Chapter VII: Going deeper

Not long after, the company of guards enters the cave followed by Brienne.

We all gather up at the center of the Falmer settlement and Thorgrim takes his time explaining the situation to Hjolmir, when he gets to the part about the final fight the guards turn to me with astonishment, they interrupt the conversation and start asking questions but I point at my throat and shake my head, and now they are looking even funnier, yup I am becoming an honorary n'wah whether I like it or not...

I drift off as they start organizing the transportation of the rescued prisoners, but Brienne interrupts me and hands me a potion bottle "Master Tolfdir told me to give you this when he learned of your state, he said it would help speed up your recovery"

Ah, bless that old man! I smile and nod at her before downing the potion in one swig, immediately feeling better, the potion feels like a constant but light restoration spell spreading through my entire body.

She also hands me a couple of Magicka potions, making me do a fake swoon which made her giggle.

Not long after, the guards are done with their planning and Hjolmir walks to the side of the 'square' where I am standing and pats my shoulder with a proud look on his face "You did good Reyvin, when I heard you shouted the Falmer to death I thought the three that told me drunk"

I sigh and write down "It isn't my fault your people forgot your ancient arts to the point that anyone using them is considered a myth"

He shakes his head "If it were only that simple." Before he rights himself and starts talking seriously "Some of the guards will be returning alongside the prisoners to Winterhold, we don't want to leave them back at their homesteads until we are sure that they are all right and the threat has been dealt with. You could choose to go back with them and no one would say a word"

I immediately shake my head and write "I would feel defeated if I left this halfway, and besides someone needs to save your boy's asses if they get in over their heads again."

He laughs happily "Aye, it's a shame you aren't a Nord, you sure would fit in with us"

I look at him mock offended and he laughs again. I sigh.

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(General pov)

It takes the company some time to reorganize themselves, the wounded guards alongside some of the new arrivals leave with the liberated Nords.

A group of fourteen guards, Hjolmir, Thorfinn, and Thorgrim among them, alongside the three mages start their descent into the Dwemer ruin.

The gates themselves are made of the signature Dwemer metal, leading into an orderly tunnel covered by random traces of Falmer living there. They move slowly through the initial rooms, Reyvin warning everyone to watch for traps as the Dwemer remnants are known to be full of them, this saves a couple of guards from an untimely and very gory demise.

Most of the initial rooms are empty, well empty of Falmer, there re a lot of Dwemer items that should sell for a pretty penny once they were done with their expedition, naturally no one loots anything as it would only weigh them down going forward.

It takes an entire hour of slowly inching through the abandoned halls before they meet their first adversaries, a group of dwarven spiders, thankfully of the worker variant that are dispatched with ease. Reyvin makes a note to loot them for all they are worth on their way back.

Not long after the group enters a wide chamber reminiscent of a debate hall, coming face to face with a group of a couple of dozen very surprised and very large armored Falmer.

The Nords do not give their enemy a second to collect themselves, the Captain of the guard casting augmentation spells on himself and charging like an enraged bull almost turning the first Falmer he meets to paste with his mace, the rest quickly join him in the battle, spells flying from the backline showering the creatures in a mixture of fire and ice.

After taking heavy losses to the surprise attack, the Falmer reorganize into a surprisingly robust formation and start a shield wall battle with the Nords, holding their own with surprising efficiency.

Deciding not to let an enemy have even the slightest chance of victory, Reyvin once again levitates into the air and positions himself above the enemy formation, throwing fireballs into the target rich environment.

Before he can continue decimating the enemy ranks, a couple of the enemy warriors break of from the backline and point dwarven crossbows at him, the bolts break through his wind-ward but are weakened enough for his armor and stoneflesh to stop them.

Getting frightened by the sudden ranged attack Reyvin channels his inner Palpatine and casts greater sparks from both of his hands, frying the crossbowmen inside their armor.

Some of the guardsmen get wounded during the combat but the now severely weakened Falmer aren't enough to inflict any casualties. The fighting continues for a very short while with the flying Dunmer continuing his bombardment.

After killing the last goblinated elf, and finishing off any that may have survived, the Nords spread out and set up a perimeter while the mages get to neutralizing the poison from the wounded guards and then to healing them.

Confirming that there are no other enemies nearby, doing so once more using the mage's familiars, Hjolmir decides that they should take a break.

An hour of rest and a quick meal later they were on the prowl once again, following more winding tunnels and dispatching a couple more smaller groups of automata or the oddly large Falmer warriors.

(Reyvin's pov)

Tunnel after tunnel, seriously most of them are just empty and I can't for the life of me ascertain the purpose, are they a siege defense system? Is this why they are like this? Or did the Dwemer dig them out just to fuck with me?

Deciding to stop whining like a 17 year old, I refocus on my magic eyesight, noticing no traces of anyone or anything, I return to a thought that has been plaguing me since we entered the caves: Why are the Falmer wearing proper armor and fighting in formations, were they misrepresented in the game or is this an isolated incident?

I have doubts that the elves who degenerated to the point of their souls turning into white ones are capable of returning to any kind of former glory on their own, which has a lot of uncomfortable implications.

My thoughts are interrupted by a large gate now blocking our way, there was no locking mechanism but opening them is sure to alert whatever is on the other side.

Hjolmir signals for us to stop and casts a spell on the gate after touching it with his palm, after a couple of silent moments he turns to us "There is a very large space beyond this gate, at least the size of a small town" He turns to me "You think it could be some kind of entrance to Blackreach?"

I shake my head and point my finger below us.

He nods "So a mine or some kind of village or camp then" Before shaking his head and letting out a breath "Well, no time like the present!" He pushes the gate inwards and we are greeted with a beautiful sight.

Large tree sized glowing blue mushrooms surrounding many small Dwemer houses, two tiny rivers flowing from a waterfall at the edge of the cave, and a tower of stone and dwarven metal in the center of it all.

As soon as I see the large building and feel the baleful and bloody aura around it mixed in with a gentle light, I know with absolute certainty that it holds the answers to all my questions about this place.

[Quest issued: Unearth the secret of the Falmer][Reward: Mag: +10, random Dwemer schematics]

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