Old Habits Die Hard Part Six, some old habits never die Options

[haute ecole rider]

Hello all, and welcome to the final thread of Old Habits Die Hard. Those of you who are familiar with the Main Quest know that we are fast approaching the end game. Only three more artifacts to obtain, then we can recover the Amulet of Kings and light those Dragonfires and see Martin to the Dragon Throne at last. Right?

For those who are coming late to the party, here are the links to the other five threads:

Chapters 1 − 7: From the Prison to finding the Path of Dawn.
Chapters 8 − 13: From Dagon’s Shrine to Bravil.
Chapters 14 − 18: From Sheogorath’s Shrine to the start of the Grand Tour of Cyrodiil.
Chapters 19 − 22: From Leyawiin to Skingrad.
Chapters 23 − 25: From returning home to Anvil to the final Mages Guild recommendation.

Here in this last thread we will see the Main Quest through to its tragic conclusion. Some questions will be answered, including who is the man Julian loves? Other questions will be raised, including what’s next for Julian? Those of you who have suspected a second story in the making, you are correct.

After a year and a half of writing this story, I am happy to bring this to a close, yet I am sad to bid it adieu. Hopefully I won’t let any and all of you down as we wrap up.

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Jun 26 2011, 01:10 AM

[haute ecole rider]

@Olen: Glad you liked the ending of the fight, even more glad you liked the conversation afterwards. Yes, I'm keeping that mystery on the boil. I never considered Alain much of a mage, but I figured being undead gave him a little bit of an edge.

@Grits: "Valdemar too?" actually has two purposes – it highlights the relationship between the two men – typical of the buddy system – but also (you're right) refers to Valdemar's curse. For those readers who are puzzled about curse that is unique to Valdemar, please read Interregnum. You won't regret it!


@SubRosa: "Take a cut to break a bone." That actually came from a K-drama I watched last summer. I loved the implications of it so much, and it totally fits in with Julian's character, I've been waiting a long time to use it! So it makes me happy that you called it out. If you feel exhausted after finishing that last post, then I've done my job. Yes, Julian will continue to protest that she has much in the way of magicka. But things get bigger better with use, and hers will too.

@Acadian: That confrontation was a pretty violent one in game, and Alain's bones was the only one to knock Julian out. So I'm glad that you felt the punishment Alain dealt out, and the ripostes Julian served up in return. Alain was the perfect vehicle to call further attention to Julian's mother's bracelet and remind us all of the mystery surrounding her family.

After fighting and freeing the four Greatest Blades ever, Julian finally reaches the goal of the whole adventure. This is also the last segment of Chapter 26. Many, many thanks to Destri for the inspiration of Interregnum and D.Foxy for sharing his combat expertise.

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Chapter 26.10: In the Tomb
After fighting my way out of the Catacombs and wading through ice-cold water to return to the mezzanine, I finally returned to the crypt where the Reman emperors rested in their final sleep. As Alain had promised, the four phantom Blades waited, on their right knees in the traditional Dragonguard homage, their right hands resting on the hilts of their drawn weapons propped before them. Ahead, the magical barrier that blocked further progress into the crypt shimmered, then began waxing and waning in brightness.

When it waxed brighter, the temperature in the chilly crypt dropped further, but when it waned dimmer, I could feel the hint of warmth that indicated I was still alive. The four Blades showed no sign of strain, but kept their heads bowed. I could feel power surging around the stone walls and swirling above the sarcophagi as the psychic tug-o-war continued.

With a silent clap more felt than heard, the mystical barrier winked out of existence, and for the first time the way to the far end of the crypt was clear. I could see a tall tunnel of rough-hewn rock between the smoother stones of the nearer crypt and the Shrine at the far end.

After a few moments more, Rielus rose first, sheathing his katana. He stepped past Valdemar on my right and stopped before me. His form shimmered, seeming more insubstantial than before.

"Julian of Anvil," his wispy voice somehow echoed around the chamber. "You have freed us from slavery. But you did not come here for us. No, you came on behalf of another, the last descendant of Tiber Septim. We who are sworn to the Dragonblood shall serve him beyond death."

"That is right," Casnar said from behind me, his spectral dai-katana at his back mirroring the real one I carried at mine. His voice sounded even more feathery. "We are now bound only by the Blades oath we swore. Why did you come here? What do you seek?"

I looked from phantasmal face to phantasmal face, meeting the ghostly gaze of each in turn. "I come for the Blood of Tiber Septim," I said finally. "The Dragonfires are dark, the Amulet of Kings is lost, and the blood of a Divine is needed to restore the balance of Nirn and reestablish the boundaries of Oblivion."

Alain's faint visage clouded. "It sounds grave. And you seek the Blood of Tiber Septim? He is one of the Gods now." His face shifted around the circle of Blades before returning to me. "You have wrought an end to the evil that has desecrated the Shrine of Tiber Septim. After - how long did you say? - after four hundred years, only the Divine Talos himself could have given you the strength and courage to brave the evils that have infested Sancre Tor for so long."

"I don't know for certain," I shook my head. "The keep had been sealed after you were lost, and the current Grandmaster gave me the only key -"

"But it still took much courage and willpower to confront the undead of this place, and to do what was necessary to free us," Valdemar's tone took on the thinness of the atmosphere in the High Jeralls. "Go, pay homage at the Shrine, and take the armor that holds the Blood you seek."

The circle of Blades separated into two pairs, Rielus and Casnar on my right, Alain and Valdemar on my left, leaving the way to the Shrine ahead clear. I hesitated doubtfully. "I don't want to do anything wrong here," my voice matched theirs in its wispiness. "Would taking the armor desecrate the Shrine once more?"

"If what you say is true," Rielus whispered. "These are desperate times. The Shrine of Tiber Septim becomes meaningless if Oblivion is not held back, if the Dragonfires are not lit, if the Amulet of Kings is not recovered. All of these things must be done, and none can be done without taking the armor." He jerked his head toward the far end of the crypt. "So go."

I walked slowly toward the rough-hewn tunnel. As my feet left the smooth stone floor, I hesitated and glanced back. The four spectral Blades remained near the entrance, their shimmering forms much harder to see than when they first appeared above their shattered bones. One of them, Casnar, gestured sharply for me to continue.

Feeling the fatigue and depleted magicka in my bones, and the weight of the Blades' gear I carried, I moved forward to the far end. The rock tunnel let me into a high-ceilinged chamber with carvings of skulls, bony hands and dragons on the walls. Before me stood a round altar on a raised dais, flanked by giant statues of cloaked and hooded battlemages holding immense stone swords before them. A sarcophagus with a stone plaque rested between the two guardians. Reman III. Something glimmered in the spectral light on top of the altar.

I walked up the steps and stopped before the structure. An ornate plated cuirass, enameled in blues, greens, and rich browns with gilded curlicues, rested on the golden marble surface. I could see dark brown stains splashed across its right side. I slid the Blades shield up onto my forearm. Careful to avoid the ancient blood, I reached hesitant hands out and picked the cuirass up by its shoulders. It was surprisingly light, but I knew it was strong for its weight.

Tiber Septim must have been as big as Captain Burd, at least! The plate cuirass was wider through the shoulders than I was. Before I turned away from the altar, something made me look up at the two stone battlemages. Thank you Talos, for seeing me this far. May you and Akatosh continue to give me the courage I need to finish this. May the both of you watch over Martin, and through him, all of us. Please help us recover the Amulet of Kings and close shut the jaws of Oblivion.

I didn't hear anything in response to my prayer, but somehow the moment felt right to carry the cuirass away from the altar. Slipping my right arm through the armholes, I made my way back to the antechamber of the crypt.

The spectral Blades were still waiting for me when I returned. I looked at each in turn. Then Rielus stepped forward. "Thank you for all you've done, hero," he said. "Our duty is complete, we have accomplished what we were sent to do. You hold the thing you seek. We go now to Aetherius." With a bow, his phantasmal form shivered into nothingness. Suddenly the space he had once occupied felt empty.

Tears stung the backs of my eyes at his disappearance. Before I could think of something to say, Casnar drew my attention to him with a Blades salute. "Farewell, Duneborn," he said to me. "Keep your hand steady and your blade true. You are truly our Blade sister." Then he too, shimmered away.

"It is getting harder and harder to remain on Mundus," Alain's fading voice matched his fading appearance. "But I am glad, for it means our long suffering is at an end. Blade sister, as long as you do not forget us, we shall never forsake you." He disappeared before the last of his voice echoed into the darkness.

Valdemar stood with his eyes lifted beyond the stone walls of the crypt. A smile bloomed across his insubstantial visage. "Ah, I see the halls of Sovngarde!" His voice was lighter than the lightest of snowflakes. "All the old heroes are waiting for me."

I finally found my voice. "Have a drink of that mead for me, Valdemar. And may all eternity be free of any curses on your soul."

Valdemar's only response was to meet my gaze with a grin before he dissolved into the dimness. I let the tears flow as I felt the emptiness of the crypt surround me in its cold embrace. Slowly I gave in to my fatigue and sat down on the stone steps.

The force of my feelings left me puzzled. Why do I feel so strongly for these four? Is it because they were cursed for so long, enslaved under an evil influence for over four hundred years? I looked down at the cuirass on my right arm. All that suffering, all that pain, for this? Certainly it's a beautiful piece of armor, but it's just armor. Why make a shrine out of it? Why risk eternal damnation for it?

Julian, you know the armor itself is worthless. But it's what it stands for that counts. This armor holds the blood of a Divine, and that is what you came here for. It's like what Rielus said, the shrine loses all meaning if Dagon succeeds in overcoming Tamriel. And that is something Talos Stormcrown the man would not have stood still for. He would have fought it with everything he had. In that sense, Martin is truly a Septim, he holds the indomitable spirit of General Talos.

Finally I made my way out of the fort, making time to collect the two ancient katanas left by Valdemar and Rielus's undead bones. As I stepped through the door into the courtyard, I blinked at the bright sunlight. Snow had stopped falling, and the shadows told me it was mid-morning. I've been in there a whole day, and I feel like it, too! I stumbled across the keep to the campsite tucked beneath the stairs. Blanco was nowhere to be seen. Is he out grazing? Did he tangle with a bear by himself? Or did he give up waiting and start heading back to civilization?

After I unloaded all the gear next to the saddlebags, being especially careful with Talos's armor, I moved to the entrance and looked out over the ruins. The central keep stood on a slight rise in the middle of the destroyed town, and the half-defined street ran down the slight slope away from the sun. I saw no sign of either a white horse, or the dark brown blanket I had left on him.

I breathed on my numb fingers to warm them, then blew a sharp blast through them. I listened to the silent morning, then exhaled slowly when I heard hoof beats in the distance. At the end of the ruined avenue, a brown-blanketed white form appeared, powdery snow flying around galloping hooves. Blanco cantered up the broad path, his ears pricked forward and his eyes bright. Bits of yellow dried grass bristled out of each side of his mouth. I stepped back into the keep as he slithered to a trot, then a walk by the time he passed through the arch. He stopped beside me, snorting and blowing and examining me all over with his nose. He paused with his breath at the base of my neck, where Rielus's amulet rested against my bare skin beneath my tunic.

Can he detect magic? I wondered. I recalled how he had identified my mother's bracelet back in Anvil. Maybe there is something about those Witchmen stories. Still I was glad to see him, and his obvious joy and relief at seeing me again brought a smile to my weary face. He began chewing again, gathering in the last of the grass with his lips and tongue as I checked beneath the blanket to make certain he hadn't become chilled. Instead, the underside of the heavy wool was so toasty that I stood there for a few moments, reveling in finally feeling my fingertips.

I moved back to the campsite, Blanco following me closely. As I brought the fire back to life, he nosed among the gear I had brought out. I moved to chase him away, but noticed how careful he was not to touch any of them, especially Tiber Septim's elaborate cuirass. Then he turned toward me and sighed deeply. I laughed, my voice weak and dry.

"I'm going to eat, drink, and sleep. Tomorrow's soon enough to get back on the road, friend," I murmured to him. Blanco tossed his head as if agreeing. I must look terrible to him. That's why he isn't pawing to go.

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Aug 4 2011, 10:57 PM