Chapter XI: Flame-tongue
Our return to Winterhold was welcomed with great celebration, almost everyone we passed on our walk to the Jarl's keep congratulated or thanked us, it felt pretty good.
After depositing the ridiculous amount of loot at the guard house we entered the 'palace'.
Inside awaited the young Jarl, his mother the regent, the court wizard, and finally the Archmage.
Hjolmir was the first to speak up, describing the entire second part of the expedition, the first having already been explained by the guards that returned earlier. Thankfully my levitation or brutal execution of the Thalmor Justiciar wasn't mentioned.
The young Jarl, barely a teen if my guess is correct listens patiently and when the Captain is done he stands up and speaks with a barely hidden lack of confidence "Winterhold is honored to have such valiant protectors, we will hold a celebration to honor your success and the victorious dead tomorrow." he seems to have rehearsed the little speech many times with how mechanical it sounded.
No one pays it any mind however, the Jarl's position at the moment was ceremonial at best. Some more grandiose proclamations are made and the boy leaves us to do the real work.
The regent mother now speaks up "Since your deeds were to the benefit of the hold as a whole we will forgo the Jarl's share of the loot, but due to the importance of the discovery of such a site you will naturally forgo any claimant rites to the college's benefit." The negotiations seem to have been finished before we even arrived, fucking diviners man.
The Archmage adds "Naturally each and every one of you will be given generous compensation for this, and the families of the fallen as well." He turns to us "As for you brave apprentices I will personally help Master Sergius in enchanting personalized high-grade robes for each of you."
We all nod, very willing. I could have probably milked the discovery for more, but powerful robes and tons of good will will do.
The regent turns to the twins "Sadly since the two of you are from a Dawnstar clan I cannot offer you land rights in the city, I will however declare your clan a friend of Winterhold if you wish it."
The twins whisper between each other for a bit, Brienne soon gives the answer in a surprisingly well-practiced official tone "We personally would be honored, but we must ask permission from the clan head first."
The regent nods, probably having expected this, and then addresses me "Reyvin Flame-tongue you have done great deeds in the name of Winterhold, so in my power as Jarl-regent I grant you permission to purchase and own property within the hold"
The Jarl's steward enters from a side door and gives me a signed document however something far more important is on my mind at the moment
"Flame-tongue?" I mutter with a great deal of confusion.
Before the regent can answer the Archmage cuts in "Seeing as you do not wish your real family name used, it was decided that your new epithet will be used in Skyrim"
After thinking for a bit I facepalm hard in realization and sigh heavily "It took them an entire three seconds to tell everyone and anyone I can shout didn't it?"
I hear Bor and Brienne snickering from behind me.
The Archmage gives me a wry smile "Indeed, almost the entire city has heard of Reyvin Flame-tongue using the thu'um to protect the hold's people. Honestly, that topic is far more widespread than the mass kidnapping which has actually made everyone calm down, good job!" He even gives me a thumbs-up...
I groan and Savos laughs out loud.
(general pov)
The talks in the keep last another three hours, promotions were handed out to the guards, the dead families visited to have their share of the loot given to them, and so many gods damned documents had to be signed.
Reyvin was certain that he left the unnecessarily complex bureaucracy behind in his last life, but apparently the saying that nothing is certain beyond death and taxes is true even in magical fantasy land.
The young dark elf did ask if there were any pieces of land on sale, but due to the current hectic situation the steward told him he will have a list by next week.
'Oh yeah offer me land rights and then just tell me to fuck off, nice going Nords!' He grumbles before leaving.
The other two apprentices also left the keep with him while carrying the absolutely massive amount of loot they secured with them, they were all about to start discussing the situation when the Archmage suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started walking with them.
Brienne jumped in fright and the two male students didn't really know how to react, but thankfully the awkward atmosphere was broken when Savos spoke first "I left a similacrum back in the keep, if you think listening to reports or signing documents ever gets more bearable let me ruin that expectation for you, it gets worse!" He groans surprising the apprentices.
"Why not leave it to someone else then?" Reyvin asks as if it were obvious.
Savos sighs "I usually do, but this was too big for the Archmage not to show up, and I was in the middle of trying to summon a Daedroth when I got the news, do you know how hard it is to summon those? Now I have to start over." He slumps his shoulders, almost looking like a kicked puppy.
The students all share an incredulous look before shrugging, they walk for a bit until Reyvin speaks up again "So about those robes, can we chose the design or?"
"Yes, just send the details as quickly as you can, we want to get them done quickly" Savos says with 0 interest.
Reyvin thinks for a bit and gets an idea "Actually, would it be possible to watch the process?"
The Archmage stops for a second and scratches his beard before saying with a look of faux cunning "Certainly, if you explain how you can see Magicka, that is" giving the young Dunmer a wide smile.
Bor mutters while punching his hand "Fucking knew it" with Brienne giggling at her twin.
The young Dunmer on the other hand simply shrugs and says "Sure, not like I can teach it to anyone anyways."
Savos waves that detail off "No matter, I am just curious about that specific bloodline, who knows, I might even be able to replicate it with some effort"
Reyvin is about to interject but the older Dunmer merely laughs at his concerned look "Don't worry I won't dissect you for your secrets, as I said I am merely curious, maybe, probably... I'll think on it."
Reyvin knows the old man is just fucking with him so he ignores it and they go on.
As they continue walking he asks the Archmage for some tips when it comes to Arcane Ascension, the older mer after thinking for a bit explains that while it is a gradual process it can be sped up by using different reagents or items that are connected to the individual practicing. Savos surmised that someone of Reyvin's bloodline might benefit greatly from heartstones if they could actually get their hands on some.
They soon arrive at the college gates and after saying his goodbyes the Archmage simply blinks out of their sight, the students get out of their stupor and head to the dormitory to finally get some proper rest.
Chapter XII: Celebration
(Reyvin's pov)
When I awoke the next day, everything ached. My body finally had a chance to relax and the combined exhaustion of the days long expedition hit me like a truck.
Deciding to lie down for a bit longer I checked my progress.
[Mag: 210 = 225]
[Str: 11 = 11.5]
[Dex: 12.5 = 13]
[Vit: 14 = 17]
As expected, prolonged combat is a great workout, my Magicka also got a good boost from the quest, the vitality though... it appears I underestimated just how powerful Kyne's blessing really is, from what I remember in the lore practicing the thu'um did bless one with good health and a strong lifeforce but this much of a boost is surprising, I am only 17 and can probably survive small truck hitting me *Shrug* well you won't hear me complaining.
Deciding to finally stop procrastinating I get up and get dressed. I now also have to take a moment to shave my stubble, sure I will grow a beard later, but the short uneven facial hair of a teen just makes one look unhygienic.
Soon I leave my room with Scorch popping into existence on my shoulder, he has grown larger than before but can still fit there. I sit down in the common room and grab myself a coffee while feeding some nuts to my bird.
It appears I was the first to wake up but the others start joining me not long after, soon everyone is sitting around a table and discussing our experiences.
As I am talking about what we found inside the tower Edrasa asks me "Oh, would it be possible to go over those notes?"
I shrug "Sure, but these are valuable so you'd owe me a favor"
She doesn't even blink before saying "I'll convince my father to make you a staff"
"Deal"
The whole negotiation was almost instantaneous, making some of our friends look at us weirdly.
Now, one might find themselves wondering why would she need my permission to look over the notes? It's quite simple really, we all had to choose our part of the loot, even if there was a lot of wealth to go around and everyone got at least some good old simple cash.
The guards all went with enchanted gear that could save their lives, the twins on the other hand went for as much wealth as they could get, from what I eavesdropped their clan is in dire straights and they want to help them. That naturally left most of the research for me, so I got myself a lot of alteration and restoration notes on the topic of biological modification and lesser racial transformation. Naturally, it was extremely complex magic but they should help me in the future when I inevitably try and become more than a mere Dunmer.
We continue talking about the expedition for a time and then move on to what the rest did while we were slaying gawblins.
Marwyn and Morrigan were the ones to help Sergius with an enchantment order this time, the money certainly made Morrigan reconsider her focus on alchemy, but then she had a dangerous thought, why not both?
Edrasa helped with some healing, just doing the bare minimum as usual.
And surprisingly Tiberius went out and defended some village at the coast from an ice wraith attack, his scamps being very effective against the almost purely ice-form creatures. When I asked him if he finally learned how to at least block spells he puffed out his chest and made a barely stronger-than-basic ward, I spent the next twenty minutes berating him and explaining in great and visceral detail what would have happened to him in the cave with such a shitty defense.
Later in the day, I visited Collete to have my throat checked just in case, my voice was already mostly back to normal but I had to be sure there weren't any hidden problems.
She looked me over for a moment and cast a single spell that made me feel like I was bursting with life and that was that. She explained that my throat has developed some resistance to damage as a consequence of my shouting and warned me not to overdo it again since repeated damage is harder to heal.
(General pov)
The people of Winterhold were gathered in the town square, many tables were set around a funeral pyre, at the highest table sat the Jarl with his entourage, at the tables closest to them were seated the victorious guards and college mages with the rest of the venue occupied by the rescued Nords and the rest of the residents.
The young Jarl Assur stood up before the gathered people and started his speech with barely hidden nerves "We have gathered today to honor those who sacrificed their lives to save their brethren, and those that finished the honorable quest left to them by their departed brothers. Those who braved a foul cave filled with horrors that had taken our people, but didn't falter for a moment! Those who pushed through even as they were cut and winded, liberating their brothers and sisters from an unworthy fate. Those honorable fallen must be feasting in the halls of Sovengarde with their ancestors and with great pride! So people of Winterhold, join me in celebration of our great heroes without whom our enemies would slay our people and ravage our lands!" He finishes with a rising confidence and emotion, the people evidently agree as they give him a mighty cheer.
The young Jarl turns to his guard Captain "Captain Hjolmir will now give his words to his departed soldiers."
Hjolmir gives his own, more reserved speech. Listing every fallen guards achievements through their life and finishing each and every one with a toast.
Many more speeches follow, with the families of the fallen also giving a few words.
Finally the pyres are set alight and a minute of silence is had.
Soon it is time to praise those still living, the Jarl commends each guard that took part in the expedition, giving rewards and even some epithets to those that earned them.
The Jarl then turns to the twins and after a speech about their deeds declares that their clan is now a friend of Winterhold and they shall be forever welcomed in his halls.
'They sure did work fast on getting that approval' Reyvin thinks upon hearing this 'There ought to be some kind of communication magic that is widely-spread, got to get that one quickly then.'
Finally the young Jarl turns to the only elf that took part "And last, but certainly not least, our friend from across the Velothi mountains, who with spear in his hand and Kyne's breath in his throat protected those whom he had no responsibility to, even at the risk of his own voice forever being lost! By my right as Jarl I have granted Reyvin Flame-tongue the right to own property within my hold." As he said this there is cheer among the crowd, with surprisingly no one seemingly too against the idea. The Jarl continues "And should he continue his honorable service to our people then his reward shall be equally honorable." He raises his cup and everyone makes another toast.
Reyvin raises an eyebrow while drinking his mead 'So they want the only tongue besides Ulfric to be at least somewhat bound to their hold in the future hmm. Well the position of Thane is mostly honorary but they could use my presence as a deterrent or just to flex on other jarls *Shrug* benefits both of us and there are barely any responsibilities that come with the position so I don't mind.'
After the speeches are done, a bard comes before the Jarl and after giving a slight bow begins singing a song he wrote overnight about their grand quest, it was pretty good.
The celebration lasts late into the night with even the kids drinking a bit more than is reasonable.
Chapter XIII: Regalia of Dagoth
(Reyvin's pov)
I am suddenly woken up by a bucket's worth of freezing water being dropped on me, shivering like mad I jump up like a frightened cat and turn to see Morrigan holding said bucket.
Before I deliver righteous punishment I look around, and realize I am covered in hay and something sticky I don't wish to identify. Thorfinn and Bor are also in similar states, just without the water and still sleeping on the floor of what I now realize are the stables.
I take a moment to blink myself awake and turn to my witch friend "Did you really have to do it with cold water? Is our friendship so shallow that you would betray me like this" I ask dramatically while casting some flames next to me to warm myself and also summoning Scorch and having him snuggle around my neck.
She scoffs "Oh and I should encourage you to get drunker than most of the Nords and then run around with your buddies reenacting your glorious battle?"
I blink and look at her like she was an idiot "This is a Nord city." as if that explained everything.
She rolls her eyes "Ah yes because that justifies you behaving like a fool"
I get a bit irritated at this "And who went and named you my mother? I am a young mer I can be foolish when I feel like it, we all went through a lot of stress, and getting shitfaced is the scientifically proven way to cope with such things." I say acting like a wise ass on purpose.
She throws her hands in the air and lets out a groan of irritation, incidentally tossing the bucket onto Bor's head making him grunt in pain and slowly start waking up, and turns to the doors "Fine, keep making a fool of yourself, see if I care" she says before walking out.
Sigh, wome- oh no... even worse, teenage girls. This will be annoying to deal with.
Shaking my head and muttering a 'troublesome' I help Bor get up and proceed to kick Thorfinn awake, both of them are very hung over so I decide to mock them showing off my almost perfectly fine state, thank you Kyne I will leave some flowers at your shrine.
We take a bit of time to at least try and clean ourselves up by a nearby well, the passing residents chuckling at our state but no one made any negative comments, as expected.
After 'cleaning up', with heavy quotations, we go to the tavern for a morning drink. As soon as we enter everyone inside gives us a cheer and we are poured drinks without even asking, on the house as well. Maybe being an honorary n'wah isn't so bad after all.
Bor and I later left Thorfinn at his house, his mother was in front holding a ladle in her hand with a suspiciously kind smile, we prayed our friend would find peace in Sovangarde and left him to his fate.
Tolfdir is at the gate today and when he saw us he simply laughed and muttered something about rowdy youngsters.
After getting properly cleaned up I left for the Archmage's tower, today my robes were going to be finished.
The design I went for was a Telvanni inspired armored robe. It was black with purple, being the color of my house, edges and dunmeri runes stitched expertly into it.
Instead of the usual flowy form however, I combined it with blackened ebony chainmail, boots and gauntlets I bought for a pretty penny. The hood would be enchanted to completely shroud my face making only my slightly glowing eyes visible, the gauntlets would exit the wide sleeves and the long robe would hide everything else. The finishing touch was a featureless ebony mask.
I entered the enchantment chamber to find that Sergius and Savos were already there waiting for me.
The Archmage waved for me to come closer and quickly checked if the sizes were right, the robe looked to be top quality fabric from what I knew, which to be fair wasn't much.
Sergius spoke up then "The tailor we usually hire worked overtime for this, and so did the two of us, you don't know how much your discoveries will benefit the college" his face showing a satisfied smile.
I smile back and ask "And what enchantments were decided on? You two did say you would use your experience to chose the best possible."
Savos cuts in "As the base we went for the usual Magicka regeneration with self cleaning, most robes have this effect but you can expect a marked improvement in your gathering of Magicka, adding to that enchantment we made it able to absorb lesser hostile spells. Moving on seeing as you went for an armored version we used the metal parts to enhance your self empowering spells by a third, and last but not least you have the option of soulbinding the robe and armor making you able to summon them at will." a proud look on his face.
I blink actually astonished "Damn, that is amazing"
The Archmage's gaze turns conspiratorial "There is an issue however"
Oh boy here we go.
He scratches his beard "We kind of went ahead of ourselves and added too much, a grand soul won't do, we were hoping you might be able to help with this."
(A/n: I decided that black souls will be more powerful than white ones, the only way to get more out of white souls will be Azura's star)
Slouching in defeat I mutter "Of fucking course you would know" and after thinking for a moment I realize something... fucking Bor snitched on me, well our next practice duel will be most unpleasant for him.
I pull out the black soul gem and place it on the table, expecting a mighty dressing down all I get is stares, I wait for a couple of seconds and ask "Alright how fucked am I?"
The Archmage looks like he gives not a single shit, but Sergius lets out a frustrated grunt "If you got the soul of anyone even slightly undeserving I would have personally thrown you out of the damn window, but since the person you placed into the gem is barely worth calling such I will look the other way, just this once! Now use your damned sight and help us complete this."
Savos looks giddy at seeing my sight in action as we gather around the robe and armor, getting Sergius' signal I break the gem letting out a massive amount of power, all three of us combine our soul manipulation and to my great surprise, they let me guide the power into the enchantment, Savos' eyes also give out a glow telling me he is observing very closely.
I guide the soul power through the different runic sentences slowly realizing just how complex the single massive runic matrix is, yes I didn't make a mistake there, this entire thing is a single gods damned enchantment and I get the opportunity to look at every detail.
I focus every bit of my attention to the process, very carefully guiding even the tiniest wisps of power, the process takes over two hours but exhaustion won't stop me and I keep pushing on, earning the approving looks of my seniors, until finally the process is finished and before it settles I pull a 'chord' of the enchantment to my soul, binding it.
I let out a tired breath and sit down.
The Archmage lets out a giddy sound while clapping his hands "Amazing! Truly your bloodline is an undiscovered goldmine, it is a real shame the Sharmat didn't try and economically ruin the Tribunal instead of going the religious madman route, he would have probably succeeded" he starts laughing like a child.
I let out a tired laugh as well.
Sergius gives me a proud look "Honestly when Savos suggested we let you lead I was utterly flabbergasted, but seeing you doing the work of an expert or an even greater enchanter I was as proud as a teacher can be, congratulations."
I smile happily without conscious thought. They start muttering between each other but I tiredly zone them out and look at my gains from this.
[Mind: 20 = 21]
[Mysticism-apprentice: minor soul manipulation = soul manipulation]
[Enchantment-expert: soul-imbuing = greater soul-imbuing]
[Conjuration-apprentice: +bound robe(Regalia of Dagoth)]
My enchantment progress was immense, even the system agreed with Sergius, while my runic skills are still at adept level my imbuing of power was way of the charts. Surprisingly the robes were even named and accessible through the system so I decided to check them out.
[Regalia of Dagoth: Mastercrafted combat robes made for the last heir of house Dagoth. Being capable of self-cleaning and heat regulation, and granting the wearer: 200% Magicka regeneration, absorption of up to 50 Magicka worth of spells per second, and a 30% boost to any enhancement spell he casts on himself. Soul-bound to Dagoth Reyvin]
After sitting for a bit I summon the robe and get up, feeling power radiating from them makes me feel like a child that just got a toy they wanted for years. I give a grateful bow to the two mages and thank them for the opportunity before leaving the room, my heart filled with childish glee.
Chapter XIV: Advancing Spells
(Bor's pov)
"I am telling you, you shouldn't have told them anything. The fewer people know about the Thalmor the less likely we are to get stuffed into one of their dungeons for an 'interrogation'" Brienne berates me for the tenth time since I decided to inform the Archmage about the black soul gem situation.
"But what he did was wrong, no matter the situation, the souls of people shouldn't be played with" I protest weakly.
Brienne rolls her eyes "Oh please, the elf bitch deserved it"
I prepare myself for another argument when I suddenly feel a chill down my spine and feel a gauntleted hand grab my shoulder, I slowly turn my head around and all I see are two glowing red embers surrounded by blackness.
Before I can say or do anything I am dragged away, suddenly getting panicked I turn to my sister only to see her give me a sad wave and make a sign of prayer to Talos.
(Reyvin's pov)
After repeatedly and thoroughly showing Bor the error of his ways via blunt-force trauma to the face, I removed my hood and mask and left for the library.
I realized during the expedition that my spells were lacking, even if I could defeat every foe I fought up to this point, if a truly powerful mage faced me I knew I stood no chance. So it was time to focus on empowering my spells and growing my reserves as much as possible, and while I couldn't get heart stones on short notice for growing my reserves, I could cram arcane script until I start thinking in the damn thing. So I decided that was exactly what I would do, even if it would cost me part of my sanity.
The next week was hell, while I took a break from my physical training to properly rest, I used that time to focus on runes instead, the material was as always drier than a Thalmor's sense of humor, and to make everything even worse I had to deal with a grumpy Morrigan and sulking Bor for the entire week, maybe I should get that land the Jarl offered sooner rather than later.
Many times I thought about quitting the boring process but my desire for power was far greater than my boredom so somehow, barely I managed to understand and memorize the entire damned thing.
Today I was going to finally attempt to add runes into my casting, I could have done it sooner and it probably would have gone a long way in the caves, but everyone advised that I get used to basic channeling of larger spells first for whatever reason. It probably made the process easier or it was one of those 'tried and tested' things.
I went over all of the runes I wanted to try in the library and descended into the training ground.
The first spell I tried was flames, firstly I would try and add a single rune and then work my way up from there.
I focused on the rune for empower and pointed my open palm toward the practice target, Magicka exploded from my hand in the form of blue flames, and the enchanted target was, to my surprise, actually singed for a moment before repairing itself.
I giggled like a madman and proceeded to start adding rune after rune to my spell casting, at one point making the flames spell take a third of my reserves in a second but basically turn itself into a continuous fireball, but casting that one took me an entire minute of prep time.
Thankfully my new robes helped a great deal with my constant casting by shortening my resting periods after I repeatedly exhausted my reserves with my manic experimentation.
The unfortunate part of everything was that adding runes to a spell takes a great deal of focus and spending more than a moment casting a spell in combat is like asking your opponent to end your life. So I would have to limit myself to the most efficient combinations and then practice them ad nauseam.
Deciding to take my time and advance each and every destruction spell I know to it's best possible form I ended up with something like this:
I focused on making my flames spell as damaging as possible while also making the fire stick to the targets, for whenever I really needed that heavy flamer.
For the firebolt I doubled down on my usual usage of it, turning it from a bolt into a fire spear and greatly increasing its penetrating power.
The fireball was far simpler in application, I just went full power with it and turned the usual explosion into an implosion. That unfortunately meant it now took large chunks of my reserves to cast even one.
When it came to my lightning spells I turned sparks into chain sparks, because even if inefficient force lightning is a must. The lightning bolt was really useless in my current arsenal so I turned it into a lightning beam, after taking some inspiration from that one Falmer mage, the new form of the spell was perfect for destroying magical defenses.
Finally came the turn of my least favored element, since my efficiency with ice was terrible when compared to my other destruction magic I decided to focus in the debilitating effects of ice magic, making my frostbite do barely any damage but slow my targets to a crawl.
After I finished with destruction it was time for alteration, for this one I decided to focus on self-buff spells that would be complemented by my robes.
I decided to split the flesh spell into two focused parts, now this might seem counterintuitive at first, but casting two spells took barely any more time and the focused version gave bigger boosts than the general one. Also, with my skill the 'buffs' lasted enough to get me through a fight. I turned the stone-flesh spell into stone-skin and giant's might, the effects of both were very self-explanatory.
My experience in the caves taught me a very valuable lesson, a flashbang can and will always be handy, so I perfected the light burst I did during the tower battle and christened it blinding flash.
I didn't find much use for telekinesis except that one time I launched my spear, so lacking any brighter ideas I just focused on overpowering the base form of it.
Finally, the wind-ward. It was an absolute lifesaver of a spell, got to thank Tolfdir for it later, and now that I actually gained some affinity for wind I decided to turn the entire thing from being merely defensive into a full cloak spell. My new wind-cloak both protected me from projectiles and cut any weakling that dared approach me to pieces.
Unfortunately while my repertoire of spells was greatly expanded, the more complex I made a spell the more costly it would be to cast, making my relatively small reserves a problem.
On the other hand there was a benefit to my more basic spell forms, adding runes coinciding with the basic spell effects made them cheaper to cast instead, so I spent some more time training myself with those as well.
Realizing that there is no way to instantly grow my reserves an external solution would have to do, thankfully I was an expert enchanter so the solution was rather evident. There was a tiny problem however, if I wanted to make a full set of enchanted items without turning into a pauper I would have to find a way to earn a lot of money, something to ponder on.
There was one thing left for me to try out, I left it for last just in case it went horribly wrong, I had to make at least some progress.
So, focusing and calming myself I pointed my palm to the target once more and instead of using an arcane rune I added the Dovah rune for YOL into the spell.
Surprisingly it worked, a mighty flame exploded from my hand, it seemed to have actual weight and took an entire chunk out of the enchanted target!
Unsurprisingly it took every drop of Magicka I had and then some, thankfully I had a blue potion nearby so I didn't have to deal with the hell known as Magicka-exhaustion.
Deciding that was enough experimenting for one day I left the hall to do my daily meditation and relax after that rather unpleasant experience.
Chapter XV: Getting Land
The morning of the next day I spent thinking about the best way to earn a steady flow of cash, after a bit of pondering I decided to check out the blueprints I got from the tower quest.
I started reading the animonculus manual and thankfully it was written in Tamrielic. While some Dwemer translations and dictionaries were created over the long millennia since their sudden disappearance not one was a complete version. There were of course some who still lived that had actual contact with the Dwemer, but they had better things to do than to enlighten the masses.
The spider workers described were larger than the usual ones in Dwemer dungeons, also less complex and with a simpler construction, but they could work and follow basic commands which is all I needed really. They could either be powered by soul gems or a specialized ward that I would have to refill daily or install a strong enough power source.
After some thinking, I decided I would go for a cheaper copper and iron design that would allow me to produce more of them and just throw them at people's problems. At first, I would rent them to mines and the college expeditions, which might even speed up Saarthal's excavation.
I wasn't really sure that would be a good thing.
The parts themselves weren't all that expensive to make, but I would also have to get a place to hold them so it was time to finally talk to the steward about getting me a house. I was still pretty wealthy from the expedition and realistically I could afford my plans for enchanting a set of jewelry, but it would end up being suboptimal and it was better to invest the money.
As I was walking over the college bridge, I swear I could see Shalazar moonwalking in the air for whatever reason. Convincing myself I was still waking up and seeing things I moved on.
On the way to the Jarl's keep, I visited the blacksmith I bought my spear from, when I gave him my order for the parts he looked at me weirdly and started grumbling about weird elves but after I explained what it was for he seemed a bit more interested. We agreed on a good price for the both of us, he didn't try and swindle me thanks to my growing reputation.
Thankfully there was no crowd in the keep when I arrived, I quickly found the steward and asked him about the list he promised me.
The middle-aged Nord man scratched his cheek in embarrassment "Well... there is no good way for me to say this, there is only one plot of land in the entire city for sale, and while it is empty it is at least a very large one."
I facepalm "All that pomp and ceremony and all you have is an empty plot, let me guess it's at the edge of the cliff where no one wants to build anything?" I ask referring to the rather large amount of empty land between the town and the cliff, apparently, people got paranoid after the collapse and even after all these years no one wanted to build there.
The poor steward looks like he wants the ground to swallow him before muttering "Yes, that is unfortunately the case" before he rights himself "We understand this is a great inconvenience for you, but the Jarl is not going to dishonor you after publicly giving you the rights."
He takes a moment to write something down and do some calculations while I wait, impatiently tapping my foot. Finally, he stands up again "We are prepared to offer you the land for half price and make the plot larger if you don't mind it being on the cliff face"
I look over the map he offers me for a bit, and to be fair they are making a really good offer here, guess they don't want to be shamed for playing me after the whole public show. The plot of land is the entire western part of the cliff face, between the college bridge and the town wall, it is just near the exit that leads to the docks. If I was conservative I could fit a good five houses in there, but I would obviously build some kind of business on such a good spot.
I turn from the map toward the steward "And what is the price of such a large piece of land?"
"The price for the entire thing would have been five thousand septims, but since we are offering it to you it will be reduced to two and a half thousand."
I raise an eyebrow, that is dirt cheap but at the same time it is just an empty piece of land I would have to invest in, a rather elegant trap to make me give the money I got from the expedition back to the hold.
Thankfully I had something close to ten thousand septims at the moment, so it's not like I wouldn't be able to do anything with it. It would however slow down my enchantment plans by almost an entire year if I didn't start earning money in other ways, which was uncomfortably long.
After a bit of thinking I mentally slap myself, I am still young, and apparently getting a bit of a scare in a massive dungeon is enough for me to panic and start chasing power almost as if I would die tomorrow. Taking a moment to relax I make a decision.
"Sure, ill take it"
The steward looks very happy and relieved now that I have accepted.
'Apparently, he was under a lot of pressure because of their blunder, but as long as I profit from his incompetence I will forgive him' I think with just the slightest bit of malice.
He writes down the deed and signs it in the name of the Jarl, after he is done I look it over and everything seems to be in order, so I sign it as well.
I quickly go to the college to grab a small chest of coins, because two and a half thousand gold coins are not something one can simply carry in their pocket, that reminds me, I have to ask Tolfdir or Phineas about storage magic.
The steward takes me to the plot and shows me around the place, my neighbors are an alchemy shop and some houses, thankfully there are no noisy smiths or stinky tanners in the vicinity so I have more options.
I thank the steward and return to the college.
Once I am back in the dormitory I wait until my colleagues are gathered and we celebrate my purchase of land, which is a very big deal in Skyrim. After sharing a toast I ask them about any ideas they might have for a business and we spend the evening discussing, with Morrigan suddenly acting like she didn't spend the last week ignoring me.
Finally, I decide on a plan. I would make two buildings, the first would be an inn and bathhouse hybrid I would use to fleece anyone visiting the docks and gather information, naturally I will make the whole thing a high-end establishment, presentation is paramount after all.
The other, smaller building would be a manor for me to live in, I would build it in a mixture of Nordic and Dunmeri architecture, using a part of it to hold a workshop for my Dwemer spider business and as storage, I would also make space for my enchanting business. Finally, I would set up a proper ancestral shrine, no reason not to abuse the knowledge of the sixth house after all.
The initial construction would be done using the spiders I end up building in the meantime to advertise them as best as I can.
Unfortunately, I would still have to plan the whole thing and find an architect to actually design it... 'well that is for tomorrow's me to worry about' I think flippantly as I throw myself onto my bed.
Chapter XVI: Spiders and Deals
(General pov)
Early the following day, Reyvin went out in search of someone who could design his home and business, he could have technically done it himself but he knew he had no actual skill in construction, so all he could reasonably do was give ideas and make requests.
He managed to, after some searching, find the only remaining architect in Winterhold, most of the others having left for other holds after no one tried fixing the damage of the collapse or just plain died of old age without taking apprentices.
The only one who stayed was an older Imperial woman by the name of Julia who was down on her luck due to having no work and having to provide for her son who lost his leg, to the point she couldn't even afford to leave. So she made her livelihood by doing odd jobs for years at this point.
When Reyvin heard about this he grew doubtful she could still do the work after so many years, but after a demonstration with her drawing a quick plan for an inn with all the necessary elements and calculating the materials needed, he was convinced to hire her. The old woman thanked him profusely for the opportunity and got to work.
The construction would be costly and somewhat long, but Reyvin insisted on the building being built to the highest possible standard. When they got to the calculations for the needed amount of workers Reyvin shared his plans to use his animanculi for the digging and transportation of material to Julia's astonishment, after adding that to the equation the work would be finished much faster and quite a bit cheaper.
Leaving Julia to deal with the hiring of the still necessary builders Reyvin got to work on actually delivering on his promise of spider workers.
Another week passed with Reyvin now focusing his efforts on getting his spider workers online, the smith had to repeatedly correct some parts that couldn't fit or couldn't hold the load of the constantly moving machinery, soul gems had to be bought and tested and the spiders themselves had to be actually programmed.
Thankfully the schematics came with instructions on how to do said programming and surprisingly a way to make the spiders take commands in Tamrielic instead of the weird humming or tonal magic the Dwemer had to use.
Upon reading this part of the text Reyvin realized just how ground-breaking this was, realistically no one made animanculi because they weren't able to command them without the tonal hum of Dwemer, but he now had the way bypassing that limitation!
Naturally, it wasn't as simple as just copy-pasting the instructions for a spider into a sphere combat model, but he now had the foundation with which he could build an army and he had years to do it.
He also remembered to put locks and passwords on his new servants, no reason to risk theft after all.
Finally, the time had come to test the spiders, and what better way to test them than digging the foundations of his own home?
The young elf gathered his friends and Julia around his future home while dragging around a large crate with the help of his new [giant's might] spell, people kept pestering him about his grand reveal but he ignored their questions and started placing iron spikes with runes on them on the edges of his plot.
When he was finally done with that he opened the crate and spoke "Begin digging operations"
Everyone looked at him weirdly until eight iron spiders covered in lightly glowing runes waddled out of the crate and started digging into the ground with extreme efficiency.
While everyone was gawking at him like he grew a second head, Reyvin placed another another couple of markers with different runes this time in front of the plot of land and said "Dispose of dirt and rock here" and the spiders started orderly piling dirt at that point as they dug it out.
Everyone started bombarding him with questions, most importantly where he got the schematics. He simply shrugged and said "Family heirloom" much to everyone's irritation.
As everyone was mesmerized by the spiders doing their work, the Archmage suddenly popped into existence next to the younger Dunmer and spoke in a very curious tone "Well well well Reyvin, you didn't tell me you had such toys, I am hurt" he clutched his heart dramatically.
"MOTHERFUCKER!" Reyvin jumped in surprise and turned to Savos "Seriously, could you not?!"
The older mer laughed "But then I wouldn't be able to see the fearless Flame-tongue jump in fright" a groan was his only answer.
Savos turned serious then "You didn't think such a discovery would have been an important thing to share?"
Reyvin raised an eyebrow "Am I under obligation to do so?"
The Archmage shook his head in exasperation "No, of course not, but you know damn well that cracking the animanculi question is something many people wanted to accomplish for millennia, and now you suddenly drag eight perfectly working ones like they were toys at the carnival, seriously do you actually want to get attacked for your knowledge?"
Reyvin thought about it for a moment and shrugged "It was never really my plan to keep it exclusively to myself, I would naturally donate the basic instructions to the college at a later date in exchange for some powerful spells or elixirs, but I am going to obviously take my time profiting of the discovery first if I can"
Savos scratched his beard for a bit and asked "And what would it take for you to let me make a copy for myself just in case?"
The younger elf mulled it over for a minute and spoke "I can let you make a copy, but only for experimenting in the next five years. In return you will lift my school restriction and get me some heart stones along with a fully prepared ritual to strengthen myself physically, protecting me from curious attackers is also a given."
The Archmage unlike the student didn't think for even a second and said in an excited tone "Done. Ill prepare everything and get back to you in a couple of days, good luck with your business" Before disappearing suddenly.
"I hate it when they do it to me, but I cannot wait until I can do it to others" Reyvin muttered with a smile before turning back to his spiders.
He spent the rest of that day writing down any problems with his animanculi and changing the design to improve them while answering any non-essential question about them to his friends.
Chapter XVII: Further progress
Things returned to a pleasant monotony after Reyvin started building his home, every now and then he would have to visit the site to modify his spider workers or change some broken parts. The inn would be finished in a couple of months with the manor coming after that.
Some of the guardsmen he fought beside even came to him with enchantment orders, using their newfound wealth to get what would inevitably become powerful family heirlooms.
He started visiting classes for other schools of magic, much to the chagrin of his colleagues. He couldn't make as much progress with them as he still focused on his main schools but some new spells were added to his repertoire.
From the school of illusion, he learned how to cause fear and modified it to work by locking eyes with people, he also learned how to muffle the sound of his steps, making him more than a mere novice illusionist.
[Illusion-apprentice: Calm, Enrage, Muffle, Fear(terrifying gaze)]
The Illusion master, Drevis Neloren kept being prickly with him the entire time he was there, but after finding out he was a rather devoted follower of Azura he explained to the Dunmer teacher that while he may share the name of the one who went against her, he is by no means an enemy of the lady of dawn and dusk. After that conversation, Drevis at least kept any comments to himself, even if he did still get annoyed by Reyvin's mere presence.
During restoration class he managed to, using his experience in destruction learn how to cast a sun-beam and sun bolt spells. Unfortunately, these would not be effective against living targets for the most part but would in turn absolutely devastate any lesser undead.
He also managed to, with the help of Scorch, further enhance his fast healing making it more potent, allowing it to be actually usable in a combat situation. Remembering the Falmer cave he also made a point to learn the detoxify spell just in case. Finally, he learned the rejuvenate spell which once cast constantly recharges one's stamina for a period of time.
This was enough to push him to the adept level of Restoration.
[Restoration-adept: High-heal(quickened), Sun-beam, Sun bolt, Rejuvenate, Detoxify, Steadfast ward]
After he joined Marwyn in the next mysticism class, Shalazar expressed his great pleasure that one more student has decided to accept his mighty teachings in the most glorious of magic paths, Reyvin spent a good ten minutes explaining to the lizard wizard that he was there to get some useful spells and not give himself fully to the path of a mystic, making the tiny Argonian pout like a child.
He did still teach him, just while also trying to convince him to let go of his worldly concerns and cast his mind adrift into freedom every step of the way. While dealing with the very insistent lizard was a massive hassle, Reyvin did finally learn how to use the mark and recall spell he was given when he arrived at the college, temporarily binding it to his dorm room.
Shalazar also showed him how to increase the speed of his levitation and how to protect himself from the elements. Reyvin asked about a blink-equivalent spell but Shalazar warned him that teleporting without developing acute spatial awareness is suicidal at best.
Still, his progress in mysticism was more than satisfactory.
[Mysticism-adept: Soul manipulation, Levitation(Stable, quickened), Mark and recall (1), Resist element]
When it comes to conjuration he focused on improving what he had instead of learning other spells. He made sure to ask the professor, who he still was sure was a lich, how to strengthen his familiar more quickly. The Breton explained that the best way to do that is to add Scorch to his usual Magicka exercise, it would make it take more time but he could intertwine his Magicka with that of his familiar, benefiting both.
He also changed his bound weapon from a saber to a spear and focused on making it more powerful, adding his fire affinity to the weapon did give it the equivalent of a minor enchantment and the now higher concertation of Magicka allowed him to make the 'metal' of it more resilient.
[Conjuration-apprentice: Bound weapon(Glass, flaming), Familiar bond (Scorch), Bound robe (Regalia of Dagoth)]
Unfortunately, due to spending so much time on many different things, he wasn't able to join the guards in training as much as he did before, they understood but some playful mocking was definitely had. He did make some time every couple of days to continue teaching Thorfinn how to cast basic spells, teaching him how to cast oak flesh and flames.
His usual classes continued as always, with Reyvin focusing on improving what he had instead of gobbling up as many spells as possible and then not knowing how to use them.
During Alteration class, he kept pestering Tolfdir with questions about self-augmentation and defensive spells, the old Nord not minding it one bit and patiently answering any questions.
His enchantment was by far his most advanced school at the moment, so he decided to focus on actually applying the knowledge, taking as many enchantment jobs as possible.
His name slowly started spreading in certain circles as a very prolific enchanter and he could expect people to start coming for his work from further than Winterhold sometime soon.
When it came to destruction, it was hell. Well, it was always hell, but now it was far more hellish than it had ever been... why? one might wonder. It all started when he was telling the tale of his dungeon-delving to Marwyn as they were done with their daily Magicka training...
(Flashback, Reyvin's pov)
Having finally finished cycling Magicka with Scorch added in the process, which was a surprisingly pleasant experience due to my glorious hawk boy's positively charged magic, I left to go to the library for some light reading when I met Marwyn who also finished his daily training.
We got into a chat about the cave expedition when he asked about what fighting mages in a death battle really felt like. I will admit my retelling got a bit out of hand with me almost reciting the whole thing. After I finally got to the part where we found the Falmer 'king' I said dramatically "And lying there beside the lord of the Falmer was a creature, it was even worse than a Falmer! It was, and may Azura forgive me for uttering the word, an Altmer!"
Marwyn broke out in laughter and I suddenly felt a premonition of danger.
*Cough*
I slowly turn around and am faced with Faralda giving me her 'warmest' smile.
"Fuck" I sum up the situation perfectly and Marwyn starts laughing even harder.
(General pov)
And that is how Reyvin earned himself some 'generous' extra training time with the Master of Destruction.
Chapter XVIII: The Staff
(Reyvin's pov)
"Ugh" I grunt as I drag myself from the destruction tower, my everything ached something fierce as I barely managed to crawl on.
One day Faralda! One day it will be you getting your shit kicked in, mark my words!
I make my way to the dorms and plop myself into an armchair, drifting off into a light sleep.
My impromptu nap is interrupted by Morrigan sitting down on the chair across the table from me, looking as mentally exhausted as I am physically.
I blink myself awake and ask with a smirk "Aww, is the young alchemist regretting her life choices again?"
She lets out a tired groan that radiates desperation "Please, I just had to listen to the virtues of properly processed moon sugar for six hours, I really don't need your childish jokes right now Reyvin"
I snort and raise an eyebrow and say with a tone of dramatic mockery "But Morrigan, think of the money you can earn!"
She slumps deeper into the chair and clutches her head in her hands "Yes, but is it even worth it?"
I let out a surprised breath "Wow, that bad huh?"
She groans again "Worse"
I leave her to rest for a bit while I grab some coffee and snacks.
After I sit back down, receiving a muttered thanks, I ask "Seriously, I get that the man is a genius, but what is the point of that if he can't even teach properly?"
Morrigan shakes her head "He can actually teach, that isn't the problem, everything he says is actually right in its own unhinged way... But the man is so obnoxious with his bullshit that it takes all my mental energy to dig the actual lesson out from the wall of advice about going to la la land with the help of different herbs."
We sit in silence for a bit before I mutter "Man, the Khajiit must love him"
Morrigan laughs at this "Oh they do, out of all of his customers the Khajiit are by far the most numerous, the man managed to reduce the harmful effects of moon sugar... they almost worship him at this point"
I sigh at this. Farm tools, am I right?
She turns to me now "And why do you look like a mammoth just had its way with you?"
I scratch my cheek "Well, I may or may not have accidentally offended Faralda and she decided to reward my audacity by giving me extra lessons..."
She gives me a mocking smile "Aww, is the young battlemage regretting his life choices again?"
My eye starts twitching.
Now a gleeful look on her face she continues "But Reyvin, think of all the people you will defeat!"
"Boo." I say in a deadpan tone and meet her eyes while channeling some Magicka.
She jumps over her chair and gets behind it, I start laughing my ass off.
She gives me a murderous look and hisses like a scared cat "What the fuck was that?"
I tone down my laughter, but my voice is still filled with mirth "Modified fear spell, works with eye contact"
Now her eye starts twitching "You are so lucky I can't turn you into a popsicle in the dorms"
"As if you'd even be able to hit me" I raise my nose at her.
She gets even more annoyed now "Oh really?"
I give her a mocking smile "Really."
She slams the table "Fine! Get your ass to the training grounds right now!"
I shrug and get up, following her.
The next hour was spent with her trying to penetrate my defenses with predictable results, even if she by some chance got through my wards, none of her spells were strong enough to get through the absolutely busted enchantment on my robes.
Well, they were busted at our level.
She left the training ground in defeat, not without me oh so generously giving a couple of tips about destruction.
(general pov)
Later that day, as Reyvin was finishing up with his final enchantment order, he was interrupted by someone.
Turning from his work he noticed a Dunmer, wearing what looked to be the gear of a Telvanni lawman.
After thinking for a moment Reyvin spoke "What does Master Dyrren want?"
The other Dunmer takes out an elongated wrapped up package "The Master has, at his daughter's request sent you one of his staves" his tone filled with an utter lack of interest.
Reyvin nods "Yes, I will make sure to give her a copy of the notes later today then"
The lawman nods and leaves, not even introducing himself.
'ass.'
Reyvin unpacks the staff and looks it over, it is made of what looks to be charred wood and covered in dunmeri runes, it lacks the usual ornamentation but at least the color scheme complements his robes.
The runes themselves seem to have been made to allow for better channeling of pyromancy specifically, but there is one extra set that Reyvin is unable reocgnise.
Not touching the staff just in case and taking some time to read through a dunmeri rune catalogue in the library he is at the same time furious and horrified.
'Of fucking course, just when I think 'hey maybe these Telvanni aren't so bad' the world has to remind me that: Yes the dunmer mages are retarded on purpose and not even good sense will protect you from it! Thank fuck I am paranoid...'
Throwing the staff, now identified to hold a constant mental suggestion for the wielder to want to serve the maker, against the wall with telekinesis Reyvin starts muttering "So this is how you want to play it eh you old fart? Fine then, I will show you what happens to Telvanni retards that dare fuck with a Dagoth!"
At this moment Sergius walks in to the scene of a young Dunmer's angry muttering "Are you doing alright there Reyvin?"
Said elf turns sharply to the teacher "No I am not doing alright." then takes a deep breath and starts talking more calmly "Apparently our resident staff maker isn't nearly as genial as he portrays himself"
The old Imperial asks with some trepidation "And what exactly do you mean by that?"
Reyvin points to the staff lying on the ground, still intact and warns his teacher not to touch it but examine it.
Sergius takes his time looking it over, his gaze growing more furious by the moment, he calms himself and says "Good, I am glad you had the good sense to check the enchantment, this one is particularly dangerous, if you started using it any thoughts of rebelling would just be removed from your mind without you noticing"
Reyvin continues with his muttering "I am going to end his pathetic life"
Sergius goes to interrupt what he sees as someone suicidal but Reyvin raises a hand "Don't worry I am not an idiot, I will remove the mind-control from the staff and pretend that he succeeded, behaving as a docile little servant when he wants it. When he least expects it I will show him in great detail the teachings of Mephala."
Sergius blanches a bit at the mention of the Daedra but still nods "If you need any help with this, know that the college has your back"
Reyvin nods "Of course, if I fail I will naturally need someone to save my foolish self" making the Imperial chuckle "Now lets get to modifying this damn staff, I don't want the 'wise master' to suspect something"
They get to work and Reyvin starts spinning plans on how to punish the audacious Telvanni, his thoughts are interrupted by a notification.
[Mephala watches your actions with great interest]
Reyvin groans 'Me and my stupid mouth'