24 - Victoria - Murder:

Despite the hour (merely slightly past midday), my recent activities had tired me greatly – and with my coming plans regarding the Arena I decided to rest, leaving myself with a full day to use - therefore I therefore spent the remainder of the day examining past events. One item of interest was the disproportionate number of Argonians present in the Mage guild branches, particularly at high rank – including Deetsan, Kud-Ei and Teekeeus. Argonians are not typically noted for their native arcane abilities, and I wondered at this relative concentration – could it be an infiltration of the guild ranks, an organised move? Falcar had been displaced by a lizard during my very visit, could Deetsan have planted the evidence against him for me to find, having driven him to distraction? Other apparently ineffective guild heads provided support to this line of thought – Dagail had gone mad in the absence of her 'charm', and I doubted that Kalthar had acted alone. Perhaps he had been instructed to keep her in check, and a fellow Altmer – Hementier, had been afflicted with a charm that 'malfunctioned'. Was there a link? Time will likely tell, but I must examine the possibility.

I slept from the evening, my intent being to rise early, and I also had plans for a coming night...and entry to a certain guild. Again however my dreams seemed unsettled and I woke unrefreshed. Despite this my period of rest had served its purpose and, gathering my Arena raiment from the trunk beside my bed, I utilised the teleportation portal to the Arcane University, before proceeding onward to the Arena. I arrived slightly after nine, the fights having yet to start – it appeared that I would be partaking in the first of the day.

Entering the Bloodworks, I changed from my robes into my raiment, the staff of Apotheosis upon my back. I'm not sure that Owyn has ever exactly approved of my methods in the Arena, preferring a more straightforward and blunt approach to the fights, and I was therefore not surprised as he looked slightly askance upon seeing my staff.

“Got some fireworks planned?” he asked

A rhetorical question - despite his reservations, he was well aware of the effectiveness of my abilities. I merely nodded silently, a cue for him to describe my first fight of the day.

The initial fight transpired to be against a Nordish woman wielding a long sword. Nords are typically resistant to frost based magic, but fortunately the Apotheosis deals multiple forms of elemental damage, and I expected the overall magnitude to maintain power. One problem with castable enchanted items (as opposed to those in continual effect) is that they require recharging, and I had yet to determine the costs of such services – although it was also possible to recharge the staff via the consumption of sealed souls. In addition to testing the staff then, this would also act as an experiment to determine the sustainability of its use - there was the distinct possibility that it might remain a reserve weapon in the near future if costs were prohibitive.

With the fight arranged I ascended to the Arena proper, the crowds yet thin due to the earliness of the hour. Upon seeing me exiting the blue team tunnel, murmurs began to circulate. By now I was a familiar face to many of them, and they could hardly help but notice the staff against my back. I noticed a few rush out of the door, to cast bets perhaps – I wondered what odds I was getting - it is unfortunate that you are not allowed to bet upon yourself. After all, in a fight to the death, who cares about losing your bet money when you yourself have lost your life? The possibility of the latter seemed distant in my mind however, as in a smooth motion I twisted the staff from my back, holding it in both hands; the fight was about to begin.

As the gates fell before us, the Nord began her charge across the Arena floor, but she never reached me. Holding the staff before me I focussed my mind upon it, triggering the release of an overwhelmingly powerful bolt of energy. Overwhelming for her that is, sparks of lightning, waves of flame and crystals of frost all pouring forth in a gale of destructive energy, striking her in the torso. She was thrown back, agony stamped across her features, yet to her credit she stood once again. Yet no sooner was she back on her feet than the second bolt struck, and this time she lay writhing upon the floor. Walking towards her slowly I could hear the chant of the gloating crowd, rejoicing in the violence, calling upon me to end her life. Her skin had been blackened by the fire, while her muscles twitched from the electricity – her wounds would likely have been permanent even if I had let her live, but I did not, and the third bolt left her corpse spread eagled upon the floor, moving no longer. The crowd continued their wild chanting, yet I filtered it out, instead focussing upon the staff – in an attempt to determine how much of its energy these three bolts had consumed. Energy yet burned within it, but judging from the sensation it had been drained by the powerful blasts, I estimated that it had little over ten uses from full charge before it lay empty.

Judging from its effectiveness however, I could use it again in the Arena before a recharge was required, and I therefore returned immediately to Owyn. Paying me the two hundred and fifty gold, he described the next fight – an Altmer sorceress. Now this was interesting, I had of course fought Altmer before in the Arena, but they had cast aside their arcane heritage. This one clearly had not, but then she also must yet possess the Altmer's innate weakness to magicka, and I suspected that the staff of Apotheosis would provide sufficient firepower to defeat her in a magical duel. In fact if she specialised in touch spells then she might not even reach me, assuming she lacked the ability and foresight to cast a three element high magnitude shield spell upon herself – an exceptionally difficult feat. No, likely this fight would prove easier than the last, provided I ended it quickly.

With this in mind I again ascended to the Arena, the roar of the crowd now louder than before. Not only had the Arena filled further, it was now later in the morning, I also suspect that rumour of my recent fight had circulated – besides, it isn't often that a true magical duel takes place in the Arena.

Unfortunately (for the spectators), a true magical duel was not what occurred here. It was brutally one sided, the Altmer scarcely having cast her second spell upon herself (perhaps some minor shield) before the Apotheosis ended her incompetent existence. Again the Altmer weakness to magic had shown itself, a mere two blasts sufficient to finish her. From the sounds of it the crowd were slightly disoriented, for within seconds of the gate falling the 'fight' had ended, and I was standing above her corpse. Still, those who had betted upon me were likely having a good day, as ever.

I had one more fight to complete before I would advance in rank, but before that I felt it was time to recharge my staff. My next fight would be against a warhammer wielding Orc; a race resistant to magic, and it would not do to face her unprepared. Despite the excitement building in the Arena regarding the coming fight, I simply walked back out of the Bloodworks and into the city. Few recognise me as the Victoria of the Arena, at least at first glance and while in my robes, and I was not interrupted.

Unfortunately every shop I visited lacked the service of recharging enchanted items, and I therefore resorted to buying an empty common soul gem at the Mystic Imporium, which cost a few hundred gold. It was by now mid afternoon, and I decided to teleport back to Frostcrag Spire for the night, the Arena fight could wait.

Considering that I had taken part in two Arena matches, the day had left me surprisingly unworn – and I therefore chose to utilise my soul gem immediately. Standing in the main chamber of the tower, I summoned forth a Flame Atronach, and approaching it from the rear, cast soul trap upon it. Interestingly it did not immediately react to the binding magic, but I had no time to pause – I have yet to create a longer duration version, this iteration lasting a mere twenty seconds. Concentrating again, I thrust my open hand against the creature, sending bolts of lightning dancing over it. At last it turned against me, but was overwhelmed before it could get an attack in – I had no need to preserve magicka reserves here in the safety of my home. As its body fell to the ground I felt the spell bind the soul, dragging it into the stone like a strong tide pulling an unwilling swimmer. The stone now sparkled with inner light, a coal of fire burning within it. Although such wards typically continue for many millennia, I had no reason to wait, and lifted forth the staff. Shaping the wards of the stone with my mind, I shattered the rock, driving the soul into the hungry core of the staff. Despite the success of the operation however, the staff yet hungered, and it was now I truly appreciated the extreme demands of using this item. Recharging it would likely not be cheap, the entire soul of the Atronach having provided sufficient power for perhaps three uses of the staff.

Spending the night at the tower, I returned to the Arena the next morning, entering the fighting floor at around ten. By now, through a mixture of impatience and expectancy, the audience for the fight was greater than ever, although Owen mentioned that fights for the rank of Gladiator and above always draw a crowd. There is little to say regarding the fight, beyond that it took four blasts of the staff to finally end the Orcs life. This battle had earned me three hundred gold, but considering that the soul gem had cost that much, and itself provided power for but three uses of the staff, it was clear that the staff would not pay for itself, in the Arena at least.

Having achieved what I had set out to do, I determined to visit the guild halls to enquire as to recharging costs, in addition to picking up any useful spells with my spare change. I visited most of the halls in rapid succession, my teleportation making a mockery of the distances involved. Unfortunately as I soon learned, item recharging was anything but cheap – typically costing two and a half thousand gold, despite the remaining charge in my staff. Clearly I would have to be sparing in the use of the staff, and charge it myself – however it had not been my intent to rely too heavily upon it, for one cannot develop magical skills through a staff in the way that it is possible to via direct magic. During this tour I purchased an enhanced detect life spell, and summon scamp spell (to round off the collection), a weakness to magicka spell (for later use in my own spells), a command human spell, a command creature spell, a turn undead spell, and lastly a summoning spell.

The latter spell occupied my thoughts for some time, it was by far the most powerful and expensive spell I would be purchasing, and with my flame atronach having lost some of its punch by now, I was keen to pick the best summon I could cast. Eventually the decision came down to a choice between that of a Skeleton Champion, and a Faded Wraith - and I finally decided to learn the Wraith spell. Besides the psychological effect of such a creature, I felt the immunity to many attacks and lasting draining attacks of its own would all provide for an excellent minion. As with the staff of Apotheosis, I had already planned a method of testing its effectiveness....my path now lying towards the Inn of Ill Omen, and murder...

As the night began to set in I again teleported back to the Imperial City, and exiting by the main gate, summoned Shadow with a whistle. He came swiftly, and I rode forth into the night.

In all honesty the Inn of Ill Omen just seemed like the perfect place to achieve my murder. It was isolated, and I expected to be able to act without being seen. In addition it simply seemed fitting – and of course I had not forgotten the insult of the ‘room’ I had received. The Inns name would soon be that much more apt…

To reach the Inn I followed the road towards Bravil, heading south of Lake Rumare along the Green Road. The path was quiet, and I easily out paced any who dared chase me. Fortunately I say none bar animals, meaning I had none witness to my passage. As I approached the Inn I slowed Shadow, his footfalls now silent, and I finally leapt forth.

Creeping towards the door, I paused for a time, utilising my new detect life spell to perceive shapes through the wall – it seemed the Inn keeper was alone. I had no worry of being interrupted then, and I crept through the door, the Inn keeper standing to my right, evidently having failed to note my stealthy entry.

I had already decided upon how I would kill him; through the use of my Faded Wraith. Not only would this test the spell, but it would mean that I left no evidence - and indeed I felt that the signs of a ghost might lead many to suspect a haunting and perhaps simply avoid the crime scene.

Crouching in a dark corner, I focussed my mind, calling forth the Wraith. A cold, burning sensation enveloped me, yet I retained my concentration, and finally the spirit rose before me. I had no need to provide verbal instructions, part of the summoning spell binding the creature to my will, and it glided towards the Inn Keeper. He did not see it until it was upon him, the first slash of chilled claws drawing a scream of terror for him as he spun around, his eyes bulging. It was clear that the murder would not be silent then, or at least his side of it wouldn’t be, but it was nevertheless swift. As he grabbed for a hammer, presumably in an attempt at combat (despite the Spirits immunity to normal corporeal weapons) the Wraith slashed again, ending his life in a single rattling breath.

This was the first innocent I had killed in Cyrodiil, but I have no fears regarding the law, for I did not even approach the corpse, instead leaving the Inn immediately. I had some thoughts about planting evidence, but decided against it in the end. The haunting theory might serve me yet. Now I too await a visitor in the night.