Alor frowned as he followed the group into the core of the 'dungeon' as his lord liked to call places such as these, the walls within far less degraded than those without, having been left utterly undisturbed even with the Eastern Empire Company's rampant mining operations.
He made an internal scoff at that 'At least they weren't complete idiots.'
The burial chamber was eerily silent, no sound made save for the echoes of their own feet, and Skirnir's excited whispering "Look there" he pointed "A dragon word wall." A chuckle of almost childlike wonder left him unbidden "It is like walking through history itself..."
He turned to his comrades only to find them all distinctly unimpressed.
"A word wall?" Marco drawled "Yay?"
"Oh come on" Skirnir scoffed "Where is your sense of adventure?"
"Still here, rest assured" The Altmer smirked "It's just..."
"Word walls are kind of a dime a dozen?" Alor cut in half-confused.
"No they are not!" Skirnir spoke with disbelief.
"Did you ever even leave your palace before the civil war?" Marco teased in a half whisper "Did daddy Stormcloak keep you nice and hidden?"
Skirnir's face reddens for a moment before he huffs in frustration "You just had to ruin this for me."
Marco placed a hand over his heart "Oh don't be like tha-"
"Silence" Ulthis hissed "I feel a gaze following us."
As if they were a well-oiled machine, all levity abandoned the small group of dungeon crawlers as they rose their weapons and stood on guard, scanning the many enclosed coffins and going so far as to dedicate some attention to those covered in that odd icy crystal they discovered earlier.
An entire twenty seconds passed before Marco, the hyperactive little shit that he was, spoke up "Ummm, Ulthis?" 'That was his name, right?' "You sure you felt something?"
"Do you question the wisdom of your allies at all times fool?" The Ashlander hissed "Stop your complaining and pay fucking atten-"
The coffin in the middle of the room shook with force, its covering bursting upwards as its inhabitant, a lich masked in a chitinous metallic visage floated out of its confines, soon followed by his many servants abandoning their own resting places.
"-tion" Ulthis finished in a distinctly flat tone. He considered letting his discipline go and going on a mad rant but held back, and instead rushed the floating undead heedless of the danger, going so far as to summon a bound spear and throw it at his target before it could reach for its staff fully.
The lich hissed as he felt his bones crack and his arm snap away from his weapon, twisting around to the offender and blasting him with a wave of almost-white scorching lightning, almost killing him instantly if not for his enchanted shield partially blocking the blow.
The rest of the battle did not remain still either, as Lydia, Skirnir and Junia all rushed to their closest enemy and started attacking them before they could get their bearings, slaying many before the battle lines could even be properly established.
Marco did much the same, except he contented himself with adding to the battlefield with an exciting tune or three, the bolts of lightning and waves of force/sound shearing all who approached him being but side-products of course.
Alor had more important and grand designs to concern himself with, he did not feel like getting smacked halfway across a cave system again and his master's tendencies may have been rubbing off on him just a bit too much recently.
He rose his hand, his silver spear shining gold as a large runic circle formed above him, a combination of the fundamental principles of mage-light mixing with those of cloak spells to form a large ball of light that radiated positive energies across the entire chamber.
The undead buckled under the sudden pressure, those of them who were too weak outright crumbling while their mightier comrades found their every move feeling increasingly difficult and the call of the afterlife that much more tempting.
Draugr fell all around them, Skirnir's battle cry causing even the dead to flinch away as Junia covered his back with a repeating crossbow she... requisitioned from the Jagged Crown's hold, growing increasingly jealous with each bolt loosed into the eye socket of an unsuspecting enemy. Lydia's shield crushing bone and even weapons as she warded Alor from their approach, the Falmer fully focused on sapping the undeath from them one cursed fool at a time.
And while all this was going on, Ulthis of House Dagoth battled with Zahkriisos, the bloody bladesman, a creature visibly hampered by lack of said blade as it was forced to fight with only lightning and the occasional alteration-empowered kick.
A combination that did not fare all too well against a veteran close quarter focused battlemage.
Ulthis' every strike took chunks out of Zahkriisos' desiccated form, even as the lich made him pay for every single one by lashing out with wide-reaching lightning storms, attacks not blockable from such a short distance.
By the time the rest of the group was done cutting down the Draugr, they all turned to face the Dragon Priest and Ashlander only to see the latter charge through an empowered sparks wave, his shield deforming within his very grip as he rose a conjured hammer and slammed it into the undead's neck, breaking it and the ill-made creature with it.
Ulthis took a moment to glare at the ash-surrounded mask, just in case it decided to get up, and promptly let his mind shut down to escape from the blinding screams of pain coming from his every nerve.
---
He felt his consciousness return as voices registered to his ears.
"Is he always like this?" He heard the Altmer ask, half impressed and half-horrified.
The Falmer, or Alor he reminded himself, he had earned that much respect at least, chuckled wryly "Not my tale to tell I am afraid."
"Oh?" The Nord man walked up to them "Now you got me all curious!"
"A bad habit." Ulthis spoke up even as his voice healed "Me and nearly a third of the army of Morrowind." He ignored the group's gawking as Alor tossed him a waterskin, he barely caught it, drying it whole and exhaling in relief.
"You trying to say the Dunmer turned suicidal?" The Nord half-jested "What did Flame-tongue do to you lot."
Ulthis immediately narrowed his eyes "Do not dare speak to him of what I am about to say" He waited for all of them to nod, even as he doubted the Imperial would honor her word "A good number of us have gained something of a..." He looked to Alor for help.
"Immortality complex is what I believe the official term is." The helpful Falmer explained.
"That" Ulthis scoffed "Anyway, having constant access to high level healing agents and powerful healers themselves made us all a little too daring to be reasonable."
The Nord woman crossed her arms "You charge into battle blindly and yet you criticize yourself? What sense does that make."
"Let me finish, damn n-" He paused and narrowed his eyes, this one belonged to his... lady's retinue, best not insult her "As I was saying, it is very much so a bad habit, we are all just trying to deal with it without bothering the Hortator..." He looks away "Complaining about it would be immensely ungrateful."
Much to his surprise he found the humans nodding in approval at his words, even as his two fellow Mer felt more amusement than anything.
Odd creatures, the humans were, of that much Ulthis would forever be certain.
...At least the new Lady had some merish blood in her veins, he reassured himself.
Dusting himself off, he accepted the Nord man's offer of help and was dragged up, just in time to see Alor patiently cleaning the mask of the undead "That thing any kind of useful?"
An odd smile formed on Alor's face, likely an inside joke of some sort, as he nodded "Indeed, it is a powerful boost to one's ability to wield lightning and resist it at once, even if the technique is rudimentary at best."
"Rudimentary?" Marco blinked "Not what I'd expect from the Dragon Cult."
Alor merely directed his enigmatic smile at the Altmer and smirked before tossing the mask to him "Put it on for now, no reason not to give ourselves a little boost and you are the only focused electromancer present."
"Don't mind if I do~" Marco singsonged as he placed the mask over his head, finding he could see through it fully and feeling his very blood dance under the enchantment "Trippy..." He muttered.
The group slowly dispersed as they got to pillaging their rightful loot, and Alor took the time to record the writings on the word wall for later translation, catching an oddly imperceptible doorway out of the corner of his eye.
He pointed it out to Ulthis and they soon found themselves drawn to the half-illusion that was even now attempting to make them forget of the passage's presence.
Being adventurous spirits all, they shuffled into the odd room only to be stunned at the sheer difference it held from the rest of the dungeon, trading the harsh monolith-esque architecture of the Nords for a flowy ensemble of roots and pulsating slithering tentacles, the latter being much, much more difficult to keep in one's attention for long.
It took Alor all of three seconds to remember his master's warnings and commands.
"Out!" He immediately barked, drawing looks of surprise "Get the fuck out, now!"
The Falmer was so distraught by what he saw that he ended up outright pushing his comrades out of the room before he summoned a set of heavy chains his master tossed him offhandedly before they landed, throwing them onto the imposing book and seeing them clamp down on it in such a manner that it could not reasonably be opened without immense damage.
A minute later, an uncharacteristically serious Alor stepped out of the room, chained book safely attached to his back and immediately spoke "Do not look at the book, do not think of the book, do not smell the damned book, this is your only warning."
As the rest of the party reeled, he faced Ulthis and spoke in rapid-fire Dunmeri "Priority is getting this into Lord Dagoth's hands, nothing else matters."
Ulthis nodded and wordlessly stepped in behind him, blade unsheathed and eyes alight with caution.
"I do believe that is my cue." A familiar voice had them all rounding to one of the crude ancient statues, the figure of one Davos of Dagoth crouching atop it visible only because he likely allowed it in the first place.
""Oh."" Skirnir and Marco spoke as one.
"You didn't think you could evade notice, did you?" Davos looked at them incredulously "All of you are either nobility or in the retinue of the leadership... Not ringing any bells?"
Minthara's retinue looked mostly sheepish save for Junia, while Reyvin's own servants did not react visibly.
"No fun the lot of you." Davos rolled his eyes at Alor and Ulthis before jumping from his perch and landing without a sound "Come on then, if that thing is as dangerous as you are implying we need to get out of here as quickly as possible, and I've already scouted a way."
Marco really felt like asking but Alor's previous warning and the look of utmost seriousness on his face stopped him.
"Just as if not more" Alor confirmed Davos' words "Lead the way."
As if chased by something particularly vile, the group followed the Hortator's right hand away from the central burial chamber, passing a few corridors covered in freshly ashed undead, the only signs of their previous existence being the scorched remnants of their weapons and armor.
They made a few extra turns and soon entered yet another chamber that stepped away from the usual mold, the carved mining passages and catacombs giving way to odd hexagonal rocks joining into greater formations as they seemed to connect seamlessly with each other side by side.
And the uniqueness did not end there, as the other end of the room was capped by a large gate seemingly made out of stone that looked more like bark than sediment, filled with blood-like crystal and standing far too wide to be a simple tomb entrance.
'Was this cave some kind of sacred or ritual site?' Alor thought absently before shaking the unnecessary curiosity away, he had other things to worry about now.
Davos' jog slowed as he approached a glowing two-handed blade stabbed into an ancient firepit, the skeleton next to it having obviously disturbed previously "And there it is" Davos spoke up "The Bloodskaal Blade."
"Did some snooping of your own?" Marco asked wryly "Or did our dreadful Prince already inform you of what to look for?"
"Wouldn't surprise me if he had an idea being perfectly honest" Davos let out a light snort and shook his head "But no, this here unfortunate feller" He pointed at the skeleton "Had a diary with him before he died, apparently lifting this fancy blade is what activated the Draugr, and he had enough time to scribble it all down before he died of starvation."
"Coward" Skirnir scoffs "He leave behind a name?"
"Gratian Caerellius" Davos answers disinterestedly "The miner upstairs will be quite interested in this I suspect."
"Aye?" Skirnir quirked an eyebrow, still feeling a bit miffed about the cowardly death of the man.
"Give this a read" Davos tossed him the diary "Might give you some perspective."
The last Stormcloak grunted in agreement and put the booklet into his backpouch.
"Hold on, Bloodskaal?" Alor muttered "Zahkriisos translated to Blood-Sword, a possible connection?"
"It was probably the heathen priest's blade" Ulthis spoke up "It felt like the creature was used to fighting with a staff and longsword from its stance, its stumbling was only made worse by the recent awakening."
"Makes sense." Alor nodded and turned back to Davos "We can speculate on its owner later, we need to get moving."
Thus satisfied, Davos turned to the gate and took up the large blade, the instant he did lines lit up along certain parts of the edifice and to the surprise of the group he swung out, first to the sides and then vertically, sending out blasts of red magic and activating the locking mechanism.
"Neat" he muttered as the gate opened, and gave the sword a long look "Might keep this thing if Boss doesn't want it."
"Doubtful he does" Alor piped in as he stepped Davos by "Enchanting ranged attacks on swords is just inefficient."
"More loot for me!" The Dunmer grinned and followed after him.
To their great surprise what awaited beyond was not another sea of Draugr waiting to swarm them, but a wave of fresh ocean air... and the sound of the living speaking to each other in alarm as they no doubt heard the gate move.
"Oh well" Davos chuckled "Can't say I didn't expect this." And yet instead of looking frustrated or annoyed by the interruption, he merely grinned "Always nice to kill two enemies on one trip."
His hand flashed far too quickly for mortal eyes to follow and in a blink, the first atronach summoned by his cautious foe was turned to ash, that it was a fire elemental didn't seem to bother the Guildsman one bit.
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