Dungeons and...

Before the group entered the ruins, they decided to go over their approach. There was a total of 6 people, 4 Companions, Rictus, and Anska. The Companions were going to be the physical support for the group. Aela was in charge and would act as rear guard. Her bow would not be as useful in the confines of the ruins so she would be using her swords. Thrull Thrullson was there to be the tank of the group. He had the heaviest steel plate armor and shield. Mathred the Mute was also heavily armored but used a greatsword. Ria was lightly armored and used a single sword. She would utilize quick strikes and flanking tactics. Rictus and Anska would be there as magical support.

Aela was unsure about Anska being part of the group since she was an unknown. Sadly, Anska was being a typical stubborn Nord and refused to be left behind. Aela took one more look at her team.

"The battle order will be: Thrull as the front line, Ria will be at the front as support, Rictus and Anska will be next, then I will be near them, and Mathred will be our rear guard since we all know how tricky these ruins can become for the unwary. Mages will act as support for us if needed. Try and stay out of the way unless called upon. You will be able to have more freedom in large rooms, but other than those areas, you will keep your magic to yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

Rictus had already talked with Aela about his roll during the delve during the journey. Most of what was being said was for Anska's benefit. Rictus was pleased with this plan since it posed very little risk to himself. Being surrounded by capable warriors is the perfect place for a mage to stay.

Remembering how Anska mentioned a dragon priest, Rictus had to warn the Companions.

"I have heard tales of the Dragon Priests. They were mighty spell casters and followers of the dragons. Do not take them lightly. From what I have heard, they have a variety of spells but tend to utilize staffs the most. Beware of large fireballs or similar spells whenever we confront it. Some also levitate so beware that as well."

The group all gives nods of approval at Rictus' warning. With a determined look upon their faces and one final equipment check, the team was finally ready to enter the ruins.

Rictus cast Ebonyflesh to go ahead and prepare himself for the trial before him. He was going to wait on casting Dragonhide till they confront the dragon priest since the spell costed so much more mana. Rictus also pulled a couple of stone shards from the ground to use with his telekinesis. Thinking of magic, Rictus had a question for Aela.

"Aela, would you like for me to cast my familiar and command it to go before us? That way it can potentially pull out the enemies before us. I do not know if you wanted to be stealthy or not."

Aela seemed to ponder the question for a second before giving her reply.

"Hmm it would be a good idea to use it. It would be good if it can reveal the enemies beforehand or potentially trigger any hidden traps. Besides, stealth is not our group's strong point anyways. Cast away mage."

Rictus couldn't help but be a little proud the huntress went along with his plan. Rictus cast his spell calling forth Billy. Yes, he named his goat familiar Billy as in Billy Goat.

Seeing the familiar, the group could not help but let out a little chuckle which seemed to dissipate some of the nerves which were building as they opened the door to the ruins. Anska found it especially funny this imposing looking man had such a weird familiar, even if the familiar was quite intimidating for a goat.

Rictus immediately sent Billy in and commanded him to lead the group.

It was a good thing he did this too. As soon as Billy started into the entry room, groans could be heard and 2 draugr appeared from the shadows and began attacking.

As both draugr appeared distracted by the familiar, Thrull and Ria immediately jumped into action. Thrull shield bashed the closest draugr which was holding an ancient war ax. The draugr was staggered and fell to its knees from the unexpected hit to its side. As soon as the creature fell, Ria was there attacking it before it could rise. Thrull meanwhile moved on to the other draugr and attacked with his sword as it was still battling Billy. The draugr noticed the new attacker and side stepped the Nord's attack and gave a brutal overhead attack with its sword. Thrull raised his shield just in time to catch the blow on his shield. As the draugr was distracted, Billy charged and was able to body slam the draugr into the wall. Before the draugr could fully recover, Billy charged again and impaled the creature through its chest.

Normally, this would have ended the fight, but the draugr was an undead creature. The only way to fully kill the creature was destroying the heart, severely damaging the brain, or decapitation. Sadly, Billy did not hit the heart.

The draugr began trying to stab the familiar pinning it to the wall. It was only partially successful since it could not get enough space to get a full swing. Before the draugr could attempt another attack, a rock spear obliterated its head.

Rictus looked on in grim satisfaction at his handy work. He couldn't stop himself from going over and giving Billy some head rubs. Billy had done excellent in the fight with basically no directions. Rictus was quite pleased with how well his familiar performed.

The draugr were quite intimidating when Rictus took a good look at them. They looked to be somewhere between a zombie and a normal Nord. Too well put together for a zombie but just enough off to not be mistaken as alive. They were large, and Rictus could tell they would have been impressive specimen of traditional Nords. They did appear to be more similar to mummies instead of zombies. This made sense to Rictus since ancient Nords were supposedly expert necromancers and meticulous in their treatment of the dead.

The team did not bother looting in their first area. They had already decided to clear out the ruins before the spent time searching for valuables. Apparently, this was normal procedure for the Companions. They didn't want anything sneaking up on them while distracted.

As they made it past the first little room, a small hallway opened up into a much larger room. This room was about half the size of a football field. It had large support pillars spaced sound the center of the room. As the group started entering the room fully. They heard the iconic sounds of draugr busting out of their coffins. Most were grouped on the other end of the room, but there were still a couple closer to the delvers. Rictus could see about 8 of the draugr on the opposite end of the room and 2 on their side, 1 to the left and 1 to the right of them.

As Aela saw all that was going on, she immediately pulled out her bow and stared giving commands.

"Anska, attack the far group. Mathred, take the left draugr. Rictus take the right. Thrull/Ria hold and wait to engage."

As she was giving out commands, Aela was constantly sending arrows at the approaching draugr. As soon as each person heard their name, they jumped into action.

Rictus went with the tested method of having Billy charge his target then trying to destroy its head with a stone shard.

The draugr Rictus was facing had a bow. It was at a disadvantage being so close . The draugr was able to get off 1 arrow which whizzed right by Rictus's head before being tackled by Billy. While it was on the ground, Billy stood on it while Rictus destroyed its head with another stone spike.

Turning back to the rest of the group, Rictus saw the draugr from across the hall had almost reached them. There were only 4 draugr left in the approaching group. Aela's arrows and Anska's fireballs had stopped the other 4 before they could close in. Aela had dropped her bow and prepared to engage them in melee.

Thrull engaged 2 of the draugr ad both Aela and Ria began dueling with the other 2. Anska stayed out of the way and waited for an opportunity to strike. Mathred had already decapitated his opponent and was making his way back to help Ria who was closest to him.

Rictus had Billy charge the draugr facing Thrull as he took aim with another rock spear. One of the draugr noticed the charging familiar and was able to take a mighty swing towards the charging goat. As the sword made contact with the familiar, Rictus felt the connection he had with it suddenly disappear as the sword passed through the dissipating goat.

Even though it was a simple summon, Rictus felt rage begin to bubble up inside him. Forgoing trying to conserve mana, Rictus started casting paralyze at the distracted draugr not really caring if he hit his teammates in the process.

Each of the 4 spells made contact with the enemy, instantly dropping them where they were. The Companions quickly took advantage of this and decapitated the draugr.

Rictus walked up to the draugr which had destroyed Billy. Unwilling to simply kill it, Rictus had earthen spikes pierce the arms and legs of the helpless draugr pinning it in place.

Staring into the undead eyes, Rictus did not see the pain he so wished to inflict upon the creature. Pulling his ax from his back, Rictus quickly decapitated the dragur.

Ria's face began to frown as she stared at the mage.

"Orkey's beard, why didn't you do that sooner?"

The rest of the group was also curious about this as well and waited an answer from the mage.

Rictus looked at each of them before explaining the downside of the paralyze spell.

"The main reason I waited so long is due to the high mana cost of the paralyze spell. I am a fairly powerful mage, but even I have my limits when casting. Those 4 I cast used up most of my mana. Had there been more enemies around, then I would be out of the fight for a bit. Also, there is no guarantee if the spell will even take hold depending on the strength of the opponent. Besides, isn't this supposed to be your first major mission Ria? I can't take all the glory from you."

Rictus finished his little speech with a smirk to the younger Nord. The rest of the group seemed to respect his answer especially as Anska nodded in agreement about the cost of the spell. Ria was feeling a little chastised after hearing and did agree there was no honor in killing paralyzed foes.

Internally, Rictus thought his explanation made a lot of sense. He definitely did not get caught up in the thrill of throwing stones with telekinesis and watching them destroy his opponents. The cost of the paralyze spell really was part of the reason he didn't use it more. Against small groups it was great, and when Rictus became a little more confident in his self defense without magic he would most likely abuse the spell much more. He already had plans of trying to alter the spell to only last a second and alter it to only affect 1 body part.

The group took a few minutes to recovery and let the mages regain their mana. Rictus also resummoned Billy during this time. The goat immediately began rubbing its head against Rictus. Whether Billy chose to do it, or Rictus did subconsciously, Rictus was glad for the contact. He made a mental note to look more into the sentience of familiars.

After the large room, they went down into tighter corridors. Throughout the winding corridor, draugr would come at them 1 or 2 at a time. Usually, Ria faced them with Thrull supporting her. The trip was her first real mission so the Companions wanted her to get the most experience.

They passed a small room with a single draugr which Ria handled. Then they went down more corridors and more draugr. When more than 2 appeared, Rictus would quickly dispose of the extra with a paralyze then rock spear combo.

Rictus was surprised at the lack of traps this ruin had. Usually there were a lot more of them in these kinds of places.

As they were about to exit into another chamber. There was a very faint clicking sound.

Suddenly, a loud whoosh sounded and there was a rush of air as a blur passed in front of most the group.

A giant spiked wall trap slammed into the wall beside the party.

Rictus looked on in horror at the decimated party member.

Poor Billy had died once again.

It was a good thing Rictus had continued to send the familiar before the party. Otherwise, Thrull would have become a stain on the wall. There wasn't really anyone in the party who was trained in spotting and disarming traps.

So, Billy was designated the sacrificial lamb..goat.

After the little spiked wall incident, the party made it into a room with a locked grate in the middle leading further down into the ruins. It was a classic Skyrim puzzle room where you had to pull the levers in the correct order based off a depiction of an animal. Based off the groups grumbling, Rictus learned everyone knew about these and how easy they were to open. Apparently, the ancient Nords had poor memory since they carved the key to unlocking the gate in the same area.

The group decided this area would be a good one to take a short rest before continuing further. With a locked gate before them and cleared ruins behind them, it made sense to Rictus. Besides, they would need the rest before the coming challenges.

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[A/N]: I decided to break this up into two parts instead of 1 super long chapter. I also kinda rushed through the ending of the chapter because I am still working on writing action scenes and didn't want it to get to tedious describing them fighting every single draugr.