I really have slowed down on the updates here. Not sure if it's the new locale or if that's just correlation. Still, hope I get back to being a little more regular with it. Don't like my own thread going to sleep. Well, Halloween is nearly upon us. Be safe and eat candy. Spooks to xTRESTWHOx and NaanContributor.
Chapter 62: From Shadows, Freedom
11th of Evening Star
After climbing up some scaffolding and finding the entrance to Irkngthand, Blake, Brynjolf, Karliah, and Yang walked in to see yet more bodies, many of them looking as though they had been killed in their sleep or as they were waking. Yang sneered at the scene in disgust.
"This look like Mercer's handiwork?" she asked.
"I wouldn't put it past him," Karliah responded. "Such senseless violence. He could have easily snuck past all of these people."
Blake frowned, realizing that Karliah was right. Mercer was certainly skilled enough to get past. Perhaps he could have even used his Semblance to convince them to let him through, but no. He just felt like killing them, apparently. It reminded her of a person she once knew back home, she sighed. Once again, she let herself be manipulated by someone pretending to be someone they weren't, only this time she was going to put an end to it here and now.
"Wait, I think I see something up ahead," Blake said, stopping her thoughts as she focused her gaze on something small off further into the ruin, "Looks like someone's alive."
"How can you tell?" Yang asked, raising her eyebrow while taking deep sniffs. She didn't smell anything indicating a living person nearby.
"Armor's enchanted with some kind of life detection. I'm seeing a glow up ahead."
"I see it too," Brynjolf confirmed. "Let's go see what we've got."
Nodding to each other, they walked to the far side of the room, going up a short set of stairs and past a water basin up to a scuttle chute, where the glow was coming from. The three Nightingales looked at each other in confusion, somehow expressed despite their veils, while Yang lifted an eyebrow and walked up to it.
"So…are they in here?" She banged a fist against the chute and then a Dwarven sphere popped out and began unfolding, only to end up with an axe splitting apart most of its mechanisms. "Got 'em. So, did you see a rat or something, 'cuz that wasn't-"
"Did you guys see that?" Blake asked the other two, interrupting her partner.
"See what?" Yang asked, not offended in the slightest as she pulled her flame-enchanted axe free and started pulling out some crossbow bolts from a built-in quiver.
"That machine was what was glowing," Brynjolf said with incredulity. "But…it's not alive?"
"Well, it definitely isn't now." Yang stood up and packed her looted bolts and Soul Gems away. "Maybe your detection stuff picks up anything that moves under its own power? Maybe the Soul Gem?"
"That…makes sense," Blake admitted while looking at the scrap. "At least nothing will be able to get the drop on us like this." She looked forward into the hallway next to them and saw another scrapped robot and a few distant glows. "Yeah, not all of them popped out at Mercer. We also don't know how fast this place fixes itself up. Yang, try not to step where we don't."
"'Kay." The four began heading in, keeping their eyes and ears open for traps, though Blake was beginning to hear the sounds of machinery associated with Dwemer ruins as they passed another large water basin and began heading down stairs, hugging the edges away from the chutes with glows inside of them. To the other two thieves' surprise, Yang was fairly quiet and light in her steps as well. She wasn't practically undetectable like they were, but they were getting past the ancient automatons.
Things hit a hiccup, however, when they came to a room with spinning pillars spitting out flames in four directions each. Brynjolf began looking around, gauging how he could slip by, when Blake leaped up and jumped from the top of each one to the next until she reached the gate to the next room. Karliah followed in her footsteps while Yang smirked and took a helmet from her belt and placed it on, brazenly walking through the flames as the antlered helm's enchantment roared to life and gave her perfect fire immunity just long enough to make it through. Brynjolf sighed and skirted around the sides, keeping out of reach of the flames and timing his way through the last one to safety where the women were waiting on him.
"Not everyone can be acrobats," he defended. "Or keep their youth for several centuries."
"I didn't say anything," Karliah nonchalantly stated as they moved on. Blake had pulled a lever near an empty shaft with guardrails, which summoned up an elevating platform and lowered the rails to allow the group onto it.
"I think he went this way."
"Yep," Yang agreed. "I can smell a bit of blood, probably from his weapons."
"Detection enchantment's not picking anything up down there," Brynjolf noted as Blake pulled the lever in the center of the platform.
"Probably too far and too much between us," Blake supposed. "Even something like this armor has its limits. We'll just have to track him in other ways."
"I just hope we aren't too late," Karliah muttered.
The elevator came to the bottom and the four walked off and towards a set of double doors down a hallway. Upon opening it, a spiked ball trap swung down. Blake ducked under it, but Yang reacted by yelping and punching it away, embedding it in the nearby wall and cursing as she nursed her hand. Brynjolf stared at the newest wall decoration in surprise.
"Stronger than you look, lass. And you looked pretty strong in the first place."
"Thanks. I try." Yang flashed the thief a toothy smile, while an amused Brynjolf shook his head.
They turned the corner and several glows began showing up. Unlike before, however, these were not primarily orb-shaped. They seemed humanoid, but most of them were walking about in a hunched stance, save for one.
"Wait a moment. What's that?" Karliah pointed out as she rushed forward, the others going after her to a fenced off rise, letting them see the cavern and structures within it below. The same straight standing figure came close to one of the others, then that one's light went out, signaling an end to its life. Yang immediately picked up the scent of Falmer and chaurus before they all spotted a man at the far end of the cavern, standing over the body of a Falmer bleeding from its neck. "It's Mercer!" she said in a worried but hushed tone.
"I'm on it, lass," Brynjolf said as he took out a dagger and tried to pry out one of the bars of the Dwemer-made fence. Yang decided to try and bend some out of the way, only to find that it wasn't giving. She knew that Dwarven metal was tough, but she figured the stone would give. Looking up however, she saw that there was a long mount that the bars were embedded in rather than directly into the rock. Brynjolf's efforts weren't bearing much fruit either, unable to find a bolt or strip to loosen. The Breton seemed to look over at them before turning and continuing on his way.
"Damn it, there's no way through!" Brynjolf silently declared as he pulled his blade out and backed away a step. Yang huffed and let up, having barely budged the bars she was working on.
"Yeah, this stuff's too strong. And chopping through it might take a minute and make a lot of noise." She looked back down at the Falmer going about, who seemed to have noticed that something was off from the sounds they had already made. "Way too much."
Blake looked around and saw a path they could follow, likely the same one used by their target, and was about to inform the others when she looked back and saw Mercer having turned around and made some sort of gesture. It didn't take enhanced vision to realize what that expression was, and Blake, Yang, Karliah, and Brynjolf scowled.
"He's toying with us," Karliah seethed as Mercer finally retreated. "He wants us to follow."
"Aye lass, and we'll be ready for him. Let's keep moving."
"This way," Blake indicated.
"We'll have to be careful," Yang warned them as she took up the rear. "If he keeps killing one or two Falmer here and there and one of them finds a body…"
A loud gargled scream interrupted her as they moved past several chaurus egg sacks. They stayed still for a moment, but then, with relief, the Nightingales noted how the Falmer were moving away from where they were, likely towards the scene of Mercer's victim. Once the immediate area was clear, they stepped out and took a moment to admire the cavernous area they were in. High above them, the cave ceiling was dotted with luminescent lichen and mushrooms. Before them was a three-tiered set of walkways carved from stone with buildings set on each. A few of them had collapsed thanks to time and wear, but the unblemished Dwarven metal stuck out at odd angles. The whole buildings, on the other hand, looked untouched save for where Falmer seemed to have set up shop with chitinous construction. Linked between several of the higher buildings were stone and metal bridges, almost wide enough to be thought of as roads.
"Look at the size of this place," Brynjolf muttered in wonder. "Have you ever seen anything like it in your life, lass?"
"Can't say that I have," Karliah answered. "Imagine the riches hidden in these walls."
"Might have a little trouble with the locals, though," Yang mentioned, reminded that the two were thieves by the exchange. "This is a lot bigger than the last Dwemer ruin we were in. Right Blake?"
"Yeah, but I think that's the difference between a research lab and an actual city," Blake mentioned. Yang nodded, then took a quick look with an appraising eye and nodded again.
"Now that you mention it, I could see people living here in its heyday."
The group continued around, hugging the far wall as they headed toward where Mercer had gone, only to see a closed gate near the murder scene that was now being heavily investigated by the Falmer. Blake began looking around to find where the lever to open the gate was, seeing one high up on the opposite side of the cavern.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she muttered. Everyone else followed her gaze and saw it as well.
"Mind doing the honors, Belladonna?" Brynjolf asked her.
"Yeah, sure," Blake sighed before hugging the wall even further, mindful of where she stepped more than anything as she came dangerously close to the now startled demi-elves, who all seemed to be talking about what to do in their raspy language. When she reached the other side, rather than searching for the ramp leading up, she jumped and began scaling the wall. A few pebbles came loose, but barely caught the attention of one Falmer who went back to the group's discussion.
Once she reached the top, Blake was about to pull the lever before noticing the one across from her current position, just above where her team was standing. Internally groaning, she took out her scroll and sent a quick text to Yang, who saw what her partner was doing and checked. She then looked up and saw it as well, pointing it out to the other two before texting back.
What do we do?
I think both have to be pulled at the same time. A lot of gears are gonna start moving though. Need to be careful. I can send over Backpack, unless one of you want to climb up there.
Blake waited for Yang's response, but the blonde suddenly started typing something frantically.
Guess I'll tosONUR5
Blake's eyebrows went up, then she quickly looked to the side in realization and saw a Falmer coming up the ramp toward her and the lever. He didn't have any weapons at the ready, meaning he likely wasn't after Blake, but she still wasn't keen on getting caught. The Faunus immediately clambered down the edge, completely out of the way and out of reach. Safe, she looked back over and saw another Falmer heading to the other lever. They yelled something at one another, then spoke at the same time in what Blake assumed was a countdown before they both pulled their respective handles. Gears near both of them and at the gate spun and then the way was cleared, allowing a single runner through. Quickly and quietly, the four made for the entryway.
"Well, that was convenient," Brynjolf quipped.
"Easy for you to say," Blake grumbled.
"Guys, I think that one was sent to either warn the others or get help," Yang began. "This is probably like their outskirts. There's bound to be way more Falmer deeper inside, and they're all about to get a heads up on someone or something having killed one of their own."
"Ah, good point," the Nord conceded. Blake missed what he said next, as her ears picked up on footsteps coming near, making her turn around and see a fully armored Falmer with a sickle weapon in hand headed their way. She shot out her hand, getting their attention and silencing their whispers. The Falmer seemed to have noticed something was up, and began waving his weapon around slowly as he walked forward. As he closed the distance, Blake took a few quiet steps out of the way, the Nightingale Armor making her every moment as silent as possible, if not quieter. The other two did as well, but Yang stayed perfectly still. As the guard drew closer, he waved his sickle less and less, seemingly coming close to concluding that nothing was there before he took a wider step and walked face-first into Yang's side.
Blake felt her heart leap into her throat, prepared to fight for their lives against however many Falmer, but the one just seemed to shake his head a little and reach up. Everyone was wondering what in the world was going on as the Falmer seemed to just prod at Yang's leg before they all seemed to collectively realize that the woman was donned in Dwemer metal, something the Falmer would have been used to running into in this place.
For his part, the Falmer seemed baffled at first, but then began tracing his fingers along the metal, as though trying to read it. Yang's face contorted as she forced herself to remain still, her fists balled up and shaking. The Falmer ran his hand up, stopping at one of the larger scales at her hip before plucking at it. He put his weapon to his belt and began cupping his chin and muttering as he kept feeling around, Yang's face going redder with anger with each passing moment. Blake readied herself to grab him in a chokehold, but the Falmer then took off his helmet, seemingly to better listen as he tapped at Yang's armor, only to receive a fist to the head, knocking him to the ground.
Yang then shuddered and walked away, rubbing her arms as curses hissed through her teeth. The Falmer groaned, and Blake recalled one of her newest potions, taking it out and pouring it right onto the dazed being's face. One inhale later, and he was out cold.
"Was that a knock-out potion?" Brynjolf asked as the tension seemed to run out of him.
"Started keeping a few, just in case. Doesn't last too long, but just enough to get out of here before he wakes up."
They left the scene, catching up with a slowly cooling off Yang.
"You didn't just kill it?"
"Falmer aren't exactly…the best, but I don't want to kill anyone if I can help it."
"Yet you're off to kill someone," Blake felt the honeyed words of the Ebony Blade reverberate through her body, but she ignored them.
"Current mission notwithstanding. Yang, are you okay?"
"No!" the blonde hissed, obviously trying hard not to yell. "I just got…felt up by some wrinkly mole-elf!"
"I don't think-"
"Uh, we better move," Brynjolf warned them, pointing towards two others apparently moving in to investigate why their fellow had suddenly gone quiet. Karliah concentrated and cast a silent spell over them, before waving them forward, a strange sort of bubble staying around her.
"That'll muffle our presence more. Next time we'll be able to get out of the way without them hearing you, so long as it isn't extremely loud."
"Thanks," Yang breathed out. "Ugh, that was just so…wrong. What the hell was that anyways?"
"He probably thought you were a pillar he never ran into before or something," Blake explained, though it didn't seem to set her partner at ease any. The hall gave way to another open area, this one with a lot of debris and rubble near the entrance and some chitin huts set up. Blake saw several more glows ahead of them all over the place and gulped. They had just set foot in a highly populated, very hostile area that was about to be very on alert.
"There's a lot, isn't there?" Yang asked.
"It's like a Falmer city," Brynjolf told her. "We need to tread carefully here. Up to the side."
The group followed him with Karliah at their center, going to the side of what seemed to be a well-trodden pathway. At a pause, Blake noticed a pair of totems, one looking like a pelvis with a dead bug strapped to its center and several ribs set around it almost like flower petals. The other one seemed to be a mishmash of items set around each other, including carved bones, chitin, what seemed to be snakeskin leather, a strut of Dwemer metal, and a series of hanging moss knots tied together in a trio of triangles. Blake wondered what it could mean before she realized that the Falmer wouldn't even be able to see it.
"Huh, I think he might have thought you were art," Blake mentioned while pointing out the totem. Yang eyed it and then looked at her partner.
"Let's just…not talk about it for a minute," Yang insisted, and Blake felt a pang of regret course through her.
"…Sorry."
"It's fine. I'll probably be laughing about it in a couple days, but…right now, too soon."
Blake nodded, and the discussion ended there. As they made their way further in, it became apparent that this was much like the last room, only to an even greater scale. The once Dwarven underground city had high towers connected by bridges and ramps and several domiciles along the ground level. The four were almost taken aback at seeing the Falmer going about almost like everyday citizens, if universally hunched over. Blake nearly did a double-take when she saw a few children running around with their hands forward, smooth-skinned and far less emaciated than many of their elders. Between several totems a group of female Falmer were surrounding two others, one looking decidedly more aged than most. The younger of the two had a swollen belly that some of the others touched with wonder and joy as the elder mixed together some concoction of mushrooms and plants. Nearby, a pair of males were putting together more totems almost reverently, one of them seeming to give guidance to the other. Way out in the dirt-covered edges, Blake saw some others working what seemed to be fields of mushrooms, tending to them almost like crops.
A sound of crashing stone rang out, forcing Blake to cover her cat ears and sending up a state of alarm throughout the Falmer. Several scattered in a panic as the armored ones made their way towards the disturbance, but soon all of the males and even a few of the females were grabbing something that could be used as a weapon and followed after their warriors.
"What the hell?" Yang nearly exclaimed.
"Come on," Blake ushered them forward. The four powerwalked towards the sound, staying well out of the way of any Falmer, and looked forward to see settling dust and fresh rubble.
"So that's what it was," Brynjolf mused. "The entire tower collapsed."
"The only reason he'd do that is to block pursuit," Karliah muttered. "We'll have to find another way around."
"Mercer was able to knock this thing down?" the Nord questioned before looking back over the rubble. "Gods…"
"Even for me that would've taken a lot of work," Yang stated.
"It's the Key," Karliah explained. "In his hands, there's no telling what he's capable of."
"I knew that thing was gonna be hax, but… Is it literally the cheat code to the universe?"
"I guess when you can unlock anything, the only limit is how many ways you can think of unlocking as," Blake figured as she looked around. "Okay, I think we have to go up and over. Let's head for the ramp."
"You're sure?" Brynjolf asked as they followed her along.
"No, but we have to start somewhere. Get ready to backtrack."
"…Right then."
They went up in a tight line, coming uncomfortably close to several Falmer who had come out to investigate the fracas. One, strangely enough, had a skeever on a leash. It stopped to sniff at the four, causing them to go still, but lost interest when its master tugged it along and said something to it. They made it up to the top and went past a set of doors opening into a hallway that led down again.
"Glad the Dwemer's lights are still working," Yang commented as they passed under a chandelier into a room that looked as though it may have once been some sort of office. "Gotta figure out how they made stuff like that."
"Lass, people have been trying to figure that out for literal Eras," Brynjolf said.
"I know, but still," Yang replied, then continued on.
Past there they exited into another cavern city section of about similar size to the last one. A stream burbled up from nearby and flowed down and along a road, going past a large, man-shaped automaton.
"Shor's Bones! Look at that monstrosity," Brynjolf pointed out.
"It's a Dwarven Centurion," Karliah identified it. "Very tough and very deadly."
"Must not be activated," Blake noted, seeing as a few Falmer were going right past it and the station it was set in. She looked up at a tower placed upon four pillars just next to it and the bridges leading from either side of it, then to her side where three strange objects were next to the stream. "Okay, let's try to see if we can find any trace of Mercer. Yang?"
"On it." The blonde took in a deep breath through her nose and began looking around. She hummed and then hopped down from the dais they were on. Just as she touched ground, one of the organic objects shook, catching her attention. While the other three came down after her, Yang investigated it, finding it to unsurprisingly smell like chaurus, as their chitin seemed to be what almost nearly everything in Falmer society was made from. However, it began wriggling again, making her take a step back.
"Uh, guys?"
Green ichor burst out as a pair of mantis-like arms shattered the shell and pulled out an insectoid body. The chaurus hunter let loose a high-pitched shriek as it yanked itself free and began buzzing its wings. Falmer warriors immediately rushed towards them with weapons ready.
"Shit!" Yang yelled before taking up Holy Ardon and cleaving off a claw coming for her. The chaurus hunter shrieked again and backed away from the dangerous woman even as the other two chrysalises began to shake and the Falmer closed in.
"Nocturnal, guide my hand," Karliah seemed to pray before loosing several arrows. A few Falmer went down, but others raised their shields as they charged. Blake pulled out Gambol Shroud and the Nightingale Blade before slashing at the nearest opponent then kicking him away.
"We've got to get out of here!" she called out to the others.
"Where?"
"I don't know, but we're out in the open here." As if to punctuate her point, Brynjolf knocked an arrow off course from hitting his neck. "Yang!"
"One second!" the blonde said as she smacked the giant insect away. She then turned and rushed towards an opening in the Falmer attack, knocking an under armored one away with a backhand. The Nightingales followed her, defending against attacks and striking back at overextensions. The Falmer were beginning to become more wary of the intruders, yelling warnings to each other as they tried to surround the running quartet. A chaurus ran up to snap at their legs, but Yang kicked it hard enough to send it over one of the lower bridges, shrieking. More Falmer were coming out and around them, and some were leading in a mass of chaurus.
"We're going to get overwhelmed like this!" Karliah warned them as something made her violet Aura flare up.
Yang yelled as she uppercut a Falmer and then spin-kicked him into his fellows. A fireball followed him and exploded in front of them, sending a few flying and frightening a good few of the growing army. Still, they recovered, some of the ones hit even getting up to their feet. Females and children were running opposite of where they were, and the two Huntresses were reminded of their foray into Mzulft.
"They're not going to give up," Blake realized.
"Not under normal circumstances." Yang pulled off her helmet and turned towards the Falmer as she put her axe away. "Okay, thieves, no telling or I'll eat your hearts."
The two were taken slightly off-guard by her statement.
"What?!" they asked at once, but almost immediately they got their answer.
Golden fur began sprouting as Yang's face morphed into a snout and her limbs began extending and expanding. Faint cracks of bone could be heard, along with the shifting of armor plates and scales, and despite themselves Blake, Brynjolf, and Karliah couldn't help but step back in fear as Yang finished her transformation into a werewolf. Her claws hit the ground before she lunged forward and swiped several Falmer away, alarming those near and behind them before several more were knocked to the side. She then roared, the sound echoing throughout the caverns and hitting those right in front of her the hardest. Several fell back as they scrambled away while others screamed in an almost human manner as they turned tail and ran. Even the chaurus had taken off. Some Falmer were able to stay facing her, but even they were retreating as she roared again. Soon, the Falmer had gone, leaving the four to themselves, a few wet spots smelling of ammonia left with them.
Yang huffed a few times then shook her head before looking back at the others, who were all looking at her in apprehension.
"Come on, Blake," she said to her partner, her ears drooping in disappointment. "You know it's me."
"Yeah, but… I never really got a good…look at it before." The Faunus scratched at the back of her head. "You're…like a big…dog."
"I'm sorry, but you're a werewolf?" Brynjolf questioned. "And…not trying to kill us?"
"Some of us can control ourselves, ya'know," Yang pointed out. "And like I said, tell no one."
He paused, then shrugged and nodded. "Well, I can keep a secret," Brynjolf agreed. They all looked towards the Dunmer, who seemed to be fighting through speechlessness.
"Ye- yes."
"Great! Now, let's go kill this bastard," the golden werewolf said before sniffing at the ground. "Ah, much better! This way. That's definitely human I smell."
As Yang took the lead again, the other two looked at Blake. Though she couldn't see their faces, she knew they were holding inquisitive gazes.
"We can talk about it later," she decided before going after her partner.
"I'm a little concerned about our stealthy approach," Brynjolf brought up, hoping Yang didn't hear him.
"I'm an ambush predator. Of course I can be sneaky," Yang huffed, having heard him.
"Sneaking up on something is different from sneaking around something," the Nord argued.
"…Fair enough."
They headed up and crossed a few bridges, leading to a door with large words etched above it. Blake eyed it for a moment before deciding to take a snapshot for future reference, seeing as she had a key for translating both Dwemer and Ancient Falmer. The door led them into a hallway that went into a dirt-filled area. Yang then guided them into a room where two Falmer seemed to be holding a conversation, though none of them could even begin to understand it. The pit they were in was overlooked by a dais with a railing and some chairs, where the four could look down on them from. Karliah recast her muffle bubble to better hide them as they looked for a way past them. As she did though, she noticed the objects set around the room.
"Torture chamber," Yang revealed, scowling in disgust.
"Wait, torture?" Blake asked as she looked over at them.
"Yeah," Yang said, pointing at a human body on a Dwemer-made stretcher rack. "Smelled him. Mercer's scent is still hanging around though. He went through here." She stood up and put a foot to the railing. "Didn't stop very long, though." She leaped over and smashed into the two, grabbing them and slamming them into the ground before dragging them to a wall where she slammed them against it as well, knocking both unconscious.
"Yang! Stealth!"
"Torture chamber," she said while indicating the table holding scattered implements of pain. "They expect loud noises from here."
Still a little unnerved, they continued out and went around a small gathering of huts. The Falmer were on high alert, but they weren't paying attention to their mushroom fields, which the Nightingales and Companion trekked through carefully before silently jumping behind a chitin gate. Yang made sure to steer clear of the chrysalis and eyed the egg sacs with disdain before they made their way down the tunnel.
"I can hear water running through these pipes," Karliah stated as she touched one of them. "We must be under the lake." More pipes were just outside of the tunnel in a cavern where more Falmer had settled and apparently had begun farming and ranching. Blake and Yang weren't sure if the spider webs off to one side meant they had also tamed spiders, but neither wanted to figure that out. They began walking along the top of some pipes, staying above several Falmer patrols and their chaurus pets. As they jumped down, Yang shifted back to human form so that she could fit through the next tunnel.
"Does that hurt?" Brynjolf asked her.
"Nah, it's kinda like exercising a muscle. After a while, you get so used to doing it that it doesn't even sting."
"Don't you have the Ring of Hircine?" her partner pried, to which Yang waved her hand.
"Hey, I had it down pretty good even before then." Back to her smaller size, Yang squeezed through the tunnel, emerging from the other side and going through another chitin gate and a Dwemer door, only to pause upon opening it. Beyond the doors was a large statue of an elf sitting in something akin to a lotus pose while holding a book in one hand and a torch in the other. Two stone stairways were at either side of it, leading to the back of the statue and letting people reaching as far its shoulders. On its face, however, was a man currently trying to pry out the huge gem that made up its right eye, the left one already gone.
"He's here, and he hasn't seen us yet," Karliah whispered despite her bubble still being up. "Brynjolf, watch the door."
"Aye, lass. Nothing gets by me."
The jewel eye suddenly popped out and Mercer dropped to the scarf of the statue to catch it, putting it away in his bag. Karliah looked over to Blake.
"Climb down that ledge and see if you can-"
"Karliah, when will you learn," Mercer said as he turned around towards them, a spell glowing between his hands, "that you can't get the drop on me?"
The spell went off, shaking the cave they were in. Blake felt the ground give way and jumped forward as the ledge beneath them fell. The others managed to land more or less intact, with Yang looking as though she was only mildly inconvenienced. The Breton walked down from the scarf to the book, looking at Blake.
"When Brynjolf brought you before me I could feel a sudden shift in the wind," he explained. "I thought you might have been a curse, or maybe a useful idiot, but now it's obvious I was right with my first instinct. At that moment, I knew it would end with one of us at the end of a blade."
"You know what they say about self-fulfilling prophecies," Blake said as she drew her swords. "If anyone's to blame, it's your own self."
"Revenge is it?" Mercer scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Have you learned nothing from your time with us? When will you open your eyes and realize how little my actions differ from yours? We both lie, cheat, and steal to further our own end."
"I am nothing like you!"
"Are you not? Didn't you kill dozens of people in a raid on the Brotherhood? Didn't you extort and steal for the Guild, all for your own gain?"
"I was protecting my friends!"
"So, you protected a few instead of one. Does that make you better than me? Does it make you honorable?"
"I don't care what it makes me. You did this to yourself!"
"Fine. Then the die is cast, and once again my blade shall taste Nightingale blood!"
He charged another spell, and Blake readied herself.
"Karliah, I'll deal with you after I rid myself of your irksome companions." He threw the ball of magicka forward, hitting neither of them, but instead the Nordic man who was completely unprepared. "In the meantime, perhaps you and Brynjolf should get better acquainted."
Brynjolf shouted as his body glowed red and seemed to move of its own accord, drawing his blade and swinging at Karliah haphazardly.
"What…what's happening?! I can't stop…myself!"
"Damn you, Mercer!" the Dunmer yelled as she was forced on the backfoot. "Fight it, Brynjolf! He's taken control of you!"
"Yang, help them!" Blake shouted as she saw Mercer coming for her. She rolled away from his landing strike, which sent a rumble through the ground as his blade and a magic spell hit where she once was.
"Alone then? You're making this too easy!" he taunted her. The two swung towards one another, clashing blades as water began to pour in from above. Mercer seemed surprised that Blake held and pushed back against her. The Faunus stepped back then dipped in with a stab that the man dodged before slashing, only for him to duck under it and draw a dagger that he aimed for her face. Blake moved into a tumble and kicked at him before springing back. The Breton charged her with an upward swing that she parried, but his blade flickered right back on path to hit her just to be blocked by her other sword. Blake found herself stepping back as she went on the defensive against his rapid strikes. Just as she felt herself nearing a wall, an axe smashed into his side and knocked him away with a shout of pain.
"Damn!" Yang cursed as she hefted Fiery Kain back. "He really does have Aura."
"Yeah, he does." Blake looked over to where Mercer had landed and saw him brush a bit of soot from where Yang hit him. "He's really good."
"Yeah, but there's two of us now."
"Karliah?"
"She remembered she could jump high." Yang nodded over to where Karliah had found sanctuary up on a rock ledge that Brynjolf wasn't letting himself reach.
"Then let's get this guy!"
Blake ran in, jumping to the side before letting her Semblance take a double stab. Her blades were still blocked though, and Yang's heavy swing was bashed aside before she was pushed back with a kick. Mercer's dagger came at Blake's neck, but she pushed in and rammed him before leaving a clone in her place and aiming for his back. He managed to twist out of the way and nearly kicked Blake's face in the process, only to hit her arm. Yang came back in with Holy Ardon and Silent Whisper and began swinging and chopping, only to find her blows either blocked or turned aside by Mercer's fluid movements. He pulled her into an overextension and stabbed down with his dagger into her back, making her hit the ground with a yelp. Blake yelled and came at him with a quick series of slashes, but Mercer got through them and hit her torso with a slash that would have normally split a person in half, but only knocked Blake into the wall behind her. Yang rolled away and got to her feet at Blake's side, making sure that her partner was fine with a glance.
"So, you found out how to get your own Soul Shield? Of course Nocturnal would want to give her little champions what she thinks is an edge. You're still nowhere skilled enough to even begin challenging me, though."
"Might have a point there…you dirty cheat," Yang huffed out before smirking. "Not with these, anyway." She put her axes away, hooking them back to her belt, then raised up her fists and activated Ember Celica's full form. The thief eyed her suspiciously for a moment but then grinned and charged. Yang ducked under his swing, coming back up with a right jab in his sternum and an uppercut into his chin. Mercer stumbled back while grasping his jaw, looking surprised for a brief moment before having to bring his focus back to the fight. Yang was on him, keeping herself close, swinging and jabbing rapidly. He was finding it hard to block her with his blade, forced to use his arms and elbows more often than not to brace against the bludgeoning blows. Small explosions then began dotting the hits as Yang fueled her fists with fire magic.
The thief leaped away and turned the dagger in his off-hand while adjusting his grip on his sword. Yang closed with him again, one fist hitting a shoulder as he turned into it and the next missing him as he dipped to the side and slashed his dagger. It hit her neck but slid off of her Aura before she backed away and rubbed the spot with a small cough. Mercer went after her, but then Blake was back in, trying to keep him occupied. Yang then came around at his flank, but the Breton managed to slip away from her fist and then punish her with a kick in the face. Blake found his blades still coming at her, though with less power and frequency, as he somehow began using some form of martial art to guide his legs to combat Yang. She swore the bastard was actually getting more skilled as the fight went on, with how he kept pulling these ridiculously esoteric moves out of his ass. After a few moments of the awkward dance, Blake thought she had found an opening.
"Now!" she called out, hoping her partner was following her move. Two black blades were coming towards his midriff in a pincer move while a flaming fist hooked around aiming towards his back. Somehow though, the man spun out of the way of it all, and the swords' edges glanced off of Ember Celica. As the two girls were absorbing this, the crook of Mercer's knees hit Blake in the face and pulled her off of her feet. Yang was hit at her center of mass when she tried to interfere, the kick sending her back and through the air. The man spun on his hands and kicked out, throwing Blake down several stairs as Yang hit a wall with a loud crack. The blonde growled and stood up while wiping the corner of her mouth, her eyes now bright red, which seemed to catch Mercer's attention for a moment.
"All right then. No more playing." Yang began transforming, and Mercer's eyes widened. The golden werewolf roared as she came at him, but the Breton spun out of the way and slashed towards her back. Yang managed to stay ahead of the strikes and turned around in her leap before charging back as Blake came at him from the side, back on her feet. The man ducked and dodged out of the way of Yang's claws even as he continued blocking Blake no matter which angle she swung from or how rapidly. Yang went for a bite, but his knee came up and smashed into her jaw before he kicked out and knocked her down the stairs they had been climbing. Blake's next move was then shoved aside and she was hit with three rapid strikes that sent her stumbling.
Mercer went in for her, but was stopped by an arrow that he knocked away. Brynjolf then came in with his dagger, rapidly slicing towards the former Guild Master as Karliah continued releasing arrows at him. Some managed to find their mark as Brynjolf kept him busy, but even those bounced off of his dark grey Aura. Karliah seemed to notice and, in one swift motion, shouldered her bow while pulling out another one. It was strung a moment later and she loosed another shot as Blake got up to continue the battle. The arrow grazed his shoulder as he moved out of its way, but it still cut through his armor and drew blood with a yelp. Blake was reminded of when the same bow pierced through her Aura as well, and she cursed herself for being in such a rush to catch Mercer that she hadn't even considered getting a Soul Trap weapon for this battle. Even if that kind of magic still turned her stomach, as long as there were no Black Soul Gems involved it would have been an acceptable advantage.
The Breton snarled before jumping forward fast enough to crack the stone he was standing upon. Karliah was smacked away and her bow sent flying by his shoulder charge, but the other three still moved in on him. Blake's rapid slashes combined with Brynjolf's and Yang's swipes were just a little too much for him, and the three began making hits. After one of his stumbles, Brynjolf dived in with a low slash that Mercer stabbed towards, only for the image of Brynjolf to fade and his true self to stab higher up, hitting Mercer's gut.
"Wait, what?" Brynjolf asked himself in surprise.
"Did he just use a Semblance?" Yang wondered aloud.
"I don't- Watch it!" Blake warned them as she tried to stop Mercer's retaliation. Brynjolf was hit with a palmful of lightning from the charging Breton and sent flying through the air to hit the far wall, thunder echoing out and shaking the cave. Yang swiped toward him, but the man ducked under it and came up in a headbutt. Blake attacked him from behind, but as she was parried, he jumped up and caught her neck with the crook of his knee. Blake was forced to bend with his spin and was thrown over and into the elven statue's shoulder. Yang snapped back at him, but he suddenly took something from a pouch and threw it into her eyes. The werewolf let out a howl of pain as she clutched at her face, then was kicked back into the cave wall and slashed down.
"Silver powder. Good for trading and werewolves," he taunted. Suddenly, he turned around and saw Karliah back on her feet and heading towards the statue's book. Blake looked and saw that her Soul Trap bow was on top of it. "Oh no you don't!" he shouted before launching a spell at her. Water was summoned in a cascading spray as Karliah was sent back down with a scream. Blake looked back at him and ran at him with a yell. As she swung, he knocked her blow away and Gambol Shroud was sent backward. Her now emptied hand started to reach up towards the daikatana on her back, but Blake stopped herself and grabbed the sword at her side, Chillrend, and used it instead.
"Hey! That's mine!" he accused her before blocking a knee aimed at his groin with his leg. His dagger came at her gut, forcing her back as her body reacted vehemently against such a place getting hurt again. His sword came around and knocked her blades down before he stabbed at her chest and knocked her back against the statue, where her Aura flickered for a moment. "Steal from me, will you?!"
"Here, have it!" she snapped before stabbing at his feet. He barely noticed that she wasn't even aiming for him and only moved to keep from being hit. The wet stone froze where the blade sunk in, freezing his feet to the ground. Blake then yanked her ribbon and pulled herself toward the arm where Gambol Shroud had hooked itself. She landed, grabbing one of the stray arrows and the bow as Mercer broke his feet free.
"Enough!" he screamed as he leaped at her, shattering the stairs where he had been a moment ago. His blades aimed for Blake's exposed back, and both hit and sank in when he collided, only they had sunk into the bronze-like statue as the clone Blake had left disappeared. Mercer looked up to see Blake pulling back on the bow and time seemed to freeze for both as her fingers let loose. The next thing Blake knew, Mercer was stumbling away from her, an arrow deeply embedded in his chest. His expression shifted from one of shock and surprise to pain as he clutched at the wooden shaft sticking out and nearly collapsed, his knees straining to hold hm up. His eyes landed on Blake, and, for a moment, his face was pure rage
"Shadows take…" he got out as the color began to drain from his face, "me."
As all emotion left his countenance, he fell back, off of the statue and into the water that had been gathering beneath them, and the last thing he saw through the rippling surface of the water was the eyeless statue of Irkngthand, before all went dark.
Blake reached into the water to take Mercer's bags and bandolier from his corpse. The man was certainly gone now, his light no longer showing in the armor detection enchantment. Nearby, Yang was doing her best to furiously wash out her eyes and nose in human form, coughing once in a while both from accidentally inhaling a little water and what little bits of silver she may have breathed in.
"Oh god, this sucks!" she decried when she pulled herself up and sniffled. To Blake, her face looked like a case of severe seasonal allergies with puffy eyes and a red nose and cheeks. "Why'd it have to be silver?!"
"Sorry, Yang," Blake apologized as she searched the bandolier pouches. She already had the Eyes of the Falmer accounted for in the largest sack, along with some notebooks, bags of coin, and an assortment of vials. "If I knew how to get it out, I'd help."
"Yeah, I know." Yang then looked around herself, noticing how the water had just come up waist-high to her and still seemed to be rising. "Uh, speaking of getting out, we should go. I don't remember the water being nearly this deep."
Suddenly, a pipe burst from above them, pouring in even more water. Brynjolf ran up to Blake and handed her Chillrend as he looked around in worry. "Not good."
"Damn!" Karliah cursed. "This place is coming down! You have the Key and the Eyes?" At Blake's nod, she headed towards the doors. "Then let's get out of here."
The others all made their way to them as well, however, Karliah was unable to push them open. Brynjolf joined her in trying to force open the doors, but they didn't so much as budge.
"No luck here, lass," the Nord realized as he backed away. "Something must have fallen on the other side of the door!"
"Here!" Yang offered before going up and shoving against the doors, her voice growling as she strained to move them. With a creak, they were pushed open slightly, only for dirt and pebbles to flow in through the minuscule crack, all the way from bottom to top. The four looked at it in disbelief, then looked back at the room.
"Maybe there's a back way," the blonde suggested. "There almost always is in these places."
"I didn't see any," Brynjolf answered as Blake sped forward, going all the way around the statue. However, behind its head was nothing but cave wall, moss, and mushrooms. The others came up with her via both stairways, only to discover the same disappointing truth.
"We have to find a way out of here before the whole place fills with water," the Dunmer said. Another pipe burst open as the cave shook, and everyone looked over to see the water now steadily climbing up. "Oh gods…"
"Wait, maybe one of those empty pipes?" Yang suggested, pointing out one that looked to have been broken off some time ago, almost adjacent to where they stood.
"That could lead us straight into a furnace or a piston or some other unpleasantness," Brynjolf cautioned.
"You got a better idea?"
The group looked around for some other way out, but none were immediately forthcoming. Just as they were beginning to really consider Yang's idea, Blake started listening closely. The roar of water seemed to cover everything, but she closed her eyes and began listening closer. There were tinking noises coming from the door, likely Falmer or Dwemer machines digging at the massive cave-in. Metal grinding on metal came from nearby, a Dwarven sphere rolling through the chutes. Above, bats were flapping around and-
Bats!
"There's a cave above us!" Blake announced before looking straight up. She saw tiny lights, some moving about quickly and others holding still near each other. She pulled back the veil and pointed her ears forward while looking at the ceiling. Dirt seemed to be shaking loose from it, and she noted how in the next little tremor some of the rocks seemed to shift. It was definitely loose, but she didn't know how well they could pry it open. They couldn't reach it from where they were, and pretty soon the whole cave was about to be filled.
A thought came to mind, and she reached into the pouch holding what she believed to be the Skeleton Key. It was a bronze-colored object, vaguely key-shaped, but like someone had gone crazy with the head's shape. The handle had a round, black end with five blue spiral seashell-shaped images imposed around it.
"What are you doing?" Karliah asked her.
"I have an idea. When the water comes up, swim over there," the Faunus indicated. Said water had come up past the statue's shoulder and was now filling up past the neck. Everyone looked down at it as it began to cover their shoes.
"Gods, I knew I should've practiced more," Brynjolf groaned.
Soon, they were all floating in the water as it covered the head of the statue. Blake swam over to the place she had picked out. A moment later, the brazier within the bronze torch was put out, but Blake could still see perfectly with only the glow of a few bioluminescent mushrooms. She had to wait a moment for the water to bring her up to the right height, but when it did she began probing at the ceiling with the Key in hand. Her mind focused on finding a way to open up a path, and she tried pressing the key into the rock and dirt. Nothing happened at first, and Blake began to feel worry overtake her. However, something seemed to guide her hand, and she found herself tracing a curved line from her starting point and over to a large stone. The key's point pushed against the stone's edge and Blake felt something pull, then it fell out, quickly followed by tons more dirt and rock. The Faunus moved out from under the worst of it, but then looked up to see sunlight coming in.
"Well done, lass," Brynjolf cheered as the others swam over.
"Let's get out of here," Yang said as she stopped and waited with the others to be lifted up through the hole. "Remind me to thank Yngvarr for the hypothermia lessons. How the heck are you guys not freezing right now?"
"Armor enchantment," the thieves replied simultaneously.
"Thought so," the werewolf grumbled. Things were actually calming down now that the danger of being drowned in a cave was averted, giving them all some time to breathe. Within the stretch of quiet, Yang was reminded of something. "Hey, when we get a moment, can you send your weapons specs to Ruby?"
"What for?"
"Reasons."
"Started to think I'd never get those specs," Ruby said after having drawn out the plans and handing them over to Eorlund. The man was looking at them with great interest, a smile having crept over his face a while ago and never leaving it. "Think you can forge the parts?"
"Certainly, but some of it will take a good bit of effort to get just right. I'm looking forward to the challenge." He rolled up the blueprints and then looked over the stack of ebony ingots Ruby had provided him. "You gave me more than what I would need for this, though."
"Well, I figured the rest might cover at least some of the payment."
"Ah, so you were paying me for this?" The old Nord then chuckled.
"Well, yeah. I mean…that's what you're supposed to do, right?"
Eorlund just laughed again. "Don't worry over it, lass. Perhaps you'll need another blade or suit of armor soon enough."
Ruby shrugged but figured that it was all set as it was. "Okay, so just let any of my friends know when it's done if they're around, and I guess they'll get the message up to me. Have a good day, Mr. Eorlund." As Ruby left, the Nord nodded toward her.
"Wind guide you, child." He peered back at some of the plans and laughed. "Spring pressure closing from seven centimeters to four, thirty centimeters down the length… You really know how to make a smith excited."
"Eorlund accepted it?" Lydia asked her Thane as she came down from the mead hall's hill.
"He seemed pretty excited by it, actually. I guess he's made so many of the same things that seeing the chance to make something unique was a breath of fresh air. He must have been overjoyed when Yang brought him all those dragon scales."
"I could imagine." The housecarl nodded as they began to head out. "Our horses are ready and everything we need is packed up. We should be able to reach Solitude within two days."
"Gotta repay Rorick for sending them here," Ruby noted to herself as she took out her scroll to see a message from Yang.
We lived. Bad guy's gone. Got some big diamonds.
Vukahriik says hi
Ruby typed up a response and smirked before pocketing the scroll, then stopped and checked it again before making another message.
Who's Vukahriik
"To think that mortals would finally learn how to decently cook while I was gone," the wine-red dragon mused before snapping up a large bass from a pile of seasoned and cooked fish.
"I shudder to think of what sub-par cooking you must have endured back in the day," Rumarin responded with genuine empathy as he carefully watched over the currently cooking batch. "They probably thought salt was enough seasoning."
"They did not even know of salt!" the dragon declared with some passion while spreading one wing in emphasis. "We had to teach them what it was! They thought seawater was poisoned and that it had to be 'burned out' of anything they caught from briny waters."
"I almost pity the fools."
Yang chuckled at the thought of a dragon teaching a class of Nords the basics of cooking before digging in to her own fish. Apparently, Vukahriik had seen Rumarin fishing and that led to a conversation that then led to an agreement. Vukahriik was a great net fisher, using a net he had 'bought' from the nearby town to snatch up a huge mess of fish from the lake, which Rumarin had started cooking for the two of them. The ruin-diving quartet emerged from Bronze Water Cave to the sight of a dragon and elf discussing what herb worked best for fire-roasted salmon. Yang and Blake rolled with it, Yang a little quicker thanks to already being acquainted with Vukahriik from when they helped mediate his conflict with that other dragon, while the two thieves just sort of sat and slowly took it in while warming up by the fire.
"I can't believe it's finally over," Karliah muttered out to her associates. "Twenty-five years in exile and just like that, it's done."
"At least now you no longer have to worry about Mercer looking to put a blade in you," Brynjolf told her. "No one has to worry about him anymore."
"I'm just glad it's all over," Blake stated before continuing to dig away at her fish. Already a pile of bones was stacked up next to her seat, proof of her recent piscivorous gluttony.
"Not quite," the Dunmer corrected her. "There's still one more thing that remains; the safe return of the Skeleton Key."
Blake's ears went up before she reached into her pouch and took out the Key. "Well, that can't be too hard."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Karliah shook her head. "When the Skeleton Key was removed from the Twilight Sepulcher, our access to the inner sanctum was removed. The only way to bring it back would be through the Pilgrim's Path."
"Oh, well what's that like?"
"It wasn't created for Nightingales, but to test those who wished to serve Nocturnal in other ways. As a consequence, I have no idea of what you'll be facing."
Blake was silent for a moment before shrugging. "Well, it can't be worse than normal. We didn't know anything about Irkngthand and we made it."
"Yes, but I'm afraid we won't be going with you this time."
At Blake's raised eyebrows, Bynjolf spoke up. "I need to get back to the Guild. Even if it's just temporary, I'm still the one in charge right now. Hopefully, we can fix that soon. That's not mentioning the expedition we're going to have to set up to retrieve everything Mercer stole."
"Glad he wrote that down." Blake picked up his more recent notebook and looked it over. The man had a lot more plans to enact after getting the Eyes, including a venture through the kingdoms of High Rock and Hammerfell before reaching Cyrodiil. Thankfully, he had been keeping note of all his stashes. The Guild would be 'confiscating' those soon. He also had several years' worth of notes regarding his 'Soul Shield', nothing of which was anything new to the Faunus, but it was a neat curiosity at least.
"And I… I can't bear to face Nocturnal after my failure to protect the Key," the Dunmer explained sadly.
"Hey, don't be down on yourself," Yang spoke up from where she sat. "There was pretty much nothing you could have done to stop him all those years ago."
"Yes, I know, but…that doesn't stop the shame. I think it best I wait…until I'm sure."
"It's all right. I'll get the key there," Blake promised while pocketing the Daedric object away. "Where is this place, anyways?"
"I'll mark it down for you. In the meantime, take this with you." Karliah unshouldered her black bow and passed it over to Blake. The Faunus looked it over, noting the ebony in its construction and the small Nightingale sigil etched into its side. "I'm not sure if it'll help in the walls of the Sepulcher, but I certainly don't need it as much as you do." Karliah looked at it fondly and sighed. "I've had this bow my whole life, and it's never let me down. I hope it brings you the same luck."
"Karliah, I can't accept something like this," Blake declared, knowing that the weapon must have meant a great deal to the Dunmer.
"Please," Karliah insisted, holding it forward. " At the very least, wait until you've returned the Key before giving it back."
"I… All right." Blake looked back down at it and held it in her grip as though readying it. The enchantment within was strong, cold, and electric all at once. It could probably freeze anything that was not a Nord in one shot. "I'll get it back to you soon, then."
"A little unrelated, but…should we be fine with others knowing about this?" Brynjolf asked his fellow Nightingales while tilting his head towards the others.
"Yang's perfectly fine. If Gallus could trust Enthir with the Nightingales' existence, then I can trust Yang with anything."
"Ah, thanks, BB," Yang said with a bright smile. "Besides, you've got my werewolf secret now, so tit for tat. As for Rumarin, he probably wasn't paying the least bit of attention."
"I heard my name. There'd best not be gossip," Rumarin called out, proving Yang correct. The blonde laughed and shook her head.
"Nah, we're just saying nice stuff."
"That might be worse. If you're complimenting me, I want to know about it," the elf seemingly faux complained.
"Sure thing," Yang agreed with a thumb up.
"And I do not care of what little secrets muz ahrk faliille wish to keep," Vukahriik said while picking between two of his teeth with a wing claw. He then took a thoughtful look. "Siigonis, under the other wing, are not something I would enjoy having secrets near me. They remind me too much of those snakefolk."
"Ooh, sounds like an interesting story," the elf considered.
"Ge. Let's see… It was back when many of us were still at the land across the eastern ocean, what you call Akavir. It was before Alduin established his dominance; thus, we were but a collection of poorly constructed and ever-conflicting…clans, I believe you would call them. Well, the Tsaesci had just begun expanding their own empire…"
Weiss focused on the ice in her hand. Her fingers had gone numb a while ago, yet it had taken a good amount of time for them to get to that point. She was sure it had been at least an hour, but it may have been longer. Her meditation had gone in and out for the most part, though she had found a few moments of clarity. Jarmak had her focusing on the 'essence of ice' while he was readying something in the room he had opened.
"Excuse me," a voice interrupted her focus. She opened her eyes and looked over to see an Imperial man. "Lord Jarmak said that he is ready for you, now."
"He's a lord now?" Weiss wondered aloud as she set down the chunk of ice and stood to her feet. Seeing as he summoned it out of thin air, she doubted it was important.
"He's a lord to me," the man explained. "To some, he's a master or a mentor. I suppose it depends on how you look at him."
"I see." Weiss rubbed her chin as she saw some other people pass them by in the hall. A few of them seemed alive, and one of them was carrying a large pig. "Where…?"
"Oh, they're from one of the farms," the man explained before she finished her question.
"You have farms?"
"Well, thralls need food." At her glare, he held up a hand. "Don't get me wrong, a lot of us are unwilling and unwitting, but they're mostly outlaws. We got the idea to start cycling them out with a chance at a new life after that group you sent."
"And before you were… Wait, we?"
"Yes, I'm a thrall. Well, I say thrall, but I'm not under anyone's control. I'm actually just indentured right now." The Imperial paused, then looked to the side sheepishly. "I also just happened to have had a mite too much knowledge on some vampire-related locations, such as the farms."
Weiss lidded her eyes and slowly breathed. That certainly explained his presence. "And now you're down here?"
"I was frightened at first," he admitted. "Spent every waking moment fearing that I'd either be drained or turned, but now… Well, certain ones still frighten me. But most of you aren't all that bad."
Weiss figured that was high praise coming from someone raised in a culture where vampires were considered irredeemably evil. She read and heard more than enough to understand how vilified they were by the majority of Tamrielic society. It seemed like people believed that they just died and then reawoke craving death and destruction.
It felt almost like a brick thrown into her face when Weiss, once again, realized that she had died months ago. It seemed there would be no getting used to that simple fact. Her hand absentmindedly went to her chest, where she felt the faint beating of her heart. Sometimes she thought that was merely an illusion, and in times like that it took every ounce of her will to remind herself that it wasn't.
"Not all of the farms feed us, though," the living man decided to continue. "The blood is caught in every slaughter to help feed the vampires as well. And there are the ones that bring in materials."
"Materials for what?" Weiss asked, almost grateful for the conversation taking her mind off of her more morbid thoughts.
"Wool, cotton, and flax for textiles and such. There are some things I don't know the use for, but those mages in their labs like to study them and pull them apart and whatnot. They make a good deal of potions and medicines and sell them with the mage college."
"Really? I'll have to look into that."
As Weiss wondered how advanced their laboratory was compared to what she normally saw in Skyrim, they came into the room where Jarmak was awaiting them. He nodded toward the man, who bowed and left. Weiss waited patiently for the Altmer to begin, hearing him hum to himself for a moment as he looked over to her.
"Were you able to focus?"
"A decent amount, I believe." She rubbed her still cold fingers together, just beginning to regain the feeling in them. He looked directly into her eyes, and Weiss held his gaze for a moment.
"Hm, you…have begun to have a grasp on it, I believe." He nodded. "Very well. Your first lesson is to learn that power which all Volkihar vampires, no matter how diluted, have: phasing through ice."
"You're going to teach me how?" Weiss asked, remembering the raid against the Direnni woman a few weeks before when Crux had used that very same power to drag a terrified Dawnguard into the water below.
"It cannot be taught. Hm, not in the way you think of teaching. You must…refuse to be held by the ice. It is simply something that you do."
"That's not exactly encouraging," Weiss said with a blank stare.
"Nothing will be. Listen to me on this, even if you never listen to me again." Weiss looked at him with frightened curiosity, seeing the normally neutral look on his face turn into the slightest of frowns. "We. Are. Vampires. What does that mean about our powers?"
"I don't… What do you mean?"
"I know you understand, but comprehension is not acceptance. Where do our powers as vampires come from?"
Weiss stayed silent for a moment, but her face soon shifted to be grimmer as well.
"Molag Bal," she answered quietly.
"The Lord of Domination, the Master of Slaves, and Breaker of Will. Every single one of our abilities is a reflection of his dark being." Now Jarmak's face took on a look of silent fury, the glow of his eyes brightening ever-so-slightly. "If you are to use these powers, then you must have great and unbreakable willpower, or they will consume you. You must hold your dominion over them, or you will become their slave."
"I won't give in to some special powers," Weiss objected.
"These are no mere powers," Jarmak shot back. "These are the claws of Molag Bal, sunk into your soul. When he claimed you as his own, you became his 'child'. But you must make them yours. You must take them as your own and lay down your dominion upon them. You cannot simply 'have' them. You will fight for them, all of your days, 'til you fall or somehow come upon a miracle. Do you understand?"
Weiss recalled the other day when they had stopped Gilly from draining a man. She was such a sweet girl, yet even she was on the precipice of becoming a monster. If a girl so timid, soft-spoken, and kind could turn into a killer in a mere instant, then what danger of falling was she in?
"Yes," Weiss finally answered with absolute resolution. Jarmak looked deep into her eyes and found something acceptable to him.
"Good. Then that is the first step." Jarmak looked at the icy room. "Now for the next. I need you to accept that in this test, there are only two outcomes."
"Which are?"
"You will phase through the ice to exit this room."
"Or?"
"You will die."
"Excuse me?!" Weiss shot back, affronted, but Jarmak took her response in stride.
"You can turn away right now, if you wish," he explained to her. "I would not hold it against you. Hm, momentary disappointment, at best. But if you go through with it, nothing will stop it but your success."
"I…see." With more than a little anger, Weiss was reminded of the 'test' her own father put her through. This was different, however. She could feel that Jarmak was truly looking forward to her success, whereas Jacques only wanted to dissuade her from her chosen path. "Well then, I better succeed."
"Then step inside to the center," he instructed her. "The walls of this room are all made of ice. Once the door is shut, the test will begin."
"Anything else I should know?"
"All you need to know is that the only escape is to phase through."
"Very well then." Weiss walked inside of the frozen room. Surprisingly, Jarmak walked in after her, and the door slammed down behind him. He turned and pressed a hand to it, and Weiss watched as ice magically grew out from the point of contact, soon freezing the door into place and beginning to spread out across the walls.
"This is the last chance to turn back," he said while looking at her.
Weiss took a moment to breathe deeply, then stared into his eyes. "I'm ready."
He hummed and then stepped towards the door, going through it as though it was only an illusion. Weiss walked back over and pushed her hands against the door, but it felt as solid as any stone wall. A spike of ice suddenly grew out from nearby, making her jump back in fright. She watched as it slowly grew larger, then two more sprang out from the wall and ceiling. The ice seemed to crawl along every surface save for the floor, like some sort of living thing. It almost gave Weiss the feeling of being inside of an organ.
"Well, I should get started." She pushed against the door again, trying to focus on different ways she could envision phasing through it. She thought about her molecules slipping past its own, then tried to think of it as her 'clipping' through. When that didn't work, she thought of it as being liquid that she could pass through. Still, she didn't succeed and backed up with a sigh.
"Would've liked a little more direction on how this is meant to work," she griped while looking around the room. Spikes of ice covered almost every inch of wall and ceiling, now. In some places, spikes were growing from other spikes like branches on a tree. A couple sprung up from the door, and Weiss took a few steps back from it. She groaned and walked back up to stare at the sealed entrance. "Well, how am I supposed to reach-"
Her words were caught in her throat when pain shot up her leg. She looked down and saw that a branching spike had hit her thigh. She backed away with widened eyes and pressed her hand to her leg. Her Aura protected her from being harmed, but the sharp point had hit with more than enough force to pierce human flesh. She looked back around and realized that Jarmak was not exaggerating in the least with his warning.
"Oh god," she muttered. The spikes were slowly closing in, but it seemed far too fast for her. "Oh god!"
She began charging up a fireball, but the spell flickered out before she could cast it. She tried again, but noticed a glow in the walls as it went out as well. Grinding her teeth, she went back to the center and watched as they came towards her. Her mind was spinning, trying to think of a way out. Her sword and bag were back in the room she was lent, and she doubted she could simply punch them away.
A spike came frighteningly close at about chest-height. The bases of them had all begun fusing together, essentially making the room shrink behind their deadly trails. The spikes also seemed to growing more rapidly, but she couldn't be sure if that was true or if her mind was just conjuring more fears. She tried pushing against the spike, even as more grew to its side. What felt like moments later, Weiss found herself pushed to the very center. She felt a few slowly growing to poke at her, her Aura up and keeping them from punching into her skin, but she wasn't sure how long that would hold. Wiggle room slowly disappeared, and Weiss screamed and she tried to break away a piece aimed at her neck. She managed to snap off the pointed end, but the jagged edge left behind was still coming towards her and others still pressed against her flesh, essentially pinning her in place.
'I can't- Can't-' her thoughts screamed as her arms tried to push at the incoming death, only to get pinned as well. A thin spike branched out and was heading for her eye, forcing her to watch as it closed in. Her lips drew back as a cold rage built up in her.
'I can't die like this! Not in some training accident! Not to ice of all things!' She pushed all of her limbs and stared at the spike threatening to blind her. Logic left her brain as she seemed to dare the ice to try. Her teeth were bared as she screamed in rage and demanded the ice to get out of her way.
Then she slipped through.
Weiss didn't notice it for a second as she walked into the ice that had been growing all about her. When she did, she slowed in her steps and looked around, only to see nothing but a white blur. Her senses were confused and muffled, but she suddenly understood and so kept walking forward. Moments later, she stepped out of the sealed door and took a deep breath before nearly collapsing to her knees. Jarmak turned to her and hummed.
"Ah, you made it," he calmly noted, as if he expected this outcome.
"Are you insane?!" she yelled at him as her hands pressed against her knees and she took several deep, calming breaths. "I nearly died in there!"
"Yes. I warned you of the possibility," he stated neutrally. Weiss wanted to scream at him more, but could already tell by looking at him that they would be wasted words. She huffed and stood up straight as he crossed his arms. "Now you know how to phase through ice. It will never be an obstacle for you again."
"Maybe, but… Are all of your 'lessons' going to be like this?" Weiss accused, thoroughly irritated. When Jarmak nodded back at her, she rolled her eyes.
"Some," he admitted. "But if you persevere, you will learn and grow."
"I will, huh?" She looked back at the now solid deathtrap she'd just occupied, her reflection staring defiantly back at her from within the frozen surface, and turned back to meet his gaze. Something about the way he looked at her made her steel herself. "Yeah. I will."
11th of Evening Star
muz ahrk faliille - men (the race, non-masculine) and elves
Siigonis - Argonian, lizard