Chapter XLII: Labyrinthian (Part 1)
The cold winter air of Skyrim's central mountain range whipped at our faces mercilessly. Thankfully we were all fully prepared for such a thing, Savos and I wore enchanted robes, and Durrak... well Durrak was just too much of a beast to even care about something as petty as 'cold weather'.
The well over two meters tall Orc looked far too cheerful for someone wearing metal armor in sub-zero temperature but then again it might have something to do with his idiotic decision to become a werewolf.
To think one of my first friends in these lands consciously chose to become a furry...
Speaking of my friend... "What are you moping about back there Reyvin?" The loudmouthed warrior yelled as I trailed behind my two companions.
"Just ruminating on the cruelty of fate" I quip and speed up to join them.
As the two of us busied ourselves with banter, Savos used a rather slick combination of earth manipulation and ice magic to create a perfectly traversable path in front of us. The Archmage had been doing it for hours already yet he didn't look like he was even close to breaking a sweat.
"You said that the conflict with the Silver Hand was intensifying?" I ask Durrak as I lazily dispel the minor snowstorm caused by Savos' magic.
The Orc grunts, momentarily enraged, but takes a deep breath and then calmly explains "On the day of my joining the Circle we came upon one of their camps... Skjor heard of a known werewolf skinner hiding out in there and charged in without any plan" Durrak looked away as his shoulders slumped "He did not make it."
"And now he is stuck forever hunting in the domain of Hircine, eternally barred from his ancestors' afterlife" I finish with a derisive scoff.
My friend shakes his head in exasperation "It isn't the worst of all fates you know, he chose it knowingly."
"And I keep telling you that said choice was unwise, binding one's self to a Daedra is the height of foolishness." I retort insistently.
He looks just about ready to retort but merely shakes his head and pointedly changes the topic "So, what should I expect down there?" He asks, referring to our destination.
Savos perks up but doesn't interject.
"Trolls, Draugr, an undead dragon, an ancient lich, more trolls..." I trail off and then nod "Yeah, that sounds just about right."
My Orcish buddy tilts his head in my direction "You sound awfully sure about that."
I shrug with a smirk "That might be because I am sure."
"Right." He snorts "Why am I not surprised?"
"Because I inspire confidence in whoever meets me?" I quip.
Another snort, followed by silence. Said silence lasts only for a short while before the uncontrollably giddy murder machine asks "Now what was that you said about trolls?"
(General POV)
A tall, three-eyed monster of a beast trudged through the tall snow like it always did, its mind only comprehending the need to eat and sleep and not much else. Even with such a slow mind, the creature stilled suddenly as it heard a voice becoming closer with every second.
"...aaaaalaaaaAAAKAAAAAAAATHHH!!!!" A projectile of green and black slammed into the troll, turning it into fine chunks on impact. Moments later a blood-covered Durrak emerged from the mess and began to laugh like the mad barbarian he was.
(Reyvin's POV)
I let out an appreciative whistle as I observed the destruction caused by Savos literally just yeeting an armored Orc with explosive telekinesis "I gotta try that." I blurt unconsciously.
"Oh trust me, you will love it." Savos cackles as we start walking toward Durrak.
As it turned out I did indeed love it.
Took me about three tries to get the power of the spell right but Durrak was nothing if not patient as he awaited to be thrown at his foes once again.
One might find themselves thinking that we were being too foolish by playing around with trolls but quite frankly the lumbering beasts were so far below each and every one of us that using them as entertainment before the serious battle began was the only reasonable option.
Well, reasonable to our most likely insane minds that is.
Finally, after close to a day of riding and climbing, we crested over a small cliff and were greeted with the sight of the ancient Nord city. The place was still mostly buried underground but this time the surface section had actual walls and some outdoor buildings, much to my surprised satisfaction.
I understood why Saarthal was dug under the ground, it was the first city after all, but the rest confused me. Were the ancient winters so great that even Nords had to dig deep to escape them? Or was it simply a tradition from when they were still living over in Atmora where the winters were certainly that strong?
No matter, we had more pressing concerns.
Like the minor fact that I could only really see most of the surface city because of my third eye and not with the rest as the whole damn thing was nearly completely submerged in deep snow.
"This... might take a while" I sigh.
I was, of course, just being dramatic. The thing looked daunting at first glance but we had magic on our side and tunneling through the snow was literal child's play for two magi of our power.
Our first destination was the circular stone hut at the center of the ruin that held the collection of busts intended for dragon priest masks. We made it inside in short order and were surprised by the small building being warded against the snow and other natural elements, the damn place was even pleasantly warm!
I entered the central chamber and immediately noticed the wooden mask lying down beneath the large stone mural/statue. Picking it up, after scanning it of course, I noticed that the power it held was rather... minor considering its assumed function of traveling through time.
The wooden mask was said to literally send the last Dragonborn back through time when they donned it so that they may take up the final dragon priest mask but this thing seemed far too underpowered for such a function.
Even Savos agreed that the thing was underwhelming after thoroughly scanning it.
'Well, nothing for it.' I shrug and place the mask upon my head after sensing little danger in doing so. The instant the piece of ancient headgear covered my face I felt as if I was sent to another place. My senses told me I was still very much in the stone hut but I was somewhere else at the same time.
Looking around I realized that even though voices came from all around me I was still very much so only surrounded by the two people I came in with. Some more scanning revealed that what the mask did was merely send one's self to a tiny alternate dimension while surrounding them in an illusion meant to impress the idea of time travel upon them.
I removed the mask from my face and sighed "Well, that was somewhat disappointing."
Savos raises an eyebrow "You turned transparent there for a moment."
"Yup" I nod "Sent me to a pocket space" I gaze at the unadorned piece of wood and send it to my storage space "It might not have time travel but the small dimension might give me some useful ideas later on."
Savos chuckles ruefully "Honestly that is probably for the best."
I wince as I realize what he was implying "Yeah... getting struck with a dragon break by Akatosh does not sound like a good way to go."
"You got what you wanted?" Durrak interrupts impatiently. Apparently, the big orc was mildly claustrophobic, and crawling through a snow tunnel had unnerved him, so he wanted to deal with it the only way he knew how... by smashing things into fine paste.
Savos and I exchanged a look and I shrugged, and so moments later we were once again digging through the snow at ridiculous speeds and exiting atop a tall platform before a circular stone gate.
Savos hesitated upon the sight, lightly shivering as the memories of his dead friends no doubt replayed in his mind. My hand landing firmly on his shoulder seemed to bring him back to reality and he nodded firmly, summoning a metal torc and connecting it to the gate.
After three solemn knocks, the ward gate unraveled, opening the way down.
(General POV)
The trio of powerful adventurers descended the vast stairway into Labyrinthian with certain steps. No torches were needed as each had the ability to see in the dark with great clarity and there was no need to make themselves easier targets.
The first vast chamber that awaited was surprisingly mundane in its construction. It seemed to be something of a large tavern that was meant to welcome weary travelers after a harsh winter day. Many large tables made of stone were still standing, even if dilapidated by the passage of time.
The one that followed was a simple dirt floor with a large mound in the center, and just as Reyvin was about to warn everyone to be cautious the mound exploded outwards, a skeletal dragon emerging from within, soon joined by a horde of skeletons and Draugr.
Most adventurers would have frozen at such a sight, yet only one did this time.
Reyvin did not hesitate for even a moment before shadow walking to the largest group and blasting them with gouts of solar flame while Scorch did the same from atop the vast chamber.
While he was doing that Durrak boldly challenged the animated dragon, his supernatural strength easily allowing him to stall the monster and keep it in place.
Savos finally managed to get himself out of his state of repressed panic and summoned his own familiar, followed by about a dozen atronachs of the fiery variety, and then started blasting the dragon with his considerably potent destruction magic.
As the mobs of undead were cleared out, custom-crafted dwemer automata started joining the battle. Ballistae and crossbow wielding spheres soon surrounded the draconic carcass, pelting it with enchanted bolts of various sizes.
Whoever was animating the skeleton realized he was losing and commanded the massive creature to take down his accursed enemy even if it cost him its continued service.
The skeletal dragon suddenly reared up and launched itself at Savos, who had very little time to dodge the sudden attack.
A bright golden firebolt slammed into the dragon's jaw, slowing it down, and before it could attack once again the massive form of Durrak crashed atop its head, spearing through the creature's spine and killing it on the spot.
"You good there?" Reyvin asked his newfound grandfather.
Savos shook the wave of terror off and nodded "Y-yes, just peachy."
They took a short break to rest up while Reyvin collected his automatons, booping the dead dragon with his crown on the way and extracting a bit of its ancient power.
As the party descended deeper into the ancient ruin a sudden chill settled in their bones and a voice both ancient and rasping resounded from all around them "Wo meyz wah dii vul junaar?"
Savos was just about to have a panic attack but even his ancient terror was overridden by sheer incredulity at what left Reyvin's mouth but a moment later.
"N'wah says what?"
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Throw me a bone and give me a stone!
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