Chapter Eleven

"Over here! Please help me down, I'm stuck." The man was wrapped up in the web, and struggling to get free. Jakob debated whether or not to trust this man, as he did look like one of the bandits that were hiding out in here. He was a Dunmer and had dark red eyes, and was wearing hide armor, something shiny showing through the webs attached to his belt that Jakob pretended not to see. "Please" he begged, and Jakob cut him down carefully. As soon as his feet landed on the ground, his hand went to his belt, and he turned to run down the corridor behind him.

"You fool, why should I share the treasure with anyone?" The thief started to run down the winding path, with Kila and Jakob in pursuit. Weaving around corners, they finally came to what looked like an ancient crypt. The man was a ways in front of them, probably used to being on the run. Kila noticed skeletons laying in slots in the wall, instantly getting the creeps. When Jakob and Kila turned the corner, they both stopped in their tracks. A draugr with its piercing eyes and rotting flesh was holding the thief up by the throat, and eventually squeezing hard enough to kill him, dropping the body on the ground. The draugr then looked at them, not happy with the intruders. It started to make its way towards Kila who was in front of Jakob, while unsheathing what looked like an ancient Nord sword. It raised its sword to strike her but she blocked it, all of her training with her father coming back in an instance. She parried his blocks, moving with ease, and sliced at its stomach which caused it to reel back and double over. Then that's when Jakob stepped forward, and finished it off by bringing down his sword on the back of its neck, severing the head. As the head hit the floor, they noticed that two more came alive from the wall on opposite sides of the room, and shakily made their way towards Kila and Jakob. Instantly they turned their backs to each other with their swords raised, and fought the draugrs until both were dead. Jakob noticed that Kila's fighting style was very graceful and fluid, almost like it came naturally to her. She was efficient with her swings, and was very precise he noticed. This girl was lying, she is a fighter he thought. After the draugr were dead and looted for gold, Kila sat down on a wooden bench, plopping down and resting her sword on her lap, reaching for her water pouch.

"Damn draugrs, don't know when to give up." Jakob said, not really expecting an answer. He needed a break as well, and sat down next to her. She offered the water to him, and he took it and took a long drink.

"Have you seen them before?" she asked, taking back the water. "Yeah once when I was exploring a cave near my house. I was a teenager and they creeped me out so much that I just bolted out of there and sprinted back home." They both laughed a little bit at the image, then Jakob got up to investigate the thief. He pulled out what looked like a claw made of gold from his waist, and a journal that was stuck in his belt in the back. Kila asked what the claw was, and he handed it to her while he started to flip through his journal.

"What does it say?" Kila asked, noticing the symbols on the bottom of it.

"Uh, something about the key to Bleak Falls Barrow…get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door….um…test to keep the unworthy away…the solution is in the palm of your hands. Well, looks like we have a key."

"Yep, now all we need is a door" she said while putting the claw into her pack.

Just then, Kila noticed a spiked wall or door across the room, and stood to investigate it. She started to walk towards it when Jakob grabbed her from behind and pulled her back roughly.

"Watch out! It's probably a trap. See that round stone on the ground, that's what probably sets it off." He was still holding her, one hand around her waist and the other holding onto her arm. Kila would have enjoyed the moment more if she wasn't so close to being impaled. She was breathing hard, and with each breath she could feel his strong but calming arm around her midsection. Realizing he was holding her longer than he should have, he let go of her, missing the feeling of having her in his arms already. She turned to face him, pushing her hair out of her face and exhaling out her mouth.

"Woo, thank you. That was a close one." Her face was bright red she could tell, not having many men touch her like that. After making it past the spiked wall, they easily finished off another draugr and made their way down a flight of stairs. They heard the sound of metal scraping against stone ahead of them, and as they turned the corner, before them was a narrow hallway with swinging blades.

"Shit. How are we gonna get around this?" Jakob stopped and put his sword on his back.

"I'll crawl under them. There's probably a switch on the other side to stop them." She was taking off her pack and her sword.

"Wait, you don't have to do this. I can go. Really, I don't want you to get hurt." He had grabbed her arm gently, and Kila noticed he actually did look concerned. She smiled.

"I'll be ok! It's not that long of a corridor. And how are you gonna crawl with that big clunky armor on?" She was acting more confident than she felt, but knew that she needed to do this. She laid on her stomach in front of the swinging blades, and started to crawl forward. She had a small moment of panic when she was under the first blade, but fear would only slow her down. Kila kept her body low, and shimmied her way along the ground, and eventually had enough room to stand up on the other side. Immediately to her left she saw a chain coming from the wall, and pulled it, stopping the blades from swinging. She smiled, and yelled to him that it was clear. He grabbed her stuff, and made his way through the corridor. Kila was wiping herself off, and Jakob handed her her sword.

"You ready to keep going?" He asked her, noticing how relieved she looked after doing something so dangerous and surviving. She nodded, and put on her pack, leading the way.