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Chapter 3 - Bleak Falls Barrow
Shanti and Alaric were both fully equipped when they met at the door of the Bannered Mare. He wore Orcish armor, with a steel battleaxe strapped to his back, and a pair of Orcish maces at his belt. She chuckled. Not the subtle type at all! Well, a barrow shouldn't require subtlety; they generally had draugr, and occasionally bandits in the upper levels.
It was a decent day for late summer, not too hot, and the walk from Whiterun to Riverwood offered them a chance to stop at the Sleeping Giant for lunch, which they took. When they were done, Shanti was ready to head up to the Barrow, but Alaric asked, "Can we visit the Trader first? I've known Lucan and Camilla for years, but I don't get to Riverwood very often."
Shanti chuckled. "Sure, why not? Farengar and I are both eager to see the Dragonstone, but that doesn't mean we have to drop everything else for it."
While Alaric went to the Riverwood Trader, Shanti went across the street to Alvor's forge, wondering if Adrianne had sent the courier as she'd said the would. Alvor saw her approaching, and grinned. "Riverwood owes you thanks for getting us extra guards, and I owe you even more. I've gotten a very nice sub-contract for officers' swords from Warmaiden's proprietress - not the iron enlisted swords, the good steel ones. That's a nice windfall for the family."
Shanti smiled. "She was impressed with the work you did on my armor, and I am glad it works well for you. Did Hadvar go to Falkreath?"
"Yes - the Stormcloaks headed back for Windhelm once the Helgen people were settled. Hadvar and his men waited until the extra guards from Whiterun arrived, so they didn't leave till this morning. It seems his commanding officer is your father. Are you going to see him?"
"Not right away," Shanti said. "I'm on a mission for the Jarl - actually, his Court Wizard, Farengar Secret-Fire - along with a Companion warrior, Alaric the Fearless. I'll see Father and Mother when I get back to Solitude. It should only take a day or two, more quickly than if I were to continue my tour."
"They'll probably have left by the time you could get to Falkreath anyway," Alvor said with a nod.
She and Alvor chatted for a bit longer, then were joined by his daughter, Dorthe, who was learning smithing, and eagerly told Shanti, "Some day I'm going to forge my own sword! But right now, Papa says I'm not ready for weapons. So I make lots of horseshoes and hobnails."
She sounded terribly disappointed, so Shanti smiled. "Never underestimate the importance of even a small part, Dorthe. And even those must be well-made. Have you ever heard "The Song of a Nail?"
The girl shook her head, and even Alvor looked puzzled. "I'm not sure I've ever heard it," he said. "Doesn't sound like the sort of thing our local bard sings. Would you?"
"Well, I don't have a voice anywhere near as good as my mother's, so I'd rather not sing, but I'll be happy to chant it for you. Will that do?"
"Please," Alvor said.
"Very well." She had a singer's breath control, at her mother's insistence, but her singing voice was no better than average, so she chanted.
"For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail."
By the time she was finished, Dorthe was staring at her. "Wow! Did that really happen?"
"I'm pretty sure it did, back in the First Era sometime," Shanti said. "I'm not good enough on ancient military history to tell you which battle or kingdom those were, though."
"Okay, so I'll learn to make really good nails, and work up from there," Dorthe said with determination. "Nothing's gonna be lost because something I made wasn't good enough!"
"Good girl," Alvor said fondly, ruffling his daughter's hair. "And thanks, Shanti. I like that one."
"Hey, Shanti!" That was Alaric's voice, and she turned to see him crossing the street, a wide grin on his face. When he got closer, he said, "Bad news for Lucan, but maybe good for us. Some thief stole a golden claw from his shop - it's a trademark of sorts for him - and if we recover it, he'll get us a nice reward. He says there's bandits at Bleak Falls Barrow, and since the ones at Embershard Mine were cleared out, it's almost got to be there."
Shanti's ears twitched in amusement at his enthusiasm, then she turned back to Alvor and Dorthe. "It seems I must go now. Give my regards to Sigrid, please."
With that, she and Alaric headed out of town and up the pathway to the ancient barrow. As they neared it, she readied her bow, searching for possible lookouts. Her first indication came when an arrow struck Alaric's breastplate and bounced off.
She drew and fired toward where it had come from in one swift motion, hearing a cry from the top of the stairs at the far end of the path. Alaric readied his maces as they climbed, but it seemed the one she'd wounded was incapacitated - Alaric killed him and looted the body, grinning. "Good shootin', Shanti. You want any of this?"
"Hmm. What is your pay for this job?"
"Standard is six hundred to the Companions, and if I bring you back alive, I get half. Why?"
"Because while I currently live with my parents, I'll be expected to set up my own household by this time next year. Yet going through a barrow is worth more than three hundred septims. How would you feel about an even split? If you get to keep what we find, that is."
"I do, and that sounds more than fair. Let's go!"
Shanti grinned at his enthusiasm, then led the way toward the barrow entrance, finding two dead bandits on the way. They took what few valuables the bandits had, and continued.
Inside, they found dead skeevers, and more dead bandits, plus a couple of emptied chests. "Someone obviously got in ahead of us," Shanti said. "This could be bad for both our missions. But we must continue."
"Yeah. So far, so good. Just have to find the claw an' the Dragonstone. No problem, at this rate."
"True." They continued, finding another couple of dead bandits, until they found what looked more like an adventurer trying to open a gate that already had someone dead by a lever. He threw it, then screamed and fell himself, atop the first body.
"Idiot," Alaric commented. "Even I know to look for puzzles, an' this ain't a hard one. Match the pillars to somethin' nearby, and you'll get through, no problem."
Yes, Shanti had read about Nordic puzzles, so she looked around, finding the puzzle indicators on a ledge above, with the central one missing ... probably the one smashed on the floor, but still decipherable. She set the pillars to snake, snake, whale, and moved toward the lever, but Alaric stopped her. "You're th' principal; this's my job." He threw the lever, and sighed when the gate opened, and he didn't get hit by poisoned darts.
"Prob'ly draugr from here on," Alaric commented, drawing both maces. Shanti drew her sword and charged a flame spell, since it was common knowledge that draugr were very susceptible to flame.
Almost as soon as they passed the gate, a sarcophagus opened, and a draugr charged them. Alaric was in the way, so Shanti couldn't cast her flames, but he subdued and killed it easily. They continued on, killing more draugr, until they came to a room protected by a "door" of spider-webs. Alaric smashed through them with one of his maces, and Shanti sighed. A short burst of flame would've been easier ... but his method had worked, so she said nothing.
Then she heard yelling from the far end of the room. "Is... is someone coming? Is that you Harknir? Bjorn? Soling? I know I ran ahead with the claw, but I need help!"
They were moving toward the voice when Shanti heard scrabbling, looked around, and saw the biggest frostbite spider she'd ever encountered. It wasn't moving as well as they usually did, so perhaps the trapped man had inflicted some damage before being immobilized. Anything with frost in its name was vulnerable to fire, so she hastily charged a flame spell and cast it before Alaric charged, both maces going. She dodged to one side so she could get clear aim for another gout of fire at its thorax while Alaric went for its head. The spider was tougher than the draugr had been, and she was rather glad that Balgruuf had insisted she not come alone. Both of them were panting by the time magic and maces killed the spider.
"You did it," the man said. "You killed it. Now cut me down before anything else shows up."
Alaric snorted. "Where's Lucan's golden claw?"
"Yes, the claw," the thief babbled. "I know how it works. The claw, the markings, the door in the Hall of Stories. I know how they all fit together! Help me down, and I'll show you. You won't believe the power the Nords have hidden there."
Alaric turned to Shanti. "I don't trust him. What do you say?"
"He is an admitted thief; kill him. Then we search the body for the golden claw."
Alaric didn't argue, just did as she'd said, and rose to hand her the claw and a journal. "Ain't gold. Not heavy enough. Just gold-plated, if that. But I don't think Lucan cares."
Shanti read the journal aloud. "My fingers are trembling. The Golden Claw is finally in my hands, and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius had no idea that his favorite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow.
"Now I just need to get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says there is a test that the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but that 'When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands.'"
Neither had more than minor injuries, so they continued on their way, finding some minor loot, including a soul gem, before more draugr began rising. Alaric waded in with his maces before Shanti could do more than charge a flame spell. She didn't want to hit him, so she let it subside, but when the three draugr were down, she got into the lead. She carefully stepped over a pressure plate, passing by a spiked wall trap.
She heard movement ahead, and charged another flame spell. This time she got to use it, as three more draugr appeared. She cast the spell, hearing Alaric exclaim as she burned one and used her sword on another. He took care of the third, at which point they were faced by a corridor full of swinging blades.
Alaric started to charge through, but she stopped him. "Let me - the blades are high enough above the floor for me to crawl past, and there should be a switch of some sort at the far end to stop them."
"Okay," he said, but there was clear doubt in his voice. "Be careful, though."
"I will." Carefully, hugging the wall where the blades were furthest above her, she made her way through the corridor, praying no draugr would catch her in such a vulnerable position. She was fortunate, and made it through without incident, then found a pull-chain that turned the blades off so Alaric could join her.
They passed through catacombs, fighting off the occasional draugr, until they arrived in a large chamber with a waterfall. There was a stronger draugr here, but he was as dessicated as the rest, and fell to her flames. Past him, another pull-chain opened a grate to allow the two to go downstream along the creek the waterfall fed. A segment of tunnel led past some abandoned mining equipment and another chest with minor loot.
There was no clear indication of where to go from here, so she cast Clairvoyance, and followed its guidance straight ahead, to a stone bridge with a frost troll. It spotted them, and she hastily charged flames yet again, casting the spell as soon as it was ready, but the troll was tougher than the draugr, and she exhausted her magica before it went down.
Alaric shoved past her, battle-axe ready, and finished off the weakened troll by beheading it while she dug out a magica potion and gulped it down, then went to join Alaric. "Are you all right?"
"I'm gonna have some impressive bruises, but I don't think it managed t' break any skin or bones. Nothing worth wasting a healing potion on."
There was no point in offering to heal him, then, Shanti thought. "In that case, shall we continue?"
They did that, coming to a chamber with tangled vines - or maybe roots - half-concealing a draugr at a door several yards away. Flames hitting it attracted its attention, and she focused on keeping them going as it came within range of Alaric's battle-axe. As soon as it did, he beheaded it with a single blow. They looted it and a nearby chest, then went through the door.
There was another swinging-blade trap, but this time she could see a draugr on the far side, and she wasn't about to crawl past the bades with an enemy right there. Well, with proper timing, she could shoot it, so she readied her bow, watching the blade shafts, and when they were in proper position, she fired. Her arrow hit the draugr in the shoulder and it rushed them, sword-first. She got off another arrow, then backed up, wondering how far it would come.
To her astonishment, it ran straight into the trap, which killed it and jammed the blades to a stop. She turned to Alaric. "I knew that draugr lost most of their intelligence at either death or reanimation, but I never heard they were suicidal."
He shrugged. "I've never seen that either. But then I've only been in a couple places that had 'em, so that's not sayin' much. If you can squeeze through an' turn the blades off, I'll haul that out an' join you."
Shanti did as he suggested, and he joined her moments later. The next chamber held several tables with loot, which they took. There was a puddle of oil on the floor as well, so once the tables were empty, they returned to the entry, and Shanti looked at Alaric. "I have an idea, and your voice is probably louder than mine. Yell one of your war cries, then back up a bit while I set that oil on fire."
"You got it, boss." He grinned, then shouted, "For the Companions!" at a volume that startled her. A flame spell set the oil blazing as two draugr charged down a log ramp from an upper level, while she and Alaric backpedaled.
Like the one at the second blade trap, the draugr immolated themselves, leaving the two to proceed in peace. The draugr had come down the ramp, so they went up, then across a bridge and through an iron door, into a chamber with carvings on both long walls and - "Is that a puzzle door?" Shanti asked. "It matches the descriptions I've read, but I've never seen one myself."
"Yeah, it is, and according to the journal, that golden claw's the key."
They approached the door, and Shanti examined the claw carefully. There were tiny engravings on its "palm" that fit the journal entry, and matching symbols on the door, but in a different order. Not terribly difficult, she thought, and rotated the door's rings to coincide with the claw's symbols. Then she inserted the claw into what was obviously a "keyhole" in the center, and rotated it.
Slowly, the door descended, leaving the claw in her hand. She gave it back to Alaric, then cautiously led the way into the large, sun-lit cavern the door revealed. There was no obvious danger, though there was a large sarcophagus on a platform in the center of the cavern. It also held a free-standing wall, and she caught her breath - could that be a Word Wall? She'd never encountered one, and they were nothing but memorials, but they dated back to the First or early Second Eras, and she stared at it in awe. She'd actually be able to touch one!
Otherwise, there was a large chest, a set of shelves with some things on them, a couple of braziers that had to be magical, and a set of stairs on the far side of the platform. They moved forward, then were startled by bats flying out the door. "Whoo!" Alaric exclaimed. "What d'you think, boss? The sarcophagus first, or the treasure chest?"
Shanti thought for a moment. "Sarcophagus," she decided. "Get any fighting out of the way first, then explore at our leisure."
As they approached the platform, though, she heard a wordless chanting, and the Word Wall seemed to be glowing faintly. She pointed. "What's that?"
"What's what?" Alaric asked, his confusion obvious.
"That. The glow, and the chanting from the Word Wall."
"Huh? What're you talking about?" Alaric asked. "I don' hear or see anythin'. At least nothin' odd like that."
"Um. Forget it, then. Let's take care of whatever's in that sarcophagus." Was she imagining things? Shanti wondered. Word Walls had never been known to do anything except stand there, yet she thought she was hearing and seeing something else? Maybe she'd brushed up against something with a hallucinogenic contact poison ...
She did her best to ignore the bluish light and chanting as they neared the sarcophagus and checked it out. There didn't seem to be any way to get it open, so they cleared the shelves and chest.
"Nice loot," Alaric commented. Then he looked at her. "Hey, boss, you okay? You look like you're about to bust out'a yer armor."
Shanti shivered. "I feel it. My fur is trying to stand straight out, and ... I feel pulled to that Wall. And we haven't found the Dragonstone!" The last was almost a wail.
"Hey, calm down," Alaric said. "Look, you go to the Wall, I'll take care of the sarcophagus if anything happens. Okay?" He readied his maces for dual-wielding and stood next to the head of the sarcophagus.
"Okay - and thank you, fahdoni." Shanti gave in to the impulses that drew her so strongly, and approached the Word Wall. It seemed almost triumphant at that, glowing more brightly, and one word seemed to launch itself from the Wall into her head.
Fus. Force. She knew that from her language studies, but it seemed to take on ... what, more significance? Power? What? ... now that the Wall gave it to her. She was so distracted by that, she barely heard what was going on behind her - the sarcophagus lid being thrown aside, Alaric fighting whatever was inside. She struggled back to normality, and saw Alaric being battered by a draugr Overlord, and that angered her.
She did something she'd never imagined possible. She Shouted. "Fus!" roared from her as she drew her sword, attacking the Overlord.
It was staggered briefly, then retorted with, "Ro ... DAH!", and she was thrown back against the Wall, stunning her.
By the time she recovered, Alaric was helping her to her feet, then settling her on the edge of the sarcophagus. "You okay, boss?" He handed her a carved stone. "Found this on the Overlord. May be what you're after."
"I'm not sure," she replied, still a bit shaky. "But it scares me. I ... I think I need a drink. And I seldom drink." She hesitated, taking the stone. "Yes, that looks right. At least is has Dovahzul writing."
"Good. An'You got the right man with you, you want a drink. I do, too." Alaric pulled his helmet off, then reached into his pack. "Ale, mead, or wine?"
"Wine, please." Shanti accepted the bottle he handed her, and wrenched the cork out with her fangs.
They drank for a bit in post-battle comradeship, then she asked, "Do you need healing? I was ... not exactly aware of everything going on."
"Nah, I'm fine. Maybe a few more bruises, but that thing couldn't handle dual-wielded maces." He laughed. "Pulped its head, an' that was that. So what now?"
"We return to Whiterun, and I report to Farengar and the Jarl. After that, I do not know. Though if what I suspect is accurate, I will probably go to High Hrothgar."
"Riverwood first," he corrected her. "Gotta return Lucan's claw. Fifty-fifty on the split of the reward?"
Shanti hesitated, then nodded. "I would let you have it all, but since I must establish a homestead within the year ... yes."
Fair's fair. So an even split on that, too." Alaric grinned. "You ever need more help, ask for me. You're good to work with."
"I will certainly consider it, though I have a feeling I'll be traveling by myself for a while." She finished her wine and stood. "Let's check out those stairs - maybe it'll lead to another exit, and we won't have to backtrack through the whole barrow."
