Accompanied by a battalion worth of soldiers, the heroes were slowly trekking down the road to the fortress of Morvunskar. Luka felt both his hope and apprehension rise with each step. On the one hand, if there was one monster who was able to get them back to their world, it was Gilgorn. The small Demon Lord had both the power and the smarts required for such a herculean task.

On the other hand… how did she land here and why? If someone imprisoned her, then that person would be a dangerous threat to them. If someone lured her here, then she might somehow be brainwashed. And last, there was the possibility that she came here of her own accord. If that was the case, then convincing her to bring them back home could prove all simply impossible.

"Hurry up. We don't have all day."

There was also the issue of their allies. Theoretically, they were soldiers ordered to escort them by Ulfric himself. He visibly was a man that took his debt to him very seriously, and their given mission was to make sure he carried out his goal. In practice, however… they acted like low-brow bullies, particularly toward Lauratt and Hakunen. Even Lars and Novissa who were enjoying a solid deal of respect from them looked embarrassed by the situation.

The sun was high in the sky when their destination gradually appeared in sight. The fortress itself looked old and dilapidated. Its large, grey walls were half crumbled, and a small part had even sunk into the water stream right behind. However, there wasn't a doubt that Gilgorn was hidden deep in this fortress. Why here of all place, however… he couldn't understand it.

The answer would have to wait as Luka and his companions sensed some movement inside the fortress. Several bandits appeared on the wall, their weapons at the ready. The captain accompanying him sneered.

"Outmatched and outnumbered… what do these strangers think they can accomplish?"

A bandit in a full suit of armor haughtily approached the main entrance with a few guards to accompany him, one of them pushing a hooded mage. "Hold back. We have hostages. You will let us get away in exchange for them." While his tone was cool-headed and no weapons were pointed toward said hostage, Luka felt that the man was ready to put his threat in action. Kazuya prepared to step in when the captain accompanying laughed.

"Do you really think we will let you bandits go in exchange for a pathetic mage?! You will just get back to plundering any village you come across!"

"Hey, let's wait a minute before doing anything rash!" Kazuya tried to position himself between both men, but failed when one of the soldiers held him back.

"There's no waiting to give them a chance. Attack!"

Before any side could spring in, Luka felt time slow down to a crawl around him. He gave out a thankful nod to Lauratt before jumping in to disarm the hostage-taker amongst their opponents while Hakunen struck down the other bandits accompanying him. At the same time, Lars engaged the bandit leader and quickly took him down in a one-sided battle, the man barely able to draw his own sword before being taken down. As the sound of Kazuya's gun and Lauratt's spells informed him that anyone on the ramparts was being taken care off, Luka rushed in the courtyard to check for other hostages. And indeed, a few more bound hooded mages were surrounded by bandits who were readying their weapons to kill them. Luka barely had the time to jump in before the weapon of the first bandit reached its target, elbowing him in the face before throwing him toward the remainder with his sheer momentum. Time seemed to resume its normal flaw as both the effects of the magical boost and the adrenaline running through him gradually disappeared.

For everyone else, the battle lasted barely a dozen seconds. As he focused on freeing the hostage, he heard a whistling of admiration behind him.

"Maybe you kids are actually the reincarnation of Talos… only he would have handled that situation that well."

"Yeah…" Luka glared at the captain, still panting. "Maybe he would even have done better with proper time."

The man's shoulders slumped. "Look… I apologize for antagonizing you and rushing in. But those bandits would just have raped, pillaged and burned their way through the countryside if they were left free. We're short on resources and can't deal with them and the war at the same time. The lives of a few strangers for hundreds of the villagers are a price someone has to accept to pay, don't you agree? I admit that you displayed some skills, but you won't always be lucky enough to get everything you want."

He has a point, but… we DID save both, even when he tried rushing in. I'm sure we could deal with even worse with proper preparation and timing.

Also, with some proper brainpower. Kazuya's good at building strategies on the fly, but I miss Alice and the others back home for that as well.

"Sir! There are bandits on the other side of the river! They likely fled when we approached!"

Well, we would have been able to stop that from happening at least…

"What?! Show me where they are!" The captain ran toward his subordinate, completely ignoring Luka who worked with Hakunen to free the prisoners. To his surprise, one of them had claws at the tip of his fingers. Still, he removed the bindings of the prisoner.

"Ooof. J'Zargo thanks you for freeing him." The prisoner removed his hood, and Luka had to blink a few times to validate that he wasn't hallucinating that he was talking to a man with the head of a cat.

"Sorry, sir, but you are…"

"J'Zargo is J'Zargo, the master conjurer from the College of Magic of Winterhold."

"You're not a master conjurer yet." His companion removed his own bindings with assistance from Hakunen.

"Maybe. But J'Zargo knows that he will quickly reach the top and become better than the archmage. Piercing the secrets of this ruin is the key."

His companion shook their heads. Luka was still questioning his reality as he was staring at the man-cat. While Lars and Novissa were mostly indifferent to his unconventional appearance, Lauratt was just as dumbfounded as he was. In the meantime, Kazuya and Hakunen were awkwardly scratching their heads. The captain of the Stormcloaks joined them back, visibly bitter.

"Damn bandits… and now we have to deal with those milk drinkers from the College of Magic." He sneered. "And they even have a Khajit. As if they didn't want to lose what little credibility they have."

"A Khajit?" Luka parroted the term back. Somehow, it sounded familiar.

"You never saw one of them? Mph. They're sneaky thieves at the boot of the Thalmor from the jungle region of Elswheyr. You'll have to watch out for your purse. They plunder gold from their victim to feed their skooma addiction."

"Yeah…" Hakunen looked down, red-faced. "I think I remember meeting one when we were in Solitude."

Wait. Why don't I remember that then? Oh… right… black-out drunk. I don't remember anything about what happened back then, but I think I'll remember the aftermath forever.

He looked back at the entrance. Right now, the Khajit in question was too busy discussing with his partners to notice Luka's own conversation with the captain.

I hope again that nobody will hear about that.

The argument between the mages they rescued further intensified for a few minutes. Eventually, most of them split away while J'Zargo approached them.

"My friends here are worried about the bad weather and will leave. J'Zargo will help you in gratitude for saving us."

Kazuya answered with a smile. "Thank you, but we don't need help. We're going to take care of the dangerous Demon Lord in the depths of this fortress and quickly leave as well."

And let's hope it will be to get back home.

"Then allow J'Zargo to follow them." The khajit bowed. "J'Zargo wishes to hone his skills against a real opponent."

"…That." Luka gulped. He didn't want to hurt the feelings of his interlocutor after the latter visibly went through hell, and looked at his partners. They were all considering the same. Finally, Hakunen was the first to voice the concerns of the group.

"It is going to be very dangerous…"

"That won't be a problem for J'Zargo." The Khajit threw around a dismissive gesture that made his confidence clear. Luka was still nervously shuffling around while grimacing. Kazuya and Hakunen didn't look quite comfortable as well.

"That…"

"…Maybe."

"…It's going to be fine."

Damn it! We should have said no! Everyone we came across either caused us or ended in trouble… if only one of us raised their voice… I mean, I could have as well.

"Good…" Luka swallowed loudly before showing a strained smile. "Let's get in the fortress then. We have a Demon Lord to take down."

"Hang on! I won't let you accept an obvious spy into our ranks! He'll report everything he saw to the Thalmor!" The captain camped himself in front of the group. J'Zargo was the first surprised.

"J'Zargo does not care for anything about the Thalmor? J'Zargo is going to be the best mage in Skyrim."

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you will sell the information for skooma. I won't give you a chance. Let me take him away from you."

The party stood their ground even as J'Zargo was looking worriedly at everyone. Luka looked at the Khajit. He didn't know him very well, but he was displaying none of the fault he was accused of. Luka also felt that, while J'Zargo had quite an ego, he was also sincere in his declaration that he didn't care about those Thalmors. Whatever the Stormcloaks had planned for him, Luka would let them have none of it.

"He's coming with us." Luka gestured toward the door. "Let's go, guys. The faster we're done the better."

"I won't let you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the man was swept of his feet and thrown on the ground by Hakunen. The heroes then quickly entered the dungeon and slammed the door close, Lauratt barring it with a few additional spells. They were descending a set of stairs where water was cascading before their anger subsided enough to address the elephant in the room.

"Damn it… I think we overreacted." Kazuya removed a wet bang from his face, although he appreciated the fresh water cooling him. "I don't think he'll be happy when we get back on the surface."

"We showed him that we could easily beat him. He's bound to respect us after that."

"Yeah… monsters, demons and yokais do, but it doesn't work quite like that with humans, doesn't it? I mean, we had to keep fleeing every hold because they were unhappy with what we did even as we kept saving their hide. They're not like monsters who'll follow you when you show that you're better."

"…"

"…"

"He doesn't understand what you are talking about, but J'Zargo is grateful to you and will guide you to where the barrier he was sent to investigate was."

"Thanks." Luka was too relieved to have his mind taken off from the sociological conversation with his partners. He had a clear goal and an enemy to beat. That was everything he needed."

"Please. It is only what the best mage around can do."

Lauratt puffed his cheek.

As they descended and crossed several set of half-flooded floors, Luka realized just how much they'd have to be careful. The fortress looked like it could easily collapse, and if those last days had taught him anything, it's that their fights were quite destructive.

We have to develop an effective strategy against Gilgorn. She's a tough opponent, aside from her horrible weakness to pleasure. Since there is no other monster with us, we won't make use of that. No, we really can't. Luka felt a wave of shame hit him.

After crossing a few more hallways, the heroes arrived in front of a somewhat familiar magical barrier. Luka felt simultaneously elated at the idea that he was right and that their destination was so close, but at the same time, doubt was filling him as he was considering his next step. How would Gilgorn welcome them? Could she actually help them? For all he knew, the small Demon Lord had watched every step of their way and was praying that they would leave.

"This is the barrier that blocks everything. No one knows what hides beyond, and even J'Zargo's powers couldn't break it."

Lauratt carefully examined the barrier. It was indeed the spell cast by Gilgorn he was familiar with, but he could also notice a few differences. The spell had been visibly reinforced by another power. The hero had barely poked it with its staff that a shrill, furious voice reached their ears.

"OH NO! YOU WON'T BREAK IT THIS TIME!"

The heroes jumped in surprise when they heard Gilgorn. The small Demon Lord showed up on the other side of the barrier, a thick tome under the arm and a red glare aimed at the heroes in her eyes.

This is not starting on the right foot.

"Greetings, lady Gilgorn-"

"Shush!" Gilgorn imperiously raised her hand, stopping Kazuya. "I won't fall to your honeyed words and become the plaything of your harem again! I'm finally in a world where my power is feared without any damn demented, perverted, lurid, nymphomaniac monster to try forcing themselves on me, I'm not coming back for anything!" She punctuated her sentence with a haughty huff. Her eyes then locked on Lauratt. "And you! Don't even try using your runes to break this barrier!" She showed her tome. Its cover was a patchwork of cabalistic symbols. "I used new powers from this tome to reinforce it. The Oghma Infinium is the greatest repertory of knowledge that exists in this world! The region could collapse and fall into hell, this barrier will hold for as long as I live! Now shoo!"

"Wait!" Kazuya decided to change his strategy. "We just want to get back home! As long as we're here, both people from this world and from our world suffer from the pain our displacement is responsible of."

"I don't care! This is not my problem! If all those worlds get destroyed, I would consider that a win!"

As Gilgorn left their field of vision, each of the isx heroes felt a brief instant of kinship with her. They were all often targeted by their feminine partners and had to endure their often insistent and forceful requests for sex. Both they and the Demon Lord had appreciated the freedom from that attention when they landed here. The first major difference with Gilgorn was that they had come to miss that physical affection.

The second was that they cared about those worlds and what would become of them.

"So the barrier will be unbreakable for as long as Gilgorn is alive..." Kazuya pensively scratched his chin. "Killing her is out of the question, but maybe we can do something if she's asleep or unconscious."

Gilgorn's shrill voice answered him. "I don't need to sleep! Forget about it! Any plan you can have for me are going to be fruitless!"

"J'Zargo think that this little demon has quite the ego."

"She's not the worst we have back home. Trust me on that one. I wish someone was here to help us."

"LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU NOW!"

Lauratt gestured toward the shield. Visibly, the young man had found an idea to take it down, but it wasn't a safe one. He would need the power of everyone to do it.

Luka turned toward J'Zargo, then toward the ceiling. They were in the submerged part of the fortress, and if Lauratt's solution was as powerful as they imagined, there was a solid chance to bring it down on them.

"Get back at the entrance. We can't risk you dying."

"J'Zargo is more than able to handle himself…" He looked up at the leaking ceiling. "But J'Zargo admits that he sees no interest in getting wet should the situation sour and will let his allies handle it."

Luka looked on J'Zargo as the Khajit left. He felt bad for involving him in this mess, but he didn't want to break J'Zargo's desires to face new challenges and better himself.

"Alright, how do we deal with this barrier exactly? Do you have an idea that will let us ready to fight afterward? Even at six against one, taking down Gilgorn won't be an easy battle."

Lauratt nodded. The signature of Gilgorn had imprinted itself on the barrier. It was utterly resilient to any attack, but now shared her major weakness.

"Oh." Hakunen blushed as the implication hit him.

"Yeah… pleasure attacks can pass through this barrier. Except none of us know spells using that element, and I don't think fucking it in submission will work… I can't believe I just said that." Kazuya snickered.

Novissa looked disappointed. The blond hero was ready to try.

"Huuuh… s-sorry Kazuya, but I think that you're w-wrong." Hakunen had turned into a stammering mess. "There's… sorcery."

"Ah…" Kazuya looked down, visibly ashamed. "That's right… while most of us don't practice… skills typically associated with monsters, it's true that most of us can learn… those if we see them in use, but… we didn't get involved into skirmish with one of them. However…" Kazuya was now as red as a tomato. "There's the possibility, that, like me… and it's nothing to be ashamed of… that you were exposed to… let's say…" Getting frustrated with himself, Kazuya decided to cut straight to the heart of the problem. "Alright, all those that sparred with the succubus queen and ended under her raise their hand."

Six hands were raised. Luka saw in his mind Lest on the surface shamefully raising his trunk.

Ilias damn it Alma…

"T-this is so awkward. I... I'm not sure I want to do it."

"That's why I was asking." Kazuya slowly breathed in and out. "We're all going to do it. Together. At the same time. AND it stays between us. Everyone's okay with it?"

Everyone reluctantly nodded.

Kazuya solemnly joined his hands together. "Let's do it." The hero called out as loudly as he could. "Lady Gilgorn. Please come accept our humble gift for you!"

"Grrr…" The small Demon Lord reappeared with her tome in hand. "What item do you simpleton have that can be worthy of my attention.

"Us."

"AYAYAYAYAAAAAAAH!"

In an impressive display of swiftness and dexterity, the six heroes standing in front of Gilgorn completely removed their clothes and paused accordingly to show off their well-refined physique born from months of adventuring. The small Demon Lord completely froze. Her small body was suddenly propelled by an intense bloodstream coming straight from her nose, throwing her across her den before she collapsed. As if on cue, her barrier started visibly weakening before disappearing.

The heroes started relaxing. Luka contemplated the carnage made by the scene. "That went better than expected. I was caught by surpise by that music starting out from nowhere, but I think it helped."

"It's for the better!" Kazuya was fiddling with his own clothes from which said music was playing. "I don't remember bringing a phone! I swear, Daji's pranks are going to kill me… how did she even manage to make it activate under that specific set of conditions?! Oh, god, it's Myusca's phone… huurgh." Kazuya grimaced in defeat and pocketed back the small item. "I swear, when I get back home, I'll make sure that she's locked in her room for the next three months!"

Hakunen quickly put his clothes back on, his face still beet red. In the meantime, the three mute heroes didn't seem more shaken by the experience. They were putting back their clothes on with a quick and efficient routine. Luka still accidentally took a peek in Novissa's direction before the blond swordsman could dress himself and quickly turned away.

And now I feel inadequate…

The hero started dressing himself. Now that they had Gilgorn with them and with her power, he had no doubt that escaping this world was only a question of time.

…Well, first, they would need to mend their relationship with her, but Luka felt confident that she would forgive them. After all, she had even acquired a powerful local tome, and with their support she would certainly find a way to get everyone home, wouldn't she?

Luka took a look in the tome in case he could decipher the language it was written. Instead of schematics or text, the book was opened over a boiling pool of black ink. The hero backed away when the ink started rising higher and higher, ultimately becoming a large black ball bigger than a man. The black ball then coalesced into a squid-faced monster wearing a shredded mantle hovering over the book.

"…What the fuck are we looking at now?"

The creature turned in their direction and screamed, spraying a large quantity of black corrosive ink in their direction.


"A place covered in the darkness, drowned in the black ink of knowledge and the endless pages that represent all the accumulated knowledge Hermaeus Mora has accumulated for himself…" Alice looked up from the book. "I agree, this sounds like the place we initially ended in, but he didn't attack us then. Why would he attack us now?"

"Out of a desire for vengeance? I mean, those Daedra sound a bit petty on the side, and as far as I can tell someone like that would end up wanting to avenge the slight we committed against their servants."

Mephisto glanced over toward Eden. The seraph raised a hand against her chest to defend herself. "Why are you looking at me like that? Even someone reasonable would want to take revenge after we intruded in their abode and assaulted their kind!"

"Fuck me for saying that, but Eden has a point here."

"Besides, what about those gods of rape, domination, seduction and sex?! If anything, we are bound to attract their attention solely thanks to the presence of this cankerous whore who keep indulging in her vices!"

"Hey, not cool! I mean, that Molag Bal dude looks like a total piece of crap. I at least make the effort of making my partners feel good."

"Good grief, people, let us focus back on the matter at hand and stop bickering among one another. We're bound to have more urgent matters at hand!"

"It's only Eden and Morrigan though. Again."

"Yes, yes, you're right, but we have to stay on track. We're bound to face them. Granted, their servants only appear in areas where reality is weakened, but I challenge you to say that we won't end up in such a place before the end of our stay on this world."

"Indeed, we can ascertain that…" Promestein loudly gulped. "Sorry, I forgot, thirty words or less. As I wanted to say, I don't know if our presence weakens the barriers of reality in this world, and, in any case, I'm sure Luka and his allies will be in such a place when we arrive. It's in the nature of the heroes to end up involved in conflicts."

Mephisto proudly smiled. "Thank you for the short explanation, Promestein. So yes, the situation might be dire for our heroes."

Alice nodded in agreement. "Then we will need to act fast to find them. Once we're in Skyrim, Morrigan, Eden and Lucifina will take up to the sky while invisible and search for him. In the meantime, we'll try asking people around if they saw him."

"Knowing how troubles always find him and vice-versa, I'm sure we will quickly hear about him." Sonya punctuated her sentence with a regret-filled sigh.

"Luka better not have made trouble or mommy will give him a spanky he will remember!"

Choking down a bout of laughter, Alice continued. "Once we find the heroes, we'll regroup any way we can and then we can start working on a way to leave this world."

"If we have a way available to us… which I doubt."

"Aww, don't be a sourpuss, young lady!" Alicetroemeria violently wrapped her arm around Sonya and pulled her out closer in a fashion that wanted itself friendly, but only startled the priestess who had to suppress her fight or flee instinct. "Everything is possible with a group large enough for one big tea party!"

Alice smiled. Alicetroemeria's enthusiasm had quickly reached out to her, and disappeared just as quickly when she remembered that, ultimately, it was still Black Alice, the tyrannical Monster Lord who started a war for fun, the one who was always used as an example of what not do by her teachers and the one who had eaten the last parfait available before she left.

"Can't we go faster than that old boat though? Also, we somehow already ran out of food."

A few suspicious looks were thrown at Alice. The Small Monster Lord pretended to ignore them.

"A blind teleportation in a world we know nothing about would be risky at best. I advise against it. The best we can do is hope that the wind is always with us, which is somehow the case thanks to Morrigan."

"You're welcome. I can't go any stronger without risking tearing that sail off."

"Mmph. I'm surprised the foul succubus accepts to use her power for such a mundane and altruistic way."

"You're just jealous I had an idea to help the others before you did."

To the relief of everyone else, the escalation stopped when Eden ran to Lucifina since the latter decided to keep herself sharp by using the mast of the ship as a good target. Alice tried to relax by leaning against the railing, but she simply couldn't stop herself from letting her thoughts wander.

I'm stuck with some of the worst companions we recruited, to look for the heroes who've been stuck here for months, after attracting the unwanted attention of sadistic demigods, with possibly no way back to our world, which I can't even imagine how much in a sorry state we'll find once back.

"Oh, do not worry, barely a few hours has passed back home." Promestein joined her, her eyes riveted to a book Mephisto had brought. "I'm more interested in what the consequences of fighting in this world will have. We already committed several class three cross-world contacts, after all, but we couldn't discern any sign of degradation or anomalies. Also, going by our talk with that wizard, such contacts seem to be more frequent than in our world. Maybe it will be okay?"

"The contacts between worlds inside of the same cluster are no issue as they're all born from the same source." Sonya exposed in a monotonous voice at a speed that even Promestein had difficulties following. "As the sub-dimensions enveloping the realms of the daedras and the other divines have always inherently been a part of Mundus, they do not qualify. Any cross-world contact interaction of a class equal or inferior to three will be automatically solved on its own. Only a class four cross-world contact, an interaction that creates an historical paradox by fulfilling the grandfather clause will initiate a chronos syntrivi event until a divine intervention or a correct historical realignment."

"A time crash?" Promestein quickly flipped through the pages of her book. "That's… not something we want to get caught in… simply put, it's as if every possibility of events are occurring and not occurring at the same time. Time loses its linearity as well, leading to possible events happening that even violate the grandfather clause. So we could get retroactively erased at any moment."

"Huurgh… whatever you're talking about sounds way too complicated. It's giving me a headache again." Sonya held her head in her hand.

"Take a deep breath and relax. This is what Tamamo taught me when I was stressed."

"I'm trying, but… I still feel sickened because of something in the air. Anyone else is feeling strange?"

Mephisto joined the group and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she blinked a few times.

"We're going in the direction of a pure, unaltered mess. I recognize some energy identical to the ominous aura the Apocrypha is giving among what could best be described as an utter clusterfuck."

"…you're starting to swear quite often."

"My most humble apologies, but after thinking I had seen everything the world had to offer in the Pocket Castle, it turns out that this experience is rattling me more than I expected."

"My, maybe you would be wearier of the world if you faced the reality of the world existing out of our little house!"

"I challenge you to say that the challenges we face IN our little house aren't worse."

Alicetroemeria pulled down her hat over her face. "Touché."

"Damn it. I would bet the remainder of the food for a goblet of water that Luka and his companions are involved. And we're not even in sight of the coastline…"

"Mmmh…" Alicetroemeria tapped her chin with a finger and a small smirk. "Maybe we could teleport more closely if we had a good sight on where we landed. If only someone could fly over there and use her incredible psychic powers to relay a vision of the place."

"I get the message, but it's a bit more complicated than showing a good landing spot, or otherwise you'd already have used an observation orb. You need good focus and trust. Besides, not all of you can teleport on your own."

"Oh, I can teleport everyone here. I just need to establish a good link with you." Alicetroemeria briskly approached Morrigan who defensively raised her hands.

"Wait, how do you intend to- Mmph?!"

Alicetroemeria wrapped her arms around Morrigan and forced her in a kiss, bringing different reactions from everyone: Sonya was completely aghast. Mephisto and Alice pinched the bridge of their nose in unison. Promestein scribbled notes even more frantically. Eden was grimacing and struggling to protect the innocence of Lucifina-chan by hiding her eyes, while the small angel was trying to enjoy the scene and pushing away the arm of her elder. Finally, the few sailors were gawking at the scene wide-eyed.

After a few seconds, Alicetroemeria released Morrigan who grimaced.

"Aaargh! I just thought that I could have given you my tail, and that would work just as well!"

"Awww… don't tell me you didn't enjoy it? Heinrich often said I had amazing tongue skills…"

"Whatever, I don't need more info, just prepare to teleport everyone on my command!"

Morrigan took flight. Alice checked on the two angels as Eden was still grimacing in disgust.

"Eden, Lucifina-chan. Please make sure nothing happens to her. Or that she doesn't try anything with Luka."

The two angels took off as soon as she finished her last sentence. Behind her, Sonya was trying to look indifferent, but the priestess of Ilias was as red as a tomato.

"You think Morrigan will stop sexually assaulting people now that she understands how it feels?"

"Not a chance."

Barely a few minutes passed before Alicetroemeria invited everyone to get closer. Alice closed her eyes, and, when she opened them again, they were in the middle of a forest. She could also understand what Sonya was talking about. The air was crackling with energy as a floodgate threatening to burst open. Morrigan, Eden and Lucifina-chan landed in front of them.

"Sooo, there are people all around the place. Given how heavily equipped and angry they are I don't think that they're here for camping. I didn't see any of the guys, but I felt some weird magic inside that fort close-by."

"Good grief, let's hope we can regroup with them and leave before this arcane powder keg blows up."

"I agree. Let's try going in discreetly. We want to be seen by as few people as possible. Speaking of, we didn't make those sailors forget our encounter with them."

"A pathetic display. This wouldn't have evaded the eye of the loyal servants of the goddess. Truly, you monsters still need the discipline a life in her service would instill. Maybe you would then not fail to notice a so glaring issue!"

"I think our failing has more to do with the bigger issue at hand. Let's just hurry up before we get swept in this mess. I'll take the lead."

The group followed Alice as they carefully made their way to their destination. However, a creature appeared in front of them out of thin air. While it had a human silhouette, its demonic nature was obvious between the horns on its head and its ashen skin covered in red marks. The wearing a heavy armored covered in spike and wielding an axe, completing a threatening aura. Mephisto whispered to herself.

"It's one of those lesser daedras. Let's ignore him. Maybe he's not hostile."

"YOU!"

"Nevermind, I think he is."

The daedra pointed his large axe at the party. "In the name of Molag Bal, you will be brought to your knees and remodeled in his champions! Now, kneel in the mud and praise his name!"

The head of the daedra was split by a light arrow while one of his arms was severed by a spear strike and his body was crushed in a combined wave of ice. The combined onslaught completely obliterated him in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing of him behind. The only one who hadn't thrown any offensive spell was Sonya, who had rather focused on reinforcing her allies.

"Wasn't that a bit excessive?"

"Maybe." Alice calmed the second ice orb that she had prepared in case the first wouldn't be enough. "I don't think we can go in stealthily after that. We're now sure that at least some of those Daedras are looking at us." A deep frown appeared on her face. "Change of plan, we still sneak as close as we can, but the moment someone gets in our way, their life is forfeit."

"YES!"

"YAY!"

"Good grief…"


Far away, the proximity of so many people from other worlds were making quite the stir. Entities that were dimensions apart were throwing invectives at one another.

"They're mine, you powerless buffoon! You will not claim all of them as your champions!"

"Back off, you complexed weakling. They. Are. All. Mine. Those new girls all live in accordance to my rule, they are worth infinitely more than those men."

A third, feminine voice echoed. "They belong to my domain. Go abuse your own followers already. You do not understand any of their grace."

"The lion does not care about the ant. Go on your way, or be crushed by my forces."

"Ha! You will be the one on your knees by the end of this very day!"

"None of you will get your hands on them. They trampled on MY domain! I will be the one to take them away!"

"Oh, please, as if you would do anything besides bore them to death! Those shall be my companions for eternity! Or until I decide to shave. I haven't decided yet."

"Silence, all of you! They. Are. Already. MINE!"


Attan stopped himself and raised his fist, bringing his army to a complete stop. His incredibly keen senses picked up on a mix of rustic smells and harsh sounds that announced the presence of those lowly humans he despised so much.

"It seems our informants didn't do the job that was expected of them. Those Stormcloaks are accompanying our targets. I will scout ahead."

Our scouts should be punished for the poor quality of their work. I have to do everything myself here.

Attan descended from his horse and reached the top of the hill. The enemies were indeed all deployed inside an old fortress, giving them a defensive advantage. To his surprise, several soldiers were also posted around the entrances of the building, as if to stop something from getting out. He couldn't identify his targets in the middle of this activity.

Where are those heroes? Why did they decide to stop here, of all places? What is inside this fortress that is worth defending against? What did those stupid apes mess with?

It doesn't matter. We will quickly wipe them out.

Attan checked on the sky. Its periodical illumination hinted at nothing good. The elven commander hesitated between ordering an attack now to eliminate those lowly dogs to ecape before the strange storm hit and waiting for his targets to reappear. If there was indeed a conflict between both groups, then it meant they would just tire themselves out fighting one another, letting him finish the winner.

More activity at the fortress attracted his attention. Several Stormcloak soldiers joined their fellows on the wall as one sentinel pointed a finger in another direction. When Attan looked, he noticed a horde of bandits approaching. They were moving in an anarchic fashion and looked barely half as well-equipped as their opponent, but their number could give them a dangerous advantage.

More concernedly, if a fight between the Stormcloaks and those "heroes" was an opportunity to weaken both sides, the involvement of bandits could easily turn everything in a mess that his targets could exploit to escape his grasp.

He joined back with his troops. The best new strategy would be to wait for both sides to start slaughtering each other before stepping in and aiming straight for his target. Maybe he could even capture a few more people to interrogate as well in the chaos. They just needed to reveal themselves at the right time.

"Put everyone behind the treeline. We will strike when the time is right."

The elven soldiers silently put themselves in position with an impressive discipline, their green armors mixing quite well with the trees to conceal them. They still remained out of range of the soldiers in the fortress and vice-versa, but once they would strike, they would quickly cover the distance.

A vortex of black magic appearing between them and the fortress suddenly stopped them in their momentum. Several armored daedras appeared from the vortex, grimaces of rage on their demonic faces as they started looking around. Attan was aghast.

In Oblivion's name, how are these daedras out of their damn plane?!

Luckily, the daedras themselves visibly didn't care for the elves. Attan appreciated the mix of fear and discipline he had instilled in his troops. No shot was accidentally fired in their direction. No one screamed in fear…

…for all of about five seconds before a few arrows pierced one of the daedras. The demon flinched under the assault, and slowly looked up at its source, followed by his partners.

Without a word, the demon pointed at one of the unfortunate archers, then made a throat-slitting gesture.


"Boss? I'm starting to think it's not a good idea."

Astrid looked behind her. She could feel the doubt in the rookie following her even beyond his hooded mask. He wasn't afraid, but he was starting to consider if their bounty was worth it. She could understand why, after all. It was exceptionally high for a probably good reason, and their target was a group of experienced travelers, which would likely mean that they were good fighters.

This was why she brought in so many people. Almost the whole chapter of the Dark Brotherhood was with her, and she made sure a few antagonistic sellswords would find the hero and locate him for her before weakening him. The few coins she had spent would quickly be returned to her.

She felt herself some hints of doubt seep in when she saw the fort where the hero supposedly was. The place was surrounded by different armies in every direction. A magical storm was brewing. She had already backed away and bidden her time for lesser dangers, but this time, the perspective of twenty-five thousand gold coins was enough to keep her going forward. They couldn't afford to doubt now. She didn't want to leave a single chance for her prey to escape.

"Ready yourself. We're still going."

The two dozen assassins progressed in an almost ethereal silence. The leader of the Dark Brotherhood reassured herself. They were all incredible assassins, and, should it come to the worst, capable fighters. If they had really wanted, they could even have taken over Skyrim for themselves.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?


Adar was simultaneously fuming and exulting. He was as close to his revenge as he could, yet there were still too many people between him and his goal.

"I… will… KILL THEM!"

The memories of his humiliating defeat at the hands of those strange fighters were still fresh in his mind. Luckily, he had escaped the prison of Whiterun in a chaos that they had started for their own reasons. After running away, it was only a matter of getting some equipment from one of his caches, and he was quickly back in the business.

Afterward, he discovered that he wasn't the only bandit who suffered from their self-righteous attacks. Ironically, those heroes had forced the bandits to become stronger, more organized, and gave them a cause to unite, even pushing them to pool their resources together. They gradually built their number in the region until they built a force strong enough to rival most cities. He was starting to consider the benefits of taking over Windhelm until he heard about the presence of his nemesis in the region. Rousing everyone against them had been surprisingly easy. After all, aside from wanting revenge against those that had beaten them, the death of those heroes would send a message to all those that wanted to stand against them and allow them to resume their operation unimpeded.

The escapees had informed him that the relations between the Stormcloaks and the heroes were tense at best. Good, it looked like even the local soldiers didn't like them…

Still, he doubted that the army would welcome his group with open arms either. After all, he was going to rob them afterward.

Just as he expected, the Stormcloaks soldiers manned the walls of the fort, ready to fight him. He could submerge them by number alone, but he didn't want to lose too many of his bandits either. He had hoped the thundering weather would make for a good cover, but instead, the random lightning strikes just felt ominous.

It mattered little. He prepared to give the order to attack. Revenge was within reach.


Last, high above the cloud, dozens of dragons were flying with Alduin leading them. He had promised them that they would be able to dominate and feast on humanity all they wanted. As far as he was concerned, he only had one goal: kill the pretender Dragonborn.

He could feel his presence, as if his target wasn't merely a dragon soul but a stain on the very fabric of existence. He would eliminate it, and with it, the last threat to his reign.

The dragon could now feel the Dragonborn right below him. Whole armies were surrounding a fortress, and he could the power of several Daedras trying to tear at the fabric of reality. They would become the feast he promised.

However, for a brief moment, he felt confused. There was a strange current in the air. While the air was carrying the power of the Daedras, even from his spot the dragon could smell another draconic soul close by. This one, however, was indubitable stained with the power of Hermeus Mora.

Miraak…