Chapter 9: Almost there

"Are you sure this will work?"

Beside Taara and Twilight there was an aggravated looking argonian, who was carefully preparing an alchemical process of boiling down the vampire's skull to retrieve the blood that was attuned to the Wabajack.

"Of course I am sure! I don't care how many talking purple ponies doubt me...  I am still the oh so legendary Geel...studier and tinkerer of dwemer...ah..um...I need a better title..."

The overly eccentric argonian was by Taara's account, a savant when it came to all things Dwemer. And as luck would have it, magic and rituals surrounding blood and the such was just one of the great many things that the Mysterious Dwemer were amazing at. Taara reluctantly had to call on this argonian because she literally had nothing else she could do to withdraw blood that was drank by a now dead vampire 240 years ago. The only thing notable of the thin sleek tinkerer was that Taara and most of the mages at the college utterly LOATHED the lizard.

"I trust he knows what he is doing Twilight...I just dont trust anything else about him...including his sanity or IQ level..."

The argonian chuckled "Oh you are just angry because I know more about the Dwemer than you...and that whole thing where I accidentally caught the college on fire....and tore an unstable rift into Aetherius with that Dwemer device...and...um.." He stared off into space as his fingers extended one at a time as if counting all the times he messed up.

"And the time you activated the centurion in the hall of the elements and the time you tried to open that Dwemmer lock box with a master level fire spell which blew a hole in the ground big enough to fit a mammoth..."

"Hey now...it worked didn't it?" He chuckled and sprinkled just a little more bone dust into the alchemy table. "You should just worry about your end of things. I mean who in their right minds makes a deal with the Mad God?..."

the last bit of the alchemy table bubbled and into a tiny vial dropped  a few small drops of blood. "Oh would you look at that...you were right.. the staff's power called out the blood consumed by this vampire all those years ago.."

Taara had never been so happy to be right. It was such a long shot that it was literally painful to go for it but it paid off. Twilight on the other hand was nearly in tears. Both on the count that she was just that much closer to getting home  and that Taara would go this far, risking herself a dozen times over for her. She had literally pissed off a God and trespassed into his realm just to help her. She could not help but to believe that Taara was doing it partially because she had nothing better to do but it didnt change the fact that she was doing all of this for Twilight's sake.

The blood seeped up and wet the surface of the staff slowly as Taara channeled the power with all her will until finally, smoldering and seething in power the staff was complete again.

Geel happily peeked back and spoke"Whew...finally... now how are you two going to get a hold of Sheogor-"

Taara thrusted the staff at the wall and it crackled before it sputtered and spat out liquid cheese, two or three onions and a little more unexpectedly a dead priest of Arkay before finally the air in front of her tore open and out popped the Mad God himself. Geel practically soiled himself before turning and running. Obviously he was not quite the most brave of the group. Of who remained, none ran but those few other mages cowered in fear or wisely stood back as Twilight and Taara faced Sheogorath. Spike too was near but he did not seem to be really a part of the action.

"Hellooooo mortal...I see ya fixed mah staff!...and well... I must say I didn't think you had it in ya!.. but a deals a deal...you get to meet my old self...but be warned shes not quite been herself since the Shimmering Isles." Sheogorath's image grew  and grew quickly taking up the whole room. Without having any time to respond Taara and Twilight staggered back quickly being grasped by a giant hand and forced past the Mad God's lips as they were swallowed whole.

-    -    -

Twilight's eyes opened weakly as she righted herself. Magic flowed from the depths of her power enhanced by the augmented clothing and through her horn. Her surroundings lit up brightly, beside her Taara lay grumbling. Sitting up she groaned. "...bleh...how long was I out?..."

"I don't know... but... I think..."

"We are literally inside Sheogorath...be prepared for ANYTHING..."

Taara stood up and with a snap of her fingers the world well beyond Twilight's magical reach lit up just as brightly. It was another reminder of something she loved about this world. Unlike home anyone who wanted to learn the wonders of magic, could. It required no horn, just a long in depth study and the will to learn. By Twilight's judgment, Taara might as well have been as powerful as Discord or even the elements of harmony. Perhaps even the fully powered Tirek. All of that power simply gained by studying and learning. It made Twilight feel both giddy and a little inadequate. She was born into great magical power AND became an alicorn, yet she was still not as powerful as Taara.

Her thoughts came to a grinding halt as they walked and Taara nudged her.

"Hey... keep focused...look at all of this..."

Flinching and looking about she took notice of the surroundings. It was like a cave of mashed up Tamriel. The towers and buildings of the Imperial city were contorted and jammed in. Whole cities and guilds. Even people all frozen and fit in as if someone's entire life was vaguely melted down and hammered into the shape of the cave like spot they were in.

"Sorry...its kinda hard to stay focused with all this going on....what is this place?"

Taara did not make eye contact. She was still at high alert. "If I had to guess... When the Hero of Kvatch became Sheogorath, she had to shed her mortal form. What we are seeing is just what is left. Her memories. Twisted and malformed. She created this... its her sanctuary... But we still must be careful... NOTHING is safe from Sheogorath's madness. Especially  two and a half centuries at the core of it."

As they traversed the old twisted memories, slowly  things seemed to to start righting themselves. the twisted dead cities got brighter and more lively colored. This was clearly a good sign, even Taara seemed to a little more relaxed as they continued onward until finally the tunnel opened up and showed the end of their journey. Right there in the center of the opening was a house, surrounded by unmoving people that they could only guess were once important individuals to the hero of Kvatch at some point seeing they were the most clearly defined and un contorted. The house was small and cozy looking, a light in the window burned.

Approaching with caution the duo slowed and reached for the door knob. The moment Taara's hand touched the knob it quickly vanished as did her magical lighting. Quickly whipping about Twilight quickly identified old banners from the old guilds during the Oblivion crisis, as well as others. The black hand, the mages guild, the fighters guild, the thieves guild, even the knights of the nine. It was all here, lining a long hall. Accompanied by old weapons and armor over the halls Twilight could not help but think of this being something like the average soul looking. Only this one had experienced much more than most.

Holding up a cautionary hand Taara pointed silently at the end of the hall where a lone figure sat calmly flipping through a book quickly before turning it around and flipping through it backwards and upside down. With more caution than Twilight figured was needed, they closed in just barely close enough to see the ashy blue skin of a Dunmer. The pages of her book were blank but every page was viewed by her vacant red eyes as she flipped through the book again and again.

"I assume you seek me out for a reason?... or perhaps...again...you are just my other half... coming to taunt me... I dont care who or what you are... I am constant....I am order... I am truth... I am sanity...if I am not...then I shall be..."

Twilight fought the urge to try and talk. She wanted to be done with this as fast as possible but if this woman thought that Taara and herself were illusions of madness then perhaps a talking horse was not the best thing to speak up as. Her magic flared and the pin at her collar transformed her into a human again.

"You are the Hero of Kvatch right?....We desperately need your help. We are not illusions or stray madness... we are j-"

"Prove it...." She still had not moved from her spot, sitting cross legged on a pillow, the book turned again and she flipped through the empty worn pages without a hint of expression.

"If you are not Sheogorath....my madness....prove it... I have held up these years because I am the original... Madness is not who I am... I am more than madness... prove that you are not madness..."

Taara seemed a little more worried as she calmly nudged Twilight as if telling her to be ready. "Um...how exactly do you mean?"

There was a flash, not magic nor fire but of movement. The book's pages had not even stopped moving. The book had yet to even touch the ground as the dark elf's grip on a long dark blade that Twilight barely recognized from an old book from Cyrodiil as Umbra. As if time was slowed Twilight watched Umbra in the elf's hand slash downwards in a brutal overhand chop straight into Taara.