Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 2 - Winterhold
Part 7
Ayleid Ruins. Cyrodiil
On the outside of the ruin were arches that stood partially covered by earth, plants of different sorts, and insects. Small pieces of rubble were strewn about in the area above the door, but other than that there were no signs that this had once been a centre of civilisation back when the elves had ruled these lands.
The Ayleids, also known as the Heartland High Elves or Wild Elves, were the first race to establish an empire here in Tamriel, and had ruled modern-day Cyrodiil for countless years dating back to before recorded history.
Also the Ayleids were the original founders of what was now known as the Imperial City, which they called the "Temple of the Ancestors". However, their empire collapsed in the early First Era.
These Ayleid Ruins, more commonly known as Elven Ruins, were ancient structures built by an ancient race of Elves known as the Ayleids. Besides the usual enemies that inhabit such places, these ruins usually contained Ayleid casks and reliquaries, some secret passages, and of course the magical stones that I'd come all this way south to find.
Ayleid Ruins also contained a variety of lethal traps such as swinging blades in hallways, spiked grates that slide down corridors, poison gas chambers, Dark Welkynd Stones that fire bolts of frost, spike pits and areas where the floor crushes passersby against a spiked ceiling.
While the Ayleids had been extinct for a very, very long time, their ancient traps were still fully functional, at least according to the locals I'd questioned about this place, and they'd not been willing to talk much about it until I bribed them.
This ruin had some name that I didn't even try to pronounce, and I'd been assured that unlike the others it hadn't been totally picked clean even in the thousands of years it had been abandoned. I'd soon find out if that was true.
"Let's head in then," I said.
While I'd been to a few underground places while in Skyrim I still found myself amazed by these sorts of places. I was already glad that I'd taken the time to send my probes far enough south to find an Ayleid ruin to explore.
Getting here hadn't been too much trouble, not when I had probes for scouting and Asgard beaming technology. I could have driven the Mako here, but given the sheer distance and the mountains it would have taken too long. I couldn't afford to be gone from the college for more than a couple of days.
Right away I noticed the difference of architecture between the Ayleids, and the Dwemer, whose underground citadels had also been long abandoned.
While Dwemer ruins were sharp and angular with their stonework, the Ayleids had a softer touch to the eye. Smooth, white walls lined the interior hall. My nightvision sunglasses allowed me to see the ruins in great detail.
"It's a beautiful piece of architecture," Morgana commented, after putting on her own pair of night vision sunglasses.
We'd both noticed that right away.
"Indeed it is" I agreed.
Cameron, who was taking the lead in this little expedition, started walking down a winding hallway. Morgana and I followed suit, and I was glad to have my Terminator here as while I could protect myself I was rather distracted right now and as such my guard was down.
This didn't mean that I was undefended. I was wearing a full suit of armour, the kind my group had created by modifying Vanir environmental suits back in the Stargate verse. I was also protected by a kinetic barrier, and the shield created by life support belts, the tech for this came from the Star Trek verse.
In my hands I held a disruptor rifle that would vaporise any enemy that dared to threaten me, using such weapons did make it impossible to loot the bodies of our foes, but given how many monsters and hostile aliens across the multi-verse had regenerative abilities it was highly useful to be able to destroy them so utterly.
Morgana and Cameron also wore full sets of armour, and carried weapons. We were taking no chances while exploring this ancient place.
As we began looking around I saw that on the floor near the wall was a small, hexagonal casket of some sort. Cameron pried it open, alas inside the container was nothing; whoever had travelled through here prior to our arrival had already pilfered its contents. Hopefully we would treasure deeper within the ruins.
"What a shame," I commented.
The noise of Cameron breaking open the elf version of a treasure chest, had gotten the attention of a handful of giant rats. The squeaky beasts didn't do well against us as while they were fast they didn't have the speed to defeat our reflexes. All of the vermin were destroyed in short order.
Moving on we found that on left side of the hall there was a passageway and around a corner there was a tombstone shaped gate. The three of us continued beyond the gate and entered another part of this ruin.
We triggered a trap which filled the air with some sort of gas. The gas was a poisonous concoction of unknown make, according to the scans of my omni-tool, but since Morgana and I had on our helmets, and because Cameron didn't breather, the gas did little more than obscure our vision.
Going beyond the gas chamber led us to a wall that seemed like a dead end only I'd raided enough of these ruins while playing Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, to know that elf ruins were full of secret passages.
It didn't take me long to locate a pressure plate and when I pushed down on it with my foot a trio of stone pillars slowly slid into the ground, thus revealing an opening through the wall and into another room..
Inside this new room was a stone platform. I didn't know the purpose of this place and frankly I didn't care. What I did care about was the pedestal in the centre of the room. Atop it, was a varla stone; it was a gorgeous, glowing crystal.
"Oh that is pretty" Morgana stated.
She sounded not unlike a little girl in a dress shop.
"They function to replenish a weapon's enchantment" I explained "But I theorise that they were used by the ancient elves as light sources, like lightbulbs only they are treated with much more respect as the ancient elves revered light".
Morgana didn't care about that.
"I want it" she said.
She was a sophisticated and intelligent woman for sure, but like so many of her gender she had a weakness for pretty things.
"I need this one" I told her "For my studies, so we'll have to keep looking for more".
After recovering the stone, which I did with my telekinetic powers in case it was booby trapped, we moved on.
Before much longer, we came upon a tombstone shaped door, only this one was depicting a glowing tree.
"This is a strange door" Cameron commented.
I was sure that the glowing tree was important I just didn't know why.
"Gothic something's bothering me" Morgana said as we stopped before the door "I thought there would be more…well more objects. Those dwemer people left behind a lot of their stuff, but I don't see any of that here".
The ruin was lacking in anything other bare walls for the most part, and this was disappointing as I had hoped to have some eleven artefacts stored in my Cosmic Warehouse along with the dwarven stuff.
"Well the ancient elves vanished further back in time than the dwarves so I guess the dwarven strongholds just haven't all been picked clean by now" I guessed.
Certainly I could be wrong, there was still much about this world that I didn't understand, and I doubted that I ever would understand it all.
"I'm surprised there are no monsters lurking about in here" Cameron said.
Yes that was odd. Aside from that pack of oversized rats we'd encountered no signs of life while down here.
"Some of the locals told me the dead roam the halls of Ayleid Ruins" I warned "Kind of like the draugr".
Not that it matter since all the undead would vaporise when I shot them.
"What do you think we'll find behind this door" Morgana wondered.
I really didn't know.
"Let's go see" I said.
A trip down flights of stairs that were behind the tree door brought us to an area full of welkynd stones. Each was on a high pedestal, just as I'd known they would be. xx
"What are these gems?" Morgana asked of me.
"These are welkynd stones, they're like the varla stones only they recharge a person's magical energies rather then enchanted items" I explained "Like I theorised they are mostly used by the ancient elves as light fixtures"
After collecting a few of the stones, I gave one to Morgana and another to Cameron, which she might decide to study inside of performing any more autopsies, we came across a treasure chest.
Cameron opened it, and inside she found a rotted, coin purse with thirty, very old looking, gold coins, which predated any human currency in this world, stone jars containing ashes, the remains of some elves I guessed, and some, ancient elven equipment; one dagger, one bow.
"Forestwind can have the bow" I said.
The string of the bow had rotted away ages ago, but the bow itself was in excellent condition, and the dagger was enchanted, what kind of enchantment was something that Morgana could find out.
"That seems to be it" I said while scanning around "If there's anything more down here its been buried over the centuries".
We had what we'd come for so there was no point staying, and with that in mind we headed back to the surface.
"Well, well, well. What 'ave we got, 'ere?" a somewhat familiar voice said as we reached the surface "That's some fancy gear you got. We'll 'ave it".
They looked like bandits, dressed in furs and leather. One of them, likely the leader, was an Imperial brandishing a very sharp looking sword, but the rest of them only had simple daggers, clubs and bows.
"I know you" I said to the leader "You're the one who told me about this place".
To me it seemed pretty clear as to what was going on here. Clearly this gang of thugs had sent us out here, assuming that we'd find something, and so rather than risk their own lives, they'd planned to rob us as we left. Clever, or it would have been if they'd pulled this trick on someone else.
"Cameron, kill them" I ordered.
They never stood a chance.
(Line Break)
Winterhold. Skyrim.
I stood close to the large orb that had taken pride of place in the centre of the lecture hall. It certainly was an amazing discovery, there was no denying that. It was probably the most unique and powerful magical artefact ever found in Skyrim, perhaps all of Tamriel. I couldn't help but be in slight awe of it.
If the relic wasn't so dangerous I might try to take it for myself, but I did know how dangerous this object was so I didn't want it in the same dimension as myself as long as there was a chance it would go boom.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tolfdir coming over to me,
"I understand that you have been doing research on the Eye" he said.
Sadly I hadn't been able to find much.
"Yes sir, I have," I confirmed. "I found a book called 'Night Of Tears.' There was mention of an object of great power that men and mer fought and died over at Saarthal. There wasn't any great detail, but it can't be a coincidence that we found this at Saarthal".
Soon Tolfdir would realise what I had, that if people had gone to war over the Eye of Magnus in the past then they might do so again. The College could be in trouble. Groups like the Thalmor would kill everyone here in order to possess the Eye.
"Hmm... that is a rather grim discovery," he said sombrely. "But still, at least no-one died over it this time. I'm sure that as long as we treat it with respect and caution, everything will be fine".
I knew that things wouldn't be okay, not unless I ensured it, and I didn't think that he believed it either.
"What have you learned so far?" I asked.
More information wouldn't hurt.
"Well, why don't you have a look, see what you can tell me" the wizard said.
Not much really, I'd never seen anything like the Eye before, and in reality it was more alien than I could understand.
"It's big. It's floating. It's glowing" I said "It's a giant levitating sphere".
That wasn't all I had to say.
"The writing on it isn't Aleyid, or Dwemer, or Daedric, or Falmer" I went on to say.
Oddly I couldn't read any of the symbols on the Eye, which meant either they were total gibberish, or something about this relic prevented the Perk that allowed translation from working.
"They're unlike anything we've seen before" my teacher was now saying "this marvellous object. It practically radiates magicka. And yet it's unlike anything I've felt before".
We spent a few more minutes studying the Eye trying to figure out: what it's purpose was, where it came from, who made it, what could be learned from it. Already there was a theory that it had been given, in the early days, as a gift from the gods to mortals. This was where they learned magic from and how the first mages got their powers.
I myself postulated about the Eye's practical purposes. Considering that it seemed to radiate magicka then it stood to reason that, if it were harnessed correctly, it would not only give you great amounts of magical energy but also increase a mages power.
"Well, this has certainly been interesting," Tolfdir said to me "But you have studies of your own to be getting on with".
I was surprised to her this.
"Doesn't this take priority?" I asked.
I didn't understand how I could be expected to go back to studying Vala stones when I had something like this to try to figure out.
"Arch-Mage Saren and I are working hard on the subject of the Eye" Tolfdir told me "While you are entitled to help as well, it would be advisable for you to continue on with your own work".
I was leaving the hall when the Thalmor adviser came over to me, and I had to use all my self-restraint not to blast him into atoms. I really didn't like the Nazis elves.
"I'd like to know why there's someone claiming to be from the Psijiic Order here in the College" said the High Elf "More importantly, I'd like to know why he's asking for you specifically".
From the way he spoke, it was like he thought it was somehow my fault. And actually it was since I'd seen one of the legendary order of mages down in Saarthal. Now, he was back and looking for me. They'd known about the Eye being in Saarthal and what might happen when we found it.
This whole thing clearly had Ancano very rattled. Unlike me he hadn't expected one of the Psijiics to appear here. Now that one of them had, he was in a position of ignorance and he didn't like it. He was the kind of man who preferred to know everything that was going on in the world. Or at least that was the impression I got from the elf.
His pace quickened as we opened the door that went to the Arch-Mage's quarters. This was the first time I'd been in Savos Aren's quarters and they were very impressive. The room was grandly sized, aligned with display cases containing soul gems, from small to large
An alchemy table stood here as well, laden with ingredients for those with the skill of potion-making. At the centre was a tree, with plants like lavender and foxglove growing around it, decorated with glowing mage-lights. Aren and the Psijiic mage stood in front of it, apparently deep in discussion. They turned at the sound of footsteps.
I couldn't be sure, but I thought that it was the same Psijiic I saw in Saarthal. The one who appeared to me and warned me about the consequences of finding the Eye of Magnus. If it was him then events were in motion as I'd expected they would be.
"Ah, there you are Gothic" Arch-Mage Aren said by way of greeting.
The senior wizard then turned back to the Psijiic.
"Now then, shall we..."
Before he could finish that sentence Aren and everyone else were frozen in place as time stopped, leaving myself and the Psijiic free to move. Seemingly satisfied the spell had worked, the mage looked to me.
"It is good to meet you in person, Gothic" he said to me. "My name is Quaranir of the Psijiic Order".
We shook hands.
"Nice to meet you too," I said, while glancing at the frozen from of Ancano "Wish I knew how to do this whole time freezing trick".
Somehow I didn't think this Quaranir person would teach it to me.
"I've given us a chance to speak privately, though it probably isn't what you're used to. I'm afraid I can't do this for long, so we must be brief" he said.
Since there was no sense it delaying the member of the Psijicc Order simply got on with things.
"The situation here at you College is of dire importance," he began to explain, "and attempts to contact you, as we have previously, have failed. I believe it is due to the very source of our concern. This object... the Eye of Magnus as your people have taken to calling it, the energy coming from it is has prevented us from reaching you the same way we did before".
So before this Quaranir guy must have astral project in some way while also freezing time, that was impressive. I could slow down time with the magic of the Old Religion, but freezing time would take more magical power than I could ever use. The Psijicc Order must be working together as a group to do something this impressive.
"If it's powerful enough to block you guys, then I can understand your concern," I said "I get the feeling the Eye is far more trouble than it is worth".
Even if it didn't explode, which was still due to happen, then it would still be a danger as people would kill to posses the Eye of Magnus.
"Your intuition is correct," said Quaranir "The longer it remains here, the more dangerous the situation becomes. So, I have come here personally to tell you the situation must be dealt with".
I had plans for that.
"Many in the Order believe, as I do, that if the Eye remains here, it will be misused. We believe something will happen soon that cannot be avoided. Your efforts should be directed towards dealing with that event, but we cannot predict what that will be" I was told "I fear I have already overstepped the bounds of my Order, but I will offer this: seek out the Augur of Dunlain here in your College. His perception may be clearer than ours".
That happened in the game so it made sense.
"I am unsure where he is, but he is within in the College" Quaranir said to me "Surely one of your colleagues must know where he is".
He was down in the Midden if I remembered correctly. Still I would double check that.
"I am sorry I cannot provide further help, but this conversation requires a great deal of effort on my part" Quaranir informed "Now, I'm afraid I must leave. We will continue to watch over you and guide you as best we can. It is within you to succeed, never forget that".
He need not worry. I had things well in hand.
"You can count on me," I assured him.
The current of time returned to what it should be, and everyone who had been frozen suddenly seemed a little ill, but the effects didn't last for long.
"I'm sorry, were you about to say something?" asked the Arch-Mage.
He looked rather confused and I didn't blame him.
"There's been a misunderstanding," the monk said innocently. "I clearly should not be here. I shall take my leave".
This was surprising news to the Arch-Mage and to his adviser.
"What?" Ancano asked, a very angry tone of voice. "You ask for a specific member of the College, I bring him to you and now you simply want to leave? What are you up to? Explain yourself!".
Quaranir didn't at all seemed concerned about the Thalmor's fury. And why should he be? If his Order had the power to freeze time and appear where ever they wished then they had nothing to fear from the High Elves.
"I am not 'up to' anything," Quaranir replied "I apologise if I have offended you in any way".
Clearly Ancano was offended, and he had to put up with it as the monk guy vanished a moment later.
"We will see about this..." the Thalmor mage said before storming off.
He left Arch-Mage Aren and I alone to contemplate what had just happened.
"I feel so strange..." Aren said as he gazed thoughtfully at the tree in the centre of his quarters. "I'm... I'm not sure what happened..."
While I would have liked to have filled him in Quaranir wouldn't have gone to the trouble of freezing time if what he'd spoken about was for more than my ears.
"Sir, do you know anything about the Augur of Dunlain?" I asked.
His expression became more stern at the mention of it.
"Has Tolfdir been telling stories again? I thought I made it quite clear that this was a subject inappropriate for conversation" said the leader of the college "Please don't allow him to continue to discuss the subject".
I knew now to seek out Tolfdir. I might as well go with the flow of events until it was time to act. Since Morgana had a copy of the Staff of Magnus we could deal with the Eye easily enough, but I might as well try to acquire the original if I had the time.
"Excuse me sir, I have studies to attend to" I said to the Arch-Mage.
It took him a few moments to reply.
"Of course..." he said absently, while staring off into space.
Quickly I took my leave, heading back down to the Hall of Elements. It was unsurprising to me to see that Tolfdir was still present, studying the Eye intently. He really wanted to figure the thing out.
"Excuse me, sir" I said.
He was so engrossed in it that he didn't hear me.
"Tolfdir!" I yelled.
He snapped his head around.
"Oh, I am sorry my boy. The Eye, it is most intriguing" he said "what do you need, Gothic?"
Something very important.
"I need to find Augur of Dunlain" I answered "Do you know where he can be found?".
It was in Midden, but if he had directions to the right chamber I'd be grateful.
"Now, there's a name I haven't heard in a long time," he said thoughtfully "I suppose he's still down in the Midden, but I haven't really checked. Are you going to see him?".
Once I had indicated that I was going to do that I got precise directions.
"Do tell him 'hello' for me, would you?" Tolfdir requested.
I could do that.
"Thank you for your help" I said.
Not that I'd really needed it. Still it would be best to take Morgana with me as she might find the experience an interesting one.
(Line Break)
The Midden. Skyrim.
We'd climbed down into a cave that was cover with snow and found a ceiling that was hung with icicles. Beyond the limit of the cave was a stone room with a door leading to the next area, and there was something in that area. I could sense it.
An eerie, icy mist hung over the ground as we cautiously walked in. A pile of wood was stocked in the corner to the left and, curiously, there was sweeping brush in a basket that was propped next to the door. By the looks of thing someone had been down here doing some cleaning.
I slowly opened the door and stepped into the room beyond, I saw a draugr came shuffling towards us. Not that this really matter as Morgana and I simply blasted the undead thing with fire balls.
When we got closer to the strange thing that I could sense, we discovered that Ancano was already down here, talking to him. While I couldn't prove it, I had no doubt he was asking about the Eye of Magnus and it's power. As well as how to harness it for his own ends.
Once the Thalmor fucker was out of the way I lead Morgana into the chamber that housed the Auger. The door opened, revealing a large, floating mass of energy. I should have been more impressed, but compared to the Eye, the Auger wasn't so cool.
"Tolfdir says, hello" I told the Auger.
It didn't reply to that.
"Do you know why I am here?" I asked.
Your efforts are in vain. It has already begun. But those who have sent you have not told you what they seek, what you seek.
"Can you tell me about the Eye" I requested.
The Thalmor sought the same thing, and it shall lead to his end as it has so many others. The one who calls himself Ancano has sought my knowledge as well, through very different questions. Your path differs from most. You are being guided, pushed towards something. It is a good path, one untravelled by many. It is a path that can save your College. I will tell you what you need to know to follow it further
"What do I need then?"
Well there was the staff, I just had to have someone else mention so that no one would wonder how I knew about it.
You, and those aiding you, wish to know more about the Eye of Magnus. You wish to avoid the disaster of which many are unaware. To see through Magnus' Eye without being blinded, you require his staff. Events now spiral quick towards an inevitable outcome, so you must act with haste. Take this knowledge to your Arch-Mage.
I turned to Morgana
"Do you want to ask anything?" I wondered.
She didn't so she went back to whatever it was she'd been doing while I went to see the Arch-Mage. He was still sitting in his chair, reading a book. I assumed that it had something to do with his research into the Eye.
"I need to tell you something, sir" I said, getting the mage's attention.
He put the book down on the table.
"Really, and what might that be?" he asked
"We need to find the Staff of Magnus" I said.
The Mages eyes widened.
"I'm sorry, what?" he replied "Well… I'd certainly love to have such a powerful staff, but I'm not really sure that any of us need it".
Well technically we didn't.
"And how do you know about the staff?" I was asked.
"I spoke with the Augnur of Dunlain" I said "and he specifically mentioned the Staff of Magnus and that finding it would save the College"
Savos thought for a second.
"I'm impressed with your initiative" he admitted "Of course, someone will need to follow up on this".
He wasn't exactly springing into action. Which I found odd as he knew all about the Labyrinthian and what was in it.
"Let me guess, this someone is me" I said.
Savos nodded.
"Precisely. Since you went so far as to seek out the Augur for advice" he was now saying "I'd have thought you'd be more enthusiastic".
Given the importance of finding the staff it seemed wise to me to send a few experienced mages not an apprentice.
"Now as for the Staff of Magnus. I'm not sure were to look for something like that" Aren told me "I seem to recall Mirabelle mentioning the Staff somewhat recently. Why don't you see if she can tell you anything?"
I was heading out of the room when the Arch-Mage spoke again.
"You know I'm quite pleased with your progress" he mentioned. "You've certainly proven yourself to be more than a mere apprentice. I think you are ready for some some advanced Spells".
The Arch-Mage stood up and pulled out three books from a shelf.
"Here. Take these" he instructed "I'm sure you can use them responsibly".
The names of the spells were called Ironflesh, which I knew to be a better version of the Oakflesh spell, conjure Frost-Atronarch, and Flame Cloak.
"Thank you. I won't let you down" I said.
The Arch-Mage smiled.
"I hope so" was his reply.
With that he sat back down, and continued to read his book. I was left wondering if the heads of all magic schools were this odd.
(Line Break)
College of Winterhold. Skyrim.
I sought out Mirabelle, who was looking out of a window down to the ocean. Since we were very far in the north, the ocean was frozen over. Still it was a pleasant sight to look at if you liked that sort of thing.
"Mirabelle!" I said, to get her attention "Do you know anything about the Staff of Magnus?".
She turned around, and looked at me.
"Well now that's an odd question. Why in the world would you be asking?" she inquired.
I couldn't actually tell her the truth, not without exposing the fact that I knew much more about what was going on than I should. I didn't want the kind of attention I would get if people knew what I could really do and what I kind of knowledge I had. I still had things I wanted to do while visiting this world and those would be harder to accomplish if people kept following me around while asking for help.
"The Arch-Mage said you mentioned it" I told her "And that got me curious".
I knew that she wouldn't be able to help telling me more.
"Well yes, I suppose I did mention it, though I'm not sure what he expects me to tell you" the teacher said "I only brought it to his attention a few months back when the Synod showed up here looking for it. They were apparently under the impression we were keeping it in a closet somewhere".
I didn't know that group.
"And who's the Synod?" I wondered.
I no knowledge of this group, and that was remarkable as I knew a lot about so much.
"They're Mages based out of Cyrodiil. They fancy themselves the Imperial Authority on magic these last few hundred years. My understanding is that all they really do is make noises in attempt to curry favour from the Emperor" she told me "Lots of politics, little magic".
She had more to say on the subject.
"I was quite surprised to find them on our doorstep" the mage was now saying "They seemed amiable enough, but their line of questioning made me… uneasy".
She seemed disturbed.
"It became clear that they're trying to horde powerful artefacts, looking to consolidate power" Mirabelle explained.
It was clear that she had a strong distaste for the Synod.
"And where is it now? The Staff I mean" I said.
She shrugged.
"The Synod seemed convinced it was somewhere in Skyrim" she answered "They inquired about the ruins of Mzulft, but that's all I remember. It sounded like they were heading there, though they were rather secretive about why. I suppose if you're intend on looking for the Staff, there's a chance they might be in Mzulft".
"Where is this ruin?" I asked.
I felt certain that I'd been to Mzulft before, but all of the dwarven ruins had names I couldn't pronounce and if I hadn't been to Mzulft then I wouldn't pass up the chance to explore another dwarven ruin.
