Rastislav
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Arc 8 Chapter LV: A Cheesy Situation
🕑 Added 2024-12-25 10:56:50 +0000 UTCA merry christmas to all of you that celebrate it!
Previous chapter has been edited, mostly for flow and a slight improvement to the little slap battle Reyvin indulged the poor orc lad in.
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"These winds grow more insidious by the hour." Savos comments on the second day of our trek south, a deep frown on his face "I can barely scry the edge of the sea from here."
"Good thing we have the Orb™ then" I comment "Or we wouldn't be able to send messages out either." Not that I had any issues with scrying, which would have been genuinely worrying.
"Reyvin" He sighs "Most magi can't send long range messages no matter what."
I blink "Right. I forgot about that."
He gives me a gaze laden with doubt, for whatever reason.
All I did at this was chuckle darkly.
"Your arrogance aside" My grandfather chuckles "I think we can both agree at this point that the winds are more than simply caused by magic?"
"Yup" I nod immediately "They are quite cursed."
"Of course you already got that" He mutters to himself "And do you know what the curse does?"
"Mostly a type of 'nothing shall ever grow here' curse of spite I'd say" I answer after a bit of silence, drawing immediate eyes from the rest of the magically capable "The perpetrator should be rather obvious but I find it hard to accept that even he would be quite so spiteful."
"Indeed" Savos frowns "You don't suppose he enchanted the rock before the fact? Made the whole 'Should you cease to love me I will cease to protect you' threat not a bluff?"
"Wouldn't put it past the sanctimonious ass." I shrug.
We were discussing Vivec quite plainly, yet another topic of curiosity finding its way to our bored minds as we resumed trudging through the ashes of Vvardenfell. And that is how most of our trek went, short bouts of either magical discussion or pointless banter accompanied by long silences only broken by meal breaks and the rare rest stop when the weaker Mer got too tired to go on.
The Ashlanders present, including the Unmourned, also taught me a game of theirs about throwing rocks for points and the like but it was interesting for only a good ten minutes before it too melded in with the monotony.
Kind of difficult to keep a hyperactive mind occupied when all around you is swirling grey with spots of red.
So I decided to do some actual work, pulling out the Aldmer book on spiritualism I won when I took Harkon down, and spent the rest of the day flipping through it all a good three times, making sure every detail of what I wanted to accomplish was in order.
The sheer mental gymnastics one would need to engage in to even comprehend the damn thing would have probably melted my head if I was still my old self, even now I somehow emerged from the experience with a throbbing headache.
I shudder at the memory of it being even worse.
Thankfully I was not forced to delve any deeper into mindboggling mechanics of the universe as upon the dawn of the third day we finally reached our destination, the ruins of Vivec City at the southernmost point of Vvardenfell.
And how refreshing it was to actually see the dawn for once... Fucking ash.
Well, we stopped by the Erabenimsun encampment first but word of my call had already reached them and the entire warrior clan had packed up and were currently making their way to Ald'ruhn and leaving only a short message carved into a waystone, something Massour and Massanor were a mite disappointed about since they saw me give gifts to every tribe I visited.
It was just too bad that the tribe priding itself on efficiency was a bit too efficient this time.
Nomadic nuisances aside, Vivec City looked just about as pristine as one might expect a city struck by a meteor charged with Daedric energies, which is to say not at all.
Of the once numerous square islands raised by Vivec's 'divine power' only a trio remained on its westernmost fringe, even if the buildings were most certainly abandoned as I could still feel the subtle aura of the crash suffusing the entire place.
Living here would be immensely uncomfortable.
Which is why I didn't even pause as we approached it, the Mer behind me all looking less than enthused by the idea but none of them able to tell me to stop. I had by now carved my right to rule all of them into their minds, intentionally or not.
Baar Dau, the great rock of Sheogorath was shattered by the impact, but the largest chunk of it I could feel was nestled deep within the ruins of the Tribunal Temple itself, no doubt a joke by the mad god, and a final salting of the wounds of Vivec.
Never liked the hermaphroditic little shit, far too preachy for a hypocrite of his caliber.
"It would seem we have found our destination." I raise my voice over the howling of the winds that seemed to be far harsher in this place.
"You don't mean..." Vayrin Indoril pauses as he sees my expression "Is that wise, my lord?"
"Probably not." I shrug "But the job still needs doing, and I doubt we will find a place of power belonging to Sheogorath anywhere nearly as convenient."
"That is what bothers me." Savos cuts in "It feels too convenient."
"Well that is probably because it is, ole' Sheo is known to appear exactly when people find it fitting." I point out "We are still going in though."
Some of them, mostly Savos and Vayrin admittedly, grumbled but in the end they all realized our choices were not abundant here, so with heavy steps we reached the coast of the Inner Sea and I quickly transmuted a boat from all the iron I was carrying around...
Don't ask.
The boat was large and well balanced but it would have probably still toppled over under our collective weight if Savos and I were not keeping it nice and stable the entire way to the temple.
On our way we saw the ruins of hundreds upon hundreds of houses, all of them once neatly stacked next to and atop each other in a place once considered to be the safest and one of the most prosperous in the world.
All we found now was rot, debris, and submerged skeletons, so many gods damned skeletons...
"This place truly is cursed." Dagoth Vemris scowls "So much death, and all of it for the ego of a betrayer."
"Those usually have the biggest egos I've found." I quip "Though I feel if we were to start shoveling every wrong done by all those involved we would soon descend into a ten hour religious debate, and not all of us here are as interested in that as Vayrin."
The spindly elf inclines his head in agreement.
The priest on the other hand looks downright disappointed.
Our conversation is stopped as the prow of the boat hits rock, signaling the end of our journey. We disembarked and I had Akulakhan keep watch of over both the ship and the entrance we found.
Which was rather odd when you consider the temple had been both exploded and under constant ash storms for the past two hundred years.
Very odd, yet oh so utterly expected.
'Why?' you might ask yourself.
Well...
"And so do not lose faith my brothers and sisters!" A voice thundered through the passage we were currently sneaking into "Hold on to your zeal, and your loyalty, and one day our gods will return! Resplendent and powerful, and the golden age will be upon us once again!"
I could practically feel Vayrin vibrating in zealous rage behind me.
"The faithless will see the error of their ways and their betrayal will be washed in a sea of blood!" The preacher went on "And we will not make the same mistakes as our ancestors! The vile Ashlanders who kept to the accursed Daedra will not be given a moment of succor!"
"Who the fuck is this s'wit?" Massanor hisses.
"A Tribunal Temple remnant." I point out dryly, our voices hidden by the cacophony coming from beyond "Not a very numerous group but they were bound to be hiding somewhere."
All four of the Unmourned unsheathe their weapons without a moment's hesitation, and Scorch materializes on my shoulder on his own.
"Is it murder time?" The bird chirps with manic glee in his tiny eyes.
"Yes Scorch" I nod sagely "It is murder time."
And this was exactly when we stepped into the roughly refurbished chamber within which Vivec once floated, hell, I could even feel the distant remnants of his presence vaguely.
Within stood a gathering of some one hundred and thirty-ish Dunmer, all of them dressed in jarringly obvious Tribunal robes, and all of them currently staring at us with eyes filled with surprise and fear.
Good thing they didn't bring their kids here.
"Ladies and gentlemen." I clear my throat and grin "This temple is now under the domain of the Sixth House, and the Tribe Unmourned, all heathens, heretics, and squatters who do not vacate the premises within ten seconds will be terminated with extreme prejudice!"
I loudly counted to two before the first spell was launched.
---
Sadly for my terminally bored self, the moment I broke the spellcaster into tiny chunks with a snap of my fingers, and my followers cut down the few actually brave fanatics, the rest of them began fleeing or trying to surrender and at that point even my disdain for the idiots reached its limits.
Grumbling expletive after expletive to myself, I grabbed Scorch with one hand before he could eviscerate an old man and pulled him back, eliciting a betrayed yelp from the poor bird and a confused, if still terrified, look from the elf.
One wave of powerful Magicka had everyone shutting up and looking at me "Right, fun as it sounds I am not butchering over a hundred defenseless people, so" My eyes narrow and I channel waves of menace with every word "How about you lot explain the utter filth I had just heard?"
It did not take long for me to convince the poor fools to talk about their religion, and it was pretty much what I expected. Those who lost everything in the fall of the Tribunal or were simply made poorer or less powerful by it wanted their good times back and the preacher capitalized on it all by organizing them into a cult.
The main tenet of the whole organization was that they would help each other rise which ironically brought many of them to respectable levels of wealth and power but the underlying purpose remained the same even after well over one hundred and fifty years of preaching.
Levels of wealth and power in positions that would be quite useful for me.
Most of my followers complained about leaving them alive but they were satisfied enough once I found the priest hiding behind his altar and eviscerated his ass.
I then told the trembling cultists to approach and introduce themselves to me one by one as I wrote down their names and instantly forwarded them to the Morag Tong, making sure they all understood what that meant.
"Allow me to make something abundantly clear." I say with a content smile as they see the envelope with the guild's crest disappear from my hand "From now on, until I've felt like you have done enough to redeem yourselves, I own you."
"All you will do." I say as I step by a few shivering Dunmer "All you will aspire to" I go on "Will be to serve me, and aid my aims." I stop and turn back to the crowd "But I am a generous Mer. Should you prove yourselves useful and not foolish enough to follow the three retards" And oh boy does that rile some of them up "I might even raise you up from the filth you are now" I finish with a grin, purposefully meeting the eyes of the most enraged.
Before any of them can say anything I add "I am glad we could all meet under such delightful circumstances" My languid expression shifts to one of disgust "Now leave this place and never come back."
They did not need much convincing, I was even nice and let them pick up their traveling supplies!
After taking their robes and burning them in front of them of course.
"Well" I exhale as they leave the chamber "That was a nice distraction."
Turning towards a chamber sealed by numerous rocks I sigh "Once more unto the breach."
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The rocks fell before me, my followers having been told to wait behind me, and I step into the grand chamber that was meant to be occupied by a giant piece of meteor.
I say meant because what awaited within was not in fact mere rock but an entire dining chamber, decorated to excessive perfection and beyond, though every dish currently being served was, you guessed it, cheese.
And of course, at the head of the table sat a dapper old man, a silver haired, rose and purple dressed old man. And to think I managed to evade him for so long only to walk into his gaze of my own volition...
"Well, well, well" Sheogorath's eyes shine with maddened interest "If it isn't the little Daggy everyone has been talking about?"
'He probably doesn't even realize he almost called you a dog Reyvin, leave it be' I quickly count to five and calm my impulse to rip him a new one "And if it isn't uncle Sheo." I grin "I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh?" He perks up, his fork trembling between his thumb and pinky finger "Only terrible things I hope?"
"Most dreadful I assure you" I say dryly and invite myself to his table, something he doesn't bother commenting on "Neat place you have here."
His look darkens for a moment but it also immediately shifts onto one of cheer "Of course! I am after all on my vacation!"
"As you deserve of course" I nod along for a moment, here is to hoping I wouldn't be dragged into one of the madman's games "Did Mephy" I pointedly do not cringe at the nickname she told me to use "Ask you to do something perchance?"
He frowns "Hmmm.... Maybe?" He twitches "Quite possibly." Before stabbing his fork into the table, only for the furniture to let out a silent moan "Probably not."
Rolling my eyes I summon the most expensive roll of cheese I could ever get my hands on in Cyrodiil and proffer it to him with both of my hands "Accept my tribute oh cheesy one!" My voice was dried than the desert as I completed the 'ritual' and looked up "How about now?"
The air around the madman was growing violent so I had already begun summoning my divine magic just in case.
His whole body twitches violently and his eyes narrow, the expression continuously shifting as the creature continued its eternal battle with itself "No!" He barks suddenly "You made Shelly upset! He even told me to bugger off yesterday, I am not he-
It was at this point I let out just a bit too much power on instinct.
He twitches violently now and a crash is heard as the space before me cracks and the old man is replaced by a majestic red haired woman that looked suspiciously like Minthara, except she replaced all the elegance she got from her elven side and went full Nordic amazon with her build.
I will be the first to admit, the image did things to me.
"You." The woman spoke in a powerful voice "How did you make it flee?"
"Champion Ulrika I presume?" I ask instead of answering and her hand twitches, cracking the space around her "Not one for small talk I see" I chuckle wryly "It could have something to do with my powers, I tend to... irritate beings of power."
She narrows her eyes, the two blue orbs practically glowing with contained might "Can you make it permanent?"
"Possibly?" I shrug and she immediately glares at me, forcing me to explain what I meant "I haven't actually tried doing something of that scale at all ever so it could go either way."
'As if I'd ever let an opportunity like this one miss me.'
Composing my excited mind I elaborate "But I would be more than willing to help you, seeing how beings of your power work would be... incredibly useful to me." Tilting my head I add "Though I doubt it will be either quick or uncomplicated."
"Of course" The warrior woman scoffs "Things worth doing are rarely simple or easy."
"Such is the world we live in" I commiserate before adding a leading "I do have a pertinent question though."
"Speak." She commands, slight irritation in her tone.
"Was your other side-" She straight up growls at that "Pushed back by me, or did I simply give you an opening?"
"The latter, obviously." The Champion rolls her eyes "You are powerful child, but not that powerful."
"Good" I nod "I had no idea what I did exactly."
At this, some amusement enters her eyes "My other side as you call it" She says with understandable disgust "Is in contact with Mephala, is it not?"
"Supposedly?" I shrug "Not like she tells me what she does with the rest of the Daedra all the time. She just told me to use specific words with the madman and he would open the way for me."
"Good" She nods "I will use her to contact you then" She leans on her folded hands "Now, you wanted something from the creature?"
"See, I am on something of a quest right now..." I proceed to explain what she needs to know about my task, much to her growing appreciation.
"A hero of the age" She chuckles "How nice to meet a colleague."
"Oh, but it gets even better!" I say with a smirk.
She raises a surprisingly elegant eyebrow "Oh?"
"Want to hear about your Dragonborn descendant?"
And it was then that I found that Ulrika's own brand of madness manifested in obsession over her family and those she considered close to her. At first she was thankful I saved Minthara from the fate given to her by the Void but once she caught one tell too many I was promptly given a six hour long shovel talk by the feminine side of a mad god.
That I managed to survive and leave the place probably meant she kind of accepted me. And I was not sure if I liked that fact or not...
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I left the submerged temple with tired bags under my eyes, too tired to even care about the irritating peeping tom at the edge of my senses or the worried glances of those who followed me into this literal hell on earth.
"Come on then." I said as I approached my followers, all of whom looked relieved to see me return to them alive "One final place to visit and we can be done with these damned winds."
---
It was two days later as we marched north that we were met with a cloaked figure that soon revealed themselves to be an Argonian wearing Telvanni heraldry. He gave me one look, bowed deeply, and spoke "Sarushta-Kai greets the great ones."
The title was evidently directed at myself and Savos.
"My master, the mighty Divayth Fyr cordially invites Lords Dagoth and Aren to his tower so that they may partake of his hospitality." He turns his gaze to the rest of them "Your servants shall be provided lodgings for the duration of the stay."
Respectful and to the point, Fyr chose his servants well. I shared one quick look with Savos and we both agreed at the same time ""Eh, why not?""
