Marcurio woke me early the next morning and we managed to get most of the supplies I wanted from the Inn Keeper. Those that we couldn't weren't really the important things anyway. Wood could always be picked up along the shore. Plus the Inn Keeper had also told me that most of the things we hadn't been able to get, we would have to go all the way to Solitude to get.
After two days of rowing around the islands closest to shore, I climbed up one of the rocky spire's late in the evening and waited til long after dark. After looking for an hour I finally spotted what looked like lanterns out on one of the Islands due North of us. I took note of the islands between us and their most prominent landmarks, I also looked behind me to the landmarks their, so that I would have a strait line to guide me.
When we got to the Island that I had noted, I pulled out one of the long pieces of driftwood that I had gathered and walking a couple step's onto the island, caste the tiniest of fire spell's, then jammed the wood into the ice-pack, used the side of my wood ax to smack it further in, then caste a frost spell to make sure the wood was secure. Marcurio laughed and tied the boat up to my make-shift anchor.
We walked to the entrance of the cave and down the passage, long before we made it to the cavern at the bottom, we heard the voice of a man, who appeared to be talking to himself. I looked at Marcurio, who rolled his eyes, I gave him a sideways smile and we walked into the presence of the man talking to himself.
After a very rambling conversation, half of which made no sense what so ever. Septimus, because that's who it was, gave me two pieces of Dwemer artifact's. I know he gave me instructions somewhere in that nonsense, I could only hope that when the time came, I would understand it.
The trip back to shore was much quicker and Marcurio and I tried to make some sense of what Septimus had said. We understood that we needed to go to Alftand and that somewhere deep inside we would find a gate of sorts, that the round artifact would open up. After that gate, we would find Blackreach, a very deep Dwemer dwelling.
I knew were Alftand was, but we made two detours along the way, one to the Library at the college so I could tell Urag that we had found Septimus, but that he was stark raving mad. Urag said that dealing with Elder Scroll's could do that to a person, but I wasn't so sure that was the cause... he hadn't went to get the Elder Scroll, just knew where it was.
The second stop was in Dawnstar so that we could get more provisions and most important healing potions. Marcurio said he would teach me a healing spell if I didn't know any. I laughed and said I knew quiet a few healing spells, I just choose not to use them unless their is no other choice. I really don't think he understood that one, most young mages wouldn't. I sighed, "what happen's when after a really hard fight, you are exhausted and can't use any magic to heal the axe wound to my thigh, that has nicked an artery and I am unconscious and can't "heal" myself?" I saw the instant he understood what I was getting at. "You can pour a healing potion down my throat or just put bandages on it and hope I don't bleed to death."
The trip to Alftand was otherwise uneventful, a couple wolves and a snowy sabre cat, a calming spell too care of all of them and they meandered on there ways. Dwemer ruins are Dwemer ruins, the architecture is amazing, but very repetitive. I've been in an out of them for over 200 years, what I don't like is their mechanical guardians. Many a sword has been broken on them, which was my other purchase in Dawnstar, a Dwemer sword. I paid a courier to take Kruziik Dilon to the Temple in Riften, one of the Priestesses being a long time friend, I made sure to enclose a note so she would know I was fine.
We ran into plenty of Dwemer automan's doing their job of guarding the ruins. When I saw the first dead Falmer, I stopped and thought a minute. It was mid to late evening, we would soon be getting tired and it wasn't how I wished to find Falmer. I thought back to the last set of rooms and remembered an area with a floor to ceiling grate. Going back I found the gate locked, I picked it and we both went in, I stood in the doorway and caste three frost rune spells, in a half circle in front of the gate. I then shut the gate, re-locked it and laid out my sleeping furs.
Marcurio handed me some cheese, bread and and apple. I looked at the bread and cheese, then gave a rueful grin. I handed him a flaggon of water flavored with snowberries.
"Zane, I was wondering, why it is you rarely use magic, I mean obviously you are well skilled and powerful." He asked in a voice that was more hesitant than I had ever heard from him.
I paused for a moment to figure out how to answer the questions that I knew he really wanted answered, but had been to polite to ask.
" What is the difference between good and evil, in the use of magic?", I didn't expect an answer right away and I didn't get one, as he thought about it. I let the silence drag on for a moment longer and then said, " If you were an observer and saw someone attack me and I used a lightning spell to kill them, you wouldn't consider that evil, would you? and neither really would the person that had attacked me, had they the ability to answer that question. Now if that same thing happened, but instead of a lightning spell, I used a teleportation spell to rip out the attacker's heart or a healing spell to stop it, would you as an observer consider that evil?" I could see the thoughts going through his head, it was actually amusing to watch. " Most people would, I on the other hand might not, because I might feel it is worth anything to save my own life. I have never taken the life of Man or Mer or beast race for that matter, by using such spells. I did during the Oblivion Crisis, use such spells on dremora. I used the spells to save the life of my Aunt Irrillia, her unborn child, two children we found along the way and myself. I have never, used them since, because you see good and evil are all a matter of perspective."
I let him think about that as we settled in to get some rest, I knew he would have more questions the next day.
We got up the next day and ate breakfast, I dissipated the runes so that we could leave without setting them off and we headed out. I was right, as we met Falmer shortly after the next set of doors. And then it was like a gauntlet of them and their Chaurus pets. One could feel sorry for the ancient Snow Elves that became the Falmer, but I was hard pressed to feel the least bit bad about killing them.
We made it to a chamber with a couple Falmer and a Dwemer Centurion behind locked gates. Marcurio and I played tag with it, each of us hitting it once, drawing it's attention and then running to avoid it's steaming breath, then the other would hit and run. When we finally dispatched it, we went through another gate where two people seemed more intent on fighting each other than noticing we were their, so we let them fight it out. I put a crossbow bolt into the winner.
We walked up to the Dwemer device and I put the round artifact into the receptacle, as we heard movement in the floor. We both hurried backwards onto what we hoped was solid ground.
We walked down the steps and through a door onto a dark balcony, I caste a light spell and was immediately attacked by Falmer. As I fought the Falmer that came at me, through the haze caused by my light spell and the deep darkness beyond, I seemed to be seeing.... giant glowing mushrooms? Two Falmer attacking me and a Dwemer construct attacking all three of us, was keeping me from getting a good look. Marcurio was busy as well, but we got rid of our attackers at about the same time. We both walked towards the break in the balcony railing, figuring that is where any steps would be. Right as we go to the top of the step's, my light spell dissolved.
As my eye's adjusted to the darkness after my spell, I stood their transfixed by the sheer beauty of the giant cavern we were in. How to describe Blackreach to someone that has never seen it. The dark velvet of the cavern roof was dotted with some kind of glowing fungus or creature that seemed to be swaying to a breeze that I couldn't feel. In white/blues and greens with some red's for color variation, it was like the twinkling of stars set to a music that only they could hear. Their were giant glowing mushrooms and also some kind of rock that seemed to have a light of it's own, even the water was giving off a pale light that made the ripples and eddies fascinating to look upon.
Dwemer towers and buildings dotted the landscape and I wondered at the Dwemer that could leave such a beautiful place. I also knew some Dwemer scholars that would give their family fortunes to come down here to study. Once the main vampire threat was over, I could get an expedition together, some alchemists wouldn't hurt either. But a small part of me didn't want to share this place at all. All this ran through my head in an instant, next to me Marcurio was staring wide eyed and saying wow over and over. I knew the feeling.
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