Chapter 36 -- Scrolls
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I'm not sure how long Alftand had been abandoned. I knew the dwarves had disappeared long ago, but the ice had well and truly taken hold of the entrance, and we all remained bloody cold as we walked through the crevice, ice to either side, blow and above. The expedition must have been well prepared, as we passed by more barrels, sacks and chests of supplies, but of the people themselves, they must have been further within.
Finding another camp was a surprise, agreeing that they probably escaped into the crevice during a bad storm. If the blizzard we'd experienced was anything to compare, then it was little wonder. What did concern us was all the blood. Pools of it remained unfrozen on the ground, but even more was sprayed on the walls, some even reaching the ice ceiling over our heads.
"Falmer?" I asked Aela.
"No. They're bastards, but this is something else entirely."
Delphine put her hand in the firepit. "This hasn't been lit recently so any survivors are probably further in."
"I'm guessing we're going to find bodies soon enough," Vilkas muttered.
All of us unsheathed a weapon, either one-handed swords or two-handed great-swords. No point using bows in the tight confines, and none of us were mages. The amount of blood was staggering. But where were the bodies?
Moving on, we could soon hear voices, and there was no doubt they were Khajit. They had an unmistakable accent, though I couldn't ascertain whether it was one or two. It did sound like they were having one hell of an argument and it sounded like it was about skooma. No real surprise there, as they were responsible for the making and distribution of it. Well, usually...
The ice slowly disappeared around us with evidence of the dwemer ruin replacing it. We could hear the dwarven machines still operating all around us, and the spider like machines made an appearance, though with six of us, they were turned into scrap metal with relative ease. A few more of them appeared the further in we walked, a few appearing in front, though a couple also hit us in the rear. Nothing we couldn't handle, but we made sure to keep the chatter at a minimum, as we could hear them coming down pipes.
We eventually found one of the Khajit we'd heard earlier, standing over the body of another. He turned towards us, the dagger still dripping with blood. I didn't know if he was responsible for all the blood we saw earlier, but when he charged at the six of us, it was obvious he was drugged up, and there was little chance of asking him questions.
Once the Khajit was dead, which didn't take longer than a couple of seconds, we searched the pair of backpacks near the other body. Apart from a load of empty skooma bottles, and various odds and sods, we did find a journal. It didn't give too much information except that the expedition we were following had been on the road for weeks.
Moving on, we continued to find even more supplies, plenty of barrels and sacks full of fresh food, kept fresh by the fact it was still freezing cold. We took some fruit and salted meat, unsure of how long we would be, and later found another journal, this belonging to someone called Umana. It gave us more background information on the purpose of the expedition, but it also suggested supplies were running low -- strange, considering we'd walked by plenty -- but that there were signs they were being hunted by the Falmer.
We could only keep moving forward, continuing to run into more dwarven machines, includes the larger contraptions that rolled on what looked like some sort of sphere, and could strike with thick metal arms. All of us now carried shields as protection, but even when holding those, it felt they could break an arm at any moment. The further on we walked, the more enemies we ran into, almost as if the ruin itself was coming alive to stop us.
In addition to the machines, there were plenty of traps and other mechanisms to catch out the unwary. We noticed blood by a doorway and it was only quick thinking that stopped a pair of us being impaled by spears that came out of the floor and ceiling. Another room had pressure plates that, if stepped on, released flames from various nozzles. We still found no sign of any bodies, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one with a sense of foreboding. The ruin was alive, and I knew at heart that it wasn't just the machines that were going to bother us.
Eventually entering what looked like living quarters, now having left the ice behind, there were stone beds and other furniture as we passed by a series of rooms. It was no surprise that we found another body, this one relatively fresh, his body covered with numerous wounds. Delivered by machine or Falmer, we couldn't really tell. Vilkas found a journal on his body that suggested they'd fun into both Falmer and machine, though who had actually killed him, we figured it was the Flmer as he mentioned 'eyeless creatures'.
The ruins of Alftand must have spread across half of Skyrim, and we ended up in an enormous cavern. Looking over the edge of the pathway, the lower levels must have been hundreds of metres below. We still hadn't run into any Falmer, but walked by chaurus sacs. I could handle Falmer, but I hated the chaurus. Evil creatures which everyone hated fighting.
It was entering this enormous cavern that we found the first bodies of whatever expedition we were following. In addition to the bodies, we ran into Falmer, and the bloodletting began again. The Falmer were vile creatures. I understood a little of their history, but they showed no mercy, so we showed none in return. As we weaved our way ever downwards, we came across more bodies that suggested the Falmer had performed either cruel experiments or even ate their victims.
That certainly stoked the fire in all our bellies, and we fought with renewed ferocity as we also explored every nook and cranny of the dwarven ruin. The sheer enormity of it was breathtaking. There was nothing like it on the surface at all. Even the grandest cities or forts could not compare to what the dwarves appeared capable of.
The Falmer were smart, I'll give them that much credit, as in addition to fighting them, they also laid traps for the unwary. Thankfully my Companion colleagues could usually sniff out any trouble, so tripwires were cut to spring traps before we walked into them, while we did manage to catch a Falmer or two by surprise, though more often than not, we ended up fighting our way through most chambers.
After battling through caves, we ended up back in the dwarven ruin itself, and it was there that we had to deal with an enormous dwarven contraption, what Aela called a Centurion. It was huge, towering over all of us, and it seemed to have plenty of its own tricks. That's when I just used my Thu'um, blowing it clear across the room, and the six of us just hacked at it until it stopped moving.
We then found two people bickering among themselves, realising quickly that one of them was Sulla, the leader of the expedition. I'm not sure if they were both crazy beforehand, but they may have spent far too long getting past all the Falmer, traps and everything else, as their argument quickly turned physical. Though Sulla appeared to be better armed and armoured, his colleague fought with undoubted skill, making short work of him. Once she saw us, she roared and charged.
Idiot. I would have preferred to ask her some questions, but she received a sword through her gut instead. A complete waste, to be honest.
Using the dwarven contraption to open the next door, we then walked into Blackreach. And I simply don't have the words to describe it in detail. It was hauntingly beautiful, left flabbergasted that something so grand could remain undiscovered underneath Skyrim. It boggled the mind how it hadn't all collapsed, though I figured we were incredibly deep underground.
Noticing a small building directly ahead, we made straight for it. We found a body inside, obviously dead for a long time as the clothing contained only a skeleton, though Aela found a journal that told us his name and reason for being in Blackreach. By now, we were all knackered, and after stoking the fire, we sat down on the floor and enjoyed a little food, suggesting we take watch in turns as the others slept. I offered to take first watch, Delphine offering to join me outside.
