~ Chapter 7 ~
Interlopers
It didn't take long for her to hear the sound of crunching and snarling, the scraping of claws against stone.
She waited for a few minutes, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from, while her mage-light grew dim and eventually faded.
Luz tried not to worry that each casting seemed to last less and less. She tried not to think about her sweaty palms, the smell of blood on the walls.
She paused at the end of the winding hallway, her simple boots trying to not slip on the blood pools, let along the torso at the bottom.
It didn't have a head or arms.
Luz wasn't sure what kept pushing her forward, what demanded one foot in front of the other.
The man's words - his wager - were certainly there. Even touching the thorny staff for that moment had sent shocks up her arms. She could feel the soft, tough wood on her hands, the power pulsing in its grain.
But she had also wanted to join Eda from the start. Keep her safe, watch her back.
Though it didn't seem like she needed it.
Luz didn't know a lot about magic. Basically the prosaic language use in her books to describe the Champion in combat. But this carnage didn't seem like the magic she'd read about in her books. It didn't seem like Eda.
Her magelight had gone out, and only the smoldering embers of ancient braizers gave minimal light.
She adjusted her grip on the mace, the leather handwrap sticking to her moist palms, and stepped over the dismembered body.
The snarling, rasping howls were coming from a room ahead. One doorway had been grown over, but the other showed signs of something big having forced it's way through.
Luz peeked around the corner and gagged.
The room was filled with spider webs and broken egg sacks. Dim moonlight filtered in from the tunnel above, giving the scene an eerie, silver hue.
A giant spider lay on the floor, its legs curled inward, as big as their caravan.
A creature was perched on its underside, digging into the exoskeleton, ripping out chunks of green-white meat.
It was grey and brown, with great wings that curled over the kill, clawed hands and feet ripping and tearing into the spider.
Luz breathed, steadying herself. This wasn't her frist monster, but definitely worse than that time imps got into the kitchen.
She peaked around the archway again, and swallowed hard.
The beast had stopped, and was cocking its head in her direction.
Big yellow eyes stared at her, a soft clicking coming from its throat, the owl-like head remaining motionless as the body turned to follow the head.
I'm dead, Luz thought.
The creature crawled off the spider, wings shifting, eyes locking onto Luz.
An ern tipped, sending its lid crashing to the ground.
Luz ducked back around the corner, even as the owl-beast stopped, whipping toward the sound.
She saw a man - a dunmer, clad in leather and furs - try to slide back into his hideyhole, just as the owl-beast hurled itself upward, diving down with a scream, breaking the ern under a half-dozen talons.
The dark elf, whoever he was, had managed to crawl around toward the spider, and Luz realized suddenly that there was a doorway just beyond.
Something gold glimmered on his belt, and Luz gasped as she spotted Lucan's dragon claw.
The owl-beast swung in her direction, a screaming snarl ripping from its throat as it reached for her.
Luz didn't think so much as react.
She threw her mace up to defend herself, and felt claws rake it out of her grasp, sending her sprawling.
The man laughed as he bolted out the doorway.
"Fool! That power is all mine," he yelled back, vanishing down the tunnel.
Luz didn't have time to wonder what he was going on about, as she rolled away from the beast's claws.
It had jammed itself into the archway trying to get her, dislodging several blocks along its way.
Now it was snarling, mere feet from her, claws tearing at the stones.
She needed an out, and the tunnels looked like they were getting smaller the further into the barrow she went.
And then there was Eda. She must be deeper in.
She couldn't leave her, not with this murderous creature so intent on everything's blood.
The beast had recoiled, and with an evil look, started to fold itself through the doorway, it's huge eyes locked on Luz.
Its eyes…
Luz covered her own, prayed to whoever was listening, and shouted, "Light!"
There was an eruption of painful, baleful light, that reached the back of Luz's eyes, even when they were closed and covered by her arm.
Tears streaming down her face, Luz forced herself to look at the beast.
It had recoiled, screaming in pain, falling back into a pile of rubble and flailing limbs.
Luz didn't wait for it to even stop falling before she was stumbling, half-blind, into the room, running for the door.
She skidded on putrid-green spider blood and tripped down the stairs beyond, falling half-way down and rolling to a stop against a stone wall.
Groaning, Luz stood, and perked her ears.
There was thrashing and screeching from above, the sounds of bones and stone breaking.
She stopped listening, heading off down the narrow stairs, hoping that the thing would just give up and eat the spider.
Pain shot up her leg before she'd gone more than a pace, forcing her to hug the wall and slide down it, fresh tears springing to her eyes.
She sank down to the dusty floor and grasped her staff.
"Light."
The amber crystal remained dull.
Luz groaned again and placed it on the ground next to her. She tried to force her eyes to adjust to the dimmer light, so she could see if she'd sprained her ankle or broken it, when a loud crash echoed down the hall.
Luz froze, waiting to hear the sounds of the owl-beast-thing charging down the passage way for her, and it took a moment to realize it had come from deeper in the temple.
She started to make out dull shapes in the dark, when a flickering blue light appeared, followed by another.
And another pair.
And another.
A low, primal panic started to grip Luz's heart. There was something… wrong about the lights, on a level she didn't even need to think about.
A low growl echoed up from the lights as they started to trudge toward Luz.
"Volaan… volaan…"
The voice rose, joined by others as more of the ghost-lights bloomed along the walls.
"Dir volaan!"
Luz grabbed for her staff, feeling its power ebb as she touched it.
There was nothing left.
Instead, she raised it up, seeing a hulking, desiccated corpse shamble out of the darkness, the wicked and ancient axe it was carrying hauling back for a swing.
She braced for the blow that would certainly kill her, if not cleave her in half.
There was a deep, thrumming crack, and dark swirling energy sprang into the space between Luz and the undead. The axe connected with something solid before it had even stepped out of the portal, but the massive stone that came hurling out of the black mist was realized enough to send the draugr flying.
Luz looked up at the stone giant that now filled the hallway, electricity dancing off its body, making her hair stand on end.
"Go on, Stormy. Break them."
Luz whipped around to see Eda - clutching a staff and the wall, hobbling down the stairs - even as the atronach cracked like thunder and rumbled toward the shouting undead.
"Eda? But-?"
"Not now, kid," Eda snapped, coming to rest next to Luz. "That took a lot out of me."
Luz watched as Eda's long fingers dug into her own palm, and a flow of blood spilled forth, churning into a red glow before turning to a blue mist.
Straightening, she met eyes with one of the draugr that had slipped around the atronach and - magic blood still spilling from one hand - leveled her other finger at the undead.
A blaze of fire engulfed it, charring its skin and blasting the ghost-light from its eyes.
Another wriggled by the whirling storm of rock and lightning, its fellows dashed against the walls and ceiling by the atronach, and swung for Eda, when fire enshrouded it as well, torching it down to the bone.
There was a grinding crack, and lightning lit the hallway, illuminating half a dozen undead, clad in moldering armor and hefting rusted, black iron weapons.
The lightning tore through them, jumping from one to another and another, sending the first two back, fires burning in their dry flesh, while the next few fell to their knees, coughing and gasping in that echoing, dry tone.
Eda stood, raising her hand again and snapped her fingers, blood evaporating into blue sparks before it dribbled from her wrist. Fire tore into another draugr, and another, as fast as she could put her fingers together.
The other hand flexed around the staff, blue light flickering along its edges and between her fingers.
"Get down," she said, grasping the staff with both hands and whirling it overhead, planting it with a boom that exploded with a blast of lightning that took the last few draugr in the chest, throwing them back.
Darkness returned to the tomb, the dim glow from the whirling stones of the atronach the only light.
"Whoa," Luz said to the darkness, hearing Eda fumbling around in a bag. "That was-"
"A waste of good magicka." Fire flared to life as Eda held up a torch. "What are you doing here? Where's Martin? Are you alright?" Her eyes focused in the light, red and watery, picking out Luz's staff in her hands. "And where did you get a staff?"
Luz was about to respond when she noticed the cuts on Eda's wrists and arms, red mixing with caked green.
The tears cutting clean lines through the green grime on her face.
"Eda?" Luz tried to back away, hissing at the pain in her ankle even as her back met the stone of the wall. "Were you… that owl-thing?"
There was a rumbling from the atronach - something like a rockslide and a distant thunderstorm.
"I don't need your input on this," Eda said, but she took a step back and knelt. "Go home."
Another rumble, punctuated by a crash of thunder.
"No, you have not fulfilled your bargain. Six draugr? And I did most of the work still."
The atronach grumbled, but vanished into a gleam of purple and black smoke, fading away - rocks and thunder and all.
This left Eda and Luz in the firelight, staring at each other.
"You first," Eda said.
"No," Luz said. "You."
"I'm your teacher," Eda started, but Luz pointed to the caked spider blood on her hands.
"You were a giant wereowl thing, eating a giant spider carcass and also tried to eat me. I don't think it was intentional, but you definitely get to go first."
Eda sighed, but sat down. "At least drink this," she said, fishing out a small bottle of red liquid. "Your ankle is swelling bad. Two good swigs should do it."
She leaned heavily on her staff, closing her eyes. "I mentioned, that I've had dealings with Daedra. Most of it was practiced and intentional. Basic stuff. Sumoning days and beseechments for knowledge.
"But one of them… was not on my list.
"Hircine. Lord of Beasts and the Hunt. Not really something you seek out as a mage - especially when our sister works for the Thalmor."
"So who does?"
"Drink," Eda ordered.
Luz unstoppered the bottle and sniffed it. "Does it taste as bad as it smells?"
"Yes. Be thankful its not worse."
Luz took a pull, gagged, spilled some down her front and coughed. "Ugh, it's like… pureed meat and dirt but… ugh, oily."
"It is derived from skeever trimmings and blisterwort," Eda said, shrugging. "But it does you up nicely."
Luz looked down at her ankle, where a soft golen glow could be seen under her skin. "Whoa."
"Very." Eda put her chin in her hand. "So, when I was out venturing in my younger years, I studied with a powerful Green Mage, in Valenwood. Friend of my father's. During my time there I was attacked and almost killed by a werevulture. Nasty things. My teacher begged for Hircine's intervention. I got stuck with an owl instead."
"Is there a difference?" Luz handed the potion bottle back to Eda. "No offense, but…"
"There is, actually," Eda said, taking the potion and knocking the rest back. "Hircine implied that if I ever could control the beast, it would serve me well. Vultures are scavangers. The were-ness of a curse merely enhances that is already there. For them, there is a mindless desire to cause death and feast upon it. The owl only hunts what it needs. If I'm careful about it, I can summon it up, use it. As long as I do it once a month. Otherwise, it will let itself out to feed."
"So… when you attacked me-"
Eda looked away. "I'm sorry, Luz. To be fair, I had told you to stay away from here. The bandits weren't enough to sate the thing, but the spider was. Just… startled it is all. Kinda the difference between steamed cabbage and fresh steak and ale pie. Which would you rather eat if given the chance?"
Luz swallowed hard, the after taste of the potion mixing with the nervous bile in her throat. "Glad to hear you speak so easily about it."
"What do you want me to do, huh?" Eda's voice wasn't mad though, merely resigned. "I've had to live with the curse for years. It's cost me more than one friendship, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave. Once we're done here. I'm not climbing that mountain twice."
"I don't want that," Luz said, putting pressure on her foot. No pain at least. "Just… wish you'd said something."
"Well… I guess you know now."
"Does Martin?"
"Gods, no," Eda said shaking her head. "He'd ask me to bite him so he could be one too. Little savage."
Luz laughed a little and stood. "Alright. Well, don't worry. Your secret's safe with me, teacher."
"Hang on," Eda said, stopping Luz with her staff before she could go any further. "We aren't done talking."
"We aren't?" Luz asked, nervously.
"Staff."
"Yours is very nice."
"Yours is too," Eda said, smirking. "Where did you get it?"
"I took Martin to the inn and there was a wizard there-"
"Luz," Eda said, putting her face in her hand.
"And he said that you wouldn't tell me that I was a puddle and you were an ocean-"
"What?"
"And then he gave me a staff but it looked different-"
"Different?" Eda stepped infront of Luz and put a hand to her mouth. "Luz, stop. Different how?"
Luz muttered something and Eda rolled her eyes, took her hand away and gestured for Luz to proceed.
"It looked like a rose bud, but a giant one. With thorns."
"What did the wizard look like?"
"I don't know. Tall, dark hair, handsome, black robes."
"Oh," Eda groaned, putting her head in her and. "Luz… how? How are you this good at finding trouble?"
"Eda? I… I don't understand…"
"No," Eda said, shaking her head. "No, I'm sorry. This isn't your fault. But this is it, Luz. There is no way back if I tell you this. You're in for the haul with me." The witch drew herself up and put her hands on Luz's shoulders. "Are you sure? Do you want to learn from me?"
"Of course," Luz said, a little bit of pride shining through the nerves with a smile. "I thought I already was."
"Luz, you made a deal with the Daedric Prince Sanguine."