CHAPTER 37: WINDCALLER
'20th of Frostfall, E4 201' Erza wrote into the corner of an empty page of her journal.
It was the early morning of the second day on their journey from Morthal to Ustengrav. They had left a bit later than they had planned; only at yesterday noon, for certain two mages of their group had been missing until then. As Lucy hadn't shown up at Gray's house, Erza had known she had stayed at the inn with Natsu. However, she had still expected them to be ready to go at dawn, as agreed. They never were, and Erza had to personally go there, kick their room's door in, and cruelly drag them out of the insufferably sweet comfort they seemed to have.
If not for that delay, they would've already arrived at Ustengrav, but Erza knew they needed to rest. And if sleeping quite literally in each other's arms was the only way they could rest, then she had to allow that. Lucy never admitted that though, and according to her, all affection between them had been purely coincidental, caused by the rather scarce sleeping space of the narrow bed. Erza knew a lie when she heard one.
"What are you writing?" Erza asked from the girl sitting by her side on the fallen tree trunk in the garden of an abandoned hunter's cottage. Lucy held her journal in her lap as she swung her feet in the air, her quill swiftly drawing graceful letters to the paper.
"Describing the frostbite spiders from yesterday evening," Lucy answered and chuckled. "And Natsu's terrified expression as he noticed them crawling towards him."
Erza snorted a little laugh. She raised her eyes from Lucy's handwriting to the fire mage, who patrolled around their campsite, nervous and alert to glimpse any spiders before they'd be up to his face, like last night. It would've been hilarious if the spiders hadn't been larger than dogs and if Natsu wasn't vulnerable to their venom. Lucy had explained what happened with an attacker in the woods when they had been on their way to High Hrothgar. Jellal had told her a different version of that, too, but either way, Erza ended up knowing that the fire mage was immune to plant poison and vulnerable to any animal venom.
"I'm glad we haven't seen any chaurus yet. Those live around this area, too," Erza answered and continued to write her notes.
"Chaurus?" Lucy wondered.
"Giant, hostile insects with a very potent poison. You don't want to see them," Erza said and eyed Natsu. "And he doesn't want to get bitten by them."
Lucy shuddered. "I think he should be carrying some antivenom with him all the time, just to be sure. Who knows when we're deep in some burial crypt and he gets poisoned? That's a death sentence."
"Well, the first rule of staying alive is to always carry some potions for curing diseases with you, at least."
"Do we have any?"
"Unless Gray took some from his brother's stash, I'm afraid we don't," Erza said and chuckled. "As I don't get sick that often, I usually disregard that rule…"
"Great," Lucy answered, snorting. "Still, I really should talk to him about that antivenom. Won't hurt to have it, but might save a life."
Erza smiled at her and wanted to note how adorable it was that Lucy was taking care of him, but decided not to. Instead, she jotted down a few lines of their next mission, and how it had been going so far. 'A few frostbite spiders yesterday, no casualties, no injuries, except for Natsu's pride.'
At Morthal, Erza had been worried about how their group dynamic would change after this frost mage named Gray decided to join them. Erza understood the perks of having him with them, and the cons didn't bother her too much. At least now there was someone Natsu hated even more than her. If he hadn't been happy about adding her to the group, Gray's presence was completely driving him insane. Each time Gray said anything to him made her wonder how long it would take before they would kill each other.
Yesterday, while they travelled through the marshlands, Gray had practised casting ice spikes with Lucy. Natsu had gone on his own meanwhile. When Erza asked if he was okay, he just complained of some headache, most likely caused by the wine. The day had been peaceful as long as the boys didn't see or hear each other. However, the moment the sun set and they stopped for a night at an abandoned hunting cabin, the wrangling began. It had ended when Erza commanded both of them outside, but neither of them had the strength to take that shit out, so they had just grumpily sat in front of the hearthfire hoping to murder the other with their glares only.
"Actually, I'm glad Gray came with us," Erza said suddenly. "It's good for Natsu to have some male company for a chance. Someone to talk about all the boy things with."
They might already be man-grown, but they were still just little whelps to Erza. Gray was sitting by the swamp, using its calm surface as a mirror as he shaved his chin with a dagger. Natsu stopped his nervous patrol at some distance away and observed what Gray was doing. Erza and Lucy glanced at those two and fell silent, wondering what they'd argue about this time.
"Hey, Natsu, you're the same age as me?" Gray asked, catching his attention. "Then why don't you grow a beard yet? Your face is still as clean as a milk-drinker's."
Natsu paid him a long, quizzical stare. "We Bretons age slower, thanks to the bits of elven blood. That's why."
"Bullshit," Gray scoffed. He collected a handful of water and splashed it at his face, then he stood up and turned towards Natsu. "I think it's because you are secretly a woman. You even look like one."
Natsu rolled his eyes and sighed in frustration. He clearly had no energy to deal with Gray's pestering. "Yeah, only when I take hold of my dick, pull it back behind my legs and through my ass, idiot."
Gray grinned and put a finger in between Natsu's eyebrows, then quickly took it away. "The only place you have a dick is in your forehead."
"Are you sure?" Natsu growled, stepping closer to him. "Are you fucking sure?"
Lucy buried her face into her hands. She had enough of their 'boy things', and desired not to hear or see anything more. Somehow Gray managed to bring out the vulgar side of Natsu, making Erza wonder if he had been like this with Igneel. She couldn't fully remember what the Dark Elf had been like when they met in the inn at Windhelm.
"I think he was better off without him…" Lucy muttered. Her company had indeed been good for the fire mage, and she didn't appreciate this current regression. The mages were now shouting at each other in the background, yet the women tried to shut it out and not mind it.
"That's how boys let out the steam. Happens in Jorrvaskr all the time, so it's nothing to worry about," Erza consoled. "And well, we can talk about all the girl things in peace while those two are at it."
Lucy chuckled. "Girl things?"
"Well, I'm almost sure there are things you don't talk about with him, but I could be wrong. We women back at home spend some evenings sitting in a hot sauna, drinking mead and sharing discussions with no boys allowed. Those nights keep us sane."
Lucy looked down and closed the journal on her lap. "I think I would like that."
"Then come join us, the next time you're visiting Whiterun."
"Sure will," Lucy answered, smiling before she suddenly turned awkward, as if remembering something. "But Cana seemed to like me a little bit too much…"
Erza hadn't been drunk that night, so she recalled the night's events well. She didn't want to risk losing control of her tongue again, especially now when Jellal was around. He wouldn't let her make the same mistake twice. But indeed, Cana had been perhaps too pushy in the feast. That was a habit she couldn't seem to get rid of, nor even wanted to.
"That was just a rite of passage," Erza explained, her tone considerate. "If it bothers you, I can make sure she'll behave better next time."
"I'd appreciate it," Lucy answered. "We could stop by Whiterun on our way back to High Hrothgar. Even though I said I'd never set my foot in the city again, I would actually like to give a better expression of myself instead of being a drunken fool."
Erza smiled a bit. "As I've said, you're always welcomed there."
A small silence fell in between them. Erza collected her writing supplies and journal into her bag, and Lucy did the same. They had eaten breakfast a moment ago, and now they were just gathering strength for another day's march in the marshlands. But if their estimations were correct, it wouldn't take them too long to finally reach Ustengrav.
"But hey…" Lucy started silently, almost drawing her words back, but then she couraged up. "Talking about girl things, there's actually one thing I haven't really wanted to talk about with him…"
Lucy eyed at the fire mage, who was now running out of insults and charged right at Gray with his fists. He caught the frost mage from the neckline of his robes but as he tried to throw him to the ground, he was dragged down with him as Gray grabbed him around the waist. Erza couldn't even tell what they were doing as they wrestled in the ground. Looked like Natsu was trying to strangle him while Gray kept kicking him to the guts.
"Cut it off, brats!" Erza shouted at them, her fierce command making them wince and halt. "No unnecessary injuries." She took a deep, calming breath and turned to Lucy again. "Well, I'm all ears if you want to tell me."
Lucy remained silent until the mages broke their brawl. Erza was a little disappointed – she knew Natsu could've done better. As Natsu headed back to the cabin and Gray wandered off to take a piss, Lucy finally spoke up.
"The thing is, I haven't bled since Helgen happened," she said quietly. "It's been over two months, and there's no way I could be with a child."
Erza lifted an eyebrow, glancing at Lucy first, then at the cabin where Natsu had gone.
"Don't even think about that!" Lucy shrieked in the instant she realised what Erza jokingly meant. "I said there's no way –"
"Sorry, I just had to," Erza snickered. She had picked the teasing habit straight from her companion Cana. "You seemed very comfortable with him last night, and the night before that, and –"
"It's not like that! We just…" Lucy's face was bloody red as she tried to come up with an excuse. "It's just so damn cold at night, and –"
"You know this old Nord proverb? That dog yelps to which the stick hits…"
Natsu, having packed his things, walked out of the cabin and closed its door. He glanced at them as Lucy squalled from embarrassment and smashed Erza to the side with her arm. She could barely feel that through her steel armour.
"Shut up before he hears that!" Lucy hissed at her, yet her nervous giggling let her know she wasn't really angry. Just embarrassed.
Natsu stared at them curiously for a minute, but as they didn't say anything interesting, he left to fill their waterskins in the spring behind the building. Erza straightened herself and forced herself to quit the banter, though she felt tempted to continue. She had been so quiet lately, and missed talking to someone. "Back to the point, eh? Well, considering your situation, that's just normal. Your body is under too much stress, so it shuts down," Erza said calmly and glanced at Lucy. "Besides, you've shrunken down since that. Losing weight does that to a woman."
Lucy shook her head, rubbing her hand around her thin wrist. "I don't think it's about that. Something is different," she whispered as she stared down. She had stopped swinging her legs over the air. "Because when I absorbed the frost dragon's soul, the dragon spoke to me while I was unconscious. She said that my line of blood will end with me. I don't know what it meant, and I can't stop thinking about that."
Erza pondered for a moment. What a cryptic message, indeed. One dark thought came to her mind. If Lucy's bloodline would end with her, it could mean she'd die before having children. Just like the line of Dragonborn Emperors when the entire reigning family was assassinated. However, Erza didn't want to fill poor Lucy's mind which such nightmares. She had enough on her plate already.
"It could mean nothing," Erza said then. "Since it was your subconscious mind, it probably isn't true."
"But the way I felt it in my heart just feels so real. I was always scared shitless of the thought of giving birth. My parents would've married me off in a couple of years, and I was supposed to have many sons, so that one of them would inherit the shop," Lucy sighed. "Now I just feel like that would've never happened anyway and all that fear was in vain."
Erza gazed into the distance as the sun climbed over the horizon, washing the world in soft light. She rubbed her chin and realised that the birds had begun singing again in the leafless trees nearby. "Well, what about your mother?" Erza asked. "Did she have any issues with conceiving?"
"They were married for years before they got me, and I was a girl," Lucy scoffed. Erza could sense the pain in her words. "Father wanted sons, but they never got any. So, it could be my mother had some difficulties. Mother never talked to me about it."
Erza wanted to say that girls weren't any less worthy than boys. Women could keep shops, or be anything else they wanted – a sorceress, a hunter, a warrior, or a goddamn beggar if desired to. In Jorrvaskr, nobody cared what was between one's legs. What mattered was their mettle. Lucy's father really should've faced the wrath of a Companion woman. Erza would've volunteered to beat him up and then ask him if a woman was capable of keeping a damn shop.
"Actually," Erza started, then hesitated for a moment if she should share this or not. Lucy appeared so conflicted, so lost that she just had to offer her support on this matter. "I cannot have children."
Lucy's eyes widened as she turned towards her. "You can't? How? Or I mean… why?"
"It was a choice I made long ago," Erza answered. "I haven't regretted it once."
The look on Lucy's face let her know that while she was curious, she didn't want to dig into the details, which was good. In the last years, Erza had discovered that being a member of the Circle came with many side-effects, many of which she hadn't known upon joining. Yet upon infertility, she didn't complain. She never really imagined herself as a mother. Playing with Bisca's daughter every now and then was enough for her.
After a small silence, Lucy nodded and smiled a bit. "Oh… well, babies wouldn't suit your lifestyle as a warrior, I think…"
Erza chuckled. What a wicked family her hypothetical child would have with a Companion as a mother and an undercover assassin as a father… Being not born at all was the most merciful option.
"Indeed," she agreed, glad that Lucy at least had something else to think about. Only time could show whether that thing would be true. "You shouldn't worry about it too much. You've got an important mission now, but who knows where your life will lead you?" Erza glanced at the fire mage in the distance and winked. "Right man, right time..."
Lucy covered her flushed face with her hands and shrieked, "Gods damn you, Erza!"
"Why not? He can be quite charming sometimes," Erza said smirking. "Is it because you always thought your parents would slaughter you if you actually chose your partner by yourself? Your life is going to be miserable if you don't listen to your heart when it comes to this. We can always choose who we spend our lives with, no matter what the world tries to tell us."
Erza had once believed that there wasn't such freedom in this world, but lately, she had realised that there was. There was always a way, always a choice. When the rules weren't fair, you had to cheat. That's what Natsu had told her himself. She hoped he would tell the same thing to Lucy, too.
Lucy was quiet for a long while, until she came up with a retort. "Like you and that scholar?" she asked with a wide grin. "That's the one your heart has chosen?"
Well, she should've expected that teasing her too much would eventually lead to this. Lucy wasn't dumb by any means. Naïve and too trusting, but she still noticed things with sharp eyes. Erza looked down to hide her smile. "Who knows? Could be."
"Wait a moment," Lucy started, suddenly excited. "Don't tell me that he's your childhood friend who left to Cyrodiil?"
Natsu had been right on this matter, too. Lucy didn't remember when he had told her about Erza's connection to the Dark Brotherhood. She had just undergone a massive trauma back then, and her mind had begun to shatter those memories to protect her. And Erza had always trusted that the secret would be in safe hands, even if Natsu and Lucy would know. Jellal, however, had not agreed, and Erza still despised what he had done to secure that secret. She had lost Natsu's respect, possibly permanently. She didn't know if she could ever make him trust she was on their side.
"That could also be," Erza admitted.
Lucy lifted her hands over her mouth to muffle her squeal. The gloom in her was completely gone. "And he returned to Skyrim just for you? That's so… sweet! Almost like a storybook!"
"Well, he wouldn't leave me on the mercy of the dragons, so…"
"So, he came riding on his white horse, like a prince coming to save the princess from the dragon… Wait a moment, was his horse black? Yes, it was…"
Erza chuckled as Lucy's imagination spread its wings. "I don't actually think of myself as a princess, but whatever."
"Anyway, I'm so happy for you. Don't you miss him, though?"
Erza looked away, sudden unrest taking place in her chest. The sparkles in Lucy's eyes let her know her happiness was genuine, and it just felt so wrong. How Erza hoped she could just tell her the truth. When Natsu had asked if she feared Jellal, he had been part right. Sometimes she feared what he was ready to do for her.
"I've missed him enough when he was away," Erza said then. "This is such a short time, considering how much we've been apart."
"Well, they say distance makes the heart grow fonder."
"It does."
Lucy jumped from the tree trunk and stretched her limbs. There was now enough light in the world for them to keep going, but they still had to wait for the boys to return. Erza hoped they hadn't gone out of her sight just to drown each other into the swamp without her noticing.
"But hey, Erza…" Lucy started silently and turned towards her. "I'm glad you're talking again. You've been horribly quiet ever since Labyrinthian. Is everything alright? If you're still blaming yourself of what happened in Kynesgrove, you shouldn't. When Natsu said you were a coward… damn, I still don't understand why he said that, but you are not. It's just normal to be frightened of something as terrifying as dragons."
Erza smiled shortly. She had understood that fairly well, and hadn't at once felt any resentment towards Natsu for that. His anger was justified. However, her silence had come from other reasons.
When the frost dragon attacked them in Labyrinthian, she had almost despaired. At first, she had hid away, just like she did in Kynesgrove. For a small moment all hope and courage had left her, until the dragon was about to swallow Lucy whole. Then Erza had forced herself to be brave. She had once thought what a mere sword could do to a dragon, but at that moment she had to find it out herself. And in the end, there was a lot a mere sword could do.
"I'm alright. I've just been thinking about the fate of Rorikstead, that's all," Erza said and smiled at her. "I'm always happy to be at your service, Dragonborn."
"Just call me Lucy."
And as the fire and frost mages finally returned from the foggy forest, both alive, it was time set forth again.
No matter how carefully Lucy had tried not to step into the wet marsh, her boots were now soaking. There simply wasn't a dry spot on the land, it was all just this endless swamp.
After leaving the hunting cabin, Lucy had trained frost spells with Gray. One major difference between the elements of fire and ice was that ice could be shaped. It was like clay under the caster's will, while fire was just wild, uncontrollable, and explosive. Creating an ice spike was just a beginning. Once mastered, one could create anything from ice, from immovable objects to animated creations, but those required some summoning techniques to make them move.
However, after around two or three hours, Lucy was getting enough of Gray's extremely amusing jokes, and decided to call their training done for the day. Besides, they should save magicka for Ustengrav. Lucy was certain they'd run to at least some kind of trouble. She expected to meet some Draugr, or at least reanimated skeletons, but hopefully nothing worse than that.
Lucy withdrew from Gray's company and let Erza take over the discussion with him. As they began talking something about swords, Lucy waited for Natsu to catch her up. He had been walking behind them, possibly enjoying the peace and quiet for a moment. While he had eventually accepted taking Gray with them, he still poorly tolerated his presence.
"Hey, Natsu, check this out," Lucy said to him at a distance. She opened her palm and created a little spider from ice. "Do you like it? It's my gift to you."
Natsu cringed and looked away. "Seriously? That's what he's been teaching you all morning?"
He had his hood pulled over his head, so Lucy rose on her toes and placed the frozen spider on his crown. He rolled his eyes, shook his head and made it fall to the ground. He wasn't so sad to see it falling into the swamp.
"I knew you missed me," Lucy grinned. "Does your head still hurt?"
Natsu shrugged as they continued walking after Erza and Gray. "A bit, and this damn weather ain't helping with it."
At dawn, a thick mist had shrouded the entire marshland, but it had now dissolved. Purple deathbell flowers grew here and there, dotting the lifeless landscape with some colour. Sun shone brightly on the blue sky, almost taunting her as it glimmered in the water's surface. Lucy doubted it was the wine anymore that was making his head ache.
"Your magicka is possibly still deprived. My head hurt for days after casting Bound Bow for the first time," Lucy said, hiding the worry in her tone. "Gray says it's not a long way to go, so hang in there for a while."
Natsu didn't say anything. Lucy had expected him to at least mock Gray for misleading them or something, but seemed he wasn't in the mood now. It made her strangely sad. She missed hearing him laugh.
"So, do you have any advice against Draugr? I think we're gonna meet some of them today," Lucy spoke then, not knowing what else to say.
"Burn them."
Lucy snickered. She should've guessed that. "So, that's really your answer to anything."
"No, seriously. All undead creatures are vulnerable to fire. Frost won't do shit but just tickle them."
Was he saying that just to dismiss Gray's strength as a mage, or was it actually true? Lucy wondered that for a moment, and as the silence continued, she tried to speak about something else. It was just days ago when they could talk for hours, now it was a struggle to keep anything up.
"Hey, when you said you could reanimate a corpse, can that be done to the Draugr once they're killed?" Lucy asked. "So that they would fight each other?"
"Yeah. That's how Igneel handled them when we were in Nordic ruins. Kill one, resurrect it, stand back and behold the beautiful confusion," Natsu laughed a bit, finally. "But I never liked to resurrect them. It felt weird."
Suddenly, Lucy's boot tackled into a tree root on the mossy ground. She nearly fell headfirst into the swamp, but Natsu grabbed her arm and pulled her back to balance. She smiled shyly as thanks. "Do you think you could still teach me how to do it?"
"I could," Natsu said and grinned. "Hey, let's kill Gray and reanimate his corpse! And make him do some silly dance!"
Lucy shook her head, hiding her persistent smile. "Now that's weird! No, we're not gonna do that."
"Too bad, I was hoping."
As they continued walking, Lucy nearly cracked into laugh as she thought of reanimated Gray doing some stupid naked dance under Natsu's command. It took her a while to collect herself and cast that thought out of her head.
"You said there were Draugr in the burial crypt at Labyrinthian? How did you manage them?"
"By running away and dodging axe strikes. Cast some fire runes on the door when I was out. That's about it," Natsu answered. "Don't think we can use the same strategy in Ustengrav though."
"I have never seen one, but just thinking of them creeps me out. They are like dead warriors?"
"Yeah, very dead. Have been dead for thousands of years, guarding the crypts, bound by some magic I think," Natsu said and closed his eyes as the sun came out of a cloud again. "Damn that fucker…"
"It's gonna be okay," Lucy comforted. She remembered feeling that way too. The carriage trip from Windhelm to Winterhold through the bright, snow-covered mountains hadn't been pleasant at all. "Have you tried to cast any spells?"
"After taking down that dragon? Nothing except burning those spiders last night, and that felt a bit iffy."
Lucy looked at him for a moment, as if he had forgotten something. "But didn't you heal my hands at Labyrinthian?"
"No, I didn't," Natsu answered, somewhat surprised. "After the frozen scales dissolved, your hands were just healed."
"Interesting," Lucy wondered. She had honestly though Natsu had healed her. "Now that I think of it… When Erza cut the frost dragon's tail off, it soon formed a frozen lid to cover the wound. It used ice to regenerate itself, so could it be that in that form, I used the same power?"
Natsu glanced at her briefly and nodded. "Never thought about it, but that makes sense."
As Lucy fell into her thoughts, man-made stone barrow appeared into Lucy's field of vision. After seeing nothing but trees and twigs and water ponds for miles, the burial tomb truly popped out. Gray signed at them to halt. They stopped behind leafless trees and listened carefully.
"Looks like somebodies have been digging around here," Gray whispered and pointed forward. "A group of necromancers, I'd say. Those bandits move a bit too sluggishly to be alive."
Lucy peeked past the branches and saw two men standing near the stone foundations. They oddly swayed from side to side, as if they were completely wasted. Their skin was pale as milk gone bad, their eyes unfocused and cloudy. Bruises made their arms swollen as they hold onto their weapons.
"Better not waste energy on the undead. Let's kill the one who regenerated them. Should take care of the rest," Gray continued. "And as long as the necromancers live, watch out for the corpses. They may be laying down, but just turn your back, and they'll strike you with an axe."
Lucy nodded to the frost mage. Natsu rubbed his forehead, and Erza drew her sword from the sheath.
"Let's go, then," Lucy ordered silently.
They headed out through the shelterless opening between the trees and the ruins. As expected, the reanimated bandits noticed them and charged. Erza nodded to the others before running to take on them while they searched for the necromancer, or necromancers. Their conjurations couldn't stray too far from their conjurers, and it was better to send wizards against wizards. Erza could keep the bandits occupied while they killed their conjurers.
Lucy remained close to Natsu and Gray as they circled around the barrow. The entryway to Ustengrav was a rounded stone mound with stairs descending to the bottom. There was a sealed door, yet it was now breached. Lucy summoned her bow and readied one arrow. There wasn't a soul in sight, but she had a feeling there would soon be.
"The bandits are dead again," said Erza's voice from behind them. She climbed atop the barrow's edge, sticky blood dripping from her sword. Seemed she had handled the bandits quickly and with ease. "Anything there?"
Beside the barrow was a small campsite – a makeshift tent, a fire that had gone out hours ago, some supplies. A group had been digging around here, indeed, but where were they now? Natsu and Gray went to examine the nearby forest, of course walking into different directions. Lucy didn't like the looks of it.
Then she heard a creak.
The broken door of the crypt opened. An absent-minded woman dressed in black robes waltzed out. In an instant, Lucy aimed and released the arrow. A short, sharp scream echoed in the marshlands as the gleaming arrow pieced through the woman's face. Lucy flinched as the necromancer fell lifeless on her back, her eyes still staring into the bright skies above her.
Natsu had once told her she'd get used to killing, but she didn't think it would ever happen. She just had to harden her heart, pretend she felt nothing when she took a life.
"Well, here was one," Lucy muttered to the mages as they returned. Natsu peeked past her into the bottom of the barrow.
"Good job, Lucy," he complimented. "I bet that if there's more of them, they're already inside. They probably just put those two bandits on guard, and as they were destroyed, that one came to investigate.
Lucy nodded and began to walk down the stairs, leading the way to the door. She halted by the corpse, grabbed her from the shoulders and dragged her aside. Hopefully the other necromancers wouldn't reanimate her. Lucy didn't even want to imagine how it would feel to die and then be used as a thrall in a battle. Maybe it would be like being enthralled by a vampire, except being dead at the same. Natsu had described the failed enthralling attempt as if 'his mind had been raped', so being reanimated had to be worse than that.
"Shall we go?" Lucy asked from the doorway. Cool air flooded from the crypt, smelling of moisture and death. The others descended after her, and then they stepped into the barrow.
They arrived in a great, dark hall. Fires were lit on the other end of the chamber, and tall stone pillars supported the ceiling with carvings adorning their ancient sides. Lucy had no time to study the ornaments. Shadows moved on the walls, creeping closer as four wizards emerged from the pathway that went deeper into the crypt. Lucy and Natsu hid behind a pillar while Erza and Gray crouched below a collapsed one.
"Lya, is that you?" asked a male wizard, clad in black robes. His voice echoed in the chamber. "Well, what happened to the –"
Blood burst from his mouth as Gray's ice spike pierced through his chest. He collapsed on his hands and knees. The other wizards around him let out a shocked shrill, but quickly gathered themselves and dispersed in search of the intruders. Lucy drew an arrow and aimed for a petite elven woman, who ran beside the walls of the chamber, shrouded in shadows.
Trying to predict her movement, Lucy shot slightly to the left from the woman, and the damned elf dodged to the right. Lucy cursed as the woman's eyes found her. But before she even managed to draw another arrow, Natsu threw a fireball at her from the other side of the pillar. Flames engulfed the wizard, and as she ran around screaming with her robes alight, Lucy shot another arrow. It hit the woman's chest, released her from the agony.
The other two wizards, possibly elves too, had gone into hiding. Lucy couldn't detect them in the darkness. She glanced at Natsu, who stood perfectly still against the stone pillar, alert and careful as he peeked past it. Silence had fallen, no steps could be heard, except for distant noises coming from the lower level of the crypt. There was something going on, and it sent shivers down Lucy's spine. She didn't want to be in this damned place.
Then, a purple whirl of magic surrounded the woman Lucy had killed. It lifted her back on her feet. Lucy forgot to breathe as she began to shiver from disgust. Her arrow was still poking out of her chest, Natsu's flames had consumed her robes and skin and hair, yet she still stood up, and moaned in pain. The same thing happened with the one Gray had killed – purple light enveloped that man too, and then he rose up, ready to attack them all over again.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the pillar they were hiding behind. It exploded against it, electric sparks arced off the surface and struck Lucy. She shrieked at the burning sensation on her skin and was thrown back from the force. Then the spell leaped to Natsu, making him flinch from the shock.
"Fuck, that's chain lightning," Natsu groaned as she pulled her out of the way of another blast the undead elf launched at them. It soared past them, hitting the wall far behind them, crackling and sparkling as it struggled to find a target. "That's a nasty spell, so watch out!"
Her limbs were still tingling and numb, and for a moment her bow almost slipped from her grasp. Shock spells drained one's magicka. She didn't want to be hit by that one again, but hiding would be futile, as she had just seen.
On the other side of the dark chamber, Erza fought against the reanimated man while Gray searched for the still-living necromancers. They made no sound, cast no spell, just waited in hiding and acted through the corpses of their dead comrades. Erza swept her blade wide against the man's chest. The strike cut him open once again, but he still did not die. Fallen to the ground torn in half, the corpse still fidgeted and cast a swirl of flames at Erza. She dodged the spell and stroke her sword one more time, severing the man's hands from his body. He was now subdued, but still not dead.
Lucy caught Natsu's sleeve as he led her closer to the entryway to the depths. The two living necromancers had to be somewhere out there. Natsu jumped over a formation of rocks, helped Lucy climb past them too, peeked behind every shady corner in search of the wizards. They stumbled into Gray, who now shot ice spears to the elven woman, trying to immobilize her before they'd all be struck by her chain lightning.
"Erza! Take care of that for a moment!" Gray shouted as he created a wall of frost to block the chain lightning. It shattered the ice in an instant, but was gladly arced off by the thousand shards. As Erza distracted the undead, Gray turned around and cast a spell Lucy couldn't recognise. His palms were shrouded in bright light. "You can't hide from me, motherfuckers!"
Then Lucy saw shapes of red mist shining through the wall. There had been a small tunnel or a storage room on the side of the chamber that they hadn't noticed, and that was where the necromancers had hidden into. Gray's spell was Detect Life, she realised. "There you are!" Gray shouted with a wicked grin. "Natsu, you can burn them now!"
"Like I'd need your permission to do that!" Natsu answered and created an enormous, blazing ball of fire in his hands, and launched it straight at the tunnel's entrance. Lucy heard panicked shrills of a man and a woman which soon twisted into screams of agony as they were burned alive. One of them tried to escape, but collapsed to the ground the moment he emerged from the burning room. Natsu just scoffed and looked away.
Lucy sighed and let her bow expire. She trembled from revulsion – she had prepared for killing Draugr, who didn't have a shred of their humanity left, not humans. More than that, she completely wasn't prepared for having to kill them twice. Holding back a vomit, Lucy walked to Erza. Her eyes shot to the corpse lying beneath those armoured feet.
"Thank… you..." the elven woman growled as her wounds were reduced to ashes, and then her whole body turned into a pile of dust.
Lucy shuddered. These zombies hadn't been just mindless husks. The necromancers forced their souls back to their own corpses, made them perform and experience the tasks given to them by their summoners. They were aware, they felt every thrust of a sword, and were only released when the spell expired, or the summoner died. These had been strong necromancers, able to raise the undead for a long time. Fortunately for Lucy and her group, they hadn't been very intelligent ones.
"Is everyone alright?" Lucy asked after she had collected herself. She and Natsu had taken a small hit of the lightning spell, but otherwise they were okay. As Erza and Gray nodded, Lucy felt relieved. So far, no injuries. "What were they even doing here?"
"Necromancers love burial crypts," Gray answered. "A lot of free corpses to practise on."
"Free corpses?" Natsu repeated and frowned. "Man, what the fuck?"
"Hey, you're the one who used to hang out with a necromancer."
"Actually, Igneel didn't reanimate humans that often. Mostly he just –"
"Silence. We should keep going," Erza interrupted him. "Whatever they were doing here isn't our business. What is our concern is if there's more of them."
"Exactly," Lucy agreed. Everyone remained silent for a minute. Distant sounds of an ongoing battle echoed from the deeper parts of the crypt, muffled by the thick layers of stone and earth. "And I think there is."
"Sounds like they've run into some problems with the Draugr. Let's tread carefully. If the Draugr and the necromancers are fighting, we'd better just wait and watch them kill each other."
Lucy nodded to Gray. "Who goes first?" Lucy asked, nervously staring at the stairs that led into the perfect pit of darkness.
"I'll go," Natsu answered. "Try not to clank that armour too much, Erza. We're trying to be sneaky."
On Natsu's lead, the group descended into the lower parts of the crypt. It grew dark as the fires at the entrance chamber were left behind. Lucy clutched into Natsu's sleeve and tried not to trip down in the stairs, yet felt somehow ashamed as she realised how much she'd been holding onto his sleeves lately. It didn't even seem to bother him anymore. He seemed okay with the dark, knowing exactly where to step while Lucy couldn't see anything at all.
When the stairs finally ended, Lucy felt the level ground beneath her feet. Everyone halted to listen to the sounds that had grown louder – clashes of steel, roars of flames, and sparking similar to the lightning spell. Cries of pain and low, inhumane growling, words muttered in the language of the dragons. Draugr.
Gray cast another Detect Life, revealing six red auras at some distance away, but one by one they disappeared as the screams of agony were silenced. Lucy clenched her hands into fists. Gray dispelled his spell and cast a new one. Faint glowing shapes appeared in the darkness, but Lucy couldn't count all of them before they were gone. The small moment Gray had utilised that costly spell was enough to let them know that there were many of the undead waiting for them in the darkness.
So much about waiting for the necromancers and the Draugr to kill each other.
"Okay, Natsu, if you want to blaze this whole place up, now is your time to shine, because there's a goddamn swarm of the Draugr," Gray whispered. "The necromancers totally stuck their sticks into a hornet's nest."
Though Lucy couldn't see, she still knew Natsu was grinning. He could just blow the whole crypt up with fireballs, but that would probably end up killing them alongside the undead. Lucy tugged his sleeve and made her turn towards her.
"I think it would be safer to send some atronachs there first," Lucy proposed. "Maybe just try to sneak past them, too. We're here just to retrieve the horn, not clear this crypt of the undead."
"I'd go along with Lucy's plan," Erza said quietly. "If that won't work, then let's release Natsu at them."
"What am I, a fucking pet?"
Lucy muffled a laugh into her palm before it would echo in the tunnel. At least they could find some humour in a tough place like this, even if it was on Natsu's account. Lucy could almost imagine him as some sort of a fire demon they had captivated, especially when he was angry. However, the situation didn't quite allow her to be amused. There were still a dozen or more undead waiting for them.
As they set forth in the dark, Lucy stepped onto something warm and soft that squished below her boots. She cast a little flame on her palm, small enough to let her see that she was standing amidst a puddle of guts and blood. She froze, and the others did too. It was a corpse of a grey-skinned necromancer, brutally cut open by ancient steel. Bile rose in Lucy's throat as she smothered the flame and stepped away, unable to forget the feeling of flattening intestines below her feet.
"Gods," Lucy muttered in utter disgust as she caught Natsu's arm again, swallowing the bile. "I can't wait to get out of here."
Lucy knew everyone agreed with her.
Soon they arrived in a larger chamber. Lucy's eyes had slightly adjusted to the darkness, but she still couldn't see much. The smell of blood let her know this was where the battle had happened, how far the necromancers had made it. Probably the first catacomb where the guardians of the crypt had been buried. She felt there was still a lot left to explore, but if those wizards hadn't made it any further than this, how could they?
And then, Lucy heard steps.
Her body tensed as blue eyes moved in the dark. And beside those eyes, were another pair, and another, staring right into her direction. As the Draugr walked, it sounded like dry parchment rubbing against leather, creaking, rustling like paper. Lucy readied a flame atronach's portal upon her palm, waited for Natsu and Gray to prepare theirs, and then they opened the gates to Oblivion.
Sudden, purple light filled the room as three atronachs appeared at once; two made from gleaming fire and one massive figure of ice. The Draugr snarled as if to greet the intruders and challenge them into the battle. The mages stepped back, making room for the fight to begin.
As light radiated from the flame atronachs, Lucy finally saw the Draugr in their full grotesque facade. Time had reduced them to nothing but bone and wrinkly dry skin. Old pieces of armour they had been once buried with now hung loosely on them, clanking as they charged against the atronachs with their swords and axes. They wore horned helmets, but below them gleamed their haunting blue eyes.
"Qiilaan us dilon!" spoke one of the undead warriors, his voice rasp and rough like stone grinding on stone. Bow before the dead, it meant. The group of dead, ripped-apart necromancers on the ground may have fallen to their will, but following their fate wasn't Lucy's intention.
'No, we won't.'
Lucy thought about conjuring her bow again and joining the battle, but she knew she couldn't aim in the darkness. While it would leave her exposed as well, she cast a Magelight into the ceiling before summoning the Daedric bow. As she did, the others decided to join the battle too, now as the atronachs had engaged most of the undead into a clash.
More Draugr emerged from the doorways on the sides of the chamber. Now Lucy saw the burial alcoves carved into the stone, piled on many levels – it terrified her to think how many of them there would be in the darkness. The flame atronachs agilely dodged the strikes of their swords and launched fireballs at them, filling the chamber with explosions and smoke. Natsu caught Lucy's arm and dragged her to the side, out of the blaze's way. And as he had said, fire was effective against the Draugr. They burned as roaringly as dry dead leaves.
For a second, Lucy was distracted by the sight of his flames. They reflected from his eyes, giving the greens a faint amber gleam. She was glad he could cast them again effortlessly, meaning his magicka was finally regenerated back to the way it used to be.
Gray's frost atronach, the enormous humanoid shape made from ice, swept its gigantic arms at the Draugr around it, throwing them off their feet and staggering them. But just as the mages had done earlier, it seemed the Draugr knew what was the best way to get rid of the atronachs: kill their summoners. A few from the group of the undead dispersed from the battle and headed straight at them.
"Qiilaan us Dovahkiin!" Lucy shouted at the charging mass of undead, suddenly knowing exactly what to do. While Natsu had said that frost would do nothing but tickle then, she had to try. "Fo Krah Diin!"
Her voice became a blizzard, a whirl of frost and ice as it arose from her throat. It swept down her enemies, coating the undead in a layer of snow, slowed them and forced them to the ground. They would not bow for the dead - the time had come for them to bow before the Dragonborn.
As her Thu'um settled, the few survivors emerged among the frost quickly met their end through Natsu's fire, Gray's spikes of ice, or Erza's greatsword. Lucy finished two of them with her bow and arrows.
And finally, silence fell into the crypt.
After that battle, the eerie silence never seemed to subside.
While Gray's magicka was already drained, he kept casting Detect Undead every now and then as they went onward in the dungeon. There wasn't a single one of them left, which Lucy struggled to believe. Either they had all gathered there to drive out the necromancers, or then there was more waiting for them somewhere. But, in their absence, Lucy dared to keep a Candlelight hovering above her head and keep herself from tumbling into the darkness.
They passed through chambers large and small, filled with urns and altars with obscure tools and statues laid on them. She kept a constant note on where they were – she didn't want to end up walking in circles here. They climbed up stairways and descended just as many. At times, it seemed like they were in a maze instead of a crypt, but after a few wrong turns, they always managed to move forward.
"I was thinking," Lucy started suddenly when she was sure there weren't any enemies lurking in the corners as they walked on, "how are the Draugr created? Are they reanimated or something?"
As she spoke, she realised how clenched her jaws were. She stayed constantly on guard, flinched at every sudden noise, even if it was just a rat on the earthy floor. Damn, she was frightened by her own shadow as it moved behind her.
"It probably has something to do with the way they are buried and embalmed," Gray explained, still keeping his voice low. Of their group, he probably had the most knowledge about the Draugr. "Some of them might have served the old dragon priests, but these ruins don't date to that era. These could've voluntarily become Draugr, remain on Mundus after death. When they died a long time ago, their corpses were prepared to house their spirit indefinitely. Some folks think they were cursed for serving the dragons, but in most cases, that wasn't it. They are warriors tasked to upkeep these crypts and barrows forever, and drive intruders out."
Lucy nodded as she let that information sink in. Indeed, she hadn't known almost anything about the undead guardians of most Nordic ruins. It seemed that the logic behind the undead, either the Draugr or raised zombies was rather simple. After physical death, their souls were either forbidden to move to the afterlife or forcibly pulled back to their corpses. Either way seemed horrible to Lucy. The vampires were theoretically undead too, but how their un-death actually worked, Lucy didn't know. The woman in the inn had appeared very alive to her.
Now that Lucy looked at the alcoves in the walls, she noticed strange piles of ash. By her logic, there was supposed to be more Draugr in these chambers, but nothing but the dust was left. Had something happened to them? Or had they been there, in the deepest parts of the dungeon for too long, and the magic keeping them bound to their corpses had somehow worn off? Lucy hoped for the latter. She didn't want to imagine what or who had managed to pulverize all these undead warriors.
"I'm still questioning why the Greybeards sent me here," Lucy complained. She was beginning to tire to the endless darkness. How large would a damn crypt even be?
"Maybe it isn't about the destination, but of the journey," Gray said. "You've already used your powers on the field, and learned new ones. Think that's what they thought of as your final trial."
"But when I left, they told me to remain true to the Way of the Voice, and you will return." Lucy could still hear Arngeir's voice echoing softly in her mind. "I'm still wondering what it could mean."
After walking for a while that felt like an eternity, something changed in the atmosphere. They passed through several crypts, tunnels, storage rooms whose purpose remained unclear to Lucy. But after descending another great spiralled stairway, they arrived in front of a tall, wooden door. Lucy expected it to be tightly sealed with ancient magic, or at least locked, but it was not. Erza pushed it open.
And Lucy could barely believe her eyes.
Behind the door was a chasm. A deep, vast chasm that on a first look seemed lightless, lifeless like the Void itself. But as Lucy's eyes adjusted to the sight, she saw a beam of light descending from the high ceiling to the bottom of the gorge. The air no longer smelled like decaying flesh, but of a fresh forest. A chilly breeze brushed against Lucy's face and the water rippled somewhere far below, inviting, alluring her to come closer.
"Would you look at that," whispered Gray, awe-struck as he stepped beside her. "Bet the final resting place of Jurgen Whatever is somewhere out there."
"Windcaller," Lucy corrected him. She had a bad feeling about disrespecting the dead here, especially when they were walking and swinging their swords.
From the small platform beneath the door, began a path of steps that lead into the darkness. Erza glanced at them, careful not to plummet over the edge. "Everyone, watch your step on our way down. Especially you, Natsu."
"Shut up," the fire mage scoffed and cast a Candlelight to hover above him. "The last one in the bottom is a piece of shit!"
Lucy's heart sprained as Natsu charged straight into the dark pathway, disappearing into the nothingness. She heard his silent steps growing more distant as she stood there waiting for the courage to follow him to come. Gray took the bite of Natsu's challenge and raced after him. Lucy decided to be more careful, even if she'd end up as 'a piece of shit.' Besides, Erza had no magical light to guide her, so she let her tap into hers.
Eventually, they reached the bottom, Erza being the last to step on level ground. Natsu appointed her with that glorious title for losing the game, but she just nonchalantly snorted. From there, the group dispersed again. The final chamber had to be somewhere around here. Lucy just felt it.
Deep in astonishment, Lucy walked on moss-covered stones, unable to believe such a place could even exist. Actual trees grew in there, ancient pines who climbed towards the crack of light in the ceiling. The last rays of the sun filtered from there, falling to a monument in the middle of the chasm. Lucy couldn't see it properly at the distance, but she felt the power surging from it, resonating in her bones.
She followed a stream of water that led her closer to the power, ever staying alert for possible dangers. It seemed they were alone, but there were abandoned weapons scattered on the ground; an ancient, wooden bow with arrows, iron swords and steel axes. Only their wielders were gone. The tension in her chest kept building up the longer she walked in silence.
And then, she arrived at the monument.
A word wall stood amidst a pond of crystal clear water, humming with a familiar energy. As if lured by it, Lucy stepped into the ankle-deep water and walked closer until she could brush the stone with her fingertips. The magic seeped through her skin as she felt herself fading into the ancient riddle, until a voice pulled her back.
"Strange," said Natsu, who had appeared behind her. "There isn't any way to go. I don't think Erza and Gray have found anything either."
Lucy couldn't tear her gaze away from the carvings. "There is."
Natsu remained quiet for a moment. "Can you read that, too? Does it give any hints?"
Then Lucy read.
"Noble Nords remember these words of the hoar father – it is the duty of each man to live with courage and honour, lest he fade, forgotten into darkness."
Her whisper echoed in the air as silence carried on. She sensed that Natsu didn't understand – how could he even? This was the power only she could feel, only she could reign, and then she knew exactly where to go. She closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and Shouted,
"Feim!"
The Thu'um that had been carved to the stone filled the chamber like thunder. It reached the Void, changing Lucy's form to one that couldn't harm, or be harmed. Her body became a spectral, ethereal ghost that gleamed in faint blue light. She opened her eyes and turned to look at the mage who stood behind her in the water, his awe-struck gaze locked on her. She smiled, beckoning him to trust her.
Then she walked through the word wall.
Trying not to be dazed by this power herself, she emerged into a hidden, sealed chamber, and finally understood what the Greybeards had meant. Any fool could thread this far in the fane of Ustengrav, but only those with the Voice could reach the grave of Jurgen Windcaller.
In the middle of the small entry chamber was a pedestal. She approached it and faintly heard the fire mage shouting her name on the other side of the wall, wondering where did she go. Following her intuition, she placed her hand on the pedestal, and the spell was broken. She became flesh and blood again, but upon her touch, something activated in the chamber. The walls began to change, move, reform, and soon a pathway to the other side was opened. She peeked into it, and saw Natsu looking back, eyes wide and abashed from shock.
"I'll explain you later," Lucy hollered to him. "I think I found the grave."
Without saying anything, Natsu came to her, Erza and Gray following right behind him. Lucy led them forward a small, narrow tunnel until they arrived at a final door. She pushed open the heavy iron doors, finally revealing the final burial chamber. She descended the steps to where a walkway to Jurgen Windcaller's sarcophagus began. As she set her foot on it, stones rose from the water on both sides of the path, carved in the shapes of eagle heads.
The stones kept emerging as she walked on, welcoming the Dragonborn to her destination as if congratulating her for completing her trial. Slowly, she approached the stone casket where Jurgen was buried, sealed into, the fear of him jumping from the sarcophagus as a Draugr clasping at her throat. But he remained in deep slumber, not awakening by her presence. A petrified hand extended from the lid of the casket, reaching into the ceiling, and Lucy understood that was where his horn was supposed to be.
But in that spot, there was only a rolled note.
"Oh, what's this?" Lucy asked, her voice wavering from shock. She picked the note into her hands, unable to believe what was happening. Had this whole thing been just some twisted joke? She unrolled the note and read out aloud. "Dragonborn. I need to speak with you, urgently. Head to the Ragged Flagon in Riften's Ratway and buy some Dragon's Breath Mead. Then I'll meet you."
She lowered the note from her face, turning her shocked gaze to her companions, who were just as equally, utterly confused. Her fingers curled around the piece of paper, crushing it as she threw it to the air.
"What in the Oblivion is this!?"
A/N: Hi guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter!
I have so much I have to say about this, actually. First off, a note to Skyrim players: yes, I altered Ustengrav a lot. Yes, I changed Become Ethereal shout so that you can go through walls unless they are magically warded. Yes, I made raised zombies basically unkillable until the summoner dies or the spell wears off. Yes, I've made Circle members infertile for a reason I won't spoil yet to those who haven't played Skyrim. I tried to make these alterations logical, but also keeping in mind the storytelling form that isn't a video game, but prose. Feel free to share your opinions about these changes!
Sooo, Erza is becoming a full-ledged Nalu shipper, right? I really wanted to give her some attention with her own POV, since she has been in the shadows for a few chapters. I also wanted to give some heart-to-heart moment to Lucy and Erza. I doubt Lucy would go telling about her missing periods to Natsu. The poor boy most likely wouldn't even understand what she's talking about and freak out. And yes, she's not pregnant. More about that later.
This was the first dungeon-crawling chapter I've EVER written, so I hope it turned out okay. I tried to focus on creating the atmosphere and add as much detail as I can, keeping in mind that they're in a dark shithole and can't see shit.
Those who feel confused by the ending, please go re-read the final scene of chapter 23: "Dark Waters" to refresh your memory. Seems like their next destination isn't High Hrothgar, but Riften!
Thank you SO MUCH for all the support an love. I'm beyond amazed by the amount of comments, kudos, hits and bookmarks I've gotten so far. Actually, I was calculating that if I keep writing at this rate, I'll get the "first book" finished by the end of next year. Hope you all stay aboard! And BTW, remember to check out my Tumblr (Psilocybinlemon) as I've just recently posted my drawings of this story out there, with some songs that I've found inspiring.
I've also decided to share the title of next chapter in the author notes, if I have it decide already. So, here goes:
Next up: Kindred Judgement
