Realm of Games #1: Skyrim

Chapter 23

We were there for maybe five seconds, looking out on the platform at the strange creatures and the man in the mask, all of whom were staring at us too, when a blast of magic hit us and we were face down on the ground. I forced myself to look at him. The dark green acid-like sea stretched out for miles, dotted with pillars, more like islands, of rotted books that had been fused together. The sky was a yellowish green with scattered masses of tentacles and the occasional eye. I guess Hermaeus Mora wanted to keep an eye on us.

"Send them back. They can wait for my arrival with the rest of Tamriel." Miraak said and turned away. Arina was closest to him and made a grab for his ankle. In return he kicked her in the face and stepped on her wrist, causing it to break. She tried to cry out but the sound was drowned out by the sudden return to reality.

Celesty quickly healed Arina and then everyone turned to look at me. Or rather, behind me. I looked too. There was someone there beside Frea. He looked vaguely familiar, but also not. He was a snow elf. A Falmer. As they were meant to be. It was...Brok.

As soon as we saw him we drew our weapons.

"What the hell are you doing here, Brok? You died. You betrayed us to Harkon." I asked, my tone dripping with venom.

"The gods weren't done with me yet. They showed me what I have to do. I have to follow you. Come on. I've got a hideout on the mountain that's pretty well stocked. I had plenty of time while you were in the book."

"Wh-what are you talking about? We were only in the book for about five

minutes."

He shook his head. "Try six days. Plenty of time to build a nice hideout nearby while I watched over your bodies and waited."

After a few minutes of consideration, I conceded. Anything was better than a three day trek back to Raven Rock after being sucked into a version of Hell. Making our way back to the surface, we saw that it was the middle of the night. The moons were full, and both were out and completely visible through the Red Mountain's haze.

Brok pointed towards the south. "Hideout's this way. I'll run ahead and get the bath going." Our faces brightened at the thought of a hot bath, something we hadn't had since reaching Solsteim.

Ventus and I carried the sleeping kits and the others followed behind. We reached the hideout in no time and all collapsed in the bath, modesty, at the moment, forgotten. Refreshed, we emerged to find clean clothes and warm, fluffy towels.

After getting dressed, we came out of the bath to an absolute feast. Brok had replicated, as closely as he could, the dishes of our world. Spaghetti, steaks, mashed potatoes, rolls with butter, and eggs and fried potatoes. We stood there in shock, drooling and staring.

"Well, don't just look at it, eat it." He laughed, settling himself in at the long table. We followed his example and ate until we were all stuffed.

Brok clapped once. Three fire atronachs came and began to clear away the dishes and leftover food. Two more picked up the sleeping kits and took them to bed.

We followed them, exhausted beyond anything by this point and ready for sleep. The hideout was huge, carved into the side of the mountain. Arched doorways along the smooth stone hallways led into various storage rooms, enchantment tables, and alchemy labs.

Finally, we reached a set of double doors that opened into another hallway, but this hallway was huge and grandiose in a way that even royalty in Skyrim didn't have. There were four bedrooms, each of which had a large four poster bed with heavy curtains. Ventus went in with the kits, Arina and Rosla went in the next one, and Celesty and I fell into the first one on the other side of the hallway.

We could rest easy tonight. Planning would begin in earnest tomorrow. Planning to defeat Miraak.