NABC Chapter 236: Chapter XL: Mephala's Reward
Chapter 236: Chapter XL: Mephala's Reward
Chapter 236: Chapter XL: Mephala's Reward
The large trade ship slowly nestled its way into Winterhold's still sleepy docks, the familiar morning fog bringing an involuntary smile to my face as I beheld the massive college which only I could see the true beauty of.
My enraptured gazing was brought to a swift end, however, when the jolly fat captain whom I hired for this voyage made his way toward me, his legs surprisingly steady for his... immense girth.
"It never fails to bring a sense of wonder to one's heart, no?" The Imperial man says in greeting.
"You have no idea." I say while turning around "You have my thanks for the ride, Captain Avinius. As agreed, you and your men can enjoy my hospitality free of charge." Before he can say anything I quickly add "Just make sure none of them do something... regrettable in their celebration."
"But of course, Lord Reyvin." He bows as much as his bulbous form would allow "My men shall be the picture of decorum." He quickly looks up toward the dock and offers a practiced apologetic smile "Ah but I must leave you now, we will be docking within ten minutes." "At your leisure, Captain." I offer him a nod and return to looking at my home.
"Will that be all, Karsus?" I ask as I finish signing yet another delivery order for my ever expanding enterprise.
My personal Steward bows "That is all for today, my lord. I wish you a pleasant evening." As he leaves me alone I lean back into my chair and let out a contented sigh.
Our arrival back to Winterhold was a relatively subdued affair, all things considered. Most of my subjects just wanted to take some time off and rest, while Serana wanted to retreat to the library due to a sudden bout of inspiration she had when she saw me playing around with restoration magic and realized she could actually cast it now.
I shudder at the thought of the monster I've inadvertently created.
Speaking of monsters, the massive spider from Markarth was successfully transported without anyone noticing and was now nesting in the lowest reaches of my underground base. I could not wait to start blasting the disgusting creature with rituals and see what came out! Back onto less dread-inducing topics, I spent most of my day completing the large backlog of documentation that was waiting for my signature. Karsus' work was impeccable so I only had to do so much but it still surprised me just how much paperwork had to be done when running an expanding enterprise.
Not that I minded at all, such work could even be relaxing from time to time, it was like watching your treasury fill up in real time, in small dosages, of course.
The world, being what it was, did not deign to let me relax for long however, as a sudden feeling of foreign anticipation scratched at my senses.
At least she announced herself this time...
Resigning myself to my fate I allowed myself to blink and the scene of my study was replaced with its enwebbed copy in the realm of the Daedra, my guest appearing right in my lap, her hands snaking over my shoulders and her face contorted into a cheeky yet still wildly seductive smile.
I deadpanned at her and refused to acknowledge her presence any further until she got her ass off of me.
She pouted but did finally get up after a bit, elegantly dusting herself off she spoke "You know, a lady might think herself unwanted if she is always welcomed with such eyes."
"Says the one who decided to barge into my life without an invitation." My deadpan expression doesn't even twitch.
"Part of your life, am I?" She teases and pretends to swoon "How bold!"
"And a good evening to you, Prince Mephala." I finally let my bored facade crack as I incline my head in greeting "What brings you here?"
"Your reward of course." She responds happily "Don't tell me you forgot."
"Priorities" I shrug "Though now that you mention it, what happened to the mace?"
Mephala places a finger over her mouth and winks "Now that would be telling."
I raise an eyebrow but quickly realizing that she wasn't about to spill the beans I shrug once more "Fair enough." Might as well focus on something useful "What kind of reward were you planning to give me then?"
"Eager, are we?" She teases before snapping her fingers and making what looked like an incredibly attractive Dunmer woman wearing a beautiful but not eye-catching dress and armed with numerous hidden knives next to her.
What drew my attention however were the woman's vacant eyes.
"And this is?" I ask disinterestedly.
"This" Mephala says grandly "Is Mephys."
"...And?" I raise an eyebrow.
"You really can be difficult sometimes." She pouts but doesn't seem truly irritated "As I was saying, this is Mephys, what you may call a... blank slate. A servant you can mold however you desire that will serve your every. single need."
"Ah yes, because looking at a brainded Mer is no doubt going to make me want to ravish her." I deadpan at Mephala's suggestive tone.
The Daedra giggles melodiously "Do not worry, she isn't as useless as you might imagine. She is in fact rather powerful and will be able to sniff out any and all assassins on mere instinct
alone."
"Getting warmer, my Prince." I quip "Though why did you choose to... give her to me specifically?"
"Now that, my dear, is a surprise." She winks.
"Of course." I deadpan again "Fine, not like I am not going to have a use for her."
Just out of paranoia I give the woman construct thing a quick scan with my magic, and another
"Whatever" I roll my eyes and deactivate the ward array, allowing the runes to dissipate and
the stone bricks to return to their original, unmarred forms.
Mephala tilts her head "I expected a bit more resistance if I am being honest."
"Would it have changed anything?" I ask blandly.
"No." Is her cheerful response.
A quiet knocking on my doors interrupts our conversation and a moment later Davos enters
my study, his eyes immediately landing on the seated Daedra "I didn't see any guests enter." He mutters, a bit alarmed.
"This one is rather special." I say wryly, earning a beaming smile from my guest "Davos, this
is Mephys. An... important guest."
He merely offers a disinterested nod and a bland "A pleasure." Though I do notice him taking
in each and every bit of information he could gather from her presence, his mild disrespect
probably an attempt of getting anything out of her.
"What did you need, Davos?" I ask him, ignoring the incredibly amused Daedric Prince currently planning on how best to scare the shit out of my right hand man.
"A Nord scholar of some repute by the name of Katria wants to see you, says she has
information about some kind of old Dwemer secret and wants your cooperation in finding it."
'Katria... Katria... hmmmm....' I scratch my chin thoughtfully.
'It's the magic uranium' Scorch informs me after a moment.
'That one?' I blink, my rapidly changing expression no doubt entertaining my guest greatly.
Seeing no reason to deny her I nodded at Davos "Send her up."
"Sure thing, boss." He salutes.
But just as he is about to leave 'Mephys' speaks up "My thanks for your hospitality, Lord
Dagoth. I am tired and need some rest, would you please let your man here lead me to a place
to stay?"
Davos immediately gives her an odd look, his own paranoia no doubt spiking like mad.
But unfortunately for him I have had waaay too much Daedric bullshit for one day so I simply
say "But of course. Davos, escort the fair lady to one of the servants rooms." Earning myself
an amused snort from the rogue.
'Poor guy, he has no idea what he is getting himself into' Scorch 'laments'.
'Mephys'' Eye twitches but she doesn't say anything.
Oh no, she was far too entertained by the prospect of fucking with Davos to even bother
pretending to care about her accommodations. Probably had something to do with the fact that she could retreat the fragment of her consciousness from that body at will.
As the two leave I send a quick prayer to the gods for Davos' safety and lean back into my
chair, massaging a burgeoning headache.
The stones on this woman...
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