.

Chapter 27 - Reforging the Amulet

Yssha kept her word, getting Odahviing to take her to Labyrinthian and using the wooden mask to take her to Bromjunaar Sanctuary, where she left Nahkriin's Staff with the masks. Unlike them, she planned to leave it here permanently, to prevent any premature entry to Sovngarde not permitted by Shor or Akatosh. If either of them wanted, they could easily retrieve it for the one they wanted to admit.

When she got home, it was time for supper, so she went straight inside rather than stopping to chat, and found the rest already at the table. She took time to clean up a bit and change into house clothing, then joined them. "How was your day, love?" Marcurio asked.

"Productive, once I corrected a pair of mistakes," she said. "I checked in with Jarl Brunwulf and got official permission to make Skuldafn my capital after I retire from running the ground part of Skyhold, then remembered that we had not cleared Skuldafn before going to Sovngarde." She grimaced. "I hurried there and sent Odahviing for some Skyguard, while I ran to find if I had sent Seridur to his death."

Marcurio frowned. "You hadn't, I hope."

"No, thank the Nine ... and after that scare, things went smoothly enough. He, Commander Franken, and I made some preliminary plans for it, I recommended that Seridur collaborate with Ragnar, and I closed the portal to Sovngarde. You know why."

"Oh, Divines, yes!" Marcurio suppressed a shudder. "Having to come back to Mundus from Aetherius isn't something I'd wish on anyone. At least my next trip there will be permanent."

"Truly, beloved. Repeats only become a tiny bit more tolerable. But even though I will be able to visit, please do not make it any sooner that you must."

"Of course not." He grinned at her. "But not to change the subject or anything, I do believe Nevan and Serana have brought you a gift."

Yssha grinned at her human vahriin. "One of your mysterious prototype experiments?"

"Geh, thuri ... but it's a bit dark to try it out this evening. I can brief you on it now, though, and you can try it first thing tomorrow."

"All right, though for me, it is not that dark. What is it?"

"Just a moment, and I'll show you." Nevan left briefly, then returned with an odd-looking crossbow, and showed it to her. "It's the first semi-automatic crossbow. It works partly by mechanics and partly by magic." He put it down, and showed her what looked like a box with a slot on the top. "This is a magazine. It holds a dozen bolts, and you load it like so." He demonstrated, sliding the bolts into the slot, each pushing the earlier ones down until the top one locked into position slightly tip-up.

"That seems simple enough," Yssha said. "And that goes where?"

"Bottom of the forearm, just ahead of the trigger. That I'll show you tomorrow; I don't like having this kind of weapon loaded inside, when it's so easy to do quickly."

"We will stop for the evening, then, and continue after breakfast. I hope Sorine is doing well."

Nevan nodded. "Very well. She says she's having the time of her life, with all the Dwemer artifacts and the Sightless Pit library. The Odmer working with us are taking to the tech-plus-magic better than I would've believed, as well."

Yssha cocked her head. "That surprises me. I would have thought them more oriented toward pure magic, like their closest relatives, the Altmer."

"Even they have rudimentary tech, like smithing swords and armor - I don't think any of Taazokaan's races are magic-only, no tech."

Yssha chuckled. "Then you would be wrong. With one exception, dov have no technology, for the simple reason that only I among them have hands. Most of us must count on vodov for anything that cannot be done exclusively by magic."

"You got me there," Nevan admitted ruefully. "I guess because I associate them with things like the Word Walls and Labyrinthian, which definitely involve tech."

"He has not told me, but I believe that is because Bormah Akatosh intended from the beginning that dov and vodov complement each other. Dov have wings, vodov have hands ... although I lack the wings, of course, and do have hands."

Serana frowned. "Is it ... difficult, being not wholly one or the other? I started human, became Vampire Lord, and am human again, but I was only one at a time, even though I retained some human outlooks as a vampire."

Yssha shrugged. "I cannot say so. I did not truly realize my lack of wings until Odahviing flew me to Skuldafn the first time, but then he swore to me immediately after Alduin was defeated, so I am a classical example of the cooperation."

She thought for a moment, then frowned. "Though he and my other vahriinne have yet to get any advantage from vodov technology, that I am aware of. I must speak to him about that, tomorrow."

Yssha was carrying her new crossbow when she emerged from Lakeview the next morning, but she was more interested in talking to Odahviing, much as she wanted to try out her new "toy". When he landed, she approached. "A question, zeymah?"

"Of course, briinah. What is it?"

She recounted the discussion from the previous evening, then sighed. "So what can technology do for you, to repay what you do for vodov?"

That got loud snorts from both Odahviing and Ahkrinbo. "Technology?" Odahviing replied. "We have no need of technology, unless you count preserving the teyye of ours that vodov have recorded. We do not require shelter or clothing, including armor, you know. Our claws and Thu'um are our weapons. Jewelry might be nice, especially for the dovahinne, but the gems are too small and precious metals too rare to allow for many."

He shook his head. "No, thuru. You know we value mental things over physical, and the short lives of vodov seem to make them far more creative than we immortals. Our services are repaid in full, possibly more, in vodov creativity. This is something you will learn to appreciate as the centuries pass."

Yssha nodded slowly. "I ... believe I can understand that, though I am sure you are correct, that I will come to appreciate it more fully. Thank you - that makes me feel better."

Odahviing snorted softly, the equivalent of a chuckle. "That is good. Perhaps technology can make it possible to preserve vodov outdoor artwork for more than a fleeting few centuries. It would be nice not to see that statue of you near the Western Watchtower, for example, crumble in a few hundred years. It is not great art, but it does commemorate a very important event in our shared history."

Nevan looked thoughtful. "That ... may be possible," he said thoughtfully. "I don't know if it'll be possible to duplicate or imitate them here, but we have materials in my first home that can withstand conditions far harsher than Skyrim's, for millennia - at least according to computer modeling, since the coating I'm thinking about was only invented maybe fifty years ago, and the most recent actual observations were maybe five years before I got conjured here."

"We will hope, then, that you can replicate it. But I see thuru has a new weapon, and knowing her, she is anxious to try it."

Yssha chuckle-purred. "You know me too well, vahriini - yes, I do, and I am."

She went to the target butts, and let Nevan show her how to load the magazine into the crossbow. It was easy enough, and she raised the weapon to her shoulder when he handed it back. "Now what?"

"Pull the trigger about half-way to cock and load the first bolt."

She obeyed, and was astonished to watch the bowstring pulled back by a two-fingered lever, and the bolt emerge from the magazine into proper firing position.

"Now aim and fire, the same way you usually do."

She did so, and the bolt went exactly where she wanted it. "Nice!" she exclaimed.

"Now shift your aim point slightly between shots, and keep shooting. Don't pause between shots except to change aiming point."

Again she did as he said, and the next eleven bolts formed a circle around the first, in bare seconds. She let off a Shout of joy, holding the crossbow in the air. "GEH! This is wonderful! I want to try it in action!"

That got laughter from both dovah, and Ahkrinbo said, "Of course you do! Have you any objectives that would provide what you consider a proper test?"

"Geh, restoring the Gauldur Amulet." Yssha went to the target and retrieved her bolts, then reloaded the magazine and grinned at her team. "Let us armor up, fahdonne, and do so!"

When they entered Reachwater Rock, Yssha had her new crossbow out and was eagerly anticipating its combat test. Nevan had brought extra magazines, so she had one in the crossbow and two on her belt, for a total of 36 bolts. In a way, that seemed excessive - she'd never been able to use more than two, before enemies were at melee range - but as quickly as this crossbow shot, she hoped for better.

The cave's entrance was behind a waterfall, so they headed upstream, finding a chest with some gold and potions, then a skeleton with armor. Further on was a dead adventurer with minor loot, and a podium with an emerald dragon claw and a piece of parchment. Yssha read that aloud.

"An edict placed in honor of those who fell because of Gauldur's sons.

"Let this place be forgotten forever.

"Let it be struck from the rolls of history.

"Let it never be spoken of by man or mer.

"Let its very name be lost to the ages.

"Ye who enter here, know:

"This place was sealed at great price.

"Honor those who perished here.

"Turn back, and leave them to their rest."

Yssha shrugged and tucked the ancient edict into her pack, and they continued. Eventually, they came to the puzzle door the claw belonged to, and she set it to the palm symbols of Bear-Whale-Snake. To her surprise, there were three more doors that lowered as they approached, and a fourth that didn't, with symbols that didn't appear on the emerald claw.

"I wonder," Marcurio said. "Maybe this is where that ivory claw we found in Folgunthur goes?"

"Possibly, since it had no use there except to lower a bridge." Yssha rummaged through her pack and found it, then purred. "It seems you are correct, beloved. Hawk-Hawk-Dragon matches the door symbols." She set the rings to the proper positions, turned the key-claw, and entered when the door grated its way down.

That led to steps down, and a long corridor that opened onto a huge chamber with a set of stairs in the middle, and an altar with three small pedestals on top. There were also a number of coffins in the room, and Yssha sighed. "I was afraid it had been too easy this far. Ah well. I suppose the amulet fragments go on those small altar pedestals. Be ready as soon as I place the last one."

Not that she had to warn them by this time, of course; they were already preparing spells and weapons. She placed the amulet fragments, and sure enough, the door behind them closed and the ghosts of all three brothers appeared over their respective fragments, but on a balcony well above them.

Nevan said something in a language she didn't know, then repeated his comment in Common. "Not these guys again!"

Mikrul vanished and reappeared near the door, surrounded by draugr. Yssha took aim and fired three bolts at Mikrul in rapid succession while Nevan and Marcurio blasted the draugr with flames and lightning respectively.

When Mikrul fell, he reappeared on the balcony, dropping to one knee, and Sigdis took the field against them, with three spectral clones, unlike the two Andreius had told her about - but he'd also told them how to tell the real one from the fakes, so she fired at the non-glowing one, and was gratified to see him go down almost immediately.

That left them with Jyrik, and all of them remembered his tactics from Saarthal - but here, he didn't have the Eye of Magnus to draw power from, so he went down fairly quickly. Yssha swore to herself as all three brothers regouped at the altar, wondering if they'd have to fight all three at once this time.

Then she heard the all-too-familiar sound of a sarcophagus being opened from the inside, and prepared herself for one-on-one combat - but instead, there was a blinding flare of light as Sigdis let out a shout, and the brothers vanished. In their place was a fourth spectral figure, another flash of light ... and the reforged Gauldur Amulet.

Serana sighed. "So, mission accomplished. And with no injuries on our side, for a pleasant change."

Yssha chuckled. "True. So the usual search for loot, then we try to find our way out of here."