"Well, now," Mercer said quietly. "Looks like she's here after all."
They stood on the edge of a deep pit in the snow. What had been excavated was piled all around them, creating an almost wall-like structure around the hole. At the bottom, much of the snow had been knocked free of one side and piled into smaller mounds, revealing the dark, rough surface of a stone wall.
The door was half-buried by fresh snow, but Issana could still make out weird, unearthly carvings shaped into its metal. Mercer wasted no time. He grabbed a pair of shovels from the sled and jumped down into the pit. He landed with a soft thud about seven feet down. "Coming?"
Issana jumped in after him and started digging. The snow was still light, so they had little trouble clearing it away. When they'd finished, Mercer went to clamber out of the hole but only made it halfway up before his foot came free and he fell. Issana snickered.
"Something funny?" Mercer snarled.
Issana strode past him, kicked her feet into the snowy wall and scrambled out with little effort. "What did you need from up here?"
"My pack."
Issana dropped Mercer's pack on him and relished in the thump before sliding nimbly down into the hole again.
Mercer pushed on the door. "Locked."
"You thought Karliah was going to let us walk right in?" Issana stepped up to the door and examined it. "Keyhole..."
She spotted it after a few seconds, a small, dark hole in the shadow of the main carving. She still couldn't tell what the carving was - some sort of horned creature maybe? - so she ignored it. "Better hope this goes right the first time," she muttered, and yanked off her gloves. The frigid air cut across her finger like a knife. She pulled out her picks and carefully slid one inside the lock. It clicked and turned. I love ancient locks. So simple. She hastily put her gloves back on just as her fingers were starting to go numb. Mercer pushed the door and it swung open with a snap of ice and the wail of old metal. He stared inside. "Damn."
Issana leaned in beside him to look. "You really think she's in there?" It was black as pitch, with the light only illuminating the first few paces. "She'd go mad."
"If she isn't already," said Mercer. He slung his pack onto the ground and reached inside, withdrawing two small candle lamps. He lit them and passed one to her. The single flame didn't do much. She stared at him. "Really?"
Mercer shot her a look. "Trust me. The less visible we are, the better."
"Even this much light will make us stand out in there."
"To Karliah, maybe." Mercer raised the lamp high in front of him and drew his sword. "But it's not Karliah I'm worried about." He stepped into the blackness.