Story of a Breton Farm Girl from Cyrodiil, Ch.03, part 18

• Posted by Eviltrain August 7, 2012 - 1,021 views

  Chapter 3: The Night's Calling

  19th of Hearth Fire, 4E201

  Styrr, the Priest of Arkay, carefully opened the unexpected letter and read the first lines from his mistress. His hands shaking, the Priest set the missive down and thanked the gods for returning him into her good graces. After the disastrous events in Wolfskull Cave, he had expected never to hear from her again. But now, because of his diligence, a reply had come! Lifting the letter, the Priest started again from the top.

  Until the incident, the Priest had made tremendous strides to resurrect Queen Potema in Wolfskull Cave. The location was ideal and the subject in and of itself was interesting. Of course, the point of the undertaking was to enthrall the creature so that his mistress might study it in her leisure and tease out some of the secrets of longevity. In his many duties for his mistress, this had become the most important effort tasked to him as of late. But in a terrible stroke of luck, powerful mages from the College of Winterhold had somehow found the cave and destroyed all his efforts.

  After the debacle, Styrr could only send his weekly letter with great trepidation and pitiably ask for forgiveness. Inevitably, she had replied just as he had feared. Despite his exile, the Priest continued his other duty as her eyes and ears in this part of the Skyrim, as well as function as a proper Priest of Arkay. And, like a desperate schoolboy, he persisted in sending his weekly reports.

  He had expected to remain in this state indefinitely until the day he discovered that Potema had re-emerged underneath the city. Daring to hope that this might bring him back into her good graces, the Priest dove into the catacombs to pinpoint the specter's location. To his utter dismay, what he found was an ethereal being that had grown powerful enough to engineer her own return into this world.

  Unable to control the situation, Styrr explored all avenues available to him in his bid to destroy this menace. Though he feared that she would not respond, the Priest also dispatched an extra letter to his mistress in which he carefully outlined the growing problem. His fear turned out to be unfounded. A letter arrived in response to the crisis, a letter that acknowledged his repentance!

  All praises to her. I have been reborn!

  Just as importantly, she had agreed with his assessment that the conjured specter needed to be dealt with in all haste. As such, he was to expect two representatives who would arrive to address the threat underneath the city and ensure the safety of the realm. Most importantly, he was to remind them not to forget to retrieve Potema's remains which he would hold until such time that she could find another way to resurrect the lich.

  Having burned the contents into his heart, Styrr burned the missive in his hearth. The city of Solitude would be safe and few would be the wiser. The old man went about his day, happy to be in her good graces once again.

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  3:00am, 22nd of Hearth Fire, 4E201

  Three weeks had passed sinced the Breton Adept and the Nord Warrior had last been in Solitude. Nephili had finally settled into her new life within the College of Winterhold and had proven herself to be quick at learning new spells and expanding her well of power. Carrying out several more errands for the College, the young mage had finally learned to settle her nerves and better assess the dangers she faced. Likewise, the Nord warrior, when not watching over her Thane, had taken to exploring the town and the surrounding area, to familiarize herself with these northern most lands against the Sea of Ghosts. And now, the two stood together, hidden against a wall at the bottom of a set of stairs, deep beneath the city of Solitude.

  Falk Firebeard had sent an urgent letter to Nephili, asking that she return to aid him with an unspecified matter. Arriving late in the evening, the two were quickly ushered into the Blue Palace to meet the Steward who quietly informed them that Queen Potema's specter had returned. After meeting with the Priest of Arkay, the two were immediately pressed to enter into the catacombs and deal with the menace and her growing army before it grew too powerful. The Thane and housecarl had already dispatched several draugr upon first entering the undercroft and made ready to enter the next chamber.

  Peaking around the corner, Nephili spied a dessicated figure in the dim light. Gently holding a newly learned spell, the young mage conjured her Flame Atronach next to this enemy. Both the draugr and the atronach momentarily stared at each other, before engaging in a vicious duel of steel and fire. The Breton waited for her familiar's victory; the housecarl waited on her Thane's lead.

  Unexpectedly, voices could be heard yelling at the daedric intruder from within the chamber.

  "What the... what is the meaning of this!?"

  Sensing that the odds of battle had changed, the housecarl charged around the corner and fell upon the draugr with blade and shield. Nephili blinked for second at the change in plans and followed suit. The two had stepped onto an old balcony, a set of stairs at the far end, leading down to the main room below. There, two figures were looking up at the ensuing mayhem. The one nearest the stairs, a Dunmer, called forth his own Flame Atronach and then launched himself up the steps to attack with a sword. The second figure, a Redguard, stood her ground as she assessed the situation.

  "What is a College Mage doing here! Gods be damned. We must kill them!"

  The Dunmer reached the top of the stairs just ahead of his own familiar and proceeded to attack the Nord. Lydia turned around to face the new threat having easily dispatched the draugr. Nephili cast Stoneflesh upon herself and threw several Firebolts at the Dunmer before running over to the balcony. She bombarded the Redguard below while her enemy responded with Ice Spikes. Fighting to avoid the magical projectiles, she willed her Flame Atronach to rush down the stairs and attack the mage directly. The Redguard immediately backed into an entry way and cast her magical armors before attempting to engage two attackers.

  Back on the landing, the housecarl ignored the enemy familiar and focused on the conjurer. The male dunmer, realizing he might have overcommitted against a powerful Nord, stepped backwards and hissed his displeasure. His exaggerated expression revealed two incisors, overly long and pointed.

  "My Thane, they are vampires!"

  Lydia took advantage of the backpedaling enemy. She parried against a weak strike and bashed her shield into the Dunmer's face before driving a winning blade into the vampires gut. Turning to her left, the housecarl slashed at the enemy atronach which had backed into a corner to sling fireballs. Grunting against the heat, Lydia quickly landed a half dozen strikes, destroying the summoned daedra before her shield could grow too hot to hold.

  Turning around, the Nord suddenly dropped low as she parried a sword thrust with her shield. The vampire was back on its feet and swinging his blade with surprising strength. The Nord Warrior reassessed the situation and engaged this threat with a few flashes of her steel, testing the skill of this monster. Judging herself superior, the housecarl committed herself with a more complicated series of strikes to deliver another fatal blow, this time to the head. The warrior than buried her blade in the vampires heart before running down the stairs to join the fight below.

  The second vampire had held herself well against the two fire users but was wilting somewhat under the heat and the constant use of her magical ward. The Redguard had attempted to compensate by using a strange spell that seemed to drain power from Nephili's familiar. Seeing the Nord approach, the bloodsucker made a sign and thrust her hand towards the balcony.

  "Die!"

  The Breton Mage felt her hairs stand on end as dark magics enveloped the room. The bodies of the draugr and the Dunmer slowly rose off the ground before coming to rest on their feet. The vampire below was proving to be a serious threat as Nephili now found herself on the balcony with two resurrected thralls. She quickly reinforced her wards and drained a potion to restore her magicka.

  Willing her familiar to turn its attention back to the reawakened Dunmer, she sent a wave of Firebolts at the draugr who shielded its ally before crumbling into ashes. The resurrected vampire approached the Breton with his hand stretched before him draining the mage of her strength. Fighting a sudden bout of nausea, Nephili slowly backed away as she and her Familiar bombarded the thrall with bolt after bolt of fire. The monster, unable to deprive his enemy of enough strength to overcome the difference in attack power, finally succumbed to the deadly flames and turned into a pile of ash.

  Nephili leaned against the balcony to wait out her feelings of weakness. She reached into her satchel for a health potion. Below, the housecarl was taking control of the fight with the other vampire. Having taken damage from the earlier barrage of Firebolts, the enemy had struggled just to stay on it's feet under Lydia's powerful attacks. The vampire had desperately tried to drain the housecarl of her strength, attempting to restore its own health. But here too, a telling difference in power had opened up between them. With the added attacks from Nephili's familiar, the battle firmly tipped into the Nords favor who nearly rended the monster apart with her last swing. The housecarl wiped her blade against her enemies armor and sheathed her weapon.

  The Nord breathed heavily to regain her stamina as she studied her enemy. "Astounding. They are frighteningly resilient. I have seen many kinds of death since my childhood and have learned to tell when death stands before a person. They stood against me beyond all expectation. My Thane, we cannot allow these abominations to exist under the feet of Solitude's citizens."

  ...

  "...my Thane?" Lydia looked up at the balcony to see Nephili still leaning against the rail. She spoke with some alarm. "Are you hurt?"

  Fighting for equilibrium, Nephili waved away the Nord's concerns. "Perhaps a little tired. I think my first vampire had taken more out of me than I had anticipated."

  The housecarl relaxed at hearing the Breton's words. "Ah...I see. If you wish it then, perhaps I should scout ahead while you rest?"

  Sensing Lydia's nordic disposition come into play, Nephili stood away from the rail and carefully walked down the stairs. "It's late this night, we've both had little rest since coming to Solitude and it seems neither of us had dealings with vampires before. We'll press on, together."

  The Breton mage stood before the warrior and gave her a firm smile. Against such stalwart behaviour, Lydia could only honor her Thane's declaration. The two stepped over the dead vampire and proceeded down the next hallway.

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  Children's Day? Completely coincidental. I love it!