Heading westwards the next morning, I am very glad of the trees that cover the road, as I can see a dragon flying around somewhere further west. The road turns further and further north until we reach the road that passes through the northern reaches of the hold. I turn left so we head west again, and that road also steadily turns north and heads through the pass through the mountain range separating Falkreath and Whiterun.
The sun rises off of its seat atop the eastern mountains as we head along the road towards Rorikstead. As we pass the road towards Markarth, a trio of Thalmor pause in their escort of their prisoner to watch us pass. As we near the small farming town, I head a cry from just to the left of the road.
Turning, I raise my bow and shoot dead the first of the two vampires attacking a lone Dawnguard, catching the other's attention and drawing her away from her victim, who is currently cowering behind a rock. The other has barely taken two steps towards us when Serana sends an icy bolt straight between her eyes. The Dawnguard, upon our victory, approaches us, a frantic look in his own eyes.
"Gods, vampires!" He cries. "I… I can't take this anymore! I'm not cut out for this!" Why join up then? "Look, take whatever you want; I'm getting out of here!" Removing his armour, he drops it along with his bag at his feet and dashes off to Rorikstead.
Retrieving his kit, I find a note sticking out of a pocket.
Novice Hakar: Your repeated failures are an embarrassment to our entire order. Are you truly so inept you cannot even complete a simple courier mission? You have one last chance to redeem yourself. We recently established a number of wilderness caches to supply our agents in the field. You are to restock the chests listed below, then report back for further orders. Our caches in Whiterun Hold are located: In Rorikstead, in the pasture behind Frostfruit Inn; Near Stendarr's Shrine in the centre of the tundra; South of Whiterun's Western Watchtower. You have one week. Return successful, or not at all.
I am unsure what to think about this. I guess I'll have to report this to Isran when I can. Continuing along the road, we pass straight through Rorikstead, catching up with Hakar enough to spot him running into the Inn, and head on down the road, taking the left turn at the ambush crossroad towards Broken Tower Redoubt.
The Forsworn at the tower must recently had reinforcements arrive, because there are more of them patrolling the outside. Serana rushes off inside to get at the ones on the balcony, so after dealing with the one on the road, I have to wait for her to return before we can continue on towards Darkfall Cave.
Once my little vampire friend is back by my side, I head off cross-country towards where the scrolls had said the cave was. I remember this route – I came this way when looking for Sorine. It should be easy enough to get to the cave then – it can't be much further from where the woman was camped.
Swimming across the river, we are forced to slay a bear that was sat near the bank.
"Gods, those creatures are unbearable!" I cry without thinking, setting Serana off giggling at my unintentional pun, which makes me laugh as well.
Across the next river, I close my eyes and think hard about what I'd seen in the vision, then get out my map and compare it to where I am. Ok, we're quite close – just around the next spur of rock, just beyond the snowline. As I tuck away my map, I hear a yelp, and look up just in time to see Serana killing the second of the wolf pair that tried to sneak-attack us.
Smiling my thanks, I lead Serana up the slope and into the cave that yawns before us.
Inside, it's almost pitch-dark. There are torches set up in brackets along the wall, but they are too far apart to cast any decent light, so I take the first and snuff the others we come across as we traverse the passage so I can use them later, if necessary. In the first cavern, where a waterfall cascades into a pool at one side, a spider waits for us on the natural walkway around the edge. It's easy enough to kill, so leaving it behind we continue on through the next passage.
The next cave is bisected by a deep ravine, over which a rickety bridge crosses to a ledge with two moonstone veins lit by a lamp on a table. I quickly mine the two veins, then start back across the bridge, as there is no way to continue from here. Maybe there was a passage I missed – the bridge finally breaks, sending us both toppling into the river rushing through the ravine.
The water is pushing us along so fast we barely get much chances to catch a breath. As we are tossed over a waterfall, I see a couple of spiders drop themselves into the water with us, and are washed over the next waterfall with us. Luckily, the water becomes shallow enough that we land on our feet, and I immediately draw my sword and turn on the spiders as they land behind us. As we fight, three more spiders appear behind us, taking advantage of our distraction. Finishing off the last of them, I can vaguely see ahead of us yet more spiders, so I grit my teeth, light another torch from the guttering flames of the first, and charge.
The two remaining spiders stand no chance against us, and so we continue through the webbed chamber and up a steep slope where we come across the remains of a destroyed camp, the only intact thing remaining a table with various items on it. In the entrance to a tunnel leading downwards again, the body of a Breton lies face down and covered in blood. On the corpse, I find a hastily scrawled note.
Sister, I know that you'll come find me, but it will be too late. If you find this letter, get out of this forsaken cave as soon as possible. We were fools to think we could live so close to such creatures and live peacefully. I should've headed back to camp with you after we placed to torches down here. I thought these trolls would be different, that they would somehow understand that we didn't want to hurt them. I am now cornered and it's only a matter of time before one of the trolls decides to finish me off. I hope it's a quick death. Farewell, my dear sister.
How sad. Wishing there was something more I could do for the poor woman's remains, I descend the slope, leaping over a tripwire strung across the path. Serana, however, doesn't notice it, tripping the trap and releasing a large number of boulders cascading after us. I manage to get around the corner at the bottom just in time, but my friend isn't so lucky, getting caught on the heel by a stray rock as it rebounds off a larger.
Ahead is a huge cavern, the floor lightly covered with water, and the shape of a pair of trolls lurking at the other side. I can't be bothered to reach for my bow, especially since it means dousing the torch – Serana refused to carry it – so I simply run as fast as I can towards the beasts and hit them as often as I can, while dodging their swinging arms as best as possible.
Soon enough, the two monsters lie dead, and we can continue on our journey deeper into the cave.
A little way ahead, at the back of the cave, a strange white stone structure stands, guarded by a tall pale elf, with white hair and adorned in white armour, decorated with a swirl – like pattern set in gold.
"Come forward." The elf calls to us, hearing our splashing footsteps. "You have nothing to fear here." He turns to face me when I am close enough, his clear blue eyes boring deep into my single crimson.
"I am Knight-Paladin Gelebor. Welcome to the Great Chantry of Auri-El." He greets us.
"This cave is a temple to Auriel?" I ask in wonder. It's a bit dark for a place dedicated to the sun god of the elves.
"Auriel, Auri-El, Alkosh, Akatosh… so many different names for the sovereign of the Snow Elves."
"Snow Elves? You're a Falmer?"
"I prefer Snow Elf. The name 'Falmer' usually holds a negative meaning to most travellers. Those twisted creatures you call Falmer, I call the Betrayed." Gelebor says sadly. I choose to agree; having met this fellow, I don't think I could call what I know as Falmer by that name again.
"I imagine you know why we're here."
"Of course. You're here for Auriel's Bow. Why else would you be here? I can help you get it, but first I must have your assistance."
Here we go. "What type of assistance do you need?" I ask.
"I need you to kill Arch-Curate Vyrthur; my brother."
"Kill your brother? Why?"
"The kinship between us is gone. I don't understand what he has become, but he's no longer the brother I once knew. It was the Betrayed… they did something to him; I just don't know why Auri-El would allow this to happen."
"What exactly did the Betrayed do?"
"They swept into the Chantry without warning and began killing everyone without pause." Oh no… who knows how many unaffected Snow Elves were here before that happened…
"Didn't you fight back?" Serana asks.
"The Chantry was a place of peaceful worship. I led a small group of paladins, but we were no match for the Betrayed's sheer numbers. They slaughtered everyone and stormed the Inner Sanctum where I believe they corrupted Vyrthur."
"You don't even know if he's alive." I point out. I'm not a huge fan of chasing geese.
"He's alive." Gelebor's sorrow is written deep in his ocean eyes. "I've seen him. But something's wrong. He never looks as though he's in pain, or under duress. He just… stands there and watches, as though waiting."
"Have you tried getting into the Inner Sanctum?"
"Leaving the wayshrines unguarded would be violating my sacred duty as a Knight-Paladin of Auri-El; and an assault on the Betrayed guarding the Inner Sanctum would only end with my death."
"Wayshrine?"
"Yes; let me show you." Gelebor walks closer to the stone structure and casts some sort of spell, causing a light to briefly shine from a metal star on the top of it and a metallic clang to ring through the cavern. The stonework shudders, then rises from the floor to reveal it to be somewhat like a gazebo, with a basin in the centre. Behind it, in one of the shallow alcoves formed in the walls, a shimmering portal shows a passage lit by purple light beyond.
"This structure is known as a wayshrine. They were used for meditation and for transport when the Chantry was a place of enlightenment. Prelates of these shrines were charged with teaching the mantras of Auri-El to our Initiates."
"What's the basin in the centre signify?" Asks Serana, climbing the few shallow stairs to get a closer look.
"Once the Initiate completed his mantras, he'd dip a ceremonial ewer in the basin at the wayshrine's centre and proceed to the next wayshrine.
"So these Initiates had to lug around a heavy pitcher of water. Marvellous. How long would they have to do that?" Wow Serana, how insensitive can you get?
"Well, once the Initiates enlightenment was complete, he'd bring the ewer to the Chantry's Inner Sanctum. Pouring the contents of the ewer into the sacred basin of the Sanctum would allow him to enter for an audience with the Arch-Curate himself." Gelebor patiently replies.
"All that to end up dumping it out? Makes no sense to me." I'm gonna have to give Serana a bit of a talking-to later.
"It's symbolic. I don't expect you to understand."
"So let's get this straight. We need to do all that nonsense to get into the temple, so we can kill your brother and claim Auriel's Bow?"
"I know how it all sounds." Gelebor decides to address me instead. Understandable, considering how closed-minded Serana is being. "But if there was another way I'd have done it long ago. The only way to get to my brother is by following in the Initiate's footsteps and travelling from wayshrine to wayshrine just as they did. The first lay at the end of Darkfall Passage, a cavern that represents the absence of enlightenment."
"How many more wayshrines are there?" I ask, also ignoring Serana, as a petty punishment.
"There are five in total, spread far apart across the Chantry."
"These caves must be massive." I think aloud.
"Caves? Oh no – the Chantry encompasses far more than a few caves, as you'll soon discover. But before I send you on your way, you'll need the Initiate's Ewer." Gelebor gives me an elaborately decorated silver jug, which I attach to my belt in such a way that it stays upright.
"So I need to fill this at each wayshrine?"
"Once you've located a wayshrine there will be a spectral Prelate tending to it. They will allow you to draw the waters from the shrine's basin as if you've been enlightened."
"I'll be off then." I'll probably be seeing him later.
"This may be the last time we're able to converse. If you have any questions before you leave, I suggest you ask them. Otherwise, all I can do now is grant you my hopes for a safe journey."
I guess I probably should learn a little more before starting this pilgrimage. "What is the Chantry of Auriel?"
"This is, or was, the epicentre of our religion. Most of the Snow Elf people worshipped Auri-El. The Chantry was constructed near the beginning of the First Era to provide a retreat for those who wished to become enlightened."
"Most Snow Elves?"
"Our empire had temples to some of the other deities: Trinimac, Syrabane, Jephre and Phynaster rounded out the rest. But those temples paled in comparison to the glory of the Chantry and its wayshrines."
"The wayshrines are part of the Chantry then?"
"Oh, yes." Gelebor explains. "They were an important part of the process here. The represented the steps the Initiates took on the path to total enlightenment. Sadly, the magic used to construct these wonders were lost long before I arrived here."
"Who are the spectral Prelates you mentioned?"
"They're ghosts of the Snow Elf priests that tended the wayshrines before being slaughtered by the Betrayed. Through the grace of Auri-El, they were restored to their spectral form to enable them to continue their duties."
"Good – they should be able to help us."
"I'm afraid in their current form, they still believe the Chantry to be an active centre of worship. They won't respond to you in any way other than believing that you're an Initiate and you're undertaking the journey to the Inner Sanctum."
That's a shame. "Who were your people?"
"We were once a wealthy and prosperous society that occupied a portion of Skyrim. Unfortunately, we were constantly at war with the Nords who claimed the land as their ancestral home."
"It appears the Nords won." And then got angry when other races moved in? What hypocrites!
"In a manner of speaking. We had always maintained an uneasy alliance with the underground-dwelling dwarves, and when faced with extinction we turned to them for help. Surprisingly they agreed to protect us, but demanded a terrible price… the blinding of our race."
"Everyone couldn't have possibly agreed to that."
"There were splinter groups that resisted the agreement, and even some that sought alternate alliances. But when it was all said and done, those elves were slaughtered, vanished, or gave up and took the dwarves' bargain." The elf frowns.
"What turned your people into the Betrayed?"
"I've often asked myself that very same question. The blinding of my race was supposedly accomplished with a toxin. Certainly not enough to devolve them into the sad and twisted beings they've become."
"Why weren't the Snow Elves here affected?"
"The Chantry is quite isolated, so it took some time for word of the dwarves' offer to reach us here. By the time the compact had been completed, it was too late for us to even attempt to intervene."
"Is that why you had retained your sight?" I feel a little like a child, asking all these questions.
"Correct. We only numbered perhaps a hundred at the time, so our presence remained a secret to the dwarves and the Nords. Ironically, our undoing came at the hands of our own people."
"You mean the Betrayed."
"Yes. They swarmed the Chantry in vast numbers until we were completely overrun. We never really stood a chance. I assume that the Arch-Curate was corrupted by them when they found a way to breach the Inner Sanctum."
"There are others here like you?" I ask, hoping that at least a handful survived.
"Vyrthur and myself are the only two Snow Elves that remain." I can see the pain in his eyes, so I pursue my curiosity no more and, nodding farewell, I pass through the portal into Darkfall Passage.
The portal leads into a small cave lit by strange purple fungi that retreat into their stalks when approached. I lead the way down the first passage, through a shallow pool – and am attacked by a creature that's like a chaurus, but is winged and has long waving antennae. As I fight, I notice behind it the remains of the chitinous pod it must have burst from, and make a mental note to destroy any more of them that I find before their inhabitants can attack us.
Soon enough the giant bug is floating in the pool, and we continue on through the passage, where the path runs through another pool into which a Falmer – no, a Betrayed – drops as we trudge through the murky water. As it attacks us, two more appear from further down the tunnel, and we end up a tangle of swinging blades. One of Serana's icicles misses its target, landing heavily in my lower back, and the freezing pain causes me to spasm, luckily severing the head of one of the Betrayed in the process. The vampire finishes off the other two as I recover, casting a healing spell once the ice melts completely.
In the first cave we enter, we find a couple of the chitin pods and a skeleton, clutching a small satchel in its outstretched hand. A pair of Betrayed guard the pods, but they are as easy to destroy as the pods themselves. In the skeleton's bag, I find a short note and a pair of potions that would probably have helped the poor person had they been able to get to them in time.
I made it farther than I thought, but I'm afraid I can't go on. I choose not to. I am content to die here, in this quiet little room, alone with my thoughts. The creatures won't follow me here. No more danger. The silence is welcoming. Ah, I see. I hope they weren't in too much pain when whoever it was passed. It's a shame they were wrong about how far the Betrayed were willing to come, though – well, at least they are now. Maybe they weren't at the time.
Traversing the next passage, we slay a Betrayed on the way and loot a table tucked into an alcove. In the next large area, a pair of chaurus wait in an enclosed pen while a few of the Betrayed wander the space around it. At the far end of the cave, a waterfall acts almost like a wall, dividing the space into a rough half. A narrow space leads around the waterfall to the space behind it.
I leave the ex-Falmer to Serana while I push open the strange gate to deal with the chaurus. The ugly bugs' hard shell is difficult to hit – my blade simply slides off – but every so often I hit a crease in its armour and hit the soft flesh beneath. I eventually slay the pair and return through the gate to Serana, who waits for me patiently near the corpses of the Betrayed.
Behind the waterfall, the passage leads into a third, larger cave were several huts have been built inside to house the wrecked elves. A small group of them are milling around amongst the huts, but upon hearing us they immediately spring to attack. I still marvel at how they are so accurate when they're blind.
Once they are defeated, I head towards a chest set beneath a chitin bridge. Before I open it, I spot a badly-hidden tripwire that, luckily for me, was placed too close to the chest to be set off. Opening the chest and taking what's inside seems to attract more of the Betrayed, so I let the lid fall closed and turn to fight.
The two Betrayed are soon dead at our feet, and I realise that I'm starting to feel tired. I wonder what the time is – it is incredibly difficult to tell day from night when you're underground for a long time. I keep my complaints to myself, however, considering the company I currently keep. I wonder how Lydia's doing..?
Through the next passage, after defeating more Betrayed and chaurus, we find yet another large chamber with a massive waterfall inside, through which two chitin bridges pass. There are several strange plants growing from the cave floor, so I take several samples out of curiosity as to any alchemical effects they have and as keepsakes for our journey through a long lost part of Skyrim. In a nearby chest I find a spell book I'm sure I haven't even heard of before, so I learn the spell inside – called 'Close Wounds' – and cross through the waterfall.
On the other side we have a choice of directions in which to go – to the left is a passage and on the right is a small cave with a tripwire across the entrance. I decide to see what is in the small cave first, so I cut the tripwire, prematurely setting off the trap beyond, and discover the room is full of chaurus chitin pods. Busting them open is easy enough, and only two of them were far along their 'gestation' to survive the shell being smashed open. In the middle of the chamber is another well-trapped chest, and carefully breaking one of the thin ropes reveals that tripping the trap triggers four spears to thrust up from the floor, piercing the air around the area where the unaware adventurer's torso would be.
Having tripped the trap in front of the chest, I retrieve the items inside then turn towards the alchemy lab tucked into a corner that I'd noticed as I bent into the chest. I use almost all of the ingredients I'd collected, leaving one of the yellow flowers from the glade and one of the little glowing bell-shaped flowers from the other side of the waterfall.
I leave the rocky room and head across behind the waterfall and through the passage. About halfway along, the path narrows around a shallow drop, at the bottom of which is a skeleton, its bony hand clasped around a potion. Following the route out of the hole and re-joining the pathway, we ascend a short, steep slope to find yet another skeleton at the top, this one with a shield strapped to its forearm and a sword flung a short distance away. A note lies on the ground where a pocket would have been had its clothes survived as long.
Strange why the cursed have set up so many traps near this stone barrier. Going to rest for a bit, not take any chances. They set up those traps for a reason and I'm not about to go rushing in to find out why. Just going to sit here, regain my strength and possibly try and use the traps to my advantage.
This person must have been one of the Snow Elves trying to fight back against the invasion of the Betrayed; fighting alone against a large number of them wouldn't have been a good idea for them at the time. It may be two against many now, but the many are strung out throughout this massive cave system and so we can take them piecemeal, unlike how this poor fellow would have had to.
On the wall ahead of us, near the stone barrier mentioned in the note, are two chitin pull chains. I put my trust in my luck, patchy as it may be, and tug one of the chains – and the barrier rises, revealing the passageway into a magnificent cavern, lit by massive mushrooms of the same kind that barely light Blackreach. I can't really see much more of the cave – the huge striped cat sitting in front of me baring its teeth and growling at me. As it leaps, I lash out with my sword and split the creature's face wide open, killing it on the spot.
I take the chance to take a closer look at the animal's coat – its stripes seem to be a sort of glowing green, possibly to aid with camouflage in the glowing cavern. Gazing around, I can see that the cave is also filled with the glowing flowers I'd seen before and these massive flowers with purple-red pod-like centres and net-like petals. The bottom of the cave is filled with glowing water, and stone bridges stretch across the liquid to the other side.
As I pass one of the huge flowers on our descent, it rustles and opens, casting a foul smelling gas over the small area around us. Ok, best to avoid those things if I can.
Unfortunately, there is quite the plantation of the plants halfway across the bridge, so, arm across my face to create a sort of mask, I sprint past the poisonous blooms and up the next ramp – to almost collide with another striped cat.
Luckily my sword was already out in my other hand, so I have a chance to react as the feline bounds at my face, claws shining in the torchlight. I bend backwards, my spine complaining at the awkward angle, and the cat leaps clean over me, over the edge of the ramp and goes sailing down into the water at the bottom of the cave.
Up ahead, I can see the first of the wayshrines, so I untie the ewer and approach the spectre guarding the shrine.
"Welcome, Initiate." He greets me. "This is the Wayshrine of Illumination. Are you prepared to honour the mantras of Auri-El and fill your vessel with His enlightenment?"
"Yes." I respond, trying to sound a little less 'Morrowind' and a bit more like Gelebor did. Not that the spirit cares.
"Then behold Auri-El's gift, my child. May it light your path as you seek tranquillity within the Inner Sanctum." He casts the spell to raise the wayshrine, and I enter the stone structure and dip the ewer into the font, letting the water wash inside. The alcove ahead of us shimmers into a portal, which upon entering I find leads into a passage leading to a small cave, the ceiling open to the night sky above.
Well, this seems a safe enough place to rest. I'm certainly tired enough.