Treachery Afoot

How many Falmer did I slaughter in the depths of Mzulft? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? Part of me is glad I never keep count of how many, wondering how much blood would be on my hands, not that I ever really worried about it, but I still killed a lot of them. But as I've said, the Falmer of brutal creatures, who show absolutely no empathy in return, in fact little of what even I would call civilised behaviour. After what they had been through as a race, it was no surprise but I met their violence with my own. Therefore, the five of us led a trail of bodies throughout the Dwarven ruin, joining the bodies of more Synod mages we found and Dwarven parts we found from long-destroyed machines.

My sword ran red with blood, never returning it to its sheathe as we moved. It was hot, hard work deep in the ruins. There was no fresh air. My long hair dripped with sweat, running down my face and through the dirt. I felt my body, back, arms and legs covered in moisture. I'm sure I was also covered in plenty of blood.

The twins didn't look any better. Farkas was covered in blood, his eyes white against his bright red face. He made no motion to clean his face, thinking it put fear into the enemy. I'll be honest, it put fear into me at times when he was busy putting down Falmer after Falmer, having to calm him down as the adrenaline of battle kicked in. I understood why, experiencing such things myself. Vilkas was no different, his great-sword swinging in great sweeping arcs, cutting apart the Falmer which swarmed towards us.

Aela had no such problems about being covered in blood, or sweat if I thought about it. Armed with her trusty bow, it was all about distance, treating the Falmer as nothing but target practice, her arrows rarely missing their mark. It was a strange sensation to be in toe to toe battle with a Falmer and feel a gust of wind near your ear, seeing the arrow that had just flown by your head embedded in the face or chest of the enemy you had been fighting.

Then there was Serana… It was just magic. I can't put it any better than that. Even when we surrounded by Falmer, sometimes three, four or five the number of our party, she was right in the middle with us, absolutely no fear, all manner of magic flying from her delicate hands. I trusted her without a shadow of doubt in my mind and I knew, when all was said and done, that the other three now did too.

I had no idea how far we were now underground but the size of this ruin boggled the mind, leaving me to wonder how large other Dwarven ruins were that I knew dotted the landscape of Skyrim. We'd been through Alftand and Blackreach, and that was enormous and larger than this, but Mzulft was vast in its own right. And because the machinery of the Dwemer still operated, each ruin felt alive. Sometimes I thought that we were being watched. Not by the Dwemer machines but by… something else. I know it was probably my mind playing tricks on me but the Dwemer had disappeared. Part of me thought that, just perhaps, they were still around us but we couldn't see them.

"Look at that!" Farkas exclaimed. "What is it?"

We gathered around the banner, amazed it was still almost intact, considering the age it must have been. The lack of atmosphere within the ruin must have kept it from being ruined.

"It must have been their flag," I stated.

"Like the Empire's dragon?" Aela wondered.

I shrugged. "I guess so."

There were two large Dwarven heads to the side and a platform above it, while there were also numerous carvings up the wall to either side as well. I can only assume this room must have been important at one time, its use long forgotten. I was half tempted to take the banner with me as a souvenir though I eventually thought better of it.

I was starting to hope we were nearing the Oculory that Gavros had mentioned just before dying, as each chamber we walked into appeared larger and larger. Thinking of how each ruin we'd been through before, that was when I knew we were approaching the end. And as we continued to hack apart the numerous Falmer that stalked the halls and chambers of the ruin, we found upon one of them a crystal. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together and realise this was the crystal we needed for… whatever purpose the Synod had for it. That was the only part I couldn't figure out.

Falmer started to pour from a doorway to our right and the five of us turned to face their challenge. We slowly pushed them back into another large chamber where even more Falmer lay in wait for us, stepping over their bloodied, dismembered bodies as ever more Falmer rushed forward. I could only assume they were flooding from some doorway leading into Oblivion itself. Continuing to kill, move forward and find ever more Falmer, I soon realised we'd taken a wrong turn when passing through another door to find ourselves at a dead end, a large chamber that would end up being a killing field.

Oh, and a Centurion waiting in the room decided to wake up at that moment too.

So I Shouted. I had no choice in the matter. Despite five of us, the number of Falmer continuing to attack us meant we couldn't have taken on the Centurion as well. So a good Force Shout sent all our enemies flying from one side of the chamber, where we had had to retreat, across to the other. Falmer slammed into the walls, leaving streaks of blood as they slumped to the ground, but the Centurion was made of hardier stuff, and returned to its feet. Without any 'allies', as the Falmer were more likely to attack us than it, the five of us managed to eventually bring the giant construct down, not without suffering one or two injuries ourselves. My arm was really starting to hurt while the twins were now both bleeding from wounds. Aela handed us all a potion bottle.

"Drink these in case those weapons are poisoned. Damned Falmer," she added.

I chugged down the mixture and almost threw it back up. To call the taste vile would be an understatement. I knew I pulled face as I swallowed it down as both Aela and Serana laughed at me. Seeing plenty of Dwarven loot around, I'll admit we did search each chamber as we wandered back towards the first we had entered, remembering I had seen another doorway leading the opposite way.

"Found a key!" Farkas exclaimed.

"Wonder what it's for? Take it anyway, Farkas. It could come in handy. Everyone happy?" There was plenty of agreement as everyone had taken at least one or two pieces of loot. No coins, I didn't think we'd find those down here, but there were plenty of jewels and other precious stones to be taken. I assumed the Falmer had probably taken them for other adventurers, or perhaps they were further remnants of the Dwemer civilisation.

We wandered back into the original chamber we'd entered and took a moment to look around. I whistled as I turned my neck towards the ceiling, far above our heads, still wondering how these could have been possibly built so long ago. The twins murmured their appreciation of the carvings on the stone columns and along the walls. One or two of the columns had collapsed over time but, like most of what I called a 'Dwarven ruin', the entire city was still intact. If it wasn't for the machines and Falmer wanting to kill anyone who dared adventure in, I'd have called in scientists and scholars from across Tamriel to explore ruins such as these and learn as much as possible regarding this advanced but lost race.

The door leading out was locked, Farkas handing me the key and, hey presto, the door opened. "What was the key doing back there?"

"There was another body in that Falmer hut over there," Vilkas replied, "Perhaps they had the key so the Falmer decided to hide it."

"Makes sense, I guess."

We walked up another sharp incline, finding a trio of Falmer bodies at the top. And another locked door. I tried the key on this one too, but no luck this time. So I banged on the door.

"Hello!" I yelled.

I heard no response for a few seconds. Then a voice called. "Gavros? Is that you?" A sigh. "Praise the divines! I'd almost given up hope. Wait a second, I'll need to open the door."

He hadn't even given me a chance to respond, but I wasn't going to stop him opening the door as I figured if he was anyone, he would be Paratus, the man Gavros had mentioned before he died. The door finally swung open and I noticed the man taken an involuntary step back upon seeing four heavily armed warriors and a vampire.

"Who… Who are you?" Flames erupted in his palms in an instant. I gestured to my colleagues not to reply. "What are you doing here? And where's Gavros?"

I raised a hand. "Hold, mage. We mean you no harm. But your friend, Gavros, lies dead."

"Was it you?" I shook my head. He slumped and the fire in his palms died out. "I believe you," he stated, looking us over, "You look like warriors or adventurers, not bandits. And you certainly wouldn't have got this far otherwise. It was the damned Falmer… Curse those creatures. They've ruined everything!"

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

He looked at me, suspicion in his eyes. He avoided the question. "With Gavros dead, there's no hope. He was supposed to return with the crystal. Without that, all our efforts here are wasted."

"You mean this crystal?" Serana wondered, taking the one we'd found and handed it over. He remained cautious though stepped forward to accept it.

"Yes! Yes! That's it! You found it." He paused again, looking over the five of us. "Why are you here exactly?"

"We were looking for you, actually," I replied, "I'm looking for the Staff of Magnus."

"Are you?" he asked, albeit sarcastically. He remained silent, obviously thinking over whatever he was going to say net. He sighed to himself. "Very well. I can't do all of this by myself. I'm going to need your help. You may as well follow me."

We followed Paratus into the next room, where he stopped and gestured at the giant… machine that took up nearly the entire chamber. "I called this an Oculory. I don't know what the dwarves called it. Something unpronounceable, I'm sure. From all our research, it seems they were intent on discerning the nature of the divine."

"What does this machine do?" Serana wondered.

"This machinery, all of it, was designed to collect starlight and then…" He paused. "Well, to be honest, none of us are exactly sure as the technology is far more advanced than our own. Split it, somehow? However, it was my idea to replace one of the key elements without focusing crystal. Months of enchantments went into it." He paused again before muttering "Let's just hope they got the damned thing right this time."

We followed Paratus up a ramp, to where the top of the machine protruded through a floor of glass panels. "Magnificent, isn't it?" he asked rhetorically before he walked forward and spent a few minutes placing the crystal we'd handed over into the Oculory. As he did that, I looked up and noticed the light descending from the ceiling into the machine itself. I can't really describe it apart from the fact it was bright, lighting up every nook and cranny of the chamber. Was it actually starlight? No idea. I didn't know if it was night or dark outside. Collecting starlight? Would that even be possible? Another example of Dwarven technological supremacy.

"Makes you glad they disappeared, right?" Vilkas muttered, "Imagine going to war with a race who could use starlight as a weapon!"

We followed Paratus to the top of another ramp where there was a series of buttons. "We've figured out that these buttons operate the Oculory," he explained, "See the panels on the ceiling with the glass circles? We believed those reflected the light somehow though, once all three were in place, we had little idea what would happen next."

"Do you think there could be an Elder Scroll?" Serana wondered.

"Hmmm. Good point," I added.

"A Scroll? Well… It's not something we anticipated at all, actually," Paratus stated, "What makes you think that?"

"Er… We're aware of another Dwarven ruin that did have an Elder Scroll hidden within it," Serana replied.

Paratus shrugged. "Anything is possible, I guess… Right, what I need you to do," pointing at me, "Is operate these three buttons while I focus the three panels down there. I have to make sure the three beams of light are positioned correctly."

We watched Paratus use magic, both fire and frost, to move the trio of glass panels attached to the giant Dwarven machine. Once he was happy that the beams of light were positioned correctly, he turned and gave me a thumbs up. I pushed the first button and one of the panels circling the roof started to turn. I kept pushing the button until the beam of light reflected from a glass panel back towards the Dwarven machine. Now that I knew what to do, I did the same thing with the other two panels. When the third panel clicked in place, we were almost blinded by the shaft of life descending from the roof. Once sight returned, we walked back down the ramp to see another shaft of light had been deflected below where we had been standing.

Paratus was waiting for us, his face a canvas of confusion. "What's this? These results… They're not at all what they should be."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He gestured. "This projection," which appeared to be map of Tamriel, "Should be lit up like the night sky. Yet something must be creating an incredible amount of interference." Then he looked at me. "Something in Winterhold, it looks like."

I met Serana's glance. She grimaced, knowing what was coming next.

Paratus looked at me with nothing but suspicion now in his eyes. "Who are you people? What are you playing at? Is this some sort of attempt to stall my work?"

"Listen, I don't know what you're talking about," I replied.

"Are you with the College?" I didn't reply. Bravely, I'll admit, he stepped forward. "Well, are you? Answer me, damn you!"

"Do I look like a mage? Do any of us?" He looked at us for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm no mage. But the College did ask me to find you."

Before I could continue, he interrupted me. "You and your damned college have ruined years of my work." He gestured at the map. "How did you manage to ruin that?"

"Listen, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Either you're lying to me or…" He paused then his eyes narrowed. "You have something at your College, don't you?" he stated, accusingly, "And it must be something immensely powerful. Beyond anything any of us had anticipated. What is it?"

I looked at Serana for a little bit of guidance. "It's your decision, Ragnar."

"The College have taken to calling it the Eye of Magnus."

I noticed Paratus blink in silence. "The Eye of Magnus? Well, I suppose if that means what I think it does…"

"The Eye is clearly linked to the Staff of Magnus. So, do you know where it is?"

I think he contemplated not answering us, at least for a few seconds, before understanding there were four heavily armed people in front of him that may not take kindly to any lack of co-operation. "Fine, I'll tell you what I can but I'm not giving away secrets learned by the Synod. Agreed?"

I nodded. "Fair enough."

"Have any of you ever seen the Orrery in the Imperial City? It was the inspiration for this idea."

"None of us have ever been there," I replied, knowing that to be true.

Paratus continued to ramble on about things I simply didn't understand, figuring the twins and Aela may not have done either. As for Serana, she certainly nodded along as Paratus spoke so I guess she had at least some idea of what he was talking about. I only started to tune in again when he mentioned a particular place.

"Labyrinthian?" Serana wondered.

"What's there?" I asked.

He ignored both questions. "I've beaten your game, mage or not. I know you have something in Winterhold the Synod Council will be very interested in."

I heard weapons being unsheathed, turning to see Vilkas and Farkas had weapons in hand. I shook my head. "That won't be necessary. No-one need be harmed."

"Are you sure?"

I turned back to Paratus, who had almost pissed himself in fear. "I'm sure." I waited until their weapons were sheathed before continuing. "I don't know what you think we may have at the College, mage, but what I do know is that it is something of immense power that no-one should be in control of. The only thing I know is that the Eye is linked to the Staff, and it is the Staff that may help control the Eye."

Paratus composed himself as I'd spoken. "Very well. I shall return to Cyrodil and deliver my full report to the Council."

I was about to offer him an escort outside but he muttered something about completing his studies but he mentioned a way out so we followed him out of the Oculory chamber. Just as we were about to exit the ruin, the corridor we were walking along was suddenly bathed in light. I heard one or two of my colleagues exclaim behind me but I knew immediately what it was, waiting for the appearance of one of the Psijic Order. A few seconds later, and the mage that spoke to me at Saarthal appeared.

"You have done well thus far, but trying times are ahead. It is imperative that you return to your college at once. You will be called on to take swift action. Rise to the challenge, and discover what you are capable of. You are on the right path, and you will prevail."

He disappeared before I could ask a question. I noticed a quizzical look or two from the Companions, explaining who that was and why he was contacting me as we walked towards the exit. Once outside, we found night had descended and had to spend some time wandering back to the entrance to find our horses.

"Where to now?" Aela asked.

"We'd best return to the College right away. The Arch-Mage and Mirabelle will want to know what we've learned so far. I'd also like to know more about this Labyrinthian." I glanced towards Serana. "You appeared to know of it, though. Anything you can share?"

She shrugged. "Not a whole lot. I just recognised its location on the map."

We agreed to camp outside the ruin for the night, not particularly wanting to travel in the dark. We set up a couple of tents under one of the overhangs and, once we'd lit a fire, we sat around, eating the minimal food we'd brought and downing one or two bottles of ale. There was plenty of good-natured ribbing between the five of us, some of it not so subtle as it was now clear the twins were also aware of my feelings toward Serana. She still said nothing about it, though, and I was left with the feeling that she wasn't taken any of it seriously. I'll admit I could have sighed with relief at that realisation, though part of me still wanted to bite the bullet and admit everything.

We set out the next morning for the College, annoyed there was no direct route, having to circle all the way around Windhelm before finding the valley pass leading through the mountain range and the road towards Winterhold. We rode hard and fast where the conditions allowed, the snow starting to fall heavily as we passed Windhelm. My mind wandered as we passed the grey stone walls of Ulfric's city, thinking perhaps I should stop and speak to the man again, particularly in regards to his letter. But I had other things on my mind and figured he wouldn't listen to anything I had to say anyway.

The snow was even heavier as we entered Winterhold a couple of hours later, the sky a dark grey and a chill wind that froze us all to the bone. I could only think it was ominous weather. The twins and Aela stayed at the inn while Serana and I started for the College. The first thing that immediately concerned me was the crowd waiting in the courtyard by the door into the Hall of the Elements. I asked what they were doing but none could give me an answer. All I knew is that they were worried about something taking place within, instructed as they were to remain outside for now. Having received no such instruction to stay out, and figuring that the Arch-Mage at least was inside, I pushed through the crowd and walked inside with Serana.

"What in oblivion is this?" I cried.

Mirabelle and Savos both heard me over the noise. "You're back!" Mirabelle exclaimed. "As to your question, we don't know. I think it's some kind of ward, though it's like none I've ever seen before." She turned to the Savos. "Do you have any idea who's in there?"

"I don't care who it is. All I want is the damned thing down now!"

"Of course it's that Thalmor bastard," I muttered through gritted teeth, not adding that I wanted to gut him like a fish once I got my hand on him. "How do we get this thing down?" I asked instead.

"Magic," Mirabelle replied.

She and Savos summoned lightning and frost while Serana summoned flames. Figuring I could at least help a little bit, I did the same. I don't think anything I contributed made a difference but I knew Savos and Mirabelle probably exhausted themselves by the time the ward, or whatever it was, finally disappeared to reveal Ancano doing… something to the Eye. Whatever he was doing, it probably wasn't good, considering he was a Thalmor.

We rushed in all at once. I took my sword from its sheathe, ready to cut Ancano down without a second thought, but Serana stopped me in my tracks by grabbing my arm. "Leave it for Savos. This is his College," she stated.

I didn't like it. I didn't know what Ancano was going to do. But I heeded her advice for now. Lightning flew from the palms of Ancano into the Eye of Magnus. What for? Only he could explain. Savos walked towards the Thalmor, who didn't turn his eyes from the giant orb.

"Ancano! Stop this at once! I command you!"

Ancano didn't reply, didn't even look out way, his entire focus was on the Eye. Savos turned towards Mirabelle, who shook her head. "Don't, Savos. Who knows what he'll do?"

"I wouldn't get in too close, sir."

"He's connected to it. I must pull him away."

"I'll do it," I offered, almost pleading with him. I wasn't going to pull him away. I was going to put my sword straight through his spine.

"No. This is my College. He will answer to me."

I remember being blinded by light. My ears were ringing for minutes afterwards. I'm not sure if it was an explosion or some magical phenomenon that took place in the Hall. All I know is that I woke up with a sore head, sitting against a wall. I looked left and right, noticing Serana getting to her feet, walking towards me.

"Are you okay?" she asked, offering her hand.

I accepted it, getting to my feet but I felt rather woozy. "Fine," I replied, "Where are the other two?"

It was then that I noticed the ward was up again and expanding with each second that passed. "I think they got blown through the open gates and doors leading into the courtyard. I haven't seen them in here."

We found Mirabelle in the antechamber, sat against a wall. I didn't see any blood or major injuries, but appearances can be deceiving. "Are you alright?" I asked, crouching down in front of her. I looked over her and my assessment was that she didn't look well at all. I glanced toward Serena. "Find Colette. She's a master of Restoration. She'll probably be outside with the rest."

"Don't worry about me, Dragonborn."

"I will worry. I'll make sure you're okay, then I'll handle all of this." She grimaced by nodded her agreement. Serana returned a minute later, Colette in tow who looked incredibly upset. "What happened?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"The Arch-Mage…" Serana started to say. But she didn't have to say anymore.

I let Colette get to work on Mirabelle as I wandered outside to see a crowd of people in a circle. "Move!" I ordered, people turning to notice it was me and, surprisingly, stepping aside. In the middle was Savos. Whatever had taken place, he had taken the full brunt of it. What remained of his body was covered in his blood, his clothing also having been torn away in the blast. Half his head was missing as was one of his arms. I looked up and noticed one of the students approaching with a coat, using it to cover the body of the Arch-Mage.

"What do we do now?" another one asked.

I was ready to respond when I heard my name being called, the crowd parting as Aela ran towards me. She came to a stop, taking a second to look at the body before meeting my eyes. "Ragnar, some… things are attacking Winterhold. There are too many of them for us to take on. And I'm not sure we can even solve it without magic. We have to go. Now!"

I stood up and looked around the crowd. As far as I was concerned, this was their moment to shine. "If you want to prove yourselves as mages and show that the College can protect these people, help me now."

"Why should we? They'd never help us!" one of the students replied.

"Because you can prove that you are not the danger. You can prove that magic can be used for good. If you want to prove that you are responsible mages, those who be of assistance instead of a nuisance, come with me and end whatever menace currently endangers Winterhold. Maybe, just maybe, you can change the minds of the inhabitants of Winterhold and maybe the entirety of Skyrim in the future with this deed."

There were still murmurs but they were eventually drowned out by an enthusiastic chorus of agreement. Together, we ran as one towards Winterhold.