The trio of explorers entered the ancient prison with cautious steps, the first chamber that greeted them was suspiciously empty of any Draugr guardians, the walls however were completely covered in ancient Nordic script, and even untranslated the words carved there gave out an ominous feeling.
After they made sure there were no traps, Daynas approached the writings and started mumbling to himself and looking at a journal he fished out of his robes while his two younger companions busied themselves with completing the insultingly easy puzzle and unlocking the path forward.
As the final pillar clicked into place and the iron gate lifted itself Marco turned to the old Mer "Found anything interesting there?"
Daynas shakes his head "Nothing that I was not previously aware of, most of it is just the story of Mirkul's betrayal while the rest of the writings are warnings to all those who try and enter this prison, cautioning them to forsake their greed and leave lest they be devoured by the traitorous son."
"So it's just another tomb then?" Minthara quips.
The old scholar holds back an eye roll and scoffs instead "You would do well to remain cautious young lady, Mirkul was known for being very hard to kill, his blade was said to drain the very life out of his foes."
"All the more reason to take it from him!" The Nord retorts merrily and walks into the next hall, forcing Marco to follow after her.
"Not even the gods will save me from the folly of youth" The old Mer sighs as he jogs after them.
It wasn't long after they entered the tomb proper that they met the first of the Draugr. The embalmed zombies seemed sluggish for some reason as if drained by something, yet their numbers still proved to be a great challenge as each step the trio took they were forced to fight back against yet another dead Nord.
Minthara roared in frustration as yet another head was smashed apart by her hammer, she was at this point completely covered in Draugr bits and the constant growls were starting to make her very angry.
Her fellow student did his best to blast away any enemy that tried to encircle them while the old scholar contented himself with merely throwing out an errant firebolt now and then.
By the time the horde finally stopped the two youths were panting and glaring at the old Mer. Minthara barely held herself back from smacking him "And what exactly do you think you are doing by barely helping?" she hisses.
The old Mer shrugs uncaringly "I am no warrior, I might be a somewhat capable mage but I spend my days reading and writing, not fighting" He stretches his legs "Besides, I am not as spry as I once was."
Even Marco, who was until then rather respectful to the old Mer, rolls his eyes "That is complete bullshit and you know it, there is no way a mage of your age can do only that much."
Daynas grumbles something to himself "Well, you see-"
Minthara interrupts him by getting into his face and grabbing his robes "Either you help us properly or we are going back, I made the mistake of being overconfident once and I am not doing it again."
The scholar seems furious at being grabbed but after a couple of deep breaths he sighs "Very well, I will do my best" and pushes the young woman's hand away "Do keep your hands pointed at the Draugr please" He scoffs.
Minthara shrugs uncaringly "As long as you pull your weight, old man."
"Yes yes" He grumbles "Now let us go and get m-" his eye twitches "The amulet."
His two companions do not notice his little slip and they proceed deeper into the tomb, the concentration of Draugr decreasing while their strength increased.
Daynas reluctantly summoned two fire atronachs and started actively focusing on helping out with precise blasts of fire.
The trio soon stood before a raised wooden bridge and a pedestal with three holes in it.
Before the two youths could even ask Daynas absent-mindedly pulled out a claw of ivory and twisted the pedestal with it, thus lowering the bridge.
"Where did you even get that claw?" Marco asks as they cross the suspiciously intact wooden structure.
The old Mer's mind seemed elsewhere and it took him a couple of finger pokes from the Altmer bard to focus back on the question "Ah yes, it was in the possession of an old clan of Nords in Windhelm, I came upon it on accident during my research on Gauldur's legend. The clan was at first reluctant to part with their prized possession but luck smiled upon me as during our negotiations an apothecary they invested in heavily fell on very bad times, so I paid them a good sum of septims and got myself the key."
"You are right, that is very lucky" Marco interjects with narrowed eyes.
Minthara keeps walking forward "As long as it helps us get inside he might as well could have found it in a pile of dung for all I care."
The two elves shake their heads and follow.
----
As the final armored Draugr is thrown to the ground by Minthara's hammer embedding itself into its chest the hall they stood in completely quieted down. She took a moment to look around and noticed a great amount of imagery engraved into the very walls, an almost circular gate with the same indentations as the bridge pedestal blocking their way.
"Ah, here we are" Daynas sighs in amazement "The hall of stories!" he exclaims, looking frantically at all of the imagery.
Marco looks at him with some confusion "You say that like it is a common occurrence."
"That is because it is" The old Mer nods to himself "Most greater Nord tombs have one such hall, detailing the story of the one interred inside." he brushes his palm against the ancient engravings "The tale of the great Archmage and his treacherous sons, how he created a great amulet and was murdered for it by his own blood."
"And yet all three sons survived the occasion, did they not?" Marco asks "How did they agree on who would carry the amulet if they were all too happy to kill their own father over it?"
"A good question indeed" Daynas smiles "You see, the three sons broke the amulet into three fragments, every son taking on an aspect of its power. If the fools didn't go on a murderous rampage right after, they might have even had the time to enjoy the amulet's blessing."
"I am fairly certain that isn't how enchantments work" Minthara interjects, her voice laced with doubt.
"And usually I would agree with you" The old Mer nods "But so great was the power of the amulet of Gauldur that even the broken fragments bore great powers of their own." He looks at the sealed door with hidden greed "The one we are here for is said to grant great health and vitality to the wearer, enough to survive even the most grievous of wounds."
As the old elf approached the gate the two youths behind him shared a look, both of them were starting to get suspicious of the Dunmer scholar, though for different reasons. Minthara thought he was planning something and thus holding back, while Marco was certain the scholar knew far more than he was willing to say and was leading them on.
After some fiddling and stone turning the gate slid down and a great chamber revealed itself, dozens of coffins surrounding a raised platform in the center.
Before they even stepped into the chamber the sounds of coffin lids being thrown resounded all around the chamber and lumbering chained Draugr emerged from within, a wave of power exploded from the central coffin and a hulking creature emerged, its helmet adorned with two massive horns and its ornate sword glowing an ominous red.
As Mirkul glared at the interlopers all of his thralls focused on them as well, and then as a wave they threw themselves forward in a frantic rush.
Daynas' atronachs immediately started trying to thin the horde while the trio of explorers focused on surviving the onslaught.
As they kept being pushed back Daynas pulled out a scroll from his robes and created a wall of fire to ward off the attack for a moment, he turned to the two youths and yelled "You must kill Mirkul, the thralls are connected to him!" he frowns "Go, I will create an opening!"
Moments later he pulled out two more scrolls and made a literal passage of fire leading up to the great Draugr.
Realizing that the chance they were given wouldn't last long Marco and Minthara rushed at the ancient overlord, throwing spell after spell before they clashed. Even as the spells struck the undead it looked as if they didn't even touch it, the effects far too weak to push through its vitality.
Minthara struck out with her hammer only to have it batted away by a Mirkul whose dead face now sported a derisive sneer, a blast of force wiped the creature's expression as Marco started using his own brand of magic.
The exchange continued with Mirkul easily deflecting all attacks, and as every second passed the young adventurers came closer and closer to their opening running out and them dying to a horde of thralls.
They shared a look as a plan was rapidly formed without a single word.
As Mirkul deflected yet another rapid strike of Minthara's hammer, Marco lunged forward with his rapier, causing the undead's footing to become uneven for a split second.
Just as the creature's footing became unstable Minthara shouted out "FUS!" causing the Draugr to fall backward, and straight into the path of Marco's rapier... but instead of piercing the undead, he cut the string of the amulet around its neck.
The moment the amulet was removed a series of groans and shrieks emanated from all around them and Minthara wasted no time in hammering the downed Mirkul, who was completely stunned by the sudden loss of power.
Again and again, she struck, she did not stop until the ancient Nord looked more like a fine paste than a once fearsome warlord.
As the lord of the dead fell so did his thralls, and soon the walls of flame. Marco looked back at the old scholar while pocketing the amulet and sword and yelled "Are you doing alright back there old man?"
Daynas who was panting tiredly merely nodded his head and kept breathing heavily.
Minthara suddenly frowned "There is that chanting again..."
"What chanting? Like in the temple?" Marco asked.
His fellow apprentice nodded and started walking to a semi-circular wall inscribed with familiar runes of dovahzul. As she stood before the ancient rock she looked as if she saw something that wasn't there, Marco was about to ask what was going on but Minthara's sudden whisper of "Fo" and the air chilling stunned them both.
After a moment of tense silence, Marco dared to say "I am not sure that is how the thu'um is supposed to work..."
Minthara frowned in thought "That is what I don't understand, I seem to have an affinity for it that goes well beyond anything that should be reasonable..."
"Think that is why Reyvin recruited you?" Marco ventures "Maybe you share his connection to Kyne?"
Her frown deepens as she shakes her head "He did show me how to feel Kyne's presence, and I know she blesses me... but this goes well beyond that."
Marco scoffs "You cant seri-"
The sound of paper ripping and a wave of greenish Magicka covering the both of them interrupts their theory crafting session as their bodies hit the ground, neither of them able to even blink yet still conscious.
Both of them fall in such a way to see a snickering Daynas looking down at them with contempt "How nice of Serjo Reyvin to send two filthy n'wahs I can be easily rid of." he sneers "Did you really think I would let the two of you steal such power from me?"
Their eyes try to widen, but the paralysis spell's hold is too strong and Daynas approaches the downed Marco. He taps the downed Altmer's cheek twice "I warned you young man, Mephala taught us cunning."
As the words leave his mouth the fear in the Altmer's eyes turns into derision and mockery as a laugh, that sounds more like a gurgle in his current state, leaves Marco's throat.
Daynas frowns, irritated "Do you not understand your position you foo-"
The sound of crossbows releasing interrupts the old fool's rant, along his time on Nirn.
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