Dragonborn Ascendant (28)

A/N: A bit late, but here it is, chapter 28. Also, many thanks to everyone supporting me, I hope you enjoy this.

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Silence.

It was an ever present eerie quietness that filled the northernmost portion of the Reach as we crossed to Hjaalmarch. It could have been excusable because of winter and its extreme hostility to life, but this was Skyrim, and things here, both animals, plants and people had evolved to endure the harsh weather and glacial cold. More than that I felt something, an instinctive feeling that alerted me of the wrongness. Animal instincts? Magical senses? I didn’t know, truthfully, I didn’t care either, but I had a hard frown set on my face, an expression mirrored by Aela and copied by Lydia after sensing our tension.

I knew from memory there was an orc stronghold not too far from here, there was one on each corner of Skyrim, so I hoped, even if we were not allowed to enter the stronghold, we could still talk to the orc chief there, or someone else willing to tell us what was happening in these parts.

“Can’t you just… fly up ahead?” Aela asked.

“I could,” I answer in a level tone. “I just don’t want to go too far from you two.”

“We can protect ourselves, my Thane,” says Lydia. “We will be safe until your returnal.”

My lips purse as I consider both warrior women. “I know you can,” I say, sighing. “Even still, I worry.”

“Perhaps too much,” Aela sighs, but she can’t hide the fondness in her eyes. “Very well, let’s continue then. I don't want to be caught out in the open when night falls.”

Grunting in agreement, I turn forward to continue our walk. “Keep your eyes open,” I mutter. “Something is wrong in this place.”

We kept following the Druadach Mountains, rising to a plateau, but not the mountains properly, the absence of animal life glaring. The only things that could be seen were birds of prey, hawks and eagles flying high in the sky, but their glares were focused on the ravens that flew over our heads.

In the hours that followed, there was only desolation in our path, and my gut feeling slowly solidified as we kept going.

“They should be somewhere around here,” I muttered, eyes searching near the mountains for any type of unnatural structures.

The night was beginning to fall at that point, and I didn’t feel secure having to stay outside.

“Magnus,” Aela called another time. “Don’t you think now would be a good time to search for them in the air?” Suggested the red haired woman. My lips purse for a moment before I nod in agreement. It really would be faster that way, though I didn’t really want to do it.

I wasn’t entirely wrong in my past attempt of levitation using pure telekinesis, the real levitation spell really was a derivation of the telekinesis spell, after all. My mistake in my last attempt, however, was in grasping my armour to manipulate instead of myself, which with the standard telekinesis spell is unviable due to how little fine control the spell grants you at first. Perhaps with much more practice, I’d be able to fly with only telekinesis, but I didn’t have the time nor the inclination to do it at the moment.

Taking to the skies was an exhilarating experience. I wasn’t used to it yet, and I don’t think I’ll ever lose the thrill of it every time I take off from the ground, but it didn’t feel bad. In reality, it was quite the opposite, being in the sky, overlooking the ground below, felt almost right, and it was also the reason why I avoided having to use levitation lest I don’t want to go down.

From the air it was much easier to identify things just as I was able to see farther than on the ground. Rising higher and higher gave me a better view of the Druadach Mountains, and a greater insight to their size, I could even see hints of the Nordic ruin of Volskygge where another named dragon priest resided, a target for the future, but my eyes shift and they meet a flock of ravens flying circles in the distance.

The sight I came to gave me pause. “What the-?”

Corpses, dozens of them covered the ground. Bloodless and pale looking, their bodies mauled and mangled by bladed wounds. There was no blood, which would have been clear to see against the snow. What surprised me the most was seeing the abandoned orc stronghold, which gave me a bad premonition with the sight alone.

Something was definitely wrong in Hjaalmarch.

I flew straight back to Lydia and Aela before telling my discovery to the warrior women and also my worries.

Grim looks crossed both their faces as both the brunette and the redhead shared a silent conversation before returning to me.

“We should investigate,” Aela declared, making me grimace, a bitter taste getting to my mouth.

“My Thane,” Lydia started. “If there’s a force, something out there capable of taking an orc stronghold, then we must hunt it down before it endangers the people of Skyrim.” She argued, and I even agreed with her reasoning, even if I did not like it.

“I know,” I sighed. “We’ll be most likely dealing with a necromancer, or most likely a cabal of them.” And that brought a grimace to both their faces. “Don’t let your guards down. We’ll be going to the stronghold to spend the night there.”

With their agreement being voiced, we began once again to move.

It was an hour long trek before we finally reached the fortified settlement, and night had already fallen. We decided to sleep in the larger of the three proper buildings the stronghold had, the chief’s house, where I set up a few wards as a precaution before we went to sleep.

The following morning was spent investigating the place.

The mines were empty like I suspected, exposed ore veins yet to be mined, tunnels darkened by unlit torches and lamps. The food remained untouched in barrels, sacks and crates, protected in the back of the longhouse. There was a distinct lack of weapons though, and most important,of the orcs themselves, and given the traces of blood we found in some bits of snow, we could have an idea of what happened.

“Do you think it was a necromancer with a grudge of orcs?” Aela suggested and I shrugged, not discounting the possibility.

“I hope it’s just that,” I mutter, which earns a frown from the redhead.

“You think it’s something else?”

“I know of two distinct possibilities,” I answer. “And I hope none of them are right. Else we’ll be… in deep trouble.” Especially if it’s the last one. “Let’s stay here for another night before we move.”

“Where will we go, Thane?” Asks Lydia. “Solitude?”

It probably would have been smart to warn general Tulius and the Legion about this event, even the people in Dragon Bridge, but I shake my head before answering her with my plan. “We’ll be going to the Shrine of Meridia.”

“A Daedric Prince?!”

“Some of them can be quite reasonable,” I stop the women before one of them can go on a tirade, looking pointedly at Lydia’s spellbreaker. “And Meridia herself is known to have a hatred of the undead. Whatever you might have against the princes, having the favour of one of them for doing something we would already have to do seems like a good trade. Besides, it’s not like we’ll be asking for the help of someone like the Prince of Destruction.”

The Companion grinds her teeth. “I still don’t like it.”

“Really?” I raise an eyebrow, watching her grimace in return. “You can suggest something, if you have a better plan.” I continued, but her lack of an answer was enough of a response.

With no new objections, we followed with my idea, and began to trek through Hjaalmarch once again.

There was a passage between the Druadach Mountains and the other individual ranges that covered Hjaalmarch, leading us to a central highland that was surprisingly flat. Stopping for a moment on Volskygge, we checked a couple of rooms in the ruin to confirm if none of the draugr inside had been roused, and if none of them were missing, which I was pleasantly surprised to find they were unperturbed. That revelation came as a great relief, whoever was walking around with undead at least knew not to be arrogant enough as to face ancient draugr and leave them in their tombs.

Sealing the entrance of the ruin with magic - a process that took a couple of hours -, we were forced to stay the night at Pinemoon Cave, a vampire den next to Clearpine Pond. Unfortunately, the vampires didn’t seem to be the culprits and they seemed to be clueless about the mastermind behind the undead.

“A new supplicant approaches,” booms a disembodied voice from the woods, in sight of Meridia’s statue. “Listen. Hear me and obey. A foul darkness has seeped into my temple, and dark taint assails this land. A darkness that you will destroy. But first, you must restore me to my beacon. I will-”

“No.” I interrupt. “I’m not going to play fetch for you, Meridia.”

“Mortal, you dare?!” Her voice thunders, and I can’t help but flinch, even if I don’t slow down my approach.

“I do,” I answer. “You’re a Daedric Prince and this is your temple. Are you really so weak you can’t open some doors?”

“M-My Thane?” “Magnus?!” Lydia and Aela cry.

“You insolent-”

“Look,” I cut off the goddess another time. “Will you open the doors for me to get your shiny sword or do you want to have the necromancer inside your temple?”

There’s a moment of tense silence where I wait for a pillar of light to smite me from the sky, but none come and I sigh in relief seconds later.

“Your insolence is unforgivable,” Meridia states. “But it pales in comparison to the desecration of my temple.” She declares. A smile comes to my face as I approach the closed door.

There’s a loud clunk. “Enter,” Meridia commands. “And purge this filth of my temple.”

A chuckle escapes my lips as I push the doors open. “Of course, my guiding light.”

It was time to kill more undead.