Skyrim: A Sorcerer's Tale

by Rastislav

A bored old man gets thrown into the divine playground that is Tamriel, as a descendant of a religious madman no less! Will he content himself with merely finding his way in this new world? Or will his newfound ancestry lead him to defy the vagaries of fate? Find out in this senile scribble of mine! Should you wish to descend upon the dreaded pp site do search up Rastislav156

4. Arc3 Chapters 1-10

Chapter I: The passage of time

After the visit to the Telvanni wizard, Ryevin settled into a monotonous if exhausting rhythm.

Most mornings were filled with grueling exercises alongside sword and spear drills, making his arms feel like they were on fire.

It was not without its rewards however, Reyvin no longer looked like the usual elven mage twig, but now sported a lean yet muscular build. He also realized he prefers the spear to the sword, the longer range being far more comfortable to his mage mindset, thus he focused a lot more of his time on mastering it.

His reputation among the guards also rose, as they expected him to give up after a couple of days of training, his perseverance having impressed them.

After the morning 'fun' and a good meal, the classes would begin. Thankfully the schedule was very relaxed with him usually only having one lecture a day, even if they all lasted for hours.

From his enchantment lessons, he learned how to carve runes into different metals with more precision, and also a trick to add runes to clothing without the tedious stitching. He did have to learn how to manipulate souls so he can use the gems better, which helped his mysticism along.

As his first task for the college, he aided the enchantment master with preparing a shipment of swords for the Solitude legionary garrison. The pay was very lucrative so he splurged a bit and bought a full padded armor and chain-shirt to go with his robes.

Tolfdir taught him how to better use alteration to directly empower himself, as well as a more powerful ward and telekinesis spell, and as he promised he showed a technique to shape metal using magic.

When Reyvin asked why this method was not as widespread the old alteration master explained that while it can be used to shape the metal, it was only really useful for jewelry due to the forging process being necessary to make the metal useful for making weapons or armor.

Reyvin also asked about the transmutation spell, but Tolfdir said that while he did know it he would keep it to himself until the young students proved themselves responsible enough not to abuse it. Morrigan who was also present for the alteration lessons got pissed at this but Tolfdir merely explained that this was the exact reason why he refused them.

After some time, they were also taught the wind-ward spell that should be of use against archers.

The desturction lessons made him yearn for his morning physical training, each time Faralda would force him to push his Magicka reserve to its breaking point, and when she was done with that she would drill combat tactics and spellcasting techniques into his head. Reyvin almost regretted signing up for this, but he knew he was growing in skill and power so he grit his teeth and bore it.

He did make great progress in his destruction skill, reaching the low adept level upon throwing his first proper fireball, scorch seemed a bit put off that his gimmick was now obsolete but he also seemed to be growing a bit in the past months so it wasn't all that much of a bother.

Reyvin decided to take some focus from his pyromania and try and master some lightning magic, as its projectiles were far faster, if a bit weaker. The lightning bolt and greater sparks soon joined his repertoire of spells.

Naturally, as any man of culture as soon as he got his sparks to a sufficient level he found himself screaming about unlimited power while torturing a poor practice target. Even Scorch looked at him weirdly for a time after that scene.

He didn't simply let his restoration training lag behind either, while he couldn't really get more complex spells he did practice his usual healing and got it to work faster.

The Arcane Ascension technique seemed to reach a limit for a time, no longer improving his Magicka reserve, but his third eye was still devouring a lot of Magicka so he kept at it. After three months of this, his head started itching like mad and he felt like a barrier has been broken when it comes to his bloodline, he now seemed to be able to predict the movement of others by half a second.

When he asked Urag about where to go next with his exercise, the old orc first made him do it in front of him and with a surprised tone congratulated him on setting a record for mastering the technique by a large margin, which made him grin like a child.

The gruff librarian then explained that he needed to let the new power settle in before adding elementally charged Magicka to the process. When asked about how long the settling would take he answered that it should be at least half a year.

Meditating on the thu'um also seemed to slow down after the initial push, he did still progress enough to speak YOL instead of whispering it without knocking himself out, but shouting it without risk still seemed very far off. It was still a very relaxing process and Reyvin found himself spending entire evenings just sitting on the college wall and enjoying the wind.

Reyvin's colleagues were all progressing in their own studies.

The Nord twins would join him during battle mage training, and after finding out about him learning from the guards they also decided to do it.

Marwyn was spending more and more of his time studying the soul, and when he thought he wasn't being watched he read up on dark rituals. Thankfully he still seemed to hold his passion for enchantment and was progressing there as well.

Morrigan was going completely wild with how much she learned about alchemy, the madwoman even caught the eye of the alchemy master, who started teaching her with more attention whenever he wasn't higher than the red mountain.

Edrasa seemed to be satisfied with merely being a passable student, only really getting interested when altering people through restoration or alteration was the topic, when that was the case she would excel.

Finally Tiberius continued on with his single-minded focus on conjuration, and surprising everyone actually made a contract with a group of three scamps, the little daedra were not powerful, but they could use pyromancy at a low level. In his gleeful mood, he challenged Reyvin to a practice match so he could show off, but was quickly returned to Nirn from his high horse with a lightning bolt to the face, after a bit of dressing down from the Dunmer he finally accepted he would have to actually learn how to fight.

During early Evening Star (December) the young elf also celebrated his 17th birthday.

And now, four months after joining the college Reyvin was getting ready for his first serious outing, joined by the Nord twins. As they were waiting for the briefing, he checked his progress with a satisfied look.

[Name: Reyvin] [House: Dagoth]

[Age: 17][Race: Dunmer][Birthsign: Mage]

[Str: 11][Dex: 12.5][Vit: 14][Mind: 20][Mag: 210]

[Mage]

[Destruction-Adept: Searing flames, penetrating firebolt, frostbite, greater sparks, lightning bolt, fireball]

[Restoration-apprentice: Fast heal, steadfast ward]

[Alteration-adept: Empowering stone-flesh, metal transfiguration, wind-ward, mage-light, telekinesis]

[Illusion-novice: Calm, enrage]

[Conjuration-apprentice: Bound weapon (steel), Familiar bond (Scorch)]

[Mysticism-apprentice: Arcane ascension (settling), stable levitation, minor soul manipulation]

[Enchantment-adept: rune-carving, identification, soul-imbuing]

[Alchemy-apprentice: basic potions]

[Warrior]

[Swords-apprentice]

[Spears-apprentice]

[Thief]

[Stealth-novice]

[Traits:]

[Fireblood: Born under the flames of the red mountain you are blessed with 50% resistance and 20% damage and control toward fire]

[Ashen bond: Through your bond with Scorch you attain greater control over flames and restoration, you also seem to heal just a bit quicker]

[Blood of Dagoth: You descend from a mad religious extremist, who non the less achieved a degree of godhood, providing you with a prolonged lifespan and the third eye trait]

[Awakened third eye: Your blessed perception has been further improved through your efforts, now granting you the ability to predict the movement of others while enhancing your magic sight.]

[Aspiring tongue: You have taken the first step on the road of a tongue, an ancient art lost to most. Kyne blesses all who follow her teachings, even if they aren't her creation]

[Minor blessing of the warrior: You seem to learn how to fight in melee a bit faster]

[Minor Dunmer paragon: Dunmer will tend to have a good impression of you]

Chapter II: Setting out

The three apprentices are joined by Tolfdir after waiting for a bit, the old Nord sits down and starts reading through some documents, and after a minute or so speaks up "You three have requested to be given a task that would have you possibly engage in combat and risk your life, are you sure you want this?"

The three students nod seriously and the old man sighs "Kids these days, no patience at all! Very well, there is one such request from the Jarl himself. To the west of the hold, near the mountains a couple of homesteads have been raided by unknown attackers, they took no loot except some tools, but the most concerning part is that there were no bodies found and there are indications that prisoners were taken." He takes a moment to look at them for any sign of hesitation but is disappointed.

"You are to join the group of twelve guards that are being sent to investigate, they were going to go on their own but after some advice from the court wizard, and confirmation from Master Shalazar, it was decided that some mage support would be needed. Your mission is to investigate the disappearance and if possible recover the prisoners, naturally any perpetrators are to be put to the sword." He says the final part with surprising harshness.

"The reward for this request is five hundred septims each, alongside a public commendation from the jarl if you manage to recover the victims alive."

The Nord twins seem excited to help their people, probably hoping to prove to themselves and other Nords that mages can be a force for good.

Reyvin on the other hand is currently stuck brainstorming the possibilities, the only three conclusions he comes to are either bandit slavers, Falmer, or a Thalmor justiciar raid. The last one is soon crossed out as they are usually far more overt in their religious persecution, they like to make a point.

He scratches his chin for a bit, noticing a bit of stubble there with some surprise, before he speaks up "The only two realistic possibilities I can think of are either bandits or Falmer"

The twins seem surprised by the latter, but Tolfdir takes it more seriously "And what makes you think that Falmer might be involved?"

"Think about it, it is said that Blackreach is hidden somewhere beneath Mount Anthor, and the only living inhabitants of Dwemer ruins are Falmer, who are known to take captives and brainwash them into slavery"

Even Tolfdir shows open disgust at this "Indeed, what you say could be true, but we don't have the time to have Master Shalazar confirm it, all he did say was that mages would be needed."

Reyvin nods and says "We will need a lot of antidotes, provided to the guards as well if possible, I hope it's just bandits but if we are to be facing Falmer we need to be ready for poison and large numbers"

Bor asks, his voice skeptical "And how can you be so sure of this?"

The young elf shrugs "I am a massive nerd, what can I say"

All them chuckle for a bit before Tolfdir turns serious again "I will inform Hjolmir to have his men carry antidotes and extra potions, as for the two of you" he turns to the twins "I hope your restoration lessons taught you how to neutralize poison, because if you get into a lair of Falmer, antidotes won't be enough"

The two nod with some confidence.

"Good, I want all of you to stock up on some other potions as well, remember to not save them and use them whenever you feel like you might need them, your life is far more valuable than some ingredients."

He turns back to the elf "Now Reyvin, I am sure you already know this, but Falmer are known to be vulnerable to fire, I want you to abuse this and make sure you all come back alive."

Reyvin gives a reassuring nod "Of course, I will not allow any of the blind n'wahs to kill my friends" avoiding any mention of how the guards were completely ignored in the equation by the both of them.

Tholfdir seems satisfied with this and gives them each the documents to present to the guards and wishes them "Good luck" before leaving them to plan.

Looking over his colleagues Reyvin asks about their equipment and defensive spells. Thankfully both of them are from a warrior clan and came to the college with some medium armor, alongside basic weapon training.

They both chose the destruction, restoration, and alteration combination that they were already planning on, having been tutored in the basic spells since young they were already sufficiently competent at them, they weren't at Reyvin's level with destruction and alteration, but the Dunmer was blatantly cheating every moment he could so that wasn't surprising.

They spend a good hour strategizing and reminding each other of what they needed to take with them, all three scrounged up some money to have Reyvin enchant a poison resistance ring for all of them, even if they didn't get to fight Falmer these rings will always be handy.

Reyvin spent the evening with Master Sergius doing his best to make the rings as strong as possible, the enchantment teacher seemed very worried that the young mer was risking his life for 'no good reason' as he saw it, but Reyvin would not relent and the old man could only sigh and wish him luck.

The next morning they all said their goodbyes to the rest of their group, with Reyvin having to deal with an annoyed Morrigan complaining about him running off to save the poor children once more, but it was more of a routine at this point for the both of them.

He packed quite heavily, with multiple healing, stamina and Magicka potions, and an entire bottle of potent antidote, alongside some cold resistance potions, remembering the trip to Winterhold still made him shiver, he thanked every god he could think of for the enchanted robes he got.

On their way to the Jarl's keep he also bought a steel-tipped spear that matched his height, the smith that sold it even wished him luck and gave him a discount, apparently rumors spread here as fast as they do in Whiterun.

The group of young mages soon found themselves joining a group of guards in full heavy armor readying themselves to move out, they were all recognized from their training sessions and were welcomed to the group.

Holmir soon joined them and inspected their documents, after a bit of questioning and checking if they were prepared he pointed them to the short senior guard that was to lead the expedition whose name was Thorgrim, the gruff old Nord was polite enough and had them all fall into formation with the rest.

Not long after, they left the walls of Winterhold behind.

Chapter III: March and investigation

The morning the company of guards and mages set out was thankfully a relatively warm one, the snow was as always annoying to walk on but at least they weren't getting face fulls of it.

Early into the march, some of the guards removed their helmets and Reyvin was surprised to see that Thorfinn was among them. He noticed that the young man is nervous so he decided to fuck with him for a bit to help him ease his nerves.

"Didn't know you would be joining us, since when do the holds send little boys into battle?" He teased his friend.

Thorfinn grew red in the face "I am old enough to fight!"

"Sure you are" Reyvin gave him a mocking smile "Can you even hold that shield for more than a minute? I remember you using that tiny toothpick in your offhand when we sparred"

The nearby guards snorted or chuckled.

"I swear to Shor Reyvin I will kick your shit in"

The young man really did look like he was about to start kicking, but they were interrupted by Thorgrim's gruff voice "Alright kiddies keep it in your pants" Who then turned to Reyvin "You, elf boy." Said elf raising an eyebrow "The captain said there was some reason or another for us to lug so much damn antidote with us, said you would explain"

"So nice of him to volunteer me." Reyvin said in a sarcastic voice before starting his explanation "There is a good chance we will be fighting Falmer, they are known to use poison and are usually accompanied by massive poison bugs"

The senior guard seemed unsurprised, likely asking for the benefit of his subordinates, one of whom couldn't help but ask "Falmer? Is that some kind of weird elf?"

Reyvin lightly facepalmed "Really?" Some of the guards were laughing at their confused friend but a larger number shared the confusion.

The young elf sighed "Before your people came to Skyrim, the dominant race was the Falmer or snow elves, a bunch of Auri-el worshippers or Akatosh as humans know him." Before he could be interrupted by an outraged guard he continued "No I do not care that you think they are not the same, and neither do the Aedra, let me continue before I sic my bird on you" Seeing the rather large smoldering hawk appear on the elf's shoulder the guard wisely shut up, much to the amusement of his comrades. *Cough* "Where was I, ah yes! It is not known who started the conflict, but long story short, the Nords under Ysgramor brought the Falmer to near extinction. The defeated elves sought refuge with their underground cousins, the Dwemer, who being completely ruthless bastards enslaved and blinded them. Fast forward a couple of eras and the Falmer are now degenerated to the point of being blind, slightly magical goblins."

The curious guard seemed to regret his question, appearing queasy, even those who already knew the story were uncomfortable.

One of the other guards soon asked "And what about the prisoners, if as you say they are basically goblins, does that mean they ate them all or something?"

Reyvin shakes his head "No, it is far worse. They are known to brainwash and enslave their prisoners, I don't know how they do it but somehow they make them fanatical servants after some time."

Everyone present suddenly turns serious, with the senior guard saying in a steely tone "Well then boys we better get moving, closest homestead is half a day away, hop to it!"

They make good time and are quickly greeted by the sight of an empty cluster of Nordic longhouses.

Thorgrim speaks up "Alright lads, I want all of you to look for clues. The attack happened two days ago so there might still be tracks."

Everyone spreads out but Reyvin stops his two colleagues "You think you wolves could sniff out the attackers and catch their tracks?"

Bor thinks for a moment and answers "Well they could, but we would need something with a strong smell for them to follow"

The elf nods "Ill inform the captain"

It took them most of the afternoon, visiting four different empty homesteads. Every group of homes they visited made the guards either disheartened or vengeful, no one made any jokes anymore, and the march felt more like a funeral, whose funeral was yet to be seen.

Thankfully on the ground near the fourth site they found the remnants of a skirmish with some small humanoid tracks and a severed ear.

Reyvin sighed as his suspicions were confirmed "Yup, that is definitely a Falmer ear"

Everyone turned serious at this and started preparing, spreading potions and antidotes around and securing their armor.

Bor and Brienne got to work having their wolves remember the ear's scent.

Reyvin was left alone with his thoughts for a moment. 'It is very odd for Falmer to raid in such large numbers, they usually only grab a couple of people and are rarely so overt, are they just growing more bold or is there a greater reasoning behind the attack?'

Shaking his head and accepting that there is only one way to find out he sent Scorch to scout around incase of predators or other annoyances, it wouldn't do for them to never reach the Falmer after all.

Following the wolves for a couple of hours they found an icy ravine going into the side of the mountain, both of the familiars showing absolute certainty that this is where the prey went.

Thorgrim had them sit down for a short rest and a very light meal, it would be pointless to die because they were all too tired and hungry from the search.

Scorch soon returned and 'said' that there were no other threats around.

While the young mages, joined by Thorfinn were huddled together and preparing mentally for what was to come. Reyvin snuck an extra ring of poison resistance he made to the young Nord guard and told him to put it on under his gauntlets, the young man was about to protest but thankfully Thorgrim ordered everyone to get ready, so he shut up and put the ring on.

After following the ravine for a bit they were met with a cave, small Falmer effigies were erected on the sides of the entrance, the atmosphere turned ominous and everyone steeled themselves. Soon they plunged into the darkness, the mages casting light spells and guards readying their shields.

Everyone knew this was not going to be easy.

Chapter IV: Extermination (part 1)

As the group entered the cavern they were hit with a rather disgusting smell, a mix of blood excrement and whatever else could be felt even at the entrance.

'This will certainly fuck with our morale the longer we go on' Thought Reyvin as he focused on getting used to the smell by forcing himself to breathe through his nose.

Thorgrim, leading the group from the front raised his hand for everyone to stop as they reached a passage, turned to the mages, and whispered "Anyone of you able to see what is in front?"

Bor whispered back "We could send our wolves but they would be spotted quickly" with Brienne nodding along.

Reyvin quickly added "I can send my hawk forward, he is smaller and far less noticeable"

Thorgrim nodded at him and the elf quickly summoned Scorch and sent him forward. They waited in silence for a good minute before the bird returned and unsummoned itself.

"There is a large cavern filled to the brim with Falmer ahead of us, they seem to be busy eating in one large group, we could ambush them but we must be quiet, they have good hearing" Reyvin explained what the bird saw.

The old guard nodded and asked "Can anyone of you mages get close? All of us are in heavy armor and an ambush would fail before it even begins."

The twins shook their heads, they were terrible at being quiet and they knew it. He turned to Reyvin with a hopeful look with the latter sighing "I can probably get off a good initial attack, but you all need to rush in quickly after it begins or I am fucked"

The Nord nodded and assured him "We won't leave you out to dry young man, on my honor"

Reyvin prepared himself mentally and headed toward the chamber, quickly turning to the guards and whispering "You saw nothing" and casting a levitation.

Everyone gawked at him as he flew up into the air and entered the large cave section, quickly reaching the ceiling he cast a wind-ward and stoneflesh combo, and prepared a fireball in each hand.

Using his third eye to detect the trace of Magicka all creatures possessed he counted about forty of the goblinoid fuckers sitting around a fire and grumbling something in an unintelligible language.

One of the more ornately dressed Falmer seemed to sense something but it was already too late as two large fireballs detonated into the group, disintegrating a couple of unfortunate targets, but killing far fewer of the fallen elves than Reyvin had hoped.

As soon as they heard the noise the Nords charged through the passage, still keeping a robust formation, the twin mages started casting ice shards and shooting the more important-looking Falmer.

A couple of arrows headed for Reyvin who was preparing another fireball, thankfully his foresight saved him as the wind-ward spell simply flung the arrows to his side.

He launched his spell into a group of archers, decimating them. Unfortunately, this was the end of his role as magical artillery, the fireball spell was powerful but far more demanding than the lower spells, he continued observing and started throwing firebolts wherever he saw a guardsman about to be overwhelmed.

The fight lasted for a couple of minutes until a Falmer wearing dwarven metal armor refitted in a Falmer style, riding a massive chaurus charged from the far entrance of the cave, leading a group of twenty more well-armored goblinoids.

The leader crashed into the line of Nords, pushing a large number of them to the ground, but Reyvin was not idle while this was happening, his Magicka reserve was drying out so while sending Scorch to interrupt the reinforcing group for a moment, he positioned himself above the Falmer 'knight?' and unslung his spear.

Sending a prayer to his ancestors he turned off his levitation spell while aiming the spear for the thing's neck.

(Pov Thorfinn)

A fucking cavalryman?! Since when do they have cavalry?!

My father did tell me stories of the Falmer, but they were always said to be barely above goblins.

The massive bug creature crashes into our line and we are thrown about like ragdolls, thankfully our armor saves all of us from an instant death, but many are hurt. I see the Nord mages try and help us, but I know they won't be able to harm the thing.

I steel myself and charge the bastard riding the creature, letting out a war cry I jump up, my sword aiming to take the fuckers head, but he reacts far faster than I would expect a blind creature to do, swatting away my blade like one would a stick, his mount turns to bite my head off and I prepare to join my father in Sovengarde.

When Reyvin of all fucking people appears above the damn things and rams his spear straight through the neck of the rider and into the head of his mount... what is it with this elf?!

(Pov: Reyvin)

'Holy shit that was terrifying!' I think as I start shaking from the adrenaline of my most recent stunt.

I turn towards the reinforcing group of Falmer, Scorch blowing himself up on them did slow them down quite a bit, but I know the guards won't be able to reorganize in time. I turn toward the twins and shout "Delay them with everything you have"

They both follow my command, not daring to argue in the middle of a fight and send their wolves to harry the incoming Falmer while moving to the front and casting frostbite with all they have, as to slow them down even further.

I do not remain idle either, the guards seem to be reorganizing and taking a formation again, but it is still not enough. I summon my saber and with the last bit of my Magicka I recast an Empowering Stoneflesh and launch myself into the enemy formation.

They may outnumber me but they are far weaker than my magicked-up self and are already taking casualties from my Nord colleagues.

I decapitate one of them and dodge a spear strike, predicting it with my new bloodline ability 'please don't tell me Dagoth was a secret Uchiha for fucks sake' I think jokingly as I dodge another strike and repay the little fucker with a stab through the eye.

The Falmer reorganize themselves and chose to simply throw themselves at me, the familiars of my friends launch themselves into the pile to delay them and I retreat, realizing that my work was done.

The now back-in-formation Nord guardsmen charge into the enemy line and start slaughtering the distracted Falmer, this fight lasts for seconds only.

(General pov)

Everyone gives a tired cheer as they butcher the last fallen snow elf.

Before people can celebrate further Reyvin immediately speaks up "Everyone check if you got even the slightest cut, the poison they use is fast acting and will kill or paralyze you."

Everyone listens to him without question, which actually surprises the young Dunmer.

Thorgrim, followed by Thorfinn joins him and the old Nord asks "Why do you look so surprised eh? What you did to that bug rider is worthy of a song!" Followed by a cheer from everyone, even the twins.

Thorfinn looked at him for a couple of seconds before offering his hand and saying "You saved my life today, I will remember it"

Reyvin while still taking the offered warrior's handshake shakes his head "You'd do the same for me, there are no debts among comrades" and the Nords cheer once more with Reyvin wincing internally from his cringeworthy words.

They all take a rest while bandaging wounds and applying antidote, the mages focus on recharging their Magicka, which is far faster than it would normally be without the use of Arcane Ascension.

Due to Scorch being able to come back quickly, it is decided that they would prolong their rest until he regenerates, the scouting will be necessary if there is more of the same waiting for them.

Chapter V: Extermination (Part 2)

After Scorch finally regenerated, Reyvin sent him to scout out the path ahead.

Everyone thankfully seemed to be battle-worthy, having people being too wounded would slow them down tremendously.

The ashen hawk returned after a couple of minutes and relayed what he saw. Long, winding tunnels, covered in traps and ambush spots, the Falmer were ready for them this time.

After Reyvin explained the situation to the guard leader, the old man grunted in irritation, apparently he had to fight Bosmer in the great war and they used similar tactics.

Even after taking a good minute to think of any better ideas, it was decided that they would just have to slog through prepared enemy positions, no one liked it but if they got to save the prisoners it would be worth it.

They moved with caution, noticing and disarming a claw trap every now and then, soon they started to get ambushed by lone Falmer archers but with Reyvin casting wind-wards on the guards in front of him and the Falmer being blind, they were quickly taken out by the twins, or by Scorch ripping out their throats.

This continued for almost an hour, just when they would relax, a new ambusher would attack them, making everyone stuck in a state of constant tension.

Finally, they reached a new chamber, and if not for the small village's worth of Falmer arrayed in front of them they would have thought the underground river surrounded by glowing mushrooms and chitinous buildings to be breathtaking.

On the far side of the large cavern, Reyvin spied a fenced-off area where a bunch of Nords of all ages were tied up, thankfully the Falmer were too dumb to use hostages in this situation, or maybe they underestimated their attackers.

The Nords were stunned by the sheer number of enemies facing them, over a hundred Falmer, seemingly the entire remaining population of the cavern stood in a haphazard formation, with what looked like a mage standing in front of them, wielding a staff made of chaurus parts.

Speaking of the disgusting giant bugs, there were three of them at the side of the formation, thankfully not as large as the one they faced already, and with no riders this time.

Thorgrim quickly analyzed the situation and decided that the only way to victory is for the guards to be the anvil to the mage's hammer.

The guard made a shield wall with the twins taking positions behind them. Reyvin's task, however, was to face the enemy wizard and stop it from destroying the Nord's formation.

The two sides stared each other down, no one willing to make the first move, that is until Reyvin decided to not let his comrades get mentally exhausted by the stare-down and launched a lightning bolt at the enemy mage with all his might.

The creature was unable to react in time and a large chunk of its Magicka got burned out by the Dunmer's spell. The other Falmer enraged by this, charged the Nords in an unorganized fashion. It appeared that most of the warriors of this settlement were stationed at the beginning of the cavern seeing as these lacked proper armor or weapons.

The lines crashed into each other but thankfully the chaurus were blocked by their foolish owners and were unable to cause much damage.

The Falmer mage focused on Reyvin and started throwing ice shards with great speed, forcing him to start casting wards to not get his brain splattered on the ground, it even managed to nick him in the leg, but it was negligible.

The back and forth continued for what felt like an hour but was really less than a minute, changing his tactics from purely defensive Reyvin started throwing in lightning bolts and firebolts, landing a few hits that the blind fucker across the field failed to notice.

After the prolonged exchange of spells, the creature's Magicka reserve was draining far quicker than Reyvin's, and it showed as it started throwing fewer and fewer spells out.

In a last attempt to end him the Falmer raised its staff and launched a concentrated beam of lightning at the elf, but predicting the attack and not being a complete idiot, Reyvin threw himself to the side and finished the Falmer mage with a firebolt to the face.

Turning back to the battle he realized that it was not going too well, dozens of Falmer were dead but so were three of the guardsmen, the twins seemed to hold their own quite well, summoning maces in one hand and casting frostbite in the other.

Thorfinn was going on a rampage slaying multiple Falmer swarming him, but he was growing tired.

Thorgrim was smashing things left and right, not slowing down for even a moment.

But it was not sustainable, the guards would lose out. Reyvin aimed where the enemy was most bunched up and started throwing fireballs and downing Magicka potions in quick succession, each couple of fireballs was followed by Reyivin downing a magicka potion, this went on until he ran out of supplies and noticed that there were still too many of the damn Falmer.

Two more guardsmen fell to the onslaught, which was now finally joined by the chaurus beasts waddling over the corpses of their masters.

Understanding that there was no other way out Reyvin calmed himself and breathed slowly, there would be consequences for this but it had to be done, he quickly positioned himself to the side of the formation so as to not hurt his comrades with what he was about to do.

After a second of centering himself, he breathed in a large breath of the putrid cavern air and focused his very essence into a shout.

"YOL!"

The world itself seemed to be set aflame for but a flickering moment and a gust of fire far more potent than any spell he may cast left his mouth.

All of the chaurus and a good number of the remaining Falmer were instantly disintegrated by the dragon flame that hit them, the rest were burnt and quickly dispatched by the momentarily stunned guardsmen.

Reyvin's throat burned and he felt as if his very soul ached, Scorch quickly de summoned himself after ripping another Falmer's throat out and immediately got to trying to help his master heal.

The last thing that the young elf saw before he lost consciousness was the dumbfounded faces of the Nords and the twins rushing toward him, healing spells already prepared.

Chapter VI: Aftermath

(Reyvin's pov)

As I opened my eyes the feeling of heavy exhaustion assaulted me, looking around I appeared to be inside a tent, outside I could hear a lot of people talking, alongside loudly rushing water.

Getting up was absolute torture, and just as I thought I was ready to step out a feeling of nausea hit me and I doubled over throwing up coagulated blood and the disgusting remnants of the potions I drank.

I hear someone get inside the tent and am suddenly grabbed by a pair of hands, Bor looks me over for a second and starts casting healing, focusing mostly on my throat. As he is doing that he speaks up "I didn't know you actually managed to learn the thu'um, we kept joking how you were wasting your time"

I go to respond but all I get is another wave of pain and nausea.

He signals me to stop "You fucked your throat up pretty bad, it isn't getting fixed without the help of a master, thankfully you only seem to be extremely exhausted and not dying."

I shake my head and mouth the words "So Nords can learn something useful huh"

He rolls his eyes, gives me the finger, and then offers me a waterskin which I greedily drink from.

While I am drinking like a man that just escaped the desert he explains the situation. Apparently, there is an entrance at the far end of the cave leading into some kind of Dwemer ruin, presumably overrun by either animanculi or Falmer. All of the surviving prisoners have been rounded up already and the guards are discussing how to proceed.

I nod along as he explains and show that I am no longer feeling like I am dying so we step out of the tent. Outside, sitting around a couple of fires there are about fifty Nords both old and young, most of them seem delirious or just very tired.

The guards notice me and give me a subdued cheer, if I continue with my stunts they might name me an honorary n'wah. I snort at the thought, and wince because snorting fucking hurts right now. Grabbing my spear from near the tent's entrance I start slowly walking toward Thorgrims position while using it as a crutch.

Even walking hurts at the moment, but thankfully my Magicka seems to be doing just fine, it is a bit erratic but that is to be expected after using destruction for long periods of time.

Thorgrim greets me with some respect in his eyes "Didn't know the greybeards recruited outsiders these days"

I shake my head and go to respond but Bor interrupts me by tapping me on the back and laughing a bit "He ain't no greybeard old man, he is just a nerd that thought it might be cool to shout"

The old Nord seems dumbfounded for a second but then just sighs and shakes his head "In any case, we lost five of ours and three are too cut up to do anything, can you continue on?" He asks with visible hope in his eyes.

I look at him weirdly before pulling out my notebook and writing down "Why are we even continuing on? Didn't we already save the prisoners?"

He shakes his head "Aye we did, but we also saw a bunch of the blind fuckers spying on us from the far entrance, leaving them there is just asking to get raided again, now can you fight or not?"

I explain that while I can use my magic, even running is painful at the moment. He breathes out "All right I can work with that, I've already sent two of my boys with this one's sister" He points at Bor "To call for reinforcements and someone to help the prisoners, we had to use quite a bit of our antidote on them, didn't want whatever the Falmer were using in their systems for longer than needed. They should arrive in about a day, so take the time to rest up and prepare yourself"

I nod and turn away to go and grab something to eat but he interrupts me "Hey kid!" I turn around and he tosses me a bottle of mead he got from wherever which I grab with telekinesis "Good job." I smile and walk away, Bor staying behind to chat with the old man.

Fortunately, we packed a lot of food for this expedition, not so fortunately the food fucking sucked, dry rations and if you are lucky some nuts, but it was better than trying to eat the mushrooms so down my horribly maimed hatch it goes!

Scorch appears next to me without any of my input and sits down on my shoulder while chirping some kind of happy tune he learned somewhere, it is relaxing.

I doze off and try to remember the feeling I had while truly using the thu'um for the first time, it was something so different from anything I have ever done that I find it hard to describe the feeling, the closest would be ordering something to happen with my very soul, but that doesn't do it justice. Thankfully my act of almost-self-immolation came with its rewards!

[Novice tongue: You speak, the world hears: Yol]

[Blessing of Kyne: you heal faster, the winds accept you as their own]

The traits seem to have split, seeing as being a tongue is now a school of magic. Also it appears I needed to actually push myself to unlock the power of the voice, meditation is cool and all but I now finally understand why it takes the greybeards decades to become decent tongues, dumbasses are never challenged so they stagnate. Well they are pacifists so good on them I guess.

My musing is interrupted by Thorfinn sitting next to me and offering a roast... whatever it is, deciding to not think too deeply I toss my dry ration back into its bag and take a bite, hmm tastes like chicken.

My young Nord friend breaks the silence after some time "Saved my ass again eh?" trying to hide his lack of comfort with the idea behind a joking tone.

I move as if I was laughing at him and write down "Better start getting used to it kid, we in the big leagues tend to do all the heroic deeds while you, the kids get saved!"

He rolls his eyes and asks with some irritation "How do you get so strong? What do you have that I don't"

I give him the trademark Saitama deadpan look and slowly raise my hand covering it in fire.

We are both silent for a bit until he facepalms and mutters "Ok I am going to go end myself be right back"

I interrupt him and write down "Still sure you don't want me to show you some spells? we do have a day to waste"

He stills for a moment, his pride warring with his desire for strength before saying "Alright, show me your ways o magic man"

I go to laugh, but all I get out is a cough, he seems worried but I wave him off and cast fast healing on my throat, getting the pain under control. I spend a good portion of the day showing him how to channel Magicka and how to make the most basic of flames, he manages to create a spark of fire which is actually quite impressive, but he seems dissatisfied. Leaving Thorfinn to practice far more than it is healthy I go for a patrol around the camp.

The guards all look at me with genuine respect now, their mood is a mixture of triumph and sadness, but since Nords venerate a heroic death at one mention of Sovengarde all of them cheer up.

The next day I find myself feeling a bit better, I can jog a bit now but that is about the extent of it, my voice is still fucked however.

The next day arrives without issues, early in what I can only guess is the morning I hear noise coming from the entrance of the cave, sending Scorch to scout just in case he quickly reports that there are about twenty guards coming alongside the Captain himself.

'Finally! Burning myself from the inside out is preferable to all the waiting.'

Chapter VII: Going deeper

Not long after, the company of guards enters the cave followed by Brienne.

We all gather up at the center of the Falmer settlement and Thorgrim takes his time explaining the situation to Hjolmir, when he gets to the part about the final fight the guards turn to me with astonishment, they interrupt the conversation and start asking questions but I point at my throat and shake my head, and now they are looking even funnier, yup I am becoming an honorary n'wah whether I like it or not...

I drift off as they start organizing the transportation of the rescued prisoners, but Brienne interrupts me and hands me a potion bottle "Master Tolfdir told me to give you this when he learned of your state, he said it would help speed up your recovery"

Ah, bless that old man! I smile and nod at her before downing the potion in one swig, immediately feeling better, the potion feels like a constant but light restoration spell spreading through my entire body.

She also hands me a couple of Magicka potions, making me do a fake swoon which made her giggle.

Not long after, the guards are done with their planning and Hjolmir walks to the side of the 'square' where I am standing and pats my shoulder with a proud look on his face "You did good Reyvin, when I heard you shouted the Falmer to death I thought the three that told me drunk"

I sigh and write down "It isn't my fault your people forgot your ancient arts to the point that anyone using them is considered a myth"

He shakes his head "If it were only that simple." Before he rights himself and starts talking seriously "Some of the guards will be returning alongside the prisoners to Winterhold, we don't want to leave them back at their homesteads until we are sure that they are all right and the threat has been dealt with. You could choose to go back with them and no one would say a word"

I immediately shake my head and write "I would feel defeated if I left this halfway, and besides someone needs to save your boy's asses if they get in over their heads again."

He laughs happily "Aye, it's a shame you aren't a Nord, you sure would fit in with us"

I look at him mock offended and he laughs again. I sigh.

(General pov)

It takes the company some time to reorganize themselves, the wounded guards alongside some of the new arrivals leave with the liberated Nords.

A group of fourteen guards, Hjolmir, Thorfinn, and Thorgrim among them, alongside the three mages start their descent into the Dwemer ruin.

The gates themselves are made of the signature Dwemer metal, leading into an orderly tunnel covered by random traces of Falmer living there. They move slowly through the initial rooms, Reyvin warning everyone to watch for traps as the Dwemer remnants are known to be full of them, this saves a couple of guards from an untimely and very gory demise.

Most of the initial rooms are empty, well empty of Falmer, there re a lot of Dwemer items that should sell for a pretty penny once they were done with their expedition, naturally no one loots anything as it would only weigh them down going forward.

It takes an entire hour of slowly inching through the abandoned halls before they meet their first adversaries, a group of dwarven spiders, thankfully of the worker variant that are dispatched with ease. Reyvin makes a note to loot them for all they are worth on their way back.

Not long after the group enters a wide chamber reminiscent of a debate hall, coming face to face with a group of a couple of dozen very surprised and very large armored Falmer.

The Nords do not give their enemy a second to collect themselves, the Captain of the guard casting augmentation spells on himself and charging like an enraged bull almost turning the first Falmer he meets to paste with his mace, the rest quickly join him in the battle, spells flying from the backline showering the creatures in a mixture of fire and ice.

After taking heavy losses to the surprise attack, the Falmer reorganize into a surprisingly robust formation and start a shield wall battle with the Nords, holding their own with surprising efficiency.

Deciding not to let an enemy have even the slightest chance of victory, Reyvin once again levitates into the air and positions himself above the enemy formation, throwing fireballs into the target rich environment.

Before he can continue decimating the enemy ranks, a couple of the enemy warriors break of from the backline and point dwarven crossbows at him, the bolts break through his wind-ward but are weakened enough for his armor and stoneflesh to stop them.

Getting frightened by the sudden ranged attack Reyvin channels his inner Palpatine and casts greater sparks from both of his hands, frying the crossbowmen inside their armor.

Some of the guardsmen get wounded during the combat but the now severely weakened Falmer aren't enough to inflict any casualties. The fighting continues for a very short while with the flying Dunmer continuing his bombardment.

After killing the last goblinated elf, and finishing off any that may have survived, the Nords spread out and set up a perimeter while the mages get to neutralizing the poison from the wounded guards and then to healing them.

Confirming that there are no other enemies nearby, doing so once more using the mage's familiars, Hjolmir decides that they should take a break.

An hour of rest and a quick meal later they were on the prowl once again, following more winding tunnels and dispatching a couple more smaller groups of automata or the oddly large Falmer warriors.

(Reyvin's pov)

Tunnel after tunnel, seriously most of them are just empty and I can't for the life of me ascertain the purpose, are they a siege defense system? Is this why they are like this? Or did the Dwemer dig them out just to fuck with me?

Deciding to stop whining like a 17 year old, I refocus on my magic eyesight, noticing no traces of anyone or anything, I return to a thought that has been plaguing me since we entered the caves: Why are the Falmer wearing proper armor and fighting in formations, were they misrepresented in the game or is this an isolated incident?

I have doubts that the elves who degenerated to the point of their souls turning into white ones are capable of returning to any kind of former glory on their own, which has a lot of uncomfortable implications.

My thoughts are interrupted by a large gate now blocking our way, there was no locking mechanism but opening them is sure to alert whatever is on the other side.

Hjolmir signals for us to stop and casts a spell on the gate after touching it with his palm, after a couple of silent moments he turns to us "There is a very large space beyond this gate, at least the size of a small town" He turns to me "You think it could be some kind of entrance to Blackreach?"

I shake my head and point my finger below us.

He nods "So a mine or some kind of village or camp then" Before shaking his head and letting out a breath "Well, no time like the present!" He pushes the gate inwards and we are greeted with a beautiful sight.

Large tree sized glowing blue mushrooms surrounding many small Dwemer houses, two tiny rivers flowing from a waterfall at the edge of the cave, and a tower of stone and dwarven metal in the center of it all.

As soon as I see the large building and feel the baleful and bloody aura around it mixed in with a gentle light, I know with absolute certainty that it holds the answers to all my questions about this place.

[Quest issued: Unearth the secret of the Falmer][Reward: Mag: +10, random Dwemer schematics]

Chapter VIII: Extermination (part 3)

At first, the town looked to be oddly empty of any Falmer, the streets were quiet and there were no guards in sight, but activating my third eye I could sense a large amount of living creatures hiding behind corners and skulking on the roofs.

Just when Hjolmir was about to start walking in I grab his shoulder and pull him back, he looks at me with confusion before I mouth "Ambush"

He asks me how many and I take my time counting and sign back with my hands that it is about five dozen Falmer with a couple seeming to be mounted.

Hjolmir seems to be chastising himself for a moment but quickly refocuses, a wicked smile now on his face, and starts whispering loud enough for everyone to hear him "All right lads and lasses, the fuckers are waiting for us, they have a full ambush prepared so I think we will respond in kind. Bor, Brienne I want the two of you to focus on any archers on the roofs, I know ol' Tolfdir taught you the wind-ward so you two should be able to win out against them."

The twins nod seriously and start preparing.

"Reyvin, I want you to harass them and stop them from acting together, you can use your flying trick but if enemy mages start going after you, return to the ground immediately and start covering us"

I also nod and start planning.

"As for the rest of you, you will do what you do best, I want a strong shield wall and quick kills, they are spread out right now so if we manage to kill them quickly enough it will be us outnumbering them. As for their weird chaurus cavalry, leave them to me"

The guards salute and we all take our positions, the mages casting augmentation spells on themselves, the guards checking their weapons and armor one last time, and I start levitating into the air.

What does surprise me is Hjolmir throwing down green runic traps in front of the largest enemy positions and then casting ebony flesh on himself, I thought he might just be an adept mage at best but it appeared to me that I may have underestimated what an old Nordic clan can do.

Some of the Falmer seem to get agitated and I saw a couple of heads peeking over the roofs, so did my college friends evidently, as an ice shard lodged itself into the closest snow elf's eye.

As soon as this happened all hell broke loose, as we heard shouting from every direction in front of us, groups of large Falmer wearing Dwemer armor started leaving their hiding spots.

They were just about to get into formation but some of the groups were suddenly caught in a blast of green and paralyzed. The Nords took this opportunity and charged into the enemy closest to them.

A group of three chaurus riders emerge from behind a house to the side of our formation but are noticed by Hjolmir, who explodes in a burst of speed and rams into the first rider like a truck, flattening it and its mount. The two others try and use the death of their companion to flank him, but the Captain simply turns to the next closest rider, and they both soon share the fate of their comrade.

While our ground forces butcher the enemy, I go about my task harassing their backlines. Many Falmer heads are exploded with a firebolt treating their armor as a mere suggestion, when enemy crossbowmen try and take me out their only reward is a lightning bolt to the mouth.

Unfortunately, the pale goblins aren't complete idiots.

Two Falmer dressed in robes, wielding chaurus chitin staves emerge from the bottom of the tower and start targeting me with ice spells. As I was ordered I return to the ground and focus on protecting my comrades from enemy fire with my wards, noticing my predicament Brienne stops targeting the mostly dead crossbowmen on the roofs and starts firing back at the mages.

The one dressed in less ornate robes falls after some exchanges, but the presumed elder mage suddenly throws a telekinetic push at us, throwing Brienne to the ground and only staggering me because my necklace absorbed some of the magic, thanks to my perception I manage to evade an ice spear aimed at my face.

I quickly start throwing spells back at the enemy mage and send Scorch to distract him with sudden attacks, Brienne appears to have been knocked out so it's just me and the ugly ass blind cunt in front of the tower.

The Falmer's defenses are very robust, seemingly being very proficient at wards, so none of my spells seem to even phase it, drinking a potion of Magicka I decide to change my tactics.

While casting a couple of fireballs to its sides to distract it and sending Scorch to get into its face, I unsling my spear and start spinning it in place with my telekinesis, using what little control over wind I have to speed it up.

The Falmer mage quickly dispatches my feathery friend but that was all the time I needed, I launch another lightning bolt at my opponent forcing it to block with another ward, and at the same moment I overcharge my telekinesis and launch my spear for its head. It tries to block with a ward on instinct, but most wards are made to block magic, not material items and the spear breaks through it immediately, impaling the Falmer mage in the throat.

The tough motherfucker still seems to survive my attack but I give it no time to recover, throwing lightning bolt after lightning bolt at its twitching body. Soon the last bit of life leaves the creature and I turn back to rejoin the battle.

I quickly check on Brienne and cast a fast healing spell when I notice her bleeding a bit from the back of her head, she will survive with no issues but it will hurt like a bitch when she wakes up.

Hjolmir is still going berserk in the enemy lines flattening the poor things like they were snowmen instead of snow elves. The guards themselves seem to have taken no casualties and are methodically cutting down the disorganized enemy warriors.

Bor is blasting any enemy that tries to flank the guards with his ice magic and when someone tries to end him, his wolf familiar kindly explains that that is not an acceptable outcome by ripping them to shreds.

I levitate once again, this time not harassed by any crossbow fire, and land behind the enemy formation, smiling wickedly with what must have been a very terrifying look in my eyes I start channeling as much Magicka as I can into my scorching flames spell, even turning them blue for a moment.

The Falmer scream in incredible agony but I don't let up, stuck between a wall of Nords and a pyromaniac Dunmer mage, the degenerated elves stand no chance and are cut down.

The Nords give a celebratory cheer, not one of them died during this battle, but to be fair we did have a walking ballistic missile in the form of the Captain.

I quickly wave to Bor and point to his sister, he rushes to her faster than I've ever seen him move but soon he lets out a relieved breath, thanking me for looking out for her.

The guards get to the grim business of finishing off any wounded Falmer, and we all take our time checking for any traps or additional ambushes. Soon we are ransacking the houses in case there is any Falmer still hiding, we do find some very young ones but Hjolmir sends all of us out of that house and I prefer not to think about what he did next.

After spamming healing spells and using the potion Tolfdir sent me, my voice seems to be recovering slightly. I can now talk with some difficulty and sound like a lifelong chain-smoker.

As I am recovering my spear from the dead Falmer mage, I notice a ring of health on one of its fingers and a scroll tied to its belt. I put on the ring, which gives me a pleasant feeling before receding, and take a look at the scroll, it seems to be a scroll of summoning for some kind of Daedric merchant. Definitely something to check out once we are out of this cave and back in a more comfortable setting.

After a short rest, we all gather in front of the gates of the tower. Checking for any traps and finding none we enter through the gate and get ready to finally end this.

Chapter IX: Storming of the tower

The interior of the tower is far more ornately appointed than anything we saw on our way here. Over well-organized Dwemer furniture hang tapestries celebrating Auri-el or showing some kind of ancient snow elf figure.

"Curious, almost as if a snow elf is trying to revive their race. But how would they have survived?" I mutter.

I receive a light smack to the head and turn to see Thorfinn who whispers "You can be a nerd later, focus on the mission"

I glare at him for a moment then grunt, accepting his point, and refocus on the path ahead.

The further rooms at the bottom of the tower seem to have been the residence of the two Falmer magi we killed outside, filled with all manner of ingredients and even some enchanted items. I interrupt the group and scrounge through them, finding some more rings of health and stamina, the rest split them among themselves and we go on. Never know when a little bit of strength might come in handy.

The stairs leading up are wide and clean, no traps either but I guess no one wants to walk around traps in their own home.

When we approach the entrance to the next room I feel a large concentration of Magicka on the other side. After my quick warning, everyone focuses and those that can cast spells on themselves.

As soon as we enter the second floor, which looked to be a temple, we are assaulted by a group of ten far more elven-looking Falmer, still hunched and goblin-like but far taller and these even had their eyes open. They wore white elven armor and wielded what looked to be enchanted weapons and shields marked with a golden sun.

Behind them stood upright a Falmer wearing ornate robes marking him as a priest of Auri-el, who immediately started casting restoration spells on his comrades, boosting their strength.

He even shouted at us in broken tamrielic "Usurpers and murderers, you will pay in blood for your blasphemy!"

Everyone was stunned for a second and the Falmer crashed into the guards in front of me.

The fighting was far more even this time, the Nords no longer having the advantage of size or equipment, and even more frustrating was the constant healing done by the enemy priest.

Even as my colleagues and I started throwing spells into the enemy whenever we got the chance, their armor simply shrugged off our spells. We tried aiding the guards by providing our own healing and defensive spells, but we were not even close to good enough to provide combat healing.

The pushing match went on for what felt like an eternity, both sides sustaining wounds but no casualties. After launching a firebolt that exploded harmlessly against a Falmer's helmet I noticed the priest wince from the light, giving me a devious idea.

Gathering as much Magicka as I could between my hands I channeled the most basic alteration spell I knew, candlelight.

Soon an extremely bright light exploded from my hands, blinding everyone that looked even slightly in my direction, every single Falmer screeched in pain and one even doubled over while vomiting.

Hjolmir noticing the opportunity overcharged his strengthening spell and launched himself at the priest, the demi-elf only had a fraction of a moment to understand his fate before an ebony mace rent him in half.

The Falmer soldiers didn't last long after that, some of them not even realizing when they died.

Everyone looks more tired than when we killed off the far more numerous group downstairs, but before we can take a moment to recuperate I hear Hjolmir speak up "Whatever is leading these Falmer already had enough time to prepare, we will advance slowly through the next floors. You lot that are wounded drink up, no point in saving the potions anymore." The wounded guards nod and pull out healing potions from somewhere in their armor.

I hummed while thinking about why the leader didn't send these superior fighters when they noticed the fighting, could it be they merely considered the lesser Falmer expendable? But that would be idiotic, if these joined the battle downstairs we would have been slaughtered. Maybe the leader is just retarded? I chuckle drily as we start ascending the stairs.

The next floor looks like the living quarters of the temple guards, as I've started calling them in my mind, they look to be at the standard of civilized people, there are even some books! If they are written in Falmer the college will go wild over them, but I honestly doubt we are that lucky.

The stairs go on for longer this time, for whatever reason the top is very separated from the rest. As we enter the next chamber said reason is made apparent.

Butchered bodies of Falmer, Nords, and other elves are spread across different tables, there is a larger table at the center of the room covered in what looks like research notes. Some of the guards grow nauseous but barely manage to hold themselves together after Hjolmir gives them a hard look.

There is one room left in front of us, I feel only two creatures on the other side.

When Hjolmir pushes open the door we are greeted with a surprising sight. In the center of a richly appointed room stands a gaudily robed snow elf. Well mostly snow elf, there are still traces of his obviously Falmer heritage showing on any visible parts of his body.

He doesn't even turn toward us and is instead focused on the thing in front of him, on a wooden torture post lies an Altmer woman in Thalmor robes, the snow elf shouts at her "TELL ME THE REST OF YOUR SECRETS ALTMER BITCH! OR BY AURI-EL I WILL REND YOUR SOUL FROM YOUR BODY!" when he says this he shows her an empty black soul gem and speaks in a slightly calmer tone, which isn't saying much "You will tell me how to revive my people fully NOW!"

A guard accidentally overturns a cup from a nearby table and the snow elf turns sharply in our direction.

He seems completely caught off guard and looks at us bewildered "HOW DID YOU APPEAR HERE!? I TOLD THEM NOT TO LET ANYONE IN!"

I chuckle before anyone can answer "Well you see, when poke the kwama hive too hard, its soldiers tend to rip you to shreds"

He looks at me confused for a second before growing angry "How dare a peasant like you talk to me like this!?" and then as if a child was throwing a tantrum he shouts "I am a king! A KING! HOW DARE YOU!?"

I look at him with a tired deadpan stare, if this was the evil mastermind we were hyping ourselves up for I will shoot myself.

Well, at least his idiocy will let us capture him easier, I prepare a telekinesis spell to knock him down but before I even get the opportunity to cast the spell, the screeching snow elf is grabbed from behind by Thorfinn of all people who then promptly slits his throat and throws him on the ground.

Everyone looks at him like he grew a second head and he shrugs "What? You were taking too long" Hjolmir gives him a look that sends shivers down everyone's spine.

I facepalm.

Chapter X: Conclusion

While Thorfinn was getting a dressing down from Hjolmir because he left the formation without orders I walk toward the dead snow elf and the tortured Thalmor.

She looks at me with relief in her eyes "Ah good, quickly release me from this I have reports to make" she speaks as if talking to a servant.

I blink before saying tiredly "I know Altmer are cursed with a lesser intelect, but I will ignore your tone on account of you being delirious" And then completely ignore the fuming woman while rummaging through the documents I noticed on a nearby table.

Finding an official letter with the symbol of Aldmeris beautifully drawn on it I call Hjolmir over.

The Nord Captain walks away from the now pale and completely chastised Thorfinn and asks me what I want.

I do not answer and simply open the letter and prepare to read but am interrupted by the Altmer woman shouting "Leave that alone! That is not for your kind to see!"

I sigh and turn to one of the guards "Hey Garm, the prisoner seems like she is having an episode of insanity, please put something in her mouth so she doesn't bite her tongue off"

The guard gives me his most charming smile "But of course Reyvin, we wouldn't want our dear friends from Aldmeris to hurt themselves now would we" Before walking over to the dead snow elf, taking off one of his socks.

The Altmer's eyes widen and she starts shouting again "DON'T YOU DARE YOU NORD DOG, I WILL HA-" her raving is interrupted by said sock being stuck in her mouth.

I smile "Ah, blessed silence" And everyone nearby shares an evil chuckle "Anyway back to the letter"

I open it, cough for a bit because my throat still hurts like a bitch, and start reading out loud: "Justiciar Myriel, you are to use your new discoveries in restoration and alteration to advance the colony of Falmer in Thamz-mzinch, after the initial success you will start harassing the Nord settlements and destabilizing the region. Your ultimate goal is to weaken the entire province by growing an army far more agreeable to our rule, lesser success is acceptable. You are permitted to conduct any and all research you might need to accomplish your task and will be provided with a guard of four warriors. Signed High Justiciar Finarfin"

The elf woman somehow looks even more pissed than when she got a sock put in her mouth, if looks could kill we would be facing armageddon. The Nords all turn to her and give her a similar treatment, Hjolmir goes to smash her to pieces in his anger but I stop him with a hand on his shoulder.

He looks at me and asks very slowly "You aren't going to ask me to spare her are you Reyvin? I may like you, but I don't like you that much"

I give him my best conspiratorial smile "Of course not Captain, I just thought we might as well get some use out of the bitch" before I walk toward the downed snow elf and pick up the black soul gem.

I give her a cold look "I am guessing that someone as arrogant as you won't be willing to give us the details of your work here even if I have this?" As I shake the soul gem in front of her.

She looks at me with a mix of terror and unwavering defiance.

I shrug carelessly and walk toward her while giving a little monologue "Sadly, the dear diplomat from Aldmeris was already cut to pieces when we arrived, there was just nothing left of her so we as honorable people gave her a proper burial before leaving in defeat" and then with all the strength I can muster I ram the soul gem into her throat while using what little soul manipulation I can force her soul into it.

The look of pure agony on her face makes me rethink what I am doing for a second, but I remind myself of what she did and continue.

The feeling of filling a black soul gem is disgusting beyond any description, it is so wrong that if I did this to anyone who didn't completely deserve it I feel I would kill myself the next day.

I shudder and everyone gives me a concerned look, one guard who seems a bit slow on the uptake asks "So how are we going to explain the dead Thalmor?" I blink at him and burn the body to ashes "What Thalmor?"

He tries to speak again but Thorgrim smacks him on the shoulder "There were no Thalmor here"

Bor and Brienne walk up to me and the male twin speaks up with a cautious voice "You know you can't do that Reyvin, it is strictly forbidden, you know where souls go when you use those things"

I wave him off "Oh shut up, I know you wanted to do it too, besides the bitch deserved it"

He goes to speak again, but Brienne interrupts him "Let it go Bor. We saw nothing and heard nothing, it isn't worth it. Besides, Reyvin isn't stupid enough to start collecting those disgusting things is he?" She turns to me with a surprisingly threatening smile.

I shake my head, suppressing a shiver "Of course not, even filling this one felt awful" Yes, totally won't use it in the future to punish my enemies, not at all ma'am.

They seem to accept my answer and we go to ransack the place after we have confirmed that there were no more enemies around.

As I am searching through the corpse-filled research room I suddenly hear

[Quest complete]

and trip on a couple of books, that is one way to give rewards I guess. Flipping through the schematics I got, I was satisfied with the surprisingly good reward. A way to make dwarven spider workers and control them, it might seem like useless at first glance but the money making potential was immense.

As I am reading through the research notes, I am surprised by the precision of the anatomical research conducted here. I guess it was the Thalmor agent doing most of the work, for whatever reason I cannot imagine the Falmer being in any way effective but when I found the bodies of four other Altmer ripped apart I started to doubt that, then again was the Thalmor insane enough to use her own guards as subjects?

No matter, the research notes are very valuable on their own, unfortunately the bloodline atavism process described here requires some very nasty sacrificial rituals that seem horribly inefficient but at least it offers a base to work from.

My reading session is interrupted by Thorgrim who enters the room with some others "What've you got there Reyvin?"

"Research notes on everything they did here."

Thorgrim grabs a torch "Good, lets get rid of it"

I look at him as if he was an idiot "This is too valuable to simply burn, I get killing the ones who did this, but this can still be of use"

"Of course a fucking knife ear would say that" He seems very angry all of a sudden.

I glare at him and prepare for what is inevitably going to turn into a shouting match but Hjolmir suddenly enters the room "Thorgrim what is going on over here?"

"I want to burn the disgusting research that the whore elf made using our people, the Dunmer here" He points at me with disgust "Wants to save it, it will be useful he says"

The Captain shakes his head "It will indeed be useful, if we can use this to heal some of our people when they need it, at least the sacrifice of those tortured here won't be in vain"

Thorgrim gets even more angry "For the love of Talos Ca-"

Hjolmir interrupts him "Where did I tell you to leave your bullshit Thorgrim?"

The old Nord mutters "Of course a fucking Ebon-frost would agree with the elf"

Hjolmir gives him a cold glare "What was that soldier?"

Thorgrim calms down forcefully "I leave it at home sir"

"Exactly, now get out and get some fresh air" the old man leaves the room and Hjolmir tells me "You better keep that safe, never know what the fool could do"

I nod and get back to work while wondering what made Thorgrim's attitude do a 180 all of a sudden, maybe he got war flashbacks? He is after all a great war veteran, he had shown no hatred for elves on our way here but maybe he was just hiding it very well.

The looting of the place took almost as much time as searching it did, but no one made any complaints. We were all making it out of here rich and that was not an overstatement.

We found many more enchanted trinkets, and even a storage of Dwemer animanculi parts in another section of the tower, the valuable weapons and armor we took of the corpses would see us all wealthy on their own, not to mention the finders fee the college was sure to give us for discovering an entire Dwemer village.

We even discovered a caved in path to the side of the cavern, meaning it led somewhere and my hunch was an elevator heading down.

Taking everything that wasn't nailed down and was worth more than a stone we left the cave system looking more like pack mules instead of people. Thankfully no beasts or bandits bothered us on our way to Winterhold.