//------------------------------// // Chapter 61: Saarthal // Story: The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter LXI: Saarthal “Saarthal is a place for earth pony dead, not the mages’ weird experiments.” I examined the new Element of Harmony on the way to Whitetrot, wondering which one it could be. The dull red gem gave up no secrets, remaining inscrutable no matter how I looked at it. We’d caught a lucky break in Splitten that the townsponies knew where Forelhorse was, but we’d need help to find High Falls Ruins. I knew just the pony who could help us. By the time we arrived at Whitetrot, the sun was setting, so we slept in Breezehome for the night before heading up to Dragonsreach. Faniar’s study was a bit tidier this time; the papers were arranged neatly in piles and the random clutter had disappeared, stored in some chest or dresser. He also was accompanied by Serendipity, who was assisting him in his research. “Greetings,” he called out to us, looking up from his book as we entered, “I haven’t seen you in quite some time.” “We’ve been busy,” I said, pulling out the new Element of Harmony, “But not without results.” “Is that . . . another of the Elements?” Faniar asked, placing his book down and trotting over to examine it. “That’s right,” I said, “Found it in Forelhorse. Do you have any idea which one it is?” “Not a clue,” he admitted, “I’m afraid I don’t know much about such things.” “I’m sure we’ll figure it out in time,” I said, thinking about the Element of Honesty that also hung around my neck. “So, if you’ve found another Element, what brings you to me?” the wizard asked. “We know where another one is: High Falls Ruins,” I said, “Could you point the way?” “Of course,” he said, marking it on my map, “Oh, I just remembered I have something for you.” He searched through his desk until he found a sealed letter and passed it over to me. “Somepony from the Mages College left this for you and Mystic,” he said, “I don’t know what it is, but they made it seem urgent that it gets to you.” Intrigued, I opened the letter and read what the mages had written. All students are requested to meet as soon as possible at Saarthal. That was it? They couldn’t possibly have just told Faniar what it was they wanted me for? “Saarthal?” I asked out loud, “Where in the Northlands is that?” “Saarthal?” Faniar said, pulling out his logbook and paging through it, “That’s an ancient earth pony ruin near Winterhorn. What are the mages doing there?” “Is there anything important about Saarthal?” Mystic asked. “Well, it is a fairly good sized ruin,” Faniar said, “The first city that Ysgroomar founded when he came to Horizon. And I do have it marked down as a possible Dragon Priest lair.” “I guess it’s worth a look,” I said, “On the way to High Falls Ruins.” ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ With Faniar’s help it was easy to find Saarthal. The camp set up by the College of Winterhorn around it helped as well. All the mages already seemed to be doing whatever it was they had come here to do, so I wasn’t sure who to ask for direction. “We should look for the Arch-Mage,” Mystic told us, “There he is!” She led us through the camp to a sky-blue stallion in multi-colored robes with a long white beard who was speaking to another mage. “Greetings Arch-Mage Clairvoyance,” she got the stallion’s attention, “We received your summons. What is going on here?” “Ah, more workers, excellent,” he said, rubbing his hooves together, “Well, we’ve begun excavation of Saarthal. This was the first city founded by Ysgroomar you know, before the Diamond Dogs attacked and slaughtered nearly everypony during the Night of Tears.” “But, what’s this have to do with the College?” Steadfast asked, “I don’t mean to be rude, but what claim do spellcasters have to dig up an ancient earth pony city?” “Well, when one of our students was traveling through this area, she sensed a source of magic,” the Arch-Mage explained, “We believe Ysgroomar may have brought something from his homeland here, some magical relic of intense power.” “So what are we supposed to do?” I asked. “Well, the excavation is already underway, but it’s moving slowly. We’ve been cataloguing everything, of course,” Clairvoyance said, “But it’s important that we find that relic. That’s why I was so eager to summon you, Sapphire.” “Me?” I asked, “I barely know enough magic to hold up in a fight.” “An exaggeration,” he said, waving me off, “Nevertheless, I’ve been led to believe you have significant experience in ancient earth pony ruins such as this one.” “True,” I said, “All four of us have.” “Excellent!” Clairvoyance exclaimed, “So, I would like the four of you to delve into the depths of Saarthal, ahead of the excavation party, and find this relic. If you find yourselves outmatched, don’t hesitate to come back and get a few mages to help you out. Marea knows most of what they’re doing is busywork anyway.” “We won’t let you down, sir,” Mystic promised the master of her order as he trotted away to look at some maps of the excavation a mage was trying to show him. “That magical power,” Mephalda asked, “Do you think it might be an Element of Harmony?” “Could be,” I admitted, “Or maybe it’s the spells a Dragon Priest lays over its fortress. Either way, there’s a good chance we might find another of the Elements here.” “Well, what are we waiting for?” Steadfast said enthusiastically, “Let’s get started.” We trotted through the camp until we found the entrance to Saarthal. The large stone doors were propped open, allowing the mages to enter and exit freely. The entry hall had already been picked clean by the eager unicorns, who were busy moving rocks aside to reveal more side passages to explore. We followed the main passage deeper underground, passing by more mages who were busy studying the murals on the walls, meticulously copying them onto parchment. Torched Draugr corpses lay here and there, though most had been moved into a banquet hall and laid down on the tables to be studied. At last we made it to the final room the mages were studying, a large cavern crisscrossed by stone bridges. The College’s students ignored us as we trotted through the room and passed over their barricades blocking access to the next passage. The hushed conversation of the busy mages faded into the distance as we trotted deeper into Saarthal. Soon the tunnel ended at an iron door carved with dragons. Through it, a flight of stairs ran down into a large cavern that had several buildings built against its walls. Glowing mushrooms grew from the walls and up from the floors, lighting the cavern. A few Draugr trotted about, but ran as soon as they saw us, disappearing through the stone door of a building at the far end of the chamber. Pursuing them, we entered the crypt beneath Saarthal. Here the walls were lined with the coffins of Draugr, and the ones we’d been pursuing were standing down the passage, now equipped with weapons. Mephalda fired her bow at a lantern hanging from the ceiling, and it fell to the ground, landing in a pool of oil. The floor lit up instantly, catching a few of the Draugr in the flames. The others jumped away in time, ducking into side passages. One of the Draugr jumped from the side passage onto Steadfast’s back as he passed it. Before it could strike, he slammed it up against the wall, crushing the life from it. As another charged in from the other side passage, he knocked it away with his warhammer. I ducked around the corner, searching for Draugr. One showed itself nearly right away, swinging a war axe at my head. I blocked with Dawnbreaker, pushing the Draugr back through the crypt. As another of the zombies began to climb from the wall, I shot an ice spike through its head. The Draugr with the war axe I forced back until it was trapped against the wall. I Shouted, and the Draugr combusted, burning to ash. Another of the walking corpses came at me from behind, an ancient earth pony sword grasped in its mouth. An arrow from Mephalda struck it in the head, knocking its aim off and making it land beside me. I slammed my hoof down on its blade before it could get up, and swung Dawnbreaker down into the back of its neck. Another Draugr was standing down the corridor, wielding a battleaxe, and I shot a blast of lightning at it as I galloped up. Somehow it managed to angle its battleaxe to block my magical strike, and was unharmed by the time I reached it. I swung Dawnbreaker down at the Draugr, but it blocked with its battleaxe. Drawing the Blade of Hoofingar, I swung at the zombie’s weapon, knocking it off to the side. Dawnbreaker cut through the Draugr’s neck easily, killing it for good. An arrow struck my helmet, denting in the metal but doing no real harm to me. I spotted the culprit immediately, a Draugr with a bow down at the end of the passage. I galloped toward it, holding my swords ready. It continued to fire arrows at me, and I dodged them all until one caught me off guard and struck me in the neck, narrowly missing my windpipe. I tripped and rolled across the floor, before scrambling behind an urn to remove the dart. Carefully I pulled it out, applying my healing spell as I did so. Thankfully I was able to heal the flesh without accidentally closing it up around the arrow. Throwing the shaft aside, I looked over the urn and saw the Draugr getting torched by Mystic’s magic. Trotting forward, I found where the side passage I’d been traveling along met up with the main one, where Mystic was standing. Mephalda and Steadfast appeared a moment later from another side passage. Together again, we continued down the coffin-lined tunnel. It let out after a bit to a circular shaft. A pillar rose up in the center of the cavern, a stone spiral ramp looping around it. The only way forward was downward, so we followed the ramp around and down. A Draugr guarded the top of the way down, but was easily dealt with by a well-placed shot from Mephalda. It was hard to see ahead as we traveled downward, and we didn’t see the next Draugr guard until we were right on top of it. It drew a pike out when it saw us, blocking a strike from Steadfast’s warhammer. Mephalda tried to shoot it, but it twisted its pike up as it blocked, stopping her arrow with its blade. Neither Mystic nor I could get around Steadfast to get at the Draugr. Mephalda took off, flapping around in the shaft until she was behind the zombie. She drew her Blackwing swords, moving in for the kill. The Draugr saw her out of the corner of its eye and bucked out at her, trying to keep the pegasus at a distance. Twisting its pike around, it began to push Steadfast toward the edge of the ramp. I moved in with Dawnbreaker, stabbing at the Draugr’s side. It spun around quickly, knocking Steadfast off as it turned its attention to me. Mephalda took advantage of the moment to strike with her swords, cutting the Draugr in half. Dropping Dawnbreaker, I quickly turned to help Mystic haul Steadfast back over the edge. Together, we managed to heave him back onto a sturdy surface. <<>> a Shout suddenly came from below, rocking the cavern. The ramp began to crack, falling apart and revealing its age. We galloped forward as it began to give way, cracks forming more prominently now. Only small bits of it actually fell out, landing on the ramp beneath, but the entire structure had become unsteady, and I wouldn’t trust it to hold me for more than a few seconds. We found the Draugr who’d Shouted as we charged down, Steadfast knocking it off with his warhammer. At last we made it to the bottom of the ramp, where a stone bridge led to a doorway with an iron grate in it. I flipped the switch on the other side to raise the bars before we continued on into the next passage. The roar of water met our ears as we traveled down the tunnel. We entered a room where waterfalls cascaded down the walls, filling a lake that filled the cavern. A set of wooden bridges led across the room, but most of them were raised, and Draugr stood in between them, guarding the mechanisms that would lower them. Mephalda flew toward them, shooting arrows down at the zombies as they fired back. Mystic tried to see around the raised bridges to get clear shots at the Draugr with her magic, but was mostly unsuccessful. There was another way to get across, a roundabout way that looped back and forth through the cavern. Steadfast and I followed it as it ran along the wall, passing beneath one of the waterfalls. The wood creaked alarmingly under us, rotted from centuries of damp, but it held long enough for us to get past the waterfall and head back toward the center of the room. The Draugr standing at the first inter-bridge platform noticed us coming while we were still a ways off, and began to fire arrows at us as well. A few armed Draugr also galloped out across the wooden planks to attack us. I tried to put myself between the Draugr arrows and Steadfast, knowing they’d do much less damage to my Griffin armor than to his mostly unarmored flesh. The first Draugr to reach us swung its sword at me, which I blocked with Dawnbreaker. I drew out the Blade of Hoofingar as well and swung it at the Draugr’s neck while it was still stuck in a block. The Draugr brought up its foreleg, upon which it had strapped a shield, deflecting my ebony sword. With the shield it bashed at me, forcing me back. As I swung at its head with Dawnbreaker, the zombie blocked me using its sword. I slid my Draconequus sword down the blade, nicking the Draugr’s neck as the weapon swung past it. Steadfast’s warhammer went swinging over my back, taking both the Draugr and me by surprise, and crushing in its head. As the Draugr fell to the ground, I pulled its shield off and threw it to my earth pony companion so that he’d have something to defend himself with. <> I Shouted at the next Draugr to charge us, knocking its warhammer from its mouth into the waters below. It still had a stunned expression on its face as I stabbed Dawnbreaker into it and threw it after its weapon. I ducked down as a Draugr on the platform ahead shot fire at us from a staff. I shot lightning at the zombie, but I missed, hitting one of the archers defending it instead. The Draugr with the staff turned its attention away from us as an arrow stuck in its neck. As it shot fire at Mephalda instead, I charged forward, hacking through the few Draugr still defending it. I once more shot lightning at the ancient earth pony wizard, but it blocked with its staff, absorbing the energy. I swung Dawnbreaker down at the zombie as I reached it, bringing it down on its staff. It twisted the staff around, and my sword went sliding down the shaft, scraping off the gold covering it. Dawnbreaker cut through the Draugr’s foreleg the same time that I drew the Blade of Hoofingar and swung it around toward the zombie wizard’s neck. It had no chance to block or fire its staff as my blades cut through its flesh. Steadfast gave a pull of the nearby lever, and the bridge fell into place on either side of us, allowing Mystic to cross and join us. The four of us continued on down the main bridge until we were blocked by another raised bridge. Mephalda flew ahead, pelting the guardians of the release with her arrows while the rest of us followed another wooden bridge off the side of the chamber. We were now on the opposite side of the cavern Steadfast and I had crossed on, and passed beneath a different waterfall. Once across, we had an open lane to the next bridge platform and the Draugr clustered on it. Mystic put up a ward in front of us as we charged forward, deflecting most of the arrows that came our way. I fired lightning bolts over her shoulder and through her magical shield as we approached the cluster of Draugr. As soon as we reached them, Steadfast and I charged ahead, our weapons drawn and ready. Dawnbreaker flew through the air, crushing in the helm of a zombie with a bow. Another with a pike blocked my next swing, catching my Draconequus blade in midair. Swiftly it spun its weapon to the ground, pulling Dawnbreaker with it. As the weapon hit the stone, I lost my grip on it, and it went tumbling toward the edge of the platform. I dove for the sword as it slid off, catching it with my magic just in time. I quickly rolled over, knocking the pike away from my neck with Dawnbreaker as I did so. The Draugr stabbed at my exposed underside with its weapon, but I blocked with my sword, knocking the pike away again. It stomped a rotten hoof down on my tail as I tried to get up. With its pike it stabbed repeatedly at me, keeping me busy blocking its weapon. I wasn’t able to get into a better position from where I was, and the Draugr wouldn’t miss forever. I tried bucking at the zombie’s hooves, but it didn’t seem to faze it. <<>> I Shouted, throwing the Draugr off the platform. I jumped to my hooves, spinning Dawnbreaker around me to keep the Draugr away. As one tried to jump onto my back, Steadfast knocked it into the raised bridge with his warhammer. With Dawnbreaker, I speared one that was trying to sneak up on Mystic from behind. One came for me as I threw its fellow from the platform, but Mephalda shot it through the neck before it could reach me. With the pull of a lever, another two bridges fell into place. There was only one more set we had to drop before we were across the cavern, but it was well defended by archers. Mystic held a ward between us and them as we galloped down the wooden bridge leading around to it. This time we encountered a problem on our way across. Here the bridge had truly been rotted through by the waterfall, as well as torn to pieces as the water crashed directly into it. A cascading wall of water stood between us and the rest of the bridge. <<>> My Shout instantly froze the water directly in front of us. As it fell, the cold began to spread, freezing more of the waterfall until it ceased to fall at all. As soon as it stopped falling, I began to shoot flames at the ice, melting a path through. Mystic caught on quickly and joined in, carving out a way for us to cross. It wasn’t long after we passed that the pressure behind the waterfall built up to the point that it blew the ice out, resuming the cascade. Leaving the waterfall behind, we charged forward toward the group of Draugr guarding the final set of bridge controls. Mephalda was still shooting arrows into them, her quiver becoming dangerously low as we closed the distance. I Shouted as we approached, and the Draugr combusted from my dragon fire, falling off the platform to be extinguished in the water below. I slashed at one that remained, and Steadfast smashed a few on his way to the lever that would lower the last bridges. With the creak of ancient machinery, the bridges fell into place, and we could at last cross to the exit from the lake cavern. Through the exit door, the passage suddenly turned off to the right. The tunnel expanded, turning into a small room with a circular door at the far end. Murals covered the walls, but they were so ancient I couldn’t make out exactly what they represented. The door at the end of the tunnel was very familiar to me, as I’d seen ones like it in other barrows. Nearby on the floor sat a dragon claw made from what appeared to be glass, haphazardly thrown to the side as if the pony who’d locked up had been in a great hurry to leave. After lining up the rings to match the symbols on the claw, I inserted the key and let the door slide into the floor. Through the door was a balcony looking down on a much larger room. Wooden stairs provided a way down. In the center of the room, a gigantic orb hung in the air. It appeared to be composed of overlapping sheets of glowing blue crystal, bordered with ornately crafted rings of silver. The massive orb floated, bobbing up and down slightly as bits of light escaped from the orb before returning at another point. A lone Draugr patrolled below, protecting the orb. A helmet with ridiculously long horns sat upon its head, and a staff was strapped to its back. It wasn’t a Dragon Priest, but neither was it a common Draugr warrior. Somehow it must have noticed it was not alone, for it began to look around frantically for us. I didn’t give it the chance to find us first and jumped down at it, both Dawnbreaker and the Blade of Hoofingar drawn. It spun around at me as I fell through the air, pulling the staff off its back and using it to block my attacks. I tried to get a swing in toward its neck from both sides, but it batted away both my swords before hooking its staff around my foreleg and pulling me to the ground. As it prepared to spear me through with its weapon’s sharp end, Steadfast bowled it over. He managed to get a warhammer swing in on its cheek before it threw him away, blasting pure magic from its staff to keep him away. Blue light began to funnel from the orb to it as it blasted Mephalda’s arrows out of the air. Grabbing my swords, I threw myself at the Draugr. I somehow managed to catch it off guard, and the Blade of Hoofingar knocked off its helmet while Dawnbreaker sliced through one of its forelegs. It wobbled with its three remaining legs, but managed to stay steady enough to knock me back across the floor with its staff. Blue light began to funnel from the orb once again, and I watched in horror as the Draugr’s leg began to grow back. As it grew, it grew back fully formed, the foreleg of a perfectly formed pony, complete with hair. Looking closely, I could see that the wound Steadfast had inflicted on its face had been healed in the same way. “Mystic!” I called to where she was heading down the stairs, “We’ve got to stop that orb; it’s healing the Draugr!” She nodded her understanding and began to shoot a variety of spells at the orb, trying to nullify its power. Steadfast charged around the orb, coming at the Draugr from behind. Holding his warhammer close to the ground, he struck its hindleg, knocking it off balance. Light began to flow from the orb again, but suddenly stopped when it came in contact with Mystic’s spell. So long as she kept her magical barrage up, the Draugr was vulnerable. Unfortunately, it knew that too, and set its sights on my unicorn friend. She put up a ward to deflect the Draugr’s blasts, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the pure magic forever. I shot ice spikes at the Draugr as I charged it, trying to get its attention. It worked, and it turned around toward me, bringing its staff to block Dawnbreaker. I held my Draconequus sword steady, pressing it down as hard as I could. Eventually the blade began to glow bright silver, and the staff the Draugr was holding began to heat up. Gold melted and ran as my blade cut through the Draugr’s staff. A magical blast suddenly discharged from the staff, knocking back me, the Draugr, and an unfortunate Steadfast, who’d been about to strike the zombie. I grabbed Dawnbreaker and charged toward the Draugr as it got up. As I stabbed toward its heart, it swung both hooves around and somehow managed to catch my sword. I tugged, but couldn’t pull free, and a smug grin crossed the Draugr’s decaying face. That grin began to fade as Dawnbreaker’s star began to glow brightly. I averted my eyes as it flared up and destroyed the Draugr from the inside. When I looked again, all that was left of the zombie was an amulet lying on the ground. I picked it up, figuring it might be useful someday, before examining the rest of the chamber. Behind the mysterious floating orb was a word wall. As I approached, I learned the dragons’ understanding of an inferno, known to them as TOOR. The memories of the dragon I’d killed in Kvatch flooded to the surface of my mind, teaching me how I could control a raging inferno, channeling it where I wanted it to go. <> I Shouted, sending a large blast of dragon fire barreling into the word wall before turning back to the orb that dominated the room. “So this is the magical artifact the mages sensed,” I said, marveling at the levitating relic. “I don’t see what else it could be,” Mystic said, pointing her horn at it and scribbling something down on a parchment, “It’s certainly putting out quite a bit of magical energy.” “So, what is it?” Steadfast asked. “Not sure,” Mystic admitted, scrunching up her nose, “Maybe Arch-Mage Clairvoyance knows.” “Indeed I do,” the Arch-Mage’s voice came from the balcony, “But my Zenitrot, I don’t believe it.” He trotted down the stairs to the main section of the room where the rest of us were standing. “What are you doing down here?” I asked curiously. “I thought I’d come down and see how much progress you’ve made,” he said, “Also, I could use a break from ponies asking me a question every two seconds.” “So Arch-Mage,” Mystic said, “What is this thing?” “This is the Eye of Magnus,” he said with awe, turning his attention back to the orb, “The most powerful magical relic in all the Northlands.” “So, what does it do?” I asked. “That’s the best part,” Clairvoyance said, “Nopony knows. Why, it’s so powerful nopony’s ever been able to tap its full potential. But when we do figure out how to use it, no spell would be impossible. Of course, it doesn’t belong here; it belongs in the College, where we can study it properly.” His horn began to glow a midnight blue, and the orb was coated in the same color of magic. Suddenly, it blinked out in a flash of light and ceased to be. The room was now empty but for the five of us. “Where’d it go?” Mephalda asked, looking suspiciously at the Arch-Mage. “Why, I sent it to the College of Winterhorn, of course,” he replied nonchalantly. “Didn’t you say it was an artifact of immense power?” I asked. “Indeed,” he replied. “And nopony knows how to control it?” I continued. “That’s correct.” “And you just sent it to a building filled with eager college students,” I pointed out. “Oh dear,” the Arch-Mage said. Level Up Health: 310 Stamina: 300 Magicka: 290 New Perk: Elemental Wizard [Conjuration] -- When summoning any elemental (flame, ice, storm) atronach, the Magicka cost is halved and the duration the summoned creature remains is doubled. Unique Item added: Saarthal Amulet -- This unique amulet halves the Magicka cost of all spells cast while it is worn. Word of Power learned: TOOR -- Inferno; Flame Breath – Combined with YOL, TOOR increases the ferocity of your fire breath, extending the range and increasing the speed at which you can breathe fire. New Quest: College Troubles -- Return to the College of Winterhorn and make sure the Eye of Magnus is safe.