Chapter 373 - The Black Forge
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"Run for your lives!" Xikil screamed in frenzy.
The situation in the Black Forge was chaotic. Red sparks, metal shrapnel, a horde of angry Dremora, tracking scamps and even large eye-like creatures surveying the sky above the forge.
This all happened because Jon completely misread the situation about the social relationships between the Daedra of Coldharbour. Sure enough, there were clans and blood ties despite all the Daedra being spawned around by their lord yet the one thing Jon did not foresee was Xikil's sister.
That's right! The sister of the Dremora Xikil whose name is Vixili and was surprisingly a high ranking Dremora, an Overkyn. Unlike her loser brother, she was the supervisor and the Forgemaster of the Black Forge. Details of that story will come when Jon rescues Xikil from his crazy sister and now to how it began.
***
It all started when the party arrived by Sir Cadwell's portal to the Black Garrison region. Jon knocked down a Dremora and placed Xikil in his place then made him infiltrate in with Nefertiti in his shadow with a portion of [Greed] to create a Shadow Portal.
The Black Garrison was a very dangerous zone as it was the center of the Daedra's operations in Coldharbour and where they get to do their business so basically, the place was crowded with them. The Black Forge was a large pyramid at the end of the Black Garrison and what Xikil was supposed to infiltrate. Yet in a strange situation, Xikil found himself being surrounded by multiple Kynreeves and being dragged to the innermost part of the Black Forge.
"Xikil, you dimwitted fool! Are your horns for a show?" A female Dremora was waiting for him.
Despite being rarer than the males, the females of the Dremora have the same appearance of the bald horned head and the Darth Maul-like appearance.
"Vixili! Please... Let's just talk! What happened?"
"You were conjured again, didn't you? The Lord assigned you a task and somehow right after you finished, you got conjured three times straight! You idiot dimwit! You were about to be promoted to a Kynreeve." The female Dremora was foaming from anger as she glared at the shameful brother of hers.
"Vixili! Please listen, it is not my fault! It is that Mortal, I swear by the Lord Molag's name that he is haunting me!"
"... You shameless horns for a show! Haunting you?! A mortal haunting a Daedra? In what realm did that happen? What's next, huh? An army invading the forge?" Vixili pulled Xikil form his horns.
"... Actually… that is already happening." Xikil confirmed his sister's words.
"... That Kyn! He lost his damn mind." Vixili slapped her brother with an angry. "Looks like I am keeping you until you learn how to behave, the name of our clan is in the ground because of you."
"Overkyn! Overkyn!" A low ranking Dremora came running to the smelting chamber where Vixili as keeping Xikil.
"What is it?" Vixili shouted.
"The Forge… we are under attack!"
Vixili became silent and looked then turned her glare at Xikil who was tied up to the black chains, the fool was not saying nonsense after all.
"Which clan is invading us? Who is the enemy?" The first idea that came to mind was another Dremora clan going against hers.
"Overkyn… it's… it is ours."
The unexpected answer didn't come nicely to Overkyn Vixili. She slapped the Dremora in front of her then walked out of the smelting room to see what is going on outside. What she saw was a bizarre thing. Her own clan, her own people are fighting each other… no, these were not her clan. These were similar entities that looked like the Kyn but different beings altogether.
"What is going on? Defend the forge!" Vixili took the lead of the defense tried to cope with the sudden attackers that came from all over the place with no pattern.
The thing that shocked her the most was meeting her own clone but here where the scene changes.
Back at the smelter room, Xikil's shadow moved and a black cat jumped out of it. With her, a Dark Matter formed a circle and some figures walked out of it.
"Xikil! What happened to you?" Jon saw Xikil tied up again but his appearance was way more pitiful than before.
"My sister happened. Get me down."
"Your sister? Dremora have sisters?"
"Just get me down, Mortal. I will die again."
Xikil seemed desperate about being released. Truth be told, he was being cooked alive on the heat of the smelting room being hanged in chains and all. Jon used [Telekinesis] and Xikil was down on the ground begging for breath.
Jon didn't mind the horrible wounds on Xikil and offered him a healing spell specialized for Daedric entities. Xikil could stand up after it.
"Just what happened? What is that sister thing?" Jon asked.
"When Dremora are spawned for the first time, they spawn in groups. Members of a group are to treat each other as brothers and sisters as they get named by the clans that adopt them." Serana replied.
"I see." Jon nodded.
"My sister… she is the forgemaster around here. An Overkyn, don't let her catch us. I don't want to end up hanged up once again."
"Fine, just do as I say. You said the best refined Ebony Alloy in Coldharbour is stored in this place, can you take me to it?"
"Not far."
Xikil walked out of the room followed by the team. They traveled through some room and used the chaos Jon created with the [Skull of Corruption] to end up in front of a large vault.
"Damn, it is locked." Mr. Skittles stomped the ground.
"Nothing is locked." Jon stepped forward and used the [Skeleton Key] on the vault unlocking it without anyone noticing the existence of the Key.
As soon as the gates of the vault were open, a foul feeling came from inside as a lot of Daedric material were stored in that vault. It took Jon less than a minute to find an Ebony-Alloy Cold-Iron ingot of the highest grade, something that can only be created in the Black Forge and every blacksmith on Nirn will kill to see.
It wasn't just that, Jon took whatever material he wanted in the [Cube] right away. There was a lot of high-quality ebony in this place so leaving it for the Daedra was a sin on its own.
Heading out of the vault, Jon and his team found themselves surrounded by an army of angry Dremora with Vixili on the lead of that army.
"Sister!" Xikil was frightened to his wit's end.
Jon didn't hesitate to put his blade on Xikil's neck.
"One move and I'll kill him." Jon said.
The Dremora around looked at each other in silent then started laughing. A Dremora can't be killed anyway. To other's, that threat was meaningless but to a certain sister, that threat was a slap to her face.
"Release him at once and surrender, Mortal. You are in my domain." Vixili shouted at Jon.
She was a large Dremora with horns and all, even uglier than her brother.
"Hahaha! You won't take him. This is my prisoner and you'll do as I say." Jon voice under the mask was evil and theatrical.
"Who are you, Mortal? What do you want?" Vixili said as she held her greatsword up.
"I am Krilon from the Sith and you will submit to my power."
"Puny Mortal, die."
The two hot-headed Human and Dremora failed to establish negotiation on an amazingly fast pace and their energies collided. Jon was releasing the Tyrant Aura and Vixili was using some combat technique that suited Dremora.
The two waved their swords and clashed.
"You shall not win."
"Watch me!"
She was annoyed with fighting a clone of herself some time ago but fighting the mastermind behind that disgrace would surely bring her joy.
Vixili's and Jon's clash was mighty and the Dremora around couldn't handle the pressure, each time they moved their swords, the forge would shake from their power.
"Who made that mask?" Vixili noticed [Krilon] and asked.
"The best blacksmith I know."
"Humph, mortals and your trinkets. Now die!"
"Just because you said, doesn't mean I would."
Jon shaped [Greed] into a large fist and launched Vixili away. She landed on a wall and looked at Jon with vicious eyes.
"A worthy opponent!"
She evoked a spell not towards Jon but towards a wall in the forge. The wall broke and a pipe of magma broke open with its content flowing everywhere.
Everyone was shocked to their wit's end and chaos broke out.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" Xikil screamed and started running as everyone else around except Jon and Vixili.
Seeing the magma coming towards him, Jon only smirked and raised a road through it with [Telekinesis]. Vixili did the same and met him for a few more exchanges with their swords however Jon was superior in prolonged battles with his outstanding stamina and tolerance for high heat that was buffed by his bloodline and mask. Vixili fell short in the end.
"It is over, Xikil's sister. I have the high ground." Jon spoke with a grin behind his mask.
"You underestimate my power, Mortal." She said.
"No! Don't do it, sister." Xikil shouted but it was too late.
[A/n: Star Wars reference.]
Vixili jumped towards Jon over the river of magma she made and waved her sword at him but the later fused [Greed] with [Bloodskal] and the sword became 4 metals long intercepting Vixili way further than what she imagined. The blow sent her away hanging on the side of the room just centimeters above the flowing magma.
"We have wasted enough time. Let's leave."
Jon didn't want to attract any higher being than Vixili now that all this mess was taking place, he withdrew right away.
"Mortal, don't run." Vixili started to cuss at Jon who didn't even give a damn.
"I will come for you, sister. I promise. I will be as powerful as a Daedroth. No, a Daedric Titan! I'll be fine." Xikil kept crying to his sister as he was being dragged away by Jon.
However, Jon was pleased with the fight just a while ago, he finally got to say those lines in the situation, it was perfection.