Red and her lupine brethren had to blank all other scents as they searched for their harbinger. They were busy sorting out the
extraneous scents from the one they saught when a sound like thunder ring out; only it wassn't thunder. The wolves looked up and
saw the soul-trapped sky open and a shaft of purple light shine down. The next second, an Argonian body lay on the ground near
where they were.
Red padded over to inspect the body with her nose. She cocked her head curiously to the side when it opened its eyes.
"You lot should have cushioned my fall." Hasir said, groaning and wincing as he got up. Red growled at him, "it would've been better
than breaking my tail on the rocks. Erm... where are we and where in Hircine's name is Kodlak?" He asked, glancing around. Red
transformed into Aela. She helped Hasir to his feet.
The argonian asked if she and her two brothers knew where Kodlak was being held. Vilkas merely shrugged but Farkas told the
argonian that he did some scouting and saw a huge castle structure that lay in the middle of the cursed realm. He told Hasir that he
saw two purple stone towers with gigantic skeletal creatures atop them and a building with one of the creatures atop a throne
overlooking the barren land. He also told the argonian that he saw a dragon named Durnehviir circling the skies of the reealm,
around the castle and several small buildings, some of which, he remarked had strange purple gems at their highest points.
Hasir looked concernedly at Farkas,
"Do you think the Ideal Masters have Kodlak's soul?"
The three companions looked questioningly at him,
"The what?" They asked, in unison
Hasir explained the Ideal Masters to the clueless nords while he barked orders to each of them to search the plane.
"Aela, you search the north tower, Vilkas, the south-western tower, Farkas, the eastern tower and I'll search the gatehouse-looking
structures and when you lot are done that, Meet me at the castle and we can search there. Right, you lot have your directions, best
get to it." Hasir said authoritatively
The four companions set to their seperate tasks. Hasir headed toward the heart of the realm, beyond two set of purple stairs that
ascended a wall and headed towards the first house he saw and ascended the steps. At the top, he saw a purple gem with purple
tendrils streaming from it. Hasir cautiously approached it. He knew that the Ideal Masters, like the one before his, were hungry for
souls and were a victim to get caught in the stream of purple light issuing from the gem, then whomever gets trapped would surely
die shortly after.
Hasir was an inch away from the gem; he could already feel his soul starting to seperate from his body, when a voice called out to
him, it sounded rather stern.
"Do you really want to risk your life, your very soul, to rescue me? I am not trapped by the Ideal Masters, the keepers nor the
reaper that is... floating somewhere around here. No, my soul is being kept by the dragon called Durnehviir, who is one of Molag
Bal's servants."
Hasir quickly turned around, shocked to see his harbinger standing there; see through though he may be, something about his
words caused the argonian to raaise an eyebrow.
"Kodlak, nice to... erm... see you again. Just who in Obivion are the keepers? I though the Doomstrider was Molag Bal's servant?"
Kodlak's cyan form walked over to him, shaking his head, grasping Hasir's shoulder,
"My boy, do you not use your common sense? Molag Bal has more slaves than the Doomstrider to do his bidding. The doomstrider is
Molag Bal's most loyal follower, this is true, but, he has more slaves... tons of Soul shriven. Durnnehviir is... not Molag Bal's servant
persay, he is more part of his endless army of soul shriven tasked with overseeing daily operations in the Soul Cairn while the
Doomstrider handle affairs that would be too trivial for Molag Bal and he would not dare waste soul shriven to do them."
Hasir look uncertainly at Kodlak, his tail between his legs,
"So if I have this right... the Doomstrider who was an ideal master was summmoned to procure souls to reside here and Durnehvirr
is here to... er... prevent their escape and keep them miserable until the lord of domination can claim them and torture them for all
eternity?" Hasir fell silent for a time, mind obviously stuck on something, "What I still do'nt get, Kodlak, is who are the Keepers? how
many are there and what is their purpose?
Kodlak ran his hand through his 'grey' hair, apparent thinking on how best to answer the stubborn argonian. After several minutes,
he smiled and walked over to the edge of the building, gesturing Hasir to sit beside him. The argonian did so; his legs and tail
draping off the edge.
"Hasir, the keeepers were once giants; cursed to unlife by Molag Bal for the purpose of keeping tabs of Durnehviir. If the dragon
ever became wise to Molag Bal's plan then the keepers will awaken the ideal masters so they can siphon off more of the dragon's
soul to, once again, bring the dragon under Molag Bal's control."
Hasir rested his chin on his cupped claws, screwing his face up in thought,
"I get that, but there is one thing I don't understand, what do the Ideal Masters have to do with the keepers if they are only here to
make Durnehviir's 'unlife' a living hell?"
Kodlak sighed and eyed Hasir; even in death, the harbinger gave Hasir the impression of gazing into the argonian's soul.
"The ideal master, who once were powerful-" Kodlak began but Hasir punched him in the shoulder
Hasir hissed in annoyance.
"I already heard that... hsss!"
Kodlak held his hands in front of him, grimacing,
"Do kill me... oh wait too late... I'm already dead." He said, slapping his knee with llaughter
Hasir glared at him darkly. He did not see this situation as one for levity, as such, he rather resented the harbinger's rather dark
humor.
"Nice to see you enjoying this. Enough of this dawdling, tell me about how to defeat the keepers, or are the Ideal Masters the real
masterminds behind the place swarming with keepers and an undead dragon roaming the skies? Can't I just destroy the three
floating gems and run into the castle and take your soul back while everyone, the keepers and Durnehviir included, are distracted?"
Kodlak sighed and shook his head; affirming Haisr's fear.
"You can try but the keeprs will be upon you like flies on dung, you don't want that." Koldak got up strode to the soul gem and place
his hands on it; Hasir thought he would be subject to the gem's powersoul soul trapping caapabitlities but, to his surprise, it didn't
seem to phase the ghostly harbinger, "You see, the ideal masters were actually sorcerers who thought themselves more powerful
than Molag Bal, so, the daedric lord fearing a possible mortal-daedra war, trapped the mages' soul in these gems-which in turn are
keeping Durnehviir here."
Hasir dared not get close to the floating gem for fear that it might try to drain his soul again.
"Wait a minute; someone at the College of Winterhold told me that the Ideal Masters were soultrapped by Potema."
Kodlak laughed harshly at this. He fixed Hasir with an inquisitive look,
"Potema? What lies. What I told you is the truth. Ignore the College, they are merely a guild of eggheads who fear to venture
beyond their walls."
Hasir shook his scaly head, unsheathed both madness axes he'd fixed to his belt and went to attack the purple gem after dodging a
stream of purple light. Hasir yelled and lifted the axe above his head but before him, a portal appeared and out stepped a giant
being outfitted all in dragon plate armor - everywhere except his head. Where its head would've been was a shadowy void with two
large purple eyes.
Hasir leapt out of the way as the undead creature swung his giant bone sowrd downard, Kodlak tried dodging this attack but the
sword went right through him. Hasir, seing an opening, swung his axes; once they made contact when the ribbed, bone-colored armor,
they shattered.
The argonian hissed angrily, cast them aside and drew his bow and fired an arrow. The giant-like being howled in pain as the frost
enchantment took hold.
The creature slowed considerably as Hasir yelled at Inigo to bring it down.
"Inigo, I have an idea. Can you distract that bastard for me?" He asked
The khajiit nodded and unsheathed his bow. He nockedd an arrow and sighted down it, snarling,
"It will be my pleasure, my friend." He said, drawing the string back. He pasued and glanced over at Hasir, "Erm... what are you
going to do?" He asked. Hasir told him that he had to find the companions and clarify something with them.
As Hasir scrambled down the building's steps, he could hear the numerous thuds of the khajiit's arrows as they pierced the giant
being's armor. The argonian worked his way back to where the companions where. They were all gathered around a round black
ccircle with a puple circle embedded into it along with a purple pentagram. Hasir glanced down and shook his head. Sensing a
presence, Aela and her brothers turned around so fast they almost knocked Hasir on his tail.
Aela walked toward Hasir, drawing her bow, nocking an arrow and pulling the draw string taut.
"What in Oblivion are you doing here, lizard? I thought you were going to slay Durnehviir."
Hasir got to his feet, pointing Aela's arrow away from himself.
"You can put someone's eye out with that you know, you'd better watch your temper." He sniggered while Aela looked at him rather
incredulously, "I came to relay a message, don''t be so quick to shoot the messenger. Anyway, I cam here to tell you that Durnehviir
is not what the keepers are guarding. The dragon is innocent. The keepers are actually guarding the Ideal Masters, you know the
gems Molag Bal trapped them inside of?"
The female nord looked at him with narrowed eyes, training her arrow on him once more.
"I thought the Ideal Masters were trapped by Potema. I also thought the keepers were put here to keep that evil dragon from getting
out."
Hasir shook his head, sighing exhasberatedly.
"No, you thick-headed nord. I know what I'm talking about, I saw Kodlak, well, I saw his soul, and he told me that what the College
told us was a lie and that they are just believing what their deluded archmage tells them. Kodlak has seen the truth. He knows what
the Ideal Master are and that Durnehvviir has no part of this; he's innocent. Believe me when I say Molag Bal trapped them in those
gems, not Potema. So my theory is if we kill the three Keepers than we can smash the Ideal Masters' crystals and rid ourselves of
the Doomstrider once and for all."
Aela eyed him uncertainly for a bit before nodding and jerking her head toward to other companions.
"Argonian, let us take care of this. We'll be find as long as you and that daft cat stay out of our way. Let the circle deal with this. You
whelps'll just get in the way." She said, in an act of contempt
Hasir balled his scaled hand in a fist and delivered a swift uppercut; knocking the nord on her ass, looked hurtfully at the nord and
snarled,
"Fuck you Aela! You said you changed towards my race, but, I know you haven't and I'll bet my scales that Hircine also knows it.
Both Inigo and I are companions now. Get used to it. Inigo agrees with me on one thing; he hates bigots and rascists, and Aela,
you fit well into both categories." He laughed, "By oblivion, I fail to see how the harbinger does not knows about your rascist ways
and has yet to kick you out of the companions." He jabbed her in the chest with a threatening black-clawed finger, "Now, shut the
fuck up and help us."
Aela went to argue but Hasir growled a warning at her forcing her to nodded despite her many reservations.
"Ok, Hasir, I will help you," then, added, in an undertone, "but I won't like it. Don't expect me to magically warm up to you." She
said, glared at him hotly. The argonian's tail curled and uncurled behind him, "I'll expect nothing less, are you nords always this
rascist? No matter, I'm sure you will warm up to me and my race soon enough." Aela growled at him as her eyes turned slightly
yellow. "Damn, you argonians are persuasive. My brrothers and I will help distract the keepers so you can destroy the gems."
Hasir nodded and went back to where he'd left Inigo while the three other companions set to their tasks. Hasir ascended the
building's stairs to find Inigo smiled broadly with his foot on the bloodied bone-colored armor. Hasir had no time to congratulate the
khajiit as he unsheathed his bow and fired at the purple gem. The arrow bounced off the gem, rolling aside like a discarded stick.
Disheartened Hasir thought on what to do next; he thought about shouting the gems to pieces but the shout he'd usued either
bounced harmlessly off of the gem or emmited a roaring inferno that engulfed the gem only for it not to be harmed at all.
Hasir's tail drooped and looked around wildly for anything that could break the crystalline sturctures. After about a minute, laying not
too far from the deceased guardian was a long bone colored sword. Hasir sheathed his bow and grabbed the sword; feeling its
weight in his hands. He smirked, raised the sword and brought it down in a swift arc. He heard a crack blossom through the crystal
as it spiderwebbed outwards. Hasir smiled as the gem cracked open, but his smile faded as a black figure could clearly be seen
against the bluish-purple sky.
The argonian put the two-handed sword into his bag and motioned for Inigo that they should follow the black smoke streak and
figure who-or what-it was. The argonian and khajiit walked down the building steps and walked through various other buildings,
following the dust colored dusty road that bisected the region until they came to a rater peculiar looking black structure with a figure
tied to its base.
Hasir was about to approach but Inigo thrust out a paw-like hand preventing him from getting closer. Hasir looked back and hissed
him.
"Don't be like that my friend." This pole, it smells... electrified." He said as he looked from the pole into the sky. "I don't see any..."
His voice tailed away as a bolt of purple lighting flash across the sky and got absorbed by the black pole. Inigo grinned as though he
found out some long forgotten bit of knowledge, "This is a lightning rod my friend. Only question is... why is it here of all places?"
Hasir shrugged and drew the sword sheathed on his back as the figure at the bottom got up. The black smoke headed straight the
body; reanimating it-if it were dead previously, Hasir had no clue. Inigo looked to the sky and gasped as he saw two other black
streak rise into the air and sped towards their location. He tugged Hasir's shoulder and gestured skyward. The argonian's face lit up
with joy. The other companions must've beatn their respective keepers and destroyed the gems.
Hasir's gaze followed the black streaks as they phased effortlessly through the elf's armor. Her eyes flew open shining a blood red
and black fur blossomed all over her body. Hasir leapt back in fright and snarled,
"Doomstrider, what the fuck are you doing here? Was the story I heard of you being an all-powerful sorcerer, nay, necromancer a lie?
Was it?" He growled at the smirking khajiit.
The khajiit advanced on Hasir, tail swishing to and fro behind him,
"Yes, that part was true. The bit you heard from the old fool about me wanting to overthrow Molag Bal was true. I was once a part of
a powerful necromantic cult led by Mannimarco called the cult of worms but I killed all those idiotic cult members because my ways
of magic was too unconventional for them. They saw me performing what they classed as 'the darkest magic' and tried to stop me."
The doomstrider glanced around him; taking in the realm's acrid scent. He lowered his head and grinning,
"Ah, yes, the soul cairn." ou know my brethren always thought this place a myth. They wanted to shun soultrappiing altogether;
saying reanimation is the true art of necromancy. They said that soultrapping has no place in necromancy, or magic, in general, and
that it is inhumane to seperate a soul from its body."
Hasir snorted loudly, glaring at the Doomstrider. He had no idea ultimate power could make someone act so foolish.
"How thick are you? Renimation and soultrapping are the same thing, you can't have one without the other." Hasir screwed his face
up in thought, "What did you do with your 'brethren', as you call them, who had different opinions of magic than you?"
The black khaiit strode to Hasir and black a clawed finger up the argonian's chin, forcing it upward and laughed,
"Simple, I killed them; those I deemed valuable I soultrapped and stuck them in the giant floating gems; gems by the way that you
smashed. Thanks for that." He said giving a curt nod to Hasir, who snapped his jaws on thin air.
Ingo lunged at the Doomstrider who conjured the soulfire into his hands and turned them on the blue khajiit. Hasir snarled and ran
at him, only stopping when he saw Inigo's pleading eyes.
"Back argonian, else you'll never see your friend again." The Argonian did as the Doomstrider asked and fell back
An idea struck Hasir and he tore off through the wasteland and came to a great castle extending far above the squat pinnacled
buidlings. He looked to his left and saw, sitting on a wall with claw markings on it, was a dragon. Decaying flesh stretched over his
face and body. Hasir crouchwalked to the structure hiding amonst the ruins as he went, in case the dragon saught to attack him.
Inching closer, he saw that the dragon did not see fit to make the Argonian his lunch, instead it was almost as if the beast wanted to
talk.
"Welcome, stranger, to the Soul Cairn." It said in a low rumbling voice, "Thanks to you I am free." Hasir looked at the dragon
perplexed. As it to answer his inquiry, the dragon gestured to the shattered crystals with his 'arm,'
"Yes, you have destroyed the gems which have kept me imprisoned, sappiing my soul and my will to escape. I thought I would
forever be a slave to this place but thanks to you, Qahnaarin, I am free." The argonain did not know what Qahnaarin meant, he'd
thought it was Dohvahzuul, dragon tongue for 'vanquisher' but he could not be sure, so he just smiled.
The dragon turned to him as it prepared for flight,
"You may call me Durnehviir; thanks again for aiding in my escape."
No sooner did Durnehviir fly twenty feet when Hasir heard a peircing scream on the air and saw a plume of dust riose up from not
too far to his right. Hasir ran to where he'd heard the scream to see the Doomstrider standing over Durnehviir's corpse. Inigo lay
near the dragon; apparently unconscious.
Hasir ran over to Durnehvi and tried absorbing its soul; nothing happened. He tried again, screwing his face up in concentration.
Despite his effort, the dragon part of him stayed silent. Dismayed, he bent down beside the the long scaly body of the dragon.
He looked up enraged at the Doomstrider. He sobbed; tears suffusing the dragon's scaly corpse.
"You moron, not every dragon is dangerous you know!" the Argonian yelled at him, tears in his eyes
The Doomstrider sneered as he readied the purplish-black flames lept into life in his outstretched hands. Hasir lifted his head up,
wiped his tears away and gazed in soul as bluish-orange tendrils shot out from the dragon into the black khajiit's body while the
Doomstrider cackled madly.
Hasir looked from the Doomstrider to the pitiful dragon and saw the corpse glow orange as the scaly exterior was slowly burned
away. A few moments later, the argonian growled as he saw the Doomstrider smiled at the shiny bleached dragon bones. Furious,
the Argonian threw himself at the Doomstrider.
"You idiot! He did nothing to you. Why in oblivion did you kill him?" He asked through gritted teeth, conjuring his flame whip and
placing it against the khajiit's fur.
The doomstrider made the whip vanish with a wave of his hand. Hasir snarled back at him and attempted to bite him.
"You know, you mortals are all the same, poking your noses in places where they don't belong. Pitiful." He drew a deep sigh, "Very
well, if you must know, I didn't want that dragon to go off warning his brethren, or at the very least, Molag Bal, about what I've been
up to." As he said this, his red eyes bore into Hasir blue ones. "Molag Bal and I-don't see eye to eye on things, as you can very well
imagine; that is why he imprisoned me in the gems.
Hasir looked with contempt at the Doomstrider and snarled,
"Bullshit. Don't think you can convince me with your lies." He spat
The doomstrider held up both his hands in mock surrender,
"Fine, don't believe me, I will make you all see the error of your ways, somehow. As for Molag Bal, well, he thought he could tear me
apart and store pieces of me in those gems? He has another thing coming if he thinks he can beat me into submission. I will show
him and my former 'colleagues' that soultrapping is indeed a valid form of magic." He said as he conjured a purple portal behind him,
"I will teach them all that soul trapping is the more superior branch of necromancy next to the puny little art known as reanimation."
With those last words, he stepped through the portal and was gone.
Hasir heard an inhale of breath to his right and knew his feline friend was awake. Hasir walked over and helped him to his feet.
"Inigo, are you okay?" He asked, scrutinizing every inch of the khajiit's body. Inigo nodded and asked where the Doomstrider went.
Hasir took note of this and shook his head; now examining Inigo's eyes as if to see if he could see the khajiit's soul bouncing in
them.
"Don't worry about that now, we have to get you to a healer, are you sure you're okay?" He asked, eyebrow raised
With great force, Inigo shoved Hasir off of him, insisting that he was fine.
"I'm okay, my friend." He said, dusting himself off, "he disappeared before I became a well-cooked khajiit." He said, stiffling a giggle
Hasir smiled wanly back at him. Despite his feelings, his taail swayed behind him in excitement,
"Inigo, you can joke later. Now, we need to find out where Kodlak's soul is being held." Inigo nodded and followed the Argonian
toward a door set in a purple castle-like structure. He approached the door and pushed it open.
Inigo followed him into an arena of sorts. Hasir's mouth fell open as he saw three tall stones standing in the middle of a huge arena
surrounded by high castle walls. Hasir sniffed the air and caught a magical scent on the air and followed it past two sconces with
purple light blossoming in them and saw a stone-colored chest at the end of a stony alcove.
Hasir reached out for the chest engulfed in purple light and lifted the lid. His eyes went wide as he lifted out a soulgem as black as
coal Smiling, the Argonian grabbed the gem and exited the 'arena.' He walked over to Inigo and the other Companions. He took the
purple book out of his bag and opened it. Hasir and the companions had to shield their eyes as purple light blossomed from the
spelltome and filled their bodies.They suddenly felt light as a feather as they started to dematerialize.
When they set foot on the snowy ground of the College of Winterhold. Hasir glanced down at the book, closed it and deposited it
back into his bag.
"Well, now that we have the soul, we have to find out how to extract it. Any ideas?" He asked, glancing from Inigo to the nords.
Vilkas nodded and gestured toward the Hall of the Elements, saying they can ask Tolfdir about anyone who might be able to help.
Aela turned to him, smiled and said he brain must be getting a bit warmer
Hasir found Tolfdir coming out of the hall and asked him if they were any mages who could tell him about soulgems.
"Ah Hasir, how nice to see you again; let's see, hmm.... you might want to ask Sergius Terrianus. You'll find him in the hall of
attainment teaching students in how to better use enchaments once they've trap a soul and different types of souls and how they
increase the potency of an enchanted weapon. Right then, off you go. I would stay and chat more but I am a busy man." Tolfdir
waved at Hasir and walked out the main door, down the bridge and to the local inn.
Inigo stared the retreaing figure of Tolfdir in disgust. He folded his arms and snarled,
"Hmph! Busy my ass. He's going to get drunk, I expect. How is that productive?" He asked
Hasir looked in Tolfdir's direction and shook his head. He knew it would be far more productive in getting Kodlak soul back to his
body. He walked in the direction of the hall the old mage mentioned. Inigo turned his head and called out to Hasir.
"My friend, where do you think you are going? We have to go to the tavern and drag Toldfir's drunken ass back here." He said. Hasir
ignored this and kept walking. Inigo sighed and followed his reptilian friend. He ssaw Hasir push the dooor open and entered after
him.
Inigo stopped suddenly; almost bumping in the Argonian who called out Sergius' name to the empty hall.
"Sergius, you in here? I need to talk to you about something."
He could hear shuffling feet on the upper floor followed by sounds of feet descending some stairs.
"Yes, did someone call me?" A voice asked as its ownr walked to the Argonian, his tail coiling and uncoiling behind him. Hasir smiled
as he saw a tall bald imperial clad in tannish blue mage robes. Hasir guessed he must be in his late fifties given his aged face, "Yes, I
was wondering... erm, do you know anything about soulgems?"
The man gave Hasir a curious look and gestured towards the second floor landing,
"I am the enchanting instructor here at the college, so yes, I know alot about soulgems. I am teaching a class right now upstairs if
you would care to join me."
Hasir shook his head and said that would not be neccesary and that he only came to find out if reverse soultrap was possible.
Sergius raised a brown eyebrow,
"Reverse soultrap? It can't be done. Once the soul is inside the gem, it cannot be extracted.
Hasir's tail thumped on the ground; he'd thought that this mage Tolfdir spooke of could tell them how to return Kodlak's soul. He
gestured to Inigo to follow him as they turned to leave, tails dragging behind them. Sergius thought about this for a long time before
sighing,
"I know where you guys are going, Setimus Signus won't help, he's madder than Sheogorath these days and his 'knowings' as he
calls them often lead to an adventurer's downfall." Hasir and Inigo turned around and said they weren't going to go to him. Sergius
smiled broaldy an said that he may have something that might aid in their endeavors. He went back upstairs and after a few
minutes, returned with a small metallic object with a metal bracket and a pair of pincers attached to a wheel and had a crank affixed
to the side.
Hasir guessed the metal bracket was for the soul gem but was unsure what the other components were for. Sensing some
uncertainty, Sergius small, took a soul gem out of his bag and placed it into the bracket. He placed the device on a table in the
corner of the room and gestured Hasir over to him.
Sergius began cranking the whell with caused the metal pincers to approch the gem to start the process. The argonian gasped as a
thin stream of purple energy began to form between the soulgem and the pincers. After minutes of vigorous cranking, the soul
detatched itself from the gem and clung to the pincers like a gelatinus substance. Hasir's mouth fell open as Sergius held up the soul
to him.
Serguis tossed the soul into the air and it burst open like a flower in spring. Hasir and Inigo looked on with wonder as a cyan deer
pranced through the air, darting between walls rather effortlessly. Hasir marveled at the wondrous sight. He had always thought
trapping souls was a devious deed and never once thought the reverse to be possible but now that he saw it, he thought it was
beautiful thing to set a soul free from its confines. Serguis smiled when the doe disappeared and handed Hasir the soul extractor.
Hasir grinned back at him, placed the device in his bag and left the hall with Inigo. They caught up with the reest of the companions
and told them what happened. They prepared for their trip back to Whiterun and, soon after, found their way to the trees where they
had tied their steeds and rode back to the city.
Once there, they stabled their horses, paid the stablehand and went inside the main gate, through the market district and up to the
mead hall.
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