Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 1 - Dawnguard
Part 12
Fort Dawnguard. Skyrim.
Morgana had been working to plan out what she hoped would be the next Jump. Once she was done with her little project she decided to seek out the Jumper as she would need his approval.
When she found Gothic she saw that he was currently enjoying a mammoth steak that Cameron had no doubt prepared for him. Mammoth as in Woolly Mammoth, and mammoth due to the sheer size of the steak. The Seer had to wonder how man could eat so much, and were they put it.
"Where is Serana?" Morgana asked.
The female vampire had stuck close to Gothic ever since since she'd come to this fortress, perhaps even before then they'd gotten close, the Sorceress didn't know, so it was odd for her not to be around.
"Not sure" the Jumper admitted.
Morgana had wondered if the vampire might become a companion in the near future, but that might prove not to be the case since Gothic did care much for vampires.
"I've been thinking about where to go next" the Sorceress told the Jumper.
Gothic finished chewing before he next spoke.
"So have I" he was now saying "Since we can leave whenever we want to once Harkon is dead there's no need for me to rush about trying to save the world. So I was thinking that we could join the College of Winterhold".
Morgana wasn't surprised to her this as Gothic had mentioned this possibility before.
"An ancient artefact called The Eye of Magnus will soon be found and you have the Staff of Magnus so you can disable the Eye" Gothic told Morgana "It shouldn't take too long".
The Seer was surprised that she'd not had a vision about something that powerful, but she knew that seeing into the future was never a reliable thing.
"We can spend some time learning some more magic" the Jumper said "and we can acquire some materials while we're at the college".
Morgana figured that attending the college might work in her favour.
"Gothic, I want to chose a Jump" she informed her lover.
Other companions had selected Jumps before now so Morgana felt that she had the right to pick one.
"The plan was to go to the Marvel Cinematic Universe next" Gothic reminded "I want those warehouse addons. Coming to Skyrim was just a stop along the way".
Morgana knew this.
"I know my dear" she said "And I know we need to be careful with what Jumps we go one as we have a limited number, but we've spent so little time together since we left my world, and this Jump isn't without merit".
The Seer passed the Jumper a notebook that she'd been filling out.
"Oh no, not the Harry Potter verse" Gothic moaned "I don't want to be turned into a child".
Morgana smiled, she did think that a child version of her husband would be cute.
"At least with a new younger body you won't need to remove your cybernetic implants, and if going through puberty becomes too much you can spent time in your adult form" the Seer said "We should be careful to keep our lives as Hogwarts students and adults separate, but we can disappear for hours at a time during the weekends and during the holidays, so we'll be able to get a lot done in our adult forms".
Morgana had more to say on this subject.
"I was thinking that this Jump was one you and I can do alone, or maybe with Serana if she wants to come along and gain a human body" the Seer said "We might be able to recruit some witches for your harem, but there's no need to worry about that right now".
While Cameron protested this Jump for several reasons, Gothic read through the notebook. He was going to consider the options at least.
"You've given us both a total backstory" the Jumper said.
Indeed she had. Morgana had carefully gone through the documents before putting pen to paper. Entering this Jump as anything other than a Drop In required a family and of course a family history, since the Wizard families of Great Britain were somewhat like the noble houses that Morgana had learned much about while growing she felt well suited to creating a new family.
"Everything in the backstory was carefully chosen and the rules of that Jump allow you to chose the family you join as long it doesn't alter the canon of that world" Morgana said "I decided to introduce a whole new family, an isolated family called the Pendragons, that we are both apart of but not too closely related".
Morgana had decided that should this Jump happened that she and Gothic would be distant cousins, close enough to use the same family name, but not so close that they'd be committing incest when they had sex in their new bodies sometime in the distant future.
They would still be lovers as they didn't need to wait for their new bodies to finish growing. Sexual tension wouldn't be much of an issue as they would have access to an adult body when they entered that world.
"Given the discounts for perks and skills in made sense for one of us to be a half-blood and one to be pure-blood" Morgana was now saying "I even did a set up for you. Feel free to change it. I just thought that it would give you some ideas"
Harry Potter Jump
Gothic
Budget 1000cp
Half-Blood - 900cp
Wealthy - 800cp
"Why not save some CP and take Middle Class?" Gothic wondered "We can replicate all the gold we could ever want.
Morgana had her reasons.
"We don't know if the goblins do anything to the money or if it is just gold" she explained "If their money is enchanted in anyway we won't be able to replicate it, and if we bring in a lot of gold to the bank to turn into money that could draw unwanted attention. I want this Jump to be our chance to relax somewhat and focus on mastering our magical powers. A wealthy background means we won't need to worry about not having money for supplies and reading materials".
Gothic accepted this reasoning.
Gryffindor
"It's the house with the all action" Morgana stated "If we're in that house we can find a way to join in with Harry Potter's adventures or just sit back and watch".
Again Gothic accepted this. He knew that he could change the choice and any other if he so wished so there was no sense debating the issue now.
Memory Spell Specialist - 700cp
"We won't always have access to the technology you normally use to mess with memories" Morgana said "And we might need to quickly wipe someone's memories if they see us doing something Jump related".
Occlumency - 700cp
That didn't really need any explaining. Gothic could defend his mind from telepathic probes thanks to his Grey Jedi training, but magic had a habit of working in unexpected ways and with telepathic teachers taking this perk was just common sense.
Clean Blooded - 600cp
"I know that you can heal yourself and that you have a strong immune system, but that world has magical diseases" Morgana said "Including one that can make you a werewolf".
Non-Verbal - 500cp
Again this really didn't need much explaining, it would be a big advantage.
Qudditch Star - 400cp
"You still get nervous with heights sometimes" was what Morgana was now saying "This should deal with that once and forf all, and it will impress the girls. I don't intend to keep you to myself, so you should try to recruit a few witches. This could help you get their attention".
Deluminator - 375cp
"Not of great use really" admitted Morgana "but it cost next to nothing".
Flask of Polyjuice - 350cp
Pet Owl - 350cp
"It's hard to make, and maybe we can have some fun with me looking like another witch" Morgana said "The Owl is free, so why not?".
Nimbus Two Thousand - 350cp
"You'll need one for when you're on the team" said Morgana "And again it is free".
Dragon-Hide Jacket - 350cp
"I'll want to borrow that" informed the Seer.
Goblin Made Sword 200cp
"If we can get some Basilisk venom then you'll have a horcrux destroying weapon" Morgana mentioned.
House Elf - 100cp
"Can teleport around freely, are very loyal and without Cameron around you'll need someone to cook for you" Morgana said "I never learned to cook".
Companion - 0cp
"According to the rules I get identity, family and house for free, with only 400cp to spend on Skills and Abilities. I can't buy any gear, and I assume that means I don't even get free gear" Morgana explained to Gothic "But since we'll be wealthy I can just buy stuff. We've got more shelves now and we can buy containers that are much larger on the inside so we should be able to take a lot of stuff with us".
Morgana Pendragon.
Budget 400cp
Pure-Blood - 400cp
Wealthy - 400cp
Dedicated - 300cp
Occlumency - 200cp
Clean Blooded - 200cp
Legilimency -100cp
Parselmouth - 0cp
"You want to be able to talk to snakes?" asked Gothic.
Morgana had her reasons, and she was sure that the Jumper would have quickly figured them out if she hadn't already decided to give him the answer to his question.
"You have goblin made sword in your setup for a reason" she told her lover "I'll open the way to the Chamber of Secrets, and we can kill the Basilisk together, then you can gather the creature's venom and add some to the sword ensuring that we have a Horcrux destroying weapon".
While Caliburn or Clarent, which were both swords capable of killing anything short of a minor god, should be able to destroy Horcruxes, this wasn't a hundred percent certain so it was best to have a backup plan.
"Plus a Goblin made sword will look good in my Asgardian Armoury" Gothic said "Which I will get around to having"
The Jumper then closed the notebook, and went back to eating his dinner.
"I'll think it over" he promised "And I'll need to run it by the group before I finally decide".
Choosing this Jump would require keeping everyone else in stasis, which they shouldn't mind as for them no time would pass. But still it would be rude not to at least consult the other companions.
(Line Break)
Campsite. Skyrim.
We arrived at camp early in the morning after having spent several days hunting down a few people who Isran had thought could aid us in the coming battle. They had all agreed, and transporting them around had been easy since I'd been able to use the Mako.
The armoured transport had raised many questions, but people seemed to buy the explanation of: magic driven metal carriage. I was sure that if we'd hadn't been about to lay siege to a castle full of vampires that more questions would have been asked.
Of course the sun had to make itself difficult for Serana by deciding not to hide behind any clouds, which led to her wanting to hide in the Mako, but I liked it being sunny as it meant I got a good view of the camp as people prepared for a short war.
Not even sighting a dragon in the far distance was preventing these men and women from preparing to fight. It was something impressive to see. The fields were absolutely bustling with activity.
A group of tough looking Nord axe-wielders were fiercely swinging and twirling their weapons about in unison, as they prepared themselves for for the coming battle. Locals drawn here by the promise of a good fight I assumed.
Not to far from them stood a squad of crossbowmen in Dawnguard army. Their leader, an orc, had his hand raised and when his his limb dropped, a barrage of bolts embedded themselves into the line of targets.
Then the leader called out a command, and a new set of bolts were loaded into the crossbows. These specialised bolts exploded on contact, sending shards of wood out in random directions. The Dawnguard cheered and clapped upon seeing this.
Further towards the castle that would soon be attacking, I found a man called Gunmar and several of his armoured trolls. The lone frost troll of the batch stood out, being the tallest and most muscular of the group. But like the others, it pounded the ground, and walked around impatiently. They were clearly eager to fight.
As Morgana, Cameron, Forestwind, Serana and I got closer to the trolls, Gunmar turned to greet us with a wide grin.
"Greetings, friends" he said "I'd hightail it to Isran if I were you. He's planning the attack as we speak"
The man eyes then wandered to the ornate bow on my back, causing eyes to widen in awe.
"You've got Auriel's Bow just like Isran promised" the man then said "Those vampires won't know what hit them".
I let the man have a quick look at the bow. Forestwind was carrying it in place of her normal bow as it was effective against vampires. I didn't think it was wise to actually take into the castle full of vampires so Forestwind would remain outside. It would also be foolish to let out of my sight for too long.
"We'll go find Isran" I then said "I want to end this as soon as possible".
Gunmar nodded his head in agreement as I headed for what I assumed was Isran's command tent, with my comrades quietly following me. As we walked I saw that the vampire hunters were moving about the supplies, they carried crates and sacks of different contents. Contents that I imagined ranged from potions to weapons. As for Isran, he was outside his tent, shouting orders at the Dawnguard members.
"Ah, you're here" Isran said upon spotting us.
He directed us inside the tent and led us to a map that was spread out on a small table. Aside from the map, a small assortment of potions, a skull, and a knife rested on the table. The knife was pinned to the map and the table. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it had been driven into an area of the map that contained a small island. I knew that on the island sat Castle Volkihar.
"The two of you know this castle better than anyone else. I need your help in planning out this attack" Isran told us "We will be arriving by boats".
He then placed a finger on the map, pointing out the direction we attackers would travel in.
"The boats will have to land here" he went on to say "Upon landing, they just need to breach the castle's defences."
Isran nodded before turning his attention to Serana, which made both of them uncomfortable.
"Uhm... We want you" he then said "And Gothic to lead the attack. Serana, you will play a crucial role in this. You know the castle's layout, and we will need you to direct the hunters when we land. And you will need to take Gothic and I to wherever your father is."
Serana nodded stiffly, and Isran noticed her discomfort.
"I... know this might be hard for you" he struggled to say "I won't pretend that I understand what you're going through".
The Redguard then paused, and awkwardly shifted from what foot to the other.
"I.. I mean, we that is, the Dawnguard, appreciate what you're doing" he managed to say.
Serana's expression lightened, and she offered a toothy smile, purposely flashing her fangs to make the vampire hunter all the more uncomfortable I didn't doubt.
"Thank you, Isran" she said "I'll do my best."
He nodded in recognition before turning to me again.
"We have have plenty of crossbowmen. And of course Gunmar's trolls. They will ride together on a larger boat. We'll want the trolls to attack them head on".
Risky, but trolls were hard to put down. Only fire was potent against them and this was a weakness that they shared with the vampires so the blood drinkers weren't likely to start throwing too many fireballs around.
"If a boat were to land here" Serana was now saying.
She drew a curvy line on the map with her finger.
"You could get a small force threw the same way Gothic and I sneaked in last time" she then said "and if we attack at midday that part of the castle won't be covered in shadows nor would the beach".
Isran nodded his head.
"Battling at midday would be difficult for you, Serana" the leader of the Dawnguard then said.
Wow, he almost seemed to care.
"It will also be difficult for the Volkihar, and I can handle a little sun" she assured him.
Isran was somewhat impressed.
"Alright, that gives us a few hours to get ready" he said "We can't afford to wait for tomorrow as Harkon must know we are here by now and if we're still here by nightfall he'll send out his vampires in force".
Since the bow was here, and Harkon must know of its importance by now, I wanted it were I could keep an eye on it. Harkon would attack as soon as his forces weren't hampered by the sunlight.
"I'll speak to the men" Isran then said.
The hunters gathered together in short order, and listen to their leader's words.
"Brothers and sisters! My hunters! Today, we move out, and rip the vampires out at their roots, we will lay siege to Castle Volkihar!"
I had to admit, Isran had a thing for theatrics.
"In a few hours I will lead a force. We will take several boats and land at the front of the castle while a smaller team sneaks inside and slays Harkon. Then when the gate comes down will enter the castle, and eradicate every single one of them!"
Isran was replied to by eager battle cries.
"For too long we've allowed these vampires to poison the night and kill our people!" the leader of the Dawnguard yelled "Now we finally have the means to strike back! We now have Auriel's Bow!".
There were more cries and cheers from the hunters, but they were silenced when Isran raised a hand up.
"The time has come to finally put an end to Harkon and his unholy prophecy! We will march on their lair and destroy those wretched abominations so they can no longer corrupt our world! This is our fight, and this is our fate. This is the time of the Dawnguard!"
With that Isran raised his mighty warhammer into the air, and in response, the hunters drew their weapons, and held them high.
"For Skyrim!" Isran yelled.
"For Skyrim!" the hunters called back in unison
I figured that at least a few of them were going to get themselves killed, but in the long run it would be worth it as long as I could kill Harkon. That was all that really mattered. If I failed then this world was doomed and my Jump Chain could come to an end.
(Line Break)
Castle Volkihar. Skyrim.
Sometimes fights can be little more than a great big blur, and that was what I was experiencing right now I raced towards great hall. I kept moving slashing and cutting down the vampires, demonic hounds, and skeletons with Caliburn as I ran through the hallways.
I knew that Cameron and Serana were close behind me, keeping the others off my back as I ran about destroying monsters. Morgana was with the Dawnguard members who were assaulting the castle from the outside. Her magic would be of use out there, and she had plenty of potions for healing on her person.
My Bosmer, she would be using the divine bow to destroy any vampires or monsters who tried to defend the castle from the outside. Despite the sun some of them would try, and Forestwind was an amazing shot.
I hardly knew where I was going, as I didn't exactly have a map, but the Force was guiding me, taking me where I needed to go, or maybe on some level I knew, and I was guiding myself. How much control over me the Force had was something I didn't know.
While acting, rather than planning, I leapt off a balcony and to the main dining hall. A vampire cushioned my fall, and my sword pierced his throat as I landed. I then dashed across the hall, weaving past swords and axes, jumping over tables and chairs.
Without further delay, I raced up the stairs, only stopping to behead a heavily armoured and armoured vampire who got in my way.
I came to a halt in front of a pair of large doors. Even through them I could feel the power that was in the next room. Whatever was in there was definitely not good. Harkon was undoubtedly beyond these doors, and he was doing something that made my supernatural senses scream at me.
Those senses went into overload for a second, and I had to do my best to dampen down my Magical Sensitivity Perk as well as my connection to the Force.
"How marvellous. You bring your little group of vampire hunters to my home, and in doing so, you brought back my daughter" some one said.
It took me a moment to realise that it Harkon's snobbish voice that had just spoke. I also figured that he must be able to teleport or phase to some extent as he had left the room he'd been in without opening the doors.
"And you, my daughter's little pet" the vampire lord was now saying "I know that Auriel's Bow will be nearby. The prophecy is as good as complete now, is it not?".
When I looked past Harkon's menacing glare I saw Serana, whose presence in the Force as weak as it was, radiated fear. I wanted to tell her not to worry, but that would be a lie and while I'd never consider a vampire to be my friend I respected her too much to lie.
"I'm going to kill her, she is going to be the catalyst that brings about a golden age for vampires" the lord of this castle told me "A perfect world. A world without a sun to hamper our progress in earning our rightful place as the dominant species".
The evil glint in Harkon's eyes showed me how mad it really was. He had to be crazy to think that blotting out the sun was a good idea.
"And you, Serana" Harkon said as he turned to face his daughter "You've taken everything I've provided for you and thrown it all away".
Serana's sudden ferocity startled her father and me. Gone was any fear or doubt she might have had about challenging Harkon. All that remained was her anger.
"Provided for me?!" she shouted "You've destroyed our family. You've killed so many people. You want to kill me. All over some prophecy that we barely understand".
Serana shook with rage, and her eyes burned with an inner fire that would have scared the wits out of even me had she directed them my way
Harkon scoffed at his daughter before turning to look in the eyes once again. He stared at me with a look of slight amusement.
"It appears that I have you to thank for turning my daughter against me. I knew it was only a matter of time before she'd return with hatred in her heart" the vampire lord said "But I wonder what would have happened if you had been able to slay me?".
Oh I was still going to kill him. He wasn't as in control here as he thought. That power behind the door, a shrine to Molog Bal, was messing with my supernatural abilities, but I was still more than a match for Harkon even if his dark god was channelling power to him. I'd have to do the darkside to do, but hopefully I had enough control now for it not to corrupt me.
"Would Valerica your next target?" he wondered "or Serana?"
Rather than reply I lifted Caliburn.
"I'll let you watch the life drain from Serana's eyes" the vampire lord promised "A fitting punishment for the both of you for daring to oppose me".
The vampire lord snapped his fingers, and gargoyles began to come out from the shadows. They instantly went for Serana, but left me alone. It was clear that Harkon wanted to deal with me personally. The deadly looking katana he was carrying suggested to me that he was going to deal with me the old fashioned way.
"Just you and me, hunter" Harkon said with distaste
I remained silent and kept my blade up in defence. He lunged and struck twice at me with great speed, using his katana, while also draining me with his vampire powers. I struggled to fight the symptoms of the drain life spell and to also parry the attacks.
Cameron was suddenly in the way. Doing what she was made do, and Harkon's drain life spell was totally useless against her as while as she had an organic outer shell she wasn't a living thing, at least not like a human was. She had life force to drain.
However as strong as Cameron was, she lacked any magical power and Harkon's physical strength was somehow even greater than hers so my Terminator was thrown aside after trading a few blows. She hit a pillar and slumped to the ground.
Knowing I had to go on the offensive or I would die, I leapt forward intending to drive my sword into his chest. Harkon sidestepped the attack, and moved to skewer me. I swung my sword and deflected his blade, before spinning on my heels in order to face him.
I then slashed diagonally with my blade, and Harkon blocked easily. But that was what I wanted, as it allowed me to drive an elbow into his face. I lacked the raw physical power Cameron had, but I was no weakling, Harkon stumbled back, and I followed that up by kicking him in the abdomen.
We then spent at least a few minutes simply parrying each other's attacks, inflicting nothing more than scratches and future bruises on each other.
When I got the chance I saw that Serana was still preoccupied with the gargoyles and skeletons that her father seemed to have in endless supply. They weren't trying to kill her, only contain her, and that was the only reason why she hadn't been totally overwhelmed.
Thankfully for me my foe was not a true warrior, his moves were flashy, but he had more experience with me using the sword, having been around for centuries, so in desperation I disarmed us both without really even meaning to.
Next I was using the Force sending him stumbling a few steps back when he should have gone flying. Rather than back off, or try to recover his sword, Harkon rushed forward and swung his leg to the side in a crude kick that showed he didn't have any true martial art skills even if he was fast and strong.
His reflexes were superior to mine, but whatever darkness was coming from the altar didn't prevent me from calling upon the darkside, so I was able to counter his moves with ease. I even blasted him with a little Force Lightning, but I held back, knowing that to delve to far down the dark path would doom me.
"Enough games!" the vampire lord yelled "I will fight like how my kind was meant to fight!"
Harkon transformed, his skin was now green, and every inch of him was covered in thick muscles. His head resembled that of a bat, and he had wings to boot. I'd seen this before, but it was still unsettling.
He was about to charge me when another transformed vampire struck him from behind. It was Serana, she both looked and sounded super pissed. The two vamps exchanged blows, scratching each other and turning each other red as they spilled a lot blood. They rolled about on the ground, scratching, kicking and biting as they trashed what was left of the main hall.
While I wanted to watch or even get involved I let them battle it out as I knew that the real way to win this battle was to destroy the shrine. Which was pretty easy to do when you had a hand grenade.
Destroying the shrine had the effect I desired. Harkon was able to force his daughter off him, but now he wasn't looking so good and I was suddenly feeling a lot better. Even Cameron was now up and about.
I threw my sword at Harkon with such force and use of the Force that he was pinned to his own front door, which was currently being battered at by the trolls. Everyone, vampire or not, watched as Harkon burned up and exploded, dying far more dramatically than most of his kind.
The explosion weakened the door enough that the trolls were able to bring it down, and from the that point on victory was already ours.
(Line Break)
Castle Volkihar. Skyrim.
Not long after Harkon became a pile of dust Isran joined us in the main hall, he looked around, and then lowered his weapon.
"It's over" the leader of the Dawnguard said ""He's dead, and the prophecy dies with him. I..."
He then hesitated, while looking at Serana, who had returned to human form by now.
"I suppose this is difficult for you" he went on to say.
Serana nodded her head.
"I think my father really died a long time ago," she sad sadly "This was just... the end of something else. I did what needed to be done, nothing more".
Perhaps she really believed that, I couldn't tell. I wasn't calling upon the Force right as this place was still strong in the darkside, and it even if I could control my own darkness it was best not to take risks.
"I think you did more than that," Isran said begrudgingly. "You have my thanks".
Serana gave the vampire hunter a small smile, and this time she didn't show her fangs.
"Keep that up, and I'll start thinking you like me or something," Serana teased.
He ignored that and addressed me.
"So Harkon is destroyed," he said gruffly "And Auriel's Bow is in safe hands. The Dawnguard will now be dedicated to safeguarding it, making sure that prophecy will never come to pass".
Isran then sighed.
"You know even with these vampires gone, the fight isn't completely over. Once we're settled back into the fort, there will be more work to do" he said "But I'm not as young as I once was. The Dawnguard could do with a real leader. You've been doing all the work. I think you should lead the Dawnguard".
Clearly he meant me, and it made sense as the reward for defeating Harkon and stopping him form putting out the sun was a castle with some people in it.
"I might be around for a while" I told Isran "We'll see how things go. I can always appointment someone to take over for me later when I move on".
Now the end of the world had been prevented I could end this Jump when ever I wished. However my Judgement Day Perk was letting me know that the dragon's wouldn't destroy this realm for sometime, so I could afford to stick around for a while.
I could always pass on leadership to someone else when I did leave as now the Dawnguard wasn't at war anymore, the vampires would threaten this realm for many years.
However now there was a new threat. In a matter of weeks the world would be destroyed in a massive magical explosion. My Judgement Day didn't give me all the details, but I knew enough to figure out that the explosion would be caused by the Eye of Magnus.
Given that this new apocalypse I figured that the College of Winterhold had started digging at Saarthal, so it would be logical to go join the College.
Also it would give Morgana a chance to see what getting a magical education was like. She might go off the idea of attending Hogwarts if I took her to the College, and if not I'd have some more time to think about the next Jump.
Plus there were still some magical items for me to collect. I did want Red Eagle's Bane and maybe I should get more of those Dragon Priest Masks.
For now I was going to get a good meal, have sex with someone, and then get some sleep. I'd so earned all of that. Then I would talk with Morgana and finally decide what to do next.
Author Note
This is the last chapter for this story, however I can write what happens at the College of Winterhold, or move on to a Harry Potter story before going to Marvel. I want to see what you reviewers think before deciding.
Send me your opinions and ideas. Do you want Serana as a new companion? Should she go to Hogwarts as a human child, as an effort to start over?
Or do you want more adventures in Skyrim before anything else?
There's plenty of stuff worth grabbing and magic to be studied that Jumper Gothic couldn't do before as he had a time limit to worry about.
Or should I come back to it later?