Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim

by Blackdrag-rose

15: Ustengrav... for Real

Sunset had to wait about ten minutes before her friends emerged from the ruins, though she spent that time studying the artifact that was now laying across her lap. It was clear that it radiated some sort of light from the sphere that rested where its guard was supposed to be, but she wasn't surprised to learn that it could burn the undead, which she learned thanks to the notes that Fiona had made. As she thought about that ability she realized that it might not be the best idea to wield the sword when Fiona was around, just in case the blade did something else when the undead it was fighting died. After all, she didn't want to hurt one of her friends and then have one or more of them decide that it wasn't worth sticking around, not when she needed their help.

The other three were, to her way of thinking, the best people in this world that represented three of the five naturally occurring Elements of Harmony, of which Laughter and Kindness were missing at the moment. She didn't have to worry about Magic, the spark between the other five, as she had done it once and was sure that she could pull it off again... if it became necessary for her to do so.

"So, that's the Dawnbreaker!" a voice said, causing Sunset to look up and find Fiona standing before her, with Lydia and Bjorn not far behind, "I have heard the tales of this weapon, but I never expected that I would actually get the chance to lay eyes on it."

"You surely had to believe that you'd see the artifacts eventually," Sunset replied, wondering why Fiona would say such a thing, "after all, you went through the painstakingly difficult task to figure out where each of them were located and who was last reported to have wielded each individual artifact."

"The Daedric Lords are unpredictable," Fiona chuckled, causing Sunset to turn her head to the side for a moment, "There's never a guarantee that, once you've enacted whatever ritual that Prince requires, that whichever one your trying to contact will be stirred in their realm of Oblivion and come to investigate. Take Sheogorath for instance, he might just reach out with his power and twist you inside out for the fun of it, or he could just flay you alive if he so desired."

"Well, I'm just going to have to go with the flow then," Sunset said, resisting the urge to sigh now that she knew how hard it could be to contact each individual Prince.

"Where to next, my Thane?" Lydia asked, resting the head of her battleaxe on the ground, "Shall we head out and collect the next Daedric Artifact, or shall we recover the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller from Ustengrav?"

Sunset had, in all the chaos that had happened since she had enrolled in the College of Winterhold, forgotten why she had come out towards Solitude in the first place. She had sensed Tirek's lingering power and went out to stop him, but all that did was result in the destruction of what remained of Winterhold and the sinking of the College itself. As she thought about it she had to wonder what power the Greybeards could teach her that would aid her in her quest to stop Tirek, or what Words of Power she might pick up on the way. She also considered heading down to the area near Riverwood, where there was supposed to be a keep that held the long lost Azura's Star, but then tossed that idea to the side for the moment.

"I've put off getting the horn for too long," Sunset replied, getting on her feet and sliding the Dawnbreaker back into her belt, "so we're heading to Ustengrav. We'll delve into the ancient barrow, fight our way through the horde of Draugr that are no doubt waiting for us, recover the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, and get it back to the Greybeards. But before we leave I think I saw what very well could be another Word Wall by the base of the stairs that lead to Meridia's statue, so give me a moment and I'll figure it out."

Her friends seemed ready to leave already, but they sighed for a moment and nodded their heads, knowing that there was no harm in letting her gain one more Word of Power. Though as Sunset walked up to the wall Bjorn wondered what the Shout from Shearpoint could have been, as Sunset made no comment about that venture. He briefly hoped that whatever this new Word was would aid them in their quest to stop Tirek, though how he wasn't exactly sure of at the moment.

Sunset silently approached the Word Wall, listening to the chanting that seemed to be coming from the stone as she wondered how that was even possible. She wondered it if had to do with being the Dragonborn, or if the nords of the ancient age had actually done something magical to the stones to make them do this. She stopped in front of the wall and closed her eyes, extending her arms just a bit as she welcomed the Word of Power, Su, into her growing collection. Once she had the Word, and the wall had died down to the point where no sound was coming from it, she opened her eyes, turned around, and walked back to her friends.

"We had best get going," Sunset told her friends, each of whom looked happy to be on the move once more, "We should be able to reach the barrow before night falls, but either way we'll have to make camp before entering the ruins to find that horn. I'm sure that none of us want to be wandering through an ancient ruin with little sleep and nothing in our stomachs."

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The evening slowly gave way to the night as they walked down the road that would take them to Morthal, the city that rested near Labyrinthian, where they could determine if they should stop or press onward. As they walked Sunset noticed that many of the dangers that usually came up to them, such as the packs of wolves or the random bandits, were nowhere to be seen for once. It worked to their advantage, as they arrived in Morthal long before the night was truly upon them and, after a brief moment of discussion, they were on their way out of the city.

It appeared to be a simple matter of trekking through what the locals called a marsh, Sunset wasn't so sure that they were being truthful about what it was called, as Bjorn lead them across the area until they came to their destination. He brought them to a stop before they reached the barrow itself, though as Sunset looked around she immediately spotted why they had stopped, there were necromancers walking around the entrance.

"Either they are more of Tirek's faithful," Bjorn whispered, pulling out his bow and nocking an arrow, "or someone else is trying to get their hands on whatever treasure is still sealed away in this place. Or maybe someone is hoping to find an artifact of great power, as the majority of the mages in Skyrim seem to do when they enter one of these barrows."

Bjorn pulled the bowstring back and took aim at one of the necromancers, the one that just happened to be the closest one of them all, but before he could release the arrow he noticed something odd. The necromancer that he had selected had turned his head to look back at his companions, two of which he now noticed were laying dead on the ground. Bjorn watched as the third necromancer dropped to the ground as well, though the remaining two began to move away from the barrow's entrance, as if they believed that it was the ruin that had killed their companions. Then, as quickly as the other three had dropped, the remaining two necromancers dropped like flies, leaving him to wonder what had happened until he noticed a figure step out of the shadows and wave in their direction.

A figure that could only belong to the jester that they had helped not too long ago, though Bjorn was curious as to why he was out here, in the middle of a marsh.

"Cicero?" Fiona asked, emerging from their hiding place and approaching the jester, who turned and looked at them the moment she revealed their location, "What in Oblivion are you doing out here? I thought you were taking your mother to be buried somewhere."

"Ah Lady Fiona," the jester replied, bowing his head slightly as he sheathed the ebony dagger he had been holding, "A pleasure, it is, to meet you once more. I was taking my mother to be buried, but in reality I was delivering her to her new home; the Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood. Unfortunately, and rather sadly I must add, it seems that my services are no longer required by the Brotherhood, as the Night Mother told the Listener that Laughter was needed elsewhere. I was told to find the Archmage, who might have a use for Laughter in her coming conflict, and that she would be coming here in the coming weeks... though I was never told when and decided to camp nearby."

Fiona looked at Cicero for a moment, wondering if he was telling the truth or if he was lying, but then sighed and beckoned to the tree the others were hiding behind. A few seconds later Sunset, Lydia, and Bjorn emerged from behind the tree, briefly making sure that the area around them was clear of enemies before approaching the pair.

"We've got another companion it seems," Fiona said, beckoning to Cicero, who smiled and bowed his head to the rest of them, "I present to you Cicero, from the Dark Brotherhood. Apparently he is here before the leader of his guild was told that he needed to aid us in our quest, though they also called him 'Laughter' for some reason."

"Really?" Sunset asked, turning to face the jester for a moment, wondering who called him Laughter anyway, "Your certain of this?"

"It is what the Lister said that the Night Mother told her," Cicero replied immediately, "I do not know why I was called this, but the Night Mother has seen that I might aid the Archmage in some way and told the Listener this, and so I came here. I decided to wait outside and make the area clear for your arrival, oh leader of the College of Winterhold, but I went into Dawnstar yesterday for supplies and arrived today to find that filthy necromancers had moved in while I was away. There are surely more of them inside the barrow, and I would like to show you how skilled I am with this dagger of mine."

Sunset stared at the jester for a moment, wondering if he could truly be trusted with what he was telling them, before she sighed and beckoned for him to head into the barrow. She considered herself fortunate, as she now had the fourth of the five Elements covered, which meant that all she was missing at this point was Kindness. As they followed Cicero into the barrow she had to wonder where the missing Element Bearer could be, though she also wondered if she had already met Kindness before coming here.

When they entered the barrow they heard two voices talking to each other about raising more of the draugr to help them dig deeper into the barrow, though both of them seemed unaware that they were about to have company. Sunset positioned herself in view of the entire chamber, to which she could see both of the necromancers and their risen warriors, before she beckoned to Cicero to move forward. She could tell that he was eager to show her what he could do, as a smile blossomed across his face as he lowered himself into a crouching position, silently pulling out his dagger as he crept forward.

The first necromancer, apparently upset that her companion was disagreeing with her, moved into the only remaining tunnel and exited their view for the moment, but as she did she directed her risen warrior to aid her companion in his work. Cicero crept forward as the risen warrior neared the second necromancer, to which he wrapped his dagger around the undead's neck and severed it completely, reducing it to pure dust. He then approached the second risen warrior, whose master had his back turned to it while he considered where to have them dig once more, which lead to Cicero slaying the undead in seconds before moving onto the necromancer. Before the mage knew what was happening Cicero was on top of him, the ebony dagger plunged right into his heart before he crumpled to the floor.

The second necromancer, hearing the thud of his companion's body against the floor, raced up the steps, but Cicero was waiting with his dagger and leapt out of the shadows when the mage was near, ending her the same way as her companion.

Sunset had to admit it, but maybe having a scout around would make their lives much easier, as she knew that she could ask Cicero to search for enemies and give them the opportunity to plan a real strategy before running into battle. She and her friends emerged from where they had been waiting, while Cicero stood next to the last enemy of this room with a smile on his face.

"So Magic, how did Cicero do?" the jester asked, the grin remaining on his face as Bjorn collected any gear that they could use, or that they might sell later on.

"Just fine," Sunset replied, already heading towards the tunnel that would lead them to the next area of the barrow, "Now let's see if there are any more necromancers for us to deal with... or the draugr if they happened to wake all of them up."

Though as she did so she still wondered who could have told the jester about the Elements of Harmony, as he continued to refer to himself as 'Laughter' and had just called her 'Magic'. She had no doubt that he would likely call the others by the Elements that she had already assigned to them before coming here, but it made her seriously how he discovered their existence. She needed to keep that card hidden from Tirek, least he decide that keeping the people who best represented the Elements away from each other was something that he needed to do.

"So, Cicero hears that Lady Fiona is Generosity," the jester continued, as they marched deeper into the barrow, "while the hunter over there is Honesty.. oh, and the hard warrior is Loyalty!"

"I appreciate the new titles Cicero," Fiona replied, wondering if the jester was actually insane, "but I don't think that any of us, save for Sunset maybe, are anything like the titles that your giving us. I'm not even sure that any of us have ever been called by those names before."

"No? You haven't heard yourselves called those names before?" Cicero asked, worry filling his voice for a moment, before something crossed his mind and tore that worry away, "Ah, Cicero sees what Magic is doing. She is keeping the information away from her enemy, the dreaded monster that not even the Night Mother wants to meet in person... if she could walk on her own feet that is."

As it turned out there happened to be three draugr waiting for them in the next area of the barrow, though Sunset was ready for them as she loosed two fireballs at them. Two of them went down immediately, leaving Bjorn to loose his arrow and knock the remaining draugr to the floor, opening the way for them to continue onward. Though as those three fell in defeat and the group moved on to the next chamber they found several open coffins and at least four of the undead walking around, waiting for someone to enter their area. Lydia charged forward, swinging her battleaxe as she clipped an enemy in the side, severing the body in half, as Fiona and the others entered the area.

Sunset had to admit it, but the more she watched her Housecarl fight the more she had to wonder just how strong, and how brave, Lydia had to be. She was constantly reminded of Applejack when she watched Lydia fight, but thinking about her friend made her wonder what her friends were doing now that she was gone. She was sure that they believed that she was safe, though Princess Twilight was likely freaking out because she didn't come out of the portal when she was supposed to. She sighed and moved on, knowing that she would be able to think about returning to Equus, and her friends on Earth, when Tirek was dealt with.

The next room they came to had a bridge they had to cross, but as Sunset looked into the open area she found another bridge with three draugr walking along. That was, however, until one of them spotted the group and drew his weapon, causing his companions to repeat the process and leapt down to the floor below. Lydia and Fiona leapt down as well and pulled out their weapons, charging at the draugr the moment that one of the undead shouted something at them. Sunset watched as the duo tore into the undead, noting that whatever the draugr had said was meant for his companions and not her group, which was fine with her. Once the deed was done the five of them moved across the second bridge and found their way to a wooden door, which allowed them to enter the next area of the barrow.

As they walked down the tunnel they found themselves in Sunset noticed a small hole in one of the walls, but then they came to a section that had no wall between them and the rest of the cave. She looked out in amazement, taking in the vast size of the cave they were in as she wondered how the ancient nords had even built something like this to begin with. She even glanced towards the bottom of the cavern, finding yet another Word Wall with a waterfall near it, though it was clear that the water was coming from above them.

They quickly made their way down the tunnels, passing the various traps and draugr that had been set up to stop treasure hunters in their tracks, before they stood in the halfway point of the cavern.

"This place is amazing," Sunset breathed as she took the sights in, before shaking her head as she remembered why they were here to begin with, "Lydia, I want you and Fiona to scout the left side of this ruin, while Cicero and Bjorn check out the right side. Take out any walking skeletons or draugr that you might find and make sure you study the area your in. I'm heading down to the Word Wall to collect another Word of Power, and then we'll figure out how to move on from here."

As her companions ransacked their areas for information and items that they either needed or could sell, Sunset walked down to where the Word Wall was resting. When she neared the stone she opened herself to the ancient magic that the ancient nords had left behind, feeling the word Feim enter her collection before the chanting died down. She sighed and stared at the water for a moment, using that instance to look at herself and wonder how her life came to this exact moment, where she was trying to stop Tirek. That instant didn't last long, as she heard several fireballs hitting the cavern above her and wondered who or what had found them this time.

"Ah, there she is," a voice said, causing Sunset to look up and find a trio of Thalmor staring down at her, "the one who beat Master Ancano and sank the College to hide what really happened."

"Ah, renegade Thalmor," Sunset replied, a grin appearing as she watched the rest of her companions move to the area where Bjorn and Cicero were waiting, "here to prove that Ancano wasn't under the influence of a demon that's bent on the destruction of all of Nirn and that he didn't lose to someone that's not from your world. You're here to capture me alive and then torture me until I 'confess' that I 'cheated' in our fight and that I 'sunk' the entirety of Winterhold to hide everything. Well, I'm not that easy to catch."

Before the elf could respond Sunset ran up to the area they were standing in, dashed behind them before they could pinpoint her, and crossed the stone bridge until she reached the halfway point. Once she was at the point she desired she turned around and held out the Staff of Magnus, wondering if she could get them to follow her to the bridge. Ironically the only elf to follow her was the one that had shouted at her, as his companions waited at the base while their leader confronted her.

"There's nowhere for you to run," the elf chuckled, as if he believed that he truly had her, "so surrender your staff and I shall make sure that whatever information you pass on will earn you a decent punishment, instead of instant death like most people."

"You shall trouble me no more, servant of Tirek," Sunset replied, raising the staff above her head for a moment, allowing some power to rush into the stone, before slamming the base against the bridge as hard as she could.

At first nothing happened, to which the elf continued to laugh and insult her attempts at magic, but as he took a step forward the area in front of Sunset broke apart and collapsed into the area below them. He barely had any time to move before the walkway under his feet collapsed, causing him to fall into the area below and, more importantly, to his death. Sunset cast a glance at the elf's companions before glancing at the entrance they had emerged from, blasting it to pieces with the staff and trapping the renegade elves.

Sunset turned her attention to the puzzle that her companions had been trying to solve while the elves had focused on her, though she immediately knew what to do. She moved to the middle of the three stones before running forward, causing the three gates behind them to open, but before they lowered back into place she readied herself and loosed the first word of Whirlwind Sprint, Wuld, from her mouth. She then shot forward, passing through the gates and emerging on the other side without being stopped, to which the gates returned to their open position and allowed her friends to follow after her.

The next area seemed to be full of fire traps, but as it turned out there was a simple way to get around them as they gently stepped across the chamber, staying away from the plates as much as they could. They found some spiders at the end of their trek, including a massive one, but Sunset blasted them into the wall with the Staff and allowed them to move on. She was already tired of this barrow and she wanted to get the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller before she continued her quest to recover the rest of the Daedric Artifacts. The last area seemed to be a simple walkway with the prize at the end, but as she approached the final pedestal four statues pulled out of the water, though that was all that happened.

However, when she reached the pedestal she found a note, one that sat in the place where she assumed the horn had been and claimed that someone was waiting for her in Riverwood. Once the area, and the small room behind it, was cleared of all the loot that they needed Sunset and her friends made their way up the hidden passage, where she knew that they would emerge near the entrance and would be able to make their way outside.

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Returning to Riverwood had taken the majority of the following day, as they had spent the night outside Ustengrav before making their way towards the small village. They had been lucky that day, as there were no creatures that leapt out to fight them and none of the dragons wanted to test Sunset's abilities. As the five of them walked into the village they were greeted by the Whiterun Guards, who were still thankful that the dragon that destroyed the watchtower had been defeated. Instead of heading to the trader, which many people usually did when visiting villages and cities, they headed into the inn, where Sunset was hoping to find the person who had taken the horn from Ustengrav.

Once inside Cicero and Fiona retired to the chairs near the door, where they would keep their eyes on the majority of the inn, while Lydia and Bjorn moved to the opposite side of the inn. Sunset approached the woman that was in charge of the inn and purchased the 'attic room', to which she was told that they didn't have that type of room, but could have the one on the left. After entering the room Sunset barely had to wait as the woman followed her into the room, handing her the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller and telling her that she needed to speak with her, though by the tone Sunset could tell that the woman meant immediately.

The duo left the room and walked over to the room where the woman no doubt laid her head to rest, though as they did Sunset beckoned for her companions to remain behind, feeling that crowding so many into one room would raise suspicion. Once inside the room Sunset shut the door behind them and followed the woman into a hidden basement, wondering what secrets the woman was about to tell her and what deed she wanted done. Sunset remained on the side of the table that allowed her to stand before the stairs leading up into the inn, watching the woman as she walked around to the other side and faced her.

"Hello," the woman said, apparently holding back anger for some reason, "Dragon Priest Sunset Shimmer."

Comments

[Sonata Blaze]

Yay... Sunset finally went back to Ustengrav...
And what the Oblivion Delphine?! How could she possibly know that Sunset's in with the Dragon Cult?

[HB_DS2013]

Somehow, I'm not liking where this is going. On the flip side, the Night Mother is afraid of Tirek?

[Iacs]

Blades are knowledgefull. And sometimes stupid...

[Heidao]

Wouldn't she be addressed as "Priestess" instead? Though it's still acceptable if needing the masculine version to be taken more seriously. Yes, I know what I said sounds rude but many female characters chose the male variants of their title ex. Sir Integra of Hellsing, instead of "Lady" because she needed to assert her position as head of her House (Family)

[Heidao]

6877439 Like in terms of the Sybil of Dibella, the Night Mother is the conduit (and consort) of Sithis, while the Listener is her agent who exclusively hears her words. Essentially she's the daedric artifact in which Tirek can seek Sithis.

[Sonata Blaze]

6878578 I can understand where your coming from, though Delphine has always been the disrespectful type of person (at least in my opinion) and it seems like she has a vast hatred towards the Dragons (and their cult apparently).
On a side note, I never considered that the Night Mother could essentially be an artifact for Sithis... which actually makes sense in a way.

[Vigilant of Stendarr]

So Cicero joins the group and Delphine is still being a stick in the mud. Things are getting more interesting.

[dvdspires]

In the last three paragraphs, replace women with woman.

[Bookwurm666]

6877439
Anyone with any sense would be.