The atmosphere of the temple is eerie to say the least, I felt as if the shadows themselves were trying to beckon me into their embrace... permanently.
For a moment I thought I would have to deal with the uncomfortable feeling the entire time inside, but Meridia came through quickly and a beam of sacred light shot through the darkness, cleansing the feeling and revealing the temple's marbled halls.
It would have been beautiful, had the entrance not been almost buried in desiccated bodies of what looked like merchants and travelers, many of them showing clear signs of soul drain.
The moment we saw this Marco started heaving to the side, tears in his eyes.
Sybille sniffed "So uncivilized."
"Prefer your bodies well ordered do you?" I snark.
Her agreement is as swift as it is certain "Of course, only amateurs pile their subjects up like this."
"Hmm, Meridia herself did say that the necromancer was a master." I note.
She shrugs "Well then he must have let his apprentices have their way with these ones."
Davos cuts in "While I understand that this is fascinating and all, can you do this after we aren't in mortal danger?"
"Right." I agree, and look at Marco "Are you going to continue shaming yourself brat or are we going in?"
The bard seems to have stopped his little fit and stands up while giving the place another disgusted look "How can you look at this and then joke about it?"
"Oh, I am rather disgusted myself make no mistake. I just don't let it take me out of commission for enough time to get killed ten times over." I stare at him judgingly and he winces.
"Come on boys." Sybille calls from in front of the next door "I would rather return to the city sometime this year."
We follow her deeper in, the light guiding us through a long hallway decorated with carvings venerating Meridia, surprisingly left untouched by the current occupants. Or were they protected somehow?
As we enter a much greater hall, likely the place where sermons were once held, the light beam that was guiding us stops atop a pedestal on the other side of the room.
While we walk carefully toward the obvious key forward Marco looks around with fear in his eyes "Isn't it really weird that we saw no trace of the undead yet?"
I groan "You just had to say it."
"Wha-"
"Dammit brat." Davos spits on the ground.
"I'm-"
"Foolish boy." Sybille sighs.
"But I didn't do anything!"
Any further protests died in his throat when the shadows themselves seemed to grow heavier and press down on the now tiny light protecting us from the unnatural darkness.
It didn't end there.
Hollow groans and painful screeches echoed throughout the halls from all sides around us.
It was time then... "Marco in the center, Davos guard his back, Sybille and I will hold the front." I quickly instruct my allies.
We take our positions around the pedestal holding the second beacon, and just in time as a bunch of blackened skeletons emitting some form of dark smoke-like aura enter the light. They seem to be pushed back for a moment, many of them growling in pain, but it is for a mere moment as the entire horde charges in as one.
Arrows start flying at us and I am forced to cast a wide wind cloak just so we don't get immediately slaughtered.
Marco seems absolutely terrified but surprisingly forces himself to start throwing lightning sparks at the undead, doing pitiful damage. Davos, already having gotten used to getting dragged into unholy situations with me merely starts firing off flaming bolts from his now enchanted crossbow.
And Sybille... I was honestly expecting her to light the entire place on fire, but what I saw was far from that and somehow more terrifying than the expected explosion of pyromancy.
Sharp claws extended from her fingers and her flesh seems to have turned into ebony as a dark cloak of energy surrounded her, draining the strength from the undead around her. She charged into the darkness without a care in the world and a sadistic smile on her face.
The moment she disappeared into it I started hearing bones breaking followed by disturbingly joyful laughter.
Were all vampires like that? Or did she merely take Faralda's teachings too seriously?
And why, for the love of god did I get a tingle from seeing it!?
No matter, these puppets won't cut themselves down. I return to the present and decide to try out the new toy I was given.
"Lady of Life, banish the darkness!" I yell out loud because of course a power given by her would require a cringe-inducing incantation, and the moment I do so the same light guiding us inside suffuses my entire being.
I feel a pleasant warmth embrace me, making me feel content even in this kind of situation.
Forcing the feeling down I summon my familiar who blasts off into the enemy surrounded by a blinding inferno and call upon my solar magic. The spells flow as if I was casting a mere candlelight, the light coming off of the uncast spells was blinding, and the moment it appears all undead around me flinch in agony.
Giving them no time to collect themselves I start firing sunbeams all around me disintegrating most with but a mere graze, some resist for a moment but a moment is all they get as I focus them down.
Just when I think this is going to be easy I hear a loud growl behind me and a massive bone-armored hulk exits the darkness, I point my hand at it but another skeleton throws itself at me interrupting my spell.
The massive thing swings its club at me and I am forced to throw myself in the other direction, its friend is not so lucky as it gets broken into tiny pieces by the strike.
I fire a sunbolt at it, but runes cover the bone armor, and the spell fizzles out.
Taking a quick look to decipher the enchantment I notice that it was specifically made to resist sunlight. Good thing I am not a one-trick pony, I smirk and summon a golden fireball in my hand and immediately launch it at the creature.
It doesn't even have the time to flinch as it turns into ash.
Seeing the effectiveness of what I am going to call sacred flames from now on, I start bombarding the surrounding area with fireballs, making sure to avoid blasting Sybille, and the undead assault seems to slow down.
Unfortunately, all it does is slow down, as the horde shows no signs of diminishing in numbers. The moment I cut down a group of undead another takes its place.
Sybille dashes out of the darkness, her robes ripped and covered in blood, her own most likely, and she takes a position behind me "I held them off as long as possible, now it's your turn to enter the meat grinder." she says, all her previous delight gone.
"Did you at least deal with the archers?" I ask.
She scoffs as she fires off a firebolt at the head of another larger skeleton "What do you take me for boy?"
"A woman irritated that she had to bleed again, apparently." I snark while continuing my bombardment.
She twitches and I sense her glare, even if she is looking away "Bleeding women jokes, really?"
"I am adept in the art of comedy." I say in a deadpan voice.
I turn to see how the other two are fairing, and they are thankfully still alive. Davos just has this dead look in his eyes as he reloads his crossbow at speeds that are most assuredly not healthy for his fingers.
Marco seems completely exhausted after casting even the most basic spells for so long, and he stumbles back toward the pedestal we had to our backs, accidentally pushing the beacon within and making it lift and come into contact with the oncoming light.
The moment this happens the suffocating darkness in the room is banished by a blinding flash of light and the smoke the undead were emitting disappears in an instant, followed by quite a bit of their power.
The undead at the edges of the hall start withdrawing.
"Press the attack!" I yell immediately and start throwing fireballs like a complete madman. The Magicka flowing through me starts to feel intoxicating, especially since I have long since crossed the usual amount my body is used to containing due to my rings.
The explosions I make start looking like the most beautiful paintings and the feeling of power I get from seeing my enemies turn to ash makes me start cackling like a madman as I charge into the now disorganized skeletons.
(Davos' pov)
First it is draugr, then it is bandits, then spiders, and now undead that seem to have crawled out right out of Molag Bal's scrotum.
I really need to find a better job... I turn to see my boss cackling like a madman and chasing down the undead that are somehow showing fear.
Yeah, definitely need a new job.
I look at the other mage, who seemed to have calmed down somewhat now that the undead were slowly retreating, and ask while pointing at Dagoth jr. "Is he going to be all right?"
She blinks and then looks at my boss "Oh, don't worry, just a Magicka high. He will calm down after a bit."
Are you fu- no, calm down Davos "You lot can get high on Magicka now!?"
She giggles into her bloodied hand, and what a disturbing sight that is "Of course, just imagine all that power flowing through you." She licks her lips making me shiver "And do remember that he is currently channeling a Daedric Prince's power... Oh it must be delightful!" She moans.
I stare at her dumbly and just decide to check up on the brat, I just hope I can save up enough money and escape this bunch of madmen before I join them in their insanity.
I hear Reyvin shout "Come here kiddies, DADDY HAS A PRESENT!" followed by an explosion.
*Sigh* Its already far too late for that, isn't it?
(Reyvin's pov)
I blink my eyes a couple of times and look around. I stand looking at the passage the undead retreated through and notice that I am surrounded by singed bones and weapons.
My body feels like it is on fire, and feel most of my Magicka is gone.
What in oblivion just happened?
"Done with your little episode?" I hear Sybille behind me.
"What?" I ask dumbly.
She giggles "Oh you seem to have gone a bit feral with so much power, it was quite funny to watch you scream obscenities at the dead like some kind of deranged scamp."
"What?"
*Sigh* "Just come here and take a seat, you need to rest after that."
My mind is a bit of a mess right now so I just follow her and slump down next to the pedestal.
It takes some time for my wits to return and I look back at what happened. I knew it was possible to get a bit high on Magicka if you really go overboard, but this went far beyond all my expectations, and the worst part is that I felt like I wanted to feel it again.
And wasn't that a terrifying thought?
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Po-wer-stones.
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