Light through Darkness, Book 2, are we truly safe now? Options

[Thomas Kaira]

Welcome one and welcome all to the continuation of Light through Darkness!

For those of you only now joining us, here is the link to our previous thread:

Light through Darkness, Book 1

Enjoy your stay! All comments and criticisms are welcome.

@haute ecole rider: Magical lore is one of the many things I wanted to tackle in this tale. It is a way of getting my brain in gear, thinking about how I can make a gameplay change actually fit into the lore of the story, so I quite enjoy doing that. As for Dere, don't worry, he's landing in a cave, so he should be alright.

@Lady Syl: Thank you much for your approval of the Recommendation system. That brawl also served a very specific purpose: it let the reader know the Oblivion Main Quest would be taking place in this story, but not through the eyes of my protagonist. That is why I elected to have Julian make a cameo there, it would help to reaffirm that point.

@SubRosa: Interesting letters, I can definitely make something out of those. Ideas have already come to me, but I wouldn't tell even if you tied me to a chair and whipped me. I'm actually playing more on the game's version of Irlav, it makes sense to me that he would be a huge slowpoke who doesn't really have any passion but for making students' lives miserable.
Nit be picked.

@mALX: No, I guess Maxical's contempt for clothing might not be so bad anymore. I'm sure she would adore these Stepstones as they are right now.

@Acadian: Well still, Mer can get impatient, too. You of all people would understand this.
Nits be picked.

@all: A new thread brings new beginnings. But what will these new beginnings mean for our characters, or for Derelas? Only time will tell.

next: Welcome to Anvil, city of the sea.

Light through Darkness, Book Two

Chapter 8-1: Double Trouble

After sloshing my way out of the giant pool of black water illuminated only by the playful flames of my torch, I was feeling quite grateful I wasn’t wearing any shoes. Nevertheless, it was a highly unpleasant feeling for my legs to become so wet so suddenly, and not just because the water was so cold. As I pulled my shoes back on over my flax socks, it started to occur to me that this probably was not the worst I could expect from these Stepstones. The frayed and cracked surface of the stone that received me made me rather certain that it was not supposed to be here. What sort of cataclysm might have transformed what was once a verdant hillside into a musty cave full of tidewater was not something that thrilled me to ponder, but that was hardly the point. If I were to be using these things, there was no telling where I would end up. The only silver lining I had was that they were scattered all over the place; you could find them in farmer’s fields, up on top of the Colovian Highlands, and, as I learned today, perhaps even at the bottom of the sea. Just to use one would be to gamble my life away, assuming they still worked, of course.

Once I finished pulling my shirt back on, I made my way to the small door where the water was only just flowing through the tiny gap between the damp wood and the glistening ground. The water was actually noticeably lower than when I arrived as well. Looks like the the tide was going out -- Anvil was a coastal city, after all, so it would make sense. I placed my palms onto the moistened boards and pushed.

The door did not respond. Two more pushes and some pounding later, and still nothing had changed. Trapped, perfect.

The floor ran completely dry as I contemplated what to do now. I couldn’t burn the wood, as it was far too wet. My only chance would be to break the door down, but I didn’t have anything quite heavy enough in my pack. And all that was in here in this cave were a few moldy old barrels and crates, hardly what I’d call destructive weaponry.

I then noticed the door had a handle. Gnashing my teeth at my oversight, I promised myself that no one would ever know of this as I pulled the door wide.

The time I spent awash in my ignorance (literally) coupled with the sheer distance traveled meant that the sky was now turning orange in the rays of the setting sun. Never before had I witnessed such a brilliantly vivid complexion upon the sky. The majesty was mirrored upon the lazily sloshing waves of the ocean, and the air was filled with the squawking calls of seagulls. To my left stood a great limestone cliff face, roughly hewn and treacherous with water roaring into rapids and out of blowholes along the base. To my right, I could just make out the tops of huge redwood trees along a similarly rocky coastline, and the slowly panning beam of the nearby lighthouse finished the scene. It was one I was quite sure numerous painters had taken upon themselves to recreate on canvas; never before had I had such a spectacular view.

The great spires of Castle Anvil loomed behind me, their cast shadows reaching clear to the other side of the nearby lagoon separating the two shorelines. They were so tall I could barely see the top of them from where I stood, as I would probably crick my neck if I tried to look any higher. As I made my way along golden-grassed and rocky shoreline of what I came to realize was a small island, the walls of Anvil came into view. The walls themselves were nothing special; it was the watchtowers that set them apart. Each tower was topped with a great conical roof, all with tiling to match the sky. The sun-kissed stucco walls beneath the roofing gave them a whitewashed sheen of which the Ayleids would be proud could they have seen them.

The great dual steeples of the Anvil chapel rose above the great brown stone of the walls with such elegance and grace they looked to be dancing with the clouds. Every last inch of the cathedral I could see that was not covered in vibrant stained glass or brilliantly orange roofing was covered in miniature statues, likely of the Nine Divines, as I could not see any faces from my distance. The chapel was easily four times the size of Bravil’s Chapel of Mara, with over twice the number of windows and buttresses, and more steeples and spires than a man could shake a stick at. Instead of one rose window, there were three, and every pointed archway, every toll of the deep, vocal bells spoke of flamboyance and grandeur – of the city that surrounded it.

Screenshot

As I made my way across the bridge leading from the castle to the city proper, I glimpsed a strange sight in the distance. The top of a high mountain peak had been blackened, and I could just barely make out a set of crumbling stone walls, as they were practically camouflaged by the ground and trees – Kvatch. They were still smoking. The sight was a blistering reminder of the reality surrounding the glowing, beautiful façade of Tamriel: danger is everywhere, and can strike at any time. Kvatch was unprepared, and they paid the price for it, but I couldn’t ever feel that they deserved what had happened to them.

Passing through the city gates, I was immediately brought to the courtyard surrounding the grand cathedral. Every inch of land that was not paved was covered in a lovingly kept bed of velvety golden grass, and unlike in Bravil, none of the tombstones in the graves had been allowed to crumble. Across the street, just north of the numerous fountains and gardens in Chapel Parkway (if the signs were to be believed), I saw yet another peculiar sight spoiling what was otherwise an untold majesty. It was a celebration of architecture and nature coming together as one in the autumn breeze here in this courtyard, but just this one sight removed all pretenses this city had to splendor. A manor house stood nearby, squalid, unkempt, and crumbling in the salty air. Every last one of the numerous vines snaking their way up the fragile walls was dead, and the roofing had fallen off in numerous places.

“Quite an eyesore isn’t it?” A voice came from behind, making me jump.

A guard clad in embroidered orange leather had come up behind me as I stared transfixed at the rapidly splitting personality of the city of Anvil. For I could just make out the High Street from behind the cathedral now, and I saw that for every majestic manor and shop, there stood another crumbling slum. It was like the city was at war with itself, fighting for whether its beauty or its sheer despicable squalor would dominate its walls; as if it refused to admit to itself that the splendor I saw from afar was little more than a farce.

“Owner’s been trying to sell that dump for a month now,” the guard continued, casting a contemptuous look back at the dilapidated house. “I have to say, I’ll be quite surprised if he can even give that place away, it’s such a blight.”

“I’ll say,” I responded, eyeing an upturned rubbish bin nearby.

“You new in town?” The guard then asked.

“Very,” I replied, “and I’ll need a little help figuring out where everything is.”

“Well, we patrolmen have got to do something,” the guard responded with pomp. “What are you looking for?”

“The nearest inn,” I replied, “and the Mages and Fighters Guilds.”

“The Count’s Arms is the best inn in the city,” the guard replied, indicating a large, well kept building a ways up Abecea Walk. “Ask for Wilbur, he’s the publican.”

“And the guilds?” I asked.

“Yokuda Loop, just across from Sea Queen statue,” the guard replied. “They’re both right beside each other, so you can’t miss them.”

“Thanks for the help,” I finished, waving a quick farewell to the guard.




----




A man in a black cloak arrived at the small wooden door, and it opened the instant he knocked.

“Ahh, Lucien,” the Dunmer greeted the shifty man warmly, allowing him to step inside. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“As I noticed,” the man returned. His voice carried a hint of malice and mystery that he was incapable of fully hiding. “So, for what have you summoned me, Tadrose? The journey was long and I am quite tired so do please try to remain brief.”

“You know why you are here.” Tadrose replied, offering a goblet of deep violet wine to the man named Lucien, which he accepted after a mild bout of consideration. “Your Brotherhood has been giving us quite a hard time as of late.”

“We are assassins, it is our business to interfere with your noble callings,” Lucien retorted smoothly. “I expect your plans have held up, all the same?”

“Yes, our mutual friend is safe in Anvil now,” Tadrose replied. “And I am going to need your help to keep it that way.”

“You would ask me to commit treason against my order?” Lucien questioned, cautiously but unfazed as a faint smile came to his lips.

“If it is not too much trouble for you,” Tadrose briskly responded, raising her own goblet of wine to her lips. “There is a man of some stature under your command, one Vicente Valtieri, I was wondering why he called for the death of our friend.”

“He fears what he might become,” Lucien replied. “He would rather see our friend dead than allow him to be given an audience with the Vampire Lord. He knows of what the Lord carries, and he knows that our friend is the only one capable of taking it from him. Naturally, he hastened to preserve his own life.”

“And you allowed this?” Tadrose interrogated.

“To refuse him would have compromised my comfortable position as Speaker for Cheydinhal,” Lucien replied smoothly, “I deemed it prudent.”

“Then I hope you have given some thought as to how you might reverse this problem you’ve caused for us?” Tadrose responded, her eyebrows narrowing. “I do not think our masters would particularly enjoy being told by you that one of your assassins managed to pierce our friend’s heart in the night.”

“And given their prodigious skill, I am quite surprised that he still yet lives.” Lucien added.

“Really?” Tadrose inquired, a dangerous note in her voice.

“There may have been some tipping of the scales in Vergayun,” Lucien responded, still unfazed. “That much I will tell.”

“But can you, or can you not make this contract vanish?” Tadrose pressed. This time, Lucien did smile.

“There is a certain exploit I might be able to take advantage of,” he replied, draining his goblet.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Apr 13 2011, 02:49 PM

[Thomas Kaira]

@Grits: We will have to wait on those Sylvans, this chapter simply laid the seed of a possible future endeavor. Right now, we need to investigate some Ayleid arcana, and figure out how it works, if we can.

@SubRosa: As I said before, not really necromancers.
Nits be picked.

@Acadian: Glad you enjoyed the battle. That's why I work to keep them widely spaced, as you know. Things would get pretty dull if there was too much death and destruction going on.
Nit be picked.

@all: Now that I am back in business here, it is time to move things forward. We have business to attend to in here, after all.

next: We try to figure out how to work some Stepstones. Will we be successful?

Chapter 8-4: Blue Clues

“Well, no reason for me to stay any longer,” Sylvia commented once I had pulled on the spare shirt and slacks I kept in my pack. “These louts can’t annoy my camp anymore, so I’ll need to find something else to do with my time. I don’t think there are any more in here, so feel free to look around if you want.”

“These guys weren’t really necromancers, then?” I asked. They certainly looked, and smelled, the part.

“Just because you can cast flashy spells and smell like a tomb doesn’t make you a necromancer,” Sylvia replied. “This bunch mostly passed the time breaking into village churchyards and digging up graves. They’ve never actually managed to imbibe a dead body with unlife. Worst they would’ve done is kill you.”

“Small comfort,” I responded with a mild scoff. “Dead or undead, I’m still not breathing anymore.”

“So be glad I was here to break you out then,” came Sylvia’s reply. She was making her way through the ornate metal gates out of the chamber when she turned back, a quizzical expression on her face. “You know, I still can’t believe they caught you. What happened?” she asked.

“The Altmer snuck up on me,” I replied, surveying the room by light she could not see. “Let’s just say I took my safety for granted.”

“Fair enough,” Sylvia responded. “Just do me a favor and keep your guard up inside these ruins from here on. I might not be able to rescue you a second time.”

And with that, she dashed off, leaving me alone in the chamber to survey the damage. Considering how Sylvia spoke of this bunch, I had to assume they were not very skilled. None of them had even thought to call forth an undead minion. I suspected the Altmer was the only person in here who actually knew what he was doing. But I was getting off key; I came in here because I needed to look into how these Stepstones Kud-Ei told me about worked. Trouble was, I still needed to find one that was intact.

Perusing the book Kud-Ei gave me last night before I went to bed, I had learned that the Stepstone grid had fallen into considerable disrepair over the several eras of neglect they saw when their creators had died out. Very few were still in serviceable order, as many had cracked and frayed surfaces. This apparently compromised the magical energies that allowed them to transport people, and this would cause various unpredictable results. As far as the writers could tell, that was, as still no one knew how they worked. The two inside the small cave I arrived in fit that description, both of them looked ready to fall apart, and it seemed to me to be a wonder they had even received me in the first place. If I were to get good results, I would be looking for a Step that still looked to be in serviceable order. And, of course, that was why I got stuck in here with a bunch of grave robbers.

Then there was the problem of actually finding out how they worked. On that, the book contained no information, other than a reference to the expedition in a ruin called Vahtacen by Irlav Jarol, and that they had made very little progress over the three months it has now taken place. When it came to actually working the Steps, I was on my own.

The light from my blade dimmed for a moment as I reflected on what I had read, and in the brief moment of darkness, I noticed that this chamber was not only lit by the orange braziers arranged on the ground. Aqua blue lights glinted down from the high alcoves nearby, and my eyes were drawn upward to one of the most amazing sights I had ever laid eyes upon.

“This is called a Welkynd Stone,” father explained to me, holding out a large blue stone with sloped sides and a square shape. The surface was carved with ornate vine-like patterns, and into the top was etched the symbol of an eagle carrying a Mer away in its talons. The entire stone glowed with the same blue light that made up its complexion. “This is one of the rarest and most valuable artifacts in all of Tamriel.”

“Really, why?” I asked, eager to know if there was something magical involved.

“Because of the magic imbibed into these stones,” my father explained to my youthful face. “It is said that they are crafted not of materials you can find on our world, but of Meteoric Glass, or as the Ayleids called it, the Tears of Oblivion. This material, they found, was exceptionally good at storing Magicka, and that when filled, it would glow like shoreside sky, as this one is.”

“Wow,” I breathed, “where did you find this?”

“You can only find them inside the ruins of the Ayleid cities, now,” my dad explained. “They were often used to light the royal chambers of the ancient kings, as the Ayleids considered them a symbol of their dominance over lesser creatures, but you can occasionally find them in the ruins of the homes of the wealthy, too.”

“And can you use the magic inside them?”

“It is possible to coax the Magicka stored within to pass from the stone into your own body, but I would not recommend doing that unless you had to,” Dad explained.

“Why not?”

“Meteoric Glass likes to take in Magicka quite a lot, but by the same token, it abhors letting it go. Once you ask it to give up its Magicka, the stone will not survive the process. However, despite that, there are some who believe that in lieu of their Star Wells, the Ayleids used these stones to power their magical creations.”

“Really?” I asked, “like what?”

“No one really knows right now,” Dad explained, “but the Guild wants me to find a few more so they can study what else they might have been used for. The Mages Guild is funding the expedition out of their pockets, this time, so I’m afraid I can’t stay long. I expect this journey will take some time, so do take care of your mother while I’m gone.”

In the high alcoves of the chamber, no fewer than four stones were suspended on small metal plinths. The tops were of the same ornately carved blue-green stone my father had brought home that one day of my early teenage years, and the bottom was wrapped in an intricate pattern of Onyx. If anything could be used to put some life into the Stepstones, I thought, it would be these. There was but one problem: they were much too high for me to reach, and so I would have to knock them down.

My bow had not seen much use since the Ancient Yews, and it was badly nicked in places where it had been used to shield my face from low hanging branches. I would need to get a new one soon, but it still looked to be okay for use to knock the stones down for me to grab them. I would need to be careful on the draw, though, least the staff snap, and then I would have to resort to throwing things. It didn’t fluster me too much that my bow was dying, as it was the first bow I ever made and it was a bit rough around the edges, but it didn’t make me particularly happy to know that its life was nearly over. I removed my bow from my back, carefully added a string so as not to bend it too much, readied an arrow, and slowly brought it back to a half-draw that didn’t tense the staff.

The force of the arrow when it was let fly was just enough to make the stone overbalance and topple to the ground with several sharp clinks, and there was not a ding on the stone when I picked it up. Grinning to myself, I quickly retrieved my arrow and placed the stone into my pack. I repeated the process three more times for each stone in the room, and I soon had all four stones packed away. I now had a possible source of power for the Stepstones, so now I simply needed to find some.

It did not take long for that to happen, either. A quick examination of the central chamber under the warm illumination coaxed from my blade brought forth the presence of four of the small, round plinths, just large enough for a Nord to comfortably stand on. Closer inspection was not quite as I would have hoped, only one of them looked to be any good. The rest had cracks running the entire width of the stone in multiple places. Still, it was a start, so now came figuring out how to work it.

When I moved to take a Welkynd Stone from my pack and sheathed my sword, I was met with an amazing sight. The glow surrounding the stones had become so bright it was filling the entire room with sea-blue light, no small feat given the size of the chamber. It was like they had sensed the presence of the Stepstones nearby, and they were now eager to absorb more power from the ancient constructs. Taking one of the brilliantly glowing stones in my hands, I slowly stepped up onto the stone and allowed the Welkynd’s crystal surface to touch it.




----




I stepped out into the evening light rife with disappointment and dejection. Despite everything that occurred to me, including casting spells on both of the stones and, when my temper had flared, kicking them, nothing had worked. I remained resolutely fixed in the same hallway for several hours as my every experiment failed. Only minutes ago, I gave it up as a bad job and left to return to Anvil. I would stay in the Mages Guild hall tonight, so that I might probe the minds of those more learned in the secrets of the Ayleids tomorrow.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: May 11 2011, 01:04 AM