It was impossible. There had to be something else going on. There was just no way that...
Even despite her best attempts to dismiss what had just transpired as coincidence, Neria Ravell could not. Random columns of light did not just pop out around Tamriel. That this one seemingly pierced the heavens was of no reassurance to her, either.
Her knees buckled beneath her, and the sound of her armor-clad knees striking the stone floor of the Palace of the Kings made everyone else present jump. Her hands shot out and kept her from falling flat on her face, but she made no effort to stand up.
"Are you... sure about this?" Ulfric Stormcloak asked, his voice quivering faintly but otherwise calm.
"Y-yes, m'lord," panted the Stormcloak who had just bolted into the Palace of the Kings and reported the phenomenon. "Atop Mount Anthor. Just... out of the blue..."
Neria heard rapid footfalls rushing away from her. She heard a language she did not recognize being snapped out, and while she didn't recognize a word of it, she knew the voice to be Mia's. She assumed Adalla went with her, as they seemed inseperable. She could see Ulfric's feet shift somewhat, and presumed he stood up. She didn't have it in herself to look up, not if her greatest fear had actually come to pass.
"Galmar!" he shouted. The air rippled around Neria, and she heard a light gasp from Elsera, who was apparently still standing next to her. She knew it to be the power of the Voice. Heavy footfalls rushed toward them from the left, presumably leaving the war room.
"The soldier spoke true." The gruff Nord's voice, usually calm - if agitated at times - quivered notably. "A column of light is indeed atop Mount Anthor."
"Gather the soldiers!" Ulfric roared. "Muster each and every one that is fit for combat, and tell them to be ready to march in less than a half hour- no, fifteen minutes! We are not letting the bitch get away with this!"
Bitch. The word was only natural, but to hear it directed at her older sister caused Neria's head to lift, so she was finally looking up at Ulfric's face. Fury, hatred... pure negativity was all but carved into his expression. She knew it wasn't directed at her, but she nonetheless felt the weight of it when his gaze turned to her.
"You," he snarled, "are coming with us. As you are, you, elf. We need every single able-bodied man and woman to advance on Mount Anthor. I'll hear no excuses, and you are not allowed to refuse. If you fail to show up with the rest of the soldiers in fifteen minutes' time, I will kill you myself the next time I see you."
"Your Majesty," Neria began. "I intended to go from the start. I... I need to see this madness for myself... to confirm that she is truly so far gone..."
His expression softened at her words, but not nearly enough to eradicate the anger still etched upon his face. He gave a very curt nod, then strode quickly for the war room. Neria had no doubt he was heading for his quarters.
She wasn't aware of the hand upon her shoulder until it gently shook her; such was the curse of heavy armor. She looked up at the hand, saw the dark flesh covering it.
"Will you be alright, Neria?" Elsera's voice was one of concern.
"I doubt it," she mumbled. She forced herself to stand up. "I really don't think I will... not if this is what we think it is. Nadine mentioned another... I hope, against all hope, it's just him up there... that she's no longer..."
"Whether she is or not," Elsera began, "it doesn't change the fact that she was at Labyrinthian and that she killed the Arch-Mage. Neria, she's not getting any mercy... she's a criminal to Skyrim, even if her involvement with this is willing or not."
The words didn't comfort her in the slightest. The Dunmer realized this, for she sighed wearily and let out what the Breton knew to be Dunmeri curses.
"I know what it is to lose family, Neria. I can only imagine what it's like to have family turn so completely... evil." Neria heard the Dunmer crouch down next to her, and turned her head to face Elsera. "I'll never know, for my family is all dead... but I hope you don't have to experience it."
That brought a faint smile to Neria's lips. She took a breath intended to calm her and steady her nerves; it helped somewhat, but not as much as she'd have liked.
"Now come on. We need to get ready for the march on Mount Anthor."
"...Right."
"Mia."
"No."
"Mia-"
"Dammit, Adalla," Mia snapped. She whirled around to face the high elf, whose expression was one of pure concern. "I gotta do this! I ain't keen on it, aye, but we got no idea how t'deal with that light! Just 'cause we don't, though, don't mean he don't!"
Adalla's mouth opened and closed, but words failed her. She had no counterargument for a change. As she desperately fished for one, her eyes settled upon the object that had made her so worried.
Mia's arms clutched the Black Book to her chest.
"But... but Hermaeus Mora... is involving him really such...?"
"I don't want t'do it, Adalla, but we gotta use whatever resources we got, aye?" Mia's expression softened somewhat. "I ain't abandonin' this fight, Adalla. Runael was my friend too, and dammit, I wanna avenge her... but what if we can't do nothin' when we get there 'cause there's somethin' we ain't dealt with afore? What if it's somethin' we can't kill, but it can kill us? Somethin' we can't fight?" She glanced down at the Black Book. "If I can get a straight answer from the git, that's best, but I'm bettin' he's gonna make me owe him a favor in return..."
"...You have a safe place in mind?" Adalla asked tentatively. "In light of everything, no one's going to be happy to see another follower of another Daedric Prince..."
"I ain't his 'follower', Adalla. Not willingly, anyhow." Mia's hands shifted the book so she could stare at the front cover. "But aye, I got a place. Somewhere no one really looks. Somewhere I can do this without bein' confronted or somethin'. At best, I'll just be gone a few minutes, and will catch up t'ya afore long. At worst..."
Adalla knew Mia didn't want to even think of it. She didn't either. Part of her wanted to stay, but there was also the part of her that knew this was the perfect opportunity to interfere with the insidious plot of, ultimately, Clavicus Vile.
"If His Pain-In-The-Ass Majesty asks, tell him I'm rallyin' old friends, and that I'll be along," Mia said. "I don't want him thinkin' that I've-"
The ground trembled beneath their feet without warning, and didn't let up. Neither woman could stay standing, and they were eventually on their hands and knees. A glance at Mia told Adalla that the Akaviri woman had dropped the Black Book to break her fall, but that she'd landed safely. The unusual tremors continued for a few moments longer before they subsided. Once they were sure it had truly passed, both women stood up, feeling rather shaken by the sudden quake.
"What in...?" Mia murmured, looking around. "You don't think that were 'cause of somethin' up at Mount Anthor...?"
Adalla looked in the direction of the column of light radiating from the mountain. As she stared at it, questioning whether it was or not, something else caught her eye, and she looked at it. Her eyes widened, and a gasp escaped her.
"Adalla?"
The mer's only response was to point to the southwest, in the general direction of Falkreath.
A second column of light, almost identical to the one atop Mount Anthor, had appeared.
"...Fuck," Mia grumbled. "Thousand septims says one appears above Labyrinthian."
"I'm not accepting that bet," Adalla murmured. "I'm that positive it'll happen." She looked at Mia once more, who was picking up the Black Book from the ground. "Be careful in Apocrypha, Mia. Come back to me, you hear me?"
"Aye. I ain't got no plans t'let the prick keep me forever." Mia locked eyes with Adalla, and for a moment, the two just stared at one another.
"Go," Adalla said. "We'll all be waiting for you."
"Aye." With that, the Akaviri woman took off in the direction of Hjerim - which had remained vacant ever since the Butcher fiasco. Despite the situation, she smiled. Mia would definitely go unnoticed in there. She, on the other hand, had a march to join, and took off toward the direction of the city gates.
It wasn't until she'd pushed them open that she realized she hadn't said 'I love you' to Mia, and that thought wrenched her heart. She was suddenly very worried about her partner, but forced herself onward.
Larian and Galar had covered more ground than she'd initially expected, owing largely to the fact that they had been sprinting almost the entire way, stopping only to catch their breath. Even so, Mount Anthor still loomed in the distance... and then there was the appearance of the second column of light from the direction of the Dwemer ruin in Falkreath.
"How... is he getting... from one point... to the next... so damn fast...?" Galar gasped out, head up so he could stay staring at the second column of light.
"I'm sure it's Vile's doing," Larian muttered; her own breathing had already evened out, as she wasn't exerting herself nearly as much as Galar in his heavy armor. "For him, I'm sure an item or spell that permits teleportation isn't a big deal..." That definitely presented a problem, if it was true. "And besides, Derrick is Vile's 'champion'." She spat the last word angrily. "'Scumbag puppet', if you want my opinion..." She glanced about at their surroundings. They were at a mill next to the road to Windhelm. They had covered a fair bit of ground from her camp near Darkwater Crossing... and yet...
"If it wasn't for the teleportation thing, we could probably head him off at Labyrinthian," Larian grumbled.
"Why... Labyrinthian?" Galar asked, surprised.
"Because there was a pool of raw magicka in there. Same as a Dwemer ruin we dug out-"
"Nadine mentioned the Dwemer ruin," he affirmed.
"There's a pool in Labyrinthian, too," she repeated. "I'm sure that's got something to do with what's going on. I have no doubt in my mind that's his next destination."
Galar groaned, and a quick glance at him showed he was stretching his arms and legs. She realized it was becoming harder to see him, and a glance skyward told her why. Night was falling on Skyrim, and with it, several more problems.
"It's going to be colder," she muttered. "I know time's of the essence, but I can't help but feel as though we should set up camp for the evening, so we don't freeze to death, or... you know." She could see the hesitation in his eyes, but he gave a reluctant nod nonetheless. A quick thought later, and she was cursing. "And my stuff's back near... shit."
"I got enough for one," he said with a sigh. "I get the feeling you're not up for sharing, either..."
She really wasn't, but she also didn't want to force him to endure the cold alone. Nord or not, even the chill of Skyrim's nights would eventually kill him if he wasn't careful.
"Let's find a spot to pitch it," she sighed out. She'd reach a decision on that particular matter of business once the tent was set up.
Their search wasn't very eventful. There weren't many great places to actually set up a tent, and the more they searched, the further north they traveled. She began to debate whether or not they should just brave the night and keep rushing for Mount Anthor - if for no other reason than to see what exactly the column of light was, and what its presence signified.
Something else kept coming back to her, though. Derrick had said that they wouldn't need to visit the sites at the Dwemer ruin or Labyrinthian again... had made it sound as though he could... she guessed 'activate' was the right word to use. It seemed like he could activate the pools of raw magicka from Mount Anthor.
Was that what he'd done? Was he still up there, then?
"Larian!" Galar's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned her gaze to the torch-holding figure of the one Stormcloak she even remotely trusted. "There's a shack across the river!"
"You want to swim in these temperatures?!" Larian shouted. "Are you insane, Galar?! I'll likely freeze to death shortly thereafter!"
This reminder that she was Breton and not Nord caused him to curse, and they kept trudging forward through the rapidly cooling night. With luck, they'd find a place soon. Larian was not fond of traveling by night anywhere, especially Skyrim. Too many dangers were present at night. It was much harder to see anything anywhere, it was colder, there were werewolves, and there were also-
A spike of ice flew less than an inch in front of Larian's nose, making her freeze in place for but a moment. Her eyes darted to the direction it came from, and her greatsword was in hand already. She searched the area closely as she advanced.
"Larian, what-" Galar began.
"Vampire!" she shouted, finally spotting the unmistakable crimson glow in the darkness.
Gods, of all the dangers Skyrim could throw their way right now, why a vampire?
A.N. - All hell's breaking loose. It's not widespread yet, and there are no riots in the street... but damn if tensions ain't high after those wanted posters of Larian that accuse her of trying to open a portal to Oblivion. As if the first column wasn't bad enough, now there's a second.
I've always wanted to write a scene with just auditory perspective - no vision involved with the character whatsoever. Easy to do with a blind character; much harder to do with a character who's just looking down. That's what I was aspiring for with Neria, but I eventually just had to make her look around. She can only look at that one mysterious stain on Ulfric's carpet for so long before it becomes indecent. (Wait, what stain?!)
Mia. You DO realize Mora's not exactly at YOUR beck and call, yes? But then again, he IS trying to interfere with Vile's entry into Tamriel... could go well. Or he could keep his pet Dragonborn in Apocrypha forever, let Vile decimate Tamriel, then throw Mia against Vile in an all-out war between realms of Oblivion. ...Nah, too complicated, and for the sake of Eventide, it's like killing off Mia. Let's skip that part for now- I mean let's skip that part. PERIOD. (*cough*)
I wanted Larian and Galar to camp, but... meh. Ruins next chapter considerably if I do. Instead, just keep them going nonstop for a while, running like hell all the while. They'll get there far sooner than when Larian left; she WALKED to Eastmarch. Also, vampire with red glowing eyes. FORESHADOWING?! FUTURE DAWNGUARD STORY CONFIRMED WITH LARIAN AS THE MAIN CHARACTER?! No. I just thought of all the dangers of night in Skyrim, a vampire is the absolute most dangerous and lethal. Sure, Larian and Galar can rush along - but that doesn't mean they get a free pass and ignore everything that looks at them funny.
Besides, if anyone's going to bed Larian, it's going to be- yeaaah, stopping right there.
-Spiritslayer
