Chapter 18: Extraordinary

Justiciar Erundil...

We were close. I could feel it. The map had led us to an abandoned cave, several miles away from the ruin of the Dwemer city. As we ventured forth through the darkness, the only light produced from my spells and the guard's torches, I noticed that there were pieces of stone, stone that didn't match the cave's interior. The stone glistened against the light; some were carved, some shaped.

There were several traps we had managed to pass through unscathed. Some, unsurprisingly, were set off by Corelas. Sometimes he was more of a fool than I gave him credit for, but he had talent and determination. That was one of the main reasons why I kept him around with me. If it weren't for those two characteristics, I would have sent him back to the Summetset Isle a long time ago.

The guards and Corelas were not aware of the creatures' presence, but I was. There was movement inside the rock. Another passage, perhaps. The creatures were up to something. They did not wish to kill us, no; there was something about us that had their interest. It was like our interests were intertwined and we were leading them to whatever it was that they wanted.

Several hours later we had come to a dead end. The way was blocked by a wall of rock and stone.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Corelas muttered more to himself than to me.

He was always so quick to give up. "Have I taught you nothing?"

He was taken aback by my outburst, his tired eyes widened and mouth open.

"All this time, Corelas, I have taught you that patience is the key, but you choose to wander blindly. You must be patient or else you will fail," I sighed and tiredly rubbed my forehead.

I learned that the hard way.

"Quiet, Erundil. Do you want us to get caught?" my old master said once; his voice low and barely above a whisper.

I was but an apprentice at that time, little older than two hundred years. My father, a proud and powerful citizen of Alinor, had allowed me to start my training as a member of the Thalmor. I remembered it with pride, becoming a Thalmor was nothing short of the greatest honor.

It was several months after my training. My master, Mithriil, one of the oldest and wisest of the Thalmor order, had decided to bring me along on one of his missions. We were to intercept a group of Bosmers that were said to have stolen a large sum of gold from Sunhold. We were tasked to retrieve it.

Though, something went terribly wrong and we were forced into an abandoned fort. The Bosmers were not only thieves, but a group of mer split off from the province of Valenwood. I had forgotten what they were named.

It was the two of us, two against sevens. The Bosmer were highly skilled, agile and clever. Even with our magic, we were no match. Of course, being as naive as I was and lacked the experience age gave me; I was all too willing to fight them.

"Master, we cannot stay here forever," I said, the magic in my hands sprang to life at the idea of battle. "We can take them. They are nothing compared to us!"

He grabbed me roughly by the shoulders and forced me against the wall. When I managed to focus, I saw an arrow head lodged into the rock. It was then that I realised my recklessness had led one of the Bosmer to our whereabouts.

Master Mithriil put his finger to his lips and surveyed the windows and walls.

He crept over to one of the broken stairways and managed to hoist himself up. For an elder, he was surprisingly stealthy.

I was so focused on him that I hadn't noticed the Bosmer behind me until it was too late. An arrow pierced my side, and even though I fought against the mer, he had managed to inflict several wounds to my torso and stomach.

I remembered flashes of red, orange and yellow. The heat missed me by a few inches. The fire surrounded the Bosmer. He screamed out in agony, dropped his bow and fell to the ground, his eyes devoid of life.

"Are you alright, apprentice?" my master called as he rushed over.

I managed to stand, but not for long. "I... ah!"

"Come on, we better get you back to Alinor."

"The other Bosmer-"

"We will have to hurry. They would have heard the scream, but if luck is with us, perhaps we can make it before they find us."

He was wrong. They did find us but we were too far for them to catch us. But, their archery skills were legendary and they proved that that day. An arrow pierced my master's heart, and he died almost instantaneously.

I knew I would have perished if I had stayed with him, and so I left. But, I learned that day that patience was key, or else death could be the price to pay.

Corelas never knew that tale. Perhaps one day I would tell him it, but not then. We had work to do.

I observed the wall more closely. It had been constructed by someone to keep something out, or to prevent us from going in.

"Master Erundil," Corelas called from his place. "I think you may want to see this."

I curiosly wandered over to him and kneeled before the rock.
"Markings," I muttered and looked back at the map. I then took out the text from the Dwemer ruin and placed it on the ground.

Interesting. Some of the text matched some of the carved symbols in the stone. Just as I was about to read the carving, my spell disappeared.

"Hmm, you know I'm sure we can still read this in the dark," Corelas remarked from beside me.

I ignored him and redid the spell. Surprisingly, some of the markings lit up when near the source of light. The magic wound round my finger and I touched one of the symbols.

It lit up with a faint blue hue. Incredible.

I glanced between the map, text and carved stone.

'Sky,' 'snow,' 'lifeless,' 'cold' and 'mountain,' were the words that stood out. They related to the harshness of the land and what falmer used to be known for.

"Of course!" I exclaimed and rearranged the words.

"What is it?" Corelas asked curiosly.

I cleared my throat and spoke as I touched the symbols. "Beneath the sky, above the snow, where others would see lifeless and cold, we see truth. Our refuge beneath the mountain."

The ground beneath us shook violently and the wall lit up in blue and white lines. The lines created a shape, the falmer word for refuge, and with another blast of light the rock disappeared. In its place was a reflective surface, but it looked like water.

"It's a portal," Corelas said in surprise. "It has to be, like the one we came through when we were after the dragonborn."

"Indeed it is, but where does it lead to?"

Hesitantly, I pressed my hand against the glass-like surface. It was cool to touch. I felt the flow of energy within the portal. Great magic was at work there, the power that resinated from it was almost too much to comprehend. I took one last glance at Corelas before I allowed the portal to take me.

I took a deep breath, my eyes closed. I felt a cool breeze against my cheek and the sound of the wind howling through the mountain. My eyes flicked open.

"By Magnus' flaming pants, what in nirn did I just go through?"

I held my hand up for Corelas to be quiet. I took a step forward and marvelled the view we were met with.

In the distance laid stone archways and above those buildings attached to the mountain walls. Snow covered the majority of them, but smoke rose from the mountain's gap. I could hear the distant echo of drums and the chatter of people.

A smirk crept upon my face. We did it. We found them.