Chapter 224 - The Pilgrimage (2) : Bjorna And The Swimmer
This Chapter comes to you by the good graces of Zachary! PAH YEIN, All Hail.
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"Ouch! Ouch! I am sorry, but me down." Jull was struggling as I kept carrying her... from her ears.
There is nothing more painful for an elf like being carried from their little pointy ears.
"Got your feelers hurt, babes?"
"It is painful dammit!" She said as she was holding to my arms and lifting her body up.
"Who is whose bitch again?"
"I am sowwy! *sniff* it is me."
"Congratulations for the reboot." I put her down.
The Skaal boys and Frea had came out long ago but they were in there little conversation of counting the how many we killed or how awesome we are or something along those lines, not really sure... what is important is that we are expecting them to say some words of admiration.
Frea talked to Alina and Alina seemed to be handling the socializing as usual, her charm is top notch and she always smile at people which makes her the best to talk too rather than three hulklings (Jon, Bjorna, Wulfur) and one crazy elf.
"This way, the Water Stone is close."
We rallied up further behind Frea who led the way again. A minute and a hundred steps later, we could see a giant stone pillar up on those hills. It was enveloped by a green aura of majesty and as we got closer to it, we would feel its healing effect.
Strangely, Alina and Jullanar paused first for some reason.
"That is some Deja Vu I got there."
"Me too, sister. Look at the size! It is almost the same."
"I know!"
They looked at the stone and then looked between my legs.
What the...!
My expressions couldn't be kept straight anymore and I glared at them to get back in line before anyone notices their weird action. Just because we used the Aura when we slept together once (to intensify things) doesn't mean you should remember it with each large stone pillar that emits a green aura. Good grief!
Anyway, we arrived on top of the hill and there we got a closer look at the stone pillar. There was a small pool of water around it and it was the place seemed peaceful and quiet.
"We should now meditate for the All-Maker. It is hard for outsiders to do it because of the lack of faith but father said you will all do just fine. First, you need to place your hands on the stone all one at a time and try to activate it fully. Who is going first?"
"I will." Wulfur said.
He said and I nodded to him. I have spent some time with him explaining my theory of the All-Maker and all this and that so he was already good to go. He entered the pool of water and it almost reached his knees, he then placed a hand on the stone and closed his eyes to get the feel of meditating. It wasn't hard for him as I hammered some of my magic theories into his brain when he was young so it took him a minute until some green runes on the stone lit up from the bottom of the stone.
"That was... fast." Frea looked at Wulfur with admiration and she smiled ear to ear.
I noticed how she was looking at him since yesterday but I am sure that this airhead didn't get a clue.
"Humph! I am next." Bjorna walked past Frea with a snort.
Wulfur came back and Bjorna did as he did. It took her way more than him but she did it in the end. She finished and came to Wulfur's side.
Jullanar was the next to go and she did it the same time as Bjorna, she clearly doesn't have that much faith in any proclaimed god like me.
"Okay, Nefertiti. You're up." I put Nefertiti down in front of the pool.
"The girl, she is too young to understand the ritual, I am going to..." Frea said in a worried tone.
"No, thank you. She'll do just fine, ain't that right, girl?" I looked at her and asked.
"Mhm!" Nefertiti turned serious and nodded right away.
Such an adorable little thing!
She looked at the stone with seriousness and stepped on the water, we could see a black veil of darkness covering her feet and she calmly walked on water.
"This is!" Frea didn't imagine to something like that. Actually, no one did.
"Water Walking Magic!" I said to cover any misunderstanding.
This little rascal has developed a new Shadow Magic ability, let's call it 'Shadow Step'.
She walked like that on the pool until she reached the stone and touched it with here tiny hands.
{Hooman, now what?} I could hear her thoughts asking me what to do through the mystical bond we share.
{Just let you mind seep into the stone and think of a beautiful being of light that is on the other side of the stone.}
It was a simple as she can understand, that what I could only tell her.
What happened afterwards was bizarre, the Stone Pillar shone right away and another set of runes appeared above Wulf's and Jorna's.
"All-Maker! It took her just a second!"
"What in the world? Is she blessed by the All-Maker?"
The Skaal trio gasped right away.
This was truly unexpected, I know cats are awesome but this cat is breaking the records.
She turned around and ran happily towards me.
"Sir Jon, your daughter is truly blessed." Frea said something that made the five of us freeze.
Daughter, huh?
I looked at Nefertiti and carried her up on my arm.
"Yes, she is." I couldn't help but to confirm it.
"Our daughter." Alina stuck closer to Nefertiti and made the image look whole.
The three of us looked at us and got our moment there. We indeed look like a family except that who knows us know that we are both 17 and Nefertiti have the appearance of a 7 years old kid.
"Okay, Alina. Your turn." I said and Alina walked to Alina walked towards the stone pillar in the pool.
I looked at Nefertiti and whispered, "In your human from, always call me 'Daddy' and Alina 'Mommy'!"
"Call me big sis!" Jull said.
"And us uncle and aunt." Wulf and Jorna also wanted to take a part in.
While we were making distributing the fluff, Alina stood at the pool and cast a spell to walk on the water, her spell was unusual as the water under her feet froze, I love that she always do her own things with her 'Child of the Storm' style. He Frost and Wind magics are really top notch because of Kyne's Favor.
She touched the Water Stone with her hands and it didn't take her a second, just like Nefertiti, the Runes on the Water Stone were activated right away.
"Again?"
"By the All-Maker!"
And she just did it, she was a bit surprised but she acted in a calm manner anyway.
"My turn then."
I handed Nefertiti to Alina and walked in the pool right away, I also touched the Water Stone and its top Runes glowed with no pause.
"This is... the whole family is blessed!" The Skaal kids were not as surprised and came to a good conclusion.
"What now?" I walked out of the pool and asked Frea.
"Just give me a second to calm down... Phew! The pilgrims need to wait for the Swimmer the follow it under water with an empty waterskin or a flask then bring back the Waters of Life from the underwater cave the Swimmer will guide to. You guys should decided which one of you will go for a swim, please pick your best diver for the task." She said.
Best diver?
I looked at my people and questioned, we are Nords so we swim a lot but it is a bit hard to do so in Winterhold.
"I'll do it." Jorna said.
"Wait! It is not easy to..." I wanted to warn her but Alina stopped me.
"You may not know this but Bjorna was born on a boat, she is second only to Uncle Njord when it comes to diving."
She is?
Well, I am seeing her in a new light now.
"Fine, Jorna. You're up."
We all were in agreement and it seemed that Wulf was aware of Bjorna's skill in water.
"What is the Swimmer?" Nefertiti asked something we failed to notice.
"Oh, sweetie! It is a holy beast sent by the All-Maker to help those who want to complete the Trial of the Water Stone. Remember, harming the Swimmer is a bad thing." Frea said.
"Okay."
We walked a few meters to the west and there we arrived at the beach.
"Here you go cousin, a 'Water Breathing Potion' and some 'Snowberry Extract', you will never get cold underwater with my special extract."
"Thanks, cousin."
Alina evoked a spell and aimed at Jorna.
"With this you will swim faster." She said.
"Thanks, Alina."
Bjorn was removed her boots and light armor and walked to the water with her clothes. She gulped the two potions I gave her then waited. A few seconds later, some creature came out of the water.
"It is a Horker! A Black Horker!" Jullanar was stunned with what she saw.
Horkers are grey Walruses with with three tusks instead of two, they are peaceful as long as no one goes into their territory.
"This is the Swimmer, please follow it underwater and never harm it."
"Okay... one last thing!" Jorna was about to leave but she turned around and grabbed Wulfur then...
"Okay, take it easy!" I couldn't help but laugh. How bold of her! I could see her looking at Frea for a second there... so she noticed too. Mark your territory, girl. Mark it... all the way in, up and down, good jon.
'System, take a pic!'
After the long kiss, she turned right away with a red face and walked stiffly in the water.
The Swimmer noticed her and turned towards the sea and dove in, she hurried up and jumped in the water too.
***
Time passed and Bjorna was gone for almost 15 minutes, the potion I gave her can work up to an hour so she should be just fine. However, Wulfur started to get worried.
"Alina, what do you see?" Wulfur asked.
"She is swimming like a fish but I can hardly see anything around her, scrying underwater is not easy."
Alina was setting on the land, activating her mask that glew red and she started to scry for Bjorna.
Around a minute later, she gave us an update.
"She is coming."
Bjorna seemed to be swimming up and reached the sea surface as soon as she went out of the water cave. We could see her swimming this way when we used our Auras to see further.
She arrived at the beach and crawled on all four, her muscles were all stiff.
"Good job, Jorna." Alina said and cast a strong healing spell with Wulfur.
Bjorna stood right after it.
"Damn that was hard!" She complained.
"What happened down there?"
"It was amazing! I went after the Swimmer and it led me to a strange cave underwater, in the cave there was a space I could breath in and a some undead skeletons that were punched right around easily. I found a water spring and took some in this waterskin."
"Good job, you can now come and offer the Waters of Life to the Water Stone." I said.
We all returned back to the Water Stone and offered the water, Bjorna spilled the water one the stone pillar and the light around it turned from green to blue with a healing sensation that enveloped all of us.
"I am glad that the All-Maker has a sense for the light effects. Doesn't happen that often in Skyrim."
"Yeah."
Alina and I joked about the Healing Light but we were aware that this light of healing was too overpowered to be considered an ordinary healing magic.
"With this the Water Trial is done, we can head south to the Earth Stone now." Frea announced the end of the first trial.
"Won't we get any blessing now?"
"No, it is only after you finish the sixth one that when the All-Maker gives his gifts."
"Glad to know."
We agreed to go back to Raven Rock and spend the night there.