Ulfric had been very disappointed to find that Galar, the bandit named Nadine and Neria Ravell had simply disappeared. Neria in particular seemed a capable fighter, and he'd have loved to have her join the assault to erase the columns of light. Still, her disappearance, coupled with the more serious jailbreak of Nadine and the disappearance of Galar as well suggested that they were up to something of their own. In any event, they were nowhere in Windhelm, and he wasn't going to send soldiers to track down a Redguard fugitive, a Breton knight and a disloyal Stormcloak in all Skyrim.
His resources were better directed trying to find Mia, who had disappeared from Windhelm eight days ago. He had sent word to Riften, asking the high elf Adalla if Mia was there; the concerned response he received told him that no, she wasn't, and that she'd not been seen in Riften either. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered, but the dark elf, Elsera, had told him that Mia had a way to get into Apocrypha, the realm of Hermaeus Mora - and thus, she could find a means to disable the columns of light. He didn't know just how Mia had come by such a dangerous option, or why she continued to hold onto it, but Elsera had told him she'd searched the College's Arcanaeum, asked extensive questions of Phinis Gestor and other instructors, and had turned up absolutely nothing; they were as stumped as she. Much as he hated it, the realm of the Daedric Prince of Fate was far more likely to turn up answers.
In the meantime, however, he could start setting up defenses at the columns of light, just in case everything they tried failed and the forces of Vile's realm of Oblivion spilled into Skyrim. If all else failed, they would at least contain this to the columns of light. None of the soldiers were particularly keen on the thought of standing guard at the columns - those that survived the horrific creature's onslaught were almost assured more would come if an invasion did begin.
He found himself speaking with Elsera more and more as strategy was discussed on how to defend Skyrim, should the invasion actually begin. Well, to be more accurate, she was present more and more frequently whenever he and Galmar spoke of it, and she offered her own thoughts on how to protect against the magical threats that may come.
In many ways, her insights and advice reminded him of Runael; there were a couple of times when he thought, for just a second, that she actually as Runael and had to make sure he wasn't seeing or hearing things. Then again, there were various differences between the two elves, as well.
Where Runael would have taken a playful jab in stride and delivered one of her own, Elsera either had no such capacity, or lacked the patience to deal with it. It had sparked more than one heated argument with Galmar, arguments that had resulted in some rather offensive terms being exchanged between the two. Definitely nothing like how Galmar and Runael used to argue.
"You are not the Arch-Mage of the College," Galmar snarled, "nor will you ever take her place!"
"How fortunate for Skyrim, then, that you have no say whatsoever in who becomes the Arch-Mage of the College," Elsera retorted. "I may not be the Arch-Mage, but I was her direct apprentice - and you, arrogant little knuckle-dragger, would do well to remember that!"
"I'm to just respect you because she played favorites?" he roared, face turning red from anger. "My respect is earned, ashskin, and you have not earned mine! She earned mine over the course of several years, aiding the Stormcloaks and all Skyrim! What have you done for us? Absolutely nothing, except talk with some foolish ghost!"
"That 'foolish ghost' was one of Runael's friends and provided her with much advice over her term as Arch-Mage!" Elsera shouted, hands clenching into fists and knuckles whitening. "He knows far more about Skyrim - all of Tamriel, in fact - than you'll ever know or learn in your entire life! Then again, that's not hard, considering all Nords are-"
"Are what, ashskin?" he growled in a low, dangerous voice. "Choose your next words very carefully, bitch, or you'll find your head separated from your shoulders, unable to say-"
Ulfric decided he'd had enough, and slammed his hands down on the table of the war room as hard as he could. The banging noise interrupted Galmar, and drew both the Nord and the dark elf's attention to him. He didn't dare speak, for fear that he'd just end up embroiled in the argument he'd just interrupted. He settled instead for shooting each of them a glare.
"On the topic of the Augur," Elsera said slowly, clearly trying to rein in her anger.
"Damned fool ghost," Galmar grumbled.
"Galmar," Ulfric warned with a low growl. The other Nord sighed, then began to mutter under his breath.
"Have you given thought as to his warning? About the old enemy approaching from the west?" If she acknowledged Galmar's comment about the Augur, she was hiding it very well.
"The one where he called me blind? No, nor will I. Not until this... Vile business is over with. As long as the threat of daedra looms over Skyrim, I'm not going to split my forces to deal with something that may take months to come."
"You don't know that it'll take months," she began.
"You don't know that it'll occur sooner, either, and neither does your College's Augur," he replied coolly. "I'll take my chances, elf, and devote my armies to repelling the current and immediate threat. Once it's over, then I'll focus on this other threat to the west."
"Are you sure that's wise?" she asked tentatively. "Even if you take no direct action right now, we know not what to do about the columns; it couldn't hurt to discuss the western threat, could it?"
He wanted to retort, but held his tongue. It felt quite like she was trying to tell him what to do, and honestly, he didn't much care for it. Even so, her words rang true... there was no harm in having a plan in place so that, once the Vile business had resolved once and for all, he could then take action against the first threat immediately.
"Fine." His hands spread out over the map of Skyrim, fingers brushing the blue flags situated at Mount Anthor, Labyrinthian and the general location of the Dwemer ruin. "Did the Augur mention how they'd arrive?"
"N..." She sighed. "No."
"Then we have to be ready for anything. An assault over the mountains, an approach from the sea..." He gazed at the Reach. "Easier said than done. The Forsworn will harry us at every opportunity near the mountains. Northwatch Hold is our best place to watch the sea from, so I'm not too concerned about that."
"The real problem, then, is the Reach." Galmar seemed to have calmed down, for his voice was back to the quiet gruff growl it typically was. "Perhaps the Forsworn are the threat this... Augur spoke of?"
"It's not impossible," Elsera said slowly, "but he did say 'old enemy'... as if it was a foe you haven't dealt with in recent years. The Forsworn have remained a thorn in your side non-stop, no?"
"That's true." Ulfric thought for a while. "That makes me think of two possible threats, then... that I can think of right off the top of my head, anyway, and assuming the Augur doesn't mean an ancient threat." He looked up at Galmar, then at Elsera. "The Empire, and the Thalmor. I'm sure they'd both love to get a foothold in Skyrim again. We haven't seen or heard from either one in a few years, either - not since we reclaimed Skyrim from the Empire, and not since we destroyed the Thalmor Embassy and erased them from the province."
"Which do you think more likely?" the dark elf asked.
"Personally? The Empire. The Thalmor gain nothing by throwing their resources at us, and weaken themselves. The Empire, however, may still have sympathizers even now, and they may want to force the Nords back into service to the Empire. We did once form the backbone of the Empire, after all; perhaps they want to reclaim their spine." The comment made both Galmar and Elsera chuckle, and brought a wry grin to Ulfric's lips as well.
"But we'll push them back," Galmar said firmly.
"Of course we will. They have already proven themselves inferior, and Skyrim has thrived without the Empire for four years. Their approach will be halted immediately when it comes."
"And the Forsworn will still hinder-" Galmar began. Heavy footfalls interrupted him, however, and he, Elsera and Ulfric turned their attention toward the small corridor leading to the great hall.
"M'lord!" A Stormcloak stood just outside the entrance to the war room and gave a sharp salute.
"Something happen?" he asked, suddenly concerned. Had the daedra begun their advance? A quick glance at Galmar and Elsera showed concern upon their own faces.
"No, m'lord," the soldier replied, lowering his hand. "We found her."
"Her?" Elsera gasped briefly. "You mean Mia?"
"Yes, m'lady," he replied with a nod. "She's been escorted upstairs, to the the Arch- I mean late Arch-Mage's spare room, and a healer's seeing to-"
"A healer?" Ulfric asked. Relief had found its way to his face when he'd heard Mia was found, but concern was back in full strength. "She's injured?"
"Yes, m'lord. It looks as if she was... I don't know how to describe it. Mangled, I guess. Her bow was snapped in half, her war axe broken, and her dagger in her stomach. We managed to keep her alive when we found her, but she needed a healer the second we got in."
Ulfric's mind spun. He'd heard that Mia as quite a seasoned adventurer, not one to get injured carelessly. Just what had happened to her? What had attacked her?
"Forget a healer," he growled. "I want two- no, four healers tending to her. I'll not let someone so valuable suffer any longer than necessary."
"Yes m'lord." He hesitated briefly. "Also... there's..." He grasped at a strap over his shoulder, then swung a pack around to his front. It was a pack Ulfric recognized as Mia's own, and the tattered state of it suggested it, too, had been ravaged. The soldier opened the pack and pulled out what appeared to be a large book with a black cover... but the pages were all gone.
"A Black Book," Elsera whispered. "But..."
"What's a Black Book?" Galmar asked.
"The item which Mia would have used to get into Apocrypha," the dark elf said quietly. "It's an implement of Hermaeus Mora himself, cast into Tamriel for any number of reasons... but what... what happened to...?"
The soldier shrugged and opened the cover. Ulfric could see that it appeared as if every last page had been ripped out with no small amount of savagery.
"Please tell me it's of use, even in that state," Ulfric murmured. He somehow knew the answer.
"I... I don't think so," Elsera replied solemnly. "I would be very surprised, in fact, if..."
Silence settled between them all. The soldier stepped forward, handed the pack to Elsera, then excused himself.
Ulfric and Galmar stared at the destroyed book that was now in the dark elf's hands.
"You said... you said 'a Black Book'," Ulfric began slowly. "Does that mean there's more than one...?"
"Yes, but they are incredibly rare," she replied; her gaze did not leave the battered cover.
"Weapons broken, body best described as mangled, her way into Apocrypha most likely destroyed..." Ulfric rubbed his temples, processing this. "This was not some random foe that attacked her. Someone or something is determined to keep us from disabling those columns of light. Worse, they targeted one of the best damn archers I've ever known and taken her out of the fight that looms before us." He lowered his hands. "Can the book, at least, be repaired somehow?"
"Not that I'm aware of. I... I've never even heard of such a thing happening to a Black Book before..."
"Go back to the College," Ulfric murmured quietly. "Take that with you. See if it's possible. Try and find anything that may help us get through the coming storm. I don't want you to come back unless you find something, or unless I send word that you're to return, am I clear?"
In light of the dark atmosphere engulfing them, he felt relief when she looked up, met his gaze with an even look of her own, and nodded her understanding.
"Good. Go. We'll be waiting here for any sort of hope."
"Not your finest moment, Galar," Nadine mused.
"Shut up," he shot back, nursing his right index finger; his face as contorted in pain.
"Seems we were right," Neria muttered, sitting down next to him. She swung her pack around and pulled out one of the several healing potions Quintis had given her before she, Galar and Nadine had left Windhelm, and withdrew a small cloth as well. "There's no getting in unless we're approved by Vile."
"Gee, you think?" the grumpy Nord muttered. He let go of his finger and examined it. A serious burn surrounded the entire digit, as if he'd stuck his finger into a fire and left it there.
Which was, more or less, what he'd done. He had volunteered to test the column of light at Mount Anthor, to see if it would be dangerous or not. He'd only stuck his index finger inside the raging exterior for a split-second, then withdrawn it. The burned finger was the result, and if Neria was being honest, she doubted the potion she was providing him would actually heal it... but she was going to be damned if she didn't try. She recalled what Mia had told her once in the Dwemer ruin - that a cloth dabbed in healing potion could help speed along recovery - and so she covered the open bottle's mouth with the cloth, flipped it upside down, and waited a few seconds before flipping it right-side up again. Once the confusion had filled Galar's face, she handed the potion to him, then unfolded the cloth and tentatively dabbed at the burn.
"Ow," he hissed at the first contact. "What was that-"
"A trick I learned," she replied. "Drink the rest of it." He certainly didn't appear adverse to that suggestion, and did so; the potion was apparently bitter, for he grimaced as he swallowed the last mouthful of it, but he did sigh with some relief. She, meanwhile, withdrew the cloth from his finger and examined it closer. Mia had taught her the trick, true... but she wasn't particularly skilled with first aid herself, especially not with burns. She didn't know whether or not she was supposed to keep dabbing at it, or wrap the cloth around it. She settled for the former, at least for now.
"Well," Nadine sighed. "This is a buzzkill. Here we are, burning our fingers off, and we have no idea-"
"Excuse me, 'we'?" Galar asked. "Stick your own finger in there, then you can say 'we'."
"I'll pass," she mused. "I like my hands as they are, thank you very much."
The back-and-forth banter between them brought a smile to Neria's lips and, for a brief moment, served to help distract her mind from the problem that still loomed before them. They had proven quite fun to travel with, directing playful jabs at one another, poking fun at various things, and so on. She could definitely see why Larian liked them both. Had she not known beforehand that they were both bandits at one point or another, she'd never have believed it.
"Amputate?!" he snapped, bringing her back to reality. "Ohhh, no. Absolutely not. No one's cutting off my finger unless it's me!"
"Good to know. Here, I'll leave my dagger with you and wish you all the best." Nadine did indeed draw her steel dagger and bury its blade halfway in the ground next to Galar, but she didn't walk away, as Neria thought she might. "Though, in all honesty... it makes me wonder if anything can get through that column..."
"Living or not?" Galar asked. Nadine nodded, which caused him to furrow his brow. "Good question... seems like that might just melt anything that comes in contact with it..."
"Unless they're allowed by Vile," Neria added.
"No, I know." He stared at the column of light for a time. "Hey Nadine."
"Hey yourself."
"Take one of my war axes over there and stick it in there, yeah? I want to see what happens."
"What?! Why me?" she protested.
"You're lightly armored, and Neria would cook alive in her armor."
"I... but... oh, come on," she sputtered. "Please don't make me do-"
"I'll do it," Neria offered. She wrapped the cloth around Galar's finger carefully, then stood up and picked up one of his axes.
"Wh- no, I just told Nadine to because you're-" he began.
"Aren't you too?" she asked. "You had no problem, though. It's not as warm as it was last time we were here, either... so maybe..."
He shot Nadine a glare, then looked at Neria, clearly ready to protest. After a while, though, he sighed and rubbed the cloth over his burned finger. "Oh... whatever. Just come back if it gets to be too much, alright?"
"Mm." She started toward the column of light, war axe in hand. As she drew closer, she noticed the temperature rising, and felt the familiar sensation of her body heating up within her armor. She pressed forward anyway, though, and before long, stood before the column, within arm's reach. She took a deep breath, then thrust the war axe into the column. A flash of light blinded her briefly, and a small explosion sent her flying back toward Galar and Nadine. She crashed into the ground with a pained groan, grateful that her heavy armor broke her fall.
"That... looked painful," Nadine whistled. "Suddenly glad it was her and not me... you know, heavy armor and all."
"My axe," Galar said flatly. He reached for Neria's hand and plucked the considerably lighter weapon from her hand. She glanced at it to see the weapon was a weapon no more - just a shorter handle, the tip of which was charred.
"Well... seems like magic may be the only thing left to test." Nadine sat down and crossed her legs, hands resting on her knees. "And I got nothing."
"Same," Galar muttered. They both looked at Neria, clearly expecting the Breton to know magic.
"Not so much," she said sheepishly.
"What?!" Galar said, surprised. "But you're-"
"Yeah, well, you're a Nord, but you're not the generic 'brainless barbarian'," she countered.
"Says you," Nadine giggled. She stopped once his left hand smacked her upside the head, but the smile remained at her lips. Galar sighed and rolled his eyes.
"So now what?"
Neria wasn't sure. The only thing even remotely magical about her was Dawnbreaker, and that- Her eyes widened and a small gasp escaped her.
Dawnbreaker. It was a magical weapon, but it was more than that... it was the daedric artifact of Meridia... no, simpler than that, it was a daedric artifact. She picked herself up slowly, then grasped the hilt of the blade, drew it, and looked at it closely. The calming glow near the hilt seemingly danced before her eyes, as if oblivious to what she was considering.
"What's up?" Nadine asked, noting her sudden fascination with the sword. "Hey!" she said, a bit louder this time; Neria was standing up, and starting toward the column of light once more. "Hey! That's your only weapon, isn't it?! Isn't that a bit reckless?!"
"Neria, she's right!" Galar called. "Come on back here, let's think this through!"
Neither of them knew the blade as Dawnbreaker. Neria hadn't told them, hadn't seen a point. It was a gamble, but it was an enchanted weapon... had magic to it. It was the only chance they had.
The heat grew unbearable once more, but Neria persisted. She steeled herself, cast one last wistful look at the blade that had been at her side for a few years - then thrust it into the column.
No reaction. No explosion, no flash of light. This made her blink in surprise. She withdrew the blade slowly - to see it was unmarked by the column. No scorch marks, no melting of the blade. Was it because it was enchanted, or was it because it was a daedric artifact? She thrust the blade back in again, and left it for longer this time. Still no reaction-
No, there was a reaction this time. The blade was slipping further in, as if it was being pulled. She tried to pull it back, but the blade refused to budge in any direction but forward. Even with both hands on the hilt, she couldn't pull it free. The column had consumed the glowing magics at the hilt, and would be upon her hand any second. She had to make a choice... release the blade and give it up, or give one final yank with all her strength?
Deciding she had armor to protect her hand, she gave one last tug on the blade. It still refused to budge... and her right hand sank into the column. She awaited the agonizing pain to come.
It never did. She let go of the hilt and withdrew her right hand from the column - to see her gauntlet was still intact. Except for the heat from her proximity to the column of light, there was no remarkable change.
"Can I... do this...?" she whispered. She looked up at the raging column of light, then down at the hilt of her sword, which was almost completely engulfed.
With a deep breath, she stepped into the column of light, felt the heat engulf her. It was too much for her to take, and she felt herself slip out of consciousness... but before she did, she became faintly aware of her feet leaving the ground.
A.N. - And just like that, two fighters are gone from the conflict. Mia will definitely not be ready to fight anytime soon, nor does she have her familiar weapons with her. Neria has, in Ulfric's eyes, abandoned the fight. In a way, neither of them will have any part in the chaos to come. Well, Neria will. I won't say more than that.
What's more frustrating than a daedric invasion? Dealing with a daedric invasion - while you're being attacked from the west. The Augur left that warning for a good reason, and Elsera's determined to drive the point home. I quite liked writing the rude argument she and Galmar had; as I wrote them, I thought to myself (with a chuckle), "they'll be best friends before long." (Perhaps it was sarcastic; I'm still not sure.) Elsera definitely has a bossy air about her, more so than Runael ever did. Perhaps it comes with confrontational...ism? Is that even a word...?
Mia's injuries were the best way, short of killing her or imprisoning her in Apocrypha, to remove her from the fight. Breaking her weapons was a start, but she can always just pick up another weapon and swing/shoot it. Give her severe injuries, though... she won't be fighting for a while... if at all. (You'll see next chapter.)
Neria crosses threshold into Vile's realm. This MAY seem like a stretch, but the Augur's warning to Elsera DID mention needing the 'blood of a daedra'. Sure, Neria didn't know that, but it doesn't change the fact that the readers do. As for why Dawnbreaker was being pulled in... well, think about it. A Daedric Prince suddenly finds the artifact of another Daedric Prince poking into a one-way portal into his realm? Of course he's going to try and remove the danger the second time it makes its appearance. Neria didn't cross over willingly, no matter what she thinks; she was dragged in. (Ominous? Good.)
I'm going to issue a fair warning now... next chapter, there's something particularly... unpleasant. Maybe even gross. If you're easily grossed out by reading gross stuff, I advise you don't read next chapter if you've eaten recently. Just as a head's-up, and all.
-Spiritslayer
