Sorry that that took a while, y'all. Lots of lazy days and busy ones mixing in the worst ways. Luckily, I was able to pull myself together and had xTRESTWHOx and NaanContributor to hold my along. Do enjoy.
Chapter 77: Rest in Peace
26th of Evening Star
They saw it well before they arrived. The outside structure of Ragnvald was impressive, reminding them of the first time they came up to one of these ancient tombs. This was far grander than Bleak Falls Barrow, however. The great arches stood over the entrance, a long and wide stone flooring with intermediate stairs a quarter and halfway across bringing them further up and towards the main entryway. As Yang and Blake began to ascend, a group of draugr surprisingly appeared, seemingly coming out of nowhere to attack the two Huntresses. Yang immediately punched one in its center, crumpling it and sending it flying, while Blake flitted in and sliced through three others. Yang smashed off another one's head, and the last one was put back to rest by Blake's sword through its chest where its heart once resided.
"Never had to fight these outside before," Yang reflected while nudging an old corpse with her foot. "Didn't even think they could come out. Like they were weak to sunlight or something."
"At least they haven't gone far," Blake said as she sheathed her blades, stopping next to her partner. "This the right place?"
"Yep, right where everyone said it would be. You know, when they weren't begging us not to go here."
Apparently, the locals thought the place was cursed. Yang could understand why they thought that, but draugr were almost a common sight to her by this point. Few were threatening, and the ones that were only were dangerous if they weren't careful. Still, she could feel something foreboding about the place. It wasn't enough to bring her down, but it lingered about like a weight on her mind.
"Capric did say there should be a Dragon Priest here," Blake pointed out as they started heading in. "The last one we fought was…something else, and another almost killed Ruby and Lydia."
"He also had a god staff, while the other tag teamed Rubes and Lyd with a dragon," Yang countered, then brushed some of her hair back while looking out across the distance. She paused in her steps when she caught sight of glittering, bronze-colored domes, Blake stopping alongside her to gaze out as well.
"Markarth," Yang recognized with a smirk. "Damn, that looks nice from here."
"It does," Blake agreed with a nod. She thought about mentioning how much less so it was up close, but figured she'd keep it to herself for now.
"Well, it'll be a good place to rest later," Yang continued before turning and heading into the ancient ruin. "Let's go find the goods. Don't wanna be in the crypts any longer than we have to. I know we can kick their undead butts all the live-long day, but they still kind of creep me out."
Blake nodded in agreement, and the two went through the gate and into the massive antechamber, looking around as they crossed the room and went past a massive column at the center. They paused at the sight of a long-desiccated corpse laying out on a table with a number of tools and vials arranged around it, as though abandoned even as it was being embalmed.
"Man, guess they were in a hurry," Yang figured before turning and jumping a little.
Blake quickly faced whatever frightened her partner and saw that there was a hollowed-out space at the back of the center column with skulls of varying sizes packed within. Most were of adults, but a few were child-sized as well. The two were wondering about the purpose behind the different form of burial when Blake's eyes rested on a book laying at the pillar's base. Stooping over, she scooped up the ancient tome, feeling heavy for its small size. She turned open a page and found that most of it was written in an old Nordic form that she couldn't decipher at the moment. However, flipping through pages brought her to one at the end where a loose piece of paper was resting, something written down in newer, yet still ancient ink.
Two hero-hearts
Two hidden keys
One fallen Priest
Who lies beneath
Hail Saerek, Hail Torsten
Raise them in your songs
Who tricked mad-king Otar
and rescued Ragnvald for all
Otar! once our chieftain
Glorious in battle
Fair in judgment
Those days ended in pain
Dark voices whispered
into Otar's mind
nobility shouted down
Once good now craven Priest
Fair folk of Ragnvald
Good Nords and True
Broken by his will
our city eaten alive
Send Saerek!
Send Torsten!
Sure spirits
swords that don't fail
Otar was bent back
but never destroyed
Bound instead, contained
Two Heroes, Two Keys
Blake read over the lines again, then noticed Yang looking over at her expectantly. Clearing her throat, the Faunus handed over the note and book while explaining.
"Some kind of old poem or riddle" she said. "It's about Ragnvald, so it might also have something to do with what we'll find inside."
"Hm, sounds like twos are important." Yang smirked before closing the book and handing it back to Blake. "Good thing there's two of us to tackle this."
Blake chuckled a little as she packed it away. "Yeah. Lucky us."
They headed down the left stairway as the right was filled with debris from some ancient collapse. Another set led further down between it and the collapsed set, and another sent them even further into the earth.
"Gotta wonder if the Nords weren't taking some pointers from the Dwemer," Yang complained as they reached the bottom of the third set of stairs.
"It probably just goes for their tombs," Blake pointed out. "The cities that were made above ground either didn't survive or were buried in such a way that we can't really explore them like the tombs."
"Okay, yeah. I guess that makes sense," she contemplated while running a hand across a dusty wall as they continued down the winding hallway. "Nords do make a lot of wooden buildings, now that I think about it."
"Exactly. Even most of the jarl's homes. Stone's mostly just used as a foundation, or in underground construction, such as tombs."
"Hmm, I see it now."
Any further pondering on ancient Nordic architecture was halted as the hall exited into a larger chamber with two levels, the lower one several feet below the bridge they were walking upon. Blake held out a hand as she saw a draugr up ahead, then put a finger to her lips before running her other hand over the Nightingale crest, summoning up the shadowy armor in a wisp of black smoke. Standing still, Yang watched as her partner seemed to almost fade into the darkness, the blonde barely able to keep track of her as she quickly moved behind the undead. A blade swept out, and the draugr's rolling head was caught before it could clang against the floor, Blake grabbing the body and gently lowering it as well. Given the all-clear, Yang moved up to her partner's side.
"Got another one below," Blake whispered to her through her cowl. "More around, but not in here."
"Cool. I got this one," Yang assured her, noticing the other draugr walking close by. As it went by their perch, Yang leaped down and grasped its head, yanking it all the way around. To her surprise, the magical glow of its eye-sockets didn't fade, and the undead opened its mouth to let out a hiss. Yang yelped, then bashed in the mummy's face, extinguishing it completely.
"Uh, that was creepy," she complained while summoning flames to burn away the flakes of corpse skin on her hands. Properly cleansed, Yang walked forward, exploring the room while Blake checked the other hallways. The blonde stopped when she spotted a large coffin in front of a set of stairs that led to a gate, but what was interesting was how the casket was constructed. Rather than merely being slabs of iron like they'd grown used to finding, the coffin was bolted down by two large contraptions connected to the ground, two round indentions next to both of them. It was all part of the original design, obviously, given the Nord carvings in the device itself, but it also reminded Yang about what they'd read.
"Okay, so this is how they sealed Otar up," she murmured to herself. "So, the keys are probably lying around here somewhere." Yang thought on it all a little longer, turning to meet her partner as the Faunus returned from her quick scouting. "What's it look like?"
"Two groups, one either way," Blake answered as she pulled her cowl back. "They're a little clustered up." Her eyes then landed on the sarcophagus bolted shut tight enough to keep out a Giant. "That it?"
"Sure looks like it. I'm betting we'll find the keys for this thing where those two groups are waiting." Yang smirked at that. "Then we can bring him out and beat him back to death."
"I don't know, Yang," Blake said apprehensively. "It apparently cost a couple of ancient heroes their lives to lock him up in the first place. And you remember what it was like the last time we fought some Dragon Priest that had been sealed up, right?"
The brawler groaned at the memory, rubbing the back of her neck as she closed her eyes and thought it over. "Okay, true, but I doubt when Mister Big, Black, and Scaly comes around that these things are gonna keep him from bringing back one of his little buddies." Yang patted one of the mechanisms bolting the sarcophagus closed. "Heck, give me enough time and I could pry it lose, but I don't really wanna strain myself right before a big fight. And some dragon probably knows how to yell this thing open if nothing else."
"I see where you're coming from." Blake wanted to argue further, but she couldn't say that Yang didn't have a point. Aside from brute strength, the dragons' powers probably included something that unlocked things like that. If they had Shouts that siphoned someone's health or turned themselves into ghosts, then opening a sealed coffin wouldn't be beyond them.
"Besides," she figured, "they'd probably get another human to open it."
"Exactly. So, where to first?" Yang asked, deferring to her partner. Blake looked back at the two paths and pulled her cowl over her face, the enchantment taking hold of her vision again and showing her the glows of the undeads' energies.
"Let's try the left way first," she decided, leading Yang towards the door past a set of broken stone tables.
"And hey, think of it this way," the pugilist skipped up next to her to aim an impish grin her way, "Even if this guy is as dangerous as the last one, that doesn't mean we have to fight fair! Since we're the ones waking him up on our terms, that means that we can stack the deck in our favor ahead of time, right?"
"You're talking about setting a trap for him first?" Blake mused with a raised eyebrow, "That's rather devious of you."
"What can I say? My 'Shadow-Slaying' partner must be rubbing off on me!" Yang bumped shoulders with her in emphasis, her grin never leaving her face. "How about we brainstorm what kind of welcome mat we want to roll out for Sleeping Ugly to wake up to while we get these keys?"
"Well..." the former terrorist hummed thoughtfully as her own roguish smirk grew, "I might have an idea or two..."
Past the door and a short hallway, they saw water pouring into the room from above, thankfully landing and pooling on the lower level, seemingly designed for it. They turned left and walked along the wall, Blake looking up to gaze at the single light above their ceiling for a moment. Ahead of them was a bridge over the canal where several draugr were walking before seeing the two living girls approach them.
The undead groaned inhumanly as they rushed the Huntresses, and Yang ran forward and brought a flaming fist to one wielding a battleaxe, smacking it back into the wall with an explosive punch. Blake veered off to the side before dashing in and slicing at two of their legs with Gambol Shroud and the Nightingale Blade. Her swords then came back and cut through one of their necks. She kicked the other in the face just in time to be batted away by Yang using another draugr as an impromptu paddle. The brawler then smashed her foe into a pillar, shattering its ancient bones and extinguishing its unlife.
"You know, if you told me a few months ago that fighting ancient undead mummies would start to feel mundane, I wouldn't have believed you," Yang quipped as she brushed off her hands with a few quick slaps.
"Please don't jinx us," Blake begged, a small groan rising from her while she narrowed her eyes towards her partner, who merely waved off her concern.
"The Dragon Priest doesn't count. It's obviously going to be tough."
Blake shook her head, and the two continued their trip through the crypt's canal. After following the path that led them up some stairs and through some twisted hallways, the two emerged into a large chamber with a pedestal at the center with a single object upon it.
"Found it!" Yang declared while stepping over a pressure plate and hopping down from the walkway to where their goal was awaiting them. Blake followed her, looking around and setting her eyes on a blue light that had yet to move, indicating another draugr waiting, but for what she wasn't sure until now.
"Yang, grabbing that's going to wake up some guardian," she warned her partner, who looked back at her casually.
"I mean, we've gotta take it anyways," Yang pointed out and shrugged.
The blonde then picked up the artifact, an iron skull with runic inscription inlaid with gold and diamonds for eyes. Yang looked it over appreciatively, trying to tap into her inner Weiss and guess just how much it was worth before giving up and sticking it into her bag. Then, as she and Blake expected, the trap went off and caused a coffin to pop open and a draugr to step out, unsheathing its sword. A few more opened, and draugr that didn't have a signal before awoke to join the first.
"Think that's Torsten or Saerek?" Yang asked while readying her axes.
"Plaque says Torsten," Blake answered quickly before leaping forward.
One of the draugr had summoned up an ice atronach, this one looking like a large human made out of clay by a child, and so the Faunus focused on that particular undead. One of the others charged Yang, who simply chopped the draugr's midsection with Holy Ardon, then took Black Whisper to its neck. Torsten slowly approached her then, seeming to eye her intelligently, an action that captured Yang's curiosity. Draugrs typically were much more mindless and animalistic, but this one was clearly different.
"Got something for me, big guy?" Yang taunted him, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Torsten seemed to almost smile, then reared back as though he was taking a deep breath.
"Fus…" the undead Nord began, causing Yang's eyes to widen.
"Oh-"
"Ro DAH!"
"-shiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Yang screamed as the wave of Unrelenting Force threw her through the air.
She tried to right herself, but the Shout felt as though it was pressing against her all the way until she hit the column on the other side of the room. Blake had thankfully finished off the summoner, banishing the elemental along with it before Torsten zeroed in on her. His blade swung around, clashing with Gambol Shroud and sliding to parry off her return strike with the Nightingale Blade. Blake's eyes widened as she tried to go on the offensive, only for the undead being to successfully defend against her every attempted blow. With one downward slash turned away, Torsten then shoulder-checked her, forcing her to roll back and spring up onto her feet.
"I knew it!" she muttered angrily, shooting a glare towards Yang. "There's a goddess of luck, so of course jinxing things is real."
"Don't worry," Yang called over to her in response, catching the undead's attention. "I got it!"
The blonde then leaped down the stairs towards their foe, axes raised. Torsten simply turned to meet her attack and seemed to take in a breath before Shouting again.
"Fo!"
"Sonuva-" Yang cried out as a wave of cold and frost slammed into her, arresting much of her momentum.
Yang landed a few feet from her goal, and Torsten went forward, sword raised. She blocked the undead's blows with her axes and gauntlets, having to step back under the assault that furiously came at her. A sudden backhand knocked her block away and the sword swiped across her front, hitting her armor and Aura, but Blake was back to take the heat off of her. The two were trading blows for a few seconds before Torsten jumped back while releasing a cone of frost from his hand to keep the Faunus back.
"Su Grah Dun!" the draugr Shouted. Neither Huntress knew what it meant, but when Torsten rushed them and his sword started striking with a quickness that neither alone could really keep up with, they had a good idea.
"What's with this guy?" Yang yelled as they put some distance between them and their enemy.
"He's one of two people who almost matched a Dragon Priest," Blake reminded her. "Of course it wouldn't be easy."
"Okay yeah," Yang admitted begrudgingly.
The brawler put her axes away and began focusing her magicka. The area around her immediately heated up before flame began swirling around her being. A Fire Cloak readied and more fiery magics waiting to be cast, Yang charged forward again, planning to win with attrition if nothing else. The draugr eyed her before readying another breath.
"Fo…Krah DIIN!" he Shouted, holding the last word to turn the blast into a drawn-out cone.
In response, Yang pushed her hands forward while channeling her magicka into flames. Fire and ice pushed against one another, and Blake tried to take advantage of the struggle to get in a hit on Torsten, who ceased his Frost Breath and parried her strike. While some flames washed over him, Yang stopped the spells a moment later in favor of closing the rest of the distance and bringing her fists to bear on the undead. A quick series of punches slammed into Torsten, staggering him with their force and the small explosions Yang summoned with each until her magicka ran dry. Her Fire Cloak continued to scorch even as her punches became mundane, but then Torsten pushed forward, grabbing Yang's chest plate and pushing up on it to put her off-balance before shoving her away. Yang stumbled back with an offended "Hey, hands off the goods!" as the sword came for her head. She managed to backstep most of it, but it still scraped against one leg.
Before he could pick up on his offense, Blake swung in and the two began exchanging blows. The speed effect had worn out by now, but the Faunus still wasn't able to find an opening on him. She tried using one of her shadow clones to throw him off and strike from behind, but the undead somehow sensed her and kicked out, nailing her in the stomach and doubling her over. His attention stayed on Yang, however, and he tried an overhead swing with the aim of cleaving her skull. The blonde eyed this move and then suddenly slammed her hands together in front of her face, catching the blade inches from hitting her. The draugr tried futilely to pull loose, and Blake attempted to stab him in the back during his distraction. He let go with one hand to backhand her, but only hit a clone as the real Blake reappeared in front of him, stabbing both blades forward and driving them through his torso.
Torsten looked down, seemingly surprised. His grip loosened on his blade as his other hand went to the swords protruding from him. The mummy's face then looked toward both girls, the blue light within his eye sockets fading.
"Don't lose…to Otar," he said, surprising both girls before the undead finally expired, sliding off of Blake's blades.
"What the…" Yang muttered in disbelief.
"They were interred here to defend the tomb," Blake said with understanding coming to her. "Not to keep someone from harming Otar, but to keep random people from freeing him and setting him loose on the world."
"O-kay, so…" Yang looked up, closed her eyes, and nodded for a moment. "Right, I get it. They almost defeated him, but couldn't quite do it. Stands to reason that anyone who actually could finish the job should be able to defeat them first."
She looked down at the corpse, brow furrowed in concentration. "Still, we were hurting after just fighting one. Not really in danger, but he was getting some hits in on me. Kinda getting a better picture of what this Otar must have been like." Yang hummed and rubbed her chin. "I think we can do this. Just need to plan ahead a little bit."
"Really serious when you're talking about planning ahead," Blake teased her, earning a light shove from her partner and laughs from both.
"Jokes aside, let's sit and take a breather before we go get the other key. If Saerek's got half the frost magic Torsten did, then I need some magicka ready."
As the sun set over Dawnstar, Weiss and Serana woke up from their slumber. The innkeeper did not so much as question their sleeping during most of the day, given that they were obviously traveling, and it wasn't that unusual for someone to be just that tired after getting off the road.
It also made their next actions that much easier now that night had fallen and everyone was heading to bed. However, that didn't make it any less annoying.
"How could you forget to stock up on blood?" Serana asked her companion in an angry whisper as they walked behind the buildings of Dawnstar, out of sight of the patrolling guards.
"You didn't remember, either," Weiss pointed out indignantly, deflecting at least some of the blame as she brought her hand to her chest. "I was a little busy to think about it and believed I had stocked up fairly well last time."
"And now we're down to four bottles…of cow blood," Serana added with distaste.
"It gets the job done," Weiss argued, but Serana merely narrowed her eyes in a light glare.
"And I'm sure man can live on bread and cheese, but they don't. And I'm not subsisting on cow blood when we've got perfectly good mortals hanging around here."
Weiss' face became mortified. "Serana?!"
"Not like that. We can get blood without hurting anybody. Trust me, I've done this countless times." The vampire shook her head. "Guess you never had to do this before. Right, time for a lesson: how to get blood without spilling any."
The heiress blinked a few times, but just sighed in acceptance. As much as the thought of taking blood from unwilling, noncombatant mortals was discomforting to Weiss, she did trust Serana. She then asked, "Okay, as long as no one's hurt or infected. What do we do?"
"Well first, you need something darker than those white robes if we're going to be sneaking around at night."
Weiss raised up her hands and summoned a cloak into them, throwing it over her person and pulling up the hood to hide her white hair. Serana brought her fingers to her chin and gave an appraising stare and hum, then nodded in acceptance.
"That'll work. Okay, now to find someone sleeping."
"Well, that isn't creepy at all..." Weiss muttered, but went along with Serana regardless.
The two began stalking the streets and alleys, using the Detect Life spell to peer within the citizens' homes as they passed them all by. They stopped near a small house close to the edge of town where they saw a single horizontal light within before finding a way inside through the back door, using magic to unlock it. Both slowly made their way to the single bedroom where a Nordic man was peacefully laying.
"How do we know he's asleep?" Weiss whispered. Serana just smirked.
"Hey, you awake?" Serana said in an even tone. Weiss balked and flailed her arms around in worry, but the man did not so much as stir. Serana looked back at Weiss, face split in a wide smile. "Yeah, he's asleep."
"What if he had woken up?" Weiss demanded.
"I have a sleeping spell. I would've just used it on him, along with the short-term memory erasing spell I know."
"…Okay," Weiss acquiesced, feeling deflated. The two walked up to the sleeping man's form, Serana letting a little magic flow out and into him. Weiss studied the weave of it for a moment, noting how it felt like an Illusion spell specifically, but there was a tinge of Restoration in there as well. After a moment, Serana seemed satisfied and ceased, drawing a short stiletto from her side and an empty bottle from her bag.
"Alright, so you have to be careful here. Don't want to puncture anything too important, or you might have a mess on your hands. So, anywhere will do, but the neck is almost always open. Towards the back, but not too close to the spine." She pressed the tip of the stiletto into the man's skin, piercing it and drawing blood that began to flow down the blade. She then held the bottle under the guard, where Weiss saw that the particular design seemed to guide the blood into the bottle's opening like a spigot, slowly filling it up.
"Once you're done, heal them up, then clean up." Serana focused a bit of healing magic into the man, closing the small wound as she withdrew her lancet blade. After licking it clean then wiping it with a rag with a dab of some potion, Serana cleaned the little bit of blood left on the man's neck.
"And that's that. Now just enjoy," Serana said as she took a draught of the newly pilfered blood and sighed in satisfaction. She then passed it over to Weiss who hesitated for a moment before remembering that she didn't need to worry about germs, then took a drink as well.
"Thanks," she said while handing the half-full bottle back. Serana corked it and nodded.
"Well then, let's get a few more. Six bottles should get us through until we can run into your friends and just drink theirs instead."
"Please do not treat my friends like walking snacks," Weiss dryly requested.
Another large smile found its way to Serana's face. "Only when they stop being so tasty."
Yang took in a deep breath and sighed as she stretched herself out where she sat. Nearby, Blake was taking a few bites of bread to go down with her stamina potions, looking over the second skull key they had retrieved. This time, they had tried to be better prepared, with Blake going to the standing coffin situated in a place of reverence that obviously held Saerek with her sword ready to drive into him. It almost worked, but as the mummy awoke and Blake went to immediately put him back down, he held up his hand in time to stop her, letting his palm be impaled where he could then turn her blade away and draw his own.
Whereas Torsten had been speed, Saerek had been strength, making Blake feel her bones shake when she had to block his scythe, a weapon she was now thankful for having practice fighting against, even if only in light spars with her team leader. And whereas Torsten had been using ice, Saerek used fire aplenty. Yang had no trouble with it, especially when she threw on her Helmet of the Unburned, but Blake was pushed by his Fire Breath. Yang, for her part, was able to hold her own, but even she had been sent sliding back by some of his blows.
In the end, she overpowered him, and took a healing potion to recover from what burns she did gain. Their Aura was recharged, and both of them were back to a hundred percent by this point, which meant they were moving on.
"Well, time for Otar to face the music," Yang said as she began tossing her skull key up and down while exiting the deeper crypts. Blake followed along, thinking about their upcoming battle.
"You sure we've got this?" she asked, her tone of voice neutral yet still having a twinge of apprehension. Yang picked up on it quickly, then shrugged.
"I think so. But also, we're gonna be a bit more prepared just in case."
Yang's eyes gained quite a bit of focus as she ceased playing around with the ancient artifact and raised up her other hand, an intense orange spell gathering within it. She let the magic fly forward, almost like a wild creature being set loose, and it hit the floor a few feet to her left, causing a yellow rune to suddenly burn itself into being before cooling to a deep red, almost hidden but for its slight glow against the cold stone.
"Hah! Got it!" she cheered, pumping her fist with a smile.
"Wait, what?" Blake wondered aloud, pausing to look at what her partner had created.
"Rune trap spells," Yang explained. "Never really thought I'd need one, since they're more of a passive thing, and I'm the complete opposite of that, but I figured now might be the time. Weiss tried to get me to learn it before, but after the third explosion she told me to never make one near her again."
"Loudly?"
"Very."
Blake chuckled. "Well, I think this could work. I'm guessing it's a fire-based one."
"Yeah, but I know the other types. The theories, anyways. Shock's a bit harder for me to do, but ice has never been my strong suit." Yang fished out her personal notebook and opened it up, flipping to a particular point before turning it and showing Blake. "It's a mix of Destruction, Conjuration, and Alteration, so Weiss figured it was a good way to work ourselves over into the other branches. I think the Conjuration bit is where I had trouble, since I don't have much experience there. Weiss got them pretty quickly, but she wasn't getting much out of them."
"I see…" Blake muttered while contemplating the spell's details. "I might be able to pull this off. I'm not great in any of those, but I'm not bad either. But…I've got a little theory of my own about this."
"Ooh, I like that look you've got," Yang said as she recognized a creative twinkle in Blake's eyes.
Some time and a few magicka potions later, the two Huntresses were standing by the sarcophagus with the two skull keys in hand. Yang set her own in first, watching as the bolts on one end undid themselves and the device parted. Then its two halves slid into the floor, and she leaped over the casket to the top of the stairs beyond it, poised to pincer attack the undead from behind while her partner seized its attention from the front. After Yang was done, Blake put in her own key, and then jumped back as the restraint separated and fell away. Seconds later, the lid of the coffin flew off, coincidentally hurtling towards Yang's position at the top of the stairs far behind it, the startled teen barely managing to catch the hazard before it landed on her head. A dry body then floated up with tattered robes, ancient armor, and a bronze mask of the same style as the others worn by Dragon Priests adorning its form. The undead held a stylized dragon-head staff in one hand and a dagger in the other, both at the ready as its gaze fell upon the Faunus before it.
The Dragon Priest slowly raised its arms in a dramatic pose as it hovered in the air, apparently basking in the moment of its freedom before deigning to smite the mortal foolish enough to release it. That is, until an irate Yang hurled the ejected coffin lid right back down to its sender, the large stone slab crashing into Otar's back and driving him down to the cleared floor, directly onto a red rune.
The rune exploded in a pillar of fire, causing the undead to scream – or rather, screech – as flames covered it for a single moment in a violent display. That fiery moment, and accompanying screeching, continued as the pool of lamp oil they'd poured around the rune from jugs scattered around the crypt was ignited. The Dragon Priest stumbled out of the burning column, only to hover directly over another rune, which erupted much like the first. Otar staggered out, actually forced out of his levitation from the double whammy, then a cascade of lightning poured out from below him.
"Damn, this is really working out," Yang said to herself. "Might not have to lift a finger."
"We aren't that lucky," Blake corrected her as Otar stumbled from lightning through fire then a burst of frost. "This might weaken him, but he's already tripped half of them and hasn't shown any signs of going down for good."
"Yeah," the blonde grumbled as she readied Ember Celica. "Well, I'm fully charged anyways. Let's get his ass!"
The Dragon Priest finally moved to a spot where no runes lay, mostly because they had already unleashed their power on him, and quickly recovered himself. Blake was in first, swinging her blades at the undead. The Priest blocked them with his staff and tried to gut her with his dagger, but the thing he stabbed turned out to be a clone left behind filled with the magic of a fire rune, which then exploded in his face. While it didn't pack the same punch as the runes left by the adept pyromancer, it was enough to daze him and give cover for Yang's fist coming to his punch threw the mummy through the air and slammed him against a wall, where he quickly pulled himself upright and hovered further above.
"Annoying pests…" Otar ground out before a black spell channeled through his staff, pouring over his body and leaving a dark sheen over it.
"Ah crap, Ebonyflesh," Yang realized. "Guess this nut just got tougher to crack."
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, s cloak of lightning surrounded the undead.
"Well, now that's not fair at all."
"Die!" Otar yelled as he pointed his staff at the blonde.
With a quick yelp, Yang leaped out of the way as purple sparks raced for her, hitting the ground before consolidating into an arcing barrier hanging in the air. He followed her with the Lightning Wall, and Yang ran to keep ahead of it, jumping atop the nearby staircase then racing back down it towards Otar, who ceased the spell and began focusing on creating another. As a stream of pure cold lanced for Yang's head, she managed to duck under it then jumped back up, aiming for an uppercut that smacked the Dragon Priest's head back, but didn't seem to bring him any damage. In fact, Yang's knuckles felt more rattled from the impact than they would be hitting an armored target.
Blake then came in from above, bringing down Gambol Union onto Otar's left shoulder. The massive, combined sword bit into desiccated flesh and through old bone, causing the draugr to screech and drop his dagger, though his staff did point at Blake. Luckily, the concentrated fireball only hit a clone made of ice, which then expanded, capturing most of the Dragon Priest within it.
"Nice rune clones, BB," Yang complemented her partner as she landed near.
"Yeah, can't do that too much though," Blake lightly gasped out. "Takes a bit out of me."
"Here, stay topped up," Yang told her while tossing a vial of light blue liquid to her. Blake popped the cork and quickly downed the potion, barely holding back a gag at the taste that hit her tongue.
"Egh, what was that?!"
"I think it was made out of bugs and berries." Yang shrugged, then turned her focus back. "Let's hit this guy, then. Bumblebee!"
Blake nodded and ran forward, tossing Gambol Shroud to the blonde, who grabbed the weapon and tensed up, powering a Fireball at her feet as she felt the Aura-reactive ribbon go taut. She launched forward from Blake's pull and throw and the explosion of her spell, heading straight for the half-frozen draugr ahead of her. Before she reached him, however, Otar burst loose and summoned an expanding shield that stopped Yang's flight in mid-air. The blonde bounced off with an 'oof' then hit the ground bonelessly, grunting before she rolled back onto her feet and looked to their foe.
Otar growled angrily as he planted his staff in the stone floor and held up his hand. Streams of yellow light rose from his fingers, going loose after a few inches like threads made of pure energy. He then gripped his severed shoulder, digging in his fingers and pushing the magic through. The threads wove into and out of his ancient body, pulling his arm back into place and holding it there, as though sewing it back tight. His formerly useless arm then flexed, closing his hand and opening it before a pulse of magic went out and a sword from one of the fallen draugr flew through the air and towards him. He grasped the blade and swung it down in a flourish as he ripped his staff out of the floor, a monstrous warcry leaving his mouth.
"This tomb will be your grave!" he shouted before swinging his staff around, a stream of electricity pouring from it and leaving a trail of scorched stone and buzzing sparks. Blake was forced to leap away while Yang ducked and rolled forward. A second slash left an even higher wall of lightning, further blocking their options to move in or run.
Yang pushed forward, jumping over a low spot and heading straight for Otar as he made a third swipe. He saw her coming and swung his sword faster than she expected, but she still bent back under the blade's path then sprung back up as she slid into place, Black Whisper coming up toward the Dragon Priest's neck. His staff came up, catching the axe under its beard before he shoved against her.
"Zun Haal Viik!"
With the Shout, Yang felt her weapon be ripped from her hand as though someone far stronger had snatched it away, the axe sailing through the air to the other end of the room.
"Aw, come on!" she yelled in indignation, quickly pulling out Holy Ardon and going on the defensive as Otar struck out at her with his blade.
Yang tried to twist away from his fifth strike and got within his guard, chopping her axe from the side. The blade hit his Ebonyflesh-enforced body and bounced off with hardly any effect. Gritting her teeth, she shoulder-checked him and tried to bring the axe down in an overhead swing, but this time found herself blocked by a ward from his hand as he dropped his sword. He then dropped the defensive spell and grabbed the axe through the spaces behind the blade.
"Did you think this blessed blade would hurt me?" he bit out at her, looking her dead in the eyes. "I amblessed by the gods!"
He then jabbed his staff at her chest, lightning flowing out of it and into her. Yang screamed as the electricity lanced through her nerves, leaving no damage as her Aura took it, but still bringing her pain.
"Yang!" Blake screamed at the sight.
The Faunus quickly took out Gambol Union and leaped into the fray, the edges of several Lightning Walls stinging her along the way as she tried to bring the massive sword to bear on her foe. Otar half-turned and summoned another ward to block her even as he continued to electrocute Yang, stopping the full force of the blade from reaching him. The myriad of weapons then sprang out, and Blake was already planning how to take him down when he lifted up his staff and another pulse went out, causing all her blades to freeze in midair. Blake's eyes went wide right before they were all scattered by his telekinetic magic, most hitting the far wall on the opposite side of the room. She tried slashing at him with the remaining sheath blade, but before it reached him, he Shouted once again.
"Zun Haal Viik!"
Her last weapon was sent flying, and Blake silently cursed as she tried to close in and hopefully keep Otar busy just long enough for Yang to recover. Instead, she was sent back by a spray of sparks that lanced through her, causing her to cry out and clutch her starburst scar as she hit the floor rolling.
"Begone, beast!" he yelled before sending another lance at her, only for it to hit a clone. The real Blake stumbled to the side, wrestling with her body to get back on her feet.
Otar's attention went back to Yang as she tried to get back up. The end of his staff slammed into her chest and more lightning was sent through her.
"Resilient mortal," he muttered as he took the staff from her and jabbed it down, lightning firing out from it and forming a dome around them before he let it go to stay in place. "But even the strongest of mortals," he said as he bent down and grasped Yang by her throat, "need air."
He hefted her up while tightening his grip, Yang struggling as she recovered from her doses of electricity. She began to pull his hands away and free herself, but the glowing eyes of Otar narrowed dangerously as he breathed in.
"Du'ul Gol Mul!"
Suddenly, a corona of yellow seemed to shine out from the Dragon Priest as his grip tightened again, even as Yang desperately fought to break loose. The blonde's feet dangled in the air as her throat was slowly crushed under the growing strength of her enemy, her arms straining as she pulled with all of her might to get free.
"Stop!" Blake cried out as she ran to where they were, stopping right outside of the electric barrier.
She reached behind her reflexively, but the only weapon currently on her was the Ebony Blade, which she gripped with uncertainty. She wanted to just force herself through and save her partner, but recently reawakened memories of just how much the shocking element hurt was holding her back from going all in. Her brain was running in circles trying to figure out what to do, when a voice oft silenced seemed to whisper a memory to the forefront of her mind.
'…indeed the coals themselves seemed to cool when it was placed within.'
Blake's grip on the Blade tightened as she jabbed it into the Lightning Barrier. There didn't seem to be any noticeable difference in the barrier itself, but Blake was beginning to feel one within her. The Ebony Blade drank the life and blood of those it killed, that much was true. But now she was sure what she was feeling was it draining the energy of the lightning and pouring that power right into her.
Blake felt the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck rise. Her pupils turned into slits as she focused in on the undead with his back turned to her. She pushed forward, hitting the barrier with her body and roaring as it shocked her, but now that shock was not enough to still her. Otar's bronze mask looked back at her and the Dragon Priest seemed to freeze as he saw her tear through lightning as though it was straw. Blake pushed the last bit through and let her voice free as she swung the Daedric sword at her foe. Otar tried to block, but his ward and arm were cut clean through, eliciting a shriek as he dropped Yang and clutched the stump. The Ebony Blade then sliced through his middle, severing his lower body from the still-floating upper half.
"Slaves of the demon gods!" he cried out in rage. "You won't win! ALDUIN WILL TRIU-"
Blake slashed diagonally, carving through his neck and out below his repaired shoulder. The pieces dissolved into ashes as they fell away, leaving only tattered cloth, broken armor, and an unblemished bronze mask behind.
Blake breathed raggedly. The lifeforce of Otar wasn't nearly enough to sate her. There was power there, but no blood, no life to drink up. No ecstasy of the kill. It was frustrating!
"Damn," Yang coughed out, rubbing her throat as she sat up. "That thing's really got an edge."
Yang! Yang was alive, full of blood and life. The Blade could feed from that, and pour-
Blake suddenly dropped the Ebony Blade as though it was blazing hot. Nausea rose up, threatening to make her lose her lunch and all the potions she'd drank in the past hour or so, but she managed to hold it back and blink out several tears as her mind reached a point somewhere between seething, and a sort of serenity. She dropped onto her knees by Yang's side, putting a hand to her shoulder before trying to look her over.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, just in a little shock."
"Pfft, hahahahaha!" Blake couldn't help it. Her emotions were running high, and however bad it was, terrible humor was still humor.
"Dang, never heard you laugh that hard. I must be getting through." Yang cleared her throat a few times as Blake wiped away her tears and took a breath, her laughing fit coming to an end as quickly as it started.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. I wasn't nearly suffocated and my Aura was holding him from fully crushing my windpipe, but I won't be singing for a while. It was more scary than anything." The brawler started pulling herself to her feet, helping Blake up as well. "Maybe you should bring that thing out more often," she suggested while thumbing towards the Ebony Blade, but Blake shook her head vehemently.
"No. That thing, it… It messes with my head. And…it might not be a good idea to use something like that against undead enemies anymore. It's a last resort weapon, nothing more."
"Right. Well, saved my skin that time, at least. Not sure how long Otar's strength boost would have lasted."
'It wanted me to kill you,' Blake wanted to tell her, but at the same time, she didn't want to bring out such heavy information.
The girls recollected themselves, Blake going around to retrieve all of her scattered weapons and sheathe them back into Gambol Union while Yang looked over the sarcophagus that once held Otar the Mad. She plucked one of the skull keys and smiled when the gate that once closed off the rest of the tomb didn't raise itself back up. She nabbed the other one and, seeing as that didn't close them off either, held them up to show Blake.
"Souvenirs sound cool?" she asked as the Faunus returned with all of her weapons accounted for, a staff now tucked next to them.
"Might as well," Blake figured as she took one in hand. The girls walked forward, not too surprised to see a Word Wall at the end of the next chamber, but very surprised to see two ghosts clad in ancient looking armor awaiting them. Both girls got ready in case a fight was about to break out, but the ghosts merely nodded to them warmly.
"Hail, warriors who bested us in combat and finally scoured the world of Otar's madness," one said with respect.
"You have rid the world of a great evil, friends, and proven yourself greater than even us. Now, we can finally rest, and with peace in the knowledge that the heretic priest will trouble Skyrim no more."
"Take what you wish from this tomb. We'll have no need of it in Sovngarde. I bid you farewell, shield-maidens."
"As do I. We await the day when you'll join us in the honored halls."
Both apparitions then seemed to fade into thin air with that. Yang looked around for a moment, then shrugged.
"I guess we helped out a couple more people than we expected. And we've been given the all-clear to loot the place. Weiss would be so happy."
"Wait, they called Otar a heretic," Blake said in realization. "Doesn't that mean…they were in the Dragon Cult?"
Yang started to answer, only to pause in silence as she gained a thoughtful look.
"Huh," she mumbled.
Du'ul Gol Mul! - Crown Stone Strength (Strength increasing Shout)