Chapter 38: Curse of the Ruby Throne 4: Fate & Destiny

That was a close call!

I almost got caught!

How'd they even find out about me?

It doesn't matter, what does matter is what I'm going to do next.

Taking out a thin metal tube the size of a toothpick, I placed it to my lips before blowing.

This was a unique cat whistle I made that only Khajiit can hear, all the Khajiit in the city must be confused by what the sound is, but my subordinates and Na'shi will understand what it means.

It means I've been found and it's time for Plan C, to leave the Imperial City for good.

As of right now my subordinates are quickly organising themselves, the laboratory in the secret bunker in the woods is managed by Amaund Motierre's trusted aides.

The income made from the stable production of Alchemical creations there will keep me financially secured.

Next is the resources from the greenhouse, which yet again Motierre handles and when I need more I'll get in contact with him to send them.

I've stored everything in my home and personal laboratory inside my Storage Ring.

Now all that's left is to leave.

As I was about to direct Rael to press onwards, my Grimoire appeared out of thin air and presented itself to me open wide to a random page.

I grabbed it, looking at the pages it wanted me to see I was both shocked and filled with a sinister joy as a smile crept onto my face.

'Change of plans...'

I pulled hard on the tip of the saddle making him pull back sharply and around 180°.

Instead of escaping I went at full speed with Rael towards the White-Gold Tower.

Time to rob some priests and pull of the greatest theft of Era!

**************

Elika pov:

"What's going on?" I asked a guard i was familiar with after noticing that dozens were running all over the place.

"General Tullius has given the order for all available units to spread out and find a fugitive." He replied but I stopped him yet against before he can leave.

"Who's the fugitive, and what of my mother Commander Rella?"

"Commander Ashenclaw had previously encountered the fugitive in question at the Waterfront only a short while ago. The individual in question is a Snow Elf Boy nammed Sivreth based on our briefing. We're currently locking down the Septim Bridge and any and all possible crossings over Lake Rumare." He said before turning to leave but another guard approached him to converse.

(A/n Lake Rumare is the massive lake the Imperial City is in the middle of. Talos Bridge is the name of the main bridge that crosses Lake Rumare and connects the Imperial City across. However I changed Talos Bridge to Septim Bridge to be more lore friendly because of the outlaw of Talos worship by the White-Gold Concordat, thus Talos ----> being Tiber Septim, would still have his name be part of the bridge even though the Empire is forced to remove its in game name and change it to Septim Bridge.)

My mind was in a haze.

They found out?!

I need to help him!

"What is it?" The guard I was speaking with asked his newly arrived companion.

"We've found the Snow Elf! He's at the White-Gold Tower! He's currently inside, we're trying to reach him but he threw out numerous small dolls that transformed into person sized golems."

"Is he mad? Does he want a death wish going straight to the one place where it is the most heavily fortified structure in the entire Empire? What of the Golems? They can't be that hard to deal with?"

"They're weak but the sheer number of them is keeping us at bay, he had interrogated a Moth Priest, leaving him traumatised. Based of what the Moth Priest said, he seems to be heading to the Elder Scroll Vault! Everyone, Imperial and Thamor operative is to head there at once, inform anyone else you find about this!"

With that the two guards left, taking different routes in order to both reach the White-Gold Tower and to come across any other soilder to tell them of the situation as well.

The Elder Scroll's Vault?

Why would he need to get more, he already has one?

Wait a minute!

I remembered something he had vaguely mentioned when I asked him about the his Elder Scroll he had used when in Apocrypha and its power.

"To use an Elder Scroll requires many prerequisites to be met to even weild its power. One of which is either something of equal compensation to be used to envoke the Elder Scroll's tremendous power. The other is to have the power of a God. Haven't you ever wandered what would happen if even a piece of Akatosh's body, say his blood or the entire corpse of him, was used as the sacrifice to activate the Elder Scroll?" He had once told me.

"But Akatosh isn't dead, there's no corpse to use?" I had replied.

But what he said next confused for the next two years since then until now.

"Are you certain? Think carefully, you'll figure it out." His words echoing in my head every day until it clicked in my head.

The Temple of the One!

Don't tell me...he actually plans to...but why?!

****************

"Hiya!"

I yelled as I brought down my Spear in a winding arc, cleanly slashing the side of a Thalmor soilder's neck, killing him near instantly.

My training with Teldren Sero paid off, but If I had to guess, I'd say I'm at least at 60 skill level in one handed if I put it into game terms.

I'm at the Adept swordsman level (50+), while an Expert swordsman is at 75+ skill stat wise.

Swinging my Spear to clean it off blood, I continued onwards down the hallways until I found a large enough window.

Opening the window I shouted aloud, uncaring if everyone learned of my position.

"Rael Deg'aia!"

Deg'aia is a command word i made that only Rael would understand if spoken in my voice.

Hearing my words, it didn't take him long to be able to climb and scale the walls of the White-Gold Tower and enter through the window.

I petted him before mounting Rael as we travelled down the spiral hallways, ascending even higher.

The Moth Priests reside on the second and third levels, so the Elder Scroll Vault will be in my location, based of what I got from interrogating the Moth Priest that tried leaving the White-Gold Tower, but ran into me.

I came across more guards and tried avoiding killing Imperial soilders if it can be helped, but I'll certainly kill the Thalmor though.

Ahead of me was an ground of Imperial and Thamor troops, positioned in such a way to form a baracade.

Reaching into my pocket I took out two circular orbs.

I tossed the first one at the ground, the orb shattered and a small harmless explosion occured resulting in a shockwave that knocked them down and out of the way.

The second orb was blusih in color, when I threw it and the orb collided with them it shattered and released a enveloping Icy Fog.

The result was countless bodies encased in solid ice.

They weren't dead, only frozen.

Rael easily leapt metres over them and to the other side.

After a few more encounters I finally came across the Vault that matched the Moth Priest's description.

With my Mask on I could easily see that many defensive magics were placed on the Vault.

What's interesting is that is looks similar to the aura lile shield that the Ancestor Moths radiate at the Ancestor Moth Glade like the one in Skyrim.

This is clearly beyond my understanding. Fortunately, the amount of knowledge I had gained from Ahzidal's diary had increased the number of pages that my Grimoire revealed.

Turning to those very pages I quickly scammed for an answer and I had found one.

Ahzidal had indeed learned Dawn Magic from the Ayleids, and what he learned was very specific for countering Ancient Falmer Magics.

Ancient Falmer Magic was very potent and simply an altered version of Light/Sun Magic and Mysticism.

Ahzidal's notes show that he had studied and researched into ways to contract the Falmer's supportive and defensive magical capabilities.

One of which is creating something called [Curse Runes], apart of Ahzidal's personally created school of magic called [Curse Runic Magic].

These very [Curse Runes] are the symbols on the floor of Ahzidal's Boss Fight when he was awakened using the blood of the numerous Miner's.

The final notes of his diary says how he planned to use these [Curse Runes] on Solstheim in order to become a Lich and ensure he would see the last of the Falmer be wiped from the face of Nirn. But by then he had succumbed to Mora's influence and gone mad, similar to how me when I was in Apocrypha.

Carefully studying the notes I began to use my my dagger to etch the symbols on the ground near the Vault door.

Once I was done with drawing the specific [Curse Rune] that utilises minor traces of Dawn Magic, to dispel and negate all other defensive or supportive Enchantments within the vicinity.

I made sure to smear my blood on my armour and weapons beforehand.

This is to ensure that the [Curse Rune] doesn't nullify my gear's own Enchantments.

The [Curse Rune] will target all Enchantments, be them ally or enemy unless fresh blood covers the said items.

I cut my hand and placed it ontop of the [Curse Rune] engraved into the ground.

My blood rapidly flowed throughout the entire Runic formation before it glowed a bright red.

Moments later the aura like shield that protected the Vault began to fade.

It took about a minute until it was fully dispelled.

I promptly swung my Spear St the [Curse Rune] on the ground, damaging and destroying it in the process.

The Blood on my gear would dry up soon, if the [Curse Rune] was still active it would have began to affect my gear eventually.

Entering the Vault I was met with only disappointment.

They have only two Elder Scrolls? Where is the third? I'm certain that they have three?

Unless...

The third Elder Scroll that was meant to be here is actually the Elder Scroll (Dragon), and had vanished and teleportated into the past.

Then Felldir the Old used the Elder Scroll to banish Alduin into the future.

That Elder Scroll would then be stored inside of Blackreach.

It makes sense but there isnt much proof for me to belive this is true and only my personal theories and hypothesis.

Regardless, I have what I wanted.

It didn't take long for me to destroy the barriers and protective castings and locks that guarded the two Elder Scrolls.

I took only one of them while I left the other.

It would be safer to leave the other just to be safe that the Empire can still use it should the need arise. I already have two in my possession, although one is temporary according to what my future self had said.

There were many other treasures in the room which I don't mind in borrowing...indefinitely.

Once I was done and stored everything inside my Storage Ring, I made my way outside and headed back in the direction of the Waterfront, which I came from.

But my true destination was the Temple of the One.

A Temple made that solely worshiped Akatsoh and had once contained the Dragonfires.

But now it serves as only a forgitten memory.

And the place where the statue of a certain Dragon God's Avatar resides within.