I, Draugr chapter 22 (Patreon)

"I cannot even come close to comprehend how something such as this was created." Farengar muses as he examines the Dragon Priest mask on the table between us.

His eyes were full of awe and intrigue as he stares at it intently, as expected of a Mage that is hungry for knowledge.

"Well, a human did not make this, of course." I point out, drawing his gaze towards me, "Dragon Priests were gifted these masks by their Dragons, who are their creators." Picking it up, I twirl it a bit and turn it in a certain direction, "In fact, by looking at it this way, you can see that it resembles a scale."

Farengar's eyes widen even further at my words, "An Enchanted Artifact made by a Dragon?" He whispers in stunned awe, "Is that even possible?"

I shrug, "No one ever said that the Thu'um can only be used offensively." I point out, making Farengar lean back and cup his chin in thought. "I have even started mixing it into my Spells. By using a Word of Power that fits the Spell, the power is massively increased."

The Court Mage's eyes narrow in thought at that, "That… That sounds familiar." His words bring me to a pause. "Back in my time at the College, there were whispered… Legends, you could say."

"It is said that one of the previous Archmages presiding over the College had struck up a contract with a Dragon."

"The Dragon was taught Magic by the Archmage, and the Archmage in turn was taught the Thu'um by the Dragon… I know not if it is true, but if you can manage to truly mix the Thu'um with Magic, then there must be a modicum of truth within that story."

So it is not something unique to me. Something that I myself created all of a sudden just because of a random thought.

Of course there would be a Mage crazy enough to try and do the same in the past, but few would dare travel such a road.

After all, Magic takes a lot of focus. Decades of focus and constant studying and training in it… And so does the Thu'um. Only a very long lived species would ever dare to walk both paths at once, then try and fuse them together.

"I'll have to dabble in Enchanting and see what can be done with the Thu'um mixed in." I muse aloud as I twirl the mask in my hand, my hood and leather helmet more than enough to hide my very undead face from the Court Mage.

I wonder if they are even starting to suspect something… But oh well.

"Either way…" I start as I put on the mask, "I doubt you came here to chat about this Artifact."

Farengar pauses, then nods and straightens himself, "Right, of course. Apologies, I get distracted by fascinating things way too easily." As expected of a Mage.

"I came here for two things. One is an apology, the other is a request." I tilt my head, then motion him to keep going, "The Jarl sends his apologies for what happened earlier this day, with the woman the Dragonborn sent flying down the street."

I couldn't help but snort at that. Aurelia takes her cuddle time quite seriously, it seems. She was so damn cute. "It was quite amusing, don't worry."

A snort escapes Farengar in turn, "I shall believe you on that." Shaking his head with a chuckle, he keeps going, "Either way, the Jarl sends his apologies for that. We knew that she'd have tried approaching you, and we had guards trailing her, but she gave them the slip before coming here."

Huh… So if they knew what Delphine wanted, that means that the Jarl knows what exactly she is- Not that it takes a genius to know, since the woman is so fucking dumb that she walks around with a sword of her order attached to her hip.

How the fuck has she survived this long, I do not know. Should've stuck around at that inn of hers instead of walking around like she owns the place in Whiterun.

"And the request?" I probe as I cross my arms. I suspect it is something that is not from the Jarl, but from Farengar himself.

"The request will be a bit tricky…" He starts with a sigh, "When you go to the College, could you keep an eye out for a High Grade Magicka Stone?"

If I could, I'd raise a brow at that request. "I presume they are hard to come by through the Merchant Guild?"

Farengar nods, "High Grade and Superior Grade Magicka Stones are always sold through actions, so their prices skyrocket way beyond what I can possibly afford, or even want to spend. Supreme Grade are just a legend too, so…" Farengar shakes his head, catching himself before he goes off on a tangent, "Either way; The College of Winterhold is known for being in an area dense with Magicka, so Magicka Stones are found nearly everywhere underground."

"If you find a High Grade one and manage to get your hands on it, could you send it over to me?"

So there are two other grades above High Grade, huh? How high are the boosts given from them?

The staff I have, with the Medium Grade Magicka Stone, gives me a fifty percent boost to Spells, if I remember right.

Also, is the reason the Magicka around the area of the college is because of the Eye of Magnus? That thing gushes Magicka out like nothing else.

I really must put my hands on it.

"I believe that can be done." I assure Farengar with a shrug, making the man's shoulders sag in relief, "What do you need it for, if I may ask?"

More relaxed and happy that the 'transaction' went through, Farengar is visibly in a good mood, "My field of Magic is less in the Destruction Path and more in the Alteration Path. I wish to make use of the High Grade Magicka Stone to create a Golem. The Divines know we need more weapons on our side."

A Golem, huh? Interesting.

"I'll see if I can set up a sort of trade with the College to send Enchanted weapons and armors back here once I get there. Either of their own make, or my own." I state aloud before regarding Farengar once more, "How's the situation on the trade routes once handled by Helgen?"

"Not good, but not bad either." Farengar sighs with crossed arms, "The Merchant Guild can be trusted with these things, but they have warned us that the costs will grow due to this. The goods will also take longer than usual to arrive." If they even do.

The roads are sure to be dangerous now because of the Dragons.

"Doesn't Falkreath stand near another entrance to Skyrim?" I ask, glancing down at the large map on the table. If Farengar takes notice of the Mask symbols drawn over certain spots on the maps, then he does a good job at not reacting.

Still, I did it on purpose. I did warn him that there are no dangers close to Whiterun, but seeing it on a map is believing.

"They do." Farengar nods, leaning over the table to tap at a road that goes through an opening between two mountain ranges. "But it's less favorable, and is almost never used as a trade route due to it going through a dangerous territory filled with Frost Trolls."

Ah, that does make sense. Plus, I doubt Falkreath is very amicable when it comes to trading, with how closed off they all appeared to be.

I don't think I even saw a Merchant Guild building in their city? I might've missed it, but I can always ask Gretel and Hildr if there was one there.

"Any other routes Whiterun can make use off?"

With a hum, Farengar points at a spot north of Whiterun, "Dawnstar is a good source of products from the sea. Constant and cheap too, as that is how they make a living."

Then his hand moves to tap the spot where Solitude is, "Solitude has one of the ports that handles trade by sea, with the other one being handled by Windhelm. Whiterun can trade with them and buy the goods they bring in, but the prices have already started sky-rocketing."

And I presume they were already high enough because it's a time of war. Plus, Windhelm is sure to be short on funds after they bought the crown at the auction.

"What about Winterhold? What does it produce?"

"Raw goods. They have many mines that go deep into the mountains close to their city, so they bring out a lot of Magicka Stones, iron, silver, and other raw materials. Winterhold and Markath deal in these things, due to their location."

And Whiterun handles the goods that come from the fields, due to them not being hit by the snow and having an enormous valley at their disposal.

Still, Winterhold might have some forges at their disposal, as they might also use those raw goods they mine to sell them directly as refined weapons.

Wish I could do the Potion-Enchanting-Forging Loop here so that I could punch a hole through Reality with a spoon hotter than the sun.

"Whiterun won't be able to remain neutral for long." I confess to Farengar, who freezes at my words. "Ulfric will not put the war on hold, and the Imperials won't if he doesn't."

This isn't the game, where the Civil War questline can be ended before the final battle, or where the leaders of the factions can be called on High Hrothgar to tell them to stop fighting until the situation is resolved.

The Thalmors will keep on pressing the Imperials, the Imperials and the Stormcloaks will keep on pressing each other, and it's only a matter of time before one of the two decides to go 'Fuck it.' and will try to claim the most strategic position for the whole in all of Skyrim.

Whiterun.

Neutral, has enormous fertile fields, has Riverwood for a constant income of fruits from trees and wood.

Has access to all of Skyrim, is massively fortified, is a massive source of food from land, and has a straight path to Windhelm and Dawnstar.

"So, if something happens and war is declared on Whiterun… Send me a letter at the College."

Slowly, Farengar breathes in and gulps, "What will you do?"

"Nothing much." I state with a shrug, "You'll just need to remove a city or two off the maps."

Gretel will live here once we leave, and I won't let anyone, not even a Daedric Prince, threaten that sweet little girl.

So if I need to erase Solitude and Windhelm off the face of this planet to keep her safe, then so be it.

Farengar shudders at my cold words, but I can't really give a damn about his opinion of me souring and whatnot.

So, instead, I give the man a way out, "You said you went to the College, right?"

Straightening himself, the Court Mage nods slowly, "To become a Court Mage, one needs to be an accomplished Mage, and the best way to become one in Skyrim is through the College of Winterhold."

"I went there for five years in my youth, then traveled a bit before settling down in Whiterun." His gaze grows distant and nostalgic below his hood.

I hum at his words, "What kind of place is it? The College, I mean."

"Very competitive." For some reason, Farengar chuckles to himself before he speaks up, "I was going to warn you about how some of the Mages there can play dirty and steal your things to make your studies harder… But knowing you, I can only feel pity for them."

"Ah, more victims." I chuckle to myself, "Perfect."

Torturing them should give Hildr some breathing room from the horrors of merely being in my presence.

Plus… J'zargo.

I'm going to fold that son of a bitch so fucking fast, I swear to Sheogorath.

Just remembering his damn mission with the scrolls makes me want to scream and kill someone.

Legendary difficulty, mods that add even more enemies, and I take his quest, then decide to go and test it out in a tomb.

Run into a room full of enemies beating the shit out of each other, and even more Draugr all around the place.

Activate the scroll while swarmed with Undead, and I had to watch my screen go fucking white while my speakers just fizzled out.

His scrolls make a Flame Cloak that explodes on contact with the Draugr, and I activated one while surrounded by so many of them.

I, obviously, died and was reduced to ash, unable to even see my corpse due to my screen going white before it moves to the loading screen.

J'zargo turned me into a fucking Anti-Undead Nuke and then went 'Oopsy daisy' when I told him about it, and at that point in time he fell in the same place as the fucking chicken of Riverwood.

He is my Nemesis.

Plus Ancano. That man is catching hands on sight.

Oh, I am going to have so much fun!

                                                                             xxxXXXxxx

"Leonidas is plotting something." Aurelia speaks out all of a sudden, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end, her eyes wide in alarm.

Hildr stares at her in utter horror as she does so.

"By Hircine, you've been around that insane bastard long enough to develop a sense for his bullshit…" Hildr mutters in pure horror, lone eye staring at Aurelia with pity, "...I shouldn't speak. I have the same feeling towards Gretel."

"Hey, I'm not that bad."

"...It revolts me that, for once, you are actually right."

"Huh…" The young girl lets out, eyes wide, "Must rectify that, then." Where did that knife come from?

As if expecting that, Hildr swiftly snatches the knife from Gretel's hands with a defeated sigh, "Why do you want to stab people so badly?"

"I just see people being happy and smiling and… I hate that." This child was so dangerous.

Like Leonidas.

Hildr stares down at her sister with a glare, then sighs through her nostrils and turns back to Aurelia, "I think it's best we go home before she commits a crime."

"Who said I haven't already committed one?"

For the sake of their sanity, both Aurelia and Hildr decide to ignore Gretel's words.

Though Aurelia does throw a suspicious glance towards the poster reporting a certain 'Nazeem' as missing.

"You have everything?" Aurelia asks Hildr, and the woman nods as she throws an enormous bag filled with clothing over her shoulder. "You sure you do not want a Magistone Staff? Or a weapon?"

With a light and warm smile, Hildr shakes her head, "A Magistone Staff doesn't really fit me, as it doesn't make my Familiar stronger. And right now I kind of lack offensive Spells. Falkreath wasn't really eager to sell Spells books." Right, Aurelia tends to forget how Skyrim people in general feel towards Magic.

Something about the College messing up one too many times and leading to disasters, or something among those lines.

"Hmm… I do not know where we can buy any tomes for… Destruction Path?" She probes, and Hildr nods.

Her Familiar was a mix of Destruction and Conjuration, but Aurelia isn't big on Magic Theory and the likes.

"You are Restoration, right?" Hildr asks back as they navigate through the market, Gretel far ahead of us, eyes seeking a new target to terrorize or possible maim brutally. Or both.

"Kinda." Aurelia nervously laughs, earning a confused look from Hildr, "The only reason I can use Restoration Magic is because of the Blessing Ritual Paladins go through when they join the Order. Without it, I would be very bad at Magic."

It was always something that she hated. Her mother was a powerful magician, and so was her father… Yet she had none of their talent.

The little she achieved was through constant hard work, and even then it was still very lacking.

Yet, now… After her Lord blessed her once more to fight Krosis, she could feel that her Holy Magic was so much purer and stronger than usual.

It even felt easier to wield. Ward Skin felt like such a difficult Spell not too long ago, yet right now she could already think of ways to perfectly activate it without problem or losses in efficiency.

She felt so… different. Less scared and stressed, and much more at ease.

It was like she could finally take a big breath of fresh air without having to worry about the looming threat on the horizon.

Only on the fact that she is going to be away from the first man she felt romantically attracted to.

And that terrified her even more than Alduin suddenly showing up before her.

Shaking away those thoughts, Aurelia focuses on something else, "How did you come across your Familiar?"

Hildr snorts at her question, "I set my neighbors house on fire, and then watched as a little flaming wolf came walking out. He's been my Familiar since."

So that's where Gretel takes her personality from...

"So he is a natural born Spirit?" Again, Aurelia doesn't know much about Magic stuff, but she does know that Spirits can be either Artificial or Natural.

The Artificial ones have limited intelligence, which makes her far weaker than natural born Spirits, who grow smarter with age.

And Hildr's Familiar did always strike Aurelia as very intelligent despite it's violent exterior. Though that is to be expected since its element is Fire.

With a hum, Aurelia glances towards Hildr. The tall woman, clad in form fitting clothes, had a very thin figure with visible curves.

While very beautiful, it also… worried Aurelia. Hildr looked a bit too thin.

"Can I ask a… personal question?" Aurelia starts, keeping her voice low even though Gretel is far ahead of them.

Hildr furrows her brow lightly, but nods nonetheless.

So Aurelia bites her lower lip, then breathes in to calm herself, "You haven't been eating much, have you?" Her question makes the lone green eye widen lightly.

Said eye than strays down as Hildr regards her own figure, a lone free hand running down her side, "We weren't really well off." She mutters lowly, "So I always let Gretel and Grandma eat their fill while I ate the bare minimum."

Plus, studies into Magic have high cost, perhaps impossibly high in a place like Falkreath.

A bit of pity flashes past Aurelia's eyes before she claps a hand down on Hildr's shoulder with a warm smile, "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. I say we deserve a big feast after the ruckus from yesterday!"

Hildr grumbles despite the smile on her face, "I hope you aren't doing this out of pity."

"I'm doing this to save you from Leonidas. If he finds out, he'll shove food down your throat… And I fear Gretel might join in."

Hildr shudders, "And I am going to the College with that beast… Next time we see each other, I might have white hair."

Aurelia should feel jealous that Leonidas will be alone with another woman… But all she felt was pity for Hildr.

"Just give him another target to torture?" Aurelia suggests with a nervous smile, and Hildr sniffs before shrugging.

It might help. A little.

Maybe.

It's not often that one has a nearby Krosis to sacrifice to Leonidas and enjoy the humiliation and suffering he unleashes upon that poor lamb.

"I meant to ask…" Hildr starts, drawing Aurelia's attention, "But do you know who Leonidas used to be before…" Before he died and came back as an Undead.

Aurelia shakes her head with a frown, "He doesn't remember his name, and just came up with one on the spot when we first met."

Hildr hums, "I doubt he was just a normal guy before… No one with that amount of knowledge about everything can be normal."

Aurelia had to agree on that. "I want to know more about his past, but… I don't think it's the right time. Not now, nor for a long time."

Hildr gives her a confused look while snatching a dagger from the hands of Gretel, who had just stolen it from a guard that walked past them a second ago.

"Due to how he is… Leonidas has not slept, or eaten, in nearly over a month." A lone eye widens in realization and horror at Aurelia's words. "So… Can I ask you to keep an eye on him, while you two are at the College?"

"He is always the same goofy idiot I know and love, so it's not hard to notice any changes in his personality if being constantly awake takes a toll on his mental state."

Hildr hums, lone eye narrowed in thought, then she nods slowly, "It's the least I can do. You two have helped me a lot, more than you can possibly imagine, and more than I can possibly repay."

Aurelia startles, "You don't have to repay us for anythin-!"

"I know, but I just-" Hildr cuts off Aurelia sharply, then breathes in and sighs deeply, "You two are nice and wonderful people, and I haven't seen Gretel so happy in a long time. Hell, even I haven't been so happy in a long time."

"So I want to repay you two, one way or the other."

Rough on the exterior, but sweet and warm on the inside. That is the impression Aurelia has of Hildr. An impression she very much likes.

With a warm smile on her face, Aurelia wraps an arm around Hildr's shoulders and brings her in a light hug, "You can always repay Leo by giving him a victim!"

"And I can repay you by giving you an Undead to erase from existence?"

"Oh my, you know me so well already!"

                                                                                            ….

A way to repay her benefactors.

It was a thought stuck in a loop within Hildr's head since after the battle against the Dragon Priest.

Leonidas and Aurelia were kind. Too kind, and with no ulterior motives. The two had clearly grown attached to her little sister, and Hildr… Hildr was starting to regard them as more than just acquaintances.

And she wanted to repay their kindness. Their help.

They protected her little sister from the murderers that she didn't even know had come for her, then made it so that Hildr could pursue her dream and go to the College, while leaving Gretel somewhere she was going to love.

And that's when a brazen idea hits her mind. A very brazen and possibly dangerous idea.

One that, despite her better judgment, she goes through with.

After the purchase of a live chicken, and then a swift retreat inside an empty guest room she'll clean up later, Hildr takes a deep breath before performing the ritual.

The neck is snapped, the belly is opened, and the organs are given as offering to her Lord Hircine. She knows very well that he loves chicken organs quite a lot.

"Lord Hircine…" She prays, eye closed, "Please grant me this humble request."

Silence is her answer.

Until she opens her eye, and finds herself within a long, seemingly endless valley. A bright sun above, bright clear grass below.

A lone deer stared back at her from a hill ahead of her. Her Lord's presence within this domain.

Taking a deep breath, Hildr follows after the deer, knowing that this was just her consciousness being pulled within another realm.

The deer stares at her as she approaches, then turns and walks down the hill together with Hildr, whose lone eyes snaps from the deer that is her Lord to the robed woman sitting at the edge of a small pond.

The robed woman with a staff in hand looked utterly unremarkable… Yet she also looked oh so perfect and beautiful at the same time.

Curly honey colored hair framed a freckled face, and eyes as black as the abyss slowly turn to regard her presence with a small amount of curiosity within them.

"So, you are the child that wishes to strike a deal with me?"

Hildr's mouth goes dry as those light words make her very being tremble.

Still, she allows herself to nod very, very slowly. Pure determination filling her flesh and blood.

"Yes, Lady Vaermina."

Because, one way or the other, she'll grant that dumbass of a Draugr the ability to sleep.

A.N. Dun Dun Duuuuun!

Now, can anyone guess what Vaermina might ask Hildr to do?
A little hint- In lore, Vaermina is said to have strong connections to a certain Spirit.

So yeah, last chill chapter, and the next one will have the travel towards their respective destinations. And the chaos Leo unleashes on the way, of course.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter, folks!

Toodles!