is something earned, not freely given out."
"Fair enough," he agreed before taking up a forkful of salad and eating it. As he chewed, he collected a few cherry tomatoes and started slicing them in half. "Well, to start with, I'm willing to share a few resources with you. Mostly information, but the kind I think you'll find relevant. I know there are these places dotted around Skyrim with draconic writing, and you can read them."
"Yeah, Dovahzul. I can read and speak it, but it's…weird. It's sort of an intrinsic thing. Like when you see some parts and know they go together, but… No, that's probably a bad example. It just kinda is, ya know."
"It's fine. Good news though, my informants have already found a likely spot for one of those dragon word stones." At that, he frowned. "Unfortunately, it appears to be a vampire nest."
"Bad vampires, or…not bad vampires?" Ruby asked apprehensively.
"They destroyed a chapel of Arkay in a nearby village about half a year ago. I won't even say what they did with their victims."
"Okay, bad ones."
"How come nobody did something about them 'til now?" Blake asked.
"From the related reports, no one knew where they were based. Vampire investigations go under Iirerande's jurisdiction, and I can already tell her section is severely underfunded. From what I've heard, she's been seeking permission to work alongside that vampire hunting guild that sprouted up recently. Anyhow, if you want to get down there, you'll have to get rid of them, which can only benefit society."
"I guess. Where's this place?"
"Shriekwind Bastion, in the mountain north of Falkreath. Be careful there, and try to send me a message once you're done. A simple 'finished', will do. I'll try to let you know the moment I get more information."
A ringing suddenly sounded out and Ruby pulled out her scroll to see Yang calling.
"Uh, sorry. I have to take this." The girl pressed the buttons on its face and put it to her ear while leaving the dining room. "Hey, what's up? Whoa, hey, calm down!"
"Huh, phones have gotten really advanced since I left," Capric observed. "Back in my day, you'd need a backpack-sized contraption and a friend handling the antennae to make a mobile call."
"Yeah, there's been some advancement," Blake agreed.
"She did WHAT!?" Ruby screamed, actually causing the house to rattle.
He was walking down into the Corprusarium, the zombie-like 'patients' shuffling about around him. Where before he had been hiding his head and face behind a hood and a veil, here he felt no need. The only people around were other victims of Corprus, and most of them were far worse off. One looked at him and tried reaching towards him with a bloated hand, seemingly ready to claw at him with his nails, but the diseased being nearly tripped over himself.
'That might be me, one day,' a stray thought told him, but he shook his head violently. Divayth Fyr offered him a cure, but, as he explained, there was a high likelihood that it would kill him. Still, he had to risk it. Just from seeing the people stumbling around down here, he knew he couldn't let himself become one of them. Outside, he would either go insane or get killed by someone afraid of him, if not just thrown back in this tower. Even if he thought he could avoid it, he wouldn't let himself just spread the disease. This cure was going to be all or nothing, and even if he survived but retained the infection, he would keep trying.
His footsteps slowed as he came upon a strange sight. There was another Corprus victim, his abdomen bloated to an unseemly level, resting on what looked like the legs of a Dwarven Spider. He was speaking to a Dunmer woman, likely one of those 'daughters' Divayth mentioned. As he approached, the two elves turned towards him, seeming to recognize his sanity.
"You're here for the Dwemer boots," the patient rightly guessed while reaching over and picking up a pair of bronze-colored, metal boots. "Tell my gracious keeper that I have done what I could. Only a Dwemer magecrafter could have done so much. But only idiots could have created these boots. It shames my race that we must be judged by the works of such lack-wit blunderers."
As he slowly took the boots, he looked at the being who had given them to him.
"You're a…Dwemer?" his rough and scarred voice managed to get out.
"Indeed," the sick elf replied. "You stand in the presence of Yagrum Bagarn, Master Crafter, and Last Living Dwarf."
"You're…still sane?"
"Yes. Or at least, I am sane again, thanks to Lord Fyr. I owe him my life. He took me in when I was a mad monster, out of my mind. In time, I emerged from my dementia, and now I am quite lucid most of the time, though my body is still a grotesque and useless prison. And yet, I still have some feeble hope of a cure. Lord Fyr has tried many spells and potions. None have helped me, but neither have they harmed me. If anyone can cure this disease, Lord Fyr can."
"Yeah." He looked toward his hand, which was beginning to crack in places and already swelling at the wrist. He looked back towards the bloated mer and resisted the urge to wince. "Maybe we can talk later, after I get these to Divayth."
"Of course. The other inmates are scarcely good company, and dear Uupse here has her own duties to attend." The Dunmer woman smiled at that. "Perhaps you'll stay lucid for as long as I will."
"Hopefully." He nodded and headed back the way he came, looking at his hand again.
'That's the best I can look forward to?' His hand clenched, causing a small section of skin over one knuckle to open and bleed. 'I can't live like this. This has to work!'
Black and white seemed to split itself before Weiss's eyes, grainy images slowly becoming clearer before she realized the grain was the stony surface of a ceiling. Her vision doubled, overlapped, focused, and then doubled again until finally everything seemed to come together and stop swirling and moving so much. She sat up to begin picking herself up to her feet but felt her muscles coiling up with power. She was reminded for a moment of when she first unlocked her Aura and how much stronger she felt then, and realized that what her body was feeling was very similar.
She looked forward and gasped. Before her, up three steps, was a shrine doubling as a fountain. Blood poured from the mouth of a monstrous head, carved from stone. Its likeness was exactly like that of the horned creature she had seen herself standing against in the Book of Fate. While her mind pondered it, a figure stepped in from the side, revealing itself to be Harkon. The vampire walked up to her with a devilish grin across his face.
"Awake at last, good," he intoned as he stood before her.
"What…" She looked back at the bloody fountain, part of her mind trying to convince her to take just a taste of it. "What is this?"
"A shrine to Molag Bal." At the mention of that name, Weiss went stiff. "The mighty Daedra Prince who is father to all our kind," he explained as he looked upon the shrine with admiration. "Our power is a blessing from him. It is he who first bestowed the gift of the ancient blood upon me."
"You… You made a pact with him," Weiss slowly got out, her heart pounding against her sternum so hard she thought it might bruise.
Harkon turned to her with a twinkling in his eyes. "In an age long forgotten to history, I ruled as a mighty king. My domain vast, my riches endless, and my power infinite." His gaze then took a dark turn as he looked back at the shrine. "And yet, as my life neared an end, I faced a seemingly invincible enemy; my own mortality. I pledged myself to Molag Bal," he declared as he reached out towards the fountain, "and in his name, I sacrificed a thousand innocents." His arm went back down by his side, while Weiss felt her heart slow, and a creeping horror sunk into her being. "In reward, he gave everlasting life to myself, my wife, and my daughter. And so I have defeated mortality itself."
The young girl looked back at the shrine. The only thing it seemed to offer her was a reminder of what she stood to lose to the Daedric Prince. She held a hand close to her chest, but nearly leaped out of her skin when she felt something land on her shoulder, only to look and see that it was Harkon placing his hand upon her.
"The power within you is growing, and now you must learn to wield it," he said with authority. "With my guidance you will become an instrument of terror, striking fear into the hearts of mortal men wherever you may tread. Now that your flesh has acclimated to the blood coursing through your veins, you have command over the powers of my bloodline." As he led her forward, closer to the bloody fountain, he continued explaining. "The true power of the ancient blood is found in the form of the Vampire Lord. Assume the mantle of the Vampire Lord. Breathe this air deeply and feel it fill your lungs. Reach for that point near your heart."
Weiss did as he instructed, mentally noting the odd feeling point near the center of her chest.
"Now bring it low. Drag it down to meet the point beneath your navel, and breathe out."
Weiss did, visually seeing it as two small dots within her about to collide in her belly. They did so, and then something within her seemed to simply shift. Her eyes went wide as the entirety of her abdomen felt as though a geyser was going off inside of her, washing out her innards with its spray. She feared she was about to vomit, but when she reached up her arms started locking in place and her body spasmed as though in a seizure. Blood poured from her mouth, leaking down and swiftly coating her chest, but then some of it went up and covered her face and head. She pushed and fought against the restrictive feeling, trying to somehow break free of her bloody prison.
Suddenly she burst out from the crimson cocoon and stumbled forward, grasping onto the horns of the shrine to hold herself steady. As she regained her bearings, she looked down and nearly gasped at the reflection looking back up at her from the rippling liquid. The face she saw was still hers, but noticeably warped. Her ears now stretched back from her head and were nearly the size of her hands. As she thought of them, she looked towards her left and saw that razor claws had sprung up from her fingers, as well as her skin taking on a corpse-blue coloration. She took a step back and felt a sort of weight on her back, and knew without looking that they were wings. Moving a muscle she never had before, Weiss made her wings bend forward and looked at them both to see the new limbs.
'I'm…' she slowly thought as she looked up at her smiling sire. 'I'm a monster.'
Yang, Erevan, and Misha rode up to the stables in the dead of night before heading up to Solitude. Yang's disposition had remained firm, even as she stopped to grab the young girl from the tower without a word. The former witch was seriously afraid that she was going to be killed, and then scared she was going to be sold into slavery, only for all of her fears to be unfounded when Yang explained that she was going to go with the knight to Winterhold. She also wasn't a fan of having to ride a great boar.
Yang herself was holding in a lot of emotion. She had explained Weiss' plan to Ruby over their call and could tell that her sister was upset. Yang couldn't blame her. There was no way to tell how Weiss was doing until she messaged or called one of them, and they dare not risk calling her themselves, lest it come at an inopportune moment and cause suspicion.
As they came into the manor, Yang saw her partner sitting by the fireplace, writing something down in a notebook. She looked up and nodded before setting everything down.
"How's everything?" Yang asked, straining to keep her voice neutral.
"Okay. Ruby was taking it pretty hard at first, but I think she calmed down after a run." Blake sighed. "Not the best way to start a birthday."
"No, but at least we're here." Yang set the sheathed sword down on the table, a tag tied to the hilt letting them see that it was from Weiss. Yang set her present next to it, then collapsed on the sofa.
"So, where do I sleep?" Misha asked nervously.
"There's some bedrolls down in the basement," Blake told her. "Um, who are you?"
"Oh, I'm…definitely not a witch." The girl seemed to look around nervously before shooting over to the stairs and heading down them. Erevan sighed and went down after her.
"What?" Blake asked, begging for some kind of explanation.
"Found where a coven was, but some bandits, and maybe a couple of vampires, beat us to it. Everyone was dead, Hagraven included, except for Misha. I…convinced her to give up on being a witch, and now Erevan's going to escort her to Winterhold while he grabs a few things for Weiss."
"…We pick up some of the weirdest people." Blake closed her eyes a moment before looking back at Yang. "You going to get some sleep?"
"Are you?"
"I'll try, I guess."
"Guess that's the best we can do right now." Yang picked herself up and started towards the stairs. Blake started after her, and the blonde looked back a moment with an awkward smile. "Help me out of my armor?"
The raven-haired girl rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Sure."
Ruby awoke to the smell of sausages and eggs wafting through the air. She picked herself up and quickly got dressed before heading downstairs, pausing for a moment when she saw the most familiar head of blonde hair. Yang looked over to her and smiled as she set some plates on the table.
"Happy birthday, Ruby!" her sister greeted before the sixteen-year-old girl shot down and wrapped her in a hug. Yang laughed a little and hugged her back. "Come on. Breakfast is almost ready and M'rissi's trying to make you some kind of cake."
"This is actually pretty good," Blake said after taking a bite of the sweet confection.
"Rrro, do not say it with such surprise!"
"To be fair, I don't think any of us ever tasted anything you cooked," Yang pointed out before placing her fork on her empty plate. "All right, so I got you this." The blonde handed a wrapped gift over to Ruby, who took it and ripped away the paper to uncover a book.
"Quicksilver Techniques," she read the cover. "This about forging?" she asked before flipping through the pages.
"Yep. Figured it might help us out with our projects. It's already given me a few ideas for my armor."
"She got you this!" M'rissi announced while bringing over a box. "It is also from Inigo, since he helped her to find it." Ruby opened the package and took out a small ship replica, complete with realistic cloth sails and individual cannons on its decks.
"Oh wow!" the girl mused as she turned it in her hands. "This couldn't have been cheap!"
"It was! She found it in a pirate ship while exploring yesterday."
"You guys weren't supposed to be going anywhere," Blake said, mostly at Inigo.
"Uh, to be fair, we were in the city limits. M'rissi wanted to look at the lighthouse, then we tried to talk to some folks on a ship, then they tried to gut us. We do not have the best luck when it comes to maritime meanies."
"We beat them, and then we took their things. Even this shiny gem." M'rissi took out a velvet case and showed them the stone inside.
"Okay, that's like the sixth one of those I've come across," Blake pointed out while politely taking the gem in hand. "We need to see if someone knows about those."
Maybe one of your Riften friends can help?" Yang suggested.
"Maybe. Well…" Blake passed over a small box to Ruby. "Wasn't sure what you might like, but I figured this would be okay."
Ruby opened it and pulled out a dragon medallion, intricately crafted with malachite wings, an orichalcum body, and small rubies for the eyes.
"This is so cool!" Ruby declared while putting it on her neck, wondering just where the Faunus had gotten the piece.
"And…this is from Weiss," Yang said while passing over the sword. The group fell silent as Ruby gingerly took it in hand and pulled it halfway free of its sheath. It was double-edged, with the fuller coated in a resin that gave it a shine that looked almost like a starry night sky. "She figured you'd like it."
"I do." Ruby sheathed it back and looked a little downcast. "I just wish she was here."
"Don't worry, sis," Yang reassured her while scooting closer to hug her from the side. "I'm sure she'll call the moment she gets a chance."
So far, calling this castle a house of horrors seemed like it would be insulting such fun-loving places. Nearly every vampire was working towards their own gain, and that meant most of them felt threatened by Weiss' position as Harkon's newest childer. The ones who weren't powerful enough to see her as a rival viewed her with fear. The only ones that deigned to speak to her with anything resembling kindness were the ones who basically functioned outside the hierarchy of power that had formed itself around Harkon. Still, it was hilarious in her mind that the former Companion and current blacksmith, Hestla, thought she could take on her former organization with ease. Even discounting the werewolf members, Weiss knew that a careful and skilled enough mortal could kill a vampire. Rargal was firm in that she not kill any of the thralls. His visage was frightening, but he was cordial enough once the rules were made clear. There were several others, but none were really much for conversation.
Weiss heard a growling huff and looked to see the death hound CuSith padding up to her side. The creature was far from cute, but it still had the mannerisms of its living kin. Weiss reached over and scratched him behind the ears, and the undead dog thing lolled out his tongue happily.
"E-excuse me," a voice said nervously. Weiss looked up to see the Bosmer, Ronthil. "Lord Harkon asked me to get you and, uh, bring you to see him in the library. He's waiting for you with Master Garan."
"I see." Weiss pet the creature on the head then stood up straight. "Take me to them, then."
"At once, my lady." The vampire began leading her from one side of the castle to the other. For a moment, Weiss saw some of the thralls working on refurbishing a room she recalled someone mentioning being Serana's. The woman in question was somewhere else in the castle, likely trying to keep out of the gazes of her fellow vampires. The two then walked through the great hall, where a couple seemed to be enjoying a candlelit dinner, only the dinner was a man whose arms they occasionally took a sip from. Her guide then opened a door that led them to the library. Harkon and Garan saw them enter, and the vampire king smiled.
"Ah, I see you have become acclimated to your new home. How is everything?"
"I'm growing accustomed to it," she lied. "It's proving difficult to find common ground with some of my peers."
"They'll warm to you, in time. For now, I have a task for you. Garan will tell you all about it while I see to other matters. Garan, it is time."
"Absolutely, my lord," the bat-nosed Dunmer answered as Harkon left. Weiss and Ronthil both bowed their heads to them, though Weiss suspected Ronthil might have been doing it out of true respect. When he was gone and Ronthil had left as well, Garan smirked.
"Well, well. He wants the Chalice, then." He looked over at Weiss. "You've heard of the Bloodstone Chalice?"
"I'm afraid not."
"It is a rather well-kept secret," he admitted while picking out a book and then flipping through its pages. "The Chalice has been in Lord Harkon's possession for quite some time now. It is, when used properly, able to increase the potency of our powers."
'Ash and Dust! What does he need more power for? He could probably single-handedly wipe out half the Dawnguard on his own if he felt so inclined.'
"He has neglected using it for ages," Garan continued on, not noticing her surprise. "If he wants it filled now, then grander things are afoot." He looked up at her with a toothy grin before setting the book back. "This is good. Follow me. I'll take you to it." Weiss followed the Dunmer as he led her from the library and out into the Great Hall.
"Lord Harkon has never cared to use the Chalice," he explained as they went, "relying on his more than adequate powers until now. This is an intriguing change."
"No one else ever thought to use it?"
"None would dare so without his express permission." Left unsaid was the warning to her, something Weiss picked up on immediately.
As they walked through the castle, a pair of vampires who had seemed to be glaring at each other looked over at them and then stepped in Garan's way. Weiss recognized one of them as the Altmer who had first seen Serana after they entered, while the other was a burly looking Nord man.
"Excuse us," Garan began genially. "I need to fetch the Bloodstone Chalice."
"The Chalice?" the High Elf asked in surprise. "Why?"
"What're you up to, Garan?"
"Lord Harkon's orders, Orthjolf," the Dunmer said to the Nord. "Calm yourself. Our friend here has been ordered to fill the Chalice."
"Really?" The elf looked at Weiss while rubbing his chin
"Indeed. She's off to Redwater Den."
"Well, then... Best of luck to you."
The two stepped out of the way, and Weiss could feel their eyes sizing her up as they walked by. After a few more meters were put between them, Garan looked back at her for a moment.
"Vingalmo and Orthjolf are Lord Harkon's primary advisors. I'm sure they're quite surprised to learn that you're taking the Chalice."
"I suppose one of them would have preferred the honor."
"Perhaps." They walked into a room, where a stone sat in the center with a massive chalice upon it, both covered and filled with spikes. "And here we are." He then turned towards her. "Now, this Chalice needs to be filled directly from the bloodspring that is the source of Redwater Den. But that's not enough. Once that's done, the blood of a powerful vampire needs to be added to it. Keep in mind that Redwater Den has fallen into… Well, let's just say that less reputable members of society now dwell there." His smirk didn't do much to assuage Weiss' fears of whatever lowlifes were lurking there. "It's your choice whether to attempt to deal with them or force your way through. Hurry back," he said as he took up the Chalice and handed it to her. "You don't want to keep Lord Harkon waiting."
"Of course." Weiss looked at the object in her hand as its weight pressed several of its spikes uncomfortably into her skin. Within minutes she was packed and ready to leave on the trip, checking her scroll the moment she was out of the castle. One of the bone hawks landed at the docks, causing her to pause in her steps, but she continued on while ignoring it. The creatures weren't Nevermores like she originally assumed, but appeared to be some sort of undead creation like the death hounds, if not just a natural creature that happened to be flying around a vampire populated castle. A thrall was there to row her across to the mainland, where Weiss held onto her scroll while looking at it, waiting until she was sure she was completely out of range.
As the afternoon was fading, Ruby wiped the sweat from her brow while overlooking her newest creation.
"I can't believe it actually worked," Yang mused while looking over one of the spare, light blue ingots.
"Yeah, me either. But it turned out you have to extract them separately since they go at different rates and have way different ratios. Once they're mixed, you don't have to worry half as much about the solution." She tapped and ran her finger across her scroll's screen, looking over the specs that she was working with. "'K, the weight's gotta be-" Her musing was cut off by an incoming call and she gasped when she saw it was from Weiss. She quickly snatched it up and answered. "Weiss!"
"Hello, Ruby. Sorry I missed your birthday party."
"It's okay! I'm just so happy you're okay and calling me- Wait, are you okay? What happened? They didn't do anything to you, did they?"
"I'm fine, Ruby, really," Weiss curtly replied. Ruby wanted to press further but knew not to.
"Hey, ask her how she got away enough to make a call," Yang called out while continuing to look over the piece.
"Weiss, how'd you get somewhere to call us?"
"I've been sent out on a mission," she revealed, her voice heavy. "I'm supposed to fill this magic Chalice with some special water. Or was it blood? It wasn't quite clear what it was. It's probably going to be blood from what I've seen, their theme is pretty single-minded. Anyways, it's all the way down in the Rift, so I'm expected to take a little while on this."
"Wait, they're sending her to the hold where the vampire hunters are based?" Yang asked.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Weiss. Yang, stop listening in with your super hearing. Just head over here, Weiss, and we'll figure out what to do. As a team this time."
"Okay. I am sorry, you know. It's just that we wouldn't likely have another opportunity to get to the bottom of this vampire conspiracy. At least now I'm getting something useful out of this stupid curse, and it feels like the sun isn't as bothersome."
Ruby sighed. "It's all right. Oh, by the way, look at what I'm doing." Ruby pointed her scroll's camera at her latest work and activated it.
"Ruby… It's beautiful! How in the world did you get it that color?"
"Well, that's just what happens when you make an orichalcum-quicksilver alloy. The knife I made for a test run proved the concept. Hard without being brittle. Light and flexible. You'd have to sharpen it more often than normal steel, but not as much as elven blades. I've been following the specs for Myrtenaster, but getting the right weight for a completely different metal was a bit tricky. Still have your hilt?"
"I do. I'm bringing it along."
"That's good. We can hook it up when you get here. I'll be done pretty soon. Just gotta straighten out and get the fuller in. Any special requests?"
"Yes. Can you etch something into it?"
"Sure. What did you have in mind?"
"Strahlendjuwel."
"Ack! She cannot believe he would do such a thing!" M'rissi decried as she set down her mug harshly. "To lie about selling a farm for his love and then to have not sold it at all! Why must such men be liars?"
"I mean, uh, I don' blame him," Fironet got out, seemingly a little deep in her cups. "I's kinda my fault too, but we should be honest withhhh each other, and he wasn't honest with me," she said through little half-sobs.
"Honestly… Honestly," M'rissi softly repeated before looking over at where Blake was eating and talking with Yang and Ruby. "One second, Netta. She has to tell Blake something."
"Okay, M'ri," the bard hopeful told her as the Khajiit woman got up and walked over.
"You know, I never saw someone with rust chancre before," Inigo said to the Redguard. "But there was this one time I met a man with a terrible case of witbane. It did not help that he was not very bright in the first place."
"Blake?"
The Faunus looked over to her friend, offering a smile as she did. "Hey, M'rissi. Everything okay?"
"She…has something to tell you," the Khajiit got out nervous while pushing her fingers together nervously. "But you must promise you won't get mad at her!"
"All right," Blake answered with a raised brow. "I promise."
"It's just…the other day while you were shopping she saw a courier coming to you. She noticed how some people would send you things, and she is worried someone might get too close to you." M'rissi then seemed to blush and avert her eyes. "Euh…well… He had a letter for you. M'rissi told him that she is your new private bodyguard, and he should give the note to her… So…she read the note. Do you receive such notes all the time? Now she is worried that someone may try to trap you."
Blake let go of a sigh as she turned in her chair. Yang seemed to be holding back giggles while Ruby watched on in slight confusion.
"Do you have the letter on you?"
"Yes, here. But promise her to be careful!" M'rissi said while handing over a folded piece of paper. Blake took it and looked it over.
Please forgive us for troubling you, mighty Shadowkiller, but would you be kind enough to do a great deed for a small village?
A monster recently appeared in the outskirts, and not a week goes by without someone from the area disappearing. Please help us! We will be in your debt.
Rorikstead. Ask Kjens.
"Okay, I'm a little upset, but I'm not angry." Blake folded up the letter and put it into one of her pockets. "Let's try not to hide messages from me anymore, though, okay?"
"What gives?" Yang asked while nursing a mug of mead.
"Something about a monster in Rorikstead. I guess I'll head down that way then while Ruby goes to Riverwood."
"Really wish Delphine would've just waited," the Dragonborn groaned.
"Me too, but we both know how dangerous that might have been. Can't say she would have liked us visiting a Thalmor either."
"Well, she also questions your decision for that," M'rissi chipped in. "But he did not betray you or do anything un-towered, so she is not plotting his death."
"I'm sure if anything happened, you would've busted in and taken him out," Blake told her friend, who smiled at that.
"Yes! She would have saved you much like you saved her, and killed another evil elf wizard. But it did not happen, and she is just as happy for that." M'rissi looked behind herself and then nodded to the others. "Now she is going to make sure Netta does not fall out of her chair."
The three watched her go tend to her other friend, and the sisters smiled over at Blake.
"What?"
"Nothing, just can't help but picture her watching over you kinda like an adopted sister," Ruby explained. "It's kinda adorable."
"We're not… Well, maybe, but I'm definitely not the little sister in this relationship."
"Isn't she, like, five or six years older than you?" Yang asked.
"Not the point."
The door opened, and the girls looked over to see a waterfall of white hair on top of a pale girl in a white cloak enter. Almost instantly, Ruby was dashing through the inn and wrapping her arms around Weiss, who had equally embraced her in return.
"I'm so happy to see you!" the younger girl got out.
"I'm glad to see you too," Weiss said before patting her back. "Happy birthday."