DS 738

738: Apocrypha's Basement

He wasn't sure how this happened but as he opened his eyes, he knew it was troublesome.

"Oh no!"

Neloth was about to pull out the hairs of his head but too bad he was bald.

The floor he stood on was made of parchment paper and old book covers, the walls around him were made of stacked up stinking old books, and the sky above him was covered in green anomalies infested with squirming tentacles.

The profile matches someplace he wasn't very keen on visiting this time of day.

Apocrypha!

However, this begs the question, how did he get here?

Neloth could vaguely remember but is too embarrassed to admit that he fell to the oldest trick in the book, the Mousetrap. This goes back to the time when Neloth and Jon were exploring Nchardak together. As two Arch-Wizards with a decent degree of power and fame, the two were overly confident they could breeze through this ruin without a hitch or difficulty.

Sadly for them, their enemy was relying on their overconfidence.

As Neloth decided to stay behind in the control room while leaving Jon to do all the legwork, his eyes cough a glimpse of something he couldn't imagine to even exist without him knowing.

A Black Book, a tome of power, was right there lying not too far from him in a section of the ruins he was sure he has explored before.

But a Black Book… Here? How?

Neloth's mind raced to the answer but his curious Dunmeri feet were faster as he found himself standing in front of the Black Book as it opened by itself and swallowed him whole.

This was no regular Black Book, this was a portal to Apocrypha fashioned in the shape of the Black Book and it was designed to capture unsuspecting and greedy scholars. He surely knew something like that existed but it was just a miscalculation on his part to fall into such an obvious mousetrap… or that's what he kept telling himself.

A Telvanni Wizard is a lot of things but a pushover is not what you can call one. Neloth, above all, considered himself to be a sophisticated gentleman and this kind of trap has already hurt his pride way more than any insult.

He's now out for blood.

The location where Neloth was sent to was certainly not a known location on Apocrypha and just like most of Apocrypha, it was surrounded by great seas of ink corrosive ink and had many pathways made of the usual apocryphal environment.

Oh… and there was an endless number of Seekers and Lurkers as well.

"For Dagon's sake, piss off already." Neloth transformed a ring around his right thumb into a staff and as he hit the ground with it, a large fire was cast and it ate away all those Daedric Creatures.

However, the Seekers and Lurkers kept coming back in larger numbers from the endless sea of ink.

Neloth wiped out the daedra again and again and again but it seemed that the point of this place is for them to keep spawning endlessly. A daedra can't practically die and in due time, it will keep coming back to life from the Chaotic Creatia of the realm.

Neloth wanted to end this so he moved the fighting location multiple times in order to find a way out. That proved to him that the chapter he landed in doesn't lead anywhere and is simply a trap for him to fight until his bitter end.

Neloth took out a few soul gems, put them on the ground, and cast a rune before centering a staff on top of it. He made the staff act like a spell turret as he kept analyzing the situation around him.

He was trying to aim for a different chapter outside of this one but he was too isolated. Since he can't travel through the sea of ink, he started thinking of a different way of taking action. He searched for any Daedric creature across a hundred miles radius and as soon as he found one, he took his staff, levitated, and teleported away.

Neloth didn't want to put himself in a bad situation but if there is a Daedric Creature, there is a Daedric land. Simple logic, really. That's why he teleported as high and at a safe distance as he could scout his situation first.

Neloth thought it would be a regular Daedra but as he saw what he saw, he started to sweat nervously.

This wasn't a Daedra he could recognize and can recognize most of them all. This one was as tall as the Numidium with an octopus-like head, large dragon-like wings, and a humanoid body.

The creature ignored Neloth completely and then it spoke a word in a terrible terrible voice that made Neloth suffer from a splitting headache.

"GNAIIH" The creature called once and raised his hand which had someone tied to it.

"Oh, no!" Neloth could see the man in the hand of that colossal Daedric thing and it was none other than Jon.

He was in the worst shape Neloth could imagine. He had a hole in his chest where his heart was supposed to be and he was not in any of his gear. Rather, he was covered in an ink-like substance that covered his lower half, his arms, and the upper half of his head.

Once the creature's arm was up, something appeared midair like a cluster of goat-eye-like bubbles that felt wretched like the abyss and it stared at Jon.

A voice came from the wretched abyss, deep, changing, slow, ancient, and unfathomable.

"Tell me your secret… speak them to me… hide nothing from me…"

The Wretched Abyss, which was obviously Hermaeus Mora, demanded an answer but Jon remained as responsible as a corpse.

A stormy atmosphere swept the realm as if Mora had become upset then it spoke to the creature.

"Son! Make him speak next time. Make him reveal his secrets… to me!"

The Wretched Abyss disappeared and left Jon with the creature all by themselves.

"Gnaiih." The creature shouted again but no response came from the Wretched Abyss.

The creature then raised Jon to the level of its terrifying octopus head with all its tentacles, it swallowed Jon in one go before diving into the sea of ink all while Neloth was watching.

For the first time in a really long while, Neloth, who put his best effort not to stand out, was feeling utterly helpless. Just now, Hermaeus Mora was saying "son" to this unknown creature which meant one thing.

"A Demi-Prince!"

A Demi-Prince is the Daedric offspring of a Daedric Prince or Daedra Lord and a lesser entity such as a mortal. Although they often inherit aspects of their princely parent, they are notably eccentric and can be lacking in characteristics such as foresight, memory, cruelty, or willfulness. Some acquire, or are given, minor realms of Oblivion to rule, although many of these pocket realities are bizarre even by the standards of Oblivion. 

But to think that Hermaeus Mora would have this kind of child. Neloth may be the first mortal ever to discover this Demi-Prince.

Neloth was surely afraid but he was no coward. Right now, he has no way out of Apocrypha and his ally Jon Dare is captured. There is one way for a Telvanni Wizard to deal with this sort of situation and it is to grit his teeth and go ahead casting fear aside.

Neloth descended where the gigantic Daedric creature stood and used his staff to touch the sea of ink. Knowing that this may differ from normal sea water, Neloth decided to modify a spell before starting to cast it.

He put the lower heel of his staff through the sea level and started stirring the ink normally. By applying Magicka to the stirring and creating force waves through the calm sea of ink, Neloth was soon able to create a whirlpool that kept expanding and expanding in the middle of the sea.

With that, he could finally make a very deep hole in the sea and he kept levitating down through it while maintaining the stirring with the force of his Magicka. Neloth descended so far down in the sea that he could feel a strong suction force pulling him beneath. He cast "Stoneskin" as a final act of protecting himself and let the suction force take him beneath.

Darkness dominated the scene but Neloth could tell he was already far beneath the sea level. The only reason he wasn't able to see is that Light spells seemed to be under restriction in this section of Apocrypha and all he needed was a different approach to the situation.

Once Neloth cast the "Night Eyes" spell, however, he remained frigid in place for some time.

The section of Apocrypha was clearly not meant to be seen and whoever is here is not meant to see the light again. This type of eldritch place can't be fathomed by normal means even if Neloth tried to comprehend them.

He could see words, letters, and characters floating all across the place like fireflies in the night. They were in Daedric, Dunmeri, Nordic, Ehlnofex, Aldmeri, and in some forms that Neloth couldn't even fathom. What was all that? Neloth asked but a smart man of his caliber shouldn't ask too many questions about this place or else he will be ensnared by the forbidden knowledge Hermaeus Mora hid away.

Mora was known to be a hoarder and his entire realm was actually made of small chapters and a great sea of ink. Neloth now realized that this was all a facade and the real Apocrypha is the one underneath, the one in the basement.

"Gods Almighty!" Neloth called in his heart for the Gods but what can they do if he is in the basement of one?

Right now, he's on his own.

The fear felt so real all of a sudden, a Telvanni wizard is no coward… a Telvanni wizard is no coward… a Telvanni wizard is no coward… a Tevanni wizard is…

*CLUGH*

Neloth's heart jumped as something lough woke him from his daze. He turned left and right, up and down, back and ahead. He was alone.

His hands were freezing around his staff and his fears were bringing bad thoughts to his head. It is as if his fears, traumas, and all the bad shit he has been through in his life were climbing over his body and trying to take away his sanity.

He persisted though, despite the feeling of fear, despite the madness, despite the oblivion that was trying to consume him.

Is this the belly of Apocrypha, the place where all those who ventured recklessly into Apocrypha end up in?

Neloth held to his sanity and decided to map out his surroundings first. He moved in all sorts of directions but the environment wasn't stable. Sometimes if he wandered off from the spot he managed to hold his emotions tight in, he would feel enraged, sometimes saddened, and sometimes he would fall into depression.

His surroundings were not natural hazards but metal as well.

Knowing that his mind was on the line here, he chose to tread the most careful path he can, one that mixes most of these emotions moderately together without overwhelming himself with too much madness.

He felt like his thoughts were leaking out of his brain sometimes and it was a funny feeling as if they were literally leaking out of his brain. He was finding it hard to focus on magic but the "Calm Emotions" spell was his best friend at this moment and he kept it up for as long as he could.

That was until he finally reached an edge. The edge was overlooking a deep abyss that he felt unfathomable but as vision could help, the floating letters and words were coming together as if he was getting something out of this mess.

Should he read what it was trying to tell him?

Wouldn't it be a trap to make him even more stuck?

Neloth couldn't decide what to do so he gnashed his teeth and wandered off once again until he ran into a wall, a short wall that looked similar to these Nordic word walls which they use to record Dragon language on.

There, the letters that were floating started to form more elaborate sentences and some knowledge was being formed together slowly. Neloth wanted to avoid it too but at this point in time, he wasn't sure he could resist it anymore.

He has to read the words. No, he doesn't have to. But he has to. No! He can't. But he must! He must? YES! He must. NO! No no no no no no no nononononononononono! He… mustn't!

HE MUST!

HE MUST!

HE!

MUST!

READ!

THE!

WORDS!

The words laid themselves out for him, he wanted not to read but he must. He wanted not to look but he must. He wanted not to recognize the words but he must.

"He must! He reads the words! He witnessed the heart of the Apocrypha! The closely guarded secret of the Daedric Princes.

The Child!

He who slumbers, he who dreams, he who sees.

Hail to the Child!

Hail to the Unborn King!

Bane of the Dreamer!

Knower of Every Kalpa!

Hail Son of Mora!

Hail to the Forgotten who Never Forgets.

Hail Lord of Oblivion!

Hail Heir of all Princes!

Hail …"

*CRUSH*

And the wall was crushed under the mighty hand of the one.

It was there all along.

Neloth couldn't believe it.

The darkness was his, the terror was his, the sadness, the anger, the rage, the madness.

It was all his!

Neloth was simply the parasite here.

And he will be purged.

Neloth looked up and saw the fist of the Child of Hermaeus Mora rise up. It lightens the space with its aura as the words and letters scatter around frantically and it descends upon him and…

Silence!

Neloth was already closing his eyes but demise never came. He opened them once again and all he could see was Lightning as a man stood behind him and held the giant fist up with his bare hands.

"Excuse him but you shouldn't have called." The naked man, who was clad in green ink and had a hole in his chest, said.

"J… Jon?" Neloth looked and couldn't believe what he saw.

"I am supposed to be but lucky for us, I am not Jon at the moment." The man replied and looked up, "Let me put him back to sleep now."

The Child of Hermaeus Mora retreated his fist while looking down at the place where he hit.

His eyes were emitting fiery light as they started to multiply all across his octopus-like head and the tentacles of his face were acting ferociously.

At that moment, the man who was supposed to be Jon walked ahead.

"Hey, friend!" He smiled at the Child of Hermaeus Mora and asked, "Want me to sing you another lullaby?"

The furious atmosphere around the Child didn't retreat but he gave the man the opportunity to speak. There, he started singing a song with a tone that brings chills to whoever hears it despite its natural words.

"Now, I lay me down to sleep. Pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake. Pray the Lord my soul to take."

The Child of Hermaeus Mora calmed down and lowered his fist.

"Bal, Azura, Mora, and Dagon, Curse the bed that I lie on."

"Four corners to my bed, Four Deadras around my head."

"One to strangle and one to flay, And two to trap my soul away."