Scroll 10
"Balreth's End and the Journey Forward"
With a loud, echoing roar, Balreth taunted the group as the light from Garyn's spell lit up the space they stood in.
"Sister, you go left, I'll go right!" Amrien yelled, sprinting off towards the right-side of the caldera.
Before Aedalyn ran into battle, she gave Dauragon a playful smack on the ass. "Light him up with that totem when you get the chance, mage." she jested, running to the left-hand side.
Dauragon felt his face become hot with embarrassment as he lifted his staff.
Balreath lifted one of his powerful legs and brought it down upon the floor of the caldera. An ash-filled wind picked up at the sheer force of Balreth's foot making contact.
However, it was what came afterward that proved troubling.
The ground of the caldera shook, like it would open up and swallow the group. From multiple spots within the caldera, lava began to shoot up from the blackened ground beneath their feet.
One geyser of lava shot up right next to Aedalyn, who narrowly dodged by rolling forward.
She gritted her teeth as her exposed arms made contact with the ground. The searing, familiar pain of heat made contact with the skin as the ground itself burned.
Amrien leaped into action, using pure shadow to get right up into Balreth's space. Holding both daggers so the blades were in front, Amrien unleashed a flurry of piercing blows.
Balreth stood there as if nothing happened, a loud roar escaping his jaw-less mouth once more. One of Amrien's daggers suddenly gets stuck in one of the many bones that made up Balreth's body.
Balreth grabbed the small wood elf by the arm and lifted him up. Amrien could feel pressure building in his shoulder as gravity willed his body to fall to the ground.
Amrien lifted his legs so they rested on one of Balreth's chest bones. His eyes widened as he began to feel searing heat coming from Balreth's large form.
Aedalyn pulled an arrow back into her bow and closed her eyes.
"Y'ffre, guide my hand." she prayed, watching the arrow glow a leaf green. She aimed the bow high and released it.
A few seconds passed before the arrow hit its mark, embedding itself into one of Balreth's eye sockets.
Amrien looked up, feeling Balreth's grip lax, and smirked. Finally able to pull free, he pushed off of Balreth's chest, flipping backwards into the air, and thrust his daggers forward.
The heat that Amrien felt was Balreth's bones lighting ablaze. Amrien quickly drew his arms back and landed on the ground.
"Fire isn't going to do shit on him, mage!" he yelled back in Dauragon's direction. "I hope you're ready to use that totem soon!"
"I already knew that, tree-dweller! Just keep hitting him!" Dauragon spat back. He lifted his staff, a white fog forming on the top, and began charging a spell.
"Good idea, Dauragon!" Garyn yelled as he shot spell after spell at Balreth.
Dauragon held the staff forward, and from it came piercing cold as a cone of icicles shot down towards Balreth from the sky. Balreth groaned in pain, his bones creaking from the impact of each individual icicle.
Once his spell subsided, Dauragon heard the familiar crack of Aedalyn's bowstring as she sent a volley of arrows up to the sky. The whistling sound of the arrows falling down made Dauragon cringe slightly, a sound he was quite familiar with.
He feared that the past would come up to haunt him, but he shook his head to keep himself in the battle.
"Nice work you two!" Amrien yelled, throwing one of his daggers at Balreth. He used pure shadow to dig the second dagger into one of the bones on Balreth's leg.
Balreth became enraged at the damage he was taking and lifted his right leg.
"Brother, get out of there!" Aedalyn yelled, pulling an arrow back into the string of her bow.
Amrien cunningly arched back into a backflip, hoping to dodge the attack, but Balreth brought his leg down way too quickly. It made contact with the ground, sending out a shock-wave of fire and ash.
Aedalyn quickly dove behind a rock that protruded up from the caldera floor, for even she was within range of the attack.
Even Dauragon and Garyn were in range as Dauragon quickly stood in front of Garyn with a greater ward spell to withstand the attack.
Amrien was sent flying back towards the entrance of the caldera. His back painfully made contact with the stone wall. The wind flew from his lungs and he slumped to the ground unmoving.
"Amrien!" Aedalyn cried, wanting so badly to run to his aid. "Garyn!" she yelled frantically.
"I'll get him, focus on the battle!" he yelled back as he sprinted over to Amrien.
Balreth roared in anger as he stomped his foot once again. From the ground of the caldera came two scamps who were drawn by the power Balreth emitted.
"Aeda, deal with those two!" Dauragon yelled, putting his staff on his back. "I'll try to do some damage until your brother gets back on his feet!"
Aedalyn didn't say a word, looking back towards her brother, who was now being healed by Garyn.
"Aeda!" Dauragon yelled, breaking her from her thoughts. "Focus!"
"Right! I'm on it!"
Dauragon drew his two handed blade from under his robes and ran in.
One of the scamps began to charge a small fireball and threw it at him. Dauragon lifted the blade and blocked the attack. He swung his blade around his head and brought it down upon the annoying daedra.
"Out of my way, pest!" he yelled as the sword made contact. The scamp cried out in agony as it fell to the floor.
Dauragon continued running before breaking the remaining distance with a big leap. He brought the blade down onto Balreth, some of the bones beginning to chip and crack.
Balreth looked down at the dunmer who hit him and roared.
"I'll be your opponent now, undead trash!" Dauragon taunted, the grip on his sword growing tighter.
The other scamp was trying really hard to shoot Aedalyn with fireballs, but she dodged them with ease as two arrows flew from her bow.
"You'll have to try harder than that!" she yelled at the little pest, watching it struggle to move as the arrows embedded themselves into its torso.
In a last effort to hurt its foe, the scamp ran up to her and tried to scratch with its claws.
Aedalyn sidestepped it, and swung her leg around to kick it into a rock. There was a slight crunching sound as the scamps face made contact with the rock. It made no sound as its body slumped over, lifeless.
The clinking of metal startled Aedalyn as she looked over to see Dauragon block a strong attack from Balreth. Dauragon let out a battle cry as he swung his two-handed blade at the giant, undead creature before him.
Balreth grew frustrated and lifted his leg.
"Dauragon, watch out!" Aedalyn yelled, firing another arrow towards him.
Dauragon knew he couldn't dodge the same attack that Amrien got sent flying with, so he braced himself. Digging his sword into the ground, he quickly mumbled a few words under his breath and cast another greater ward spell.
Aedalyn watched as a magical shield of bluish, white light formed in front of Dauragon, right as Balreth brought his leg down.
To her surprise, Dauragon wasn't sent flying like her brother. The magical shield took the brunt of it, disappearing once the attack was over.
"Well done, mage!" Aedalyn yelled, relieved that Dauragon didn't suffer the same damage as her brother.
Aedalyn shrieked as a hand grabbed her shoulder. She swung her bow back and felt it make contact.
"Ow! It's me!" a familiar voice yelled.
She whipped around to see her brother.
"You idiot! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" she yelled, smacking her brother on the arm.
"Says the idiot trying to give me brain damage!" he spat back, pointing to his head, which now had a small cut.
Aedalyn puffed out her cheeks before she hugged him. "Don't scare me like that again." she breathed into his chest, referring to the attack from Balreth.
"I'll admit, he got me pretty good, but- oh shit!" he suddenly yelled.
"What is it?" Aedalyn asked.
Amrien suddenly grabbed his sister by the arm and pulled her towards the rock she sent the scamp into. "Watch out!"
A wave of heat rushed over them as a streak of fire shot past the two bosmer.
Balreth began running towards the back of the caldera and straight towards a pool of lava.
"He's trying to heal! Stop him!" Garyn yelled, trying to put out some flames that lit his robes ablaze.
"Dauragon, the totem, use it now!" Amrien yelled.
Dauragon's greater ward spell dissipated as he stood up from his crouched position. With gritted teeth, he grabbed the totem within the pocket of his robes and raised it up above him.
A dark cloud hovered above Balreth, small streaks of lightning cracked within. A downpour of rain fell onto Balreth, putting out the flames that lit his bones and gave him power.
Balreth, still standing, hunched over in a daze as the storm totem did its job.
"He's not going anywhere!" Dauragon finally yelled back. "Hit him hard!"
Amrien used pure shadow to get next to Balreth, spinning clockwise with his daggers out, following it up with a flurry of blows.
Balreth's bones began to crack and fall apart.
Dauragon took a few steps back and pulled out his staff again. Holding it out in front of him, he mumbled a spell under his breath and brought the staff down.
The dark cloud hovered over Balreth, in a similar fashion to the storm totem, and from it came a whirlwind of freezing destruction. Ice and snow spun around Balreth's form, putting out the remaining flames on his bones.
"Bosmer, now!" Dauragon yelled in Aedalyn's direction.
With a deep breath, Aedalyn pulled an arrow back into her bow. Balreth looked straight at her, growing furious and began to charge.
"Shit!" Amrien cursed, running after the giant creature. "Don't suppose you've got any spell to slow him down, mage, do you?!" he yelled back.
"I've used too much magicka! Leave it to your sister!"
"I don't know if you've noticed, ash-skin, but he's running straight towards her!" Amrien yelled. "He's going to kill her!"
Aedalyn felt a vein ready to burst above her brow. She released the arrow and watched it split into three as they flew out towards the charging colossus.
The first arrow dug into one of the bones in Balreth's chest. The second shooting through the now brittle bones of his right leg, causing him to fall forward.
And finally, the last arrow shot straight into Balreth's skull, breaking into a multitude of pieces as Balreth looked up at her for one last time.
The large colossus before her moved no more, lying on the blackened ground of the caldera. A blue light suddenly burst forth from the chest and flew to the center.
A ghostly image of Balreth now stood in the center of the caldera, swaying in place. A circle of bluish-white magic kept the spirit inside.
"Now, summon the guardians! You must touch the prison to lure them in!" Garyn yelled.
Dauragon ran up to the spirit and used what little magic he had left to summon the guardians.
Aedalyn and Amrien slowly made their way over and watched in silence.
From the two pools of lava came the atronachs Ragebinder and Blaze, they floated above the lava but did not move.
"What are they waiting for?" Amrien questioned, looking back and forth between the two.
"Something's not right…." Dauragon added, narrowing his eye and grabbing his blade.
Ragebinder leaned forward, an unsavory hiss escaping her lips like water cooling lava. "What will you do now, worms?" she questioned, fire forming in her hands.
Blaze followed suit, fire forming in her hands as well. "Mortals, burn in my flames unending!" she hissed.
"You don't want to do that….trust me!" Aedalyn yelled, now glaring at Ragebinder. "We had a deal!"
Ragebinder laughed. "Foolish mortal, we are daedra! You should have never trusted us from the beginning!"
A bright light flashed before the group and before them now stood the spiritual form of Mavos Siloreth, the mage from Othrenis.
"Daedra, hear me! Return to your purpose! Balreth cannot walk the realm of mortals, you must cage him again! Fulfill your ancient vows, imprison Balreth!"
The two atronachs became silent, calm almost, as they began to float towards the group.
Amrien instinctively stood in front of his sister, not entirely sure at what would happen.
"We obey." Ragebinder hissed, almost reluctantly.
Ragebinder and Blaze floated on opposite sides of the spiritual Balreth and released the same fire-colored beams towards him.
A large ball of magical flame surrounded Balreth and a flash of white light filled the caldera, causing the group to shield their eyes.
"Forgive us, master." Blaze rasped.
The flashing light subsided. Balreth and both atronachs were gone, forever bound to Ash Mountain.
The activity within the caldera calmed, the geysers refusing to shoot forth anymore lava.
Night had fallen, the orange glow of the lava pools were the only source of light, other than the moon, within the caldera.
"Are you alright, sister?" Amrien asked, putting a hand on Aedalyn's back.
She nodded. "For the most part. I did burn my arm and I think some ash went up my nose. Other than that, just really exhausted." she looks up at him. "What about you? Did Garyn heal you all the way?"
This time Amrien nods. "Yeah….though I'm really going to hate life in the morning. Going to be sore for a while after getting thrown into the caldera wall like a child's doll."
Aedalyn couldn't help but chuckle and sigh at the same time. "I'm glad you're alive….that's what matters to me."
"You have that little faith in your brother? I'll admit, I'm a little offended."
While the bosmer siblings tended to their wounds, Dauragon walked over to the spiritual form of Mavos.
"Shouldn't you….you know, be at peace or something?" he asked in a rather unorthodox manner.
"It's finished….Balreth is now forever sealed in Ash Mountain." He looks at the dunmer in a judging manner and nods. "You've done well….for a mortal."
Mavos waves his hands and a portal appears behind Dauragon.
"You should go. This is no place for mortals like you."
"Thank you, ser." Dauragon bowed. "Tribunal guide you to your rest."
"Safe travels to you, troubled one." Mavos replied, disappearing into a bright light.
Dauragon walked over to the portal.
"Unless you want to wait for this place to fill up with lava, I suggest we leave!" he yelled to the two Bosmer siblings.
"Balreth has been sealed, let us be on our way." Garyn added, running towards the portal.
000
When group was on the other side of the portal, they found themselves back at the camp near the base of Ash Mountain.
Soldiers were cheering and some were already drinking in celebration of the victory against Balreth.
"I'm sorry to leave you so soon…" Garyn apologized "But I need to send a message to my father about our victory here."
Amrien put a hand on Garyn's shoulder. "It's alright, Garyn, we understand. Do what you need to, we aren't leaving right away."
Garyn nodded and immediately stopped a courier who walked towards the main tent of the camp.
Amrien smirked in amusement as he watched the dunmer give orders to some soldiers nearby.
"He fought well, considering the situation we were in." Aeda added with crossed arms.
"Do you still hate him?" Amrien asked.
"Hate is a strong word, brother." she teased. "He proved himself, a little, so I guess I can show some respect in that regard."
"You made it!"
Amrien and Aedalyn turned around to see Heddic and Eydis running over to them from a nearby tent.
Eydis pulled Aeda into a hug. "I knew you could do it!"
The hug was actually a lot stronger than Aedalyn anticipated and she felt a little pressure around her torso as Eydis seemed to pull her closer.
"Uh, haha, it was no trouble, really…..um, could you loosen your grip, maybe? I feel my chest caving in a little."
Eydis pulled back with a gasp of surprise. "Sorry! I sometimes forget that we nords are stronger than we look." she chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.
Heddic smacked Amrien on the back, knocking the air from his lungs. "How was it?!" he asked with a huge grin.
"Great." Amrien wheezed. "If you call getting thrown into a caldera wall a good time."
Heddic snorted out a laugh, waving his hand dismissively. "Ha! At least you're alive, which is more than we can say about the bastard you just sealed away!"
"What's next for you?" Eydis asked, placing her hands on her hips as she looked at the group curiously.
The bosmer siblings looked to each other, unsure.
"We'll go where we're needed." Dauragon spoke up, leaning against a rock nearby.
Amrien and Aedalyn looked at the dunmer in surprise, their brows rising curiously.
"With Balreth now sealed away….there's nothing left for us but to find more work."
"Don't you have somewhere else to be, ash-skin?" Amrien asked a bit rudely.
"Someone needs to make sure you two tree-hugging idiots stay outta trouble."
"We only got into trouble after you decided to join us." Amrien stated coldly, putting his hands on his hips.
A vein grew visible on Dauragon's forehead. "And who's the idiot that rushes into battle without thinking things through?" he questioned.
Amrien stepped forward, glaring at the Dunmer angrily.
"You, last I checked." he replied coldly. "I mean, getting thrown into the caldera wall by Balreth before the fight even started….that's pretty careless."
Dauragon stands from his leaning position and takes a few steps towards him.
"And when you always jump through your shadows at more than one foe, wouldn't your previous statement perfectly describe you as the reckless one?" he questioned quickly, beginning to take his staff from his back.
"Need I remind you of your divines awful habit of setting things ablaze for no gods damned reason?!"
Aedalyn places her face inside her right hand and sighs heavily. "Not again." she whines, turning her back to the now arguing elves.
Heddic laughs and puts out his hands. "Now, now, let's calm down you two. I can feel the tension from here."
"You could cut it with a blade." Eydis adds, smirking.
As both Eydis and Heddic joked around, Aedalyn caught a familiar face in the crowd of soldiers near one of the tents.
An Argonian woman in mage robes notices her staring and motions her over.
"Eydis, Heddic, I need to go talk to someone. Can you make sure these two don't kill each other until I get back?" she asked with a smirk.
"Of course!" Heddic grins.
"You'll be back for drinks afterwards, won't you?" Eydis asked with a smile.
Aedalyn shrugged. "Not sure, we may be in a hurry." Her brows furrow in apology and she smiles when Eydis nods in understanding.
"Another time then." Eydis sighs. She gasps as she watches her brother begin to put himself between Dauragon and Amrien. "I'd better go help him calm the children."
Aedalyn chuckled as she walked towards the familiar face. As she got closer, Aedalyn knew exactly who she was.
Walks-In-Ash bowed her head in welcome and Aedalyn stood before her.
"Victory is like a cooling rain, yes?" she questioned before turning to witness the squabbling group. "Is everything alright over there?" she asked with a worried tone.
Aedalyn nodded. "It's the heat. I think it's melting both of their brains." she joked, crossing her arms. "Is there something you need, Walks-In-Ash?"
"I'm afraid I have some bad news. Balreth is bound, but the Covenant still threatens the Ashlands."
Aedalyn sighed in frustration. "Of course they are."
"We've received word that a major offensive has washed up on the shore to the west of Ebonheart. Pact and Covenant troops fight to hold the land coral maze that is Vivec's Antlers."
"Vivec…as in one of the tribunal?" Aedalyn questioned.
Walks-In-Ash nodded. "Xuth, the very same. The dark elves see the coral as a gift from their living god. He saved them, they say, in the Akaviri war. But, that does not matter. The Pact military could use your groups skills and prowess in their fight."
"It seems everyone does these days." Aedalyn sighed. "Thank you for the information, we'll head for Vivec's Antlers as soon as we can."
Walks-In-Ash bows in gratitude. "Go well along the river, my friend."
Aedalyn bows back. "May the Hist guide you safely, Walks-In-Ash….farewell."
The two parted ways and Aedalyn walked back over to the squabbling elves. Heddic stood in the middle of them as they argued at one another.
"Come on, you two, this is no time to be arguing. A great victory has been earned this day, let's celebrate!" Heddic cheers, putting both hands on their shoulders.
"Stay out of this!" both elves yelled.
Thwack!
"Would you two knock it off!" Aedalyn yelled, her fists balled up.
Amrien and Dauragon, lying face first in the ash covered ground, groaned in response.
"Get your mounts ready, we just got a new job!" she yelled, storming over towards Kari near the entrance to the camp.
Heddic and Eydis held each other off to the side.
"She's really scary, for a Bosmer." Eydis adds with a shaky voice.
"Who knew someone so little could have so much fire in them." Heddic responds, keeping himself from laughing.
Amrien groaned as he picked himself up off the floor. "Ugh, this isn't over you damn pyromaniac." he threatened.
Dauragon glared at him, also rubbing the back of his head. "We'll see about that, antlers." he walked off towards his horse, receiving no reaction from Aedalyn, who stared out at the land to the west of the camp.
"Heddic, Eydis, thank you for your help. I'm sorry we won't be able to celebrate with you." Amrien thanked with an outstretched hand.
Heddic grabs his hand and grins. "It seems the gods have something in store for you, my friend. Safe travels to you, comrade!"
Eydis puts her hand on Amrien's shoulder and smile. "We'll be stationed in Mournhold in a few days. Come and see us if you ever find yourself there."
"We will, thanks again!" Amrien ran towards the front of the camp and hopped onto Kudri.
"Are you two finally ready to get going?" Aedalyn asked a bit coldly.
"Where are we headed, sister?" Amrien asked, trying to get her to cheer up.
"West, to a place called Vivec's Antlers….the Covenant have anchored there."
Aedalyn noticed Dauragon's grip on the reigns of his horse tighten. A fire burning in his eyes.
"I trust you'll behave yourself, mage?" she asked, giving him a stern look.
"No promises." Dauragon replied, averting his gaze.
The three elves ushered their mounts forward, veering off to the right after leaving the bridge, and the camp, behind them.
In the corner of Aedalyn's vision, she saw an ethereal figure standing near the wayshrine as they passed. An elderly man….in moth-eaten robes and holding a wooden staff.
(I'm sorry for the late update, I've been really stuck on this one. I hope the next one doesn't take as long. The group heads for Vivec's Antlers! Can they stop the Covenant forces and find the Coral Heart? Next Chapter: Ebonheart! Look forward to it! ^.^)