Private [ROF] Rise of the Falmer

'Go and scout for an exit.'

Circe had seen Geel pass them already and go even deeper into the tunnel. Even she could not see him any more as the tunnel curved around out of view.

'Geel has already gone ahead, make sure he is all right.'


(OOC: Caravan, go and check Geels last post if you need to. Everybody seems to have forgotten about what Geel last wrote. He went deeper into the tunnel and disapeared into some sort of rivers/slide thing)

Alistar had made the mistake of thinking they had bested the onslaught of Falmer, it wasn't long before more of them began to seemingly crawl out of the walls and ceiling. He kept up the fight, parrying blows and slaying the beasts as they came to him. He was beginning to tire, as his strength wavered the beast within him, struggling to get out, became more and more intense. He gritted his teeth, he was beginning to see red and the smell of blood and death crept into his nostrils, making his mouth water. Pain shot up from his side as the edge of a Falmer blade sliced briefly into his flesh, he scowled as he slashed horizontally, lopping off the Falmer's head from the lower jaw up, leaving it's neck a stump gushing with blood with only it's lower jaw hanging, blackened teeth and a foul tongue were visible as the corpse crumpled to the floor.

Alistar felt the ground shake beneath him, the ear piercing sound of stone grinding against stone. He paid little attention, his focus on fending off the endless wave of Falmer. "We won't survive much longer out here. Get in!" He heard Geel yell, the ranger reeled around to find himself looking down an opened chasm, and the group retreating within it. He turned his attention back to the Falmer threat, which was relentless in it's assault. Slowly, he began retreating back toward the opened tunnel, he could hardly concentrate, the lust for flesh was becoming stronger. It felt like a million different voices were shrilly screaming into his ears.

He wasn't far now, Alistar was guarding the entrance from the attackers. With every engagement he recieved a cut or tear in the flesh, pain shot up from every limb with crippling exhaustion. If I die here, so be it. He thought to himself as he parried another blow, the beast snarled and followed up his blocked strike with a sweeping slash toward Alistar's chest. Alistar grunted, barely able to follow up and block it. His exhaustion had caught up with him, he was unable to move as the beast raised a gnarled foot and kicked Alistar back. The ranger stumbled, his heel clipped a root jutting from the stone floor and he fell back into the tunnel, he landed hard, beginning to tumble down a steep incline. Unable to stop.

Edwyn had lost a good bit of blood and it was becoming hard to fight. He had been holding off 2 Falmer when one of the bashed him with his shield and Edwyn flew against a wall, losing consciousness. The Falmer then turned their attention to the others, losing interest in Edwyn.

In his passed out state, Edwyn had something strange happen. He was seemingly awake, fully aware of his actions. But he wasn't in the cave. He was just in black, nothingness. Then, a glowing appeared from above and the figure gradually descended to the ground. It was Julianos, the God of Wisdom and Logic, the Divine most worshiped by mages.

"Edwyn, do you know why I'm here?" "N.... No...""Do not fear. I come to inform you. Edwyn, you have always been a fine mage. Your skill is superior to others in the field of Necromancy, yet you don't use it for evil. You have stood by magic your entire life, after your parents were murdered, after you left your Aunt, everything you did to survive you used magic. You have never held a wooden bow. You have never wielded steel. You only use Magic Weapons and I have come before you today to congratulate you." "Thanks Julianos... it... means a lot." Edwyn, I have heard your prayers. You wonder about the gift you've recently received. It is not from Talos, it is from I. I have given you my blessing. It will strengthen you when you have no strength, it will heal you when you are near death, and from now on, Edwyn, your mind will be sharper than ever before. You will see things as noone else does, think as noone else does, and your senses will be forever fine-tuned so you never miss any event that happens around you. For you, Edwyn, are the only mage worth of such a gift. Now, awaken, and continue to follow the others. You have a glorious destiny ahead, don't disappoint us."

Edwyn awoke, but he was in a completely different world. It was the cave, the tunnel, he was just in, but it was different. Edwyn felt the power coursing through him once again as the blessing healed some of the cuts. But, it didn't seem dark. It seemed as light as the outside world now. I remember... the dream... you will see things as noone else does. Edwyn began looking around. Everything was so... clear. He could make out the other fighters with the group, the moss on the walls, and the dangerously deep slope not too far back in the tunnel. He once again bound 2 swords to his hands and, with renewed confidence and the blessing of Julianos, began fighting the Falmer. More confident than ever before, more strength than he'd ever felt, and his new keen senses were making the Falmer easier to spot. The Divines are truly with us on this mission against the Falmer. Bless them. Thank you Julianos. Thank you.

Down. Ever further he went, peat and pebbles slipping around as he descended. Geel gritted his teeth, struggling not to swallow. This would be a no painless ride. The gills behind his neck were an aid below the water jet, lungs his breathing system above the torrent. It was no easy way to respire, but unlike anyone else who foolishly decided to follow him, at least he knew he would survive.

Thin fibrous roots dangled from the ceiling, it's moist tendrils swiping at Geel as he dived past. He had tried to grab a fistful of the plant matter, but they gave way under his grip. Glancing down, he saw a sharp turn in the strange corridor, swerving to the right in a near 90 degree angle. Bracing himself the best he could, he tucked his legs in and hoped for the best.

With a sickly splash, Geel hit the side of the corner, before rolling to the side. Head reeling, he had no time to prepare for what came next.


Suddenly, he felt his body rest upon thin air,stalling for a brief second before plummeting downwards. Startled, he furiously struggled to turn around, body twisting and turning in effort. A slight gasp escaped him, the walls around him rising as he fell. In one last No sooner than he had succeeded, he regretted his choice. Within a second of seeing the blackness below him, he hurtled face first into the great pool of water.

Coldness greeting him, he felt a rush of bubbles following him as he entered the water. Blurred silver shapes darted past him, their scales shimmering in the darkness. Weeds choked his vision, their icy clasps gripping to him. As he began to slow, he made his kick upwards, legs propelling him towards the surface.

Head breaking from the embrace of water, he took in deep breaths of tunnel air, lungs beaming. Despite his gills, air was definitely his favorite source of oxygen. He had entered some circular chamber of water, with a single tunnel in front. Pale light shone upon the glassy surface, only disturbed by the slight movements he made. Shaking droplets from his scales, Geel turned back to the tunnel, a good ten feet or so in the air. He heard the sound of movement in the tunnel, and wondered who it was who followed him.

A foggy haze had filled Melee's vision and mind as she waited for her depleted magic to finish regenerating. The noises around her were muffled and difficult to make out, but she thought she could hear a familiar voice yelling out to the group. She slowly opened her eyes, everything becoming sharper and more focused the longer she looked around. Falmer were still running everywhere, swords slashing through the air, arrows whizzing toward the group, and magic bursting from their mangled palms as they continued to fight the small group of adventurers. The wall Melee was leaning on suddenly shuddered, and a deep scraping sound could be heard echoing throughout the cave.

A few feet to her left, Melee could see what looked like a hole in the wall that hadn't been there a few minutes ago. Everyone was making their way inside, so she attempted to get to her feet. Melee could feel her strength returning, but she still staggered ever so slightly as she made her way to the tunnel. Restoration magic was different from other types of magic in the sense that more of the power behind the spell came from the caster's inner being, rather than the magic that coursed through their veins. While it aided greatly in healing others, Melee was feeling now the side effects of depleting her magic through Restoration.

She stumbled into the cave, only a few people ahead of her. Her vision had returned to normal, but she still felt exhausted and drained. I would really like to lie down right now. Melee kept moving through the tunnel, turning behind her to look at her companions when she stepped on a slick, mossy rock and immediately began plummeting down a slippery slope.

As she fell further and further down the sliding tunnel, Melee threw her hands to the sides of the walls, hoping to stop herself or at the very least slow down. The moss and other unidentifiable plants covering the tunnel were too slippery, and her attempts had little effect on her current situation. Melee thought she could hear someone ahead of her, but any thoughts of that nature were lost in the painful and winding turns she was going through.

After one particularly battering turn, Melee found herself hovering in midair for a split second as the tunnel ended and emptied into a large, cavernous room. She gasped, feeling her stomach rise into her throat as she began a rapid descent down toward a chasm of water, somehow both pale and ink black at the same time. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, bracing for the impact on the water and the chill she was sure she would be experiencing. The second before she hit the water, she had a sudden yearning for the ability to fly.

The water was bitter and freezing, causing Melee to expel a large amount of oxygen from her lungs while she was still underwater. Cursing to herself, she frantically swam for the surface, not sure how far down she was. She burst through the surface of the water, breathing heavily as the burning in her lungs diminished. She saw both Geel and Alistar a few feet away and swam over to them. "Where do we go from here?" Melee asked as she gazed around the cavern they found themselves in.

Before the Khajiit had a chance to scout ahead, or even reply to Circe, Melee walked past the two of them and disappeared around a sharp turn. Circe listened closely to Melee's hearbeat, for a few seconds all was normal. Then, suddenly Circe heard a dull thump and the Elf's heartbeat picked up. Something is around that corner. Forget the Khajiit scouting ahead, I have to see this for myself.

'Khajiit, sorry I do not know your name. We need to see where Melee is going. Follow me.'

Brushing herself down, Circe stood up and began to run towards the sharp turn. Is that water I can hear? A few steps later she felt the tunnel begin to slope. Even though the tunnel was close to pitch black, Circe saw perfectly with her Vampire sight. She was surrouded by mossy walls, and beneeth her she could now see small individual streams of water that seemed to be emerging from the walls and meeting together further down the slopes.

Only a meter further, the water was flowing thick and fast. Circe used her strong hands to cling onto rocks protruding from the wall, but it did little to stabilize her. Behind her she could hear the Khajiit. The only thing that kept him on his feet were his claws. Both on his feet and his hands. Yet another meter further Circe came to a decision. This rout is not meant to be walked.

'Khajiit, we are going to slide down this tunnel.'

After giving the Khajiit a chance to catch up, Circe lowered herself to the sloped river below her and began to speed further downwards. She didn't bother to reach her hands out in a feeble attempt to slow her descent, she knew it was useless.

Before long she caught sight of and sharp turn, going at a ninety degree angle. She thrust her feet outwards and crashed into the wall. Her feet absorbed most of the shock. For a moment Circe thought the water had stopped and that she was sitting on a flat piece of ground. But when she looked down she saw that she was floating hight above a pool of water. It was magical, but the magic was broken all too soon.

The next thing Circe knew, she was falling. I'm not going into that pool in a belly flop. She began to turn herself upside down into a dive position, all the while getting closer to the water. When she finally hit it, she went in almost silently. The water was so deep that when Circe opened her eyes she could not not see the bottom.


Rising to the surface she took in a deep breath. Near her, she could see Melee, Geel and the other man who didn't seem to mind her feeding.

'What on earth was that?'

Alistar gritted his teeth as he fell, clawing at the rocky wall in an attempt to halt his descent. "Ragh!" He cried out as pain shot up from his hand, he couldn't see in the darkness but he guessed he had cut it on a sharp rock jutting from the wall. Suddenly, he felt the sensation of flying. He twisted and contorted his body in mid-air to look down, and Alistar's heart sunk into his guts. He was falling fast, toward a river of roaring black water. He tucked his knees into his chest and held his head under his arms as he dropped, taking a deep breath before hitting the surface of the water like a bag of bricks.

Immediately Alistar was winded from the cold, the frigid waters stung his skin like needles as he was ripped aside with the current. He was forced through the thick netting of tangled aquatic weeds, and in his presence flecks of silver fish darted away further downstream. Alistar could feel the current pick up, stronger then before.

He suddenly went over the edge of a roaring rapid, he gasped as the sensation of falling took hold of his gut. Looking down, he saw the waterfall funneling into a blackened pool, coming closer and closer every moment as he fell. He took a deep breath, and braced himself for the collision, unsure if his head would be split upon a jagged rock.

Alistar smashed against the surface of the pool in a flurry of bubbles, it was a blur of deafening noise with the waterfall beating down upon the pool with merciless force, and the numbing cold was still very prevalent. He opened his eyes to see despite the stinging. Looking up, he began swimming toward the surface of the pool, his jaw clenched as his lungs strained for air. Until finally his head broke through the surface with a relieved gasp. He wiped the excess water from his brow, and saw Geel staring back at him. "You alright?" Alistar called out.

Edwyn waited until all the others had jumped down the slope. He had more injuries from the fighting but he wasn't too bad off. When he realized it was only he and Crow left, he picked Crow up and jumped down the slope. Julianos protect me. He fell the treacherous way down, getting banged against rocks but making sure it was he not Crow who took the most damage. He was nearly fainted when he saw he was dropping straight into apparently deep water. He heard Crow take a deep breath and Edwyn did the same. They plunged at the same time and Edwyn, still holding onto Crow, struggled to bring himself to the surface. He was running out of breath when he grabbed onto shore. He dragged himself and Crow up, finding they were sitting next to Geel, Melee, and Alistar. He attempted some short of joke and said "So, whats for dinner? I'm starved."

Geel smiled in relief as he saw Alistar tumble through, seemingly unharmed. As much as he distrusted the man now, it was welcome to see a non hostile face. He closed his eyes as water splayed in all directions, accompanied by a loud splash as the man toppled in. When Alistar came up however, he seemed none the worse, even managing to ask about Geel's own well being.

Giving the man a replying grunt, he had even less time to shield himself from the second wave. This time, Melee was the one to be dragged down the current, followed a couple of seconds later by the mage. As they too landed in the peculiar pool, the water rippled with the force, the fish scattered like fallen coins.

As the two of them surfaced from the icy pool, The vampire went in a graceful dive, followed moments later by a strange mop of fur. It took Geel a moment to realize it was the cat, bedraggled and wounded. He was shocked for a second, body freezing, unable to comprehend the arrival of this carpet. But then he regained his senses, blood boiling within like a seething fire. He could still taste the rough scar in his throat, flesh once covering it burned away, eaten by the flames of his voice. His mind cried logic, but his body screamed revenge.

" Where do we go from here?"

Melee's voice vanquished his rage, her words practical. It did not do him well to get angry while the real threat remained out there. That rug, after all, was nothing but a deranged child. So hell bent on playing his little game, it was no wonder he was reduced to such a state. Taking a deep breath to get his focus back, he closed his eyes and said, "There is no other route. Unless we turn into jumping salmon, good luck to us in getting back up that tunnel again. We'l just have to go forward and see where we end up in."

Geel suddenly wondered where the Falmer were. They had not come into the tunnel, what could it mean? Either they were afraid of a few drops of water, or they found it intimidating to explore a new place. Or perhaps, they know we're heading towards a certain doom. Trying his best to shrug those thoughts aside, he headed towards the bank.

Geminus and the sellsword had come now, along with Rale and Valthor. Blood stained their blade and armor, but which side it belonged to was hard to tell. For a moment, Geel was sure that Geminus would drown in his heavy armor,the thick plates of armor weighing tons. Geel wondered how the man tolerated lugging that weight along with him everyday. Thankfully, he was helped by EInarr to the safety of the corridor.

Geel was somewhat disturbed to see an almost feral look upon Einarr's face, like the features of a madman. He understood what Einarr meant. After all, this was the most important part of his life. His life and love rested upon the outcome of this battle, and the boy would give anything to make sure it went in his favor.

With that, they plunged forward into the unknown.

(OOC: Someone else decide what's in the next room, because after that it will be the main battle )

((geel just one thing my char name is Einarr not Derath >.<))

Einarr shook his head from side to side water flung from his hair. He hardly gave Geel a glance as he looks around the cave, The dim light making him look older then his age. He summoned a ball of and let it hover above the group giving the cave a haunted look caused by the false lighting.

He looked at each member of their group his eyes cold, and then turned towards the passageway leading deeper in.
Or perhaps, they know we're heading towards a certain doom.
"Doesn't look like we have a choice in the matter, we can wait and starve. Or have those beasts to work up the courage and follow us down. So lets get going." He spoke with a commanding tone, not the timid small voice he normal spoke with. "Besides... some thing feels right about this place, so lets keep going and if we run into any more of those things. Kill them." He started to walk not bothering to see if the others followed. His hands brushed across the walls, he had a sinking feeling hes seen this place before. The dream, in it he had before the feeling of dread and being alone and lost. All he felt now was wanting to get out of this damned cave.

He saw light ahead, again his mind flashed back to the dream, and doubt started to creep in. The image of the rotting body of his mother filled his thoughts. But as he looked into the room ahead of him every thing cleared. Stood at the very back where giant double doors ancient in make but still in good shape, the art work on it didn't look like any thing he had seen in dawn star. It looked almost elvish in make.

"Geel, this doesn't look like Dwemer make." Alistar remarked, approaching the huge set of metal doors lined with strange and foreign carvings, it seemed to be radiating a white glow, magicka perhaps. The ranger unclipped his soaking wet cloak from around his neck, and ringed the water out of it before tucking it into his belt. There was an eerie silence as the group converged around the doors which towered above them, the design and architecture predated Nord, and definitely did not bear any resemblance to Dwemer. It had to be Snow Elf, it was the thought going through everybody's mind as Geel moved up to examine more closely, he was an expert in reading an assortment of different ancient tongues.

Geel began to move towards the door to examine the the strange symbols. Circe knew how to read and speak a few languages. Some ancient, others new, but she had never seen this before. I assume it is the language of the locals. The former Snow Elves. She looked at the symbols and began to take note of each one, thinking they might be needed later.

(Sorry for such a short post. I didn't really have much to talk about but I wanted to post something small.)

Lyle felt like he was dead wait. He landed in the water and barely swam out alive. He followed the group to a wall with weird symbols. He recognized them as a story his father read him. It was about a race of elves who assaulted the Dwarves and took over their homes. Lyle looked at the ground as he spoke, he felt he didn't deserve to be with the group. " The symbols resemble the writings of an old race that stays hidden behind a mask. In my land the race was called white ears. My father read me stories about them, they were very intelligent, they usually mark their lands with traps. If this writing is not white ear writing then I'm afraid I'm of no help.' Lyle walked towards the writing and stopped, he just couldn't decipher it.

Geel was in awe of the twin doors, which loomed above them like great sentinels. It's brooding, engraved surface was wrought in the best craftsmanship, preserved until today. The monstrous construct made him want to flee, as if within the twisting metal lay a beast of great peril.

Runic symbols sprawled across the metal, the door emblazoned with Topaz, Lapis Lazuli and the occasional amber bead. However, deep within the glistening stones lurked something sinister, perhaps holding the knowledge of the dangers to come.


As he examined the runic carvings, he made note they were no form of Dragontongue, the words of this language seeming to flow as liquid as honey, in comparison to the crude and jarring way of the Thu'um. "Geel, this doesn't look of Dwemer make." Alistar's voice rang in the hallway, bouncing off the walls. For a moment, Geel had the notion that the gates themselves might punish them for breaking it's years of slumber, rumble in anger. Realizing how foolish he was, he pushed the thought out of his mind. Well, if it isn't of either origin...

The next person to speak up confirmed it. Geel was annoyed that it was the cat, but he had to agree with him. There was no other logical reason. "Old Elvish," Geel announced, somewhat afraid that the runes themselves might suddenly come to life and writhe in agreement.

Summoning up the courage to approach the gates, he could not help but feel how insignificant they all were. He thought that theirs was the era of advancement, of improvement. Now, was he so sure? The gold-plated doorway imposed it's doubts upon him, the entrance itself proof of his ignorance.

Gingerly, he touched the surface, fingers working it's way down the incredible carving. Holding his breath, he brushed his hand upon the maw of a fearsome dragon. Though it's features were set in gold, he half expected it's amber eyes to meet his own, gilded talons to lash out at the intruders. The beast was locked in mortal combat, against a group of men.


Peering at the men, he noticed they were wearing armor unlike any he had ever seen. With such detail put into the piece of art, it was difficult to mistake this for the dull iron or the common steel. Tracing the finely chiseled figure, he came to the conclusion that this was some form of Elvish armor. It's fluid form made it impossible to be of any other origin, yet it differed greatly from the armor of the present age.

Bending slightly, he examined the lock. Feeding his own terror, he realized that the door had been shut from the inside, the heavy bronze bolt secured. That meant that whoever last touched the door was dead upon the floor inside... Or still waiting.

One thing was sure- This was where all their answers were. Beyond these gates lay the secrets they had all been waiting to see, beyond this was the reason of their coming. However, with it lay uncertainty, the door itself seeming to whisper it's warning.

"It's here. Everything we came here for- the plunder for the sellswords, the truth for the boy. It tells to me it's knowledge, left untouched by years. It tells to us what we wanted to know, what we will wish we never knew. Now, the only question left for us to ask is- are we ready?"

Adrenaline burning like wildfire within Shadow-Tail, he ran through the thick horde of the Falmer, which fell apart beneath his blade as he cut down all who tried to stand in his way. The rest of the group had left the battlefield and into a moss covered cave, but only now did he realize that he was on his own.

"Damn these Falmer! I'm not getting left behind!"

Covered in blood and sweat, he finally made it to the cave's opening which was so dark he could hardly see what was on the other side.

"Well, here goes nothing."

He lunged passed the remaining Falmer and jumped headfirst into the cave as arrows went flying all around him. He landed hard on the moss covered surface of the cave, but was shocked to find himself sliding downwards.

Moss felled his vision as he continued to slide down the cave, until suddenly he was thrust'd into a raging river of water. He could hear his heart beat like a wild drum as the river violently tossed him around like a rag doll, cutting his scales to pieces by the sharp rocks surrounding the water's surface.

The wild current prevented any control as it forced him to stay underwater, which only made him thankful for his water breathing ability.

He wanted to shout out in pain, but was unable to as water felled his lungs. The pain did not end their, as the he found himself falling down a unexpected waterfall at the river's end.

His body slammed into the water below as his old wound smacked into one of the many sharp rocks that doted the river floor. He yelled in pain as he was finally able to swim to the surface, but he could hardly hear himself over the deafening sound of the waterfall.

His vision was blurred as pain felled every inch of his body, but he was still able to survey his new surroundings. He noticed, if barely, that the group now stood in front of a large golden door that was surrounded by a weird white glow.

Putting aside his pain, he forced himself to swam through the water as he made for the surface. At one point he was able to find his footing in the water, and was finally able to walk his way to the group.

Now covered in bloody wounds and drenched in water, every step he made in the sand like surface was felled with pain. He could feel some of the moss in his armor as it moved uncomfortably against his scales, and that did little to improve his mood.

As he slowly meet up with the group, he could just make out the what the Wizard was saying to the rest of the group.

"...the only question left for us to ask is- are we ready?"

Shadow raised his hands in protest, even though it was painful to do so.

"Hay, don't you think we should set up camp. I mean, we almost died back there. I believe we deserve some rest before we do anything else."

Circe was not surprised as an Argonian came up behind them, she had heard his harsh landing in the water only moments ago.

"...the only question left for us to ask is- are we ready?" Geel's last words seemed to ring in everybody's head's.

"Hay, don't you think we should set up camp. I mean, we almost died back there. I believe we deserve some rest before we do anything else." The Argonian said as he made his way into the group.

Circe turned to the man.

'We have no time for rest. What lies beyond these doors may well change the tide of the war between us and the Falmer. We have a healer and the will to carry on. I say we proceed once Geel has finished analysing the door. Of course, it is up to the rest of you to decide.'

Glass woke up to a blurry world, and he saw a ragged band of men. He tried to open his axe-arm, which caused Glass to grunt in pain. He tried to stand up, and recognised the Argonian, examining a slab of wall. What was his name, his name! Glass could not produce an answer, and slid down onto the floor again, looking at his right lobstered fist, the glass armor red with blood.

"It's here. Everything we came here for- the plunder for the sellswords, the truth for the boy. It tells to me it's knowledge, left untouched by years. It tells to us what we wanted to know, what we will wish we never knew. Now, the only question left for us to ask is- are we ready?" Geels words were followed by contemplating silence, Alistar swallowed, his eyes locked on the set of doors which seemed to be glowing in the darkness. The intricate carvings and runes, the emblazoned jewels, it put him in a trance as his eyes traced the delicate and complex designs engraved in gold.

Alistar took careful steps as he approached the doors, getting a much better view of the ancient adroit art. He ran his fingers along the skillfully crafted designs, which were cold to the touch. Topaz, amethyst, sapphire and aquamarine were set in gold, sparkling like stars in the darkness of the night. His attention then turned to the lock, a mechanism set at about shoulder height. It had a single slot, where a key fitted, however the group possessed no such key, and would have to resort to more unorthodox means to get inside.

The ranger drew his sword, the cold steel emerged from it's leather scabbard and gleamed in the low lighting of the cave as it was wedged into the lock. Alistar fixed his grip around the sword's hilt, and with all the force he could muster he pulled back. The lock gave way with a satisfying snap as the internal mechanism was broken, Alistar stepped back, pulling his sword out of the slot and sheathing it as the doors clicked free, and swung open with a worn and ancient groan.

Einarr sat him self towards the very back of the group and sat on a rather large rock. He could real the drain on his body from casting magic, he was still new to it and even cutting down a few of them put a huge drain on his body. But his breathing was slow and calm, his eyes on the door, He could almost see the image of his dead mother behind it. He needed a rest, but he heard the click from the door echo across the cave. He stood and made his way towards it.
"What ever happens thank you for coming with me for this. It means a lot." He drew the short sword at his side and stood next to Alistar. His eyes cold and harsh, his hand grasped tightly around his blade.

With a sharp click, the lock snapped, the doors swinging open in a fell swoop. Wind rushed past his face in a gush, the great guardian doors giving them entry.

What he saw next was incredible. Scary, haunting, yes, but incredible. It was as if the past lived not as ghosts, but as fully fleshed out forms before them.

Gold pillars, set with a multitude of stones, rose up into the darkness. Their surfaces depicted the stories of old, the figures as large as the pillar's girth. Geel saw the Red Mountain spewing it's shiny flecks of magma upon villagers carved of bronze, whom fled as fast as their puny legs would carry them. He saw the tools of Lorkhan, Sunder and Keening crossed over each other, held firm by the great gauntlet, Wraithguard. In the darkness of the space beyond, he thought he saw the carving of the elder scroll, scores of Dwemer surrounding it in study.

Despite how awe inspiring the architecture was, Geel felt a chill as he took his first step into the place. The darkness seemed to leap out, plaguing his thoughts. Geel nearly jumped when his feet touched something cold. Looking down, he saw a pool of clear, icy water, about an inch high. The water occupied as far as he could see, getting deeper the further it was. The room must be sloping.

Entering the room with caution, he tried to be as silent as possible, stirring nothing except the water at his feet. As the ripples spread across the freezing liquid, Geel had the strange feeling that they were not alone in this room.

The eyes etched upon the pillar seemed to follow them, orbs of red Jasper and glassy Quartz watching their every movement. Geel swore that the nearest Dwemer, an old elf with a grizzly beard, had winked to him. The jet black Hematite had vanished for a split second, beneath one wrinkled eyelid. Geel suppressed a shudder and walked on, determined to keep distance from that pair of eyes, each stone as dark as sin.

The group made it's way into the darkness. Unlike Circe and Emberlynn, Geel would have made a mock of himself had he tried to stumble through the pitch blackness. He let fire spring from his fingertips, lighting the few steps in front of him. It did little to penetrate the shadows, so thick they were that Geel believed it could drown him.

Heart pumping at ridiculous speeds, he proceeded through the haunting darkness.