Solstheim: The Skaal and Neloth
Once Ma'jera was done talking to Miraak, and had set up her tests for Wind, leaving this particular Black Book for last, she, Wind, and Za'kera used the book and returned to the last chamber that happened to rest at the end of Miraak's massive temple, where they found Amaryllis, Lydia, and Frea standing at the ready, just in case some cultists surprised them.
"What happened to the three of you?" Frea asked, where she lowered her axes for a moment and stared at them, showing that she had been concerned for them when they suddenly vanished from the area that the book had been resting in, all while casting her eyes to Ma'jera for a few seconds, no doubt worried that she might betray them, "One moment you were here and the next you weren't."
"We... went to Apocrypha... and we learned a few things." Za'kera replied, as that was the only way she could speak about what she and Wind had just witnessed, especially since part of their mission would revolve around her battles with Miraak and the other would be the Changeling mage figuring out how to unlock her true powers, though she didn't question how she knew the name of Hermaeus Mora's realm, "We also saw Miraak..."
Frea opened her mouth, about to ask if they could track him down and kill him, before deciding that it wasn't a good idea, as Za'kera looked like something had happened and that she needed time to consider what they had seen, to which she came to the decision to focus on getting this information to someone else. Fortunately there was a lever nearby that opened a hidden door, one that lead to the side of a mountain, far below Miraak's temple, like an escape path in case he came under fire, which he failed to use since he was in Apocrypha right now, and it brought them to one of the Stones that Frea had told them about when they were at the entrance of the temple. Frea pointed it out to all of them, revealing that it was the Wind Stone and that a green light was coming from it, where her people worked against their will and did the foul bidding of Miraak, hence her quest to figure out how to kill him and end the curse, or avenge them in some manner, if she found that the former was impossible. After that they found a village off to their right that happened to have a barrier that was protecting it, one that Wind was sure her mentor was interested in, but everyone remained silent as Frea told them of the fact that her father was doing everything in her power to protect the rest of their people from the power of Miraak, as this barrier was his of his creation and her medallion allowed her to pass through with ease.
What they discovered on the other side of the barrier, as Frea had to use the medallion to allow them to pass through the magic, was a number of people gathered around some stones in what seemed to be the center of the village, with three people kneeling near the stones, where the magic was coming from, though Za'kera and the others stayed back as Frea approached the circle.
"Father! I have returned! There is yet hope!" Frea stated, where they could see an immediate effect on those who were in the area that was around them, as the Skaal seemed to be overjoyed by what she might have discovered, all while a few where glancing at the people who came with her.
"Frea! What news do you bring? Is there a way to free our people?" the eldest of the three figures, who seemed to be the spiritual leader for the village, inquired, though his attention was still on the barrier, showing them that he was capable of multitasking and dividing his attention between two very important activities.
"No, but I have brought some people who have seen things," Frea answered, where she beckoned to Za'kera for a couple of seconds, allowing everyone to see that a hero might have appeared in their village, even though some seemed wary of Ma'jera and her power to float in the air, "She has confirmed that Miraak is behind the suffering of our people."
"I feared that it would be so." the elder said, his tired tone revealing that he must have studied the stories of Miraak for a long time and that the figure must have been the first thing that came to mind when the Wind Stone was corrupted, to which he let out a sigh as he considered something, "I fear there is too much we don't know about this situation, as I am unsure as to how this has come to pass."
Frea beckoned for Za'kera to step forward, asking her to tell Storn what she had seen when she used the Black Book, even if it had been Ma'jera who did that, where she did so and braced herself for what she was about to say, as only she and Wind knew exactly what happened on the other side of the Black Book.
"Frea is correct, Miraak is the one controlling the Stones," Za'kera said, though in that moment she raised a hand to stop all of them from speaking at the same time, as there was more she needed to say before revealing what their next step was and what they needed to do, before she opened her mouth once more, "however, it would appear that this is a test of some kind from Hermaeus Mora, who wants me to follow in Miraak's footsteps and learn the same things he learned back in the past. While I do that, which should give me a way to deal with the corruption on the Stones, I'm also supposed to track down all of the Black Books that are on this island... Wind has to take down some, um, seals that are on her magic and her mentor told us they're all stuck inside the seven tomes."
"Hm, that is troublesome... I sense there is more to this than what you've said, but I know where you can start you quest, as terrible as it is," Storn commented, showing them that he believed that Miraak's power came at a great cost and that it wasn't worth following in his footsteps or the path he had taken, but, at the same time, he also seemed to admit it was the best course of action for her to take, "Go to Saering's Watch, as it was where he learned the first Word of Power of a great and terrible Shout... if you are Dragonborn, it should respond to your presence and give you it's power. After that, head to the south, to the tower of the Dark Elf wizard, Neloth he is called, as he came here asking about the Black Books and might be the key to finding the others that are on this island... if you can do those two things, maybe you can liberate the Stones from Miraak's control as well."
Za'kera waited for a few moments as Frea informed her of where Saering's Watch was located, that way she knew where to go once she and the others were rested, along with the location of Tel Mithryn, the home of Neloth, which was based a massive Dwarven ruin called Nchardak, which happened to be where some Reavers had been seen, the bandits that were on this island. Supposedly there was a dragon hanging around the ruin that she had told them about and would no doubt attack them if they went near Saering's Watch, either because none of the dragons wanted anyone to learn Miraak's dark secrets or Miraak was keeping an eye on it, in case someone tried to follow in his footsteps. Based on the map Amaryllis found that the path that would bring them to their first destination was behind them, as they would have to walk back to the Wind Stone and the warn path that was in front of the exit they used, though after that it she found that they would have to head into the mountain and follow some posts to reach Saering's Watch. Za'kera nodded her head as she stared at the map, as it made sense when she thought about it, though instead of wasting time she made sure the rest of the group were ready for a fight and departed from the Skaal Village without delay, leaving Frea to return to her father's side, mostly to make sure he didn't strain himself by powering the barrier.
It took them a while to track down the path leading to Saering's Watch, which involved passing a small stream and heading up a hill that passed by another ruin, or at least a cave that had a ruined pillar nearby, though when they reached the main ruin it was easy to see the dragon that Frea had mentioned, though he roared at them and started breathing frost on them as Za'kera got close to Saering's Watch. Ma'jera stood back as Amaryllis and Wind attacked the dragon in return, one using arrows whenever an opening presented itself and another using magic, this time picking some higher powered spells, as she knew what her mentor was looking for, given what she learned earlier, and responded accordingly. Za'kera and Lydia waited until the dragon, a pale blue scaled beast that seemed to be unique to Solstheim, was on the ground before even thinking about attacking it with their weapons, all while they heard some loud noises from the ruin, as some Draugr, as in the Deathlords, marched out to deal with the dragon, meaning it had to be one of Miraak's followers. The group, joined by a number of undead, faced down the dragon that was clearly trying to kill Za'kera, showing them that Miraak didn't want to work with them and wanted her dead, or maybe he was doing this to try and make sure she was ready for whatever the future held for her.
Despite that fact, however, Amaryllis discovered that this dragon was pretty weak, at least compared to the likes of the rest that had been written about in the past, and it really didn't take them long to bring it down, though when it collapsed they watched as a phantom image of Miraak arrived and snatched it's soul, claiming that she would never be as strong as him, before disappearing and leaving a husk behind.
"I hope his training is better than this," Za'kera commented, as right now she wasn't impressed by Miraak's antics, but at the same time she found that the Deathlords didn't want to fight her, rather one escorted her up to the Word Wall and let her take in the Word of Power that was on it, which she did without delay, to which she glanced at all of the undead for a few seconds, "Um, thanks for helping us take the dragon down."
Sure enough the Deathlords knelt to her, making Amaryllis wonder if they had been servants of a previous Dragonborn or something, but for now there was one last thing they needed to do before worrying about the Black Books, they had to see if the Shout was as powerful as Storn claimed. With their time in Saering's Watch done, even though they were expecting a lot more than what they got, Za'kera decided to head back to the Wind Stone, as she wanted to see what happened when she used the new Shout on the Stone, while Amaryllis and the others followed after her. Once more they found that they were able to walk in silence, as no enemies came at them while they walked, which Amaryllis was fine with since it let all of them conserve their strength for later, given that Miraak had to have defenses set up around the Stones, even if some had no cultists near them. Thanks to the snowy path being cleared of enemies, just like it was when they came this way the first time around, they were able to reach the Wind Stone without wasting too much time, to which Za'kera stepped up for a few seconds and called upon the new power that she had unlocked, letting out a Gol as she did so, allowing them to watch as the stones cracked before shattering.
As that happened, however, a large figure, about the size of a giant and looking fish-like in some cases, emerged from the water that was around the Wind Stone, though once more Lydia proved that she was capable of anything as she hurled her battleaxe into the Lurker's chest, as that was what Ma'jera called these creatures, and then leapt at it, allowing her to yank it out as it collapsed on the ground and she beheaded it... though in the end Za'kera sighed as they returned to the village, as it was time for a break before they headed to their next destination.
With everyone rested up, and they knew a little more about what else was going on with Solstheim, Za'kera and the others headed down the coast that would take them by Nchardak, as she was interested in reaching Tel Mithryn so she could see what sort of information Neloth had on Hermaeus Mora's Black Books, since Ma'jera wasn't talking about them, no doubt to make them learn on their own. The trek, for the most part, was rather uneventful and the Reavers that Frea had told them about didn't seem interested in trying to rob or attack them, either due to the size of her group or the fact that the bandits were more eager to get some food from their camp. Of course they passed by another Stone, discovering more of the stone structure around the ancient stone, and it wasn't long before Za'kera freed it as well, causing one of the Lurkers to emerge from the water and attack them, leading to the group lashing out at the figure before it could harm all of the confused people who fled from the Stone when she used her Shout. The Lurker fell to Wind blasting it in the head with a Lightning Bolt, allowing them to continue down the rest of the path that was in front of them, focusing on Tel Mithryn and the fact that they needed to talk with Neloth, even though most of them were surprised by what they discovered a couple of seconds later.
Tel Mithryn, as they soon discovered, was a tall mushroom tower that had three smaller mushrooms near it, no doubt the locations that his servants resided in when he didn't need them, like when he was asleep, and in the courtyard between all the mushrooms stood a Dark Elf wearing the attire of a mage, Neloth's apprentice no doubt, who was talking to another Dark Elf who had to be the steward. The two seemed to be in the middle of a conversation of some importance, where it looked like the apprentice was trying to perfect a spell without his master's aid or supervision, though when they saw the group, however, both of them stopped and beckoned for Za'kera to follow, showing them that Neloth had guessed that one or more of them might come looking for aid. The Steward walked up one of the larger roots, one that was connected to the larger mushroom, and walked through a door, revealing a magical lift of some kind that allowed her to move up into the air, heading to the top of Tel Mithryn without wasting time, though there was only enough room for one person to use it at a time and Za'kera went first. Of course the passage was slightly larger, so Ma'jera did just float up to the top of the tower and watched as everyone else followed after her, allowing them to see that there were a number of bookshelves on this floor, along with desks, books, and equipment of all types, plus a round and intricate door that lead to a device that looked like it made staffs in some manner.
Neloth, on the other hand, seemed to be hard at work on one of his studies, where the Steward beckoned for the group to come to a stop, all while the apprentice joined the group and stood off to the side, mostly to see what was going on, but he stopped what he was doing and turned to face them as soon as he noticed that he had guests.
"Oh, it's you lot again... I had a feeling that you would show up." Neloth said, where he set down the Dwarven pieces that he had been studying, like he was trying to learn how they were made or something, though Amaryllis found his eyes on two members of their group, Wind, who was forgoing a disguise since her mentor wanted her to focus on other magic at the moment, and Lydia, before he focused on Za'kera, "So tell me, what brings you to Tel Mithryn, my citadel?"
"At the end of Miraak's temple we discovered a Black Book... no, I didn't read it, as she used it to open a portal that took three of us to Apocrypha," Za'kera replied, gesturing to Ma'jera with her thumb for a moment, where the Demiprince just said nothing as she looked up from the tome she had been reading, the very book they had discovered in Miraak's temple, causing Neloth to raise an eyebrow as he noticed what she was doing at the moment, "anyway, I need to find the rest of the seven Black Books that are scattered around this island... and the Skaal told me that you were the best one to ask, as you found one and came to them asking about the others."
"You are referring to the tomes of esoteric knowledge that old Hermaeus Mora has scattered throughout the world? The same tomes that she's treating like a toy?" Neloth remarked, though Amaryllis could detect a hint of disrespect in his tone, as if he considered himself to be better than the Princes of Oblivion, or maybe that was for the tomes themselves and not the one who made them, where his remark earned a chuckle from Ma'jera.
"They are tomes of esoteric knowledge, and they deserve your respect... but the Black Books hold no danger for me, as I'm the daughter of Hermaeus Mora." Ma'jera stated, where she resumed her studies as she raised the book once more and showed Neloth that she really didn't care about him or his opinions towards her father, even though Amaryllis had an odd feeling that she'd punish the wizard in some manner.
"His daughter? Hm, then that would mean you are a Demiprince... fascinating. I never thought I'd meet one of your kind, given the state of the Liminal Barrier," Neloth said, showing them that he knew about the children of the Princes, not that he had any respect for them based on his tone once more, all while informing them that he had no idea that there was a hole in the barrier between Nirn and Oblivion, even though she had been in this world before the events of the Oblivion Crisis, before he considered something and what they had said, "The Skaal were right: I do have a Black Book, and I have an idea on where another can be found... as for the other four, well, I have some ideas on where they might be found, as I have been searching for them for some time. However, before I agree to help you, I have some conditions: first, I need a blood sample from her."
As it turned out he was talking about Wind, as she was in her true form and it seemed like he was totally fine with it, likely seeing her as a new specimen to study and learn about, though this was the first time that she had heard someone ask for a bit of her blood, but before anyone could refuse she nodded her head, as it would help her get to the Black Book and Za'kera could do her own training as well.
"Good, we understand each other. The second is information about her, and a few samples as well," Neloth continued, as if he was expecting a pause to happen or was waiting for someone to speak up to stop his demands, but right now Za'kera knew that they didn't have much of a choice, not unless she had Amaryllis use her new powers to get behind the door so she could steal the other Black Book, but they needed him to get to another, though they found that he was pointing at Lydia, out of everyone in the group, "I have never seen someone like her before, and I was tempted to take her back when you neared the Stone in Raven Rock... it is a good thing I waited, as you brought her to me."
"Lydia used to be a Nord, but she took a curse that was meant for someone else, turning her into a race that Durum calls the 'Moomer'," Amaryllis explained, though she still had the inert wand in her possession, as the moment the Demiprince in question reverted back to her mad state, which would bring this foul artifact back to life since it was tied to her chaotic power, she was planning on using it to free Lydia of this foul curse, "also, Durum is actually Durum Coles, the daughter of Sheogorath, though she's back in Skyrim right now, so you don't have to worry about her suddenly appearing out of thin air or something."
"A 'Moomer'? Hm, I would hazard that it means 'Cow Elf'... your samples, if you would be so kind," Neloth said, where he produced some cylindrical glass containers, one for Wind and several for Lydia, where the former raised a dagger and cut open her finger for a moment, allowing her to fill the vial, while Lydia started to do the same thing and Neloth stopped her before she could draw blood from her changed finger, causing her to pause for a moment before understanding what he wanted, filling the vials with the milk from her udder.
"Anything else?" Wind asked, though at the same time she used a lesser healing spell to mend the cut on her finger, but her comment was to make sure that was all Neloth wanted and that there was nothing else they had to do before he told them where the other Black Book rested, as she was itching to get this adventure truly started.
"One last thing, I need to test this... Talvas, if you would." Neloth said, where he held out one of the vials and glanced over at his apprentice, where the Dark Elf in question, who seemed like he had been busy with his own studies and lost interest in the conversation they were having, stopped what he was doing and walked over to where his master was standing, to which they watched as he took the offered vial and, as if knowing that he was just a test subject, downed the contents in a matter of seconds.
At first nothing happened, Talvas seemed perfectly fine, before he gripped his chest for a moment, where they watched as his body became smoother and more feminine, including his face for that matter, and it wasn't long before his, or rather her, breasts grew out, which appeared to be the nearly the same size as Lydia's. Not a few moments later she raised both of her hands to her head and the group watched as cow horns grew out of her head, not to mention her ears changed into white furred cow ears, before her fingers shook and she pulled them down, watching as they merged into two digits and a thumb, with the hardened hoof-like nails. After that her legs shook as her feet transformed into cow hooves, looking just like Lydia's legs, and her spine extended out into a cow's tail, complete with the tuft at the end, though once that was done she moaned for a few seconds as her udder pushed out, growing out until it matched Lydia's. Talvas moaned as she took a moment to touch the newest addition, which had to have some milk inside it, before they watched as the cow fur and the dark markings appeared all over her altered body, spreading from her new arms and legs to her body, and when it hit her face they watched as the last change took place, her face pushing out into a cow's muzzle.
The other thing Amaryllis noticed was that both of Talvas' new breasts and udder were starting to leak, not that there was anything to stain since her breasts had torn her robe to pieces, much like what happened to the others, and the udder did the same with her pants, though Neloth avoided touching the milk.
"M... Master Neloth... I feel weird." Talvas said, where even her voice had changed, showing them that nothing of his male self was left, though she resisted the urge to move her new body, no doubt not wanting to do anything with it, not until her mentor fixed the mess she was in or whatever it was that was going through her mind right now.
"Fascinating. It would appear that your body has been completely changed," Neloth commented, taking a moment to look over his apprentice's new body, who stood there with an uncomfortable look on her face, though Za'kera and the others just stood there and waited for him to uphold his end of the bargain, before he glanced back at them, "I will study Talvas for a few moments, then I will help you find the next Black Book."
As everyone stood on the other side of Tel Mithryn, away from Talvas and the seemingly insane wizard, Amaryllis thought about what she and the others had just seen, the transformation of yet another person into one of the Moomer, only this time it was in the hands of someone who might actually do some damage with it. At the same time, however, she quickly realized something about the curse, the milk was contagious, given what just happened to Talvas, meaning Sheogorath intended on having her spread it to many people, no doubt inspired by the work of Peryite, the Prince of Pestilence, who worked with diseases. The Mad God created the curse so it could be spread to others, why she had no idea and right now she had no desire to work out why Sheogorath did anything, and right now it was doing just that, spreading to males and females of all species. Such a thing made her regret even coming into contact with the Mad God, given the strange and odd things she had discovered since that point in time, in connection with him and his foul curse, but there was next to nothing she could do at this point in time and would have to live with her previous decisions.
In the end, however, she sighed as she joined the others in waiting for Neloth to be done studying his changed apprentice, as he was the only one who knew where to find one of the other Black Books, save for Ma'jera and she seemed against offering any aid to them, so all they could do was wait and see what happened next.
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yep, about what i would have expected from that maniac, Neloth was always a prick, even in earlier games...as stuck up as the worst of the Altmer...
11085925 Yeah, Neloth doesn't care about anyone, especially the lives of his servants and apprentices... especially the lives of his apprentices, given what we learn later on, so this was bound to happen to Talvas, sooner or later.
11085980
oh, u might want to have the group visit that trader with the Silt Strider...he can be accidentally killed by Ash Spawn, and he sells one of the Resonance Gems for another puzzle on the island that has a very interesting reward at the end of it...
11086007 Ah yes, the dwarven black bow of fate... plus two friendly dwarven automatons, a spider and sphere.
11086111
arguably the best bow in the game that can be easily obtained, the ACTUAL best bow is a pain in the tail to get a hold of...
11086175 And which bow is the actual best bow?
11086183
the Glass Bow of the Stag Prince is, arguably the best bow in the game due to its enchantment, however its a real pain to get a hold of...
11086196 Oh, that bow... yeah, that can be a pain to acquire.
11086226
ive never gotten it myself, but from what i hear...
11086319 It's a bow you buy from some guy on Solstheim, but unfortunately it isn't always for sale, so it's a random chance for him to even have it, and sometimes he's even wielding it.
11086333
he also only shows up under very specific conditions, so yeah, its a hassle
11086360 I believe it was midnight or something... but yeah, it's hard to get a hold of him.
11086369
most of the time i dont bother with that bow, so it doesnt come up...
11086412 Perfectly understandable.