By: The Orange Mask
“We’ve been in these ruins for hours,” one of the Khajiit said. “Can’t we take a break for just a few minutes?” I had to admit, I was feeling quite tired and weary, myself. After our skirmish with the spider, we didn’t encounter many real threats; one other spider attacked us, although we were prepared to deal with it that time. I still hadn’t let my guard down, though; not after nearly getting mauled (or worse) by one of those mechanized terrors.
“Ugh, fine. We’ll rest for a few minutes up here.” I said, pointing towards the small room up ahead. It appeared to be made completely of stone: no pipes, no bars, no trapdoors at all. It seemed safe enough, but I still wasn’t going to let my guard down.
We had soon set up a few makeshift benches, and the Khajiit began to pass food around, as well as the treasures they had found (they had found quite a few in a side room we had walked by earlier). I realized my stomach was growling, and I had forgotten to bring any food. I grumbled, then noticed that Erandur was missing. I looked around the room, only to find him in the corner, sitting cross-legged. I walked over to see what he was doing.
“What are you doing? Don’t you want to rest on a soft bench?” I said, trying to keep quiet so as not to disturb any conversations.
“Shh! I’m meditating, something I take it you don’t do often. It helps me relax and keep focused. I even forget to eat and sleep when I do it, sometimes.” This I was interested in. I was weary, hungry, and tense from the constant stress of this place. The silence was almost maddening as we walked the halls.
“May I join you?”
“Of course. Just sit quietly, eyes closed, focused on… something.”
I sat down next to Erandur and followed his instructions, only to find that I couldn’t think of anything. I tried for perhaps five minutes to focus on something, only to receive blackness. That is, until I felt a tiny magical force, pulsing in the distance. It was quite intriguing; whatever this force was, I could tell that I’d never felt anything like it before. I focused my thoughts in that direction, through the corridors of Mzinchaleft, trying to remember what directions I had taken all the while.
When I finally reached the source of the magicka stream, I was unable to sense anything else but the awesome source of magicka I had felt. I was, in a sense, blinded by the massive flood of magicka I was sensing. I then realized that I had felt this energy once before; during my dream, when I was contacted by the very same being I was sensing now. I opened my eyes and gasped for air, realizing I hadn’t breathed for well over a minute. Erandur startled and looked over at me as if I was crazy. Perhaps I was, but I didn’t care at that moment. What I cared about was getting to that being, and finding out what it wanted.
“All right, break’s over! Pack up and let’s get moving!” I stood up, and began to pack up as much as I could as quickly as I could. The Khajiit began to move, as well, but slower. Kharjo and Bjorn were packed up in under a minute, but the other Khajiit were much slower. I urged them on as fast as I could, then I headed out with whoever was ready. The others soon caught up; none of them wanted to be left in a place like this for too long.
I began to storm through the halls and corridors, remembering which way I had taken when meditating. No one in the group questioned my judgement, although I could hear them nervously talking several yards behind me.
“Slow down! Khajiit are carrying heavy packs!” Ma’dran said, worried his Khajiit my exhaust themselves. I slowed down, but not much, and not for long. Before too long I began to hear panting from several of them, and slowed down considerably.
I waited at the end of a corridor for the group to catch up, only to hear an all-too familiar swishing sound. I turned to see a trapdoor open, and out of the attached pipe came a large metal ball, perhaps two feet across. I drew my war axe and readied a lightning spell. While I didn’t know what was going to happen next, I certainly was prepared for battle.
The ball then began to… unfold? I looked at the curious contraption, unfurling its form out of its round metal case. I nearly let down my guard, but caught myself and readied myself again. This was one of the more deadly machinations of the Dwemer; the Dwarven Sphere. The machine finished its transformation, readying a large crossbow on one arm and a blade on the other. The group arrived at the end of the corridor just as the Sphere did so, and I began to move to the middle of the room. The Khajiit, even Kharjo, stood there, incredulous. Bjorn readied his weapon, as did Erandur, but they stayed back with the group.
The Sphere began to move to the center of the room, as well, and we began to circle one another. I scanned the beast for any defects or weak spots; dents, tears in the armor, corrosion, gyros, etc. I found none. Not exactly reassured, I continued to circle, waiting for the Sphere to make the first move.
It lunged at me with its sword-arm, and I dodged out of the way just in time. The machine had a calculated accuracy and incredible speed; I would have to beat it quickly; I’d would tire, unlike the Sphere. I jumped at the creature, swinging my axe downward toward its head with incredible speed, only to have the Sphere block my attack with ease. A smirk ran across my face as I looked down at my left hand. The Sphere looked down, as well, only to see a lightning bolt escape from my hand into its abdomen, sending it flying into the wall, near the caravan, Erandur and Bjorn. Kharjo and Bjorn ran toward the creature, smashing their weapons into it to ensure the creature was truly dead. Their doubts were reassured when the spherical case the robot used for transit exploded outwards.
Erandur ran over to me, and I began to raise my right hand to greet him, only to feel a huge shock of pain shoot through my shoulder. I looked over to see a crossbow bolt sticking through my shoulder. I hadn’t felt it because of the adrenaline. I assumed that was why Erandur was running over to me. My assumption was reassured when he pulled out a healing spell and began to heal me, just as I collapsed from the overwhelming pain of my flesh attempting to heal around the bolt.
To be continued…
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