Sundas, the 30th of Sun's Dusk, 4E201
And so, the journey begins again… No rest for the wicked, is that what they say? Because that proverb has me wishing for some good karma to be thrown my way. And I'm not even superstitious! Well, not too superstitious anyway. Some would call star signs superstitions too, but having one's life saved multiple times kind of makes you reconsider.
On my way out of Riften I passed by that little building by the Treva River, the ruined house or something. I remember seeing it a few times while traveling around. It looks like even the rubble got taken down, and I think I even saw a few corpses… Junkies getting violent? There was some talk of that place being a skooma den, but I haven't heard of skooma eaters outright murdering people.
Maybe they got busted? Though the Riften guard isn't exactly proactive when it comes to taking down criminals… Well, I suppose it's not my problem either way. If there was anything worth looting over there, it's probably already cleaned out.
Back in Ivarstead. Another night, another room, another hot meal. B'set, sometimes the inns are a godsend, truly.
You know, sometimes I wonder what Arngeir is doing up there now that I don't visit. Or any of the other Greybeards, for that matter. Do they ever disagree? I've never even seen them talk to one another, let alone argue.
I guess they sat through their entire lives on that mountain already, right up until I showed up. They could probably do it again, unless I try being the bigger person in this situation and make amends.
Mmm… Nah, too much effort.
Morndas, the 1st of Evening Star, 4E201
I considered going through Whiterun, but figured it'll be an unnecessary detour. I double checked my map, and I could rest up at Falkreath if I pass through the mountains instead. There'll also be an opportunity to swing by Helgen, though I doubt anything interesting has happened.
I'd say someone needs to get their shit together and start rebuilding, but there isn't a King who can do that and the Jarl of Falkreath is barely keeping his own hold running. It's a shame, too. Falkreath looks like some prime land to live in. All it needs is good management, and somehow that's also the one thing it lacks.
Fate has its sense of humor.
Alright, Helgen is depressing to look at. I don't know what I expected from this. Straight passage lined with a bunch of rubble and burned buildings. Barely anything left after the looters got to it.
At least the keep is somewhat intact… Right?
Well, since there's nothing to explore here I still have a few hours to kill until nightfall. There's a cave off to the side here, south of the road. Maybe that will have something of interest.
I don't know. I'm just bored. All this traveling is making my brain turn into mush.
Please, be something.
The Dragonborn felt a chill creeping underneath her armor as she entered the cavern and the sun's rays vanished from sight. Despite the innocently foliage-covered entrance, the inside passage brought such a drastic drop in temperature that Saya could see her own breath. The coarse dirt felt solid beneath her feet, covered in ice and frost. Suppressing a shiver, the girl moved on, pulling on her fur-lined hood even lower than it already was.
Much to her surprise, there were animals still living within the cave. Soon after entry, the redhead narrowly avoided a wolf den, but not its inhabitants. The animals themselves were hungry enough to attack her even though she meant them no harm initially. Later on, she encountered a snow troll who was quickly dispatched with the help of a few fire spells. And as the Dragonborn continued her journey through the tunnels, she couldn't help but feel like it was only getting colder and colder.
Fifteen or so minutes later, Saya found herself up on the surface again, and a quick glance around showed that she was now a good hundred meters higher than she had been just a little while ago. The trail within the underground passage continued outside, though snow definitely impeded the visibility. Nonetheless, the Dragonborn continued walking along, keeping her feet light and her blade ready should anything jump out to cause any trouble.
The trail she followed was gradually becoming more and more defined. The beaten dirt path was slowly pushed aside in favor of a cobblestone road, her ascension uphill assisted by almost too conveniently placed stairs… Her gaze narrowed when she noticed the familiar statues lining the road - ancient pillars of black stone, the visages of hawks peering down from atop them. Her movement slowed, becoming more cautious. It was no ordinary cave after all, it was a passage. But where to…?
The question answered itself when a familiar structure entered her view and Saya stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening slightly under her hood. There, standing grandly in the shadow of even more massive peaks that loomed in the far distance, was the opulent word wall. Lined with draconic glyphs, it seemed to almost beckon Saya towards itself. The Dragonborn took a hesitant step forward, the whispers in her head progressively growing louder the closer she found herself to the structure. Her eyelids slowly relaxed, her expression becoming mellow and unfocused. She reached out, touching the cold stone and holding her breath as the call of the word of power took her undivided attention with an iron grasp.
She heard a sharp breath coming from above, and she reacted without looking. The word 'Feim' left her lips and she fell forward, right through the wall she had been touching a moment ago. A stream of cold, snowy wind descended from above, shards of ice stabbing into the ground where she had just been standing with a dull noise. By the time Saya's consciousness had caught up, she had already materialized again, standing with her back up against the word wall and her face practically pressed into the cliff.
She gazed upwards, seeing the blue sky above her beginning to grow busy with dark grey clouds. The roaring stopped, and in the brief moment of calm she began to notice something stirring up there, in the sky. As though a chunk of it was lagging behind, the clouds warping around a segment of the sky that… Wait, she recognized that shape.
It was… A tail?
Just as the realization sank into her mind, she heard a loud crash as the beast jumped off from its perch atop the wall. Saya's grip around Stormblade grew tighter and she began moving slowly toward the edge of her cover, careful to make as little noise as humanly possible. Keeping her eyes peeled, she watched for even the slightest change in the scenery that she could possibly spot.
She didn't see it, initially. No, the first thing she felt was an odd warmth and moisture coming from behind. Her head quickly whipped around, and she saw it again - this same distortion, like she was looking through a misshapen window. She was immediately reminded of the way the Chameleon spell warps one's perception of their surroundings, all in order to conceal the caster. She was pulled away from those thoughts as the breath she felt upon herself was quickly drained from the air in another inhale, no doubt preparing for another Shout - which the Dragonborn immediately interrupted by hurling a fireball directly into the creature's open maw.
Saya darted around the word wall, missing out on the sight of the dragon reeling back, growling and coughing with frustration. Its camouflage rapidly dissipated, revealing the creature's form to be an eye-stabbing, stark-white color. Its body shape was sleek and lacking in horns or other protrusions, resembling a snake or a smaller lizard more than it did a dragon. Its eyes were small and colored like amber, staring back at her with tiny black pupils while it licked its burnt gums with a sapphire tongue.
"[Clever little rat]... Consider me impressed." The dragon growled, squinting at her while its lips stretched into a grin. One of its wing-claws dug into the wall, holding onto it while the other sank into the earth below and its neck arched to look down at the curious Dunmer. "Tell me, what brings you to my [home]?"
It took Saya a moment to realize what was going on in her mind. The words she had heard with her ears and her mind were like two cogs that just couldn't quite connect. Then, everything suddenly seemed to click and the realization dawned on her:
I can understand what it's saying.
She inwardly considered her options for combat. Storm Call would be a safe bet, but then she couldn't count on it not going invisible again, in which case she would leave herself vulnerable. Marked For Death was also good, but then she would need to land a good hit on it, which she could not guarantee. It also seemed to be quite responsive to fire, so maybe Fire Breath… Decisions, decisions.
"Will you let me go if I answer?" She chuckled nervously, holding her blade at the ready. At the moment, she was at a massive range disadvantage. Her best bet would be to attack somewhere with little armor, like under the jaw or around the eyes. However, that would require either the ability to jump three times as high as she was tall, or using Whirlwind Sprint. That, in turn, would lock her out of immediate follow ups, and bank on ending everything in a single hit… "Tit for tat, and all that nonsense."
The dragon growled, baring its fangs demonstratively. Its low, guttural voice rang out from within its throat with a Shout she didn't recognize, and the dragon's body immediately became transparent, only its eyes and shadow giving any indication that there even was anything where it stood. "You invade my home, which I have taken great care to [conceal], to hide from prying eyes like your own, Dovahkiin." The scratching of claws allowed Saya to mentally track the dragon's movements as it carefully crawled around the rocky landscape, intent on flanking her. "I do not take kindly to such… Transgressions."
"That seems to be a trend." She said, wearing a deadpan expression. She did not turn around, in hopes that faking ignorance would make the dragon lower its guard. "But I don't exactly appreciate the half-assed attempts on my life, either. If Alduin wanted my soul so badly, he could've taken it himself when he had the chance."
"When he had the chance?" The dragon laughed, the sound coming from about 7 o'clock behind her. The movement has yet to stop. "Do you tear down the apple the moment it appears on the tree? [You as you are now are worthless. Let the servants squabble to eat the flower]. Our lord knows to wait until the fruit grows sweet before he plucks it for himself."
"Some master you have, then, who sends you to your deaths to better his own meal." She chuckled, mentally preparing to mark her target when it got close enough. "And what if, by chance, one of you does succeed? You're all just sacrificial pawns to him. What makes you think he won't simply devour you, too?"
"Fool." The dragon almost barked. She must've struck a nerve. "[Not all of our kind bow to Alduin, even if they should]. There are those who think your soul would give them [power]... An edge against their rivals. [Alduin's favor will cost far more than the lives of a few weaklings, once his plans are realized]."
"Weaklings, huh…" She sighed, shaking her head. So they would just keep coming after all... "What are you, then? Another contender for your master's attention? Or are you here to yell a few times and then keel over?"
"[Politics interests me none]."The dragon responded, this time the voice coming from about 2 o'clock. Circling around her, then. Although, the voice felt sort of… Distant. Facing away, perhaps? "Your soul… It is quite the prize to pass up, even accounting for the risk. [I am no warrior, and my element of surprise is lost]. As much as it wounds my [pride] to say this, I would lose if I were to face you head on, as you intend to."
Saya's grip around her sword tightened. A coward. How fortunate. "Then I propose an exchange, if you wish to listen." There was a slight rustle and, about fifteen meters ahead, she spotted the orange glint of the dragon's eye. She had its attention. "My soul is more precious to Alduin if it is developed, as you said, and I seek knowledge of the Thu'um for my own goals. I know that those who speak the tongue can grant me access to their knowledge willingly. Surrender the knowledge I want from you, and I will be satisfied. I will leave this place immediately, and you will be free to do… Whatever it is you do up here."
The dragon hummed, deliberating upon her offer. Its one exposed eye glinted as it turned to face her, and she could almost feel its breath upon her face. "[And if I refuse]?"
The Dragonborn did a quick swipe with her blade, nicking the tail fin. Immediately, the dragon's invisibility collapsed, exposing the beast to her in full. She then looked it in the eye, readying her weapon for another attack if need be. "[Then I will pry that knowledge from your corpse]."
The dragon's eyes glinted dangerously, but it did not immediately respond. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few moments, the creature's tail twitching ever so slightly as its owner was practically itching to take flight and run away. It drew a single breath and sighed heavily. "[Swear it]." The Dragonborn cocked her head quizzically. "[In our tongue, swear upon your name that you will leave once you receive what I give you]."
Ah. "Is that all?" She did not expect a dragon like this to be the honorable type. Especially not a sneaky ambush predator who relies on abusing people's trust to survive. But fair enough. "Very well. [On my name as Dragonborn, I swear that I shall immediately leave once I receive the knowledge I am here for, and will not remain here a moment longer than necessary]." She spoke, taking off her hood as she did. Once she was finished, she looked at the dragon expectantly. "There, done. Now, do your part."
The giant pale frame before her finally relaxed, tension leaving its body as it turned to face her fully, head and torso. The dragon bowed down, leaning towards her in an inviting manner. Saya took a moment to admire the enormous beast before she closed her eyes as well, placing her hand onto the dragon's snout. Immediately, she felt something tickle within her chest. A familiar pull, beckoning something from deep within her - no, beckoning something into her. She took a deep breath, and embraced the sensation, opening the proverbial door.
Immediately, Saya felt every vessel within her body prickling with pain. Every muscle within her body wanted to seize up and relax at the same time. Her breath felt shallow and lifeless, moving rapidly in and out of her lungs yet bringing nothing with it. The pain gradually gave way to numbness, a debilitating un-feeling that washed away the aches within her body only to replace them with a discomfort that was somehow even more unpleasant.
Krah. Cold.
And then, all of it vanished in a single instant. There was no pain, nor any numbness. Even her own breaths ceased to feel so hot in her body, or perhaps she simply stopped breathing completely. She tried to open her eyes, but found that her eyelids were sealed shut. She tried to move, but found that her skin was solid as stone. And all the while, the faint noise of cracking kept ringing out within her ears every time she tried to fight. Almost like stepping on an ice-covered lake…
Diin. Freeze.
Saya's eyes slowly opened and she saw the dragon before her, still. She felt mildly… Amused. She was half-expecting it to avoid fulfilling its side of the bargain. And yet, here it was. Still standing there, awaiting her. It was a display of trust that she did not expect from one of its kind, especially not one she had been fighting only a few minutes ago. It was… Heartwarming.
And equally foolish.
Her fingers relaxed, loosening her grip on Stormblade ever so slightly. A moment later, the sword dropped from her hand, falling to the ground just as her mouth opened. The loud clang rang through their ears, masking a single whispered word, "Krii", right before she gasped in feigned surprise. The dragon turned its head sharply, seeing the weapon on the ground and growling as it looked back at her. She was beginning to overstay her welcome.
"[I have upheld my part of the deal. Now, you uphold yours]." It hissed, staring her down. She stared back at it, her expression unreadable. This nonverbal standoff continued for another few seconds before she shrugged and stepped back.
"Alright, a deal is a deal." She said, putting a hand on her hip. The dragon continued staring at her suspiciously, its eyes gleaming. The beast was doing a poor job at holding back a hostile snarl, obviously infuriated by her still refusing to go. She sighed. "Well, what are you staring at me for? You don't think I'll just turn my back on you, right? Shoo." She waved him off, grimacing.
The dragon returned her scornful look, but complied. Saya watched it take a few steps to the side before she leaned down and picked up Stormblade off the ground. The sound of its footsteps was heavy behind her back, and she counted her own, waiting for the right moment while occasionally peeking over her shoulder. She would only have one shot at this, so it'd better count.
When she was finally convinced that it would not look back, she took a deep breath and made her move. Bringing her arm behind her head, she whipped around and threw her sword skyward as far as she could. The sword spun in the air, the sun glinting off it and the air whistling around the sharp blade. Then, an amber-colored wisp of telekinetic magic wrapped around her hand and the weapon became still, pointed directly at the dragon, which turned around at the sudden noise, alarmed and bewildered.
With a downward swing of her hand, the sword plunged down towards its target. The dragon moved its massive body as quickly as it could, pushing itself off the ground to try and dodge. The sword narrowly missed the dragon's neck, cutting along the side of the pale scales instead of stabbing through the throat as intended. Nonetheless, Marked for Death immediately kicked in, exacerbating the wound and turning the somewhat shallow cut into a hemorrhaging tear in the draconic flesh. The sword, slowed by the impact, fell uselessly on the ground.
Saya cursed under her breath, having just whiffed her one chance to end it in one blow. Pulling a dagger off her belt, she charged in towards the screeching dragon. Even in its agony the beast noticed her, attempting to take flight on unsteady wings. The Dragonborn had to stop in her tracks, struggling not to be swept off her feet with the torrents of wind. When she felt them stop, she saw that her opponent had taken to the skies. Saya hurled a desperate fireball to try and reach it, though predictably, with little success. The dragon made no attempt to fight back, but once it saw the spell fly by it shot a single glare in her direction before turning to flee at full speed.
The Dunmer watched her quarry escape and sighed heavily before she took a glance around to try and get her sword back. Once she spotted it a little off to the side, she walked over and picked it up off the ground, wiping off the dirt and blood with a half-hearted swipe. It was then that her ears twitched at the sound of a dragon's roar rolling through the skies.
She turned to face the source of the sound and had just managed to catch a brief glimpse of the dragon ceasing to move mid-flight before dropping from the heavens like a sack of stones. Spooked birds took off like a dark cloud, a whole chorus of distressed screeches accenting the sound of wood ripping and tearing. Saya squinted, and with a bit of effort she could see it - in an area not too far away from here, a few trees had suddenly collapsed, leaving a noticeable clearing. She gave Stormblade one more glance to make sure it was still functional before taking off quickly, intent on not wasting another moment.
It took her another fifteen minutes to find it. One would think that losing a thirty meter long lizard with wings the size of ship sails would be quite hard, and yet Saya found herself circling around the same trees for what seemed like the hundredth time before she finally found the clearing. There it was, in all its glory - a massive carcass of a dead dragon, blood pooling beneath its wounded neck. Yet, much to her confusion, the wound seemed to be just as she'd left it. It was still a grievous injury, but it was no different from how it'd looked back at its lair.
So… Why did it suddenly drop?
Her question answered itself before she even asked. Standing on one knee by the corpse was a woman in heavy furs, hooded and cloaked to protect herself from the cold. She was carefully carving away at the valuable dragon scales to separate them from the muscle when Saya noticed her, but her attention was immediately taken by two objects beside her. The first was a longbow, nothing to write home about in terms of looks or crafting intricacy, but visibly aged from prolonged use, though the owner no doubt took great care of it.
The second was a quiver full of arrows with a single bloodied one lying on top. The fletching was amateur work, but still good enough to function. The shaft was uneven, but painstakingly smoothed out after many hours of work. And finally, the arrowhead was still as good as new, owing to the material - having been carved by Saya personally from the tail spines of Sahloknir.
"Ah. I see my gift has come in handy."
Angi turned around with a knife in hand, ready to defend. However, her expression quickly softened when she recognized her elven acquaintance, and she smiled. "I try to keep them for special occasions, but it looked like you needed a hand."
"Yeah." The Dragonborn snickered. "But an arrow is just as good."
And just when you least expect it, help arrives.
I'm glad to see a familiar face, all things considered. Though at the same time, I can't shake off this weird feeling like the universe is preparing some proverbial kick in the dick to even things out. Can't have us getting too happy, now can we?
But I guess the negativity can wait for later. Angi and I went back to her camp, did a little catching up.
She thanked me for the arrows, since she never got the opportunity with the bird delivery and all. Apparently, she had been making good use of it in the meantime: after our little talk the first time we met, she decided to try and be more proactive in bettering the hold. She's taken to mercenary work in particular, doing jobs for the citizens of Falkreath. Simple stuff, usually: taking care of overly aggressive animals, procuring specific furs for the local stores, the mundane stuff. Though she did have the occasional run-in with bandits, too. I know from experience that those pay well. The important part is that none of the guards seemed to recognize her - and the ones that might have couldn't be bothered to act on it.
One thing led to another and we ended up talking about the dragon business. In particular, I got hit in the face with the question I didn't really want to answer: when was I planning to tell her I'm Dragonborn.
Frankly, the answer to that was "never if I can help it", but now that I absorbed the soul the cat is already out of the bag, so there was no point in trying to hide it - or anything else, for that matter. I told her about what I've been doing, about the Blades and the vampires, as well as the dragon priests and the cult situation. She expressed some interest in the topics, much to my delight, so I asked her if she would be interested in joining our little dragon hunter hangout. She was, understandably, a little hesitant, but I clarified immediately that we don't just kill dragons all day long. Mostly I just offered her a place to stay, and threw in some flattery for good measure to make her more inclined to help.
I mean, I guess it's flattery. Is it still flattery if you mean it or does it turn into a compliment? I guess it doesn't really matter, so long as the result is the same. Though, people don't usually give compliments for some kind of ulterior motive either, do they.
Shit, when did I become such a shrew?
We rented a couple of rooms in Falkreath to bed down for the night. It feels so much better to lie in bed without armor - I'd do it more often, but the last week or so I've been mostly sleeping out in the wilds or in Riften, and I don't trust either of these enough to make it through the night without some metal skin.
Maybe this is why I'm feeling so beat. Even after whatever healing that dragon soul gave me, I still feel like a kagouti spent the past ten hours rehearsing Orcish step dancing on my back.
So much for quality of sleep...
Middas, the 3rd of Evening Star, 4E201
We traveled together for another day, but Angi and I eventually parted ways after we reached Old Hroldan. She gave my offer some thought and decided that it's worth at least seeing the people and the conditions she'd be dealing with if she does decide to join, which is perfectly fair. I pointed her in the direction of the Karthspire and sent her on her way, it's not exactly easy to miss. And that's coming from a person who couldn't find a white dragon in a green forest.
Meanwhile, I took some time to ask around on the topic of enthusiastic Dwemer researchers who might've passed through, namely one Sorine Jurard. Nobody could recognize the name, but apparently some Breton scholar girl or another showed up here a few days ago. She had been asking about any Orcish strongholds in the proximity, and then set off southwest. Supposedly, she recently uncovered some Dwemer ruin in that general direction, and seemed pretty excited to get there. Now I know that if I see Dwemer ruins or Orcish strongholds, I'm going in the right direction.
Speaking of, I should probably move out soon. I've been stretching out breakfast for way longer than necessary. Though, can I really blame myself for enjoying a good meal?
...Maybe five more minutes is fine.
There was a trail leading just where I had to go, conveniently enough, although it gives me a bad feeling. Might be the Namira shrine a few minutes eastward. Might be the Forsworn fucking lying in wait by the roads, hoping to find some easy prey. Or maybe it's all of the above. Who knows?
The Orcish stronghold called Dushnikh-Yal was just up ahead, a bit further south. Nice and cozy, huddled away in a valley between two cliffsides - a prime piece of land, considering the region. The folks there weren't too welcoming, as stronghold Orcs are known to be, but they were at least friendly enough to point me in the direction of Sorine's coveted Dwemer ruin. It took me a minute to explain what exactly a Dwemer ruin is, but they got the gist when I asked for a place which sounds like it was named after a tongue twister. "Arkngthamz", it's apparently called. She left two days ago and hadn't been seen since.
Well, here's to hoping that her bodyguards were worth the money. I'd rather not bring Isran a corpse.
Please, go no further.
Saya stopped in place. Her head turned as she looked around the corridor, unsure of what she had just heard. The ancient stone walls said nothing, and the brass gilding only playfully gleamed, catching the light of her spell and revealing patterns within the walls, beautiful and meaningless to their beholder. The Dunmer pulled her cloak over herself more, shivering but not really knowing why, and pushed on further into the darkness, allowing her candlelight to reveal her surroundings as she went.
Turn back, stranger. Please, before it's too late.
There was that chill again. Saya exhaled slowly, suppressing yet another shiver running down her spine. So she wasn't just hearing things after all. The corridor continued leading her downwards, into the depths of the earth. The ungodly echo made it even more difficult to discern where the voice was coming from, but it didn't matter either way. She wouldn't find out by standing around, and most certainly not by obeying its instructions and leaving.
Why… Why won't you listen?
The corridor came to an abrupt end, opening into a vast cavern. Saya was not an expert on architecture by a long shot, but she could tell this was not an intended opening. The way the stone floor crumbled under her feet and the pillars lay snapped in twos on their sides left little room for error in that assessment. Her gaze drifted to the right and she spotted a pale figure lying on the ground - something similar to what she'd seen before, in Mzinchaleft. The hunched, blind, goblin-like creature had died seemingly hours ago, the slashing wound cutting its stomach open covered in partially dried blood.
"Guess her guards are competent enough…" Saya muttered, noticing that her own breath was visible in the cold air. It was almost uncomfortably humid, the earth felt soggy beneath her feet and her boots sank into it ever so slightly with each step. Venturing deeper into the cave, she found more and more corpses, as well as a few peculiar huts built from what looked like giant insect shells. And then, even more abruptly than the old tunnel, the cave floor dropped into a massive rift that split the natural chamber in two. On the other side, she could ever so slightly spot a slight shine coming from yet more brass - the Dwemer ruin continued still, it seemed.
She all but jumped into the darkness below when she heard a heavy sigh behind her back. The Dragonborn quickly turned around and drew her sword, prepared to face whatever it was behind her. However, it was not an enemy, though she wasn't sure if it was an ally either. A ghost stood before her, a glowing silhouette of a woman - her hair was long and messy, curling slightly at the ends, her strong jawline marking her as a Nord, and her sharp eyes complemented by the ghastly simulacra of a bow hanging on her back.
"What are you still doing here? Didn't you hear me?" The ghost's tone was exasperated and her arms crossed. "Let me guess. You're here for the treasure, aren't you? Just like all the others."
Oh, wonderful. A judgmental ghost. "I don't know what 'treasure' you mean because I'm not here for it, though the person I'm after might be." She replied, lowering her weapon. "And so were you, I'm guessing."
The ghost lowered her gaze, uncomfortable with the accurate assessment. "The name's Katria. I am - was - an adventurer. Raided ruins like this one for almost twenty years." She shook her head before lifting her eyes once more. "I was on the cusp of discovery. Something big. Of all the ruins in Skyrim I managed to find the one I needed, but then…"
"You died." The Dragonborn finished, and Katria nodded in confirmation. "How did it happen?"
Katria pointed up. Saya looked in that direction, and saw another massive rift in the middle of the cavern's ceiling, water flowing down from one of the pipes. "I fell. I was tampering with one of the mechanisms deeper in, trying to get past a special lock. The combination I picked was wrong, and a massive earthquake suddenly hit." She sighed. "Another foot or two, and I would've landed in the water."
Saya's expression grew a bit sour. She wanted to feel bad but… No, not really. "And the treasure you came here for?"
"It's a long story, but I can give you the quick version. You ever heard of Aetherium?" Saya shook her head, and Katria's face almost seemed to lighten up a little. "It was a rare mineral used by the dwarves-"
"Dwemer." Saya interrupted.
"...Okay?" Katria gave her a look, but continued. "Aetherium was legendary. Supposedly, they had to build a special forge just to be able to work with it, and the items fashioned from it were so powerful they went to war over it. Or so the story goes, anyway." She shrugged. "I spent almost all my years trying to track that legend down and find the forge again… Until my own damn apprentice went and stole all of my research and published it under his own name. And that's why I came here. To find proof."
Saya's brows furrowed. "You… Died just to dispute your apprentice's plagiarism?"
"Just? You tell me that when you have your entire life's work stolen!" Katria snapped back, huffing with annoyance and rubbing her forehead. "I couldn't have just left it like that. I had to do… Something. To find proof that I didn't do all of this for nothing, that I was right. That… That I did something that mattered. And now I can't rest until I do."
Saya's expression softened. She could understand that sentiment, at least. Her mother used to say prayers and thank the ancestors that she'd never even seen or heard of, but just so happened to know all of their names by heart. It was as though she didn't care what they did, that they mattered just because they lived to begin with. But Saya also knew better than anyone that it doesn't feel like enough.
"But it's hopeless. I died here, many other people died here. You will, too. Along with that friend of yours that came through here earlier." Katria said, her voice a little lower. She crossed her arms again, though this time it felt more like she was trying to comfort herself than seem threatening. "Just leave. Please. Don't become the next victim."
The Dunmer gave Katria a slow look up and down. The woman did look like she was someone who could take care of herself, and yet here she was, dead before her eyes. She could not speak for Katria's concern, but she could tell she at least regretted what happened to herself. And yet there was a cynical part of her that wondered if she was being manipulated into helping her out… Though there wasn't much use in thinking about it. Either way, Sorine was in danger.
"I would gladly leave, if it were only me who would lose from it." Saya spoke, shaking her head. "But that person that entered before me - her friends need her. All of Skyrim may be in danger, and we need her help. And I'm going to go find her, with or without your help."
Katria stared at Saya silently for a few seconds, her lips tightened as though she wanted to protest but kept herself from doing so. Her fists clenched, and she exhaled slowly before shaking her head once more. "Then it's your funeral."
The Dragonborn chuckled and walked past her, conjuring another magical candlelight before venturing into the darkness. Katria watched her go, and once her silhouette disappeared into the tunnels on the other side of the chasm - she silently vanished.
There was a lot of walking to do. The collapsed pillars made for an unsteady bridge to the other side, but it's better than no bridge at all. Most of the machinery was already destroyed, so there wasn't much trouble other than just following the likeliest trail. The few automatons I did encounter seemed to be very… Janky. The way they moved was very jerky and stunted, like the earthquake caused some internal damage. I wonder if that's even possible.
I think I did more crawling than walking in this ruin, to be honest. The floor was ruined or half-submerged in water a lot of the time, so I had to climb onto the slippery pipes and try not to fall off. Sorry to whatever loot might be at the bottom, but I am not diving into ice-cold water in full metal.
As funny as that might sound.
I eventually stumbled upon a weird-looking device that opened and closed the door at an interval. It was like a metronome - didn't miss by a millisecond. I think I've seen one or two of these before back in Morrowind. They're kinetic resonators - they resonate with the power of whatever impact hits them. I read an old story once about a Dwemer ruin on Vvardenfell that used similar resonators to hypnotize workers into obedience, but it was eventually shut down by a Telvanni wizard, Remnus, when it drove the local kwama mad.
It's a little amusing, to be honest. The Dwemer made a device capable of mind controlling people, and here they are, using it to open and close a door. The absolute audacity of the bastards, you have to respect it.
I had been wandering for about fifteen minutes when I felt the earth starting to rumble. Katria did mention an earthquake, but I didn't expect another one to happen this soon. Whatever Sorine is tampering with, this ruin is not happy about it. I'd best get a move on.
Squeezing past the tight crevices that were still around proved to be a challenge. The earthquake subsided as quickly as it appeared, but the aftershocks were not quite gone yet. Tunnels crumbling above her head, walls cracking and chunks of rock falling from above - the only way to stay safe would be to get out of here and come back later. Of course, this was not an option, so Saya just had to suck it up and move on.
Eventually, she left the tunnels behind and entered an open chamber. Her eyes lifted skyward absent-mindedly, and she suddenly realized that it was nighttime. The air felt a lot cooler and fresher, contrasting the humid, uncomfortable warmth of the inner ruins that were pumping steam every moment of their existence. There were a few trees here and there, and the smell of pine helped her relax, if only slightly. And of course, the stars were bright and looking down upon her - as she now noticed, the cavern ceiling was split in two, opening into a massive chasm that had to have been visible from the surface. The sky was all but "cupped" by the stretching mountains, and the twin moons gleamed from above with their colors like two watchful eyes.
"That's… Zephyr!" Saya turned as she heard the familiar ghostly voice beside her. The female apparition walked past her, heading for the edge of a cliff that formed during one of the past quakes. There, hanging off a branch of a felled spruce tree, was a recurve bow, seemingly of Dwemeri make. Instead of wood, it appeared to have been made of the same metal that most Dwemer structures include, but the bowstring appeared to be perfectly capable of bending it. "That's my bow! I dropped it when I fell. Was wondering what happened to it."
Saya cast a mildly interested look in the bow's direction. She didn't think it was anything special… Although, maybe Angi could make use of it. Or herself, possibly. Regardless, with a wave of her hand the bow was lifted off its unsafe perch and carefully levitated into the Dragonborn's hand, allowing her to inspect it. Indeed, it looked just like any other Dwemer bow, though it was noticeably lighter. Some runes were carved into it, though incomprehensible to Saya, who didn't know a word in Dwemeris.
Katria looked at the bow as though it was a lost child or something. The redhead had to stifle a slight chuckle. "Take good care of it if you keep it, alright?" The ghost said, making eye contact with Saya. The Dragonborn nodded, though it was more to please Katria than an actual promise. Nevertheless, the woman seemed pleased and smiled contently. "Thank you."
"I didn't think you would come back." Saya spoke without looking towards Katria, instead walking around and inspecting her surroundings. The cave-in must've been pretty bad, but there had to be some way for her to try and get around…
"You mean I'd just let you go discover the single most important finding of my life and not be there?" Katria scolded, half-heartedly helping the Dunmer find her way. "I've spent way too much of my life waiting for this just to give up now."
"Fair enough." The Dragonborn shrugged. Finally, she found a ledge that seemed safe enough to step on and continued downward. From her current elevatio, she could see a large Dwemer bust off in the distance, a chestnut-haired armored woman standing below, seemingly consumed in thought as she labored over some kind of journal. Saya's best guess was that she was the object of her search, Sorine Jurard. She looked back at Katria for advice, but the ghost was already gone.
It took her a few more moments to descend to her location, sheathing her weapon in the process. "Hello? Sorine?" She called out. A second or two later, she realized that no response was coming, though she did hear some kind of quiet muttering coming from the Breton.
Always a good sign.
"AH!" Sorine practically jumped up when she felt Saya's hand touch her shoulder. Falling over onto her back, the researcher quickly grabbed her weapon off the ground and pointed it at her supposed attacker. Almost entirely on reflex, the Dragonborn quickly lunged downward and grabbed the woman's wrist, restraining her before she could do anything. "Owww! Stop it, let me go, damn you!"
"I've been looking for you." The Dragonborn put a hand on the Breton's weapon - now that she could take a better look at it, it looked like a miniature version of a crossbow, downsized enough to be held in one hand. She squeezed Sorine's wrist just a little tighter, making her let go of the weapon and taking it for herself. With that out of the way, she released the Breton from her hold. "I see your bodyguards aren't with you."
Sorine muttered increasingly elaborate curses under her breath, rubbing her forearm to try and get rid of the pain when the word 'bodyguard' caught her attention. "Hm? Oh, you mean Carsten and Jolgeir?" She quickly looked around. "Oh, they are gone. I guess they fell during the last cave in…" The Breton trailed off before suddenly getting up to her feet. "Aw, damnit! And they had all the scrap I found, too! Now I can't even sell it off to pay them the second half!" There was another brief pause and you could practically hear the gears turn in her head. Saya didn't say a word. "...Or wait, I don't need to pay them if they're dead. Do I? No, no. Right, that makes sense… Huh. I'm sorry, who were you again?"
Alright then.
"My name's Saya. Isran wanted me to find you." Saya kept her reply terse and simple. Mentally, she was already preparing herself for more word vomit.
"You? Isran? Wants me? Nooo, no no no you must have gotten something wrong. Isran made it very clear last time we met that he did not want me hanging around assisting him with anything. And besides, I'm already a bit busy. What's the big deal anyway?"
Saya sighed inwardly. She took a deep inhale before speaking, evening out her heartbeat, and then spoke with that single breath. "Vampires are threatening all of Skyrim and possibly all of Tamriel. They have an Elder Scroll, and Isran thinks you might be able to help prepare the Dawnguard to fight them if shit goes sideways. I was asked to bring you back to Fort Dawnguard so you two could have a talk."
For once, Sorine actually seemed to freeze in place and stare at Saya wordlessly. The blessed silence was broken a few moments later with a stunned "oh" before Sorine got up and started talking again. "Interesting. Well… That's certainly not included in the six scenarios I proposed to Isran when I suggested the possibility of a vampire uprising. Hm. I'm not sure what they would need an Elder Scroll for, but I guess Isran would be right in thinking it's not anything good." Sorine dusted herself off, reaching down for the journal on the floor and going back to writing. "One, ten, then… Seven…? Hmm…" Her muttering degraded rapidly into more muttering as she continued to scribble something on the paper. It appears she was gone again.
"Hey, that's my journal!" Katria suddenly appeared near Sorine, looking over her shoulder. The Breton had no reaction to her approach until the ghost happened to brush against her hand, at which point she exploded into another rambling rant which Saya just watched with a feeling of silent exasperation. Her eyes drifted elsewhere, looking around her surroundings. Now that she was on ground level… Or, technically, below ground level, she could see that the giant Dwemer head was the peak of a triangle-shape, surrounded by a little over a dozen kinetic resonators which themselves were located above a massive metal gate. In front of where Sorine stood, there was a small stone podium with an array of keys, marked with blue crystals set into brass buttons.
While the lively discussion continued behind her back, the Dragonborn walked up towards the panel and lightly touched the central pad. It was circle shaped, and rather than have any keys on it, it looked like a display of multiple rings with a lightly glowing centerpiece, which also appeared to be crystalline. Saya brushed the dust off it, taking another look but not really recognizing any of the symbols. Though, upon some inspection, she noticed that the patterns on the disk were mimicking the positions of the keys… And wait, did that one look different from the others?
Without thinking too hard about it, Saya looked for the key that appeared to be glowing and pressed it with a quiet click.
Immediately afterwards, one of the kinetic resonators shot up and a loud noise cut through the air. Katria's attention immediately turned to Saya and she shouted, visibly distressed. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?! Maybe a little warning before you decide to kill all of us here?!"
Saya was about to respond when Sorine interjected. "Wait, wait! The door!" She shouted, pointing towards the metal gate. Everyone's attention immediately turned to the giant engraved hunk of metal, where one of the crevices appeared to light up ever so subtly. Katria and Sorine then sighed in full sync, the previous panicked energy sapping from their bodies.
"Oh, that got your attention." Saya watched this unfold with a look of mild amusement mixed with disdain. "So is either one of you two going to explain what that thing is, or will you return to your riveting conversation in the corner?"
Katria rolled her eyes while Sorine didn't waste a single moment before latching onto the new subject. "It's a tonal lock! Some of the Dwemer clans used these for their vaults. They use tonal architecture to put an object of their selection into complete stasis by forming a harmonic chrysalis and preventing its liminal deformation from resonating with-"
The Dragonborn sighed. "And in Tamrielic?"
Sorine opened her mouth but Katria interjected. "They use magical music to freeze the vault in time. It can't be unlocked by anything, magical or otherwise, except for the same device that locked it." The woman explained, picking up her journal off the ground and flipping through the pages before finding the right one, showing the Dragonborn her notes. "I was trying to figure out the right combination, but I messed up halfway through. One wrong note in the song, and there was an earthquake. You know the rest."
Saya pinched the bridge of her nose. "So we're dealing with magic powerful enough to fuck with time and create earthquakes… Great. Just great." She sighed before taking the journal and turning to the control panel again. On the display, one of the gems lit up, mimicking the crevice on the gate. She quickly skimmed through the notes Katria gave her and compared the pictures to the display, nodding when she saw that she did get the first note right. "Alright. Say, how did you figure this sequence out again?"
Katria's shoulders visibly sagged. That alone kind of spoke for itself, but she confirmed Saya's suspicions anyway. "Trial and error. If I had a better way, I wouldn't have ended up like this."
Sorine's answer was much the same. "I just followed the notes. After that, I got lucky with another three notes. Then, you know. The earthquake happened." She scratched the back of her head, laughing awkwardly.
Right, the earthquake that almost killed her twenty minutes ago.
Saya exhaled slowly. Count to five. Breathe in, breathe out. There you go. She clasped her hands together and gave both of them a look over. "And not one of you tried pressing the ones that were literally glowing?"
"Glowing? They're not glowing, what are you-" Katria tried to protest, walking over to the keys to take a look when she froze where she stood. Indeed, the next button in the sequence was glowing ever so faintly. "It's… Glowing. They weren't glowing the last time I saw them. Were they?" She turned to Sorine, who was already standing on her tiptoes trying to peek around the two other women.
"Huh. No, they definitely were not. I would've noticed that. I think? No, I definitely would have." The Breton muttered, squinting as she looked closer. In her mind, there was already a whole slew of theories emerging from her thoughts, wondering what could've caused this. "It… Looks like the keys are responding to something nearby. Something related to the lock… What do you have on you?" The brunette quickly turned around, patting Saya over without waiting for her response.
"Hey, HEY! Hands to yourself!" Saya quickly pushed her away, recoiling at the nonchalant invasion of her personal space. Ayem's mercy, she could practically feel Isran's pain from having to work with someone like this every day. She huffed, sliding her backpack off her shoulders and starting to rummage through it. "I have a lot of things with me, though I'm not really sure what could've… Oh."
The faint azure glow emanating from Saya's backpack said everything for her. She moved aside the clutter within, reaching for the source of this light, and felt her fingers grasp a familiar crescent shape. And indeed, what she pulled out was a carved blue crystal that she had found some months ago, right around the time she had slain Sahloknir.
"By the gods… That's it. It's a shard of Aetherium." The way Katria spoke was filled with awe and she reached out, touching the crystalline piece with her hand. It felt warm to the touch. "I didn't dare hope it was real. Where did you find this?"
"It was in a storeroom, southeast of Kynesgrove. Had to pick like five locks just to get to it." She said, her fingers squeezing the crystal a little tighter. She still remembered the surge of energy when she placed it into the Atronach stone. So that's the kind of power the Dwemer warred over, huh…
"Mzulft? That sounds like Mzulft. It was the next on my list, at least." Sorine piped up, pointing towards a spot on a map that she pulled out of her satchel. Saya double checked the location with her own notes and indeed, it was the same spot. "Well, that's convenient. Very convenient, actually. If the Aetherium can help us find more of itself, that would help a ton!" She clapped, already getting excited at the prospect.
"Uhuh, but before you start daydreaming about that, we have a dungeon to get out of." Saya pulled the Aetherium shard away from the researcher's prying eyes and inspected the control panel once more. She looked at the circular display, then back at the shard in her hand, and unsurprisingly enough the shape of the piece fit perfectly with the ringed segments. The moment she did that, the faint glow emanating from one of the buttons became three times as bright, beckoning her to press it.
And so she did. And the next one. And the one after it. Each click of a button produced a loud noise, a discordant note that seemed to stretch for a little too long to produce a measure that didn't sound fundamentally broken. But when the last, fifteenth button was finally pressed, there was no sound. No low hum, no high-pitched screech, no melodic voice. Nothing.
Everyone's eyes lifted off the panel and towards the gate. Every single little line, every crevice, every inscription was lit up with an aetherial light. The metallic Dwemer head that was perched above the door opened its eyes, the same intense glow emanating from its pupils. With a click, the keys Saya had just pressed became locked with brass caps, now no longer able to be pressed. Instead, in the central panel where the piece of Aetherium was now positively shimmering with magic, a small button rose in between the metallic rings. The three looked at one another, nodded in agreement, and the Dunmer reached out to press the button.
The moment she pressed that button, the sound that reached her felt as if it touched her very soul. The notes from before were no longer off-key and discordant, no longer stretching too long or disappearing too quickly. Instead, she heard a serene song in which the fifteen tones blended together, playing and replaying and layering over themselves. Each crevice comprising the gate disconnected from one another, with every repetition of the melody causing a section of the door to slide away into the floor, slowly revealing the vault behind it.
Once the passage was open, Saya grasped the Aetherium shard and pulled it out of the pedestal, keeping it in her hand in case she still needed it. Katria and Sorine followed, the latter frantically scribbling down everything she saw into what looked like a very thick research log. The long hallway continued leading them into the darkness, yet with each step they took the Aetherium shard would pulse, and the lights on the walls would come to life, illuminating the stone interior. A small, unremarkable door awaited them at the very end of the corridor, and the Dragonborn pushed it open with barely any resistance.
And there it was, sitting upon a pedestal identical to what she found in Mzulft - another shard of Aetherium, nigh-identical to the one in Saya's hand, except with a slightly different carving. Sorine had gone completely silent for once, staring in amazement while Katria nudged the hesitant Dragonborn forward. "Go on, take it. You're the one who unlocked the vault."
With that word of encouragement, she reached out and grasped the shard, removing it from its slot. The lights in the entire facility shut off without a moment's delay, and the only illumination that now remained was the glow of the two Aetherium crystals, as well as the occasional flicker of a stray power component lying on one of the shelves - which Sorine wasted no time picking clean of anything that looked even remotely useful or valuable. With a wave of her hand, the Dunmer conjured another magical candlelight and looked at the Aetherium in her hands. Now that it was over, she didn't really know what to think. This could be useful to her, to the Blades, to the Dawnguard, but… "What now?"
"What now?" Sorine's pack dropped to the floor with a massive thud. Gods only knew how heavy that thing was with all the scrap metal shoved into its every pocket. "Now we find all the others! The journal, yours I think-" She glanced towards Katria briefly. "-said that there should be four parts total, one for each city that participated in the Aetherium War. Put together, they will become a key, and possibly lead us to the Aetherium Forge!"
"I just want to say… Thank you." Saya turned to the ghost by her side, who had now bowed her head slightly. "I was rude with you earlier, I'm sorry for that. But what you're doing… It's giving me hope for the first time in a very, very long while."
Saya's mouth stretched into a smile involuntarily, slightly flustered by the gratitude. "You're welcome." She replied.
Katria lifted her head again, smiling back. "My notes should help you find the remaining shards. I tracked them down to a few general areas, but it shouldn't be too hard to find Dwemer ruins like these ones when you know where to look. In the meantime, I'll try and follow a lead I had on the Forge itself. With a bit of luck, I'll be able to find it - and then you."
Sorine, who was in the middle of re-collecting everything she had just dropped on the floor, turned around. "You mean you're just. Going out there? Like that? Aren't you going to get in trouble?"
The ghost laughed, putting her hands at her hips. "It's not like I need to buy supplies or food anymore, and I do have twenty years of adventuring under my belt. I think I'll be fine." With those words, Katria turned around and dissipated upon leaving the room. Saya and Sorine watched her go, and then turned to each other.
"So… Off to Fort Dawnguard we go?" The Dragonborn asked, crossing her arms. She couldn't help the funny feeling that this was going to feel like a very long journey if they were to travel together.
"Hm? Oh. Isran's old pet project? Sure." Sorine responded off-handedly, still picking through the broken scrap and only half-paying attention. "I'm just going to finish up here really quickly. You don't have to wait if you don't want to."
B'vek, I wish I didn't have to. "Alright. I'll be by the elevator, then." She responded, walking around the Breton and heading out of the vault. She was definitely getting a drink first thing after getting out of the dungeon.
"Does it even work after all the earthquakes?"
Saya stopped in her tracks. After a second or two of thought, she shrugged. "Guess we'll find out."
And she just kept walking.