A/N: Next installment and I hope you all thoroughly enjoy. All the best, catalina
Someone was trying to force something down her throat and she coughed, putting up her hands to shove it away. Pain radiated and she groaned and then choked, each cough making the pain worse. Hands held her steady and she tried opening her eyes when he spoke.
"Easy, little inferno, easy. You've got to drink this. I didn't go through hell just to lose you to that damn poison."
Aine could do nothing but blink at Seamus' rather drawn face and she obediently opened her mouth. He tipped the potion bottle again and the cough this time was because of the taste. She pushed his hand away when she felt her gorge rising and fought it back. There was only a sip or two left and she finished it before she disentangled herself from Seamus' arms. The room still spun and her body ached like before, but she held Seamus off.
"Give me… a minute."
She was in a corner of the once deep black room and she leaned her back against the wall. It wasn't a large room and there was the usual jumble of abandoned Dwemer tools and artifacts scattered on a few shelves. Seamus had lit a few torches above them and she saw the sprawled body of that monster in the doorway. Another door led even further into Alftand and she too quickly ran out of things to study. Her eyes went back to Seamus reluctantly.
"What happened?" She quizzed, not quite ready for any awkward conversations.
"You about died, Aine… again. You've got to stop it, old girl, I can't do this much longer."
She let out a snort of laughter and winced, her fingers pressing to the scarf still tied around her waist. Seamus looked rough, his eyes were shadowed and his face pale. She gave him a searching look, not really trying to hide it, and couldn't forget that little voice that had whispered those suspicions about skooma. She couldn't believe it; Seamus was serious this time and she - trusted him.
"I didn't think there'd be a next time," She finally answered and found she couldn't really bring her voice above a murmur. The past few weeks had been entirely too long, "Forget that, Seamus, and forgive me. I was too - too impulsive. You were trying to help that… J'darr and I - I… I was myself and that screwed you. I'm sorry."
Seamus let out a sigh and sat on the floor beside her, his shoulder and knee bumping hers. There was a moment of brief silence, and it hurt that it was not companionable like it once was. He steepled his fingers in his lap and studied them.
"I know, Aine, and I shouldn't have kept my methods from you. No, let me finish," He waited until Aine pressed her lips shut before going on, "You're just going to tell me that I didn't have a chance, but that's not true and I'm not going to let you give me a way out, not this time. I had a chance. J'darr gave me multiple chances and I was too invested in helping him to care. I just… I could see… I could see myself in him and I… I wanted to save him because - because I was saved."
"Seamus," She murmured and reached with her free hand to touch his cheek. Her guilt grew and she let him grip her wrist, pressing her palm fully to his face, "You can't do that. Give yourself some credit because you wouldn't be here if you didn't possess one hell of a strong streak. You saved yourself and you know that."
"Strong or stubborn?"
She couldn't keep from chuckling and winced again, closing her eyes for a minute. Seamus tightened his hold.
"I suppose I'm not one to talk, am I? But you know what I mean, right? You know you're stronger than that. If you want to give me some credit, I can't stop you, but you have to keep some for yourself or you'll fall into that trap," She tipped him a self-deprecating smile and stroked her fingertips against his cheek, "I may not be here to catch you if you fall and you'll need to remember that you have the means to catch yourself."
He returned her smile, but his was real. Squeezing her wrist and leaning forward, he brushed a kiss on her cheek and let her go.
"Well, we shouldn't let ourselves get separated again, then. How are you feeling?"
"Tired, but ready. Pretty much my usual," She got to her feet without embarrassing herself and touched the scarf again. It was bloody, but she felt good enough about leaving it alone, "What was that you gave me?"
"A little bit of everything. Makes you feel like a brand new person, huh?" Aine leveled her gaze on him and he shrugged, adding, "Just a standard antidote. You kept the dart, right? I couldn't find it anywhere."
"I have it. Let's keep going."
Aine felt the weakness down to the tips of her fingers, but that horrible, debilitating dizziness was gone. Which meant that Seamus had saved her and the poison was curbed at least. She didn't think it was completely gone and all she could do was hope it gave her respite long enough to finish this.
The passage behind the door was a dog leg, the other end housing a huge set of double doors and one Falmer that was taken down easily. Beyond the doors, the space grew cavernous once more and steps led up to a wide landing where another set continued behind a large gate. There were more Falmer here that didn't pose a problem with both of them working together. From the landing, two staircases climbed to a balcony over the door they entered and Aine, when she couldn't find a lever or crank for the gate at hand, turned to head that way. Seamus trailed her and she realized how much she had missed that.
The landing above was open, carved with the same Dwemer geometry that decorated the tunnels and the rest of Alftand. Seamus wandered to a large chest in a center alcove in the wall while Aine made her way to the ornate lever on the far side. She grabbed it without thinking about what she was doing and had to bite back a cry when her bad shoulder gave a severe twinge. She bent forward against the lever and spared a brief look at Seamus. He was busy with the contents of the chest and missed her moment of weakness. She took the lever in her good hand this time and had more success.
The gate rattled upward and Seamus refastened the larger pouch on his belt. They walked up the second set of stairs together and found a split staircase with an ornate landing in between them. Walls finished in gold stood on the far sides of both staircases and Aine couldn't see the alcoves until they had reached the top step. A mass of more gold and silver-tinted machinery lay at the base of one and Seamus nudged it with his toe.
"Hey, at least we didn't have to fight this guy."
Aine frowned at that choice of words and stepped closer to see what he meant. As she did so, there was a tremendous sound of rending metal and something that eerily resembled a scream, if metal could scream. She whirled and saw what Seamus meant firsthand - which was not a good thing.
The sound came from an enormous figure constructed entirely from the metal that had crumpled here. She could make out a face with narrow, rectangular eyes that glowed bright white. Steam billowed from various pipes and the smell of the thing was similar to that of a forge.
Aine's heart dropped and then began racing, wondering what the hell they were going to do now. This thing looked impregnable and it wasn't very encouraging to face off with it feeling like she did. She drew her axe that looked laughable and Seamus was the one to come up with a plan.
"Anni, come on!"
He dragged her from the gated section and bolted for the upper landing where the lever was. She guessed his thought, but he was in better shape than she was at the moment and he flipped the lever back as the metal monster reached the gate.
"Well, now what?"
"Now we can take the thing out," Aine answered simply, watching the monster batter itself against the gate. The metal grid vibrated with each hit, but showed no sign of weakening which was oddly encouraging, "We'll just have to find its weakness."
"Great, that should be no problem."
Aine studied the thing again, watching the steam and smelling that hot oil and metal scent. Oil…
She turned to Seamus.
"What do you have for an arsenal?"
He frowned at her.
"Arsenal?"
"It's going to be water or fire that will do the most damage. Unless you've secretly been studying conjuring spells, our option is fire. What do you have?"
Seamus immediately unloaded his belt and scattered his ingredients along the ground. Aine bent forward with him, her pain shoved to the back of her mind. As usual, he was loaded and she began mixing. He knew what her recipe was two steps in and they soon had a mound of projectiles. Seamus glanced at her when they sat back.
"You sure this will work, Anni?"
"Only one way to find out," She forgot her wounded arm again and nearly dropped a handful when the pain came roaring back, "Shit."
"Maybe let me? You're overdoing it again."
"Later, Seamus, let's try this."
The best point of attack was the landing and Seamus took careful aim. He flung the little trick and it sailed perfectly through the grid of the gate and landed on the ground near the monster's feet. It flashed to life - and flames - more eagerly than Aine expected and she was grimly pleased to see her theory proved. The oil in the thing's leg caught briefly, but it flared and then died and Aine had a sinking feeling they would need more direct contact.
"Can you get it over the top of the gate?"
"Over the top?"
"We need a direct hit, Seamus. This is definitely going to work, but we need them to hit it, not catch it off the bounce."
Seamus shrugged and then lobbed one over the top of the gate like she asked. It hit the ground with another flash of flame that once again briefly caught the monster's metal shell. Aine shook her head and made a snap decision.
"All right, then, change of plans. You have a much better arm than I do at the moment, so keep firing."
"Aine, what the hell are you doing?"
Seamus caught her arm in one hand when she turned for the lever again.
"I'm playing the bait, Seamus, and you're going to play the hero," She pulled free, "Like I said, keep firing."
"You're going to get us both killed."
Aine gave him a wave and hit the lever. The monster immediately stomped out of the gated area and Seamus fired. This time the direct hit gave her the effect Aine wanted.
The oil caught fully and began creeping into the joints of the monster. It flailed, swinging its arms and fanning the flames. Seamus threw a second and this time nailed it in the head. More fires erupted and there was another metallic scream. Unfortunately the thing was now on fire and very pissed off, and heading for the steps.
Aine hurried to stand at the top of them, her bow in hand. She debated briefly on whether she should run down the other side and distract it, but every muscle in her body protested. The effects of the poison were still strong and she wouldn't last long on the ground against their metal monster. And she felt some encouragement when it staggered just shy of the steps.
Seamus had turned his attention to the stairs and fired a few more. Aine combined this with arrows, fighting the growing tightness in her shoulder with each one. The monster was weakening; it tripped on the steps and fell to its knees. Another of Seamus' projectiles hit it in the head and Aine let an arrow fly into one of the cables visible in the neck. The monster tried a few more stairs and Aine glanced over her shoulder at Seamus.
"I'm out," He said and came to stand at her elbow, "Now what?"
She shot another arrow, this one hitting the other side of that cable. With a loud hiss and a jet of steam, the thing popped loose and the monster stiffened before collapsing forward. Its head fell to one side and its body went still.
Aine let out a sigh and dropped her bow to her side. She felt something like regret for having to end this thing. It was clearly just doing what it was meant to, protecting this ruin from those that would harm it, and she couldn't fault it for that.
"You ready?"
"Yeah, yes, I'm ready," She started to sling her bow back and couldn't stretch herself in that direction. Seamus did it for her without a word and she glanced up at him, "Let's hope Blackreach and that damn Scroll are in one of the next rooms."
She slipped down the other staircase before he could start in on her. Seamus followed with a quick, impatient sounding exhale and they headed to the other area. They started up yet another set of steps and both stopped at the same time when they heard heated conversation. It was a man and woman arguing, the man's voice deep and smooth and the woman's even and passionate. They went back and forth over who actually owned the haul from the ruins and Aine let out a quiet moan when she retrieved her bow again. Seamus' shield was slung to his arm and his sword made a soft metallic ring when it came loose of the scabbard.
Aine listened for a moment and felt her reluctance for further death here. She lowered her bow a bit and stepped forward, pulling her arm from Seamus' sudden grab.
"If you'll listen to me for a second," She said evenly, stepping fully into the light where the two could see her. They rounded on her and Seamus started forward. It took just a brush of her fingers to stop him from attacking and the four of them stared at each other for a long moment, "I don't really give a damn about who thinks they own whatever is concealed here, we just need a way into Blackreach and the Tower of Mzark. If you have any knowledge of either, I'd appreciate it; if not, you two can go back to trying to kill each other."
The two of them exchanged a quick glance. The man was Imperial and the woman a Redguard. They were both well-armored and with the way the Redguard stood forward, Aine got the impression she was the alpha warrior here, maybe even a bodyguard for the Imperial.
"You want information? I have a hard time believing that considering what's supposed to be here."
The Imperial's words were hard and sharp, and the Redguard's sword came up in response. Aine wasn't impressed. She shrugged her shoulders and hid her wince.
"All right, never mind. Seamus and I aren't interested in the haul," She nudged him sharply when he muttered 'well' in an argumentative way and pressed on, "We have other things to deal with and I thought maybe we could band together. But, like I said, if you want to just kill one another, I'll let you do that."
The Redguard's blade dropped a bit even as the Imperial's eyes flashed.
"No, Sulla, wait a minute," She said softly, "This could work. We need help and here these two come, I think we should take them up on it. You two are wanting to get into Blackreach? We're the last two of an expedition into this ruin, believing there is a - substantial - reward there. Answer me honestly, is that what you seek?"
Aine blinked before she could help it, but caught herself before she looked at Seamus. That wouldn't do. Though these two might not notice.
"I don't care what Blackreach holds, apart from what I'm looking for," Even Aine heard the exhaustion in her voice and it distracted Seamus from his usual smart remarks to have her to worry about, "You can take whatever the hell we find; as long as it's not what I want. Do we have a deal?"
The Imperial's steady, impassive, black gaze finally flickered. He sheathed his weapon, but there was something in those eyes that seemed on the verge of being unhinged. Aine turned her attention abruptly to him and didn't bother with the Redguard anymore.
"All right, Umana, I'll bite on this. We'll go into Blackreach together."
Aine looked him over a moment longer and then nodded once before she entered the space the two others stood. It was a wide floor plan with huge pillars supporting the roof. In the center was a carved floor where a large, rectangular pedestal stood. Its top held another Dwemer artifact made up of gold covered metal. Aine stepped around closer to Umana and Sulla and found an ornate indentation where something could be placed. Something with a square base.
"This is as far as we could get," Umana's authoritative voice was loud and rather grating in this alcove and she moved closer to Aine's elbow, "There wasn't any mention of needing any key to get further. Those Khajiits-"
Seamus' quick intake of breath prompted Aine's interruption.
"They didn't know," She spoke rapidly, sparing only one brief, warning look at her friend, "No one would have unless they followed the instruction that I had and that was… Never mind. I have the way forward, it wasn't their fault and you can't blame them."
She felt Seamus' warm glance and chose to ignore it. Instead, she pulled the attunement sphere from her bag and set it into the square slot at the top. Immediately the carved floor began dropping, forming a spiral staircase leading down.
Aine watched it with little interest. She was so tired, so done with this, and it seemed like nothing was going to surprise her at this point.
"What do you think if we try to-"
"Leave it," Aine interrupted Sulla in a dry voice when he reached for the sphere, "There's no need to trap us down here, so leave it."
"You don't think we'll need it further in, Anni?"
"We were told we needed it to get into Blackreach and theoretically it's done that, right?" Aine quizzed, glancing at their new friends over her shoulder. She waited for their agreement before adding, "So we don't have to risk it."
She didn't wait for any other protests and led the way down into the dark. Seamus' flint flashed and he held the torch up so they could actually see the narrow steps. They wound deeper into the earth and finally opened on one of the most unusual places Aine had ever seen.
Blackreach was lit in an eerie blue, its sources from vein-like rivulets throughout the walls and ceiling. Huge fungi arched overhead and smaller growths clustered at their bases. Spores from the fungi floated near the ceiling and Seamus' torch almost wasn't needed. Mist curled around and through the buildings ahead and Aine's boot echoed strangely against the old cobbled street when she stepped off the last stair.
"What is this place?" Seamus questioned slowly, stopping beside Aine.
"Blackreach is part of a collection of cities that the Dwemer founded when they discovered Aetherium," Sulla explained, his voice deepening to a perfect storytelling pitch, "That's what gives this place that blue light. It's incredibly strong and you can craft just about anything from it, but you need special tools and forge for it. The Dwemer were incredibly industrious and they created what was required. Unfortunately those plans were lost long ago and no one has managed anything close to the tools."
"And that's what you're looking for," Aine wasn't asking and she shifted her bag around to pull Signus' map loose, "Good luck with that. We have our own task to complete. You seem familiar with this place, Sulla, do you know what direction the Tower of Mzark would be in?"
Sulla crouched when Aine did and grasped the other end of the map. Umana stood behind him and Seamus lowered his torch so more light fell across the map.
"We're here, the old market is down that way, and the laboratory is north of there. The Tower is down here," Sulla pointed and then traced the path with one finger, "What's your plan? Do you want to continue together or do we split up here?"
"You wanted into Blackreach and I did that; I wanted to know the Tower's location and you just gave me the information," Aine shrugged her shoulders and folded up the maps again, "It's up to you, Sulla, we'd welcome the help, but it's up to you."
Umana was looking at her boss and Aine saw her lips flatten into a line. She glanced at Sulla who rubbed his hand along his stubbly chin and looked around Blackreach. The air was still and cool, but Aine thought she could hear steps or movement further in the depths.
"We won't waste anymore of our time. Or yours," Sulla reached out with one hand, "You have my thanks, Anni, was it?"
"For Seamus, yes. My name's Aine," She shook his hand and heard Seamus snort with laughter, "Good luck."
They parted ways and Seamus extinguished his torch as they followed the cobbles in the direction Sulla had indicated.
"Thanks for making me feel so special."
"Well, it's true. Have you ever heard anyone else call me Anni? That's your name for me, Seamus, and I rather like the idea of just you using it."
"That poison must've done something to your head. You're never normally this…"
"Understanding?"
"Affectionate," Seamus cocked his head at her and met her gaze steadily when she looked up at him in surprise, "What is going on?"
Aine let out a breath and turned her attention back to the incredible landscape Blackreach supplied. It was so other-wordly and strange, but that could only distract one for so long, and she knew Seamus wasn't about to let this rest.
"I was an ass. I should've seen how much J'darr's state of mind meant to you and I never should have dismissed him because he was an addict," She shrugged and reached to twist a lock of hair back behind her ear, "You needed to see him succeed because you feel you're in kind of the same predicament and I completely brushed that - and consequently you - off. I left you alone, Seamus, when you could have… if there had actually been - I'm sorry."
Seamus put his hand on her arm and stopped their progress. His brown eyes were warm and he shook his head a bit.
"No more apologies, Anni. We've already settled that and there's no need to rehash it now, huh?"
"So you're saying drop it? Seamus, I-"
"I'm saying drop it. We had it out, Aine, and it's over. Let's move on," He squeezed her arm and added gently, "Really, it's okay. You don't need to apologize anymore."
Aine felt there was all that need and more, but she didn't push it. Instead, they pressed on. The place grew even more impressive. The mist deepened and made the ruins of buildings loom larger than ever, shadows giving it an ominous air. There were groups of Falmer here and there that were taken care of with ease and Aine found herself depending on Seamus more as time went on.
Her shoulder ached and the poison seemed to be slowly gaining a foothold. She felt rather woozy and any rapid movements sent her brain spinning uselessly. Though maybe that was due to blood loss. The scarf around her waist was sticky in places, stiff in others, and she knew that at least a few of her stitches had pulled enough to contribute to the bloody mess. But that didn't matter at the moment; she would rest later.