Skyrim: The Faces of Death

by Blackdrag-rose

Solstheim: Aiding the Skaal

Amaryllis found that nothing happened after they dealt with Ildari, and hopefully gaining the support of House Telvanni at the same time, meaning all they did was sit around Tel Mithryn as Wind focused on the remaining Black Books that they had recovered so far, just like her mentor wanted. It was hard to tell if she was trying to hold back, to rest a little more or help others before worrying about the remaining twisted tomes, or if part of her was worried about the other Burdens she might face, where she had the feeling that the latter might be the truth in this situation. The other part about this was that Amaryllis was sure that with every Burden defeated Wind's power would grow, but at the same time it might mean that all of the remaining Burdens would get a power boost as well, so she was likely debating how to deal with the threat and plan what she was going to do next. Other than that there was nothing else she and the others could do, save for sit and watch as Neloth tended to his twisted apprentices, all while Wind studied the Black Books that weren't from Miraak's temple, as her mentor refused to allow her access to where Miraak rested.

In the end, however, Wind didn't open any of the other Black Books and let them be stored away once more, where she walked over to the others as Ma'jera floated behind her, though Amaryllis didn't detect any annoyance from the daughter of Hermaeus Mora, rather it was like she knew this was going to happen and was fine with it.

"We should help the Skaal, as they're the last settlement on this island." Wind commented, as so far they had aided Raven Rock in stabilizing themselves, because with the mines cleared they would be able to mine ore again and with the death of the Severin family there was no threat to the power structure, and had just finished aiding Neloth, which might grant them some assistance in the future.

"Agreed... though once that's done you should focus on clearing out your Burdens," Za'kera said, as while she understood part of the reason behind Wind's desire to help the Skaal out, due to the fact that she was thinking the same thing, it was also clear she was trying to get around her own work, hence why she made sure the mage knew that she needed to head into the books once the Skaal were no longer in need of assistance.

Wind paused for a few seconds before nodding her head, showing that she was fine with tending to the tomes once they were done helping the Skaal out, to which they glanced over at Neloth, finding that he was in the middle of whatever he was researching, before heading back down to the base of Tel Mithryn. Once they were outside Za'kera turned back to the north and started moving once more, though as she did that Amaryllis noted that night would be upon them soon, as they had spent most of the day assisting Neloth, so depending on what they discovered in the Skaal Village they might arrive at Raven Rock well into the night. Of course this time around they found a number of Reavers wandering the area between the village and Tel Mithryn, to which the group lashed out at them without wasting time, Za'kera dodging attacks before stabbing her foes in the chest, Lydia just hacked her way through her opponents, Wind channeled her magic and froze her targets with a blast of ice magic. Such a thing allowed her to blast them apart with a followup, in the form of a Lightning Bolt, though as they did that Amaryllis found a few ranged foes and appeared behind them before they even knew what in the world was happening, allowing her to slice open their necks within a matter of seconds, ending her foes as Za'kera and the others did the same with their foes.

After looting the Reavers of whatever valuables they had, coins and gems mostly since their enemies had no ebony, they made their way back to the Skaal Village, where it was easy to find two of the residents, one female and one male, that just so happened to be in the middle of a conversation when they arrived.

"Deor, you must calm yourself." the female Skaal stated, her words informing them that the other Skaal must be upset or something, why they had no idea and it gave them a good starting point to figure out how to help these people, despite the fact that Za'kera still had two Stones that needed to be freed, not counting the one in Miraak's temple, "I'm sure there is a good reason Baldor left us."

"Something isn't right, Fanari, I feel it in my bones and I smell it in the air. Baldor wouldn't leave without telling someone." the other Skaal, Deor, replied, where Amaryllis and Wind could tell that he must have seen something, since he seemed so sure that this 'Baldor' hadn't left of his own accord, otherwise he wouldn't be trying to convince others to help him track down the missing villager.

"Don't worry yourself over nothing, Deor. Do you want a head full of gray hairs before you've seen forty winters?" Fanari said, informing them that she either didn't care that someone might be missing, or she did care and had faith that Baldor would return in due time, though either way it didn't seem like her words were doing Deor any favors, as he was upset over what she had said.

"It makes my heart heavy that you don't believe me, Fanari." Deor stated, his tone and emotions confirming that he knew something that none of the other Skaal knew, or at least he was sure that his friend must have been taken, where he just turned to the side as he sighed, "Baldor could be in danger, and you will do nothing. If you won't help me, then I'll ask the All-Maker to send someone else who can."

Fanari seemed conflicted by what he said, though she simply sighed and moved on with her duties, whatever they might be since they had no idea what her position in the village was, though once she was gone they walked forward and found that Deor recognized them immediately.

"I am in no mood to talk, outsiders... one of the Skaal has gone missing." Deor said, noticing the group approaching where he had been talking with Fanari, even though his attention was on the problem they had overheard him discussing with the figure that was leaving this part of the village.

"We heard. Might I ask who is missing?" Za'kera asked, because she knew that if they presented themselves as people that were willing to help, even if it meant heading out into the wilderness to track down Baldor or his tracks, Deor might accept the offer and tell them more about the figure in question, as there had to be a reason for someone wanting to take him while he was outside the village.

"It is Baldor Iron-Shaper. As our only smith, Baldor is very important to the village." Deor replied, though while the rest of his people might not want to speak to outsiders about the situation, like they wanted to deal with it themselves, he was more willing to share information with them, knowing that they had saved his people before and had a feeling that they would be able to do so again.

"Did anything unusual happen around the time of his disappearance?" Wind inquired, as there had to be something for her and the others to go on, other than the fact that he had gone missing all of a sudden, while she noticed that Amaryllis was glancing around the rest of the area, sensing what the other villagers were feeling and seeing if there were any odd emotions nearby.

"Hm, I do not remember Baldor acting strangely... although, now that you ask, I did see something in the woods on the day he disappeared." Deor said, recalling the events that lead him to believe that the blacksmith had gone missing, where his words caused them to listen to him, since what he had seen might be the key to figuring out what happened to Baldor, or at least tracking him down, "I saw two elves in the far distance, dragging something behind them, and I saw them wearing some sort of black clothing over their bodies... hunters often visit our lands, so I thought little of it."

"Where were they headed?" Amaryllis asked, because she had a feeling that the Thalmor were involved, and if that was the case it meant that things were going to be bad for Baldor, as there was only one type of elf that bothered to wear black, no doubt robes when she thought about it, and given what they were planning it made her wonder if they might be looking for all sorts of fuel sources.

"South and west. If your road takes you that way, perhaps you could search for any sign of Baldor... the Skaal would be grateful if you found him." Deor answered, giving them an idea of where to go, into part of Solstheim that they hadn't been in yet, meaning there was no telling what they might find while they searched for the Thalmor and the missing smith, so it was a good thing Lydia was with them.

"Out of curiosity, why would someone want to kidnap Baldor?" Za'kera inquired, as she had a few ideas on what their foes might be looking for, likely echoing Amaryllis' thoughts on the matter, since she was far smarter than most people gave her credit, especially when it came to prophecies, but for now she focused her attention on Baldor and why someone like the Thalmor would want to get their hands on him.

"Well, there is one reason that comes to mind. Baldor is the keeper of an ancient tradition, the forging of Stalhrim." Deor replied, referring to the strange ice-like ore that they had recovered from Raven Rock's mine, or at least the nordic section of it anyway, which they weren't telling others about since it might land them in trouble with the Skaal, "It is an art we Skaal hold sacred, known only to our smith... if someone wanted to make such weapons, they would have to get that knowledge from Baldor."

With that information in hand Za'kera and the others departed from the Skaal Village without wasting time, heading out into the wild once more, though the direction that Deor had pointed them in happened to lead them to where one of the two remaining Stones rested, which also happened to be near a decent sized mead hall. It wasn't as large as Jorrvaskar, as that was made from several boats from the looks of it, and right now it was occupied by small blue skinned critters, who carried spears and seemed to have next to no intelligence, Rieklings based on what Ma'jera told them, and sure enough the critters pointed their weapons at them and danced. Since none of them tried to talk, and they were clearly trying to get her and the others to do something, Za'kera swung at one and knocked it backwards, though all of the remaining Riekings got upset and ganged up on them immediately, causing Wind to wrap her magic around them as she used a wind barrier to repel them, adding a few blades of wind to take them down. With that done they made their way over to the Stone and Amaryllis put some arrows in the cultists that were guarding the area, though as she did that Za'kera used her Shout on the Stone, shattering the structure around it while calling a Lurker to face them, which Lydia slashed to pieces with ease, as none of the Lurkers could stand up to her might.

Once Za'kera was sure that the Stone was liberated, leaving one more she had to track down, they started to move further away from the mead hall, where Amaryllis took to the air and glanced around the area, finding a slumbering dragon that she wanted to ignore, people working on the temple against their will, and a pair of Thalmor. Based on what she could see they were heading to the west, along a path that cut around the base of a peak and seemed to be heading for a building, an old and abandoned one by the looks of it, where two more of their number were waiting, though she didn't see anyone dressed in the attire of a Skaal, meaning Baldor was inside the building. Of course that was if the Thalmor were behind his disappearance, since she was willing to believe that she might be a little biased towards them, given everything that she and the others had learned during their time in Skyrim, but after that thought she turned around and returned to Za'kera's side, where she informed them of what she had seen. With that information in hand they continued down the path she had seen the Thalmor take, finding that their foes must have dealt with the enemies that had been in their way, meaning at least two of them would be weakened from all the fighting they had done, and sure enough they found that the pair in question were resting while the others kept watch.

Such a thing didn't matter in the end, the group lashed out at the Thalmor and ambushed them, attacking them before the elves even had a chance to defend themselves, and it lead to Amaryllis acquiring the key that likely belonged to the rather small building, which had a set of stairs that lead to a basement, where a Skaal happened to be resting against one of the walls, injured from a beating by the marks on his face.

"Outsiders! I remember you. You're the one who freed the Skaal from the dark spell!" Baldor said, his tone revealing that he was pleased to see all of them, even though he might have been surprised to see that someone other than the elves had come to where he was imprisoned, "Thank the All-Maker that you have come... these accursed elves have taken me from my home."

"Baldor, are you hurt? Are you in need of healing?" Wind asked, as it looked like the Thalmor had been beating him up to get all of the information that he had on Stalhrim, though as she said that she raised her hands, as she knew a few healing spells and all of them would be useful in mending whatever broken bones or cuts he might have, even if he didn't have any cuts on his body.

"No, my wounds are not serious." Baldor replied, where he waved a hand at them as the group approached, showing all of them that he was just fine and that everything they were seeing right now was just a bunch of bruises, but that didn't stop Wind from keeping her magic at the ready, "I don't think the elves were trying to harm me, rather I think that they were trying to frighten me... at worst, I have a few bruises to show for my ordeal."

"Do you have any idea why would the Thalmor abduct you?" Amaryllis inquired, though at the same time Wind made sure he wasn't seriously injured, because there was no telling what the Thalmor had done to him in the time they had been on the island, even if it wasn't for too long since Za'kera had only released the Stone near their village a few days ago, so that meant someone had told them about Baldor's knowledge ahead of time.

"I do not know this word 'Thalmor', but if you mean elves, they were trying to learn the secrets of forging Stalhrim." Baldor answered, confirming Deor's thoughts on why someone would want to kidnap him, that it was for the knowledge he had on forging the material in question, though he didn't question them on what she had said, rather he focused on what had happened to him, "Their leader, an elf named Ancarion, has a map and claims that it shows the location of a hidden source of Stalhrim, so his people have been trying to take my knowledge from me."

"Out of pure curiosity, what is Stalhrim?" Za'kera asked, mostly because they weren't supposed to know about Stalhrim, as they had mined some earlier and it seemed like hiding that fact would help them out, especially since it seemed like such a thing belonged to the Skaal, or at least it did when they talked to the Baldor and Deor about it, while the others seemed to agree with her decision.

"Enchanted ice as hard as iron and as cold as death." Baldor replied, causing several of them to raise their eyebrows for a few moments, save for Lydia and Ma'jera anyway, as it gave them an idea that maybe the art of forging such powerful ore into weapons and armor empowered them, making them more valuable as fuel for the Numidium, "Stalhrim can be forged into deadly weapons, but the art is known only to the smiths of the Skaal... in time, I will pass this knowledge down to my apprentice, as is proper for one of the Skaal."

"That's understandable. Now, where can we find this Ancarion?" Amaryllis asked, as that was the main thing they needed to know, where to find the Thalmor's main base so they could crush it and ensure their enemies didn't get their hands on any weapons or armor, or anything for that matter, crippling their operations so Za'kera and Wind could finish up with their own missions.

"They have a ship, which I was brought to before coming here, and the elf showed me the map during our 'conversation'." Baldor answered, something that told them it was either more of an interrogation or a beating, though it gave them more information to go on before leaving the abandoned building that they had found Baldor in, before he considered what he had to tell them, "You will find it on the northern coast of the island. Please, do not let Ancarion make his weapons... I don't care if you kill him or let him live, but take the map from him... it belongs with the Skaal. While you do that, I will return to the village... when you have the map, please bring it to me there... and thank you. May the All-Maker bless your days."

Once they were sure that Baldor was safe, and that he would be able to return to the village on his own, Za'kera headed outside and the others quickly followed after her, where this time around they had to head up the side of the mountain, as she was planning on stopping at the last Stone before reaching Ancarion's position. To do so she either had to head down the side of the mountain and walk along the coast, before heading up the hill it was on, or head up it, cut around the tip in some manner, and then head down to where the Stone rested, allowing them to ambush the cultists that might be there on Miraak's orders. The path in question brought them by some Rieklings that were far more hostile than those that were outside the mead hall, causing Za'kera and the others to lash out at them as they defended themselves, though in the end none of their foes stood much of a chance and allowed them to continue on their way, passing by a Dwarven ruin as they walked along her chosen path. After that it wasn't long before Za'kera spotted her destination and Amaryllis loosed one of her arrows at the lone cultist, putting him down before he even knew what was coming, allowing her to approach the last Stone and use her Bend Will Shout on it, breaking the structure to free it as Lydia slashed at the Lurker that appeared not a few seconds after Za'kera loosed her Shout.

After breaking the structure Amaryllis found a brown scaled dragon in the air and it fled as soon as it noticed them, which meant Miraak's latest ally didn't want anything to do with them, though with that done she returned to the coast and just headed to the north, avoiding some of the local Netch before discovering an area with a large ship that rested in what was the northwestern portion of the island's coast.

"Ancarion! We would have words with you." Za'kera stated, raising her voice as they approached the ship, finding that the majority of the Thalmor backed up a little as she stepped towards them, though sure enough she found a male Thalmor walking off of his ship with two figures beside him, likely bodyguards, and she said nothing as they waited for him to come to where she was standing.

"It would seem that someone has gleamed our true purpose for coming to this pitiful island," Ancarion remarked, where he crossed his arms for a moment as he and his guards smirked at them, showing Za'kera and the others that the elves believed that they were in the right and that they could do nothing wrong in the eyes of their boss, whoever that might be, a target Amaryllis wanted to end.

"You mean that you're planning on gathering Stalhrim weapons and armor so you can feed their energy to the Numidium that your faction is building? Yeah, we know about it." Wind remarked, to which she and the others held their ground for a few more moments, showing the Thalmor that they weren't going to be intimidated by them, as slightly superior numbers wasn't enough of a reason for them to step down.

"The... Numidium? It seems that we have a mole that needs to be exterminated." Ancarion commented, his words giving them all the information they needed, it confirmed what all of the Demiprinces were worried about, the existence of the massive Dwarven robot that the Thalmor wanted to use to destroy the Adamantine Tower, to end all of reality, before he glanced back at his forces, "Soldiers, end them!"

As soon as he said those words the group was already moving, Amaryllis pulled some arrows out and loosed them at the Thalmor that were the furthest away from where they were standing, striking them in their chests and knocking both of her foes down, much to Ancarion's surprise when he realized what had happened. Lightning crackled around Wind's arms for a few seconds before she blasted two more Thalmor with Thunderbolts, knocking them backwards before either one had a chance to do anything to stop them from attacking their meager forces, causing Ma'jera to nod as she watched her apprentice did that. Her attacks opened the way for Lydia to move forward as the Thalmor tried to regroup, who swung her battleaxe and cleaved some of their enemies apart, opening the way for Za'kera to approach Ancarion before he had a chance to flee the area, not that it mattered since there was nowhere for him to go, not with his team dead and the paths he had to pick from lead to death. Za'kera, on the other hand, wasted no time in lashing out at the elf that was trying to flee, where her attacks knocked his blade out of the way, as he had one and used it to try and stop her, even though she also took both of his hands, to make sure he couldn't fight back, before he fell to his knees, where she placed her blades on either side of his head and beheaded Ancarion.

With that done the group took a moment to make sure they looted everything that was in the area, and that included the map that Baldor wanted them to acquire, though once she was sure they had everything Za'kera started the trek back to Raven Rock, so they could rest for the night before heading to the Skaal Village, and once this mission was done it would be time for Wind to tackle the Black Books as they sought out the rest of them.

Comments

[Night_Moon60606]

huh, will this group also be searching for the pirate treasure? they are at more than a high enough level to get that quest, and its quite an interesting one...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11103177 Ah yes, the Deathbrand quest. It's possible they might do it, they just have to get the book to tell them that it exists.

[Night_Moon60606]

11103227
theres a copy in Neloths tower...hell, theres copies all over, its would be easier to speculate how they WOULDNT learn of it...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11103252 You can, at times, also find a copy or two in the Apocrypha chests, so I guess it's only a matter of time until one of them picks up the book in question.

[Night_Moon60606]

11103271
they could also come across two of the pirates arguing over the treasure, its a random encounter, but it happens. also, hope ur not doing the werebear quest, that one is a PITA

[Blackdrag-rose]

11103292 Huh, I've near run into the pirates arguing over treasure... it's usually the Reavers. For the werebear, I've never done the quest, so don't expect it to appear.

[Night_Moon60606]

11103299
good, as its based ENTIRELY on a random encounter somewhere on the cost of the island, or at least theres four points where the encounter has a CHANCE to spawn...its very annoying...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11103308 Yeah, I've read the wiki page on the werebear quest, and I can understand how annoying it can be, hence why I said it wouldn't appear in the story.

[Night_Moon60606]

11103320
fair enough, theres plenty of other side quests in the area...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11103330 Not really, as I've done a fair number of them over the last couple of chapters. Save for anything going back to Skyrim, I think the only side quests that remain are the Ahzidal quest, the quest to find the missing thief, and Thirsk Mead Hall's new leader.

[Night_Moon60606]

11103336
not even close, the full list of side quest on Solstheim...

Raven Rock

A New Debt
March of the Dead
Served Cold
The Final Descent

Skaal Village
A New Source of Stalhrim
Filial Bond
Lost Legacy

Tel Mithryn

Azra's Staffs
Briarheart Necropsy
Experimental Subject (Neloth's Health Boost)
From the Ashes
Healing a House
Heart Stones
Lost Knowledge
Old Friends
Reluctant Steward
Telvanni Research
Wind and Sand

Other

Deathbrand
Retaking Thirsk
The Chief of Thirsk Hall
Unearthed

there r the various miscellaneous quests as well, of course...but theres plenty to do on the island. granted, a lot HAS been done, but theres more to do and see...like the group of Hunters out near Frostmoon Crag

[Blackdrag-rose]

11103414 Huh, guess I remembered things wrong. So you're right, there's more for them to do while tracking down the rest of the Black Books.

[Night_Moon60606]

11103418
please note that Filial Bond is the Werebear one...so it can be safely ignored...

[Blackdrag-rose]

11103505 I'll keep it in mind.