"Bwahahaha! Let's drink, my friend!"
When I hear the name Sam Guevenne, I quickly leave the inn before I get involved in this mess. It looks like I am not the only one. I can see the other Vigilants of Stendarr also leave the inn.
"Carcette, why are you guys leaving?"
She frowns and says.
"That man who joined us made my skin crawl, and I didn't like it. When he starts having that drinking competition with the Dragonborn, I know that we are not needed."
I hold myself from telling her the real identity of that man. I don't want them to fight a Daedra Prince. I don't want them to fight a battle they cannot win.
"I see. It looks like I am not the only person who feels that. I think that man is a Conjuration mage that often summons Daedra."
"Ah, a poor soul. It is a shame that he is not a criminal. If he is a criminal and has a bounty in any hold across Skyrim, I will kill him."
"Eh? How do you know that he is not a criminal?"
Carcette takes out a book and says.
"We keep up with any bounty the Jarl gives and make sure to note if there is someone who is a conjurer. Sam Guevenne is not a criminal. Hence, we cannot hunt him down without getting hunted down ourselves."
"What a shame."
"Indeed. Anyway, let's get back to our temporary headquarters. We can celebrate there."
I nod and follow her to the building near the dock. As we get inside, I can see a statue of a kind-looking man holding a small hammer in his right hand while his left hand is under his chin, preparing to take a tear coming from his eyes.
"Do you like it? The previous Keeper is the one ordering the statue for us to pray."
"It is impressive."
"Right? It makes some people grumble because he used some of the funds to buy weapons to build this statue, but no one can deny it is worth it after it is finished."
The other Vigilants take out five barrels full of wine and mead. I take a mug full of mead and take a sip of it. It is sweet with a hint of some berries mixed into the mead. It is not as strong as something like bourbon or whiskey, but it still has a kick to it.
"This is delicious. What kind of mead is this?"
"Ah, this is the Juniper-Honey Mead. It is a mead from Helgen before it gets destroyed by a dragon."
Ah, this is the famous mead that Ralof mentioned in the prologue of the game, huh? It is delicious.
"It is a shame that the meadery cannot produce such mead once again."
"Ah, don't worry. The owner of the meadery survived and will start producing once again. However, it will take time before we can taste more."
"Then let's cheer for more delicious mead!"
Carcette laughs and raises her mug. The both of us release a sigh after we drink our mead.
"What will you do from now on, Ryan?"
"Hmmm? I will still do the same as before, my friend. I will explore Skyrim to try and get my revenge. However, with my new title, I feel that I will be fighting against more dragons than I plan to."
Carcette nods and takes a piece of paper and a medallion from her pocket.
"Here. These are the list of our bases around Skyrim. Each time you decide to visit one of our bases, you can show the medallion to your fellow brother and sister of the Vigilants, and then they will let you enter the base without any question."
Take the paper and medallion and say.
"Thank you, Carcette. This will help me."
"It is not a problem, my friend. We are brother and sister under the embrace of the divines. It is an honor to have you among us. I recommend going to Morthal and then going to Solitude after this. I hear that Hjaalmarch is facing a lot of trouble lately. Rumor has it that many bandits are wreaking havoc on the trade route in that place. Not only that but two days before our headquarters was destroyed, I heard a dragon make a nest in the forest not too far away from Morthal. As for Solitude, there are rumors about a group of necromancers who want to resurrect Petoma Sptim, the Wolf Queen."
I did know there is a dragon burial zone near Morthal, and I also know the quest about the attempt to resurrect the Wolf Queen. As for the bandit… Well, Skyrim is infested with bandits.
"I see. I will look into this matter and see if I can defeat this dragon. As for the group of necromancers… I will go there first and see if I can defeat them. I hate necromancers."
"We all hate necromancers, my friend. I will send a letter to the Vigilants in Solitude and tell them to give all the information about this group of necromancers. When will you leave?"
"I think I will leave tomorrow morning. For now, I need to prepare for my journey. I need to buy some supplies and potions and maybe learn one or two more Restoration spells from you, Carcette."
She looks at me for a second, drinks all the mead, and says.
"Let's start working. I will ensure you are officially a Novice in restoration magic. Come. I will teach you all the knowledge about Restoration magic."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|3rd POV|
Sanguine, the Prince of Hedonism, and Daedric Prince of Debauchery look at his new entertainment with a smirk on his face. The Dragonborn is a great man to party with. His dragon soul makes him have a high tolerance for alcohol, so it is hard for him to get drunk. Once he gets drunk, he is a great man to have—a perfect man to be Sanguine's champion. For now, he needs to see if the Dragonborn is able to complete his little trial.
While waiting, Sanguine turns his gaze into the second Dragonborn. Someone who supposedly cannot exist in this world but exists nonetheless. As he is about to use his power to locate him, his entire being is pressed down into the ground of his realm.
His entire body cannot move as he watches his entire realm of oblivion change as the rule of his world is overwritten by the force so powerful and ancient. He can only move his head to see a massive dragon looking at him.
"A-Akatosh! What are you doing in my realm!?"
Akatosh looks at the prince of Hedonism with a frown on his dragon's face for a second before saying.
"Don't you dare to touch my champion, Daedra! I might be weaker after the creation of Mundus, but I still can obliterate all of you while you guys are in Oblivion. I might not be able to manifest in the mortal world, but should you dare even to touch him, I shall destroy your realm and strip all your power, making you nothing but a mere Lesser Daera. I don't care if you try to make the Champion of Talos your champion, but you should not touch what is mine. Consider this your first and only warning."
After saying that, Akatosh disappears, and Sanguine's realm returns to its original shape. There are a few places that get destroyed by the show of power, but it returns mostly to its original shape.
As for Sanguine… He sat on the ground, and for the first time in a long time, he felt fear. Sometimes, he forgets that the Aedra are races that cannot be underestimated, especially Akatosh, the personification of Time and father to all Dragon, the creature that symbolizes power.
Sanguine shakes his head and stands up. He received the warning and he shall never touch Ryan Hernandes. He is not a mad god like Sheogorath. He is not mad enough to risk getting his power stripped out of him.