shadowkitty
Mistress of Shadows
CHAPTER TWENTYONE: The Draugr of the Barrow
The giant spider lay motionless as Wyldfyre and Lydia recovered from the fight. Just as Wyldfyre sheathed her sword she realised she had forgotten the bandit. She whipped around to find him gone from his web prison, an empty doorway in his place.
“By the Maker!” she cursed. “The thief got away!”. Lydia turned to and rushed forward.
“I hear noises up ahead, a fight!” They both rushed through the doorway and down a large stairway into what appeared to be a burial chamber. Large man sized holes lined the walls which were filled with dead bodies in various states of decay. Some skeletons were barely recognisable while others were draped in wrinkled taught greyed skin and rotting clothing or armour. Wyldfyre scanned the room, broken in half by a narrow walkway. On the far side of the room they could see the bandit battling three of the dead men in armour.
“ECK! Draugr!” cried Lydia. Wyldfyre shuddered. The Draugr where the things of nightmares. The way they shuffled and the noises they made in their rotting throats. But at least the Draugr were keeping the bandit at bay. She signalled Lydia to take the left side while she took the right. They both fired arrows into the walking dead but they appeared not to even notice the injuries that would have incapacitated a living man.
“Swords!” Wyldfyre shouted and went in with her sword swinging. She slashed at the draugr, hacking off limbs. Even then the Draugr still kept up their attack, powerless to resist the one thing that kept them going. To protect whatever lay beyond them in the last chamber of the barrow. Lydia beheaded one of the Draugr and it finally fell to the ground. The bandit was fighting one of the Draugr, his back to the wall, bleeding heavily from a gaping wound in his belly. Wyldfyre turned to the other Draugr who was advancing on her. It moved quicker than she thought was possible and soon she was engaged in a sword fight with it. It also had an amazing strength. It swung and slashed at her relentlessly before suddenly there was another sword protruding from its ribs and Lydia was there behind it. It fell to the ground.
“Thanks” Wyldfyre said. Lydia nodded and looked past Wyldfyre to where the bandit had taken off the head of the final Draugr. The thief lay on the ground bleeding from his wound. He breathed in a shaky breath before he closed his eyes and was forever asleep. Wyldfyre bent down and pried the Golden claw from the man’s death grip. She stood and examined the claw. It had three animals carved onto its palm.
“Lydia” she called “What does this look like to you?” Lydia came over and examined the claws carvings.
“Looks to me like another puzzle? “
“Yes by why make it so elaborate? “She turned it over, studying the long claws “why make it into a claw?”
“Do we want to find out what it opens?” asked Lydia. Wyldfyre shrugged.
“We have come this far. Might as well see what lays beyond whatever this is keeping closed” She shoved the claw into her satchel and walked towards the narrow walkway, just as another Draugr up ahead came to life and heaved itself up from its wall coffin. This one had no weapons but instead held up its hands. Wyldfyre froze, halting Lydia as well.
“Its hands!” she whispered “It can do magic! Be careful” The Draugr grew closer and Wyldfyre and Lydia stepped back, not wanting to be on the receiving end of whatever magic the Draugr could conjure. It walked through the narrow walkway, its hands still raised. Wyldfyre got ready for a counter attack. She raised her hands as well, ready for whatever it threw at her. Just as it was about to use its magic on them it stepped on a rock in the ground that moved under the pressure and a great spiked steel gate sprang open and impaled the Draugr. The gate swung back into its position along the wall, the Draugr still stuck on it, limp and unmoving.
“What was that?” Wyldfyre asked stunned. Lydia laughed.
“I had forgotten about those!”
“Care to enlighten me?” . Lydia walked over to the stone the Draugr had stood on that had triggered the gate trap.
“You see this? They are all through these types of ruins. They activate all kinds of traps. Swinging gates, swinging blades, battering rams”
“And when were you going to tell me about this?” Wyldfyre asked, annoyed. Lydia looked stricken.
“I’m sorry. I forgot. I’ve never actually been in an old Nord ruin. This is a first for me to”. Wyldfyre sighed.
“Alright you are forgiven. Before we go on is there anything else I need to know about? Any more surprises?”. Lydia looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Well those draugr back there, as you saw they are pretty strong, they have no sense of pain so you need to almost behead them to make them stop. Also they know magic, which we also found out. Um.. there are more powerful Draugr to I have heard. Deathlords. But no-one I know has ever encountered one and lived to tell the tale.” Wyldfyre sighed.
“Anything else?”
“Um.. not that I know of” Lydia finished. Great thought Wyldfyre.
They checked over the draugr bodies even though Lydia at first refused to touch them. Wyldfyre was delighted to discover they too had loot on them. They also checked the draugr that had not risen from their coffins. She was beginning to think that she was a little obsessed with gold as she pocketed the coins. They went down some more stairs and came to a narrow hallway with three great blades swinging back and forth.
“The swinging blades trap I take it?” Wyldfyre asked Lydia, who looked sheepish. She looked over to Wyldfyre.
“How about you let me go through this one first? I think I can see a chain on the wall. Hopefully it will turn it off”
“Alright” Wyldfyre nodded. Lydia sheathed her sword and stepped up to the first swinging blade looking up into the ceiling to measure how they were swinging. She then darted forward, the blade swinging behind her.
“Careful!” Wyldfyre called out “Those blades look sharp and heavy”
“I know, I know!” Lydia called back. She made it past the second one and only had the last to go. She waited for another couple of swings and then lunged forward. She turned and pulled the chain and the blades retracted back into the ceiling. Wyldfyre made her way quickly through the hallway. They travelled further down into the ruins, encountering only one other draugr before they came to a large cavern with a waterfall on the left side. A stone bridge forded the thin river that flowed across the room and down a tunnel that was barred by a gate. Across the bridge stood two upright sarcophagi. As Lydia approached them, one burst open to reveal a draugr. It stepped down from its coffin and met Lydia’s sword.
“Loot” Wyldfyre reminded her. Lydia shuddered as she delicately picked through the draugr’s clothing to find the gold. Wyldfyre pulled the chain for the door and they continued down the tunnel until they came into another cavern. This one was long with old columns holding up the ceiling. There was a strange blue glow coming off the walls. Wyldfyre moved over to one to investigate. The blue glow was coming off odd looking mushrooms. Wyldfyre took a sample and stowed it in her satchel. They followed the little river through the cavern until they came to a cliff where the river fell down into a deep pit.
Wyldfyre peered down into the pit below. She could see a draugr patrolling a narrow walkway and so she took out her bow and loosed an arrow at it. It hit the draugr and it toppled over the edge and into the pit. On the right of the waterfall was another tunnel. Sitting just next to it was a chest. Wyldfyre tried the lid and discovered it was unlocked. She found gold coins inside. They descended into the pit and took the narrow walkway that the draugr had been on a moment before. There was a tunnel further up ahead but Wyldfyre turned and climbed down the path that led into the pit.
“Where are you going?” Lydia called at her over the noise of the waterfall.
“That draugr fell down here. I need to check it”
“Really? Is it really that essential you gather loot from everything that isn’t moving?”
“It is!” Wyldfyre called up to her “If you want a roof over your head when we get back to Whiterun!”. She dropped down into the pit, careful to avoid getting her boots wet and picked her way over to the fallen draugr. It only had two coins on it. Wyldfyre swore. She looked up and over the far side of the pit. Right next to the waterfall was an old chest. Wyldfyre took off her boots and lowered herself into the water. It was bitingly cold but only came up to her knees. She sloshed over to the chest. It was locked.
“By the Maker!” she swore. Lydia peered over the walkway.
“What’s up?”
“There is a chest down here but it’s locked”
“I’m coming down”. Soon Lydia was beside Wyldfyre. She had a small metal implement in her hand and what looked to be an old kitchen knife in the other.
“Let me show you how to pick a lock my Thane” she smiled. She inserted both of the metal items into the lock and started jiggling them back and forth. Wyldfyre watched her as she worked at the lock. Just then it made a loud click and the chest lid was free from the lock. Wyldfyre hefted open the lid to find gems and gold coins. She stowed everything in her satchel. She looked at Lydia. She had opened the chest after all.
“When we get back we half this ok?” Lydia was not expecting her new Thane to be quite so generous.
“If that’s what you want” she said. They dried off and went down the tunnel that led off to the right of the pit, and found themselves back inside the ruins. They found a large double wooden door blocking their path.
“This looks like it leads into something important” observed Lydia.
“Indeed” agreed Wyldfyre. Together they pushed open the doors.
The giant spider lay motionless as Wyldfyre and Lydia recovered from the fight. Just as Wyldfyre sheathed her sword she realised she had forgotten the bandit. She whipped around to find him gone from his web prison, an empty doorway in his place.
“By the Maker!” she cursed. “The thief got away!”. Lydia turned to and rushed forward.
“I hear noises up ahead, a fight!” They both rushed through the doorway and down a large stairway into what appeared to be a burial chamber. Large man sized holes lined the walls which were filled with dead bodies in various states of decay. Some skeletons were barely recognisable while others were draped in wrinkled taught greyed skin and rotting clothing or armour. Wyldfyre scanned the room, broken in half by a narrow walkway. On the far side of the room they could see the bandit battling three of the dead men in armour.
“ECK! Draugr!” cried Lydia. Wyldfyre shuddered. The Draugr where the things of nightmares. The way they shuffled and the noises they made in their rotting throats. But at least the Draugr were keeping the bandit at bay. She signalled Lydia to take the left side while she took the right. They both fired arrows into the walking dead but they appeared not to even notice the injuries that would have incapacitated a living man.
“Swords!” Wyldfyre shouted and went in with her sword swinging. She slashed at the draugr, hacking off limbs. Even then the Draugr still kept up their attack, powerless to resist the one thing that kept them going. To protect whatever lay beyond them in the last chamber of the barrow. Lydia beheaded one of the Draugr and it finally fell to the ground. The bandit was fighting one of the Draugr, his back to the wall, bleeding heavily from a gaping wound in his belly. Wyldfyre turned to the other Draugr who was advancing on her. It moved quicker than she thought was possible and soon she was engaged in a sword fight with it. It also had an amazing strength. It swung and slashed at her relentlessly before suddenly there was another sword protruding from its ribs and Lydia was there behind it. It fell to the ground.
“Thanks” Wyldfyre said. Lydia nodded and looked past Wyldfyre to where the bandit had taken off the head of the final Draugr. The thief lay on the ground bleeding from his wound. He breathed in a shaky breath before he closed his eyes and was forever asleep. Wyldfyre bent down and pried the Golden claw from the man’s death grip. She stood and examined the claw. It had three animals carved onto its palm.
“Lydia” she called “What does this look like to you?” Lydia came over and examined the claws carvings.
“Looks to me like another puzzle? “
“Yes by why make it so elaborate? “She turned it over, studying the long claws “why make it into a claw?”
“Do we want to find out what it opens?” asked Lydia. Wyldfyre shrugged.
“We have come this far. Might as well see what lays beyond whatever this is keeping closed” She shoved the claw into her satchel and walked towards the narrow walkway, just as another Draugr up ahead came to life and heaved itself up from its wall coffin. This one had no weapons but instead held up its hands. Wyldfyre froze, halting Lydia as well.
“Its hands!” she whispered “It can do magic! Be careful” The Draugr grew closer and Wyldfyre and Lydia stepped back, not wanting to be on the receiving end of whatever magic the Draugr could conjure. It walked through the narrow walkway, its hands still raised. Wyldfyre got ready for a counter attack. She raised her hands as well, ready for whatever it threw at her. Just as it was about to use its magic on them it stepped on a rock in the ground that moved under the pressure and a great spiked steel gate sprang open and impaled the Draugr. The gate swung back into its position along the wall, the Draugr still stuck on it, limp and unmoving.
“What was that?” Wyldfyre asked stunned. Lydia laughed.
“I had forgotten about those!”
“Care to enlighten me?” . Lydia walked over to the stone the Draugr had stood on that had triggered the gate trap.
“You see this? They are all through these types of ruins. They activate all kinds of traps. Swinging gates, swinging blades, battering rams”
“And when were you going to tell me about this?” Wyldfyre asked, annoyed. Lydia looked stricken.
“I’m sorry. I forgot. I’ve never actually been in an old Nord ruin. This is a first for me to”. Wyldfyre sighed.
“Alright you are forgiven. Before we go on is there anything else I need to know about? Any more surprises?”. Lydia looked thoughtful for a moment.
“Well those draugr back there, as you saw they are pretty strong, they have no sense of pain so you need to almost behead them to make them stop. Also they know magic, which we also found out. Um.. there are more powerful Draugr to I have heard. Deathlords. But no-one I know has ever encountered one and lived to tell the tale.” Wyldfyre sighed.
“Anything else?”
“Um.. not that I know of” Lydia finished. Great thought Wyldfyre.
They checked over the draugr bodies even though Lydia at first refused to touch them. Wyldfyre was delighted to discover they too had loot on them. They also checked the draugr that had not risen from their coffins. She was beginning to think that she was a little obsessed with gold as she pocketed the coins. They went down some more stairs and came to a narrow hallway with three great blades swinging back and forth.
“The swinging blades trap I take it?” Wyldfyre asked Lydia, who looked sheepish. She looked over to Wyldfyre.
“How about you let me go through this one first? I think I can see a chain on the wall. Hopefully it will turn it off”
“Alright” Wyldfyre nodded. Lydia sheathed her sword and stepped up to the first swinging blade looking up into the ceiling to measure how they were swinging. She then darted forward, the blade swinging behind her.
“Careful!” Wyldfyre called out “Those blades look sharp and heavy”
“I know, I know!” Lydia called back. She made it past the second one and only had the last to go. She waited for another couple of swings and then lunged forward. She turned and pulled the chain and the blades retracted back into the ceiling. Wyldfyre made her way quickly through the hallway. They travelled further down into the ruins, encountering only one other draugr before they came to a large cavern with a waterfall on the left side. A stone bridge forded the thin river that flowed across the room and down a tunnel that was barred by a gate. Across the bridge stood two upright sarcophagi. As Lydia approached them, one burst open to reveal a draugr. It stepped down from its coffin and met Lydia’s sword.
“Loot” Wyldfyre reminded her. Lydia shuddered as she delicately picked through the draugr’s clothing to find the gold. Wyldfyre pulled the chain for the door and they continued down the tunnel until they came into another cavern. This one was long with old columns holding up the ceiling. There was a strange blue glow coming off the walls. Wyldfyre moved over to one to investigate. The blue glow was coming off odd looking mushrooms. Wyldfyre took a sample and stowed it in her satchel. They followed the little river through the cavern until they came to a cliff where the river fell down into a deep pit.
Wyldfyre peered down into the pit below. She could see a draugr patrolling a narrow walkway and so she took out her bow and loosed an arrow at it. It hit the draugr and it toppled over the edge and into the pit. On the right of the waterfall was another tunnel. Sitting just next to it was a chest. Wyldfyre tried the lid and discovered it was unlocked. She found gold coins inside. They descended into the pit and took the narrow walkway that the draugr had been on a moment before. There was a tunnel further up ahead but Wyldfyre turned and climbed down the path that led into the pit.
“Where are you going?” Lydia called at her over the noise of the waterfall.
“That draugr fell down here. I need to check it”
“Really? Is it really that essential you gather loot from everything that isn’t moving?”
“It is!” Wyldfyre called up to her “If you want a roof over your head when we get back to Whiterun!”. She dropped down into the pit, careful to avoid getting her boots wet and picked her way over to the fallen draugr. It only had two coins on it. Wyldfyre swore. She looked up and over the far side of the pit. Right next to the waterfall was an old chest. Wyldfyre took off her boots and lowered herself into the water. It was bitingly cold but only came up to her knees. She sloshed over to the chest. It was locked.
“By the Maker!” she swore. Lydia peered over the walkway.
“What’s up?”
“There is a chest down here but it’s locked”
“I’m coming down”. Soon Lydia was beside Wyldfyre. She had a small metal implement in her hand and what looked to be an old kitchen knife in the other.
“Let me show you how to pick a lock my Thane” she smiled. She inserted both of the metal items into the lock and started jiggling them back and forth. Wyldfyre watched her as she worked at the lock. Just then it made a loud click and the chest lid was free from the lock. Wyldfyre hefted open the lid to find gems and gold coins. She stowed everything in her satchel. She looked at Lydia. She had opened the chest after all.
“When we get back we half this ok?” Lydia was not expecting her new Thane to be quite so generous.
“If that’s what you want” she said. They dried off and went down the tunnel that led off to the right of the pit, and found themselves back inside the ruins. They found a large double wooden door blocking their path.
“This looks like it leads into something important” observed Lydia.
“Indeed” agreed Wyldfyre. Together they pushed open the doors.