บท 225: Chapter XXIX: Meaty Treats and Haunted Homes
Hours pass as we keep observing the so-called beef merchant, many of his customers just as eager to get a specific order as the duo we observed earlier. That and Nightshade's sense of smell pretty much confirmed that the man was a member of the local Namiran cult we were sent to hunt down.
Because of course Boss suddenly wanted to multi-task hunting down Daedric cults and sent our stupid asses after the cannibals. 'Focus Davos, no point in lamenting what you can't change' I give myself a mental shake and return to my observation.
While I was busy gathering intel the practiced and professional way, Nightshade made an attempt at the good old fashioned one.
"How have the prices been since the war started?" She asked an older woman selling vegetables nearby, her voice surprisingly expressive when compared to her usual aloofness.
"Oh, it has been terrible dearie." The old woman laments "We had to rack them up since the farmers can only sell us so much with the army taking a large part, if it wasn't known that the Jarl has a good reserve people would already be panicking about a famine."
"How terrible" Nightshade fake gasps with such conviction I'd have believed it if I didn't know her, the old stall merchant sighs and gives her a grateful look, which is exactly when Nightshade decided to strike.
The Falmer sent a quick look to the well stocked beef merchant's stall and muttered "I see some have managed to thrive even now."
The old woman scoffs loudly "Oh that bastard Hogni has always managed to keep his stock full. Probably grabs cats of the street and sells them to his idiot friends." She mutters darkly.
"His customers seem eager though." Nightshade adds 'curiously'
"Bah!" The vegetable merchant nearly spat, quickly pulling back into the cover of her stall when she realized she was drawing stares, a moment later she added "The fools probably know damn well what they are buying and are just playing the part."
"I see, thank you for the talk." Nightshade offers the woman a disarming smile "A bag of potatoes please."
Understanding that their conversation was over I focused back on the cannibal himself just in time to hear him whispering to another eager customer of his "Another feast has been prepared for tonight, a special one indeed." I can almost feel his teeth gnash with unnatural hunger as he speaks.
A brunette Nord woman covers her mouth, outwardly looking intrigued but in truth hiding her drool "And who will be our guest for the night?"
"His eminence Verulus himself." Hogni Red-arm mutters hungrily "He has been snooping around too much and Eola feels that he has earned himself a place on our table."
'The priest of Arkay' My mind supplies.
"Ufufufu" The woman laughs ecstatically "Same place then?"
"Aye." Hogni nods and then finishes packaging the woman's order and says far more loudly "Here you go ma'am, finest beef in Markarth!"
I tune out the rest of their conversation, just in time for Nightshade to approach me and ask "What is the plan?"
"No need to complicate it." I shrug "We get the sworn guards, Serana and Alor, and then follow the cannibals when they leave for their destination, preferably before they eat the priest."
"And if they are protected by their patron?" Nightshade asks darkly.
I sigh and suppress a shiver that threatens to run down my spine "Then I will simply ask my own for aid."
My Falmer friend nods wordlessly and we spend a few more minutes watching our target, only moving away once a crowd passes us by and we seamlessly blend in with them.
Our preparations took very little time as the guardsmen we brought were already prepared for combat and the couple of agents stationed within the city not currently busy with delivering information to the Jarl were all watching our targets for when they were about to leave the city.
Alor and Serana were busy being bookworms in one of our residence's corners but they knew to be prepared for the upcoming trip and I doubted either of them would attempt to escape the upcoming mission.
Sometime around midday, I saw Boss pass by our residence followed by the old Altmer Court Wizard, he didn't even look at me as he passed but he did point the thumb of his left hand upwards from where the Altmer could not see him do it, thus signaling his approval of my plan.
A paper soon flew into my hands 'on accident', carrying the news that the Namirans were robbing the local Hall of The Dead and that could be used to track them down.
'Thank fuck I have to deal with the cannibal and not the rapist' I hypocritically thought with disgust churning in my stomach.
A moment later I saw Serana walk out with a deep frown on her face and stiffly fall in with Lord Dagoth who looked incredibly smug for obviously cruel reasons.
'And there goes our heavy hitter, Webweaver damn it!'
My attention was drawn back to less unpleasant thoughts when Nightshade poked my side with a blank expression hiding her excitement as she held a chess set in her other arm.
"So eager to lose again?" I ask smugly, momentarily forgetting the upcoming terrors.
Her right eye twitches and a smile that sends a shiver down my spine spreads on her face "You will come to regret those words soon." She says plainly.
"Fine, we can play." I accept 'generously'. Might as well get all the wins I can before she becomes better than me, old hag was ridiculously talented.
'And of course she sensed that' I offer her a strained smile as she stares at me, seemingly having read my thoughts in an instant 'Women...'
"Are you done?" Nightshade asks with false sweetness.
I grumble to myself and take a seat, making the first move without even thinking about it.
Today was going to be a long day.
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(Reyvin's POV)
"You are certain that this is where it resides?" Calcelmo questions with no small amount of poorly hidden fear.
"Not the first time I've dealt with such things." I offer him a non-answer "The Lord of Domination has a rather... distinctive aura, as do his servants."
"How riveting." Serana drones stiffly, she was not happy to be here but she understood that her potential... expertise would be useful in case things went to shit. Though her glare did promise questions after we were done with this, I did bring her here without informing her first but I had good reason so I knew I would inevitably win that argument.
The elder high elf shivers slightly "I do not see how I am going to be useful to you here."
"You are here to quarantine the place when I am done with it and make sure no one is dumb enough to enter while I am dealing with it." I explain lazily "I am not cruel enough to risk you facing a Daedra if you already look like you are about to die at the mere thought."
The old fart deigns to give me an indignant look but one passing glance at my glowing eyes is enough for him to show some of that vaunted ancient wisdom and keep his thoughts to himself.
"And here we are!" I exclaim with overblown excitement "The so called haunted house."
If Serana still had the capability to do so she would have paled even further as she finally came close enough to sense the well hidden aura that the seemingly uninteresting house emitted.
it took me waving my hand in front of her eyes for a good ten seconds to draw her attention back into the present "You good?" I asked as her eyes refocused.
"I am fine." Her cold exterior had returned full force "I trust you want me to follow you inside?" She almost managed to hide the trepidation in her voice.
"No need." I wave her off and the false fasade of coldness and confidence she tried to project broke instantly as she slumped against a nearby wall and returned to absently staring at the building, muttering something incoherent in an ancient Nordic dialect.
Centering myself I approach the building only to stop abruptly as my eyes land on some muddy tracks leading inside, this also leads me to discovering that the Dwemer brass door had been disturbed by someone and recently as well.
One swift flash of clairvoyance and I immediately learn of the poor soul who decided it was a good idea to enter such a place on his own "Make sure I am not disturbed." I tell my two companions and without fear or hesitation I enter the den of the devil.
As if by long standing Daedric tradition, a feeling of dread attempts to assert itself upon me but it is neither focused nor powerful enough to shake me and I continue walking inside without a care. A noise of startled movement announces the house's other visitor as a young man dressed in the robes of a Vigilant of Stendarr rushes out of the nearby room with bloodshot eyes.
He stills completely as he notices me, his legs quivering with fear and terror as he points at me "Y-y-you! You are with the Daedra!" His terror is so complete that he fails to even grasp his weapon as his hand shakes around its handle.
"Technically not incorrect." I tilt my head lazily "Though not this one I am afraid."
The way he whimpers as I speak sends a tinge of irritation through my body that makes my hand twitch, a foreign thirst for violence and a desire to punish the insolent worm before me attempting to sneak into the outer shell of my consciousness.
'So the rapist can be subtle' I scoff and send a wave of Magicka through my body, immediately banishing the filthy creature's influence.
"WEAK." This doesn't stop the Daedra from speaking unfortunately as its voice soon enters my metaphysical ears "He is a weakling, whimpering before you... CRUSH HIM!"
"Hmmm" I hum aloud, the Vigilant crawling toward a nearby corner while staring at me in fear "I think not." I say disinterestedly.
A moment of stunned silence passes as the Daedric Prince is seemingly completely surprised by my refusal before it is replaced by a shrill roar of incoherent rage "YOU WILL DO MY BIDDING MORTAL OR I WILL FOREVER IMPRISON YOU IN THIS PATHETIC HOLE!"
I raise an eyebrow in the general direction of the shrine of Molag Bal, staring directly into the source of the Daedra's presence... and simply ask "Bitch, do you have any idea who I am?" The sheer arrogance of my question is so potent that it leaves the so called King of Rape speechless for nearly a minute, utterly humiliating the disgusting creature in the process.
I can practically taste Mephala's glee as her gaze focuses on me fully.
The presence of Molag Bal lets out another enraged snarl before seemingly withdrawing from me and focusing on the still whimpering Vigilant, a mere recruit now that I got a better look at him, and forces the boy to grab his mace with newfound strength and rush at me in a maddened fit of rage.
His sudden explosive speed which no doubt rent his muscles to tiny bits would have certainly frightened even your usual powerful mage but I merely gave him a contemptuous look before riding a nearby shadow to his side and delivering a powerful smack to the back of his head, immediately knocking him out.
I check on the downed boy and after making sure he isn't about to die due to Molag's fuckery I descend into the shrine.
Molag's presence grows heavier with each step I take but this is a mere shrine and not a true temple which limits the power he can exert tremendously. The insultingly ineffectual commands of "OBEY!" and "BOW BEFORE ME!" are a constant as I pass through the small maze of doors and tunnels.
Finally I stand before the rusted over shrine to the Lord of Domination and just to humiliate the fucker even further I let out a loud snort of contempt, shutting him up once again.
"The bigger they are the harder they fall, no?" I ask mockingly while observing the ward containing the shrine and the mace floating at its center.
"What are you trying to do, mortal?" Molag asks, far more composed than earlier.
"Fuck you over." I tell him honestly, there was no need for subterfuge here.
"We have not yet struck out against one another." The Daedra offers the closest thing he can to a plea. Unsurprising, considering the propensity of Daedra to recruit the powerful he probably felt it acceptable to ignore the humiliation I delivered.
'Not like the n'wah is going to get anything out of it' Scorch chortles.
'Even better.' I send a feeling of smugness toward my bird boi.
"And?" I tilt my head while finishing up my scan of Boethiah's ward "Your very existence disgusts me on principle." My lips thin with said disgust "The very idea that you are speaking to me offends me, so begone and prepare your pawns for when I return, for if you do not your humiliation today will look sweet in comparison to what I will do later."
"YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!" The once more pissed creature snarls a final time before retreating back into its hole, leaving me alone and staring at the barred treasure before me.
So far I had calculated two paths of taking the mace. One would involve brute forcing through the defenses with Magnus' gaze and just yanking the damn thing and praying for the best while deeply offending two Daedra at the same time.
The second involved dealing with the priest of Boethiah that had set up the wards around the shrine and making some kind of alliance with him.
I let out an irritated breath as I make the only right decision and start climbing back outside.
Dealing with the last third of the Tribunal was no doubt going to be a massive boon for me politically but something about Boethiah juts didn't sit well with me, the memory of having to kill someone who trusts you to start her trial was a bitter thing and something I hated with a passion.
I could only hope that the creature had more nuance than that because I would literally rather die than do things her preferred way.
I grab the unconscious Vigilant and toss him over my shoulder, my next destination clear.
If I was going to go and rescue a damn priest from the Forsworn then I might as well grab me some fine knightly fellows for the job.
But first, I needed to find me a map! The priest wouldn't scry himself after all.
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