Here we go again.
What is it now?
Surprisingly nothing other than dying from school work.
Wait, you're not going to complain about the chapter?
No. Why do you always think I do that?
Because you do.
Oh. Well then. Disclaimer!
We do not own any of the characters nor the plot from the Elder Scrolls series, we do however own any and all OC's you see in this series.
Descent into Darkness
Chapter 5: Out of the Frying Pan
As Arlia and Cassius were swallowed up by the fire, they were overwhelmed with excruciating pain for a split second before emerging into a whole new world. The gate stood behind them, the fire still raging. Ahead of them was a hellish place, littered with corpses and the vegetation twisted and excreted what looked to be blood. The ground was that of a dry desert; hard, cracked dirt. A large, stone bridge lay before them, and beneath it, a river of molten magma. Across the bridge was a massive metal gate, which looked to have collapsed on itself, rendering that passage impassable. A path led up to their left, winding up a cliff face. Atop this small mountain stood a massive tower, made of twisted, black metal, and atop this tower was what appeared to be a ray of flames shooting straight into the blood red sky. The instant they laid eyes upon it, the duo knew that was where they needed to go.
"Won't be going that way," said Cassius, pointing to the broken gate.
"Then we go the long way," said Arlia as she started up the path to the left. Cassius followed and the two proceeded cautiously, prepared to face down any enemy that stood between them and that tower.
"At last!" They heard someone yell. They turned swiftly, brandishing their weapons, only to see a Kvatch guard run towards them from behind a boulder. He was an average-looking Imperial; long, brown hair and green eyes with fair skin. "At last, some friendly faces!"
"Hold on there," said Cassius, "Who are you?"
"Ilend Vonius," he replied hurriedly, "I came in here with a small squad of men to try and shut this damned gate. My men were cut down just outside tower doors and I narrowly escaped."
"My name is Cassius. This is Arlia."
"How many enemies?" Asked Arlia.
"Easily a dozen between here and that tower," said Ilend, "Probably dozens more inside."
"Damn," said Cassius, "Well at least they don't number in the hundreds as we'd feared."
"Still, these beasts are not to be underestimated," said Arlia, "I've seen many men effortlessly laid to waste by those demons."
"You said you managed to make it to the doors?" Said Cassius.
"Yes," said Ilend fearfully, "We took down a few of the bastards on the way there. That was when they attacked in force. They burst through the doors and decimated my squad within a few moments."
"What kind of resistance are we looking at?" Asked Arlia.
"An archer, some swordsmen, and a mage."
"Shouldn't be too hard to deal with," said Cassius, "We've faced the Dremora before."
"But this is their territory," said Arlia, "They know the terrain. We don't."
"One of us does," said Cassius, looking to Ilend. He froze and stared back at Cassius, fear in his eyes. "Ilend," said Cassius, "We need your help. We need you to lead us back to the tower gates."
"I can't," he said, his lips quivering with fear, "After what I've seen, I dare not return to that place."
"You damn coward!" Shouted Arlia, "First, you let your squad get butchered and now you can't even muster the courage to act as a guide?! How about you just go back through the gate and take a look at your fallen city?! This was their doing! And you are allowing it to continue!" Ilend hung his head in shame and struggled to hold back tears.
"What she means to say is that this your chance to make things right," said Cassius, "You have the chance to make a difference, right here and now. So please, help us." Ilend lifted his head and looked dead into Cassius' eyes. Suddenly, his eyes were filled with a burning rage.
"You're right," he said firmly, "This is our chance. Let's go give those bastards a wakeup call. Follow me." He started out at a jog up the path with Arlia and Cassius following closely behind. They dipped and darted through the rough landscape, which was littered with jagged rocks, strange plants, and the occasional Dremora corpse. They came to a small cliff face and began climbing up, knowing it was the only way up. Cassius lifted himself up the ledge only to have a clump of vines shoot out at him, seeming to growl as they did so. He jumped back in shock and nearly went toppling back over the ledge, only saved by Arlia grabbing hold of him. He regained his balance and the vines crept back to their roots and lay back down.
"Just what the hell was that?!" Asked Cassius, not taking his eye off the roots.
"Not sure," said Ilend, "We ran into a few of them on the way up. Seem to be some sort of predatory vegetation."
"Predatory vegetation," said Cassius as he shook his head, "And I thought I'd seen everything." They continued up the path and came to a large bonfire, kept aflame by bodies, what they were was hard to tell. The stench was outrageous, the smell burning flesh flooding the air. They went around the bonfire and could see that the tower gate was just around the next outcropping of rocks. Ilend ducked down behind them and motioned for Cassius and Arlia to do the same.
They knelt down next him and peeked up over the rocks, scouting out the gate. Seven Dremora were wandering around the gate; one archer, five swordsmen, and what looked like a mage. The mage wasn't dressed in the large, intimidating armor like the others. He wore a simple black robe and carried a small dagger.
"There they are," said Ilend, "The bastards who wiped out my squad." He gritted his teeth as he looked upon them, brow furrowed, hand upon his blade handle.
"We've gotta take them down to get inside," said Cassius as he started to pull his sword from the sheath.
"Remember what they did to your men, Ilend," said Arlia as she notched an arrow, "Make them pay." Ilend snarled as he unsheathed his blade and the trio burst out from behind the rocks. Arlia pulled the bowstring back and let loose almost immediately. The arrow soared straight and true, striking a swordsman in the chest. The arrow pierced his armor and sent him tumbling to ground. All the Dremora snapped to attention and turned to face their attackers.
Ilend and Cassius collided with the swordsmen and the archer scrambled for his quiver. The mage quickly shot a large spike of ice into the fray, narrowly missing Ilend. Cassius wrestled with one of the Dremora, struggling to subdue him. He peered over his shoulder to see the archer taking aim at him and quickly shifted his body weight, putting the Dremora between the arrow and himself.
The Dremora grunted as the arrow pierced his back and burst through his chest, black blood spraying over Cassius' face. Cassius quickly shoved him away and forced his sword through his gut. Arlia notched another arrow, taking aim at the mage. The mage saw what she was planning and hurled a fireball in her direction. Arlia dove to the left and let the arrow fly. The mage doubled over in pain as the arrow struck his leg.
Arlia leapt back to her feet to see that one of the swordsmen had made his way over to her. She ducked under his sword swipe and quickly brandished her dagger in her left hand, her right hand still clutching her bow. The Dremora swung his sword wildly, forcing Arlia to dodge just as wildly. When she saw her opportunity, she took it, jamming the dagger into his left thigh.
He growled in pain as he threw his sword on the ground and lifted Arlia with both hands. She dropped her bow and struggled to get free as the Dremora lifted her to his eye level, her strength paling in comparison to his. He growled ferociously, his black eyes filled with anger. Arlia kicked with her right leg and forced the dagger further into his leg, causing him to reach for the wound and drop Arlia.
She scrambled about for a weapon and grasped the sword the Dremora had dropped. The large, black and red blade so heavy that Arlia could hardly lift it. With two hands, she swung the blade and embedded it into his side. He dropped to his knees as Arlia pulled the blade from his ribs, blood pouring onto the ground. She threw the sword aside and forcefully pulled her dagger from his leg, warranting a weak grunt from him. Arlia twirled the dagger as she brought it up and then brought it back down, burying the blade in the Dremora's forehead. He fell to the ground and Arlia quickly recovered her bow and surveyed the situation.
Ilend and Cassius were still locked in combat with the swordsmen, the two men skillfully fending off their attackers . The archer missed a shot and reached for another arrow. The mage had pulled the arrow from his leg and was trying to hobble away from the battle.
"No you don't," muttered Arlia as she fired an arrow, striking him in the back. He fell to the ground and rolled down the hill. Arlia felt a gust of wind pass her as an arrow zoomed past her face. She turned to see the archer notching another arrow and taking aim at her. With lightning speed, Arlia pulled an arrow from her quiver, notched it, and let fly. Before the Dremora could even react, he had an arrow in his chest. The force of the blow caused him to shoot off his arrow, which stuck into the hard ground far from any target. He reached for the arrow and started to pull it out, but was struck with another in the leg. Black blood began to flow out of his mouth as another arrow pierced his chest plate. He fell to the ground, riddled with arrows and defeated.
Arlia turned to see Cassius standing above a Dremora, sword buried in his chest. Ilend continued to battle his enemy; bashing him with his shield and setting him off balance. Ilend forced him back and lunged with his blade, skewering him through the stomach. Ilend withdrew his blade and his foe fell to the ground as blood began to pool under him. All three exhaled deeply as the battle ended.
"Damn," said Cassius, "Those sons of bitches are tough."
"They certainly are," said Arlia as she wiped down her dagger. She picked up a Dremora arrow and examined it. The arrowheads were clearly designed to completely maim whatever it hit, but the design also hindered its flight. She was sure that they were more hassle than they were worth and tossed it to the ground. Ilend stuck his sword into the ground and leaned on the handle, breathing heavily.
"You alright?" Asked Cassius as he pulled his sword from the Dremora's chest, the blade covered in his black blood.
"I will be," he said, "Just a need a breather." Arlia started up the steps to the tower, stepping over the dead archer.
"What about their weapons?" Asked Cassius, "Should we gather them?"
"There's no point," she replied, "The swords, menacing as they may be, are entirely too heavy for us to use effectively. And the arrows will never fly straight."
"And the armor?" Asked Ilend.
"I'm willing to guess that it's far too heavy," said Arlia, "If their weapons are that unwieldy, their armor is likely ten times heavier than what a normal man could wear." With that, Ilend pulled his sword from the ground and followed Arlia and Cassius up the tower steps and approached the large, black doors.
The trio pushed up against the heavy doors, the doors scraping the floor as they slowly opened. They pushed the doors just far enough to allow them to slip through and they quickly readied their weapons. They had entered a round room with the beam of fire in the middle, shooting up towards the top of the tower. There were two other doors in the room, which flung open at that moment.
A Dremora emerged from each, one wielding a warhammer and the other a longsword. They growled demonically as they started out a dead sprint towards the group. Their speed startled them, as they expected the heavy gear to weigh them down. Arlia quickly raised her bow and let an arrow fly, hitting the swordsman in the leg. He stumbled and slowed, but still moved towards them. Ilend ducked as the other swung his warhammer, and thrust his sword upwards, only to have it knocked from his hands. Ilend stumbled backwards as the Dremora swung the hammer again. He raised his shield as the hammer came down, the force of the blow knocking him to the ground.
Cassius quickly stepped in, swiping his sword upwards, severing the Dremora's arm at the elbow. He howled in pain as his arm and the warhammer slammed on the floor, black blood beginning to spurt from the severed limb. Arlia took aim again, this time striking the swordsman in the chest. He stumbled again but continued his advance. Fast as lightning, Arlia flipped an arrow out of her quiver, and quickly fired at the Dremora yet again. The arrow hit his chest and he growled as he toppled over, defeated. The remaining Dremora began swinging his remaining arm about furiously. Cassius grunted in pain as the gauntleted fist connected with his gut, causing him to double over in pain.
Ilend scrambled to his feet and gripped his shield tightly with both hands. He swung with all his might and bashed his shield into the Dremora's face, causing him to stumble. He growled angrily and spat out a bit of black blood, promptly charging Ilend afterwards. Ilend raised his shield but it was no use, the hulking Dremora tackled him to the ground and ripped the shield from his hands. Ilend's eyes grew wide with fear as the Dremora hefted the heavy steel shield above his head, fully prepared to bludgeon Ilend with it. At that moment, the Dremora grunted in pain as Arlia forced her dagger into the back of his neck, the point protruding through his throat. Black blood from the wound and his mouth as he slumped over on top of Ilend. Arlia pulled and Ilend pushed and forced the demon off of him. Arlia pulled the dagger from her foe, wiped it down and sheathed it. She looked to her left to see Cassius slowly rising to his feet, his breathing still ragged.
"You alright?" Asked Ilend as he also rose to feet and recovered his sword and shield.
"Those beasts pack a hell of a punch," he said with a cough, "Knocked the wind right out of me."
"That's why we have to be fast," said Arlia, "They have power but they're slow. We lash out fast and hard. That's the only way we stand a chance." Ilend and Cassius both nodded in agreement. They both knew that without teamwork and the proper tactics, that these demons would rip them to shreds. Arlia seemed to have the right idea: put them down before they have a chance.