The Helgen Labyrinth
by Jorgen Rammstein
Skyrim has many surprises, and most of them are deadly. This is not a land for a casual adventurer! But if you do survive, you truly will have a tale worth telling.
Some say that the real test of your adventuring mettle comes in the Labyrinthian maze. The place is shrouded in mystery and is filled with danger. It's all true, but also it is a well-known attraction with too much publicity - don't forget to pick up your souvenir wooden mask by the exit. For someone looking for a real mystery, lesser known labyrinths of Skyrim may be more attractive. Labyrinths in plural? Oh yes, there is definitely more than one.
This book touches upon one of them: the Helgen Labyrinth.
So, what is it? Well, it's a labyrinth in Helgen... Are you with me so far? Am I not rushing the story a bit too much for you? Good, an adventurer should be able to withstand a few insults, especially from a gargoyle. But that is a tale for another book!
There are tales of a labyrinth hidden somewhere in Helgen, that is the entrance to it is somewhere in Helgen. Well, Helgen is not a huge city but only an Imperial Legion outpost guarding the Pale Pass, so it shouldn't be that hard to find.
Wait, what? The Pale Pass? Isn't it that Akaviri crossing?
Oh yes, dear amateur adventurer, your voice rings loud and clear. Went to fetch the Madstone for the Countess of Bruma, did you? That's a seasonal competition with bets being placed on your success or failure... I lost quite a few septims on that little game! Once the Madstone is presented to the Countess, she quietly dispatches her rangers to go and put it back, so that the next unsuspecting adventurer could walk right into that trap again, providing for much needed entertainment for the citizens of Bruma and the ghosts of the Pale Pass Fortress alike. "No one knows where that pass is!" No one indeed. And you fell for it? No wonder I keep losing money on this...
But I digress. The Pale Pass is a name given to any mountain crossing from Bruma to Helgen, and there is more than one, and there were certainly other routes in use in the past, such as that Akaviri one. Mountain passes are prone to avalanches and cave-ins, their routes change as time passes, but for as long as we can remember, there has been a crossing between Bruma and Helgen named the Pale Pass. And this is the long and short of it.
So what of the labyrinth? Well, it is said to be your worst nightmare. It can go on and on, ever changing, ever regenerating, ever presenting yet another dungeon to cross, yet another turn. People have gone in and not come out for days, nay, weeks, nay, not come out at all! Their wraiths are undoubtedly still trapped in there, waiting for you to visit. So if you feel suicidal - this is your chance!
But then again, if no one ever came out of there, there would have been no one to spread the tales either. Obviously, a way out exists. The trick is to know how to find it. The accounts of what the exit looks like vary from straightforward to a bit strange to outright unbelievable and bizarre, and I'm not telling you what it looked like to me either. You have to see for yourself. But yes, an exit definitely exists! What is more, a vital clue is written on the key that unlocks the inner door. But what adventurer will stop and peer into the barely visible lettering on a key? Most will just ram it into the lock, impatient to meet their doom.
But why would you even go there? If you are asking yourself this question, then you'll be better off exploring the Northern Inn instead. It's your choice. The inn has pretty good mead, by the way, which in itself might be your worst nightmare. People have gone into mead halls and not come out for days, if at all. Their unresponsive bodies are often thrown out into the snow where they either sober up or move on. The Red Hall is the only one that we know to allow unconscious customers to take up valuable floor space indoors. But then again, the Red Hall has its own surprises.
But I digress, again! Skyrim has many wonders, from mead halls to labyrinths, to transient Oblivion gates, Dwemer ruins, Nordic tombs and of course straightforward caves and mines perfect to spend the night. And all of it is waiting for you.