Morndas, 7th of Heartfire 4E201 Early Afternoon

Benor

"I still can't believe there was an actual coven of bloody vampires."

"Morthal does seem to have a very serious undead problem. Vampires, necromancers, Draugr. I may well avoid swamps for some time after this trek."

I still felt a bit overwhelmed, as I pull my maul out of the corpse on the ground. Or not-corpse? The leftovers of a fight between some necromancers and the tomb's dwellers. The Draugr had won, but enough died to make it easy goings for us. For now, at least. It certainly was less stressful than the… vampires. "Do you really think people will believe a story like that? And that people will stop avoiding town? I know that'll make Jonna happy."

Talao is busy rifling through the robes of one of the necromancers. "Of course! It's got everything for a good tale; romance, betrayal, mystery, justice, a thrilling climax, townsfolk rising together to face evil. I'll have every tavern in Skyrim singing The Rising of Dawn by Frostfall!" He stands up, pocketing a book and some scrolls. "Hm. No, don't like the sound of that title. I'll think of something, though. Here, take this."

He hands me a few red vials. "Potions?"

"Aye. That one is a Draught of Regeneration, that one is a Potion of Healing, and that one is something I whipped up in case you catch a disease or a bad case of poisoning. Hopefully you won't need them, but…"

"Right. Got it. Draugr are dirty and all that." Last thing I wanted was a case of Rockjoint crippling me in a fight. The whole thing was enough to make me feel ill anyway. Magic was… weird. Scary enough to know any scrawny man, elf, or beastfolk could set you on fire with a thought. But mind control? Raising the dead? Eternal slavery even as a corpse? It was the scariest thing I could imagine. Though Jonna would probably say that didn't mean much.

Talao pushes through a large set of door while I thought. Through them, the ruins had fallen in to a huge cavern of some kind. The path continued to our left, but ahead of us was a cliff that led into open space. I could see a small waterfall, and there was light streaming in from a hole where I guessed the surface is. "Wow. Would you look at that?"

"Incredible, yes. I suppose the ruins were constructed first, and then the centuries of erosion opened up the ceilings and walls? In any case, I think we'll get a better view from further in, yes?"

He moves pretty fast for a cripple, I'll give him that. We avoid some flame traps that Talao points out - just a matter of figuring out which ones are duds, or broken, or worn out, which I let the Breton do - as well as some charred Draugr corpses, through another large chamber. We are both thankfully well-rested from… everything that happened. It had taken a few days, between waiting for nightfall to follow the frightened ghost of the girl, to discovering Alva being a vampire, and an entire coven nearby preying on travellers and townsfolk in the night. But seeing Talao rouse those chickenshit villagers and guards to overrun the vampires and slay every last one was the most impressive thing I'd seen in years. And he did it all without raising a weapon himself. Once upon a time, that might've bugged me, but given he fixed a season's worth of trouble in half a week, I'm more than willing to give him slack.

"Hold here." Keen-eyed too. We'd stopped atop some stairs leading into the collapsed cavern. There is a faint breeze, probably from the surface, the sound of it hollow against our ears. "Look." He points down toward some patrolling skeletons. About half a dozen by my count.

"Gods, why is this hold just crawling with undead of every kind? Damn sick of this." The dead should stay dead.

"Think you can take them all out?" Talao asks.

"Not easily. Not without taking a couple unwanted hits myself, especially those archer ones." I look at him, frustrated. "You really don't know any magic at all? I thought Bretons were good at that sort of thing."

He only shakes his head. "Only some very basic illusions and restoration spells. I could give you a little Courage, but it's easier to thin their number a bit. You see that puddle of oil over there?" Points again. I can see the liquid dripping from a still burning lamp overhead. "Throw an arrow there, then when they go to investigate, hit the lamp so that it falls upon them. They'll catch alight and hopefully that will take out a few, and the survivors will be that much easier to finish off."

"Easy enough, I guess."

"Or it won't do anything and you'll have to fight skeletons that are also on fire. Joking!" He adds quickly, noting my glare, "they're still constructs and bones can be damaged. Necromancy doesn't change things like that. At least, I'm fairly sure."

"...Your funeral if you're wrong." Mine too, for that matter. I grab the bow I'd looted off a Draugr earlier, and strung an arrow. Archery wasn't a strength of mine, but I could probably do this easy enough. The ground is an easy target, and the skeletons - really creepily - turn with weapons drawn, clicking and clacking up to the source of the noise. Once they're all in the oil slick, I loose an arrow at the lamp, and another just in case. Thankfully, the first one hits solid, the rope snaps, and the lamp drops down and explodes, the whole floor exploding into flames, fire everywhere.

I hear Talao whisper "Courage" behind me, as I pick up my maul again, and run down the stairs. Four of the skeletons fell apart in the blaze, and the other two can barely put up any resistance before being bludgeoned into dust. I wasn't expecting a last skeleton to stand up off a throne and charge me, but I have enough time to wind up a big hit and separate its skull of the rest of its body.

What I really wasn't expecting, was for it to keep coming even without a head.

I barely manage to deflect a swipe from its sword, and even then it still hits my arm. A brief spark of magic flashes - Talao's spell - and by then I rally my wits and smack its arm clean off. I don't stop slamming my maul into it until every last bone is cracked. And then I kick it into the last bit of dying fire for good measure. "I fucking hate necromancy."

"Are you hurt, Benor?"

"No. Thanks to whatever little spell you cast." I wasn't even really winded, just a little thrown off by the headless attack. Freaky as all Oblivion.

Talao was already looking over the cliff nearby. "We need to get down there."

"What?" I stand next to him. There is a path along the wall that spirals down to… a pool and a carved wall? I saw it earlier, but from here I could see some kind of scratches on it. Looks meaningless. "Why?"

"That wall has Dovahzul on it. The language of the dragons. I've been… researching it, my latest obsession, I guess you could say. Doesn't look dangerous. You can wait here, I'll only be a couple moments."

He's already gone before I can say so much as "uh… sure." I watch him 'til he reaches the wall, just to make sure there aren't any surprises, and then I put my back to a wall and wait. It's colder down here than I'd imagine, with the wind blowing through the cave. A really strong gust blows against me for a few seconds, loud, with an echo of speech. I assume Talao's voice echoing up to me; it sounds kinda like him at least. I still don't know what makes him tick, not really, but he is a good person, that's clear, and likable. Not enough to go on ridiculous adventures like this every day, but enough to help him when it counts, I suppose. He'd need to learn to defend himself one day, though. If nothing else, he was bound to hire or follow someone who'd take advantage of him. I just hope he doesn't get hurt before then.

A few minutes later, he comes back up the path, looking a little dazed and rubbing his head. "Trouble?"

"No, no, nothing," he says. "Just a bit of a headache. Dovahzul is just a bit taxing to understand; very different from modern languages." He gestures to the stone bridge that was probably once just a hallway, that leads further 'in' to the barrow. "Shall we?"

It's sturdier than it looks, thankfully, but we run into another problem right away. "A gate." And no obvious pulleys or levers on this side, with two more gates just beyond it.

"These… shrines? Monuments? Must be the key to getting through." I watch him examine one of the three rocks, just as he sinks into the ground an inch. A red glow lights the rock, and I hit the deck, expecting a trap, but instead I just hear the rattling of chains, as one of the gates rises into the ceiling.

"Watch it!"

"Interesting. Can't be that easy though." He steps off what I can see is a pressure plate, as I stand back up. The red light stays for maybe three seconds before it fades, and the gate crashes shut behind me. "Ah, so a time limit. Benor, do you think you're fast enough to run through the gates in three seconds? No, it's too quick. Maybe…"

He's starting to unnerve me. "Talao, can you stop a moment?"

"Stop?" He isn't even looking at me, just through the gate, past me. "I can practically taste our goal, we're so close. Let's not dawdle!"

Alright, that's enough. I walk up to him, put myself between him and the door. It's funny, in a way. He seems so large from his personality, but he's nearly a foot shorter than me. "You need to calm down, Talao. You keep going this pace, you'll burn out in no time."

He snarls at me. Actually, physically snarls, and animalistic glint in his eyes. "Don't act like you can tell me what to do. You have no idea what I've been through these past weeks, and-"

With one hand, I yank him entirely off the ground by his shirt, struggling the whole ride. "I. SAID. Calm down. Breathe, damnit!" If he wants to play the predator, I'm not just gonna sit here and be his prey. He puffs his chest out, as if he's about to yell at me, and then it's like a switch flips, and he deflates. I gently put him back down, and he slumps all the way down to his ass, sitting heavily against the rock.

"Sorry. I don't know what came over me."

I mirror him against a different stone. "Sure you do. Just don't wanna say it." There's a moment of silence. "We both know you're smarter than I am, by a lot. That's no secret. But I've seen folk like you before. Maybe you've seen some shit before but eventually it's one snowfall too many, and an avalanche starts."

"That's a very Nordic way of putting it. But I like the metaphor."

"So tell me. What've you been through before you got to Morthal? Why are you pushing so hard like the world will end if you stop?"

Another pause. But I'm good at quiet. Used to it. Talao probably isn't, with what he is, so I know I can outwait him. "…I've seen plenty of people die in my life. Hard not to, especially in times like we live in. Strangers, friends, family. To famine, to disease, to war. I weave tales of legend long dead, and write lays for those newly past. Morbid in its own way, but such is life. Through it all, I suppose I kept it together because I knew… because I told myself that I couldn't prevent it. I know some alchemy, but I'm no mage, no warrior. Just one man with a lute. But I recently came into a… modicum of power. An inheritance, you could say. And a week ago, I lost a friend, in a way that maybe I could have saved her. Should have, would have, but for me being too slow. Or maybe I got lucky as it was and only barely avoided death myself. Or… or… or." I could see the tears streaming down his face now. "A million 'or's plague my mind since that day. She was a proud Nord, that one, everything a Nord aspired to. Cunning in strategy, brave in battle, but would drink you under a table at the inn afterward. You'd have liked her, I'm sure… I suppose I've been carving ahead because I don't want another to suffer or die because I waited too long. Wasted too much time. Because I think she'd have been better suited to the role thrust upon me."

I grab his forearm with my hand and pull him up, surprised, into a solid hug. His face is still wet, but its so trivial I barely notice. "Whoever your friend is, I'm sure they're watching you from Sovngarde with pride. But I promise you, they'd much rather you not get yourself killed trying to save everyone else. Whatever power you gained can't be worth your life." He sniffs one last time, and I release him from my grasp. "Now, lets figure out the little puzzle."

"No need. I already know." He's quick to recover, unsurprising. "The Greybeards gave me the key already, in a manner of speaking. Maybe it's a stupid question," he glances sidelong at me, "but can I count on your trust to not speak of this to anyone? It isn't exactly secret, but I'd still rather…"

"Mum's the word."

"Right. I'll wait on this trigger closest the gate, and you go activate the first two. Hopefully, I can make it work on purpose this time."

I'm interested, to say the least. At his signal, I run across the two plates, all the lights flaring together, and the gates all open

"WULD!"

There is a sound like shattering glass, and Talao suddenly moves faster than the blind of an eye, past the gates.

And promptly tumbles to the ground, hard.

I rush toward him to help, but the gates crash down before I can take a few steps. "It's fine! I'm alright!" I hear him say. "…ow." The gates lift up and stay put this time, as Talao pulls a chain on the far side of the passage.

"What… you… what was that?!"

He looks embarrassed, rubbing his bum leg. "A Shout. The ancient tongue of the dragons. And I'm, uh, the Dragonborn."

"... explains things. At least I think so." Dragonborn. Not like the stories I'd heard in my childhood, but, well, he'd certainly proved it.

"Does it?"

"I mean, I don't really know," I reply, frowning. "Is that how you convinced everyone to rally against the vampires?"

"No, that was simply my natural talent of persuasion. Or… perhaps? I was supposedly born with this ability, so it might lend me… Y'ffre, I've no clue, to be perfectly honest. 'Tis why I'm here; the Greybeards set me this test before they would teach me in earnest." Some of my surprise must have shown on my face, as he says, "You'd think me a liar were I to tell you the story in full. Suffice to say, it has been a very busy couple of weeks."

"Aye, I can tell." How do you even follow up something like that? Not like I'm much good with words as it is." Well, we've got more troubles before our goal, it seems." I point past Talao, to an entire hall covered in flame traps, at least a hundred yards long.

Talao sighs at the same time as me. "Can't say they aren't thorough, at least. Onward!"

We get by much the same as before. Most all of the traps are still active, but there are enough crumbling walls to jump from one pile of rubble to another. A few times, Talao has to Shout himself to the next safe spot that's a bit too far, after which I have to pick him up off the ground. He insists he's getting better, but it's a strange feeling. Benor the Nobody helping the Dragonborn - a tale of legend - off his ass. I don't know how to act, so I just pretend nothing has changed. Maybe nothing has, really.

"More trouble."

I could see it too. Fresh spiderwebs, super thick silk. "Frostbites. Gods, does it never end?" There's a few smaller spider, posturing at us, we hadn't exactly been quiet. But the path lay behind them, and I was tired of all these delays. This was at least a problem I knew how to deal with easy. "Come on, then!"

"'Ware, a lair this large is bound to have some particularly large and nasty ones!" Talao shouts behind me. As though I wouldn't know. Travellers are always afraid of bandits, but they usually just take your goods and let you go. These buggers kill more folk by a hell of a lot. Even the 'small' spiders are the size of dogs, and they swarm toward me, a dozen at least, fangs gleaming with venom. I swing wide, heavy blows, to keep them mostly at bay, and when one is too slow, I crush whatever I can. If I'm lucky, I break its hard body in one hit, and leave it dying, or if I break a leg, I flatten it soon after. I can see the walls teeming with baby spiders, too small to attack, running to holes in the walls.

"Above you, Benor!" Too late, as I feel a large body impact into me, and pain in my left arm. I swing wildly before it can get a firm hold of me. A matriarch, large as a draft horse, chattering, protecting the few remaining children. No time to think, as it lashes out again. I barely avoid, slamming my weapon into its side, but its shell is too tough to break. Or maybe I'm already too weak from its poison; I can feel it burning in my blood, vision blurring, heart pounding. I can't even hit the thing again, as if it knows it can wait for the poison, it keeps dodging back. The vial. I have to get back and drink that potion. I can even hear Talao behind me, though the roaring in my ears makes it impossible to figure out what he's saying. I retreat back to the passage, and Talao shoves me over the flame traps, following quickly.

We jump once more, far enough for me to feel safe collapsing, and pull out the potion I had. It tasted awful, but I could feel it working quick, as though I was sweating the poison out. Not quickly enough, though. The spiders had stopped short at the traps, clearly they knew the danger somehow, but then they start climbing the walls. Stupid to think the larger ones couldn't. I thought that was it for us, until Talao looks up with that same look as before, and Shouts

"MAH TUM!"

As though their legs had magically stopped working, the spiders all tumble through the air and fall down right on one of the flame traps. FWOOM, and they are engulfed in alchemical fire, shrieking and flailing about, until they stop living. For a while, the only sound is the slowly dying flame trap, as the potion finishes working. "Please let that be the last of the crap we run into here."

A few broken cobwebs later prove that thankfully true. We enter a very ceremonial looking chamber, a small path crossing a pool of water, leading to some kind of altar. A dozen statues rise up out of the water as we walk toward it. It would have been breathtaking, if I didn't wanna fall down and die where I stood. And after all that, we stand before the altar and find…

Nothing. Well, not nothing, but instead of a horn like we expected, there is a sheet of paper, addressed 'Dragonborn.' "You've gotta be kidding me." Talao picks it up, reading in record time. "Don't tell me this has all just been a wild chaurus chase."

"No, no. Just a mystery atop everything else in my life," he says, folding the paper and tucking it into his pack. "Someone else was here first. Maybe the traps reset, or maybe they knew a different way in. Regardless, it seems I have a bit more travelling to do."

"As long as it means we're done here, and I can go home for a well-earned rest. I don't want to see another crypt until after I'm dead."

"Benor." I look at Talao. Dragonborn, bard, whatever. He smiles. "Thank you, truly. I appreciate all your help today."

I rub my neck, embarrassed. "Ah, don't sweat it. Least I could do. And if you're ever in Morthal again… don't look me up. I'm done with this crap."

We both laugh, and we both leave.

NONVUL BRON DahMaaN DaaR ROT DO FIN
FODiiZ BORMah-Nii LOS HeyV DO ENOOK
MUN Wah LahNey VOTH ahKRIN ahRK ZIN
LEH ROK FeiM VODahMIN KOTIN VULOM

Noble Nords remember these words (of) the
hoar father - It is duty of each
man to live with courage and honor
lest he fade unremembered into darkness