Synod-Enough

When the expedition had got what they came for, they journeyed back to Markarth and got their reward from the Jarl for their help. Also getting a piece of the bounties on the various Forsworn's heads. The man really hated them, probably because of what'd happened to his father.

Regardless, now with Katria's journal and an Aetherium Shard, Michael was well on the way to gaining access to the Aetherium Forge.

The next shard wasn't all that difficult to actually acquire, Katria's Journal spoke of a place called Bthar-zel and had a map that detailed her suspicions of where each shard might be. Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly enough to be certain of the exact location. He asked Urag about it in the College and learned that it was once a grand Dwemer city that was the hub of trade between the other races. It translated to 'Allied City' due to the purpose for which it'd been built... Sadly, records suggest that some rogue Sheogorath worshippers snuck inside and hid magical bombs around the place for when a foreign diplomat was set to arrive... Some Joker-style shit.

The bombs didn't kill that many, but the damage to the infrastructure and chaos caused by the diplomat's death had certainly been deathblow. The Dwemer started to restrict contact with the other races after this and many other incidents.

While the tale was pretty depressing and a big warning to not mess with Sheogorath, it was also helpful in figuring out just where these ruins were located. Apparently, there was another Dwemer settlement nearby called Bthardamz, and from what Michael could gather from Enthir and Urag, it was currently a sanctuary to Peryite's Afflicted, men and women of all races who are 'gifted' a virulent disease by Peryite.

People were told to steer well clear of the place in order to not spread the sickness any further... Were the Afflicted actually malicious and intended to purposely spread it, Michael had no doubt that they'd have been wiped out already.

Michael didn't intend to bother them, knowing that if the sanctuary was removed, any Afflicted would be forced to live amongst other healthy people, or stay in the wilds to try and not spread the sickness.

It takes around three days for Michael to finally discover the ruins of Bthar-zel, fighting through some dangerous creatures while he was at it. This was probably the main reason why no one had discovered the valuable Dwemer materials just sitting on a plinth, along with the clearly and obviously visible Aetherium Shard.

With two shards down, Michael was now on the trail of the third, which, according to the journal, it was located somewhere on the East side of Skyrim. South ease of Windhelm and North of Riften... Which, actually narrowed down the options significantly.

There were around two that'd been discovered, and probably more that were hidden. But he knew of only one that was as Katria states 'The primary source of Aetherium.' a mine. Mzulft was the obvious answer, not just because of its location, but also because of the high likelihood that it was connected underground with Blackreach, where most Aetherium was harvested.

For this, Michael went alone, deciding that stealth would trump whatever benefits dragging the others with him would bring. There was bound to be a shit tone of Dwemer automatons, along with ten of thousands of Falmer, especially with how big Blackreach was, he might have even been underestimating their numbers.

There was a big problem, however, once Michael hadn't anticipated it until he'd reached the entrance of Mzulft. A corpse laid near the entrance, a man wearing the robes of the Synod, and upon further inspection, held an old Dwemer key.

The Synod was basically the Brotherhood of Steel of the world, searching for, discovering, and hiding any magic or technology they find and determine to be too dangerous for others to know... Savos had many things to say about them after a couple cups of wine, none of which were flattering.

Michael's main worry was the fact that he knew of Mzulft already though... It was the place where you learn of the location of the Staff of Magnus, which is used to help control the Eye of Magnus. Michael already knew where the staff was though, so he was pretty sure the Oculory would be useless to him...

The Oculory, from what he remembered, would help identify and locate valuable magical items all-around Skyrim. As it would map out their locations depending on their magical strengths... In the game it was useless due to the rampaging Eye of Magnus overshadowing everything, but now that it was still sealed? It might actually be functional.

The only problem now then was dealing with the Synod survivors, if there were any. The corpse looked to be a couple weeks old, so they may have all starved to death already, or been eaten by the Falmer.

He shakes his head, he'd grab the Aetherium Shard and take a look at the Oculory to see if it had any worth. That, and he'd probably get a few level ups from all the Falmer. He was already on the precipice of maxing out his Rubick Spirit, so he was eager to get started so he could begin reaping the benefits that the Silencer Spirit would grant.

He cracks his neck and enters Mzulft with Derflinger in hand and Darth hiding within a shadow at the crook of his neck. "Let's see what else these Dirt Elves have been keeping for me." he grins... And immediately has to throw his head backwards as a jet of fire shoots from a nearby wall.

"Hahahaha, Partner! You look so stupid with your eyebrows missing! Hahahahahaha!" Derflinger suddenly roars out with laughter at Michael's now hairless face...

"You're lucky this'll grow back quickly, or I'd stick you in a pile of shit until it did." he grouses while angrily stomping further into the ruins, eyes scanning for more traps... Riki would beat the shit out of him if he heard that he'd made such an error...