The dank, dark caverns smelled of rust and rot as Sylvi led the way deeper into the Thalmor base of operations. Old pieces of Dwemer ruins blocked the way but gave them cover. Sylvi turned to see Vilkas and Farkas keeping close to her. Vilkas gave her an uneasy look at the ruins. Unfortunately, ghosts were the least of their worries.
The Thalmor had been working with the Silver Hand to clear out the Dwemer ruins. Likely the Thalmor had agreed that the werewolves needed to be eradicated. After all, they believed that the Altmer were the superior race. No doubt the thought of giant humanoid wolves made them uneasy, and they didn't want the Imperials to have an edge. War with the Thalmor had started to become inevitable after the defeat of the Stormcloaks, and Alduin's defeat had made them grow wary of the Dragonborn. No doubt they were experimenting to unlock another source of power like the Eye of Magnus.
The Altmer were chanting in front of a glowing orb deep in the cavern. As Sylvi and Vilkas looked down, Sylvi looked for the best way to the Altmer. The stairs would be risky. Sylvi was hoping to bash in a few Thalmor skulls before the Altmer mages could fire at them with spells. Movement in a lower alcove caught her attention. Marcurio, Onmund, and Serana were just slightly in view.
Creeping down the side after Vilkas and Farkas, Sylvi ducked behind a rock as one of the Thalmor looked around the cavern. After a quick, nervous chat with his fellow mages, the uneasy mage went back to his chanting.
The sound of a door opening made Sylvi freeze. The Thalmor were discussing something heatedly amongst themselves. A familiar voice made Sylvi briefly peek around the boulder. Ondolemar argued with one of the other Altmer as the group approached the odd magical sphere. Heaviness settled in Sylvi's chest as she hid behind the rock. A hand on her arm made her look at Farkas, who watched her with worry. She took a deep breath and gave them a nod. Ondolemar was her friend… but also a Thalmor. He may not like what they are doing in this cave, but ultimately, he had no real power to change it.
Peeking over the rock, she met Serana's gaze and gave her the signal. If Sylvi was by herself, then she could probably sneak down before the Altmer had any idea she was here, but Vilkas and Farkas' heavy armor would give them away. Sylvi drew her mace and watched as Serana, Onmund, and Marcurio snuck closer. Preparing to summon an atronach to assist them, Sylvi closed her eyes and gathered her magicka. The sound of a dog barking made her open her eyes in fear. Barbas ran down from the other side of the cavern, barking at the Altmer before sinking his teeth into one of their necks.
"Damn you, Barbas!" Sylvi hissed before sliding down the side of the cavern.
Surprise was no longer an option. Sylvi's mace came down on one of the Altmer mages, and, unfortunately for him, robes weren't armor. A couple of hits made the Altmer crumple to the ground. Sylvi casted a ward to protect Vilkas from another mage. A hand grabbed onto her shoulder, and she turned to see Ondolemar's look of pain at her "betrayal". Sylvi threw his hand off of her and took a step back. More mages were coming out of the door behind Ondolemar.
"Fus Ro Dah!" Sylvi shouted, and Ondolemar's eyes widened as he was thrown backwards.
At her words, the odd orb in the middle started to glow. Sylvi felt a strange burning in her throat as she fell to the ground. The Altmer who had been arguing with Ondolemar approached with a look of glee.
"The Thalmor know how to deal with Talos worshippers! How does it feel, 'Dragonborn'?! No longer able to use your shouts?"
Sylvi looked at the Thalmor agent with rage and rasped, "Rii Vaaz Zol!"
The burning in her throat made her gasp for air, but it was enough to rip the soul out of the Altmer. After the body fell to the floor, the orb started to glow blood red. Before the Altmer could rise as an undead soldier, a stream of magicka pulled the body into the orb's center. As the body was absorbed, the orb began to grow in size.
Unable to speak, Sylvi used her magicka to summon a storm atronach. As it sent lightning at the orb, Sylvi began to fire arrows at the orb. It flashed with each hit, but Sylvi couldn't tell if it was even hurting the thing. A hand on her shoulder made her swing around and raise her mace. Ondolemar's face made her hesitate. He no longer even looked angry… if anything, he looked afraid.
"We need to leave! They have created a force too dangerous for mortal men… and perhaps even the Altmer."
A scream brought Sylvi's attention back to her friends, and she looked to them to see Vilkas and Farkas grabbing onto Serana's arms as the orb tried to drag her to it. The orb began to descend as Sylvi tore herself away from Ondolemar and ran to her friends. She summoned a Frost atronach to draw away its attention. With a jump, Sylvi swung her mace at the orb. An unearthly hiss came from it as odd writing appeared on it, but Sylvi was far too enraged to be scared. Bringing down the mace over and over, Sylvi held her ground as it tried to use magic to force her away. Fireballs came from Marcurio as he yelled for everyone to run. Sylvi noticed that the orb was more focused on pushing her back than defending itself.
Digging in her heels, she pushed forward as the orb's symbols turned blood red. Another swing of the mace cracked the orb, but a blast of wind sent the mace flying. Unable to reach into her bag, Sylvi punched the orb with her bare hand. There was a screech as the orb's surface started to crack. The orb was using all of its magicka to try to push her away, but she held her ground. Feeling hands on both of her shoulders made her glance beside her to see Vilkas and Farkas helping to keep her in place. With a grin of encouragement, Sylvi started wailing on the orb. Each impact caused the orb to crack more and more. Onmund, Serana, and Marcurio peppered it with spells to distract it. There was a loud crack, and the orb let out a scream as it shattered. A blast of energy spread out in the room, enveloping everyone in the room before the room started to shift around them. Farkas and Vilkas gripped onto her before they were suddenly blown back.
The world around Sylvi twisted as she felt someone's arms wrap around her. Everything went black. As she landed on the ground, she gasped and struggled to catch her breath. Sylvi turned and expected to see Vilkas or Farkas but instead saw Ondolemar. As he gasped for air on his side, Sylvi noticed something sticking out of his back. Arrows… Sylvi reached out her hand to heal him, but the magicka leaked out of him before the wounds could close. Blood seeped through his robes to the ground around him, and Sylvi quickly took off her bag to look for a healing potion. Maybe with both the potion and healing magic…
"Dragonborn…" Ondolemar gasped out.
Sylvi continued to frantically comb through her bag in a panic.
"Sylvi!"
Sylvi looked up from her bag to see him reach out a hand. His eyes pleaded with her, and she set down her bag and held his hand in hers. With a small smile and sigh, Ondolemar closed his eyes, and his hand went limp in hers. Tears streamed down Sylvi's face. A part of her couldn't believe it. She wanted to shout him awake, but she couldn't make a sound. So many people had been lost in the war… She couldn't take another one.
As his hand relaxed, Sylvi realized that he had been holding something. Sylvi gently turned his hand to see, and more tears fell down her face. An amulet of Talos… Why? Why did he have this? Didn't the Thalmor want to wipe out all worship of Talos? Sylvi had always assumed that they had melted the amulets of Talos. What did he mean by giving it to her? Was he trying to tell her something? What did it mean?
Looking at Ondolemar's dead body, she received no answer. As she clutched the amulet to her chest, she sat in the darkness… alone. Sylvie got off the ground and looked around. They were underneath a starry sky. Had the orb sent them somewhere? Despite the cold feeling in her heart, she felt… warm. Too warm for Skyrim. Sylvie looked around her to see that they had landed near the ocean, but the plants… they looked nothing like the ones in Skyrim… Had she somehow ended up in the Khajit's land?
Screams caught her attention, and she put on the amulet and picked herself up off the ground. The sound of metal clashing soon followed. After taking an enchanted ebony sword from her bag, she approached the fighting and kept a free hand to use spells. In the distance she could see fire and light reflecting off of armor. There was a woman surrounded by guards fighting off a group of men in leather armor, and the guards were losing. After a moment to catch her breath, Sylvi flung herself into the fray.
After catching the attention of what she assumed to be bandits, Sylvi quickly ran back, leading the men away from the woman and her guards. Turning around, she sent out a fireball. The men screamed in terror as the fireball exploded, encasing most of them in flames. Only one of the men survived the blast. Screaming at her in a language that she couldn't understand, he ran at her with a sword in hand, but Sylvi was much faster. She dodged the blade with ease. The man swung at her again and again in a fury, but she simply stepped out of the way each time. Deciding to end this quickly, she dodged once more before thrusting her blade straight through his torso. The man fell to the ground.
As Sylvi retrieved her blade from the man's corpse, the guards approached her with their weapons still drawn. The woman spoke to them in a foreign language before stepping closer to Sylvi. Noticing that Sylvi still looked confused and wary of the guards that she had just helped, the woman tried a different language. After looking Sylvi up and down, the woman asked, "Do you understand Common Tongue?"
Sylvi nodded in return. Her throat still burned too much to speak. The woman looked relieved as she had found common ground.
"I thank you for your assistance. Is there anything we can do in return?" the woman asked, and Sylvi turned toward the direction that she had come from.
Sylvi slowly led them to Ondolemar as the sun peeked over the horizon. Kneeling on the ground beside him, she wrote on the sand: "Friend. Protected me."
The woman's face softened, and she asked, "You would like to bury him?"
Sylvi shook her head and wrote, "Altmer burn dead. Take ashes home."
"And are you… an 'Altmer'?"
"No. Nord. From Skyrim."
The woman looked thoughtful and said in a low voice, "Skyrim… I have never heard of such a place… I can help you with your friend. There is a city near us, and we will help you take him there."
Sylvi bowed her head in gratitude before looking at Ondolemar. The sunlight revealed just how many arrows had been aimed at her. If not for him, she would be dead. The least she could do is bring him home. Sylvi carefully picked up her fallen friend, surprising the guards. After carrying around dragon bones and giant axes, an elf was barely an inconvenience.
The woman led her to a cart where Sylvi gently set him down. After a moment of silence from the strangers, the woman said, "I will also make sure you are paid… so long as we make it there safe."
Sylvi nodded. The guards that were with the woman were limping, and Sylvi could see blood seeping through their armor. It would most likely be Sylvi protecting the caravan. The woman jumped into the wagon and came back with a book and a piece of charcoal with a cloth wrapped around it.
The woman looked at Sylvi apologetically as she said, "This is all I have. It will be easier to see than the sand."
Sylvi took the book and charcoal and wrote, "Thank you."
The woman smiled and introduced herself, "I am Myrra… And your name?"
Sylvi considered using an alias. If any of the Thalmor had been sent with her, then they would most certainly be looking for her. Without her Voice, she was at a disadvantage. However… if any of her companions had been brought along, she would want them to find her. As she looked at Ondolemar's body, she found her answer.
"Sylvi."