I, Draugr chapter 42

"Man, we got the fucker lookin' over his shoulder every two seconds now…" I muse as I watch Vulthuryol's very injured form scurry away in a panic, once more leading us to his next Flesh Pit.

"Daggah!" The mighty Poopdaggah cheers from beside me, though he ain't even looking at Vulthuryol's retreating form as one eye is staring at the ground and the other at the ceiling.

He must be calculating the immensity of Heaven and Earth, I see. Young Master Poopdaggah.

I turn my head as the crackling of flames grows louder and watch as Hildr releases a gargantuan gust of flames from one of her gloved hands, setting the large Flesh Pit alight with a disgusted look on her face.

"This makes what… Four?" She asks, turning her gaze away from the burning pool of crushed up meat, bones, muscles and blood.

"Yep." I nod, straightening myself as Vulthuryol disappears over a tall hill in the distance. "He shouldn't have that many left over."

"But considering he has been at it since the First Era…" Hildr sighs, clearly not really feeling hopeful.

I'd kill Vulthuryol instantly, if it were up to me, because I know that I'll likely devour the strength of his Soul the moment I destroy his body.

But then the remnant of it will shoot off towards the other Flesh Pits to regrow his body, because the bastard has left pieces of his old body in their depths so to leave a connection.

Though it'll leave him out of commission for a long while. Decades at most, centuries at best. But a vermin like him shouldn't be put aside.

A coward he may be, but he is cunning. This plan of his to basically invade the surface only got fucked because me, Deinmaar and Hildr are here, and because I sealed off the mountain during the initial attack.

That was the original attack. The invasion he has been planning for so long, hence why he was present and I felt him through Mind's Eye.

Had he taken the city by surprise, he'd have likely won due to the Mages being unable to unleash the Master Class Spells in their repertoire… Though maybe Savos Aren would've been able to repel Vulthuryol, maybe even slay him.

He is an Archmage for a reason, and in Kara's own opinion, he is 'decent enough', which is quite the compliment from possibly one of the strongest Mages in history.

Hell, he did manage to run away from Morokei, who Deinmaar stated he'd stand no fuckin' chance against. The guy was the Vice Leader of the Dragon Priest Council, after all.

Only Konahriik stood above him in status and strength, but she was in a league of her own, apparently.

So yeah, destroying Vulthuryol's body would just weaken his Soul… But not his Magicka, unfortunately. I believe his Magicka reserves are related to his body, hence why he makes use of Falmers to form it, because they have quite a bit of it in them.

Absorbing the majority of power from his Soul would be useless because he already can't use Shouts, even after devouring the Souls of the Dragons he betrayed so to have additional heads on his body.

My plan is to just destroy all of his Flesh Pits, then freeze his ass into a statue and leave him like that until Aurelia comes along to end him once and for all.

Hell, Vulthuryol clearly caught onto our plan, but he can't really fight back. He is absolutely terrified of me – mainly because I believe he realized that I fought Alduin with Deinmaar, or something.

Plus, he is terrified of Hildr too. He knows that weakened as he is, he won't last two minutes against her wolf form this time around.

"Can't believe there are beings that are so fucked up in the head to do this stuff…" Hildr's disgusted words pull me out of my thoughts, and making me notice the disturbed frown she threw towards the burning Flesh Pit.

I approach her and place a hand on her hip, pulling her against my side, something she happily leans into, "I kinda pity him, to be honest." I state, earning a soft hum from Hildr as she rests her head on my shoulder, "Vulthuryol is a rather pitiful existence. Broken from his inability of doing anything, even use his birthright… And it broke him."

"It doesn't excuse these horrors he has done for petty revenge and lust for power, but still…"

Countless centuries manipulating the Falmer that were here to just… mass breed each others like their were tools – because for him they were. I do not know how he avoided the Dwemer before they disappear, or if he even did at all.

So far, two of his Flesh Pits that we destroyed were inside the ruins of old Dwemer settlements, something he clearly started working on once they disappeared. He likely picks areas with soft soil that can be easily dug up to make a massive pit.

"Had he not bothered with these, he'd have had an enormous army." Hildr scoffs from my side, and I hum softly.

"I'm actually starting to doubt he'd want such an army constantly under his command." I point out, making Hildr shift her head on my shoulder so to look at me.

"The invasion of the surface was surely for petty revenge… But I think that now that Alduin is back, he wants to get within his good graces. And to do so, I think he plans on waking up the other Dragon Priests."

Hildr clicks her tongue, "And the only one that would have such knowledge is probably his own Dragon Priest, Hevnoraak." I nod, making her sigh deeply once more.

I turn my head to study the surroundings. Blackreach is mostly the same, with some old ruins of the Dwemer civilization strewn around here and there, enormous strange vegetation, but also barely any animals or insects and stuff like that.

But it is also enormous, as it just keeps on going and going in all directions. It is so far beneath the surface that I believe it also stretches below the ocean.

"It's a shame that we'll have to rush our trip through here…" I sigh, shaking my head and releasing Hildr so to turn and look back in the direction Vulthuryol fled to.

Hildr pauses, then gives me a look, "There's something important down here, isn't there?"

I chuckle at how sharp she is becoming at catching certain things in my words, "Yup. An Elder Scroll." Her eye goes wide at that, making me chuckle again.

Aurelia already mastered Dragon Rend, so it really isn't needed, but it still an incredibly powerful tool to have just in case. "Unfortunately, I don't know exactly where it is. Blackreach is too damn big to just search around blindly."

Hopefully, those up in Winterhold can start working on coming down here and make some form of base of operations. With that, we can then come back and start exploring.

Though that'll take a lot of time to set up for sure.

"Can we even use another one on Alduin?" Hildr questions, and I shrug. I honestly don't know.

"Those things hold immense power. I just want to recover this one just in case, but I don't plan to use it." The Elder Scrolls should be removed from the board, because I can't risk Alduin growing smart and cunning and seeking to use one himself.

But against us, instead. And if he doesn't, any of his Dragon Priests could come up with this idea.

I shake my head and snap back into focus, "Come on, let's go after Vulthuryol. He shouldn't have many Flesh Pits left."

Hildr nods and falls into steps with me, Poopdaggah far ahead of us and having already started to go after the Dragon by himself. The absolute chad, he plans on soloing Vulthuryol, huh? "So, it's your turn this time?"

Hildr asks, a wide grin on her face. We made bullying Vulthuryol a game, like how we had Poopdaggah deliver a magical nuke to the guy not so long ago.

Then Hildr decided to play along and just… dropped a literal inferno on Vulthuryol and his second Flesh Pit. The sadistic smile on her face at a time was quite sexy, not gonna lie.

Then Poopdaggah went again, with another Magical Nuke that he once more survived somehow. He only went because Hildr tried to get rid of him, but the small Riekling is downright OP.

He is strangely smart too, in fact. He can understand us easily, but he can't talk well, just mimic what we say, unlike some of the Rieklings in the game.

Wonder how he even got stuck down here…

"It is…" I muse and rub the chin of my mask, "How should I bully him this time?"

Hildr hums, then tilts her head, "He doesn't have an asshole for you to… Magically expand." We share a snort at that.

Now, what to do to further torture Vulthuryol…?

...

"I guess it is finally time for the Sheisty Undead to appear…"

He who sneaks on the opps. He who starts the jumping. He who mains Magik. He who created the term 'paranoia'.

Hildr pauses.

"The fucking what?"

I don't answer. I only cackle like the evil villain that I am.

This is gonna be fun.

~~XXX~~

He wasn't having fun. No, he was having a terrible time.

Everything had come crashing down, yet again. All of his efforts, all of his planning, all of his desires for revenge and power… It had all crashed before they barely even started.

Deinmaar lived and was there to thwart the invasion of the surface he had been planning for quite a few centuries now. He didn't even get to face against Lah or that damnable woman of his, no… He was instead thwarted by that damn traitor.

And that stupid Undead wearing Krosis' Mask. Who the hell was he? Where did he come from? Why did he feel so… Weird?

As a Dragon, he was constantly aware of the river of time. He could see how all beings – even Dragons – flowed alongside it… But not that Undead.

No, that Undead was a giant rock being battered by the waters of the river of time, and not flinching or breaking or being reduced to powder.

He was standing against the flow of time itself. He was standing against his Father.

And he lived.

What was he? What made him such an Anomaly? Why did his Father allow that thing to exist?

Vulthuryol did not know, and he was close to not caring anymore. All he wanted was to kill that Undead… But he was too weak. Like always.

First Lah and that dumb woman of his. Then Deinmaar, and now this unknown Undead?

Everything just kept going wrong. All he needed was to push his army to the surface and then create a foothold for the Dragons on the continent.

With that gained, they could recall the last remaining Dragon Priests to their side and start rebuilding their forces.

He may not have been loyal to the cause in the past, but now was different. He had betrayed countless of his brothers to rip apart their bodies and heads to add to his own, he had tried so hard to survive, to grow stronger…

And then he realized how much better their life was back then, back in the their grand capital. Back when they ruled, back when they had everything.

It all felt hopeless… Until he felt Alduin's return. With him, his brothers could return, their mighty army could be rebuilt, and they could finally regain all that they had lost.

Right?

A chill goes down Vulthuryol's long spine, one of his now remaining three heads turning to look behind him as he neared his last and biggest Flesh Pit.

Why did he feel like he was being watched?

The ruins of the old city cracked and shifted loudly beneath his form – did he just see someone peek out from behind a destroyed wall of an old home? – as he moved across the rubble and remains.

He had flattened all the buildings himself a long time ago, right after the Dwemer Race had disappeared, giving him access to his way back to the surface.

One of their strange contraption they called an 'Elevator'. The pillar of yellowed metal stood tall and proud, dwarfing his width and piercing up into the ceiling above.

This is how he took trips to the surface, called some of his weaker brothers to him, then killed them for their bodies.

He never lingered around for too long, afraid that Lah would come to finish the job and find a way to seal his Dragon Soul on the spot and not let it flee to the buried remnants of his old corpse.

Reaching the bottom of the elevator, with the surrounding area being a massive Flesh Pit, Vulthuryol glances back with one of heads once more – Okay, this time he totally did see a figure hide behind a piece of rubble. He wasn't going crazy.

He wasn't!

And then the head looking towards the elevator saw it. A dark hooded figure peeking out from behind one of the yellowed metal pipes before hiding back behind it.

That figure was just behind him! How did it get in front of him so fast?! What is going on!?

"Show yourself, coward!" He roars, shaking the air with the might of his yell, all three heads staring in different directions, seeking to grab even a small hint of that quickly moving hooded figure.

And then the appearance of the hooded figure kept ramping up, always in the corner of his eyes. Sometimes it peeked from behind a wall, other times he catches it just in time to see it walk behind one, one time he even caught it walking towards him before it paused and walked backward and back into hiding.

"S-Show yourself!" He just stuttered! He stuttered! Him! A Dragon! Such humiliation-!

In his anger – fear – he started blasting flaming breaths out of his three jaws in all directions, uncaring of damaging the Flesh Pit before him-

And then he felt a stabbing pain in his back. Nothing bad, and he'd have usually ignored such a sting… But not this time.

His jaws stop spewing flames, and all three of his heads slowly turn to look at his tail.

There, the cloaked figure he kept seeing in the corner of his eyes stood… A whole arm deep inside the flesh of his tail. The other one? Waving at him. "You kinda lack an asshole, so I made ya a new one! Hope you don't mind!"

That damnable Undead! "You alright? You was tweaking out a bit back there…"

"That's because of you!" Vulthuryol involuntarily roars, nearly flexing his tail to launch the bastard away from him, but he stopped himself, knowing that the Mage could throw a devastating Spell within his body at any time.

"Me?" The Undead innocently points at his Krosis Mask, "I'll have you know I am innocent. I've never done anything bad in my whole life!"

Vulthuryol faintly heard someone coughing and going "Bullshit." beneath their breath, but he ignored that part so to glare at the Undead.

"What do you want?" He demands, his voice dripping with hate while his claws dug into the ground at the edges of his biggest and last Flesh Pit.

The Undead hums, taking his time to state his words, annoying Vulthuryol even further, "How many Flesh Pits ya got left?"

Vulthuryol growls and flexes his claws, "One more." He lies, knowing that the Undead has no way to tell if he has more or not. If he manages to get away from this confrontation too… Then he can escape to another Elevator to the surface. He knows where all of them are, luckily enough.

"Hmm…" The Undead hums, clearly not willing to believe his words. And that seed of doubt delighted Vulthuryol.

And then a blinding flash erupts. His tail is carved off from his body, and a javelin of light stabs deep into the Flesh Pit and erases that part of his body hidden deep within.

Vulthuryol howls from the pure agony of having Lightning Magicka cause havoc through his body, but he controlled his roll and used it go get closer to the Elevator, already open and waiting for him to use it. "You damnable vermin-"

His roar came to a pause, all of his eyes widening and his heads turning towards the ceiling.

He heard it. He definitely just heard it. Someone called his name… No, not just any someone… That was Hevnoraak!

Gushes of flames erupt out of his jaws, and with a slam of his claws, his Flesh Pit erupts upward. Healing with it was slow, but utilizing it to create Fleshcrafted monstrosities? That was very, very fast.

And so, the whole remaining Flesh Pit became a gargantuan colossus of flesh, bone, meat and blood as beneath the cover of his flames, while he pushed himself back into the elevator.

"Just you wait, you bastard!" He roars as his claw flicks the small lever, causing the elevator to groan and for the gates to slam shut. "I will take my revenge for this humiliation!" His Fleshcrafted golem is frozen solid, then shattered into powder.

The gate sealing the elevator suddenly gains a massive hole through it, and one of his heads bursts like a bubble, sending pure agony through Vulthuryol once more.

But the elevator soon starts rising, and he can only grit his teeth and wait to finally lay claim to his revenge.

First, he needs to regroup with his loyal Dragon Priest and heal, then they can start plotting once more…

What Vulthuryol did not see though, was a frozen chain attach itself to the bottom of his elevator as it started going up.

~~XXX~~

A hole is punched through the bottom of the elevator, and I swiftly help Hildr climb up, trying not too hard to stare at her ass as she goes.

Once she is up, I climb right after, with Poopdaggah hanging from my foot.

The ride on the elevator took what must've been an hour or two, but it was worth it.

Vulthuryol helped us destroy that giant Flesh Pit without destroying the elevator, and we were able to swiftly follow after him.

"He's gone…" Hildr states, her shoulders sagging as she looks at the snow gathered outside, the pile of it having been smashed aside by a massive figure, and it is now left drenched in blood.

I don't like it. That reaction from Vulthuryol before he ran… He looked up at the ceiling for some reason, and I don't like it one bit.

I don't even know if we destroyed all the Flesh Pits, but hopefully we have…

"Let's go. We'll go back to Winterhold." I tell Hildr, leading the way outside so take in our surroundings.

We are exactly beneath the mountains, in what appears to be ruins utterly buried beneath the snow, enough so that only the golden round roofs of the tallest buildings are visible.

The good news is that we can see a city far ahead of us, near the coast. Dawnstar.

"I have money on me, so we can grab a pair of horses." Hildr states, and I nod.

"You sure you don't want to grab a bite to eat first?" I ask her, faint worry in my voice. We must've been down there for a full day, after all.

When we started the battle, it was somewhere around late morning. Now? It's early morning.

Hildr smiles sweetly at my words, "I'm used to going with a few days without eating, Leo." She states softly, but that doesn't make me relax.

I sigh and shake my head, and Hildr warmly bumps her shoulder against mine, "And then you wonder why I am attracted to you." I look at her as she walks forward, humming a cheerful tune as the snow crunches beneath her boots.

I feel like we've gotten so much closer now after our talk. Like an invisible wall between us was torn down, letting us be more honest with each other. More open.

It feels… Freeing.

And honestly? It makes me want to have this talk with Aurelia too.

Gods, I miss her so damn much.

She must've grown a lot. I should probably take up drawing, so that I can draw her whenever we are apart, so that I don't forget how beautiful she looks like.

My gaze strays back to Hildr. Both her and Aurelia both.

"Daggah…" I look down as our Riekling friend pulls at my robes, drawing my attention. His eyes do not stare at me, but… Was he worried about me?

"I'm alright, buddy." I reassure the little weird dude, "Just matters of love. Always hard to handle, ya know?"

"Daggah…" He nods, surprisingly enough. If he can get laid, then there is hope for everyone in existence.

Patting the little dude's head, I move to follow after Hildr.

The walk is quiet and is a single straight path to the Dawnstar Hold, since the snow around the mountains has piled up so high that perhaps half of the mountain's height is hidden beneath it.

As we walk, I throw a look back at the buried ruins behind us. Vulthuryol had clearly taken flight right after leaving the elevator, but that is not what I am focused on.

Time really is cruel, huh?

What must've been a small settlement, abandoned in the blink of an eye.

My thoughts stray back to that small home I used to let Hildr rest. The table assorted with silverware and set plates, the chairs pushed back to show a family sitting at the table and eating.

And then the silverware on the ground, showing the moment in time they ceased to exist.

I don't think I'll ever forget that sight.

It didn't take long to reach Dawnstar, and we didn't waste time to ask for directions to the stables – while I also had to keep Poopdaggah from murdering anyone that stared at him for more than two seconds.

He did keep screaming 'Bomboclat!' in their general direction while flailing wildly though. I'd say that teaching him that word would be bad… But honestly? It nearly makes me die of laughter each time.

With the horses gained, we swiftly shot down the road leading to the gap between the two mountains that are close to Winterhold. We don't waste time with idle chatter, mostly because I feel a strange sense of urgency inside me.

Why is that, though?

Is it because of how Vulthuryol acted? Of how he fled so fast after staring at the ceiling for some reason?

Or is because of the nearly twelve-thousand Souls in my hold, just begging to be used?

I am so mentally tired that thinking of an appropriate power-up to lead my class or Spells into is just… Incredibly taxing, to say the least.

I've tried. In the small amount of time I've been in Blackreach, I tried to come up with ideas. With how to push my Evolution once more. Or Evolutions.

And the Spells I could gain after.

I tried… Yet all I could focus on was that darkness, the one lingering at the edge of my vision, just begging to be given attention. Just begging for me to reach out.

I'd say that sometimes my thoughts wander towards scary places… But I just find myself spacing out, not remembering what I was thinking about in the first place.

I don't know what this calling is, what this yearning that I feel from this darkness at the edge of my vision means… But I don't like it. Not one bit.

Early morning turns into late morning, then the afternoon comes just as the walls of Winterhold enter our line of sight and our horses round up on them.

Quite a lot of guards stood upon the walls and perked up at our arrival, but swiftly recognized us, "It's Leonidas and Hildr! Go tell Lord Deinmaar!"

They started calling him Lord? Oh, I know the big guy doesn't like it one bit and is grumbling about it.

We enter past the gate and dismount our horses, some of the guards walking over to take the horses off our hands. "Go ahead towards the inn. And welcome back!"

"What the fuck is that thing?"

"I don't know but I don't wanna look at it."

"Bomboclat…" Poopdaggah grunted out, looking just about done with the day as he drags his bare feet. He isn't even looking around curiously, showing that he is used to people and civilization. How curious.

I resist the great urge to teach him nasty words and vile insults and just take the lead in walking towards the inn. Deinmaar tends to spend his time in the lobby there with the old man, so that's probably why the guards sent us that way.

"Brother!" A call makes me perk up, and chuckle when Deinmaar's enormous figure enters my line of sight, his helmet off to allow his long mane of dark hair to cascade down his back, a smile on his handsome face.

Guess he wasn't at the inn then. "Hope ya didn't miss me too much, big guy." I greet him right back, earning a chuckle from the giant as he clasps my hand in his and uses the other one to pat my shoulder.

"I never had a doubt you'd come back." He smiles, then turns to Hildr and gives her a low nod, "I was more worried when we couldn't find the lady here."

Hildr nervously rubbed the back of her neck, and I pointed an accusatory finger her way, "She jumped after me. I did nothing."

"Oh fuck you!" I don't react at the fireball that slaps against my face, but Deinmaar does laugh, the visible tension in his shoulders melting further.

"But yeah, it all went well. We destroyed all of Vulthuryol's Flesh Pits, far as I know, before he made a run to the surface for some reason…" I shrug, though Deinmaar frowns and looks between Hildr and me. "What?"

He pauses, then breathes in and crosses his arms, "So you did not hear it, then…" He shakes his head and sighs deeply, "Vulthuryol was called. Hevnoraak is awake."

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

"There's more…" Deinmaar shakes his head, but then smiles and perks up, "But before that, there is someone who has been dying to meet the both of you." I tilt my head at that, any worry and dark thoughts at Hevnoraak being awake and free from his seal temporarily forgotten.

And a cry reaches me before I can ask who might be looking for us, "Leo!" That familiar voice makes both me and Hildr freeze, but I swiftly recover as Deinmaar steps to the side.

A small child runs down the street and towards us, short red hair flapping through the air and tears streaming down her happy and grinning, mischievous face. "Gretel?"

The young girl leaps into my arms, snapping me back into focus as laughter flows out of me without my control, "Oh my god! What the hell are you doing here, you damn beautiful gremlin!" I spin her around, filling my ears with that lovely, happy childish squeal of hers, her legs kicking in the air.

"I missed you so much!" Gretel cries out, latching herself around my neck desperately as I hug her tightly, her soft sniffling and cries filling the air.

Then she shifted and moved to stare at Hildr, whose eye was wide in shock, but was also overflowing with tears. And Gretel was soon snatched out of my arms when the small girl reached towards her big sister, who started filling her face with kisses without wasting a second.

I chuckle at the sight, watching Hildr all but melt against the girl we both adore so damn much.

But my attention is soon stolen by another figure walking down the road, and I turn to give them my full attention before I freeze when recognition strikes.

Long, wavy silver hair. Pale skin, shining nigh-purple eyes, and dark armor that hugged her lovely curves perfectly.

Gods, she is so damn beautiful…

She looks so different. So mature, so… Alive.

This is the young woman who didn't even know who she was. What her likes were, or her dislikes.

Aurelia stops in front of me, her eyes having always been focused on me and only me, her hands behind her back as her eyes shine with pure adoration and warmth, her wonderful lips stretched into a small smile that conveyed all of her emotions. "Missed me?"

Her voice was like music to me. Like a melody that I've craved for so long. Like a drug that I need in order to keep going forward in life.

My hand shakes as I reach up to cup her cheek, and her eyes close as she leans into the touch.

"You're even more beautiful than the last day we were together." Her cheeks bloom with a fierce blush – Deinmaar clearly stole the words I just said. I hope Konahriik will give you the same reaction, buddy! – but she doesn't pull away. Instead, she just hums softly and happily.

And suddenly, I understand.

If Hildr is the one that holds my hand and walks with me, then Aurelia is my guiding light. The one that drives away the horrors that my tired mind tries to conjure. The ones that I refuse to focus on.

She steps forward, and her arms wrap around me.

And just like that, that darkness at the edge of my vision is driven away. My fatigue disappears. My mental exhaustion is gone.

For this one moment, in which I am holding her after so long, I feel truly refreshed.

And then the moment is broken when Gretel speaks up, "Big sis, your man is getting stolen."

Aurelia yelps and leaps away from me with a fierce blush while Hildr chokes on air, then slaps the grinning gremlin over the head, "We are wolves, but clearly Aurelia wants that bone too, huh?" Said woman releases a sound akin to a boiling tea-kettle while Deinmaar nearly keels over with laughter.

I can't blame him, because I am laughing too. "Man, I missed you so damn much, you wonderful brat." I pat Gretel on the head, making her eyes shine happily as her grin turns warm and happy.

Shaking my head, I focus back on the shyly shifting Aurelia, "Not that I mind seeing you again, but how come you and Gretel are here?"

Aurelia swiftly calms down when I give her the chance to ignore Gretel's previous words, "Paarthurnax said that I am done with my training, and that I should now explore and test things by myself." I nod in understanding at that, while Aurelia nods towards Gretel, "And that was roughly around the time when Whiterun came under siege of around three dozen Dragons."

Hildr instantly snaps her gaze down at Gretel in worry, but the gremlin just crosses her arms and sniffs haughtily, "I killed one of 'em!" …So this gremlin is OP as hell too?

Aurelia nods with a light laugh, "She did. Something about a massive wolf form you two can take?" Hildr flinches, but nods and ruffles Gretel's hair.

"I told her not to use it lightly. Guess the situation called for it?" Hildr questions, and Gretel nods.

"Son of a bitch landed on the goddamn kitchen." Okay yeah, that warranted using that power, I guess. I'd be mad too, not gonna lie.

I turn to Deinmaar and nod towards Gretel, "She did anything crazy while being here?"

The Atmoran tilts his head in consideration, "She spent a good few hours with the old man, with the two cursing at each other for some reason the whole time." He then shrugs, "And I've heard rumors of people getting stabbed in the shins recently but…"

Okay yeah, that's Gretel alright. Barely got here that she already started problems. I love her so much.

I turn back to Aurelia right after, "Is Whiterun alright?" She nods with a reassuring smile, allowing me to relax.

"I got there pretty much instantly, but they had already finished the job. I just had to handle a Dragon Saint." I pause at that.

"You fought a Dragon Saint?" She nods, puffing her chest with pride as she smiles smugly.

I cup both of her cheeks with my hands and give them a squeeze, "You're so damn cool, you silly woman!" She laughs and whines as I mess with her face, my voice overflowing with praise and pride in her.

Still, I pull back soon after and allow myself to calm down. I can shower both her and Gretel in love and hugs later, or even ask how Aurelia and Deinmaar's first meeting went, but first…

"Right…" I sigh and shake my head, getting serious once more, "You mentioned that there was something else?"

Aurelia nods, then points her thumb at the sword attached to her back, "Lady Meridia informed me of Hevnoraak being awake and having escaped the seal he was in…"

"She also told me to be careful, as he is the Champion of the previous Sheogorath."

Great, just what we needed.

Of course the fraud ain't a fraud anymore.

I sigh and cross my arms, "In that case, as much as I'd rather just take some time off to relax, especially since Aurelia and Gretel are here,-" Said woman flushes happily at my words, "-I think it is best we go after him now."

Deinmaar nods in agreement, a heavy frown on his face, "The only problem is finding the ruins he is hiding in. You did say that they are somewhere in the ruins south-west of Skyrim, right?"

I nod at that, though I perk up when I notice the cunning grin on Aurelia's face. "What if we had aerial view of the mountains?"

I pause at that, "Are you implying what I think you are implying?"

Her cute grin turns smug, "The Dragon Saint I defeated now listens to me, so I can call upon him and have him give us a ride there. Like so, we won't waste days traveling on horse-back-"

"-And we'll find the ruins just as fast…" Deinmaar finishes, his eyes widening in realization. "I'll go retrieve my equipment." I pat his arm and nod as he swiftly hurries away to retrieve his helmet and greatsword.

I turn my head to look at Hildr, who has a breathtaking happy smile on her face as she hugs Gretel and holds her up like the little gremlin is a teddy bear, but the small girl is just kicking her legs happily without care.

I reach over and pat her head, making her release a peal of adorable childish giggles that makes me relax so damn much. "So… Did I miss any lovey dovey times between you and my Big Sis?"

Hildr's face goes red, and she swiftly pinches her cackling little sister's cheek to admonish her. Not that it works. "Quite a few, yes!" I declare with a sniff, making Hildr squeak and gape at me, her face now even more red, "Can't you see how beautiful I made her?"

All I did was make – force – her to go on runs and shove food down her throat. That's it.

Those runs did wonders to her ass and thighs, so I gotta pat myself on the back.

I turn to Aurelia and hold back a chuckle at the pouting glare she throws my way, "No pouts. I just don't have words to describe how beautiful you are." Like Hildr, Aurelia yelps and flushes at my words, "Hildr is sexy as fuck-" I ignore the fireball that smashes against the side of my skull, "And you are several levels above breathtaking."

I cross my arms and nod my head sagely, while Gretel gapes at me, then at the two flushed ladies looking anywhere but me, clearly shy but happy. "Damn, dude…"

"Daggah…" And then Poopdaggah makes his presence known, and Gretel looks at the Riekling.

"Oh right!" I perk up and wave a hand towards the small ugly creature, "This is Poopdaggah, the mightiest of Rieklings."

Aurelia and Gretel look at Poopdaggah, who uses one eye to look at Gretel and the other to look at Aurelia. "Poopdaggah!" He introduces himself while scratching his ass like the gentleman that he is.

"Yeah, I ain't even gonna ask…" Gretel nods and turns away. Though I have a feeling that she and Poopdaggah shall become the greatest partners in crime in the future.

Turning to look at the Riekling, I give the small guy a pat on the shoulder, "You'll have to hang back for a bit, buddy. Try not to get yourself killed, alright?"

The Riekling nods, "Poopdaggah…" Then proceeds to walk down a random street.

Go forth and terrorize the people, my friend.

I turn back to the group just as I see Deinmaar returning, the dragon-like helmet covering his head and his enormous greatsword attached to his back, "Come on, let's go outside so we can call the Dragon."

Aurelia nods and skips forward with a smile on her face, leading the way back to the walls then outside into the snowy roads outside of Winterhold.

Deinmaar turns back and waves at the guard, motioning them to stand back and momentarily close the gates as Aurelia stops walking and breathes in.

"O-Dah-Viing!"

The skies rumble at her call, and I lean back in surprise at the name she just shouted.

So the Dragon Saint she fought was actually Odahviing, huh? Guess he needed to be strong in order to be considered the right-hand Dragon of Alduin.

Even Deinmaar clearly recognized the name, seeing the way he visibly perked up.

A roar resounds across the sky soon after, and the very clouds seem to shift as something flies past at immense speeds.

The surrounding hills of snow are sent in the air as the massive form of a purplish Dragon appears before us in the blink of an eye.

Jesus Christ, this guy is mad fast… And Aurelia defeated him?

That's sexy as hell.

Odahviing lands gently on the ground and bows his head in greeting towards Aurelia, before he lifts his head and turns towards Deinmaar, "Ah, Deinmaar… I am glad to see you alive and well."

Odahviing's genuine words surprise the Atmoran quite a bit, "You… Do not care about my betrayal?"

The Dragon chuckles deeply, "It allowed me to have a fantastic battle and die at the hands of a mighty warrior, so why would I care?" Guess he is a bit of a battle maniac?

But also a Dragon that honors his wins and losses, it seems. "Have you seen Vulthuryol?" Aurelia questions, cutting to the chase and making the Dragon turn towards her.

Strangely, he goes momentarily silent, "...I believe it is best I show you, Dovahkiin. Rise upon my back, you all." Turning to his side, the Dragon offers us his wing to let us rise on his back.

I turn towards Hildr and glance at Gretel, but decide to remain quiet. I can't separate the two of them after they just got back together.

I'll just have to make sure Hevnoraak doesn't notice Gretel and tries to use her as a way to distract us.

Still, Odahviing's words do not make me feel good, and the darkness at the edges of my vision returns.

Rising on his back, we all grabbed one of his dorsal spines and held on tight as the Dragon rose and flapped his wings.

The air snapped like the sound of a whiplash, and suddenly we were right beneath the clouds, and another flap of wings carried us further south.

I turn my head, watching as Winterhold turns into a dot in the distance and we fly past Windhelm right after, leaving the cold climate behind for a sunnier one.

Twisting, Odahviing flies towards the immense mountain that is High Hrothgar, but doesn't rise up and instead circles around it.

I take notice of Deinmaar looking in a certain direction as we fly close to High Hrothgar, and I follow his line of sight and tilt my head.

He is staring towards Arcwind Point, huh?

As Odahviing turns once more, he speaks up loudly enough for us to hear him over the rushing wind, "Look to the right." I turn my head just as the immense wall that is High Hrothgar disappears, and the first thing I see is a tall and wide column of black smoke.

"Oh, no…" Aurelia whispers, and I breathe in.

Riverwood is gone. Destroyed and set on fire together with the surrounding forest.

The hand holding onto the dorsal spine clenches tightly- "No, no, no…" My head snaps towards Hildr, her lone eye wide with horror and terror as she stares forward… Towards a second column of black smoke.

This one rising from the distant Falkreath.

"Odahviing…" Aurelia speaks softly, "Please, land in front of the city ahead of us…"

The Dragon says nothing, but he starts gliding down as we leave the destroyed Riverwood far behind us.

We barely even touch down before Gretel leaps out of Hildr's arms and jumps down from from Odahviing's back, "Granny!" Her loud scream tears something in me.

Slowly, I walk down Odahviing's wing as Hildr rushes after Gretel, with Aurelia right behind her.

But I can only watch. I can only watch as that child rushes towards the pile of burning ruins that used to be Falkreath.

I can only watch as she loudly screams for her Granny while Hildr and Aurelia try to calm her down and soothe her.

I can only watch as the consequences of my lack of action harm the child who is like a little sister for me.

I should have killed Vulthuryol. I should have ended him right then and there, even if he would have come back after a while.

But no. Instead, I was fucking around, having fun, and not thinking of the bigger picture.

I was too busy latching onto my coping mechanism for how fucking tired I am that I lost sight of what I am supposed to do. I didn't even think that if Vulthuryol fled from us and retreated back to Hevnoraak, he'd likely fly close to Falkreath.

I could excuse this lack of foresight on the fact that I am beyond tired, that I am starting to struggle with thinking ahead… But no.

I'm just fucking done.

[Class Evolutioafewfnage]

I tilt my head slightly when the System seems to… Glitch.

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]

Loud, mad and ecstatic laughter roars within my mind as the darkness at the edges of my vision suddenly becomes very, very welcoming.

[All 11'478 Souls have been used!]

[Your Class has Evolved!]

[Enjoy!]

[The Mad Dreamer]

The horrors that hide beneath the bed. Those that peek out of the closet. Those that follow you up the stairs when the lights turn off.

That senseless fear, that horrid paranoia, given shape.

Those faceless creatures, given life by the fear of the unknown, and then brought into existence by a Dreamer.

You walk upon Nirn, while your Shadow drags the Asylums along.

I hum.

"Brother…" Deinmaar calls softly.

My gaze rests on the small, crying child within Aurelia's and Hildr's arms, her cries louder than the crackling of the flames.

Then, I raise my gaze up, towards the mountains in the distance.

My shadow blooms, and a darkness darker than a starless night expands forth.

And from it, an eldritch monstrosity with far too many eyes, mouths, wings and limbs steps out.

Before taking hold of me and yanking me into the skies, all the while I hum cheerfully.

Time to cut loose, I guess!

A.N. And cut!

This chapter was supposed to end on a high note with the party getting back together, but it didn't feel… Right. It felt wrong.

So I had to push it a bit forward… And finally write something I've been looking forward to.

Leonidas snapping.

Next chapter will come out fast, as I already have it all planned out, and writing it will be easy.

After that… Finally, the Saarthal Arc will start, then Serana!

Look forward to the next chapter, folks!

Toodles!

P.S. The system parts were supposed to have a line cutting through them, but Patreon does not have that for some reason, so they came out normal... Bah.