Chapter 4 Oblivion

Pain. He wasn't expecting it to hurt, not like this anyway. It felt as though he were drenched in oil and lit on fire. He couldn't open his eyes, instinct had him clenching them shut. Then it was all over. He was fine, no longer burning alive. It had only lasted a few seconds, but it had felt an eternity. John finally opened his eyes to see Avanos and Ulik were still with him.

" I would rather we didn't go through that again." Avanos spoke, seeing the other two were all right.

"You and me both." John agreed, looking around. The entire area was a volcanic wasteland. Rivers and pools of lava flowed throughout the area, making the it stiflingly hot. Obsidian rocks formed cliffs and mountains across the land. The sky looked as though it were on fire, thunder betrayed the lightening that was hidden behind the fiery storm. Ash filled the air, drying John's throat, and making it impossible to breathe comfortably. Towers could be seen marking that place was inhabited.

"How could anything live here?" John asked, in wonder.

" I don't much care how they can live, as long as they can still die." Ulik responded, giving the area a look over as well.

John took a few steps towards the bridge when two fire balls flew past him, missing his face by inches.

"Scamps! Watch out!" Avanos yelled, pointing at two scamps to their left.

"The bastards can throw fireballs?" John exclaimed as he dove behind a rock to get out of the way of another fireball racing towards him. He chanced a look over the rock and saw a man dressed in a Kvatch guard uniform come running up behind both scamps. He thrust his sword through the first scamp's back, quickly withdrew it, and swept it horizontally, catching the other scamp in the neck as it turned to face the new threat. The scamp fell to the ground clutching at its throat as blood came pulsing out, before dying.

John quickly got up from behind his cover, and ran to the man, who was now leaning against his sword to keep himself from falling over.

"Are you all right?" John asked when he had gotten to within a few feet from the man. Avanos moving to stand next to John, Ulik stood a few meters to the side, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

"I've been wounded a little, shouldn't be too serious though. I'm just glad to see another friendly face." The man responded.

"We're lucky you arrived when you did, those scamps had the jump on us." John responded. "Who are you?"

"My name's Hend Vonius. We were sent into here to find a way to close the gate, but we were ambushed. They picked us off one by one! They may have taken a couple prisoner, but I wouldn't hold out much hope. We're all as good as dead if we stay here!" The man exclaimed.

"Wait! Calm down, we could use your help." Avanos said.

"I've fought for hours to try and get back to the gate to escape. I don't know how much longer I can take this place." The Hend replied, weariness thick in his voice.

"Let him go back. He's tired and wonded, he might just slow us down." Ulik spoke in, still scanning the landscape. John nodded his agreement. Hend looked absolutely exhausted, both physically and mentally and his wounds while not life threatening did need to be attended to.

"Go back through the gate. Tell Captain Matius that we've made it in and are on our way to close this gate. He can use your help back at the barricade. " John said to a visibly relieved Hend.

"The Captain is still holding the barricade? I thought there was no one else alive. Thank the nine! I'll go back and tell him immediately." Hend replied before giving a quick salute and running off through the Oblivion Gate.

"We best get going too." Avanos said after Hend had disappeared.

"Any idea where to go from here?" John asked looking around.

"Can't say I do, but if I had to guess, I'd say one of those towers would be our best bet." Avanos answered as he set off down a path to that lead from the left of the Oblivion gate. "Be sure to stay away from the plants, there's no telling what kind of poisons they may have." Avanos commented as they pasted a few flowers that looked anything but inviting.

"Scamp!" John yelled as he pushed Avanos to the ground, a fireball flying just over them. Ulik was all ready there, his claymore severing one of the fiend's arms before cutting it in half across the waste.

"Come on you two." Ulik said, looking over his shoulder at John and Avanos who were still sprawled on the floor. They quickly got back to their feet and continued on, this time Ulik leading the way. John could hear a slight rumbling as they progressed down the path, but thought nothing of it; there was a constant crack of thunder. They approached a bridge with a scamp on it. Ulik yelled a battle cry and went to charge the beast. John hearing the rumbling grow even louder, looked up.

"No get back!" John yelled as he grabbed Ulik by the back of the collar and yanked him back as hard as he could. The boulders from the rock slide fell down the side of the cliff, right in front of them, half a second later. When the rocks had cleared, the scamp was no where to be seen, but a pool of blood marked where it had been standing. Ulik gave John a curt nod, and began across the bridge. John exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and followed after the Nord, Avanos bringing up the rear.

They followed the path until it brought them to the top of the cliff they were just below. Three towers greeted them, the two smaller ones appeared to be connected to the giant middle one by bridges toward their tops. The middle one rose higher, its burnt black walls and sharp spikes cast a menacing appearance against the fiery red of the stormy sky.

Three scamps, and a dremora, seeing that they had unwelcome visitors, quickly rushed to attack them. One of the scamps dove for John in an attempt to tackle him, but was met point first by John's waiting sword. The scamp slid down the silver blade, its insides tearing more every inch the creature traveled. John gave a twist of his sword, then retrieved it from the dying monster. He looked up to see Ulik fighting one of the other scamps. The small creature having some success avoiding the Nord's sword, but couldn't get close enough to land one of its own strikes. Ulik becoming angry swung his claymore again at the scamp, who quickly jumped to the side to avoid it. But Ulik had expected the dodge this time, and the scamp was met with an iron boot to the face, knocking it straight to the ground. Ulik didn't hesitate with the opening he was giving, and quickly jumped on the scamp, plunging his sword all the way through the creature's chest cavity several times before stepping back from the bloody heap of gore he had created. It was Avanos though who had caught John's attention. The dunmer moved with a skilled grace, his movements fluid and deliberate. It looked as though he danced around the scamp, his katana sinking into the creature's exposed flesh a number of times before it simply dropped to the floor, a bloody mess. Before the scamp had reached the floor though, Avanos was all ready attacking the Dremora. His katana catching the Dremora first across its weapon arm, then behind the leg, hamstringing it, then slamming into the beast's stomach. The Dremora stood there, leaning over the sword in its belly, his eyes wide with surprise. Avanos dragged his katana across the fiend's abdomen slowly, opening it, and allowing the Dremora's intestines to come spilling to the floor, the Dremora fallowing them, dead.

"Which one do you think we should go to?" Avanos asked, wiping his katana off before replacing it in its scabbard.

"What?" John asked, snapping out of his reverence of the fight.

"Which one do you think we should enter?" Avanos said again, pointing at the three towers around them.

"I say go for the big one." Ulik said as he approached the two. "It's probably where the leader of this group stays. I'd wager whatever we're looking for is in there."

"Could be difficult. That's a big tower, no telling what or how many creatures we'll encounter in it." Avanos advised.

John thought for a moment. The big tower was the most likely place to have a way of closing the gate. However, could they take the chance of having to fight their way through an army Daedra, without the guarantee that what they were looking for was even there. He ran his hand through his shoulder length hair as he searched for the best course of action. "We should go through one of the smaller ones, see what we can find." John said motioning to the closest of the smaller towers. "If we need to maybe we could take one of those bridges up there across to the bigger tower. That might help us avoid having to fight a way through the entire tower too."

"I agree, let's get moving." Avanos said, walking towards the tower John had pointed to. Ulik gave John a little shrug, and fell in step behind Avanos. John approached the door with the other two. Avanos gave them both a nod before opening it slowly and peeking inside.

"It looks clear, come on." Avanos said to the others before going inside. John followed him in. The sight that greeted him made him sick to his stomach. Blood splattered across the walls, and formed pools all around the floor. Some of it drained into holes in the metal floor where large spikes protruded, some still bearing gore from their latest victims. Charred and mutilated bodies hung from various points, some by their necks, others by their feet.

"By the Gods.. " Ulik whispered in disgust when he had entered the room behind John.

"We mustn't linger." Avanos said back to the two, as he made his way up a ramp to the side.

"They will pay for this." Ulik vowed, falling in line behind Avanos. They followed the ramp higher and higher up the tower until they came to the top floor. A cage hung from the ceiling, and John could see a man in it. He looked as though he had seen better days. Fresh cuts and bruises covered his entire body. His one leg had the man's shirt tied in a tight knot above the knee in an attempt to stem the flow of blood coming from a particularly nasty wound. The man saw them when they had reached the top, and made eye contact with John, a look of shock crossing his features, before looking over his shoulder. John followed the man's gaze and saw what he was looking at. It was a Dremora in full armor, a mace hanging from its belt. The Dremora had noticed the three intruders as well.

"Mortals! You do not belong in Oblivion, your blood is forfiet! Your flesh is mine!" It yelled drawing its mace.

"Like Hell! Die you Son of a Bitch!" Ulik yelled, charging the Dremora before either John or Avanos could react. He swung his claymore when he was within range of the creature. The Dremora brought up its mace to block the incoming strike, but the impact of the blow was too strong, causing it to drop its weapon. Ulik brought his sword above his head, but before he could deliver the killing blow, the Dremora dove and tackled him to the ground. John moved to help, but the big Nord had all ready made it to his feat, grabbed the creature, and lifted it above his head. He walked with the struggling creature over to one of the spikes sticking up from the floor, and with a roar threw the Dremora down on it. The Dremora clutched as where the spike had protruded out its chest, a gurgling sound emitting from its mouth as blood came bubbling out.

"How do you like it?" Ulik said to the dying creature, before spitting on it, and walking over to retrieve his claymore.

"Over here, in the cage!" The man in the Cage yelled to them, recovering from all the sight.

"Who are you?" John asked as he and Avanos approached the cage.

"My name's Menien Goneld. I was with a group of guards, we came in here to find a way to shut these gates. I think I'm the only one left." The man replied, wincing in pain with each breath he took.

"Sit tight, we'll get you out of there." John said to the man as he and Avanos started inspecting the cage for any way to open it.

"No, it's too late for me. Listen to me while there's still time." Menien said, trying to get John and Avanos's attention back. "The sigil stone is the key, that's how they close the Oblivion gates. It's at the top of the great tower, in the sigil keep. Get the key off the guard." Menien continued, pointing toward the Dremora now dead on the spike. Ulik gave a nod and went over, checking the body for the key. "Good, now get the sigil stone and close this gate!" Menien exclaimed when Ulik had walked over to the others, the key in his hand.

"What about you?" John asked, looking at the beaten and bloody man.

"Don't worry about me, now get moving!" Menien yelled, his voice loud and steady despite his wounds.

"He's right, come on." Avanos said, looking out a doorway on the floor. "This looks like the bridge we saw from the outside. It leads into the Large tower." John gave Menien one last look. The man mouthed "Go" and John nodded.

Ulik lead the way across the thin bridge. They moved quickly, not wanting to draw attention to themselves from anything that was outside. Ulik made it to the door at the end, and looked in. He looked back at the other two and motioned them to follow him in. The three entered quickly, their weapons at the ready. The tower was different from the smaller one. The room they had entered was darker, no discernable light source could be seen. The walls were bare but for a few columns supporting the ceiling. Raiser sharp spikes protruded from the walls at several locations, keeping them from straying too near the walls.

"This door's locked, see if the key fits in it." Avanos said to Ulik, as he tried opening the door to their left. Ulik walked over and put the key in the lock. He turned it until a small click was heard, and the door slpit open slightly. Ulik looked at Avanos who gave him a pat on the shoulder before turning to John. "Your turn." He said giving John a small smile and nodding toward the door.

John approached the door, and opened it slowly. He peeked his head in carefully, taking a look around the area. It was a very large circular room. A pillar of fire rose from the middle of the room well up into the ceiling and the rooms above. There were ramps on either side of the door, leading upward to a platform. A railing ran all the way around the platform and up the ramps, helping to prevent anyone from falling all the way down the full height of the tower to the bottom floor. A Dremora stood at the railing in front of John, its back to him, gazing at the fire.

John turned to Avanos and Ulik who stood waiting, and put up a hand, motioning for them to wait where they were. He then returned his sword to its scabbard and drew one of the daggers from his belt. He crept through the doorway, and moved silently until he was right behind the clueless being. With practiced muscles John leaped up, put one hand over the Dremora's mouth, and the other slamming his dagger into the creature's kidney. The Dremora gave a silent scream into his hand before he gave the dagger a twist, and felt the creature go limp. John slowly lowered the dead Dremora to the floor before turning back to the door where Avanos and Ulik waited silently. He waved them to follow him, and proceeded up the ramp to his left, sheathing his dagger and drawing his sword again. He reached the top of the ramp but found no door. The platform just had a circular stone in the middle, and the other ramp leading back down to where they had come from.

"Maybe we made a wrong turn?" John asked the other two when they had reached the top of the ramp to stand a few feet from him.

"Menien had said the sigil keep was at the top of the tower, we have to be heading in the right direction." Avanos replied, looking at their surroundings.

"Perhaps there's another way up the tower in one of the other rooms." Ulik reasoned, looking back down the ramp they had come from.

"I don't know, there has to be a-" Avanos began, but was cut short as he disappeared from sight the moment he stepped onto the circular stone.

"Avanos!" John yelled in shock as he and Ulik both brought their weapons to the ready. They looked around, seeing if there was a Daedra nearby who had cast a spell of some sort. They heard a cry of pain, and watched as the body of a Dremora came flying down from aboce them. It traveled past the railing they were standing by, and fell all the way to the bottom of the tower, a sickening crunching sound reaching even to where John and Ulik stood, when it hit the ground. John looked back up to where the body had come from, and saw Avanos looking over the railing.

"John, Ulik! The stone on the ground is a teleportation stone! It transports you to the top floor!" Avanos yelled as he waved to the two surprised men.

"Ha! He found our way up, and threw one of the bastards down the tower. I'm beginning to like this elf." Ulik laughed. John smiled with him, as they both stepped onto the stone.

It happened in the blink of an eye, one moment he was on the stone, the next he was up another floor, his head spinning. He staggered over to where Avanos was waiting for them, shaking his head in an attempt to fix his vision.

"I think that's the door we've been looking for." Avanos pointed to a door across the room, when John and Ulik had gotten close enough. "It should lead us to the keep, and to the sigil stone."

"Well then, lets do this." John said, leading the way to the door. "Ulik we need the key." John said after seeing the door was locked. Ulik walked over to the door, and put the key in the lock, turning it like he had the first time. There was a click and the door opened all the way this time, revealing a corridor. John was the first to step in, the other two right behind him. He followed the turn of the hallway until he reached an open doorway. Peeking around the corner he saw another circular room, this one inhabited by five Dremora. Looking further he saw a ramp leading to a second level, where he saw it, the sigil stone. It was a small stone, just floating in the top of the fire that had risen all the way from the bottom of the tower.

"The sigil stone is at the top of the the second level. I also counted five Dremora guarding it." John said, turning back to Avanos and Ulik.

"Any way we could sneak by and grab it?" Avanos asked, shifting so he could sneak a look around the doorway as well.

"The room is too wide open, they'll see us the moment we enter." John responded, shaking his head.

"Then we'll have to fight." Ulik spoke, a grin forming on his face.

"On three then." John said to them, drawing one of his daggers from its sheath. "One, Two, Three!" The three rushed into the room in a flash. One Dremora looked up to see John's dagger come flying through the air, embedding itself deeply into its throat. Blood pulsed in spurts as the creature fell to the ground clutching at the dagger.

The other Dremora hearing the commotion looked to see their comrade drop to the ground, and immediately drew their weapons to engage the three intruders. Ulik was the first to reach one of them. His claymore crashing against the shield of the Dremora, the force of the blow causing the creature to stagger backwards. Ulik beat against the Dremora's shield again and again, trying to overwhelmed the creature. Forcing the Dremora to keep his shield high, Ulik then swung his claymore low, severing one leg completely at the knee. The fiend fell to the ground screaming in pain until the Nord's sword came down on its neck, decapitating it like an executioner.

Avanos had rushed to engage the two Dremora running down the ramp. His katana was a blur as he brought it around him, parrying and blocking each attack from the two Dremora's swords. He danced between them, delivering cuts at their arms, hands, and knees. Ducking beneath one of the swords, Avanos spun around behind one of the creatures, pushing it onto blade of the other's sword, impaling it through the abdomen, before slashing the other's throat open. The two Dremora fell to heaps on the floor almost simultaneously.

John had reached the final Dremora, the creature swinging its sword angrily at John's head. Ducking beneath the attack, John sprung forward, his shoulder connecting with the creature's stomach, sending it back, off balance a few steps, and knocking the wind out of it. He swung his sword at the Dremora's head, but the Dremora had recovered enough to bring its sword up to block it. The two engaged each other some more, both attacking and parrying the other. The Dremora swung again, and John caught its blade with his own, locking it. The Dremora pushed against it, bringing its face closer to John's, baring its teeth in a bloodthirsty growl. John didn't hesitate, he withdrew his other dagger from his belt, and stabbed the creature through the eye, penetrating its brain, killing it instantly.

John wiped the blade of his dagger off before putting it back in its scabbard. He looked up to see the others had finished with their own battles, and were walking over to him.

"I believe this belongs to you." Avanos said with a smirk, handing John his other dagger that he had retrieved from the body of the first Dremora. "It was a very impressive throw."

"Lucky throw." John replied, smiling while he wiped the blade and put it back in its scabbard. "The sigil stone is right up that ramp, let's finish this."

"And to think I thought this was going to be a suicide mission. Wasn't so bad." Ulik mused to the group as he followed them up the ramp to stand in front of the balcony where the sigil stone floated.

"Any idea how we deactivate it?" John asked.

"Try removing it. If it anchors Oblivion to our plane, then removing the anchor should close the gate." Avanos replied, staring at the sigil stone.

"What becomes of us if we remove the anchor?" John asked as he took a step toward the stone.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Avanos said, the slightest hint of nervousness in his voice.

John looked back at Avanos for a second, then to Ulik who simply gave a shrug. Taking a steadying breath, he reached into the fire, and pulled the stone from it.

Fire began to erupt all around them. The flames reaching from the ground to the ceiling, so thick that John couldn't see the other two beside him. The heat grew, and the burning pain engulfed him again as his vision went completely red before he clenched his eyelids shut.