Chapter 9
A/N: HAHA! I'm back! In this chapter, protagonist goes toe-to-toe with the Daedric hordes of "Oblivion", and by Talos are they in for a beating! Remember that I own nothing!
Jauffre cleared his throat and turned the page on the book he was reading. It was a late evening at Weynon Priory, and the other residents had already turned in for the evening. Only Jauffre remained awake, but that was usually the case. He would often stay up later than the others to continue reading his books. He would turn in a few hours later.
Jauffre looked up from his book as he heard the front door open. There was a shuffling of feet at the entrance, then the door closed again with a creak. Heavy footfalls drew closer, and Jauffre wondered who could be out and about at such a late hour. His question was answered as the stranger ascended the stairs and came into view. Jauffre recognized him immediately as none other than Baurus, a fellow Blade. The both smiled widely.
"My old friend, it has been far too long," Jauffre said, marking his page in the book and standing up from his desk. He made his way around the table and greeted Baurus with a firm shake of his hand.
"Indeed, it has, Grandmaster," Baurus responded. Jauffre was glad to see Baurus smiling, as he had worried that the weight of the emperor's death would crush his spirit.
"Please! Have a seat. I'll pour us some wine," Jauffre said, gesturing for Baurus to have a seat at the table.
"I'm afraid I cannot, Jauffre," Baurus said. "I have important business to attend to, and I must be on my way."
Jauffre shook his head. That was the Baurus that he had always known. Always busying himself and never allowing a moment's rest. Jauffre would not let him make excuses this time.
"At this hour? I should certainly hope not. Stay tonight with us at the Priory, Baurus. That is an order from your Grandmaster."
Baurus looked like he wanted to argue some more, but the presence of a direct order from his superior quieted him. Baurus chuckled and shook his head.
"Thank you, Jauffre. You are too kind."
Jauffre smiled and moved to the shelf to grab a bottle of wine and two tankards as Baurus took a seat. Returning to the table, Jauffre filled the tankards and placed one in front of the younger Blade, who nodded in thanks and took a drink.
Jauffre nodded in satisfaction before taking a seat across from Baurus at the table.
"So, tell me, what brings you to Weynon Priory at such a late hour?" Jauffre asked.
"I have come to ensure that the Amulet of Kings has successfully reached you, and to follow up on some leads I have regarding the emperor's murder," Baurus said.
"The Amulet of Kings has indeed reached me," Jauffre said. "I am keeping it safe inside a secret location."
Jauffre gestured to the closet along the back wall, and Baurus glanced over before turning back and nodding.
"And what of the person who delivered it? Where have they gone?" Baurus asked.
Jauffre thought back to a few days ago when a strange Imperial had arrived and presented him with the Amulet and the tale of the Emperor's death. Jauffre had been initially skeptical of the Imperial's story, but since he had willingly handed over the Amulet, Jauffre had been inclined to trust him.
"The prisoner you mean? I have sent him to Kvatch to retrieve Martin and bring him here. He must be crowned as the new Emperor as soon as possible. I fear the worst if the Dragonfires stay dark for much longer."
Baurus lowered his eyes solemnly.
"It's all my fault," he whispered. "If only I had been more vigilant, I could've prevented this all from happening."
"That's enough, Baurus," Jauffre said sternly. "The blood of Uriel Septim is not on your hands. Never allow yourself to believe that."
Jauffre held a faint rumbling in the distance. A storm must be brewing.
"You're…you're right," Baurus said. "It's just difficult to have been there, to have been so close and yet so far. To wonder if you could've done something…said something…anything to change the outcome.
"Baurus," Jauffre said. "All is not lost. Martin will come to us, and we can make this right. I promise."
Baurus sighed deeply, then raised his head and nodded to Jauffre, a slight smile appearing once again on his face.
Another rumble came from outside.
Baurus looked out the window.
"Sounds like quite the storm brewing…What in the name of Talos is that?!"
Jauffre frowned and turned around to look out the window. What he saw chilled him to the bone.
The sky was turning red. No, it was worse than that. It was as though the heavens themselves were splitting open. The inky black shell of the night sky was cracking, and the red seeped through. It looked almost like something out of Jauffre's worst nightmares.
The red seeped into the very air itself, casting a hellish glow on everything in sight.
Jauffre was shaken from his stupor as the door to the Priory House opened again. This time, hasty footsteps climbed the stairs two at a time, and Eronor the Shepard burst into view. The dark elf had drawn his club, and he held it at the ready.
"Brother Jauffre! Come quick! It's…it's…by Azura I don't know what it is, but Daedra are pouring out of it!"
Jauffre spared a worried glance at Baurus before quickly getting up to retrieve his weapon. Rushing over to his personal chest, Jauffre quickly produced his key and shoved it into the lock. The chest yielded, and Jauffre reached inside and pulled out his favorite weapon: his Akaviri Dai-Katana. Jauffre took a moment to marvel at the beauty of the weapon before turning back to Baurus, who had already drawn his own Katana from his hip.
"Baurus, I thank you for helping to protect my home."
"I would have it no other way, Grandmaster," Baurus replied.
Jauffre nodded, and together the two of them followed Eronor out of the Priory house and into the night.
Jauffre supposed it really couldn't be called night anymore, as the reddened sky illuminated the landscape. It cast the feeling of sunset in Jauffre's mind, even though everything seemed to glow under the blood hue.
"This way! Quickly!" Eronor called before leading them out of the square and into the forest beyond. Jauffre was about to inquire as to the distance of this disturbance when he saw it with his own eyes.
"By the Nine…" Baurus whispered next to him as it came into view.
What Jauffre saw, he could not even begin to describe. Two stone spires had erupted from the Earth, each sprouting demonic-looking spikes as branches, and between them glowed a violent angry red energy that pulsed and hummed in the night air. The very structure itself seemed to be ablaze. The structure was at least twenty feet tall, and all around the structure, demonic creatures that Jauffre recognized as Daedra stood guard.
Jauffre recognized the creatures from his studies on Daedra, and instantly classified them. There were four Daedra in total, and of the four, two were Scamps, one was a Deadroth, and the fourth was none other than a Dremora, the humanoid demons that served their Daedric Lords faithfully and viciously.
The Dremora turned and saw Jauffre, Eronor, and Baurus as they approached. Jauffre had never seen a Dremora in the flesh before, and he could now confirm that it was far more frightening than reading about them from a book. Its face was a mixture of black and red, with small horns that sprouted from its forehead to match. The demon was large, larger than even the largest Nord Jauffre had seen, and it was adorned with a hellish set of glowing Daedric armor. Jauffre felt a jolt of ice shoot down his spine.
With a growl, the Dremora unsheathed a massive, two-handed, Daedric sword from its back.
"I will break you, churl!" The Dremora roared in its demonic and gravelly voice. The horned-demon's battle cry roused the rest of the Daedra, and they too sprang into action.
"Baurus! Take the Deadroth! Eronor…the scamps! I'll hold the Dremora!" Jauffre yelled before charging at the red-skinned demon.
The Dremora roared again and brought his sword down violently to cleave Jauffre in two, but Jauffre parried the blow with his katana and countered with a swift slash to the Dremora's unprotected flank. Jauffre's sword hit home, but the thick Deadric armor held against the blow. Without the armor, Jauffre was sure that blow would've killed the Dremora. But since the armor prevented his sword from slicing through, he was sure that the damage at maximum had only been a few broken ribs. The Dremora roared in pain and swung at Jauffre again.
This time, Jauffre couldn't properly dodge the attack, and there was a flash of pain as the sword sliced into his right leg.
"Argh!" Jauffre yelled as he stumbled. He fell to one knee, cradling his injured leg. Looking back, Jauffre saw that the Daedric sword had completely sliced through his robe, and that blood was already pooling from the wound. Jauffre momentarily ignored his pain and shifted his attention back to the Dremora in front of him.
"Your flesh is mine, mortal!" The Dremora shouted as it raised its sword again to strike.
In a flash, Jauffre pushed hard off his knee and thrust his sword straight through the Dremora's neck. The beast had neglected to wear a helm, and the sword easily plunged through its skin.
The Dremora cried out in pain and surprise and began choking on the metal and blood that now filled its throat.
With a heave, Jauffre wrenched his sword from the demon and stumbled to his feet as the Dremora fell to its knees. With a last gurgle, the horned Daedra fell onto its side and moved no more. Jauffre quickly summoned a healing spell and cast it onto himself.
Instant relief flooded into Jauffre's body as the blue Magicka washed over his body. He looked back at his leg again to see that was almost completely mended now.
With that taken care of, Jauffre whipped his head around to assess his allies.
To his left, Eronor was fending off the last of the two scamps, the first one lay motionless next to him in a pool of blood. With a yell, Eronor brought his club down hard onto the remaining scamp's head, and the goblin-like Daedra shrieked before falling over, dead.
Jauffre then turned again to see Baurus walking towards him. The Daedroth lay in a heap with several stab wounds behind him. Baurus himself was covered with several claw marks, and some looked rather deep.
"Allow me," Jauffre said before casting a healing spell on his old friend. The claw marks healed quickly, and Baurus let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Jauffre," he said with a smile. "Without you I would certainly be dead."
"I doubt it," Jauffre said back, then frowned as he stared at the massive wall of energy before them.
"What…What is this thing?" Eronor asked, his face a mask of shock and awe.
"I don't know," Jauffre said. "But its appearance resembles that of a massive doorway."
"A doorway to where?" Baurus asked.
Jauffre was about to reply when two more figures emerged from the massive structure. Jauffre's blood ran cold as he recognized them both as Dremora. The two demons surveyed the bodies then snarled at the trio.
"Prepare to die, mortal!" One of them roared. They both charged.
Jauffre readied his weapon.
"Baur…!"
A series of loud bangs drowned out Jauffre's voice, and his eyes opened wide as both Dremora suddenly staggered backward. It was as though they had both been punched by an invisible fist. The Dremora then began twitching and spasming wildly before them, though nothing appeared to be touching them in any regard.
As Jauffre tried to make sense of the scene, he saw small puffs of blood burst in rapid succession from their chests as the banging continued. The noise was like nothing that Jauffre had ever heard before, but he equated it to the sound of multiple hammers banging against a rock over and over again.
The sound abruptly stopped, and Jauffre watched as the Dremora both fell lifeless to the ground. The three of them stared in awe at the scene they had just witnessed, each of them at a complete loss for words.
The sound of heavy footsteps behind them roused Jauffre from his state of shock, and the three men turned around to see a figure approach them from the shadows. Jauffre squinted in an attempt to make out the details, but the more he saw, the more questions he had.
The figure that appeared was completely clad in some sort of armor. That fact alone was not surprising to Jauffre, but the armor that adorned this stranger was of some sort of material and make that Jauffre had never seen before.
In addition to the newcomer's unorthodox appearance, Jauffre noticed the strange weapon the figure carried in its hands. The weapon appeared to be made of metal, but the material was the only aspect that was familiar to Jauffre. Other than that, the weapon may as well have been from another planet.
The figure's appearance gave Jauffre no reason at all to trust it, but for some reason, Jauffre knew that it was here to help, and that it had been the one responsible for the bizarre deaths of the two Dremora before him.
"You there," Jauffre said. "Do you know what this is?" Jauffre gestured to the large glowing structure behind him.
The figure looked at the large wall of flame, then shook it head no.
"I think I might then," Jauffre said, speaking to Eronor and Baurus as he did so.
All eyes turned to Jauffre, well, Jauffre assumed that he stranger was looking at him. It was difficult to tell due to its helm.
"I believe it is a portal to the plane of Oblivion."
Silence settled among them. The only noise was the demonic humming that emanated from the portal behind them.
"Jauffre, are you sure?" Baurus asked. His voice level and controlled, but Jauffre always knew when Baurus was anixious. He could see it in his eyes.
"I fear it is so, Baurus," Jauffre said sadly. "I fear this may be the consequence of the Dragonfires going dark."
Baurus pondered the information for a moment, then nodded his head once.
"You may be correct. And if you are, then we are in far more danger than anyone could have foreseen."
Jauffre nodded solemnly.
"I am afraid we have no time to acknowledge our dread," Jauffre said. "We must find a way to close the portal."
Everyone turned to stare at the glowing gate, which was humming steadily.
"Eronor," Jauffre said, turning to the shepherd.
"Yes, brother Jauffre?" The dark elf replied. Jauffre could see the fear in his eyes too, and he tried his best to convey a calm expression.
"Contact the Imperial Legion, if we cannot find a way to close this gate, then we will need manpower to suppress the Daedra that come through. There is no telling the numbers that lie inside."
Eronor nodded quickly and ran back to the Priory, seemingly eager to get as far away from the demonic gate as possible.
"Baurus, my friend," Jauffre said, turning to the young Blade. "I am afraid that I can only think of one way to close this gate."
"We will have to…go inside," Baurus said, his eyes glancing at the gate once more.
"Yes," Jauffre said.
Baurus hesitated, then nodded once. "I am with you."
"And you?" Jauffre asked, turning to face the stranger in armor. "I'm afraid we do not know you, but we appear to be fighting on the same side. Will you help us close this gate?"
The figure looked from Jauffre to the gate, and Jauffre could see the fiery glow reflected from its visor. The figure regarded the gate for a moment, then turned to Jauffre and nodded once. Jauffre smiled.
"You have my thanks. May Talos bless you."
The figure didn't seem to know or care who Talos was as it immediately started toward the gate. Its metal weapon remained in its hands, and Jauffre nodded once to Baurus before following in the stranger's footsteps.
When they reached the gate, Jauffre and Baurus paused for a moment and looked up at the massive spire was the portal. The stranger paid them no mind and continued through the entryway. The fire swallowed it up, and Jauffre and Baurus shared a look before tentatively stepping forward through the gate.
A warm feeling fell immediately over Jauffre, as though he had suddenly stepped outside on a very hot day, and he was momentarily blinded by the bright red that filled his vision. Jauffre blinked his eyes rapidly in an attempt to adjust them, but in a short moment, he suddenly found himself in an entirely new landscape. Jauffre glanced around wildly, and what he saw chilled him to the bone despite the heat.
Before him lay what Jauffre could only call a nightmare. Everything Jauffre saw looked as though it wanted to die, kill him, or both. The ground was completely charred and dry, seemingly more infertile than any soil Jauffre had ever seen, but even so, Jauffre spied a few vines and grass growing out of the rock in some places, though none of them were varieties that he recognized. The sky was a deep red, and all around him stretched a massive lake of lava, bubbling and gurgling in a slow but ominous rhythm. Even more spikes protruded from the ground as well, and it seemed the entire purpose of this place was to torture those that occupied it. The stranger and Baurus stood next to him as well. Both were looking around the landscape, and Baurus's eyes were slightly widened.
"Where in Akatosh are we?" Baurus asked in disbelief.
"I believe I know," Jauffre said solemnly. "We have entered a realm of Oblivion, specifically the Oblivion realm of Mehrunes Dagon. The Deadlands."
"Are you sure?" Baurus asked incredulously.
"I'm afraid so, the texts I have read could not have provided a more accurate description of this hellish place."
Jauffre then turned his attention to a massive building that stood dead ahead of them. It was the only structure on the small island they were on, but it was easily taller than most chapels that Jauffre had ever visited. Spikes also protruded from the structure, and Jauffre could see a bright yellow glow coming from the pinnacle.
"The source of power to keep the gate open must be at the top of the spire," Jauffre said pointing. "If we disable it, it may close the gate."
Baurus and the stranger both stared up to the spire, then agreed with Jauffre. Baurus verbally. The stranger with a nod of its head.
"Ok then," Baurus said. "Let's get to the top of the tower and close this gate!"
As Baurus spoke, more daedra seemed to appear from places Jauffre had not seen before. Scamps, Deadroths, Spider Daedra, and Dremora alike seemed to come from nowhere. Despite their mysterious appearance, it was no mystery to Jauffre what their intentions were.
Raising his sword, Jauffre issued a few commands.
"Stay close together, we must fight our way to the top."
He saw Baurus and the stranger nod from the corner of his eye. Then, in an unspoken command, the three of them charged forward towards the tower, slaying any Daedra that stood in their path. Jauffre stayed light on his feet to avoid any blows that came his way and did his best to locate weaknesses among the Daedra he was battling. Baurus stood at his side, and at times, the two were back to back against the horde.
Though they slew many, Jauffre noticed with a start that for every demon that he slew, the stranger slew four or five. At one point during the battle in their rush to the tower, Jauffre looked over to see that the stranger had pulled a different weapon out. This one appeared to be an item made of wood with two metal cylinders protruding out the end, and the stranger held it in both hands. Each time the stranger used the weapon, it made a deafening boom and fired some sort of magic from its cylinders. The magic was nothing like Jauffre had ever seen before, as it seemed to cause an explosion against whichever creature the stranger fired it at.
Whatever that weapon was, it was proving exceedingly effective against the Daedric horde, and Jauffre had even felt a sense of invigoration as a Daedroth's head exploded from the magic the stranger possessed.
Finally making it to the door, the trio bolted inside to find even more Daedra inside the tower. There seemed to be no shortage of the foes, and Jauffre and Baurus quickly grew weary as they continued to battle their way upward to the top of the spire, pausing only for a moment in each room they cleared to catch their breath.
Jauffre quickly noted how the stranger never seemed to grow tired no matter how many Daedra they slew. Its armor must have been enchanted to fortify its stamina. Jauffre could think of no other explanation.
Another thing Jauffre noticed about the stranger was how it seemed to find more and more brutal ways to kill each Daedra they encountered. It had gone from ripping the head from a scamp to crushing a Spider Daedra's head from beneath its foot. In the pinnacle of gore, Jauffre had watched, slightly horrified as the stranger ripped a Daedroth's arm clean from its body and beat the scaly foe to death with it. Jauffre had always had a thick stomach, but even he began to feel slightly queasy form the brutality this stranger had delivered.
In addition to their weariness, Baurus and Jauffre also sustained multiple injuries from their push to the top of the spire. Jauffre healed them as best as he could, but before he knew it, he had expended all of his magicka. With no way to heal, Jauffre and Baurus took on many wounds before they reached the top.
Limping slightly with Baurus supporting him, Jauffre limped up the ramp and into the next room. Jauffre looked up wearily and saw that this must have been the top, as the chamber he stepped in was quite massive, and up a few more winding staircases sat a large glowing stone. The stone burned brightly, and a beam of fire extended from it directly into the floors below.
"There!" Jauffre said, pointing weakly to the stone. "That must be it."
Baurus and the stranger both silently agreed. They all began making their way to the first set of stairs.
Suddenly, a powerful fire spell struck the ground directly in front of them, and they all stopped in their tracks. Looking to the source, Jauffre's blood turned to ice in his veins when a Dremora stepped out of the shadows across from them.
Jauffre's disposition worsened even further when he realized that this was no ordinary Dremora. In addition to the glowing Daedric armor that he Dremora wore, it also carried a shield and a Daedric longsword at its side.
This was a Dremora Valkynaz. If Jauffre remembered his texts correctly, a Valkynaz was the highest rank a Dremora could obtain within the legions of Mehrunes Dagon. They commanded armies and were held in the highest prestige among the Daedra for their prowess in combat. And now, one stood before them. And neither Jauffre nor Baurus were in any shape to fight. This was bad.
The Valkynaz sneered at them but made no attempt to draw its weapon as the trio stood silently. A brief moment of tense silence passed between mortals and immortal, then the Dremora spoke.
"You have fought well, mortals. Well enough to shame my kin greatly, and thus, I seek to regain our honor."
Jauffre stood flabbergasted at the demon before them, but quickly regained his composure.
"What do you want from us then?"
"I want you to die," the Dremora chided. "But seeing your pitiful state, there is no honor to be regained in killing you two."
The Dremora was referring to Jauffre and Baurus's wounded state, of course. Jauffre tried his best to stand upright before the Valkynaz.
"Therefore, I issue a formal challenge to you," the Dremora then addressed the armored stranger. "Face me in single combat for the lives of your kin. If you are victorious, then I will be dead, and the sigil stone, yours. But if I- "
The Valkynaz suddenly bellowed in agony as a bright blue beam of light blasted through it midsection.
Jauffre stumbled back in surprise and looked to see that the source of the beam had come from none other than the stranger. Or to be more specific, the beam had come from a new weapon that the stranger held in its hands. This one glowed with a faint blue light and whirred passively.
Jauffre and Baurus stared at the stranger incredulously. The stranger turned to look at them, then shrugged. They then turned back to the Dremora. The force of the beam had torn the demon in two, even though it had been in full armor. Its upper torso lay a few feet from its legs, and its entrails were spewed everywhere. It was dead before it had even drawn its weapon.
Jauffre looked back up to the sigil stone, still burning atop the ramps.
"Let's get up there and end this," Jauffre said. Baurus and the stranger both agreed silently, and together they ascended the staircases and ramps to the top where the sigil stone sat.
Jauffre stared in a scholarly awe at the stone as they approached. It glowed and hummed with the magic of the Daedra, which was coming off of it in waves.
"The only concern now is how to remove it," Barus said. Jauffre squinted as he tried to find a discernable release on the stone's cradle.
The stranger stood silent for a moment, then reached out and unceremoniously yanked the stone from its spot.
Immediately the air around them was saturated with a bright light and a loud roaring. Jauffre could neither hear nor see anything except a bright white light. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed to the Nine that it would end.
Jauffre then felt the cool night air on his skin. He tentatively opened his eyes and looked around. The forests of Tamriel came into his vision, and Jauffre looked around wildly before realizing that they had been transported outside the gate. Baurus was standing next to him, and the stranger too, the sigil stone still held in one hand and the whirring beam weapon in the other.
Jauffre then looked back at the gate and saw that it was now gone. No demonic red energy hummed between the two spires, even though spikes were still present on the charred ground.
They had done it. The gate was destroyed.
Jauffre immediately felt a certain giddiness that he had not felt for a long time.
"By Talos, we did it!" He said, smiling wide.
Baurus chuckled next to him. "Yes. Yes, we did, my friend."
Jauffre beamed at him, then turned to the figure, who was examining the stone in its hand.
"You have my thanks as well, stranger. We would not have survived without you by our side."
The stranger looked up and nodded once before looking back at the stone.
"As for that," Jauffre said. "I know only a little of these sigil stones. Supposedly they contain a great power over a certain enchantment, with no two stones being the same."
Jauffre squinted and tried to decipher the Daedric runes inscribed on the small sphere.
"If I am correct, this particular stone relates to life forces. I think the inscription reads: 'life decay'. Now if only there were a way to harness it…"
Jauffre stumbled back as the figure abruptly crushed the stone in its hand. In awe, Jauffre watched the red Daedric energy seeped down from the figure's closed fist and into its beam weapon. As the energy seeped in, the weapon's glow changed from a light blue to a deep red to match the energy it had just absorbed.
"My word…" Jauffre said. "Well, I suppose that works."
Jauffre stood silently for a moment as the figure examined its weapon, then continued.
"I once again thank you for helping us close that Oblivion gate. I would be deeply grateful if you were to remain here and help us, but I cannot dispel a feeling that you are needed elsewhere.
The figure nodded, indicating that Jauffre was correct.
"I suppose this is where we part ways then. Farewell, my friend."
The figure looked from Jauffre to Baurus, then lifted its right hand and made a gesture with it that Jauffre didn't recognize. It was a closed fist with its thumb straightened vertically.
What it meant, Jauffre did not have a chance to find out, as the figure was immediately engulfed in a bright blue light. A loud bang was heard, and Jauffre staggered back for a moment before the light faded.
When he looked again, the stranger was gone.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter, just in case any of you weren't sure, the Doom Slayer has used the Sigil stone on the Gauss cannon. And the enchantment is a "Damage Health" enchantment, with my own personal twist on it. What is the twist you may ask? Well you will just have to wait and see! Remember to like and subscribe if you enjoyed the video...Wait, wrong platform...sorry! Heh heh I joke sometimes. Anyhow, make sure to review the story if you loved/hated it, I always love getting feedback. Until next time!