Chapter 634 - The Man Who Cried Wolf
A/n: 13 Early Access Chapters on P4treon and MORE! ➡️ https://linktr.ee/donovel ⬅️ ⬅️
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"Dawnbreaker! The Dawnbreaker! I've read tales about this sword."
"Aha!"
"The Sword of Light, the Banisher of Evil, the Divine Artifact, the Bane of all Undead."
"Yep."
"Despite the fact that it is Daedric, it is considered a Holy Artifact that can destroy the Undead and other Daedra."
"It is."
"And it was carried by the Fighter's Guild a thousand years ago and used against the Forces of Evil."
"It was."
"Look at that! Despite the fact that it is made of Ebony, the metal is so perfect and pretty. But do you know why this Ebony metal is white?"
"I can only wonder!"
"Ebony is the blood of the Gods. The Ebony on Nirn is black because it is Shor's blood that splattered when he died. This Ebony originated from Meridia's blood rather than Shor hence the color."
"How informative!"
While Jon was doing the clean-up of the temple, Bryling kept fangirling over the sword he told her to hold for him. Despite her dignity as one of the Thane of Haafingar, she was a great nerd when it came to historical weapons.
Jon made sure that the 20 Guards that followed them survived unscathed and are all looking at Bryling in awe and admiration. They needed to witness this in order to feel that Bryling is a heroic person, not some sword pervert who can't pass a second without admiring the damn sword.
Anyway, Jon had to use Greed in order to collect all the shadow energy residing in the Temple in order to hasten the process of it being fit for use by Meridia's cult again.
Jon and Bryling refused to venerate Meridia but swore to let her followers gather around her shrine peacefully. Moreover, Jon was intending to use Meridia's cult against the Vampires of Volkihar thus he hit two birds with one stone.
As Greed finished the cleansing of all shadow energy and devoured the remaining Corrupted Shades, Jon led the group outside and traveled in the mountains again until they reached the place that was his goal from the start, Wolfskull Cave.
"Of all places!" Bryling sighed on the approach of that particular cave and got closer to Jon, "So, the other undead problem?"
"I believe that a proper Thane wouldn't let two Undead Nests fester in their Hold." Jon replied.
"Usually. Necromancers keep hiding until they attain sufficient power and strike first. We don't usually catch a Necromancer that easily." Bryling justified her ignorance.
"My sources can pinpoint the activities of Magic Groups in and keep tabs on them. The Worm Cult has been infiltrating Skyrim actively and I have a serious animosity with them so… that is that." Jon said.
"Impressive!" Bryling said, "And by sources, you mean the Black Pigeons."
"I have no idea why people keep calling them that!" Jon replied, raising his arms, "But that was not my source. My source this time is that man over there."
Jon waved towards one of the trees where a man wearing heavy winter clothes hid behind. The man was an Imperial and a familiar face that Bryling saw before at the Blue Palace.
Four days ago, that man came to see Jarl Elisif the Fair on the day of the Wedding of Vittoria Vici just a few hours before her death. He spoke to her about a problem on the northern part of the hold and about people disappearing. Jon Dare personally talked to that man at that time and told him that he will offer as much help as he can.
"Varnius Junius, my Imperial friend from Dragonbridge." Jon walked to the man and brought him closer.
"Hello." The man nodded his head as he stood in front of Jon, Bryling, and the Guards.
"Thane Bryling, at your service." Bryling replied with an attitude worthy of her being a Thane of Haafingar.
"A Jarl soon, hopefully." Jon said.
While causing her to be flustered, Jon winked at the people around in order for them to show support for her.
"My Lady, My Lord, I am truly grateful for your assistance." The Imperial Varnius man bowed to Jon and Bryling.
"Just one question." Bryling asked, "Wolfskull Cave is far from the main road between Dragonbridge and Solitude, why would you be related to anyone passing through here?"
"We don't really pass through this place my lady but down the road, there is a cave that leads to a snowy grotto. We use that place to preserve many crops and provisions which we pay half of it to Solitude as annual taxes." The man replied.
"I see. This is not just a matter of safety but also a huge issue." Bryling nodded, "Thane Jon, it was wise of you to hear this man's plea."
Jon nodded without saying anything. He then prepared the group to go into Wolfskull Cave and deal with whatever is causing the disturbances.
The entrance of this cave was narrow and the group had to go in with a two-man formation. As the most efficient in the group, Jon and Bryling took the lead.
"I sense signs of True Life and False Life." Jon said mysteriously.
"And in Nordic?" Bryling asked.
"Living and Undead. Around seven in total right after the corner." Jon replied.
Bryling immediately held Dawnbreaker with her two hands and nodded to him.
"Alright! I'll greet them first." Jon said and started to evoke his spells.
He formed multiple wheels of fire and light energies then kept swirling them around before letting them run on the ground.
The wheels of Magicka started running like loose wheels and accurately turned around the corner before each finding a target to explode at.
"NOW!"
Bryling rushed ahead aware of every step she made and once she got to the targets, she picked on any of those who were left with Dawnbreaker.
Some of the Draugr were still functional and one of them had the ability to cast Frost Spikes. The Guards could clearly see Bryling swing the blade at the spell that targeted her to shatter it in one swing before splitting the Draugr into two and turning it to dust.
"I'll disable the traps ahead, make sure to at least capture some Necromancers alive." Jon instructed the Guards and walked ahead with Bryling.
They did a very good job at devastating the enemies they faced down the cavern until they finally saw what needed to be seen.
As the group reached a point in the cave, they found themselves overlooking a large grotto that expanded massively underground. In the sides, a powerful stream of Magicka was gathering from all corners of the cave to the center. In its middle, a third-era military structure stood tall and seemed to have been a part of some secret underground fortification.
The streams of Magicka gathered in the middle of the cave and voices of chanting became clear from this distance.
"Wolf Queen. Hear our call and awaken. We summon Potema!"
"""We summon Potema!"""
"Long have you slept the dreamless sleep of death, Potema. No longer. Hear us Wolf Queen! We Summon You!"
"""We summon Potema!"""
This was enough for everyone witnessing this scene to simply shiver in fear from the thought that just can't help but cross the mind.
The Summoning of the Undead Ghost of Potema, the Wolf Queen of Solitude, the most brutal Queen in the history of Skyrim.
"We need to stop them!" Bryling was about to rush in but Jon held her shoulder.
"Slowly, we still have time." Jon said, "The ritual is not in its final phase yet."
With the professional magic caster saying that, even the superstitious Nords have to listen as they are up against a force that truly fears.
Jon looked around carefully and deduced that they are on a high ground advantage for now.
"See the Necromancers down there?" Jon instructed the Guards, "Aim your bows and draw on my signal."
The ritual seemed to be far from over and Jon had his own plan for it but first, he needed to get rid of the numbers.
"Draw… Loose!"
Twenty arrows descended upon the Necromancer apprentices and the undead guarding the old structures instantly killing three of the mages. On the other hand, the Undead gathered at that spot didn't feel a thing.
"They are yours." Jon then spoke to Bryling.
With Dawnbreaker, Bryling descended off the old ruins and took a swing with the sword and a Draugr charging up towards them. Dawnbreaker shone with brilliant light as it crushed through the Draugr. One wouldn't imagine a blade crushing anything instead of slicing but the holy power encasing the sword was enough to devastate the Undead.
As the sword was done with the Draugr, the remaining of its corpse was flung away and exploded with fire in a power akin to the spell of Corpse Explosion.
Another round of arrows followed on with Jon ordering the guards to target the enemies coming from a gate in the ruins which narrowed the target area and did a lot of damage.
To add salt to the wounds, he cast Flame Wall on the ground at that choke point and all the undead that charged recklessly were badly burnt before they met their end on Dawnbreaker's edge.
"""WE SUMMON POTEMA!"""
As the fight got heated down the ruins and the necromancers threw all the Undead they had against the intruders, the ritual masters intensified their ritual and started pouring all their power into it.
"Lord Jon, I don't feel good about this." Bryling shouted.
"Let's push Forward! QAH ULD HAAS!" Jon replied and shouted the words of Armor, Might, and Health.
This shout called "Battle State" fortified all the guards around him in addition to Bryling and himself with enough aura to protect and boost them.
"Axes and Shields! Take no prisoners." He commanded the guards afterward.
It goes without saying that Jon has made a strong impression on those guards enough for him to give commands despite holding no official authority over them and in the presence of their superior, Bryling. The twenty guards dropped their bows and like Nordic Raiders, they charged ahead shouting for Sovngarde and for Skyrim.
Jon added the spell of Courage in order to inspire them more and picked a sword to join the fun until what he was waiting for finally happened.
From deep within the bones of this cursed cave, a terrifying chill started to transmit with the Magicka around the place and as if a great entity was present, all the guards felt the urge to stand together back to back in order to face this greater threat.
{… Yes…} A lazy voice spoke from all the edges of the cave.
{… Yes…} It spoke again with less laziness this time and more excitement.
{… Return me to this realm…} The voice said.
It was none other than what the Necromancers were summoning. The ghost of the old Wolf Queen.
Potema Septim!
"AS OUR VOICES SUMMON YOU THE BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT BINDS YOU Wolf QUEEN!" The ritual master shouted as she raised her staff.
"SUMMONED WITH WORDS! BOUND BY BLOOD!" All the Necromancers around the cave started to chant in order to hasten the summoning of the old ghost.
{What!} The voice of the Wolf Queen echoed in the cave displaying her surprise.
{What are you doing?!} And the surprise turned into rage.
{YOU FOOLS! You cannot bind me to your wills!} And the rage turned into resistance.
"SUMMONED WITH WORDS! BOUND BY BLOOD!" The Necromancers chanted repeatedly as they knew that if they managed to bind and harness the power of the Wolf Queen, they would immediately win against the intruders.
"Lord Jon!" Bryling felt true fear at that moment.
"I know! The Sword!" Jon shouted and in a second, both of them exchanged their swords.
Jon had Dawnbreaker in his hand and finally decided to stop screwing around now that Potema is present.
"Greed, be ready! Lust, cover the sounds! Gluttony, wipe out the Necromancers in that tower! Wrath, take hold of the undead and make sure the guards can come up but injure nobody! Pride, turn into a bracelet and gather as much Magicka into this sword."
For a rare moment, Jon utilized his present Sin Artifacts all at once and unleashed an unimaginable power.
The power gathered around Dawnbreaker by the action of Pride and then amassed a terrifying amount of Light Energy into the blade. Jon aimed the blade towards where the ghost of Potema was present and unleashed a blast that was akin to the power of a Dragon's breath.
The attack barely grazed the ghost of Potema which wailed and struggled to put a complete halt to the ritual. Jon then rushed ahead of the group and started climbing the runs while cutting down any Necromancer and Draugr in his path.
"Support Lord Jon Dare!" Bryling shouted in order to follow him but a strong wave of Undead Skeletons blocked their path and made it harder to reach him.
"I'll be fine." Jon shouted and kept going.
There, he arrived at the sealing place of Queen Potema where the ritual was taking place. The Necromancers on the top all saw him coming and were about to piss themselves at the sight of him.
The Ritual Master couldn't let go of the spell so her apprentices had to defend her knowing that they stood no chance from the start.
"Kill them!"
Suddenly, all the Undead gathered around moved against the will of their summoners.
"What?"
"How!"
"Impossible!"
But right away, the summons turned against the summoner and slaughtered them immediately.
This was the power of Wrath, the Bone Colossus which lords over the skeletal undead.
Jon arrived at the ritual master which was unable to move yet lost all her focus and looked at him with terrified eyes.
"Impressive work!" He said and stood behind her, "Let me give you some assistance."
Jon put his hands on the woman's head and started to use Magic in the Daedric Tongue. His words were terrifying as his power seeped into the brain of the helpless Ritual Master and erased everything that ever existed in there.
{Your Highness!} Jon said addressing Potema, {A vessel of living flesh and no memory, maybe unworthy but sufficient for now.}
{Treacherous Bastard!} Potema replied, {You possess that accursed blade! You harmed me intentionally!}
{And I apologize! I had to make it look that way in order to get the attention of my allies away.} Jon replied as he showed sincerity.
{Hmph! Cunning man! If you were planning to capture me through the mortal body, you should have hidden that Black Soul Gem in your pocket better than this.}
Potema's words caused Jon to be confused for a second since he had no such plan nor any Black Soul Gem on him at the moment. His plan was to engrave an enchantment on the Ritual Master's body in order to make Potema…
"Cunning Bitch!" Jon immediately realized what had happened.
Potema just bluffed her way out to make him slip and before he even realized it, she freed herself completely from the ritual.
But it was too late, the ghost of the old witch had completely freed itself and escaped through the hidden tunnels of the mountain.
"Heh!" Jon let out a short laugh and shook his head, "That went completely the other way!"
Then with a swift slash, he beheaded the Ritual Master and carried her head walking down with it to Bryling.
The undead crumbled back to eternal rest and Jon handed the sword and the head to Bryling.
"Nice strategy, my Lady. You bravely stopped the resurrection of the evil ritual." Then he went on with his mind busy with the Wolf Queen.
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A/n: 13 Early Access Chapters on P4treon and MORE! ➡️ https://linktr.ee/donovel ⬅️