Vex grunted, cranking down the street with her head tilted down. She'd spent to much time on live-streaming her Skyrim playthrough. Zombified, Dark bags hung under her eyes. Her wheelchair was heavy, like wheeling a sack of bricks on the asphalt.
Vex's ashen face pulled into a grimace maneuvering left, at the sore black lines marring her palms. She rolled down the paved walkway to the traffic light. Stopping at the end of the street following hoards of people. Although Skyrim is far from anything like her military days. The companionships that were made and quests filled her with wistfulness.
Tapping the crosswalk button and waiting for the light to go red. The crosswalk countdown goes off as she takes a few meters, the masses move forward, and something catches her eye. A silver fox-haired man adorned in tan tights, rose, and magenta-colored garbs. Jittering in her seat, Vex gripped the wheels, gearing it closer for a better look.
Giddiness washed over her, and Vex took out her phone. Is there a Convention nearby?! How had she missed that!? She needed a picture of this guy! His cosplay was a dead ringer for Sheogorath! Peering back the carnelian-eyed individual skulked forward.
The phone trembled in Vex's hand. "Shegorath, can i get a picture?!" Stopping in front of her, he halted. "Mortal, how is it you know who i am?" Vex glanced at him 'Oh, he's in character?' Vex bowed. "This humble mortal knows of your grace's endeavors." She held out her phone, snapping a picture. Stretching her hand out in thanks, Sheogorath took it, shaking.
"Thanks for the picture, Sheogorath. Have fun at the convention! Oh, and tell the other princes I said hello!" Vex waved goodbye, not wanting to disturb the cosplayer. "Happy birthday!" The Daedric prince watched the platinum-haired mortal woman leave. A mischievous, manic glee filled Sheogorath.
Smirking he scampered away, disappearing in the crowd. Vex whipped around the man was nowhere to be seen. "Birthday?!" Flicking her phone on the screen read October 14, 2021. The smile wiped itself off her face. Making way for a mutinous tarr ball in her stomach.
Sharp offsetting lights appeared before her. "Mother fu-!"
Facedown on a black shoreline, a woman's lungs rattled. Her chapped lips trembled, jutting against dirt-encased ashen skin, embittering the taste of dirt. Copper eyeballs skittering underneath tresses of sliver. Grimacing, she bared her teeth, mixing blood and tears, Straining a raw jagged cut that ran down the left side of her lip and chin. Wet sand mulched in her grasp.
Each breath intake came closer to her last. Scarlet warm liquid seeped from her Abdomen. "Urgh," She retched, forcing her muscles on in a belly crawl along the shore. Come on! She urged herself, and purple dots began clouding her vision. Where was this? Was she going to die here? No fucking way! Vex thinned her lip,s grimacing. Time went on the wound festered with a million burning nettles. Each nerve screamed for salvation.
Exhaustion slithered its way in her muscles. Each fiber came to a full stop, refusing to haul her wreckage on. 'Give up. You're going to die anyway,' A tiny part of her murmured. Vex "Fuck you little shit i want to live!" Boots sank in the sand. Vex curled in on herself. Shoulders shaking under leather armor. The burbling waves in her ears won't go away.
They stopped behind her. Vex closed her eyes. She chanted to herself, "Please be a nightmare, please be a nightmare." The warmth of a hand hovered over her. Rolling Vex flat on her back, "Hey, lad,y stop moving your getting sand in your wounds." Vex sighed; the blob sounded feminine. That of a young woman's tweaky voice. She hoped someone would pull her out from underwater soon. "Hold on, I'll be right back, I'll need to clean your wounds!"
Rigorous wet fibers were swabbed over her face. The rage she used consistently deviated more so sandpaper. Downward toward her torso, Vex snagged the woman's arm. Grasping it in a bone-white dirtied sand sprinkled grip. "Don't!" Vex hisse,d "Shut up! Complain later you're dying."
A chime brought on a soothing lul that eased her pain. lithe hands made a pitiful attempt to hoist her up. "If you can still walk, help me get you up."Vex fought to stand on wobbly legs that threatened to snap. Grunting all the way the young woman trailed her along. Inside the entrance of a cave. Vex lost dipped in and out of consciousness once lowered on the furs
Fire crackled, lighting up the cavern, which was covered in shadow. Leaving a hooded individual holding bare hands over the small fire. Surging up Vex burst into a coughing fit. As an influx of memories assaulted her brain. A pair of hands pushed her back down. Her headache pounded her brain into mush.
"Where-?!" Vex breathed out body tensing her legs! She could feel her legs! "Aaliyah Septim, Skyrim I healed you after i found you half-dead on a bank." Confirming her nightmare was reality. Aaliyah's name made Vex's stomach churn, but she threw caution to the wind for her benefactor.
Gaining her baring, Vex attempted to see how young Aaliyah was. Squinting, the hood hid most hair, but a few dark strands were hanging out. Ice gray-blue eyes bled through her obscured features. She couldn't exactly ask her age either.
"Delightful, what are you doing?" A soft peach glow lit up the cave, ringing a familiar chime. Vex marveled at the wonders of a healing spell as her body went from stinging pins to dull pain. There would be no denying her reality, it seemed.
Revealing more key features like tanned skin. Telling by the dirt or blood caked on her nails, Vex didn't have to smell to tell she needed a bath. "My family is dead." Thinning her lip,s Aaliyah appeared to have eaten a lemon. "Ah, bad time to come to Skyrim during a civil war."
"What happened to cause these wounds?" Biting the inside of her cheek, Vex pondered lying. "Are you aware of the war's effect on Skyrim? The flow of coins is chaotic at best; many people have lowered themselves to lesser means to make ends meet. Do you catch me?"
"You're a criminal?!" Aaliyah hovered her hand over a dagger. Rolling her eyes " Yes, but out of necessity, i don't hurt people. No,w I'm not so sure since my partner left me for dead. My point is you shouldn't have come here. anywhere is better Why come here?"
"My uncle raised me. passed he's always been sickly his this winter finally caught up with him. He use to tell me stories of his past adventures. I wanted to follow in his footsteps."
Vex's injured form oozed sympathy but something bothered her.'Aaliyah, i hate to break it to you. If your uncle has always been sick then those adventures were more likely than not fictitious.' She did not want to dishearten the girl, but her uncle's stories had inadvertently landed her in danger.
"Let me pay you for your troubles I'll guide you through Skyrim. Once you figure out how to venture into the underbelly of Skyrim, we can part. The way you hold your dagger tells me you've no idea how to use it."
"Really, you can tell?!" Vex nodded. "How can i trust you?" Deadpanning, Vex stared at Aaliyah. "Well, if you couldn't tell I'm not from here, I am an imperial." She covered her face with her hand. This would be some tough one, but as long as they avoided the Dragonborn. "Where can i get a tattoo like the one you have?"
"What?" Aaliyah nodded, pointing at her right shoulder. Raised on her skin, three heads sat blood red and tar ink. A depiction of three heads screaming in Union on her arm. It seemed familiar, but Vex couldn't place it at the moment. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Vex whispered dropping her head. It dawned on her: had she truly met the mad god? "Don't tell me that?! That was actually Sheogorath?!!"
Vex eyed the mark on her shoulder. Pressing at the skin, red tendrils of magic hummed underneath. Whatever the mark was did not bode well when a screen appeared before her with game stats.
Vex
∞
Level 23
Health:100 Stamina:100 Magicka:100
Dagger's Voice Of The Emperor
Flame
Healing
23 Points
Tapping the mark again, the invisible holographic screen morphed into the black and white graphic Quest objectives. Her current objective Goldenglow Estate, Under finished read Meeting A Mad God. Leave it to Sheogorath, the prince of madness, to give her a system. Was it just like a game with an inventory? Maybe she could will it to function. Closing her eyes, Vex breathed, snapping them open, and the menu closed itself. A happy feeling filled her until the screen read Mark of (???) LVL 2. Vex chose to ignore it… 'Skill tree'
What nothing!? Then, the points could only be attributed to her health, stamina, and magic. Damn no OP Powers?! Right, she wasn't the Dragonborn. If this reality is the same as the game, Vex really needs to stay away from the guild. In the original game, Delvin never left Vex behind? Things were different, and she needed to know how. Starting with her new companion. "Are you aware of the weight your name carries?"
"Should i?" The brunette peered down at her brow perturbed. Vex sighed. "You could be in danger; tell no one your name. That uncle of yours most likely was guarding you in hiding. As of late the members of the Septim line live very short lives."
"Truthfully?"
"Truthfully, now let's get you started on how to hold that knife."
After going over some basic knife stances, Vex and Aliyah made their way toward the main road, passing north of Goldenglow. Vex looked over her shoulder in Riften's direction in hopes she made the right choice. "For future reference, if we had coin carriages at every hold would take us around Skyrim. Are you with me, Alliyah?"
"Call me Aldie, where are we going?" Vex removed her gaze from the map. " We need to account for travel time. As soon as the sun goes down, we'll need to find somewhere safe for the night. The most common troubles on the road are vampires or bandits." Walking up the hill, Vex spotted a hutt. They neared the edge of a hill's cliff. Bringing her finger to her lips. "Jump off the hill onto the roof." Vex pointed at the blood splatter near the lake's water. Hopping onto the roof, Vex caught sight of the bear down below, sleeping. Blasting the bear, they both shot fire, burning the animal while it searched for its attackers.