Topping the path up the mountains, we found ourselves at a campsite; I could see a large tent containing two bed rolls, ready for those on guard duty. But the camp had been abandoned a while ago, and no one was protecting the site. In front of the tent was an old, long-extinguished campfire; the charred logs were frosted by weather and cold nights. Nearby were a pair of wooden doors, typical of the type used in mines throughout Skyrim.
Inside the tent were a war axe, a pair of steel cuffed boots, a couple of apples, an apothecary's satchel, and a journal. I frowned, picking up the journal and eyeballing the pile of possessions. This was good equipment for a guard and far too expensive to abandon to the elements. No guard worth his salt would go wandering somewhere without suiting up. The snow on the ground was fresh and smooth; there were no prints from anyone who might have wandered off-site. I would have to guess that the guards had gone inside for some unknown reason… but had not come back out in days.
That in itself made me concerned; Serana's steady supply of blood from bandits was a testament to how risky it was to leave anything unattended. Unless you were far from all roads and paths, the likelihood that your belongings would be unmolested was somewhere between Ulfric's chances at the chopping block, and a snowflake's chance in Oblivion.
Flipping open the journal, I found the writings of a man named Volk.
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Day 14
I knew I should have volunteered for the excavation earlier. For months, Moric had been going on about detecting mystical energies deep in the east mountains. Said he'd found some old tomes about the ruins of "Ruunvald," or something of the like, a Nordic chamber thousands of years old. I remember thinking "Yeah, if it's so old, how come no one's found it yet? There's plenty of adventurers wandering around these parts."
Seemed like most of the other Vigilants agreed that we had more important things to do. But Moric took a team and went digging, and when he started turning up a long-buried temple, well, didn't I feel like a troll in a dung heap?
Soon enough, he was sending back letters to the Hall, begging for as many men as we could send. I didn't volunteer at first; it still seemed like a myth to me. But when word came back that they'd hit the main chamber, I packed up and headed this way to help. Always did want to be a part of history, and better late than never, they say.
Well, 'they' didn't mention that the latecomers would be stuck with guard duty. I sit up here all day, watching for bandits and wolves, neither of which I've seen. Mostly I just see diggers coming up for supplies. Gotta say, I been seeing them a lot less regular, now that I think about it...
Day 19
All right, it's been three days since anyone's come up. The last one to emerge was Apa, and he just walked around a bit with a weird vacant look in his eyes. Told Florentius and me to come down as soon as we had the chance, then trudged back in.
Something ain't right, and I aims to find out what...
.
I handed the journal to Serana to read, and she raised her eyes to mine with the same concerned look. The 'weird vacant look' in the eyes of this Apa person set the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. It also didn't take a genius to piece together that a large group of Vigilants were somewhere in this place, having left the Hall with fewer people to protect it… and now the Hall had fallen.
The door to the excavation opened easily under my hand, and we entered as quietly as we could. We found ourselves in a mining tunnel descending into the earth. It led down to a wooden ramp, which followed down the wall of a large chamber.
Up ahead, I spotted a figure, and cautiously approached. The light from a nearby torch revealed one of the Vigilants of Stendarr, standing facing away from us at the entrance to another tunnel opposite.
"Hello?" I called to the man warily.
"Is someone there?" he turned to face me, and I felt my stomach go queasy as he did. A strange cloud of wispy red light swirled around his face, and the eyes that stared at me were vacant.
"Uh, hi there. My name is Lasirah and-" I managed to get out, but the man whipped out a crossbow and took aim. I lurched to one side and felt the wind whistle past me as a crossbow bolt embedded itself in the earthen wall where I had been standing.
"Wait!" Serana shouted, "We're not your enemies!"
The man didn't respond, mechanically reloading his crossbow again. There were three loud, angry barks and something large and furry hit me as I struggled to get to my feet. I fell backward and threw my arm up to protect my throat as a black and white husky leaped onto me, latched on, and started shaking.
Serana hit the man with a bolt of shock magic. The Vigilant was knocked backward into the wall, which seemed to stun him as I kicked the dog off of me. It yelped and stumbled back, allowing me to get to my feet again. The dog growled viciously, sinking into a wolf-like crouch as I reluctantly drew my sword. I didn't want to kill it; it was just a dog after all, and all it knew was that its master was under attack. Like any good, loyal hound, it was trying to protect its human.
"Back!" I barked at the dog, "Bad dog! Sit! Stay!"
The dog growled deep in its throat, not at all inclined to take orders from me. The tunnel was too narrow for it to circle, so it paced in front of me, looking for a gap in my guard.
"Lasirah! Left!"
I sidestepped, and a moment later a ball of aqua-colored light flew past me and hit the dog right in the face.
The animal made a confused grumbling sound and pawed at its face for a moment before sitting back on its haunches and whining in a puzzled sort of way.
"Serana what in Oblivion did you just…?"
"Pacify;" Serana explained, "low-level illusion spell. It will keep Rover here calm for a while. I hate to say it, but we don't have enough rope to hogtie a large dog and all the Vigilants too, so I thought..." She gave me a what-can-you-do shrug.
"I'll take it," I agreed, trying to ignore the way my skin crawled. It wasn't Serana's fault that most Illusion spells used an aqua-colored light. It also wasn't her fault that Vampire Seduction was part of that branch of magic.
I dragged the still-stunned Vigilant into a sitting position and pried his eyelids open one at a time to look into them. They were glassy and unfocused, with the creepy red light still swirling around him.
"Let me guess," I said grimly, "Not vampire related, but definitely magic related."
Serana knelt next to me and studied him intently, "Yeah. Illusion branch of magic, but usually only spells like Fear or Fury have this kind of red glow."
"Fury sounds about right," I muttered. "Okay so we don't want to kill him and we don't want him attacking us again. What do we do?"
Serana chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, then said, "They're under someone's control, and attack on sight. Those kinds of spells have a specific weakness; 'out of sight, out of mind.' If we can sneak past these Vigilants, we'll be in the clear. He'll mutter about us having been run off, and go back to whatever it was that he was doing, as long as we're gone by then."
I gave a slow nod, "Sounds good. But, uh, keep that Pacify spell handy, okay?" A thought occurred to me and I grimaced. Everything inside me wanted to freak out over the possibility. Wanted to avoid it. Didn't even want to think about the chance of it. But I had to face it. And I needed to be straightforward with her. "Hey, um… I know accidents can happen so… if you hit me with the spell… just… keep me safe and alive till it wears off, okay?"
My companion's glowing eyes were solemn as she nodded, "I'm going to try really hard not to let that happen. But if it does, I'll take care of you till it's over."
"That's all I can ask," I tamped down hard on the urge to gibber mindlessly at the idea.
We hurried onward, leaving the placid dog to sit by his master until he woke up. A bit further in, we found another journal, written in a different hand from the one outside.
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Discovering Ruunvald, Vol. I
by Moric Sidrey
I have decided to document our expedition to find Ruunvald in my journals. It is my hope that, should we fail, it will bring illumination to those who follow us. I myself have stood on the shoulders of academic giants to get where we are today: spending endless hours in libraries and private collections. I am certain that there is some artifact of great power in those ruins, one that the Vigilants could find useful in their mission.
I do not mean to sound pompous, but I feel as if I am on the precipice of my destiny with this quest. I am certain we are digging in the right place. I can feel it in my bones, and I dream of finding Ruunvald at night. Even in my waking hours, I can almost hear a reassuring voice telling me we are going the right way.
The expedition has had a great deal of luck so far. After only a few weeks, the first tunnel broke through into a large shaft, leading down toward where I suspect to find Ruunvald. With just a few bits of carpentry, we've established our first base camp within the mountains. If we continue to be this fortuitous, we will reach our goal in record time!
.
Moric. The one mentioned by the guard, Volk. The expedition leader. The one who seemed to have come here first, following clues found in ancient texts. But now that he was here, he was having dreams and hearing voices.
The thought made my skin crawl. I could feel myself settling into a level of alertness usually reserved for stalking vampires in the middle of the night when they were wide awake. If I started hearing voices, or got the urge to pick up a pickaxe and start mining away at the walls at random, I planned to be alert and aware of it creeping into my thoughts.
We moved through the tunnels, watching where we placed our feet, and careful not to knock anything askew. It was difficult, and Serana was better at it than I was, so I had her take the lead, and did my best to mimic her stealthy tread. We managed -partly through luck, partly thanks to the fact that the Vigilants weren't exactly good at keeping the place well-lit- to bypass several Vigilants with no troubles.
We eventually came upon a second journal that detailed the progressing excavation efforts, but also a worrying increase in strangeness:
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Discovering Ruunvald, Vol. II
by Moric Sidrey
Our luck continues! Not only do we continue to tunnel into caves and shafts that speed our descent, but struck several veins of precious ore. Now that the excavation has proven to be a financial success, the Vigilants have sent more supplies, materials, and workers to further the cause. I find myself unable to contain my glee at times, and have become prone to cheerful outbursts in front of the men. One might find this very out of character for me, but the men seem to share my enthusiasm.
Never before have I worked with a group so single-minded in their pursuit. To have so many people working towards the same goal with little to no deviation from the task at hand is an uncanny blessing! Stendarr be praised!
With so much going well, I hesitate to document what seems like minor troubles in comparison. It must have something to do with the cramped spaces, but I have found myself prone to headaches now that we're a few weeks into the dig. While these hardly deter me from my leadership role, I have found myself distracted at times.
Nearly a month in, and I have had many conversations with the workers where I drift off, only to have them call me back to reality. Sometimes I lose small amounts of time and can't remember what I've done. I am hoping this is nothing more than the excitement of reaching our goal, but I will try to keep note as we dig deeper.
Perhaps a half tankard of ale before sleep will help me with these headaches.
.
I felt a small surge of relief after reading the journal. The magic that had taken hold of the Vigilants was not instantaneous; it had taken months to take complete control of the people here. Though it did worry me that the guard who had been outside, Volk, had come in and had never left. If his comrades had not killed him, how had he been taken control of?
He had to have seen the glow about his companions. If he had not bolted immediately, perhaps he had tried to delve deeper to find the source. And what about Florentius? Was he enthralled too?
The third journal of Moric Sidrey was even further inside, and a name popped up for the first time that caught my attention.
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Discovering Ruunvald, Vol. III
by Moric Sidrey
The damnable headaches! Minorne be merciful, I just can't seem to shake them. The workers have started to report them as well. While their focus on conversation and civility may wane because of it, they have not swayed from their task.
If anything, they seem to have doubled their efforts. I myself cannot seem to focus on anything other than the dig. I sit here now, studying some unearthed Nordic artifacts, yet I feel a nagging call to see how the dig is progressing. The other day without thinking, I picked up a shovel and started digging, myself.
Fortunately, no one seemed to find this unusual, which is a blessing. I'd hate for the Vigilants of Minorne to think that I'd lost my senses!
As we dig, we uncover more Nordic ruins and architecture, but have yet to hit the main chamber. Every day I dream we'll finally reach Ruunvald, and I can't help but reflect on what this will mean to my reputation!
My family will be so proud, especially my father, Minorne. He and mother have always been interested in my studies, even if my sister Minorne was not. But I'm most excited to reveal my findings to my colleagues, Minorne and Minorne, and perhaps my mentor Minorne. Oh, won't they all be pleased?
.
"Minorne," Serana breathed into my ear in a quiet alcove, "That's an Altmer name."
I nodded, rolling my eyes in disgust. It's no surprise that an elven supremacist is enslaving humans. Out loud, I said, "How much do you want to bet that this Minorne person got hold of some sort of tool or artifact and took control of these people using it?"
"Makes sense. I wonder what they are trying to get out of this place."
"Don't know," I shrugged, then scowled; "don't particularly care either. Let's blast the hag, and see if we can't free these people."
We made our way to another tunnel filled with crates, barrels, and sacks, with two pillars of earth and rock supporting the ceiling.
Serana came to an abrupt stop and gestured forward. Just a few feet ahead was a pair of pressure plates set in the earth, positioned on either side of the first pillar.
Taking great care, we stepped around them and peered into the shadows around us for the trap. I spotted it; crossbows were mounted on the ceiling and the wall to the right. They were aimed to skewer anyone unlucky enough to trigger them. A third pressure plate, where the tunnel narrowed, would have triggered crossbow bolts from two mounted crossbows directly ahead. I had to wonder who, among these enslaved people, had thought to set traps for anyone coming in.
The next section of the tunnel began to show signs of a Nordic barrow and a large chamber had a wooden bridge suspended across.
Several charmed Vigilants were wandering around nearby. Any fighting we got into was likely to involve several of them converging on us. We ultimately had to wait and watch their movements before we could time our crossing.
Several more tunnels wound and twisted through the barrow, and we had several near misses. Finally, we found a passage with Nordic architecture leading to doors marked "Ruunvald Temple." Just before the doors was yet another journal.
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Discovering Ruunvald, Vol. IV
by Moric Sidrey
I have found my muse and her name is Minorne. Reading back over old journals, I realize she has called me from deep inside Ruunvald. She is the voice I've been hearing, the one who has called me ever downwards into the mountain.
The Vigilants, the workers, they hear her too! What joy to learn that I am not alone in her love! Oh, Minorne, how would we have ever found this place without you!
As I write this we are digging out the last bit of rock to get to you. Those without tools have started using their hands! I cannot write anymore, I must get back to work. Ruunvald awaits!
.
Through the door was a passage that angled to the left. On the corner was some sort of altar with an elk's skull and horns. Bracketed by candles on either side was a book entitled 'The Scripture of Minorne.'
.
by Moric Sidrey
Glory be to Minorne! Glory be to the mistress of all! My life for you, oh beautiful savior! Where once my feeble ramblings seemed so grand, I now realize they are but scratches on parchment, unworthy of you. Oh, that I could properly describe you, I would write a thousand testaments to you! Damn my tiny thoughts, if only I were wiser!
Minorne asks that we bring more here for her, more to worship her and do her bidding! I have sent word to the Hall of the Vigilants to come. A simple lie was told, for they would not understand. Not until they saw her, o glorious Minorne!
But she is fearful! There are fools in this world that do not heed her beautiful voice.
The priest, Florentius, sent from the Beacon, still prays to Arkay; an absentee god who pales in comparison to Minorne! I will pray to the goddess I can see! May he rot in his cage!
Oh, sweet, sweet, Minorne...
.
Well, that wasn't disturbing at all, I thought with a sarcastic grimace. But at least we know Florentius is here, and alive.
The passage descended a flight of stairs and entered a split-level room. An Altmer in a black mage's robe was at the far end of the room; that could only be Minorne. She gripped a long staff in her left hand as though it were some sort of lifeline. Wandering absently about the room were two charmed Vigilants.
Serana and I separated and struck down the two Vigilants in near silence, easing their unconscious bodies to the ground. Then I took careful aim, and fired an arrow into the elf's left shoulder.
An agonized scream burst from the elven woman, and Serana was a flicker of movement. Crossing the distance faster than the eye could track, she snatched the staff from the Altmer's failing grasp.
I knocked the elf flat with a blow to the backs of her knees, before putting a knee on the back of her neck to keep her down. With a single movement, I tugged the arrow free of the Altmer's shoulder, earning a barely stifled yelp of pain from her. Damn elf should be grateful it's a simple triangle of moonstone, instead of a daedric arrow. I thought, scowling down at her; I had seen what the trio of barbed prongs could do to flesh… and internal organs. It was why I didn't use them.
My companion inspected the staff with a critical eye, paying special attention to the aqua crystal attached to the business end.
"What can you tell me, Serana?" I asked after giving her enough time.
"It's the staff all right; it's controlling them. The good news is that with the Staff in my possession, they're not going to attack us. The bad news is…"
The Altmer laughed, "They will die when I do. So, what will you do, human filth? Imprison me, and I'll always be a threat. Kill me, and you kill all the Vigilants in this place."
I shared a look of mute horror with Serana.