If you want to read 20 Chapters ahead and more, be sure to check out my P-Tang12!!!
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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
...
"I did," Aerion confirmed, adjusting his grip on the leather reins. He turned his gaze away from the peaceful village, looking high up toward the treacherous, snow covered peaks that loomed ominously to the north. "The item is secured. It is time to go to the crypt, Jenassa. Let us see what hides in Bleak Falls Barrow."
After safely securing the Golden Claw within the invisible void of his spatial inventory, Aerion turned his attention back to his mounts. With a practiced, gentle hand, he picked up Lupin.
The cinnamon colored fox let out a soft, compliant huff as Aerion tucked him securely into one of the spacious leather saddlebags hanging from the brown horse, leaving just enough room for the familiar's head to pop out and observe the passing world.
Aerion then stepped over to the massive, gleaming black horse that Skulvar had provided. Given its dark, imposing coat and the subtle, commanding presence it exuded, Aerion had already decided on a fitting name. He would call the beast Revan.
Swinging himself up into the tooled leather saddle with the newfound, system assisted grace of a seasoned rider, Aerion took the reins. With a firm, commanding nudge of his heels, he led the way.
Jenassa guided her brown mount smoothly behind him, and together, they turned their horses around, riding back down the muddy, bustling street of Riverwood, heading toward the ancient stone bridge that spanned the rushing rapids.
As they crossed the bridge, the roaring sound of the White River echoing beneath them, Aerion steered Revan to the left, guiding them onto the steep, winding mountain path that led up toward the towering, jagged peaks.
The paved cobblestones quickly gave way to a vanishing, rugged trail of dirt and loose shale, completely swallowed by the dense, towering pine trees of the wilderness.
Knowing that the path ahead was fraught with danger, Aerion decided it was the perfect moment to solidify his latent power. As Revan climbed the steady incline, Aerion opened his mental system interface. Floating in his mind's eye was the golden number he had been banking 27 unspent Attribute Points.
With rapid, focused mental commands, he distributed the points with absolute, mathematical precision. He allocated exactly 9 points to Health, 9 points to Stamina, and the final 9 points to Magicka. The instant he confirmed the allocation, a profound, transformative wave of energy violently washed over his Altmer vessel.
His bones felt denser, his muscle fibers weaving tighter together like cords of steel as his vitality surged. His lungs expanded, drawing in the frigid mountain air with a newfound, tireless capacity, while the latent, crackling reservoir of arcane energy in his mind expanded into a vast, deep ocean of potential.
[Health increased by 90! Current Health: 290/290]
[Stamina increased by 90! Current Stamina: 290/290]
[Your maximum carry weight has increased by 45 KG! Current Weight Limit: 445 KG]
[Magicka increased by 90! Current Magicka: 420/420]
Aerion let out a long, slow exhale, his breath misting heavily in the cold air as the notifications faded from his vision. He felt practically invincible.
Refocusing on the ride, he pulled up his system map in the corner of his vision, using it as a flawless, real time compass to guide them up the treacherous mountain path. As they ascended, the environment around them began to shift dramatically.
The lush, damp greenery of the river valley slowly faded, replaced by the harsh, biting reality of Skyrim's higher altitudes. The temperature plummeted rapidly, the crisp autumn air turning into a freezing, biting wind that whipped against Aerion's robes.
Patches of white frost on the rocks soon turned into a thick, unbroken blanket of pristine snow, and the towering pine trees became much sparser, their branches groaning under the weight of the ice.
Checking his map, Aerion noticed a distinct, isolated structure looming just ahead on the trail. It was a ruined stone watchtower situated precariously on the edge of a steep cliff, connected to the main path by a narrow, crumbling stone bridge. From his deep meta knowledge of the game, he remembered this exact chokepoint perfectly. It was a classic bandit telling them to go.
Peering through the falling snow, Aerion's enhanced vision caught the faint, flickering orange glow of a brazier through the trees. Soon, the dark, jagged silhouette of the stone watchtower appeared on the icy horizon.
Aerion pulled back on Revan's reins, bringing the black horse to a silent halt. Jenassa pulled up beside him, her crimson eyes already scanning the treeline.
"We must be cautious here, Jenassa," Aerion murmured, his voice barely a whisper over the howling wind. "There is a high probability that the watchtower ahead is occupied by bandits using the chokepoint to ambush travelers. Prepare for combat."
Jenassa didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. She smoothly slid off her horse, drawing her hunting bow and nocking a heavy iron arrow in one fluid, deadly motion. She crouched low against the snowbank, her dark armor blending perfectly with the shadows of the pines.
"I will snipe them first," Jenassa whispered, her eyes locked on the tower. "Especially the ones stationed at the top of the tower. I will neutralize their archers before they even realize they are under attack."
Aerion nodded in approval, remaining atop Revan but raising his hands. He mentally prepared his Destruction magic, feeling the familiar, volatile heat of fire gathering in his palms.
As they crept closer, the figures occupying the tower came into view. Standing right at the entrance of the narrow stone bridge, warming his hands by a brazier, was a massive, brutish Orc bandit clad in piecemeal iron and fur armor.
Hearing the crunch of the horses' hooves in the snow, the Orc turned. Seeing the High Elf, the Orc sneered, immediately drawing a crude iron war axe and raising a banded iron shield.
"Turn around and get lost, Elf!" the Orc bellowed, his voice echoing off the canyon walls. "This path is a blocked road, if you usteo any closer, the toll is your life!"
The Orc didn't even get the chance to take a step forward.
Jenassa, acting without waiting for any verbal cue, released her bowstring. The iron arrow sliced silently through the freezing air and slammed with devastating, kinetic force directly into the forehead of a human bandit who had just peeked over the top parapet of the watchtower. The sniper's head snapped back violently, and his lifeless body tumbled over the stone edge, crashing heavily into the snow below.
The Orc bandit's eyes widened in sheer, enraged shock as his comrade's body hit the ground. With a furious, blood curdling roar, the Orc lowered his shield and charged directly across the bridge toward Aerion.
Aerion didn't even blink. He thrust both of his hands forward. Two massive, superheated fireballs erupted from his palms simultaneously. They spiraled through the air and slammed into the charging Orc with the force of a siege engine.
The concussive blast shattered the Orc's wooden shield into splinters, and the intense, magical flames instantly incinerated his armor and flesh. The Orc was dead before his charred body even hit the snow.
[Destruction (Fire) Leveled Up to 38!]
[Destruction (Fire) Leveled Up to 39!]
Aerion and Jenassa both swiftly dismounted, leaving the horses safely behind a cluster of boulders. Lupin wisely stayed tucked deep inside the warm saddlebag, his ears flat against his head.
The sound of the explosions acted like a kicked hornet's nest. From the dark interior of the watchtower, several more bandits poured out onto the bridge, screaming in anger. There were five of them in total, a mix of rugged Nords, a swift Redguard woman, and a heavily armored Imperial man, all brandishing cheap steel and iron weapons.
Aerion stepped forward to meet the charge, becoming an avatar of elemental devastation. From his left hand, a continuous, roaring stream of fire washed over the narrow bridge, catching the two lead Nords in a wall of inescapable heat.
From his right hand, jagged, blinding arcs of violet lightning snapped out, chaining between the Imperial and the Redguard, causing their muscles to seize violently as the electrical current fried their nervous systems.
Jenassa moved like a phantom through the chaos. After loosing two more arrows that pinned a bandit directly to the stone wall, she dropped her bow, drew a polished steel sword in her right hand, and a wicked iron dagger in her left.
She dove entirely into the melee, a whirling dervish of dark leather and flashing steel. She parried a desperate swing from a burning Nord, stepping inside his guard to drive her dagger up through the weak point under his chin, before spinning gracefully to decapitate the last remaining bandit with her steel sword.
The skirmish was over in less than thirty seconds. The snow on the bridge was melted away, replaced by scorched stone and the cooling bodies of the ambushers.
[Destruction (Fire) Leveled Up to 40!]
[Destruction (Fire) Leveled Up to 41!]
[Destruction (Fire) Leveled Up to 42!]
[Destruction (Lightning) Leveled Up to 38!]
[Destruction (Lightning) Leveled Up to 39!]
[Destruction (Lightning) Leveled Up to 40!]
[Destruction (Lightning) Leveled Up to 41!]
[Destruction (Lightning) Leveled Up to 42!]
[LEVEL UP! You are now Level 58!]
Aerion let out a satisfied breath as the golden notifications flooded his vision. The sheer volume of raw, magical damage he had outputted had forced his skills to skyrocket, earning him another overall character level.
"Clear," Jenassa announced, casually wiping the blood from her steel sword on the tunic of a dead Imperial before sheathing it. She looked at Aerion, a smirk playing on her lips. "You certainly don't believe in subtlety, Patron."
"Subtlety is for when we are outnumbered, Jenassa," Aerion replied smoothly. "Here, we are merely taking out the trash."
Aerion walked among the bodies, his system automatically identifying the valuables. He methodically looted the corpses, his inventory silently absorbing roughly 93 septims in loose coin. He also found a pair of surprisingly well crafted iron rings set with a small amethyst and a chipped ruby.
"Here," Aerion said, casually tossing the two jeweled rings to the Dark Elf. "A minor bonus for an excellent first engagement. Your archery is flawless."
Jenassa caught the rings effortlessly, inspecting the gems with a pleased hum before slipping them into her pouch. "My thanks. They will fetch a decent price in the city."
Aerion knelt beside the fallen Imperial and claimed his weapon, a standard, but well balanced steel sword. He strapped the scabbard securely to his own belt, deciding it would serve as an excellent backup weapon for when he wanted to train his One Handed skill without taking his Steel Mace out of his inventory.
Leaving the bodies to the freezing wind, Aerion stepped past the heavy wooden doors and entered the dark, drafty interior of the watchtower. The ground floor was littered with empty mead bottles and rotting food, but tucked in the corner near a makeshift bedroll was a heavy wooden chest bound in iron.
Aerion knelt and threw open the lid. Inside, he found the bandit crew's accumulated toll money, a hefty pile of over a hundred loose septims. Beside the coin lay a couple of raw amethysts, a corked glass vial containing a minor healing potion, and a faintly glowing lesser soul gem. Aerion quickly transferred all the valuables into his spatial inventory.
However, resting at the very bottom of the chest was something far more interesting. It was a thick, leather bound tome, its cover embossed with a swirling, hypnotic purple eye.
Aerion picked up the book, brushing the dust from the cover. Instantly, a glowing blue system notification materialized in the center of his vision.
[Spell Tome Detected: Calm]
[Would you like to acquire the Illusion Skill Tree and learn the spell 'Calm'? YES / NO ]
Aerion mentally selected [YES] without a second thought.
The heavy book in his hands suddenly dissolved into a stream of brilliant purple light, which rushed directly into his chest. A profound, dizzying rush of new knowledge flooded his mind. He suddenly understood the complex, delicate magical weaves required to manipulate the emotional state of a living creature, forcing its mind into a state of absolute, unnatural docility.
[Skill Unlocked: Illusion - Level 1]
Description: Jedi mind tricks for the magically inclined. Why bother fighting your enemies when you can simply forcefully convince them that you are their best friend? Governs the ability to cast spells that alter the perception, fear, and aggression of sentient beings and creatures. (Warning: Does not work on mindless undead, dragons, or particularly stubborn ex wives without the Master of the Mind perk).
Aerion let out a genuine, amused chuckle at the system's characteristically goofy description. The system always had a strange, slightly sarcastic personality embedded in its flavor text.
With the tower fully cleared and stripped of its valuables, Aerion stepped back outside into the snow. Jenassa was waiting patiently by the edge of the bridge, having retrieved her spent arrows from the corpses. They walked back to the boulders, mounted their horses, and continued their ride up the winding, ever steepening mountain path.
As they rode higher, the snowfall grew heavier, blanketing the world in a pristine, blinding white. Aerion monitored his system map, noting that they were rapidly approaching the massive plateau that housed the ancient Nordic ruin.
Suddenly, the eerie silence of the snowy pass was shattered by a deafening, terrifying roar.
Bursting from a snow covered cave entrance to their right, a massive, hulking Frost Troll charged onto the path. The beast was terrifying, standing eight feet tall, covered in thick, matted white fur, and sporting three glowing blue eyes that locked onto the horses with murderous intent. Its massive, muscular arms ended in razor-sharp claws capable of tearing a man in half.
Aerion recognized the scripted encounter perfectly from his meta knowledge. Under normal circumstances, his passive Animal Affinity skill would have immediately pacified the creature, turning the aggressive monster into a docile observer.
But Aerion was a gamer, and he saw an opportunity.
Before his passive aura could even fully blanket the area, Aerion acted with blinding speed. He raised his left hand, targeting the charging, roaring monstrosity, and channeled his newly acquired magic. A sphere of swirling, hypnotic purple light erupted from his palm and slammed directly into the Frost Troll's broad chest.
The Calm spell took effect instantly. The terrifying, bloodthirsty roar died in the troll's throat, replaced by a confused, low grunt. The beast stopped its charge, its massive arms dropping to its sides as its mind was forcefully rewritten by the Illusion magic, rendering it completely passive and non hostile for a moment.
Because the beast was a highly powerful, high level creature, the sheer amount of experience gained from successfully dominating its mind for a moment was astronomical.
[Illusion Leveled Up to 2!]
[Illusion Leveled Up to 3!]
[Illusion Leveled Up to 4!]
[Illusion Leveled Up to 5!]
[Illusion Leveled Up to 6!]
Aerion didn't stop there. The moment the Illusion experience was banked, he ruthlessly capitalized on the creature's artificially induced docility. He raised his right hand and unleashed a continuous, blinding torrent of his fire magic.
The intense, roaring flames engulfed the Frost Troll. Because trolls possessed an innate, devastating weakness to fire, the damage output was exponentially magnified. The beast let out a horrific, agonizing shriek as its thick white fur ignited, the magical fire completely negating its natural health regeneration.
While Aerion burned the creature alive, Jenassa, entirely unbothered by the sudden shift in tactics, calmly drew her bow and fired three iron arrows in rapid succession, burying the shafts deep into the troll's chest and neck.
[Destruction (Fire) Leveled Up to 43!]
[Destruction (Fire) Leveled Up to 44!]
[Destruction (Fire) Leveled Up to 45!]
Severely wounded by the arrows and rapidly burning to death, the Frost Troll didn't even have the chance to retaliate before its massive body collapsed backward into the snow, twitching once before lying perfectly still.
"Fascinating," Jenassa murmured, lowering her bow and looking at the smoking corpse. "You calmed it, just to ensure it wouldn't dodge the flames."
"Efficiency, Jenassa," Aerion replied simply, dismissing the fire from his hands. "Never fight a fair battle when you have the tools to make it an execution."
They urged their horses forward, leaving the burning troll behind. Within a few minutes of riding up the final, winding stone incline, the treeline broke completely, and the majestic, terrifying scale of Bleak Falls Barrow was finally revealed.
The massive ancient Nordic crypt loomed over the snowy plateau, carved directly into the dark rock of the mountain. It was vastly more massive than Aerion remembered from his screen.
Huge, weathered stone archways framed colossal wooden doors, while ancient, crumbling statues of forgotten animal gods stared down at them with hollow, snow filled eyes. The sheer, oppressive weight of thousands of years of history hung heavy in the freezing air.
Aerion and Jenassa dismounted near a large, sturdy stone pillar, securely tying the leather leads of their horses to the rock, ensuring the beasts wouldn't bolt if things went loud.
Aerion turned to the Dark Elf. "Jenassa, hand me the bag of provisions we purchased from Hulda."
Jenassa paused, looking at him with mild confusion. She untied the heavy canvas sack from her horse's saddle. "We are standing outside a bandit infested ruin, Patron. Are you planning on having a picnic before we slaughter them?"
Aerion merely offered a small, mysterious smile. "Just watch."
Jenassa handed him the bulky, heavy canvas bag. Aerion grabbed the thick fabric, and with a mere thought, channeled it into his spatial inventory.
Right before Jenassa's eyes, the massive bag simply vanished into thin air. There was no flash of light, no puff of smoke, and no magical sound. The physical object simply ceased to exist in the material plane.
Jenassa gasped, taking a half step back, her crimson eyes wide with genuine, unadulterated shock. She looked at Aerion's empty hands, then at his fitted robes, trying to comprehend the sheer impossibility of what she had just witnessed.
Aerion adjusted his sleeves casually. "You asked me earlier how I carried so much gold, and how I kept my items secured," he said smoothly. "I have managed to unlock the deepest secrets of dimensional magic, allowing me to store vast quantities of mass in an adjacent pocket of reality. It is highly convenient, but also highly coveted. Therefore, you had better keep it an absolute secret."
Jenassa stared at him for a long moment before a wide, genuinely thrilled smirk spread across her scarred face. The shock faded, replaced by the profound realization of just how powerful her new employer truly was.
"It is getting more and more interesting riding with you, Patron," Jenassa said, a dark chuckle escaping her lips. "It looks like it was the right choice to accept your contract after all."
With the supplies secured and their horses tied, Aerion turned his golden eyes toward the massive, snow covered stone steps leading up to the main courtyard of the barrow.
In the confines of the game, there were usually only four or five bandits warming their hands by a fire in the exterior ruins. But this was the real world, and a ruin of this monumental scale could easily house dozens of lookouts, archers, and guards patrolling the outer walls.
"We need to be cautious," Aerion whispered, drawing his newly acquired steel sword and holding a fireball in his left hand. "We assume nothing. Keep low, stick to the shadows, and let us see exactly how many rats have infested this tomb."
Jenassa nodded silently, drawing her dagger and sword, her eyes already fixed on the dark archways above. The winding, snow choked path leading up to the grand entrance of Bleak Falls Barrow was nothing short of a tactical nightmare.
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[Main Panel] Name: Aerion Race: High Elf (Altmer) Health: 290/290 Stamina: 290/290 Magicka: 420/420 Level: 57 ➝ 58
Skills: Animal Affinity (MAX LEVEL), Fast Skill Levelling (MAX LEVEL), Fast Magic Mastery (MAX LEVEL), Destruction (Fire/Lightning) (Level 42/42), Persuasion (Level 71), Smithing (Level 22), Sneak (Level 16), One Handed (Level 64), Restoration (Healing) (Level 14), Two Handed (Level 65), Lockpicking (Level 9), Archery (Level 72), Alteration (Level 4), Enchanting (Level 19), Light Armor (Level 40), Block (Level 60), & Illusion (Level 6) - (NEW)
[Inventory Panel]
1x Steel Dagger, Long Bow, Potions of Minor Stamina, Small Sack, Poacher's Axe, Copper and Onyx Circlet, Mammoth Tusk, Iron Shield, Steel Mace, Steel Warhammer, the Golden Claw, Calm Spellbook, Lesser Soul Gem, & Provision Bag
2x Gold Garnet Rings, Gold Ring, & Scroll Of Fireball
3x Silver Garnet Rings, Silver Rings, & Sapphire
4x Lockpicks & Potions of Minor Magicka
6x Ruby & Amethyst
7x Potions Of Minor Healing
8x Iron Arrows
Weight: 93.5 KG / 445 KG
Septims = 50,784