chapter 10

Fighting large spiders seemed like a perfect start to making some money and practicing spells.

Desmond accepted the offer and took the key. Instead of heading straight into the ruins, He and Hella agreed on a rest first at the inn.

At night, Markarth seemed like a more dangerous place. Eyes seemed to flash in and out in the darkest of corners while shadows danced from behind barrels and Torch scones.

Walking through the mostly empty streets, Desmond noticed a group of orange robed women coming from around the corner. He stared at the one in front, an elderly lady, who despite her age, still seemed to retain most of her physical beauty.

But it wasn't her looks that drew his attention, it was something more unseen. He couldn't describe it, only that it felt like an ethereal connection.

'Do I know her?'

The lady noticed his gaze, also seemingly sensing something. It was after Desmond and Hella passed by and walked out of view that she regained her composure.

"Sybil, is there something the matter?" One of the priestesses asked.

Sybil Celiane was shocked. She felt almost as if her goddess had walked right by her. It was when that man passed her had it felt the most potent. She had never felt this strong of a presence ever since she first communed with Dibella back when she was a child. Was there a second Sybil?

"That man-"

But before she could finish, a violent cough got ahold of her, bringing her to her knees in pain, and then, to the other priestesses' shock, she passed out.

"""Sybil!"""

The three rushed to her side, checking on her condition.

"She's getting worse," The eldest one said, "quickly, bring her to the temple. No more walks. I don't care how much she complains."

"What did she say before she passed out?"

"It doesn't matter. Help me pick her up."

******

The moment was fleeting, and being as such, Desmond thought nothing of it. Hella mentioned they were priestesses of Dibella, who was an Aedra and one of the nine divines that were worshipped throughout Tamriel. She was also the goddess of beauty, love, and art.

"It seems she might have a contender for that title," Desmond smiled, causing a visible blush on Hella's cheeks.

When they finally entered the Silverblood Inn, it was as if they walked into another world. The place was brightly lit by bright orange torches and a cozy fireplace under a cooking pot. People sat at tables, enjoying their meads, meats, and slices of cheese. Some rough-looking individuals stood at the far corner whispering among one another while others danced drunkenly around the fireplace. The whole place had a cozy feeling, only made better by the tunes of the bard's flute.

Kleppr watched as the two new guests walked into his inn. They had a different air about them that looked different than most guests that passed through. The man wore a nice clean shirt while the lady beside him was covered by a dark black cloak. Even in the warmth of the inn she still chose to remain hooded, telling him it wasn't the cold that she chose to wear such clothes.

It was when they approached the bar that Kleppr had to do a double take. The lady's face had been covered in the shadows of her hood but in the light of the chandelier, he could just barely see the soft, milky skin and thick ruby lips.

"Er, Ahem! Welcome to the Silverblood Inn," He coughed. "What can I get you?"

"We'd like a room for the night please," the man replied..

"Lucky bastard."

"What?"

"Er, nothing. That'll be 20 gold."

After paying, they also bought a plate of food and walked to a nearby table to eat. Kleppr watched the woman's buttocks sway from side to side. Her ass was just large enough to have its shape outlined by her robes that cascaded down, revealing even the nice crack in between.

'Good thing Frabbi's in the other room or she would've definitely noticed me staring. Then it'll be sleeping in the wine cellar for me for the next few weeks,' he thought.

"Ha. Don't think I didn't see that Kleppr," A man sitting at the bar said. "You were lusting for her harder than how Hogni's hard for his cuts of meat."

"Oh, shut it Cosnach. I was just, erm, stunned is all."

"Yeah, yeah," Cosnach downed his mead, feeling the drink burn his throat. "Never seen something so curvy in my life, besides those redguard swords. Do you think she'll be one of them, priestesses?"

"Who knows? She certainly looks qualified enough."

"Mhm. Hey, that reminds me. Degaine the beggar is looking for someone to help him with his secret heist. Wants to steal the golden statue in the temple."

"It's no secret. Everyone knows his foolish ploy. The guards just don't wanna bother themselves with a beggar."

"Ha, yeah. Gimme another mead, Kleppr."

The night went on, and eventually, the Inn emptied out, while the last few patrons stuck around a few minutes longer.

Desmond also retired to the bedroom with Hella, but when they went inside, they faced a problem.

The beds were all made of stone.

He knew the entire city's central theme was built around stone but he didn't think it would go so far to include even the beds.

Hella complained so Desmond offered to take the position of a human mattress for her. The resulting night was her sleeping soundly on top while his back stiffened and creaked in pain.

'Uhg...next spell I'm learning...conjuring up a warm bed...'

*****

The next morning, they went off to the Dwemer ruins, passing by Calcelmo who gave them a nod.

"We should tread carefully. Frostbite Spiders have a dangerous venom that freezes your blood solid." Hella spoke. "Try to stick behind me, my love. I don't want to see you hurt."

Desmond wrinkled his brow. It would be this expedition he'd show Hella that he wasn't some powerless man to be protected. He had an arsenal of spells at his disposal. Although he still needed to learn the stone skin spell, he was certain the spiders wouldn't prove too much of a problem.

When they entered the ruins, they found themselves in what seemed to be a large entrance hall, half destroyed by the passage of time. A landslide of dirt caved in from the ends of the room, destroying both sections of the wall.

They walked through the central passage, their every footstep echoing in the chambers. Passing a large mana-charged chandelier, they took a left into another corridor leading to a top ledge overlooking a tunnel where mine carts and pickaxes littered the area.

"This area seems to be an excavation site," Desmond commented.

"Yes, and there is a spider lurking in the bottom. See there?" Hella pointed to a dark corner, at the bottom of the room.

Desmond didn't notice until he used the detect life spell. The spider's form took shape and he saw that it was about the size of a bear with large pincers and several eyes.

"Let me take a go at it," he said.

Desmond thought about conjuring up his fireball but then another thought hit him. His soul fire. It was a destruction spell with a different kind of use that harmed the target's spirit. Though he wasn't too sure how it would fair against a larger enemy.

He channeled his magicka into his hand concentrating on the spell. Just like his fireball, the soul fire swirled into his palm in a silvery blue hue. It had the shape and form of regular fire but with a deathly cold aura.

Hella's eyes widened with awe. The slowly dancing fire reflected off her pitch-black pupils. To her, the fire looked enchantingly beautiful not to mention the strange eldritch voices whispering into her ear.

"It's... gorgeous," she said. "What is it?"

"This is uh, soul fire. I came up with it when I tried to find a way to heal you. I can teach it to you if you'd like."

The fire in his hand shook in anticipation as Desmond readied to hurl it. He raised his hand and aimed at the giant spider. With a swing of his arm, he threw the ball of death with all his might, hitting the spider in the face.

It had an instant effect as the arachnid let out a blood-curdling scream. It squirmed around in pain, bashing itself onto the nearby tables and carts. The spider had never felt so much hurt in its entire life.

Activating his detect spirit spell, he noticed the spider's soul was actually on fire. Pieces of it disintegrated into the air like embers. The way it caused the creature to suffer was much faster and more painful than that small cut he made on that rabbit.

"Look at it. The pain it's going through. Hah." Hella moved her hand between her crotch, rubbing her slit. She was getting turned on by the torturous spell cast by her lover. She was almost jealous.

Desmond found the spell to be more trouble than it was worth. The target didn't die immediately but seemed to go through unimaginable pain.

A few minutes later the spider stopped thrashing and fell on its back, legs twitching in the air.

'This spell's unstable. And those whisperings. I don't know who that it is and I don't think I want to find out.'

From the side, Hella couldn't take it anymore. They didn't screw the other night due to the uncomfortable bed so she threw herself on Desmond right then, chest heaving with lust.

"My love! Take me! Right here! Right now!"