Jump Chain Gothic 7 - Skyrim 1 - Dawnguard
Part 10
Fort Dawnguard. Skyrim.
It hadn't been too long since the Moth Priest had read the last Elder Scroll so we had to wait for him to recover before he'd attempt to read the one we'd gotten from the Soul Carin. If overtaxed himself he could die before he finished the reading and we wouldn't know what do next.
Given how things were progressing for the Dragonborn, a person that rumours were already spreading about, this world might not end soon, but the Dragonborn could fail, and if he did my group would need to leave quickly, hence the need to defeat Harkon. But we couldn't rush into battle with him without more information, not unless we really had to.
My memories were too unreliable to be depended on without more information and since we couldn't make any further moves against Harkon until we knew exactly where to go next it made sense to use this time to gather some of the magical items that I'd come to this world to claim.
With the Mako we could traverse Skyrim very quickly. I could also put together some sort of flying machine, but I decided against that the Mako had served us well so far, and I wasn't in that much of a rush to get anywhere.
"Okay first on my list is Red Eagle's Bane" I said.
In the game Red Eagle's Bane was an Ancient Nord Sword which serves as a reward for recovering Red Eagle's Fury and slaying the eponymous Red Eagle.
Red Eagle used the original version of this weapon in an attempted rebellion against the rule of Empress Hestra, as told in The Legend of Red Eagle. Before the Imperial conquest of The Reach, Red Eagle was one of many feuding kings of The Reach, prophesied to unite the region one day.
While his throne at the Sundered Hills was eventually lost to him, he gathered all loyal Reachman in a revolt against Imperial rule, which succeeded in almost forcing them out, However, the Imperial legions would not be driven off, and Red Eagle's fortress was eventually surrounded and besieged. At the end of the siege, Red Eagle sallied forth against the Imperials alone, naked, and with this sword in hand.
The story claims he slew a thousand of them before the force was routed from his stronghold. Victorious, Red Eagle collapsed when night fell, and was placed in his tomb, Rebel's Cairn.
Before finally dying, Red Eagle gave his followers his sword, and commanded they continue his campaign to free The Reach. Then once The Reach had been totally liberated, the sword should be returned to him, in his tomb, with the intention that this would resurrect him and allow him to lead them once more.
I knew that taking the weapon and going to his tomb would lead to the discovery of an altar with a slot to place Red Eagle's Fury. Placing it in the slot would unlock the hidden passage to Red Eagle's true tomb, as well as causing him to rise from the grave. Killing Red Eagle will cause the sword to transform from Red Eagle's Fury to Red Eagle's Bane, and complete this quest.
Of course I had no idea what tribe of Forsworn had the sword, a problem I shared with Serana who was hanging around me in part of the fortress I currently called home.
"You need to learn the Clairvoyance spell" she advised "As long you remain focused on your goal the spell will show the way".
That made sense, and I should be able to acquire the book from anyone who sold them. Which just meant visiting the nearest city. And along the way if I picked up any side quests then that could be fun.
"I'll learn the spell if I have time to join the College" I said to the vampire.
The books were hard to come buy, so it would be better to find a teacher at the college who could teach the spell. Serana didn't offer so I assumed that meant she didn't know the spell even if she had knowledge of it.
"There's a bow with a special enchantment for hunting animals in Clearspring Cave" I mentioned "But I'm not one hundred percent sure on that".
Allnel Forestwind was my expert on the local geography
"I know where that is" she told me "It's in Eastmarch".
Then we'd stop off there on the way back to this Fortress after we visited Whiterun. Which was one of the places I wanted to see.
"Not long after I became a vampire I visited Eastmarch so that I could confront my darkness" Serena told the room.
I was intrigued.
"You confronted your darkness?" I asked.
I wondered if that was like visiting that darkside cave on Dagobah, which I'd done.
"Yes" said the vampire "I had to fight a shadow version of myself, and when I won I was able to control my darkness. I think it's at least part of why I can restrain myself from killing when I feed".
This sounded interesting as if I could learn to fully control my own darkness then I'd better be able to resist the temptations of the darkside, and Chaos once I got the 40K Universe, assuming I ever got that far.
"There is something I'd like you to look into for me" Morgana said as she entered the room from the connecting chamber she'd been working in "What do you know about Aetherium?".
I didn't answer this question.
"It's a highly volatile material the Dwemer fought over" Serena answered "Given the amount time that has passed since the dwarves vanished I doubt there's any left".
Something about this seemed familiar.
"There's a book called The Aetherium Wars and it mentions a massive underground forge that was used to create Aetherium items" my wife told us "Which are mentioned in the set up for this Jump, but we had other things to buy with the CP".
Now I remembered, if you got enough Aetherium and took it to the Forge you could create one of three magical items, a circlet, a shield, or a staff.
"Let me guess you want the circlet" I said.
It would allow her the benefit of two standing stones if I remembered correctly, and that could help in her goal to master the magic of this world. Morgana never used a shield and she already had a staff.
"Well, yes" she admitted.
I gave the matter some thought.
"Dwemer ruins always have good loot, at least in the game" I mused "Besides, maybe we'll find more of this Aetheruim stuff".
"That's highly unlikely" Serana stated.
I shrugged.
"As long as we plan our journey carefully we should be able to make use of the forge and get back in time for the Moth Priest to read the scroll" I said "We can always visit Eastmarch later one".
I wanted to learn more about this whole 'facing my darkness' thing before I tried it.
(Line Break)
Arkngthamz. Skyrim.
"Master this place is dangerous" Cameron stated.
We'd only just entered the place and already she wanted to leave.
"Don't be so negative. I'm sure we'll be fine" I assured her.
A mild tremor shook the ground causing a rock slide in the distance.
"You were saying?" the cyborg said.
She had a valid point but exploring Arkngthamz wasn't about constantly worrying if we would be killed, but if our time would be well spent or not. Dwemer ruins could be loaded with valuables or completely empty, it largely depended on how well known the location was and how many automatons were still active. Judging by the single entrance and the shakes the chances were good this ruin had not been totally looted.
I began climbing the stairs expecting another tremor, but nothing happened. Then we found that a heavy metal door stood before us sheltered by a stone awning, the door opened with a foreboding creek, but nothing attacked us.
The entrance hall was dark except for a faint glow given off by a glowing mushrooms, the kind of which we'd harvested samples of before, and above us was a big lamp of some sort, but it had grown dim. Not that this was an issue for my group. Forestwind and I could make use of our special sunglasses, were as Cameron and Serana had other ways of seeing in the dark.
Turn back
"Did you hear that?" I asked,
Cameron hadn't heard anything, but the others had.
"Yes. It's probably a ghost" Serana stated "Not too surprising considering".
"Considering what?" Forestwind asked.
The vampire didn't answer and so we continued forward across the makeshift bridge. The damage from previous earthquakes was visible; how the entire structure hadn't collapsed on itself was a miracle.
Please, turn back…before it's too late…
The narrow hall turned into a wide expanse; a massive cavern stretched before us bridged by more fallen columns. A sudden rumble caused another minor rock slide, and this time it was much closer. The faint echo of splashing indicated a water source at the bottom of a very long fall.
"What are you still doing here?"
The ghost of a woman was now standing before us, and since Cameron tried to shoot her I guessed that meant that this spirit was the kind that she could see. However the blast went right through the ghost to no effect.
"Let me guess. You're hear for the treasure, aren't you? Just like all the others" said the spirit.
For some reason the ghost now sounded much more life like. I figured she'd been speaking in a more spooky voice before as part of an effort to drive us off. It would have worked on the locals who tended to be superstitious, and given the world they lived in they couldn't be blamed for this.
"Well, we're looking for a kind of treasure" I admitted.
We weren't just here for random loot.
"Who are you?" I asked.
The spirit wasn't overly hostile so I saw no reason to attack it.
"The name's Katria. I am – was – an adventurer" the ghost told us "I raided ruins like this for nigh on twenty years. I was on the trail of something big. It led me here, and…I didn't make it".
Sad, but there was nothing I could do about it now as she'd been dead for some time.
"We came here looking for Atherium" I mentioned.
I wanted a sample of the material in case it could be replicated. This was highly unlikely, but the Matter Furnace might be able to produce some of the stuff, in very small amounts. Assuming I bothered with that as there were other matters I needed to deal with in this world and I couldn't take the Forge with me.
"Oh. You read the book, didn't you? The Atherium Wars?" I was asked,
Katria stiffened as she spoke, as much as a ghost could, but continued speaking not waiting for me to answer the question.
"That was my theory you know" the spirit told us "My research. My life's work. All of it, lost! Stolen by my own damn apprentice!"
The ghostly face looked around the space we were in.
"That's how I ended up here" she said "I can't rest, not until I find the forge, until I can prove that it was my discovery. Mine and not his!".
She paused for a moment and then seemed to calm down.
"But its hopeless" she went on to say "I died here just like all the others"
She then looked at us.
"Turn back" she advised "Turn back before you become the next victims of this place".
I wasn't concerned.
"Oh, trust me, we can handle ourselves" I said to the spirit "This place is a bit run down, but we've seen worse".
The Soul Carin had been far more horrible. I'd hidden how badly it had been affecting me, it had drained my soul somewhat I was certain of that, but I was sure that the damage wouldn't be long lasting. In fact I already felt much better.
Still I was pretty sure that Cameron would pin me down on the ground if I even mentioned going back to that place. Not that I wanted to.
"Hmph…maybe so but then again, I thought I could too" Katria said
The ghost sighed, or seemed to.
"I'm not going to talk you out of it, am I?" she asked "I know, I know I was just like you, once. Well if you want to reach the summit, you're going to need some help".
No one had any objections.
"Sure, why not" I said.
Katria nodded.
"Alright. Lead on then" she then said.
The good thing about having the Force and telekinetic powers was that I could leap great distances, and then use my powers to lift people across chasms. As it turned out Serena could turned into a scary monster and fly when ever she wanted, which made things easier.
"See that thing? Dwarves called them 'kinetic resonators'" our ghost guide told us when we entered a chamber that was filled with strange machines Don't see them very often, at least not among the clans in Skyrim".
I wondered what they were.
"Just hit them" instructed the spirit "and they'll do…whatever it is they're supposed to do".
That wasn't very helpful.
"Hopefully they don't explode" I heard Forestwind grumble.
With the Force I picked up a sizeable piece of metal and swung it at the resonator, letting the Force guide my actions, the metal hit the strange machine with a clang. There was a loud hiss and a nearby set up gates swung open. As a group we headed through the gate before it could close.
"Falmer up ahead" Katria whispered to us "Damn things are like bugs. No matter how many you kill more just pop up"
One of the creatures suddenly stood upright, sniffing the air. It made a strange sound then lurched forward in an attack stance; the others followed suit.
A sudden burst of flame engulfed both falmer as they'd run towards us, Serana had used a spell on them.
"Impressive" I commented.
Serana smiled at me.
"When we have time I'll teach you a few tricks" she promised.
We'd see if that was possible later on.
(Line Break)
Arkngthamz. Skyrim.
After what felt like hours of hiking and killing those nasty falmer creatures, we made it to place our ghost guide wanted to us to reach.
The large well-lit room was now spread out before us. Kinetic resonators lined the ornate walls. There were also bodies in various states of decay; one appeared to be fresh, a famler, but others had been reduced to bones.
"Look at this" the spirit instructed.
She indicated the large wall behind her.
"It's a lock. A tonal lock. Simple but very, very deadly. See the resonators up there? Strike them in the right order and the doors should open" she told us "Get it wrong and well, you saw what happened to me when I tried it".
I gave the matter some thought. I even scanned the place, but even Cortana couldn't make sense of dwarven machinery, at least not yet.
"Any advice on opening this thing without triggering an earth quake or awakening an army of centurion?" I asked.
Katria thought for a moment.
"Hmm…well, you can pick up where I left off. My notes should still be in my journal if you can read it" she suggested Beyond that, maybe one of our predecessors has a clue".
I left the others to search the bodies, but they only found a note with a few scribbles. However as it turned out the dwarves had left instructions, they were carved into the walls, and I could read them if I focused.
"Shoot the bottom left first, then the bottom right" I instructed Forestwind "Then hit the top left and the top right. The last resonator is in the middle".
Inside the room we'd just opened up there were several chests filled with various types of loot; jewels, dwarven armour, and weapons, even some gold. Dwarven ingots and spare parts were stacked off to the side.
While gold and jewels meant little to me the ingots and the items made from dwarven metal did have value as I couldn't replicate the stuff, but I could reforge it and practice my blacksmithing while making new weapons.
Weapons that Morgana could enchant, and that I could store in the Asgardian Armoury in what I planned to be the next Jump as I badly wanted an armoury full of magical weapons.
What I really wanted right now was in the middle of this room, it was a strange blue luminous shard that set on a pedestal. I picked it up and turned it over; it hummed with energy. I could feel it through my mystical senses.
"So it is real" Katria said "Let me see it."
I held out the strange metal for closer examination by the ghostly woman.
"Look on the edge here," she pointed "this has been precisely cut. If you had another piece about the same size..."
She started pacing
"I saw a drawing of this once, This shard…its…its part of a key" said the spirit "A key made of pure Atherium! It's the key to the Forge!".
Katria was practically bouncing, for a dead woman she had a lot of energy.
"There should be three more" stated the ghost "Yes, one for each of the four cities that worked on the Forge".
She tried to reach for the shard, but her hand went through the item
"I had a map in my journal" said the ghost "that's where we should start. You need to find my body".
Hopefully she knew where it was.
"And we still have to find the forge itself. I had a lead on that too" said the spirit "there's so much to do. I'm going to head out and start tracking things down. We'll meet again, I'm sure of it!"
She began walking toward the gate then stopped and turned
"For the first time I think... I think we may actually be able to do this" she said "I owe it all to you. Thank you."
With that Katria disappeared.
"So where is her body?" Forestwind asked.
I had the feeling that this quest was going to take all day. We needed the ghost lady's journal in order to find the rest of Atherium.
"Well since an Earthquake killed her, that means her body is likely at the body of that chasm" said Serana "I can fly down and find it. Hopefully she kept her journal in a pouch or the water will have ruined it".
We'd soon find out.
(Line Break)
Deep Folk Crossing. Skyrim.
Forestwind, Cameron, Serana and I stood at one end of the ancient Dwemer structure known as Deep Folk Crossing. On the other side, there was a short path that led to a stone pedestal, upon it was a dwarven helmet, a sword and the last piece of Atherium that we needed.
The bridge itself, while ancient, was sturdy looking at least. Built into the side of the mountain, it offered a dynamic view of the landscape with a small outcropping to watch the waterfall below. The sun was beginning to set adding a pink haze to the atmosphere. We'd spent most of this day driving around and recovering the Atheruim.
Since I didn't trust the bridge I just used my mind powers to bring the piece of Atherium and sword to me. I left the helmet behind as I more than enough dwarven metal for my needs. At least for now.
I handed over the sword, which Morgana could have fun enchanting to Cameron before placed the piece of Atherium into my pouch.
Then somehow the ghost of Katria appeared. Finding and using the forge was clearly her unfinished business.
"That's the last piece isn't it?" she asked.
I just nodded. The ghost didn't seem to understand that we shouldn't have been able to find the Atherium shards so quickly, but she was dead so I imagined that her grip on reality was shaky.
"Then its almost time! I'll meet you at the forge" said the spirit.
With that she disappeared.
"She's so, excited" Serana said "It would cute if she wasn't dead".
It made sense to me.
"Yes, well, this is her life's work finally coming to fruition" I said "Not to mention, she'll probably be able to move on to whatever afterlife she deserves, Sovngarde or something like that".
Although she hadn't died in battle Katria had been adventurous and brave.
"We should head for the ruins of Bthalft" Serana was now saying "this should be the location of the forge according to the journal. After that, back to the Fortress".
Well no as I wanted to fight my inner darkness, but that could wait until tomorrow.
(Line Break)
Bthalft. Skyrim.
According to Forestwind, who had a lot of local lore in her head, at one time this was considered to be the hub of Dwemer research and progress, thousands of years had turned it into little more than a few standing stones and pedestals, at least on the surface.
Bandits had set up residence here, but they were not a threat. We killed some of them and the rest of the group fled before there was further bloodshed rather than fight to the last like they would in the game. Whether they would be back or not didn't concern me as we wouldn't be here for long.
At the centre of the ruins was a globe with an intricate design. Below it was a space for a key of some sort. After pulling out the Atherium shards from my pouch, I examined each one carefully before piecing them together. As the completed disc was placed, the ground began to tremor. Then a stone platform began rising, revealing a hidden lever for a Dwemer elevator.
We soon entered the lift, someone pulled the lever and we began our decent. I couldn't accurately judge the speed on the lift, but I got the sense that we were heading very deep underground.
Once we reached the entrance to the forge, which was at the bottom of the lift, Katria appeared once again and directed our attention to more tonal locks. Getting here had been pretty simple, which meant less chances for loot then expected, but it also meant that we'd not had to work our away around traps, nor had we needed to kill a bunch of falmar so I wasn't complaining.
"Do they need to be shot in a particular order?" I wondered.
The ghost shrugged
"I would assume no but then again, this is as far as I've ever been" she answered.
Once the locks were activated in no order, the gates swung open revealing a massive room that was suspended above an active lava pit. There were also pipes bringing steam into this place, and that meant we couldn't go any further.
"We need a way of getting to the other side without being boiled" I said.
I used my powers to close both valves and once they were closed the steam disappeared but then a new threat appeared; swarms of dwarven spiders began pouring into the room from various openings.
Using my powers once again I grabbed as many spiders as I could, and began throwing them around the room. Meanwhile my companions used their ranged attacks to take out as many spiders as possible.
"That wasn't fun, but if it's the worst of it, I'm okay with that" Serana said once it was over.
Why did I have the feeling that she'd jinxed us?
"I highly doubt that is the only defence that was put in place" Cameron said "Stay alert".
At that moment, several dwarven spheres emerged with blades drawn. The spheres proved to be more formidable than the spiders, but not impossible to defeat. I couldn't control these machines with my near-ascended abilities, however that didn't stop me from throwing them about and cutting them apart with my lightsaber.
"Collect the soul gems" I ordered "Morgana can make use of them".
A massive centurion came at us next. It was glowing white hot, as it stomped toward us intent on our destruction. Moving with uncharacteristic speed, it took a swipe at me. However the axe blade at the end of its arm met empty air as the Force guided my actions, keeping me from harm.
A burst of flames erupted from the centurion's face a moment later, and if not for my ability to control fire, another of my many near-ascended powers I would have been burned to a crisp in short order.
Alas deflecting that much fire was too much even for me so I was very grateful for a moment to recover, which I got when Serana hit the centurion with enough ice spikes that the construct turned its attention away from me.
Calling upon the Force as much as possible I ran forward, lightsaber ignited, and took a swipe at the knee joint of the centurion. A sudden bust of steam indicated a cut line, but it didn't prevent the centurion from attacking.
With a swipe of its hammered arm, it caught Cameron in the chest and sent her flying into a wall with a loud bang; she didn't get up. I figured that I was going to have to do some serious repair work on her.
While it was distracted, I cut the other knee joint sending it crashing forward. With both legs useless, the centurion was forced to crawl in order to attempt further destruction. However before it could do anyone else any harm I jumped on its back driving my energy blade through the metal plating connecting its head to the body. With a final cloud of steam, the centurion stopped moving.
Cameron stood up a moment later, having reset, which Terminators sometimes needed to do after taking damage. She wasn't badly broken, her outer layer would heal before long the robot part beneath hadn't taken damage.
Her armour was ruined, but that could easily be replaced as the Dawnguard had more weapons and armour than it had people to use them.
"I... I almost can't believe it" the ghost was now saying "We did it! We actually did it! There's only one thing left to do. We have to prove this actually works. That this is the real Aetherium Forge".
She was really focused on her goal if me using a lightsaber didn't provoke her interest. It was obsession I understood even further when the spirit realised that there was no stockpile of Aetherium for us to use to make anything with.
"The shards we collected, they're pure Aetherium" I reminded her "It's not much, but it'll do. With them, and the materials in this room, we should have everything we need"
There was indeed a chest full of the stuff we needed.
"I'll bet its filled with just enough materials to make a circlet, a staff or a shield" I said "How convenient".
With the materials obtained, we set to work creating the Atherium Crown. While the Forge itself was ancient, it made shaping the materials almost effortless. After the process was complete, I held the crown out for Katria to examine.
"Gods, it's absolutely beautiful!" she said "And with that... it's done. No one could possibly deny what we've found now".
Yep the quest was complete. Although once I left I'd not longer have a key that would allow me to re-enter this place. Not unless I could unlock with my powers, which was possible, but it was unlikely that I'd bother since I didn't have any more Atherium and had plenty of other things to do.
"So what's going to happen now?" I asked "I mean for you".
Would she moved on or linger here?
"For me? I've done what I set out to do" the ghost said "So take that out into the world. And if anyone asks, tell them what we discovered. Together".
She was becoming more transparent I noticed.
"And now I think I can rest" said the spirit "Farewell, my friends, thank you".
She took a bow and faded away.
"You know, I think I'm going to miss her" Serana told the group "She was pleasant to be around"
"And a damn good shot" Forestwind added.
There was no sense hanging around here any more so I decided to get moving. I still had places to visit and quests to finish.
(Line Break)
Eastmarch. Skyrim.
It was time to face my darkness. I'd come to the place Serana had told me about, and I'd left my companions in the Mako nearby, they couldn't help me with this fight. I had to face my darkness and learn to control it.
I'd wondered if my shadow counter part, the creature I would soon be facing, would have all my powers. Perhaps it would simply mimic them, not that it mattered as the shadow counter part could be defeated.
Serana had defeated hers and she'd told me that the key to victory was just to fight, no fancy tricks would not help me here. I just had to go in their and kick the ass of my shadow counter part. Although I suspected that a certain spell would help me.
The mist gathered and the level of light lowered as I entered a part of Eastmarch that contained geysers, yet I felt cold, but that wasn't due to temperature, I felt the darkness, and it was gathering around me.
Then I saw it the shadow creature, it had my outline, but didn't look that much like me. However when the shadow lit up a lightsaber, one with a black blade, I knew that I was indeed facing my shadow.
I called upon the Force just in time to reduce the effect of a Force Push, or some sort of telekinetic attack. And then I rolled out of the way as the black blade of the shadow's lightsaber tried to skewer me.
Upon returning to my feet I was lifted up into the air, I felt like I was being hanged on an invisible rope. Luckily I knew a defence against this attack, it took a lot of focus to Force Choke someone like this so all I had to do was send a small fireball at the Shadow, and it had to drop me.
Returning my lightsaber to my hand proved to be a wise move as I needed it to block some Force Lightning, which was not an ability I made use of it since it was a dark side power, and I had easier ways of killing people.
I knew that I had to go on the offensive as given a chance the shadow could my near-ascended powers to destroy me. That required focus so I needed to distract this avatar of darkness.
While muttering the words of a powerful spell I used my particle magnum as that distraction. The shadow creature deflected the attacks easily enough, but that wasn't the real danger.
Once again I had slowed down the course of time and the shadow creature was affected by this, and while it shared my speed that wasn't enough to stop from cutting it apart with my lightsaber.
Time returned to its normal flow and I found that the Shadow creature had changed form becoming a sword, one that could have been daedric made. I felt no danger from the weapon, and when I touched it I realised that was a symbol of the darkness within me that I could now control.
Serana had mentioned that the darkness took the form of a weapon, and the weapon did feel like a part of me, much like how my lightsaber did. I even knew the name of the weapon: Shadowrend.