More background on Julian’s fear of goblins. As heroic as Julian is, that touch of vulnerability really contributes to her overall character.

Julian’s internal fears and debating was so nicely done! A great summation of the magnitude of her task. I love how she got inspiration from her Blade Brothers.

Cut ‘em off at the knees! The skellie fightin’ was very neat – and creative!

Wonderful description how Julian healed Sai

It just dawned on me that the best tactics for Miscarcand are to let the Goblins and undead kill each other, and there's nothing more effective for making one hang back than a vulnerable companion. Julian can't know that in advance, and nor could Sai, but it's still working in their favor.

The last level doesn't have any Goblins, though. Just the zombies and the Lich. I wonder what parts of a Lich come off?

This post has been edited by ghastley: Aug 24 2011, 10:20 PM

Sorry for the slow reply, RL has been hectic.

Two good parts, I's have more quotes I'm sure but I was enjoying reading it too much to remember any position of good ones. I like Miscarcand, it's put Julian off balance, she can do daedra (well I suspect there's a challenge in her future, but) and seeing her have to deal with different foes is refreshing, as is the presence of a fighting companion. Especially one with a sense of comedy (running away with the skeliton's leg was genius).

Her fear of goblins is well done too, it feels natural and realistic. It also appears facing up to a shaman is something she will have to do another day (if ever - maybe in LAMQ?). Having the issue appear then not be resolved works well in showing that she is not perfect and indestructable.


I liked the humour so soon after her being in terror of the goblins. It's another good observation of the sort which brings things to life, stress does sometimes relieve itself through humour. Disarmed really made me laugh, quite literal.

@SubRosa: I don't think Sai found this bone much better than the last one . . .

@Grits: I'm glad you jumped at the right place! I'm not sure where the "Dragonguard" came from, but I liked it enough to use it here.

@Destri: Julian hasn't gotten too über yet. Those goblins and especially that shaman will haunt her for a long time coming.

@Acadian: Those four Blades will stick with Julian for a good long time.

@ghastley: Which parts of a Lich come off? I guess we'll find out!

@Olen: I think Julian would prefer it if she never saw another goblin again! And Sai is quite the clown- when he's not busy fighting. And yes, the humor that surfaces during her battle with the skeletons is relief at not having to deal with the goblins after all. She's actually almost grateful to those skeletons!

The story so far: Julian has moved into the second level of Miscarcand in search of the Great Welkynd stone. And deeper yet we go . . .

*******************************************
Chapter 28.6: The Great Welkynd Stone - Definitely

Sai whined as we crept down the crypt-lined corridor. I glanced down at him to see his attention oriented to our right. His tongue flickered nervously over drawn lips in the gloomy silence. I paused to listen, but heard nothing. My weak detect life spell picked up nothing but the two of us.

"What is it, boy?" I reached down to him and brushed my fingers over his pricked ears. After another intense moment, Sai turned his head and licked my palm. Again he whined.

I knelt beside him and ran my hands over his body. I could find nothing beyond bruises inflicted by the zombies we had encountered on this third level of Miscarcand. Once more I let my healing magicka wash over him, trying to ease the soreness I assumed he must feel. The white tip of his tail wavered uncertainly in the darkness that oozed out of the open crypts on either side of us.

"It just gets scarier and scarier the further we go, doesn't it?" I whispered to Sai. "At least we haven't met any more goblins." Though the zombies are worse in their own way, with their rotting flesh and moldy fluids and the stink that one can't quite clear out of one's nostrils.

Again Sai pawed at his mouth. I smiled in the dimness. "Yes, those zombies taste much worse than the goblins, I'm certain. I know I wouldn't want to taste one of those!" I thought of the refresh spell I had used to clean my blade. I wonder if that would work on Sai's mouth? Would it help?

"Sit for me, Sai," I gave him the signal I had seen the Legion dog handlers use for the command. He seemed to understand and lowered his haunches to the stone floor. I set Touch softly beside my right knee and rubbed his nose as reassuringly as I could with my left hand.

Magic brightened the gloom around us as it filled my right hand. I cupped my left palm over the top of Sai's muzzle and inserted my fingers and thumb behind his fangs on either side. Obediently he opened his mouth in response to my pressure, and I aimed the spell onto his tongue. The soft light swirled around his teeth and washed over his palate before dissipating.

Sai's blue eyes blinked in mild confusion as I released my hold on his muzzle. "Taste any better?" I whispered. Though we were alone, with no sign of any enemies, there was still the sense of being watched by malevolent eyes. In response to my question, Sai nudged my hands with his cold, wet nose and whimpered again. I wasn't certain if it was a yes or no. He's just as jumpy in this place as I am. There are no goblins on this level, only zombies.

We had encountered no more goblins once we passed the chamber where I had found the strange silvery-white stone. Somehow I wasn't surprised. My prior experiences indicated that shamans usually occupied the lowest rooms of their settlements. The fact that the shaman was present on the second level of this ruin tells me that this goblin tribe has not succeeded in infiltrating the deeper recesses of Miscarcand. I know all too well their cunning and intelligence, their toughness and determination when it comes to occupying old ruins and abandoned mines. These zombies were tougher than the goblins, as were the skeletons, but they were few in numbers. Yet the goblins had not succeeded in infiltrating further than halfway through the second level, as indicated by the numbers of dead bodies in varying stages of decomposition Sai and I found throughout the second level. There has to be something else, something more powerful and sinister than the enemies we had encountered so far.

My mind retraced our steps back to the entrance into the third level. We had found ourselves on a balcony enclosed by a wrought iron grating composed of elaborate curlicues and delicate patterns. Through the grating I could see an immense chamber falling away below into darkness. At the center of the space a brilliant cyan glow drew my eyes toward it. I knew its source had to be the Great Welkynd stone - its light had the same blue-green quality to it as the small one in my pack.

I tested the grating. In spite of its advanced age and state of neglect, it was still solidly attached to the stone of the balcony. There was no way I would be able to break through that wrought iron. I knew I would have to find another way to the center of that chamber.

I studied as much of the shadowed interior as I could. It had the feel of an audience hall, much like those in the county castles I had seen on my travels around Cyrodiil. Only this one was far, far more immense and intimidating in its scale. While the floor of the room lay far below, the Great Welkynd stone stood suspended in the center of the space. I realized that a metal framework much like the ones that held the smaller stones atop their plinths cradled this larger stone. A narrow dais, rising halfway to the dark arches overhead, caught the light from the Great Welkynd stone and carried it back to an opening in the rear wall.

There has to be a way to get onto that dais. I looked around once more and decided to follow the passageway, which led in that general direction. Sai shadowed me as we crept along the balcony, feeling exposed to watching eyes whenever we crossed a pool of light cast by another of those ubiquitous crystals.

As it turned out, my intuition regarding the path to the Great Welkynd stone seemed to be accurate. It can't be much further now. My internal compass suggested that it lay somewhere to the left around the corner ahead of us.

With a stifled sigh, I picked up Touch and rose to my feet. Sai brushed against my knee as I started toward the corner. I kept to a crouch and moved as silently as I could, pleased that I couldn't hear Sai's padded feet on the stone floor beside me. He didn't pant or whine anymore, but I could feel his stiffness and tension.

Immense silence and that brilliant glow greeted my gaze as I peered around the corner. The great stone gleamed at the end of the narrow dais, its light a beacon to my weariness. This is it, I thought. The reason I even entered this place. But where are the guardians? Or were those three zombies Sai and I had destroyed all of them? Somehow I couldn't convince myself that it could have been this easy. If those were all of the guardians, the Great Welkynd stone would have been stolen long ago.

No, there's something still here, something watching us, waiting. I couldn't shake the feeling that the stone was the bait in a trap, and as soon as I touched it, the ambush would be sprung.

Again I considered the immense chamber. The floor was a long, long way down - too far to safely jump down should I need to escape. The only way out was back along the dais. But its narrow length would be easy to block with just a few zombies or skeletons.

With so little room to dance, I knew I had to keep any ambushers far away from me. Perhaps I should string Glance and get it ready. Its fire damage would help against the zombies, but I would have to count on the impact of the strong steel arrowheads to knock any skeletons back.

Tactics set firmly in my mind, I unshouldered Glance and strung the bow. With it in my left hand, and Touch ready in my right, I crept toward the far-off glow at the end of the long dais. I paused frequently to listen and scan the shadows. Each time I stopped, Sai would stand slightly in front of me, his feet braced and his hackles bristling.

The chamber remained silent as we stopped before the Great Welkynd Stone. Once again I surveyed the hall, once again I failed to see any threat. But my sixth sense, honed from years of hunting goblins in caves, still tingled. Someone’s out there, watching us. Waiting. Waiting for what? For me to take this stone from its cradle? Beside me Sai still bristled with tension, his body thrumming against my leg.

With my left hand raised to block the glare from my eyes, I studied the floor around us again. The black metal cradle stood on a round marble plinth with stepped sides. The stone itself, longer than my forearm, rose taller than me. It stood at the very end of the narrow dais.

This is it. I considered the stone a moment longer. Then I moved to the far side of it and knelt, lowering my pack to the floor. After a moment’s rummaging within its depths, I made a space for the stone between the smaller Welkynd stone and the other silvery-white stone that still thrummed its magic. I should be able to slip the Great Welkynd stone in, shrug on my pack and be ready for any trap. Again I glanced around. I’ll stay here, on the far side. No one can come up behind me, and I’ll face any ambushers. Still the long drop behind me made the skin crawl beneath my padded tunic. My fingers twitched as I reluctantly sheathed Touch to free my right hand.

Sai watched beside the pack as I stepped onto the dais and stood before the Great Welkynd stone. I reached my hand cautiously toward it, expecting some kind of magical reaction. Wait. I need to be ready for any attack. I slid an arrow out of my hip quiver and notched it to the bowstring, using my left hand to hold it in place against the bow stave, ready to draw.

The tall stone remained inert as I lifted it out of its cradle, its glow outlining my fingers and sending shafts stabbing into the darkness. Beams of light whirled around the chamber while I stepped back and turned to slip it into the waiting pack. Darkness fell like silent thunder as I closed the flap.

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Aug 26 2011, 08:19 PM

My goodness, the stage is set for one heck of a trap and Julian knows it! Gulp. You really built up the tension as Julian evaluated things and made her plans. I’d say this ranks way up there as a cliff hanger.

Love her interaction with Sai. I know she’s both worried about him and glad for his company.

Jauffre says of Cloud Ruler Temple, “This place was built by Reman Cyrodiil's Akaviri Dragonguard, at the founding of the second Empire.”

"It just gets scarier and scarier the further we go, doesn't it?" I whispered to Sai.

Yes! Reading this alone in the dark, I am extremely creeped out. I need a Skyrim husky to comfort me!!

It had the feel of an audience hall, much like those in the county castles I had seen on my travels around Cyrodiil.

What a neat observation. I think there might be some stray italics in these paragraphs.

Immense silence and that brilliant glow greeted my gaze as I peered around the corner.

I really like “immense silence” here. Yeah, I’m going to turn on some lights.

Yeah, Julian would need Touch to cut through the suspense that you have created in this chapter. I have no problem with Clannfear, Dremora, or any form of Atronach but there is just something about a dark ruin filled with zombies (Vilverin comes to mind) that really creeps me out!

Who knew that the refresh spell would be such a cure all? I am sure that Sai greatly appreciates not tasting zombie a$$ anymore. His tension drives this chapter and made me turn on the light right along with Grits.

Great tension, as has been said, there's something uniquely unsettling about knowing there's a danger but not what it is and walking into a trap knowing fine well that's what's happening. You caught it brilliantly, I might hazard another guess why the stone is still there, with tension like that I think most adventurers might have gone for safer pickings


I loved this line, it's so evocative. Makes me think of the darkness as like a shoggoth or some other lovecraftian horror.

You'll have to get cliff down from there though. It's far to tense to be doing things like that.

"What is it, boy?"
I hate to say this, but thanks to a certain other story set in Solstheim, I immediately thought: "Timmy fell down the well?"

It was nice to see Julian put her Refresh spell to use on Sai. I always love to see real-world applications of magic.

I couldn't shake the feeling that the stone was the bait in a trap, and as soon as I touched it, the ambush would be sprung.
Sounds like Julian has played Doom, or any other first person shooter game! Now comes the trap! At least Julian is prepared for it. At least as best as she can be.



nits:
But my sixth sense, honed from years of hunting Goblins in caves
You have been using goblins in lowercase everywhere else, so I suspect this uppercase example slipped through your style sheet.

@Acadian: The first time I did this quest, I knew something BIG was going to happen the second I took that stone off the pedestal. If my own danger sense was klanging that much, what about Julian's own very well-developed danger sense? Yes, the tension was thick, and I had to keep telling myself "It's only a game!!" It looks like that sensation came across well.

@Grits: We made you turn on the lights? Wish it was that easy down there on the third level of Miscarcand! Most Skyrim Huskies would probably be yelping "Get me outta here!" by the first Goblin! Remember Sai's a mixed breed, so there's something else there that makes him stick with Julian through it all.

@Destri: Well, it was the refresh spell or being slobber-kissed by zombie breath! Julian's just glad it worked. Me, I wish it was that easy to clean dogs' (and cats') mouths! No anesthesia needed! That's the thing about exploring with an animal, especially one as trained as Julian is finding out Sai is. They are great at telling you where danger is. The only thing missing is the robot from Lost In Space: "Danger, Julian! Danger!" *retractable arms twirling*

@Olen: Yes, it's time, but I'm sure Cliff doesn't want to come down until it's all over and that Lich King is good and dead! Thanks for comparing this to Lovecraft - that was the feel I was going for there. I remember reading him in seventh grade and being totally creeped out by his stuff - yes, I had to keep the lights on!

@SubRosa: I thought exactly the same thing as I was writing it! If there was a Timmy in this story, I would have! Maybe in the future . . . Thanks for catching that nit, it's been fixed.

*****************************

Chapter 28.7 The Undead King

When I picked up the pack, the pavers beneath my feet rumbled. My eyes, still dazzled by the brilliant gleam of the stone, strained in the darkness for ambushers. The noise resounded around the immense chamber, making it difficult for me to locate its source.

A grey light slowly brightened at the far end of the dais, where the passageway Sai and I had traversed ended. I realized that a door was slowly lifting at the place where the passageway turned the corner onto the dais. I lowered the pack to the floor, took a deep breath and drew the bowstring to half-tension, aiming the arrow over the empty cradle toward the dark silhouette at the far end.

Sai growled at my back, and threads of ice ran up my spine and into my hands when I recognized the groaning of zombies behind me. The rumbling reached a crescendo as I struggled to keep my focus on the shambling figure that stepped onto the ledge, cutting off our escape. It carried a mage’s staff, and now that gnarled tip dipped toward me. I let the arrow fly. Without waiting to see its effect on that thing, and without taking my eyes off of it, I pulled another arrow out as the zombies drew nearer behind me.

The staff’s shock bolt passed my first arrow as it zipped toward me. I managed to duck behind the cradle, letting the black metal absorb most of the shock. My hair now stood on end beneath my ponytail, and I could feel the tingle of dissipating energy. At the same time, fire engulfed the lanky form, outlining the spiked shape of a crown.

The last King of Miscarcand! No wonder no one survived to take his treasure! I had heard of liches - suspected to be long-dead Wild Elves kept animate thanks to their magical powers. So that’s the guardian of the Great Welkynd stone. I let the second arrow fly at him before crouching down again behind the cradle.

The rumbling came to a grinding halt and the stones beneath my feet stilled. I glanced past my right shoulder to find a zombie stepping up over the rim of the dais behind me, arms raised for a crippling blow. I suppressed a gagging shudder at the fetid wave that struck me and ducked away, staying close to the cradle. Touch leaped into my right hand and flew toward the headless corpse. Its powerful enchantment staggered the undead being and sent it spinning away over the edge.

Movement to my left warned me of another enemy. My nose and mouth still full of the rotting smell, I squinted toward the shadow approaching me. Another zombie. I ignored the shock bolts still flying from the undead King and moved to parry the zombie’s descending arms with Touch. Behind me, Sai’s snarls grew into a roaring bark that drowned out the groaning of yet another soulless corpse.

One of the King’s deadly bolts washed over me, most of its force dissipated by the now glowing metal cradle. I fell to my knees as the zombie in front of me staggered back. It recovered before my nerves stopped tingling, and stumbled toward me, its handless arms hammering into my back. Matius’s cuirass saved me yet again, absorbing the impact and protecting my bones from that shattering blow. Still the zombie’s attack knocked the breath out of me. I rolled away into the pain, swinging my argent blade backhanded toward its legs. Touch bit into the bone above the left knee, then I felt something crack. The leg disintegrated beneath the zombie, sending him pitching over the edge into the blackness beyond.

A yelp reminded me of Sai and the third zombie. I struggled to my knees and threw my glance to the opposite side of the dais. The dog’s brown body rolled against me, the walking corpse following after him. I managed to free my right arm and darted Touch toward it. Again its shock enchantment sizzled, sending a fresh wave of rotten and burnt stench washing through my nose and down my throat. The zombie staggered briefly, but kept coming. The next blow from my katana lacked the force of the previous strikes, and I realized it was now out of magicka. Desperately I dropped Glance and flung fire into the zombie’s hollow abdomen. The creature stopped, then turned and bolted, disappearing over the edge of the dais trailing flames behind it like a comet’s tail.

That lich! I recovered Glance and nocked another arrow, peering over the top of the round plinth that supported the cradle. That frightening figure was much closer to me now, its left leg dragging as it brought that staff to bear on me once more. My third arrow staggered its aim, and the bolt flew wide. I didn’t wait for Akatosh’s fire to die down, but fitted another arrow to the bowstring, aimed and released quickly. Again it paused, then began limping toward me once more, flames devouring centuries-old mummified flesh. Again that staff swiveled toward me, the gnarled branches of its head glowing with argent fire.

Hastily I let the fifth arrow fly and ducked. My muscles screamed and my heart stopped as the malignant energy blew through the cradle and washed over Sai and me. My vision turned black.

Pain returned with a vengeance. My lungs burned as I drew breath, and my heartbeat hammered behind my eyes. I lay on my right side, gasping and shuddering. My left hand still clutched Glance in a painful spasm. The pinpoint stars that whirled around me slowly subsided toward a grey darkness. This is it. I can’t fight anymore. I’m sorry, Emperor Martin. I’ve failed you. I waited for the death blow that never came.

Instead a furry body crept alongside me with a whimper. Wetness swiped across my cheek, chasing the cold sweat from my skin. Finally I blinked and forced my fingers to let go of the bow. As the stave dropped across our bodies, I reached out and buried my hand in Sai’s fur. I felt his muscles flinch, and he whimpered again. I eased my grip and ran my palm along his back. Silence crouched over us in the dimness, lit only by the glowing crystals set into the faraway walls.

Easing Glance to the floor, I struggled to a seated position and strained to look over the cradle back toward the far end of the dais. There was no sign of the lich. My heartbeat slowed down, became quieter as I gathered the last of my magicka and cast a detect life spell. There were no signs of life other than Sai’s flickering shape and myself.

Weakness overwhelmed me and I fell back beside Sai. He laid his head on his forepaws. His sigh echoed mine. Akatosh! That was close! Those shock bolts from that staff were all too familiar to me. If my hair hadn’t already gone white, it would be now! I could still feel the last vestiges of that enchantment trailing silver pain along my nerves.

Finally my muscles stopped cramping, and my lungs no longer burned. Those faint stars disappeared altogether. I could feel the magicka slowly returning, and sat up again, still fighting the protests from my body. I can’t stay here. There may be more. At least the King is finished. It was too dark for me to see where my weapons and the pack lay. I tested my magicka, and green light swirled around me, picking out the surface of the dais, glinting off the metal cradle and the exposed blade of Touch. Glance still lay where I had dropped it. On the stepped sides of the plinth that supported the cradle, the pack made a darker shadow against the pale stone, now turned emerald by my starlight spell.

With a stifled groan, I gained my feet and picked up Touch. With the depleted weapon ready, I rounded the plinth and approached the dark form that sprawled over the stones beyond. My foot struck something which clattered away, loud in the stillness. I dropped to a crouch and froze, but only heavy silence greeted me. I looked down, and saw the straight line of the staff. Carefully I rounded it and approached the lich. It did not move, and I poked at it with Touch, lifting its tattered robes away from its desiccated body.

Something glittering clinked against the stones as it slid from the frayed fabric. I hesitated, wary of one last trap. Let’s be certain. I drove the point of Touch into the undead’s ribcage, feeling bones shatter and crumble away from the cold steel. My booted foot kicked the skull, which detached from the neck with a tearing of gristle that sounded loud in the silent chamber. The ancient crown rolled away from the dried pate, scant grey hairs drifting from its leathery scalp.

Now certain that this undead being was indeed - dead, what else to call it? Inanimate? - I knelt down and picked up the glittering thing. A key. To what? The way out of here? I scanned the chamber again, peering beyond the halo of emerald that surrounded me. I needed no key to get this far. Then there is another way out of here, a way that is kept locked? Would it lead me deeper into this place? Or would it lead me out? Or into another trap?

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Nov 2 2011, 07:47 PM

Now that was a harrowing battle with the King and his zombified servants! You took it right down to the very narrowest point, making me wonder if it was indeed curtains for our Redguard heroine.

What really struck me about this segment however was the first thing she did after she realized the lich was destroyed. Rather than fumble for a torch - like any self-respecting Redguard - she instead used a light spell. Once again, in a very subtle way you show us how much she has changed since the beginning of this tale.

I just read the last two installments and am now thinking of making myself hot chocolate with marshmallows to calm myself down! The suspense, the feeling of being watched, of a trap being sprung, came through almost too clearly. And oh compassion, a lich, and she's surrounded, then that battle... Julian escaping by the skin of her teeth, whew! I certainly don't blame her for being skeptical of that key...

I echo this. I also liked your depiction of Julian’s acceptance of her impending doom. There was no panic or anxious railing against the will of Gods or fate. There was only a calm resignation that washed over her, mixed with a profound sorrow that she failed her Emperor and friend. I also got the impression that there was almost a sense of relief as well. What an amazing way to present just how much her trials have taken out of her.

The fact that she is willing to press on into the unknown despite her depleted condition gives yet another clear indicator of the pride that drives her. It amazes me that something as Nirn-bound as injuries was enough to steal that pride from her for a time . . . or can we infer that this new pride is partially a result of her need to escape the past?

All in all, this one joins Fort Grief and Sancre Tor as one of my favorite fight sequences in OHDH!

So now we know what bits of a Lich come off!

It's good to know she's still wary of the path the key will open, as I've had problems with the last few dread zombies on the way out. They just seem to know when your weapon is drained. Maybe I should have taken a dog with me?

I found myself expecting Julian to summon Domina Incendia, but I guess it was close quarters on that dais. An exciting and interesting fight, did the third zombie run away?

Then everything else paled in comparison to Julian’s sorrow when she thought she had failed. I wonder if Martin will see a change in her when she returns to CRT.

Another nail biter!

I sort of figured this was coming after the wonderful build up. I’m so glad that Julian was able to ‘encourage’ the zombies over the edge of her limited fighting space.

What a relief that the lich king went down as Julian did. Even a greater relief that he didn’t get back up like our Redguard.

’If my hair hadn’t already gone white, it would be now! I could still feel the last vestiges of that enchantment trailing silver pain along my nerves.’
A chillingly effective reminder of Julian’s history with a goblin shaman wielding a similar staff so long ago.

’Now certain that this undead being was indeed - dead, what else to call it? Inanimate?’
A great way of dealing with something that may not make perfect sense. Have your character address it directly and scratch their head right along with the rest of us. Well done!

Bloody good writing, Hautee - in more ways than one!

Quite the battle. I liked how short you mad this one, the build up was all tension then the fight paid off all the intensity in a single bang. It worked very well for such a powerful opponent (I suspect the king of Miscarcand may be the most powerful she's faced in many ways) and showed another side to her fighting than the duelling with the undead blades in Sancre Tor.

Her thinking she'd lost, then the tired aftermath, were very well written. I also noticed the light spell rather than a torch. Then her making sure the lich was not a threat (I liked the 'is it dead' quandry) fitted. I suspect she may find that key useful, though the crown might be worth something too.

@SubRosa: Indeed, Miscarcand was a harrowing experience for our white-haired Redguard - likely more harrowing than that goblin shaman that crippled her so long ago. Julian's not saying.

@Kazaera: Yes, Julian is too experienced to assume it's over until it's over. She has seen too many good people die by a stray arrow in the aftermath of a heated battle.

@Destri: Many thanks to both you and SubRosa for pointing out that Julian uses a light spell instead of groping for a torch. She has become familiar with the darkness in so many lands - her night vision is almost as good as a cat's. She is learning how handy magic can be - it really lightens her load. She is still very conscious of her magical limitations compared to say, an Altmer or a Breton (as am I, since I am currently playing a Breton witch/mage character). After twenty years in the Legion, Julian has accepted death, and has accepted that her ending will likely be violent. Live by the sword, die by the sword. In any case, your assessment of the source of her grief in that lowest moment is accurate - she is more upset by letting Martin Septim down than she is about her impending death.

@ghastley: My enchanted weapons always run out of charge in that place! Actually that's where I learned to always carry a soul gem or two with me!

@Grits: Yes, there was so little room on the end of that dais, between the two pillars bracketing it and the large plinth where the stone rests. She's not adept enough at controlling her summons to keep them from attacking her companions yet.

@Acadian: I'm glad this kept you on the edge of your seat. That was just what I was going for. Julian relived her goblin experience in so many ways in this place. It is the most terrifying day she has spent since she was a prisoner of the Skyrim goblins. Not only did she had to confront the denizens of this place, she also had to confront her own demons. Thank you for picking up on her humor so soon after her near death experience when she dwells a moment on what you call dead undead.

@Foxy: Thank you, my vulpine friend! I am fortunate indeed to have a Maestro to learn combat writing from.

@Olen: Honestly, most one-on-one battles are pretty short. It's rare, IMHO, that these things can go on for very long. I watch boxing once in a while, and I can see how quickly these boxers start staggering around from the punches. And this is just sport! And I know how a short combat scene is more effective at blowing up the tension built up beforehand. Yes, the King of Miscarcand is the most powerful opponent Julian has faced, both in game and here in OHDH. And it seems that several of our readers have realized how much Julian has come to rely on her magical abilities before she herself did.

The story so far: Deep in the bowels of Miscarcand, Julian has recovered the Great Welkynd stone and defeated the King of Miscarcand. Now she has to get out of there.

**************************
Chapter 28.8: A Kind of Recovery

I looked back to where Sai rested beside my pack and Glance. My heart skipped a beat when I realized he hadn’t moved, that he still lay with his head between his forepaws. “Lucky?” I whispered. “Sai, are you all right?” Only the white tip of his tail flickered in the dimness. He fought bravely beside me. He was hit by that damned staff, too. And that third zombie sent him flying. But if not for him, I wouldn’t have survived.

Slowly, fear and worry a walnut in my throat, I moved back to the dog. Again his tail flickered, and his eyes rolled toward me. With Touch back in its sheath, I knelt beside him and touched his ears, acutely aware of his wispy breathing. He did not move. Slowly, hesitantly, I ran my hands over him. He whined when my palms touched painful areas, and his shallow breathing stopped when my left fingers found an area of odd motion over the left side of his rib cage. Instead of expanding with each breath, this patch of chest wall collapsed inward as the ribs around them rose beneath my palm. I counted off three broken ribs.

Maybe worse? Internal bleeding? I tried to remember similar injuries on the battlefields, how the healers treated them. Flail chest, they called this. Serious, even life-threatening. I pulled the nearby pack closer to me and rummaged within its contents, careful to avoid knocking the three magical stones together. My fingers found the small vial with the twisted snake embossed in the glass.

Thank you, Selena Orania. I uncorked the strong healing potion she had given me so long ago, just before I left Bruma for this place. I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to give this to a dog. He may not live long enough for my magicka to replenish itself so I can heal him.

His head was heavy in my left hand as I lifted it from the cold stone floor. His eyes, their azure color still visible in this gloom, blinked dully at me. “Drink this for me, Sai,” I murmured, slipping the neck of the vial into the corner of his lips. My hands shaking, I slowly dribbled the valuable liquid into his mouth, tipping his head back slightly so the potion would run down his throat. After a moment, he swallowed, and his tongue flickered in and out of his mouth.

His eyes closed, and Sai’s breathing grew less ragged. I could feel the powerful muscles across the top of his head soften as I rubbed his ears gently. After a few moments, I eased his head back down to the floor.

Orania had slipped a few vials of restore magicka into my pack as well. She had been interested in my tale of Paint’s encounter with the will o’wisp and how Marz had taught me to strengthen his magicka. I held the three small vials cupped in my right palm and considered them. Do I take them now, so I can heal Sai sooner? Or do I wait and let my magicka regenerate naturally, and use these after I’ve healed him? For certain that’s going to use up all my power and skills. I don’t want to be without it until we are safe within the walls of Skingrad. I blinked at the realization of how much my magicka had become a part of my everyday life, after so many years of ignoring it.

I decided to wait, and tucked the vials into a fold of my pack. A check of my quiver told me I had about ten arrows left. Three soul gems waited in an outer pocket of the bag, ready to hand. I pulled one of them out and hefted it thoughtfully. Something swirled within its smoky grey depths. I need to recharge Touch. I unsheathed the katana and wiped the blade smooth with the refresh spell. It drank the power greedily as the soul gem crumbled into dust in my hand. I recognized the glimmer that told me the blade’s enchantment was restored.

My starlight spell faded, but I did not refresh it. Instead I sat beside Sai in the dimness, my hand on his back. His breaths came and went regularly beneath my palm, though that broken part still moved opposite to his respirations. I could feel the persistent pain, which urged me to act. Resisting the temptation, I made myself wait until my magicka was fully restored.

Sai’s breathing quickened, became less regular. The potion’s wearing off. He’s getting more painful again. I looked inward. My magicka burned bright. Let’s hope it’s enough to help him. Seated tailor-fashion at his right side, I leaned over Sai’s back and laid my hands gently on either side of the flail segment. First I have to absorb the pain. Then I need to stabilize that part of the chest wall. Only then can I heal the broken ribs. I closed my eyes and began.

Agony surged up my hands into my chest, and turned my respirations more ragged against the added burden. My own bruises and injuries faded before the severity of Sai’s injury. His magicka flickered weakly with his heartbeat, still erratic after those shock bolts from the lich.

I almost drew my hands away from the unbearable pain. I can’t let him suffer alone. Somehow I found the strength to keep my own respirations deep and regular, to keep my own heartbeat slow and constant. This absorbed Sai’s suffering, and made it easier for him to bear. When he relaxed again beneath my hands, I called on my magicka. I opened my eyes to see a web of argent threads weaving over his chest between my hands, disappearing beneath his pelt. I followed those thin strands of power and felt my way through his skin into the chest wall. Using my magicka instead of my fingers, I felt the splintered ends of the broken ribs, the torn muscles, the battered lung tissue beneath.

Gently I eased that broken patch upwards until it rested beneath my crossed thumbs. Now it moved correctly with each respiration, but the pain still persisted. I took that pain and used it to combine his and my magicka together, to begin knitting the broken ribs. The bone splinters dissolved, the broken ends touched each other and fused, and knobs replaced the gaps.

I remembered to breathe as Sai’s agony eased abruptly. It still hurt for him to breathe, but no longer were those broken ribs banging against his lung with each breath. That’s the bone. Now for the muscle. I knew the next part was equally important, for without intact muscle connecting the ribs to each other, they wouldn’t expand and contract normally. As I had done when I healed his broken shoulder, I slowly knitted back fragmented muscle fibers until a thin sheet replaced torn tissue.

Sai took a deep breath as the last of my magicka faded away. Then another deep breath, and one more before he picked his head up and turned those blue eyes on me. As I sat back, lowering my hands from his body, he laid his right forepaw over my right knee. The waving of his tail was just a streak of white in the dimness, but it made me smile in relief.

“You’re going to be all right, lucky boy,” I managed to whisper. I lay down on the cold stone, trying to shake off the remnants of his suffering that still vibrated through my body. Sai licked my face again and pawed at me, but he remained on his belly next to me. I touched his ears again, and sensed the lingering pain from his bruises. “I’m sorry, but I’m all used up,” I murmured to him. “Let’s just rest a few moments, then I’ll try again.”

A few hours later, both of us were recovered enough to pick ourselves up and leave that cursed chamber. With heavy pack thrumming against my still-bruised back, I kept Touch unsheathed. When we returned to the passageway, I discovered a new room beyond that hidden door. So this is where the King waited in ambush. When I took that Great Welkynd stone from the cradle, it must have triggered this door. I could still see its worn edge tucked up into a groove in the ceiling above my head.

The room was lit by more of the smaller Welkynd stones tumbled together in a black metal basket suspended above a stone sarcophagus. I gave the structure a wide berth. This was supposed to be the King’s last resting place.

This time when I used my detect life spell, an upright glow appeared behind the blank stone wall making up the right side of the room. Another secret door? This place is full of them! I moved around the coffin. My foot felt something shift under it, then rumbling on both sides of the room warned me of more traps. This time the blank stone walls slid downward, one on each side of the space. The pink glow I had seen earlier turned out to be another skeleton, this one heavily armed with shield and hammer.

Both Sai and I were slowed by our recent ordeal with the lich King, but we managed to defend ourselves against the undead guardian. Between Sai’s tendency to grab shin bones and Touch’s enchantment, we made short work of the shambling skeleton.

Behind the other door was another bronze gate. This one had a lock plate on it. I fumbled out the key I had removed from the undead King’s carcass and tried it in the slot. The satisfying click of the tumblers told me I had guessed right.

Do I follow this passage, or backtrack the way we came? I looked down at Sai. He returned my gaze, then walked into the corridor, pausing to look over his shoulder at me. All right, Lucky, if you say so.

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Sep 5 2011, 03:05 PM

More major healing jobs. Sia certainly manages to put himself in harm's way, though perhaps it's just as well for Julian (and just as well for Sai that she is quite a formidable healer now). I think healing him might have helped her too, having to stay in that place might well ease its horror a little and having succeeded perhaps she'll feel a bit better about it.

I think he might have made the righ tchoice with that door too, unless your Miscarcand differs greatly from the in game one.

You've done a very good job with Sai, it normally takes me a long time to get to like a character but you had me worried for a moment there that you were going to kill him off. For a character who doesn't get dialogue you've given him a lot of personality in one chapter. I can't wait to see what they make of him at CRT, or even in Skingrad (he could protect her at a certain guildhall...).