I return back through the cave to the ledge and emerge into the cool pre-dawn air, with the smell of fresh snow mixing with the coppery scent of blood from the enemies we'd fought the day before. I pause a little to reorient myself, then head down the rocks to my right.
At the end of the rocky track, we reach a rickety-looking bridge made of chitin, and I cross it as carefully as I can, since it creaks worryingly beneath me and there are no handrails at all. Reaching the other side, I suppress a sigh of relief and draw my crossbow again, wary of attack by any remaining Betrayed. At the other end, a chitin hut stands, facing away from the cool wind, and inside an enticing pile of loot waits my attention. I pick out the best bits, then head onwards.
At the top of the next rocky slope, a Frost Giant wanders a small area behind one of the strange, tentacle-gates the Betrayed seem so fond of. Since the loot from the previous one was so good, I decide to attempt this one, and so I sneak through the gate, crossbow aimed at its hairy back.
The bolt slams into the thick layer of fur with a solid 'thwack', and the giant stumbles forward, roars, and turns towards a rapidly approaching Serana. Anticipating its attack, I aim my next shot lower, and my shot slams into the crown of its head at the same time as one of Serana's icicles. The giant fell to the ground with a roar.
Once most of its belongings rest in my bag, I continue up along a chitin ramp that twists around a large rock and loot a chest at the top before crossing another wobbly bridge. I can see several others scattered across the canyon, and I have the feeling I'll have to cross each and every one of them to get to the last shrine.
The bridge leads to a rather large area, with one lone hut sitting next to a large heap of rocks atop which sits an interesting looking heap. Clambering up, I realise it holds nothing more than a pair of potions and a goat skin to sit on. Grabbing the potions, I jump back down and continue along the next bridge.
More huts occupy the next rocky ledge, each with their own reasonable stash. I'm no longer regretting the need for this trip – I can only imagine the riches to be gained once we return to civilisation!
Look out, Lethandhrel, your dragon is showing…
Heading down a natural ramp, we reach a point where the path splits, and out of curiosity I take the path leading over a pair of chitin bridges, finding myself in front of a little hut next to a stone ramp leading to the other side of the river to where we'd emerged from the cave last night. If I'd noticed the ramp then, I could have skipped so much… and missed out on so much loot too.
Inside the little hut is a chitin chest, inside which is a pair of potions. Well, that wasn't really worth it. I head back to the bottom of the first ramp and head across the natural bridges that lead towards a crevice in a massive glacier, out of which the rapids run.
In front of the entrance to the crevice, a pair of chitin fences run so that the only way past is to wade through the water. A pair of the Betrayed are patrolling up and down behind them, but they are ignoring our presence mere meters away.
Killing the first catches the attention of the second, and it comes streaking towards its friend's corpse. Serana sends an icicle slamming into its torso, and my follow-up shot crashes through its throat, sending it sprawling backwards away from a spray of vivid red blood. We splash through the gap in the fence and, since there is nowhere left to go that we haven't already visited, head into the crack in the ice.
Inside, we find a short passage, filled with cool, still water, that opens up into a massive cavern; an icy ramp covered with snow leads up around the edge and towards an opening about a third of the way up the ice wall on the other side. From where we stand from where we emerged from the short swim through the entrance passage, I can see a pair of the betrayed scampering up the ramp away from a mould-covered troll that is tramping after them. Since the troll is a bigger threat, and the unfortunate elves are out of sight, I level my crossbow and send the first bolt to thud into the beast's upper arm.
It spins angrily around and starts picking its way across the thick ice that covers the lake that dominates the bottom of the cavern. I Shout, bathing it in fire, and my second shot slays the three-eyed monster. I glance at the ramp behind it, but either the Betrayed didn't hear me, which is unlikely, or they ignored the echoing noise.
Serana and I pick our way across the ice and carefully climb the ice towards the opening above, slaying the pair of former Falmer as we go. I'm almost surprised at how weak they are, considering the trouble I had with the ones down in Blackreach… maybe I've just gotten stronger since then. There's something else to do when I've finished here; I still have that journal on me somewhere…
Near the top of the ramp, another pair of the Betrayed wait for us on the other side of a bridge that has broken away from where it was anchored on the other side of a narrow gap in the ice. Luckily, it came to rest on an even narrower ledge just below and has been set in place by a thick layer of ice over the very end. Since I'm quicker using a bow than I am with the device the Dawnguard gave me, I swap the crossbow out for my elf-crafted weapon and quickly slay the two pale creatures before they even have a chance to find us, then skip as fast as I dare across the broken bridge.
Halfway along the passage, I push my way through a gate and carefully disarm one of their infamous claw traps before heading into the second chamber – a long space with a thick ledge running along each side.
"Looks like they're better at making traps than they are at making bridges." Serana murmurs behind me, just loud enough that only a whisper of her words echo along the frozen walls. "A strange race, these Falmer."
From what I'd seen out in the vale, it looks like the chitin constructions are merely what they've built since the Dwemer's betrayal. Maybe they are becoming a little more like they were before, if not less vicious. Re-learning old talents and all that, maybe.
Ahead, I spot a large spider, so large its legs almost reach further than the width of the ledge. Accompanying it is a single white-skinned figure, which starts scurrying in our direction once I've shot the spider, causing it to lose its grip on the ice and fall down into the blue water below. I am about to shoot again when the rushing elf loses his footing too, and cartwheels after the spider. I wait for the soft 'sploosh' before continuing our trek through the crevice.
The ledge we currently traverse ends at a point where it extends to touch the opposite ledge, and I hop across. Looking to my left, I can see a short chitin bridge leading to a small icy outcrop inhabited by a small hut and a pair of the Betrayed, who start scurrying across the bridge towards where I wait for Serana to gather the courage to join me.
The first falls from the bridge, an arrow through its forehead, and the other stops just as I shoot the second, watching the swift shaft flash through the air just ahead of it before starting forward again. I wait a short time until it is coming straight for me, then loose my third shot straight into its heart.
I wonder what the time is as I cross the bridge towards the hut. It feels like an age since I woke in that dark little cave, and I can't see the sky from where we are at the moment.
The chest inside the hut holds little of interest, so I dash back across the short chitin expanse and head towards a passage closed off by another of their strange little gates. A short way ahead I spot another trap, and a lone ex-Falmer a little way on.
I decide to use their blindness to my advantage, and I whistle at the creature. It comes trotting towards us, sword drawn, and unwittingly sets off the trap, which sends it flying towards us, its back raked open by the sharp ends of the claw trap.
In the next cavern, the ice ramp leads downwards, and the path leads on towards another gated passage. Instead I head across a bridge leading to the top of a pillar of ice, where a pair of the Betrayed await us. Between us, they are dealt with swiftly, and I continue across a second bridge and into a cavern where the ice slopes down into the water.
Curiously, I test the water, and find it to be quite warm – compared to the ice surrounding us, anyway. I can see, through the murky depths, a passage underwater, and I leap into the water and swim towards it.
I should be quite weighed down by my armour, but it is surprisingly buoyant, and swimming into a submerged chamber in which several drowned white bodies float is far easier than I expected it to be. Swimming onwards through the next passage, I can feel my breath running out just as I reach the next area. I surface and, taking a few deep breaths, realise I have swum back the way I came and am now back in the first chamber.
Preparing to swim back, I realise that Serana had followed me, and is now giving me such a glare I swear I can feel holes being bored into me. I swim past her and dive down into the passage, struggling not to roll my eyes.
We are soon back at the 'room' with the bridges, and I head back across the chitin and through the passage, to emerge in a smallish chamber with a single hut inside. There is nothing inside it, so I continue past, through yet another short passage, deal with another of the unfortunate creatures that inhabit the place and find myself at the top of the first cavern.
"I don't like the look of this…" Serana mutters behind me.
Ahead of us, I can see a single hut, a couple of the Betrayed and another passage. I walk along the wide ledge carefully – the only thing giving me any grip on the ice is the thin covering of snow. The journey across the space is as easy as the journey through the rest of the caverns was, and we are soon through the last passage and back out into the cool air of the Vale.
The sun still shines, casting its light onto quite a collection of Falmer constructions; chitin huts atop stilts with many ramps leading to and between them. Directly to my left is an interesting gap, which upon exploring I discover leads to a pair of the Betrayed guarding a gateway to a large area, at the back of which I can just see the hairy hide of another Frost Giant. Serana takes out one of the white-skinned elves, I slay the other, and together we sneak through the gate and towards the giant.
Suddenly, Serana straightens up, raises her dagger and charges the beast. What is with this woman? The giant turns, takes two steps towards her rapidly approaching figure and slams its club into the ground just in front of her. She ricochets off into the sky, soaring straight up so far she disappears from view. I don't think even a vampire could survive that. Her slim form reappears and lands with an audible thud a few feet from me. She doesn't move.
I raise my bow and start shooting as fast as I can, not letting the enormous furred form come anywhere near me, and soon the arrows and the fiery enchantment cast by the bow serve to overwhelm and slay the giant.
I dash over to Serana's prone form, and sigh with relief as she turns onto her stomach and heaves herself upright. Wishing I was as tough as her, I loot the corpse of the giant before looking around the area, spotting multiple veins of what looks like quicksilver ore scattered across the snowy ground.
I almost can't help myself; I mine out all of the ore that I can – my bag is starting to feel a little weighed down now, didn't think that was even possible – and head back towards the Falmer village.
The inhabitants are as pleased to see us as I expected, throwing us a huge party where the main event is a messy, bloody brawl ending with us victorious. Each of the many huts has something inside worth taking, and in the highest of the lot is an alchemy lab, which I use to my advantage, turning the massive heap of ingredients I'd collected into a not so massive pile of potions and poisons. I decide I may as well use the poisons, resolving to try to taint each shot before firing, and continue along the ramps and through a narrow gap in the rocky cliffs surrounding us into the next section of the village.
It's quieter here, and I can see why – tucked into a small corner are a trio of the chaurus' cocoons. While Serana focusses on a single twisted elf, I shoot each of the pods, watching with satisfaction as they burst from the pressure inside suddenly being released. Looking up, I count the stars I can see, and decide I can see far too many of them.
The nearest hut will do well enough for shelter. At least these huts are big enough for us both to fit into.