//------------------------------//
// Interlude: A New Base 
// Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

With Alduin and Paarthurnax on their side, which was still hard to think about since Amaryllis expected something bad to happen, Za'kera informed the pair of where they would be setting up their new base and informed them that it would be easy to spot when they witnessed Ma'jera at work, since the Arch-Mage had offered her services in changing the area to fix their needs, which made Amaryllis wonder just how powerful she was, not counting the fact that her father was one of the Daedric Princes, something that she was still getting used to thinking about.

"Now that we have new allies, it's about time I get started on my end of the deal," Ma'jera commented, causing the rest of the group to glance at her for a moment as she landed on the snow, even though that was followed by her magic washing over all of them for a few seconds and a magical circle appeared around their feet, with what looked like runes that were in the Daedric language based on what Amaryllis was seeing, though since Wind seemed fine with this she remained silent as well and watched what might happen next, "Greater Teleportation."

In that moment Amaryllis and her friends disappeared from the Throat of the World, all in a flash that lead to surprise for the dragons that had just allied with them, even though a flash down near Whiterun showed them where they had gone, only for them to reappear on top of some stonework, which was a surprise to Amaryllis, especially when she found that their group was now standing at the peak of a ruined fort that happened to be to the northeast of Whiterun, meaning this had to be Fellglow Keep, the area Wind had passed through in the past.

"You... had a teleportation spell this whole time?" Za'kera asked, mostly out of curiosity and not in an accusing tone, due to the fact that she had no idea that such a spell had existed in the first place and was caught off guard by the fact that they had moved from one place and appeared in another, even though she had to steady herself, just like everyone else was doing right now, while Ma'jera stood at the edge of the roof and glanced over the area that they would be claiming for the start of the army that would destroy the Aldmeri Dominion.

"Yes, and it only works with places I've been to, otherwise I might accidentally take someone's arm and put it on someone else's body, for example," Ma'jera replied, showing that, while she might be a child of a Daedric Prince, who usually didn't care about mortals and saw them as toys to mess around with, part of her sort of cared for them, though the reality was that she likely cared about keeping Za'kera in one piece, given her existence as the Last Dragonborn, while everyone else could be seen as collateral or something, before she focused on what she was going to do next, "Now then, I do believe it is time that I modified this area and create a keep where you can raise the beginnings of your army to do battle with the Aldmeri Dominion, or at least stop the war ravaging this land."

Amaryllis watched as Ma'jera called upon all of her magical power, possibly even tapping into the orb that followed her all the time, before the ground shook for a few seconds and the keep started to move before her eyes, pulling itself free from all of the stone and earth that it had been built into as it raised itself into the air, though when it finally came to a stop they watched as the structure of the fort shuddered before breaking and reassembling in a new manner before their eyes, as if it was a place where an important figure would live in. She was transmuting, reshaping, uprooting, and doing all sorts of magical things to the area around them, as sections of earth were moving and reforming in other areas as she formed all sorts of streets, stones were pulled out and transformed into either new sections of the main building, set aside for a good number of structures, and even a circular wall that seemed to be protection against those who tried to attack this place in the future, if such a thing happened. What was interesting was that some of the stone rose out of the ground and formed pillars that the walls passed through, pillars that formed a six pointed start of sorts, if one looked at them from the top of the fort's new roof, which were molded into circular towers, rivaling the main structure in size, and looked like they were elegant creations that had been created by the ancient Nords or even some Imperials, maybe even a race Amaryllis knew nothing about. Of course Ma'jera didn't stop at that point, as she poured more power into the rest of the area and made all sorts of paths close by collapsing stone and earth, which were used to make the fort and what appeared to be the main path leading to the levels that made up the transformed area, and she even broke the area nearby, which had one of the Word Walls Za'kera was after, as everything beyond the ancient wall collapsed into a sheer cliff while she flattened what was left of the area, creating an area for their dragon allies now doubt.

If she had been impressed by Ma'jera's magic before this point, and she had to admit that the Arch-Mage was much more powerful than what she assumed, this show of power was far more than what she was expecting, revealing that she held the power to reshape the world if she wanted to, even if it would be slow to some degree, and made her wonder if Ma'jera could work her power on figuring out a way to recreate or even make new Stones for the other Towers, something they would have to talk about once everything was done... though her thoughts were brought back to reality as Ma'jera huffed and stopped channeling her magic, showing them that the new fort was complete.

"By the gods... how much power did you pour into this place?" Wind asked, because based on what they could see Ma'jera had remolded and modified the entire area that Fellglow Keep had been resting in, which was more like Fellglow Fort she guessed since it no longer looked like a keep, and she could see that everyone was shocked by what they were seeing at the moment, even though they were sure that there might be nothing inside the new fort, so outfitting it would come next for them, but given the couple of nearby bandit camps she was sure they could find some new things to take and add to this place to make it more livable.

"Ninety... maybe ninety-five percent." Ma'jera replied, though given the fact that she was a Demiprince, and one that had to be very powerful given that she was Hermaeus Mora's child and must have spent hundreds, if not thousands of years, studying and understanding magic, Amaryllis was sure that she might be lying about how much of her power she poured into reforming this part of Skyrim into Za'kera's new base, given that she wasn't resting on the floor, panting and trying to recover from everything she had done over the last couple of moments, "Anyway, I have remolded the main section of the keep into the area that a King might live in, or a Jarl since we're in Skyrim and they're the local rulers, and I've used some of my magic to make a number of structures that are common throughout the Holds, such as a barracks for the guards, an area to serve as the training grounds, a circular chamber for Wind and I to train in later, or mages in general since I'm sure more will come, and houses that also serve as stores. There are also a few gates resting throughout the fort, like the one at the main entrance to this place and one leading to the next level, which also have walkways so any guards can look out and see what's going on in the surrounding area, though we'll have to find some other allies that will want to join us to protect the rest of this place."

"Once people hear that the Dragonborn is raising an army, even if they have no idea why it is happening, things will likely change for us," Za'kera commented, which she knew was both a good thing and a bad thing, as while she knew that such a thing could gain them more allies it would also tell their enemies that something was going on at the same time, and if she was planning on going to war with the Thalmor they would need to keep their enemies in the dark, to which she sighed for a moment as she turned towards Amaryllis and the others, "Kya, you seem to have some luck tracking down the various Justiciars that serve the Aldmeri Dominion, so can you head out and do everything in your power to stop whoever is now in charge of Skyrim's branch from learning about this development?"

"I will gladly track them down and send them to the Blood Pits, so they can meet my Mistress," Kya replied, where she took a moment to swing her scythe, like she was imagining the damage it would do to those she would encounter in the near future and the lives she would take in the process, before jumping down the side of the keep that they were standing at the peak of, an interesting feat to be sure, before she landed and then rushed through all of the gates as she began her mission of harassing the Thalmor's agents.

"We're going to need to find someone who can serve as a watcher or Steward for this place, someone who can keep things moving while we're dealing with the other threats that plague Skyrim," Za'kera continued, not even bothering to question the odd Argonian as she headed out to take down any and all Thalmor who were wandering the roads of Skyrim, as at this point she felt it wasn't worth trying to deal with the madness that was inside her mind, even if it didn't seem like what the Prince of Madness might inflict on those who upset or impressed him, before she glanced at the others, "other than that, and finding the first soldiers who are willing to join our army, we need to outfit this place and make it ready for those who might join us at some point in the future... Amaryllis, Wind, why don't you two check out the nearby bandit camps and see if anyone is still there, if they've been cleared out we can start moving the furniture into this place. While you do that, well, Lydia and I will make sure everything else is in order before we do anything else, as I would like to understand this place a bit better before we start taking people in."

Amaryllis and Wind nodded their heads for a moment as they shifted into their base forms and took to the sky, though at the same time she stayed in a semi disguised state since she didn't want to share her cursed form with Wind or have to talk about it, before they stopped at the bandit camp that was to the southeast of Fellglow Fort, since 'keep' was no longer the correct term to call that place, though given how much it looked like a ringed city of sorts she was sure they could get away with just calling it 'Fellglow'. She turned her mind to the task at hand when they reached their destination, finding a set of stone towers, which were no longer linked to Za'kera's new domain thanks to all of the power that Ma'jera had used in her remodeling of the area, which looked like it could have been home to a number of bandits at one point, but since all of them seemed to be dead it allowed the pair some time to look around. What they discovered was a number of chairs, a couple of tables that were pretty basic, a bed and some bedrolls, and a few other odds and ends, like a dresser, a pair of nightstands, and a pair of chests that they might be able to use in some way, one small one and one of the large ones that usually had treasure inside them, far more than the smaller ones away. Once they were done counting what was in this particular bandit camp the pair started to gather up what they could with their magic, using Telekinesis to lift stuff off the floor and pull them through the air, though fortunately it appeared that Ma'jera, not done with burning through her mana stores, joined Amaryllis and Wind before weaving her magic through the air to pick up the rest of the stuff they left behind, meaning they might just be scouts right now as they gathered furniture for their new base. As it turned out Ma'jera had an area for all of the stuff they were gathering, near what appeared to be the water well for the brand new city, meaning that she would likely weave her magic over the pieces once they were done collecting them, though once all of the stuff from the towers had been set down Amaryllis and Wind headed for another camp, one that happened to be to down to close to where the last one, as it was the one that Amaryllis had assassinated the leader of a lifetime ago.

What was interesting was that it looked like a new set of bandits had moved into White River Watch, as Amaryllis didn't see anyone she recognized from the last time she had been here, to which she sighed as she drew her daggers and made sure that their enemies realized that they were dealing with an assassin from the Dark Brotherhood, though as one of the two bandits readied an arrow, however, she propelled herself up the wooden ramp, using her hidden wings, before leaping over her target before he could even loose his arrow. Such a thing allowed her to stab the bandit in the back with one of her daggers, the Blade of Mercy, while the other bandit was knocked down before she could do anything, as Wind used a Lightning Bolt to take care of her in seconds, though once they had cleared out the pair they regrouped at the front of the cave and marched inside, both knowing that more bandits had to be taken out before they could recover all of the wooden furniture that was in this camp. As it turned out most of the next couple of bandits were just melee fighters, who rushed at Amaryllis as she spun around and used both of her daggers this time, as in parrying an incoming attack with one blade as the other stabbed her current foe before switching that one for her defense for a few moments as the other became her offensive weapon, showing Wind that she was serious and that all of her time in Skyrim had created someone who had no problem ending the lives of those who dared to stand before her, even though Wind also blasted an archer with her magic and opened the way for Amaryllis to move deeper. Of course there was one chamber, the one where the previous group had been messing with wolves, where Wind used a Fury spell on some of their enemies and watched as several of the next group of bandits wasted each other for them, allowing her and Amaryllis to reach the highest point of the camp and found that there was no leader, in fact a note was left behind that was addressed to whoever in the bandit crew found it, where it revealed that whoever had been leading them had quick, took the gold, and had disappeared, causing Amaryllis to raise an eyebrow before shrugging as Ma'jera landed nearby to help them move stuff.

With that done they returned to their new base, finding that Ma'jera must have discovered another camp, likely one to the north of Whiterun based on what Amaryllis remembered during her flights, before they landed near the well and placed all of the stuff they had recovered so far, even though pieces were moving through the area as they took on new shapes and sizes, depending on which building they were being assigned to, though there were a few pieces that looked like they were fit for a leader, again like a Jarl or military leader, and were positioned inside the main building, likely Za'kera's, while the rest, being a grade lower, went to the rest of the city.

"Now all that's left is to find someone who can watch over the city and get an army ready, provided we find some soldiers who want to join us," Amaryllis commented, looking at everything they had recovered since the city had been created, all while it had taken roughly an hour to check the two camps, clear out every enemy that was in those areas, and then carry all the stuff to their new base, before she glanced over to Za'kera for a moment, who just so happened to be standing with her back on one of the new stone walls that had been created, "finding a capable person might be the hard part... I would think that maybe Esbern, or one of the other surviving Blades that are in Skyrim, as I'm sure that there's one more that has been hiding in plain sight like Delphine, might be the best course of action... whether or not we can convince either one is another matter entirely."

"I believe I can help with that," a voice interrupted, where Amaryllis and the others turned and found some newcomers, as two people were standing near the open gate that lead to this point, one being the female Breton that Amaryllis had seen back in Solitude, Durum Coles, as Ma'jera called her, though standing near her was a male Altmer who looked like a citizen who had been pulled off the streets by someone and forced into something he had no say in, which might make sense due to the fact that a new Demiprince was standing nearby, before the Altmer let out a light cough to direct their attention to him once more, "I am Kaelriil Silian, a former officer of the Imperial Legion who served during the days of the Great War, and as soon as it ended I moved on with my life, choosing to stay away from the Thalmor and all of their allies for as long as I could... this Breton came by my place, spouted something about the Dragonborn needing someone for something, all in the span of a few seconds, and pulled me down here... given her powers, I decided not to complain, least she turn me into a toad or something, and since you're going to fight against the Thalmor you can count me in."

"I just want you to know that I do not agree with forcing someone to do something against their will... so, if you would like to leave, and not bother with this, I won't be angry," Za'kera stated, showing the Altmer that she was reasonable and that she had no hand in Durum essentially kidnapping him like this, though it looked like the Demiprince in question was in the middle of glancing elsewhere, like she had a problem with keeping her attention in one place, which would make a bit of sense considering that she was Sheogorath's kid, though Kaelriil nodded his head and stood his ground, showing her that, despite the circumstances, he wanted to help them out, "Very well, I'll show you around our new place and hopefully we can come up with something before I have to deal with one of the other threats that are plaguing this land, be it some of those vampires or cultists I've had to tackle recently."

Kaelriil wasted no time in following after her, leaving Ma'jera to take Wind inside one of the towers, which had to be more of a mage tower and was likely for training or a private discussion, and Lydia followed after Za'kera not a few seconds after her Thane walked away, leaving Amaryllis with Durum, something she really didn't want given what her father had done while she was inside the mind of a dead Emperor, though once they were alone Durum turned towards Amaryllis, who just so happened to have a good idea as she drew out the Wabbajack.

"You came for your father's artifact, right?" Amaryllis asked, because it was the only thing that made sense at this point in time, that she had found someone who could help Za'kera out and brought him here as an excuse to grab the artifact that belonged to Sheogorath, like how Ma'jera had been sent to acquire the Oghma Infinium on her father's wishes, meaning if she handed it over Durum might leave or she might join up with Za'kera's growing army, giving them three godly children, five if she was allowed to count Alduin and Paarthurnax as Akatosh' children, and sure enough Durum nodded as soon as she said that statement, "Very well, take it."

In that moment she held the staff out and Durum seized the Wabbajack, where Amaryllis allowed it to be taken as she let go of it and caused the Demiprince to spin it around for a couple of moments, like she was reunited with an old friend or something, though given her position it was likely a reasonable assumption. In the following second Durum quickly faced Amaryllis and pressed the tip of the staff against her collar area, which was followed by a wave of chaotic energy washing over her body, something that was followed by a shocking discovery, her disguise was falling apart to reveal her cursed true form. She was forced to watch as the cow features appeared once more, including the milk filled udder, but before she could come to terms with this Durum tapped her neck area with the staff as she removed the cowbell, which was the moment that the fur started to recede and the other cow related features started to disappear. When Durum pulled the staff back, taking all of the cow features with it, Amaryllis discovered a white orb with black spots resting above it, where she had to wonder if Sheogorath wanted the curse for some reason.

As Amaryllis thought about that, however, she noticed that the only thing different about her form was the boosted breast size, which was slightly smaller than the times she was in her cursed form, and she discovered that both of them were still filled with milk, just not enough to be painful or overflowing, much to her silent relief.

"Keep the blessing, you deserve that much for helping Father out." Durum said, where she reached into her left pocket for a second before pulling out a wooden wand, likely a hard wood that grew in the Shivering Isles, and pressed the tip into the heart of the orb, where Amaryllis watched as the wand turned a white color and soon black spots appeared all over it, all while noting that the length of the wand was a hand and a half, even though this confirmed her previous suspicions that Sheogorath's daughter wanted her curse for some odd reason, which put a smile on Durum's face, "And now the Moomer Wand is complete... I wonder if I can find a test subject, to verify the power it contains."

Amaryllis had a feeling that she knew what the child of the Madgod was talking about, though instead of worrying about it she turned her attention towards her body and found that all of those feelings she had felt had been accurate, Durum had taken away the cursed cow form that had been inflicted upon her, only now it looked like it was contained inside a wand of some kind that would likely allow the user to make as many corrupted individuals as they wanted, something she decided not to worry about, least it be used on her again, though she did take a moment to switch back to her Khajiit disguise while Durum was looking elsewhere.

"Well, good luck with that." Amaryllis said, because she didn't want to be anywhere near Durum, not when she had both the Wabbajack and her new Moomer Wand on hand, especially since she had no idea what might happen if the daughter of Sheogorath tried anything funny, before she found something interesting, Esbern and Delphine were walking into the part of the city that she was in, meaning they must have been seeking Za'kera and reasoned that she was here, if not still talking with Arngeir and the Greybeards in High Hrothgar, and Delphine was angry, "Esbern, what are you two doing here? I thought you guys were going to set up a base in your new hideout and not come out until you were sure that everything was ready, or at least until you secured all of the useful information anyway."

"We're here to take the Dragonborn back and punish you for trying to drive her from her destiny, where she uses the long lost power of the ancient Nords to destroy Alduin." Delphine stated, where she turned towards Amaryllis and quickly drew her katana out of her scabbard, which she pointed right at her target as Esbern tried to stop her, who she pushed away as she glared at Amaryllis with hatred in her eyes, though as Durum stepped back they found that Delphine's voice, who had spoken louder than what was necessary, had attracted the others, who she ignored for now, "You have been a massive pain in my rear since the moment I met you, especially since you keep distracting the Dragonborn from fulfilling her role in killing Alduin and destroying the rest of the dragons that have returned."

"That was one interpretation of the prophecy, and we found another... one that tells of us going to war with the Aldmeri Dominion at long last," Amaryllis replied, as while she wanted to put the lady down, and stop her from trying to stop her friend from doing whatever she wanted with her life, part of her also knew that Delphine was stubborn and might not see the light that she was offering her, hence the reason why she kept her hands near both of her daggers, just in case a fight broke out, though if it happened she was going to kill Delphine and remove her from the field, so they could move on with the rest of their important planning, "to beat them we need the power of Alduin and Paarthurnax, plus everyone else who decides to aid us, to bring them down and bring a more lasting peace to Nirn..."

In the following moment Delphine swung at her and Amaryllis did the only sensible thing in that situation, she pulled both of her daggers out and parried the attack, all while directing it away from her since she didn't want to be stabbed, since it would only make her foe that much more annoying to deal with, before pushing Delphine back with her weapons and just stood there as she studied her foe, as she considered this to be a waste of time. For a moment she just stood there as she observed Delphine for a time, who was walking around the area, never taking her eyes off of her, before Amaryllis decided to test her opponent as she stepped forward and swung her daggers as she moved her body out of the way, as Delphine decided to try a thrusting attack and it failed miserably. Such a thing revealed something to her, Delphine, despite claiming to have some skill with her weapon and the techniques of the Blades, was rusty and likely hadn't trained with her weapon for a long time, despite what she showed when they faced a couple of enemies before reaching Sky Haven Temple, which meant that the lady had a massive disadvantage right now and it didn't look like Delphine understood it, since she was too blinded by rage towards her 'driving Za'kera from the path'. Regardless of that fact Amaryllis took a few moments to dodge the incoming attacks, as it seemed like Delphine was swinging wildly at this point, no doubt to catch her off guard and take her down, before she pushed Delphine's blade out of her way and swung the base of her blades at the lady, striking both of Delphine's wrists in a matter of seconds, which caused the lady to drop her weapon.

As that happened, and Delphine staggered backwards, Amaryllis found that Durum had extended her left hand and held her wand out for someone to take, with the base facing the area they were fighting in, where she quickly understood what the Demiprince wanted and knew what would happen to her if she decided to turn down the artifact, to which she reached out and grasped the wand. Not a few seconds later she turned the wand on Delphine and used it's power on her, releasing a white burst of magical energy that happened to have black spots on it, something she wasn't even surprised by, which struck the breton right in the chest, causing her to shudder as the effects of the Moomer Wand washed over her body and the curse latched onto her form without delay. Sure enough Delphine's ears started to change a few seconds later, quickly changing into the ears of a cow as her horns grew in as well, followed by her spine extending as she gained a cow's tail, before she moaned as her udder pushed out, even if she was confused by this, and it stopped at the same size that Amaryllis' had been. After that Delpine's feet shook as they were replaced by cow's hooves, tearing through her boots with ease, and her hands quickly followed suit, before Delphine's breasts tore through her armor and her face pushed out into a cow's muzzle, and the transformation ended with the cow fur and spots taking over her body, along with her udder and breasts starting to leak milk.

Amaryllis paused for a moment as she watched that happen, as she couldn't believe she had used the curse on someone else and forced them into the form Sheogorath had given her some time ago, but given that it was Delphine, and just how annoying she had been, she didn't regret her decision.

"Delphine, this is your last chance to understand that we're working to destroy the Aldmeri Dominion," Amaryllis said, to which she handed the wand back to Durum, as she didn't want it or the Wabbajack to be used on her if she kept the wand for too long, all while noticing that Za'kera's group had emerged to see what was going on, before focusing on Delphine, who was surprised by her 'Moomer' form, as the mad Demiprince called this state, "you have two options available to you right now: first, you get with the program and prove to Za'kera that you aren't a liability, and maybe you'll get your prior form back... your second option is to continue being a pain in our backsides, where I'm sure that Durum might take you to her realm in the Shivering Isles, where you'll remain for a long time."

"I could always use a constant source of milk in the bakery, especially since Father likes my goods," Durum added, which caused a look of fear to appear on Delphine's face as she realized what Amaryllis meant, that the speaker was actually the daughter of Sheogorath and that annoying her meant pissing off one of the most powerful beings in this world, and that any punishment he came up with would be beyond the embarrassment of this form.

Delphine stood there for a moment, clearly debating her options at the moment as she shuffled around, likely getting used to her new form and the new weight that she had been cursed with, especially since her body was more cow than Breton at this point, before she nodded her head, showing that she understood what Amaryllis and Durum had told her, though while Amaryllis knew that her friend would disprove of her actions this gave Delphine a chance to prove herself before her ultimate fate was decided.

"Now then, Esbern, what about you?" Za'kera asked, because after seeing what happened to Delphine, who was getting used to her new form, she decided to focus on the elderly Blade and wanted to see where he stood on the matter, even if she had a feeling that he would turn out to be an ally and not an enemy, or someone who needed to be taught a lesson, as Durum had caused enough problems so far.

"I am not much of a fighter, but I do know the ancient lore of the Blades... and any Empress needs an Honor Guard, so let me work towards finding the start of your elite guard," Esbern stated, showing them that he was more than willing to join Za'kera in her quest to take down the Aldmeri Dominion, as he understood Amaryllis' reading of the possibilities of what had been written on Alduin's Wall and, based on what he could see, now knew that she had been telling the truth, that the Dragonborn was preparing for war with the Thalmor, to which he bowed towards Za'kera, "I am yours to command, and I will aid you in this task, to the best of my ability."

Za'kera accepted his pledge, as that was basically what it was, as Amaryllis smiled under her mask, as it looked like things were progressing nicely for them right now, even though she knew that Jarl Balgruuf was going to be upset once he found out that they had rebuilt an entire keep into their own fortress, plus it would tell any other threats where they were hiding, so if one of them wanted to come and mess with them it would be easy for them to find her and her friends, but she had a feeling that things were going to move forward soon enough.