We've already met Saheeli. She couldn't have made this.
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Favors Owed
- Thread starter Hiver
- Start date
43
"Careful!"
I carefully directed the summon to roll the ship over. It slowly moved as the megaphant pushed at it with its head, the sound of snapping wood and rope filling the air.
Enchanted or not, the ship still creaked and groaned at the treatment it was subjected to.
"Not sure it's possible to do this more carefully," I told Alexis as I watched the ship finally flip over with a snarl of wood against wood, revealing the damage done.
All in all, it had fared reasonably well. The masts were fucking gone. The superstructure had taken one hell of a beating, the railings were gone, as was the wheel and the control orb I put there to control the enchantments. It looked a bit… smashed in general, but the hull and deck looked mostly intact.
"Hold it!" Alexis ordered and I sent a command to my summon before she waved at her crew, "Lock it down!"
They rushed in with logs and supports, propping the hull up into position. They clambered up the sides with ropes still attached to it to attach more ropes, stretching out to still standing trees to lock her into place.
Alexis finally nodded, "Okay, you can dismiss it."
Giving her a nod, I unsummoned the megaphant. It disappeared in a massive cloud of spell smoke before Alexis turned to look at me, "You know, that thing would have been useful for dragging her onto the beach for repairs earlier."
"...Forgot I had it," I admitted, shifting my wings, "Kind of new, and I had never summoned it before. Takes a ton of mana."
"In all fairness, I forgot mine too…" Ren admitted from next to me, poking at the sand with her claw.
"Oh for…" Alexis sighed and scratched at my nose horn, "Apparently, it's not Atregos, just blue dragons in general…"
I chuckled and gave her a big lick across the face, getting an "Ew!" as she retreated a step,
"Stop that! Ew! Dragon slobber!"
I stuck my tongue out farther in her direction.
Alexis dried her face and then glowered at me for a second, before she patted the end of my snout again, "If you guys want to clear out, I think you can. We got it from here."
"You sure?" Sheila asked as she walked up to us, "The ship is still a hundred meters from the ocean."
Alexis nodded, her hand switching to pet Ren instead, "Yeah. We still need to make repairs before hauling it to the sea. As long as Atregos fixes the control sphere for the enchantments before you guys leave, we can handle the rest. My Kraken might not be the best on land, but it should be capable of pulling the ship with the help of the crew."
I nodded, "I'll make a new one, but I'll likely need a canon or something for materials."
"Take whatever you need," she said, "Not like they matter that much right now anyway."
XXXXXXX
The sun was sinking in the distance as I finished weaving the bronze tendrils of the new control orb into the structure of the ship.
Rolling my shoulders, I then put my hand on the orb, making sure it was actually joined to the full enchantment matrix of the ship.
Everything seemed to be working, so I let my hand drop, looking out towards the ocean and the setting sun.
It was finished.
We did it. We found the McGuffin of doom, prevented anyone else from taking it and made it through mostly alive.
It would be so good to get back home again. I couldn't wait to see Zrazta again, I really missed her. Then there was the Consortium, I was behind on pickups and dropoffs pretty much everywhere.
And most importantly, I needed to stop by the expedition in Skyrim.
Ideally on the way back, we had been gone for too long already. Damn it. Which meant not heading home for another month or so.
Raising my silver hand, I looked at it, flexing my fingers. It may have proven itself useful at times, but quite frankly I was looking forward to getting my real one grown back.
But first… ice and snow.
...Which after this place, would be almost as nice.
I carefully directed the summon to roll the ship over. It slowly moved as the megaphant pushed at it with its head, the sound of snapping wood and rope filling the air.
Enchanted or not, the ship still creaked and groaned at the treatment it was subjected to.
"Not sure it's possible to do this more carefully," I told Alexis as I watched the ship finally flip over with a snarl of wood against wood, revealing the damage done.
All in all, it had fared reasonably well. The masts were fucking gone. The superstructure had taken one hell of a beating, the railings were gone, as was the wheel and the control orb I put there to control the enchantments. It looked a bit… smashed in general, but the hull and deck looked mostly intact.
"Hold it!" Alexis ordered and I sent a command to my summon before she waved at her crew, "Lock it down!"
They rushed in with logs and supports, propping the hull up into position. They clambered up the sides with ropes still attached to it to attach more ropes, stretching out to still standing trees to lock her into place.
Alexis finally nodded, "Okay, you can dismiss it."
Giving her a nod, I unsummoned the megaphant. It disappeared in a massive cloud of spell smoke before Alexis turned to look at me, "You know, that thing would have been useful for dragging her onto the beach for repairs earlier."
"...Forgot I had it," I admitted, shifting my wings, "Kind of new, and I had never summoned it before. Takes a ton of mana."
"In all fairness, I forgot mine too…" Ren admitted from next to me, poking at the sand with her claw.
"Oh for…" Alexis sighed and scratched at my nose horn, "Apparently, it's not Atregos, just blue dragons in general…"
I chuckled and gave her a big lick across the face, getting an "Ew!" as she retreated a step,
"Stop that! Ew! Dragon slobber!"
I stuck my tongue out farther in her direction.
Alexis dried her face and then glowered at me for a second, before she patted the end of my snout again, "If you guys want to clear out, I think you can. We got it from here."
"You sure?" Sheila asked as she walked up to us, "The ship is still a hundred meters from the ocean."
Alexis nodded, her hand switching to pet Ren instead, "Yeah. We still need to make repairs before hauling it to the sea. As long as Atregos fixes the control sphere for the enchantments before you guys leave, we can handle the rest. My Kraken might not be the best on land, but it should be capable of pulling the ship with the help of the crew."
I nodded, "I'll make a new one, but I'll likely need a canon or something for materials."
"Take whatever you need," she said, "Not like they matter that much right now anyway."
XXXXXXX
The sun was sinking in the distance as I finished weaving the bronze tendrils of the new control orb into the structure of the ship.
Rolling my shoulders, I then put my hand on the orb, making sure it was actually joined to the full enchantment matrix of the ship.
Everything seemed to be working, so I let my hand drop, looking out towards the ocean and the setting sun.
It was finished.
We did it. We found the McGuffin of doom, prevented anyone else from taking it and made it through mostly alive.
It would be so good to get back home again. I couldn't wait to see Zrazta again, I really missed her. Then there was the Consortium, I was behind on pickups and dropoffs pretty much everywhere.
And most importantly, I needed to stop by the expedition in Skyrim.
Ideally on the way back, we had been gone for too long already. Damn it. Which meant not heading home for another month or so.
Raising my silver hand, I looked at it, flexing my fingers. It may have proven itself useful at times, but quite frankly I was looking forward to getting my real one grown back.
But first… ice and snow.
...Which after this place, would be almost as nice.
Baron Ouroboros
Emerald Leaves and Crimson Petals
- Location
- Vancouver
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Skyrim time! Let's hope the cast doesn't suffer any bucket related incidents.
44
Unreality howled and buffeted me as I reached for the little piece of reality right next to me, only an infinite infinities away.
While Walking might not actually hurt Planeswalkers, it didn't mean it was a pleasant experience. Memories that were not mine floated and roared, twisting and shifting. Mountains faded away like mist in the sun, replaced by giant plants, instantly gone as well.
I was fairly sure my Spark did more than make sure I wasn't unmade.
Anybody not a Planeswalker would most likely go completely and unrecoverably insane from smelling sights like this.
Touching the little marble of reality caused it to explode inwards, reality crashing down around me and I suddenly found myself in a desert.
Halfway down a large sand dune.
I had just enough time to let out a yelp of surprise, half spreading my wings to take to the air, when my paws went out from beneath me in a slide of sand and I went rolling in a cloud of sand and dust.
Fuuuuck!
I finally came to a halt at the bottom of the dune, sighing and knocking up a small cloud of dust as I found myself half buried in the fine sand.
This sucked.
Growling to myself, I got up and shook the sand off while looking around. Nothing but sand and stones as far as I could see. Clear blue sky above with the sun beating down on me.
Where the fuck were we?
Oh well. At least Sheila will be happy not to need to get dressed while knee deep in snow. Shifting around, I growled as I found the bag with the soulstones full of sand.
I miss my old bags.
Shifting, I bumped the sand out of them until I could cast the telekinesis spell to lift the two soulstones out and gave them a small burst of magic to signal the all clear.
Sheila and Rengosa reformed in clouds of smoke and fire, Ren spreading her wings for balance. Sheila dropping to her knees, gasping for breath for a couple of seconds.
I moved close to bump my nose against her shoulder, "You okay?"
She put her hand on my nosehorn, letting me pull her onto her feet, "I'm fine. That's just… that's never going to be pleasant," she admitted before she looked around, "Did you take a wrong turn? I expected to be freezing."
I shook my head, "No, It's the right place. We stopped at that floating rocks place and then we moved on to this place."
Sheila nodded and then moved to start unstrap her bag from the makeshift rope harness around me, "Speaking of the middle stop, I want to head back there at some point with an actual expedition.. An entire world filled with floating dodecahedrons? There has to be 'something' interesting there."
"We looked for a week," Rengosa said and settled down on the sand, "Stone ground and floating stones was all we found."
Nodding, Sheila started to get dressed in winter clothes, "I know, but it just seems strange. That couldn't be a natural state, could it?"
I just shrugged my wings. She was likely right, but searching an entire Plane that seemed to be nothing but a smooth stone plain with rocks floating back and forth slowly across it. Didn't even know where to start.
Shrugging the heavy coat on, Sheila tied it shut before she picked her bag up, "Okay you two, time to go human. You will barely fit through the portal otherwise and will get in the way of the expedition team."
Nodding, I wove the spell and shifted to my mortal form, Ren following a second after.
Luckily, I had spent some time while we waited in the Plane of the Giant Dice making a new portal stone so we would be able to portal directly to the expedition site. Because I really didn't want to fly there, especially from here.
Checking my satchel quickly for the Gauntlet of Doom, I pulled the small stone out and focused my magic into its enchantment, reaching out for distant portals.
Not as nice as the one built into my old gauntlet, but it was way faster and easier to make.
Extending my hand, the portal formed to the site of the expedition. Nobody in sight, but the dark of the ruin could be seen through it, the very nice cool air blowing softly through it.
"Okay, got it," I said, "Let's get going."
Ren lead the way, followed by Sheila. I took up the tail end, making my way inside.
I had expected a camp busy with studying artifacts and writings. Dragons and dragonkin moving around.
What we got, was a dark, cold ruin. Lit only by the crystals by the walls, the only sounds being of the machines below, the hissing of steam.
Everyone's gear was still here. Books, scrolls. Sleeping spots. Food supplies.
Sheila slowly looked around, one hand lighting up into green fire which she raised for more light, "Where is everyone?"
That was a very good question.
While Walking might not actually hurt Planeswalkers, it didn't mean it was a pleasant experience. Memories that were not mine floated and roared, twisting and shifting. Mountains faded away like mist in the sun, replaced by giant plants, instantly gone as well.
I was fairly sure my Spark did more than make sure I wasn't unmade.
Anybody not a Planeswalker would most likely go completely and unrecoverably insane from smelling sights like this.
Touching the little marble of reality caused it to explode inwards, reality crashing down around me and I suddenly found myself in a desert.
Halfway down a large sand dune.
I had just enough time to let out a yelp of surprise, half spreading my wings to take to the air, when my paws went out from beneath me in a slide of sand and I went rolling in a cloud of sand and dust.
Fuuuuck!
I finally came to a halt at the bottom of the dune, sighing and knocking up a small cloud of dust as I found myself half buried in the fine sand.
This sucked.
Growling to myself, I got up and shook the sand off while looking around. Nothing but sand and stones as far as I could see. Clear blue sky above with the sun beating down on me.
Where the fuck were we?
Oh well. At least Sheila will be happy not to need to get dressed while knee deep in snow. Shifting around, I growled as I found the bag with the soulstones full of sand.
I miss my old bags.
Shifting, I bumped the sand out of them until I could cast the telekinesis spell to lift the two soulstones out and gave them a small burst of magic to signal the all clear.
Sheila and Rengosa reformed in clouds of smoke and fire, Ren spreading her wings for balance. Sheila dropping to her knees, gasping for breath for a couple of seconds.
I moved close to bump my nose against her shoulder, "You okay?"
She put her hand on my nosehorn, letting me pull her onto her feet, "I'm fine. That's just… that's never going to be pleasant," she admitted before she looked around, "Did you take a wrong turn? I expected to be freezing."
I shook my head, "No, It's the right place. We stopped at that floating rocks place and then we moved on to this place."
Sheila nodded and then moved to start unstrap her bag from the makeshift rope harness around me, "Speaking of the middle stop, I want to head back there at some point with an actual expedition.. An entire world filled with floating dodecahedrons? There has to be 'something' interesting there."
"We looked for a week," Rengosa said and settled down on the sand, "Stone ground and floating stones was all we found."
Nodding, Sheila started to get dressed in winter clothes, "I know, but it just seems strange. That couldn't be a natural state, could it?"
I just shrugged my wings. She was likely right, but searching an entire Plane that seemed to be nothing but a smooth stone plain with rocks floating back and forth slowly across it. Didn't even know where to start.
Shrugging the heavy coat on, Sheila tied it shut before she picked her bag up, "Okay you two, time to go human. You will barely fit through the portal otherwise and will get in the way of the expedition team."
Nodding, I wove the spell and shifted to my mortal form, Ren following a second after.
Luckily, I had spent some time while we waited in the Plane of the Giant Dice making a new portal stone so we would be able to portal directly to the expedition site. Because I really didn't want to fly there, especially from here.
Checking my satchel quickly for the Gauntlet of Doom, I pulled the small stone out and focused my magic into its enchantment, reaching out for distant portals.
Not as nice as the one built into my old gauntlet, but it was way faster and easier to make.
Extending my hand, the portal formed to the site of the expedition. Nobody in sight, but the dark of the ruin could be seen through it, the very nice cool air blowing softly through it.
"Okay, got it," I said, "Let's get going."
Ren lead the way, followed by Sheila. I took up the tail end, making my way inside.
I had expected a camp busy with studying artifacts and writings. Dragons and dragonkin moving around.
What we got, was a dark, cold ruin. Lit only by the crystals by the walls, the only sounds being of the machines below, the hissing of steam.
Everyone's gear was still here. Books, scrolls. Sleeping spots. Food supplies.
Sheila slowly looked around, one hand lighting up into green fire which she raised for more light, "Where is everyone?"
That was a very good question.
- Location
- Australia
"Place your bets now, apocalypse, kidnapping or other! I'll give you 2 to 1 odds for kidnapping!" 
"Place your bets now, apocalypse, kidnapping or other! I'll give you 2 to 1 odds for kidnapping!"
They're in Skyrim right? Kidnapping definitely. Probably the Falmer.
- Location
- Belgium
This is Skyrim, the members of the expeditions are dragons.
Some Dragons find peoples good with ketchup.
Sadly a guy find them tasty too.
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Dragons in tiny cramped Dwemer/Falmer tunnels. They may have been unable to change back into their dragon forms.
- Location
- Oblivion
"Disappearing from their camps with no trace" is actually an in universe thing that occasionally happens to expeditions staying in Dwemer ruins.
It also might not have mattered, this is Elder Scrolls, there are things and weapons there which could go through even the strongest Warcraft dragons like a hot knife through butter.
45
Rengosa cast a quick Magelight spell, sending a light to float in the middle of the air of the chamber, moving to look at the books and scrolls, "Nobody has been here for a while."
"Weeks," Sheila agreed, feeling one of the heat orbs set up for the mortals in the expedition, "The heat orbs have run out."
They lasted for weeks before needing magical recharge.
Frowning, I looked around, sniffing the air before letting my hand drop down to the hilt of my sword, "...No blood."
"No blood," Ren agreed, "They weren't ambushed. At least not here."
Sheila frowned and shook her head, "...What could possibly have ambushed them? There were a bunch of Dragons in that group. Fully grown Dragons."
"Nothing we've ever seen on this Plane," I agreed and moved over to push on the door towards the rest of the ruin.
It slowly swung open to reveal the corridor behind it, the hinges moving with barely a creak. The magical shield across the door was still intact.
"Okay… okay…" I said and closed the door again, "I'm low on magic and I'm tired after Walking. We can't go looking for them now."
"Rest for a bit," Ren agreed and looked around, "I'm going to categorize and go through what they left behind," before she turned to Sheila.
Sheila nodded, "I'll make sure Atreus doesn't lose any fingers."
I turned to her with a betrayed look and she smiled at me,
"Oh, stop that. This is a ruin full of dangerous magical and mechanical artifacts. You know you."
Grumbling, I decide I couldn't exactly argue with that. Instead I moved to sit down, letting my back hit the wall as I closed my eyes, "Okay, you might not be completely wrong."
Sheila moved to sit next to me, leaning against my side, "We'll be back home soon."
"I know," I said and put my arm around her, "Looking forward to it?"
"Mmm," she agreed, "Want to get you healed up, see Zrazta again. Talk to Jaina. Just… be home for a bit. I really miss our bed."
"I'll bring Zrazta when I do the round of deliveries that's waiting."
Sheila nodded with a small smile, "I think she would like that. She did love the last time she traveled with you."
"And you don't?"
That got a small grin, "It's never boring, I'll give you that. But right now, I think sticking around at home for a bit would be nice."
"...Yeah. It would," I admitted, "Sadly, not going to happen any time soon. Even with my lower responsibilities for the Consortium, I'm still the only one that can pick up and deliver. And… exploring is fun."
Sheila nodded and relaxed against my side.
"So…" I said after a moment, looking at her, "Any thoughts about becoming a dragon?"
She hesitated for a moment, "...I don't know," she admitted after a little while, "It's part of what I wanted to talk to Jaina about," before she looked up at me before she smiled, "I still want to do it. But I'm trying to figure out… which flight."
I nodded, "Big decision. Any favorites?"
"Not blue."
"Hey!"
She smirked, "I like Summer and warmth too much for it to be a good pick. But I don't know, hence… talk to Jaina."
I nodded and gave her a nuzzle.
Ren moved up and dropped down across Sheila from me, "They have collected quite a bit," she said, "Some scrolls and books, but most were written by the expedition of their findings it seems. I just flipped through them. Some artifacts, but at least they gathered a bunch of dwemer metal. Found several stacks of bars."
I nodded, "Okay."
Sheila frowned, "Any clues on what happened?"
Ren shook her head.
"Okay…" I said again and then rubbed the back of my neck before getting up, "Let's see if we can find them."
"Weeks," Sheila agreed, feeling one of the heat orbs set up for the mortals in the expedition, "The heat orbs have run out."
They lasted for weeks before needing magical recharge.
Frowning, I looked around, sniffing the air before letting my hand drop down to the hilt of my sword, "...No blood."
"No blood," Ren agreed, "They weren't ambushed. At least not here."
Sheila frowned and shook her head, "...What could possibly have ambushed them? There were a bunch of Dragons in that group. Fully grown Dragons."
"Nothing we've ever seen on this Plane," I agreed and moved over to push on the door towards the rest of the ruin.
It slowly swung open to reveal the corridor behind it, the hinges moving with barely a creak. The magical shield across the door was still intact.
"Okay… okay…" I said and closed the door again, "I'm low on magic and I'm tired after Walking. We can't go looking for them now."
"Rest for a bit," Ren agreed and looked around, "I'm going to categorize and go through what they left behind," before she turned to Sheila.
Sheila nodded, "I'll make sure Atreus doesn't lose any fingers."
I turned to her with a betrayed look and she smiled at me,
"Oh, stop that. This is a ruin full of dangerous magical and mechanical artifacts. You know you."
Grumbling, I decide I couldn't exactly argue with that. Instead I moved to sit down, letting my back hit the wall as I closed my eyes, "Okay, you might not be completely wrong."
Sheila moved to sit next to me, leaning against my side, "We'll be back home soon."
"I know," I said and put my arm around her, "Looking forward to it?"
"Mmm," she agreed, "Want to get you healed up, see Zrazta again. Talk to Jaina. Just… be home for a bit. I really miss our bed."
"I'll bring Zrazta when I do the round of deliveries that's waiting."
Sheila nodded with a small smile, "I think she would like that. She did love the last time she traveled with you."
"And you don't?"
That got a small grin, "It's never boring, I'll give you that. But right now, I think sticking around at home for a bit would be nice."
"...Yeah. It would," I admitted, "Sadly, not going to happen any time soon. Even with my lower responsibilities for the Consortium, I'm still the only one that can pick up and deliver. And… exploring is fun."
Sheila nodded and relaxed against my side.
"So…" I said after a moment, looking at her, "Any thoughts about becoming a dragon?"
She hesitated for a moment, "...I don't know," she admitted after a little while, "It's part of what I wanted to talk to Jaina about," before she looked up at me before she smiled, "I still want to do it. But I'm trying to figure out… which flight."
I nodded, "Big decision. Any favorites?"
"Not blue."
"Hey!"
She smirked, "I like Summer and warmth too much for it to be a good pick. But I don't know, hence… talk to Jaina."
I nodded and gave her a nuzzle.
Ren moved up and dropped down across Sheila from me, "They have collected quite a bit," she said, "Some scrolls and books, but most were written by the expedition of their findings it seems. I just flipped through them. Some artifacts, but at least they gathered a bunch of dwemer metal. Found several stacks of bars."
I nodded, "Okay."
Sheila frowned, "Any clues on what happened?"
Ren shook her head.
"Okay…" I said again and then rubbed the back of my neck before getting up, "Let's see if we can find them."
I can't remember, do we know when they are in the Elder Scrolls timeline?
- Location
- Australia
They're in Skyrim, there's a Dragonborn, and fighting, possibly warfare. I'd say either during ES5 or just before it, but it could be the fighting leading up to it, or the same circumstances in a different era.
I'm saying this because there's not any guarantee the Dragonborn is the canonical Last Dragonborn.
All that said, they went to the College of Winterhold and there might've been something there to pin the time down more precisely, but can't remember off the top of my head.
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If it's Last Dragonborn, I wonder what they made of the greybeards calling from the mountain top. ie Is WoW Draconic and ES Draconic the same? Maybe they went to see them.
- Location
- The Temple of the Winds
I think Sheila should go for the Black flight. Out of the five i think it's the one that fits her best.
She won't really fit in the pure research focused Blues, and she isn't really a guardian of all life like the Reds or Greens. And time shenanigans really really doesn't seem her thing.
Arguably there's also the possibility of her taking on one of the more exotic colors(chromatic, nether, storm, twilight,ect...) or maybe even Pandaria's Cloud Serpents?
She won't really fit in the pure research focused Blues, and she isn't really a guardian of all life like the Reds or Greens. And time shenanigans really really doesn't seem her thing.
Arguably there's also the possibility of her taking on one of the more exotic colors(chromatic, nether, storm, twilight,ect...) or maybe even Pandaria's Cloud Serpents?
Spartan3909
Bibliovore
- Location
- Down Under
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I feel like you're right with her going with the Black Dragonflight, using Wrathion's Consort in particular as the template.
tehcrash
Apprentice Supervillain
- Location
- Seattle-ish
Nope. In a previous episode, a Skyrim dragon showed up and tried to talk to them, then attacked because they "weren't real dragons" since they didn't understand the Thum.
46
Exiting the chamber, we took it slow, making our way as silently as we could along the corridor. Magigun in one my left hand, sword in my right.
Sheila and Ren stuck to their spells.
Sheila's green fire lit up the stone and metal, the light fighting with the slight glow of the crystals in the walls.
"Hear anything?" Ren whispered.
I shook my head, "Just steam and pistons."
How the Falmer could live down here, I had no idea. The damn things were blind, but the constant sound of the machinery was everywhere down here.
How they handled things down here, I had no idea.
Sheila frowned slightly and nodded, "Keep an eye out. You two see a lot better in this than I do."
Along the corridor, we could see signs of the expedition. Marks on the wall showing the way, artifacts clearly removed. No bowls or little artifacts. All gathered up already.
The next room revealed…
Nothing. But it had not been completely looted yet either. There was some dwemer bars still piled on the floor and there were some books on the table.
"They didn't get further than this?" Sheila asked and looked around.
Ren shook her head, "We got this far even before we left them here. But we don't gather everything until we have things cataloged. Usually that's left until last."
I nodded in agreement, "Let's continue," and pushed on through the room, keeping my weapons at the ready.
We should have run into somebody by now. A body. Even blood.
But the fact that we saw nobody was freaky as fuck. Seriously, there were Dragons in that group. Hundreds-of-years-old experts in magic.
I couldn't even think of something that could take them down without any mess.
Not even a Planeswalker could do that. Not without a drop of blood, signs of a fight… where were they?
Fuck, even somebody like Sargeras would have made a mess.
"I don't like this," I said quietly, holding my sword a bit tighter. Sheila nodded in agreement, pulling her own magigun in her left hand, keeping her right free for her magic,
"Neither do I."
Ren just shook her head, pulling the goggles for magic sight I made for us earlier, looking around the room before she shook her head, "No signs of them. The entire place is glowing faintly though, is that normal?"
"Maybe?" I suggested, "I mean, look at this place."
Sheila looked at her, unsure, "Should we pull back?"
Ren pushed the goggles back up and bit her lower lip before she looked to me, "Atregos…."
I hesitated before I shook my head, "No… we need to find them. Or at least find out what happened here."
Sheila nodded, "Okay, but then we're doing this right. Atreus, summons. You too Ren, I know you have a couple."
Ren nodded and then looked to me again, "Atregos, use some of the metal too. Make them some weapons better than what they come with."
"Yeah," I agreed, "Okay, that sounds like a plan. Gather all the metal you can carry and we retreat to the staging room. We'll move tomorrow after I spend the evening crafting gear for the summons and we get some rest."
Sheila nodded again, "Good plan," and holstered her magigun, moving to start picking up and putting Dwemer metal bars in her bag. I quickly moved to help her, letting Ren stand overwatch for the moment.
"It's never fucking easy," I couldn't help but grumble.
Sheila reaches to run her fingers through my hair a second, her eyes meeting mine for a second with a small smile.
I smiled back and took her hand, bring it down for a small kiss.
Then we got back to work.
Sheila and Ren stuck to their spells.
Sheila's green fire lit up the stone and metal, the light fighting with the slight glow of the crystals in the walls.
"Hear anything?" Ren whispered.
I shook my head, "Just steam and pistons."
How the Falmer could live down here, I had no idea. The damn things were blind, but the constant sound of the machinery was everywhere down here.
How they handled things down here, I had no idea.
Sheila frowned slightly and nodded, "Keep an eye out. You two see a lot better in this than I do."
Along the corridor, we could see signs of the expedition. Marks on the wall showing the way, artifacts clearly removed. No bowls or little artifacts. All gathered up already.
The next room revealed…
Nothing. But it had not been completely looted yet either. There was some dwemer bars still piled on the floor and there were some books on the table.
"They didn't get further than this?" Sheila asked and looked around.
Ren shook her head, "We got this far even before we left them here. But we don't gather everything until we have things cataloged. Usually that's left until last."
I nodded in agreement, "Let's continue," and pushed on through the room, keeping my weapons at the ready.
We should have run into somebody by now. A body. Even blood.
But the fact that we saw nobody was freaky as fuck. Seriously, there were Dragons in that group. Hundreds-of-years-old experts in magic.
I couldn't even think of something that could take them down without any mess.
Not even a Planeswalker could do that. Not without a drop of blood, signs of a fight… where were they?
Fuck, even somebody like Sargeras would have made a mess.
"I don't like this," I said quietly, holding my sword a bit tighter. Sheila nodded in agreement, pulling her own magigun in her left hand, keeping her right free for her magic,
"Neither do I."
Ren just shook her head, pulling the goggles for magic sight I made for us earlier, looking around the room before she shook her head, "No signs of them. The entire place is glowing faintly though, is that normal?"
"Maybe?" I suggested, "I mean, look at this place."
Sheila looked at her, unsure, "Should we pull back?"
Ren pushed the goggles back up and bit her lower lip before she looked to me, "Atregos…."
I hesitated before I shook my head, "No… we need to find them. Or at least find out what happened here."
Sheila nodded, "Okay, but then we're doing this right. Atreus, summons. You too Ren, I know you have a couple."
Ren nodded and then looked to me again, "Atregos, use some of the metal too. Make them some weapons better than what they come with."
"Yeah," I agreed, "Okay, that sounds like a plan. Gather all the metal you can carry and we retreat to the staging room. We'll move tomorrow after I spend the evening crafting gear for the summons and we get some rest."
Sheila nodded again, "Good plan," and holstered her magigun, moving to start picking up and putting Dwemer metal bars in her bag. I quickly moved to help her, letting Ren stand overwatch for the moment.
"It's never fucking easy," I couldn't help but grumble.
Sheila reaches to run her fingers through my hair a second, her eyes meeting mine for a second with a small smile.
I smiled back and took her hand, bring it down for a small kiss.
Then we got back to work.
- Location
- The Temple of the Winds
A little bit of a repetition here, no ?
47
The next day, we were moving deeper into the ruins. Paladin took the lead, followed by Ren's summons, a pair of Stormwind guards. She didn't use them much, but this time we needed the numbers.
Following them were Watcher and Rogue. Ren, Sheila, and I took up the rear.
Ren was back in her real form, her armour deployed. It had been decided that it was worth the risk with the narrow space. It would have been better if it had been me as I was smaller, but she had a set of armour.
I didn't.
So she took up the rear behind me and Sheila.
"I… suddenly realize we need another summon for one of you," Sheila said as we moved down a set of stairs, avoiding a pressure plate Rogue had pointed out as a trap.
"What?"
"A healer."
"Paladin can heal," I said with a frown, "She's good at it."
"Yes, but she's not a dedicated healer," Sheila argued, "having a real healer during a fight can help those that are injured, sending them back into the fight can be invaluable. I learned that when I was an adventurer. Paladin can't do that and isn't specialized in it. Her place is at the front centre with her shield and large mace."
I frowned in thought, nodding, "That makes sense. But we don't exactly make a habit out of storming the castle."
"No, but it happens often enough," Rengosa said, "And having an actual healer along would have been really useful when you got hurt. We should all get a healer summon."
"...Not going to argue with that," I said quietly as we reached a set of doors. Rogue moved up to check them before giving us a nod.
Paladin stepped up and pulled it open to reveal… a small room with a switch in the floor.
"That's a lift," I said, following Paladin and Witcher inside, "Could be dangerous."
Sheila nodded, "Yes, but that's where the signs are pointing."
Everyone moved inside. It didn't even shift as Ren stepped inside. Somebody knew what the fuck they were doing when they built this place.
Sheila holstered her magigun before she put her hand on the lever before she pulled it. The doors closed and the entire place clicked and puffed, the floor starting to slowly lower.
It went for a couple of minutes before it stopped.
Rogue moved up to check the doors before she nodded and pushed them open, revealing… nothing. Darkness and ground, a smell of wet dirt and stone.
Darkness, the light of the lift barely just lit up the ground outside. Blinking, I slowly stepped outside, moving out of the circle of light, rubbing my eyes before opening them again, adjusting slowly to the darkness.
It was still dark, but not completely. Glowing mushrooms growing on the rocks, the ceiling nowhere in sight. The stone structure of the lift tube disappearing up in the dark. There was a road laid out, leading off into the distance.
What the fuck.
I couldn't see a single wall in this place. It stretched out into the distance, pillars of stone stretching into the sky.
"What is this place?" Ren asked as she moved up next to me, spreading her wings after getting out of the cramped space.
"I have no idea…" I said softly, looking around the darkness, "Who knew something like this was beneath Skyrim?"
Sheila moved up on Ren's other side, putting her hand on Ren's nosehorn, "Can either of you see any walls? I can't, but I can barely see at all in this."
Ren shook her head, "Nothing. It's… big."
I smirked.
"Quiet you," Sheila said, shooting me a quick look before she looked at Ren, "Think we can risk a flare?"
"I didn't say anything!"
Ren ignored me and hesitated, "It would reveal our position to anyone around here. A flare would stand out like a small sun."
"But if anyone is down here, it's likely they are Falmer," I added, "They are blind. And we need to know what we are dealing with."
Ren nodded and then reared up, shooting a streak of fire up into the air. The glowing trail flying high before igniting, glowing like a small sun.
In the light from the sphere floating in the sky, we could just about make out the ceiling high above. A kilometer or more.
But the walls of the cavern were still out of sight, just massive pillars holding up the ceiling. Mushrooms all around, a forest of mushrooms. Large insects buzzing around. Buildings in the distance.
Then the light flared out and died, leaving us back in the pitch black darkness.
Following them were Watcher and Rogue. Ren, Sheila, and I took up the rear.
Ren was back in her real form, her armour deployed. It had been decided that it was worth the risk with the narrow space. It would have been better if it had been me as I was smaller, but she had a set of armour.
I didn't.
So she took up the rear behind me and Sheila.
"I… suddenly realize we need another summon for one of you," Sheila said as we moved down a set of stairs, avoiding a pressure plate Rogue had pointed out as a trap.
"What?"
"A healer."
"Paladin can heal," I said with a frown, "She's good at it."
"Yes, but she's not a dedicated healer," Sheila argued, "having a real healer during a fight can help those that are injured, sending them back into the fight can be invaluable. I learned that when I was an adventurer. Paladin can't do that and isn't specialized in it. Her place is at the front centre with her shield and large mace."
I frowned in thought, nodding, "That makes sense. But we don't exactly make a habit out of storming the castle."
"No, but it happens often enough," Rengosa said, "And having an actual healer along would have been really useful when you got hurt. We should all get a healer summon."
"...Not going to argue with that," I said quietly as we reached a set of doors. Rogue moved up to check them before giving us a nod.
Paladin stepped up and pulled it open to reveal… a small room with a switch in the floor.
"That's a lift," I said, following Paladin and Witcher inside, "Could be dangerous."
Sheila nodded, "Yes, but that's where the signs are pointing."
Everyone moved inside. It didn't even shift as Ren stepped inside. Somebody knew what the fuck they were doing when they built this place.
Sheila holstered her magigun before she put her hand on the lever before she pulled it. The doors closed and the entire place clicked and puffed, the floor starting to slowly lower.
It went for a couple of minutes before it stopped.
Rogue moved up to check the doors before she nodded and pushed them open, revealing… nothing. Darkness and ground, a smell of wet dirt and stone.
Darkness, the light of the lift barely just lit up the ground outside. Blinking, I slowly stepped outside, moving out of the circle of light, rubbing my eyes before opening them again, adjusting slowly to the darkness.
It was still dark, but not completely. Glowing mushrooms growing on the rocks, the ceiling nowhere in sight. The stone structure of the lift tube disappearing up in the dark. There was a road laid out, leading off into the distance.
What the fuck.
I couldn't see a single wall in this place. It stretched out into the distance, pillars of stone stretching into the sky.
"What is this place?" Ren asked as she moved up next to me, spreading her wings after getting out of the cramped space.
"I have no idea…" I said softly, looking around the darkness, "Who knew something like this was beneath Skyrim?"
Sheila moved up on Ren's other side, putting her hand on Ren's nosehorn, "Can either of you see any walls? I can't, but I can barely see at all in this."
Ren shook her head, "Nothing. It's… big."
I smirked.
"Quiet you," Sheila said, shooting me a quick look before she looked at Ren, "Think we can risk a flare?"
"I didn't say anything!"
Ren ignored me and hesitated, "It would reveal our position to anyone around here. A flare would stand out like a small sun."
"But if anyone is down here, it's likely they are Falmer," I added, "They are blind. And we need to know what we are dealing with."
Ren nodded and then reared up, shooting a streak of fire up into the air. The glowing trail flying high before igniting, glowing like a small sun.
In the light from the sphere floating in the sky, we could just about make out the ceiling high above. A kilometer or more.
But the walls of the cavern were still out of sight, just massive pillars holding up the ceiling. Mushrooms all around, a forest of mushrooms. Large insects buzzing around. Buildings in the distance.
Then the light flared out and died, leaving us back in the pitch black darkness.
Baron Ouroboros
Emerald Leaves and Crimson Petals
- Location
- Vancouver
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yey, Blackreach! I'm miffed I can't build a home there though.
That said, there's probably a mod for that.
That said, there's probably a mod for that.