Down, Down, Deeper and Down

The guard raised his hand once he'd finished crossing his arm against his chest and bowing his head. I wondered what he wanted as I with Serana walked towards the city gates. "Hail, Dragonborn," he called.

I was used to friendly greetings from the guard but then he waved me over. "What is it?"

"The jarl wishes to speak with you right away."

I would have asked what about but I figured they wouldn't have been told why. "Very well. I'll head to Dragonsreach."

"Good man."

I stopped at Breezehome first, dropping off my sword and shield, Serana stating she would also remain there as she wouldn't have felt comfortable accompanying me to visit the jarl. I didn't blame her, stating I'd let her know what he wanted as soon as I was finished. She had already grabbed a book and was sitting by the fire by the time I exited, walking through the thinning crowds as the sun continued to slowly set over the horizon, braziers being lit to offset the oncoming darkness.

Apart from one of the cleaning ladies, there was no-one downstairs, even the children I sometimes saw scurrying about had disappeared. I checked to see if Farengar was about, but even his quarters were empty. I wandered up the stairs and found everyone gathered around the large table, on which the large map of Skyrim was placed. I cleared my throat as they approached.

"Ah, Dragonborn, I'm glad you're here."

"A guard said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes." He grabbed a letter sitting on the map and handed it to me. "Read this."

I read the letter through two then three times. It was friendly sounding enough, talking about the city's history and importance, and the fact Ulfric adored Whiterun and consider Balgruuf a friend. However, there was certainly an underlying tone of menace to the letter. There were no explicit threats but that's what made it so subtle and so worrying. I finally handed the letter back to the jarl without offering anything yet.

"This will only be the first move. He'll not break our neutrality until he's sure he can take the city."

"Is he moving any troops in his territory?"

The jarl looked at Irileth. "We're not sure yet, but there are rumours of two regiments, one moving from the north, one to the east. They haven't crossed the border yet but have apparently set up large camps. I know they are preparing for invasion."

"Would he declare war first? Would he be honour bound to do that first?" I asked.

The jarl nodded. "It's possible he may even send negotiators to force our hand and accept his rule. His last move will be to send one of his trusted lieutenants with a symbol of his city or hold. If I accept the symbol, it would mean I accept what he wants in his letter. If I turn away the symbol, it will mean war."

"How long until he does that?"

"I will need to respond to this letter. The next move will then be his."

"What do we do then?"

"We prepare the defences and take a wait and see approach. Though, I'll admit, part of me wants to act."

"We should petition the Empire for assistance," Irileth stated.

"Not if they want to garrison their men in my city, I won't," the Jarl replied.

"I could write a letter, Lord, and at least keep the option available," Proventus offered.

The jarl was silent, deep in thought, before he finally relented and nodded. "Very well. Write the letter and I will sign it if I think it's needed."

"Ulfric won't give us a choice, my jarl. He wants your city," I stated.

He met my eyes. "Can I count on your support, Dragonborn?"

"Of course, my jarl. But…"

"You have other jobs to do?"

I shrugged and couldn't help smile. "I'm a busy man, my jarl."

He nodded in understanding. "Very well. It's quite possible the fuse will take a long time to light. However, if you are not here, where would it be best to find you?"

"Either Fort Dawnguard or the College of Winterhold."

"The College?" Farengar asked, "I had no idea you were a scholar."

I shrugged, almost embarrassed. "I'm not really, but there's something going on there in which I'm rather involved. I won't be in either place over the next couple of days, as I'm heading for a Dwarven ruin. But I may be at least based there for a while. So if you do send a message, I'll eventually receive it even if I'm not there."

After listening into a conversation about building and strengthening the defences of Whiterun, I took my leave and headed down to Jorrvaskr. I was surprised to see nearly all the Companions around the large fire, noticing one or two new faces around the table. Once introductions had been made, I gathered the Circle members' downstairs outside the bedroom of the Harbinger to ask them a favour.

"When do we leave?" Aela asked, once I'd finished explaining everything I'd been up to recently.

"Tomorrow morning. Are all three of you…"

"We'll meet you at the stables first thing," Farkas stated, interrupting my question.

"Figure we owe you a few favours. You know, for saving the world and all," Vilkas added.

"I do need to tell you something about my companion, though." Aela returned a knowing smile while the twins simply looked at my blankly, ready for me to explain. "Okay, you are aware I'm working on behalf of the Dawnguard, a group of vampire hunters?" All three nodded. "Well, my companion is… a vampire."

The twins exchanged glances. Then both shrugged. "We were werewolves and you trusted us. I assume this vampire is worthy of it too?" Farkas wondered.

"She's been of great assistance in our battle against the vampire menace."

"Then we trust your judgment as both Harbinger and Dragonborn."

"Why is she helping?" Aela asked. I didn't think there was a hidden meaning behind her question. I took the question as genuine curiosity.

"The person who is the main threat, who believes the prophecy of vampire dominance over Tamriel, is her father. There's a good chance we'll have to stop him. And stopping him may mean killing him."

Aela had no response to that. Neither did the twins. After going over tactics and what we may need for our journey and eventual descent into the Dwarven ruin, I bid them goodnight.

We gathered just after sunrise. Serana was more comfortable after I revealed that Farkas and Vilkas had also been cleansed of the beast blood. I also told her that I'd informed the Circle of what she was. While I wouldn't say she was unhappy, she did mention her concerns. But after explaining that I trusted them as much as I trusted her, she had no further argument, and the four exchanged pleasantries before we mounted and headed east towards Darkwater Crossing.

While we didn't dawdle along, we didn't race toward our destination either, figuring we should make Mzulft by just after midday. Serana, being the friendly individual she'd proven to be, eventually rode forward and was soon deep in conversation with the twins. I couldn't exactly hear what they were talking about but I had no doubt the pair of them were regaling her with plenty of stories. That left me alone with Aela.

"Now I know why you like her," she finally stated once we had an element of privacy, guiding her horse closer to mine.

"Really?"

"I don't know about those two, but I can read you quite easily, Ragnar. And, even with the vampire thing, I can see why. She's charming. Quite attractive. And I'm interested to see how she stacks up in battle. But you really love her, don't you?"

I withheld the groan. "Is it that obvious?"

"Oh, I'm sure even the gods can see it. And I'm sure she's also quite aware. Has she said anything?"

"No."

"Have you?"

"Of course not. I'm a vampire hunter. She's a vampire. She'd probably just call me an idiot or something. At the least she'd tell me it just wouldn't work."

"But it's clear she likes you."

"As a friend."

"Call it female intuition, Ragnar. She's more than aware of your feelings for her. I mean, you may think you're being a stoic around her, but trust me, she knows. The question is, will you do anything about it?"

"There's a chance I'll end up having to kill her father."

"So you've saved her once from that cave. And there's a chance you'll save her from her father."

"That's no reason to fall in love with someone."

"Well, why do you think you love her?"

"Because she's smart. And funny. And undoubtedly attractive. And she has the most adorable laugh that I could listen to for hours. And she's a real friend and confidant as well. I mean, we can sometimes talk for hours about nothing and…" Aela started to laugh. "What?"

"Oh, Ragnar, you truly are a lost cause. But…"

"But what?"

She reached across and grabbed my hand. "I'm happy for you. Just don't take too long to tell her." She paused and her face fell. "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

I racked my brain then I know my mouth dropped. "But I always thought…"

She shook her head. "We had fun and worked together often. And, yes, we were intimate when we had privacy. People knew there were feelings between us, as it couldn't be denied. But… But I loved him. Yet I never told him." She then met my eyes. "That's why I don't want to be cured, Ragnar. I need to see him again, even if I have to go to Hircine's realm, just so I can find him and tell him."

"I didn't know."

"I wanted to tell you but…" She shrugged, embarrassed, "It never seemed to be the right time."

"Did Kodlak ever tell you about his dreams?" She shook her head. "He dreamed of Sovngarde. But far more than that. He dreamed of Sovngarde and the Companions, all of us. He dreamed of us waging war against the realm of Hircine, of rescuing all the lost souls currently trapped there. I didn't want to say anything before but… When I was in Sovngarde, Kodlak was already talking of leading men into battle. I don't think it'll happen any time soon, but I know he wants to lead an army across the stars."

"He dreamed all that?"

"That he did. Some of it was in his journal. And I know he will lead that fight because I will be at his side when he does."

"Are you saying…"

"I'm not saying anything, Aela. The choice is yours. I'm not even sure what Kodlak wants to do is even possible. My knowledge of Sovngarde is limited at best and the realms outside our own are downright non-existent regarding most of it."

She was silent for a while as we passed the steam pools. "Guess I have some thinking to do."

"Don't we all."

Mzulft loomed in the distance and our conversations ceased as we gathered as a five. I led the way up the path towards the ruins, noticing the broken pipes emitting steam from the numerous contraptions that lay within. Looming over the ruins and us were the mountains separating use from… I had no idea what may lay on the other side of the snow-covered peaks. We tied our horses to a nearby tree and checked the area. I was intrigued by a building offset to the rest of the ruin, gesturing for the others to follow me. The inside of the building was still, astounded that the Dwarven machines still functioned after all this time. I heard the twins whistle at everything we could see. Dwarven metalwork abounded, from simple plates and cups to large struts that weight a tonne.

At the bottom of a set of stairs, on a small pedestal, lay what appeared to be some sort of glowing blue… I wasn't sure. It looked metallic, but at the same time it could have been some sort of precious stone, like an emerald. I wanted to pick it up but turned to my colleagues. "And idea what this is?"

"I know," Serana replied. I simply looked at her, waiting to continue. "It's an aetherium shard."

"A what?" I asked, looking at the three Companions, who shrugged their shoulders, clueless as I was.

"It's one of the books in your house, Ragnar. 'The Aetherium Wars' by Taron Dreth. You've never read it?"

I scratched my bread. "Er, I have a habit of collecting books and not reading them all. I plan to, of course, but… Well, events get in the way. Anyway, care to explain?"

"I'm not exactly sure myself, but the book spoke of ancient Dwarven cities and a rare, blue crystal. I believe this is what it is. It also spoke of one other thing that might introduce you…"

"And that is?"

"Something called the Aetherium Forge. Lost to the ages now with the disappearance of the Dwarven race. It may not even still exist but I believe there are still intrepid explorers out there, still searching for even a hint of its location."

"So you're saying I should take this?"

"I would, if I was you. There must be a reason why it was just sitting here. And, judging by its shape, it looks like there's another piece at least."

I grabbed it, placing it carefully in my pack. After a quick search otherwise, we departed the building and headed up to Mzulft itself. Before we entered the ruin itself, Farkas wondered off to our left and called out. He was crouched down over the body of a Khajit as we approached. He looked up and handed over a journal. There wasn't much written down but it did mention his own search for the Aetherium Forge.

"Do you mind…" he also began to ask.

"You don't have to ask me, Farkas," I replied.

He nodded and started going through the small pack laying across the body. Once he'd taken what he could find, he handed half of it to his brother, looking towards Aela, who waved him away. He offered a few coins to me as well, which I also declined. I was still hopeful Lydia would set us up to be financially secure for the foreseeable future and knew the Companions relied on the payment of contracts or finding treasure during their contracts to pay their way.

Like usual, I took one last look around before entering the ruin, appreciating the view. I'd learned that Skyrim could be a cold, hard land but there was no doubting it's spectacular if rugged beauty. Serana was holding the door open for me, calling my name as I guess I'd been standing there for a while without moving. I walked into a rather dark, small antechamber to see Farkas crouched down over another body, though at least this one was alive… for the time being. He turned back and gestured. "You'll want to hear this, Ragnar."

Whoever the man was, he was on the verge of death. None of us would have been able to help him. I could heal people but only minor injuries. I'd healed the twins previously and nearly killed myself, learning my lesson that I simply wasn't adept at magic as others. And I can happily accept my limitations with magic.

"Who are you?"

I listened to his laboured breathing and watched as blood dripped from the side of his mouth. "Gavros Plinius… Synod… Research team." He was then wracked by coughing, noticing specks of blood on his hand. I knew the end was near.

"What are you doing here?" I asked quickly.

"Crystal.... gone... Find... Paratus... in Oculory..."

He then fell over onto his side. Farkas put two fingers to his neck and shook his head after a few seconds. "What was all that about?" Aela wondered.

"Mirabelle told us the Synod were likely here. So I can only assume something has gone wrong," I explained, "And I guess Paratus must be the leader of this group. So it's a case of trying to find him."

"This is a rather inauspicious start, Ragnar," Serana muttered.

"I've got his journal and a key," Farkas advised, "The journal does mention a crystal too."

"Is the crystal still on him?" Farkas shook his head. "Right, so either this Paratus has it, and it's why they're here or…"

"Or whoever killed this man took it," Aela finished.

"What are we expecting?" Serana asked.

"Dwarven machines. Or Falmer."

"Falmer… I've read about them. They used to be Snow Elves?"

I nodded. "A long time ago now. What they are now is… something else entirely. You'll see what I mean when we run into them."

"You think they're here?"

"Absolutely."

Having descended into at least a couple of Dwarven ruins before, I knew what to expect as did my three Companions. Serana didn't know but at least joined us by exuding confidence, stating her magic will keep her and us safe. It wasn't long until we found the first Dwarven trap, a series of pressure pads causing a series of spikes to fall from the ceiling. Luckily we saw the pads and merely triggered one to see what would happen. Aela then used her guile to lock one of the pads in place, leaving the spikes in position, and we moved on.

Though the ruin was dark in places, even Serana commented, amazement in her tone, at the lights that guided our way through the ruin. We ran into a few Dwarven machines, the spider looking creatures, which were handled with relative ease by the five of us, the twins and I swinging our swords in graceful arcs, Aela doing her best with her bow, the metallic bodies deflecting most of her arrows, but I know all four of us were astounded by the magic flowing from Serana's hands.

"Was that lightning?" Vilkas asked.

"Sort of. You've never seen it used before?"

"Not to that level of expertise. It was as if lightning from the Gods themselves flowed from your hands."

Serana just shrugged, appearing to be embarrassed at being centre of attention. All I noticed was that she had lowered her hood since we'd entered the ruin. I know I stared while she talked to the twins before Aela simply bumped into me, gesturing for me to lead the way. "God's help us," she muttered through a chuckle.

We found another body in the next hallway. He lay face down in a pool of dried blood, leaving me to wonder how long ago he'd been killed. I didn't bother moving the body, simply gesturing for the group to move on. I had a feeling we were going to find a lot more bodies the further we descended.

Dwarven machinery continued to rumble, the cranking of gears and the hiss of steam adding to the sounds of our movement. With all the armour the twins and I were covered in, moving quietly was always going to be difficult. That didn't mean we rushed forward with abandon, though. These ruins were full of Dwarven traps, and if the Falmer had set up further below, their deviousness put most other races to shame. We continued to run into the occasional Dwarven machine. I hesitate to call them creatures as I didn't consider them living. I didn't know exactly what they were, to be honest. But they wanted to kill us, I guess thinking we were intruders which, when thinking about it logically, we were.

Despite the remarkable preservation of these ruins, some rooms and corridors did fall into a state of disrepair, some simply through the wear and tear of time, others due to nature partially reclaiming the land. I'll admit that was a surprise as the Dwarven buildings appeared solidly built, so it was strange to see grasses and trees sprouting from crevices, knowing we were far underground, though I had no real idea how deep we were.

We wandered along a long corridor before the Dwarven stones disappeared and we entered what appeared to be a natural cavern, dirt replacing hard stone under our feet. I led the way, noticing wooden scaffolding to either side as I entered a larger chamber. In the middle of the chamber was what appeared to be a chaurus. But this was no ordinary one…

It started to fly!

"By Oblivion, kill it! Kill it!" Farkas roared.

"Watch out for the spit!" Aela warned, bow already in hand.

The three of us armed with swords circle the creature though, for whatever reason, it made a beeline straight for me. Just my luck, as usual. It spat poison, forcing me to roll out of the way and I had to lift my shield as it flew in to attack.

"Damn it. This thing moves too fast!" Serana cried, noticing lighting fly above my head.

I quickly got back to my feet as the creature was attacking Vilkas. Armed only with a great-sword, he had little defence, though Farkas and I managed to attack the creature while it was distracted. A carefully aimed swing chopped one of its wings, causing the creature to crumple to the ground. From there, it stood little chance as the three of us hacked it to pieces. The smell was horrendous and I wasn't the only one to gag. We didn't hang around, ignoring the body on which the chaurus had been feeding.

We took a moment to gather ourselves once we exited the chamber. I took a few seconds to take some deep breaths, still feeling the stench in my nostrils, wishing I'd brought some water to clear my throat. The twins didn't look comfortable either. After a few comments of disgust, and thankful we weren't covered in any blood ourselves, we moved on.

"What was that thing?" Serana asked.

"It's called a chaurus. They're creatures the Falmer seem to farm, at least from what I've seen previously."

"Farm? As in keep them as, what, pets? Or do they eat them?"

I shrugged. "No idea. I can't imagine they eat them. So I guess they are guardians, protectors or something like that."

"I've eaten some strange things in my life but even I wouldn't stoop to eating them," Vilkas muttered.

We followed the path carved through stone, noticing more Dwarven ruins ahead. Aela called us to a halt not long afterwards, mentioning she heard something ahead. Ah, she still has the blood of the wolf. I asked what she heard.

"Chaurus. At least two of them," she whispered.

Instead of moving slowly to try and take them by surprise, we did completely the opposite, charging forward with weapon in hand. Amazingly, that appeared to take them by surprise too, the first chaurus hacked in two by Farkas with one might swing of his sword, Vilkas and I rushing past and quickly taking care of the second.

We look around and couldn't help but notice the skeletons that littered the area. I didn't think they were of researchers we had found previously, but I'd been informed that the Falmer had no problem eating people they captured. Another reason why I had little bother killing any Falmer I came across; despite the fact I did feel a bit sorry for their plight. Or at least I did originally before I found evidence of the crimes they now committed against us.

If anyone thought we were going to be safer back in the stone walls of a Dwarven ruin, that illusion was shattered seconds later as a pair of what Aela first called Dwarven spheres attacked us. I hesitate to sound overconfident and say we handled them with ease but they didn't come close to even injuring us. I guess the fact there were five of us to the two of them also helped. That didn't stop the arm holding my shield hurting as I blocked a swing from of their metallic arms. The rattle travelled up my arm and almost caused my teeth to chatter.

"Are all Dwarven ruins this large?" Serana wondered as we walked up yet another incline.

"Some of them are enormous. You haven't even seen Blackreach yet."

"Yet?" she asked, meeting my glance with a smirk.

"You have to see it, Serana. It's hauntingly beautiful."

"Sounds like a date, Ragnar," Aela stated. Serana looked away while I know I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks. 'Damn that woman sometimes.' The twins merely laughed as I tried to distract everyone with the task at hand.

We entered a hallway lined with working machinery, a cacophony of noise that thankfully stopped any further conversation between us. More Dwarven machines seemed to wake up upon our approach and started to attack us, though the five of us handled them rather easily. However, it was coming across the remnants of other Dwarven machines that led to us wondering who may have destroyed them. The Synod mages? Or something else?

We entered a large chamber full of traps. Pressure pads. Steam piston traps where, if we stepped forward at the wrong time, we'd find ourselves pushed onto the ground far below, something that would definitely cause serious injury though not death unless someone fell at the wrong angle. I urged caution as we stepped carefully, making sure we time everything right when walking past the pistons, while watching where we placed our feet further on. I had to take care of a Dwarven sphere by myself as the others moved past the traps, my forearm still hurting from previous hits onto my shield. 'Going to have one hell of a bruise when I eventually take off this shield.'

The next corridor was a portent of things to come. I gestured to Serana to join me, crouching over the body. "This is a Falmer."

"It smells," she stated, holding her nose, making a face too.

I laughed. "That it does. But look at its face…" I moved the head so she could see. "Notice anything?"

"Where are its eyes?"

"They don't have any. They're blind. Or, they were blinded. Before you ask, the Dwemer did it to them."

"Why would they have done that?"

"There have been studies but most of it is conjecture. I know the basics. They were blinded and then kept as slaves. Sometime later, the Falmer rebelled. Then the Dwarves disappeared, though the two events were not actually related."

"And no-one knows where the Dwemer disappeared too?"

"Oh, there are plenty of theories but no-one has a clue."

"So these Farlmer are….?"

"Vicious, brutal creatures, who must be killed without hesitation. Don't get me wrong, I actually feel some empathy to their plight. Driven underground after losing a war against the Nords. Then blinded and kept as slaves by the Dwemer. But any feelings of sorrow are overtaken by the fact they will not hesitate to kill anyone who is not a Falmer. I've already seen evidence of what they do to people they capture. It was… gruesome…"

She nodded. "I understand."

We found more bodies of Falmer and machine the further we wandered before passing through a set of doors that appeared to lead into different section of the ruin. It had been relatively easy-going so far, dealing with the occasional Dwarven machine. That would be nothing, absolutely nothing, to what we had to deal with going forward.

I still don't know how we got out of it alive.