An Adventure in Dwemer Ruins

An Adventure in Dwemer Ruins

A Skyrim Fan-Fiction

By Hoenn Master

“The mind isn’t limited; only the will to do something. Should a man wish to, he could most certainly do what few, if any, thought was possible; provided he has God’s assistance.” –Myself

A.N.

Please go easy on me with this one; I've never actually gone into a Dungeon in Skyrim yet... Derp.

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It was no secret to Cevenor that the largest, (and most deadly) of all the Dwemer ruins was Blackreach: It was noted on virtually every map in Skyrim that the immense system contained vast treasure. However, after many a traveler disappeared, only for their bodies to be found sporting the most gruesome and insidious wounds from traps that were obviously far above easy comprehension. What Cevenor didn’t know, however, was that his good friends, Richard Stronghand the Just, a powerfully built and very tall Nord with a surprisingly quiet and generous nature, and his sister, Helena Stronghand the Cunning, a tall Nordic woman who was much more than she appeared, were about to bring disturbing news upon him.
Richard brought his chestnut horse to a halt before clambering off, patting the mare’s dark mane absent-mindedly and saying calmly, “Ah, here we are; Blackreach.”

Richard’s comment brought Cevenor out of his daydreams of his new wife, and caused the Wood Elf to stare blankly at the blonde Nord in disbelief. Going to the most vast and deadly of Dwemer Ruins was out and out suicide, and he wasn’t having it. “Are you insane, Richard? You’ll be killed within a day. I know you and Helena are great adventurers, and you’ve been to large Dwemer Ruins before, but this is too much. I’ve heard tales of arrows that fly at great speeds that explode on impact with anything! And machines that come out of the very walls themselves in great hordes!”

Helena stepped up behind the Elf and placed her hand upon his shoulder, shaking it lightly to get his attention. “Don’t worry, Cevenor; with Cicero and your ability to summon a powerful spirit from that staff you’re carrying, we should be more than fine,” as she said this, Cicero took his chance to begin dashing down the stairway into the abandoned Dwemer City, chanting about sneaking and stabbing all the while.

Before Richard or Helena could stop him, Cevenor sprinted after Cicero, the two Nords huffing and puffing behind them.

Richard saw the trap first, and was therefore the first to act. “Cicero! Get down! Flame statue trap dead ahead!”

Cicero, who was one to react quickly, rolled forward just as a ball of magical fire came soaring into the hallway, and dissipated against Cevenor’s hastily cast ward. The foursome simply stood for a moment after they backed out of the death hallway, catching their breath from the excitement and exertion. Richard and Helena had both taken off their Steel Plate helms to get all the more air, and cast questioning look at Cicero.

Helena spoke first after a time. “Ceciro… What in the world possessed you to dash into a ruin that was highly dangerous, and with little amounts of exploration? You’d have been flayed alive a couple of minutes ago.”

The jester simply gained a surprisingly good look of innocence, and chimed, “I saw a Dwarf! I did! Cicero saw a Dwarf! But then he got away…”

Both Richard and Helena seemed ready to kill Cicero for a few tense moments, and Cevenor partially stepped between Cicero and the two enraged Nords. However, his caution was rendered unnecessary when Richard suddenly began to shake his head and chuckle, pashing his way past Cicero, slipping his helmet back on, and dashing around the fireball that hurtled at him, causing it to explode on the rocks at the end of the tunnel, and allowing the blonde Nord enough time to wedge a rock into the opening of the statue to temporarily disable the clever trap. Richard then motioned for the rest of the group to follow, and moved a bit farther down the passageway to make room for the others.

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Not long after clearing the hallway of traps, and narrowly missing becoming mincemeat in a cleverly hidden ‘Slicer’, as Richard and Helena had called them, the foursome stood at the destroyed gates of Blackreach.

“Wow… It’s even more beautiful than I thought it would be…” Helena whispered in awe at the massive city before them. Massive glowing plants in the rock above them allowed perfect lighting with which to gaze upon the dark stone buildings; each with different door colors, ‘to signify rank of house’, Richard had said as they clambered up to an alchemist’s home, which had a dark red door, and impressive metal instruments that none of the adventurers could fathom their use.

Richard stepped up to the door, took off one of his Steel Plate gauntlets, and, checking carefully for traps, pulled a small mirror out of one of his bags, and reflected some light onto a small chain attached to the door, and a line just under the crack signifying a pressure plate. He stepped back, and took out his shield, prompting the others to ready themselves. Helena whipped out her Ebony bow, and knocked a Dwemer Arrow; ready to strike ant any second, Cevenor drew his sword and readied his fire magic, and Cicero readied his Skyforge Steel Knives. Richard then cautiously opened the door after replacing his gauntlet, and touched the pressure plate with his sword.

Immediately mechanical whirring and clicking permeated the air, and both Richard Helena barely had time to pull the others out of the way as a giant Dwemer Centurion burst out of the building, sending mortar and stone flying, and smashing it’s massive weapon into the exact location the explorers had been moments before. Richard wasted no time, and immediately dashed in and began to whale on the machine; toppling it with well-placed strikes to its joints before Cevenor and Cicero could react, and Helena could knock another arrow. However, the machine was still in operation, and though it was attempting to get up, Richard's sword had severed the hinges on its legs making it useless in battle.

It didn’t end there, though.

“Richard, on your left!” Helena bellowed before knocking an arrow and letting fly a flaming bolt directly into another Centurion’s helmet, causing a small explosion and the machine to drop like so much iron ore.

“Thanks, sis! HEYA!” Richard responded before whipping around and deflecting the another Centurion’s blade, dropping to one knee as he did so.

Cevenor and Cicero had their hands full after a large number of other Dwemer mechanisms began to make their presence known and felt. Cevenor dodged another whirling blade as he shot a fireball at a passing enemy, narrowly avoiding being shorter by a head, and Cicero quickly cut down the ‘foolish machine’.

“Listener! Cicero believes it’s time to withdraw and reassess the situation so we can better kill our enemies!” Cicero exclaimed wildly as he deactivated two more Centurions, clearing the way for Richard and Helena to come bursting out of the shack the had been trying to investigate, laden with very rare and difficult to procure Alchemy equipment and ingredients, and with a wave of their heads, Richard and Helena both dashed away from the scene, Cevenor and Cicero right behind them.

Once they escaped the ruins, Richard and Helena collapsed onto the ground, throwing their helmets onto the ground beside the equipment, and laughing all the while.

“What are you so happy about?! We were almost killed because of your recklessness!” Cevenor chastised, running an eye over a particularly well-preserved bottle of ingredients for quite a potent potion, if Cevenor knew anything about Alchemy.

“Yes, that is true, Cevenor, but I saw that set, and I thought you’d like a wedding present, so we got you the best we could find. Heh heh…” Richard panted, pulling out a small bottle of water and downing it in one gulp.

“Wait… So all of this,” Cevenor gestured to the ingredients and set, which, admittedly, was almost equal to his own, “is for me? Truly?”

Helena sat up slightly and nodded with a smirk and said, “Who’d you think it was for? The Emperor? HA! I’d just as soon slip him poison myself for his horrible miss-handling of the Thalmor and the Stormcloaks.”

Cicero appraised the loot with a careful eye and said with little thought, “Listener, what a fine gift you have there! Why, you’ve needed this ingredient for a long time as I recall! Oh, oh ho ho, thank you, kindly Nordic Friends for this wonderful gift to the Listener! The only thing that could make this better is a bag of carrots and sweet rolls!”

Richard laughed and grunted, “I actually have a sweet roll in my bag right there, Cicero. I always come prepared…”

Cicero honestly looked as though he was about to cry from happiness as he reverently pulled out the confection and carefully started to eat it.

Cevenor simply sat and stared at the two Nord siblings as they pulled out a bag of jewels and proceeded to give both Cevenor and Cicero equal shares of the gems; Richard even giving a shining Sapphire to Cevenor to put in a necklace for his new wife. Cevenor, full of emotion, thanked the two, bade Cicero to come with him, and the four parted ways once again; Richard and Helena for Whiterun, and Ceciro and Cevenor for the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary.