Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

The magical anomalies that terrorised Winterhold had been neutralised, the students of the College covering themselves with glory in battle. Once that was sorted, the three Companions, Serana and I immediately rode for Labyrinthian, riding through the bitterly cold night, near sleeping in our saddles, knowing there could be no further delay. Ancano was doing something to the Eye and I knew it would likely lead to the destruction of the College and possibly all of Skyrim.

Labyrinthian itself was an enormous complex of tombs and ruins, infested by all sorts of monsters and creatures. The snow ran red with blood as we cut our way towards the central ruin which, after conversation with Mirabelle, thankfully still alive the last time I saw her, suggested that the Staff of Magnus lay inside. I had no idea what I would do with the staff once we found it apart from returning to the College with it. I could only hope Mirabelle or perhaps Tolfdir would have an idea of what to do next.

The five of us gathered outside the enormous steel door into Labyrinthian itself. I took the torc from my pack and placed it carefully on the door. I had assumed it was magical and my thoughts were proven correctly when I heard a series of clicks. 'Guess it's now unlocked.' I was ready to ask for assistance in opening the door when something startling grabbed my attention. I'm not sure exactly what they were that appeared, possibly ghosts, or perhaps spirits of some kind, but one of them was clearly Savos, though I did not recognise the other six. We all listened to the conversation that took place before they all blinked out.

"Mirabelle mentioned Savos had been here but I had no idea about the others," I muttered.

"Do we have any idea what's waiting for us inside?" Farkas wondered.

"No idea. How's your sword arm?"

"Ready to cut down anything that stands in our way."

"There was a reason Savos kept that torc. I feel this whole place has been magically sealed away. So there must be a good reason why."

"But the staff is in there too," Serana added.

"Right. So, no matter what, we finish this. Don't suppose it'll be on the other side of the door?" The looks returned suggested that would be unlikely. "Thought so," I muttered with a sigh.

"I'll be happy just getting out of this cold," Aela stated as I managed to open the giant door.

The first thing to greet our eyes did not bode well for our mission. Skeletons. Lots of skeletons. I counted at least a dozen. Whoever they were, they'd been dead a very long time. The only concern is how they were all positioned, as if they had been trying to escape, all facing the door through which we had just passed. I ignored the thought in the back of my mind suggesting this was a very bad idea. We needed to get the staff, almost no matter the cost.

Caution was the word of this mission, though this entrance chamber was empty of any sort of monster to leap upon the unwary. The surprise was near the far door, where what I now assumed were ghosts of Savos and the other six appeared again, this time discussing what they could possibly find. It was apparently the idea of someone called Atmah, though their conversation suggested they had little idea of what they would find deeper in the ruin. 'Neither do we. Well, I can take a guess. Draugr. Skeletons. Then other creatures I may not have seen before. Who knows when someone last passed through here? Was Savos and his group truly the last? Has this place been closed up that long?'

Faded banners hung from the walls, testaments to long forgotten rulers, while the carvings along the walls and columns had diminished over the centuries. If this first chamber was anything to judge by, it was possible the entire complex could be in ruins. Still, there was no point wasting time so I strode forward through the next set of doors. I was always amazed by the fact braziers were still lit whenever I found myself wandering through one of these old ruins, left wondering who lit the fires. Was it magical? Or did the draugr themselves keep them lit?

After opening a gate, we found ourselves in another large chamber. From under the dirt beneath our feet rose numerous skeletons. But that wasn't what took our attention. Or at least mine. In the middle of the chamber rose a dragon. Slightly different to all the others I'd found over time, this one simply of bone.

"Companions, take the others. Serana, with me."

"How do we kill a skeletal dragon?" Serana asked as we approached the giant creature of bone.

"By Shouting." So I did just that, bathing the thing in flames. And I was amazed when it seemed to work, the creature crying out in pain. I gestured for Serana to flank the dragon and soon flame was erupting from her palms, combining it to double the effect. I Shouted again, causing the creature to stagger back. I wasn't going to bother using my sword. There was no blood to draw. I sensed the creature was weakening under the attacks of Serana and I so figured one last Shout would walk.

"Move!" I called to Serana, giving her just enough time to roll out of the way before I used the full combination of the Force Shout. The dragon literally fell apart, its bones rattling along the ground, joining those of all the skeletons the Companions had put down. I wasn't surprised when I didn't absorb a soul, considering it was an undead creature.

"Anyone want to count all the bones?" Vilkas joked as we took a moment to gather our breath.

"If that is the first thing we had to face, what else will be lying ahead?" I wondered.

No-one wanted to answer so, after a quick search of the cavern and finding nothing of value, we moved on. At the bottom of a set of stairs was a plinth upon which lay an etched tablet. The five of us gathered around us to read it. Before we could start, the ghostly figures of Savos and his colleagues blinked into existence again, this time discussing the loss of one of their colleagues. Once they blinked out again, we read the table. Well, I read it as it was in the dragon language, so I translated for the other four.

"Hail all, Brave City Bromjunaar

Forever These Walls Shall Stand

May Enemies See Her Majesty

May All Quake to Behold Her"

"Bromjunaar?" Aela asked.

"Perhaps this was once a city by that name," I guessed.

"Why do you think it was? I mean, it's positively ancient," Vilkas stated.

I shrugged. "No doubt it had something to do with the dragons. Perhaps like Skuldafn, it was home to the Dragon Priests who revered them as Gods."

I looked at Serana, as she'd done plenty of reading on the history of Skyrim. For once, she was as clueless as the rest of us, shrugging her shoulders.

Like always in all the ruins I've adventured through, we headed down once again. We met no draugr for a few minutes as we walked through a couple of chambers. Upon entering a third, a doorway ahead appeared to resonate with some sort of magical power. And then there was a voice, speaking in the tongue of dragons. The other four wouldn't have understood. But I did.

"Who comes to my dark kingdom?"

I had no idea whose voice it was, but I did know that it was a challenge. But I wasn't going to give away the fact I did understand so I said nothing. I noticed one or two glances from my colleagues and I simply shook my head. I don't know if they understood why I remained silent but they said nothing to give the game away. The magic resonating from the doorway disappeared, leaving it encased in a sheet of thick ice. Before we could contemplate what to do next, a pair of sarcophaguses opened from behind us, while from within the ice, some sort of spirit awoke and stepped forward.

The twins dealt with the draugr behind us as I focused on the spirit. Yet before I could even swing my sword, Serana stepped forward, flames from her palm. The frost spirit was forced back under the strength of the flames, Aela helping out by putting a couple of arrows into it at the same time. After barely five to ten seconds, the spirit simply ceased to be. Serana then turned her attention to the door of ice, using flame for a few seconds before the ice disappeared and the door opened.

I stood at the ledge, looking down a vast chasm. There were narrow pathways leading down, seeing draugr wandering back and forth on patrol. Aela still had her bow and I took the crossbow from my back, figuring we could take a few out from distance. Before we could get to work, the voice we'd heard earlier spoke again.

"Cowardly men shall find no mercy here."

Aela replied by loosing an arrow as I lined up another draugr in the sights of my crossbow, firing the steel bolt, landing perfectly in the chest of the draugr I'd been aiming at, forcing it to stagger backwards then over the edge into the chasm far below. I quickly shot at another one which looked up and at us, Aela following up with another arrow, also sending that over the edge and into the chasm. We made our way carefully down the chasm, running into more draugr, with little for manoeuvre, I had to take on most of them by myself, Serana supporting me with magic where she could, space allowing.

I'll admit we then got a little bit lost, following one or two paths that led to dead ends. Having to double back was always annoying but was an example of how vast this complex was. Numerous other possible avenues were simply blocked by debris, figuring untold treasures may have been hidden behind, unlikely ever to be found. We ended up climbing again to where we had first perched on the ledge overlooking the chasm and headed towards a stone bridge. The voice challenged a third time.

"You do not answer. Must I use this guttural language of yours?"

"Zu'u mindoraan hi perfectly nuz fen ni please hi voth aan reply."

There was no further reply from the voice but I noticed the stares from my companions. "By Talos, what did you just say, Harbinger?" Farkas asked.

"I understand you perfectly but will not please you with a reply."

"When did you learn their language?"

"In Sovngarde when I fought Alduin. I did not take his soul but, somehow, I learned their language at the time he died. So any time I meet a dragon, at least we can now converse with ease, switching between their tongue and my own. It is another way of convincing them that peace between us is possible."

Across the bridge and through an archway we passed, entering another room, braziers aflame and providing light, noticing our shadows cast on the wall to our right. The draugr on patrol noticed and ran towards us. I dodged the swing of its great-sword and put it down, not wasting any time with foolish games. Unfortunately, all the noise did was wake even more draugr below us, flooding up the stairs. The twins jumped down to the level below and flanked from behind as I ran along the ledge towards the stairs. Serana and Aela kept their distance. Steel clanged against my shield as I dodged, parried and thrust. I counted over half a dozen draugr, all fighting with the usual aggression and absolute lack of self-preservation as always, which did make our lives slightly easier but a small mistake could still see one of us lose a limb or our head.

Draugr and draugr parts littered the ground once we were done, thankful for once that the undead creatures generally spilled little blood. What we found next was a real surprise. The body of an Argonian.

"Do you think it was one of those with Savos?"

"Surely the body would have decomposed by now."

"We don't know how long ago it was, though. Savos is a Dunmer, so there's no telling how old he might be, and how long ago they were here," I added.

"Could it be some sort of adventurer?"

"Unlikely. This place was sealed tighter than a drum." I checked the body, hoping to find some sort of journal or identification, but there was no luck. 'Wouldn't be surprised if it was one of Aren's group though.' We continued to descend, eventually walking through a pool of water towards an iron door ahead. The voice spoke again.

"Have you returned, Aren? My old friend?"

"He must think the Arch-Mage is with us," Serana whispered.

"Let whoever owns the voice think that then. I don't think it's going to matter who he thinks I am," I added.

I was glad to be wearing proper boots, knowing Serana and Aela would probably now have wet feet after walking through the pool of water and subsequent stream once we passed through the iron door. We continued to take down any enemy dumb enough to get in our way, generally those of the undead, draugrs and skeletons. But it was surprising that each chamber and corridor we found ourselves wandering down wasn't teeming with the undead, particularly compared to previous ruins, where nearly every chamber, room or corridor had at least one or two enemies just waiting for the unwary. The stream of water we had been following appeared again, appearing like a waterfall from a ledge above, immediately jokes flying between all of us about having a wash.

We continued to follow the stream, exiting into an enormous chamber. There was a growl to our right, glancing to see a pair of trolls. They wasted no time charging towards us, therefore we wasted no time charging at them in return. I raised my shield and collided with one of them, actually causing the monster to stagger back, following that with a thrust of my sword, feeling it slice into the side of the troll, immediately drawing blood. I had the twins attack the other troll so kept eyes on the one I was fighting, raising my shield to block its swipes, its long fingers rounding my shield and it actually tried to rip the shield from my arm. Distracted, I jumped and brought my sword down on the top of its head, feeling it connect with bone before I sliced backwards, leaving an enormous wound.

All that did was infuriate the troll even more. I stepped back, giving myself a moment as the troll stepped forward, swinging again. I dodged out of the way as it continued to swing its long arms, noticing the wound on its head continue to bleed profusely. I stepped forward as it swung its right arm, blocking it and thrust forward, my sword entering the gut of the troll. It roared at me, spittle collecting on my face. So distracted were both of us that I didn't even hear Farkas to my side, only seeing his great-sword connect with the neck of the troll and, in the next instant, my vision blinded by blood as the head of the troll went flying.

"Is any of it yours?" I heard Serana ask as I wiped the blood from my eyes and face.

"I don't think so. I did take a hit or two though." I looked over my armour and there were plenty of nicks and scratches. "I'm fine."

"You only face failure once more…" the Voice called mockingly. I knew it was aimed at Savos, left wondering what we were eventually going to find, as I knew it wouldn't just be the staff.

"Do you have idea what Savos did here?" Serena asked quietly.

"None whatsoever. Mirabelle didn't know, she only pointed me in this direction."

The sheer size of this complex, ruin or… whatever you wanted to call it, was simply staggering, almost defying belief. There had been a mountain range behind the Labyrinthian complex, and the further we travelled, the more we descended, I was sure this ruin must have been dug into the side of the mountain, wondering if we were not going to exit on the other side. 'That will make finding our horses later a lot of fun.' The chamber we were currently in was simply enormous, the roof so far above I thought you could have fit a mountain in it.

We continued to work, eliminating the skeletons and draugrs without too much difficulty, Serana and Aela taking out a few located on a nearby ledge with arrows and magic. As we were about to open another gate, the voice got in contact again. And it appears to finally understand.

"You… You are not Aren, are you? Has he sent you in his place?"

"Do you think he'd hear me if I replied?" I asked my colleagues.

"The only answer required is for whoever it is to taste your steel, Ragnar," Farkas stated.

"Or your Thu'um if you're so inclined," Aela added.

A path headed off to our left prior to opening the gate, Vilkas calling us over and pointing down another narrow hallway. It ended up being another dead end but the sight that greeted our eyes was something else. Blood pooled on the ground and streaks lined the walls while there were piles of bones everywhere. Two trolls in the room reacted immediately to my presence. They tasted the power of my Voice, a Force Shout sending both of them flying from one side of the room to the other, both smashing into the wall with a sickening crash. The five of us then fell upon the bodies. I don't hesitate to admit that we butchered them completely.

Doubling back, this time we headed through the barrier, a lever nearby opening it and allowing us to move on. We followed the path and ended up in what I could only assume was a cemetery, numerous headstones surrounded by flowers, rocks piled in rows suggesting people may have been buried underneath centuries ago. What took my attention were the little glowing balls that flew around us. I'd never seen such things before but I heard the shuffle of the Companions behind me. I looked at them, noticing the concern on their faces.

"What is it?" I asked quietly.

"These small things are Wisps. And wherever they are, a Wispmother will be lurking," Farkas replied.

"What's that?"

"Something incredibly dangerous. Serana, can I request your use of flames please?" Farkas requested.

She summoned flames and looked around, ready to attack. The five of us watched the Wisps fly around us. They appeared relatively harmless, almost magical in their design, though that's not to say I tried to touch them. We stepped forward with caution, flames still appearing from the palms of Serana, the four of us armed and ready to fight.

I should have known that it would appear behind us. So silent it was that we didn't even know until it had launched a frost attack. Serana counter-attacked immediately, and I thought she'd been watching me in action, as she rolled out of the way and immediately fired flames at the creature. The twins and I charged forward and attacked, swords swinging. The Wispmother moved quickly, dodging many of our attacks. And then it disappeared.

We circled carefully, eyes wide, just waiting for it to reappear. What caused confusion between the five of us was the fact four of them then reappeared. We immediately attacked and found that three of them were what Serana called 'Shades'. I didn't quite know what it meant but they died with one swipe of our swords, leaving the true version very much alive and well. It was soon enveloped in flames again as the twins and I carefully circled the creature, leaving it confused as to who it should attack. It decided to focus its attention on Vilkas, covering him in frost. I simply attacked it from behind and, with a couple of sharp swings, the creature simply disappeared in a cloud of dust.

"This is insane," I muttered.

"Whatever next?" Vilkas wondered.

"Are you okay?" I asked, as I noticed his armour was coated in frost.

"I've had worse. I'll live."

I clasped him by the shoulder, appreciating his courage. We moved on and the voice continued to taunt us.

"Did he warn you that your own power would be your undoing? That it would only serve to strengthen me?"

The door ahead appeared to be on fire, much like the previous door appeared encased by ice. And, just as before, a spirit stepped forth from the fire. Like the other, it had the appearance of an ancient Nord warrior. This time I stepped forward and put it down after a couple of swings as Serana opened the door with a frost spell.

"Anyone feeling weaker?" I asked as I stepped through the doorway. I received four negative replies. "I don't feel any different. I wonder what power he was talking about?"

Down another hallway and a gate we stumbled across the ghosts of Savos and his group, again another member short. We listed into the conversation and I was surprised to hear the group wanted to turn around and escape yet it was Savos who insisted they had to keep going. 'That's a lot different to the 'safety first' magic he practiced at the College.' We pushed forward ourselves, running into more skeletons and draugr while also fighting off what appeared to be the ghosts of draugr too. I just added those to the list of 'Things I'd Never Seen Before,' a list that grew ever longer which each ruin I found myself traversing. The voice continued to taunt me but I simply ignored it, as did my colleagues, avoiding the trap door that was near invisible under a pool of water, instead taking the path to the right.

We fought our way through a number of ghostly draugr as we continued to descend while even the skeletons we found were capable of magic. It appeared Labyrinthian was throwing anything and everything at us to stop us reaching the staff. 'What next, another dragon?' Nevertheless, onwards we fought, the twins and I cutting down anything that got in our way, ably supported by Serana and Aela, though even they joked that we were having all the fun.

The body of a troll was the next thing to greet us, looking up to see the trap door we had seen only a few minutes before, water continuing to cascade down through another trap door below. I looked down to see only a pool of water. With no enemies waiting for us, we did move quickly, not bothering to stop and stare at the walls, despite the murals and artwork that covered some of them. I think each of us knew we were getting towards the end. I was certainly starting to feel the strain.

Through another iron door and we entered a new area of the ruin as we came across a burial chamber. I gestured for us to move slowly to ensure we didn't wake any of them up. Otherwise, it was another crumbling ruin, walls and ceilings having collapsed in on one another. Thankfully everything else appeared solid so there was little change of anything landing on our heads, though I'll admit to casting a nervous glance up once or twice.

The descending was never-ending. I was sure we must have been so far underground it was going to take us forever to climb up the other side. It did level out for a moment, wandering down a hallway where we were almost frozen into place by a series of enchanted soul gems, only quick work by Serana preventing us being severely injured. Continuing to battle our way through endless numbers of draugr, we entered what could only be described as a throne room, long since fallen into disrepair though it didn't take a leap of imagination to see that one day, perhaps thousands of years ago, men had once kneeled before whoever sat in said throne.

I gestured to Aela and she took a dagger from her belt and crept towards the throne. She glanced back and nodded, wasting no time as I know she stuck her dagger into the throat of the draugr which sat in the throne. What happened next was a surprise as the draugr simply rose to his feet, Aela and her dagger still attached to his neck. Farkas was the quickest out of all of us, charging forward with sword ready to swing, Aela letting go of her dagger and falling to the ground just as the sword passed barely above where the dagger was still placed, the head of the draugr sent flying across the room.

"Nice swing," Aela stated as Farkas offered his hand to help her up.

"That was one tough bugger."

"I'm just glad we don't have to spend five minutes trying to kill these things," Vilkas muttered.

I listened into the conversation but my attention was then taken by what I could see on the opposite side of the room. This was the first word wall I'd seen since learning the language so now I could read the entire inscription on the wall, not just the word that was highlighted.

"What does it say?" Serana asked once the usual process had finished, learning another word

"Vegunthar raised this stone in his father's memory, Hungunthar Time-Eater, slayer of the Kings of the East, conqueror of Dunkreath."

"So each of these walls must tell a story?"

I shrugged. "I assume so. Perhaps they're monuments to those who served dragons... All I know is that I've learned plenty of words but don't use many of them, generally because I don't know what some of them would do. I don't think it would do any harm to me but it concerns me what it may do to those around me."

We walked down a corridor, a series of columns to our left and right. I should have known there would be draugr waiting behind them but they didn't catch us by surprise, the twins taking one side each and hacking away as they moved forward, barely leaving any enemies for the rest of us. We passed through the door at the end to be greeted by the ghost of Savos and only two of his colleagues remaining. The topic which they spoke of was gloomy. I hoped it was not a sign of things to come for us.

We gathered at the door, all five of us knowing we were near the end. "What do you think lies on the other side, besides the staff?" Serana asked.

"A powerful enemy. One that has been waiting for Savos to return."

"What are our chances?"

I looked at her curiously. "You sound worried."

"We've seen the number of ghosts with Savos diminish. Clearly there is something powerful waiting for us."

"All five of us are leaving here… with the staff. You have my word."

She simply smiled at me. If my words gave her confidence, all the better. I glanced back at the three Companions, each of them readying themselves, before meeting my eyes and nodding they, too, were ready. I opened the doors and walked forward. Above our heads were two what appeared to be ghosts, casting a spell towards another figure on the opposite side of the room. It turned towards me and gestured.

"Hi dare luft Morokei? Rinik pruzah. Zu'u fen send hi wah Sovngarde med fin others!"

"What did it say?" Serana asked nervously.

"You dare face Morokei? Very well. I will send you to Sovngarde like the others!"

Morokei was a Dragon Priest. He had the staff. There was no turning back. We either left with the staff or we died trying to take it.

This was not going to be easy.