Kvaasik - A Tale of Two Choices
1 - The Rise of Thras
2 - The Cold Front
3 - Change in Wardrobe
4 - The Unsinkable City
5 - An Unlikely Patron
6 - The Purring Liar
7 - The Dismantling Dilemma
8 - The Shade in Sunlight
9 - Varen's Folly
10 - The Soul Siphon
11 - The Astral Escapade
12 - His Master's Student
13 - The Graveyard in the Closet
14 - The Blue Ambush
15 - The Red Redemption
16 - The Liar's End
17 - The Field Work
18 - The Trouble With Taproot
19 - Lessons from Coldharbour
20 - Tower of the Black Worm
21 - A Wolf Among Sheep
22 - The Revelation
23 - The Turning Tide
24 - A Tale of Two Choices
I looked down at my body. It was still mine; at least, it was the form I naturally inhabited (the definition of the term ‘my body’ has gotten very blurry over the past few months). “Calixto?” I called, hoping that he could was still within me.
“I am here.” His voice resonated through my head, clear and full of vigor. “It is truly fascinating being conjoined to someone else’s mind! One could never imagine it until--“
“Calixto. We need to focus. Just keep calm; I have a few more things to do before we leave.” His silence let me to my work. The polwygle candle was still burning, releasing ribbons of smoky vapors that came alight in electric violet energy at their tail; it still powered the portal, which hung above the candle with a surface like that of still water. I must keep S’Gast from getting further reinforcements. With a sharp breath, I snuffed out the candle’s modest glow and snatched the wax cylinder from the pedestal. Almost groaning, the portal collapsed like crumpled paper into its center, then faded to nothing, leaving only whispers of smoke in its wake.
“We need to leave.” Calixto uttered. “S’Gast will have noticed the portal’s disappearance the moment you snuffed out the polwygle candle—strange, I seem to be able to see your thoughts, as well. How interesting!”
“Just a moment, Calixto.” I knew it was unwise to ignore his warning, but I cannot leave the planemeld apparatus in the Sload’s possession; otherwise, Calixto and I would have no means to separate, and the Sload could still establish a legion of warriors hidden in plain sight.
Luckily, the apparatus was easy to disassemble. A few screws untightened, a few latches unlatched, and the pylons were suddenly portable. I carried this, as well as the Staff of Worms, along with me. However, my Sload body was much less agile (and less practical in terms of pockets) than Arevyn’s body, which I had grown accustomed to. I had an idea. “Calixto, I need to—“
“I know. I am in your head, remember? Just…be careful.”
I closed my eyes and concentrated on my movements, as magic is controlled through intention, and they gradually became faster and more fluid. I opened my eyes once more and I saw that my body had been transformed to that of Calixto’s, still wearing his red merchant’s clothes. He was surprisingly spry, allowing me to climb the stairs at a much faster pace while carrying the disassembled planemeld apparatus on my back.
Finally, I made it to the entrance hall of the tower. With a burst of triumphant enthusiasm, I rushed towards the door only to be caught by some sort of entrapment spell. Green ribbons of energy enveloped my body (it was not Calixto’s body, as I had taken the precaution of switching back to my Sload form). I knew who had cast this snare, and, quite honestly, I had anticipated an attack of this kind.
“I expected more from you, Kvaasik. After all, you were my prime agent in Skyrim.” The voice of an Altmer rasped behind me. “Perhaps that is why you betrayed me; the Nords have infected you with the thing they call ‘loyalty’.” S’Gast strolled in front of me, the pride he feels of himself seeming to fill the room. “Stealing the anchoring candle? Destroying your precious automaton? Surrender them to me, and I may cleanse you of this pestilence.”
Calixto whispered in my mind, “Do not listen to lies, Kvaasik. Loyalty is not a sickness, but a strength.”
My mind, in more ways than one, was split; S’Gast was once my mentor, my role model, and while his goal is not my own, I do not wish to be victim to a mental sickness. I once scorned the Nords for their notions of loyalty and honor. Have I really changed that much?
Or perhaps I did not change at all. Maybe rebellion was within me all along, and my true loyalties had only surfaced recently. I must make a choice between my old master and my new ideas; I know this choice will be irreversible. As this dawned on me, I realized my decision, and saw that this was the only decision I could possibly make in this situation.
“No, S’Gast. Loyalty and rebellion are seeds that are never sown, but spring to the soil regardless. The King of Worms saved our entire race once; it is the least we can do to owe him our allegiance.” Although he did not say it, I sensed Calixto’s approval. I had made the right choice.
“How poetic. But, I am afraid I cannot allow your weeds to grow and spread.” The paralysis spell S’Gast had cast turned to suffocation. Choking, the air escaped my throat like sand through a sieve, my lungs burning. But, what S’Gast did not know is that there are two minds within this body. Two minds of two powerful sorcerers.
In green light, the strangling magic combusted in a conflagration of unstable magic. In an act of desperation, the combined power of Calixto and I turned the paralysis and suffocation inside out. As I—as we—stretched our limbs, S’Gast stood stupefied at the corner of the room. No other magician had succeeded in overcoming his magic; it took two of them to do so. “How…how did you…”
He never did finish his sentence. Acting as one entity, Calixto and I bombarded S’Gast with raw magic, making fizzing sounds against the Altmer’s flesh. We were going to kill him, revenge for all that he had done. However, what we did not notice was that S’Gast was casting a spell of his own. In a flash, our magic was disrupted and our eyes were blinded. When the light faded away, it was too late; S’Gast had already made his escape.
Posted Nov 2, 2015, 2:49 PM UTC · edited