User blog:Psychomantis108/Story: Myths of Mundus: Dark Pilgrimage - Chapter 20: Alluvion

Arlas slowly awoke to find that she was in a dimly lit room, her arms were strapped down to an altar of some sort, the straps were leather from the feeling of them and they were so stiff that they cut into her flesh.

Buckling at their restriction, Arlas failed to fully sit up, forcing her to stay lain prone, with only her head free to look around the empty cave, she quickly found herself panting from the panic of being thrown into this unusual situation.

"H-Hey! W-What's going on!?" She called, pulling at the leather straps as hard as she could, in an attempt to loosen them, however, this just hurt her as the seemingly rock hard straps began to lightly saw through her wrists.

The Bosmer wasn't accepting this and as a result she tugged heavily at them again, causing the buckles to rattle against the stone as she threw her head back and cried out for attention, like a baby, craving it.

After hearing her cries the door swung open, casting an intrusive golden light across the room, which shone straight into her eyes, causing Arlas to wince as it did so. The light was obscured by a single robed figure, who slowly wandered over to her. Arlas half expected the members of Vallina's cult to all wear hoods, like the pretentious assholes that they were...

This particular cultist appeared to be a Khajiit, a tiger-like cat, with a large and grand mane, his face adorned in some rustic jewelry. He glared down at her, with a displeased look, he clearly didn't appreciate her interrupting him.

"Yes?" He asked, sounding just as annoyed and disinterested as he looked.

Arlas glared back, clearly not in the mood to be looked down on and talked down to, she gestured to her restraints.

"What do you think I called you in here for!? Release me, right now!"

The cat's nose twitched in response to that question as he stared ahead, it became somewhat apparent how old the Khajiit was, she assumed that Vallina was the eldest, being a middle aged Altmer and all but this Khajiit looked like the most Elderly member of the Order, who's fur was going grey.

"I fear that that wouldn't be very wise, Arlas, given that there would be nothing to stop you from being a danger to us or yourself." The Khajiit pointed out, folding his arms as he did so.

"Wait... How do you know my name?" The Bosmer asked, somewhat confused.

"Vallina informed us of everything that transpired between her and your party in the caves... I figured that it was only polite for me to remember your name." The Khajiit's tone grew a little warmer at this point, much to Arlas' frustration as she didn't know what was going on and didn't appreciate things growing familiar for them or her so quickly.

"Where... Am I even? Where's Vallina?" She then paused and gasped, quickly realizing that she was alone in the room.

"Where's Bologra!?"

The Old Khajiit raised his hand, halting her barrage of questions as he brought his hands together, pressing them against his stomach.

"You are at the 'Crusader's' rest, a cave on the boarder between Cyrodiil and Skyrim, where the axe that bound Jorane Lorwell has rested for three hundred years.

Vallina is with Quentin and Wyatt, discussing your friend, the Orsimer, who appears to have survived the undead Horde that Vallina threw his way.

And... Though you didn't ask, you should probably know that I am Master Za-Kir of the Alluvion, senior enchanter and mentor for some of the younger apprentices."

Arlas tried not to be too rude about it as she didn't ask, though she was just glad that she wasn't being tortured right now. She was somewhat thankful for that at least but still craved her freedom.

"Wait... Y-You said that they have plans for Bologra? They aren't... going to kill him, are they?" She asked, it suddenly dawned on her as her eyes retracted and she turned a little pale at the thought. The last thing that she wanted was more people getting hurt or even dying, because of her.

"Vallina has deemed it necessary... So I fear that they may try to kill him, yes." Master Za-Kir sighed, he didn't want to lie to her, even if he found the prospect of murdering someone for trying to rescue their friend to be abhorrent, in truth he found a lot of things abhorrent in Vallina's rule.

Arlas's stomach hollowed as he spoke, feeling like she had been gutted and that her soul had been ripped out and thrown away, leaving what was left exposed to the elements.

She tried to grab at Za-Kir again, though this time it was at his hand, forgetting that she was bound due to the shock of the news and instantly feeling the sting of her restraints, because of that.

"No! P-Please! Call it off! Whatever they're doing, you need to stop them! I'll do whatever you want, you can come back with me, to the White Gold Tower if that's what it takes! Nobody has to die!" Her eyes were fixed on his as they were the only thing that could grab the old man at this point, due to the fact that she was heavily restrained.

Master Za-Kir moved out of impulse but quickly relaxed again, finding himself heavily sighing as he did so as he as he brought his hand up to his chin, gently stroking his beard.

"Please... I just want to get the axe and go, that's all that we came here to do."

"You plan to give Lorwel the Axe?" Za-Kir asked, finding himself to be skeptical of her goal, no matter her motivations behind it.

Arlas shook her head, with a stern expression, over her dead body she'd let that damn Demon have the axe!

The Khajiit pondered on what she said but didn't have long to do so as the door opened and three more of the cultists walked in behind him, lead by Vallina, one of them was a young Breton, with short brown hair, who walked in side by side with an Argonian.

"Za-Kir!" Vallina called, though her voice relaxed a little as she saw Arlas still lying on the table, it was obvious that her concern wasn't really for the Khajiit or Arlas rescuing herself. The Elder Khajiit slowly turned around as he saw the Altmer enter, raising his eyebrows as she approached, he clearly despised the intrusion and was equally as cynical about her motivations.

"I was starting to grow worried, I sent you in here to investigate some time ago..."

The Cat cleared his throat as he furrowed his brow, quickly turning to attention as he stood before the Altmer, who was already stationary, bearing a slightly cocky smirk.

"I was once head of Bruma's Mage's Guild hall, Vallina, I believe that I can handle myself against an apprentice Healer..." The Khajiit replied, his warm tone masked his disgust at her suspicion, it insulted Za-Kir's honor, the prospect of him betraying them so easily, despite his reservations.

Vallina chuckled, though it was obvious, even to Arlas, who couldn't see her fact that there was a layer of tension beneath the surface of the conversation between herself and Za-Kir. The Altmer stepped forward and began to examine The Bosmer, who lay out in front of her.

"You!" Arlas snapped, fighting her restraints again, though quickly simmering down as she felt the pain of the rope burn on her skin.

"You... D-Drugged me! Let me go, now!"

Vallina couldn't help but be amused by Arlas' determination, though the Altmer was far from threatened. She'd dealt with a lot worse in her time...

She slowly bent over and rested her hand on Arlas Arlas' forehead, gently wrapping her hand around her mostly shaved head.

"I'm afraid that it's not that simple child... Even if you weren't a threat to us, you can still be of use as leverage."

"L-Leverage? Against Bologra!?"

Arlas paused for a brief moment before she began to laugh, quite forcefully, throwing her head back as she did so, the Bosmer's cackle echoed throughout the chamber before she finally sat up and looked Vallina in the face, with a grin.

"Are you insane!? Bologra will charge in here, no matter what! The most you'll achieve is just making him even angrier and even that isn't a good thing, since the guy could probably beat a Giant senseless!" The Acolyte pointed out, her face returned to her previous scowl as she spoke, she clenched her hands into fists, ignoring the fact that her braces were now digging into her flesh.

"If you want to live..."

"I do not require leverage against that Ox Brained fool, I've sent Quentin to deal with him... I was talking about using you as Leverage against Lorwel.

It is quite obvious that he sees some value in you, that is something that we can most certainly use against him. If we cannot, we can still use the axe as a bargaining chip..."

"That... Daedric Monstrosity doesn't give a damn about me or Bologra, he sent us up here, because we're expendable to him! If you bring that axe more than ten feet in front of him, he'll end up taking it off of you and killing you with it before setting himself free and becoming an unstoppable force of destruction!

You might think that you know him, up in this little cave of yours but you don't! I've looked him in the face, I've seen the madness and evil in his eyes, you can't beat him with deceit, because that's his game and he's one of the best players imaginable!

Now, if you don't want to die at the hands of Bologra or Lorwel...

Let.

Me.

Go!"

Arlas voice echoed, throughout the chamber, making Wyatt shudder a little on the spot, being the youngest, he wasn't used to confrontation.

Vallina just stared the Bosmer down, clearly frustrated with her insolence, it didn't take her long to turn to her left to her Argonian friend.

"Olan-de, could you go and check on Quentin's progress... I believe that he should be done by now."

'Olan-de' graciously nodded, crossing her arms over as she took a bow before leaving the room and leaving the Altmer to her prisoner, the Altmer took a step closer towards Arlas before leaning over her.

"I saw the marks on your faces, you think that the bandits that you fought to get here were anything like us? You know, I honestly thought that you were wiser and calmer than your Orc, I was even going to offer you a place among us but now, I..." She sighed, realizing that Arlas was bringing her down to her level, she decided not to say anymore.

"Your Orc won't be coming and once Quentin is done with him, we'll decide your fate!"

"Vallina... I thought that we planned to-" Za-Kir interrupted, only to be cut off himself by the Altmer's scowl and a wave of her hand.

"Za-Kir, she is an enemy of our people, she knows where we live, she plans to take the axe to Lorwel and she also has shown hostile intent towards us! I know that it's difficult for you to ignore that bleeding heart of yours but could, just once in your damn life, do as I say!?"

Za-Kir nodded and fell silent, placing both of his hands in the sleeves of his robes as he did so, hanging his head in shame.

"I am sorry, Vallina..."

The Altmer didn't even dignify the old Master with a response, instead she glanced down to the floor, like her response was clear but she was hesitant to say it.

"Za-Kir... Prepare the Litergy..."

The Khajiit's eyes widened as he stepped forward, amazed at how quickly this had transpired.

"But the Litergy is... It is a last resort! It was never even meant to be used! It was meant to save lives, not dest-

G-God's blood, you actually think that you can deceive him with it?"

"Don't argue Za-Kir! Just have the ingredients ready for when I get back!" She hissed, marching off out of the room, to see what was taking Olan-De so long. The Altmer walked with a put on confident strut at this point, clearly trying to hide the fact that this was all falling apart. She had a rampant Orc and a hoard of missing zombies, there was no way that he killed them all in this amount of time.

Something else was going on... She was sure of that...

Arlas waited for Vallina to leave, slamming the wooden door shut behind her as everything was left in silence, after she gave the Altmer a minute to get out of earshot, the Bosmeri Acolyte snapped her head back to Za-Kir.

Za-Kir's face quickly changed as soon as Arlas' eyes fell upon it, a look of disgust and pain but more than anything, determination...

"Wyatt?" He asked, immediately turning to Arlas and marching over to the walls as he began picking alchemical ingredients and stuffing them into a goblet.

The young Breton stood to attention, straightening his back as he turned to the Elderly Khajiit, giving him a slight nod.

"Yes, Master?"

"I need something done and you're the only one that I can trust..."

"A-Anything..." He said, though he got the feeling that he will regret that, he didn't want to inflict the Liturgy's affects on anyone...

"I need you to go to the exit and intercept Arlas' friend, the second that he leaves the chamber, with Quentin. Say whatever you have to to bring him here." The Old Man continued, collecting some herbs in his finger tips and dropping them into the cup.

"Hurry!" Wyatt nodded and quickly ran off, much to Arlas' surprise as the Khajiit approached her, standing over the stone slab that the Bosmer lay on.

"Wh-What's going on?" The Bosmer demanded, though her voice was almost failing her, due to the shock, in spite of this fact Za-Kir wasn't very quick to answer her question as he began to undo her restraints.

"Vallina's gone mad... That much is for certain, none of us are safe here, me, Wyatt, Olan... Least of all you..." He explained, quickly undoing the buckles around her wrists, to reveal the rope burned skin underneath them, which stung like hell as they were exposed to the open air.

"I... What is the Liturgy?" She asked, rubbing her badly rope burned wrists as she did so, whilst Za-Kir rushed around her and began to work away at her feet.

"It's dark magic... Used by the Herlean Bodysnatchers of old, the Liturgy of Mavrik grants the reader the ability to possess a living host." The Khajiit explained, speaking as quickly as he could, whilst moving as quickly as he could as he began to work on the second buckle by her left ankle.

"How does possessing someone else 'save lives?'" Arlas asked, confused by a number of things but that was mostly on her mind.

"The potential host has to read the first verse and has to accept the second reader's soul into their body. In the event that one person is dying and another's body is needed to save them..." Za-Kir sighed as he took off the last of the straps, lifting her foot out and resting it on the slab.

"In an ideal world, we would be able to make the choice, where someone willing to die could swap places with another...

Or at least, so I thought, when I was a younger man..." He sighed again as Arlas swiveled over the table, letting her legs dangle over the side as she hopped off, still rubbing the rope-burned skin.

"I've since learned that there is a reason that some things are out of our control..."

"I could've told you that..." Arlas sighed as she let go of her wrists before turning back to the Elderly Khajiit, sighing heavily as she did so.

"Somehow I wish that I could have had more people like you at the start of all of this..." Za-Kir admitted before remembering where he was and the current situation.

"There's no time...

We must hurry and meet up with Wyatt, he should be with your friend by now."

Arlas nodded, both determined and eager to be free of this place, she gestured for Za-Kir to lead the way, prompting him to turn to the left and start walking over to the door, where a the Khajiiti Master met a red, ethereal missile, that hit him square in the chest.

The Khajiit cried out as he stumbled back, feeling the effects of the Staff of Lorwel as the energy coursed through his body, causing the khajiit to grow weaker and weaker as the staff attacked every cell in his body.

"Za-Kir!" Arlas gasped, quickly turning back to the front door, to see that Vallina was stood there, holding Arlas' staff that was now trained on the Bosmer herself, who now stood frozen on the spot as she stared the head of it down.

"Bloody predictable! For a wise old man, you sure picked a poor time to cross me!" Vallina snapped, marching into the room as a fire lit up in her eyes.

"Quentin is dead! That brute of an Orc killed him, a victory that'll be short lived, I'm sure.

I think I'll lead him here, let him see you both strung up before his very eyes, so that he can see you both dying before him before I finish the bastard off!" The Altmer snapped, quickly raising her staff and pointing it at the Bosmer's face.

"I was hoping to use the Liturgy to take your form before heading back to the White Gold Tower but once I tell Jorane Lorwel that I killed his former champion and then present him Geoth's axe, I'm sure that he'll be more than inclined to favor me! He'll probably forget all about you, as will the rest of this world, when you and your treacherous cat become rat food in this place!

Two Hundred years of planning and waiting are about to pay off!" As she finished yelling she soon found herself grinning as she began to charge the weapon up, ready to finish Arlas off with a shot to the chest.