Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 1 - Dawnguard
Part 4
Morthal. Skyrim.
"Laelette! No it can't be!" I heard someone called out.
I turned and spotted one of the men who lived in this town. He was staring at the vampire corpse, which was rapidly turning into nothing more than dust and clothing, with a look of horror on his face.
"Did you know this woman?" I asked the native person "Who was she?".
He needed a few moments to process what he had just seen.
""I'm Thonnir, Laelette is... was my wife" he explained
Already I'd figured that it was something like that. I'd not intended to kill anyone, the ghost had led me to the vampire, or the vampire had followed the ghost. I had a feeling that the spirit of the little girl had led to me to the real killer, but I didn't have the full picture yet.
"I am so sorry, Thonnir" was all I could say.
Thonnir shook his head, he didn't seem mad at me, just upset. He was holding together very well.
"I can't believe it… she was a vampire, my Laelette was undead..." he muttered.
While this wasn't the best time or place to discuss this I really did need to know more.
"What can you tell me about your wife?" I asked.
It took some effort, however he found the ability to speak. I was greatly impressed by his inner strength.
"I thought she left to join the Stormcloaks" was what he told me "I had no idea she was..."
Understandable that he might given how people were throwing themselves into that conflict, but in this case it wasn't the war that destroyed Laelette's life.
"Did anything strange happen before she left?" Forestwind asked, "Did you notice anything weird about her behaviour?"
Thonnir shook his head,
"No… I don't think so… I..." he struggled to say. "Not wait, Before she left, or before I thought she left. She was spending time with Alva, but Laelette despised her".
He had more to say on this subject.
"The night she disappeared, she was supposed to meet with Alva" he informed my group "I was later told by her that Laelette never showed up. I never… I never even got to say goodbye".
The man choked up, and tears formed in his eyes as he looked at what remained of his partner. He'd lost his wife. If I ever lost one of my companions I'd feel just as bad, which was why that them respawning if they died was such a good thing, not that I'd needed to put that to the test.
With some effort I put those feelings. I couldn't let my emotions influence me too much, that was a danger for a Force user. I had to think about this logically, revenge for the lost could come later.
"I think they might have ended up meeting after all" I said.
Thonnir looked at me with dawning realisation.
"You think Alva is a vampire?!" he asked in shock.
I didn't think Laelette could have been a vampire for very long as she'd only started acting strangely recently and Alva did have a reason to harm Hroggar's family, as she clearly desired Hroggar for herself given how quickly they'd started living together after the fire, perhaps she wished to turn him, but Hroggar's family had been getting in the way somehow.
"It's a possibility I can't ignore" I said.
Thonnir shook his head
"No! That can't be true! Laelette must have met her fate out in the marsh" he insisted "I refuse to believe Alva had anything to do with this!".
The man shook his head again, and turned away, heading back down into the town.
"It's probably Alva," said Cameron.
"Yeah," the wood elf agreed, both with Cameron's words and my thinking "it explains the burning down of Hroggar's house. If Alva wanted him as a thrall or turn him later, she could've told Laelette to burn the house down for her so that no one would suspect her of doing it, Hroggar might not even know, she might have an alibi".
Serana might have been able to help with all this, but she didn't trust me or my companions. I figured that the only reason she hadn't run off was because the idea of going off alone into a world that had become so unfamiliar to her was too scary. But that wasn't what mattered right now.
"Let's find the house of this Alva woman and look for evidence" I decided.
(Line Break)
Morthal. Skyrim.
Rather than kick down the door, or have my Bosmer pick the lock, I just reached up and knocked on the door to Hroggar's new home. After a few seconds, it opened, and revealed the wary face of Hroggar.
"What do you want, stranger?" the man asked suspiciously.
I waved my hand.
"You want to invite us in" I ordered.
As I'd suspected the vampire had this man enthralled which suppressed his will to the point, that my Mind Trick worked very well.
"I want to invite you in" said Hroggar
We walked inside and Cameron closed the door behind us
"Where does Alva go during the day?" I asked to know "Where does she sleep?"
The vampire must have commanded him not to give out that bit of information so I would have to use my own mind powers once again. I suspected that he would lead us to a coffin, but until he did I couldn't be totally sure that Alva was a vampire.
She could just be using mind control, maybe even a love potion, which may exist in this world, and Laelette may have run off to join the Stormcloak only to encounter a vampire while out in the marshes.
I didn't think that was the case, but I'd learned long ago not to rush into action unless I was reasonable sure of what I was doing. If I'd been more patient during the last Jump I might not have needed to kill Jabba the Hutt, which did destabilise Tatooine. Although the disruption had been minimal since I'd filled the power vacuum.
"You will show us where Alva sleeps" I commanded.
Normally the Jedi Mind Trick was used to make suggestions that a person would be eager to follow or to encourage cooperation, but this man's willpower was gone, so I could control him more directly without having to resort to the power known as Dominate Mind, which I was loathe to use.
I didn't mind manipulating people, as everyone manipulated each other either intentional or not, but stripping someone of their free will, even for a short time just felt wrong to me. I'd still do if needs be, I'd just feel bad about it afterwards.
The vampire's thrall led us down the stairs to the basement, and opened up the door. Inside, was a fairly normal cellar layout, with barrels and other storage items. However, in the centre of the room, was a large coffin, which was currently open.
Inside the coffin, along with a pillow, was a small book. Alva's journal, and when I picked it up to read it the Thrall attacked. I assumed that he'd been ordered by his mistress to kill anyone who messed with her coffin.
However before he could strike me, Cameron grabbed the man, and slammed his head to into the wall hard enough to knock him out without killing him. Which pleased me as I didn't approve of needles deaths.
"Find something to tie him up with" I ordered "Once we kill this Alva he should return his old self".
Not that he'd welcome that once he found out that this family was dead, but I had no intention of allowing vampire to destroy this town, which looked to be their plan. It seemed as if the Jarl's dream was a very accurate prediction of what was to come very soon. In fact, it seemed like the 'attack' she'd envisioned would become reality in a matter of days. A large group of vampires intended to take over the town.
"We need to see the Jarl" I told the group "we don't have much time".
(Line Break)
Morthal. Skyrim.
I handed the book over, and watched as the Jarl's eyes began to express horror as she read the book. After a minute, she handed the book to her steward and looked up.
"It was all Alva" I explained "she didn't set the fire, but given that vampires can control their thralls and the vampires they turn, she might as well have started the fire, and now she intends to take the entire town, with the aid of her allies".
The Jarl nodded.
"Thanks to you, we now know the name of our true enemy, Movarth" said the Seer "He was, or rather is,, a master vampire whom I believed had been destroyed a century ago. I'll gather some able-bodied warriors to go and clear out Movarth's lair. They'll be ready to fight by tomorrow morning".
This was actually a clever move by the Jarl, her people were fracturing, and starting to turn on each other, or at least would if given time to, assuming the vampires waited that long. By sending her own people she would show them the real enemy and give them a foe to unite against. A clear outside threat had a way of bringing people together.
"You'll go with them" said the leader of this town "Only you can defeat Movarth".
Her vision had shown me holding the severed head of a vampire, perhaps this meant that only I can could defeat Movarth, the head vampire, the ones whose minions threatened the town. The rest of her vision seemed clear so the symbolism of me holding the head should be obvious as well.
"I'll lead the attack" I promised.
Aside from helping to destroy the vampires I should be able to reduce the loss of human life as well. However I would have to be careful as with witnesses I wouldn't be able to use my technology or some of my powers, but with the weight of numbers on my side I should be okay.
(Line Break)
Movarth's Lair. Skyrim
"This looks like it," I said, as we walked up the mouth of the cave.
There were stacked piles of stones around the entrance, and most were smeared with blood. Across the ground, was the occasional skull or assorted bone from whoever or whatever had been unfortunate to pass by this place. Clearly someone or something was marking its territory.
Behind me, some of the group began to mumble amongst themselves.
"That place looks really, dark..."
"Yeah, kind of scary too..."
"And it's supposed to be full of vampires?"
Well they were right to be nervous, this was the lair of a master vampire, and most likely it would also contain many less powerful vampires as we, and maybe some thralls, not all of which would be people. I felt fairly certain that vampires could control some animals as well with their mind powers. I could do it too using the Force Power known as Beast Control.
At times like this I wished for the Force Power called Battle meditation, which was the ability to use the Force to coordinate allies and even entire fleets of ships, allowing them to perform at maximum efficiency, acting as a single entity with the ability to counter every enemy move quickly and effectively. It could also be used to simultaneously demoralise your opponents, reducing their combat effectiveness.
Battle meditation was used to influence armies and fleets to win battles and even wars, and while ideal for meditating large-scale conflicts, battle meditation was also effective when employed for the benefit of one's comrades in small skirmishes, attacks, and duels. Meaning it would effective right now.
Alas I'd not been willing to fork out the CP for that power and it wasn't something any Force User could just learn even if they had a holocron which explained how to use it, which I did. However I lacked that talent, but since I so often used expendable security bots as a fighting force this wasn't often a problem.
Still I could try a little psychology. Not every problem I came across needed to be solved by super powers, advanced tech, or violence, sometimes mere words were enough.
"Are you really the brave men of Skyrim that I have heard so much about?" I asked the crowd "Is this really the land of heroes, the birthplace of Tiber Septim himself?".
That had their attention.
"These vampires threatened your wives, your children, your homes" I was now saying "You can't stand by and do nothing, you have to fight!".
At this point I was fairly sure that some perk I'd gotten in the past was helping with this, and I knew that it wouldn't take much more effort from me to get them into that cave.
"I'm going in there" I said next while taking out my sword and thrusting it into the air, Caliburn was an impressive looking weapon and I was sure that its mere presence was inspiring "Now whose coming with me?".
They cheered and I lead the charge, my companions and new allies right behind me.
(Line Break)
Movarth's Lair. Skyrim
I rolled to the right, and slashed at the massive spider as another supernatural creature decided to bite me. Caliburn, my magical blade, easily severed a leg from its horrid body.
Thonnir, the man's whose wife I'd not actually killed since technically she'd already been dead, got up behind it and brought his steel war axe down on its abdomen. The spider screeched and chittered in pain, and began to turn to face Thonnir, who was behind it.
Clearly the man held no hatred for me in his heart, and while I was protected from danger in ways he couldn't understand, he had just acted to save my life, not knowing that I was actually in control of the situation.
I returned the favour. Moving quickly I buried my sword into the horrible thing's body. The blade sunk down into the creature, and it shivered slightly before collapsing. Caliburn was more than earning its keep recently. Clearly the CP spent on this weapon had been well used.
"By Ismir," said Thonnir, "those things are a nightmare made flesh!".
Frostbite Spiders weren't particularly hard to take down, or at least the smaller ones weren't, but they were the stuff of nightmares.
"You're right about that" I said "and thanks for the help".
"I'm here to avenge my wife, and make sure no-one else in Morthal suffers the same fate" replied the Nord "But still you're welcome".
My very faint memory of this place hadn't led me to thinking that the place was that large, but in reality it proved to be a whole network of tunnels. Which made sense as if I was a Master Vampire I wouldn't want to trap myself in a confined space with a single entrance. I'd have an escape route ready.
My group had gotten divided up as the townspeople had rushed into the cave, and my Bosmer seemed to have vanished, but she was sneaky type so she might just be up to something sneaky. Cameron had remained with me and had distracted the spider for us.
"We need to keep moving" I said next.
Soon we came across a vampire. The man, if he could still be called that, had partially glowing eyes, and when he smiled at us oversized fangs were revealed. Yet for all that he still rather human, I assumed that he was little more than a vampire fledgling, only newly introduced to the undead lifestyle.
This was lucky, for as an older vampire might have dodged the swing of my sword. Before the vampire could react, I had plunged my sword into his unbeating heart. Which was fatal even though the vamp was already dead.
Unlike the vampire I'd slain in Merlin's world, these undead things did not explode when struck with Caliburn, which suggested to me that the weapon's full power was not required when slaying the vampires of this world. Perhaps they were a lot easier to kill than the vampires in other realities.
"By my ancestors!" someone yelled.
Thonnir took one look at the pile of decomposing bodies and staggered backward, dry-retching. While I was a bit more used to the sight of corpses, still I couldn't look at it for too long.
"How long have these vampires been here, attacking innocent travellers?" the local man wondered.
"All I know is that it won't be for much longer" I told him.
Thonnir went to say something, but stopped himself, before deciding on something else.
"Let's finish this" he declared.
The next chamber we found was serving as large room, and it contained a long banquet table. Sitting at this table, were four figures, and they were acting as if nothing important at all was going on.
One of them looked like a thrall, and he was holding a greatsword. I reached out with the Force, and sensed that he was in fact alive, the two others were vampires I could tell. They carried swords and axes.
The fourth figure and final figure sat at the head of the table. He was a tall man, in a strange leather armour, which had been dyed red. He carried no weapon, and looked almost bored, rather than simply calm
I knew instantly that this vampire had to be Movarth. The way he sat in the chair was just as much of a clue as what my danger senses were telling me. I'd seen thrones occupied often enough to know a ruler when I saw one.
As I'd been taught to do so long by a certain very sexy High Priestess I moved my hands in in the right way and spoke words meant to help focus my power. Fire appeared and formed into a rough sphere, which I sent at the most dangerous of the vampires.
As the ball of flame raced across the chamber Movarth who was still at the far end of the table saw it coming, and bolted to his feet, while grabbing a weapon that had remained unseen until now.
He moved very fast, noticing the attack, and grabbing his weapon all in the space of half a second. The magical fire attack destroyed the meal he'd been eating, which I was sure I wouldn't have enjoyed but did not harm to the Master Vampire.
I jumped down from the platform I'd been standing on while looking at the room, rolling as he hit the ground. As soon as I completed the roll, and looked up, I was met with the sight of a snarling vampire woman.
She lashed out with a diagonal sword blow. Caliburn moved almost on its own, deflecting her attack away from me in one motion fluid motion. My free hand came forward and blasted the vampire with the power of the Force, sending the blood drinker flying across the cavern.
"Cameron go finish her off" I ordered.
Now I could focus on the other leeches, the second vampire that was currently trading blows with Thonnir. Movarth was hanging back, leaning on his weapon, a long-bladed sword, watching the events unfurl with a smug fascination.
The Thrall was already down, Cameron had shot him with her Dawnguard crossbow, taking out the weakest enemy as quickly as possible so that we could focus on the bigger threats without needing to watch our backs.
I ran up behind the male vampire, just as he kicked Thonnir in the chest, and slashed a deep diagonal cut across the monster's back. The creature hissed in pain, then spun around extremely fast.
However it wasn't fast enough and while the first wound hadn't done enough damage the second one I inflicted certainly did. The vampire bellowed in pain as my sword removed its head.
Then I heard the voice of Movarth.
"Bravo, mortals" said the leader of this nest.
Thonnir and I turned to face the master vampire, who was still leaning on his longsword. Movarth clapped mockingly, and chuckled, as if we'd amused him with our antics.
"If I actually needed the help, I'd be sure to turn you both into thralls" said the Master Vampire "You'd be excellent additions to my little army"
An arrow raced through the air, Forestwind's work no doubt, but our enemy moved with incredible speed. He grabbed his longsword in one hand, and used it to bat away the arrow, before leaping backwards. I doubted that a mind less advanced than my own would have been able to keep track of the movements.
Then a thunderclap rang out, and a large lightning bolt flashed out from the hand of the vampire and struck Thonnir in the centre of his chest before he could react. Thonnir screamed out in pain, as he hit the floor.
He was dead. I felt him die, and that just pissed me off, but it didn't stop me from reacting cleverly.
Long ago I'd seen the warlock Merlin slow down time itself so that he could observe the Sidhe, (who keep their true form hidden to normal eyes, appearing only as a glowing sphere, by moving incredibly fast) as Aulfric of Tir-Mor spoke to them.
Merlin showed me that day how very powerful his magic really was, because he was able to slow down time all around him, including the reeds on the shores of the Lake of Avalon, the branches of the trees moved by the wind and the waves on the surface of the water.
Until now I'd never dared to try that spell, although I could theory cast it, not until now. I spoke the words and the world slowed down, my magical ring supplying the raw power required, making casting the spell far less of a drain that it otherwise would have been.
I moved normally and so did the Movarth, who seemed to notice this oddity even as my magical sword flew towards him.
He nearly dodged the blade, and would have if not for the arrow fired by Forestwind and the bolt fired by Cameron. The Master Vampire managed to avoid both of those threats, but couldn't deal with that and my sword.
However the sword did not end the foul thing's existence as it should have as the blade became trapped in his shoulder. I reacted to this quickly, as he pulled the blade out I reached for my lightsaber.
We both jumped into the air, him using his vampire's powers while I called upon the Force. Our weapons met in the air as the flow of time began to return to normal I hit the ground of the cavern.
I then watched Movarth turned to dust before my eyes in what seemed to be slow motion. It was a fantasising sight to watch. Seeing someone decompose, and turn to dust, it was as if time had actually speed up just for Movarth.
Then time returned totally to normal and the pile of dust hit the ground, leaving only what remained of the vampire's clothing behind.
(Line Break)
Movarth's Lair. Skyrim
Once the big bad had been defeated, and I had recovered Caliburn, we began to look for any threats we might have missed. While no one would admit it we were also looking for treasure. Perhaps a few people we even looking for prisoners. Which was what I'd ordered my companions to go do.
I found Alva in a particularly lavish section of the cave network. This underground space was outfitted like an expensive hotel room, with wardrobes, desks, and a large double bed. Alva was sitting on the bed, expectantly, as if she had anticipated my arrival.
"I heard the last fighting" she said, "and since you're alive I'm assuming Movarth is..."
"He's dead, yes" I said bluntly, "and you're next"
Alva nodded, and began stroking her chin, seemingly thoughtfully. Then a naughty smile crossed her face, and she eyed me up and down with a very interesting look upon her face.
"Well" Alva said, with a seductive smirk on her face, "before you get to all that. Why don't you enjoy the spoils of your victory?".
I only watched while the walking, talking leech got off the bad and began moving towards me. Her every movement was seductive, and it was clear to me that she intend to use her attractiveness as a defence against me.
Not for a second was I tempted. I knew that this 'woman' could never be trusted even I made her take an oath. She would kill me as soon as my guard was down, I was too much of a threat to her.
"After all," Alva was now saying as she smiled at, "you killed Movarth, which means… you're my new master".
She moved closer, and I figured that she was trying to put me under her thrall, which was a futile thing to attempt as I was not weak willed, and I had mind powers of my own.
"If you're my new master" the vampire said "then I should treat you as such, shouldn't I?"
Rather than answer her verbally I did so my lightsaber, which snapped to life and bisected her.
"Me, sleep with a vampire" I muttered "Yeah that will never happen".
(Line Break)
Movarth's Lair. Skyrim
Once the battle was done my human allies, those that were still alive, took some time to rest while my companions and I looted the cave.
We found a few books, Aetherium Wars 2920, vol 02, Sun's Dawn, and An Explorer's Guide to Skyrim.
Also we discovered an entire alchemy lab, which I would transport back to the nearby town so I could transfer it to the Cosmic Warehouse, when I got back I'd give the entire thing to my wife as she was most likely extremely bored by now. She would need projects to keep her busy while I was out and about.
We even got some stuff to put in potions, Bleeding Crown. Plenty of Vampire Dust. Imp Stool and Namira's Rot.
According to my Bosmer the boots of the Master Vampire I'd slain, which had remained intact, unlike the rest of his armour, were enchanted. I could feel that, but I had no idea what the enchantment was. Although it might be a speed boost given how quick the vampire had been even for such a powerful creature.
I could take the enchantment off the boots, and place it onto my own, however my Dawnguard armour was also enchanted, what those enchantments were I also didn't know, and didn't know if enchantments could be added to magical items.
That was something for Morgana to find out, and I would return these boots to her as soon as I could.
Nothing else here held any interest for me. I didn't need tables or chairs, or clothes, and none of the weapons were enchanted so I told Cameron to hand them over to my human allies as their spoils.
If there was any gold or jewels here then I couldn't find them and I no desire to spend more time here than I needed to. It was a creepy place, full of dead people, the kind that didn't move around on their own.
The sooner we got out of here and on our way to Solitude the better,
(Line Break)
Morthal. Skyrim.
While I had no proof that I'd slain the master vampire, and no native of this town had seen me do the deed, the leader of this settlement didn't need much convincing when I told that I had slain the big bad.
"I believe you, Gothic" the Jarl replied, before she bowed at me "we are in your debt".
Alas it wasn't all good news.
"I'm sorry to report that some of your people didn't make it" I said "Things were rather hectic when we entered the cave, and I got separated from most other people you sent into the lair with me".
Jarl Idgrod nodded solemnly.
"They will be remembered" she said to me "And you should be glad that their deaths weren't in vain".
Loses were to have been expected as I'd been leading a rabble into a battle not soldiers. I had valid reasons for using security bots in battle. They didn't get confused, or scared, and when under Cortana's direct control they were an effective fighting force.
I'd have to organise some fighting robots so that I could proper backup when I next entered a vampire's lair. Sure I wanted to do some fighting myself, but there was no sense becoming reckless when I had so much to gain by staying here.
Also while a few of the townspeople had been killed or hurt, Thonir was the only one who I would miss. I hadn't know him that well, yet I regretted his death. I'd have brought him back, I could do that if I was careful, however he had nothing to come back to, and he was likely in that warrior heaven that Nord's here went to if they were honourable warriors.
Alas his wife wouldn't be there as she'd died as a vampire, her soul would belong to The Daedric Prince Molog Bal, and there was nothing I could do about it. For all my knowledge, power and skills I was no match for a Prince of Oblivion.
Perhaps one day I would be, but that day was still along way off, and for now I needed to get on with dealing with the vampire crisis in case they went and ended the world before I could end this Jump.
"I'll be leaving for Solitude before the end of the day" I informed the Jarl.
The old woman smiled, and promised to have my reward ready before I left. This was pleasing to hear as I could do with some local currency. Once I reached Solitude I could rent a private room at a big inn and use it to enter the Cosmic Warehouse were I could replicate more money, but until then I was low on cash.
Plus once I did have access to the Cosmic Warehouse I could take some time to start sending out probes, and once Serena was home I'd use the Mako to drive back to the Dawnguard fortress which should cut the time spent returning to mere hours.
Aside from that we could shopping in Solitude, and find some cool magical stuff to put in the Warehouse. Then once back at the castle I'd show Morgana the cool magical stuff.
I had intended to visit the mage who lived in this town, in the hopes of acquiring books on magic, but I was eager to put this place behind me, besides Solitude had a court mage, and she should be able to help me.
On my way out I was stopped by the Jarl's housecarl, who seemed to want something from me.
"There is a letter, one I have had for some time now" the man told me "I think it is time it gets delivered. I cannot leave Idgrod's side, so I must stay here. Could you see that it reaches Captain Aldis in Solitude?".
He must overheard me mentioning that I was going to that city, and since I was going that way I might as well do him this favour.
"Sure" I said.
He passed me a scroll, which soon disappeared into my pouch of holding.
"Thank you. Please, do not open it. It is... private" he said.
I no desire to read other people's letters so he didn't need to worry about that.