บท 33: Chapter 33
"This is so much better then those mountains." Remiel yawned out, stretching as they strolled forward along the most well maintained roads Athias had seen so far.
Made up of grassy flatlands with isolated gatherings of trees dotting the vast plains, it was far easier to let one's guard down here in the hold of Whiterun. There was no dense greenery to conceal approaching predators or massive mountains for murderous tribes to stalk them from. Skeevers and wolves might be able to duck in the flowery grass, but such things wouldn't be a major threat to them.
Athias rubbed his hands together, resisting the urge to waste magicka on a flame.
They'd briefly cross through the region while escorting Frem to Markarth. Back then the nip that hung in the air hadn't nearly been so strong.
"How long until winter hits?" Athias questioned.
"I lost track of the days during our time in Arkngthamz but I do believe we're either near the middle of Sun's Dusk or just past it." Remiel said. She frowned slightly. "I'm all for taking risks, but I've heard the winters of this land are the most brutal in all of Tamriel. Even if we're not planning on waiting it out, we should prioritize heading to the nearest city or town to prepare for it. I do not want to be caught out in the snow without the right clothing and potions."
Sun's Dusk was his past life's equivalent to November. Soon these grassy plains would be a snow covered tundra that only the most hearty of plants and animals could survive. He'd have to experience it first hand to know for sure, but if the cold proved too much their adventuring might have to be put on hold or heavily centered around a city.
"I didn't think a little cold would be enough to stop the two of you. What happened to the adventurer's spirit?" Auri said from his other side. Easy to say when she had heavy fur wrapped around her.
"Who's cloak are you wearing again?" He shot back.
Auri walked a little ahead, whistling as if she didn't hear him. She didn't get very far before Remiel popped to her side.
"Didn't you have your own cloak, Auri? You wouldn't mind letting me use it until I get my own, right?"
"Hmmmm, as long as you don't get any of your plant food on it I suppose I can lend it to you."
"Of course! You're the best." Remiel eagerly threw on the thin cloak Auri produced. Short as they were, it didn't look out of place on her.
The two were in high spirits, talking animatedly about this or that.
Not unusual for Auri; she was typically in a good mood. Despite the magical and physical exhaustion still plaguing her, Remiel's corresponding bars far from full, there was a spring to the woman's steps and a constant smile on her face.
She couldn't properly cast Sparks without aid from his magicka, but the fact that their experiment succeeded in any capacity appeared to be enough for her. If she casted the spell like that enough times, it should break her habit far more quickly than blind practice ever could. That was their current theory anyways.
A stunted whirl came from behind him.
Athias turned around in time to watch Scrap collapse. The automaton's gears weren't spinning and sounds weren't coming from it, metal legs limply spread across the trail.
That wasn't good.
"No! Scrap!" Remiel shot past him, dropping down to the inactive automaton. "Come on, boy. There's still so much we have to see. Did I not adjust your parameters correctly or-"
"Did it die?" Auri asked, stepping beside him as they watched their companion fret over Scrap.
"Just deactivated." Athias explained. Auri didn't fully comprehend the imitation of life that automatons were.
Then again, did he? Scrap was just a soulless machine if you asked him, but what if someone put a black soul gem in it? Would the soul contained within take control of the automaton or would the machine be able to leech off it to form its own sort of freewill? A thought to entertain but not something he ever wanted to try.
"Can he be brought back?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Athias shrugged. He was looking forward to whether or not Remiel was capable of manipulating Scrap's programing to such an extent. If not, Scrap's deactivation would be an unfortunate loss; the spider was useful in combat and it was nice to have a form of constant security around their camp
At least it wasn't one of them biting the dust.
x-X-x
The ground shook.
Steadied.
Then shook again.
[Giant]
[Level: 15]
「Health: 400/400 Stamina: 300/300 Magicka: 25/25」
Tall, pale-blue, and covered in the remains of animals, a giant walked across the plains, parallel to the paved road, a massive furred mammoth guided along by one of its tusk.
It spared them a passing glance but didn't stop.
Talk about a daunting sight. One swing of that club it hung on its muscled shoulder and broken bones would just be one of many worries if they survived the attack. That mammoth was just as much of a threat, likely able to cripple with a swing of its trunk.
"That's a giant?" Auri questioned, watching as it walked off into field of grass with wide eyes. "And that animal with it? What is that?"
"A mammoth. Giants tend to travel with those things." Athias said.
"They're said to domesticate them and use their milk to make cheese. It's one of the many things that suggest that they are quite intelligent for beings with white souls." Remiel explained further. She'd been distraught by Scrap's shut down, asking to stop every few minutes to stop and work on it. The automaton's legs hung from her backpack. It was good that something came along to distract her from it. "If I were to approach it and-"
"You would end up dead." Athias shut that thought process down quickly. "They might ignore us at a distance, but don't forget that they're know to attack anything that get too close to them."
The shaking of the ground stopped as the giant got further out.
"You're right. We should stop so I can work on Scrap and-"
"We don't have any daylight to waste." Athias said, signaling for the two to follow. After Auri shook off her amazement, she caught up, Remiel trailing behind them.
He'd like to be near the capital of the hold before the temperature took a nosedive and snow fell across the plains. Indulging in too many of their whims would get in the way of that.
x-X-x
Athias readied Auri's bow, a bone arrow nocked.
Normally Auri took care of the hunting. She was the most proficient at it, never returning without a fresh kill and any possible predators given the slip. It helped that she had Thistlefoot to help with hefty carcasses.
Tonight, he wanted to truly try out his newest piece of armor.
A weight settled around his head, his breathing momentarily constricted. It lightened, the aetherium helmet practically weightless. The darkness of the night fled at the same time, the world getting brighter and brighter.
The stronger the effect, the quicker his magicka drained.
It wasn't by much though; the Night Eye and Feather Light traits didn't appear to need too much energy to function. His magicka, while filling out more space than ever before within him, felt unnaturally still. Frozen almost. It was nothing like it's normal static form.
The sudden case of night vision allowed Athias to more easily pick out the elk he'd been tracking. Without any real foliage to shield his approach, Athias kept at a distance.
He glued his narrowed eyes to it and nearly fumbled the prepared arrow. He could see the distant elk, looking about with infrequent but sudden movements, in crystal clear detail as if he was standing beside it. As he eased his narrowed eyes, the effect diminished. It was as if he was using a pair of adjustable binoculars connected directly to his brain.
That specific trait drained his magicka at a far more noticeable rate, nearly fifty points gone in those short moments.
Athias took a breath, lined up his shot, and fired.
The arrow grazed fur, disappearing into grass the elk was grazing. The animal ran off in an instant.
He allowed his helmet to vanish, a familiar weight appearing beside his soon to be replenished magicka. It would take some practice to accurately hit anything with the zoom effect of the Eagle Eye trait.
A furry head pressed against his shoulder.
"Don't tell Auri what you saw." Athias said, petting Thistlefoot's neck. The antelope made a high pitch sound similar to that of a horse's neigh, butting his head to one of Athias's pouch. Athias chuckled but relented, offering some of the mountain flowers he'd been picking. Those were meant for potions, but they were so plentiful in these plains that he could replace them before returning to camp.
He'd either have to find a new target or continue to track that spooked elk. But first that arrow needed collecting.
"Owooooooo!"
Athias's helmet reappeared around his head and the world brightened, the hairs on his neck at attention. That howl, a guttural primal noise that set off his battle instinct, wasn't natural. No animal could produce such a thing.
That sound came from a beast.
Several rabbits, previously hidden within the grass, hopped past, no more than flashes of white. Birds were fleeing overhead. Thistlefoot kicked at the ground, biting into and dragging Athias by the shoulder towards the fleeing wildlife.
He didn't see anything across the plain but he knew something was out there.
Athias pulled himself onto Thistlefoot's saddle and the antelope took off, not prancing as freely as he did with Auri, but moving with urgency, all grace forgotten.
Athias focused.
The grass and skies lit up with red foggy presences. He looked back. Foggy presences of varying sizes followed them, all fleeing from the source of that noise. The effect strengthened, more presences revealed to him as his magicka drained.
He still couldn't see the source.
The effect strengthened and his magicka plummeted, an unwanted emptiness settling over him.
He saw it. A large foggy presence, hunched over and tearing into a fading one.
The actual weight of his helmet returned in full force, all of it's active traits forcibly snatched away from him as the last of his magicka was replaced by that vast emptiness. A window popped up notifying him of the first stage of magicka exhaustion, but Athias didn't care, staring backwards into darkness, unable to pierce its veil.
Nothing had ever set him off like that. Could he take whatever that was out there if it gave chase?
x-X-x
Yeahhhh, no excuses. I simply underestimated how difficult it would be to write with a full-time job. It really does take a special kind of person to come back home after a day of work, look between their Consoles/TV and laptop and decide to do what they know is going to be harder instead of numbing their brain and relaxing.
Not going to lie, I've never been that kind of person but I've also never had a hobby I felt so serious about. I'm trying to change and build better habits. That's really all I can say about why this took so long.
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