Chapter 360: Information Gathering

A/n: Last week's 8K votes bonus.

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"So… it went rather well?" Nurina was standing in front of Alfe locking her arms together and glaring.

"... Hm? You were saying something?" Alfe kept dismissing Nurina's constant nagging for the past hour or so.

"You know, not everyone is pleased with what you said and I need to explain to them what is going on." Nurina kept demanding.

Right now, they were back at Alfe's hut on the mountain south of Winterhold. As Alfe kept ignoring Nurina, someone else had to step in.

"Grandmaster, I beseech you… Jon is now taken by vampires and we don't know anything. If you can just help us, we…"

"Girl, quit talking like that idiot." Alfe spoke with annoyance as she looked at Alina.

Nurina became flustered as the word 'idiot' was clearly aimed at her. Alina herself didn't want to say anything further and kept looking between Alfe and Nurina.

"Crazy old hag! Out with it." Nurina was already at her limit as she raised her fists only for Alina to hold at her back.

Alfe was coolly enjoying her dinner while watching her first and second generation apprentices make a mess.

"I had to go some trouble you know, give me some time to rest." Alfe was fed up with all the noise.

"Not until you tell us." Nurina shouted.

"Tell you what?"

"All what you know."

"I was just told to come and save the day. You know the usual, fix some mess here and there."

Alina and Nurina tilted their heads.

"You… were told?" Nurina couldn't understand it.

The only person who can tell someone like Alfe around is none other than Divayth Fyr himself and the man showed no interest in the material world for the past two hundred years.

Alfe smiled and pointed with her head to the window. Alina and Nurina looked through to see nothing but the peak of the other mountain whose top carried the massive Shrine of Azura.

Nurina flinched.

"The Daedra? What do they want with Jon?"

Her voice was grim. Alina too was nervous.

"I was told nothing. Just in exchange for some things I wanted from Oblivion, I came to help you lot." Alfe said while focusing on her food.

"Help us? You just let Jon get taken." It was Alina's turn to be angry.

"Well… that vampire was strong and the boy wasn't my concern anyway. Whatever it is, he can go through it. The one I came to save was you lot."

"Us?"

"Yes, Azura was so focused on saving that girl don't know what's her name… she even dropped her tone and spoke properly." Alfe spoke with ridicule then laughed.

"You mean Jull?" Alina asked.

"Yeah, sounds like the name. I also had to get you all out of there alive. Seems like the boy made quite the bargain with Azura to keep you lot safe."

"Wait a minute! Saving us and especially Jullanar? What does the Daedra want this time?" Nurina asked.

"Azura wants what is best for her followers so she can get their praise and thanks all day long. Seems like change is going to happen and the boy and the girl will be in its center. Ha! I even had to go through 13 versions of the future to save you all without any of you dying and that's how you thank me?"

Alfe said many important things to fast.

"Change?" Nurina questioned.

"13 versions of the future?" Alina shuddered.

"Yeah, that old hag can perform divinations on the future to see many possibilities of battle before she goes through with it." Nurina explained, "She must have been through many futures where things went completely wrong."

"Exactly. That's why I said 'it went rather well' judging that nobody died." Alfe was finally pleased. "You idiot girl, you could never learn that trick." And she scolded Nurina in the end.

"Are you kidding me? The [Tonal Magic] of all things? It is literally the hardest magic there is! Have some shame, woman." Nurina couldn't stand Alfe putting salt on the wound.

"[Tonal Magic]?" Alina asked.

"Something you can't use unless you are a Dwemer, Sotha Sil, Divayth Fyr or one of his clones." Nurina dismissed the subject right away.

"And you won't be able to use when you are a half brain dimwit." Alfe continued.

"Grrr!" Nurina kept growling.

"I'll tell you what it is." Alfe said, "[Tonal Magic] is not a fixed form of magic, it is a term said to describe many. As you may tell, it is a magic based on Manipulating the Tones of the world to create results. The only thing that idiot said right was it is indeed the hardest magic there is. Sometimes you need to make a tone to make an effect and sometimes you need to listen to the world to see what it tells and make no mistake, music is all around the world."

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"Ah!" Alina got the hint. "Chanting Magic? I can do that."

"Chanting? Ah, that! Well, it is a very basic form, nothing too fancy. Maybe you can show it to that dumb girl and she may actually get some enlightenment." Alfe attacked Nurina again then continued.

"But that's not just it, you see, [Tonal Magic] has more than just [Chanting Magic] such as the [Kiai] of Akavir, which is the parent technique to the Battle-Spirit art; the [Thu'um] of Nords, which you use and abuse on daily basis; the [Sword Singing] of Redguards, which destroyed their former home continent; the [Green Singing] of Bosmer and also the [Tonal Architecture] of the Dwemer. What I was taught is some skills of the [Tonal Architecture]."

"Wait, the Dwarves too used the [Tonal Magic]?"

"Of course, how do you think they dug massive cities underground? How do you think they made a metal that can withstand the passage of time for thousands of years? The Dwarves may have been too educated but they are not enigmatic like what most think. When the Snow Elves sought out refuge with the Dwemer, the Dwemer blinded them so they can't learn their secrets leading the Snow Elves to become today's Falmer."

"... I- I see." Alina was enlightened by Alfe.

She looked between Nurina and Alfe feeling the difference between the two.

"What?" Nurina was annoyed.

"She thinks you are an idiot too." Alfe kept going.

"No! Never." Alina defended herself right away.

"We strayed too far from the subject." Nurina said. "Now, will Jon be okay on his own with Vampires?"

"I don't need [Tonal Magic] to tell that he will. The boy sounds a lot like Lord Fyr. Both are fearless when it comes to their actions and know nothing of regret. Come to think of it, both of them are two annoying Philanders. Heh heh! Now imagine the boy coming home with a Vampire girl one day." Alfe laughed.

"Jon would never do that." Alina stood up flustered.

"... To be honest, I can see him doing it so casually." Nurina thought it was possible.

"It sounds like him but please NO!"

***

*Sneeze*

"Cat bless, Hooman."

"Thanks."

Damn! I sneezed a lot lately. It sounds like I am Skyrim's hot topic right now and all are talking about me.

It has been a day since my meeting with Harkon and I could take a breather away from him in the kitchen of Castle Volkihar where the Human Cattle live.

What I needed was some space to recharge on Magicka, gather information and device a plan.

Still, the process of gather information yielded some horrifying facts.

First, I started to see how those Human Cattle were treated and how they were gathered but it was all rather messed up.

The vampire attack bandits and travelers to steal them as people. Those who are weak-willed can get charmed by the eyes of the vampires and turn into enthralled beings either 'Thralls' as cannon fodder or 'Cattle' as food.

With my level of power, I was already too much for the vampires even if Harkon himself tried to use his eyes to hypnotize me.

Anyway, those 'Cattle' were being used as warm blood bags but each day, some of them actually get slaughtered like sheep by the Cattle Butcher to fill the blood barrels.

More to that was the Cattle themselves weren't aware of anything. They are all under hypnosis and follow orders blindly.

The second major discovery was the ten vampires, that raided yesterday alongside Harkon, are not dead. I mean… those Vampires fought with Nurina, Jonrad and Tyr but they were obliterated by half then Alfe showed up and killed the other half. So whatever magic it was, it is something I don't think I can easily match.

Revival or Resurrection… I don't think that is the case. Something else is at play here.

It seems that these 10 Vampires are important in the Volkihar Clan as well. I am not sure if they are the NPCs I know but their Revival seemed important to Harkon as they are the top brass after him… which brings me to the hierarchy system around the Volkihar Clan.

From the bottom, it starts with the 'Cattle', the ones I am locked up with, the situation is crazy and inhumane as they are not even aware of their identities as humans anymore, I don't get that sort of treatment as I am merely a prisoner and Harkon himself can make me a Thrall. The second class from the bottom is the 'Thralls', these are not any better than the 'Cattle' and the highest class mortals can get in this clan; just like the Cattle, the Thralls got their minds manipulated by the Vampires and they possess a certain ability to fight which make them useful cannon fodder. Next up are the 'Death Hounds'; skinned hounds with black bodies, red eyes and a mean raw of teeth; the main reason why the Volkihar Clan is worthless is because they are dog loving heathens and the worst kind at that; to top it all, those Death Hounds are higher than the Cattle and Thralls in rank and devour whoever died. The higher class is the 'Normal Vampires', the ones that compose the majority of the Volkihar Clan and work from Guards to Servants. After them come the 'Noble Vampires', the ones which are blessed by Harkon himself to become vampires and can transform into the Vampire Lord mode, the mean ugly mugs that attacked us; they take the high ranking jobs in the clan from stewardship to office jobs… as if dirty vampires need that. The highest vampire class is the 'Royal Vampires' and these are Harkon as well as his wife and daughter.

And that pretty much sums up the whole hell hole I am in.

How do I gather information?

I don't, others do it for me.

How so?

Well, that is a spectacular story. You see, I met that freshman Vampire that called himself Hjor Black-Bone. A former member of the Black-Bone clan. From what it seems, he is the source of my current trouble. It seems that Hilda and Jonrad have raided the Black-Bone clan and after they finished off the enemies, they became careless and spoke to each other about me when they thought no one can hear them; lucky for me, Hjor was a weasel son of a bitch who played dead.

After he survived, some Vampires found him and the survivors of his clan. As both are fellow Molag Bal worshippers, they were kept as Cattle and sent to Volkihar. Before he gets Thralled, Hjor exchanged his freedom for information about me and Harkon agreed to make him a Vampire.

Now, that idiot came to find me for vengeance and held my arm then bit on it. It was really satisfying to see his fangs get broken just by trying to penetrate my skin. I am not your average human anymore, you know.

Well, he tried to use the rest of his baby teeth to drink blood from my wounds directly and I allowed it. I cut my palm and gave him a sip just for experimenting.

The result was amazing.

I am now at the 'Ebon Blood Stage' and my blood is superior to any not just in grade by meditating but by nature as a Dovah Sos, a Dragon Blood.

Once poor Hjor took the sip, he was never the same again. Instead of me becoming a Thrall, a Vampire became my Thrall.

Now the mystery is… does this mean that I am still a Human? ...… Just kidding, of course I am not, I am Hooman.

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