Purple Haze Ch. 02.5 - Interlude

Hello everyone. Just like the last interlude, this will be a collection of shorter stories telling what happened after the events of chapter 2 and introducing new characters. There will be no erotic content here whatsoever, so be warned. See you in Chapter 3 - Agrulla.

1. The assassin

Ulrise crouched behind a huge chunk of basalt, surveying her surroundings for hungry charus or a stealthy falmer hunter. Some time passed since she left the chitinous houses behind, along with their blind inhabitants, but one can never be too cautious. Hiding from falmers proved to be far harder than she expected, but the Pale Wraith got her nickname for a reason. Like an apparition, she slipped through their caves and was now entering a massive underground cavern, one of the many that formed the legendary underbelly of Skyrim - the Blackreach.

After she and Lana saw the unenviable fate of the Mistress, gathering her notes and other clues to their curse became the number one priority for the assassin. Without the looming threat of the angry employer punishing her for going rogue, Ulrise devised a plan.

The nine sealed potions she was carrying around finally were applied to good use. If they do not help locate the possessions of the Mistress, what was their purpose anyway? Maybe her curse amplified the effect of the potion, or perhaps she just became so good at detecting this magic, but on the edges of her mind, another source of it beckoned, leading her to a mountain ridge in the south of Skyrim.

Now finally looking at the gloomy, barely lit landscape she retrieved one of the remaining vials and gulped it down. Her biggest fear after traversing the dangerous tunnels was that falmers found the prize and now she had to turn back and assault their hive.

Fortunately, this proved not to be the case. The magic magnet beckoned, luring her deeper into the luminescent fungi forest. Out of her element here, Ulrise moved slowly and carefully, constantly checking her surroundings. She managed to spot a massive charus laying in ambush and gave it a wide berth. A lone falmer hunter followed her for some time, but Ulrise managed to lay an ambush of her own and soon the blind native got an extra hole in his throat.

Slowly crawling forward she passed the first cavern to find another enormous underground space, filled with plants and animals that never saw a ray of daylight. Not trusting the treacherous local illumination, she kept the night vision effect active at all times, spotting local predators hiding in deep shadows.

After hours of sneaking and two caves behind, the blond's tenacity was finally rewarded.

"Wait a second, I recognize this area!" Indeed, this was the clearing that two cursed women have dream-walked not so long ago. In the real world, the clearing was every bit as memorable as in the dream, covered with a thick fluorescent fungal growth.

"Well, I remember the direction, better check if this is the place." To her immense relief, soon the remains of the road became apparent, and in no time she stood in front of the hole in the ground, looking at descending marble stairway.

"I better be quick and very cautious, who knows what powers Sotha Sil's guard can wield. I am not too fond of joining the Mistress on her tour in Oblivion."

Down the stairway, the light of artificial Sun greeted her once more. She was delighted to see that local animals did not pilfer or trample Mistress's backpack.

"Maybe bright light scared them? Does not matter, I better get her stuff and be on my way."

Holding magic wards and shields ready, she approached the bag. She meticulously and very gently put the scrolls lying on the ground back into the backpack, took it, and stepped away from the circle of carved marble columns with a stone chest in the center.

"A wise choice."

She almost jumped at these words and turned around to see the ghost of Sotha Sil standing between the columns. He continued in a flat tone:

"There are no daedric marks on you, so you can go free. This secret is not for mortal minds. If you value your realm as you know it, let the buried knowledge be forgotten."

"That's very generous of you, I'll be sure to keep it to myself." Ulrise moved backward, not letting her eyes off the ghost just in case. Reaching the stairway, she turned around and rushed above, leaving the eternal warden to his silent duty.

"Okay, I better study the scrolls with good lighting back on the surface. What else do we have here?"

One of the first things catching her attention was five characteristic vials of white liquid. "Ahh, so this is what I sensed. Thanks Gods the Mistress fancied having a fresh helping of magicka with her. Without this magic anchor, I would have trouble locating this cave."

She threw away some stale food and stared in contemplation at the ornate key with the caption "Hjerim" on its handle.

"I think I know where this place is. Lana is going to love a trip to Windhelm."

2. The ruler

The crowd that met the royal couple in Windhelm was far from what Elisif imagined. At home in Solitude the people will be cheering loudly and throwing flowers as their Jarl rode the streets.

Instead, they were greeted with stoic silence and raised banners. At first, Elisif tried to put on the fake smile, but soon dropped the pretense. Her purpose here was not to charm, but to serve as proof of Ulfric's victory.

Generation of rivalry between Eastern and Western jarldoms finished with a resounding victory of the East, and now the ruler of Solitude was paraded in the Eastern capital.

Tired of long faces, her eyes rested on the broad muscular back of her husband riding in front of her, but she furiously averted her gaze. He denied her the right to ride alongside him, instead leading the procession like a triumphant! Was there even a limit to this man's arrogance?

For years she managed to maneuver politically and stay in her home city, restoring the damage done by Stormcloaks. At last, Solitude was mostly rebuilt, but this only brought an end to her relative freedom.

The formal reason for her arrival to the new capital of Skyrim was that the queen should be sitting alongside her king, and not only sitting. Ulfric has been paying her visits every year, and he became increasingly irritated by the lack of an heir, despite all his efforts.

The stony expression of an experienced politician like Elisif did not betray any emotions, but she remembered these nights with dread. Their martial bed was not that arm and cozy, figuratively speaking, and Ulfric put little effort to change that. He treated sex like a battle where only one can win, never letting her forget who is the dominant force, both in bed and in politics. His prize would be a child to cement his legacy and unite West and East Skyrim in one dynasty, and he was damn intent on getting it. Now, having her in the same palace day and night, Elisif feared his advances will become even more persistent.

Not all was doom and gloom though. Right next to her rode the only person she trusted - her loyal handmaid Alda. The stoic-looking woman rode nearby, shrugging off the stares of the crowd. Maybe some people were curious why the royal couple were not riding together, but instead, a plainly dressed black-haired woman was by the queen's right side while the king was leading the parade. Elisif did not care for their questions or potential gossip. Come to think of it, if rumors start to go around, this might not be the worst thing. It will hurt Ulfric in his most vulnerable spot - his pride.

Yet again her gaze returned to the king, and now she stared at him as if trying to burn the man with her eyes. "I must send Alda to find an alchemist who does not ask questions to make some more pregnancy-preventing potions. Local brothels should know the suppliers.

"I will be cursed before I carry a child from the man who destroyed my city and killed the rightful king."

3. The warrior

The Whiterun city guards stepped aside respectfully, letting the hulking orsimer frame in the gates. Her association with Companions allowed Agrulla to enter the city without the search and interrogation. This stuff was annoying, a callback to the stronghold she was born in with their strict rules and procedures of who may enter or leave. A smirk appeared on her lips at the thought that if she followed these rules, she would never even discover the contrast between an orc stronghold and Whiterun.

In high spirits, Agrulla walked the streets with her elven comrade in tow. During several days of their travel from the wilderness of Western Skyrim to Whiterun, she learned a lot of facts about local flora and fauna, all against her will. But the only way to shut up Aeranel was to punch him and that would be low.

But with their journey coming to an end, she already anticipated a welcoming feast in Jorrvaskr hall. Having a company other than an annoying elf would be nice too. Without losing time to saunter in the city streets, the pair went straight up to the Companion's house. She salivated at the thought of sweet mead and roast meat that undoubtedly awaited them.

"Ahh, the fresh blood!" the wide welcoming grin of Vilkas was bright as the brickwall of a nord welcomed them with opened arms.

"Aela and the others have returned some days ago, you are the last hunting party. Good to know we have not lost anyone to this damn monster cave. Have your hunt has been fruitful?"

The orc woman returned his wide smile as they locked hands in a firm handshake. "We have found several leftovers, and made sure they will not assault anyone." By human standards, Vilkas was a hulk, but Agrulla still had an inch of height on him and her muscles were equally impressive. Their embrace might have made weaker ribs crack.

"And recovered some gear!" Aeranel showed the arrowheads found among bones.

"Great job all around!" nodded the experienced Companion in approval. "Have you already been to the Kynareth temple? Some of the returned warriors had some strange magic in them. Priestess Danica told it is connected to this dust from monsters."

"Hmm," the orc woman massaged her chin. During the assault, some of her brothers and sisters-in-arms touched the strange pink dust that bled from the cursed monsters, but she was lucky enough to avoid it.

The choice between celebrating their victory in a drunken feast and sitting in the temple while priests fumigate her with grass while howling incantations was clear for Agrulla.

"None of the werewolves or trolls bled on me. I might check on them later, just in case. Now, to the important matter - do you have a roasted boar or a bull today?"

Vilkas nodded, gesturing them to enter the drinking hall with a smile:

"Why do not you see for yourselves? Our cooks outdone themselves today!"

The rest of the day passed as a carnival of drunken revelry for Agrulla. Going to sleep, she remembered arm-wrestling contest with Vilkas. Or was it Farkas? Another distinct memory was the whole crew singing old Nord battle songs and Aela hitting targets with throwing knives even after a jug of wine.

As the content orsimer woman drifted to dreamland, her pussy twitched slightly. Even while sleeping, several pink particles that got directly into her bloodstream from the arrow scratch did their cursed job.