Of Elder Scrolls and Huntsmen: Dragon Rose

by JessesanMan

Team RWBY finds themselves in a strange, new world where Grimm are nonexistent and magic is commonplace. They journey to find a way home, but along the way are caught up in several ancient prophecies and must save this world they find themselves in. As time goes on, they adapt to the dangerous land of Skyrim and fight against its foes be they small, large, or godly.

60. A Light in Dark Halls

Learned something today, cutting off a piece of your thumb hurts.

Also, I've said this before and I'll say it again, if you have a question to ask me as part of your review, log in. I do not respond to guest reviews

Thanks always to xTRESTWHOx and NaanContributor.

---

The curious mages set to work on trying to excavate what they could, but the ancient structure seemed to have very little within. A few pots and vases were found buried beneath the ice in some of the halls, but no rooms were found for a time until Ruby and Lydia walked down a path that was already laid mostly open and came upon a gate in front of a cracked apart stairway. Past the gate, they could see another chamber.

"Hey guys! I think we found something," Ruby called back to them before hopping down and pushing open the gate, Lydia right behind her. The room was far from intact but wasn't as overtaken by ice as the path to it had been. They could even clearly see the ceiling, and at its center Ruby saw a black plinth hanging down, ending in a representation of the sun or maybe a star. At its very tip, a point of violet energy began to coalesce. Suddenly, the gate behind them slammed shut and some form of magical barrier covered it, separating them from the mage students who had just arrived. The violet orb spat a copy of itself at the two, and Lydia threw up a hand and called upon her Semblance to block the threatening spell. After the spell collided, it spread into a swirling spiral and began tearing her shield apart. The housecarl turned back to her charge and pushed her forward as another was sent at them.

"Run!" Lydia screamed as she shoved them both out of the way of the second bolt, the first still swirling where it had been stopped. A few seconds later a third one was fired where they were, but they stayed ahead of it. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. When the sixth landed behind their feet, they had already run the length of the chamber and turned back, but the first one had faded, giving them some measure of relief.

"Okay, they don't last forever."

"Neither will we," the Nord reminded her. They tried to go through the other gate, but it was protected by the same enchantment as the first. "We have to get out of here! These things can rip through my shield!" As though to demonstrate, Lydia blocked one that had come too close for comfort. While her Semblance stopped it in its tracks, the yellow disk quickly succumbed and was torn apart by the spell.

"Look at the walls!" Brelyna called out. "Chains!"

The two looked at the four walls, seeing on the right and left sides were two pairs of silver chains, seemingly untouched by time. Ruby crossed her fingers on one hand as they came up to one and grabbed the cold metal with the other.

"Please work," she begged before pulling it down. The sound of something turning definitely began ringing out.

"That's doing it!" Onmund called out to them. "Something above the door moved!"

"There are four of each!" J'zargo added. "Pull the others!"

Ruby nodded and rushed ahead. "Watch my back, Lyd!" she called out before reaching the next chain and pulling it. The spell seemed confused and fired somewhere between them, but a few seconds later, its next shot went straight for Ruby, who easily sped away from it towards the third chain. With it down, she went for the last one and tugged, but the chain was stuck and looking up told her why.

"Frozen?!" she shrieked before madly tugging on it, trying to break through the ice holding it still. Luckily for her, the enchanted plinth fired at Lydia for its next shot. The housecarl dodged the spell, but then looked to her Thane who was pulling against the chain with a foot against the wall, bending some of the links out of shape. She rushed up to her as the trap fired for the young girl this time, throwing up her shield to block the spell, even as Ruby readied to make a run for it. She then turned and reared back a fist before punching the frozen base that had only begun cracking. The ice shattered under the orichalcum fist, then Ruby pulled the chain the rest of the way. Both gates opened, but the violet energy fired at the two once again.

"Move, move!" Ruby urged everyone. As they rushed towards the other gate, the plinth fired again, only this time the bolt landed ahead of them, blocking their path through the gate. The group was about to scatter as the deadly energy swirled before them, shredding a loose stone underneath it with ancient magics. Brelyna however, looked up at the enchanted trap with gritting teeth and reached a hand out towards it. Something that resembled a silken thread left her palm and went into the trap, then the violet orb shuddered before sparking out and dissipating. Everyone stood still a moment as the landed spells faded away, no one willing to be the first to speak until nearly twenty seconds had passed.

"I think Bree killed it," Ruby finally announced. When the plinth didn't light back up to prove her wrong, she sighed and let the tension in her body release, everyone else following her example.

"That was an unusually deadly trap," the Dunmer said before looking at her hand, flexing each finger. "I don't think I ever saw an enchanted trap like that before."

"I can live my life without ever seeing one again, to be honest," Ruby decided before turning back to the newly opened gate. "Let's just hope there's not another like it." They walked through, but immediately stopped as the young girl at their head came to a dead halt. "Abada whatina whohawha!" she screamed before stumbling backwards. Everyone else looked to see the frozen body of an Altmer laying belly down, rather well-preserved and completely bereft of clothing.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Brelyna admonished her. "I know you've seen corpses before."

"But naked! Butt naked! Butt! Why?"

"Going by the frozen clothes on the rails," Onmund explained while pointing said clothes out, "he was waiting for them to dry. The cold must have gotten to him first."

J'zargo picked up a belt and then a bandolier, both of which had over a dozen knives on them. "This elf had more knives than some hunters have arrows. A knife-thrower?"

"Uh, there's a note in his hand I can't quite read," the Nord mage announced before grasping the dead man's wrist and carefully prying it loose. "'Stormcloak mongrels," he began to read. "Remember when you tried to sacrifice me to Talos? I never forgot, not for a moment.'" Onmund blinked at that.

"Wait, do people sacrifice other people to the Divines?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. Nobody sane, anyways. Well, I guess you could consider besting someone in combat a sacrifice to Talos, but only in the same way making a song or painting is a sacrifice to Dibella. Or buying and selling wares is a sacrifice to Zenithar." He shrugged and looked back down at the torn note. "'And behold, the Eight blessed me for my faith in the face of your heathen god! They cast down a star from the heavens to melt the ice before me, and look what was underneath. Nice mansion, isn't it?

"'I know this place will soon be swarming with Stormcloaks like a fresh corpse in a skeever-infested sewer, but you will be too late! The riches of the Falmer are all mine!

"'Mad?

"'Ellan Thousand-Knives.' Wait, this was Thousand-Knives?"

"Who?" Ruby asked.

"A rather infamous bandit and thief," Lydia answered. "He was known for using throwing knives and daggers. Made a fairly big name for himself before disappearing off the face of Nirn. Now we know where he went. Good riddance, at least. Ellan seriously wounded several guards when he robbed the Battle-Borns last summer. I was there trying to apprehend him, but the slippery bastard got away. One of the men almost died."

"Wow," Ruby muttered before looking back down at the frozen body, doing her best to keep her eyes away from his exposed rear. "Um, should we do something about him?"

"Can anyone here summon a flame elemental?" Brelyna asked.

---

After leaving the body in the care of Onmund's summon, the group headed further in. As the crackle of fire and smell of burning flesh was slowly left behind them, they went through another rather intact room that had a long table in its center and some collapsed pieces of ceiling.

"Are those stalactites or icicles?" Ruby asked while pointing up to some spikes from the ceiling.

"Stalactites covered in ice," J'zargo answered.

"Huh, you didn't confuse them for stalagmites," Onmund muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked defensively. "You calling me dumb?"

"Uh, no," he sheepishly got out while looking over at Lydia worryingly. The housecarl stared at him with an amused expression, but he wasn't sure if that was more or less worrisome. "I mean, I get them mixed up all the time."

The girl blew a raspberry and pushed his shoulder a little. "It's fine! I'm just kidding. I was really just guessing what they were called and got lucky." She looked over at a large ice block that had formed from a corner and grown to be big enough to contain a mammoth. "Man, this place is frozen. Thawing it out's going to take forever!"

"We probably won't be able to totally rid it of ice for a long time," Brelyna pointed out. "A lot of columns have fallen, and the ceiling seems to be held in place by ice in some areas. We'll have to build support columns as we go to keep it from falling apart."

As they discussed some of the archaeological techniques they'd need to make use of, they came up to another door and opened it to reveal the chamber that held Ruby's goal. In the center of some sort of gathering area was the Skyshard, set into a slot on a dais. Oddly, where the last two had been blue and differing levels of brightness, this one was violet and seemed to cast a light that paradoxically made everything look darker. Onmund was the first to approach it, but when he got close, a spark of violet lightning leaped at him, making him jump back with a yelp. Ruby giggled and the Nord man looked discomfited.

"Honestly, it came out of nowhere. Anyone would have jumped at that."

J'zargo then stepped forward and began reaching out. Sparks like what had hit Onmund came at his hand and started striking him. He snarled and tried to push through, but the purple lightning only seemed to intensify, forcing him back where he clutched his electrocuted arm, some of his fur looking a little singed from the encounter. He hissed in a breath and let it out as a growl.

"It is not a friendly crystal."

"Damn!" Brelyna cursed. "We can't study it if we can't get close to it."

"I don't think it wants any of you close to it," Lydia pointed out while looking at Ruby. The Dragonborn understood and nodded before walking forward and reaching out. The Skyshard did not repel her like it had the other two, but instead seemed to welcome her, beckoning her with a pulse of dark light. Her hand touched its surface, then the Skyshard erupted before its power sank into her. Where the first felt like pure wind in her veins and the second felt like warmth filling her being, this shard flowed into her like a chilling wave. She shivered as it conjoined itself with her and spread throughout.

"Amazing," someone muttered, she wasn't sure who. Her eyes felt a little cold and needed to be rubbed vigorously before the uncomfortableness overtook the numbing feeling.

"Okay, so…" Onmund began as he looked around, landing his gaze on a door to the side. "Ah! Here we go!" He opened it and indicated the next chamber, which was almost entirely ice. Quickly exploring it pointed them down a tunnel that headed downwards, the explorers having to go over and around broken pieces of masonry. Some of them had to duck under some low-hanging icicles before the group emerged into a hallway littered with broken stones, but the intact portion took their breath away. Rather than a stone ceiling, a magical, white barrier laid atop the hall, allowing them to gaze up at the sea's waters above them. Fish swam over it in places, and in one case a large silhouette that looked to be a whale or dolphin passed over them all.

"By the Nine," Onmund muttered as Ruby took out her scroll to take pictures. "They made this under the sea on purpose… And that spell has to be at least four thousand years old! And it's still holding!"

"It's almost like the aquarium back in Vale, except magic instead of really thick glass. I used to love going to that place. Uncle Qrow would never go with us though. I think he was afraid of tunnels." She pocketed her phone and the group continued on, trying to gaze up at the amazing sight while simultaneously keeping an eye on their footing. At the end of hall, they came into a large chamber that seemed almost untouched but for a few stones broken loose from the walls. As they entered it fully, the gates slammed shut behind them and a mauve, vaporous figure seemed to appear from thin air.

"Ghost," Lydia warned them while taking the silver sword from her back. Everyone else also prepared themselves as the spirit looked at them.

"Elf ghost," Ruby noted while taking out her scroll and snapping another photo. The ghost yelled something at them while grasping the hilt of a blade at his side.

"Did anyone understand that?"

"It sounded like Aldmeri," Brelyna answered.

"What did he say?"

"I don't know. I didn't learn most of the language."

"Wait, we're in a Snow Elf ruin, and the written Snow Elf language looks a lot like Aldmeri," Ruby thought aloud while looking around. "Is he…a Snow Elf ghost?"

The mages looked back at the spirit so quickly Ruby thought at least one of them could've gotten whiplashed.

"Julianos' Beard…" Onmund happily breathed out as a smile spread across his face. "You're a Snow Elf!"

The ghost seemed to snarl while drawing his equally ghostly sword. "Atmoradoon!" he yelled. Other ghosts began appearing, each of them drawing swords themselves. Ruby put her scroll away again and grasped Dawnbreaker's hilt.

"Uh oh…" Brelyna muttered. "I don't think they like you."

"J'zargo thinks they do not like any human, considering what may have killed them."

"Not good." Ruby looked around as the ghosts began surrounding them. "Why couldn't you have been friendly ghosts?"

"Nedes," one of them seethed, "death comes for you!" He yelled while swinging and Ruby drew Dawnbreaker to block. She pushed back and sliced across, but the blade seemed to pass harmlessly through the incorporeal being.

"What?!" she screamed in surprise as the one thing that should definitely always harm undead did nothing. Judging from what she felt being emitted by the Daedric sword, Meridia was just as surprised.

Lydia parried a blow and tried to stab her foe, but the silver blade took no effect. Magic seemingly had no effect on them either.

"I don't know what's going on!" Brelyna screamed as she blocked sword swings with a ward and tried to hit them with spells. "They can be blocked and knocked back but nothing's hurting them!"

Ruby shoulder-charged her opponent, finding him strangely solid as she did, and then tried to stab him with Dawnbreaker only for the blade to go through as if he was nothing. As he swung at her while getting to his feet, she backed away and kicked the back of the knee of the one Lydia was fighting. The housecarl then punched his face, knocking him onto his back, but doing seemingly no damage.

"Flesh hits them, but it still doesn't hurt them," Lydia noted. "I punched him as hard as I could, and I nearly felled a tree the other day with a punch like that."

Some were knocked back by an explosive spell, but each spirit picked themselves up no worse for wear.

"Damn it! What are they?!" Onmund shouted as he backed up and tried to send lightning into one. "Normal ghosts don't function like this!"

"Wait, guys! I think I got it! On me!" Ruby commanded them. The group regathered around the girl and followed her, fighting off the ghosts and knocking them back as they went. They stopped at the far end of the room, and Ruby looked to both sides before holding out her hands. "Get them between the pillars!" she shouted as she leaped forward and spin-flipped before stabbing Dawnbreaker into the ground and spinning on it like a fulcrum to kick one of the ghosts towards the room's center. The mages created magical explosions around the ghosts to either force them back or launch them towards the goal area, and Lydia beat one down before bodily throwing him toward the place then kicking another hard enough to send him alongside his fellow. Ruby jumped back and sheathed her blade before taking a deep breath.

'Force,' she thought as the ghosts started getting back to their feet. 'Balance.' She adjusted her footing, with one foot back and to the side as the other was set forward. 'Push.' She released the breath as her eyes snapped open. 'I will push back harder!'

"Fus! Ro! Da!" she Shouted, a wave of pure concentrated force leaping from her throat and barreling at the gathering of spirits. The elven ghosts screamed as they were sent flying through the air and into the other side of the room, some smashing against the enchanted gate and bouncing off, others hitting stone and leaving impressions of their shape into it before falling onto the floor. One of the four columns in the center cracked a little more and threatened to slide apart, but settled and stilled after a long moment. For a second, the group wondered if that had been it, then the ghosts began to stir and pick themselves up off of the ground.

"Revenge," one of them muttered as the others spoke their native tongue. "We will have…vengeance!"

Ruby felt her heart sink. She didn't even know what could hurt them, and yet…

You're looking wrong. Something seemed to say to her.

'What was…? Who…?'

You must look with your other eyes.

'What the heck? Other eyes?

You must see through the lines of Argentum. This time the voice was…different. It seemed deeper and darker.

Through it, you will reveal Aurum.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about!" Ruby yelled as the ghosts prepared to charge the living people again.

"Ruby?" Lydia asked in concern.

"Does anyone here have any more ideas?" Onmund tried.

Look through your Argentum lenses and lay bare their Aurum forms through the silvery lines.

"What the heck is an Argentum?!"

Dangers of redrawing run too close.

You cannot-

"I assume direct control," the darker voice announced through Ruby. Cold tendrils sunk into her spine and spread through her as she felt herself lifted off of the ground. Her eyes seemed to turn into ice blocks as she stared at the oncoming ghosts.

'No, no, no! What's going on?! Why can't I move! HELP!'

An orb of violet light formed out of shadowy energy coming from her eyes, then fired at one of the ghosts, hitting him directly and instantly destroying him. The other ghosts paused, letting two more orbs be formed that took out two more of them. One screamed and tried to hide behind a pillar, but the entity controlling Ruby's field of vision seemed to simply create a larger orb that enveloped such a large area in its explosion that the ghost couldn't do anything but be caught in it. The final three tried to make a run for it, but Ruby's arms rose up and violet magic ran from her hands and to them, lassoing their legs and pulling them into the air where the orbs could be fired and destroy them one by one.

'Let go! Let go!' Ruby screamed in her own mind as her body continued to float in place. Her gaze went towards her friends, and while she had no idea what the being in control of her actions was planning, she didn't intend to wait and find out.

'LET-

"-GO!" she screamed as she ripped control back, falling back to the ground and to her knees. As she gasped and shook in fear and revulsion, Lydia came up to her and tried to hold her up while patting her back.

"Ruby, are you all right?" she asked with concern filling her voice. Before Ruby could answer, the room seemed to become bathed in a light without source that quickly darkened and entrenched them all in empty black. After a few moments, Ruby felt herself become weightless again, and the world around her seemed almost like empty space, only the faintest light of some formless energy visible to her. That energy seemed to be drawn to a darker void, swirling into it like a star being sucked into a Black Hole. She could see her friends near her, but each one was encased in a purple crystalline structure, each of them able to move but unable to get any sound out and through to her. Another shape took form as the violet energies coalesced before her into the shape of a man.

"You will be saved, mortal," the being announced as it came to be. "Do not resist. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am Ilmaasi."

"Ilmaasi," she muttered, taking in the form he chose and that of his world. Astetu's had been a lively solar system, reminiscent of how she imagined the ones for both Nirn and Remnant to be, although with him at its center. Here, it was just empty, resembling more what one would expect from the destruction of a world. She then recalled his introduction. "What do you mean? What are you saving us from?"

"Your world is but a tomb for the living, a garbage heap of Divinity. The Gods abandoned you, fled from the world they created like rats from a sinking ship. So you will die, cold and alone, while your Gods laugh from above."

Ruby blinked and looked from side to side, but her friends could give her no advice from within their soundproof prisms. She looked back at Ilmaasi with a grimace.

"So you're telling me, that you're planning to save the world…by destroying it?"

"I see our most resplendent Prince tainted your mind with venomous truths," the Magne-Ge said as though disappointed. "What measure is mortal life, a brief flash in the infinite void of Time? My gift is existence in the Untimes, a life eternal."

"The fact you could say that… It just proves you don't understand what life really is."

"I do not pretend to understand mortal concepts."

"Then you're just blind, or willfully ignorant. Life isn't measured against Time, it's a measure unto itself." Ruby felt something swelling in her chest, something between anger and tranquility. "Maybe life is brief and too short sometimes, but some people live great, meaningful lives with what little they have. What good's eternity with nothing to fill it?"

"What good is your feeble existence, that it cannot even grasp the length of its own power?" Where his eyes would have been seemed to glow like golden lights. "To not even fathom your own hidden potential?"

"And that… You used me in there! You took control of me and threw some kind of lasers out of my eyes." Indignant rage filled Ruby's body, but the Magna-Ge ignored her indignation.

"I only used what was already available to me. You were the one who failed to utilize your own power." Ruby's eyebrows went up at that. "But that is irrelevant. Such limitations can be erased. For I bring rapture for those condemned to mortality. Join me and the gates of Aetherius will swing wide open."

"Why? Why do you want to end the mortal world so badly?"

"Like me, you have been withheld the sacred realms of our…revered God-Creator." He seemed to refer to this being with disgusted sarcasm, despite his voice having no true pitch or tone. "I will wrench from his dying grasp the immortality we were denied."

Ruby shook her head. "No. I don't care what you think will happen. I'm not saving the world from one destroyer just so another can have a go at it. I cannot…will not let you!"

"Your opinion is irrelevant." His golden eyes seemed to narrow. "You will be saved." One of his arms came forward and his hand opened, the five fingers seeming to split into nine before the prisms holding everyone else disappeared and all were left floating in the near void. "Be gone, child of lies!"

Everything then went black. As color and light faded back into the world, Ruby felt the wind rushing up and past her. She looked down and gasped when she saw the ground and ocean far beneath her, and then gasped again when she saw everyone else in the same predicament. Using her Semblance, she flicked from one person to the next, grabbing each and throwing them towards each other before coming to the whole group to help them stay together.

"Oh gods, we're going to die!" Onmund screamed, the howling of the wind screeching past them making it exceedingly hard to hear him.

"Hold on, I have an idea!" Lydia announced as she began summoning up her Semblance.

"Wait!" Brelyna tried to warn her. "It's not the drop, it's the sudden-"

The shield formed under them, falling at a slower rate. Each of the people landed on it and did feel themselves slow, but it began cracking apart seconds later, and then they were falling again.

"Can you do that twelve more times?" J'zargo asked as he tried to keep himself straight.

"Three times, maybe."

"I've got it," the Dunmer replied with a nod. "Be ready to use it. Turn me around," she instructed the others. They did so, even as the shapes below them got closer.

"Maybe we'll hit the sea," Onmund said with hope in his voice.

"At this speed it might as well be con- stone," Ruby explained to him. "Ever hit a painful belly flop? Imagine that, times a hundred."

"Lydia, do the thing!" Brelyna called back. Lydia repeated the maneuver with her Semblance again, and this time the Dunmer girl sent two spells from over the edge of it and below. As it fell apart, she sighed.

"Okay, this should do it," she told them while turning around and straightening herself so her feet were pointed down. After a little more plummeting, they all felt their fall slowing and soon they were heading gently toward the ice below them, a spell upon the ground under their feet.

"Phew, Drop Zone," Ruby breathed in relief. "Gotta learn that one. Thanks Bree. Your landing strategy was much better this time around."

"Thanks. I hope I never have to do that again. Now, where are we?"

"Somewhere…" Ruby pulled out her map. "Around where we were. He just sent us straight up. …Or was it down?"

"Looks like we're on an iceberg," Onmund pointed out. "We'll have to find our way back to the shore and hopefully-"

The ice suddenly shifted and everyone went still. Ruby looked over as it moved again, a cracking noise echoing out across the frozen pedestal again and again until a leathery wing reached over and its claw dug in and pulled up. The dragon was mostly black, with patches of red surrounded by violet, glowing lines. He had two ramlike horns sweeping forward from his skull, and two sets of thick, short spines running down his back, each seemingly tipped with a glow that matched the color of Ilmaasi's devices. He gave them a cruel smile before standing up and shaking the ice from his wings.

"Dovahkiin," he hissed, "you have made a great mistake. You should have joined us."

"Joined you?"

"The Dark Archon…Ilmaasi has shown us the true way." He stretched out his wings and craned his neck around. "Bormahu shall be uncoiled, and all that is shall be forevermore, in all ways, without limit, without end."

"You mean… You mean to tell me he asked you to join him, and you accepted."

"Even with zii ahrk rii do dovah, you are still limited by your feckless mortal mind," he growled out. "I will not let you stand in our way. With my new gifts, I will free you, Dovahkiin. Know my name. Speak it in death as your own. Biidurvul!" The dragon reared his head back and brought it forward with blue fire leaping from his mouth, which the group scattered from.

"Seriously? Your name starts with bii ahrk sum bii yol?" she yelled at Biidurvul before drawing Dragonsbane. "Oh my god, you're an emo, aren't you?"

The dragon bared his teeth and went after her. Fireballs crashed against the side of his head as he charged, giving Ruby an opening to rush in and slice across his face. Onmund tried to rise a spike out of the ice, but Biidurvul managed to leap in time to avoid it. As he dropped to the side, he swooped down and up then began circling the group. As he paused and hovered, Brelyna summoned a bound bow while Lydia aimed hers.

"Vul Kun Nil!" the dragon shouted, a beam of dark violet light leaping from his mouth, colliding with the iceberg then dragging across its surface, tearing apart the ice and causing shards to swirl around it as it came to them. Lydia raised her shield as she grabbed the Dunmer and pulled her away from its path. J'zargo focused a fireball in his hands and threw it, but Biidurvul gracefully spun out of its way and dived down before winging straight up on another side of the icy platform. "Yol Toor Shul!" he Shouted before waving his head back and forth, forcing most of them to back away. Ruby tried to charge at him, but felt her feet slip a little before he reached up with his talons and pushed off against the iceberg to fly above them, where he bathed the other half of the berg in flames as well, forcing the students to use wards and Lydia her Semblance. The entire surface was slicked with melted water, making their footing unsteady.

"He's coming back around," Onmund warned the others as he pointed out the dragon circling back.

Ruby, trying to think of a solution to their predicament, took in a deep breath. "Fo!" She went over as much 'ground' as she could, freezing it back. She almost felt accomplished, but then the others tried to move and couldn't thanks to the liquid freezing over their feet. Lydia broke herself free rather quickly, followed by Brelyna. J'zargo simply melted his, while Onmund continued to struggle for a moment.

"Uh, help?" Just as Brelyna went to pull him loose, Biidurvul flew over them, ready.

"Strun Kun Qo!" a thick lightning bolt shot forward and sliced into the ice, cutting the part Onmund was on away from the rest. The Nord screamed as his portion began sliding away and frantically tried to dislodge himself. Brelyna reached out and telekinetically grasped the chunk of ice while Ruby ran and jumped over.

"I got you," she reassured him before punching near his left foot. "Ow! Not smart," she scolded herself while shaking her hand, though Onmund was able to pull his foot loose. She simply sprayed flames at the other, causing him to yelp before pulling that one loose as well. The two hopped back over to the main piece in time for Biidurvul to return, Brelyna letting it slide into the sea as she refocused on the looming threat.

"Kun Shul Ag!" Everyone leaped out of the way of the Burning Light as it carved down through the middle during his flyover, then looked to see the foot wide gap in the ice.

"He's going to melt the whole iceberg at this rate!" Onmund yelled as he pulled out some scrolls and potions.

"We've got to get him down," Ruby concluded as she looked around. They had no real terrain advantage, as everything within reach was ice, and beyond that was sea water. Land was barely in sight. Like Onmund said, Biidurvul only had to melt the iceberg out from under them, and they were as good as dead. "Guys, how fast can you throw a me-sized chunk of ice?"

"Together?" the Dunmer woman wondered aloud. "I don't… Fast enough to crack a tree?"

"Good enough. Aim for his head." Before anyone could ask her anything, she sped over to the other side of the iceberg and started yelling at the dragon as he came back. "Biidurvul, genundiil med ozak voth ag om nau rigiriil!"

"Bah, Dovahkiin!" he yelled back at her as he zeroed in on her. Seeing a chance, the mages took up a suitably sized chunk of ice with a collaborative telekinesis spell and simultaneously launched it as hard as they could, nailing the dragon on the side of his head and causing him to fall right in front of Ruby, who jumped up and landed on his back, raking her sword down and into him as she ran down. He roared in pain and scrambled up just as the others ran to join the fight. Looking at Ruby as she turned, his eyes went wide with fear. He turned, then leaped, but his left wing refused to fully extend. He floundered in the air, unable to gain much with his limb locked that way. "Tiid Klo Ul!" he Shouted in desperation, causing time to slow around him. Ruby watched with narrowed eyes as he tried to use this time to force his body to listen to him and took in a deep breath. As time resumed and Biidurvul regained control, he started flapping and gaining traction before beginning to fly away.

"Kun!" he heard behind him and looked back in time to see a small Burning Light coming at him, hitting his already struggling wing near the shoulder and causing him to fall with a roar of pain into the sea.

For a minute, everyone stood and watched the spot where he had gone under. After the froth and bubbling stopped, Brelyna raised a hand and began casting Detect Life.

"I'm seeing some fish and one shark. No dragon."

"He's not dead," Ruby said as she looked around. "If he was, I would've felt it. Damn, never had a dragon successfully run away before. You sure you don't see him anywhere?"

"Something that big, we'd see him if he was anywhere nearby," the Dunmer assured her while scanning all around them a second time. She released the spell and let out a sigh. "Well, at least we can get back to land safely."

"There's that."

"Ruby," Lydia began as they sheathed their blades and the mages started trying to figure out how to get back to land, "I wanted to ask you, about Ilmaasi, I mean. What exactly…did you and he talk about?"

"Evil recruitment pitch," Ruby answered with a shrug. "He wants to end the world. Wanted me to help. I said no. Don't think he liked that."

"I suppose not." The Nordic woman looked back in the direction Biidurvul escaped. "But he did get a dragon."

"Yeah… But something tells me it's not just one."

---

When Weiss arrived in Solitude, she opted to stay at the Winking Skeever to help keep any sort of suspicious scents off of her. She then set off at dusk, waiting until she was far enough from the city that she was certain no one would catch even the faintest glance of her, then transformed and began hovering through the air toward the castle. As she flew, her mind kept going back to the annoyance of the day.

'Honestly, I can't believe that woman,' she griped to herself. 'To insult my complexion to such a degree and then…follow it up with the coldest proposal I've ever heard.' She snarled through her beastly lips. 'If anyone ever deserved to lose everything in a fire… At least now I know what and who people were talking about when they mentioned losing the Ashwood's business.'

The heiress was brought out of her musings when she heard something in her periphery, and so stopped to change back into her regular form. Slowly she went over to where a large amount of torches were lighting up the nearby hills and trees. Weiss saw a sizable gathering of everyday looking men and women, but at their head was a man in red and orange robes emblazoned with the sigil of Arkay and a bladed warpick at his side. He was currently standing on a wooden platform and beside a woman who had a noose tied around her neck, the other end of it being tied up to a thick tree limb by a number of men.

"Everyone, today we have caught one of the Prince of Domination's servants," the man called out to the crowd in a booming voice. "You've all seen the proof. We all saw where she's been slaking her thirst on your livestock. Now, we can finally rid the world of her, and ensure that there's one less vampire prowling among us."

The woman seemed to be shaking and crying, unable to speak up as the people cheered and called for her death. Weiss swallowed and looked around, trying to figure out what to do. The idea of jumping in and saving the woman came to mind, but people could easily see her face and then…

Like a light went off, Weiss recalled the mask of Morokei. Ruby had given it to her, since she was the one who used magic the most, and they had a cloth and leather hood stitched to the edges of it to better stay on her head. The heiress fished it out of her items and placed it over her distinctively colored hair, watching as the material cleared from the inside, allowing her perfect vision of her surroundings. Moving around to the other side, she watched as the people with the rope finished tying it and charged out into the open, knocking several people back with a low-level Repulse and then jumping onto the stage. The man looked at her in shock, giving her an opening to kick him from the side and off of the platform. She then drew an elven dagger and sliced through the rope as everyone scrambled in confusion, sheathing it just before grabbing the still-bound vampire.

"Wh-what?" the woman who had just avoided execution got out as she was pulled along.

"Hold on," Weiss warned her before throwing another Repulse into a different part of the crowd, throwing them even further into disarray. One Bosmer had managed to take up a bow, but an ice spike sent towards his feet took his attention long enough for Weiss to scoop up her rescue into a princess carry, leap away, and run into the trees.

"What's- Y- y-you saved me," the woman got out after a moment. "W- why?"

"You were only feeding from livestock, right?" Weiss asked her, receiving a rapid, eager nod as an answer. "Never drank from a person?"

"N-no, I… I never b-bit anyone."

"Then you've done nothing wrong, and you don't deserve to be killed."

"B-but, I'm a v-v-v-v-vampire," she squeaked out before a few fresh tears came to join the dry ones.

"Well, it'd be hypocritical of me to blame you for that." As the rescued girl took in her words, the baying of hounds and glow of torches was heard and seen coming upon them. "Rats! They're after us! Can you run?"

"T-th-th-th-they… M-my legs hurt."

Weiss felt her teeth grinding, immediately putting together what may have caused her pain. A quick look at her bruised and bleeding legs confirmed it. She paused a moment and sent out a Lightning Wall, hoping to slow their pursuers before she went back to running. A few moments later, several dogs yipped in distress and at least one person screamed in pain. The chase seemed cut off, but then she saw torchlight coming up again.

"S-spell!" her charge warned her while pointing, causing Weiss to look back and see the blue magical stream trailing her. Weiss huffed and turned her attention back to what was in front of her. She thought for sure she was still well ahead of the mob and planned to lose them by leaping from a cliffside she had spotted, when something caught her leg and tripped her up. The mask protected her face, but she was forced to let the girl go to keep from landing on top of her. The Huntress turned and found that what caught her leg was nothing natural, but a chain with a weighted end. At the other end was the robed man, holding it with both hands like a vice. Weiss tried to pull herself loose, but the man whipped up the chain and yanked her several feet with it, sending pain up her trapped leg before it came undone and was tugged back to its wielder.

"So, it seems the sire came for the child," he growled out as he began spinning the chain in his hands. "I had hoped to end it painlessly, but I can already see you aren't going down without a fight."

Weiss sneered before drawing Strahlendjuwel. "You got that right, at least." The weighted end was suddenly flying at her head, but she managed to duck under it before jumping at him and thrusting. His other hand came up with his warpick and parried her to the side before coming around and going for her ribs. She back stepped it, but felt it tug against part of her shirt and make a small rip at the bottom.

"In the name of the Divines, by the Temple of the Last Breath, I will send you both to Oblivion," the man, a monk by the sound of it, announced to her before his chain came back in hand. "Surrender, and I will be merciful."

"I don't think mercy means what you say it does." Weiss readied magicka in her right hand and sent a rain of lightning at him while charging. Rather than move out of the way, the monk raised an arm and let the spell hit him. Weiss was surprised by the action, but continued with her stab towards him. His warpick knocked her away again, but this time she went with the flow and made a twirl before slashing up, cutting into his arm and forcing him to back away. Several of the lynch mob had caught up and were now watching the battle unfold, none of them making a move towards the other vampire who had hidden behind a log. Whether it was due to a desire to see how the fight would unfold or some part of a macabre ritual she didn't know, but Weiss wasn't about to discount her blessings. This fight was already difficult enough without being able to use her signature glyphs in front of witnesses, and she'd prefer to kill as few people as possible in this whole mess. Still, she hoped that she could find an avenue of escape before it came to that.

Weiss scoffed as she jumped out of the way of another swing, and the chain came at her again, this time hitting Strahlendjuwel's hilt and knocking it loose from Weiss' grasp. She tried to bring it back to her with a telekinetic grab, but the monk suddenly rushed her, bringing his pick around for a powerful swing. She tried to move out of the way, but was hit with an impact against her side that sent her back several feet, clutching the point that his weapon had hit and nearly broken through her Aura with its concentrated force.

"Strong magic armor you have there. It won't save you," he told her as he pulled his chain back. Weiss looked back up at him with anger and starting coursing magicka through her body.

"Won't have to." She threw both of her arms forward, summoning a chilling blast with one and lightning with the other. Both crashed into the man, who took both of the spells with a block. Weiss felt a smirk forming as the magic hit him, but it disappeared when she saw him run forward with a flaming hand. She stopped and jumped to the side, barely being missed by the Burning Hand before she flipped back and gasped a few breaths. He turned back to her, and she saw that there was almost no damage on him.

"Born to Sun's Dusk and trained in the ways of the Golem's Skin, none in my temple are weak to magic." His hand came up again, but this time a fireball came at her. Weiss leaped out of the way of it, but was still sent flying by its explosion. Two more came, but she managed to dodge them as well, picking up her sword after the third's pass. Even with it in hand, the monk charged her and nearly landed another blow with his warpick and almost caught her with the chain.

As Weiss cursed her circumstances, screams began rising up from the gathered mob. The monk looked back, and they both saw another group had arrived, clad in layered leather and with death hounds at their command. Weiss recognized one of their faces and felt both relief and apprehension.

'They're Volkihar. I don't know why they're out here, but…' She saw a man get cut down and then the woman he was protecting yanked away by her arm and thrown to three vampires who dragged her out of Weiss' sight, causing her throat to constrict as she swallowed the reflexive protest that would have blown her cover. The monk turned back to her, surprise and fury on his face.

"You…laid a trap for us!" His teeth were bared in a snarl as his knuckles turned white on his weapons. He suddenly whipped out the chain and swung it around, nearly braining Weiss during its first pass and almost taking out her legs on the second. He charged forward again, but this time Weiss met him, hitting her shoulder against his gut before flipping back and kicking up into his face. He tried to hit her with his warpick, but she threw up her right arm to catch it at its crook and stabbed into his belly. The man grunted in pain, then Weiss stepped back as he fell to his knees.

"Vampire…" he ground out as he clutched his mortal wound, "you won't…win." As he fell forward, the screams wound down into cries of anguish, and Weiss looked up to see anyone who hadn't been killed were being chained together. She took off the Morokei mask slowly, and a female vampire wielding a bloodied battleaxe came up to her with a smile, eyes glowing orange in the night.

"Well fought, new blood. Looks like one of those southern monks." She picked up the warpick and looked it over before tossing it to Weiss, who caught it in surprise. "All yours. We haven't met yet, have we? Fura Bloodmouth. I get sent to kill and catch."

"Weiss Schnee," she quietly responded. She looked back at the line of captured humans and elves who were being led away, some of them struggling, only to be hit with clubs and whips for their troubles. Fura looked back at the procession and smiled.

"Didn't think you'd have a whole herd lined up for us," she said with a laugh. "Well then, let's get this haul back to the castle. The wolves and skeevers will clean these up. Toss 'em off, boys," she commanded the force of vampires and thralls, who got to work dragging corpses over to the nearby cliff and throwing them off the side. Weiss watched, her stomach turning a bit at the sight, but then turned her attention back to the rescued woman, who now looked far more like a girl as she cowed away from the other vampires who were beginning to look at her.

"Are you all right?" Weiss asked her as she stepped over. The girl looked to her and nodded slowly.

"I'm fi-f-f-fine. No one h-h-h-h-h-hurt me and they…" she looked at the bloodied field and shivered before walking closer to Weiss. "W-w-w-will I be safe?"

Weiss sighed and took one of her hands. "You'll be safer. Just stay with me." She nodded at that. "What's your name?"

"G-Giledie. Giledie Vassonia, b-b-b-b-but my friends called m-m-me Gilly." She cleared her throat and looked up at Weiss. "It's…nice to meet y-you, Weiss."

The Huntress nodded at that and looked over to the vampires who had begun leaving, the last of them dragging the monk to the side and letting him fall, though Weiss was sure she saw his hands try to clutch at the grass and stone. She winced, cursing herself for not making sure he was completely dead, but at the same time could hardly summon up any sympathy for him. She looked at the warpick in her hand, noting how its bladed point was made from orichalcum and the grip was engraved quicksilver. She flipped it in her hand and offered it to Gilly. The girl took it and looked back up at her.

"Just in case," Weiss told her. "Stick close to me, and if anything or anyone tries to hurt you, hit them with the pointy side." Gilly nodded and Weiss began leading her to Volkihar Castle.

---

The procession arrived at the castle with the train of captives looking up at it in abject fear. Some tried to put on a brave face, but Weiss' vampiric senses could pick up the taste of fear from their heartbeats to the hairs standing on end. As they were shuffled past the gates, Rargal Thrallmaster came up and smiled at the sight, two lower-ranked vampires walking behind him.

"Didn't expect such a nice haul," he exulted while gesturing to the captives before taking a thoughtful look. "And so soon. Not too close, I hope?"

"Found them on the road," Fura answered while crossing her arms. "The new blood ran afoul of some vampire-hunting monk while saving a little bird from him." They laughed at that then turned toward Weiss, who kept her face even. "We got a hold of the mob, and she finished off the monk. Everyone will figure they just went on a vampire hunt gone wrong. I made sure some thralls covered our trail while planting a fake one. That abandoned tower ought to do since the witches got cleared out."

"Still cutting it close. We'll need to go further out next time. Grab a few from Eastmarch or some such. But we might not need to for a good while." He looked back at the captives and beckoned them to be brought closer. The thralls lined them up and held them still as they struggled before Rargal came to the woman who was first in line and held her head with both hands.

"Shh," he whispered to her as his eyes glowed from orange to yellow to green. "Don't be afraid." She went still and calm in his hands, then he brought her close and bit her neck. Rather than struggle, she seemed to moan and go limp before he let her go and she stumbled. The woman then looked up to him, and the expression she held looked like the happiest Weiss had ever seen on a woman.

"Master, I am yours," she offered him while raising her arms to the vampire. Rargal just smirked. Weiss was horrified at the sight, but she forced herself to not betray her emotions.

"Good, good. Got at least one worshipping thrall out of this. Unchain her." A couple of the other thralls did so and the woman waited in place. "Go downstairs to the pens and tidy up. Ask for directions and tell them Rargal Thrallmaster sent you." The woman nodded enthusiastically.

"I live to serve, Master Rargal," she said before scampering off, the other prisoners looking on in horror and confusion. The Thrallmaster made to take on the next and the man began struggling before several of his captors started clubbing him.

Weiss looked back at Giledie and gestured with her head to another room. "Let's go. You don't want to watch this," she whispered to her before leading her away. The two walked away from the processing and towards the library.

"Ronthil, where was that last batch of alchemy ingredients I asked you for?" she heard as she went by a laboratory.

"Ah, yes…that," Ronthil answered uncertainly. "There were…well, complications."

"I don't want to hear about it. I want what I asked for."

"Yes, Feran. Of course. I'll see to it."

Weiss noticed a shift in Gilly's step and shook her head. She would have to take time to reassure the girl once they had a moment. Not out in the open, though. They'd need a private space to talk. If nothing else, then outside of the castle's walls and with just a muffling spell to cover them would have to do.

Stepping inside the library, she found Garan leafing through an old tome. The Dunmer vampire noticed her and set it aside before standing to his feet to greet her.

"I see you have returned," he greeted her with a nod. "Lord Harkon will be pleased." He then looked past her to Gilly, who seemed to shrink under her gaze. "It seems you brought something else as well."

"I found her about to be strung up. Seemed a waste," Weiss answered him evenly. The vampire walked up to them and sniffed the air around her before nodding.

"One of the strains from the Iliac Bay. Montalion, I think. That…will need some correcting, but that is for later. You met Stalph and Salonia, I presume?" At Weiss' more dour expression, he smirked. "Lord Harkon and I suspected they might follow you there."

"Yes, and they tried to kill me. Their mistake," Weiss responded coldly, shutting her eyes as though in annoyance.

"Well of course they did. Welcome to the politics of Lord Harkon's court," he exasperatedly droned out. "Vingalmo and Orthjolf both long for our Lord's throne, but cannot make overt moves against him. Each sought to gain power by using his underling to kill you and keep the Chalice for himself. By ensuring the Chalice reaches our Lord, you have increased his power over them, and at the same time deprived them of their little pets. You've done Lord Harkon two great services. Take what you've learned to heart, and be careful who you trust." He smiled again as Weiss nodded and took out the Chalice itself. She passed it to him and he took it in hand. "Well, now to put this in its proper place. You should let Lord Harkon know of your return. He may wish to see the Chalice himself."

As he left, Weiss began thinking to herself. She never thought that the different vampires might have been gunning for the top position. Even if they were, Weiss couldn't imagine anyone here really challenging Harkon. In fact, while Vingalmo and Orthjolf still gave her a bit of that overpowering feeling, it was nothing compared to even one like Jarmak, much less Harkon. If those two were bright candles, then Jarmak was a good campfire, and Harkon was one of those fires that she saw Giants huddled around. To all of them, Weiss might have been a lighter, or a cheap nightlight.

'Delusions of grandeur,' she decided before feeling something grabbing her shirt from the side. She turned to look back and saw her charge shaking in place a moment. Weiss felt her features soften and reached up to pat the timid girl on the shoulder.

"It'll be all right. Come on. We'll find a little spot to talk and…" Her words paused as a head of dirty blonde hair entered, and a toothy smile appeared on a young face.

"Well, well, new blood. You did well on your first little outing. Brought back a slew of brand new morsels to sample from, and I see the rumor of you scooping up a little bird was true." The vampire that appeared to be no more than a young teen or pre-teen girl looked over at Gilly in interest. "Someone was saying you were fighting a mob for her?"

Weiss was preparing her response when Gilly cleared her throat and started talking. "Sh-she saved me f-f-f-from being killed by a m-m-m- a vampire hunter." The heiress wanted to smack her forehead. While it wasn't a bad answer, she was trying to keep a more aloof appearance to the Volkihar until such time she could take Gilly out of the castle and possibly leave her in the care of Duskfall. The other vampire's smile was replaced by an exaggerated expression of worry as she drew closer.

"Oh, you poor thing! You must be newly blooded, and obviously so young in life. That must have scared you back to death." A lighter smile returned. "Well, don't you worry. Our newest member, mm, Weiss, was it?"

"Yes," she answered calmly.

"Weiss here will keep you safe, I'm sure. After all, she single-handedly defeated two rapscallions with some years on her." The way her eyes peered over at Weiss when she said it like that sent a chill down the Huntress' spine. "Oh, you should step out a second. My little ones are just outside, so they'll keep you company while she and I talk about some important things."

Gilly looked at Weiss, and the heiress nodded her head while gesturing. Reluctantly, the woman left her side and headed out of the library door. Weiss saw the other vampire weave a Muffle Room and added her own to the mix to plug in any possible holes.

"What do you know?" Weiss quickly questioned her.

"Wasn't that sudden?" she mouthed while stroking her chin. "Not even a little pleasantry. Young people are so rude!"

She sighed and rolled her eyes and head before crossing her arms.

"I'm Weiss Schnee, as you know. And you?"

"Needs a little work, but much better." The vampire placed an arm across her chest and nodded her head. "Natha Thensdottir. Now, as for what I know… Well, all I know is what everyone else knows. You left, Stalph and Salonia went out after you. It was no great secret what they were planning. Then you came back, and no word from either of them. I knew that they took the most direct route, only stopping to avoid the sun. One of my little ones followed them about halfway before returning. Poor thing missed me, but we knew you were taking a more…scenic route." She leaned back while tapping a finger to her cheek. "Now, I may have been overhearing you wrong, but it sounds to me like you've killed them both. A remarkable feat. Stalph was known for his ability to heal, and Salonia was no fresh fledgling. Yet, I can't help but wonder what you may have done on your long trip to the den."

Weiss' eyes narrowed at her, and the vampire giggled.

"Oh, don't worry, child. It's not like I have any proof, nor do I really wish to dangle it over you. I'm a bit like Garan in that. I'm not trying to scrabble my way to the top."

"Then what are you doing? You're suggesting something…that others might not take kindly to."

"Oh, but it's something I, personally, don't mind." She laughed. "I know I don't look it, but I've been around quite a while. People like Vingalmo and Orthjolf come and go, and yet century after century passes," her smile disappeared and Weiss suddenly felt a weight fall upon her, catching her off-guard, "and I'm still here." Her voice had lost all of its cheerful inflection, leaving only a cold, low tone. "I've been here since the beginning. My family served the Volkihars when we were all but mortals. I've learned, child, and so will you." Her smile returned, and Weiss felt that weight slowly lift off of her.

"Wh- what did…?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Just a little…reminder. I may not be playing politics, but there are more than a few people who would still see me as, bleh, an obstacle." She shrugged with a shake of her head. "Consider it like this; you need allies, and I need a nice buffer between me and fools like those goats that consider themselves possible claimants to a throne they'll never get. I'll play nice with you, and you help me here and there, alright?"

Weiss thought it over a moment before sighing and nodding. "Very well, but this had better not end in a double-cross."

"It would take Lord Harkon himself ordering me to make me drop a deal like this. Of course, at that point, it's self-preservation. You understand, right?"

"I suppose," she grumbled. "Fine. We'll see how this goes."

"Ah, excellent. Now, first, I'll take care of your little rescue for you while the princess comes to talk. She has a few things to say, and that little problem should be taken care of sooner rather than later."

"Wait," Weiss called as Natha started to leave, "what do you mean? What are you doing to her?"

"Oh, nothing harmful, child, trust me. Just a little walk and a little embrace. She'll be perfectly fine. Better than before, even." Before Weiss could question her further, Serana walked in from the other side. The tween vampire lord waved with a wide grin and left.

"You should be careful about her," Serana warned Weiss as she walked up, a folded bundle in her arms. "She might look harmless, but she's merciless."

"Yes, I figured as much." Weiss sighed as she put her hands to her hips. "At least she's interested in mutual beneficence."

"I assume that's good? Anyways, figured you might want to blend in a bit better." She handed over the bundle and Weiss found it to be the surprisingly sturdy leather armor that doubled as the castle inhabitants' uniform. "Mostly guessed at your sizes, and I figured you'd like it in your colors." Weiss unfurled the whole piece to find that it was mostly white with a higher neckline than normal. The pieces that would rest on her shoulders were baby blue and just right that she could see her collar showing without even trying it on.

"You made this?"

"Partly. Hestla did the armor parts and picked out all the leather, but I dyed them and stitched it all together." The vampire rubbed her fingers. "Never really forget how."

"Thank you. It's lovely." It honestly was, even if Weiss would likely never be able to wear it out in public.

"You're welcome. So…" Serana threw up her own muffling spell. "I'm going to address the mammoth in the room. You rejoined Yang and got her help, didn't you?"

Weiss sighed. She figured that, out of everyone in the castle, Serana would be the one to see through the little play she and Yang had put on before. "Well, I suppose I might as well explain it to you, then."

---

The marshes and swamps of Hjaalmarch were resistant to the oncoming winter, but not immune. While some of the waters remained clear of ice, others were freezing over. And where some patches had pushed away the snow, others had succumbed and were coated in a layer of white. The four were able to find a solid enough trail to their destination, and so followed it towards the ruins of Folgunthur.

"You know, this place is giving me an uneasy feeling in my gut," Rumarin brought up. "Either it's that or the stew I ate last night."

"Hey, don't badmouth the stew," Yang playfully objected. "That stuff saved my fingers from freezing off."

"Warmth does not flavor make. Which is why wasabi is overrated as well."

"Hey, now," Yngvarr spoke up. "Don't go disparaging an important piece of Nordic culture. Wasabi once made kings and saved kingdoms. Besides, you likely never tasted it prepared right, if you've tasted the real thing at all."

"I haven't run into wasabi once since getting here," Yang brought up. "Am I missing something?"

"Oh, it's terribly expensive, but I can usually afford a little around Saturalia," the old Nord explained. "Only the richest nobles could afford to eat it several times a year. It's quite difficult to cultivate, you see. Some in Old Atmora knew how to better do it, but the art was lost as the continent froze. Heard rumors before that there was a great deal more in Akavir, which makes sense, I suppose. Atmora got wasabi from Akaviri travelers, then Skyrim got it from Atmora. Now we barely have any."

"Huh, neat. Funny enough, we had wasabi back home as well. It's hard to grow there, too. And there's a sauce someone made and marketed as a wasabi replacement that got really popular, but Blake took me somewhere where they had the real deal, and let me tell ya, doesn't even cut it close. We also got these peppers…"

"Ah, now that you'd have to get from the spice islands of Esroniet, though I hear someone in Hammerfell has begun growing their own farm. Not nearly as hard to cultivate, I hear. But they are hard to buy, especially when the Khajiit and Harpies are clamoring to get as much as possible. Apparently those Bird Elves can eat even the hottest peppers and barely break a sweat. Sometimes, though, someone brings in hot pepper bantam guars. Those little chicken-lizards eat the hot peppers on their home island so much they become spicy as well. I actually know a Dunmer who tried to breed them, but without their hot food they lose that taste very quickly. The very first clutch to hatch was just regular old bantam guars."

"Whoa! A chicken that comes pre-seasoned? Man, I'd actually love to try that!"

"You smoothskins can keep trying new and improved ways to burn out your tongues, then. Leave me-" Anum-La stopped herself then peered forward, and Yang started smelling the air deeply. After a moment, they saw a small camp under the shadows of a ruin and came up to find a Redguard warming himself by a fire. He saw them approaching, and waved them down while moving toward them.

"So the Swamp Knight lives," he said as they closed the distance. "Thank Arkay."

"Bodan!" Anum called out before going up to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you and Elia. I searched east and west, high and low… The sands of time flowed for many months, but I managed to find you both."

Anum nodded at that. "I haven't seen Elia since we parted in Bravil. How is she?"

The Redguard's face went downcast, and he looked towards the ground with shame in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, old friend. She's dead."

"No… How?"

"I don't know." He shook his head and then rubbed his eyes. "She was found dead in her room, at the Oak and Crosier in Chorrol. It's not the sort of establishment where an assassin can slip in unnoticed."

The Argonian hummed in thought. "With Elia, he wouldn't have to. Not if he was handsome enough."

"True, but there's a reason I sought her, the same reason I'm here with you now. Elia isn't the only one." He gestured for her to sit, and she took a seat on a log near the fire, with him sitting nearby and everyone else following along.

"This doesn't sound like it's leading anywhere good," Rumarin whispered, and Yang shushed him.

"It started with Ula-Wei. At the time, I was disheartened, yet I was far from surprised. A Shadowscale builds a ledger of enemies that runs longer than a leviathan's tail. However, while mourning one friend, there came news of two others. Arnwulf and Moon-Tail had perished as well."

"By the Hist…" she quietly cursed. "What about the others? Dalum-Ei? Indrel?"

"They're fine, as far as I know. The first thing I did was seek Dalum-Ei's counsel. He was surprised to see me, but gracious as always. When I told him of what happened, he asked that I warn you and Elia, whereas he would stay and search for Indrel. Although, to be honest, the Bosmer did not concern me as much as you two. You know as well as I do that no one will ever find her, so long as she doesn't want to be found."

"Arnwulf… Moon-Tail… Elia…" Anum-La muttered to herself. "Why?"

"A question without an answer, or perhaps far too many. When we were a company, there was no shortage of people who wanted us dead. Together, we could always fend them off. Apart, we are at their mercy."

The Argonian clenched her fists before looking straight at the man and jumping to her feet. "Then we band together one last time! We take the fight to anyone and everyone who dares kill one of our own!"

Bodan smiled at this. "My friend I see that time hasn't frayed your passion." His smile then disappeared. "The problem is, our enemy has naught a face."

She sighed. "Forgive me, Bodan. All those years… All those lessons…" She sat back down and wrapped her tail around to rest in her lap, "and sometimes I wonder if I've learned anything at all."

"You were always his favorite. And in this case, you aren't in the wrong. Aggression may be what is needed. However, our best weapon at this point is our wits, not our blades." He rubbed his chin as he leaned back. "I've done some research on our past jobs, and it appears that there is one unscrupulous lord we managed to thwart far more often than the others. A baron, in fact, by the name of Gabania. As it so happens, it seems that one of his agents is here in Falkreath, attempting to secure a fur deal with the local hunters. I have other leads as well, which I myself will attend to. If you and your companions here can vet this one, perhaps we can narrow down our suspects."

"All right, I'll find out what I can," Anum agreed.

"Be safe, old friend."

The Argonian then looked to the other three, her eyes held like steel.

"I know this isn't your fight, friends, but whoever killed the others must be one damn good fighter, and I'd feel better if you were by my side. I only ask if you will."

Yang nodded. "Hey, I dragged you all across Skyrim for my work. Fair's fair. Besides, we're friends now, and friends help each other."

"Thank you. You're a true friend. Even better, you're a strong one. This baron has no idea who he's messing with."

"I suppose you're answering for me too," Rumarin pointed out. "Not that I disagree, but I had my own answer of acceptance lining up in my mind. It was quite flowery and beautiful and would have brought you all to tears, I'm sure, and now I've gone and forgotten it. Oh well, just mark me down for 'with you'."

"The same for me then," Yngvarr agreed. "Whoever's doing this, they're acting without honor. To strike down a lady of healing when she's vulnerable and alone…" He groaned angrily. "I'm going to bury Silverblur into their skull for it."

"I'm glad to see you can still make good friends," Bodan told Anum-La.

"On another note, what's up with the camp?" Yang asked, pointing out the several tents pitched up.

"Well, from what I understand, there may be a group exploring the ruins here, though no one's come up since I got here." Bodan pulled out a notebook and tossed it to Yang. "Seems to be after an old legend about Gaulder and his amulet."

"Oh dang, Weiss mentioned something like that." Yang took out her scroll and typed in a text, hoping to get an answer soon. "Don't quite remember what she said, but she has one of the fragments and my partner has another. Might want me to look into it before we go."

"Shouldn't take long, no matter how many draugr are down there." Anum-La muttered while gripping her sword's hilt. "Besides, I could use the stress relief."

---

After Bodan departed to follow his own leads, the four headed into the ruins of Folgunthur. From his notes, Daynas Valen was hoping to be the one and only to possibly claim the amulet's fragments. Seeing as the other two were already found and in the possession of her teammates, Yang figured he might be a bit salty. Of course, the fact that he hadn't surfaced for a few days didn't bode well for his chances. That, as well as the three fresh corpses they passed at the entrance alone, and the smell of more on the stale air. Yang looked over to her reptilian companion as they left the first, already opened gate behind.

"You going to be alright?"

"No, I don't think I'm going to be alright," she answered. "Not for a while. I'm going to be confused, frustrated, and angry." She managed a small smile in the end, though. "Still, I appreciate the concern, Yang. At times like this, I'm reminded what it is I value most, and why I have to see this through."

The blonde nodded and then they came out into a more open catacomb, where several draugr awoke and charged at them. Yang punched one and sent it flipping back to where it came, while Rumarin called up a bound blade and sliced through one before ducking away from a blast of frost. Yngvarr chopped the offending undead in half, and Anum-La sliced down two of them. Everyone looked around before relaxing themselves.

"Draugr," Anum-La griped. "At least these mummies have flesh. Nothing's more awkward than trying to cut bone."

"I'd say trying to cut wood is pretty awkward," Rumarin countered as Yang started walking around and searching the immediate area. "Those Spriggans are difficult to take down with a sword."

"Try having to kill something that constantly regenerates. Part of the reason why I started using axes, actually. Trolls suck," Yang added.

As they talked about what made for the most annoying enemy to kill, Yang found a set of old, wooden stairs and walked into the room to head up, but then the grate opened up underneath her and plunged her into the water just beneath it. As she sputtered and gasped while pulling herself out, the rest of the crew rushed over to her and helped her to her feet, where she immediately tucked herself into a ball and began shivering.

"C-c-c-c-c-c-c-cooooooold," she chattered out before focusing on summoning fire into her hands. At first barely caring, she focused in order to not singe herself as she did her best to get dry. "Damn! Wish I knew that clothes drying spell." She thought about trying it, and so tried to envision what it was Weiss did to make those warm air funnels. She attempted conjuring one, but only ended up with a small tornado of flame.

As she expended her efforts to warming and drying, Rumarin looked into the room and flipped a lever that brought the gate back up. Flipping it again seemed to do nothing, but he pushed it back up and put a foot onto the grate and pushed. It stayed solid, and so he did it again with the lever down and the grate fell in, leaving his foot in the air before he stepped back.

"Feeling better?" Anum-La asked Yang after she finished drying her socks and placed her boots back on.

"Much better, really."

"Guess we should have those lessons after all," Yngvarr figured. "We'll do it when we get back to Morthal. The marsh ponds near the town are a perfect spot to practice, and the inn's right there if we need it."

"Great," Yang mumbled.

"Well, it's safe to come up now," Rumarin called down from the upper level. "I promise I didn't reset the trap."

"If you did, they'll never find the body," Yang playfully warned him before carefully stepping through and going up. As the other two joined them, she walked over to where a Dunmer corpse was lying, old blood spilled around him and several downed draugr scattered all over. Next to his hand was a dragon claw key, which Yang picked up and turned in her hands, finding it to be carved from ivory. Also next to him lay another notebook, which she began scanning for clues.

"It seems this Dunmer took half the draugr in this crypt with him to the Void. How selfish of him," Anum remarked.

Yang just shook her head before coming upon the last pages of the journal.

"' Gaulder himself was interred in a cave not far from where his tower once stood, in the place called Reachwater Rock. And when it was done, King Harald issued an edict: the name and deeds of Gaulder and his sons were to be expunged from every record, every chronicle. Under pain of death, no word of them was to be spoken, lest any try to recover the amulet that had been sealed at so great a cost.' Whoops!" Yang shrugged at that, but kept in mind the name of Gaulder's tomb. "So, Reachwater is in the Reach, I'm guessing. Have to look into that later." She flipped the page and sighed. "Oh, great! Guy went mad with power before he even got it."

"Premature megalomania can be a problem in budding evil overlords," Rumarin said as he walked up and pushed the corpse over, revealing a pedestal with a dragon claw-shaped keyhole. "Well, let's gain our limitless power before cackling about it."

"I don't know about limitless, but it should be pretty powerful." Yang took the ivory claw and pressed it into the keyhole, then turned it side to side, causing a drawbridge to lower and allow them further passage into the tomb. "I mean, the piece Weiss found she says was comparable to the Necromancer Amulet."

"Wait, Mannimarco's Necromancer Amulet?" Yngvarr asked her to clarify. "The one the Hero of Kvatch had to pry from The Revenant's cold, undead neck just to be able to kill? That Necromancer Amulet?"

"Yeah, actually. She found it on an actual necromancer who was murdering women in Windhelm, trying to use their parts to bring his sister back." Yang stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Of all people," Rumarin groaned. "No, not a saint, or one of the ancient heroes. Not even some grand villain should you feel particularly malevolent. Talk about a waste. Also, the murder thing and desecration of the dead is pretty bad, but on top of all that."

"Yeah, I get ya."

The group continued on, fighting several more draugr and dodging some traps. Rumarin came across an old silver axe and contemplated for a short time whether taking it back to sell was worth it at all, while Yang and Yngvarr kept clear of him as he held it. They were stopped by a set of gates and several levers, and Yang started looking over the puzzle.

"Okay, so," she pushed one lever and the second and third gates went up. "Okay, then," she pushed the one across from it and the front and last ones went up, but the third came back down. "Okay, I see how this works now. Let's see what this one does." She went to the one next to the first one she flipped and pulled it, and the gate went up and none came down. "Oh darn, I was totally ready to figure this out too."

"That was exceedingly lucky," Yngvarr agreed. "Hope it keeps up."

They went down the hallway and further into the depths. Some stones dislodged near a wide set of stairs, but luckily, none of them were in the path of the small avalanche and the only one injured was a random draugr. They went past the little scene of carnage and came into a room with two thrones set next to a pair of levers. The draugr seated in the thrones awoke, but were quickly dispatched before the group started mulling over the levers' purposes. Yang pulled one, and a disk of stone behind the wall spun so that a door opened near her, showing them a room with three open-mouthed head carvings that held the symbols she had come to recognize as being on all of the puzzles.

"Well, I see where this is going," she griped before heading back out and going to the one on the other side. Just as she suspected, there were three pillars. She quickly matched them while Yngvarr busied himself with beating a draugr battlemage back to death. When she had them all aligned, she went back out and searched for a trigger, finding it in the form of a chain. Rumarin followed her gaze and suddenly had a giddy smile, which Yang shook her head at while waving to him.

"Go ahead."

The high elf pulled the chain, and the grate at the center opened, allowing them to venture deeper into the ruins. As they came to the water-logged bottom, Yang screamed when a dog-sized spider appeared, and kicked the arachnid away. Two more the size of horses appeared, and the blonde took out Fiery Kain before charging with a shout that was higher-pitched than what she normally went for. Anum-La jumped upon one and stabbed into a weak point in its carapace while Yang hacked and chopped the other to death.

"Ew," Rumarin remarked as he came upon the sight of dead giant bugs.

"You want in front?" Yang asked him while gesturing to their newest kills.

"No, no. I'm fine where I am in the line-up."

They went on and came into a hallway with three coffins lined on both sides and a stone door with a circle puzzle surrounding a dragon claw keyhole. Yang let out a puff of air that blew some of her hair back.

"Well, let's wake the dead, shall we?"

When she was about halfway down, the coffins popped open. One draugr had its head lopped off by Silverblur before it had even stepped out, and another was hallway split down the middle and on fire thanks to Yang. The Swamp Knight and Bladebinder both killed one apiece, then the last two were finished off by the human lycanthropes.

"Thought that might be a little harder," Rumarin muttered as he looked at the corpses.

"Wait until we're behind this door. Going by the notes, the boss of this dungeon has a superpowering amulet," Yang told him as she matched up the circles with the emblems on the claw.

"This isn't a dungeon, it's a tomb," Yngvarr corrected her.

"Oh, uh, yeah, you're right. Sorry, reference from my homeland." Yang let out a small laugh then pushed in the ivory claw. The door slid open and the four went through and up the stairs. Yang paused at seeing a carving in the wall, centered around a man holding two spears. After thinking about it for a moment, she carried on and led them into a large chamber with massive columns and a coffin sitting dead center of everything.

"That coffin must be where Mikrul sleeps," Anum-La stated as they walked towards it. "At least there's plenty of room to fight. Thank the gods this draugr likes open spaces!"

As they stepped up a few stairs, the coffin's lid was thrown off, and several other coffins to the side that they had missed began opening as well. Mikrul stood to his full height and looked at the intruders before pointing his finger and giving a command in an old tongue. The other draugr began charging them, and the party set to work. Rumarin summoned up his bow and began shooting ethereal arrows at the incoming horde. Anum-La began slicing through old flesh quickly and precisely. Yngvarr started wading through them and taking out huge swathes of undead with each swing. Yang took out Holy Ardon and Black Whsiper and started chopping trough the various draugr facing her. Some of them were about as expected, but others weren't even wielding weapons. There were even a few that had faced worse rot in their burial, looking halfway like skeletons rather than mummies. After she beat down the last, they all realized the room was nearly cleared of foes save for Mikrul, still standing next to his coffin.

"Whatcha gonna do now, tough guy?" Yang called to him. Possibly in response, the draugr waved his hand forward and streams of magic left him and flowed around the room like a mist. It sank into the bodies, and the undead began rising again, the more dismembered ones either trying to pull themselves together, or attacking as separate pieces.

"Not good!" Rumarin called out as he switched his bound bow for blades. Yang bashed away a draugr she had nearly chopped the head off of before, and looked forward to Mikrul. Realizing how endless the horde really was, she took in a breath and leaned down.

"I'm going in," she yelled before charging through the mass in front of her, knocking some down and others away. The Gaulderson seemed surprised by her move, and barely had time to block before her Dwarven axe swung around. Black Whisper then came from under and chopped up and into his armor, but Yang felt resistance underneath. She kicked the undead off her weapons then readied herself to rush him again, but Mikrul had pulled one of the spears from the nearest wall with a yank that pulled out some of the bolts of its mount and stabbed towards her. Yang twisted out of the way, then squared up against the undead as he held a spear in his left and his black blade in the other. She went at him and slashed one way to get her ebony axe blocked by his spear's shaft then the other got caught by his sword. She made for a double inward swing, only for both to be blocked.

"Fus! Ro Dah!" the undead Shouted at her, knocking her back through the air with a scream. As her back hit the pillar, her war axes went flying from her hands to clatter somewhere far behind her. The undead then made to charge her, but she reached around and pulled out Fiery Kain and knocked the speartip aside before ramming his face with the axe's handle. As he stumbled, she brought it over and around, chopping down into his shoulder with a yell. However, she didn't go very deep, barely hitting the shoulder blade before it was stopped. Mikrul then dropped his spear and grabbed the axe while swinging his sword from the side, but Yang let go with one hand and caught his wrist. He then spun, kicking up and knocking Yang over before standing up and ripping the axe from his body. He threw it away and then ran at her, but Yang simply uppercut him then followed it up with a spinning back fist. The draugr stumbled away with a sizable dent in his helm, but stayed on his feet.

"What does it take to put you down?!" the brawler growled through clenched teeth.

"Yang, heads up," Rumarin called. Yang turned to see an axe coming her way through the air and caught it, turning just in time to see Mikrul coming at her in a running jump, his sword held high. She knocked the incoming blade to the side then brought her axe around, hitting between his ribs and going in deep. She yanked back, then chopped into his chest and dragged down, ripping through armor, mummified flesh, and bone. Mikrul tried to stand back up, and Yang shouted as she brought the axe down into his face. The draugr stilled, then fell back and down, sliding off of the axe blade. As he did, the other undead finally collapsed, freeing the other three.

Yang sighed, then her eyes went wide as the adrenaline wore off and she felt as though her fingers were on fire. She screamed and dropped the axe, realizing that it was the silver one Rumarin had picked up. Even its grip had silver inlaid with the ancient leather. As she clenched her hands to stem the pain and coursed Restoration magic into them, the Altmer looked at her oddly, then picked up the weapon before looking at her in realization.

"Oh."

"Well done, lass. I knew you could do it," Yngvarr congratulated her with a hardy pat on the shoulder. Yang nodded, then knelt over and took the amulet fragment from Mikrul's neck, while Anum-La picked up a note from his coffin.

"Real flowery language here. Well, now we've got the amulet. What now?"

"Usually, the ancients leave a bit of treasure near the exit of such tombs," Yngvarr explained. "Though, I suppose whether or not this one has any depends on whether or not it was originally meant for Mikrul here."

"Well, either way," Yang said with a shrug, "let's head back to town. We've got a trip ahead of us tomorrow."

"And those swimming lessons to look forward to," Rumarin reminded them. Yngvarr nodded, and Yang groaned.

---

Ruby concentrated on the piece, watching as magicka was slowly sown into the fabric of creatia in a pattern near, dear, and familiar to her. As it all came together and slowly sank in, her tongue poked out from the corner of her mouth, unnoticed by the girl herself. More and more it was woven together, until it was as tightly done as she could manage. She tried to seek out any loose spots, but found none after her examinations were through. She sighed and then took up the armor piece, now enchanted with her Semblance.

"Okay, Bree! I think it's ready for testing!" she declared. She took the leather cuirass over to the Dunmer, who looked at it nervously.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely. Just feel it with your Aura like I taught you, then push it forward from your center of gravity while aiming for…over there," she indicated toward an empty space. "If it works, my Semblance will activate and you'll burst into rose petals and reappear there. If it doesn't then probably nothing will happen."

"Probably?" the test subject asked as she pulled on the armor.

"Well, nothing bad happened when Weiss tested Yang's Semblance. Speaking of, the courier finally caught up to me, and now I've got new gloves with Yang's reflecto-punch power!" Ruby shadowboxed while making whooshing sounds with her mouth, and Brelyna raised an eyebrow at the sight. The girl looked over to her and put her hands to her hips.

"Well, don't just stand there cadet!" The Dunmer recalled what she was doing and brought her attention back to her task. She reached forward with her Aura, an odd, but not foreign concept for the mage, then tried to focus her center-of-gravity forward. As she did, she felt something disembodying happen, then everything became a jumbled mess, then she was falling forward with a yelp.

"You did it!" she heard Ruby cheer from several feet behind her. A look around told her she had, indeed, ended up at the other end of the lab. Ruby rushed up to her side with her own flowery burst and helped her up with a bright grin. "It worked!"

"It did, actually." Brelyna didn't know whether it would or not, but there it was. She noticed a few jam-colored petals slowly fading away near her feet. "Interesting…"

"Yeah, although it wasn't...complete I guess? You moved as fast as you were supposed to, but your head, arms, and legs still seemed pretty solid instead of scattering completely. It kind of reminds me of how I used my Semblance...was it really less than a year ago? Anyway, I hadn't figured out the whole 'dissolve into a petal cloud' thing back then, and I just zoomed really fast in a straight line with the petals in my wake, and that's why we first thought that my Semblance was just 'Speed'. I've been developing it since then, but now the enchantment's back to the old version. I'm not sure if it's because my enchanting isn't strong enough, if you need to practice with it to figure out the more advanced tricks, or if it's just because the one piece isn't enough by itself, and you need to wear a whole 'Ruby' set to scatter properly... Or maybe it's a little of all three?" she rubbed her chin in thought before shrugging with a huff.

"We can work on that later. Now we just have to test it with a non-Aura person." Onmund went stiff at his workstation. Ruby's eyes then opened wider, and she took her scroll from her pocket and opened it. "Oh, Yang just went through some ruins. She sent me a photo of a Word Wall. Het nok brit kaaz Anurassa wen faad nis kos evenaar orin naal krah dinok. Huh, that's neat. Apparently they buried a Khajiit lady there."

Meanwhile, Brelyna was holding out the enchanted cuirass to a frightened Onmund. "Your turn," she demanded.

"I… I actually just remembered, there's some things I have to do for Madame Ervine."

"Onmund, I will disenchant that axe if you don't." The Nord gasped at that.

"I spent hours on that enchantment," he muttered fearfully.

"And I can erase it in seconds. If I had to do this, then so do you."

"I… Oh, fine, but you can't threaten me like this forever."

Ruby shrugged at their little spat and just watched in anticipation to see how well her newest creation worked.