Chapter 22:
Cleansing the Stones
"The way I see it," said Serana as they sat by the fire in the shaman's hut, "Our best bet is to make a circuit of the island. Most of these stones seem fairly close to the coast." They were studying a map Storn had lent them.
"It's like collecting the words of power all over again," Emily replied, "Let's just hope we don't have to fight any more dragons."
"Emily," said Serana. Emily looked up from the map. "How do you feel…you know, about going back to Earth, about the portal? Are you…excited?"
"To tell you the truth, Sera, I don't really feel anything just yet," Emily replied, "For so long I'd given up on the idea of ever going home…I don't know what to feel." She looked back down at the map. "Really, I'm still not holding my breath over this portal. Storn makes it sound possible but…"
"When we set out to claim the bow, I'll admit, all that eventually came to pass, it didn't seem possible to me either," Serana replied.
"You'd never have known that to talk to you," Emily smiled, "You were always able to find a reason to keep going. I always admired that you know. Me? I found the best way was just to forget."
"Forget what?" Serana asked.
"Everything about Earth," Emily replied. She chuckled. "Not literally of course. Just…forget about ever going back there. Accept my new life here." Serana looked down at her hands.
"Are you happy here?" she asked. The next second she seemed to regret her words and looked away.
"Of course I am," Emily replied, shifting so she was kneeling in front of Serana. She took her hands in hers, "I've had the best adventures of my life with you. Adventures other earthlings could only dream of." Serana met her gaze and allowed herself a slight smile. "I will never regret what happened when I stepped through that portal."
As night fell Serana, Emily and Lydia left the shaman's hut. The first stone to visit was the Wind stone. It was but a short trek from the village and Frea had told her that many of the villagers laboured there and had done so for over a week. The wind stone was located down a short slope and stood on a snowy overlook, looking out over the sea of Ghosts. Emily saw the sickly green pillar of light rising up into the sky before she saw the stone itself. Carried on the wind words were whispered, the same words she had heard at the Temple of Miraak. They crept closer, keeping to what little underbrush there was. The snow crunched under their boots.
"Look down there," Lydia whispered. She was pointing to the base of the rock where two of Miraak's cultists, easily identifiable by the bones masks and scaly brown robes they wore, were overseeing the construction of the curious webbed stone structure which now enveloped a large portion of the stone. One stopped by one of the workers, overseeing his work, quietly scrutinising before moving on to the next. Serana took her bow from her back and motioned for Emily to do the same.
"You take the one closest to the stone," she whispered. Emily nodded and nocked an arrow. She held the shaft of the arrow tightly, pulling the string taut as she aimed. Then she fired and the air whistled. The cultist dropped like a stone with a rattling moan and Serana's arrow left its bow. But the cultist, who had looked in horror at his fallen companion, leapt for cover so the arrow embedded itself in the snowy earth. The next second they were forced to scatter as a fireball hurled by the cultist where it struck a dead tree behind them. Smouldering debris melted holes in the snow around them. Two more arrows were fired but the cultist dodged them both, pulling a dagger from his belt as he locked onto his attackers.
"You will bow before Miraak or die," he yelled as he loosed another fireball from his palm. Emily ducked behind a rock where she swapped her bow for her blade. Lydia was taking refuge behind another of the rocks, taking any available opportunity to hurl rocks and other projectiles at their attacker. One struck the cultist in the chest and this gave Serana the opportunity to loose an icy shard. It struck the cultists between the eyes, shattering his bone mask and he fell back into the snow where he lay still.
The three adventurers hurried down the slope. Each of the workers wore the same fur clothes as the other Skaal they had seen in the village. They had not so much as stirred during the conflict, steadily working away with hammer and chisel while others hefted huge lumps of stone over to the structure.
"What do you think I have to do?" Emily asked, "He said to use my Thu'um. But on this structure or the stone itself?" She walked around the structure once, studying it on all angles. It was then that she noticed that on one face of the stone was a carving depicting several swirling lines. Emily drew back, summoning her Thu'um.
GOL
As she shouted tendrils of yellow light streamed from her open mouth and encircled the stone. They ensnared it, travelling in deep through the cracks in the ancient stone, fading from sight. The green light emanating from the rock changed in hue, becoming a rich vibrant green instead of the sickly hue of before. Then a rumbling built up from deep within the earth and as they watched cracks of burning light began to criss cross the structure the unwilling men and women had built. It grew in intensity as the rumbling continued to build.
"Get back," Emily cried to Serana and Lydia. No sooner had they cleared the area when the stone structure exploded, scattering debris far and wide. It hissed where it landed, melting the snow. Then a guttural roar arose from the pool of water the stone sat in and something hideous rose up from it. It was blue and scaly and stood as tall as the tundra giants of the mainland. Its head resembled that of an anglerfish and its bulbous yellow eyes glowered at them. The villagers now stirred and when they saw the hulking beast some staggered back in fear while the braver ones reached for their weapons. Hideous jaws filled with razor sharp teeth parted and it spit a bilious tentacle filled substance which struck one of the nearby rocks. The tentacles writhed and lashed out where they struck. The lurker eyed the freed slaves and those who freed them with contempt. One of the Skaal was the first to strike, bringing down his iron war axe upon the creature's leg. It roared and swiped at him with one clawed hand, sending him staggering back. Two others took his place. They carried spears and jabbed at the creature from all sides. The lurker reared back and brought down one clawed foot in amongst the Skaal. Serana launched a bolt of lightning at the Daedra. It rippled across its scaly skin and caused it to falter. Emily joined her lightning with Serana's and the Lurker roared its fury and pain. It lunged forwards and Emily leapt to one side before continuing the assault. At last the beast fell and unlike any Daedra Emily had seen before in her travels this one did not vanish into the ground. Instead it remained, lifeless in the dirt and snow.
"You are the ones that freed us," came a voice behind her. She turned to see several of the Skaal standing behind them.
"Is everyone alright?" Emily replied.
"I think so, just tired," replied a man, "He had us working at this shrine for All-Maker knows how long. I feel as though my mind has been asleep but my body was not."
"We should head back to the village," said another, "Thank you again."
"Right," said Emily, turning to Serana, "Next is the Water Stone. That's on the west side of the island. Do you think we will make it there tonight?"
"Doubtful," Serana replied, "We could probably get about halfway if we stick to the coast."
"Let's hope we can find a cave or something then," said Emily, returning the map to her pack.
They hiked their way down to the shore and followed it westward. Horkers lined the beaches, their corpulent sides rising and falling as they slept. One or two raised their heads as they passed, watching them warily. Ash blew in over the sea, coating their armour and settling in their hair. The coastline was mostly flat and Emily saw the pale eggs of the slaughterfish's sea-dwelling cousins half buried in the sand. Lydia led the way, torch held aloft as they continued their pilgrimage around the isle.
As dawn approached they sought shelter in a sea cave. It was half flooded and they were forced to perch on the protruding rocks within to remain dry. The cave smelt heavily of brine and fish and Serana pulled her cloak up over her nose to block out the worse of the smell. They found the bones of many small fish littering the shore which suggested that some form of fish-eating mammal made its home here on occasion. There was no means to build a fire so Lydia had to content herself with warming her hands on the torch which she wedged in between two rocks. At lunch she left the cave and fetched a long piece of driftwood. From this and some string she fashioned a crude fishing pole and sat just in the mouth of the cave, dangling her line in the water. And here she sat like a statue for over an hour, intently watching the water. At length the line gave a jerk and she pulled on the rod, fetching out a small slimy-looking fish. It was hardly a Jarl's feast but she cooked it patiently over the burning torch though Emily noticed how she grimaced when she bit into it only to spit out a mouthful of bones. When the pitiful meal was done she curled up as best she could in her bedroll.
"I hope we are able to find more comfortable sleeping quarters tomorrow, my Thane," she said.
"I hope so too," Emily replied.
As it was they did have more luck on the second day. They came upon the Water Stone just after one in the morning. Men dressed in the clothes common among mariner's tended this shrine, speaking in the same slow wavering tones of those they had seen previously. Emily repeated the word she had used at the Wind stone and another lurker like the first rose from the depths. The sailor took one look at the beast, a cry of, 'Kraken,' went up and they took to their heels. It fell upon the three adventurers to fell the beast before they could continue.
The third stone lay just outside the fortified coastal city of Raven Rock. Many of those who laboured there were townsfolk. Emily recognised one of them as the ash yam farmer who had sold them the Dwemer goggles before they left for the temple. The stone bore the symbol of the earth and just as before when Emily shouted at the stone the parasitic webbed structure constructed by the locals was destroyed and a lurker came forth to do battle. The battle was a short one with the help of the locals, many of whom wielded fire and lightning magicks. One was wounded and when the battle was done was carried back to the city to the resident healer, a stern Dunmeri woman.
At daybreak they found shelter in a fort on the southern half of the island. Lydia reckoned it had once been an Imperial outpost as before the eruption of Red Mountain the island of Solstheim was under Skyrim, and by extension, the Empire's, rule. It was little more than a ruined tower but provided shelter enough. Lydia spent much of the morning hunting. She returned around noon carrying the body of a repulsive looking creature. It had long backwards facing hind legs and a high domed head. A single arrow pierced its leathery brown hide in the centre of the thorax.
"What is that thing?" Emily asked as Lydia tossed the inert body to the ground.
"Ash hopper," she replied. She knelt by it and began to remove the legs. She took her knife from her belt and began working away at the fleshy portions of the hind legs. When the leathery skin was stripped away it revealed pale pink flesh. She cut off several strips and laid them on a small flat rock which she placed on the fire. To this she added liberal amounts of salt to preserve it over the days to come. When it was done she took the rock off the fire and allowed the meat to cool.
"What's it taste like?" Emily asked curiously, eyeing the meat as the housecarl bit into it.
"It's not as bad as it looks," was Lydia's reply, "Not unlike chicken." Emily tilted her head to one side.
"I'll never understand why every unusual meat tastes like chicken," she said.
"What do you mean?" Lydia asked.
"They say the same of alligator, rattlesnake and loads of other things," Emily replied, "It's strange."
The day passed quietly enough and they departed at nightfall. They followed the coast on round to the east. As Emily crested a sand dune she paused as a mournful moaning met her ears. It was deeper and more desolate than the wailing of the netch they'd heard in the bay. It did not serve to startle her, it sounded so melancholy. They eventually tracked the moaning to an enormous flea-like creature. It had long spindly legs supporting its large armoured carapace which looked to have been altered to make room for a form of carriage. A pair of forelegs were held up before it in a similar manner to that of the praying mantis though this creature, for all its size, looked far from threatening. As they watched it wailed again.
"What is that?" Emily asked, pointing to the creature.
"A silt strider," Lydia replied, "They used to be found all over Vvardenfell before the eruption of Red Mountain. The Dunmer used them to travel long distances. That one sounds in pretty poor shape though." Emily looked up at the silt strider.
"Poor thing," she said quietly as she followed Serana across the dunes.
Their travels took them around a narrow peninsula. From here they could see large mushrooms, far larger than even those of Blackreach. Serana mentioned having read a book concerning these structure which were used as places of residence by the Telvanni wizards. Emily found it odd that they would choose to live in giant fungi.
"Would the spores not get into their lungs?" she had asked. Serana shook her head.
"From what I've read you could hold the spore of one of those mushrooms comfortably in both hands," she had replied.
There were now only two stones left to cleanse. The first lay just North of the giant Telvanni mushrooms. It bore the symbol of the sun and those who worked upon it looked to be ruffians dressed in chitin armour. Many wore goggles like those worn by the three adventurers, designed to keep out the ash and all had scarves pulled up over their noses and mouths. When the stone was cleansed and the lurker vanquished they seemed too baffled over recovering their senses to consider an attack. Instead they loped off into the ashen wastes, muttering among themselves.
The final stone was the beast stone and it lay close to the Skaal village.
"Last one," said Emily as they stood before the stone. Those working it were not human but blue skinned and bow legged. During the short skirmish at Benkongerike Emily had never got a clear view of their shadowy assailants. The Rieklings were quite a bit smaller than she had imagined. They were rodent-like in their movements and their speech was quick and entirely incomprehensible. They were, as near as Emily could guess, reciting Miraak's mantras in their own tongue. When the stone was cleansed with the word of power and the lurker rose from the depths they fell upon it with reckless abandon, taking their spears and jabbing at the beast from all sides. Emily saw what Lydia meant about sheer numbers having the ability to overwhelm as the lurker lay sprawled in the ashes, spears poking out from every patch of exposed skin. The Rieklings set up a jabbering and Emily fearfully reached for her dagger but Serana stayed her hand. For a moment longer the Rieklings grunted and gabbled to one another. Then they retreated into the dark, rattling their spears and jabbering to the empty sky.
With two hours to dawn they arrived back at the Skaal village, having gone on a full circuit around the island and ending up in almost the same spot as they began. Storn was waiting for them in his hut.
"I can feel it, all but the Tree Stone stand free," he said as they approached. Emily nodded.
"Yes, it's done," she replied, sitting down heavily on the bench. Though exhaustion did not plague either her or Serana, their legs were weary from slogging through the ankle deep ash present on much of the island.
"Are you ready to go to Winterhold?" Storn asked.
"May we rest first?" Emily asked, "That was a long journey."
"Very well," Storn replied, "We'll leave at sunset. We should be able to get a boat from Windhelm and go from their to Winterhold. We will speak with the mages there." He then turned to his daughter who sat by the fire sharpening her war axe. "Frea, I am leaving you in charge of the barrier. Do you remember the incantations I taught you?"
"Yes father," Frea replied, "But with you gone our defences will be severely diminished. I can't fight and maintain the barrier."
The three adventures turned to look at one another.
"Lydia," said Emily, "Would you be willing to stay here with Frea and maintain the defence?"
"I would if that is your will, my Thane," Lydia replied, "My sword and shield stand ready."
"Well answered," said Storn, "We will depart at sunset after I address the other villagers and prepare them for the weeks ahead. This will not be settled in a day."
As the sun set Storn left the hut to address the villagers. It was clear that Frea was not entirely happy at the prospect but she seemed grimly determined to take up the duties her father had set her. Lydia stood with the rest of them as Storn made his address. He promised to send them word as soon as word reached him of Miraak's defeat and Frea in turn promised to send word if anything changed on Solstheim.
"Tonight I will begin my journey to the mainland," said Storn, "A month, maybe two. But when I return, hopefully our village will be able to rest easily, free of Miraak's influence."
"Sera," Emily whispered, "Is it down to this forbidden knowledge that he can influence people all the way from Earth?"
"Doubtless," Serana replied, "Hermaeus Mora's hidden knowledge, those who use it and are not driven mad by it, are said to become god-like in their abilities." Emily gulped.
Once Storn had given his address he and two others from the village left with the two vampiresses. Emily pulled her scarf up over her nose and mouth as the ashes began to swirl about them. The wind had got up and now an ash storm was gathering. Storn led them down over the hills to the coast and from there they made their way to the port city of Raven Rock. True to his word Captain Gjalund and his ship had long since departed for Skyrim.
"How are we going to get back, Storn?" Emily asked, "When we came here, the captain of our ship didn't want to hang around."
"I'm sure we can find someone to take us back," Storn replied, "If your Captain has truly stopped coming here there will be other mainlanders greedy enough to take up his mantle." Emily was not sure how she felt about this remark but elected to keep it to herself.
As it was they were in luck. A merchant ship from Windhelm had arrived only a day ago. His craft, the North Wind, lay docked in the harbour. The captain was a bald Nord man named Kjar. He was deep in conversation a Dunmer woman.
"I thought you'd be happy to come to Solstheim," the man said, "And see some of your kin."
"Kjar, look around, look at what this place has become," the woman replied, "Seeing this place only brings me sorrow. The sooner we get that netch leather, the better."
"I'll see to it in the morning and then we can be off," the man said. He made to leave the deck when Emily called up to him.
"Excuse me, are you heading to Skyrim anytime soon?" she asked.
"Aye traveller, tomorrow if all goes well," he replied.
"Would you be willing to take passengers?" Emily asked.
"I'm a merchant, lass, not a passenger ship," he replied. He looked down at the party of five gathered on the docks, "But if you were willing to pay your way maybe I could make an exception."
"How does one hundred gold each sound?" Emily asked.
"You've got yourself a ship," replied the captain, "Climb on board." He disappeared for a moment and returned with a large wooden plank which he threw down to form a gangplank between the docks and the ship. One after the other they climbed aboard. The captain led them below decks and showed them an area where they could bunk down. Emily hefted her pack up onto the bunk.
"Sera, do you really think Storn and these mages at the college can create a portal back to Earth?" Emily asked.
"I don't know, Em," Serana replied. Her tone was wistful, "Maybe." Emily finished unpacking her sleep attire and laid it out upon the thin sheets.
"Are you alright?" she asked Serana gently.
"I'm fine," Serana replied a little too quickly. Emily sat down next to her on the bunk and rested a hand upon her shoulder.
"You know we can always talk about anything, right?" she asked, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Yes, I know," Serana replied with a slight smile that, to Emily, didn't look as though it quite fit. Not entirely satisfied she nonetheless let the matter drop for now, getting up and climbing into her bunk.
"Suppose we've got some time to kill before we cast off," she said, "What do you want to do?"
"I think I'll just get some rest," said Serana, lying back on her bunk. Emily rolled over and looked up at the wooden ceiling. She sighed and reached over, picking up a book that lay at her side. She flipped it open and began to read but after several minutes she realised she was not taking in anything that was written there. She rolled over and looked down at the bunk below her. Serana was dozing, her book lying open on her chest. Emily lay like that for several moments, chin propped up on her folded arms as her gaze rested upon the sleeping vampiress.
"I wish you'd tell me what's worrying you," she murmured before lying back on the pillow.
Emily awoke several hours later to the gentle swaying motion of the ship. For a moment she just lay there, listening to the sound of the waves lapping against the sides of the boat. She glanced at her watch. It was a little after midnight. She rubbed her eyes and rolled over, looking down at the bunk below her. The bed was empty and this caused all traces of sleep to leave her in an instant. Hastily she hopped out of the bunk and pulled on her travelling cloak over her night attire.
Emily climbed the stairs to the deck and pushed open the doors. Serana was standing at the prow of the ship, looking out over the waves. She made her way over to where she stood and rested a hand on her arm.
"Can't sleep?" Emily asked. Serana nodded.
"When I was little I used to come out and look at the sea," she replied, "Anytime I was…worried or couldn't sleep or just needed to think I'd come out and look at the waves." Emily looked up at her companion. Then she rested her head against Serana's shoulder.
"If they can, create a portal to Earth," said Serana after a moment. Emily looked up at her. "I want to come with you."
"Are you sure?" Emily replied, "Leaving your world behind, even if it is only temporarily, that's a pretty big step."
"Em, I'm sure," Serana said, "We don't know what kind of power Miraak has."
"I know," Emily replied, "But-." Serana shook her head.
"No, Em, I'm coming with you and that's that," Serana said firmly. Emily sighed, smiling and looping an arm around the elder vampiress.
"What would I ever do without you?" she said fondly.
"Don't," said Serana, shrugging her off. Emily looked at her, perplexed. Serana caught her gaze.
"I'm sorry, it's just," she said. She looked as though she wanted to say more but she couldn't seem to find the words. She sighed, "Look, never mind." She paused. "Maybe we should head below deck for a while." Her words did little to resolve Emily's puzzlement but she nonetheless followed the vampiress below deck. The seas were starting to get rough so they sat down on the edge of Serana's bunk. Serana pulled a faded old pack of cards from her bag while Emily fetched down a worn and weathered old tome.
They read and played cards late into the night and when at last the moons set they seemed to take some of the night's unease with them. As the sun rose over the yardarm and the first calls of the seagulls cresting the waves went up Emily lay back on the bunk, closing her eyes sleepily and still clutching five of the playing cards in one hand. She had been teaching Serana as best she could, for she was not entirely sure she could remember the rules herself, how to play poker. The vampiress in question was curled up on the bunk next to her. Without much to occupy them sleep came easily.
Throughout the day they drifted between sleep and talk, amusing themselves with games and books. They saw little of Storn and the two Skaal villagers who preferred to keep to their own cabins. At last as the moons rose on the second night the city of Windhelm came into sight. Emily and Serana were back on the prow, this time joined by the Skaal as they watched the land draw nearer.