Oasis chapter 4, The sign of prophecy. Options

[jack cloudy]

chapter1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Alright, I couldn't stop writing so you'll get the start of the fourth chapter early.



Chapter 4: The sign of prophecy.

My first action was to gulp down all the potions I had, but even they could not remove the power of the curse. Already I could feel it draining my mind and my will. I could slow the curse with my own magicka, but I could not stop it.

I realized that I was doomed and sank to the floor. It would be best for the island if I destroyed the entrance to the cave and made it my tomb. Yet, there were still a few things I had to do. To clear my mind, I looted the chamber and was rewarded with two gauntlets of a strong material. I put them on and then sat down with a few bits of paper and began to write.

,,You’re back? Good, I was worried.” Caius said when I stumbled into his home. He then noticed that something was wrong.
,,What happened?”

,,I killed Dagoth Gares. He gave me the Corprus. I am a death man, Caius. Take these papers. It will tell you everything you need to know. Ajira will receive the Warlock’s ring and the staff of Magnus. Felisa Ulessen of the Telvanni will get my stronghold. You will get the money and my weapons. If you excuse me, I’ll leave now and go kill myself somewhere quiet.” His response to those words surprised me.

,,Fool! Do you really want to give up that fast?! I will not let you do this! As your commanding officer in the Blades, I order you to go out and get yourself cured.” He grabbed the paper out of my hands and ripped it into little pieces.
,,It is no use to give me a last will if you are not death. As a matter of fact, I have been doing some research while you destroyed that base. A Dunmer named Divayth Fyr is apparently the leading expert on the Corprus disease. Find him and see if he has a cure. But first, you need to rest.”

My objections that his bed might become infected with the disease were met with a smile. Caius wasn’t expecting to use his bed any more. I cast whatever spells I knew to slow the curse and went to sleep. I was once again assaulted by nightmares of the man with the Golden mask. This time, I knew it was Dagoth Ur. He was alive, and not happy with my existence.

,,Luper! Wake up! We’ve got guests of the bad kind!” Caius shouted which caused me to awaken. Through my blurred vision, I could barely make at that there were two people in the room, trying to kill each other.

I tried to get up, but the Corprus seemed to have taken hold of me which made moving very difficult. I pulled my ring of my finger.
,,Caius, catch!” The blurred figure who was coloured the lightest turned towards me for a bit. I threw the ring before dropping back into a slumber.

,,Luper, are you awake?”
Caius towered over me with a worried look. Clearly, sleeping when infected with the Corprus was a bad idea.
,,I’m fine. What happened?”

,,It looks like the Sixth House is getting worried about you. One of their minions paid us a little visit.” Caius handed over my ring.
,,Interesting weapon you’ve got there. It saved our lives. I’ll give it back to you, you’ll need it when you seek out Divayth Fyr. Unfortunately, I don’t know where he lives.” Caius said. He also gave me the last of his money and a Dwemer artefact. He called it a little investment.

Caius didn’t knew where to find Fyr, but I did. We were neighbours, sort of. I’d never spoken to him, but I knew where to find his mushroom. One recall later, and I arrived home from where I could begin my journey.

Travelling was the easiest bit, keeping my sanity wasn’t. By the time I made it, I could feel my mind beginning to slip away. Fortunately, I didn’t need to say a word. One of Fyr’s “daughters” took me straight to him where he revealed his plan to me.

He would give me a potion that theoretically should cure the disease, except for that small detail that it killed everyone who tried. In return, I would take a walk in his Corprusarium and pick up a bunch of boots from Yagrum Bagarn. I was not allowed to hurt any of the other victims, even if they tried to kill me. Brilliant as usual. Any other ways to get myself killed?

I had barely made a single step inside before the first corprus victim moved towards me. My first idea was to simply forget about it and just hack my way through, but I needed the potion. Seeing no other way out, I started running.

I ran and ran, picking my direction at random. At one moment I came across something best described as a humanoid body slapped on top of a Spider Centurion standing next to a pair of Dwemer boots. I grabbed the boots and kept running till I found the exit. The warden slammed the door shut behind me, and a dozen Corprus victims slammed into it.

Before me stood Fyr, clapping his hands and smiling as if he had just seen the most amusing thing ever.
,,Splendid, just splendid! It is a shame that you didn’t tried to raid the chests on the way. I love to tempt a thief. Anyway, a promise is a promise. I’ll take the boots and give you the potion which you should drink immediately.” He said.

I could only nod and the last remains of my mind were now slipping away. It took the help of the warden to restrain me as the Corprus took control of me. I never remembered what happened in those few seconds. Fyr must have given me the potion.

It was all over in a few seconds. When I realized that I was alive, I realized something else at the same time. Not only was I alive, but I was completely back to the way I was before being infected. The only sign that reminded me of ever having been infected where my muscles that had grown while I was cursed. Fyr took me over to his office where he explained things to me. I was not freed of the Corprus. Merely all the bad effects had been removed. The good effects, which included immunity to disease and a stop to the aging process of my body were still there.

Aging process? According to Fyr, I would live far longer than any Redguard and even far longer than an Elf if I didn’t met my end on the blade of a weapon. He suggested that I took things slowly, for I now had plenty of time. I merely smiled and didn’t told him what I really thought of that. I’d seen Therana, who had gone crazy through her age. No, if I was immortal I would have to be impatient in order to preserve my sanity.

I took up the offer to spend the night in the guest room. When everyone was asleep, I got up again. So Fyr liked to tempt thieves to rob his Corprusarium? Well I felt more for robbing his house.

I came up with the fur of some creature made into a cuirass. hanging in a closet. It looked expensive and all, so I took it. My second prize was a bit harder to obtain. It all started when I took up a key and used it to open a small chest from which I took an amulet. Out of fun, I put the amulet around my neck.

Before I knew what had happened, I was standing inside a Daedric shrine.
,,So, mortal! You have come to challenge me, Dregas Volar?! I shall bathe my Crescent in your blood!” A voice boomed through the shrine. A Dremora leapt out of the shadows, holding a sword with two blades shaped in half a circle.

I ducked around the first blade and parried the second with my summoned sword. Daedric against Daedric, if I was still using my Glass Longsword, it would have snapped like a twig.
For a few minutes, our swords clashed. I was grateful for the excellent protection of the Lord’s Mail, as well as my new Flamelance spell that focussed what would have been a large fireball into an area the size of a coin to cut through its target. Finally, I gained the upper hand and defeated the Dremora. I just managed to grab hold of its sword before the amulet transported me back to Tel Fyr.

After that, I decided that it would be safest not to find out what would be protecting his other treasures and performed a Divine Intervention back to Sadrith Mora from which I travelled to Caius.

[jack cloudy]

Umm yeah, what comes next is just something that came to me in a freaky thought. Please don't take it too seriously. SPOILER(especially the Akatosh part)SPOILER



I told the Wise Woman of the lost prophecies and the meaning that the Dissident priests had given to them. She told me to go and hunt till the moons had come and gone. Since I had nothing better to do, I practiced my skill with Chrysamere. During the months that I had spent away from the troubles of Dagoth Ur and the Nerevarine, I had sharpened my skills with the holy blade to an edge as sharp as Daedric. I found absolutely no difficulties in jumping and cleaving Cliffracers while still airborne.

When I returned, my next action was clear. The Ashkan would tell me of the third trial. But before he was willing to do that, I would have to pass a warriors test. This time, getting into a tomb wasn’t enough for him. No, he wanted me to go into a fort filled with Sixth House monsters and retrieve three items from its depths.

Normally I hated ashstorms, but this time I wished there was one. It would have concealed my approach. As things were, the sky was clear as if to mock me. I left a trail of cultists, Corprus victims and Ash creatures behind when I made my way to the entrance.

I found little of value along the way. One exception was a dead man who was still holding a Claymore known as Fury in his death hands. Surely, the berserking nature of the sword had helped his fall. I took the sword along with the intent of adding it to my collection. I had no intention of using it, my style of fighting was far too defensive.

As I already said, the time I’d spent after I left the Dissident Priests had turned me into a killing machine. Even the Ogrim found itself outmatched by my sword. Slowly and without a word, I fought my way through the chambers and corridors of the ancient fort till I finally arrived at a cave deep below the surface.

There I fought a creature I would later come to know as an Ash Vampire. Out of all the creatures I had encountered, this one proved to be the most powerful by far. It took a large deal of hacking with Chrysamere and a few spells to send him to Oblivion. I claimed his belt as my own and found the Shadow shield a few minutes later. With the first item I had been looking for in my possession, I returned to the surface.

The other two items, Corprus weepings and a cup with the symbol of House Dagoth, were both found in the same room where they were protected by someone of Dagoth Gares’s kin. I slayed the Dagoth and took what I needed.

,,I see that you have returned and brought proof of your test. Keep these items as trophies. Now I shall tell you the third trial.” The Ashkan said when I returned. He then gave me a riddle of where to find the cave. I had absolutely no idea where to look, but talking to the other members of the tribe made it too easy.

After a few days of walking and beating Cliffracers, I arrived at the entrance to the cave. Now I was really beginning to wonder if the Cliffracer wasn’t some sort of Dagoth in disguise. Anyway, I waited till Azura’s star appeared on the horizon and entered when the door opened.

The Cavern of the Incarnate was filled with a massive statue of Azura. The moment I entered, my equipment flared with a blinding light. It took me a few moments to realize what had happened. The Cavern was apparently shielded against that which drained enchantments. Too bad it wouldn’t last when I went back outside. Oh well, at least I didn’t need to bother with a Night-Eye spell.

I made my way to the statue and found a ring in its hands. The Moon-and-Star. I’ve stood there for a few minutes. If I took the ring and found out I wasn’t the Nerevarine, I would die. If I lived, I would need to save the world. I didn’t know what frightened me more.
,,Ah, you only live once. Besides, eternity would probably get boring.” I finally muttered and put the ring on my finger.

,,You are the Nerevarine. Heed my words. Four tribes must name you Nerevar. Three houses must name you Hortator.” A figure who looked somewhat like a Dunmer had appeared behind me. So this was Azura. Crap, I had thought she would be….taller.
,,And what if I don’t want to do all this stuff?” I interrupted the Daedra.

,,You shall do as I tell you. It is your destiny.” Yeah, now that was something I’d heard a bit too often lately.
,,You know what, Azura? Maybe if you just told me what this is all about cause I know one thing. I am not some kind of reincarnated Dark Elf.”

It was silent for a few seconds.
,,Would you disobey your parents?” And what was this supposed to mean?
,,No, why should I? Besides, they were some Redguards who died a long time back. I never met them. My other parents also died. And Daedra or not, it is none of your business.” I was getting rather annoyed with all this.

,,You shall go forth and fulfil the prophecy.” Not again.
,,Know what Azura? This is what I think about your Nerevarine and these stupid prophecies!” I shouted and planted my fist in her face. Now that felt good.

Laying on my back with a few broken bones a moment later felt less good.
,,I see that I made you a bit too stubborn. I should remember that if you fail. As for your parents, they were neither Redguard nor mortal. I created you. I took a scale of Akatosh and gave it form.” Azura’s voice was annoying as ever, but even I could hear the anger behind it. Maybe I shouldn’t punch Daedra when I felt like it.

Dragon-born. That’s what it meant. If I had to believe Azura, I was nothing more but a piece of the skin of an old smelly dragon. Great, I preferred my dreams about dead Redguard parents. I cast some healing spells and got up. It didn’t look like I had much of a choice here.

,,So I am nothing more but the last in a long line of toys created by you to play with Dagoth Ur? Fine, I’ll do it. But I get to keep any loot I come across, ok? No sharing.” Now that probably sounded dumb, I know. I then spoke to the ghosts of the failed Incarnates who gave me some advice, including not to anger Azura, before leaving the Cavern.