Prologue
"Out of my way, Nord!" Resh struck the Dawnguard with the back of his fist, knocking the man to the ground, blood seeping from his nose.
The Khajiit walked confidently as always, as if the crypt he traversed now was nothing more than a petty inn. His slain victims lay scattered around him—proof of his combat prowess. Resh began walking faster. Much faster. He hoped he was not the first to arrive, but if the vampires and Dawnguard were any indication, his hopes were dashed at this point.
He finally reached the end (the end of what?). Before him, a large centerpiece bestowed with various grand arches lay upon a subterranean lake. The water was still and silent. From the Khajiit's high vantage point, he could spot two slain vampires and a Dawnguard moving about the island. She was pushing and pulling small flame altars that glowed with a strange iridescence that lit up the otherwise Cimmerian area.
As the Dawnguard pushed the last of the altars into place, a loud click echoed throughout the chamber. Immediately, there was a flash of purple light. Resh averted his gaze—his heightened eyesight was sensitive to such harsh rays. Even still, his vision blurred for a moment.
The island moved violently as the pillars shot out from the center, and the ground began to change shape. A single pillar shot up from the floor, and then it opened, revealing a small chamber inside.
As his vision returned, Resh spotted what he'd came for—a woman, just inside the pillar’s inner chamber. The Volkihar... she was indeed kept here. The Dawnguard woman spoke with her for a few seconds. Resh knew he had to stop the conversation before it was too late.
With little focus, the silhouette of a demonic bow materialized between his fingers. The Khajiit aimed carefully, following the two of them with the tip of his arrow, until they simply disappeared behind a pillar. They refused to show themselves to him. The Dawnguard woman—she must've seen him enter. “Damn.”
Resh rethought his plan, and began his descent towards the island.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Get back!" barked Fadali.
Serena kept her spine pressed tightly against the pillar behind her as the Dunmer peered over the edge, scanning the room for her pursuer.
"What's going on?" Serana asked quickly, confused. She had just woken up and now this.
Fadali gripped Serana's arm firmly as she spoke. "He's found me, and by extension, you. Now, if you want to escape alive or…" she thought to herself "... undead, as it may be, you'll follow me."
"I am not someone's slave; I won't simply follow the first person to find me in hundreds of years. I don't even know you are!"
"I'll introduce myself later. Right now we have more pressing concerns.”
Fadali lifted the steel crossbow off of her back, loading a bolt, preparing for attack. The Dunmer looked across the bridge once more, and made a split-second decision to run, dragging Serana along with her. The pair sprinted down a marble staircase as fast as their legs could carry them. A great shattering filled the air, and caused a sudden shock, causing Fadali to tumble onto the ground. A Gargoyle rushed over to the downed elf and grabbed the back of her head, lifting her up hastily. Slowly, the creature's hand began applying more and more pressure to her skull.
Fadali shot the crossbow directly at the Gargoyle's midsection, knocking the creature backwards as the Dunmer fell back to the dust covered marble. She rapidly steadied herself, coming to the realization that Serana was not behind her.
Fadali reloaded her weapon and continued forward, placing one final bolt into her previous attacker to make sure this crypt was his final resting place.
"Serana!" She called out.
No reply came.
"Where is she?!" Growled Resh, now behind Fadali.
"Not here, apparently." Scowled the elf.
"You silly elf, you cannot find a simple vampire? I'd say you have gained exponentially less than you had anticipated from your experience with the Dawnguard."
"Tell me Resh, if I turn around should I expect to have an arrow piercing my breastplate?"
"Ha ha! So you remember our last confrontation?"
"Clear as day, unfortunately."
"Very well, than it would seem the dice are in my hand to cast. This is quite the decision though, I could take you out now, or I could capture the girl.” He paused, enjoying the suspense. “These choices always make me giddy. I am presented with two equally beneficial possibilities, yet incredibly unbalanced futures. What to do, Ms. Vess?"
"I couldn't care less, but if you are going to do something, do it now!"
"Oh, but I don't want to end this glorious moment of submission so quickly. Nor do I wish to give it a bittersweet finale. You truly do puzzle me, Fadali. Fine then, my choice is now clear. You may turn around now."
Fadali hesitated, refusing to move from her spot to avoid a more permanent injury. The Khajiit gave a deep and powerful shout, "KRII LUN AUS!"
Fadali trembled violently. Her very bones shook as if they were being disintegrated by some other-worldly force. Yet even with this, not a single arrow pierced her armor.
Resh charged at her from behind, sending her tumbling over in pain before he continued his pursuit after Serena.
"Damn it!"
Fadali rushed to her feet and chased after the Khajiit. He jumped around from area to area, pouncing through small gaps between the crypt’s newly risen Gargoyle guardians. Then, he leapt back and crushed them with astonishing power, using nothing but his fists.
The Khajiit was much too fast for the Dunmer. As she took weakened steps, he travelled by powerful strides. In a final attempt to stop Resh, Fadali aimed her crossbow and fired. The bolt blasted through the air, and hit its target. The bolt managed to chip away a thin piece of armor, lodging itself into Resh's lower thigh. A rewarding cry of pain came from Resh, but even as he winced, he continued going at rapid speeds, rounding the corner leading to the outer portion of the crypt.
Fadali fell to her knees, brutally affected by Resh's shout. Her mind swirled with thoughts. What would Isran say? Where was Serena? What would happen to her? All of these pounded at the edges of her brain, lacking of form or escape. They continued knocking, even harder, until Fadali fell, unconscious.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-Morrowind-
"Once again we've reached the same pivotal moment in history as before, Galos. Last time, you failed, so tell me, by Vivec himself, why should I trust you this time when the need is more urgent than ever before?"
"Because I will not stay my blade again. The Sixth House will dissipate by the edge of my sword, no one else's. You know I can do this. Give me this final chance to prove myself to you."
"No, Galos. That is your problem. Your goal is not to slay the members of the wretched Sixth House, but instead to prove yourself when you've already done enough. I'm sorry but I cannot allow you to continue your crusade. Your task ends here, my friend."
"My task ends when I declare it is finished."
"You will never declare the end. It shall lead to your own demise. I'm doing this to help you."
"If you wish to aid me, then by all means join me. Bathe in Vivec's glory with me as we render the Sixth House but a speck of ash upon a once blemished canvas. With that, if you turn down my request, I shall continue on my own. But have it be known, that unlike you I will not have failed. I will have strived to finish this taxing job, and done so by my own sweat and blood."
Helseth held onto the sleeve of Galos' crimson Tribunal robes, but was easily overpowered as Galos fiercely pulled away.
"Galos, do not attempt this ludicrous job. A mortal being cannot kill a god, its impossible!"
"If a mortal being can become a god, then a mortal being can also kill a god."
"Please, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into. This is suicidal at best."
"It seems you shall never understand. A pity. There is nothing you can do to stop me, I am as honor-bound as they come, and with that I shall divert my energy away from this petty quarrel and into my sword, so that the Sixth House may finally fall."
"I'd rather see you in tremendous pain, than become one of those. Just remember, a single misstep, and your mind will belong to them."
"That is why I plan on not tripping, my friend. Now, it is time for me to go, so if you'll leave me-"
"I challenge you to a duel." Helsteth hesitated as he spoke, uncertain if Galos' confidence would hold back his killing blade should Helseth lose. "If I win, you give up this insane quest."
Galos smirked, "If I win, you give me your treasured ring and I continue my crusade."
Helseth reluctantly agreed to Galos' demands.
Helseth drew the blade given to him by the head of the royal guard, only a few days ago. Gravedigger's power was noticeable as soon as he unsheathed it, he felt as though it coursed through his veins giving him unlimited amounts of energy to begin this battle.
Galos summoned a Daedric Wakizashi into his right hand. The weightless blade fit him perfectly. Careful to be extremely subtle, Galos reached to one of his back pouches lined across his waist. From within, he removed a single Daedric Dart, palming it in his left hand to hide it from his friend.
"You're sure you want to do this, Helseth? Wouldn’t it be simpler to let me go without suffering any harm?" Galos tempted the Dunmer, recalling his ring's particularly powerful defensive enchantments.
"I must, if I am to keep you from doing this, and there truly is no other way. I am more than happy to end your job here."
"I'll give you one final chance to back down, Helseth.”
"No! If this is all that can keep you from a foolish death or enslavement, than it is more than worth any scars I may suffer on this day. I am committed to finish this here and now, through this final duel. Remember, I do this as your friend, not to hurt you, Galos."
Galos frowned, realizing there was now no way out with swearing he would never continue his quest, something that he knew he had to do.
"Very well, then. Shall we begin?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Author's Note: This tale was scheduled to release at the end of Arcane Arithmetic's third chapter. Recently, I've not added anything to Arcane Arithmetic with the exception of a brand new character. This was due to the fact that, about one month ago, my save files were corrupted, and I've had to restart everything from scratch. Whether or not Arcane Arithmetic will continue is up to debate right now, I'd have to recreate the characters, and reach the point I was at earlier. (Particularly since I had about five characters going) Because of this.. uncertainty, I've decided to release this now, since I do not yet know if I will continue my previous story. It is likely, I'll leave it for now, and finish it in the future, but for I know, I do not quite know.
Lastly, I'd like to thank Saryn or Kael, as the case may be, for revising this brief introduction into my latest and most beloved deviation.
- Pilsudski
Comments
My computers being annoy... more