No, I'm not dead. I know it has been almost 5 months since the last chapter, but besides my college and gym, I took some time to write stories about other things as well, like one from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure that I posted some time ago on AO3, and others from Rainbow Six Siege, that I'm still working on. Like I said many times, I'm not giving up on writing this story. And if I take too much time to update this work, is because I'm working on other stories.

Now about this chapter, I decided to divide this one into two or three parts, because it was getting too big, even for my standards.

That all being said, I hope you enjoy this. Thank you so much to all those who really like this story and that commented on it. Your kind words never fail on giving me motivation.

"It's been quite some time, Warden."

The Witch of the Wilds still looked the same old and manipulative hag Vardall knows. He remembers very well piercing her head with the Black Star and ending her life. Yet, she is now in front of him - alive and without a scratch, still with the same half, convinced smile that Vardall hates.

Serana and Inigo weren't understanding a thing about what was going on. The vampire looks to Vardall, but the Grey Warden was with his teeth clenched; a pure rage expression all over his face now. Yet the name the Dragonborn yelled. Flemeth... It took Serana some time to remember where she already heard that name before.

The Daughter of Coldharbour widened her eyes. "Wait, Flemeth?" She looks at the old witch. "The one from Thedas?"

Flemeth then dodges her gaze from Vardall to Serana, she smiles once again. "The Daughter of Coldharbour. Fighting your own kin in order to save them." Then she turns her attention to Inigo. "And you, little Khajiit. Such a heart of gold, but at the same time darker than any tainted creature."

Inigo's expression shook a little. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, so you don't know yet?" Her smile gets even bigger and she starts laughing. "You will learn, eventually. And Tamriel will burn because of it."

Vardall slightly dodged his gaze towards Inigo, looking worried to his friend. First Azura, now Flemeth?

But Vardall then shakes his head and looks back to Flemeth, still with rage on his face. "Enough of these riddles! How are you still alive? And what are you doing in Tamriel?!" Vardall yelled, making not just Flemeth, but everyone looks at him.

The shapeshifter laughs a little more, finding this situation extremely entertaining. "You should thank your own flesh and blood for me to be standing in front of you now, lad." Vardall obviously became really confused with her words. But before anything, Flemeth continued talking. "And this is not my first time in Tamriel. I've been watching you for quite some time, Warden. Or should I start referring to you as 'Dragonborn' now?"

Vardall only grunts. "Of course you know..."

The Witch of the Wilds smiles once again. "You think I saved your life that night in Ostagar only for you to slay the Archdemon? I always knew about your dragon nature, since the first time we met."

Vardall then goes one step forward, still not dodging his eyes from Flemeth. Serana, Bran and Inigo do the same. "What's your game here, Flemeth? What do you want? Manipulate me to complete some goal of yours?" The Dragonborn asks.

"I nudge history when it's required. Other times, a shove is needed." Vardall still doesn't understand a thing. She then explains: "I'm no stupid, lad. If you do not defeat Alduin, we're all dead. Me included." Flemeth then puts a hand on her chin. "That's why I'm here to help you."

Serana and Inigo look at each other, kinda confused. Vardall, however, didn't let himself be fooled by Flemeth's words. "You must think I'm truly desperate or stupid to believe in you. What's the catch?"

Flemeth can't avoid laughing again from the Warden's words. "There is always a catch. Life is a catch! But the help I offer is real, so I suggest you catch it while you can!"

Vardall could see the truth behind her words, but even so, he still didn't like this. But Flemeth had a point; until now he only knew he was destined to defeat Alduin, but he had no idea how to do that. The prophecy doesn't mention anything about how the Dragonborn will defeat Alduin. And with dragon attacks all over Skyrim happening more frequently, he would need to face Alduin soon. This may be a chance he should not go that easy. Vardall heavily sighs. "How exactly can you help me defeat Alduin?"

Flemeth smiles and crosses her arms, walking a little closer to the group. "Alduin's history already was well registered, but most details were lost in time. After I discovered your dragon blood, I've been studying a way to perhaps aid you in defeating him. After some time, I discovered something: a certain book that contains almost endless amounts of knowledge. And more importantly, a way to slay Alduin once and for all."

Vardall was now more curious. "What book?"

"It is called Oghma Infinium, written ages ago by Xarxes, the scribe of Auri-El."

Hearing that, both Serana and Inigo raised their eyebrows and slightly looked at each other. Vardall still had his eyes upon Flemeth all the time, like a hawk watching his prey. "If this book was written by the scribe of Auri-El, you think it might have something more to help us against my father?" Serana asked.

"Don't jump to conclusions yet, Serana. We don't even know if what this hag is telling us is real." Vardall turns his attention back to the witch. "And where's this book, if such a thing really exists?"

Flemeth smiles once more. "Now that's the interesting part. On their search to retrieve the second Elder Scroll, the Nerevarine and your other friends already started the steps to retrieve the book, all without their knowledge."

"Really...?" He raises one eyebrow. "This is too much convenience for my taste."

"You say it's convenience, I say it's opportunity. You'll be killing two birds with one stone here, Warden. Having the second Scroll you so much need in one hand, and the secret to defeating Alduin on the other." Flemeth now was even closer to the group. "Now, will you accept my help?"

The Dragonborn thinks about that for a moment. He didn't trust Flemeth and was almost certain she was only manipulating him. But even so, this was an opportunity he couldn't ignore. Even if she was lying, a book filled with knowledge and written by the scribe of Auriel would be more than useful "Fine. Let's get this over with. But I warn you, witch: If you try something, I'll kill you for good this time!"

Flemeth seems to completely ignore Vardall's threat. "Excellent." She smiles again and turns back to walk away from the group. "Follow me, boy. I'll guide you and your companions until the right place."

Vardall wasn't liking any of this, and he wasn't the only one. Once Flemeth was far enough, Serana pulled Vardall's arm to call his attention. "Do you really trust this woman, Vardall?" The vampire whispered so that Flemeth couldn't listen. "You think she's telling the truth?"

"Not a little." He whispers. "I would trust a templar or even a Thalmor more than Flemeth. She is a damn snake that will try to bite us. The only thing I need to do is show her that a dragon has bigger fangs."

Inigo raised an eyebrow, caught what Vardall truly was talking about. "Are you saying..."

The Dragonborn simply looks at the Khajiit. "I'm not planning to let her live, even if she truly helps us."

Once she was far enough, Flemeth uses her shapeshifting skills to turn herself again into a dragon. That impressed Serana and Inigo but only gave Vardall some bad memories. The witch was obviously suggesting for them follow her, something Vardall quickly understood.

"Come on. Let's go." He shakes his head at Durnehviir's directing, also making the other two understand. They didn't like any of these, but wouldn't vocalize now. After making all the preparations, Vardall and the others climb on Durnehviir again. Seeing that, Flemeth then gets up and flies to a certain direction, and Durnehviir does the same.

# # # # # # # # # #

Meanwhile on the other side of Skyrim; Nerevar and the others were crossing the snow desert, on their way to the Dwarven ruin of Alftand. And now they're with one more companion - or prisoner if you prefer. The Thalmor Justiciar named Farlenya still was being constantly watched by Lydia, all while they walked.

"Do you truly know how to exactly enter Alftand?" Lucien Flavius questions Nerevar, as they're crossing through the ice fields.

"I searched and visited many Dwemer ruins during my search for Kagrenar. Alftand was one of them." The Protector of Morrowind answers. "I also remember an expedition team was going to explore the ruin, so there shall be more than one way to enter the place now."

Lucien nods and the group keeps moving. Meanwhile, Farlenya was lost in thoughts, thinking of a way to free herself and escape her captives. That would be difficult, given Lydia had her eyes on the Altmer like a hawk watching its prey, not to mention they're now in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but snow and ruins all over the place.

Nerevar guided the group to the lift he used when he visited Alftand for the first time. On the way, they spotted some strange catwalks built at the walls of a cliff but didn't pay too much attention at first. But when they arrived at the Dwemer elevator Nerevar used many times ago, they found it being blocked by a massive and thick gate.

"This gate was not closed months ago. And of course, the mechanism to open it is on the other side." Nerevar sighs, having a closer look at the gate. "We'll have to look around for another way to get inside Alftand."

All the group agreed - as they had another choice at the moment. Looking around the snow field, Arissa spotted a camp relatively close to them. "That could be the camp from the expedition group you talked about earlier?"

"Very likely. I can't think of anyone else insane to set a camp on a place like this." The entire group followed Nerevar, as he started walking to the camp.

Surprisingly, Arissa laughs from Nerevar's words, calling everyone's attention. "I can think of many people that would stay here: Bandits, Forsworms, Daedra worshippers..." She starts counting with her fingers while speaking.

Nerevar blinks, but can't stop smiling under his helm and shakes his head a little. "I was being sarcastic, you know..."

Arissa only laughed in return, as well as some others from the group. Farlenya watched all of that quite curiously, lying if she said she didn't find it... peculiar, almost in a good way. Agents from the Aldmeri Dominion always were focused and serious, with no place for jokes or such; as it was something expected from them. She even didn't have very much time for things such as these during her childhood. She was always studying or training, almost without any free time to herself. But still, she couldn't forget she was being held captive and needed to find a way to escape.

They all moved to the camp, noticing the place seemed abandoned for a long time - not a camp an expedition would use. All the tents were almost fully covered in snow, and objects and trash like bottles and such were spread all over the place. A shack close to it was also severely destroyed and also looked like animals crossed the camp, looking for food or such.

"Giving the state of this place, I'll guess the expedition was ill-fated." Nerevar comments. "Let's look around, see if we can find something useful." He was already moving to check the place. The others also did the same - less Lydia, who remained watching Farlenya closely. Even without a storm happening, the cold still looked like it was cutting through everyone's skin. But that wouldn't stop the group - nothing would. After several minutes, still, nothing was found. Indeed it looked like no one had used this camp in months; but then, digging the snow inside and destroyed, abandoned shack, Lucien found a journal. He opens and reads it, opening his eyes wide and immediately shouting to call his friends.

The group immediately gathered around the Imperial. "What is, Lucien? Found something?" Arissa questions her friend.

"Yes, I found." He shows the journal to the others. "This journal seemed to belong to the leader of this expedition. According to this, they found a spot they could use to enter the tower by another side."

Nerevar takes and also checks the journal. "Those wood catwalks we spotted early could have been built by the expedition." He closes the journal and looks at the others. "If it is true, that's our way in."

"Then let's move." Arissa comments. "The sooner we find the scroll, the sooner we can leave this ice."

Said and done. Without losing much more time, the group moves to the catwalks, sporting the entrance of what looked like to be a tunnel made by the expedition. Everything was going fine, but then, without warning, one of the timbers used to support the tunnel began to crumble.

"MOVE!" Nerevar jumped forward to avoid all the massive quantity of snow and rocks that were falling. The others also did the same, barely escaping that sudden slip.

"Is everyone alright?" Nerevar asked as he got up, taking his time to analyze the now blocked entrance behind them.

"We're all good, I think." Arissa says while grabbing her bow from the ground and checking the others. Lucien was fine, as well as Farlenya and Lydia. Nerevar sighs relieved.

"Now we'll have to find another way to exit this place." Lucien says, also looking to the blocked way. "As much as I like Dwemer ruins, being trapped inside one isn't part of my wishlist."

Nerevar nods, checking the rest of the tunnel to see if there's a risk of something like that happening again. Apart from that timber from the beginning, the others seemed to be in a good state.

"Let's move. We still have an Elder Scroll to find." Nerevar advanced in front of everyone, alert to all the hidden dangers that could harm his friends. The others followed him, moving deeper inside the tunnel, finding and dealing with a crazy Khajiit who was with the expedition and who tried to attack the group. After that, they found a broken wall at the end of the tunnel that led directly inside the Dwemer ruin they needed to enter.

Taking both Trueflame and Hopesfire in his hands, Nerevar turned to look at the others. "Stay alert, all of you. Dwarven ruins hold great knowledge... but also great peril. Not just Dwemer automatons, but this place is crawled with Falmer."

Lucien, Arissa, and Lydia all nod in agreement, preparing themselves for any possible hostile encounter. It didn't have much that Farlenya could do, given her actual state; but she also made herself more watchful to her surroundings. She didn't want to die humiliated in a place such as this.

Carefully advancing through corridors of solid stone, and covered by thick layers of ice, the group easily dealt with any enemy they encountered, which were all Dwemer automatons. Farlenya watched the way they acted together: always covering each other's backs and complementing their own skills. They were at the same level, and even better than many Thalmor squads, which surprised and slightly impressed her.

Going even deeper into the ruins and dealing with the automatons when necessary, Nerevar found it strange that they had yet to encounter any Falmer. Aside from the constant sound of Dwemer machines and the occasional automaton, everything was very quiet, which made Nerevar unnerved.

"Hold on." Reaching a point where they needed to deal with a giant frostbite spider, Nerevar made the group stop, watching his surroundings carefully.

"What is it, Nerevar?" Lydia asked, also starting to pay attention around her. The others also did the same, concerned that Nerevar might have noticed something they haven't.

Firmly holding Trueflame, Nerevar waits for the right moment and then acts. Quickly turning around and pushing Farlenya aside, the Dunmer stabs a Falmer that appeared from the shadows and tried to kill the Thalmor; but he was no match for the heightened senses the Protector of Morrowind had developed over the centuries.

The Falmer yells in pain, while the rest of the group quickly point their weapon and spells at the Falmer, totally surprised by that attack, while Farlenya watches that with her eyes open wide, knowing that she could have met her end only a few seconds ago. Not hesitating, Nerevar then separates the Falmer's head from its body with a precision strike from Hopesfire. The head rolls over, and then Nerevar after removes Trueflame and allows the lifeless body to join the head on the ground.

Signing, the Dunmer cleans the blood from his blades, before placing them back on their sheaths and moving to Farlenya, who still has fallen on the ground.

"Are you-" Nerevar moves his hand to help Farlenya to get up, but suddenly stops in the middle and turns his head to watch his surroundings again.

"That wasn't the only one."

Taking Trueflame and Hopesfire in his hands again, Nerevar and the others barely have any time to react, as a great number of Falmers surround them, coming from all sides.

"Ambush!" Lydia yells, hitting a Falmer with her shield while she stabs another one.

Arissa punches another Falmer and cuts his throat with her sword. "No shit!"

Lucien went a bit scared at the beginning by the number of enemies but quickly pushed that away to the depths of his mind. Conjuring a Flame Atronach, he then prepares his spells, burning, and frosting any Falmer that gets close to him, with the atronach aiding him.

Meanwhile, Nerevar was swinging his swords in a majestic way, looking like he was dancing, killing any Falmer that was near him. Farlenya, who had moved to behind a rock and was watching everything, watches that with nothing more than shock and even a little admiration. The way he moves and fights... Now she had no doubt that he was the Nerevarine indeed.

However, while Farlenya was paying attention to Nerevar, three Falmers noticed her and aggressively moved to attack her. She opens her eyes wide and dodges the first strikes, not being able to do much with her hands tied. She would need to think on something soon, however. The others were too busy dealing with the rest of the Falmer.

Almost being hit by one of the Falmer's swords, she doesn't take it anymore. In a desperate move, she casts a fire spell on her hands, burning both the ropes and her own hands. She yells loudly, but can't care about the pain now, as she again dodges another strike from the Falmer and falls to the ground.

But now with her hands-free, she could defend herself.

Using her spells to burn the Falmer who was again trying to kill her, she quickly casts a Bound Sword on her hand and aggressively charges upon the two remaining Falmer. With a precise strike, she cuts the arm of one of the Falmer, while hitting the other with her elbow and then hitting him right on the head with an ice spike, killing him.

Now with the remaining Falmer, who still was recovering from having his arm sliced off, the Thalmor kicks him right on his chest, making him fall on the ground. Then she proceeds to stab him right in the heart, doing that repeatedly because of her rage, not even caring about her burned hands any longer.

Killing the last remnants from that horde of Falmers, Nerevar, and the others now turn their attention to Farlenya, with Lucien even opening his eyes wide at the brutality she was attacking the, now long-dead, Falmer.

It wasn't until her blood cooled and she calmed down a bit that she finally stopped. Breathing hard, Farlenya again feels the pain from her burns, making her grunt in pain again, and quickly places both her hands under the snow, in an attempt to ease the pain.

Approaching the fallen Thalmor, Lydia is with her shield up and pointing her sword directly at Farlenya. "Don't do anything stupid."

Farlenya only looks at the Nord with venom in her eyes. If she could, she would kill Lydia here and now.

"Let us calm down, shall we?" Nerevar lowers Lydia's blade with his hand. "She's no danger to us."

Turning his head to look at Farlenya, Nerevar knelt down, slowly reaching out to touch her. "It hurts very much? Let me-"

However, Farlenya wasn't very receptive to that. "Don't you dare touch me!"

Retreating with his hand a little, Nerevar thinks for a few seconds, deciding to change his approach. He moves both his hand to his helm and then removes it, revealing his face to the Thalmor. "It's okay. You can trust me."

Farlenya watched his face with curiosity. He indeed was a Dunmer, but what most called her attention was that he looked young, very young, like 19 or 20 years old, not enough to act and fight as someone who was much older and had decades of experience in battle, as he did. He had a goatee on his face, together with a few scars, and his black hair was a little long, being held back in a ponytail. His eyes were very dark, and Farlenya could see that, despite his young look, he had the eyes of someone who had passed and lived through a lot and knows suffering very well.

Nerevar smiles a little bit. "Don't worry, I'll just heal your hands. Can I?"

The Altmer didn't know how to react. That Dunmer and his companions had made her their prisoner, and she considered all of them as inferior beings. But yet... There was something about Nerevar that she didn't know how to explain; like an unnatural force that made her feel she could trust him.

Even with some suspicion remaining, Farlenya thinks for a moment and finally removes her hands from the snow, showing them to Nerevar. He moves closer a little and analyzes her hands, before taking them into his own and casting a healing spell. Farlenya grunts a little more at the beginning, but soon she feels the pain fading away.

"Better?" Once Nerevar had finished, Farlenya took her time to look at her hands, seeing them totally normal and without any scar or burn mark left over.

"You're welcome." The Protector of Morrowind smiles and offers a hand to help Farlenya to get up. The Thalmor, however, refuses and gets up on her own, standing above Nerevar and all the others with her superior height. They kept staring at each other for a few seconds, thinking of their next move. Would the group restrain Farlenya again?

Lydia didn't even seem to wait for the answer and already had another piece of rope in her hands and with a deadly gaze over the Thalmor, together with Arissa. Farlenya noticed the rope and promptly moved backward and casted spells on her hands. She wasn't going to be made prisoner again.

Lydia and Arissa also took on their weapons, but before this could be turned into a mess, Nerevar placed him between all of them.

"Hold on, everyone! Let me handle this." He shouts, dodging his attention quickly between his friends and the Thalmor. The silence was over them all for the next seconds, looking like it could be slashed by a blade. Once the moods were a little more under control, Nerevar nodded and turned to fully look at Farlenya.

"Look, I know how you're feeling. You're scared and have no reasons to trust us." Nerevar takes a more relaxed posture, yet with a serious gaze in his eyes. "But analyze our current situation: We're trapped, only Azura knows how deep into the earth, inside a Dwemer ruin full of automatons and Falmer. You as our prisoner will only be a dead weight, and while I'm pretty sure you're more than capable in combat, I really doubt you alone will make it out of here alive, no matter how skilled you are."

Nerevar then approaches the Thalmor a little more. "So what I'm offering here is: Let us put our differences aside for now, and join forces to find an exit from this place."

Lydia and Arissa immediately reacted the Dunmer's words. "What?" The Imperial rogue then walks towards the Dunmer. "Nerevar, you can't be..."

"Enough!" The Protector of Morrowind quickly turned and spoke to Arissa in a serious, but not angry, voice tone, at the same time he gave her a serious gaze. The thief immediately stopped walking and widened her eyes a little. Even though Nerevar was a kind and quite a small figure, when he wanted, he spoke and acted much more serious, with an unnatural, but not extreme, amount of authority in his voice and posture - and now without his helm, also his eyes. Farlenya wasn't going to lie, she also felt the aura of authority that surrounds the Dunmer now.

Turning back to face Farlenya, Nerevar looks up to stare right into the Thalmor's eyes. "So, what do you say? A truce?"

Farlenya dodged her gaze for a time and deeply thought about this. As much as she hated to admit, he was right. Together, they had much bigger chances of escaping this despicable place, and she would certainly be safer around a group such as this.

Heavily signing and closing her eyes for a moment, Farlenya thinks a little more before turning to Nerevar, an answer already on her tongue.

"Fine." She didn't even try to hide her expression of disgust and anger as she looked at Nerevar again. "We're allies. But just for now!"

Upon hearing that, Nerevar's posture and expression softened a little, with him even smiling a little. "Glad to hear that."

The others, however, weren't as relieved as the Nerevarine. Lydia and Arissa still didn't agree with this, and Lucien - even being glad about the extra help - wasn't very comfortable with having a Thalmor as an ally.

"Now that things are settled, you still need a proper weapon." Nerevar comments. "Your bound sword may not be enough here." Taking Hopesfire in his hands, the Dunmer spins the sword, holding by its blade while offering the weapon to the Thalmor.

Farlenya slightly raises her eyebrows with that gesture. She knew that wasn't a regular sword, given its appearance and powerful enchantment she saw in action while Nerevar fought. She moves her gaze from the blade to the Dunmer again, who still was smiling.

The Nerevarine raises both his eyebrows. "So...? Just take it before I change my mind."

Farlenya looked at the weapon again, before moving and taking it in her hands. What immediately caught her attention was how light the sword was. She took her time to swing the blade a little, better feeling its weight and balance. That was, without a doubt, the best sword she has ever used in her life.

"No need to tell you that I'll want that sword back, right?" Nerevar takes and puts his helm back. "And please, don't try to steal it. Otherwise, I'll kill you, and then I will incinerate your corpse. But don't worry; I'll be gentle." He said in a joking tone. But behind that Farlenya noticed that he was telling the truth. That made her a little worried, even though she didn't show that in her expression. She knew that she didn't have any chance against the Nerevarine.

A whistle from Arissa called their attention once more. "If you're forgetting, Nerevar, we still have an Elder Scroll to find."

Nerevar nods in agreement, taking Trueflame in his hand. "Then let's go. We have already lost too much time."

The others also got themselves ready, prepared to deal with anything that crossed their way. But before they proceed, Lydia walked until Farlenya and looked directly into the Thalmor eyes. "Try anything, and I'll cut your head myself."

Farlenya didn't let herself be shaken by the Nord's words, only grunting a little. This wasn't how she imagined things would go, but she didn't have another choice. She and the others were allies, for now.

# # # # # # # # # #

The only sound that could be heard was those of the dragon's wings, as Vardall, Durnehviir, and the others had been following Flemeth through Skyrim for a few hours already. The Dragonborn was heavily lost in thoughts, barely noticing they were crossing Skyrim until they all arrive in the middle of a snowy forest, where Flemeth makes a signal that Vardall sees and understands what it was.

"Alright, it's here. Let us land here, Durnehviir." The Warden says to his Dragon friend, who has already started looking for a good place to land. Vardall noticed that Flemeth was also doing the same. Once they're on the ground, Vardall and the others get out from Durnehviir and stretch a little, bringing much-needed relief to their bodies. Riding a dragon may be much quicker and practical to travel around Skyrim, but damn, it was uncomfortable.

"Done already?" Again in her human form, Flemeth approaches the group with both her hands on her hips. "We're close. Follow me."

Telling Durnehviir to wait and follow the witch through the forest, the entire group kept a watchful eye over her all the time, with Vardall being the main one. Obviously, Flemeth noticed that, which only made her smile.

They walked through the forest for a few more minutes, only stopping once they arrived at an abandoned camp around a Dwarven lift, locked by a gate.

"This is the place. The Tower of Mzark." Flemeth comments. "Your Elder Scrolls are just below us, as well as your friends."

"And the Oghma Infinium?" Vardall asks the witch, standing right beside her with his arms crossed.

The Shapeshifter looks at the Grey Warden. "Patience, lad. The book isn't here, but the key to getting it is." She then walks to the lift "Let us go."

Vardall still was very distrustful of Flemeth, but now it was too late to get back. He, Serana, Inigo, and Bran follows the witch until the closed gates that protected the lift.

"Any idea how to open this gate?" Serana questions Flemeth, giving her obviously knew more about this place than any of them.

The witch crosses her arms. "I have, but I think the Warden had a better one." Flemeth looks at Vardall, who was taking his time to analyze the gate.

"Yes, I have." He looks back to the others. "All of you, get back."

Flemeth knew very well what he was going to do, but Serana and Inigo had no idea. Obeying Vardall's command, they all step away a little, giving him space.

Getting himself ready, Vardall positions himself and focuses for a moment, before unleashing his voice. "FUS RO DAH!" As soon as the words left Vardall's lips, they noticed how stronger that shout was compared to previous ones. The large Dwemer gate was sent flying backward.

"Your shouts surely are becoming stronger, my friend." Inigo says. "Even though I dislike it, I admit those Dragon souls you absorbed are certainly making an effect."

"That and your meditation sections, if I may say." Serana smiles at Vardall.

The Dragonborn only murmurs. "I still hold myself by a lot. If I unleash all my power now... all of Skyrim and its people would become history."

"That's nothing compared to the true potential a Dragonborn has." Flemeth earns everyone's attention with her words. "You grow stronger by each day, by each dragon soul you absorb. You are a rough gem, but that needs to be polished. With proper time and training... You'll be able to literally shake the entire world by just whispering. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

"This is one of the few times I'll agree with you, Flemeth." Vardall goes to the lift platform, with the others following him. Once they're all ready, Vardall activates the lever and they all start their long descent to the depths of the earth.

All their way down was made most of it in silence, with the only sound being the ones from the Dwemer machinery. Vardall didn't dodge his eyes from Flemeth at any moment, still not trusting the witch. The Shapeshifter, on the contrary, would just ignore him.

After quite some time, the elevator finally stops and they all see them into a great corridor made of pure stone, typically Dwemer.

"Your Scroll is close. This way." Flemeth took the lead again, with the others not having much of a choice besides following. Vardall could say she was telling the truth, as he started to feel a great power near them, similar to the Scroll Serana was carrying. Once they cross the corridor and open the large doors at the end of it, the entire group, less Flemeth, widened their eyes at the marvelous vision from the machine that was before them.

Vardall and the others were no strangers to Dwarven technology at this point, but even so, they could always be surprised by any new machine they found. That one, in particular, proved to be the most different and yet beautiful they had even found. The design and the crystals used in its fabrication reminded them a lot of the stars and constellations.

"What is this?" Serana still was quite mesmerized by such a machine.

"An Oculory. One of the most advanced machines created by the Dwemer." Flemeth soon explains. "There's only two of this in Skyrim, with this one having the main objective of transcribing the information stored within an Elder Scroll, so that it could be analyzed without risking blindness or insanity."

"It could take thousands of years, and I don't know if any race of Thedas could create something on this level. Not even the Qunari." Vardall sighs, still staring at the Oculory.

"The Elder Scroll is stored right there." Flemeth points to what looks like a piece of the Oculory. "However, you need a Blank Lexicon to obtain the Scroll. The Nerevarine has one, and he and your other friends should be quite close to us for now."

Without saying anything else, Flemeth starts walking towards a winding ramp next to them, and so the others follow her. They now have a notion of how big that machine truly is while they're walking down. Down there, they found another lift that they activate and go even deeper into those ruins.

If Vardall and the others were already impressed by the Oculory, now they're true without words once they found themselves in Blackreach. The natural beauty of that place was like nothing any of them had ever seen. All the peculiar and unique vegetation, together with the glowing mushrooms was a sight to see. But what really called the most attention were the glows on the top of the cave, looking to be stars. Everyone had lost their breath, and even Flemeth was taking her time to observe that environment.

"I... never saw such a beautiful place in my entire life." That was the only thing Vardall could say now. Not even the most beautiful landscapes from Skyrim and Thedas were close to the beauty from Blackreach.

However, there was no time to appreciate the view.

A sudden and familiar roar immediately calls everyone's attention, surprising and making them all look around. Suddenly, a dragon appears flying nearby them, blasting fire close to them as a matter of intimidation.

"How on Nirn did a dragon get down here?!" Serana already prepared her spells for the upcoming battle.

"The Dwemer were a people full of secrets." Flemeth says to the vampire. "But this doesn't matter now. We have a beast to slay."

Vardall takes the Black Star onto his hands and slightly looks at Flemeth. "Just make sure to aim your spells correctly."

Flemeth only smiles. "Do not worry, Warden. It will be good to engage in a battle where I do not need to restrain myself too much."

The Dragonborn only grunts with the witch's words before preparing himself. They're all ready for battle once the dragon decides to attack again.

I don't know if you guys already felt curious about some extra, but basic information about Vardall and his group, but I'll just place it here in case any of you want to know. Always when a new character is added to the group I'll update this list. (Just a warning that I have no idea how the Imperial system of units works, so the heights are made using the Metric system of units.)

Vardall

Age: 19 years

Height: 242 cm

* * * * * * * *
Serana

Age: ?

Height: 184 cm

* * * * * * * *
Bran

Age: 2 years

Height: 62 cm

* * * * * * * *
Lucien

Age: 20 years

Height: 179 cm

* * * * * * * *
Inigo

Age: 26 years.

Height: 180 cm

* * * * * * * *
Sofia (Deceased)

Age: 27 years

Height: 180 cm

* * * * * * * *
The Nerevarine

Age: 227 years

Height: 168 cm

* * * * * * * *
Arissa

Age: 28 years

Height: 177 cm

* * * * * * * *
Lydia

Age: 29 years

Height: 185 cm

It is worth saying that we don't have any official information about the races' heights in The Elder Scrolls universe, so there are only speculations. I chose these heights for the characters after much research in many places about what would be the races' canon heights.

Also, I know many of you may think putting Vardall's height as 242 cm may sound too much, but the thing is that I'm basing his height on a little headcanon of mine that Dragonborns are taller than normal people, due to their draconic nature. (I was first basing his height in mine, but I changed my mind)

And about Serana's age, there's lots of speculation about that, and no good result. Some say she's 4000 years old, while others say she's younger. I really don't know what to think, so I'll just let her age as unknown.