#RAGNAR POV#
I take a deep breath as I lie between Marika's breasts, and Albedo rests on top of me as the day's events still play in my mind
The feeling of bloating is still there, in fact...it may have gotten a bit worse
I turn my head to the side slightly, feeling the side of one of Marika's breasts on my cheek
'Soft...'
I relax further as I think about our fight with the dragon that we killed
Marika said she would have been able to kill it on one after a while
Albedo would have had to go all out to kill it as well, but in a drawn-out fight, she would have lost
I would have died if they weren't with me
Even so...we survived...that's all that matters
One upside is that I did confirm that I can devour the souls of dragons while they are still dead
Which led me to feel bloated after taking in the power
Even now, I can still feel myself becoming ever so slightly, as the bloated feeling starts going away slowly
Marika and Albedo used their magical knowledge to confirm that I am well...full
The dragons themselves were probably too strong for me to take their souls fully in one go
Thankfully, we managed to bring the bodies over to Myrwatch
The dragon in Morthal was thankfully not alerted, and most importantly, was not Alduin
I have so many questions about what it wants
The dragon was having the people turned into undead, which, to be honest, considering what I have heard from Marika and Albedo, there are already far too many undead in Skyrim
On top of that, it had a dragon priest alongside that army of his
Both fortunately and unfortunately, it was not wearing a mask
If that even has any bearing at all, I don't know...
I look down to see Albedo pressing herself further into me
I tighten my arms around her and close my eyes to sleep...
#TIMESKIP 1 WEEK LATER#
I close the book on the Transmutation Spell and look at my notes on it
I take a deep breath as I finally understand the writings inside the damn thing
Even reading the spell book right now is more of a distraction at the moment
Ever since I absorbed the Dragon Soul, or rather, pieces of it, as I have discovered from bringing back the buried dragon and the one the girls and I killed
It took me three days to fully absorb their souls, considering that a day later, we returned to dig up the dragon, and I absorbed more of its soul
I can only guess that, due to being so weak, I wasn't able to take more of its soul, but instead it took me days to do so
Honestly, I am sure that if we fought the dragon again, I would be able to take it on alone, but that might just be me riding this high or something
Considering that my magicka reserves are much greater than before, but not only that, I am also much stronger and faster than before
One of the pluses of feasting on dragon souls is that I am finally no longer fat, but I finally have well-defined and, for some reason, proportionate muscles, not that I am complaining
But it's not just my muscles that got better
All of my senses have been enhanced, too
It was rather easy to get used to them, but what I have been enjoying the most is the increase in my ability to learn magic
Which has helped me make a lot of progress on getting the Transmute spell down
Even so, Albedo and Marika both agreed to start my studies into the Conjuration once I get the Transmute spell down
I am so fucking glad that I got them here with me
At this point, I am catching up to Albedo in the Destruction and Restoration school, and in terms of physical combat, I am not at least able to see Albedo's movements and even react to them a bit
But...I am reaching the limit of how much I can improve without actual opponents
Whenever I train with Marika or Albedo, they always hold back so as not to accidentally kill me, but...they do sometimes crack or even break my bones, which they either heal or give me potions to deal with my injuries
Even then, I had to order them to go that far
Not my best move, to be honest
But, I can't afford to play so safe anymore
Taking a deep breath before opening up the Transmute Spell once more...
#1 MONTH LATER#
I look at the altar for turning Grand Soul Gems into Black Soul Gems in Gallows Hall
It's been over a week since we arrived and took it over...
"Master, this bone forge...it is extremely advanced," Albedo comes into the room once more as I read the Conjure Familiar Spell and the subsequent ritual for bringing out the spirit guardian
Closing the book after adding a bookmark on it, I head on over and follow Albedo through the underground...fortress
Yup, Gallows Hall has become a fucking fortress buried underground due to the changes that were done to it
It has also become more complete, similar to Myrwatch in having everything, like dedicated rooms to Enchanting, Alchemy, Forge, and of course, complete with the Bone Forge and a dedicated ritual room for...well...rituals
Plus, the supplies for each room
I follow behind Albedo, looking at her ass most of the time, because I can
It also serves to distract from the dozen or so rooms filled with nothing but bones
Seriously, a room has nothing but skulls in it, and another has hands...literally
There are rooms filled with different bones each
"Master, you said that an Arch-Neromancer lived here. I am surprised there aren't still rumors about it..." Marika comments, looking over a table filled with open books
"What did you find out about the Bone Forge?"
"Neither Albedo nor I can use it to its fullest extent; we simply do not possess the necessary skill to make more than use its basic capabilities..." Marika answers
"That is fine...I am not too sure if I want to mess around with such stuff..." I say with a grimace, as one fundamental fact that I learned ever since arriving here
Anyone with the title of Arch is incredibly dangerous
An Arch-Necromancer would literally qualify as a national threat in Skyrim and would be hunted down religiously
Even then, all of Skyrim would probably seek aid from other countries in order to put the Arch-Necromancer down
Depending on the number of Phylactaries the Arch-Necromancer has and how numerous and powerful his undead are, all of Tamriel would probably be mobilized to hunt them down
Considering the Bone Forge here...some of the most powerful undead can be made here
Which is honestly terrifying to think about
Certain Draugr used to be mortals with very massive Magicka reserves, as there are some cases of people apparently being born like that, and it causes them to...mutate...for lack of a better term, once and if they turn into Draugr
The first thing that can happen is that they become buried in a coffin made of incredibly dense magical ice.
But...the second option is that the amount of Magicka inside of them gains the Frost Attribute on top of the one they had in life...provided they were decent mages, they could have 2 attributes due to this
But...in the cases where one doesn't gain the Frost Attribute...the Magicka just...juices them up, they become tougher, faster, and stronger
There are even cases where they get both the Frost Attribute AND the added power
Those are called Draugr Death Knights
Albedo told me that a single one slaughtered thousands after a burial tomb was disturbed, until a small army of Paladins of Arkay then gave their lives to seal it back inside...not kill it...seal it
Despite its name being called the Bone Forge, creating such a Draugr is well within its capabilities
Man...Necromancy is overpowered as fuck
Too bad that I didn't manage to get anyone with a high affinity for it
"Let's leave it for now..."
"Master...perhaps it may be of some use to us..." Albedo notes while rubbing her chin
"How?"
"You have said yourself that we are lacking manpower to further expand our operations. Perhaps we may be able to use the Bone Forge to create some lesser undead to begin our mining operations..." She starts
"You did mention an iron mine under bandit control, not too far from Whiterum and near the Moon Forge. Taking both positions for ourselves would prove an immense boon, and we would be able to utilize the undead as workers for the mine," She says as I think about it...