章 40: 7
6
Gwynedd. Wales.
One of the easiest ways for someone who can travel the multiverse to obtain immortality was to obtain a Golden Apple from the world of Hercules/Xena. The Tree of Life, the source of the Golden Apples, is destroyed during Hercules' series, but it is possible that you'll get there before that event and can grab yourself an apple or even a few, or in my case half a dozen.
The Greek variety of the Golden Apples (the Norse gods had their own kind) grew from a very special tree which was stored in the Labyrinth of the Gods. This was a maze, full of mythical beings and traps, that was created by the Olympians to protect the Tree of Life
None of which mattered to me since I'd teleported myself directly to the base of the tree, grabbed a few apples and then just left. The walls of the strongest fortress, the best mystical defences, and no amount of magical creatures acting as guard dogs could stop me from taking what I wanted as I knew exactly where to go.
Callisto and Hercules had to traverse the Labyrinth of the Gods to collect the Apples. Hercules needed them to cure his poisoned friends and family. Callisto, who had done the poisoning, wanted to become immortal, as that was her only way to avoid getting stuck in one of the more unpleasant afterlives that dimension had to offer.
In that fictional setting, Immortals are beings who are immune to most physical damage, many forms of magic, diseases and most forms of mundane illness. However, some weapons can kill immortals and there are beings who could slay me even though I'd eaten one of the Golden Apples.
It was even possible for the most powerful of gods to empower a mortal so that he or she could slay lesser gods. A good reason to avoid eating Ambrosia as becoming a god could make you a target.
Immortals also possess eternal life and they are forever young. I shouldn't age another day (something I'd have to handle later if I kept living in this world) and I was glad that activating my Elder Blood had restored my body to something close to its prime. I didn't want to spend my eternal life looking anything other than my best.
Over in the world of Xena and Hercules, creatures are immortal but they lack many of the other supernatural powers of gods. It was possible to upgrade to full godhood via Ambrosia, but I'd decided against that as my ability to traverse the multiverse came from bloodline according to my great-uncle even though it was a dormant trait. As such, if I changed species I'd lose my ability to move from world to world.
Even if I obtained another means by which to travel I didn't think it would be worth it as I could lose that alternate method if I was depending on some sort of device and the gods of that world seemed to be rather petty creatures. I didn't want to become like them.
Besides, I would no longer be a wizard if I ate Ambrosia and there was another advantage of obtaining immortality via the apples. Since they were a type of fruit they had seeds, so I grow my own Tree of Life or even Trees of Life.
There are legends about such apples that mentioned that they didn't grant immortality forever and there are beings who can strip you of your immortality so it would be wise to have a renewable source. A source of immortality that I could even grant to others.
"Take very good care of these trees, Tippy" I ordered the House Elf.
I'd not consumed the seeds of the Golden Apple I'd eaten. Instead, I'd planted them inside one of the magically expanded greenhouses. When larger they could be moved outside, something that might take place decades from now depending on how fast the trees grew.
"Yes, Sir" the magical creature replied, "Tippy will take good care of special trees".
As I headed inside I once against tested my new power again by cutting myself with a knife. My blood did not spill and the wound didn't hurt, it vanished after a second. It seemed to heal at an incredible speed and I wondered if he had limits, if an immortal could be overwhelmed with injuries.
I would never be foolish enough to stand around and let people hurt me so as to find out, and I figured that spells like Fiendfyre might still be able to kill me because of how much damage they could do. Basilisk venom or something similar might also be able to end me.
Since I saw my immortality as a safety net, something I liked having, but wouldn't make use of unless I really had to, I wasn't going to let myself be hit by enemies just see what harm I could shrug off even if the results might be interesting to see.
I still had a few uneaten apples and I was curious about what the fruit could do. In theory, anything short of death should be curable if the person suffering eats even part of the apple. Only eating a whole one grants immortality.
Upon thinking I recalled that there were two magical people who were suffering from an illness of the mind that no magic could cure. Frank and Alice Longbottom, I'd like to feed them a bit of an apple each and see what happened.
When I'd given my big donation to St Mungo's I'd seen the Longbottoms and restoring them to sanity seemed like a suitable Christmas miracle. I could cut the apple into four segments and try to restore four people. No sense in having half a magic apple as it might spoil. Besides the more people who I tried fixing with an apple, the more the power of the apples would be tested.
With that in mind, I headed off to the hospital. To enter those premises, one simply had to step through the window of what appears to be a condemned department store called Purge and Dowse, Ltd. The window acted as a magical gateway to the main building, much like the barrier at King's Cross Station which led to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.
I assumed that there was a muggle-repelling ward on the window so as to stop some random person on the street from simply leaning on the window and falling into the magical hospital.
During my tour, I'd been told that the hospital ended up located where it is because no one could find a better place to house it. Everywhere in Diagon Alley was too small, and space-expanding charms have their limits. Someone came up with the idea to build it underground like the Ministry of Magic, but it was decided that going underground was too unhealthy.
Eventually, a normal Muggle building was purchased in London so that patients could come and go while fitting in with the crowds. Not that they always did if the Quidditch World Cup was anything to go by. Lucky for the magical peoples, the mundanes of this world seemed to be very talented when it came to rationalising the strange things that they saw.
Although the hospital was meant for the magical community only, Muggles are admitted when they fall prey to magical attacks, at least according to what I'd been told. I assumed that the non-magical humans had their memories removed before being sent home.
Also according to information gathered during my tour, there were strict guidelines concerning what gifts are allowed into the hospital, for the safety of the patients. This did not concern me however as I was going to bypass any searches.
My destination was The Janus Thickey Ward which was located on the fourth floor here at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. The ward was named for Janus Thickey, a wizard who faked his own death so he could go and live with the landlady of a nearby pub. Why anyone would name anything after someone like that I had no idea. Magical humans seemed to be insane a lot of the time.
The door was locked, to prevent the patients from wandering about in the dark I assumed, but the door to the ward was opened easily enough by a simple unlocking spell. Security was a bit of a joke here in the magical world, something I'd made a mental note of more than once.
This ward housed residents whose minds had been permanently affected by spells in ways that left them unable to live a normal life and they would be considered mentally ill in the Muggle world.
Which meant it was very important that I not wake anyone up. If they did awaken they might freak out and alert the staff. I had no desire to stun anyone here as these people had been through enough already. Hence why I hadn't teleported directly into the room.
I found Mr and Mrs Longbottom in a pair of beds that were next to each other. I didn't need to wake them as I knew that would simply eat any food placed in their mouths. So I fed them a segment of Golden Apple each.
Once I was sure that they weren't going to have fits or any other negative reaction, I made my out of the room and re-locked the door behind me. I was sure that if they recovered that the magical newspaper would let me know.
I knew of a couple of other patients in similar states and they too would simply eat anything put into their mouths. Once that was done I teleported myself away. I would find out the results later.
Sigil. The Outlands.
The Forgotten Realms was much more than a single world, it was, in fact, a collection of dimensions or planes as they were known here. One of these dimensions was called the Outlands. At the very centre of the Outlands, was an infinitely tall Spire that shoots up into the sky, around the top of which could be found the city of Sigil, the place I was walking in right now.
While the centre of this plane of existence was called true neutral, in terms of moral alignment which was a very important thing in this part of the multiverse, it wasn't so towards its edges.
At the border between the Outlands and some other planes of existence in this part of existence, places called gate-towns exist, so named for the portals to the nearby planes they are built around.
These gate-towns take on many of the characteristics as well as the morality of the plane they have a gate to, and when the balance shifts and they become enough like that plane, they slip into it. So if a gate-town near one of the hells became too corrupt it would be dragged into that hell. This made some sense when you understood how important moral alignment was here.
This was why Sigil remained truly neutral as doing so keeps it stable in a place where the laws that govern other realities simply didn't apply, and since I didn't fully understand those rules, I didn't want to mess with the balance of power here or be noticed by the cities ruler. As such I would do my best to stay out of sight and not involve myself in any local power struggles.
The sole ruler of Sigil was the mysterious and terrifying, Lady of Pain. She rarely if ever communicated with her citizens and punished any who crossed her path or attempted to worship her by flaying them to death or turning them to stone, making the denizens of her city very wary of drawing her attention.
Leaving every day running of the city up to her citizens, the Lady only interfered when the stability of Sigil was in jeopardy. She kept the higher powers (deities and such) who would take advantage of the city's unique location and its many portals, endanger its neutrality, out of the city, she would destroy, or maybe just drive off, any who wandered in.
Sigil's very existence and purpose were a mystery. Some were of the opinion that it had been built by a deposed duke of the Nine Hells, others suggested that it was the byproduct of an insane god's dream, and some even speculated that it had been put together by scattered bits of the Outer Planes shortly after their creation. Another line of reasoning posited that Sigil was a prison for the Lady of Pain herself.
I had no idea of the truth and I got the impression that I would be happier if I remained ignorant as this plane of existence was already rather overwhelming. It didn't make sense and Sigil shouldn't work, yet it did.
The city was crowded with buildings that squeezed over each other and despite the sheer size of the place, everything seem cramped. New buildings, courtyards, and streets were constantly being built, changing the city's landscape and turning old structures into underground crypts.
Sigil's architecture was marked by its iron spikes and bladed fences, serving both as protection against intruders and as a stylistic choice. Stone gargoyles were also typical decorations.
Thanks to my research I knew that Sigil was divided into six wards. Although the boundary between wards was not clearly marked on the city's streets or maps, it was usually easy to identify where you were by the type of business conducted there. Counter-clockwise around the ring, the wards of Sigil were the following:
The Lady's Ward
The richest and most exclusive section of the city, home to the elites of society and of its government.
Market Ward
The main location for purchasing goods and services. It was famous for offering items from numerous planes and worlds. Trade was regulated by the Mutual Trade Association,
Guildhall Ward
Usually counted as part of the Market Ward. Home to the traders, craftsmen, artisans, guild members and other members of the middle class
Clerk's Ward
An affluent district, home to most of the city's lower-rung bureaucrats and middlemen.
Hive Ward
The slum and the ghetto, home to the poor unwanted dregs of the city. A grim and poor place, full of thieves, pawnbrokers, secret slave markets and the insane. There are even gladiatorial pits. I would avoid going there at all costs.
Lower Ward
An industrial district, clogged up with the smoke from the foundries and
from the portals to the Lower Planes
Since Sigil was a prime destination for travellers as well as a centre of trade throughout the local multiverse, the merchants here accepted the standard currency from anywhere on the planes. Most shops and stalls tended to be concentrated within the Great Bazaar in the Market Ward, but there were numerous street markets throughout the city that operated part-time. Day markets traded mostly in food and housewares, whereas night markets offered a much larger variety.
The city did not produce any usable natural resources and had to import even the most basic items, such as food and raw materials. In order to survive, the city capitalized on its most important asset: its sheer amount of portals and the fact that it was one of the most frequent stops for adventures going anywhere in the multiverse.
For that reason, the first priority of any business within Sigil was to accommodate its visitors' various tastes during their stay. There was an enormous assortment of inns and taverns that catered for just about anyone. Such places were usually highly specialized and each tended to evoke the atmosphere of a single location.
With this large flux of travellers often looking to trade their wares, Sigil was famous for being the place where anything could be found for sale. Goods from several worlds in the Prime Material plane, such as bronze wood from Oerth or Fire Wine from Toril were available there, as well as exotic items from all other planes, so it was common for travellers to look for those goods in Sigil rather than going to their sources.
The city also offered a vast array of services supporting traders, travellers, and residents alike. Many people offered their services as bodyguards, mercenaries, and bill collectors. Why anyone would foul themselves by taking on such a hated profession I had no idea.
Many wizards also set up shop in the city, taking advantage of the variety of items that passed through. Sigil was famous for its magic item production. However, prices were considerably high for such items, and their sellers often only kept small businesses that could be difficult to track down unless you knew who to ask about them.
There were a number of magical items that I'd come here to acquire such as an Instant Fortress, as well as a way of remaining hidden from scrying magic. I had a feeling that before I was done here I'd have quite the inventory.
As for finding the right supplier that's why I would need the service of a guide. These Touts were unofficial city guides and was highly recommended that anyone new to Sigil employed a guide, lest they are taken advantage of due to their nativity or simply mugged soon after arriving.
Since there is no central agency or any regulation of the profession, such guides could be little better than the crooks they were supposed to protect people from, either serving to persuade a traveller to the side of their faction or simply robbing their 'customer' once their backs were turned.
I wasn't too worried about my physical safety. It was doubtful that any common crooks carried weapons that could really harm me, and I could teleport out of danger, but I'd rather avoid being robbed and have to start my shopping all over again.
Sigil. The Outlands.
After a long day, as much as that term applied in this reality, of shopping I'd settled in at Imel's Happy Tongue, an inn and tavern known for its periodic menu specials that featured food from all the planes. I was staying here despite the danger because some magical items require what is called attunement which requires you to rest while in contact with the magical item.
Since I didn't yet know if attunement was possible outside of the Forgotten Realms multiverse I had to stay here in one of the nicer inns in the city. I was less likely to be robbed or assaulted here as the inn had security and a good reputation according to some of the people who I'd questioned.
So far I'd been able to avoid violence by hiring bodyguards and guides. It might seem as if that was foolish as they could try to steal from me, but any group that did that would soon get a bad reputation that would prevent anyone from doing business with them.
Of course, there were gangs of pickpockets and muggers about, but if they'd targeted me at any point they'd backed off before striking due to my guards. No sense in coming after me if there was weaker prey around I guessed and the guards were getting paid for easy work.
It was one of the Lady's laws that helped to keep visitors safe. Any action which harms the city of Sigil either directly or indirectly will be considered a direct attack against the Lady herself and punished appropriately by either death or being exiled to something called a maze. Since the Lady can deal with deities lesser beings would be no trouble for her.
Sigil was totally dependent on imports and managed by the Merchants Guild that sought to make plenty of profit, therefore only so much crime could be tolerated or people would simply stop coming to Sigil and the city would simply stop functioning.
This city did have law enforcement and a government so it wasn't as uncivilized as some might think it to be and the city catered to tourists so it was mostly the inhabitants of the city attacking each other that caused problems.
Despite knowing this I kept my hands close to my weapons as I was no fool. Not that it had been easy to keep an eye out for trouble while exploring just a few of the many stores here in Sigil. I'd walked until my feet ached and I doubted that I'd seen more than a tiny fraction of what was on offer.
Then there were the different races. Elves, many kinds of humans, dwarfs, halflings, gnomes, some sort of lizard people, folks who looked like human/animal hybrids, part demons, and orcs, I even saw a trio of Mind Flayers who I wisely avoided.
Before coming to this city I'd studied protective enchantments before coming to this reality and while the few spells I'd researched wouldn't stop an attack they should keep low-level thieves away.
Muggle-repelling charms are useless in the Outlands because everyone here is a bit magical, but there were spells to hide you from hostiles that I might have gotten right. Hopefully, they wouldn't be tested while I was here as they are a tricky bit of magic and above my skill level.
My inventory had grown greatly and it was good to have the time to take stock. My pouch of holding was filled with gold bars, coins minted by the goblins of Gringotts, and currency from around the Forgotten Realms multiverse that were made of different metals.
At this rate, I was going to need far more than my Gringotts vaults and Grimmauld Place to store my wealth as well as my other treasures. I really should look into getting myself a castle or some other form of fortress.
Gun
Longclaw
Pouch of Holding
Maple Wand
Thestral-hide coat
Dragonhide Boots and Belt
Instant Fortress
Everlasting Rations
Goggles of Night
Amulet of Proof against Detection and Location
Ring of Mind Shielding
Ring of Feather Falling
Wand of Fireballs
Wand of Firebolts
Wand of Lightning Bolts
Wand of Magic Detection
Wand of Magic Missiles
Wand Of Web
Wand of Entangle
Boots of the Winterlands
Earing of Comprehend Languages
Aside from a few accessories meant to protect me from attacks I'd gotten some wands. Unlike my maple wand, these ones only contained a single spell that could be cast a number of times before the item needed to recharge and if their power was expended, they can crumble to ash.
That might make it seem as if they weren't very useful, but given my limited magical education and the fact that I could lose my maple wand, it seemed a good idea to have some backup wands for battles. Even if they didn't recharge when in different universes I had other weapons to fall back on and could always buy more.
One of the coolest things I'd been able to purchase was an Instant Fortress. Since I had to spend months in some dangerous worlds in order to be able to use that world's magic it had seemed wise to find a mobile home of some kind and the fortress would do nicely.
The fortress was far from invulnerable it was very sturdy. Unless you had magical weapons that can weaken defences or siege weapons you weren't going to be able to break in. The windows were a weak spot, but I could add some magical enchantments of my own.
In terms of size the fortress was about as long as a shipping container, but square in shape so it was much wider than a shipper container and tall enough to have a second floor. As such it was okay for an adventuring party to sleep or to serve as the mobile home of a wizard.
I'd even gotten myself some gear for spending time in Skyrim. Okay so it was a special pair of boots meant for a very cold climate, but at least I was preparing and I did have muggle-made cold-weather gear from back when I'd recovered Umbridge's frozen corpse.
Not everything I'd wanted to buy was now mine. It isn't always as simple as trading some gold. I'd gone to a tattoo parlour and discovered that any attempts to mark my skin were undone by the power that would prevent me from dying a mortal death.
I didn't know if this would work for piercings as well and that would be something I could test one day. I already had a piercing so I was able to purchase an earring that allowed me to speak and talk in any language I could hear. It was a magical version of Star Trek's universal translator.
People in Sigil didn't seem to require any help with translating. That was either another oddity about this place or some awesomely powerful wizard just kept casting a Comprehend Languages spell over the city.
Before heading off to Skyrim, the land I had chosen to spend at least a few months in so I could start using that dimension's magic I would need to return to the Wizarding World to let my tutors and girlfriend know that I would be gone for several months.
I planned to return to the Wizarding World after spending months in Skyrim so that I could spend time researching and practising more wand magic. Hopefully, I would simply be able to rehire my tutors, but keeping things going with Tonks could be a different matter.
Those were concerns for the future. For now, I needed to rest so as to complete the attunement and tomorrow I needed to go some more shopping as there were things I still wanted to buy here before I moved on.
Dimhollow Crypt. Skyrim.
The entrance to Dimhollow Crypt was in the snowy north of Skyrim, up in the mountains. It was tough terrain and far more rugged than I was used to. Lucky for me I didn't need to even try making my way there on foot as I'd teleported into this world and appeared directly at the entrance.
This was good because even with my special coat that was enchanted to keep me warm, thanks to some charms it was cold here. I couldn't freeze to death, but it was still damn uncomfortable.
I felt ready to begin my adventures in the world of the Elder Scrolls. I'd researched wand spells that could be useful, shopped for adventurer's gear in the city of Sigil, and put together an impressive inventory, at least as far as I was concerned.
My intention was to study the local magic during my time in this world and to collect some useful relics. The artefacts could wait as I needed to study magic first. I fully intended for my wands to become mere tools that could be useful but not a necessity as a wizard. I wanted to be able to shoot lightning bolts from my fingertips and hold fire in the palm of many hands.
If past experience was anything to go by it would be weeks before I could start to cast even the most simple of spells that the native mages use. As such getting into the College of Winterhold any time soon seemed unlikely as that centre of learning is known to require more than tuition fees in order to get you enrolled.
Therefore I decided to acquire the services of a tutor as I had done before. My choice was Serana Volkihar the somewhat friendly vampire. Not only was she skilled in the use of spells she learned alchemy from her mother if memory served.
In return for her services, I would offer her shelter and a chance to explore other worlds. Given her family drama, I could well imagine that she'd want to leave this world and I could aid with that. I might even be able to help her with that family drama.
First things first, I needed to make contact with Serana and then make my offer. If she didn't take it I would have to look elsewhere, and while I did have other options I'd prefer Serana as a travelling companion. Even her vampiric nature was much of a concern. If she wanted to be immortal without the blood-drinking then that could be arranged.
I'd considered teleporting myself directly to her resting place, but I needed to get used to fighting and I needed to test my capabilities. Going up against a few vampires would normally be rather foolish for someone at my skill level, but I couldn't be killed by mortal means and if I was captured I would teleport away.
Despite my immortality, I'd spent a fortune on a mithril chainshirt much like one worn by Frodo in the Lord the Rings movies. It could be worn under my clothing, and it felt comfortable despite it being made of metal.
Since there were weapons that can kill immortals it seemed wise to wear some armour as those special weapons still had to wound an immortal in order to work. I theorised that my immortality could be overwhelmed if I was injured enough so some protection for my body seemed wise.
"These Vigilantes don't know when to give up," I heard a voice say as I moved through the underground space "I thought burning down their precious Hall and desecrating their shrine would send enough of a message".
I was able to sneak closer to the sound of the voices without being detected. Vampires have enhanced senses; however, they only work if people with enhanced senses are bothering to pay attention. These creatures were overconfident.
For a moment I wondered why the Dragonborn wasn't here. Perhaps they hadn't joined the Dawnguard in this version of events. They could be busy elsewhere, or even trapped in Apocrypha. Perhaps I would find out.
"To come here alone. A fool like the rest of them" another voice said.
I couldn't see much more than two figures that were standing next to each other while talking, so I decided to get closer before striking. My special goggles only transformed darkness into a dim light so I couldn't be sure that I would hit some rock formation if I attacked now.
"He fought well, I'll give him that" the first voice commented.
I was now in range to use one of my wands, but I had no intention of earning the title of vampire hunter just yet as the two human-sized leeches were still speaking. They might say something that I wanted to overhear.
"All this talk is making me thirsty," the second voice said "Perhaps another Vigilant will wander in".
Slowly I moved a little closer, and I could see that that the vampire's victim was still alive. He was weak, he would need healing, I might be able to help him. I normally didn't concern myself with such things because if I did all I'd ever do is spend my time helping people, yet I felt like making an exception.
"I wish the others would hurry up already" the first voice was now saying "I've got half a mind to return to the castle and tell Lord Harkon what a fool he's entrusted this mission to".
One of the vampires turned his back to me, and this made for a very tempting target so I aimed my wand of firebolts. The spell struck the vamp in the back and since they had a weakness to fire vampire burst into flames, instantly killing the overgrown leech.
I quickly used the wand to set the other vampire on fire, not waiting as vampires can move fast. Only he didn't turn to dust right away so I sent another ball of fire at him while he screamed in pain. This did the job rather nicely.
Once the leeches were dust I left the cover I'd been hiding in. Then I calmly began walking further into the cave.
I healed the dying human, which took some effort as he'd been dying due to extreme blood loss. Lucky for him I had a potion for that, several in fact having stocked up before leaving the Wizarding World behind. The rest was a simple matter of stopping the bleeding.
When I was sure he wouldn't die if I teleported him I visualised the Temple of Mara in Riften and teleported us both there before returning myself back here. The locals would think it a miracle and I would be able to feel good about myself for helping a stranger.
After that, I reached into my pouch of holding and collected as much of the vampire dust as I could fit into the little bottles I was carrying inside the pouch. They were meant to contain potion ingredients and keep them fresh with the aid of charms placed upon them.
I'd prepared myself well for this trip and I had a number of useful items in my pouch, including containers for alchemy ingredients. If I remembered correctly vampire dust could be used to create potions of invisibility as far as I could remember and I would have the chance to experiment later.
These vampires didn't turn everything to ash with them when they were slain. They left behind clothes that would be in a good state if I'd not set them on fire and even a few coins that I took. Shifting through ashes wasn't like looting a fresh corpse.
Suddenly I heard a menacing snarl come from somewhere ahead. Without much in the way of warning, a black hound with jagged teeth and blood-red eyes charged right at me. It was no normal dog; this was some sort of hellhound. Thankfully, these ones were quite visible unlike the ones in the Supernatural series.
From within my coat, I withdrew a shotgun, a little something I'd picked up from the zombie world that I visited when I wanted some bars of gold. I proved to be rather good at aiming despite my lack of experience with firearms outside of video games.
The dog thing yelped as it staggered back. I expanded three shells before the beast finally died. It was no ordinary animal, and it did not hunt alone.
Its mate or hunting partner, drawn to me by tall the noise, was soon wounded thanks to 12 gauge shells. The recoil had taken some getting used to when I'd been practising.
As hoped my shotgun had proven effective against the forces of darkness, just as the great warrior and saviour Ash Williams had shown us. While I didn't have a chainsaw, I did have a magic sword and that should meet with his approval.
With the way clear I moved deeper underground. Keeping an eye out for danger.
Dimhollow Crypt. Skyrim.
I soon found myself in a large cavern full of coffins. I found this to be understandably creepy, and I moved slowly through the room my shotgun ready to blast some evil dead. I really wished that I had a chainsaw right now, hopefully, my magic would make up for the lack of proper undead slaying tools.
Suddenly, the skeletons within the surrounding coffins started coming alive, or more accurately they became animate, some bursting out of the containers like a jack in a box, I haven't been scared of something doing that since I was a toddler.
Thankfully for me, they were fragile things just like in the game, as such they were easily defeated by the careful application of hot lead. The only downside was that the noise from all the fighting had attracted the attention of yet another vampire.
The fool came running right at me and the creature took a shot to the head. I watched as she turned to dust, the effect wasn't quite the same as some of the vampires I'd seen on TV, like those Blade the Daywalker or Buffy Summers faced.
It wasn't as loud or as quick, also when this vampire collapsed into ashes she left her clothes behind. She didn't appear to have been carrying anything of value and I had no reason to take her outfit so I just gathered up some of the powered remains as if nothing else the dust might be worth something in trade.
Hopefully, there would be stuff worth taking somewhere further inside the crypt. So far this dungeon-diving adventure hadn't gotten me any real loot. Real adventuring in Skyrim was proving to be disappointing, but this was my first time.
Venturing on I passed through another gate, stopping to harvest some strange-looking mushrooms, and after that, I found myself in what looked like a burial chamber.
All the coffins were open and this implied the use of more Nercomany, which was something I was already sick of at this point. The dead shouldn't get up and walk around, it was super creepy.
I soon came across more foes. The vampires had indeed been messing with unnatural forces as there were draugr here, and unlike those, the Dragonborn would encounter while looking for the Words that made up Shouts, these zombie-like creatures seemed to be under the command of the vampires. This was made clear when one of the blood drinkers ordered the undead things to attack.
This group of undead proved to be tougher than the skeletons I'd faced earlier. They only staggered back when I hit them and I was forced to fall back on my wands as I teleported around to give myself some room. Magical bolts of lightning and a fire-making spell from my maple wand proved to be effective.
At some point, I should seek out a trainer and get some tips on using my sword as my magical attacks were ranged and while I could teleport around a battlefield I was no Ciri. I couldn't just keep disappearing and then reappearing as she did. It drained me.
I would need to learn to fight with Longclaw. A weapon I felt sure would be effective against the undead since it had been when Jon Snow had fought Wights and White Walkers.
Now I faced the last still-standing foe, a vampire who tried to use magic to drain my life force, but before it could do any real harm I stunned it with my maple wand and then set the blood drinker on fire with my next spell.
Immortality or not it seemed wise to take a Cure Disease potion later and to test that my healing factor was still working. No sense in taking chances and becoming a vampire.
Soon after all that fighting, I found a filled soul gem and an arcane enchanter. Judging by the state of both the gem and the funky-looking table the vampires must have brought this stuff with them.
While I had plenty of room on my person for the soul gem I couldn't fit the table in my pouch of holding or expanded bags. I would have to come back for it once I was set up somewhere. Not much of a chore given that I could teleport.
In the next part, there was a waterfall and what looked like graves on either side of a path. It was super strange to see graves in a place like this, where I was from people were buried in cemeteries on the surface, which made it a lot easier for grieving people to visit their departed loved ones.
I had no idea why the people here had gotten into the habit of interring the dead in such hard-to-reach places. Granted it might make it harder for Necromancers to acquire corpses, but if that was the reason then why not just cremate the dead?
"You're mine, mortal!" a vampire bellowed.
That yell broke my trail of thought and the walking leech who dared to bother me paid with its non-life when I hit him with a body-binding curse and then set him on fire. This got me even more vampire ash for potion-making later on.
Moving on again I soon came across two gargoyle statues that were quite eerie, though their eyes were stone it felt as if they stared into my very soul.
A few steps into this area let us know that there were people here as I could hear their voices and I used stealth as I wanted to know if the vampire were talking about anything I wanted to know.
All this sneaking about was proving to be easier than imagined. I half expected to find the words: your sneak skill has increased, to pass my field of vision, but they never did.
Before long I found myself on the ledge of a balcony and I peeked over the edge. This area was well-lit thanks to some torches so I could see two vampires who were talking to someone who seemed to be a prisoner.
Their captive had clearly been tortured; the bruises being evidenced enough of this. The man was wearing but a pair of rags and was kneeling before the vampires like a dog.
"I believe you Vigilant" a vampire was saying "Now go to your beloved Stendarr".
Before the monster could kill the human I fired off another body-binding spell. The spell wouldn't hold for long, but it would do its job. The second proved to be faster than expected. He knocked my wand out of my hand and grabbed me.
That was his mistake as I teleported us both outside into the daylight. The vampire let go of me and tried to cover his eyes as he ran for cover. The sunlight was fatal, but it hurt the creature and even I was blinded for a moment before I teleported back.
The Vigilant was passed out and I used a few healing spells on him that I'd researched before coming here as well as a potion to help him recover. I made a mental note to restock as soon as possible.
I didn't take him to the temple as I'd teleported a lot today and it wearing me out. Besides miracles stop being special if they happen too often. Plus I still hadn't found Serana, her prison had to be done here somewhere.
7
Dimhollow Cavern. Skyrim
"You bit me!" I yelled.
It had all happened so fast. One moment I'd been solving some puzzle, and once I'd done that some contraption, brought up a sarcophagus, which had opened up, and then the vampire within the sarcophagus, had thrown herself at me with such speed that I'd been taken by complete surprise.
"You fucking bit me!" I shouted.
Sure she hadn't been able to do me any harm due to my immortality yet I felt violated. Also I was a little bit worried that she'd infected me with the disease they had here that turned people into vampires.
The illness that makes people into vampires isn't anything natural as it comes from a Daedric Prince making it as much a curse as it is a virus. I would have to take a Cure disease to be on the safe side.
I'd actually come prepared for Serana to be hungry, I just hadn't expected her to be that fast after waking up, so before venturing into this world I'd picked up a jar of Blood-flavoured lollipops. These were sweets sold in the 'Unusual Tastes' section of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. They were meant to help vampires deal with their cravings for blood. I offered one to Serana who took it and she seemed to enjoy it.
"I didn't mean to bite you" explained Serana as she licked the treat I'd offered her "I've been sleeping for a very long time".
This meeting wasn't going as I'd hoped. I decided to let the matter drop and move on.
"My name is Macross" I introduced "I'm a mage".
She soon told me her name and then she had more to say.
"Who...who sent you here?" she asked.
Her voice was confused rather than hostile.
"No one" I answered "I came here to find you on my own".
Now that I'd had a chance to look at her I discovered that Serena was tall, but not overly so, and somewhat of a beautiful woman, or at least she would have been if she was human.
I didn't know if a female vampire could be considered a woman. Her skin was too pale, and her eyes were inhuman but other than that she was attractive enough. At least for a walking, talking, leech with fangs.
I'd never been a fan of vampires. The blood-drinking makes me a little bit queasy and I'd rather remain on top of the food chain if at all possible.
"There are some people after you" I admitted "Vampires, and the Dawnguard could be here soon".
The Dawnguard would try to kill her, and in her weakened state, she'd be easy prey for them unless she stayed with me.
"Who are the Dawnguard?" she asked.
Serana had a lot to catch up on. Hopefully, I wouldn't overwhelm her during our first meeting.
"They are a group of vampire hunters" I answered "There's been an increase in vampire activity recently because of your father. He was the one who sent the vampires here to find you".
Not because he cared for his daughter. He wanted her blood if I recalled correctly. Although I might not have the details correct in my memory.
"Can you help me get back to my family's home?" she requested "My family used to live on an island to the west of Solitude. I guess they still do".
The woman seemed more composed now. The treat must be helping.
As Serana began to move around the chamber I saw something and a memory was triggered.
"Is that an Elder Scroll?" I asked.
Serana turned her head to see the scroll, which was rolled up and hanging off her belt.
"Yes, it is, and it's mine," she said.
I was amazed by this. A real-life Elder Scroll, I was giddy at the idea of even getting to touch one. Sure they were important in the game, but they were just part of the plot. In reality, the Elder Scrolls were far more than they appeared to be, they could allow glimpses into the future and one had been used to move Aldiun the World-Eater through time.
"It's...complicated," she told me "I can't really talk about it. I'm sorry".
As tempting as it was to claim the Elder Scroll, I knew that using them came with a price and I simply wasn't prepared to handle one. It did need to be secured, but if I wanted Serana as a companion it would be unwise to take it from her.
Besides, it was the bow that mattered. Without Auriel's Bow, the rest didn't really matter much. I just needed to secure that weapon and the vampires would be unable to block out the sunlight. An act that could threaten all life or at least turn Skyrim into a wasteland depending on how far the effect spread over this world.
Given that the sun in this world wasn't a star, it was a hole into a realm of magic if memory served, I wondered if photosynthesis was even a thing here. This world did not work like Earth, so the plants might feed upon the magical energy that bled into this plane of existence by the big hole in the fabric of reality.
Crimson Nirnroot grows underground despite it being a leafy plant, but that might just be a freak of nature.
"I can take you home" I offered to Serana "You should talk to your father about his plans".
The vampire looked around.
"So any idea how to get out of here?" she asked.
I took hold of her arm, and when didn't protest I teleported us both to the bridge that led up to her family home. The castle was huge and in a remote location with only one easy point of access. If it could be cleared of vampires it would make a great base of operations for me.
With the right magic, even a castle could be hidden and defended. Perhaps I would take it over one day and use it to store some of my treasure.
"How did you do that?" Serana "That wasn't like any teleportation magic I've ever seen".
It wasn't yet dark and I could tell that light was bothering my potential travelling companion so I reached into my pouch of holding and took out a pair of sunglasses.
"Try these on" I advised.
She did so and I could tell that she'd become more comfortable.
"Oh, they didn't have these when I was last out in the daylight" she commented.
I could discuss them being otherworldly at another time.
"You can go the rest of the way yourself," I said "I'm not foolish enough to walk into a nest of vampires".
Granted they might not be able to harm, but if they served Molog Bal, then it was possible that dark diety might become aware of me. Best to avoid getting noticed if possible.
"I'm staying in Solitude," I told the female vampire "If you want to know more about what is going on you can find me there".
It would be better for her to start to piece things together by herself and then have her seek me out. So we parted ways and I went to find somewhere to stay.
Solitude. Skyrim.
It was late afternoon by my reckoning when I entered the city known as Solitude. The marketplace was packed with people and everyone was minding their own business. If a person had been executed here anytime recently then they'd cleaned up the mess and I couldn't hear anyone talking about the death.
In the game, this city isn't that large in terms of size or in population. In reality, Solitude was a massive metropolitan city that contained many people of different races. Unlike in my world, you didn't just have a variety of humans living together, there were different intelligent species as well.
I'd quickly adapted to the existence of goblins and House Elves, yet seeing a man-sized lizard person walk by took me a moment to process despite me having spent time in Sigil. I even spotted a few elves and I had to remain myself that the dark elves here were not like the drow of the Forgotten Realms.
"If you are heading to the Blue Palace, you might as well be properly dressed," someone said to me.
When I looked back, I saw a female High Elf, who was now standing behind me. High was a good word for this race as if this woman was an indication then they were a race of very tall people. They also thought of themselves as above the other races.
"Something wrong with my outfit?" I asked.
I was wearing black dragon-hide boots fastened with silver buckles. Black jeans. A black top that hid my mithril chainshirt. And over my top was my thestral-hide coat. The coat contained all of my weapons in expanded pockets other than my sword, which I kept on a scabbard that was hung over my back.
My clothes hadn't stood out in Sigil because that place had so many people from different cultures and because there were charms on my coat that were supposed to stop people from really noticing what I was wearing. This local woman had only noticed because she was interested in clothing.
"I wouldn't know where to begin," said the High Elf.
Rather than carry on with that conversation I just turned around and started walking again. I had no desire to stand around while someone insulted me.
I headed into a store called Bits and Pieces so that I could trade some of the salt I was carrying, a valuable commodity in worlds with a medieval level of development, for some local currency,
The store owner and I soon got chatting about this city.
"You know, this place is actually nice to live in," I was told "But a lot of terrible things have happened here over the centuries".
I knew some of what she meant.
"We've had a mad emperor, the Wolf Queen Potema, and recently the High King was murdered by the leader of the Stormcloaks, may the gods curse him. Seriously, this place has bad luck" the local woman informed.
I wondered if the woman had mentioned the Wolf Queen because rumours of Potema's spirit being active had reached people's ears despite the Jarl's wish to keep people ignorant of her attempt to return, or if the businesswoman simply thought that it was just an interesting bit of local lore to share with a newcomer. I would have to visit the court and find out.
If Potema's spirit was going to return then I might need to deal with her. Not that it would take much effort to teleport to her remains, grab them and then take them to the priest for whatever ritual they had here that could force a soul to leave this world.
I might be able to banish her spirit with my Deathly Hallow, assuming that it worked here, as I could summon and dismiss spirits with it. Not that I wanted to do any spirit summoning here in case any of the gods protested.
"Anything worth seeing while I'm here in town?" I inquired of the chatty lady.
I had to be sure that everything matched up with my memories.
"There's the Bards College" the native answered.
I'd spent many hours playing Skyrim, yet never once had I ever entered that music school. I liked music, but I'd never had even a bit of luck trying to sing or play a musical instrument.
There was no fighters or mages guild in Skyrim and that would make it harder to find people who could teach me fighting skills or new spells. Still, it was worthwhile coming here for the shopping and to see the sites.
The local woman went on to explain that Solitude was the capital city of both Haafingar Hold and all of Skyrim. Which was currently ruled by a woman known as Jarl Elisif the Fair, widow of the late High King Torygg.
Also, it was the headquarters of the Imperial Legion that was stationed here in Skyrim. General Tullius commanded the Imperial army from the fortress here that was called Castle Dour. That place didn't sound at all inviting.
Jarl Elisif, resided in the Blue Palace, as expected, and the Thalmor also an embassy that was somewhere hidden in the nearby mountains. I hoped to avoid having run-ins with those bloody Nazis elves.
A good reason why the Legion was posted here had to do with the defensible nature of Solitude itself. The city was set upon a great stone arch that towered above the mouth of the Karth River.
Add to this the city was surrounded by the soaring peaks of the nearby mountains. Meaning that Solitude was a natural stronghold. Another thing worthy of note was that the city happened to be protected from attack from the west by the still-largely intact Fort Hraggstad, which overlooked the Sea of Ghosts.
I paid attention to the woman's words in case any of the knowledge she shared turned out to be useful information during my time in this world.
Solitude was also a major shipping port and an important Imperial supply line, the local geography gave it's port much-needed shelter from the strong winds of the Ghost Sea.
Most of the shipping in Solitude I knew to be run by the Imperial-financed East Empire Company. I assumed that it was something akin to The East India Company back in my world. That organisation had been formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with Mughal India and the East Indies and later with China.
I'd learned from my studies of the history of my world that the company ended up seizing control over large parts of the Indian subcontinent, and parts of Southeast Asia, and it even colonised Hong Kong after a war with China.
I left the shop with the intent of renting a room at the inn that was close to the gates as that would be the first place that Serana would look if she came to the city with the intent of finding me.
Before going to the inn I stopped off at the apothecary to purchase a curse disease potion and a healing potion. I was going to take any chances of getting sick thanks to Molag Bal's STD.
As I walked an old Wood Elf man came over to me.
"Please, you have to help me!" he called out.
I had an inkling about where this could lead, and I had no interest in getting involved in the affairs of a daedric prince who was pretty much an insane demon god. Lucky for me the man lost interest when I didn't pay him any attention and I was able to make my way into the inn.
Once I had a room I would need to seek out the Court's mage. If anyone had books I could buy about using magic then it would be her, and I needed to find out more about the mage's collage before I headed off to Winterhold.
I could afford to wait a while for Serana as it would take a couple of weeks at least for me to adapt enough to this world's magic to start casting even the most simple of spells. In the meantime, I could research some of the theories of magic and brew a few potions. The Blue Palace. Solitude.
Sybille Stentor, a Breton mage, worked in the role of court wizard on behalf of Jarl Elisif the Fair, here in the Blue Palace of Solitude. She was not the most friendly of people, possibly due to her being a vampire, it must be hard to be pals with those who could be your food.
While the Nords living in Solitude got along better with the other races than in other parts of Skyrim, that acceptance wouldn't extend to vampires, so she wisely kept that fact about herself hidden from the public.
I'd not been fooled for a moment as her eyes glowed faintly a yellow-orange colour. and I would ask once we'd gotten to know each other better if she was using some sort of illusion magic to help to hide her vampire features. If she was the illusion had failed with me.
This made sense to me because by her own admission Sybille Stentor was an expert in Destruction and adept in Illusion Magic. I was interested in learning anything she had to teach me, so I'd paid careful attention when she'd told me what types of magic she considered herself to be a master in.
Getting her to agree to tutor me wasn't much work since I'd just bribed her. Court Mages were sponsored by their Jarl, but I knew from experience that potion ingredients alone can set you back quite a bit.
This was why Sybille Stentor had agreed to set some time aside every day to tutor me while I waited for Serana to come and find me. I suspect that Serana was trying to figure out what her father was up to and that she might also be off looking for her mother. Not that she'd have any luck with that given that Serana's mother was hiding in the Soul Carin.
"There are two paths to gaining magical power" Stentor was saying to me as we stood in her workspace "Well three if you count becoming a priest, but they are mostly focused on Restoration".
Since I didn't want anything to do with the Divines I had no desire to learn if they empowered their priests with spells like deities in the Forgotten Realms are known to do, or if priests just taught each other healing magics.
In retrospect, it had been foolish of me to teleport that badly wounded Vigilant to a temple. I would need to be more careful in the future.
"Mages such as ourselves have two ways of gaining power" the vampire let me know "The quickest and most foolish way is to make pacts with the Daedra. The more powerful daedra such as the princes can be very generous with their gifts, but there is always a price to pay".
I suspected that my teacher had contracted the disease/curse known as Sanguinare Vampiris on purpose to become immortal or by accident because she got bit by a vampire during some expedition for lost knowledge or a relic. Most likely the former since there was a cure and a decent mage should be able to cleanse themselves of the curse if that was what they wanted.
The fate of Miraak the first Dragonborn was a good lesson as to why you didn't want to have anything to do with the Daedric Princes. I didn't doubt that I would be of great interest to the Princes, so I would avoid their altars and followers as much as possible.
"Even the lesser Conjuration spells involve a pact with a Daedra" I was told by Sybille Stentor "When you summon a weapon from Oblivion you are binding a minor daedra to yourself if only for a short time".
I remembered reading that somewhere. I wondered if Bound Weapon spells would work outside of this multiverse. My Elder Blood might allow it since I might be drawing magical power from different dimensions already. But it wasn't worth finding out.
"Another way to use Oblivion to quickly gain power is to make use of an Atronach Forge" Sybille Stentor was now saying "This forge can be used to create staffs, spell tomes, and even some potions, by sacrificing certain objects to the Daedra".
Again that seemed like something to avoid and I recalled an old idea that I'd read somewhere on the Internet or possibly come up with myself.
"Wait, does that mean spell tomes are Daedra?" I asked.
Stentor spent a moment in thought.
"The Daedra are not creatures of flesh and blood like we are," she said "They can come in many forms so it is possible".
When you read a spell tome it vanishes. Perhaps it returns to some realm of Oblivion or maybe the very minor Daedra sets up inside your head and that's how you can learn to cast a complex spell so quickly.
There is a certain Daedric Prince who specialises in knowledge and tempts people with it. I could see the Prince turning lesser Daedra into books so as to gain access to their minds. I could be wrong, but I felt that I was on something.
"What's the safer way to learn magic?" I questioned.
Stentor made a small light appear in her hand.
"The other way is slower" she replied "You learn to channel magical energy in different ways, this can result in experiments going wrong, but you're unlikely to risk your soul".
I'd like my soul to stay mine.
"Even enchanting an item using a soul gem is a pact with the Daedra" I was informed, "The Ideal Masters will exchange the power needed to enchant an item for the contents of a soul gem".
I'd never thought the Ideal Masters were actually Daedra. They seemed like something else to me. Not that I wanted to find out and I could always hire enchanters to do the work for me rather than bargain with such creatures. There must be other ways to enchant something. I imagined that it would be a much slower method.
"The best way is to learn from teachers" I was advised "This is the safest, and not always the slowest way depending on the skill of the student, and once you've reached a certain level you can experiment without it being such a risk. You can also become a teacher, it's quite the honour to find a promising student and to nurture their talent".
Given how much she was charging I doubted she thought of me as a promising student. I felt certain that she'd discover that I was indeed talented and she'd warm up to me.
"By coming to me you've chosen the slow and safer path so you might live long enough to actually learn something," said Stentor "Magic or Magicka in the Ayleid Language, is an energy that flows from Aetherius into Mundus by way of the sun and stars, and from it, the realm of Mundus was created".
I knew from the game's lore that Magnus was the god who designed Mundus, the mortal realm, during the time of creation. After it was completed, he left for Aetherius (the magical realm) because the creation of Mundus would have required more of him than he was willing to give.
Something to do with the creation of the mortal realm requiring the gods to sacrifice part of themselves. I couldn't recall the details, but I did know that the Daedra refused to take part in the creation of the mortal realm, unlike the Aedra who did.
When Magnus left he made a hole in the fabric of reality and through that hole, the Magicka of Aetherius flows into the Mortal realm. The great rift he left behind, is the sun itself. Others followed Magnus leaving smaller holes which are the stars, through which Magicka also flows.
This is why the stars which a person is born under have such a great influence on that person's fortunes and fate (horoscopes actually work in this universe) and why many materials which fall from the heavens have great magical properties.
In this world, magic is in everything. It is why making potions is so easy because in this universe as everything has magical properties and people here have magic within them to help bring out those properties.
"Magicka is the energy of all living things and can be harnessed in various ways" I was told "And despite thousands of years of study, there is much we don't know about magic and new ways to harness are learned as ancient knowledge is lost".
She had a real passion for the subject I could tell.
"We'll start with the most simple use of magic," my teacher said, "Which is to create light. You'll need to learn to harness the magical energy that flows through you and to shape that energy into a useful purpose. Doing this is referred to casting a spell".
I'd learned to do that with wand magic very quickly and since this world was even more magical, I didn't think it would take me long to start casting the most basic of spells that this world had to offer. The Labyrinthian. Skyrim.
As we appeared within a large room, Serana and I saw that the Dragon Priest Morokei, who held the prize I sought, was both protected and contained by an energy shield cast by two enthralled wizards.
If I recalled correctly these were two of Archmage Savos' companions that were sacrificed to keep the dragon priest contained so that Savos could escape. Perhaps I was remembering it incorrectly and I really did not care what had happened as I'd come here for the special staff not to pass judgement on someone I'd never met.
"Morokei has the Staff of Magnus," I told Serana as I gestured at the figure within the field "We need to bring that barrier down before we can destroy Morokei and claim the staff".
While I was focused on learning how to cast spells with my bare hands, as any tool of magic you possess can be taken away from you and because shooting lightening from fingertips looks freaking awesome, I knew that you couldn't be a proper wizard until you had a staff.
I recalled Terry Pratchett mentioning something about wizards using staffs because if magic fails you then you have a heavy bit of wood in hand to hit people with before you run away, or words to those effects. In my case, it would be teleporting away after hitting the person.
Even if the Staff of Magnus was not actually something left behind by a being of divine nature it was still a very powerful tool and should belong to someone who would use it wisely.
If the staff could absorb magical energy from enchanted objects as well as living creatures it would be a great way to deal with cursed objects without destroying whatever it was that had been cursed. It would also absorb useful magic in an object, but nothing was perfect.
"When you promised me adventure this wasn't quite what I had in mind" commented the vampire "I've been underground far too much".
I'd not mentioned her being a video game character because she didn't know what a video game was, and telling her that she'd been a fictional character to me until now had been hard on her. She was wrapping her head around the idea of there being infinite universes and that anything that could exist must be real somewhere, including stories.
Not that I blamed Serana for being all freaked out. It had only been a week since I'd woken her up and while I'd been trying to master the most simple of Skyrim's spells, only managing to create weak flickering lights, she'd been trying to catch up on everything she'd missed while taking her centuries-long nap.
As hoped she'd come to find me in Solitude and since I'd been planning to come here to grab the staff it seemed like a good way to show some of what I could do. Actions speak louder than words and there was only so much sitting around while chatting that I could stand.
"We need that staff in case the Mage's College has unearthed the Eye of Magnus," I said.
I explained to Serana that the Eye of Magnus was an ancient artefact of unknown origin. What little I knew about it was that possesses a great amount of magical power and that it can be manipulated with the Staff of Magnus. It wasn't something I'd want to mess with if I had another choice.
The Eye was discovered by the ancient Nords when they were building the city of Saarthal. The Nords attempted to keep it buried, but the Snow Elves, who the Nords were at war with, learned of its existence and coveted it for themselves. The elves assaulted Saarthal to secure this powerful artefact with the intent of using it against the Nords I assumed.
The Nord leader Ysgramor rallied his people and they managed to keep the elves from seizing it. Then The Eye was buried deep below the earth and sealed away because those Nords had more sense than anyone at the College of Winterhold. Some things were best left buried.
The Psijic Order would take custody of the Eye, but only after the Dragonborn stopped a Naziz elf called Ancano from unleashing a major disaster. Only according to rumour the Dragonborn had gone off to Solstheim already and hadn't come back.
I might need to step into the role of a saviour if the Dragonborn was away dealing with some other major problem.
"If the Eye of Magnus is found I want to have the staff ready to deal with it," I said "If the Mages' College isn't digging up Saarthal then I'll have time to figure out how to move it".
I don't want this world to explode while I am in it. I have to stay here for months so best to nip these disasters in the bud. Once I was ready to leave I might be able to move the Eye to the zombie world so that no one would start messing with it.
Why the Psijic Order didn't take the Eye sooner I had no idea. They had power over time and The Eye could be moved safely as the Mage's College manages it.
"Makes sense," said Serana "Well as much as any of this does".
If she wanted my help to find her mother then she would have to help me with obtaining the staff first. I wanted her to get a taste of what travelling with me would involve before we came to an agreement.
"I'm going to set up there," I told the vampire as I took out a gun from my bag of holding "I'll open fire as soon as the shield comes down".
My weapon of choice for this adventure was the Remington Model 700 bolt-action hunting rifle that has a .30-06 Springfield cartridge along with a mounted telescopic sight and suppressor. Just the kind of thing you wanted when you were taking on a dragon priest that can drain magical energy and create shields. I'd picked it up from the zombie world the last time I'd visited.
"What in Oblivion is that thing?" Serana as she looked at my rifle.
I spent a moment wondering how I could explain a rifle.
"It's like a crossbow, but rather than use bolts it fires small metal projectiles called bullets at a high speed. They do a lot of damage. Trust me it will work".
And if it didn't I had other weapons.
"You'll need to deal with the two mages who are powering the barrier," I said "I have a way to stun them".
She should be able to use one of my wands to break the enchantment on those poor mages. They might even survive and leave this place.
I got into position and prepared to open fire. Upon my signal, Serana hit the two mages with spells from a wand from Sigil and the barrier came down. Before Morokei could even start moving I shot him in the chest and he went down.
"Careful he might just be stunned," I said.
I didn't even know if that was possible for an undead creature, but since there was no sense in taking chances I shot him again, and then took out Longclaw as I moved over to what should be a fully dead creature. I stabbed Morokei and there was no reaction.
"So these guns are powerful" commented Serana as I picked up my new staff "Don't let the design fall into anyone's hands".
Uplifting Skyrim might seem like a good idea as with better technology the locals could protect themselves. However, given what happened to the Dwarves I'd decided not to try uplifting the natives
As I held the staff and enjoyed the feeling of power it gave me, Serana went and checked on the people who might not be corpses. Given that they'd collapsed as soon as they were freed I knew that they hadn't seen anything of importance. Before being stunned they'd not had their eyes open so they should be totally unaware of what had happened here.
"Those two mages are dead," she said "I think they have been for a while".
That was a shame as I'd wanted to save them. Morality and good deeds aside, having a couple of experienced mages owe me a favour would have been pleasant. I hoped that their souls had been able to move on at least. I'd have taken death over being trapped here.
"Are we going to look around?" Serana questioned.
That would be a bad idea.
"This place is full of creatures and traps," I told her "I'm not ready for that".
Taking out a few vampires and their minions, or slaying Morokei with overwhelming firepower before he could react, was not the same as dealing with a place like The Labyrinthian.
With that in mind, I teleported us back to my room at the Winking Skeever. I had set up my wizarding tent here so there was plenty of room for the both of us as well as some of my equipment.
"Your mother is hiding out in the Soul Carin," I told Serana.
She'd helped me so I would help her. I'd already explained that I could grant her immortality if she cured herself of vampirism. She wasn't ready for such a change yet and there was no rush since I wouldn't be leaving this world for a while.
"Can you take me to her?" the vampire requested.
I could, but I wouldn't as given the soul-draining effect of the place I might not be able to get us out again, and I wished to avoid the attention of the Ideal Masters.
"No" I replied, "But I can show you how she got there".
Serana could take care of herself and chat with her mother without me getting involved. Valerica's laboratory. Castle Volkihar.
"Now this is an impressive setup," I commented once we appeared inside the alchemy lab of Serana's mother "I'm going to poke around here while you go to talk to your Mum".
I knew how to open the door to the Soul Cairn I just had no intention of stepping through it.
"You're not coming with me?" asked Serana.
I began looking for the journal that should contain the instructions we needed. I felt sure that there was more involved in opening a doorway into a realm of Oblivion (if that was what the Soul Carin was) than throwing a few ingredients in a dish. Hopefully, there was human sacrifice involved.
"The Volkihar family drama is your business," I said "Besides, I'm human. I don't know what kind of effect the place could have on me".
I'm not risking my soul just because Serana wanted to confront her mother and confirm some of what I'd been telling her. I didn't blame her for wanting to verify at least some of the facts, that was only sensible, and I doubted her father had told her much.
"Now that you mention it I'm not sure a human can survive there" the vampire mused "Although you might be able to withstand it if you really are immortal".
I cut myself and let her see the wound heal, but that could have been a trick and she'd been rather out of it when she bit me. I might have to show off a bit before she'd eat one of the Golden Apples.
"It's not my life that concerns me" I clarified "It's my soul".
I did not want a soulless version of me roaming the multiverse assuming that was even possible. My vampire companion accepted my reasoning with a nod.
"Let's say you're right about what my father is up to" Serana was saying as we checked out the shelves "So I cure myself and you then make me immortal. Are you expecting a romantic relationship?".
We hadn't known each other for long, however, if we were going to be travelling together it made sense for her to want to know if I had any intentions towards her beyond simple companionship.
"While I have thought about it" I admitted, "I've no intention of trying to court you're having a family crisis. I figured that if anything did happen it would develop over time and we can deal with the whole 'block out the sun issue' first".
I didn't want her to feel pressured given how much was going on in her life She'd woken up to find that the world had changed and that her father had become a big bad. Given all of that, it was impressive how well she was holding up.
"Well you are interesting" Serana stated "I might stick around".
And if she didn't there were other fish in the multiverse sea.
"Let's see we need, Finely Ground Bone Meal to start with" I read out once I found the right page in the journal "Three Soul Gem shards, Purified Voil Salts and some of your blood. Undead blood to be precise".
The bone meal was on the table by the entrance beneath the mammoth skull, the Soul Gem Shards were found on top of a wardrobe and the Purified Void Salts I located on another table loaded with rare ingredients. The stuff went into a bowl, and Serana added a bit of her blood, she then performed a spell on the mixture.
Before long a portal the Soul Cairn opened one that could be walked down into.
"Your mother is trapped behind a barrier if memory serves," I said as I passed Serana the Staff of Magnus "This should bring the barrier down since it's magical in nature. If it doesn't then you'll have to come up with another solution".
Serana's Mum was a bitch. I would not be risking my life for her.
"Do not lose the staff. I might need to do something drastic about the Eye of Magnus should anything happen to it" I said, "Oh and if you could pick up some Soul Husks I'd be grateful. Your Mum will know what they are".
Of course, I had a few ideas about to handle that situation involving the Eye without the staff. Killing everyone trying to dig up the Nordic ruins and then collapsing what was left of the city was one of them as that would be better than letting the world blow up.
"I'll make sure no one messes with the entrance" I promised.
That was just my excuse to hang around the lab and do some alchemy. I could set up my tent here and thanks to my planning I had plenty of supplies. Plus there were a lot of books to go through.
"Okay well wish me luck," said Serana.
I waved as she went off to go be all dramatic with one of her crappy parents.
Once she was gone I pulled out a large book that contained as many pages as required. It was my grimoire, my book of shadows, and it contained information on spells that I felt were important to know as well the recipes of many potions. When I got back to the Wizarding World I would make a copy to keep in Grimmauld Place should anything happen to this book.
Valerica had many recipes recorded and I intended to copy down the ones that seemed the most useful. I had to make sure that at the start of each recipe, the self-writing quill took down that the ingredients involved all came from the same world and which world that was.
In the Wizarding World, the planet lavender was used in potion-making. Four sprigs of lavender were used in the making of the Sleeping Draught, and it was also used in Calming Draughts due to it having a relaxing effect. Lavender grown here in Skyrim was used mostly in potions that granted temporary magical resistance.
The Skyrim rarity might still work in a Wizarding World as different properties can be brought out depending on the brewing process and other ingredients put into the potion, but that seemed needlessly risky to try when I could just stock up while I was in this world.
Far sooner than expected Serana returned and she brought Valerica with her. Not the result I'd been hoping for.
"You weren't gone for long" I commented.
Serana gave me back my staff and handed over a bag filled with the one plant that grows in that realm.
"For me, it feels like I've been gone for hours," she told me.
I imagined that time in the Soul Cairn must be very strange. Would explain why her mother hadn't gone insane while trapped in there. Valerica seemed in very good shape for a woman who'd been in a realm that could be called Hell for a very long time. This version of her looked like a more mature version of Serana. Her eyes glowed a yellowish colour and her skin was pale. She shared Serana's dark hair and build I noticed.
"Are you pilfering from my lab?" Valerica questioned.
Somehow she made me feel like the kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"Mother!" chided Serana "This is Macross. The man who can stop Father from destroying the world and make us both immortal after we get cured. Please be nice".
I'd never agreed to that.
"There are limits to what I can do, Serana," I told her "I can't just go around granting immortality to people".
The younger female vampire did not seem pleased by this news. Neither did her elder.
"So you were lying" Valerica accused.
Serana sighed.
"Do you have any more of those treats?" she asked "Mother is not at her best when she's thirsty".
I did and giving her one might help to break the ice so I handed over a blood lollipop.
"If you can make us both immortal then my father can't just turn us back into vampires, at least in theory" she pointed out "And he would do that".
That was a good point.
"Fine, but just your mother," I said "No one else".
Valerica spoke her mind. I got the feeling she'd be doing this a lot.
"From what I understand you can take us both out of this world," said the older woman "I can take of myself, but I would like to be somewhere far from here and to be able to spend time with my daughter".
She was a lover of potions so I could set her up in the wizarding world once she'd become human again and let her study the potions of that version of Earth. It wouldn't be much trouble because I can hire other people to do most of the work.
"I'm not due to leave for a few months" I mentioned "You'll have to keep your head down until then".
Valerica seemed amused.
"I was successfully avoiding my husband before Serana was even born" she stated.
She can't have been that good at avoiding her husband if she managed to get pregnant with his child. However, I decided not to mention that as some people can't be convinced by a reasonable argument.
"Okay fine" I agreed "Let's go find that cure".
I began to pack up.
"We should get the bow first" I reasoned "Without it won't matter if he has a Daughter of Coldharbor's blood or not. I'll need both of you to help me recover the bow. It's guarded by a powerful vampire who I might not be able to deal with on my own".
With so much to do, I was glad that I had so much time.
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