Well, it was fun to visit Skyrim again when it wasn't for something too serious. However, I had a feeling that the conclusion to Alduin was going to be arriving soon and I would be pulled into it. Not forcefully, but I would not allow Thorum to face that kind of thing alone.
Even Meridia expressed Caution when dealing with the World-Eater, citing that it is an existence integral to the world.
I felt a little bad that I didn't go visit the College, but it's not like I wouldn't be coming back soon anyways. Unfortunately, we are on a bit of a time schedule here, and perhaps we were pushing it a tad with our small little adventure.
Odin didn't say anything, but at points there was a tiny amount of anxiousness he showed every now and then.
He was being surprisingly forthcoming with himself at various points, which could point to a concern of itself.
"I'm sort of annoyed at how convenient it would have been if the Argo could fly so easily." Atalanta looked off the edge.
"Wait, easily?" I blinked at that. "The Argo could fly?"
"Of course it could." Atalanta answered. "Though, we had to go through a lot of effort to appease Zeus to allow it." She let out a sigh. "It would often make Poseidon angry and we then needed to appease him as well. He did not like the idea of a 'ship' not attached to the water."
"Sounds shitty." I couldn't imagine having to play nice with so many God's egos while just living my life in Ancient Greece.
"You have no idea." She leaned on the railing. "It was smaller too. But the ships back then were designed differently. Lots more room to laze about here."
"My friend, I have discovered something incredible!" Thorum practically came running out from below deck. He was holding a certain object in his hand that gave me a really strange feeling. It had a round orb on the bottom, almost like a hilt. It even had something resembling a handle and a guard, but it then further extended into the vague shape of a key.
"…what's that you got?"
"Oh, it's the Key that I am being allowed to use!"
"The…..Daedric Artifact of Nocturnal?"
"Aye."
"It's not dangerous?"
Thorum shrugged. "I was warned about using it on people."
"Alright then. What's up?"
Thorum held the key out, and pointed it at my chest, turning it.
I looked down and one of my buttons popped out of the hole. "Did you just….?"
Thorum had the biggest shit-eating grin I've ever seen.
"….do it again." I said.
Thorum proceeded to magically pop off the buttons on my vest with his Divine Key.
I don't know why, but both of us started giggling about halfway through.
"You two are so stupid." Atalanta shook her head with an exasperated sigh, wandering off to some other corner of the ship.
"So how does it work?" I ended up just tossing my vest to the side, not bothering to button it back up.
"I do not know. I was told that it can unlock anything and nothing more. That also aligns with the legends about such an artifact." Thorum replied.
I took a moment to wrap my mind around that. "A conceptual unlocking ability? And there's no limit on what it can unlock? Like, you could theoretically use it on people?"
"Aye." He nodded happily.
"That is horrifyingly powerful and I can't even begin to contemplate its usefulness. But that warning you got sounds about right….I can see why it would be dangerous to use on people."
"Aye, but Lady Nocturnal was specific that she merely did not wish for me to use it on people without her permission." Thorum clarified. "The Legends say that it can unlock a person's potential."
"Oh…" Well, that sounds reasonable as well. If it can conceptually unlock things, well, that could have tremendous effects on people and could easily cause chaos if misused. I had a much more sudden realization though. I summoned forth the mighty Wiggles. "….did she mention rabbits?"
Thorum looked down at the key in his hand then at Sir Wiggles. "She did not."
I held up Sir Wiggles, and he aimed with his Key.
He nearly booped him on the forehead before Thorum came to an abrupt stop. His eyes looked up, seemingly at me, but it only took me a moment to realize it was behind me.
"Someone is behind me."
Thorum nodded.
"Is it Scáthach?"
Thorum shook his head.
"…..Please don't tell me it's the owner of the key."
Thorum shook his head again.
"…It's Meridia, isn't it?"
Thorum nodded and I heard Meridia distinctly clear her throat. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing….."
"Oh, because it looks as if you're about to use that device on your familiar." Meridia cocked a challenging eyebrow.
"Nope." I expertly denied the truth.
Meridia grabbed hold of my cheek, pulling it. "That is not a toy to play with. For mortals, it is an extremely powerful object and should be used sparingly."
"It's Thorum's fault." I tried to defend myself.
"Do you think I was born yesterday?" She pulled harder. "And don't throw your friend under the dragon to save yourself."
"It's okay, he's the Dragonborn." I smiled.
She didn't find it as amusing as I did. "Do not play around with that with living beings again unless the situation calls for it." She finally released me with a huff. "It's not so simple as 'unlocking ones potential' as you believe. It can have unforeseen side effects."
"So no using it on Sir Wiggles?" Well, I don't want to actually harm him, and it's not like I was doing it without precautions. I had Avalon with me in the case that something happened.
She pursed her lips and looked at the amazing Rabbit as I held it up. "Fine, one time." She sighed.
"Didn't you say that it would be dangerous?" I questioned.
"A Rabbit is much less complicated than a person." She clarified. "Even your ridiculous Rabbit. But I stand by my previous words, do not misuse it. I'm of half a mind that the only reason she allowed it to be used so blatantly is to give me a headache." She grumbled.
"Speaking of, what's your opinion on Nocturnal?" I glanced at Thorum. "And hypothetically speaking, is it beneficial for Thorum to throw his lot in with her?"
Meridia frowned. "She is not…..bad." It seemed like she forced the words out. "For him, it would not be an unwise choice. It would provide some protection against the others from outright interfering. She is believed by Mortals to be the strongest of us for a reason. And she treats her Champions well in comparison." Meridia seemed to be genuinely giving a proper response. "Her orders will be few as she does not intervene often."
"It sounds like there are very few downsides." Thorum muttered.
Meridia looked at Thorum crossing her arms. "In your case, that would be true. You belong to Akatosh, and she would not challenge him on that matter. If you perform your duties properly, there will be no problems and mostly benefits."
"Thank you for your insight, Lady Meridia." Thorum bowed his head.
"You are a surprisingly amicable Mortal." Meridia sniffed. She….doesn't really consort with 'mortals' as she perceives them. If it weren't for being my Harem, she wouldn't have deemed it a worthwhile endeavor to even converse with the others. Not that this meant she disliked them at all. A happenstance of different positions.
And that was Meridia's way of giving a compliment.
"Did you come just to give us a scolding?"
"No, I wished to see you off. You are about to return, yes?"
"We're flying back to the house." I nodded.
"Hmm, I merely wished to say my goodbyes." She said rather bluntly, but there was that hidden gentleness to it that is basically only reserved for me.
It took all of my self restraint not to sweep her up into a big hug, but I know she doesn't like me doing that in front of 'outsiders'. Thorum would constitute in this circumstance.
"Proceed with your matter." She suddenly waved her hand dismissively. "I will make sure your Rabbit is safe."
I shrugged holding up Sir Wiggles. "Thorum?"
"Aye." Thorum seemed eager as well as he pushed the Key towards my Familiar. It seemed to enter him metaphysically, similarly to how Avalon does to people. He then turned it, and almost immediately the Divine Power that Sir Wiggles had hidden within him burst out, blowing us both back.
I hit the railing of the ship as Sir Wiggles became the focal point of a hurricane of Magical Power and Divinity.
It was enough that everyone came running from the parts of the ship they were in.
"Why is your Rabbit now a Godling!?" Odin was the first to speak.
I looked back to see that Meridia was now gone.
"Explain." Scáthach demanded.
"Uh….Magic key that conceptually unlocks things." I pointed to the Key Thorum was holding. "And a combination of Sir Wiggles being my familiar when I obtained Divinity alongside his very distant relation to a God himself led to an actualized state of ascension?"
"Makes sense to me." Odin nodded along.
"Really?"
"I'm throwing you a bone here, brat." Odin admitted. "Frankly, this is absurd. Your Rabbit is now technically a God, but it lacks a Domain. It's like a newborn and I have no idea what's going on with it because I've never seen a God born this way."
Huh.
That means I can't add another name until he gets his own domain.
[Of course that's what you take away from this.] Ddraig snorted.
Fuck it.
I picked up Sir Wiggles and held him up high. "Bow before your new God!"
[***]
The Boat passed through the part where the House was Anchored and we arrived back home, sorta. The Boat slowly descended onto the lawn infront of the house. And I was thankful that I went ahead and made sure I had a large property.
My Boat parked neatly right next to my Godzilla knock-off spike I got from when Izzy and I went on a not-Date to America and participated in a Kaiju battle.
After Sir Wiggles ascended, everything changed.
And by that, I mean nothing changed at all.
I think everyone was desensitized to how amazing Sir Wiggles is at this point.
And from what Odin explained, it was more like taking a step forward rather than suddenly being deified. Apparently, there are plenty of Gods that don't have Authorities. Some even have artificial domains or something along those lines. He referenced Mountain and River Gods that are prevalent in the East with that. And he mentioned that Asgard has tons of Gods that lack Authorities, as those make up the majority of the Gods there.
I hadn't thought about it before, but Asgard is composed of more than just the big named Gods of the Norse Pantheon.
"Welcome to our home, Thorum." I nudged him as he took in the surroundings. For him, I could imagine seeing the city around us was an utterly foreign sight.
"It is big." He said simply.
"You get used to it, big guy." Achilles patted his shoulder.
Several familiar faces come out to join us.
"Yo!" Mordred waved.
"Saber." Atalanta greeted back.
"Rider, Archer and Assassin." She looked them over with a nod. "Heard you got up to some shit back in that cold as hell place."
"Mordred, language." Artoria lightly chided. "Welcome back." She politely greeted.
"Hoho, the little Lion with her cub." Sasaki joked while watching the two.
"Hello Sasaki Kojiro." Artoria smiled, taking the small tease with stride. "Did you enjoy Skyrim?"
"I did enjoy it quite a bit! I even killed a Dragon." He said proudly. "And I will await a rematch between us, my new blade needs to be tested." He unsheathed it slightly for her to see the new dark gleam of it.
Artoria's expression changed to one of a competitive nature. "And you shall have it."
"Alas, there is no time for it at the moment." He sighed helplessly.
"That's right kids, you got three hours, make any last minute preparations you need to!" Odin hollered.
"Three hours?" I questioned.
"As soon as we got back I had a strange feeling." He grumbled.
Noted.
"On another note, it's unfortunate that Siegfried never got to kill a Dragon."
"Fuck off." Achilles scowled.
Hehe.
"And Welcome Thorum, I hope you enjoy your stay with us." Artoria lastly greeted my friend.
"Thank you, Lady Artoria! I look forward to seeing your home!" He laughed happily. "For as long as I am here anyways…"
"You are welcome here whenever you want." She replied good naturedly.
"What about me!?" Jinn skipped over.
Artoria merely held her arms open and Jinn dove into a hug.
I swear, that girl loves to be doted on and everyone loves to do so.
I clapped my hands. "Alright, you heard the old man, last minute preparations. We can have fun afterwards, but we got a job to do." Serious mode time.
This was honestly going to be something that was dangerous, and we had to treat it as thus.
That being said, one last person walked out.
Jeanne shyly walked over and I quickly went to greet her. And by greet her, I mean I picked her up into a big hug.
"Neh!?" She blurted out a surprised noise. "Wilhelm!"
"Hey there, Penniless Saintess." I smiled.
"Don't call me that!" She pouted, lightly hitting my shoulder.
"That dress looks good on you." She was wearing something different today, it was just a basic sundress, but she looked extremely cute.
"Really?" She asked quietly.
"Of course." I immediately reassured her. "Admittedly, I prefer what you were wearing before…"
The memory of her in that super revealing bikini that was basically a few strings covering her important bits…..
I would cherish it always.
"No!" She rejected in a high pitched voice. "Y-you're not allowed to remember that!" She quickly covered her reddening face.
"Not at all?" I said with mock aghast.
"W-well….." She turned real quiet. "Maybe a tiny bit….." She whispered.
"Lewd Saintess."
"Neh!"
"Unfortunately, we don't have all day to talk about how lewd of a Saintess you are." I set her down, and let her peek around me to see the others. "There are some familiar faces here."
"Rider, Archer!" Jeanne's eyes immediately lit up.
"Ruler." Atalanta smiled lightly.
"Hey there." Rider greeted her as well.
"I'm so glad I can see you two again! With Saber here, we have our own small reunion! I even saw Saber of Black before too and he remembered me! And there was also Lancer of Black, but he was a Berserker!"
"Wait, what? They're both here too?" Rider looked confused.
"Erm, well…It's a long story."
"There isn't much we have to do to prepare, why don't you tell us?" Atalanta offered.
"I'd love to!"
That was sweet.
I liked seeing Jeanne having friends.
"Hey Thorum, let me show you around." Jinn grabbed onto the Dragonborn's arm.
"I would like that very much, Lady Jinn!"
I was curious as to what she was dragging him off for, until I noticed both Artoria and Scáthach giving me a look.
"Come with us." Scáthach stated, sort of pulling me away too. Rather, they led me into the house, and through the hallways until we got to the Library slash storage area for basically everything I stockpile that's not in my ring.
"If I didn't notice the serious look you two had, I would have thought you were dragging me off for something else." I said in a bit of a teasing manner.
"There will be plenty of time for that later, Student." Scáthach responded. "We wish to speak about Jinn. And it is not merely us two, it just happens that we are the ones present before you leave to assist the All-Father."
"We're worried about her."
"I'm fairly sure that I was given a talking to about not coddling her?" I looked at both of them.
"They are not mutually exclusive."
"Right." I let out a sigh. "I get it, I'm worried too. It's going to be Dangerous and Jinn…..she really isn't much of a fighter."
Not that she wasn't 'strong' in her own right, but she didn't like to fight.
"We just want to make sure she will be taken care of." Artoria stated.
"I would die before I let anything happen to her." I said with utter seriousness.
"Don't speak of dying so easily." Scáthach pinched me. "I dislike it."
"Sorry." I took her hand, giving it a kiss. "And I'm worried too, but you were right before, I can't coddle her. It's going to be dangerous, it's likely that we'll be hurt in the process, but I will not let her die or anything like that. Speaking of, I'm more than happy to let Jinn hold onto Avalon." I touched my chest, producing the Sheath in question.
"I am conflicted. I do not wish to see either of you come to harm, yet only one of you may hold it at a time." Artoria frowned.
"I have more trump cards available, and I can take a hit better, let her have it." I waved it off. "Besides, I grabbed the others just for this situation. I'll ask them to keep an eye on Jinn too."
"What are your thoughts on this expedition?" Artoria asked.
"I keep saying it, but I really do think it's going to be dangerous. It's not really something I can stay away from either."
"Let us assist you. What do you require?" Scáthach asked.
I held up a finger. "Let's fill up on Dust, Potions, Scrolls –" I began to list off everything I could possibly need.
Three hours was more than enough time to finish up.
[***]
Despite the sense of urgency, I allowed myself to enjoy these last few minutes of relative peace before I departed.
I got everything I needed, and I felt good on that front.
Nothing more needed to be said between myself and the others, it's not like I was getting up to trouble. The pillar I stood on now came with certain responsibilities, and everyone understood that.
So, Artoria and I were just silently enjoying each other's company.
Was she worried? Most probably, but it's a default reaction that I think anyone would have in her situation. And It's not like I'm walking to my death or anything absurd like that.
Regardless, I always enjoyed quality time with any of my girls.
"Rin has returned." Artoria informed me before the door even opened.
The door swung open to a very confused Rin. "So I just came home and there's a giant Boat in the front lawn. Is that going to be a normal thing now?"
"Probably."
"Alright." She accepted it very quickly. "Heard you were in Skyrim for a bit, did you just get back?"
"Mmm, yup. About to leave again, going to the Norse Realms for some stuff." I nodded. "That reminds me, how long did you spend in Skyrim?"
"Ugh, a few weeks, why?"
"No reason." I hummed. "What did you do again?"
She plopped down on the couch opposite of us. "Went exploring a bunch of tombs and crap. Lots of undead, and those spiders." She shuddered. "But yeah, we were tracking down the legends on that Bow."
"Did you find any clues?"
"A few." Rin sounded proud. "We'll hit it again soon, it's just…..needed a break from that."
"I get it."
"Yeah." She paused. "Why are you asking?" Her eyes narrowed. "Are you going to try and find it too? Good luck, Saber and I turned over way too many places so we're far ahead of you if you want to jump on this train."
"Uh huh."
She looked at me, her expression slowly shifting to a scowl. "You did something."
"I don't know what you're talking about." I smiled happily.
"Spill it, Schweinorg!"
"Oh hey, is that Valkyrie around?"
"Oh, I was walking around the city with her earlier until her boss popped up." She answered with a strange tone before quickly snapping back to her annoyance. "Don't distract me!"
"Anyways, I got this cool new toy in Skyrim. Wanna see it?" I offered.
"….no." A small smidge of realization dawned on her.
"You sure? It's pretty cool."
"You did not!"
"It's a Bow. Bit of a coincidence, don't you think?"
"I swear to God, Schweinorg!"
"Here, take a look." I took out the Bow of Auriel and put it on the table between us.
"Is that….?"
"Is it what?" I asked with faux ignorance. "Oh, this is the Bow of Auriel. Have you heard of it before?"
Rin started to vibrate in place. "I hate you so much."
"What's that? I didn't quite hear you."
"How!?" Rin shouted. "We searched forever! We went through so many tombs, spiders!!!!"
"Well, it's quite the story. We traveled to the ends of the world, confronted an Evil God. We slayed several Dragons, and saved millions of people. Fulfilled an ancient prophecy even, and nearly died many times along the way."
"Really?" Rin's eyes widened.
"Pfft, no. The original owner told us where it was and we just flew there and picked it up from some stupid Vampire that was holding it."
"Raaaaaaaah!"
Worth it.
[***]
Boarding the ship again felt a lot different this time.
It was more….solemn.
I felt like I was marching off to war to be honest. And the thought of the Fae War that was looming overhead didn't make me feel better either. At Least that was a bit of time away as it were.
There wasn't need for another goodbye, we already covered that.
I gave Artoria, Scáthach and Jeanne one last smile as the Ship slowly ascended to the sky.
"Old Man, where are we going? I need to make some pre-calculations if it's somewhere far away."
"Can you take us to Norway?" Odin stared off into the distance.
"Does the exact spot matter?"
"Just get us close enough."
I shrugged, doing some quick calculations before opening a portal big enough for the Ship to fit through.
The cold air hit us quickly as we were among a mountainous region once more.
"Give me a moment, I'll call up a ride." Odin sat down cross legged, closing his eyes.
I turned around to face everyone else. "Quick rundown of what we're walking into. I fought Kronos, he was strong, and without trying to be mean, none of you can take him by yourself."
Achilles let out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm not going to argue with you on that. Maybe if I wasn't a Servant, but as I am, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't die, but I don't have much confidence otherwise."
I was glad he wasn't being stubborn on my first words.
"I didn't just randomly grab you all. And while this wasn't my original team composition, it fills out pretty well. Atalanta, you're the best tracker I know. Not even talking about how strong you are. Achilles, ignoring your strength too, you're fast. And that sounds idiotic to say, but at your top speed, you're faster than I am, and that is saying something. Sasaki, you're honestly probably the most skilled person here. Jinn, you surpass me in Magical Theory and your knowledge is only hampered by not coming into contact with some things I have. And Thorum, you have a particular set of skills and strength that make you exceedingly competent in this trip."
Because if Loki was going to be our enemy, most assuredly his children will be present.
Atalanta flicked the string of her bow, and Achilles twirled his spear. Thorum nodded along while Sasaki and Jinn silently listened.
"Now this is Nostalgic." Atalanta mused. "Sailing off into obvious danger."
"Haha, I always fantasized about those stories when I was a kid." Achilles laughed along. "So, Bossman, what's the plan?"
"Our goal is to find the ones hiding within the 9 Realms that don't belong there and do what we can to prevent Ragnarök. Realistically, we're going to roll with any punches that come because there's no way this doesn't go pear shaped at some point."
"Unfortunately, that sounds way too familiar." Atalanta sighed nostalgically.
"You don't gotta wait, brat." Odin stood up. "Heimdall isn't responding to me, but the Bifröst is coming."
A vivid Rainbow pierced through the horizon, it was much too solid and material for it to be mistaken for an actual rainbow.
"Get on it, quickly!" Odin suddenly shouted.
I called upon the ship to fly to it at its greatest speed, it landed upon the Rainbow bridge and I felt something strange take hold.
"Just move it forward now, the Bifröst will do the rest." Odin stated as the boat jerked and it suddenly accelerated at insane speeds.
If I had to compare it to something, I would say it was similar to those old T.V. Shows that had space ships enter hyperspace.
Everything flashed and stretched for a moment or two before it settled back down.
I admit that I nearly fell over, and the others weren't much better.
But even with my jumbled senses, I could make out the breaching of Dimensions.
We weren't in Kansas anymore.
Looking up, the stars were different, and the sky itself had changed.
Taking up most of the view was one thing in particular. A tree extended to the heavens, and its roots extended far down, far enough that they disappeared from view. The Tree itself, if it were not so large in size and placed amongst a forest, you would think it ordinary.
But I couldn't help but feel awed as I looked at it.
The World Tree.
And among its branches, you could vaguely see the Realms it supported.
And it wasn't as if the Tree literally held up these self contained 'worlds'. No, everything here existed between what was material and immaterial. What was real, and what was imaginary.
The Realms themselves, with this kind of view, they were utterly massive, but they weren't worlds in the proper sense. They weren't round, but more like continents or country sized.
I didn't have much time to admire the view before we were pulled forward again.
And glancing backwards, Midgard, or rather Earth appeared significantly different in comparison to the other Realms.
The World Tree seemed to twist and grow with Midgard at the center, while the others were merely extensions of its branches and roots.
It was utterly breathtaking.
"We're not heading directly to Asgard." Odin looked serious. "Get ready, I don't know what's waiting for us, but Heimdall wouldn't send us somewhere else unless it was important"
Well, that didn't sound good.
The Bifröst shot us out again, over a vast forest area. Rather, what remained of a vast forest area because a significant amount of it had turned into a winter landscape, and it was clearly unnatural.
We could see Warriors clad in golden armors, Valkyries up in the sky, and all manner of magics being displayed. They were the warriors of Asgard and opposite them were an army of Frost Giants, warping and changing the weather by merely existing.
Getting right into the thick of it then?
"Prepare for battle."
[***]
A/N
So begins the Yggdrasil arc, it won't be that long.
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I have a boosty under the same name if you can't use the above.
Also, I have a Snippet thread with a new snippet on Questionable Questing! Check it out if you're interested, it's where I'll be putting all my story ideas and such.