We were able to pick our way through tunnels that bypassed some pretty ugly-looking cave-ins before coming to another large room with two levels. We were on the lower level, and J'darr's peeking around corners revealed a stone stairway leading up.
"I smell blood," Serana hissed, and I looked sharply around, before spotting a trail of dried blood. The blood trail led into a partially concealed tunnel beneath the second level. I guessed that this tunnel allowed the Dwemer to maintain their machines; it was lined with humming pipes and the occasional hissing jet of steam.
Now, it was the resting place of a Wood Elf named Endrast, a member of the expedition. His bloodstained journal lay beneath death stiffened fingers.
.
The eyeless creatures took us in our sleep. I don't know what happened to the Khajiit brothers, we never saw them in the cell. I managed to pick the lock and we made a break for it, but got split up. Sulla yelled something about not leaving without finding what he came here for and Umana chased after him.
Yag and I tried for the top of the cave shaft, but one of the ramps got shattered by some sort of cave-in. The damn eyeless freaks were closing in on us. Without hesitation, she grabbed me by the scruff of my tunic, threw me atop the ledge, and told me to run.
And I did. I didn't even look back. I just ran like a coward. I could hear her fighting them and I just had to get away. I didn't even notice the arrow in my shoulder till I hid here.
Metal creatures are roaming around on the second floor and I'm too terrified to even move.
My whole back is burning… I think they poisoned the arrow. Divines, please just take me now...
.
I gave J'darr a sad look, "The team didn't abandon you or your brother, J'darr. It looks like the expedition was ambushed. You two got missed because your beds were in a completely different tunnel.
The cat bowed his head and slowly nodded, "Then we will find Yag's body somewhere further along. She was a good Orc. Hard. Tough. No nonsense. But she stood up for us. Made it clear that she knew we had not harmed our missing members. She was… She was…" he sniffed softly and rubbed his nose, "She was an Orc that Malacath would have been proud to know."
I nodded solemnly. Almost no one but the Orcs worshiped the Daedric Prince of Outcasts. No surprise, seeing as how ostracized the Orsimer race, as a whole, tended to be. Malacath valued personal strength and standing on one's own two feet. But if the Khajiit said that Malacath would be proud, then Yag would have died fighting; sacrificing her life in the hope that she was saving someone. That certainly made her worthy in my book, even never having known her.
Ascending the stairs, we found another oil slick, as well as a spider and a sphere roaming around. After disposing of them, we came across something new; egg sacks.
The things ranged between roughly knee-high, and mid-thigh. They were built on little platforms formed out of some sort of black… stuff, with hundreds of eggs glued into a cluster.
The three of us shared a look, probably all thinking the same thing. Fire flared in Serana's hands, and she proceeded to burn the sacks to char, with a nonchalant, "Oops."
"Accidents happen," I said, equally nonchalant.
J'darr shuddered. "This one does not wish to know what will hatch from those eggs. Likewise, this one does not wish to know how hungry a thousand tiny... whatevers... will be when they come out."
We found many egg sacks as we went along, each one suffering a tragic 'accident' at Serana's hands. I found it interesting that they lay unguarded. The journal had said that the ramp had been destroyed up ahead, but there should have been something or someone left with them. Why would the Falmer completely abandon an entire level of the citadel over a handful of adventurers? They would have had at least a few of their kind stationed around. Then it hit me…
Sounds of movement outside our room. Serana looking positively flushed the next morning. A now empty level… I felt a small rush of increased respect for my vampire companion. She's stealthy and deadly enough to silently dispose of anything with a heartbeat. And yet she avoided detection from the damned Dwemer machines.
Maybe that should have terrified me. If it had been anyone else, it probably would have.
We made our way along a ramp, where we discovered pressure plates. Some careful prodding and we found that it would trigger a spinning blade trap that came to about calf height. Thankfully we were able to flatten ourselves against the wall. The damn thing finished its course up and down the ramp a few times before retracting back into the slot in the ground, but it had been a close call. Being hamstrung in this place was not an option.
Eventually, we began to see structures that were definitely not Dwemer in make. Fences had been erected on the edges of ramps, leading down into a deep shaft. The pieces that were being used as a woven fence, had been harvested from something black and shiny ... and segmented.
Giant bugs. The words were whispered in my head from the place where nightmares liked to spawn. I repeated the words out loud for my companions and both just eyed the fencing and shuddered. "So, I'm putting forth a motion to the group. All in favor of killing every freaking thing down here?" I asked, raising my hand.
"Aye," came the chorused answer; no hesitation in raising a hand, from either of them.
Our battles so far had been short but intense. Machines from the Dwemer liked to pop out of the walls, and we got pretty good at cracking the things open and destroying their power sources. Now, I suspected, we were going to meet the nastier things that lived in this underground citadel. We followed the ramps down the shaft until we came upon a landing. The remnants of a ramp leading to the level below clung to one side of the landing, the ends having been smashed off with great force.
After some discussion, J'darr and I were able to find a pipe to tie the rope to, and we slid down one by one. An Orc woman lay sprawled on the remnants of the cave-in that had destroyed the ramp. Blood was splattered everywhere. She was covered in wounds, and sported no less than ten arrows protruding from her body. She had gone into a rage, and it had taken that many arrows to finally take her down. She really had fought to the death, as was the Orc way.
"Yag gra-Gortwog," J'darr murmured sadly, pronouncing the guttural name with the ease of familiarity. "I hope your death has pleased Malacath, and you now feast, drink, and fight with honor in his Ashen Forge."
"Lasirah," Serana called me over, and I finally got my first good look at a Falmer.
It was certainly humanoid; the arms and legs were in the right places. Through successive generations and whatever the Dwemer had fed them, the creature had been twisted in some distinct ways. It no longer had eyes… or more to say, if it did have eyes, they were sealed behind eyelids that no longer were capable of opening. The thing had no hair anywhere on its body, and its skin was pale to the point of near translucency. It had pointed ears, far longer than any elf I had seen.
Probably due to losing eyesight, I suspected, so their hearing would have become more important.
The mouth hung slack, and I could see a mouth full of sharp teeth. Carnivorous. Kin to the wood elves in that respect. Its nose had been reduced to oversized, snake-like slits. The body was gangly, with long feet and toes that were somewhat monkey-like, giving it some advantage in climbing through its subterranean home. It wore something like a loincloth, and little else. Even ignoring the fact that Yag had eviscerated, and then nearly decapitated it, it was a creepy sight to behold.
A hissing snarl below us brought us to the edge of Yag's final resting place, and we got to witness a brutal fight between a Falmer and a spider automaton. This Falmer was armored in more insectile pieces, and wielded what looked like a scythe formed out of a jagged insect leg. It was disturbingly good at avoiding the Dwarven spider's attacks, and retaliated with brutal efficiency. Within moments, the Falmer had destroyed the spider and kicked it off the ramp, letting it tumble into the darkness below. The electrical explosion erupted safely below where the Falmer crouched. These subterranean people knew how to dispatch them without being zapped.
"Okay," Serana breathed into our ears as we eased back from the edge, "Does anyone have a plan?"
"Big ears," J'darr whispered back; "good hearing. None of us are wearing heavy armor, but we are not the quietest team around. Sword fights will bring the entire tribe of them down on us."
"Agreed," I supplied. "J'darr, are you good enough to kill a Falmer with one shot? It's wearing armor, and a helmet."
The Khajiit frowned and peered over the edge again before shaking his head regretfully. "His helmet protects the upper half of his face. The lower half of his face and his neck are exposed, so if J'darr got him in the throat, he could not call out to his companions. The problem is, this one could not hit him accurately from up here; the angle is wrong. This one would have to be below him, and it is too risky to sneak past."
Serana chewed her lower lip thoughtfully, then drew her dagger, "I can do it. Just… don't judge me on my method, okay?"
I shrugged and spread my hands, "I'm willing to accept anything short of seducing him. Have at it."
The vampire's stifled laugh was as soft as the Khajiit's amused snort. "I promise I am not attracted to murderous, underground elves."
I gave her a playful smile and a small nod, "Glad to hear it. Go get 'em." I made a gentle shooing motion.
Serana turned and began her stealthy trek down the ramp toward where the Falmer crouched. Watching her, I had to admit that her stealth skills were damned impressive. There wasn't a whisper of sound as she seized the Falmer's chin, forced his head back, and cut his throat in a single, smooth stroke. The body tumbled soundlessly over the edge into the darkness below.
Letting Serana take the lead, a few more Falmer disappeared into the darkness the same way. Eventually, we came to a heavy door of metal and slid inside.