Booo this will be the last chapter before winter break as freaking college exams. :(

Soooo I'm gonna admit I jumped into this knowing where I wanted to go but not how to get there so to any handful of you that might read this I apologise for it going a little slow. Thank you if you do read though as it means a lot to me.


Jen decided that her decision to take the detour off to the mages college hadn't been too bad of an idea because it had been on the way and a logical step. The journey to "explore" a Nordic ruin she couldn't pronounce had been a slightly less inspired idea once she took into account the mute khajiit named J'zargo who'd been speared with a draugr ice lance in his arm and fallen off the precarious entrance stairway to the final room of the dungeon which had been up till then clear of any sign of an awake undead menace.

The khajiit had fallen through a hole in the twin curved entrance stairways to land behind where the two meet meaning he was safe from the line of fire for now, but with a icicle in his arm he wasn't going to do any climbing up the just agonizingly tall enough distance and him being there meant they had to stay here and attempt to whittle down the half a dozen draugr mages and the damned lich thing that hit J'zargo to get him to safety.

Clearing the room was a theoretically easy task with three heavily armed mercenaries hired by the mages guild, the Archmage, and three other college members at her back. Unfortunately the line of frost atronaches in the middle seemed to disagree and two of their mercenary guards were lying dead from a mixture of accurate icicles and frozen fists the only one left a fittingly named armored argonian that went by Restless-Tail that seemed to enjoy Skyrim's Talos damned cold.

With Restless-Tail crouching low enough to avoid the ice lances by putting up his shield at the doorway leading to the balcony they stood on with Tolfdir and Siltal behind him blasting any atronach that made it up the stairs and Jen and Mahruk behind the two pillars at the top of the stairs and taking pot shots at their foes while keeping their heads down they had managed to take out three of the five atronaches with the other two flanking the bottom of the stairs and a pair of draugr with great blast of lightning from Mahruk that made the ruins quake. Siltal had summoned a pair of daedra to aid them but they had been pin cushioned in the charge with the mercenaries and vanished.

The draugr had gotten wise however and now they targeted primarily the Archmage whenever he chanced any part of his body around the pillar. The draugr's change in tactics meaning that their group's main option for taking out the draugr was effectively out of the action other than his few wild shots. The Draugr's ice lances were cracking the walls where they struck and fading quickly but only after leaving great holes and giving the area a good jolt from the force of the strike.

Jen spared the roof a quick glance and thought it seemed safe in the flimsy light of the torches placed around the room and turned her thoughts away from the idea of a cave in.

"We can take those draugr in close quarters if we can get there!" Jen shouted after shooting a hopeless arrow at the draugr with an ice lance dashing off the pillar near her head in return.

"A good proposition however it appears to me friend Jen that our companions are quite fine with the current layout of events; however I think I shall be able to manage making them focus me for a long enough time to get you in there." Mahruk responded quickly his deep voice carrying though the noise of the draugr barrage.

"Hit the atronaches so we have a clear path!"

"Very well friend Jen!"

"I will join you in your charge!" Restless-Tail added.

Seeing the plan that was unfolding Siltal suggested her own course of action "I suppose that leaves me to go get our little kitty, I'll summon some daedra to join your charge!"

"Would you mind staying up here with me to support them Tolfdir?" Mahruk said seeking approval of the plan from the final member.

"I am quite alright with that role I think!" was all the response Mahruk took before he called out "Ready?!" looking at Jen who had taken the conversation to ready her sword and shield.

Flipping around the pillar the Archmage shot two bolts of lightning at the two remaining frost atronaches searing great craters in the middle of their bodies as at the same time Jen flipped around the pillar and launched herself off the balcony at the closer left Atronach landing her feet in the crater in its body as she rode the summon down to the ground where it shattered killing her downward momentum and shaking the nirn below her and she took off at a sprint with her shield ready to come up if she saw any immediate threat.

However the draugr had volleyed at Mahruk leaving the two daedra and Restless-Tail to speed down the stairs to join the charge without worry as Siltal followed behind looping around to get J'zargo to move. Jen had lost track of them quickly though her senses which had focused on the five monsters ahead of her ash she let out a great howl charging through the rubble.

"AAAAAOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUU!"

A greater bolt of lightning struck one of the lesser draugr relieving it of its body as it sped through to slam into the ground as Jen saw the lich ready a great burst of magic. Dodging to the left behind a scrap of rubble she felt the ruins violently shake as the spell washed down the center of the room and heard the screams of Restless-Tail and the daedra as it hit them the chill wind sweeping past her. Leaping from behind the rubble to continue her charge she slammed her shield into one of the draugr then turned and hacked another through its chest before a horrifying downward lurch made her realize something, the ruins floor had not stopped shaking. Her mind had just enough time to realize how bad that was before the ground dropped.

At first it all went down at the same speed till it had fallen enough to show some great darkness on the edge when the right side of the "floor" stopped in a monumental thud and she noticed that some of the sides of the room were falling with them before her vision began to tilt to the left. With all the dignity of a lame horse she tried to slam her shield into a large crack to her right hoping not to fall off this wagon from Oblivion as it began a slow decent downward that was becoming faster at just the right pace to freak her out.

She saw above them in the scattered light from the few torches from the room that the bottom of the floor was breaking off as the Oblivion wagon rolled down the slope. One of the draugr fell off the front and the other two where preforming some mimicry of her actions and the lich seemed to float down the slope independent of the rest of them only encouraging her intense hatred for the thing that had caused this intense madness.

At least that was what all happened before their ride slope slammed into the floor with a great echo and sent her flying off to meet the ground and stirring up a massive cloud of dust.

The first thing she noticed post-crash was the fact her sword had gone off beyond her when she went flying and the second was the draugr pulling itself to its full height not five feet from her in the settling dust. She was desperate to have the comfort her sword again but could make little out in the dark with the lights from the oblivion wagon too high to reach well down here. Thankfully her shield was still with her and she charged the draugr before it could get its bearings slamming her shield into its neck the sick crack's faint echo clearing her head and she saw another draugr pushing itself up fifteen feet away and one of their axes along the way. Jen dashed to pick up the blade and brought it down upon the draugr's neck clenching her teeth as the axe did its work.

A deep breath helped her keep her calm as she looked around eyes locking upon a small light closer to what was left of the floor of the Nordic ruin and the forms of Restless-Tail, Siltal and J'zargo which she made her way towards. About to speak she looked up and simply reacted to the hissing lich hovering above her and her companions.

""FUS RO DAH!"

Jen could not appreciate the symphony of snapping bones from her position on the floor after she launched what remained of the lich high into the sky along with a chunk of the ruins and merely felt her body telling her she dun goofed.

The pain only getting worse the more time went on the rest of her fellows in danger moved quickly to be sure she was ok and had obvious relief when she began to sit up.

"THAT WAS AMAZING! YOU SAVED US! Now stay still and let me heal you!" Siltal commanded her joy about the voice and fear for its user overriding her need to pepper her words with insults.

Disoriented and dizzy from exertion she shook her head "sssssword…."

"no you need too-""Sword." Jen huffed in an uncompromising tone cutting off Siltal's protest.

Siltal looked at J'zargo who motioned to her mage light with his good left arm and she shut it off a moment later making one of his own and pointing at a direction in the darkness with a pointed gaze at Jen obviously sad at her stubbornness.

He made to get up and go get it but she forced herself to fight through the pain to stand up, their eyes on her for now and their bodies frozen. She waved her hand and nodded her head, shed go get her sword on her own.

Siltal threw a Mage light down the direction J'zargo had pointed leaving the gleaming metal for all to see.

Jen staggered toward the blade her eyes noticing the glowing mushrooms in the distance but seeing little else in the mage lights bright glow.

She found kneeling down ended up being easier than getting up since she fell the last half of the way hands landing on her sword pulling it up too her and wiping of what dust remained.

Holding the flat of the blade against her body she slowly stood, but worse than before and on the way back the staggering got worse as she whispered to quiet to even truly hear herself.

"I'm sorry kodlak"

For the second time that day Jen's view tilted to the left.


I liked this chapter overall, it really just kind of fell into place writing it.