![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/5-1-18-1.png\")
<\/p>\n\u201cFound it.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dardeh swiveled around to look at Viggun, the big Nord who\u2019d been assigned to them for this next cleanup task. They\u2019d been unable to get through what felt like a magical barrier into the ruin below Bleak Falls Barrow on the Lake Ilinalta side, forcing them to take the long way around, through Brittleshin Pass. The weather had gotten progressively worse, and was now foggy with spitting snow and bitter winds. Roggi had been getting progressively crankier all the way here and Dardeh wished that he could Shout a hole into the barrow to end their frustration. Not Viggun. He\u2019d said that he\u2019d had nightmares about draugr since his childhood–and that it sounded like lots of fun to go get rid of some. He was of that rare breed of Nord possessed of a sunny disposition and good sense of humor, and Dardeh had to admit that it was infectious.<\/p>\n
Now he was pointing at a cleverly-placed trap door nearly obscured from most angles of view. Behind Viggun, Dardeh caught a glimpse of light. There was a small table tucked up against the rocks, a lantern and a small journal resting on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know how I missed this,\u201d he said, picking up the journal and flipping through its pages.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell finally,\u201d Roggi grumbled, coming up behind them. \u201cI was expecting a cave entrance. Something normal. Never would have thought to look down.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe either,\u201d Viggun chuckled. \u201cI was heading for that light and tripped on the edge of it.\u00a0 What\u2019s the journal say, Dardeh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds like the explorers Korst was laughing at really did have a bad time of it. They came around here because of that weird barrier on the other side of the mountain. There were trolls down there when the first guy lowered himself into the cave, and he met a bad end\u2026\u201d He trailed off as he read ahead and found a chill running up his spine.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd?\u201d Roggi pressed.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what they found. Whoever wrote this says: \u2018All I can tell you is that death awaits anyone who goes in there.\u2019\u201d He read further and ended up shaking his head. \u201cEver heard of something called Staadomaar Temple?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot me,\u201d Viggun said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d Dardeh said. \u201cBut apparently these researchers were following up on an old legend that says Bleak Falls Barrow is just a part of this larger temple, and that it was closed off because it has something evil sealed up inside.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGreat!\u201d Viggun chuckled. \u201cIt would be sad if we went through all of this just to fight some ordinary trolls.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi stared at him for a moment and then burst into laughter.\u00a0 Dardeh swapped a quick glance with Viggun and grinned. Thank the gods, something broke through. I love you, Roggi, but sometimes your mood gets too heavy. I wish I knew what was eating at you.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell, let\u2019s go see what it is,\u201d he said, flipping the trap open and stepping down onto the ladder. \u201cIf it\u2019s trolls, I know how to deal with those.\u201d<\/p>\n What he found at the base of the ladder was not a troll, but a skeever that rushed at him from a dimly-lit tunnel to one side. He took it out with a quick swipe of his sword and laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cA fearsome skeever,\u201d he called back up to the others. \u201cAll clear.\u201d<\/p>\n He moved forward into the short, winding tunnel as the others followed down the ladder. It ended at the mouth of a much larger cave, from which came the unmistakable grunts of a troll. Dardeh stepped into the space and gasped. It wasn\u2019t simply a troll\u2019s den. There were bone chimes hanging from the roof, and carefully-placed painted rocks; and before him, at the base of a stone pillar, was the body of a giant.<\/p>\n It must have been some troll! Or\u2026 more than one? <\/em><\/p>\n Just such a troll rumbled out from behind the pillar toward him. He buried one arrow in it; it snorted and hopped around in frustration. Roggi and Viggun rushed noisily into the area, catching the troll\u2019s attention long enough for Dardeh to send a second arrow into it, this time directly into its brain. It dropped.<\/p>\n Dardeh didn\u2019t get a chance to breathe. A second, much larger troll barreled out and made a beeline for Roggi. He scrambled to fit another arrow to his bow but Roggi took a massive swing at the beast.<\/p>\n \u201cJust DIE!\u201d Roggi screamed; and while Dardeh\u2019s arrow did in fact strike the troll it was Roggi\u2019s greatsword slashing diagonally through the creature\u2019s midsection that sent its corpse flying backward, to fall beside that of the giant near Dardeh\u2019s feet.\u00a0 He glanced at it, and then back to Roggi, who was loosening his shoulders and shaking his head.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess I needed that,\u201d Roggi mumbled. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve been on edge for awhile now.\u201d<\/p>\n Viggun clapped him on the back. \u201cThat was a good kill. To think these trolls took out a giant!\u00a0 No wonder the archaeologists had a bad time of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Around the cave they found a small altar with a deer skull mounted above it, clearly the work of the giant.\u00a0 A fairly fresh deer carcass in a depression might have been the work of either party. Finally Dardeh stubbed his toe on a bone and looked down to see a very human skeleton, face down in a dark corner.<\/p>\n \u201cMust be Baro, the guy mentioned in the journal,\u201d he said, pointing at it. \u201cAnd that means we\u2019re not far from\u2026\u201d He looked around and pointed up. At the top of a dirt bank were the remnants of a collapsed archway, carved in the distinctive scrollwork of ancient Nord ruins.<\/p>\n \u201cYup, here it is. Here\u2019s the entrance to Staadomaar. The journal says they broke through into it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s get going, then,\u201d Roggi said.<\/p>\n They clambered up the bank and through the opening to be greeted with another skeever, the corpse of a third troll, and iron doors set into the end of a corridor. Dardeh pushed them open, bow in hand, expecting danger; but all he found was another corridor with a pressure plate at its far end, just beneath a set of stairs leading upward.<\/p>\n \u201cWatch your feet,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cThis is where we start going back up into the mountain, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d only gone a few steps up when a familiar grunt and movement above him caught his attention; he readied his bow. Then he groaned to himself as the draugr stepped out in front of him and he saw the distinctive horned helmet.<\/p>\n Damn. Deathlords. Just what I need.<\/em><\/p>\n He managed to loose one arrow. Roggi rushed up beside him, yelling \u201cLook out!\u201d just as the draugr Shouted, staggering both of them. Viggun was trying to find a way around or over; but there wasn\u2019t enough room for him to pass on the narrow staircase. Dardeh fired again and, to his shock, knocked the Deathlord off its feet. Roggi then stepped forward and hammered at it; and before Dardeh could do anything to help the draugr was done.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat. Well, I guess that tells us what we\u2019ll be facing.\u00a0 You up for a Deathlord or two, Viggun?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. I hope I get a chance to take a swing at one. We need a bigger space, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething tells me we\u2019ll find one,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cThese old ruins always lead to something big.\u201d<\/p>\n The stairs turned left at the landing where the draugr had been, and up another short flight to an iron door with a conspicuous trigger trap at its base. Dardeh peered at it, then turned and grinned at Roggi.<\/p>\n \u201cSo show me how it\u2019s done.\u00a0 You know I\u2019m bad at lock picking and I don\u2019t trust whatever that thing is hooked up to.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi smiled, and Dardeh thought he saw an eager sparkle in his eyes. \u201cStand aside, then.\u201d He knelt, and in no more than a couple of breaths the trigger released. \u201cThere now, we can go\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi had started to stand up, but as the door swung open flames exploded into the space he would have occupied. \u201cGet back!\u201d he yelped, pushing Dardeh back down a stair or two where he bumped into Viggun.<\/p>\n \u201cNot fair!\u201d Viggun chortled. \u201cI thought those triggers were supposed to turn off the trap if you picked them open.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, so did I,\u201d Roggi grumbled. \u201cThing must have malfunctioned. I did <\/em>pick that lock.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh nodded. \u201cYou did.\u00a0 Quickly, too. I\u2019d have gone through half my picks just trying to figure out what kind of lock it was. Not your fault the thing\u2019s so old it doesn\u2019t work properly anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh it works properly, alright,\u201d Roggi snorted. \u201cA trap meant to make sure nobody got any farther even if they could pick a lock.\u201d He frowned at Dardeh. \u201cGet a chance to show you what I can do and look what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh smiled. \u201cAnd I was impressed. Try to relax, Roggi. I know you\u2019re worried about things but we\u2019re fine and there are three of us here.\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi heaved a heavy sigh. \u201cSorry, Dar. I\u2019ve just had a lot on my mind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d Dardeh looked up the stairs and scanned what he could see of the large area beyond the door.\u00a0 I don\u2019t really know whether it\u2019s me he\u2019s worried about, or what happened to Sayma, or\u2026 <\/em>Dardeh frowned and headed into the next area. It\u2019s always in the back of my mind. Maybe it\u2019s Ulfric he\u2019s thinking about.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWell here\u2019s the bigger space you wanted, Viggun,\u201d he said as they entered. It was the landing of a wide staircase leading down into a partially collapsed, two-story high chamber. Green banners on the walls were faded but in surprisingly good repair. Roggi turned his attention to a locked door to their right, which opened with a loud squeak to reveal only shelves holding a few potions.<\/p>\n Either the door or their movements alerted the denizens of this barrow. One draugr rose from a coffin on a raised platform below them. A draugr with magic readied in its palm appeared in an upper-level doorway with no obvious access, across the way. Dardeh sighed, raised his bow, and took a shot at the undead mage, and both Roggi and Viggun ran down the stairs ahead of him to attack the single draugr below.<\/p>\n Dardeh stepped left and saw then that there was in fact another doorway at the bottom of the chamber. Roggi and Viggun chased the draugr into it; and then whispers of frost from beyond his sightlines told Dardeh that the mage had come down to meet them.\u00a0 He was halfway down the stairs when a sarcophagus to his left burst open and another draugr stepped out. Dardeh sneered.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t waste time pulling his weapons.\u00a0 He merely Shouted a ball of flame at the draugr and watched it drop to the floor.\u00a0 And then his mouth fell open in amazement.<\/p>\n As the fireball dissipated, a long, sinuous form emerged.\u00a0 With a segmented body and a head like that of a miniature dragon, a fiery creature floated through the air and toward the doorway where the sounds told of Roggi and Viggun\u2019s fierce battle beyond. He bolted across the room to chase after the creature.<\/p>\n What is it? Did I do that?<\/em><\/p>\n Am I really seeing this? <\/em><\/p>\n Viggun was farthest into the hallway, pounding on an ice atronach. Roggi was just behind him, trying to find an opening. The flame wraith rose to the ceiling of the corridor, slid past all of them, and then turned and attacked the atronach. It collapsed in on itself; and then Dardeh could see that the wraith had also taken down the draugr that had conjured it.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t attack it!\u201d he yelled.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat in Oblivion is that, Dar?\u201d Roggi said, backing away from it to stand beside Dardeh while Viggun scrambled up the stairs past it.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, Roggi, but\u2026 you see it too, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course I see it. It\u2019s hard to ignore something made of fire that\u2019s wriggling in front of your face. Did you make that, Dar?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026 I must have. But I don\u2019t know how. I Shouted at a draugr out there, and when the fire died off this thing was left behind. I thought I was losing my mind, Roggi. But if you see it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see it, too,\u201d Viggun called from up the stairs. \u201cThat must have been some Shout.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI guess.\u201d I have no idea what happened!<\/em> \u201cOk.\u00a0 Well that\u2019s a relief. Let\u2019s continue. I don\u2019t know how long that thing will last.\u201d Dardeh picked his way over the dead draugr and up the steps, then to the left into a long room lined with offerings for the dead. He could feel air currents from the large space just beyond, and crossed onto a stone walkway bridging the gap to a stone support pillar. Far below, the flame wraith still patrolled near the open door they\u2019d come through.<\/p>\n A draugr began laughing somewhere above him. Before he could react, Viggun bolted past him and across the walk, then up a wooden ramp.<\/p>\n Dardeh darted for the ramp, with Roggi close behind. Viggun was pounding at an ancient redhead standing precariously near the edge of a platform. Dardeh reached for his own swords but Viggun had the situation well in hand, taking the draugr\u2019s legs off at the knees and sending it tumbling to its death far below.<\/p>\n A short walkway extended to a double set of locked doors.\u00a0 Dardeh turned to look at Roggi, grinned, and then began working on it himself, tsking when he broke the first pick.\u00a0 He was very aware of Roggi\u2019s heat when he moved up beside him to watch; and he broke a second pick out of sheer distraction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an easy lock, Dragonborn,\u201d Roggi murmured. \u201cYou can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, wiseass,\u201d Dardeh grumbled as the lock finally clicked open.<\/p>\n As soon as they pushed the doors open, the skeletons piled up near them said that the lock had been designed to keep things in, not out. A moment later they all heard a Shout that had them all stumbling backward.<\/p>\n Dardeh pulled out two of his swords: the double-edged blade he\u2019d been using since before Skuldafn and his newest weapon, an ebony scimitar he\u2019d fashioned for himself while they were at home resting. His enchanted sword, while highly effective against dragons, was not as good in heavy-duty melee combat as he liked. He\u2019d thought long and hard about a sword to craft, and while he would never use his father\u2019s blades again he was as familiar with the curved shape and how to use it effectively as he was with how to breathe. He threw himself up the stairs and into the Deathlord, smiling to himself as he saw the damage the new blade dealt; then he Shouted fire at the creature to give himself an additional edge. The draugr staggered, but before it could ready another Shout Dardeh made three quick double strikes in a row and finished it.<\/p>\n The room behind the draugr had clearly been an alchemy lab at some point in the distant past. Roggi made an interested noise and moved past Dardeh to pick several of the still-vital plants: a juniper, some deathbell petals. Dardeh looked around the space and found no other exits. Frowning, he retraced their steps, turning onto the balcony he\u2019d ignored earlier while trying to help Viggun and then down a set of wooden stairs. Their path led through a door to a room with an embalming table. The three men took a few cautious steps down the slope beyond the table, past a number of sarcophagi.<\/p>\n I give it five seconds before they\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n Behind him, the first of several coffin lids burst open and a draugr Deathlord stepped out to glare at them.\u00a0 It rasped a rusty FUS, but Dardeh dodged the worst of the shock wave and bolted back up the slope toward it, swords flying.\u00a0 He heard more sounds of battle as one draugr threatened them:\u00a0 \u201cDir volaan!\u201d<\/p>\n Die, intruder? Dream on my desiccated friend. <\/em><\/p>\n Between sword strikes Dardeh heard Roggi reply to the draugr with \u201cbehold my power!\u201d Then came the unmistakable sounds of the dragonbone greatsword slicing through an enemy.\u00a0 Viggun grunted with exertion as he met yet another draugr\u2019s weapons with his own.\u00a0 By the time Dardeh dropped his opponent and turned to help, there were only corpses littering the floor.<\/p>\n The corridor continued to descend, emptying into a curious oval chamber lined with upright sarcophagi.\u00a0 There was a pool of water dominating the space, shallow along the edges and of a depth he could not determine in its center.<\/p>\n \u201cGot a feeling there\u2019s trouble ahead,\u201d Roggi murmured.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, me too,\u201d Viggun agreed. \u201cMy guess is that every one of these things is going to come greet us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Dardeh said, grinning at them, \u201cwe\u2019re ready for them if that last room was any indication. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n It was quiet until he was approximately halfway around the perimeter of the space. Suddenly the gates at either end of the room dropped shut. Then, as they had all expected, a coffin lid fell to the floor and an ancient woman stepped out, eyes blazing blue. It took Dardeh only a moment to put her down.<\/p>\n Then it got interesting.<\/p>\n One after another, in a crescendo of thuds that increased in speed with every breath, the sarcophagi yielded up their contents.\u00a0 Dardeh found himself fighting a mage and saw Viggun battling a sword-and-board warrior; Roggi sloshed through the shallow waters to take on at least two more draugr at a time. The battle turned from a manageable one-on-one to a chaotic war zone in a matter of moments.\u00a0 Dardeh did the only thing he could think of.<\/p>\n \u201cMID- VUR SHAAN!\u201d<\/p>\n His Shout knocked things off tables and dead draugr into the pool, its volume made even more overpowering through bouncing back and forth between the walls of the enclosed space. He saw Roggi grin with the increased energy that his battle Shout imparted; and while Viggun looked shocked for a moment he too broke into a wide grin and attacked the draugr with greater speed and purpose. The cacophony increased as some draugr hurled imprecations at them and Roggi returned the insults. Other draugr Shouted, and still others noisily conjured atronachs to assist them. Weapons and shields clashed and then clattered to the stones as draugr fell. Dardeh howled his own personal rage, barely audible in the overwhelming noise, and began flying from one enemy to the next, slashing and blocking until he barely knew where one draugr began and the next ended.\u00a0 Finally Dardeh faced a Deathlord which Shouted at him \u2013 \u201cFUS!\u201d \u2013 only to be met by one of Dardeh\u2019s overpowering fireballs. The Shout did not kill the draugr instantly but did stagger it enough for Dardeh to finish it with a couple of quick swipes of his blades.<\/p>\n One of the gates rose, and Dardeh thought that perhaps they were done.\u00a0 He was wrong. At least three more draugr woke from their long sleep to attack them, and the three men pushed their tired bodies back down the length of the room to take them out.\u00a0 At one point Dardeh saw Roggi take a knee and panicked, flying to shred the draugr that had been attacking him; but Roggi shook his head, smiled, and pushed himself upright as the draugr dropped.<\/p>\n \u201cI tripped. I was ok.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh peered at him, seeing the fatigue on Roggi\u2019s face as clearly as he felt his own. Perhaps; but we\u2019re all tired and I will take no chances with your life. <\/em>He smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, well. I think we rest for a few minutes before we continue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood idea,\u201d Viggun said, coming to join them. \u201cI could use a breather myself.\u201d<\/p>\n They waited only long enough to grab a quick snack and a few sips of water before starting off again. The corridor ahead of them was partially flooded, but led to an upward stairway. Dardeh took several of the steps and then ducked as a pressure plate released flames toward his face.<\/p>\n \u201cMind the trap,\u201d he called back over his shoulder.<\/p>\n There was a draugr waiting for them at the top of the stairs, along with another fire trap; but those were easily dealt with. Around another corner, the corridor ended in a long spiral staircase; Dardeh led the way up it cautiously. An open grate at the top took them into a dining hall with two long tables and a closed gate to one side.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you think?\u201d he asked, pointing to the gate as Roggi and Viggun entered the room.<\/p>\n \u201cOh that\u2019s where we need to go, definitely,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cNow to find the lever to open it.\u201d<\/p>\n Viggun found an alcove that looked likely but turned out to be the cooking area, in which a draugr waited.\u00a0 He swatted it down quickly and ran it through, then stepped farther back into the darkness.<\/p>\n \u201cFound it. It was up on the wall behind the draugr.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGreat!\u201d\u00a0 Dardeh watched as the gate rose, and then entered a short passage leading to a downward stair. They passed a side room with a fire trap that refused to be disarmed, and continued around a corner to yet another downward corridor.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know,\u201d he said halfway down, \u201cI\u2019ll never understand the thinking behind these places. Why make a person walk up three flights\u2019 worth of spiral staircase just to get to a hallway that leads down again?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo keep the draugr in and treasure hunters out,\u201d Roggi mumbled. \u201cThat\u2019s what I was always taught. All the people who will come in just for the gold and not even leave any for the dead out of respect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd here we are, all the way back down to the flooded level,\u201d Viggun chuckled.<\/p>\n Dardeh marveled at the man\u2019s good temperament.\u00a0 There was nothing about wet feet that could coerce me into chuckling, he thought as he stepped into the water and felt it seep through the joints of his boots.<\/p>\n The chamber they were in had a waterfall flowing into it, and a stone chair to his left with a draugr seated therein.\u00a0 He took a massive swing at the draugr, only to find that it was truly dead and all he had accomplished was to get his sword stuck in the ancient man\u2019s torso. As he struggled to pull it free, he heard Roggi shout \u201cyou\u2019re mine!\u201d and whirled to see both Viggun and Roggi running up yet another spiral staircase hugging a central stone support pillar. He turned back to the draugr and planted one foot on it, hauling on his sword with all his strength; and when it came free he came within a breath of sitting in the icy water.\u00a0 He followed the others up the spiral stair and arrived just as Viggun\u2019s solid blow sent the draugr back to its eternal slumber.<\/p>\n Roggi and Viggun had started swapping notes about the creature when movement off to his right caught Dardeh\u2019s eye. Another draugr was shuffling its way across a stone walkway.\u00a0 It took Dardeh only a single backhanded blow to knock it off the walk to the floor below them, where it crumpled into a silent mass.<\/p>\n Just beyond where the draugr had appeared was a final ramp, ending just below the ceiling at another closed gate.\u00a0 Dardeh approached the gate and groaned.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Roggi asked, coming up beside him. Then he snorted. \u201cOh. Great.\u201d<\/p>\n Before them was a pedestal with a familiar locking mechanism embedded in it.\u00a0 In order to continue on their way through the ruins they were going to need a dragon claw key.<\/p>\n \u201cHave you seen anything like that on our way through?\u201d Dardeh asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, sure haven\u2019t,\u201d Viggun said. \u201cIn fact I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve missed anything so far. I\u2019ve looked at all the dead draugr\u2026 where do you suppose the thing is?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBack down, I guess,\u201d Roggi grumped. \u201cThere sure isn\u2019t anything else up here.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a promising ledge halfway down, at the walkway where Dardeh had killed the draugr; but the large kettle at its far end held nothing more exciting than an old helmet. He sighed and continued back down to the now-shredded seated draugr. \u201cI could have sworn we looked everywhere down here,\u201d he started to say; but a half-turn to his right had him wanting to smack himself in the forehead. \u201cExcept for over here.\u201d<\/p>\n Off to the side, where they had missed it in their haste to engage the draugr farther up, was a closed gate leading to a narrow walkway with a second closed gate where it ended at another stone support pillar.\u00a0 Dardeh crossed and opened the gate, stepping out onto the platform beyond.<\/p>\n It was another huge space they had entered, several stories in height with water flowing in, trees clinging to life atop the few dry spots beneath and at least one corridor exiting the area that Dardeh could see.\u00a0 He heard Roggi say \u201cby Ysmir! That\u2019s impressive!\u201d just as the familiar growl of a draugr sounded just below them.<\/p>\n There were two draugr, one of them a mage who conjured a frost atronach. \u00a0The next few minutes were a blur to Dardeh as all three of them flailed wildly at the three opponents.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t entirely sure who had done what but it didn\u2019t take long before all were down and they were once more searching for a claw-shaped key.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at this workmanship!\u201d Roggi breathed, running his hand down one of the columns.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, if the water hadn\u2019t gotten in the whole thing would still be standing. Let\u2019s hope this hasn\u2019t rusted shut,\u201d Dardeh said, standing before another lowered iron gate.\u00a0 He pulled the chain to its left and sighed in relief as the mechanism worked as designed to raise the gate.\u00a0 This passage wound up over a short staircase, turned at right angles and then descended around several more corners, ending at a set of iron doors opening into a large cavern.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has to be it, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d Viggun asked.<\/p>\n \u201cGods, I hope so,\u201d Roggi said. \u201cBut I see at least three doors here. Which way?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell have to check them all,\u201d Dardeh said, opening the door closest to his right. It led downward and left to a circular opening filled with deadly spikes, a skeleton, and a relatively fresh body. \u00a0He returned to the main chamber and started for the far side only to have Roggi tell him \u201cwatch out for the grate.\u201d\u00a0 Set in the floor, the grate was not firmly closed and, when he touched it with his foot, opened downward, dropping a basket down onto the very same spikes he\u2019d just seen from below.<\/p>\n The second opening was a metal gate hanging at an angle, broken by a collapsed wall on its far side. There was a chain pulley beside it, which did what it was meant for based on the sounds; but Dardeh couldn\u2019t see what it might have operated. He circled around the open pit to the doors on the chamber\u2019s far side. A long, oval barrow passage beyond had a considerable amount of spilled oil on its floor and a draugr standing upright in a niche at its far end. Dardeh looked at Roggi, who pointed toward the passage\u2019s far end and then at Dardeh\u2019s bow.<\/p>\n You\u2019re always the best when it comes to this kind of thing, Roggi.<\/em><\/p>\n Dardeh smiled at him, nodded, and took careful aim at the draugr. He released the arrow, half expecting an explosion of fire or a horde of draugr. Instead, it simply thunked <\/em>into the ancient corpse and stayed there. They moved carefully toward it; and it was then that Dardeh realized what the chain had controlled.\u00a0 Around the corner to the left of the draugr was another corridor filled with swinging blades.\u00a0 He sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cFigures.\u201d<\/p>\n The draugr in the niche beyond those blades was waiting for them, descending and drawing its weapon as soon as Dardeh\u2019s arrow struck it.\u00a0 Before he could take stock of his options Roggi and Viggun dashed down the hallway, dodging the blades and disappearing around the corner to the left.<\/p>\n \u201cFUS- ROH DAH!\u201d Dardeh heard the draugr\u2019s shout and before he could make a move to follow the others, watched in horror as its shock wave dislodged a firepot burning above the spilled oil.\u00a0 He heard Roggi cry out.<\/p>\n \u201cFEIM!\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh only knew the first word of Become Ethereal but he used it then and rushed through the deadly blades, panicking when he rounded the corner and saw Roggi once more down on one knee, flames from the oil licking up around his armor. Just past him, Viggun was battling a draugr and seemed to be holding his own. A frost atronach and a female draugr stood over Roggi, and each raised its arm to pound down on him.<\/p>\n Dardeh began slashing.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until after the battle was over that he stopped to count how many draugr they\u2019d fought.\u00a0 He could see at least four down, and Viggun assured him that they had also left several more to burn as they fought.\u00a0 All he knew was that Roggi was in danger, and he had to stop it somehow.\u00a0 He grabbed Roggi by the shoulders and shook him.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you ok?\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi laughed. \u201cI will be if you stop shaking me, Dar.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t hear me taunting that last draugr I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh blew out a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cNo. I didn\u2019t.\u00a0 I had another one of those\u2026 moments. I saw you were down and\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a regular berserker, aren\u2019t you, Dragonborn?\u201d Viggun said, grinning.<\/p>\n Dardeh felt a shock run through his body.\u00a0 A berserker? Is that it? Is that what happens to me? <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDar. Call me Dar, Viggun. Dragonborn\u2019s just\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Roggi snorted. \u201cYou are not<\/em> going to tell him it\u2019s just a title. Not after the grief you gave Ulfric about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dardeh felt himself flush.\u00a0 He ran his hand up over his hair and laughed. \u201cOk, ok. But call me Dar anyway, ok?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOk, Dar,\u201d Viggun grinned. \u201cLet\u2019s go kill some more draugr.\u201d<\/p>\n The path forward wound through a small warren of rooms and ended at a chamber lined with banners of Arkay. There were openings to either side, but the one to Dardeh\u2019s right caught his attention with a bluish mist lending a strange hue to the area.<\/p>\n This has to be it. <\/em><\/p>\n Dardeh paused at the entrance to the glowing chamber. Two orbs of magic energy floated above either end of a raised platform before an arched niche. A pedestal in the niche held what, as he moved closer, was clearly the dragon claw key they\u2019d come for.<\/p>\n And I don\u2019t trust it a bit.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a feeling there\u2019s trouble ahead,\u201d Roggi murmured.\u00a0 Dardeh nodded at him and edged forward.<\/p>\n As soon as he took the claw from its resting place, every draugr in the area rose from its rest to attack. Two normal draugr went down easily.\u00a0 He whirled when an arrow bounced off his armor; a deathlord archer stood directly behind him, drawing to take another shot. He rolled forward and sliced at the beast\u2019s knees, knocking it down and then laying into it with a flurry of slashes. Behind him, he heard Roggi threatening another snorting draugr; then a distinctive squish told him that one of them had taken it down.<\/p>\n When he turned to them, he saw one more Deathlord creeping down the hallway behind them. He rushed through the space between Roggi and Viggun, colliding with the draugr at full tilt and knocking it over.\u00a0 Once more he was able to take it down in just a few rounds of furious slashes.<\/p>\n \u201cHuh,\u201d Roggi said, sheathing his sword. \u201cYou\u2019re getting better at this fighting thing, Dragonborn.\u201d<\/p>\n Viggun snickered.<\/p>\n Dardeh grinned. \u201cI watch the best.\u201d He straightened up and stretched out his back. \u201cLet\u2019s head out. I want to see what this claw opens up for us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMore draugr, I hope,\u201d Viggun said. \u201cI\u2019ve hardly drawn my sword with the two of you around.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Roggi said, smiling into Dardeh\u2019s eyes. \u201cWe make a pretty good team.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFound it.\u201d Dardeh swiveled around to look at Viggun, the big Nord who\u2019d been assigned to them for this next cleanup task. They\u2019d been unable to get through what felt like a magical barrier into the ruin below Bleak Falls Barrow on the Lake Ilinalta side, forcing them to take the long way around, through … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/5-1-18-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart I: Modulation<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"