Chapter 346 - Unusal Friendship

Sorry for being late, a really hot day in Ramadan. 40C (104F) and it keeps getting worse. And today's chapter is a bit of a spin-off. Brain is overheating!

~~~~~~~~~~

*Bash* *Bash* *Thud*

*Screams*

"No! Please! Mercy!"

"Say Ah!"

"AAAAAAH!"

"Good boy!"

*Bash* *Thud*

"Phew! That was refreshing."

Jon stretched his body up and took a breath after whipping the blood off his face with his sleeve, he was surely working hard. He looked around him with satisfaction and nodded to himself, today's harvest was bountiful.

Last night, he stalked some Forsworn to a cave and waited until all the cave dwellers gathered, he then raided the camp this morning with his new companion and killed over twenty Forsworn with the [Mace of Molag Bal]. The bodies were all piled around him.

That mace is also known as the [Vampire's Mace] and has the ability to Trap Souls, Recover Fatigue and Absorb Magicka.

"Mortal, you missed one!" A voice so nasty, that it felt like its owner had a broken radio for a throat, called for him.

Jon's good mood always gets ruined when he hears that voice. He can't get used to it no matter what.

"Xikil, you son of a bitch, clear your damn throat before you talk!"

Jon turned to the Dremora following him and cussed right away. Xikil's voice was just like any other Dremora so it was Jon who unintentionally gets goosebumps from the tone itself.

[A/n: Dremora are the equivalent of demons, red and black skinned with horns and a deep unexplainable grudge against Mortals.]

"Spare me your nonsense, mortal. Take this one." Xikil indifferently replied at Jon and threw the Forsworn boy that he caught.

"You retarded Daedra, when was the last time you used your brain?" Jon looked at the boy and sighed. He waved the Mace and killed him, "I needed that boy alive so we can follow him to another camp when he gets away."

"... Aaah!"

"Really? 'Aaah'? That's your reaction?"

"Mortal, don't test my patience. Just go look for them the way you normally do."

Jon glared at the Dremora with contempt, never he thought that the Dremora are this stupid. Well, maybe because Xikil was not a high ranked Dremora. He always blows Jon's cover and had a thing for charging head on without thinking. Normally, Jon would Conjure Dremora to fight for him in a direct fight but he never tried those sons of bitches in stealthy combat before.

They completely suck if Xikil was not a half-witted retard among his kind.

Still, he had his uses. Molag Bal assigned Xikil randomly for Jon when he granted his blessing.

The [Blessing of Molag Bal], never did Jon ever think of having such a thing. It had only one purpose and that was corruption. Molag Bal did not mention this part to Jon intentionally but it pissed Jon off right away. Jon had the physique of a Firemane blessed by the [Guardian Dragon] that grants the Ashen Flames, the Flames that Jon and his father can use to buff their normal Fire Magic to an unimaginable degree. The blessing of Bal simply interfered with the [Blessing of the Guardian Dragon] and changed the 'White Ashen Flame of Incineration' to the 'Blue Cold Flame of Essence Drain', Jon didn't want to admit it but the Cold Flames suited him better.

Once he killed 10 Forsworn and granted their souls to Molag Bal, this Cold Flame was Bestowed on him. He can now cast his Fire Magic only in the form of Blue Cold Flames.

This was the first part of the blessing that can be acquired by sacrificing 10 souls. When the sacrifice reaches 100 souls, another Magic will be granted to Jon and the same with 1000 souls.

Still, how can Jon use any of that? Wasn't he supposed to have his Magicka locked by the damn vine leeching around him?

Here where Xikil comes in. Xikil was tasked by Molag Bal to carry an artifact from Oblivion called the [Soul Sigil Stone]. That Sigil Stone is something produced by Daedric Magic be used for many things such as opening Gates from Oblivion to the Mortal Realm Mundus, a medium to use Magic and can replace Soul Gems for enchanting.

This Soul Sigil Stone has the function to absorb the souls and deliver them to Molag Bal as well as share some of these souls' Essence with Jon. Using that Essence, Jon can use the magic Molag Bal bestowed on him.

"So, horns for brains, how many souls did we collect so far?"

"43. Too slow, Mortal. It has been two days already."

"What the fuck do you want me to do? If you just shut up and let me do my work, I would have found another camp by now."

"Huh? Blaming me for your weird tastes now, Mortal? Who said you have to be picky with your prey? Just kill anyone and finish the job already! I can't stand you, weak pathetic creatures."

"... Do you want to die?"

"HA! The likes of you don't even dare to scratch me, the Mighty Xikil of cla… PUFF!"

Jon slammed Xikil on the back of his head with the mace. Xikil died immediately and his body was taken back to Oblivion.

"Dare is my fucking surname, you noisy fucker."

Jon started massaging his temples, listening to the ranting Dremora all day made his headache.

Well, killing Xikil is not possible anyway, he is a Daedric creature which means he is an immortal. Most of the creatures of Oblivion work this way, wherever they get killed, they resurrect back again in their Realm of Origin by a substance called the 'Chaotic Ceratia' and that goes from the Dremora to the Atronach to all other Daedric Creatures. The reason for this is that the Daedric Creatures have no Anuic Animus (Soul) but have a different version called the Vistage.

Speaking of Vistages, this is the Fate that Jon bestowed on the Forsworn. The reason why Jon refused to target any people other than the Forsworn, such as Bandits, was because of what happens to those who get claimed by Molag Bal. That Daedric Prince is also called the Harvester of Souls for a reason. In his realm of Coldharbour, there are beings called the [Soul Shriven]. These are Mortals whose souls got claimed by Molag Bal and he literally exchanged their Souls with Vistages which enables them to form bodies in his realm and become eternal will-less slaves but they are not native to Oblivion, so the body of a Soul Shriven is an imitation of the body worn in life, suffering rapid wear and decay until it dies, for its vestige only forms a body once again, over and over, like a Daedra. Their appearance is shocking too, pale skin, white eyes, hairless and feeble; the Soul Shriven experience nothing but labor and torment until they are rendered feral with minds too broken to work.

This is a true existing version of hell and Jon was the judge, jury and executioner of send people there.

Still, he didn't feel sorry for anyone he sent there so far.

***

The next day, Jon summoned Xikil by the method Molag Bal left him with.

"Mortal, you won't get away with that!" Xikil shouted and waved his greatsword at Jon the moment he was summoned.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jon simply kicked Xikil's leg causing him to lose balance and fall on his face.

"MOORTAAAAL!"

As Xikil was about to lash in another fit of rage, Jon stomped on his head causing him to blackout.

It took Xikil a few minutes to wake up again only to find Jon has strapped him clean of his armor and weapons as well as the [Soul Sigil Stone] all after tying him up to a tree. Unable to control his anger anymore, Xikil was about to blow up from anger and started cursing.

Jon ignored the raging Dremora and kept inspecting the Sigil Stone with interest. This was not a normal Sigil Stone, it was something much more valuable. Sigil Stones valued in quality and shapes but this one can be said as unique. Jon can tell as Nurina has a few Sigil Stones that she extorted out of some Daedric Creatures and she considers them very valuable and keeps them hidden even from Jon. He could tell that Nurina would move mountains for that Sigil Stone he took from Xikil.

He sighed in his heart and thought of getting a few Sigil Stones of his own one day to study them. He really wanted to see how the Daedric Magic made such artifacts, they were very similar to his 'Magicka Reactors' in some sense.

He put the Sigil Stone back carefully and started to inspect Xikil's gear. It wasn't the Daedric Gear he knew from the game or any sort of magic items. They were all very sturdy pieces that would fetch quite the price around Tamriel. The Daedric craftsmanship is always seen as the best despite its diabolical fashion.

"Alright, horns of brains, we had our fun. Ready for today's work?"

"Ready! READY? Mortal, I swear on the name of Lord Molag Bal, you will…"

"Shut up or I'll hit you."

"GRAAAH!"

*Bash*

Jon punched Xikil in the face before cutting him loose and returning his things to him.

"Try anything funny and next time you will deal with Lord Molag Bal of yours, I am the keeper of his mace so you get to shove your mortal-immortal act up your ass."

"Morta…"

Jon raised the mace as Xikil was about to lash out again but the later held his tongue immediately.

"Good! You and I will be great friends right away. First rule, friends don't talk."

"Grrr!"

"Or growl."

"..."

"Good boy."

And that's how it started, a friendship story between a human and a Dremora based on the noble ethics of shutting the fuck up. Too bad it was short-lived, Jon had to kill Xikil once again by the end of the day for talking during stealth.