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1.19% A Nascent Kaleidoscope. / Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

"Welcome, welcome!" I heard the shopkeep excitedly shout as I opened the door.

"Greetings." I gave a curt reply. I was getting a bit of a slimy feeling from him. He looked normal enough, nothing inhuman about his appearance. Not that I had anything against non humans….just an observation.

He gave me a once over, I would have assumed he would be displeased by my current state of dress. My clothes were a bit torn and ruffled and perhaps even dirty. But I guess under all of that they were something he hasn't seen before.

Well, might as well play off that. "As you can see, I'm in need of some….supplies." I gestured to my own unkempt appearance.

I had arrived in town last night, having flown away yesterday to avoid any pursuers; everything was basically closed so I just shacked up in the nearby stables to get a few hours of sleep. I saw an Inn…but there were a few guards walking around and I didn't want any potential issues.

"Of course." He laughed happily. "The Riverwood Trader has everything you need, especially for someone who's new to the Skyrim life."

"That obvious, huh?" I gave a good-natured smile, I wondered if he would try to scam me.

"It's practically a right of passage for foreigners. I remember my first time traveling Skyrim before settling down. I was lucky enough to get an old Nord to give me some advice. Once you get the respect of the locals, everything seems to get much smoother, especially for Imperials like you and me."

"Well, I got the coin if you got the supplies." I'm apparently an Imperial? Good to know.

"Wonderful!" He clasped his hands. "I run the best general store in the province, just tell me what you need."

I thought for a moment and my eyes were drawn to a strange golden claw on the counter…. curious looking thing. "Well, some clothes would be appreciated."

He lowered his head under the counter, pulling up two stacks of clothing. "Let's see here, I got some run of the mill tunics, nothing too fancy. And I also have a set of 'finer' clothing if you're interested."

I stepped forward to inspect them. They were about what one would assume considering the technological level of this place. I ran my hand through the higher-end trousers and tunic. The material would be…. acceptable but holding it up to my chest, the design made me want to vomit.

"Is this the fashion around here for the wealthy?"

He just shrugged. "I don't keep up with those trends, that's my sister's department and she convinced me to buy these a few months back."

"They are…not to my tastes." That was the politest way I could say it. "I'll just take the basics for now."

He nodded reaching under the counter again. "You're going to need some good boots as well. The Skyrim terrain is a bit treacherous if you're out exploring."

I felt the material and just nodded. Boots were boots, there wasn't much to say about them. "Lets see…." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, taking a look at the shelves around us. "What about these?" I picked a red-looking potion off the shelf.

"It's always good to carry a few health potions for an emergency."

I felt my breath hitch at the nonchalant way he described the alchemic creation. Was the mystical side of the world so open here that 'health potions' were something easily acquired by the mundane?

It's not that equivalent couldn't be found in my old world, but the ingredients were hard to come by and almost extinct. Did I hit the jackpot?

"How many do you have in stock?"

"Last I counted, seven potions of minor healing."

"I'll take them all." I didn't even ask the price, I should be quite wealthy if some of the tags I saw around the shop were accurate, apparently the gold coins I acquired are the default currency here. "Do you have any other types of potions?"

"Well….if you asked any town around us they may have said no." He put an elbow on the table, giving me a prideful grin. "It's a good thing you came to me." He hefted a large crate from under the counter, carefully setting them down. "Nord's don't really like anything beyond a simple health potion, so I've been sitting on this stock for the right buyer."

"Well…their loss." I muttered picking up a small red vial, it looked like a health potion….similar properties perhaps?

"A regeneration potion, not as quick as a health potion so many people don't really like them. But they're better for blood loss or a bunch of smaller wounds." He stated, shifted through the various containers. "Let's see here… A strength potion that's always good in a pinch. A Water breathing potion, I doubt anyone would want to swim in these freezing waters but another thing that's nice to have. A few stamina and Magicka potions, they should still be good, though they don't last as long as health potions."

Magicka potions? I quickly grabbed one of the blue containers on the counter he set to the side, inspecting the contents. This was filled with magical energy...is this supposed to restore magical energy to someone? If so….I could make so much money selling these back home.

Not everyone is like me, able to pull on the Kaleidoscope to refill my reserves. These would require testing, but if nothing else they might have some interesting concepts I could steal.

There were some other miscellaneous ones, like cure poison or cure disease. But frankly….. "I'll take them all."

The shop keep just blinked at me. "I don't want to be rude but can you—"

I turned my hat upside down, a small pile of gold poured out onto the counter. "I have more where that came from.

He clapped his hands. "Well then, what else can I do for you?"

"You also buy here?" I inquired.

"Let me see what you got; I'll tell you if I can take it."

He didn't even bat an eye the first time I used my hat, I guess magic really isn't something uncommon around here. I started to set a few swords on the table, not much just to empty a bit of space.

He picked one up to examine it. "Pretty standard, looks in good shape. I don't deal much in weapons, but I can sell this pretty easily. I'll give you…..30 septims each."

Not quite sure if that's good or not, but they were basically taking up space and hey, I now know the name of this currency. Besides, I still have my cane sword, which is much better than ordinary iron.

"What about this?" I set a large, green emerald on the table. It was the one that I had originally found inside the hat when I bought it.

"Divines….." He whispers, picking it up. "Where did you…" He muttered again, inspecting the jewel.

Yeah, I was guessing that even a couple hundred years ago, the people from earth could sculpt jewels better than anyone here. "Interested?"

"Of course!" He cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, how much would you like for it?"

"Let's knock off the price of the goods first."

"So, an even trade, the stuff for your jewel?" He eyed me

"Oh no, that's just the first step, we still need to talk about how many septims you are paying after that." Nice try, but I could guess this jewel was worth much more than that.

"You want me to tie up all my coin and goods in single jewel?" He frowned, crossing his arms. "What if I get robbed? The best I can do is maybe a few more items added on and a straight trade."

"I don't really need anything else—"

"How about some spell books?" He smiled, and just like that we both knew he had me.

***

I was….not unhappy with my exchange, but I felt like I got played a bit. Did I tilt my hand when I looked confused at the potions? Was that when he knew I was novice in his eyes?

It's not like I needed the gold, I still have a hefty amount it's just….. I like having more.

I was able to finagle some more goods from him, even if he fought me every step of the way. I have no doubt that the jewel would be making him a huge profit I just didn't want to go through the effort of selling it through the proper channels.

Also got some information while I was at it, he gave me a very basic map of Skyrim, along with a heads up that a cart would be coming by tomorrow and I could buy a ride to Riften for a small fee. Not only that, apparently some soldiers came by last night, but the guards drove them away. I don't really understand the political structure of this place but apparently the 'Jarl' that oversees Riverwood is neutral or something and he has enough clout to tell them to bugger off.

So, I had some time to kill I was sitting at a table in the Inn next door. They had some decent drinks, I wasn't expecting much from the Mead here, but damn was I surprised. I would definitely need to grab some before I left this world.

Laid out on the table were the 'spell books' that were mentioned. This world…. they have some interesting ideas on magic, and I could thoroughly reap the benefits of such open learning.

From what I was told, these were mainly just basic spells along with one 'adept' spell.

Lesser ward, a small barrier that blocks attacks. Nothing too crazy, but its application was insane, it was elementally neutral so anyone could use it. The effort in its casting was a bit meh, but I could experiment to make it a worthwhile spell.

Oak Flesh, a strengthening spell that can overlap with my reinforcement, it leans more towards defense, but it does have a physical power application as well. Always good to have additional strengthening abilities. Instead of applying an enhancement through my body, it sort of envelops my body in its effect. A bit mana intensive, but it was something I would enjoy working with.

Frostbite was neat, it basically channels a stream of cold air from your hand, freezing anything, it touches. Well, it could be resisted easily, it wasn't like it was absolute zero temperatures. But still, an interesting spell I would love to dissect it for further study.

There was even a basic healing spell, aptly named 'Healing'. This had been a good find, while the effects were apparently less than a basic regeneration potion, having a healing spell so easily applicable was a huge boon.

The last basic spell book was Telekinesis. A bit of a surprise there, the equivalent in my old home was a guarded secret by several families. Not something unattainable, but it was such a useful spell that those who had it guarded it did so fiercely.

The real gem was the 'adept' spell book, named Distort. From what I understand about the magical system here, so far, it's a spell that falls under the 'illusion' school. Aptly named I suppose, since the spell is a basic physical illusion application.

Basically, I can make illusions that appear real on the surface, though any interference will break them.

A useful spell and I'm quite happy with my purchase. I'll need to find more books like these and add to my repertoire.

With a yawn I picked up another bottle of mead, well I still had some time to kill, and this drink is pretty good at least.


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AStoryForOne AStoryForOne

Not the only chapter for today.

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Chapter 8: Chapter 8

"What do you mean you're not going to Riften!?"

"All the rumors coming from that place, I aint going near it for the time bein."

I could only just sigh is frustration. "Look, if it's a matter of money—"

"It aint about the coin boy, did you not hear my words? I Aint going near it." The cart driver seemed adamant about staying away from that town for some reason.

"What exactly are these 'rumors'?"

"A dragon." He puffed out smoke from his mouth, tapping his pipe on the cart. "First one to be sighted in centuries. I wouldn't believe in the tales if I hadn't met the folks fleeing with fear still in their eyes."

[Oh, that sounds interesting.]

I don't think I'm adequately equipped to deal with a dragon at the moment, maybe if someone loosened the restrictions….

[How about, you fight the dragon and if you do good, I'll unlock it?]

Fuck off.

"Alright, so Riften was besieged by a dragon, that isn't the worst reason to stay away. Where am I supposed to go now…" I mean, I didn't really 'need' to go to Riften, it was merely a suggestion by those guys, if anything I'm not really afraid of being captured or anything. I was just kinda going with the flow and was curious about the land I found myself in.

"How about Winterhold?" The driver spoke up.

"Sounds cold, what exactly is worth it there?"

"The college. You looked like the learning sorts." He shrugged.

"A college you say?" Okay my interest was piqued; I wonder what I could learn there…

"Aye, just don't expect the towns folk to give you a good time, they don't like them mages very much."

Mages….a college for mages. A magical learning institute….sweet christ. "You sir, have just earned a bonus, take me to Winterhold."

I heard him chuckle, adjusting himself in his seat. "Climb aboard, it'll take about a day to reach there."

Oh joy, riding in a wooden cart for a day. My butt would be sore tomorrow, but it would be worth it, I guess.

Well, at least it would give me time to think, I had a lot on my mind right now.

Like, how the hell did I even end up here!? This isn't a parallel world of Earth, if I'm not mistaken this is a completely alternate dimension, separated from the world-line my magic should be able to access. I know for a damn fact that my Calculations weren't that imprecise, I should have at least landed on a line that housed the spirit of Gaia.

Something went wrong, something I did wrong. I know that my previous-self had some knowledge of the world I was born in, otherwise I wouldn't have the memories of the world-line's progression model in my head.

What did I feel when I left, almost like I hit something?

If I had to explain it, I was practically a fly being smacked by a car. No, that isn't quite right, that would imply I hit something 'moving' in the normal sense. I basically smacked into a wall and got knocked off course.

But what 'wall' would there be?

Think idiot, think. I just smacked my head in frustration. What was I missing?

[Heh, idiot is right.]

Not helping Ddraig. I thought you were asleep.

[Eh, I was too curious about your memories so I couldn't go back to sleep. Been watching them for a few days now.]

Joy….does that mean you have some insight to my current issue?

[Hmm, let me see, what race are you?]

Human-half-devil, what does that have to do with anything? My physical species shouldn't have a negative effect on either the casting or the effect on the actualization. If anything, my half-phantasmal nature should make it smoother, since I'm a being closer to the concept of 'magic'.

[And where do devils come from?]

I mean, their parents….but if you mean in a more philosophical sense, their demonic origins can be traced to the negative cumulations of dreams, desires and human imagination all catalyzed with the advent of the God of the bible. Good and evil, yin and yang, one exists so the other must exist to balance it out as a cosmic rule. Every culture, every pantheon has their own 'good and evil' though the terms can be more muddled. The Asgardians and the Giants of Jotunheim and Muspelheim. Olympians with their Titan counterparts and the various 'giants' that exist in their cultures too.

Asuras and Devas of the Indian pantheons –

The Youkai of the Shinto factions, with the Yamata-no-Orochi—

The Sumerian Gods and the children of Tiamat –

Hell, even –

I paused, blinking in realization.

[Thought you missed the point there, but you came back around.]

I'm a fuckin idiot, I face palmed

I didn't take into account all the secondary realms still attached to the 'world'.

To put it into perspective, if the 'world' was a house in the middle of the forest, it would be surrounded with trees, trying to run into a single direction, in a straight line, you would smack into a tree. The trees being secondary realms, like Olympus, Hell, Heaven, Asgard, Takamagahara, etc. Whereas my previous world basically had all the trees cut down, the forest only had a few sparse trees left because the Age of Gods had come and gone.

So, I smacked into another realm and got blown off course and somehow stepped out of the world-line I was accustomed to.

Okay, nothing I can't solve I can find my way back easily enough.

Well, that solves that mystery.

Truthfully, it would only take a few minor modifications to my calculations, if they were complete. I'll need to finish them proper at some point. Now that I think about it, I can probably find the stuff to make my mystic code here, no doubt there's going to be some interesting materials I can find.

Well, this trip wouldn't be wasted. It's not like I'm under any kind of time restraints, the opposite in fact.

I'm free.

No responsibilities, no one controlling my life. I can go wherever the wind takes me, speaking of wind, the scene here is breathtaking

I was bitching about the ride earlier, but once we started going, what a sight.

***

"Oi, old man, want a drink?" I was laying down in the back of the cart, watching the snowflakes fall from the sky.

It had gotten rather cold as we started going north, luckily, I had some stuff packed away inside my storage space for the cold weather when I grabbed practically everything I could from that cart of 'confiscated' goods earlier.

"What is that, Black Briar?" He hollered.

Well, the man knows his drink. "Yup, got some Honningbrew too if you want that."

"None of that pisswater stuff, a real nord drinks Black Briar or something a bit stronger." The old man snorted, I just laughed and handed him a bottle.

It seems like no matter the world, people will defend their drink brands. "What's the word around Skyrim, recently?"

"Besides dragon attacks?" He took a swig.

"Well, I wouldn't mind hearing more about that, but I'm a bit out of the loop for everything."

"Hmm, there were stories that Meridia's statue near Solitude has been acting up." He scoffed. "Folks gettin rightful panicked too. Them Daedra are never up to any good." He turned back towards me. "Never let some fool tell you nothin about a 'good' Daedra, you hear me lad? Nothin good comes from assorting with them things."

"Aye, grabbing the eyes of higher powers never ends well for mortals." I didn't know what a Daedra was, but I could guess it was something 'godly' in nature or something like that.

"Damn straight, you got a good head on your shoulders." He nodded. "I also hear the war is heating up after Ulfric escaped some Imperial ambush or somethin. Heard they had him bound and ready for the block, only to escape from right under their noses. Got them Imperials up in a frenzy trying to look less foolish to the masses."

What? It's only been like three days….how? Atleast there was no mention of associates or anything jeese. Well, I wouldn't be surprised if this man was spreading half these rumors, he sure travels enough to do so.

He started talking about some other nonsense but I didn't' really pay much attention, I think he was rambling about some elves or something. Frankly, I think I would have fallen asleep if the lights in the distance didn't draw my attention.

"Looks like we're here" The old man said.

As we got closer, I could see the swaying of torches. The snow made it kind of hard to make out, but the outline of buildings started to come into view.

"Welcome to Winterhold."

It was a town, to be expected from what I saw of Riverwood yesterday, but a bit in the distance I saw it. A massive stone structure connected by a small bridge.

Beautiful.

The college of Winterhold.

"Halt, outsiders." My attention was taken by one of the guards coming towards us. "State your business."

"I was going to check out the College." Was there any reason to hide it?

The guard scowled under his helmet. "Another mage." His voice practically dripping with venom.

"I'm sorry?" I said in confusion. "I've only been in Skyrim for less than a week, did I do something wrong?"

The guard looked me over once before sighing. "Look, just…..the Mages in the college have caused a lot of trouble for the town. Experiments gone wrong.....or right, magical accidents and such aren't uncommon. Try to keep your nose clean if you join them."

"That sounds incredibly irresponsible. Even disregarding the morality of such things, do they not realize they rely on you all for even the basic necessities?" They're in the middle of nowhere, the town is the only reason they can probably even operate without constant supplies coming and going. The logistics would be an absolute nightmare for something of that size.

I think he was about to respond but we both got distracted by a sudden shout.

"ICE WRAITHS!"

"Shit, get in formation!"

The guard looked at me again. "Some assistance would be appreciated, mage."

Well, I wouldn't mind helping fix the disconnect between the mages and mundane folk here. Especially if I'm going to spend any extended time at the college.

I nodded, following behind, they make a quick shield wall at the town gates. I didn't know what an Ice wraith was, but it looked like some kind of elemental mixed with a scaled sea creature.

The old man had hurried into town, good. I didn't want to have to worry about him, he was good to me.

They all looked nervous, even I felt a certain chill as a few dozen of those things approached. I quickly grabbed my sword out of my hat and drew it from its sheath.

A few of the creatures in the front spewed frost blast from their mouth. It seemed like the guards were somewhat used to this because several shields pushed together and blocked it.

I'm not the most moral person in the world, I can be petty, vindictive and I usually care about my needs over others….but I'm also not heartless. Seeing them fight like this…..I just sighed and drew upon my mana

My circuits opened and I felt my magical energy swell into both hands, and I pushed it together "Distort."

A moment later, a hundred more guards formed up along side us and rushed towards the incoming mass of ice wraiths.

They were nothing but facsimiles, lifeless illusions that dissipated at the slightest touch, I was concerned that the snowstorm would break them before they could do anything, so I overloaded the spell a bit.

I was taking several guesses here, but it seemed like the Ice Wraith's sensory organs deemed them 'real' whether it was sight or something else. Maybe they sensed the magical energy that all life forms have, their "od' so to speak and confused the mana I implanted in each copy as that?

Questions for later, I began drawing my runes in the air.

If I were a betting man, these things were most likely weak to fire.

I withdrew a few talismans from my hat, I didn't have many left and I was unsure if I could craft more outside of Earth, but it felt like a good time to use them.

The spell I wanted to cast required five specific ones, but I was missing two of the required elemental talismans, I would replace them with a corresponding rune.

"Metal Enriches Water. Water Nurtures Wood. Wood feeds Fire. Fire dries Earth. Earth refines Metal."

A pentagram formed, suspending, and connecting them all in the air. Using the creation cycle to bolster another spell to an absurd level, even my sword bolstering it by a slight degree.

Fire magecraft wasn't my forte, but I had thought about a few spells I wanted to create through the usage of the runic arts.

The runes swirled around my hand, invoking in the sequence I envisioned. Too many to say individually, it was simpler to link the sentence under a single spell name.

"Fires of Muspelheim."

The land was dyed red.

***

Infront of the gates of Winterhold, if you looked out, there was no fresh snow for about 80 yards, possibly more.

I think the guards were a bit surprised.

Surely, they couldn't think this was much? I mean, I felt this wasn't up to par with my standards. I noticed several irregularities when I cast the spell for the first time. I did make a mental note to fix them, but I lost maybe 30-40% power in the final cast.

"Thank you." A guard pat me on the shoulder, I recognized him from earlier. "You saved the lives of many good men."

I guess I did. "Why exactly were those things attacking?"

He slumped his shoulders, letting out a sigh. "It's that time of the year that they reproduce, I'm not sure the exact…. mechanism behind how they give birth, only that they need a source of heat. They usually swarm us when the sun is at its peak, drag a few people off then do it again the next day. This repeats for a couple weeks."

Oh…heat, I see what he means.

Eww.

Though I am a little intrigued. Does the act of reproduction need to syphon the heat from a living being in order for them to generate offspring?

Everyone around me looked immediately at ease with the large swarm gone. A large weight off their shoulders in the meantime. There were a couple sporting wounds, well a bit of ice got around the shields.

I one in specific rip a thorn of ice out of his arm. What a badass, that must have hurt.

"Oi." I clasped him in the shoulder, casting a Healing spell.

He just started at me, almost in utter confusion.

How can they be so surprised at my magic….magecraft, when they live next to a college of mages? Jeese, my terminology is getting all mixed up.

I guess they mean the same thing, contextually speaking.

"Thanks." The guard grunted out.

"No problem, though you may want to get yourself check, I don't know much about Ice wraiths, admittedly, if there are any lingering effects inside your body."

"I owe you a drink…..mage" The guard moved his arm around.

"Think we all do." The other guard, possibly the leader? He walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, truly. Many of my men were ready to die today."

"Well, I wouldn't say no to a mug, your Skyrim Mead has grown on me."

"Alright, you head him boys. Batur, Tolsmar, you both are staying on duty at the gate since you were both late. Otherwise, first round is on me, boys!"

There was some good-natured cheering

"My name is Svord and if anyone gives you problems in Winterhold, tell them my name." He practically dragged me off towards the tavern, his posse of armed guards following along, laughing and jeering.

It was, not unpleasant.

Seeing everyone make way as we pushed open the doors of what I presumed was the tavern. The locals greeted the guards happily, I guess they would have an applied interest in the guards returning back victorious.

"Dagur!" Svord exclaimed to a man behind the counter.

"Svord, it's good to see you made it, how were the….?"

"Every guard alive and accounted for, you can thank my new friend here." He laughed happily, clasping my shoulder.

"A mage?" Dagur eyed me skeptically. "You from the college, lad?"

"I came here wanting to check it out, saw they needed a hand." I shrugged. "Just did what anyone would do."

I took a quick glance around, the old cart driver was chatting up a woman in the corner, she looked about his age. He saw me out of the corner of his eye, I gave him a nod and smile.

"Aye, he's a good one, the college would do good to add him to their number." Svord added. "Now." He clapped his hands. "I promised a round for everyone, and Svord doesn't' go back on his word."

The place erupted in cheers; it was really lively. I wasn't used to getting this kind of attention when people all gave me acknowledgement and such. But…it wasn't an uncomfortable feeling.

"What'll you get lad, the hero gets the first drink." Dagur

"I've only had a few drinks from Skyrim so far, Black Briar, Honningbrew, what else you got for me?" I sat at the counter.

Svord and Dagur shared a look, a smile showing on their faces. "Let's get you a true Nord drink." He poured out a bottle I didn't recognize into a large mug.

"Alright, lad we won't laugh if you can't handle something a bit stronger than the milk you're used to…..at least not too much." Svord slapped my back.

"Oh, is that a challenge?" I eyed him.

He crossed his arms, staring at me, a grin on his face. "This is a man's drink, son."

I took the hat off my head, reaching inside to grab a handful of coins and slammed them on the table.

"The balls on this lad, eh?" Svord snorted in amusement we were gathering a little show. He pulled out a few coins and matched me.

"Bottoms up." I took swig, eyeing Svord as I downed the entire thing in one drink. Granted, a bit of it spilled out onto my shirt, and I almost coughed it back up when it first went down my throat, but I slammed the empty mug on the counter.

"Tasted like piss mixed with honey…" I coughed slightly, meeting the silence of the crowd. "Fuck it, give me another."

There were woops and laughter as Svord pat my shoulder. "Well done lad." He laughed happily. "You earned this." He pushed the gold towards me.

"Alright, just keep the drinks flowing." I waved my hand around the room, pushing both piles of gold towards Dagur.

More cheers and thanks were shouted my way.

It was a wonderful feeling.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
AStoryForOne AStoryForOne

Still one more coming. :)

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