Open casket 2/2

Lucius grabbed the golden claw from Arvel's body as he bled out. "Thank you for so graciously leading us here, Arvel." Lucius smiled down upon the dying dark elf.

"Shall we?" Lucius offered the doorway to Ciri.

The two delved down past the mummified ancient Nords. Passing a pendulum trap and a few more burial sites on the way. They come across small rocky waterfall, a coffin of black Nord steel that lay idle next to the steadily running stream from the waterfall that when followed revealed a gate leading deeper into the barrow.

"That coffins gonna open." Lucius said, walking to a chain pull that opened the gate.

"Why'd you say that? Looks fine to me." Ciri responded.

"Why put a single coffin stood up next to a waterfall only for it to not do something...?" Lucius blankly remarked.

And just as Lucius finished speaking a loud clank of metal hitting stone resounded in the clearing.

"I knew it" Lucius said with a smug face, pulling the chain to the gate.

"Yeah. While you were in your fantasies of being the smartest person alive...I killed it, hurry up." Ciri smacked him on the shoulder walking past him.

Lucius huffed before following her into an aged tomb of yellowing stone with a long arced bridge. Three draugr wandering the area that were quickly dispatch with fluid strikes from both Ciri and Lucius.

They picked up where they left off and happened upon a great stone passage, littered with runic signs and an ancient language that slithered across the walls towards a lost marvel of the Ancient Nords.

"A puzzle door. My mother told me of these." Lucius said with ill-hidden awe in his voice, slowly running hand across the claw like holes.

"It seems the bandit was right. The claw really is a key, but what are those symbols for?" Ciri asked, joining Lucius in touching the door. "Wait, let me see the key a moment." Ciri requested to Lucius.

"Here." He handed it over to the girl without his eyes leaving the carved runes.

"Look there's symbols on the back...Bear, moth, and an owl. That has to be the code." Ciri said holding the claw's markings up to Lucius.

"Good spotting, Ciri. Help me move the stones would you?" Lucius complimented her, and started putting in the passcode.

"You have the honours." Lucius expressed with a small smile.

Ciri placed the claw into the three holes and twist the claw with a loud click.

The door shuddered and shook as it slowly lowered revealing an ethereal view.

Small trickles of light pierced through a tiny crack in the majestic cavern, illuminating a great wall of inscriptions. Trees and rocks littered throughout the closed of realm, giving it an eerie sense of being lost to time yet it had not hindered its beauty.

"This world has been so beautiful. I might have to thank the hunt next time i see them, haha." Ciri rung out with melodious laugh.

Lucius was barraged with a pang of pain in his mind, faint but loud whispers of a tongue unknown to him bounced of his thoughts.

As if possessed he slowly drifted towards the towering stone of writings.

'!' A voiced attacked his mind, and his steps faltered.

"Lucius, are you okay." A soft voice lingered by his ear.

He stayed true to his steps, the voice getting louder and louder the closer he advanced.

Before halting before a singular mark.

'FUS!' Lucius held his head in pain.

An echoing crack and a large blast of icy air assaulted his senses. A coffin blasted open revealing a tall undead lord. Plastered in heavy plate and a great sword of whirling ice on its back.

"Unslaad Krosis!" The corpse roared, charging at Lucius. "Dir, Volaan!" It bellowed, swinging its sword down on Lucius's exposed back.

Time seemed to slow for Ciri as the air solidified around her like a frozen haze of jaded green. A clang bounced on her ears, as she reflect the blade to the stone ground that now had ice creeping throughout its ancient veins.

"Lucius! Snap out of it you fool!" Ciri pleaded, pushing the Draugr lord away.

"What~" A drowsy response replied. Lucius looked away from the wall and saw Ciri locking blades with a giant mass of rot and metal. "Huh?"

Lucius shook off his fatigue, head still pounding, and summoned a dagger of violet shade and threw it threw the shoulder of the undead.

"Raaagh!" The sudden impact gave Ciri the chance the behead the monster under the gap in its armour.

"What the hell was that Lucius! You almost died!" Ciri chastised the elf still holding his head.

"I don't know. I don't remember walking up here, i can only recall a word." Said Lucius softly, massaging his temple.

"Sigh~ its fine. Everything's fine. Did the word mean anything to you at least?" Ciri asked after composing herself.

"That's the thing. I have no idea. 'FUS' just kept repeating in my mind until it slowly stopped. How long was i in the trance?" Asked Lucius after explaining.

"A good minute or so. This 'FUS' has to mean something. A bigger picture we're missing...This isn't the first time you've had these headaches or trances either, Lucius." Ciri said, deep into her thoughts with a hand on her chin.

"The draugr had an enchanted sword. If you don't want it we can sell it for at least 300 gold, i'm surprised it's still sharp after thousands of years." Lucius happily said, trying to change the subject.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk. I get it, but if i wasn't here you'd be naught but another dead body in this accursed sanctum." Ciri announced before heading towards the dropped great sword and picking it up. "What's that in the coffin?" She said.

"Some sort of stone, a tablet?" Lucius said picking it up. "It has the same language of those carvings on the back"

"Can you read it?" Ciri asked.

"Not really, but one word stands out. And i don't like it. 'Alduin' That's the second time the name's been mentioned." Lucius said with a small sense of dread building in his mind.

"Something is going on here, Lucius." Ciri said with a hardened tone, looking him dead in the eye.

"I know. Once? A coincidence. Twice? You'd be a fool to dismiss it." Lucius responded. "We should get this translated by a court mage. I don't recognise the language at all." He said.

"Agreed. The magic users of my world knew all sorts of things, hopefully that's the same here?" Ciri looked to Lucius with a questioning brow.

"I hope so too, first time remember." Lucius knocking on her head lightly. "Our best bet is Whiterun, if not there then to this 'college of Winterhold' the innkeeper told me of."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I never say no to a good adventure!" She beamed at him pushing his hand away.

"Come, i think i saw a lever this way." Lucius said pocketing the stone.

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Some Simpxxx guy in the reviews is actually triggering me with his retarded mindset. If you're reading this go to therapy you recluse. Describing the female lead with in-depth description and making her sound attractive means i'm a simp... I literally have a bruise for how hard i facepalmed.

Anyway~

Fun fact: Arwen only knew Aragorn for 4.2% of her entire life... Sucks to suck, huh?

I found these two chapters really hard to write. It was a constant battle of: Do i describe it and let them go through all the dungeon, but risk boring everyone thats played Skyrim. Or just include the main bits with little timeskips...

I might actually have to hold a vote for the little Serana romance arc, i did not expect that many responses, haha.

I'm not so sure myself since one romance is tough as it is.

Have a good one.

Your "patently evil" Author ;)