Skyrim: Plaything | By : GE_The_Beast Category: +A through F > Elder Scrolls - Skyrim Views: 21445 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: This story is made for fun, profit and entertainment. In no way do I own anything discussed. I do not own Skyrim or The Elder Scrolls fandom in any way, nor do I intend any profit from this story. |
The road back into Falkreath was one filled with Forsworn. All of whom saw her from a distance and gave waves of greeting from their ambush points. A few dead Stormcloaks stood example to their effectiveness. Some were missing their hearts, which meant that one of the tribes was going to be making a Briarheart from someone. Human hearts were needed to make that, as far as Elayne knew. But in matching elven armor, she and Eola looked quite memorable. As they passed Fort Sungard, the Forsworn within shared fresh fruits and berries with them, in exchange for some bone meal and mountain flowers.
They didn’t even go into Falkreath proper, again stopping at the clearing to camp. “Alright Eola.” She stated. “I have to go meet with someone. They don’t want to meet with anyone else. So stay here, do what you want. I’ll be back before sundown.”
Eola wasn’t happy about it, but Elayne wasn’t entering the sanctuary of the dark brotherhood with anything less than her armor on. Even though she had promised Taarie and Endarie to wear their clothing, she wanted to put on the right mood when she returned. As she moved through the trees, she found a large wagon that had been abandoned here. It looked battered from long travel. But once past it, she was uninterrupted in entering the sanctuary. She had barely shut the door before Astrid appeared, giving her a hug. It was completely unexpected! “Ah! Hello?”
“You are the best sister this family could ask for.” Astrid whispered in her ear. “I saw the size of that wound on Gabriella. And the torture marks. You saved her. Even if you both missed the target, you did something that matters more.” She looked happy. “That’s what family means to you, and I can’t call you Initiate after that. Sithis forgive me for saying so, but you are a good person. You deserve to be a Hero with your tendencies.”
“But I kill people.”
“Heroes kill people a lot, don’t you think? Talos became a god on a mountain of dead enemies. Being part of the Dark Brotherhood doesn’t make you a villain or evil person, but not taking care of your friends makes you forgotten by all but the worst of daedric princes. The Dark Brotherhood isn’t just made up of killers. Long ago we used to be a group of people with different motives. Ways of influencing the world. Once we had a member that was High Chancellor of the empire in Cyrodil. Sometimes, it pays to have friends that have credibility elsewhere. Or family that protects you from prying eyes.”
“I didn’t want Gabriella to die.”
“I shouldn’t have trusted the full job to you two. But you somehow got out without suspicions. I am grateful. More than that, I think I owe you an apology for the way I’ve treated you. Hazing is probably a good way of putting it. But I need to talk to you about our newest family member.” She said seriously. “Come into my room, and we can discuss.” Astrid’s skirt was even shorter than she remembered! Bare thighs were winking at her every time the Nord walked. Then again, her own thigh bands were on display, so she had no room to talk.
“New family member?”
“More like very old family member. The Night Mother herself. And her caretaker, a man named Cicero.” The Night Mother was a powerful creature of Sithis. She was connected directly to the deity-like force. Instead of being fearful, Elayne felt thrilled. “We are happy to have them here, but it means that the sanctuary in Cheydinhal has fallen. The only other chapter of the Dark Brotherhood is gone, as far as I know. Veezara is probably the last shadowscale alive, and the Hist will never give up its children to Sithis easily. Not without a lot of work on our part. The Morag Tong are stronger than we are. And apparently have members in Skyrim, judging by the woman that protects Jarl Balgruuf.”
“She said she was raised by one.”
“That woman was raised in Windhelm.” Astrid pointed out, tucking a heeled boot behind her sculpted legs and leaning against the table. “There will be more. But it still means we are the last. I had hoped that the other provinces might still hold sanctuaries, but it seems we are no longer able to lie to ourselves. Our way of life is dying. Something happened around the time of the Oblivion crisis and we lost our way. Be wary of Cicero. He’s lost his family twice now. There are some things that you just can’t recover from.”
“Is he dangerous?”
“He’s a full family member and entrusted to protect the Night Mother. I would put him on the same level as Nazir.” Astrid considered fairly. “So, that brings me to the contract. I’ve decided not to honor the rest of it. The Jarl is too well protected and we can’t make this mistake again.” She sighed in relief. “Welcome home, sister. I don’t have any new contracts for you, but keep an eye on Cicero. Tell me anything out of the ordinary that he might do.”
“Thank you Astrid.” Elayne answered honestly. “I might have to hire us for a contract here soon at the rate I’m making enemies.”
“Hah!” Astrid found that funny, laughing deeply. “And just what kind of enemies are you making, that your family can help you with?”
“Ancient vampiric lords that I don’t know how to kill or where to find them.”
“Yet.” Astrid held up a finger. “Go have a chat with Babette. She knows quite a bit about vampires here in Skyrim. Even if she was turned in Cyrodil. We know Movarth quite well, but he and his band of vampires are trying to remain out of conflicts.They are one of the few covens of vampires you can speak to peacefully. Just approach their cavern with some mudcrab legs in your hand. It’s a little signal we have to talk with them.”
“Are there others?”
“Of course. But we aren’t in a working relationship.” Astrid tapped a couple of places on the map. “These are places I know about. But they are old places. There is an ancient fort in the mountains here that is called Bloodlet. Won’t find it on many maps.” Her knife tapped it, and Elayne brought out her own map to mark hers. “And then there is Redwater. Odd place, but Festus said it was inhabited by vampires once.” She also showed her the cave belonging to Movarth, north of Morthal. “Anything else I can help you with?”
“I’m looking for a missing woman named Serana?” She smirked.
“How long has she been missing and where was she last seen?”
“Not a clue to both.”
“It’s not a name I recognize. Sorry.” Astrid shrugged. “But it would make you happy to hear that the Vigilants of Stendarr have been pulling back from the roads recently. Something’s got them spooked. I think they even abandoned their hall.” The Vigilants of Stendarr weren’t bad people. They just hated anything from Oblivion. “Wish we could be more help.”
She moved out of Astrid’s room, heels clicking as she moved through the sanctuary. Festus and Veezara were in the main chamber, using the dragonwall to practice a game of darts. “The one with the tooth mark, next!”
“That’s all of the symbols, Festus!”
“You must be uncivilized, my brother! Look, the one just above the last one you struck. It looks like a claw.”
“So it does. So it does.” Veezara mused.
“That one means ‘Honor’, by the way.” She told them, smirking. “Don’t miss!”
Both men cackled, waving as she stepped past them. Her steps brought her past Arnbjorn and Nazir, both working on sharpening weapons and not talking. She didn’t want to touch that. Gabriella she wasn’t seeing in the bedrooms, but eventually found her and Babette throwing chunks of raw meat down to Babette’s spider. “Gabriella!”
“Elayne!” The Dunmer hugged her, looking healthier than when she saw her last. “Are you alright?”
“Of course.” The lie that worked on the rest of skyrim rolled off her tongue. “Well, I’m in need of help.”
“Alchemical training? Archery touches? Neither of those are your specialty.” Babette mocked gently. “What can we do for our sister?”
“Tell me about Harkon and the Volkihar.” Gabriella’s eyebrows rose, and she looked slightly disturbed.
Babette frowned, a deadly serious look on the face of the child. “You already know his name. That’s more than most people care to learn.” She pushed a copy of Immortal Blood towards Elayne, on the table. “The Volkihar can move through ice. Freeze the blood in your veins. They have something even more powerful than that, something that even other vampire clans wish they had. A connection to Molag Bal that is closer than any other. The Volkihar barely care about other vampire groups because they have that connection. They expect anyone that wants to be in skyrim to beg for their approval. Lone vampires are hunted down by them for disturbing the peace.” Babette considered her words carefully. “I’ve never been to their island, or their court.”
“They have an island?!” An Island! They had to be in the Sea of Ghosts! But if they could move through ice, they might be living in a glacier for all she could get through that. “Tell me more, please. It’s important.” Babette looked worried, glancing at Gabriella. “They stole the elder scroll I need to kill Alduin. Without it, I won’t be able to do something important.”
Babette skewed her face, concerned. “I know where it is. But I also know that you would need an army to go there. It’s not just an island. It’s a fortress and it’s surrounded by the creatures of Molag Bal, daedra of Molag Bal, and then the vampires themselves. Harkon is the name of the lord of their court. I have never heard of him leaving that fortress. I only heard his name once, from an emissary they sent to some vampires I was visiting. Among vampires, he’s some kind of royalty. If there is any books or history about him, they’re long burnt and gone. Any mention of his name and you’ll be sure to draw attention to yourself.” She warned. “I know where the island is, but I will warn you not to go there.”
“You’re telling me more than I knew before.”
“You’re a hero, Elayne. This place? I wouldn’t attack it unless I had the highest temperatures of summer and clear skies. The only people dumb enough to think they could fight them was Potema the wolf queen herself. Weakened her enough that she lost her power when her attacks failed.” Babette was being serious. “If he stole your Elder Scroll? Maybe you should just find another one. It’ll be faster than waiting for those immortals to give it back to you.”
“He has two.” Elayne groaned. “Maybe I should just hire a thief.”
Babette and Gabriella looked at her. “If you think the Thieve’s Guild has a chance of stealing from a vampiric fortress, be my guest.” Gabriella said. “We know people at the Thieves Guild. If you had thousands of gold to throw at them, maybe they’d try.”
Elayne groaned. Again, it all came down to money. “Where could I go that I could make thousands of gold very quickly.”
“A whorehouse.” Babette mocked.
“Babette!” Gabriella giggled. “You can’t say that! No whorehouse in Skyrim would pay that much.”
Elayne rolled her eyes. “I still need to get that scroll back.”
“Then maybe you should go somewhere and tell the Empire to just send you a scroll? They’ve got to honor their hero, after all.”
“I just might. I really just might.” She sighed. “I know more than I did before, and I thank you for that Babette. I promise I won’t be going there alone.”
“Can I talk to you for a second?” Gabriella mentioned. “Come on, I’ve got to show you something.” The Dunmer took her to the room with the stained glass window, a large coffin filling the space. That was new, and her earrings banged together loudly when she saw it. “This is the Night Mother’s coffin.”
“It’s a bit creepy.” Elayne offered with a smile.
Gabriella shut the doors to the room, before grasping Elayne by the arm and whispering. “She’s talking to me! What in Oblivion should I do?!”
“What does the dead woman say?”
“That we are supposed to go meet with a man in a nordic ruin about a job. An Amaund Motierre. He thinks we haven’t heard his sacrament and will leave soon.”
It was then that both women realized they were not alone. From behind the coffin, a man slipped from the shadows, a jester’s hat upon his head. “Heresy, to speak of the Night Mother’s words. To speak as if she has spoken!” Quick as lightning, blades were in his hands.
“Darkness rises when silence dies!” Gabriella squeaked. “Please don’t hurt anyone, Cicero!”
The man slipped his daggers back into his outfit, somewhere. Elayne couldn’t tell. He seemed to quiver, holding his sides. Unable to help himself, he threw open the doors, and started yelling as loud as the world outside could hear. “The Night Mother is heard! Gabriella is a Listener! The Dark Brotherhood is no longer silent! Oh hee hah hah! Mother speaks! Mother can speak again!”
The entire sanctuary was coming now, and Gabriella was blushing a bright pink in her cheeks. “Oh shit.”
Elayne was just happy that it was someone else’s problem, this time. She patted her friend on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, you get used to it.”
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