Hey everyone, my sincerest apologies that this took so long to finish. The last few weeks have been crazy, what with finals for school, finishing everything at work before our end of year shutdown, and the holidays, its been one thing after another. But i finally found enough time to get this finished, so i hope this makes up for everything. Enjoy.

As always, feel free to leave any and all feedback.

Winterhold's Finest

Chapter 7: Night of Tears

The sun was shining bright as Revan raced across the meadow, his pursuer still close behind. Laughing as he went, Revan looked behind him briefly to see how far ahead he was.

"I'm going to get you Revan. You can't run forever!" came the voice of Brelyna, trying her hardest to close the distance between them.

"Maybe not forever, but I just need to outrun you." Revan yelled back, still looking over his shoulder. Quickly turning back to face front, he continued running, not seeing the small hole in front of him until it was too late. Before he even knew what was happening, Revan was flat on his back. Suppressing a grin, he rolled around and groaned with pain.

He saw in his peripheral vision that Brelyna had finally caught up to him and was now kneeling at his side. "Revan, are you ok? Are you hurt?" she asked, sounding frantic as she checked him for injuries.

Seeing his chance, he looked up at her, letting out another groan. "I think I hurt my back when I fell. But there's only one way to check." Gathering his strength, he suddenly lunged at Brelyna and tackled her to the ground.

"Hey, no fair! I thought you were hurt." She shouted, but soon wrestled him onto his back. "Gotcha! I told you running wouldn't work."

Revan tried to free himself, but Brelyna held him firm. "Alright, I guess you win. I surrender." He said with a grin.

"Good, that's what I thought." She said, still holding him firm. Leaning down, she whispered in his ear. "Now, don't say I didn't warn you."

A shiver ran down Revan's spine as she said this. As she leaned down towards him, he closed his eyes…..

Revan was suddenly pulled back to consciousness by a long blue tongue licking his face. "Good boy Leekos, make sure he's completely awake." A voice said.

"Get off me beast." Revan growled, pushing the spirit wolf off himself. The wolf barked loudly, causing Revan to cover his ear. "I hear you, I hear you. Look, I'm awake now, see? Was the wolf really necessary?" he said, looking up at the source of the voice.

Tom laughed as he sat in Revan's chair. "You didn't seem like you wanted to wake up, so I figured you needed a little help. Seems to have worked, isn't that right Leekos?" the wolf trotted over to Tom and lay down at his feet, looking content.

Revan reached behind him, grabbed his pillow, and threw it at Tom. "You are definitely not a morning person, are you?" Tom said, ducking under the poor throw.

Revan sat up and rubbed the last bit of sleep from his eyes. "All these years and you still haven't figured that out?"

Tom laughed again. "Good point, my friend." He got up from the chair and moved towards the door. "Come on Leekos, let's give Revan some privacy." He said, gesturing to the wolf spirit. Leekos stood up and followed his master. Giving the wolf an affectionate pat, Tom turned back to Revan. "You'd better get moving Rev; Onmund and J'Zargo left a little while ago. Don't want to be late for our field trip."

Reaching the door, Tom opened it and walked out. He stuck his head back in the room again though and said "Must have been a pretty good dream you were having, before I woke you up. You had a huge grin plastered on your face. I'm almost sorry I interrupted it." Pulling his head back just in time to avoid another pillow, Tom walked out of the dorms, laughing all the way out.

Revan sighed and got out of his bed. Walking over to his washbasin, he splashed some water on his face to help wake up. He's not wrong; that was a good dream he thought as he studied his reflection. But if it means what I think it means….. he shook his head. No, it was just a dream, nothing more.

Sighing again, Revan moved over to his wardrobe and put his robes on. As he was strapping on his weapons, he thought back to his conversation with Tom the previous day. 'Come on Rev, who are you trying to fool? 'Cause I'm not buying it.' What if he's right?

….

The sun was already high in the sky when Revan stepped outside. As he surveyed the courtyard, he saw the now familiar form of Brelyna standing in front of the archery target practicing. She had her back to him, and hadn't heard him exit the dorms. Dropping into a crouch, Revan crept up behind her. Pulling out one of his daggers, he twirled in his hand so he was holding the blade. Stopping a few feet away, he threw the dagger at the target. It hit with a loud thunk, and Brelyna jumped at the noise, causing her arrow to sail over the target and into the tree behind it.

"Revan, you scared me!" she said, shaking slightly.

Revan walked over to her. "I'm sorry, I couldn't waste the opportunity. I didn't realize you were concentrating that hard." Looking over at the target, he nodded approvingly. "You've been busy, haven't you? Have you been out here all morning?"

Brelyna nodded, putting her bow down. "Yes, I woke up early and came out here. I forgot how much fun this is." She said, a smile on her face. "But it certainly helped having such a great teacher."

Revan blushed at her praise. "Uh, thanks. I'm not really that great though. My father was the master archer; he was able to teach me a lot, but I can still get much better myself." Gesturing towards the main gate, he continued, "Anyway, we should probably get going. Tom said Onmund and J'Zargo left already for Saarthal."

Brelyna nodded as she gathered up the rest of her arrows. "Yeah, I saw them leaving earlier. They asked me if I wanted to go with them, but I said I would wait for you." She said, blushing at the end.

Revan gave her a short bow. "Well, thank you. It wasn't necessary, but having some company during the trip will be welcome. Shall we?"

They set off together across the bridge and into Winterhold. Only a few people were outside at the moment, but those that were glared at the two mages as they walked. Once they were out of Winterhold, Brelyna turned to Revan and said, "I wish they wouldn't look at us like that, like we're going to burn their homes to the ground at any moment."

Revan sighed. "Yeah, it really is a shame. Too often people judge others before they get to know them. Maybe one day, we can change their minds."

They walked in silence after that, lost in their own thoughts. Brelyna held her hood down as a gust of wind tried to pull it down. Just tell him, get it over with. You'll never know how he feels unless you talk to him she thought to herself. She looked over at Revan, who was watching the path ahead for danger. After a few seconds, he noticed her staring and looked over at her, giving a small smile. Brelyna blushed and looked away, pulling her hood tighter around her head. You'll never know until you ask…..

"Revan, there's something I wanted to ask you." Brelyna said, still blushing.

Revan noticed her blush as she said this, but decided not to comment. "Sure, what did you want to know?" he said kindly. Wonder why she' s blushing like that? he thought.

"I was, uh, just wondering…" This is it, ask him! Her subconscious was practically screaming at her. But her nerves got the better of her at the last second. "Um, how did you meet Tom? You two, uh, seem very close." Damn it.

Revan considered the question for a moment. That's not what she wanted to ask; she wouldn't be blushing like that if it was he thought. "Well, Tom and I have known each other a long time. In fact, I can't remember when we first met, because I don't remember not knowing him. We were practically inseparable as kids, and still to this day." He sighed at this point, as past memories came flooding back. "The hardest thing about leaving the Imperial City after my father's death was knowing I might never see Tom again." He smiled again. "But now, I don't have to worry about that anymore. Things are pretty much back to normal. But that's not what you really wanted to ask, was it?"

Brelyna looked away. "Well, there was something else…."

A voice interrupted her before she could finish. "Ah, there you two are. I'm glad you were able to make it." It was Tolfdir, standing on the edge of a small excavated pit. "Magnificent, isn't it?" he said, gesturing to the pit below.

Revan and Brelyna walked up to stand next to the old wizard and looked down into the pit. Several large creatures made of stone were moving boulders and pieces of rubble away from an ornate door set in the side of the pit. "What are those things?" Brelyna asked, secretly relieved for the distraction.

"Those are some of the College Praetorians. They serve as guardians of the College in times of emergency, but they also make for strong workers. They have only been called upon a few times, and only the Arch Mage can control them." Looking back at the two apprentices, who had now been joined by Tom, Onmund, and J'Zargo, Tolfdir continued. "Well, now that we're all here, shall we see what awaits us inside Saarthal?"

With that, the group of mages descended the wooden stairs and walked up to the door leading to the ruins. Tolfdir opened it and went inside, followed by J'Zargo and Tom. Onmund went next, looking like he would rather be somewhere else. Revan turned to Brelyna. "Well, shall we?" he said. Turning back, he opened the door and stepped inside, followed closely by Brelyna.

Inside the ruins, it was cramped and musty. A short distance away from the door was a set of stone stairs carved into the cave. Torches lined the walls going down, giving the area a gloomy look. Tolfdir was already halfway down the stairs and was clearly in his element lecturing about the ancient city.

"As some of you may know," he was saying, "Saarthal was one of the earliest Nord settlements in Skyrim. It was also one of the largest. Sacked by the elves in the infamous 'Night of Tears', not much is known about what happened to Saarthal. This is an exciting opportunity for us and for the College; who knows what we might find down here."

The mages had now entered a larger chamber. Three pillars dominated the room, with stone bridges spanning the distance between them. The entire space had clearly seen better days, as the stone was crumbling in several places and one of the bridges had been replaced with wooden planks. Trying not to look down, Revan crossed as quickly as he could, silently hoping the planks were secure. Further down the chamber, Revan could see more of the Praetorians working. The excavation was still fairly new, and every new chamber that was uncovered had to be braced against collapse.

At the bottom of the chamber, Tolfdir turned to address the apprentices. "Do any of you have any questions?" When all five shook their heads, he nodded. "Very well then. Now, I think a little bit of exploration is in order. Let's see…Onmund, J'Zargo, and Tom. Why don't you three go down this hallway here and see what you can find. Anything you come across could be valuable to learning more about this place."

Turning to Brelyna and Revan, he continued. "And you two, since you seem to work so well together, why don't you go down this hallway here and find Arniel Gane. He's the one in charge of this excavation, and might need your help. Alright everyone, let's be careful now, but have fun." With everyone given a task, Tolfdir turned and walked down the hallway he asked Brelyna and Revan to investigate.

Onmund let out a sigh as the old wizard left. "We really shouldn't be here."

Tom laughed as he put an arm around Onmund's shoulder. "Come on, big guy, where's your sense of adventure? Look, J'Zargo's having fun." He said, gesturing to the Khajiit, who had his hand inside an old urn.

"Hey, get your hands out of there! Do you have any idea what you're doing? What if there was someone buried in there?"

J'Zargo pulled his hand out of the urn and pocketed what looked like a small handful of gems and coins. "J'Zargo knows what he is doing. He is having fun, just as Tolfdir told us to do."

Tom dragged a very angry Onmund away from the mages. "Well, this is already turning out to be quite an adventure. Come on Onmund, let's be civil now." Turning back to Revan, he continued, "See you later Rev. Hope you have more fun than Onmund here." Giving a quick wink, he disappeared around the corner, J'Zargo close behind.

Revan was shaking his head, trying his hardest not to burst out laughing at the exchange. Fighting back tears, he wiped his eyes before speaking. "Well, that was certainly…..something. Come on, let's find this Arniel guy and see if he needs any help."

Walking down the hallway, Revan noticed more torches lining the wall, some new and some looking like they had been around for centuries. After turning a few corners, the two mages found a balding man looking over some charts on a table and muttering to himself. Revan walked up to the man and cleared his throat to get his attention.

The man turned around with a start and looked at the two newcomers. "Yes, who are you and what do you want?"

Revan noticed the man looked like he hadn't been sleeping much and tried to ignore the ripe odor of unwashed clothes coming from the man. "Are you Arniel Gane? We were sent to find you and see if you needed any help."

The man turned back to the charts in front of him. "Yes, you've found me. You must be the apprentices Tolfdir brought in here. Well, I haven't had a chance to look in the newest chamber we've uncovered, so if you want to search around in there go right ahead. Just please don't make a mess of my work."

Seeing that was all they would get out of him, Revan and Brelyna moved away from Arniel, who was still muttering to himself. "He looks like he needs a vacation, or at least a full night's sleep." He said when they were out of earshot.

"He clearly takes his work very personally, but I think you're right. And a change of clothes wouldn't hurt either." Brelyna concurred. Finding the chamber Arniel mentioned, Revan and Brelyna walked inside and began searching for anything interesting.

"Found some kind of enchanted ring here." Brelyna called out to Revan, who was looking further in the chamber. "Not much else though. Just some broken soul gems and some very old scrolls."

Revan had found a small chest tucked away in a corner and was rifling through its contents. "Well, you're ahead of me at this point. I haven't found anything worth mentioning yet." Finding nothing of worth in the chest, he closed the lid and stood up. "I'm going to check the next room." He called out.

Moving into the new room, Revan saw that it was almost empty. A few broken urns lined one wall, but as he scanned the room he saw something strange in a small walled-off area. Walking up to it, he saw a strange set of carvings on the wall, and settled in a small niche in the wall was a small amulet. Unsure of the significance of the amulet, Revan picked it up carefully from its niche in the wall. He had barely pulled his hand back though when several spears shot out from the floor and blocked his way back. "Brelyna! I think I might need some help here!" He shouted back to his companion.

He didn't wait even five seconds before he heard running feet approaching him. Running up to the bars, he noticed Brelyna running towards him, and with her was Tolfdir. "Revan! What happened? You're not hurt, are you?" She said anxiously as she reached the spears.

"What in the world happened in here? Are you alright my boy?" Tolfdir said.

"I don't know what happened. I picked up this amulet, and suddenly these spears appeared. There doesn't seem to be any way to lower them from in here; is there anything out there that might do it?" Revan said, less worried now that Tolfdir and Brelyna were here.

"Let me see if I can find anything." Brelyna said, moving away to search the rest of the chamber.

Tolfdir indicated the amulet still clutched in Revan's hand. "Could that amulet be important somehow? Maybe you can use it to escape?" he said.

Revan looked down at the amulet. Now that he focused on it, he could feel some kind of force emanating from the amulet, although it was very faint. "Well, worth a shot I guess." Revan said as he put the amulet on. As soon as he did so, the wall he had grabbed it from began glowing a faint reddish color. Revan walked up to the wall and noticed the power coming from the amulet was getting stronger. It felt similar to when he was casting a spell, the buildup of magicka in his hands growing stronger until it could be cast. Suddenly getting an idea, Revan charged up a small fireball in his hand and launched it at the glowing wall. The fireball hit the wall and shattered it like glass, revealing a new passageway.

"Well, this is certainly an interesting discovery. I wonder where this leads." Tolfdir said, now at Revan's side. Turning to look towards the old wizard, Revan could see that the spears that had been blocking his way had lowered and now he and Brelyna had rejoined Revan.

Revan turned back to the new passage. "Well, only one way to find out, isn't there?" he said.

Tolfdir smiled. "That's the spirit. Now, let's see what we can find." Taking the lead, Tolfdir and the two apprentices entered the new passage. As soon as they did so, Revan noticed it was much colder here than in the rest of the ruins.

"This area hasn't had too many visitors I guess." Revan said, pulling his hood up over his head.

At the end of the passage was a small room. Along each of the three walls was a tall black coffin. Each one was smooth and showed no sign of a way to open them. In the center was a small altar with some candles and some old pieces of parchment on it.

"I wonder what the significance of this room is. Why was this area sealed off from the rest of the city?" Tolfdir said, looking around at the room. Turning back to Revan and Brelyna, he continued, "I'm not sure what to expect here. Be on your guard."

Revan nodded, and his hand subconsciously dropped to his sword hilt. Tolfdir turned back to examine the altar while Brelyna was studying one of the coffins. Suddenly, the light in the room turned blue. Revan looked around at his companions, but they appeared to be frozen. "Well, this could be a problem." He said, pulling out his sword.

His suspicions seemed accurate when a flash of light appeared behind the altar. Readying himself, Revan saw a figure materialize from the light. Unsure of what to expect, he continued watching as the figure solidified into the form of a High Elf dressed in gold robes.

"Hold mage, and listen well." The strange mage said in a powerful voice.

"Doesn't appear like I have much of a choice." Revan said, mostly to himself.

The mage appeared to have not heard him as he continued, "Know that you have set in motion a chain of events that cannot be stopped. Judgment has not been passed, as you had no way of knowing. Judgment will be passed on your actions going forward."

"Judgment for what? What chain of events are you talking about?" Revan asked, but the mage continued to ignore him.

"This warning is passed to you because the Psijic Order believes in you. You mage, and you alone, have the potential to prevent disaster. Take great care, and know that the Order is watching." And with another flash of light, the mage was gone. Shortly after he left, the room returned to its normal color, as Brelyna and Tolfdir began moving again.

"We should let Arniel know what we've found here." Tolfdir said. "He will be most...why Revan, you look like you've seen a ghost."

Brelyna moved to Revan's side. "Are you alright? You look really pale. What is it?" she said.

Revan turned to Tolfdir. "I just saw…some kind of vision, I think. There was a flash of light, and then a mage appeared over there." He said, gesturing to the far side of the room. "He said we've set off a chain of events, and there will be judgment, and there will be some kind of disaster. Then he mentioned a 'Psijic Order'."

Tolfdir stroked his beard. "Psijic Order, you say? Hmm, and danger ahead? This doesn't make much sense, does it?" Turning to look at the coffins, he continued. "The Psijic Order has no connection to these ruins, at least none that would make any sense. And no one's even seen any of their order in a long time. Perhaps we should look inside these coffins."

"I don't see any way to open them. Whoever made them clearly didn't want anyone to get inside them." Brelyna said.

Tolfdir walked over to the coffin on the far wall. "There must be some way to open these. Hmm…." But before he could reach it, there was a crack. The front of the coffin began to fall, causing Tolfdir to jump back. "Well, that solved that. But what is that?"

He was referring to the dead body that was standing in the coffin. It's arms were crossed over its chest and it held an ancient sword in one of its hands. It was dressed in very old armor that was rotting away in places. Tolfdir walked up to examine it. "I believe this is a draugr. Fascinating, I've never seen one up close before."

Revan watched the draugr warily. "Draugr? Never heard of them. What is it?"

Tolfdir turned back to Revan. "Back in the days of the dragons, there were many Nords who worshipped the beasts as gods. When the dragons were defeated, many of these Nords were sealed away in tombs, destined to never see Sovngarde and the afterlife. Some of them still wander the tombs as guardians, protecting their brethren and the secrets of their tombs." Looking over the draugr, Tolfdir continued, "This one is in excellent condition. I wonder if we can get some of the Praetorians to pull this coffin out."

Suddenly, the draugr's eyes opened. With a low growl, it lowered its arms and stepped out of its coffin. Tolfdir stepped back quickly as the draugr advanced towards the mages.

"I'm not really caught up on a lot of Nord traditions, but where I come from, the dead usually stay dead." Revan said as he stepped in between the draugr and his companions.

Growling once more, the draugr raised its sword and swung at Revan. Easily blocking the clumsy swing, Revan pulled his sword back and chopped at the draugr's knee. It wasn't able to get it's sword in place to block and let out another growl when Revan's sword hit its target. Unable to support itself on one leg, the draugr dropped to one knee, and with the opening Revan swung his sword at the draugr's neck. It's growls were silenced as its head rolled across the floor.

There was no time for celebration however as the other two coffins opened as well, revealing two more draugr. "Well, this should be fun." Revan said, raising his sword. Before he could move to engage his next opponent however, an arrow whizzed past his ear and embedded itself in the draugr's eye. With a gurgle, it collapsed dead on the floor. The last draugr was blasted with flames from Tolfdir until it collapsed dead as well.

Revan turned back to see Brelyna wielding her bow. "Nice shot Brelyna!" Revan said, beaming.

Brelyna looked stunned as she lowered her bow. "I….I can't believe I did it. I can't believe it's dead." She suddenly looked like she would be sick.

Revan rushed to her side, holding her shoulders. "Are you ok? You look like you're about to be sick."

Brelyna shuddered slightly. "I've….never killed anything before." She said softly.

Revan squeezed her shoulders. "It's hard, I know. I felt the same way when I first killed something. I wish I could say it gets easier, but it really doesn't." Smiling now, he continued. "But if you hadn't shot it, it might have sliced me into pieces. So I believe I owe you a thank you."

Brelyna laughed a bit at this. "The way you handled that first one, I think you would have been ok. But you're welcome just the same." He's right though, it would have been terrible if he had gotten hurt, or worse, killed….

"Excellent work, both of you." Tolfdir said, beaming at the pair. "Shall we continue? It looks like we have a way forward now." He walked over to the coffin on the right side of the room. Sure enough, another passage had been uncovered, leading deeper into the ruin.

"Are you going to be ok Brelyna?" Revan asked, still concerned.

Brelyna smiled and nodded. "Yes, I think so. I think that pep talk helped. Thank you Revan." She said, still smiling.

The two apprentices stepped through the coffin and into the next passage. Across from them, another coffin lay, but its contents had been crushed by a large boulder that fell from the ceiling. A set of stone stairs led further down into the tomb, and at the bottom was a locked gate. Flanking it on either side were skeletons still shackled to the wall. Next to the gate was a stone lever. Tolfdir walked over and pulled it, raising the gate. The mages continued into the next room.

This room was circular and much larger than the first chamber they had entered. More of the ominous coffins lined the room, and in the center was a bridge made of stone. The bridge crossed over a grate, and when Revan looked down, he was amazed at what he saw. The chamber went down much farther, and lining the sides were more coffins, all the way to the bottom.

"Amazing, just look at all these coffins." Tolfdir said, walking onto the bridge. As he did so, there was a loud scraping as more spears covered the door leading forward and the gate they just entered crashed shut. Several of the coffins lining the wall suddenly opened, revealing more draugr.

"Things just got a lot more interesting." Revan said, pulling out his bow and aiming an arrow at the nearest draugr. Releasing an arrow, he turned to aim at the next one, only to see it cut down by a flurry of fireballs coming from his left. Looking at the source, he saw Brelyna standing next to a Fire Atronach, both launching firebolts at the draugr. Turning back, he saw Tolfdir blasting another draugr from the bridge, bringing it down with a combination of fire and lightning.

The combined power of the three mages was too much for the draugr, and soon the room was silent once more except for the subtle hissing of Brelyna's Atronach as it hovered over the bodies.

"It's good to see that you two can handle yourselves in a fight." Tolfdir said as he descended the bridge and walked over to the apprentices. Looking around at the room now that they were no longer under attack, Tolfdir was clearly amazed by it. "I've never seen anything like this in Nordic ruins before. This must be the aftermath of the Night of Tears."

Turning back to Revan, he continued, "This bears closer inspection. I think I'll stay a while and examine this. You two should continue on ahead. See if you can find what your vision mentioned. But if it is truly dangerous, be careful. I will rejoin you soon."

Revan nodded and turned to look at the door leading onward. The spears were still in place blocking their way, but along either side were a set of chains with a ring at the end. Motioning Brelyna to pull one, Revan walked up to the other and pulled. With both chains pulled, the spears retracted and the door opened, leading deeper into the ancient city. Revan put his bow away and drew his sword. "Well, shall we?" he said to Brelyna. With a nod from her, they continued through the door.

Once through the door, they looked around the new room they were in. It was a wider corridor leading deeper, and along both sides were indents in the wall big enough to allow bodies to lay. Several skeletons were laying in these spaces, but Revan was thankful that no draugr were wandering around this area. More urns lay in various states of disrepair around the room. Wonder how much gold J'Zargo's found already. Revan thought himself, shaking his head in amusement.

Continuing up a small set of stairs, they found themselves surrounded by more coffins and skeletons on both sides. Once again, no draugr came out to greet them, but Revan had a sneaking suspicion that was about to change. At the end of this area was a wooden staircase leading upwards. After ascending, Revan looked around to see where to go next. Noticing a door to their left, he also noticed a draugr pacing in front of it, grumbling to itself. Motioning Brelyna back down the stairs, he crouched and pulled out his bow. "He hasn't seen us yet. Let's try and take him out silently just in case there's more." He whispered to Brelyna.

She nodded and pulled out her bow. They both strung arrows and aimed at the pacing draugr. "When he reaches the right side, we both fire. Ready?" Revan whispered. See her nod, Revan aimed down the arrow, watching the draugr. When it reached the right side of the room, it stopped to turn, and was struck dead by two arrows in its back. With a small gurgle, it collapsed dead. Revan then waited to make sure nothing else had been woken up before quietly moving forward. He reached the draugr and pulled out the two arrows after confirming it was truly dead. Wiping the blood off of them, he handed one to Brelyna who replaced it in her quiver. "Another excellent shot. At this rate, you'll be better than me one day." Revan said, giving her a smile.

She returned the smile. "Well, I had a great teacher after all. It certainly helped. Come on, let's keep moving. This place is starting to creep me out."

Nodding in agreement, Revan pushed open the door previously guarded by the draugr. They passed through and found themselves in another corridor. More candles lined either side as they continued forward. Turning a corner, they saw the corridor continued farther down but ended in a gate. Revan could see a lever sitting on a small stone pillar in front of the gate, but instinct told him it couldn't be that easy. As they walked, they passed several stone pillars on either side with animal carvings on them. Revan paused to get a closer look at one. It had what appeared to be a hawk or an eagle on it. On the other sides were a snake and what appeared to be a whale. Unsure of the significance of the pillars, Revan looked up behind it and noticed a snake carved into the wall above the pillar. It was the same design as the one on the pillar.

An idea forming in his head, Revan grabbed the pillar and rotated it so the snake carving was facing outward. "Let's try this and see what happens." He said to Brelyna. "Turn the pillars so the side facing out matches the carving above it."

After walking back down the hallway to make sure each pillar matched its wall carving, Revan stepped up to the lever. "Well, let's see if this worked." He said, not entirely sure. Bracing himself, he pulled the lever. To his relief, the gate opened and the path ahead was clear.

"Good thinking Revan. How did you know that would work?" Brelyna asked.

"Honestly, it was just a guess." He said. "Glad it worked though. Come on, we've got to be getting close to the end of this place."

Another set of stairs led down into a much larger open area. A large stone pillar dominated the center of the room, and Revan could see a set of wooden stairs leading up one side. They had just started up the stairs when they heard the now familiar sound of a draugr approaching. Looking up, Revan saw it standing at the top of the stairs. This one had a large battle-axe, and was advancing on the two friends. Motioning Brelyna back, Revan drew his sword and waited. The draugr, apparently not the patient type, growled and charged at Revan. Waiting until the last second, Revan dodged the blow and plunged his sword into its back. It was finished off by a firebolt to the chest, courtesy of Brelyna. Nodding his thanks, Revan pulled his sword out of the draugr and wiped the blood off with a small rag he carried. Replacing it in its scabbard, Revan and Brelyna climbed the rest of the stairs.

Past the next door, they found themselves in yet another corridor lined with candles. Passing through led them to another hallway with a gate at the end, a lever in front of it. "Well, we've certainly seen this puzzle before, haven't we?" Revan said, turning one of the pillars to match the carving above it. As he did so, the other three pillars rotated as well.

"Well that's different." Brelyna said, turning another pillar. This time, only one additional pillar moved. "Revan, move the one next to you. I have an idea." Revan complied, moving the pillar to match its carving. Two pillars turned when this one rotated, causing Revan to start to see the pattern.

"I think I see where you're going with this Brelyna. Let's try this one." Revan said, moving to the last pillar. He rotated it, and nothing else happened.

"Ok, so that first pillar moves all the rest, but no other pillar moves that one. So let's get that one set first." Brelyna said, rotating it to match its carving.

"Got it. Now this one next to it moves all but the first one, so that's next." Revan said, matching its carving.

"Right, then this one only moves the last one, so we get this one set and….got it." Brelyna said, rotating the last two pillars. "Well, here goes nothing." She said, grasping the lever and pulling. Once again, the gate opened, allowing them to continue.

"Excellent work you two." Came the voice of Tolfdir behind them. "I thought it high time I caught up with you."

Revan and Brelyna turned to see Tolfdir walking up to them. "You didn't have any trouble reaching us, did you?" Revan asked, hoping he hadn't run into any draugr they could have missed.

Tolfdir smiled. "No, the way was clear. Good work clearing everything out. Now, I think we're close to finding the secrets of this place. Let's press on."

The mages walked through the gate and down more stairs, leading to another door. Once they opened it, they saw….something.