Chapter 28: Brother, May I Have Some Lamps?
It was early in the morning, and Emilia and J'zargo were ready to start Magic training.
Emilia clapped her hands together in excitement. "So, what's on today's agenda?"
"Are you familiar with Runes?" The Khajiit asked.
Emilia shook her head at the question. "Can't say I am, no."
J'zargo began to explain. "In Universal Magic, Runes are... let us say, the equivalent of a trap. You can place them on any surface large enough, and they will be applied with either Flame, Frost, or Spark magic."
Emilia started to understand. "Ah, like magical circles."
To showcase an example, J'zargo places a Fire Rune on the ground in front of them. "Anything approaching a rune will set it off, the only exception being the user themself."
Emilia nodded in understanding. "Mm-hm… so how do you cast them?"
J'zargo scratched his chin, thinking how best to explain the casting. "It is a bit tricky, but imagine as though you are holding a disk in the palm of your hand, and picture the element that you want to add to it."
Emilia nods, and tries just that.
"Now, pretend to throw it at the ground, or whatever surface you desire."
Emilia threw it to the nearest tree. Unfortunately, it didn't work.
"Runes can only be placed on flat surfaces," J'zargo explained. "Try the ground."
Emilia nodded and aimed the rune at the dirt, which suddenly caused a Frost Rune burst into existence.*
Emilia smiled as she pulled it off. "Done. So what's next?"
"Now, we shall focus on another rune from the Alteration Class. A Paralysis Rune." The Khajiit explained.
Emilia raised an eyebrow at that. "Paralysis, huh? Are there any others from that specific magic category?"
"Not in Alteration, but there is the Poison Rune of the Restoration class. However, this is likely to be your most useful rune."
Emilia nodded at that statement. "Probably, yeah."
J'zargo creates a green Paralysis Rune on the ground. "A Paralysis Rune works under the same rules as the other runes, but instead of causing damage, anyone who triggers it undergoes full body paralysis for eight seconds, leaving them completely at your mercy."
Emilia nodded. "Same application principle, got it."
"Try and cast your own."
Emilia nodded and repeated J'zargo, successfully creating a Paralysis Rune herself, neither of them noticed Subaru watching them from the Castle's roof.
Unfortunately, he was not alone.
"Whatcha up to, creeper?" Patches asked, sneaking up behind him.
"Seeing how Emilia's progressing. She's come a long way in a couple of months."
"Hmm…" Patches gave him a skeptical look. "Is that all?"
Subaru didn't say anything.
Patches thought he put two and two together. "Ah. Jealousy."
Subaru sputtered at that accusation. "Excuse me?"
"You're jealous that Emilia's a magical prodigy while you aren't, considering how fast she's progressing," the bald Undead gave his two cents. "Am I right?"
"Heh," Subaru let out a humorless chuckle. "You're way off the mark."
Patches shrugged. "Maybe, considering you've already mastered your Yin Magic and learned all there is about Soul Magic. So, what is it then?"
Subaru has to think about how to phrase his answer. "I dunno, it's somewhat… nostalgic?"
"How so?" Patches asked.
"I mean, just… look at her," Subaru said, gesturing at Emilia.
"What? She reminds you of "She who shall not be named"?"
"I mean, it's kinda hard not to," the otherworldly Undead said.
Patches was silent for a moment, before saying, "It's the eyes, right? She's got that child-like wonder, just like how Satella felt leaving Elior for the first time."
"And the innocence. Don't forget that part. Her innocent smile."
"Right," Patches said. "So, I'm guessing you're feeling "love sick" again?"
Subaru sighed, and said, "Man, I don't know."
"Look, we're gonna get her out of that tower, and the others," Patches tried to reassure his friend. "Reid can go drinking wherever he wants, Volc can find a nice mountain, and Shaula... well, I don't know what she'd do."
"Cling to me forever, probably," Subaru joked.
Patches grinned a bit. "Yep, or until she finds a guy, or girl, to spend her life with."
"Would she really be interested in that? She seems pretty obsessed with me."
"You never know," the thieving Undead said. "Especially since it's obvious you're not gonna be doing anything close to romance with her."
"Mm," Subaru grunted in agreement. "Why are you here, anyways?"
Patches grimaced. "Trying to avoid that blacksmith."
"Can't you do something productive?"
Patches just gives Subaru a knowing "Really"? look.
"All right, I walked right into that one," Subaru grumbled, walking away.
Patches smiled. "TTYL."
"Please never say that again."
PLOP!
Erik plopped down at the nearest rock, tired. "Ugh... Finally back…"
Aela gave him an amused smile. "Yes, yes, you can breathe now."
"Where's... the magic people...?" Erik asked, gasping for breath.
Aela give the young man an incredulous look. "How should I know?"
Erik looked a bit embarrassed to say it. "Just... sniff 'em out…"
Aela sighed and began to use her keen sense of smell to track them. Erik followed closely behind, and the two ran into Emilia and J'zargo as they were training.
Erik waved at the two magic users, gaining their attention. "Hey, guys!"
"Huh?" Emilia turned around, before shouting, "Wait! Aela, look out!"
Aela was confused, as she didn't smell any danger. However, she ended up triggering the Paralysis Rune from earlier, paralyzing her.
"AELA!" Erik shouted, running towards her. "Are you all right?!"
Aela could only groan a bit, but she couldn't move.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
"Andre, how are those swords coming?" Siegmeyer asked.
Andre took notice of the Onion Knights and smiled. "Ah, right on time. They're finished."
Seiglinde's eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? We got flaming swords?"
"Aye," he said, passing them the swords. "Try them out for yourselves."
Seiglinde picked up one of the swords, and as soon as she did, the blade burst into flames.
"Oh, wow! That's really groovy." Both Onion knights were impressed with the accomplishment.
Her father had to agree. "Yes, they'll serve us quite nicely."
Andre wiped his hand together. "Glad to see my work's paying off."
"Hey, Andre. Long time no see."
Andre turned around, to see none other than Subaru Natsuki.
"Well, well, well. If it ain't my biggest client. How you doin' these days, Great Sage?"
Subaru just shrugged. "Eh, I've been worse."
Andre chuckled as he could see that was indeed the case. "Mm. Evidently so."
"The Ten Swords are still in top condition, even after all this time." Subaru commented on his friend's work. "You know, despite being scattered."
Andre gave Subaru a funny look. "Did you ever question my craft?"
"Nope. I made sure to go for the best in the land."
"Heh, damn right you did," Andre laughed.
"So, what brought you to the Dawnguard?" the Japanese man asked.
"They needed a steady supply of weapons, and I needed a place to improve my craft and create my masterpiece." A simple answer as any.
Subaru could see the logic in that. "Win-win."
"Andre's been making some fiery, silver swords to help fight Vampires." Seigmeyer explained, gaining Subaru's interest.
Subaru gave the father-daughter duo a thumbs up. "Dope."
"Want one? I made quite a few for your friends." The blacksmith offered.
Subaru seemed a bit hesitant. He preferred his Magic over weapons. "Ehh, I'm not really a sword guy."
Andre raised an eyebrow. "You're sure? It wouldn't hurt to have it just in case."
Subaru reconsidered for a bit and decided to take it. "You know what? Sure, why not?"
Andre hands Subaru a fire sword. To which he sheathes on his back. "Just in case."
"Yeah, who knows? I might even have to fight another knight, hehe."
Andre's face then turned sour. "By the way... I ran into Patches again a few days ago... he wouldn't happen to be with you, would he...?"
Subaru shook his head. "Nah, he's actively avoiding you."
"And he has a good reason." Some things never change.
"So... that's what Paralysis feels like…" Aela said as she cracked her neck to get rid of the stiffness.
Emilia, meanwhile, kept apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Aela merely waved off the apology. "It's alright, you tried to warn me."
"Heh," J'zargo chuckled.
"Shut it, cat," the red-haired woman growled.
J'zargo's smile endured. "Apologies, it was… amusing."
"Anyways, we actually came to ask something from you," Erik spoke up.
Emilia turned to the young man. "Oh? What's up?"
Erik began to explain. "We were wondering if you could go back to Winterhold and ask around the college about a Moth Priest. Since they are Gusteko's most well known magical institute, they have to have some insight as to locating a Moth Priest."
J'zargo thought about it for a few seconds… and it actually made sense. "That's… actually a good idea."
Emilia nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we can go to Winterhold and ask around."
After asking Subaru to teleport them there to save time, Emilia and J'zargo had begun to ask around the college.
"Well, any luck?" Subaru asked, as he kept loitering around.
"Yes! The Librarian said there were rumors of a Moth Priest in Dragon's Bridge, a town west of Solitude." Emilia explained.
"Great!" Solaire clapped his hands. "So, what's the plan?"
J'zargo spoke up. "We should get there at once. J'zargo shall scout ahead." J'zargo suddenly lifts off the ground and flies west, leaving the entire group speechless.
Erik was able to speak first. "How... can he do that?"
"With magic, obviously," Serana scoffed.
"I have a friend who can fly using Fire, Earth, and Wind Primal Magic." Subaru commented.
"I wish I could do that… Think he could teach us?" Oscar asked.
Subaru shook his head. "Sorry, you gotta be able to use multiple Primal Elements."
Oscar merely sighed. "Shame."
Emilia turned to Subaru. "Let's catch up. Subaru, would you mind… you know?"
Subaru sighed, and cast another Al Shamak spell to take them to Dragon's Bridge.
"Wait a minute…" Erik spoke up. "You can open portals?! Why didn't you use that more often?! You could have saved us a lot of time and energy!"
"I'm trying to keep a low profile," the black-haired Undead said.
"A low profile shouldn't matter if time is not on our side," Aela said.
Subaru groaned. "Fine, fine, I'll use it more often."
"It's better than nothing, but we need a better way to get around." Patches commented on the lack of reliable transport.
"Agreed," Solaire spoke, following the other two Undead.
After walking through the portal, the party arrived at Dragon's Bridge.
"Huff… huff…" Erik felt nauseous due to walking through the spatial anomaly spell. "I hate… my life…"
Subaru, meanwhile, ignored his friend's suffering. "Anyways, where's the guy at?"
Patches hummed. "Somewhere in this city, I guess."
"Let's ask the guards," Aela suggested. "Perhaps they've seen something."
Looking around, Erik saw one of the local law enforcement for the city, and walked up to them. "Hello there! We have some questions!"
"Yes?" the armored man said. "What can I help with?"
"We're looking for a Moth!"
"What?" The guard was understandably confused by the statement.
"He means a Moth Priest," Solaire corrected Erik.
"Yeah, one of those!"
"A Moth Priest? Hm, now you mention it, I did see someone who matches that description making his way through Dragon Bridge," the guard said.
"Great!" Subaru cheered. "Lead us there!"
"I'm afraid you just missed him. He went south across the bridge. If you hurry, you might catch up to him." The guard explained, pointing south to the other side of the bridge.
"You heard him, everyone," Emilia said. "Let's go!"
The group ran as fast as they could, with J'zargo even flying ahead to look for their target. Eventually, they did find a destroyed carriage. When two dead soldiers, and a dead Vampire.
Siegmeyer clicked his tongue. "Someone beat us to him…"
Aela sniffs the air, catching multiple scents. "Maybe, but I have a scent."
"Lead us to them," Oscar said.
Aela followed the scent trail. "It goes directly south, follow me."
The group followed Aela, until they came up to a cave.
"Well, ain't that just ominous?" Patches cracked.
"The trail leads inside," Aela said, pointing into the mouth of the cave.
"Then let's follow it." Subaru said, to which the group headed inside, navigating through the dark, moist cave.
"Good thing Vampires have night vision, but it's still gotta be cramped being in caves all the time." Serana commented, once again thankful for her Vampiric nature.
"Hey! Who bumped into me?!" Sieglinde shouted.
Solaire coughed. "My apologies…"
"Can we get some lights in here?" Siegmeyer asked.
"You need only ask J'zargo." The Khajiit casts "Candlelight", creating a small ball of light, illuminating the cave.
Emilia couldn't help but be mesmerized. "Oooh, pretty…"
"Did you not learn this? It is a novice Alteration spell." J'zargo asked his fellow mage.
The Half-Elf stuck out her tongue. "I can still admire it."
"Let's keep moving on," Subaru told the others.
Deeper into the cave they went, until they came up to a large pocket in the cave, containing some kind of castle or base.*
"If I were a betting man, I'd say this is our destination," Siegmeyer said.
"And I would say you're correct," Subaru added on.
J'zargo used "Detect Life" on the surroundings, but only found one life-sign. "Strange. J'zargo is only picking up on one person."
Patches looked to the Khajiit. "Does it pick up Vampires?"
"J'zargo has never tested it on Vampires."
"Then I get the sneaking suspicion that there's dozens of them waiting inside." Subaru stated and was about to move before Serana held up her hand.
"Try "Detect Dead"." J'zargo raised an eyebrow, but Serana was the Vampire Expert, so he obliged.
"Very well, let's see… " J'zargo tried the "Detect Dead", and picked nearly a dozen blue signatures.
"Vampires aren't technically alive, so we're considered Undead." Serana explained, which made sense when they thought about it in hindsight.
"Hey, whaddya know?" Subaru smiled. "I was right."
Emilia nodded, as she prepared her magic. "Then let's go rescue the priest."
Author's Note: Yes, the title was a reference to the oats and the moths.
(For those of you that play Skyrim might have noticed, the Paralysis Rune spell is not in the vanilla game or Special Edition, same with Elemental Blast J'zargo used a few chapters ago. We will actually be including the spells you can get in the Creation Club and Anniversary Edition of Skyrim, including some other CC content later down the line. Nothing too big, but something you won't be expecting.)
5queso: Yeah, neither of us have ever written anything 18+ and I'm pretty sure that at this point, neither of us know how, despite our attempts, so an omake chapter might be out of our capabilities. Yeah, the whole point of Elder Souls is that it's a mix of "Elder Scrolls" and "Dark Souls," and we've officially gotten the first part with the Elder Scroll. Patches getting Thanos dusted was pretty funny, yeah, but he is one of our main characters, so he won't be completely treated like dirt (cough, cough, Julius, cough). See you next time! (Oh, that's what they meant by "No 18". I forgot about that.)
Kifhjoofff: Me alegra que hayas encontrado el último capítulo. La parte gótica fue en realidad una adición de último momento; Originalmente, iba a ser solo emo, pero agregamos esa última parte para que la oración se vea un poco mejor. ¡Me alegra que te haya gustado! ¡Espero que hayas disfrutado este capítulo tanto!
Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…
I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, /ErnaloreProf is the link.
If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules
Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian