The moment Sotek passed beyond the door threshold, he felt a warmth in the very air itself. The dark coldness of the old fort was left behind as he gazed up an illuminated stairway. Ahead in the passageway was a burner, blazing away, spreading its light throughout the passage. Sotek felt initially confused which Aela picked up on instantly as she had been watching his tail.
“It’s a spirit brazier. It’s fuelled by the souls here, so its forever burning. Come on you, we’re close”.
As Sotek climbed the stone stairs, his thoughts turned back to Aela. He watched her lead the way towards the remains of a draugr which she eyed suspiciously. Sotek quickened his pace to catch her up, then gently pulled her back slightly, as he too kept a half eye on the remains of several draugr that had now littered the stairwell.
“Hang on, there’s an easier way. Let’s see exactly what we’re dealing with”. He steadied himself for a few seconds then drew a deep breath. “Laas”.
Further along the corridor, two silhouettes lit up from the draugr that resided in the fort. Through the walls and rock, Sotek could make out a third form, but this one was much further away.
“I count three. Two of them are close, down there. As for the third, it’s well out of our way, for the moment at least. Aela watch our backs. Farkas, Vilkas with me”.
Aela drew her bow then defiantly stepped forwards.
“I ain’t staying behind”.
Sotek sighed then pointed ahead along the tunnel. As if on cue, both Farkas and Vilkas made their way forwards to engage the two draugr while Aela and Sotek stayed back. Sotek lent against the wall of the stairway but then as he looked down at Aela’s boots he decided to sit on a step instead.
“Take a seat, just for a moment”.
Aela cursed as she sat three steps above Sotek. As she sat there, she found herself staring behind her at the others. The sound of clashing metal echoed along the passageway, but at the same time she could hear Farkas laughing.
“He’s a bloody moron”.
Sotek turned around and sat sideways on the step so he could look at Aela. He watched her for a few seconds and only then did he put his thoughts into words.
“You were a bit anti with me back there, why?”
As Aela’s head turned to face him, she gave out a slight sigh then paused. She shook her head as she reprimanded herself.
“No, I’ve been anti with all of you. It feels like we’ve been down here for days. These walls, they feel like their closing in, pressing down on me. I’ve had little sleep, I’m hungry. Hell, Red’s hungry, I can feel it. I just need this to be over with. I need to feel the wind, fresh air, the sun, the moons on my skin. This is nothing but a cage. A stone cage and I need out”. She said in a frustrated tone.
Sotek got up then offered Aela his hand. Once he helped her to her feet, he gave her a hug as he spoke quietly to her.
“We’re not your enemy. We will finish this”.
He felt her head thud against his chest as she held him as tightly as she could muster.
“I know, I really do know”.
Looking along the corridor, Sotek tried to listen but he couldn’t make out any sounds from Farkas or Vilkas. Having decided on his next course of action, he barked out his orders.
“Come on, we’ll join up with your brothers. Then you can get some sleep. You’ll feel better after some rest”.
“We rested back there”. Aela said drearily.
“You, did not. Come on and stop arguing”. Once they re-joined the other Companions, Sotek cleared off the top of a large altar. Then he placed a fur on it and gently slapped his hand against it. “Here, get your head down. Farkas watch over her, Vilkas you’re with me”.
Aela sat on the altar but then closed her eyes tightly. She spoke softly, far gentler than the way she had spoke earlier, but the importance was unmistakable.
“Sotek, will you stay with me, until I’m asleep? Please?”
Before Sotek could reply, Vilkas held him by the shoulder and drew his attention away from Aela.
“We’ll go ahead, we’ll be fine. We done this before you came along. Farkas, we’re up. Sotek, keep her safe”.
Sotek nodded then pointed along the corridor.
“There is a single draugr up ahead, as to what type I don’t know but after that I’m not sure. Go careful”. He then sat at the end of the Altar and gently pulled Aela’s head to his lap. She curled up in a ball as Sotek covered her in a fur.
Farkas looked back at her and smiled to Vilkas.
“Hell, she even sleeps like a wolf”.
Vilkas chuckled as he took point.
“Careful, she’ll bite you”. He then drew his sword and approached the next chamber while Farkas lightly tapped his shield with his sword in anticipation of the upcoming fight. Within a minute, Sotek listened to the faint sound of battle as the two Companions engaged in combat against the draugr.
Soon, the fort fell quiet once again but then Sotek heard Farkas call out to him.
“We’re moving further in. You two stay there, we’ll be back within the hour”.
Sotek nodded, despite himself being the only one to know that he did so. He put aside the urge to shout back, letting them know that he had heard in case he disturbed Aela. So instead, he just sat there. As he held the Huntress in his arms, he watched her sleep. Her breathing slowed as she fell deeper and deeper in the realm of dreams. Sotek came to realise that she was well and truly fast asleep as her feet started twitching, along with her fingers. He slowly reached into his pack and pulled out a gauntlet of the Ancient Nordic armour which he picked up earlier and studied it, all the while he kept glancing along the passageway towards the other Companions. His mind slowly cast back to the dream he had where he and Paarthurnax spoke.
As he held the gauntlet in one hand, he tightly gripped the armour scrap that he had in his other hand. Mentally, he weighed them as he tried to comprehend what the white dragon had told him about collecting the armour. Sotek remembered Paarthurnax informed him that the armour was a waste of his time, and yet when he placed the gauntlet down on the stone slab, he felt a slight emptiness inside. He almost shivered when he placed the scrap piece alongside the gauntlet. As a result, he quickly snatched it back and held it tight once more.
All the while he was deep in thought about Paarthurnax, time moved on. He suddenly became aware of a presence. He quickly lifted his head towards the corridor just in time to see Farkas approach.
“We’ve cleared the passages, Vilkas is waiting for us. He’s there, at the door. We came across a few Stormcloak bodies, but the doors still sealed. To be honest, I’d rather wished it wasn’t”.
Sotek lent over Aela and kissed her forehead as he gently shook her.
“Hey, sleepy head, time to wake up. Vilkas is at the doorway”.
Aela awoke with a start. She grabbed Sotek aggressively as she pulled herself up.
“What? You’re kidding? That morons got past the door? How long was I asleep for?”
She spun her legs around and literally jumped to the ground but then she started to topple. Sotek grabbed hold of her and steadied her. Instantly her head span and she held him tightly for support.
“Whoa! Head rush!”
Sotek shrugged his shoulders as he gently pulled her head into his chest.
“Take it easy, there’s no rush. I said he’s at the door. Give yourself a chance to wake up”. He sat on the altar then pulled Aela towards him. She straddled his lap, completely oblivious to Farkas’s presence and slightly dug her heels in Soteks back. He in turn wrapped his arms around her, then held her tight as she rested her head on his shoulder once more.
After a few moments she lifted her head up and faced Farkas.
“I just needed a few seconds. Did you two encounter much?”
Farkas shuffled about nervously, as Aela watched him. Finally, he built up the bottle and approached Aela.
“Can you do me a favour?”
She was taken aback a bit by his bluntness, but due to the way she had been with him and the others since they entered the fortress, she decided not to snap at him but just to let it go.
“Sure, what?”
Farkas slumped against a wall as he groaned at both Aela and Sotek.
“Can you get your bloody backside off of him? We’re in a derelict fort for crying out loud”.
They both looked at each other, then realised how Aela was positioned on Sotek’s lap. She felt her face start to blush, so she quickly climbed off. Moments later however, she felt the urge for a leg pull. She seized her chance and approached Farkas.
“Someone’s not getting any hugs lately, that’s your trouble. How’s things with you and Ebony?”
Farkas cast a quick glance along the corridor, then whispered to the pair of them.
“She’s been really cranky lately. She always seems in a mood. I just can’t work out why”.
Aela gave him a slight hug then she thought about her and Sotek.
“Take Ebony out for a meal, that’s what Sotek does for me when I’m not myself”.
Farkas looked at them both oddly. He cast his mind back as he tried to remember when Sotek and Aela went to the Inn.
“When does he do that? You two don’t usually go the Bannered Mare”.
Aela cast Sotek a smile as she replied.
“All the time, but not to the Inn, he takes me on the plains”.
Farkas instantly stated laughing.
“On the plains? Yes, I remember the racket. That night I honestly thought the howling was from a wolf”.
Aela turned bright red, she pushed past the two of them as she proceeded to follow the path, muttering under her breath as she went.
“Laugh it up you jackals, that’s not what I bloody meant”. Aela quickened her pace, leaving Sotek and Farkas behind as well as their chuckling. Gradually the sounds of the two Companions faded as Aela made her way through the various rooms and corridors. Soon enough, at the end of a particularly wide passageway, she came across Vilkas who was resting against a large circular ringed door.
As Vilkas saw her approach, he glanced behind her to try to see the others.
“Ermm, Where’s Sotek?”
Aela sneered at the mere mention of her mate’s name.
“That insufferable lizards behind me somewhere. Knowing him, he’s probably bloody lost”.
Vilkas couldn’t help but chuckle slightly.
“Ok, what’s he done this time?”
“He’s.... Done nothing, I’m just... I need to get out of here, I’ve had enough. It feels like we’ve been down this stinking rat hole for days”. She bent down and picked up a large stone, then threw it angrily against the door. It hit the door with a loud ‘crack’ and bounced back to finally rest by Aela’s foot. She cast a weary eye down at it and scowled. “You prick”.
“Who’s a prick?” Farkas called out from behind Sotek as they made their way towards Aela.
“This stone”. The moment Aela said it, she started laughing. Then she picked it up and threw it back into the door.
“That’s not going to open it”. Sotek stated as he walked towards the doorway.
Aela stared at the three rings on the door for a few seconds then turned towards Sotek.
“I know, opening it’s your job”.
Sotek rested his hand on her shoulder as he mentally prepared to get shouted at.
“I can’t open that without the key”.
His instincts proved to be correct as Aela broke into a full-blown holler.
“You fucking what? What bloody key? Scarface can tear it down”. She yelled as she pointed defiantly at the door.
Sotek slightly shook his head at her as he turned back to the doorway.
“I can’t, he can’t. It’s not a bloody door, it’s a stone seal. It’s three feet bloody thick. We need to find the key”.
Aela felt her fists tighten up. She stepped back from Sotek, removing him as a likely target. Instead, she vented her rage on him by shouting.
“You bloody promised you’d open that fucking door. For the love of... Hang on you… Tell me this Mr Slimy Green Reptile, how, in all the wolves of the Hunting Grounds… How do you know it’s three feet thick?”
“Because, my dear stroppy wolf girl, I’ve seen them before. In Bleak Falls Barrow to be precise. The key we’re looking for, happens to look something like this”. He pulled his pack off his shoulders then rummaged around in his bag. Moments later he retrieved the golden claw and passed it to Aela. “Have any of you seen something like this here? It might be made of something other than gold.”
Aela screwed her eyes up as she had a feint memory of a green claw, but she couldn’t quite remember. Sotek mistook it for something else.
“Aela, please tell me that you haven’t got it in your bloody room in that bloody chest of yours?”
She immediately calmed down as she tried to remember where she had seen it.
“No, it’s here somewhere... I can’t quite...”
“I’ve seen that! It’s in one of the rooms behind us on a pedestal. It’s a green one”. Farkas stated, feeling quite pleased that he remembered something. “Follow me, I’ll show you”.
Aela shot off like Red was when she’s been starved of the hunt. Within seconds she was right behind Farkas and playfully started shoving him as she tried to get him to speed up.
“Move it, you lazy scum”.
Farkas, who was doing his best not to fall forwards from Aela’s harassment yelled at Sotek.
“Oi, get ‘er off”.
Sotek smiled at Aela as he called back to Farkas.
“I would hate to interfere with the delicate balance and the intricate relationship between a sister and her brother”.
Farkas stumbled and just managed to prevent himself from falling over by grabbing hold of the passage wall. He stopped then angrily turned to Sotek.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Sotek grinned at him as he hissed his answer.
“In a nut sshell, no! Hisss”. Both he and Vilkas laughed as Aela smiled evilly then promptly gave Farkas another shove.
True enough, once they made their way through the few rooms and corridors, they arrived at their destination.
“There it is, between those bookshelves”. Farkas stated as he stood back and pointed at it. “See? I told you”. Inside he felt relieved that he had actually found it and now Aela was docile. He hated the thought of what would have happened if it wasn’t there.
Aela’s eyes opened wide as she slowly walked towards it. Gingerly picking it up, she turned to Sotek who, along with Vilkas, had followed behind them.
“It’s glass? Are you sure this will open the door?”
Sotek took it off her then examined the back of the claw. He smiled as he recognised the three symbols on it which perfectly matched those on the stone seal.
“Yess, ssee the symbolss? This iss the key Aela, thiss will get you past the door”.
As one, Sotek, Farkas and Vilkas all looked towards Aela. Time seemed to stand still as Aela in turn, stared back at them. With an eagerness they hadn’t seen since they entered, she triumphantly called out to the pack.
“Well, what the hell are we standing around for? Let’s go”. Without another word, Aela led the trail heading back towards the seal. She couldn’t help herself but to hope that this would be her final time she walked these halls and passages.
When the stone doorway came into view once more, Sotek handed Aela the claw.
“Call out the symbols, starting from the top”. He then headed to the stone door and prepared to rotate the three rings which formed the seal.
Farkas chuckled to himself as he shook his head.
“You studied that claw for five minutes, can’t you remember?”
Aela instantly glanced over to Sotek who simply rolled his eyes at Farkas.
“Of course I remember, but I thought Aela might like to feel that she’s helping”.
Aela instantly broke into a big grin as she swung her arms around in a big swaying circle as she turned to face Sotek once more.
“Yea, so shut up and be quiet. The first ones a wolf”.
Vilkas burst out laughing.
“Knowing you two, why ain’t I surprised”.
Aela grinned at him, she couldn’t help but laugh as she snapped light heartedly at him.
“Shut up, you idiot”. Sotek slowly turned the circle around until Aela saw the symbol come into view. “That’s it!”
There was a resonating ‘click’ as it locked into place, then once he was satisfied, Sotek glanced back at Aela.
“Ok, the second one?”
“It’s an owl!” She yelled out, much to the others amusement. She cast them a quick glare then watched Sotek as he rotated the second ring.
Once it locked into position, Sotek half turned towards Aela, but before he had a chance to say anything, she called out to him excitedly.
“It’s a Snake”.
He chuckled to himself as he rotated the final ring. All the while Aela paced around as she watched the ring turn and the symbol move to its position. Once the three circles were locked in their specific places, Sotek took the claw from Aela then approached the doorway.
“You know, if I’m wrong, this will trigger off the trap that’s guarding the doorway”.
Vilkas took a few paces away from Sotek, his voice hung heavy with some concern.
“What trap?”
Sotek stood just in front of the seal then addressed the others.
“Well, poison darts, or spears or even fire. Maybe, if the doors important... All three. Here Aela, you open it”. He then offered her the claw with his outstretched hand.
Aela froze for several seconds, simply staring at him, but then her gaze turned towards his tail. Only then did she realize he was bluffing.
“Oh, for the love of Hircine, you wouldn’t let me open it if you thought you were wrong. Give it here”. She snatched it from his hand then approached the stone door. “Please work, Hircine, I beg of you. First deer Red kills is yours. I’ll offer it to you. Just let me past this lousy stinking door”.
She lifted the claw towards the cut out recess in the stone, but just before she placed it within the ‘keyhole’, Sotek shouted out.
“Bang!”
Instantly, Aela jumped and dropped the claw. It fell to the ground while Aela stared at it falling, horrified that it was going to shatter. Instead it simply bounced as it hit the stone floor. She picked it up angrily as she glared at Sotek.
“You stupid, bloody bastard”. She immediately broke into an uncontrollable laugh as her eyes started watering. “You scared the crap out of me, you stupid bloody reptile”.
She once again placed the claw in the doorway and stood back. Instantly the door started to rumble, as the stone seal lowered itself down into the ground. Aela stood there stunned as she stared at the beyond.
“I never thought we’d do it. By Hircine, we’re in”.
Sotek walked up to her and held her in his arms.
“Not yet we’re not, you’re still standing here. You haven’t passed the threshold yet”.
Aela stared at him for a few moments as she pondered on his meaning.
“What? Oh yea, follow me guys. And go careful, we have no idea what’s inside”.
Beyond the stone seal was a large cavern. There was a wide double stairway in the centre heading up to the cavern floor. The stairs split in two as they circumnavigated a large central pillar which stretched up to the cavern ceiling. Above them on either side, were two sarcophaguses, which faced the centre of the cavern. Before Sotek allowed Aela to head up the stairway, he looked around at the walls. Behind him, he noticed an ancient symbol.
“Oh crap!”
Aela and the others all froze as she turned to face him.
“What? With you that’s never good”.
He pointed above the doorway towards the picture which was cut into the rock.
“That face, with the helmet”.
Aela stared up at it then lifted her torch so she could see it better.
“Yes, what about it?”
Sotek felt a nervous fear inside, which threw him slightly as he wasn’t used to its grip on his stomach.
“It’s the symbol of the Dragonborn. There was a Dragonborn here, they sealed the room”.
Vilkas walked over to the pair of them, he saw Sotek was far from happy.
“What’s your point?”
Sotek gulped as he spoke quietly to the group.
“What the hell did a Dragonborn entomb here? And what the hell have we unleashed?”
As if to answer, an eerie gust of wind blew past them, then a piercing shriek echoed across the cavern forcing both Aela and Sotek to block their ears. Aela hollered out as she pressed her palms against her head to try to block out the sound, all the while she and Sotek were crumpled to the floor from the screeching.
“Ahhhrgg! Lower the pitch will you”. Aela yelled as she fought against the cry.
Within moments it stopped, but when Sotek stood back up, an undead haunting voice called out to them all.
“Dovakiin!” The next second a loud ‘crack’ echoed around the cavern as a lid from a sarcophagus which was in the centre of the cavern split in two. A second after that, both pieces flew off as an undead figure emerged from its tomb.
Aela looked straight at Sotek as she raised her bow.
“Aww crap!” Moments later as Soteks bow formed in his hand, Farkas and Vilkas led the charge up the stairway and engaged in battle once more.
Four other tombs burst open as draugr broke free of their bindings, causing Farkas to disengage from his original target as he prepared to face the new threat. The Dragon Priest pointed his staff at Aela, and a wall of flame erupted from the ground as it rapidly snaked towards her like a dragon breath. Sotek shoved her aside, pushing her out of the way of the flames, but in doing so he advertently exposed himself to the same attack. Moments later just as the flames reached him, Sotek managed to roll out of the way. He drew his axes as he rapidly closed the gap between himself and the Dragon Priest.
Sotek shouted out to Aela, giving her no illusion that he was the Alpha in charge.
“Aela, help Farkas, take them out!” Just as Sotek got within striking distance he shouted as hard and as loudly as he could. “Zun Haal”.
The force of the shout struck the Dragon Priest and ripped out of its hands the staff which was sent flying off into the cavern wall some ten feet behind it. The Dragon Priest looked back at Sotek with disdain and with equal surprise as it found it had little choice but to turn its back to Vilkas as it tried desperately to regain its precious staff.
Both Sotek and Vilkas struck it in its back, sending it to the ground. It crawled on its hands and knees under a constant rain of blows, but somehow it managed to get to its feet. With superhuman strength it grabbed Vilkas’s sword then punched him in the face and sent him backwards to crash into the ground then it tried to lash out at Sotek with its long undead claw like fingernails. Sotek stepped back a few feet, out of its strike range but then it saw its chance and headed straight for its staff. Sotek followed rapidly as he tried to intercept the Dragon Priest, but he was beaten by a few seconds.
The Dragon Priest pointed the staff at Vilkas, and a wall of flame burst out along the ground, threatening to consume Vilkas who was still dazed as he tried to get up off the floor. Sotek recognised the threat instantly and cast his own spell in the hopes to counter the flames.
Vilkas got to his feet as a wall of flame enveloped him, but at the same time an icy mist wrapped around him as well. Both elements of fire and ice tore at him as they battled each other for dominance. All Vilkas could do was stand there, as he half expected to burn to death, while the other half expected an icy tomb to be his resting place.
When the flames started to die down, Sotek stopped his spell casting, leaving Vilkas scared, confused but relatively unhurt. Realising his attack was useless, the Dragon Priest turned towards Sotek and prepared to cast his staff spell a third time. Sotek raised his axe then shouted as he broke into a run.
“Wuld!” He shot forwards just like he did when he used it against Aela, but this time he had the intentions of striking a killing blow.
‘Spirit’ struck perfectly, right in the chest of the Dragon Priest and sent him flying backwards into the cavern wall, just like his staff did earlier. Sotek quickly cast his telekinesis spell on the staff which was lying on the stone cavern floor after being sent backwards away from the Dragon Priest due to Soteks hammer blow. Moments later he snatched the staff from the air and turned it towards the priest who was now rapidly coming towards him.
“Vilkas, move!”
Vilkas, who was now between Sotek and the Dragon Priest turned to him and smiled as he saw the staff pointing straight at him. He ran to the side as Sotek cast the staff spell at the Dragon Priest who got caught perfectly in the wall of flame. Sotek backed off and recast the spell, catching the priest in two massive flame attacks. Then he cast it a third time. He turned to his side to see Aela aim her bow at the priest while Vilkas engaged the final draugr with Farkas.
Under the barrage of arrows and the staff, the Dragon Priest hollered out its icy shriek then collapsed. Even as it died, Aela still shot at it three more times, making sure it was permanently in the realm of the dead.
Once the final draugr fell, Sotek cast his grand healing spell, paying particular attention towards Vilkas.
“How are you feeling?”
Vilkas dusted himself off, then quietly spoke.
“That was a weird feeling. It was like being in an intense blizzard while standing in an inferno. Damn it Sotek, you’re good. How in Oblivion did you know that spell would counter the wall of flame?”
Sotek’s face cringed and his tail whipped around as he turned his back on Vilkas as he went to examine the priest’s body.
“Ermm, I didn’t”. As he passed Aela, he wore a look of relief which made her smirk. She quickly followed Sotek so Vilkas wouldn’t notice. On the corpse, Sotek pulled from the face a mask which he instinctively knew was somehow important. “I don’t know who he was, but I get Farengar will!”
Aela eyed it with a keen interest as she saw it glisten slightly, telling her it had some kind of enchant.
“What enchants on the mask? I saw it glow”.
“It’s nothing special, just a stamina one”. Sotek stated as he pointed to the now dead, undead priest. “He was a Dragon Priest, they worshiped the dragons when they reigned the world. Somehow, the dragons were defeated and the priests were all entombed”.
Aela shrugged her shoulders as she lightly tapped the corpse with her boot.
“So, you were a naughty boy. You picked the wrong side didn’t you”. Moments later she fell silent as she gazed off into space.
Sotek looked at her and noticed her far away stare. He followed her eyes and saw a chest by the priest’s sarcophagus. But he also saw a doorway embedded in the rock.
“Hey, there’s a chest. I saw it first”.
Aela instantly snapped out of her stare as she grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards.
“No, you didn’t you blasted pirate! I saw it. Get off”.
Both Farkas and Vilkas sat on the top step as they watched Sotek and Aela jokingly argue about who had the rights to looting the chest. Sotek put forwards his best argument.
“I’m the Alpha, so by rights its mine”.
Aela in turn put her argument forwards as well, which happened to be her dagger with its tip thrust gently at Soteks groin.
“And?”
Sotek gulped loudly. He had little choice but to back off, allowing Aela access to the chest.
“You don’t fight fair, She wolf”.
Aela laughed as she knelt down to it and opened the lid.
“And you love me for it. Awwooo”. As she peered inside, she gave a whoop of joy. “Oh yea, come to me baby”. Sotek groaned as she pulled out a large pouch of gold coins and a large emerald. “Hey, it’s a mace. Is it worth much?”
Sotek walked over to her and examined it.
“It’s an elven one. Should be worth a fair bit when we get back”.
“If we get back”. Aela stated as she looked around for a doorway.
As if he knew what she was looking for, Sotek pointed out the doorway which he had saw moments before.
“Over there, let’s go”.
As he pressed against the door, he looked straight at Aela.
“That’s funny, its icy cold”.
Aela looked at him oddly.
“What is?”
He paused for a moment then pushed hard against the door. Slowly it opened, allowing a blast of frigid air to rush inside.
“The door is, silly”. The next second he flinched as he received a slap on the back of his head.
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