"So this...Cairn you've been talking about...?" Elsa inquired curiously as they made their way back to Arendelle. "The Soul Cairn...It's where souls go when they've been captured in a soul gem. It's lorded over by,let's say omnipresent beings known as the Ideal Masters,who necromancers will occasionally make deals with in exchange for power..." He starts,making her shutter a bit every now and then.
"Why? Why go that far for power...?" She asked in a kind of sick tone. "To give you the short answer...and spare you some of the more gruesome details,when it comes to necromancy,raising the closest corpse is child's play...a necromancer who seeks out the Ideal Masters can learn how to summon stronger undead from the Cairn itself...but,in the end they eventually regret these deals..." He answered.
"The price turns out being more than it's worth..." Elsa presumed hesitantly before Hjalti nods contently. "You're a quick study,ain't you...?" He said calmly,making her smile a little. "Necromancers provide the Ideal Masters with souls and in exchange,they give them the power they seek...but,like you said,eventually the price ends up being more than it's worth...namely,'their' soul." He elaborates,making her shake her head lightly.
"To what end?" She asks in a disgusted tone. "Depends on the individual seeking it out...let's say,for example a farm boy who's family was in constant danger from bandits with no way to defend themselves...? For some,that's more than enough incentive to seek this power out...you saw what Mannimarco can do,that's thousands of years of nothing,but studying magic and trying to take over the world." He answers,making her raise her eyebrow a bit.
"It sounds like you respect him in a way..." She points out,making him shrug. "Shouldn't you always respect your enemy...after all,they have the will to challenge you for what they believe in,just like us...and I won't lie,I will count the king of worms among my more worthy opponents...don't mistake that for complacency,though,he needs to be stopped." He explains simply as she starts thinking on his words then nodding in understanding.
"I've never thought about it that way,but the last fight that I had with anyone...alive,they didn't give me much time to think." She said in a kind of low tone. "Battle reflex,anybody can fight...but,how and why you do it has a distinct impact on your overall ability. It's nature." He says calmly before she kind of looks to the side.
"I almost killed them..." She says,making him shrug. "Were they trying to kill you...?" He asked,making her nod hesitantly. "Well,despite whatever feelings you have towards killing,you would have had the right if you took it...if they attacked first,they provoked you,that's on them,you were defending yourself." He said calmly,making her shrug.
"Still,they didn't deserve to die...they were following orders,no matter who they came from." She said calmly. "It happens...still,you did good staying your hand." He says simply,making her study him curiously. "How many people have you killed...?" She asks hesitantly,making him think for a minute.
"Probably more than my fair share...for many reasons,some good,some bad,some indifferent...but,in the end,I learned a lot from it. As sick and twisted as that may sound,you do learn from it...more than you'd actually know. But,I'd rather not sit here and just babble about bloody stories like that,especially considering how bumpy the path is and considering you're royalty,it'd be distasteful." He answers calmly,making her nod in understanding.
"I..appreciate that." She said somewhat nervously before leaning back in her seat again. Kristoff looks back at Hjalti when he finished his conversation with Elsa. "Is Anna still alive...?" He asked quickly,making him shrug lightly. "If that little charm Mannimarco is what I think it is and if it worked,there's a damn good chance." He answers,making the mountain man nod lightly.
"That's the best answer I'm going to get,isn't it...?" He asks kind of dully. "Until we actually find her..." Hjalti answered simply. "Could've been a worse answer..." He said to himself before turning his attention back to the trail. The necromancer starts grumbling and moving around on the floor of the sleigh before Hjalti kicks him lightly.
"Quit whining...you're embarrassing yourself." He said kind of dully,making him roll his eyes before Elsa study him curiously. "Do I even want to know...?" She inquired curiously,motioning to the necromancer at his feet. "I doubt it..." He answers simply,making her nod lightly.
"Is it anything that will...?" She started before he shakes his head. "Cause a problem,no,not for anybody in Arendelle. Just anybody that works for Mannimarco." He said calmly. She was about to ask him something else,but decided against it before looking over to Serana.
"Is he always like this...?" She asks quietly,making her shrug. "It's probably a good idea to leave that alone..." She answers simply,making the queen raise her eyebrow curiously. "Why,exactly...?" She inquires. "He confuses me a lot too...it's like he's just a few steps of everybody." She answers,making Elsa look between them curiously before they lean back in their seats again.
After about an hour,they made it back to Arendelle and the guards open the gates without question before Kristoff pulls the sleigh up to the stables. Everyone stepped off while Kristoff lets Sven loose then leads him into the stables before Elsa approaches Hjalti and Serana.
"Do you know how to enter the Soul Cairn?" She asks curiously,making Hjalti nod. "If we can find the cave that the milk drinker on the sleigh has been meeting Mannimarco,we'll most likely find the portal he used to send her there...then we'll have to open it,he'll be able to help with that too..." He answers simply.
"And when it's open...?" She continues. "Then me and Serana will go through it,find her...then we'll have to work from there." He said calmly,making her head drop a little. "I know it ain't the answer you wanted to hear,but considering what we're dealing with,we have to be prepared for anything...even anything that would seem impossible." He states simply,making her look up at him again before nodding her head lightly.
"Where's the cave...?" She asked. "Somewhere either under or close to the castle." He answered,making her eyes widen a little. "Wouldn't that...?" She starts before he shook his head. "You'd think it would,but it's possible to hide an unstable portal in a castle if you can find the right place." He explained simply,making her shrug lightly.
"I guess there's only one way to find out..." She said calmly. "I can find the cave,but when we find the portal and get it open,you and Kristoff will have to wait a significant distance away from it." He says,making her raise her eyebrow a bit.
"Why...?" She asked. "Because it'll try to suck the life out of you if you get close enough to it...Serana has the benefit of being a vampire,therefor she can pass through un phased...and she used a soul trapping charm on me that sucked a piece of it into a soul gem and offered it to the Ideal Masters,which allowed me to pass through without any problems...save for being weaker when I was in the Cairn until we found the gem and fixed that." He answers calmly,making her think to herself for a moment.
"And you can still go back...?" She asked curiously before he nods lightly. "When I went the first time,a piece of it rubbed off on me...so,yeah,pretty much." He answered,making her shrug a little. "I don't think I'm ever going to completely understand anything to do with necromancy..." She said to herself,kind of making Hjalti chuckle.
"Don't count yourself out yet,you're catching on faster than you think..." He said simply,making her look at him with a curious look on her face before turning her attention to Serana who had a light smirk on her lips. "Well,we better go find that cave while we still have daylight...it's hard to find in the dark,unless of course you can see in the dark..." He said as Kristoff joined them,making him nod contently.
"I need to let Kai know he's in charge for awhile." Elsa said calmly. "Alright. Let's go." Hjalti said before they made their way to the castle. Hjalti scans the city curiously as they walk through it,looking for anything suspicious and studying the architecture curiously.
"Hmm...curious little city. It's like there's just a little bit of each hold in Skyrim here and there..." He kind of mutters to himself,making Elsa look back at him curiously before they reached the courtyard to be greeted by a group of guards.
"Your majesty...a priest's been killed..." The head guard says quickly,making Elsa's eyes widen a little. "How...?" She asks urgently. "As far as we know,some kind of animal got him...bit him and drained his blood..." He answers in a kind of sick tone before she looks between Hjalti and Serana.
"Where...?" Hjalti asked before the man motioned for them to follow him. "This way..." He said as he leads them to the church inside the palace where the priest's corpse was draped across the altar. Elsa's jaw drops before she covers her mouth and studies the scene in horror.
Hjalti and Serana just casually look around before splitting up and investigating further. "Did anyone move the body...?" He asks curiously as he approached the dead priest before the guard shakes his head. "Not that I know of,sir..." He answered,making him nod lightly.
"Serana..." He calls out,making her rush to his side before he motions to the wound on the priest's neck. "That looks familiar,right...?" He asks in a quiet tone before she studies the wound and nods in confirmation. "Anywhere one could get in...besides the front door?" He continues,making her shrug lightly.
"Nothing that I've found yet...But,it's kind of weird to just lay a body on an altar,isn't it...?" She suggests,making him nod lightly. "Mannimarco could have sent one to deliver some kind of threat...and this is the result..." He theorized,making her nod in agreement before Elsa approached them.
"Well...we've got a suspect...and a lead." Hjalti said calmly when he noticed her behind them. "And...?" She asks simply as they turned to face her. "It was too clean for a wild animal...for one thing,so we're presuming that it's a rogue vampire considering the guards found the body laying on the altar like this...the wound on the neck's a dead give away,but can easily be mistaken for an animal bite if you don't know how to recognize it,not to mention the body being drained,further evidence of a vampire attack...now the motive..." He explains before stopping to make sure she was keeping up.
"Mannimarco...?" She assumed calmly,making him nod lightly. "Definitely...probably trying to threaten Arendelle...which means it maybe a bloody night." He confirms simply,making her sigh a little. "How long do we have...?" She asks in a quick tone.
"A few hours,maybe...but,whether we can find your sister before then,I can't promise anything...time doesn't really exist in an Oblivion realm,much less a pocket realm,so we'll need a back up plan in case the trip takes longer than intended." He answers before she nods in understanding.
"Go find Kai and Ulfric..." She calls out to one of the guards before he bows and carries out her order,making Hjalti study her curiously. "Arendelle definitely couldn't ask for a better queen..." He mutters,catching her attention when he did.
"I'm sorry,what?" She asked calmly. "How long have you been on the throne...?" He asks curiously,making her shrug lightly. "About a month now,maybe a month and a half..." She answers simply,making him nod contently.
"And you already have the city's respect..." He points out,making her look around hesitantly. "Well...considering I put Arendelle in an eternal winter at my coronation,they're..." She starts before noticing him shake his head. "That doesn't matter...from what I heard,you learned how to fix that and therefore have more control over your powers...in any aspect." He says simply.
"What exactly are you getting at...?" She asks curiously. "I'm just saying,I know what fear looks like,especially when it comes to political corruption,tyranny or any other abuse of power...and from what I've seen of you and your kingdom during my stay here,everyone here loves and respects you...sure,there maybe a few bad apples in the bunch,but hell,that's anywhere." He answers,making her crack a light smile.
"Well...thank you for pointing that out..." She says in a flattered tone,making him nod lightly. "Of course..." He smiles under his helmet before he noticed a light glisten beside the altar. "Well,well,what's this?" He said curiously before he picks up a fancy,decorative purple phial and studies it curiously.
"What is it?" Elsa asked curiously as she and Serana join him before hie takes of his helmet. "Don't know..." He said before sniffing it's contents. She watched him curiously as he fiddles with the phial before looking to Serana. "Does he need to be doing that...?" She asks in a hushed tone before she shrugs lightly.
"There's probably a lot of things he didn't and doesn't need to do..." She answers,making Elsa raise her eyebrow before she noticed him sip from the bottle then look around curiously then focus his attention on one of the back corners in the church.
"What's wrong?" She asks quickly before he lightly smacked his lips. "I think it's hist sap...and it's damn potent." He said,making the two young women beside him raise there eyebrows curiously. "Are you sure...?" Serana asked,making him nod lightly. "Hard not to be when you're watching a flaming demon baby climb up a color changing wall..." He answers in a calm tone,making her chuckle lightly before Elsa looked at him with concern.
"Are you going to be okay...?" She asked before he nods. "Yeah,it'll wear off in a minute...maybe a little longer. Yeah,I'll be just fine..." He said in a reassuring tone,making her study him curiously before nodding reluctantly.
After a minute,Ulfric and Kai joined them as Hjalti puts the bottle away before they turn to face them. "What do you need,your majesty...?" Ulfric asked calmly. "First,I'm leaving Kai in charge of the kingdom while I go with Hjalti to get my sister back...and we're afraid that there maybe another attack,so..." She explains before he nods in understanding.
"Say no more...I'll have my men patrol with your guards and make sure they're ready for whatever comes." He says calmly,making her give him a content nod. "Thank you." She said before turning back to Hjalti and Serana. "Whenever you're ready." She says calmly before each group went part ways and leave the church.
Elsa and Kristoff followed Hjalti and Serana around the border of the castle and look around curiously before turning their attention back to them. "How much further...?" Elsa asked calmly. "Should be just around this next corner here..." Hjalti answers before draping the at the moment unconscious necromancer over his shoulder.
"Do you know if it leads into the castle or not?" She continued. "Not for sure,the portal would probably cover the way back in if there is...or was,though." He said simply,making her shrug lightly. "And when we find this portal,how do we convince him to open it for us?" She asks,making him chuckle lightly.
"Don't worry,after the little talk we had in the dungeon,he'd probably jump off a cliff if I told him to...and if he doesn't,I'll talk to him some more." He answered. She was about to ask him something else,but decides against it before they round the corner he pointed out earlier and walk along the wall until he motions to what looked like a simple hole in the wall.
"There it is." He called out before they rush to the simple looking cave entrance as Elsa and Kristoff study it curiously. "Well,that's definitely a good place to hide..." Kristoff muttered to himself,making Elsa nod in agreement. "Right under your opponent's nose...oldest trick in the book and still the most effective..." Hjalti said simply before heading into the cave without a second thought with Serana following him.
Elsa and Kristoff looked between each other before hesitantly following them,keeping as close to them as they could in case something happened. After a few minutes,they found a small necromancer lair set up in the middle of it with an eerie carving on the far wall and altars that were decorated with corpses and black soul gems lining the others.
"Yep...definitely looks like a necromancer lair..." Hjalti said in a kind of sarcastic tone before leaning the necromancer against the wall,pulling a wooden sword out of his pack and whacking him across the head with it. He jolts up when the 'stick' hits him and sends lightning jolting through his body before his captor removes the gag from his mouth while Elsa and Kristoff watched with surprised expressions.
"Now...no more bullshit,it's time to get serious. Where's the portal?" He said in a blunt tone,making the necromancer roll his eyes before he whacks him again. "Come on,spill it." He said simply before the necromancer glares at him then cuts his eyes to the wall with the carving on it.
Hjalti raised his eyebrow before following his gaze then studying the carving curiously,nodding contently when he identified it. "Clever..." He said calmly before putting the wooden sword away and examining the set up in front of the carving.
"My lord,Mannimarco is the only one with the power to open it..." The necromancer boasts with a snarl before Hjalti looks back,motions for Elsa and Kristoff to turn around then motioning for Serana to bring their captive over when their backs were turned and pulling a black soul gem from his pack as she gagged and dragged him over then drops him at his feet.
"That's where you come in..." He said simply before pulling out a dark colored dagger with a lightly curved and a wave shaped edge and plunging it through his heart then holding the soul gem up to trap the soul before it escaped then placing the gem in the offering stand,effectively opening the portal when he does.
Elsa and Kristoff turned around when they noticed the purple flash behind them and jump when they noticed the necromancer's corpse at their feet. Hjalti cleans the knife up and puts it away before looking to them and nodding lightly.
"You gonna be alright?" He asked in a simple tone before Elsa nods in confirmation while she holds back the sudden anxiety that hit her when she saw the body. "Yeah...we'll be fine..." She said in a kind of sick tone,making him kind of shrug before hiding the body in a dark corner then returning to the portal.
"Alright,this is where we part ways...at least for a little while. I don't intend to walk out of that portal until I hold up my end of the bargain and bring your sister back. While we're gone,I want to make sure you're both clear on what not to do..." He starts,making them both nod in understanding.
"First and most important,stay a good ways away from this portal...if you get too close,it will suck the life out of you until there's next to nothing left,which would be very unpleasant. Second,if anybody comes in that ain't friendly,do whatever's necessary to stay alive. Which brings me to my last guideline...Don't die..." He says with a steady tone before he and Serana disappear in the portal...
Okay,here it is...
Hate it took so long,but you know how it goes,start jumping around,try to focus on one thing,end up on another and all that shit...
Anyway,here ya go,hope ya like it...