(( Thanks for the nice comments so far, everyone! They're really appreciated. A note on the last chapter; I send these to my girlfriend to edit before posting them, and she bolds typo-s and clunky sentences and the like. I missed one last time, though, hence why there is a sentence saying "she patted him on the book" instead of back, and why "book" is bolded. Sorry about that. ))
Part III: Seeing the Unrevealed
"Well, Ned? You understand the plan?" Brelyna asked, staring intently at Ned, who seemed a bit out of it.
"Yep," Ned said, nodding absent-mindedly.
"Alright, Ned, what is the plan?" she said sternly, crossing her arms across her chest. Ned opened his mouth slightly, and let out a slight gurgle.
"Well, I'm a bit...hazy on the more minute details, but...broadly, I...am aware...that there is a plan. Like, I recall you saying that one exists," he mumbled.
Brelyna sighed. "Sometimes I don't know where your head is."
Ned knew exactly where his head was - with the Dragonborn wandering around the College campus. He was sure of it - after pouring through the Book of the Dragonborn front to back faster than he had ever read a book in his life, he knew that S'shani could speak the dragon tongue. Simply by saying three words next to each other, he had flung a necromancer across a room, shattering every bone in her body.
And that wasn't the least he could do. The book described phrases used to breath great gouts of fire or frost, to run at near-light speeds, and even to alter the flow of time itself.
The book seemed to imply the role was heroic in nature, that the Dragonborn could slay dragons to help save mortals in need. But if that was the case, why wouldn't S'shani admit it? It's not like he had much to worry about, it's not like there were any dragons around he'd be expected to go fight. Why not just say it? 'Yes, I can breathe on people to death, I promise I'll be good about it.'
Brelyna was once more explaining the plan to head into the hollowed out tunnels beneath the College, known as the Midden, in order to ask an ancient entity called the Augur of Dunlain about the Eye of Magnus, a plan that was going in one of Ned's ears and immediately exiting out the other. Ned was wondering how he could prove S'shani was Dragonborn and find out why he was hiding it. Find out what he was up to. It had to be something malicious - didn't it?
"So, now do you understand?" Brelyna asked once more.
"Yep," Ned said, nodding absent-mindedly.
Brelyna realized this was going absolutely nowhere fast and decided to drop the issue entirely. "Okay. Just...go grab whatever things you'll need, and meet me by the entrance to the Midden in half an hour, okay?"
"Yep," Ned said again, and quickly bustled off. Hopefully J'zargo had kept his fellow Khajiit out of trouble. He smirked to himself - he almost felt bad for the poor guy, forced to spend an entire day with J'zargo. Such a horrible fate would surely drive anyone absolutely-
"Hahahahaha! But that is not even the best part - then she said, 'that's not moon sugar, that's dried skeever droppings!' Hahahaha!"
"Oh my goodness, J'zargo, hahahaha..." S'shani panted, wiping a tear from his eye. "Such wonderful stories. You really have been all over. Ah! Here is Nedhelfin." Both Khajiit turned to look at Ned, as he entered the dorm rooms. They were both flushed and had clearly been laughing boisterously for a while. This just served to make Ned even angrier, for whatever reason.
"Yeah, hi. Glad you've been having a jolly old time," he said cynically, brushing past them to get into his room, where he quickly began digging around through his scattered possessions, pocketing the occasional scroll or potion.
"We really have been," S'shani went on. "J'zargo here is quite the story-teller."
"Aye, and S'shani has seen quite a bit of the world himself," J'zargo added. "This has been quite fun, friend, and we insist we do it again sometime."
S'shani stood up, and shook J'zargo's hand. "Agreed. But for now, it would seem that Nedhelfin requires my assistance. Is something the matter?"
Ned had finally finished stuffing a satchel full of supplies, and slung it over his shoulder. "Yeah. Another adventure to go on because of that stupid giant eyeball."
"Ahh," S'shani said, nodding. "Where is it we are going?"
"We are not going anywhere," Ned said, straightening up to look S'shani in the eye. "Brelyna and I are going down into the Midden. Very cramped and narrow. All booked up I'm afraid."
"If you are certain," S'shani responded with a slight bow. "So long as you know that my services are available, should you require them."
"Ah! And if you are heading into the Midden, J'zargo has a request for you," the other Khajiit said, rummaging through his robes. "We have been researching a new spell that is to be extremely effective against the undead, but we would like to have it tested. Would you do this for us, and let us know?"
"Undead?" S'shani inquired, furrowing his brow.
"It's no big deal," Ned said, hastily stowing J'zargo's spell scroll into his satchel without looking at it. "This is Skyrim, you can't step 5 feet into any old underground tunnel without stumbling over a bunch of shambling corpses too stupid to know what 'dead' means."
"I do not think Undead are as laughing a matter as you seem to be implying," S'shani said, still looking quite grave. "Are you sure you do not wish me to-"
"Yes yes yes," Ned said. "I have to go, Brelyna is waiting. Keep telling stories and being best friends or whatever, I'll see you later." Without looking back, he shoved his way between them and exited the dorm rooms.
He then stood there in the cold for a moment, staring around bleary-eyed. Where had Brelyna said the entrance to the Midden was..? Crap.
Twenty minutes later, Ned's bout of random guessing had brought him to the Hall of Countenance, one of the buildings on campus that he rarely had need to enter. He was ambling around, peeking down every corridor he could find, until he finally saw Brelyna, standing at the end of one, glaring at him.
"Finally," she sighed, unfolding her arms, which had once again been in a Ned-induced cross formation across her chest.
"Sorry," he said, attempting an awkward smile. "Got held up by S'shani and J'zargo. I'm all ready now, though."
Brelyna nodded, bent over, and began to unlock what appeared to be a trap door on the floor. As she was in that position, Ned couldn't help but recall his thoughts last night about a potential romantic relationship with her. This view wasn't bad, that was for sure-
"Ready?" she said, looking back at him. He snapped out of his reverie.
"Yeah."
Brelyna began to lower herself down a ladder that disappeared beneath the trap door. Ned peaked over the edge - it was certainly dark down there. He gulped, grabbed the ladder, and slid down after her.
When his feet touched down on cold, hard ground, he turned around and began to walk down the tunnel. He couldn't see a damn thing, and soon slammed into the back of Brelyna.
"Watch it!" she said.
"Watch what?" Ned retaliated. "I can't see my hand in front of my face down here."
There was a pause, and then a shining orb of light sprung into existence and began to slowly circle around Brelyna. She turned to face him, different features of her face lighting up and going dark as the magical light made its orbital journey.
"Once again, Ned, we're-" she began.
"Mages, right," Ned finished. He concentrated, and summoned a light of his own, though his was much cruder and wobbled like a drunk as it circled around his head.
After this, they walked on in silence. Ned wrapped his arms around himself - it was really cold down here. The tunnel twisted and turned, but kept going rather single-mindedly in one direction. It also felt like they were sloping slightly downwards, heading further into the bowels of the earth.
He glanced at Brelyna, who seemed lost in her own thoughts. He let out a slight cough. When this failed to get her attention, he more pointedly said, "a-hem."
"Hm?" she mumbled, turning back to look at him.
"Oh, well," he said, and then paused. He cleared his throat, and continued, "you look nice."
"Oh," she said. She appeared mostly confused by this - but the slightest bit flushed. "Thanks."
"Yeah," Ned continued, feeling himself swell up with manly bravado. "I was thinking, maybe after all this-"
"Shh!" Brelyna suddenly cut him off, holding up a finger to her lips. For a moment, Ned figured he had already blown it, and she was begging him to never speak to her again - but then he noticed her pointing further up the tunnel system. He made his way past her, and squinted to try and better see through the darkness that his orb of light couldn't reach.
About fifty feet ahead of them, the tunnel opened up into a wide cavern, caked in snow. A narrow and very old looking stone bridge spanned across it, with a ancient Nordic door on the other side. Shambling about on the bridge with a crude blade clutched in one hand was an animated skeleton. It had not appeared to notice them.
"Ah, that's nothing," Ned said. "I'll take care of it."
"You're sure?" Brelyna asked, looking a bit worried.
"Pssh, trust me. I've created the perfect spell for dealing with undead," he lied without skipping a beat, and pulled out J'zargo's spell scroll. Looking over it for the first time, it appeared to be a touch spell - he just had to cast it on himself, tap the skeleton on the shoulder, and poof, pile of bone meal.
"You created a spell?" Brelyna said incredulously, quirking an eyebrow in disbelief.
"What can I say, I'm an impressive guy," Ned said with a shrug, grinning cockily. "Be right back."
He cast the spell on himself, strolled forward onto the bridge casually, and offered a mocking salute to the skeleton.
"G'day, sir," he said.
The skeleton didn't really say anything, but sort of made a dusty groan and lifted its sword.
Ned glanced back at Brelyna one more time, his face still plastered with an expression of utmost confidence. He raised a single finger into the air, and brought it down on the skeleton's shoulder.
He woke up coughing and spluttering, his entire body wracked with pain. It was dark again, his orb of light having extinguished. His skin felt badly scorched, and his back ached. He realized he was on cold, damp dirt, rather than the stone that the bridge had been made out of.
For a moment he really wished S'shani had in fact been there to heal him, but he recalled a basic healing spell that he cast on himself, taking away a fraction of the pain, but leaving the majority of it to continue running through his body with reckless abandon. Then he threw up another spell of magelight, illuminating enough of the cavern to confirm that he had apparently fallen off the bridge and crashed into the ground below. A few scorched bones had clattered down around him. There was no sign of Brelyna.
"J'zargo," he growled through gritted teeth as he pushed himself up. That stupid Khajiit had always been a pain in the ass, but he had never outright attempted to kill him before. Having never really met any other Khajiit aside from him before S'shani entered his life, he had just sort of assumed that being a pain in the ass was their way of being friendly. Then another thought struck him.
Was this J'zargo's doing? Could it possibly have been S'shani?
S'shani knew that Ned knew that S'shani was Dragonborn - a fact that he apparently didn't want anyone knowing. What if he was using J'zargo to try and 'rub him out,' as he was pretty sure the terminology went?
He shook his head. No, that was stupid. It was probably just meant to be a practical joke, or J'zargo was genuinely terrible at making spells. Probably. Right?
Realizing he wasn't going to get to the bottom of this standing at the bottom of a cave, he began to look around for a way out. Walking towards the walls, the orbiting light illuminated a small passageway amidst the stone. He hunched over and began to walk through it until it slowly widened once more, this time into a circular room about the size of his dorm.
In the middle of it, a dark and twisted hand was reaching out of the floor. His heart jumped as he saw it, before he realized it was just a gauntlet placed atop a pedestal. Still, it was eerie - black and red, with sharp claws instead of fingers. The room was otherwise empty except for a table, holding up nothing but a single sheet of paper, neatly folded in half. Skirting around the room, for some reason reluctant to take his eyes off the gauntlet, he made his way to the table and picked up the paper.
It read,
"The missing students were found in the Midden this morning. Dead, as expected. None of us bothered keeping a detect life charm for the search at this point.
The bodies were found together, each suffering the same deformities; peeled and bubbling skin on the arms and face. Conjurer's burn, as it's commonly referred to around the College. There's little doubt they were attempting a summoning ritual well beyond their capabilities.
The relic nearby put any doubt in this theory to rest. I admit that I've never seen one like it - a large, segmented sculpture of a gauntlet, the Daedric sigil 'O' emblazoned upon the palm. Attempts to move it were in vain. I must show it to Archmage Sedoth during his upcoming visit. Perhaps he will know more.
While we couldn't move the relic, I was able to pry four "rings" from it. I'm sure there's a connection between them and the ritual the students were attempting.
I'll store these in the Arcanaeum until we can consult with a conjuration master to learn more."
He glanced up at the gauntlet once more. First, fear bubbled up in his stomach, fear that the hand was somehow going to come to life and kill him painfully, as described by the letter. Then, a moment later, he wasn't afraid anymore. He was suddenly very, very happy. He knew what to do.
Half an hour later, Brelyna was making her way back to the cavern where she had last seen Ned. She had looked all over for a way to get down into the area below, where Ned had disappeared after being engulfed by a fiery explosion. She had been so frantic and worried that she had forgotten their original mission - until she found herself beckoned by a disembodied voice towards a glowing door. Now with the information they had needed, she was heading back up to the College in search of assistance scouring the Midden for Ned.
She could see the bridge ahead of her, when suddenly there was the sound of rocks grinding against each other, and a hidden door, expertly concealed into the solid rock wall, slid open and Ned stumbled out, scorched and bleeding, but looking oddly pleased with himself.
"Ned! Thank goodness," she said, rushing over to him. Ned didn't seem to notice her at first, then smiled.
"Whew, about time," he said. "Sorry about that. Any luck finding the Auditor of Douglas?"
"Augur of Dunlain, and yes," Brelyna said, wrapping an arm around him. "I'll tell you how that went later, though, for now you look like you need healing immediately. I'll take you right to S'shani."
"Yes," Ned said, nodding in agreement. "I think that perhaps seeing S'shani is a good idea."
Though he was feeling quite chipper, Ned was in rather bad shape, and kept slumping and falling in and out of consciousness as Brelyna half carried and half pushed him out of the tunnels and back up the ladder into the college.
"Y'know, I meant what I said," he muttered at one point, as fresh blood began to drip out of a cut on his forehead. "You look good. Really good."
"And you look like someone who exploded and fell off a cliff," Brelyna responded. "It's going to be alright. Okay?"
"Heheheheheheh."
Brelyna pushed open the door to the dorm rooms, where S'shani and J'zargo were playing a game of cards. They both stood up when they saw her and Ned, and as Brelyna threw the battered Bosmer onto his bed, S'shani rushed to his side, and immediately began applying his restoration magic.
Waves of relief washed over Ned, and he soon felt the fog in his head clear up, allowing his thoughts to flow more freely. He sat up in bed, nodding at S'shani.
"Thanks," he said, keeping his gaze averted. He wanted to remain cold and aloof to the Khajiit, though it was a bit difficult to hate the man who had just healed him so effectively.
"Of course, friend," S'shani responded. "I am sorry I was not there. I should have insisted. It would have been the least I could do to repay you for all your kindnesses."
"It's fine, really," Ned muttered. He looked towards J'zargo, who also appeared genuinely concerned. He was looking around a bit awkwardly, before speaking up.
"J'zargo fears he knows what happened...it was his spell, wasn't it?" he asked. Ned nodded.
"Yeah. Nearly killed me. Great magic, there, buddy. When you're done perfecting your Bosmer killing spell, maybe you can really get to work on the Undead one."
J'zargo rushed over, and grasped Ned by the shoulders. "J'zargo sincerely did not wish for this to happen. J'zargo knows he and Nedhelfin do not always get along so well, but we care for him as a friend. We will make this up to you, yes?"
"Sure, okay, I believe you," Ned said, and strangely enough, he did. J'zargo smiled, and released him. Ned looked from him, to S'shani, then over to Brelyna, who appeared to have been gazing at him rather affectionately. He made a mental note that apparently getting severely wounded was a good way to make people like you.
"Well, do you want to know what the Augur said?" Brelyna asked, stepping forward. Ned settled himself comfortably against his pillows, and nodded.
"Yeah, I kinda forgot that was a thing we were supposed to be doing, sorry," he responded. "Glad you found him though. So, what's the scoop?"
"You know about the Synod, right?" Brelyna said.
The effect was instantaneous. S'shani perceptly straightened up, colour draining from his cheeks. There was the slightest intake of breath. The world felt as close to the precipice of destruction as it had right before Ned had seen S'shani use his strange shouting power, back in Fellglow Keep.
And then it was good. S'shani appeared calm and relaxed once more. No one but Ned seemed to have noticed.
"...Yeah, I know of them," he finally said, realizing Brelyna was watching him for any sort of confirmation. "What about them?"
"They're planning something," she went on. "Something big. And somehow the Eye factors into all of it. I'm not sure how, but I have a feeling we'll find out soon."
"Oh yeah?" Ned asked, his eyes slowly moving back towards S'shani. He and J'zargo were listening to Brelyna with earnest, but not over-zealous, attention.
"Yeah," she said. "The Synod are in Skyrim. They're after the Eye."
"What do you mean, 'after?'" Ned asked. "What, they're gonna storm the walls, put it into a wagon, and cart it out the front gate?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Brelyna brought a hand to her chin, looking thoughtful and concerned for a moment. "I don't think they've ever been outright hostile to Winterhold before, but it's common knowledge that they're gung-ho about 'protecting' magic from those who can't handle it."
"They're a bunch of pricks," Ned said. He had been bitter towards the Synod ever since childhood, back when he had held dreams of being a great wizard, dreams that had been crushed by the elitist Synod order. "As if magic is really that dangerous."
"The only reason we're here now instead of alerting the arch-mage is because you blew yourself up earlier," Brelyna reminded him.
"Yeah, but magic healed me, so it all cancels out," Ned said with a shrug. "I'm fine now. We should go let him know."
Ned hopped out of bed, causing S'shani to stand up and eye him concernedly. "You are sure you are feeling alright now?"
"Never better," Ned said, cracking his knuckles. He motioned for Brelyna to follow him and started to head towards the door. He half expected S'shani to come as well, but he appeared to be holding back. Strange.
Ned and Brelyna made their way out into the courtyard, where, like the majority of the time, it was cold and lightly snowing. They were almost to the building where the arch-mage made his residence, when suddenly Ned clutched his chest and groaned.
"Aaahhh," he said, doubling over. "Sorry, still hurting a bit actually..."
"Aw, geez," Brelyna said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You should go get some more rest. Need help getting back to the dorms?"
"No, no," Ned said, waving her off. "I'll be fine. You go ahead. Give the arch-mage my regards, etcetera."
Brelyna cast him one more uncertain look, then turned to head back towards the arch-mage's quarters. Ned made a show of stumbling back towards the dorms, in case she shot another glance his way, but as soon as she had disappeared behind the wide stone doors, he straightened up, and bolted for the Arcanaeum.
He once more made his way up the stairs, and - once more - hoped that gro-Shub would not be present. As he reached the top, however, he spotted the Orc sitting behind his desk, reading glasses perched on his nose, a book open in front of him. The old man had startlingly impressive senses, and perked up as Ned attempted to tip-toe his way into the library. He grunted - his version of a smile and wave - and closed the book.
"Nedhelfin," he said. "What brings you up here?"
Ned wracked his brain for an appropriate excuse, before finally settling on, "Uh, book. A book. I'm looking for a book."
"Which book would that be?" gro-Shub asked, leaning back in his chair.
Ned scanned the room quickly, and spotted a shelf high off the ground on the other side of the room. He pointed towards it. "I'm pretty sure it's, uh, in there."
Gro-Shub quirked a bushy gray eyebrow. "That's the section on Falmer mating habits."
Ned didn't bat an eye. "Yes," he said, stone-faced.
"Well...learning is learning, I guess," gro-Shub responded. "I'll need to grab a stepladder...not gonna go flinging my precious books around with magic..." he wandered off towards that side of the room, mumbling to himself about kids these days and their strange fetishes.
His heart pounding, he rushed behind gro-Shub's desk while the Orc wasn't looking. This was his one shot. If the librarian looked around and saw him, he would be expelled in a heartbeat - if he still HAD a heartbeat when gro-Shub was done with him
He reached into his robes and pulled out two small pins which he had, in the past, used as lock-picks in a pinch. He inserted them into the lock keeping the door to gro-Shub's desk drawer shut. His palms were sweating profusely as he twisted them around. He tried to keep the nervous shakes down so as not to fumble, and for a moment or two, felt certain that the picks would snap in the lock. Then he heard a faint click, and immediately slid the drawer open as quietly as he could.
Glancing up, he saw gro-Shub standing atop the footstool, balancing precariously as he reached for one of the books up on the top shelf. Ned looked back down, and saw all sorts of assorted knick-knacks scattered about. Some would call it junk, but he was sure the old Orc considered it treasure. He moved a few things around, until he saw a small pouch. He grabbed it, opened it, and peeked inside. There were four rings, each a slightly different colour. He stowed the pouch inside his robes, slid the door shut, and straightened up just as gro-Shub, back on the floor, turned around to start walking towards him.
"Got it right here," he said. "Try not to befoul it too much. And goodness sakes, boy, towel off. You're all sweaty."
Ned took the book, muttered a thanks, and walked out of the room as briskly as he could. He didn't slow down on his descent down the steps, and as he entered the main courtyard, he crashed directly into Savos Aren, who had been standing there talking to Brelyna Maryon.
"Oof!" the arch-mage cried, turning around to see who had accosted him. "Nedhelfin! Goodness, are you alright? You look as if you've seen a ghost."
He offered a hand to the Bosmer, who had fallen on his ass. Ned muttered another thanks, and accepted the help back up onto his feet.
"Ned? I thought you had gone back to the dorms," Brelyna said, looking at him curiously.
"I, uh, decided to check up on gro-Shub, update him on all this," Ned said. He noticed Brelyna was now staring at the cover of "Falmer Mating Rituals: A Shot in the Dark," and hastily added, "he gave me this book for some reason, I think the old man is going senile. It's sad, really."
"Well, er, that aside," Aren said, hastily changing the subject. "Brelyna has filled me in on everything that transpired within the Midden, including the warning about the Synod. We have always been able to exist in relative harmony in the past, so I have decided to send a small delegation to the camp they have set up in Skyrim, in the hopes of peaceably figuring out what it is they want."
"Ah," Ned said, already recognizing where this is going. "So, when do we head out?"
He noticed Brelyna flush a dark red and avert her gaze. Aren also looked a tad awkward. "Actually, Miss Maryon has informed me about your injuries sustained in the Midden, and has recommended to me that you not accompany her on this journey. She will be going with J'zargo, instead."
And that was that. Years of trying to remain out of sight had left the arch-mage believing him to be reasonably competent, if a bit bland. But now he was out of the man's good graces; he was a dope, a liability. He stuttered for a moment, trying to regain his composure, before saying, "Ah. Okay, yeah. That's cool."
"Good. You should get some rest, my boy, you do look incredibly pale." The arch-mage offered him a faint smile. "Now, I have other matters to attend to. Good luck, Brelyna."
Brelyna muttered a meek, "thank you, sir," as the arch-mage walked past her. She looked at Ned, still blushing. Ned glared at her, not even attempting to hide his fury. "Ned, I'm sorry," she said. "I was just worried. It could be really dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."
"So that's all I am," Ned said. "A helpless little animal that you need to protect."
"Ned, I care about you-"
"Save it," he snapped, and stormed off, leaving her standing alone in the cold, silently sobbing.
His brain swarmed with powerful and dark emotions. Jealousy, betrayal, anger, shame - all vying for attention to inform him what a despicable, worthless piece of crap he was. He threw the doors to the dorm rooms open so violently that several students peeked their heads out of their rooms to see what the commotion was.
"Nedhelfin? What is the matter?" S'shani asked, making his way over to him.
Ned gazed at him, and for a moment he feared all his emotions would overflow, exploding onto the Khajiit. He took a few deep breaths, however, and tried to look calm.
"S'shani," he said. "Undead. You hate Undead, right?"
"Of course," S'shani said with a nod. "They are a blight upon the world. But what-"
"Then you need to follow me," Ned said, quickly cutting him off. "Come on!"
He ran back out of the dorm rooms, and though he did not look behind him, he could tell that S'shani followed, deeply shaken and alarmed. He made a bee-line for the Hall of Countenance, pushed the doors aside without slowing down, and went right over to the trap door down to the Midden. He threw it open, grabbed the ladder, and slid down into the darkness, threw up his magelight spell, and began to make his way down the tunnel. S'shani's footsteps echoed behind him.
"Is someone hurt?" the Khajiit finally asked, his voice echoing throughout the tunnels.
"Just come on," Ned grunted, dodging the question. They made their way across the stone bridge, still littered with a few charred bones. Thankfully, the secret tunnel Ned had found was still open, and he hooked a sudden left, disappearing into the wall. He bent over as the pathway began to shorten and narrow, finally tumbling out of the other end, S'shani on his tail. He picked up the pace, trying to remember as best he could which direction to head in the murky darkness.
"Just a little further," he called out to S'shani. He was pretty sure anyway. Light seemed to be shining from further ahead, and a fresh, cold wind was blowing into the caverns. He remembered this from his search for a way back up to the surface earlier in the day; the tunnels briefly opened up into the open air, the cave face sitting precariously on the side of a cliff. The way back underneath the bridge was on the other side.
Finally, after minutes of tense silence, the two were making their way back into the final tunnel that led to the strange circular room beneath the college. The black and red gauntlet remained on its pedestal, continuing to give off an eerie aura that sent chills up Ned's spine. He slowly walked over to it.
"What is that?" S'shani asked. "Ned, what is going on?"
Ned did not answer, and kept his gaze away from the Khajiit. He reached into his robes and pulled out the pouch he had stolen from the Arcanaeum. He loosened the top, and upended it into his open left palm. The four rings glinted in the darkness. Ned grabbed the first one, and slid it onto one of the fingers of the outstretched hand.
"Nedhelfin? What are you doing?"
He carefully placed the second ring.
"This does not strike me as a good idea, Ned!"
On went the third ring.
"Stop it! Why are you doing this?" S'shani cried.
"Will you stop me?" Ned asked, finally turning to glare at him. The Khajiit faltered.
"I...what?"
Without another word, Ned turned back around, and put the last ring onto the gauntlet.
The fingers curled in on themselves, turning the open palm into a closed fist. He had to admit that was a bit disconcerting.
Then the air around them warped, and Ned felt as if space itself was being displaced. Suddenly, where no one had been standing previously, a third man was standing.
He looked as if he may have been a living humanoid, once; perhaps a Dunmer, to judge by his complexion, or a Redguard, to go by his clothing. Regardless, he was certainly something different altogether now. His skin was a pale black, and curved horns protruded from the top of his head, one of them chipped at the tip. He was wearing loose clothing, and had two long, curved swords sheathed at each hip.
"Nedhelfin...what have you done?" S'shani said quietly.
"Aaaahhhh," the figure said, his voice cutting right through to the soul, reverberating off itself. It was deep to the point of making Ned's toes curl. He did not appear particularly murderous or angry; just amused, if a bit nonplussed. "Once more I find myself in this accursed room, accosted by two young fools. It seems every few decades a few troublesome youth just have to come wrench me back to the mortal plane for some fool reason or other. It does not, generally, end well for them."
Ned backed up a few steps, casting a glance at S'shani. He would have to use his powers to take this entity down. He'd have to. Right?
"Yet I grow bored of only getting to kill an ever sparser amount of people, and I long for a change in scenery," the entity went on. "So perhaps, instead of flaying the flesh from your bones, I will offer you a bargain, that would enable you to survive an encounter with Velehk Sain, dreaded pirate king of the Abacean. A rare occasion indeed."
"I do not know what thrall has been put on you, that you would summon this demon, Nedhelfin," S'shani hissed, "but you must not agree to his bargain. It would be a crime of horrific magnitude."
"What are your terms?" Ned asked. He began to brace his body as best he could. If he were the one S'shani would have to use his powers on, so be it - hopefully he would be able to survive it.
"You release me from the bind that holds me here - and in exchange, I'll let you in on some of the great material wealth I accrued in life. Is this an acceptable deal?" A sneer curled up on the lips of the creature.
Glancing once more at S'shani to see if he was about to make a move, Ned said, "deal. How do I release you?"
Still S'shani did nothing.
"It is, in fact, extremely simple," Sain said. "All I require is for a mortal - that's you - to say, 'Velehk Sain, I release you.' Can you do that?"
Ned closed his eyes. This was it. In a moment he was either going to be dead, grievously wounded, or perfectly okay, but having just released a demonic mass murderer back into the world. He silently moved his lips a few times, before finally uttering the phrase.
"Velehk Sain..."
"NO!" S'shani screamed, but still no wave of dragonbreath crashed into him.
"I release you."
Sain stepped forward. He lifted his arms, and looked at them in wonder. In a flash, his scimitars were in his hands, and he was swinging them through the air with glee. Ned felt for sure he was going to renege on the agreement, but then Sain sheathed both blades, and smiled. He lifted his hand, and pointed a finger towards the table in the room, where a sheet of paper appeared.
"A map to my treasure," he said. "I hope it was worth it."
And then he was gone, as if he had never been.
"Nedhelfin, I pray for your soul," S'shani said. "I am unable to fathom what compelled you to do that-"
"Why didn't you stop me!" Ned screamed.
"What?" S'shani replied. "You are going to blame me for your misdeed, on the grounds that I did not stop you? How was I to do such a thing?"
"By shouting at me!" Ned yelled. "Fus ro dah! I looked it up, I know what that means! You could've incapacitated me! Damn it, you probably could've taken on Velehk Sain himself! Why in the name of every single god-damned God didn't you?"
S'shani averted his gaze. "I...I still do not know...what you're talking about."
Ned's mind was racing once more. What had he done? Oh, Gods, what had he done?
And then, perfectly simple, it hit him. If Sain wasn't interested in fighting S'shani into an act of desperation, he would. Without warning, he clenched his fist, forming a magical spear of ice to materialize within it, and with all his might, he chucked it at S'shani.
The Khajiit's reflexes continued to be lightning fast. He brought up his right arm, absorbing the blow with sheer force of might.
"And now you attack me yourself? Please do not make me take up arms against you, Nedhelfin, after I have grown to consider you a friend," he growled.
"You either fight me, or you die," Ned said in his most threatening voice, as he threw both hands in front of him and shot out a blast of frost, engulfing the Khajiit and the rest of the room in icy fog. He thought he had gained the upper hand, when through the mist came a fist, which connected powerfully with Ned's gut. He doubled over, but knew he couldn't give up so easily. He stumbled to the tunnel out, formed another ice spear, and threw it over his shoulder.
This one connected with S'shani's chest, causing him to stumble in his pursuit. He began to bleed lightly from a tear in his shirt, but quickly recovered, and began to run towards Ned, who panicked and began to flee down the tunnel, flinging ice behind him as he went. Most shattered harmlessly into the stone walls of the tunnel, but a few hit their target, either cutting up S'shani's hands and arms as he deflected them, or colliding with a softer spot.
The natural cold air of Skyrim began to engulf both of them as they fought their way into the cavern with the open wall. Ned had almost made his way across to the other side, when S'shani made a running leap, and tackled him to the ground, pinning his arms carefully to the side.
"Explain yourself, Nedhelfin!" he yelled. "Why are you doing this to me?"
"Just admit it! Admit you're the Dragonborn!" Ned yelled back, and brought up a leg to kick the Khajiit where it counted. As S'shani fell back, Ned pushed himself up, and began to prepare the most powerful offensive spell he could conjure; a ball of flame meant to concuss and immolate an opponent. He conjured it with his right hand, and brought it up over his head to fling at S'shani.
S'shani anticipated it, and brought up a magical shield, something Ned was not aware he could do; the fireball bounced off of it, flew backwards, and hit Ned in the chest. He flew backwards, lost his footing, and felt himself free-falling.
The wall of the cliff raced in front of him. This was it. He was dead. It had finally happened. He saw a younger version of himself back in Cyrodiil, where he had been born, watching a group of Synod walk through the port town of Anvil on official business. He looked on in awe at their matching robes and hoods, making them look powerful and mysterious.
He saw a slightly older, awkward teenage version of himself, screaming at his father, who screamed back. Words were said that could never be forgiven, and Ned left, heading north.
He saw other parts of his life flash before his eyes, each instance more depressing and pointless then the last. Finally he saw a cliff wall race past him, and realized he was seeing the final moment of his life now.
Then, oddly enough, he saw a figure plummeting down through the air above him, reality seeming to bend around him.
"WULD NAH KEST!"
S'shani wrapped his arms around Ned, and together they plummeted towards the ground.
"FEIM ZII GRON!"
And suddenly they were feathers, blowing on the wind. They hit the ground, but it was as if they had collapsed onto a bag full of sugar. S'shani rolled to the side, releasing Ned. They both panted, equally amazed at the fact that they were still alive.
Ned slowly pushed himself up out of the snow, feeling his body returning to a normal state of adherence with the laws of physics. The coast was nearby; he could hear the soothing sounds of the ocean crashing against the beach, and horkers calling out to each other.
But, most predominately, he heard S'shani crying.
"I'm the Dragonborn," he said through clenched teeth, hands on his head, as he wept into the ground. "I'm the Dragonborn..."
Ned figured he ought to have felt happy about this. He had been right. Yet he could not recall a time where he had ever felt worse.
He collapsed backwards into the snow, and lay there motionless, next to the weeping Dragonborn.