11th of Heartfire
For a long day, this one was exploring west of Dawnstar with his friend Erandur. This one is getting very good at his spells. But Erandur was frustrated that this one forgot to buy 'real food' for the trip. Clams, clams, and no more clams are left. But this one and Erandur had a great adventure today, for this morning they found a ruin. M'aditi was very, very pleased, for ruins perhaps meant words. And this one was right this time.
Inside the ruin, this one found many, many dead, dead draugr. Was someone else there? Yes, a woman, looking for a scroll deep in the ruins. M'aditi mostly wants the words, the understanding, so this one didn't mind helping her find her scroll either.
Erandur and the woman were formidable, and with M'aditi protecting them, invincible. No draugr stood long, and M'aditi got to use a special spell that frightened them. Many draugr fell, perhaps finding peace, this one hopes, because this one is a nice and gentle Khajiit. This one also found many coins and jewels slipping into his pockets, and this one wonders if that has to do with the words and dreams and strange things happening to M'aditi lately.
Deep, deep inside, door opened on its own, and this one got very scared. Then this one saw a beast-draugr-but-not, a darkly cloaked figure that rose from its coffin and remained in the air, floating. So dark, and trembles touched this one's heart, but also a strange feeling of irritation that this one did not understand. It spat at this one and his companions, and the woman ran forward past M'aditi to face it. Then, boom. The ground shook under this one's feet, and M'aditi started to fall back. This dark thing was wielding a staff! A strong one at that.
M'aditi cast good spells upon his friends, to help them be stronger. Then the thing fell silent. No more fire. Was it over?
M'aditi peered around the corner, around the doors, and boom! This one never ran so fast, for the thing was right behind this one. Erandur and the woman would be safe if it chased this one. So this one fled through a heavy door, and because the thing was slow, had time to trap it behind bars.
Now what, this one wondered. The angry thing stared at M'aditi through a soulless mask, trying to use its staff, but the fireballs were blocked by the bars. But those bars couldn't hold it forever, or worse, it would give up and go back for this one's friends.
Then suddenly Erandur appeared, crying out in battle bravado as he swung his mightly mace upon the thing's back. This one cried out in fear. Erandur would surely be killed!
Moments passed, and no more fire came. Puzzled, this one approached the bars. It...it was dead! This one hurried to lift the bars, peered at the thing's body, if one could call it that. M'aditi decided to take the mask. It clearly held magic, and so this one wants to study it later. Together, this one and his companions explored the chamber that had held the thing. M'aditi found the woman's sought scroll on a table, and as he looked up from giving it to her, this one noticed the wall. The carvings. This one began to move towards the wall, partly dazed by it.
Song hushed. Glow dimmed. Heart pounded.
Strun. Storm. Strun.
Now this one knows three words. Feim, fade. Krii, kill. Strun, storm.
M'aditi regarded the wall long after the visions faded and the understanding was created. When he turned back to his companions, both were ignoring this one, as though they had not seen anything at all, confirming this one's thought that the visions are an extension of himself.
This on still thinks he might be crazy, but that's okay.
Erandur and M'aditi left the woman to her pursuits, and journeyed through the dusk back to Dawnstar. Was a long, dark, cold road, but when the inn was reached, this one filled both their bellies with ale and pie while the treasures were split. Erandur decided to return to his tower in the night, but this one doesn't have a torch and doesn't like the cold. This one paid to sleep tonight in the inn. M'aditi will sell some things tomorrow. And decide what to do with the mask. It's rather heavy, and creepy too.