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Power Corrupts: Goddess of Luck (ch.31)
🕑 Added 2020-04-25 15:00:52 +0000 UTCI'm not happy with this chapter at all. Had to fight through a bad case of writer's block and I think it shows. I'll be reworking portions of the chapter, but I would appreciate some feedback on what works and what doesn't. Sorry that its not up to the usual standard.
....
Riverwood was bigger than it was in the game and, more noticeably, it had a wall around it. A wood palisade that marked the border of the village. Smoke drifted upward from chimneys to ward off the chill in the air. The village itself was located directly on a stream that ran by it. Little details that weren’t in the game were there -- like the forest that was being pushed back, the territory lost marked by tree stumps. Or how they were replanting three for every one they cut down.
I took off my helmet, taking a look down at my weapon and armor to see that there was blood splatter over the front while my weapon was covered in it. Putting my Stormbringer in my inventory, I accepted a rag from Lili as we walked towards the village.
“Riverwood...good to be home, I guess,” the man muttered, his arms in splints as he led the way. He hadn’t tried to escape during the trek back, likely realizing that there wasn’t a point. The few hour-long walk here was uneventful.
“Lili has never been outside of Orario before,” Lili commented as we approached Riverwood. There were a few sentries standing guard at a wooden gate that was left open. They said something to each other before one of them left. Probably to alert whoever was in charge that we had a prisoner.
I glanced down at Lili, her crossbow pointed at the bandits back and it hadn’t wavered once during the past hours. Even still, her eyes wandered the untamed nature of Skyrim.
“A city girl, are you lass? I wouldn’t have thought it with how deadly you are with that bow of yours. It seems children get more and more dangerous these days,” the bandit commented as more guards appeared at the gate. Three of them were waiting for us to approach.
Lili chose not to respond, but she did shoot me a look for smiling at the child misunderstanding. Lili was a pallum, which didn’t exist in this world, so while she was around my age she looked like she was twelve. Or younger.
“Halt there stranger,” one of the guards said, holding up a hand. I couldn’t see his face because of the masked helm he wore, but there was an edge of nervousness in his voice. Then his gaze settled on the bandit guy once he shook his greasy blonde hair out of his face. “Rolf? Ah, so that’s how it is.”
The guard looked back at me, “you’ve done Skyrim a favor, stranger. This lot has been plaguing the roads for weeks,” the guard said as the other stepped forward. I handed them over the leash that kept him from running off. “Do you have a name?”
“Jericho, and that’s Lili,” I introduced us. The guard looked at me, craning his head back to look at my exposed face, then looked all the way down at Lili. I guess in a place unlike Orario, the sight was a lot odder than normal.
“Well met both of you. Though, I should ask, are the others taken care of?” The guard asked, earning a nod from me.
“They’re dead. We left the loot behind at Embershard Mine. Most of it was food and that one tried to use some kind of scroll against me,” I explained, earning another nod from the garrison commander before he gestured to us to follow him.
“I’ll go send some lads to pick it up. You have Riverwoods thanks for this and we’ll see to it that you receive an appropriate reward,” he said as he led us into the village. Riverwood was bigger than it was in the game. In the game, barely more than thirty people lived in the village, while now it was closer to a hundred or so.
It was still small, a single road that traveled through the village, but I saw extra houses, the blacksmith was set up next to a lumber mill. People worked on them, turning logs into planks and...hmm…
“I was doing this to build a home over in Helgen. Would they be able to take an order for some wood?” I asked, jabbing a thumb at the lumber mill. All the while, the few people out and about in the village stopped to look at me. The guard glanced at me before he nodded.
“Aye, they will be. You look like a young lad -- are you sure you’re ready to put down roots?” He asked as we neared the guardhouse. A couple of kids waved at me, which I returned. I was glad that I cleaned up my armor a bit. All the while, a soft smile tugged at my cheeks.
“I am,” I said with surprising conviction, both to him and to myself. “Can’t say that I’m going to give it up completely, but having a home to come back to sounds nice.” At that, Lili gave me a warm smile as she nodded in agreement.
“Huh. I would have pegged you as a young buck ready to take on the world. Judging by the size of you, I’d be willing to bet money on you,” the guard continued. And that got a bark of laughter out of me -- I made my fortune because everyone had bet against me. I could tell the guard was giving me an odd look behind his mask but he didn’t ask what I found so funny. I was glad because I wouldn’t be able to give an answer.
With that, he took us to the garrison house and handed me a large sack of coins -- the bounty for the bandits. As I passed it to Lili, if only out of habit, I asked, “are there any other problems in the area that need to be taken care of?”
The guard let out a scoff, “there’s always something that needs doing around here. Do you have a map?” He asked, and when I said no, he fetched me one. “Here, take this. You’ll be needing it if you want to travel across Skyrim. But, to answer your question -- we have an issue with a sabercat with a taste for blood, so there’s a small bounty on it. Not to mention the packs of wolves -- you’ll get five septums for every fresh pelt you bring in added onto whatever you sell them for. And, if you don’t mind the undead, some druaguars have been wandering the countryside after some ambitious treasure hunters broke down a door to a crypt.”
Skyrim was more dangerous than I remembered. Even still, I accepted the quests before we left the garrison house. I glanced down at Lili to see her taking in the small village. “Do you like it? It’s pretty different from a city like Orario,” I commented, earning a small nod from her.
“Lili...back when Lili was with the Soma familia, she thought that when she ran away from the city then she would come to a place like this. Lili isn’t very strong, but she would be strong enough to take on odd jobs like this…” Lili trailed off in thought. She glanced upwards at me, giving me a warm and thankful smile. She didn’t say it, but I could hear the thankfulness in her gaze.
“Well, it sounds like we’re going to be busy for a bit. Let’s go order the wood for our home and then we’ll walk back to Helgen.”
…
The scrawling text before her eyes, barely illuminated by a flickering candle. It was late at night, and Hestia knew that she should go to bed, but she was keeping her eyes open by sheer force of will. Laying around her were piles of books. Jericho had left her plenty of money to cover whatever she would need while he was gone. He probably meant food and more clothes, but she ended up spending the bulk of it on books.
Histories, biographies, legends, myth, and, most importantly, the gods of this realm. In a way, they were both more powerful and weaker than herself and the gods of her realm. The adrea, or the nine divines, had created this world using their own power but it had weakened them greatly -- the gods of her world hadn’t done that with the lower realm. Both it and them were simply things that were.
The dadera, on the other hand, did not help create this world and as a result, they were significantly stronger than the adera. Which was pretty bad because some of these gods sounded far worse than the ones back in Heaven. Like that Mundus fellow -- standing in the same plane of existence with him was enough to make her skin crawl. Though, not all of them were that bad. Nocturnal, Azura, Malacath, and Meridia sounded like decent people.
Then there were others like Hircine or Sanguine, who weren’t good or bad but just kinda did their own thing. No matter what anyone else had to say about it.
The books that she read were to prepare her for when she met them. She was a flame and they were the moths -- Hestia understood their nature far better than she would admit. She was a new diety, something unknown...which made her interesting and unique. And the gods loved interesting and unique.
Hestia let out a sigh as she settled into her new bed. It was fine, but nowhere near as nice as her last one. She smiled happily to herself, the plot of land that would be theirs appearing in her mind. Dozens of designs filtered through her mind, intent on making the most of the modest spot. She couldn’t wait to start building it and regain her featherbed mattress.
She put her books to the side, knowing that it was time. After slipping underneath the covers, Hestia reached over to snuff out the candle, before she closed her eyes. As she drifted to sleep, Hestia felt the gods poking at her, curious as to what she was. Unfortunately, some of the creepy ones were poking at her as well, some harder than others.
Wary of making enemies, Hestia didn’t push back and instead tried to sort out who the gods were. They had no distinction other than how urgently they were poking and prodding her, trying to make the new god on the block do tricks for their entertainment. It was enough that she chose to pick the one that was trying to be stealthy about her prodding.
Hestia poked back, and she felt her presence be welcomed into a different realm. So very much like Heaven back home, yet so very different. When Hestia opened her eyes, she stood before an imposing castle that served as a home, the sky pitch black, a crescent moon offering up a paltry amount of light and the light it did give made the shadows appear that much darker.
She stood on a winding path that led to the home, flanked with trees with ravens perched on the branches. Hestia could feel countless eyes on her, and she felt the gaze of who saw through the eyes of the ravens.
“Uhhh...this is the realm of Nocturnal?” Hestia asked, staying where she was. It had been months since she felt the unrestrained use of arcanum, but she didn’t dare challenge it with her own. Not because she feared Nocturnal’s might, but because she feared the stupidity of her kind back home.
If they found a way here, to this world, or to any others, then the lower world that they oversaw for thousands of years would be forgotten in search of better entertainment. Without the gods, there would be no adventurers, and without them, the Dungeon would go unchecked. It would take time, hundreds of years even, but a century or three were a blink of an eye for gods.
The silence that answered her was deafening. Hestia shifted from foot to foot, eyeing the castle before her. With a small shrug of her shoulders, Hestia walked the winding path that led her to cold iron gates that swung open on rusted hinges when she neared. Taking that as permission, she continued up towards the castle and pushed on the door.
“Pardon the intrusion,” Hestia had whispered the words but they still seemed to echo throughout the castle. The castle itself was richly decorated -- she could feel the history pouring off books and pieces of armor or weapons displayed on showcases, but they were coated in a fine layer of dust and cobwebs. Eventually, Hestia’s gaze landed on a set of doors that would take her to the ballroom. Feeling a tug in that direction, Hestia pushed open the doors.
The ballroom was a storage room. It was filled to the absolute brim with treasure -- gold, jewels, weapons, armor, paintings and everything that could be considered valuable, then it was here. All of it was neglected. The paintings faded, the treasure heaped upon treasure was covered in dust and spiderwebs, forgotten about for ages. The only clear path was a red carpet that led to a throne made of shadows. A nightingale perched on one armrest before it hopped onto the offered finger of Nocturnal herself.
She appeared older than Hestia -- short black hair, dark brown eyes with unusually pale skin, but not in an unattractive way. Her cheekbones were high, her jawline strong and her lips perfectly complimenting the shape of her nose and her jawline. She was somehow beautiful and utterly ordinary. Nocturnal wore a single piece dress that exposed a dangerous amount of cleavage, both form-fitting around the stomach, but loose enough that if she stood from her throne and rolled her shoulders the dark dress would pool at her feet.
“Hello!” Hestia greeted with a wave and a nervous smile as she approached, stepping around a pile of gold as she did so. “Nice to meet you! My name is Hestia. I’m the goddess of Hearth.” It was hardly the most grandiose introduction, but it was a genuine one.
Nocturnal remained silent, her dark orbs judging her until Hestia came to a stop at the start of the steps that would take her to the throne. Nocturnal’s gaze lingered on the first step, waiting for Hestia to walk up it, but she refused. She had enough encounters with prickly gods to spot a power play when she saw one.
“I am Nocturnal, Night Mistress, Master of Secrets and all things enigmatic,” her voice was soft but it carried a commanding tone. Her dark eyes tried to peer through her, but Hestia had nothing to hide. “What brings you to Mundus, Outlander? Have you been banished from your realm and cursed to walk the mortal world?”
Hestia shook her head. “No, nothing like that. Honestly, I’m not exactly sure how I ended up here beyond that my lover, Jericho, has a unique soul that was tampered with by a god. Probably one with too much time on their hands. So he has the ability to jump between realms and he took me and our familia with him.”
“I see,” Nocturnal stated, her tone measured and even. However, Hestia could hear the interest in her tone. At the very least, she was having a better reaction than the gods in her homeworld. Back there, every god would have gotten into a fight to pester the new god and they wouldn’t stop until they got bored. “An interesting matter. Regardless of how you found yourself here, the question is what you intend.”
“I want to start a home with my familia,” Hestia answered. The other god’s eyes narrowed, trying to perceive a lie, but there was none. “I don’t have any ulterior motives. I just was to live a simple life with Jericho and Lili. And expand our familia -- our family. Anyone that seeks a home is welcomed at my hearth.” Hestia answered, a gentle smile tugging at her lips at the thought of it.
Her familia didn’t have to be filled with legends whose deeds would go down in history, or the very best of the best. Hestia wanted her familia to be a family, and she wanted to look after them for eternity.
It might be a trick of the light, but Nocturnal’s expression softened. “Though, that does beg the question of why you choose to walk among the mortals,” she commented lightly.
Hestia scratched at the back of her head, her smile becoming a little more strained. “Ehehe...for fun?” Hestia tried to explain, causing Nocturnal to raise an eyebrow, the single-action speaking volumes. “Well...don’t you think it’s boring, sitting back and watching from afar? Unable to interact except in a few ways?”
Nocturnal hid it well, but it was impossible to mask the look of understanding that seemed to fill her eyes. Gods, in the end, were immortal and unchanging creatures. They watched from afar at the mortals below, watching their stories unfold, not only out of interest but to avoid boredom.
“The gods of my realm decided to descend to the lower world for...well...to be entertained. The world itself was threatening to be overrun with monsters that spilled out from a massive labyrinth beneath the ground that spawned them endlessly. All mortal kind was in danger of being wiped out...but we descended because we realized that we would lose our one source of entertainment if they all died.” It was a bit shameful to say out loud, now that she thought about it.
“But, we made a game out of it. We restricted our powers, limiting ourselves to normal mortals to live as one of them. To experience things as they do because it’s so much different than being a god. The only exceptions that can be made are the falna -- a blessing that we bestow upon a mortal that allows us to grant the experience in life they’ve felt into benefits that aid them in battle and life…” Hestia realized that she was rambling, but Nocturnal looked intrigued.
“It sounds similar to my nightingales,” Nocturnal admitted, leaning back into her throne as she adopted a thoughtful expression. “However, I never entertained the notion of...lowering myself to their level…” There was a hint of distaste there that Hestia understood. There was a lot of arguing about the rules before the descent, but it was resolved with a simple argument.
“It’s more fun without access to your arcanum,” Hestia stated. “Everything feels more...real when you can’t just use your powers to make the problems go away. It can be scary. Really scary sometimes. But if you surround yourself with a caring familia then even when things are scary, you won’t be afraid because they’re there to protect you,” Hestia explained, thinking of Jericho.
There were times when he appeared absolutely terrifying -- his large size, his powerful build, and the terrible anger he could display and unleash on his enemies. But Hestia was never afraid of him because she knew he would never hurt her, no matter what. Instead, she was afraid for him. During the War Game, it was clear that the stress was getting at him and the War Game itself…
She would see Jericho ripping Zanis’ spine out in her nightmares for many years.
“These familias...and this game...tell me more about them, Hestia,” Nocturnal’s words sounded like a command but the tone she spoke them with was that of a request. Hestia smiled in response and began to explain the rules.
…
“Where the fuck is the fucking- oh, there it is,” I muttered, picking up a hammer that I placed to the side a few seconds ago to line up a nail, and somehow forgot where I put it. I heard Hestia giggle behind me, clearly amused by my suffering. As a true foreman, she delegated the work between me and Lili with Lili doing the finess work because I was too big.
It had only been a couple of days since we arrived back at Helgen, a little bit richer but the real gain was the reputation. Riverwood had sent a letter of recommendation, or whatever, so we got an even better plot of land to work with and more rights. Stuff like the right to set up a store or inn and I was awarded livestock as well. It seemed that Skyrim acted under the mentality of the more you do for the community, the more the community does for you.
And I was pretty okay with that. I still had to clear out the bandits at that fort, but my to do list was a lot shorter after a handful of days. Even better, most of that stuff was easy so the rewards just kept piling in for what amounted to busy work. It was a little more time consuming with travel time, but it was vastly better than spending sixteen to eighteen hours in the Dungeon a day.
“Watch your language, Jericho. There are children present,” Hestia pointed out at the group of small children that were beating the absolute shit out of each other with pieces of my lumber for my house. The little shits hadn’t even asked. They just walked up, grabbed some wood, called them swords and started wailing on each other.
“I’m sure they’ve heard worse,” I shot back, keeping an eye on them. I didn’t care for kids, but the very last thing I needed was one of them braining themselves and the blame getting dropped into my lap.
Grabbing another nail, I hammered it in before I took a step back and looked at what I was creating. It was hard to picture it now, but the general form was taking shape. It was larger than the rest of the houses by necessity rather than to show off since I needed tall rooms. The base was already set with cobblestone raised up a foot, some stairs leading to a doorway big enough that I wouldn’t have to duck my head to enter.
Hestia had a knack for building stuff because, already, I could tell it was going to be an impressive building.
Looking back at her, I saw her checking the blueprints against what I had made so far. She tilted her head side to side before she nodded, satisfied. I smiled as I turned my attention to Lili, who was hammering in the roofing that I had set up, an expression of intense concentration on her face. She wasn’t spared a few busted thumbs, unlike I was.
Woodwork (7/100): Craftsmanship involving wood.
Stonework (10/100): Craftsmanship involving stone.
Because of those two new skills that I picked up, combined with my Comprehension perk, I understood what I was doing rather than just following through with the motions. It helped me understand why I had to do certain things a certain way without any explanation needed. Of all my perks, I think that one might be my most overpowered when it came right down to it.
“At this rate, we’ll be done by the end of the week,” Hestia muttered with some sadness. And that was only because I needed to pretend to sleep...or actually sleep, and waiting for more materials from Riverwood.
“I won’t head out as soon as we’re done,” I promised, setting my hammer to the side as I took a seat on the edge of the foundation, watching the kids continue to beat the ever loving shit out of each other. “And I won’t leave you alone here for weeks on end,” I told Hestia. “But I’m going to have to head out sooner rather than later because winter is coming.”
The College of Winterhold was around a week’s travel away, less for me, but winter was right around the corner. And winter in Skyrim was damn near unlivable for anyone not a Nord, from what I understood. So, travel was going to become difficult in a month or so. Meaning, it would be easier if Lili and I stayed at the college for the winter, then by the time we left it then we would have a decent enough grasp on magic.
The issue with that was that Hestia would be alone here unless we took her with us. Which we couldn’t do since someone needed to oversee the mine, and winter in Winterhold was damn near unlivable for nords.
“What are you thinking?” Hestia asked, taking a seat next to me as she offered a cup of water. I didn’t really need it, but I took it and knocked it back easily enough.
“I’m thinking that once we’re done with the house that I become the thane for Whiterun,” I spoke. Upon seeing Hestia’s confusion, I clarified. “It’s a title that gives me some special privileges like ignoring some laws, but the biggest bonus is that a housecarl is assigned to me. A special warrior that I can trust to leave her with you during the winter. To protect you and so you won’t feel so lonely.”
Hestia leaned into my side, letting out a soft breath. ”Sounds pretty important. How would you do it?” She asked, and that was the question that had me stumped. In the game, you got it by killing the dragon, but that seemed to be an outlier. The other holds were either by being especially helpful until other people said you should be the thane or one big deed that proved you deserved it.
“I dunno,” I admitted easily enough, earning a snort from Hestia. “But, whatever it is, I’ll be able to handle it. Especially if I have Lili watching my back,” I added. “I’ll head there after we’re done with the house and once the mine gets set up, and I’ll just ask for the biggest problem that needs to be fixed and do that.”
“And you won’t be in too much danger? Lili told me about that close call with that scroll thing. And those enchanted necklaces,” Hestia remarked, bringing my attention to another reason to head to Whiterun. Because the mage there with a enchanting table, and since I wasn’t limited by game mechanics, he could become an enchanting teacher. Not sure if he would be willing to do it, but he would be my first lead in learning how to enchant and to find out if it was as broken as it was in the game.
I pulled out the two necklaces from my inventory. They were simple iron, completely ordinary. The trader in Riverwood hadn’t been able to identify them, so I didn’t know exactly what they did. What I did know what that the bandit had broken his arms taking a swing at me. So, whatever they did, they could enhance the body to the point that it wasn’t able to keep up with the output.
“Yeah, that could have been a close call. Everyone else here is so…” I trailed off, not wanting to bring up the fact that I had killed people. Even still, the image of my hammer tearing through people appeared in my mind. I went right through them like a knife with butter.
“You’re a level 2,” Hestia commented. “You were superhuman once you reached D’s in your stats, and now as a level 2, you’re miles above that...but that’s no excuse for letting your guard down, okay? I expect you to come back home healthy and whole every single time, okay? Not buts or excuses,” Hestia insisted, earning a playful smile from me.
“I promise...but don’t you think I would look a bit better with some scars? They seem to be all about them in this place,” I teased, making Hestia smack me in the arm in disagreement. “Fine. No scars. Not even sure I could get one if I wanted one,” I admitted.
“And I’m going to have Lili tell me everything that you’re getting into, so don’t think you can hide something crazy from me,” Hestia warned. I let out a huff of laughter as I wrapped my arm around her, accepting that.
“I’ll be careful. I promise,” I agreed, causing Hestia to cuddle up to me that much more. Eventually, the kids realized that they were going to smack out what few brain cells that they had and dropped the pieces of wood where they stood before wandering off. Seriously never understood the appeal of kids.
However, as we enjoyed the moment, I spied a small group of men walking towards us. They weren’t armed, their clothing stained with soot but they looked as well kept as everyone else. Hestia noticed them a moment later, letting me go so I could stand up. I saw some surprise on their faces as I did, but they continued anyway.
Something that I’ve noticed after a few days was that I was beyond unusually tall. In Danmachi, there was a bit of give and take -- there were more than a few people that were closer to seven feet than not, but me being taller than them was notable, but hardly impossible. Here, in Skyrim, everyone was either six foot or shorter, so I had a foot and a half one everyone.
In a place like Skyrim, that would be a useful trait to have.
“Greetings there -- you’re the owner of Embershard Mine, right?” One of them stepped forward, the spokesperson for the group, I guess. When I nodded, “We used to work there before the bandits moved in. And we were wondering when you intended to get it running again.”
I glanced down at Hestia, who shrugged helplessly, before I turned my attention back to them. “I don’t know a damn thing about mining, but I’d be willing to open it up right now. Everything looked fine while I was there, but you would know better than me,” I said. I...huh...I owned a business now. Neat.
The group perked up at that, more than a few of them looking relieved. I’m guessing that they were eager to get back to work.
“It’s much appreciated, Jericho. We can check out the mines to make sure everything is as it should be, but even if they did mess anything up it won’t be long before we’re back into production,” the spokesman said.
“Sounds good to me…” I trailed off, fishing for a name, as I held out a hand to shake. Instead, he grabbed me by the forearm -- or tried to, at least, while my hand engulfed his.
“Rulf,” Rulf introduced himself.
“Rulf,” I echoed, giving him a nod. “And I’ll higher some guards to stop what happened from happening again. Actually, the Riverwood garrison said that they owed me some favors, so I’ll ask them to patrol around the mine to discourage any more bandits.” At that, Rulf smiled broadly, flashing surprisingly white teeth.
“I’m glad to hear it. We lost good nords when they came in. We’re no cowards, but...mages…” Rulf explained with obvious distaste. I decided to not mention that I intended to learn magic. “But, we should let you get back to building your home. We’ll head to the mines in the morning tomorrow and get them sorted out. Until then.”
I watched them walk away, something stirring in my chest. In Danmachi, I was always forced to tiptoe around everyone else because stepping on a toe could mean death for me and my familia. And it nearly had. If it wasn’t for the Hestia armor, then my chances would have been a lot shakier.
And now...I was becoming someone important. I owned a mine, I was going to become Thane of Whiterun and my influence in Helgen was growing already.
Despite everything, I let myself hope that the trend would continue.
Comments
Evilhippy
It looked good but take your break. We wont mind.
Ab9999
I can see it if I look; feels like you wrote through scenes with goal of 'point A to point C' while skipping further details in between. Exactly as you already noticed, it's good but not up to your usual quality. And completely understandable. I'll say it again here. Take a break :L Can't speak for others but I'll definitely keep supporting even if you took a month or so. Your work is pretty awesome :)
Benjamin Lawton
Several lore-based typos I've noticed in this chapter: First, the "head god" who literally tore open a hole in the sky in order to depart the mortal realm, thus creating the Sun, was named Magnus – Mundus is the name of said mortal realm itself, of which Nirn is but one planet of several. Second, those gods who participated in the creation of Mundus are called the "Aedra" (singular "Aedroth"), literally "Our Ancestors" in the ancient Aldmeri tongue – with those who didn't participate therefore known as "Daedra" ("Not Our Ancestors"). And third, undead are called "draugr", the word taken straight from Norse mythology.
ArmsDealer
Good job man! Have a good vacation!
Anonymous Daniel
I didn't noticing anything wrong with the update... then again I am sleep deprived today.
