"You're doing well, Wind." Ma'jera commented, speaking as they returned to Severin Manor, where they found that Lydia was standing guard and it looked like Amaryllis was still out, though Wind was more surprised by her master calling her by her name, given her demiprince nature, but she wasn't about to complain, "All that remains is finding and recovering the Black Book that was left in Ahzidal's possession, and besting the sixth Burden, before you worry about the last one."
"Sounds like we're making progress." a voice said, where Wind and the others turned for a moment and found that Amaryllis had arrived, as she opened the door in time to hear Ma'jera's comment on the matter, though they discovered something interesting, she was wearing Haknir's old armor, molded to fit her body, and his weapons.
"That we are, as Doubt, Despair, Anger, Violence, and Pride have been defeated," Wind replied, informing her friend of the progress that she and Za'kera had made while she was gone, because if she conquered one of her Burdens that meant that their companion was able to learn whatever was in the Black Book it had been hiding in, "Now only Hatred and Fear remain, even though I'm not too keen on fighting one of them."
"You won't have to worry about that, since your master won't let you face Fear without clearing out all six of the other Black Books, of which we're missing one." Za'kera stated, as they all knew that they were missing the tome that was buried in the barrow that Ahzidal had been placed in all those years ago, so without that tome she knew that Ma'jera would stop them from using the tome that they had found in Miraak's temple, before she glanced at Amaryllis, "Though it seems that your exploration of Solstheim earned you some new treasures..."
Amaryllis nodded as she and Wind informed each other of what they had done since she departed from Severin Manor, where she learned about their ventures into the two Black Books and everything they had done to track down the pair of Burdens that had been lurking inside them. She was interested in the fact that one was distracted by a Lurker, so much so that it didn't notice them coming towards it, while the other used an illusion to try and get them to flee so it could be left alone, though she wasn't going to complain about the situation, as Wind was close to finishing her quest. After that story she told them about how she tracked down the armor pieces that Haknir had worn in the past, which were pristine and made her assume it was due to the fact that each section was made out of Stalhrim, and finding a treasure trove where he had been buried. Such a thing allowed her to find both of her new weapons, the blades of the Pirate Lord himself, and to leave his tomb she had to face him in battle, something that allowed her to use her true form and develop her skills while fighting a great opponent, and once everything was done she left, claiming the treasure and gear for their efforts, which told them that she found some ebony items during her trek.
After that, and spending some time resting from what they had done, Ma'jera called for them to follow her and they did so without much delay, where she lead them out of Raven Rock and brought them to the area that the last Dragon Priest was resting in, the one that was close to the settlement that they had gained a house in. Sure enough none of them were even a little surprised to find all sorts of Draugr clearing out Kolbjorn Barrow, digging and hacking into the ash while others had buckets so they could carry the ash down to the coast and deposit it, without worrying about some replacing it in mere moments, given the ash that was around this area. Vahlok, as they expected, was in the middle of talking, to both of the other Dragon Priests the group had awakened from their slumber and a confused Captain Veleth, the latter looking like he had stumbled upon a nightmare or something, no doubt due to all of the undead that were close to Raven Rock, despite the fact that none of them were interested in bothering the settlement. Amaryllis was pleased by the progress that they were making, as it was only a matter of time until the way to the last Black Book was open and they were allowed to head down into the depths of this barrow, though she also knew that Reavers had to be watching this area with some interest, given that nothing like this had been seen in the past.
Veleth, of course, was surprised by their arrival and asked if they knew about the Draugr that were around them, where it only took Za'kera a few moments to explain that Vahlok and his friends were aiding them in recovering some special items and that they would clear out once they got everything they needed, causing him to nod as he wandered off, though at the very least he didn't have to worry about his settlement being attacked again.
Sure enough some of the nearby Reavers decided to see what in the world was going on and approached the camp, only for their leader to make it known that they would be taking over this place and that all of them were going to die, though in response to that Amaryllis held up a hand as she approached their would be enemies. This gave Wind and the others a chance to see what had happened to her during her earlier exploration, where she drew her blades without delay as she approached her first foe, though she moved to the side and severed the outstretched hand, with the sword it was holding, before it could even touch her. In the following seconds she cut down that foe and moved onto the next one, rushing at the archer as the leader understood that this might have been a bad idea, where she reappeared behind the archer, who had no idea she was there, before stabbing her in the chest from the back and made sure she was dead before focusing on the leader. For a second or two she wondered if her foe was going to leave, though the Dark Elf drew his greatsword and rushed at her, without any concern for his life, to which she sighed as she dodged his incoming attacks and quickly took off his head when an opening revealed itself to her, though once that was done she sheathed her blades and walked over to where the others were standing.
Wind was impressed by what they had seen, as Amaryllis had been able to grow her combat skills rather well, meaning she must have found a good foe in Haknir, and Za'kera nodded her head as well, as it was good to have another fighter even though Amaryllis usually stayed at the back of the pack during their battles, before they turned their attention back to the ruin that was being unearthed.
With that done the group found that the only thing they could do was head into the ruin and see what needed to be done to get down to Ahzidal's section of Kolbjorn Barrow, though upon entering it Amaryllis and Wind found that the Draugr were down here as well, cleaning up all of the ash that had poured into the ruin. Ma'jera clapped her hands for a moment and opened a doorway to Apocrypha, not even surprising the group at this point since they were used to her showing off all sorts of magical spells, where some Seekers poured out and used their own magic to aid in the process of lifting ash out so they could get deeper into the ruin. The first chamber seemed to be all that they had to worry about, though Amaryllis found a pressure plate on a table and removed the skull from it, where a door on the other side opened up and showed all of them another section of the ruin, to which all of the Draugr moved in and continue their work. Lydia joined them, as she assisted the undead in gathering up the ash and transporting it outside, while Wind used some of her magic to form balls of ash, the size of one's head, to which Vahlok ordered some of the Draugr to collect the orbs and take them upstairs with the rest of the ash.
Of course Za'kera, being the Dragonborn, was exempt from having to work on the ash, so she wandered around the parts that they had access to as Amaryllis kept her eyes on her and the progress they were making, collecting bits of treasure for what would happen after their time on this island. Amaryllis, on the other hand, found a pair of boots in the new chamber that seemed to be something Ahzidal made, as Wind informed her that he had been an enchanter before his death, so if he was revived, which they were certain of given that he was a Dragon Priest, the power of their army would be boosted all over again. There was a book she recovered from Apocrypha that spoke about him, hence why she was able to learn a bit about this particular Dragon Priest and his skills, and, unless she was mistaken, the boots granted someone the power to walk on water, a unique enchantment, and the rest of his set was supposed to be somewhere in this ruin, though there was no telling if he had a secret vault or something that was filled with enchanted gear. In addition to all of that they found a number of Draugr that had been buried under the ash, who rose up and found an odd sight in their crypt, to which some of Vahlok's followers informed them of what was going on and they quickly fell in with the rest, increasing their work force as they delved deeper and deeper into the buried ruin.
As time went on they found a way into the passages that would allow them to reach the true depths of Kolbjorn, so while the Draugr continued to gather ash and drag it outside, and awaken more of their kind to boost their number, Za'kera and the others explored the area in question, just in case they found more of Ahzidal's gear. What they found was a number of levers that opened and closed stone doors along the passages in question, which also brought them up to the section that the boots had been in, along with a hidden chamber that contained a powerful ring, no doubt another of Ahzidal's grand treasures. Wind found that this one was designed more for a necromancer or summoner, as it seemed like one's minions would explode if they took damage, why she had no idea and she wasn't about to ask questions on the matter, though as soon as it was collected they continued to move things out of the way and found another path once some material was out of the way. Amaryllis ended up finding another hidden chamber, another small one like the one that the ring had been put in all those years ago, and discovered a pair of gauntlets resting on the pedestal that was inside it, made in the style of the ancient Nords like the boots, so she collected them and handed them over to Wind as they headed deeper into the ruin, as they hadn't found what they were looking for yet.
It brought them to a chamber that had a square puzzle of some kind that reminded them of what was in Vahlok's tomb, all of the tiles that they could walk on and if they did it without repeating one they would gain a prize, to which Za'kera did it without delay and it opened a door to their left, allowing Wind to claim another ring for the collection, as it was similar to Ahzidal's other enchanted items.
What Wind could see the second ring, with a sapphire attached to it, possessed the ability to use two new spells, one was a fire spell and the second was a frost spell, though she didn't have a lot of time to study it as the Draugr found a way for the group to head even deeper than ever before, as it lead to another chamber with a pair of thrones. Of course the Draugr that were in the chamber got up and started to leave, as there was more work to be done, before they found some stone pillars that could be moved, connected to a pair of chains that seemed to spin them, though while there was a clue how to open the central gate, the eagle symbols on the other side of them room, Za'kera did something else. She used one of the chains on the left and right walls and found that it moved a rotating wall in front of her, revealing a whale symbol not even a few seconds later, so since this place seemed to be using pairs Amaryllis used the whale first to open a door to where the armor Ahzidal had created was resting. Once that was claimed she switched it over to the eagle symbol and quickly moved the lever again, opening the grate in the floor and allowed them to descend once more, bringing them to a crypt that had to be the final stretch of their journey, even though they ended up passing by another door that lead to an ancient helm, the last piece of Ahzidal's set.
From there they continued through the crypt, Amaryllis stopping for a moment to collect some Stalhrim that was down in this place, before opening a door that brought them to a large chamber with a summoning circle of some kind right in the middle, though there was a copper armored Dragon Priest, Ahzidal no doubt, floating in the air while his forces moved all around him... to which he beckoned to the doorway behind him, when he laid eyes on them, before departing from this part of his tomb.
"He likely knows why we're here." Amaryllis commented, which meant they were close to where the final Black Book had been placed all those years ago, causing the others to nod their heads as each of them headed down the passage, while at the same time getting out of the way of Ahzidal's forces.
Sure enough it was a short passage that brought them to a familiar chamber, with a statue that looked like it might have been inspired by Apocrypha, and on a pedestal rested the last Black Book they had to acquire, though Wind could feel a sense of darkness coming from it, meaning either Hatred or Fear was deep inside it.
"And here it is, Filament and Filigree, the last of the seven Black Books," Ma'jera said, where she picked up the tome in question and gestured to the group, something that caused Amaryllis and Lydia to back off as Za'kera and Wind remained in place, before weaving her magic around them so only the pair would be brought to Apocrypha.
Not a few moments later Za'kera and Wind appeared in the next section of Apocrypha that they had to explore, while their host floated off into the sky to watch over them from afar, though from what they could see this place looked like the last one, an open area that was mostly covered in darkness. As such Wind summoned more lights for them as they drew their weapons and walked around the starting area, finding that it was connected to some stairs that lead up to a locked gate, which they opened by quickly activating the eyestalk device that happened to be to their right. After that they found a long walkway that had two Seekers and a Lurker guarding the way forward, to which Za'kera rushed forward and slashed into the legs of the Lurker, while at the same time Wind gathered a bit of her magic and hurled several Fireballs at her targets, which struck both of the Seekers before chasing them off. She made sure to keep her guard up, just in case the Seekers tried to attack her or Za'kera while they were distracted, but none of them tried anything and it allowed Za'kera to dodge a few punches before hacking the Lurker apart, once more showing Wind that she wasn't to be underestimated, as while she could use her Shouts to end a battle faster it wouldn't let her improve her own skills.
With the walkway taken care of the pair regrouped, after Wind collected the books that the Seekers left behind, they found a pair of stairs, a Lurker pool, and where the final book was resting, causing them to pause as they found nothing in this part of the Black Book, as there were no enemies for them to worry about.
"This isn't good... the Burden that's supposed to be here has fled." Wind commented, because since she had beaten Pride and the others in battle, or to the best of her ability since some of them didn't even fight back, she had a feeling that the smarter ones might have either fled or might be banding together to face her.
"They're likely with the last one, in Miraak's book." Za'kera said, though she had to wonder what was going on with Wind and her Burdens, since something weird seemed to be going on with a few of them being cowardly or too involved with a scene they were working on, before she focused on the final tome that was in front of them.
She discovered that the powers this time around happened to be that her more powerful attacks wouldn't eat up any of her stamina, an ability that allowed spells to be cast without the spell cost, and the ability to take reduced damage for a time, to which she picked the last one, allowing it's power to seep into her body, before they and Ma'jera returned to the others, as it was time to head to the Skaal Village and bring an end to their time on this island.