Elsa and Anna watched curiously while Hjalti and Serana worked on chaining Hans to one of the walls in the dungeons,specifically facing a distinctively wide window,which made Elsa raise her eyebrow lightly. "Why exactly are you chaining him in front of the window...? I thought sunlight wasn't completely effective against vampires." She inquires curiously,making Serana chuckle lightly.
"He's still a fledgling,you could tell that by how he fights...sloppy,feral at best...which probably means that he hasn't fed since he's been turned either. Feeding usually suppresses the sunlight,so depending on how long he's actually been a vampire and considering he 'hasn't' fed yet...it may actually effect him more..." She explains simply,which made the queen study the vampiric prince for a minute before just shrugging lightly.
"How long do we need to wait before we wake him up...?" She asks curiously,making Hjalti shrug lightly. "As arrogant as he is,we'd probably be better off waiting until dawn at least so we can actually make him squirm...and by default dig something out of him. Like the exact nature of Mannimarco's scheme for example..." He answers calmly before Anna looked at him curiously. "What about after...? I mean,he's done a lot to hurt us,but killing him will just make things worse...and if he's still a vampire,then we've got an even bigger problem." She says calmly,making Hjalti shake his head.
"Nah...killing him would be a little too merciful...and we definitely can't have a feral vampire running around,especially not a pure-blood. Now,he might wish he was dead by the time we get done with him,but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it..." He said simply as he started thinking about what to do with the prince when he was done interrogating him.
"You know,I should've asked him to turn back into his vampire form before I knocked him out,this would be a lot more entertaining if we hooked him through the wings..." The dragonborn said as he shook his head,making Elsa and Anna study him like he was nuts while Serana just smirked and shook her head. "Well,you'll at least get to watch him struggle if this works..." She suggests wittily,making him shrug lightly. "Yeah,but it ain't quite the same anymore...no offense Serana,but pure bloods are more fun to interrogate when they're trying to lop your head off..." He said simply,making her laugh a little more. "Yeah...can't really argue with that. Still,I think it's better this way,so we won't be completely traumatizing our hosts." She says sarcastically,making him nod lightly.
"Yeah,they've dealt with enough rabid vampires for one night..." He says while she just laughs. "Yeah...we'd appreciate that..." Elsa says in a kind of nervous tone,which made Hjalti smirk under his helmet. "Don't worry,your majesty. Rabid vampires are among our specialties..." He says wittily as Serana shook her head. "Just like rabid werewolves,rabid dragons,rabid trolls and rabid daedra..." She says sarcastically,which made Anna giggle lightly before Hjalti laughed a bit himself. "Exactly. Anything that's completely nuts,trying to take over the world...or both...we like fighting the crazy shit..." He says sarcastically,making Elsa laugh a little before shaking her head.
"Were you always like that or was it a hobby you picked up during your travels...?" She asked curiously,making them shrug lightly. "I've always liked to explore...my parents were reclusive and didn't care anything about the mainland,so I had to sneak out...you'd be surprised what kind of creatures vampires keep around their homes when they don't want visitors...it made everything else away from home a little easier to deal with,though..." Serana answered calmly,which made Elsa and Anna look between each other when they heard about how lonely she used to be. "Wow...that sounds..." Elsa starts before Serana just gives her a light nod.
"It was...but,now I can say I have some of the best friends anyone could ask for...it made everything else worth it..." She said softly,which made the sisters feel a little better before they each look to Hjalti. "What about you...? How did you get involved with deranged monsters...?" Elsa inquires.
"One day when I was about fourteen,I decided I was going to go troll hunting...naked and bare-handed...it was an interesting trip,needless to say. Not to mention that I managed to kill the damn thing,so all the better..." He said in a simple tone,making the three of them almost double over from laughing so hard before the sisters started shaking their heads in disbelief. "What possessed you to go hunt a troll naked...? Especially if they're as mean as you've told us they were?" Anna asked between laughs,making the dragonborn shrug lightly.
"It could've been the skooma,nirnroot,tree sap and bloodwine cocktail,but that's beside the point. I went home later that day with a new troll coat...and a matching loincloth." He said in a kind of sarcastic tone while Serana just smirks and shakes her head. Elsa and Anna raised their eyebrows lightly when they heard that. "What exactly is that...?" Elsa asked,making Hjalti shake his head. "Some extremely potent shit that makes fighting a troll ridiculously entertaining...especially when you start getting lazy." He answers wittily,making her shake her head. "How are you even alive?" She continues.
"Either being dragonborn made me one tough bastard or I've got some dumb ass luck." He answers,making the young women laugh again. "So,one day,you just decided to strip your clothes off,drink some strange concoction that you most likely didn't know anything about...and probably could've killed you then go fight some strange monster that can apparently rip you in half with your bare hands...?" The queen inquires in disbelief while Hjalti just nods his head. "Yup..." He answers in a straight tone,making her shake her head. "Why...?" She asked,making him shrug. "Why not...?" He asks wittily before she raised her eyebrow in confusion,making him smirk. "Tamriel is a war torn continent most of the time,with it's human races usually leading the charge...a lone troll ain't much compared to the demons of war...Especially when half the time,you have soldiers that can summon demons...or turn out being demons themselves..." He says wittily before they hear someone knock on the door,making Anna answer it then give Kristoff,who was behind it a big hug,which he returns before looking to Hjalti.
"There's...someone in the courtyard looking for you..." He said with a tone lined in disbelief,making the dragonborn study him curiously. "Did they give a name or anything like that...?" He asks,making the mountain man shrug lightly. "He just said he was your brother...and that your mother wanted to speak with you..." He answers,which made Hjalti's curiosity grow. "And you're acting like you just saw a ghost because...?" He inquires before Kristoff shook his head. "He's...dressed like a jester..." He answers,watching the dragonborn's head drop before he starts shaking it lightly. "I'll keep an eye on him..." Serana said calmly,making Hjalti give her a light nod. "Thanks..." He says before leaving the cell,with a curious queen Elsa following him.
"So...your brother...?" Elsa inquires before Hjalti just shrugged. "Yeah...poor bastard. He's mostly harmless,but nowhere near right in the head...otherwise,he probably wouldn't be here saying that our dead mother wants to talk to me..." He answers,making a shocked expression form on her face. "That's..." She starts before he nods. "Yep...it'd probably be a good idea not to say anything about it,though...he can be...sensitive..." He warns calmly,making her reluctantly nod. "I'll...remember that." She said simply,trying her best not to think about how strange that was as they entered the throne room to be greeted by an extremely confused Kai.
"Queen Elsa...?" He said in a befuddled tone as he looked between her and Hjalti,making Elsa raise her eyebrow lightly while Hjalti simply shook his head. "Kai,are you...?" She asked with a concerned tone before her steward shrugged lightly. "This jester is..." He stuttered lightly. "Yeah...don't take him too seriously,he was hit in the head a few too many times when he was a lad..." Hjalti said simply,making Kai nod reluctantly before motioning them to the courtyard and continuing with his business while he and Elsa continued outside to be greeted by a scrawny man in a jester's outfit tending to a large crate,which Elsa studied in shock.
"Hjalti...is that...?" She starts before he almost shook his head in shame. "I told him she needs to stay in the tomb..." He kind of muttered before approaching the jester,making Elsa give him an even stranger look. "Cicero..." Hjalti addressed the jester in a rather calm tone,making the merry man start dancing and squealing ecstatically. "Ah! Dear brother,you are here! Mother wishes to speak with you about something important! Concerning your...quarry..." He exclaimed in a high pitched tone that would make anybody's nerves stand on edge if they didn't know how to ignore it. "Shouldn't mother still be in her tomb...? We both know she's in no condition to travel..." Hjalti suggest in an unchanging tone,making Cicero study the crate curiously.
"Oh,but mother needed to speak with you directly! Something's preventing her from reaching you as she usually does. It was the least sweet Cicero could do to bring her here,so she could!" He declares,his tone getting a little higher as Hjalti just shook his head. "Any idea what...?" He asks,making the jester's head drop. "No...poor Cicero doesn't know what magic is preventing mother's words from reaching you...Cicero was hoping that the listen..." He explains before Hjalti cuts him off at the end then looks back to Elsa,who was studying the two in confusion. "Alright...find a secluded chamber,preferably one that nobody pays any attention to and take her there...I'll speak with her when my business in the dungeons is finished..." He said in a hushed tone,making Cicero nod before adjusting the crate to where he could move it. "And Cicero..." He says,catching the jester's attention again then leaning in to where only he could hear. "Try to keep a low profile...we don't want anyone knowing that the Brotherhood's getting involved." He says simply,making Cicero nod in understanding then drag the crate along,humming a strange tune as he went. A few guards reluctantly help him with the crate,doing their best to ignore the jester's demented humming.
"Ysmir's beard..." Hjalti kind of muttered under his breath as he went back to Elsa who kept looking between him and the crate. "I don't mean to risk defying your authority,your majesty,but we need to store mother in the castle..." He explains in a simple tone,making the queen raise her eyebrow lightly as she evaluates the situation. "How...exactly do you plan on...'contacting' your mother...?" She asks curiously,making Hjalti shrug lightly. "To make an incredibly long and complicated story short,mother's spirit makes a habit of speaking with me every now and then...through a form of telepathy that I still haven't completely figured out yet...apparently,Mannimarco's presence here's interfering with that link. Maybe with her body here,that interference can be countered." He explained calmly,almost confusing her a lot more when he finished...and it was almost obvious by her expression.
"Maybe now's not the best time to go into all of that...anyway,we'll keep the crate somewhere secluded so it won't unnerve anybody if that's alright with you." He said simply,making Elsa give him a reluctant nod. "I...appreciate the courtesy,but you don't think Mannimarco could use her against you...?" She inquires curiously,almost making him chuckle. "That's one of the few corpses that the king of worms could never control,even at his full power." He answered calmly,making her let out a relieved breath. "Anyway,now that my long lost,estranged brother's making himself at home,shall we go check on our prisoner...?" He asked curiously,making her nod lightly as they started back inside.
"Where did you learn to fight like that...?" Elsa asked curiously,making Hjalti raise his eyebrow lightly. "Pardon...?" He retorts calmly,earning a more curious look from her. "Some of the things you did last night...apparently Serana was a little surprised by it too and she seems to know you better than anybody..." She observed,making him nod a bit. "I can see why,that's a fighting style that didn't come to Tamriel until the late second era...not to mention it's a bit of a lost art to our country mostly because many of the races still have a bit of a chip on their shoulder concerning it's masters..." He explained,confusing the young queen even more.
"Anyway,to answer your question,it's more of a matter of 'who' trained me...and the answer to that,well...possibly the last of the Akaviri dragon knights who invaded Tamriel during that era...a serpent that called himself Atta-Kai. I can only assume that he knew of my nature considering he didn't try to challenge me,which is usually how the Akaviri would address another warrior if they seemed like a worthy opponent. Either that,or he didn't really see a point in discrimination since he was blind." He answers,which made Elsa study him more when she he finished. "He was blind and still trained you...?" She asks,making him nod.
"Yes...one trick to the Akaviri way of war or even the trick of your best fighters is that they don't have to see to fight...only difference is that the Akaviri embrace this rule from the very beginning of their training,giving them a form of foresight in combat that allows them to move a lot faster and inflict more deadly wounds than even Tamriel's most seasoned warriors,mortal and immortal...which they ironically are." He explained with Elsa's attention fixed on him. "So,what exactly can these 'dragon knights' do...?" She asked. "Well,you know how my being dragonborn allows me to use the thu'um as effectively as a dragon...the Akaviri learned how to fight as they do physically,which means they can basically fight with a set of claws,manipulate the earth,wind and fire in unique ways compared to even mages,glide to an extent,steal life from their enemies similar to vampires and a few other things...it'd take a good little while to explain it all in detail." He answers,making her nod in understanding as they descend into the dungeons,although her mind was still reeling on Hjalti's abilities and prowess the whole time.
Elsa and Hjalti made it to the cell that Hans was being held in before entering to see that he was awake,but still rather groggy from the damage he sustained during the battle last night. "Queen Elsa,princess Anna,a word before we begin...?" The dragonborn requests while he waits for the prince to collect himself,making them nod lightly. "What is it...?" Elsa asked curiously. "Just thought it'd be fair to warn you both that this particular interrogation maybe rather gruesome compared to some others..." He said calmly,making the sisters raise their eyebrows and study him for a minute.
"How,exactly...?" Anna asks as Serana approached them. "Like we mentioned before,he probably hasn't fed since he's turned and sunlight will hurt him a lot more than if he has...and the results are...a little tough to watch for someone who has a weak stomach..." She explained before Hjalti nods in agreement. "Don't worry,though...he ain't gonna die...but,this is one of those cases where we have to do whatever we have to so we can get the information we need...considering he was leading that army last night,he probably knows a good bit about what Mannimarco's planning and if he resists,well...you might not want to be in here when we start our 'incentive'..." He adds,making Elsa nod in understanding.
"And by incentive,you mean torture...?" She asks curiously,making him nod. "More or less...I know that the two of you would probably like to watch him squirm a little,but if you'd rather sit it out,we'll understand...honestly we really wouldn't blame you if it makes either of you sick or uncomfortable..." He said calmly,making the sisters look between each other before looking to them again. "We'll...just see where it goes first...if you don't mind..." Elsa said calmly,making Hjalti nod in understanding. "Of course...figured I'd at least warn you first." He says simply before him and Serana turn to Hans,the dragonborn cracking him across the head to wake him up more.
"ARGH!" The prince snarled before looking in the dragonborn's amber eyes with a spiteful expression as he tries to struggle out of his shackles. "That ain't gonna work,lad...those chains are silver. You're now weaker than you ever were even as a mortal..." He points out simply as Hans growls irritably. "Seems to me like your little magic dagger isn't as powerful as you and your little girlfriend thought,huh?" He taunts,making Serana kick him when he did,earning a pained grunt from and a witty smirk from Hjalti. "Unfortunate for you...because now,you're stuck here until you tell us what Mannimarco has planned for Arendelle and it's queen..." He explained simply,making an evil smirk cross the prince's lips.
"And what makes you think that I'm going to tell you anything...?" He hissed as the dragonborn looked out the window to see the sun rising. "Because you have maybe five minutes before you start burning to a crisp...and when that starts,you'll wish that dagger had killed you..." He answered,his tone not changing in the slightest,making Hans look out the window with a hint of fear in his eyes,but he had recently learned how to hide something like that. "Do you really think I'm afraid of you,dragonborn...? You can torture me all you want,I won't give you the satisfaction..." He said distastefully,which amused both Hjalti and Serana the more he resisted.
"Is that so...? Because,me and my associate happen to know that you haven't fed since you've been turned and...I'm not sure exactly how much you know about your new powers,but if you forego feeding for awhile,sure,you become more powerful,but your weakness to the sun grows with it...which means that we'll be able to keep it up all day either until you submit,die or something along those lines...and there is an off chance of us rewarding you if you cooperate..." He says before cutting a vein on his wrist and moving it in front of the prince's nose to tempt him,making his hunger grow as the crimson liquid drips from his enemy's wrist,his eyes following his wrist like a dog would a bone before trying to bite down as he snatched it away,making him snarl angrily as he shot him a spiteful glare.
"How exactly does torturing me make you better than the monster you face,hmm?" Hans taunted,making Hjalti shrug lightly. "Because no matter how ruthless my methods may seem,in the end,history always remembers heroes as heroes...you'd be surprised just how wicked many of the 'storybook' heroes truly are when you start digging for the truth..." He points out simply as they sort of glared at each other for a minute. "This is your last chance before I let Arkay's spite for your kind take you..." He warned,earning a hateful hiss from the prince as Hjalti looked to Serana un-phased. "Well...he asked for it." He said simply before they went to sit down,making Elsa and Anna study them curiously as Hjalti looked to them. "This is the part that might make your stomach turn." He warns as the sun starts reflecting through the window and covering Hans. They cringed lightly when they noticed how his skin started to blister and burn in the light,deforming him more and more as the sunlight all,but completely incinerates him,making the prince start struggling and screaming in pain as it intensifies,especially with the addition of the silver shackles holding him.
"You barbarian...your gods wouldn't forgive you for this no matter how hard you try to redeem yourself!" Hans roared through his screams,almost making Hjalti chuckle. "Maybe not,but this wouldn't be the first time I've pissed the gods off,either...in truth,they probably get tired of trying to punish me for my deeds and decide to just let me have my fun since I keep doing this shit...just like I'm sure they get tired of you trying to kill Elsa and Anna to try and take Arendelle for yourself..." He retorts with an indifferent tone as he watched him burn and squirm then pulls out a lute to play a tune to his screams,earning strange looks from the sisters when he does.
"When...exactly does the questioning part begin...?" Anna asked in a kind of sarcastic tone. "Whenever he gets sick of being roasted." Hjalti answered simply as he continues playing the lute until Hans' body starts to give out and the screaming stops,making him stop and go over to him before using magic to heal the damage and studies him for a minute. "Ready to talk yet...?" He asked,making Hans glare again before spitting at him. Hjalti shook his head and goes to sit back down as the sun hits him again,making the screaming,squirming and lute playing commence. Elsa and Anna looked away for a minute when Hans started burning again while Serana just shook her head when the prince continued to resist. "He's a stubborn one...that usually breaks a fledgling pretty fast..." She said simply while Hjalti continued to strum the lute before...
"Alright,fine! Fine! You win,I'll talk..." Hans said in a distasteful tone before the dragonborn stops strumming and approached him. "I'm listening..." He said simply,earning a defeated sigh from him. "He said something about using Elsa's heart to tear the veil...something to do with her powers being able to completely obliterate it beyond any form of repair,invoking the complete obliteration of not just the mortal world,but the planes of Oblivion and the Divine realm along with it..." He explained,making Hjalti raise his eyebrow a bit. "What does he hope to accomplish with that,exactly...?" He asked,making the prince glare again before the dragonborn moved just enough for the light to singe him again. "I don't know...all he ever told me was that 'this time,there wouldn't be anything to keep him from becoming a god'..." He answered,earning a content nod from Hjalti.
"Now,was that so hard...?" He asks sarcastically,making the prince glare again before turning back to the others. "Did everybody catch that...?" He asks,making them nod in confirmation before he turns back to him. "Well,my sleazy friend...it looks like you maybe getting a bit of a pardon. But,that technically ain't up to me because it wasn't my kingdom that you've constantly tried to usurp..." He says simply before turning to Elsa. "Your majesty,any thoughts on what our vampiric friend's penance should be...?" He asks curiously,making her think for a minute as she studied them. "Let him go...I'm sure whatever Mannimarco has in store for him will be punishment enough for everything he's done..." She answers in a kind of reluctant tone as Hjalti turns to face him again before removing the shackles and watching the prince drop.
"Well,my friend...it looks like your fate is in your master's hands now...Serana,do you mind escorting him to the gates...?" He says calmly as she approached. "Gladly..." She answers before leading the broken prince out as he,Elsa and Anna exit the dungeons and head to the throne room. "I'm not real fond of Hans after what happened,but wasn't that a little harsh...?" Anna asked curiously,making Hjalti shrug. "Harsh would've been putting him in sunlight,setting him on fire then shouting him apart...or possibly whatever horrible fate Mannimarco has in store for him when he learns that he let his plans leak." He answered simply,making the young princess study him for a minute.
"You've actually tortured somebody like that before...?" She asked. "Some not as bad,some a lot worse,it depends on what they've done and what methods get them to talk faster...the main reason we used sunlight was because of his vampirism,which seemed to have the blood of Cyrodil's vampires mixed in with the way he was burning. I ain't exactly sure how those two strains mixed,but it seems Mannimarco found a way to do it." He answers calmly,making Anna raise her eyebrow lightly. "What exactly does that mean...?" She continues,both of them noticing the wheels in Hjalti's head spinning out of control.
"It means that the king of worms is obviously hard at work on his ascension to godhood...even more so than he's ever been...it means that he'll truly stop at nothing to become the most powerful being in all existence..." He answered as another thought crossed his mind,which made a pretty distasteful thought cross his mind. "It means that I need to investigate that cave more...it's very likely that there's something down there that we missed and it ain't good." He finished as they study him. "Do you have any idea what that would be...?" Elsa asked,making his eyes slit. "I have a hunch...I just hope I'm wrong...because if it's what I think it is,then it's very likely that we have a bigger problem than I thought..." He answers before Serana joined them,noticing the rather disgusted look in her comrade's eyes.
"Hjalti...?" She starts with concern before he shakes his head a bit. "I need to check that cave...can you help keep an eye on things here...?" He asked in a rather urgent tone,making her study him for a minute before nodding in confirmation. "Of course,but what's the problem...?" She asks before he motions her to the side,urging her to reluctantly follow as he leans in close enough for only her to hear. "I think Mannimarco's gotten his hands on a Black Book...while I doubt that he most likely left it there,I'd rather be safe than sorry..." He said in a hushed tone,almost making a disgusted look form on Serana's face as she nods in agreement,earning curious expressions from Elsa and Anna.
"Well,queen Elsa,princess Anna...it looks like the three of us are going to have a bit of a ladies' day for awhile..." She said in a kind of witty tone,making them study her for a minute. "Okay,that sounds like it maybe...fun." Anna said in a kind of awkward tone,making Serana laugh lightly. "Don't worry,I'm not going to bite you or anything like that...just thought it'd be fun getting to know each other since we're working together." She said calmly,easing the young princess's nerves a bit as Hjalti prepared for his investigation. He pulls his longsword and swipes the lightning laced blade through the air a few times before sheathing it again,which had Serana watching him for a moment with a sly smirk on her lips and had the sisters studying her again when they noticed.
"Well,I'll be back as soon as possible...try not to get into any trouble without me." Hjalti said wittily as he made his way outside,making Serana smirk a little more. "Can't promise anything..." She said kind of playfully,making him smirk a little himself before she turned her attention back to the sisters. "Are the two of you...you know...?" Anna asked curiously when the dragonborn was out of earshot,making Serana and Elsa study her for a minute. "What,involved...?" Serana asked in a curious tone,making the princess nod lightly before noticing a hint of disappointment through her otherwise indifferent expression.
"No...I'm afraid that's something neither of us we'll be able to do." She said calmly,making the sisters study her curiously. "Why,exactly...?" Elsa asks,almost reluctant to bring the subject up after discussing it with Hjalti. "After everything I've done in my life,especially what I did to become a vampire...I don't think the gods would allow me their blessing for anything like that..." She answered,making both of them raise their eyebrows a bit. "What about Hjalti...?" She asked,making her shake her head lightly. "He's asked once before...as...much as I appreciate him thinking of me that way...it wouldn't be right to have him suffer knowing that there's always a chance that something will tear us apart...there will always be something that will strive to keep us apart..." She answers in a more disappointed tone,which made the sisters study her more...neither of them completely sure how to react.
"He doesn't seem worried about that...something in him believes that it's possible for both of you to be happy,no matter what odds are put against you..." Elsa suggests,making Serana shake her head lightly. "That's Hjalti for you...the higher the chances of him dying,the more he wants to do it...I care for him,I really do...he's been there for me more than anyone ever has and never asks for anything in return...but,as much as we both want to...we can't...he's already made a habit of spiting my kind's creator and that alone probably put him in more danger than anything...if we decided to try,it'd lead that monster straight to us and he'd most likely be the first to die..." She said,her tone steadily growing sadder as she explained the situation. "There's always going to be risks,Serana...we may not like it,but the risk is always there...is that really any reason not to try...?" Anna inquires,kind of catching her sister by surprise when she heard the observation and making Serana consider the thought a little bit.
Hjalti had made it back to the cave where Mannimarco had built his portal to the Soul Cairn and started looking around for any sign of one of old Herma Mora's black books,but so far finding nothing. "If there's one here,he's done an excellent job at hiding it..." He said in a kind of disappointed tone,though it was more from the lack of explanation as to how the king of worms managed to bolster his powers than not finding the book considering that was the more logical answer save for simply experimenting,which would've taken centuries alone to accomplish if this was the case. That's when he noticed an ice wall towards the very back of the cave in a dark,secluded corner that one would have to look very hard to even notice.
The dragonborn raised his eyebrow lightly and approached the wall before hearing the telltale signs of a black book behind it,which made him slit his eyes lightly when he identified it. "Yeah,there's definitely on here..." He said dully before pushing against the ice for a moment only to learn that it was Stalhrim,which he didn't believe was native to this province as only the Skaal knew the secrets of the enchanted ice these days...unless this cave was ancient and either Nords or Atmorans had settled here once before and this was all that was left. "Curious...even if it was here before,how did Mannimarco get passed it to store a black book...especially with it being nearly indestructible...?" He asked himself curiously before pulling a pick axe resembling the one he loaned to Kristoff from his pack and starts chipping away at it.
This process took a few minutes,but when the ice had been cleared,Hjalti collected the pieces that could be salvaged and threw them in his pack before entering the tomb behind it,the first thing he noticed being a mix of ancient Nordic and Daedric architecture before laying eyes on the tome itself. He shook his head lightly as he approaches the pedestal the book was resting on and studying it for a moment,feeling it's influence pull at him and try to coax him into reading it like a siren's song,the promise of power almost too great even for him to resist as the grumbles and growls of the book echoed in unison as he picks the book up and studies it closer. This was it,he believed...this was the source of Mannimarco's new found power and how he learned how to destroy the veil beyond repair and who knows what else. These secrets could very easily be his if he'd just open the book,enter Apocrypha and...
"I ain't about to give you the satisfaction,demon..." He said dully before shoving the book into his pack and exploring the chamber a little more to see if there was anything else of interest that he could find,although he didn't have much luck in that department save for discovering that there were once corpses in here and that the burial sites had been desecrated,clearly by the worm cult and possibly Mannimarco himself. Chances were that they had faced these corpses last night when the vampires led the attack on Arendelle,which made an even more distasteful feeling run through him as he considered what exactly the king of worms intended and how Elsa was exactly involved other than being sacrificed to the Daedric princes and why it had to be her in particular.
"Well,I guess I better get back to the castle and let them know what I found,anyway." He said to himself before making his way out of the cave and into the sunlight,learning that it was nearly noon and started wracking his mind with how his most recent discovery fit into everything that was going on in Arendelle. What Herma Mora's angle was,how he planned on using Mannimarco's unending lust for power to accomplish this and how he himself was going to keep it from happening. One thing he knew for sure was that he'd most likely need counsel with his and Cicero's mother on the subject...perhaps the mistress of the void could shed some light on these events or tell him what he needed to do. Although,part of him knew that he would eventually have to read that damned book...
And now here's the next chapter of my Elder Scrolls story. It probably lacks a lot of the luster from the last few,but I've been busy and wasn't exactly sure where to take this one.
Anyway,here it is,thanks for reading and I'll get to work on the next one as soon as I can.
Till then,mother fuckers... :)