Ancient Blood Chapter 14
A Dragon Priest Rises
Wrapped in only his cape, Sebastian and Jenassa lay in the garden of Sky Haven temple watching the stars fade from the heavens. With her head on his chest, Jenassa says “We should go inside. The sun will be up soon.” Sebastian scoffs, “Don’t you dare move, woman. Magnus, himself, will not budge me from this spot.” She pulls the cape up a bit further, “So, what’s this about Valthume? You said that name before.” He yawns, “It’s an old tomb. It was built near the end of the Dragon War. A Dragon Priest is buried there. His name was Hevnoraak. On the way here, I felt a powerful source of Magicka stirring in the direction of the barrow. It can only be him awakening in response to the rise of the Dragons… he has heard his master’s call.” Jenassa looks up at him, “He sounds dangerous. Are you sure Thou’Var is up to it?” Sebastian sighs, “I’m not sure. That’s why we will be going with him. He is an able fighter, but with his limited defenses and rather unremarkable weapons… Hevnoraak may be too much for him alone.” Sebastian groans as the first rays of the sun peek over the distant mountains, “Remember me saying Magnus couldn’t move me…” Jenassa nods, “Yeah…” Feeling the burn of the sun, Sebastian grunts, “I was wrong… Let’s go inside.” Jenassa laughs and they collect their armors and start getting dressed.
Upon entering the temple, the Blades and the Dragonborn are still asleep. The cots scattered around the room look uncomfortable to Sebastian, “Wonderful… If the floor wasn’t so filthy, I would sleep on the stones.” Jenassa smiles, “You can sleep with me?” She pats the cot she is sitting on. Sebastian shakes his head. Jenassa pouts, “Why not?” “For one,” he says, “The cots are very old and likely won’t hold us both. And two… we have a heavy task before us… You need to rest. As do I.” He lays in a separate cot, “Go to sleep, Jen.” She groans, but lays down. They don’t sleep long, however, before they are woken up by the others moving about. The Dragonborn asks, “Finally up, you two? Esbern has made some breakfast. There’s mead in that barrel.” Jenassa says, “I could eat, but my Master has a... Strict diet.” Sebastian nods, “Tis true. Picky eater since I was very young, I’m afraid.” The Dragonborn gets a strange look on his face, “Why… Why do you call him master? A mercenary's patron, sure, but… master?” Unsure of what to say, Jenassa looks at Sebastian. He shrugs as he thinks up a convincing lie, “Old habits and a sense of respect, I suppose. I’m not her patron, you see. She... served my house in highrock, once upon a time. Found her in Whiterun and explained what I was doing in Skyrim. She insisted on joining me.” Jenassa nods, “Yes… calling him Sebastian just feels… strange.” She smiles and goes to see what Esbern cooked up. Delphine broods in silence, scowling at Sebastian from a side passage.
After a hearty breakfast, the Dragonborn asks, “So, are you two ready to head out?” Delphine suspiciously asks, “You’re going... with them?” “Problem?” Sebastian asks, “Still don’t trust me?” Delphine eyes him, “I don’t know you. You show up out of nowhere and are a bit too helpful.” Esbern speaks up, “He can be trusted, Delphine. I’ll explain later. I confess I am curious, though. Why would you go to the Greybeards? They are selective in whom they let into their halls.” Jenassa says, “We’re not going to the Greybeards. There’s a Barrow where there should be a word wall that can teach Thou’Var a new Word of Power.” Delphine, still distrustful, “How do you know this?” Sebastian takes a drink from his flask, “I know many things you are ignorant of, Churl. This is one of them. By the looks of this place, you two will have more than enough to do getting it in order to ‘revive the blades’ or whatever it is you plan to do here…. Ready, Thou’Var?” Delphine glares at Sebastian as he walks away.
Nearing the exit of the temple, Sebastian feels unseen eyes upon him. “You two go prepare the horses,” Sebastian says to Jenassa and the Dragonborn, “and make sure we have enough provisions. I left my journal upstairs. I won’t be long.” Once his companions are out of sight, Sebastian looks back up the passage, “You going to hide back there forever?” Delphine reveals herself, “Where are you taking the Dragonborn?” He turns to face her, “I told you... Valthume. It’s a minor detour, but should aid Thou’Var’s progress in mastering his Thu’Um.” “I don’t believe you.” She says slowly walking towards him. “What you believe is not my concern, Churl.” Sebastian says as he turns his back to her. Delphine rushes Sebastian with her Akaviri Sword drawn, but he vanishes when she gets close.
Delphine looks around the area cautiously when something grabs her sword arm and wrenches it behind her back, slamming her to the stone floor. Sebastian reappears, mounted on her back, and tightens his grip. Gritting her teeth, she grunts and groans as she squirms under him. “I have tolerated your insolence long enough, I think.” He says as he picks up her sword. She hears the blade dragging against the back of her armor and feels it slid up the back of her head, “Kill me… You will only prove my suspicions right!” “Kill you?” he says, “Is that the best you think I can do to punish you? Heh… Child... your imagination is severely lacking.” He lifts the blade and Delphine braces for her death, but Sebastian drives the sword into the stone floor beside her head and flips her over. His left hand holds her throat to the floor with a green energy pulsing from his palm. His right hand scoops up a patch of dirt containing soil, moss, and a trace of Forsworn blood from the floor. She squirms, kicks, and claws at him, but slowly calms as the spell takes effect until she goes limp. Her eyes flash with an emerald gleam as Sebastian stuffs the foul rubbish from the floor into her mouth, “From this day forth; no matter what you eat, no matter what you drink… this filth is all you will ever taste.” he leans down and whispers in her ear, “You did not catch up to me. This did not happen. You fell on the stairs.” The spell ends and Sebastian walks away leaving her coughing and hacking up foulness on the ground.
With the horses fed and watered, Sebastian approaches his companions, “Did you not get a horse like I told you back at the Bannered Mare, Thou’Var?” “I did, but…” The Dragonborn hangs his head, “Well… I didn’t tie him up well enough at Kynesgrove and that dragon I fought crushed him. He actually tried to attack the damn thing.” Jenassa looks shocked, “Loyal beast…” she looks to her mare, “Would you fight a dragon for me?” Sebastian mounts his horse, “Come on, Thou’Var. You’re with me.” On the ride to Valthume, the Dragonborn asks many questions about the Thu’Um and what Sebastian knows of being Dragonborn. He answers what he can, until they arrive at the barrow’s entrance. As they dismount, Sebastian says, “Do remember the potions this time, my dear. I’m not sure how deep this Barrow is, nor what trials we may face whitin.” Jenassa pats the pouch on the back of her leather armor, “I remembered this time, Master. You might want to get some as well, Thou’Var. Check my saddle bags.”
Prepared as they can be, they enter the old tomb. “At arms!” The Dragonborn says drawing his sword, “A spirit.” Sebastian examines the spirit standing beside an old throne in the center of the entrance with a skeleton slumped in the seat, “Hold... I don’t believe this one to be hostile.” The spirit approaches, “Leave strangers. Evil stirs in this place. I fear for the security of the very land if it should break free.” “An evil you say?” Sebastian replies, “You speak of Hevnoraak, I assume. I am aware of his growing strength. It’s why we have come. He must not be allowed to leave this tomb.” The spirit sounds shocked, but grateful, “You have come to end him? Thank the gods. I have been holding him here, but as his strength grows, I am fading. I fear I cannot hold him much longer.” Jenassa steps forward, “Then let us help you. He must be stopped.” The spirit bows to the trio, “Then we will need the vessels containing his blood. Be careful though. They are guarded by his minions. I do not want to send you to your death, but they are necessary.” With that, a section of wall slides down revealing a hidden path into the tomb. “Proceed with care. The Draugr stir from their rest.” the spirit says as it vanishes from sight.
As they walk the stone passages, the Dragonborn says, “Are you sure we can trust this spirit?” Sebastian nods, “I believe him. I did not detect any intent to mislead us. Before a sorcerer can become a Lich, it must drain it’s blood into special containers. In order for the lich to properly rise from it’s tomb, it requires that blood… A dangerous thing as it will increase his power, but to end this evil, it must be done. It will take time for his power to reach its apex. If we strike quickly, we CAN do this.” The Dragonborn shrugs, “You know more of this than I, Sebastian.” Jenassa pats the Dragonborn on the back, “He does. Keep your sword arm ready and we will get through this in one piece… or mostly in one piece. Hard to say, really. It depends on if we wake the Deathlords that are bound to be deeper in.” The Dragonborn looks at her, “Deathlords? That’s… comforting.” Sebastian is amused by the pair's banter and smiles, “Keep moving, Silvermane. Keep moving.”
When they come upon the Dragon Priest’s sarcophagus, the Dragonborn says, “Can we not just pry this open? Kill the creature now?” Again, Sebastian smirks, “Go ahead and try to get that lid off. Those things are designed so that they must be opened from the inside. You won’t even be able to get a proper grip on it.” They don’t go much further before running into the first of the Draugr the Spirit spoke of. The first few they come across are easy enough to put down, but as they go deeper, the draugr they find are more powerful. As his armor is still damaged from his ordeal with the Hagraven and the Forsworn, it doesn’t take long before the Dragonborn suffers a hard blow. “Damn it!” He says as he heals himself. “We need to find you some better armor.” Sebastian says, “Or at least some that doesn’t have large gaps in it… Check those chests. They must have something we can use.” They crack open a large chest and various urns around them and find some potions, gemstones, and gold, but no armor.
Pressing on, they awaken a set of Deathlords. “Brace yourselves, “ Jenassa says, “These are not going down easy.” Sebastian summons a pair of Frost atronachs, “You two focus on one of them. The atronachs will distract the other.” Between arrows, fire bolts, and the dragonborn’s flaming sword, they take them down. Again the Dragonborn is heavily injured. As he slowly heals himself, Sebastian strips one of the Deathlords of it’s armor and weapons. “Here, Thou’Var.” Sebastian says, “Put these on. We can get you something better when we get out of here. Besides, this ebony war axe and shield are far superior to what you currently have. I can improve them later.” reluctantly, he does so, “Ugh.. they stink.” Jenassa laughs, “They should. They had a corpse in them.”
Moving through the tomb they fight several more of the undead guardians and collect the vessels holding the old priest’s blood. The Dragonborn stops and shakes his head. Sebastian asks, “What’s wrong, Thou’Var?” The Dragonborn looks around, “There are modern shields here. The potions almost look new. Talos’ ass, there is even fresh food scattered around. Where does all this come from? The tomb is too old for these to have been here when this place was built.” Jenassa says, “That should be obvious. The Draugr venture out each day and collect them. Sometimes they kill passing adventurers or traveling merchants. They bring the bodies back here if the victim is strong enough and make them into new Draugr.” The Dragonborn looks at her, “How do you two know all this?” She shrugs, “Experience. We have spent enough time in these places to have seen them do this.” The Dragonborn again shakes his head, “You two have some strange hobbies.”
They finally come to the word wall. The Dragonborn approaches, “You were right, Sebastian. Another wall.” Sebastian nods, “Many of these old Crypts have them. You should make a habit of seeking them out. You will need to increase your power before fighting Alduin.” The Dragonborn steps up to the wall, “Again... Chanting…” Sebastian looks at him, “What do the voices tell you this time?” The Dragonborn focuses a moment, “The word is… I think they are saying the word for ‘life’... What does this mean?… oh…” Jenassa looks at him, “Well… what does ‘oh’ mean?” The Dragonborn tilts his head, “It sends out a wave of magic that will reveal any living or undead thing it touches… I’m not sure exactly how this works though.” Sebastian nods, “I suspected as much… If I remember the legends correctly, if you slay a dragon and absorb its power you can take from it the meaning of words of power you learn. Like with the dragon at the watchtower.” The Dragonborn ponders this for a moment, “So now I am intentionally looking to fight creatures my ancestors revered as gods… Wonderful…”
Returning to the main chamber with the vessels, they meet the spirit once more. The spirit says, “You found the vessels!” The Dragonborn holds one up, “So what are we supposed to do with these?” The spirit replies, “Empty them into the altar and sit on the throne behind it. Once you have done so, I will unbind Hevnoraak. WIth the vessels emptied and the binding dispelled, he will awaken in a weakened state. Strike him down as quickly as possible before he regains his full power or he will be unstoppable.” They do as the spirit instructs and the binding is broken. The Spirit collapses as the monster rises from it’s sarcophagus. “NOW!” Jenassa shouts, “Kill the beast!” Sebastian summons a pair of Dremora Lords, mighty Daedric knights, and they all attack the Lich.
The Dremora take the bulk of the Lich’s assault, but it’s spells are lightning based and the strikes jump from opponent to opponent. As the Dragonborn must be close to attack, he takes several hard hits. Sebastian heals him each time he is hit, but the battle takes a heavy toll. As the battle rages on, the Dremora fall to Hevnoraak’s attacks and the Dragonborn is covered in burns before they finally bring the beast down. Unable to maintain himself, Hevnoraak disintegrates into a pile of ash. With his ancient enemy felled, the spirit rises, “You did it!... You actually did it! Thank you heroes… Now I may finally rest. Please, take Hevnoraak’s mask. May it serve as a reward for your great deed here.” the Spirit bows to the trio and vanishes. “Rest well, old warrior.” Sebastian says, “I hope T’sun welcomes you into Sovngarde as the hero that you are.” The Dragonborn nods, “Well said.“
Sebastian takes the mask, “Powerful indeed… The staff is nothing to sneer at either.” The Dragonborn rubs his shoulder, “I can vouch for that much…” Jenassa sighs, “If we are done here, can we please leave, Master?” Sebastian smiles, “Of course. Come, let us go to my Sweet Sister's manor. It’s in Falkreath. It’s not far out of the way. I can make you some proper armor and improve that axe and shield there… If she is in a hospitable mood.” “Sounds good.” the Dragonborn says, “This stuff is starting to itch.” They exit the tomb and feed the horses some apples they found inside, then ride for Lakeview Manor.
When they arrive, they are met by Feral. “Who… who is this thing you bring?” She asks, “We do not know it. Who, Who, WHO?” Sebastian dismounts, “Calm down, you crazy cat. He is a friend.” She tilts her head, “Friend? We like friends. Friends are good… Are you a friend?” The Dragonborn removes his helmet, “Indeed, miss. I am... friendly.” Feral rushes up and hugs him, “I like friends… but... you stink.” and pushes him away. The Dragonborn is clearly uncomfortable. Sebastian taps Feral on the back, “Is my Sweet Sister inside? I need to use the smithy to make him some armor that does not stink. She still keeps a stocked smithy, doesn't she?” Feral nods, “Oh yes yes yes… Come come! Inside. Many fine metals and leathers for crafting.”
With Shepherd’s permission, Sebastian enters the basement and works all day and through much of the night. The Dragonborn and Jenassa spar with each other for a few hours and then wait in the main hall until Sebastian emerges with a fine suit of steel plate armor for the Dragonborn and a light but very durable malachite set of armor for Jenassa. “Before I enchant these,” Sebastian says, “You two go try these on. Let me know if I need to make any alterations.” Looking the Steel plate over, the Dragonborn remarks, “This is indeed fine Steel… Where did you learn to make such a suit?” “Atmorah.” Sebastian says. “Truly?” The Dragonborn replies with an astonished tone, “You’ve been to Atmorah?” “He’s been all over Tamriel,” Jenassa says from behind the wall of the kitchen, “... and many places beyond. Learned from many masters.” she steps out in the new armor, “Fits me well, don’t you think?” Sebastian smiles, “You are lovely as ever, my dear. I know your curves very well.” Jenassa smiles at him.
After they have tried the suits on and returned them to Sebastian, he takes them up stairs to an enchanting table and utilizes powerful grand soul gems to enchant the armors and weapons. Once finished, he returns the armors and weapons to the Dragonborn and Jenassa. They put them on and feel the surge of power from Sebastian’s works. “By the Divines!” The Dragonborn says, “I feel.. Invincible!’ Jenassa draws the matching malachite sword and dagger and gives them a few swings, “I knew you were a skilled craftsman, but this… this is amazing, Master.” Sebastian sits at the dining table exhausted, “Glad you approve.” Shepherd enters, “Well done, Dear Brother. You are almost as good as I am… Almost…Now, what you promised?” She holds out her hand and Sebastian hands her Hevnoraak’s mask and staff, “Her you are. Thank you again, Sweet Sister. Daring to press your hospitality, would you mind us staying the night… It’s been a long journey.” Shepherd smiles, “Of course, Dear Brother. Thou’Var may take the guest quarters. You and Jenassa may take my room. From what I’ve seen, you two will need the larger bed.” Shepherd looks to Sebastian with a devilish grin that quickly fades when she notices he is asleep. “Master?” Jenassa asks. “He really put his all into these suits.” The Dragonborn remarks, “I’ll help you carry him up.” “I’ve got him…” Jenassa says sharply, “But… thank you, Thou’Var.” She lifts him from the chair and pauses a moment, “Actually… Thou’Var… could you…” The Dragonborn gets under one arm and Jenassa takes the other and they march him upstairs.
Shepherd watches from the doorway as they set him on the bed, “I believe Jenassa can take it from here, Thou’Var.” The Dragonborn steps away, “Well, I’m going to bed, myself. Thank you again for your generosity, m’Lady” Shepherd nods to the Dragonborn as he leaves. “Jenassa starts removing Sebastian’s armor, “I thank you as well, Mistress.” Shepherd watches Jenassa meticulously stow away Sebastian’s armor and place it in a wardrobe on the wall. “Help yourself to one of my negligees, if you wish.” Shepherd says. Jenassa looks back, “Your what?” Realizing that Jenassa has no idea what a negligee is, Shepherd smirks, “It’s something you wear to bed, dear… Dresser, middle drawer. They will be a bit big on you, but… Or do you prefer to do without?” Jenassa begins inspecting the drawer full of garments she finds very strange, “Why is there a horker tusk in here?” Shepherd pauses a moment, “Poor girl… Oh it’s just a keepsake.” Jenassa continues sifting through the drawer. Shepherd shakes her head and silently backs out of the room, closing the door.
The Story So Far:
Ancient Blood Ch 1 Ancient Blood Ch 2 Ancient Blood Ch 3 Ancient Blood Ch 4 Ancient Blood Ch 5 Ancient Blood Ch 6 Ancient Blood Ch 7 Ancient Blood Ch 8 Ancient Blood Ch 9 Ancient Blood Ch 10 Ancient Blood Ch 11 Ancient Blood Ch 12 Ancient Blood Ch 13 Ancient Blood Ch 14 Ancient Blood Ch 15 Ancient Blood Ch 16 Ancient Blood Ch 17 Ancient Blood Ch 18 Ancient Blood Ch 19 Ancient Blood Ch 20 Ancient Blood Ch 21
