U.O.T.W. chapter 306 When Tears Run Dry

  •  


    While Kul-et was resting her legs, by dangling them over the edge of the walkway, Aela looked around for any wood which she could use to make a fire with but there was none. Huffing to herself, she lightly kicked a large rock with the side of her boot. As she stared at the scuff mark she had made, she had a moment of inspiration.
    “Hey, Kul-et! Cast your flame spell on this rock here. I‘ve got some magicka potions for you”.

     

    Kul-et wiped the blank expression from her face then looked across to where Aela was pointing.
    “What good will that do?”

     

    “Well, remember what Sotek did at the base of the mountain?”

     

    Slowly, Kul-et nodded as she thought back to the Seven Thousand Steps.
    “Yea, it warmed us up”. She got up then cast her Flame Spurt spell on the rock. Soon it was almost glowing, but Kul-et had used two potions to do it. Aela and Kul-et sat there warming themselves on the boulder but taking care as to not directly touch it.

     

    “Here, eat”. Aela said as she passed the Argonian girl a bag of food.

     

    Kul-et almost snatched the supplies out of Aela’s hand then she ravenously chewed her way through two rolls of thinly sliced, cooked meat, before even realizing that she was making a spectacle of herself.
    “Sorry, here do you want some?”

     

    Aela just shook her head, hiding the concern she held.
    “Naa, you need it more than me. Are you ok?”

     

    “Yes, no... That bloody bastard. How dare he make me do this alone! What the fuck”.

     

    Aela shook her head as she pondered on Sotek’s reasoning.
    “No Whelp has ever done their trial by themselves, this is nuts. No, it’s worse than nuts. That bloody bastard’s gonna get it, I swear to you”.

     

    “Not by you he’s not, that prick’s mine”. Kul-et looked up at the stairway which lead to another doorway. “I have to carry on… Don’t I?”

     

    Aela shook her head.
    “Kul-et, I can’t go with you, I’m sorry I just can’t go against Hircine. He’s my lord. I just can’t help you...” She stopped speaking then just stared at Kul-et as a thought played over in her mind.

     

    Kul-et picked up on her sudden pause instantly.
    “What? Aela, what is it?”

     

    Aela cast a quick smile then stood up. She offered Kul-et her hand and pulled her up to her feet as well.
    “It’s this simple, stop your bloody whingeing, you bloody useless excuse of a reptile and snap out of it”. Aela gave her a slight shove as well just for good measure.

     

    Kul-et just stood there, too stunned and shocked to respond, until Aela handed her over her bow.
    “When Sotek gave it to me, he said it will serve him better in my hands. And that is true to you, it will serve you better in my hands. Now, my hands can’t go with you, but my bow can. Take it, you’re a good shot, but your bow’s not that great. Use mine, you can do this. Quit your whining, stand up, and when you come back out victorious with that Dawnbreaker by your side, you promise me that I’ll be there when you look at that son of a bitch in the face”.

     

    Kul-et took the bow and studied it, then she looked at Aela right in the eyes.
    “I’m not going to look at his face, I’m going to put him on his bloody fucking arse”.

     

    “That’s my girl, you can do this”. Aela said with a grin.

     

    Kul-et held Aela in her arms tightly then broke away from her.
    “Thanks, I mean that. Thank you”. She headed up the steps but just before she entered the second section, she noticed a chest. “Ermm Aela?”

     

    “Yes?”

     

    “Can you unlock this chest for me? I kind of suck at lock picking”. Aela laughed then walked up the steps to her. She glanced down at the chest then kneeled down by it and beckoned Kul-et to join her. Aela then spent the next ten minutes teaching Kul-et a few pointers on the fine art of lockpicking. Under the Huntress’s tuition, Kul-et finally heard a satisfying ‘click’ as the lid was released from the mechanism which held it shut so tightly. A cheering cry from Aela did little to forewarn Kul-et that she was about to be slapped on the back. She lurched forwards, grabbing hold of the strongbox to support herself.
    “Hey!” After giving Aela a glaring look, she peered inside the box and noticed a diamond and an ebony dagger. “Hey, this’ll be great for Ebony”.

     

    Aela inspected the edge of the blade.
    “Yea, it’s not shabby at all. It’ll be bloody handy once Sotek puts a few enchants on it, or not”.

     

    Kul-et cursed out loudly.
    “Why does everything come back to him?”

     

    Aela shook her head then gently rested her hand on Kul-et’s shoulder.
    “I wish I bloody knew. You ready?”

     

    Kul-et started laughing, then shook her head.
    “No”. But without another word she walked up to the door and pushed it open.

     

    The moment Kul-et stepped through the doorway she felt the dread build up inside. She swallowed loudly then mentally fought with her stomach, turning the fear around. Behind her, she saw Aela standing there, watching her. Aela gave her a weary smile then whispered to her.
    “Good luck”.

     

    Kul-et nodded then whispered back to her.
    “Thanks”. She tried to think of something else, but her mind was a blank. She just found herself standing there, looking at Aela like some demented statue. She drew a deep breath then turned back to the corridor and proceeded forwards, looking far more confident than how she felt.

     

    Sotek, who was several feet above them, smiled.
    “So, you have Aela’s bow. My, my, how interesting. Now we’ll see how you get on”. He watched Aela wait for several seconds then Aela started to head back to the statue of Meridia. The moment she was out of sight, Sotek climbed down to the platform then sneaked inside.

     

    Within a few feet of entering the second part of the temple, Kul-et came to a winding stairway. She cautiously made her way down the slippery steps which was caused by melting ice and wet moss which grew there. Suddenly, she slipped and landed on her backside with a loud bang.
    “Oww, Sotek you bastard”. Kul-et pulled herself up and examined her leg. Already a bruise had started to form where she landed on the steps, hard. She cast her healing spell for a few seconds then, after grumbling bitterly about Sotek, she carried on her way.


    Sotek smiled to himself as he saw Kul-et fall on the steps. Not because that she fell, but rather that she picked herself up and cast her healing spell. He cautiously followed her down the stairwell, taking a lot more care than she did so he wouldn’t befall the same fate. He cast his mind back to when Ebony slipped on the ice and took Aela with her when they all went to Ironbind Barrow. He would have a hard time explaining to Aela and Kul-et about what he was doing here if that happened.

     

    The stairway led to a short narrow corridor but that however opened up into a much larger room than the others Kul-et had previously been in. To the right of the room was another log stairway which led to a platform. As she studied the layout, she could see a pedestal which the stairway would lead her to. Above her, but to the right of the room, were two more platforms. One of which was surrounded in a cage but the other one had another pedestal sitting upon it.

     

    As she looked around, a shade moved from behind a large stone platform support but fortunately it never detected her presence. She silently drew Aela’s bow then took aim. She fired off the arrow which shot across the room at almost blinding speed and passed through the shade. It instantly burst into flames as the two elements tore at its very essence. Its sword was sent scuttling across the room as it was killed instantly.

     

    Two more shades turned from where they were patrolling but almost immediately sensed her presence. She took aim once more and fired at the closest shade. It too simply exploded in fire and crumbled to the ground, but the third one Kul-et tried her fireball spell on. Three times she had to cast it, but it still proceeded towards her. She drew her spear then stepped closer and engaged it. Her spear thrust forwards immediately breaking the shade’s defences. Due to the flame damage which was supplemented by the spear piercing the shade, the undead phantom disintegrated while its sword dropped to the floor with a loud clang.

     

    Sotek shook his head at Kul-et. He wasn’t impressed with the way Kul-et dealt with the last shade. To him, she tried to play with the shade, instead of simply killing it. He grimaced as he watched Kul-et get struck from behind as a fourth shade entered the combat.

     

    She was knocked to the ground and her spear dropped out of her reach. Horrified, she rolled across the floor a few times to see the corrupted shade, which was stronger than the others there, hovering over her. She rolled once more as the shade’s sword came crashing down on what was moments before, her position. She drew Aela’s bow as she scrambled to her feet but in that time the shade was ready for her attack. As she lifted the bow up, the shade swept its sword at Kul-et’s head, forcing her to duck out of the way. Aela’s bow received the full force of the strike which ripped it out of Kul-et’s hands, leaving her unarmed and defenceless.

     

    As it closed in, Kul-et glanced behind her at the passageway which she had just left. She then turned and ran twenty feet back down the short corridor and stopped when she reached the base of the steps. While she ran, her hands ignited in flames as she prepared to cast her spells. The shade, so intent on chasing the Argonian girl, ignored the two Flame Spurt spells as they roared along the narrow corridor. The shade followed her and was gaining rapidly, despite the flame damage it received which had by now turned it into a ghastly inferno. When it was close enough, Kul-et stepped forwards and struck it with her axe. The blow was implemented perfectly, catching the shade in the head and with complete surprise. As it fell to the ground, the sword which it wielded, hit a stone step with a clang but then there was silence. Sotek had observed everything and smiled to himself as he quickly moved across the room where he waited to see what Kul-et would do next.

     

    Kul-et paused as she listened out for any other movement. She felt ashamed at loosing Aela’s bow and her own spear. Her fear didn’t have the hold over her anymore although it still tried to pull at her. Feeling calmer than before, despite her heart beating loudly, she controlled her breathing and with every breath, it restored her spirit and morale. She drew her own bow then spoke to herself.
    “No Hej kota Veesk is keeping Aela’s bow!”

     

    Sotek gulped then looked around the large room. Fortunately, he noticed a dark corner behind one of the pillars. He quietly headed towards it before Kul-et managed to re-enter the room and spot him. A shade on the first platform saw the glow of the fire which Kul-et’s magic had caused and was now on the way to investigate it.

     

    Kul-et re-entered the room and saw Aela’s bow several feet away. To her right, she noticed the shade, which had started to proceed down the stairway. Kul-et ran, but this time she ran to the bow. Within moments she had picked it up and readied an arrow. The shot flew true and slammed into the shade, killing it outright as it burst into flames.
    “Not so bloody tough, are you!” She looked at Aela’s bow once more as she held it in her hands and smiled. The next second she shouted out, not caring if any more shades were about. “Hey, Aela? This bow’s bloody fantastic”.

     

    Only then did she realise that the shade managed to cut her arm in the earlier scuffle. She cast her healing spell for several seconds until it was healed over then she proceeded up the stairway where the shade had come from. She tried a door to her right but that was sealed tight, but the moment she touched the pedestal, which was on the platform to her left, she heard the door open. She entered the room to find herself in a small burial chamber, which she spent a few minutes searching. In one burial urn she found a fire scroll which she stored in her pack.

     

    During that time, Sotek sneaked past her and made his way to the far side of the room. He noticed the tell-tale signs of a trap by the far door which he quickly disarmed while Kul-et was far too busy occupying herself with the scroll which she had found. He silently pushed open the door slightly and saw that all it contained was a chest in the far corner. Satisfied that Kul-et was ok, he proceeded along the corridor which now put him in front of Kul-et by a good few minutes.

     

    Kul-et proceeded to the other side of the room and examined the door. Relieved to find it unlocked, she held her spear which she had recovered and slowly pushed the door open. There, just in front of her, was the chest which Sotek had spotted. She opened it up to find a silver amethyst ring and ten gold pieces. Smiling to herself, she proceeded along the corridor towards Sotek.

     

    As Sotek made his way along the passageway, he came across a small stone unit. He quickly pulled out two healing potions and a magicka potion and smothered the bottles with some dust to make them look old. Then he started walking along the corridor. He had only taken a few paces when he had a quick thought. Hurrying back, he produced the red spell book which he had retrieved ages ago when he first showed Aela and the Harbinger Lakeview manor. Once again, he smothered it in dust then left it resting on a shelf in the same stone unit which he had placed the bottles on. Then he was gone like a shadow.

     

    As Kul-et made her way through the passageway, she began taking more care with her surroundings. She allowed herself a quiet ‘whoopee’ when she saw the potions and gratefully stored them in her backpack, knowing magical potions never deteriorated. Despite Sotek’s plan though, Kul-et was too intent on the potions to notice the book. Sotek could have screamed at her as he watched her walk past the stone unit. He picked up a stone and threw it behind her. Kul-et heard the sharp ‘crack’ as the stone hit the ground and she spun around, drawing Aela’s bow. She scanned the corridor in silence, watching for any movement, but then she noticed the dusty book. Cautiously, she approached the unit but having still heard nothing, she lowered the bow after satisfying herself with the knowledge that she was currently alone.

     

    She picked up the book and studied it. Knowing it was a spell book, she opened it up. The words danced across the pages as she learned it secrets from within.

     

    Unwittingly, Kul-et stepped right past Sotek and headed out of the passage way. She found herself on the platform which was covered in the cage. As she followed it, she looked down at where she had previously stood. There below, were the remains of the shades which she had killed. Further along the walkway she saw a second platform with yet another pedestal sitting upon it. She made her way to it within a few seconds, but then however, she noticed the walkway had previously collapsed. She easily jumped the gap then activated the pedestal. Below her, she saw a door which had escaped her notice. A bright beam of light shot over the top of it, opening it up.

     

    Kul-et was about to jump down from the platform to the lower room when she took note of a second door she never saw earlier. It was only because of the beam of light that she could make out the doorframe. After shaking her head, dismayed from her lack of attention to her surroundings, she proceeded to make her way to the door. She found it to be locked and groaned. Using the knowledge and skills which Aela had managed to teach her, Kul-et successfully picked at the lock however in doing so, she lost several lockpicks in the process. She opened the door to find a dead end which was filled with shelving. Just there, on a ledge, was a small chest which she opened. She found a bag of gold which by her reckoning had about twenty pieces in. But what caught her eye was a necklace. She immediately recognised it as being enchanted, despite not knowing what she had found. She smiled to herself as she held it tightly in her hand.
    “Interesting. I wonder if Farengar can tell me what it is”.

     

    Having nowhere else to go, Kul-et jumped down to the lower floor then she made her way towards the door which the pedestal had opened.

     

    Kul-et followed the new passageway then suddenly stopped. Ahead of her, she could hear voices, but only when she peered inside another large room could she see that in fact there was only one person there. However, he had several shades hovering around him. She drew a deep breath then readied Aela’s bow. Sotek was at this point several feet behind her. He looked past her and realised straight away that even with the spell he gave her and Aela’s bow, she had her work cut out. He drew his Dragonbone bow then cautiously and silently as the night, followed her inside the room.

     

     

Comments

8 Comments   |   The Long-Chapper and 5 others like this.
  • Karver the Lorc
    Karver the Lorc   ·  August 13, 2018
    Yes, Kul-et is much better here. You can see her struggle, she gets hurt, but she pushes on. It doesn't matter how many times you fall, but what is important is that you get up. I like this better. 
    I'm also wondering about the dragon. He was q...  more
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  August 12, 2018
    After having a long chat with Ebonslayer (Thanks for your advice) and an
    even longer chat with Aela, (Thanks for the help, support and coffee)
    I've made some changes regarding this chapter. Have a read and see if it
    feels better.
    • The Long-Chapper
      The Long-Chapper
      Sotek
      Sotek
      Sotek
      After having a long chat with Ebonslayer (Thanks for your advice) and an
      even longer chat with Aela, (Thanks for the help, support and coffee)
      I've made some changes regarding this chapter. Have a read and see if it
      feels better.
        ·  August 13, 2018
      Me too, Sotek, this is better. 
    • Ebonslayer
      Ebonslayer
      Sotek
      Sotek
      Sotek
      After having a long chat with Ebonslayer (Thanks for your advice) and an
      even longer chat with Aela, (Thanks for the help, support and coffee)
      I've made some changes regarding this chapter. Have a read and see if it
      feels better.
        ·  August 13, 2018
      Yeah, I prefer the edited version. It makes Kul-Et seem better able to complete the challenge set out for her, with or without help.
  • Sotek
    Sotek   ·  August 10, 2018
    Well, it certainly looks like I missed the mark here then. Yhe next big place to visit is Forelhost... lets hope that fairs better....   doubt it though... oh well....
  • Ebonslayer
    Ebonslayer   ·  August 9, 2018
    I‘ve got some [magicka] potions for you”. (it's magicka, not mana)


    it’s worse than nuts that bloody [bastard's] gonna get it,


    that [prick's] mine”.


    He wasn’t impressed with the last [shade'...  more
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  August 9, 2018
    Nice that Kul--et got back into the fray, that she didn't give up, but boo on her still needing Sotek's help. I'm sorry, I just really prefer more independence and find this set of chapters frustrating. But I give you hugs anyway. Lol, just like how my Sk...  more
    • Sotek
      Sotek
      The Long-Chapper
      The Long-Chapper
      The Long-Chapper
      Nice that Kul--et got back into the fray, that she didn't give up, but boo on her still needing Sotek's help. I'm sorry, I just really prefer more independence and find this set of chapters frustrating. But I give you hugs anyway. Lol, just like how my Sk...  more
        ·  August 9, 2018
      Hahaha yea, but don't forget, this is early days yet. Everyone's got some growing to do and find thier own place. Kul-et definitely will. got massive plans for her char. And she will definitely give Sotek a run for his money when she does reach her peak, ...  more