Dragonning

A few more months pass after Michael's run-in with the Dark Brotherhood, he felt like they were in a kind of peace period since the Thalmor were seemingly fine with allowing the Dark Brotherhood to do their jobs, not knowing that the assassination attempt had already failed.

Michael wanted to take another 'vacation' while he waited for his property to be built, but knew that a few things had to be taken care of. The first is the excavation of Saarthal to acquire the Eye of Magnus, which would have to be recovered before the structure was actually built. Primarily due to how the tower was designed... The Aetherium symbols and ebony wiring made it incredibly sensitive to magic, so Michael didn't dare do anything 'drastic' anywhere near them. He'd also made this clear to the workers and Arch-mage, making sure to mention how 'explosion' it could be if his warning was ignored... Which only annoyed the powerful mage.

His relationship with the Arch-Mage had become frosty, which only made it more difficult for him to ask for the key to access the Labyrinthian so he could grab the Staff of Magnus before anyone else could.

Savos tried to convince him out of it, despite their rocky relationship, knowing that there was a high possibility of Michael's death if he went on ignorant of the dangers.

Michael assured the man that he already knew what awaited him however, explaining that the Skeletal Dragon and Dragon Priest wouldn't be a problem, and that he already had countermeasures... Which was a lie, kind of, but it still managed to convince the man, who handed him a large ringlet that'd be used to open the Labyrinthian.

With it, he entered the tomb alone, not wanting to get the others involved or possibly harmed. In all honesty, he had no idea how powerful the dragon or dragon priest would be, but he was sure he could deal with them, especially the mage with all the abilities that'd counter it.

Inside, he encounters ghosts of the Arch-Mage and his friends... Which Michael completely ignores, moving on through the place until he walks into a large room that had a skeletal dragon waiting for him, along with a horde of skeletons waiting at the sides of the room.

"You're not a dragon! Just a big ass wyvern! Damn imposter!" Michael jokingly accuses while shooting a Laguna Blade at its head. The lightning bolt strikes it and scorches its previously pale skull, causing the lights in its eyes to flicker out as it falls dead.

The spell hadn't damaged the bones, but the damage was enough to remove whatever magic had been holding it together... Kind of anticlimactic if he was honest. Michael was about to go and deal with the remaining skeleton soldiers when the dragon stands back up, a breeze blowing through the tomb as the voice of what could only be the Dragon Priest whispers ancient indistinguishable words.

"Alright, Winter's Curse." he intones, casting the spell on the dragon, freezing it and causing all nearby skeletons to start whaling on it without a single ounce of reason or rationality... Not that they possessed such a thing even before this.

He then Blinks to the opposite side of the room and through the door that had metal bars blocking it off. He was here for the Staff of Magnus, not to brawl with an undying dragon... He encounters more obstacles after this, all of them negligible, some doors that require fire or ice spells to bypass, some skeletons... By the end of it, Michael enters a huge cavern where he could see a couple ghosts of the Arch-Mage's old companions restraining the Dragon Priest.

The Dragon Priest continues speaking in dragon tongue, but he ignores it and systematically slaughters the ghosts, releasing the Dragon Priest... Not before planting a shit ton of explosive oils and fire runs around it though...

As soon as it's able to move...

*BOOOOOOOOOOM!*

The entire cave shudders from the explosion, causing dust and pebbles to drop down from the ceiling as smoke fills the room. Before it clears however, Michael spots two glowing blue eyes... "All that didn't kill you? What the fuck?" he mutters.

"Hi lost bolaav zey stin. Ol urid, Zu'u bolaav hi kog dinok." the Dragon Priest rasps out, its rotten throat making the words sound like powerful curses.

It then raises the Staff of Magnus in its hand and points it towards Michael, who immediately blinks behind some stone rubble to take cover, knowing exactly what kind of weapon the staff was supposed to be.

*SHHIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!*

A laser-like blast comparable to a magical Kamehameha fires continuously towards the area Michael was hiding. Thankfully, it doesn't do anything but instantly kill any bacteria left on the stones, doing nothing physically to the rocks...

The Staff of Magnus wasn't a traditional weapon, instead, being designed to control the Eye of Magnus. If hit by the ray, you'd first have all of your magicka sucked out of you, and once that was done, your life force would be next. If you stood there and took it you'd be left as a desiccated husk and looking uglier than the Dragon Priest himself.

*SHIIIIiiiiiiiiii....*

Once Michael hears the attack come to an end, he peeks his head over his cover and thrusts his hand forwards, casting Monolith Wards directly next to the priest, causing many large hands made of shadow to burst from the floor and start attacking the mage.

*SHUIII!*

In response the priest whips the staff around and blasts a ray through the hands, completely dispelling them due to their magical nature. But this just allows Michael to go on the offensive without fear of instant death. Or whatever else would happen if he was hit.