//------------------------------// // 11: The Synod and Mzulft // Story: Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Sunset found the Archmage standing near the Eye of Magnus, silently studying it while occasionally offering his observations to whoever happened to be around him, which happened to be Mirabelle this time. There were a few other mages walking around the Eye, but they seemed to be in the process in leaving the Hall, most likely for the midday meal. She waited for a few moments, allowing the other mages to leave the hall before she approached the Archmage and his assistant. "Ah, Sunset Shimmer," Savos Aren said, lowering his hand from his chin as she approached them, "What can I do for you and your growing host of friends." "I spoke with the Augur of Dunlain," Sunset replied, not sure how the Archmage was going to take the news, "and according to him we need to find the Staff of Magnus. Its connected to the Eye." "I recall the Synod asking about that the last time they visited us," Mirabelle spoke up, causing the two of them to turn towards her, "They seemed convinced that we had recovered the Staff of Magnus and were keeping it hidden in a broom closet or something, despite me telling them that we had no idea where it could be. After some time one of them told the rest of their group that it could be locked away deep in Mzulft and they departed from the College the very next day. I'm positive that some of them are still in the dwarven ruin, so its a simple matter to walk down towards Riften and branch off the road when your near it." Sunset had no idea what a dwarven ruin was, but considering that the nords buried their dead with techniques to raise some of them when intruders entered she had to admit something; she was curious at the moment. She quickly pulled out her map and asked where Mirabelle thought it was in relation to the road, to which Mirabelle pointed at the area she believed the location was in. With the area of the ruin in hand Sunset started to bid the two of them goodbye for the moment, but was stopped when Savos Aren handed her a circlet, praising her as someone who was stronger than a mere apprentice. Sunset had to admit that who she had been before her defeat would have taken that right to the head, but she respectfully bowed her head, accepted the circlet, and thanked the Archmage for his praise. "Where are we off to?" Fiona asked, following Sunset like the rest of her companions, as she slipped on the circlet she had been handed. "A dwarven ruin called Mzulft," Sunset replied, stepping out into the courtyard and heading towards the bridge, "That's where we should find the Staff of Magnus or some information on where it is actually hidden. I have the feeling that whatever Ancano is planning will be sprung when we're away and the mages are distracted by the Eye. And we might as well check the statue of Azura to see if it actually has a clue as to where the Star is located." It was still strange that she wanted to collect the sixteen artifacts, but she wanted to make sure that Tirek had no opportunities to increase his power to a level that she couldn't fight. She was still too weak to deal with a full powered version of her enemy, but she knew that the more she trained her magic the greater the chance she had of recovering her former powers. She needed her former abilities if she wanted to be able to stop Tirek, though if he got even one of the Deadric Artifacts she knew that she, and the rest of Tamriel, were done for. Once the group had returned to Winterhold they walked onto the road they used to enter and Fiona took the lead, as she knew exactly how to reach the statue. As they followed the path they encountered a pair of trolls that didn't look happy to see them, but Sunset conjured her flames and threw them at the trolls. Two fireballs emerged from the flames, exploding when they connected with the trolls and sent them backwards just a bit, but while one went down immediately the second got onto its feet again and came at them. Sunset gripped the handle of her sword and tapped into the enchantment on the blade, igniting the air around the blade as she neared the troll. When she was close she ducked under its claws and swung the blade into its chest, the flames knocking into her target and scorching it so hard that it was blasted onto the body of its ally. "Your definitely getting stronger," Bjorn commented, amazed that she had taken the two trolls down so easily, "soon I doubt that even Tirek will be able to stand against you." Sunset nodded to Bjorn and they continued onward, though she didn't have the heart to tell them that she wasn't confident in her abilities when it came time to fight Tirek. He was literally getting stronger the longer he was allowed to suck magic into his body, but from what she could tell it was harder for him to maximize his power in this world. Tirek had to steal the magic of a lot of people to cover the distance he covered when he was in Equus, which gave her a fighting chance at the moment. She knew that as long as Tirek didn't recover fifty percent or higher of his magic she had him, but if he did get over fifty than she would be in a pickle to defeat him. She sighed and followed after Fiona, though she kept her eyes on the statue and occasionally looked for more creatures that suddenly wanted them dead. When they finally arrived at the statue of Azura Fiona stood to the side and beckoned for Sunset to walk up the steps, which she did alone as Lydia and Bjorn stayed behind with the vampire. Sunset quickly ascended the stairs and crossed the bridge, only to stop when she reached the top and noticed that someone else was standing before the shrine. It was a female dunmer, though when the two looked upon each other the elf smiled, almost as if she had been expecting Sunset the entire time. "Azura has seen your coming, traveler." the dunmer said, "It was not curiosity, but fate, that has led you here." "'Seen my coming'?" Sunset asked, curious as to what the women was talking about, "What do you mean?" "Azura has given me the gift of foresight." the dunmer explained, almost as if it was common knowledge that people were occasionally given abilities by the Daedric Lords, "I had a vision of you walking up the steps to this altar long before you entered Nirn. You have been chosen to be her champion. I know it is unexpected, but do not worry. It will all unfold as she has predicted." "If you say so," Sunset said, not really sure what to make of what she was being told, "So, what was Azura, the Prince of Dusk and Dawn, ask of me?" "That is simple," the dunmer replied, a small smile appearing on her face, "You must go to a fortress, endangered by water, yet untouched by it. Inside, you will find an elven mage who can turn the brightest star as black as night. It is cryptic, I know, but Azura's signs are never wrong. I believe the fortress may refer to Winterhold. Ask if they know of this elven enchanter." Sunset sighed and gave the dunmer a quick nod before turning around to head to her companions, wondering where in the small city an elven enchanter could be hiding. As she rejoined her friends and they began the trek back down the mountain Sunset decided that she would inquire about the enchanter when they returned to the College, when they had the Staff of Magnus. Or when they had the information on where the staff was located, Sunset also added, after taking into consideration that the dwarven ruins may not hold the item they sought. ----------------------------------------- Reaching Mzulft ended up taking most of the afternoon, as the four of them had to deal with several packs of bandits, two packs of stray wolves, a few skooma dealers, and a thief that wanted their valuables. Before they even reached the ruin Sunset had noticed that there was a dragon flying in a nearby area, but she decided to leave that one be until she was finished with the College. When they finally reached the ruin Sunset had to admit that she was amazed that the builders had built something that was still standing, just like the nords had done. The moment they entered the very beginning of the dwarven ruins they came across one of the Synod researchers, who was holding his chest and coughing blood at an alarming rate. He spotted them and beckoned them forward, handing Sunset a key the moment they were near, muttering something about an Oculory and a missing crystal, though it didn't give her anything to go on. She sighed and then pushed open the door before walking further into the ruin, wondering what dangers and enemies awaited them in a dwarven ruin. It took them a few minutes to progress through the ruins, though when they reached an open chamber Sunset noticed that several bronze colored metal creatures emerged from the walls and came their way. She spotted the stairs the creatures were heading towards and summoned her magic into her hands, sending a pair of fireballs down to meet the creatures. Two of them went down immediately, though when those two fell down several more came out of the walls and continued on the path the others had started on. Lydia pulled out her battleaxe and smashed it into one of the creatures, pushing it backwards as Fiona hacked and slashed at the ones that stayed in the back of their group. Bjorn switched to his sword and cut into the creatures wherever he could, while dodging their metallic arms and avoiding the blades attached to them. After a few minutes of fighting the creatures Sunset was surprised when they were the only ones standing, the broken metallic bodies of the creatures laying around them. "I never like the dwarves," Fiona commented, just as the group continued on their way through the ruins, "they're notorious for creating a vast army of these creatures to guard their cities, which are now known for killing almost everyone who enters their domain." "I've noticed," Sunset replied, weaving her magic around an enemy and smashing it into the wall, "I see that they're not great at resisting magic, but there seems to be a lot more of them than I was expecting. I actually prefer fighting the draugr to fighting these things." The problem was that, as they progressed further into the ruins, more and more of the metallic creatures emerged from the walls with the purpose to end them. Sunset knew that she could burst her magic and tear many of them down in an instant, but then more of them would just come out and continue the assault. So, instead of fighting everything that came in their way, Sunset decided that they would pick and choose their enemies, so they could cut through the enemy's wall and move onward. It proved to be an effective method, but it quickly broke as they encountered another enemy that Sunset wasn't expecting; a race of blind elves known as the Falmer. Though as they ran towards the first line of the Falmer's forces Sunset was pleased to note that the blind elves missed them and honed in on the dwarven creations. It was clear to her that the Falmer hated the metallic creatures, though she wasn't complaining as they were allowed to move further into the ruins. They eventually reached a locked door that appeared to have a chest inside, though Fiona disappeared and reappeared behind the door, beckoning them inside before slamming the door shut. "This place is bigger than I was expecting," Sunset commented, drawing out a magicka potion and drinking a bit of it, "I mean, the nordic burrows are large on the inside, but this place takes it to a whole new level." "Welcome to Skyrim," Fiona laughed, "where the nords entomb their dead in massive burrows, the dwarves build massive cities that are now in ruins, and many people really don't care anymore. Most mages, regardless of which race they belong to, are eager to scour either the nordic burrows or the dwarven ruins, looking for relics of power to further their own schemes. While Tirek is not of this world he still uses those that seek power for their own goals, only to strip those powers from them the moment they die." "We'll stop him," Sunset said, trying to reassure her companions, "First we need to find the Staff of Magnus, stop whatever Ancano is planning in the College, and then we can focus on Tirek." After half on hour of recovering their energy, or magic in the case of Sunset and Fiona, they opened the door and entered the ruins once more, heading even deeper. They noticed that their enemies were the Falmer now, which told Sunset that the metallic creatures had either pulled back, which she highly doubted, or they had all been destroyed. As the Falmer realized that there was still enemies to fight Sunset drew her sword and charged at them, either cutting them with her blade or blasting them with her magic. Lydia and Fiona charged in with her, hitting the enemies that she couldn't hit and protecting her from harm whenever an enemy got too close to them. Bjorn, on the other hand, stayed back, pulled out his bow and took out the ranged enemies, clearing the way as his companions fought the enemies that stood in their path. Eventually they came to another chamber, but this one was easily three times the size of the other ones that Sunset had seen and had three different doors they could choose from. Then she noticed that there were only four Falmer standing in the chamber, though one of them carried some sort of orb as if it was trying to study it. Just as one of them noticed that they had company Bjorn pulled his bowstring back and loosed the arrow into the Falmer's head, dropping it as the other three turned to look at them. Sunset charged magic in her left hand and ran at one of them, ducking under its foul looking sword and placing her hand on its chest, blasting it backwards into one of the pillars. Fiona and Lydia approached the remaining two enemies, but while Fiona vanished into the shadows and appeared behind her enemy Lydia simply smashed her battleaxe into her enemy's chest, dropping it instantly as Fiona followed suit. With the deed done Sunset sheathed her sword and collected the orb she had seen, finding that it was some sort of magical crystal that had to be used somewhere in the ruins. While Bjorn and Fiona walked down the pathway that had been to the right of the entrance Sunset and Lydia moved to the door that had been straight ahead of them. Sunset found that the door was locked and pulled out her set of picks, which Bjorn had been kind enough to give her after they had sacked Fellglow Keep. Lydia stood guard while she picked the door open, though she would never admit that she was very skilled in picking locks and this one had been at least an expert level lock in her opinion. She quickly collected the treasure she found in the chest, which was twenty septims, an enchanted mace, and a spell she didn't know, before returning to the center of the room as her companions came out of their passage. "Its a dead end down there," Bjorn said, handing Sunset a key, "but I think this goes to that door over there." Sunset nodded and they walked up the stairs until they stood before the locked door, which, thanks to the key Bjorn and Fiona had found, was opened within seconds. When they opened the door they noticed that there was a second door at the top of a set of stairs, but when they tried the door they found that it was locked. Before any of them could do anything, however, the door opened and a mage stared at them, apparently thinking that he would be meeting the rest of his team. "Your the last member of the Synod that is these ruins," Sunset told the man, drawing out the crystal she had recovered, "We're with the College of Winterhold and I believe that your looking for something like this." The mage seemed like he wanted to say something, but he simply shook his head and beckoned for them to follow him as he lead them through a door, around a ramp, and up to some sort of puzzle. Sunset immediately spotted some place for the crystal to go and added it to the machine, watching it turn around before the crystal was facing the ceiling with three beams bouncing off of it. She then noticed that there were three rings around the ceiling and summoned her magic into her hands, only this time she invoked the chill of frost before directing it at the crystal, causing the beams to move until they all touched the middle of a ring. With that deed done she moved up to the area above them and stared at the three buttons that she found, wondering what they did before realizing that they were connected with the rings. Once that connection had been made she pressed them one by one and watched as the ring moved, one of them connecting with a beam and bouncing it back at the ceiling. She continued her routine, watching the rings move until the other two were reflecting their beams as well, connecting with the first one and bringing some sort of map to the area below her. There she learned that there was a massive amount of interference that was preventing the machine from showing other sources of magic besides the College of Winterhold and someplace called Labyrinthian. With the location of the Staff in hand the four of them left the mage to rage against the map, shouting that the College had known about the project and had only come to make sure that his work had failed. They turned down a passage and Sunset noticed that time seemed to stall again, only for a Psijic Monk to appear before her eyes once more. It was the same one that had personally visited her, only this time he had come to warn her that something was happening at the College and that she had better return as swiftly as she could. She nodded and time resumed, giving her the opportunity to lead her companions through the exit and come out somewhere above the entrance they had used. Before they ventured off into the night Bjorn commented that they should make camp and get some rest, so that way they would be ready for whatever the following day had to throw at them. Sunset decided that it was a good idea and they camped near the entrance of the dwarven ruin, giving them a good vantage point over the road. If there happened to be a carriage in the morning that was passing by it gave them the opportunity to ask the driver if they could be taken somewhere, though Sunset didn't think it would be that simple. Though as they made camp and Sunset turned to her tent she pulled out the journal that Fiona had given her and opened it to a page after the list of the artifacts. She pulled out a quill and ink pot, also taken from Fellglow Keep and kept safe during their travels, and quickly wrote down several lines about the Elements of Harmony. She decided that, if the worst came to worse, she would need to find the people who represented the individual Elements the most and bring them together. Tirek couldn't be underestimated, though she hated to think that she might have to resort to using what could pass as the Elements against him. To the best of her ability she knew three of them; Bjorn could be Honesty, Lydia had to be Loyalty, and Fiona could be Generosity, but she wasn't completely sure on her labels and had no idea where she could find the other two Elements. Though at the top of her agenda was finding Tirek and stopping him the moment she laid eyes upon him again, to save this world from his terrible power and the destruction that would follow. ----------------------------------------- "I see you haven't moved since the last time I saw you," Ancano commented, standing outside the area that his partner called his temporary home and noticing that he turned his head to face him. "I am restoring my power," Tirek growled, turning to face the elf, "Soon I shall have enough power to rid myself of this old version of my body and become younger, while I will gain at least twenty-five percent of my full power. Then I will be able to start testing this body to its limits, without having to worry about crumbling to the ground so often. Tell me, where is Sunset Shimmer now?" "I have someone following her as we speak," Ancano replied, "and she and her companions have survived the onslaught that is the dwarven ruin of Mzulft. They will no doubt return to the College sometime tomorrow and inform the Archmage where the Staff of Magnus is hidden." "Go then," Tirek said, waving his hand to dismiss the elf, "shackle your magic to the Eye of Magnus and gain the power that I have promised you in return for my knowledge. The Augur was smart to give me what I wanted, but now his power belongs to me and my body will soon accept it, just like it did with everyone else I've stolen magic from. Do not fail Ancano, or you shall suffer the same fate as the Caller and the Augur have received." Ancano seemed to pale at the thought of having his energy drained and added to the stockpile that was growing inside Tirek, so he bowed and took his leave immediately. Tirek allowed a small smile to appear on his face for a moment, before it was wiped clean off and he went back to making sure his body was receiving the Augur's energy like it did with everyone else. Soon he'd have the strength to reveal himself to Sunset Shimmer, but he knew that he would destroy her hopes the moment they saw each other again.