Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim

by Blackdrag-rose

26: Trouble in Dawnstar

"Oh, I'm in a good mood right now," Sunset said, stretching her arms as she and her friends left the area of Reachcliff Cave, heading back in the direction of Markarth so they could get a carriage ride to their next destination, "ten Daedric Artifacts down and five more to go. We're seriously putting the hurt on Tirek now."

"Let us hope that he doesn't decide to destroy something in retaliation," Bjorn commented, knowing the terrible power that the demon could command when he was calm, while yet wondering what destruction he could cause if he was angry, "I don't think Skyrim, or its people, can handle more of their land being destroyed by the demon, yet he doesn't seem to be slowing down very much. With an army backing him now there's no telling what he'll do... or what he'll destroy to gain the artifacts that we're currently carrying in that chest."

"I hope that Esbern and Delphine regain their senses," Fiona said, glancing around the area, just in case the two Blades suddenly appeared out of thin air, "we could use their experience to help train more soldiers for the coming conflict with Tirek. Plus I'm sure that Esbern's knowledge of magic would be of a benefit to the mages, so maybe when we're done with the Daedric Artifacts we should try and ask them to come back."

"I'll... consider it," Sunset replied, not really sure whether Delphine would listen to her after everything that happened, "but I make no promises at the moment."

"Sunset... why are you still carrying the other artifacts?" Raja asked, pointing to the three new additions to their collection of Daedric Artifacts that Sunset happened to be wearing.

Sunset looked down at herself and realized that the Mace of Molag Bal was still attached to her belt, the Spellbreaker was resting in her left hand, and the Ring of Namira was now resting on her right pointer finger. She also looked at the pouch she was now carrying, the one that held the fragments of Mehrunes Razor, and wondered how she could have forgotten. It didn't reflex well on her if she forgot that she had acquired some more artifacts to keep away from Tirek, if she continued to wear them in public all the time.

"Oops..." Sunset said, snapping her fingers and summoning her chest once more, where she deposited the mace, shield, and ring before sending the chest away, "I'm glad someone caught it before one of Tirek's minions came to finish off the job that Angra was supposed to have finished. There's no telling what would have happened at that point."

Her friends nodded, though she was quite sure that they were deep in though about what they had seen, as she was still surprised that one of Tirek's minions had found four of the artifacts before they could. It made her wonder if they other five artifacts were either where they had been left by their respective Prince, or if they were in the hands of one of Tirek's corrupted followers.

As they walked back to Markarth Sunset stopped by where they had found the Forsworn army, wondering if they had moved on or if they were still in the area. Not that she had the energy to fight two hundred people at the moment, but she was curious if the city was still in danger of being attacked by them. When they arrived Sunset was surprised to find that the camp they had spotted was no longer full of people, as it was now empty and completely void of life. That meant that the army was on their way to the Rift, where they would find Tirek's base and begin preparations for the coming war with all of Skyrim.

Sunset hated the thought of leaving an enemy army wandering the face of Skyrim, but she had no idea where they were at the moment and knew that searching for the Forsworn would be a waste of time.

When they finally made it back to Markarth Bjorn and Fiona noticed something rather odd about the front gate, so they suggested that they take a look before continuing onward. What the group found, however, was a trail of corpses, mostly guards Sunset noted, leading from an area near the Jarl's Keep all the way to the gate. As they looked around Sunset spotted a guard taking note of who had died, so he could tell the families when he had a chance to do so later on.

"What happened here?" Sunset asked, just as her friends walked around, searching for clues that Tirek was the one behind this.

"It was Madanach, the King of the Forsworn," the guard commented, barely looking back to her as he continued on with his work, though she did note that it was the same one she had asked when she originally arrived in the city, "Everyone in Markarth thought that he had been slain in battle so many years ago, but as it turns out he was still alive and well inside Cidhna Mine. Apparently he's been dishing out orders to his followers over the last few months, though it seems like someone finally arrived and gave him a reason to escape from his prison. How he managed to escape from the mine, that part no one knows, but what we do know is that a khajiit visited the mine before leaving the city... the same one that I told you about earlier."

"Well she's dead now," Sunset replied, somewhat glad that she had removed Angra from the world, so she wouldn't be able to continue doing things like this, "though she may have achieved victory in the end; there's an army of Forsworn soldiers, roughly two hundred of them, heading towards the Rift. Here, I think the Jarl of Markarth will want to see this as soon as possible."

Sunset made sure to hand over the scroll that Raja had discovered and recovered for them, though it really didn't do them any good by keeping the knowledge to themselves. Now that one of the remaining eight Jarls knew about the Forsworn army it was only a matter of time until all of them knew what was happening. She just hoped that they would see past their differences and band together before Tirek's army decimated any of the settlements between Markarth and wherever their destination in the Rift was.

With the deed done Sunset and her friends purchased a carriage ride to Dawnstar, where they would be able to reforge Mehrunes Razor and find the artifact of Vaermina.

"Oh, Cicero cannot wait until we reach Dawnstar," the jester said as the carriage got on the road, "Maybe we'll have a chance to meet the Listener, the one who proclaimed that Cicero was Laughter, before we seek more of the Daedric Artifacts."

"That's something I've been meaning to ask you about," Raja commented, causing Cicero to look her way for a moment, "Every now and then you refer to one of us by a certain name; yourself as 'Laughter', myself as 'Kindness', and Sunset as 'Magic' for example. While I am flattered that you can clearly see the kindness in me, I am also confused as to why you continue to call us by these special titles. I am also confused as to why my sister would have known such a thing, despite being the Listener for the Night Mother, and would have sent you on your way like this. What's so special about you being Laughter and me being Kindness?"

"Ask Magic," Cicero said, pointing a finger at Sunset, causing the others to turn her way, "She's the one who knows exactly what I am speaking of. The only one who can reveal the truth to you."

"Okay, what is he going on about?" Raja asked, turning to Sunset this time, a look of wonder and confusion in her eyes, "Sunset? Please tell me you know exactly what he's referring to."

Sunset looked at her friends one by one, wondering if she had been right to gather them all and thrust them into a fight that she was still wondering if she could win. Three of them had been taken out of their lives because she believed that they were the best person, in all of Skyrim, that represented one of the five Elements. The remaining two had flocked to her side, more because of the desire to see justice brought down on the one creature that was currently destroying bits and pieces of Skyrim. After a moment she sighed and accepted that she had been boxed into a corner, of which the only way out was to explain why Cicero continued to call them by those names.

"The Elements of Harmony..." Sunset finally said, not surprised to see that none of her friends had heard about them, "six powerful gemstones that represent one aspect of Friendship. The six Elements are called Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness, and Magic... the same names that Cicero has been occasionally calling each of us. In every piece of recorded history in Equus, every time the Elements are used they end up banishing or imprisoning someone who's trying to upset the natural balance. Or, in the case of Princess Twilight and her friends, they have the potential to undo the corruption someone has endured and even shatter certain gemstones into nothing but fragments."

"So what's so special about us?" Raja continued, still confused by what she was talking about.

"The girls that Princess Twilight had befriended were the other Bearers of the other five Elements," Sunset said, pointing to each of her friends in turn, "just as you guys are my friends. The Elements of Harmony might not exist in this world, but we are the closest thing to them that Nirn has. Twilight and her friends were able to access the magic without the Elements at certain points, but I'm not sure what would happen if we were to try... and I'm not willing to risk hurting any of you in the process."

"Oh, so we're a fail safe against the demon?" Cicero said, as if he understood what she was talking about, "Our power, combined with Magic's power, might give her the edge she needs against the demon."

"Maybe... maybe not," Sunset replied, not sure if they could even work the Element's magic in this world, "Look, we'll stick to the plan and gather up the remaining Daedric Artifacts... then maybe we'll have a chat with whoever sent those Cultists after me."

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When they arrived in Dawnstar, to which Sunset was relieved to note that nothing disastrous had happened to the small city, they were immediately greeted by a courier, who gave them a pamphlet that mentioned a museum in the very city they had just arrived in. Sunset didn't need to even read the pamphlet, as they could clearly see the museum from where they were standing, and the man that she guessed was the owner. They quickly made their way across to the other side of the city, where they found the man waiting for someone to return, though Sunset had a suspicion about who he was waiting for.

"Ah, more visitors," the imperial said, welcoming them into his house, "Come inside the Museum of the Mythic Dawn and maybe we can talk about some business."

"That wouldn't happen to be finding the fragments of Mehrunes Razor would it?" Sunset asked, patting the pouch that held the very fragments she had mentioned.

"...yes... it would be," the imperial slowly said, realizing what had happened, "Oh dear, so Angra's dead is she?"

"She was going to give the Razor to her master," Sunset told the man, "but if you can help me reforge the blade then I can promise you that the demon known as Tirek will not get this hands on the blade."

The man stared at her for a moment, as if wondering if she was telling the truth, before sighing and beckoning for her to follow him, no doubt to the location they could reforge the blade at. Before they left Sunset asked her companions to stay at the inn and ask around for any more leads on the other artifact, so they could start for it the moment she returned with her prize. None of them were pleased to be left behind at this point, though they knew that they needed to be efficient in their search for the remaining artifacts and decided to bow to Sunset's wisdom.

Sunset then followed the imperial into the mountains, trekking up a worn out path as they climbed up to the massive shrine that she recently noticed. It was a four armed creature that seemed to want to destroy whatever he desired, which she guessed went along with the description that belonged to Mehrunes Dagon. Once they were at the top the imperial, Silus as he told her along the way, beckoned for her to hand over the pouch, which she turned over and watched him set out the Razor, including the scabbard. Then, when he was done with that deed, he held his hands out and prepared to call upon the power of the Prince that could reforge the artifact.

"Mehrunes Dagon, the Lord of Change," Silus said, "We have brought your Razor to you. Please, bring the Razor's full glory back to Tamriel again."

Then, just as Sunset expected, Silus mumbled about Dagon not hearing him and beckoned for Sunset to try, to which she approached the alter and held a hand out towards the fragments.

"YOU! MORTAL!" Sunset heard in her head, something she had been expecting the entire time, "You are worthy of speaking to. You have claimed the pieces of my Razor. It has been an amusing game to witness, but Dagon does not declare a winner while there is a pawn on the board. Kill Silus. He and his family have served their purpose..."

That was before an arrow whipped through the air and tore into Silus's chest, knocking him into the base of the shrine and killing him instantly, though Sunset turned around and spotted a new arrival. Another imperial stood at the top of the stairs, though this one was dressed up in clothes fit for hunting and had a smile on his face the entire time.

"And now the razor can be claimed for Lord Tirek," the imperial said, approaching the alter and ignoring Sunset at the same time, "I have succeeded where Angra failed."

Sunset, not willing to let the imperial go unpunished, extended her hand and caught him with her magic, crushing his bones under her anger before tossing him right off the side of the mountain. She stared at his body the entire time, just to make sure that he was dead, so when his body stopped moving she returned to the shrine and continued with the ceremony. Dagon spoke once more, but she ignored him and watched as the Razor became whole once more, which she snatched out of the air and returned to her chest. She waited a moment, just to be sure that Dagon didn't have a surprise for her, but when nothing happened she sighed and moved down the side of the mountain, intending to return to Dawnstar as fast as possible.

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"How's the hunting going?" Sunset asked her friends, just as she entered Dawnstar's inn and found her friends sitting at a table with another priest.

"Good," Fiona commented, beckoning to the priest, "Erandur was just telling us about the recent nightmares that the people have been suffering and how he intends on stopping them. Or, as we persuaded him to the best of our ability, the two of you."

"A Daedric Lord?" Sunset asked, wondering which of the four the priest could be dealing with.

"Vaermina to be exact," Erandur replied, getting onto his feet before turning to her, "I can tell that your carrying more than just the Dawnbreaker, though your friends tell me that your seeking to expel them all from Nirn, so a dremora called Tirek doesn't get his hands on them. I shall ignore the artifacts that you carry, so long as we can banish the Skull of Corruption by the end of this."

Sunset nodded and followed the priest, who was ready to get this task underway, outside the inn and up the hill that happened to lead up to the tower at the top of the nearby cliff.

"Vaermina resides in a strange realm known as Quagmire..." Erandur told her, sharing what he knew about the Prince that Sunset knew next to nothing about, "a nightmarish land where reality shifts upon itself in seemingly impossible ways. From her citadel at the center, she reaches forth to collect our memories, leaving nothing in return apart from visions of horror and despair. Perhaps she collects them for display like works of art in a nonsensical art gallery. Whatever the case may be, her intentions are far from benevolent."

As it turned out the two of them encountered several trolls that wanted them dead, though Sunset showed the three of them that their plan was a terrible one when she killed one with a fireball. The other two came at her anyway, though she struck them with some well placed lightning and ended the battle before they could even get close to them. When they reached the main door Erandur admitted that there might be some complications inside, though Sunset told him that she could handle whatever the tower threw at them. Once they were inside the tower Erandur used his magic on a massive stone statue and caused it to fade into a form that allowed them to pass right through it and see what was causing the nightmares in Dawnstar.

It was then that Sunset got her first glimpse of the Skull of Corruption, the blackened staff with a wicked looking skull that was surrounded by a red barrier.

Erandur lead her down a set of stairs, where they found a trio of waking orc warriors that weren't very happy to see either of them, though Sunset noted that the orcs believed that they were members of Vaermina's cult. She sighed and struck two of the orcs down with her magic, preferring not to use the Dawnbreaker against creatures that weren't undead unless it was necessary. As Erandur finished off his enemy Sunset noticed a pure black blade in one of the warriors hands, an ebony blade that was similar to the ebony daggers that Cicero used. She smiled and collected the blade, testing it out as she realized that she now had a weapon that allowed her to stop using the Daedric Artifact until it was actually necessary.

"Damn it. The priests must have activated this barrier when the Miasma was released." Erandur said, slamming his fist against the barrier for a moment, while Sunset commented that it looked difficult to breach, "Impossible actually. Hmm, I wonder... There may be a way to bypass the barrier, but I must check their library and confirm it can be done."

Sunset had to surpass the urge to tell Erandur that the barrier was far from impossible to breach, but she had no idea how much power she's have to pour into her new weapon to break through. She, instead, settled for noting that the dunmer knew more about this place than he had told her as they were walking up to the main door a few minutes ago.

"I suppose there's no point in concealing the truth any longer." Erandur sadly said, turning to head up the stairs, "My knowledge of this temple comes from personal experience. I was a priest of Vaermina. I've spent the last few decades living in regret and seeking redemption from Mara. And by Her Benevolence, I will right my wrongs."

Sunset nodded, feeling what the priest was telling her, as they entered the area of the library, where they found a few priests of Vaermina and orc warriors waking up. This time she drew the ebony sword and approached her enemies, desiring to see how well the weapon handled before she resorted to using more of her magic. As it turned out the blade hit hard and, thanks to the weaker metal in the weapons in her enemies, she actually shattered many of their weapons with very little effort. In the end the two of them were left standing, though Sunset had decided that she liked the weapon and could safely say that she would return the Dawnbreaker to her chest once she had the Skull.

Once they were in the library, and there were no more enemies around them, they split up and searched for the one book they needed, one labeled The Dreamstride. Sunset found it on the upper level, all she had to do was cross a crumpling bridge and the thick tome was hers, and immediately handed it over to Erandur.

"Let me take a look..." Erandur said, before a look of excitement crept onto his face, "Mara be praised! There is a way past the barrier to the inner sanctum. It involves a recipe for a liquid known as Vaermina's Torpor. The Torpor grants an ability the priests of Vaermina called The Dreamstride; using dreams to travel distances in the real world. Alchemy and the blessings of a Divine distilled down into a ingestible liquid. I can assure you, the Dreamstride is well known in Vaerminian Lore. As a sworn priest of Mara, the elixir won't work for me. The Torpor will only work for Priests of Vaermina, or the unaffiliated."

"So I'm going to use it when we find it," Sunset said, heading into the other doorway so she could look for the torpor, "I guess there's a first time for everything."

As it turned out there was quite a lot of enemies, orcs and cultists alike, that were waking up as they progressed through the next area of the temple. The two of them carved their way through the forces of their enemies, though as they did so Sunset had to wonder if one of Tirek's minions was on their way to the tower. The Skull needed to be secured before such a thing happened, though she was positive that she could break whoever came for the Daedric Artifact. The laboratory, as it turned out, had three more orcs waiting for them, but they hardly put up a fight as they were still under the effects of the Miasma.

"Now that they've been dealt with, we need to find the Torpor." Erandur said, looking around the immediate area for the potion, "It should be in a small bottle, very similar to a potion. I'll begin searching up here."

Sunset sighed and walked into the lower area of the laboratory, where she looked through the potions, collecting the ones that she knew she and her friends would need later on, before she found one that looked out of place. She collected the bottle, wondering if it was the one, before heading up to Erandur, just to be sure that this was exactly what they were looking for.

"I'm relieved you discovered a bottle intact;" Erandur said, relief covering his face as he stared at the bottle, "this place looks as though it was ransacked by the orcs. So... I've taken us this far, but you need to guide us the rest of the way. Go ahead and drink. Dawnstar's fate rests in that tiny bottle."

Sunset took the top of the bottle off and sniffed it, making sure that it was still okay before she sighed and downed the liquid, feeling the world around her shift for a moment. When reality restored itself she realized that she was seeing certain events through the eyes of a 'Brother Casimir', who made his way through the tower. She made sure to make a note of the path he was taking, so she and Erandur could make their way to the Skull without getting completely lost. She also noted that the cultists of Vaermina were losing the battle with the orcs, which was why when Casimir released the Miasma her vision faded, returning her to her own reality.

It was then that she noted that she was standing by the very area where the Miasma had been released, though she tore the soul gem from its container and cut off the barrier, allowing Erandur to follow her.

"It... it worked." Erandur excitedly exclaimed, just as they continued down the path that Sunset mapped out in her head, "Mara be praised! You vanished after drinking the Torpor and materialized on the other side. I have never seen anything quite like it. How I envy you. I can only imagine the excitement of seeing history through the eyes of another! Sadly, I am resigned to just reading of its wonders through my research of the Skull."

Sunset sighed as they reached the final door of the temple, though when they opened it they found that two of the cultists, Valen and Thorek Sunset noted, had been slain by something. Erandur, not seeing the danger before them, rushed towards the Skull and immediately proceeded to start the ritual to banish it, though Sunset looked around for the person responsible for the deaths of the two cultists. Then, just as the barrier fell, something leapt out of the shadows and collided with Erandur's chest, knocking him backwards as whatever had hit him collected the Skull.

That was when Sunset noticed that the person who now held the Skull was none other than the imperial that she had killed at Dagon's Shrine, which meant that this was a twin.

"I thank you Archmage," the imperial said, patting the head of the Skull, "without you and your new companion I would have been unable to get my hands on this artifact. I shall take great pleasure in handing this artifact over to Lord Tirek... and your head!"

The imperial leapt at her, but Sunset expected a hand and caught him before he could even touch the floor, though she allowed her magic to slowly crush him as she collected the Skull from him.

"Seriously, you guys suck at stealth," Sunset told the imperial, cracking his legs in the process, "at this point I'm beginning to believe that Tirek's just sending you guys out to die. Oh well, I shall remove another one of you from Nirn and become one step closer to saving this world."

That was when the imperial exploded, though it was a surge of magical power that she suspected Tirek had primed before sending the man to this location. The wave knocked the temple around, though she could tell that it was beginning to shift and that it was only a matter of time before the entire tower collapsed. She swiftly summoned her chest, stored the two artifacts away, dismissed the chest, and grabbed on to Erandur before flash stepping up to the top of the tower. Once there the two of them swiftly exited the tower, turning back in time to watch it crumble into a heap, forever destroying the entire temple and the people who had called the place home.

"Four more to go," Sunset said, turning to head back down to Dawnstar, with Erandur not far behind her, "Four more and then I can seal off all the Daedric Artifacts from Nirn. This nightmare might actually be over much quicker than I was expecting."

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Tirek sighed as he stared at the remaining statues that told him how many more Daedric Princes needed their artifacts revealed to Skyrim, two more of them being crushed under the weight of his magic. He had been so sure of many of his minions, though they were falling under the power of his enemy... something that he hadn't expected at all. He had known that Sunset Shimmer had great power, though he was beginning to suspect that he had underestimated her during their previous encounters. Still, his minions were serving their purposes well and there was one other task he wanted them to complete before they returned to his base.

"Madanach," Tirek said, his voice echoing through his tower, "I have a task for you and your army. The time has come for you to strike at the heart of Skyrim... the time has come for you and your Forsworn to destroy Whiterun."

There was a silence for a moment, which was the custom when he was speaking across long distances to issue his underlings commands and get updates on their movements. A moment later, however, he got the answer that he was expecting... an answer that only made Tirek smile as he imagined Whiterun burning to the ground.

"It shall be done, Lord Tirek."

Comments

[HB_DS2013]

So, are the Daedric artifacts keeping Tirek in Nirn?

[Heidao]

6967345 More like they're his easy ticket out

Another thing I've come to note, if the Foresworn have gathered and now begin their march, does that mean most of their operations have ceased? Did they take the Sybil with them as an offering to Tirek than to use it in their ritual?

And what of Whiterun, its position and prolonged existence is paramount for military and economic reasons to both the Imperials and Stormcloaks, none are going to sit still when a noticeable army starts marching in. How will the battle of Whiterun go if Sunset calls forth her allies? Unintentionally as it was, Sunset's power base formed by her alliance has made her into a third faction (Thalmor are absorbed into her ranks), with a mixed force of dragons, undead, almost every willing mage in the region, the whole of Winterhold and Thalmor; as well as ties to several groups of specialized talents, who would continue the war when something like that exists as a wildcard?

As it stands, Sunset has the necessary influence to end the war in any direction she wishes (barring if her allies are willing to follow if she goes to extremes). Both storyline factions will entreat her for an alliance, though unlikely as it would hamper her quest, more than likely is to set an armistice so both factions can aid in Tirek's destruction, then recover to resume their war at another time. This would give Sunset plenty of time to trek the DLCs (Hearthfire Simcity? adoptions?).

[Heidao]

6967710 Also the hilarity of tons of people with Mara necklaces asking to marry her XD

[HB_DS2013]

6967710 The factions here for some reason remind me of Fallout:New Vegas. I can see Sunset akin to the Courier, being a wildcard to everyone and due to being the Archmage while Tirek is akin to Caesar's Legion.

[Sonata Blaze]

6967710 I believe that Angra ordered the Forsworn to cease all operations, though I think their king made all of them stop so they could heed Tirek's call.
Though your right; Sunset has enough followers to have her own faction, which means she could possibly stop the entire civil war until Tirek is defeated. Maybe the Imperial/Stormcloak battle will be happening when she arrives in Whiterun... who knows really.

[Vigilant of Stendarr]

I smell a war coming on.

[erictheblue]

Sunset took the top of the bottle off and sniffed it, making sure that it was still okay before she sighed and downed the liquid, feeling the world around her shift for a moment. When reality restored itself she realized that she was seeing certain events through the eyes of a 'Brother Casimir', who made his way through the tower. She made sure to make a note of the path he was taking, so she and Erandur could make their way to the Skull without getting completely lost. She also noted that the cultists of Vaermina were losing the battle with the orcs, which was why when Casimir released the Miasma her vision faded, returning her to her own reality.

strange, i've never seen THAT quest while playing Skyrim...the Quagmire? i'll have to watch for that next time.

[Blackdrag-rose]

11621629 The Skull of Corruption quest? You get it in Dawnstar, in the inn to be exact, by talking to the priest of Mara that's there.