Chapter 63: An Island of Ash and Snow
Subaru had been waiting the next two days for some mysterious "visitors". He didn't know who Hermeaous Mora had been referring to, but he had a feeling it would be important.
Hate dealing with these creeps, Subaru thought, tapping his foot. They're all either too mysterious or malicious for my tastes… At least Gwyn is blunt…
Emilia noticed her friend seemed uneasy and walked up to him. "Subaru? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, just being paranoid…"
"Paranoid? Because of our new weapons?"
Subaru shook his head. "Nah, something else."
KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK.
Subaru and Emilia looked to the front door of the mansion. Given how forceful those knocks were, he knew it had to be the guys.
"Ugh. Time to face the music," the nasty-eyed man groaned. Before Emilia could ask what he meant, Subaru walked up to the door and opened it, revealing... two robed figures with strange bone masks. One of them stepped forward and spoke.
"We are looking for the one known as "Emilia". Is this individual present?" Subaru noticed the voice was similar to a Dunmer. Clearly, these guys were some kind of cultists, but definitely not Witch Cultists.
"…I am Emilia."
"You are the one who claims to be Dragonborn?"
Emilia's eyes narrowed down. "I am. Why do you ask?"
That was when they turned hostile and conjured fireballs. "Your lies fall on deaf ears, deceiver! We know you are a false one and we will no-"
"FUS ROH DAH!"
The two were blown back from the entrance of the mansion by an Unrelenting Force shout, but were still alive, albeit barely.
"Heh," the former Great Sage chuckled. "Beat me to it."
Emilia and Subaru walked out the door and prepared to go ahead and finish this. Emilia then said, "Did that feel "false" to you?"
"No matter... you will fall, false one. When Lord Miraak returns... none shall stand before him!"
Subaru stared at the two downed cultists, his eyes making it look like he was staring at some far-off place, before he opened his mouth, and said, "…You've got to be kidding me."
"Huh?" The half-elf didn't understand why he had that look on his face.
"Nothing, lemme take care of them." Subaru said, with the most sickeningly fake smile, before he immediately killed the downed cultists with a couple of magic arrows. "Tell the maids to be on the lookout for more of these guys. I'll handle them personally."
Emilia raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.
While Emilia went inside, Subaru looked for anything on their bodies that may provide a clue, and found a note with orders on it.
"Board the vessel Northern Maiden docked at Raven Rock. Take it to Windhelm and begin your search. Kill the False Dragonborn known as Emilia before she reaches Solstheim.
Return with word of your success, and Lord Miraak will be most pleased."
Subaru glared at the paper. "Alright then, asshole, bring it on…"
It had been an hour since Subaru summarily executed the cultists. After he sent Emilia off, the half-elf had gathered the members of the Emilia Camp to one of their meeting rooms, with Subaru having brought the note before them, ready to discuss what to do.
"Well, that's a problem," Patches said, after examining the contents of the note.
Subaru nodded. "Yep. These guys seem to be cultists, and not Pandora's kind."
"Then… whose are they?" Erik asked.
"Someone named "Miraak", apparently," Subaru said, a little too quickly.
"Never heard of him," Oscar grunted.
"Likewise." Solaire agreed with his fellow knight.
J'zargo grumbled slightly. "Have any of us?"
"Betty doesn't believe so," the Great Spirit of Yin said.
"Well, that's not comforting." Serana commented. She had also been sealed away too long, so she was equally clueless.
Emilia hummed to herself as a thought crossed her mind. "Well... they called me the "False Dragonborn"... maybe this guy is a Dragonborn too?"
"This guy is meant to be the real deal to these cultists, but any others are supposed to be imposters." Subaru surmised. That was how most actual cults thought.
Roswaal tilted his head. "But isn't there only supposed to be one?"
Solaire shook his head. "According to what I learned from the Greybeards, there are no rules that say there can't be more than one. Not like the Chosen Undead."
Subaru hummed. "Aight, so it's not Highlander rules…"
Emilia then asked the question on everyone's mind. "So... what do we do?"
"Find him and kill him, obviously," Aela said, with a shrug.
Subaru smirked. "And we already know where he is."
"So… you'll be back before dinner?" Rem asked.
"We'll see. Alright gang, gear up."
Thirty minutes later, half of the party, consisting of Subaru, Emilia, Solaire, Seigmeyer, Erik, and Aela, had donned their weapons and armor, ready to head out and slay this "other Dragonborn", while the other half were staying back to defend the manor in case of another attack.
Sieglinde waved at them. "Good luck, Father!"
Seigmeyer nodded. "Thank you, take care!"
"Don't screw this up," Ram said.
Subaru gave his honorary niece a salute. "No promises."
"Let's just get going," Aela said.
Subaru opened an Al Shamak portal to... an ash covered island. The skies were covered in sick clouds, with the local aurora borealis unable to make the scenery any more tolerable.
"Welcome to Solstheim, one of Morrowind's islands." Subaru gave the group a basic introduction to the island. "I suggest you try and keep your breathing to a minimum."
Solaire grimaced beneath his helmet. "What a desolate place…"
Subaru tilted his head a bit. "Yeah... you can thank the Red Mountain for that."
Emilia looked over to her friend, asking, "The what?"
Subaru points to the smoking volcano on the other side of the sea between the island and the mainland. "It erupted two hundred years ago, just after the Oblivion Crisis. Covered half of Morrowind in ash."
"Is that why it's so cloudy…?" Erik's question received a nod from the Great Sage.
"It's still blocking out the sun…" Solaire grimly said.
"Yeah, it's almost always cloudy on Solstheim. Been here only once before."
Aela gave Subaru a questioning look. "What were you doing here?"
"Hircine was doing some kind of sporting event here. Didn't stay too long."
Emilia didn't recognize that name. "Hircine?"
"Oh, I heard about the Bloodmoon event. He organized a whole hunt here."
"A hunt? For sport?" Solaire asked Aela.
"Well, he is the Daedric Prince of the Hunt." Seemed pretty obvious in hindsight.
"I would have thought the practice was more about "take only what you need to survive," as opposed to "the thrill of it," if that makes any sense," Siegmeyer said.
"Anyways, we're wasting time," Subaru cut in. "Let's head to Raven Rock."
"…Does it look like a raven?" Emilia asked.
Subaru snorted to himself. "No, towns just have weird names."
The onion knight hummed, "So it's not a black rock, then…"
Subaru led them north to Raven Rock, a Dunmeri settlement also covered in ash, with strange buildings that looked like more vertically tall horseshoe crabs.
"This place feels so… off," Solaire saif, trying to find the right words.
Subaru narrowed his eyes. "Yeah... and it's not just the town."
Subaru could sense it. A strange magical energy was flowing all over the town. It was very faint, almost unnoticeable, even to him.
"This place looks like a dump," Aela said.
Erik nervously scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…"
"Be nice, you two," the half-elf scolded the two, before Emilia looked over and saw a green pillar of light emitting from the other side of the pier. "Subaru, is that… normal here?"
"...Definitely not," the Japanese man said.
"Then I suggest we investigate it," Siegmeyer said.
The group made their way to the source of the light, which was a strange, pillar-like stone. People were working around it, constructing some kind of... ruin around it?
"Hey… whatcha making out here?" The people didn't react to Subaru's words. He soon walked up and snapped his fingers, but again, no reaction. "Great, they're zombified."
Solaire took a closer look. "They seem to be in some kind of... trance."
"Yep. Voodoo zombies."
"Oh, what's this?" Everyone looked over to see a Dark Elf in elegant mage robes. "You all don't seem to be under the same hallucinogenic effect as the others. How interesting."
"Yeah, we're, uhh… tourists," Subaru lied.
"Ah, that explains it. I take you only just arrived. Perhaps it requires a certain amount of exposure and time for the effect to kick in."
"That sounds a bit malicious," Soalire said, glaring beneath his helmet.
Emilia cleared her throat and spoke up. "Excuse me, who are you?"
"Master Neloth of House Telvanni, one of the Great Houses of Morrowind." The Dunmer Mage, now known as Neloth, introduced himself. "Now, what brings you to Raven Rock? I doubt you're here to sightsee."
"We're looking for someone," Subaru said.
"Indeed," the sun-loving knight agreed with his colleague.
"We're looking for someone named "Miraak"." Neloth raised an eyebrow when he heard Emilia speak that name.
"So, the question we have is, do you know him?" Aela asked.
"I have heard the name, but where...?" Neloth said, racking his brain. "Oh, now I remember, but your search for Miraak makes little sense. He's been dead for hundreds of years."
"I somehow doubt that," Subaru said, having that look on his face again.
Neloth rubbed his chin in thought. "It is possible he may have somehow survived. I'm not one to dispute any possibility until it is proven completely impossible."
"…How did he supposedly "die"?" the werewolf asked.
"According to the records, he battled against a powerful Dragon Priest approximately fifty years after the Great Calamity, with the clash separating Solstheim from the mainland. Once it was done, there was no trace of Miraak. It was as if he had all but vanished from Nirn. It's believed he was vaporized." Neloth gave the group a quick history lesson.
"And this battle happened here?"
"Indeed."
"Could you take us to it?"
"I'm afraid I cannot. I have much research to do, and my apprentice will no doubt try to muck about and summon another Ash Guardian without my knowledge."
"That sounds… highly irresponsible," Subaru said.
"Of course it was irresponsible. Now, if you happen to find more information on Miraak or this anomaly, you can find my abode on the southeast side of the island. You literally can't miss it."
"Thank you for your help, Master Neloth," the half-elf said, bowing.
Neloth then pointed past the village. "There's apparently a larger structure near the center of the island, near the Skaal Village. That would be the best place to start an investigation, in my opinion."
"Thank you, we'll be going now," Solaire said, as he and the others headed off.
As the group made their way out of the town and to where Neloth mentioned, they all stared at Subaru. Erik decided to bite the bullet, as he asked, "Sooo… voodoo zombies?"
Subaru nodded. "Definitely some type of mind control."
"Are we… gonna do something about it?"
"That's the plan. It's gotta be connected to Miraak."
"And this Neloth guy?" Aela asked.
"Probably some stuck up wizard who found something to pass the time," Subaru just gave a guess. "And he's using mind control for cheap labor."
Solaire hummed to himself in thought. "So it is some kind of excavation?"
"They ain't excavating something. They're building something."
"You think it might be something evil?" Emilia asked.
"When has mind control on innocents been used for good?"
"They could be convicts," the half-elf argued.
Solaire shook his head. "No, they were definitely civilians."
"How could you tell?" Erik asked.
"You can tell by the clothing. They match Dunmeri civilian clothing."
"I'm surprised you knew," Aela said.
"I've been to Morrowind, as well."
"Keep your guards up," Subaru said, killing the conversation. "We're here."
Everyone then arrived at... a massive ruin, looking like a mini colosseum.
"Charming," Subaru deadpanned.
Erik gulped, somewhat intimidated by the size. "That's... big."
"And ominous," the red-haired werewolf added.
The team got closer to the tiny colosseum, where they could see that there were even more people working on it, with wooden ramps and pads to walk on.
"Ah, a slave pit," the Chosen Undead said. "Wonderful."
Everyone walked up the ramps which lead inside the circular ruins. Emilia looked around to see how many people were being forced to work on this. "There's so many of them…"
"Please, stop!"
Everyone looked down to where that sound came from, to see a woman in Nordic armor, shouting at her fellow humans, seemingly trying to free them.
"Well, this is quite interesting," Siegmeyer said.
The group walked up to the blonde woman in armor, who in turn, took notice of their presence, as well. "You all must leave at once. You may become corrupted as well."
"Corrupted?" Solaire asked, hoping to get an answer.
"Don't you see it?" she asked. "Everyone here has been put under a spell. The All-Maker Stones have been corrupted, and it forces people to make these... stone structures."
Subaru put his hands up. "Alright, one thing at a time. Who are you, what are the All-Maker Stones, why is it forcing the people to build?"
"Of course, I should introduce myself. I am Frea of the Skall."
"Of the what?" Erik asked.
"The Skaal. A group of Nords that exclusively reside on Solstheim."
"Oh, okay." Erik nodded at what Aela said.
Frea walked up to the ancient stone in the center of the temple. "This is the Tree Stone, one of the All-Maker Stones. It is the conduit to which the All-Maker provides his power to the World."
Emilia just looked confused. "The All-Maker…?"
"Oh!" Subaru snapped his fingers. "Right, I heard about this. The All-Maker is basically the Skaal's interpretation of God. They do believe the other gods exist, but the All-Maker is supposed to be the top G."
"So, their version of Gwyn?" the bucket-helmeted knight asked.
"More as in the literal creator of everything that ever was."
Erik nodded in understanding. "As opposed to the head of a pantheon."
Subaru nodded. "Exactly."
"And… it's become corrupted…?" Emilia asked.
"Indeed, but we do not know by what or whom…" Frea explained, looking slightly dejected.
"I might have a few ideas," Subaru said. But before he could say anything else, a door opened up at the back of the temple, and two Cultists came out.
"It would se- Huh? The False Dragonborn! She's here!"
"My ideas have just been confirmed," Suabru said.
"Get 'em!" Emilia shouted.
Aela and Siegmeyer charged in, while the others stayed back to let Subaru do his magic. Frea even pulled out a strange axe that looked to be made out of ice as she charged in as well. The two cultists didn't even have a chance to defend themselves, as they got hacked, slashed, smashed, and bashed. Overall, it was barely a fight.
Aela clicked her tongue. "That was disappointing."
"Be glad it was," Subaru said, while Emilia couldn't help but eye the ice axe, feeling something... familiar about it, but she didn't say anything. "More of them are bound to arrive."
"Then let us take the fight to them!" Frea shouted.
"Hold your ground dragons, let's not be hasty. We need to figure out what they're planning first, not go in guns a-blazing."
"I will not have my people slaves to these robed men," the blonde woman growled.
"We won't let that happen. But we need to think strategically about this."
"Subaru's right. We have no idea what we're walking into," Emilia said.
Frea sighed. "Alright… so, what do you suggest?"
Author's Note: It just works, it just works! Little lies, stunning shows! People buy, money flows, it just works! It just works, it just works! Overpriced open worlds! Earnings rise, take my word! It just works! It just works! It just works! It just works!
(Welp, we have finally started the Dragonborn DLC. Don't worry, it won't be anywhere near as long as the Dawnguard.) Be prepared for twists! But for now… comments!
TaPuRaTe: Insert Todd Howard meme song here.
Kifhjoofff: ¿Eh? (¿Disgusto? Supongo que no te gustan las Pruebas Daédricas)
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- Ernalore & Infinite the Celestian