Disclaimer: I don't own Trailer Park Boys or Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Apologies for the very long absence away from uploading compared to my normal schedule of chapter uploads. This storylines second half has definitely been quite a challenge to write given I am having to write the entirety of the Bleak falls barrow ruin walkthrough, several TPB season 1 episode 2 moments and some original parts. Which is why I am splitting this into 3 parts as opposed to 2 given that I've come to realise how challenging it truly is to cover the entirety of the quest in 1 chapter. I hope you all understand my decision concerning this and if you do thank you it means a lot to me. Anyways onto this long awaited chapter of the story.
Bleak Falls Barrow Part 2
As the trio walked up higher and higher on the mountain where their destination lay in mind the cold temperature around them increased higher and higher. The massive amount of snow appearing before them covered the terrain, their main path was the most evident of the temperature drop. The most affected by this cold weather in particular was Ricky who was practically shivering now somewhat regretting taking the trip thanks to the chills affecting him.
"Fuck it is cold right now, I swear to talos it was warmer some time ago" Ricky muttered to himself in complaint about the current condition.
"Well Ricky what did you expect we're higher up on the fuck'n mountain now, there less air than before" Bubbles explained as he lagged behind Ricky heading up the path.
"Aren't mountains closer to the sun or whatever so shouldn't it be warmer right now" Ricky explained his interpreted logic once again confusing Bubbles beyond measure.
"Well Ricky unfortunately thats not the way shit like that works" Bubbles replied as he tried to get Ricky to understand.
"What that is fucked" Ricky said annoyed.
Bubbles simply facepalmed as he tried to keep his mind rationale from dealing with Rickys confusing way of thinking.
Suddenly up ahead of them Julian halted stopping to take a look at something in his view, intrigued Bubbles and Ricky walked up beside him to see the sight for themselves. Before them stood an old ruin of a tower resting on the edge of a cliff.
"Hey boys do you think any of the bandits are in this fucking tower" Bubbles asked wanting to proceed with caution so as to not be killed in an ambush.
"I don't know Bubs I can't see any of those fuckheads out in the open but there could be some inside it" Julian answered narrowing his stare as he scanned the outpost for any sign of the thieves."Bubs Me and you are gonna take a closer look at it while Ricky stays here" he added.
"Why do I have to stay back" Ricky whined not taking into account Julians plan.
"Cause its best for you to stay back here while me and Bubs do a quiet check up" Julian argued trying to get Ricky to grasp what he was staying here.
" Quiet… Julian you're wearing fucking heavy armour how in the fuck do you think I'll be the one to fuck this up" Ricky retorted which only frustrated the Breton who knew the insult was partly right but knew Ricky could be worse in stealth regardless of louder sounding gear.
"Ricky what are you fucking complaining about, if shit goes down me and Bubbles will be the ones getting attacked not you" Julian explained which did soothe Ricky a bit upon him realising the benefits.
"Fine just don't take too long its way too fucking cold right now" Ricky replied now willing stay back.
"Sounds good Rick, alright Bubs lets go" Julian said as he and Bubbles began to quietly approach the tower treading lightly as they could across the layer of snow. While they approached Julian drew his warhammer out of his back scabbard whilst Bubbles activated his sparks spell with balls of energy crackling in his palms
Upon closer inspection as they grew closer to the entrance they saw that the bottom level room was devoid of life. The only proof being of life being the various scattered bootprints in the snow. Upon entering inside they found the first floor to be an area filled with various crates, piles of hay and an oil lamp that sat on top of one of the crates. After they were done looking through the room they quietly proceeded up the ramp that led to the second floor all the while preparing themselves for an inevitable attack.
Once they reached the second level they saw that like the bottom was empty with any of its denizens having long since left it behind. The room though was not without its valuables what with it containing a somewhat filled up chest sat on a high lookout vantage point and several sacks leaning against the bottom wall.
Within the contents of the chest lay 52 gold coins, a pair of hidden bracers and a silver necklace. Bubbles took out the silver necklace while Julian took the 52 coins as well as the bracer pair to give to a certain Nord waiting some distance from the tower. Bubbles then went over to the sacks of gold which he pocketed while Julian continued searching the room eventually coming across a small coin purse which he grabbed and bagged.
Having been sastified with their search they made their way back down the tower, walking out of it and back over to where Ricky stood. "How was it Julian?" Ricky asked curious as he had been waiting for a while.
"Well for starters it looks like its mostly clear, but judging by the footprints and the shit left behind some bandits were definitely around some time recently" Julian answered.
"Fuck we might still have to deal with those dicks " Ricky said aggravated with the knowledge of still having to prepare for some inevitable fight. Which while they could somewhat deal with but would still be a major pain.
"Yeah but hey look on the fuck'n bright side think of the reward Rick" Julian said motivating Ricky as the nord was reminded of the end goal which brought his confident edge back up. "Oh and Ricky I found these in the chest, figured you'd need them" Julian added taking out the hidden bracers attached to his belt and throwing them to Ricky who caught them.
"Thanks man" Ricky said thanking Julian for the gift he sent his way very appreciative of a few seconds he equipped the arm guards adding a whole new defensive layer to his current armour set. Once he was finished with that the trio continued on their way up their current path, following the tracks that led up to the ruin.
Sooner than expected the ruin of Bleak falls barrow began to appear visible far in the distance from the triumvirate. Getting closer and closer they could see they could see that the ancient Nord architecture was truly a spectacular sight to behold what with the entrance being built into the mountain side.
"Fuck there it is boys the goddamn fucking barrows themselves" Ricky said as the group admired the stunning display before them as they walked closer to the giant stairs that led up to the entrance.
Suddenly an arrow landed just a meter before them startling the trio, they quickly readied themselves with their weapons or in Bubbles case activating certain destruction spells. They looked up in the direction the arrow came from, seeing a group of bandit archers and warriors standing at the top of the steps.
"Hey fuck donkeys we don't want any trouble just give us the fucking claw and we'll be on our way" Ricky yelled out to them trying to convince them to not attacking and so prevent a fight. Though he only encouraged one as some of the bandits were annoyed with his colourful term for them.
"Listen to him theres a reasonable way out of this fucking situation, we can cut a deal that helps both of us" Julian added trying to help Ricky in getting the bandits to stand down though this failed as some of the pack snickered.
"We don't make deals with pieces of trash so I say to you if you value your hide leave or we'll paint the snow with your blood" one of the bandits threatened the trio his derogatory term instantly setting off Ricky who hotly replied.
"Oh yeah fucky come over here and we'll see who gets fucked up" Ricky yelled challenging him boldly which set off the bandits pack. The warriors among them charging towards them while the archers started to fire.
"Fuck sakes" Julian muttered angrily as he and the rest of the boys hid behind some stone pile structures to avoid the torrent of arrows.
"Julian we got some of these fuckers on the left" Bubbles warned seeing the warrriors run to his side of the defense layer.
"Don't worry Bubbles I got your back" Julian said reassuring his friend who was nervous but glad Julian could help him in fighting the bandits,"Ricky go around and distract those fucking archers" Julian ordered the Nord who was skeptical about this action but was willing to do it with their lives on the line as he ran from the right side.
Ricky went right through the line of fire with a few arrows bouncing off his shield and one went right past by his arm slicing it somewhat as it flew by. Upon reaching a new protective rock covering Ricky checked his arm saw his minor cut which stung a little aggravating him, giving him the angry drive to take out the archers.
While this occurred Julian engaged the first one of the Bandit warriors who was armed with a iron axe, the Breton swung his war hammer to deliver a head crack though this failed as the warrior dodged quickly just in time. Seeing Julian vulnerable thanks to his stamina focused swing d the warrior swung his axe to hack his neck but was struck by the electricity of Bubbles sparks spell shocking him. This brief stun allowing Julian to smash the bandits cranium with a powerful strike from his war hammer to the head. Bubbles eyes went wide as he just avoided the strike of an iron sword from one of the warriors which hit the side of rock structure sending a dull clang through the area.
Bubbles backing away from his attempted killer shot his flame spell at the bandit who thanks to his shield was able to repel thief then smashed the shield into Bubbles shoulder, bruising it and sending the Imperial to the floor. Seeing that Bubbles was down the bandit attempted to impale the latter with his sword. Thinking quickly Bubbles shot his flame spell at the thugs boots burning his feet which caused the bandit a lot of pain as he hollered and fell over. Bubbles seeing his open window of time got up and without any hesitation used his flames to finish off the bandit burning a hole through his chest.
Bubbles then looked over to see Julian who distracted with fighting the 3rd and final bandit who was equipped with a two handed sword. Seeing the opportunity to help him and finish off the last of the warriors Bubbles went with a different approach to his magic attack. Activating his spark spell creating an energy ball in his left and summoning the flame spell making a ball of elemental flame in his right. He combined the two destructions spells unleashing them at the bandit in a single attack that left him halfway drained of magic but ultimately instantly incinerated the thug surprising Julian who saw him get vaporised and reduced to ash.
"Damn… good job Bubs" Julian complimented thankful that the mage had helped him take care of his last opponent.
"No worries Julian glad we took care of these assholes" Bubbles said accepting his appreciation with pride in that his powers turned out to be quite helpful. He then activated a new spell of his, one that centred on healing damage on the body and in this particular case his injured shoulder. The golden glow of the healing light quickly set his shoulder back to normal after which deactivating the spell to help recharge his magic which had been somewhat drained by the prior fight.
The two then turned to the top of the stairs to the archers now aiming their bow at them, having a clear line of fire now that their fellows were out of the way. They were about to loose their arrows but were taken by surprise as a voice called out right beside them.
"Hey fuckheads" said Ricky who stabbed the first one of them through the chest killing the bandit, he then used the bandits corpse to block the arrow from the second archer getting the projectile stuck in the shoulder blade. The Nords kicked the corpse onto his fellow who collapsed on the ground impacted by the sudden weight landing on him. Seeing the opportune moment Ricky stabbed the last archer through the neck ensuring the thiefs death as the archer choked on his own blood.
"Great job Ricky you really took care of those assholes" Bubbles enthusiastically complimented as he walked up the stairs while Julian remained at the bottom looting the bandits corpses for any valuables, especially looking if any had a certain claw.
"Thanks Bubbles I'm glad I got some payback on these dicks, especially the one who shot me" Ricky said appreciating his compliment very much on account of his joy at finally being useful to his friends."Also Bubs do you think you can spare me some of the healing magic shit you use" Ricky asked hopeful his friend could help out with the cut while minor it was still aggravating.
"Sorry Ricky but the most my fuck'n healing spell can do is help myself" Bubbles said apologetically feeling guilty he been able to heal himself before and not Ricky, "do you want see if theres a potion or shit in the satchel" he offered to the Nord who accepted.
"Sure hand me one of them" Ricky replied, the latter handed him a minor health potion to which the Nord quickly downed. As expected the affects were mostly instantaneous with Rickys cut fading to a dull scar.
The two then turned to look at Julian who had finished searching the bodies of the bandits and now headed up to where the two stood.
"None of them have the fucking claw, but I did find some coins and other stuff so it wasn't a waste of time" Julian said confirming to the two of the results of his search, of which the most important object was not among.
"Well Julian I'm glad your 'looting' went well" Bubbles replied somewhat not really a fan of Julian taking stuff from dead guys but understood fundamentally that this band of killers wouldn't really miss it given their current state.
"I am as well" Julian replied noting Bubbles disapproval but knew the Imperial understood his reasons behind. The Breton then proceeded to look over the rest of the area noting that there was no where the Golden claw realistically or possibly could be. He inwardly sighed to himself realising that there was only one thing left to do and with this in mind he proceeded to address the rest of the trio about it.
"Well it looks like the outside is all clear which means we have only one thing left to do, we have to go inside the fucking place" Julian stated to which Ricky and Bubbles gave looks of discomfort and even slight hesitation at doing ominous and dark nature of the place looming even larger with the ruin standing right before them.
"Look I know we all don't want to go into this fucking grave shithole, but remember none of that shit is real its all just a fucking bunch of dumb tales, whats real in the end is the reward at the end of this dark journey" Julian said trying to bring their sprits back up with a short inspiring speech. It was partly successful with Ricky though less so with Bubbles who was trying to quake his anxiety in order to carry onwards.
"Alright you guys lets go in" Julian said as he proceeded forward to the entrance leading into the tomb itself, Ricky followed directly behind him and Bubbles being behind the Nord as the last in line. The 3 walked up to the doorway unlocking it and then with as much determination as they could muster entered the tomb.
Upon entering through the doorway the triumvirate found themselves in a dark cavernous area the floor of which was covered water. Something that the 3 noted as they walked through the area was that much of the tombs structure had collapsed with various pillars and walk chunks laying strewn around with plants growing out. Various bodies of large rodents lay slain across the pavement which upon observation from the 3 most particularly Bubbles looked to be freshly killed not too long ago. The trio halted upon seeing slash hearing a group comprised of 3 bandits up head surrounding a fireplace so deep in their conversation they failed to pay attention to what was occurring around them. Julian led Bubbles and Ricky over behind one of the pillars where they would remain out of sight to the thieves.
"Hey Julian how do you want handle these dicks" Ricky whispered to Julian who quietly out of sight listened in on the conversations of the campfire huddle.
"Well I'm thinking we'll just pull a quick manoeuvre with Bubbles fucking shocking them and then we slash them when they're down" Julian said outlining his quick thought out plan which he believed shouldn't go wrong if timed correctly. "You down with getting the jump on them Bubs?" Julian asked wanting Bubbles to be sure the Imperial was 100% involved.
"Sure Julian lets just get this shit over with" Bubbles said hesitant to be the one who would fire the first shot but realised his skills were necessary to get the manoeuvre done as quickly as can be.
Meanwhile the Bandits who were unaware of the trios presence were deep in argument about one of their fellow members.
"Where in oblivion is Arvel he should have been back by now" The first bandit said complaining bitterly about this individual.
"Patience the man will be back when he is" The second thug reasoned to the first getting him to accept the matter with holding onto patience for a little while longer.
"And the cocky fella calls himself 'the swift', ha!,the slowest of all is more like it" The first bandit quipped to himself with a laugh punctuated at the end.
"You do have a point " The second one agreed with a hint of amusement in his tone.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the cheap skate ran off with the claw" the third and last one added bitterly joining the conversation all the while looking deeply into the embers of the fire. "Maybe we should go look-" the bandit said his next point being interrupted by the sudden screams of his compatriots which shocked him.
Looking up he saw his two buddies being electrocuted spasming for a brief bit before two armoured individuals ran out of the shadows and quickly struck down the bandits in quick succession through blows to the head. Filled with wrath and hate for his friends killers the man pulled out his particular axe charging at the pair with a howl. Suddenly a gout of flame hit him from behind setting him ablaze burning the now agonising man for a brief amount of seconds before one of them, the bearded Nord mercifully beheaded him.
The bandit headless body collapsed to the floor still cooking from the magical flames that still somewhat eat away at him.
Rick looked over the corpse of the man he had just finished off clearly seeing that he did not have the golden claw on his person or what was left of him. "Hey Julian looks like this fucking bandit doesn't have the claw" Ricky spoke to Julian who had been checking the two other bodies though the results remained the same as Rickys search.
His looting was not without luck though what with the small amounts of gold collected from the thieves. "These fucks don't have it either it" Julian replied sighing as they were still unable to get no closer to getting the main objective. He then went over to a chest that lay some distance from the fire unfortunately finding it to be locked and given their lack of lock picks could not open it, deciding just to leave it be.
"Maybe its with that fucking guy they were talking about, fuck'n names Arvel or something" Bubbles said to Julian and Ricky who pondered if it was with this aforementioned character and it could well have been given his status as a still at large bandit somewhere in the ruins.
"Yeah he seems like a good lead, even if he doesn't have it we could get some answers out of him on it" Julian said in agreement believing that regardless of whether this so called 'the swift' character could still be useful especially given his spoken about unique persona. The trio then walked up to the doorway at the end of the room opening it and proceeding through going deeper downstairs underground.
The triumvirate passed through a long corridor that seemed to be covered in long root vines that stretched across the very ancient walls of the ruin. After the short time period walk through they came upon a room where a bandit was turning several various pillars, each of the pillars had 3 symbols engraved on its 3 sides an eagle, a snake and a fox.
"That should do it" the bandit said cheerfully to himself satisfied with the pillars side formations and proceeded to pull a lever attached to a mechanism on the ground that would supposedly unlock the gate.
Suddenly he was hit by many arrows that flew from the walls, the thief fell over a fleshy pin cushion impaled with many arrows which horrified the boys who were know well aware of the danger surrounding this room.
"Oh my fuck boys we're in a fucking deathtrap!" Bubbles shouted his shock visible in his now anxious and paranoid tone which well reflected his state reconciling what just occurred.
"No kidding Bubbles, we gotta be careful about this shit else we'll end up like that fucking guy" Ricky added just as disturbed by what had happened as Bubbles was.
Meanwhile the two were talking the 3rd and least phased of the group Julian was looking over the puzzle setup which the bandit earlier had been trying to solve which of course failed given the mans demise earlier.
"Boys we should take a look around here and see if there's fuck all that can help us with this thing" Julian said addressing the two who after having got the memo proceeded to look around the room.
The trio began to walk around and look over the room immediately noting the the two massive carvings that hung above the gate one being of a snake and the other a whale. Bubbles would come across the 3rd of these carvings now a wreckage on the floor bearing the symbol of snake. Looking at the carvings on the wall and the one that lay before him Bubbles found he had the answer to the puzzle.
Looking at the current pillar displays which were all had their sides displayed wrongly only confirmed to bubbles that structured carving order on the walls must be the right code to unlock the gate.
Meanwhile as Bubbles had discovered the solution to their current dilemma Julian was looking over the killed bandits corpse checking to see if he had their current desired item to which he did not to Julians annoyance.
"Hey Julian did he have that fucking claw?" Ricky said asking the Breton to which the latter confirmed his answer.
"He doesn't" Julian replied.
"That fucking sucks, do you think this dead guy is that fucking dick they were talking about Advil the shift or something" Ricky inquired though all formality was lost to Julian upon hearing his mispronounced spelling of the bandits name.
"I don't know but I sure know that he doesn't have it on him which means it might still be around here somewhere, we just gotta find it" Julian stated letting his friend know his thoughts on the matter and how best to proceed onwards.
"Boys I think I might have the answer to open this fucking thing" Bubbles announced to Julian and Ricky who upon hearing their friends words walked over to hear about what he had in mind.
"Well what do you have in mind Bubs" Julian asked impressed by how Bubbles had found a solution and knowing the Imperial there was almost absolute certainty that it would work.
"We just gotta flip these pillars so there sides are facing in the same order as the ones on the wall" Bubbles said answering Julian who could now see the sense in trying out the pattern.
"You sure this is right one Bubs " Julian asked him with belief that Bubbles knew what he was doing but wanted more confirmation before trying anything.
"I am Julian I don't see any other fucking way it could be done" Bubbles replied reassuring Julian.
"Well hopefully this fucking work Bubbles cause I don't want to end up on death bed with a fuck ton of arrows in me " Ricky added having faith in the man but was a little hesitant in unwittingly activating the death trap again just as the bandit had done so before.
"Don't worry Ricky it'll work" Bubbles said as he went over to the pillars quickly shifting them so that they were facing the right way and were structured in the calculated correct order. Once he did that he went over to the lever breathing heavily as he did in an anxious build up to what would be the decision that would be his salvation or his immediate demise.
Ricky and Julian watched on in a similar state of anxiety as the lever was slowly turned bracing themselves for the arrows that would fly from the walls, arrows that fortunately never came as the locking sound of the levers full activation echoed. With it the gateway opened allowing for the 3 to proceed forwards back onto the main path further in.
"Well done buddy you got the fucking thing open thanks a lot" Julian complimented impressed by how the Imperial had got them out of the prior predicament.
"Yeah right the fuck on man" Ricky added enthusiastically patting his friend on the back to which Bubbles beamed pridefully accepting their compliments humbly. Shortly after this the trio proceeded through the unlocked doorway and into the next room. Something the triumvirate instantly spotted with immediate excitement upon entering the next room was a wooden table and an unlocked chest that sat on a minor stone platform backed against the ruins walls.
On top of the table lay an amethyst crystal and book titled as "Thief", Bubbles took the crystal whilst Julian took the book each having their reasons to having collected the individual item. Ricky opened up the chest to discover 14 coins laying within,"Fuck yeah boys look at this fucking score" Ricky said excitedly gathering up the small mound of gold currency and storing it in one of his pouches.
Just as they were finishing gathering up the last of these valuables suddenly a noise came from a part of the room where the entrance part of the wooden staircase that led deeper into the tomb sat. Multiple life forms seemed to be scurrying up those steps and sure enough they emerged revealing themselves to be a pair of overgrown rodents of which type the trio immediately recognised.
"Boys we got some of them fucking skeevers coming at us!" Ricky yelled as the creatures ran towards them with rabid fury in mind. Unfortunately for furry creatures they were not match for shear intensity of Bubbles combined flames spell attack that upon impact roasted them alive.
"Take that ya fucking skeeve rats" Bubbles screamed in triumph as the combo magical force burnt the Skeevers to death reducing their living forms to mere ash. He then turned to Julian who nodded in approval that Bubbles had been able to quickly take care of what the problem through a simple ranged assault saving much time compared to a close quarters match.
Seeing that the problem had resolved the triumvirate headed down the stairs descending even deeper underground, the old long since rotting stairs creaking all the while. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs the immediate thing they noticed was the massive amounts of spider web covering the walls.
"Oh isn't that just fucking great on top of the shit we have to deal with now we're back to dealing with these fucking 8 legged cocksuckers" Bubbles said very unhappy at the revelation that ruin contained potentially multiple frostbite spiders of which he was not at all a big fan of.
"Relax Bubs even if they're are some they should be easy to take care of just like back in Helgen and all those other times" Julian said reassuring the latter having previously dealt with the Imperials distaste and phobia towards the particular creatures.
"I know Julian its just they're one of the most fucking greasy looking nasty creatures imaginable I mean was fucking Akatosh baked when he created it" Bubbles ranted to which Julian simply nodded in agreement acknowledging his thoughts on the matter.
Suddenly a voice was heard echoing throughout the webbed area ahead startling the 3 who readied their weapons in alarm. "Hello…. is someone there!" the unknown indvidual called out in the distance.
"Who in the fuck is that, is that one of those bandit dicks?" Ricky asked out loud clearly startled by this person who had taken them by surprise with his sudden vocal presence.
"Is that you Harknir?, Bjorn?, Soling?" the void continued out loud eager to see if it was one of the aforementioned people.
Julian then made a gesture with his hands to proceed forward with caution to which they did as they creeped past through the webbed hallway. They eventually reached a giant room which was absolutely infested in webs which contained an assortment of Skeevers and various other creature bodies all wrapped up in silky cocoons. In the middle of the floor space lay a wide trap door and at the very end of the room was a Dunmer man trapped in a bunch of webs.
"Who, who are you people, actually never mind that just cut me out of this" the Dunmer demanded very impatient and wanting to escape his current dilemma.
"Let me guess you're that guy your fucking buddies talked about, Anvil the shaft" Ricky asked the entrapped Dunmer. As he did that Bubbles was observing the room taking in all its details, when he looked up at the roof his eyes went wide in horror.
"Its Arvel the swift you imbecile, now hurry up and get me out" the now identified Arvel retorted angering Ricky who was not at all happy about the latters insult towards his intelligence.
"At least I'm not the fucking dummy who got himself caught in a web, you look like one of those dumb fucking fish caught in a net" Ricky retorted angering Arvel who was already starting to dislike the Nord more and more.
Julian kept watch over the exchange as his friend continued to berate the Dunmer, Bubbles tapped on his shoulder gaining his attention.
"What is it Bubs?" Julian asked noting the Imperials fearful expression, Bubbles didn't respond though simply pointing upwards, extreme anxiety clear from the get go in his body language. Julian looked up and immediately when he saw "it" he too become "quite" unsettled.
"Will you shut up and just cut me loose before that thing eats me!" Arvel yelled out to the Nord who he only aggravated even more.
"Oh what things, you mean those fucking Skeevers we had to kill, yeah real fucking nice job leaving them around for us to take care of you lazy fuck" Ricky insulted stepping towards the source of his aggravation. Something of which that immediately startled Julian and Bubbles who now realised Rickys lack of awareness of the present danger in the front direction.
"Ricky get back over here now" Bubbles hissed fear clearly present in his voice as he desperately hoped the Nord would comply.
"Na Bubbles this guy Arvel is being a fucking dick and just doesn't realise how fucking lucky he is, isn't that right you asshole!" Ricky said yelling his last point back at Arvel who was starting to get quite fidgety at the anxiety of the situation while glancing above.
"Ricky shut the fuck up and get back here" Julian demanded angrily though major paranoia was also clearly evident in his tone. Hearing this agitated voice tone Ricky turned to face the two eager as to why they wanted him to head over back to them.
"What the fuck is so important that you guys keep interrupting me" Ricky inquired as he looked at the two noticing the shifting glances they were making towards the top of the room. "The fuck are you two looking at?" Ricky added as he turned to face what they were looking at and immediately he saw it too.
On the other side of the ceiling facing them was an enormous frostbite spider, it was so grand in size that it made the ones they faced in Helgen almost a week earlier look like dwarves in comparison. All 8 of its eyes were fixed on the trio bellow it, it pupils glowed with the ravenous intent of hunger eager to devour this new prey.
"Oh my FUCK!" Ricky yelled out reacting in horror so loudly that it agitated the creature enough that it launched itself downwards onto the floor with an inhuman screech. It charged towards Ricky who prepared himself for the vicious creatures assault with his shield held in front.
Suddenly Julian with a massive stamina forced charge swung his war hammer straight into the giant frostbite spiders side causing it to screech in pain. It reared back in agony giving Julian a chance to swing his weapon at one of the spiders 8 legs utterly breaking its limb off. Julian then prepared to swing his war hammer towards another body part but was flung straight at the wall by the now furious arachnid by one of its 7 remaining legs.
The car sized monstrosity turned to face the two other interlopers only to be met by a stream of lightning straight in its eyes which effectively blinded it, Ricky seeing the opportune moment to deal some damage proceeded to hack several of its legs off causing it to collapse briefly allowing him to begin hacking on its upper chest area.
"Kill it, kill it!" Arvel yelled out.
"Yes because yellings gonna do fuck all!" Bubbles retorted annoyed by the bandits uncecssary impatient orders.
The creature eventually recovered and knocked Ricky away from it, as it got back up it was hit by Bubbles flame spell which only served to make the arachnid even angrier. Taking the Imperial by surprise the spider shot a web net at him pinning the latter down.
"Oh my fuck no not this greasy shit!" Bubbles yelled not at all happy about his current predicament as he in a furious panic tried to rip his way out of the webbed cocoon.
Meanwhile the giant arachnid had forced and had trapped Ricky in one of the rooms corners. The Nord was using his shield to deflect any attacks made by the creatures through swings of its remaining appendages or the various acidic spits comprised of the spiders very own venom. Unfortunately for him though the acid was beginning to wear down the shields layer of protection.
Suddenly something jumped on top of the creature causing it to rear upwards in a frenzied attempt to get it off its back. Seeing the time to land a crippling blow Ricky slashed with fury at creatures exposed underbelly.
"Hows that feel you fuckhead!" Ricky yelled chopping at the spider who shrieked even louder in agony and toppled face forward onto the ground, Ricky just barely dodging the creatures body falling on top of him.
Seeing the creatures vulnerability the individual currently perched on its back made its way up to where it ugly head lay face down the ground. Ricky looked to see that the figure was Julian who raised his war hammer high in the air and with a vicious downward swing cracked the skull of the creature in a brutal hit.
He wasn't done though as he repetitively continued smashing the spiders head in until it was nothing but a pile of brain matter and murky body fluid absolutely 100% ensuring the vicious creatures demise.
"Damn you really fucking killed it" Ricky remarked surprised by the Bretons aggression in taking it out but understood Julian had been injured by it earlier and realising how dangerous it was had taken extreme lengths to ensure it wouldn't get back up. Julian simply nodded his head in agreement as response which was understandable given how heavily he was breathing.
"I can't believe you idiots did it, you killed the beast" Arvel commented in astonishment for what this strange trio had accomplished. "Now could one of you please cut me down before anything else shows up!" Arvel yelled his impatience once again cutting through with tension.
"Yeah we'll do that as soon you give us the fucking claw and then we'll see about cutting your dumb as shit ass out" Ricky stated wanting to dictate certain terms so that the boys would have the upper hand in any deal made with this bandit.
"Does look like I can move right now, the only thing you can do now is remove me from these blasted webs" Arvel sneered right back at him which only proceeded to incense the talk into a full blown argument.
As the two went back and forth in an seemingly endless debate Julian had moved over to where Bubbles had been still attempting to get free his web prison. Though it had been tough given he had to claw his way out given if he used his magic it would injure him given the target in mind was attached to his skin. Using the iron spike end of his war hammer Julian carefully cut open the web allowing Bubbles to rip his way out of the mess.
"Finally thank fuck I'm finally out Julian I was almost starting to have a fucking heart attack" Bubbles exclaimed in relief at being out of the very uncomfortable trap. He took a look at the web he was in previously and then at the corpse of the giant frostbite spider before speaking again. " I've said before and I'll say it again I hate fucking frostbite spiders, this giant cocksucker is living proof of why".
"I'm with you there buddy" Julian said in agreement looking back on how intense and terrifying the fight with the oversized arachnid was. Meanwhile Ricky and Arvel were still arguing over what the apparent course of action should be.
"Look if you just cut me down I'll give you the claw and even better I'll cut you in on a share of the 'treasure' " Arvel said his mention of a valuable chest of goods quickly gaining the attention of the entire triumvirate.
"Did you say that there was a treasure here?" Julian inquired now incredibly intrigued by what the thief's reveal of a potential value trove being within the ancient ruin.
"Indeed there is Breton, you wouldn't believe what the Nords of old have hidden down here" Arvel explained his every word enticing Julian all the more what with promise of a rich prize now in mind. "Release me from these webs and I'll show it to you" the bandit added his demand being very temptable to all but 1 of the trio who was suspicious of the yarn currently being spieled out.
"Julian maybe we think this fucking thing through I mean the whole reason we're here in the first place is for the artifact, we shouldn't be sidetracked by what could potentially be bullshit" Bubbles tried to reason to the Bretons whose thoughts were now conflicted on what to do.
"You should listen to your friend there 'Julian' and miss out on what could be riches beyond your wildest of dreams" Arvel sarcastically commented with a smirk seeing that the Bretons mind was at something of a crossroads in decision. It took a few seconds but Julian had finally come to a decision though it would disappoint Bubbles majorly.
"…. I'm sorry man I can't leave something like this to fucking chance, Ricky cut him down" Julian ordered to which the Nord reluctantly complied given he too was invested in now finding the aforementioned chest of valuables.
Ricky cut open the silk that restrained the thief to the wall allowing Arvel to drop onto the dungeons floor. "Sweet breath of Arkay thank you" Arvel said now relieved to be free of web prison he had been contained in for so long.
"Now then how about showing us where this fucking loot is" Ricky asked to which the thief gave a very ominous and sinister grin.
"Thank you so much…. for the being the biggest fools in Skyrim I've ever met!" Arvel laughed as he turned and ran off into the exit leading out of the room.
"Hey get back here you fucking dick!" Ricky yelled furiously chasing after the bandit with the rest of trio not far behind the Nord leading themselves deeper into hallways of the cavern. The triumvirate chased after the Dunmer thief barely being able to catch up to him all the while as the latter taunted them in smug fashion.
"Give it up you fools I am the fastest of all in this land, the treasure belongs to me!" Arvel cockily remarked which succeeded in egging the trio on, Ricky especially in particular.
"Just wait till I get my fucking hands on you I'm gonna fuck you up!" Ricky shouted as he tried to reach the ever speeding ahead bandit. Unfortunately for the Nord he was so caught up in his heated rant he failed to notice a piece of debris on front causing him to trip over. Noticing that Ricky had fallen over Julian and Bubbles came to halt as up ahead Arvel turned around the corridor disappearing from sight.
"Ricky are you alright?" Bubbles asked in concern as he walked over to the man who declined his offer of help signalling with a gesture that he was alright.
"I'm fine Bubbles" Ricky answered as he got back up to his feet,"fuck this fucking shit lying around".
Bubbles turned to Julian who stood beside him, the Imperial facing the Breton with a frown of disapproval."I hope you feel really good about yourself Julian cause now we have big fucking pain in the ass to deal with" Bubbles said to Julian whose inner guilt at the situation only increased.
"I'm sorry buddy, that fucking guy got in my head and me being me all the shit about a treasure was just too tempting to let go" Julian apologised regret in his tone currently recognising his fault in their ongoing situation with the now rampant Arvel in the ruins.
"Its alright Julian I understand just maybe the next time around think this through before you decide to trust the word of a dodgy fucking stranger" Bubbles said forgiving the Breton for his earlier carelessness understanding he had made a mistake. "We're just lucky nobody got hurt-" Bubbles added his point being both cut off and jinxed by a loud scream that instantly sent chills down their spines.
"Boys what in the fuck was that?" Ricky asked his face displaying a mixture of shock, horror and confusion at what had just been heard.
"I don't know but we should be careful from here on out" Julian cautioned as he and the rest of triumvirate proceeded through the corridors ahead of them eventually coming across a new room entirely. The room in question was literally a tomb what with the mummified corpses lying on large crevices cut in the wall, the very air stank of decay and embalmment.
"Damn looks like the old man really wasn kidding about the place being a fucking tomb, look at em all fucking rotting and shit its a full on fucking graveyard in here" Ricky commented very loudly as he and trio took in the view of the ancient area.
"My fuck does it ever stink right now!, hopefully we can won't have to stick around" Bubbles said not all happy about the current stench wafting from the walls.
Suddenly something uphead caught Julians eye, that something looking to be the corpse of Arvel the swift who was lying face down with holes in his body.
Julian then walked over to him with Bubbles and Ricky behind him, "is that who I fucking think that is?" Bubbles asked to which Julian nodded in confirmation as the 3 crowded around the now deceased bandit. The Breton then proceeded to rummage through the Thiefs stuff in hopes of finding the item in question they had been long hunting for.
As he did this a unique phenomenon was occurring in the tomb, some of the thought to be eternally dead corpses were awakening from their slumber. Long since shut eyes opened to reveal glowing blue colored orbs that shone with murderous intent. Meanwhile back with Julian after a small period of time searching the man had at last been able to unearth the golden claw from Arvels person.
"Looks like we did it boys we found the fucking thing" Julian said his proud tone clearing reflecting the feeling of triumph and joy he felt within which of course was reflected in his friends who were feeling just as he excited.
"Fuck yeah we did Julian looks like the reward is ours for sure" Ricky replied with a wide grin happy that all of the mental exhaustion and danger they had been through had been worth it now with the claw in their possession.
"Yeah it is now lets see about-" Bubbles said being cut off by a inhuman growl that came from directly behind them. The triumvirate turned to look around being met by a sight none of them in particular had ever expected to see. There climbing out of the various crevices in the wall and onto the ancient floor were a couple of undead Draugr all equipped with various ancient Nord axes and swords.
The 3 adventurers stood in shock of this revelation. The most of all affected was Julian who had hours ago had denied their very existence as being folklore which now was indefinitely debunked, something which ate away at the rationality keeping control of his mind.
"What was that you were telling us Julian huh something about the Draugr not being real, well then tell me WHAT THE FLYING FUCK ARE THOSE THINGS THEN!" Bubbles exclaimed his last point ending in a yell which came as a mix of fright and anger. Julian didn't respond merely keeping his horrified eyes trained on the walking corpses who had now gotten backing to their feet.
Upon spotting the trio the undead monsters let out a series of monstrous growls before charging towards the group who braced themselves for the inevitable assault.
To Be Continued
Wow here we are the end of the chapter which has ended on quite a cliffhanger what with 3 now having encountered Draugr for the first time. it should be interesting to see how the results of this will play out in the upcoming part which may take quite some time given how long I hadn't expected this to take. I've said before in the disclaimer section but this has definitely been quite a chapter to write what with the sheer scale of the quest in mind when transferring parts onto the page. Its definitely been quite an interesting one what with the boys back out on Skyrim and now doing their first officially assigned quest, writing it has been quite time what with the various humorous moments, character dynamics and twists involved. With all that said I hope you really enjoyed it and are looking forward to the 3rd/final part. Until next time everyone.