-So, regarding this chapter, turns out the content I'd originally planned to have for a single chapter had actually exceeded my usual word count preference! As such, I had to 'break' what I had written into two separate chapters. But I suppose the good news is that this means hopefully the next 'part' will be getting released much sooner than usual. But anyway, enjoy!-


Lydia's protective instincts quickly kicked in. She quickly drew her sword, metal scrapping against leather, and held her shield forward while quickly stepping just in front of her thane.

"My thane, stay back!" she quickly said, then focused her attention on this unknown person before them, "And you! Keep your distance if you know what's good for you!" Siffre's right hand flexed once, and was again reminded of her lack of weapon. Maybe this time would be a good idea to not be at the forefront of danger. Nevertheless, she held her shield in front of her and looked upon this stranger.

It was a woman, dressed in a black robe. It had a small bit of cloth hanging off at the neck area, obviously as being meant to conceal the head as a hood. It was pulled back however, and the woman's head could be seen. Her complexion suggested she was young in her years, as there didn't seem to be any wrinkles anywhere on her face. Her eyes however held darkness around them, even a few small bags underneath. It looked as though this woman wasn't getting enough sleep. As for her eyes themselves, they were wide open and leveled straight at the two warriors, but holding fear rather than anything else.

"Whoa, now hold on-!" the woman shook her hands in front of her. This action only provoked Lydia's agitation further and prompted her to hold her sword pointed out alongside her shield in a more threatening display.

"I said stay where you are, where we can see you!" Lydia said, "You're a witch, so there's no telling what else you might try..."

"Else?" the woman said. It was then that she glanced to her side, and was reminded of the dead body of her witch fellow, the end of a bloody ice spike sticking out from her midsection. She looked back at Siffre and Lydia, head shaking rapidly, "N-no! Please, I-I can explain..."

"You... you killed her, didn't you?" Siffre said, pointing her free hand at the corpse at her feet.

"I-I swear, I never meant for that to happen!" the woman protested, "Everything just happened so fast, and I..." Her head suddenly snapped to the side, towards the stone tower with the opened door, "Oh no... by the gods, no...!"

"What?" Siffre asked.

"The others, they're coming..." the witch said, then turned back to the two women, "My witch-sisters, they really are coming! They'll see what's happened here and they'll know!"

"And will come down upon us as well?" Lydia skeptically asked, "Tell me, is this some sick ploy to kill us or something?"

"I swear, I meant none of this to happen!" the witch exclaimed, "I just wanted to get away from here, but trouble keeps finding me...!" Lydia scowled and gritted her teeth all at once. A likely story; they'd be fools to take some witch up at her word. Whatever she was planning, Lydia wasn't about to let anything happen to her or her thane!

To her credit, some noises and footsteps could be heard from inside the tower, slowly growing louder. Perhaps some of the witch's story was true. All the same, it wouldn't bode well for their current situation. The witch was frantically eyeing this entrance as well, as if dreading who was to emerge from it. If her attention was focused solely on that...

"My thane," she spoke low enough so that she was certain the witch wouldn't hear, "This might be our chance! If more are coming out and they're all distracted by each other, we'll be able to slip away! Right?" Lydia looked back at Siffre's face completely. Her narrowed eyes were focused on the witch, but... something was off. She wasn't staring at her with anger or paranoia as she was sure she had been. They just looked... different.

"Tell me something, witch..." she called out, clearly having completely ignored what Lydia had said, and possibly that she had even said anything at all, "Is it really your intent to leave this... this place here?" Lydia's eyes began to widen; was her hearing failing her yet again, or had she actually heard that?

"My thane! What are you doing?!" she practically hissed, "We should leave, now!"

"Huh? Leave?" the woman shot Siffre her own look of confusion, "Well, yes er- well, I mean, it's what I wanted to do, at first, but-" In the midst of her stammering and stumbling over words, she groaned, "Look, I don't deny that bad deeds were performed here! But it... it's just gone too far! I simply cannot be part of this anymore!" Lydia's eyes were trained on the witch, yet caught out of the corner of her eye her thane taking a step back, her head lowered slightly. Her gaze turned from hardened to thoughtful, just like that. She looked at her, few seconds feeling stretched out into lengthy hours in her mind. Just how complicated was this being made out to be?

"We have to help."

Very complicated.

"What?!" Lydia practically exclaimed, "Are you mad? Why? Why do we need to help this... witch-mage?"

"I do have a name, you know..." the witch's voice could be heard.

"Lydia, listen to me," Siffre spoke, both lowly and concisely. Her voice carried consistent deep rumbles within it, yet she did not stutter nor pause within it, "I know exactly what I speak of when I say this: we have to help her."

"But why?! What reason to we have?" Lydia pressed.

"Just-" Siffre started, but cut herself short, "I... I have my reasons, alright? Even if I... I don't care to discuss them right now... especially now... But please trust me, it's something I do feel strongly about..." Lydia's eyes held trained on her thane practically bear her soul before her. There was some reason why they would need to risk their lives for the sake of some witch whom they'd never met before, nor had reason to believe she herself wouldn't try anything? Her mouth hung open and her gaze drifted down as she shook her head.

"I don't believe this... I really don't believe this... this complete madness!" she spoke aloud, then looked back up at Siffre, "And what's more, you don't even have a weapon 'to' help out here! Are you really intending on both of us doing this with 'that' little thing to consider-?!"

"What in Oblivion...?" A new person's voice carried out. Siffre and Lydia turned their heads around towards the fort's entry. There, emerging from the broken doorway's frame, three more women dressed as the one they'd encountered out here swiftly made their way outside. With one leading, the other two behind her held hands that practically dripped with arcane energy spells of some sort. Each one's faces also held mixtures of alarm and hardened anger. Their gazes were leveled at the two women warriors, but at the same time at the other witch.

"Illia?" the first witch questioned. She looked down at the ground to see the body of the dead witch, the melting ice spike still protruding from her belly. She looked back up at her with a snarl, "What is this? What has happened here?!"

"Movera!" another witch exclaimed, "You killed her, didn't you?!"

"I-I..." the other witch woman stammered.

"And there!" the third witch pointed out towards Lydia and Siffre, "Two armed travelers, uncharmed! Just what are you planning, Illia?!"

"Whatever it is, it's clear what must be done..." the first witch spoke lowly, as arcane essence began to glow bright yellow in her fingertips, "We kill them all!"

"But Lera! Wouldn't Mother prefer them to be alive?" one of the other witches asked, nonetheless magicka building from her own fingertips as well.

"She'll have to make do with corpses!" the first witch, 'Lera' said, "What's important now is that our dear Illia here appears to have gone rogue!" With that, she launched the charged fireball from her hand straight at the witch, Illia. The other witch in question quickly held her own hand up, and a blue, transparent field appeared before her from her hand, causing the fireball to dissipate upon contact.

The other two witches made their way around Lera and towards Siffre and Lydia.

"My Thane! Get behind me and stay-" Lydia started while hoisting her shield back into position.

"I'll be fine!" Siffre urged. The housecarl watched as her thane moved to her side with her own shield thrust up similarly to hers. She couldn't be serious.

"Don't be foolish! You don't have a weapon to fight back with!" Lydia urged.

"I still have a shield!" Siffre pressed, small, rumbling vibrations emanating from her mouth, "Besides, you said it yourself... no reason we can't fight alongside each other..." Lydia's mouth twisted to respond again, until she cut herself short. Turning her head back forward, she was reminded of the two witches who were about to bear down on them. Both were dressed in hooded black robes; one's hands glowing with light blue magicka, the other with light violet.

"You two think you stand a chance?" one of them taunted. As one, they launched their volley of ice spikes and lightning bolts at them. The ice shattered loudly off of Lydia's shield, while the bolt crackled upon impact with Siffre's. Both women weren't affected precisely by the elemental natures of the attack, but still felt the slight push each one gave into striking against their shields.

'Mages,' Lydia thought, 'Those have always been tricky opponents; still, just keep my shield up, blocking their ranged spells, and I should be fine...' Slowly, one step at a time, the two women carefully advanced forward. Impacts from the respective spells crashing into their shields sending hard vibrations up their arms. In front of them, with every two steps they took, the two mages took single steps back. Their faces slowly turning from focus and concentration to slight worry.

"What are you doing?" the other mage called out, "Y-you can hardly keep that up forever! J-just give up now, or else-"

"Silence Vedina!" her witch partner chastised, "Just keep up your assault on them!"

"I am!" the other witch Vedina said, "But they still keep-oh!" She never got to finish her sentence as Siffre was already upon her. Once her shield was close enough, she swiped her arm out, smacking the armor item hard against the witch's arms as well as head. Her arms were knocked away without effort, completely halting the onslaught of lightning being leveled against her. But the real fruit of this attack was how the shield impacted the witch's head. There was a subtle sound of a crack that could be heard on the other side of her shield. Siffre nearly squinted her eyes with cringe at the sound. Nevertheless, her shield bash had effectively neutralized the witch entirely, and she fell backward on the ground in a heap of black cloth and splattered red blood.

"Vedina! NO!" the other witch exclaimed with horror-filled eyes. Her head spun back up to face Lydia before her, "You'll pay dearly for that-!"

"No! Time to finish this!" Lydia countered. Following her thane's example, once upon her opponent she swiped her shield outward to knock away the mage's arms, stopping her from launching those blasted ice spikes at her shield. Her counterattack left the other woman physically dazed for but a second, yet that was all the time Lydia would need. She wasted no time in thrusting her sword straight forward, into the unguarded midsection of the black-garbed witch. Blood spurted out from the stab's entry point, as well as out of the woman's mouth nearly right after.

One after the other, the two witches fell backward into heaps of black cloth and flesh. Their very fingertips still sparkled with a little magicka before fizzling out completely. It left their hands, just as life slowly left their eyes as well.

"Alright..." Lydia said, breathing two huffs of breath, "Nice work, my thane..." What sounded like glass being shattered immediately grabbed their attention. The two looked up to see the two other witches still engaged in their own struggle. But by now, as the aggressive witch was pelting the other with spells, a flash of light broke in front of her, and she stumbled back in a sort of dazed state.

"That's it for your ward," the first witch 'Lera' said, while magicka charged up in her hand again, "And now you die!"

"N-no! NO!" the witch named Illia held her hand up before her, a vain display to shield herself physically.

"No..." Lydia heard Siffre next to her speak softly. She glanced out the corner of her eye to her thane, in time to see her eyes take on a different shade of determination. Her back straightened slightly as she sharply drew in breath, until,

"Fus-RO!"

Lydia recoiled, but not from tremors, vibrations, or any sort of energy that wasn't even leveled at her directly. She still watched as a transparent wave of sheer... sheer power, just burst from her thane's lips! This Thu'um... it sounded somewhat similar to back when she'd heard her speak for the first time! The way it erupted from her lips with the force of a powerful wind, with the roar of a thunderclap to match! But, it was different this time.

She watched as it sailed forth towards the other witch, who was just becoming aware that something had happened as well.

"Gaahh-!" It passed straight through her, and she staggered, as if she were about to be carried away by it. Her feet scrambled back and forth, desperately trying to regain her central balance.

Lydia then watched as her thane suddenly burst forward towards the witch, shield drawn directly in front of her. The witch had nearly regained her footing, but she could make in time. All she'd need to do was take one solid swipe with her shield to strike-

"Argh!" the witch was suddenly blown to the side, a small spike of light blue now embedded her black robes. Siffre herself was nearly caught off guard by the sudden change in movement she'd have to enact. She still managed to skid to a halt and better read the situation that just happened right in front of her: the witch lay on the ground, dead from a spike of pure ice, thrown at her by the other witch whom she and Lydia were just talking to.

The other witch in question, Illia, stood with her trembling hands still held out and forward, light blue mist smoking from her fingertips. She was panting, her eyes widened with what looked like fear, all completely fixed upon the now deceased witch that lay on the ground. By her own hand.

"My thane!" Lydia called out. From a few yards away, this display may have been all Lydia could identify as well. But when witches were involved, there was no telling what else was in store beyond what they displayed outwardly. She quickly rushed over to her thane's side, her sword still at the ready.

"I'm fine Lydia-" Siffre tried to say.

"By all the Gods," Lydia breathed, "That was the Thu'um, wasn't it? Though it sounded... kinda different..." Her gaze swapped back and forth between her thane and the dead witch on the ground, "So this was what those Greybeards had taught you, wasn't it?"

"My... sisters..." the sound of low muttering brought their attentions back to Illia. The witch still held a sort of thousand-mile stare, hardly focusing on the present or what was before her, "My... my sisters..."

"And you!" Lydia tried to call out, "You just stay right there, no funny business either." She pointed the tip of her sword out in Illia's direction to solidify her point. This gesture it seemed was enough to bring the witch back to reality. The sight of a gleaming sword tip pointing straight at her was enough to make her jump back a little with a yelp.

"Ah! D-don't kill me, please!" the witch begged.

"Hold on..." Siffre spoke softly. At the same time she held her unarmed hand up to Lydia's sword arm and brought it down gently, to her housecarl's chagrin, "Did you... did 'we', just kill your 'actual' sisters?"

"Er, I..." the witched stammered, "Y-yes. But i-it had to be done! They... they needed to die..."

"Your sisters? They needed to die?" Siffre asked. The witch met Siffre's eyes in a glance, as if she'd picked up on that accusatory infliction the Dragonborn had uttered.

"N-no! That's not what I..." she trailed off, watching the two warrior women for a moment. But Siffre and Lydia continued to stand attentively, listening to her. When they continued to not move, only then did she speak again after sighing, "They weren't really my 'sisters', or what, 'Blood-kin' as you Nords call it? It's just what we called each other, having lived and served in the same coven..."

"And they're all dead?" Lydia cautiously asked, while sparing glances towards the tower's broken entrance, "No more are going to suddenly emerge to surprise us?"

"No... not all," the witch spoke solemnly, "Lera, Vedina, Hesta, even Movera... These all are my- 'were', my witch sisters... but Mother, Sylvia..." Siffre and Lydia shared a look with each other.

"Your... mother?" the Dragonborn asked.

"She would be at the very top... awaiting a... a sacrifice, to be brought to her..."

"And now that we're all that's left..." Lydia intentionally trailed off. She tightened her grip on her blade's handle and held its tip pointing back in the witch's direction, "Was this your plan-?"

"Lydia stop!" Siffre spoke while holding an arm between the housecarl and the mage. Her volume held steady at normal tone, yet the vibrations that came through were just potent to get her point across, "I really don't think she means to... to trick us like that."

"Yes, that is true!" the witch readily agreed, "I'm glad one of you understands me at least... But, just who are you exactly? You two who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, just in time as I had planned to escape?"

"Siffre, and Lydia," the Dragonborn quickly introduced despite the housecarl's quick look of protest.

"Then, I am Illia," the witch said as well.

"So what, you were just planning to... to run away from these witches?" Lydia said, "Until we just happened to be nearby?"

"Yes, I was planning to run away," Illia said, then looked down at the bodies of her fallen brethren, "I don't deny it: what we do here, to the innocent lives we've brought within this tower..." She looked back up at the two ladies before her, "But not me! I never killed anyone before!"

"Really...?" Lydia's remark was just soft enough and her gesture to the dead witches' bodies was also subtle enough. Both were enough to earn her a look from Siffre in return.

"Well, besides just now, but- argh, you know what I mean!" Illia said, "And I was going to try and run away, but then I... I was actually planning to... to try and kill them myself! It may have been a death sentence, but I had to try! I couldn't let them prey on the innocent anymore! And yes, that was when I noticed you two showing up."

Lydia listened to this witch try and explain herself. Her grip on her sword hilt loosened, but just barely. It was wise to hold it at the ready, especially when dealing with mages. During the years that she'd known Farengar, Whiterun's court wizard, she'd always had this notion that mages were always sliver-tongued, able to talk their way out of most anything. This mage was standing before two armored warriors; one of them was without a proper weapon, but that was besides the point. Who knew what she exactly she was capable of, no matter what she claimed. She would easily be dispatched if she tried anything funny, Lydia would make sure of that.

"So you're saying... you want to kill your 'mother'? This Sylvia?" Siffre softly spoke.

"I had no illusions that I would survive that attempt," Illia said with sigh, "Running would be better, but..." a hand indicated to the bodies on the ground, "I'm a little past that point, aren't I? But..." She looked back up at the two women, "Hold a moment... what about you two?"

"What?" Lydia blinked.

"You're both obviously skilled warriors," Illia explained, "And you were both able to deal with... them, well enough," her hand pointed once again to the bodies on the ground, "So, would you be willing and able to help me... kill Sylvia? Kill her and end her coven from preying on the innocent for good?" Lydia blinked a second time, followed by a light shaking of her head. Now what was she trying to do in roping the two of them into this insanity? Who knows what would be in store for them if they decided to follow her or her plans.

"Of course no-"

"Absolutely."

Both answers came simultaneously, and Lydia almost did a double take from almost not hearing correctly. But... no, there was no way what she thought she heard was what was actually said!

"My thane? Surely you're not serious?" she asked.

"I am... and I say, we help her." Lydia's eyes widened, but this time for a reason she had not considered in the slightest. What was happening? Why was going along with the plight of some witch even being considered?! Why was her thane of all people suggesting they do this even?

"My thane... what is going on?" she cautiously asked, "Ever... ever since we first noticed this tower, you've been... eager to get involved..."

"Lydia, I can assure you... if you think I'm being 'controlled', or even... even if you think 'she's' controlling me," Siffre urged while indicating to Illia, "That is not the case. This is just something that... I feel I must help." Lydia could only stare at her unrelenting eyes slightly slack-jawed herself. She was serious about this?

"My... my thane," Lydia shook her head with a scoff, "Please be reasonable here! What reason do we, be it me 'or' you, have to risk our own necks for some witch?! We do not owe her anything! And also, need I remind you 'again' that you still don't have a weapon?!" She pointed back down to Siffre's unarmed right hand. To her credit her thane actually did look down at it. Her gaze lingered upon her opened palm for a moment, until it tightened into a fist and she looked back up again.

"Lydia... this needs to be done," Siffre spoke softly, yet forcefully, vibrations accenting nearly every syllable pronounced, "Is it merely as the right thing to do? Possibly... But I would do this, with or without your help...!"

"But why?!" Lydia exclaimed, "What is it about this that makes it 'so important' to you?" Siffre's mouth opened as if to reply, but she held her tongue at the last minute. Lydia watched her, expecting some sort of excuse, thus the pause was a little unexpected. The Dragonborn's eyes narrowed a little, as if in thought, and the hard expression she wore on her face steadily grew softer. She then glanced to her side at Illia, still standing before them. Her face held impatience, but seemed decent enough to not say nor rush anything.

"Let's... let's just say... it does have to do with me," Siffre looked back at her housecarl, "And that things like this... they do pertain to me... And perhaps I'll explain it further to you... in private..." It was Lydia's turn to soften her hard face. What was she talking about? She really had a reason for this? Well whatever it was... she would be hearing it later.

Nonetheless, Lydia still shook her head while looking at the ground with her closed eyes, "Unbelievable... Just, unbelievable..." She looked back up at her, "Then... I will follow you and keep you protected," She then snapped her head over to Illia and raised her finger to her, "And you! What I said earlier still stands; you try anything, anything at all! No hesitation..." She trailed off and lowered her own tone at the end. Hopefully her threatening implication was more than enough to get her point across. Both her and Siffre gave smiles of differing degrees.

"Thank you, Lydia..." Siffre said.

"And my thanks to you as well, both of you for your... understanding," Illia said, "I think... yes, I think the chances of this working seem... better, than before."

"Alright then, just it's just a matter of slaying this 'mother-witch' of yours?" Lydia lowered her blade and shield for the first time while she spoke to Illia, "Sounds easy enough."

"But... oh, I'm not sure; the sight of the three of us approaching her, two of them 'would-be-thralls', wouldn't it be enough to suspect something is amiss...?" Illia suddenly muttered to herself while turning away. This in response caused Lydia and Siffre to exchange looks of confusion between each other.

"Ah yes, that's a detail you've 'considered', haven't you?" Lydia snarked.

"Where did you say this Sylvia was?" Siffre asked.

"At the top of the tower, overlooking the lay of the land..." Illia absently responded while pacing around the dead witches' bodies. She continued to do this for a few more steps, each one building up Lydia's frustration within.

"You haven't thought of any plan, have you...?" Lydia said.

"Lydia-" Siffre tried to speak, until she was cut off.

"Hey, I'm trying my best, alright?!" Illia spun around at took a few steps towards the warrior. Lydia might have interpreted this as a hostile action had she not heard the rather pathetic protest tone in the witch's voice, "I never thought I would be doing this in the first place anyway... But I have no choice! Mother's coven takes innocent lives from random travelers, and now the time has come to... to..." In the middle of her tirade, Illia trailed off. Lydia had prepared to raise her sword in case she dare attempt anything in that moment, thus she relaxed her tense state again when she saw her take a few steps away, her face in thought. She and Siffre watched as she mumbled something to herself.

"What? What is it?" Siffre asked.

"Innocent... lives..." Illia could be heard saying. The two women watched her face carefully, until her eyes suddenly and practically glowed, "I-I think I've got it! I think I've got a plan!" She herself looked back at them, "It's one where you may not have a weapon on you, but that can play to our advantage!"

"What do you mean?" Lydia asked, eyebrow raised.

"Hold on, let me check for something..." Illia ducked away again, this time towards the body of one of the fallen witches. Lydia and Siffre carefully walked around to her, watching as she cautiously dug through the robe's pockets, "Where, Movera? I know you... hmmm, ah! Here it is...!" She stood back up and turned around to reveal a small, iron key in hand.

"A key...?" Lydia said with skepticism.

"Alright, would the both of you please follow me?" Illia said, motioning for the two of them to follow her, "I'll lead the two of you up and through the tower; I'll need to visit the quarters first to investigate something though..." Cautiously, Siffre and Lydia walked forward towards Illia. The black robed mage then guided their way as they entered through the doorway of the tower, afternoon light quickly being replaced by harsher darkness.

The room that greeted them was a circular room, and the air felt musty, combined with a bit of moist. The stone floor itself was uneven in its brick placements, as well as wet from the moisture. Both Siffre and Lydia's own footsteps they took clanked audibly against the ground, while in front of them Illia's footsteps could hardly be heard at all. She led the two of them to the right side of the circular room and straight up what could be seen as a set of stairs that corkscrewed along the outer wall. At first glance, this appeared a sturdy, if dilapidated fort to Lydia, even as she carefully ascended the steps with Siffre.

"More steps?" she said to herself aloud, "Didn't we say we were done with these...?" She wasn't expecting any response, yet to her side she could hear the faintest of a single chuckle from her thane.

"Steps should be the least of your worries..." Illia commented from up the stairs in front of them, "I would walk them up and down every day."

"So, what was it you did here?" Siffre spoke softly, "I mean, you did say you... sacrificed people...?" Illia took a moment to turn her head slightly and glance one eye back at the Dragonborn.

"Why are you talking so softly?" she asked, "There aren't any more of my witch-sisters in this tower to surprise us."

"Huh? Oh..." Siffre said. Behind her, Lydia's eyes frowned; this stranger did not know the truth of why that is, but did she really need to?

"My partner," she quickly cut in, "Between the two of us, I'm the one that does most of the talking, not her." This time was Siffre's turn to look back over her shoulder at her housecarl. Lydia gave her the subtlest of nods.

"Oh, I see," Illia replied, then turned her head back around to face forward, "Well then, apart from sacrifices, we'd mostly just spend our time here, learning what we could of the arcane arts." By now the three of them past by a nearby alchemy station, "Though Vedina... she was always working on alchemy, out of all of us... But, we're not here for any of that, are we? No, of course not..." She led the two further up the tower. It was by now they noticed that the nearby braziers were lit with the gentle glow of flames, illuminating the once dark hallways. Although maybe a little too well; the glow felt a little extra strong, as the light appeared reflected off of the moist stones that made up the tower's walls and floors.

"This place, it's so... so..." Lydia said as they walked, "So dark, and humid, and wicked... how could anyone live here?"

"It's not like we could just go anywhere!" Illia countered, "We're witches, just as you keep reminding of, and we have to make do in a place that's... removed from society." As she spoke she slowed down her pace as her gaze drifted towards the walls along side their path, "Mother always was fascinated by the architecture of ancient Nords. The sort of places looked down by people of today... I remember her saying that when I was first brought here."

"You were... brought here?" Siffre spoke up. She slowed her walk to a halt, causing Lydia and then Illia themselves to stop as well to face her, "How long have you... been here?"

"Probably... since I was a young girl," Illia said with a sigh, "Sylvia... she's called Mother, but... she's not my 'actual' mother, you understand...?"

"Yes, I do," Siffre replied, "I never knew my real parents either..." Lydia's eyes narrowed when she heard that. This was the first time she'd heard her thane even mention anything involving parents. There was only the fact that she had first met her a mere two days ago in Whiterun, and how apparently she had come from Cyrodiil before then. She hadn't elaborated on that further, but... what exactly was her past? That was something Lydia held in her mind for now, but knew that at one point she'd have to remember to bring it up with Siffre.

Preferably when this current nonsense was over and done with first.

By now the trio entered a section of the tower's rooms that were reasonably lit with nearby candles. Within this room itself lay a couple of bookshelves with a number of tomes, in various conditions on the shelves. In the furthest corner stood a different sort of furniture, standing on four legs with five burning candles atop it. The Arcane Enchanter's runes gave off a faint glow on the upper surface of the top, while on the far end of it the strange creature's skull's eye sockets stared straight ahead. Lydia knew what this thing was, having seen it in Farengar's quarters, yet it's actual function and how it worked were still was a mystery to her.

However, the enchanter was not at all what Illia was interested in. She instead made straight for a door off on the side wall that led to another room. Within lay a small number of beds; little cots with the smallest number of cloth for blankets. Each one had a single chest at their foot-end, and Illia made her way in front of one of them.

"Alright Movera, time to see if all your bragging was true," she said to herself as she pulled out the key she had retrieved earlier. She inserted it into the chest's lock, turned it, and gave a smile when the lid opened to her. She then wasted no time in fishing both of her arms in at whatever was inside. From the angle Siffre and Lydia stood at, they could not see the chest's contents.

"Um, what are you doing?" Lydia asked.

"Searching for something. My sister kept boasting that she had one somewhere..." The other two women exchanged a look with each other.

"Had one of what?" Lydia asked again.

"Aha, you really did have it!" Illia returned her whole upper body into view from behind the chest. In her hand she held a rolled up parchment, which she inspected closer, "This right here, is an 'experiment' by my sister Movera- an invisibility scroll!"

"Invisibility?" Siffre said.

"Yes, invisibility usually falls under the school of Illusion magic," Illia explained, "However, it's one of the more harder spells to perform, requiring a highly substantial amount of magicka-"

"Excuse me, but is there a point to this?" Lydia interrupted with a hand held up. Illia quickly flashed a look that could almost have been seen as a pout, but quickly dismissed it with a sigh.

"It's part of my plan, you see," she said, "To kill Sylvia. My plan is that she is at the top of this tower right now, waiting for one of her witch-daughters to bring her a compliant sacrifice. And it is there that we will kill her, and put an end to this cycle..."

"And... you're alright with killing her?" Siffre asked.

"I had thought it over in my head, mostly before you two showed up," Illia said, looking back at them, "Sylvia has been around for a long time. Most of the time she's gladly aided in bringing in sacrifices herself to the once-witches before her. I don't think she regrets it, in fact, I think she's enjoyed it..." she shook her head, "No, this has to be done; No more innocents sacrificed, no more hagravens will come to be."

"Alright, so even with the three of us, she'll be no problem in killing, right?" Lydia said, "With our numbers, we could easily surround her."

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple," Illia held up a hand, "You greatly underestimate her: Sylvia is the most powerful of us witches. For the three of us to suddenly appear before her, she would undoubtedly flee, or at the very least be prepared to face us."

"How though?" Lydia asked, "It's a tower, right? If she's at the top, there's no where for her to run!"

"This is a tower, but it's not exactly isolated!" Illia insisted, "There's a stone bridge connecting the edge of the roof to the upper land behind it. It's there where the rituals are performed, and where she will be."

"Alright! Alright..." Siffre held her hands up and spoke in just the heightened volume for the smallest vibrations to be felt, "So then, what are you proposing?" Illia shifted her feet slightly and held her hands in front of her, a shy and almost guilty pose.

"Well, um..." she said, "My plan is that... I bring one of you with me... as a sacrifice," Siffre's eyes widened a little, and she did tense a bit. On the other hand, Lydia's eyes narrowed and she made a quick reach for her sheathed sword.

"So that really was your plan, wasn't it?" she said, "Use us for some witch ritual anyway, is that it?!" Her response was for the mage to frantically wave and shake her hands in front of her.

"No no no no NO!" she cried, "I swear! You will not be 'actual' sacrifices! Just... playing the part of one. We just need to get her to 'think' I've brought her a sacrifice. That'll get her to lower her guard, and then..." She pounded her fist into the palm of her other hand to seal her point, coupled with determined eyes.

Lydia re-sheathed her sword and brought her hand up to pinch her chin in thought. Fake a capture? A risky plan to be sure, was there even-

Her thoughts were cut short when she felt Siffre's hand on her shoulder. She looked over to her thane's face, eyes matching Illia's determination staring back at her.

"It's doable I think, right?" she whispered between them.

"My thane?"

"Come on, Lydia," Siffre insisted, "What she wants isn't a bad thing... and she's been... honest and upfront thus far." Lydia looked back at Illia, the eyes looking back at her with a degree of uncertainty this time. This was true... With a groan mixed with a sigh, she gave a nod to Siffre, who lightly smiled back.

"Excellent. Now one of you I will present as a sacrifice," Illia continued, "The other one will remain out of sight by way of this..." she indicated to the scroll in her hand.

"But, you said that's for invisibility," this time Siffre pointed out with narrowed eyes, "What sense does that make...?"

"My sister had been trying to work on an invisibility spell by way of different application," Illia said, "She'd been trying to develop one in which this kind of spell could be cast upon someone else, rather than the caster."

"Hold on; just how do we even know this spell of yours- hers, even works?" Lydia said. Illia gave a quick, humorless chuckle.

"If there's one thing I know about my sister, Movera, it's how she was always so eager to demonstrate how 'above me' and 'powerfully adept' compared to me she was," she recounted, "She would've never wasted her breath bragging at me if she she ever doubted her own potential. So the fact that the fruits of her labor are right here, in this scroll, means she... she was successful..." She quickly shook her head, as if all too eager to change the subject, "But anyway, it's a simple illusion spell, thus I promise will not cause harm to anyone. However, that just leaves the matter of whom the spell be cast upon...?" The sudden question nearly caught the two other women off guard. Suddenly they were put into question, a seemingly important one at that. The two looked at each other.

"One of us... has to become... invisible?" Siffre asked. A moment passed, and Lydia shook her head and waved her hand.

"I think... It's probably best if it's me," she volunteered.

"That's what I was considering as well," Illia agreed, "After all, when warriors like yourselves were brought in, they were usually stripped of weapons. It's why I said earlier that you not having one was good for us," she indicated to Siffre.

"Alright, so then..." Siffre softly spoke, "You're going to make 'her', invisible..." she indicated to her housecarl, "And I'll be posing as a sacrifice... so the three of us can then kill her...? Well then, I hope this does work..."

"That is about the sum of it, yes," Illia said, nodding her head, "However, spells like this usually last only for certain lengths of time, especially a crafted spell such as this. It's probably best if this spell is used directly before exiting outside..."

"Alright, alright then, let's get on with this before I change my mind," Lydia insisted. With a nod, Illia led them out of the sleeping chambers again and back through the connecting room. The pathway led them twisting around and up the tower's central shape in the form of a few more flight of steps. By now the hallways were perfectly lit with plentiful small candles to illuminate the path. They allowed the detail on the surrounding stonework to be seen clearer; eroded, rotten, nearly dilapidated, and overall ill-kept. It was a far cry to the more pristine way High Hrothgar's halls had been maintained.

Finally, the path rounded out to a flatter floor, with a definite ceiling no more than about twelve feet above them. A round, circular room, with a single door off to the side. In front, a sigh could be heard from Illia, and she slowly turned back to them.

"Alright, this is it; Sylvia is just beyond this door," she said, pointing to the door, then held the scroll out for all to see, "That means, now is the ideal time to use the spell. So let me just-" She approached Lydia and reached her arm out, scroll in hand. Before she could do anything more however, Lydia's hand quickly reached up and gripped the mage's smaller arm, holding it in place. She applied little force into her grip, yet the mage let out a small yelp from this sudden action. Illia looked up into Lydia's eyes, expecting to see some sort of angry face or something similar; Lydia's been presenting herself as apprehensive at best in the entire time they've known each other, so it wouldn't exactly surprise her.

Instead, the eyes that looked back at her were... softer.

"Lydia..." Siffre could be heard saying, as if ready to diffuse another situation.

"This..." Lydia said, "... won't hurt, will it?" The other two women blinked, and even spared glances at each other.

"Um... no?" Illia said, "I-it's invisibility, it's not supposed to hurt you...!" she said. She gave some small, feeble resistance tugs to free her arm, to no avail. Lydia on the other hand drew in a labored breath, and let out a sigh. She finally released the arm, leaving the mage to rub it with her other one, "Ow, did you have to grip so hard-?"

"Again, let's just do this, quickly, and get it over with," Lydia resigned. Illia took a breath herself to compose herself.

"Alright alright, just hold still..." She unfurled the scroll, revealing text facing her with a blank side facing Lydia, and with one hand placed it flat against the Nord's breastplate. She then held the pose of one hand pressed tight against the flattened parchment, while at the same time the underside of that pressed hand began to glow. Soon, the parchment itself began to glow a bright blueish-greenish color. Its edges slowly dissolved in towards the center, as if replicating the effect of it burning.

"Whoa, Lydia-!" Siffre suddenly said while she watched. Her voice send a few small vibrations out, but that was hardly noticed by anyone. For instead, all watched as the from the parchment's point of contact on Lydia, she suddenly began to fade, literally. She unconsciously took a few steps in different directions, looking down at her hands and her body below as they became more and more transparent.

"By the Gods..." Finally the fading stopped entirely, and Lydia could be seen no longer, "I-I can't even see me!"

"Lydia...?" Siffre cautiously reached out to where Lydia had been standing. The edge of her hand brushed against something, causing her to release a sigh of relief, "Oh, you're still there."

"Yes my thane, I'm still here... and that's my neck you're touching," Lydia's voice could be heard. In a flash, Siffre snatched her hand away, face starting to flush with embarrassment.

"It worked... it really worked...!" Ilia said to herself, "But- oh wow, my magicka... it feels drained...! To be able to cast invisibility outward rather than cast it to one's self..."

"Alright, you've made me invisible; can we get on with this?" Lydia's voice could be heard.

"Yes, of course, before the spell wears off. And hopefully my reserves will regenerate..." she quickly turned to Siffre, "Now you- er, Siffre, was it? Just follow where I go and remember: if you're told to do something, either by myself or by Sylvia, do it. Remember, you're playing the part of my thrall, so it'll have to be convincing to everyone, understood?"

"Of course, whatever's needed," Siffre nodded. Illia turned away to look at Lydia, or rather, where she was certain Lydia was still standing.

"As for you, um... what was-?"

"Lydia."

"Y-yes, of course! Stay close to us and wait for my signal to strike," Illia explained, "I think our best chance of success will be when she's distracted, maybe focused solely on Siffre here... But anyway, just follow my lead." The mage stepped away from them towards the door. Siffre started to move forward herself, but stopped short and turned her head in different directions.

"Lydia? Where-?" she asked.

"J-just go first, my thane," the housecarl's voice could be heard, "I'll still be here, and I'll protect you."

"Oh, alright..." Siffre said, moving forward. Ilia had her hand on the door's handle when Siffre moved next to her.

"Alright... let's go," she said, opening the door with a creak that filled the entire room with its sound.


-Yes, some creative liberties had to be taken here, regarding my 'retelling' of the Repentance side-quest. There weren't any hagravens in here as I felt they'd have already 'flown the coop' and wouldn't really stick around, but I digress. Stay tuned for the next part, as I hope to have it out sooner!-