"So, you're the new one everyone's talking about."
"Looking forward to working with you."
Under the light of a full moon, in the heart of the forest, Choi Ha-neul stood face-to-face with Salonia Caellia, a low-ranking member of the Volkihar clan.
Naturally, they weren't out for a leisurely midnight stroll.
The purpose of their excursion was a 'human hunt.' This was a mission Harkon had entrusted to Choi Ha-neul—who had only recently become a vampire—to help him gain some actual combat experience.
"You look like a literal doll. I just hope you don't end up being a burden."
"..."
Within the Volkihar clan, only Harkon knew the truth—that Choi Ha-neul was the Dragonborn. Because of that, Salonia found the partner she'd been saddled with rather unreliable.
"Did you hear the briefing?"
"Yes. I was told to clear out some weeds."
Salonia snorted and turned her gaze toward the depths of the forest.
"Pfft, that's just a metaphor. The real targets are those three sub-humans over there."
She gestured with her chin toward three figures leading a pack mule. Based on their equipment and clothing, they certainly didn't look like ordinary citizens.
"Hmm... I've seen them somewhere before."
"Vigilants of Stendarr. Inferior fools who dare to pick fights with us vampires despite being pitifully weak."
"Ah, I see."
At Salonia's explanation, Choi Ha-neul recalled Tolan, the member of the Vigilants he had seen back at the Dawnguard. A question popped into his mind.
He distinctly remembered hearing that the Vigilants' headquarters had been raided and every agent inside slaughtered.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, Choi Ha-neul asked Salonia.
"Weren't the Vigilants wiped out?"
"We did indeed sack their main base, but there are still remnants crawling around."
"I see."
They continued to shadow the Vigilants. Being human, the targets couldn't travel through the entire night; as soon as they began setting up camp, Salonia settled in to wait.
"Ha... I wasn't thrilled about this, but Lord Harkon ordered it, so I suppose I have no choice," Salonia muttered as she watched the humans.
While vampires were overwhelmingly powerful, none of them were particularly eager to volunteer for tedious grunt work. Salonia had only come out on this 'hunt' with Choi Ha-neul because she had happened to be the one picked for the task.
"Two of them seem to have fallen asleep. Now."
Finally, once everyone except the lone sentry had drifted off, the two vampires drew their weapons, their eyes gleaming with a predatory, eerie light in the darkness.
"Yawn..."
The Imperial male assigned to the first watch was keeping a half-hearted lookout, waiting for his shift to end as quickly as possible.
We'll cross the border tomorrow. Then I can finally say goodbye to these damn vampires.
Most of the Vigilants of Stendarr had already been massacred in the vampire raids. These survivors, who had miraculously returned from missions only to find their headquarters destroyed, had decided that staying in Skyrim was a death sentence and chose to flee to Hammerfell.
Of course, there were some who argued for revenge. However, with their numbers dwindled, expecting to defeat those powerful undead was a pipe dream.
Ultimately, they chose survival over a hopeless fight, seeking a path far beyond the vampires' reach.
Time to switch.
As the shift change approached, he moved to wake his comrade, but—
"Gah... gurgle..."
Their bedrolls were drenched in crimson. His companions were coughing up blood, their throats opened by something terrifyingly sharp.
"Wha— What is this?!"
"Ha-neul? I'll leave the last one to you."
"Yes."
The man whipped his head toward the source of the voice, but he never caught a glimpse of them.
His head was separated from his shoulders before he could even finish the turn.
—Slick.
Choi Ha-neul looked down at the blood-soaked corpses and flicked the gore off his blade.
"..."
He had killed innocent people. Yet, he felt not a single shred of guilt.
"Are we not going to clean up?" Choi Ha-neul asked, looking at the dead Vigilants.
"No. Normally we would, but right now, there's no real need."
Usually, after an attack on humans, one would hide the bodies or tamper with the scene to throw off pursuit. However, with the civil war and the dragon crisis, Skyrim was in such utter chaos that such tedious cleanup was unnecessary.
Even if someone found the bodies, they would just assume it was bandits or simply not bother investigating at all.
"By the way, you're quite the find. I knew Lord Harkon favored you and expected some competence, but I didn't think you'd be this good."
Salonia found herself genuinely liking the Choi Ha-neul before her.
The contrast between his doll-like, fragile appearance and his cold-blooded lethality was an unexpected charm.
I don't know how loyal he is to Harkon, but maybe I should try to recruit him?
Choi Ha-neul would be a massive asset to Salonia's 'plan.'
No, not yet. Now isn't the time.
Restraining herself for a better opportunity, Salonia let the thought go for now.
"Let's head back."
***
"Dammit!"
The moment I heard the roar, the curse flew out of my mouth.
If I'd known it would come to this, I should have just suppressed Ancano right away and shown Savos the evidence afterward.
Savos and I locked eyes for a split second before bolting at full speed toward the central hall on the ground floor.
"Wh-what is all this commotion?!"
On our way down, we ran into Master Wizard Mirabelle.
"No time to explain!"
The situation was too urgent for a debrief, so we simply dragged her along with us.
—Rumble!
The building vibrated unstable. The interior of the College was pure chaos. Items tumbled off shelves onto the floor, and students scrambled about in a panic.
They could feel it, too. This earthquake wasn't some natural phenomenon.
"Aaaaagh!!"
One student had completely broken down, clutching their head and screaming in terror.
When we reached the first floor of the main hall, the entrance to the center was blocked by a barrier Ancano had deployed. Beyond the translucent veil, I could see Ancano channeling massive amounts of Magicka into the orb.
What do I do? Should we break through the wall? Wait, if I remember correctly...
Flashbacks of the game's questline surged through my mind.
Shortly after Ancano activates the Eye of Magnus, the orb releases a powerful explosion that kills Savos Aren.
But this isn't a game. I can stop this.
"It's a barrier. But at this level, we can break it with Destruction magic. Everyone, use a different elemen—"
"Arch-Mage! You have to get out of here right now!"
I tried to shove Savos and Mirabelle away, intent on getting them as far from the Eye of Magnus as possible.
"Release me. We are the only ones capable of resolving this crisis."
"No, you don't understand! The Eye of Magnus is about to explode!"
"Ah, you don't need to worry about that."
"What?"
The moment he spoke, the Eye of Magnus pulsed with a blinding light.
"Urgh!"
I dove for the floor, bracing for the shockwave, but for some reason, it stayed quiet. I lifted my head to check the orb.
Huh?
The light from the orb had faded. It wasn't responding to any Magicka at all.
In the center, Ancano stood looking completely bewildered and lost.
"What... how..."
"Truth be told, after you left, I worked with the Psijic Order to tamper with the orb's circuitry. Ancano will never be able to activate that sphere on his own."
"You actually believed me."
"A great teacher starts by listening to their students' words," Savos said calmly.
"He didn't become Arch-Mage for nothing," Mirabelle added.
"Then that leaves only one problem."
As he spoke, all three of our gazes locked onto a single spot.
Ancano was staring at the orb with a look of utter despair.
"Th-this is impossible!"
"Ancano. If you cooperate right now, I will hold you responsible for nothing beyond tampering with the artifact."
"..."
Ancano hung his head in silence, seemingly lost in thought.
Savos Aren and Mirabelle Ervine—the Arch-Mage and the Master Wizard of the College. And while I wasn't quite on their level, I considered myself a formidable force in my own right.
Though Ancano probably didn't realize that last part.
Finally, he raised his arms in a gesture of surrender.
"Wise choice. Further resistance is meaningless."
Ancano was about to be taken into custody by Mirabelle when—
—CRACKLE!
Ancano suddenly cast a Lightning Bolt at Mirabelle. Intense sparks surged through her body.
"Kyaaa!"
Caught off guard by the ambush, Mirabelle was helpless. She collapsed, losing consciousness instantly.
"The Eye of Magnus is mine!" Ancano screamed.
He knew that if he were expelled from his position as the College advisor because of this, he would face severe repercussions back in the Thalmor.
But he believed he could make up for it by achieving something monumental—delivering the Eye of Magnus to the Thalmor.
That was the only reason for this reckless desperation.
"As long as I take this artifact— Ack!"
—Crunch.
"Gwaaaah!"
Suddenly, his arms and legs snapped in directions they weren't meant to bend. He was forced to release Mirabelle, whom he'd been holding as a shield.
Bewildered, I looked at Savos. He was channeling a spell with one hand.
"I did not wish to resort to violence, but you truly do not know when to stop."
Wait, is that effect... Telekinesis?
In the game, it was a garbage spell used only for lifting light objects, but Savos's version transcended my common sense.
With just a few gestures, Ancano, caught in the invisible grip of the spell, was easily neutralized.
With most of the bones in his body shattered, Ancano finally passed out from the shock.
Whoa... So that's the Arch-Mage for you.
I realized then that even if Choi Ha-neul and I double-teamed him right now, our odds of winning wouldn't be very high.
But still... this feels like I'm getting a total free ride.
And so, thanks to Savos's overwhelming performance, the College of Winterhold quest came to a rather anti-climactic end.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register